A Happy, Family Easter!

[Emilee Marshall (DELETED 5316)]

Emilee had spent about a week preparing for today, Easter Sunday. So far, the trip hadn't panned out as well as she'd hoped it would and she'd barely seen Enver or Every. She'd managed to spend a lovely evening with Every at the local salon, which hadn't been too bad all things considered, but Enver - she'd seen him in passing and nothing more. To say she was upset was an understatement, but she was trying to push it aside and concentrate on tonight. She was up early and beginning the preparations, as some of the items took time to cook and arrange. A proper dining table had been delivered yesterday and she was no staring at it and wondering how to get it into the right place. Kicking off her heels, her bare feet flexed on the floor and then she pushed, shoved and hauled the big wooden table around until it was in the middle of the room she'd been clearing out. Next, she arranged the chairs around it, unsure exactly how many people would be turning up as she couldn't get a straight answer from either Every or Enver. She hoped, afterall, that Every would bring Micah with her, as she really wanted to meet this man the girl seemed so fond of, and to make sure he was decent enough for her girl to be around.

With the tables and chairs in place, she needed to start with some of the cooking, so into the kitchen she went. Enver's kitchen was a little lacking in utensils she'd found, so she'd been out and purchased a number of gadgets, gizmos and utensils so that he had a properly stocked kitchen and would be able to cook better than he had been. Again, his fridge and freezer had been sorely lacking in actual food and ingredients, so she'd ordered some groceries and they'd also been delivered the day before. She put on the radio and listened to the Sunday services that were happening, as she went about the kitchen and started taking out the bits and pieces she needed. The oven was set onto a low temperature, letting it heat up so it would be ready for when the meat ws to be cooked.

The large leg of lamb was removed from it's packaging and the large pieces of sinew were trimmed off with a very sharp knife. She then stabbed the leg a few times all over, deep into the muscle and then taking large sprigs of rosemary, she filled the holes she'd made. With a sharp knife, she toped and tailed cloves of garlic, letting the knife peel off the skin that surrounded it, and then pressed a clove into each hole too. a little salt and pepper was sprinkled over the whole thing and massaged into the meat to help tenderise it and then the whole thing was transferred into a large roasting tin and popped into the oven that was now to temperature.

Moving to another package - after tidying the bits and pieces she'd just used away - she unwrapped a large cow's tongue. Putting a large pot on the hob, she filled it with boiling water from the kettle and then dropped; salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, onions she chopped up, couple of chopped leeks, parsley, port and some more garlic all in as well. Once that had come to the boil and had cooked out for a couple of minutes, she gently lowered the whole tongue into the pot and put a lid on it, turning the heat down so that it was simmering away. Realising she'd forgotten to set a timer for the lamb, she retrieved two and set one for an hour and the second for three and a half hours.

Meat cooking, she turned her attention to the dessert and began making pastry. It wasn't the normal sort of pastry though, it was a german style pastry that was somewhere between your pie pastry and cake once cooked. She lined a tin with foil and then gently pressed in the dough into the tin, making sure it was all pressed properly into the fluted edges. Lining it with greaseproof paper, she tipped her can of larger, lighter baking beads into it and then gently slid it into the oven. She didnt need another timer for this one, because she knew that the time it took her to make the filling was how long it needed. So, out came a new chopping board and knife, along with the bag of apples. A bowl of water was set beside it, into which she dropped a lemon that had been cut in half with a squeeze. The apples were then peeled and sliced into perfect rounds, which then had their centres removed with a tiny cookie cutter. Each slice was then dropped into the water so it wouldn't oxidise.

Taking a large, flat pan, she put it onto the heat and then poured a large heap of sugar into it and let this reduce and cook down into a sticky caramel. To this, she added a couple of large knobs of butter and stirred gently, finishing it off with a generous serving of cream to make a beautifully smooth and velvety caramel sauce. Into this, she tipped the drained and patted dry apples, letting them cook down a little and coat in the sauce. When the edges of the apples started to brown, she removed the pastry from the oven and gently removed the greaseproof paper and beads. Pressing her fingers to the pastry, she smiled at how it had turned out and then poured the whole contents of the apple saucepan into the centre and gently arranged them evenly. To finish it off, she used the remainder of the dough to create a latticework, and then covered the pie over and popped it back into the oven - setting another timer for an hour.

