Nightlife / Drive - The Howl (OPEN) / Camille Sotoria 12 years ago

Drive - The Howl (OPEN)

Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear
And I can't help but ask myself how much I let the fear
Take the wheel and steer
It's driven me before
And it seems to have a vague, haunting mass appeal
But lately I'm beginning to find that I
Should be the one behind the wheel
-Incubus

Camille pulled her ivory wrap around her bare shoulders and tried not to look nervous. Standing at the steps leading down the club section of The Howl, Cam nervously looked around as she was jostled by the quickly moving patrons heading down to see the head lining act. It was early still, hours before her Reese...Red...well he wasn't hers, per say.... Shaking her head, Cam almost turned to leave when a large group of women caught her in their wake and forced her to move down the steps. Being unceremoniously moved to the tables surrounding the stage, Cam pulled her wrap tighter around her.

Wearing tight black capri jeans with matching suede espadrille wedges and an ivory silk tank to match her wrap, Camille shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore the rush of annoyed auras from the females. Her hesitation was beginning to annoy her, so she took a deep breath and selected a table near the back of the venue. Draping her wrap over the back of the chair, she slipped off her small purse and tried to look nonchalant.

The auras around her varied from elated, energetic, apprehensive, and aroused. She filtered the harsher emotions and concentrated on trying to read the body language of the patrons around her, connecting the dots, as it were - putting emotions to people. It would distract her for a little while hopefully. Reese had been on her mind all week, and she was fairly certain he would play later that night, but she hadn't decided if she was going to see him again. Unconsciously she reached up and pulled her hair into a low ponytail, running her fingers through her long black tresses.

Reese E Deardon 12 years ago

Switching to his flaming red Gibson and slipping the strap over his shoulders, JT began a fast beat that a few in the audience recognized, specifically Vivienne. He honed in on her shrill hooting and hollering and saw her jumping up and down in front of Huntington. His smile faltered for a moment as his annoyance reared its ugly head seeing the vampire standing behind her a little closer than Red would have liked. He would have liked Huntington in in ashes in the alley, but Viv wasn't his mate. Nodding toward her, he brightened his smile and wiped at his face with the bottom of his orange Kellogg's t-shirt. It was already damp from sweat and that was only after two songs. Waiting for JT to get to a certain spot, he stepped up to the microphone.

Resting his left forearm on the neck of his guitar, he began tapping his right foot, looking out into the crowd, still searching for Cam but let his smile ease down to a sexy grin. Pulling his neon green guitar pick out of his jeans pocket, he started the first verse of 'Hot for Teacher' by Van Halen.

Oh, wow, man, I said
Wait a second, man
What do you think the teacher's gonna look like this year?
Fuck man!

Uh!
Oh yeah!

Continuing with the energized tempo, Red flawlessly played his guitar and sang as loud and hard as he could knowing he'd feel it in the morning.

T-T-teacher stop that screamin'
Teacher don't you see?
Don't wanna be no uptown fool
Maybe I should go to hell
But I am doing well
Teacher needs to see me after school

I think of all the education that I've missed
But then my homework was never quite like this!

Ow! Got it bad,
Got it bad,
Got it bad,
I'm hot for teacher!
I've got it bad, so bad
I'm hot for teacher!

Hey, I heard you missed us
We're back! (Hey!)
I brought my pencil
Give me something to write on, man!
Whoa

Playing the guitar for him was as simple as breathing. Often he'd find himself playing only to drift off in thought, but continuing on without missing a beat. Still, it didn't compare to Charlie's sizable intellect (which he never showed off, except in the R&D capacity) or Marko's insane knowledge of small engines. Music set Red apart, and along with JT, excelled at it at an incredibly talented level. His aspirations had went beyond playing in his living room, so the big fish in a small pond fame was exhilarating, but it would never be anything he'd leave his current life behind for. Music and medicine were fun, but being a Piper was his life.

Red realized he was halfway through the guitar solo and he shook his head, clearing it when he got a flash of a mental picture in his head.

Cam was at the club.

Binding mark was a useful ability, but if he wasn't careful, he did tend to mark everything his saliva came in contact with and apparently he had marked Cam. When he concentrated, or zoned out rather, he could get a brief flash of the mark in question - where ever they were. Right now she was sitting to his left near the back looking at a woman and two men. Moving his head to his left, he saw her. Smiling, he finished the song with JT talking back and forth with him.

