BBQ Lunch [Open]

[Verne]

Verne had been working most of the morning, helping the university baseball team decorate the cathedral and set up tables and chairs for their fundraiser lunch today. These sorts of things always turned into a party and when he got a look at the beer they had supplied he knew this time would be no different. Well, perhaps it was a little different; a bottle of beer would cost their guests five dollars while a sandwich of any type would cost them three. Verne thought he’d better man the barbecue so that things remained sensible for as long as possible; even if he was the biggest party animal that particular facility of learning had ever capped and graduated.

Because it was an indoor event they had been able to light all of the candles and start up the heaters which had been burning now for a good two hours, making the room nice and toasty and taking off the bite from the chill outside. Some of the players had set up a few games, some drinking and others not, like bobbing for apples or throwing a baseball through a small hoop and limbo poles. Then there were the drinking games, bending down to pick up an empty box with your teeth before tearing a bit of cardboard off as big or as small as you liked, which either made it as easy for the next person to go or harder until no one could manage it anymore. Of course you had to keep your hands behind your back which made the scene most hilarious to watch. They also had silly spot prizes like rubber chickens and two left feet, rabbit tail key rings and the sort, with a ‘guess the pickles’ jar place on one of the tables.

Verne looked at his silver wrist watch. It was going on half one and people would start arriving soon if their advertising had done any good. He knew for at least a couple of hours they would be safe from anything other than day walkers; but most Vampires that came to these sorts of things were Human lovers anyway. Verne had permitted his brother Arseny to attend, as long as he remembered the rules; out here no one knew them by the names they used back home. Yavok and Arseny Berezin didn’t exist here; it was now Verne and Vladimir Krouse.

He watched his brother from across the room, unpacking drinks and stacking them across the table in neat rows of six. Vladimir had talked about trying out for the baseball team once he found the time to sign up for school over here and switch his credits so that he could continue working towards his degree. Vladimir had a couple of years left to study, both of them picking up schooling later on into their twenties after they had spent some time travelling the world. It was the thing to do back home, that or leave school at sixteen and go straight into work, which hadn’t suited either of them, unlike their younger sister.

“I think that’s everything set up,” Verne called. “Well done team, now let’s fund-raise some money for those new uniforms!”

[Mike Barone (DELETED 2047)]

Mike left his apartment, he was sure he had left the robot of rudeness at home but as soon as his backpack shifted suddenly he heard cussing. How did that thing end up in there without arms? "I did not invite you along." he said.

"How dare you try to leave me alone with all those other things are you working on." the robot said.

Mike sighed, "Just behave yourself." he said. "No cussing." he added. He didn't want to get thrown out just because a ball of metal. He took out his phone, sending a text message to Anemoi to ask if he was coming. He didn't know anyone and it would be nice to at least know one person.

He entered the cathedral, looking around. This was rather nice, he noticed the team there. He looked at the pickles, thinking about how many were in there but moved on to get something to eat and drink.

[Katie Mae (DELETED 3987)]

Katie Mae sat at her desk working on her homework. She was glad this was her last semester at the University. Sometimes she wondered if school would ever end. It had been a hard semester in the fall and this one seemed to be equally worse. It was well worth it but she was tired of doing nothing fun. It had been so long since she had been out and had any fun she couldn’t remember for sure when or what she had even done.

The alarm on her cell went off signaling her that something was on her calendar. She picked it up and remembered that Verne had told her about the fund-raiser for the baseball team. Sitting back in her chair she pulled up the Universities web site and found the ad for it listed. St. James Cathedral was an odd place to have it but a building was a building. Katie Mae decided it was time to take a break and some good barbecue sounded perfect. She slipped her white, university hoodie on and brushed the eraser crumbs from her black yoga pants and slide on her Chuck Taylors and headed out the door.

The walk wasn’t far from her apartment so she jogged the short way. The air was brisk but tolerable. She breathed deeply loving the smell of the crisp winter air as it entered her lungs. The only that would have made this day any better were if it were to snow. The church’s steps were before her after only a couple blocks and she ran up them. A blast of heat hit her as she opened the door and walked in. She removed her coat and hung it up before continuing into the church.

Walking into the next room she looked around for anyone she knew. She waved at a couple of people as she walked up to the “Guess the Pickle” table and started at the jar for a few seconds. “I’ll take a guess.” She handed the guy sitting at the table her money.