Her age was catching up on her now, so she decided to sit herself down at the table with the vegetables to prepare and sort them out. Peas, Parsnips, Potatoes, Mange Tout, Carrots, were all found and put on the table, along with knives, a peeler, chopping board and various bowls. Finally, she pulled the bin over and sat down with an audible sigh. Grabbing the peas, she decided to start on them and began popping and shelling them, singing along with one of her favourite hymns in her passable alto voice. The shells were put int he bin while the peas were put into a bowl as she enjoyed the 'pop' they made as wel as the feel as she ran her finger up the smooth inside of the shell to pop them all out and into the bowl. Suddenly, her chest felt tight and something rattled in her lungs. She tried clearing her throat and that only made it worse until she started to cough. However, once she'd started, she couldn't stop. Pulling her handkerchief from her sleeve, she held it to her mouth and coughed and coughed until finally whatever it was that had started it, finished it. She removed her hand from her mouth and was going to pop the hanky back into her sleeve when something caught her eye.

Her other hand dropped the pea she'd been holding, and then took up a corner of the hanky, pulling it out flat and staring. There, in the centre where it had been covering her mouth, was a crimson spray in the centre of the perfectly white silk. She felt tears pricking at her eyes as they began to well up at the sight there in her hand. However, she was Emliee Marshall and there was no way she would allow anything to stop her plans for tonight. She wiped at her eyes, binned the hanky and then stood up with a 'harrumpff'. Quickly, she washed her hands and went back to the table, finishing off the peas and then starting in on the rest. The first alarm went off right as she finished coring the last parsnip and smiled at the timing.

Getting up, she pulled the lamb from the oven and basted it with it's own juices to make sure it didn't dry out - adding in half a bottle of red wine as well and covering it over with foil so that it would steam in the wine. The smells from everything that was cooking now was making her salivate - so she decided that it was time for breakfast as it was now about 10am. She made herself a cafetiere of coffee, some toast with butter and nutella, and retrieved the paper from the door. Taking everything to the table, she settled down to have a read and a bite to eat while she waited for things to be done. However, she couldn't help but check her phone as well, just to see if anyone had decided to tell her exactly who would be attending later that day or not, as it would certainly help with the preparations.

She sat and took it easy for a bit, thinking over everything that she needed to do and making a plan of action. Once she'd finished breakfast, she cleared everything away and filled the dishwasher with everything she'd used so far. Everything was kept spotless and clean as she worked, making sure it was all hygenic and there would be no cross contamination and germs that might make anyone ill. If there was any way she could protect Enver, then she would do it - whatever it took. Going back to cooking, she got the split peas out and then rinsed them off before putting them into a pan. She seasoned them with salt and then took some of the cooking liquid from the tongue and poured it into the split peas, just covering them. She put them onto the heat and let them simmer, topping them up now and again with more cooking liquid to keep them wet and so they didn't boil dry.

The hob was almost full, woth the size of the pans, but there was space for one more. So she took a final pan and placed it on the heat, filling it with a mix of stock and butter with the balance skewed towards butter. Once it was bubbling away, she gently dropped the potatoes she'd carved into it to make potato fondants as they had so much more flavour and a nicer texture than most other potatoes she'd ever had. So, dessert was cooking, main was cooked and prepped and the starter was mostly prepped too. The last thing she wanted to do just now, was to slice up the black pudding into the right sized pieces - so she did. Everything ready and prepared, she checked the time and nodded as the tongue was just about ready - in fact, as soon as she thought that, the alarm went off.

Turning off the pan, she removed the tongue to a clean chopping board and kept the liquor, topping up the split peas again with the herby, spiced meat juice. Using a sharp knife, she carefully used it to peel off the thick outer layer of the tongue to leave just the pure muscle behind. Boiling the kettle, she mixed up some gelatine and then retrieved the tongue press, curling and folding the tongue into it. She screwed the top down and then slowly trickled the hot gelatine in through the hole in the top and set it aside in a cool area of the kitchen to rest. She removed the pie and the lamb, setting the pie aside to cool and the lamb aside to rest and then decided she needed to make the pumpkin pie fudge for nibbling with coffee.

