Flashbacks for Danielle were like seizures. She was a very audiovisual person, and with her various bloodline talents with energy, it was no surprise that sometimes a sound or a random glance could trigger a series of memories that hit her like a freight train.
Often the visual was in high contrast, yellows and reds, blurred and with a beat behind it - she suspected it was her own heartbeat from time to time but she could never focus enough on it to know for certain. She was having one such flashback right then and there, and in her languid stroll home, suddenly had jerked back against the cold brick of a building.
There was a street, a sign, people walking in and out. A man, a smile, a brush of fingertips.
"If you ever drop by the city, this is where I can be found." A male's voice - hushed, gaze flitting quickly from their hands to her eyes.
A flick of a white card with red lettering on it.
"An entrepeneur amongst your supernatural battle? How do you find the time?" her voice had been icy, but in jest. Time was something she never had.
Her lashes fluttered rapidly like hummingbird wings and she stumbled, feeling disoriented and nauseated. Grey eyes remained dialated for a few seconds as she attempted to regain her composure, and once her breathing had returned to it's normal silent pace as opposed to the heavy panting associated with heavy petting, she spun 'round on her heel and started in the general direction of Hellcat's Hollow.
Upon approach of the building, she began to feel a heavy weight pressing on her, and drew up her shields. She was in unfamiliar territory and just prayed she was far enough across the world to skip over the whole "You killed my so and so" speech tonight.
In she went - hunting for a familiar face.
It was the slow hour of the day-shift, after the midday rush and before the first people started dropping in for the evening. In a way it was almost like a pulse, the ebb and flow of people. This late in the day it was never completely empty, but it was calm enough that Leander had time to think. And worry.
(I know he only said he'd show me around the first day, but still, I didn't think he's be gone this long,) he thought to himself as he strolled over to look out the dim window at the street. He didn't know Ash too well yet, but since Dave had expressed his concern as well, he figured being gone like this wasn't what his new employer usually did. (Surely he didn't hire me becaus he had to go away...? You don't usually hire a new person and leave before making sure they know what they're doing... Right?)
Lost in thought he turned from the window to head back towards the bardisk, when he bumped into someone just entering through the door.
"Oh, sorry miss!" he quickly said, holding out his hands in case he'd made her stumble. "You alright?"
She stumbled back, surprised. Pay attention, Dani.
"Sorry, no, I... " she paused. "Actually, yes. Yes, you can. Do you know where I can find Ash? I'm an.." she hesitated. Old friend? Friend at all? She'd been rotten not to bother contacting him all this time.. but then again she figured if something really extreme had happened, he'd already know. He was.. good like that. "a friend," she finished finally.
She leaned against the bar casually, though she was just too damn stiff at the moment to feel very casual. She hoped this man would just tell her what she wanted to know. She was starting to have a bad taste in her mouth about this whole 'return to the city' but and she couldn't figure out why just yet.
Certain he hadn't done any damage, Leander backed off slightly as he took in this new arrival. Well, one thing he could say for sure about his workplace was that it seemed to attract quite some stunning clientel, even if this one seemed a little distressed.
"I wish I could help you," he said while rounding the counter and taking his station behind the bar again, "but I'm not quite sure where to find him."
Leander didn't outright say that he didn't have any clue at all as to where Ash had gotten to, or that the straying bar-owner hadn't shown his face there for days. Maybe not the best information to spill to a stranger, even if they said they knew the man. He figured it better they think he was just clueless about where the guy was at the moment.
"Is he expecting you?"
She sat down at the bar, eyes still ever-attentive to the man, and everything else around her, as though she was trying to direct all of her attention in 100 different directions at once.
"Expecting.." she repeated. She didn't know how to answer that honestly. She didn't lie often, and she supposed it wouldn't be wise to now if the man was likely to withhold information from her if he suspected she was. She smoothed her hair down and leaned forward slightly, voice dropping an octive.
"Look, I haven't talked to him in a long time. He probably thinks I'm dead at this point, but I assure you I have nothing but good intentions, here." She didn't expect he'd have ever mentioned her, but.. it was worth a shot. She held out her hand. "I'm Danielle. Vida - you know the name, I hope?"
