Family Reunion (private)

Tai stood at the end of the gravel drive that led to the Abbatoir. Val stood beside him; together they regarded the building with mixed skepticism and curiosity. By her own admission, Val didn't spend too much time with her own clan here in Nachton. Tai could empathize, not having realized a need for it himself. But if he planned to stay here in America it only made sense that he increase his contacts, and know his new "family" organization.

"Very inviting," he remarked dryly as he observed the metal fencing and the wire.

Shifting slightly, almost imperceptibly, Tai tested the feel of the gravel beneath his feet. It was solid and mobile at the same time and it reminded him of how he'd felt for the last couple of years, moving yet not moving depending on the force applied to it.

Well, he was tired of being a pawn moved by larger game pieces. Whether it brought him to his end or to another beginning, it was time to become a piece in his own right.

"Shall we go check out the night life?" He offered Val his arm.

Val shifted in her four-inch stilettos and raised an eyebrow. Maybe this was why she only came when she was called, the décor was not exactly welcoming. Tai seemed to share her sentiments and she smiled.

“Actually I’ve seen worse.”

She had but it had been a long time.

“At least it should keep your standard gawker out.”

Oddly enough, she was a bit nervous. Val took that to mean she’d been living in relative isolate far too long. It was well past time to sink or swim on her own. Noticing she’d been fidgeting with her rings Val laughed at herself grinned at Tai and took his arm.

“Come on then lover what’s the worst that can possibly happen.”

Tai nodded his agreement with Val; he had indeed seen much worse.

"Yes, but what about Olympic-level gawkers?" he asked, reminding her of the odd turn their conversation with Jan had taken months ago at the House of Pain. "I'm not sure it would deter them."

He smiled dryly at Val's next words. They hadn't really touched on his origins. So, he figured, one of many things could happen... or many of those many things. Who knew? How would Simon receive his appearance here?

Their one brief meeting had been tainted by Ellis' baiting and traps, and Simon had refused outright to place any trust in Tai whatsoever, in spite of his credentials. Still, he'd performed his job until it had no longer seemed to matter.

He had a feeling his sudden appearance at Simon's clan home would not be well-received, but as he understood it, he had just as much right as anyone. Didn't he?

Accompanying Val up to the entrance, Tai leveled his gaze at the man who stood there and waited to see what would happen.

Kenley watched with interest as the two figures approached the clan's complex. The computer did a full check on the female, identifying her as Valentine, a clan member, although Kenley has never met her before. Not unusual, sometimes the members didn't use their apartments in the Domicile. The other figure was a problem.

Her computer began its identifying process on the subject and Kenley watched as the it zeroed in on his face. Again, not anyone she's met before, so with growing disinterest, she stood up from her desk. Suddenly the alarms from her computer began their steady beep and identified him as a temporary Merc, but unauthorized there at the Domicile.

With narrowed eyes Kenley sent a message to the Mercs to greet them as they approached the Abby's entrance. Another monitor signaled to her that the Leader was still on the grounds and she sent a message to him as well.

'Hmm, wonder what he did to get all this attention?'

The head Merc on duty called in their position and Kenley took the opportunity to dig a little deeper. 'Who is he? Uh...Ichiro Taiji?'

Captain Garcia replied with his monotone voice. 'Had temporary duty covering the new District Attorney.'

'Oh,' Kenley replied. 'Well the Leader is here and...' she checked the reply message, 'he said to not to engage but to let them in the Abby. He'll be waiting there.' Kenley paused with a curious expression. 'What's this guy's deal?'

Garcia replied with a hint of laughter, 'He tried to kill Nova once.'

'Oh.' Kenley's eyebrows rose. 'I don't think this is going to end well.'

'Nope, probably not. Orders received, we're eyes only.'

'Thank you, Captain.' Kenley sat back down in her chair and waited, wishing she had some popcorn.

Captain Garcia stood blended in the shadows of the slaughterhouse watching the two figures approach.

'Orders received, we're eyes only,' he had replied to Kenley. With a slight nod of his head, the Mercs dispersed. The Merc standing at the door watched with disinterested eyes as they approached.

Manfred recognized the female as a member, Valentine, and the male as some tempy within the Mercs. He nodded politely to Valentine.

'Miss.' He looked at Tai and gave him a short nod. 'Welcome to the Abbatoir.' Manfred pushed the door in and stepped back.

'Have fun now, ya'hear?'