Sugar, melted butter, evaporated milk, canned pumpkin, golden syrup, pumpkin pie spice, white chocolate, marshmallows, vanilla and toasted pecans were all mixed together until she got the right consistency. This was then pressed into a tin and slipped into the fridge to set and cool. She was happy with how everything had been going, and checking the time, she seemed to be right on time in her preparations. According to her plan, that she checked, it was now time to decorate - so she left the kitchen and retrieved all the bits and pieces she'd bought for decorating his drab place. It was only drab as it wasn't to her taste, and definitely looked like it didn't have a woman's touch - until now.

Fresh flowers were put into vases and put throughout the living room and dining room. An easter tree was set up and decorated in the fireplace in the living room and she couldn't help but smile at the decorations she hung on it as a number of them had been made by Enver when he was at school. She took a moment and enjoyed the memories of Enver as a boy and then moved on to her next job. She was seriously flagging by now, and she could feel the need for a nap creeping over her with every step and move she made. She had a number of chocolate eggs in a bag, and she was wandering around the theatre downstairs - that she'd closed for the day and evening - hiding them all over, ready for an egg hunt.

Heading back upstairs, she realised she'd forgotten the soup. So at speed, she tossed a load of onions and mushrooms into a pot and let them cook down before blitzing them and adding double cream and milk, with salt and pepper. Once more, she checked over her list and this time ticked things off one by one and worked through the evening logically until she was sure that everything had been done this time. There was no other prep to be done at this time, so turning everything onto low and popping the honey glazed parsnips into the oven - she wandered off to get showered and changed.

An hour and a bit later she was done and ready; in her black slip dress that came below the knee, slight heels, shawl and large earrings with her hair blown out nicely. It was coming up on 6pm, so she finished off the veg and popped things in the oven that needed it, or peas in a pan to boil. She heated up a frying pan and cut up the fudge, arranging it on a plate, and then poured herself a glass of chilled champagne before heading through to the dining room to set the table. Proper silverware and crystal glasses were laid out around Easter placemats, fluffy bunnies and poofy chicks - all on top of a white linen tablecloth with spring designs embroidered onto it. No expense had been spared and she wanted it to be 'perfect' for her family - as it would be their last Easter together, with her. Hopefully not the last Easter they did with one another however. The finishing touch was a chick salt shaker and a rabbit pepper mill - where you twisted his ears to grind the pepper out.

Back in the kitchen, she put the bought smoked salmon canapés on an Easter plate and then headed for the living room and sat down to wait. 6:45, with dinner at 7pm, and she was grinning happily as she waited for people to arrive, to socialise, and to enjoy the evening. Especially after all of the work she'd put into it!

[Every]

There wasn’t enough minutes in a day to compare to the amount of times that **** had come out of the small brunette’s mouth as Easter crept up on her and unlike the fadebeasts that she had been tracking down to kill in the weeks that passed, the holiday would not become a lumpy mass of ew after her blade sliced through it. It didn’t help that she hated this time of the year because of Pratt and Hadrian already. Emilee’s request for a family dinner had her wanting to vanish from Harper Rock and idly as she finally peeled herself out of bed, Every considered just that. How far could she teleport herself? Could she make it out of Harper Rock? She was tempted to try and began to think of an excuse despite making her way into the bathroom with an obvious foul mood – it was better that she get it out now, and not later when shooting someone was not an option she was privileged to.

Pushing in a stopper, she muttered under her breath about how the spa had went, still clearly mad at Enver due to the lack of warning about his mother’s filter as she turned on the water before doing the same with the radio she kept. Almost immediately, the sound of Sugarcult’s Los Angeles begun to play loudly through the speakers and she tapped her nails along to the sound of the drums against the countertop after she set her back to the sink. She watched the water rising in the tub. Despite Emilee’s thoughts about how Every’s upbringing had been, she had been raised and taught to pamper herself when she wanted to – but the fact of the matter was, she didn’t give a rat’s *** about her appearance. “Hell, it wasn’t until I was dead that I really realized people other than Lia thought I was pretty.” She frowned at the thought.

