It was 2am, which frankly wasn't very late for the likes of Briar. But it was far enough along in the evening that she'd gotten some things taken care of. Like her nightly dining, for example, at least the survival part of it. That was checked off her list. So were all her appointments, obviously. They'd ended hours ago. Including an after hours appointment with a Tulane student who was part of her latest research project. It had been an exciting night with Dixie. That had a breakthrough, potentially. After the student left, Briar just couldn't sit still. She was that amped up over the results of this round of testing. The excitement claiming her like an itch, the vampire needed to be stimulated, she needed to celebrate, she needed glitz and shine and bells and whistles…
She needed to gamble. Back when she was still human, Daddy had called her penchant for dice and cards her most unladylike habit. Especially because Briar found bridge as dull as tarnished silver. But poker and blackjack, now those were worth betting on. And nowadays, with all the flashing lights and spinning and sounds, slot machines were like a form of crack for the Ardeur, who could get sucked into those things as sure as that old myth about vampires having to count grains of rice if it was thrown at their feet. So if Briar wasn't careful and time got away from her….well thank god this casino was also a resort with rooms that had nice thick curtains.
For now, she was on the casino floor. She'd been here for just over three hours, and had won a pretty penny playing poker (to the consternation of all the men who'd been at her table), only to lose it playing fast and loose at the craps table. But losing was just fine with the psychologist, she had never gambled to try to win anything, she did it for the thrill. The taboo. Even if it wasn't taboo for a woman anymore, somewhere inside of her it always would because of the time period she was born into, and the judgmental looks she got from her parents whenever they caught her playing dice with the boys down the road.
With a martini in hand that served no function at all except that she found it the perfect accessory, the well-masked vampire glided elegantly down the gauche carpeted path towards the slot machines. To have the maximum amount of fun, she had dressed to the nines to come here. The red cocktail dress she wore fitted against her body like a glove, the garment constructed with expert ruching to form small thin ruffles which cascaded down like a fluid wave, to where the dress ended just above her knee. The bust was cut in a heart shape, and fit against her chest well, and it had fat straps to hold it in place despite the deeply sloping back. She had her hair down tonight, and curled to perfection the inky black waves were a perfect compliment to the pattern of the dress. She even wore a bit of make-up, though the red of her lips was natural. Or unnatural, depending on how one felt about how her lips had come to gain that deep tint over the decades.
Distracted by a particularly loud cheer, Briar turned towards the direction of it. The energy which came off of her was not only captivating, but captivated. So very open to all the sights and sounds of this place, Briar was feeding on the potential which surrounded her like a child in a candy store with a pocket full of money. She too had a pocket full of money, she only needed to find the right place to spend it.
Currency, if there was a definition of such words, the young Philosopher and Cosmotologist wasn't new to the scene filled with Greedy folk. Casinos filled every day and night with these kinds of people. He observed closely as he sat with six other men all who invited him to a poker table with loads of colorful chips, there was small glasses of whiskey that he himself purchased when he really couldn't indulge the pleasures of fine alcohol in the system as he used to do at an early age right around fourteen. Did no one knew he drunk the stuff in his neighborhood, people didn't bother with your business during his days before he turned to the darkness giving up what little humanity he ever did have.
A gray, fedora sat on top of the French kindred was too wrapped up in the game to have noticed anyone in the room, but a little birdie inside of him jingled like Christmas Bells above the doors of some homes. Leaning his flawless mask a bit to keep his mind on the matter at stake. He smelt lies and knew a cheat a mile away. His dark blue, tinted hues spotted two of those gentleman on either sides of him at the table who pretended they were playing a fair deal at the table. Uh uh. He thought, his gaze then looked at the last four men down the line from his place at the end where he sat.
Adjusting to this lifestyle of being in the middle of what he used to be when he was like them. Gambling wasn't at all nothing new as he did most of this when nothing else came up. This is the way humans think, this is the way the humans saw as life became an everyday habit and in more ways, not everyone coming to Casinos held one of the deadliest sin that Greed lurks in most coming here. There are various few who just come here to enjoy themselves and have a good time. Those working here expects you to lose everytime you pull that handle on the slot machines or never get a chance at the crabs table. If there was anyone who knew how people usually work it was someone who seen it all.
As soon as the first, two men folded their cards putting it on the table, the cheaters revealed their hands calling it a full house and a royal flush. Acting on impulse Joseph put his hands fully out there, but folded on purpose when he did have a good a decent amount. Leave them weeping in victory as much as they like. Foolish, very foolish. There was not a hint of a sinister smile, but he gave away what he seen of their iniquities. Picking up his whiskey glass, playing the part of the social fanatic who loves this ...scene. But, in all do respect, he's left this part of him a long time ago for good reason.
