April

The blond barkeep turned around and gave Rosa an appraising look, and he broke out into a smile that lit up his green eyes. "What sort of proposition would you have for Mr. Lebeau?" he asked, turning back around to pluck a bottle of wine off the rack and pouring a glass that he set in front of Doctor Thorne. "He is a busy man," Chance continued, resting against the bar. "I am sure you understand that he won't see just anyone."

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In order to make sure the Refs accurately count all your IC posts and award you the due amount of power points, please post with a list of all the threads in which your player character, NPC or sidekick posted IC this month (including the News forum). This topic will automatically close on the seventh day of the following month at Midnight EST. Also list any threads which you are GMing. GM posts count as double and can be assigned to whichever of your characters needs a 'push'. 1-14 IC posts = 1PP 15-24 IC posts = 2PP 25-49 IC posts = 3PP 50-99 IC posts = 4PP 100+ IC posts = 5PP When you make your list, post a link to your first post for the month for each IC thread so we can jump right to it. When you start a thread, make sure IC is the first tag and topic prefix of the In Character thread, and OOC is in the first tag and topic prefix of the Out Of Character thread. It's not required, but additional tags including the major players and locations are viewed as a courtesy. Please list your threads in alphabetical order. Please clearly note any threads in which you are both player and GM/running an NPC. Please list your threads in a timely manner. Extending the deadline one week into the following month is already a grace period. If you've done any "extracurriculars" -- artwork, HellQ, 20 Questions, NPC, vignettes, guidebook pages, etc. -- please be sure to list them along with your active threads. For more information on ways to earn power points, see Character Advancement and Awards in the House Rules section of the Guide. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in your post counts being postponed or skipped completely. If you missed the deadline, see this thread.

"Oh, that." Chance chuckled, and waved a hand dismissively. "I keep the suspicious drug storage freezers elsewhere. I find it is easier to maintain the appearance of a legitimate and respectable business if one actually is a legitimate and respectable business." He flashed Alice a smile. "But yes, Pier 6 is mine, and thank you. I am quite pleased with her, even despite her lack of secret freezers full of illicit substances or underground gambling dens."

"Hmm?" Chance said, casting a glance over his shoulder at the people that showed up behind his bar. Xavier he knew, the others, he did not but he just rolled he shoulder in faint shrug and turned back to watch the his patrons depart, the door closing and locking behind the last one. "Yeah, I guess so. Only started half-past something-or-other and I'm still standing," he said, downing his drink and turning back to the bar with a grin. "Luck of the Devil, I guess." He refilled his drink from the bottle he left on the bar top, and with glass in hand gestured to Xavier. "Help yourself. I imagine, if you're dropping in at such late hour, you could use a drink."

The vampire looked thoughtful, and then gave Anna a faint smile. In a quick (though nowhere near as quick as Anna) and fluid motion, she straddled the older woman's waist, pinning her back against the couch, her shirt riding up and gathering around her hips. "Hey," Nicola quietly murmured, then leaned into to briefly kiss Anna. She took hold of the blond woman's arms and put them around her, settling them at the small of her back. "I can be addictive," she said after she broke the kiss. "I'm just being careful, for your sake."

Pier 6 was a nightclub nestled among the warehouses of Bedlam's docks, which despite its location maintained a modest reputation of a safe space where people from all walks of life could mix and mingle, engage in discreet business, or simply drink and dance the worries of the city away. The industrial aesthetic of brick walls and exposed steel combined with leather seating and wood surfaces gave the club a contrasting, if comforting interior. But none of that mattered at the moment, for it was closing time. The patrons of Pier 6 were disgorging into the street and Chance had settled back behind his own bar with a drink, toasting another relatively quiet night.

Nicola pulled back a little, gave Anna a thoughtful look, and then shook her head. "You're sweet," she said. "But you know I'm not talking about villainous or criminal acts." She frowned slightly, and then shrugged. "Not in the traditional sense, anyway. But more that, fundamentally, humanity is food to my kind. And involving yourself with me opens you up to significant risk." "Not from me," she added quickly, "I won't, um, bite unless you want me to."

The Dutemps building was built for emergencies in mind, with a reserve of water, significant backup power and with the markets housed inside the building, sufficient food. It was also hardened against outside attack, like a super villain rampage through Freedom City that might come too close to the castle crested tower. But that supposed that it would only need to remain in reinforced mode for a few days, that the outside situation would normalize and whatever rebuilding efforts would be run out of the tower. A interdimensional jaunt wasn't designed for, and that worried Eve. Still, she smiled at the sound of Bluebird's calming voice as she reassured the residents. --Ladies,-- Blue Fox thought, casting her mind out to her friends. --Meet me in the conference room, when you're able.-- Her mental voice was cool and calm, even if she was anything but.

