Edwin scans the crowded room, hoping to find a loner among the crowd and is just about to give up when he notices a young woman wearing what in the Tremere's estimation could be entirely too much make-up softly sobbing to herself along the far wall of the club. Taking notice, he makes his way through the throngs on the dance floor toward his prey.
As Edwin arrives, the young woman looks up and asks, still sniffling, "What do you want?"
Calliope and Jack meander through the club, looking for their evening meals, when Jack notices...or rather Delia, a woman who is infatuated with Jack, and her apparently attempting to mend a relationship (former?) boyfriend, Tyler notice him.
This would normally be bad enough with Delia's infatuation toward Jack, and Tyler's hatred for sins of the past, but something in Jack's Ventrue blood wells up seeking dominance, wanting to take Delia again if only to further humiliate Tyler.
(Ventrue) Arrogance - Fueled by the beast and their natural desire for power, the Ventrue must force someone to obey a command given. The order cannot be given through supernatural means such as Dominate. Until they satisfy the requirements, they receive a two-dice penalty for any actions not directly related to leadership.
For her part, Calliope notices the shift in Jack's demeanor from being friendly and flirtatious to something darker.
"Watch this," Jack mutters to Calliope, "I'm going to go have myself a drink. On them." Jack slowly walks over to Tyler and Delia's table, and pulls up a chair. His grin has no humor to it. It's predatory. Dark. "Delia," he says, drawing her name out in his mouth, "It's been a long time. Too long."
Edwin sighs, "Let's just say I am a man who cannot stand by when a person appears in distress.
Comfort, even from a stranger, is something that we all need from time to time, and your need is palpable. As for what I want, I want to help".
Calliope raises her eyebrows and lets go of Jack as he moves away, watching the scene unfold with predatory interest. "Wave me over if you need me," she replies quietly, resolving to move that way regardless of his signal if he makes a move that could expose them.
She leans against the wall, keeping one eye on Jack while she tries to spot Edwin across the room. The Toreador feels a smidge anxious about both of her coterie-mates off on their own...but she feels the Hunger too. She understands.
Realizing that he may need to tap into more human emotions of fear, longing, lust, and other unpleasantries, Jack decides to take on a more human appearance, so that he might be able to better destroy and humiliate his perceived rival.
Color flushes to his cheeks as he sits there, seemingly drawing energy from the situation. His Ventrue side is out in full force tonight.
Calliope has a front row seat to see the games the beast can play with its host at the most inopportune of times.
Edwin approaches the distressed woman and politely as he can and the words come out sincerely, there is still something predatory about Edwin's overall demeanor and the poor, young girl cannot see through it, the problem is that everyone else in eyeshot of the scene can. The vibe received by those seeing it isn't as much as "creepy guy offering kids candy from a windowless van" as much as it is the old movie-of-the-week, Ted Bundy type vibe.
The girl looks up at Edwin doe-eyed, attempting to stop her sniffling and asks, "H-how do you think you can help?"
Completely obsessed with his target and the prospect of feeding, Edwin doesn't notice the number of people around the pair beginning to film the events ongoing.
Across the club, Jack has his eyes set on quarry of both similar and altogether different natures.
Delia's eyes light up seeing the subject of her long-held infatuation approaching. "Jack! It has indeed been far too long!" she says almost immediately ignoring Tyler's presence at the table.
Wide-eyed and astounded at first, Tyler sits in stunned silence for a moment before interjecting, "Delia, darling, come to your senses. Don't you remember how this piece of shit used you and threw you away like an empty pack of cigarettes the last time he thought it would be fun to play with you?"
Delia looks back, "Oh Tyler, that was a long time ago, we were both young and impetuous, too much time has passed to hold old grudges..."
Edwin smiles and sits, "By giving you a sympathetic ear in a place full of people where you still, somehow, feel alone.
So tell me, what troubles you?"
"Indeed, a long time ago." Jack smirks at Tyler. "You know, I know a place that's even better than this one, if you're interested in coming with me Delia." As an afterthought he adds, "You can even bring him too, if you want." He gestures at Tyler off-handedly.
"Have either of you met my partner Calliope before? She'd be very interested in meeting the two of you." His grin only widens as he keeps talking. "I've missed you Delia."
Distracted by watching Edwin's growing crowd, Calliope barely hears Jack's pointed use of her name. The Toreador tears her eyes away from the scene before sliding up to where Jack sits, standing behind the man and smiling serenely down at the couple. "What might I be interested in, dear?" She purrs, resting a hand on his shoulder almost possessively, catching Delia's eye with a smirk.
She leans down to whisper to Jack, digging her nails into his shoulder in an attempt to jolt his attention to her. "Ed is making a scene."
"You didn't say anything about sharing..." Deliah pouts, eliciting an exasperated look of offense from Tyler.
Across the room, Edwin continues his conversation with the young woman.
"M-my friends decided to run off without me. They all wanting to roll MDMA, but I'm just not into that...all I wanted to do was dance...now I;m stuck here, I don't know where they went or how in the hell I'm gonna get home tonight."
