"I think," Fang said, in a tone that would have been diplomatic had he not been grinning so widely that it looked like the top of his head would fall off at any moment, "that what Darshan finds funny in theory might not be so funny if you were, you know, actually touching another guy's butt." He looked out the window, and sighed as a very well-endowed redhead pushed herself up against one of the limo doors, screaming his name. "Not that there aren't a few butts that I would like to touch."
    "You are disgusting," Tala informed Fang. Then her eyes traveled to C.J. "And you are not getting married. Not unless you like the idea of groupie brain splattered all over the Elvis Chapel. I'm telling you right now, hun, they'll charge you extra for the clean-up."
    "I'm disgusting?" Fang muttered.
    "Oh, yes," Darshan said, in tones so dry that they could have evaporated water,

    "But I wouldn't /really/ be touching," C.J. said thoughtfully, head tilting as she absently juggled the remaining mini bottles between her hands. "The pen would be touching his butt. Or really a marker. I think a marker might be better." Her head turned to study the ass man. "Oh yeah, definitely marker material."
    "I think Darshan might have a problem with your hand being just in the near vicinity of another man's bare ass," Jacob added his own opinion, before following Fang's gaze. A smirk ensued. "Fang, why don't you hop out and try to pacify the fans. I'm sure you can catch up to us in the hotel."
    C.J. wrinkled her nose at Tala. "Dude, that is /so/ not the way you want to spend your wedding night. Groupie brain?? Ew. Much better to have at least a groupie ass, or something."
    Christian actually smirked at that, then dipped his head in a goodbye gesture before calmly ambling away towards his car, which was parked at the end of the block. He was a smart one.

    "Sugar, you might not be touching his ass, but he doesn't seem like the sort to keep his hands to himself." Tala downed another little bottle of liquor, and raised her brows at C.J.
    Fang looked at the fans. Then he looked back at Jacob. "Fuck, man, what do you think I am, stupid? They'll rip me limb from limb, and I've grown rather attached to my limbs, if you know what I mean."
    "Besides, if he gets out, some of /them/ might get in," Tala reminded them. As if to punctuate her point, the limo driver leaned on the horn, in a futile attempt to remind the fans that he /was/ driving a lethal weapon and that they were in the way of it. She looked at C.J. again, and snorted. "I'd prefer splattered brains to that particular groupie's ass, thank you very much."
    Darshan raised a hand in a vague farewell, before turning to trot in the other direction. He would meet them at the hotel; there was no way he was going to fight his way through the mob to the limo.

    C.J. blinked long and slow at Tala. "You think he'd touch his own ass?? That's kinda gross."
    Jacob could only smirk, before raising a brow at Fang. "You want my honest opinion on that subject?? And I'm sure the limb you're fondest of would take the least amount of effort to rip off, I feel obliged to point out."
    C.J. giggled. "Oh, is that a metaphor for something??" Her eyes dropped speculatively but completely objectively to Fang's crotch. "Yeah, there's not really a bulge there, is there??"
    Jacob's smirk widened before C.J.'s velvety gaze raised back to Tala. "It wasn't that bad. Just really white. Maybe if he tanned it or something." She fell contemplatively quiet, downing another bottle. Ass man was now groping for the door handle, yelling disappointment when he found it locked.
    "C.J., C.J., I'm taking you to Hawaii for our honeymoon!" he yelled, which immediately made C.J. perk up.
    "Maybe marriage isn't such a bad idea after all."

    "Hey, guys, watch the penis jokes. You'll give me a complex, or something."
    Tala might have said something in response to that, except C.J. had suddenly perked up and started contemplating marriage to ass-boy. She turned and pointed one slender, French-manicured nail at the drummer. "No." Pale yellow eyes narrowed. "If you want, I can bug our manager into looking for gigs in Hawaii, or you can ask your boy-toy to take you. But you are not marrying creepy stalker boy. Anyone who thinks that he's engaged just because he copped a feel just ain't right in the head."

