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 Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:52 am
**Thiago**Davi**
"International pop star. You can google me later if you want, Davi is also my stage name," he answered Othello's question. The singer always felt a little awkward saying what his profession was. "Pop star" just didn't come out the same way as "plumber". Davi watched the fortune teller closely as the boy still seemed to be both tipsy and slightly ill. Of course, watching Othello meant watching Sonnen as well since they were practically joined at the lap at this point. The client started to feel a little like a voyeur. The two companions weren't doing anything explicit, but their manner was still very intimate. A soft touch there, a glance here, a smile. It was adding up to something. Davi had never seen two companions act this way together, not that he thought it never happened, but it certainly had never happened in front of him. Whatever it was. He wondered if even they could tell him what it was.
The whole interaction might have been more interesting for the pop star if he wasn't caught between feeling like Sonnen had stolen Othello from him and being concerned that the fortune teller could easily be taken advantage of. Which was a weird mix of feelings to be sure. On the one hand, Davi wanted to take advantage of the boy, and on the other he wanted to protect him from just such an occurrence. The whole thing made him wonder if he was evil or if everyone around him was evil. Or something. The client nearly choked when Othello brightly offered himself up to them by way of slumber party. What the hell is this, ******** with Davi night? Sonnen's fangs, fake though they were, gleamed sharply as the the man quickly nixed the idea. "He's right, I do have to leave tonight. I have an appointment first thing in the morning," the singer put in quickly. It was a complete and utter lie, but what else could he say?
Davi downed the rest of his drink in a rush and signaled Bond for another. This whole thing was frustrating and confusing; he could do with a little alcohol induced numbness/blissful unawareness right now. "What the?!" The client leaped off his bar stool. He had finally noticed the flames growing over Sonnen's shoulder. From what he could see a large portion of the hedge maze's exit was engulfed in flames. Davi had taken a couple steps forward when the flame extinguishing bomb exploded overhead. The fire was snuffed out quickly leaving only some smoke behind. He was wondering how the fire had started when a tutu clad security guard took two young men into custody. The client couldn't imagine that they had done it on purpose though; that just didn't make any sense. Suddenly the pop star felt foolish standing there. What had he thought he was going to do, run into the burning maze?
He quickly took his seat again and drank his whiskey sour. Glancing at the vampire arms wrapped around the princess' waist he abruptly said, "Othello was telling me what a great place the mansion has been for him, and how he's living among such wonderful friends now. I'm glad to hear and see that is true." His eyes moved up to Sonnen's and locked there for a moment. Friends don't take advantage of drunk friends, comprende? Davi's royal blue eyes snapped away as he drained his drink once more. There was a hustle and bustle among the servers, it looked as though dinner would be starting soon. Guests were also trickling back from the shooting range. The singer felt the whiskey do its work as he loosened up once more and a small smile played on his lips. Time to stick to water for a bit.
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Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 11:34 pm
Solera
Goddamn. Why were kids so annoying? You expect something annoying and then they somehow become more annoying by not following through with your expectations. How was he supposed to have any fun if the person didn't behave like a complete jerk?
The Asian boy was probably a Companion since he went the non-assholerichboy way. And that subservient manner of speech! No righteous rich kid would speak in such a manner... unlesss.. unless that kid was attempting to screw with his mind! Instead of vocalizing his irritation or suspicions, he remained quiet, with that steady smile still on his lips.
The mage flinched when a loud sound rang through the air. His left hand automatically fell to the decorated sword hilt at his side only to relax when he realized his folly. Ah, right the gun show. His smile grew wider at all the flashy colors and loud noises. This simple euphoria brought back both happy and sorrowful memories of childhood. Seth. No, let's not have any of that. With a shake of his dark head, he dislodged those looming thoughts. Now positively grinning, he let the sweet rhythm of gunshots and music take him away, just away, if only for one sweet moment. And as abruptly as it had began, the show ended. Dimitri was left feeling a bit raw. But oddly enough, it was accompanied by refreshment and a hint of hope. Ah, normal people probably didn't react to these types of events like this. His smile faded at this thought. There should be more adrenaline and ...whatever else the hell normal people felt.
Then the kid spoke again. His eyes narrowed in an attempt to somehow see the kid's intentions as more submissive words fell out of that mouth. Yes, he thought, suspicions increasing by the second, probably trying to screw with me somehow. If only he knew what that somehow was, then he'd be set. Next thing he knew, the kid was down on one knee! Proposing, are we? Ahaha.
"Yes, of course," he muttered, golden eyes locked onto dark ones. As much as Dimitri tried, he found he not see into the boy's soul this way. Maybe if he had some sort of machine... Instantly, gleefully wicked designs invaded his mind involving a series of giant needles and wide open eyes. There would be blood curdling screams for help, pleas to stop, and best of all, creative curses flung. Oh. The sadistic thoughts have come back. Yay.
Dimitri's lips formed into a very wicked smile. Slowly, he slipped the rose from the kid's delicate fingers, thoughts of violent scientific experiments still on his mind. His own impure black rose was deftly tucked into his belt.
The blue flower was twirled between his gloved digits, then held at eye level. Inspection time. "Pretty, but..." He licked his drying lips. Note to self: Gervas has the Chapstick. The man chuckled softly, ruefully. "These things always has some sort of ...flaw. How unfortunate." Without another word, he turned away, back towards the rest of the party as petal by blue petal, the rose was being torn apart.
Whatever the Asian boy's soul looked like, or what his intentions had been, or how snapably cute those fingers were, they didn't matter now. Because walking away made everything not matter. Walking away always made everything not matter.
He could see that most of the show's crowd was already heading back. Maybe the dinner would finally begin? Dimitri really couldn't drink anymore without getting a good wholesome meal into his stomach. What was he supposed to throw up once he got himself completely plastered? Dry heaving was not a fun activity. Whoever heard of dry heaving on some fancy man's shoes?
D. A. Kieva
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:57 pm
The perfect words never crossed my mind,
Cause there was nothin' in there but you.