Seeing the lovely vampiress, he hasn't met many like himself in NOLA. Better make the best of it, for there was a stride in his walk as he made his way toward the unfamiliar presence. Closing in the gaps between them, he felt some of that energy that bounced from her like hissing flowers. But, there was an air of her that suddenly told him she was not any member of his bloodline. This woman held ardeur all around her. You spent years in the courts and you begin to suspect what all you must known in the Hierarchy of their breed. "Good evening." Joseph made no hesistation as he greeted the lady.
The nearby cheer was a female who had won some kind of jackpot. It couldn't have been the jackpot, there weren't enough bells and whistles for that, not to mention that those around her paid the woman no more than a curious glance before turning back to their own pursuits. But whatever a jackpot meant to the middle-aged blonde, she had won it. And to Briar, the female's excitement was as stimulating to her palate as an appetizer. The rush of adrenalin and joy which washed over the jackpot winner made her scent all the more rich for Briar to drink in, and the swell of emotions had flushed the female's skin with a hot glow that touched against Briar's senses like a stroke to the cheek. No wonder the ardeur was so easily sensed around the psychologist.
In fact the tip of Briar's tongue had just peaked out, intending to thoughtfully stroke her lower lip as she considered her next move, when those thoughts were interrupted by a man's greeting. A purse of her lips concealed her sheepishness at getting caught feasting on others with her eyes, the corners of those rose-tinted lips curling upward in a beguiling little smile. "She won something. How lucky for her, no?"
Briar knew it wasn't likely that he'd stopped to greet her because of the jackpot winning female, but it was small talk. And small talk gave her time to look over this man who'd approached her. Her milk chocolate eyes momentarily lingered on the perch of the fedora atop his head, before she turned her gaze outward to the casino floor. Precious few males wore hats in this modern age unless they were those poor-looking baseball caps, and inside the casino on this night it was no different. It made this particular man stand out, and gave him a flavor of another time. "What a fine hat," she commented finally, the sparkle of amusement creeping into her sugary brown eyes.
Then, a brief glance behind her told Briar that the ecstatic blonde had taken her winnings elsewhere, for the jackpot winner was now nowhere to be seen. The realization was enough to create a slight pout upon her lower lip. If enticed with the right sort of stimulation, that excited woman could have filled Briar's craving hunger to the brim. Oh well. This casino would surely have another winner, and with that in mind her deep brown eyes returned to the gentleman who approached her, a slyness to her smile as she innocently asked, "How is your luck tonight?"
The fedora wasn't exactly modern. It was old and when he wore the material, people asked a lot about it. He gave each a smile and gave them a straight up answer he does with everyone else. "Mercis. This is antique." A cunning smirk shaped his thin, elegant lips as he slowly removed the garment into his left hand. His hair was blacker, it's roots was the color of a raven's plume. His dark hues, the shade of the calm ocean, was very much human. A masquerade to keep the mortals thinking what they view only on the surface. His keen nostrils took in her scent, every last drop as his eyes roamed over her form, such beauty and how she worded her sentences was an added bonus. No, he wasn't hungering for any sexual pleasures nor was he as tempted than he was with action, if it indeed came. The violence in places like these kept him returning for it's energy and the negative emotion called rage pulsated every part of him. Anger was that liquid, it made men use it to get their feelings across or because something that took place took heed on them.
He was meant for battle as other vampires of his bloodline were, this was who they are. Joseph and small talk didn't always mix, but that was on occasions when business matters didn't come up in between. Can't ever mix the two can you? If it serves a purpose, what stopped it? As the woman inquired about the blonde, his gaze roamed the lass, then turned his attention back to the lady he greeted along the way. "Oui. Indeed, she's got lady luck by her side, non?" Being a Philosopher, he was not far from steering a good conversation. The blonde seemed lost in her winning streak as she shrilled at the top of her lungs. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Sometimes, luck ran out. He wore a dark blue, linen shirt that highlighted the scheme of his irises, the clear buttons ran down in a vertical line and his pants was a pair of khaki, brown pants that made him stand out like someone off the streets. To the naked eye, it made him less vampiric than more.
A nice form of blending into the crowd, made him less discovered as a blood fend hmm? The knee-ankled boots was burgundy, no black. Not all vampires condone in such things. For Joseph, he felt like he could be more inconspicious. This isn't eighteenth century, where the infamous Dracula opened his cloak just to put on the scare before his victims. Movies didn't capture the actual night prowlers. His scent was a mixture of waterfall and brine. Luck? He smiled lightly. "It's been with me, I suppose." Aside from catching a bunch of scums, there was much of those swarming around the Casino. Cheating was easy to do. If the gambler was good at getting away with it, not even surveillance cameras caught on regardless. He soon made opened introductions, another vampire who he's just met.
