petra dahan

she did not please; she intoxicated

[petra-dahan]

kentsalinger:

“That is true,” Kent agreed. “Kill?” Kent asked as he turned to look at her. His question came from repeating a single word in the sentence she had spoken to him because he hadn’t expected it at all. Though that didn’t mean he didn’t know the answer; Kent would want some better social skills, less anxiety, and no fear when entering any sort of public event like this one they were at.

          “yes,” she said. she was not in the practise of stammering or choosing her words in a clumsy contest of which will do? 

from raising her champagne flute to her lips to something as insipid as the blink of her lashes; everything was done with deliberateness. her words certainly were. though from the prolonged silence that answered her, in support of the fact that she found him an observer rather than a participant of the event, she had a feeling of what that something was. that didn’t mean she didn’t want him to say it. “does your silence mean you expect me to guess?”

[petra-dahan]

reina-chen:

“Mhm,” Reina hummed as a confirmation, a nod of her following the sound. How she missed Vegas. It was the sin city, it was a place that harboured a freedom like no other. Sure, some horrific things had happened to her when she was there but at the same time, it was the first time where Reina felt like she wasn’t a puppet on a string. She met people, built up her own life - only for it to be shattered, her true name along with it. 

At the question of why she chose to leave, Reina turned to the woman and offered her a smile, “Not exactly.” She replied, “But it was the best option for me at the time. Boyfriend and I broke up and I like to surround myself with different things when things get ugly. A change. Suppose with that, a fresh start goes hand in hand.” It was a lie - a good one and reasonable one at that but it was necessary. 

          had anyone else given her the same answer, petra might have taken it without a second thought. she had no interest in boyfriends and love affairs gone awry. but for someone who seemed to have quite an opinion of men, or the very least, those often found in petra’s company, her excuse to leave las vegas on the account of a bad romance seemed almost anticlimactic. a missing puzzle piece that sat relatively well, yet still did not quite satisfy the big picture.

“oh i suppose,” she made no such attempt to hide her disappointment. “he must have been quite the fellow— forgive my forwardness, but i did not take you for the type to up and leave on the account of some…man.” maybe she didn’t have so much in common with the woman after all. she was hesitant to add ‘love-sick’ to the mental file labelled ‘ray’, but alas…“i suppose i have been wrong about people before.” 

[petra-dahan]

toby-enderson:

To that, Toby said nothing. He wouldn’t bite, nor would he give any indication that he wanted to. Not when he had done a well to keep such a composure to any kind of situation and he could see that Petra had the ability to do that with whoever she wanted, at least she had also said that he kept her on her toes. That was an indication to him that this was a fair fight, where two people were not inferior or superior to one another - they were equal. He offered the woman a smile as if that was enough to solidify his thoughts on that.

His eyes stayed on hers as she leaned forward, the soft touch of her fingers grazing over his jawline. Just another game. Who would blink first? He listened as she spoke in her native tongue before their embrace fell, reverting back to english once more. He let out a shot laugh, shaking his head at her, “You’ve asked me what I’m doing here - I could ask the same of you, Petra. What are you doing?” 

       her smile answered his laugh. she was enjoying her— though not too much. the restraint was more for him. petra, on the other hand, was a firm believer that you could never enjoy anything too much, but she knew when to shift and shape her taste to best adapt to her present company. she was so practised in the particular art that it came to her as easily as breathing. so she retained his mask of innocence and kept the true meaning of her smile to glimpses of mischief. “i did,” she grinned behind a flute of amber liquid, “and you weren’t very forthcoming with your answer.” what was it said? a moral support for a friend in an auction? it was laughable, though she needn’t say a lot to communicate as much.

as for her, petra answered his query with a slight rise of her shoulder as if the truth was a mist that had escaped her grasp and she was gracefully admitting defeat. “it’s a big party, and I do so love big parties. they’re all so…intimidate.” her long strides stopped short once it took her nose to nose with the agent. from some secret pocket, craftily hidden in her dress, she produced a very expensive looking piece of paper with her name drawn elegantly in golden calligraphy. “signora dahan,” she began, as if reading from the letter’s content even though the paper remained folded shut. “the honour would be entirely mine if you could attend my little party. all my love, signed, al.” To the pocket returned the invitation but her eyes remained just as piercing as they stayed on the agent. “all my love…i wonder how many people here can say they’ve received that invitation. have you, hero?”

