Dinner with the girls (Invite)

[CharlotteC]

"Welcome home!" She sang out softly as she looked down to the cat carrier that held the small male kitten she had picked up. Charlie heard the soft mewling of the kitten before she heard the groan of her thrall and roommate Rhett. She glanced up at the male and gave him a 'I'm going to smack you' glare. Of course, for some reason he never was scared of her. That was a perk in many ways, it meant that she always had a free and willing meal, someone who knew who and what she was. He was more like a brother than anything else, which explained how the two of them constantly bickered back and forth like siblings.

Rolling her eyes, she closed the door behind her and then glanced up at the nearly floor to ceiling cat condo that she had Rhett get while she was out. He had managed to put it together in record time as well, so all she needed to do was let the cat out of the bag - or rather cage. She leaned down and put her fingers near the cage door. The little monster she brought home was already trying to work out how to open his cage. She laughed a little and gave him a hand, opening the latch for him and letting him do everything else.

As she let her new kitten roam around, she moved over to Rhett and sat next to him. "What are you going to call him?"

"Batman." She said dryly and then laughed as Rhett looked at her like she was nuts. "Don't even diss my name choice." Charlie playfully threatened and then went on "Actually, I was thinking either Neo or Morpheus... let's see shall we?" She said and then glanced around, listening for the kitten. He was already playing with one of his toys. A little feather that was stuck to the wall. "Neo!" She called. The kitten didn't even glance her way, his ears not even perking or moving. Then she glanced at Rhett.

"Guess that's a no."

"Mhmm... Morpheus!" She tried and noticed his little ears turn in her direction "Moooorrrrpheeeeus...." She sang to him. His little golden eyes turned to her, one little paw lifted in the air, ready to bat at the toy once more. "Come here Morpheus..." She tried, patting the side of the couch. He glanced at the toy then back at her, back to the toy and put his paw down before he slowly made his way over to her. She reached down and lifted him into her lap, giving him a gently petting. "Good boy" She said and then elbowed Rhett as she noticed him rolling his eyes, getting an 'ooph' from him.

Standing up, she moved over and set little Morpheus on his cat condo. "Rhett, I'm going to get cleaned up, I am going to have dinner with some friends of mine..."

"Good so I'm off the hook tonight?"

She threw a stuffed toy rat at him "Not that kind of food smart ***. But while I am gone would you feed my new little baby?" She said glancing at the kitten now laying in a little swinging hammock.

He rolled his eyes "Yeah, whatever."

"I mean it asshole, he better not be hungry when I get back or I'll break your hand." She threatened. It wasn't so much a real threat, she rarely harmed the man. He was one of few friends she had, and the only human one she had. She tossed another toy at him and walked into her room and the bathroom to get cleaned up and dressed before she finally pulled out her phone and called up Alexandrea to make sure that things were still good for a get together tonight.

When the phone was picked up, Charlie spoke "Heya Girl, Everything still good for dinner tonight?"

[Alexandrea]

Humming along to the radio as she danced around the kitchen, Alexandrea was happier than she had been in a long time. Kira would be home for dinner and a friend from back when Alex used to be in the fifth column was coming over for dinner. Charlie, another Allurist.

That meant Alex had a chance to show off her cooking skills and she was already going over board. She justified the mountain of food she was making by telling herself that she didn't know what Charlie liked. Plus the young woman hadn't been an Allurist as long as Kira and Alexandrea, she hadn't even been turned by a full year yet. So she might still be unable to eat certain things.

The timer went off on the stove and Alex took out the pork roast and turned it over, leaving the oven bag slightly over so the meat would get that lovely golden brown colour that made it look so tempting. testing the gravy, she decided to add more crushed red pepper but just a wee touch. The flavour needed to be the right balance of hot and sweet. Too sweet or too spicy and it would over power the taste of the pork.

On another burner bacon fat simmered slowly, all the best meaty parts removed. Once it was melted down enough, Alexandrea removed the crispy fat bits and added thinly sliced onions to the fat drippings. The heat was turned up a slight amount until the onion had all softened and begun to caramelize before she turned it back down to low. The good parts of the bacon would go in next and once that was cooked, the green beans. The mashed potatoes came next, no crappy boxed flakes for her friends... everything Alexandrea cooked was from scratch.

Even the Macaroni and cheese was homemade, sitting in a slow cooker to stay warm until it was time to serve dinner. Creamy Pumpkin Soup, a fresh from the garden Basil and plum tomato salad and freshly baked dinner rolls rounded out the rest of the meal. Alexandrea almost missed the sound of her phone ringing, the music was so loud and she was so engrossed in preparing a small feast. But she caught it in time and grinned from ear to ear when she heard Charlie's voice on the other end of the line.

"You better believe it, girl!" Alex said laughing. "I'm really looking forward to it! Kira should be home any minute and dinner will be ready in about an hour, so head on over whenever you're ready!"

[Kira]

"And 1, and 2, 3 and 4. Cody if you miss that step again I'm docking your pay." Kira said as her Beef Cakes went through a dance number for next week.