Sighing before the muttering shifted topics once more, this time about evil great aunts, the brunette tossed her nightclothes into the hamper after pouring half a cup of vanilla scented bubbles and bath salts into the tub, wrapping a towel around her body tightly as she went back into the main portion of her home. Every collected a scrunchie off her kitchen counter top, putting her hair into a high bun at the crown of her head and pursed her lips at the bottles of blood she had lined up near the oven. Most were empty. “I really need to start knitting again.” She thought, comparing the blood bottles to what could have been wine before pouring a glass of Spice and then disappearing to take her bubble bath. She had already decided that she would be arriving late – claiming that she had run into car trouble. Setting the glass of blood down on her stereo, Every sank down to her nose in bubbles in the deep tub and listened to Nickelback’s Gotta Get Me Some with the thought that she needed to update her mix CD.

After a while, mainly because she was running out of hot water after she switched from the tub to the shower head so she would be able to wash her hair, Every got out of the tub and turned off her stereo. The music cut off and she exhaled unhappily, her hazel eyes staring at the empty mirror before she gave a shake of her head. Even though she was shy of almost months of being a vampire for two years, there were certain things that still confused her. Wrapping herself up once more in a large towel, she made her way into the main room to turn on her iHome before kicking Derpderp with a barefoot so the Rottweiler pup chased after it – Enver’s gift, granted it had been meant as an insult, was now her pet’s favorite toy. As she went into her bedroom, Every sang along with Panic! At the Disco and went into her closet in search of something to wear. If she wore something ‘pricy’, she had the feeling Emilee would take credit and say that she finally got to Every, but if she wore something that she was comfortable in, it was very likely that she would have more “lessons” about being a proper young woman.

Looking down at Prelude as the dog padded into the bedroom with the toy clamped between her teeth, Every frowned. “Do you want to go for me?” She wondered if she could see if an allurist with changeling wanted to – did Jayden have changeling yet? She glanced at her phone where it sat on the charger in debate. “I could probably ask the little twerp if he wanted to be my date and devour whatever goes on my plate...” Her lips pressed together into a thin line and then she turned her attention back to the clothing in her closet. A pink lace sleeveless dress made her roll her eyes and she pushed it out of her sight, followed by a strapless, short blue one. She was saving that for something. Eyeing the outfit that she wore to Chain and Abelle’s binding, she inclined her head and wondered silently where she had put the jacket that went along to it.

There was a chorus of “nope,” “not going to happen,” and “I really need to get rid of this” as she went through her clothing before she settled on a gray and black dress that she would pair with black pumps. She put it on the bed and whistled for Prelude to follow before going back into the bathroom where she would do her makeup using a security camera, and then her hair. It was just going on seven when she found herself completely ready and with no stalling left to do. “****.” She added the word to her total and sulked inwardly before she moved to grab her jacket and phone, followed by the purse that she had begrudgingly begun to carry around with the older woman in town that contained her pistol, her custom, and ammo. Just before leaving her apartment, Every snatched up the phone-shaped taser that Micah had given to her and tucked it into her jacket pocket as she made her way to where Emilee was staying while she muttered in Spanish the entire way in her head.

[Enver Marshall II]

Easter came faster than Enver anticipated. He didn't really want to go, truth be told, for a few reasons. He didn't celebrate holidays; it just wasn't something that was a comfortable occasion at his house growing up. Mostly because of his father, Enver assumed, but Emilee went along with the awkwardness in his mind. A couple of hours with his mom wasn't the most easy time to pass. Then add Every in to the mix and Enver just had a deep feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. He had told his wife that his mom wanted him and her to come to Easter, which Enver was sure Keara wasn't too thrilled about the idea either.

"Might need a wing man tonight." Enver spoke to Crash as he finished knotting his tie, then looked over to his thrall once it was anchored right around his neck. "So don't drink too much." Enver continued his thought as he sat on the edge of a couch in the asylum. "Maye not at all in your case." Enver suggested after he finished tying one of his dress shoes. Two years ago, maybe less, Enver wouldn't have even suggested a thing, most of all to someone like Crash.

