everyone wants to eat but few are willing to hunt

Leon Blachedone - Vampire - Age 1000+ - Head of Vievecor crime syndicate -

[teddy-byrne]

Teddy's jaw clenched, accepting his point, but that was as close to an agreement Leon was going to get. Call it precaution, but he wasn't going to position himself without having at least heard where his maker was at with all of this. He was the only person Teddy trusted blindly in that regard. With a soft exhale, the young vampire picked his glass back up, gesturing to Leon and himself as he spoke, "We, us..you keep saying that; Leon. If you find the prospect of war so inevitable, why are we not building a stronger, more obvious alliance. You, Rosu, the sisters..we should draft something up." Wild suggestion, huh. "I don't want to have to ask to be kept in the loop of things just because you and Vicente are at the council and I'm not. It'll be good to be more organized, protect each other more."

[leon-blachedone]

“Are you trying to go around Vincent?” Leon quirked an eyebrow in surprise interest. “I’m not council either, need I remind you… But if you would sleep easier under some sort of legal agreement reassuring none of us are buying their horse shit, I’m listening.” Leon’s last straw had perhaps not been Artemis, so much as the synthetic blood alternatives his own kind had produced, so he could understand the desire for reassurance of support from fellow vampires. After all, their own kind were showing they could turn on their basic instincts and nature quite willingly, which would only lead to it being vilified.

[leon-blachedone]

The sentence alone was enough to sour Leon's stomach. The rise of human powers. What an utterly ridiculous thought.

He smirked, able to easily get what Isabelle was implying with her words as she assured it was a vampire party first and foremost.

"Duly noted," he responded back with an appreciative nod. "Very well then.. I'll play by your rules tonight, no worries. We'll be there," he responded back with a nod towards the other's in Leon's entourage nearby. "And perhaps we can have a chat later as well.. I'm curious for your take on matters here since I've been gone. We can save it for post festival of course too, if you'd prefer not to kill the mood."

[isabellexlaurent]

"Just don't stain the painting, darling. Other than that, have fun." What happened in the darkness of the Sisters' home would stay there. It was a night of celebration rather than worry. The vampires deserved to have a bit of fun after all that occurred since the last wine festival. "We shall have that chat when you are ready. Tonight is a celebration. I'll leave you to your enjoyment." She pressed a kiss to the air next to his cheek, grabbing her glass of wine and leaving the private room with the knowledge this was far from over.

[eijiremington]

“Okay, well… maybe I just wanted the excuse to come in here.” Eiji lied again, this time taking a different approach. Vampires generally liked to have their ego’s fed, it was usually the reason they surrounded themselves with familiars. It wasn’t just about the blood, they could get that anywhere and discard the person or blood bag afterwards, it was about the adoration and obsession the human exhibited for them. “Is that such a bad thing?”

[leon-blachedone]

"More honest, albeit not the smartest move," Leon mused, "Bad when you don't know who your host is," he added, beckoning Eiji closer as his tone shifted ever so slightly with the intent to glamour the human. "Come here."

[leon-blachedone]

"Barge in as if it's your right, and I'll call you whatever I wish, pup. Now why don't you run along if you're so worried about Matthew and his antics tonight. If you're lucky, perhaps he'll tolerate your nosiness more than I."

[caleb-lycaon]

Caleb knew that he had severely misstepped with the way Leon was insulting him, but he was also not going to let that stop him from doing what he needed to, something that he did not need to voice to the vampire.

"Yeah. I'll see you around, Leon," he said and back out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

END!

[teddy-byrne]

Teddy could see what Leon was getting at, and the worst part of it was that he wasn't wrong. Ben's death had only been the start, the first domino to fall, but it hadn't stopped there. Vampires very rarely met their true death before, but lately, it felt as though their kind were thinning out by the hour, vanishing into the margins while the rest of the world pretended the war with Artemis had stopped. It was annoying, on a deeply personal level.

