Two for Tea (Invite)

[Elizabeth]

It had been an impulsive act when replying to a new person upon the Noble Crownet. Typically, Elizabeth ignored most postings on the Crow, or answered them vaguely, careful not to put too much of her own opinion in a place that was not hers to express such opinions. It was, after all, her sire's home, and so, Elizabeth typed things occasionally when a few hours, or nights passed and there was no inkling of her sire replying, then replied in a short, but sweet and respectable manner. There had been an exchange of polite conversation between Mr. EffOff and Jezebel, that ended up with an invitation to meet the both of them face to face over tea, or whatever else they desired to drink (or pretend to).

Both accepted the invitation for this Saturday, since Elizabeth had no plans for that evening. Besides, it was her belief that typically, when meeting another it was typically proper etiquette to give them a few evenings notice of an invitation out. There were a few exceptions to that rule; two, that Elizabeth could name off hand without putting much thought into it. Both men would accept a proposed get together and then meet sooner than later. Which bothered the woman not, but if either desired a more agreeable amount of time, Elizabeth would most certainly understand.

Saturday came sooner than anticipated, the week bustling by with both her businesses, bank meetings, Realtor meetings for proposed spaces for Elizabeth's next adventure in the business world, and other, personal things. Typically, Elizabeth gave more thought to what she wore when the woman went out, but since she had arranged a showing of an old building that had been empty for two years, for what could be her building-Elizabeth lacked the time to prepare. And so, the woman grabbed the first thing she pulled out, the tag still swinging from inside the armpit, indicating it was something else she had bought at some point to wear, but never had. Her blue eyes glanced at the dress, trying to recall just where and when she purchased the dress; only remembering that she had actually attained the dress less than a year ago when Elizabeth was in her 'mood.' It wasn't exactly a state of depression, so much as it was a state of loss. Elizabeth had no idea where to begin, what to do, and how to do anything these last few years and so the dress had more than likely matched her mood at the time. Dull, boring and lifeless.

While her life had improved significantly after Elizabeth had done some 'soul-searching' a few months ago, at times, her life mirrored the mostly Grey, black and silver toned dress. However, there were a few streaks of fuchsia in the dress, indicating that there was some life in the dress after all, and perhaps in her. That was, if someone was lucky enough to find those flicks on the occasion they sprouted up. Not having any time to do her hair, or have Elise do her hair, Elizabeth ran a comb through her hair, applied some lipstick that was a tinge darker than the fuchsia in her knee length dress, to her lips. She yanked the tag off from the dress, grabbed a silver clutch from off her vanity table, found a pair of black three inch heels, and a knee length camel coloured wool coat and tied it snugly around her tiny waist. The blonde woman made sure she had everything she would need, before teleporting herself outside the back of the Newborough Vertical Mall. Elizabeth glanced around, tucked her strands of long blonde hair behind both ears and proceeded into the mall, to Yangs, where the two others agreed to meet with her.

Wearing: https://d919ce141ef35c47fc40-b9166a60ec ... 20x600.jpg

[Jezebel Tzasun]

The statuesque redhead stood behind the shorter raven haired woman, making faces every once in a while when she was asked a question or heard the other mutter a curse under her breath. The redhead, Abigail, kept the relatively short Goth woman company, mostly to make sure the lady's cats didn't try to destroy anything. They were such destructive creatures disguised as adorable balls of fluff that would occasionally make some sort of strange noise that apparently made them appear even cuter than what they were already perceived as being.

“Abigail,” the woman's voice sounded suddenly, pulling the other from her thoughts, “will you tighten the back up some? It feels a bit loose.” Jezebel was very picky about the way her corsets were tied. After months, probably closer to a year actually, the redhead was used to fixing things for her master of sorts. Without a single bit of hesitation she got to work on fixing the back of Jezebel's corset.