She didn't like dropping her name, but perhaps the man would be more inclined to help her if he knew she wasn't some uber ick demon from the 7th level of Hell.
Leander didn't react at all to the name, except for wondering slightly at the pause between first and surname. He was a rare occurance in this bar - a human unaware of the existance on Nyeusi, and was supposed to be under the protection of the missing Ash Leone. Not that Leander himself knew anything about this intended protection.
"No, I don't recognise it, I'm sorry," he answered with a shake of his head. "I've only been here for a few days, and since I only just met Ash, I don't know many of his friends."
(What the hell... Sure, I work for him, but I didn't sign up for providing some sort of cover, especially since he split without warning.)
He let out a sigh, having changed his mind on how to handle this. Looking at it selfishly, which he had good reason to do considering his current financial situation, he wouldn't be getting payed if his employer didn't show up.
"I really have no idea where he is" he said with a trace of something inbetween worry and annoyance. "He was here on my first day, but I haven't seen him since."
If she was someone who actually knew the guy, she should know if this was anything that happened now and then. Then again, if they hadn't seen each other in a long time, like she said... All he could do was hope for the best.
She let out a quick breath, brows furrowed as her eyes flitted around again.
"Wait, you haven't even heard from him? No messages, nothing?" Danielle put her hand on her jaw and pressed against her shoulder as she tended to do when she thought, eyes wide and serious but staring at the countertop rather than the man she was speaking with.
"No, something's not right here. This place is important to him - or, it was last we spoke." Her eyes darkened and she glanced back up, now aware of the fact that the man was NOT aware of some of the business underfoot.
"Do you know anywhere he could be, or anyone who could tell me that?" she asked. Her voice was firm, but real, lacking the usual frost that laced it during her usual intimidation interrogation.
Upon waiting for a response, she closed her eyes and in the briefest of moments, opened herself, trying to hear something - anything. One single thought pounded in her head, loud enough for anyone who listened to hear: Ash, what have you gotten yourself into now?
"No, nothing," Leander confirmed, beginning to become worried himself from her concern. Seemed this wasn't normal behaviour after all, and in that case... Whatever could have happened? If Ash had been arrested, surely the police would have been by, or if he'd gone to ground, then someone would have come asking questions. Well... This lady did, but it didn't seem like she was someone his employer would be hiding from. Could he have been in an accident and lying hurt at a hospital? Without ID? Imagination raced through the musician's head as he answered.
"Like I said, I'm new here, so I don't know..."
He tailed of as a memory came to mind. His first night here - hadn't that woman said she knew Ash?
"Actually... There was someone here a few nights ago who said she was an old aquaintance of his. She called him by this really weird name. The trouble is that I don't know how to find her."
She noticed the man's internal distress, and leaned back a little, to give him some room.
"What name did she call him by?" she asked. She knew he went by different things, but perhaps it was something that would stand out to her. She scratched at her arm lightly. "Do you think perhaps she would have any information I could use? I just... need to find him."
She sat back in her seat, trying to play this out in her mind. She hoped he wasn't in some sort of trouble, but.. knowing the way her life was going, this would be something to put on the totem of 'crap she did not want to deal with'.
"His full name, I believe," Leander said vaguely and waved the question away as he thought hard to try and remember all the details from that evening. Had Aurashka said anything more? Anything about how to find her? Could Dave know?
"I think Aurashka is a regular here - that's the woman I was talking about," he clarified unecessarily, distracted by his search of memory. "I haven't seen her since that night, but I've been busy working so I might not have noticed her in the crowd. Or she could have been busy. It's barely been a week, after all."
He shook his head out of that circle of thought, trying to come up with something more useful.
"If she's a regular here, maybe she lives in the neighbourhood... He might be sleeping, but I could try calling Dave, the other bartender, and ask if he knows where she might live."
Having no clue as to Aurashka's true nature, Leander also had no idea that a vampire hardly had to live nearby to be a regular anwhere.
"Aurashka.." she said softly. It sounded somewhat familiar but Danielle had little dealings on this part of the world - she preferred the West coast to the Eastern seaboard. She frowned again - she'd done a lot of that lately - and sat forward again.