Oh man, I think the clock is slow
(What are you doin' this weekend?) I don't feel tardy
Class dismissed!
Ooh-yeah!

I've got it bad,
Got it bad,
Got it bad,
I'm hot for teacher!

Whoa!
Oh! Ooh, yes I'm hot
Wow!

Whoa!
Oh! Ooh, yes I'm hot
Wow!

Oh my God!
Woo!

As he finished, he felt his fingertips burning and the sweat pouring down his chest and back. He knew JT had to be exhausted and he signaled for a five minute break as someone off stage threw him two towels. Walking back to JT, he handed a towel to JT who was covered in sweat.

"You still good?"

"Oh yeah!" JT said with a smile. "How are your fingers?"

"Tips are ok." Red wiped at his face and then ran his fingers through his hair. "Wanna slow it down?"

JT shrugged and then gave him a knowing look. "Cam here?"

Red was thankful that his body temp was already high and his skin was flush with it or else the blush he felt at the mention of Cam's name would have been embarrassing.

"I do not know what you are talking about, sir."

"Of course," JT said picking up his drumsticks. "Are you going to do what you said you were going to do?"

Red shrugged as if he didn't care.

"Man you really like her."

Red threw his towel at JT's face and returned to the microphone without his guitar. Checking the microphone, he then wiped at his face, smiling at the girls below him on the floor. He knew exactly where Cam was but he didn't look at her. He could not help but smile as he looked back at JT and started the next song.

Camille Sotoria 12 years ago

Cam's attention wavered from Reese to her table mates when Rowan made a rather passive aggressive comment to Pak. She felt the slight irritation from Rowan and confusion from Pak or something suspiciously close to those two emotions. It confused Cam to no end, but she tried to sidestep any type growing frustration by answering Christian.

"Oh, I don't work in the Towers. I don't work anywhere, really. I suppose you can say I'm an independent contractor. I deal with antiques. Acquiring and in some cases authenticating, but I don't really specialize in any era. I don't think I could work with other people." Cam shrugged sheepishly. "It's just easier for me."

Reese took a short break and disappeared to the back end of the stage, she presumed to talk to his friend. Curiously she missed seeing him and the thought made her pull her ivory wrap around her tighter. She was struggling with her feelings for him, struggling with the idea of it, really. He had not seen her yet and she wasn't sure if she was a little disappointed that he didn't try hard enough to find her. Maybe he assumed she had not shown up.

This was her best guess, that was until Reese started his next song and looked right at her.

Vivienne Sena 12 years ago

Viv was delirious. Red and JT continued with another fast song, this time really showcasing their talents with their instruments when Marko and Dom pushed through the crowd to where she was standing with Simon. He took the cue and whispered in her ear.

"Want another water?" She held up her three quarters full bottle. "I'm grabbing another for me. Gentlemen," he said nodding to the two Pipers and left.

Viv saw the ripple of disgust on their faces but they both immediately recovered. "I hope we didn't chase him away," Marko said with innocent curiosity. Dom rolled his eyes and smiled at Viv.

"Oh my god you were awesome!" Viv jumped up and down in front of Dom, putting her hands on his shoulders and generally losing her mind.

"I was nervous," Dom admitted but still looked smug.

"I didn't think he'd be able to do it," Marko said with his extremely low baritone of a voice. He gave his friend a side look and laughed.

"The other guys are going to be so sorry they missed it." Then Marko held up his phone and showed her the video.

"I got it all."

Viv continued to jump up and down, clapping happily. "I wonder if Red's girl is here?"

"So are we actually," Dom replied.

Then after the short break between songs, Red stepped up to the microphone without his guitar. They didn't have to wait long to find out the answer to their question.

Reese E Deardon 12 years ago

Red had been impressed with JT's repertoire of songs he could play. Their tastes varied - from old classic rock to the newer pop that was out, but Red loved the unusual choices. Those songs that burned brightly but then faded as fast as they came, but could always strike a cord with someone when you hear it again after so many years.

Bryan Adams also had a lot of awesome guitar rifts, but Red opted not to use his guitar for this song, wanting to concentrate on the vocals. He was a reasonable singer, playing the guitar was definitely his stronger suit, but this was Bryan Adams. All he really needed to do was get the gritty, throaty sound down and the effect would be the same. The neon lights dimmed down and the bar grew quiet. Finally he looked over at Cam who seemed to be startled that he noticed her. Red gave her a small grin and started.

