Luxurious (INVITE)

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

November first came and could anyone believe that at about 2:30 in the morning, the first Christmas song of the year was played? There Hannah was, in the Emergency room, having picked up an overnight shift for some extra cash because in the back of her mind, Hannah knew Christmas was coming, but was pretty far away, still. Yet, evidently it wasn’t that far away if the radio was playing Christmas songs already.


And that started Hannah seriously considering the holiday season. She knew her sister was coming, the dates already planned and scheduled. Some days Hannah could get off work, some, she couldn’t. Which meant all males in Harper Rock were in trouble when Hannah wasn’t around to keep a watchful and dutiful eye on Misao. The last thing she needed to do was to call their dad and tell him that Misao wasn’t coming home because she found some guy, or some guy was coming back to Japan with Misao. The very thought made Hannah cringe just a little bit.


Thankfully, Hannah didn’t have time to dwell on it too long before she was faced with a man and a woman, and their seven of eight year old son. It seemed he either had a case of severe gastroenteritis, or perhaps something to do with the gallbladder or appendix. Something the doctors in the emergency room would have to figure out, all Hannah was good for down here was an admission clerk tonight. She wouldn’t even be called upon for a consult of any sort, unless they couldn’t get ahold of Adam. An easy money making night, as long as the emergency room didn’t see any real big car accidents, or other traumatic ordeals that impacted dozens of people. Fingers crossed.


Once the boy was checked in, Hannah grabbed a post-it note that didn’t belong to her, but was on the desk. If the person who normally worked the desk left it out, to Hannah, that meant it was fair game for anyone and everyone to use. A list of who to buy for was made and that was all she needed. One, white post-it note. Hannah needed to either get out more, or at least meet more people, besides the guys from Japan. No way was Takano getting a gift from her, unless he was going to gift her and her family their freedom. Then, Hannah would seriously consider it-IF the release came from the guys with real power and not just some kind act on Takano’s behalf (if the guy could be nice, that was).


Her next day and night off was in two days, and then after that...Hannah couldn’t remember. Some time right before Christmas. No way was she going to shop for her sister while her sister was here. Her aim was to go shopping that day and try and get everyone in her family done. Her dad, her sister, and both her mom’s. Good intentions though...seldomly get followed through. Hannah would be happy if she got half of the shopping done she wanted to get done in a couple days time. She could always order online if need be. No more thoughts about the holiday or shopping would come up, as all good things must come to an end; and in this case, the slow, occasional admission was going to be changing. In came an influx of people, with a variety of complaints; anything from a nosebleed that wasn’t stopping, to a gunshot wound, and a severe burn from an oven.


November 3rd:
She awoke a smidge later than Hannah wanted to. She had hoped to be at the Riverview market place before ten in the morning, but when her alarm clock went off at quarter to nine, Hannah rolled over and instead of hitting the ‘snooze’ button, she turned the alarm off and was left to her own biological clock to wake her up. Which didn’t happen until an hour later, and so the woman bolted out of bed, danced around amarillo who eagerly wanted Hannah’s attention that she just couldn’t give to him this morning. She showered quicker than normal and made her way to the closet and grabbed the first top she saw, followed by the first bottoms that weren’t scrubs, climbing or working out clothing. She ended up with a white sweater, and baby blue slacks. They probably didn’t go together, but being that she didn’t have tons of time, and no one to impress, the clothes were put on and Hannah was out the door without her typical coffee and bagel. She would probably pay for it later when her stomach complained, or her mood was shorter than normal.


Shopping was a necessary evil, a thought she kept reminding herself as Hannah drove to the market on the other side of Harper Rock. Hannah didn’t feel any real love towards shopping, or dislike towards it, it was just something that had to be done. Everyone needed clothing, food and basic essentials to live. Shopping around the holidays though, was just flat out evil. Everyone wanted to just get it over and done with, people wanted things for cheap or a really good deal and people got tired of shopping after a while. She hoped she didn’t run into any of those people. She stopped at a doughnut shop after her stomach protested on not being fed this morning and got her coffee and carb for the day. Not something she typically ate, but with limited time and options, it would have to do.


After finding a parking spot and locking her rented car, Hannah ducked inside the first store she saw, after devouring the last of her doughnut. Some jewelry place that her hippie mom in Illinois might have wandered into, if she were in Canada. Thankful that she wasn’t here, Hannah moved right to the counter that she might find something for her mom, not wasting time at looking for things that she didn’t want to buy, or her mom didn’t need. Something that wouldn’t have happened for a good hour at least, if her mom had been here.

