Where Sophia Learns About Vampires Who: Mercy and Sophia Where: Eden When: Monday, July 12th
Now, unlike the last time we saw our bitchy, gothy bouncer? Mercy was in a GREAT mood tonight. She'd gotten to break up a fight and it enabled her to bust a few people (demons) up, which she honestly LOVED. The pale, pigtailed goth curled those dark red lips into a snarly sneer as she crossed her arms defiantly, standing by the bar in a black pleated miniskirt, fishnet stockings, clunky combat boots, a black t-shirt with the club's logo on it, spiked bands around her wrists, and a spiked leather choker around her neck.
Ugh, seriously? Why was it that Sophia was always the one who got called to this shit? She'd been on the force long enough to know she didn't deserve getting called to bitch-ass sightings of rapists. Still, a criminal was a criminal, she supposed. She made her way into Eden, dressed in her snug uniform and glanced around, thinking it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. She told her partner, Keith, to cover the door, while she talked to the bouncer.
"Hello there..." Mercy coo'ed to Sophia as she leaned on the bar, resting her chin on her hand. "What can I do for you, officer?" Oh, and Mercy thought her time up here on the first level of the club (with the 'civvies') would be boring. "Cops don't usually grace us with their presence.... everything kosher?"
Sophia narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, assessing Mercy almost immediately. It was an occupational habit. "Guess that depends. Who are you to want to help me?" She was a suspicious creature. Even for a human.
"I guess the best way to describe me is the 'bouncer'." She laughed, the sound more bitter and wicked than humorous. "Personally, I prefer 'enforcer'. Has a much better ring to it, in my mind."
"Assuming you enforce the law," Sophia replied, pouting her lips thoughtfully. Mercy sure as HELL didn't look like a bouncer, but maybe that was the point. "I'm looking for someone. Apparently he was sighted here about an hour ago." So Fat Chance that he'd still be here now, huh?
"What's he look like? There's been tons of people here in the last hour, honey." Oh damn. She just called a cop honey, didn't she. Still, she smirked, giving Sophia a look like she was dinner that was just delivered.
Ugh. Sophia rolled her eyes. "Going by the description. Tall. 6-foot, at least. Short dark hair, dark jeans… salmon? Polo shirt." Seriously, she thought, salmon was 'pink', people! "Ring any bells?" She was trying to stay in 'cop mode' here, but a huge part of her wanted to punch that look off of Mercy's face.
Oh man. Now... it took all she had not to start laughing there. "Douchebag haircut? Looked like something out of a bad preppy catalogue? Yeah... he was here." Uh-oh. She literally looked like the cat that ate the canary. Or the rapist.
Sophia's eyes narrowed again, and she was finding herself getting highly irritated here. "And...? Where is he?" She was nothing if not good at her job, after all. She needed to know these things.
Some, like Lillith and the others, tried to keep the mortals from being suspicious of what they were. Mercy? Didn't give a fuck. "If you give me a toothpick... I think I might still have a bit of him stuck in my teeth."
Exacerbated now, Sophia rubbed her thumb and forefinger across her closed eyelids. She was starting to think that she was getting seriously fucked with now. "Is there anywhere we can talk more privately?"
"Sure there is... I would say I don't bite but that wouldn't be altogether true now, would it?" She grinned evilly, setting her hands at her hips. "We'll say I wont bite YOU. Unless you ask me nicely." Mercy laughed at her own little joke and led the officer to the office Lillith had set up in the back for whoever was the manager for the evening. Closing the door behind them, Mercy leaned against the door and rolled her eyes. "What else do you need? If you need what's left of him... I could get it for you."
Oh god, Sophia realised that maybe this girl was serious. Suddenly being alone in a room with her didn't seem like the best idea. Sophia... well, she was a tough bitch, though, and she didn't let any hesitance show. "You're seriously telling me you ate him?" She asked, setting one hand on the nightstick strapped to her waist.
"You're telling me you've never met a vampire, dear?" Ut-oh. Mercy looked like she might be getting faintly annoyed now. "Seriously? Because I took you for FAR more worldly than that." She laughed, coldly, and rolled her eyes.
"Vampire," Sophia repeated, rolling her eyes in return. "I think you've read too many crappy romance novels. Seriously?" She scowled. "Tell me where he is before I find a use for this thing?" She pulled the nightstick out of its holster and held it to her side.
"For fuck's sake, lady..." Mercy rolled her eyes again and shifted her face, her canines jutting out and her forehead growing bumpy. "I ripped his fucking throat out and drank his blood. What part of that don't you GET?"
Ooookay, that part made Sophia take a giant step back. Shocked? Yes. Did she show it? Fuck no. Her heart rate gave her away, though. She took in a breath and held the nightstick tightly, "What the fuck am I supposed to tell my partner? Oh, a vampire ate him? Nevermind?"
"You tell him that he was here. And that he was seen heading for the state line. Thus making him the problem of the next state over. Nuff said." She purred then, grinning wickedly. "Unless this partner of yours is cute... and you wanna send him in to 'interrogate' me. Ooooh... that sounds FUN."
