undergrounds | Semi-open: May 05

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Semi-open: May 05

Who: Lancelot and friends!
What: It's a birthday party! With both regular people and supernatural types. What could go wrong?
When: May 05
Where: Lancelot's flat & garden, Richmond!
Warnings: Gratuitous doggy! Probably a punch up later. Possibly some drunk kissing.

Lancelot's garden is not exactly an acre-large tented paradise.

He's not made of money.

It's big enough to just about fit the people invited across the patio and grass, with Lily variously herding them and rolling around, and he's flitting between them and the kitchen and living room and generally doing his best to butterfly around all of them making sure they're happy. The garden is relatively tidy, as tidy and well kept as a garden that suffers an enthusiastic dog can be. The hedges are neatly trimmed, the tree in one corner healthy and big enough to throw a little shade, and the one flowerbed border seems to mostly have some roses that are yet to fully bloom.

For those who he's only known since the incident last year he's given them a warning: not everyone who will be there is aware of the supernatural side of things, so try not to blurt it to people you don't know.

Despite it being his own birthday Lancelot is, of course, playing host. There's a table set up outside with finger food, salads, drinks and all sorts -- and food strategically inside for those who can't be out in the sun too. He appears to still be checking on more in the oven every so often too, but Lancelot does like to cook -- and he seems quite focused on making sure everyone has something they could eat.

Some of the drinks are alcoholic. The punch isn't that strong, but he has a few other drinks along the side for people who want them and some bottles of beer in an ice bucket. If someone decides to do a little mixing of course then it might wind up stronger.

His sound system is playing the soothing strains of Dire Straits through the place and all in all, for now at least things are going smoothly. So long as nobody says the wrong thing to the wrong person, it will probably be a nice evening. With the mixture of factions present alongside those who have no idea what a faction is, of course... that may be difficult.

[ OOC: Feel free to mingle away on the post with others here! ]

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He drops his eyes at the comment about her watching him, a little shy at the observation -- as if she's unearthing some secret by voicing it.

"Everyone else came for her. I should be giving her a party."

This is her party! A party for both of them! Lily sits patiently at Lancelot's insistent tugging on her collar, watches Natasha hopefully with a swish of her tail as she pushes over the box and leans to sniff it. What is it? Is it for dogs? He focuses on that instead of what she said, shyness not quite dissipating because gifts almost make it worse.

"You didn't have to get me anything," he adds, a little hesitant. "Really."

"I'm not going to be a bad guest," she says as she nudges it away from Lily, distracting her gently by scratching her cheek. "I wasn't going to come empty handed—especially when I think it more or less is Lily's party."

She shrugs then, raising an eyebrow. "If you don't like them or don't want them, my feelings won't be hurt. I didn't have any idea about your taste when I picked them out, and it was a little last minute."

It's the gesture that's important to her anyway. Her feelings aren't about to be hurt.

Lily leans into the touch and closes her eyes, tail swishing faster. This is a good distraction! Cheek scratches are nearly as good as boxes! If you can find her cheek under all that thick fur.

"You're very kind to think of me at all," he insists, and leans to tap a finger on Lily's paw as she lifts it to rest on Natasha's arm and turns to lick at her hand. Yes, keep that hand there, keep scratching at her! Wait, why the paw tap? No paws? She turns and looks up at Lancelot questioningly, ears twitching to focus on him as she tries to understand the instruction. He reaches around her while she's distracted and begins to carefully try and open the box, not wanting to rip or break everything in an unseemly fashion. "I don't think it's for you," he warns Lily as she sniffs at it again. "Although it might be, mmm? What do you think? Shall we see?"

He slides it open finally and smiles fondly, reaching out to persuade Lily to sit again as she tries to shove her nose in to inspect them.

"You have very good taste, even Lily agrees."

It is hard to find skin through all that fur, it's true. But Natasha makes a valiant effort. At least the scratching might get somewhere cheek adjacent.

She chuckles as he questions the dog.

"I mean, I won't judge..." Natasha says, somehow dry and playful. "Maybe for her birthday, she should get a matching collar? I'm sure it'd be very striking with her fur."

He laughs brightly at that, holding Lily close with one hand while he still examines the cufflinks.

"It would do, I'm sure. I have no doubt there is a market for such a thing, too. Expensive dog collars for the high class lady."