"I don't mean to be pushy, but the longer I sit and wait, the more I'd like to know where he got himself off to, so if you could call your friend, I just need to be pointed in the right direction." Danielle's facial expression had changed, eyes darker, almost desperate. Desperation wasn't something she wore well, and it looked as though the woman were about to fall apart (she wasn't).
Leander didn't mind being rushed and nodded to her in agreement. If Ash was holed up somewhere... Well, maybe he wanted to stay that way, but he couldn't have expected to do that without saying anything and not have people look for him.
"Right," he said determinedly. "Just give me a moment to find his phone-number."
He reached over to pick up the little book lying half-way behind the cash-register and started flipping the pages for Dave's number. It would have been a lot easier if only he'd ever learned his fellow bartender's surname...
~~*~~
I'm going to ask Rhi next time we're online at the same time if she'd like Aurashka to join the thread =D
Danielle waits as the tender wanders off to find the number, and jumps as her cellular phone buzzes against her side. She looks down at the screen, and, not recognizing the number, hits 'ignore' on the options given. She sighs and rocks back for a moment, looking around the room. She didn't recognize anyone - did she ever? It was usually bad for her if she did.
The phone chirped, alerting her to a voicemail, and she pressed 'ignore' again. It was a pill of a device, but sometimes handy in a bind.
"Did you find anything?" she called over to him, standing from her position to stretch her legs.
She would have liked to have claimed that she'd heard Leander's thoughts all the way in Mayhem, and that she'd been intrigued enough to drop by and see what was happening, but that was hardly the truth. To be honest, Aura was unaware that Ashtaroth had vanished, and she'd been on her way to the Hellcat's Hollow anyway when she heard her name flip through both the air and a few minds. So, what was going on?
She slipped in the door quietly, listening to what was being said, finding it uninteresting on its own, and scanned Leander's mind. It was then that she frowned, and didn't want to fake humanity. Leander was talking to a Vida witch about Ashtaroth's disappearance. Not good, either part.
"What's going on?"
Before Danielle could turn to answer the woman, the power rolled into her and hit her like she was thrown into a wall. She breathed it in, a sweet scent, and breathed it out, an old memory.
Blinking rapidly, she realized why the name had sounded so familiar. "Wow," was all she uttered. Even though she was a Vida, Danielle still allowed herself small things - one of them was appreciation of beauty. She had never seen Aurashka before, only read. She had seen ugly vampires before, some of them no matter how they tried to turn themselves by illusion, but some of them still shown like diamonds no matter the tarnish of the years.
Before she said anything about her business, she shook herself of her thoughts. "I'm here on personal affairs. I have no quarrel, nor am I really interested in one, with anyone in the city - well so far, anyways. Been pretty good about keeping to myself. Not really diggin' the family tree right now." Danielle, sometimes, could be eloquent - at other times she sounded like Buffy.
Well, Aura couldn't help but be pleased with Danielle's reaction to her. The Vidas usually prepared themselves for who Aurashka was before meeting with her, and she was usually diplomatic enough to keep them from actually trying too hard to kill her. It was nice.
"I believe you, Danielle," she said, plucking the name from the girl's head. Even a Vida witch couldn't entirely block all thoughts from a vampire over three millenia old. "Now, what is the problem?" She looked from one to the other, not wanting to tear through their minds to get all of the information.
The name she did not mind. Danielle had seldom few thoughts she wanted none to have, and most of them she left in Germany. She leaned against the bar again, trying to get comfortable.
"My friend, Ash. I need to find him, and I know he owns the place. He and I go back - well, you probably aren't interested in details. I'm looking, I can't find him, and this guy behind the bar says as a matter of fact he's been missing for a few days."
She rubs her temples. "Now I know he's prone to a disappearing act - we all are. The problem is.. this one feels different. Somethin' is tellin' me to keep asking, or I never would have even told anyone I was a Vida, or let loose with the aura. I'd rather feel stupid that he was tryin' not to be found than hate myself because he needed to be found."
She frowned, then approached the bar with a few graceful steps, as though floating, before sliding onto one of the stools. There was still another between her and Danielle, her way of giving the witch some space, and she thought about the situation for a moment.
"Well, the last time I saw Ashtaroth, he was with Ian of Midnight. Ian didn't tell me what they were up to, but that may be the best place to start."
Danielle felt nausea rising within her. She looked away and took a breath, closing her eyes. Midnight?
