Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Lutetia City: Merveilleux

as written by Krysis

"I gave her something to loosen her up, then someone put her by herself and left her. She didn't know how to do for herself, so now she's completely out of it. She needs a cab back to the monastery, and I don't know if she has enough for the ride. I checked her purse, but she always has a holdout someplace." Pierette told Aaro with a wry smile, the hatred in her eyes gone like a bad dream.

Celeste was able to stand on her own, she just had trouble putting one foot in front of the other in a logical fashion. She mumbled at Aaro, "S'okay. I'm fine. Sis won't hurt me. Gut her if she tried."

Pierette was used to guiding inebriated folks, so she knew the trick of angles and where to put pressure. Aaro was drunk too and in his efforts to help, he managed to get them to a stand still ten feet from the door. "I'd think you'd be more interested in helping your other friend. The boy with the long legs. He probably needs to go to the hospital. But don't call an ambulance from here, Aaro. Calling authorities from the location of an illegal party is a good way for all of your group to get beat up."

She was so focused on Aaro and Celeste, she didn't even notice Arien coming up behind them.
 
as written by Ronin

"You -gave- her something?" Aaro blinked. He wasn't entirely sure if he liked the sound of that. The proselyte looked as carefully at Celeste as he was able to in his drunken state, trying to discern whether or not she was aware of what was going on. She seemed alright. Besides, the knowledge that his 'long-legged friend' might need to go to the hospital was a more urgent concern.

"Alright, just..." he wobbled, "...just make sure she gets home safe..."

He turned, not feeling particularly good about himself for leaving Celeste in her sister's care. Pierette was starting to bother him. The fact that she'd drugged his friend certainly didn't lend her points, but he knew he'd seen her take something from Celeste's purse. Still, Jimmy was the priority.

"Arien!" he called out to his host as he saw him approach. "Where's Ji-" The proselyte stopped as he scrutinized the anger smoldering in his face. "Uh. Nevermind. I'll find him..."

He rushed into the VIP section.

---

"It's strong stuff," the man warned, quirking an amused brow, "Ivarian is a much darker whiskey than what the Lutetians drink." He nodded thanks as the bartender delivered two shots. The stranger offered one to Alysa. "Personally I prefer it. Richer taste. Goes down like molten steel but festers like bright embers." He lifted the glass to his lips and downed it in one clean motion.

"If you're going to indulge, you mine as well indulge in the best."
 
as written by Script

The anger was only present for a few moments after Aaro saw it, before Arien wiped it from his face. It wouldn't do to let his composure slip too far. He nodded to Aaro - hopefully the proselyte would be able to reign in his friend. Gods only knew he couldn't personally attend to all of them.

"Hello again, Pierette," he said as he approached, his tone neither hostile nor friendly - only chillingly devoid of emotion. "I trust that you have only the most charitable intentions in mind, taking your sister off in the state she's in."

He didn't give her a chance to reply. He locked gazes with her as he next spoke, and the emerald orbs were consumed by swirling crimson as he dug his nails into his palm beneath the cover of his jacket sleeve.

You want to leave Celeste with me. You want to leave the party, and dragging her with you is more trouble than it's worth. You're confident she'll find her way home safe with her friends.

The mental commands imprinted themselves on Pierette subtly, like a natural shift in attitude. Aside from a brief moment of disorientation as her mind readjusted to its changed state, it was likely she wouldn't notice any untoward influence at all. Any memory of the redness of Arien's eyes faded as they returned to green - no doubt a trick of the light, if she remembered it at all.

"But really, would it not be easier to leave her here? I can arrange a lift back once her friends are done here."

He smiled.
 
as written by Krysis

Pierette gave Arien an equally blank smile before she sneered at him, "You're nothing to her, not a classmate or a sibling, so it seems like your attention would be more suspect than my rough care. Bringing my poor, defenseless little sister to a snake pit like this wasn't exactly a nice thing to do."

Celeste mumbled a protest at being defenseless, groping for one of her daggers and missing as she got tripped in Arien's direction. The knife stayed in the sheath as she gave a startled shout and flailed for something to grab hold to in order to keep from falling on her face. Again.