Lily swishes her tail happily, looking between the two of them. She is not sure what is going on, but it seems exciting! People seem happy, so she is happy too!

"You'll give her ideas," he adds to Natasha, and winks playfully. "Next thing I know she'll be demanding diamond studded dog bowls."

"Oh, I can see that. I know the kind of girl she is—why wouldn't she deserve the best?" One of the easier things about her interactions with Lancelot: Lily provided a safe and easy topic, which in and of itself made Natasha like her. Not that the dog herself wasn't charming enough on her own.

"I'll try not to fill her head with expensive dreams."

That came with some gentle head pats, smoothing Lily's fur back between her ears and watching her smile.

"You have a nice place here, but I'm guessing you don't have the money for diamond bowls and emerald tennis balls? Though I'm sure your friends would chip in. She seems very popular."

By which she means, he does. Though maybe it really is the dog?

"Ah, she has plenty of fans -- and I'm quite sure she knows it too. Dogs are good at making friends quickly, and good at helping their owners make friends too."

Just like with them, and the way his smile twitches a fraction higher says he's well aware of that.

"So, are you settling in well? Learnt all the best nearby coffee shops and bus times?"

Priorities in Lancelot's world, coffee and transport.

Natasha smiles as well, inclining her head slightly in gentle surrender. She couldn't deny that the dog helped with that. And she doesn't exactly regret it.

"Coffee shops, bars, buses and trains," Natasha agrees. "For the most part. Mostly the night schedules, for obvious reasons."

She raises her brows then. "Though now you have me doubting myself. What if I haven't found the best local coffee shops?"

Edited 2016-05-13 01:57 (UTC)

"Then you had better make sure you do, make a list and visit them all. Perhaps with company."

He grins playfully, shifts his grip on Lily as he turns to face Natasha a little more.

"I know at least one coffee shop that is open until... 11pm most nights, midnight on Saturdays. A little closer to your hours than some places."

"Do you? Sounds nice—especially with company." Her smile is a good match for his, almost mirroring. She glances back at the Lily. "If they're dog friendly too, it would really be an evening."

As she speaks, Natasha continues to pet Lily's head.

"I really hope that was an offer, because I may be thinking of taking you up on it."

"They are! Especially when they're as ladylike as this one."

Lily squirms in a less than ladylike way, battling to get free so she can take a few steps back and fix them with a questioning gaze. Is this a game? Are they going to play?

"I can always do a little company, though. Besides -- they serve froyo there. With toppings."

He lofts his eyebrows meaningfully. Toppings. It's like being five again, and Lancelot is emotionally often five.

There is something endearing about that. Possibly because Natasha never had much opportunity to be emotionally five herself. Her own brows go up as well in a sort of play acted confusion.

"That sounds very enticing," she tells him. "If that's what it takes to get you there, it'll be my treat."

He laughs brightly, dropping his eyes a little because -- yes, he does recognise he's being a little ridiculous. Lily fuses closer into his space again and he lets her rest her paws on his knees, ruffles the fur down her chest.

"You don't need to bribe me," he says, "although you may need to bribe Lily to sit still. They don't serve dog food there."

That is okay! Lily can help eat froyo! Even if it is bad for her! She wags in oblivious delight at the attention, half looking around the rest of the room to make sure she isn't missing anything exciting.

"Chew toy?" Natasha suggests. Look, she's a problem solver.

"And it's not a bribe. It's just recognizing that I'm the one asking for the honor of your company." Her voice is teasing, taking some of the strangeness out of it. "Besides, I can afford it."

The honour? He laughs brightly at that, giving Lily a last scratch behind the ears before gently persuading her down off him.

"Well, when you put it like that who am I to refuse? It isn't often I get told my company is an honour."

Lily sits finally, tail still swishing excitedly, and Lancelot lofts an eyebrow at her.

"What do you think, Lily? A chew toy? I bet she offers them to all the lady dogs."

"You've figured me out," Natasha says with a laugh. "I'm always doing this. Seducing lady dogs with bones and tennis balls. the frozen yogurt part is new, though."

There's a part of Natasha that wonders what she thinks she's doing, trying to make friends. Pretending she's the kind of person who has human friends in her life.

She does her best to ignore it.

"I dare to be different."

He grins, still ruffling at Lily a little as she rests her head on his knee.