[petra-dahan]

reina-chen:

It was quite a name. One that was memorable. “Nice to meet you, Petra.” Reina responded with a nod of her head, bringing the last of her drink to her lips before setting it down on a waiter’s clear tray. She let out a laugh and shook her head, “I wouldn’t say it has anything to do with a fresh start.” Reina replied, honestly. That was the truth. Her fresh start was moving to Vegas and that had blown up in her face. This was simply a continuation, a carry on from the backlash that she had experienced there. “Just a change. I moved from Vegas not too long ago, that was where I was an events planner, here I went for something else. Didn’t feel so much as a fresh start as it felt like a convenience if that makes any sense.” 

        “a pleasure my dear,” she said, raising her golden flute in toast and following in reina’s lead to return the now emptied crystal onto an oncoming tray. “las vegas?” she said, her interest struck. it was a chaos of a city; famed for its nightlife and gaming and gambling, all accumulating to one great sin that was owed to another life before returning to the humdrum of routine monotony. the monotony that could be found in places like, say, eureka. 

“well that it is certainly a change of pace,” petra mused, retaining the polite interest that was often imitated in these sort of conversations, “what made you want to leave? did sin city become a little much for you to handle?”

[petra-dahan]

toby-enderson:

“I’d be interested to know what that theory is.” Tobias quipped back, “Though I won’t let you know if you’re right or wrong, might be pointless for you.” He added in jest, though he could see that she didn’t care about that. Nor was she likely to even spill anything of that nature. It was just a game. A game that apparently, neither of them wanted to lose. 

As they swayed a long to the music, Toby’s eyes fell to Petra again as she replied to him in Hebrew. A curious thing, languages were. It was a sort of connection. Especially when they were the only two people in the room as far as the ear could hear, that could speak it. It was like a secret without having to even lower their voices. “Well then, I feel bad for keeping you to myself.” He teased, as they continued to speak in their secret tongue, “I wouldn’t say that I’m jealous - just a question, Petra. As much as I know you would want me to be jealous of the attention you give to others. I’m still in the mix.” 

       “i’m sure you’d be interested in a lot of things,” she returned just as quickly. tobias didn’t let her get away with much. while many served petra her whims on a silver platter, there was an irrefutable restraint and composure in the agent’s character; one that made the hand rested on his shoulder drift south to rest over the place his heart would be.  petra leaned back slightly and tossed a loose dark curl back into place, “always keeping me on my toes hero. if i didn’t know better i’d say that you might actually want to keep me around.”

from her scarlet smile came a laugh, soft but free flowing all the same. her chest was flushed against his now and with the latter hand that had first snaked its way to the back of his head shifted forward so that her fingers brushed along the line of his jaw. “my love, you couldn’t keep me to yourself even if you tried.” as if to make a point of this, petra let her arms fall and stepped away, though her eyes remained just as piercing and the scarlet smile never wavered. “me? making you jealous?” her expression fashioned into a mask of innocently piqued curiosity, as she switched from hebrew back to english, “i have no idea what you’re talking about.” though the grin she wore as she stepped away from the dance floor to help herself to another flute of champagne said otherwise.

[petra-dahan]

darcearcher:

Darcy couldn’t help but keep checking her phone every ten minutes, making sure that everything was alright with her siblings and the babysitter was alright. A little crazy, she knew but that’s what she was like. She wasn’t the sort of person to be calm, she was a storm, making her presence and emotions known to all. She looked up from her phone as Petra spoke, shrugging. “Oh, cheers. I’m not lost, I’m just checking something on my phone.”

          petra laughed. “my dear, you are among stars, political leaders and businessmen of the highest influence. they would be most aggrieved to learn that their pool of loyal admirers are lessened by one because of whatever it is that is in her phone holds more intrigue then themselves.”

[petra-dahan]

kentsalinger:

Kent felt his body start to stiffen as she moved; he was unsure if she was walking away because he had managed to bore her in under ten words which wouldn’t have been the first time nor would it be the last. But she only repositioned herself and stood close enough that their should could brush if they moved slightly. “Its interesting,” he started as he looked to her for a moment before turning back to the crowded event space. “I’ve been to a lot of events like these and even if the crowd in attendance is different it seems like the same scene plays out. You can always pick out the person who recently came into money and is wanting to flaunt it and get into some new social circles.” Kent wasn’t sure if he was making sense or not but he felt like a nervous bubble of words coming out of him to make up for the awkwardness from before though to him it seemed like this could be considered more awkward.

