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 Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 6:38 pm
 Scene: Beatrice's bedroom.
Aperçu: Thierry Boudreaux and Silvano receive word that a new coven has entered their territory and taken up residence very close to their hunting grounds. They depart to meet with the new coven, leaving Annie and Beatrice at Beatrice's family home under the guise of a midterm study-sleepover (mostly to placate her single mother); in reality, they are to keep an eye on the town. They've been instructed not to leave the house, but of course they will.
Theme: In the Dark by Cathedrals
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 8:15 pm
Annie rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Sure."
"You're bitchier than usual."
Annie clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. "I just don't like having a 'sleepover' while we wait for news. I want to hunt," she complained.
"Well chill out. You're stressing me."
Annie grumbled and flopped onto the bed, staring at the tapestry of a white wolf pinned to the ceiling. It reeked of pot. She folded her hands over her stomach and practiced breathing. After a while she got bored and wandered to the mirror, applying a soft nude lip balm to her lips.
"You spend way too much time on your appearance," Tris shot at her with a smirk. "Come on, he won't be here for another nine hours. The sun's barely down."
"Who?"
"Oh, don't play dumb, Annie. We all know you're trying to look hot for Thierry."
Annie scowled and threw herself back onto the bed in a huff. Tris smiled smugly and continued with her book. It wasn't long before she was interrupted again. "I'm bored," Annie complained.
"What do you want me to do about it?"
"I don't know. Something. Don't just sit there and ignore me for that old book."
Tris knew that once she started complaining, there was little hope of peace. She marked her page with a feather and tossed it to her desk. "Wanna go out?"
"Silvano said no."
"And?"
Annie's eyes lit up. "Carpe Noctem?"
"Carpe Noctem."
With Shanlind via PM.
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 11:13 pm
 Carpe Noctem
Nightclub
Theme: [X]
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 11:47 pm
"But I want to," she whined, her canines extending slightly.
"And who's the older one," Tris grumbled. "Come on. We're not even supposed to be here. If you cause a scene with a dead body," she whispered, her lips pressed to Annie's ear.
Annie hurried down the stairs, her mary jane shoes tapping on the metal. Tris was hot on her heels. "If you think for a second I'm going to let you go after him, you're wrong. I'll make a scene if you don't stop. I'll scream," she threatened.
"God, is it full moon already? You're PMS-ing hard."
Tris gasped indignantly and Annie took advantage, ducking into the crowd, blending with the dancers. "b***h," Tris muttered, her claws extending.
With Shanlind via PM.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:33 am
"We were bored."
"Those were not my instructions."
"I know, but we just thought- "
"You thought wrong," he cut across with a sidelong glance. Tris shivered at his cold and powerful gaze, and watched him enter the throng of humans after Annie. Not for the first time, she was thankful that she was a werewolf on the fringes of the clan and felt an uncomfortable lurch in her stomach at the thought of the way Silvano treated his coven - especially Annie.
Annie stretched onto the tips of her toes, trying to see over the dancers which way her prey had gone. She was so focused, she didn't hear Silvano approach. The crowd parted, unconsciously fearful; Silvano stopped several feet behind her, staring, his rage building. Annie felt a prickling sensation travel down the back of her neck and whipped around. Silvano. The name echoed in her head. She panicked as he slowly advanced.
He was only a foot from her - maybe less. Annie tried not to breathe in his scent and failed. The smell of rain and crisp leaves, blood and strong, sweet roots filled her. She was powerless, losing herself in the blue storm of his eyes. His wrath was unmistakeable under the mask of quiet serenity.
"You must not respect me very much."
"Silvano, please."
"I ordered you to stay with Tris in her home and wait."
"But we were bored, and we didn't think anything would happen," she pleaded.
"I don't care what you think," he said, his expression darkening, "I gave you an order and you disobeyed me." He circled her. "When you disobey me, not only do you challenge my authority but you put our family in danger." Annie cringed as his face hovered inches from hers. He scrutinized her for a moment before gripping her arm and dragging her outside. Tris followed at a distance, nervous.