Those nimble fingers of hers moved from along quickly, pulling the lacing as she went. Each miniscule tug got it a bit tighter than before. It wasn't long before the lady had it just right and quickly tied it off. A soft sigh, one of longing, escaped her maroon painted lips, drawing the attention of the Goth to her. For the briefest of fleeting moments concern flashed across the pale features of Jezebel's face as her lips pulled down at the corners.

Those blackened lips parted ever so slightly but before even the faintest sound came out Abigail silenced her with a simple shake of her head. There was a small smile playing across her lips as she gave Jezebel a quick once over, just as she always did before the woman went out. “Beautifully dark as usual, ma'am.” It was the only time she ever had anything nice to say. After all, she treated the woman as if she were a queen before every night out, just to keep her a somewhat good mood.

“Thank you, Abigail. I'm sure you did a wonderful job, just like always.” Jezebel took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, more out of habit than anything else. Saturday had arrived much sooner than anticipated, and it left her feeling extremely nervous. If one were to look at her there was no way of telling just how big of a nervous wreck she truly was.

It would be the first time in quite a while that she would come face-to-face with Elizabeth. Then add the fact that there was a new one to be met on top of it, and well, saying that she was nervous was actually putting it lightly. The lady had spent the last few years relatively alone, with the exception of a few people. So social situations were always unsettling. At least they were all family, right? That should have made things a bit easier, but no.

She grabbed a small black clutch, gave everything a quick check before sliding on her heels. There was a small part of her, somewhere in the back of her mind, that still couldn't quite believe that Elizabeth had invited her to have tea. It was such a bizarre concept that it seemed almost improbable. It wasn't very often that someone wanted her around for anything, except for the people that worked for her.

“Abigail, don't wait up. Leave whenever you want or stay the night, whichever suits your plans for the evening.” She gave a small wave to the redhead, who returned the gesture accompanied with an eye roll. The night was young, even by the human's standards. It was only a matter of time before she figured out a way to spend her time.

Jezebel checked the note she had made of the location of the Yangs. It wasn't a place the woman was overly familiar with, and heaven forbid she was late. Punctuality was an important thing for her, unfortunately it wasn't long before she realized just how much time had passed. At that point it was safe to say that there was no way she was making it there on time.

A few people looked at her as if she was some sort of walking freak show, which was nothing new. Another couple of minutes passed by before she decided to just teleport herself to the building. Why in the names of the Gods did she not think of that sooner? The woman paused a moment, putting a few loose curls back into their rightful places, which was out of her face. Where the locks went from there didn't matter, as long as they weren't obscuring her sight any longer.

Upon entering the building, which to her looked like a gigantic maze of shops and various other things, she made her way to the elevator. Once more she checked her note before tucking it back into the clutch. So, the second floor was where she would find Yangs. Easy enough, unless that floor was as intimidating as the one she was one.

None of that really mattered. She was late, and that was unacceptable. There was no telling how Elizabeth felt about that. What if the new guy was there before her? Surely that wouldn't look too good. Once in the elevator it wasn't long before she was once again on her way to spend time with the woman and hopefully meet EfOff. Or had he said to just call him Ef? Oh that untrustworthy memory of hers was causing problems again.

Without realizing it, she had manged to find her way there. Well, that was new. There was a first time for everything after all. Perhaps the same thing would happen later on her way home. A small amused chuckle sounded from her as she looked about for Elizabeth. It didn't take much for her to be able to spot the woman. Oh she was sight for sore eyes. In that instant her nerves seemed to settle, which was a huge relief. Hopefully that meant she wouldn't make a total fool of herself after all.

“Hello Elizabeth. It is wonderful to see you again.” The words left her as soon as she was near the woman. It was more than wonderful to see her. In fact, it was absolutely amazing. “I know I'm a few minutes late, and I'm sorry about that. I seemed to have lost track of time while getting ready.”

