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!)
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: !)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-07-11 06:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"You can always make more blood. But some books, there're only a couple of copies in the world." Not to mention humans practically gave the stuff away at times.

"Wasn't expecting 'em to throw down the gauntlet right in front of Redbright," said Heiji thoughtfully. "Bet she had her eye on Enfield. Might still."
damnyank: (Default)

[personal profile] damnyank 2015-07-14 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"I was speaking in metaphors," he explains. "Blood. Lifeblood. A life. Some people will sacrifice a life for the right knowledge."

He gives a thoughtful hum. "By them, you mean a child. I hope she knows what she's doing."
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: words words words)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-07-15 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Heiji grimaced. He didn't really enjoy the combination of blood and magic as a topic of conversation, though one or the other was fine on its own.

"I'd say don't underestimate her or her mystery coven," said Heiji. "Putting this thing together and makin' an announcement like this, you don't just wake up one day and decide you're gonna do it!"

Besides, Heiji was young. For a fae, anyway.
damnyank: (4)

[personal profile] damnyank 2015-07-17 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
"She's a kid," Jackson spits out, "Seems to me, that she's way out of her depth, and I don't say that to be condescending."

He pauses, tapping the ash from his cigarette onto the back his hand.

"Even with good intentions, a poorly led coven spells disaster for its members." He eyes Heiji with an appraising eye. "Of course, you wouldn't know much about that."
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: words words words)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-07-17 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
Heiji raised his eyebrows at the sudden vehemence of Jackson's words, but it would be rude to contradict him further. Regardless of the the man's reasons, though, he thought it was a little condescending. Heiji didn't necessarily think it was the world's greatest decision -- but he did respect that some planning and fortitude had gone into it.

"Bringing disaster on covens? Nah, can't say I do." Did he have something on his face? Why was Jackson eyeballing him?
damnyank: (pic#9304197)

[personal profile] damnyank 2015-07-31 09:21 am (UTC)(link)
Fortitude would give the gumption to charge into battle, but it wouldn't make up for naivety or weakness, wouldn't save you from getting hacked to death. However, the whole matter of light covens, dark covens, and feuds puts a bad taste in Jackson's mouth.

But tradition was tradition, especially when it went back to the beginning.

"I'm sayin' you aren't a witch." He leans in close, eyes narrowing, to try and sense the magic off of 'em. It didn't say witch, but what Heiji is... Jackson's not too sure. "Don't make me guess."
detectiveofthewest: (Heiji: I was sweatin' bullets)

[personal profile] detectiveofthewest 2015-08-05 06:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow. Heiji leaned backward to escape the sudden intrusion of old man face, he didn't need this in his life. "Hey, you ever heard of personal space? Or breath mints?"

Maybe dead bodies didn't mind Jackson getting better acquainted in this manner, but Heiji did. He made a shooing gesture with his hand.