Edge Town-City of Light

Tim had risen early, rummaging through the travel pharmacy in his bag to hunt down every last Ibuprofen or Aspirin for the headache that pounded in his head followed by a hot shower to try to get himself anywhere close to functioning and sane as he was going to get to today.

It was times like that morning, days like these that he came closest to resenting the conditions of Wizardhood because right now he'd love nothing more than to pull out a mobile phone, put in the number and hear Kat's voice. Just for a few minutes. Was that too much to ask, right now, as he stood under the shower and focused on keeping his mental walls stable.

Oh, grow up. He told himself with a grunt as he shut off the water. You can sulk on your own time.

And the faster you can get done with this, the faster you and her can take this vacation to some south pacific Island where the next Way or air plane is 500 miles away and crazy Nordics, Fae and Alexander Fucking Thorne are nothing but a bad memory under the sun.

Well, that was something to look forward to. That and Kat on a beach...in swimwear...

Despite the lingering headache, a slim smile crept on his face as he started to dress for the day, getting out a new shirt and necktie after yesterdays...incident and headed out to get something in his stomach before the next round of pills.

Which is where he ran into Leon, having similar idea's it seemed.

"Its as good as it's going to get under the circumstances. I'll manage." Tim gave answer to his question. He doubted Census data would be as volatile as the little black book of undeath. Or so he hoped.

edited 2nd Mar '17 12:40:33 AM by 3of4

Terry patted his pockets for a moment before finding the vial. "Here it is. Wasn't gonna just leave it behind since you said it was important." He held it out at a point roughly equidistant between the mom and the kid, not sure whether to give it to the person who'd asked about it or the adult.

"Anyway, explanations. You're in the hotel room booked by the unreasonably pretty Thorne family, who I know from the States. I think I only know the end bit of what all went down in the restaurant, though. I caught some chick who turned out to be the owner's daughter freaking out by your table, you passing out shortly thereafter, and the owner suggesting that it would maybe be best if you stopped being there. And so we brought you back here, where we're all very happy to see you fully conscious and so forth."

Annette snatched the vial out of Terry's hand with a look of dread, and touched the lip of it to the back of her hand. A familiar stinging, *burning* pain started where the traces of liquid touched her skin, and she winced. "Shi-Scheibenkleister," she nearly swore, but swerved at the last second. David didn't seem to notice. So she'd used the acid potion on a vampire. And lived. Not a bad way to handle it, all things considered. But if she'd been the owner's daughter—or maybe whatever they referred to as their turned—then that suspicion had been right as well. A whole restaurant full of vampires.

And she could be sitting among even more of them.

"Kannst du mir eine Serviette geben, Schatz?" she spoke very softly, and David nodded and looked around the room for a cloth or towel of some sort. Taking in a little breath Annette raised her gaze to the very attractive woman, then threw a look at the other three she hadn't paid much mind to. The eldest looking one was just as pretty as his...sister? They were a family and looked too much alike to be married. Hopefully. The little girl and the...teenager, maybe, were the odd ones out. She hadn't known vampires to be so young. Then again, she'd only ever known one personally.

Her skin went a bit paler.

Would...it kill me to ask? They got me out of there, where there were more vampires already. Terrance seems normal. Ish. But what if he's a thrall? What if they're still planning on killing me? And my son...

It would probably kill to ask. Then again, it would probably kill not to.

"...she..." Annette swallowed, and, giving the little girl another look, returned her attention to Terrance, "...she was trying t-to eat me. It was self defense. Are all of y-you...human? Or n-not?"

edited 2nd Mar '17 6:54:28 AM by KeiranGold

Jarl

Jarl didn't sleep well. He hadn't slept well in years.

Even before he'd been roped into all this madness, he hadn't slept well. The night terrors of the Red War, even if he hadn't been as exposed to it as others may have been, had never gone away. He could never stop seeing faces in his dreams - the people he didn't save, the people who'd wronged him, the people whose reckoning had come in that night of blood and fire at Chichen Itza.

He snuck out of bed in the early hours of the morning, nervous energy compelling him to take action. He got dressed, picked up his bow, and crept through the empty halls of Rollo's house until he reached the exit. He walked a respectable distance from the manor, not wanting to wake someone, feeling the snow crunch under his feet.

He let the cold air sink into his lungs, then felt the cold core of power within himself resonate with the harsh weather. It was no more dangerous to him than a temperate summer's day. He draw a circle in the ground, inscribed it with runes and spoke words of power, the ice and snow whirling around him until it formed a surprisingly artisinal sculpture of a human being inside the circle.

