The In Crowd

[st_clare]

She'd been meaning to get to Ragnarok anyway. Gerald had mentioned it to her ages ago, but between one thing and another there'd been no time. With spring approaching, classes had hit a bit of a lull, and she was prepared for the next week. That cleared some of her schedule.

Julianna had parked her car in the lot and was now waiting in the queue to get inside. Some of the 'costumed' staff were outside greeting guests, and the Watcher was amusing herself by trying to deduce who was actually human and who wasn't. It was the perfect place to be if you wanted to hide in plain sight. She wondered if the owner had to strike a deal with any vampires who might be employed here.

Inside, it was surprisingly ordinary, at least as far as decor went. Julianna ordered a gimlet at the bar, then sipped at it while she wondered at the possibility of getting an audience with the proprietor. Her colleague wouldn't have mentioned the woman if she might not be a valuable acquaintance to have, so perhaps she should make an effort herself.

In the meantime, she would enjoy the atmosphere here. Las Vegas might not be much for culture, per se, but it didn't lack for its own brand of ambiance.

Comments

[st_clare]

She was aware of it when the space next to her became occupied. Her glass was still mostly full. She was nursing the drink because she was driving. There was no mirror behind the bar. Probably wise if the undead were among the employees.

When Julianna turned, her expression was mildly inquiring, and she did a slight double-take when she saw the fangs. Then the brief startlement subsided. She'd seen vampires up close, but not this particular vampire with his other face on.

"Hello, Daniel. Almost didn't recognize you. I'd imagine this is the safest place to walk around looking that way."

[daniel_stacy]

"What, this?" Intentionally obtuse, he gestured at his simple uniform of jeans and a Ragnarok polo shirt. "You know, the owner, she ah... she tried to put me in a G-string but I had to put my foot down." He accepted a beer from the bartender and swallowed the top third. He gestured at her gimlet. "They card you?"

[st_clare]

The Watcher snorted, an amused noise. If it hadn't been for the ridged forehead, Daniel could have been one of her students. She wondered what he'd been like before his turning. She had never disliked him personally, not really. Distrusted him? Probably. Been worried because of his connection to Holiday? Absolutely. But if there was such a thing as a vampire being an individual, he might be it.

"I haven't been carded in nearly thirty years, but thank you for saying it."

Julianna sipped at her drink, gestured with the glass. "I had rather expected something more exotic about the surroundings," she said lightly. "I suppose its to keep the tourists from getting too curious, though."

[daniel_stacy]

Daniel shrugged. "Maybe the ambiance is supposed to come from the actors, not the set." He rolled a kink out of his shoulder. In a sense, they were all in character, either toning down the violence or upping the absurdity of their features aor proclivities, whatever it took to fascinate the patrons, keep them just on the edge of 'nice costume!' and 'wait... is that real?' "Think of it like a circus freak show."

[st_clare]

The analogy piqued Julianna's interest, and she set her gimlet aside to face Daniel more fully. Again, the disconnect struck her. His demeanor was so neutral, so normal, that it very well might have been make-up that made his visage so surreal. Maybe it was a relief of sorts to be able to show his other face without fear of being discovered.

"Is that how you see yourself? As a circus freak?"

Her tone was casual when she asked the question, only indicating her interest. The knowledge that she had considered inviting him up to her hotel room the night they'd met was seated uncomfortably beside the awareness that he probably would have killed her if she had. But intellectual curiosity trumped both thoughts. Once a Watcher, always a Watcher.

[daniel_stacy]

Daniel warmed to the idea. "Yeah I guess. It's not much of a stretch. On the outside I look normal--" he gestured at his torso, "regular vampire, regular human guy. But I'm neither." He licked the beer from his bottom lip. He figured that the same description could loosely apply to a woman whose secret mission in life was destroying the forces of darkness. "And take you," he aimed the bottle mouth, "You're not an ordinary woman so you ought to feel at home. In a place where the only thing we've got in common is that no one's really home."

[st_clare]

She should have resented even the suggestion of a comparison. Twenty years ago, she probably would have resented it. In the Now, however, she was merely a bit amused. He was right, they weren't ordinary, her by choice and him most likely by terrible accident. Or perhaps he didn't think it was so terrible.

"Once you've immersed yourself in a certain environment, it's difficult to remember that other people live differently," Julianna said thoughtfully. "That you are the...the exception and not the rule. Sometimes it's better to be exceptional, though."

[daniel_stacy]

His Adam's apple jumped as he swallowed. "I'm alright with being a misfit, at least for now. Doesn't matter here because nobody's allowed to touch the customers. There's places though where I might get my ass kicked for it. My sire doesn't even know. She'd be first in line to put me out of my misery. She'd consider it righting a wrong." He eyed the watcher and wondered if she had seen Holly. He even leaned a little closer and sniffed, trying to be discreet about it.

[st_clare]

Julianna was very aware of it when Daniel inched into her personal bubble, but she pretended to ignore it until he eased back into his space. She picked up her drink and sampled it, then set the glass back down.

One elegant eyebrow arched, and her tone was light after she cleared her throat. "If you tell me that was because you're trying to decide what perfume I'm wearing, that will be a better answer than saying you're contemplating wrangling an invitation to somewhere more private. That almost worked once."

[daniel_stacy]

Daniel raised on his stool. "Almost worked, really? Mm. I'm flattered but no. I'm on the wagon. I was actually trying to figure out if you'd been around Holly. Holiday." He wiped condensation on the leg of his pants. He picked up the scent of Julianna's skin care products and something spicier, maybe a man, maybe not, but not Holly.

[st_clare]

The Watcher blinked. She hadn't expected that. Either the remark about being on the wagon or that Daniel apparently hadn't seen Holiday. She looked down into the contents of her glass, then made eye contact with the vampire.

"No, actually, I haven't," she said slowly. "I believe she's written me off, as they say. She seems mercurial that way. Prone to changing her mind."

She looked across the room, where a group of customers had just entered the establishment, then focused on her erstwhile companion again. "You haven't seen her?"

[daniel_stacy]

He pursed his lips, gave a nonchalant shake of his head. "Nope. I got a message from her a while back, said she was okay, just bad at staying in touch or something. That, uh, heh, that was an understatement." He shook his head and polished off the beverage. Daniel wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "She's alright. She just can't be tied down."

Wait.

Daniel squinted. "Not-- I mean, I didn't actually try to tie her down, I want to make that clear."

[st_clare]

His borderline discomfiture amused her, and it showed. She looked at his empty glass as she polished off her gimlet, pondered ordering another. She hadn't realized it was possible for a vampire to become uncomfortable.

"So what are you surviving on if you aren't..." Julianna lifted her hand towards her neck, barely refrained from touching it. "Looking for donations?"

[daniel_stacy]

"Ketchup," Daniel said wryly. He nodded at the bartender for a second round, indicating both their glasses with a swirl of his index finger. He waited for the beverages to be set down before he spoke again. "I know a butcher. Once in a while I drink from a human, but I stop before... you know. Usually it works. Once I made a colossal error, though. I had just eaten a bunch of peanuts and this girl, she had an allergy. Another time, I got sprayed by an artery."