De Ulloa-Priest Residence, London, Later Wednesday Evening
The doorbell rang just as the sun dipped below the horizon, interrupting the group's conversation.
Sebastien was not at all surprised by what he found when he opened the door.
"Hello, David," he said to the man on the stoop.
"David Bull"
"Hello." David leaned on the wall, hunched under a dove-gray shirt. "Since you're not going to invite me in, will you come out?"
Sebastien de Ulloa
"I have guests tonight," Sebastien said, with the faintest shake of his head.
David Bull
David slipped his phone from his pocket, checked the time, glanced at Sebastien, bit his lower lip, and consulted it again. "As it happens, I have a date of my own. Am I to presume that conferring on the stoop with wampyr might be the sort of thing that is not done in Notting Hill?"
Sebastien de Ulloa
"You might," Sebastien said. He glanced over his shoulder to gauge what, if anything, the others had overheard; whatever it was, he wasn't about to get into a conversation with them in front of David.
He stepped outside and jerked the door shut, then descended the steps, took David's elbow, and pulled him around on his heels. "All right. Walk with me," he said, propelling David forward.
David Bull
David did not stagger, but paced him comfortably, giving no appearance of haste. Sebastien listened, but did not hear the door open behind him. So Jack ahd his guests had some respect for his privacy, contrary to other evidence.
The two wampyr had gone half a block before David said, "If you want me to beg, Sebastien, I'll do it."
Sebastien de Ulloa
A typically cryptic comment, hurtling over layers of dialogue. Fortunately, though Sebastien was no longer used to David's conversational leaps, he recalled their management. "You want my protection."
David Bull
"You're my elder and sire, and you know the city," David said. "I'm within my rights to ask."
Sebastien de Ulloa
Caution kept Sebastien from a too-facile denial. To refuse to acknowledge power could be as deadly as claiming it unwarranted. Instead he asked, "What do you need protecting from?"
David Bull
David shrugged. "I left my share of enemies on the continent. It's not inconceivable that one followed."
Sebastien de Ulloa
"Surely, you know who you fled."
David Bull
David stepped away, tugging the smooth silk of his shirtsleeve through Sebastien's fingers. Sebastien could have held on, but he would have torn the fabric to do so. "What makes you think I fled someone?"
Faced with Sebastien's brow-arched stare, he frowned and dropped his gaze. "Or that if I fled someone, that's who pursued me?"
Sebastien de Ulloa
Sebastien shook his head. "Or that whoever pursued may be slaughtering boy whores as a message to you?"
He said it harshly, without warning, his eyes on David's face.
David Bull
David's flinch was hard and certain. His stride checked, and he rounded on Sebastien. "I beg your pardon?"
Sebastien de Ulloa
"Read the papers," Sebastien said. He could have reached out and taken David's arm again. Instead, he thrust his fist into his pocket and leaned back. Few walked the streets, and the only one close was a businessman who boubnced to some silent music on his headphones. "There's no telling what you might learn."
Jack Priest
While Sebastien and the other vampire were gone, Jack was pacing, and trying not to pace, and fidgeting through a magazine without making sense of a single word.
He gave up and tossed it aside. "I wish he had at least told us where he was going," he grumbled to no one in particular. "I'm on the verge of trying to track him down myself."
Emma Grace Frost
"If you don't stop pacing, I will sit on you myself," Emma promised. "I'm peeking, I promise."
Well, to a certain point. Emma wasn't that much of a voyeur.
Kate Gregson
"Aren't we already used to not being told much?" Kate chimed in with a drawl. Sorry, Mitchell. "Yet we always find out. Relax, Jack."
Never mind that she was fidgety as hell for a bunch of reasons.
Jack Priest
"He usually at least pretends to think I'm an adult," Jack muttered. "Besides, if it's a big enough problem that he's making us wear rings and not let his friend in the house, why should he be off on his own with the fellow?"
Jack was possibly choosing to ignore the "thousand year old vampire" factor, here.
"I don't like it."
Emma Grace Frost
"Thousand year old vampire?" Emma supplied dryly. "Better him than us."
Sorry, Jack.
"He's hardly a defenseless housecat."
