undergrounds | [OPEN] The sun don't ever want to shine

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[OPEN] The sun don't ever want to shine

1. Singing @ Rhapsody in Red (a night club in Hackney) - Sept 4, evening

Singing at the club was quickly becoming Caroline's favourite thing. She'd always love to sing and was very proud of herself for being able to job doing it - and all without turning to mind control to land it. And sure, the place wasn't the nicest club in the world but the money was good and the customers generally behaved themselves. But most of all, on this little stage she was able to just put her emotions out there and not feel self conscious about it.

So far, London had not been what she'd hoped. Instead of feeling free in her life, she felt more trapped than ever. Trying to figure out just what was going on in the Nest from one day to another was exhausting - let alone dealing with any of the other factions and their politics. Plus, she missed everyone back home desperately. She had expected to be a little homesick but it was hitting harder than she'd anticipated.

All these feelings somehow led to her singing better than she ever had before.

She was singing the last song of her first set, an original rather than yet another cover, called Why Don't You Stay. It was a fairly standard break-up song, but there were a few lines that just had extra resonance now ...

I never thought it'd be so hard to let go.

When it was over, she was definitely read for a break. And a drink.

2. Outside Guilty Pleasures - Sept 5, evening

Soon after arriving in London, Caroline had decided to spend her nights off exploring Nest territory. She'd done a pretty good survey of Hackney by this point, so tonight it was time to go to Tower Hamlets. She's already done the tourist thing and checked out the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, so tonight she was hoping to find places of "local colour."

She's pretty sure it doesn't get more uh, colourful, than Guilty Pleasures. She was pretty sure she'd heard the name before, though right now she couldn't remember why. She also couldn't decide if she wanted to brave going inside or not. It was about as far from her usual scene as you could get. But that was old, Mystic Falls Caroline. New, London Caroline was still figuring out her scene.

She was out there thinking about it for awhile.

3. Wildcard (must be @ night in Nest territory)

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"It's... I haven't spent much time looking at the dancers, I'm afraid," she explains. "I'm an associate of the owner. But I suppose it's like any strip-club you'd find. Handsome men, pretty girls, loud music, but a little less neon and more velvet." They never really changed.

"If you're looking for someone to walk in with you, I'd be happy to escort you." Her words were formal, but kind.

That really didn't sound so bad. Actually, parts of it sounded quite good, particularly handsome men and velvet. Also good: not having to walk in alone.

"That would be nice, thanks."

"Of course." She inclines her head, and gestures for her to follow her, before leading to the double doors. Evie gives the bouncer a smile- she's been here enough that he lets her, and Caroline, in without question.

"Welcome to Guilty Pleasures."

Not having to deal with a bouncer was a nice extra bonus to having an escort. But Caroline didn't have much time to think about that, as her attention was quickly drawn to everyone else going on inside.

Her first thoughts were that Guilty Pleasures really was the perfect name for this club. Everywhere she looked, everything just seemed over the top, though it somehow managed the perfect mix between camp and class. And, of course, there were lots of half naked men. Who could complain about that.

"Wow." That was all she could say.

Evie can relates, and gives her a knowing nod. "it's very... something, isn't it?" It had never been her favorite place in the world, and it never would be. But she respected those that worked there- she'd gone out of her way to rescue one of the dancers a few months before. Which reminded her, she should probably stop in the back and see how Cherry was doing.

"Yeah, it definitely is something." She laughed again, half amused and still half nervous about being here.

She suddenly realized she didn't know the woman's name, and vice versa. How rude, her mother would be ...

Nothing. Nevermind her mother.

"My name's Caroline, by the way," she said with a smile. "Thank you again for the escort."

If she notices that Caroline is nervous, she says nothing.

And she notices.

"Lovely to meet you, Caroline. I'm Evie Frye- you're new in town, aren't you?" She hadn't seen her at any Islington anything yet, but they were growing larger by the day.

"Yes, I'm fairly fresh off the boat," Caroline said, a bit more snidely than intended. "Sorry," she added almost immediately. "I keep getting asked that. Yes, I'm new in town."

She stopped to stare at a particular big man who was wearing a particularly small thong and nothing else. She wasn't sure if she was turned on or horrified.

Evie waves it away. "Don't worry, I just didn't want to assume one way or another." Evie prefered to operate under as many certainties as possible.

"And welcome, as well, to the nest." She gave her a meaningful look, meant to indicate that yeah, she knows she's a vampire. She could say it out loud in this venue, but she'd rather not. "I'm one of the Countesses." Which was pretty nifty, but it wasn't a position that was new for her. A long time ago she'd been higher up in their nest.

