"I-I know she doesn't..." Theodora blushed as he chuckled and reminded her that we was older than most of them. She was staring at the glass, trying to think of what to say next when he asked her a question, ignoring her own. She looked up at him and frowned. "I guess she hasn't told you. I'm an embarrassment to this family. I let my temper get the best of me and I don't always think before I act. It's just who I am, unfortunately it sometimes poses a threat to our way of living. She never says anything, but I know Mira is embarrassed to have me around sometimes." She shrugged and walked over to sit in a chair opposite Klaus with the whiskey and the glass. "You sure you don't want some?" She sipped the drink and peered at the man over the edge of her glass.

“You did infer that I was a thief – or do you forget your own words..? 'Try to 'steal' someone's family member,'” Alistair let out a genuine chuckle this time, rolling his eyes at Trixy before turning back to the girl once more. “But no matter. I think Miss Mira should educate you as well on the proper way to discuss something with a rival family – calling the head of the Blackmoores a 'child'? There was a time when that would be considered an invitation to war,” he said. It was all too political for him, the old days, and while he had no intentions of staring a fight with the Kingstons they seemed dead set on it.

“What world do we live in where childhood is synonymous with innocence? Hah! It is in experience that you are a child. You can't be older than... two fifty, maybe three hundred, tops, but I don't respect one who hasn't experienced brutal war within our kind. Girl, I couldn't care less about a turncoat Blackmoore – I have more than enough loyal to spare – and if it was someone I... cared about...” he had to nearly spit the last two words out, that was how wrong they felt. “They would at least be alive. When you have lost tens of friends on a battlefield you can't complain about one walking a different path.”

Alistair felt the world dimming to a bloodlust – not for blood itself but for violence. When was the last time he had bitten another vampire? He was sure his eyes were glinting with open malice now, and he choked down the venom slicking his teeth. “Be sure to recognise who is starting the argument here, child, as I had not a single issue with Maria and this Lucien until you walked over. Now, leave before I go against all my morals and actually harm a woman, consequences be damned, or worse, start monologuing.”

She smirked. "Now. Just now. You seem dead set on making me seem like a horrible person. Twisting my words. Isn't that, as you said, 'high school' drama? All I wanted to do was talk to you with the same kindness I talk to anyone. The fact that you ignored me for most of my apologizing shows that I, though you have 'experience' in battle, am not the child. You ignored me because I was who I was." Her eyes turned into an angry glare. "Now, NEVER, and I mean NEVER, think I have not seen anything in my day. You do not know me if you think I have not had my fair share of grievances. Now, I am a lot of things, but a 'child' I am not. And child does mean purity and innocence. You begin without any knowledge of how cruel the world is until you eventually grow up. That is what it means to be a child and I can tell you sir I am not. As for your anger towards me, you seem to be angry for no reason. Is it that you are short tempered or taking my words in a different manner because you think that all Kingstons hate Blackmoores? And go ahead. Hurt me. I want you too. No need for any war to start. No need for my family to attack yours or any of that. Hurt. Me." She brushed her long hair from her neck and opened her arms wide. "Because I won't stop you. I won't stop someone from what they want. Nor will my family. In fact, forget that I am even part of them. I will not blemish their name. Just mine."

Béatrix watched the petty drama ensue with little interest. Her arms were crossed over her chest, the leather feeling surprisingly warm against her cold skin. The female Kingston was relentless in her goal to prove she wasn’t a child, and the petulant whining started to great on Trixy’s last nerve. The longer they sat there, the thirstier she got… her bloodlust taking over, especially with the heightened emotions of the night.

Trixy noticed Alistair reflecting similar feelings towards violence and bloodshed. She placed her hand softly on his right arm in a motion of comfort. Her touch brought his eyes to hers, “Later…” she said in a whisper, if it was vampire blood he sought, she’d be glad to oblige… but now was neither the time nor place to start a war. It was then that she brought her attention to the wordy girl.

“Darling girl, you should leave. We came here to this bar, in our part of the city to pick up [/i]our[i] family member. It wasn’t us who drew the Kingstons here, your family. And it wasn’t us who tried to attack first, not even verbally. You’ll have to excuse Alistair’s ire, one – because he’s your elder, and two – because he is a family head, and three – because your little bat sister attempted to tear his throat out not 5 minutes ago. We have seen just about enough of the Kingstons in one night to make up for a whole month. Leave us now, or things will get ugly.”

Praetor decided to step outside for a moment and clear his head, as he did he stopped one of the Blackmoore girls leaned up against the wall. Deciding it couldn't harm anything he spoke to Emilia. "Nice night isn't it? Air isn't as clean as I like it but New York has a charm to wouldn't you agree?" He spoke softly without the authority he normally carried, he was trying to be nice and make pleasant conversation as best he could.

