This is the gameplay thread for the New York by Night (V20) chronicle.
Frankly, the Parasol Hotel is not nearly as fancy as it's name sake might imply. It's a a small dump of a hotel visually, though it's pretty clean in the interior, clearly the maids and others work hard here. And they're friendly.
It's not the best part of the Bronx for safety, and maybe that's why some kine (On drugs) trashed one of the rooms and the furniture before Shane threw them out on their asses.
This place is after all, Shane's Domain, and he has enough connections to discourage any other Lick bringing trouble. That said, Shane's a decent guy and is willing to let some folks feed here now and then.
And Priam has been invited to take a look at the Hotel room on the third floor to see what he'd suggest not just to salvage it, but improve it.
So there they are.... the carpet here is a short flat beige, the curtains were put up when someone was into that 'saffron is the new black' craze. The furniture was substandard and blocky. Some of it is so damaged it will have to be replaced.
It's possible this could be seen as a Mercy killing.
Shane and Priam are alone in the room that night. Shane asks "So you see why I was hoping for some... tips, right? I mean, I could get it back the way it was, but I figure why if I could maybe improve it so it can be rented out as a deluxe or something?"
A small, deep blue four-door pulls over to the side of the curb in front of New York's hottest new nightclub, the pulsing beat of some techno-focused music audible and tangible even this far from its doors. The driver flinches for a moment as the beat reaches her ears and swells.
With but an effort of will, the noises dull to a more tolerable volume.
"...sometimes, it's not worth using Auspex." Victoria sighs before looking in her car's mirror. She wasn't normally fond of make-up, but tonight was a little different--she had gone with just enough to accentuate the curves of her eyes and cheeks, along with a light sheen of black gloss upon her lips. They complimented her deep blue open-back dress and heels nicely.
She gives her hair one more once-over. She nodded. Ponytail's still holding together. Not a hair out of place. Good.
Right. No sense keeping her waiting.
Victoria steps out of her car, taking her dark grey shoulder purse from the backseat. With a good push from her hand, the car door is slammed shut and moments later locked with a push of a button. As her keys disappear into her purse, she approaches the nightclub's doors...
As soon as Victoria tells the doorman who she is, Roos’ earpiece lets her know that one of her Special Guests has arrived. She sighs inwardly in relief for the excuse to get away from the whiny, self-declared “high-roller” who’d been monopolizing her time. Gotts, there are nights I wish I could just drain these ‘zakkenwassers’ dry. But their money’s too good, and I’m not going to break Masquerade for someone like him. She glances back at this one, though, in his Armani suit that he clearly didn’t even get tailored properly. Or maybe the girls and I share this one tonight and send him away him with an urge to just leave me alone. The thought makes her smile, but she makes sure not to let the potential prey see it.
”Victoria! Gott you look great,” she gushes as she embraces (with a small “e”) her friend and gives her a pair of air kisses. She steps back and takes in the outfit. ”Nicely cut, niiice shoes. Always with the dark colors, though,” she says with an understanding smile. The Tremere’s dark blue contrasts starkly with Roos’ shiny gold mini-dress. ”Have you heard from Paris? I hope she can make it. I think she’d really like this DJ,” she comments as she leads Victoria to one of the VIP suites.
She pauses for a moment as her earpiece buzzes again. ”Yeah, sure, Jim. Give it to him but charge him double, and tell him it’s our last bottle of that one. Then charge him extra for any of the more expensive one’s after that.”
”Sorry, I may have to keep fending off problems,” she lets Victoria know. ”But not enough to keep us from having fun,” she says with a grin as she purposefully shimmies the two Kindred through a packed group of muscle-bound partiers.
Victoria returns Roos' air kisses with two of her own.
”Nicely cut, niiice shoes. Always with the dark colors, though,"
She shrugs in response. "What can I say--I like contrasts that also compliment each other." Victoria's eyes take in Roos' gold mini-dress.
"Have you heard from Paris? I hope she can make it. I think she’d really like this DJ,”
"I'm afraid I haven't, yet. I called her, but all I got was her voicemail." She sighs before following Roos deeper into Null Space.
