A younger and more naive Gerwulf would have bristled, if he had fur, that is, at the mention of humans sometimes being the bad people. More often than not, reality meant that supernaturals were very much a minority. When people treated normal minorities with casual malicious intent, it was nothing when they had someone alien whom they could concentrate their fears toward. Like much literature and even graphic novels, it was a common theme and not one that he needed to bring up. "I don't mind them, depends on the author really. Twisted-Heat isn't too bad, but you want something like The Melting-Pot, It follows a Hunter who falls into a polycule with a Lion shapeshifter," He mentioned with some amount of mirth as he was shameless.
"Though most of the time, I read up on alcohol in relation to cultural anthropology. That and psychology texts on understanding the nature of greed, lies, etcetera" Throwing Aesa a bone when it came to things that he found interesting. It was true enough that he travelled the world purchasing ancient technique-based wines and alcohols; tribal drinks always reminded him of his real origins. When the conversations continued, he was glad that he hadn't scared her off with his mention of the illegal. "It couldn't have been too bad, I mean, your picture isn't on the FBI's most wanted, for example." He chuckled before she went in a different direction.
Tilting his head, his smile paused, turning up at one side as he glanced away to see how far the other patrons were or the waitress with their food. "Maybe, but that depends on who you ask. As for worry, nope. Hmm, bearded axe." Though most of it seemed to be a jest, the last bit when he spoke of the axe seemed almost too genuine. Looking back at her, he chuckled, shaking his head as he leaned back in the booth. If he had gone too far, he didn't know where she lived, and Aesa could walk away. Though from his demeanor, he truly meant her no harm. As for a serial killer, he was part of the military as far as she knew. Even said before that he'd done some unsavory things. Kill one man, you're a murderer. Kill three, you're considered a serial killer. Kill ten, and you can come home a hero. Orchestrate the deaths of hundreds, you're probably a three-star general.
The revelation about the kind of books he read had her brows arching. That surprised her for reason. It just went to show that you couldn't judge someone by their looks. "I know some people you could study for research on greed, lies, and everything along those lines." Aesa almost blurted out that she wasn't on the FBI's list because she had been a minor for most of the charges and they'd been expunged when she'd become an adult and stayed out of trouble for a little while. She caught herself though and focused instead on the response to her silly question. Something about the way he answered it had her studying him. But with the chuckle and the way he leaned back, any fears faded. Curiosity didn't. "Why a bearded axe? That seems... excessively messy. Why not a gun or a knife?"
The waitress brought their drinks over and turned back to wait on other tables and check on their food. Once she'd walked away, Aesa smirked at him. "Glad to know I don't have to worry, but if you're using me and my facility as a way to find victims, do me a favor... don't tell me." She chuckled one arm stretched across the table and a silly idea came to her. "Put your hand over here next to mine." If he did, she'd put her hand next to his to compare size. Six foot three wasn't insanely tall, but it was above average. And compared to her five six, five seven, it was massive.
"You're big all over...." The moment it left her mouth, her cheeks went red and she began to giggle. "That came out so dirty." She left her hand there on the table, not ashamed of her comment, but a bit embarrassed it came out when she wasn't trying to flirt. Figuring she might as well dive in head first, she smirked at him. "I do like big things. Bigger the better most of the time."
With the way the ages change, he had to learn quickly what people expected of him and those around him. Learning odd techniques, how people hid truths, and what people believed to be normal versus psychopathic tendencies allowed him to grow as a person. Not just a mindless warrior who thrived on the next thrill that he could eke out. "Oh, I know plenty of those types as well. It comes with the job. Helping people usually means that it's me against a lot of corruption," reminding her casually that he was a freelancer who did almost anything. As they spoke, he noticed how Aesa momentarily took him seriously before relaxing as he did.
"Because I love axes, and that is generally the point. Axes are not elegant weapons; they were utilitarian and only made sense in the age of Shields. After that, they were considered cumbersome and now are just considered tools," Gerwulf commented as he thought more about it, smiling and not giving an answer to why not a Gun or a Knife. If you were going to be a serial killer, might as well make it quiet and brutal. That way, at least you'd be known for something instead of a dime-a-dozen shooter or serial stabber. Nodding to the waitress when he got his Fanta, he reached over to get a straw and was glad the place had plastic.