Karla, Queen of Glacia
"It's possible he doesn't want his friend seeing us," Karla pointed out. "If he's already suspicious of the male, he might prefer us to have as much anonymity as possible. It's not like the rings are hard to hide if we need to."
Jack Priest
That seemed to calm Jack, if only a bit. "Epaphras has seen me," he pointed out. "We could be brothers. But I suppose there might be some value in protecting the rest of you."
The fact he was apparently Sebastien's type made things a tiny bit worse, somehow. He supposed it made some sense; Sebastien and his maker had both been dark. Blond courtesans served as a contrast. And he wasn't sure why he was fretting about that, of all the possible things.
John Mitchell
Mitchell approached right around when Karla had stopped talking, and he'd stood by silently, looking thoughtful, and just a little uncomfortable underneath the marble-like quality his expression had taken on since getting here. "Yeah," he said, apparently inclined to cryptic in the face of any and all vampire business. "That's one way of putting it."
He wasn't going to stop staring at the door.
Karla, Queen of Glacia
Karla...Karla had never actually met Mitchell before. She'd seen him around the town, of course, and knew that he taught classes sometimes, but she'd never gotten around to talking to him.
Or even standing all that close.
Her eyes flickered down to his hand: empty of the rings Sebastien had handed out.
"Oh," she said and immediately felt stupid for not having realized earlier.
Kate Gregson
"Yeah, another one," Kate couldn't help contributing (albeit mildly), noting Karla's reaction. She glanced at Mitchell, briefly, then stuck her hands in her pockets. "That happens."
A lot, if you were her, but that was neither here nor there.
Jack Priest
"Not from this world, though," Jack added, in a side note to Karla, before he raised his voice. "Also, Karla does magic and Emma reads minds, if anyone isn't clear on any of that, and Kate and I ... have only our charm."
Emma Grace Frost
"But what wonderful charm it is," Emma retorted cheerfully. "And occasionally, you have decent cigarettes I can steal."
bitten_npcs
David was tucked snugly away in his quarters, such as they were, before Sebastien returned. "Here I am," he said simply.
He'd taken the precaution of letting himself in the back, denying Jack whatever pleasure he might get from shutting the door in Sebastien's face.
Jack Priest
"Of course you had to do that alone," Jack said, a nasty edge to his tone and a jealous flicker in his eyes. "The return of the prodigal."
bitten_npcs
Sebastien bit his lip, and he kept his eyes focused on Jack to keep himself from expressing his sharp irritation the boy was doing this now, with a half-trusted vampire in the room. It was bad enough to be dressed down by one's humans, even when one deserved it.
"Jealousy doesn't become you," he said gently. "And I cannot appear so frail as to require the assistance of my court for a simple conversation with my own creation."
Jack Priest
"Do you think it's Epaphras doing the killing?" Jack asked, and if he minded the audience he gave no sign.
He was also going to ignore the little dig about his jealousy.
bitten_npcs
"He calls himself David now," Sebastien said, inspecting his fingernails. "I don't know."
He shook his head, glancing to the guests for their reactions. "But I will. I promise you."
Karla, Queen of Glacia
"Is that a duty you're taking for yourself?" Karla asked, because it seemed politer than 'shall we dig into him for you?'
bitten_npcs
"It's a duty I'm rather well-suited for," Sebastien allowed. "Is it one you wish to take on for yourself?"
These were Jack's friends. He'd be surprised by an answer besides yes.
Karla, Queen of Glacia
"It may be more politic if we did it." Which was fancy for 'yes.' "He's also probably had a chance to get to know your methods over the years, whereas we're completely new. He has no idea what we're capable of, which may lead him to carelessness. And if he is involved..." she raised an eyebrow. "It's probably best that your association remain limited."
bitten_npcs
""All true," Sebastien allowed. "I have a few ideas, and I suppose there's no time like the present for getting started."
He detailed his plan. It'd mean a few late, unpleasant errands, but that was beter than forcing the humans to sleep on it. It was possible they could be ready to consider things solved before the sun rose again.
Sebastien liked to pretend optimism on such things.
[OOC: Follows this and this. some bits borrowed from "Chatoyant." Preplayed with the scrumptious chose_humanity, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, and vanillajello. NFB, OOC welcome.]
