Club of Eternity

Krystine had been surprised to learn that her barrier was down, but he didn't seem to be prying into her more personal thoughts as he only commented on what he felt was important and so she felt that it wasn't an emanate problem. Though no vampire had before sent her a thought she could tell which were his from the different texture that they held. She had been shy at first to take his arm, and felt that she would think herself foolish at the old fashioned approach, however once done she felt more at ease as she did so and put it down as how capable he was with the old gesture in modern times. When they had entered his car she found it quite impressive, which few cars nowadays did for her. "Nice car," she commented before getting in. It was really well designed and it fit him somehow, there was no question that this car was made for him.

There had been almost nothing she could add to his statement of the nature of humans, they were fools and he seemed to know that as well as herself. So she passed over that topic and onto another. "I didn't realize others kept journals as well. You think it's wise to do so? Without an alarm that many journals would be solid evidence of what one was. I've easily disguised mine and I'm sure that others have as well, though it would be a quick way to learn one's identity," she thought aloud. She already knew about the forging, it was one of the first things she had mastered once she realized how often she'd need to travel. She was glad she had done so, when the new technology arrived it made it difficult to move about without some way to prove who you were or weren't. Though few vampires gave other vampires another hand, she felt that out of those few there were bound to be one that would be capable of erasing files against their discovery and make the person seem mad if they were against the vampires sole existence. She thought back to how he sounded when he mentioned he might talk about his past, but she felt it best to let him ponder on it. Only he would know if he was ready, but before she could state her thoughts on this, the club was in sight.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the club, and the look from outside almost said, 'Come in, Come in, my dear for I shall enchant upon you many wonders and joy, I shall ease your fears and give you purpose. Enter through my doors and find fun within.' It was no wonder the place had so much business, there appeared no need to advertise as the building and decor seemed to do enough announcing on it's own. It was at this point that she heard Stephen shout and she glanced around a bit before she found him beside her door with his blackened hand clutched tightly. What he said next made her face pale even for a vampire, the light was dangerous. She noticed that it didn't shine on the drivers side of the car so she scooted over to his seat before she exited the car and followed him closely into the bar. She sneaked a peak of his hand and knew it had to hurt, such a cost he had paid for his kindness. She was inwardly grateful that the damage wasn't near as bad as it could have been, to have him lost so soon would cause her to close herself off for good.

She waited patiently as he gave orders to what she figured as an employee, then remembered that she still had her wall down. She tried to send a thought to Stephen that said, "I'm not blocking just you, the UV has me frightened and there are others around I don't trust near as much. Thanks for not reading what was personal or at least not commenting on them if you accidentally did read them." She wasn't sure if the message successfully sent or not but she concentrated a little to put a wall up around her thoughts. Well she saw his fury something she had been a little curious about and was definitely glad she wasn't on the receiving end of the attack. Inwardly she was grateful that he was the gentleman to open doors for ladies, if she'd have gotten out on her own as most modern women did she would be nothing but a pile of ash. For that reason alone she owned him her life, even though it had cost him something it was still a valiant deed acted out even if unknowingly save the warning, which though full of anger kept her from getting out on her side to see if he was okay.

While they waited for the employee to retrieve Nicholas she decided to try to lighten his mood a bit by returning to some of the less personal topics they had discussed earlier. Somehow she didn't think that he would appreciate discussing things where those he didn't want to know where within range to hear, and so picked her topics carefully. "Earlier, when you said you'd teach me the finer points, I'm interested when you have the time to do so. Even our youngsters are better than me and to be honest it's sort of embarrassing. There are a few things you mentioned that I had never heard of or attempted before," she said in hopes he would know that she referred to mind techniques. It would have made more sense to agree to it then, but she had enjoyed the feel of the leather seats so much she hadn't said anything while in the car, and then with his hand getting burned it didn't seem like a good time.

Even now didn't seem like a great time to continue a conversation, but she hoped to calm him a little bit before the next unlucky one came around to see his anger. Though it was indeed something frightening, she understood that it wasn't really directed at those around him but at the cause of it, they were just unfortunate enough to be within it's reach. It was with that in mind that although she felt she would more likely than not witness a bit more of it, she was willing to talk to him. If she had thought even a bit of the anger was indeed directed at those around him she would probably just have waited it out before conversing with him. She wasn't sure how many others would understand this or even think along this line, and so she planned to spend as much of what time she had to calm him before his employee returned with the requested items in hand.

