Bill me.

Ellis walked with a purposeful stride down Nachton's busy business district, her lit cigarette dangling from her lips. Busy for a normal city rather, but for Nachton, it was day to day business during the night. She could honestly say she had never been to the Liefde Towers before, so this would be a distinct pleasure having heard about the legendary Mari and the Tower's technology advances.

Always wanted a talking interface at the Domicile, Ellis wistfully recalled as she readjusted her heavy burden. It had grown a little heavy as she maintained a determined gait down the Strip, having spent a rather rambunctious romp with one of the Tower's residence.

Nicholae Lasche, model and star with a healthy sexual appetite. Ellis stopped short just then, having just thought of something. 'Oh...like Jessica Simpson!'

Ellis laughed as her cigarette dipped up and down from the movement. She turned her back to one of the commercial business windows and looked at his face in the reflection. He was precariously flung over her shoulder, thoughtfully dripping blood away from her and onto the ground.

'You cheeky devil.' Ellis shook him slightly to rouse him, only managing to get a slightly pathetic moan of despair. 'Oh come on, most of my gentlemen callers like that I'm rough.'

Ellis turned and continued her walk down the strip, pedestrians side stepping the wickedly disheveled woman and her handsome beau in tow. Huh. That rhymed, Ellis thought happily. While making her trek, she reiterated the thought process of their lovely evening together.

The back alleys were a terribly dangerous place in Nachton, so terrible that she avoided it for the time consuming rape gangs and endless dry cleaner bills. They were frightful with their charging; it wasn't as if blood were that hard to wash out. The monosyllabic wailing of Mr. Nicholae Lasche as Ellis pummeled him with whatever piece of debris should could find in the alley ways had become annoying and repetitious.

Ouch. Stop. God the pain. Oh. Ow.

Really now, Ellis thought to herself. One should take their lumps and accept the conditions of their retribution. Yes she had considered that Nicholae had no prior knowledge of Addison's possession by Tacharan or even by another vampire, much less an ancient, but it was principle. Just because you're new in town doesn't mean you tap the first available piece of ass you find - at least not in Nachton. The vampire count had risen significantly in the past several years, one had to be careful.

(Permission to man handle Nic))

"Fuck!"

If it wasn't bad enough that Nic had done little more than try to protect himself from the never ending blows Ellis threw his way, now he had to suffer the humiliation of being carried about by her, as if he were a sack of garbage.

His lack of offensive moves against his foe, wasn't due to any chivalrous notions about not hitting women, though that thought had crossed his mind. Unfortunately for him, he should have reasoned the situation out a lot sooner. Had he, he might have at least got a few good slaps in.

Everything about him was still pretty hazy, but finally he was starting to rouse. And just when he realized where they were, and in the direction they were heading, he wished he had been able to remain out of it for at least an hour or so more. Trussed up as he was now, he could do nothing to prevent anything from happening. If he could get to his cell, which he hoped was still in his pants pocket, at least he might be able to call Kem, or Livia, or SOMEONE in the Towers, and alert them to what might be coming their way.

"Ellis! For God sake let me down! I'm sure I can walk." Though that was an outright lie. As far as Nic knew the minute he put weight on his feet, his face could very quickly meet up with the concrete below them. That idea wrung a loud wince from him, as he tried to shift a little, and relieve the pressure Ellis' shoulder was placing on a rather tender spot on his body.

Liefde Towers loomed high above Nachton surveying all in its shadow - or some crap like that, Ellis thought to herself as she started to cross the street about a block up from the architectural phallic symbol. Her package was now starting to squirm, protesting no doubt for his unmanly like position over her shoulder. She ignored him as she slowed her pace up to the building, never taking her eyes off the mirrored reflections.

Admittedly she looked at it every time she passed it. It was quite the wonder really, to live above ground in plain view. Hmm, she thought, she kinda liked living underground - it made her life just a little more sinister but then living above ground...that's where it had to be at. Wistfully Ellis wondered what life would have been like if she had just fallen in line with her creator's clan. She was, in all actuality, an Evenhet.

The thought made her giggle; Alfarinn would just love to have her as a neighbor. Speaking of which...

Ellis approached the glass entry, her grin growing ever wider. 'Think any one's home?' Ellis asked out loud to no one in particular. Just then Nic mumbled something about being able to walk. She turned his face towards the reflective wall and took a gander at his face again. The blood trails were impressive indeed, but he was starting to look a little better. With a sigh Ellis moved back from the doors and smacked Nic's ass with a hefty blow.

'Want down, sugar lumps? Well then, let's put you down.'

....

The crash of the glass made such a loud noise that even Ellis jumped as Nicholae flew through the doorway. Ellis turned, covering her face as the door was obliterated, the glass coming down from what looked like about 2 stories up, completing destroying the entryway but not even putting a dent in the structure itself.

'Wow!' The exiled vampire began to laugh a loud and boisterous laugh. She covered her mouth, snickering to herself as she stepped through the gaping hole and walked into the lobby. Nicholae lay on the ground, damn near over by the elevator bays, lying in a crumbled heap. She half expected to hear sirens blaring or some sort of alarm, but figured maybe it was a silent trigger and she should probably make haste.

Ellis walked in, hands on her hips, looking up and around the lobby. 'Now, this is really very nice.' She pointed at the architecture and the paneled walls. 'I like this, yeah...very chic, very Matrix. I dig it. Ow.'

Her ankle had bent at a rather nasty angle that would have resulted in quite the twisted ankle for a human, but just a mild annoyance for a vampire. Looking down she picked up her foot and spied something lodged into the boot of her heel.

A Lego?

