acrookedchild: (He found a crooked sixpence)
Abigail Widdowson ([personal profile] acrookedchild) wrote in [community profile] undergrounds2015-07-01 07:21 am

Stroke of Midnight [OPEN]

Miss Abigail Widdowson cordially invites you to Geap Manor on Wednesday, July 1st at 19:00.

Food, drinks, and music will be provided.

All are welcome, but individuals are to be aware that any hostilities during the evening's festivities will not be tolerated.


It is the first time in at least a generation that the doors of Geap Manor have been opened to the general population. Or, at least, as general as the supernatural community could be considered. Some invitiations were made personally, but most were formally sent to the higher ranking members of the various factions.

Dinner is announced precisely at 19:30. The small, intimate eating area for the family has been turned into a buffet room. The caterers Abigail hired have obviously been paid well to make sure there is something for everyone. Rich meat dishes, hearty vegetarian dishes, light fish dishes, plenty of accompaniments and finger food. There is also plenty of fairly fresh blood for vampires. For the others, there are wines, water, and tea available.

The grand dining room has had its large table removed, replaced, instead, by small tables that can comfortably hold four. They can, of course, be pushed together to allow for more room.

The ballroom is open to the guests, and the DJ has also been highly paid to make sure the music played is precisely to the hostess's tastes. There is plenty of modern music, good for dancing, as well as older classics. However, interspersed are classical pieces meant for waltzes and foxtrots and other such ballroom dances.

In the sitting room is a drink cart with wine, tea, water, and blood. Chairs and divans are available, as the room is a quiet place, a little away from the ballroom, so conversation can be had with ease. There is an unlit fireplace, and a portrait of Abigail a few years younger than she is now hangs above it.

Most of the rest of the house is locked. One can wander the hallways, but it may prove ultimately fruitless. One who simply walks up the stairways will find the walls of each lined with the Widdowson family portraits of every generation, starting with one of a ten-year-old Abby, her parents, and her six-year-old brother. As one takes in all the paintings, a pattern presents itself. Every Widdowson woman featured is pale, thin, and blonde.

The grounds are beautifully maintained and fenced in by wrought iron on top of stone. A very traditional look for such an imposing manor. On the path from the street to the house, there's little remarkable, save the knocker on the door. Behind the house, however, if one ventures away, one might get the keen sense of something from inside the house watching, waiting, and hungering. On the ground floor, the locked rooms are mostly unremarkable, save for the study at the back of the house. Linger too long near there, and one might hear a sound coming in a pattering set. It isn't a knock against the door, no. Instead, it is the sound of something hitting the wall. If someone were to force their way into the nursery on the second floor or the attic several stories up... Well. They likely won't be coming back to the party. Or to anything.

Wandering, of course, isn't a suggested enterprise. The old house doesn't like people poking around and trying to find its secrets.


(Everyone who has at least a familiarity with the supernatural is welcome, as the invitations were distributed widely. Mingle, make your own top comments, enjoy the food, etc!)

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-07-02 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Sylvia has seen enough vampires drinking enough glasses of blood that she can tell them apart from the red wine that the living guests drink. She clocks that in a moment and her smile is therefore strained. Why are vampires so rude?

"Very much so, thank you," she replies.

His arrival has, by the way, killed the conversation. The other witches fall silent, looking up at this newcomer.
emotioneater: (Planning and plotting)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-07-06 07:26 am (UTC)(link)
"Glad t'know it. Islington was going to send someone diplomatic and sophisticated, but since those seem to be in short supply, I got the job instead." He smiles, revealing his fangs as he drinks. That was entirely a lie. He'd wanted to come from the very start and the nest had hardly cared who was representing them, so long as several members were there. It was better to look like a uncouth fool then for it to come out earlier than expected that he was supporting Abigail and her coven.

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-07-06 07:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"Lovely," says Sylvia, meaning the opposite. "Did they also ask you to introduce yourself?"

