Politics {Tag Lucien, Stefan}

[Victoria Kelly]

Odessa stood by an exquisite ice sculpture of a tree, complete with finely-carved leaves that people were snapping off an using as ice cubes. It sat in a large tray that was presumably keeping it cool, though it still melted, just at a slower rate. She admired it briefly, but it was starting to freeze her out. Serpiente preferred warmer temperatures, and so she gave the sculpture leave for a more centralized location. She gave a nod to a man as she passed, a vampire that she knew and could recognize with or without a mask thanks to the women who accompanied him.

Her own costume was delicate, and looked hand-made. Complements to her pale, icy features, her gown was primarily white, with silver glitter strewn about. The glitter continued to her face, dusted lightly over her cheeks and in her gloss, giving her the impression of perhaps an earth-bound angel. Her mask wasn't really a mask at all, but clever use of eye-makeup, so that it looked almost LIKE a mask. Long, false black eyelashes brimmed her crystal blue eyes, while silver and white glitter was applied to her eyes in such a fashion that she had actually fooled several people into thinking it was a real mask indeed.

Even in this attire, for those that knew, there was no mistaking what Odessa was. She had made it a point to avoid the few Avians and Serpiente that she had seen, purposefully not putting herself in the situation, as this was supposed to be a neutral environment, but as luck would have it, she side-stepped to avoid getting a drink spilled on her by a bumbling vampire, and stuck her shoulder directly into the back of Lucien Cobriana, the current Diente.

So much for low-key.

[Lucien Cobriana]

Lucien hadn't really intended to end up anywhere near the huge ice sculpture, even if it was well-crafted.  He, as a cobra, didn't like the cold anymore than Odessa did, though he'd stopped a bit before he got close enough to worry about it.  He was technically attending this party as the Serpiente Diente, but the fact that he was also the Leader of Onyx hadn't escaped his mind.  He was keeping a close watch on the proceedings, particularly where the hunters were concerned.  He didn't want any accidents, or any of his people being harmed. 

Surprisingly, he was less worried about himself than his hunters, since he didn't notice Odessa getting anywhere near him until he suddenly had a shoulder in his back, and he twisted about like only a serpiente really could to face her.  If people hadn't known what he was because of his eyes with that mist swirling around, they weren't likely to think he was anything but a shifter at this point.  He didn't really mind, though.    He reached instinctively to ensure that the lady who'd bumped him was alright, and then blinked in obvious surprise upon seeing her.  There was, of course, the chance that he was wrong, but he was willing to bet that he knew what she was.  No mist was going to hide that.

"Are you alright, miss?" he asked politely, not about to say anything about it, just yet.  Yelling, "WHITE VIPER" to a whole crowd of people, quite a few of them being Midnight trainers, just didn't strike him as a good idea.

[Victoria Kelly]

"I'm fine," came the hasty reply. Odessa seemed pretty into getting away from the Diente. Her experiences with the other Serpiente in the past had been... less than pleasant, and she intended not to repeat the endeavors if she could help it. She wanted to move back into the crowd, but there was no way for her to manage at the moment, as there had been a sudden influx of movement that left her practically against Lucien. Whereas most Serpiente could appreciate the closeness, regardless of who (although to be with the Diente should be considered fortunate), Odessa visibly looked uncomfortable, an odd trait for any Serpiente.

It wasn't her fault she was uncomfortable, though - anyone would have been, in her shoes. As soon as the crowd had stopped wherever it had suddenly wanted to go, she took a large step back and turned, movements holding all the grace and beauty of her true nature. There was a circle forming as people began to dance, but Odessa gave it no second glance. Unlike so many Serpiente as of late, she had no desire for the melodic movements. She could dance, but only because she had a natural rhythm. She hadn't -actually- done more than several moments of dancing in her entire life.

[Lucien Cobriana]

It was a bit startling how desperate she seemed to get away from him, but the crowd made that rather difficult all of a sudden.  He didn't especially mind, considering the point of this evening was to enjoy the company of those he wouldn't normally, and so once she was able to put just enough distance between them that she didn't seem to horribly uncomfortable, he offered her his hand.

"Will you dance with me?" he asked, hoping to Ahnamirak that she wouldn't want to plunge the two of them into any specifically serpiente dances, considering that seemed to be the only thing women of his race wanted to dance.  He'd have just been satisfied with something simple, and human.  He could dance, but only because he had to know as a Cobriana how to partake in the cultural dances, but they weren't one of those favorite pastimes of his. 

