undergrounds | (no subject)

[OPEN TO ALL]
To say that Jean-Claude is troubled with the current state of the city is to put it mildly. The vampires have been free-reign of slaughter within the city, and for those foolish enough to take their leader up on that offer, they are making a bad name for the rest of them. Raymond himself is in hot water with the Night Council for his lawmaking decisions, and after the slaughter of one of their Guardians at the hands of a vampire, Islington is looking to lose its seat on the council. Which doesn't bode well for the future of vampirekind.

Jean-Claude is doing his best to hold the floodwaters at bay as far as his corner of the underground is concerned. But he can feel the tide coming, and he doesn't like it. Not one little bit.

Even Guilty Pleasures is suffering from the atmosphere of the city somewhat. There haven't been any theme nights for the last while beyond Ladies Nights, and while Jean-Claude is the usual gracious host he always is, the dancers themselves can feel it. The tension in the air. They know that Jean-Claude is not going to just sit this one out this time. As Marquess of Islington, he has bigger ideas than that.

And unlike a certain other vampire leader, Jean-Claude makes certain to make himself available. Approachable. He makes certain to make his opinions known. That he is a gentleman, that he does not condone useless violence. That he is proud to be a vampire in London, but not like this. And, a little less widely broadcast, that he is willing to do something about it. With the right support...

[CLOSED TO RAYMOND]
Jean-Claude can see where this is all headed. He's been through it before, albeit in a time when such things were generally more acceptable. Here in the 21st century however, he can see the trouble starting to arise. He can see, what with Sylvia's latest announcement, how their leader is setting the city against them. And the vampires can barely hold themselves together, never mind find allies on the outside. Whatever they might have gained for themselves, and however they might have gained it, if something isn't done, and quickly, then there is a chance that not only will they be cast out of society but hunted down like dogs. And that the government will turn a blind eye on it as well.

And so he has come now, to plead with their leader, on behalf of their people, to stop this. Before it's too late. Even though he knows that time has passed. And he knows that his words won't do any of them a damned bit of good. But at least he will have made the attempt.

[CLOSED TO SYLVIA]
When all else fails, Jean-Claude can see no way around it except going straight to the source. The head of the governing body that polices the underground supernatural world, Sylvia Redbright herself. In truth, he has no idea how she will receive him. Whether she will receive him, a vampire only recently climbed up the ranks whose only claim to fame within the city happens to be what some might call a night club while others would just come right out and call a strip joint.

But he has to try. Because he has not survived through six hundred years of what he has endured, only for an upstart like Raymond to pull the carpet out from underneath his feet. So he does his best to arrange for a meeting with the woman in charge. In the intention of having a little conversation about the current state of affairs.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Natasha hasn't sought out Jean-Claude much directly, but she's continued to drop in on Guilty Pleasures, keeping an eye on the place, on the dancers—and on him. She finds, as time wears on, that she has a number of reasons to pay attention to him. Some of those reasons are personal—she's not looking for a mentor or a role model, but there is something encouraging about the example of a vampire who co-existed with mortals, who seemed (at least from her observation) to control himself and his bloodlust. Natasha's too cynical not to look for signs that it's a facade, but if it's real... it might give her hope.

That's long game though, something slow moving at the back of her mind.

More importantly is that he's rising through the ranks in London. He's building influence. He's old, and despite his airs, she believes he's canny. With her history, Natasha can't ignore the possibilities there.

So it's not surprising she'd have an interest in being close, maybe joining him at the bar when she picks him out, siding into the space smoothly. "Having a good evening?" she asks, though it's plain that the crowd could be better.

Jean-Claude glances sideways at her and offers her something of a smile as she slides into the empty space beside him. For once, he hadn't been anticipating company, and even more telling is the glass of wine on the bar before him. Jean-Claude very rarely drinks, and certainly even more rarely while he is working. But he's had a lot on his mind, and while wine never hits the spot in the way that it used to, long ago... He could use a drink right about now.