There were several people standing around outside the building designated the Abbatoir in bright red. Tai didn't think anything of them, but he did note the slight difference in reception offered to him as opposed to Val. Curious. but he was probably jumping at shadows; Val was a woman and therefore entitled to a more gracious greeting. And not by much; this guy apparently wasn't paid to chat.

"I imagine we will," Tai replied to the man, wondering just how much trouble this was going to get him into.

Ah well; Val probably wouldn't hold it against him. They moved through the doorway and into the pulsing, constantly moving entity that was the Tacharan playground.

So far so good, of course she hadn’t exactly expected to be carded or asked for a password. Val wasn’t famous or even notorious, hell she was pretty low key all things considered, but she wasn’t stupid and had no doubt the clan would have some way of knowing who she was and that she wasn’t trespassing or anything. Of course, the same went for Tai.

She grinned brightly at the bouncer/greeter type.

“That would be the plan.”

Sliding through the doorway with her escort, she did a quick scout for any one she knew, unlikely but it could happen. Not seeing anyone familiar she raised an eyebrow at Tai, this had been his idea so she was letting him set the pace.

Tai raised his eyebrows as he looked down on the seething mass of undead gyrating just a few floors beneath them. He aimed himself and Val at the stairs with the intent of mingling politely.

"These all ours?" He asked her. She knew this place better than he, even if her knowledge was limited.

In his months with Ellis, she had never really given him much to go on about the clan itself. He understood her relationship with them had been - well, stressed, to say the least. But if this was where Ellis was now, this was where he needed to be. That, and like it or not Tai was used to being part of an organization.

As they descended the stairs Tai found eyes looking at them; some were glancing, some were staring openly. He waited for Val to answer his question, hoping she'd let him know if these were mixed humans or familiars. How was a vampire to know what was dinner and what wasn't around here, anyway?

Simon looked down at his blackberry and read the incoming messages from Kenley. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. On one hand, he had a current clan member returning to the fold - there was nothing wrong with that, it was her right, but it was who she was bringing along with her that perplexed him.

Tai was fresh off his bodyguard duties and apparently finding a place for himself in Nachton. Things had settled down with Miss Yuu and was finally accepting of her constant Merc companions. Curious though, why Tai wasn't with Yuu now. There was some sort of relationship between the two, at least the tension between them suggested it. It would be something he'd need to look into, but in the meantime...

Simon pushed back away from his desk and stood quickly, pulling down on his light gray v-neck sweater and adjusting the sleeves of his darker bias trim Armani blazer. He could play this one of two ways: the jealous lover or the unyielding leader. With a roll of his eyes as he passed through his office door, out into the pulsating darkness of the Abby's club, Simon mumbled to no one in particular.

'Time to greet the kids.'

The music and the cloths had changed, but honestly, it wasn’t all that different from the speakeasies that got Val into all this. So, she felt right at home. Tai seemed a bit more hesitant, but there could be any number of reasons for that.

“Well they are either ours or invited. They don’t wander in off the street.”

Translation, you might want to be a little bit careful who you bite they probably belong to someone. Of course, it was entirely possible some of them were totally disposable. Tai was a big boy though and he might be a bit young but he’d managed this far, he could keep managing.

“Why are you hungry again?”

She turned a fangy smile on him playing with the double meaning of that simple statement.

"So I assumed," Tai said dryly, "and not yet but perhaps later." He offered Val a flashed, quick grin.

As they made their way downward, Tai looked up and noted the steel platform above them, chains and hooks poised in macabre arrangement. How charming. Ellis must have had a hand in the decorating.

The place looked like an arena of some kind, with seating all over the sides and the big mosh pit in the center at the very bottom. It was dimly lit although Tai suspected that at least half the population here didn't mind in the least.

There was no one here aside from Val that he recognized. but what had he expected? He was a small cog in what was apparently a very large wheel. That suited him fine; there was safety in numbers.

Bending low to speak into Val's ear, since yelling didn't suit him in the least, he said, "So what exactly does one do here aside from gyrate with the masses? Is there a bar somewhere? Do they play twister and shuffleboard in the back?"

He wasn't sure what he'd expected. Something a little less - grungy. Surely they could do better for themselves than this? Inwardly, he shrugged. He'd seen worse.

'Twister is on Sunday, tonight is Smeer the Queer.'