As they pass by the main dance floor and the music dips into a lull, Victoria's senses flare to stolen life. She can feel the rhythmic pulsing of a man-made beat around her cold heart, threatening to stir it to life once again; the mixing smells of cologne, perfume, body spray, cigarettes and alcohol; the flashing, ever colourful lights; and over it all, the throbbing flow of untapped blood.
She notices Roos putting a finger to her earpiece and considers listening in for a moment--but the unspoken threat of the 'music' reaching an ear-rending crescendo puts such thoughts to rest. She nods in acknowledgement as Roos leads her into a quieter section of Null Space--the VIP areas.
As she leads Victoria towards the spiral staircase that gives access to the upper-level VIP rooms, Roos' eyes dart constantly across the club; watching the crowd for insipient problems, checking on the DJ for signs that he's flagging, and gauging the light and sound levels. And of course, just keeping one eye out for anything yummy - in all definitions of the word. Though there's plenty of the latter, there's thankfully none of the former, so she relaxes just a bit as she heads up the stairs with Victoria in tow.
The Bloedkamer or Blood Room, as she calls it, was specially built for her and her Kindred guests only. Extra thick soundproofing in the walls keeps the music out and the conversations and other noises in. The angled windows that overlook the entire club floor were custom made using two layers of bulletproofed airliner-windshield glass sandwiching a mechanically maintained perfect vacuum space between. The tandem-door entrance was designed after an airlock to maintain privacy. Even when no other Kindred are in attendance, it's a nice place for Roos to get away sometimes - with or without prey.
Roos greets the bouncer at the top of the stairs then uses a fingerprint to unlock the outer door. Inside the Bloedkamer is an array of black leather couches, Italian marble floors (don't want to get blood stains on a carpet, after all), and a small self-serve bar for those unsuspecting Kine guests. An iPad rests on one of the end tables, its mic and camera having been physically disabled to prevent surveillance. As the inner door shuts, the physical sensation of the thumping bass suddenly cuts off, though the music continues to play at a much lower level over the room's concert-hall-quality speakers.
Roos opens the biometric door security app on the iPad and hands the tablet to Victoria. "Let's get you registered so you can come back in here whenever you want. Then I'll show you the sound and lighting controls so you can set them however you like, too." With that done, she leads her friend to the huge windows. "If you see anything you like down there, just let Mikael the bouncer know, and he can fetch them for you with an invite. Or go get 'em yourself; that's why we did the fingerprint thing," she says with a smile and a little rise of her shoulders. She herself looks back down into the fray of humanity, still looking for and signs of problems of course, but also for lunch.
Victoria looks around the Blood Room as Roos leads her inside, a bemused smirk appearing on her face as she takes in the decor.
"...I feel like I'm walking into the starship Enterprise." She chuckles before taking the offered tablet and beginning the registration process.
Once the two of them are at the window, Victoria looks down at the gyrating throng, quietly grateful that the music is no longer pounding in her ears. "I have to ask--what's your DJ playing at the moment?"
"Heh, you got me," Roos laughs as she shakes her head and sighs dramatically. "First, it's not like I know this guy's setlist. I can find out if you want, though." She brings her mic up to her full, rose colored lips and pauses to see if Victoria really wants to know the name of the song.
"But to be honest, I don't even keep track of the names of the songs I do like. If I hear something cool, I'll have the DJ shoot it to me. But there's soooo many songs done by soooo many of these guys; it's just not worth the brain cells to remember their names," she finishes with a self-deprecating shrug.
"I gave Shane a playlist of some stuff I thought he'd like, and you know what, I think that bug hunk actually listened to it."
Satisfied that nothing needs her attention down below - for the moment, anyway - Roos turns and smiles to the smaller woman.
"But what's been going on with you? Any interesting cases or another client in need of saving from the System?"
"It's kind of you to offer, but not necessary." Victoria waves the mic away.
"But to be honest, I don't even keep track of the names of the songs I do like. If I hear something cool, I'll have the DJ shoot it to me. But there's soooo many songs done by soooo many of these guys; it's just not worth the brain cells to remember their names,"
"...which makes it more enjoyable when you do find one that stands out." The lawyer nods in agreement.
"I gave Shane a playlist of some stuff I thought he'd like, and you know what, I think that big hunk actually listened to it."
"You do have a way of picking out someone's tastes, I'll give you that."
"But what's been going on with you? Any interesting cases or another client in need of saving from the System?"