He met a few others along the way, there wasn't an MoTC to speak of in NOLA. Didn't stir to a lack of masters in this section of town anywhere in his dialogue. "I'm Joseph Bodine." Looking at the hardcore gamers at the craps table and some of them was at the blackjack area just having a good time. As long their doing that, who cares about anything else.
"Yes, I know." Her rose colored lips pulled into an amused grin, one that partnered with her smooth, confident tone to suggest that she was a woman who knew an antique when she saw it. Even so, her smile was well-controlled. Not a hint more of her teeth showed than she wished, and as such her two keen eyeteeth were not on display, not even a little. Not that there were likely any near who could see through her own mask, projected upon her as strongly as her natural allure, and woven without weakness. Masking happened to be one of her strongest talents, as did all things to do with the mind.
Mask as she might Briar never dressed to dumb down her striking beauty, at least not when she was on the prowl or seeking amusement. She dressed to drink - blood, desire, lust, deviant behaviors, all were the doctor's orders when she was off the clock.
"She could have had me by her side," Briar observed with silken voice, and a glance in the direction where the woman had once been. A mischievous little smirk played upon her closed lips, and a pause while behind those closed lips the tip of her tongue stroked at the sharp of one of her little fangs, teasing herself. "And my stroke lasts far longer than a stroke of luck." And was far more pleasurable, if one asked her. The satisfaction money brought was fleeting, while satisfaction which sank deep into the body could echo for days to come. Or permanently. Depending on how dangerous one wanted to be.
Clearly she suspected something of him, to be speaking to this man so bluntly as one predator to the next. It was likely his energy which told his tale - Briar's hunger wrapped around energies every night of her existence, after she helped patients learn about their own energies during her 'day' job. The energies which surrounded all beings were something she knew intimately, and energies such as his were not harbored by a mere mortal. Nor was his scent, which cut through the various smells of the casino because of its uniqueness. Her own scent, unsurprisingly, was a thickly sensual musk that rubbed at the nose like a kitten seeking attention, with a lighter floral note which spoke of promised sweetness.
"But I will forgive you, Joseph Bodine," she said with airy gaiety, "for the one who got away. If you'll tell me why I caught your interest." That there wasn't a Master of the City in New Orleans at the moment was one of many reasons that this area inspired her devotion to it. She was one who liked to fly under the radar of other vampiric eyes, and she had not dealt with others of her kind all that often. To be found and addressed so bluntly now, for the first time in near three years in the city? Her curiosity was peaked.
Well, not quite as peaked as her desire for everything which had life on the casino floor. She was a lecherous creature by blood, and couldn't help that.
Forgive? What is there to forgive? He thought as she said it like that. The vampires would be too creepy if they started meeting in the same place at the same time. The creatures lurking in the night was seen as bad omen to mortals who thought of them as demonic spirits or simply the monstrosity of everyone's imagination. Female vampires were not far from the masculine vampires, were there a distinction between them? She did take him by surprise to see anyone other than himself be seen in areas like these. As Briar mentioned about the blonde, telling him about being at her side, his hues turned where the woman's eyes sought for her. He'll refrain from picking her as a choice for his next meal only cause he preferred those or dark haired beauties that often left a place on their way home or to work every night. Fear tasted even better than blood, but the amount of violence and the hatred curved inside of him like a pleasant cruise.
The Dragon within him pulsed for each liquid of the very thing that drove a man to do horrible, horrible things. As she inquired of his interest in such a gal such as herself, perhaps, there maybe the fact that she was another undead that crossed these borders into New Orleans and part of him simply was caught in the wick about her that could very well have turned him into an innocent bee..attracted to a flower and to land for only a few moments. "Why? I thought to welcome one of our own to this city Madamosielle." He found what the woman was staring at. If that was to be her victim, he glanced at her only a bit apologizing for such interception. For to interrupt, should she have been hunting would be assumed.
Ah well, Joseph can always find others if this one was in her radar. As she spoke of luck, truth set as he really didn't believe in the "L" word more like confidence and assurance replaced the very thing luck offers him even when his skills in gambling surfaced did he concentrate. In battle, he couldn't place all of his movements nor hoping to belittle every enemy he encounters along the way, that comes with experience. Honesty he knows that wasn't in his category list of the character he was, but fortune did favor him as he put the response that she was hoping what made him come to meet up with her. For sometime as he looked, met, and spoke with half of the kindred race, it would look as if most of them are lost to the world cause of the fact, this town really did lack a leader for them.