Subterfuge was a glorious thing. The crowd parted slightly around them as he appeared behind Valentine and Tai. Was he being tasteless though? Yes, but Simon didn't really care to be the gracious host or thoughtful father figure leader right at that moment. He did not know Valentine all that well, but he did know Tai and having the smug little bastard on his property was enough for him to forgo any pleasantries. Because really...who would he be kidding?

'Valentine, good to see you again.'

She was rarely around, but he noticed those who paid more time in the city than within the Domicile. Coming back here must've been an interesting choice. 'What brings you kids out this way?'

She was just about to answer Tai, and she could use a drink, when they were approached by some one behind them. Recognizing Simon she smiled.

“Then I’ll have to come back on Sunday. Twister is more my speed.”

Val wondered slightly at Simon’s appearance, but if both she and Tai had been relatively scarce, he probably wondered at their appearance here.

“Been out of touch with family too long, maybe looking for work if you have any.”

The last part of that statement surprised Val a bit. But it was true enough she wouldn’t mind running a few errands for the clan and building up an actual relationship.

"Have a lot of queers around here then, do you?" Tai wasn't surprised when Simon showed up. He'd had a feeling he would, sooner or later.

He listened to the pleasantries pass between Simon and Val, only interjecting at the end, "Oh yes. I thought it would be nice to catch up with the family too. I didn't know I had so many cousins."

He jerked his chin at the writhing mass of what he assumed was mingled human and vampire in the sunken middle of the building. "Up until now I had thought my only family was Ellis, and my beloved Big Brother." His lips twisted up wryly, full of sarcasm and bordering on acerbic, but not quite there.

"Or am I mistaken?" Tai's eyes flickered toward Simon. "Is this not my family after all?"

A ball of something hot and uncomfortable burned in Tai's chest. What was Simon's problem anyway? Tai was having trouble figuring out what he'd done to earn this arrogant bastard's ire.

Simon looked thoughtfully at Valentine and considered her request with a shrug of his shoulders.

'I'm sure we can find something, Valentine.'

While still facing Val, Simon's eyes flicked over to Tai and he let the man's sarcasm pass through him as his face relaxed into boredom. Internally he was burning like fire.

Simon felt the invisible pull of his shared aura with Ellis. He tried not to let the jealousy seep into the thing, but it was enough to rouse Ellis from her hiding place within the Abby. He felt her near them, circling like a predator.

/What is he doing here?/

/You don't know how glad I am you asked that./

'You're Yakuza, isn't that correct, Mr. Taiji?' Simon blinked slowly, ignoring Tai's questions. 'You came to the US on Yakuza business, no doubt,' Simon faced him now, taking a step closer. His voice lowered and was tainted with just a smidge of laughter. 'But you never returned.'

'I wonder why that is?'

Ellis appeared just behind Tai's shoulder, her lips pressed close to his right ear.

'Why indeed?'

Simon wasn't stupid, thank god, and Ellis was grateful that he saw the opportunity in having Tai nearby. She felt the jealousy taint their aura, but he quickly reigned it in. She tried not to let the guilt seep in and managed to bypass that emotion for another.

Glee.

'I think it's cute that you're looking for a new family, Tai. Considering how your past ones have treated you.' Ellis jabbed at her young child's psyche, hoping a little damage went a long way. 'But I'm not sure Tacharan's taking applications...are you Simon?'

Simon blinked slowly again and shrugged as she moved toward his side, encircling her arms around his. A subservient move, but Ellis knew the value of authority and she was only on Tacharan property because Simon wished it so.

A shitty turn of events, but what can you do, right?

'Hmm,' she said with a sweet smile.

“Fair enough.”

She wasn’t exactly a prodigal son so that answer worked for Val. If nothing else, she’d made the offer to be of assistance.

Apparently, Tai had left out a few details when he made the suggestion to come here. Such as he might not be entirely welcome, that seemed like a hell of a thing to forget. Still she didn’t move away from him. It wasn’t as if Val was ready to support Tai through thick and thin, but she wasn’t going to ditch him, at least not until she was sure what was going on.

With Ellis’ arrival, part of what was going on seemed to be a leadership change. Was she picking up those signals right? She thought so. Well wasn’t that interesting. See what you missed when you didn’t subscribe to the yearly newsletter.

Val decided to keep her mouth shut while the three of them worked out their little issues.

Tai shrugged at Simon's attempt at a dig, as well as the misuse of his name; he thought the Tacharan leader sounded like a little boy, calling him by his first name with the honorific "Mr" in front of it. Let Simon keep doing so, by all means. His lips twisted up humorously this time, and he didn't try to hide the fact that Simon's butchering of his name was amusing to him.

