Not yet ready but doing it anyway. (Open)

[Zodiac]

”A party? One of your parties? Gods save us all.”

She finally laughed again. Those parties had been some wild events, to be sure. ”Sure, I could help you advertise one and set up the place, but I don’t know about actually attending.” Going to some of Crissy’s parties had ended up in the ‘Oh Gods, I don’t dare talk about this to ANYONE!’ group of memories she had. Things happened– simple. She recalled one where she was woke up by the cleaning crew who was trying to get the place ready for the night after. Curled up in a booth, and then looking for her shoes for an hour.

That was one of the tamer events. Others had gone above and beyond the norms. Like a Mardi Gras party she attended at the Met one year. What the hell had she been thinking.

”Others have tried parties for a rallying call for the world to see vampires in a more positive light, to be sure. BUT, none of them was Crissy either. I imagine you will pull off a coup with such a thing.” she said while trying to dismiss some other memories that had woke up in her head. She motioned for a refill for them both.

[Cristiana]

Out of everything that could have been said or done to make one person flustered, this was it. The blush crept up to her cheeks, adding to the naturally human like flesh tone she had already. Her parties had been, back in their hay day, pretty epic. It was always a gathering without harm to come to anyone, and she took great lengths to see to that. Even if jesting became to heated, she would intervene. The blush flushed thru her cheeks remembering some of the wonderful parties. Her favorite might have been Christmas but the Luau was a top second.

“Oh you do know how to flatter a lady!” She chuckled, a hearty chuckle. “A fiesta épica or
fête épique for this town, the likes of which it has not been seen in some time. Someone to wake those old fuddy duddies out of hiding. It would be good to see what people actually exist in town. Do you think I can get people to pay a small door fee to donate to those less fortunate?”

Now in the past, her parties have been known to get a little wild. Even on the lowest points, she tried to keep people entertained with games and contests. There had been points where she could not be in attendance to her own events and let people like Zodiac and Simon host for spurts in her place. Zodiac, who was a master at Rituals cast Eirene`s Will on the entirety of the building to make it impossible for one to raise a hand in anger to another without a demi fae demon showing up and taking care of the problem by slaughtering those involved. Even certain powers were restricted in the building. Just an added perk to the vast security she provided to ensure everyone’s safety. It was of the utmost importance that everyone feel safe and secure. If she could, she would have it done everyday.

“This will of course take some planning and prep work! I wonder who will be available to help me. Gosh there is so many people I hope to see.” She recalled some familia that she wished to see come, but certainly one person she wished that would not return, ever from this point on. It might break her if he returned, but she wasn’t sure what would break her more, feeling the sire childer bond broken forever or having him appear in person, face to face. That thought instantly sobered her excitement.

[Zodiac]

”It’s not flattery if it’s a fact,” she replied as the drinks arrived. ”Like I said, this would be a Crissy party. I see no reason why a cover charge would be out of the question. In fact, we could make it a ‘match it’ event. Say the total of cover charges comes to 10 thousand? We’ll add 10 k more. Whatever comes in, we double it. I think the Met has earned the rep of doing what it says it will do, so I doubt many will think it’s just a scam to get the club money.”

She took a fresh sip as Crissy began to wonder about who could help and absent old friends. Whatever joy she had running into the woman was rapidly evaporating now. Zodiac spent too much time finding ways to not think like Crissy was now. She had lost her share and more, and dwelling on them did not help a bit. People were gone. She gave up searching for them and until the day they came back and knocked on her door they were most likely dead-dead.

”If you will excuse me for a moment, dear.” Zo slowly stood up from her chair. ”I need to go check a few things in the back and make sure next week’s orders got sent in. I’ll be right back.”

She walked behind the counter, pausing only to exchange a few words with some of the staff, and went into the back area of the establishment. She made her way to a small door marked ‘Office’ and stepped inside. Once the door was closed, she leaned back against it, looked up , and silently screamed. Finding someone like Crissy again was supposed to be fun and laughs and not all this drag up the dead and gone nonsense. She had come to terms with it in her own way. Just like the living, the undead were no different. Come to depend on them, need them, even love them, and they vanish.

Every time.

When she had finished, she took several deep breaths and composed herself. A quick check of herself via the cam in the office laptop and she returned to where her guest was sitting. ”Thanks. I wasn’t sure if I got those out or not earlier.” Her smile was back in place and her eyes sparkled. ”So yeah, I am sure a Crissy bash will drag some out of their cobwebbed caskets to play.”

[Cristiana]

There was a lot of work that went into planning a party, it wasn't just pick a day and let people show up. The contests and giveaways were a big part of the fiesta, games and the such. Plus food and drinks were a must. But none of it would be even possible without a rocking theme. So she thought quickly what might a good theme be.

