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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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The hug takes Natasha buy surprise. There's a brief hesitation as she's caught, then she wraps her arms around the other woman as well, returning the hug with a gentle reassurance.

Natasha's all right. They both are.

"You weren't worried, were you?" She huffs, covering the way she's flattered by her concern with humor. "I can take care of myself."

Thank you for not making this awkward, Nat. She really, really appreciates it.

"This isn't my first coup," she explains. "I suppose I should have guessed it wasn't yours, either." Yes, she was worried.

"Not exactly a novice, no. Though..." She trails off, glancing over the area around them. "I suppose it's my first insurrection in a nest. So there's that. All things considered, I'd say it went over well."

Natasha doesn't try to pull away, staying close even as she eases out of the hug.

"Well, welcome." Evie's hands find a gentle grip on Natasha's forearms, holding her close.

"It did- all things considering." Raymond making JC drink from their guest, for example. She'd been holding her breath, preparing to make a move if need-be.

Natasha missed out on the excitement inside; she can tell from Evie's reaction that there's more than a little she'll want to ask about, find out what happened on the scene.

"You have more to clean up here? I shouldn't be out much longer, but I wouldn't mind hearing how things went on your end."

Evie nods. "I won't leave until everyone's safely out. It's the least I can do for Jean-Claude." She'd already done so much for him, but there's clean-up. Bodies to destroy, for example, blood stains to do away with.

"Go to my flat- it's closer. No one will disturb you." She had a great bed with black-out curtains. "There's no need to disturb anyone riding the night bus that way." With the blood and general battle-worn ways.

"You sure about that? I don't want to intrude." Especially after a fight like this. Evie might want to have the day to herself, to rest and recover. Clean up.

But if she's sure about her invitation, the prospect of spending the day with the other woman is tempting.

"I'm fine," she says seriously. "I heal faster than you." She'd be lying if she said she hadn't partaken in some of the carnage.

"Get yourself out of the sun, take a shower- you can borrow pajamas, if you want." She trusted Natasha in a way she hadn't trusted anyone in a while. Enough to let her into her home.

She presses her key into Natasha's hand.

Natasha flashes a quick, tired smile as she accepts the key. She realizes just how much trust Evie is showing her doing this, and she appreciates it—she doubts Evie could understand how much. It's not something she can feel like she's earned.

"I'll meet you back there when you get free," Natasha says, giving her a meaningful look. "A shower sounds good right now. Real good."

"I'll see you there. Rest up."

It's odd for her, too. But she cares deeply about her friend, and they both have had a long night. There's no reason that Natasha should have to stay if she didn't need to. If it wasn't safe for her. Evie just felt obligated to remain.

It's a few hours later when Evie, armed with her spare key, entered her flat. The sun was up, and the vampire looked absolutely exhausted. Still, she tries to be quiet as she slips into the shower to rid herself of the grime of the evening.

When she leaves the bathroom, she's piled her dark hair up on her head, her clothes replaced with a pair of shorts and a tank-top. Bedtime, at last.

By the time Evie gets back, Natasha has given in to laying down. She took a shower first and intended to stay up, at least a while, but with dawn bringing the light and the weight of fatigue, Natasha surrendered. She's not entirely asleep when the other women comes in, though.

She stirs at the sound of water hitting tile, pulling herself up drowsily in bed and trying to clear her head.

"Clean?" she asks when she hears Evie pad out of the bathroom.

"Clean," Evie repeats, a little surprised that Natasha is still awake. "I didn't wake you up, did I? I tried to be quiet." And that meant she could be nearly silent. Then again, vampire hearing.

"You can go back to sleep, if you like." That was her plan, anyway. Sleep, and then in the morning have some coffee before going to speak with the Brotherhood.

"No, I was awake." Barely, and still barely, but she is. The sound comes through in her voice. "Didn't want to sleep before you got back."

Behind the bed's blackout curtains, Natasha sits up, curling her legs to her chest as she collects her focus. "Wanted to hear how the clean up went."

Evie tisks at her. "I told you to sleep." Evie pushes the curtains away just so she is able to get to her bed, and pulls them back. Natasha looks unusually... Small. Evie doesn't lay down, but pulls the covers up over her pale legs, covering the names of her parents.

Evie sighs. "It went. Bodies are cleared, some of the blood will take ages to get rid of. But it's gone." She didn't ask what they did with Raymond's body.

"Well. Guess I've never been that good at doing what I'm told," Natasha says, almost laughing. Her expression grows more serious as she considers Evie's answer, though.

"No more fires to put out though?"

"I never would have thought," she says, sparing a moment to give her friend a wry sort of grin.

"No, not that we can until morning, anyway. I promised Jean-Claude I'd be on call." She stifles a yawn. "I think we need a proper English breakfast tomorrow." She was more than happy to cook. She'd always loved the taste of food.

"Hm. Wouldn't mind that." She agrees more for Evie's benefit than her own, but many people find that kind of interaction comforting. It's friendly. And Evie is a friend.

She hesitates a moment, then lays back down.

"That reminds me... I was going to ask you something."

"Good, it's not often I get to cook for more than just myself." And she happened to enjoy it.

Evie's about to lay down further when Natasha mentions a question. "Of course- what's on your mind?"

Natasha has been meaning to ask this for some time now, but she keeps putting it off, coming up with excuses not to follow through. Must as she trusts Evie, she still struggles.

"It can wait until after we sleep. It's just—I might need a favor."

"No, you brought it up now."

Evie turns towards her, on her side.

"What is it, Natasha?" Her eyes, unusually soft, lock with her friend's, even in the dark.

Natasha meets her gaze for only a moment before she drops her eyes, sighing. "You know I haven't been feeding?"

Evie does. There's no need to reiterate it. But it lets Evie know where this is going.

"I've been thinking about that. And about what would happen if I stop abstaining."

Evie waits for the other shoe to drop before she says anything. She takes a moment to inhale, to consider it, and then offers Natasha a small smile.

"You'd be in better shape, certainly." But. They all had a deep, dark craving that they all fought every time they were around blood. She remembers how awful it was, as a newborn. And she imagined after having stopped drinking for so long, how easy it could be for Natasha to slide down that path.

"But that's not what you're getting at."

Edited 2016-11-17 04:46 (UTC)

"Not exactly," she agrees. "I don't intend to stop soon. But I was thinking..."

She pauses, then takes a steadying breath. Her voice when she continues is more professional. "I mean to make this work, and I have support there. But I'd like to have an exit strategy in place if those should fail. I need another vampire I can trust to supervise if it comes to that."

Her brow creases as it so often does. She trusted her. Perhaps it was foolish, perhaps it was a smart move, Evie herself wasn't sure. But she knew she, too, trusted Natasha, and trust between two vampires, and two different (A)/assassins was not an easy thing to come by.

Gently, she places her hand on Natasha's shoulder. She doesn't need to say how much her trust means to her. She knows the other woman feels it.

"I will. I promise you that. Whatever you need."

Natasha does. And she appreciates that Evie leaves it there. Exposing herself like this isn't easy for her. But it's the best choice, the best way to make sure that no one gets killed.

She trusts Evie. She trusts that she understands what's at stake. And she's the only vampire Natasha knows who she truly believes will be invested in preventing her from taking feeding too far.

"Thank you." The relief is in her voice, subtle but real. "I mean that."

[OPEN] MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR

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