The Universe's Mixer

Annie was getting ready to put a Help Wanted sign up in her store window. She didn't really need any extra hands, the store was small and got little traffic, but she thought it might be nice to have somebody to talk to during the day, and somebody who could trade off shifts with her so she wouldn't have to be at the store all the time.

Maybe even two people.

She was a little nervous about being the boss. It was one thing to be the boss when it was just you working, an entirely different thing when you had to actually tell people what to do. She thought that she could do it, though. But she was going to make sure to be really careful about who she hired, because she was not sure she could fire anyone if they didn't do something hugely bad.

The sign was being drawn by hand. Not because she couldn't afford one of those ones that you bought, she just felt like doing it herself. She wasn't the best artist in the world, but she could do lettering. Anyone could do lettering.

With the sign done, Annie placed it in the window. Next to the door. At right about eye level.

Hannibal had been curious about the bar named Fangtasia since it arrived. The flyer for it had stated it was a vampire friendly bar. He had no doubt that Lestat had already explored this place, the vampire wouldn't have let his curiosity slide as long as Hannibal had. He had no real excuse for waiting, he just had.

Baba's mention of an old vampire had whet his interest further, and finally Hannibal's curiosity was just too overwhelming to let it go. He did try to call River to see if she would like to explore as well, but he only got voicemail, and realized that she was probably off dancing. He didn't want to interrupt that, he knew how much it meant to her.

So he was off to the bar on his own. It would be his first step in exploration. There was, after all, still Caritas and The Roadhouse to experiment with as well. He'd yet to hear much about the latter, but if he was going to one, he might as well do all three. Caritas boasted a green demon, from what he'd heard. And something about karaoke.

The building itself was red, with no windows at all. On one wall was a big red neon sign reading Fangasia, which he supposed looked fairly gaudy during the day. The door was thick glass that Hannibal couldn't see through even in the smallest way. There was a line outside, almost to the street. That he hadn't expected. There seemed to be somebody standing outside, under the red awning, deciding who could go in and who could not.

Hannibal thought of somebody else who might be interested in being here. Not because she hadn't been already, but because she would appreciate seeing his reactions. He could picture her teasing and playing with him while he inspected this new world around him. She had told him how best to get a hold of her when they'd made the sacrifice to work her spell on the City.

Putting his thumb to his mouth and using the edge of his eye teeth, Hannibal bit until he drew blood. He let it drip onto the concrete, perhaps an unwise choice in front of a vampire bar, but he didn't care. Doing this, he thought her name, and thought of where he was, and that he would like to see her.