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1. His plans for London mostly went like this: try to avoid dying, and don't make any unnecessary enemies. Simple, straightforward, and unfortunately, harder than one might hope considering Millicent's recent edicts. Let's kill humans, let's kill werewolves, let's piss off half the known factions. The vampires back home didn't exactly value lives, and certainly most of them wouldn't care about humans or werewolves, but at least they valued subtlety.

His concern, of course, was that when those other factions got angry they wouldn't target the one who had made the edict, but rather, the ones that were far more accessible and easier to kill. Namely the newer vampires, like himself. Not that he was going to hole away and hide. Instead, he was going to head out and go drinking. After all, if all of this led to an all out war, Thomas might as well enjoy things before they got worse. Besides, maybe hitting the bars he'd learn something useful. Or meet a delectable new friend. Having relocated, he did need to rebuild a network of people he could rely on for a bite, after all.

That was his excuse, at least, for going to the bar, throwing back cheap alcohol (why pay more when nothing tasted right, after all), and flirting with anyone who caught his eye.

2. After dining on a nice young lady that night, Thomas noticed she seemed a bit woozy, like maybe he'd had too much to drink. Or maybe she had, since he did notice her drinking a glass of wine before she'd gone with him. Either way, he was not letting her walk home on her own. That was why he currently was walking around the dark streets of London, a woman leaning heavily against him, quietly directing him to her apartment.

An apartment where, apparently, the entrance that she needed was around the side of the building, toward the back. Well, in that case he was particularly glad he didn't let her walk back on her own, he thought as she directed them into the dark, secluded area. This certainly didn't seem like the best area for a woman who couldn't even walk straight. He focused on their surroundings more, taking advantage of the fact that he could see just fine in this lack of light to keep an eye out for potential dangers.

3. The downside to needing to operate at night, of course, was the fact that most businesses were only open during the day. This meant that Thomas had to wake up as soon as the sun set sometimes, and rush out to get any errands done that he needed to get done, unless he wanted to use the last few minutes of darkness in the morning. That, however, left the risk of the sun rising while he was out, which was far too dangerous.

Which, of course, left him with a very impatient cashier at the local beauty supply store as he decided just what product would be the best to take care of his gorgeous, perfect locks.

"Come on, we close in five minutes," he heard her snap, and so he grabbed both bottles he was looking at.

Slowly sauntering out of the aisle, one bottle in each hand, Thomas made eye contact with the woman, a slow, apologetic smile creeping across his features. "I'm sorry," he said, "You didn't have my usual brand, and I wasn't sure what to go with. Although I suppose with hair as lovely as yours, I should have just come to you for advice in the first place."

Because flattery and flirtation were the way to get out of every problem...including getting a few more minutes to make shopping decisions.

4. Choose Your Own Adventure

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It might seem like coincidence, running into another vampire here, but with the amount of time Natasha spends in different bars—well, they were probably bound to run into each other eventually.

She doesn't circulate much. At this point, it seems like too much temptation. Natasha is only too aware of the warm bodies around her, the blood running through their veins, and she wants it. But staying in isn't an answer either. So she sits at the corner of the bar, nursing a glass of whiskey and watching the room. Pointedly not hunting.

Natasha notices him when he shows up, making his rounds, and it's not hard to make him for what he is. The question is what she wants to do about it. She could ignore him—but the kind of things she's been involved in lately, it seems a little late to get cautious now. And she could use a distraction.

So she meets his eyes when he glances her way, a little smile playing around her lips, and tips her head back in an invitation to join her. Up to him if he wants to take it.

Of course, when he catches her glance, the small inviting smile, he can hardly ignore the fact that she's clearly requesting his company. Curious, he grabs his drink and heads over.

"Hello," he said, sliding into the seat across from her, flashing her a white, toothy grin. "I couldn't help but notice you noticing me. Not that you're the only one, of course."

After all, as he'd been making his rounds moments before, it seemed that several people had been enjoying his company. Enough so that he could be reasonably assured that someone would likely leave with him, should he continue with his original planned course of action that night.

"Get movin', pretty boy. Some of us are growing old here." The flat voice came from the teenager who was currently tapping an impatient foot right behind Thomas. Looked like he wasn't the only one doing shopping. Cooper's sleeping schedule had largely been shaken up in the past week thanks to the gift of a daylight ring. He was trying to balance out a life that now had the possibility of daytime and nighttime hours.

Still, old habits died hard, and he'd woken up late that day. Normally, he wasn't one much for beauty products, but he happened to have a weakness for a particular brand of bubble bath they carried.

Thomas shot a glare back. Not having met Cooper, he naturally was unaware of this teenager's rank and status or else he'd have likely have just hurried up and finished the transaction.

"Give me a minute," he said, before turning back to the lady, ignoring the teenager for the moment. "Now, which would you recommend?"

