Dark Heart Dawning

[Iloquil]

Meanwhile, the black towncar pulled around the front circle drive of Midnight, a silent servant opening the door to allow the passengers to exit. Iloquil's long, tanned legs emerged first, her black Couture d'Orsay Valentino shoes making clicking sounds as her feet hit the ground. Her black Aidan Mattox lace dress hugged her form splendidly, and her mane of mahogany and caramel curls framed her face with perfection. She had a gift in her hand, a bottle of wine wrapped in red metallic tissue paper and tied with a black lace bow, something she'd no doubt done herself given her affinity for black lace of late.

She turned to her consort, holding out a hand for him to hand her the bouquet of flowers. Chrysanthemums were long recognized in Europe as the flower of death, so why would they not be appropriate to bring to their fledglings for an evening dinner at the house of death itself? "Here," she said, thrusting the bottle at him. "You carry the wine. It's less feminine. I don't feel like hearing it from Niall."

And this was where the dazzling effect and splendour ended, and the two became a real couple.

She paused to examine the bottom of her shoe, then caught back up to Justin as he ascended the stairs of the front walk. "Would you believe I have found gum on my shoe? Or, the remnants of it, at least. Christ, I walked from the house to the driveway. If I find out those bastard kids at the estate next door had something to do with this, I'll ensure their family is cursed lesions on their genitals for the rest of their existence on this plane."

The door opened and she effectively cut off Justinian's lecture, exclaiming "Verity darling!" She practically threw the flowers at him so that she could embrace her friend, and Justin became forgotten.

[Darren Liten]

Really?  The night had already been so ridiculous that Persephone halting him to try to give him a pep talk and a kiss on the cheek was nothing in the realm of 'weird'.  He appreciated this more than the rest of the evening, that was for sure, and the fact that he was already in the shower and washing away as much of the horror from earlier as was possible by the time the teenaged girl came in to fetch him clothes didn't hurt.  He was better off seeing as little of that as possible right then.

It was after the shower, when he was feeling more himself again in the steamy bathroom, that he really stopped for a breather.  It was refreshing, the heat and the clean water, but the stack of clothing only seemed to remind him exactly what he was walking into.  A fucking dinner with the big bosses that were killing and kidnapping everyone.  Right.  Perfect.

Persephone could obviously tell that he wasn't quite feeling confident about that situation when he walked out, stepping up to fix his botched tie knot and to ask how he was feeling.  "Honestly?  Better, but still," he told her, words not really cutting it right then.  What was there to even say?  At least Persephone could come up with a joke or two, but this wasn't all that unusual in her life, was it?

Still, he appreciated the effort she made and chuckled a little, though it came out sounding a little relieved and breathless.  "I can do this, I guess.  Yeah.  I mean, it could be worse," he offered, moving automatically to run a hand through his hair because that was a pretty usual gesture when he was stressed or nervous, but Persephone caught him before he could destroy any semblance of neatness where his hair was concerned.  He smiled apologetically, took a deep breath, and nodded.  He could do it.

[Justinian]

He'd known better when he handed the flowers to her to begin with.  Really, he had.  She'd thrust the bottle of wine at him and taken the flowers, but he was going to be carrying both in the end, so it wasn't like it mattered.  He knew this and accepted it with the same kind of understanding that he had about pretty much anything Iloquil did.  After the number of lifetimes they'd spent together, very little about her surprised him. 

Having been about to ask why she would even be concerned with that family's genitals, even if it would be to curse them with lesions, he was effectively steamrolled once more when she forced the flowers into his hands so that she could greet Verity.  Then, he was forgotten until Verity herself paid him a glance, and then he smiled and took her hand for a light kiss, offering her the flowers.  For just a moment there, he had the appropriate amount of attention, and then the women were talking again, catching up as though there wasn't the equivalent of a massive gang war going on out in the city.  He found it amusing, especially when he entered behind them and saw Niall in the moment after Verity and Iloquil swept over and around him.  The Master of Midnight was greeted by Iloquil, of course, but she and Verity were far more interested in each other, giving Justin the perfect opportunity to offer his fledgling the bottle of wine and just stand back.

