[color=92278f]This was getting tiring.[/color]  Lorelai was covered in blood,  again.  She stood in an alleyway surrounded by broken bodies.  Three attacks in what?  A night and a half?  She was starting to wonder if they were attacking her on purpose,  but that would be stupid.  It had started out a little fun too.  Some barely blooded vamp would turn around one corner,  his thralls around the other.  He'd say some [i]very[/i] threatening drivel, offer to teach her a lesson or some such.  She'd respond at first with inquiries into the nature of the education she was about to receive, was it a philosophical debate?  His eyes would narrow and he'd say something foolishly rude.

Then she'd eat them all.  She didn't even remember her mother,  but she was pretty sure she would have taken exception to being called...whatever it was.

It was starting to get dull now though.  Is this the kind of thing that happens in California when one doesn't return the calls of pompous young fools who have, for some reason she couldn't divine, declared themselves [i]important?[/i]  She dialed a number on her cell.

[color=92278f]"Shaun, I need picked up again.  Set up a meeting with these,  Nyctari?  Or whatever."[/color]

"Are you alright ma'am?"

[color=92278f]"Unfortunately yes.  They didn't even manage to make me bleed a little this time,  how rude."[/color]

[hr]
[i]An hour later.  Lorelai's condo.[/i]

Lorelai smiled as she pulled the silk top over her head.  She did so love the feel of silk,  smooth and almost unnoticeable it glid over the skin without so much as a trace.  Like a cat stalking prey, leaving nothing disturbed in its wake.  She let out a small giggle,  was she empathizing with a fabric?  Perhaps she [i]had[/i] gone mad after all.

"Mi'lady,  your car awaits."  Shaun stood at the doorway to her bedroom.

[color=92278f]"Will you ever simply call me Lorelai you old bat?"[/color]  She favored him with a grin.

"I don't believe so ma'am."  He hardly showed it,  but the small upturn at the corner of his mouth betrayed a smile.

[color=92278f]"Would you at least dispense with the titles?  You, and only you, may call me asshole."[/color]  She stood still as he fixed the ribbon on her head.

"I do believe there will come a day when I stop calling you Mi'lady."

[color=92278f]"Is there now?"[/color]  Lorelai made a show of pouting.

"I hear one doesn't get to speak much once they've died for the last time."  He flashed one of his rare grins

[color=92278f]"Oh you!"[/color]  She threw her purse at him.  [color=92278f]"You've offended me for the last time old man.  I do think I'll eat you now."[/color]

Shaun cocked an eyebrow,  not afraid in the slightest.  "Do be sure to put on a bib before you do ma'am,  blood is hard to get out of silk."

At that she laughed,  and didn't stop laughing until they'd reached the car waiting outside.

[color=92278f]If only Shaun was a woman.[/color]  Lorelai thought to herself as she examined the passing buildings.  Then she'd...The train of thought took her back to a particular elf.

By the time they'd arrived outside the closed nightclub she was in a foul mood.  Shaun was tense next to her,  surely thinking about how nice it would be if this meeting went well.  Lorelai scoffed,  they hadn't even gotten a boss to meet her,  this was evidently the haunt of a local lieutenant of some kind.

Getting out of the car Lorelai made her way to the front door.  It was being guarded by two very large men.

"What's this?  Get outta here,  this ain't no place for high schoolers."  The first man spoke.

[color=92278f]"I'm Lorelai Von'Strauss I have an appointment."[/color]  She was somewhat accustomed to people making assumptions about her due to her size.  So she'd let that one slide,  in the name of civility.

"[b]You're[/b] Vlad's spawn?  I always thought the guy sounded weird,  but to think he was a ped-"  The first kick stopped his laughter and destroyed most of the man's kneecap.  The second sent him skidding down the street half a block, leaving a trail of dead blood behind him.

[color=92278f]"Did you learn from his mistake?  Or should I eagerly await yours?"[/color]  Lorelai surveyed the second man with contempt.