"Ah! But boss lady!" Cody protested.

"No butts, get it right." Kira replied, "Ivan, you're a little behind the beat."

"Sorry, just tired today." Ivan said.

Kira sighed, today's practice wasn't going all that well. "Alright, just stop, stop." she said, turning the music off. "Get rested, well get back into this another night." she said, "Renzo, lock up for me please." she said to Lorenzo, who she often left in charge because he knew a lot about dancing.

Lorenzo nodded and started to usher the men to get their things so they could all leave.

Kira left The Majestic Lounge and found an a spot with no people around in the mall before speeding off to her home in Willow Court, the one she didn't share with Lexy so she could get a change of clothes and a shower before heading over. She needed to restock her closet over there with clothes. She grabbed Sof before heading over so she could play.

She headed inside, "Honey I'm home." she called out, it was something that she kept seeing on a TV show, an older one but she think she was asleep on the sofa during it. "Sorry, watching too much TV." she said, setting the cat down who trotted off to find someone to play with.

She just set her shoes aside, floating into the kitchen, not bothering to over it up since it didn't matter here. She sniffed the air, "That smells good." she said, eyeing what she could see. "How much food are you making?" she asked with a laugh.

She had been through a lot in the past few weeks, finally being set free from David was a major thing. She was glad it was finally over with and she no longer had to worry about it. All the changes she has went through, she was getting used to.

Her time in 5th had been pretty short, and the changes that came about, she wasn't sure if they were worth it but someone had to fight the power that had a hold of the city. Still thinking the Owl Turds killing her was a bunch of ********. If someone hadn't been keeping her grounded, she would have killed, not cripple someone. But there was nothing to do about the past, it was best to look forward.

She was looking forward to this, a night with just girls.

[CharlotteC]

"Right then, sounds good, I'll be there soon!" She replied back happily before she hung up and locked her phone, sliding the hacked iPhone back into her back pocket. She pulled on her favorite leather jacket over the hoodie that she had on over her main outfit. One thing that she knew was a good way to fool the mortals, aside from her 'nerd' glasses as she liked to talk them, was to wear what people normally would in the cold Canadian weather that they were having, especially for spring.

She gave one more playful glare to Rhett as she walked out of her room, keys in hand. He rolled his eyes, for a thrall she let him get away with a lot. Mostly because she didn't believe that he should be dominated. Of course it was a good thing that she knew she could if she had too, but with Rhett she never had to. She gave him a jingling wave (thanks to her keys) and walked out of the apartment, turning the corner and getting right in the open doors of the elevator. Down it went and soon she was stepping into the streets and walking to where she parked her car.

Turning on the engine, the GPS popped up and with the address typed in, she was off to see her friends and have dinner. One thing she noticed about being a vampire, at least being an allurist vampire, was that she could still eat, she just didn't have the appetite anymore. Still she loved to eat and could eat like a horse if she didn't pay attention. These were the things she thought about as she drove through the city, the street lights all giving her the green light. Then she was pulling up to a what could only be described as a gated community. She had explored it once before when she was looking for a place to live after the breakup between her and Mitchell, or at least that's all she could call it since he just disappeared on her.

Charlie shook her head to clear away the painful memories that was that whole ordeal. The leaving of the QZ, which really, she didn't mind so much, as well as the finding that a lot of places had been sold out or well beyond her price range. She looked around as she drove around the 'neighborhood' for the address until she came to the house that hell the address Alex and given her. Pulling up outside, she shut off the engine and looked around the place again. To say she was tempted to do a little stealing was an understatement but that would be tacky for her to do such before a dinner with her friends.

Charlie was sure that if someone was in the main room, they probably heard her coming, but she still gave a knock at the door to be polite, plus there was the fact that she would have to be invited in. Then a rather nerdy idea came to mind and she raised her hand to knock again.

Knock, Knock

"Alex"

Knock, Knock

"Alex"

Knock, Knock

"Alex"

She had to laugh at how insanely stupid she was being but she was sure, if her friend got the reference she too would find it amusing and something to laugh at.

((Outfit))

[Alexandrea]

Once Alexandrea had put her phone down, she got back to being busy with her homemade gravy. It smelled wonderful but was a bit thin. Which was perfect. Too thick and when she added the dry chopped onion it would end up the wrong consistency. Adding a thin layer of her secret ingredient, Alex stirred it in and then turned the heat down even lower and put the lid on before getting back to the onions. A few quick stirs and she pushed the golden rings off to one side and moved the pan they were not over the direct heat and scattered the bacon meat into the hotter part of the grease.

The heat was turned up slowly and gently as she flipped the meat until the bacon was cooked through and then the burner was turned down to the lowest setting. Alex mixed the french cut green beans into the pan, stirring everything together and then covering it all just as she heard Kira's voice call out.

Distracted by the meal prep, she didn't have a witty comeback but simply called back out that she was in the kitchen. She gave her friend and roomie a warm smile as she glided into the room and then broke into a huge grin at the comment about the pleasant aromas. Ignoring the question about how much food she was making, she instead stuck a spoon into the other blonde's hand and pointed at the gravy as Charlie's voice began to call out her name.