"Fine. If you want to explain to the good Brothers and Sisters at the Monastery, it saves me the trouble. It also makes me wonder why you invited these kids. Seems like it blew up in your face on more than one level." Pierette jibed before she'd turn on her heel and stalked for the door, so ready to be out of there.
 
as written by Script

Arien deftly caught Celeste as she stumbled, allowing her to regain her footing. He didn't dignify Pierette's words with a response.

Yes, inviting the proselytes here had been an ... impulsive decision. Born in part out of a desire to play with fire. He could have stayed far from the Church's eye, recruited people like the twins to his cause without fear of discovery. But where would the thrill have been in that?

There was something delicious about plucking the young hopefuls away from beneath the church's nose. They would be a pet project. Whilst working on the twins was useful and enjoyable, and Elisa had been a delightful find for similar reasons to the proselytes... corrupting the paladins of the future? That was a challenge worthy of his talents.

Of course, further down the line, it could also prove useful. Having eyes and ears on the inner workings of the order, at such a time as they were working directly against it, would be invaluable. And by that point, they'd be willing to tell him anything, if he had his way.

And he always had his way.

Murmuring vague reassurances to Celeste, he turned and started to make his way back towards the VIP area.
 
as written by Faithy

“Good, I need something stronger than the slop I’ve had so far. Maybe it’ll take the edge off what I’m currently feeling.” Alysa shrugged a little and picked up the shot as the bartender sat it in front of her, giving it a slight smell before tossing it down her throat. It took her a few minutes to get beyond the sensation, noting it was nothing like she had ever tasted before. Setting down the glass, she shifted her head towards him.

“You’re right, it was strong, but I think I could do another shot of the stuff. We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Alysa Jayse and I can’t explain how grateful I am that someone is finally actually talking to me.” She smiled faintly, not sure whether or not the stranger would be a good candidate. She spotted Aaro heading towards the VIP section and sighed, realizing he probably wasn’t coming back. Her gaze fell upon Jimmy and she tapped her chin in deep thought before returning her attention towards the male beside her.
 
as written by duramon

Rei glanced at Celeste, Pierette and and the rest of that gang as well as the party-goers overall, where she could see them. She sighed a little and looked up at Nox "I think it'd be better if we go, I'll come back later to check on my friends~ This party is dying." She commented, nudging her head at the totality of the V.I.P area, noting the large spread between everyone previously involved in relaxing.

She slipped her arm through his and grinned up at him, now was the best time to get the monster out of the party. Besides, the party really was dying for her, everyone was so uptight, drunk, drugged or otherwise out of play that it was no longer fun. Too much stress and nonesense had occured for her to truly enjoy her experience, but she'd nabbed herself a Caer to observe, and despite his one outburst, his ability to not murder when required was nothing short of unexpected based on the Orders skewed view on history.

As expected, the Order wrote their history as the victors, not historians, would.
 
as written by Emperor Jester

"Ah, I suppose it would be for the best. I'll invite anyone who is interested back to my villa. Its a bit of a walk, but well worth it. Inheritance has blessed me somewhat, you could say."

He'd give the twins to the ghouls, his grotesque spawn , and possibly the other male, the one so brave and stupid as to threaten him. Though part of him wanted to savor deboning the boy piece by piece.

The plain girl who basically had begged for his entrance onto her would maybe join the ranks of his minion class. The church daughter and Rei might be turned, and then used. Or in the other order. They entertained him enough as was. Suddenly his mind was going a mile a minute. Yes. It could all work out nicely. He had their scents now. He had toys to play with.

Poor Arien, to collect such wonderful pieces only to have them smashes and abused by another. Oh well. The lesser being would cry about it to his mistress, but Nox had faith on which horse the manipulative Sanina would back...

"As I should, any and all are welcome to join us. The more the merrier." Boy he hated sounding so peppy.
 
as written by Script

Élisabeth gave Nox an assessing look, one eyebrow half-raised at the invitation. She toyed with the idea for several long moments before she spoke. "Much as the offer is appreciated, I'm going to have to decline. This is partially my party, after all. It would be irresponsible of me to walk out before it's done. And I wouldn't say it's dying. If all it took was a little drama and a fist-fight to kill a party, then they'd never last past half an hour."

