One Bad Apple [Open]

[Tayden (DELETED 7355)]

[Open to everyone - Please not this RP happens during the day ]

Tents of various sizes, shapes and colors lined the fair grounds of the silver light park. Since it was early in the afternoon, it wasn’t too crowded and the tents only held a dozen to two dozen people at most, depending on what was inside, what was being offered for food and wine and the company’s reputation as well.

Normally, this wasn’t Tayden’s thing. Not by a long shot, and had he not been on this side of town, he probably wouldn’t even be here right now. He just happened to be in the right time at the right place, or the wrong place at the wrong time. But, since it was only twelve toonies for an entry fee, and hundreds of free samples, Tayden decided what the hell and made his way through the tents in search of free food and various free wine.

There seemed to be no real strategic order on placement, other than red tents to the west side of the grounds, blue on the east, white to the north and dark green to the south. Wine would be found at any tent of any color, along with food of all kinds under any tent of any color as well. Food seemed to be more like appetizers to Tayden, encompassing things like nuts, cheese, crackers and the occasional unhealthy item with tons of saturated fat would be offered. Wines of multiple colors, primarily of the white, red and blush color would be offered, some dry, some wet, some the taste of fruit that was in season in Canada and even some wood flavors were offered. Everything that was offered, would be devoured and anything that was drinkable, would be drunk by the guy. Why not? It was his day off.

Every once in awhile someone would offer something unexpected in a tent; things like jelly and jam, or the random tent that offered a couple types of champagne. Tayden didn’t mind; he wasn’t picky when it came to free. Technically, nothing was free as everyone had to pay the entrance fee to get in, but Tayden had drunk and eaten more than the fee, so anything from the on out was free in his mind.

A silver plated chocolate fountain with various fruits caught his attention in the booth next to the one he just came from; the champagne one. There was a small crowd around it, Tayden suspected there always was at these things. Fruit and chocolate always drew a crowd, especially with those who justified eating the chocolate by saying they were eating fruit too. He grabbed a banana that had been sliced in half and dipped it in the bottom of the fountain, which caused a few eyes to be rolled as Tayden pushed past a few indecisive people who didn’t know what type of fruit they wanted. Why should he wait for minutes while people picked out what was going to be their snack from under this tent? He hadn’t even made it to a quarter of the tents yet.

Somewhere in the tent was a loud, shrill laugh from a woman with long, dirty dishwater hair color, who was surrounded by two other women and a male. They were all laughing, clearly slightly intoxicated as they were pointing, laughing and generally making a loud ruckus between the four of them. Tayden just glanced their way, not at all phased by what they were doing, even though it seemed that the woman with a light powder blue top on was the instigator on them acting they way they were acting.

Tayden would grab a wine glass that held a dark burgundy colored wine from off the table the crowd was surrounded by, with a small ‘excuse me,’ when he got in their way and then would continue on to the various colored tents, but not before he ducked into a bathroom to drain all the wine and champagne out of his system to make more room for it.

Outfit

[Mod Edit to adjust ooc description - as all RP must be open to everyone]

[Amalea]

Anytime before 5pm was far too early for any club manager to have to drag themselves out of bed. Amalea, manager of one the only vampire-exclusive clubs in Harper's Rock, wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment given her club didn't end to close until just before sunrise. It also explained the cursing that echoed off the walls of her apartment as the red-head stumbled out of bed before noon after having passed out merely a couple hours before hand. Typically, the human didn't emerge from the bedroom until much later in the day, but duty called.

Not too long ago, a patron had suggested looking into renting out the club for events on slow nights which in turn gave her the idea of renting it out during the day for human use. Businesses always needed places to hold special functions and there were receptions and parties to consider as well. Of course, such events also tended to require food to be served, which lead to Lea's current situation.

The annual food and wine fest was today. As an outdoor event, it was typically only feasible to keep it open as long as the sun provided the lighting. There was rumor of some nighttime events, but the same rumor held that the majority of vendors tended to pack up as the last rays of light disappeared over the horizon. She only hoped it would be a worthwhile venture as she was seeking a couple local restaurants or catering companies to offer to patrons that rented the space.

As quickly as she could, she showered and dressed, choosing a suitable dress in navy paired with sensible shoes. Her hair was combed and left to dry naturally as she applied the lightest touch of lip gloss alongside a dab of concealer. Glancing in the mirror, she was satisfied that she looked more like a club manager than the half-dead zombie she currently felt like.

It wasn't long before the brightly colored tents came into view as she approached Silver Light Park where the festival was being held. It appeared as though it was still early as there wasn't as many people milling about as she had expected.

Forking her ticket over at the gate, she took the offered map detailing which booth belonged to which establishment. Looking around, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to the various color tents aside from perhaps to each designate a different boundary of the festival. It was a shame, in her mind, that they didn't seem to differentiate between the different kinds of establishments present.