Though much more had been said between them before they left the bar, she felt this was one of the few safe topics in a place as crowded as this. She took a quick look around the room they resided in, and though it was obviously not yet as busy as it was capable of getting, there were still a good deal more people there already than the bar they just left had yet to get. She wondered if maybe the bar was where club visitors went after they had been told they'd been there long enough. "You were right, this place is more active than the bar is. I will most definitely be coming here first from now on, there are so many different visitors I doubt I'd meet the same person twice," she complimented, though she was being thoroughly honest, well mostly honest, she also hoped to cheer him up a little bit. The other reason she would be visiting would be to catch Stephen around and as she wasn't sure how he would take this she didn't say it out loud, but rather kept it to herself. "Though I don't mean to say I doubted you any, surely you would know the activity of your own club. I just wasn't expecting it to be this active so soon, and such tasty attractions too," she said both meaning the design and the human quantity. "I'm sorry I got the name wrong earlier, I've never been great at remembering names of people or places. At least I remembered some of it, which is more than I usually do," she added.

Though Krystine was eager to find a snack or two to sate her hunger, she wanted to wait until Stephen received his medical treatment. She looked at his hand yet again and felt that the lighting made it look worse, or that maybe she hadn't noticed how bad it truly was while they were outside and concern shown on her open face. She felt that such a burn would take some time to heal, and wondered if maybe the injury made him thirstier than he probably already was. She contemplated what he had said about feeding on a nightly basis and felt that maybe she should do just that, the guise of a job held her human illusion intact and since where she normally worked she was unable to get food as often as she sometimes needed, she pondered on either a job change or a pretense one. She had enough money from the centuries of work that she could easily just volunteer as long as she was able to get a bit she'd be fine. She would ask him about it much later in the night.

"Seeing this place reminds me of when McDonald's first opened in 1940. It was just a small barbecue drive in and so was only published in the town newspaper. I went there to see it once, there were so many menu items and a car hop service. It was a few years later before it got the attention it receives today. I'd been eating their ice cream since they first started selling it in, 1949. I can't wait to see what you make of ice cream," she chuckled. Sure it was amusing for a vampire to like ice cream, but few people she knew that had eaten it disliked it. There were so many flavors to try and just when a flavor was growing old for her a new flavor would come out. There was no flavor she hadn't tried and so far her favorite was the vanilla and chocolate twist, or if bought in a bucket, the chocolate swirl. She wondered what his favorite would turn out to be, and if other vampires knew about ice cream. It was good for a warm night, even better for a hot day if the humans were to be believed. Though she couldn't see how it would be so good in summer because half of it would melt before eaten. Winter was the best time to consume ice cream, for it didn't melt until it touched one's tongue.

She mentally ran back through all he had said in the bar, and could think of little else that could be addressed in the immediate area and so she decided to try remembering what was said for later if she got the chance to give her answers. She purposely avoided asking the question she wanted to know the most right now, for it would bring him back to the soul reason of the anger and undo what little process she might have already made thus far. The real question was the one that dwelled in the back of her mind: Did he know who was trailing him and if they had hung around? That would be a question she would have to ask once she was sure that he'd calmed down completely. Though it was custom for a vampire to fight their own battles she felt herself willing to help him if he needed it, for she was unwilling to lose a friend she had just made. He had told her that he wasn't her creator with his thought, but she adopted him as her mentor. With his experience he would be able to teach her things she had yet to learn. She dwelt upon the fact that she had never fought to kill, the two hunters that had come after her in the centuries past she had turned unwillingly. It was only the next night before she learned of them committing suicide by stepping into sunlight while she slept.

She knew many fighting styles from lessons she had taken whilst she remained in a location. One of her favorites had been Tae Kwon Do, a little known martial art technique that took a few basic moves and combined them in ways to make a simplistic but effective series of attacks and blocks. There were times when she combined all her hand to hand styles to make a new form of fighting, one that was difficult to predict. She had often thought about teaching the technique to humans, but dismissed it for she would lose her fighting advantage if the hunters ever learned it. She realized then that she was still upset over the hunter, why couldn't the hunters just leave them alone! Sure the hunters claimed they killed humans, but they would need to kill even less if they weren't being hunted. If humans ever stopped to actually think about it they would realize it. Yet another thing that humans were so selfish about.

Her thoughts had gotten pretty wild, and though she hated to do it at a time like this, she had to grab a quick bite. Krystine spotted a female heading into the bathroom and she turned to Stephen. "I hate to leave you at a time like this, but my thoughts are muddled and I'm jittery from the light. I need a bite, a lady just walked into the restroom if she turns out to be human and unmarked then I'll have a quick chat with her," she said hinting she was grabbing a small snack. At least one to tide her over with. After a quick check to make sure that it was clear she entered the bathroom to stake her prey. To her luck, the lady turned out to be just what Krystine needed. After a few minutes of idle chatter, the lady was under her control and Krystine stole a little of her blood. It was so tempting to continue her feast, but she forced herself to stop after only a litter of blood. It would be enough to get her thoughts back into order and it would do for now.