I love the way you look tonight
With your hair hangin' down on your shoulders,
'N'I love the way you dance your slow sweet tango,
The way you wanna do everything but talk
And how you stare at me with those undress me eyes,
Your breath on my body makes me warm inside.
Let's make out, let's do something amazing,
Let's do something that's all the way
'Cause I never touched somebody like the way I touch your body,
Now I never want to let your body go ...

Let's make a night to remember
From January to December,
Let's make love to excite us,
A memory to ignite us,
Let's make honey, baby, soft and tender,
Let's make sugar, darlin', sweet surrender.
Let's make a night to remember
All life long.

He never once took his eyes off Cam. She, on the other hand, turned three shades of red and looked like she wanted to run for it. He was putting her on the spot, but he just could not help himself, especially when he took the microphone off the stand and jumped down to the stage floor.

There were tables lined along the perimeter of the stage floor and hers was near the back on the left. The tables were spaced apart with barely enough room to move between them if they were occupied. Still, he made do. Moving through the crowd, he turned to the first table and used his long legs to step up onto it. Everyone at the table picked up their drinks and sat back in their chairs as he made his away across the tops, back toward Cam.

I love the way you move tonight,
Beads of sweat drippin' down your skin,
Me lying here'n'you lyin' there,
Our shadows on the wall and our hands everywhere.

The look on Cam's face was priceless. She saw him coming and she put her hands up to her mouth, completely mortified. He crossed four more tables until he finally got to hers. Kneeling down, he sang to Cam as she looked up at him.

Let's make out, let's do something amazing,
Let's do something that's all the way
'Cause I never touched somebody like the way I touch your body,
Now I never want to let your body go ...
Let's make a night to remember
From January to December,
Let's make love to excite us,
A memory to ignite us,
Let's make honey, baby, soft and tender,
Let's make sugar, darlin', sweet surrender.
Let's make a night ro remember
All life long.
Oh, I think about you all the time,
Can't you see you drive me outta my mind,
Well, I'm never hodin' back again.
Ya, I never want this night to end.

Red pulled her hands away from her lips and her face was bright red under her soft brown skin and she had a small smile on her face. He knew he was going to regret doing this later, probably alienating half of whatever fan base he might of had at that point, but he could not help himself. He liked Cam, he'd admit that much, and he had picked the song just for her. It was either that or another Justin Timberlake song and he just couldn't risk losing any more fans by doing that. Besides, he had marked her.

She was his.

Simon Huntington 12 years ago

"Why is it that your life always seems to be straight out of a movie?"

Simon came up behind Viv and watched with her and the Pipers as Red stepped down from the stage and started to walk across the table tops.

"Oh my god. Oh my GOD!" Viv yelled out. She turned to Simon and grabbed him. "Pick me up, I can't see."

"What?"

"Gimme a boost, I can't see."

Handing Marko his beer, who took it with a strange look, Simon reached out and picked up Viv, letting her sit on his one arm and then lifted her so she could see above the heads in the crowd.

"You've gained about twenty pounds, haven't you?"

Viv looked down at him and slapped him playfully on his cheek. Simon could see Red stop at a table and kneel down in front of an exquisitely exotic looking woman with long black hair.

/She's too pretty for him./

/You are such a dick,/ she laughed in his head. /It's so romantic, though./

/Women,/ he said shaking his head.

Pakpao 12 years ago

Pak debated getting snippy with Rowan, but she was trying to be nice and she got the feeling he wasn't trying to be annoying so she let his Mr. Rodger's moment go. She didn't even quip that Christian had to let people in or risk being judged by his cover. Instead she just half nodded and let the topic drop.

"That doesn't happen nearly as often as you might think."

Pak felt compelled to defend her department. She didn't feel the need stay in the center of the conversation. Pak was honestly happier on the edges, watching.

The VanHalen song made her grin and absently keep time with her foot under the table.

A tiny little change up and the guys switched tempos. Just ran into him her ass. Pak's eyes flicked between the singer on the stage and Cam. If this was just ran into Pak wanted to know what happened when Cam decided to flirt. It was romantic as all hell though, she had to admit that. She didn't think that she had -ever- made this much of an impression on some one. Apparently she was a bit on the forgettable side. Ah well, all the better to hide herself.