The red-head wandered around a bit to get a feel for the lay of the land, so to speak and to scope out which tents seemed to be the most popular. Those would be the ones she particularly wanted to visit. Good food was the ultimate goal, but if people weren't familiar with the name, they were less likely to desire it. The companies she ended up picking would likely have to have good food and be popular with the masses, though she was also likely to pick a place or two that had great food but weren't as well known to try out on a trial basis to see if her theory held true.

Eventually, Lea ducked into one of the tents, accepting the sampler glass of white wine, a Pinot Grigio, the woman offered her. She knew from her time at The Necro that it was a wine that tended to pair well with most foods and this particular wine was one she could see being served with just about anything. It was crisp and dry with a beautiful, smooth finish. While the wine was spectacular, it wasn't the food she sought. Thanking the woman, she made a small note on her map before wandering off in search of a restaurant or catering booth.

[Tayden (DELETED 7355)]

The second he entered the men's bathroom, Tayden was sorry. It stunk to high hell of urine, was wet in some questionable areas on the floor. There was a faint smell of hard liquor that permeated the room from a corner not far from the stalls, which indicated someone brought something harder than wine in here and the scent of cigar smoke even. Not that Tayden smoked at all, let alone cigars, but he knew the smell of them from being outside and seeing a couple guys walking the block smoking them, or driving past in a car with the window open. He should have just pissed outside.

Tayden took the plastic cup he possessed and tossed it in the trash before going on to handle his business in a quick and timely fashion. Once he was done, the guy did his little jingle of the down below bits, tucked everything back in its place and zipped his pants up at about the time two guys, obviously friends, came in and grabbed a urinal on each side of him. He hated that. Go stand with your friend and carry on your conversation; your drunken conversation together, and not over him. He looked at both guys who had their eyes half closed or mainly closed, one of which were rocking back and forth and swaying from side to side before he shook his head and Tayden walked away.

His next and final stop would be to the sink, but even that was questionable. When was the last time someone cleaned in here? Last night? This morning? Shouldn't they be checking out these things every few hours? The male grabbed a paper towel first to turn on the faucet, then dropped it in the metal trash can between two sinks, while one hand squirted two squirts of soap in his left hand, rubbed both hands together and then rinsed them under the sink. His right hand grabbed more thin, brown paper towel, dried his hands and then grabbed another paper towel from the holder and turned it off. Tayden made a face that screamed 'yuck,' shivered and then threw all the paper towels away in one go.

With his business finally handled, Tayden practically zipped out of the bathroom and ducked into a new stall that was twenty or steps away from the tent. This one was selling wine flavored jam. How crazy, but different. He pulled out a fifty note and piled four jars into his hands and arms and proceeded to check out, getting a ten note, along with a couple of dollar notes back. "Must be really good." For four small jams to be over thirty dollars, he thought to himself as he weaved around some gawkers looking at the jams, wanting some free tastes and samples. You only lived once as a human, so while it was an expensive purchase, it might very well be worth it. Tomorrow's toast for breakfast would determine that.

[Starla]

Wearing

<Starla> Smiling to the attendant as she handed over her change, Starla pushed the coins into her pockets and stepped through the makeshift gate into the fairground. She’d seen the tents and the commotion from the street and, while still unsure of what exactly she had walked into, she was certain that she had seen something about a free tasting for the season’s wines. She was a sucker for anything with a punch to it, though if she’d been given the choice, she’d take a beer every time. Something about the bitter, hoppy taste that really just brought the whole thing home for her. She had quite the soft spot for wine, though. Anything sweet. It was a weakness.

Quietly, she walked among the crowd of people, all the faces she didn’t know, listening to the voices as they called out to one another over the din of the crowd, weaving into one another only to make another wave of sound to crash over them in a crescendo of shouts and laughter. This was mingling, pouring people into a space and letting them go. She quickly ducked into one of the tents, stealing a cracker from the table as a wave of hungry people washed over the table, breaking against it like a wave on the sand. She nibbled at the edges of the buttery club cracker, her exotic, golden stare flitting from face to face, etching many of them into her memory as she moved to the canvas wall of the little pavilion. She pulled out her cell phone, tapping at the screen and flipping through her contacts, reading over each name.

Alaska.
Alaska.
Alaska.
Sleeping.
Yoga.
Won’t answer my texts.
No.
No.
No.

Nobody she could think of would want to come by and see this… this whatever this was. She lifted her hand and idly hooked the loose strands of her soft, blonde hair behind her ear and swept the bangs from her eyes. There were so many people, and so much food they were giving away… and alcohol. Alcohol wasn’t cheap. So how did they manage to pay for all of this? It was truly a wonder, and she felt something missing without someone here to share it with. Alone, she was just a girl, lost in a pavilion full of food, doing her best to keep from ballooning up with all the free samples. She shook her hands, brushing the crumbs of the cracker from her skin before she moved to slip out of the tent.