Other cities had a strong hierarchy of kindred lead by a single MoTC. It visualized what is going to happen with the NOLA vamps as the future was fuzzy and obscured. Joseph looked at her, then smiled wryly. "I felt you as I was sitting at the table. You are stunning so thought I should come over." Of course, he wasn't lying when he added that with such compliment. How could any man simply not be allured to her? "So? Have a name I can call you?" He doubt he got a name during their talk when he must have surprised her by approaching her out of the blue.
Her milk chocolate gaze took its time considering him, with a curious tilt to her head. Briar found the contrast between his demeanor - even tempered, polite, even charming perhaps - and the rumbling energy which radiated from him to be fascinating. Many individuals would perhaps think such a paradox, but Briar had seen all manner of patients over the years, each of them carrying their anger within a different exterior case. Charm was one of the easiest things to be fooled by, a fact that Briar took advantage of often when she was on the prowl.
"I've been in this city on and off for decades, and most recently for just over three years," she replied with a saucy little smile. "but this is the first time I've ever been welcomed to New Orleans by one of my 'own'. Perhaps my luck is turning?" The Ardeur did not specify which way she thought her luck was turning, perhaps because it was too early in the meeting to tell. She was a psychologist, after all. Not one to jump to conclusions.
The blonde jackpot winner had moved on to likely lose her jackpot playing another slot machine, and she'd also moved out of Briar's thoughts. While she had been an easy opportunity to feast in the moment she'd hit the winning spin, this casino was filled with people. Some high on a winning streak who thirsted for nothing more than to be treated like a true winner, and some slipping on the downward spiral of losing who wanted the very same thing. So much easy prey - and Briar was marvelous at making mortals feel like winners in a way they'd never forget.
Unless she wanted them to forget, of course. Then they did.
But hunting was for later. Joseph Bodine had her attention, for now. "Dr. Briar Lindquist," she answered him finally, with a purse of her lips that was as coy as it was sly. Instead of offering him her hand, she folded her arms elegantly across her chest. Wouldn't want to infect him with her lusty potency, after all, tempting as it was to toy with one of her own kind. Which is why it was likely she kept herself apart from them, other vampires brought out the devil in Briar. "Why don't you call me doctor? It will remind you that I'm as smart as I am stunning." Yes indeed, the devil in her.
Philosophy and Psychology was in coherent together actually, if indeed there was a pattern that told him there was more to her than meets the eye in so many ways that he couldn't fathom. Joseph was no push-over and certainly, not naive to how people moved, their expressions, to how they appear in areas that left him to ponder if she was here based on her strengths. The Baron did not use his noble title in front of her, only because he did just met her. Trust was hard to come by, he was way too cautious to give out open information where someone could easily use it to their advantage. Checking his surroundings learning the layout of this very room, the Casino was filled with easy pickings. This really isn't his forte, his hunting areas was done in where he attacks most, deep within his own "lair" he calls it. Less people know your potential the better. He worked in a theater where entertainment fascinated them or the Salon in London he keeps up very well. As the Frenchman listened, did he stifle a cunning laugh, adding a smirk to his personality he carried all too well.
There wasn't any need to change his attitude nor temperament. Oui, he definitely held an even tempered nature to his other traits that was more sinful than most of his goodie traits. What you see on the surface was always a trap to what the eyes trick everytime. Strength and charismatic in one, but he also knew to keep his eyes alert to everything around him, that includes the doctor who was standing in front of him. His nose twitched at the way she commented from his compliment. A minute passed, then he chortled as she said it like that. "You are too cute doctor. But, if that is what you want me to call you, then so shall it be." He was taught to be especially respectful, that in the presence of a lady such as this one. The sounds of the slot machines ringing, dice hitting on the surface of a craps table, to the chips clicking in the canals of his acute eardrums was pleasant and not hard to keep out when your senses was heightened to all things within distance of where you standing. Anger of one man made him smile, delicious as he tasted the negative emotion the minute he beat the slot machine. Talking about losing all of his earnings. "Damn! Motha fucker!" He continued cursing, but Joseph acted as if he was sorry of the fellow being a total loser. He then heard him speak of his wife and three sons.
Frowning to himself, he had an idea that when he does get home things aren't going to fly past his beloved when she hears his addiction is making him a sourpuss. If other vampires did bring out the devil in her, why is it that he enjoyed this side of Briar the minute she looked that much dashing in his sights. Doubt that he will be the only and last vampire in New Orleans she'll ever meet up with. As he listened to how long she's been a residence here, he smiled vaguely. "Well? I'm just now becoming accustomed to these people and this city. It's a rather interesting experience. I have never imagined that Americans fascinated me. They got all of that energy." I can use. He thought quietly in the back of his mind.