Victoria winces. "Oh, dear God, you have got to hear this one..."
She walks over to one of the leather couches and sits down, her expression turning from one of amusement to annoyed recollection. "Couple of weeks ago, I was hired as defence for a drug possession charge. The defendant had a bag of cocaine in his car's glove compartment and he swore up and down that he's never done cocaine before in his life. So, I figure, no big deal, just take it on as another case."
"But then, he starts going on about how, by common law, the United States government has--and I quote--" She promptly adopts a hick accent. "--'no jurisdiction over my property or person.'"
Her hand slides up to her face. "Yeah. A 'sovereign citizen'."
Her hand slides up to her face. "Yeah. A 'sovereign citizen'."
Roos stares blankly at Victoria for a moment before shaking her head. "Sorry, but I don't even know what that means. Another weird American political thing, I assume."
She continues speaking as she moves to join Victoria on the couch when she double-takes at someone down in the crowd. "Franse slag! How did he get in and no one told me? I mean, it's not a bad thing that he's here, just that I should have been told...."
"Sorry, but I don't even know what that means. Another weird American political thing, I assume."
Victoria blinks. "Ah. Long story short, it means they're idiots who don't understand how law works. Their arguments never hold up in court--"
When Roos looks down into the crowd, Victoria tilts her head. "Who's it now?"
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The Bobat brought many customers of various lifestyles to it's doors with some of whom who might enjoy a night out at Null Space. Jericho "the Traveller" was walking into Null Space now with one such early evening customer using their body and then wiping their mind clear when he was done along with taking a drink. First he was meeting some of his acquaintances here with the mortal body named Terrance.
Terrance came up to the security with one of the tickets provided to the blood room and said in a pretty good Russian accent I am here with a ticket to the blood room, please?
"I think it's Jericho, but I can't be sure. Lemme go check on it."
"If it is the Traveler, I'll bring him up here."
She makes her way through the crowd as it ebbs and flows with the music. Finding the unfamiliar man with Jawn, her former-Jets-Linebacker now-doorman she dials up her eyesight and hearing for a split second to confirm what she already suspected - no heartbeat and no warmth. She leans in close and whispers, "Jericho?"
At his affirmation she leads him back up upstairs to the VIP room and the waiting Victoria.
Priam stares for what seems like days at the room and then finally responds, "For sure Shane.
It should be gutted.
I men gutted, everything new.
Who is your target renter? If you plan to rent to the similar type who rented though, maybe luxury is not the way to go..."
Priam stares for what seems like days at the room and then finally responds, "For sure Shane.
It should be gutted.
I men gutted, everything new.
Who is your target renter? If you plan to rent to the similar type who rented though, maybe luxury is not the way to go..."
He winces at the suggestion to gut it all, "Well, this is one of the cheaper hotels in the Bronx, that's our niche, mind you still makes money.I guess I was hoping for a room that was a notch up from the others? Still affordable by the middle class schmucks." A pause
"Once it got gutted, what would you suggest with that limit in mind?"
Priam considers a bit longer, "Middle class eh?
Ikea and Bob's is too cheap, Ethan Allen and Crate and Barrel too expensive, we're talking Raymour and Flanigan here Shane.
What purpose is this flat for? Your Herd? Mortal renters? An actual rental to Licks? Let's imagine the space and who will dwell here, and for how long. We absolutely must focus on your customer and what will make them feel comfortable or if this is just a place to feed and fling, what will make them feel uncomfortable".
Priam considers a bit longer, "Middle class eh?
Ikea and Bob's is too cheap, Ethan Allen and Crate and Barrel too expensive, we're talking Raymour and Flanigan here Shane.
What purpose is this flat for? Your Herd? Mortal renters? An actual rental to Licks? Let's imagine the space and who will dwell here, and for how long. We absolutely must focus on your customer and what will make them feel comfortable or if this is just a place to feed and fling, what will make them feel uncomfortable".