She left a small mark, noticeable only by other vampires before she left the lady. She arranged her control so that the lady wouldn't remember anything to do with Krystine and would be a few minutes late existing the bathroom. It had been a simple task, but it was poorly done in her haste to return. Stephen had shown her nothing but kindness and she didn't want to leave him too long for fear her would think her ungrateful. "Sorry about that, I needed the nourishment. I'll be fine for a while now, but I'll need at least another 2 litters to last till tomorrow night," she apologized guiltily.

[ooc]
Character Count: 13423
Muse: We were a little confused but we managed to pull something off.
[/ooc]

"Do you have any idea of who it might be? It would prove a nice advantage if you'd seen maybe a glimpse of him or something. I wonder why he waited so long before he made a direct contact most of the ones I ran across usually attack within a couple of days with well planned traps," she thought aloud. Her thoughts usually ran wild accessing situations and possibilities from all points of perspective until she decided upon something that sounded plausible to her, but since she knew almost none of the facts she would be unable to think as thoroughly as she normally would in such situations. She felt her fear evaporate as the blood she had consumed earlier kick in and filled her with confidence. At that level of hunger any vampire would be at reduced strength. Though before she had never once considered killing a hunter, regardless of how much she hated them. She had always resisted it because she felt that to kill would make her no better a person than they were. "Though I understand the necessity to kill one if it gets too dangerous, wouldn't that make us no better then them if we went around killing? It would make us exactly as they probably claim us to be," she opinionated.

While Stephen was talking to two of his employees she took some time out to study them from the corner of her eye, she wanted to be able to recognize them if the need arose. She didn't want to take a risk even though she doubted she would need to recognize them. She thought them curious about her cause they kept glancing over at her and she wondered what they speculated. She listened without making a comment as he ordered his employees about. It was not her place to intrude here and so she didn't, also she felt that it was important to let them handle this the way they knew how. She expected a long list of orders to presume, but instead it was over quicker than she thought. They must already have a well trained planned for such situations as these. That makes this place a lot safer than the bar, good thing too. It seems as though more people visit here than the bar and I'm just barely inside! After the orders were complete she quietly watched the other vampire head back towards the front probably getting back to work now that he was no longer needed.

"Ha ha, that's the same place I keep mine too, only they are disguised so that you have to read them to know they aren't just regular reading materials. I have extra precautions in place, a human would be terribly sick for a few weeks if one took the wrong book from the shelf," she grinned. Of course the rare poison did nothing to vampires, but for a human it would cause a terrible rash on their hands, and wouldn't just wash off. Water would only spread it over other places. A decent human would ask for a book they would like to borrow before doing so, only a hunter would peer uninvited at a person's book collection. She didn't like the risk of poisoning the food, but if a hunter got in they would begin paying for it before they ever saw her. "I keep the key to my library around my neck at all times," she said and held up what looked like a silver key but obviously wasn't or it would have burned her long before now. She held it up long enough for him to get a good look before she tucked it back down into her shirt. "The imitation is yet another part of a subtle disguise. I use things that most hunters don't think is normal for our sort, it has cause a few to walk off when they knew they had what they sought in sight," she chuckled darkly.

The idea of toying with others had came to her when she had learned about the Fae, the Fae used kind but cruel ways to mess with someone and she found it fun to use them against a hunter. Though unlike Fae who did their jokes without provocation, Krystine toyed in a means to survive."My forges get me through life, but if a good eye were to look too closely they would be able to notice. Fortunately I have yet to have this problem," she admitted. When she saw his smile the first time, she saw how dashing he looked, now when she'd seen his smirk she saw a dark attractiveness. It was no wonder he was quite capable of attracting compliments from the ladies. She grinned widely, letting the full length of her fangs to show, while they weren't being watched. Her fangs were dainty but sharp, something she felt fortunate for."Ironic, but understandable. You've been around longer and so are used to adjusting to modern times. They aren't as accustomed to it, but it'll come with time if their lucky, some just can't manage to adapt I guess. You've also had longer to hone your skill," she laughed. It was a bull shit theory, she knew, but often her theories based only from her reasoning turned out to be true. Though in no way was this a fail safe method, she had been wrong on a number of things just as she'd been right, however there probably was no way to prove or disprove this statement.

"I knew the sun was unkind so I had always thought that even the false sunlight would have the same effect on us. I had always avoided them so never saw the effects until tonight, but I'm not too fond of pain but at least if I have no choice I know I will continue to live," she chuckled. "If I was black all over it would sure make an interesting hunt, I doubt as many would be as easily hunted than if I was my usual self, and with how hungry I was it would sure have made things a lot worse," she laughed. She said it in a light tone and only her eyes held the fear of starving to death. Tonight had been the closest she had ever been and she never wanted to get that close again. Her quick feast in the bathroom had saved her for a little while but without more she would probably be right back where she started by sunrise. Starvation had never before truly frightened her, but the reality of it had struck her hard in the stomach and she would live many years before she forgot the force of it.

