Simple Pleasures (open)

Between spending time with Amir, working for Bao, taking lessons from Bao and her own private obsession with her latest study topic, Middle Eastern Subcultures, it had been close to three weeks since Dana had eaten, and it was fast becoming a necessity. When she mentioned to one of the paralegals at Bao's office that she wanted a night out, he'd suggested Babylon.

The name itself suggested a den of iniquity, perfect. It would not be difficult to find a meal here. At least she hoped not. The car pulled to a stop in front of the club, with a small breath, she remembered Amir's words, 'Walk proud Dana, remember who you are.'

Stepping from the car, she smoothed the skirt of the little black dress she'd chosen for the evening. It was with another steadying breath that she walked into the club.

It was exactly as she expected, and a slow smile curled her lips. It took a strong surge of self-control to not reach up and check her up-swept hair as she moved down to the dance area. A young woman gyrated and moved around the stage in a state of almost complete undress, as Dana took a seat at the bar.

She ordered
"Something pretty," before turning around to get a good look at the room around her.



((open to any, feel free to join her)

Pakpao 14 years ago
That fucker was still out there, somewhere, and Pak was torn between actively looking for him and hiding. She was sort of compromising but going out but avoid her usual haunts. Pak wasn’t sure if she was looking for him or trying to keep him from finding her.

Either way she’d wound up in Babylon. Pak wasn’t looking for a lap dance but this had to work a little bit like some of the girls she frequented. Between that and her own history Pak simply wasn’t that out of her element here. In fact she was comfortable enough to roll her eyes at the ‘something pretty order’ before ordering her own mojito.

Deciding she wasn’t going to piss any one off Pak lit a clove, she wasn’t quite ready to stray from her bar stool just yet she needed to think about this. While she thought she sized up the pixie who wanted something pretty. Young, delicate and totally not her taste good thing there was a great deal to chose from.
Dana 14 years ago
The person next to her lit some kind of cigarette and the smell of it made Dana's sensitive nose wrinkle. She turned toward the girl to face back to the bar as the bar tender arrived.

Dark hair, pale skin, a little taller than Dana, and something about her spoke to foreign origins. Not that she had any room to talk, she was just as foreign, perhaps exotic worked better.

Her something pretty turned out to be the oddest thing she'd ever seen. It was served in a tall glass that looked like the top of a lantern, and started at the top as an electric blue, then darkened into a purple so dark it was almost black. Dana slid a twenty across the bar, and decided it was a good thing that drink was only for show.

When hunting, she had no use for women, as they tended to be emotional and clingy, where as men were ruled by the head between their legs. She debated briefly about asking the woman to put out the cigarette, but upon looking around, it was not the only smoking cylinder sending noxious fumes into the air. It seemed it was allowed her and Dana had no just cause to ask.

Except it really did smell awful. She could just move, but this was a rather good spot for watching the crowd. Distracted by her thoughts, she took a sip of the odd colored drink.

It was unexpectedly strong and caused Dana to begin coughing. How embarrassing, her cheeks flushed as she worked to get herself back under control.
Pakpao 14 years ago
Even Pak marveled at the electric blue mess that was passed to the pixie. Good lord, the bar tendered needed glasses if he thought that was pretty. Apparently, he also needed coordination lessons as he managed to push her mojito over the edge of the bar and all over her. He had probably been distracted by the pixies coughing. Well now he had worse to deal with.

God damned clumsy oaf!

Her red silk blouse was ruined and Pak was pissed. She violently stubbed out her clove and growled at the bar tender in a language he might get.

“I’m sending you a bill. You’re getting me another one on the house and I’m –not- going to wear this one.”

Maybe tonight wasn’t a good night to come out. She was now down a clove and up a ruined blouse. And she was damned fond of that blouse. Maybe it could be saved she thought as she futilely blotted at the spill. Either way she didn’t feel much like hunting now.

“If he assaults one more person I think we can start a class action suit.”

She said to the pixie while watching the bar tender like a hawk.
Dana 14 years ago
Dana took a deep breath and swallowed to wet her throat. The woman had a spectacular temper and Dana couldn't help but smile.

"I know a good lawyer. We could probably take this place for all the glitter in its storeroom."

She needed to eat, and soon, her thirst was making even a woman look like good fodder. She was not against sexual activity with women, but as a rule preferred to avoid it. As the act of feeding was incredibly intimate and most humans chosen as prey see it as sex...well it if's done right they do, she tended to avoid women.

As the bartender returned with the woman's drink, Dana asked him to take back the horrid thing he'd given her and give her a glass of chardonnay. At least he couldn't screw that up too very much.

