A smile tugged at the red-head lips as she caught Doc’s thought. She really wished she could have seen his face at the suggestion of ‘bae’; it hadn’t been a serious one, of course. That he had found a couple of the choices suitable was a great start. Now the couple just needed to have a conversation on the correct one for their relationship. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to be a fly on the wall for that; she’d heard enough stories about flying vases and ice machines gone haywire. No, she’d sit that one out and hear about it later. If she didn’t hear the shouting from across the building first that was. Good luck.Tagged:
(Telepathy) Azraeth, Ayuka, Doc, Elizabeth, Every
(Spoken) Azraeth, Caligrace, Every, Flynn, Tiamat
(Mentioned) Ayuka, Faith
The way Every and Azraeth had positioned themselves had left her a view of the ballroom. She spotted a few people making their way out the main door while yet others seemed to stream out one of the side doors in search of the outdoor ventures. Perhaps at some point she’d make it that way; she still wanted to make a snowman though she’d steer clear of the reindeer. Refocusing inward, she spied Ariadne standing in front of the yule log with… was that Judah? It was, unless she was very much mistaken. That was an interesting grouping if she was honest, though she wasn’t quite sure if it was accidental or by design.
Finally she spotted the true reason for her glancing about. She was unsurprised to see that the Asian had moved on from Alaric’s group. After all, Ayuka seemed determined to mingle and meet a variety of people tonight. The red-head supposed it was part of her job to do so; as a public relations rep it made the most sense. It was as she said to Azraeth though; she didn’t understand why she had been approached first out of all the guests. It wasn’t like she had the influence or prestige that many of the others had, particularly the councilmen. It was a mystery she wanted to explore more if she got the chance; especially given the woman had specifically, personally, and purposely told her she would be back. It was intriguing as was the Asian herself. Seeing the woman glance her way, she gave her a shy smile as she watched her interact with the new group.
”Of course,” she smiled wickedly at him. She was well acquainted with several methods of forcing people to play nice. It was just a matter of paring the correct one with the circumstances. Some were better for dealing with one or two individuals; that wasn’t going to be useful here unless just the troublemakers were targeted which wasn’t precisely effective. It’d also require coordination and be draining, leaving some unable to defend themselves in case of trouble. ”The thought had crossed my mind,” she added in a low whisper. It had and she had cursed herself for not thinking of it before the ball. That changed when she had caught the scent and sight of the roses knowing that she would have to pop home at that point which would allow her to rectify that error. Her growing headache was an ever present reminder that the sooner the better.
The memory of finding out she was allergic to the favored blossoms wasn’t one that would easily be forgotten. Her mother had had a rose garden for as long as she could remember; not that she had been allowed near it. It was odd that her allergies hadn’t been narrowed down before the incident in mind as she’d had year-round ‘hay fever’. There wasn’t a time she could recall where she hadn’t been on a daily medication for it; it helped but it didn’t take care of the problem completely. As she could function without her nose running, eyes watering, or sneezing nonstop, no one wanted to dig further into the root cause. Of course, that had changed the night their coven had done a smudging ritual with white roses. For what purpose, she couldn’t recall but she could remember ending up in the emergency room shortly after the first roses had hit the flames. Ever since she had avoided florists around Valentine’s Day and any other event bound to be swarmed with the blossoms. If she had even suspected that there’d be hoards of them here tonight she would have either avoided the ball all together or brought her medication.
The poor chocolate; she kind of felt bad for the poor thing. It hadn’t deserved to be crushed, but Roman nougat wasn’t one of her favorites so she didn’t feel that poorly about it. Besides, her brother had walked right into that one with his ‘One Ring’ comment and wanting to rule all. She smiled ever so sweetly at the man. Of that I have no doubt. While he seems to be pretty laid-back, I think he hides his wild, feistier side. She didn’t mean it like that though she knew it could, and likely would, be taken out of context. Well, I have a perfectly good couch if you end up needing it. She was fairly sure he wouldn’t for some time, but the offer would stand. Good. You deserve to be happy. I’m tickled pink that you found that special someone that makes you happy…. And decidedly giddy.
Her hazel eyes blinked as she considered his comment. Could it be that simple? Though if that was the case, it really wasn’t simple; there were too many species in the mix. It would just be in-line with the rest of her life straddling the line between each group. After six and a half years in Harper Rock, she had practically mastered carefully balancing between vampire and human though she really didn’t belong in either group. She wasn’t a vampire; that was certain. But neither was she human; at least not what most humans would consider human, anyway. Add a Siren into that mix and it was the start of a new delicate dance of balance. In reality, she knew that regardless, there would have to be a balance found between the three groups if they were to coexist in the city. ”I suppose…” She wasn’t entirely certain about it. Honestly, she wasn’t sure she was the one to be the pioneer into Siren relations. ”That could be messy.” She sighed; she’d deal with that if it came up, for tonight, she wanted to enjoy herself and the lovely company.