           “my darling creature you don’t have to look to the elites to see whose crawling on top of whom to reach the pedestal that’s a little higher than the person next to them. it’s an inherent flaw in our species. whether it’s for status, money, religion, value, love... there’s always something to kill each other for.” she muses casually, she might as well be talking about the whether the way she continued to observe the spectacle, bringing the champagne flute to her lips as she does. petra turned her faze to her new companion, her eyes roamed the lines of his brow and the curve of his mouth, still smirking unabashedly. she could see that he was not quite like the rest. “i wonder what you would kill someone for.”

[petra-dahan]

xavierwynne:

Xavier nodded, letting out a small sigh in relief. He would’ve hated to have actually hurt her, or anyone for that matter. “Okay good, I wouldn’t want my clumsy self to have done something.” He couldn’t help but let out a small smile at the compliment. “I’ve got a bit on my mind. I have a lot of animals in my care, feels weird not being there or at my other jobs.”

        “how darling.” petra herself was a proclaimed animal lover, though her schedule made no room for any pets or animal companions she had always enjoyed admiring from a far. “i see you enjoy the company of animals a great deal more than of people. not that you’re entirely blameless in that particular department.” people are such messy and gloriously complicated creatures. “are you a verterinarian then?” 

[petra-dahan]

sebgrosvenor:

Sebastian looked up as the extremely attractive lady offered him the drink, not taking more than a few seconds to take it. “Thanks, gorgeous. If you hadn’t have gotten me one, I certainly would’ve done.” As she spoke, he raised his eyebrows, “Oh, it must be my resting face or something. I’m certainly used to that.” 

          “petra,” she said, her tone cracked like a whip through the thin veil of a scarlet smile. “is what you may call me, mr. grosvenor.” she had always loathed being simplified to her appearance alone. as far as guests of importance went she knew that sebastian grosvenor sat prettily near the top tier, still he was of no use to her and she demanded the respect that was due. all with a pretty smile to soften the edge, of course. “with so many beautiful women here i would hate for them to mistake your attention as theirs. i like to keep my company’s attention entirely to myself. i’m a very selfish woman you see.”

[petra-dahan]

kiaravasilev:

Kiara let out a small chuckle at the words, shrugging her shoulder. “I guess I’m just not really used to it, used to dressing up. I’ve never been photographed or anything like that. I guess it was just a bit of a shock to the system.”

       “my dear, if you think the photographers are a shock wait until you meet the people.” her grin was lightly teasing, curling at the corners as one side lifted higher than the other. she had entertained the thought of leaving the woman to the wolves, a new addition to the night’s list of entertainment, but then who could be so cruel to such pretty doe eyes. “come on little lamb,” she croons with a soft smile, but her dark eyes scream everything absolutely dangerous, “let’s at least get you a drink before we throw you to the sharks.”

[petra-dahan]

aurorarosebeaumont:

Aurora was honestly tired already, only being at the event for a few hours. She knew being close to her due date wasn’t exactly helping her out in the moment. She was facing the wall as she dealt with another wave of pain, unaware that someone was close. However, when they held out the champagne, the brunette turned around, showing her pregnant stomach. “That’s not really the best idea. I’m sure someone else would want it, though.”

          "yes, i see,” she said, promptly returning the second flute to a passing waiter so seamlessly it almost seemed rehearsed. her smile never faltered once, if anything it seemed to widen further at the happy discovery. “how much longer?”

[petra-dahan]

jamiewhitexoxo:

Jamie so far was loving the event. It wasn’t what she was used to, her parents having no say on what she was doing, a huge reason why she had signed herself up for getting a date. Dressed in some of her best, hair effortlessly styled, she was taking a seat for a moment, waiting to see if there was anyone attractive around. At the brunette’s words, she rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the drink but I’m not at a ‘loss’. I’m just looking at the eye candy.”

          she was young. that much was known in the apparent naivety and arrogance that usually came with youth. most would turn on such a display with a stern world to disapprove and discourage but to petra it was a fresh drink of wine. “if that’s what you’re after you’re not going to find them by standing there.” petra offered the girl her arm, “come on, we’re going hunting.”