Who? What? No... he was not supposed to come down off the stage and toward Cam. Pak didn't care that the guy only had eyes for Cam. People were watching and she was in the line of fire. She didn't even think about it she inched closer to Rowan. Granted she didn't really know the guy, but he was family and if he was with Christian he was moderately safe.

Rowan Murphy 12 years ago

[Clearly Pak doesn't know you,] Rowan sent back defensively. [You're fascinating. MARI has nothing on you.]

At his lover's comment regarding Cam Rowan raised his brows but didn't look directly at their shyer Clanmate. [Poor thing, I wonder why she's here if she's so nervous? And I'm all right with being cute. As long as it's with you.]

He laughed softly when Cris blamed his visits to the HoP on Alfarinn. "You're a bastion of virtue, to keep him safe whle he slums so," Rowan drawled with irony. He grinned widely, sure Cris could read into it and guess that Rowan was wondering what might happened if he mentioned this deplorable slumming at dinner tomorrow. "He's clearly a bad influence on you."

Rowan chuckled at Cris when his drink was slid closer beneath him. He picked it up obediently and drank, trying to avoid brain freeze and giving a little sigh as he felt a contrary sort of warmth spread to him, in opposition to the frostiness of the margarita. He leaned further toward Cris, turning his head and brushing his lips against Cris's cheek. "I'm only interested in one drinking game," he said with a suggestive smile, soft enough for Cris's ears only. [Never Ever... the bane of my existence. I always end up drinking.] It wasn't his fault he'd led a somewhat... eventful... life.

He peered at Cam with interest when she stated her profession. He filed the information away but didn't have much chance to enter the discussion himself before the singer was approaching their table, fixated on Cam.

Oddly enough he sensed something on his other side and turned to find Pak sliding closer, looking a little edgy. He favored her with a sympathetic look and tilted his head at her in inquiry. She was welcome at his side, if the singing stranger made her nervous. He didn't know why he would though; the man was obviously quite fixated upon Cam.

Did any of the people at the table with him actually socialize on a regular basis? Rowan was beginning to wonder.

Christian Bern 12 years ago

Taking another swallow of his drink, he shrugged mentally at Rowan's sending. [No, she doesn't. So long as you find me fascinating then everyone else can do as they please.] His eyes slid over to Camille when Rowan asked about her. [Oh, I think there's a good reason...and he's standing on the stage.]

"I am a noble creature. I don't know what he would do without me." Christian managed with a straight face and a saintly beleaguered tone.

He listened to what Cam did for a living and smiled. A lot of Meridian dealt in antiquities, truth be told a lot of them could be considered antiques. "Experience must be very helpful for sorting out the real from the fake. If you come across any antique weapons then let me know." Even if he was not personally interested in everything she found he could probably find someone who was. "And woodwork. I am quite fond of that. If you find anything Scandinavian in origin then I am sure Alfarinn would be extremely interested."

[That was the reason for suggesting it.]Christian replied innocently to Rowan about Never Ever. He smiled at the kiss to his cheek. "You'll have to tell me more about this other drinking game. Later."

Cris watched Cam closely as the singer made his way toward their table on the tops of others. He also once more noted the quickest exits, out of habit, and mostly if his clan mate wanted to make a run for it. She didn't seem interested in bolting though. Camille turned several shades of red and looked to be frozen to her chair, but she was smiling. Christian smiled in return, happy that her interest appeared to be very much reciprocated. He shifted his scrutiny on the one singing, determined to make sure he had no bad intentions toward their shy clan mate. Red's aura had plenty of that particular colour but he also appeared to be scared, perhaps because serenading someone he was interested in right in the middle of the club was a bit outside his comfort zone. Christian's smile widened; the man was certainly hiding it well. All in all though he seemed to have good, if lustful, intentions. Somehow he doubted Cam was going to complain.

He looked over to notice that Pak was inching closer to Rowan. Raising an eyebrow, Cris sent. [It seems you've made a new friend.]

((OOC: Red's aura, ironically full of red, with permission ))

Camille Sotoria 12 years ago

"I haven't met Alafrinn yet, not personally. He is a handsome man. I'll keep an eye.... Oh no."

