* [ + ] the black cross [ + ]

[ieatwood]

A large leopard raced through the canopy, a blur through the trees; the dappled light shining through the leafy trees above. Nothing was better than this, up ahead, he could hear the boar squeeling. The animal was afraid, it knew it was only a matter of time before he closed the distance between him, Bast licked his lips, almost able to taste it already. The warm thrill of the hunt coming to a close, the warm blood would burst into his mouth; if only he could just reach out a little farther..

Bast opened his eyes slowly, stirring as the pard started to wake. Many of them had already gotten up by the time his perfect yellow-green eyes opened, pushing his hair out of his eyes, wiping his palm across his forehead. He realized now why he'd been dreaming of boar, he could practically hear the bacon sizzling in the other room. Yawning, Bast picked himself carefully out from under the pile of still sleeping leopards. He grabbed his jeans off the floor, currently only wearing boxers, and pulled them on. The wereleopards all slept in one big pile, in a queen sized bed, in a mostly family way. Those who felt closer, generally slept seperately, in their own bed. He walked into the kitchen barefoot, smiling as he saw Anise and Elizabeth cooking, "Mornin' girls."  

[un de plus pamplemousse]

"Mornin' girls."

Anise looked up and smiled at the familiar voice. "G'morning, Bast. Sleep well?" She scooped a few pancakes from the griddle and onto a plate for him, along with a generous pile of bacon. "Here you are." She handed him the plate. "Did it seem like the others are starting to wake? 'Cause if they are, we're gonna have to make a lot more, and quickly." She laughed good-naturedly, scooping up more batter and dropping it onto the griddle. After a large pile started to build up, she paused in her pancake making, not wanting the ones already cooked to go cold.

She turned towards the fridge and opened it, grabbing a jug of orange juice and a few cups. She placed them on the counter next to the pancakes and bacon, pouring herself a glass. "I'd almost forgotten about this. I'm sure you guys would appreciate something to drink with your breakfast. I'd better make some more." She set about making two more pitchers of orange juice-- it wouldn't hurt to have extra-- and put them back in the fridge to chill. Noticing that the pile of pancakes had significantly dwindled, she turned her attention back to frying more.  

[ieatwood]

Elizabeth quickly noticed how fast the bacon went, and put another two packages on the grill. She smiled at Bast, as he came in, seeing Anise quickly served him. After getting the bacon in the oven, she could see that Anise had control of the pancakes. She topped off her cup of coffee and made herself a short stack with a good helping of bacon, and sitting at the table; poured syrup all over it. They sat at the table in the kitchen, a couple leopards milling in and out of the room getting food. Most chose to eat in the dining room, where a larger table could seat their family, and its various company. She figured if there was still a need, she could take over after Anise finnished.

She smiled up at Anise, when she brought orange juice to the table, thanking her and pouring herself a cup. Quickly, she turned the bacon over and went back to her pancakes.

XXX

"G'morning, Bast. Sleep well?"

Bast smiled good naturedly at Anise, taking the plate she offered and sitting down at the table. He yawned again, nodding, "Yeah, it was good."

"Did it seem like the others are starting to wake? 'Cause if they are, we're gonna have to make a lot more, and quickly."

He grinned, "Theres' still a few sleeping, but they're probably wake up soon. The bed gets cold after everyone gets out." Bast shoved a fork full of pancake into his mouth, scarfing it down like he'd been on a nine-month famine. It took him half-way through his first plate, to remember about the wolf from the night before. Looking up at Elizabeth, he could immedietly tell she hadn't come to bed. "Liz, how's that girl Gabe and I picked up last night?"

XXX

Elizabeth looked up, her pale eyes relecting in the sunlight coming through their kitchen window. She put a bite of pancake in her mouth, finnishing off her plate, "She's asleep for now, I still have to call Pyrite, I just wanted to wait till he'd be awake." She frowned, seeing what Bast was getting at, "I want to be there when she wakes up."

XXX

Bast sighed and nodded at his sister, "You can be there, hurry up, eat, call Pyrite. Then go to bed. No excuses, I promise I'll wake you up."

He finnished his plate, then leaned towards the counter and grabbed two more pancakes for himself, pouring syrup on them. He smiled at Anise, "These are good, thanks you two."
 

[un de plus pamplemousse]

Anise laughed at the way Bast mowed down his breakfast. She flipped a couple more pancakes onto the plate already filled with them, listening to Elizabeth and Sebastion's conversation about the new girl. She knew that the girl would probably be waking within a few hours, but Elizabeth really needed to get some rest. Even Bast was putting his foot down. "Elizabeth, I can finish up here; I've got quite a pile of pancakes going, so I'm pretty sure I can handle the bacon as well. Why don't you go give Pyrite a call, and then get some sleep? I'm pretty positive that Bast won't go back on his word of waking you up once the girl awakens," she added, a smile working at the corner of her mouth. She took a sip of her orange juice.