"Midnight?" she echoed again, aloud. "Theres no way.." she trailed off. But it was completely possible. It was always possible.
"I don't think I'll be able to walk in and inquire.. and if I did, nobody's likely to tell me," she said, words carefully chosen. She did shield her thoughts now. Danielle.. was apprehensive about Midnight for other reasons. She was on the verge of breaking herself - how easy would it be for somene else to do it? Think for her? It made her dizzy and she swung backwards on the counter and sat down with a sharp 'thud'.
She looked at the witch curiously, with a definite note of worry, but said nothing of what she saw. Yet. For now, it was Ashtaroth she was worried about. Despite her constant teasing him and such, she was quite fond of the witch, and she didn't want to see him harmed. "No, they wouldn't, you're right," she said thoughtfully, then hesitated and looked directly at Danielle.
"Danielle, look at me," she instructed, wanting to ensure that the witch knew what exactly she was saying. "I can arrange a meeting with Ian, and you can come, but only if I have your word that you will be...reliable."
"Reliable how?" Danielle could fight, and she could win, but lately she'd been in a real problematic area of her life that pretty much said kill them all or dig a hole and hide in it for a while. The hiding bit was what she'd been doing more often then not. She dipped too far into her rage in Europe, and now was a time to cool off, not fire back up. Not without serious consequences.
"Reliable in a way that means you'd be an asset to Ashtaroth if he so needs it. In a way that keeps me from worrying what you're doing if I'm attempting to be diplomatic. Do you understand?" Aura was going to try her best to keep things as clean and painless as possible with Ian, and simply find out what had happened to the Hellcat. She couldn't really believe that anything truly horrible had happened to Leone, as she knew he wasn't one to be trifled with, but what else would keep him away from the Hollow for so long with no word? Leander would have been informed, by Dave at least, if Ash had disappeared of his own choice.
"Did you find anything?" the young woman asked him, and Leander turned around to face her.
"Yeah, I think I got..." he trailed off as he noticed the very person they were looking for having entered the bar, blinking in surprise at her even as Miss Vida uttered something before turning too. It was she who answered Aura's question, and with the strangeness of her words, Leander decided then and there to keep his own mouth shut and stick to listening.
He wondered if this was something gang-related again, like he'd wonderd last time Aurashka was there, and when the name Midnight came up again it felt almost like a confirmation. The strangest thing was perhaps that neither of the women, or the man Ian, seemed like the sort of people to be invlved with gangs.
"I don't think I'll be able to walk in and inquire.. and if I did, nobody's likely to tell me," Danielle then said, confirmed by Aura, and a tought was sown in him. It probably wasn't a good idea, and part of him wasn't too keen on sticking his neck out for someone he barely knew, even if it was someone who'd given him a job, but as the women went on he decided that what the hell, he couldn't just leave them on their own to take the brunt of... whatever it was.
He coughed slightly for attention.
"Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt, but... Maybe I can help? If Miss Vida here would be recognised, and your face is known to these people," he nodded to Aura, "then maybe I can go there and ask around? Surely I wouldn't be recognised?"
~~*~~
He so has no clue what's going on! XD
"If you need me to stand back and keep my mouth shut, I can do that. It's not a big deal. I spent a lot of my life doing it, you know." Danielle folded her arms, glancing to Leander.
She didn't know if it would be a good idea for him to go into that place.. he was perhaps desirable? She figured she would let that be Aurashka's call. She was the Mistress of the City, or at least if she wasn't she sure should have been. Nobody stays alive for that long and doesn't own at least one nice piece of property.
Aura had to smile softly at the reasons behind Leander's offer, his reluctance to let herself and Danielle handle this mess, as though he was going to protect them. It was ridiculous, but sweet. Still, she wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to let him try something so dangerous, especially when she was certain that if Morfeus, Kay or any of the other Midnight vamps other than Ian saw him, they'd want him. And bringing Leander in there was just asking for someone to attempt to take him.
"We'll see if there's anything you can do, Leander, but I'm afraid to risk you," she said honestly. Neither she nor Danielle could be claimed, and even if she draped her protection over Leander, they could simply insist that she trade if Leone had indeed been detained. This was just a bad situation.