She smiled. Her given reason wasn't exactly true. For one thing, she was still keenly aware that there was something off about Malcolm. She wasn't about to go trekking into the dark with him off to some distant villa. That was just asking to be left in a ditch. For another, she knew for a fact Arien wouldn't be going with them.

"You two have fun though. I certainly intend to get back into the swing of things here."
 
as written by Ronin

Aaro walked up to Jimmy, brows knit. His friend was wounded. A flurry of questions crossed over his lips before he finally settled on the one that was more important.

"Are you alright?" he asked, "do you need to go to a hospital?"

---

"Don't thank me just yet," the gentleman smiled, "conversation is easy to come by in this city. Companionship..." He smirked. "...well. That's something else entirely."

The stranger repeated her named to himself, tasting it. Good consonance. "Is this-" He waived at the mob of dancers raving on the floor. "-your usual scene, Alysa?"
 
as written by Emperor Jester

"Are you sure, Elisabeth? I think we'd both benefit from your company, but I understand your caution. We only just met after all." He'd slide his arm around the thin, feminine sides of Rei, knowing full well what was really underneath.

Nox when then look, seeing Arien approach. "Ah, here comes the host. Due to the incidents, Rei and I are going to move the party somewhere more manageable. Would you like to join us, since you showed me such hospitality?"
 
as written by Script

Arien narrowed his eyes at Nox's words. He knew full well what would doubtless be involved in the Caer 'moving the party' somewhere else. For a long moment, he looked between Rei and Nox, before shaking his head.

"No, thank you. I'm hoping for everything to go a little more smoothly from here," he said, smiling ever-so-convincingly. Of course things would go smoother... once Nox left. Losing Rei was ... unfortunate. But at least it wouldn't likely lead back to him, if whatever happened, happened away from the party.

He helped Celeste across to one of the couches and set her down to rest. "And I need to keep an eye on Celeste, of course. I invited her here, so I can't help but feel responsible."

Besides. He already had plans for an after-party.

Speaking of which, where had the twins gotten to?

____

"Seize up?" Valère frowned, peeling himself away from Alveré and stepping closer to Aurelie, so that they could hear one another better. He trailed one hand behind him, still holding his brother's.

Alveré's brow also furrowed. "I noticed he was breathing heavily. But I thought he was just ... I didn't realise." His tone didn't sound... concerned, as much as it did annoyed. At himself, no doubt, for misjudging the situation.

Val squeezed his hand gently, glancing back over his shoulder and leaning back into him. "Do you want to check on him?" he asked, quieter this time. If Aurelie had been human, there'd have been little chance of her overhearing.

The other twin scowled, biting the inside of his lip frustratedly. "Arien would want us to, wouldn't he? We're supposed to take care of them." His reply was also quieter, meant for Val's ears only. "What a nuisance."

Val shrugged nonchalantly. "She said his brother's with him, and that he's fine."

"And if he's not, and we didn't check? I don't want to risk Arien being angry at us. We had one job." Alveré sounded as reluctant as Val felt to leave the dance floor, but he was right. Arien had asked them to help him keep an eye on the proselytes. They couldn't just ignore one of them wandering off.

He sighed, turning back to face Aurelie and speaking louder. "We should probably go and check on him," he called, "Not that we don't trust your assessment. But for Al's peace of mind. To make sure it wasn't his fault."

Val grinned. He could almost sense Alveré's irritation at his deliberately false assessment of the situation. But if his brother was going to insist on going to check, then Val was going to paint him as the bleeding heart. Besides, it wasn't entirely wrong. That side of him just happened to be reserved for Val himself.

"Let's go," Al interrupted his thoughts by starting to walk towards the door, pulling him along.
 
as written by Faithy

She was ignoring him. What in the hell was going on? Jimmy dropped the bottle he had been attempting to drink and scowled in slight irritation. Grasping yet another bottle with his other hand, he popped the lid off and brought it up to his lips just as Nox mentioned moving to his villa. He was inviting anyone to go with him and Jimmy raise his brow, his face parting into a huge grin. This was it! This was his chance to kill the bastard! Just as he stood up to his feet while leaning heavily towards counter, Aaro appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Blinking in confusion, he exhaled and patted the male on the arm.