I felt every ounce of me screaming out,
But the sound was trapped deep in me.  Music was something that Othello found fascinating. He thought anything that could possibly by pass boarders was something that was just beyond amazing. He knew a lot of American Songs, as well as Japanese which he thought was fascinating because he never thought that he would be able to connect with a country that was across a wide ocean just simply by air waves. The fact that Sonnen and Davi were both gifted in something so fascinating made him smile slightly. He wasn’t that gifted, that in his opinion was real talent. No one would travel miles upon miles for a tarot reading. It was simple fact. Magic was something that was only appealing to particular people. Music was something that everyone liked. When he heard Davi say that he was a Pop star a small amount of awe washed over the boy. Sonnen was fantastic with music, and now Davi was a pop star. It made the boy, even though he was still a little on the tipsy side, feel kind of honored to be in the presence of both of them. He really did want to hear them perform. It would be awesome if they did a duet together sometime and let Othello watch. He was almost shimmering just thinking about such things. He knew it was foolish but he was enticed by such talent. He would often sneak in on Sonnen while he was practicing and listen but it wasn’t like a performance. He enjoyed it though, and if that was all he got then he would be pleased with that.
A thought hit him, “You two should perform together sometime…I bet it would be fantastic. You’re both so talented. “ Othello said as he continued to subconsciously play with Sonnen’s hand. Hearing the change of subject he didn’t push his idea. It was just something he had randomly thought of. He blinked slightly; he was slightly struggling to understand what Sonnen was saying. He heard something about a Couch, and then a table. He raised an eye brow slightly as he looked confused for a minute as his fingers continued tracing the lines on the boy’s hand subconsciously reading them. Hearing the question Othello looked towards the male as he inhaled through his nose and his posture changed again. His eyes narrowed as the aura around him slipped into fortune teller mode. He was no longer a tipsy mess; he was clear minded and determined. Taking Sonnen’s hands and flipping them slightly he analyzed them running his long fingers along the lines and the callous nature that the musicians hand presented. He started with the first most prominent line. It was the heart line, it represented love, and the sexual drive a person has. Sonnen’s was curious, but then again he was always curious. “You have a coarse persona, and take comfort in keeping people separate from you. Your music is reflected in your hands, the callous’ show that rigor in which you practice, we well as the passion for creating music. Your nails…They show hidden creativity, which is shielded by a need for order. “ he said softly.
Pulling Sonnen’s hand into his own he bent the boy’s hand and a small smirk slipped onto his lips, “You fear change…It causes a decrease in the order that you pride yourself in.” Othello explained as he began looking at the lines now. Pulling the boy’s hand to his face his eyes danced across the rough hand and fell on a mount that caught his attention. He looked a little shocked by it almost, “Your hand says you have a strong imagination, but linger with coldness, and selfishness. Sonnen doesn’t like to share?” he said softly as the smirk remained on his face. He found this almost childish of Sonnen but it was amusing. He moved forwards to the love line, “Your love line says that you feel like you have no need for romance, but have a strong sex drive…” he said as he tilted his head and looked at the life line, “Your life line says that there are things in your life that you regret but your personality has grown because of them. And finally your head line, you’re a thoughtful and practical thinker. Sorry there says nothing about kids.” he said as he released the boy’s hand and looked towards Davi, “I can read your palm if you’re interested also…”
Hearing his other half’s request being turned down he shifted back and let the boy pout slightly. Othello was terribly innocent. He was merely proposing the idea because he had never had a sleep over before. He knew most of the people his age had already had several. Whipping his mouth clean he looked towards Sonnen a cup of tea in his mouth as the idea was rejected. He pouted slightly, but when Davi chimed in his eyes turned down and he nodded his head, “Maybe some other time then…” His voice reflected how sad he was to have his sleep over idea rejected but he would get over it. Hearing the exclamation he looked over Sonnen’s shoulder and his eyes flashed. They had just been in there. That could have been them…He watched as the flames were doused and the culprits were dragged away. He looked towards Davi a little pale. He couldn’t even wrap his mind around the fact that they could have been caught in that fire.
Slipping off Sonnen he looked towards the crispy maze and looked towards Davi, “I am glad we got out of that when we did…” the possibility that they could have been in there seemed to have knocked him sober. When Davi sat down Othello sat down once more on Sonnen and realized what he was doing. He blinked slightly as he looked towards Sonnen and realized that boy didn’t seem to have an issue with it so he didn’t freak out. On the inside he was dancing slightly. Noticing the bustle that meant dinner was going to be soon. Maybe Madam would finally show herself then. Looking towards his table he knew he would need to get back other there before the night was over. He had a feeling Madam would just be pleased that he was taking care of a client. At least, he hoped so. Hearing Davi talk about their conversation from before he nodded his head, he did have fantastic friends. He would never say otherwise either. Looking towards the vampire and the other companions that wandered around the party, they all had an important place in his heart. He smiled as he thought about it and an idea slipped into his head, “Why don’t you two play after dinner?!” he exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. He looked like a small child who had just been given candy.
    There you are standing right in front of me
All this fear falls away to leave me naked,
Hold me close, cause I need you to guide me to safety.
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 7:12 pm
Keita/Ariyoshi The mage jumping at the sound of the gunfire and fireworks made Ariyoshi crack a smile he hoped wasn't spotted. He wanted to keep up the guise of a 'groveling peasant' as long as this other guy was playing the part. It was exciting in a way... pretending to be someone you aren't. As the fireworks died, Mordred's attention came back to the youth on his knee.
The response was less than favorable and met with a bit of confusion on Ariyoshi's part. This man came up to him 'acting', and when he did the same, it was met with little less than contempt and the destruction of a gift (be it for Tel or this mage). He stood up quickly and scoffed softly, "Precisely what was the point in that?" He rolled his eyes and replied meanly and sarcastically, "Way to stay in character and spoil any fun." So far, he'd met the Phantom of the Opera, a Vampire, a Vampire Slayer, and saw a myriad of other costumed patrons of the party. Finally someone extremely interesting comes up to him, and he didn't even try beyond an 'in-character introduction'.