Cam had flicked her eyes back to the stage and saw Reese jump off. Her eyes went wide and her jaw slacked open as she stepped up on the table furthest away from their table. Everyone at once seemed to notice Red making his way toward the back of the club and she felt strain of curiosity focus in her direction. It weighed down on her like a hundred ton slab of cement. Closing her eyes, she felt her skin burn with what was almost certainly a new shade of red as she covered her gaping mouth with her hands.

Reese would not stop looking at her with that charming half grin. It made her toes curl and her stomach want to hurl her dinner. The stares were overwhelming, making her want to shrink under the table and die. What he was doing was incredibly romantic, she knew that, but he could not have picked a worst way to expression his fondness for her.

He finally reached their table and he practically had to step over Pak who slid her chair away, closer to Rowan. Her table mates stared at both Reese and Cam, making the situation infinitely worse. She mouthed the words, 'what are you doing?' pleading with her eyes when he knelt down in front of her.

"Oh...my," she murmured and looked down into her lap, feeling a hysterical laugh bubble up from her chest. He pulled her hands away and she could not help the smile she was giving him. It surprised even her that she didn't just get up and run. Her stomach twisted into knots as he leaned in close, looking at her with those bluest blue eyes.

Let's make a night to remember
From January to December,
Let's make love to excite us,
A memory to ignite us,
And let's make honey, baby, soft and tender,
Let's make sugar, darlin', sweet surrender.
Let's make a night ro remember
All, all life long.

Suddenly Reese stepped off the table and gently pulled on her hand till she stood up out her chair. Her wrap slipped off her shoulders and spilled onto the floor in an ivory pool. The frantic embarrassment made her eyes go wide as he reached out and tugged on her hair, rubbing the long black strands against his lips like he had done in her bed.

The crowd went wild, hooting and hollering at the erotic act.

Reese took a step back and let her go, leaving her as he walked back into the crowd, making his way quickly back to the stage. Cam stood watching after him, ignoring the stares, clapped as he finished his song. The crowd applauded and Reese and his friend moved swiftly into the next song.

Cam rubbed her hands against her thighs and sat back down at the table, scooping her wrap off the chair. Tucking her black hair behind her ears, she shyly looked up at her clan mates.

"He's quite the showman...isn't he?" Cam cleared her throat and grinned.

Vivienne Sena 12 years ago

"What is he...what is he doing...oh he did NOT!"

"Did he just rub her hair across his lips?" Marko asked with an confounded expression.

"I have got to remember that move," Dom murmured.

Viv craned her neck to see the girl's face and was not surprised to see the look of complete and utter arousal.

"She really is too pretty for him," Simon said with a chuckle. Viv, Dom, and Marko all looked at Simon, glaring at him. "Sorry, sorry."

Viv draped her arm around Simon's shoulders and pursed her lips at him. "Ok, lemme down."

Lowering her slowly to the ground, he held onto her until she was flat on her feet again before reaching for his beer. It was empty. "You drank my beer?" he asked Marko.

Marko shrugged at him. "Yes, I did."

Rolling his eyes, he put the empty bottle down on a nearby table and then stood close to Viv. "Now that I've seen the show, I should probably leave. Did you want a ride home?"

"You're not going to stay?"

"Isn't your Commander coming soon? I'd rather not give the poor man a heart attack."

"He's with Charlie tonight pulling duty. And you'd be surprised at how strong his heart is," Viv said with a lecherous smile.

"Thank you for that mental picture."

"You are most welcome." She smiled up at him, pushing her tongue behind her teeth and giggled. Simon pushed his lips out and looked around the room.

"What do you know about that girl?"

Her smile faded and she shrugged, not really knowing anything about her, other than her name. "I heard her name was Cam. That's it though. Red doesn't talk about her at all."

"The company she keeps is interesting."

Viv looked back over the crowd at the girl and the people sitting at her table. "Why?"

Simon spoke to her via their bond. His voice was cautious as well as amused. /That blond gentleman? He's from Evenhet./

Simon Huntington 12 years ago

/God - you did not just tell me that./

/Grammar, Vivienne. And yes, his name is Christian Bern./

Simon watched Viv struggle with the information as she pulled on her hair, tugging at a curl.

