#astrid: absynthia

[eremington]

@astrid-lundquist

After his encounter with Divya at Absynthia a few weeks ago, Elijah had a suspicion that something was up with the younger witch, but he didn't want to confront her - gently or otherwise - until he knew for sure. It had brought him to Astrid's office in Absynthia. She had to know what was happening in her club, or at the very least she would have seen Divya more. The sound of voices inside made him pause, and he waited for a moment of quiet before knocking. "Astrid? I wanted to talk with you."

[astrid-lundquist]

a moment of reprieve...

After the chaos and damage, she had thought Ursa was stressed, but something must have happened at that council meeting. When he came home, he looked like he was burying anger deep in his chest. She knew the feeling, and the look. She had that kind of anger burning in her chest, the coals keeping the flame going even when happiness pushed it aside for a short time.

Now that they were officially together, he couldn't argue with her when she wanted to take him out for the evening. Astrid had it all planned out. She put on something cute, though it was not anything revealing like she might have worn during a night at Absynthia. It was cute, an outfit she'd only ever wear for him. Next, she took his hand and gave him the look that told him he could not complain and should just go with it.

After an uber ride, they arrived at the location. Mini golf. It was competitive, something they both were, but nothing they could argue about. Just enough that they could tease each other and someone would be the winner. It was also something they would normally never do, just enough to shake his thoughts and keep his mind off of the chaos in town and on them instead.

"Do you want the green ball, or the purple one?" she asked, holding the options up for him to choose from as they gathered their equipment.

@ursanazyalensky

[caia-sjofrid]

meeting again | astrid & caia

for: @astrid-lundquist location: absynthia

Caia was still trying to figure out how they felt about being back in Vievecor City. For one, there were those elvish ruins that she so desperately wanted to visit, on the other there was that annoying Council to deal with, but on another flip side there were people here that they had not seen in many years and it was always good to catch up.

The last message Caia had sent to Astrid had been a few years ago and it had been written on a small piece of paper, attached to the leg of a pigeon and sent to the demon. It did not contain much apart from telling Astrid that they believed she would enjoy the town of Tofo, after which Caia had ventured on to their next destination and disappeared off the radar.

She decided to surprise her demon friend that evening and turned up at her club in Hedon. Clubs were not Caia's particular brand of entertainment, but there were many things they would willingly subject themself to for a good friend and Astrid was one of them.

When pushing their way through the crowd became too tedious, Caia pulled one of the servers close and asked them to send a message to Astrid Lundquist, telling her that there was an elf looking for her. Now all Caia had to do was wait.

[ursanazyalensky]

The fallen deity had no intention of corrupting the young woman. He would not lie about the world, the gaps between the light and dark. For the fallen, it was harder than the other demon's. He couldn't quite give into those demonic desires, still holding onto a lingering feeling of guilt. Ursa could live with his own shortcomings but he was still guilty for what Astrid had become.

His lips twisted into a slight smile, unsure how to accept an apology for what had been done. It was not her fault and he would not allow her to shoulder that blame. "It is okay. Just as I must have been created for a reason, I must have fallen for one too." Some day it may become clear or he might just be there to watch it all crumble.

The demon realised how old it made him sound but there was no hiding what he was. "I believe they enjoy Absynthia. Personally it's a little too loud and there's one too many human's with a priest kink," he answered. Astrid enjoyed his presence there but the attention it bought him always made the demon uncomfortable. From the look in the young deity's eyes, she was curious about his protege. "She's quite tall with dark brown hair and eyes. She looks like an angel from far away," he described, giving her a little hint.

"I don't know." She didn't. Would it help? It wasn't going to change what the deities had done, was it? How could they have been so wrong? Yes, yes, butterfly effect and all that but he hadn't even meant to bring the girl back to life so she might stay that way. Was this how they planned to restore the balance between light and dark? By turning everyone and everything against them? Was it not enough that deities who broke the rules not only lost their powers but turned into the very opposite of what they had once been?

Elena's temper settled somewhat as the priest continued his tale, leaving behind a feeling of rot and decay at her core. "I'm sorry," she told him, the 'on behalf of all of us' unsaid, though very much implied. She didn't have that kind of authority but someone needed to say it.

It was the mention of a club that managed to lure her more animated nature out from where it had disappeared to. "The club that the kids like?" Elena parroted with a curious lilt to her tone. Surely to him, she was a kid. So what was this club that was supposedly all the rave these days? She'd have to swing by some time to meet the girl who had unwillingly helped to pave the way to his fall. Perhaps apologize to her as well.

[vievecorcitylocations]

ABSYNTHIA is the biggest demon-run nightclub in the district of Hedon. Taking up an entire abandoned warehouse that was built in the 1800s, this club is popular amongst all the inhabitants of Vievecor City because it often boasts the best line-up of techno DJs in the world. 

The main room of this club is focused on techno with state of the art sound systems and almost floor to ceiling subwoofers set to bring the house down every night. There are smaller rooms on the second level featuring house music.

The club’s opening hours are from 8pm to 8am every day.

What some unwitting humans and supernatural patrons do not know is that Absynthia is also a club where they can enter with their soul, but their body might leave with another.��(See the spirit ability ‘body-hopping’ HERE.) 

Demons, spirits and dark witches prowl this club to tempt and trick these patrons into surrendering their bodies by making deals or going into demon contracts with them known as exchanges. This is especially tempting to humans who believe that they are being promised the ‘most transcendental experience of their lives’. Supernaturals are less likely to be tricked, but this is not always the case. 