The Rosu cleared his throat, not missing the way Leon looked at him as he tore into the volunteer, or the little yelp the mortal made as the vampire began to feed. "On the surface level, sure. Your work seems unaffected, and we have our loopholes, as they call them." Teddy scoffed, "But what do you propose, Leon? War?"

[leon-blachedone]

Leon pulled back from feeding after a moment, pulling a rag from his pocket to clean stray blood from his face and resume conversation. “Hunted us down and thinned our numbers. I see no reason to not return the favor. It's only a matter of time before they begin asking for more, Teddy... You know I'm right..." He turned back to the mortal and softly instructed them to Go, deciding he was done for the moment and focused his gaze instead on Teddy.

"My work is only safe so long as I go out of my way to stay two steps ahead, but I have already had issues with the local authorities and Artemis both targeting members of my influence. " Leon shook his head. "I don't propose war. I simply find it inevitable. My intuition tells me this is just the calm before the storm. If we don't break the peace, they will find a way to break it themselves, and you can bet their demands will pile up. Just give it time... You'll see."

[artuswestwood]

"And do you know better?" he questioned, his tone still light and joking, although it was certain the elf was flirting now. There was nothing bad that could come from harmless flirting at a party. Artus let out a laugh, sitting back comfortably. "As if you found a better supplier. Unless you found a deity willing to bleed themselves dry for you, you won't find anything as consistent and sweet."

[leon-blachedone]

Leon’s grin widened, his amusement growing as well. Sure, there were other elves he could have done business with, but he quite enjoyed the other’s charm… As well as his projected power and status within the city. The fact he wasn’t a goodie two shoes like other members of the Westwood family was simply too good of an opportunity to ignore, and so Leon entertained the banter quite willingly. “Perhaps. Perhaps not… I personally have never had much of a sweet tooth, but I can’t deny the preferences of others.

"Now if you found me a deity... Well, that kind of competence is to die for, Mr. Westwood. So how is the night treating you? Enjoying yourself, I hope?"

[isabellexlaurent]

"Thank you, darling. It is so tedious, yet with the rise of human powers, the paperwork is a necessary evil." She did miss the days before Artemis rose to power. There might be one or two humans worthy of being a pet or changed into a vampire, but they were the exception rather than the rule. She imagined that Leon learned of the new human representative through his network. It was a pity that humans were now demanding complete equality. "Diversity is key when catering to the pallets of the many guests. Of course as hosts, there might be a slight imbalance towards our kind."

[leon-blachedone]

The sentence alone was enough to sour Leon's stomach. The rise of human powers. What an utterly ridiculous thought.

He smirked, able to easily get what Isabelle was implying with her words as she assured it was a vampire party first and foremost.

"Duly noted," he responded back with an appreciative nod. "Very well then.. I'll play by your rules tonight, no worries. We'll be there," he responded back with a nod towards the other's in Leon's entourage nearby. "And perhaps we can have a chat later as well.. I'm curious for your take on matters here since I've been gone. We can save it for post festival of course too, if you'd prefer not to kill the mood."

[eremington]

"I can't want to say hello to another elder? Ask where he's been for the past months?" He answered with a small quirk of his lips, but still he used magic to feel out the shape of the clasp on the collar in a habit he'd developed. Mostly he was trying to figure out what angle Leon was taking now that he was back in the city. "I spotted Rei a few times as well. He's old enough and can take care of himself, so I'm happy to see him at supernatural events."

[leon-blachedone]

Leon gave the witch a look of amused disbelief and scoffed. “I’m sorry, you were hoping to catch up? Are we ol’ friends from back in the day and I forgot? Well, where are my manners then, Mr. Remington?” His voice was mocking as he spoke, waving down a nearby human and insisting they get the witch a drink as well. He turned then with a smile back to Elijah, smirking as he asked, “Elijah Remington, why in the seven hells do you of all people care what I’ve been up to? Is your life finally not an utter mess and you’re trying to find a way to fuck it up again?”

[eijiremington]

Eiji clearly hadn’t learnt his lesson when it came to interfering with things that should have been left well alone and clearly his sense of self-preservation was even worse.

