Night's Omen

He'd been really uncomfortable about coming to All Hallows looking for Aimee, but she'd been the one to get in touch with him about Nero's...'accident'.  He couldn't believe it, honestly, but he didn't think she'd lie about it, and she was offering to keep helping him with whatever he needed.  That, he was willing to take, since she was extremely informative and extremely hot on top of that.  That didn't mean he really wanted to be showing up at a strip club to talk to her, and he actually hadn't believed he had to right place when he realized that was what it was.  Sure enough, however, he was shown back to her dressing room, where she was fortunately still dressed like a normal human being.  If she'd been wearing a thong or something, he'd have probably been absolutely useless in the coming conversation. 

He'd been let in and offered a place to sit while she dug through some clothes, and he tried not to focus on anything she was picking up.  He really didn't need anything to add to whatever mental images he was having, to be totally honest, and instead had to put his mind back on what had happened with that vampire.

"Aimee, a few nights ago, this...vampire jumped me.  He wanted to know how I ended up as such a rare shifter breed, and he was talking about that Midnight place.  I know he can't get at Dr. Garrah now, but do you think he'll still come looking for the information?" he asked.  It must have been serious, too, since she stopped what she was doing to look at him.  She waited a moment or so, obviously considering what he'd told her, before speaking.

"I don't know that anyone could truly connect it all, unless he got a name from your mind when he attacked you.  It's not commonly known that Nero worked on anything involving shifters, and he hasn't done this with too many people.  You were the first," she told him, smiling affectionately.  It was no secret that she was fond of him, and he liked her, too.  That was why he was worrying.

"Yeah, but what if he can find you?  He was pretty freakin' creepy, and he didn't even do too much to me.  Well, he did some kind of shit with my memories of the accident, but I don't think that'd have been too hard."

Aimee seemed to consider that, then shook her head.  "No, I don't imagine that would be too difficult, especially if it's on your mind a lot.  It would actually be an easy thing for a vampire to pick up on."  Yeah, and that was just one more reason to try to stuff it down.  "I'll try to be careful, if it'll make you feel better.  Eden always has one of the bouncers walk us to our cars, and I'm safe inside the club here."

He nodded, and actually opened up his mouth to say something else when there was a knock at the door.  Immediately after it was a man's voice, and Aimee's eyes widened suddenly.  That didn't look good in the LEAST, and had Dez on pretty high alert from the start.  "It's Eden.  Desiré, if he sees you, and especially if he finds out you're a shifter, he's never going to leave you alone about dancing.  He tries it on anyone who's attractive enough to get away with it," she hissed at him.  "One second!"

"Then, what do I DO?  I don't want to do THAT?" he hissed back.

"I don't know!  Shift?" she suggested, and he glanced at the door for just a second as Eden asked if she was talking to someone before he shifted.  She kicked his clothes aside, so that Eden didn't think anything of them, as she opened the door, and Desiré was there for about a second of Eden looking down at him with those red eyes and asking what the hell a cat was doing in her dressing room before he bolted.  He'd have to come back when Eden wasn't there, because he wasn't going to wait around to see if Eden was a cat-lover.  He'd had enough of that from his uncle.

He shot into the first empty room he could find, since most of the doors were shut (and some had strange sounds coming from within, which he REALLY didn't want to know about and made him wish cats had senses that weren't so great), and curled himself into a corner away from the door, just watching and waiting.  Eden had to walk past here to leave, right?  He'd see him, and know when he could go to Aimee again.

God, this sucked, but that dude creeped him out.

With the click of her stilettos, Dizzy had entered her dressing room, and promptly closed her door. A sigh escaped her lips as she began to unzip the back of her bright black and yellow corset. Once it was completely unzipped, she'd turned to grab her next outfit. It was in that moment that she saw perhaps the most adorable cat she'd ever seen. She'd stopped everything she was doing and walked over to the cat and leaned down to pick him up.

"'Ello there, cutie pie," she grinned, petting the little guy. He was most certainly an adorable cat. All through her life, she'd barely spent time with cats, and the most she saw were strays in the street. So this little adorable guy had her complete attention. Or at least, till she realized she needed to get changed out of her corset. She gently set the cat down, and started rummaging through her collection of tops. There had to be something there that she hadn't worn lately.

Still, she really wanted to spend a bit more time with that kitten, so she looked down at him once she'd found herself a new top to get changed into, "Now how in the world did a cutie like you end up in here?"

Maybe he was a stray that just happened to get in. He didn't seem like he (or she) was sick with anything though. Maybe she could get him some shots and fix him up. Already she thought he seemed like a stable house cat. She grinned, "I think I'll take you home after this."

It would be nice to have company that was worth her time.

