Thanking God for arriving alive and in one piece, Celeste unfastened her seatbelt. She got out of the car and looked at the place in front of her.

"This is it?!!", she asked herself completely flabbergasted. The hut facing the green-eyed girl was not exactly what she had expected. "I guess she is the kind that she cares more about what she drives than where she lives..."

The young girl was not rich by any means, but it was true that her small apartment looked better than the rundown cabin. "On the bright side, I am alive and it will be only for one night..." Celeste consoled herself as she walked in direction of her savior's home.

No soon had the long-haired woman started walking, when she heard the sound of tires on the dirt and gravel. Turning her body slowly, Celeste's eyes fixated on the two people in front of her. "The more, the merrier...", the green-eyed girl said to herself laughing nervously. She tried to calm down her nerves as much as possible at the realization of the fact that there were now three vampires surrounding her.

She hears the laugh and stops. "What...do...you...want...?" She muttered as she gritted her teeth, annoyed. Shrivvle turns around and sees the mistress. "Oh, it's you. I've heard a lot about you, mistress."

"You really wanna know?" She gritted her teeth more, wanting to leave after her time was wasted at the party. "I had something to do this night, I had to change my plans all cause of this waste of time party."

@Luna Amore

"Mei!" Anton wrapped his arms around the woman. Happy indeed was he to see his boss and friend very much alive. The girl Petra hugged her as well, and it became evident how short and how much younger she was compared to the Chinese Woman. "We thought you were dead!"

"Guys, please!" Mei laughed. "It will take a hell of alot more than hunters to bring me down! I'm glad to see you two are safe. I just....wish I could say the same for Judah..." Her smile slowly contorted into a mournful grimace. "And the other three... Which reminds me, did you call Marcus?"

"Yeah, he should be on his way." Anton answered. "But I gotta ask, boss, what's with the human? Is she an h'ors durve?" He looked over his shades at Celeste, a hungry look in his glistening amber eyes.

Mei replied sternly, placing an arm in front of Celeste, "She is our guest, Anton, so don't even think of nibbling on her!"

"Our guest?" Said Petra. "Well if you say so, boss, but why is she here?"

"Look..." Mei sighed. "It's a long story. I'll explain everything once we get inside...of course..." She grumbled ducking her head. "I forgot Nero had the fucking key."

None too soon did the words leave her mouth however did their savior arrive. Nero must've been driving like a bat out of Hell to get here, seeing how his GT skidded into the dirt coming to a halt.

"Well, well. Looks like the gang's all here!" Nero got out of his car and walked up to them. Even in the dark, Mei could see the rips and tears in his fine black suit. Poor bastard, he was trying to get out of Hell it seemed.

"Sorry I'm late, but I had to excuse myself from Alice in Fucking Wonderland. Where's Marky?"

"On his way." Mei curtly returned. "We're waiting on you to open the door, in case you haven't noticed."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." He grabbed the house key out of his pocket, but before he opened the door, Nero noticed their little guest for the evening, the bitch he suspected of spying on him. He looked at Celeste then back to Mei. "Are you fuckin' kidding me?"

"Look, just open the damn door already!" Mei huffed.

Nero nodded, albeit reluctantly, and opened the door, gesturing to Mei. "After you."

"What did I have planned? Only the most important thing of my life. My friend's wedding, I don't even know why I came here." She slips her shades onto her face. "I'm leaving now." She turns around and walks away.

Rat's eyes slowly drifted around the now mostly emptied room. His dog rats ran up to him and placed some kind of gem at his feet. He picked it up and gave it a good sniff. The core. The magical engine that supported this whole space. The thing responsible for drawing in all the unexpected guests. He took this and the place collapsed.

He took another contemplative look around. Those knights had actually done a hell of a job restoring the place. Those things were the result of some impressive magecraft. He waved the rat monster away. "Go put dat back. I think I own dis join now."

The monsters scurried away as he surveyed the room. Modular layout. Classy aesthetic. Didn't really exist so he wouln't have to pay taxes on it. He wondered if it had a kitchen or if the food just generated? He looked down at the trey of hors d'oeuvre and found more cheese. Okay, self generating, so he probably would have to train rats into chefs. He could make them waiters though. People might not like being waited on by rat monsters, but he could sew them little suits.

The idea came together in his head. With this he could leave behind this double dealing mercenary lifestyle of a mage for hire and go into business for himself. Make a living on the straight and narrow. He could probably start tonight, seeing as he hadn't seen diner on the table when he'd broken in here. "Hey, civil war." he said. "You hungry?"

@Sirkaithethird

@Flightless_Soul

Looking with a gaze filled with warmness, Celeste observed the trio of friends hugging each other. From what little she had read about vampires in fantasy books, she had always imagined them as cold creatures; however, in front of her very eyes, she was witnessing an extremely affectionate moment.