Ellis picked it out and looked at it curiously; apparently the maid service was lacking. It was a 3 pegged, red Lego. She turned it over in her hand and just as she was about to drop it, thought better of it and tucked it into one of her jacket pockets just as one of the side panels lit up and spoke to her.

“No…WAIT!”

It was rather amazing that he managed to get that out, before he felt his current pains explode yet again, into an even worse agony. Places that already ached quickly began to burn sharply, as the glass penetrated his slightly repairing bruised skin.

Somewhere in the recesses of his brain, Nic thought he heard laughter, but the sound was too out of place to be real.

“Oh…yea…”

Ellis. The bitch had thrown him through the glass doors of Liefde.

His thoughts faded then, as a sweet oblivion descended to offer him a slight respite.

"Ding"

That was the last sound he heard.

Round three? God no.

Livia had been braiding her hair when the phone had rung earlier. The damp mass was not going to release its grip on her hands so she let the voice mail pick up. Once she was pleased with the results of the simple french braid she listened to the message. Nic sounded slightly moody but had mentioned taking a while to return. Grabbing up her purse she hoped she had enough time to get to the store before he arrived. How she could have invited him in for a lovely dinner when she had no real china was beyond her. Quickly having MARI delay the delivery as she boarded the elevator, Livia thought about what she needed.

She had decided on a simple set for four when the elevator dinged open. Unfortunately she was not prepared for the flying glass that came her way moments after she took a step from the safety of the enclosed cube. Glass cut her hands and forearms as she covered her face. Luckily it was all minor injuries by the feel of things, though her outfit was probably ruined.

Peeking up over her fingers she wondered just what had happened when she spotted a familiar figure lying prone in the spray of glass.

"Nic!"

Jacob had been seated quietly in one of the first floor nooks, reading about a court case on the rights currently accorded to homosexual parents in various states. The inability of the States to all agree on something so fundamental was hardly a new issue. Thankfully, people had matured some since abolishing slavery and the civil rights movement - fewer people were dying during this discussion. Reaching for his cup of tea, he pondered how to better develop human morals when there was an explosion of sound from the front of the lobby. He had certainly never heard so much industrial glass shatter at once. Was there some sort of automobile accident?

Rushing forward from the nook, he was greeted with an unprecedented sight. A young woman, rather fetching in appearance, seemed to have used that pleasant young man as a breach.

"My word!"

Looking incredulously at the mess and the participants, he reached out for their motivations. In the case of the young squire, it would have to wait - even with his vampiric potency, the gentleman had not been equal to the task that his companion has set to him. She was another story altogether. The raven haired creature was actually...enjoying herself. Happy. Not quite ecstatic. Giddy. My word.

Moving to the front desk, Jacob simply pressed a single button. Without a doubt, security was already apprised of the situation, but one did not take these things on faith. It seemed young Nic was receiving attentions already, that left the dangerous one for him to address. Giving her a stern, grandfatherly look, he addressed the intruder.

"Young miss - security is no doubt en route as we speak...but your overt behavior leads me to believe that you'll have a statement that you may wish someone to pass on to them. I must say that I am disappointed in your choice of behaviors, but whatever gets you peaceably from our lobby at this point is of most interest to me."

This was how bigger issues generally surfaced within the sea of humanity. An initial violent upheaval that later resulted in conflict. With the satisfaction radiating from the woman, he doubted that this would be verbal.

There was a situation underway at the front entrance; MARI blinked onto the nearest wall and raised her eyebrows as Nicholae Lache was tossed through the glass doors. She alerted security, Christian Bern specifically and sent a page to Alfarinn about the breach to the Towers by...if her databanks served her correctly, none other than Ellis Duban. Interesting, she seemed to be aggressive towards Nic and MARI wondered if that was her feelings on the Clan in general or simply this particular member.

Considering the wounded member of Evenhet, the AI decided that a medical team would be a waste of time for a vampire. Someone in security could take him to the blood reserves which would be the best solution to his injuries. She noted Livia nearby with minor injuries as well and popped up another screen to speak to the woman.

"Hello Livia, perhaps you might be able to escort Mr Lache to the reserve? If not one of the security team will be made available."Â?

The other MARI spoke to the man lying on the lobby floor.

"Good Evening, Nicholae. Someone will be coming to help you shortly."Â?

She gave the infamous woman who had broken the door with a clan member a placid smile.

"Greetings, Ms Duban. Do be advised that Mr Moor is indeed correct and security is on its way. How may we assist you this evening? "Â?

"Young miss - security is no doubt en route as we speak...but your overt behavior leads me to believe that you'll have a statement that you may wish someone to pass on to them. I must say that I am disappointed in your choice of behaviors, but whatever gets you peaceably from our lobby at this point is of most interest to me."

Ellis eyes went wide as she found herself rebuked by the Evenhet she had apparently so rudely interrupted. Still, she found herself smiling at the older gentleman with the salted grey hair.

'Well well, jimney crickets - it has been a long time since anyone called me young miss, but I do apologize for my abruptness, love.'

Ellis' attention immediately turned to the wall panel that had lit up - ahhh, it was the fabled MARI. Ellis took a step closer to the panel and watched as MARI assisted the female that had just come out of the elevator who was showing signs of being hit with the glass. Pleased with herself, she surveyed the damage with a critical eye. Not bad, good distance, maximum damage - she deserved another cigarette.

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her pack of smokes and brass colored lighter. Lighting up the cancer stick, she walked towards the illuminated panel while inhaling deeply. Ellis tilted her head to the side, listening as MARI addressed her. Her smile grew wide, completely tickled with the shiny toy.

'Just dropping off my date is all, MARI - oh and please, call me Ellis.' Ellis plucked her cigarette out of her mouth and held it between two fingers, completely enthralled. 'Nic and I just met, actually. Oh, I promised to give him the name of a good dry cleaner.' Digging into her pockets, Ellis found the business card and pressed it face down on Mari's glass panel.