Well, no matter. Time would not be wasted on this person any longer. He turned on his heel and picked a blood-red rose to compliment Tel's eyes. He brushed passed the mage and made a B-line for Tel. He clapped and put on his brightest smile as he approached the young gunman, "Spectacular show. I... must say, I was a bit distracted during the actual performance, and was unable to watch the whole thing..." He gave a dirty glance over his shoulder to Mordred, whom he would spare no more time on, "So I wish to apologize to you and hope that I might afford a private showing at some point?" Ariyoshi bowed deeply at the waste to Tel and kept a smile from coming to his face. He held the rose up to the Companion, "Please take this as recompense... I know I took this from an arrangement of the Madam's, but I do hope it would suffice for now."
He realized now that his haste to relieve himself of Mordred he'd completely forgotten that Tel was entertaining a specific Client. "Ah... please forgive me yet again. I'll leave you be if you must get back to your Client," Ariyoshi couldn't really help himself in this momentary disregard for another person. So far, his experience with random party-goers was less than positive. Whatever Morderd was, Companion or Client, this really didn't seem like his element.
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 9:51 pm
Noir Louvre Noir watched with sick fascination as the mage that the asian boy had been with the entire show walked away, picking apart the blue rose and letting the petals drop to the ground. Even though Noir would have usually just looked on and ignored it, he couldn't help but feel slightly amused. It could happen to anybody, however, so Noir quickly shook his feeling out of his head and stood up. The rest of the crowd had disappeared from the stands, leaving Noir alone by himself in the same exact seat that Tel had left him. Now that the boy was alone, he may as well go up and congratulate- Oh sweet mother of Holy Jesus...
Before Noir could even stand up from his seat, the young asian boy was already up and at Tel's side, handing him a blood red rose. Very suave, pick another rose from the arrangement and give it away. Noir hadn't thought that thought in a bad manner at all. In fact, he found the other boy to be witty and slight amusing. However, that bratty glare that he had received earlier was not going to change Noir's mind about one thing. The kid was a stuck-up, snobbish brat. But a quick-witted one at that. Immediately, the magician arose from his seat and walked over to where Tel was standing with the other boy. When he got there, he caught only part of what the boy had been saying.
"Non, pas du tout. [No, not at all.]" Noir said quietly as he walked up to the shorter duo. "Je suis celui qui devrait s'excuser. [I'm the one who should be apologizing.]" The boy said, bowing slightly at the waist as he looked at the asian boy, never taking his eyes off of him. "My name is Jace. Et toi? [And yours]" The magician asked quietly, standing up from his bow. "You must be Tel's client. Excusez mon observation [Excuse my observation], but I noticed that you were with him earlier tonight. Corrigez-moi si je me trompe [Correct me if I'm wrong.]" The older boy smiled slightly. Then Noir turned toward Tel with a smaller, kinder smile on his face. "Excellent show, Tel. Et j'ai cru que je savais comment à la pousse pointue [And I thought I knew how to sharp shoot]." Noir said, almost whispering the second sentence to himself. But the smile still remained on his face.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:40 am
Solera Funny, how things worked. He'd finally gotten the reaction he'd initially wanted. Though he was entirely annoyed at being accused of having gotten out of character. The kid acted as if Mordred would never tear apart a rose. Or would never ever obsess over the idea of a perfect rose. Or had he misinterpreted the sarcasm? Sometimes it was difficult to tell, especially nowadays.
But for some reason, Dimitri could not help this one little impulse. As the offended youth walked by, he slipped his own black rose into the kid's little brown bag. Did he feel bad for ruining a possibly pleasent chat? Not really. So if not out of guilt, why would he ever give anyone anything? Confused, but not willing to dwell on his own odd behavior, he gave it a shrug and moved on. "Let's just pretend it's laced with poison. A single touch and..." he didn't finish the musing, suddenly feeling the ever present ache in his chest pull his mood down. With his keen eyesight, he watched the bobbing head of the rose as the kid made his way towards The Phantom. Fare thee well.
A few moments later, he was back at the main party area. His mood plummeted even further once he noticed the state of the hedge maze. No more fire... he thought with a touch of dismay. Ah well. Then he caught sight of Gervas and Teddy at the table. So they survived. Grreaaat. Can't fire them now for not surviving a fire. Summoning a twitch of a smile he sauntered up to them.
"I see you still have my shield, Gervas," Dimitri said, still using Mordred's easy English accent. He promptly sat himself down, placing his decorative, utter useless, sword on the table. It went down with a clatter.
Next he picked up a wrapped confection from the center of the table. Mmm, dark chocolate filled with white chocolate mousse. Maybe if he kept imagining these sugary things as very sugary bite-sized steaks, he could sustain himself until the soiree ended. The mage swept his eyes over the party area again. Or maybe he could persuade one of the serving boys to give his table a whole tray of dumplings and canapes and cheeses and ... his mouth watered at the thought. Too bad he was too lazy to get up. But Gervas or Teddy might...
Gervas and Teddy turned to their employer at the same time, a grimace on their soot stained faces. The butler was the first to break the minute long silence. "Yes, I kept it safe for you. Not a single scratch on it!" With a wide grin, the knight slid the shiny small shield over to rest with the glinting blade. Then Gervas surreptitiously nudged his weapon towards the center of the table. The axe showed new marks even in the soft lighting, indicating how strenuous the fray had been.
Judging by the way they were behaving it was highly unlikely that anything had really changed between them. All that battling for naught. Dimitri allowed himself a twitch of a smile. "Thank--Good--Oh God!" appalled by the sudden influx of unnecessarily polite words finding themselves in his mouth, he covered it with a gloved hand. His knights only looked blankly at them with their eyebrows raised in curiosity. Calming himself with a deep breath, he slowly pulled his hand away.
"You guys heard nothing," the man said with a deadly, forced smile. This was why he hated kids. They caused him to change the way he spoke. Reminded him of childhood and whatever.