His eye twitched just a bit as he watched Ellis cozy up to Simon, but he grinned and spread his hands. "Why would I leave, when I had such an appealing bedmate? It's a shame you couldn't adequately meet her needs."

He let his smile widen as if just noticing Ellis for the first time. "Well hello, Ellis."

The smile never reached his eyes, and he felt the ball of seething heat in his chest harden into a fiery stone. "I wasn't aware I required an application with such a well-known sponsor to back me."

He bowed formally to his creator, reminding Simon once again who he was. "I can't help it if the dominant male feels the need to piss on the walls every time I walk by."

Turning back to Simon, he murmured, in a similar tone to Simon's, "I wonder why that is?"

He didn't usually vocalize this much; Tai preferred silence over petty sniping. But the situation seemed to call for it and he wasn't going to back down. He had as much right to present himself here as Simon himself did. They came from the same blood. Tai knew if he wanted to survive in this world he would need the protection of family - but, the voice in his mind asked, how far would the protection of this family go? Would Simon even allow it? Who knew... if they kept this up, Tai would be lucky to make it out alive.

Simon snorted softly at Tai.

'Don't you think it's a little ironic? You asking to join my clan? Are you needing protection? Would you like my help?'

Ellis moved behind him, pressing her chin against his shoulder blade. She had never really been Tai's, and despite feeling the burn of jealousy, Simon wasn't really sure why he felt like goading the man - he just enjoyed doing it.

'If a place to stay is what you're needing, then by all means - talk to Kenley.' Simon looked at Valentine, 'She replaced Carol. Valentine knows where to find her, I'm sure.' With a shrug he blinked slowly again, 'Doesn't cost anything to be family.'

'Pound of flesh when I ran the place.' Ellis purred behind Simon's shoulder.

Simon allowed himself a grin and slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks. 'But she doesn't.' The smile fell. 'I do. And that's all you need to remember.'

Tai crossed his arms and met Simon's eyes squarely.

"I don't remember asking."

He didn't see much irony in the situation. After all, he hadn't necessarily chosen this life. The brutality of Ellis' so-called "gift" was clear in his memory. She'd done it to make him beholden to her; to try and control him further. It hadn't been offered so much as forced.

His eyes flickered to her, pressed up against Simon like a cat in heat. He'd wanted to make her proud, once. He still wanted to. He couldn't help that. It was ingrained in him from the moment of his creation. He didn't need her love, physically or emotionally. That had been necessary before his turning, when he had been human but hers. In turning him she had given him back a measure of his free will, but burdened him with this unwanted need to prove himself to her.

It disgusted him.

He sneered openly at Simon's words. Of course he didn't need a place to stay. Yes, he needed the benefit of a family around him; he had seen what happened to many lone vampires. He didn't have Ellis' age, strengths, or contacts. If he wanted to survive he needed to be a part of this group. He wasn't going to grovel for it though.

At Simon's next warning, he shrugged, face like stone. Let Simon dictate to him, then. All right.

"What do you want from me?" The question was low, guttural, almost a demand. Tai needed a purpose, and Ellis had not been giving of such things lately. "Family never comes free. I'll do my part."

Simon considered his options. Tai had stepped over the line of appropriate dissenting rebellion. Everyone had a line, but also a leash, and Tai was tugging on it far too much. It was time to heel.

'What I want from you is an understanding.' Simon stepped closer to Tai, so close that their faces were within inches of touching. He looked down at the man with obvious disdain then said softly, 'Put your hand on the table.'

Simon flicked his eyes to one of the round waist high tables that were scattered around the edge of the pit. He made no move to back away until Tai had done so. Slowly, but surely, Tai reached out with his left hand.

'No, the other hand.'

Tai switched hands and placed his right hand palm down on the table top.

/'Want it now?'/ Ellis asked silently.

'No', Simon said aloud. 'You do it.'

With her ancient liquid speed Ellis took the knife and plunged it into the center of his hand. All the way down to the hilt of the blade.


((ooc - if it wasn't ok to move Tai, lemme know and I can fix it. Sorry for the long wait - holidays and all. Waiting on Tai's response =) )

Tai assumed he knew what was coming when Simon told him to put his hand on the table. Among the Yakuza, disobedience or recklessness were punished by severing a finger at the joint, an old tradition that supposedly made the sword grip weaker, and therefore made the individual more dependent on the group for protection. Although swords were out of style today, yubitsume was still practiced regularly.

