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The Other Mayor of London

The OTHER MAYOR OF LONDON invites you to a night to remember...

Hosted at The Angelo in the heart of Islington (courtesy of Cesare Borgia), Raymond Harris invites you all to join him on the night of Saturday, 6th August to celebrate his self-proclaimed ascension as the Other Mayor of London. His aims are threefold: to stake his claim as the most powerful supernatural being in the city, to persuade other interested factions to ally with him, and to intimidate his enemies with a show of extravagance. All members of the Islington Nest are expected to work hard tonight to achieve these goals.

The party officially begins at 20:39 when the sun sets and ends at 05:34 when the sun rises. Of course, there's no guarantee that everyone will make it until dawn...

Rules of entry
• This is a black tie event. Anyone who fails to wear the appropriate attire will be denied entry.
• No stakes or other vampire-killing weapons. That's just rude.
• No more than five werewolves and shapeshifters will be admitted in total. Raymond wants them to witness his power, but not to spoil his party. They will be closely watched and likely mocked by the surrounding vampires.

Raymond is guarded by his vampire henchmen at all times. Any perceived threat will be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly.

Places to go
Once you're admitted to the hotel, you'll walk into the lobby, where you're free to mingle with the other guests. It's here that you're likely to first spot the party's human contingent: a collection of young and beautiful men and women whose sole purpose is to provide a live food source for the vampires. Dressed in uniform black suits and cocktail dresses, they will offer up their wrists and/or necks to anyone who wants them.

From there, you can head over to the bar for a more relaxed and cordial atmosphere. Drinks are free until midnight; after that you'll have to pay. The bar does not serve blood; it's expected that vampire guests will drink directly from their nearest human.

If you're looking for something a little more substantial, try the tea room where you'll be served tea, coffee or red wine, and a selection of cherry tomato canapes, strawberries and scones with jam and clotted cream.

The main action, however, takes place in the ballroom. Red mood lighting continues the general theme and live music will be playing all night. Professional dancers provide entertainment in the early evening, but it won't be long before the ballroom is crowded with party-goers revelling in the fun, free and wild atmosphere. This is where you may find Raymond, the benevolent host watching over his guests. Drink and be merry. He wants everyone to have a good time.

(You can check the OOC plotting thread for more info and to ask any questions about this event. Enjoy!)

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Natasha grimaces at the question, more as a joke than not but with a core of real discomfort. She's never been fond of having her discomfort or her vulnerability noticed. Some of that is training, but some of it goes back to a childhood scrabbling for status in orphanages.

"I'm managing," she assures Evie. "I still know how to enjoy a party when I end up at one."

Evie gives her a warm smile. "Of that, I have no doubt. It's the ones like us that, when we can, party the hardest." She was a little too familiar with that.

She can't say anything against Raymond here. So she won't. "Are you enjoying yourself, then?" Natasha hasn't asked, but Evie can distract her. Help her push the urge away.

"As much as I expected to," Natasha says, which isn't admitting very much. She isn't here to have fun, though. She's here to read the room, to see what Raymond is putting out there. Deciding who she might be able to test the waters with later on, when the time came. Finding out just what they'll do to get vampires to get on board, and what they think they'll do to those who don't. It's important.

Fun, less so.

There's a knowing nod as Evie joins Natasha at the balcony.

"It's certainly an affair. Cesare's outdone himself." And now they could all see publicly that he was throwing his hat in the ring for Raymond. And like it or not, Cesare had a lot of pull in Islington. Monetarily, especially.

"He's taken three young women into an alcove." She shakes her head. "They best be being supplied with Replenishers." She'd kept a careful eye out for the blood workers that had been hired.

"You'd hope with three of them, we could expect him not to lean on any individual too hard," she says softly, knowing that won't necessarily be the case. His actions didn't indicate an intention to show self-restraint. He was inviting gluttony.

As austere as Natasha's maker had been in some respects, he'd also occasionally displayed that kind of disregard. Natasha recognizes it.

Then in a lower voice, pitched to travel no further than Evie, she says, "You figure he's showing his alliance to Harris or to the nest?"

That is an important distinction.