Wearing: http://iv1.lisimg.com/image/7347052/600 ... lliams.jpg

[Leonie von der Marck]

The sun had risen brightly that morning - almost too stunning to be out in it - heralding a crisp fall day ahead, but out she was. Leonie was on her own for the morning and afternoon, at least, and that was fine with her. There was so much to be done, with so little time to take care of it somehow, that the few hours to herself turned out to be much needed. She didn’t quite know how time slipped away, but between the nights she spent up late working with Alaric during his waking hours, or handling her various obligations to the family during others, Leonie’s free time to herself had grown surprisingly short in availability.


But the holidays were drawing closer and the von der Marck Lioness had plenty to do before they rolled around in their typical persistent fashion. Canadian Thanksgiving had come and gone already with barely an acknowledgement; even though she had ties to the land in which she currently resided, she considered herself American first and foremost and as such, it hadn’t occurred to her to celebrate. Likewise, with most of her family in Europe, it hadn’t occurred to her to celebrate the upcoming American one, either, but she didn’t quite have that in mind anyway. No, Christmas was breathing down her throat, and with confirmation that her father and grandfather were coming to the Estate to spend it there and finally meet Alaric, the woman found herself within an almost anxiety-riddled flurry of activity.


And yet, as always and on the outside, the Lioness remained the very picture of calm, cool, and collected. She had decided to wander that day, through the quiet parts of the CIty, the little tucked-away corners that housed some very unique places to shop within, to see what she could see. A cute little jewelry place caught her attention first, as she sipped at a latte and took immediately to browsing. She would have to send something for her mother, like it or not, or hear about it for at least a year on. Likely longer. Such a thought had a shiver of annoyance spilling down her spine, drawing it up straight and rigid at the very idea. Still, it would keep the peace, even with her father, who though he had been deprived of Lena’s presence for so long always seemed devoted to the woman who could not see past her own selfish nose. Unless it was for some new beauty treatment or another, she thought.


And so, with a firm set to her teeth, the Lioness moved through the store, eyeing up the cabinets in search of something special... or as special as she could bear to seek out for the woman who caused such complicated emotion within. Mostly pure hatred and disdain, if she were honest. But what wouldn’t Leonie do these days to keep the peace? Not even this was above her.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Buying for her mother was something Hannah wasn't particularly good at; a secret she kept to herself. She felt a little...shameful, maybe that Hannah didn't know her own mother as well as she should. A fault on both their parts, but it sort of stung that Hannah knew exactly what to get her step mom, but struggled to find something her mom would appreciate and even wear.

There were a lot of things Hannah knew her mother would not wear. Anything that had too many gems or stones was nothing her mother was overly interested in. Silver only irritated the woman's skin and caused a rash, along with anything that was too cheap. Which was why Hannah was inside here and not some place that sold some clothing, some jewelry and even some food that you could microwave for dinner. Sometimes one stop shopping just didn't fit the bill. These was one of those times.

Her eyes glimpsed over and past a case that held earrings, only because Hannah couldn't remember if her mom liked something that dangled or were close to her ears. She thought the former, because it seemed apt in all her new age hippie glory. But again, better to be safe than sorry. She moved away from that counter and around a woman that was looking at something, not recognizing her at first. All she saw was the back of her head, and a black haired woman wasn't uncommon in Harper Rock. Just as Hannah's own hair color wasn't anything that stuck out to anyone. Besides, Hannah didn't have many friends, so she didn't expect to see anyone she knew.

And as Hannah started to move away from the counter and the woman, that was when she saw it. It was big, bigger than anything Hannah would wear, but it was oddly...perfect. It reminded Hannah of the backyard of her mom's house in Illinois. "Can I see that one, please?" Hannah asked as her finger pointed to the necklace that caught her eye; a maple leaf, the color of gold, much like an autumn day in the backyard of her mom's home.

The woman behind the counter nodded her head, turned and grabbed a set of keys off a hook and began to fumble for the one she would need to open the counter. While Hannah patiently waited, she looked around the shop and only then really noticed the woman that wasn't more than a few feet from where she stood. Hannah pressed her way up closer to the case to get a better look at the woman's side profile before she tapped the woman on the shoulders. "Leonie?" Hannah asked, confident that was what her name was, because she had never heard that name before the night of the big bonfire at the manor. Not that that was worth remembering. As far as Hannah remembered, the entire family seemed to be undecided if she was a threat to Alaric and them. With that internal reminder, the hand moved back to her side and Hannah laughed and stepped back. "Holidays. Huh?" She asked, before turning around to see if the woman had gotten the necklace out she asked for.

