A somewhat Anita Blake story ;) ( with proficientlyawkward)

[DeUil]

Seattle, what a place to live. With it's lush skyline and the ocean ready to take over at any moment. A place where people come to live in a world of their own, under the cloudy skies and many coffee shops. Here in this place is where vampires, shape shifters, witches, and necromancers were many. Some said they even out numbered the amount of humans. (Which was somewhat of a lie, seeing most shape-shifters saw themselves as humans too) This small glowing city is where the coast line was owned by vampires and the humans who work for them.​

Anastasia Masha Botkina sat in a chair, watching her club... As it slowly became darker and the club started to beat with human hearts. The music washing over them as her dancers kept the crowds from ever becoming bored. She watched with mild interest as her precious tigers danced, grinding on each other, making the near by humans practically pant over them. Derek The man tiger was tall and muscular, his white blond hair flowed into a tight braid that stop just above his hips. He was in tight jeans, combat boots, and white tank top. His blue eyes traced the bodies round them taking in their scent and he pulled his dance partner into him more. Diana the female tiger stood a few inches shorter then her male counter part. She was well toned, free flowing golden yellow hair, and tiger eyes would make anyone look at her. Anastasia remembered when she had saved them both. They had both spent so long in animal for but thankfully only Diana had any remnants of that life so long ago.


Anastasia blinked when she heard a soft tap on her door. She must of been getting clumsy, comfortable knowing she had guards at all times, normally she would have heard anyone approaching as soon as they came through the down stairs door. There stood one of her guards, nervous she decided and why she hadn't heard him. " Yes, Demetri?" She had worked years on not having an accent, but when she was annoyed it still came out. The guard touched his hair and sighed." You're needed at Lullaby's said there was some kind of fight there a couple hours ago. Police are involved and all. "


Anastasia had to take a deep breath not to get angry of not being notified first. She needed a new manager, for tonight she may just kill the one she currently had.

 

[Proficiently Awkward]

Under the dour wash of lamplight, Seattle’s derelict club district looked positively eerie. Where rainwater collected in potholes and gutters, the pearlescent swirl of engine oil added depth. In the dank nooks and crannies and alleyways, the softened edges of neon lights illuminated cracked brickwork with an incandescent glow. Even the grime of the city held some poetry to it. The East Coast lacked the natural beauty Merle Calhoun that Dixieland could boast – there were no creeping cypress trees, here. No grandiose estates with their rolling courtyards and grounds. Here, everything smelled like progress. The smog. The acrid tang of salt-sea air. It all dripped opportunity.


Yet, a problem presented itself. Seattle, so Merle had been told, was under the rule of one Anastasia Botkina; a Master Vampire in her own right. Merle knew his protocol should have been first asking an audience with the current Master of the City before settling himself in. It was, after all, only proper. Still. Having a roof over one’s coffin, so to speak, seemed more pressing. Though he had only been present in the sea-side state less than a week, Merle was an industrious sort – already, he had set himself up with a place of business. Not four blocks from the pier, Merle had rented out the space for a small nightspot – ‘Tabu’. It was better to beg forgiveness for his presumptuous attitude then ask permission. Or so he hoped.


Under a wash of neon, Merle stood unmoving at the entrance of the hot little night club. Presumably, it was here the Master of the City took roost. Still, the Southerner made no move to go inside. Call him old fashioned, but he needed to be invited into a stranger’s home – no matter how loose the term might be.


A mess of sand-colored hair obscured the vampire’s view as he observed the building. Though keen, Merle’s pale moss-green gaze didn’t need to see the warm thrum of bodies within to know just how many were there. Scores. The electric crackle of non-humans alongside them stood out most, however. One hand moved to shove an unruly tousle of hair out his eyes. Almost skeptically, Merle shot a glance to the much shorter man at his side. Merle’s own six-foot height dwarfed his servant – the Japanese-American was nearly a head shorter. A cigarette sat idly between the tanuki’s lips, coiled of blue-grey smoke roiling nervously from the cherry-red tip.