Once in the secluded alley behind the club, Silvano shoved Annie. She backed into the wall, trying to make herself as flat and non threatening as possible. "I blame myself," he reflected aloud, his back to them. "I'm too soft on you. My Father once told me that greed is stronger than any army. But I have learned there is an even greater force... Fear." So quickly that the movement wasn't seen, his hands were on either side of her, his teeth nanometers from her face. "It seems, Annie, that I will have to put the fear in you," he said in a hushed tone that resonated with powerful energy.
With Shanlind via PM.
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 12:20 am
Silvano snapped his fingers in her face, demanding her attention. The lie slipped out easily, convincing. "I couldn't help it. A man with power is sexy." His eyes narrowed further. "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying."
"You are. I can see it. I can hear it."
Annie pressed herself to him, struggling to be seductive under the panic. She looked up into his eyes, trying to look as appealing as possible. "Would I lie to my master?"
"Yes," he said flatly.
She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder. He shoved her away again, gripping her shoulder tightly with one hand and her chin in the other. He spoke in a calm, even voice. "If you ever disrespect me or challenge me again, I will kill you. Do you understand me?" Annie nodded. "Good girl." He released her and walked away. She followed obediently into the dark and damp streets.
With Shanlind via PM.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 3:25 pm
Andrea Courtillier
Andrea was standing in the middle of what she would call the dance floor, listening to the blasting music. She had wandered into the nightclub for what she classified as easy prey. Her eyes darted between the mulling human bodies. Their hearts were racing so hard, she could almost hear it over the deafening base of the song. The raspy burn in her throat was turning into an ache. She had refrained from eating until she was certain that this was open hunting territory; she had no intent to p**s off another vampire. There were a few scents in the area, but she did not have the time to verify all of them. People were beginning to push up against her and she realised that she had been standing motionless in the sea of twitching bodies. It was not as if the humans would notice, many were intoxicated, but one never knew who else was watching.
The noise was starting to agitate Andrea. Well, the noise and the people. When she felt the hatred growing in her heart she knew it was time to move on. The last time she had this building anger within her, she ended up murdering a whole restaurant. She shuddered as she remembered how she emerged from that crimson haze and set fire to that place. Andrea felt a weight tumble into her right side and felt the cold wetness of the spilt drink on her legs and feet. She sighed heavily as the girl straightened up and apologised. That’s my cue to leave. Andrea nodded curtly at her apology and made her way into the street, intent on hunting in a more isolated space, like a dark alley. Her mouth curved into a rueful smile as she stepped onto the pavement outside the nightclub; her black heels hitting the surface with each step, generating a crisp, clicking sound.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 10:16 pm
"—shouldn't have kissed him. I was so shocked that I almost blacked out. You know Silvano is going to use that later - I don't know how, but somehow. You're lucky he let us stay out, because I could just see him closing us in The Room. Well, you. Not me. I didn't really do anything. And if you think for one second that I'm going to let you go after that guy in the club—"
"Tris. STOP. TALKING. Jeez. I get it, okay? You're pissed and I'm screwed. Let it go."
Tris pressed her lips together in a tight line, but she said nothing as she followed Annie into Carpe Noctem. Annie froze on the edge of the crowd. Tris did, too. She could pick out the scent easily. "There's another here," Annie breathed. Annie shook her head to clear her mind and joined the crowd, searching out the new vampire. Tris climbed up into the metal rafters and crossed into one of the lofts to survey the crowd from above, following Annie with her gaze.
Annie saw the vampire backing away from a drunk girl and followed her out of the club. She could feel Tris shadowing her.
Once again outside, Annie wasted no time. She spoke up from just outside the doorway, knowing well that the retreating figure would be able to hear her. "You're new. Passing through?" She felt Tris step up a few feet behind her, quietly slipping into their strategic formation.
With Shanlind via PM.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 2:57 am
"You're very rude," Annie said blatantly. "I didn't warrant such treatment. I'll take you to Silvano." She turned on her heel and took off down the street, angry and hurt. *I find it highly unlikely that the title befits you.* She clenched her teeth together. Already she hated the newcomer; she felt ashamed for being curious and interested, for hoping she'd find a new ally. Tris stared at the vampire, waiting for her to follow.
Andrea was taken aback by the other's reply. It has been years since she has been called rude. She has to be young then; haven’t lived long enough to be turned into one of the mean creatures we all seem to become with age. But her mind was already preoccupied with the name she uttered, Silvano. A name she heard from Girard. The memory flooded back. Don’t ask me questions about him. That is one of our kind you keep your distance from. He did not seem afraid or paranoid, merely determined to get the point into her young vampire mind.