The men gave each other a sideslong glance before nodding. Then Teddy asked, "So when's dinner? I'm so hungry I could devour a whole herd of horses." His now battle scarred lance was again, resting at the creepy tree. It was relatively intact save for the little tip having been cut clean off. How emasculating.
D. A. Kieva
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 10:25 am
**Theodore**Tel** As the crowd slowly filtered away many guests stopped to compliment the marksman. Tel shook hands and returned smiles with everyone who approached. The experience was new and quite gratifying. Performing in the circus meant that the audience stayed in their seats, applauded and cheered, and then you disappeared backstage. None of this face to face stuff ever occurred. The tiny young man found it all very appealing.
As the audience thinned out and made its way to the party proper Tel glanced around looking for Jace, slightly anxious to see what the client thought of his performance. Before he could locate the magician however, he was surprised by Ariyoshi popping up at his side. Initially pleased that the crop wielding school boy had witnessed the show, he became a little put off that that was not entirely the case. Tel saw the dirty look cast into the night, but could not tell who it was intended for. A snarky comment regarding his inability to keep the client's attention flitted briefly through his mind and was quickly dismissed. The teenager was making nice after all. The companion accepted the stolen rose with an amused smile and a nod, "Of course you may have a show Aryioshi. It would be my pleasure."
Ariyoshi was talking about Jace when the other client appeared in classic speak of devil style. The magician issued forth a stream of French that Tel could not follow one iota. "Thank you Jace," the showman replied to the compliment. "Actually, I have not been officially contracted by any of the Madam's guests as of yet, so I am free to host whomever wishes for my company," he explained quickly. "Besides that, this is a party, so mingling freely is more par for the course really," the companion continued smoothly. Hopefully he had smoothed things over enough between the two that he could continue to court both for the night. Then they could decide whether to contract him with the Madam on their own time; there was no need to alienate anyone at this point.
"If you'll excuse me for just a moment, I'll lock up the weapons. Then I'd be happy to escort you both to dinner," Tel said with a quick bow and slipped off before either could have a chance to refuse. It only took a minute to return the firearms to their appropriate locations, shut down the range, and lock up behind himself. The companion fixed a bright smile on his face as he tucked his cane into the crook of an arm. "Gentlemen! Shall we?" he queried as he offered an arm to each of the clients. Ariyoshi had been on his arm before, so his act was entirely appropriate for that one, but he and Jace had not touched on their walk down here. Tel wondered if the magician valued his company enough to take his arm now.
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:12 pm
Keita/Ariyoshi Ah, he accepted the rose! Ariyoshi's mind was put at ease when the simple gift was accepted. "I am glad. I feel terrible that I missed part of the show. What I saw was perfectly wonderful. You're amazing with those side-arms. They're more... brushes than weapons. It was art." He was gushing a bit at this moment, but he had to make up for the evil magician distraction and the compliments weren't lies.
Ariyoshi had tangled with French when he was yonger. His father would take the toddler on many a business trip to trapes him around like a show horse. One such event happened at a French Company, of which the name escapes him. The language, while beautiful, never sat well in Ariyoshi's mouth, and he'd not taken the time to toil over it just yet. So this barrage of the language was a little off-putting. There were bits of English thrown in there, so he addressed those first out of courtesy. "I'm... Ariyoshi," he listened quietly for more English, "I'm not his Client but, Tel is the one who originally helped me through the maze. I fear I would have been stuck in there for ages if it wasn't for him. A younger French Japanese boy stole me away at one point though." A point he had deeply regretted, "But then when this was announced... well... I had to see Tel again." He held his tongue on the disappearing Teishi as it was a point of annoyance and he didn't want to dampen the mood unless asked about it.
"I'm afraid I do not speak a word of French, Sir Jace. If you could, I'd ask that you'd stick to a language we're all familiar with if that's not stepping out of line," His voice stayed even through this slightly impolite request delivered with a deep, respectful bow, but it wasn't unwarranted. To be left out of any conversation because of a language barrier was far from polite in and of itself, so it wasn't a stretch for someone to ask this of a person who clearly spoke English.
As Tel spoke of the evenings protocol and the fact that he might be able to special request a meeting with Tel, his face lit up and then quickly blushed. He was far from used to this sort of thing, but... he felt happy around the young gunman so he wanted to stay close to him. Plus he wanted to make sure he got his private showing. When Tel offered his arm Ariyoshi gingerly took it with a slight blush. At the speaking of the word dinner, the young japanese boy gripped his stomach with his free hand. He hadn't even realized how hungry he was until Tel said something, "Yes, let's. I'm famished."
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:41 pm
Noir Louvre
Noir watched with a blank expression as the Japanese boy seemed to struggle a little bit to understand what he had been saying. Another language barrier? Noir wondered quietly. But already, he was prepared for this. After all, he would have to speak English for Tel so throwing in another English-only wasn't so bad. Then Ariyoshi mentioned the even younger looking boy from earlier, which made Noir roll his eyes. Of course, that boy. Possibly the only boy here that spoke decent French, but Noir would hate to socialize with that boy. After all, even if he was a companion, he wasn't a very good one. It was easy to tell from the way that Ariyoshi seemed to just put it off and try to ignore it. And he never brought him up again afterward.
Noir was about to reply to Ariyoshi's statement that he wasn't Tel's client when the boy suddenly asked for Noir to speak in English. You won't have to remind me twice on that one... Noir smiled kindly as he thought through his words carefully. "It's not stepping out of line at all. This is actually rather educational for me." Noir smiled lightly at Ariyoshi, taking note of the boy's bow. Yes, definitely a Japanese boy at heart. Noir knew a little bit of Japanese since his father had taken him to Japan once for a business trip, but that had been so many years ago. But if Noir had brought any language tips back from the country, it would be that anything the Japanese say in English would sound much more polite in Japanese. So instead of being angered over the fact that Ariyoshi made such a harsh request, Noir just thought that it would sound much better in Japanese. After all, he had set himself up for that one in the first place. Just think that way for the rest of the night, and you'll do fine. The older boy thought to himself.