"They look like a family." A soft smile formed on her rosy lips. In her mind, the fair girl imagined family roles for each one of the friends. Mei was the big oldest tough sister, Anton was the rebellious brother and Petra was the baby sister.

Upon until that moment, Celeste had only seen Mei's cold, stern and bossy side, so it was a welcome opportunity to get to see her kind side as well.

A name was mentioned. "Judah?" Judging from the queen's expression, the young girl wondered what had happened to the man. She opened her eyes in shock when hearing about more vampires joining the clan.

"More...there are more?!!!" It was not too long before she learned one of the names of the other three vampires. "Marcus..." SHe paused for a moment as she did some calculations in her head. "So there are seven vampires in this coven..." She had met four of them and heard the name of another one. So far there were two girls and three boys. She wondered what gender were the other two.

Being an only child, Celeste had never experienced that special bond that siblings had. She did not want to admit it but she was a bit jealous of the tight and loving bond that she could easily see these "sibling" had.

An audible gulp was immediately heard after Anton asked Mei if Celeste was a late night appetizer. However, to the young girl's surprise and relief her savior had protected her once again. Turning her gaze to Mei, the green-eyed girl could not hide the expression of gratitude on her face.

Hearing Nero's name and shortly after seeing him in person lightened up Celeste's face like the moon lighting up the darkest of nights. Throughout her life, the naive girl had dated guys that looked very different from the black-haired man but there was something about him that fascinated the young girl.

The swift glance that Nero gave the brown-haired girl was enough to make her blush. She looked at the floor, trying to hide the happiness she felt at seeing that Nero had returned to his home safe and unharmed.

She waited for everyone to enter into their home, before stepping into the hut. She opened her eyes widely, an expression of great surprise on her visage. The inside of the cabin was completely different from the outside. An elegant and sophisticated place was the one she was walking into.

Turning around slowly so she could properly observe Mei's "humble" abode, the green-eyed girl thought to herself, "Do not judge a book by its cover Celeste, do not judge it".

@Gentlemanvaultboy
Pvt. Peters gazed at the odd man,
He had been in he field for the last month or so with little to eat but rations,
"Yes please sir, and may I ask where I am?"

@Luna Amore@Olira

m.youtube.com/watch?v=NOG6gd3O4OI



The outside, a crappy, shabby hillbilly shack in the middle of the woods, but the inside...it was so much more. Years ago, Mei had discovered this mysterious but wonderful place, she and Nero. For some reason, the cabin was an anomaly in their world, a portal that led to their swanky abode.

A smooth and somber jazz melody played over the antique jukebox in the corner as Mei, her coven, and Celeste stepped into an environment like a 1930s speakeasy, complete with a bar, crushed red velvet and polished black marble. There was even rooms upstairs where the coven made their home during the day, and each you could tell who it belonged to.

Mei sauntered up to the bar and sat down, resting her head on the cool marble with a weary sigh. A long night it had been, and not just for her.

"Go ahead. Make yourself at home." Was about the only solitary response she could give to Celeste, the first human to ever step foot into their cozy abode. "I'm gonna rest here for a bit before we get started. Anton, fix me a Red Russian, would you sweetie." (A Red Russian being blood mixed with Vodka on ice)

"Damn, boss! Tossing 'em back already?" Anton laughed hopping behind the bar. "Alright! One Red Russian on the rocks!"

While he fixed her drink, Mei turned to Celeste. The woman's look was sincere, sympathetic one might say, odd for a vampire to show such. "Hey Celeste." She spoke, her voice quiet and heavy with exhaustion.

"About...tonight. I want to apologize for dragging you into this. Had things not gone sour, perhaps we could have met on better terms...more...friendly terms. I will admit, I do find you quite attractive, but that's beside the point. I don't know what's going on, but I plan to get to the bottom of this. Anyways, you're welcome to stay here for the night. I'll make sure my brothers and sisters behave, and tomorrow, I'll have Nero take you back home. I...didn't plan on having a human mixed up in our affairs."

@Gentlemanvaultboy
Pvt. Peters gazed at the odd man,
He had been in he field for the last month or so with little to eat but rations,
"Yes please sir, and may I ask where I am?"

He poured a little thought into his minions tiny minds and the rats left on the floor scattered and moved out to search for the kitchen. In the meantime he handed the soldier the cheese platter with the hopes that it would tied him over til then. "Ta explain dat I'd have to lay some pretty heavy concepts of magic on ya. To keep it all simple like, ya been spirited away from where ya were to this here room. Rooms like dis, they do dat, bring together all sorts of people from all sorts of places. Ya actually just missed a fancy party. Perfectly safe, of course. Ya can walk out anytime, or wait till ya get bored and it'll probably send ya back where ya came from. Whoa, boys!"

A line of rats was advancing, a silver covered dish balanced on their back. Steam escaped from the cracks that opened between the lid and the cover the rats swayed back and forth to keep the thing balanced, releasing the rich smell of a roasted turkey. Rat quickly picked it up before the they spilled it and set it om a table, lifting the cover off with a flourish and whistled. "Dat is some bird. Well, bon appetite sir."