Andrea tucked her shirt into her leather skirt and followed the woman, apprehension thick in her veins.
Tris fell into step beside Andrea, using her magic to reach out, her hand clamped around a stone in her pocket. She felt it; the impression that Andrea knew his name. "So do you know him, or do you know of him," she asked suddenly, turning her golden, almost metallic eyes on the new vampire.
Andrea narrowed her eyes at the wolf. "I only know of him." She replaced all her thoughts with the image of a bloody red rose; unsure how this girl was seeing into her mind.
Tris shrugged. "I'm new. But he's kind of like the bogey man for our kind, right? I can totally see that." She tried to keep it seeming light and conversational.
"I've wanted to see him ever since I was turned. I found him... interesting. You said you're new. Clarify?" She waited a heartbeat, thinking she might have sounded rude again and added, "Please." Tris gave the faintest smile at the word please. "I was a normal human until about five months ago. I just graduated from high school and I was attacked." She shrugged, not intending to elaborate unless asked.
"Attacked? A very unpleasant occurrence I presume," she was silent for a few steps. "I was also turned young," there was a fleeting sadness in her eyes that vanished almost as it appeared.
Tris looked at her again, staring for a moment before turning away. "It's not so bad, now that I have my clan. They recognized my symptoms and showed me I wasn't crazy. I wasn't alone." She looked at Andrea again. "What about your clan?"
"I do not belong to a coven." She offered her a friendly sideways glance before focusing in front of her again.
"No coven or clan? That must be messy when you travel, going through the different territories and trying to cross their borders."
Andrea smiled, "I have proven quite capable through the years. My name is Andrea by the way."
"I know. I'm Beatrice. Beatrice Wolf, if you can believe the cliche," she laughed, rolling her eyes at her own name.
Andrea smiled, "And hers?" She motioned to the female leading the way.
"Annie the Child, Cerridwen of Slovenia - Silvano's protege."
Andrea nodded, "It must be something to be the protege of Silvano." It wasn't a question, she knew Annie could hear them perfectly.
Tris shrugged. "Something terrifying, sure." They arrived at a tall, dark building. Tris drew in a sharp breath. "Too soon," she mumbled.
Annie pulled open the side door end entered the ground floor of Lounge 37. [Link, Link]She approached the man at the counter. "Where is he?" The man continued polishing a glass and answered without looking up. "Floor fifteen. He's not going to be happy," he called after her as she hurried to the elevator. She held an arm out to stop the doors, waiting for Tris and Andrea.
Andrea followed, the only sound she made was coming from her heels. She tucked self-consciously at the hem of her skirt. Well, you have to see him. It's all these rules Girard hammered into you. Her brow furrowed. Never eat in public. Do not kill unless you are sure no-one will bother finding your victim. Always ask permission for your stay in territories belonging to covens. She straightened her back, her face taking a serious, professional air. You're defined by good manners and respect Andrea. Now keep calm.
The doors slid closed and Annie's stomach lurched at the thought of coming here, to Silvano's place. She was never to come here and bother him. But I'm not good enough, she snapped, resisting the urge to glare at the stranger. I'm in no position of authority. She rolled her eyes and the doors slid open into a dim and heavily smokey room. In a balcony, a band took it's turn performing an upbeat number.
With Shanlind and Antoinette Tolken via PM.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 3:04 am
 Lounge 37: Floor 15
Cigar Lounge(s)
Theme: [X]
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 3:07 am
Andrea took all of it in. Her senses absorbing all the room had to offer. She understood why people feared him. His whole being pulsed with power. She heard Annie's referral to her and finally looked to Silvano's face. "An honour to meet you," she said with a respectful nod of her head. "My name is Andrea Courtillier. I am led to understand that these are your hunting grounds. Thus, I have come to ask permission to hunt and stay in the area."
Silvano took his time replying, first taking a sip of bourbon. He didn't blink but watched with a calculating gaze, making sure that she was thoroughly uncomfortable. "Andrea Courtiller, where is your coven," he finally asked, voice deep and soft as silk.
His voice boasted a vague and proper British accent, and something underneath that rustled with ancient power.