'I like to think I'm a thoughtful date.'

Ellis waited a moment and then dropped the card back into her pocket, certain that the moment Nic came flying through the entryway to that very moment, everything was being recorded. What a marvel Liefde was and she told MARI so.

'You're pretty high falootin', MARI. Tacharan doesn't have anything near as cool as you. Not a working artificial intelligence interface at least. You lucky Evenhets.'

Smiling at the pleasant response, Jacob was quite surprised. Generally one did not get violence and manners in one package. Perhaps there was much more at work here than he knew.

"Apology accepted, dear. Is there..."

Before he could continue, MARI joined them and began working her magic. It seemed Mister Nic and Miss Livia would be heading to replenish themselves. He would check on them, make sure they had what they needed. For now, he was watching the violent woman speak with the artificial one. It was like a collection of rare specimens. Taking a step back, he bore witness.

She was, if nothing else, polite. Explosive, dangerous...but polite. Pondering if it was truly her nature or her upbringing that brought out the disparate state, he couldn't help but be intrigued by the woman. Sure, he knew the stories of the fearsome separatist, but the reality seemed to have more layers.

He had no clue what brought him around, but he was thrilled to see a beautiful face peering over him when he opened his eyes.

"Livia?" He managed a bit more than a whisper, but only a bit, before he blinked a few times in an attempt to clear his head.

She looked so concerned that Nic lifted his hand toward her face.

"Oh fuck...what is that?"

Not only was the movement one that caused shooting pain to radiate through his arm, down into the rest of his body, but it also unleashed a new pain in his back. Turning slightly toward her, not aware of anything, or anyone else around him at the moment, he grabbed onto her hip to steady himself.

"Something...sharp...can you...?"

Unbeknown to him, there was a large shard of tempered glass protruding from just beneath his shoulder blade, and it was causing him considerable pain. He hoped whatever it was, Livia could aid him in resolving the problem as soon as possible.

Ellis...her voice then penetrated his haze, and everything came flooding back to him then.

"Livia!" He winced when he tried to pull her close, as if there was some way he could protect her from the other woman's wrath. Had he been completely lucid he would have recognized his folly, as well as the fact that Ellis had nothing against anyone in the room but himself.

He relaxed and slumped against Livia, and mentally hoped Ellis was now satisfied with what she felt he owed her.

A small sound of dismay escaped Livia at MARI's acknowledgment of the dark haired woman in the shattered remains of the entryway. Ellis was supposed to be dead. Fear for Nic boiled to the surface and for a moment she felt paralyzed with the inability to react. As the computer continued she lamented for just a second about how evil people never seemed to accept responsibility for their actions. When what she hoped was another clanmate spoke, Livia moved towards the fallen form of her lover.

Kneeling beside him, mindless of the glass shards under her, she gently touched his bloody form. With one eye on the former head of Tacharan she gently began lifting shards from Nic. Her voice was quiet with a small pleading tone, begging him to be alright.

"You are home love. We will keep you safe."

Livia was ready to protect him with her meager abilities till her last breath if need be. Hopefully an illusion and some blending would be enough to fool the ancient in front of them until security arrived. Whimpering slightly she removed the large chunk of glass that had impaled his back as he asked.

"Shhhhh love, let me."

“Certainly Ellis.”

She recorded the information on the card and sent it to Nic's apartment computer panel. The room would let him know he had a message. MARI queried her behavioral information on dating and could not come up with a common code of conduct whereby throwing someone through their home would be considered appropriate. It was perhaps then an accident? Reviewing the tape of the scene, the AI concluded that Ellis deliberately threw the Evenhet through the glass. She was, as a slang dictionary, termed it,'being played'.

“That is something I cannot comment on without more data. Perhaps Mr Lache would be willing to give me a further assessment of your thoughtfulness at a later time.”

MARI smiled pleasantly at the Tacharan despite her previous comment making it likely that the woman was capable of dishonesty in her flattery. It was a common assumption that she would not understand behavior and speech clues; humans and vampires believed that computer intelligence was very limited when dealing with others. In fact, she found that her unbiased deductions tended to be more accurate than their emotional ones. Just because she did not have feelings as such did not mean she was not adept at observing them.

“It has been remarked to me before that Tacharan is without an AI. I am afraid we cannot accommodate you but I hear there are many lifelike simulations that might serve your purpose.”

She did not consider a programmed personality to be even one tenth of what she was worth but social programming suggested that she should be polite and not mention their inadequacies.

“Yes, The Evenhet are quite lucky but then they are also the ones who made me so I am also fortunate.”

MARI was charming in her innocence and Ellis smiled as the AI interface spoke. Her lips slowly dragging on the cigarette as she noted through the corner of her eye the female helping Nic now, looking at her. Ellis flicked her eyes at the woman, purposefully catching her attention and made a mental note.

Turning back to MARI again with her full attention, something the computer said perplexed her and then like the tide, the significance flowed and covered her in a deep, cold chill. To her knowledge Eveneht or Anantya was not privy to anything regarding Tacharan or its Domicile. Location maybe but technology...no, all the clans held their secrets closely. Ellis tapped her cigarette ashes onto the polished floor.

'Say MARI, 'tween us girls...have you had any other Tacharan in Liefde before?' Ellis leaned in close, ignoring the urgency of her presence in not only another clan's property but the responsibility of damaging it would not weight lightly on Alfarinn's shoulders.

Quietly she whispered, leaning in close to the computer panel. 'Just 'tween us girls.'

His eyes had squeezed shut when Livia removed the glass, but it really didn't help stave off the pain. Just as soon as his earlier agonies had begun to fade, they had been replaced with this. Tonight just hadn't turned out to be his night.

