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[OPEN] MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR

The Duke of Central London's Samhain festivities are open upon invitation only. Those who are fortunate enough to have received one, either from the Duke himself or from one of his guests, are privy to quite the affair. Raymond has obviously been planning this for some time now, and the bar is fully stocked, the room fully decorated for the festivities. Collected from the fae hunt that their leader had encouraged, fae blood flows freely, available freshly served in punch bowls or straight from the source itself, in the form of kidnapped fae off of the streets. The vampires who partake are drunk with it and high on the euphoria that it offers, a drug unlike any other their kind can partake in.

As promised by Raymond himself, it is a rave the likes that London has never seen before. And it's about to get a lot more memorable still...

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"Don't change that you did good doing it," he said back, tone going soft. "Ain't an easy thing to do. Makin' a choice like this. Ain't easy to be proud of, neither."

He was speaking somewhat from experience. Not from killing a lot of people, but rather from cutting off family ties when he left home the way he had. Almost three years in and he hadn't looked up his brother or checked up on him out of fear he'd get himself dragged back to Georgia and entangled in whatever Merle was up to. Or worse, find out his brother had gone off and gotten himself killed. It was easier to live in the limbo of the unknown.

"You need a towel or somethin'?"

She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "It's probably not worth it, not until everything's cleaned up. At which point, these clothes are definitely going in the garbage." Not just because of stains - though they would no doubt be stained - but because she didn't want to see this outfit ever again.

"Why did you help?" she asked after a moment. People killing vampires wasn't surprising, but doing it to help another vampire was.

Daryl could understand that. He didn't have a lot of outfits, though, so as long as his cleaned up decent he'd be keeping his. And he wasn't quite as covered as she was. The joys of using a crossbow for the majority of the fighting.

He shifted the weight of his bow on his shoulder and shrugged, "Jean-Claude asked me to. Promised to make changes so shifters weren't being targeted no more." And Daryl trusted him to keep his promise.

Caroline nodded. That made sense. "Hopefully no one's targeting." She included vampires in that no one. Ever since she'd move her, she'd felt vulnerable in ways she wasn't used to. In ways she didn't want to get used to.

"I should probably go inside, see if there's anything else that needs to be done."

There was at least one vampire outside Islington he didn't want targeted either, so for that sentiment he definitely agreed.

"Okay," he said, nodding at her suggestion. "If you see Jean-Claude, tell him to get his ass out here 'fore sun up."

"Sure, will do," Caroline promised, before heading towards the door. Before going inside, she turned back. "I'm glad you guys were here to help."

"You, too," he answered back with a half smile and a lifted chin. The sentiment was honest. He was glad to have other vampires in Islington on 'their' side. He'd never had anything personally against the group as a whole until Harris entered the picture and called a free for all on shifters. But it was difficult to not come down with a case of hate after what he'd gone through. Being reminded that not all of them were like that helped keep things in perspective.

Jean-Claude will definitely be bringing back the old ways. Or his favorite pieces of the old ways, at least. He doubts that some of the older vampires will enjoy how moderate his view is as far as relations with the other supernatural creatures in the city are concerned. He needs to build bridges though, if they have any hope of continuing in the city themselves. And that means setting aside old grudges. He has a feeling some of them will have something to say about that.

He offers the other vampire a slight smile, shaking his head as he does. "With due respect, my friend, as controversial as I might be for a choice of leader, I hope that I will never be as controversial as your own leadership became."

"That's probably true," Joscelin concedes. "But you, old friend, are not going to have an easy time of it."

He straightens, looking up at Jean-Claude. "What do you plan to do with this power now that you have it? Have you thought it through that far? That was my mistake. I could not keep my place or my people secure because I hadn't planned ahead."

Edited 2016-11-24 20:00 (UTC)

"Sometimes you have to get your hands a little dirty," Natasha says. She's not going to pretend any personal moral superiority. She doesn't see it as hypocrisy; just pragmatism.

"Harris's style of leadership wasn't any more sustainable than the bloodshed was. Something would have given one way or another."

She sips her drink, shaking her head slightly.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you came out on Jean-Claude's side."

"You're not wrong, but you don't live to be that old without learning to keep your head down when you have to. Effectively immortal or not, being stupid and petty is a good way to end up dead." Natasha says with an air of practicality. Left unsaid is the fact being idealistic and determined is another good way to get killed. They both already know that part too. "I think any of Harris's followers who'd like to outlive this regime will be keeping their heads down."

Natasha's Russian. She knows something about outliving regimes.

"Well, we can only hope that is true," Joscelin agrees. "For all of our sakes."

Because Natasha had picked a side. Despite her other allegiances and suicidal aversion to blood, Natasha had thrown in her lot with Jean-Claude's partisans and the old status quo.

"Why did you come here tonight? Besides the obvious, of course. You say that you are uninterested in joining the Nest, and yet whenever there is trouble here you are not far behind."

"I weighed my options and made what I thought was the best call. Believe it or not, most folks don't as you if you're actually part of a nest when they see a vampire." She says it flatly, as though that's all there was to it. Natasha doesn't try to make moral arguments for what she's doing. Not just because she doesn't believe they'll impress her audience, but also because she doesn't feel right with them. Her lips twitch though as she does consider who she's talking to. It's almost a smile. "Somehow, I think you would believe this."