Oh. She knew. Well, since Evie was a vampire too, that was probably okay. "Thank you. It's uh ... been interesting, so far."

Caroline looked carefully at Evie. If she was a Countess, that probably meant she was pretty old. Which could explain the formal tone, actually.

Oh well, it wasn't like Caroline wasn't used to being the youngest vampire in the room.

She nods. "You came at a very interesting time." She knows she's safe here, in that JC supported her opinions, and she supported his, but she doesn't know who could be listening. She'd be foolish to come out and say that she hated Raymond. He didn't like those that opposed him, and she doesn't want this pretty young thing to get caught up in it so soon, before she had a chance to look at everything herself.

But she wanted to let her know, too, that it was alright to question Raymond privately. That they weren't all mindless monsters.

"I assure you, things aren't always like this." She pauses. "Would you care for a drink?" Get Caroline to at least relax a little and enjoy her time here. That, and she could go for a beer herself.

Interesting time. It definitely was that. Caroline hadn't been drawn too much into Nest politics so far and she was glad of it. All she really knew was that this Raymond seemed very dangerous to have in charge.

She was curious about what it had been like before. She'd asked around a bit before she moved to London and heard stories that made the city sound just the place for the fresh start.

"A drink sounds perfect."

"Wonderful." Without any more ado, Evie leads them over to the bar and takes a seat. Immediately, she's attended to by the bartender.

"Whatever's on tap, and whatever this young lady wants." She gestures for Caroline to order.

Caroline shrugged. "I'll have what's she's having."

She took the seat beside Evie. "So," she asked as she waited the drinks to arrive, "have you always lived in London?"

A few pounds are placed on the bar.

"No- I've spent a lot of my life traveling. But London's always been my home." She was her city, as far as she was concerned. The Frye twins had always tried to look after her.

A stein was placed in front of her and Caroline took a long drink. It was pretty good, definitely something she'd order again.

"That sounds nice," she said. "I've always wanted to travel more but so far, London's been about it. Of course, I have lots of time on my hands."

"Well, I highly recommend you travel as much as you can." She gives her a warm smile over the top of her pint. Granted, she did a lot of traveling for work, but that was one thing. This was another.

"Travel, and invest."

Caroline nodded. "I've heard that advice before and definitely plan to follow it. At least from here, I can get to the rest of Europe pretty easily."

Investing wasn't a bad idea either, except that it involved having money. Which wasn't something Caroline was super flush with at the moment. Her singing job, while something she enjoyed, wasn't exactly lining her pockets.

The money would come. Honestly, vampires had nothing but time on their hands, which was why so many of them happened to have very deep pockets. Evie was one of these, but she also happened to have the backing of a powerful shadow organization.

But she hadn't been raised in wealth, and preferred to keep herself humble, unlike some of the vampires around.

"Exactly. Just a few hours by train and you can be nearly anywhere, it feels like." Evie used to have a train.

Evie wanted her train back.

"It's weird how somehow the world seems much smaller over here, even though my actual world back home was pretty made up of one small town."

She stared into her cup for moment, just thinking. There were more questions she wanted to ask but it was hard to tell if it was safe. Then she remembered something.

"You said you were an associate of the owner, right? Does that mean you can access somewhere where we can talk a little more ... privately?"

evie hune, not in agreement but rather acknowledgement.

"I'm sure I could work something out. Just a moment." Evie stands and makes her way across the club. a few minutes later she's got a smile when she walks across back to Caroline.

"One private room secured. Follow me." And she leads her up a staircase into a small room that's clearly not for talking.

Caroline followed, her heart beginning to race a bit. There was so much she wanted to ask about but she also wasn't sure what she should ask about. She was pretty sure Evie was much older than her - sometimes it sucked being a baby vampire, no pun intended.

Evie can hear the other woman's heart race, even over the music. Once the door is shut, it's a bit quieter but still loud enough that eaves dropping is going to be difficult.

Evie takes a seat, beer in hand. "So, what's the reason for the private audience?" she doesn't beat around the bush.

Evie was direct. Caroline liked that - it seemed like the two of them would get along well.

"I wanted to ask you more about the Islington Nest," she replied. "I don't feel like I really know enough about it yet."

Particularly how it used to be ... Caroline had the feeling Evie might prefer those days to how it was now, which was a relief. She knew not every vampire in London could be happy with the current chaos.

Evie nods, leaning back on the couch. "I see." She gestures with an open palm towards Caroline. "By all means, ask away. I'll do you the favor of responding honestly, so that you can form your own opinion."

Form the right one, she hoped.

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