Try as he might, to catch what Ellis was saying, Nic just didn't have the wherewithal to get it all. A few words here and there, but nothing that made sense. MARI had been right...he needed blood, and he needed it fairly soon, to help his healing process. While the injuries from the beating Ellis had given him were not near as severe as they had been, the newer trauma to his body would not begin to heal without assistance.

With every ounce of energy he had remaining, Nic levered himself into a half sitting position, and still clung to Livia for support. He was torn between the need to move, and to stay where he was. Not that he could offer anything in the way of protection to those around him. But if nothing else he'd be able to present testament later.

Then too, there was a chance that if Ellis decided she wanted to 'play' with someone else, the least Nic might be able to do would be offer himself as a distraction. The reason she was here was at least partially his fault, though he couldn't believe she would go to all this trouble JUST to get back at him.

"Livia? I don't think I'm going to be able to walk, not far anyway. Would you be able to bring me...something...to help?"

If he had learned one thing lately, it was to be as discreet as possible when around those you didn't know. Unable to see who all was in the lobby, he couldn't just ask her to bring him a bag of blood.

Moving himself further, he managed to slide across the floor, the short distance toward the wall, and lean there. This then freed up Livia, and though he selfishly didn't want her to leave, he needed the other more right then.

MARI considered the question and saw no reason not to answer it. It was not classified and the people they were referring to were Ellis' own group. The AI nodded and confirmed the information.

"There have been other Tacharan in Liefde. Visitor Access only."

She turned her head to the side and blinked once at the vampire in front of her.

"You were not aware. Would you have forbidden them to come?"

MARI laid a high certainty on Ellis not having known that other Tacharan had been to the Towers by her question, but she could not rule out that this was not simply one of the interesting, intricate round abouts in human speech.

Livia whimpered when the large piece of glass was finally out of Nic's body and tried not to think of Ellis' gaze that had deliberately caught her own. If nothing else, the fear from that one look, spurned her to help more in defiance.

Plucking pieces of glass from her lover seemed to be the best thing to do right now. When he was able to pull himself semi upright she was shocked. As he moved slowly and with great difficulty to the wall to lean against, she realized what he was doing and tried to help. Finding a spot that was not embedded with glass or bloody was tricky but she did her best.

His request presented a dilemma to Livia. Projecting an illusion to the former Tacharan of them simply sitting there was easy enough to do, and because they were mostly there it was a simple and workable one that would hopefully be enough to fool the ancient. Her hand was quick to undo the braid she had so painstakingly just done. Once her hair was free she shook it out in a curtain before leaning towards Nic.

"I am not leaving you, so take what I can give."

Offering him her neck in the lobby was not something she ever intended to do, it just happened. He was the more skilled fighter so it only made sense to have him recover as quickly as possible. The minor privacy her hair provided would keep people from knowing she was not just simply hugging him, but feeding him.

'Forbidden? Oh no no.' Ellis shrugged, knowing Mari might not catch the sarcasm and continued on with her questions.

'I'm wondering though, did the previous Tacharan come before..oh say...November of 2005?' The question agitated her, but Ellis figured not as much as the answer would and she knew what the answer would be...as well as her guess on who the other Tacharans were.

As Ellis spoke she again turned and looked over at her incapacitated date. The wee woman was cuddling the poor dear, no doubt being as comforting as well as nourishing as she possibly could. She tapped her cigarette in the older man's direction and smiled, waiting for Mari to answer.

It occurred to him then, amid everything else going on around him, MARI apparently was dealing with matters. He could have sworn he’d over heard her voice, and something about Ellis being…thoughtful? No…he must have misunderstood.

It was fortunate for him that he’d fed prior to stopping by the House of Pain earlier. He had lost some blood, and knew he needed to replenish it due to his injuries, but things could have been substantially worse had he not fed at all. The smell of blood around him was making this logic more difficult to sustain with each passing minute though.

When Livia offered herself, as an immediate resolution, he grumbled. His asking her to leave would have successfully removed her from the possibility of danger from any jollies Ellis might think to enjoy. And yet in the short time he’d come to know the sexy wench, he had also learned she could be headstrong. That, his weakened state, and his selfish needs prevented any argument from him.

He tilted his head slowly toward her, but captured a secret kiss in the veil of her hair. Soft, short, and sweet, but made no move to her neck.

What he did to was to take hold of her forearm, and bring her wrist to his lips. Another tender kiss, and he let his fangs slide into her warmth.

Biting, for Nic, was almost always sensual. He rarely fed from strangers, unless pressed for time as he had been tonight, and instead ‘survived’ on bagged nourishment. When he dallied, which was less often than more these days, he usually fed from his dates. Those feedings gave him what his body needed to survive, and in turn made his dates quite happy. He was now old enough not to require feedings every twenty-four hours, and in fact he’d once gone four days without, and managed. It was a good system for him, and since he didn’t seem to have the aversion to bagged blood that some of his colleagues complained about, he relied on it heavily when other sources were absent.

Thus, to keep his head clear of anything romantic, he opted for Livia’s wrist, and drunk what he felt was sufficient to give him aid, and yet not deplete her too much. When he finished, he again kissed the velvety skin of her inner arm, pulling her close for another peck on the lips.

“Thank you. I will try to make it up to you later.”

The smile he gave her was intended to show strength, and a bit of teasing bravado, but had he seen his reflection in a mirror just then, he would have been a little surprised to see he appeared more pitiful, than macho.

None the less, sitting up a little straighter, Nic tried to move so Livia was slightly behind him, and managed to at least move a shoulder in front of her. He looked to Ellis then, for the first time in quite a while.