"Stir that, please! be right back, our company is here!"

In the time it took Alexandrea to cross the living room, Charlie had called for Alex three times, repeatedly knocking on the door between each call. At first Alexandrea was a bit concerned but the tone of her friend's voice held no alarm, in fact it was rather monotone. Even familiar in a way. It wasn't until she had opened the door that she caught the joke and started to laugh.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked with a chuckle. "Please, Charlie. Come in and be welcome in our home!"

[Kira]

Lexy didn't say much, Kira noticed. Figuring she must be focused on the food. She heard the knock and a voice saying Alex, then she was forced to take a spoon. Her eyes widened, "You're leaving me with the food!?" she said, she knew nothing about cooking at all. She eyed it like it was going to explode any moment.

She floated up a little, looking at the gravy. "Hmm..." she muttered, carefully stirring it. How much stirring did it need? Oh she hoped she came back soon, she didn't want to be blamed for ruining dinner.

Sof trotted into the kitchen, starting meowing, wondering what was cooking.

"Back, food isn't for you." Kira replied.

[CharlotteC]

The door opened and her friend from the only place she had ever been a real part of answered the door.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

That brought a cheery laugh from her, causing her chocolate eyes to melt a little. As she was invited in, she stepped in and glanced around the home for but a moment before she heard the voice of who she could only assume was Kira, telling a cat to back away from the food. She turned her warm eyes on her friend and smiled "Thank you for the invite." She said softly and then said in a voice a little louder so that Kira could hear as well "Careful, I recently found out that my kitten likes cupcakes!" She said with a laugh.

When she walked out of her apartment on the way here, she had spotted the black fur ball had some how managed to get up on the nearly 5 ft tall bar top counter where she had a box of cupcakes sitting. Thankfully, there had been a cover over them so she was sure that they were safe, unless the thing some how managed to gain thumbs to lift the cover from the delicious sweets.

Charlie took in the smell of the food in the air and smiled brightly to Alex once again "And the food smells delicious!"

[Alexandrea]

On an impulse, Alexandrea gave Charlie a quick hug. While they hadn't really gotten to hang out that much in the past, in Alex's mind they were related now due to each of them belonging to one of Ginny's kittens. Laughing at the remark about Charlie's cat liking cupcakes. "Where is your fur baby? Didn't you bring them? You better have brought pictures then!"

Alex linked arms with the other woman and ushered her into the kitchen with her. "Come on in and tell me if things taste as good as they smell. Everything is almost ready, I just have a few final touches to add and then we can sit down and eat. But there's room for all of us in the kitchen. So you guys hang out in her and keep me company, okay?"

The last part of what she said directed at both women as her and Charlie entered the room, Alexandrea let go of Charlie and relieved Kira of the spoon with a wink.

"Thanks, Kiwi. You did great, the gravy looks perfect."

Penny Valentine run in just then and tackled Sophi, wanting the other cat to play with her.

[Kira]

Kira listened as Charlie said her kitten likes cupcakes. “I would hate to see Sof on sugar.” She said. There wasn’t any cooking that went on where Sof was at most of the time so these new smells must be of some real interest for her.

She was glad to not be in charge of any of the food now, even if it was just the gravy. She had it in her mind she would mess it up somehow.

Kira watched as Sof got tackled and laughed as Sof shook the younger cat off and took off to chase it. “Do wonder if I should get her a playmate for when she isn’t here. I know she has fun picking on dogs but it’s not the same kind of play…” she said. She sat down at the small table, still taking in the smells of the food. She wondered what else was planned on for tonight, jello shots and twister like when Dru was here.

[CharlotteC]

Charlie smiled as she followed Alex into the kitchen, finally getting to see Kira in person. She smiled to the girl that she had done a little talking to on the net when they were part of the same group. "Nice to finally meet you in person, Kira!" Now she could relax though, her chocolate eyes shifted to the kitten and cat playing together while Kira had been stirring something for Alex, she watched as Alex took over and her photographic mind picked up a look that seemed to tell her that Kira was glad not to be in control of the food anymore but she couldn't really tell for a fact.

Kira moved to a small table while Charlie moved to lean against the counter, looking between the two women for a moment before turning her eyes to see what it was that Kira had helped with. "My little ball of fur is at home currently, most likely tormenting Tempy. Even as a kitten he likes to scare the hell out of him, pisses him off and amuses the hell out of me." She said with a laugh and then reached into her back pocket to produce her phone which had pictures of Morpheus on it. "As for pictures I have tons already."

Charlie held the phone up, showing the picture that she used as her lock screen photo. It was of little Morpheus asleep in a kitty hammock that hung from two carpet covered walls in his castle, his little paws were in the air and his little head was hanging a little off of the edge of the hammock so it looked almost as if he were about to fall out, but he was pretty much safe if he fell because the levels of the castle were each a good two feet wide. "And that's just one of his innocent moments. You girls don't have fish tanks do you?" She said with a soft laugh, glancing around the home for a moment.