Haunted Roads

When: Night
Where: His room
Who: Dimitri and Juliette

The night hours were always quiet around the home. The sisters often went out to see to their own affairs and Ophelia was, for now, out of sight and mind. It was a time that Dimitri often spent alone seeing to work still not fully caught up. There was not an overabundance to see to with the Towers but there was enough. Rarely was it just that however, for Dimitri. He was looking into other possibly business ventures. A man that cured a racing mind with work. Often burying himself in it.

He'd not bothered to find his way to the office for tonight. Instead he'd stayed to his room. The window was open to allow in the night chill and the scent of falling rain. It was peaceful enough even if Dimitri's thoughts did not exactly echo its sentiments. Why were his thoughts so turbulent? Likely due to much but for tonight he'd carelessly dismiss it as nothing more then not having fed today. An easier answer then truly having to think upon all of it.

Though quiet nothing truly ever was. In the distance he could hear the subtle beating hearts of servants in Chloe's room. Down below him there were residence walking through the halls. Outside someone was whistling as they walked. For a vampire, for suprenaturals, there was no real quiet. Dimitri long ago learned how to tune such noises out but tonight nothing wished to be ignored. No even the faintest of sounds were thunderous. Yet he didn’t move to close the window as though that would lock the sound away.

Instead he simply continued to read on, scanning various documents and information gathered. There was much of it, all scattered about his desk in various forms of disarray. It wasn’t Dimitri’s typical style but ever since returning, ever since Julien’s death, Dimitri wasn’t quite the same as he used to be. They had all moved forward, scars had healed, but was anything ever truly forgotten? No…their sire present now at their sides was proof of that fact.

He should leave the room he knew, venture out into the night. Find someone to feed from. There was a long list of things he likely should do other then stay at his desk. The night was early still wasn’t it? There was time yet….though truly for all he knew the sun could be set to rise in a slim few hours. Time was not something he’d been paying much mind to.

His attention was truly only diverted when he heard steps approaching. Faint sounds blending with all else around him. But they were steps he knew, recognized easily, steps that so often were sounded in time with his own.

Juliette.

Sighing softly Dimitri pushed away the papers, allowing his gaze to shift towards the door as she neared it. “Come in Juliette…” not that she would need to knock at all. No she knew she was always welcome at his side. That is how it had always been. No matter the struggles or troubles surrounding them.

Who: Justine and Nikolaos
Where: Chroma
When: The evening, of course
What: Nik seeks out the infamous vamp

Chroma was already open and buzzing with quite the crowd by the time Justine arrived. Just after dusk she'd taken a meeting with a local artist, one whose work she'd spotted in a local publication and had had an interest in displaying. Her current gallery was filled for another month but then it would be time to ship off the pieces she had now and hang a new display. She'd wanted something a bit different than usual, something bound to provoke some emotion from her patrons and the artist whose studio she had seen could supply her with that very type of work. No deal was set in stone yet, but promising headway had been made. Another post-sunset meeting was scheduled for the following week and she was sure that during that session she could surely cement an agreement into place. She paused to leave word with her assistant that, should said artist call, he was to be patched through to Justine's cell phone immediately. There was no need to run the risk of losing a potential display because she was unreachable.

As usual, she took to strolling through the spacious establishment, checking out each of the lounge areas to ensure that things were running smoothly. She had dressed for the evening in a pair of sand colored wool trousers, a wide-leg style that flowed easily down over the open-toed heels she wore. Her top was a cream color and nearly sleeveless, baring elegant shoulders and contrasting sharply with her dark hair, left curly and pinned at the crown of her head. As always her make-up was light, used only to enhance features instead of mask them. A few slender bracelets from Chloe's boutique jingled gently on one wrist as she greeted some of her more regular patrons, pausing to briefly converse with them as she spotted them in their usual haunts. Over all the crowd was a bit small for a Thursday evening, though the place was definitely still crowded. It tended to be a favorite hangout for those who sought to have a few cocktails with friends but wanted to avoid the typical bar atmosphere as much as possible.

Each lounge bore a name somehow related to art - after all, Chroma itself meant 'the intensity of color' - carrying on the naming theme was only appropriate. Cobalt was the lounge at the farthest end of the gallery, dimly lit and specializing in dark, rich red wines. It was popular among vampires especially, serving one of the finest vintages of bloodwine that she'd been able to get her hands on. It tended to be relatively drama-free and so Justine generally just strolled past, glancing in to make sure things stayed that way. It was calm tonight as well and so she walked on, bypassing a number of loungers where everything was under control. Her final stop was Crimson, a red-walled lounge towards the heart of the place, the most popular amongst her customers as a whole. It featured the most complete wine bar of any of the rooms and had an extensive art display. It was here that Justine tended to spend most of her evening, keeping on eye on those who came and left as passing through the Crimson lounge was necessary to get to any others. She stepped behind the bar to do a quick reading on the register, a brief check of the evening's take so far. Everything was running smoothly so far and so she settled into her usual station, watching over the crowd, on hand should anything require her attention.

Who: Maggie and OPEN (Can be a narrative)
When: Friday Evening, nearing closing time
Where: Barking Spider Tavern


Maggie smiled as she finished pouring Jacob a glass of his favorite Pyramid Hefe weizen. A slice of lemon, from the batch she had cut earlier that night, was placed on the edge of the glass before she pushed it toward him. Jacob was a regular, had been for at least a decade Maggie would surmise. He'd been a fisherman for years of his life, making the trip up to Alaska to make his money before turning to his wife back in Seattle. He was a good man, perhaps spent a bit too much time on the stool, third from the right every weekend but at least he was a kind man and Maggie only had to call him a cab every once in a while. He missed his wife who had died the previous year, Maggie understood that and was more than willing to let him spend his time in the bar, watching tv, talking with the rest of the regulars.

A surrogate family of sorts. Perhaps dysfunctional but Maggie understood the need.

Drink passed on, Maggie took a small towel that was tucked into the waist band of her apron and wiped at a few spots on the bar top. Always moving, always cleaning up where she could. Maggie figured that if she stopped, she'd never be able to start up again. Exhausted as she was. Her eyes strayed to the clock on the wall, only an hour or so to go. Last call in half an hour. Then the drive back to the towers. Check on Sophie. And sleep. Oh sleep. That was what really called to her right now. She tried to not let that show though, kept the small curve to her lips as she bustled around behind the bar, but her eyes with their faint shadows tended to show just how tired she was.

Maggie had sent home Jonathan hours ago. He needed his rest far more than she did and it was a light Friday night, at least by this point it was. She also hoped he could at least stop by the apartment and make sure Sophie was inside and not... well Maggie didn't like to think about where she could be if not safe at home. But such was the fact of life when living with a teenager who was far too smart for her own good. Far too smart.

"Maggie when you going to sing for us again?" The question was called out from an old timer in the back at a table who was sitting with a few old friends. They'd been hashing out the fate the Mariners this season for the better part of the night but a song drifting through the background had reminded them of a time when there had been live music at the bar far more often. Maggie knew it had been a draw, but she couldn't bring herself to find others to play... It just didn't seem right when it wasn't Bastian. Maggie merely shook her head at the old men and offered the usual response. She hadn't been much of a singer to begin with and they'd all been far too kind to put up with it the few times that she had attempted it.

They meant no harm, but no matter what happened in her life now, she was all too easily reminded of better times. Happier times that could never quite be had again. She'd almost grown used to it... and that was scarier than the prospect of never being as happy as she once had again.

Only another hour to go.