[Victoria Kelly]

Odessa stared at him, and then looked down at his outstretched hand. He couldn't be serious. "What? No!" she hissed, appalled at the very thought of a Cobriana putting their hands on her. Where most female Serpiente would have leaped at this opportunity, Odessa was repulsed, and wanted to exit with haste. She couldn't help but give him another stare, like he'd lost his mind.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked again, voice shrill and whispered. She did not like to draw attention to herself, not amongst this many people, some of whom she knew - whom Lucien did not need to know THAT she knew. It would have been disastrous.

[Lucien Cobriana]

He shrugged, a movement that somehow didn't look so incredibly casual as usual when he did it, and dropped his hand.  He wasn't terribly insulted, considering she was a white viper.  He wasn't terribly fond of them, either, but he at least made the attempt.  Maybe he'd tell Sigried about her and see what the vampiress had to say on the subject.  Personally, he thought the viper was good for his ego.

"My apologies, I must have slipped and thought to treat you like a real person.  My mistake," he returned smoothly, giving her the slightest of bows and making it a point to turn his attention elsewhere.  He wasn't going to pursue a conversation or an attempt at civility with someone who wouldn't return the favor. 

[Victoria Kelly]

"Of course. A woman having no desire to indulge a man's madness must simply be unworthy," she hissed, eyes flashing an emerald hue at the Cobriana's back. She made a note of his arrogance, assuring that she would repay his kindness at a later, more appropriate date.

"Mongrel," she hissed. "How likely the attitude, but how, I wonder, he would act, were history set in place and I had my rightful title back." The latter bit, she said to nobody but herself, though it wasn't under her breath so much as simply not said to anyone in particular. *Her attention was drawn to a solitary sound - soft clapping. Applause. She raised a brow and turned to face a striking blonde man who was easily much taller than she, yet shared many of her features.

At first, she'd thought she'd found another White Viper, but she realized quite quickly through the fog of this damnedable illusion that it was simply another vampire.

((*Let me know if I need to edit.))

[Stefan]

Normally, Stefan would have chosen elegance in black for this occasion, but he'd known better than to think that most of the vampiric community wouldn't be sporting the color, so he opted for something with just a little more color in choosing a dark blue.  Having not been born in an era where masquerades were at all common, he'd gone for simplicity, but he'd had to come see what the commotion was all about.  It was very...unique.

Seeing the red-eyed man, an intriguing creature despite his repulsive coloring, getting trashed by the pale blonde woman before him made his night, though nothing could have topped it quite like hearing her insult.  Mongrel?  Marvelous!  He had to applaud, though he did so softly.  He wasn't about to alert the entire area as to their conversation.

"We seem to be of like minds, my dear," he told her smoothly, his German accent just enough to notice without damaging the flow of the words.  He could lose the accent from his native tongue at will for the American sounds, but why bother here?  He didn't have anyone to fool right then, and hadn't since he'd taken Desten, actually.  Fortunately, he'd had the presence of mind to let his prized hawk rest at home with a guard outside her door.  He'd kill the guard and whoever was involved if anything happened to her, and he'd shown the man what had happened to Cassius.  Desten was not to discover that she was being guarded by a man, or harmed in any way. 

"He should be taught his rightful place beneath your heel.  What is your name?"

[Victoria Kelly]

Odessa nearly spit venom as she hissed again, something she almost could not control in her absolute smoldering rage. "His place is beneath my heel, and all of my race," she sneered. "Leave it to the dark-haired barbarians to re-write history to glorify themselves, leaving my honourable ancestors little more than treacharous harlots in a fractured fairy tale." She stopped suddenly, and swayed back into her serene, silent disposition. She smiled pleasantly, something that was often a woman's most fearsome tool. "His time will come soon enough," she affirmed.

She tossed back icy blonde locks and regarded the pale vampire again, before deciding that he was worthy of her name. "Odessa," she said. She realized that he may have heard of her name around Midnight, but it was only in rumours, nothing solid, so perhaps he would have payed them no mind.

"And to whom do I have the pleasure?" she asked, voice like honeyed arsenic, liquid sweet and deadly.

[Stefan]

Perfect.  Perfect!!  This one required NO correcting, no teaching to come to a full understanding of the ways of the world, and that was actually rather exciting for him.  He so rarely found anyone with his beliefs that he couldn't possibly even consider leaving this woman alone.  He just had to decide what he wanted to do with her.

"As they say, you are preaching to the choir," he agreed, knowing full well what it felt like to have your race and ancestors completely shafted by history and those that wrote it.  He constantly found himself killing and maiming those who disagreed with his former Fuhrer's dream.  "They will all get what they deserve, but I do think you should start with him.  His arrogance and disrespect is appalling."