    "That would be fun to watch," Jacob mused. "Fang with a penis complex. I wonder if his fans would notice a sudden difference."
    "That's right, he did grab my boob, didn't he??" C.J. said musingly, then wiggled her fingers at ass man through the window. "He is kinda cute. And he must be loaded if he can take me to Hawaii. Maybe---"
    The limo finally got free of the crowd then, and quickly sped off down the street. Jacob could only sigh in relief, as ass man continued to shout about his upcoming wedding and leading the way towards the Elvis Chapel. Just creepy.

    "Considering his fan base...," Tala murmured.
    "No," she said again, waggling her finger. "No, no, and no again. If you continue to contemplate it, I will take your booze away, since they are obviously affecting your judgment." She grabbed another tiny bottle from C.J.'s lap. Then they were free of the crowd, effectively eliminating the question of ass-man for the moment.

    Jacob smirked and C.J. gave Fang a more scrutinizing look, fully head to toe, before a tragic look was sent in Tala's direction. Her hands tightened protectively around the remaining mini bottles in her hand. "No way, these suckers aren't even enough to make my eye twitch. They're just like, yanno, whetting my appetite."
    "For more booze," Jacob said dryly.
    "And pot!" C.J. said happily, eyeing her jacket, which had managed to make it aboard as well. She knew exactly where her newest joint was nestled and it was oh so tempting to reach over and light up. But they actually weren't far from the hotel, and the limo pulled up to its main doors just a few minutes later.

    "Cheers," Tala said dryly, raising her little mini-bottle in a toast and downing it right as they arrived at the hotel. Security rushed out to greet them - actual security, this time, from the private agency that they employed rather than the club. Fang opened the door and hopped out almost before the limo had stopped moving, to be greeted by the firing flashbulbs and shouted questions from a few particularly determined reporters. No fans, though... most of the really hardcore ones had been at the show tonight, or were going to be at one of the later shows and therefore felt no need to lurk outside the band's hotel. That would change, of course, as people like ass-man trickled in from the club, most likely searching for a way into the after show party.
    He blinked in a futile attempt to clear the spots from his eyes, then turned to help C.J. out of the limo.

    C.J. was humming again, gathering up her remaining bottles and taking Fang's arm to get herself out of the limo. She also was sure to grab her jacket, then flounced inside, feeling much braver now that security abounded.
    Jacob shook his head, gesturing Tala out courteously in front of him before following his bandmates into the hotel.

    Fang escorted C.J. into the hotel, grinning like a pro at the assembled media and winking at one particularly pretty reporter, who looked both uncomfortable and freezing in her heels and short little suit skirt.
    Tala slid out of the limo after pushing the liquor bottles out of her lap, walking up to the hotel with the slow, predatory saunter of a hunter. She smiled at the media, mostly because their PR guy tended to get a little pissy if she growled and bared her teeth. She couldn't understand why he was upset; usually /they/ thought it was a hoot, and it more accurately expressed her feelings.
    But no, polite smiles it was.

    C.J.'s velvety eyes passed over the same reporter Fang had, and she cooed in sympathy before graciously handing over one of her mini bottles. And click click click went the cameras. Wonder what the headlines would make of that tomorrow.
    Jacob simply herded his band inside and to the elevator, letting security do their job of making sure no one else got in there with them. With obvious relish, C.J. was digging through her jacket pockets, until she held up a joint like it was the Olympic torch.
    "Now there will be merriment," she giggled, patting the pockets again. "Now where did I put my damn lighter."

    Fang took C.J. by the shoulders and steered her away from the reporter, favoring the woman with a melting, apologetic smile. She, for her part, looked a little baffled by it all. Tala shook her head and climbed into the elevator. The first thing that she did once they were out of sight of the cameras was reach down and start to undo the buckles of her own strappy heels. Feet were just not made to bend that way.
    "Here," Fang said, pulling his own lighter out of the pocket of his jacket and flicking the little button and offering the flame courteously to C.J.