"I have a room for Licks" He thinks of one of the basement rooms. One for him, one for any kindred he chooses to make a guest- not that he is expecting to share a haven long term, "But okay." He tries to visualize who the customer will be. He hadn't really considered turning this into a room for feeding specifically. More of a standard money maker I'm thinking like a damned ventrue sadly money does matter. But a thought does sink in, mmm . He tries to visualize. "Okay, I'm kind of picturing a place for singles or maybe a couple to come to when there's a housefire, or a plumbing problem that drives them out of their regular spot. Maybe a place with a desk so they can work from here if need be. Not that i'm doing charity per se, but it might be nice to do a little good in the world AND have the option of feeding. I actually like repeat business so I'm not really looking to make them uncomfortable." A frown at something, not sure he should mention this, but he takes a chance "Who knows, maybe if I ever want to 'audition' someone for the position of ghoul, they might end up staying here while I study them. Mind you, I always feel like a hypocrite considering a ghoul."
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Jericho makes his way to the back room in his ride Terrance the large attractive mortal and enters the room and bows lightly and formally and says thank you for the invite. I regret of course not coming in person but this "lick" as neonates say is fine enough. How good to see you ladies. Perhaps sometime soon I shall come in person to see you or we might meet at Elysium, yes?
Back in the relative quiet of the Bloedkamer, the music still plays from the speakers. This last song had a nice beat, and Roos makes a mental note to add it to her personal playlist.
"Well, Jericho, it's nice to have you here. I'd offer to register you into the biometric security system, but ..." she lets it go with an appreciative smile and a wave of her hand at his alternate body.
Glancing at the iPad, though, brings a thought to mind. Maybe she could add an app to show the DJ's setlist and what they're currently playing. Something to consider....
"But what brings you out tonight? Just going sightseeing, or something more interesting in the works?" she asks the Traveler.
Victoria tilts her head as Roos comes back with a mortal in tow--one possessed by Jericho, in fact.
"I get the feeling we're due for an Elysium meeting before too long, anyway..."
each night is adventure itself, and I do need to start looking around more and spending more actual time at places.
"You're always welcome here. Next time, come in person if you like. The hunting's good here, but I ask that you be discreet, of course." Roos instinctively glances back to the floor below just to check for problems. "And the music's great, too."
"I get the feeling we're due for an Elysium meeting before too long, anyway..."
"Using some of that hoodoo magic?" the blonde Toreador laughs and wiggles her long fingers dramatically. "I'm just teasing, but yeah, I feel a storm coming on, too...."
"And the music's great, too."
Victoria loudly clears her throat in response. She makes a little smile to convey that she's joking.
"Using some of that hoodoo magic?"
"Sure." The lawyer wrinkles her nose. "I'd love to be able to get specifics, but Aisling hasn't found time in her schedule to teach me the more in-depth divinations."
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perhaps we might pick a particular Elysium where we might make a good impression to start our social season so to say? Jericho says and then says that we might build ourselves up until we are a political force. We might also do some favors to gather some small debt to us, or even one step further take a debt out from a harpy or prince and pay it back with action to earn a coterie boon we might parly into a larger piece of the pie for us.
"Sounds like a good place to start." Victoria nods. "Madison Square Garden's always a nice place."
"That being said, who would we even try wrangling favours from?"
"So a space which can allow for multiple people to dwell here at once though not necessarily long term.
In that case, I would suggest a modern look. Fold up desks, queen murphy bed. A comfortable couch which can also be a pull out. Couples often have children so room for one or two of them would also be helpful.
If feeding on occasion is what you are seeking then absolutely this makes sense, making blood splatter easier to clean up is important. I know a chemical compound that can be mixed to remove bloodstains off of the correct fabrics, as if it never happened!
Neutral colors would work best, you can have multiple slip covers and sheets with colors to bring out the neutral from the wall and give the place a completely different look for a different guest. One accent wall, the female customers love those and the men don't mind.
No carpeting here but some area rugs to soften the steps for neighbors below".
Priam pauses at the ghoul commentary, "A hypocrite? My favorite months as a Mortal were spent as a ghoul under my Sires tutelage.
Why would this make you feel like a hypocrite? Do you feel shame due to your affliction Shane?"
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there is going to be a new prince coming in soon. There are eight or nine kindred who will help make that choice and then there are the kindred behind them we don't know, and the true powers who are moving things on the chess board. We can start with those eight or nine kindred and work our way up stream. There is going to be a social battle to get the power needed to stand in the place and to keep and own it. There may be positions to be gained. Now is the time to find out who has the set up and who wants what, and what long game is being played by who. We get in there and support the right horse we get all the way up stream.