She held her hand out to the darker woman,
"I'm Dana. I figure if we're going to take this place for what it's worth we ought to know each other."
Pakpao 14 years ago
“The glitter, the leather, and the four inch stilettos too and you might have yourself a deal. We can give the lawyer all the body paint they want as payment.”

Pak had an odd sense of humor, and that idea amused her to no end. The idea of a stuffed shirt playing with body paint, well it was funny.

The bar tendered came back with her drink, looking appropriately intimidated. He did have the good grace to apologize again so Pak decided not to hold a grudge.

She accepted the offered hand (Pak had a wonderfully professional hand shake, firm and sincere without being over powering or aggressive) with a friendly smile.


“Pakpao. Nice to meet you. You wouldn’t mind if I add the cost of a new blouse into my cut when we win the suite would you?”

The pixie order a glass of wine and Pak was vaguely amused.

“That is a much safer order.”
Dana 14 years ago
Dana chuckled, the thought of the only lawyer she knew playing with body paint was highly amusing. She'd have to tell Bao about it when she went to work later.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Pakpao" It was an unusual name, but it seem to Dana that most everyone she was meeting lately had odd names. She guessed that Pakpao was a cultural name much as Bao and Amir and Cadence were.

"I wouldn't mind in the least, it is after all the reason for the suit in the first place."

She chuckled again. "Aye, but generally the something pretty is as well. I've found that I'm usually served something pink with an umbrella."

Contemplating the bartender for a moment, Dana turned a wicked kind of grin to Pakpao. "I wonder if I irritated him by not giving a proper order and he wanted to teach me a lesson."

Perhaps hunting could wait until after this man was given the night off. she could teach him a lesson or to.
Pakpao 14 years ago
“I’m glad you’re amenable. If you’re going to go in on a long drawn out legal whatever it’s always reassuring to know you’re partner isn’t insane.”

Otherwise, you just wound up suing each other and losing everything. At least that seemed to be how anything along these lines went when she read about it or saw it on the news. Fortunately, she had Meridian’s lawyers for most things.

Pak snorted at the pink and umbrella, but then she didn’t set much stock in appearances when she placed a drink order.


“He’s probably a frustrated artist working here to pay the rent. We’d probably be better off if he’d auditioned to dance.”

The bartender wasn’t bad looking. Not the super good looking kind that she’d seen here so far but above average.

She shook her head, disagreeing.


“No you probably thrilled him. He was either trying to impress you or justify the thirty or forty grand he’s in debt for his fancy art degree.”

The bartender didn’t seem to be paying much attention to them, he had other people to take care of. However, Pak didn’t care if he heard her or not.

Pulling out her ornate cigarette case, she half nodded at it.


“Do you mind?”
Dana 14 years ago
Dana was beginning to like this woman. "I guess that depends on your definition of insanity."

Chuckling, she took a sip of the wine she'd been served, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. "He failed, miserably."

She let the sigh fill only her head, she hated smoke, it was such a needless destruction of perfectly good food. "I do a bit, however, it is your right to partake in such things, and if it makes you happy, then by all means indulge."

Her tone was light and friendly, not letting the annoyance and disgust she felt peek through in the least. She was supposed to be making friends and hunting, not offending people with her own brand of snark.
Pakpao 14 years ago
“The definition of insanity varies depending on both the situation and my mood so… it’s flexible.”

She grinned wickedly. Poor pixie couldn’t possibly guess the half of what that would cover in Pak’s book. And it was probably better that way.

Raising an eyebrow at the failure comment she quipped,


“With the blue thing or with the wine?”

It had been a while since any one had semi guilted her about the smoking. Pak knew it wasn’t socially acceptable these days but that didn’t stop her. So, Dana’s answer amused her and she had to stifle a grin. However, Pak didn’t immediately light up she took to fidgeting with the case, rotating it, snapping it open and closed enjoying the spicy smell of the cloves inside.

“You know I don’t even remember how I got started any more.”

Or when. That was a scary thought. Oh well she had no plans on stopping so did it really matter?
Dana 14 years ago
Contemplating the glass for a moment, she spoke, "Both. I foresee a tipless night in his future."

That was much more information that Dana had expected from this stranger. Was she trying to justify her addiction to Dana? She had no pull in this woman's life, nor would they probably ever see each other again. She was no therapist and she was not about to practice bar stool psychology for this woman.

Time for a change of subject.
"Would you like to dance? I don't enjoy going on the floor on my own, and a female partner is less likely to grope with out permission."

She smiled at the woman, pushing her drink to the back of the bar.
Pakpao 14 years ago
Pak quirked an odd half smile at the tipless comment and that turned into a laugh when Dana flat out ignored her comment about the cloves. She hadn’t expected an answer, but had expected some vague statement trying to sidestep the topic.