These exchanges commonly involve a person with a host body, a foreign spirit and a demon or dark witch who brokers the deal. In these exchanges, the foreign spirit is able to take hold of a host body and exist in it for the length of time stipulated in the deal. During this time the soul of the host body will exist as a spirit and be able to experience everything about being a spirit before a demon or dark witch can help to remove the foreign spirit from the host body. This does not often pan out as demons and dark witches have been known to revoke the deal/contract without reason.

This makes Absynthia a dangerous place to enter, but given the lawlessness of Hedon and the technical lack of loss of life and deals being struck, there is little that the other species can do about these exchanges.

Some roles/jobs in Absynthia include: (only demons can apply for these roles)

Owner of Absynthia (1/1) - The owner of Absynthia must be an Underworld demon.

@astrid-lundquist​ (1/1 Club Owner)

Bouncer of Absynthia (1/1) - The bouncer of Absynthia is responsible for curating the clientele of the club by granting or denying access to people at the door. They also act as club security even though not much is needed.

@iskodeguzman​ (1/1 Bouncer)

[eremington]

"I'm an excellent team player, and I tend to play even better when I'm the leader." He bumped his knee against hers with a small smile. "It's symbolic more than anything. I show that I am willing to 'give of myself' for the community. Truth be told, I'm more concerned for the potential harm to all of us non-vampires." He studied Divya. She looked different than she had that night in absynthia, so presumably she hadn't taken whatever she had that night. "Mostly behaved, I chatted with Astrid a bit to ask about you."

"Good to be back," she mused with a soft smile, pulling her eyes away from him to look at the scene around them, "despite always coming home to a cluster." She shook her head in minor amusement before her eyes met Elijah once again. "I was surprised to see you offering a donation. Wouldn't have thought you'd be a team player, at least for this team, that is," she teased, plucking a piece of cheese off the plate and taking a bite. "I get along with everyone, my dear, you know that," she playfully boasted. "But yes, getting along with them, at least as far as the coven is concerned." It was in that moment that Divya was grateful that she hadn't taken a hit of V that night, despite how much she was craving it being around all the vampires. "Behaved yourself while i've bene away?"

[eremington]

He just smiled at Astrid rather than say something about her 'luckily not being one of those people.' "Well then." Elijah stood up and walked backwards towards the door, not wanting to turn his back to a pissed off demon. "I think that's my cue. Thank you for the audience, Astrid."

"There is always a give and take. Don't pretend like there aren't people that have something over you, even now." That was the way of society, so intertwined that no one piece could easily be removed. "Keep insulting me in my domain, and that'll change," she added sharply.

[eremington]

"The problem for someone like Divya or myself using drugs is the power it gives someone else over us." Whoever Divya's potential supplier was, they had leverage he wasn't comfortable with. For all her nastiness, it seemed like he had actually struck a nerve with Astrid. "Well I suppose I should be glad to be on the list at all."

"Why do I suspect your definition of 'trouble' with drugs is using them at all?" she questioned him in return, though she didn't care if he answered. He wasn't going to get any information out of her, especially when he was planting concerns in her mind that she certainly didn't need. There were a few security guards she would be talking to later, and maybe the witch herself, at some point. "Like I said, Divya can handle herself but I promise, if she starts having 'trouble', you'll be the last one I call."

[eremington]

He flashed her a mean little half smile, recognizing the vague threat for exactly what it was. She was right about him needing to trust people more, especially when it came to their personal choices, but that was not something he had any interest in discussing with Astrid. "Have you seen Divya experience any trouble with substance use?" If she wasn't interested in pretending to be friendly, he might as well just ask the question he'd come here for. "Or do you not consider that to be harm?"

"She is safe here," she countered, not longer giving him the fake smile. What was it with witches and thinking they knew better than everyone else? She turned her hardened stare to him as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You seem to think the world is exactly as you view it. You needn't be afraid of those who are different than you. Well, perhaps maybe you should." If not for the trouble it would cause, she would have taught him a lesson. Veiled threats, however, were fair game. "Besides that, Divya is more than capable of making decisions for herself who she wants to interact with. Anyone who hurts her would have to answer to me, but I think she can handle herself just fine. It would do you good to put some faith in the people you supposedly care about."

[eremington]

He couldn't help a humorless smile at Astrid's bluntness, actually appreciatiing it somewhat. "I care about Divya, and I worry that she may be getting into the wrong sort of things with the wrong sort of people." Some kind of substance use if he had guessed right. "I would hope, as one of her good friends, you would be interested in helping keep her safe."

"It always is," she replied, enjoying his discomfort. He was in no position to judge her for what she did for fun in her own place a business, somewhere she didn't think he had ever stepped foot in until today. "And? We're good friends, she's basically a VIP when she comes here." Divya should feel at home in the club. "Would you like to get to the point?"

[eremington]

He kept his face neutral as the woman walked out of the office by him, saving the raised eyebrow for Astrid as he closed the door behind him. "Business seems to be booming." Ignoring the unease settling in the pit of his stomach at closing himself in with her, he made his way over to sit across from her. "I was here a few days ago and ran into Divya. She seemed... quite at home, and I realized the two of us hadn't spoken much." He wanted to see what Astrid's initial reaction to the name would be before trying to press for more.

There were more and more witches gracing the halls of Absythnia, much to her delight. She always wanted her club to be popular, sure, but people who came into her club were on camera view and she always hopped for some kind of footage that would be useful to her later. Unfortunately, she wasn't aware of the coven leader's presence in her club because she was otherwise occupied with someone in her office. She did, however, hear his knock. Astrid didn't know him well and she was ready to ignore him in favor for the woman in front of her, but she wanted to know what he wanted. With a sigh, she shooed away her paramour, watching as she opened the door and slipped out past Elijah. "Well, come on in, then."