"Can't promise anything. I'm heading to the Met to meet with some clients." Clients. Enver knew what that meant because he used to be a client. He wasn't even sure to this day why he bewitched Crash after he fired Hannah. He knew he wanted a male to work for him, because Keara had a slightly jealous streak in her body that Enver didn't always understand being he was obviously nuts over her and always with her (if he could be). Maybe it was because he trusted Crash. He was a good salesman, and had some street smarts. But to be a good salesman, you had to build a client base and not screw them over. So in Enver's mind, Crash was someone he could trust because the guy had never sold him a bad stash and kept Enver in mind whenever there was some really good product, knowing Enver could afford it back then.

"I guess it doesn't matter." Enver shrugged, not bothered by it. Whatever state Crash was in, if he needed him, Enver was pretty confident he could work with. "Just keep your phone on." The other dark haired male gave Enver a look that said, 'You're kidding, right?' Crash's phone was more or less the only way he got to make the cash he did and ran his business.

I'm going to head to the theatre and see if Emilee needs some help or something. See you in a bit? Enver's thoughts moved to his wife when he stood up and headed to the elevator. He pushed the call button, waited for it, then headed down. Once he was out of the asylum, Enver grabbed a cigar out of his case and lit it, walking to the theatre. He could have taken his car, or the train, which would have been faster, but Enver was trying to psyche himself up for the night. And while usually the cigar was usually an enjoyable thing, tonight it didn't seem as enjoyable. Maybe it was old, though he doubted it. He knew the reason why it didn't taste as it normally did.

Attire

[Emilee Marshall (DELETED 5316)]

And seven came and went.

So she poured another drink.

And continued to wait.

They'd show up. She was sure they would. Or so help them....

[Enver Marshall II]

The first thing Enver noticed when he arrived at the theatre was the lack of people in it. No staff, and no customers. Outside the automatic lights inside the place, it essentially looked like a ghost town. The theatre had never been closed since he opened it; not even in his death. Hannah knew when Enver disappeared (for reasons he never really told her), to keep an eye on things and since he hired a new manager, she seemed on top of her A-game. The theatre wasn't supposed to close, especially not on any holidays. Usually people who wanted to avoid family went to them and made him a lot of money.

Emilee. That had to be the only explanation.
Enver's jaw clenched together, so hard it made a small 'popping' sound. There was no reason in his mind for the place to be closed down. They'd be upstairs. He'd never had a customer pop in upstairs. Only people that were supposed to be there and people that weren't supposed to be there.

His strides became long and focused. As did his thoughts. Enver took the stairs two at a time, opened the door and was hit by an array of scents. He cleared his throat and looked around, looking for Emilee. While he did this, the male grabbed out his phone and shot a text to his wife, letting her know he was there and everything appeared to be normal. As normal as it could be for a family function. He made it through the front door without being shot up to high hell or blown up, so obviously his mom was in there and fine. The various cooking smells also confirmed it. He also asked her when she thought she'd be swinging by, not that it was a huge hurry, because as far as he could tell only Emilee was there. No voices could be heard. If Every was there, he was sure Emilee would be trying to get her to talk about something.

"Emilee?" Enver called out as he put the phone back in his suit coat pocket and headed further in to the upstairs home. When he finally found her, he let out a small whistle. "Sort of outdid yourself, eh?" He looked around the dining room and then the kitchen and finally at her. "Happy Easter. Sorry I'm a little late. Traffic was a little crazy." The male didn't make a move to her, instead he leaned against the wall that connected the dinning room and kitchen together.

[Every]

Attire

She had purposely taken her sweet time, pulling up quietly as she decided she couldn’t hold off her discomfort any longer. Spending time with Emilee at the spa had not been her definition of a good time in Every’s mind, between being touched by strangers and picked at. Thankfully, blood had not been spilled on either her body or the spa workers. Turning off her car, she collected her bag with an undignified mumble under her breath as she walked up to the theater. It wasn’t that far from The Eyrie, maybe she should have walked... She entered quietly, removing her jacket as she headed to the stairs with a small sigh escaping past her lips.

This was a bad idea.

Emilee would try to force her to eat, of course.

As she walked, she thought about something she had been researching as she folded her arms in front of her chest before glaring at the stairs unhappily and making her way up after using uninvited guest; although, she supposed she could have used the excuse that Enver locked her out. Breathing in the scents of cooking food, she folded her jacket over her arm and over her bag while keeping her gun within reach. She didn’t trust Enver as far as her sire could throw her. Forcing a smile to her lips, she listened to the man speaking before making her way to the direction he was. Upon finding Emilee and Enver, she stepped inside only after knocking on the wall once. “Sorry I’m late, I had a lunch that ran late with some friends from school. I may need to leave a bit early, too, unfortunately as I couldn’t cancel my plans.”