When she saw the sign gripped in Nicholas's hands she paled, the hunter must be fairly confident to announce himself openly like that. Which would mean he was either really good, had killed a lot of vampires, or both. More likely the guy was insane, but she disliked the thought of that even more for the insane were unpredictable and the most formidable enemy. If the guy was all three of those then it would really be bad news. The sound of Stephan's voice hollering jerked her back into her senses. She remained silent, not daring yet to put herself into line of his anger. She didn't know how he would react to any actions she made and disliked the thought of making his anger worse. Though she couldn't stop a thought from escaping her lips of it's own free will. "He wants you to be angry so that you won't think as clearly. It's got to be why he's goading you like that," she heard herself say. Only her slightly widened eyes revealed that she didn't realize she had said it till she finished. "He's probably an amateur hoping to use your anger as a tool to his advantage, don't give him what he desires" she whispered the thought uncontrollably.

It was then that Nicholas had confessed about his two weeks notice. Hadn't she been thinking the same thing just a little while ago? This was an opportunity she was unwilling to let pass her by. It would serve her in more ways than one and she began to mentally put her thoughts in order to ensure that she received a part time. She felt Stephen would be the one best to approach since he had originally brought her here out of an act of kindness, not to mention he was the owner and she didn't want to go around behind him after everything he had done.

Krystine wasn't sure if she heard correctly, did he really plan to see more of her? She wasn't complaining if he did, but it still seemed unlikely in her opinion. "Don't worry, I will if I have to drag you by your hair," she laughed jokingly. The first night that he knew would take a while to pick up she would make sure to head to the nearest McDonald's. When he mentioned the menu she had to grin as she walked with him to view more of the club, her curiosity had reached is peak and when it got that bad even silver couldn't frighten her off. Of course there were other reasons that she was eager to go, and those reasons were the same she wanted to delay him for. There was a lot to be said for the way the club looked, but one word seemed to sum it all up and she uttered it without thinking. "Wow." It took a lot of effort to make a place attractive to the eye, a lot of work to keep it working well, and a lot of charisma to attract visitors. All these things were artfully combined to gain the desired affect while giving the illusion that it wasn't really trying to do their jobs that it was just how things were. It took talent and skill do arrange something like this and she was thoroughly impressed.

She had never been within the doors before so didn't notice the extra security, though there was a good chance that she wouldn't have noticed it before. The quantity of people made it far more easier to pick off the prey of ones choosing and yet more difficult to work a few trained skills. The fact of a bar captured her eye as it was a favored technique. It was easy to shift the prey into a desired emotion without causing trouble if they were drunk, the alcohol gave a good chance that they wouldn't remember much and if they did then it was almost nothing to erase it. It was definitely a prime hunting ground for vampires and any vampire was easily capable of spotting that. The quantity also provided a wide variety to meet almost anyone's preferences and it was just about enough to make a certain Vampiress's mouth water with delight.

At his inquiry she glanced around the club taking in all the individuals. She spotted a young fairly attractive male over in a corner that looked a bit out of place and awkward as though he wished he were somewhere else. She wondered if it would be possible to give him just enough of a scare to sweeten his blood. She wouldn't do anything to raise attention, not with it being Stephan's bar, but she would enjoy a little bit of playtime. "Yes, I see a couple of guys over there that look about as nervous as a mouse, I think I'll go pay them a little visit,"she chuckled softly. "Save a dance for you? I think I can somehow manage a song or two, though I don't know if I can promise anything," she teased with a mischievous grin to let him know she was just playing. Of course she would save him a dance, in fact she would probably go looking for him after her meal.

Krystine took a deep breath, it was now or never and it was best to be now or she may miss out for good. She quickly went over her thoughts then stepped forward and gently touched his arm, he seemed calm enough that if this bothered him he would be less likely to explode at her than if he were still furious. "Hey Stephen, before you go I was wondering about that job opening you suddenly have. I'm working with mortals and don't always get a night for food. It would be a good opportunity for lessons, as well as prevent the fast from happening again. If it helps any I take food," she offered. "I've got plenty set back, and a ride probably wouldn't be hard to find if need be I can always just call a cab. I had been thinking of leaving my human job anyways cause I don't get enough lunch time," she concluded and waited for his response. If there was someone he thought better for the job then she was willing to step aside without a word, but if he was okay with the boss/employee thing then she was too.

[ooc]
Character Count: 11591
Muse: Distracted
[/ooc]

Krystine sighed as he explained he didn't know who. When he went on to say that he doubted the psycho was a rookie she nodded. "I really didn't think so, but it was a thought," she smiled. The hunter had surprised her, and she wanted to strike back for that moment of fear he placed into her. The 'amateur' comment had been childish and she knew it was false the moment it left her lips but it was something that helped her annoyance at the hunter calm a little. She was grateful to Stephen for correcting her as her caution would have stayed down had he not done so. The guy was good, they both knew it. The lack of caution would have caused her end without a doubt. "You can't really blame a girl for hoping to end the threat quickly," she added on the end.

