The Night Train

[undergroundmods]

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It's the 22nd of January and the sun has disappeared behind the horizon. You're waiting at your nearest station when a sleek, metallic grey train pulls up at the platform. No one else can see it, only those who are aware of the supernatural world. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Night Train. Tonight the leaders of the Night Council will be making their annual introduction to the supernatural community – aboard a train that will make stops in every borough with a significant supernatural presence. Hop on and off whenever you like: this event is designed to be open to all. (Though for some reason the train won't be passing through East End or Seelie/Unseelie territory...)

The event takes place from 7pm-12 midnight Sunday 22nd January.

Rules of entry
• No weapons. Any weapons or objects that could be used as weapons will be confiscated.
• No drugs or alcohol except that provided at the event. Don't try to sneak any in.
• No violence. The train is cursed with a hex that will punish any trouble-causing passengers with a lightning strike. The Council doesn't mess around here.

Carriages
The train has five carriages, each one with a different theme. While the Night Council members are dispersed throughout the train, they are under no obligation to stay in their carriage and will likely move around to network and meet fellow members of the supernatural community. There are cameras and security guards in every carriage to ensure there is no trouble.

1) PRESIDENT / VICE PRESIDENT. At the front of the train is a carriage decked out as if for royalty. Surprisingly spacious, the carriage is decorated with gilt trimmings, a thick wine-red carpet and leather seating. Portraits of previous Presidents and Vice Presidents line the wall. Coffee, tea and wine is being served at tables interspersed throughout the carriage and finger sandwiches are available.

2) WITCH REPRESENTATIVE. The next carriage along belongs to the Witch Representative. It's rather like walking into a greenhouse: the entire place is full of herbs and other plants, and there are tables where you can sit and ask for advice or magical favours from witches with varying specialities: a healer, a herbalist, a psychic, a medium and a potions maker. Magical butterflies flutter along the ceiling and among the flowers like colourful lights. A small bar at the end of the carriage serves a variety of herbal teas.

3) VAMPIRE REPRESENTATIVE. The next carriage along belongs to the Vampire Representative. Decorated in a tasteful dark red, about half the carriage's length is taken up by a wine bar that serves a variety of alcoholic and blood-based drinks and snacks. The other half consists of leather seating where the seats face each other to allow guests to talk while enjoying a drink.

4) SHAPESHIFTER/META HUMAN REPRESENTATIVE. It seems that Yasmine decided her aim for the night was to let loose and avoid talking, since this carriage is basically a narrow dance floor. Club music blares out from speakers on the ceiling, there's a disco ball and strobe lighting, and all the windows are blacked out. A magical seal ensures that the noise is contained within this carriage, so you won't hear any of it until you step inside.

5) EMPTY CARRIAGE. There's nothing here apart from rows of seats that you might find on any ordinary train. A sign on the door says "WARNING: THIS CARRIAGE IS HAUNTED. KEEP OUT." If you ignore the sign and go in anyway, you might feel a sense of unease. The shadows seem unnaturally long and the lights will flicker on and off. Magically sensitive types will feel a strong sense of impending death and may experience visions of the seats being ripped apart and blood spattered on the walls. If you stick around even after that, the most magically sensitive person in the carriage will experience a vivid hallucination of their own death at the hands of a vampire. If you manage to endure that without fleeing, PM the mod to continue. (Don't worry, no one will die.)

Comments

Night Council NPCs

[brightwitch]

Sylvia Redbright, President
Sylvia can be found in the President's carriage with her customary glass of red wine in the early part of the evening, though later on she will make her way through the rest of the train. She seems distracted, however, and may occasionally be seen whispering with her fellow witches, in particular Peter Vrinak and Nora Shannon.

Peter Vrinak, Vice President, and Nora Shannon, Witch Representative
These two spend a lot of time talking together, moving between the President's and Witch's carriages. Nora seems unhappy about something. Rumour is that she was aiming to be chosen as Mother of Witches, but the signs ruled her out.

Yasmine Merad, Shapeshifter/Meta Human Representative
Yasmine starts out in the President's carriage but checks out when it's clear that the witches are embroiled in their own intrigues. She stops by the Vampire carriage to grab a drink and stare balefully at any vampire who looks at her the wrong way, then finally makes her way to her own carriage to forget the rest of the Night Council and just dance. They have to do these things every year, she may as well enjoy herself.