She, too, remained standing and with her back near a wall from habit, but her hand fell away from her gun after she tracked silently for anyone else in the room from a paranoid habit. Satisfied with only sensing them, she was more likely to not jump out of her skin.

[Emilee Marshall (DELETED 5316)]

She heard her name being called, and while she was glad that someone had shown up - she wasn't glad about the greeting used. Getting up, a little stiffly, she set her glass aside and greeted him with a hug, reiterating what she wanted him to call her.

"Mom!"

She smiled and looked around, looping her arm through his and leaning against him. She'd pushed herself a little too far these last couple of days, and the exhaustion was rearing it's head. If she was to remain standing for any length of time, then some sort of support was going to be needed.

"It's ok Enver dear. You're here now and nothing's spoiled. You're only a few minutes late anyway, and with all you do, and how little I've seen you - it was expected to be honest."

Yes, it was a dig at the lack of time he'd spent with her. But it was a polite one masked in simple conversation.

"Happy Easter my boy. My son. I really hope it's a good one for you. Now, can I get you a drink? Whisky right?"

She smiled up at him and then headed for where she'd set up a kind of drinks bar and mixed him up a Laphroaig with just a splash of water and then came back with it, offering it to him. A knock came, quickly followed by a voice, and she smiled warmly as Every arrived. Though it flickered and faltered momentarily as the girl apologised for being late, and then tried to say she would be leaving early. To say that Emilee was less than impressed, was an understatement - but she masked her irritation at the girl's rudeness by embracing her before holding her at arm's length to look her over.

"Why Every dear. Don't you look wonderful! You see! I knew thre was a proper young lady hidden under all that grime! It's so nice to see the real you!"

Reaching out with one hand to them both, she took their hands and squeezed, tears in her eyes as she looked from one to the other happily.

"You've no idea how happy this makes me. To have my family, here, together, now. You've made an old woman so very, very happy! Now, Every, what can I get you to drink? I've tried to cover most angles, so hopefully I'll have something that suits?"

She dropped their hands and reached for a hanky that was secreted in her bra, using it to dab at her eyes to remove the tears before they fell, while once more returning to the drinks display to see if she had what Every wanted.

[Keara Aithne]

It was going to be a long night and Keara knew it. She had no idea how she was going to get through an entire meal with her husband's mother as she couldn't eat so much as a bite of whatever it was that would be set before her. Not to mention that she'd have to expel a little more energy than normal to make sure that she was projecting her shadow appropriately. While it was an art that came quite naturally to a shadow after many centuries of practice, it was a little more difficult for her in this day and age due to the change in lighting; artificial lights were a lot less forgiving than candle light. It was a talent she had practised nightly since her return, her eyes always watching how shadows fell and formed on others as she moved about the city. Despite what many likely thought of her for the way she spoke, Keara was not stupid.

Enver had already left ahead of her and had even finished getting ready downstairs as Crash had arrived at the Asylum. For whatever reason, Enver didn't like the male in their cell and so had gone to discuss whatever business he had with him on the ground level. This afforded Keara the opportunity to speak with sister to find out what it was that was going on between her and her husband, and she did not like the answer she received. There was little time to be disappointed in either of them now however as the time to leave was fast approaching. Lacing up her last boot, she scooped up Gizmo and began the search for is lead. It didn't seem to matter where she put the damn thing, it never stayed in place for long. Either Enver would put it somewhere different if he'd taken Gizmo out or Gizmo would drag it off and randomly leave it around their cell whenever he could get his tiny little milk teeth into it. She wasn't sure if Gizmo's fascination with the thing was because having it meant he could go out, or if he simply wanted it because it was his. In the end she found herself scrabbling around on the floor of their bedroom, looking under anything Gizmo could get under. The little scamp had deposited it right under the bed and right in the middle, so that she had to place him back on the floor to squash herself down, so that she could crawl under there herself and retrieve it. Gizmo thought this was a great game and began barking at her, his paws on her butt as he yipped as loudly as he could, the noise echoing around the room.