[Leonie von der Marck]

Leonie browsed through the glittering displays in the cabinets for a long few moments, but none of what she saw was really registering. The thoughts of her mother, which naturally progressed to her father and grandfather, and brother and sister, had her nearly consumed until her gaze lit upon an antique carnelian ring. The price tag wasn’t an issue. But it wasn’t quite her mother’s style, no matter how expensive, or how beautiful the Lioness found it to be. No, nothing was ever good enough for the cold blonde woman who looked far younger than her 60-something years, and so Leonie moved along to the standard diamonds and sapphires the woman who had birthed her was partial to. Even if it wasn’t perfect, something in those cabinets would be far closer to satisfactory than anything else the dark-haired woman could find.

At long last, she settled on a large, deep blue, tear-drop-shaped stone in a yellow gold setting, surrounded by perfectly cut diamonds. Her mother would at least be impressed with the size of the stones, and her father would be pleased she’d bothered at all, despite knowing how very little Leonie thought of the woman to begin with. And as she at last straightened up to look for one of the saleswomen, she felt a tap on her shoulder and heard her name being called.

Internally, she startled, but kept it well enough concealed. The press had seemingly decided she was no longer worth the effort now that the scandals that sold papers had died down, so no one had really been looking for her for a long enough time to lull her into a sense of security. And she didn’t know many people well enough there in Harper Rock, maintaining as much anonymity as she could, for anyone to be calling her by name. Yet the voice was familiar, and as she slowly turned around, maintaining her cool composure all the while, she was surprised to see none other than Hannah standing right next to her. A genuine smile crossed her lips then as she gave a nod and soft laugh. “Yeah. Tell me about it,” she agreed. “Getting down to the wire, though,” she said with a slight sigh and shrug. She had more than a few people to shop for still, but she was glad to have this particular gift picked out and off her list. Her relief over that couldn’t be concealed if she tried.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Down to the wire. That was one way of putting it, but Leonie was right. Hannah hadn't meant to procrastinate, but with work and other things, time sort of escaped Hannah this year and so she had a whole lot of people to shop for (pretty much everyone). Hannah just nodded her head, before her lips parted and she offered her perception of things. "My list is sort of small, unlike yours, I probably imagine. But, I always start with the more difficult of people to shop for because once they're done, it seems like smooth sailing from there on out." Leonie could agree or disagree and say so if she wanted, but Hannah was glad that her mother was done with; Terry wasn't quite as hard, but was always the second person she shopped for, because she knew just what to get her sister, her dad and her step-mom this year. She was still on the fence about getting a certain guy that was and wasn't her neighbor a gift, because that might just be implying something they weren't. She decided to shelf the idea for now and wait to see how things went as Christmas got closer.

"Miss?" The sales woman interjected when there was a pause between Leonie's words and Hannah's words, to show off the necklace on some black velour slab she had set on the counter. Hannah gave Leonie an apologetic smile with one finger in the air, before she turned her attention to the woman. "What's the length on the necklace?" Hannah asked, not bothering to touch the maple leaf, because she had already made up her mind. The only thing to worry about was how long it was, or wasn't. Her mother liked things to lay somewhere between one's clavicle and just above the sternum. Anything too long was bound to get caught up in something crazy her hippie mom took part on a whim and something too short made the woman feel like she was 'choking.' Hannah came to wonder at times if her mom didn't suffer from some sort of mental illness with all her personality 'ticks.'

Hannah was pleasantly pleased to discover that the leaf would come to rest in that broad area that was 'acceptable,' and informed the woman she would take it, before returning to Leonie. "How is everyone?" She said quietly, before offering a smile to the woman. "I probably shouldn't have left like that, but..." She trailed off with a shrug of her shoulders before changing the topic. A little. "How's Alaric?" Leonie probably expected her to ask about Judah, because Hannah was closer to him than anyone else, but Hannah decided with how things seemed to have left off the last time, it was probably safer to not mention her acquaintance. Better to ask about the vampire that everyone was concerned about-for good reason.

[Leonie von der Marck]

The Lioness almost snorted, but did her best to keep it in check. “Believe it or not, my list isn’t as long as it was last year. And has shortened quite a bit in recent weeks.” She hitched her shoulders slightly and nipped at her lower lip with a sheepish grin. Hannah’s method seemed to reflect her own train of thought on that particular day. “Yeah, um. You might say I’m doing the same, I guess,” she agreed. “My mother.” But Leonie trailed off then, not needing to get right into that just yet. “Let’s just call it a clever way to keep her out of my hair. Bigger is better and all that jazz.”