Dance? That was unexpected and from the look on her face Dana would probably be able to guess she’d caught Pak off guard. Pak wasn’t much of a dancer, in fact the only dances she knew were either formal or ceremonial and either two hundred years out of date or preformed for tourists.

Oh what the hell, what did she have to lose. Maybe she’d bump into some one delicious.


“As long as there are no poles involved why not.”

The worst she was going to do with kill someone; or possibly wind up on youtube. Downing what was left of her drink Pak snapped closed her cigarette case, put it away and followed Dana out to the floor.
Dana 14 years ago
As they moved onto the floor, Dana let the music into her body, much the way she had when Amir had taken her to that awful club. This was a much less crowded dance floor and the people here didn't seem so...frantic.

Her body moved in an undulating wave as they worked their way through the other bodies. The smell of sex and sweat pierced her nose, and Dana's thirst grew. She was old enough to control herself as they found a place roughly half way to the center in an area where darkness prevailed and bodies were mostly felt and not seen. Unless you were Dana's kin and then, like she you could see everything.

She turned to face Pakpao with a smile, offering the woman her hand as her body moved to the thick pulsing beat the band provided.
Pakpao 14 years ago
What in the world was she doing? This was not her typical MO when it came to hunting, not that she was out to bite Dana at least she didn’t think she was, and certainly not something that she did for fun. Pak was beginning to suspect that in her efforts to deal with her creator’s existence she’d lost her mind. This symptom, however, she would –not- be telling Kem about. She’d never live it down.

It took a little trial and error but Pak eventually caught the rhythm of the music as well as the style of dance. Soon enough she didn’t look that out of place, just one of the writhing bodies on the floor.

Trying to lose herself in the moment Pak smiled back at Dana and took the offered hand and allowed her movements to become more suggestive. Not flirtations, almost teasing it was an attempt to draw a bit of attention to them. Not much, just one would be enough if it was the right one.
Dana 14 years ago
It was obvious, not painfully so, that Pakpao was not an experienced dancer. Dana was not either, but having been taught by Amir made it easier to remember the motions.

She matched her movements to Pakpao's, swaying her hips the same direction. Her free hand moved to rest lightly on her partner's hip. She hoped Pakpao would not mind. Though if she did, Dana was sure she'd move her hand. Her feet moved a bit closer, enclosing their space from invasion.

It worked for only a little while. Their bubble of space was burst by a man that felt seven feet tall to Dana as he molded his body to her own. It took four deep breaths and a lot of interpersonal fast talk to put a small smile on her lips as she looked up and up at him.

He was blonde, well muscled, and...pretty. That was the best word Dana had for the man. His features were well proportioned, and softly sculpted, giving him a softness with out being effeminate. He looked like those men that smiled up at her in underwear adds in the newspaper she read each evening.

It surprised her a bit that this man did not scare her or cause the painful shyness that lurked in her to surface, no he made her hungry. She didn't want to abandon her new friend, but she really needed to eat. Turning back to Pakpao with indecision plain on her face.
Pakpao 14 years ago
Well her plan worked, just not quite how she had figured it. Of course everyone had different taste and if this blond had a taste for pixies who was she to argue. Honestly, Pak didn’t mind she was almost amused by this turn of events. It was, after all, the risk one took of seducing one’s meal especially with the assistance of an unwitting partner. Hell even if she’d tried this tact with Aishe there was no grantee he would have picked her.

The look on Dana’s face made her smile a feline like smile. It was nice of her to be polite about it. Most new acquaintances wouldn’t have thought twice about abandoning her on the dance floor. With out a second thought she nodded and half waved her hand indicating Dana should do what ever she wanted and that she would be just fine.
Dana 14 years ago
Dana's face brightened into a wide smile, almost revealing her tiny fangs. She checked her lips at the last moment, not letting them stretch all the way up. Giving Pakpao's hand a squeeze, she leaned forward and spoke in her ear.

"I won't be long, I promise. I'll find you when I'm done."

As she turned to the blonde underwear model, she nearly choked. Pakpao was not a vampire, or familiar or clan, what the hell did she just do? Mentally running the words over in her head she listened to them as a human... Maybe it sounded like sex and not what it really was. Dana fervently hoped so, but if the damage was done, there wasn't much she could do about it.

Letting it go for the moment she let her new partner lead her deeper into the darkness. When they reached the deepest part, he turned to her, and pulled her against him. He was too tall for them to dance like this, her face was even to where his chest met his abdomen, and she knew she looked like a child next to him.

With a sigh, she beconed him down to her level.
"Pick me up." She purred the words in his ear. He smiled, put his hands about her waist and lifted her easily. As her legs and arms wrapped around him, he began to sway to the music. His hands took liberties with her body, that quite frankly pissed her off. For the sake of dinner, she let them glide over her back and bottom, under the edges of her dress, down her legs. He was a bit like an octopus.