"Glad you made it.  How is traffic?" Niall asked, nodding his thanks as he took the bottle and the two followed their women.

"Not as bad as you might think.  Some accidents, a lot of traffic violations, police occupied elsewhere, it's all to be expected.  How is everything going?"

"Smoothly.  Our operatives are reporting fairly consistent successes."

"Good to hear.  I trust we'll get the interesting news during dinner?"

"Absolutely, but we'll save it for then.  Iloquil will want to hear, I'm sure."

"Naturally," Justinian agreed with a grin, allowing himself to be escorted into the dining room that was made up in preparation for their dinner.  Honestly, they didn't get together often enough. 

[Persephone]

 Persephone practically slapped his hand away as he tried to "fix" his hair, and since it had fallen perfectly she wasn't going to allow him the opportunity to mess it up. Verity demanded perfection in her subtle way, so Persephone was going to try and run interference where she could if she could help it.

"It will be fine. I promise. I'll warn you, though, that this dinner is going to be like nothing you've ever experienced before in your life."

And with that, she offered him her arm. A soft tap at the door punctuated the gesture, and the teenage girl stuck her head in.

"Mistress, the guests have arrived," she said ominously.

"Perfect," Persephone chirped. "And Kronos?" she asked.

"He is waiting for you both," she said with a small smile.

"Thank you, Hannah. That will be all." At Persephone's dismissal, the blonde, who looked utterly resplendent, inclined her head and walked away.

Persephone lead Darren down the hall to where Kronos stood, waiting. He didn't simply stand - no, the man loomed somehow, his presence dark and intimidating, like a nimbus cloud waiting to unleash. He straightened, if that were possible since the man stood straight as a rail anyways, and leveled his gaze not on Persephone but rather Darren.

"Darren," she said slowly, sliding her arm from his and moving to the left to form a half-circle between he and Kronos. "This is Kronos. My father."

Bomb. Dropped. If Darren could handle this, he could handle dinner.

[Iloquil]

 "I have a surprise for you, my dear," Verity confessed in a hushed tone to Iloquil after accepting the flowers from Justinian and giving them a delicate sniff. She adored chrysanthemums. They were exquisite flowers, and this bouquet appeared to have been hand-picked especially for their centerpiece. As usual, perfection was all Iloquil and Justinian had to offer. It was probably why Niall and Verity simply came to expect it from others.

"A surprise?" Iloquil asked, tilting her head. "Justin darling, do you have any idea about this?" she asked him in a low tone as he took her arm while they paired off to walk into the dining room.

Iloquil saw herself when Rajz stood up as she walked into the room. Iloquil wasn't quite so quick to forget Justinian this time, instead squeezing his hand tightly before she practically ran to Rajz with a loud squeal. She grabbed him into a hug, which was returned wholeheartedly as he spun her around the room.

"I had no idea you'd be here!" she exclaimed. She turned back to Justin, her eyes wide and her mouth frozen in a :D face as she eyed him. She looked back to Rajz and put her hands on his face, shaking her head a little. "This is wonderful. Rajz darling, I've missed you so. You must come more often," she insisted.

Verity put her hand on Niall's shoulder, tossing her dark curls off of her shoulder with a smirk. "I daresay this is going to be a wonderful evening," she told him.

[Darren Liten]

At least Persephone seemed to think that everything was going to be fine, since he didn't, but he was going to have to take her word for it.  She'd gone out of her way to watch out for him so far, and even if everything didn't go according to plan, that had to count for something.  Not that he wanted to go play with Verity and her friends, but as unpredictable as all that was, he couldn't see Persephone having gone to all that trouble trying to get him out of the area just to fuck him over now.  It just didn't seem to make sense, especially after telling Verity that he was her friend and not 'her cat'.