”You rarely intrude,” she laughed quietly. ” Mi casa es su casa, after all. It’s not like I’m planning to take someone home with me tonight, so it’d be safe.” Even if Ayuka’s interest was personal, the red-head wasn’t in the habit of bringing someone home on the first date; siren or not. She shook her head in quiet amusement as she dropped the chocolates into her own stocking; she hoped he was keeping some for Flynn. ”I know Doc, Liz and I will likely get together at some point, but outside of that I’m free. Liz might have an idea as to timing. But, I concur, I love the idea of spending time with the people important to you.” She smiled at Every, as Azraeth informed the woman she wasn’t off the hook either. She nodded in agreement to the statement; if the woman had free time, perhaps a small, casual gathering would be in order for an hour or so. Nothing fancy; and certainly nothing public – not after that fiasco a month ago.
The blood thief couldn’t help but smile at the way her brother described his first meeting with the paladin. She had met the man prior to the event in question at Voodoo Café and had been intrigued by him. It had been a happy coincidence that he had met Mortll and joined Voodoo Dragons where he’d been a welcome addition. Though, Longslade had pretty much been a trial by fire for the poor recruit. She’d popped into the building once and left very shortly after seeing how much mayhem had already occurred and was in progress. She had gone back home and straight into research mode; she must have missed seeing them. It was adorably sweet listening to what was being said and what wasn’t but could be inferred. He was definitely smitten. There was no doubt about that; who knew he could be this romantic too. It was a side of him she hadn’t seen before and it suited him well.
Flynn’s reappearance wasn’t a surprise; she’d figured he’d return sooner or later. Either that or Az would go seeking his mate; the vampire was quite protective, after all. She had nodded politely at his greeting to both Flynn and to the woman accompanying him. But it was his gentle admonishment of his lover that caused the red-head’s eyes to widen ever so slightly. Especially when he then threw out Azraeth’s ‘chosen’ full name… and it wasn’t Dragomir. That was just as telling as her brother’s admission that he was considering a ring; especially since he was now trying to turn the color of her hair. Yup, he was totally head over heels for his paladin. It was also obvious that the human was just as smitten as his lover. It was adorable and incredibly sweet.
She nodded politely at Caligrace as the woman seemed to come out of her magical evening induced introspection though she didn’t get a chance to comment as the new arrival spoke up. Like Az, she had seen the woman at Voodoo, though typically she seemed to have her nose buried into a book. Tiamat had attended her Halloween party, though she wasn’t sure she had made a decent impression on the woman then. ”Hello,” she nodded politely as she was introduced.
The red-head wasn’t impressed with the woman who came over to barge in on their conversation without so much as a ‘pardon me’. Even if it was an introduction, it was still polite to adhere to social niceties. The woman’s name was filled away for later reference as the mention of knives and guns set her awareness on edge. Such things were not mentioned in these settings, though now she was curious and would have to ask Every about it later. She was sure there was a story there and she was dying to know what this Faith’s issue was. An eyebrow raised as Azraeth seemed to put his verbal foot down; she took a moment to appraise the woman. A paladin though it seemed she was a bit newer to it though that certainly didn’t excuse the behavior. She could have gleefully giggled as the woman blinked out of existence knowing that it hadn’t been by choice. A sly look was given at the Mystic as she mouthed her question ‘Where?’
Finally, she could answer the question she had been asked earlier. ”I’d love to go build a snowman. Childish, I know, but it’s been…too long… since the last time.” She wasn’t about to admit that she’d only ever built a single snowman around age 5 to a room full of press and strangers. ”While I plan to steer clear of the reindeer, perhaps a walk of the grounds would be a suitable alternative.” It’d also be a break from the stuffiness of the ball room. ”Hitting the dance floor is pretty high up there too.” Again, she wasn’t about to mention the first and last time she’d done that was a couple months ago. ”Getting my medications for these allergies pretty much tops the list, though,” she added in a whisper barely high enough for Azraeth to hear.
”Please excuse me for a bit.” It was likely a bit abrupt but the dull, roaring ache in her head was now accompanied by a sharp stabbing pain that signaled the onset of an allergy-induced migraine. She only had roughly ten minutes to take her meds before she was out of commission for the evening at best or the week at worst. She gave Azraeth a small smile as she mentally supplied him with further information, I need my allergy meds before I end up out for the count. I think I’m also going to address one of our… issues as well. There was a small pause where it seemed like the blood thief was debating something. Do me a favor and keep an eye on Ayuka? I don’t think people are happy with her presence. Which was certainly a major factor in the red-head’s decision; siren or not… purple people eater or not… everyone deserved a chance to enjoy the party without issues. She’d been on the outside long enough to know how suspicious most tended to be. Add in that the Asian was a siren and the Administrator seemed to think they had it out for vampires; it could get ugly fast. Especially with the paladins also starting to make themselves known.
