A Grand Masquerade Ball

He seemed surprised that she’d addressed him, or perhaps it was that she’d called out to him directly? But he did have quite the unique scent and her nose was always quick to pick out a friendly face amongst those she had yet to meet. A few other scents as well, but his was the most prominent considering he was closest to her. She had to admit though, he looked good in a suit, an outfit she didn’t particularly like unless it was coming off, but it was alright.

Salem spun to look at her a little too quickly, his blue eyes landing on hers as her own softened affectionately. Ah but… ’Madam’ Rune? She almost laughed outright but kept it to a soft snicker instead. He was at least trying to be polite. Her face lit up as he complimented her and she struck a slight pose with a wink. ”Madam? I’m no madam, sweetie. Mistress to some, but never a madam.” She said light-heartedly, playing off her words with a wave of a hand and another seductive laugh. ”Just Rune is perfectly fine, Salem. Even here. We’re friends after all.”

But to hear him call this place less life-threatening? Her gaze wandered around and she raised her face a little, scenting the air. Perhaps it was best to leave him in ignorance of all the monsters in human clothing that wandered this room right now… ”I didn’t even think about that. Such a good idea~” She purred, turning a smile back to him. So many creatures in this building that could swallow a human whole… She’d need to keep an eye out for her defenseless human, even though there was the presence of the TCPD around. They weren’t exactly the best at catching crimes before they happened…

Still~ It was almost endearing how easily flustered he got from a little bit of touching. It was almost strange how she found him adorable and cute, a different kind of attraction. One that didn’t quite make her blood boil or her engines rev up, but it was a slow burn and one that couldn’t quite be ignored either. It made him especially fun to tease. Example; grabbing his ass just to see his reaction to it… Turns out, he squeaked~ And blushed~ His face lit up a red that made her smile ear to ear, this human further endearing himself to her.

The way he turned the conversation, however, offering to take his break now rather than later. ”Really~? I would love that~” She purred happily as she took his hand in her own, pulling him to her until their bodies were right up against one another. ”But you best be careful, Salem, my dear~ ‘Entertaining’ me could take you all night~” She purred affectionately up at him before she turned slightly and pulled her human further into the crowd of dancing people. Her hand went up to his shoulder, the other still holding his hand. She began to move easily with the tempo of the music, her body so well versed in many different types of dance that she found it so simple to fall into the rhythm of the song.

”So, what do you do other than odd jobs around town, Salem? And what exactly led you to this city in particular?” She asked, attempting to make small talk with him while they danced together in a rather old-fashioned style to fit the current classical song that was playing at the time.

This man was... Weird? His expression couldn't hide the shear amount of panic running through his body. Was he scared of her? Did he know she was a demon? This was something that bothered Silky. Last thing she wanted anyone to know was that she was a succubus. Only one person knew, and that was Rune. This caused Silky to flush red a bit more.

As he took her hand to his mouth and gave her a soft peck she felt her whole body tingle. 'Oh no... Not now...' It was a blessing she wore her best padded bra today, it helped hide her body's usual reaction to people touching her. His words were comforting as he complimented her again, which caused her to shyly scrunch up her shoulders and giggle.  He couldn't hear it, but her stomach would growl. Followed by a voice that spoke to only her, in side of her head. 'EaT hIm... dO iT. HeH hEh HeH, cOmE nOw cHiLd. fEeD uS.' The voice in her head echoed, both male and female. It caused her amber yellow eyes to glaze over for a minute as it tried to control her thoughts. Silky would quickly blink, focusing herself back on the male. If he only knew what was going on inside of her head, he would probably be running for the hills. However, right now he wasn't in danger. No one was. This body belonged to her, and she would keep it that way.

As the man continued to speak, the young woman's bright smile wouldn't fade. "Oh! Not at all! The waiters here tonight are on shifts, so I'm on the clock until my shift is over, then I get to enjoy the party. Ahaha, I take my work very seriously so you'll have to wait till then." The young woman would wink at him, and giggle softly. "If you don't mind waiting I'd be glad to find you once I'm off! Promise you'll be my first dance tonight?" The young woman would hold her tray with both hands again out in front of herself. Deep down she really didn't like telling him no right now, that he would have to wait, but she needed the cash from this job. As much as she loved the brothel because of free 'food' both lust aura and physical food as well as the people inside of it (most of them, she loves the workers, not so much the customers,) she needed to find a better place to call home. There was no way she would quit her job at the brother working as their private cook, but living there could get a bit scary.

