Night 2: Painting a Brighter Future [Open]

[Azraeth]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

Tagged: Flynn + Indigo + Meara

The look of offense on the vampire’s face was essentially immediate, as soon as Flynn spoke against his ear, and then shot him a wink. He very clearly mouthed the word ‘EXTORTION’ in all caps, mind you, while Flynn was still watching him. Thankfully though, he wasn’t given much time to plan a hastily slapped together revenge (which probably would have totally backfired on him) because Indigo was on the move, and Az was obliged to follow after her, listening as she described not only who they were going to meet, but what seemed like the mission statement for a larger urban organization. The way she talked about it made it clear that she cared deeply about the project, and that made the vampire care. But that had always been his style. He generally preferred to expend his energy on aiding in the endeavours of other people, as opposed to his own. And he was always looking for a new place to give his time, attention, and enthusiastic energy.

“I think I’ve heard the term Apiary before…” He mentioned. “I know the apiculturist definition, but something tells me you mean something more. Forgive my ignorance...what exactly is it?” He questioned, as they made their way through the crowd of people. He noticed the way Indigo didn’t seem to mind pausing to offer hugs to people in passing, which only served to make the Mystic smile. He was absolutely loving the atmosphere. It was nice to see a change. A change he had first noticed at the Town Hall meeting sponsored some months back. People had actually talked, worked together. Well. For the most part. Without getting bogged down by self-interest. It made him vaguely hopeful.
And then someone hit him with an elbow.

He caught sight of Meara and grinned as he slipped away briefly from Flynn to drag the woman into a hug. He honestly hadn’t seen much of her lately, aside from at those turf wars. Some months before, he’d been giving her lessons in how to perform rituals. They had since fallen out of touch, and yet it was good to see her up and about. Especially after the craziness of the past few months. Especially (even more so), at an event like the art night, with all of its positivity. He suspected a woman with her bubbly personality was going to do amazingly with finding people to talk to. But before he could let her go, he swung her around to show to Indigo. “Hey!” He said in greeting. “Meara, this is Indigo - and I think you’ve met or at least seen Flynn? Flynn and Indigo, this is Meara. Actually, do you mind if I call you GoGo?” Totally relevant question, aimed at Indie.

Then he released Meara after a brief squeeze so he could all but slump against Flynn’s back. “And to answer your question, I think we can paint anything but the machines, walls, and flooring. I’m planning to paint dic--daisies on this guy here.” Yeah. Daisies. Totally.

[Lydia]

Tagged: Enver

[for_peace][/for_peace]

Lydia followed Enver’s gaze for a moment, after the tall stranger who had booked it to another room. Not at all certain what that was about, the violet hued eyes snapped back to her Sire, back to… oh… right.

“Um… no, that’s not… that’s not why I was…” she trailed off before sort of changing the subject with a short, flustered-sounding huff, grateful that the ability to blush was just about non-existent now. Maybe it was the blood. Maybe he was like her, too, with the strangely amplified ability to attract others, even if in her case, it seemed to be affecting all the wrong people. A slight frown furrowed her brow as she considered that, the seeming curse that had led to her death in the first place, the one that had gotten even more potent and now had her spending most of her time alone, within the comfortable safety of her home. The next thought spilled out before she could stop herself, almost abrupt but clear, as she reached out and traced a finger over one particular scar on his right arm. “Is that one because of me?” She asked the question with a quiet, almost doleful note to her tone. She knew more now than she did that night, but it was still hard to shake the notion that her own actions had caused someone else any pain or harm, regardless of immortality. She knew, firsthand, that that did nothing where pain or healing were concerned. “Maybe you can tell me about those another time,” she suggested, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, curious as to what could lead to so many injuries. Her own had healed up, without any physical reminder she had been broken nearly in half by a moving vehicle not so long ago. Everything still worked right, as far as she knew. Well, aside from a healthy new apprehension of crossing a busy street, anyway.

“Um… sure…? I have to warn you though… I’m a decent sketcher, but I never did get to get much into painting. Workaholic,” she added with a slight shrug and a smile. “Could get messy…. So. I’ll leave the choice up to you. I don’t want to pull the host away from his duties, or anything,” she said, half-teasing.