She shook her head at his next comment, "I partially hope that they still kill us due to them not realizing that we no longer kill. In the past it was my choice to let them live and just leave when they made it clear I was unwanted. Nothing changed, here I am today able to see that nothing will ever change unless we wipe them out. Though I will let them come to me first rather than chase them down. To chase them down will enforce that they think we are just cold blooded killers. I am not a coward when it comes to hunters, I am a vampire and do not shy away from the thought of death. If he comes near us again that is when I will gladly drink him dry and feed him to the fishes." She took a deep breath then as she had not taken a pause for breath during that statement. She had no idea she had said 'us' she hadn't wanted to say anything that would implicate that she wanted to see him again in case he didn't plan to see her after that night.

Though she hadn't told him, she realized this only a decade ago. When on a night that she had just entered the town and was attacked almost straight away, she had moved and the hunter followed her. Something in her brain screamed at her to wake up and think about what she was doing. She drank the hunter dry, fed him to the fishes, then left town for the last time. Now she intended to hold her ground, she liked New York, Stephen was friendly, and there was no way in a cold hard hell that she was going to leave without a bloody, bloody, fight. She had no idea of why Stephen hated the hunters, except for that bit about Jason, but she was sick and tired of being ran off from her various homes and like many warriors from the past, she was going to fight for what was rightfully hers! However she did not hold to unnecessary killing, which included slaughtering anyone rumored to be a hunter. They had to come after her first. She debated on whether or not to tell him this, but decided to wait or keep it to herself. She didn't want him to think little of her from this act of kindness that had earned her nothing in the end.

"So, no. I have no troubles with slaughtering a hunter in cold blood. I have no problems watching a hunter die at anyone's hands regardless of their race. I just don't want to become a hunter of hunter. If we hunted every hunter in existence that will prove that we are nothing more than murderers and will make their point valid. Sure, to remove the threat of hunters completely would be a bliss, but how long will it take for the humans to catch on and there be hunters made yet again? Almost no time at all. That hunter shall die and I'll be glad, no ex-tactic, to see his existence end," she concluded. Her thoughts flipped through her mind so quickly that there was barely a pause from her earlier statement to the one she had just made in regard to the hunter. There would be no save haven for hunters that have evoked her awareness, make no mistake about that.

Krystine could understand why Stephen would keep his maker's journals. That's who knew how many years of history before Stephen's parents were even thought of. "I've got my own journals, and the journals from my family members that were in the house the night I turned. I've kept them closer to my heart than I have even my own," she didn't have to add that she got them because every human in the house had lain dry of blood. Every vampire remembered what the first night was like. A night of blood-thirst, confusion, disorientation, and loss. There was no other way to describe it that she knew of, she was sure the Stephen's first
night had been different from hers. Her journals she could and would easily go without if she must, but her family's journals she would die rather than part with them. They had the vilest poison on them, one that would kill the holder in a matter of minutes and were disguised as the most unlikeliest book that someone would wish to borrow.

She grinned at her disguises, in a way she felt like a puppy that had been told it was a "good dog". His compliments counted as he was older and more experienced in matters, she had some authentic silver rings that she would wear on occasion over gloves but those would probably arouse suspicion as it wouldn't be touching her skin, it was the matching FALSE silver necklace that made that little trick work. "With your older age, I'd be interested in reading about or learning the things from before my time. Just a hobby of mine," she said and hoped that he knew she wasn't asking to read his personal experiences but rather wanted to know what the world was like before her time. She was a bit finicky over what she read and didn't read but she always returned borrowed books in as good or better condition as when she borrowed them. Books were a treasure to her and so she always treated each book as a valuable pearl that was terribly fragile. So far her favorite books were those that involved fear and paranormal phenomenons. Little actually scared her but she enjoyed them all the same. Vampire books made her laugh, especially the ones that contained a vampire in a relationship with a human. Ha! Right.

She really couldn't think of anything else to contribute about forgeries. With his age he most likely knew all the little tidbits she could tell him. She realized then that she was trying to impress him and wondered if maybe it was due to her lack of regular eating or the lack of mind skills. There were so many topics to go over and he probably knew everything there was to know except her past life or her personal preferences to things. There might be a few things she knew about that he never gained an interest in learning but she couldn't see that happening. So she decided to just nod in understanding, rather than to appear as though she was dragging the conversation on or that she was ignoring his statements.

Krystine laughed lightly. "Yeah, that's a good point he has there. I imagine it would be bad news if every vampire forgot how or didn't learn how to keep up. I had learned myself simply cause I'm not very good conversing with other vampires. They seem to bore after only a couple of minutes. He had a good point with that, and its a good thing too even if identity hadn't become this complex," she agreed. "It has helped me many a time as usually I had no one to turn to for help," she added almost like an afterthought. It didn't seem like she meant to actually say it, but that it had someway found itself said. There were many fine points that needed to be taken care of, and one small mistake could earn you a heap of trouble as she had learned early on. Each ID had to be perfect, or else.