Samantha Okeke, New Girl in Town
There's a reason for the distraction among the witches, and Samantha is it. Having recently returned to the city of her birth, the signs have confirmed that she is to be the new Mother of Witches. No official announcement has been made and it's meant to be a secret for now, but somehow rumours seem to be spreading throughout the train... Samantha won't confirm or deny, but there's certainly a spring in her step as she moves through the carriages, happy to introduce herself to anyone who seems important.

A Conversation
At around eight o'clock in the evening, the following conversation takes place between Sylvia and Samantha in the President's carriage. They greet each other with a hug and kiss to the cheek – clearly, they know each other – but an attentive observer may note that Sylvia's smile is a little strained and Samantha's a little too effusive.

Samantha folds one arm across her waist, lifting her glass with a teasing smile. "So, can I finally call you 'Auntie' now instead of 'Mother'?"

"Oh, God." Sylvia makes a face of mock horror. "No, it's fine to call me Sylvia. I also accept Madame President and Chancellor Redbright."

"Madame, really?" That gets a small laugh from Samantha, who shakes her head. "I forget you have other titles. So where is the line between Circle Daybreak and the Night Council, now that you're no longer Mother of Witches? If I had a witch issue I wanted to talk about, I'd go to Nora, right?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

Samantha shrugs, her smile disarming. "I just want to know how everything works."


[ooc: Any of the Night Council NPCs are available to interact with, just say which one you want to talk to! This event also introduces a new NPC, Samantha, who is here to shake things up a little. Feel free to say hi.]

For Sylvia

[stauncherhearted]

It was no secret who Nancy was here with. She'd arrived on Cooper's arm, beaming with pride, looking perhaps the best she'd felt in quite some time. She was working on tracking down an honest job, her part of a promise to Cooper if he won. She couldn't be actively working with her boyfriend on the very council that pardoned her, with the assumption she'd get an honest job.

Turns out it's really hard to get a job when you're twenty with no experience or formal education.

At one point during the night, nursing a martini from the Vampire carriage that certainly wasn't her first, she manages to cross paths with Sylvia, though she's certain the older woman knows why she's here at all. "Hello," she says warmly, all the same. It's hard not to feel good to night. "Lovely picture of us on your facebook." She's actually really not that happy about it.

As discussed!

[knightscode]

Lancelot is on a wary sort of alert the entire time he's on board this train, for several reasons. First, because the easy on/off access of people in and out of multiple carriages is something of a nightmare from a security perspective. They've tried to keep guardians stationed in every carriage but with people moving through all the time he's on edge. Secondly, the whole train along with its occupants is constantly firing off his magical sensitivity in a way that does nothing to ease his concerns. He's resolved to try not to touch anything he doesn't recognise directly just in case it sets off more.

Last, but not least, the occupants. Samantha is stirring things up, Peter and Nora are colluding in what no doubt is to be something that will make his life difficult and Sylvia is obviously tense about the vampires being back on board. He regrets that he's avoiding drinking anything.

He sees her talking with Nancy, and just knows he's going to be beckoned over as she leaves before it even happens.

Sylvia looks up, and Lancelot lofts his eyebrows in an answer question before closing the distance between them. He's dressed in his usual grey suit, no tie because they make him a little itchy but smart enough to pass.

Samantha? c8

[longterm]

Cesare has made his way into the witch carriage, holding his drink. Like Hell he is going to spend an extended period of time in the vampire carriage after thst sham of an election that was had (not that Cesare is bitter or anything). So he's picked up his alcohol-blood concoction and taken it with him to sit in among the foliage of the witch carriage, leaned back into his chair and simply breathing in the fresh green air. He doesn't ask for any advice. He doesn't think he needs it. Instead he catches sight of Samantha and makes his way to her.

"So how did you do it?" he asks with a smirk. Ok. So maybe he does want some advice from a witch after all.