"So a space which can allow for multiple people to dwell here at once though not necessarily long term.
In that case, I would suggest a modern look. Fold up desks, queen murphy bed. A comfortable couch which can also be a pull out. Couples often have children so room for one or two of them would also be helpful.
If feeding on occasion is what you are seeking then absolutely this makes sense, making blood splatter easier to clean up is important. I know a chemical compound that can be mixed to remove bloodstains off of the correct fabrics, as if it never happened!
Neutral colors would work best, you can have multiple slip covers and sheets with colors to bring out the neutral from the wall and give the place a completely different look for a different guest. One accent wall, the female customers love those and the men don't mind.
No carpeting here but some area rugs to soften the steps for neighbors below".
"Good point about the blood splatter," Shane listens and while he doesn't GET Priam per se, he respects the expertise. Too many decades have erased a lot of biases or old school thinking he might have had as a guy embraced in the 80s "Modern , neutral colors, accent wall.. and area rug. Got it."
"Thanks, Priam. I think I can make bank with that. At least , relatively more bank." The brujah nods
Priam pauses at the ghoul commentary, "A hypocrite? My favorite months as a Mortal were spent as a ghoul under my Sires tutelage.
Why would this make you feel like a hypocrite? Do you feel shame due to your affliction Shane?"
That's something he hadn't considered, Priam actually spent time as a ghoul , "Well, I am Cam or at least Camarilla esque. I think a lot of my Clan are clueless to how important it can be to have a few agreed upon rules and some folks to make sure they get enforced. Now I agree with the anarchs that some of the traditions need to loosen up, so I guess I'm middle man. Neither side happy with me. But... among the Brujah there is supposed to be a big to do about Freedom." And he quotes '"Enslave the liberty of but one human being and the liberties of the world are put in peril"'- I think that's a quote from a n abolitionist named Garrison." Shane does not consider himself an intellectual, but he does not ignore academics as that too is part of his clan heritage, "So I should be going 'hey, blood bonds are bad, even on kine. And yet.. Some part of me is still petty enough that if I see a really hot chick who seems smart and sweet, I wonder what it would be like to keep her around for a decade or two."
The brujah grins, "I got just enough college learning to be aware of my shallow side. Then again, I suppose for some folks being a ghoul could be a perk or trade off. Have to think about it."
Another look at the room "Well, we're done here. I'll put your suggestions to work. Let me know if you need a quick hunt here. In the mean time, the night's still young. You want to hit Roos' place see if the girls are in?"
Roos nods as she listens thoughtfully to Jericho and Victoria. Clan politics is something she'll have to get a better grip on now that the Prince was stepping down. Up until now, she'd focused on getting Null Space established. Although she'd attended every Elysium - as was her duty - it was now getting to be crunch time.
"I can ask Arturo for his advice on how our little coterie should proceed. As far as I know, he hasn't thrown his support to any of the candidates - publicly at least. Though I guess his and my clan-mate, Sri Al-Asmai, is in the running, so Arturo may feel pressured to support him."
She pauses to gaze back down into the club, always on the alert for trouble. Spotting something brewing, she quickly asks the security team to escort a certain ill-fitting-Armani-clad zakkenwasser out. That sorted, she returns her attention to her immediate guests.
"Well, I'm ready to get down on the floor and dance a little. You're free to stay here if you like. Or join me," she offers, expecting (though disappointed) that Victoria might shy away from the music. "If any of the others show up tonight, I'll take a break and bring them up here at least."
Victoria gets up from her seat and moves to join Roos. "Eh, why not--it's more fun to dance in company, isn't it?"
Priam smiles at Shane's mentioning of making bank, "I certainly hope so, else my reputation will suffer!"
"The Camarilla is not what it used to be. Mortals I believe changed that with technology, as much as we believe we influence them, they certainly have made innovations allowing society to move forward and in turn change us. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.
I am no scholar, my interests are myopic. When I do not work I am somewhat of a hedonist. I suppose that a set of rules is important else all would be chaos".
Priam pauses to collect his thoughts as the subject matter is taxing to one who gives little consideration to such matters, "I leave such great debates to the thinkers.
But I do know this, our morality cannot be that of Mortals else we will not survive. We also cannot embrace the Beast completely else we will not survive.