/Man..../ she drawled in his head. /Why you gotta ruin my night like that?/

/Oh my god. I can't even look you in the eye when you talk like that./

Viv rolled her eyes at him and turned toward the stage, looking sadly at Red. /That doesn't mean she's one of them though./

He shrugged. /No, it doesn't. We do have a lot of groupies./ Simon tried to cheer her up but she only continued staring at Red. /Listen, I wasn't trying to upset you. I'm sorry. She may not even know them. The bar is crowded./

/Don't mention this to anyone else, ok?/

Simon raised his eyebrows, a little surprised at her request. Was she not going to tell Red that his girlfriend, at best, associated with vampires? Blissfully unaware was better than being alone, he figured.

/Mums the word./

Pakpao 12 years ago

Honest to got Pak couldn't even hear the words of the song. She could only see Red and Cam and hear the crowd. Her mood shifted quit suddenly now that she was certain no one was looking at her and Pak sighed wistfully. That was sexy as hell as well as being romantic. She wound up resting her head on Rowan's arm for a second, used to having either Kem or Eiryk next to her. Hell even Alexander she had gotten to know a little bit. Realizing it wasn't any of these three people Pak sat upright quickly and blushed a little, stumbling out an apology.

She quickly changed the focus back to Cam having to raise her voice a bit to be heard.

"P T fucking Barnum was not that much of a show man."

Quite frankly she was a bit jealous and very surprised that some one who came off as shy as Cam could attract that much of an exhibition. Not that she wasn't gorgeous but, there was a bit of a difference in personalities.

It was killing her not to say something about running into him again or equally suggestive, but she'd only just met Cam. OK well maybe a little something...

"You've met him once?"

It sure seemed like Red had that planned.

Rowan Murphy 12 years ago

Rowan let the warmth he felt for Cris show in his sending back. [You do fascinate me, a ghra. Always.] Screw MARI. Cris could keep Rowan company forever. He couldn't wait.

"Martyr," he laughed, burying the noise in his margarita as he covered his humor with a healthy swallow. After that he simply nodded... oh yes, Cris would learn about this game. Later.

Rowan spared little thought for what was happening between Cam and the singer; he was preoccupied with what was going on between Pakpao and his arm. He could have sworn there was some tension there but now Pak seemed intent on clamping onto him.

He opened up reluctantly, curious and concerned, and pulled Pakpao's emotions in, immediately tensing as he felt fire course over his shoulder from the fleur-de-lis brand. [Fire,] he sent back to Cris almost unconsciously, taking a deep breath and focusing past the fear the sensation invariably caused. Pakpao was nervous, afraid of something as the singer came close. It faded as he approached Cam, not Pakpao, and turned into embarrassment as she released his arm and drew away with an apology. [Not a new friend,] he sent to Cris. [She was afraid of something. It's gone now.]

He quickly tamped down on his empathy with relief before the flames could wrap themselves around his neck. He felt Cris's hand tightening on his and put his head down on Cris's shoulder for a moment. Lifting it again he smiled at Pakpao. "Are you all right?" he asked her softly.

He released Cris's hand and raised his arm, resting it across Cris's shoulders, brushing his thumb gently across the back of Cris's neck. He reclaimed the hand that had been his with his other one, abandoning his drink for a moment to do so. Rowan rested his head back on Cris's shoulder to await Pak's answer. He hadn't understood why the sudden, quick embrace but seeing as how he was obviously there with Christian Rowan couldn't possibly believe she was trying to get intimately close to him.

He let Cris respond to Cam, who seemed all right now that the embarrassment of being singled out in the club had passed and collected himself. He hated his empathy. Okay, it had its uses like just now. But he hated it.

((ooc: empathy permission/description from Pak))

Christian Bern 12 years ago

Cris smiled at Rowan's mental comments as they watched the singer come closer to them via the tops of the table. He turned his attention away from studying the red haired dj to look at his own red head. He found Pakpao leaned up against Rowan's arm. Christian sat up a little straighter, watching the Asian woman with a look that ice would have called cold.