Nancy | OTA

[stauncherhearted]

A There's one reason that Nancy is here, and his name is Cooper. She's here as the date of the newly elected Vampire Representative, and she couldn't have been prouder. For a good portion of the night, she's on his arm, unless someone manages to grab her away to talk to her. She's drinking, of course, gin martinis.

B Of course, Nancy has every reason to stop in the Witch Representative train. Though she's under Islington, rather than Daybreak, she's still a witch. It only seemed polite, anyway. She's content drinking another martini, looking at the collection of plants. It was impressive, to say the least, and it was nice to be somewhere quiet.

C [For Eames]

You know how in horror movies, white people tend to ignore those huge signs that say "WARNING: THIS CARRIAGE IS HAUNTED. KEEP OUT." and do the exact opposite of what they're explicitly told not to do? Yeah, that was exactly what Nancy and Eames were doing right now. She still had a martini in her hand, giggling a bit- she was hoping to talk to Eames somewhere private, this time with good news.

"Let's just duck in here," she tells him, gesturing with her head towards the haunted carriage. "We can talk there."

What was the worst that could happen?

D wild card <3

[falsify]

Eames squints at the sign, frowning because it's probably not a lie, but on the other hand? He isn't afraid of any ghosts, so fuck it.

He opens the door, frowning as that wave of unease washes over him, but he ignores it with a shake of his head and moves to the nearest seats to the door so they can sit and talk.

"Okay, what is it?"

OTA

[dirtyredneck]

Vampire Representative
Daryl was tucked into the corner near the door, where he could sit comfortably on the leather couch and just watch the comings and goings. He wasn't much for the alcohol or atmosphere in the car, but he did want to learn more about the newest Vampire on the council. And maybe keep an eye on a certain vampire in particular **coughJean-Claudecough**.

Maybe.

Empty Carriage
The only other car Daryl felt half-way comfortable in was the supposedly haunted one. He didn't see any ghosts when he first stepped inside, but it was quiet and didn't have the headache inducing noise of the car that claimed to be for the shapeshifters and metahuman representative to entertain people. Not really entertaining. And the other cars? Both run by witches? Not really places Daryl felt safe in.

The haunted carriage didn't really feel that safe either, a strange feeling coiling in his gut after he stepped inside. But it was quiet and isolated and he needed that.

aaaa 1

[ghoulaid]

Surprise, what Daryl gets is a Ghoul dropping down onto the couch just opposite his own. He's only passing through this car until everyone gets drunk enough to not care that he's there, but he recognizes this guy and has been meaning to ask, "Greased Lightning make it back home okay?"

[baisant]

Of course Jean-Claude was there. He had campaigned for the position of the representative himself, although he could not say he was not happy with the end result. John Cooper might be young, but he was a good choice for the position. He would do well in it. Jean-Claude made a mental note to send the man a gift of congratulations, lest the other vampire get it in his head that Jean-Claude was jealous of the win. He had made it a vote for a reason this time, and he was happy not to have full decision making power for the vampires in his hands in the end.

So yes, he is there. And yes, he notices that Daryl is as well. He notices too, the way that the shapeshifter's eye seems to keep gravitating towards him throughout the night. He's noticed how the man has seemed to avoid him, over the past month. And he's noticed now the fact that he can't seem to keep his eyes away. Jean-Claude smiles to himself and makes his way over to the other man's side, folding himself into a seat beside him on the leather couch and offering Daryl a smile of his own.

"It has been a while, mon ami," he says in greeting. "I have missed you. Have you been avoiding me?"

[emotioneater]

Cooper, despite having a drink in his hand and a ready smile on his face, has been taking careful note of who has been coming in and out of the train car. When the man who looks like he's in desperate need of a haircut shows up and takes a seat without talking to anyone, Cooper notices.

Eventually, the car's occupants thin out a little, and Cooper has a moment to himself. Time to find out about the fellow who's sitting there. He sidles over to where Daryl is on the couch. He remains standing as he asks, "Don't suppose I could get you something t'drink?"

empty carriage

[falsify]

Eames isn't exactly antisocial, generally he feels quite at home at these sorts of things, but tonight he hates almost everyone on this train and honestly whatever's going on in here is a lot more interesting than the pomp and facade everywhere else.