"These are good, thanks, you two."

"Well, thanks. Glad you like them." Beaming, she grabbed a pancake for herself off the pile and covered the rest. She ate it plain, not bothering to add anything to it.

 

[ieatwood]

Elizabeth sighed, they were going to gang up on her now, and put the last bite in her mouth. Sitting back in her chair, she folded her legs onto her seat, indian-style; reaching up and pulling her hair out of the bun. Leaning towards the counter, she reached for the phone, dialing the number from memory. They've gotten pretty familiar over the last four years, what with the bustling city this was, though Pyrite seemed to keep a certain distance. Either way, he'd appreciate knowing there was a new wolf in town, especially a green one. Putting the phone to her ear, she was answered on the second ring, Pyrites rough voice greeting it, it sounded like she woke him up.

"Morning Pyrite, I just wanted to let you know we picked up a wolf last night. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know whats going on, but she'll wake up in a few hours and we can find out."

She talked on the phone for a few more minutes, then hung up, Pyrite was never one for idle chit-chat. She gave both Anise and Bast a slow stare with her long eyes, scratching her fingers into her thick hair, "He'll be here in a few hours, make -sure- you wake me up."

Getting up, Elizabeth put her dishes in the sink and headed across the living room towards the leopards' bedroom. The large bed was mostly empty, though a couple bodies still lay tangled in the sheets. She pulled off her pants, and climbed into the bed, curling into the warmth left from those who slept there during the night.

XXX

"Don't worry, I promise."

Bast finnished up his second plate, grinning at the look Elizabeth gave them both. He laughed softly as she walked out of the room, standing and starting the dishes that were beginning to pile up in the sink. It certainly wasn't beneath him to do the dishes. He yawned slowly, putting the last plate in the dish rack, sitting down just as someone brought another stack of dishes to put into the sink. He grinned, and turned to Anise, "What are your plans for today?"


 

[Freak Show Excess]

Dorian blushed at the compliment; he really was unused to so much positive attention. Hearing Gabriel's invitation, he thought that he must've had too much wine, because the offer seemed very attractive. Too attractive, considering they'd just met. However, the man's incredible grace and charm had Dorian hooked, so he found himself agreeing. "I... I'd love to. I haven't really been anywhere besides the area around my neighbourhood, so it'd be nice to do a bit of sightseeing. Plus, I'd get to be spending more time with you, so..." he trailed off, blushing again. He hadn't meant to add the last bit, but, nonetheless, it had slipped out. He busied himself with taking another drink of his wine, mortification slowly sinking in.  

[Le Papillon Pleurant]

Early hours at "The Devil's Smile" were never as exciting as the events that came after dark. A grin pressed against Ember Killigan's lips as she leaned forward and began to smudge hot red lipstick around her mouth slowly. Her thick eyelashes were lowered as she concentrated on applying her make-up. It wasn't until the resounding snap of her bra strap occurred did she pull back and yelp, whirling around. She met the eyes of Esme and snarled. "You b***h! Quit that!" she protested, her golden brown eyes shining with anger.

A soft giggle escaped the wererat as she moved to lean on the counter next to fer little faery friend. She crossed her lips, a few strands of braided hair falling into her dark eyes. "Get over yourself, hon. you need to loosen up," she said, nudging her. "You know a little glamour will fix the smudge of that lipstick." She reached over and poked Ember's cheek gently, eyes shimmering with mischief.

"Smudge?! Where?!" she cried, turning to look at her mouth in the mirror. when she saw no real damage and realized the rat was lying, the young fae glared at her. "Will you stop it already? I'm nervous enough as it is."

"Gotcha," the wererat snickered in amusement before pushing off and heading toward the exit of the ladies' room. "Come on, sugar pie. You and I both know you're the best dancer here. That's why Artorius urged you to work here. So get your high heels on. We need to get ready for some hard partying."  

[un de plus pamplemousse]

"He'll be here in a few hours, make -sure- you wake me up."

Anise felt bad that Elizabeth obviously thought they were ganging up on her, but it was for her own good to send her off to bed. Before Anise could even answer her, though, she had already left the kitchen. She sighed and leaned against the counter, poking at her pancakes. She looked up at the laugh Bast gave Elizabeth on her exit and smiled and shrugged her shoulders at him. When she saw him doing up the dishes, though, she protested "Hey, Bast, let me help you with those, at least." She walked over to the sink and took the dishes that had already dried out and put them away, then began to dry the wet ones.

"What are your plans for today?"

She paused, debating. What did she have planned for that day? "Hmm... well, I was going to go through the pantry and check out our grocery situation. And then later tonight I was going to ask Gabe to go on a grocery run with me, and try and get him a little more relaxed about the new girl." She set her towel down on the counter and leaned against it. "What about you? Have any plans... besides tending to the new girl once Pyrite gets here?"  