If you have a Ghoul, the Blood Bond is inevitable, but you need not treat your Ghoul as a "slave". Treat them as well as you believe they need to be treated and the bond will be a synergistic one.
Think of a pregnant woman, her baby is a leech, a parasite. She nurtures it while it drains her, yet when this parasite exits, she loves it like she loves perhaps nothing else in the world. Be as a baby to your Ghoul, give them Love and Loyalty and the nature of the relationship will be what you make of it.
Perhaps this analogy makes no sense, then again, fashion and design sometimes make no sense".
Priam's mind drifts for a moment to consider whether what he said makes any damn sense and shrugs.
"For once, I am full.
Let's head to Roo's, I've not seen her in a few weeks, busy with my new Ghoul's business ventures! She's a busy little bee".
Priam smiles at Shane's mentioning of making bank, "I certainly hope so, else my reputation will suffer!"
Shane smirks at that. "pretty sure anything goes wrong with this, it'll be on my end. You're safe."
"The Camarilla is not what it used to be. Mortals I believe changed that with technology, as much as we believe we influence them, they certainly have made innovations allowing society to move forward and in turn change us. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.
I am no scholar, my interests are myopic. When I do not work I am somewhat of a hedonist. I suppose that a set of rules is important else all would be chaos".
Priam pauses to collect his thoughts as the subject matter is taxing to one who gives little consideration to such matters, "I leave such great debates to the thinkers.
But I do know this, our morality cannot be that of Mortals else we will not survive. We also cannot embrace the Beast completely else we will not survive.
If you have a Ghoul, the Blood Bond is inevitable, but you need not treat your Ghoul as a "slave". Treat them as well as you believe they need to be treated and the bond will be a synergistic one.
Think of a pregnant woman, her baby is a leech, a parasite. She nurtures it while it drains her, yet when this parasite exits, she loves it like she loves perhaps nothing else in the world. Be as a baby to your Ghoul, give them Love and Loyalty and the nature of the relationship will be what you make of it.
Perhaps this analogy makes no sense, then again, fashion and design sometimes make no sense".
"Pretty deep thinking for a guy who claims that's not his jam. I might want to debate with you about the value of our remaining humanity, all the more precious because it's out of reach. A man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for and #$## you know? But another night there maybe."
"For once, I am full.
Let's head to Roo's, I've not seen her in a few weeks, busy with my new Ghoul's business ventures! She's a busy little bee".
"You got it" And out they go, Shane will provide distraction for the Nosferatu in case he needs help sneaking anywhere, though that's a bit like a linebacker 'distracting' someone for a ninja. And they'll make their way to Roos' place.
In front of prying Mortal eyes, Priam dons his most common face, one recognized in Elysium or at polite Kindred society gatherings. While a thousand faces can be useful, one is most recognizable amongst others, the "ugly" Andy Warhol look, it's a favorite of his.
Once Priam and Shane arrive, Priam takes a moment to survey the crowd and see if there is anyone he recognizes, whether Mortal or Kindred. And of course, standing away from the crowds is the easiest way to be recognized.
Once Priam and Shane arrive, Priam takes a moment to survey the crowd and see if there is anyone he recognizes, whether Mortal or Kindred. And of course, standing away from the crowds is the easiest way to be recognized.
Shane may have been bit in the 80s, but he's adapted fashion wise. After all, for guys, leather jackets, working man's jeans and shades never really go out of style right? That's not all he wears all the time but it's his default. Sometimes he wears a pendant with a cross on it. He's not really religious but it's a quiet act of rebellion in it's way, at least among vampires.
He looks about to see if Roos or any other lick he recognizes is here.
Roos and Victoria join the chaos of the dance floor, quickly and easily attracting the attentions of several virile young men each. Reveling in the beat and the press of the warm sweaty bodies all around her, she nearly misses the call from Jawn that two more Special Guests have arrived.
She shakes herself to focus, scoots over to Victoria and leans in close. "Priam and Shane are here. I'll be right back. Don't have too much fun," she teases.
She finds the boys as they survey the crowd from the first floor railing. One of the things she really likes about the Space is how they were able to remove the ground floor almost in its entirety. Entering from the street puts one onto a wrap-around balcony that overlooks the main floor which is actually at the first basement level. The balcony has the secondary bar and café tables, and the lighting and sound control booth where Mark, one of her favorite herd-toys works his magic.
