A Welcome to New York [OPEN]

[Natasha Radcliffe]

Sunday evening. And there's nothing more relaxing to do on a Sunday evening than to play your violin for the public. Chatan wouldn't pick any particular place in Central Park, but change it up every week and this week was no different. He found a nice spot by a flower garden near a popular track for runners.

He showed up late that evening and the sun was already beginning to set when a strange scent blew by in the breeze. He'd ignore it for now. He was in the middle of a quaint, soft tune his father said was from Blarney. It's a love song about a man who accidently falls in love with a fairy. The Irish are funny like that, but Chatan thought it was romantic and couldn't see himself stopping any time soon, especially for a strange scent he'd never smelled before.

By the end of the song the scent was getting closer, and whatever it was, it was definitely alive, or used to be. He bowed politely to the few listeners who applauded his short set and began to pack his instrument in his case when the smell became a presence behind him, clapping softly in a slow rhythmic pace. This can't be good. He thought.

[Crystal Deboir]

  While it had been Griffon who had been clapping, his arm slung over Crystal's relaxed shoulder, she was the one who had initially spotted the man playing. Today had been a 'good day' as far as Crystal was concerned, which meant that she hadn't slipped at all, and Griffon hadn't exacted any sort of punishment on her. In fact, it had been a good few days. Come to think of it, Crystal had found she'd taken a comfortable place in this lifestyle - so why did she still fight it? If she asked him to, Griffon could just make her think all of this was real. If she asked him to, he could just make her a vampire, too - or so he'd told her four years ago. What he'd do now remained to be seen, but at this point she was practically living with him, and she had become so dependent on him now that anything else would be ridiculous.

He'd seen to that.

  So now, walking in the park, he'd bought her a rose from a wandering vendor and was currently engaged in one of the few moments where they'd had a real conversation that didn't involve her trying to run away in months. She'd heard the violin and had wanted to go closer, which naturally made him want to tell her no, but she'd been behaving like she'd almost accepted things as they were, and he figured he'd let her have it. That being said, Griffon had allowed his captive princess to lead him to the music, standing rapt clasping that rose of hers 'til it had stopped. Griffon clapped, of course, but it was almost wicked how he did so, each noise punctuating the sudden silence of the twilight sky even more than the one before it.

  "That was very good," he said. It sounded like a backwards compliment as it left the vampire's mouth, but the venom was mostly reserved for the fact that Crystal's attention had been placed elsewhere, even temporarily. The blonde vampire looked at the girl who wore his arm, and when she beamed at him, his posture almost seemed to relax some. So, perhaps making Crystal totally dependent on him had worked in reverse, at least a little.

  Crystal couldn't sense any contempt in Griffon's voice, and she looked at him with a huge grin on her face. "That was amazing, are you kidding me?' She looked back at Chatan and squirmed in place. "Really! Where did you learn to play?"

Crystal (despite her very outdated profile) looked somewhat more youthful than she was - she was twenty now, barely, but could have passed for seventeen still; it had been four years since the incidents at the Bash, and Griffon, and all of the emotional scars she had to show for it had faded away - mostly. She was so tainted by his vampiric aura that even humans could sense it now; they'd pick up on it and shy away from her, which was so strange since Crystal was still very much the California blonde she'd always been. Generally speaking, that attitude was reserved for mall goths - but Griffon kept Crystal in a constant state of control, so most of the time, she didn't even notice it unless she strayed away too far or for too long.

  She almost wanted to ask if she could try the violin, but she was so terrified of what horrible noise she'd discover that she could formulate that she did not ask. She wrapped her arm that did not hold the rose around her counterpart, and it was unclear whether it was for her benefit or his. Griffon was still as blank-faced as ever, blue eyes just casually taking the scene in. He seemed content to allow Crystal to do what she wanted for the moment, and she finally realized that she had the green light when he gave her a little nudge. She stepped away from him then, to get a closer look at Chatan - and the violin.

[Natasha Radcliffe]

     If the hairs on the back of his neck weren’t stiff to begin with, they were practically standing on end as soon as he turned to see the vampire. This would mark the first occasion where he looked at someone standing upright who didn’t have a heartbeat, and he’d remember it forever. The scent was faint, to say the least. It seemed to come off in rhythmic waves, quite unlike any other creature he’d smelled before. Usually a scent just flows steadily from its source, like heat from a fire.

    Next to the vampire was a very charming looking girl whose soft tones and bright smile seemed…out of place. She seemed healthy enough on the outside, but this girl was sick. So very, very sick, but Chatan couldn’t place just how she was sick. He couldn’t smell any cancer, tumors, or anything like that. All he could smell on her was him. But very quickly came the smell of home, and more importantly, his mother. He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his lips as she approached him, seemingly at the will of her companion.

    His father told him of vampires and their pets or slaves or whatever they’re called and this seemed rather similar.   A walk in the park and a rose in her hand seemed like a treat from the norm, like not beating a puppy when it didn’t pee on the carpet for once. He didn’t like that sort of treatment, especially to such a young lady. Not at all.

    Her attention was locked in on the violin as she approached, her smile seeming to spread wider the closer she got to it, or maybe it was the farther away she got from Griffon. He wasn’t sure, but damn, he wished he knew! As she stopped in front of him he let his smile fade and gave him a slow nod. A gesture of acknowledgement that she was his and Chatan wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that, yet. Although Brother Wolf was practically howling and tearing at the inside of his head! “If you don’t calm down and let me handle this I’m going to take a week off of work and you won’t see Charlotte at all!” Actually, that didn’t sound like a bad idea.

    Smiling back down to the girl whose bright blues seemed to be unable to tear themselves away from the violin, he bowed to her as a gentleman. “Thank you so much, Miss, for your compliment.” He said, raising the level of his accent ever so slightly. Chatan did love to show off from time to time. “Before I tell you of this,” He held up the violin slightly. “I must tell you of that wonderful little flower you hold so close. Now it may be coincidence or fate, but that particular species of rose is called a Mister Lincoln Hybrid Tea, a favorite of my mother’s. It reminds me of her very much, and for that I appreciate it.”

    “My violin is named Mary, after the late President’s wife. I’ve had this beauty since I was a child as my father did before me. He taught me how to care for her, how to love her, and how to make her sing. And if you like, I’d gladly give you a first lesson.” He held his cherished instrument out to her. He didn’t know why he trusted her with it, but he did. Everything in him told him that this was a bad idea and he was getting too close and maybe a little attached way too quickly, but he couldn’t stop himself. Whether it was her eyes or the rose or her suspected entrapment, something told him to stay, to learn more, and if he made a mistake, he’d pay for it and learn from it. That is, if he lived through it.
    His father told him that vampires can be as possessive as any wolf and Chatan didn’t know if he was crossing any boundaries or not. Thankfully, the small crowd that had gathered had dispersed and left them alone. In fact, the whole park seemed to be a bit quieter than it was a few minutes ago…