[un de plus pamplemousse]

Gabriel nearly laughed aloud at the boy's embarassment. How darling.
"Well, shall we, then?" Standing, he dropped a few bills onto the table, more than enough to cover the wine. He wasn't sure how putting that much cash down so casually would go over with Dorian, but at that moment, he really didn't care. Besides, how hard was it to believe that he was rather well-off financially? He started towards the door, making sure the boy was behind him, and stepped out into the cool night air, feeling a light breeze caress his cheek. "Where to?" he inquired; as Dorian had said he hadn't been around the city much, he had decided he would play tour guide to the boy.  

[Maze]

(([OOC]: This takes place the same night Gabriel and Lily are out snatching up that poor Dorian lad. Just so you know. And don't worry, nothing too important will happen in this post. ninja

Also, major usage of NPCs that.. I.. pulled out of thin air. They may not show up again, or maybe they will. If they do, I'll make up a list, if not, don't worry about 'em. :3))

---

Gerald Hayes was in trouble. He knew this because the diminutive man seated across from him in the limousine that was driving aimlessly through the neighbourhood sent him a genuine smile and asked him a harmless question.

"How are your wife and daughter doing, Mr. Hayes?"

Cold sweat broke out across his brow, as Gerald forced himself to remain calm. It was useless, he knew, as the keen eyes of the other could read him like an open book. But he was a proud man, and he had appearances to keep up if nothing else.

He just wished he knew how long he could last.

"Last I heard they were enjoying their stay in Paris, Mr. D'Allessandro." He could have sighed in relief as he managed that sentence without stuttering. Probably shouldn't, though.

"You care about your family, Mr. Hayes?"

The hackles on Mr. Hayes' neck rose at the casual question. "Of course, Mr. D'Allessandro."

"You wouldn't want anything to happen to them, would you, Mr. Hayes?"

How could you say such things so calmly? The man was inhuman! Gerald's mouth had gone dry, and found himself incapable of responding vocally, and resorted to just shaking his head mutely.

"I care a lot about my company, Mr. Hayes. I suppose one could say that I consider it.. part of my family." Cold eyes settled on the slightly panicky ones of Gerald Hayes. The tone had been casual before, but it had frozen over along with his eyes. "I will not have this. Do I make myself clear?"

The way it was said suggested that there was no way D'Allessandro didn't make himself clear. And should it turn out that the man was incapable of deducing things logically, then the two thugs that sat next to Hayes would enjoy explaining it to him in more basic terms.

"Yes, sir," Mr. Hayes spoke hoarsely.

"I'm glad we understand each other, Mr. Hayes." The smile D'Allessandro gave him was painfully bright.

---

D'Allessandro sighed as the human stumbled out of the car, and waited for Nero (aka Thug #1) to climb back in again and pull the door closed behind him.

Work, work, work. Some nights, it seemed never-ending.

"Call DeMarco and reschedule our dinner. Thursday will do," D'Allessandro instructed the other, who pulled out a cellphone and went to do just that as the limo drove off again.

---

Mr. Hayes would return to his appartment a little worse for wear, but physically hale, at least. And he would do his best to disentangle himself from the mess he found himself in. Because it wouldn't be good for his health.

Or his family's.  

[ieatwood]

He quickly finnished the dishes in the sink, shaking the water off his hands and taking a seat at the table. He let Anise go ahead and fuss over the kitchen, though he appreciated that she was usually up early enough to make everyone breakfast, "First, a shower."

He rubbed his hands over his face, chartruese eyes sparkling in the morning light. He sat back in his chair, trying to remember if there was anything they needed to do today, though something was bound to come up, "When did you need to pick up that...family friend of yours?"

 

[Maze]

[OOC:] *pesters Lily* Major assumptions on the telepathy, and a mild one on vampiric skill level, so let me know if I've got things wrong.

---

Inside the limousine, D'Allessandro was looking over some papers. Technically he was reading them, but if you weren't a vampire, it'd probably look like he was just looking them over.

That was the thing about living, er, being around for so long. You racked up an impressive reading speed.

He held out a hand, not even bothering to look up and giving the verbal command to pass him a pen, because almost immediately, one was placed in his palm.

With quick, business-like strokes, D'Allessandro made a few notes in the margins, circling a few phrases, as well as a name that was repeated throughout the document. All this took two seconds, if at that.

But hey, vampires. They cheated like that.

But not generally in the presence of their human business partners. That tended to freak them out, and was potentially harmful to future liaisons.

D'Allessandro passed the papers on, receiving an opened letter in its stead. He read it, then nodded, before handing it back, and exchanging it for some more papers.