It came as something of a surprise, then, when Ellis, not Simon, drove the blade of a reasonably wicked knife through the back of his hand and well into the table. He choked back a cry of pain, instead giving a grunt. He could feel his nostrils flare as he reared his head back and gritted his teeth. Glancing from Ellis to Simon and back, he felt anger boiling within.

He bit back every verbal response he could make, because none of them could make this situation any better. He let his eyes linger on Ellis, the woman who had brought him into this world and whose voice still taunted him every day. The woman who clearly regretted her own actions in turning him. He loved her as much as he despised her, insofar as he could love anyone. In a way her betrayal hurt more than the knife through his hand but it was fitting.

Tai did his best to keep his right arm perfectly still, know any motion would just increase the red waves of pain that flowed from the knife into his hand and up his arm.

He looked back to Simon and smiled a painful, tooth-gritting smile. "I suddenly feel compelled to understand and accept any wisdom you'd like to impart," he said, his voice tight.

All in all, this was going much better than he'd expected.

Simon looked down at Tai's hand and feigned a concerned wince. He resisted the urge to chuckle but he did take the opportunity to make things crystal clear.

He leaned in close, his lips almost touching Tai's right ear and said in a low whisper, 'It won't matter who your creator is, not in the end. Till then, if you belong to Tacharan, then you belong to me.'

Despite whispering, Simon was fairly sure Tai heard him. If he hadn't heard him, the knife should have been a clear enough message. He leaned back to look at Tai in his tawny brown eyes and reached up to give him a playful slap on the cheek.

Before stepping completely away, Simon thought it prudent to point out one other thing. 'You can glare at Ellis all you want - hell, you can fuck her - but just remember...she belongs to me, too.'

Simon dropped his hand and brushed by Tai, nudging his shoulder forward as he turned to leave. Really, what else was there to say? If Ellis reacting immediately on his verbal command wasn't enough, the entire Abby silently staring at his exchange with Tai should be enough to convince him. Everyone there waited with bated breath. The music continued loudly thumping in his ears and vibrating off the steel walls and furniture, but it would take a single command for any one of them to tear Tai apart. It was accepted knowledge when Ellis ruled, it would not be any different with Simon.

Simon searched within his aura with Ellis and felt her confusion with her actions. It had to feel...unnatural...that seemed the best term for their role reversal. But her actions reinforced his leadership and it filtered the angry emotion out of their aura instantly. The power was unbelievable and part of him could see how Ellis craved it. Odd she seemed resigned to her position now. Apparently she was since there were no snide comments or competition with authority. She was there, for him, and acted in his name.

It was exhilarating.

As for Tai...he meant what he said. He could love, hate, desire Ellis all he wanted, but she was his; from the roots of her hair to the marrow in her bones.

In spite of the agony in his hand, Tai somehow managed to observe Ellis' movements. How, he wasn't sure. The room felt like it was threatening to colapse on him. Maybe it was the fact that he had never seen Ellis defer to anyone, ever, yet she did to Simon. He spared her a painful grin. That must have hurt her pride some... he would take what enjoyment he could out of this meeting.

His gaze shifted to Simon as the man moved in. Tai tensed, wondering if Simon meant to further debase him but it seemed the physical part was over with. In as much pain as he was, he failed to keep an expression of mild shock from his usually immobile features at Simon's words.

Why else would Tai have come here, but to pledge his allegiance to this family? If he'd intended to be Ellis' puppy he'd have stayed well away. Of course, it hadn't hurt to see Ellis' submission just then, but that had only reinforced his decision. Simon was, indeed, the leader here. It interested him that Simon seemed to see the need to reinforce that. Was it because of Ellis' presence? Tai had no idea, and contemplating it at that moment was far beyond his capability.

Barely aware that there was no motion in the rest of the room and what had been a writhing mass of inhumanity was focused on them, Tai met Simon's gaze squarely. He had nothing to hide. The Yakuza couldn't house him any longer; Tacharan could. Tai ignored the pat on his cheek and nodded brusquely to Simon, a slight bow that made his head swim.

"Hai. Wakari masu."

Simon jostled his shoulder as he passed and Tai sucked in an unconscious breath as his hand voiced its displeasure. In a sudden motion he whipped his left hand up, thrusting it forward as if to palm the knife but with much more force. Grasping it and wrenching as hard as he could he grunted as he pulled it from the table and back out of his hand. It very nearly didn't come out at all; without the bonus of inhuman strength there was no way he'd have retrieved it.