"Anna," Nicola said, smiling at the older woman. "You know I'm the last person to judge someone on their life choices, right?" She extended one of her legs displaying the ink that traced up her skin and disappearing under her long shirt. There were similar tattoos down her bare arms, an artistic display of her own criminal past written right into her flesh. "I should be warning you away from me," the vampire whispered, sounding a little sad. "You know what I am, but I am not sure if you really understand what I am." Should be warning Anna away, but she wasn't, for a number of entirely selfish reasons. The melancholy vanished with a chuckle. "Rainbow would really ruin my aesthetic," Nicola opined. "The abandoned steel mill, the dark leather clothing, and religious iconography is a very specific and cultivated image. A bit over the top, sure but.." she paused, eyes twinkling. "... I'd be OK with some rainbow socks. Just socks."

Nicola laughed. "Some of us never really get a chance to really enjoy youth, you know?" She took a drink from her bloody mary and grinned, "And some of us will get to enjoy it for far longer than we should." She shrugged and set her glass down. "I have to say," she said a bit more serious, "It really has been good seeing you again. It was entirely too long."

Sighing wistfully Eve set aside the report Bluebird had compiled for her. She was curled up on one of her office's couches instead of sitting behind her desk and had found herself looking out the windows, her thoughts drifting northward, instead of paying attention to what was undoubtedly important paperwork. She missed the physical presence of Becky, but they shared a mental bond that was in some ways even more intimate than that. Eve focused on that mental bond, about to send a playful though racing off when the world went mad. At one of the highest points in the city, Eve had front side seats to the awful wound that was ripped open in the sky. The psychic blow was even worse, shredding the telepath's formidable mental defenses, and Eve Martel found herself among the screaming.

"Anna, I would absolutely love to go out with you and learn all about pierogi and kielbasa," Nicola said, then sighed, "But I can't really eat normal food, and keep it down, without... you know." Nicola was, by now, practically cuddled up against Anna with one of her legs now overtop the blond's. "We could always stay in..." she murmured, "... and 'talk'." Not that Nicola wouldn't terribly mind going out for Anna to eat, but at some point they were going to have to address Nicola's dietary needs and truth be told that was a conversation that she was dreading.

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In order to make sure the Refs accurately count all your IC posts and award you the due amount of power points, please post with a list of all the threads in which your player character, NPC or sidekick posted IC this month (including the News forum). This topic will automatically close on the seventh day of the following month at Midnight EST. Also list any threads which you are GMing. GM posts count as double and can be assigned to whichever of your characters needs a 'push'. 1-14 IC posts = 1PP 15-24 IC posts = 2PP 25-49 IC posts = 3PP 50-99 IC posts = 4PP 100+ IC posts = 5PP When you make your list, post a link to your first post for the month for each IC thread so we can jump right to it. When you start a thread, make sure IC is the first tag and topic prefix of the In Character thread, and OOC is in the first tag and topic prefix of the Out Of Character thread. It's not required, but additional tags including the major players and locations are viewed as a courtesy. Please list your threads in alphabetical order. Please clearly note any threads in which you are both player and GM/running an NPC. Please list your threads in a timely manner. Extending the deadline one week into the following month is already a grace period. If you've done any "extracurriculars" -- artwork, HellQ, 20 Questions, NPC, vignettes, guidebook pages, etc. -- please be sure to list them along with your active threads. For more information on ways to earn power points, see Character Advancement and Awards in the House Rules section of the Guide. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in your post counts being postponed or skipped completely. If you missed the deadline, see this thread.

Nicola chuckled quietly to herself and slid across the couch until she and Anna were sitting thigh to thigh. She reached a hand out and brushed it through Anna's hair and grinned impishly, "Anna, last time you checked I wasn't a man." "But I get your meaning." She hesitated a moment, and her expression changed from playful to serious, with a hint of a frown as a disturbing thought entered her mind. The vampire opened her mouth to speak, paused, and then carefully asked, "This is something you want, right? And not because of the little, um, love bite from back then?" "Also," She said, raising an eyebrow, "Can you even do slow?"

"Yeah," the vampire said, flashing Anna a smile, "otherwise I've been fine." She settled down on the couch, tucking one leg under her, before gesturing at the spot next to her with an eyebrow raised in invitation. Now that she was more awake she was also more aware of Anna. It wasn't that she could hear the blood rushing through the older woman, but she could smell it. How close it was to the surface, how warm it was. So Nicola's smile turned a little impish. "I wonder if that counts as inviting me in," she teased. "But I would love to visit your new place sometime. With or without Esperanza there, which good for her by the way."