[Adley Reed]

Craven, Lakenna, and Jericho had each other; they were all different, in their own ways. They had their own woes, their own demons to deal with. And demons were always more manageable with company. If it had been Lakenna on her own, Adley wouldn’t have left her. Given she had company, however, he’d felt free to do as he’d planned a week ago.

What they all decided to do with their night was up to them. They didn’t have to strip if they didn’t want to; he’d not sired them and demanded that they be as lascivious as he and Indigo liked to be. He’d sired them for other reasons, ones that he hadn’t thought about too much. Watching them all so close and intimate, however (as intimacy was just as possible with clothes on as off), he was proud to call them his.

A few random people had drifted over to the easels; they’d collected their preferred tools and, though some looked embarrassed and shy, others ogled Adley just like the piece of meat he’d offered himself up to be. From his position on the small podium in the centre, Adley had a good view of the crowd, though it was only one part of it. He had to keep still, though his eyes darted left and right, back and forth. Mostly, they tracked his children, of which… well, all of them were here. Indigo was being the social butterfly she had always been, joined by men Adley had never seen before. She was introducing them to Vita; the others were all still huddled where he’d left them, which was fine.

David wasn’t smiling in his famous pose – and Adley had to fight not to smile, either.

[Vita (DELETED 9215)]

Tag: Indigo, Az, Flynn and Meara?

[for_peace][/for_peace]
Vita had only taken off her top when she noticed Indigo coming her way. Vita started to head towards Indigo, and as she got to everyone, the woman extended a hand to the group. "Hey. I'm Vita." Her eyes looked at the two unknown males and the woman who was also not known to her. "You all like to paint?" She inclined her head to the right a little, trying to figure out who in the group might have an artistic streak in them in that respect. "Or just here to shed a few pounds?" Her eyes fell on the woman who just arrived and became part of the group, Vita's eyes flicking over the redhead's figure.

"Why ever you're here, it's all good." Vita assured them, her eyes on the woman's face now, pegging her for a potential artist who just might need some help coaxing it out of her. Something Vita would be all too happy to help with, if given the opportunity. "Did I hear something about daisies?" Her attention shifted briefly to both males, knowing one of them had said it, given the deep tone that came with the comment. "If you're any good at drawing them, if either one of you is down for it, I wouldn't mind scoring one for the night. It's the flower for the month I was born in."

[Indigo]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

“It is a central location, a colony of sorts, if you will, where all with the common interest and shared goals commune among their work. Each lending aid, time and resources to their neighboring artist. Sometimes it is simply a shared work space that can provide inspiration to another who needs it or support for new ideas and directions.”

Flynn mentioned her being a leader and that earned a slow shake of her head. She was not entirely sure that was the case. She was no follower, that was true enough. She was fiercely independent and would act on her mindset without seeking the opinion or approval of another. That was just how Indigo rolled. Before she could expand on it she was introduced to a redhead that captured her eyes and their curious focus. Meara. There had to be a story to go with the fresh face and name. The allurist on a mission for peace and unity extended her hand in greeting as her feet finally picked a place to stand still.

“Pleasure to meet you, Meara. I am Indigo Knight.” A smile surfaced that was warm and inviting in its genuine offering. “You can call me Indie or GoGo or …” She winked at Azraeth and Flynn then shifted to open the space and introductions coming from Vita. An arm slid to the woman’s closest hip and delivered an firm press of her fingertips to give confirm she was close to Vita. More so than might be expected. “Daisy’s are hot beneath these lights. Ready for that?” The expression burst across Indigo's face with sudden awareness it was Vita she was talking to. "Well, of course you are."

[Flynn]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

It was steadily becoming a theme with the group he found himself surrounded by, that each of them was as comfortable with physical contact as the last. Az seemed to hug anyone he knew by name and even some that he didn't, and Indigo was willing to do the same with strangers. And now, Meara (so that was her name) had joined them, as well as a woman who had introduced herself as Vita. Rather than take the opportunity for any more tension to build up in his shoulders, Flynn buried his hands in his pants pockets, but offered a genuine smile to both women in way of greeting, landing on the unfamiliar face, first. "Nice to you meet you, Vita. I'm Flynn." Then his gaze shifted to the redhead. "Meara. I know we had the joys of dealing with the Dragons, but I don't think we were ever properly introduced." That was to say...they were too busy killing and maiming to actually get more than a passing nod to each other. At least he had remembered her name, at all.