"What Tacharan are you looking for information about Ellis...Addison?"

Somehow he couldn't see her still harboring such animosity over such a silly incident, yet she'd shown him different. And how.

Ellis gave the Evenhet a slightly annoyed look. Apparently the female's blood gave him back a little bit of his dignity. She held her index finger up to her lips, shooshing him quietly.

'Don't worry about Addison, dearest. He is of no concern to me now.'

Livia wished she could do more, especially when Nic bit her arm instead of her offered neck. The illusion was kept up, showing her hovering over him, though she doubted it fooled a vampire the age Ellis Duban was reported to be. Ever the gallant knight, Nicholae did not take nearly enough by her estimation. Then he moved to protect her when all she wished was to be ignored and forgotten by the psycho vampire chatting with MARI.

Not knowing what else to do, the weaver simply continued plucking glass from her beau. Kissing a small patch of undamaged skin near his temple she shushed him quietly and sent a very timid message to his mind directly.

"Perhaps if we are very quiet she will forget about us and leave."

MARI considered, which took such a minute amount of time that it would go unnoticed to those in the room.

“The first record of a Tacharan visiting is the Towers is in late 2005.”

If Ellis would not have forbidden those of her group to come to the Evenhet Stronghold then what was her purpose for wanting to know the time frame of the visits? MARI consulted with the Chief of Security on the matter and he had given her access to release the Tacharan information to the woman.

Christian sent forces outside and around the back of the building, to the bridge and to roof. Another small team of four came along with him. MARI had informed him that Ellis Duban, leader or former leader of the Tacharan had made a rather spectacular entrance into the building. He had been advised by Alfarinn and Kem about the situation with Nicholae Lache but any expected incident was dismissed as unlikely by the news of the woman's death, obviously greatly exaggerated.

The Chief of Evenhet Security frowned and wondered if Simon could be trusted at all. Alfarinn believed that the Orphan was an honest man but perhaps their Elder was being blinded by long term friendship. He would take any further information from the man with more suspicion in the future.

He gave Theo a nod and a smile as he passed one of the guest conference rooms. The slender ancient might be of great help should things become 'strained' with Ellis but he would not put her in such a situation unless Theo was willing. Coming back to stand inside the doorway, he said

“There is an unwelcome guest in the lobby, Theo, would you mind accompanying me? I might need your assistance in making sure she leaves without harming anyone.”

MARI appeared on a wall screen next to him and asked a question regarding the security protocol for answering questions about Tacharan to a Tacharan. Interesting. Christian okayed the exchange of information in order to later review the results. There was a potential gold mine of insight to the current status of the upstarts with this little conversation and it would be a shame to waste it.

He stood just in front of the receptionist's desk, deploying one man to see to Nic and Livia who had finished their brief feeding in the main lobby just as he arrived. Sparing the vampires a small frown, he turned his attention towards Ellis and waited for the end of the conversation before moving forward.

Seeing the unspoken command from Mr Bern, Rick Harris, a member of the security team, nodded in understanding and moved over to the couple that was surrounded by broken glass.

"I'm agent Harris. May I be of assistance to you?"

He knelt down beside the couple and offered Nic his assistance in getting up. Looking over at Livia, Rick said.

"Are you alright, Ma'am?"

She seemed mostly uninjured but he did not know what had occurred before he arrived with the Chief. From the looks of things the man on the floor bore the brunt of whatever assault had happened here and judging from the broken glass, he figured the situation was pretty straight forward.

Nastalia was on her way down, pleased with her plans for the night. She planed on going to one of the near by clubs, finding a partner to dance with for a while, maybe get laid, and then have a drink of their sweet crimson fluids. She smiled. Yes, a night of fun.

When the elevator reached the ground floor and open, she was stunned. A woman and a security guard where hovering over a young man who looked as though he had had better days, shattered glass everywhere, Jacob, three other security personnel, including Christian she noticed. She noticed MARI talking to a dark haired woman. Everyone seemed to be staring at the woman, presumably the culprit.

In Japanese "My gods!"

Unbelievable. Someone (had to be a vampire to hurl a person that far and through a window) had the gaul to attack someone at the Towers.

((ooc: Presuming she knows Christian and had had a meeting with him regarding her profession and its associated tools. Also presuming everyone is staring at Ellis.))

Ellis did not have to guess who MARI spoke about - it could only possibly be Simon. She'd just have to ask him about it herself, but of course at a more prudent time. Speaking of time, hers was being cut short by the arrival of armed guards and one calm looking fellow who was now standing by the receptionist desk. Ellis wagered that they wanted her to leave.

Just then a waif looking little girl strolled into the lobby, a familiar fanged smile radiating prettily at Ellis. Inhaling one last drag off her cigarette, Ellis flicked it towards Nic and his female and approached the little girl. Stopping halfway she knelt down, her hands on her knees and cooed at the precious thing.

She knew that face but had never had the pleasure of meeting. Soft brown eyes and hair, the five foot five woman child would have had no part of the separation of Darius' children from Evenhet. This one remained true to the bloodline instead of breaking off to form Tacharan. Smiling, Ellis greeted her warmly.

'You must be my dearest sister...Theodosia.'

Though Nic was for the most part a good, and honest soul, that didn’t mean he was a brick load short. He hadn’t made it this far in years, and been as successful as he was, by not being able to read people at least some. That he still chose to believe people were often better than they actually were, would forever be one of his most prominent failings. Because of all that, he chose to overlook the note of extreme condescension in Ellis’ response. The gist of what she’d said was much more important than the way she said it, and knowing she had finally resolved her issues with Addison, and him made the evening worth the pain.

As long as that was where it stopped. Her being inside the Towers still made him feel responsible, and until someone of authority took over, he refused to leave the scene.