She sighs then, softly. "It's best for me if the Nest is on good terms with the rest of the community. Not really that complicated."

Jean-Claude motions to the people gathered around them. To the vampires who had offered their help in the fight, and who had stayed on to help in the cleanup thereafter. "I think I have started with a fairly strong base," he replies, before glancing back at Joscelin himself.

"They do not need to believe in every choice I make, so long as they believe in me," he explains. "And the fact that they have stood with me here today is a good step forward in that direction. I think they will be pleased with the changes I have planned to make to follow. Even if they are something of a reversion to the old ways." He cracks a smile at the younger vampire, before switching back to English once more. "What is it that they say these days? 'If it isn't broken...?'"

No, most of the blood isn't his, though there were a few of Raymond's lieutenants that had gotten a few good swipes in here and there. Those wounds were caused by physical damage, however, not anything as caustic as a silver bullet or blade, and so they are already mostly healed by this point.

He smiles slightly as Daryl feigns as though he were not concerned about him, though Jean-Claude of course knows better than that. He would not have waited for so long to speak with him otherwise. He spreads his hands wide before him apologetically nonetheless. "I am sorry to keep you waiting then, mon ami," Jean-Claude replies. "It has been... A busy night, to say the least." If Daryl were to look closely at him, he might even recognize signs of exhaustion on the other man's face. Maybe.

After the battle is over, Jean-Claude is making his rounds among the survivors and congratulating them on their victory. It is here that he encounters Thomas, and the outfit Thomas has on. Even if it is now somewhat destroyed thanks to the fighting that had come to pass, Jean-Claude can still appreciate the whole picture for what it is. And despite their surroundings and what has just come to pass, he flicks a smile at the other vampire and runs his eyes appreciatively over his body for a moment before meeting his gaze again.

"Whatever you do with your time these days, mon ami, your talents are clearly wasted. If you would ever care for such employment, I am certain we could find room for you somewhere at Guilty Pleasures..."

"Hmmm," he hummed, "I'll have to keep that in mind."

He'd jokingly discussed that line of work with Natasha once, but it wasn't something he'd seriously considered. Still, he was certainly enjoying the feeling of Jean-Claude's gaze, and it was a tempting offer.

Jean-Claude smiles in response to her offer, tilting his head at her as if considering her offer. Perhaps he is, at that. He finds himself in a position of power, after all. What if someone should get it into their heads to try and overthrow him. He is going to try and cull the masses, but he needs to be ready for every opportunity.

"I am out of practice," he admits. "I hope you would allow me to ease into it."

"Of course- goodness knows you've got centuries more training with it than I do." She mentions his age only as a sign of respect. "So I don't see why we shouldn't put it to use. I'll give you all the time you need."

He'd be able to teach her a thing or two, she's sure.

Jean-Claude shakes his head slightly in response to her question. "It is not a surprise, mon amie," he replies. "But I would not have blamed you if you chose not to fight with us tonight. You have chosen where you stand, and it is not with us." Not while she still answers to Redbright, at least.

It's a harsh statement though, especially after she has given so much of herself for his cause this evening, so he softens it with a gentle smile and the light incline of his head towards her as well. "Yet you are here anyway, and I thank you for that. Perhaps I should even consider myself flattered...?" She hadn't had to participate, after all. Certainly not all of the vampires allied outside of the Nest had shared in her support of his cause, after all.

Natasha is used to harsh opinions of her. At this point, she has to have a thick skin. Otherwise she'd have gone slinking off to a new city and a new nest by now, and she has no intention of doing either. Still, it doesn't escape her that Jean-Claude softens his statement or that he seems genuinely grateful she's here.

"I just came to help with clean up." She smiles slightly. "We all like to keep this as smooth as possible, keep the mess off the streets."

Joscelin looks over at Jean-Claude, who is receiving congratulations from other members of their faction. He gestures to the scene. "Jean-Claude agrees with you. You could join us, you know. You might even be welcomed. You could be our liason between Islington and Redbright, if you wanted."

"...Don't fix it," Josecelin agrees. "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. I look forward to your leadership, my friend." He gives Jean-Claude a mocking salute, toasting him with a glass that is not there.

"Now, down to business. I have a keen desire to see the sunlight again, and you are finally in a position to grant me the means to do so. Will you, oh great leader, condescend to grant this simplest of wishes?"

Following with her eyes, Natasha answers more softly. "I'd be lying if I said it hasn't occurred to me." Considering Redbright's actions and the difficulty being a long vampire, the arguments in favor of it weren't flimsy. "But as long as I'm on the wagon, seems like a bad idea."

"I imagine there will still be a place for you here, no matter what you decide." Joscelin sounds almost kind, uncharacteristically so. "Jean-Claude is soft that way."

Redbright is a flash in the pan; its control over the Night Council can only last as long as its human players. The Nest will outlive them all.

"You have skill. It's wasted on the witches."

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[OPEN] MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR

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