Energy was nice when you really know what to do with it that is. As for his way of choosing his victims, hers was nice but he likes to enjoy scaring his potential meals, letting them run, then thinking that he lost their trail when he was close in range to taking them by surprise. Don't worry, he did that to mess around with them rather than feasting right away. He let them have their victory long enough. Heroism is often the nastiest, if not the wickedest version of leaving the foe to continue to believe they have the person until suddenly it's too late to back out now.
Smart as she was stunning, cunning as she was cute, perhaps he enjoyed the devilish flair that could wear so illustriously on a female? Especially one as poetically potent as Briar. The sensual musk that was her scent mingled so well with her quick wit, sparkling demeanor and of course in the far too graceful way she carried herself. To be with her was to be with the ideal of her gender, a pure femininity that was too impossible to be true. Except the blood within her made it true, as did the hunger and desire that that blood demanded.
"I think it is," she confirmed in regard to what she wished to be called. Then, a wan little grin - one that just barely showed the sharp points of her two little fangs. "Yes, doctor. I like the way the word wears on your lips when you speak it to me." Perhaps it was because she expected that he was at least as antiquated as his hat, from a time when women were not allowed to hold such titles as she currently possessed. So it gave her an odd satisfaction to have him call her such.
To her ears, the sounds of the casino were a music of their own, all blending together until the man who made an angry outburst. Her eyes turned in his direction briefly as he swore, but he held no lingering interest for Briar. While anger was a passionate emotion, it was not the right kind of passion for her tastes. "Mmmhm, energy…" The agreement was spoken with distraction, before she turned her attention properly back to Joseph. "With a heaping side of repression. Repression, sadly, of some of the more lucrative energies that could flow with such abundant abandon…if only the puritanical American Way would loosen its tie." One guess what kind of lucrative energy she was talking about.
"Does that mean you have not been in New Orleans long?" Asked with a slight, curious tilt to her head as she regarded him. Logically, Briar thought that might be why she hadn't encountered him until now. It made her wonder if he'd brought any vampiric cohorts with him. Privately, she hoped not. Such would only serve to get her in trouble. And as her private practice was more than just a job, for it was also her obsession, she didn't want her more devilish behaviors putting that practice in jeopardy. "What brought you here?"
Vampire cohorts? Perhaps, but most of them were all servants who was confined at his manor while he was away from the house. Most of those his maker sent him were humans and most shifters, they were there in case some crazed hunter decide to intrude while he was resting down for the day. Can never be too careful in such a vulnerable state now can you? He heard Briar loud and clear about his immigration into America they may call it. Not to worry about any legal papers containing information since they were probably useless but he did hold a card for crossing into the states just in case. They were legal citizens correct? The kindred race under man were civilians so their laws meant they have to abide by them.
Joseph did not turn his gaze away from the doc who made inquiries about his placement on dry soil that America was too much to pass up. He was getting use to being around Americans, they certainly became a newfound target for most of his hunts. All that energy can't go to waste so fast. His attention upon Briar, words formed as he was a man of speech, for that was his strength where his blades were lightning to many foes he encountered all these years.
His Philosophical nature aided in his diplomacy and with that, came his ability to select his phrases carefully. "I was sent here by my maker." Like smooth water nestling in the creek, his tone was gentle and kept to the point. Too many details to someone he only met once meant he was not giving out all the information. His maker, the immaculate Chinese-German descent was none other than, Caroline. The MoTC of Munich who was strong, brilliant, her voice velvet, she was also intelligent and made her moves like the Queen on a chess board. Her name didn't come up in the conversation, that was too soon, but if she asked he wasn't going to hold off without answers. "Oui. I had only been here for three months, but that doesn't qualify for a long time. As it is, I am slowly liking it so far." There was a hint of who he was as a person from his years of being under his father's eyes as just another Courtier who ran all the errands for him.
Several years of neglect have made him bitter a little, not too much. You would be too if you was in his shoes. He's ran into his brother not too long ago at his theater. "I run a business here. A theater. Why don't you stop by sometime during your journey into this fair city?" Free tickets were given out to any friends he meets along the way. He's got tons of employees under him. People from all over come there to put on a performance or take a look around. Those reviews he found online on his laptop in his office scaled very high. It was nice to know your business peeked to a scale of ten. Joseph was proud, proud he made a difference doing what he always wanted to do since now he's spent the days exploring odds and ends of NOLA.