He had no idea what he was in for.

'Guests' should have been slightly ominous, and perhaps it was, but there was so much to be worried about that Darren basically just let Persephone take him by the arm and lead him further down the rabbit hole on this one.  He understood that he was in over his head and that he had no way of knowing what was going to happen the rest of the night, but she still managed to take him completely and utterly off-guard when he officially met Kronos.  Not that anyone normal meeting that man for the first time could have been prepared, anyway.

They walked out and the man somehow managed to straighten a little further, all darkness and danger, and even with the predator mindset that came with being a leopard, Darren wasn't so sure about this one.  He felt a very feline need to be aggressive in the face of this level of nasty, but purely for the purpose of getting the hell out of dodge and not because he really thought he would do anything other than get smashed if he fought for real.  God, was he sick of being on the weak end of things.

Having Kronos' gaze fixed so completely on him didn't help the way he felt about the situation, not that hackles-raised worry that he was going to get his ass kicked, not in the least.  Kronos had a damn impressive presence to him, and then Persephone had to drop the big bomb, as the man was staring Darren down and already making him feel like a bird who'd been let out of its cage.  It wasn't a nice feeling, and not one he was particularly used to, and it only got worse.

Her father.  Her father.

"Oh," he said stupidly, eyes widening as he took the man in again with that in mind.  Her father.  Well, he could see where she got certain things.  Okay, he could deal with this.  The scary man was her father, and now that he wasn't quite so distracted by everything else, he could smell the feline about him.  Also vampire, which explained why the guy looked like he wasn't much older than Persephone.  Dysfunctional, yes, but why would that be a surprise?  He'd already known that Persephone's life had been very different from anything he'd ever known, so this was just shedding light on her past.  Yep, and he was in perfect shape for putting that information together.

Wrong.

His eyes were still wide and it was unlikely he'd regained much of his color since all of this had gone down, but he still drew himself up with a subtle (but entirely noticeable to a vampire), deep breath and offered Kronos his hand to shake.  This was all so ridiculous and wrong to begin with, but he'd been raised well and this was Persephone's father.  If he was wrong, then he'd have to deal with being awkward.  "It's nice to meet you, Kronos," he offered, and really, he wasn't lying.  It was much nicer to meet him as Persephone's friend and to be properly introduced than some of the possible alternatives, and he did like Persephone.  She was strange, but she was his friend.  That was hopefully enough.

[Justinian]

It was good of Iloquil not to utterly abandon Justinian as soon as she saw Rajz, considering the jealous nature of gods and goddesses, but Justinian didn't often make a complaint where Rajz was concerned because of Niall and Alexander.  Alexander made a little more sense than Niall, simply because of their friendship during their mortal years, but other than blatant curiosity as to what would happen if he turned a human without blocking off his power, he'd had no real intentions when he turned Niall.  It was only after, when Niall had overcome most (not all) of the insanity Justinian had left him with that he and Iloquil had approached the younger vampire and his triste companion.  Rajz had been a very different situation, which was perhaps where Justinian's jealousy came from.  Fortunately, he had a very good handle on it.

Enough so that when Iloquil was done squealing and being twirled around the room, Justinian stepped up with a smile and a hug for the younger vampire.  It was at the point, what with their ages, that they were much more like a family than just friends or anything so formal as normal vampire hierarchy would suggest.  Justinian was in full agreement with Verity that it was going to be a wonderful evening, as was Niall.  The Master of Midnight, having returned sometime ago from overseeing the work his people were doing, was quite pleased with the way the night was turning out.

"I agree completely.  Your invitations were perfectly chosen, as usual," Niall told her, obviously pleased with the outcome.  Actually, he was pretty damn satisfied all around.  This had been a good move, both for appealing to his own wrath and indignation at being attacked (and very nearly killed, since the only thing that had protected him had been his own caution) and as a business decision.  They were removing the opposition and obtaining fresh product all at the same time.  Relations may be suffering, but it was also proving to be a very effective show of strength.  Let the guilds suffer.  The survivors would never make this mistake again.