That is until Rowan sent to him about fire in a voice filled with pain. His attention immediately went to his partner in concern. Rowan was focused inward, his eyes shut tight, and Cris knew that his lover had invoked his empathy. He clung to the hand in his, wanting to ask Rowan to let the ability go but not wanting to distract Rowan and waste the effort his partner had put into using his empathy. His gaze flickered briefly back to Pakpao when Rowan pronounced her afraid of something. He glanced around as he drew closer to Rowan, searching for anyone else who might have frightened Pak. Had she seen someone? Or was it just the attention their table had gathered? Another gaze around the room, checking auras with his own gift, which looked to him like a confusing blaze of colours from a 70's poster shifting and swirling crazily around the people dancing and drinking. [I don't see anyone out of the ordinary.] There were some auras with bad intentions, there always were in such a place, but none of those people seemed focused on their clan mate. It must then just have been the spotlight. Odd, Pak never seemed very shy to him but perhaps her grumpy exterior was a cover for being intimidated by social situations.

He loosened his fingers from Rowan's grasp and wrapped his arm around his companion's waist, giving him the other hand to hold onto. [Are you all right, Love?] Cris leaned his cheek against the head resting on his shoulder.

Looking over at Camille, he smiled. "Yes, he is. I think I would be very flattered to have such a show put on for me. He seems quite taken with you." Cris turned his gaze to the man who was making his way back to the stage. "To the disappointment of a lot of the women here, I would say."

Camille Sotoria 12 years ago

Cam hunched her shoulders together and shook her head. "I...did meet him only once. Uh...."

Cam faltered as she tried to reply to Pak. Her face was on fire, as was the rest of her body after Reese touched her hair to his lips. He had been terrified coming to her, but as always it was mixed with humor and arousal. Reese wasn't able to not feel scared when dealing with anything remotely resembling more than just physical attraction, but then neither was Cam. They were two sides of the same manic depressive coin.

The lingering tendrils of emotion from the crowd suffocated Cam. Intense curiosity, humor, borderline vicious scrutiny bombarded her mind, making her flinch. She wanted to leave, but her heart struggled with her phobia, wanting to stay to see Reese finish his set. And she had found her clan mates, she wanted to get to know her extended family better. The need to break out of her disorder had been strong, as of late, and she wanted to see it through. Being alone had been convenient, but for a fleeting 48hrs, she saw the other side of her mental wall and it had been glorious.

Pakpao 12 years ago

"Huh? Who?"

Pak hadn't been expecting Rowan to say anything at all to her. She had absently made her mind that he didn't like her. But, she thought that about a lot of people, it was kind of a defense mechanism and helped her not care about what people thought about her.

Consciously, if slightly reluctantly Pak willed herself to be a little friendly and a little open. She smiled tentatively.

"Yea... er yes... I mean he just kind of surprised me that's all. Thanks."

There. She'd done it she'd moved beyond polite to friendly, if shy. And it was all undone by Christian's dirty look. It wasn't like she was -hitting- on Rowan. She wasn't dense, she did, however, move away from Rowan just in case. But apparently she'd given the Christian one more reason to look at her cross eyed. He'd probably turn MARI against her later. Pak really had no idea why the man intimidated her so much, it wasn't going to change any time soon apparently.

She didn't want to put Cam in too much of a bind so Pak gave her a graceful out. Well, she tried too.

"I'd say that was a hell of a first meeting."

Her smile warmed, but she didn't press for details or anything further. Pak was pretty sure she'd never made that much of an impression on any one -ever-. More power to Cam.

"Good club though... I might even consider dancing."

That, however, was a flat out lie. But it was an attempt at a change of subject.

Rowan Murphy 12 years ago

Rowan shook his head against Cris's shoulder. [It's gone now. I think the singer startled her. Dunno why.] Cris had obviously searched, his way, for anyone intent on harm or foul play. Rowan envied him the ease of use of him empathy, but ostly, was glad Cris was along. Even out for some R and R, Cris was looking out for his family.

He raised his head when Pak answered him and nodded at her. "No worries."

Cris's voice in his head again asked the same question of him that he'd asked of Pak. And with an added endearment that made his eyes fly open. Rowan looked up at Cris, eyes wide, as his heart stopped beating for a long moment. He felt Cris's arm around his waist, Cris's hand linked with his. All traces of fire were gone. [Call me that some more and I may never feel pain again.]

His heart resumed beating again and Rowan reached out for his drink, knocking the remainder of the second one back. His hand shook, but it wasn't because of the aftereffects of his empathy. He took a deep breath. Empathy was one thing. Hearing a word that you realized you very much longed to hear... that was another.

Rowan nodded at Pakpao, agreeing with her before turning to Cam. "You made one hell of a first impression."

