Night's Omen

 Danielle sat at the table in the less-frequently used back room of the Hollow. It was a lot bigger than people gave them credit for - the building went in quite a few feet, enough so that behind the club itself there were comfortable living arrangements. While Ash's bedroom was primarily upstairs, Danielle found that the rooms further back offered more protection from the music and general din that came with a bar. She was just finishing up with steeping her tea, tossing the bag expertly behind her without looking and hearing the satisfying sound of it landing in the small trash can by the counter. She took a long sip of the hot liquid, allowing her sinuses to open up fully thanks to the mix of peppermint and lavender that the cook Stephen had brought in for her. It was every bit as good as he promised, and Danielle found herself more appreciative of tea when it wasn't just that Celestial Seasonings Zinger bullshit.

She looked up as Ash came into the room, and raised her eyebrows at him. "Did one of those two idiots call you back yet?" she asked. She had only just been informed of the situation in full - Ash hadn't bothered to say anything up until about twelve hours ago, which was pretty much right as everything had gone to shit where the two Vida (Areli) cousins she had were concerned. It still blew her mind. By his tired expression, she couldn't rightly judge whether they had or whether they'd continued to avoid him, and honestly if it were her, she'd have just turned her phone off and headed for Canada or Mexico or something. Thankfully, Laura and Lance didn't take too much after her.

She kicked out a chair with her booted foot, giving him a place to sit. "Any ideas on what you'll say to them when they eventually emerge from whatever love nest they've burrowed into?" she asked. There was no humour in her voice despite the remark; Danielle had always had a penchant for making inappropriate comments, which was why she was surprised Ash even told her anything at all. This, as she understood it, was a delicate situation, so she had no idea why he was involving her.

Honestly, most of the Supernatural hang-outs had back rooms of some sort, since there were always situations cropping up that needed to be handled outside of the public eye.  The Hollow was no different, except that Ash required them more than perhaps anyone save Papa, both for handling delicate situations and because he lived on site.  It made his place more secure, his living there, because who wanted to walk into a triste's home and cause trouble?  Only a moron, which brought him to his current problem.

Laura and Lance had been ignoring calls and texts since about an hour after it had happened, and the only reason Ash had waited that hour was because he knew there was nothing stopping them at that point and frankly?  Areli magic was scary in its own right.  He had a level of immunity to it that he'd even possessed as a human, but if they were in mid-swing?  The only way he could have stopped them would have been to show up, and he didn't know what would have happened then.  If it had been Ramsey and Cerise, he was certain that at the height of their build, they could draw him in, and then they'd try to suck him dry.  He had enough power that he might have been able to survive it, but he knew Areli magic to be hungrier the more it got a taste of something it liked.  He didn't know if Lance and Laura were Areli enough to feed, or if they just worked each other up, but either way, it was trouble, which left him between a rock and a hard place.  He couldn't let Ramsey and Cerise train them, because that would only make the chance that the two young Vidas would be lost skyrocket, but leaving them to do what they will would only have them experimenting, and that was no good, either.  The final alternative was separating them, but in his experiences over the centuries with the other Arelis, that wasn't an option. 

Yes, he looked tired, but that was because he'd only just laid down to sleep after being up for two days (he kept retarded hours, and then cat-napped like a pro, usually) when he felt the spike in power.  To say he wasn't expecting it at some point would have been a lie, but he couldn't deny that he was...disappointed.  He'd put a lot of faith in Vida blood over the years, was fairly friendly with Andrew and was very serious about Danielle, so he'd hoped that the Vida blood and training would keep the two from ever delving into that mess.  He was wrong, and that's what he got for being optimistic.  Since the power spike, he hadn't slept in favor of trying to get a hold of them, but getting an energy meal was probably a good idea sooner or later.  Preferably before the twins arrived.

"Lance called me back, finally.  He said they're coming in," he told her, falling into the chair rather gracelessly.  Being around the people who worked for him, particularly Dave and Anthony (who, despite him being their boss and more powerful, seemed to have brought him into their little 'pack', or formed one around him), had the effect of chilling out his otherwise reserved reactions.  He acted deceptively human sometimes, and though dignity was a big deal to him, he had the effect of putting people at ease between the auras he exuded and his usually casual appearance and behavior.  It just made it easier to draw himself up and shock the hell out of someone if he had to, because make no mistake, he was a dangerous individual. 

"And no, I haven't the slightest.  The obvious would be, 'for the love of GOD, don't do that again', but I think a little more tact will be necessary," he told her, rubbing at his face tiredly, then looking up at her with a knowing expression.  He didn't have to tell her that he knew tact wasn't her forte, but someone needed to know what was happening, and of the more powerful individuals who spent their time at the Hollow, he trusted Danielle most.  That, and she'd noticed some kind of power spike, just not what.  Right about now, he was wishing Lance and Laura took more after her, since maybe they wouldn't have gotten into this mess to begin with. 