He'd like to have a poke around on his own, shame there's someone else in here. At first he assumes it's the ghost, but the magic is different-- a shifter, he'd wager. Or a wolf, maybe. Hard to say without getting a look at them.

With a sigh, Eames looks up as the lights flicker but ultimately decide to stay off. Fantastic.

"Don't suppose you're an electrician?"

OTA yo

[falsify]

General

Bet your bottom dollar Eames is here. With a fixed look of displeasure on his face at pretty much everything that's happening here. It's pretty much the reason he's here, to wear his displeasure openly and put a small dent in their budget by drinking everything. He doesn't even like port but he'll drink it if they have it.

He'll swap out that look of disgust for something a little more welcoming if anyone he knows and doesn't hate catches his eye, but mostly he's just. So disgusted. What an awful display.

WITCH CARRIAGE

He's loathe to admit it, but this is really something. It's a beautiful display, and he can't help being fascinated by the greenery. Not exactly a nature man by any stretch, but one doesn't exactly spend their formative years a curious youngster in Faery and not develop a healthy appreciation for this kind of display.

It's pretty much the closest he gets to having fun all night, engaging the witches in the carriage with talk about how they'd use the various herbs and how they'd grow the plants. The healer gets a lot of his attention, because it's an area of magic he's just fundamentally Not Good At.

Wanna bug an old man about plants? Ask him why he's so fascinated by that curly looking lettuce-type thing? Here he is.

GHOST CARRIAGE

Because of course he's here.

It's malevolent and haunted and tied to the Night Council somehow. Maybe there's secrets to be found. Oh, wouldn't that be exciting? He expects they've probably given the place a thorough magical scrubbing if there was anything in there that could besmirch their good name, but even the most magically adept miss things sometimes.

Eames stands just inside the door, ignoring that rising unease as he scans the carriage for anything more than this... residue. It's unpleasant, but not so much he can't push it aside. But he's not about to just walk right in on his own without getting a hint of what the deal is first.

general grumpiness for everybody

[ghoulaid]

Board the Night Train, they said. We need to keep our ears to the ground now that vampires have a seat on the Council again, they said.

Well, to hell with all that. It's only been maybe a couple hours since he's gotten on and he's already had his fill. While he'd been expecting trouble with vampires, what he's instead stumbled upon is a wealth of fake-polite dismissals and chilly looks from witches, of all things.

Being stuck on a train swarming with them doesn't seem all that appealing anymore. Not even the promise of endless alcohol can console him. He backs up, blindly groping behind himself until he grabs hold of a sleeve that he assumes is attached to one of the other wolves he'd come here with. He doesn't turn around far enough to see his mistake, which is why he carries on with an irritable sounding, "This shit's for the birds, I'm gettin' off at the next stop. You staying?"

witch carriage

[specifiercity]

Arthur didn't expect to find Eames in a moment of relative happiness here. He knows Eames' feelings on the Night Council and on most of these people; they're both here for the information in case anything noteworthy happens and for the drips and drabs of talk otherwise but certainly not to have a good time. Maybe it's not happiness on Eames' face but it's not distaste for once, and that's reason enough to walk up and start bugging him.

"Thinking of taking up gardening?" he asks dryly, drink in hand as he looks at the plants around them.

General, plz.

[nightflowering]

As Lan winds her way through the crowds towards Eames, she is well aware that looks somewhat out of place among all the suits and fine dresses. Slight, scaled, and wearing only an undyed linen sarong tends to make one stand out in a carriage filled with brass and heavy carpet. "Be careful if they give you advocaat. First, we know then that they'll be offloading the unwanted drinks on you, but more importantly, your face would curdle it."

Ghost Carriage

[dredefulchilde]

Parties are annoying. People are annoying. Joscelin's moved from wine to a whiskey cocktail heavily mixed with blood over the evening as the noise and the senseless chatter keeps getting worse. He decides to wait it out in the supposedly haunted carriage until his stop comes around again to escape the inanity. It will be quieter in there. The dead don't frighten him.

Unfortunately, however, it seems the carriage is not as empty as he hoped. There's a fae in there, the one who helped Jean-Claude assassinate Raymond Harris.

