Devil's Nest, Monday, June 4, Daytime

[bitten_notshy]

It was the second day of the full moon, which meant Jack got to work late and with long, itchy scrapes on all of his limbs. He felt a bit like crawling out of his skin; it was soothing to have something as detail-oriented and formal as vampire business to concentrate his excess energy on.

Though he could have done without the cacophony of Tiny singing as he prepped the bar. Jack came out of the office and snarled at him to be quiet already without truly meaning to.

Tiny snarled back and kept singing.

[OOC: Open for any bar business or pissy werewolf needs.]

Comments

[icecoldfrost]

Emma was doing her best to resist any jokes about it being 'that time of the month.'

Really.

It was the SECOND day of the full moon, and she'd only made one! Last week! When he'd had PMS - Pre-Moon-Syndrome.

Look, Emma was determined to find some normalcy in this, even if it made Jack snarl at her on occasion.

"Someone was out late," she sang, wriggling her fingers at Tiny in a 'hello.' Tiny did not look like he'd missed her. At all. "So I've brought lunch and diphenhydramine creame. Although if you have poison ivy, I'm going to mock you."

Lunch was a very LARGE (and kosher, Emma had triple-checked) roast beef sandwich on rye bread, with another half-loaf of rye, butter and honey in a little tub, and some fruit. She was practically lugging around a picnic basket, but, Jack was a growing boy.

Werewolf.

Person.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack perked up from his paperwork when he realized Emma was coming in, and perked up yet further when he scented beef and bread. He managed a smile at her, though he couldn't completely conceal the tiredness in his eyes.

"I'd deserve the mocking, if I had it," he said. "I am so glad to see you."

A beat.

"... and lunch. And -- what is the diphen-something cream?"

[icecoldfrost]

"More commonly known as Benadryl," Emma said dryly, placing her basket on his desk. "For itchy spots. But I had a feeling you'd be appreciating lunch more."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack flashed a smile before reaching into the basket. "Do I get points for appreciating you most of all?"

He was snarly, yes, but people he loved who were being nice to him generally didn't bear the brunt of it.

[icecoldfrost]

"Naturally you appreciate me the most. I'm fabulous," Emma quipped, throwing him a wink. "How goes the paperwork, darling?"

[bitten_notshy]

Jack squinted at her, hands full of picnic. "It ... goes," he said. "And makes me grateful vampires at home never got the bright idea of having shadow governments."

[icecoldfrost]

"As far as you know, anyway," Emma pointed out, leaving for only a moment to get two glasses of water from the bar. "I wouldn't put it past our Very Creepy Friend Starkad and his peers to have some sort of shadow justice system set up for dealing with 'problem' vampires before the problem starts attracting the notice of the human public."

[bitten_notshy]

"Starkad doesn't have peers," Jack said briefly, but he was frowning at the possibility. Confusing as it was, he had to entertain the thought Emma was right.

He unwrapped the sandwich and looked over at her.

"I was with Sebastien over a decade, Emma. I don't think he lied on that point to me. He's an eccentric, not an outcast."

[icecoldfrost]

"Think like a paranoid paranormal who has been around since before vampires had rights, darling," Emma tsked, putting his water down on the desk. "If you had a shadow government keeping tabs on various and sundry vampires, would you announce it?"

"One of their own might never tell on purpose, but some vampires have vexingly intelligent courtesans, or hangers-on, and what two know a third may find out. Although I don't argue that it's a pain; most of Sookie's world is."

Totally including Eric, FYI, but in a good way.

[bitten_notshy]

"Maybe," Jack said, but absently; it was more a sigh than anything else. "If I ever chance across another old one from my world, I'll snarl at him until he 'fesses up."

He flashed a smile. "I admit Sookie's world is a bit of a pain -- and I didn't even get an orgy out of it before I came to that conclusion. Still, it does keep me employed."

[icecoldfrost]

"I got a few nice corsets and some very fine leather pants?" Emma offered, stealing an apple, "So it isn't entirely without merit. Just sense."

Sorry, Sookie.

[bitten_notshy]

"Says the mutant from the world full of superheroes," Jack observed, after he swallowed his mouthful of roast beef. "How would you organize a society whose members might live millennia?"

He had his own ideas, but he wanted to hear Emma's.

[icecoldfrost]

"Hardly 'full' of them, the only mutant ones are a group calling themselves 'X-Men' running around fighting other mutants and assorted world-domination-types," Emma replied, making a face. "Up until the last two years, most of the population thought mutants were an urban myth, something the tabloids and news stations were making up for ratings."

"There's the Fantastic Four, of course, but they're amazing, and were all - or mostly all - scientists first, I think. That's what we need more of, not teenagers in spandex."

Emma, your biases are showing.

"But for a society populated by near-immortals? Well, they have the time to put it together right, for one. And the distance-perspective to know when something is just passing or when a pattern is emerging. I think it would be quiet, close knit, rarely meeting in-person - or vampire - as each as the agency to act on their own if needs-must and time is actually a factor."

"...But the separation from their lives as humans; Sebastien plays house too much to be considered for a position like that, too mired in humanity to really take the vampire-society-first view. It would be the old ones, who have the power to actually command. And the least desire to meddle in transient affairs. Let wars come and go, but the Blood will endure, as it were."

[bitten_notshy]

"My mistake," Jack said apologetically, and because he didn't want to tease apart Emma's biases at the moment. "And I think you're right. If they have anything, it's likely more a loose council than anything else. We know from Starkad that they can fade for centuries until they find coming forward necessary."

[icecoldfrost]

"Cocooned, like delicate butterflies," Emma drawled before biting into her apple. "Or hibernating like frogs. It's much less intimidating if you think of it that way; at least for me."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack snickered. "Bloodsuckers would be much less intimidating if they ribbited, true."

He took another bite of sandwich. "Your world doesn't have any at all, does it?"

[icecoldfrost]

There was the barest of hesitations as Emma stared at her apple for a second. There were many things she didn't like to think about, in regards to her reality, and Jack had just hit one.

"Jonothon says we do. I haven't decided if he's screwing with me or not, yet."

And then it was back to eating, and possibly stealing some of Jack's bread, too. Stupid supernatural shit. Science was better.

[bitten_notshy]

"Ah." Jack was genuinely, and a bit happily, surprised; perhaps their worlds weren't so far from each other as he'd thought. "Starsmore's never struck me as much for jokes, so I would assume not screwing with you."

[icecoldfrost]

"Oh, he's got a lively sense of humor, although usually deadpan," Emma replied, shaking her head. "Don't let the brooding musician act fool you; I wouldn't put pranking past him."

Despite the fact Emma was utterly confident that Jono would never lie to her. He just wouldn't - it wasn't who he was. She just...did not know what to make of his revelation, and did not know if she wanted to think about it.

Someone still had lingering bits of trauma from the vampire world during her first semester at Fandom, yes.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack shrugged, laconically took another bite of sandwich. "If you say so. I've never gone out of my way to talk to him, to be honest. Did he tell you anything more, or just 'bee-tee-doubleyou there are vampires'?"

[icecoldfrost]

"The second one," Emma answered, making a face. "As in, 'Emma, luv, we do actually have vampires.'"

Her imitation of Jono's accent was horrible.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack made a face right back at her, though not for the same reason. "Do you really think anyone in England sounds like that? You sound like you took lessons from Dick Van Dyke."