[EfOff (DELETED 8943)]

Ef wasn't the type to accept an invitation to tea, or anything else, from a complete stranger, but he had. How could he have refused? Just say 'No'! echoed through his head in answer to the unasked question. "To late to turn back now" he muttered softly to himself, he'd been laying in his bed in the shabby but comfortable motel room thinking about what he'd gotten himself into this time. He couldn't just simply not show up, could he? He could, yes. Then when he next saw Elizabeth would she believe the lie he would utter about completely forgetting about meeting her and Jezebel? He doubted it, he knew deep down she would somehow know he was lying. Gods forbid you should go and maybe even have a good time. "Yea, yea, shut the **** up. I'm going, I'm going!", he muttered out loud again.

Sitting up on the edge of the bed, he glanced at the clock on the night stand with his dark cornflower blue eyes, and swore as his bare feet touched the carpet. He was late, very late for tea, muttering to himself to keep the sarcastically snide voice silent in his head. He stretched his arms above his head, pulling his shirt off in the process as he stood in one fluid motion. He could hear his whiskers of his scruffy beard, as the fabric brushed against them but he had no time to shave. What did one wear to tea? The answer didn't actually matter, he only had one thing that was half way decent to wear to an informal gathering.

Shrugging once then made his way into the bathroom, turning on the shower water before stripping down and stepping into the cold water. Uttering a few choice words that were muffed by the fact that his head was submerged under the falling cascade of liquid icicles. He had turned on the hot water, but had forgotten to give it time to warm up. No matter, he thought. Lathering up with body wash from head to toe, he held his breath as he once again embraced the frigid water to rinse off quickly. Chuckling as he turned the, now warm, water off. He dried quickly and hurried back into the room to dress. He had no tie and his blue jeans would have to do, at least he had a jacket to wear. Running his hands through his still wet shoulder length brown locks, he threw on some cologne, stuffed his feet into his brown loafers, grabbed his cell phone, and headed out of the door.

He made several wrong turns before finding the building he was looking for and went inside. Finding the elevator, he stepped inside and thumbed the number two, then waited as it responded to his directions. As the doors opened, he stepped out and looked around him, stopping as he spotted Yang's... that was where his 3G had said they were to have tea.

Ducking into Yang's, he scanned the area and swore to himself again. They were both there already, waiting on him so he made his way over to them and sat down in a vacant chair. "Forgive my tardiness, ladies, I trust you haven't been waiting to long."

Ef's suit
https://i.imgur.com/ISBSWuf.jpg

[Elizabeth]

Elizabeth had wandered into Yangs and claimed a seat at a table, her blue hues bouncing around the room to look for the familiar old face and a newer face she had seen once before when gifting him with a gun. Jezebel would be the easiest to spot, simply because Elizabeth had known the woman for...four-maybe five years now? They may not have seen the other in the last two or three years due to life....but Jezebel had a very rememberable face. Why wouldn't she? The woman was, after all, Elizabeth's 'grandchilde.' Typically, Elizabeth was good with names and faces up until that point, when the 'tree' grew larger than great-grandchilde, Elizabeth found herself struggling. More than likely due to Elizabeth and not to anything a person did or did not do past grand-childe.

When her eyes landed on Jezebel, Elizabeth stood and offered the woman a smile, before dipping her head slightly. "Jezebel." Elizabeth stated between the woman's words, before allowing the woman to proceed with her thoughts. In truth, Elizabeth had no idea how tonight would go, and part of her feared the worst. When Jezebel was finished speaking, the woman's arms went around her grand-childe for a brief second, before expressing her own thoughts. "It is most wonderful to see thee as well. You look well. Strong, and...confident. Very attractive qualities." Elizabeth recalled the time in which her grand-childe was a little more reserved as the woman tested the waters of being a vampire. Or perhaps, it was due to something else. Perhaps due to Elizabeth. It was possible. Elizabeth was well aware that people either liked her, or could not stomach the woman due to her slightly frigid and formal personality in public. "Please. Sit!" Elizabeth extended an arm out to the other three empty chairs, and waited patiently for Jezebel to take a seat, before the blonde telepath would follow suit. "And let us not speak of time. I believe I was a few minutes early, so in that scenario, you are on time. But, what is time to those such as us?" The woman concluded with a subtle smirk that clung to the corners of her lips, before Elizabeth finally sat.