And thankfully, Vita mentioned the desire for daisies, giving Flynn all the reason in the world to smirk "I'm here because this lovely creature..." he began with a gesture to Indigo, who had agreed to one of Az's many nicknames for people. "...managed to get me to agree to come, despite being no artist. He is here...because he's basically another limb, and would never leave me to have all the fun without him." he finished with a hand gesturing to the vampire seemingly pressed against his back after having released Meara from the hug. "And, he would be the one that mentioned the daisies, as well." Because lord knows he couldn't paint a daisy worth a damn. It was entirely possible that his partner could surprise them, and what better way to find out then see him attempt it on someone else? Even if Flynn was sure he would get a sharpie dick on him somewhere, regardless.

At that point, he was just curious to see what would happen when the paints started to come out. So far, the room was full of barely clothed bodies, but there was minimal splashes of color. While he was no artist, he could appreciate it, and he was interested in seeing the ways that the creativity of others came out. His creativity just tended to come out in a different form of art, that being music. This...this would be different.

[Meara]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

Tag: Flynn, Az, Indigo, and Vita

Meara was a bit surprised to be scooped up by the larger man into a hug. Her thin arms would wind around the other's shoulders and squeeze back. Admittedly, she was kinda surprised he remembered her after all this time. She was supposed to keep studying with him, but then life happened. In a lot of ways she felt he was like the older brother she never had. A shrill giggle came from her as she was swung around in a circle before being placed back down on her feet. "Good to see you too." She mumbled as a quick round of introductions was made, leaving Meara to try to put their names to memory.

Gogo. This one seemed to be the one that was making this event go. And her hair seemed to go on forever in its chaotic mass of ringlets that framed her face. Vita. Appeared to be Gogo's partner. Meara thought Vita was a good name for someone who appeared to be so full of life, even though it was probable she too was partially dead.

Flynn. She was unsure about Az's partner. She knew about his background, and saying made her uneasy would be an understatement. but this was neither the time nor place to work through any of that. If he could get over his preconceptions of vampires, she could put her negativity aside. Az liked him, clearly. So she had faith that meant he couldn't be all too bad.

Fingers reached back to comb through her long red hair as she gave the group a warm smile. "Nice to meet you all. Quite a good turn out tonight, yeah?"

Green eyes blinked as she came back to the question posed of her. Did she like to paint? Or was she here to flaunt what she was born with. Meara smiled sheepishly as she glanced back between the two couples. "Um I have been known to paint, but it's not my best artistic media. I excel in music, dance, and the occasional theatrical design." A hand reached back and patted the cloth wrapped hard case that was strapped to her back. "But I'm gonna try to paint something that looks a little better than a three year old's fingerpaints."

[Azraeth]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

Tagged: Flynn + Indigo + Meara + Vita (Wilson mentioned)

Indigo described the Apiary, and he could see the correlation. An apiary was a location where beehives were kept, and when the time for harvest came, an apiary produced the natural sweetness of honey. But every single bee in the hives had to do their part. The queen, the drones, the workers, and the larva. All of them worked towards the goal of building a home, of sustaining their colony, of creating new life, and making that delicious consumable. Only at the Apiary, everyone did their own part to create nourishment for the soul rather than for the body. The naming was apt and intelligently decided upon. “I may have to drop in sometime with this guy here.” He said with a nod of his head towards Flynn. Not that Az was confident in his artistic abilities at all. He had always been an academic in life, and had translated that set of interests, as a vampire, into a search for the mystical. Yet...he had changed a lot when he’d gotten his fangs. Maybe it was time to invest in a skill that didn’t involve deciphering languages almost nobody understood.

And it seemed the time had come for an exchange of many names, not just Meara but Vita as well, who Az only had known up to that point as a notion posed by Indigo. Her and a guy named Wilson, who Az assumed he would get to meet at another time. It was good to put a face to the tone of GoGo’s voice, and the expression she’d worn when the woman had been mentioned. And the way the two interacted, how they touched - it said there was intimacy there. The mystic loved seeing that, because to him, all expressions of love were beautiful, and that was exactly the type of thing to focus on for a week in support of unity between vampires and humans. Seeing that not all vampires could be boiled down to their hunger and fangs. That there was more to them than what they ate - but who they cared about. The souls which were bound and woven into their own. The thought made Azraeth press closer to Flynn’s back, his arms squeezing about a middle as if he intended to steal the body heat he felt there. “Hello, Vita. It’s great to meet you. I think I like painting? We’ll see, I guess.” He said with a dose of honesty. As it turned out, about the only actual skill Az had for art was sketching, and even that was...sketchy (pun not intended) at best. Really he had only ever used it when creating diagrams, transcribing roughly what an artefact looked like, etc.

