Path of the Vampire forum

225k

226k proxy

235k

236k procy

250k

The lights flashed, circling the board before flashing once more between two messages the first being "SOLD!" the second message being "$236,000!"

Amaranthia smiled at Dhara "You put up a mighty fight, but the time ran out just before your last bid. It was a fun time though." Turning to Yasu with a flourish Amaranthia signed her name at the bottom of the contract, in her own blood then asking for the woman's hand she let fall a droplet of blood to seal the contract. The ring dissolved, leaving behind only the tattooed image in a beautiful flourished design. It would reform and return to the ring (removable this time) once the contract was completed.

"The proxy bid was on behalf of Myk, who has won this auction. Myk, please send me either the charity donation of 59,000 or the full amount and I will disperse the balance to Yasu O'del, whichever is your convenience."

As the bids drew on, one of the threw removed himself as the numbers climbed to high. The polite tone dragged Yasu from his mutterings and thought, and he blinked sharply, startled but doing well to hide it. As was a habit, he would offer the man one of his own cards with appropriate contact information, as well as the location of his shop and the dojo he taught at. His head bowed out of habit, though the man would not see it. "Of course. That could be arranged." The event had gifted him a new network of contacts, something he'd been starved for for some time. If nothing else, he could be pleased by that.

Once the exchange was completed, he turned his attention once more as the ticking time drew a rapid succession of bids from the pair who seemed so locked in their friendly competition. Mindful of the time, he had preemptively slipped a few books back in their boxes, doing so with care and subtlety as to not interrupt the proceedings, but to also ensure there wasn't any hectic last minute pack-up to concern over. From there, he became engrossed once more, a quiet beat of breath as the bids suddenly paused...

Time had been the final factor, rather than amount. That truth left him a little winded to think of, as he moved to his feet. Of course, he was content regardless of the winner, though it would be interesting to find an answer as to just what had drawn the less obvious mystery to bid such languish amounts. Once more he bowed his head slightly, studying the markings that now covered his finger with the vanished ring. A simple trick, but a remarkable one all the same.

Turning to the trio that had entangled in the war of digits, he gave a smooth bow, thanking them in a general fashion for their participation. He knew well enough how to address others, though there was always something a little distant and stiff to the motions, impersonal. Though he did give a glance to Dhara, as well as a reassurance that she was also still welcome to reach out to him, or simply stop by the shop as she wished, at any point in time. Once completed his final bow of his head would be saved for the final winner, a calm gaze hiding just a flicker of uncertainty as he now faced whatever followed. He wasn't quite sure what followed once a bid was complete, but that was simply something he'd find out.

She laughed softly as the bells rang and the sign flashed, just as she called out her bid. It was a fun time, and even though she lost, she was still all smiles. "Thank you, Amarantha." She said to the stunningly beautiful proprietor of the club. "Please let Myk know he still owes me those hair trade secrets." She laughed softly and moved over to the Auction block. "I shall take one of those cards, please. After all, I still have a book to finish. And... I would really like to get together over coffee to discuss further literature among other things." She smiled up at the gentleman, waiting for one of the small cardboard squares.

OOC: I don’t believe I had Myk leave the thread, I was just unavailable due to the time zone difference for the final flurry of bids, so I would like to continue as if he didn’t leave the area. Hope this is ok!

The white-haired man had always been terrible with money.

While he respected its application, understood its value in a society that put a label of worth on everything, he was pretty hopeless when it came to hoarding and saving cash. There were other ways to acquire things after all, and Myk was creative in his attempts to extract the items that had value to him. Plus, he was also prone to changing his mind on what he wanted and cared about, and so didn’t mind having to let things go. It wasn’t that he was indifferent to material wants or gains – as a matter of fact, the Telepath had held quite the collection of eclectic desires over the years; from porcelain dolls, to clothing, vintage board games, books, musical items, thimbles, and more. He had filled countless vaults with these unusual treasures only to lose interest in them, forget about them, or donate to others as strange gifts or tokens of his favour.

What money he had acquired sat pretty in its own vault over the years, acquiring interest, and Myk was keen to splash it as frivolously as he could for his own amusement and/or because it would help others. That was why he’d been curious about the charity auction being hosted in the Necropolis and why he’d put an ultimate proposal of just over a quarter of a million Canadian dollars aside. He hadn’t wanted to spread himself too thinly by bidding on every single contestant tonight – also, that would be greedy – but when his sights had fallen upon the young Asian man on the platform, and the bidding war ramped up between himself and those few others, you couldn’t strip his attention away with hydrochloric acid.