He was waiting for Eden to walk by, so when he saw a human-sized shape in the doorway, it actually made him think that the man was going to enter the room.  Imagine his reaction when he realized that the person really was entering!  He tried to curl further back into the corner, about to hiss as menacingly as a young, fluffy cat can manage when the door shut and he found himself staring up at a blond lady.  That definitely wasn't Eden.

She was about as interested in him as the snake man was, though.  She practically descended on him, scooping him up and stroking his fur, and really?  He didn't know what the hell to do about it.  It was kind of awkward, since she was in the process of getting undressed and cuddling on him, then setting him down to finish changing (hopefully before she could notice that he'd started purring, since that was kind of embarrassing, too).  She kept talking to him, however, and besides reminding him that she thought he was 'cute' every sentence, she mentioned taking him home with her.

Whoooooooa, wait a sec!  That wasn't on his list of things to do, since if anyone could 'take him home', it was probably going to be Dawn.  She'd been joking about it since she found out.  It wasn't like he could inform this lady that taking him home wasn't possible, but the way he meowed up at her, it seemed like he tried.  It was a plaintive, whiney kind of sound, and the only reason he hadn't tried to scratch at the door was because he didn't want Eden to know where he'd gone.

"Aw, I bet you want some milk," she said, listening to his whining. Once she'd gotten on a bright blue brocade corset, she started her search for something to feed the cat. There wasn't any milk, but she did find a bottle of water, and a small bowl that she'd used earlier for her small snacking. She quickly wiped down the bowl and poured in a small amount of water. She then placed it in front of the kitten.

"Drink up, I'll get you something to eat later," she said. In the mean time, she had to finish getting dressed. She started searching for a skirt that would match the corset she was wearing. She glanced over to the cat, still smiling to herself while humming. She then found a light colored short skirt to put on, and resumed changing clothing. She was already thinking about what shoes to change into, next. Every time she glanced over to that cat, however, she just kept thinking how adorable he was, and how well he'd be treated in her little apartment.

Milk?  No, he didn't want any milk.  He wanted to be let out, so he could go get his clothes from Aimee, without running into Eden, and get the hell out of this situation.  Had Eden left, yet?  He didn't know, which was making it worse.  He really didn't want to rush out of the room and right into the man's path.  Would Aimee come find him?  Would she know what room to look in?  He could keep crying and hope that she heard him, since leopards had good hearing, but would Eden hear him, too?

Probably.

The girl got him a bowl of water, which was almost funny, but not what he wanted.  He sniffed at it, almost like it was a requirement or something, and then looked back up at her with the intention of meowing again. 

Wait.  She was changing.

Was he really, really going to sit in a stripper's dressing room and watch her change?  What the hell?  God, this is so ridiculous, what's wrong with me? he thought, unable to get over THAT thought, and he made it a point to look at the door.  The whole point was to NOT watch her finish changing, since that was just unfair.  True, she took her clothes off in front of crowds of people all the time, but still.  She was in her dressing room, and that was supposed to be private, wasn't it?

Yes, it was.  Damn it, this was downright weird.  He glanced back a few times, peeking to see if she was done, and only when she was did he walk back towards her, staring up and meowing again.  He wasn't even really sure what he thought she could do about it, but if she opened the door, at least he could see if Eden left or not. 

With a quiet rustle, she'd gotten the skirt on, and taken off her shoes. However, she was still walking on her toes as she leaned over to find a nice pair of heels and a matching pair of stockings. She'd found them a lot quicker than she did find her skirt or corset, and took a seat while rolling the stockings up her feet.

What ever did the kitty want? Maybe it was lack of affection? Once she'd gotten her stockings and heels on, she picked the cat up again, "What's wrong, pussycat?"

She began to pet him right behind the ears, trying to see if she could get him to purr like he did before. She was already thinking about how to hide the fact that she was keeping a cat from the landlords. Maybe she could pay them off to let her keep him. It wasn't like it was that big a deal. He'd make a good pet, she could already tell, "I'll get you to a nice new home, soon. You'll like it, I promise. I'll just have to find a good vet that'll get you fixed up."

Stockings and shoes were no big deal to him, so it didn't matter if he watched her put those on or not, but they were obviously having some trouble here.  What was that line from that movie?  The one about a failure to communicate?  Yeah, that was what was going on.  He was failing pretty miserably at communicating, and she was assuming he wanted things that any normal cat would want.

Imagine that.  A girl who didn't know anything other than that she had a fluffy cat in her dressing room thought that he wanted food, water and attention.  Damn it.

He actually made a move to avoid her hands this time, realizing too late that her movements weren't headed for the door at all, but towards him, and she scooped him up again with no problem.  He sure as hell wasn't going to scratch or bite her just to get loose, but maybe he should have.  As soon as she had him cradled to her chest, she was scratching behind his ears, and he couldn't even pretend that he didn't like it.

He knew, because he tried, and he was failing at that, too.  This was damaging to his ego, that much was for sure.  He was purring again, there wasn't a whole lot he could do to stop himself, and then she started talking about a 'new home' and a 'good vet'. 

