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

[vampire_barbie_girl]

This talk of dark secrets makes Caroline wonder if she needs to sit down with Nancy and have a "talk" about Cesare. Sure, he could be bluffing, but she had a feeling that isn't the case.

"Well," she says finally, "for starters, when I asked who I should make sure to speak to tonight, you were the first name on her list. Which convinced me of the need for a good second impression."

Can I still reply to this? <3

[longterm]

"Oh, really? Did she mention why?" he asks with a smirk, particularly intrigued. It seems odd that Nancy would mention him, especially now that the two of them have gained some distance from one another. Having a boyfriend who doesn't like the two of you spending time together can do that.

"Though trust me: you made a perfectly wonderful first impression. You have nothing to correct for your second." He flashes a quick smile.

Sure, why not? :P

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Nancy had mentioned why but Caroline isn't quite sure she wants to tell him. She looks at him carefully for a moment, then shrugs and smiles. "Oh, I don't know, something about you knowing how to show people a good time or something like that."

Yay! <3

[longterm]

Cesare can just about guess what that means, considering his history with Nancy, but he plays ignorant, acting as if she's talking about his party throwing skills.

"And how am I faring so far?" he asks, gesturing out into the party.

Re: Yay! <3

[vampire_barbie_girl]

"Hmmm," Caroline says, grinning, "I am having a good time, so I'd say that's a success. Though I did plan quite a bit of the party, so I don't know how much credit you can really take for that."

[longterm]

"Hmm. You have a good point there," Cesare concedes immediately. "But Nancy knows you planned most of this, doesn't she? So perhaps that's not quite the good time she means." He gives Caroline a bit of a knowing look.

"Though Nancy would never suggest anything crude or vulgar, I'm sure..." he says teasingly, taking a swig of his drink.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline laughed. "No, not sweet, innocent Nancy. Surely she would never even think of anything so sordid."

[longterm]

"I wonder what she would say about you?" he says with a smirk, leaning in towards her slightly. "I confess, I've never spoken about you to her, though perhaps I should. She seems frighteningly candid. Maybe you should tell me your secrets now, before Nancy unearths them?"

He's teasing entirely. He rarely talks to people about others and doesn't intend to talk about Caroline with Nancy. That would be exceptionally poor form, particularly when Cesare hopes that he might eventually sleep with both of them.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline stands perfectly still, resisting both the urge to lean back and the one to lean in. "I'm not too worried. There's a girl code, after all. We can gossip about men all we want but we keep each other's secrets."

Which is good, since Nancy knew about some of the worst thing's Caroline had ever done - though somehow, she has a feeling that Cesare wouldn't judge her too harshly for a killing spree.

[longterm]

"Oh!" Cesare says, his eyebrows raising, the tone of his voice raising to a playful mimicry of perceived injustice. "Is that so?! So you girls can gossip all you like about us, but you refuse to share information with us? That seems deeply unfair. It's cruel, putting us as a disadvantage like that."

It's all teasing. He means none of if. But if only she had told him of her murder sprees. Cesare would have appreciated that. He very much has a "vamps will be vamps" attitude. If anything, batches of violence would have prompted admiration and respect.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

She smiles and laughs, the sound deep in her throat. "I didn't make the rules, I just play the game."

And it's probably a good thing Caroline didn't tell him, since she probably doesn't need yet another way in which Cesare reminds her of Klaus. Plus, normally killing sprees are not really her scene.

[longterm]

"Perhaps we should change the game then?" he says, leaning in a little. "Or at least give me a few of the hints on how to play it properly? Come on, Caroline. Help a guy out?"

He's stepping closer and closer to her, as if he needs to do so to quiten his voice and secretly ask her a favour, though that's quite clearly not what he's doing.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline continues to hold her ground, letting him close the distance between them without either helping or hindering. She looks right in his eyes for a moment, then smiles. "From what I've heard - and I'm not saying who I heard this from - the games you tend to play are very different."

[longterm]

Cesare can't quite tell if she means that he plays sexual games, violent games or a combination of the two. Either way, he's curious to find out.

He quirks an eyebrow and smiles.

"What does that mean?" he asks playfully, not offering any suggestions. He wants to hear entirely what she thinks, not what he's hinting at.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline takes her time before answering, since she has a feeling that the answer may dictate how the rest of this night goes. She'd told herself she was only curious when she came over, but that probably wasn't entirely true.

"It means," she says finally, "that I'd love to see what the private rooms at the Angelo look like."

[longterm]

There's a pause as Cesare looks at her in a moment of understanding. Right. So they're doing this. Good.

He smiles before tilting his head slightly, asking her to follow him. He leads her into an elevator to take her up to the top floor, and eyes her the entire time, saying nothing. To be honest, he doesn't entirely see the point of talking any further. They both understand one another and what they're about to do. Any further discussion seems unnecessary. He's happy to talk to her if she wants to, of course, but he doesn't consider it to be vital.

To be honest, he's half of the mind to start kissing her then and there, in the elevator. But he's not entirely sure she's that kind of girl and he doesn't want to offend by accident by making assumptions.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline follows his lead and is fine with the silence - it gives her more time to be impressed by her own audacity. Her heart is pounding hard enough that she's sure they can both hear it.

She glances at him in the elevator, wondering if he would make a move. She'd be fine with it but she's not sure about making the first move herself.

"How long have you owned the hotel?" she asks finally, the quiet eventually becoming too much for her.

[longterm]

Cesare smiles and laughs slightly, looking at the floor for a second when Caroline speaks, obviously needing to fill the silence.

"Since it was built in the 1800s. I'm not sure precisely when, though it says on the front door, if you ever need to check."

The doors open and Cesare leads her through to a suite where he immediately pulls off his jacket and drapes it over the sofa before turning to her.

"I'll confess: I don't know precisely what you heard, but I think it may be misleading. I'm not quite the type to play too many games." He's more of a cut to the chase kind of guy. After all, why else would the two of them be in this room together?

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline nods. She's getting a bit better at guessing vampire ages, maybe. Or at any rate, she's not surprised that he has at least a few centuries on her - she suspects it might be more than a few.

Her heart is still racing when they reach the room. "I honestly didn't hear that much," she admits. "Just enough to make me curious."