As he was offered Tel's hand, Noir looked at it skeptically for a moment. Such an outgoing boy. If Noir had been offered a hand from someone back home, he would have just merely walked away. But Tel was a seemingly nice young man, so Noir lightly placed his hand on the other's. The word dinner didn't seem to effect Noir as it had to Ariyoshi, since the young man didn't say anything afterward. But he did smile slightly with a nod. I'm going to have withdraws when I go home. Noir thought to himself. But at least I can show Mother that I didn't come back pregnant. At that thought, the French man had to stop himself from laughing out loud. That would be completely rude.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 12:55 pm
The man hired to take care of ushering the guests to the dinner was a bit disgruntled that he was required to wear a costume. Honestly, he’d been working at Guilty Pleasures since its conception, and as a forty-seven-year-old, it would seem like he would have some kind of exception. He liked his work clothes. His suits were expensive, crisp, and plenty. He kept an industrial-size jar of hair gel to keep his graying blond hair slicked back away from his face. He got a hair cut every two weeks. His mustache was trimmed perfectly. Why was a costume necessary?
Of course then the man had heard word of Heresy, a frequent guest, had been given a costume. He looked quite silly, he was told. Therefore, taking the Madam’s threats as serious as ever, the elder donned a costume for the event. Instead of slicking his hair back, he let it loose around his face. It was still short, sandy colored, and styled. He donned a brown suit and fedora, though, and simply added magnifying glass and called it Inspector Clouseau. Not a very recognizable character, perhaps, but a character nonetheless.
And with that, the mansion butler checked his watch. Hmm. It was probably about time to have people seated by now. He entered the mansion grounds, tsking in distaste at the smell of burnt foliage, before having the DJ make the announcement. With the attention on him, he spoke.
“Follow me, guests,” he offered the general crowd at the party. “We’ll be heading to the greenhouse. I hear The Madam has it all ready for us now.” With that he waited for the horde to follow him before leading them towards their destination.
The greenhouse was usually too warm for much other than growing plants, but for the occasion, only the very edges of the greenhouse were lined with the plants. It smelled distinctly ‘green’ and earthy, soil and flower blooms. It was pleasant. The table was a black wood, perhaps ebony, with ornately carved legs and chairs to match. It was all very ominous, yet festive. The table was set with a charger plate and a glass of water, the silverware all wrapped up in fine cloth napkins. There were empty glass goblets, blood red in color, at each place setting, ready to be filled with wine for whoever was interested in partaking.
The butler stood at the entrance of the greenhouse to be sure everyone was seated before he left, needing to attend to other duties. He was a bit down that he wouldn’t get to see the Madam’s grand entrance, but oh well. He’d see it another time.
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 1:41 pm
Sonnen: Voltaire Sonnen scoffed a bit at the way Davi described his job. ‘Pop star.’ Though true, it still sounded presumptuous. Whatever. He was probably just trying to sound impressive. ‘Singer’ would have sufficed, in his opinion. ‘Vocal performer’ is what Sonnen used to have on his resume when he first moved to the states, but they had said it was an odd, though accurate, translation. His English had still been a bit… off at that point. ‘Singer’ had quickly been edited in.
At least the man had enough sense to not accept Othello’s offer on the sleepover. That would have gone to hell real fast if he had done something stupid. Mostly involving Sonnen forcibly kicking the man out on his a**, but if nothing else, a good, hard reaming. Figuratively speaking. When the man jumped and exclaimed something, looking past his shoulder, Sonnen furrowed his brow and looked over his shoulder too. Though, the way him and Othello were seated, since Othello was still on his lap, Sonnen ended up getting a face full of the boy’s vibrant red hair. It surprised him at first, having not been expecting it, but found its scent and texture pleasant against his face. He took a moment to savor the feeling of the red silk against his cheeks before leaning back a bit so he could see around him.
Oh. Smoke. Apparently a fire had been doused. How the hell had he not noticed that before now? The hedge maze was completely gone! What a shame. He hoped the performers stationed in the blaze had gotten out okay, though Sonnen didn’t really know them, so he supposed it wouldn’t matter to him one way or another if they got burned anyhow. At least Othello hadn’t been in there during the arson.
“Ahaha… da— ah, yes, maybe,” Sonnen answered uneasily, when Othello had offered the idea of him and Davi singing together. Of course in his mind he was thinking about how it was a completely horrible idea. He wanted to set this man on fire just for being near Othello. Like hell he’d actually sing with him. However, after seeing Othello’s reaction to being turned down on the sleepover idea, Sonnen tried to be a little gentler this time. Even if he was lying, maybe it would give the boy a little happiness to hear that his proposition wasn’t completely rejected.
Right before their eyes, Othello began to change again. The bubbly twinkle in his eye darkened and became something much more serious, which sent a thrill down Sonnen’s spine. It made him wonder if he would look anything like this in lust… which was not an appropriate thing to be thinking about when the boy was sitting on his lap. Not a very choice place. Still, he once again enjoyed the feeling of Othello playing with his hands, even if it was for a reading instead of just for enjoyment. The way the boy ran the tips of his fingers along the lines in his hands almost tickled. Once more, the boy’s reading didn’t tell him much that he didn’t already know. Though Sonnen was a bit surprised that he got something from his nails. How the hell do you read someone’s nails? And of course he had a need for order. Without order, there was no function. If there was no function, what was the point of life? Life had to function correctly, hence order. Order, or chaos. Chaos was never a good option.
And yeah, okay, he was kinda coarse. He was just like his father in that respect, but had always considered it a good trait, in case he really didn’t like someone and wanted to run them off — like Davi. Usually his persona made people feel awkward enough that they would have fled by now. Sadly Davi was immune to it somewhat, and for a man in the ‘biz,’ you kind of had to be.
