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It wasn’t often that Dawn heeded Buffy’s advice, no questions asked. In fact, she oftentimes asked all the questions, whined a bit about having to do whatever it was that they had to do, and then thought of a few more questions to ask. Eventually, she almost always gave in. It was very rare that she went against the grain when it all was said and done. Her sister had gotten them through a lot. And Dawn was absolutely sure that she would get them through even more, if more came their way.

If you get lost, find a landmark and sit in one place, her sister had said. It’s easier to be found if you sit in one place, supposedly. So then why was her sister always on the move? That made no sense.

Berkeley wasn’t one of the places where she’d ever expected to take a wrong path. She loved the school. She loved the atmosphere. She loved the normalcy of it. Never mind that she had been headed to her least favorite class, Algebra II, when she had become lost. The door that she had thought led to her classroom had instead led her to what could only be described as a hotel. She’d wandered the halls for almost an hour, looking for the right door or a way out. Her efforts were fruitless.

So this was how she ended up in the lobby, sitting in the middle of the floor and holding her cell phone up to try to get a reception to call Buffy or Xander. No reception. Her nose wrinkled and she looked positively unhappy as she muttered to herself. “America’s most dependable 3G network, you are not. And I’m not sure how good I’ll be at the sitting and waiting to be found thing.”

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Humans always had a strange way of expressing themselves but after centuries of interacting with them closely, Eric had kept up with the local vernacular even though he didn't always feel comfortable using it himself.

"It isn't exactly the most ideal situation, no."

Dawn stands up to her own full height, which still has nothing on his full height. So she's still looking up to him. "So what are you? The welcoming committee? Cause you forgot the basket of delicious treats."

"Hardly. Merely another trapped citizen uprooted from the normal routine," Eric lied.

"Not welcoming, but willing to commiserate."

"Me too." She lies as well.

Dawn puts her hand out for the greeting and offers him the best smile she can muster under the circumstances. "Dawn Summers. The cuter, taller, smarter of my sister and me."

"Eric," he offered in kind, bending his head to brush a kiss against the back of the girl's hand. She was younger than anyone he would normally try to feed from or do...other things with and she had amused him. There was little danger for her this time around.

"Difficult relationship with the sister, then?"

"Not really. She's just really good at everything." Which means she casts a big shadow. "Except school. She didn't do the college thing very well. But I am. Or I was, then I had to pause cause of shenanigans, and then I went back. Not that... you care." And with no segue whatsoever. "You know you're very tall, Eric. And that whole hand kissing thing was kind of awesome. Very old school romance novel-y."

"I prefer a more old-fashioned aesthetic," he said easily enough. "I find that it makes me a rarity in our modern world."

That, and he'd never bothered to fully assimilate and lose himself in the era of the day. He always carried the past with him, even if it was minute.

"Rarities are cool! I mean, way to stand out in a crowd! Which... is good. Cause who wants to be a lemming?" This was her awkward way of flirting with him. Whoops.

"My whole group of friends and family does the rarity thing. The whole one girl in all the world blah blah blah is my sister. She's special."

"And what makes your sister so special? By your own admission, you excel in school and she does not. I think there is more to you and less to your sister than you think."

Eric was curious about the sister, admittedly, and the best way to get information without glamouring the girl was to flatter her.

In Dawn's world, that's a shocking statement. Her sister's the one that casts a big shadow. Dawn kind of gets swallowed up in the shadow because it's so big and important. Sure, Dawn, given the proper ritual, could bring all the chaos the world could handle. She's the key, barely even real. But the Slayer. The Slayer is always a hero, at least her sister is. "Well... okay so she was handed super powers on a silver platter. She's the Slayer. You know, she who slays evil and saves the world over and over again from apocalypse in the plural sense." Her nose wrinkles. "I still can't decide if that should be called apocalypses or apocalypi. Confusing things."

"A Slayer. Sounds like a dangerous line of work with very little thanks. I'm not entirely that charitable."

Eric could be, sometimes, but even that charity was usually couched in wanting something out of Sookie.

"It was suggested one time that she get people to pay for her services, but... you can't do that." She says with absolute certainty, almost. Hands are on her hips to add to the effect. "Charging people for saving their lives? No super hero actually does that."

"No, but the difference between your sister and I is that I am not a hero. I mostly look out for my own interests."

Eric gave Dawn an assessing look, trying to decide what to make of her. "And yours, since you have come here alone away from home. You remind me of my sister."

"Really? Cool." If he had an accent he would remind her of Spike, who had always taken an interest in looking after her. He had had to save her life numerous times though, something he had recently attributed to her being the Key and prone to trouble and destruction. Her sister habitually warned her against telling people about the key though, in case someone tried to go through with the ritual and use her again to cause mass destruction. It was a hard secret to keep sometimes.

"Although you might have to work overtime. I'm kind of a trouble magnet... minus the 'kind of'."

"I am not unfamiliar with the concept." Sookie seemed to be one as well, though there were very obvious reasons why she was. Anyone with as much Fae blood as Sookie Stackhouse was likely to be a target for any vampire she came across.

"It would give me something to do around here, should your trouble follow you."

"Ugh. That makes it sound like you're super bored." Her nose wrinkles. "Is it boring here?"

"It can be, unless you're willing to explore. There's doors that open to other places," Eric explained. "Some pleasant, like Disneyland. Some...entirely less pleasant. It depends on what mood you're in at the time."