And there was Stefan's unnecessary opinion.  "Odessa.  Such a lovely name.  I am Stefan," he returned, giving her a slow, respectful tilt of his head that somewhat resembled a nod.  Stefan didn't do anything so base as nodding to someone worthy of respect.  "I assure you, my dear, the pleasure is entirely mine tonight."

[Victoria Kelly]

Odessa did not have to be taught anything - she was born with this hatred. She stared at Stefan a moment as he spoke, unblinking. The thing about Serpiente that seemed unique only to them were the jewel-like eyes they had. Hers were unnaturally clear, brilliant blues and greens, and right now they focused only on the blonde vampire before her.

"I already have," she said simply to Stefan, promising that she would indeed repay Lucien for his overbearing nature. She smiled serenely, disturbingly, and plucked a glass of champagne from the tray of a waitress who breezed by them.

"So how do the festivities find you, Stefan? You don't seem like much of the party-going type. In truth, neither am I, but an invitation is enough to tempt my curiosity."

[Stefan]

Stefan would have been lying if he said that he didn't like the attention he was receiving in her unwavering gaze, and he certainly appreciated the crystalline blues and greens of her eyes as much as the pale coloring of her skin and hair.  Perfect.  The fact that he wasn't much of a liar unless he was deliberately playing a different part meant that the likelihood of him denying his desire for attention was slim.  He was completely and unapologetically himself.  Take it or leave it.  He was just one of those personalities that didn't leave room for others to 'interpret', and he preferred it that way. 

"Have you?  Now you have my unyielding interest, Odessa," he told her truthfully, looking very obviously intrigued.  What could she possibly have planned?  He liked the idea that she might have something tricky waiting for the other man, and it made her all the more interesting to him. 

"In truth, I'm not much for parties, if only because I dislike voluntarily surrounding myself with fools and barbarians, but I've found that walking amongst them for events like this can be useful, as well.  Occasionally, I meet someone worth my time," he told her, accepting a glass of the champagne as well and tipping the glass towards the sky in her direction.  "Considering this is one of those occasions, I'm quite satisfied with the festivities.  What of yourself?"

[Victoria Kelly]

"I came here out of curiosity and I stay out of business obligation," she said simply, watching with her gem-like eyes as people passed her by. Some would give glances, others direct stares, but none would further antagonize her like the Cobriana had. Odessa was still angry, and she intended to see it through. She didn't feel the need to explain her plans to Stefan, though, as she was smart enough to keep her discussions between only she and her other... business partner. She didn't prefer more than necessary know about her dealings.

"So might I ask why you're so thrilled to see me cut the man down a few pegs?" she inquired curiously. She had an idea, but she preferred to hear the full story instead of using her imagination. It wasn't her place to assume the thoughts of others. That's how people messed up.

[Stefan]

"It is not wise to mix business and pleasure, my dear.  Take it from one who knows, life has a habit of tossing surprises in when you do," he told her silkily, though he didn't specify what had happened to give him that opinion.  Really, he didn't mind that life had thrown that particular incident his way, considering it ended with him becoming an immortal warrior against the unruly, dark-featured fools that usually surrounded him. Truly, he pitied some of them.  There were those that would never understand how inferior they were to him and his race, but then there were those like the Cobriana that Odessa so disliked.

Such arrogance from one of them?  Intolerable.

"What civilized man wouldn't want that mongrel cut down?  He speaks to you as though he isn't an inferior being worthy only of rags and scraps of food from your table, and you ask why I would want to see him come to ruin?  My dear, you insult me."  He smiled, but there was something in his tone that suggested, subtly, that insulting him might not be a good idea.  No, he couldn't do anything here, but he certainly found her INCREDIBLY interesting, and there was no rule against playing with her later, even if he couldn't take her into Midnight and keep her without someone's assistance.  He hadn't quite gotten to the point of considering such drastic options.

He didn't know what he wanted to do with her yet.

[Victoria Kelly]

"I haven't experienced any pleasure yet, aside from that train wreck," she said, voice saturated with venom. It was obvious she was still irritated, but the small self-satisfied smile on her face definitely told that she would have hers in the end. She always did. Odessa was simply the type of person to take what was owed, whether people wanted to give it to her or not.

"You seem vaguely familiar, and yet, I can't place it," she said. She'd seen him at Midnight but only for the briefest of moments. She didn't want to outright say that she'd seen him there, either, because you never truly knew who was listening in to your conversations. She folded her arms - yes, he was the blonde one she'd seen. There were always good looking men crawling about that dark fortress, but Odessa had heard of one whose taste for pets ran a little.. pale. She was wary of him, though she knew he'd have to have help to acquire her... Odessa had enough money and connections that trying to bring her in on the other side of the net wouldn't be recommended, but that wouldn't stop people from trying.

She didn't speak of those, though.