[Persephone]

 Persephone exhaled slowly as Kronos extended his hand and shook Darren's. "I've heard much about you," he said. His voice was booming and low, remnants of an accent long gone on the way he pronounced his words. "I trust she's not been too much trouble?" he asked, arching one of his black eyebrows. Persephone snorted loudly and then cut between them as she took Darren's arm again.

"We're going to be late," she warned him. She could deal with an introduction, but they could skip the 20 Questions and wait until they sat down. By then, she'd hope that the rest of them would be busy amusing themselves for her father to zero in on Darren again.

She practically dragged Darren down the hall, Kronos following behind them ominously. When they made it to the room where everyone was, the scent of food was wafting through the large double-doors on the other side. Where they currently stood was more like a cocktail room, with several comfortable chairs, bookcases, and a bar where a good-looking woman made drinks with grace.

A slender, tall brunette stood with her back turned, arms draped over the shoulders of two vampires in varying heights, both men. She had a martini glass in one hand, and as they entered the room she turned her head slightly, lined eyes wide. "Persephone darling!" she called. She left the company of the two men and walked smoothly to greet them.

"Iloquil," Persephone said. If Darren knew who she was, his face didn't betray it - when Persephone looked at him, he just had the same bewildered expression he'd been wearing for a while. "This is Darren. Darren, this is Iloquil." The way she said it made the woman sound like an event, not a person - which was true.

[Iloquil]

 Iloquil was glad that Rajz and Justinian had finally gotten over whatever it was the problem had been. She refused to acknowledge that she was jealous, or that she did anything out of spite, but she clearly did both of these things and she knew it. She just denied them because - well, because. She had taken a few moments to admire the artwork decorating the various rooms of the lived-in side of Midnight while the group walked towards the cocktail room for pre-dinner drinks. So very European, she thought. She took a drink from a Serpiente bartender, and walked back to Rajz and Justinian, who were speaking to eachother.

"So, how are my two boys?" she purred.

"Business is good, although I will say that Niall did take me by surprise when he told me what had transpired over here," Rajz said, raising his glass and his eyebrows to the Master as he stood with Verity and her newly arrived brother. The vampire with the long dreadlocks smirked, silver eyes flicking from Rajz to Niall.

"Of course, we wouldn't pass up an opportunity to follow suit," Timoziel said. "It's about time," he added.

"Indeed," Rajz said. "Europe has been torn apart. It's much like the old days," he acknowledged. "It is a pity that Alexander isn't here to enjoy this. I'm sure he would be thrilled with all of the carnage we've wrought."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Iloquil said. "He was always the rational one," she confessed. She tightened her grip on Justinian slightly, as if to convey her rue for his vanishing act. "I'm very eager to see what this surprise is you've all been discussing though. If my Rajz wasn't the main attraction, I'm incredibly interest to see what is."

At that, the door opened. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Persephone coming into the room - her brows raised. The feline approached with another feline in tow - an attractive feline. And of course, as though on cue, Kronos came in behind them, part of the shadows that surrounded the edges of the door.

"This is Darren," she was saying to Illoquil after she'd broken away from Rajz and Justinian, and Iloquil batted her lashes rapidly.

"Darren," she repeated. "So charmed," she purred. Instead of taking his hand, she leaned in and gave him light kisses on either cheek as though it were the most normal gesture in the world. "Did you just arrive?" She tilted her head a little, and her smile froze slightly as thoughts directed to her from Verity.

"Oh, I see," she said, holding two fingers over her lips. She blocked a small smile, and then laughed. "Well, how fortunate that you're here now." Tact, Iloquil.