"What? No, you're fine.. it's.. fine," Nicola murmured as her brain lurched towards wakefulness. She skimmed through the section of the book Anna had marked, cheeks flushing slightly from the fleeting contact of the older blond's hand. She closed the book, reseating the bookmark back where she found it, and bent to set it down on the coffee table. "Yeah, still 'living' here," she said, finding some amusement in that particular phrase. Then she sobered, and cleared her throat, "It's been.. different with you gone. I was starting to get used to the company."

The door inward a little, and then a little further once Nicola saw who was on the other side. "Oh, hey," she said, squinting her grey eyes against the days light. Her dark hair was mussed, like she had just woken up, which considering that her only visible garment was an oversized t-shirt and it was still very early in the day for the vampire (which broadly includes anything before dusk) was probably the case. She pulled the door open further and gestured to Anna to come in.

Nicola flashed the barkeep a fanged grin as they refilled her drink, and turned back to Lucy. "Good!" she declared, raising her drink in mock toast, "Road trip it is." She took a sip and set the drink aside. "I mean, sounds like you're seriously due a vacation ... as much as a vacation as taking a trip across country and applying our particular talents actually is." She shrugged, then quirked an eyebrow at Lucy. "So who's Erica? Have I met her?"

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In order to make sure the Refs accurately count all your IC posts and award you the due amount of power points, please post with a list of all the threads in which your player character, NPC or sidekick posted IC this month (including the News forum). This topic will automatically close on the seventh day of the following month at Midnight EST. Also list any threads which you are GMing. GM posts count as double and can be assigned to whichever of your characters needs a 'push'. 1-14 IC posts = 1PP 15-24 IC posts = 2PP 25-49 IC posts = 3PP 50-99 IC posts = 4PP 100+ IC posts = 5PP When you make your list, post a link to your first post for the month for each IC thread so we can jump right to it. When you start a thread, make sure IC is the first tag and topic prefix of the In Character thread, and OOC is in the first tag and topic prefix of the Out Of Character thread. It's not required, but additional tags including the major players and locations are viewed as a courtesy. Please list your threads in alphabetical order. Please clearly note any threads in which you are both player and GM/running an NPC. Please list your threads in a timely manner. Extending the deadline one week into the following month is already a grace period. If you've done any "extracurriculars" -- artwork, HellQ, 20 Questions, NPC, vignettes, guidebook pages, etc. -- please be sure to list them along with your active threads. For more information on ways to earn power points, see Character Advancement and Awards in the House Rules section of the Guide. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in your post counts being postponed or skipped completely. If you missed the deadline, see this thread.

Nicola snorted. "Doesn't surprise me," she said, favoring her friend with a wry grin. "Reports like these one tends to collate from police and judicial records, and Bedlam..." she shrugged a little and made a throwing away motion with her hand. "Not exactly reliable," she charitably concluded. They authorities were part of Bedlam's problems she knew, and she was certain Lucy knew that too, which is one of those things that made the city such a tough nut to crack. But, still, it didn't hurt to be diplomatic, even now. The vampire leaned back against the bar, looking at her friend over the rim of her glass. "So.. if you weren't so tied down in Freedom.. road trip?"

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In order to make sure the Refs accurately count all your IC posts and award you the due amount of power points, please post with a list of all the threads in which your player character, NPC or sidekick posted IC this month (including the News forum). This topic will automatically close on the seventh day of the following month at Midnight EST. Also list any threads which you are GMing. GM posts count as double and can be assigned to whichever of your characters needs a 'push'. 1-14 IC posts = 1PP 15-24 IC posts = 2PP 25-49 IC posts = 3PP 50-99 IC posts = 4PP 100+ IC posts = 5PP When you make your list, post a link to your first post for the month for each IC thread so we can jump right to it. When you start a thread, make sure IC is the first tag and topic prefix of the In Character thread, and OOC is in the first tag and topic prefix of the Out Of Character thread. It's not required, but additional tags including the major players and locations are viewed as a courtesy. Please list your threads in alphabetical order. Please clearly note any threads in which you are both player and GM/running an NPC. Please list your threads in a timely manner. Extending the deadline one week into the following month is already a grace period. If you've done any "extracurriculars" -- artwork, HellQ, 20 Questions, NPC, vignettes, guidebook pages, etc. -- please be sure to list them along with your active threads. For more information on ways to earn power points, see Character Advancement and Awards in the House Rules section of the Guide. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in your post counts being postponed or skipped completely. If you missed the deadline, see this thread.