Islington Nest Christmas Party, Dec 17 [Open to all Nest members and their guests]

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline has worked hard to put together the evening's event, which is not only a Christmas party but also hopefully a chance for the Nest to celebrate its new leadership. The room at the Angelo has been decorated with a winter wonderland theme which, while not exactly original, is quite lovely.

A string quartet is playing a selection of Christmas and other classical music. Any attempts to feed on the musicians will result in the perpetrator getting thrown out the party, or worse. But feeding on any of the hired help or performers should be unnecessary, since several varieties of "blood punch" are available to drink. There is also food and other drinks available for non-vampire guests and anyone else who wishes to partake.

There is a strict black tie only dress code and Caroline will tell anyone who is under-dressed to go home and change.



[The event is happening on Dec 17th but I wanted to get it up early so everyone had time to do get involved if they so desired.]

Comments

[dredefulchilde]

Joss listens, unusually quiet and with a thoughtful expression on his face. He can see that this means a great deal to Natasha, despite her forced conversational tone, and he's not unsympathetic to it. He wonders, not for the first time, what it would be like if he had the luxury of scruples and a conscience. He'd probably not have lived as long if he'd had. After all, his sire had been fairly moral, for a vampire, and look how she'd ended up.

But humans are livestock, he wants to say, though even in his current state he knows that would be the least constructive thing to to.

Instead, what he says is this:

"Did you choose the change, back then? Were you allowed that choice?"

[outstandingbalance]

"No," she says, almost like it's funny. She hadn't had many choices back then. But that's not why it felt a little like a joke. "I don't it would have occurred to me if I had, though. I didn't have a problem with it at the time. And I adored my sire."

[dredefulchilde]

Joscelin thinks about his own death, which is not something that he usually prefers to remember. He'd desperately wanted to die. The fever consuming him, the hot pain in his armpit and groin as the bubos were lanced and bled, the blood in his vomit...death had been a release. He'd been administered the last rites, ready to die in a state of grace and be accepted into God's host...

And then he'd woken in a charnal pit.

"But you knew what was coming?"

[outstandingbalance]

"I did." Which means she has no excuse. But she was a killer ten years or more before she was a vampire, and determined to stay alive regardless of cost. Whatever else she is or has been, Natasha is ever the survivor. That never changed. "There was plenty of opportunity to see what was coming."

[dredefulchilde]

Joscelin is quiet. He had been planning to use this information to convince her of her folly, show her how stupid she is being by continuing to refugee blood, and now he can't quite bring himself to do it.

"You are an interesting creature, Miss Romanoff," he says instead.

[outstandingbalance]

"Not really," Natasha says softly. She's almost surprised that he doesn't use this against her. Maybe tell her that she has no room to have buyer's remorse now. Ask her why she was trying to be something different from what she obviously knew herself to be.

She adds with a little more humor, "Confused, maybe."