Sonnen lost the ability to listen when Othello pulled his hand closer to his face. He could feel puffs of breath against his palm as the boy spoke, and that was about all that registered. His brain kind of died for a moment. He was imagining those little puffs of air against his neck and in his ear, as they— LSKDJFKLJSDf no. Bad direction. Focus on what he’s saying. When Othello made the comment about him not liking to share, Sonnen blushed. Okay, how the hell did his palm say that? He pressed his lips together and tried to cool himself down. Flushed cheeks clashed with his hair. Okay, fine. So he DIDN’T like to share. So what? He liked his stuff, even if ‘stuff’ counted people as well. He didn’t like to share people either.
Othello blurted out the thing about his sex drive like it was nothing to him, but was surprised by him being selfish? This boy was very odd. Well, the sex drive thing was… pretty much dead on. He was better at controlling it when he wasn’t slightly tipsy, but even then, it had always been pretty demanding. Liking sex wasn’t such a bad thing. He sometimes wished he had someone to indulge in it with so he could get past wanting it all the time, but of course that wasn’t really an option in his career and household at the moment.
Hm. Things he regrets. Well, there were lots of things, but of course he’d grown from them. That which does not kill you and all that. He was a little relieved about hearing of the kids thing. He wasn’t sure he could handle a child, even if he did want one, which he didn’t really. They were expensive and a pain in the butt to deal with most of the time. No thank you.
Ah, Othello was alarmed by the maze fire as well. And now he was up and off his lap, which Sonnen was wholly unhappy with. There was a little, irrational part of him that feared that Othello was going to go sit on Davi after he kept getting up, which would not please him at all. However, his stupid fear was quashed as Othello once again took his rightful place in Sonnen’s lap, where he could protect him. He smirked triumphantly a little, hoping no one would notice, before flipping his hair over his shoulder. He was still getting used to the new color his stylist had convinced him to do, which was still his natural, of course, but more of it than he’d seen in years.
Ah crap. Othello wanted him and Davi to play after dinner. Why oh why wouldn’t Othello give up on this idea of him and Davi doing anything together? He tried not to sigh. Pleadingly, he looked up at Davi, hoping the man wouldn’t accept the offer, because if he did then Sonnen would have to follow through if only for the benefit of Othello. However, their little interaction was interrupted when the oldest butler in the mansion toddled out and started leading people towards the dinner. Oh thank goodness. He could avoid thinking about this for at least another hour.
“Let’s talk about it after dinner,” Sonnen offered, not rejecting or accepting the offer. He knew there would be entertainment during the dinner, as there always was with The Madam and her business, and Sonnen always did the exit ceremony as a solo. But he wasn’t allowed to talk about that since it was supposed to be a surprise for those who didn’t know. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any time between the end of dinner and the exit ceremony for a duet. For the exit ceremony, though, Sonnen always did a short song, usually creepy or Halloween-y in nature, to wrap up the evening. Last year it was the last few lines of ‘This is Halloween’, but this year he had a better song lined up. He hoped everyone would like it as he ushered them through the mansion and out.
Until then, though, he simply guided Othello off his lap and stood, brushing the seat of his pants flat before offering his hand to the boy so they could join everyone at the greenhouse.
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 8:00 pm
Braedin: Heresy Levant was looking at him like he was a morsel of delectable chocolate about to be eaten, and he was leaning in far too close. For whatever reason, this guy’s proximity made him nervous. Generally he got all cocky back in someone’s face if they got in his, but Levant just made him feel trapped and sweaty and fumbly. He tried to hide his indifference by taking another swig of beer, which he wasn’t really enjoying to begin with but hey, it was something. However, he soon realized that his hand was empty. What? Where did his beer go? He looked up to Levant to ask if he knew only to see the Spartan chugging that s**t like it was water. Heresy had to swallow thickly, trying not to watch the man’s Adam’s apple bob as he drank the last vestiges of his beer. His beer. Which had his mouth on it. Which now had Levant’s mouth on it. He was halfway tempted to take the beer can back to have more just to share the beverage, but then he realized that would be kind of creepy.
When Levant told Bond not to give him any more, he looked indignant for a moment, about to demand that Bond not listen to him, but stopped himself. He’d probably had enough anyway. Besides, he was sure there would be wine or scotch or something with dinner. He’d wait till then, he supposed. When he was told he’d had enough, though, it made the rebel crop up in his mind — the rebel that wanted to do what he wanted simply because he was told he shouldn’t. It was harder to control when he was tipsy.
Oh crap. Levant noticed his… behavior. Well, he supposed he sort of sucked at hiding it, since it was attempted whilst almost drunk, but he had thiiiiiis much hope that Levant was going to have a stupidly oblivious night and just… not notice. Well. So much for that. Heresy sighed. Time to make something up. …Something wrong? Okay, he expected Levant to make fun of him or beat it out of him or something, but gentle concern was… not what he’d expected. It sort of threw him for a loop.
“Wha’?” he asked dumbly, scratching the back of his neck, waiting for his drink-addled brain to catch up with the current question. “The matter? Nawww, man, it’s just…” Heresy tried to regain his positive, upbeat attitude in his bullshittery, but lost his momentum when he went completely blank on excuses. He looked around the party behind Levant’s head, trying to fabricate something, but nothing came to mind. Distressed, he made some odd choking noise, trying to make up anything. Nothing came.
He supposed this was how Levant felt when trying to perform for Heresy that one time — that time when he went completely and utterly blank. Man. This sucked.
Luckily, Heresy was saved by the bell. Or, well, the beep. Some sound beeped from Levant’s headset, and he started speaking into it. He was mildly curious as to what was going down, but was mostly glad that he didn’t have to say anything yet. Maybe after this whole thing on his headset, Levant would forget! Yes! …No, probably not. His last plan that Levant would simply not notice his behavior sort of failed. This one was bound for failure as well.
When Teishi came bounding over, he welcomed the distraction, even though he wasn’t being addressed. When he looked back up, he nearly crapped his pants. When the ******** had the hedge been set on fire!? So surprised was he that Heresy literally jumped back a few feet, trying to distance himself from the inferno. He wasn’t especially scared of fire or anything, but the idea of dying in a blaze was still an unpleasant one. He watched in fascination as the grounds team quickly took care of the disturbance, but was quietly still shaken up.