“How many you think are in there?” the young man winked at her. Katie blushed profusely, not used to people joking with her like that. “How about 169?” smiling she wrote it down with her name and her e-mail. She knew she wouldn’t win; she never won anything but the money was going for a good cause. Katie and the young man exchanged small talk for several minutes. She finally asked him where Verne was so she could go say hi. She was pointed in the direction of the barbecue. She stopped and bought two beers on her way over.

Verne stood there intent on his work when Katie walked up. “Hey stranger! How are ya?” She walked up to him and hugged him tight then handing him a beer. She was genuinely happy to see him again. She had missed him when he had left for a vacation of sorts. “It’s really nice to see you again Verne.” Her smile warm as she looked up at him. He was one of the few people that had tried to pull her out of her shell. Klara was a bit of a klutz and embarrassed herself more times than she’d like to remember but Verne helped her to not take herself so serious. She wished more people could be like him.

[Anemoi (DELETED 2809)]

Anemoi was laying on the sofa of his apartment when he got the text. He pulled the phone over to him, wondering if it was Kira but saw it was Mike. Right, that BBQ. Mike was going to college so he would be supporting his school. He hoped Mike wasn’t expecting him to help tell who was who because all the paladins were nothing more than names on a computer screen so far. He never made to any of the meetings.

He stuck the phone in his pocket and got up. He headed out of the door and walked the distance to the big building. He had been here number of times before but he never seen so any people here before. He spotted Mike and quickly made his way over. “Hey.” He said. “Did I ever tell you how nice it is we got people who can heal others now?” he said with a grin.

[Marty Mac (DELETED 5106)]

Marty had seen the announcement on a notice board in one of the hostels she was staying in, the bright flyer had caught her attention. A fundraising BBQ seemed like a great chance for the newly arrived paladin to get out there and meet some people, or at the very least get a feel for the kind of people she might meet.

It had only been a few days since the young Irish woman had arrived, big backpack and suspiciously bulky duffle bag in hand, searching for somewhere that had a room to rent for a night, a few days, a week. She hadn’t planned to stay in one place for too long, not until she had figured out how she was going to make this place work for her.

She rubbed her hands together, tongue clicking impatiently as she eyed her clothing options. “Jesus…” She groaned, settling on a simple slouchy white blouse to pair with her jeans. The brunette tugged on a pair of elegant black-heeled boots, they were sturdy enough to ride in and did her slender legs a favour or two in the looks department, which she decided, wasn’t a bad thing.

A touch of makeup, and the subtle placement of her favoured daggers inside her leather bomber jacket meant she was ready. Marty grimaced at herself in the cracked bathroom mirror, noting her eyes were a murky shade of green today, touches of grey flooding the iris. “Ma always said they were indecisive, my eyes, just like my heart. I just told her they were hazel, ha.” She told the mirror, though unsurprisingly it did not respond.

Her hand twisted the chain of her necklace around, positioning the clasp back to it’s correct place at the nape of her neck, ensuring the delicate cross pendant and the flat, round silver signet pendant that bore the initials “E.M.” sat comfortably nestled in the middle of her collarbones. “Ready as I’ll ever be, aye.”

It was a short ride to the event, Marty parking her bike down a side alley, shoving the helmet haphazardly into the case on the bike. Helmet hair was inevitable but it suited her, almost like she was going for that messy cool look. In reality though it was pure lack of caring on her part, the woman shaking her hands through her long locks to make them look somewhat presentable.

Walking up to the building she pressed her hands into her jean pockets, feeling the familiar weight of her thin leather wallet resting in the left pocket assured her somehow that this was a good idea. Spend some money on food and silly games, chat to people and turn on the natural MacIntyre charm.

It looked fun inside, games areas set up and the smell of food starting to cook was certainly enticing. She hadn’t had a chance to cook for herself in the small rooms she was renting, realising with a sudden pang of hunger that today she had indeed not yet bothered to eat. Not wanting to seem to eager she begin the slow, obligatory shuffle forwards, eyes scanning the rooms contents for somewhere to start.

[Verne]

Verne had been prodding a sausage on the barbeque when Katie Mae snuck up on him. As the woman put her arms around him he set down the tongs and did the same, lifting her so that her feet couldn’t find the ground for a few quick seconds as he returned the affectionate hug. “Hey, hey, I’m doing well,” He said as his arms fell at his sides again, a slow, mischievous smile stretching the left side of his mouth up.