She lifted her phone and tapped the last name she’d added, her manicured nail swiping easily across the tempered glass as she put together a text for her friend.

COMPOSED TEXT
TO: LONDON
Hey, doll. I’m down here at the
Fairgrounds and you wouldn’t
believe all the stuff they have
going on right now. All sorts
of free stuff; food, alcohol. I’m
not exactly sure what’s up, but
the admission was pretty cheap
so I thought I’d invite you down
to see what it was all about. Just
give me a shout and let me know
if you’re down.

She tapped the ‘Send’ key, and tucked the iPhone back into the back pocket of her tight denim jeans. She glanced up from tugging at her white tank and saw a man staring at her, his jaw set tight and his eyes wide in a creepy sort of stare. She moved a step away and his beady eyes followed her. She gave him a nervous smile, her honey colored eyes unsure as she tried to think of a way out, backing herself into a canvas wall. She jumped with a start, and quickly began to move sideways, across the expanse of the tent’s boundary wall before she found the exit, slipping out as quickly as she had come. She shook her head, and ran her fingers through her hair. She hadn’t ever seen the man before; tall, pale, with dark salt and pepper hair, eyes sunken and bruised. He looked half dead, and she assumed that he was probably some poor third-shift labor type of guy, and she’d just run away from him like he’d had the plague.

She sighed, and decided to distance herself from the tent, moving along the fairground to pluck a cube of cheese from this table, a small cracker there, until she stopped at one tent, a towering pyramid of empty, fluted glasses all stacked into neat and pristine order. The server had popped the cork on a bottle of champagne, a blush from the color as she tipped the mouth over the glass at the pyramid’s point. As the bubbling alcohol rolled down the pyramid, Starla reached out to help herself to one of the uppermost glasses, the absence not disturbing the show or the pyramid itself. Pleased with her quick, delicate snatchwork, she sipped from the full, frothy glass of bubbling champagne, the light blush of the pink a pleasant mix of red and white wines, and sweet to the taste. She was more than pleased with the choice, and plucked two cubes of cheese from a table and a single cracker, which acted as a small one-inch plate. She moved to tuck herself into a quiet space against the wall of the tent, her dangerous, watchful eyes slipping through the faces of the crowd again, searching each of them for the face of that strange and startling man. She didn’t see him, and a part of her was eternally grateful. She didn’t know what she could possibly say if she had to come face to face with him again.

Sorry, but you’re ******* creepy?
Yeah, great way to make friends, Star. Pick a fight at the first venue you’ve been to outside the circuit since you arrived. You’ll look like a real pleasant ***** then.

No, it was best that she kept her distance as best she could, and in order to do that, she would have to remain watchful. Not difficult, with the amount of people watching she intended to do. She quickly drained her glass of champagne and idly moved along the wall of the tent in search of another.

<London> Tapping at her mouse, she absently flipped through page after page of useless chatter as she leaned back in her seat. How could one person be so utterly and completely dull? It was hypocritical, she knew, but at least she did something with her spare time. Hiroshi hadn’t a spontaneous bone in his frail body, and it was beginning to show as she continued to scan his logs. There had to be something she was missing. It was highly unlikely, but she grasping at straws, and at this point, she was willing to admit that she had made a mistake. At least that way, she wouldn’t have to feel bad for the slum lord. “Come on, old guy, have something. Anything. A blip on the radar. It doesn’t even have to be illegal. I would settle for unethical. A parking ticket? No? Nothing?” [/color]

When she reached the end of his report, she shook her head in exasperation and took a sip from her drink. It was awful - pathetic, really. How was it possible she had more of a life than one of the most notorious names in the underground crime syndicate? His name had half of the government in a fit when it flashed across their screens, and yet, he had nothing. He hadn’t even kicked a puppy in his teenage years. He was clean - cleaner than she had ever seen anyone be, and that made her uneasy. Either someone was feeding misinformation - or he was extremely crafty. If it was the latter, she would break him - she always did. Resting her cup down, she lifted her phone when it vibrated and stared at the message for a few long minutes. She hadn’t heard from the blonde in a while, and London had figured she had forgotten about her. After all, she had caused one of their members to run out screaming.

Recipient: Starling
From: London

Did you happen to hit your head?
Do you need an ambulance?
Because that is the most delusional suggestion you’ve had yet.

Once she pressed ‘send’, however, she stared at the phone for a for seconds longer. It wasn’t entirely insane to think that the blonde would be attempting to drag her out - and it would get her twin to back off long enough for her to get some work done. Swallowing the panic that built in her throat, she moved unsteadily to her feet and clutched her phone tight in her hand. Could she do this?