"Magic? Well I'll go along with it, as long as I can stay here and eat like this. Say I didn't catch your name"
Peters dug into the turkey like he had not eaten for days, and that was probably true. The taste was wonderful. Better than what he had as a kid back in D.C
@Gentlemanvaultboy

(CRAP POST REDACTED!)

@Flightless_Soul

Maybe it was that the adrenaline in her body that was coming down, but the young girl was beginning to feel very out of place. Mei's words made her feel a bit more comfortable. Giving her host a soft smile in return, Celeste wondered if other humans had been there before. She walked slowly towards one of the chairs in the room and sat on it.

Upon hearing her name, the green-eyed girl lifted up her gaze and looked into the Chinese woman's eyes.

"Why is she apologizing?!"

Mei had saved her and protected her throughout the whole night, instead of having her for dessert in the balcony at the party, so hearing an apology confused Celeste a little bit. However, the naive girl did not have much time to ponder about it since her savior had said something even more puzzling.

"She finds me attractive....she finds ME attractive?!" The immediate effect that those words had on the girl was more than evident. The intense red of her cheeks was highlighted even more by the contrast with her fair skin. Lowering her gaze, she tried to control the mixed emotions swirling inside of her.

Once Mei had finished talking and Celeste had calmed down enough to talk, the brown-haired girl stood up and walked towards her host.

She stood beside Mei and with a heartfelt and sincere voice, she expressed, "Thank you! Thank you for everything!", she paused for a moment before continuing. Her long hair that had been tied in a bun at the party was now cascading down her chest.

"Thank you for saving my life and for protecting me! Thank you for letting me sleep at your house tonight." She took a deep breath before proceeding. "You did not have to do all those things yet you did it."

The light in the room added a beautiful sparkle to her emerald eyes. "Thank you for giving me the most interesting night of my entire life! Thank you for making me feel desired and beautiful again. Thank you for everything!"

Biting her lower lip and tucking her hair behind her ear, Celeste thought of the only way she could demonstrate her immense gratitude to her savior. It was risky, but....it was worth it.

She bent her body just enough to reach her host's face and gently planted a kiss on Mei's cheek.

@Luna Amore

Mei perked up a little at the tiny peck on her cheek. It was a cute gesture, and from quite the adorable beauty no doubt. Had she not been a creature of the living dead, her own cheeks would be blushing bright at this time. She flashed a genuine smile to the human girl then took a sip of her drink, a small giggle to punctuate, "My, and here I thought you would be scared out of your mind, honey. I mean, you did just get kidnapped by a vampire after all. I would be a little more eh...terrified, if I were you." Teasingly she grinned, a slight showing of her fangs. She leaned over to Celeste and decided to return the kiss on the cheek. "But you're more than welcome. Not all vampires are heartless, bloodsucking creatures...well...unlike those damn Malkavians, but that's another story for another time. I couldn't just let a sweet and innocent girl like you get hurt honestly."

Meanwhile, the two younglings watched curiously their leader, more or less, flirting with the human.

"Oooooh~ So that's why Mei brought her here, eh?" Anton chuckled. Petra elbowed him in the side, "Eww! Get your mind out of the gutter, perv! I think Mei just wanted to keep her safe for some reason. Eh...whatever that is." Timidly she bit her bottom lip.
"Heheh~ Awww yeah, I know what reason! Mei wants a little human pet she can play with! All night long~!" Anton gave a smarmy grin. Petra sighed gruffly. Seemed she was the more mature of the two. "Guh! You are so gross, Anton!"

Shortly after, Nero walked up to Mei.

"Yo, I'm gonna check outside for a bit, maybe have a smoke before we get down to business. You cool?"

"Sure, go ahead." Mei nodded, although she found it odd Nero was stepping outside to smoke, when obviously he could have lit one up in the lounge and she wouldn't care. Her brow crinkled slightly, but her worries...they seemed to vanish when she looked in the human's dazzling eyes.

@Olira

(Double post! Apologies)

Nero stepped out of the cabin door with a cigarillo clenched between his lips, about to light it... until he felt a bizarre yet...strangely familiar presence looming about him.

He looked up, and...

"Aww shit..."

It was her, that freaky bitch and her walking tin cans, but how the hell did they get out here? And just how the hell did they find this place?

Nero snarled under his breath, flicking the cigarillo away and brandishing his custom gold Beretta, aiming it dead on Hilda lounging across Anton's car. Of course, he was outnumbered, so he wasn't gonna make a fool of himself. He sighed, thumbing back the safety.

"You sure have a bad habit of showing up where you ain't wanted, bitch. I thought I told you, I'm not interested in what it is you're offering.
Now get outta here, you and your boys. I ain't looking for no trouble tonight, but I guess you are, giving me that look." Indeed, a look of pure malice, that same devilish grin the woman seemed to perpetually wear.