[Darren Liten]

Too much trouble?  HA!  This whole situation defined 'too much trouble', but Darren certainly wasn't going to point that out.  Fortunately, Persephone saved him from having to answer that and any further questions her father had for him by warning them that they were going to be late.  Yeah, he wanted that as much as he wanted to play 20 questions with Kronos, and he liked it about as much as he liked hearing that Kronos had heard much about him.  That couldn't have possibly been good, could it?

Maybe, depending on what Persephone had said, but still.  Around these people, the best he could hope to be was a mere curiosity, or so he thought.  That might change by the end of dinner.

He was in further over his head as soon as Persephone led him in to meet the other guests, and it was probably ridiculously lucky for him that the names he was going to be offered would draw a complete blank for him.  He wasn't a hunter, just possessed a little of their training, and he definitely wasn't familiar with the heavy-hitting vampires like most of them were.  He had no way of knowing that Iloquil, Justinian, Alexander, Rajz, Timoziel, Niall and Verity were typically on a 'no-touchie' list among the hunters, just because they were that bad.  He just knew that they were vampires, and that Verity was one of the bosses.  He'd gathered from what Persephone had said that Niall was also a big name, and he wasn't stupid enough that he couldn't put it all together, but that still left massive blanks where the others were concerned. 

Actually, despite his worry over who he was supposed to be having dinner with and the fact that Persephone was practically dragging him along because he wasn't moving quite fast enough for her, he couldn't help focusing in on the fantastic smell of food that was coming from the other side of the doors.  Forget cocktails, he was much more interested in the dinner itself, considering how long it had been since he'd eaten and just how crazy things had been since then.  The fact that it smelled so good really didn't hurt, either, but his attention was effectively returned to Persephone when a beautiful brunette addressed her, already on her way to greet them.

Iloquil.  The way Persephone said it, it was obviously very important to remember it, and realistically?  There was no way in hell he was going to risk forgetting one of these names, as if he could.  Every person in the room gave off a feeling like they were important, like they could bring your world down around your ears without the slightest effort, and yet they were all milling around and socializing with each other like nothing was going on.  All except for Iloquil, who was in his space, kissing his cheeks, and the gesture was so unexpected that he actually laughed a little at her question about his arrival, her hesitation and then her own laugh when she said it was fortunate he was there now.  Yeah, you could say that.

"I think that might actually be an understatement," he told her, and just like that, Iloquil might have broken some of his tension.  Imagine that. 

[Iloquil]

 "Yes, Raphael can pack a bit of a punch," she said. She smirked a little at Persephone, and then added, "but I believe he's on a level playing field with this one." She put her hand on his chest as she laughed again, to herself, and then tilted her head. "Come with me. I'm being terribly rude - I'll introduce you to the others."

And with that, Darren was yanked from Persephone and ushered towards the others. Persephone snatched a glass off of a passing by tray and downed the entire thing, only to meet eyes with Kronos as he gave her a curious look.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," he said, offering her a pat on the shoulder.

"Oh, it's not him I'm worried about," Persephone replied darkly. She had a funny feeling that everything hinged on the impression these vampires had of him.

"Darren darling, this is Justinian, my - well, husband just doesn't seem to cover it. Consort? God? Justin will do," she finally said with a shrug and a smile. "And this is Rajz. He's currently controlling Midnight in Europe. Oh, you've never been? It's utterly exquisite, though I guess I could see why you'd be hesitant. Come darling, don't be shy, he won't bite."

Persephone covered her face with her hand.

[Niall]

It was good to see all of these people again, and in the midst of a massive success such as this?  It was all the more exciting, especially with news that Midnight Europe was following suit.  Niall truly didn't have any intentions of completely eliminating the hunters, if only because they good for keeping things interesting (and he wasn't so foolish as to think that the rumors he'd heard of a Diamond guild weren't true), but kicking them into the dirt was a fun time. 