A slight detour was in order of course. If Keara was going to spend the night bored to tears and unable to speak, (as she didn't want to be dealing with questions she couldn't answer) she was going to have a little fun first. It was a shame that her outfit would not afford her a place to hide a weapon, else she could have had a little more fun before the drudgery of the night began. As it was, she was going to have to resort to teaching Gizmo which creatures to chase and which not too. After all, she wasn't completely unharmed, she had her powers to protect them. She didn't spend long in the catacombs though, as she couldn't run the risk of getting herself too dirty, as it was she already knew she'd have to stop and check herself over before going upstairs to "dine."

The outside of the theatre was dark, which was unusual as the weekends were usually when Enver made the most money. The place was usually buzzing this time of night and so Keara frowned as she had find the key to the main door. She didn't usually carry keys, but she'd known she might need to let herself into the apartment if Enver was otherwise engaged and so had come prepared. It wasn’t until after she put the key in the lock however that she realised that the door was already open and so having entered and not locked it behind her (as she assumed it was open for a reason) she headed for one of the public bathrooms. Gizmo was pulling on his lead, trying to dig into a plant pot or something and was whimpering because he wasn't allowed to investigate it further.

Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, Keara examined her appearance, moving further back to check her outfit before coming forward once more to check her appearance close up. She didn't look any different to normal and having put her foot on Gizmo's lead, was working her hands over her dreads to check her hair. She was wearing her hair down and hadn't given much thought to her outfit past what she'd put into what she wore on any other night of the week. She adjusted the collar around her neck and the straps that went about her waste and nodded to herself. The metallic looking dress hugged her figure as did most of her outfits, the skirt short and composed of three overlapping layers of material that staggered down over her hips and ended a good seven inches above the knee. She wore a pair of torn black thigh high stockings that seemed to be held up by nothing at all. Her black leather boots with the chunky soul and heel that added at least another four inches to her height were laced up her calves and stopped below the knee. Jewellery wise she wore the usual; the necklaces wound around her wrists and her rings.

Happy with her appearance, she took the lead back up into her hand and headed upstairs, this time allowing Gizmo a few moments to look around and retrieve whatever it was he was looking for. He’d found a shiny oblong blob, from where it came she didn't know and neither did she care as whatever it was would help to distract the natural destructive pup from chewing things later on. Contented with his find, he padded along beside his owner, occasionally stopping to adjust the object in his mouth before attempting to catch back up with her. As they reached the base of the stairs that lead to the apartment, Keara scooped Gizmo into her arms and then began to ascent them. Once at the door, she set the pup back down, sighed to herself and let herself in.

Keara was barely through the door before she was kicking it closed with her boot as she pulled Gizmo back to her and stooped to unclip his lead so that he could go do his thing and get settled. The little scamp was already tugging and trying to get away before being released, as he'd been quick to pick up dad's scent and wanted to go greet him and show off his prize. The moment he was released he headed for Enver, dropping the chocolate egg at his feet before squirming around him and sniffing at them. Having investigated dad he then began barking, or rather yipping at the two people he didn't know. He wasn't so brave as to circle them and stayed by Enver as he looked from one to the other.

"No!"

Keara called out to silence the pup, her tone firm enough as to make his barking cease and send him running back to Enver where upon he pushed himself between his feet as if feeling the need to protect himself from the people he didn't know. Usually she would have moved to pick him up and get him out of Enver's way but there were other people around and if Enver wasn't going to get the private version of herself, then neither was Gizmo.

"Sorry. Excitable he is. Meets he does not new people often."

She apologised for the pup as she continued to resist the urge to want to scoop him up and use him like a tiny shield against the strangers in her husband's home. She had a good idea who they both were as she was expecting to meet both his mum and his cousin but without a formal introduction she wasn't about to address either by a name that might not belong to them.

Not being the most sociable of people herself, Keara stayed by the door, her eyes taking in the décor as she tried to ignore the scent of the food that made her want to gag. The place looked different. He hadn’t mentioned doing any remodelling and so she assumed his house guest had done it. As she stood there, her toes slightly turned in, she began to fiddle with the lead in her hand, wondering where to set it down. While winding the thing around her hand (without much thought to her actions) she realised she hadn't introduced herself and so looked to Enver as she spoke directly into his mind.