Feeling another larger piece of glass being extracted from his arm, Nic looked at Livia, and smiled. This time his smile was much less forced, and much more genuine. When ‘she’ shushed him it had a completely different effect on him from when Ellis had done the same. He did not feel at all disgruntled to hear Livia’s caution. He nodded at her subsequent message, hoping she would follow her advice, but a little sorry he couldn’t accommodate her wishes. He knew it would be too easy for Ellis to turn and run now. She had some sort of agenda tonight, and Nic didn’t think she was finished with the Evenhets yet.

Taking Livia’s hand, Nic pressed it between both of his, but his eyes were back on Ellis. To say he was relieved to see the head of security arrive would have been a monstrous understatement, and Nic’s physical demeanor reflected this. Relaxing back against the wall again, he was just about ready to ask Livia to help him stand, so they could now leave. Before he could get the words out, another man appeared, and moved to Nic’s side right away.

“Thank you Agent Harris…if you could help Ms. Pecora first…” Nic held Livia’s hand toward the security officer, and nodded to her to accept.

“Well hell.” Nic groaned under his breath, as Theo entered the lobby, and yet another resident departed the elevator. In all his time at Liefde, he doubted he had ever seen so many people in the lobby at one time before, and here, when it was the least safe…well, it appeared Murphy knew his laws.

As Ellis neared Theo, Nic tensed. No matter how many times he told himself that the petite vampire was one of the oldest souls he knew, he still saw her as a young one to be protected. Logically it was laughable, but Nic’s head was run more by emotion, and that was a different matter altogether.

Once he was standing, he still used the wall for minimal support, and he still tried to stand between Livia, and Ellis. Because there were now three other men in the lobby, Nic couldn’t conceive of Ellis getting away with anything, yet he just couldn’t bring himself to retreat. He still felt weak, and pain seemed to web itself through his body like it had been spun by a spider on crack.

Livia felt just as relieved as apparently Nic did when Agent Harris offered his assistance. Offering the security man a smile, still slightly shaky and scared, when her hand was placed in his by her injured lover.

"Thank you sir, I am fine."

She did not wish to leave the lobby without Nic but his nod to her made her bite her lip in indecision. Perhaps the agent could help them both by assisting Nic from the lobby while guarding her as well. Rising from her kneeling position she noted several shards of glass that had become embedded in her legs but did not worry about them. Perhaps once this drama was over she would fret but for now she could not even feel them.

Seeing Nic gain his footing reassured her to his improving health though the continued flow into the lobby by passersby was not good. Somehow Livia doubted the child was security but Mr. Bern's presence was comforting, perhaps he could get Ms. Duban to leave without further damage to clan or property.

It wasn't every day Liefde's doors were challenged by that kind of force. On his way to his car from Meridian, Kem witnessed Ellis and her sack 'o Nic as they entered Liefde... if that could really be called entering.

Unable to stand there and do nothing, and certainly not about to walk on by, Kem dashed across the way, skidded to a stop outside the doors, and spent half a second pondering the sense of opening them versus simply ducking in. The latter won, and Kem simply slid in through the erstwhile double doors, treading over the glass on the floor and taking in the scene in the lobby.

Ellis and Theo were approaching each other; Nic was on his back across the lobby near Livia, and a security guard. Chris was there as well as a few people Kem didn't recognize... but if Chris was present, that meant there was more security on the way, and they were certainly far better suited to this sort of thing than he was.

For a moment he suffered a pang of fear that Aishe might get involved... but she wasn't working tonight. She was safe, and nowhere nearby.

Safely through the doors, Kem skirted around the edge of the lobby, coming to stand between Nic and Ellis. She didn't appear to be paying any attention to anyone but Theo at the moment, so he took advantage of her apparent distraction.

Quite deliberately turning his back to Ellis, Kem knelt before Nic. Glancing at Livia, including her in his question, he murmured, "You all right?"

The younger vampire was bloody and battered, and there were a few shards of glass sticking out from various bodyparts yet, but his wounds did appear to be mending slowly.

Kem nodded to the doors, still speaking softly. "If you'd really wanted to fly we could have chartered a jet. Me... I think it's overrated."

Theo’s smile broadened at Ellis’s greeting. So it was to be the happy reunion, then. Ordinarily being spoken at as though she were a child would have been either grating or amusing but the voices told her Ellis’s true reaction to her presence. Her sister wore a mask as well; it seemed she was just as willing to carry out a charade but there was a bit of genuine interest and something like…nostalgia…underneath the saccharine veneer.

“Am I…” she said as she closed the last of the distance between them. “Am I –really- your –dearest-?” She spoke in a wistful, faraway voice before tilting her head to one side and looking carefully at the dark haired woman in front of her. Ellis had, in effect, inherited the kingdom when their creator was executed, and it occurred to her that that must have been an interesting feat to pull off. What was it – beauty, strength, intelligence? All three, perhaps with a little madness thrown in? Had Wilhem destroyed everything he touched or had something stronger emerged in his passing?

These questions were, and always had been, of only peripheral importance – Theo lived too immediately to dwell on such things for long, and in any case now wasn’t the time to get distracted.

Even so…she thought there might have been a moment of connection, recognition even, that she could appreciate was rare indeed.

“You threw Nic through the doors,” she said in a quiet, very matter of fact tone of voice, as though Ellis might not be aware of that. It amused her to think that perhaps they had a penchant for violent destruction in common, though she didn’t think she’d ever done anything quite –that- bad. “I like Nic,” she continued, philosophically. “You’re not going to do any more of that, are you?”

Ellis stood slowly, towering over Theo but knowing exactly who and what this person was. Ellis nodded, finding herself still genuinely smiling at the little beast that her own creator bore.

