#nhqstarter

[superstar-ruby]

“Come on! Any true pop star knows how to have a dance party!” The small girl said her voice trailing off into a giggle. “shall I change the music? is there a song you’d like to listen to?” 

[magicmathilda]

“I’m supposed to catch bugs myself? um I think I’ll pass”

[poppy-nh]

“And so then, I had to whip out my journal! I mean the fish was this big! How could I not record it? It’d be a waste, scientifically speaking.” Poppy threw her arms out, marking the size of the fish before opening her journal to show the recording. “Have you caught anything cool lately?”

[crimson-octavian]

“This better be important I’ve got a lot of unpacking to do”

[ocean-eyeslnrp]

Svala hadn’t been in on the raid, but she was called. Called for her presence and called to take part in the questioning. She had washed it away the minute she could and now she sat in her shop, alone. It was after hours and she was working on the motorcycle she had for many years but hadn’t kept up. It was quiet, the only sound was the sound of her ratchet, until she stopped.

Her hands were shaking with anger at herself. Some of her former friends had been there. Her cold demeanor nearly breaking a few times wishing she could help them out but carrying out her duties as she was told. Without even realizing she had let loose the anger that was growing inside her, throwing the ratchet she had been working with at the wall and watching it shatter. Her chest heaving as she tried to calm herself but couldn’t. What was this? What was happening? Why was she questioning her choice to stay where she belonged? 

She didn’t get it, she buried her head in her hands trying to calm her nerves. Her blonde hair falling over her fingers and being a curtain around her face where angry tears fell from her eyes. That was until she felt eyes on her, she sighed. and straightened up, wiping her face. “What do you want?” She said without turning to face whoever it was. 

[jadielxabrego]

DEEP BROWN HUES finally looked up from the blueprints and diagrams laid out in front of him, it was getting late and jadiel had already been poring over the dossier for the past three hours. It had taken weeks for the rebellion’s undercover agent working the coalition compound to access the files that he had requested, and he wasn’t about to let them go to waste now. most people might have thought that a wolf’s greatest enemy was a leech, and while jadiel personally hated the bloodsucking bastards with every bone in his body, it was the humans that concerned him the most now. the night at the inferno --- how many members of his pack had been harmed? kidnapped, too, and they were still working out a way to retrieve them all in one piece. 

so he’d work as late into the night as he had to, while erik did fuck all wherever he happened to be. right now, he was at his usual spot in the iron forge, at the end of the bar with an ice cold mahou cinco estrella keeping him company. he drew back a large drink of his favorite beer, wiping the foam off his upper lip before glancing up at whoever happened to be approaching him. it was to be expected --- werewolf bar, co-leader of the resistance pack. he’d never turn anyone away. “what can i do ya for?” he asked with a wry, albeit tired smile, running a hand through his dark, curly hair and wondering idly if he should have just pulled most of it back and up off of his face with the leather band he wore around his wrist. “c’mon, sit. you look like you could use a drink or two.” 

[flcshandbcne]

{ grayson & open }

call him childish, but grayson was upset. all he wanted was a moment’s peace, a moment away from the damn freyr wood and anyone associated with it. yet here he was, a freyr wood guard within an arm’s reach at all times in case something happened to him. yes . . . there had been chaos flying around recently, but grayson seriously doubted he’d get snatched running basic errands. so he did what he does best . . . he forced the guard to accompany him to the inferno, a place he had yet to deign with his presence. to be fair, grayson may have acted like it was because he was above it all, but really the place made him blush madly. 

past reservations set aside in favor of pettiness, grayson now found himself sat on a velvet couch, watching as those around him had their fun. occasionally he’d glance over to his guard, just to make sure the other wasn’t enjoying themselves too much. 

[dvrkprinces]

( CHRISTIAN &&. 𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓷 )

"Oh! Excuse me,” Christian began, holding a hand up and trying to signal the very busy bar tender over. He was nestled inside of The Iron Forge, a lyncathrope-friendly establishment in Amsterdam. Christian wasn’t much of a casual drinker himself--when did he have the time?--but he’d heard rumors that other wolves tended to congregate here as a place of safety and security for themselves. And maybe, just maybe, Christian could find a friendly face among the crowd of strangers--someone who could tell him why the humans had decided to open fire and capture prisoners at the same gala they’d made wolves and angels attend.