    C.J. huffed at Fang, tucking the bottle back into her pocket then. "Just trying to be nice," she grumped, but didn't bother to try anymore as they headed right for the elevator.
    Brow raising just slightly, Jacob watched Tala start taking off her shoes. "Pain for beauty, right??"
    "Ooooohhh," C.J. sighed happily when Fang offered his lighter, the sound just bordering on orgasmic as she lit the joint with his flame. Eyes half-closed in pure personal pleasure, the tiger took a deep hit on the still quite illegal drug, holding the smoke in her lungs for a good long minute. She imagined tendrils drifting from her lungs to her muscles, coaxing them into a better sense of well-being, and immediately began to relax.
    Blowing the smoke out slowly, she offered a dazzling smile to her bass player. "Have I mentioned today how much I love you?? Totally." She kissed him, or at least kissed the air in his direction, and took another puff.

    "Yes, yes," Tala said, waving him off with one three-inch long spike. She quickly tugged off the other shoe, to leave them dangling loosely from her hand. When the elevator opened, she was the first to step out, wiggling her toes against the luxurious carpet.
    Fang smirked at C.J., and tucked his lighter away. "You love me, do you?" He widened his eyes at her dramatically. "Well, remember Ceej, sharing is caring."

    Jacob raised his brows at the spike. "That's more like torture. All to make yourself appear taller." He opened his mouth, clearly having more to add, then thought better of it and followed her out of the elevator.
    C.J. giggled. "Not like it'll make a difference for poor lil you, but okay," she said agreeably, handing him the joint after taking another one for herself.

    Tala rolled her eyes at him. "Jacob, give me a break. I could wear jeans and a t-shirt, but if you think that people show up just to hear me sing, you haven't been paying attention. It's like C.J. and her miniskirts. /You/ may not feel a need to cater to the crowd at all, but some of us like the success as well as loving the music, and do not want to go back to our starving-musician-eating-dog-kibble days."
    Fang shrugged and grinned at her, taking a drag. "Neither do the cigarettes."

    Jacob's brows stayed raised. "So let me get this straight; people show up just to hear me and Fang play, because you don't see him catering to the crowd in that way, but they come to ogle you and C.J. in tight clothes and high heels??"
    "So why do it??" C.J. asked curiously, blowing smoke slowly from her lungs. Lucky her, pot and alcohol /did/ work. Just not for very long unless she kept a continuous consumption cycle going.

    Tala's eyes traveled to Fang. She glanced him over. Then her lips quirked, and she looked back at Jacob. "You don't think that Fang caters to the crowd that way? Look at the way that his jeans and t-shirt fit him, and more importantly, watch the way that he interacts with the female fans. That's more than just Fang being a horndog... although, that's a pretty big part of it. He plays to that part of the public more than C.J. and I ever do with our skirts and heels." She grinned, and reached out to pinch Jacob's cheek gentle. "You, of course, are just naturally too cute to resist. But seriously, don't tell me that you haven't noticed how many of our fans seem to be slightly hormonally crazed. They might be there to listen to the music, but they're also there to ogle us, get us to sign their butts, leave plastic baby dolls in our rooms..."
    "I don't know," Fang said, his tone contemplative. "I think I like the taste."

    Jacob opened his mouth, then closed it with a chuckle. "Point. Though I don't think Fang's been offered an ass before. A few babies, sure, but not an actual ass." He cast an amused glance back to his bandmates, then made a face at Tala when she actually pinched his cheek. "Don't ever do that again. And they're probably drawn to me just because I /don't/ act like that."
    He shook his head, this time with a sigh. "Teenagers," he said dryly, pulling out his key to open the hotel suite they'd been given.
    "It does taste good," C.J. agreed, swiping her joint back to take another deep puff. "It tastes gooooood."

    Fang turned to look at Jacob down his nose. "If you don't mind, I've been offered quite a lot of ass, thank you."
    "Don't critique my style of dress," Tala shot back, when he told her not the pinch his cheek. "Honey, I wish it were just teenagers. There are also older people who ought to know better."
    "Mmm," Fang agreed, closing his eyes and inhaling the scent.