With catlike speed he had it turned and, holding it in his injured hand, presented it to Ellis hilt-first. "I believe this is yours."

He paused before handing it over and shifted slightly, shaking his head and withdrawing the knife to offer it out to Simon instead. "My mistake."

Letting Simon and Ellis debase him for the purpose of establishing pecking order was well enough, but if these other people were to be his "family," there was a limit to the amount of weakness he could show in front of them. New he may be, but if he had to fight for a place in this clan, let it begin here and now. Simon was his leader... but beyond that Tai was prepared to hold his own.



((ooc: Translation: "Yes. I understand."))

Simon turned back and looked at the offered knife. He raised his eyebrows and gave Tai a small grin.

The loud song ended just then and the silence was deafening. At least a hundred pairs of eyes were watching Simon's conversation with Tai and he gave the crowd behind a cursory glance before finally answering the new Tacharan.

'Keep it. I don't really need it.'

He looked at Valentine with a thoughtful stare. It would probably be a good idea to catch up with her later, but till then, Simon nodded to her politely as he took his leave. Nodding toward the DJ in the back, the music started back up again, and together, he and Ellis disappeared into the crowd, not really waiting around for Tai's reply.

((ooc - well I am actually waiting, so if you wanted to add anything else, lol, let me know and I can edit!))

((OOC - Simon and Ellis out, pending responses))

Tai made the bloodied knife vanish as Simon and Ellis passed him and went along their way. Although it made his back itch to do so, he turned it on them both and looked over to Val at last, as the music began once again and he bodies below started to weave.

"Sorry," he said to his date, "I didn't mention there might be a little bit of a family squabble."

Sliding two displaced chairs back toward the nearby table, Tai invited Val to take one with a brusque gesture. Seating himself with a wince, he observed his mangled hand, already beginning the painstaking job of mending itself.

"Not as bad as it could have been," he mused, wondering about Simon's reaction. There were compexities there he could hardly begin to understand but for the time being it seemed as though the Tacharan leader might allow him to stay.

What Ellis though, Tai didn't care right now. In his head he could hear her mocking laughter. He knew she was laughing at him, taking pleasure in his pain and discomfort. She had had her fun with him and now she would let him flounder on his own to keep her entertained. That was it. Well, she'd see he was far more resilient. He'd survived worse than her in his lifetime.

((ooc: Observations about Ellis strictly courtesy of Tai's psychosis. Even if they ARE true. :P))

Oh and points to Simon for his handling of Tai’s little game with the knife. That might have been more of a situation than she’d been prepared for, but Val thought she could work for him. Should the opportunity arise. It was good to have some kind of understanding of his expectations and how he handled things.

She returned his nod as the loud music again filled the silence. Tai preformed a minor bit of prestidigitation with the knife that had so recently been in his hand and she laughed. It hadn’t been her intention but he did have a gift for understatement. Sliding into the chair and into her Irish accent, she grinned at him.

“You apparently have quite the way of winning friends and influencing people ducky. Are there any other deep dark family secrets I need to be aware of?”

Every one was entitled to their secrets, so she wouldn’t push but Val would be lying to say she wasn’t curious about their little dysfunctional family.

She flagged down someone who looked like a server of some kind figuring they could both use something to drink. Although, to help with his hand Tai could probably use something with a bit more iron in it. With out asking she picked up his hand to examine it. He was right, that wasn’t as bad as it could be.

“Well you’ve mostly stopped bleeding and you’re not dead so I’d say it could have been worse.”

She said with a wry smile.

"I didn't come here to make friends," Tai began to protest, but he realized Val was teasing him and interrupted himself. With a slight smile that might have bordered on sheepish if one were looking closely, he shrugged his good shoulder.

Raising an eyebrow at Val's next question he asked, "How much worse could they get than that? That's pretty much the only one. And I didn't think it was much of a secret." He glanced down into the pit, though, and saw several pairs of eyes turn away so as not to be caught looking back. "Maybe I was wrong."

Tai grimaced when Val picked up his injured hand, glaring at her through the slitted, meaty hole in it as she examined it. "Are you quite through, doctor?" He asked dryly when she released it. "It's far from the heart."

It was already bruising, looking puffed up and spectacular as it went through a range of human-like features in what he expected would be half the time. Ellis hadn't held back; puncture wound notwithstanding he was certain she'd broken many of the bones in it when the hilt of the knife had impacted it. Bitch. It was certainly going to hold him up for a while.