Adelisa rolled her eyes and lowered her arms. "You do see the small bruise on your leader's arm? I wanted to heal it. I noticed it when I arrived. It might have happened when one of you went in front of him to stop Theodora from attacking. That is why I came back and riled you up. Of course, I didn't want to right out and say 'give me your arm'. I wanted you to attack me so I could heal it as you were attacking. Everyone knows that, because bruises are not open wounds, they do not heal as fast. Now, will you allow me to stop being a whiny, annoying, wordy woman so I can do my job!" She looked at the girl and smirked. "But, if you want to take the words out of your leaders mouth as you have done, then please do so. I find it amusing. What was it that you wanted to use on Theodora? A ball gag? I'd invest in one for yourself." She smiled in a playful way, trying to make a joke... but it probably came off in the wrong way.

Klaus eyed Theodora as she spoke for Mira. He was quiet as she talked, the book still open in front of him even though he wasn't reading. When she offered the whiskey again, he shook his head. "No," he repeated though at least gave explanation this time around. "The taste isn't appealing and I can only get the buzz through blood. Though if you're offering your own..." He let the words trail off and he winked at her, leaving it up in the air whether or not he really would feed off another vampire. Then, abruptly, he sat up and took his feet off the table to set the book aside, his perpetual smirk fading as he looked to her. "Let me assure you of something, love: Mira isn't embarrassed of you. She understands you're still learning. She wasn't much different under my watch than you are under hers, quite frankly."

---

Why did no one bloody listen to her?

"Adelisa, they can handle their own problems and Praetor can handle Lucian. We're leaving--now," she hissed angrily, pulling the other's arm via telekinesis and pulling her back, making a point to step forward and put herself between Adelisa and the Blackmoores.

Apollosarcher said
Praetor decided to step outside for a moment and clear his head, as he did he stopped one of the Blackmoore girls leaned up against the wall. Deciding it couldn't harm anything he spoke to Emilia. "Nice night isn't it? Air isn't as clean as I like it but New York has a charm to wouldn't you agree?" He spoke softly without the authority he normally carried, he was trying to be nice and make pleasant conversation as best he could.

It was such a beautiful night outside, her eyes locked on the stars as it sparkled in her eyes. Emilia heard a guy's voice seeing Praetor walking towards her. "...Whaaaaaat the ffffffffffffffffffffuck." she sighed thinking to herself, rolling her eyes at Praetor, and crossing her arms. Emilia stared into Praetor's eyes. "Okay, listen here. It was your little girlfriend who wanted to attack my boss, so if you are here to talk about that. I just want to tell you, that I have SUCH a bad temper, so if you are here to piss me the fffffeathers off! You better get your ass turned around and walking away! Because I am -NOT- the one.." Emilia said to Praetor with a very angry tone of voice. But she suddenly calmed down a bit looking away before sighing and speaking more calmly. "Yes... It is a beautiful night out today..."

Praetor laughed, harder than he laughed in a century calming down he spoke. "She's not my girlfriend, no matter how much she flirts with me, reminds far to much of my students. I'm Praetor by the way, but you might know me as Van Helsing and you are Miss?" He spoke with a quiet polite tone, obviously shifting from his bodyguard duties as he awaited Lucian. He smiled "Oh and thank for the laugh, it's been a long time since I laughed like that, I needed it."

Adelisa turned to Mira and said in a hard tone. "I haven't done anything to put myself out there. I am trying to undo what Theodora had done! If that makes me a stupid woman, so be it! But I have to do this. Do not try to stop me. You know me, Miss Mira. If you won't let me finish what I started, then... then... then it would be time for me to be on my own." She looked down, her heart straining with every word. "I am a woman who sticks to her decisions. I want to finish what was started and heal the Blackmoore leader. I said that I would! I acted completely out of character so he would attack me so I could heal him! Please! Just let me do this! Or I could live somewhere else." She was that determined. Always was, always will be. Even if it's an irrational idea.

His words touched her. For the first time in a long time, she felt a glow of warmth in her heart. The glow made her eyes shine happily.
"Lucian-" she started to say only to be cut off when one of his family appeared. She stepped back a bit. Maria was not the best at combat. If the older vampire decided to attack her...

But he didn't. He merely teased Lucian a bit and left, giving them 15 minutes.
Only 15 minutes? It seemed like only a few seconds. So she would have to make the best of them.
She looked towards Lucian and stepped closer now that his family member was gone. "When shall we meet again angelic knight?" she asked, her smile betraying her enthusiasm.