He walked fifty paces from it and strung his bow, drawing an arrow, nocking and loosing it as quickly as he could, in a span of time that would have been nigh-impossible for a regular human being. But then, he supposed, he wasn't quite human anymore. He barely even felt a tug on his shoulders as he drew the heavy composite bow - Faerie strength flowed through his limbs, the same power that let him stand outside on a cold winter morning with no problem.

He loosed another three-dozen arrows before he saw the sun start to creep over the horizon. The others would probably be waking up soon. He went to his improvised target dummy and slowly removed the arrows, dissolving the sculpture with another wave of a hand. Nobody was going to see a thing.

How long will work distract you from your chains. A voice in his head piped up. A question for another time. He might yet have a chance to get some sleep in.

He went to breakfast with a much more cheery disposition, though he spared Tim a concerning glance. He'd never considered his friend's libromancy that much of a double-edged sword, but it made sense in hindsight. The emotional imprint of the writer wasn't lost on him just because he absorbed the information immediately. In fact, it was probably the opposite.

"Should we all go and see the census register, you think? Either way, we shouldn't be going anywhere without some kind of backup in range."

Lilaine stood, giving Annette another flirtatious smile, and glared at Aiden.

"Excuse. I now need to clean my hair, and decide how to best murder my youngest brother with a curling iron. I'm currently leaning toward insertion.

With the air of a wounded cat, she pet Bethany fondly on the head, then walked to one of the doors to visit the restroom. Aiden went slightly pale, a smirk still dancing on his lips, and raised the bottle of wine to his lips, and taking a straight pull.

Alexander sighed. Family. Well, that ruled out ignorant mortals, not that it seemed very likely. He had no particular reason to keep them around any longer, though he wouldn't mind getting to know the woman better privately. Would that he spoke German, so he'd know what they're saying.

He grinned at Terry, sitting down on the couch were Lilaine had been, adressing the woman and her son, voice dry.

"That was a bit of a mess. Let me introduce myself, before I answer you question. I'm Alexander Thorne—my friend and I kept you from, as you said, getting eaten."

He held out his hand to shake.

"And as for the answer to your question—both. I'm a Vampire."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Wizards Three

As the wizards prepared their outing, there was the sound of heavy footsteps, then a loud knock on Rollo's front-door. Through the window, they could see a broad-shouldered man dressed in a plain grey suit standing on front step, hands hooked in his belt.

Tim gave the stranger a quick look through the window. "Anyone of you know this guy?" he asked, in no particular direction.

"Werewolf over here. So, usually human," said Terry. Continuing in the same mild tone, "Also a member of an alliance of minor talents and small fish, making it my duty to fucking end anyone else who tries to eat you. That shouldn't be an issue with our hosts, though. Good thing, too. Biting this kind of vampire is supposed to have some weird effects on you."

Shit, I swore in front of the kids. Maybe they won't notice if I don't draw attention to it.

"...what."

Annette's expressions probably would have lined up quite well with a little loading bar. She looked confused, then a little surprised, and then a look of sheer, pure panic spread over her face. Vampires. So. Many. Vampires. Yes, they were sitting nicely on the couch and not looming over her with fangs flashing, and yes in all fairness they could have probably eaten her when she was unconscious, but that did not subtract from the fact that there were vampires in her face and trying to shake her hand and WHY.

She stared at Alexander's hand, tempted to swat it away, and feeling like she might just pass out a second time. Terry at least confirmed that he was human. Sort of. Werewolves...oh, good, things only slightly less likely to kill her than vampires. What would she meet next?! If she lived through today.

David, however, seemed entirely unfazed. He looked at Terry with a small frown, brows knitted together. "You said a bad word."

Children.

Annette swallowed, her hands shaking as she tried to close herself up into an even smaller space than what she was currently occupying. Which was pretty small to begin with. "V-v-v-vampires. Huh. That's. Th-that's interesting. Thank you for saving me. Now. Are. Are y-y-you going to eat me?"

edited 3rd Mar '17 6:19:15 PM by KeiranGold

Well. That was more of a reaction than he was used to. Fear was healthy when someone just introduced you as a vampire.

Well, fear, or endless gales of laughter, depending on who was claiming to be a vamp. Some people...

She didn't just look afraid, though. She looked terrified.

He kept his hand outstretched, but turned it palm up, as though to demonstrate he was unarmed. Still, he couldn't completely restrain himself with a straight line like that.

"Not unless you ask me very nicely."

He smirked, eyes flicking guiltily at Bethany. It had been subtle. Just in time to catch the fact that she wasn't paying attention to him at all. Looking wide-eyed at David, she shot him a smug grin.

"That was *barely* a swear. My sister says *way* worse all the time. Like at Aiden, and—

Alexander shot her a look. She glared back defiantly. He sighed.