He pulled his hand off the table, doing his best to ignore the flaring pain by knocking back his drink the moment it was placed in front of him. he didn't even realize what it was. Looking around he finally returned his gaze to Val.

"What are all these people here for, anyway?"

“Well if it was a secret it isn’t any more.”

No doubt the story would spread with a fair bit of speed.

“And on the upside you’ve just gained yourself a fair bit of notoriety.”

Letting him have his hand back she almost laughed. Val had been less worried about his health and more interested in how much damage had been done. And it had been a bit of an impressive job, she had to admit that.

“Oh I suppose I’m done, and my diagnosis is you’ll be fine once you have something to eat.”

It also apparently hurt more than she’d figured given the way he knocked back his drink. She nodded, indicating they should bring another two before glancing around at ‘all these people’.

“To see and be seen, relax, have a bite to eat, to be a bite to eat, find a job, find a lay, or just look pretty. It isn’t that much different than any other club.”

Tai scowled at Val's words. "Notoriety is fine by me," he muttered, "but if they think I'm going to be a pushover..."

He let the sentence go there, not willing to loosen up too much around Val until he knew for certain if she was an ally or a plant. Trust didn't come easily with him and while he realized he had to start somewhere, he'd never been one to jump into the deep end without testing the water first. He was a planner. He liked to know how things would happen.

When Val's diagnosis came through he offered her his sardonic smile. "Are you volunteering? If I recall correctly, you're delicious."

He did sit back in his chair though, relaxing against the back of it and stretching his legs out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, looking unconcerned. He was used to this; looking like nothing in the world mattered even though you were pretty sure everyone was out to get you.

"Know anyone here?" Once again he swept the crowd with his eyes and let his lips twitch with amusement as several gawkers tried not to get caught.

Val wasn’t at all intimidated by Tai’s scowl. Maybe she should have been, maybe on another day in other circumstances she would be. But right here and now, she wasn’t.

“Better a bad reputation than no reputation at all.”

Shrugging at him she crossed her legs and tossed back her own drink with the gusto of a sailor.

“No. I don’t think any one who watched that whole….reunion take place is going to peg you as a push over.”

Personally Val didn’t think she would have handled it nearly as well, she probably would have lost her temper and gotten herself into more trouble. Well maybe she wouldn’t have baited Simon as much as Tai had and it wouldn’t have come down to the fun and exciting pin the hand to the table game. Who knew. She’d rather not find out, but after witnessing that ‘pushover’ was not the first word that came to mind.

Giving him a side long and sly smile she couldn’t let that pass.

“If you are a good boy that might be arranged.”

With a thoughtfully little hmmm she surveyed the room. She thought maybe one or two of the bodies looked familiar.

“I’ve seen some of them before, here and there, but I wouldn’t say I know any one. That is something we both apparently need to fix.”

Tai bit his tongue, not wanting to draw out the topic of said reunion. It had raised more questions than it had answered, that much was certain. He simply gave Val a terse nod, acknowledging the truth in her words.

Baiting Simon hadn't really been his intent in coming here, but when confronted with someone who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder for no reason other than Tai's existence, he had pushed the envelope. There was no need to point out that Simon's leadership would have been accepted without the display of dominance; Tai had been in the yakuza since he was a child. He knew what leadership was, what the head of a family was, and he wasn't it. Didn't want to be it.

As the topic drew to a close and Val smiled at him in that way, he allowed himself to smile back, leaning forward onto his good arm and murmuring, "What if I'm very, very bad?"

The idea of making contacts here caused him to sigh and sit back again. He wrinkled his nose at Val. "I hate mingling. The last time I mingled, the room caught on fire."

He didn't expect Val to udnerstand that, but it did bring back memories of Yuu. At the party. The fire, their escape. It had sparked, no pun intended, this strange roller coaster of a ride he'd been having here in Nachton.

"If we must, we must. What did you have in mind?"

There was no way around it, the man was a good lover. If he knocked on the door, she’d answer. It wasn’t love, but then Val couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in love. Still, what did love have to do with sex?

Nearly purring she leaned forward towards him, so their heads were nearly touching and let a slow lazy smile expose her fangs.

“Then you might have to be punished.”

And it might take a long while for him to learn his lesson.