Was he in danger by aligning with the government? Was Emmaline in danger?

He lowered his hand slightly, a small frown sliding across his face as the tender ignored him in favor of serving another customer.

“Oh,” Christian said, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing around. Had he simply not been heard, or were people ignoring him because they didn’t know him? Maybe--maybe they didn’t trust him. Maybe they knew he was a guard at Freyr Wood and therefore deemed untrustworthy by their kind.  “Er, never mind then, I guess.”

[rosaxlunar]

✟ Melanie & Open

“Adonis!”

Her shouts are useless, drowned out amongst the panicked shuffling and utter chaos around her. Melanie wasn’t even supposed to be inside the Inferno and every fiber of her being was begging for her to get out. She’d heard much talk about the place, how it was a revolting den of sin and the main habitat of those wicked and fallen. She’s always made sure to steer clear of the place, no part of her even curious to scope it out. And when the citywide announcements about the extravagant event were plastered everywhere, Melanie merely rolled her eyes and huffed at the idea of even stepping a foot inside.

However that was before she remembered she had a friend who had the worst self destructive tendencies. So much so, she couldn’t help but worry over the sake of his soul. It often seemed that he was balancing on a thin thread and a simple push would be enough to have him fall...it scared her. 

“Merde, Adonis!”

So here she was, blue eyes seeking out the tall blonde amongst all the screams and bloodshed. Melanie was struggling, she never expected walking into a raid that then turned out to be a fight for survival. She’s not sure what she expected really, walking in perhaps, seeing her friend’s towering presence like a beacon and then convincing him to leave perhaps. She was so foolish.

Melanie clutched at her coat, using it as an armor from the now bloody scantily clothed bodies around her. The last thing she wants to do is engage in a fight, she’s not a warrior. Melanie bites her lip, she knew she should have asked Sanem to accompany her, but she never expected this mess. A hard shove has Melanie falling to the ground, and she rapidly stands, not wanting to risk getting trampled on, only to feel someone else aggressively bump into her.  

“Seriously? Could you at least attempt to watch where you are going?”

[lupusrcx]

What a bloody mess the night had turned into---literally. Even if Lilianna hadn’t chosen to sneak into the already-terrible sounding event at The Inferno (and behind his back, additionally), Henry would have had no choice but to attend regardless. It was his duty, after all, as an angel of light and a soldier of god, the fallen had always been their greatest enemy, and combined with the dark, deadly power of the vampires, they were a larger threat than ever before. 

But he hadn’t expected this from the humans, even as a council member, he had been given no such warning that any sort of raid was supposed to take place tonight, let alone one with this sort of cruel and unrelenting viciousness. Fallen angels, vampires, and even werewolves alike were being gunned down and tossed into the back of military-grade tanks before being dragged off to Raziel knows where, and all Henry could think about was finding his charge---Lilianna, the only human being in the entire world whose brain was bigger than her need for self-preservation. 

“Excuse me---are you quite alright?” Henry’s voice was firm but gentle as he reached for the nearest person that he could spot, one who wasn’t a member of the black ops team that had been sent in to wreak havoc, and he turned them towards him insistently. It was second nature to scan them for injuries, he might not have been a healer-type angel, but the natural born instinct to care and protect stretched even further than his human charge. Deftly, he pulled them aside into an alcove that had been half blown to bits by gunfire, he looked over their shoulder cautiously before diverting his deeply intent gaze back to them. “I’m looking for a human, and not one of those blasted bastards running around with enough artillery to take out an entire village. Are you---can you help me? Please?” 

[immcrtals]

( elvyra & open ) 

A century old, she mused. Well, ninety eight, really. And a half. Hardly old by vampire standards, but old enough to be hardened around the edges. Old enough that she often felt bored; rarely felt true surprise; began to wonder how much there really was left to do. Had she done everything she cared to? Old enough that she definitely shouldn’t be struck dumb every time she bore witness to a moment of true love. 

Not the performative kind, caked in lavish displays of affection as if the reaction itself was just as integral to the relationship as either person. Or the distant kind, driven apart by time or other people or just a lack of passion. Not the toxic kind or the volatile kind or the situational kind. Love that knocked the wind out of her when she encountered it, two souls so absolutely in sync that it almost felt like watching them have sex would be less intrusive than watching them simply hold each other’s gaze or chuckle at an inside joke when they thought no one was watching. But Elvyra was watching. She was so absolutely transfixed by the couple that when they payed their bill and began to leave, she had stood up too. 

