The Wandering Minstrel [Alexandrea]

[Meara]

Meara gave the owner’s assistant a smile as she approached before putting her phone away. She stood as she listened, settling her bag over her shoulder and turning to walk toward the stairs as directed. ”I don’t mind waiting. I’d wait all night if I had to because she was so generous in her sponsorship of me.” She gave a wave of her hand to the brunette before starting to climb the stairs. When she reached the top, she looked around at the upper level of the shop.

To her right appeared to be an art instruction space where the staff would teach different media. Blue eyes looked over the sign saying when classes were held, and proceeded to commit that to memory. The redhead could stand to have a bit more training in fabric arts and graphic arts to help with her performance and marketing. However, there was no office that way. So, she turned and walked to her left and into what appeared to be a gallery. She almost paused to stop and look around, but Meara remembered the next moment that she was here for an appointment. She spied a door open to the far end of the gallery that appeared to be an office. Hurriedly, she walked over, but stopped just short of the doorway. To her surprise, there was a blonde sitting there and sipping tea. Kitty had said that Alexandrea was on her way, yet someone was here. She didn’t come in through the downstairs that she saw. Maybe there was another door?

Meara blinked her way out of her thoughts and reached to rap lightly on the door frame, as to announce herself before she spoke. “Hi! Are you possibly Alexandrea? Kitty sent me up to her office, but supposedly she wasn’t going to be here yet.” She ran a hand back through her hair somewhat nervously as she waited for a reply.

[Alexandrea]

"Come in, come in! Yes, I'm Alexandrea. But please, just call me Alex." Alexandrea sang out with a smile. It was the sort of grin that reached from ear to ear and lit up her whole face. An infectious smile backed up with the power of an allurist. The teacup was set aside, as Alex rose to greet Meara and ushered the young woman into the chair that closet to the notepad that was open to the redhead's likeness.

The cart with the tray of tea and scones was rolled up to be within reach of Mear's seating, as the blonde reclaimed her own. "Just indulge me with one more brief moment, please." Alex requested softly as she called Kitty.

"Kitty. Please go get next door and get me some spring rolls? And a pot of the green tea. Hold on."

The blonde covered the phone and mock-whispered to her guest; "Dragon's Inn. Great Chinese. Want anything? You look hungry. I'm getting you something. Trust me."

With a nod that conveyed there was no argument allowed, Alex returned to the call. "And the dinner for three with a side of fried tofu and the hot and sour soup. You'll be eating too so go ahead and order what you like. Get takeout to take home for the hubby and your kneebiters."

Phonecall ended without farewell, Alex focused her full attention on the woman in front of her, looking her up and down with a smile and nodding her head up and down. "I really like your style. And I want to dress you. With pieces that you will have a say in when I create them, of course." Her manic moment passing, the businesswoman's shrewdness kicked into high gear. "I hope you haven't spent the whole gift certificate yet."

There was a long pause as Alexandrea got back up and fixed herself another cup of tea and the sat back down. "Because that five hindered dollars will go a lot further with an employees' discount."

" I want you to come work for me. You'll be able to play the violin as often as you want to and get an hourly rate for doing it. Plus a full-time employee's benefits. You just need to play here. Here, In the Mall, that is."

"Anywhere you like but mainly in my art gallery. Business has been really slow and with the holidays right around the corner, I want to get crowds hanging around here again. And there's another space I want you to play in too. It's the building you were playing at by the riverfront the second time I saw you, The Clocktower. That's my building and I want to see more foot traffic there. There is a bit more to the job than that, but not much and nothing hazardous. Plus room for advancement if you wish it. So, this is what I'm offering you. Just to start."

A slip of lilac-scented paper that was folded in half was pushed across the desk towards the redhead and Alex leaned back in her chair, once again happily sipping on her tea.

[Meara]

“Alex. Right.” The words were somewhat stammered out as she was escorted in to a seat in a hurried manner. Her hands moved to pull her purse up onto her lap as she sat up in the chair before giving the woman a warm smile. She was about to start explaining how she wished to spend the money through the commissioning of pieces, before the blonde begged her to hold on just a moment more as she dialed up the desk downstairs. The woman across from her very much fit the bill of the eccentric artist. Scatterbrained, fashionably late, and oblivious to nearly everything other then what she was focused on.

