[OPEN] MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR

[baisant]

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...

Comments

[freelife]

"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.

[outstandingbalance]

"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."

[freelife]

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.

[outstandingbalance]

"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?"

[freelife]

"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.

[outstandingbalance]

"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."

[freelife]

"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?"

[outstandingbalance]

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."

[freelife]

"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.

[outstandingbalance]

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."

[freelife]

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."

[outstandingbalance]

"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."

[freelife]

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."

[outstandingbalance]

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."

[freelife]

Their eyes meet in the darkness and Evie nods.

"Of course," she reaches out and touches Natasha's shoulder. After a second, she gives it a gentle squeeze. It's nice, to have her here with her. It's been a while since she's shared a bed with anyone, and after such an exhausting night, it's good to have that comfort.

She pulls her blankets up a bit further with her free hand.

"Whatever I can do to help you."

[outstandingbalance]

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Natasha does settle down then, making peace with the fact that she's going to be sharing the bed with the other woman—it's Evie's bed, after all.

She finds it easy, somehow.

"Goodnight?"

[freelife]

"There's no need to thank me," she says. She follows Natasha's cues, getting back into a more settled position. She turns her back to her friend, but glances over her shoulder.

"Goodnight. If you wake up first, help yourself to coffee." There was blood in the fridge, as well, but she knew better than to offer.

[outstandingbalance]

"If I do, I'll keep that in mind." Invitations for breakfast and offers for coffee... Natasha wonders if she should really be letting herself get this comfortable, but at least for today, while the sun is up and they've had a very real victory the last night. They deserve something nice.