"I have no plans of harming you or you son in any way. The door is unlocked, and you're free to go whenever you want. If you'd like to stay and chat a little longer, I wouldn't mind. I'm curious. You're the first magically inclined person I've met in Paris since the Duchesse."

"Well if you want more time to recover, we could check out the museums first. Still your head your choice."

Leon blinked as someone came a knocking. He looked out the window with Tim and stared at the grey suited stranger.

"Despite the choice in color's don't think he's a warden. So not a clue."

Some paranoid part of him was deeply regretting the fact that all his weapons were still in his duffle bag upstairs in the guest room.

"I have absolutely no idea. Which means there's a roughly 75% chance he's bad news." Jarl patted Tjalfe's side as the dog tilted his head slightly. Evidently he was also quite confused.

"Should we go greet the locals? I'm gonna go greet the locals."

And with that, he traipsed on down to the front door to open it, safe in the knowledge that anyone who wanted a piece of him would have to go through an apex predator.

edited 5th Mar '17 1:34:47 PM by math792d

Tim gave a exasperated sigh and followed him, if only to see what happened.

Terry made an apologetic face at the kid, then leaned back against the wall with a sound halfway between a sigh and a chuckle. When even Bethany was corrupting the innocent with her superior knowledge of vice, convincing mom -

Okay, these two needed proper names, or at least better nicknames. Vial Lady. No, that sounded too much like Vile Lady. But it also sounded like Violet, which was an actual name. Didn't really lead into any male names for the kid, though. He'd have to be, uh, fuck it he looks like a David he's David now.

Anyway, convincing Violet that the family weren't wicked purveyors of sin was always going to be an uphill battle against, you know, facts, but he'd hoped Beth at least wouldn't offer evidence.

Something Alex said caught his attention, distracting him from his musings. "You're talking about meeting her earlier than today, right? Because otherwise that's uh, not really very surprising."

David looked at Bethany in the same awkward, somewhat panicked manner as before, his eyes darting from her when she spoke to staring at the floor like it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. But unlike the time before, his lips twitched into a small, shy smile, and he giggled. "...mom swears in German."

Were Annette less petrified she might have responded to that, but luckily for her son, she was still very much scared. Alexander did do his best attempt at soothing her nerves. If he was telling the truth then she could just go. No vampires. Go back to her father's family a country away and never think about this again. Never think about her again. But it was the next part of his offer that left her looking less terrified and more curious.

I'm the first he's met since coming to Paris...then does he know others elsewhere? I haven't tried to meet anyone else who knew about magic in years.

Annette swallowed, and looked at Alexander's empty hand. It didn't calm her—she knew what a disarmed Red Court could still do—but her shoulders loosened just slightly. Her eyes went to rest on his nose. "I...I am magically inclined, I g-guess." She raised her hand—the one without a drop of acid on it—to rest on the collar of her dress. "But...if you a-aren't trying to eat me, then...why d-do you care that I can do magic? Isn't that something...w-w-wouldn't that make you want me d-dead more...?"

Her voice was soft and frightened, precisely like a mouse, before a funny thought occurred to her. There was a little girl here. She'd forgotten for a second. Why in the world would vampires have children? She looked just like the rest of them—it was incredibly unlikely that they weren't siblings by blood. But as far as she knew, vampires couldn't have children.

So then what gives?

"Oh. Um. I'm Annette," she added, "Ms. Wagner, if you don't mind. This is m-my son, David."

David nodded. "'snicetomeetyou."

edited 6th Mar '17 5:39:58 PM by KeiranGold

Alexander

Alexander withdrew his hand. It seems like handshakes were going to wait. Beside him, Bethany flashed David a conspiratorial grin, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I'm Bethany. He's Aiden, and my sister—the one Aiden spilled on, is Lilaine. And he's Terr-Mr Talbot."

Alexander's lips twitched into a smile as he looked over at his baby sister. She was extricable today. He supposed it made sense. He'd been so busy over the past year, he hadn't had time to consider if he sister had many friends, but he didn't remember many invitations after school for her. Perhaps he'd failed to realize that she was lonely.

Well. Best try to keep her new playmate around a little longer then.

"You have a very odd view of how vampires spend their time."

He nodded at Terry, answering both his and Anne's questions.

"That was my first meeting with the Duchesse—the owner of that establishment, and as charming as she was, I tend not to trust other White Court. At all. This isn't my first time visiting Paris, but I'm likely to be staying for at least a week. So I'm trying to get to know the city."

Pausing, and focusing his full attention back at Anne, his voice turned wry.