Edwin chuckles, "Is that all? I am here with friends. You can hang with us, dance, and then when the night is over, we can get you home safe.
How does that sound?"
Edwin stands up smiling and offers his hand to her, "But first, you need to tell me your name, I'm Ed".
Calliope's words shake Jack out of his self-obsessed reverie. But only for a second. The Ventrue in him just works the new information into his plans, and he continues. Nothing is more important than the hunt to him right now.
"I wouldn't want to leave Tyler out of the fun," he says smirking. He leans forward, taking one of Delia's hands as he invades Tyler's personal space. He whispers to him, "Delia's coming home with me tonight. You can take my generously offered scraps if you want, or you can leave. It's all the same to me." He smirks at Tyler, his face inviting Tyler to hit him, then leans back in his chair. He take's Calliope's hand as well. I'll handle it. He thinks to himself, I can handle anything right now.
Calliope raises a single eyebrow at Jack's lack of real response, but for the sake of maintaining a sliver of sanity this evening -- hopefully, enough to let them feed and leave unscathed -- she let the Ventrue's attitude slide.
The Toreador gives Jack's grasping hand a squeeze before patting him affectionately on the cheek, sliding into the seat next to him and across from Tyler. She crosses one leg over the other and lets her foot tap Tyler's shin, seemingly by accident. "How lucky for us to find someone you know here, darling," She says, turning her face slightly to grin at Jack before leaning forward, elbows resting on the table and chin in propped in her hands.
The young girl raises an eyebrow, "Ed? Not a very exciting name." she says with a giggle. "I'm Statia.
"I guess that sounds alright." she concludes, all while a number of on-lookers continue to film from their various phones.
On the other side of the club, Tyler shoots Calliope a quick, annoyed glance before continuing to stare daggers through Jack. Daggers that only intensify after the Ventrue whispers something to the man.
For all of Tyler's annoyance and frustration, it is matched with equal amounts of eagerness from Delia. Her eyebrows raise in curious anticipation, "A foursome? Is that what you want, Jack?"
Edwin takes her hand and pulls her up, gently, he then guides her to the area where the rest of his Coterie has gathered, with what he assumes are their chosen prey.
He leans into her ear, "Ed, is short for Edwin, still not terribly exciting but then we Germans reserve exciting for mechanical engineering".
When he is in the vicinity of his allies he gestures to them, "Statia , meet Jack and Calliope, and their new friends..."
Edwin keeps his hand on her shoulder for now, not attempting to drift to her hips, yet.
Calliope chuckles at Tyler's annoyance, but saves any further comment for later. Jack seems to be itching for a fight; may as well let him have Tyler's wrath.
The Toreador leans back in her seat when Ed and Statia approach, smiling broadly at the brightly-dressed girl before turning her gaze to Edwin. "Ed, glad you found us again. The more, the merrier..." She gestures to some empty seats, craning her neck slightly to see if the onlookers were still filming their charismatic leader. She locks eyes with Edwin a moment, and, seeing the tell-tale signs of the Beast brushing against the surface, she sighs inwardly.
"Lovely to meet you, Statia," She says, finally acknowledging the brightly-dressed young girl at Edwin's side.
Still not throwing a punch yet. Curious. I'll have to push him even further. And then Edwin approaches. Jack had intended to get the attention off of his comrade by starting a fight, but now that they were on top of each other... damn. The best laid plans. He tried to push his frustration down, but to no avail. "Statia, eh? Well as Calliope says, the more the merrier... Nothing so crude as a foursome, I was thinking more of... sharing. But if Tyler isn't interested in a good time, he can leave. No sense in inviting a kill-joy." Maybe I'll feed him some of my blood. Then he'll hate me, but love me, as much as he needs me. The idea tickles his fancy. "Perhaps we might borrow the van?" he suggests to Calliope.
Calliope all but grimaces at Delia's desperation; the pathetic thing was practically drooling. She wonders if the spectacle would scare off the young human at Edwin's side and feels a little sorry for her. A little. Unlike many of her brethren, she didn't harbor the desire to hold onto her humanity so tightly. She felt the same kind of pity for their prey one might feel for a sick animal.
"I'm not feeling particularly picky, darling," she replies, raising her arms up in a languid stretch before smoothing out her black shirt. She shoots a pointed, knowing look at Delia, then to Tyler. "The van would be cozy. And your delightful little treat," she gestures at Delia, "doesn't seem like she has any protests."
As much as the Toreador enjoys the hunt; revels in the sensual like the rest of her clan...a twisting pit of anxiety makes a home in her stomach. Too many eyes are on them.
With the talk of foursomes and vans, Edwin's prey begins to look rather uncomfortable. "I...I'm not s...so sure I'm up for anything like that. I think maybe, I'll just be going."
Delia, for her part, seems game for anything as long as she can be with Jack again, regardless of what poor Tyler thinks.