"Although if froyo is a little too tame for you there are plenty of other places." He glances around, trying to gauge who else is there as he thinks. "There is a club out in Tower Hamlets that is... not child friendly, it's a strip club." He smile turns wry. "Mostly male strippers, actually, but I know the person who runs it -- Jean-Claude. He prefers to work nights himself."

Natasha laughs at that, a little more honestly. Somehow his suggestion takes her unaware. "Are you suggesting we should go out and watch some male strippers instead?" she asks, her voice mellow and arch. "Because I was all right with the yogurt before, but now that's looking a little pale."

She tweaks Lily's ear as her expression settles again.

"Is he a friend of yours? I ran into him once, a while back. He seems interesting. Not what I'm used to."

Lancelot laughs brightly at her expression, shakes his head a little and drops his eyes again.

"I admit, it's not my normal go-to place for entertainment, but..."

He hesitates, shrugs after a moment.

"I suppose I wouldn't say we're best friends, but I know enough about Jean-Claude to say he's a good guy. He saved my life once, and... with all that in mind, I'd consider somewhere run by him as safe a place as anyway. Besides, he does employ good dancers. I helped keep things quiet during his election event -- it was... enlightening, although I'm not so sure I'll ever look at Sylvia the way way again."

"A good guy, huh?" Natasha says, thoughtful. "No caveats on that?" Not a good guy for a vampire, or a good guy for what he is. Only the positive. Natasha doubted that there wasn't something like that, but it still said something to get Lancelot's endorsement.

"I was thinking of dropping by. It's not my normal choice for a drink either, but Jean-Claude didn't make a bad impression." She wasn't entirely sure he made a good impression either, but he had made an impression.

"Kind of a flirt."

"Kind of?" Lancelot prompts, and wrinkles his nose a little. "I'd call that an understatement." He shifts his grip on Lily, scratching under her chin as he thinks. "There are probably caveats, ones I just don't know that, but... I try to operate on innocent until proven guilty. He paid a fairly hefty sum to bail out one of his dancers who got caught by Norrell's fines, so... I'd say he has a little heart in there somewhere. I have no idea if he likes dogs, though."

He widens his eyes in mock horror, drops them to Lily and smirks as she lifts a paw to rest on his knee.

"That could be a problem, couldn't it?"

"I might have been tactful," Natasha admits. While Jean-Claude had put her somewhat at ease that he wasn't an active threat to her, she was still cautious of the older vampire, and cautious about being seen to have an real connection or opinions of him.

The fact Lancelot brought him up might be another point in his favor. On the other hand, it might reveal that Lancelot himself is a bit naive. Innocent until proven guilty...

Natasha notes that, wondering how he'd respond if he knew her own past. Not that she intends to bring it up.

Instead she joins him in petting Lily. "It could be. But she's very charming. I'm sure she could win him over—she's kind of a flirt too."

Lancelot shoots Natasha a mock-scandalised look.

"A flirt! She's barely old enough! Don't give her ideas."

He cups his hands over her ears (which makes her squirm, because this is clearly a game! A game where she must wrestle free!) as if to stop her from hearing, and lowers his voice to a stage whisper.

"She can't have puppies either," he adds, and winks playfully before releasing her. Lily bounces up onto all fours and dances about in front of them, anticipating the start of a new game. "I think he's the only one like yourself I've met," he adds, voice still a little lowered. "At least, that I was aware of. Besides Millicent, I suppose, but I haven't really... met her."

Just been in the same building as her.

"She's better off that way. More fun," Natasha says, catching Lily's muzzle and rubbing her chin playfully, confident the dog will never have any crises of identity because she'll never be a mother.

"Like myself," she echoes as he goes on. A vampire. She really shouldn't be surprised he hasn't met more of them, or known he had. Either way. He might be like her in other ways as well, though. "Between the two of them, I'd much rather meet him. Though I guess I haven't met Millicent either."

And Natasha has no intention of changing that.

"Somehow, I don't think she'd be much fun at a party."

"That depends what sort of party you like, I suppose."

He tilts his head playfully, lofts an eyebrow.

"Either way, I didn't invite her. Just in case."

Lily wags her tail faster at Natasha's attention, lifts her front paws to rest on the vampire's legs finally. She cannot resist! She wants to be friends, and clearly Natasha does too!

"Ah -- Lily, come on now. Be polite."

She is being very polite for a dog, thank you Lancelot.

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