It was good to see her, the last time they had crossed paths he had been rolling out of her bed after a big party, and had to struggled into a pair of woman’s PE-shorts in order to rush off to a meeting; hung-over as all hell. Nothing had happened between them, but at one point he thought it might; Verne was just happy they were still close friends even after his six months away in Russia. He spotted the woman was holding two beers and his smile seemed to grow, twisting up the edge of his mouth that had remained static. “Got me a beer, Darling? You shouldn’t have,” he teased.

He put his hand on Katie’s head and messed up her hair a little; it really was good to see her. Not too much had changed since he was last here it seemed. The doors at the back of the cathedral were pulled open, letting in another cold snap as someone else arrived. Verne didn’t know if he recognised the woman but sensed there was more to her than your average-run-of-the-mill-human. He picked up the cooking utensil and flipped a few steaks for the steak sandwich one of the team members had ordered, while keeping his eyes on the new comer without notice.

[Marty Mac (DELETED 5106)]

Marty was used to events like this, the town she grew up in held a monthly gathering which she often volunteered at, leading the dances and keeping the unruly younger kids in line. She wasn’t half bad at games, the curious set up of a cardboard box game intrigued her but she decided she’d have to be drunk in a bar somewhere to try it and certainly not when she’d just walked through the door. Perhaps the guess the pickles game would be more her speed today, seemed simple enough.

The slow stroll around the room was killing her, all she wanted to do was sprint to the food stall and shove some dollars in the hand of the blonde man. She paused, startled for a moment to notice that the blonde man was watching her. An uncomfortable feeling washed over her, somewhat like the feeling she got when she sensed an otherworldly creature nearby, though nothing so unpleasant. Was it just that she was a new face, is that why he watched her with a gaze that wasn’t intensely curious, he merely watched.

It was unnerving to say the least but Marty wasn’t ready to acknowledge it, to let it put her off her game. The brunette tried not to lock onto him, tried to avert her gaze as she moved closer to the stand to obtain her food and investigate the stare. He seemed to be in charge of events, out of the corner of the eye she saw him offered a beer by a pretty young woman, they both seemed friendly enough so why was she bothered? He was just curious… Just like her.

She grabbed the wallet she’d been gripping out, drawing it forward to flick through the strange Canadian notes as she approached the stand, finally relenting and meeting the gaze of the strange blonde. Presenting him with her most charming grin she spoke, “Well hello, the name’s Martha MacIntyre… Marty…. It seems you’re the man to see about a good feed, aye?” She lifted the wallet in her hand, wiggling it enticingly as she waited for his response.

[Vladimir (DELETED 5105)]

Vladimir, as his brother now requested he call himself, had been setting up the drinks table and had managed to sell a few already, too bad most of them had gone to team members with only a couple people coming through the cathedral doors. Vlad looked over at his older brother Verne and shook his head slowly when he noticed two girls were standing around him, fixated. He rolled his eyes; it was so typical of Verne, pulling all the ladies like some kind of other worldly people magnet.

Arseny had never been able to understand what it was that made the man come across as being so social; when in reality he could be such a piece of work. He looked like a shaggy dog and basically acted in exactly the way you would expect a dog to act. When he was hungry he scoffed like the world was about to end and when he was thirsty he would drink the house dry of beer, if you could even call it a house, dirty clothes stuffed under anything that would conceal them, an empty fridge and this musk Arseny just hadn’t been able to find in order to clean.

Blue-green eyes narrowed in the group’s direction before Vladimir was distracted by another member scooping up a couple beers. “That will be ten,” Vlad smiled; he’d been trying to make friends all day, hoping to line up a spot to full into come try-outs He was having trouble though and felt as if he couldn’t disguise his accent as well as his older brother did and it seemed as if that was putting people off talking to him.

Vlad pulled up a chair and fell back into it. He fished an automotive magazine out of his bag and started flicking through the pages. He had always been mad about cars, ever since he had found his dad’s old GAZ-11-40 buried under a dusty canvas in the garage. Of course the obsession had never rubbed off on anyone else in the family, other than Verne, who seemed to like classical cars too; now Vlad was knee deep in his history studies and training to restore anything that had once moved from cars to tanks.

Within minutes the world had melted away around him and the cars on the page had come to life in his thoughts, the man all but drooling over them as if the page was stickered with pictures of half dressed, scantily clad exotic women. The man whistled, shaking his head slowly, “Check out the body work on that one,” Vlad said to himself, thinking no one was listening.