Sebastien was not at all surprised by what he found when he opened the door.
"Hello, David," he said to the man on the stoop.
"David Bull"
"Hello." David leaned on the wall, hunched under a dove-gray shirt. "Since you're not going to invite me in, will you come out?"
Sebastien de Ulloa
"I have guests tonight," Sebastien said, with the faintest shake of his head.
David Bull
David slipped his phone from his pocket, checked the time, glanced at Sebastien, bit his lower lip, and consulted it again. "As it happens, I have a date of my own. Am I to presume that conferring on the stoop with wampyr might be the sort of thing that is not done in Notting Hill?"
Sebastien de Ulloa
"You might," Sebastien said. He glanced over his shoulder to gauge what, if anything, the others had overheard; whatever it was, he wasn't about to get into a conversation with them in front of David.
He stepped outside and jerked the door shut, then descended the steps, took David's elbow, and pulled him around on his heels. "All right. Walk with me," he said, propelling David forward.
David Bull
David did not stagger, but paced him comfortably, giving no appearance of haste. Sebastien listened, but did not hear the door open behind him. So Jack ahd his guests had some respect for his privacy, contrary to other evidence.
The two wampyr had gone half a block before David said, "If you want me to beg, Sebastien, I'll do it."
Sebastien de Ulloa
A typically cryptic comment, hurtling over layers of dialogue. Fortunately, though Sebastien was no longer used to David's conversational leaps, he recalled their management. "You want my protection."
David Bull
"You're my elder and sire, and you know the city," David said. "I'm within my rights to ask."
Sebastien de Ulloa
Caution kept Sebastien from a too-facile denial. To refuse to acknowledge power could be as deadly as claiming it unwarranted. Instead he asked, "What do you need protecting from?"
David Bull
David shrugged. "I left my share of enemies on the continent. It's not inconceivable that one followed."
Sebastien de Ulloa
"Surely, you know who you fled."
David Bull
David stepped away, tugging the smooth silk of his shirtsleeve through Sebastien's fingers. Sebastien could have held on, but he would have torn the fabric to do so. "What makes you think I fled someone?"
Faced with Sebastien's brow-arched stare, he frowned and dropped his gaze. "Or that if I fled someone, that's who pursued me?"
Sebastien de Ulloa
Sebastien shook his head. "Or that whoever pursued may be slaughtering boy whores as a message to you?"
He said it harshly, without warning, his eyes on David's face.
David Bull
David's flinch was hard and certain. His stride checked, and he rounded on Sebastien. "I beg your pardon?"
Sebastien de Ulloa
"Read the papers," Sebastien said. He could have reached out and taken David's arm again. Instead, he thrust his fist into his pocket and leaned back. Few walked the streets, and the only one close was a businessman who boubnced to some silent music on his headphones. "There's no telling what you might learn."
Jack Priest
While Sebastien and the other vampire were gone, Jack was pacing, and trying not to pace, and fidgeting through a magazine without making sense of a single word.
He gave up and tossed it aside. "I wish he had at least told us where he was going," he grumbled to no one in particular. "I'm on the verge of trying to track him down myself."
Emma Grace Frost
"If you don't stop pacing, I will sit on you myself," Emma promised. "I'm peeking, I promise."
Well, to a certain point. Emma wasn't that much of a voyeur.
Kate Gregson
"Aren't we already used to not being told much?" Kate chimed in with a drawl. Sorry, Mitchell. "Yet we always find out. Relax, Jack."
Never mind that she was fidgety as hell for a bunch of reasons.
Jack Priest
"He usually at least pretends to think I'm an adult," Jack muttered. "Besides, if it's a big enough problem that he's making us wear rings and not let his friend in the house, why should he be off on his own with the fellow?"
Jack was possibly choosing to ignore the "thousand year old vampire" factor, here.
"I don't like it."
Emma Grace Frost
"Thousand year old vampire?" Emma supplied dryly. "Better him than us."
Sorry, Jack.
"He's hardly a defenseless housecat."