    Jacob shook his head. "Only you would think that's worthy of pointing out," he commented mildly, pushing the door open. "And I'd rather not think of that, thank you. Why don't you go secure the liquor so C.J. doesn't drink it /all/ by herself."
    C.J. let out an indignant yelp, then darted lithely past Tala and Jacob into the room, leaving a trail of sweet smoke behind her. Barely a second passed before Jacob heard the opening of a mini-'fridge, followed by the clink of bottles, and C.J.'s gleeful voice, "Mine, mine, allllll mine."

    Tala laughed and handed off her shoes to Fang before darting down the hall after C.J. "Sharing is caring!," she sang out, the same phrase that Fang had used earlier.
    "I could get a fortune for these on Ebay," Fang muttered, looking down at the heels in his hand as if he wasn't entirely sure how they had come to be there.

    "Ha, not this time!" C.J.'s voice was heard echoing back.
    Jacob shook his head again, then looked at Fang. "Go for it. She probably won't miss them."

    Tala pushed open the door to the room and bounded inside, flashing a feral smile at the drummer. "Come on. What fun is it to drink alone? We can get wasted together, and make fun of Fang until he cries." The two didn't necessarily fit together, but it sounded good.
    "Someone with a foot fetish is going to be very happy," Fang said cheerfully.

    C.J. giggled, setting up all of the offered bottles in a neat row on the mini-bar top in front of her. "But if he cries, we'll feel bad and have to make him feel better. How d'ya think he'll want to be soothed??" Her head tilted, and in a voice that was devastatingly curious, "D'ya think he could handle us both?? At once??"
    "Just leave all other parts of her wardrobe alone," Jacob suggested dryly, letting Fang into the suite before closing the door after him. Apparently the hotel thought they were all /very/ close, because they'd all been booked in the same suite. Luckily it had two separate bedrooms, so the boys and girls got to share.

    "Eeeeyew," Tala said, with a great deal of feeling and an elaborate little shudder. Sex with Fang was just... no. In fact, she reached past C.J. to grab the bottle of gin, her personal favorite, just because she felt the sudden need to blur the image in an alcohol-induced haze. "I think it would probably kill him," she added. "Either that, or Darshan would." Most of the band seemed to be under the impression that Darshan would create murder and mayhem at the slightest provocation.
    Fang smiled innocently at Jacob, and stepped into the suite as well. "Of course, Jacob. Whatever you say, Jacob."

    C.J. giggled madly at her friend, uncorking the line of bottles one at a time. "You think so?? We are a lot of women." She considered that, then made a face. "I don't think D would really /kill/ him, 'cause, yanno, he knows how important he is to the band. Maybe like gnaw off a leg or something. Fang can still play bass without a leg, can't he??"
    "That's more like it," Jacob said approvingly, giving the door a hearty push closed. If only it could stay that way...but no, people would soon start arriving for the "party," he had the fearsome thought.

    "We could get him a nice peg," Tala agreed cheerfully, opening the bottle of gin and taking a healthy swig. "And maybe a parrot to sing harmony with me."
    Fang went and tossed the shoes into the room he shared with Jacob, since he hardly wanted someone making off with his money-maker.

    C.J. giggled at the mental image /that/ created. "I don't think that's all he'd want to do with that parrot," she chimed sweetly, before going back to the beginning of the alcohol line-up. All bottles were neatly arranged, all uncorked, all just /waiting/ to be drained.
    With great ceremony, C.J. did a sweeping bow, and on her way back up, picked up the first bottle and put it to her lips. Jacob, who was leaning against one of the many doorframes at this point, watched in mild fascination as she proceeded to drink it straight down again.
    "I hope it wasn't me you were talking about with the parrot," he said mildly.

    "Sweetheart, I think that even Fang is more discriminating that that," Tala said. "Not by much, mind you." She watched with quiet awe as C.J. once again downed an entire bottle, then turned her gaze towards Jacob. "No, not you. Unless there's something that we don't know about those heart boxers of yours..."