Julianna noticed Officer Bhatia become unsettled by her race. Internally, she cringed. It was a mistake to have mentioned it. After all, he might've never known due to the masquerade mask she was wearing. His response, however, didn't seem to mesh with his body language. He had said it wasn't often he heard a citizen so passionate about law enforcement. She smiled. "Thank you!"

It was the next part that caught Julianna off guard the most. He unclipped his badge and handed it to her. She cautiously accepted; slowly, like it was delicate and might shatter from her touch. Like it was much too valuable for her to even consider taking from him. Like she didn't deserve the honor. Upon holding the mental clip, her thumb traced over it. It had a chill to the touch from being open to the air. Somehow, it felt powerful, honorable, and strong. It was only then that she noticed she'd been staring at it likely a few moments longer than was socially acceptable. Her eyes looked back up at him. "That's such an interesting thing for you to say. I wouldn't have expected that." she admitted. "It's not cheesy. It's a dream. It's important to have a dream; even if they're unattainable. It makes you who you are. Sets your morals." Julianna's eyes dropped back down to the badge she was so gently holding. "My dream is to slowly show this city that I'm willing to do what it takes to push through the justified bias against my race to be accepted as a police officer. One day..." She shared this in a tone that conveyed how it was just as unlikely as the city never needing police anymore.

Julianna looked up with a sad, one-sided smile and an unseen tear from her right eye. "Thank you for letting me hold it. It was really kind of you." She handed the badge back to him. "Probably the closest I'll ever get," she mumbled before taking a long deep breath.

"Enough about me," she chuckled uncomfortably. "You say you hope for the day police won't be needed anymore. If that day actually were to come, what would your next career be? What would you do with yourself?" She changed the conversation from the depressing reality to a more light-hearted hypothetical.

Enter, Travis Valentine.

Stepping into his hotel ballroom, Travis took a glance around the stage set in place. His eyes moves from one face to the next, quickly taking in needed information and quick details about what he could see. In a scene such as this, even the smallest detail could be useful. Not everyone here was for fun. Not everyone here was up to no good either. The night was going to hold some interesting events, that was for sure. As to how it would turn out, well that was all dependent upon his staff, now wasn't it?

He glanced down to his wife and gave her a kind smile. His wife, Elaina, was his entire world. He would stop at nothing to allow her to want for nothing. When they first had entered this city, she had been imprisoned, along with a few of his other family members, in camps marked for werewolves. Prisons was a better term for it. Since coming to this city, Travis has helped countless people both on the upper world, and the underworld. Leo Prince, the city's chief of police, wanted him locked behind bars. But Travis was smarter than that. Nothing could connect him to any crime Leo could try and pin on him. Travis after all, owned a very expensive and profitable casino and hotel. He was doing well not only for himself, but for his wife and countless other family members. His business opened up jobs for many different people not only tonight, but for a hoard of others. Travis was not here for make a city crumble. He was here to build it up.

But that wasn't the plan tonight. Tonight, Elaina was here to enjoy her handy work with Mayor Strider. The two of them had planned this ball for a long while now, pulling up different catering businesses, music for all tastes, a DJ to play them, drinks, the cost of running this, the decor. She had been very excited about it, and Travis was not about to let her miss this chance to see so many different happy faces. After all, her smile was enough to melt even the coldest of hearts.

"Darling, would you like to get a drink or would you like to find The Mayor first?"

The day she long awaited was finally here! The holidays was her favorite time of year as it brought so many fond memories and so many people closer together. It was a time this city desperately needed and what better way to celebrate and bring people together than hosting a banquet and ball, held in the most lavish resort in town. Of course, only her dearest husband could make such miracles possible but it was up to her to breathe life and creativity into the event. All of this was made beautifully with the help of Mayor Strider who was also left to publicizing the event as well. Elaina was already starry eyed and in wonder of all the guests coming in and enjoying their hard work. This alone made the struggle worth it. "Mr. Popular sure pulled through. Look at all of these wonderful new faces, Travis." She giggled softly and reached up on her tip toes to bestow her husband with a peck on the cheek. "We should find Agis and congratulate him on such a wonderful turnout." Elaina turns on her heels then but does not move until her husband does, but of course will move in perfect time with him as he does. "Maybe we will meet someone new on the way? How exciting this is, dearest."