-- Edited by JOSEPH BODINE on Friday 9th of September 2011 02:35:43 PM
Briar wrinkled her nose when he said his maker had sent him here. She had a maker who was still alive, who she saw only periodically. Sporadically, even. He was not in New Orleans and never had been in New Orleans anytime that she was here. At least, so far. Their relationship, if it could be called that, was a complex one in recent decades. Despite the fact that it had been so simple in the beginning, so simple.
"I see," was her short reply, finally. "That's unfortunate for you." Briar couldn't imagine her maker giving her orders, though she knew if he ever did she would have to obey them. Her milk chocolate eyes looked away from Joseph then, scanning over the bright lights and flash of the casino. Briar knew they would captivate her attention almost immediately, and help to put the thoughts of her maker which were weighing on her far out of her mind where they better belonged. "New Orleans is one of the best places in America, I think," she added after a pause, "you were sent here specifically?"
When he told her about his occupation though, her eyes shot back to him with open surprise. Her surprise wore in her voice as well, as she asked him with a hint of incredulity, "You've chosen to run a theater?" To her analytical mind, such a vocation was a paradox when one considered the nature of creature he was, and the sort of energy that she could feel steaming off of him as surely as his scent. "Was that what you were sent here to do?" If it was, her curious nature could not help to wonder to what end he'd been ordered to do so.
"And I don't know," she added with a coy little smile. The smooth, effortlessly lyrical allure in her voice returning now that thoughts of her maker had completely diminished. Briar tilted her head again demurely, a fetching glint flickering in the depth of each of her eyes like two small candle flames. No wonder she had such a natural talent for hypnosis, the soft energy that radiated from Briar could wrap around someone as sweetly and warmly as a blanket. Even though the reality of being so wrapped by her was more like being ensnared in a web. "My office hours are in the evening, naturally. And besides, going to the theatre isn't something that one normally does alone."
How unfortunate, the doctor says, being in the presence of Caroline, his Maker, she was the one who took care of him all these long years. She was at one point, his lover, during his mortal years. The night she brought him over to the darkness, he meant to rip her throat out and kill her in cold blood. The creation from human to vampire made him boil in rage, that was his older self living in the European Courts when he was in the woman's services. He wasn't ordered, more like given suggestions and advice. If she started treating him like a puppet or some animal, then, their relationship would have been severed years ago. The union between Maker and Childe was powerful, that said one has to be careful when one makes such references cause he realizes there are probably many such as he would honor the one who has brought them up, not all of them thinks that way, depending on terms of events, some connections lacked more than others.
The Baron was coherent when she made a question in regards to his booming business of his still growing theater. Rather she did not like such scenes or not, he was respectful to the opinions and listened to all what their thoughts were. In the case of his mission, he corrected her." The theater is a project, it is what I grew upon. Talent is searched upon millions. " He smiled softly, adding his two cents. His strength was speech, he knew what he was talking about, thus, he didn't hold nothing back. "I have studied people my whole life, Doctor." The title was like he enjoyed calling her as such, he probably couldn't help himself to such a precious femme fe telle as this one. How can a nobleman ignore that she was a description to look upon? Not that was bad. His occupation was more of a hint what he does, for Philosophy was a very powerful tool in one's life(or undead life). In any degree, he finished up the sentence from where he started and thus ended in his quest to construct a magnificent theatre. "Most will look for a chance to put their sons, their daughters, even themselves in the fray, they want the attention. To show the world they do have potential." Because, what he says, it's facts about people in general. If you think about it, most feel talent should not be wasted.
Everyone has a gift, some just need to use it at the right place, at the right time. Think of Johnny who went and searched for young stars to bring on his show to prove there is not an ounce of a day sitting down not knowing where you can put what you're good at to better use. "Anyhow, I am training. Have to be prepared." He heard shrieks, then cries, someone won the jackpot. Ah, the power of winning, victorious is a feeling one celebrated to an extent they forget everything else. How convenient for them? They didn't interest him as Briar had in the last few seconds. As she spoke of office hours, he didn't say nothing after that, for that was her choice so he left it be. The energy radiating from her was felt, his spinal cord vibrated as it sensed the strong power like a chain coiling around you. Those shields soon went around him, forgetting all about a tool for keeping bad mojo out. Now, any power will brush up against invisible walls. That should do for as long as he was in range of what he was feeling earlier. Only, his own power was kept under lock and key, he wouldn't be able to use any unless he lowered the decimals.