Persephone was not wrong in her assessment of the situation, or in thinking that quite a bit hinged on what these vampires thought of Darren.  She might not have understood the extent to which she was right, but neither did the vampires yet, so that could be excused.  Niall, for one, was interested to meet this cat that Verity had gone off to handle while he was occupied elsewhere, and he was actually already just a little appreciative of the leopard's presence just because his need for Verity had given Niall the opportunity to prepare the true surprise for the evening without Verity finding out.  When Niall had gone out to supervise and help with the attacks, he'd been rather successful.

Thus, his mood regarding Darren the leopard was already pretty optimistic, and then Iloquil brought the cat over to introduce him properly to them all (something that was all the more amusing considering where Verity had found the cat earlier), and he had to admit that he was impressed that the young man was somehow managing to relax.  His pulse spiked a bit when Iloquil introduced Rajz and mentioned Midnight Europe, his eyes widening enough that Niall actually laughed,  and Justinian (who had surprised Niall and offered his hand in a shake when introduced to the mortal feline) leaned in to touch Iloquil's shoulder, likely passing along a silent comment, as well.  If Niall were to guess, it would probably be to be nice and take into consideration the cat's traumatic experiences thus far that evening, but who was he to say for certain? 

"Darren, it's good to finally meet you," Niall offered smoothly when Iloquil turned the cat's attention to him, and he smirked at the feline's hesitation in also shaking his hand.  Obviously, the cat had a clue.  "Persephone was very concerned about your safety tonight, so I'm glad to see that you're here in one piece.  I hope Raphael didn't come on too strongly."

Credit where it was due, Darren ducked his head a little with what Niall figured was a self-deprecating kind of chuckle, and nodded.  "Oh, he did, but I'll live.  Thank you."  Whether the cat knew exactly what he was thanking Niall for, the Master wasn't entirely sure, but he approved of the respect.  This looked as though it would go quite well.  Who knew?  Perhaps this was a habit they should continue, and if Niall had his way, it would be Verity's beloved tiger and his lupine lover next.  Meeting that girl would be very interesting.

"You're welcome.  I trust you'll find some way of making us glad you did," he agreed, and ominous though it was, he didn't elaborate, instead letting Iloquil finish dragging the cat around as she pleased.  That in itself was entertaining.

[Verity Celestino]

 Niall wasn't the only one who was waiting for the time when Xavier would decide to clue he and Verity in as to Kimber's personality from a more intimate standpoint. Really, why he was so protective of her was rather frustrating - if Verity had wanted to harm her, she'd be a rug on her bedroom floor already. She smiled a little as she applied her lipstick in the mirror, and then handed the cosmetic off to a boy as he collected her glass from her.

She made her way to the others, who were now swarming around the new cat, and she grinned broadly. "Isn't he so cute?" she asked, reaching out to take his jaw between her thumb and index fingers. She turned so that her head was next to his and looked at Niall, batting her lashes. "I want to see the gorgeous people who made this boy," she said.

Now, that sounded like a polite comment about his parents and their good-looking nature, but what it actually translated into was 'Find his parents and bring them to me at once.' Yes, Verity fully expected that Martina and Zane Liten would be there in time for espresso in the sitting room, if not present for at least the main course.

Speaking of which, Hannah opened the door of the room, nodding graciously to the group. "The appetizers are going to be served if you'd like to be seated," she said. She exited the room, but a very rigid looking man in a white coat held the door open with a gloved hand in wait.

"It seems the rest of our conversation will have to take place at the table. Darren, I hope you've brought an appetite," she informed him, taking Niall's arm. Iloquil and Justin did the same, and Persephone finally managed to break away from her father and their heated discussion on whether acid was a viable method of training to catch Darren by the arm.

"Oooh, I think they like you," she said, her tone nearly a warning pitch. "Let's hope they stay in high spirits and don't break down into a screaming match during dinner. Niall is sometimes a topic of argument for Justin and Iloquil, but it seems like tonight she's too preoccupied."