“Holy s**t…” he breathed belatedly, shaking his head. Man, whoever did that must have been really pissed at that maze. He watched two people being escorted away and hummed to himself, wondering what would happen to them. Ah well. He quickly stopped thinking about it as he was once again face to face with Levant, expected to speak again. “…That was some show, huh?” he joked half-heartedly, giving a forced chuckle.
Crap. Now he was faced with having to explain his odd behavior. Levant didn’t appear to have forgotten and he was still high without an excuse. “I’m just having a… you know.” Heresy gestured with his hand, trying to form words with his hands. It wasn’t working. “Just having a day. You know, one of those days, I guess. Feelin a little off. You know?” Okay, he was using the phrase ‘you know’ way too often to be natural. Maybe Levant wouldn’t notice. “Probably just hungry. You know us teenagers, always starving!” At this he laughed, a little more genuine than it was previously. The statement itself was true, even if he wasn’t all that hungry. Being nineteen he had a tendency to eat enough for two people. Who cared? He exercised a lot and he liked to eat. Whole pizzas, whole subs, three-course dinners at fancy restaurants, he was practically a bottomless pit sometimes.
Dinner call! Little dude with the tiny mustache was directing traffic towards the greenhouse for supper. Thank God. He could direct Levant’s attention away from him and his lame a** excuses for at least one more hour while dinner commenced, and then he’d have to go home, so hey, more parrying. …It was probably delaying the inevitable, but well, at least he’d feel better about speaking once he was more sober. And dressed. And once Levant was dressed. As an afterthought, Heresy’s eyes were drawn to the man’s body once more, tracing over muscles and planes of skin appreciatively before snapping back up to Levant’s eyes. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed that either.
“Well, dinner’s a-callin’!” Heresy exclaimed gamely, hooking his arm through Levant’s. Warm, soft, Levant-y skin. Ughhhh. Don’t think about it. “Shall we?” he asked before leading them both towards the dinner location for this year. Oh boy. He just kept digging himself deeper and deeper.
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Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 11:38 pm
Solera Before Dimitri could utter a single harsh order in regards of procurring some non-sugary food, the ongoing Halloweentastic music stopped. The group exchanged looks of moderate interest with one another, their minds on one thing and one thing alone. Dinner. And lo and behold! All their hopes and dreams came true! It must've been all their wishing that caused the dinner announcement! ******** finally!
Wait a sec. Why was he being oddly optimistic about things? The suspicious man narrowed his eyes in thought, keeping them focused on the tablecloth. All the same, Gervas and Teddy's level of comfort dropped two whole notches. Had the run in with that kid been super effective on his nerves? But what the hell did dinner wishes have to do with nerves? Aggravated, the dark haired man rose from the table. Maybe. Just maybe. the next time he saw him... he'd try to be... nice. Then he could think mean things about that Asian kid behind his back! Or better yet! Maybe it'd best not to ever see him again! Yeah, that might just be brilliant enough to work...
With his mood suddenly uplifted yet again, he stopped himself from picking up his blade. It seemed moody Dimitri couldn't figure out whether he wanted to be happy or sad. Or angry or content. Frustrated? All these thoughts on what some random kid could possibly mean to him was beginning to give him a headache. Who cared if some kid could bother him this much? Grabbing the hilt of his blade with an iron grip, he reattached the useless thing to his hip. Okay, fine. He ******** cared. No brat should be able to influence him in any way other than in giving him the pleasure of seeing their eyes water with tears of despair.
Letting out a huff, the mage cut through the ensuing crowd with surprising expertise. His servants, as well trained as they were, had some trouble keeping up. The fact that Teddy's spear was so far away didn't help one bit. And then there was the whole thing with being in armor and all. Only their master's dark flowing cape and barely visible crown offered any clues on his whereabouts. But at least they knew his destination.
Quite a while later, Dimitri bursted through the doorway of the huge greenhouse. A sharp grin formed on his face at the sight before him. The first thing he noticed was the absolutely gorgeous table. Not only was it so fitting for such an occasion, its sheer size was glorious. He'd figured when dinner came, it'd be many small tables all around. Then a special VIP table for the older Clients. But one table for everyone? Just wow.
As the chairs began to fill, Dimitri felt a growing panic welling within his stomach. "Dear God, this is like middle school all over again," he muttered just as the straggling pair of servants caught up. Sitting next to weird people might prove to be highly unpleasent. Sitting next to normal people might prove to be highly boring. And sitting next to no one was not an option here.
Well here goes nothing. The man placed his palms together, as if about to utter some sort of lazy prayer. Then slowly, he brought them apart. A bright pink glowing orb formed. The orb soon became two. Then four and so forth, until a complex octagonal prism was formed. A handful of guests stared openly at him in mild amusement. But Dimitri was in no mood to play more stranger games. What if he got all weird again? Ugh. With his mouth in a determined line, the man hurled the pink glowing ball of light into the air above the gargantuan table. As planned, the prism began to deteriorate, little pink orbs turning a different color as they fell off. A few oohs and distracting girlish squeals could be heard from the crowd. Finally, the there was but one small glowing orb left. Unlike the others, it drifted all the way down and down. The mage frowned at its chosen location. Smack down in the middle of everything! How very helpful. With stiff strides, he moved towards the pink ball. Then with all the gentleness of a mother handling her babe, he held it cupped in his hands. "Goodbye," the man uttered as he clapped the thing into oblivion. Or back to where ever the heck it came from.