He lifted himself from Cris's shoulder. "Speaking of dancing," he said softly, leaning over to brush his lips against his lover's cheek tenderly. "Will you dance with me, a ghra?"

The music had not been slow so far but Rowan just wanted to get up, move a little, and have an excuse to hold Cris closer than would normally be appropriate in public. Hopefully Cris would agree. Hell they could stand in a corner and neck for all he cared... actually, that sounded pretty nice.

Christian Bern 12 years ago

Cris smiled at Rowan and sent [Is that all it would take? Hmm, I think I can manage that and maybe even a bit more, for you.] He hugged his partner tightly, laughing and shaking his head as Rowan downed all of his second margarita. Cris noticed that his partner's hand was shaking and he leaned his head against Rowan's shoulder for a moment, smoothing his hand along his companion's back.

He looked over at Cam and smiled as the others agreed that she had made quite the impression on the singer. Glancing back at the stage, Christian nodded.

Pak mentioned dancing and Rowan seemed to believe that was a good idea. Cris reached over to his own drink, picking it up, he finished it at a more respectable pace. Once it was done, he set the large glass on the table and nodded to his partner. "I would love to."

Looking at Cam and then at Pak, he asked. "Would you both like to come with us?" He stood and reached a hand down to Cam. "We'll be gentlemen. I promise."

[We will be, right?] He asked Rowan. [With our clan mates at least...] Cris left the rest unsaid, knowing his partner could correctly infer the rest of his thought.

Camille Sotoria 12 years ago

Cam gulped as Christian held his hand out to her. She had unknowingly wrapped her arms tightly around her chest and she flinched at the blond's offer. Her eyes flicked up to the stage and saw Reese continuing his set, entertaining the ladies near the center of the dance floor, and she wondered if he would mind.

Wait a minute. Why would she care if he did? She knew Reese a week, and yes he just serenaded her, but he had no real claim on her and vice-versa. Besides, this was just a dance. That's it.

"Sure," she said, reaching out with as much confidence as she could muster (which was not much) and timidly took Christian's hand. His fingers were warm and surprisingly gentle for a man who led Evenhet's security. Cam rose and tucked her arm around his as Pak and Rowan stood and joined them, all walking in the direction of the dance floor.

Cam had been a dancer in a past life, so the nervous twist of her stomach was not from not being able to keep up with the other dancers, but she readied herself to begin, Reese and his friend changed the tempo for their next song and slowed it down.

"Oh, well. Slow dance it is, then," she said to Cris with a smile. She held up her hands, waiting for Cris to take lead as Reese switched to his acoustic guitar. It was a soft spanish style song, prompting the people around them to couple up and dance as well.

((OOC - permission to move everyone to bust a groove))

Simon Huntington 12 years ago

"I gotta pee."

"I beg your pardon?"

Simon gave Viv a strange look as she pointed to her pregnant belly. "The baby will be stepping on my bladder here in a minute, so I gotta go stand in line before I p-"

"Don't say it!" With wide eyes, he stepped back and held a hand out toward the bathrooms for Viv. "Just go, Viv."

Viv grinned as she passed him. "You know you love my sense of humor and high disclosure."

He chuckled at her as she left, leaving the two Pipers standing awkwardly next to him. They nodded and then returned to the side of the stage. Simon didn't blame them for not hanging around; Viv was their buffer. They were all being polite not just because of the truce, but because Viv would want it that way. She had that affect on the Pipers, he noticed. She was the favorite big sister that they all cared about - the one that could kick their ass in a heart beat and was also dating their boss. Simon had never seen her use her position to influence the men into doing something selfish for her, but he knew he felt the same way about her that they did - Viv need only ask.

Red started another song, this time slower, and Simon flicked his gaze back across the dance floor and saw Christian Bern stand with Red's girl, along with the other table mates, and head to the dance floor. Whoever she was, she was definitely too pretty for the young Red. Sure he was an average looking kid, but the girl's hair was so black it was blue. She had faint tattoos down her arms and he wondered if there was anything else hidden beneath her clothes.

Standing at the edge of the dance floor, Simon watched as the girl, Cam he recalled her name being, reached out to Christian. Simon had met Christian years ago in connection with Evenhet's leader and his good friend Alfarinn. He remembered the man has being polite and efficient. It had been some time since Simon had seen him.

He'd have to say hi.