“Another staff member. They said we might need a switch over in here.” Eiji swiftly lied, glancing briefly towards the familiars towards the back of the private room. He felt his feet move before he’d even decided to do as he was told and he found himself moving forwards to sit in the seat close to the vampire.

[leon-blachedone]

"A switch?" Leon quirked an eyebrow, listening to the other's heartbeat as he spoke. "A switch, boy? Please, if you're going to lie to me, you could at least come with something better prepared," Leon retorted, eyes narrowed as the human boldly stepped closer. "Now why don't you try again? Something believable this time," he requested, already expectig he would be glamouring the human after he spoke.

[matthew-alexander]

As a demon, such a vampiric trick would never have held, but this time, Matthew could feel the glamour blanketing his mind. He tried to fight it, to will the missing magic within him to resist, and it might have worked but the voice in his mind told him that feeding Leon's party was exactly what he wanted to do. As Leon mentioned, this was why he showed up at these parties year after year, after all.

"Of course," he smiled, his blue eyes hazing over as he gazed at Leon. "Would you like to feed? Or should I offer myself to the rest of your party first?"

[leon-blachedone]

“I wouldn’t dream of feeding off your nasty blood,” Leon retorted with a smirk, voice cheerful and polite despite his words. “You can do us both a favor though and go with some of my associates back to my private room though,” he continued as several other vampires appeared beside Leon. “Offer yourself to every vampire there, and then you can fuck off and do as you please.”

[teddy-byrne]

Christ. Of course Leon would notice something like that and use it against him. "Nah, I just don't like feeding in the company of those I don't fully trust." It was meant as banter, of course. He did trust Leon. At least with the business side of things. Teddy took a slow sip, letting the blood coat his tongue before leaning back. He would have apologised to the volunteers: he just didn't feel like it..or much, for that matter. The Artemis subject was already enough to deal with. Lost. Had they now? "I've yet to receive an apology for what they did to the building and our people...so much for peace." Byrne let his blue eyes roll back as he scoffed, "..yeah. It kinda does."

[leon-blachedone]

Leon smirked, taking it as a compliment that Teddy knew better than to blindly trust him. He liked the Rosu clan for the most part, but he was not part of that clan for a reason. "Oh but peace is exactly what they proclaimed we're getting, Teddy. ," Leon countered with a hint of sarcasm and a nod as a human volunteer came over and draped themself against the vampire for a feed. "The building, our people... Those of us attacked personally? Told to roll over and submit. Like dogs," he added sourly, looking to see how much his own frustration might mirror Teddy's as added, "Peace. Our silence as they celebrate making us fall in line and obey their wishes." He sunk his fangs into the mortal then, and fed.

[madmabzaman]

Of course he enjoyed seeing people in dispair, he was...something. She still hadnt figured out the what he was though she could think of a few options, bastard, demon, villainous. All things humans would say about her but worse, but only because she didn't have supernatural strength to make her worse.

"A girls gotta do business, and I go where the business is." She flashed him a smile, her enterprising was getting her little fingers further into this world she was pretty sure she was well past the point of no return. "I'm sure some of your... caln members would disagreee. I hear I taste delectable."

[leon-blachedone]

"Are you volunteering to be our dinner then?" Leon quirked an eyebrow, half serious, half joking as he challenged her comment. Human was hardly his favorite, but it was most definitely a staple in any vampire's diet. It was safe, and kept a clear head so long as the mortal wasn't under the influence of any substances themselves.

[vixwuboos]

vix shrugged, largely unphased by the would be threat despite her deep-seeded mistrust of vampires. she heard worse from her favorite malevolent spirit before 9 am on an average day. "clearly I've been killed before." would it even bother her should it happen again? she chuckled. "pray tell, why do you presume to know by what standards I measure success and what motivates the assumption that it would not be by the same metrics as yourself?" her eyes narrowed, still glinting with that dangerous edge of curiosity. "because I don't care." victoria almost scoffed. "curiosity is fleeting fancy, a desire to obtain knowledge, but not inherently driven by intention." she explained simply. "but by all means, feel free to ask the most unstable among you. they will agree. the last thing you, or anyone, should want is my attention."