Karla, Queen of Glacia
"It's possible he doesn't want his friend seeing us," Karla pointed out. "If he's already suspicious of the male, he might prefer us to have as much anonymity as possible. It's not like the rings are hard to hide if we need to."
Jack Priest
That seemed to calm Jack, if only a bit. "Epaphras has seen me," he pointed out. "We could be brothers. But I suppose there might be some value in protecting the rest of you."
The fact he was apparently Sebastien's type made things a tiny bit worse, somehow. He supposed it made some sense; Sebastien and his maker had both been dark. Blond courtesans served as a contrast. And he wasn't sure why he was fretting about that, of all the possible things.
John Mitchell
Mitchell approached right around when Karla had stopped talking, and he'd stood by silently, looking thoughtful, and just a little uncomfortable underneath the marble-like quality his expression had taken on since getting here. "Yeah," he said, apparently inclined to cryptic in the face of any and all vampire business. "That's one way of putting it."
He wasn't going to stop staring at the door.
Karla, Queen of Glacia
Karla...Karla had never actually met Mitchell before. She'd seen him around the town, of course, and knew that he taught classes sometimes, but she'd never gotten around to talking to him.
Or even standing all that close.
Her eyes flickered down to his hand: empty of the rings Sebastien had handed out.
"Oh," she said and immediately felt stupid for not having realized earlier.
Kate Gregson
"Yeah, another one," Kate couldn't help contributing (albeit mildly), noting Karla's reaction. She glanced at Mitchell, briefly, then stuck her hands in her pockets. "That happens."
A lot, if you were her, but that was neither here nor there.
Jack Priest
"Not from this world, though," Jack added, in a side note to Karla, before he raised his voice. "Also, Karla does magic and Emma reads minds, if anyone isn't clear on any of that, and Kate and I ... have only our charm."
Emma Grace Frost
"But what wonderful charm it is," Emma retorted cheerfully. "And occasionally, you have decent cigarettes I can steal."
bitten_npcs
David was tucked snugly away in his quarters, such as they were, before Sebastien returned. "Here I am," he said simply.
He'd taken the precaution of letting himself in the back, denying Jack whatever pleasure he might get from shutting the door in Sebastien's face.
Jack Priest
"Of course you had to do that alone," Jack said, a nasty edge to his tone and a jealous flicker in his eyes. "The return of the prodigal."
bitten_npcs
Sebastien bit his lip, and he kept his eyes focused on Jack to keep himself from expressing his sharp irritation the boy was doing this now, with a half-trusted vampire in the room. It was bad enough to be dressed down by one's humans, even when one deserved it.
"Jealousy doesn't become you," he said gently. "And I cannot appear so frail as to require the assistance of my court for a simple conversation with my own creation."
Jack Priest
"Do you think it's Epaphras doing the killing?" Jack asked, and if he minded the audience he gave no sign.
He was also going to ignore the little dig about his jealousy.
bitten_npcs
"He calls himself David now," Sebastien said, inspecting his fingernails. "I don't know."
He shook his head, glancing to the guests for their reactions. "But I will. I promise you."
Karla, Queen of Glacia
"Is that a duty you're taking for yourself?" Karla asked, because it seemed politer than 'shall we dig into him for you?'
bitten_npcs
"It's a duty I'm rather well-suited for," Sebastien allowed. "Is it one you wish to take on for yourself?"
These were Jack's friends. He'd be surprised by an answer besides yes.
Karla, Queen of Glacia
"It may be more politic if we did it." Which was fancy for 'yes.' "He's also probably had a chance to get to know your methods over the years, whereas we're completely new. He has no idea what we're capable of, which may lead him to carelessness. And if he is involved..." she raised an eyebrow. "It's probably best that your association remain limited."
bitten_npcs
""All true," Sebastien allowed. "I have a few ideas, and I suppose there's no time like the present for getting started."
He detailed his plan. It'd mean a few late, unpleasant errands, but that was beter than forcing the humans to sleep on it. It was possible they could be ready to consider things solved before the sun rose again.
Sebastien liked to pretend optimism on such things.
[OOC: Follows this and this. some bits borrowed from "Chatoyant." Preplayed with the scrumptious chose_humanity, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, and vanillajello. NFB, OOC welcome.]