What would have been the second floor (one up from street level) is where the VIP rooms are, arrayed around and cantilevered out over the cavernous space below. It's almost like an empty pyramid inside, each floor a little less open than the one below, and at the summit of which on the third floor sits the security room, storage spaces for gear, and her office.
She greets Priam with a pair of air kisses, but Shane gets a bigger hug."You and your leather jackets," she says with twinkle in her eye. "Someday I'm taking you shopping. Though, I have to say, you do pull it off very well."
"Everyone's here except Paris. We were upstairs, but we're taking a break. C'mon, you big hunk, show me you can dance first," she says as she grabs Shane's hand and pulls him towards the stairs down to the dance floor, her long legs and shiny golden dress parting the crowd like Moses at the Red Sea.
The place is damned impressive and the lay out is good. You can be off the dance floor but still feel the energy if you want. Mind you, when you're a Lick, sometimes you can't help but feel like you're picking out your favorite lobster from a tank rather than finding a date for the night.
She greets Priam with a pair of air kisses, but Shane gets a bigger hug."You and your leather jackets," she says with twinkle in her eye. "Someday I'm taking you shopping. Though, I have to say, you do pull it off very well."
"Show me a better investment for timeless 'cool'?" He shrugs but smiles and hugs back. "And thanks. Priam here was just helping me with design on a room ..oh I may have told you that."
"Everyone's here except Paris. We were upstairs, but we're taking a break. C'mon, you big hunk, show me you can dance first," she says as she grabs Shane's hand and pulls him towards the stairs down to the dance floor, her long legs and shiny golden dress parting the crowd like Moses at the Red Sea.
"Sorry, Priam, I'm being abducted." Shane lets himself be pulled along, and moves with amazing smoothness as he claims a spot on the floor for Roos and himself. Between an athlete's foot work, and those lessons his mother made him take plus years (Decades now) of clubbing, he's good, and smart enough to show Roos off , to be the frame to the main painting of her. He's clearly kept up with what's current dance wise.
The rhythmic pulsing of the dance floor thrums beneath Victoria's feet as Roos leads her out.
*thump* *thump* *thump-thump-thump*
She had only been out clubbing a few times in her entire existence--while she could appreciate the social atmosphere of someplace like a bar, there was something else about going to a proper nightclub like Null Space...
...something else that normally made her wince and shy away in discomfort.
Maybe it's all the music? Not really--as much as I tease Roos about the music here, it's not quite that...
Then, as the two of them join the madness of the dance, more and more kine--PEOPLE, DAMMIT!--cluster around them. All of them attractive, young, vibrant men. All of them eying Roos and her like they're the only two things that mattered in life.
...I think I've made a mistake.
In the midst of the vortex of thrashing limbs and bodies, Victoria forces the vitae flowing through her body to rise to the surface, bringing a flush of heat to her skin and breath to her lungs. As her blood flares to life, her inhibitions begin to melt away under the beat and the heat.
F+#@ it, if I'm going to make a fool of myself, then by God I'm going to be the biggest fool on this dance floor.
In defiance of her normal introversion and the Beast alike, Victoria throws herself into the rhythm.
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Jericho looks at the dance floor and shakes his head with a smile not really understanding this sort of dancing much preferring the waltz and the genteel courtship of a bygone era to this gyrating mass. He slides to the edge of the crowd and makes his way out intent on seeking more information again this night.
Priam responds to Roos air kisses with his own and grins widely as she pulls Shane away.
He follows them down to the dance floor and near, but night right next to his Kindred brethren, he begins to dance. His gyrations are simple at first but as he begins to lean into the beat and feel the rhythm his moves attract attention as he is an amazingly skilled dancer honed in decades of clubbing from Studio 54 to, well, Null Space. He not only dances but tells a story with his body the same way he tells a story with the spaces he creates, Priam literally creates a unique "space" on the floor.
Dance - Dexterity+Performance
Tell that Story! Charisma+Expression
Shane grins as Victoria gets into it, and while dancing with Roos, says between music beats, "Victoria's cutting loose. Looks good." He's pretty sure as hot as Victoria is, she'll soon be drawing some companionship if she wants it.