    "You know, I've always wondered about that," C.J. said in a conspirational voice. "I saw him once with a horse...it was looking to get really friendly. Strange, I tell you now." Then she had a very close encounter with an alcohol bottle. Ahhhh, life was grand.
    Jacob pulled a face. "What heart boxers?? They're gone now, thanks to /some/one." He glanced towards C.J., who had finished the first bottle and set it back in the line, only a little further down from the full bottles. She was puffing on her joint again, looking like a hugely contented cat at this point as she contemplated the next bottle.

    Tala just wrinkled her nose at C.J. There were some things that she didn't want to think about Fang doing with a woman, much less a horse. She followed Jacob's look, and shook her head. "Don't tell me you miss them? That's kind of sweet. You were sentimentally attached to your underpants." She took a long swallow of the gin, and offered him the bottle, which was now about half empty.
    Fang emerged from hiding the shoes, a furtive, pleased look on his face.

    C.J. giggled, probably at something that had just popped into mind, before picking up the second bottle. She didn't actually down this one in one go, instead cradling it in her palm as she flounced around the mini-bar to the stereo system set up. It was actually quite a nice stereo system; she'd have to make compliments to the hotel for it.
    Finger reaching out, she flipped on the system and hit play for the CD player. Immediately, the band's latest CD began to blast, and C.J. squealed, starting to dance around. They made such good /dance/ music, but it wasn't too often she got to dance to it herself.
    Jacob had watched this entire mission with the fascination only the semi-drunk and stoned deserved. Shaking his head, he looked back to Tala. "I can't say I was attached to the underpants, but I did like the girl who gave me the underpants." He shook his head at her offer, thinking at least one person probably needed to stay sober tonight. Plus, quite honestly, he just wasn't much of a drinker. It didn't do anything for him.
    He did look up when there came a rousing knock on the door, and just barely managed to hide a grimace. Appeared the party had arrived, and C.J. was already bouncing over to let in the crowd.

    Tala watched through half-closed eyes as C.J. got up and started waltzing around the room. She even considered joining her for a moment, but she was more than comfortable where she was, sprawled out on one of the room’s large, plush couches. She took another swig from the bottle when Jacob waved it off, then shrugged. "They had hearts on them," she said, one brow raised. "Little red ones. On white silk."
    The knock at the door made Fang perk up, and he wandered over behind C.J. to see who it was. Tala simply rolled her eyes, and remained firmly where she was.

    Jacob smirked. "They were silk. Quite comfortable."
    His eyes followed C.J. and Fang and he could only sigh when C.J. threw open the door. Don't bother to check it or anything, he thought ruefully, and so he should've, because the open door emitted a burst of people.
    "Hey C.J., we found the right place, right??" Kersti asked, peering inside with a grin.
    C.J. laughed and stepped back, waving a hand around broadly. "Sure did, come on in."
    "Hope you don't mind, but I found a few people along the way and thought they could use a good time," Kersti said, hand interlaced with Adrian's as she stepped into the room. Jacquelyn and Darien were behind them, grinning at the band.
    "Sorry we didn't make it to the actual play, but if this is what it sounds like, it sounds like a blast," Jacquelyn said, voice raised a little loud to be heard over the blasting music.
    Another figure was behind the foursome, blue eyes gleaming as she eased in behind the crowd and peered around the room. A grin stretched across a classically pretty face as a husky voice called out, "Tala Wolf, aren't you just full of surprises."

    "Well, comfort is important," Tala said, and cast a baleful look at her feet, even though the 'torture devices' were long gone by now. Her eyes went back to the door when C.J. pulled it open, and she smiled and raised her fingers in a little wave at Kersti and Adrian before turning back to Jacob.
    "Thanks," Fang said, with a lazy smile for Jacquelyn. "We can score you some tickets for one of our other gigs, if you want." After all, he was a sucker for a pretty face, even if she was quite obviously there with someone else.
    Tala looked up, surprised, when she was addressed. She stared for a moment, before her lips parted slowly in a wolfish sort of smile that showed a great many small white teeth. "Well, I'll be damned."