She sighed, then looked from one to the other. "I will arrange a meeting with Ian. If anyone knows what happened to Ashtaroth, it will be him. Any other ideas?"
She watched the beautiful woman closely, but not too. She spoke logically, which Danielle liked and appreciated - she hated people who spoke in riddles like they were important.
"The only ideas I have involve a lot of seek and destroy. I was -this- close to contacting the guilds." Danielle had the money, and she knew they had the time. "Nothing I can come up with is productive enough and will ensure that nobody gets hurt." Danielle was a suicide bomb kind of person when it boiled down to it. That was probably a bad thing. That fabled Vida control had slipped a long time ago, and Ash was ALL she had to keep from falling apart completely. With him gone, it was back to the lab again, conjuring up some dark emotions to work off of.
Okay, so maybe those two knew more about the situation than he did, but that he would be at any greater risk than the two women was ridiculous, from his point of view. One that didn't include vampires or witches or supernatural powers.
"Just... think about it," he responded. "Another pair of hands and eyes, and an unknown face, could be useful."
Not having given up, he unhappily kept silent for now and tried to pick up more details from their conversation.
Guilds? Was that another word for gangs? Or had he gotten that bit wrong from the start? It's not like any of the ones involved looked like that sort of people. Mafia? That would fit a bit better - and make the whole situation a great deal worse. Had he managed to get himself involved with some sort of rivalling mafia? One of which seemed to be called Midnight. Or was that a person? He found all of it very confusing, and neither of the ladies seemed like they would be willing to explain.
~~*~~
I know he shouldn't get involved, but the boy is being stubborn and refusing to leave this be ^^;;;
Aurashka was impressed by Leander's subbornness, but she was still worried about the boy. And she completely believed Danielle. The girl definitely struck her as a very dangerous person, and she seemed quite fond of Ash.
"Then I suppose it's a meeting with Ian, and we'll take things from there," she said simply, sighing. "Give me an hour or so, and I'll be back to tell you what's going to happen."
She needed to contact him.
Quite fond of him wasn't the phrase that would best fit, but it was hard to tell by the way Danielle simply was. She was a well-known 'explosive personality', so it was hard to pinpoint the why and the what. The thought of Ash being in that place made her nauseous, dizzy, and very, very angry. She fathomed that if she thought about it hard enough, she might actually spontaniously combust. She had never been encompassed entirely by that type of emotion, not towards another person. She didn't know what it was. She'd never felt it before.
"Thank you," she said. She meant it. Unlike other Vidas, Danielle had been around enough to know that not every vampire was a mindless drone bent on conquering the world. She got the feeling Aurashka was above the petty this-and-that, but then again, when you've been alive for that long, you've been there, done that, and gotten the t-shirt, mug, comemorative plates, anniversery coin, and a free pair of shoes.
She didn't know what to do then, but she felt very weak, and sat down suddenly. She looked up at Leander. "Can I have a drink, please?" she asked softly. Her entire expression had gone from rabid to exhausted in a matter of seconds. There was that masquerade, slowly slipping from her.
Aura returned shortly later, feeling at least a little better as she looked at Danielle and Leander. She had some good news, at least.
"I've arranged a meeting with Ian for tonight. Be well-rested and alert," she said simply. "I'll meet you here around sunset."
Though I'm not so sure if Leander should come, she shot at Danielle, wanting an opinion.
That all depends on how well you trust this Ian fellow... or those around him. Leander strikes me as innocent, and that's an open invitation for trouble. Danielle flicked her eyes from him to Aurashka, knowing the woman could hear her thoughts.
She rubbed her eyes. Well rested.. that would be something she hadn't done in a while. Her memory randomly danced to the strange knife the woman in Germany had pressed upon her, and she idly thought about bringing it. It was better left kept, though, and she quickly abandoned that idea.
Asking what she would like, Leander served Danielle, then waited with her for Aurashka's return.
Listening to the pale and beautiful woman's instructions, which seemed to include him as well, he nodded firmly. He had no idea about the mental conversation or if they should change the time or location, he was simply determined to show up here at sunset as asked.
"I'll be ready."
The tingle of nervousness didn't show in his voice, but it was certainly there. He knew he didn't fully understand what he was getting himself into, just that mafia business was nasty business...