"Ah, of course." A small nod form the psychologist, who now believed she understood. It was a common habit of her kind, as far as she'd observed over the past century, to make of their afterlife what was their obsession in life. What better time to get lost in one's obsession, after all, when one had all the time in the world? Briar was no stranger to this inclination, as she herself was obsessed with the mind and all of its compulsions, addictions, deviations, and so forth. Not to mention the paranormal, woe to the person who got Briar talking on that. "I'm sure you bring a great talent to the art, if it has been a lifelong passion of yours."
She paused, considering his words on people and their drive for attention. "I've had patients who were performers with such a thirst to be famous," she offered finally. "Though their desire for such was not why they sought me out, at times that desire was connected to a perceived lack in their early years which drove them to seek therapy. Lack of love, lack of recognition, lack of status in a large family, and so on. I have to admit, that's the only time I've ever given time to the theatre. I prefer the the theatre of life - we all are, I do believe, more interesting than any fictional character ever written or performed."
It was said with a wan little smile, because Briar knew she was speaking through her own lens of obsession. What interested her naturally did not interest the world. Otherwise the world would be overrun with psychologists. What a frightening thought.
The sudden shriek, and the scene that ensued, gave her a perfect way to illustrate her point. That was why her well-controlled grin held triumph in the curvature of her lips, as she gave a gesture in the direction of the one who won, and those who surrounded the winner. "Take that, there. The curtain is pulled back, and the audience sees a winner. That celebration could be genuine - perhaps that person has come here for the very first time, and only gambled tonight what they had planned on gambling, or even less, and what they've just won is tens of thousands more than that. So it's a true windfall, and that person is now dreaming of all the things they can do for themselves and their loved ones that they couldn't before."
"Or," Briar countered, "that celebration could be false, a trick of that so-called winner's mind. They could be one of the ones who is here every night. Putting dollar after dollar into that machine hoping it will give them the abundance they think they desperately need, when the reality is the abudance they do have they are giving away to the slots. Lack of self-esteem, lack of fulfillment, something haunts that person and makes them believe that they have to come here to be a winner, that this place is the only way if they just don't give up. And they're celebrating, now, because they think they have finally gotten what they've always wanted. But because they look to this place for approval, and the slot machine has finally approved, they will want more, and what they've won - which is paltry compared to what they've lost here over the weeks, months, or years - will be gone just like the rest by the end of the night."
"It's all hypothetical, of course," she said with a shrug, milk chocolate eyes looking back to him. "and the possibilities for hypothesis are endless. What does an individual desire, and what lengths are they willing to go through, what sacrifices, what depth or depravity, in order to achieve it? That is the mystery, and the fascination, which sate my desire for entertainment." At least Briar had certainly gone into the right profession to feed her fascination.
Joseph picked up very quickly as Briar spoke of winners and the man who won it, for all one knows could have cheated. It wasn't just humans, but when you have powers that makes winning all too easy. Can you imagine a magician using his magic in every game at this moment? Then again, he was certain using any kind of spells in the public eye meant you was busted. Considering the Marshalls would have put a stop to it if one isn't too careful. Hell, being his vampire nature, it was too simple to want to feel your fingers gripping around someone's neck just for an experiment. What one can accomplish when temptation itself hinders. He listened intentively to everything she said, taking account of these gamblers who came here to play a good game or bad one. If they have relatives or spouses then this type of thing is what makes them lose everything that can cause suicide, alcoholic, drug abuse, and other psychological issues.
"Hmm. I see." He looked at the man who took up his winnings to the front desk where he awaited his winning cash. "You are so correct. People are interesting you know?"
Philosophy was his most cherished desire. There are several types of conversation if you will. Pause during each sentence, next listen to what the other is saying, then if you agree or disagree let them know up front. This is the kind of person the Frenchman was one hundred percent. Opinions and views, it has given him so much to take in, such as the topic about the qualities of winning was one of the things he couldn't stop to learn so much from someone who he believed to be an intelligent woman indeed. All his views were in a philosophical perspective. He nodded towards the man working at the front desk, his hair was short and blonde, some of the loose strands covering parts of his eyes made him look like a total geekazoid.
"The casher. He's the one who gives the winner their earnings."
A short pause, then made a sweep of ideals in contrast to what she pictures in the people surrounding her in locations such as these for example.
"He could so easily rip the victorious one off in the snap of a finger. Give him counterfeiters."
It's something he's seen over the years, counterfeit bill operations do frequent from one place to another and vice versa. He tilted the flute glass in the right of his hand, the red liquid flowing like a calm tidal wave during a light storm.
Briar grinned. It was a grin as careful as any of her others, one that would not show even a hint of the sharp of her eyeteeth, but ironically there was an unrestrained quality to it. She was a woman who could, when she let her hair down, be quite a wild little tempest. And while she hadn't yet released herself completely out of her cage of professional propriety tonight, she did come here to hunt - and chase - in addition to gamble.