She smiled her understanding, "You know, you don't have to talk about your past just cause I'm rambling on about mine. It's okay, I understand that some people really don't want to talk about some of their darker times or more painful events that they'd experienced over the many years." She was curious by nature, but she put others emotions before her own. If it wasn't bothering him as much as it clearly was then she would press him for information, but she had no wish to force him to drag out tormenting memories of a painful past. Whatever the memories were they were at least as painful as hers, she talked to cope with it maybe he kept quiet to cope with it. She would spend hours crying in her coffin if it weren't for the people she told or the journal she wrote about it in. If the slaughter had happened by any others hands she would have avenged them and moved on, but guild over being the sole person responsible is what held the pain close to her heart. It was also the reason she would avoid killing another if she saw that she could do so.

"Interesting. I'll be sure to remember that if I'm faced with the problem myself," she commented. Stephen had taken a small risk in order to know the danger UV lights imposed upon vampires and it was good to know. She then wondered if any other vampires had tested it out or if Stephen was the only one that cautious and aware of the danger that every vampire face but many ignored. She wondered why he seemed so battle ready to her, but figured it tied into his past and therefor didn't ask about it. If he felt ready later on then maybe she would know more about him, but until then she was in no place to ask questions, nor was it a right of hers to know. He didn't pose a threat to her so she wasn't overly worried about it.

She laughed about the hunter comment, "Yeah, I know. I had hoped but a phrase I heard many years ago had almost slipped my mind. 'Never underestimate your opponent.' I'm not entirely sure who said it, but its a valid point that I had only forgotten temporarily." It would be a mistake that she would never repeat again. Hunters have over the years become more and more of a threat to the vampires of today and thus should be shown due precaution. Though it was often tempting to destroy every last one, she held herself in check many times. Probably one time too many, she reflected but didn't say she was unsure of how he would think of her for letting so many live. If she had killed them rather than giving them a chance there would probably be a few less hunters today, but it was unlikely even if possible.

Krystine listened to his reasoning, and saw no flaws in it. The move had been rash on the hunter's part but, it had been well planned. Stephen could easily have parked elsewhere but no, the guy knew right where he would have parked. Which meant a lot of trailing and close watch. The guy probably knew all of his habits, if so he would be able to strike accordingly in ways that would annoy and get at Stephen the most."Yeah, the guy probably is. He was able to predict you well enough to know where you'll park and so he might know the best places and times and not to mention ways to get to you. I'd try a little shake up in your schedule if it's a regular one," she said. She hadn't realized that she'd spoken it aloud and so added, "Sorry, I was just thinking. You probably already have plenty of plans on how to deal with the bastud." She pronounced it oddly in hopes to get a little chuckled out of him and to see his smile yet again. Though she was serious there was a slightly playful twinkle to see in her eyes.

"You're very serious about the safety of your customer's aren't you? If this is the normal security I wonder what it'll be like with an immediate threat," she asked in curiosity. She had noticed Nicholas glance upstairs once or twice but mainly kept his eyes on the floor. The glance was hardly noticeable, a mere flick of the eyes but she had looked at the right time to notice it. Another glance around had shown her a large number of vampires that seemed to just stand around with nothing to do. She figured that many of them were on watch for a threat of any sort. It was normal for human bars to have some security in case of a thief or a troublemaker, and since this was a local gathering for many vampires it made sense that there was heavy security. Sure you need to protect yourself but you also had to protect the herd of cattle nearby. Without cattle there would be no food to consume. "They blend in so well, if I hadn't have looked at the right time to catch a few small giveaways, I'd have never noticed," she commented. She figured the security was incognito so that humans wouldn't hesitate to enter. It would be no good if the food was frightened off before the feast had begun.

Krystine had never loved once in her life, many men had approached her in earnest while she was still human. None of them were one she approved of and before long she found herself in her prime with no man that would claim her. The last couple of hundred years they seemed to have decided it was time to line up, yet again. Many of them only wanted the same thing that men did 750 years ago. She had given them what they wanted, only to take what she needed. They had no idea of what happened for she had manipulated their memories and sent them on. She also only ever had mere acquaintances as many of the vampires she'd talked to had walked off when she admitted the ice cream fact. The humans she had talked to could never know anything and wouldn't live long in her eyes, so she kept them far away from her. She wasn't quite sure what she felt toward Stephen. Was she attracted to him, or did she just think of him as a potential friend? Whichever it turned out to be, she was happy to have met him. Though she currently doesn't know her feelings for him yet, I do know she is feeling what is called attraction. She has never felt it before and thus has no idea what it is.