“I’m great, Aaro! I mean, I’m drunk and Pierette gave me this pill and I want to get laid, but other than that! I’m good! Oh, and I got into a scuffle with Malcolm and Rei is like super woman, but yep! Great!” Jimmy gave a thumbs up before pointing at Malcolm.

“He said whoever wants to go back to his villa is more than welcome. Should we… should we go? I think I want to go. Maybe there are girrrrrrrls there. Girls that want to sleep with a Proselyte like me!” Jimmy wasn’t really thinking clearly anymore and he flopped against Aaro, no longer angry towards Malcolm, at least for the moment. Maybe it was because he thought there could be chicks at the villa that would actually want to sleep with him.

____

“Who said I was looking for companionship, Mr…?” Alysa was quite aware that while she introduced herself twice, not on purpose of course, he had yet to speak his name. Her gaze shifted towards the VIP section again, only momentarily before she was once again looking towards the male, snorting at his question. Did she really look like the type that went to raves? Surely not, but if so, she really needed to work on her appearance and how others see her.

“No, this is most definitely not my scene. I just happened to come across the joint while looking for my friend and figured I’d see what the hubbub was all about. How about you? What brings you here?” Her brow arched and she slid her fingers through her hair.
 
as written by Ronin

Aaro blink. "Grills?" Drunk as he was, he knew enough to deduce that following the man that Jimmy had just fought wasn't a good idea. "Let's uh. Let's forget about the girls for tonight, buddy. I think we gotta work on getting you well." He squinted at Jimmy's arm. "Sweet God, dude, is your shoulder out of its socket?"

---

"Call me Corso," the man replied. "I guess you could say I'm here as the same reason as you." He thumbed a strand of raven hair behind his ear. "I'm looking for ... " He hesitated, and for a moment his voice seemed distant far-off. "A friend."
 
as written by glmstr

Aurelie simply started towards the door with them, slowing her pace just enough to end up beside them.
"Now, I was starting to think you two didn't even care about the proselytes," she giggled and gently nudged a few partygoers out of the way, "nice to know you two still have hearts," the vampire grinned and escorted them out of the building and to the curb where she left Inarin with his brother.
 
as written by Faithy

“Fuck that man, I came out to get laid and I’m going to get laid.” Jimmy shoved away from Aaro, scowling at the fact that his wingman wasn’t going to come with them. Well, technically, the younger Proselyte wasn’t his wingman, but he should have been, right? Right. He glanced absentmindedly at his shoulder before blinking.

“I don’t know man, feels spaghetti like, but not enough to keep me from seeing what kind of chicks Malcolm has at his house. Maybe if they’re hot enough, I won’t kill him anymore.” Jimmy was making little sense, but he knew what he wanted.

____

“Your friend comes to rave parties like this? I mean, mine would, but that’s because she’s a party girl, or rather was… not sure what kind of girl she’ll be now.” Biting her lip while mentally reminding herself she was supposed to be under cover, Alysa hoped he hadn’t noticed her slight change in demeanor. Smiling brightly towards Corso, she wondered whether or not she could make him into a Scion without much trouble. Musing, the redhead tilted her head a little, attempting to size him up.

“Well, regardless I wish you luck in finding your friend.” Without realizing it, she had leaned forward, her fingers twitching in her lap as she fought back the urge to shift and snap her fangs into his body.
 
as written by Ronin

"Kill what?" Aaro blinked, "dude... think about what you're saying! Jimmy!" The proselyte ran around his friend as he attempted to shove off and placed his hands firmly on his shoulders.

"Jim, look at me," there was some urgency to Aaro's voice, "look at me." His brows furrowed. "You're a proselyte. You're a student in the Monastic Order." His words were edged in iron. "We don't just kill people, you got it? We don't go off and do stupid shit like what you're doing now." He blinked. "I mean... granted, we've done a lot of stupid shit tonight... but this is stupid of a whole different caliber. You gotta snap out of this."