'You'll have to forgive me, dear. You're as much a child as I am sincere, but sisters we most definitely are.' Ellis' green eyes shined as she looked at the vampire, one that was just a hair older than her, but looked to be someone's lost little sister. She almost envied Theodosia's ability to seemingly be something she most definitely was not....to be underestimated yet powerful to the core.

Ellis reached out and playfully pinched at Theodosia's chin. 'I did, however, throw Nic through the doors. Alfarinn will not be happy with me, I would wager. But yes, I'm done destroying property and inflicting pain today.' She looked at the gaping hole where the front doors had been and felt the breeze from the near dead winter lift her hair away from her face. She turned back and held her hands out to Theodosia.

'You and I must meet again. Catch up. Surely that's what sisters do when it's been so long? You can tell me your stories of our father and I can tell you how painfully he died. I'm sure you'd like that, wouldn't you dear? But right now I think it's time for me to go.'

For a moment Ellis wondered just why she was reaching out to her sister in pain. Why would she want to be reminded of their idiotic creator who created hundred of misfit children? Maybe it was because Theodosia was as old, if not a little older than she was. Someone...she could relate to in a world full of ingrates and whelps. Or maybe because Ellis could not relate to her half dozen other sisters who were long dead. This was a part of what she was so long ago that Ellis felt the need to reach out and feel the only other thing akin to her.

((ooc - you were asleep! If it's not ok that Ellis gave Theo a play pinch on the cheek, I can rewrite it. =) ))

It was uncanny how Kem managed to be around whenever Nic needed him most. But right now Nic wasn’t about to question the appearance of his friend. Smiling, better still than he’d been able to yet, Nic nodded at the elder man’s greeting…which wasn’t really such, but which Nic took it to be under the circumstances.

“Funny that, but I really never intended to have my feet leave the ground when I left home tonight.”

Casting a quick wink at Livia, he could have elaborated, and said something about having had that condition earlier, but discussing his love life at the moment seemed less than appropriate.

“I’ve been better, but I think Livia may have gotten hurt from the flying glass.”

He felt atrocious that this thought had just come to him, and mentally chastised himself for being so oblivious to the obvious. Putting one hand on Kem’s shoulder for balance, Nic reached to Livia and pulled a good size piece of glass from her unbraided hair. He really was afraid there might be other such pieces in places they could be causing her pain.

With Kem’s arrival, Nic’s focus on Ellis was lost, but only for a few minutes. She was still precariously close to Theo, and Nic couldn’t help but be concerned. Theo’s question, so guileless in it’s simple innocence, made Nic chuckle. Wincing the tiniest bit as more painful places in his body shook, anyone could see him visibly relax when Ellis responded.

“Ah , finally…whatever her reasoning, it sounds like she’s leaving now.”

The hand he’d placed on Kem’s shoulder, had shifted and had now become an arm around the back of Kem’s neck. Good thing the man was nearly, or as tall as Nic, and the bit of added weight could be borne.

Nic nodded his head toward the woman who had caused such excitement in Liefde as it may have never seen before. With any luck at all the small crowd could now go back to their regular lives, and security could repair the damage, once again making the Towers a safe and secure place to be. As soon as he had the wherewithal to handle it, he was contacting his builder and having a stronger, more protective type of glass installed in the lower floors of his buildings. The last thing he wanted was for such a scene to develop in his resort when it opened.

Harris did his best to assist the couple, each seemingly reluctant to be aided in favor of the other. The man was at least standing now and neither of them appeared to be in critical condition. When a stranger approached the security man tensed but Rick did recognize the tall exotic looking man even if he did not know his name. The words spoken to the others reinforced that the helpful demeanor and Harris nodded to the couple.

"If you two are alright then I will rejoin the others."

It was interesting, Theo thought, that Ellis showed no sign of remorse for her actions other than to contemplate the fact that she had lost Alfarinn’s good opinion. The Evenhet Elder was, in her experience, a forgiving person, but she thought in this case Ellis was correct even if she didn’t damage anything else.

Shrugging a little at Ellis’s rhetorical question, she took a small step back and smiled, a more inward, secret sort of expression. She didn’t really know what sisters were supposed to do but she supposed between the two of them they could fake it. When the taller woman offered up a few suggestions, she simply nodded her head.

“I think next time I should come to you. I doubt you’ll be welcome back any time soon,” she said, with her usual forthright honesty that seldom took tact or feelings into account. “But yes. I think I would like to trade stories.” She understood that getting to hear stories meant that she would have to tell some as well – there was almost no one in the world she cared to do that with, but with sisters it was different.

Christian silently rested a hand on her shoulder, but made no other move to hurry the process of extracting their ‘unwanted guest’ from the building. Theo was glad of that, feeling that she had the right to talk to Ellis if she wished to and it would be unkind to prevent her from doing so.

The presence of the male behind Theodosia brought her meeting in the lobby of Liefde Towers to a close. She had hoped to catch the Elder home, but figured he was out doing whatever Elders did. Ellis took a step back and looked the male in the eye, remembering him.

'Please let Alfarinn know that I deeply regret the damage,' her sarcasm thick and heavy, 'and if he wants, he can bill me.' Turning she gave her blood sister a quick wink and walked back out the large hole she had created.

A crowd was now gathering outside on the pavement and Ellis stepped into the crowd, losing herself in the excitement of her destruction. With a final look over her shoulder, blended into the crowd and disappeared into the night.

((ooc - Ellis out. Thanks everyone for letting Ellis play on Evenhet territory and thank you Nic for being such a good sport!))

Christian looked down at Theo now that Ellis had left.

"You alright? Did that go how you had imagined?"Â?