 Laura hadn't been prepared for any of this when she emerged from her apartment after they'd agreed to go see Ash. She had a pit in her stomach that she assumed was nerves from knowing that she was in huge trouble, and was further aggravated by Lance and his eerie calm behaviour. She felt twitchy and unrested, resisting the urge to pick a fight with him and instead trying to lock down on that instability she felt. When she put her foot on the pavement and into the outside world, though, she felt worse. Ten times worse. It was like colours were brighter, sharper, and sounds were loud and offensive. The smell of the street was mingled with cold and wet and it clogged her nose, causing her to hug herself in her winter riding jacket more tightly. She couldn't decide if she was hot or cold, and it alternated so quickly that it made the average cold (which wouldn't bother her) suddenly biting. She almost didn't get on her bike, instead standing by it for a moment.

That was when the man who'd been walking his dog just let the leash go at random and started making his way over to her. He smiled, but he had a mesmerized sort of look in his eyes, and for a split second, Laura thought he was about to try and hit her up for drugs. It was when he got within her personal space that she felt that urge spike. She felt so horrible and he was like a walking, talking pill that could make it better - without thinking, she reached out and grabbed him by the neck, just... squeezing.

"Whoa!" Lance yelled. He came at her from behind, giving her a sharp blast to her kidney that put her down on one knee. The guy fell back from her, the colour drained out of him to the point where he looked grey, and seemed to forget where he was or what he was doing. He turned and just stumbled off, in search of his dog, while Lance stood over Laura. "We have a serious problem on our hands," he said, holding his hand out to her. She took it, knowing that the momentary high she felt from the quick drink of the man's energy wouldn't be nearly enough to keep her going.

"Don't touch anyone," he said, his voice sharp. "And yes, I know it's a little late for that, but let's just avoid it from now on. Also, try not to speak to anyone. Or make eye contact with anyone," he added. He looked irritated, but not for the reason that he'd just handled. He sighed. "That old lady that tries to grab my ass? I thought I had her occupied with Trevor, but apparently she's back in full force. She tried to - " he dropped his voice for a second, then fixed a pained gaze on his sister. "She like, took her nightgown off. Right there in the hallway."

Laura snorted, choking on the spit she'd just been about to swallow, and ended up coughing violently for a few seconds while Lance fumed next to her. "It's not funny, Ed," he said, quoting the Lion King. She couldn't stop laughing though, because she was feeling the endorphin release from it, and finally after her cheeks were wet with tears did she dial it back, wiping at her face and nodding serenely. As quickly as it had come, it was gone, and she felt the buzz of that energy sapping away at her slowly. She felt jittery, and Lance noticed.

"Seriously, let's just go. Hopefully Ash was smart enough to clear out the bar, or we're going to have a hard time getting through without talking to anyone," he said, his voice still annoyed. He spun on his heel like a little girl and walked back to his own bike, starting it up and getting on in about as close a fluid moment as one could get. Laura shook her head and turned back to her own bike, sliding her helmet on and pulling out in front of him into traffic. She tipped her tinted visor down, just in case she tried to involuntarily make eyes at anyone while they were stopped. She'd flirt with other drivers to get a better spot in traffic, absolutely. Now? She might get hit by a car from someone too excited to try and talk to her. What the hell? She felt that gross, sweaty and chilled feeling leaving her as she hit the road, but she couldn't attribute it to the bike. She knew that somewhere in the back of her head, it was the energy she'd stolen from the guy who'd tried to hit on her. She felt like, somehow, it would be good for a while, but she'd need a better fix soon if she wanted to keep a handle on things.

She glanced back at Lance, who was re-tightening his gloves at the light just behind her, and turned around to face the light again. He'd never agree to it. She wasn't sure how she'd get him to agree to it, either. She could try to tempt it out of him, but he was pretty hard to control - even still, this was a new experience, and she thought for just another quick hit, she could scheme forever. She wasn't ready to let go of that little high just yet. If Lance had known that Laura had an addictive personality (it was hard to tell with Vidas, since normal drugs wouldn't really do anything to them), he probably would have wanted to take a totally different approach to whatever defense he'd bring to Ash. As it was, he had no idea she was sitting there, basically fighting off of power withdrawal already, even from just a little taste, and she was working a way in her head to get more, with or without him on board.

When they got to the Hollow, they parked and went inside. Lance actually kept his helmet on to be safe, but he nearly punched Laura when she took it off just inside the door, shaking her hair out. She smiled at Anthony, who was behind the bar, and started to make her way over to him. "Hey -" she began, before Lance grabbed her by the arm and yanked her, hard.

"Ash is waiting," he said gruffly. As soon as he had her out of sight, he clenched down with his hand. "What the hell did I just say about not talking to anyone? You want to try and roll someone we know?"

Laura shrugged. "I was just seeing," she said defensively. She hadn't even thought about her draw being more like a circle of power, one she could push out to try and lure people in with. There wasn't even a little guilt there for her just to push her boundaries, which is what she told herself she was doing. It would only be to see what would happen, then she'd have left him alone. Right?