He offers her a shrug which could mean all or nothing, it's hard to tell with him, before turning more to be able to face her. "I will not lie, it is made better with your company, mon amie."

"Does that mean I'm not intruding?" she says, giving him enough space to get rid of her if he wants. Natasha realizes forcing yourself on someone is hardly a good way to ingratiate yourself to someone.

Her eyes fall on his wine, then back to his face. "In my experience, not many people like to drink alone. No that I'm drinking yet."

He shakes his head, running his fingers along the stem of the wine glass. "No, no, mon amie," he replies, "there is no intrusion here. Perhaps the wine will even taste sweeter now that you have joined me."

Ever the charmer, even when there are obviously other topics on his mind. Though what topics those are one can only guess at. Jean-Claude has never been what one might call an open book. Certainly not anywhere within the last few hundred years at least.

He is a charmer, and Natasha might be only a fraction of his age, but she's experienced enough to be more or less immune to it. Or perhaps not—there is something vaguely endearing about it. He doesn't set her heart aflutter or win a blush, but he does get a smile.

"You'll have to tell me for sure," she says, waving to the bar tender and ordering a gin and tonic. "Wild guess, but I have the feeling I'd have to pay a lot more than a penny for your thoughts."

He lets out something of a laugh in response to that, picking up his glass to swirl his drink around in it somewhat before forming his answer. "It would perhaps be dangerous to quantify my thoughts on such a night as this, I think," he admits. "For one, I fear I might wind up charging too little, regardless as to how much one might consider they truly be worth..."

He turns to look back at her, and there is a distance in his expression that, while he is still smiling, shows that he might not fully be behind the smile itself. "These are troubling times, to be a vampire in this city," he says at last.

"Haven't I noticed it too," Natasha says, letting her gaze fall to the top of the bar, her fingers flexing slightly against the polished wood. "Not that I've had too much trouble, all things considered. Getting complicated out there just now."

Jean-Claude quirks something of a smile at her at that response. 'Not that I've had too much trouble, all things considered.'

"Ah, yes," he replies. "Such times I suppose it is good to be a vampire outside the nest, without the regular connections that it might afford. Normally, I am a proponent of community interests, but. I can understand how you might be on the better foot, at this time."

"It has its advantages and its disadvantages. I can't say people ask if you're part of the nest if they see you on the street." She shakes her head a little, though, diminishing the impact. "At the moment, I'm not regretting my decision much."

"No," Jean-Claude replies, shaking his head as he does. "I don't imagine that you would be. Perhaps I envy you, to some extent. It would be good to be able to escape the politics of it all, if I could."

But they both know that Jean-Claude cannot. Not as involved as he is now. He doesn't think there is ever a time he could ever truly rid himself of it, for that matter. He'd learned that the hard way, of course. With Asher. And Julianna. Jean-Claude looks pensive for a long moment. What he wouldn't have given, five hundred years ago, to have been able to trade places with her. Too late now, though. Five hundred years too late.

"I don't know," she says, maybe a little too honestly for her own comfort but there was a reason to say it. "Sometimes it seems like I can't avoid it. Maybe people like us weren't meant to be able to get out."

Whether she means vampires or something else less easily defined that they still have in common, she doesn't elaborate.

'People like us', she says, and Jean-Claude catches the phrasing. He gives her an odd look, before shaking his head slightly.

"No," he concurs, "I don't suppose that we were." Whether he means vampires himself or a different sort of person himself it is difficult to tell. But he understands where she is coming from. He has a feeling that they are of a like mind, himself and Natasha. They are just several centuries different in age. Perhaps if they had lived in the same time, things might be different. Still -- he finds himself curious to learn more about the other vampire besides.

Whichever Natasha means, she doesn't give much of a sign. Maybe she doesn't know herself. It could be she figures them both for the kind of people who have been in long enough they're not entirely sure how to get out.

Natasha hadn't meant to get involved when she came to London, but somehow she couldn't keep herself from trying to cultivate influence. It was instinctive at this point—the only way she knew how to take control.

She shakes her head, not sure what else to say.