“Put it out, Izomaru.” Merle’s tone had a long, Southern drawl and was quite congenial, despite giving an order. The stink of clove and tobacco overpowered everything and the vampire needed his wits about him for this meeting.


“Sorry. Nervous.” The slender, dark-haired lycanthrope dropped the cigarette. With a deft twist of his left heel, he sniffed the life out of it. “So…what now?” Dipping his head, the tanuki set dark eyes on his Master, his demeanor slow; easy-going.


“Now…we wait.”

 

[DeUil]

Anastasia walked out of her club, her arms and shoulders bare. She was in long black hultered dress. Her long ruby hair caught the neon making it look like it was bleeding down her arms. She shooed off a guard trying to give her a coat." I haven't felt the cold longer then you were alive or are now. Go get the fucking car." Her voice was crisp and held great restraint. She looked over the two tigers to come dancing toward her. They both rubbed on her arms and she watched them. She knew the two of them hated her angry but right now she couldn't think of anything else.


Derek stopped and looked towards the strangers." I smell something different Anna." Diana mirrored Derek and took in a deep breath through her mouth. " A vampire and a shifter.. I do not know this kind though, no I don't" Her last words were in a deep purr as they both stayed frozen. Anastasia's eyes slowly came up looking at what had caught their attention. She herself watched them her eyebrow raising taking in the tall vampire and his pet. At her short stature of 5'2, he stood a lot taller than her. In her days everyone was short she thought as she watched the pair. Keeping her guards from moving and the tigers still, only because she hadn't moved or said anything.

 

[Proficiently Awkward]

The air crackled with a sudden tension – thick and animated. There was no question that the woman who had emerged from the building was the Master of the City. Within that miniscule stature lay roiling power, all held in by ancient alabaster skin – nothing more. Those that flanked her, too, gave off their own steady stream of the paranormal. Lycanthropes, of some kind. Negotiation and explanation would have to roll off his tongue quick and concise; there was anger in the Master. Even at his distance, Merle could feel it coming off the woman in waves. And the last thing he wanted was to face the wrath of a Master Vampire, merely for stumbling in at an inopportune moment.


“ ‘Scuse my interruption. I was hoping to introduce myself. If I may.” Merle’s tone, with its rolling Southern accent, had the air of a true gentleman about it.


Really, the vampire had always attempted to stay out of the politics of his caste, as much as he could. Seattle, though, brought on new challenges. Here, Merle knew he would have to play the game and pander to the vampire societal elite. It was not that he disliked his kin and kind, yet by avoiding them he had earned a sort of freedom. True, the Southerner had always answered to one Master or another, but it had been at a distance. Fealty from across city or state lines was less cumbersome. Yet, he had picked Seattle as his roost and with this large city came the need to directly deal with, and swear loyalty to, a Master.


At his side, Izomaru dipped his head – less than eager to make eye contact with a strange vampire. It was a respectful gesture, to say the least, but nothing else changed in his stature. Izomaru’s posture was loose and easy, even though his features belied his unease with the whole situation. The Tanuki and his twin had been under the care and service of the Southern vampire since longer than he could recall – he would walk through hell for Merle if the man but asked it of him, but he still wasn’t keen on dying for nothing. Keeping his mouth shut, the lycanthrope just kept an eye on the concrete.

 

[DeUil]

Anastasia took a deep breath, listening to the way he spoke and a smile began to creep on to her face. She blinked slowly and everything went relaxed. She watched him making a small motion for him to come closer. She stood head cocked to the side. Studying him, memorizing his face." You are the one with the club next door, yes?" The tigers purred at her feet but were tense waiting for her signal as if they didn't trust them. Anastasia didn't pay them any mind when she walked out from behind them to meet this new vampire in the middle of the road. Even ground as far as she was concerned.