"I wonder where our son is." Even if she had two sons, it was never hard to differentiate which one she meant. Her tone indicated for it to only be Trever. Of course, her first son. The one who has done Talos' work ten times over and also has given them so many grandchildren. "Talos bless his valiant heart. Do you think Willow is pregnant again?" She'll ponder out loud to her husband as they walk along through the crowds of people. "Maybe I should knit another baby blanket for them this Christmas even if they aren't. The power of suggestion is very strong." That was nothing the man beside her didn't know, not that he didn't think their son needed any convincing. It had been awhile since he blessed them with a new addition to the family though so she gave Travis a look of concern. It took over her, not being able to hide under a poker face as well as her husband could.  "Do you think he's fallen ill? Maybe he has a problem with his... lower regions?" Maybe she was the one with the problem if 20+ grandchildren wasn't enough for her at this point.

Jasmine walked away from Juliana and the cop. She left them frazzled and maybe with Juliana's awkwardness, Jasmine could come bank on that again at another time. Maybe. Regardless, it was time for that drink. Turning her attention to the bar, the blonde woman did her best to make sure she didn't twist an ankle. It wasn't often that she actually wore heels. She hated it. Really she did. Why would girls want to wear these? To get taller? What was the point? She was tall enough. At least tall enough for a girl. As a guy? Eh okay so she was short. Like really short. Wasn't her fault now was it? It was just how the cookie crumbled. But guys lost their shit when girls dressed in heels and short dresses. Was she trying to get people to notice her? Yeah. She had information to look into on her end. It was going to be found.

And so, as she made her way to the other side of the the ballroom, she passed by a rather....well some might call it an interesting conversation. This woman was talking about the sex life of her son. Not just that, but talking to her husband and saying that he might have a problem with whatever is going down under there. The notation made her gag a bit. What kind of mother would talk so openly about her son's sex life? What was with mothers? Why couldn't any just be normal? Or at least somewhat normal? What was a normal mother?

Though, as she walked by them, she took a hard look at the woman and the man with her. Seeing if she knew them or if they were of any importance.

Once her investigation was over, her attention went back to the drinks. Walking up to the bar, Jasmine leaned over while keeping her butt out. That was what women did, right? "I'd like a cosmopolitan." It was pink. It was fruity. And it was everything she hated in a drink. But she didn't deny that they could be strong drinks at that. As long as she was careful, she would be fine. She had been drinking a bit too much as of late. Tonight, her mind needed to be a bit clearer than normal. As she waited for her drink, her blue eyes glanced over and found herself looking at Jesus Brozus. She let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair. Of course he would be here. But shouldn't his wife be with him? "Where is your wife? Isn't she normally attached to your hip?" It wasn't made in a malicious tone. The two of them were always near one another. They were that kind of in love. Smothering if you asked her. But it suited them and she didn't bother trying to put a wedge between it.

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Rolling 2 investigations. 1 on Travis. 1 on Elaina

The member 'Jasmine Ward' has done the following action : Dices roll

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#1 'Proficient' :


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#2 'Proficient' :

“Rune… Right, sorry. I mean, my apologies. I mean… Well, you know. It's a pretty classy event, so as part of my job tonight I need to keep things classy on my end as well.” Salem explained. He hadn't expected to run into someone familiar during the event, so he wasn't instructed what to do in such a situation. But he figured playing it safe was his best bet, and that he should act as professionally as possible.

Rune took his hand as Salem offered her a dance, but initially pulled him right into her up to her, where he could feel her form right up against him, which really shouldn't surprise him when it came to Rune, but he wasn't used to women being this forward in general “But you best be careful, Salem, my dear~ ‘Entertaining’ me could take you all night~”

“A-all night?” And with that, Rune took his hand and pulled him into the crowd of people. Until then he didn't realize how far out of the crowd he was when he was serving drinks. Even with Rune as company he couldn't help but feel like he was pulled into the lion's den.

Once they started to dance, Salem started to feel a little more at ease. But only a little. Between being surrounded by people who may or may not actually eat humans and having Rune press right up against him he wasn't quite sure what to feel at the moment. But he remained calm and focused on keeping up with the tempo of the music. Rune then asked about his actual occupation, which gave Salem slight pause as to how to answer. “Well, when I'm not hopping from job to job, I'm a writer.” Salem explained, though he thought maybe it would be best to leave out the part where he writes horror stories about monsters. At this point, he wasn't sure if that would be accurate or offensive just yet. “You probably wouldn't believe it with all these part time jobs I'm taking, but my work is fairly prolific. Getting into Twin City was a much pricier endeavor than I imagined, though. Finding it in the first place was, at least.”