As Meara continued to wait, fidgeting with the tassel on the zipper of her bag, Alex said she was ordering Chinese takeout. The redhead could feel her mouth beginning to water with anticipation. She had been eating meagerly for a few weeks now to save on funds and would welcome the indulgence. Quietly Meara whispered her order as to not disrupt the assistant on the phone. “Um. Garlic Eggplant with a side order of veggie tempura. Thanks.”

Meara reached to make herself a cup of the tea as well, talking as she worked on dressing her mug with a rooibos tea bag and a packet of sugar before letting it steep. “No I haven’t spent any of it yet. In fact that’s why I wanted to meet with you was to talk about some custom pieces to go with my performance attire.” Meara smiled as she brought her mug to her lips to sip at the liquid, enjoying the hibiscus flavor as she listened. She couldn’t help but feel the woman’s mind and words were moving at a mile a minute as Alex bounced around from how to stretch the money, to outlining a job offer and responsibilities, to room to turn it into a career with upward mobility.

Meara was speechless as she sat there mouth slightly ajar, glancing over the woman. Her gut was telling her there had to be more to this woman then met the eye. Her mind was racing, and churning over all that information before it settled on one factoid. That was the second performance of Meara’s Alex had seen. But Meara had only performed in Harper Rock once.

“But where did you see me the first time? I’ve only come to Harper Rock in the last couple weeks. The Riverwalk performance was the first one here.”

Her words tumbled out of her lips as she set the mug down on the cart. As she turned, her eyes glanced down as if to not spill, but caught sight of a sketch that appeared to be of herself. Meara could feel herself getting very nervous at the woman’s infatuation with her, and prepared to run if she must.

[Alexandrea]

Alex chuckled, her grin still infectious, and sent warmth and kindness in waves to the young redhead. She didn't need to use her empathic abilities to read fear from a human. The blonde sighed, and a hint of sadness crept into her smile. All she wanted was to be one hundred percent honest. About who and what she was. With everyone. But. But she knew better. Now, at least.

There had been a time when Alexandrea would have happily burned down half (or more) of the town if it had exposed the truth to humankind. Or just on a lark, cus well, you know... it was a different time then. (yes, that was it. Alex was quite sure.)

And the scent of the young woman had taken on an edge, the sort of quality that only a predator could taste in the air. And it made Alexandrea...
sad. She was glad she was fully fed, but a staved vampire might have brought more chaos into the world, driven mad by the scent of Meara's nervousness.

That was exactly the sort of thing that was counterproductive to a business meeting.
Sometimes honesty? Wasn't the best policy. At least not when it came to keeping her kind safe. Her old friend Choas was a bad thing. And a frightened human was a very bad thing, indeed. So as much as she hated to do it (not really), Alexandrea used her gifts as an Allurist to inspire Meara, smiling brightly all the while.

Human, vampire, whatever. Business was business at the end of the day and until Meara opened the piece of paper with the salary offer, Alexandrea was going to be driven slightly mad. The blonde tapped the folded note with one dainty finger softly, almost as an afterthought and then pulled back her arm.

All these thoughts occurred to Alex, between the first second when Meara's eyes fell upon the notepad with the drawing that was unmistakenly her own likeness and the nanosecond where her eyes looked away.

"Do you like it?" Alexandrea said softly with a lazy gesture to the scetch with a slender hand. It was done casually, as though both women had been lounging on a bench some lazy summer afternoon.

"I think I could do much better if you posed for me, of course. I had to do that one from memory. From the first time I saw you, in a Toronto subway station last winter."

The Allurist projected empathically sensations of peacefulness, and of security. She really did not mean the human any harm and believed that through sear force of will alone, she could make other woman know so.

Pacifying the musician wasn't on the table... yet. But Alexandrea was ready to do whatever it took to get to eat once the takeout arrived.

" I hate having to leave town on business, but sometimes something happens that makes the trip totally worthwhile. Your free concert in the subway was the highlight of my trip."

[for_peace][/for_peace]

[Meara]

Meara sat there somewhat doe eyed as she listened to the blondes explanation as to how she had encountered her previously. Slowly Meara began to unwind down from her previous state of worry. The elder buskers had always taught Meara to be suspicious of people’s motives. She had seen a girl nearly get killed by a stalker while she lived in Asheville after all. Slender finger picked up the mug again as she seemed to settle back in her chair, letting her purse slide off her arm and onto the floor.