"Oh it's you," he says, moving past Eames to sit in an empty row. He chalks the vague unease he feels up to being in a closed space with someone who smells so much like the blood he accidentally consumed over Christmas.

Cooper | OTA

[emotioneater]

The Vampire Representative is a bit more subdued now that he's in his first official capacity rather than one run by himself. He can be found dressed all in black, looking like a cross between Johnny Cash and an undertaker's apprentice. He can be found mingling throughout the compartments, and despite how rough he's come off in the past, he's pulled out all the stops to be his most charming self tonight.

He's using the combination of his young face and old mind to their best advantages. Anyone who wants to talk politics tonight will find an ear willing to listen to them. He's comfortably in the position he's been dreaming of for some time now.

[brightwitch]

Samantha is the new girl in town and she's keen to meet everyone in the Night Council. As a vampire and the Council's newest member, Cooper intrigues her. He's an unknown quantity. She's already met his girlfriend, now she wants to meet the man himself.

She approaches him with a smile. "Hey. You're the new guy, right?"

Finnick / OTA

[thelittlemerman]

Finnick's natural glamour is uninhibited tonight as he wanders up and down the train, inspecting everything with the kind of aloof boredom one might expect of someone with actual status. Finnick has none of that anymore, but he couldn't stop himself coming to see this. He still has dreams for the fae getting what they're owed from the Night Council, and a carriage on this train could have been the start.

Not this year.

The solemn look on his face is only so no one will spot him turning up his nose at everything. He can't manage a full smile unless he's engaged in conversation, and he doesn't see the need anyway. Everyone knows the fae are bitter that the Night Train won't even stop in their boroughs, and besides, he knows his weak but natural magic adds a perceived layer of charm and interest to his serious stare for the humans around him at least.

He wanders up and down each carriage slowly, taking it all in from the edges. All but the last. Finnick knows how to trust an instinct.

[falsify]

"Disgusting, isn't it?"

He'd spotted Finnick passing through the vampire's carriage, aloof expression matching Eames' own of disgust, and moves across the carriage to him. Looking over Finnick's shoulder at them and how fucking outrageous this all is. Why not just spit on them while they're at it? Fucking disgraceful. And more than anyone, Eames expects Finnick to understand his feelings on the matter. They've worked on so much together, after all.

Re: Finnick / OTA

[nightflowering]

Perhaps she could or should care about the fate of the fae on the whole, but as far as Lan's concerned, she's owed nothing by the Night Council or its people. Still, whether from some sort of solidarity or just petty interest, she makes a point to go and speak to any of the fae present.

"You'll have to forgive my manners, but I don't think we've had the pleasure of being introduced."

OTA

[constantprisoner]

[Shapeshifter Carriage]

[Sirius starts the night in the Shapeshifter carriage. He figures he at least ought to make an appearance at this thing. Show the Night Council that there's no hard feelings or anything and that he's being good. Plus you never know when you might learn something useful.

Although he doesn't quite look like he fits in in this car. While this might have been his scene at one point, interest seems to have faded. So he's mostly hugging the wall

[Witch's Carriage]

[While this might not be the best place for him either, Sirius finds himself spending his time here among the greenery. At the very least, it's quieter than the Shapeshifter carriage and if all else fails he can hide among the plants. Not that he's planning to.

At some point he ends up with a cup of tea, and is admiring the butterflies. And certainly not thinking of chasing one.]

shapeshifter carriage

[injectablefame]

[ Party has a real knack for needling at people and he takes no small amount of glee out of it, especially when he's already all loose from dancing and drinks. When he spots Sirius hanging by the sidelines, he figures either the guy's shy or he doesn't want to be here. Really, if Party angles his thoughts in the right direction he could argue that bothering him is some kind of public service.

He's not exactly dressed to the nines with his torn black clothes and dirty red hair, but he's got a swagger that makes him look like he belongs here as he walks over to Sirius to lean against the wall next to him. ]

Not feelin' the music?

Lan; Seelie; OTA

[nightflowering]

It's been several years since Lan bothered to pay any attention to the comings and goings of London and her people, but now that she's returned to something vaguely resembling polite society, she reasons she might as well make the best of it. Politics can be entertaining, but it's rarely exceptional. The vampires have made something of an artform of it, but most of it is just mortal-mayfly twittering.