The night was getting long in the tooth - no pun intended - and all she'd accomplished so far was the gambling portion of the evening. That needed to change, and it needed to change very soon. So many people here, that fact was finally getting to her as the power of desire crawled under her skin, an itch demanding to be scratched. Her hunger could likely be seen in her warm chocolate eyes, especially when one knew to look for it. With a brief touch of the tip of her tongue to her top lip, she crooned out her reply as sensually as silk sheets, "Yes, they are. People are very interesting."
Especially when one had the power to draw them out of their shells and inhibitions, coaxing them to let go and do things they never allowed themselves to do before. Psychologist she may be, but Briar thought inhibitions were total bullshit and sublimating behaviors were for pansies. Two things that should only exist during work hours, if you asked her.
The urge to talk shop was slipping away from her as it was quickly being replaced with another need. The Ardeur didn't comment on his hypothesis about the cashier. It was a valid possibility, because as she said, the possibilities were endless. She only smiled at Joseph, a knowing, amused little smile. Offering a slight but elegant lift and lower of her shoulders in a shrug, as she began to walk. Down the gauchely carpeted aisle, her saunter was slow, and calculating. Any of the gamblers at the casino on this night would likely assume that she was simply looking for a good machine to play.
Briar was looking to play, that much was true, but not with a machine. If Joseph was used to being around his own kind, including those of other bloodlines, he might notice the tell-tale swagger to her hips. To a mortal's eyes, how she moved would be seen as sexual, suggestive. But a trained eye could see it for what it was - predatory. And what Joseph cared to do with the fact that Briar just put herself on the prowl, well that was up to him.
Her mind was made up. It was time to find her next playmate.
Mmm. Wasn't she too precious? All of her including the way her body swayed from side to side, now any male like him certainly will stop and lurk. Sadly, he had better things to do with his time such as finding somewhere to hunt elsewhere. Inside public areas were when his mood shifts, the Dragon could find entertainment if it is appropriate. Timing can be good or it can be an evil thing. The edge of his tongue swept inside the root of his mouth, the pink flesh dancing over those pearly, sharp enamels that was behind his closed jaws. He watched, checking the gamblers at a nearby table. The guys who he played cards with, had located him, one of the men was tall and burly with a nice getup. True pimp-mania the leader was. His coolly voice swept through his lips, blowing white smog and some of it came out of his nose like a menacing bull before it struck with it's sharp horns. "Gonna play some more pyro?" Pyro? A nickname his colleagues gave him ever since they first met him. Two of the skinny fellows on the left and right side of their "boss" stood with him. Turning around to face him, almost tempted to compell the man but rejected the idea from his thoughts.
Both of Joseph's hands laid inside his side pockets of his jeans, he definitely could act and if he wanted, slip in the shadows for only a few seconds. The third pimp checked out the girl the black haired Frenchie was talking to. "Hmm. Nice ass. Who did you pick up along the way Pyro?" What? He quirked a brow. It was good that the doc was probably a distance and hadn't heard a thing to anything these men said. Joseph knew better than to view the fairer genders as the perverted minds of these mortals, but he did not say nor perform a backup action. They was overwhelming him a little. Now if only had this been the time when the kindred race were one and tore at their victims while simultaneously feeding on the helpless villagers. Classics meant you didn't have to worry your head about hunters or the law. A mistake the first guy made, his gaze on the French kindred's eyes, he despised being considered vampire. It was so mortal, being the kind of guy who saw himself the vampiric being that he accepted and loved too much to turn back to his humanity.
This is who he was, the predator, but he was hating to also live by law standards. Oh, Joseph didn't have to like it. He was the law bender if only he can get away with it. Take what you like, long as none see you. When the cats away, the mice will very much play. Perfect. Just perfect. Now, he wanted to test out what he hasn't done so long ago. Everyone here was too caught up in their victory and games. Games were drugs that brainwashed the brain. "I want you to go back to your seat, play the slots." A dark, smirk crept the Shadow Walker's lips, the man moved to the slots and the last two was given the same command. Sweet, he was left to his own devices without those idiots to ruin his night.
He started walking where he thought his fellow fang was no doubt in her predatory mode. Did he stop her? Not really. She just better be careful, there is such a thing as hunters who usually creep up in large crowds like these. Joseph thought she can take care of herself, from her appearance, it's possible. He let out a small breath, letting it expell from those deadened lungs then exited outside to the left side of the building where hookers stood waiting for money to bang the next dude that comes along this way.