"So we'll have to hope, then." Always blunt, Evie took a drink of her red wine. Cliched, but she needs her wits about her tonight.

She uses the glass to hide her mouth as she considers this. "Either- with a Borgia it's hard to tell." A beat. "Harris."

"You think so?" Natasha doesn't disagree, per se, but she's not sure yet herself. At some point, she'll have to probe the older vampire for his stances. Her suspicion, if she had to guess, was that ultimately he was self-serving.

But he clearly did like the kind of indulgence that Harris encourages.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"For now," she keeps her voice low. The problem was vampires and their awesome hearing, but she can also count on that to keep her and Natasha safe. Clearing her throat, she raises her chin and decides to speak at a more normal volume: too many quiet moments and you could raise suspicion.

"I love your dress, by the way. Almost makes me wish I were the dresses sort."

"Thank you," Natasha responds, letting to conversation flow back into things that were safe. "I don't get the opportunity to dress up much anymore. Figured I'd take advantage of it."

She smiles then, perhaps just a little flirtatious. Probably not seriously. Probably. "You look just fine in that. It suits you."

"Well, you can consider me one among the many here that are quite glad you did." Is Natasha flirting with her? Is she flirting back? She was always awful at this, and so she holds eye contact as she takes another drink of wine.

"Thank you. I don't much care for dresses, but I do have a few for special occasions."

"I don't think most people here are paying attention to me." Not with blood and politics in the air. Which is all for the best. She dressed to blend in, to be taken seriously, but not to draw attention to herself.

A wave of boldness overtook her, and Evie said: "That's their loss." The second the words left her mouth, she realized just how awful that must have sounded out-loud, and hastily added: "and our gain."

She needed to stop.

Natasha smiles in return, though. Does she have to, really?

"If someone has to appreciate it, better you than most of the people here." Natasha says that, then she pauses, her thoughts going to a topic she's had on her mind for a while now. It's not for tonight, either, but still...

The smile leaves her eyes, though she still wears it on her lips. "Remind me later, when we're somewhere less fancy—there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

There's so much going on in that pause, and when Natasha speaks again, Evie's eyebrows are raised in silent questioning, silent alarm. "Something serious, then," she says gravely, and, she's sure, needlessly.

"Of course. Whenever and wherever is best for you."

"Nothing dire," Natasha assures, realizing how that must sound. "It's not even that relevant. Being here reminded me though."

She nodded, mildly relieved. She shows it with another drink of her wine. "Very well. I'll remind you, all the same."

"That's fair." Natasha gives half a sigh, turning so her back is entirely to the door, her head bowed slightly. "Hopefully it didn't entirely spoil the mood."

She shakes her head, without even thinking about it. "No, goodness, no. I appreciate the heads up." She pauses. "We're friends. I should hope something like that doesn't spoil the mood."

Natasha smiles again, slightly but more sincere than most of her smiles, when Evie calls them friends. "You never can tell. Especially among our kind."

There's something different in Nat's smile, and Evie can appreciate it. "Our kind? Which one- vampires, women, or assassins?"

Probably all three at once.

"You have to ask?" Definitely all three at once. There aren't that many of their type out there, is there?

"So have you danced at all?"

Evie chuckles lightly. "Good point."

As for dancing, she glances over her bare shoulder towards the ball-room. "No, I've mostly been socializing. Yourself?"

"Not yet. It'd be a shame to miss out, though. I don't get the chance to dance all that often." And she did always enjoy it. In the moments when she'd wished for another life, one without all the murder and politics, all her training, it was to wish that her cover were real. What if she had been a ballerina?

It seems silly, especially now, but she has a certain nostalgia for the dream even still.

It's not silly, and if Natasha ever voiced it, Evie would be quick to say it out-loud. Instead, what she says is this: "You could always dance with me."

They could just be two women tearing it up on the floor. There was nothing wrong with dancing as a display of friendship.

But, she has to admit, she does kind of want to.

"Are you asking?" Because if she is asking, Natasha would say yes. She doesn't interrogate that impulse too closely, but sh knows her answer.

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I thought I'd replied to this!

No, and I'm deeply offended

Noooooooo 8(