The vampire paused, then, ignoring the papers for a moment, as something outside the blackened windows caught his attention.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and sought out the beauty in the brocade dress that walked along the sidewalk. Baptiste. Hadn't she gone out with D'Aubigne?

His touch on her mind was featherlight, as it wasn't meant to disturb her from her current plans or goals, but merely to ascertain there was nothing amiss.

That, and if he let them feel his presence whenever he sought them out for minor things like this, they would likely as not assume that that particular sensation went with 'visitations from beyond the grave', and assume that they could always tell when he looked in on them.

D'Allessandro did not mind.  

[un de plus pamplemousse]

"When did you need to pick up that...family friend of yours?"


"Oh, my goodness! I'd almost forgotten about that! How could I be so absent-minded? Yes, hmm. I think later this afternoon, if things go as planned." She hurriedly finished drying and putting away the rest of the dishes. "You go shower, let me take care of that. You have enough on your hands with the new girl." She shooed him out of the kitchen. "I need a wash, myself. I'm a right mess," she laughed, patting her hair, which had started falling a bit from its updo.

She traipsed away towards her living quarters: an apartment on one of the upper floors. Since she was (mostly) human, she lived in a quaint-but-cozy number on the floors into which others could have the potential to see, and let the others--the pards, mainly-- have the lower floors, where they preferred to be, anyway.

Once she had let herself in, she made her way towards the bathroom. It was a rather nice bathroom-- a large, circular tub sunk into the middle of the room, the vanity and sink along one wallwith plenty of candles surrounding it for ambiance. She couldn't help it; underneath it all, she was quite the romanticist. After drawing the bath, she shrugged out of her clothes and slipped into the warm, soothing water, laying her head back against the rim of the tub. Ahh, nothing was truly like a nice, relaxing soak.

((OOC: Erm... I took a bit of liberties with the floorplan of the hospital, wood. If you have any discrepancies, just let me know, I guess x3; ))  

[ieatwood]

Pyrite hung up the phone, the smash of the plastic set coming together sounded louder than it should be; he was still drained from the hunt and has been having nightmares again. He lay face down on his white, crisp bedsheets, his thick black hair falling across his pillow. His hair was still thickly curled, being only a day past the full moon. He had taken his pack to a nearby wildlife preserve, named the Black Forest by the locals. It was probably an hours drive, but worth it to him to keep their hunts away from their home. Checking the clock, 10:18, he sighed and rolled onto his back, pressing his palms against his face, idely fingering the scars that cut across his face. After another moment, he rolled out of bed, heading for his private bathroom. He was on the top floor, of a rented duplex; his pack rented both sides, and half of the one next door, preferring to stay together.

Turning on the hot water, he stepped into the shower, letting the hot water spray him in the face. He was still a little tired from the hunt, most of the weaker were's still wouldn't wake up from the change till tonight; in the movies they make it look so effortless; but the reality of it is it takes everything out of you. He leaned his palms against the wall infront of him, leaning his head down under the water. After showering and dressing in jeans and a white tshirt, he headed downstairs. There were three rooms on the top floor, his, Bertrands and an empty one; the wolf who'd lived in that room had left the pack several months ago.

------

Sebastian nodded at Anise's answer, grinned as he was shooed out of the kitchen. He headed down the hall with a soft laugh, his laugh was exuberant and warm; always a friendly sound. Sticking his hands in his pockets, heading down a flight of stairs to the leopards floor. Bast popped into the main leopard bedroom, grabbing a change of clothes before heading off to the bathroom; there were several of them, to take a shower.

((My only specification is the hospital rooms are the second and third floors. Perhaps the first floor should be empty-ish, basement for storage and a couple cells (justincase), housing also on the third and fourth floors. Which, would kind of give the weres the middle floors. Work for everyone?
I'm going to try finnishing Myra's profile tomorrow as well as posting for her. Guys, please wrap up getting all of your characters made (if you haven't already). <3; ))  

[Freak Show Excess]

Lily shivered slightly in the cool night air, silently remonstrating herself for not thinking to take a coat along. Her heels clicked on the cobblestones as she looked up, admiring the architecture of the city's historic district. It really was a beautiful city, she thought. She decided to make her way back to the hospital, as she needed to do a few things before sunrise.

As she continued on her way, she felt a slight... something, almost as if someone had spoken her name. She looked around, wondering if she had been mistaken, when she saw a shiny black limousine parked on the side of the road. She squinted at its nearly opaque windows, wondering if the person inside had spoken to her. She walked casually over to the car and rapped on the glass with her knuckles. She could faintly see the outline of a man inside, and, as she looked closer, she gasped slightly. It was none other than D'Allessandro himself. She didn't know why it should surprise her so much that the coven master would be in the same place as she, but she couldn't help but wonder what he might be doing there. She stood back from the window slightly, waiting for him to make his move.