Who said anything about being missing in action?

[secondcity_npc]

Characters: NPCs and you!
Time: Wednesday, after sunset
Location: Oriental Theatre (Ford Center for the Performing Arts), ANYWHERE ELSE YOU WANT Jump into one of the later threads if you want a vamp attack!
Content: Remember those missing people? Maybe you can find them!
Format: Whichever you prefer
Warnings: Vampires.

Comments

[secondcity_npc]

A slim, boyish form approached from about a block down, moving with a sort of flailing gait, as it hummed a jazzy tune. The voice was feminine, if a little raspy. The figure took a few more steps, then stopped walking for a moment and reached down to the hem of her fringed dress, adjusting something strapped to her leg.

A glint of silver metal shone.

[boogieandrock]

So it was just another lady out on the streets. Either she'd ended up wandering into one of the busier parts of town or she was just lucky enough to come across a few more people. With the theater up in lights nearby, it could go either way.

"So... What are you two doing out here on a night like this?" she asked curiously. "I mean, if it's so dangerous and all. Something tells me you're not talking about the usual robbers and muggers." She placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side, looking between the two. Didn't look like either of them knew each other.

And then a faint song reached Etna's ears. "Huh. Looks like we've got more company." Company in a pretty good mood from the sounds of it.

[agentpompadour]

Getting a smile back was always a good thing. "Well, what kind of gentleman would I be if I did?"

He shrugged at the smaller girl's question. "Tryin' to get home, actually." After all, why worry about robbers and muggers when there were faeries and werewolves instead? "Would you believe there's horror movie stuff out here?"

His head jerked up at the girl's comment and the faint tune that was finally coming in - the hummed tune, that was. He focused on the woman on the fringed dress, and...nothing. She was more than close enough for him to pick up on her tune, but there simply wasn't one. The only two tunes he could pick up in the Music right now were the smaller girl's and the woman who had been hiding. The woman in the dress had nothing going for her.

"Somethin's wrong," he murmured, hopefully quiet enough that the humming woman couldn't hear him. "She- there's somethin' wrong with her." And here he'd been hoping to avoid this sort of thing.

[killswithclips]

Ziva nodded at the man's answer. She was mainly trying to get back to the hotel and to sleep. But, this was probably going to be an unexpected detour. When she heard Etna's comment, she looked down the street, catching a glimpse of the new arrival. The man's comment worried her, but the glint of silver when the woman adjusted her dress worried her more.

In under a minute, the knife Ziva had in her hand was back in the holder, and in it's place was her side arm. No one would have noticed unless they were really paying attention, because she didn't want to draw attention to the fact that she was armed.

"If that silver is what I think it is, when I say move. Just move." She said to J, who happened to be standing at her right side, her shooting hand. He wasn't in any major danger here, but she'd rather not shoot someone who could be an ally in this place.

[secondcity_npc]

Unaware of the commotion she was causing not too far away, the flapper pulled the silver object from her garter, shaking it. Once out of the shadows of her fringed dress, it was obvious what the silver gleam had been: a hip flask. The flapper stopped her singing long enough to unscrew the top and take a long drink, before resuming her song and swaying gait, all without missing a beat. It was another few bars before she noticed the group staring at her. "Tell you what," she said sadly. "Gin just ain't what it used to be. Can't properly wet a whistle anymore."

[boogieandrock]

Etna snickered, a catlike smirk appearing on her face. "I can believe that," she replied simply, wondering if the man had even realized exactly what he was talking to. She wondered if all humans were this dense when it came to demons. Or maybe they had all just been in this place so long that their weirdness censor was going into overdrive.

But what the man said about the approaching woman had to make Etna rethink that possibility. She wasn't quite sure what to think yet herself. Sure, the lady was walking oddly, but she couldn't quite get a good enough look to come to a decision. The other two, however, looked like they were immediately going on the defensive, and Etna had to wonder just what kind of things they'd seen in this place to make them that wary.

Sounded pretty exciting, really.

Then the woman pulled out the flask and Etna couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. "You know there's always water. Or a soda," she offered helpfully. She passed another glance at the two people near her, curious to see whether or not they had calmed down any. Or at least if the woman had taken her hand off what Etna could only assume to be a gun.

[agentpompadour]

J didn't say anything - just gave a slight nod at the warning. He'd heard the smooth switch from wary to prepared in the woman's tune and he was willing to trust whatever she was going to try; it was probably better than his plan, which was currently nonexistent.

Thankfully, the silver wound up being just a flask. He heard the smaller girl's tune drop and tensed just a bit. If they were going to get thrown off because of this... "Don't let the booze fool you," he muttered. "Somethin's still up." After all, alcohol didn't cause that gap in the Music where a person should be.

Death did.

That realization dropped his stomach to his shoes. Zombies didn't talk, did they? But then what in Jagger's name was this woman, aside from a throwback from eighty years ago? "Can't say gin's really my thing," he commented, trying not to show his nervousness.

[killswithclips]

"That is easy to see. I wonder how many of those she has already had tonight." Ziva didn't step down, nor did she put her gun back in her holster. She wasn't going to let her guard down for anything. She'd been jumped by enough drunks to know they weren't in the clear yet.

"Gin my not be my drink of choice, but I have to agree. Things just are not what they used to be."

[secondcity_npc]

The woman shook her flask as she contemplated Etna's words. "I do think you're right, dolly," she said, sounding distracted. "I should try something besides gin."

The flapper's lips peeled back from her teeth in a hungry smile, and she moved, swifter than any human could hope to move, and made a grab for J.

[boogieandrock]

This guy was pretty sure of himself, wasn't he? Etna wondered if he could tell something about this lady that she couldn't. The woman near them also seemed to be pretty on edge, and Etna now couldn't help but wonder if her womanly intuition was a little on the blink.

Then the weird lady took her advice and went after the man. At first she seemed surprised, but that look quickly changed to one of exasperation. "Uh... that wasn't really what I meant," Etna commented under her breath. A vampire, huh? Etna guessed she should have figured, but this lady wasn't like any vampire she'd ever seen before.

Through her thoughts, Etna reached into what seemed to be thin air, and from it drew her Elder Spear, falling into a fighting stance. For a moment a bright, pink aura surrounded her and she radiated power, hoping to gain the vampire's attention over J or the other two. "So why don't you leave him alone and go find someone else to chew on, 'kay?"

Ugh. Was she falling into the middle of some kind of heroic moment again? Maybe she could explain it later. These people here hadn't done anything to piss her off yet. And the vampire might make for a little EXP gain. Not much, but hopefully enough.

[agentpompadour]

J was used to the Music giving him a clue whenever anybody was planning anything. The dead girl's lack of tune made that a little difficult, and only the fact that he was already on edge saved him. She made a grab and he threw himself out of the way, also doing his best to get out of the way of the woman who'd warned him beforehand. Between her and the smaller girl - who now had a spear, wherever that had come from - he hoped they'd be able to take care of - holy Hendrix that woman had fangs - the vampire.