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

"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.