“You’re really quite a talented artist if you can draw that sketch from just one encounter. I remember what day I wore that and everything.” She commented between sips of tea as her eyes raked over the drawing. “I would be honored to have you design some of my performance attire. I have ideas, but it’s not as cohesive if I make it myself. I would like to start with a pair of earrings and ring to go with a current dress that I have.” The dress Meara had in mind was her more formal number that she wore when performing at balls or galas, but she had nothing to go with it. This often led her to looking like a pauper at higher end events, and her tips were not usually as good. If she was to play for the upcoming holidays, she would need nicer attire to fit the bill.

She gave a sheepish smile as she picked up the paper the woman seemed to be drawing her attention towards. “I apologize if I came across as rude with my hesitancy. It just seemed like a little too much coincidence at first.” She assumed it was a contract letter, but she didn’t open it quite yet. Admittedly Meara was nervous. Jobs just didn’t materialize like this out of thin air most of the time. She thought it still a little too good to be true, but Meara decided she would go with it. The woman across from her seemed genuine in her desire to help the young violinist and she didn’t have anything to lose.

Slowly, Meara opened the paper in front of her and let her green eyes scan over the contract. They grew as wide as dinner saucers as she got through all of it before she looked up to Alex. “And I accept your extremely generous offer. When can I start? And what all would you like me doing?” Meara asked cheerily before finishing off the rest of her tea.

[Alexandrea]

The mood of the room improved rapidly as the scent given off by the human female almost immediately became less tainted by adrenaline. The somewhat sickly sweet and slightly sour smell quickly faded away and relieved, Alex pretended to not notice when the young woman's bag was allowed to fall.

The soft thud as it hit the thick woven rug made her pause but only briefly, the sound was too minute for most ears but it spoke volumes to the vampire. It mainly told her that Meara had relaxed, letting go of her handbag meant that the moment of fight or flight for the human had passed for the most part. No woman who carried a purse would let go of it if she had any thoughts of making a run for it. It also carried enough of a subtle vibration through the floor to let Alexandrea know that, like many women, Meara had a lot going on in her bag.

However, aside from any other insights that there might be to be gained on the human, it also reminded the shop owner that she needed to look into some 'purse hangers' she had seen for sale on another artist's webpage. Nifty little things, she was sorry she hadn't thought them up herself. The number of times she had gone somewhere and not known what to do about her bag must be in the hundreds by now. The darn things never seemed to stay put on the back of a chair. She jotted a quick note to herself on a purple post-it and stuck it on top of her Chromebook.

Her attention once again firmly on the young woman before her, Alex beamed easily at Meara's remark about her artistic skills while nodding at everything the human said, her eyes shining with pleasure. And predictably, it didn't take long for her to get overexcited about the idea of designing for the Violinist.

A fresh sketch pad was cracked open and even as Alexandrea informed Meara that she would need to see the dress (of course) and all of the young musician's wardrobe... everything, not just her performance attire (no, really), the blonde was already starting on a drawing of the redhead's head. The right side of it at least.

"Turn towards the door a sec, ok?" Alexandrea whispered with a sense of urgency. "And could you push your hair back behind your ear? Do you wear your hair up or down with that dress? You're not playing on cutting that hair, are you? I love your hair!"

Out of the corner of her eye as she worked, Alexandrea spotted Meara, at last, looking at the job offer and would have held her breath if she had still been human. The Allurist has already decided that the talented young woman was a keeper and plotting ways to ensure that Meara would stick around. The apology the Violinist offered, followed on its heels by the human's acceptance of the job offered, made Alex laugh. It was a friendly laugh, the kind that put people at ease.

"First off. No. You were NOT rude at all. There is nothing for you to apologize for. You have a lot of talent. You are young. You are beautiful. And it wouldn't take a genius to be able to tell that you are new in town and alone. Plus, you are female. That last one alone is more than enough reason to be cautious. Top that with all the rest and you're looking pretty good to a lot of the more... predatory types." Odin quickly crossed Alex's mind's eye but she pushed any thought of the hunky killer away. Now was not the time to 'go there.'

The smile had vanished off of the now urber serious vampire's face. It was more due to the thought of Odin that her mood had swung, but she channelled those feelings and used them to assist her in impressing Meara with the seriousness of what she was trying to tell her.