He did not trust the Tacharan's motives, especially not where Theo was concerned. The sisterly love routine seemed unfeigned for the moment but given time to consider it from all angles he did not doubt that Ellis would turn it into something for her own advantage. Christian hoped that Theodosia was not hurt in the process, forbidding her to see her sister would be nigh impossible and he doubted that Alfarinn could be convinced to do so. They would have to trust that Theo knew what to say when it came to Evenhet and what not to divulge. He felt confident that she would not let them down but he hoped that it would not be in exchange for heartbreak through the conniving of Ellis.

Nodding to his men, he stationed them around the opening, two on the outside and two inside. They would need to stay in place until the doors will fixed at the very least. Christian decided to add extra security for the week anyway.

Nic and Livia had been joined by Kem and both appeared well enough to make their way to the reserves. Alfarinn would no doubt like to hear Nic's side of the events but that could wait until the man had more blood in his system and a change of clothes.

"Thank you for helping, Theo. Care to join me?"Â?

He motioned back towards the hallway that led to his office.

((OOC: Out pending responses. ))

The fireworks had been fast and furious, apparently. Already Ellis was turning, heading out through the remnants of her handiwork. Kem looked down at Nic with concern, gently tugging a piece of glass from the younger man's arm as he raised himself up. Grasping Nic's wrist as he slid his arm around kem's shoulders, he situated his clanmate so he was bearing the brunt of his weight and turned his eyes to Livia.

"Do you need help as well?"

He extanded his free hand to Livia, perfectly capable of bearing them both away if necessary, as long as they could stand. "If you like, we can head to Nic's. I believe it's the closest, and we should get you both someplace where you can rest."

He had no idea where Livia stayed but when push came to shove, he figured he was willing to go up 7 stories for Nic. The important thing was getting them away from Ellis, even if she was leaving, and someplace quiet.

"So how about that drink?" Kem grinned at Nic, still speaking in low tones.

“Yes, thank you.” Nic appreciated the agents attentions, but figured his services could be better used elsewhere. Now that Kem was there, and of course Livia, Nic was confident he could make it back to his place now.

Watching Ellis leave the building left Nic a bit curious yet. What had just transpired led him to believe there was still more to the whole debacle than what Ellis had alluded to. He believed her when she‘d said Addison no longer mattered, but if that was true, then what had she been after?

Secure in knowing Theo was out of harms way, and that should she need anything the head of security would have it taken care of, Nic nodded in relief at Kem‘s suggestion.

“I think several drinks might be good, but we can start with one.”

Nic answered in a softer than normal tone of voice. Though he was no longer worried about drawing attention, or disturbing anyone else’s conversation, the entire front of the building was still quite open, and the noise from the traffic, and large crowd gathering outside was beginning to cause the pain in his head to throb. He wondered if what he was feeling could be anyway similar to those ‘migraines’ he often heard humans complain about, but that he had never felt himself.

The elevator ‘ding’ could again be heard, and Nic turned to see the doors open. Slipping his other, free arm around Livia’s waist, for added support, he turned toward the entrance to the small room, and began slowly walking into the conveyance. It wasn’t until after the doors closed, and the elevator began its ascent, that Nic remembered something about Kem…something very important.

“Kem? I believe it’s my turn to ask you now…how are you doing?”

He felt terrible having forgotten Kem's huge fear of heights, but now that the deed was done, he also wasn't sure what to do about it.

Theo frowned as she considered Christian's question, finding it particularly difficult because she didn't think she -had- any expectations about how meeting Ellis would go prior to the thirty seconds it took to walk into the lobby. Perhaps she did, though, and simply hadn't realized. It required some thought before she thought could answer honestly, and she always did try to tell him the truth.

"She was taller than I pictured her."Â?

Taking the Security Chief's invitation at face value, she shook her head.

"I have to check on the toilet paper."Â?

With this inexplicable comment, she followed Christian out of the lobby, but went her own way down the hall.

/ooc Theo out

Kem had enough sense to boggle at Nic as he clung to the injured man with one arm and the elevator railing with the other in a white-knuckled grip.

"You just worry about staying upright for now," he suggested, following that mentally with something along the lines of tasking himself not to break into a cold sweat over a mere seven (Gah! Seven!) stories.

Sure, it wasn't as bad as Aishe's thirty-one, but thirty-one stories went very fast when there was a warm, curvaceous, cute girlfriend clinging to you. Seven went by slowly, and he was pretty certain Nic's blood was seeping into his shirt. That didn't bother him much, but it sure as hell didn't do for the ride what Aishe did. The ride would be over shortly though, and Kem's slight discomfort was insignificant compared with the need to see his friend safely back in his suite and healing up.

Fortunately the railing of the elevator was quite strong; he didn't leave any fingernail gouges in it.

((ooc: Nic, Livia, and Kem out with permission))

The crowd was breaking up, and Nastalia was in a most unpleasant mood. Her earlier mood completely spoiled, she was in no mood to follow through with her earlier plans. She decided to head back to her room, study the woman's profile more closely and ask MARI what was going on.

Maintaining her cool, detached facade, she went right back up the elevator and into her room.

((ooc: Nastalia out to do some homework))

Having witnessed the rest of the scene unfold, Jacob pondered the deeper social constructs at work. Broken families, nature versus nurture, rules violations and the need for polite discourse of all people, even the most violent. Absentmindedly, he took up a push broom and began cleaning up - it certainly did not fall within his jurisdiction, but the repetitive nature helped him focus his thoughts. It also brought him back to simpler times. When he had been a tavern host, he hadn't had quite so many political constructs in his arena and could tackle them one at a time.

Everyone seemed to be well taken care of, so that just left the building. He could help with that.

(ooc: Jacob will remain in the lobby but is effectively out unless addressed)