Troy is burning.
Burning, burning, burning.

[London (DELETED 7882)]

<Starla>
Laughing at her friend’s response, she smiled giddily. It was rare for the brunette bombshell to so much as set foot outside, and she knew in the way she talked about it so flippantly that she was honestly considering the adventure. The small blonde gave a smug grin as she tapped at her phone in quick, rapid succession as she responded to London’s text. She worked quick, slipping easily through the tent now, with her head bowed and her nose in her phone. She walked more naturally this way, and with quick, nimble reflexes, avoided any and all obstacles as they arose. Her body reacted on instinct, like she could feel things around her before she bumped into them, navigating her way out into the fairground flawlessly.

She had a big, stupid grin on her face as she returned the woman’s text.

COMPOSED TEXT
TO: LONDON
Oh, shut the **** up, Lon.
Get your *** out here to
the fairground before I
have to come drag you
out of that bed. Don’t
think I won’t. Ask
Cherri about the time
we had to do her the
same way. She’ll
tell you.

She tapped send, and returned to sweeping through the ring of pavilions. Each one of them was similar, but intriguingly different. She was unsure where she wanted to go next, and decided to wander in the direction of the alcohol again. It was, after all, her favorite. She found a nice red vintage, the server pouring her a glass with a smile as she returned the grin to the young man and took her glass. “Thanks, doll. You’re a real lifesaver out here.” She winked, and sipped at the deep, rich red as she slipped quietly through the ranks of patrons here. She pulled out her phone again, texting London again, quickly after the first.

COMPOSED TEXT
TO: LONDON
Girl, you gotta get down
here. Free booze
everywhere. It’s a
girl’s dream come true.
I know you’ll have a good
time. I’ll keep you safe.
Don’t worry.

She locked the screen of her phone and tucked it back into her back pocket again, her eyes moving around, looking at the tents around her as she sipped from her wine. Pleased with herself, she began to wander around the drink tents, hoping that maybe she could find something with a little more of a beer taste. She yawned lightly, and checked her watch. It was only a few minutes into the afternoon, and she could already feel herself getting drowsy. The night life was starting to kick her ***. She shook her head and scrubbed the heel of her palm against her tired eyes, before she turned her gaze on one of the tents, her heart set on finding something London simply couldn’t go without, before she made it down there. It was, after all, her own begging that had sent the girl out of her comfort zone and into the wild, out here with her. She would keep her word though. She would keep her friend safe here in public, if the event should turn some kind of violent. She doubted that very much, but in any case, she was there to protect. It was her job.

<London> By the time the second response caused her phone to bleet the annoying chime she had reserved for the blonde alone, she was already out the door. It had been far more difficult that she realized, but she had managed to down a couple of her pills and convince herself that it was worth it. She had been doing better, hadn’t she? The crippling panic that caused her limbs to lock up didn’t happen as often now, and the exercises her twin had been providing her with proved to be paying off. However, she knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. A place filled with alcohol, screaming customers and children wasn’t exactly her idea of a stroll in the park. It wasn’t going to be fun. It was going to be absolute torture.

When the door to her apartment swung shut behind her, she jumped and closed her eyes, her breath held in her lungs. She didn’t exhale until she was absolutely certain she would pass out otherwise, and only then, did she take the steps necessary to lead her down the walk. The fairgrounds, according to her GPS, weren’t all that far from her. It was another added bonus. She didn’t bother to respond to the messages as she brought up her data and logged into Crimson Phoenix. The second her name flashed across the lobby, the messages began to spill in. Chrome was first, her font large and gaudy as it filled her inbox. Where the hell are you? It has you pinged for River Rock! Girl, do you need help? Before she had a chance to answer her, Lady’s more feminine text peeked through, the small red font nearly drowned out by her counterpart.

Are you okay? I can have Rodeo there in five.

Shaking her head, she kept her focus on the screen as she maneuvered her way through the streets. It was easier this way. If she couldn’t see the people, the cars or the nature - she wasn’t really outside, was she? I’m fine. I needed to go meet someone. While I’m at it, keep an eye on Hiroshima. He’s sparkling, but I don’t trust it. The first slip up, get me. Logging out. The dots to signal them typing danced across her screen, but she signed out of the program before she could read the message and pocketed her phone just as the fairgrounds came into sight. Taking another deep breath, she reached into her pocket and tossed the money at the person behind the desk without slowing. If she stopped, she’d panic. If she panicked, all hell would break loose.

Troy is burning.
Troy is burning, Starla.

Gathering what she needed to get inside, ran her fingers along the front of her shirt. I’m going to kill her. I am going to absolutely kill her. Without missing a step, she ducked into the crowd and began her possibly futile search to find the blonde.

Wearing