The woman shrugged. "Buy both and see which you like?"

That...actually seemed like a reasonable solution to him. He gave her the okay to ring both up before digging cash out of his pocket, glancing back as he did so to see how impatient the guy behind him was getting.

Evie was the sort to keep an eye out for potential dangers. After Millicent's decrees, she'd taken to patrolling the streets a bit more, watching for any innocents that happened to get caught in the cross-fire. It didn't just extend to vampires and their intended victims, however. Any girl stumbling out of a bar caught her attention, and she wasn't about to do nothing if she could.

Seeing a young woman stumbling down a dark alley with a vampire, Evie was naturally worried. Descending from the rooftops, she moved into the alley, watching for a few moments before announcing her presence.

"You alright, love?" She asked the girl, not the vampire she was with, though she looked at him, too. She didn't recognize him. "I can take you home, if you'd rather." She'd already eaten. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you it's not safe out here." A fellow woman, after all, posed less of a threat than some strange man. Unless the man was Jacob, then all women seemed to fawn over him, but her brother wasn't here right now. Just Evie, this girl, and Thomas.

The woman shook her head. "I'm fine. Just a little light headed, but my apartment's right there." She pointed.

Thomas, naturally, was suspicious. To a human this stranger might seem less threatening, but as a vampire he knew that female did not always mean safe. The fact that recent edicts had sent vampires running wild made him more paranoid than usual, and he was particularly protective knowing the woman on his arm was already a few pints low.

"I think she'll be fine with me for the distance from here to her door, don't you? Your concern really is misplaced."

Not that he trusted that it was truly concern. Which was why, instead of delaying further, he started leading the woman to her door, attempting to pass the stranger.

Oh, he has a high opinion of himself. Natasha half wonders if she's going to regret this. Maybe she ought to have just kept to herself?

She's gone this far, though. Might as well see where it goes. He doesn't seem like a threat, at least, and she can use more contacts.

"You were noticeable," Natasha agrees smoothly, not quite making it sound like a compliment. It's not an insult, either. Just a statement of fact. Her own smile is restrained. "And from the sound of it, you're from out of town too."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I just moved over here from Chicago. Still getting to know the people over here."

He looked over at her a moment, considering her. "So where are you from, then? Russia?" He was guessing with the accent. "Are you staying here, or just visiting?"

Evie pursed her lips. "of course it is," she responded cryptically, but didn't make to leave. How was she to believe Thomas- some American that had no idea about their Underground culture- wasn't going to drain the woman dry? Honestly, she had everyone's best interest at heart.

so she lowered her voice and spoke again to the woman: "you are alright, aren't you? you could tell me if you weren't." She's be furious it this woman wound up dead on tomorrow's news. If she declines help, fine. but she'll wait outside and make sure she's safe before disappearing out again.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied the woman more quietly. "Thomas is really very friendly." The woman blushed a bit, thinking back on their night together, no doubt.

Really, he was beginning to wonder if he should be offended by her paranoia. Did he look that suspicious? Was this a suspicious look by English standards? Either way, he led her to the door, and when they reached the threshold, Thomas stroked her cheek, taking advantage of his vampire influence as he did so.

"Go inside," he said quietly, "And don't invite anyone in tonight."

She nodded, went in, and shut the door behind her. Turning, he headed back toward the stranger.

"See? I'm really not that terrible of a monster." Unless she'd just wanted the woman for herself, in which case he still wasn't that terrible of a monster that he'd leave her to other potential predators.

Cooper sighed loudly in an over the top tone as Thomas failed to take a hint. "Y'know, times used t'be men only bathed once a week and were grateful for a bar of soap. Now, they lather themselves up like a bunch of little ponces."

Before, he had just been annoyed. Now, he was actively trying to bait the man. Nobody had ever accused Cooper of having a level head. Getting into an argument while waiting in line was standard course for the old vampire.

"You're not wrong." Her accent isn't overwhelming, but it is distinct. She can hide it with an effort, but for now she doesn't see much reason to bother.

In some ways it's useful to signal herself as an outsider.

"Volgograd originally," she elaborates. Though it had been called Stalingrad still when she was born, and she hadn't lived there in decades. "I moved to London a couple of months ago."

Thomas looked back, eyebrows raised as he pulled out the cash and put it on the counter. Fortunately, he was far more level headed than this guy, and he wasn't even close to being baited. If anything, he was amused.

"Really? And I'm sure you have so much experience with that." Though in this town, who knew. Still, as Thomas eyed the bottle of bubble bath, he could see clear hypocrisy in all of this. "You know, I'd tell you to enjoy your occasional bar of soap, but it looks like you're a bit of a hypocrite." With a slight nod toward the bottle in the teen's hands, he said, "From the looks of that, you like a bit of pampering yourself."