Then her sire had to embarrass her by calling out to them. Maria shot him the kind of look that a teenage girl gives her embarrassing father before turning back to Lucian. "I'm so sorry. My sire he..." she shrugged, hoping he would understand.

But that thought led to her thinking about their families. Her smile faltered and she looked sad. "What if your family... I don't want to cause trouble for you," she said. Troubling him was the last thing she wanted to do.
She swayed closer, wanting to be near him, wanting to touch him and feel the electric pulse he had sent through her hand before. She had never been shy or coy before but felt both in abundance with this male. He was... perfection... utter perfection...

Had he a mate or someone special to him? She prayed not, otherwise she'd have to kick the female's ass and make her disappear. Her heart had decided on this male. She would have no other. None could possibly compare to how this male made her feel, his voice, his music that so matched her own. It was as though they were fated to find each other.
And now that she had found him, she would no lose him. If his family made him leave tonight, she would simply find him the next night. Or perhaps he would find her...? The thought made her smile brightly.

He showed Otto the way through a secret passage to the Elder library and he tapped his cane on the ground and hidden room was revealed. He looked at Otto. "Hopefully Adelisa delivered the message one where to meet "

Laughter...? He....was laughing...? Was she being funny? Did she wear something that made her look funny? Because there was nothing funny about that. Emilia rolled her eyes. "Laugh all you want. I don't really care about you, sweetie. Now move the fuck out of my way..!" she smiled at him and pushed him away, now walking past him and ignoring him. It wasn't that she was mean....its just, she wasn't the mood to be talking to a Kingston. Emilia strutted her way back to the Blackmoores.

Praetor watched her go, he hadn't even caught her name still she seemed a decent person, like a soldier he had known, just blocked everything out with anger. Sighing he waited, knowing enough not to follow a angry women he waited for Lucian, hoping he would be out shortly or he have to drag the man out. Pulling out a small book he began to write, it was his journal, in his home he had bookcases full of them, detailing his life and accomplishments if anyone ever read them he would just say the were works of fiction. He began to write of the nights events humming as jotted down the nights events so far.

Alistair took off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt – true enough, there was a bruise there, a small one that was barely worth his time. “You might consider your words when speaking to my Head Executor,” he said dangerously as the girl was pulled back by Miss Mira. He let out a monotone 'yay' and clapped his hands.

“Seems like a contrived way of healing – utterly pointless too. If I had been run through with a sword again tonight I might have reconsidered, but a bruise?” he chuckled at the situation. “Causing trouble with your own family head over it, too. Tut tut.”

He finished by throwing an arm around Trixy's shoulders. “I have no intentions of dealing with a little masochist tonight, is all. You'll soon be on your merry way, and we'll be bathing in the blood of the innocents, or whatever you might think us capable of. Next time you visit the Tortuga, Miss Kingston, come for a drink, not a fight.”

"No, you're wanted at home," Mira said to her, scowling. "You wanted to help, good. However, the way you went about it..." She was cut off by the head of the Blackmoores, but allowed him to speak. She hated that he had a point here, but no one was listening to her tonight. Though as he continued and bragged about "bathing in the blood of innocents," her frown furthered. "Oh, I doubt I'll be back." Her gaze turned back on Adelisa with narrowed eyes, silently screaming at her to leave. The night was so young and she was already exhausted. And there was still something going on back at the manor...

She shrugged and silently left, almost laughing at the Blackmoore leader. "He really is an exagerator isn't he?" She giggled as if she were not afraid that he would hunt her down, when really she wanted to crawl in a hole in fear. Not of his standing, but of his gender. "Anyway, Miss Mirabelle; you are needed at the manor. I have to get a few things done at the shop, so I won't be able to go with you. The Elder and Otto may be injured so I'm going to grab a few things. I'll be seeing you" She turned, smiled, and waved at the leader as if it were a pleasant ending to the conversation. She left the bar and looked at Praetor. "Get ready to lose Lucien. I'd say your goodbyes now, so not to become attached." She smiled sadly at Praetor to say she was sad to say the words, but they needed to be said. She waved her goodbyes and walked off to the shop; but as soon as she was out of site she ran to the shop in complete terror. Adelisa never spoke to a man that way. She never spoke to a man witbout running the other way. She was kind of proud of herself, but she didn't show it. She noticed a man passed out on a bench and stopped in her tracks. She walked over to him and shoved him with her small hand. "Excuse me sir? Are you alright?" She noticed he was one of her customers! She shook him some more, hoping he would awaken.

