A Night Out on the Town (Open)

It was Saturday night and Albert was ready to enjoy himself. He over to The Lily as it was a chance to see some new faces and escape from Avalon. He was dressed in a black sport coat, an indigo shirt with black vertical pin-stripes and slacks to complement his sport coat. He liked the dark colors as he felt it added a bit of class to his appearance.

Cigar smoke swirled about a few of the tables with people. The crowd at the Lily had money, or should have had. Magnolia puffed the cigar in hand while rotating it above a lit match, she was careful not to let it touch the flame directly. She remember how a college professor had taught her one semester; she had earned an A in the class before his advances, but always one for behaving she never let anything happen. The familiar flavor of the cigar made her regret that decision.

Magnolia smoked and casually looked about the bar. She knew how she looked; a woman, smoking a cigar, alone and without a drink. It was too perfect, someone would 'try to fix' what they perceived as missing from that picture. A smile spread across her features, as she chuckled silently at her thoughts.

That's the nice thing about the Curse, it always provides.

Sawyer scanned the cigar bar, his eyes fell came across a lone young lady. Albert found her quite appealing and with a confident pace began walking directly to her. The idea of bringing her home came to mind. He smiled with interest as he approached.

The one thing with Kindred was that it took one to know one. The demon within him thrashed against his rational mind. His pupils dilated to a pair of black pools - akin to a predator's gaze mere moments before launching an attack on its prey. The opportunity to assault her like a wild savage was abhorrently tempting. The Man hushed the Beast with a great deal of effort. The neonate clenched his left fist into a tight knot and held it as he kept a very watchful eye on the Kindred until the mental confrontation subsided. Damn it! I hate that! Sawyer kept his distance in case the beautiful Kindred's response was not as controlled as his was.

She saw him before she felt him. A kid almost, in his mid-twenties, dress in a business suit and walking towards her. A cock-of-the-walk even: confident, relaxed, self-assured or he seemed so, or maybe that's just how others always seem to Magnolia. She couldn't hear their anxieties, their worries or their fears but then again she couldn't hear anyone else's thoughts, something that galled her to no end. Magnolia's envy reared it's head as she thought how young the kid was. She didn't need to be an ageless monster to start seeing most people as younger than her, she had been Embraced later in life and had already developed the habit, such was life in America.

Suddenly it happened; reality fell off its spokes and everything seemed to move slowly as if the air had turn viscus. It was like watching a movie or having a dream, you knew the script without being part of it. A deep part of Magnolia wanted to reach out and harm the kid. It would have been so easy to give in to the hate and anger that seethed below the surface. All she had to was extend a hand in his direction and she would have given in. She didn't move a muscle until it passed

Magnolia lifted a hand in greeting to the kid, palm open, as if she was showing she meant harm. With a tilt and jerk of her head she said 'come, sit'. She stood to greet the kid.

"Hi, Magnolia," she said and extended a hand.

Once he ascertained there was no immediate threat, his self-assured demeanor manifested once more. Upon seeing she was not quite as young as he had originally observed, none the less, she was attractive. The thought of bringing her to his haven crossed his mind once more before taking caution once again, No, no. Once the secret is out, it's no longer a secret. But damn...

He smiled though it was more so his own fantasies that gave emphasis to his grin as he extended his hand, clasping her's gently, "Hello Magnolia, I'm Albert. Pleasure to meet you," he said as he took his seat next to her.

"Albert, enchanté," she said as she shook his hand. There was a brief electrical moment where touching another Kindred threatened her calm, but it passed quickly as a handshake. Magnolia hadn't expected to see any of her kin that evening but it seemed that was not to be the case. They were everywhere, from the youthful club of Avalon to the sophisticated cigar lounge of the Lily. She was willing to bet one or two of her siblings, and she used that word loosely, could be found in the dark of the alleyways.

"This is a pleasant surprise." Even if she had wanted to maim him momentarily. "I do hope I'm not trespassing..." she said and looked the kid in the eye. She picked up her cigar and took a few puffs, which she blew out sideways, so as not to be offensive to the guest at her table and in an attempt to obfuscate her scent.

"I take it you are well this evening?" she asked. Though she was starting to slowly understand that, their kind's, well was relative and had a variety of meanings.

"If you're trespassing then it appears we're both in trouble if we're caught," he said in a flirtatious manner and chuckle. His eyes gravitated to her lips then to the label of the cigar as she exhaled to away from him "As for me, I'm quite well. If you will pardon me just a mere moment, I'll join you for a smoke," he waved down a server requesting the same cigar Magolia was smoking. "So how are you this evening?"

She laughed, a relaxed and full laughter as if they were flirting or something sensational had been shared. Her hand touched her face, in an effort to mime surprise or fluster. Few would have guess at their morbid topic. A pang of panic shot briefly in her chest as Albert order the same cigar. She crossed her fingers he wouldn't take note how cheap of one she had bought. It bothered her how easily things were read if one paid attention.

"Can't complain. With time and effort anything is possible. So I guess as long as I'm fortunate enough to be patience, I can't complain." she said absently. "How about yourself," she thought to address him as Master but decided against it, "Mr. Albert?" There was after all no need to insult him but it was the manner in which Magnolia dealt with the Beast within, by sublimation; the animosity came out sideways and in very small pieces, usually small enough for others to swallow.

"So then, are you a native of Sacramento; Urbs Indomita and all that?"

Albert to Magnolia speak with interest. Unique perspective considering the Requiem.

Then the server returned with the cigar and lighter, he nodded and gave his thanks while keeping most of his attention focused on Magnolia. Sawyer paid in cash and told the server to keep the change and politely requested the cigar be lit for him - the last thing he wanted to risk was losing his composure in front of the Kindred.

With a cigar in hand, he replied, "Well Miss Magnolia, believe it or not, I am not a denizen of the Indomitable City." His lips coiled into a cocksure smile, "I hail from the City of Sin," he summarily took a drag on the cigar and exhaled to the side of him and away from the Kindred. "How about yourself?"

Even with her eyes averted she flinched ever so slightly when the match was struck. The small flame threatened something dark within her, it looked out from her eyes and Magnolia got the eerie feeling she was not alone.

"New York, though properly Manhattan." She watched the cigar girl walk away. "Never been myself, though when I was younger I used to think ‘how glamorous it must be to visit.’ That was before my...life took a different turn." It came in waves, the urge to harm. But Magnolia found that talking and focusing on other things kept the Beast at bay.

"So what greener pastures could there be here, than in Las Vegas?" she asked and leaned back, doing her best to be at rest.