Then another irritated voice came from behind him. "Could you please just take your change?"

Thomas turned, grabbing his bag and the change, stepping out of the way. "See? You were just making the whole thing take longer."

"Huh. Never heard of it." He'd heard of Stalingrad from history class, but it never occurred to him that the name of the city would have changed once there was no more Stalin. "My name's Thomas, by the way. I've been staying in Islington."

Thomas paused, taking a swig of his drink.

"And you?"

Thomas. So that was his name. Alright, Evie would remember that. She held up her hands, empty, at the two of them. "Very well." But she wasn't going to leave, not just yet.

Thomas seemed to know that, too, as when he was done dropping the girl off, he returned to the scene of their conversation.

"You can never be too careful, with Millicent's decrees. I didn't want anyone taking advantage of a so-obviously drunk girl."

"You probably have. It was Stalingrad up until the sixties. The name was scrubbed off when politics changed." Natasha's willing to give a short lesson; that's about the extent she'll go with it, unless he shows a real interest. Even then, there's not much more to say.

She sips her own drink, pausing before she answers his question. Half of why she explained the history was to buy time, considering how she wanted to answer.

Finally she answers with a shrug. "I'm not. Got tired of nest politics. New city, fresh start? Seemed like a good chance to stay out of them this time around."

"Oh. Right. I suppose I have, then." It was rather well known, then, though that was the extent of his interest. To him, the second part of what she said was far more interesting. It told him that she was a vampire, for one thing.

"I haven't really been around enough to have much to do with politics, so I typically just ignore them."

It helped that he didn't have the sort of skill set that would get him sucked in. He wasn't ruthless, nor was he a particularly skilled fighter, nor was he interested in the political stratagems and going ons. Although he had to admit, as of late the politics he saw around him were enough to make him worry.

"Smarter not to get involved, but ignoring them could get you in trouble." Natasha had thought she was ignoring them for a long time, but she had just the kind of skill set that seemed to get her involved whether she intended it or not.

She shrugs, though. Being young helped some.

"How long, if you don't mind me asking?"

Should he mention that it was partially his fault, seeing as he was the one who'd lowered the blood half of the blood-alcohol equation? Probably not.

As for the decrees...well, yes, admittedly that was a major factor in him not trusting her with a strange woman.

"Yeah, I've been ignoring those." Well, not ignoring them. He'd been far more careful to make sure humans he fed on got home safely as of late, but he hadn't been participating. "I don't really know much about politics, but I'm pretty sure Millicent giving us a few days where we're able to do this or that doesn't mean we don't still have to worry about retaliation from other factions."

And while he was pretty sure Millicent was powerful enough to handle said retaliation, Thomas wasn't confident that he was.

"Thirteen years."

Long enough that he wasn't completely oblivious to what was what, but very close to being a newborn by vampire standards. He'd spent more of his life as a human than as a vampire. It was funny, though, that as a human if he'd spent thirteen years doing something he'd have felt like he had a lot of experience. Now it felt like nothing when he heard other vampires mention the centuries they'd been around.

"I pay a little bit of attention." Enough to know when bloodfest had been happening that it was happening, and enough to know about the full moon werewolf hunt thing. "Just not a lot."

Edited 2016-05-22 11:20 (UTC)

Oh, good, he's been ignoring the rules. Which is significantly better than following them to the letter. Permission doesn't mean it's required, after all. "I hope you pay attention to the other rules, then." The ones about killing nest members, or locals, y'know. Those ones are important.

Even if Evie's killed a few nest members. But all in the name of peace, somewhat ironically.

"No, you're absolutely right." One of the many reasons she'd been against Millicent's recent rulings. And, in fact, her position on the Night Council, when she thought about it. Who makes a rule that no one else is allowed to run? Answer: tyrants.

"I'm glad the girl got home safe."

Most vampires still considered Natasha young, and she had decades on him. For a lot of them, anything under a century might as well be a child.

But Natasha wasn't so old for thirteen years to sound like nothing.

"In that case, maybe it's for the best. Keep you're head down. Stay out of trouble."

She frowns as she says it. What's happening now counts as trouble.

"Well, of course," he said. "The other rules actually help the nest survive."

And Thomas, by extension. Body trails and infighting were the sorts of things that led to problems, after all. As did sending the message that a vampire feeding on a human would lead to their death. It was really just a matter of what was better for everyone involved.

When Evie mentioned being glad the girl got home safe, Thomas just nodded in acknowledgement. He was glad of that as well, after all. That was why he'd seen her home personally.

Thomas caught her expression, and a questioning look crossed his features.

"What? Is something wrong?"

That gets him a snort. "Depends what you mean by wrong?" Because there's plenty wrong. Not much of it for discussing in public with a stranger, though. "Not anything that has to do with you, though."

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