Buzzkill || Miele & Thomas
Jess cocked her head to the side a bit. “At some point they probably figured that antagonizing her Wizard friends was more costly than they wanted, so I suspect they dialed back to token efforts.”
At Thomas she just shrugged her shoulders. “Imagine trying to get her home from some friends and then three of those turn out to be in the upper leagues of mortal magic, two of them Card Carrying Wizards. That kinda dampened the enthusiasm I gather.”
Not to mention the crazy Vampire-hunter boyfriend.
“But yeah,” She continued. “For obvious reasons I’m a bit protective of her. Not that I’d ever suspect that of a White Court Vampire.”
( @t-raith )
Thomas nodded slowly. Miele’s description sounded faintly familiar, with a few subtle differences. “And so you thought I might be a militant stripper,” he supplied neutrally. “If it’s any consolation, I can’t think of any reason why my House would become involved.”
Not that they’d be looked fondly upon for harboring somebody looking to flee from another House, but that wasn’t precisely the case, either.
He wasn’t really sure what Jess meant to imply that she would or wouldn’t suspect of a vampire, either, but the whole situation seemed like a bit of an overreaction. Perhaps he hadn’t been paying very much attention to internal politics, but then, it sounded like Miele hadn’t been in much of a situation to do so, either.
Mostly, he found himself suspicious of her. He was a bit hard-pressed to believe that she really would be on the run, that she really would have wanted to turn her back on her family. Even he had ultimately just gone right back, and he didn’t think he’d been wrong to do so. Only, he wasn’t sure what she stood to gain by lying, and her fear hadn’t appeared feigned.
He just shrugged. “If you’re that worried about it, I’ll take off,” he said simply. A small smirk tugged at his mouth. “I’ve got no shortage of things to do around here.”
@depressiondealingbartender
Miele shrugged her shoulders. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve met a member of another house trying to rock the incubus thing without being a Raith. Doesn’t really work the same, of course. I’ve never been one to try,” she smirked, ever so slightly, and gave her left hand a glance. Without her glove her ring was visible, a simple band of gold with two small stones--a ruby and diamond--embedded in the metal. “Not in public by any means.”
There was a moment of sincere consideration on her part. Thomas had not lied about what he was to her, and even considering that he had not made any untoward comments or actions that set off her warning lights. Her fear had been triggered by surprise, not anything grounded in his behavior.
And he was amusing, especially when drunk.
She shook her head, raising her hand in deference. “I have no issue with you staying. Even if you did turn out to be a militant stripper,” Miele scoffed, “I am totally stealing that term. Heh. But even if you were, I doubt you’d be able to find me after tonight is over. And since I’m pretty sure you aren’t, I refuse to let you leave until you and Madame de Fer here have tried to drink one another under the table. I insist on trying, even knowing you aren’t human.”
Her smile was genuine, though not as warm as it had been before. There was a strange blend of cool disconnect and smugness in her features. “I haven’t seen her try to out-drink a member of the Court before. I don’t think she can.”
( @wushuwizard )