"The world isn't a safe place. I'm sorry but it just isn't. And Harper Rock? Doubly so. Don't let the small town charm fool you. Always stay aware of yourself and your surroundings, especially at night. And always be sure that someone knows where you are. Even if it's just a co-worker or a neighbour... or whoever."

The blonde pulled out another business card. This one was one of Harry's, the Police Commissioner of Harper Rock. She flipped it over and wrote her name and another number on the back before handing it to Meara.

"This guy is a good friend of mine and owes me... some favours. If you ever get in a jam and can't get hold of me? Don't hesitate to call him. Try the number on the back first, though. It's my personal line."

The happy upbeat Alex was suddenly back without warning and the blonde was almost bouncing in her seat with excitement.

"And second." A box of confetti seemed to appear out of thin air in the Allurists hands, "Welcome to the family!" The box was tossed upwards and the sparkly bits of brightly coloured paper rained down around and onto the two of them. And into their tea.

A file folder was picked up and shaken off by the blonde, who placed it down on the desk in front of Meara. "I'll just need you to fill in a few forms... "

A loud jingling of a bell came up the stairs from the store below and a quick look at the display screens of the security cameras showed that the food had arrived.

" ... and then we can eat!"

[Meara]

Meara seemed a little surprised as Alex sort of started taking off with a design idea after she had signaled her approval to what was going on here. So, she turned her head and pushed her hair aside as she was told. “I have been working at growing my hair out for a few years, so no I don’t plan on cutting it just yet. However, the color may be subject to change without warning.” Meara had already been considering a temporary dye to go with the summer. Maybe some blonde or white, maybe even blue or teal. She wasn’t sure yet. “Um I typically wear it in a pony or an updo of some design. Having it down as I swirl around leads to it getting caught in the pegs or the bow.”

Her voice trailed off as she attempted to stay still as she looked over the paperwork in front of her and would start filling it out. Meara was more then capable of doing two things at once. She would listen carefully was Alex started to explain that the city was not exactly a super safe place, nodding her acknowledgement as she continued to leaf through the papers ahead of her. Maybe that had something to do with the rumors that had enticed her and so many others to make the trek into the Canadian wilderness. Between this suggestion by Alex, the emphasis on the danger of after dark, and her own observation of how the city transformed into a bustling metropolis at night. Meara thought that the tale of vampires roaming the streets was possible. But what did they look like? How could you tell? Well if the gossip was true she was sure to find out eventually.

The runaway thoughts in her head came to a careening halt at the mention of food and the sound of the shop door downstairs. Once Meara finished the paperwork, she handed the file folder back to Alex then set about making a bowl of food for herself and settling in to get to know her new sponsor and employer.

-mid August 2016-

Within a few weeks, Meara’s employment with Alex had evolved from entertainment around the mall to a full sales associate. She was no Kitty, but Meara would often work alongside the brunette in getting commissions drawn up, orders dropped off, and keeping the shop running in tip top shape. On the upside, Alex didn’t mind one bit if Meara was working on composing or practicing in between helping customers. There was no strict schedule, so Meara had the flexibility to take gigs as they popped up as she worked towards building some sort of reputation in the small town.

Meara had concluded that the rumors she had heard in Toronto about the true nature of Harper’s Rock were indeed factual. There were so many unexplained things she had seen, and more then once she swore she had seen creatures move in the blink of an eye. Even more strange, Meara had woken up in a new place with no recollection of how she got there a couple times. She had been keeping notes on all of these things and was intending to ask Alex if any of this sort of thing had happened to her. However, all of these thoughts were pushed to the back burner by one little text.

Hudson had tracked her down, though it had taken nearly a year for him to find her trail. In the text he accused the redhead of ghosting him and he knew which hostel she was living in. Meara felt defeated. Why couldn’t the man just leave her alone? Maybe she should’ve taken out the protective order her friends had suggested after she realized just how controlling he was of her while they were together. However, controlling turned into stalking after she had dumped him. He had been seen frequenting her street shows, park outside her house, and in cafes she liked to frequent. So after consulting with her mentors, friends, and parents Meara loaded up her car and left for the Big Apple so she could get away from her shadow as well as look for her big break.