"I do not have a coven," she felt uncomfortable under his gaze, but forced herself to focus on him and not on anything else, like the glass of bourbon, the cigar or even the chandelier.
A trio of women launched into the next number. He took the opportunity to divert his gaze to the balcony. After a minute, he gestured vaguely to a chair. "Sit." He made it sound like a request, but it was clear that it was an order.
Andrea took a seat in the chair, her good posture was not due to etiquette, but rather her tense muscles. She waited for him to continue. Don’t ask me questions about him. That is one of our kind you keep your distance from. Girard's reprimand popped into her head and at that moment she wished that he was with her.
He placed his cigar in the holder of the ash tray and turned toward her fully. "And why have you come to my territory, of all places - without the protection of a coven?"
She thought about it, "It wasn't a deliberated decision to come to your territory. It was merely on my way. I never stay in one place long; guess I'm somewhat of a nomad. I also cannot seem to adjust to the dynamics of a coven and have not found a situation in which a coven's protection was needed." In her experience, where vampires bundled together, they only seemed to become more ferocious and dark.
"It seems you've now found such a situation," he said darkly. He leaned back in the leather wingbacked chair. He took another long moment to finish off his bourbon. He placed the glass back on the table, the ice rattling. "You may stay for as long as you need if only you agree to my terms. If you do not agree to my terms... we will have a problem."
With Shanlind and Antoinette Tolken via PM.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 5:20 am
"You will stay among us and be accompanied when you hunt. At the setting of the sun each night, you will report to me." Here, he took out a sleek phone and pushed it across the table to her. "Failure to report will result in breach of contract. I am the only one with the number. If I call, you answer. Failure to answer by my second call will result in breach of contract. You see where this is going, don't you." Not a question. His gaze was cold.
"And when I report do I use the phone or do I have to come to you," she took the phone and rested her clasped hand in her lap. The idea of seeing him every night unsettled her, but she kept her behaviour and voice stripped of emotion.
"You will call if you are not near enough to come in person. And I will know if you lie to me," he added, knowing that she might try to avoid seeing him.
Andrea nodded, "I accept these terms." She wanted to leave the room now. Perhaps it was only because Silvano was there, or perhaps it was because seeing him reminded her of Girard. Memories that she did not feel like dealing with.
He snapped his fingers and Annie hurried over. "Escort Tris home and then take Miss Courtiller to our home." Relieved that she wasn't in trouble yet, Annie nodded and threw Andrea a pleading look, silently begging her to come with her.
Andrea got up, ready to follow. She loosely held the phone and moved closer to Tris.
"Annie," Silvano said sternly, allowing a chill to run down her spine. She turned around slowly to face him. "This isn't over," he said quietly, "She is in your charge. If you disappoint me again— "
"I won't."
"See that you don't."
Annie all but ran to the elevator, Tris struggling to keep up; she was not a vampire and still had trouble navigating through the people and furniture at such a pace.
In the elevator Andrea offered a smile to Annie. "You can relax. I'm not much trouble."
Annie sank to the floor. "He's going to kill me," she said miserably.
"Why would he kill you? He made you."
"As if that makes a difference," she scoffed.
Andrea smiled before her smile faded into something akin to sadness, "It does."
"You must've had a happy upbringing. Silvano will kill me." "Well, you *did* kiss him," Tris pointed out unhelpfully. "That was stupid." Annie groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I was trying to distract him from ripping my throat out!"
Andrea's brow furrowed, "I wouldn't say I had a happy upbringing, but I once witnessed a battle between two clans where their way of battle was killing the offspring of the most important clan members. A Battle of the Blood they called it. Kill the offspring and then kill the maker. Destroy the bloodline." Her face had become void of emotion as she stared at the elevator doors.
Annie stood. "That's just a Tuesday here," she said in dark tones. The doors slid open and she stepped out, in a hurry to leave the building.
With Shanlind and Antoinette Tolken via PM.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 5:21 am
"You sure?"
"Yeah. It'll give you time to get acquainted. I'll call you if I need anything."
Annie nodded and Tris departed, leaving them alone. Annie shoved her hands into the hidden pockets of her dress and watched the ground as she walked, her heart heavy.
"I'm going to take a guess and say you're still young?" Andrea asked nonchalantly.