    "No pain, no gain," Jacob said blandly, going to sink on a couch as the door was opened. He stretched his arm along the back of it, watching the following interactions silently.
    Kersti returned the wave to Tala with a smile, and included Jacob in it. Jacob raised the fingers on his hanging hand in greeting, watchful eyes still roaming as more people joined.
    Jacquelyn grinned at Fang. "That would be great. How long are you in Vegas??"
    "Got that right," Randi Vandevelte said with a smirk, walking over to Tala with a stalking predatory grace. Though barely an inch over five foot, the long spill of tawny gold hair splayed across the black leather of a knee-length coat made her appear a mite taller. And her blue eyes had a piercing look that could bring next to anyone down to her size. "How the hell did you wind up /here/, in a damn r&b band, of all things??"
    Zabri appeared in the doorway then, smirking as she slinked inside towards C.J. "I know you've got it, so it's time you shared it," she informed the tiger, who giggled and went to the bar, seeming completely undisturbed that people were starting to just appear in the open doorway and come on inside.

    "A few weeks," Fang said with a shrug. "We're playing all over the place. Vegas is good for that." He grinned at her, and by extension, the young man behind her. "I know that Tala and Jacob like to have an even handful of normal people in the audience to help balance the crazed fans. Me, I like the crazed fans, but to each their own."
    Tala laughed and stood, and in bare feet, she only had to look down a couple of inches to meet Randi's eyes. "Hey, girl. We're touring - why the hell else would I come to Las Vegas? Although you can't fault the digs." She made a vague gesture with the hand holding the gin bottle, encompassing the elegant whole of the suite. One brow arched upwards at the second question, and she smirked. "I like r&b, although I'm not sure that's what we are." She looked to Jacob for confirmation. "I couldn't sing classical forever, you know. There's no place for a contralto in the opera, unless she's content to always play on the sidelines."
    "If she doesn't want to share, I come bearing room service," Darshan said as he stepped in the door, his dark hair rumpled from the long run to the hotel. Behind him was a tall, slender young woman with skin the color of teak wood, dressed in the near black suit of a concierge. She was pushing a room service cart laden with bottles of liquor and platters of finger foods.
    "Your manager called to inform me that you might be in a celebrating mood tonight," she explained.
    "Always," Fang said offhandedly, and grabbed a little cracker with some sort of pink smear and an olive on top of it.
    Tala glanced towards the door, smiled at Darshan, and narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Anna, honey, don't you have school tomorrow?" After about a week of the poor girl procuring several pounds of raw meat for them every day without question, she felt that first names were acceptable.
    Anna shrugged and grinned. "No rest for the wicked. I hear that first period is an excellent time to catch a little extra sleep."

    "There are probably a lot of good spots here," Jacquelyn agreed with a grin. She'd only been here for a few months herself, but she'd heard tale about all of the places to hit before one left.
    Darien smiled at Fang, eyes calm and his body relaxed. He had the air of a very easy-going individual. "They all have their place, I'm sure."
    Tilting her neck in a way that would allow her to look up without causing a crick, something someone of her stature had to learn early on, Randi smirked up at her old friend. "Honey, I figured you'd finally succumbed to the lure of pretty lights." Her eyes flicked around the room. "Though you're right on the digs. Must be nice to be coddled just 'cause you can wail really pretty."
    "In all honesty, it's more a mix of rock and r&b," Jacob admitted, eyeing Tala's friend with interest. "More rock in this last album, at least. But you've got to cater to the fans sometimes and give them what they really want."
    Randi smirked, casting the vampire a head-to-foot look of her own, before looking at Tala. "I thought you liked the classical shit better though. It's almost like going from one extreme to the other. Though I guess you could've gone a shade darker and hit the rap market." Still smirking, she glanced over as another person came in. The hair on the back of her neck instantly stood at attention when she recognized the darkness of a dragon, but she didn't react physically.
    C.J. was handing over a colorful bottle to Zabri when she heard Darshan's voice, which made her entire face light up with a kind of ecstatic happiness that was usually only pill-induced. Maybe it was a mix of alcohol, pot, and soulmate though. Lit joint still in one hand, she wormed her way around the bar and through the crowd and leapt on Darshan again. Seemed she liked to do that.
    Pressing kisses to the side of his face she could reach, she barely realized Anna was there until she heard Tala speak. Then she raised her head and blinked big eyes at the girl, then saw the food and squealed. Reluctantly releasing her lizard, she pounced enthusiastically on the finger foods.
    "Plus I'm here to make sure she actually gets off on time tonight," came an amused voice from the doorway, where a lithe young man was propping himself up on the frame. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans, his legs crossed at the ankle as he observed the party with amused gray eyes. "No more overtime for her for a while."
    "I know you," C.J. said after she'd looked up at him. "How do I know you??"
    Zabri, comfortably settled with her bottle, smirked from by the bar. "You kidding, C.J.?? That's Price, Keller's son."