It was something to mull over. Her sudden shift in mood had the other woman running off. Depression was nothing to joke about nor was it fun. She knew this as it seemed to be growing. Just give up and let go, he moved on and so should you. It seemed that was the true theme with her, give up because they did. All those promises to at least remain friends was nothing more than pillow talk and sweet nothings.

Zodiac had the patience of a saint to deal with her. As far as she knew the woman dealt with a ton more, people always unloading onto her shoulders. She instantly felt bad. Truth was Zodiac was so much more than a friend. She loved the woman, dearly and immensely. It just never proved a good time for them, both had previous relationships that kept them bound. Crissy broke the binds to her but never had the heart to ask if Zodiac ever did the same. Plus in her own twisted mind, she wondered things. So many of things, but what it boiled down to is she never felt good enough. Not for Zodiac and sure as heck not for anyone else. "We will see if something in that avenue stirs the dead, figuratively speaking that is. But it will take a lot of planning and time, I need to have time for a party. Maybe I should put a time limit on this one."

As Zodiac neared the table with some excuse, Crissy nodded. “I know how it gets. Business is business, it must go on. So enough about me and the woes, what of you dearest? Are you faring okay? How is life here in the city for you?” It was a welcomed distraction from her own atrocious thoughts and foul mood. She was trying to be happier, she really was.

But….

[Zodiac]

”I said I would help you plan and make some of the arrangements, so that’s one helper.” she laughed as she sat back down. Working on such a thing would be a welcome distraction in itself.

“… what of you dearest? Are you faring okay? How is life here in the city for you?”

Her mindspeak broke out in cackling laughter most would find stereotypical of someone who claimed to be a witch. How was she fairing? That depended on what aspect of her existence Crissy was asking about. The overall picture was not what it had been in the past. The fact she was traveling around in garments other than her normal attire should have been a high sign things had changed. Business had stuttered for a while, but now was balanced again. Getting supplies had become an issue due to the Army blocking traffic in and out of town, but it was nothing the black market could not deal with (so far) So work was great. It was all the mystic did anymore. What else was there to do? The majority of her friends and loved ones were gone now (elsewhere or into the Nexus) It was kinda hard to go out and have fun when things like that happen, so that left work which had its own problems. She kept as busy as possible, which was easy during the day and the night.

But now, in this time of the night when the world began to yawn and the lights began to shut off was when she had the worse of things. Only so many plants to tend to, spells to work to perfection, books to read before she’d find herself alone with nothing to do. And when she had nothing to do she began to think and thinking sometimes brought tears to her eyes considering what she found herself thinking about, but in the morning the cycle would begin again.

Zodiac caught the eye of one of her staff and pointed up to the ceiling. A moment later, a ventilation fan directly over their table began to purr away. She pulled a cigarette from her purse and lit it-despite all the ‘No Smoking’ signs the local ordnances forced her to do. As one of the girls carried an order to a table, she passed by and deposited an ash tray on the table for her to use.

”Is all good.” she replied as she exhaled and watched the smoke go upwards into the vent above. ”Business is good. I am secure. What else should I be worried about? Outside of some weird customers I have been having but security deals with them for me.”

[Cristiana]

Both women at times were too much like the other woman. Cristiana raised a brow as she gave a vague generalized description of how she was doing. It still was a mask of what lay beneath the surface of the woman. What lay hidden behind the mask that Zodiac wore oh so well. “Ok now cut the ******** and tell me the truth.” She said in one of her tones that meant she knew what Zodiac was doing but really she knew why she was doing it.

“I can see how the business is doing. I can see how you mask over your face. Maybe we should both drop the masks and be straight. I am tired of keeping up appearances for appearances sake. I am tired.” She said and without even bothering to ask Zodiac, she plucked one of the cigarettes from the box and lit the tip inhaling the sweet, sweet tobacco into her lungs. She exhaled tilting her head and lips upward, so the fan would catch the smoke. But her eyes, steely violet were locked onto Zodiac. “We can’t continue to play these games anymore.” She muttered softly.

In the end it would have to be like this. They needed to face things as they were. No more secrets, secrets were what was killing everyone including the city itself. She carried enough of that burden on herself, as did Zodiac. Sometimes when you hold the weight of world on your shoulders, literally. When you keep everyone else's secrets it's not far off that you keep everything about yourself a secret as well. All this time, she never once took her eyes off Zodiac. And Zo should have known she would see past this. It was Zodiac who grabbed a cigarette before Crissy, which was in itself highly unusual.

[Zodiac]

She smirked as the woman demanded she cut the crap. In her own thoughts, the phrase ‘How does it feel?’ floated along like a happy little cloud in the sky. How many times had Zodiac had to practically use a crowbar to get a degree of the truth out of people like Crissy and others in the past? Too many. Double standard much? Another phrase the mystic was fond of (and had used too often) joined her thought cloud.

