Speed Dating (KNOX/ZACH)

It was a smooth movement. Silenced the dating timer, take the cup, throw it in the trash, replace it with another paper cup of water. You'd missed it if you blinked.

Five samples already, and Knox already could tell this was likely a waste of his time. No one here seemed remotely strong enough to carry his young, and two of them didn't even seem healthy. And they had to be healthy. Well the genetics test would really get the answers Knox was looking for. Appearances were deceiving.

Huh. This one had tattoos. Pain tolerance was reasonably higher then. Knox sat up and smoothed his shirt, he'd ditched the tie at the last minute. Apparently that counted as overdressed. And Knox knew the value of blending in. "Hello. Knox Moore." He held out his hand for the other man to shake. A female would be a prime specimen, but a male would work.

Zachary met the stranger's hand and gaze, giving him a slight nod of acknowledgement before taking his seat.
"Zach Evans, how's it going." It was less a question and more a tired repetition; the man covered in tattoos was really starting to question why the Hell he had agreed to play part in this superficial roulette. He kept going with the mental image of himself back on his couch, Tiger on his lap, and a book in his hand as a promised participation prize.

The stranger in front of him, a young man with glasses framing his handsome face, did however peak his interest. Not to be cruel but so far the attenders had been as physically pleasing as mentally stimulating - not very much so. This gentleman looked intriguing and Zachary's emerging smile wasn't as forced as a few minutes ago.

"So. Let's talk. That's why we're here, to try convince a stranger that we're interesting beyond this very short shallow meeting. God knows what for-" He stopped himself, the mental sigh he let out very clear in his face. "Sorry, didn't mean to be a downer. This just ain't my thing, yaknow?"

Ah. Someone who got talked into going. Knox kept his face straight, although deep inside he was relieved. Someone else realizes most everyone is here a complete moron. "No, no I understand. A classmate talked me into coming, I think she just didn't want to be alone... and then she didn't show up." That was a bold faced lie but Knox knew humans liked to be relatable.

"Well, I'll go over the basics- I'm a medical student with a strong interest in genetics. I'm a cat person because most dogs I meet tend to hate me first." They could sense something wasn't quite right. Cats could, they just didn't give a damn. "I tend to sunburn quite easily... and the last book I read was Stephen King's The Shining." Quite talented for a human. "Is any of that interesting?"

Oh, thank God, somebody else that weren't here own their own free will..! Zachary let out a hum and smiled. Maybe he wasn't going to get a headache after all.

"Well..." He slowly began talking once Knox was done with his presentation. "Medical student, interesting but I bet you don't got a lot of free time then. Cat person, that's fine but I got a dog. Sunburn easily, not good for hiking. Horror books? I prefer something with less monsters."
His smile broadened and there was a spark in his eyes, fuelled by the possibility of being challenged - and truth to be told, he hoped to be challenged as that was much more fun than having people apathetically agreeing to whatever words came out of his mouth. God knows he had had enough of that this evening.

Ugh, of course he'd have a dog. He even looked interesting.

"Is it one of those big ones or a smaller one?" At least a smaller one wouldn't maul him. "Not much, but I can make time. I've never been hiking, I grew up in a more urban area, might give it a try someday though. And the worst of monsters are the ones that are human." Or at least appear it. "So, from what I can tell, you like dogs, hiking, and have an appreciation for art on your skin. I might not mind a needle, but tattoos can be a little... painful, can't they?" A high pain tolerance would be convenient.

"Fat cat sized, and as a typical small dog, she believes she's much much bigger than she is." The mere thought of Tiger made the man's lips tug in the corners. The little bichon havanais was one of the reasons Zachary was mentally healthy today and he was not above showing strangers pictures of her so in a few swift movements, he unfolded his wallet in front of Knox and let the face of his small hairy baby be known.

"I've been thinking of getting into studies myself" he continued as he put his wallet back in his back pocket. "Teaching musics to kids. A different kinda healing from your profession of choice." He let out a small chuckle at the mentioning of monsters and humans. "What inspirational poster did you read that off? And these?" The man gestured vaguely at his right arm. "They're worth it because they hurt, yaknow. What's the point if you can just slap 'em on and walk out the door like nothing happened?"
He gave a shrug and absentmindedly began playing with the glass of water. "Nah, pain on the body I can deal with."

Small dog. Knox relaxed a bit. A small dog could be nudged away with a foot. This was turning out to be more successful than Knox originally thought it could be. He nodded and chuckled at the picture. He wouldn't like the damn thing if Zach turned out to be a good host, but he didn't want to put Zach off either.

"Music. I can appreciate that." Music was a human thing, occasionally Creatures howled in something akin to a tune but it wasn't widespread. It was oddly pleasant though. "I think one in a highschool class... interesting way to view that though." Knox took a sip from his own glass. He had two minutes left. He could make this work. "Never considering a tattoo on my own body though. Money, upkeep... and people have a very strange view on doctors with tattoos." Unprofessional. How cute.

"That's the perk of being your own boss, no one got any say in what you look like." His smile parted his lips and revealed a row of imperfect teeth, somewhat crooked and chipped, stained from all the years of smoking. He quickly put a hand over his mouth, pretending to scratch his face. At least his breath didn't stink of smoke anymore.

Knox noted the stains on his teeth. Smoker, maybe. Likely not anymore, he couldn't smell the smoke. "Saw that. You smiled." Knox looked faux proud. "Suppose not every date here is awful, hmm?"

Buzzzzz!

Damn it. He was starting to enjoy this. Knox finished off his drink of water and threw it in the trashcan next to him. "Bummer, was starting to enjoy this. Hey, this might be a bit premature, but do you mind giving me your phone number? Maybe we can go for coffee sometime." He'd toss it if Zach wasn't a proper host, but who knows. At least his personality wasn't bland.

He raised his brows, the smile still evident in his eyes. To avoid the tempting idea of rebutting, he took the glass to his lips and emptied it.

While he wasn't one to believe in such silly romance-novel-things as love at first sight, he couldn't help but to feel like there was something rather... Special about this young man. So when the alarm rang and the question followed he didn't hesitate to answer with a nod.

"Didn't think I was gonna do this today but why the fuck not... Sure. I'd enjoy that."
He fished up the small pen and slim notebook he always had with him - in case of sudden inspiration, he kept telling himself to justify the ugly doodles and numbers to fast food restaurants - and quickly scribbled down his number on the first empty space he found. Hopefully Knox wouldn't mind the doodled dinosaur with a top hat on the other side of the paper.

As he rose, he reached out his hand again. "Nice meeting ya, Knox. For real."

Was... that a dinosaur... wearing a hat? Knox disguised his snort as a cough. That was ridiculous, but maybe a bit endearing. Maybe. "Well, that makes two of us, then." The paper was neatly folded into his pocket. If Knox had a choice, he'd probably consider Zach one of the top choices, but let's see how the DNA looked.

"It was nice meeting you too, Zach." He shook his hand firmly before letting go... and the second Zach's back was turned the cup joined the others in the trash. At least he got the DNA sample.