The man evidently was wiser than his companion,  and simply stepped aside.  Lorelai pushed her way into the darkened nightclub.  It had a similar layout to the one she'd had her little romp with Lexi in.  Lexi,  Lorelai had her number,  maybe she'd call later.  Her thoughts were interrupted by the approach of yet another of her kin,  this one a small dark haired woman.

"I trust you found the place just fine?"  She asked,  trying to make polite conversation.

[color=92278f]"My driver seemed to,  I can't be bothered to pay attention to such banalities.  You're going to need a new doorman I think, the one you had was quite rude."[/color]

The woman took a glance at Lorelai's shoes which were stained with the thug's blood.  Or rather the blood of whoever he'd been feeding from.  "I see,  I'll make sure he finds...lower brow employment."

[color=92278f]"You know when I was young it was fashionable to offer up offensive servants as a meal to the offended."[/color]  She sighed.  [color=92278f]"I was disappointed when that went out of vogue.  No matter,  see that it doesn't happen again, or I'll start blaming their masters for not instilling grace and manners when they had the chance."[/color]

"O-of course ma'am."  Smile gone, the woman led her to a back room.  "Valentino's in there."

She stepped into a spacious office.  What would have been a rather luxurious office was diminished by the poor cleanliness however.  Was everyone going to offend her tonight?  Behind a wooden desk that was covered in coffee rings, and scratch marks that she could only presume resulted from cutting lines, sat a plump and decidedly unpleasant looking man.

"Lorelai,  welcome,  have a seat.  We've much to discuss."  He offered a hand,  which Lorelai waved away.

[color=92278f]"I think I'll stand thank you."[/color]  She looked around the room.  [color=92278f]"I take it the Nyctari aren't much for decorum.  Or is that a trait that you alone possess?"[/color]

"What?  Oh the room?  Don't worry about that,  we've got some exciting prospects for you Lorelai.  As Vlad's progeny we could bring you in as a made man."

[color=92278f]"A made man?  What is that?  I hope no one's going to make me male.  That would offend me even more than I already have been.  That would not be wise."[/color]

"Uh.  They weren't kidding when they said you were old huh?  A made man is basically a full member of the family,  you'd get a cushy job,  or a job with some upward growth available.  Some prime feeding spots to yourself,  nothing too fancy to start,  and you won't have to worry about other vamps poaching."

[color=92278f]"I see.  What are you...Valentino?"[/color]

"Well, I'm a Lieutenant.  A couple of steps up.  You'd be like Larissa outside."  It dawned on the pudgy man that perhaps he should have come up with a convincing lie.  Or maybe called his boss for a better offer.  Too bad it didn't come earlier.

[color=92278f]"Shaun,  be a dear and hold my purse.  I think I'm going to throw a bit of a tantrum."[/color]

[hr]
[i]Fifteen minutes later.  Outside the club.[/i]

[color=92278f]"Shaun,  call the cleaner for me.  I'm afraid I may have ruined my top."[/color] Lorelai emerged from the club covered in blood.

"Already done ma'am.  There's a change of clothes waiting in the car for you."

[color=92278f]"Always anticipating my needs.  I'm blessed."[/color]  Lorelai climbed into the vehicle and began changing.

"You've probably just made a large number of powerful enemies ma'am."  Shaun spoke with his back to the open window,  to preserve his lady's modesty.  "Perhaps we should reach out to the Bloodbloom syndicate.  They've been calling as well."

[color=92278f]"The thought had occurred to me.  The Bloodbloom syndicate?  What a colorful name."[/color]  Lorelai finished changing and stuck her head out the window.  [color=92278f]"What do we know about them."[/color]

"Unfortunately little,  other than the streets whisper of some trouble between the two."  Shaun had recieved a call earlier in the night from Vladimir explaining the situation.

[color=92278f]"Enemy of my enemy and all that?  With a name like the Bloodbloom syndicate I'm sure they do something fun."[/color]

"Named for their Matriarch I believe."

[color=92278f]"Ah! Run by a woman too?  Maybe they'll have better sense."[/color]

"I hear she's quite corpulent."

[color=92278f]"You know me Shaun.  It's what's on the inside that counts."[/color]