Alistair’s arm around her shoulders had a calming effect, perhaps that’s exactly what he intended. His signature scent filled her nose, much like that of nutmeg and cool autumn afternoons. Calming or not, Trixy was feeling starved and irritated as all hell by the Kingston presence in Tortuga. Once all of them left, with the exception of the male currently twitter-pated with Maria, Béatrix moved on to her first victim.

The man was a typical blond-haired blue eyed jock, a couple years out of high school - perhaps in college on a football scholarship or the like. It mattered little, Trixy took a seat in the same booth, sitting directly across from him. Her presence startled him and he looked up from his beer at her. As years of being a rogue private investigator and assassin, she took in her surroundings and read his every move and action before delving into the secrets of his mind. Weak vampires relied only on their special abilities, the best predators maxed all of their skills through practice and passion, not magic.

He was drinking a beer, alone, probably having trouble with the ladies currently… maybe just lonely, he probably didn’t have many good friends. His scruff was a bit past a 5 o’clock shadow, indicating either laziness or stress about something. And lastly were his eyes… their striking blue nearly matched her own, but color wasn’t the only similarity. He had the eyes of a predator. That was what caught her attention the most.

Trixy leaned forward across the table, pushing out her cleavage as she crossed her arms underneath her chest. Her proximity to him alerted her to a familiar foul scent, what was it? Surely she would find out soon enough.“I’m going to ask you a few questions, and you will answer me honestly. Do you understand?” she ask, now using her special ability to manipulate people’s minds and emotions. The man nodded, looking thoroughly hypnotized.

“Why are you here?”

“To find girls like you.” He said simply, as if it were nothing at all.

Trixy raised her eyebrows at that, the scent made sense now. Rohypnol, the slimy bastard. “And what do you want from girls like me?” She knew, but she’d make him say it.

“To drug you, take you out back, and fuck you.” He said, matter-of-factly.

Trixy little out a soft chuckle and sat back. Before his human eyes could even track the motion, she had her dagger in her hands and spun it on its tip on the table. Trixy proudly watched the fear take him over as he went to call for help.

“Ahh, ahh, ahh. Shut up, boy. Not a single sound, do you understand?” He nodded against the finger she had pressed against his lips.

“Do you like my dagger? A real man gave it to me, I know you don’t know what it’s like to be a real man though, huh?”Trixy asked. He shook his head ‘no’.

“That’s right, because you’re just a dog. I think that’s what I’ll even treat you like.” Trixy said with a dark smile and then launched her dagger just inches past his head. It went straight towards the dartboard and struck it dead center of the bull’s eye. A couple of the regulars smiled approvingly, but knowing her face they didn’t pay much more mind to her. Trixy brought her eyes back to the cowering wannabe man in front of her.

“Fetch” she demanded, and he scurried out of the booth to retrieve the dagger. When he returned to her, Trixy was already standing outside of the booth and turning to walk outside. “Come.” She commanded yet again, and her now-loyal pup followed.

Praetor had just finished writing recent events in his journal, he looked up and saw something that made his blood boil in rage, one of the Blackmoore's, a women, was leading a human out the door, he knew what that meant. He growled as he followed slowly, years of practice made him quickly dissipate in to shadow as he tailed the women in leather, he knew her reputation Béatrix de la Croix, executioner and close friend to Alistair, however even if his family's name was on the line if she killed that meat-headed human he would have to act, his morals demanded it. Gripping his sword and summoning his power he waited, whatever this women did he would be ready for it.

A warning to his executor died in his throat as she was already gone, readying herself for a hunt. Alistair wasn't taking any chances with the Kingstons still around – no way in Hell – and so even as he sauntered over to the bar, chatting up a lonely woman with a smoking habit, his eyes were carefully surveying the whole of the room. Despite the aching dryness of his throat, he could survive a little longer if it meant keeping each and every member of his family in tact.

He might be considered old fashioned, but he didn't like Trixy leaving alone, either. She had a reputation, a big one, and while he trusted in her abilities... He didn't want to spill the blood of their kin tonight, Kingston or not, but if she was otherwise harmed by the elder vampire out there – the one who picked off the nomadic acquaintances of his clan out in Europe – it would become a necessity.

There was no harm in following, he decided. Maria could take care of herself, that was for sure, and they were going to be leaving anyway... He wasn't just being a paranoid old man. He quickly excused himself from what would have been prey on any other night, finding Emilia and wordlessly tapping her on the shoulder to get her to follow him as he quietly went outside, footsteps making scarcely a sound.

Watching Trixy dispensing a little justice always got the blood-pumping, too, no matter how voyeuristic it might feel.