Dropping it into the cup, he sipped a good bit to let that bubbly sensation tingle at the back of his throat. Gerwulf wouldn't admit that he had first tried this stuff during the Great War; the origins of Fanta weren't something you should bring to people's attention. "Don't worry, you'd never know," He said with a chuckle, indulging his silliness as Aesa stretched her hand over. Gerwulf obliged and placed his hand where she wanted it. "That is the truth of the matter," He commented as she said he was big all over. Raising a brow as she turned bright red. That was adorable, he thought to himself. "Good to know, I'll be sure to surprise you with big things then."
Aesa grew more red as he talked about surprising her. She laughed though, enjoying his good nature. She lightly dragged a finger down the palm of his hand before sitting back. "Another quality of the mysterious possible serial-killer who isn't a serial killer vagabond. Generosity." Reaching for her drink, she took a sip, then sniffed the air. "The food cooking smells delicious." Aesa was growing comfortable with him, letting the companionable silence. She didn't let it linger long, not sure if he was feeling as relaxed as she was. "Can you tell me about any of the freelance jobs you've done? Or maybe weird ones? I do love a good story about weird stuff."
They way he talked about what he read and things he did, she suspected he might have a lot of stories under his belt. As they talked her food came and part of Gerwulfs. The waitress set half his order down, looked at it, then at him and shook her head. She said to yell if they needed anything else. Aesa picked up her fork to start on her hashbrowns. She smirked at him as she chewed. Once her mouth was empty, she pointed at him with the fork. "She's going to expect a really good tip from us. Making her carry all these plates."
Laying her fork down, she picked up her cheeseburger taking a bit. "This hits the spot. The right amount of grease, bacon, and cheese. A five star restaurant couldn't taste better." She pointed a finger at him as she wiped grease off her mouth with a napkin. "Ever run into a cannibal in your mysterious travels? Orrrrr a head hunter? They have those in the jungle right? Well, stories of them right?"
Gerwulf liked that color on her; perhaps he had a streak of something within him that it seemed to call to him. To embarass her some more. Instead, his eyes glanced down to watch how her finger dragged itself down his hand as she spoke up about generosity. "Those who spend time with me find that I am very generous," he slowly spoke out before taking a deep breath. However, it was second nature for werewolves to smell, sniff, and take in the scent of the things or people around them. He hadn't been able to do so without looking a bit off. In this moment, however, with Aesa's prompt, it was simple.
He could smell the sweat on their bodies, the trappings of salt and musk. Eyes closing for just a moment before they opened on Aesa. His mind was on something entirely different from that of food, yet he kept himself calm even as he eyed her as if he were enraptured. "Smells good," He murmured before she asked about his job. "I can do that. I had a teenager ask me to look for her bio-parents with only a teddy bear. Odd thing, hand-made thing. It led me to finding a sleeper cell from a foreign country. Turns out, the kid was dumped because one of the agents got soft and didn't want them to live life as a sleeper."
Looking over as a waitress came over with the food, he gave an award-winning smile as he wiped off his hands on a napkin before he stretched out his fingers and grabbed one of the burgers. It was stacked as were the others; the fork would be needed for the fries but not the buns. "Don't worry, I've got this," He said as he took a bite, his mouth almost looking like he had trained it to open wide as he got almost all of one edge into his maw before biting down. Chewing through it and swallowing, if he kept going like this, he could probably put down the triple patty burger with around five bites.
That same tongue that he lolled before stretched out to lick his lips of sauce and grease before speaking. "Plenty, though a little closer to home for the first. The second, not sure what you mean. The tribes stayed away from me, and I did them, not that they wouldn't welcome me. It's just that when I go wild, I often scare people," Gerwulf stated as if it were nothing at all. Taking another bite through the burger, his left hand went to a fork to scoop some chili-cheese fries into his mouth. Taking the time for her to reply to stuff his mouth like a savage, he didn't care, and people often became fascinated by it.