Then Priam goes starts to steal the show, "I'll be damned."
Jericho he doesn't notice, a bit distracted by this Double surprise.
Victoria glances over as Priam starts tearing the dance floor a new one with perfectly executed moves. Compared to her aimless, nigh-mindless thrashing about, it was as different as a shark is to a whale.
The lawyer takes some small comfort in understanding that so long as everyone is having a good time, no one minds too much if you can't dance.
She notices Jericho's 'ride' lingering by the stairs and takes it as a cue to take a break... but not before looking one of her dance companions in the eye (a well-dressed, sweat-drenched young man with deep brown hair), grabbing him by the collar and leading him off the dance floor.
Roos gets Shane onto the floor and is not entirely surprised by how well he dances. She even realizes what he's subtly doing to highlight her position in the pair to others, drawing even more Kine attention. She is however, quite surprised when Priam gets going. She's enjoying the music and how everyone seems to be having a good time.
...
Shane said something. Jericho went somewhere. Victoria grabbed some girl - no, some guy. It's all starting to blur as Roos feels herself slipping away into the bliss of the movement, the beat, the lights. Her choreo becomes both more natural and fluid, and less purposeful. She senses Shane and Priam slipping away, but it doesn't register as a "fact." Instead it's just an instinctual, animalistic awareness of their absence.
Where the hunky, sexy Brujah had been, now there was something else there to feed her animal needs. A man; taller than her, easily over 2 meters, blonde like the men back home, with an angular face reminiscent of someone... somewhere.... Oh, f!~@ it, who cares. She grabs the Kine's wrist and lets the barest bit of the Beast lead her own feet toward the stairs to the Bloedkamer.
She's unaware of anyone else in the room; uncaring of their presence as she feeds from the Dutch (Danish? Swede? Again, who cares?) man. Sated, she evicts the Kine from the room with a smile and a promise to call him (Not!), checks her makeup, and takes a satisfied seat on the couch before checking in with her staff about any issues that arose while she was "indisposed."
When Roos makes it back to the Blood Room, she isn't alone--Victoria's on one of the couches as well, straddling some young man, her lips fastened tightly to his neck. The man looks utterly dazed and blissed out as Victoria licks his neck and rises from him.
She then sends him on his way with a playful swat on his bottom before turning to Roos. "...you've certainly got a way with people."
Eventually, a song comes on that interrupts his flow.
The Nosferatu knows when the muse is gone, it is time to abandon the project until the time is right once more.
Alone he heads to the VIP room. Though he has spent some blood, he does not wish to feed without his proper face on, not here anyway!
Once he arrives he greets Victoria and Roos, "Good evening Ladies.
How are things? Work has been busy, we have not had a chance to catch up in some time".
When the dance with Roos ends and new partners are found, Shane, well, he's not thirsty tonight (he fed before meeting Priam at the hotel) so while he considers finding a blood doll his very own, rather his eyes drift towards some women close to his apparent age. The talk with Priam has him thinking about that ghoul idea.
Some pretty women are here, and yes he realizes he's thinking of a woman for the job. A table of three women chat and talk excitedly, look like good friends. Nice support group with each other. Nothing in their situation screams 'I need something different'. He looks to the dance floor again, a very hot latina woman dances between two guys, working them both up before slipping away to find new partners. Shane admires her confidence.
And that brings up new questions. Introvert or Extrovert, loner isn't always lonely. And how would he gauge other traits he might like. Intelligence would be nice. A bit of fire on the inside would be very brujah, but then, are the traits he'd look for in a new brujah the ideal ones for a ghoul or vice versa? Been on this earth for roughly 60 years and I still don't know exactly what I want. Heh. He decides this probably isn't the place for that and joins the others in the VIP room.
"Jericho?" But a slow nod "Just came out to socialize and see how the ladies were doing"
"Eh..." Victoria shrugs, looking quite comfortable now. "...legal work and Chantry work's been taking up pretty much all of my time. It felt good to unwind like that."
"Eh..." Victoria shrugs, looking quite comfortable now. "...legal work and Chantry work's been taking up pretty much all of my time. It felt good to unwind like that."
"You looked great, should do it more often." Shane nods, "You do work your ass off, you deserve to cut loose now and then."