She’d only fully come back to herself once they had rounded a corner, out of sight, and the pinch of her nails digging into her palms dragged her into the present; into a well of seething jealousy so intense she could barely focus. It’d be a welcome change to her typical days of unfeeling monotony if it weren’t so bloody awful. She hated this feeling. It made her feel powerless and weak and foolish, like a teenager instead of a woman with nine full decades under her belt. In just moments she was back at the Inferno, jaw clenched and eager for a distraction. She didn’t know if she wanted to pick a fight or be bent over a table--or both--but she did know that there were plenty of people at the bar that could help her out. She chose a stool with a jacket draped across it for that very purpose, despite the array of open seating. Just a cavalier swipe of her hand had it slipping to the ground, freeing up the seat that she perched herself on with an offhand wave to the bartender and a conspirator’s grin.

[infernusvacua]

@ open : astaria + ? (post event)

It had been a quiet evening, the first she’d had in a very long time. Most of her clients were off at that loathsome party the fallen angels were throwing. Once upon a time, Astaria would have been first in line for such an event, dressed to the nines with a fallen angel of her own on her arm, ready for whatever debaucheries were on the menu for the evening. But that life was long gone, and since the angel in question was no doubt attending the party, Astaria had ardently avoided it like the plague. She had different ideas of fun that did not require putting her kinks on display for everyone and their grandmother to see. Well... alright, voyeurism was one of her kinks, but she wasn’t about to display it where Lysander might be able to see it.

So when the frantic texts began flooding her phone, the madame was comfortably ensconced at home in The Black Dahlia, sipping on a glass of finely aged poet fresh from the source, with her beloved Arsène draped over her shoulders. She didn’t want to look up from her re-read of Le Rouge et le Noir, but the texts kept coming, followed by phone calls that would not stop no matter that she kept sending them to voicemail. With a haughty sigh, Astaria finally unlocked her phone and began perusing the messages in earnest, stroking Arsène’s head absently. With each one she read, first one and then the other eyebrow began to rise.

Twenty minutes later, having carefully bookmarked her place and put the python back in his enclosure, Astaria stood on the roof of a building a few blocks away from The Inferno. Even in crisis, she refused to come any nearer to the place than was necessary. One manicured hand rested on the handle of a rolling metal suitcase packed with blood, just in case. The Night Court was splintering off to escape. From what she could tell, the King was, at the very least, safe and unharmed. But other members might not be so lucky and in need of sustenance. She’d made sure her most valued clients knew where to find her, those who were answering their texts at any rate.

She didn’t turn her gaze away from the part of the club she could see from here, even when the rooftop door opened behind her. “I see you made it out of the lion’s den,” Astaria said, her rich, blended accent rolling through the air.

[kittcns124]

“Unless it’s an absolute emergency and you’re bleeding out on the floor of my apothecary, there’s going to be at least a ten-minute wait before I can help you.” Lilianna’s voice came out muffled and clipped-sounding from the back room of her family’s shop; Zhìliáo Hǎitún was always busy, but she was in the midst of preparing a new healing salve whose rare - and incredibly expensive - ingredients were quite time-sensitive in regards to how quickly they needed to be mixed together. Though they were fairly new to Amsterdam, people from across the world had been coming to see the Shu-Leis for decades now, whether it was with broken limbs or stuffy noses, and Lilianna was determined to faithfully carry on with her mother’s love of traditional Chinese medicine, even if it meant working twelve hour days between that and her hidden role as a healer for the werewolves as well as an undercover blood doll. Finally, she emerged from the back room, glossy raven-black hair held back with a pair of jade chopsticks to keep the waist-length strands from falling into her face as she worked. “Nǐ hǎo, and thank you for waiting. How can I be of service to you today?”