Sophia pointed the nightstick at Mercy then, "YOU don't touch him." Although the first part sounded like a good idea, since she didn't want anyone thinking she'd gone crazy if she'd mentioned the word 'vampire'.
"Cool it, lady. If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already. I don't work like that." Was she enjoying the obvious fear in the room? Hell to the yes. "Only way I'd hurt you is if you did something to me, or if my sire wanted you dead. So relax."
Sophia groaned, "I'm not afraid that you'll kill me. What I am? Is annoyed. Since you just told me that you killed a man and there isn't a thing I can do about it. Sure, he's the scum of the earth, but I don't like leaving things unfinished." She narrowed her eyes at Mercy, finding that the urge to hit the other woman was still rampant, if a little stupid at this point. "Do you wanna step aside from the door? Or am I gonna have to throw you down?"
Mercy simply raised one eyebrow, giving a smirk that clearly asked 'are you kidding me?' Then she started to giggle. "You know damn well you couldn't throw me down, sweetheart. Not that the thought of you trying doesn't turn me on a little..."
The cop actually snarled, then, interestingly. "Then get out of the way, 'sweetheart'. Sure, I might not even get close to hurting you, but you touch me? You'd better be ready for the shit-storm coming your way." Ha. She had a lot of balls for a woman who just found out that vampires exist, huh? Let's just say she was compartmentalising and leave it at that.
"Girl, if I 'touched' you, you'd be infatuated with me for months at a time." Mercy smirked, not even being cocky as much as stating what she knew. "Besides... I like you too much to hurt you. You got spunk. And you know you want to know more: more about what happened, more about what I am, more about what else is out there. So why don't you go tell you partner what I told you to tell him... Then come back and let me give you an education you'll never forget."
Sophia narrowed her eyes at Mercy, assessing the situation. Mercy was right, of course. She did want to know more... but what was the price for that? "My shift's almost over. If you're still here in an hour... then we'll talk." She had to check-in her gun and file paperwork, if she didn't, people might get... curious, and she didn't want that. Sure, she'd leave a note as to her whereabouts just in case (she wasn't stupid), but... "Take it or leave it."
"I'll gladly take it." The vamp said with an almost sincere smile. Why the suddenly sweetness? Maybe she saw a potential friend. The girl seemed tough and smart... possibly a good vampire?
"Alright, then," Sophia replied with a stern nod, before actually, finally, leaving the building with her partner in tow. She told him exactly what Mercy had suggested. Someone had mentioned the rapist talking about going to a different state, which meant he was no longer their problem. She then filed her reports and checked in her gun before sitting in the woman's changing room for a very long time, trying to control her breathing. What a fucking strange night, huh? She was a woman of her word, however, and was back at the club in an hour, dressed in civilian clothing, which consisted of jeans and a tight-fitting black wife-beater, suddenly, she'd wished she'd bought her own gun, but... she was here now.
Because obviously a gun would have helped her had her 'host' decided to make noms of her, hm? Mercy was back at her spot near the bar, a big grin on her face despite the little bit of blood now smeared across her right hand.
True, her gun likely wouldn't have helped her... but as a cop, she was used to the security that it brought. Still, she could put up a fight if it came to it. She gave Mercy a curt nod as she made her way to the bar, before glancing at the woman's hand. She tilted her head to the side as if to say ‘Seriously? What the fuck?’
Oh, now? Mercy looked ecstatic. "I got to kick someone out while you were gone. Drunk moron decided to take a swing at me when I told him he was cut off. I broke his arm in 11 places." Dear God. She was HAPPY about this.
Sophia nodded there, genuinely impressed. "Should have known better. You were clearly defending yourself." She paused and looked around, "So. When does my education start?" Ballsy, wasn't she?
"Eager, hm? I *like* you..." The goth vampire said with a throaty laugh. "I suppose I should start by answering any questions YOU have. Sort of makes things easier, you know?"
Sophia bought herself a beer (hey, she was off duty, so why not?) and pondered that for a moment, "How do I kill you?" She asked, unable to hide that defiant grin of hers. Not that she would have, anyway.
"With a lot more luck than you'll ever have, woman." Mercy smirked and shook her head. "You'll forgive me if I pass on answering that one QUITE yet. Next?"
"You're no fun," Sophia replied before taking a swig of her beer. "I guess the basics. ...How long have you been alive? How were you... "born"? Don't tell me. Anne Rice was right all along," she added with a chuckle.
"The easy part first: I'm a little over 240 years old. The harder part? It involves drinking your blood. Then having you drink MY blood. Nice little this-for-that thing we got going here." She smirked, giving a shrug.
"Guess that makes sense." Sophia started peeling at the label of her beer bottle, just letting all of this new information sit in. Was it... weird that she thought the blood-swapping thing was kind of hot? Well... if you were aware of some of her fetishes, probably not.
"One thing though: this aint some common, everyday shit, ok? We don't go turnin' people all willy-nilly. When you get turned... You get CHOSEN. It’s an honor." She said with a proud grin, as hell... HER sire was the oldest vampire in existence. "Hell, I'm 240 and I still haven't turned anyone. I haven't found any of you that are worth it yet."