'Enver. Introductions you should make. Need know I do who here is. Oh...and door to street still unlocked is. Knew I do not if that intentional or not was... So left it I did.'

[Enver Marshall II]

He wasn't in the mood to argue, or debate over what to call his mother. "Mom." He said with a nod when a drink was thrust in his hand. Whiskey. Sure, it was his drink of choice back in the day. What was odd was his mother was giving him booze not long after assuming he was using or something to that extent a little while ago. "Thanks. But I don't drink anymore." It was more or less the truth; in about a year he could only think of two instances where he drank more than an occasional beer. "Got any coffee brewing?" He asked as he went to look for the coffee maker. If she did, great. If not, he'd start getting some going.

At least that had been his plan until she showed up. He didn't turn to acknowledge her, instead he snorted when Emilee said she looked nice. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. The urge to make a comment about hookers getting raises came and went in his mind. Childish? Sure. Was it true to her character? Not as far as he could tell. Supposedly the only joy Every got out of life was watching someone burst in to ash after she shot or stabbed them. And everyone thought he had issues? So, the childish, petty quip stayed where it was, in his mind as Enver turned around and gave her a nod of his head. No way in hell was he going to compliment her. "You look...family oriented." Enver said with a shrug before some small rodent came tearing in the apartment.

Of course he knew it wasn't a rodent, but the thing was no bigger than a cat right now. A proud grin pulled on his features as he watched Gizmo yap away at Every and Emilee. He'd get used to Emilee he supposed, but it was hilarious to him that his dog didn't seem to like Every very much. Maybe he had a good sense of character? "Good boy." Enver said to the dog as he scooped down and picked him up, giving him a good pat on the head. "He's just defending his territory is all." Enver grinned over at his wife, before giving her a wink.

"That reminds me," He turned his attention to his mom after he heard what Keara said about introductions and his theatre. "How come there's no one downstairs? My place never closes. Any idea what that's about?" He moved over to his wife then, dog still in his arms as he continued to talk. "This is Keara. Keara, that's Every over there." He put his hand out, with the dog in it, to point her out and let Gizmo get another good yap in at her if he wanted and then to his mom, "And that's Emilee Marshall. My mom." He then looked over at his wife as he held out the dog to her, seeing if she wanted him back. "Like I said, this is Keara. She's one of my guests for the night. Another should be coming at some point, he's running a little late." Enver didn't go in to any further detail about his wife, but he figured by the way he moved over to her and the fact she came in with their dog and offered it back to her, that his mom would sort out that she was more than just a friend.

[Every]

“She comes out from time to time when she has to.” It took a lot for her not to punch Enver right then and there because she had heard the snort in between being embraced and looked at by Emilee, the thought fell short. She had died a year prior to this date and the dislike of being touched was only increasing. Still, she didn’t remind the woman for the hundredth time, having since found it to be useless as her comment often seemed to fall short of Emilee’s range of care.

At the offer of a drink, she moved her gaze over the containers and offered a small smile of her own, “A glass of water with lime would be wonderful, thank you. I’m not much of a drinker. I have to drive later.” When Emilee turned away, she reached up to rub at her face idly with the hand that had been released. Hearing Enver’s comment about being ‘family-orientated’, Every looked at the man and narrowed her eyes, opening her mouth to make a rude retort before the barking caught her off guard.


“It’s quite alright, ma’am.” Watching Enver pick up the dog, she turned her attention to the other woman and recognized her only from a time when she had shot the man. As she was introduced, Every gave a nod of her head to the elder and then offered a smile. They had only spoken previously through email after the duel, but as she listened and Enver mentioned another guest, it made her wonder who else would be joining them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” That was not a lie, as the only elder she knew personally was Chad... and well. There was a reason Every did not consider herself to be a Worthington.

Shifting slightly where she stood, she looked around the room quietly and grimaced a little to herself. The last time she’d been on the upper floor of the theatre, she had learned who her father’s family was and Enver had taken a few drinks back. Holding her belongings close to her body, she leaned lightly into the wall and just enough away from all of them that she was at a decent distance.