“How dare you treat me the way I treat you?”

She exhaled again as something caught her attention. A customer was making his way to their table now. She knew that look all too well. Total indignation ready to be released with volume and sarcasm in some strange attempt to make him appear the champion of whatever problem he was having now and humiliate his selected target. She held up a finger to Crissy to hold her thoughts as the man arrived and towered over her. Just as he was about to launch his rant on the fact the pair of them was smoking, Zodiac stood up and grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled him closer. She saw the confidence melt in his eyes for a moment as confusion took over as he was suddenly not on the offensive.

Gotcha!

Her eyes widened as her thoughts bored deep into his mind.

”THIS IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN HERE!’ she projected into his brain. ”GO SIT DOWN AND ENJOY YOUR TEA!”

Just as quickly, she let him go and sat back down in one fluid motion. He stood there for a few seconds before blinking and looking around a bit. When his eyes returned to Zo, he was totally out of sorts.

“I…I’m sorry to bother you two. Don’t mind me.” A deflated voice spoke. “Have a nice night.” He apologized and turned to go back to his spot at the counter and order another cup. Still unsure why he had approached the 2 women to begin with.

”Asshole,” her thoughts touched Crissy’s. ”I despise self righteous people like that. Are they trying to save the world or just make themselves look like heroes in front of people while attacking something they know is already evil in the eyes of the world. Is very easy to be brave when popular opinion is behind you.”

Her eyes returned to Crissy and considered her statement.

“We can’t continue to play these games anymore.”

”Games? Isn’t that part of being what we are, dear? Vampires are chock full of games. In fact, once we got our feet under us, it was a game in itself. How to be what you were without getting caught. I got quite good at that game by hiding in plain sight of the world. Now it’s a magnet for every freak job out there. I actually had someone come in and threaten me at gunpoint to turn them. Can you imagine the balls this guy thought he had?”

“Yes,” she smiled. ”The balls he HAD. Doesn’t have any now. So what exact game are you referring to, dear Crissy? The one where we pretend this is the greatest thing to ever happen to us? The one where we begin to think we were never human to begin with, so the rules do not apply to us? The one where we think we have ‘forever’ but it turns out none of us knows how to cope with that?”

Her eyes grew narrow as a hint of her fangs could be seen hiding behind her lips. “Nothing lasts forever, even if the ones playing the game have the potential to do so. How well is that working for you now? Forever friends? Forever love?”

She mock spat at the floor in disgust. ”Or do you mean games between us? That’s a fair question I guess. We have always liked each other in one way or another. Should I stop pretending, love?”

The cigarette was dropped into the ashtray as she reached out and pulled Crissy closer. Her lips finding hers as she held her in place for a kiss. Some of the patrons laughed, whistled, or made the ‘get a room’ comment as she held her close and kissed her deeply.

Just as quickly as it started, Zodiac pulled away. ”How long would we last before you got another bug up your *** and leave me all alone? Just like everyone else in this so called great unlife has done? Huh? Why bother if you are only gonna end up back where you started from? Answer me that, Crissy. That is a game as well. One I have been forced to play too many times by too many people.”

[Cristiana]

The man walked over, she seen the self righteous speech he was planning on giving the two women when he arrived. He was practicing the words behind his the pools of his eyes. And just when he thought he had the upper hand, Zodiac not her reached out and grabbed him. The mask not only slipped but fell into the sewer and was swept away with the current of the waters from the last heavy rainfall. Oh this was Zodiac, the little spit fire, the real one and not everyone’s dumping bag for every trifle problem they had. When the man turned tail to run, she amused, waved her fingers thinking “Buh Bye now.” But didn’t say so out loud.

It was when Zodiac turned and kissed her, she melted for a moment against those silken lips. Those lips she had longed for so many of nights. When Zodiac pulled back she unleashed a hell on the woman, and only partially rightly so. When Zodiac asked how long before she got another bug up her *** and she was left alone that's when her thoughts slipped from parted lips.

“Alone like the so many nights I woke up only to find the bed empty? Or alone like the feeling we have to sneak around for so long because we are going to hurt everyone we know? Which alone are you talking about Zodiac? The feeling of oh dear god what if I slip in public? What if someone sees me staring too long? What if I laugh too much? Pay too much attention too? What if? All those many lonely nights of being there alone with a crushed heart because all you wanted was to be able to do that…” She motioned to the her lips meaning the kiss, “For so long now and now that’s it here it feels like it was only done out of anger. When you jerked your hand away I thought here we go again, another day of pretending when I went to get these damn papers.” She slapped the divorce papers down, “For you. I took the steps to ending the relationship with Quoth. Yet again I am in the wrong. Always in the wrong.”