"Well, I kinda figured. Otherwise this would be a vampire state, huh?" ...She had a point. The cop took another swig of her beer and frowned thoughtfully. "So, if there are vampires... what else is there?"
"Pretty much any monster you've ever heard of at least has some roots in reality. Vampires, shapeshifters, lycans, demons... ALL of them." She looked at the cop, silently sizing her up. Not as a conquest, no: but as a possible peer.
Most people would have gone quietly insane with this new information. Sophia's reaction to it all? Was a simple: "Huh." She let out a throaty chuckle and took another swig of her beer. "Imagine that."
"I think part of you has known this for years," Mercy continued, gauging her reaction, "and just never let yourself believe it."
Sophia narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, "It's possible, thinking on it now... there are a few things that make more sense." She finished the last of her drink and considered getting another... and thought the hell with it and did. She eyed Mercy then, as she peeled the label off the new bottle. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Hm." Mercy thought about that and gave her the most truthful answer she could that she knew wouldn't freak her out: "I suppose after this many years even a bloodthirsty creature of the night needs a friend. And I don't often meet anyone that seems like someone I can relate to..."
"That's a depressing thought," Sophia replied with a throaty laugh. It wasn't that she, herself, hadn't witnessed the worst the human race had to offer, after all. She pursed her lips together thoughtfully, but... let that thought go. "Thank you for explaining."
"Not a problem." Mercy replied, watching the mortals flit about happily, and realized not for the first time that really... she no longer missed being one of them. "Anything else, while we're playing Quiz Show?"
"Well, there's always my first question, but... I don't think I want to use that against you now," she admitted with a small shrug. "Anything you want to ask me?" Sophia added with a small, amused smile.
"Mm. Nothing that could possibly end well, no." She smirked, finding the other woman fairly irresistible... for a human at least. "Feel free to stick around for a while though. I think I could hook an officer of the law up with a few free drinks in exchange for some company..."
"I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," Sophia admitted with a husky laugh. Maybe the appeal wasn't one sided, hm? She cleared her throat and then realised something... "My name's Sophia, by the way. What's yours?"
"Mercy." The vampire said with a wry grin. So it wasn't her real name: it was the name she'd taken over 175 years ago, and her reason for taking it still made her snicker occasionally. "You seem pretty bad-ass. You know... for an air-breather."
"For an air-breather..." Sophia laughed. She couldn't help it, really. Two hours ago, she wouldn't know how to take that statement. "Well, you're not so bad yourself. You know. For a dead chick."
"Yeah. I know." Oh, looked like SOMEONE wasn't lacking in self-worth, hm? "Look at all those people... Makes me hungry." Mercy got that evil little grin again. "And don't worry... I only feed on the willing, unless it's a scumbag like the one you were after." Again, Mercy truly didn't care if she killed TONS of people, but she didn't out of respect for Lillith. "And the willing... I never kill."
Sophia frowned thoughtfully, tilting her head to one side. "That makes you different, doesn't it?" She wondered briefly if she could be like that if she were a vampire... to just not kill. She smirked, though, remembering how much she loved violence, so... She doubted it. "What's it like for you? The … drinking part?"
"Don't go thinking I'm some great person here. My sire doesn't roll that way. I stay all non-killin' for HER. I'd do anything for Lillith, including give my life. Or unlife. Whichever you prefer.
Then she thought about the woman's question, and smiled with a naughty gleam.
"For me? Imagine the pleasure you get from the most delicious meal you can think of, and combine it with the pleasure you get from the best sex in the world. That's what it feels like."
"Loyalty among vampires. That's like honour among thieves..." Sophia chuckled, finding that highly amusing. She finished her second beer but waved off the bartender when he asked if she wanted a third. Not that she couldn't handle it, mind you, she was just done for the night. As for the other thing, well... our sexy little cop could be awfully astute. "Huh."
"You seem curious..." Mercy replied as she tilted her slightly to the side. "You know... I haven't fed yet tonight. And I bet YOU'D make for some yummy noms..."
"You know, I have been told that I taste good," Sophia replied with a cheeky little smirk. Of course, she was taking that out of context. She eyed Mercy from across the bar, "Alright, so maybe I am curious."
"I suppose the question here is: are you curious enough... to want to find out what it's like?" The vampire smirked, her tone challenging. "Because I bet you'd just be a TREAT..." Oh, did Mercy grin mischievously there. Was she grooming the cop for something here? Quite possibly...
"Curious enough," Sophia replied, surprised at her own honesty there. A little voice in the back of her head was telling her that this was by far the stupidest thing that she had ever done. She agreed with it, of course (hey, it was her own brain), but not enough to want to stop.
"We're going to want some privacy." Mercy said simply, trying not to look TOO eager. Hey, she was hungry, ok? "I'll be done working in about an hour. Where would you feel safer, at your place or mine?"
Sophia gave Mercy a look, as if to say ‘are you serious?’ "Mine." She gave the other woman her address and let out a throaty chuckle, "You might wanna knock loud. I had a long day." She was already starting to look tired. Thank God she didn't have to work tomorrow, huh?
The vampire almost laughed out loud as she took the address. Humans could be SO much fun...