She has no idea who he is, so he could either be an ambitious member of the nest rising through the ranks or a nobody here to make up the numbers. Only one of those is worth talking to.
emotioneater: (I have rules)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-07-08 09:18 am (UTC)(link)
"Nope. Took that up on my own initiative. You can call me Cooper. It's a name worth remembering." Something lit up inside his eyes then, a cunning look that no vampire who was merely a twit would be possessing. As far as his plans were for rising in the Islington Nest, he was going somewhere with a vengeance.

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-07-08 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Arrogant too. Another vampire trait checked off the list. It's tempting to tell him to take a hike, but they're at a polite dinner. That wouldn't be appropriate.

She smiles, somewhat amused. "For good reasons, I hope."

emotioneater: (Head and shoulders)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-07-16 08:28 am (UTC)(link)
"Sure. I may not be much now, but I plan t'go far." It was easy enough to gain allies that could serve him further down the line. He knew how to get people to like him when he really wanted to try. Backing Abigail was a risky move, but if all went well, it could pay off for him big later on.

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-07-16 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
That gets a shrug, her tone playful. "How far would that be? St Albans? Abingdon? Aberdeen?"

A couple of the witches titter. She butters a bread roll.
emotioneater: (Smirk)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-07-20 06:28 am (UTC)(link)
Cooper's eyes flick over to the witches laughing at him and his face hardens for a brief moment. Then it's wiped away, his usual effervescent grin in place. "Who knows? Maybe you might see me on the Night Council one of these days." There's a pretty little mental image for her to chew on: Cooper having enough power to work his way up to the governing hub of their world.

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-07-20 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Lord help her if that happens; he looks like a child. He could be a thousand years old, but a thousand-year old eternal teenager is the worst kind of teenager. Still, maybe she can steer him in a slightly different direction.

"So you'd be helping to preserve peace in our community." She takes a bite out of the bread roll, swallowing it quickly because Sylvia is much too well-mannered to talk with her mouth full. "Mmm, you know, it's good to hear a vampire say that, especially given recent events. Are you considering applying to become a Guardian?"

The nominations are coming up soon, a chance for ambitious types in every faction to join the Council. Guardians are known for their loyalty to the Council, and for their fearsome reputation.
emotioneater: (Oh yeah)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-07-26 07:02 am (UTC)(link)
"Could be." He hadn't been seriously considering the possibility of joining the Council, but now that she had made the suggestion, the germ of the idea was in his head. Power was an interesting concept. He'd been second only to the leader of his clan back in the States. It was time to regain such a position here.

"Maybe I'll work my way all the way up t'being a Representative." God help the entire supernatural community if Cooper was ever given that much power.

[personal profile] brightwitch 2015-07-26 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
This gets a reaction from the other witches around the table; they lean in to whisper to each other. Cooper will probably catch the name "Millicent" being bandied around. Sylvia remains calm and unruffled.

She takes a sip of wine, and gives a small shrug. "Well, I wouldn't want to comment on vampire politics."

She could. She could say quite a lot about what she thinks of vampire politics and Cooper's sheer brass in airing his ambitions here of all places. But in the end the vampires choose their own representative, and if Millicent decides she wants to squash this one like a bug that's her prerogative. If she doesn't... Well, he would be more useful to Sylvia as a Guardian. She'll have to wait and see who gets nominated.
emotioneater: (Default)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2015-08-07 06:35 am (UTC)(link)
Cooper gives a most noncommittal shrug. He's hardly anybody at all in the nest. Millicent wouldn't pay much attention to him unless he got in her line of sights. Then she'd probably squash him like a bug. "Well, I think I've said all that I need to." And mainly just annoyed the whole lot of them, which was his main goal the entire time.

He gets up and nods to the witches with more politeness than he's shown the entire conversation. "Have a good evening, Ms. Redbright. It promises t'be a most interestin' one." There's just a hint of a smirk on his face as he walks off.