WHAT.

It was probably fortunate for both of them that there was a knock at the door, followed by Aimee sticking her head in, probably to ask if Dizzy had seen a cat anywhere.  Her question was answered rather suddenly, and she made brief eye contact with Desiré before she entered and shut the door behind herself.

"There you are.  I was wondering where you'd gotten to," she commented, obviously talking to the cat when she put her face on eye level with him, then raised her hand to show him that she'd brought his clothing.  Wonderful.  "Hey, Dizz, thanks for keeping him occupied.  He bolted when Eden stopped in, but I guess that's kind of my fault.  I warned him beforehand that Eden might be interested."

She hadn't yet dropped the bomb on Dizzy that he was a shifter, and just looking at her, Desiré could tell it was because she was enjoying herself.  She even reached out to scratch at his head, just to watch him close his eyes and take it.  He was so torn.

Damn them both.

Wait. The cat wasn't a stray? Shame, but at least he'd have a home with Aimee, who she figured would take care of him. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the cat, so it was most likely the case. She smiled. It likely wouldn't have worked out in the end anyway. Birds and cats tended not to work well.
Even so, she now kinda wanted a kitten to take care of. This one was just too cute!

"Oh, it's no problem," she said, still petting him, "He's a cute one though, what's his name?"
She then saw that Aimee was holding what looked like boys clothing, and she promptly raised an eyebrow, "And what's with the clothes?"

It was one thing to tease Desiré, but Dizzy hadn't done anything, so Aimee just laughed and locked the door, just to be safe.  This was going to be amusing, at the very least, and she winked at Dizzy before setting the clothes down and reaching for the cat.

"His name is Desiré, and I'm sure he absolutely loves it that everyone thinks he's so adorable.  Don't you, Dez?" she asked, holding him up for a moment and getting a plaintive whine out of him that just made her laugh again.  Then, she set him down and gestured for Dizzy to turn around right along with her.  "You'll see what the deal is with the clothes in just a second, I promise."

It really only took a few seconds before they heard clothing rustling, and only when Aimee was certain he had his pants on did she turn to peek.  Seeing that he did, and not caring about socks, shoes or a shirt, she turned completely, tugging the confused Dizzy along with her.  "That's the deal with the clothes.  Desiré, this is Dizzy.  Dizzy, Dez," she introduced, unable to help grinning. 

It was like one of those epiphanies that resulted in someone stretching out the word "oh" for about five seconds. She'd turned around and then heard rustling of clothing, turned back and there was a boy. She then realized she'd gotten changed in front of a boy. Well, no. That was no big deal. She was usually naked in front of hundreds of strangers in a typical night. It was the fact that she'd been touching him that made her skin crawl just a little. But he didn't seem too bad. Not bad at all, actually.

Dizzy simply extended a hand to him, smiling casually to let on that nothing was wrong, "Nice to meet you."
She had a feeling he might find it a bit obnoxious since she had just been going on about him being fixed and what not, so she just casually added onto her greeting, "Sorry about that."

When he'd finished pulling his pants on, he fully intended to finish getting dressed until Aimee turned around and started throwing introductions around.  Wow, that was only a little uncomfortable.  He had to try not to feel awkward and do too much blushing or anything, which was even worse.  If he could have just acted like it was no big deal, it would have been so much easier, and he probably could have if he didn't feel guilty.  He shouldn't have been in there, but it hadn't been like he'd intended to.  It was empty when he ran inside.

He took the offered hand, shaking it firmly and managing a tight smile along with a nod.  "Nice to meet you, too.  And I'm, ah, sorry about that, too," he told her, though he was sorry he'd seen her changing, whereas he thought she had every right to be sorry about talking 'fixing' and everything.  That was just cruel.

He turned on Aimee next, giving her a dirty look as he fumbled with his shirt for something to do.  "You're finding this way too funny.  Your boss creeps me out."

"Yes, I am, and he tends to have that effect on straight males," she replied smoothly, still grinning.  That about summed it up, really.

Well, this couldn't get any more awkward. Well, it could. But she decided that instead of making things any more awkward, she needed to tend to her makeup. As she walked over to her mirror, she started rummaging through her makeup remover. She initially planned on having a bit more to do a few intricate designs around her eyes, but there went that. Oh well, it wasn't too bad. This kid was pretty cute.

"So, Aimee," Dizzy asked while removing the makeup from her eyes, "How do you two know each other?"
She didn't think they were dating, most guys wouldn't be into stripper girlfriends. But hey, maybe she was wrong. To each their own, after all. However, she'd tagged them as friends. Most likely school friends, but she couldn't be sure.

She was picking over her makeup to match her entire outfit. Fortunately, she wasn't too rushed. She just casually crossed her legs and tapped her foot.