She took a long sip of her coffee and looked sideways at what Hannah was purchasing. “That’s beautiful,” she remarked after the salesgirl had wandered off again, likely in search of a ruler for the chain. The maple leaf looked delicate and natural – a pretty piece of art if she’d ever seen one. “For someone special?” she asked before her sharp hazel gaze moved back to the sapphires and diamonds. A slight twinge of anxiety settled in her spine, right at the base, as she considered the items in that cabinet once more. Her mother likely wouldn’t be happy unless it came from van Cleef or Harry Winston. Tiffany was too stuffy, according to her. For the Greenwich blue-bloods and not nearly good enough for the modern British woman who sprang from a more ancient lineage than just about anyone in the U.S. could boast.

She sighed quietly and covered with a fresh smile to the woman standing beside her. “Um… everyone is good,” she said lamely. “I think.” She wasn’t quite sure what more to say; Hannah knew Jude pretty well, it seemed, and probably had spoken to him more than she had in the last couple of months. If a few short, cold sentences could be considered ‘talking.’ “Lou is good… so is Alaric. He’s adapting well.” Her smile took on a fondness then; it really was remarkable to see how well he was fairing, how quickly he was picking things up and learning about all the years he’d missed. Leonie didn’t think she’d ever have the presence of mind or integrity to stand up to that kind of a challenge, but for some reason, her thirteenth or so great-grandfather believed in her and trusted her. It was a confusing thing when she thought on it for anything longer than her cursory review, but in true Leonie fashion, she shrugged it off and soldiered on.

“So… how have you been?” she asked, her tone taking on a serious and sincere edge. She’d felt bad ever since she’d unleashed the truth on Hannah that night at the Manor, but no matter how shittily Jude treated her since, she still maintained it had been done for the right reasons. Even if, in hindsight, she still felt badly about it. “I… well, ****, Hannah. I just want to say, again, that I’m sorry for… that night.” Simple and direct as always, Leonie’s only motive was to express that once again. If she’d been anyone else, she probably would have dwelt upon it and obsessed, but Leonie was Leonie, and aside from her genuine apology, she had taken it all in stride, as she always did.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Mothers. Hannah could completely understand, so she nodded her head and followed with a "Tell me about it." Thankfully, bigger wasn't better in Hannah's family, but she knew that some people were like that. "Well, if you can't find it here, chances are...you need to go to another country." Hannah laughed, hoping that wasn't the case for the woman. Even if they hadn't gotten off on the right foot, Hannah wasn't mean to people just because they had 'freaked out' at her.

Her eyes dropped to the necklace as Leonie complimented it. [color=#FF4BF]"My mother."[/color] That made her smirk a little bit, letting Leonie know plainly that the hardest person to shop for was also her mother. 'Good.' That's what everyone was, which implied that everyone may not be as good as Leonie was saying. Hannah remembered growing up hearing how 'good' life was for her mom after she lost her teaching job due to budget cuts, only to hear from her dad later that her mom wasn't doing as 'good' as she claimed. Not that any parent wanted their kid to know how bad they were doing. Hannah understood, but she also knew 'good' wasn't always good. Coupled with 'I think,' meant that there was something going on and she couldn't help but wonder if it was her. It was entirely possible. there had been some tension the last time she saw Leonie, Judah, Louvel and Alaric. She understood the reasons, but Hannah often wondered if that was why Jude kept his distance the last few weeks. It wasn't easy for anyone to pick, or take a side.

Hannah nodded when Leonie was done talking about the three men, eyes back on the woman who was returning with a ruler. After a few seconds, the woman nodded, positive she had suspected what the length was before even going back to grab the ruler. "It's eighteen inches. So right at the collar bone area." She put both hands on her own to emphasis the point, before raising a curious brow in Hannah's direction. [color=#FF4BF]"I'll take it."[/color] Hannah said with a smile, before giving her complete attention to Leonie.

[color=#FF4BF]"I'm...good."[/color] It was true to an extent. Work was good, as was her personal life and even 'romantic,' if she could categorize what her and Levi were doing as 'romantic.' [color=#FF4BF]"A little stressed. Holidays and all. My sister is coming in a few weeks."[/color] She said with a faint smile, knowing that wasn't where all her stress was at; but most was. When Leonie started talking about before, she shook her head. [color=#FF4BF]"It's fine. I get it. Completely."[/color] How could she judge too hard when she herself had her own secrets? Probably more than all of them combined, if Hannah spent any real time thinking about it. [color=#FF4BF]"Apology accepted, but don't even stress about it."[/color] Hannah suggested to Leonie, while watching the woman put her necklace in the box. [color=#FF4BF]"I'm just glad everyone's moved on and forward for what's best for Alaric."[/color] She assured Leonie, positive there won't be any more scenarios like that for either of them.