Still, he offered exactly what she wanted, by pressing her head to his shoulder. She obliged by snuggling her face into his neck and breathing deeply. Her own body relaxed and she began to enjoy the feel of his hands on her body. When an errant thought flittered about in her mind.

Would Amir be alright with this? Was it ok to partake in such things, when her body belonged to another? Her eyes closed, as her body and nose remained engaged with this unwitting man.

Was she doing something wrong here? She'd never been in a relationship in which it mattered. Should she only feed from women, or if she was going to feed from a man, should she refrain from seduction as a means of hunting?

A shudder shook her frame as the scent of him filled her nose, and the pulse of his blood sped against her cheek. Lips pressed a kiss to the rush of life there, and a small moan escaped her. The man pressed her closer, encouraging her to do these things, all the while her mind was racing.

This didn't feel wrong, it felt like feeding, like doing what was intended for survival. One must use all the tools one has in order to remain alive. If that meant stepping outside one's relationship and engaging in sexual activity with another in order to obtain that life giving elixer, then that is what one must do. She was doing nothing wrong, was she?

Her tongue darted out to taste the sweat slicked skin. Her body took over, she was simply too hungry to listen to her brain any longer. Lips peeled back, and the tiny fangs, that didn't look very useful, slid like a knife through butter, into his skin. He moaned for her, holding her closer, as his blood filled her mouth.

She didn't have to do much but swallow what flowed into her waiting mouth, as he strong heart pumped quickly. It took only moments for her belly to fill with warmth and the thirst to abate. She liked gently at the wound she'd inflicted, encouraging the blood to slow and stop, for the small holes to begin to knit. He would have a rather impressive suction bruise there in the morning. She did not think he would mind.

As she snuggled against him, suffuse with the glow of feeding, guilt struck her hard and fast. She didn't know what to do with such an emotion, having never experienced it before.
Pakpao 14 years ago
Pak smiled and watched Dana disappear. It was an odd thing to say. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman to go for a quickie in a dark corner. Of course to each their own. Pak watched them for a while, able to make them out at least somewhat where humans wouldn’t be able to see anything. It sure looked like a sex thing to her, and not being a voyeur, she went back to concentrating on her dancing.

She felt hands settle on her hips, slow them, guide them. Given her creator’s presence in the city she understandable tensed, but hearing a low chuckle behind her, she relaxed and allowed him to lead her. Things might have lead to a bit of a meal for Pak but he made the mistake of dropping a kiss on her neck. It was much too close to a bite and without thinking about it, Pak jabbed an elbow into his gut. He snarled ‘bitch’ and spun the much smaller Pak around. She turned a hard, cold, nasty T-Rex look on him. The death look was apparently both intense enough and unexpected enough that he immediately backed off leaving Pak to stalk back to the bar and order another drink.
Dana 14 years ago
Dana found herself in an odd place as she slithered from the limp arms of her partner. It was so incredibly odd to have such large emotion flooding her body. Slightly dazed and a little tipsy from her meal's blood alcohol level, Dana danced her way out of the darkness to the edge of the dance pit.

When she was in a place where she could not only catch her breath but look around, she found Pakpao sitting at the bar again. Her head spun in a small circle as she turned that direction, and headed for the stool beside Pakpao.

She let the buzz in her head put a smile on her face, hiding the turmoil inside, as she slid onto the empty cushion.


"Well that was interesting." The bartender came over again and she ordered a glass of water with lime.
Pakpao 14 years ago
Pak had turned to scotch on the rocks and a clove as a result of her displeasure with her dance partner. That had not gone the way she had intended. She was still having some trouble hunting. Oh, she was getting better, back into the flow and the feel of it but she was still having jumpy moments and that frustrated her. It was hard to get the mojo back.

Lost in thought Pak didn’t notice Dana until the other woman spoke. She looked maybe a little flush, a little tipsy but since that’s what places like this were for Pak didn’t really notice. Carefully ashing her cigarette she grinned, not willing to share her own warring thoughts with a stranger Kem yes, Aishe probably, Dana… no.


“That didn’t take long. Didn’t he live up to expectations?”

She spoke lightly, teasing.
Dana 14 years ago
Dana sipped the water, letting the cool liquid soothe her throat, and wash the smell of blood from her mouth. She grinned at Pakpao. "Not particularly, it seems I'm a bit much for him."

She chuckled softly, actually she had no idea what had happened to the man. She'd not given him a backward glance. She did notice Pakpao's drink and that the woman seemed unhappy in some way. Not that she knew, as she did not know this woman's moods anymore than she knew the bartender's. Perhaps she was projecting her own doubt and displeasure onto her.

"Is something wrong? Did you not find someone to dance with? Would you like to go back out?"