[petra-dahan]

toby-enderson:

Toby had known Petra for quite some time, first meeting when he was in a relationship with Tatiana, the first and only woman who had the ability to get him to open up. He was loyal right up until the very end, even with the woman before him’s mind games. With the childhood that Tobias had, it was difficult for him to open up to anyone really. Maintaining relationships were difficult for the army brat who moved around more times than he could count and now that he was part of the FBI, well, he had become just like his parents. Work was his life, so it was no surprise to him when Petra pointed out such an armour that apparently wrapped around his frame. Not only that, but Tatiana’s disloyalty only solidified that concrete wall that he’d built so carefully. Sure, he was kind and welcoming to those he found himself speaking with but he kept those people at an arms length and for good reason. “Interesting theory.” He settled on, his blue eyes moving to the host who had made himself known to the paying party. 

“Payment or not. Would mean that you’re still stalking me one way or another.” He pointed out, bringing up the glass to his lips again to take back the last of the champagne. He set the glass down on a surface nearby, just as he was faced with his companion once again. She certainly had her ways of getting under one’s skin, a woman who truly embodied the saying of an innocent flower but a serpent beneath it. She was cunning, Tobias knew that. That was evident in her dark eyes, the brush of her delicate fingers at the back of his hair or the tickle of her breath against his ear which, if he hadn’t been trained in the art of control and composure, might’ve caused the average man to yield to her every command. But like yin and yang, he held that confidence that she also possessed and played along. He watched as their eyes met for a brief moment and when they moved to one another again, he knew that were words were not just a request. Once pulled onto the dance floor, his own hands wrapped around her waist as they moved to the song that played over head. Toby looked up to the other guests as he spoke in a low voice, “האם אתה נותן לאחרים הרבה תשומת לב?” Do you give others this much attention? Hebrew. Just one of the many languages he knew but this one was courtesy of his own heritage.

        “wait until you hear my theory on what would happen when you finally admit to liking our little game,” she fired back, all easy smiles but her eyes shone with a dangerous gleam. although perhaps when they were away from the easily scandalised ears of delicate aristocratic women of fine breeding. as expected, tobias was always quick to answer her wit with his own and already she could foresee her night being that much more entertaining with him in it.

petra could see the way he eyed her with the same careful consideration one might award to a dangerous animals. perhaps not wiser to bare his own teeth rather than back down. petra on the other hand was all teeth. white and pearly and nearly always dripping in someone else’s blood. she is, and has always been, as beautiful as she is dangerous-- and she didn’t even have to raise a gun. this was not uncommon knowledge and yet people always seemed so eager to throw their affection at her feet. and she was just as likely to step on it with the pointed end of her heel as she was to caress it. the corner of her eyes crinkled in sheer pleasure at his use of her language, her mouth pulled back into a teeth baring grin. she delighted in any chance to use her mother tongue and she took his question as invitation to continue their rapport in hebrew. “hmm,” she hummed as if the question called for much thought. “i may…i may not...i’m a woman with a lot of love to give. and people do so love to talk when they’re happy.” her chest is flushed against his now and tobias’ hands were hot on her skin where her dress did not have the grace to cover. “does it make you jealous?”

[petra-dahan]

toby-enderson:

Maybe it was due to his most recent break up, such a separation that drove a dagger deep into the crevices of his heart, that perhaps Tobias was more swayed by Petra. Of course, he did his best and successfully maintained such composure, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult, “You’re the one with the games, Petra. You seem to be able to read people pretty well, I’m sure you can guess if I’m a team player or not.” The man teased, his eyes falling to the champagne that circled delicately around the glass.

As she stepped beside him, Toby looked out at the crowd. It was true that his friend was at the gala, positioning himself in an auction that Toby, himself, would never have signed up for, but he was also on assignment. The corners of his lips twitched into a smile at her words, obviously curious as to whether this story of his was reference to his work or not, “Unless you’ve taken the time to stalk me at the mechanics…” He mused, turning to look at her now, “Which I would say that there’s no need, I’ve always welcomed you to talk to me.” 

         “well I happen to like playing games. and i think that behind that armour of righteousness that you so love to wear, you like my games too. you just won’t let yourself admit it yet.” petra’s voice was laced with its usual playfulness, the sort that bled into her banter with whoever she was holding a conversation with. still, there was always a little bit more with tobias; a game that she never tired of playing. 