He was in it for the glory of winning, for helping people because he could, because he was curious about this whole affair, was curious about the contestant, Yasu, and because he was rather bored.

It was always nice to be where the people were, and especially to be in the thick of it. Myk enjoyed meeting new people and reuniting with familiar faces. He would make a mental note to be more sociable with Dhara and Eirik in the future, but it was possible that such a note would be filed in the part of his brain that was often told to stop providing helpful suggestions. After all, you couldn’t be allowed to live an unrestricted and self-destructive lifestyle with these silly ideas of taking care of yourself, keeping in touch with people, and being open and honest! Not that his thought processes were always this self-aware – sometimes these things just happened, sometimes these things seemed to just slip by him, and despite any hindsight, he couldn’t always recover. After all, he’d already forgotten just what exactly he had purchased for himself tonight.

At Amaranthia’s beckoning, pewter eyes flickered over to watch the signature procedure. The method was something he had not seen before, but with its subtle application of magic, he did wonder if this was a matter of formality or some ritual of true binding. And if it was the latter, what did that mean for the mortal? A level of responsibility stacked itself atop the Telepath’s considerations, not merely by the reminder to pay the bill, but to ensure that he helped Yasu commit to the contract and avoid whatever tribulations would befall him. Myk nodded to the tall, ebony-haired woman with a soft smile – a silent promise to complete his part of the deal when he had a chance to cross the street to the nearest bank. He even passed Dhara a small smile as she flitted about to pay her respects and collect a business card. Myk considered putting together a small hamper of hair products just to show there was nothing more than playful spite on his end, but again, whether he would remember such a thing to follow through would remain to be seen.

As events were wrapping up, Myk approached the mortal to properly introduce himself. Yet, he didn’t offer a hand. Said paw was instead entwined with the other behind his back; his long, slender fingers forming a nest which was accented with cat-like silver nails. He leant forward slightly as if he were attempting to mirror the bow Yasu had given him, but stopped short. The action caused his platinum lengths to slip forward, hanging past his sharp features like a veil of spider silk. And as he was dressed all in black – a long-sleeved turtleneck paired with a laced bodice, skinny black jeans, and high-heeled ankle boots with steel spines – he made the very distinct impression that he was due to attend an extremely alternative wedding.

“Do you need a hand?” he offered, his voice purring up from his chest. “I’m Myk, by the way.”

Yasu was doing a terrible job of not staring.

The mysterious who now temporarily held his time in their hands was even more striking a figure close up. Puzzled by his own silence, the young man could only look on for a few moments, failing to form a proper word or sentence in his mind, let alone bring any to his lips. It made for an awkward, extended silence that fell in response to Myk's offer, and Yasu couldn't even say he was even lost in thought, his mind blank and bare.

When at last the words registered in the cortex of his consciousness, he seemed to give a visible start, blinking in a few rapid motions before drawing a breath, doing his best to hold onto some sense of dignity despite his reaction.

"Er.. yes.. My name is Yasu O'Del." Had he said that already? He shook his head slightly, doing his best to offer a thin smile. He didn't smile much, this was clear by the amount of effort put forth to manage even this much of an expression. It wasn't that he was an unhappy man. Rather, he just simply found little reason to make such faces. If he was comfortable, or content, as he was often.. then such smiles weren't needed to show it. Smiles seemed more fitting for moments of high energy and elation, of which he didn't experience often.

Coming back to the mans offer, he gave another little shake of his head. "It won't take long to pack up," he admitted. Truthfully, all he had to do was toss the things laid out into boxes and cart them off. Of course, due to a lack of vehicle and the hour, he still had to cart everything home. For a moment he couldn't help thinking on the temptation to call a cab, and wondered how the price of fare home might impact an already tight budget. These worries were cast aside though for the moment, and he did well to keep them from his expression.

There was a more awkward situation to address first.

"To be honest..." He cleared his throat slightly and gave a small glance around. "I'm not quite sure how to proceed... I.. trust you have some better idea of what is to follow?" He lifted a hand to the side of his neck just for a second, betraying his uncertainty before quickly dropping it again. There was a small twitch in his lip in response as the specter behind him leaned closer in, likely muttering something improper in his ear, and he had to suppress the urge to swat at the air. He almost did, but quickly disguised the action as drawing out a card to present to Dhara with a soft thanks for her participation.