With the flourish of a extremely stern king -- some might call a tyrant -- Dimitri took his place near the center of the table. Teddy took the seat to his left while Gervas took the right. He studied the wicked looking goblets for a moment before scoffing at their emptiness. His hopes of an instant delectable meal had been dashed within five whole, agonizing seconds of having taken his seat. Many guests now took pains to avoid his group, for they all looked far too menacing even for the spirit of Halloween. Hunger, disagreements, and stupid little kids did that to a man. Dimitri was positively glowering now. Golden eyes took to firing venomous glances at the multitude of flora and exotic plants. And his men? His men took to sneaking furitive glances at one another while attempting to avoid each other's eyes.D. A. Kieva
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:01 am
**Theodore**Tel** A grateful smile rewarded the pair as they each took an arm. "I agree, a good meal would be perfect right now. I can't wait to see what the Madame put together for us," Tel said with real excitement. They moved together back up the jack-o-lantern path to the party proper. The companion couldn't help but wonder if being seen entertaining two new clients simultaneously would improve his standing in the eyes of his fellows and the Madame especially. She would certainly be attending the dinner; he couldn't imagine she wouldn't at least. Thinking of her reminded him that he needed to get a hold of Lily. She would be able to tell him if the whole 'Henry blabbing about the mansion to everyone, and by everyone I mean dirty low down crooks' thing was something Usagi needed to be bothered with.
While this was going through his head Tel was also frantically trying to come up a conversation for the three of them. Jace was so quiet, and he knew Ariyoshi could be somewhat demanding, and dammit think man think! Talk about the party? How mundane. Asking what Ariyoshi thought of Teishi could come across badly, and if the client didn't like the boy then that conversation wouldn't go well at all. The threesome was entirely composed of people new to the mansion, but talking about how they all had no idea what they were doing here didn't seem right at all. Tel tried to think of something the two clients had in common, but all they seemed to have in common was him. And talking about himself would just be the height of conceit. For the love of anything at all can't you think of something to say?!
Well, he knew what Jace's hobbies were, and they knew his, but what about Ariyoshi's? "What do you do for fun Ariyoshi?" Tel attempted to start off the conversation. Just then he noticed the stale smell of smoke. It was the softer smell of wood smoke and not the acrid smell of sulfur that his firework show had produced. He quickened his pace to try and find the source of the new smoke. As they came upon the party proper the companion gasped, "What in the blazes happened here?" Which of course was a stupid question since it was obvious that the hedge maze had burned down. "Good grief I hope everyone's alright," he looked around and didn't see any evidence to the contrary; no emergency vehicles or panic people or screaming. How on earth did that happen? Tel suddenly remembered the clients on his arm. Oh dear, what kind of impression was this going to make? He suddenly felt he should get them away from the scene as quickly as possible.
"Let's get on to the dinner," the companion said rather pointlessly. Luckily there was a staff member dressed like an old fashioned detective sort pointing the way to the greenhouse. Interesting choice for a dining room. As they entered the space he quickly found that it was the perfect choice for their dinner. The black table and chairs stretched the whole length of the place and somehow the plants loomed dark and threatening along the walls. The elegant place settings sparkled in the low light. "Gentlemen, I present to you Madame Usagi's Halloween feast!" Tel exclaimed brightly. He guided the pair down the length of the table wondering where to sit when he spotted Mordred. Having no idea of what had transpired between the warrior mage and the school boy earlier, the companion stopped across from the man and his retainers. "Sir, when you stopped at my table earlier I did not get the chance to compliment on your most excellent choice of costume! I do hope you were able to settle things with that thieving feline," Tel said brightly.
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 2:18 pm
Keita/Ariyoshi The first thing that popped into Ariyoshi's mind after Tel's offer to escort to dinner, was Madam Usagi cooking the entire dinner for them. He knew that wasn't what Tel was implying, but his imagination was taking over on this night of ghosts and monsters. He quickly stifled a laugh as they set down the Jack-o-Lantern Path. It wasn't that he didn't think Madam Usagi couldn't cook; the very opposite, in fact! She was a woman of class. She could probably make any five-star chef look like he was a maker of mudpies. No, it was more... this event was so spectacular and large that he didn't think she'd have the time to actually cook. Maybe a bit of taste testing, but no cooking he reasoned down the meandering trail.
He was so lost in thought that the silence didn't catch his attention right away. Once it did. It didn't really feel awkward. Well... with Tel. He didn't know Jace at all other than the man who whistled at him. Other than that indignity, he was barely aware of Jace's presence. The young Japanese boy looked to Tel and saw a bit of worry on his brow. The silence didn't bother him, but he was glad to see someone worrying over him. That... rarely if ever happened. it was a nice feeling though... he hoped that he wasn't giving Tel some sort of complex.
When Tel finally spoke it was a question to him. Was he possibly favored over Jace? intriguing... Ariyoshi thought jokingly, "Ah... my hobbies? Well--" He was suddenly cut off by the quickening pace of the Companion. It was less than fun to be cut off but... was that the smell of smoke? Ariyoshi quickly forgot the slight and followed the boy with haste. The broke from the path to find that... "The maze? So this is what Teishi ran back for..." It seemed that Teishi's senses were far better than his own. This had to of started around the time that they were walking up the path to the shooting gallery. It was at this moment that he realized he was still wearing the young boy's jacket. A pang of worry struck Ariyoshi for a moment before subsiding... if anything had happened they would have heard sirens and probably screaming of some sort.
He scanned the crowd and saw Teishi near Levant and his assumptions were confirmed. With Tel making the same assumption on the all clear, Ariyoshi nodded and followed the older boy to the greenhouse. As they entered the younger boy was overwhelmed by the sheer decadence of the Halloween Dinner. Which... was pretty amazing since this entire party was one decadent debauchery. After the shock and awe that was this room washed from Ariyoshi's face he quickly nodded that the Mordred from earlier was one among the first party-goers to be seated. He was now less than pleased that Tel had decided to set the strange trio right across from him, but no hint of this played across his face. His fears were made realized when Tel spoke to the man, but it came as no surprise seeing as how Tel was truly British and probably spotted that costume out sooner than anyone else. Hell, besides Tel and himself, no one else probably got the costume.
They were seated so Ariyoshi moved to take the jacket and his bag from his shoulder when the strangest thing all night happened. From the flap of his bag dropped to the floor the perfect black rose that Mordred had offered as trade for his blue one. We didn't make that trade... I just gave him mine Ariyoshi puzzled over as he slowly rose from picking the flower up. The slightly confused look turned into a bit of a blush as his obsidian eyes found their way up to the warrior mage's smoldering golden eyes.
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