So at the simplest hint that he might be in town, she first tried to call Harry, the commissioner Alex had told her about. No answer. Meara decided she would go to work like normal, but just take some of her belongings and stuff them in her purse. Maybe Alex would know of a cheap room for rent. Worst case scenario she would just sleep on the second floor of the shop until she was sure that the danger had passed. Fifteen minutes later, she waltzed into the shop and dropped her belongings at her desk. She shot Kitty a small smile before she texted Alex to see where the blonde was.

[t] Alex, its Mea. I’m at the office. Harry isn’t answering, But maybe you can help?

[Alexandrea]

She sat by the side of Harry's hospital bed and apologized again, for the millionth time. The poor old man just grunted. Alex was beside herself with worry when her thrall had stepped into yet another trap but Harry had ended up in the hospital before. But this was the first time that he blamed Alex for it. It wasn't really her fault, either. The truth was that Harry was getting older and needed new glasses but he wouldn't admit it and Alexandrea hadn't caught on yet. So it was more easy for the old man to blame Alex than to admit it was time to start thinking about retirement.

When she finally left the hospital, the Allurist almost forgot to turn on her phone. The Pixel was new and it was her first smartphone. She was still getting used to it. It buzzed in her hands with an alert for a new message as soon as it was unlocked and the blonde almost dropped it. And once she had read Meara's text, she almost dropped it again. Her thumbs flew as she texted the redhead back, asking Meara's location and promising her whatever help she needed.

Once the message was sent, she took out her tome home and headed to the secluded rooftop blocks away. Seconds later and she was waiting on the rooftop garden beside a fade portal that led right into to the town's transit system. She could also teleport or use celerity, if she had to. But discretion was the key... and the blonde had learned better than to forget that.

[Meara]

Her phone dinged as Alex’s messages started to flood her phone. Meara’s eyes carefully read each one before she tapped out a reply, her nails clicking against the phone screen. The cursor stopped, backed up, and retyped what she was writing several times before she was happy with the amount of detail she provided. She didn’t want Alex to get too worried, but it was certainly distressing for Meara to know this creeper was on her trail. Nothing good come from this.

[t] I’m at QCC, but I am heading up to work on the second floor. There’s a guy, my ex, who is trying to stalk me. I left Asheville because of it and he’s found me here. I think he’s in town and I’m really nervous about it. I’m gonna tell Kitty to not tell him I’m around if he drops in. His name is Hudson.

Once she pressed send, Meara waved Kitty over and started to explain the situation to her coworker. She pulled up a picture on her phone to give her an idea of what Hudson looked like in case he lied about his name. Once Kitty had agreed to not give this man any information about her, Meara went to pick up the stack of papers on her desk along with her bag and bolted upstairs to be out of sight.

Within about fifteen minutes Meara was settled in at her makeshift workstation and jamming along to some music as she worked on posting invoices and payments received. While she felt safe here, the redhead could not shake the feeling of being watched.

[Alexandrea]

"...now don't you dare take your eyes off of her, not even for a second. Got it?" the ghostly wraith Aphaythea nodded and then vanished, her instructions complete. Meara had quite simply taken too long to get back to Alex and the high strung Alurist had decided to be proactive about the situation. For all the blonde knew, Meara just needed help picking out the right earrings to go with an outfit. Alexandera kept trying to tell herself that, at least. Although why the redhead would have needed Harry for that, that was the rub. Her gut was twisted around in knots, as Alex's overactive imagination went wild.

When the response from her favourite employee rang through, it did nothing to put the Allurist's mind at ease. Meara seemed to be trying to stay calm and go on with her life as normal. But if the redhead really was being stalked? Sticking to her routines was the worst thing she could do. Alex knew first hand, what a stalker would do. Both having had been one, and from having have been stalked by one. It didn't matter that the stalker and her target had both been one and the same. And Alex had learned how to stalk from the master.

Keeping one eye on where she was going, and the other on Meara via Aphaythea, Alex took the train to Wickbridge and headed directly up to the second floor of the mall, entering the gallery only after checking in first with the closest mall cop on duty. When Odin wasn't around the mall security was up to her, and she gave the guard instructions to double the security on the second floor and at the entrances to the mall.

Entering as quietly as your above average vampire could, Alexandrea came up behind Meara in full stealth mode while the redhead worked on the paperwork. It was tempting to say boo... but instead, the blonde waited to see how long it would take the human to realize that there was someone suddenly standing directly behind her...