[Verne]

The newcomer had spotted him. ****, Verne thought to himself, he was usually so good at watching people without their notice. He continued watching, he had to now, only a chump would look away after making eye-contact. When the woman approached the table and introduced herself, mentioning that he looked like the man to get food from, Verne took his chance to speak. “Sure is, Darling, what can I get you?” Words partnered with that world-famous smile that had melted a few hearts in its time, not that Verne had ever noticed, oblivious to most forms of affections that weren’t some type of extremes.

“Name’s Verne,” he extended a hand to shake that of the woman’s over the short span of the barbecue table before letting it fall at his side again.

Verne had been that kid in school the teachers always so readily forgave for doing the stupidest things, all because of that not-so-innocent-smile. Well the class clown had grown up since then, physically at least. The tall Paladin drove his beanie back under his left hand to whip it away from the nest of shaggy blonde hair that sat slicked back against his skull, and put the hat into the left pocket of his grey track-pants. “We got steak, egg, sausage, bacon, hash-browns, or some grilled egg-plant if you prefer?”

It was then Verne noticed Arseny glaring at him from over Marty’s shoulder; he offered his brother a quick smile which he wasn’t sure if the man saw or not, then set his gaze on Marty again, ready to take her order. “Would you like anything Katie?” He had forgotten to ask the pretty woman at his right who seemed to be staring at the selection of salads they team had made up.

[Katie Mae (DELETED 3987)]

Klara squealed as he picked her up off the ground and giggled as she thought about the last time she had seen him. She wondered if he even remembered the night he was so wasted. She wasn’t a huge partier herself but had taken care of plenty others after they had imbibed in their vice of their choice. She had been happy to help him out and having a bit of a crush on him had made the choice easy. She had gotten a text from him the day he left saying goodbye not sure if he would ever return. She had liked him a lot and had always hoped they could explore more but she valued his friendship even more. She knew she wasn’t the kind of girl that a man like Verne would ever go for. She had missed him dreadfully when he was gone. She threw herself into her studies almost becoming a recluse with no one to pull her out and push her to get involved.

“It’s so good to see you. You look amazing as always. Looks like the time away did you some good.” She took a long swig of her beer watching him work. “You deserved some time away.” She playfully pushed him away as he mussed her hair grinning up at him.

The cold air worked its way into the room as both Verne and Katie looked up to see who had just entered. She suddenly felt ill at ease and wished she’d taken time to look a little nicer. She saw Verne watching the woman; the man never missed a thing. She wondered who this new woman was, so self-assured and beautiful to boot; a deadly combination for girls like Katie. She smiled as the woman approached them wishing she could be that at ease with people. She glanced down at her own attire and took in the woman’s.

“When will I ever learn?” she mumbled under breath. She envied how very feminine the woman looked. The clothing Katie wore clothes worked well for nighttime activities. She wasn’t important when it came to her role in The Order but what items she could steal she passed along to those who needed them or they could sell for money. She worked well behind the scenes rather than where all could see. That’s what Verne was good at.

Katie looked down at the various food items displayed on the table. She looked at up Verne, “Um, no thanks not right now. You’re getting busy. I’ll go look around for a bit and work up an appetite.” Quickly squeezing past the table, she gave a shy smile to the new woman before walking over to where the games were going on.
Looking around she noticed some new faces and wondered if they were part of The Order as well. She leaned against the end of the tables selling drinks. She watched the games for a bit sliding fully onto the end of the table. She turned and saw a guy sitting at the opposite end selling beer and reading a car magazine in between customers. He sat there with the magazine on the table, leaning forward. She caught his eye briefly and smiled shyly at him before turning around to see what some of the guys on the team were cheering about.

As Klara leaned forward she felt the table begin to tilt towards her, turning she saw the man had leaned back and the table was quickly going into the air as some of the beer was headed quickly in her direction as she felt herself begin to fall. She hit the floor with a thud trying to roll out of the way so the table wouldn’t hit her, but instead rolled into the path of a falling beer bottle slowly pouring on her as it fell. It hit her in the face at the corner of her eye as she tried to move, crying out in pain as it hit. The table clattered to the floor. As she looked up various people stood over her looking down at her.

“Damn klutziness” she tried to joke, her voice on the edge of tears as she tried to sit up. Her eye hurt misserably and she was dizzy and could feel her head already sore from where she hit it on the floor. She fought hard against the tears trying to sit up.