"Don't worry, these feet take a long time to tire out," she laughed as she winked back, "I'll still have plenty of energy if needed by noon tomorrow." She nodded as he pointed out the guy he would feed from, she herself found more women beautiful than she found men handsome and so understood his preference. She wasn't romantically interested in women, but she recognized that women had the majority vote when it came to attractive in her eyes. If a guy had asked her to pick out the hottest girl on the dance floor she had no problems doing so. "He's not bad looking, the lady is quite pleasant. They are probably the most attractive pair on the floor that I can see from where I'm currently standing," she complimented his choice. They were both definitely attractive and seemed to have plenty of passion for that night. She had met many of various sexual preferences throughout the years and was quite used to it now. She hadn't expected it from someone older than her but according to history it had been around for ages and ages.

She nodded her understanding, he had a job to do and just one candidate wouldn't be enough. Each should have their own chance if they were interested and it was not good for the owner to play favorite. "No problem, it would be interesting to see the interior design that one of your age would prefer. There's no rush but whenever your ready or your free to wander around," she agreed. "Ha ha, I hadn't thought about asking you for a ride. To be honest all my Mercedes needs is some fuel, but if it means a ride with you everyday then it's a pile of junk," she answered lightly. She wondered why she hadn't thought of asking him before and figured that maybe she had assumed he'd be too busy or she'd be too far out of the way. "I'll catch up with you later, the appetizer has me eager for the main course," she added on the end as she swayed toward her two targets.

She used only some of her charm and skill and easily lured the two guys upstairs with the inquiry of a sandwich. They seemed very eager to go with her and she lead them to an empty room pointed out to her by an employee. She put a small fog over their brains that would allow them to become frightened but remember only what she wished them to. She sweet talked them with a slightly thicker accent than normal until they agreed to allow her to tie them to the bed. She then proceeded to frighten the men out of their wits but not too frightened so that they would remember enough to talk about the truths of the matter. It would do no good for them to have a clear head about what happened and run to the police. Stephen would definitely be mad if Krystine caused a swarm of hunters and humans to investigate the events of his nightclub. It took a while, but she eventually had them as frightened as she could get them and at the same time keep her mental hold over them. It was then that she remembered Nicholas downstairs and knew she had an eye on her.

She opened her mind until she felt some sort of presence and concentrated on the thought, "I like frightened blood. I promise I'll be careful though." Though underneath it all was her feelings about Stephen. She had no idea of what they were yet, but someone who recognized the feelings could easily place what they were. She was unable to hide this, but she felt Nicholas would see what was active and not take notice of her thoughts of the brunet. She closed off her mind again and sunk her fangs into the first humans Jugular and drank heartily. Blood was so lovely when it was fully frightened. Though she was alright with mostly frightened too. She kept her mind on her current task as she carefully took only enough to sate her hunger. She believed she only took 2 litters of blood from each person but felt that it might be a bit more than that. Even so the amount was little enough that both humans would live. She left a mark to show that they had already been fed from and protect them from another vampire unknowingly killing them.

She then began to work on their minds. She carefully placed them asleep and began to shift through their memories. Each time she found a memory that would tell them what had happened she would instantly remove it from their minds. After she finished she carefully double checked that the actual events didn't appear in the humans minds. Then she began to weave a little lie into the events. She set it up so that each would believe that they had her in-between them, and made sure both details matched up. She didn't want them both to think they had been on the same side. It took a little bit of time to get it right and make sure there were no errors before she left the room. The total process of this had taken her nearly an hour. She quickly untied them and silently left the room with the two humans sleeping peacefully inside. She then descended the stairs to search for Stephen. She asked a few employees and after a while found him she made sure that he was done eating and not in the presence of any other than another vampire before she approached him. "That hit the spot right where it was needed, thanks for bringing me here," she smiled.

[ooc]
Character Count - 18585 (WOW! o,O)
Muse- Fair
[/ooc]

Maia was up in the DJ booth keeping the music going and changing things up to make the night interesting. She saw quite a bit from her little box in the corner, some good and some bad. When she saw Stephen and the new female vampire down on the floor, she nearly loughed out loud.
Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food, boss?
She kept her very weak mental shields down, prepared for the lashing she knew she'd get from Stephen for being a smart aleck, but she loved ribbing him on occasion, just to keep their working relationship interesting.
Looking around while waiting for a response, she saw several things she wanted to try...there were quite a few women in the club tonight and she couldn't wait to talk to just one.

(Character Count: 751)

Maia laughed at Stephen's response to her, her curls bouncing around her shoulders. She looked over to him, her eyes flashing with mischief. You know you love having me here, Stephen. Without me, life would be so much less interesting. By the way...who's that beautiful creature with you? Would you introduce me later? I'd be ever so grateful and eternally in your debt...no pun intended, of course. She eyed the woman up and down, her gaze following the curves in Krystine's body. Oh yes, Maia would indeed enjoy meeting such a lovely being.