She nodded at Every, Flynn and the others as she departed from the group. As she walked towards where she hoped the bathrooms were, she sent Every her own telepathic message. Her eyes scanned the crowds as she weaved through the gathered people. She frowned as she realized Santa-Ripper was not to be found. Another round of thoughts were sent to Every and Azraeth in turn; she really needed to see if there was a way to include multiple people in one. Looks like Ripper’s slipped off. I don’t see him in here… Her red tresses bounced as she shook her head, continuing her journey.
As a matter of fact, she hadn’t seen Doc either, but given Elizabeth didn’t seem concerned about that, she wasn’t worried. Hopefully he was mingling and attempting to enjoy himself at least a little. Still, she didn’t want either to worry if they came looking for her, so each was sent their own message. I need to head home for my allergy medication. I’ll be back shortly… I may run one other errand as well. If they wanted to know, they would ask, but she wanted to keep it simple not knowing how they were currently engaged. It was that rationale she used to slip a quiet, gentle thought to Ayuka, I will return in a few moments. There is something I need to attend to.
In a hallway off the ballroom, she had been greeted with a selection of doors. She supposed she could have just asked one of the elves to point her towards the restrooms, but they had seemed busy enough without having to give directions or escorts. The first couple doors she had tried had been locked. The third had seemed to be a version of a janitor’s closet, only nicer and much better organized. It was filed away in case she couldn’t find what she was after. The next room, though it wasn’t the sought after bathroom, seemed to be an abandoned storage room where unused furniture had been piled. She was surprised it wasn’t locked, but she wasn’t about to complain about that right now given it was perfect for what she was after. Locking the door, she concentrated on her apartment before quietly disappearing.
As she reappeared in her apartment, she was already heading to the bedroom. She tossed her overstuffed stocking on the kitchen counter as she went; she wasn’t taking it back to the party with her. The pouch of money from earlier in the night was tossed on to the bed as she opened the drawer of the nightstand to pull out a couple pill bottles. She shook out a single pill from each before replacing the bottles and retreating to the kitchen. From the fridge, she nabbed a bottle of water; large sips of the clear liquid helping to convey the pills to their new home. With the bottle empty, she tossed it on the counter.
She took a brief moment to retrieve a pouch from one of her lockboxes before disappearing again. This time she reappeared at a ritual altar thankful the tome made it easy. Emptying the contents of the pouch on the altar, she sorted them out, returning the extra binders to the container for later use. A single hawk’s eye was set out first with an antique something or other placed beside it carefully. The bone of one of the stronger mooncalves was laid beside the pair in a neat line. Two vials of blood – one from a sorcerer and the other from a paladin – were added next in line before the spread was completed with a small pile of Bishop’s Weed.
After a moment’s pause, she took everything except the hawk’s eye and Bishop’s Weed and placed it into circle where she’d bind the demi-fae. Her ritual dagger slid into her hand as she stepped back around the altar. She was good at these, but not skilled enough to trust there being no barrier between them. Pricking the tip of her finger, she smeared the blood on the hawk’s eye before tossing it in the circle. Better to have the first binder in place than tempt fate in her opinion. A drop of blood was squeezed onto the bundle of plants. Picking it up, she carefully and clearly called forth the demi-fae by name, ”Seus, I summon thee.”
She waited for the demi-fae to appear before she continued. Each time she got to a spot where she wasn’t sure of the word to use, she’d test them out till the demi seemed to respond positively. A fair amount of bloodied hawk’s eyes had ended up by the time she was eighty percent done. Switching to English, ”Goddess above. Dammnit, you little fairy fucktard, stop trying to break out. It’s not going to work and I have a party to get back to. Wasting my time is not in your best interest.” She had growled lightly before returning to the mysterious fae language and completing the ritual. Either her threat had worked or it was tiring as the last few words of the ritual passed without incidence. As soon as the items she had placed in the circle disappeared, she breathed a sigh of relief. The demi had accepted its appointed task; both the grounds and manor of the Mayor’s residence would be protected from violence now.
A quick look around to ensure nothing was left out of place later; she disappeared to reappear in the still-locked room she had initially left from in the manor. Unlocking the door, she slipped out, careful not to be seen before heading back to the ballroom to rejoin the others. Mission accomplished.
