[Closed to Jean-Claude] Backdated to late night after Harris's party

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

Thomas got home. He was alive. He was very grateful to be alive, a bit annoyed that his suit was ruined, and a bit terrified that it had taken so little time for the hunters to come to Islington after they were kicked out of the Night Council. It made him wonder if they'd been itching to do that the whole time.

He had to get the word out. He had to let the others know that they were being hunted. And, honestly, after what just happened...he mostly just wanted to talk to someone. The question was, whose number did he have? Well, there was always Guilty Pleasures. He knew who he could get there. And so he picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello? I need to speak to Jean-Claude."

Comments

[baisant]

It takes a few moments and a few loopholes for Thomas to work himself through before he is patched directly through to Jean-Claude's office, but the number is given out on business cards as it is in the hopes that he can make himself as publicly available as possible (and still maintain some semblance of privacy, if necessary).

All Thomas needs to have shared is who he is and a hint as to why he is calling, and if he cooperates with that Jean-Claude's front of house will soon have the phone on his desk ringing, and the dulcet sounds of Jean-Claude's voice will soon thereafter answer the phone with a simple, if elegant, "Oui?"

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

Thomas, of course, gladly cooperated, telling them who he was and that he'd run into some trouble that night and would like to warn Jean-Claude about it. If any more information than that was asked for, he'd give that, too. Once he heard Jean-Claude's voice, he felt...well, glad to have someone to talk to after that night.

"Hello, Jean-Claude. This is Thomas. It seems we have a problem." 'We' being Islington. "We already have hunters in Islington."

'Already', because anyone could have guessed it was going to happen sooner or later with the loss of the Night Council's protection. The only matter of note was that it had happened so quickly.

[baisant]

Jean-Claude's brow furrows and he sits forward in his chair, clutching the phone closer to himself even though he can hear the other vampire fine through the line as it is.

"Hunters in Islington," Jean-Claude repeats carefully, before continuing, "Tell me, what has happened, mon ami?" For Jean-Claude has been told that there has been some trouble, and now that it is revealed that that trouble is hunters it's putting it all into perspective. Thomas would more likely be stopping by to speak to him in person if it were a less urgent matter, after all.

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

"I was walking home, and I ended up with a wooden crossbow bolt through the leg. I'm not sure who it was, they were firing at a distance, but I'm guessing shifters, since I had a swarm of cats mobbing me the entire time."

Which, considering the current policy on shifters, he supposed it had only been a matter of time until something like this happened. It would have been nicer if they'd targeted someone actually involved with hunting shifters, though.

[baisant]

Jean-Claude swears softly underneath his breath. Whatever he may have been expecting, it had not been that the other vampire had been shot. Then again, he supposes he should be grateful that it was not worse. The fact that he'd been shot in the leg -- either the hunter had been a bad shot, or they'd been aiming to slow him down, rather than pick him off.

"Cats?" he has to ask, before focusing on the rest of the words again. "Mon ami, when did this happen? Are you well?" Does he need to send someone out to assist him? Does he need to go himself? Provided the scenario is self for him at this time. He's not about to paint a target on himself out there, if he can help it.

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

"Cats. They seemed to be blocking me whenever I tried to go somewhere they didn't like, which seemed to be anywhere I might be able to get away from them," he confirmed, before moving on to the rest of it. "It happened tonight. I'm fine, though, I got lucky. A cab happened to pass by, so I was able to get in. He seemed a bit unnerved by the swarm of cats and the blood running down my leg, but he let me run up the meter by having him go down a bunch of random streets before taking me home."

He'd wanted to make sure he hadn't been being followed, after all.

[baisant]

Jean-Claude lets out a breath that might have been a long-suffering sigh in another life if he could afford such luxuries. Instead he leaves it stand at that.

"Where are you now, mon ami? Is it safe?" he asks, reaching up to pinch fingers across his brow. Cats, he says. He can only assume that that means that there are shapeshifters involved. Cats don't just attack en masse without some sort of provocation, after all. And shapeshifters hunting vampires in their own territory is a problem.

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

"I'm safe. I'm in my apartment."

He'd waited until he'd been in the safety of his own home before he called out, not wanting to be distracted somewhere where someone might spot him. In his own luxury apartment, where any sound that was out of place would grab his attention, and blackout curtains over the windows made it impossible for light or prying eyes to peek in, he felt fairly secure.

[baisant]

Jean-Claude relaxes slightly, though only slightly, and it would hardly be visible even if there were a witness to see him. He knows that Thomas is not exactly out of the woods just yet, after all. The other vampire's flat might be a fortress, but he cannot stay there indefinitely. And there are other questions on his mind.

"Were you followed?" he asks carefully. "Did you see?"

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

"I don't think I was followed."

He'd looked around, of course, and he hadn't seen anyone follow him or anyone there as he went inside, but a paranoid part of his brain reminded him that a shifter could be a small, innocuous animal that he wouldn't even think to listen for.

[baisant]

Jean-Claude shakes his head slightly, even though Thomas will not be able to see it through the phone. He doesn't like this. He doesn't like the thought that they are being hunted in their own territory. He wishes Thomas would have called for help sooner. Perhaps they might have been able to do something about it in the moment. Now it would seem they must wait for the next disaster to befall someone.

"I fear that I should not attract attention by approaching, just in case, mon ami," he replies sadly. "Nor do I think you should leave where you are, if you truly believe yourself to be safe." The question is, of course -- do you feel safe?

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

Thomas nods to himself, saying, "I'd already planned on staying here until tomorrow night, anyway." And those were his plans even before the incident. "And I certainly feel safer here than out there...or anywhere else, for that matter. They have security in this building, after all, and in my own home I'm more likely to notice if I hear or smell anything out of place."

And while there were plenty of supernatural threats that could get past regular human security, a shapeshifter only had a choice of human or animal forms to get in, and either would draw attention.

[baisant]

Jean-Claude hesitates for a moment, but it's as good reasoning as any for the other vampire to simply stay put. If he really has so much security as he says, then he should be safe. He is being paranoid. No one will go through such great hoops to try and get past all of that.

"Thank you for letting me know, mon ami," he replies at last. "I will see what I can do to let my dancers know to be on their guard." Which of course means he will send the word out through the ranks of those who stand by him as a potential leader as well. "See to your wound and let me know if anything else should occur out of the ordinary, oui?"

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

"Thank you. I will."

He, of course, was more than glad to share this information. He didn't much appreciate being hunted in the street. He also was certainly going to keep an eye out for anything else that Jean-Claude might need to know, should he run into any trouble in the nights to come. For now, however, he'd focus on tending to his leg.

"I'll call you if anything else comes up. Goodbye for now."

And as long as Jean-Claude didn't say anything that might indicate he had more to say, Thomas would hang up. After all, he wanted to have both hands free to examine his wounded leg some more.