"How have you been? Tell me every-" Elizabeth paused when she saw Mr. Eff arrive, find them and head in their direction. "Perhaps, hold that thought a while. Mr. Eff is coming." Elizabeth broadcasted as the male in a suit and jeans combination arrived. Perhaps Elizabeth had overdressed, yet again, but she would not be her, if she did not. Jeans was something she would never wear, and for some mysterious reason, Elizabeth didn't see her singular pair of leggings hanging up when she searched for them when trying to find a sweater dress instead. Shopping was in order it seemed. Mr. Eff sat down in a chair that Jezebel had not picket, and expressed an apology. Elizabeth tipped her head curiously, studying at her brood, then waved a dismissive hand. "As I was telling Jezebel a mere few minutes ago, I was early and you two are right on time." Elizabeth assured the both of them as she sat back in the chair, as one arm found the table, the other a resting place on top of that arm. "At least you came." Elizabeth said to both of them again, her blue hues bouncing from one, to the other. "Shall we order, for pretense sakes?" Elizabeth asked the two of them, already knowing what she would order, even if the two of them would not.

[Jezebel Tzasun]

There was something oddly comforting about the familiar presence of the woman. What tension had been there that had caused her body to go almost rigid seemed to disappear immediately. The moment of contact was like some sort of strange miracle to the Necromancer, perhaps because, in those fleeting seconds, she recalled what it was like to be around someone that saw her worth. True, it had been years since they had last seen one another, but that did little to destroy Jezebel's memories of the lady. Which, if she were to be honest, was interesting seeing as how horrible her memory was most of the time. Usually without almost constant interaction memories would fade into oblivion leaving her reaching into the abyss in order to try to recall something that was no longer there.

“Thank you so much. The last few years, though rough, have been quite beneficial to me.” She smiled, a few memories dancing their way through her mind as she recalled the first few years of her life as a vampire. Things hadn't been easy, at least not to her. Others probably saw everything that had happened as a walk in the park, but for her, it had been hell. Adjusting had proven to be quite difficult, manageable but still difficult. Elizabeth had made it a bit rough, but in the end it all worked out. Elizabeth prompting Jezebel to sit pulled her from her thoughts. “You look as lovely as ever.” the small goth paused only long enough to actually take a seat. “I like to think that time is merely an illusion. One we, generally speaking of course, created to try to give things some sort of significance.”

Any further thought on the matter was shoved from her mind just as quickly as they had started to attempt their parade. Perhaps the ideas on the matter would find their home once more in the abyss where she liked to believe they belonged. Like most things that dared to cross that ever working thing she called a brain, they often fell into two categories, one being useful and things destined for the blackened void. That wasn't important though. It took some effort, but Jezebel managed to pull herself back to the real world in time to greet the man with a small, friendly smile and polite, barely noticeable nod of her head.

“Welcome, sir. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Of course, that was the polite thing to say, right? It was such a common phrase, and one that often let much to be desired should things not go the way they were pictured. Anyway, it was all a matter of how one perceived things. Jezebel wasn't known for leaving a favorable first impression with most people, so she never truly expected anything of the sort from others.

“Ah yes, for the sake of keeping up the charade, right?” Not the most tactful way of asking that, and it was definitely something that would probably come back to haunt the woman later. “I'm partial to either Earl Grey or coffee, whichever really. I'm not too picky.” It was mostly the aroma from them that she liked. Such wonderful reminders of a simpler time.

“My days consist of nothing interesting or noteworthy really that would be worth sharing.” There was a nervous twitch of sorts; the chewing of the bottom lip and tugging at one of the silver rings in the flesh. “Perhaps Mister Eff might have some interesting stories, and if not, I'm certain we can find something to discuss.”