[achromatic-morality]

[Sydney & Open // Event001 Starter]

It looked as though the full sum of the supernatural crawling the streets had slunk into The Inferno that evening, but that was no surprise given how much work had been put into dressing the place up. On its' best behavior The Inferno was still  the bastard lovechild of Raphael and Luca and it certainty took after its' parents in hunger for sinful depravity, on its' worst it was a selfish demon that devoured those not cautious enough to know the cost of sweet promises dangled between sharp claws. Tonight the feast was all laid out in countless beckoning spots and enticing acts, the full moon was a spotlight watching those tangled in lust and drowned in alcohol. It was likely wishful thinking that every hapless soul might make it out alive, but that was something of a silent contract signed by passing through the doors; risk was part of indulgence after all. 

Sydney didn't have the same seeming joy for it as many of his brothers and sisters, a fact he shrugged off as either some shred of his old life still buried somewhere inside or too many centuries seeing the best and worst of the world so often they blurred together; but had decided he was taking a break that evening. He doubted there were too many thoughts of murder around the place that night, not when the undertone of lust was practically humming in every inch of the club. If it all went to hell before the morning, well, that would have been almost fitting and he wasn't cleaning that mess up. 

The thought was likely the sway of the drink in his hand, on his third of the night and quite comfortable in the spot he had claimed. Sydney knew, despite the assumptions of others, that sloth was not his personal sin of choice but it was a pleasant one. The plush chair and his legs propped up on a table before him was a good vantage point to people watch, off the clock but still scrutinizing, old habits were hard to break. He shrugged it off and lifted his glass again, soaking in things around him; he'd resolved to not give a damn about anything until the morning and the heat in the pit of his stomach from bourbon was a good start 

He only lifted an eyebrow when a body in motion paused, his mind too busy with internalized thoughts to note at first if they were familiar, or it could have been the general haze that had seemed to slide through The Inferno that evening. "Yes?" He finally questioned when he realized they had stopped purposely.  

[ocean-eyeslnrp]

Svala & open

Svala’s brows were pulled together in concentration as she stood over the engine she had been rebuilding. Torquing everything down evenly and focusing on the pattern she knew she needed for this piece. She relaxed and sighed taking a rag to clean off the torque wrench once she had finished but her brows furrowed again.

Her wings folding and disappearing to the new presence she felt before looking up at the person that had walked into her closed shop. “Can I help you?” It was after hours and her family was already home so she didn’t have to worry about them but with all the trouble that had started between the species she figured trouble was going to come with this visitor. 

[dvrkprinces]

( GABRIEL &&. 𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓷 )

There was a fire burning in his soul, deep and ravenous. Gabriel Beaumont was used to having thing taken from him; his innocence, his joy, his mortality. The world had ripped him from the womb and deprived him of comfort and security. Gabriel Beaumont might not have been used to the mortal idea of happiness, but he had carved a name for himself in this ramshackle world; a throne made of blood and bones that he called his own. And at one side, near the helm of his ship, had sat Kael Endiron for as long as Gabriel had been immortal. On another side, Itanya had loomed nearby, since his earliest days in Amsterdam, alongside Lucille.

They had been taken from him. Itanya remained, but Lucille and Kael--gone. Vanished into the back of the human coalition’s headquarters, subjected to God only knew what kind of torture. Gabriel trusted his inner circle with every ounce of his soul--what he didn’t trust was the cool rage hardening inside of him, turning the king with a smile like cut glass into a force of nature.

Presently, Gabriel found himself in one corner of The Red Ruby; he’d opened the establishment to mortals for the weekend, hoping it would entice some of the members of the human coalition to wander onto his doorstep. Raphael Crossborne and Luca D’Amore were fools; the humans might have gotten past them, but him? A king on a chessboard full of pawns? Unlikely. He sat back in a plush chair, his fingers drumming along the edge of the table as he glanced at the beta werewolf before him. Shackled and limp, Gabriel watched with renewed interest as blood soaked the front of his shirt. Standing, Gabriel slowly made his way over to the freshly deceased creature, pulling his dagger out of the mutt’s throat and cleaning the blade with a cloth napkin. He heard movement behind him and stilled, his gaze peering into the reflection of the glimmering blade resting in his hands.

“Such a shame--they never believe that I won’t take no for an answer. This was my favorite blade, too; pitiful it had to be used on a mutt.” Gabriel held the dagger up to the light, angling it under the low, amber lights. Without turning to face the intruder, he spoke again. “I don’t have time for idle pleasantries. What do you want?”