undergrounds | Semi-open: May 05

Entry tags:

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! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Getting my feet," Natasha says. "I can't complain about how London's been treating me."

It's nice to receive such a warm reaction. Not that anyone's not been welcoming, exactly. But it's not something she's used to. It's not entirely something she knows what to do with.

Maybe she could get used to it?

"What about you?

"Good- I'm glad to hear it. She's such a wonderful city." Not that Nancy had ever had the opportunity to live anywhere else. Or really even go anywhere.

Nancy shrugs, and can't really say that she's been working on rigging the election with her dear friend Eames, because you couldn't say that in polite company, let alone out-loud. So she settled with the boring: "It's been alright, getting settled into my new place now." It had been a few months, and it finally felt like home.

"Is the new place nice?" Natasha asks, encouraging. She mirrors Nancy, acting as though they know each other better than they do, though her expression is a little more reserved—and she's had less to drink.

"It can be nice getting into a new place. Sort of a fresh start."

"It's better than my old." But that's because a vampire had given it to her, and he happened to have quite a lot of property. But he chose something that fit her lifestyle.

"It's a lovely one-bedroom in Enfield." And she still doesn't have to pay rent, which is even better. And it was safely within Midnight territory. "You should come over for wine some night."

"Is that an invitation?" She says it casually, with some humor, but the distinction is important when you're a vampire. Implying a future invitation isn't the same as a real one.

"Because I'd like that."

Oh, and Nancy knows it is. "It will be, then," she smiles. She has no problem inviting vampires into her home.

Maybe that would change if she ever got on to the bad side of a vampire.

"In that case, I'll bring the wine."

Natasha's a little surprised to find that talking to Nancy is as easy as she remembered. She'd convinced herself that she'd just been starved for company and grateful to have someone offer her a safety net in her experiment trying to get off of human blood, at least for a while.

But here she was, finding it just as comfortable as before in its way.

"Maybe a movie, too?"

"Sounds like a plan. I'll spring for delivery." It wasn't the first time she'd had similar arrangements with friends, and it was one of her favorites.

"You've still got my number, yeah?"

"Yeah, I did. Seemed worth keeping around," Natasha says, taking a drink of a beer and glancing away.

"I did mean to call at some point. Just not before it came around to this, I guess."

"Well, good. Send me a text and we'll find a night that works. But no rush, promise." She was sure they were both busy people. And Natasha's night was her day, she couldn't immediately demand the woman give one up for her readily.

"Sounds like a plan." A good one, too.

But that was enough planning. There'd be time for that later.

"I didn't realize I'd recognize so many people here," she says instead of continuing on the same subject, glancing around the room and toward the window.

"Really? I only know, well, you, Lance and Arthur, come to think of it. I don't know if you've met him yet, he's in his late 20s, a bit uptight, incredibly handsome." She adored Arthur. He was also just a terrible dancer.

"How many people here d'you recognize?"

"Four so far," Natasha says, "you included. One from work, someone else I ran into in a bar. I might spend a little too much time in bars, come to think of it."

"Wow. A surprising amount of people for someone who just got here. You're popular." She takes a sip of her drink.

Shrugging, she responds, "don't be. Pubs and bars are brilliant." And very different things, truth be told. "I spend half my time there, too, don't forget." She winks at her.

"My mistake." Natasha flashes a smile as she offers the apology, if that's what you could call it. "Just seems like I've either met people at work or out drinking—on the other hand that's where a lot of people end up after dark, isn't it?"

"Or if you're me, you're doing both." Lonely, drunk men were easy marks, for sex or their wallets. Sometimes even both.

And looking for thirsty vampires. Natasha chuckles, giving half a shrug at that. "There are worse ways to make a living."

Nancy has to give it a serious thought. "Huh. Maybe you're right." At least she could get something out of her work.

Natasha wonders a little belatedly if that was an awkward thing to say. Nancy hadn't seemed to mind what she did, though, and that couldn't be said of everyone.

She takes a drink to cover the moment of uncertainty.

It was, truthfully, an awkward thing to do. She tried to find no shame in her profession, but it was hard, at times. She could pretend as much as she wanted, but there was a heavy feeling inside. Perhaps if it was a trade she'd originally chosen for herself, things would be different.

Nancy, too, drinks, and supposes that now Natasha knows exactly how she feels about it, or there would be no need to drink.

"I don't think you ever told me what it is you do?"

She has an idea, at least. She still doesn't judge it. Natasha counts herself as one of those people who'd had worse ways of making money.

But that's not the case anymore, is it? At least she'd like to believe it was better than it had been.

"Now? I'm working in Outreach for the Redbright Institute." Her lips twitch. "Not a lot of places willing to hire someone with my resume."

Redbright.

Oh.

Nancy's face fell considerably. "You work for Redbright." There was no separation between the person and the school in her mind, even if the school itself did seem to be doing some sort of good.

"I take it you're not a fan." There's no particular offense taken. It's a little disappointing, but it has more to do with the situation Natasha walked into than it does her.

And that's a situation worth knowing.

"Hopefully it's not a deal breaker?"

Was it a deal breaker? She had to think. She was at a Guardian's birthday party, and they worked far more closely with Sylvia than Natasha was likely to.

"I'm hardly a fan of the woman. So we'll just have to avoid talking about politics." She offered another smile. She could totally avoid talking about politics.

"That won't be hard." Natasha finds the school's philosophy admirable enough, but even before the election, she had a cynical view of the situation. When Natasha came to London, she'd taken the lay of the land as best she could and she chose based on where seemed the most secure. "It wasn't exactly an ideological decision."

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