She shook her head and dabbed out the cigarette. “Come find me when you can figure out what it is you want Zodiac. Are we to be friends as we have, secret lovers as we have, or are we finally going to come into the light or is it nothing? I am tired. Too tired to keep up like I use to. It was fun sneaking around when no one was looking on and off as we have, but the fact is I wanted to be with you in public and you could never be. Then we both couldn’t be and now … what is it we want. My heart can’t take much more before it grows cold. So yes, please stop with the games and be straight with yourself, then let me know.” Nothing she was saying was seething with anger. It came from a place that was exhausted and worn out, tired. It wasn't hurtful words just lingering thoughts. "Really think on this, I will give you time to do it."

She kissed the woman on the head, “But I can’t be the one hidden in the shadows ready to dance when it’s convenient for you. And I won’t be a moment longer. We’ve both a lot to think on here. And how to go forward from this. What is it you want from me?” Because she was generally perplexed and uncertain what it was that display was. She loved Zodiac, there was no doubt that she did. But she was probably as confused as Zodiac was at the moment. When would she run? But when will Zodiac do the same? Zodiac’s running might not as been as far physically, but it was emotionally and yet she didn’t see herself doing it. And the other question was she, Cristiana herself, ready for something more after all this? There was a sadness in her eyes that crept out not in tears but in weariness.

[Zodiac]

”Fine.”

The single mental word hung between them. Zodiac stood up and slipped her coat back on. ”So this is all my fault? My problem? That’s okay, I am quite used to that one being laid at my feet. Ever occur to you we both screwed up in spots? We both made bad calls and confused the **** out of each other. I will admit free and clear in this I was no angel but don’t you dare act like I was the total devil in things.”

Absently, the mystic picked up the folded bundle of papers and looked at them. She had really done it. Quietly she refolded them and laid them back on the table.

”I think we both have things to consider and reconsider. We always have, but now that I know you are back, perhaps it’s time to do the considering finally. I never meant for things to get this stupid between us. I swear it.” she sighed. Zodiac saw their waitress looking at them, so she made a gesture. A circle running around both her and Crissy and then pointing to herself. The meaning was clear. Her eyes returned to Crissy and a thin, sad smile crossed her lips.

”I know how to find you and you know how to find me, so we will meet in the middle somewhere hopefully.” Her fingertips gently caressed the woman’s cheek before picking up her backpack. ”And be careful out there, Mi Amore. This town is no longer safe for our kind. That would just be our luck. We finally figure this out and one of us is off floating in the Realm or worse.”

“Blessings of the night to you.” Her mindspeak a thin whisper as she turned and headed for the door. Zodiac did not even need to check to know the cat was keeping pace with her steps. She exited the building and turned to the right. Ducking into the small service way between the buildings she bend over and picked up Ginny with one hand while the other slipped into her purse. When her fingertips found the tome hiding inside, she concentrated and the pair vanished in the shadows.

Once back inside her dwelling, she let go of the cat. As Ginny began to inspect the place for changes, she dropped her bags and coat and simply flopped down on the overstuffed couch there. Her eyes staring at the ceiling in the darkness. Eventually the cat returned and curled up beside her. One hand absently petting the black furred beast while her mind kept processing what had happened in the last couple of hours.

”Well, we haven’t changed,” the thought was meant to be amusing, but her face was frozen. ”Not that much at all.”

[Cristiana]

Before she could answer Zodiac was gone. She looked at the empty seat and shook her head, “And you say I am the one to always leave.” She motioned for the waitress, who when she appeared looked perplexed as the woman who called her over, “While I regret such a public display I am afraid there is one more thing needed this evening, a pen and paper if you will.”

The young lady nodded and returned as quickly as she left with the request in tow. Cristiana scribbled down this note:

My Dearest Queen Zo Ho the first and only holder of the diamond kitty,

We have both made mistakes. We both ran and keep running the moment things get heated. It’s a 50/50 effort for screwing this up. When you want me to be around, just as it always been, all you ever needed to do was summon me. You were the only one who was ever able to after all these many of years. When you have calmed, please call me one way or another. I do love you dearest, but you are right in that we both need some space to sort our minds out. Even though we have had plenty of space as it were.
I will be around, come see me when you are ready to talk again.
Until then dearest.
Love, Crissy your ho

She folded the letter and handed it over to the girl. “Please make sure you send someone right out to give this to her. I will see they get tipped graciously.” She unfolded several hundred bills and added them to the letter. The girl nodded went running after Zodiac herself.

Cristiana headed toward the door, and no sooner was she out the door was she gone from sight. Half way across the city, she pulled the door open to a bar and for once not her own bar. “Cherry brandy please.” She called out the order to the bartender who looked over from wiping the glass out with the white rag.