[leon-blachedone]

"If the last thing I should want is your attention, then get the fuck out," Leon commanded with annoyance. "These rooms are considered private for a reason, and if you hadn't noticed, you're trespassing at the moment."

[eijiremington]

At this point, Eiji had accepted that he had a death wish for the cause and didn’t see the point in attempting any acts of self-preservation now. That was, aside from trying to remain out of Zamok— arguably not hard enough.

Working at the Rubicund gave him the perfect opportunity to see how the new rules would fair when being tested at such a large scale event, one that wasn’t historically known for respecting the law and human life.

He’d heard who had rented one of the private rooms. The vampire hadn’t been seen in the city for some time but would surely not be looking to abide by anyone else’s contract.

“I was told you needed a little extra.” Eiji responded as the door quietly clicked shut, glancing briefly at the familiars in the room before back to the vampire. “Do you?”

[leon-blachedone]

“Extra?” Leon quirked an eyebrow, lips curled into a frown. He had plenty of options at his disposal, and a human he didn’t know was certainly not something he was willingly going to partake from. No, certainly not after all of the Artemis nonsense. He treaded carefully now, and often took to glamouring humans he didn’t simply kill.

“Now who told you that?” Leon couldn’t think of anyone who would send him a meal without a note of any kind. No, vampires enjoyed being recognized for any display suggesting they had taken an intentional action impacting another.

He beckoned the male closer with the crook of his finger as his voice took on a velvety tone laced with magic. “Come. Sit— I want to chat.”

[caleb-lycaon]

"Can you not use such a derogatory term on me," Caleb responded with a sigh, noting Leon's clear distaste and annoyance. His eyes scanned the room anyway, making sure that everyone in there looked proper, which he was sure would piss Leon off even more.

Those eyes moved back to Leon when he mentioned the demon elder. "What? What is he up to?" The vampire's words were vague enough to make it sound like Matthew was the one causing trouble and that would not do. "I know he doesn't like them very much at the moment, but surely he'd know not to try anything with those humans."

[leon-blachedone]

"Barge in as if it's your right, and I'll call you whatever I wish, pup. Now why don't you run along if you're so worried about Matthew and his antics tonight. If you're lucky, perhaps he'll tolerate your nosiness more than I."

[isabellexlaurent]

Belle noted the associate who took the invitation. She'd been surprised Leon even read it given the hedonistic paradise a private room provided in the midst of a party like this.

"The Sisters are excellent hostesses, always providing catering to the needs of their guests, but if you are more comfortable with bringing your own, I shalln't stop you provided an organic favors sign the waiver before entering." Leon was an enterprising man himself, she doubted that he would hold the legal protection against Isabelle when she was inviting guests to dive into their deepest desires under the cover of darkness.

[leon-blachedone]

"They'll sign whatever you wish. Formalities... Legalities... It won't be an issue," Leon calmly replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at how locked down Isabelle had her matters... It was polished and protected from post-event bullshit which he could appreciate. Simultaneously however, it felt restraining in a way he loathed, finding the idea of paper permission to drain a mortal dry almost hilarious. "Will this be primarily our kind in attendance then? Or will this be a diverse gathering of the city's finest?"

[eremington]

He took the invitation and sat beside Leon. Elijah only trusted Leon as far as he could throw him, but with his powers that was actually quite far, so he decided to take the risk. "I suppose you'll just have to see how well the conversation goes and find out whether I keep the collar on or not." Though there was something appealing about the idea. "Welcome back from your adventures out of town."

[leon-blachedone]

"Elijah Remington, whatever stopped you from taking it off then and pocketing it before you stepped into my private abode, if you weren't looking to offer?" He smirked, glancing between the witch's gaze and the collar. "The real question to me is what you're hoping to gain having a little chat between the two of us. Questioning your own morals perhaps? Or perhaps is this regarding your kin I saw out among the crowds earlier tonight?"