Unbothered and visibly inhuman, Lan wanders through the carriages and sips at her drink. As she stops to chat, the colours at the base of her throat ripple and change according to her mood or whim. Perhaps there is a pattern or a meaning to the subtle shifts of light, or perhaps it's just artifice.

She's brash enough to introduce herself to anyone that catches her eye without regard to which faction they're allied with. Either she doesn't care, or she's confident enough in her own skills that it makes no difference. "I'm called Lan. I don't believe we've met."

[reticence]

Faolan is there in more than a few capacities. Head of Hillingdon House, he is the leader of the hunters, and perhaps that is the most important title he holds. But on top of that, he is also in Sylvia's pocket as one of her Guardians. It means that on top of his duty to schmooze the crowd as faction leader, he must also patrol them, as security.

He supposes despite his status, he must not be all that well-recognized, considering how many people he runs into who don't know who he is. This being another example, of course. Perhaps it's for the best, though. He doesn't know how he'd handle people stopping him to be introduced to the Head of Hillingdon and just finding...him.

"Ehm," Faolan replies. "Hey. I'm. Not sure we have, no. I'm Faolan. Faolan O'Neill." Out of habit, he holds a hand out to shake.

OTA

[dredefulchilde]

It's not the first time Joscelin has backed a losing horse, but this particular loss rankles because he doesn't understand it. Cesare Borgia has centuries of experience in politicking, and Jean-Claude is one of the oldest vampires in the city and the current leader of the Nest. Either would have been excellent representatives in the Night Council. Cooper, on the other hand, is an upstart young vampire with little respect for the way things have been done for centuries and Joss can't help but wonder if he's going to take a 'bull in the china shop' approach to his place in supernatural government.

But he needs to support Jean-Claude, so he is here on the Night Train, surrounded by people he either hates or doesn't care to know. He keeps fiddling with the chain around his neck, not used to its once-familiar weight. It's only been a couple of weeks since his Ring was returned to him, and its newness preoccupies him. Joscelin can mostly be found in the vampire car, but sours on Cooper's presence later in the evening and decides to explore the rest of the train.

[baisant]

'A losing horse'. If only Joscelin would call him that to his face. Jean-Claude doesn't feel particularly broken up about it himself, however. While he would have liked to have a hand on the Night Council business, heading the entire faction as well as representing them on the Council is a lot of responsibility. Jean-Claude has a clever mind for politics, but he is somewhat relieved that he does not have to be at the head of all of it.

He catches the little vampire frowning and fiddling with the chain around his neck for yet another time and so he steps forward to distract him from his thoughts. For the moment at least.

"Something is on your mind, mon ami," Jean-Claude says, by way of greeting, before he folds himself into a seat beside where the other vampire is hovering and offers Joscelin the one beside him in turn.

For Fun Ghoul

[injectablefame]

Party's spending most of the night in the fourth car, because a dance party is exactly where he always wants to be and he can't be assed to bother helping who he is. Normally, he'd avoid the vampires altogether, but since Cooper's the big bat of the night, he slips into the vamp car for drinks a few times, squirreling them back to the dance party.

He's about two drinks in and stopping by for his third when he sees Ghoul come in from the witch's car, so he asks for a second drink and saunters up to Ghoul, all friendly-like.

"Lookin' kinda like you really were made to wear a sweater vest." He holds out the extra drink.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul's been up to no good. He slinks out of the witch carriage with a shit-eating grin and a suspiciously empty glass in his hand, his expression faltering for a moment when he finds himself with a face full of Party out of nowhere. "Huh?"

He doesn't quite catch the first part, but it's hard to miss a drink being held out for him. "Aw, for me?" How thoughtful. With a flick of his wrist, Ghoul abandons his empty wine glass- tossing it carelessly behind some sort of obstacle. Decoration, seating, whatever. He doesn't give half a shit where it goes. He's pretty sure he hears the glass shatter on impact, though, and that makes him smile.

After carefully taking hold of Party's offering like the precious gift it is, he gives it a quick sniff. "What is it?" He might actually drink this one instead of dumping it everywhere.