“I’m your favorite limb.” He said against Flynn’s ear, though loud enough for their little group to hear. “But he’s right. I’m the one who mentioned daisies.” He noted that Flynn was totally trying to get out of getting dicks painted or drawn on him. Littled did the human know (the human totally knew) that Az was not to be deterred. “I can’t promise anything I do is going to be beautiful, but I would be more than happy to make one for you...and that makes you an April baby? The calendula flower is the one my birth month is known for.” He also wanted to relay another few stray bits of trivia (Az was a master of picking up useless facts and storing them away where important things should have been). Like apparently common lore stated that the daisy was named for the ‘day’s eyes’, because of when they bloomed and retreated. However, he didn’t want to monopolize the conversation, especially not when Meara was getting to meet people.

“Oh!” He said, as if he’d just thought of it. “You should totally come with me when Flynn and I visit the Apiary. Based on what GoGo’s said, I think you might love it there.” He commented before he finally pulled away from the Paladin’s back. Mainly because he figured he should actually get some paints together. He continued to listen, as he approached the nearest table with numerous colors laid out. He ‘borrowed’ a clipboard which had been placed there, and began to check different tubes of paint, squeezing large dollops of them off onto said clipboard so it could act as his palette. He then grabbed a fistful of paintbrushes and stuffed them into his back pocket before returning. “And you know, we were just chatting with GoGo about doing some karaoke later. It might be nice to have some dance or extra music to go along with it. Are either you or Vita singers?” He asked as he grabbed one of the paintbrushes so he could dip it into a vibrant verdant hue. “Now who wants to get daisied?” He asked, trying to make it sound totally as suggestive as possible.

[Enver Marshall II]

Tag: Lydia

[for_peace][/for_peace]
When Lydia pointed to the newest of his scars, Enver just shrugged and chuckled a little. "Was more like a joint effort, more than a singular cause." He rubbed at it, the skin had sealed and appeared normal, but the cut from glass was still visible. When she suggested learning about the other ones, Enver ran a hand through his hair. "We might need a couple nights for that story. It's pretty long and spans through a few years." He admitted with a cheeky grin, before he gave Lydia a wink, right before he looked around to see...Adley, damn near butt *** naked. Another hand through his hair, before Enver turned back to Lydia and focused on her.

"Well, good thing it all washes off. I think. Or, I'll have another interesting story to tell outside of the scars." Enver gave her a genuine grin, before nudging his head in the direction of a space they could sort of claim as their own on a section of drop cloth. "No rainbows or butterflies, please." Enver teased Lydia a little, before he snorted. "Really, anything you add will take away from whats under. I'm really not fussed what you put on my body, or where." Enver assured Lydia as he picked up the paint to verify that it could, and would wash off at some point.

[Meara]

[for_peace][/for_peace]

Tag: Az, Indigo, Flynn

Meara listened to what the mystic had to say, paying close attention to the Apiary's description. Wheels were immediately turning as she thought about how wonderful an opportunity this would be. Ever the enterprising entrepreneur, Meara reached into the zipper pocket of her violin case to grab a business card. The card was printed on black card stock with silver script font on the top half and a violin flanked by music notes on the bottom. She offered it to Indigo, who seemed to be the proprietress of the Apiary. "If you ever need musicians, you should call me up. I'll tell Alex about it too and see if shes interested in exhibiting there."

She glanced up to Az as he started speaking to her about a group outing. "I would be happy to tag along with you guys. If it has anything to do with the arts I will gladly explore it with you." Even if I'm a third wheel. That last bit was added in her head. But pickers cant be choosers when you're trying to get out of your home where your only friend is a spastic corgi. As the mystic was preparing to make his rounds for body paining, Meara gave him a sheepish smile as she went to sit at an easle just a few feet from him. "Why don't you paint a flower crown on Flynn?" She quipped with a coy smile as she put her bag down and looked at the canvas in front of her as she formulated what she would design.

The card reads:

Nocturne Enterprises
Music Management and Booking Agency
Meara Quartermaine, Owner