It was a harder question to answer when she prodded him about his reasoning for coming into Twin City in the first place. How does one even break the news to someone that they're suffering constant nightmares and came to Twin City in an effort to find a cure for them through magical means? “I guess you could say I'm looking for research material.” It was accurate enough, Salem figured. Nothing he said was a lie, but he wasn't being entirely honest either.


“How about you?” Salem asked, curious as to whether Rune also just went from job to job or actually had a more permanent place of employment. It occurred to him that she placed a business card in his back pocket when she copped a feel, but he was too flustered to check back then and it would be a bit too awkward to reach back and check the card for answers now. “You're seem like you're in your element here.” Salem said in regards to her dancing. He wasn't much of a dancer himself, and he had expect that perhaps the dance would be far more casual much like many other patrons on the dance floor who didn't take any lessons. Rune was definitely experienced in the art though, but fortunately for him the music was slow paced so at least he could keep up. After a bit of stiffness on Salem's part. But Rune was dancing as if this was all second nature, to the point where Salem was almost immediately brought into the rhythm with her. “Were you always a resident in Twin City?”

Dom fell silent as she examined the emblem etched into the surface. The moment, while brief, was an intensely solemn one. The uncertainty of her existence gradually grew into something more personal; the sort of innocent ambition that can catch a person’s attention. And in a very primordial way her sorrow seemed to come alive and reach out like a snare, appealing to the curiosity of everyone that contacted her. It was very…overwhelming.
He wondered if this was an effect naturally exuded by Shadow reapers. Their ‘shadow’ magic was a rarity after all, and who knew for sure what would happen if their emotions ran high. Maybe this is what made them so dangerous.
 
Keeping these thoughts to himself, he reclaimed the badge from her and placed it back on his person. Raising a hand he lightly waved away her gratitude. “You have a strong will, Julianna. I’m sure you can do anything you put your mind to.” Although this may have sounded like the typical rhetoric of a good cop, encouraging the citizens and all that, he truly meant it. She reminded him of someone he used to know, and if they were anything alike, he was sure this sentiment was true.
 
Dom answered her question with a wry grin. “As much as the TCPD would be missed by everyone, I’m sure it would never decommission. But if that did happen someday, I’d probably reenlist. After all there’s always work to be done in the world. You just have to find it.” His gaze momentarily drifted over her head to check the atmosphere of the venue and its patrons. By now it looked like the crowd was beginning to stagnate towards its highest point of the evening. The band had dropped off from their earlier upbeat tones to a more morbid classical, and most people were already hitting their second wind of conversation. While levity was shared between the more serious figures in the room, those who were hot-tempered expressed themselves in different ways; drinking, dancing, gambling, and generally taking advantage of a night out at a Valentine party. He figured Julianna was somewhere in the middle of these groups.
 

“Then again, Twin City is the best home I’ve had in years.” Dom nodded at this, thinking back to a few months ago. There was a lot he didn’t understand then. Even now, speaking to Julianna and listening to her reflect on her aspirations, the lack of acceptance she dealt with was disheartening. “I might open up a shop or something. Maybe...pastries? If you're still in town we could be business partners; stopping hunger one donut at a time.” 

Jasmine, your investigations find you with the recollection that the strange partners that passed you by were none other than Travis and Elaina Valentine. You know that much about them without a doubt. You also recall that Travis owns this Casino as well is rumored to be the head of the Valentine Mafia. However, there is no obvious evidence of that. He also is the same man who had liberated the Werewolves years ago. His wife never leaves his side. You recall your weirdo friend Siresh mentioning passively that there was a leaked sex tape between the two some number of years ago now. She's also a werewolf, if you didn't already know that by reading into site lore.

Jesus Brozus


Jesus looks to you as he obtains two drinks from the bar. One the standard classic Long Island Iced Tea and another being a glass of champagne, very likely for the wife you know should be attached to his hip right now. "Hey now. What do you expect of two young people in love? You're pretty jaded if you think it's just the hip, we're pretty attached at the pelvic regions if I do say so myself." But of course, this was a Brozus. Always saying off the wall comments and making company a little more than uncomfortable for the sake of their humor. "Good to see you though. The missus is over yonder somewhere...you know. I'm just doing her dirty work and getting her a drink. Not all the time she can let loose. She had to pump breastmilk for a straight week to make sure she was good to have this outing, ja?" And as always, giving more information than he had to. Jasmine did ask after all. "I'd ask where my brother is, but I suppose I'd know better than anyone that he only dresses high class but isn't one for lavish banquets. Don't let him fool you though...he's a great dancer." He'd laugh then with a big grin for her after. "Isn't that drink a little fruity for you? Or did you grab that for him?"