"As for your magic making me what you dead more? Absurd. You are exactly as dangerous to me as a policeman or some manner of vampire hunter. Hopefully less, since I will stress, again, I have little interest in eating people. I'm curious about magic. You sound like you come from the States. In Las Vegas, I try to employ talented people in my businesses."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Wizards Three

The door opens, revealing a bear of a man standing outside, dark eyes glittering behind thick black brows and a short, curly beard. A lit cigarette hangs in his mouth, a trail of smoke wafting from the end.

The man gives a lupine grin when he sees Jarl, the corners of his eyes crinkling with good cheer, and just a note of interest. Reaching into the pocket of his plain grey suit, he pulls out a wallet, flashing a golden badge, his voice a lazy drawl.

"Denis Prouteau, Police National. Which one of you owns the black Mercedes parked outside?"

Tjalfe hunkers down, growling at the man.

edited 7th Mar '17 10:08:14 AM by DrTentacles

Tim raised a eyebrow, suddenly wishing for a great deal more Ibuprofen.

"That would be me." He said, stepping forward without leaving the threshold. "May I ask what this is about?"

edited 7th Mar '17 10:10:59 AM by 3of4

"Someone had a little run-in with your car. The damage isn't severe, but I thought you should know."

The cop grinned, then, inexplicably, burst out in a long laugh.

"Ah—it's only a scrape. Not worth pressing charges. I do have ask, though—why are three wizards visiting Paris all of a sudden?"

edited 7th Mar '17 10:51:13 AM by DrTentacles

Tim managed to only sigh internally at this and kept his face straight as he responded. "Wizards? What do you mean by that?"

Also, technically we're only Two and a Half Wizards He had to note to himself

The cop laughed again, another wild, almost donkey-like bray, the end of his cigarette hanging out of his mouth, trailing smoke.

"Merde! This must be the wrong house. I was looking for Harry Potter! You see, there were reports of a flying Ford Angela in the area, and being on traffic duty, I had to check if the driver had all the proper permits."

He blinks, eyes slightly watery, then shivers at the morning cold.

"But you're right! You can't be wizards. Not a robe in sight, Mr von Hochberg."

edited 7th Mar '17 11:14:48 AM by DrTentacles

"Doctor von Hochberg." Tim corrected almost reflexibly. "And I assure you my car is fully conforming with the pertaining regulations."

edited 7th Mar '17 11:17:07 AM by 3of4

"Just my little joke, Doctor von Hochberg."

He crossed his arms, giving another wide smile.

"Let me properly introduce myself. I am the Lieutenant in charge of Paris's extraordinary cases, at least when it comes to the police. It is my job to keep an eye on strange things that happen in our city."

edited 7th Mar '17 12:50:17 PM by DrTentacles

"I apologize if I appear to engage in cultural posing but in my experience 'strange things' are the norm in Paris." Tim pointed out.

David didn't look up at Bethany again, but had at least acknowledged her talking with a little nod this time. Annette was still trying to make sense of things. A vampire uninterested in killing her? Wasn't that just what vampires...did? She assumed some of them were smart and would bide their time until they had the best opportunity, but this guy had it right in front of him. She just wasn't sure she could trust him. Except for his little sister. She was right there, and looked as human as could be. Could children even be vampires?

Not questions to think about with her son right next to her.

Annette lowered her gaze again, her fingers pressing against her collar-bone just slightly. If he was only not murdering her out of the thought that she was dangerous, well, that was hilarious. Without that acid potion or her switchblade she was harmless. He didn't need to know that, though. "...I apologize, b-but I have a hard time accepting th-that a v...vampire wouldn't want me d-dead," she mumbled, "Let alone f-find me interesting in a non-violent way."

Terry hmmed thoughtfully. "You might be thinking of a different kind of vampire. There are a coupla different kinds of critter that all get called 'vampire' despite not having anything really to do with each other because magic taxonomy is pretty shi- stinky. For the kind of vamps the Thornes are, you don't need to worry about them having you whacked immediately as much as them trying to manipulate them into becoming your pawn."

He frowned. "Which would look a lot like what Alex is doing now. I swear it sounded reassuring in my head."

Alexander leaned back, frowning, and took a sip of his whiskey. Terry was right. She'd clearly had some sort of past trauma, and that was bleeding into this conversation. He wasn't going to get anywhere like this.

"Ever so helpful, Terrence. Have I mentioned I could use a PR rep? I think you have just the right mix of honesty and including somewhat unneeded details."

The words didn't have bite, however—instead, he looked at Annette contemplatively.

"You seem to have a very...fixed idea of what a Vampire is. There are a lot of different kinds. I cannot claim to be harmless, but I do not need to kill to feed, and am mentally as human as you or or son."

edited 7th Mar '17 4:55:40 PM by DrTentacles