"No. You stay," Jack says to Statia. He stands up, beckoning to Delia, and flanking poor Statia with Edwin. He briefly considers putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her from leaving, but has just about enough sense left to realize that's a bad idea. "Think of how jealous your friends will be afterwards."
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Annoyed with this entire shitshow of a situation, Calliope reaches inward and pushes out her influential aura in an attempt to smooth things over.
"Don't worry, pretty one," Calliope says to Statia, flicking her eyes to Edwin briefly before turning her serene smile back to the cute little raver girl. "We understand and respect consent."
Edwin chuckles, "Don't worry Statia, I am friends with Jack but not that good a friend.
Let's dance".
He leads her a few feet away from Jack and begins to dance to get her calm once more...
Put at ease at first by Calliope's reassurance and more so by Edwin's offer to dance, Statia happily leaves with the Tremere, leaving Calliope and Jack to their intended victims.
Delia shrugs. "So we going to this van?" she asks, much to the annoyance of Tyler.
With Statia calmed, Calliope turns her attention to Tyler, smiling in a rather predatory manner. She leans in to speak quietly to the angry man, her voice a low purr: "Tyler, join us. It will bring you closer to Delia...and if I'm wrong, it will at least be a good time."
Tyler is just about to continue his protest when he takes a closer look at Calliope and just slowly nods in agreement to the arrangement, seemingly having at least a mild infatuation with the Toreador.
Meanwhile, Edwin guides Statia back to the dance floor, and she seems to be a bit relieved to be away from the - for her - awkward scene with Jack, Calliope, Delia, and Tyler.
Calliope tenses while she watches the gears turn in Tyler's little skull, then relaxes when her influence takes hold. She strokes his cheek affectionately in response, a sly grin crossing her face. The Toreador turns Jack and Delia, pleased with the arrangement. "Shall we?"
"Yes," Jack says, "We shall." He's substantially less pleased with the arrangement, he doesn't feel like Tyler has been put in his place enough yet. A bite from Calliope was basically a reward after all. He'd have to do more about this later... still, he leads the way out of the club.
Edwin eyes the others leaving the club and considers leaving but as Jack made his current prey hesitant, he is hesitant to follow.
He continues to dance with Statia, giving her more time to get comfortable with him before he seeks an exit.
Inside the Club:
Edwin dances away with Statia, putting the girl more at ease. The occasional onlooker continue to watch the pair carefully, but even that is beginning to wane.
Outside the Club:
Jack and Calliope lead their respective prey out of the club onto the busy nightlife filled streets of Chicago (Rush Street in particular).
"So where's the van?" Delia asks.
"He stashed it down an alleyway temporarily to avoid the insane parking fees," Jack says. "This way." Jack leads the group down the alleyway that seems to have the least amount of people/camera's/cover.
Calliope follows along, looking forward to their upcoming meal and blissfully ignorant of Jack's desire to humilate and dominate Tyler.
She does, however, keep alert and aware, looking around them to make note of any surveillance or ideal spaces to feed on their prey.
Edwin gives his two allies time to get out and away, he also does not want Statia to think that he will be dragging her anywhere near where Jack and Calliope are planning to be.
He will dance until she is tired out as that appears what she wished to do anyway, then he will "accompany her home"... after all, Edwin must make sure no other predators get to her!
Outside:
Rush street is both a major party area of the city and a major tourist attraction. As such there are a number of surveillance cameras noticed by Calliope. Jack is just about to suggest a particular alley way when he notices one himself.
Inside:
Statia continues to dance the night away, showing no signs of tiring anytime soon, much to Edwin's (and more importantly, his beast's) dismay.
A wave of frustration washes over Calliope at the endless stream of cameras, and the vampiress lengthens her stride to catch up to Jack. "Not much further now, if I remember correctly..." She sighs. "We cut through an alley nearby to get to Rush," Calliope says, gesturing vaguely ahead. The Toreador glances at her Ventrue companion before she makes it her mission to find an alley with no cameras.
Outside:
Calliope is able to find an alleyway devoid of camera coverage, but to her dismay, when she turns the corner, she sees that it is not unoccupied.
Inside:
Edwin's desire to the control the situation is slowly getting the better of him and Statia's desire to keep dancing the night away, rather than leave with him is certainly not Edwin being in control.
"What's the matter?" Statia asks seeing the look on the Tremere's face, "I thought we were having fun?"
Calliope makes a quiet noise of disgust, pausing for a moment to figure out who, exactly, is in the alley with them.
Jack hits the wall. Loudly. "Piss off," he tells the current inhabitants.
Glancing down the alleyway, it appears to be six or seven revelers engaged in the partaking of illicit substances.
"Whoa man, what's your problem?" one asks, clearly annoyed that you are "harshing his mellow". Two the others proceed to "piss off", leaving four or five - shadows are making it difficult to tell for sure how many are in the alley.
Edwin sighs, "We are, but now my friends have left me as well. I was hoping that introduction would have gone better. Plus, I'd like to get to know you better and this place is just so loud..."