The factory was still pretty quiet, not because anyone in the room was impressed, mostly because everyone was trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with this guy.
Filip, the bass player, was first to break the silence. He eaned forward in the nearest folding chair, platinum hair falling into his eyes as he stared openly at Malphas. "…Did he just say Lord Malphas?" he was quiet for a moment, but then he pointed a finger at the guy. "Oh he's definitely a cult leader."
Petar, the drummer, immediately nodded in agreement. "Yeah..." everyone stared at him in surprise. He would just blink in response to the reaction. "What? Rich people don't talk like that."
Nikola finally barked out a laughter. "Thank you!" the guitarist once again turned to face the new second manager and their vocalist while she was still sipping the glass of champagne. "No seriously, Vanya. He drove up in a car worth more than this entire building, introduced himself like a fantasy novel villain, knows all our names before meeting us, and then says he'll help us become our true selves." okay maybe he knew their names from Boris, but he knew how their manager was protective at times...then again maybe??
Then Nikola would point a finger directly at Malphas. "You are either a billionaire, a cult leader, or a demon." his green eyes would narrow at him. "…Possibly all three."
Robert the second guitarist, who had been quietly feeding scraps of sandwich to a stray cat that had somehow wandered into the factory again, looked up. "To be fair…" everyone turned when he actually spoke louder than a whisper. The usually quiet young man simply shrug his shoulders and added. "If he's a demon, he's a very polite demon."
"ROBERT!" the other 3 guys yelled to which he actually yelled back. "What?!"
Vanya couldn't help laughing at this whole situation. She was still swirling the nearly empty glass in her hand. The champagne still lingered pleasantly in her system and, if she was being honest, so did the excitement. Something felt wrong about Malphas, not dangerous but interesting wrong. Like seeing lightning strike close enough to smell the ozone. Her brown eyes settled on him. "You know, most people try not to sound suspicious when they first meet a band." a wide grin spread across her lips. "You've somehow managed to make Nikola sound like the reasonable one."
That earned chorus of agreement among the bandmates. Nikola immediately pointed finger-guns at her. "THANK YOU."
Vanya rolled her eyes before looking back at Malphas. Because he knew a bit too much about them and she too doubted that Boris shared everything. And why did it feel like he was looking at all of them the way a gambler looked at a particularly interesting hand of cards?
Still Vanya remained smiling. She was still curious about few more things. "Alright, Lord Malphas."The title came out dripping with playful mockery. "You said you brought gifts.... show us then!" She spread her arms toward the rest of the band.
Nikola immediately raised a finger. "If the gift is matching robes, I'm leaving."
"And if it's a blood pact?" Filip asked. Petar looked extremely concerned when he posed his own question. "…Do we get snacks?"
Somewhere far away as if he had a sixth sense for the band bullshit Boris made a noise between a groan and a prayer.
Malphas laughed at the accusations. Technically all true, too. "Thank you, Robert. Although I should remind you all that lords do still very much exist, especially among families with some pedigree. Perhaps they might not typically be the type to take interest in a band like yours but I do pride myself on recognizing interesting people of all kinds. Though would you really hate it so much if I were all that?"
He turned back towards the car and briefly walked out of the warehouse for a few moments- the sound of the trunk opening and shutting followed by him appearing back inside with an assortment of items in tow.
"Sorry to disappoint you but I was fresh out of robes in your sizes."
Passing by Vanya he pressed a high-end, sharply angled electric guitar up against Nikola's chest, it had a few signs of long term use. "For our suspicious second in command..." As nicely made of a guitar as it was the real part of the gift came in the form of a signature on the body that read 'Dimebag Darrell'.
Moving over to Robert he handed him a small stack of papers. "As for you- I thought you might appreciate something a little more sentimental. So I took the liberty of making a few donations to some local animal shelters in your name. I imagine none of them would object to allowing their newest patron spending some time with the animals as well." The papers were filled with donation items from toys to food and various enrichment items. "Of course if you feel cheated then please do come to me," he added quietly.
Turning away to Filip he pulled out his phone as he approached. "Now assuming your suspicions aren't turning you away from my offerings, detective..." he turned the phone and showed an interior shot of their bus. It had been upgraded with a massive screen, speakers, and each new console. "Somewhat of a gift for the entire band but I imagine you might get some special enjoyment from it." He gave Filip a lingering smile before turning towards Petar.
"And as for you..." he said dropping a box of protein bars into his hand. Then swiped over on the phone to show another upgrade to the bus. A compact wall-mounted weight system. "I expect somebody like you might be able to appreciate something that allows you to isolate those back muscles. Among other things of course."
He turned away from them and took his place back beside Vanya and in front of Nikola. "I should point out that my aim is not to bribe you all with expensive gifts. Rather, I am just making things even- as Boris and I should not be the only ones to benefit from this arrangement."