As if on cue, Iloquil turned around and gave Persephone an "Oh, hush," wave, a dismissive gesture with her hand. Then she pointed to Justin and nodded to Rajz, as if to say, 'I have my own topic of argument'. She looked rather victorious and turned back around, to come face to face with Justin who had the most amused expression on his face over the entire exchange which he very obviously saw.

Persephone coughed politely and looked away.

[Darren Liten]

This was fucking SURREAL.  If he'd stopped to consider even HALF of the implications of what these people were saying, he'd have probably broken down into a mess, especially with Niall's maybe-threat and Verity's mention of his parents.  He didn't know that when the words left Verity's mouth, Niall sent word to someone within the fortress to make it happen and then dismissed any and all concerns about it in favor of smirking as his companion called the cat cute and manhandled him just a little.  For his part, Darren took it all in stride with a very mild sort of amusement about it all, internally still very nervous while somehow managing to be infinitely grateful that they all were being friendly.  That they seemed to like him only made the situation weirder, but he wasn't about to complain and he sure as hell couldn't deny his hunger when Verity mentioned his appetite (he'd had a rough night and hadn't since well before his shift at work).  It was all just...strange.

Then, there was the fact that the vampires themselves were all acting so normal with each other than it was painful to think about what they really were, so he didn't.  It was easier not to think about how old they all had to be (since he didn't actually know) and what they were capable of, and when he didn't think about it all to focus instead on their interactions, they seemed like pleasant people.  Justin and Iloquil were almost like a set of proud parents come to visit (he had no idea how close to reality that was), with Niall and Verity proudly showing off their house and what they'd built for themselves.  It just sucked that 'what they'd built' was horrific, and that was another thing that he couldn't think about if he wanted to get through the evening without having a nervous breakdown.

Darren most definitely saw the exchange between Persephone and Iloquil as she took hold of him and lead him after the vampires, but he wasn't involved in the conversation and despite being only mortal and not nearly as trained as someone like Persephone, he caught the slightest tilt of Justin's head and wondered if a vampire that old could really miss what was going on.

Oh.  Nope, he didn't, but at least he looked like he thought it was kind of funny.  Darren couldn't help smiling, because again?  This was surreal.  Nobody would believe him in a million years that he'd been here and witnessed this, and dinner hadn't even started, yet.  "I like being liked, it seems like a good idea," he told Persephone in a quieter tone, but by no means was he trying to keep anyone from hearing.  In company like this, he knew it was impossible, so he wasn't even trying for that.

[Persephone]

 As they were ushered into the dining area, which had a massive banquet table, chairs, cozy place settings and the like, Persephone tightened her jaw a little. There were still more surprises, she knew, she just didn't know what. She had no privy information, either - but she did know that Verity would have covered every inch of Darren's life rather quickly while she spoke to him - not by question, of course, but by rifling through his mind. The Triste was old, and had much practice in the same way their vampires had. She'd seen everything in the blink of an eye, and anything she questioned him on after the initial glance was a mere formality in his introduction to her. She couldn't very well just ignore him because she knew everything he'd say, could she? That would be a sign of a terrible hostess.

"Of course being liked seems like a good idea," she said, side-stepping a man with a decanter of wine who was already approaching the people that had been seated. "But trust me, your interests quickly become their interests."

She had little time to warn him beyond that before her chair was pulled out for her, and she had no other choice but to seat herself. She really couldn't believe the Thanksgiving-like setting that the table held - flowers, lead crystal glasses, decanters and ewers otherwise of substances that resembled sparkling waters, flavoured drinks - even blood. She'd never seen Verity go this far out of her way for a dinner, before.

"Fancy," she said under her breath, brows perking as she caught Darren's eyes. She was thankful they'd been seated together. She could stab him with one of her many silver (yes, real silver) forks should he open his mouth to speak out of turn, or worse, try to put a foot in.