She pushed some hair back from her face and secured it with her headphones, setting up the next few songs. Once she had them in order, she looked up and saw a young vampire wandering about in the crowd. Noticing the young girl's exuberant thoughts, Maia raised an eyebrow at her. Well, hello, little one, she thought in the younger vampire's direction. New are we?
The innocent appearance of the young vampire brought out Maia's long-buried maternal instinct. The girl reminded Maia of her niece, Dora, the last time Maia had seen her all those long years ago. After her turning, Maia couldn't bear to think of her family anymore. She thought it better that they never knew what she had become. She'd made Caitrionagh write to her family and tell them that she'd died of consumption. Caitrionagh reluctantly complied, telling her adopted daughter that there was no shame in having been embraced. Maia had been scared that if she'd gone back to her family, she would have killed them all. As much as it pained her to leave them, it pained her more to think that she could kill them as she had done to other humans many times over.
Maia shook her head, not being one for daydreaming or thinking of the past much. She promised herself that she would just keep an eye out for the too innocent-looking vampire and step in if necessary. It pained Maia to see a girl so young having been embraced. She had so much life in front of her and she had been denied that life by someone so selfish and careless...it made Maia's blood boil.

(Character count: 2097)

Nia heard the voice of another vampire pierce her thoughts. She hasn't learned to put up a viel properly, yet...so realizing her embarrasing plight, she answered.
Uh, yeah...to more things than this... she blushed.
She told the vampress that she was new to going out around others and she's lived in seclusion up until just recently. Nia tried looking around to see who was talking to her, but a drunken partycrasher (apparently not from drinking in that club) stumbled into her and she fell face first into the floor.
See? she added to her previous comment with a pitiful moan from her place on the floor…
Nia started to feel ridiculous as she felt her cheek throbbing. One could even swear that the bumblehead passed out on top of her! If it weren’t for her incredulous strength, the young vampire would’ve broken a few bones from the dead weight.

“Oh yeah, didn’t hurt…much” she said mindlessly poking her cheek to test the pain. She ten climbed into an empty bar stool with a few people staring, but they really just wanted to get back to partying.

Pressing the ice pack to her cheek, she was thankful to the vampress who helped her. “Well I found out who was talking to me,” she smiled at her. Nia had a strong inkling that that man who fell on her may have been someone that really shouldn’t have been thrown out. She could hear the drunkard’s thoughts as he stood dumbfounded outside the door. His plot was to tell somebody, but it sounded more like he would tell her mother…like a child… When she picked that up, she immediately dropped all suspicions of the man.

“Well anyway, as I was saying, I was never really social before moving here. Matter of fact, I got this look out of a magazine,” she said tugging on her shirt. “I was hoping I got it right,…but your snazzy look says I didn’t” she smiled basfully.

She called to mind the wardrobe she had at home still filled with her old vintage outfits. She loved them too much to part with them...perhaps because it's the only human memory she was willing to keep.

Maia smiled at the young girl, still stroking her arm. She was eager to have someone she could take under her wing, even if it was no more than a friendship. Being a DJ, she was popular amongst the party crowd, but it was never that deep meaningful connection Maia wanted in her life. She would be glad to help this young one come out of her shell and enjoy herself more. Do not worry about being a pest or prying with me. I rather like reading someone's thoughts and having private conversations this way. Maia told her. Her eyes kept going from Nia's eyes, to her lips and breasts. Maia had to stop herself from touching the younger vampire in a way that was much too forward for acquaintances. "Oh, Stephen's responsible for the club," Maia said, pointing him out. "I'm utter rubbish when it comes to running a business. Would you like to come up to the booth with me and watch for a little bit?"

OOC: No problem. Hope to get some more posting in with you soon. My work schedule's insane for the next three weeks. 3-11:30pm M-F (Pacific time).

Maia grinned at her, turning to go back up to the DJ booth. I've been alone for years...and I hate it, I hate waking up and knowing that I can't just go into the next room and talk with someone in the comfort of my own home. I don't mind the sleeping alone...just being totally alone unless I'm here bothers me.

Maia stopped walking and looked back at Nia, seeing that the young vampire had gone back to the stool. Her maternal instinct kicked in and she took a protective stance over Nia.
Maia nodded. I can hear you just fine. Putting up your shields takes some practice, but I can still help you. Visualize a shield over your mind. Concentrate on making it bigger and stronger, from a shield to a steel vault where your thoughts and feelings are kept safe. Unless someone gets very close to you, or you let them in, they're locked out. Be careful...it takes some strength for a while. Older vampires would still be able to break through, but most would not bother with us anyway. We're like children to them, and in general, they mean us no harm. It's usually the hunters we have to worry about, but I could take them down without too much trouble. Stick with me, kiddo and you'll be just fine. Maia smiled at her new friend and hugged her protectively.

(OOC: count: 1277. A new record for me, yay!)