The mood changed quickly, but it didn’t faze her. In fact, Val couldn’t help but laugh. Some people just weren’t social. She, however, had a tendency to be quite gregarious. She might not have socialized with her family, but she did get out and have a good time on a regular basis.

“For the quiet type you do have a flair for the dramatic.”

First getting himself stabbed in the hand and now setting rooms alight. She continued to smile at the idea. She didn’t even really mind that he seemed to be letting her direct things. Val was certain when Tai wanted something done his way, she’d know about it.

“How about we start by bumping into people and see where that takes us?”

Tai's lips curled into an anticipatory smile at the promise of "punishment." He did like Val. If she proved trustworthy, as was his hope, then doing business mixed with some pleasure looked very appealing indeed.

He wasn't sure he liked her opinion of his having dramatic flair though. Assassins were not supposed to be showy, and were only supposed to be dramatic in a quiet, "Oh look, Bob just got dead" sense. Flair got people killed. Hopefully now that he'd made his grand entrance into his Clan's grounds, he could lay low and be unobtrusive.

And, dislike it as he may, Tai understood the necessity of mingling and meeting people. He imagined the first few here might be the sort who wanted to test him. Many of them might want to test him. That was all right with him, though he did wish he weren't about to undergo that sort of thing with a fucked-up hand.

Ah well. Nothing for it. He knocked back his second drink as it was delivered and stood, nodding to Val. "Bump into people it is," he agreed. "How literal did you want me to be? Because from here, it's not a very long jump into that pit."

He kept his face dead serious, teasing Val and testing at the same time. If she fell for it... well, he gave her more credit than that.

Val couldn't help but chuckle, a low slow smoky sound, at Tai's smile. Apparently, he was planning on being a very bad boy. She was just fine with that. Hell, she'd probably encourage it.

Eyes dancing she took his uninjured hand and guided him to his feet, finished her own drink, and started them down to the floor.

"How about we start small and work our way up. I don't feel like breaking an ankle just to make an impression."Â?

She nodded toward her feet and the insanely high heels. She'd probably be able to handle the jump with some grace barefoot or in sensible shoes, but damned it she wouldn't look nearly as good.

Tai glanced down at Val's scarily high-heeled shoes. Turning his attention back to her face he shook his head. "I do like a lady who's always armed," he said.

Holding her hand was an unusual thing for him, but he did so for a few moments until the press of bodies made it difficult to walk side by side. When it became awkward, he simply shifted so he followed behind her with his hand upon the small of her back.

As they descended to the floor he noted that his hand had stopped oozing blood, at least, which was nice. He had been trying very hard not to get blood on his jeans. It wasn't difficult to work their way into the mass of what he assumed were mingled humans and vampires. He let Val lead the way as far as movement went; for his part, he glanced covertly around, taking stock of who looked at them and who looked away from them, and whether those looks were curious, indifferent, or openly hostile. There were some of each.

Val just laughed softly. She had a feeling that Tai could teach her more than one or two things about being armed. She’d seen him handle the knife that Ellis had stabbed him with and given his handling of things during their little tryst earlier Val was fairly certain he was ‘sharper’ about things than she was. She totally wasn’t against learning either. She was competent enough with guns, explosives and when push came to shove in hand to hand but there was always room for improvement and Val wasn’t afraid to both admit and embrace that.

Not that she was worried about any of this right now. Now, for right now she was more than happy to bump and grind with the rest of those in the pit. While she was having a fine time just cutting loose she wasn’t unmindful of the looks that Tai was getting. Funny old thing that she was more or less accepted and people were still willing to question Tai. To her mind that was almost… well it was bad. If Simon was willing to cut Tai some slack then no one else had call to question it. But, that is how things worked to her mind. Of course, she was used to following orders from ‘the family’ or even from the leaders of the IRA. Maybe she needed to get out and lead her own causes more…. Or maybe she could just be good at what she was good at.

Her dancing was suggestive but it was equal opportunity, which is to say she didn’t overtly favor Tai. It wasn’t to make Tai jealous, it was just how Val was. One or two of the ‘young men’ seem to respond to her quite favorably, but she didn’t truly encourage them, that was just how things went down in the clubs.

While an entertaining night out it really wasn’t conducive to making new contacts. Val had gotten a few names and she could follow up on those, but later. It didn’t take long for mingling to turn to flirting, teasing and tempting. And while Val didn’t mind being something of an exhibitionist, it didn’t take long for she and Tai to rather mutually drag each other off into more private surroundings.

((OOC… both out with permission))