"I've only three years on me," she replied. "But I've been under Silvano's instruction for ten years."
"Now there you have it. If you were totally useless he wouldn't have kept you alive this long. Surely you have to be special."
"Special or not, he will kill me if I cross him. He says it's a waste and he'd rather not, but he won't hesitate." Annie knew this to be true and it made her feel sick inside.
"The old ones usually have that mentality. But you'd probably kill someone who crossed you too," she shrugged. "Besides you don't seem inclined to cross him so I think you'll be fine. And you most probably couldn't have chosen a more enviable teacher. I am sure he knows a lot."
Annie looked at Andrea for the first time - really looked. "How old are you?"
Andrea smiled, "I've been a vampire for thirty-one years now. Guess that makes me fifty with the looks of a nineteen year-old.
"Why do you admire Silvano so much, then? You're not old enough to have been alive before he settled here."
"One as old as he deserves respect, even if it is a respect caused by fear. The one that turned me mentioned him to me once."
"What did he say," she asked, curious.
With Antoinette Tolken and Shanlind via PM.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 9:32 am
Andrea Courtillier
"One thing that was made very clear is his extremely brutal nature," The memory flooded back and she could hear Girard's annoyed tone at her incessant questioning.
***
“Silvano is the oldest vampire I know of. He is very clever and ambitious and never tires of killing, whether the victim is human or any other creature. Do you understand now why I stress that you keep your distance from him. He willingly kills his own kind without so much as a blink, and he only turns those that he finds would be useful to him. You wouldn’t find him even if you set off now and search the globe, because he is very careful and secretive. Listen, Silvano is dangerous. He has instigated historical events you would never have guessed. Now stop pestering me, I will say no more,” Girard folded his arms over his chest.
“But how do you know all of this?”
“That is history. Now leave me before I truly tire of you.”
***
Andrea got a pained look on her face, but offered Annie a smile and continued. “He is very powerful, resourceful and extremely old. It always came back to the brutality though,” her eyes glazed over. “I guess you are right to fear for your life.” However, she stops from adding that Girard had explicitly stated that Silvano killed their kind without a flicker of remorse.
Annie nodded. "I know some of his past, but he is someone to be feared. I remember not sleeping for such a long time after he found me. I was only fifteen when he took me away to teach me. Then three years ago, when he turned me, I was sure he was just going to let me die. He almost did." She shuddered at the memory and suppressed tears. "Still. I owe him everything. He's been very generous to me."
"It's good to feel like you owe them. It makes our position more bearable," a muscle bounced in her neck. "The truth: I had actually given up hope of ever encountering Silvano. Girard forbid me, but I was so defiant. Later, I just gave up on keeping that want alive. And just like that, when you don't want something anymore, you get it."
"It's hard for me to imagine anyone wanting to find Silvano..." The wind blew through the trees and Annie froze. She looked up, staring at the park she knew so well, the bench where she had been turned. Before that night, she had never known what Silvano truly was. Before that night, he was just a cruel man who had taken her from the streets...
Andrea stopped and stared at the frozen Annie. "Are you alright?"
She blinked, forcing herself from her introspection. "Yeah. Um. Not much further now. Just through the pines." She pointed across the park into the sprawling pine forest.
Andrea nodded, "A strange bond isn't it? The connection between us and those that made us."
Annie frowned. She didn't think about that. "Maybe it wasn't a random direction. Maybe something drew you here," she thought aloud.
Andrea eyed Annie, "Like what?"
She shrugged it off, suddenly uncomfortable. "I don't know. Tris is the witch, not me. I don't know about that kind of stuff."
Andrea nodded, "Perhaps your right. Besides there are people who believe in things such as fate. Maybe they are unto something."
"Maybe." The wind stirred the grass around her feet and the swings creaked. Annie wrapped her arms around herself. "I hate this park," she mumbled. She could feel the dark fear creeping up from everything that had happened here. It was almost a living entity, she felt - and she imagined it as such. A dark, shadowy monster.
"It has an eerie vibe," Andrea looked about and a shiver went through her spine. "Definitely getting some bad vibes from it." She looked to Annie and saw her discomfort, and just to speak she suddenly said, "I tell you what, you can ask me a question if you want. Anything."
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