---

"Perhaps you're the one that needs luck tonight," Corso replied with a wry smile. His eyes followed the twitch of her fingers, the tilt of her head ... the predatory gleam in her eye. "Something tells me you're out looking for more than just a drink, Alysa." He gave her a curious look, resting his arm on the counter and eyeing her up and down. "Or am I wrong?"
 
as written by Faithy

Jimmy blinked at Aaro, looking beyond him much like Celeste did to him earlier. He heard the words, but they weren’t really making it beyond his ears. Finally managing to actually look at his fellow Proselyte, the male frowned a little, momentarily moving beyond the haze before being tugged back beneath the fog.

“I said I wouldn’t kill him if there were hot chicks. Come on, Aaro. We’ve already done this much, so why not end the night getting laid? Who knows when we’ll be able to do this again? Let’s just go with him and then we can sneak back into the kitchen for some food.” Jimmy pleaded with Aaro, his hand patting the younger male on the shoulder.

____

“I’m beginning to think that my luck has gone by the wayside, Corso. I probably shouldn’t even be here and if I’m caught just milling around and drinking, well, I know what’ll happen. Still, the thrum of the music was something I couldn’t just ignore.” Leaning back the moment she realized just how close she was to doing something incredibly stupid in public, Alysa ran her fingers through her hair, pushing the red strands out of her eyes. When she all but got called out for what she was about to do, the Scion narrowed her emerald eyes a smidge before laughing lightly.

“Quite the imagination you have, Corso. Well, I wouldn’t mind finding someone to keep me warm tonight, but a drink suits me just find. I am assuming that is what you were referencing?” Alysa toyed with him, wanting to know just where his mind was currently at. She had to salvage this night somehow and this male would do for the moment and then she would go after her other targets.
 
as written by Script

Alveré pulled a face, safe in the knowledge that Aurelie was facing away from him. Let her think them compassionate, then. Their concern was purely for Arien's displeasure if they neglected their charge. The boy was sweet - naive as a child - but he wasn't their concern. It would be disappointing if something happened to him, of course, for there was plenty more fun to be had with him ... but he would shed no tears.

It was just as he'd said to Valère earlier in the evening. Everyone else, everyone but him, was nothing more than a toy. A game.

Well, maybe everyone but Arien. He was different, somehow. It was unnerving, but also ... nice. Valère shared his opinion, and he'd always been the more insightful of the pair of them. If he couldn't trust his own judgement, he could certainly trust his brother's.

The cold of the night air made him keenly aware of the undone buttons on his shirt, but he hadn't the care to fix them. Valère slipped an arm through his, and pulled him closer. He smiled. That was more than enough warmth.

Inarin was still sat on the curb, his breathing no better than before. It had only been a few minutes. Aurelion was beside him, talking idly to try and keep him as anchored in reality as possible.

As the trio emerged from the warehouse, he was mid-sentence.

"...a second. Is that ... is that a hickey? Inarin, you dog." His eyes were on an increasingly prominent red mark on the young proselytes neck.

To his credit, Alveré at least had the decency to cringe.

Aurelion looked up at them, his eyebrows raising as he took in their disheveled state, their identical appearance, and their closeness. His gaze crossed over to Aurelie briefly. "More new 'friends' of Inarin's?" he queried.

"Got it in one," Alveré replied, grinning, "I'm Alveré."

"And I'm Valère," Valère added.

There was a flash of recognition in Aurelion's eyes, and he nodded his head. "Ah... I think I've heard of you."

"Good things, I hope," Valère replied with a wink.

There was a pause before the paladin replied. "... yeah. Mostly."

Alveré suppressed a snort of laughter. Well, he was diplomatic, at least.
 
as written by Krysis

Celeste balked at sitting down again, and glared at Arien for trying to make her. She figured he wanted to get her sitting so he could ignore her again and she didn't want to do that. Rest wasn't what she needed or wanted. She wouldn't make him stay with her, but she needed physical contact to help her get grounded again.

Besides, if what Elisabeth had said was right, then Arien really didn't have any interest in her. She was just a pawn in too many games at once and it was starting to annoy her, despite the drugs. Gathering herself she said as clearly as she could, "I want to go home."
 
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