“don’t be ridiculous tobias i don’t stalk,” she said, scandalised by such a claim, “i pay people to do that for me.” it was a joke. well… mostly. petra turned to meet him face on, a subtle smirk pulling the corner of her scarlet lips upward as she leaned in to close what little distance they had. “i’ve never been one for talks.” she whispers, lips hovering next to his ear. she snakes one arm up and around his neck, letting her fingers wind into his hair as the other rests firmly atop his bicep. she locks eyes with him briefly before she lets her gaze wander to the gala guests that were paired up in the same fashion. slowly, she brought her gaze back to face him, locking their eyes once more. “i’d much rather dance. join me?” she said, although the arm around his neck made it clear that this was not an invitation. 

[petra-dahan]

reina-chen:

Reina thought about the woman’s words for a moment and came to the conclusion that they had more in common than she initially gave credit for. Why, her voice was smothered by the hypocrisy of male authority in her family home. She was ridden to being nothing more than a silent wife to someone she didn’t even love and a baby bearer. Now here she was, trying to take back the control into her life and here this woman stood, explaining that she would not be silenced. It was something to admire. Though she probably shouldn’t have, the eye contact that Reina may have had with the host’s associate was designed to taunt. It was unapologetic, unafraid and possibly reckless to do against a man with a temper but Reina didn’t know that, nor did she care. “Then they’re dull and also pathetic.” She settled on in jest.

She felt a hand wrap around her arm, pulling her away from their spot to continue their walk. Had this been a few months ago, Reina might’ve flinched upon contact. But she was doing well, especially as she had started trying to train her body to always be on a guard, even in the most relaxing of times. She nodded at the vagueness of the woman’s candour, “No questions. Fine. I can sympathise with a fresh start. Done it a few times myself. Name’s Ray, by the way.”

        petra laughs, musical and genuine all at the same time, as she took immense pleasure in being in the company of a kindred spirit. “well, i said they were fascinating, i never said anything about them being particularly impressive.”

“cleopetra dahan. my friends calls me petra.” she said attaching the woman’s name to the face and storing it in a mental file, right along with ‘charity event coordinator turned humble book keeper: there’s a story there’ and ‘sympathetic to a fresh start’. as the explanation of the former was owed to the-- admittedly unimpressive --sentiment of story in mid-writing, the latter could at least be investigated a little further. although, she had a feeling that if she played her cards right, the answer of one could very easily pave way to the other. “is this fresh start anything to do with your journey from an event coordinator to a bookkeeper?”

[petra-dahan]

sephyflynn:

Persephone was still getting used to being back in her natural habitat. She hadn’t been to something like this for months now, ever since she had run away to America. She needed to play her part of not being from the lifestyle, meaning she was doing her best to have more of a deer caught in the headlights expression. Once the person beside her got the drink, she smiled in response, taking a sip. “Thank you..I haven’t been somewhere like this for a while. It’s a bit weird.”

          “a while? why, that means you’ve been somewhere like this before.” petra noted, never one to miss a detail, especially one that might be crucial to attaining information. “one would think the emotion such an event would elicit is nostalgia not...weirdness, no?”

[petra-dahan]

toby-enderson:

He often treated Petra’s little games as he would treat someone taunting him - with absolute composure. Behavioural analysis might’ve been his specialty but Toby would be lying to himself if he said he could read Petra like a book. But that was how it had always been. A puzzle. But her did enjoy piecing things together. So the man watched as she approached him, watched as she fixed his bowtie and ran her hands over his chest. Composure. Nothing more than a polite smile. He nodded his head, “Thank you.” Toby responded, picking up his glass again to bring the liquid up to his lips.

“Isn’t half the fun you trying to figure that out for yourself?” He quipped, “I have a friend in the auction, I’m here for moral support.” He explained.

          “it’s only fun if you’re playing along,” she purred happily. it was not a subject of vanity when petra admitted that most men would quiver under her gaze or the stroke of her finger along the lines that formed the his jaw. tobias was made of a firmer constitution. perhaps that was why she took so much pleasure in their little games of back and forth. well, her little games as he so rare played along. but that was a small offence that could be easily forgiven. 

“do i know this friend?” she said, positioning herself at his side to scan the faces that formed the crowd. she knew most of their names. or at least the ones that mattered. more than that, she knew what they did not want most to ever know. “have they been very naughty?”