    "There are," Fang agreed, with rare seriousness. "We're supposed to play here at the hotel a couple nights. You can't beat the audiences here in Las Vegas, in spite of some of my bandmates’ complaints. People come here, and they want to be entertained; you just can't beat that kind of enthusiasm." He glanced at Darien, and smirked suddenly. "That's true too. The screaming, crazed people are what made us successful, and the down-to-earth, polite ones are the ones that keep Jacob from going on a killing spree."
    Tala tossed dark curls over her shoulder, and grinned. "Well, the lights are very, very pretty. Besides, why should I do anything else if I can make a living with my wailing? You know I love it. The blues and rock are good... I think I like them simply because they're so different from what I used to sing." She looked Randi over from the top of her blond head to the tips of her toes and back. "What about you, hun? You've been doing alright for yourself?"
    Darshan chuckled softly and caught C.J. easily as she hurled herself at him. He set her down carefully when he realized that she had spotted the food. "I see that I have been supplanted in your affections by Miss Valdez and her cart of wonders," he teased her gently. He didn't look at Price or show any physical reaction when Zabri supplied a name, but he was surprised. Who would have guessed that the courteous young man who had escorted Miss Valdez up in the elevator was none other than the son of the woman that everyone seemed to think he should speak to?
    "You try saving for college without working a few hours of overtime," Anna shot back, her dark eyes amused. She stifled a yawn with one hand, then glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'm off in about ten or fifteen minutes. I promise I'll quit on time... tonight."

    Jacquelyn nodded agreeably. "Most definitely. It's probably pretty easy to play here too, because these people are entertained in the most varied ways."
    Chuckling, Darien nodded in agreement. "I can imagine. Enough of the screaming, crazed people would drive anyone insane after long periods of exposure. The down-to-earth, polite ones are extremely necessary in their own right."
    Randi smirked again. "I knew you were always attracted to bright, sparkly things. And I never disagreed that your wailing wasn't worthy of selling. You've been belting it out since before you could even speak words. That's what made us all so sure you were meant for the opera." She winked at her friend, then nodded willingly. "Makes sense, and whatever makes you happy, honey. Sometimes a dramatic change is necessary to keep up the interest."
    Hands still in her coat pockets, she used them to hold the coat open, looking down at herself as Tala did. "Me?? I'm happy as a bitch whose just weaned her first litter." Randi smirked at her friend. "I did some traveling, saw some sights, and finally met people worth staying with. Way different from the homestead you're used to, I'll tell you now."
    C.J. stuck her tongue out at her soulmate, picking up a cracker with what looked like Spam on it. Maybe it was tuna?? It smelled meaty. "You're the one who left me for Christian first, love. What did he want, anyway??" She popped the cracker in her mouth. Yep, tuna. Interesting.
    She didn't seem surprised by Zabri's information, just nodded and waved cheerfully at Price, who grinned back and nodded his head in return. Gray eyes slid to Anna. "It doesn't make a difference if you sleep through college because you're working too much," he said easily. "And you will be quitting on time because I'm going to be shadowing you until you do."
    "Aw, you might as well join the party then," C.J. chimed with a welcoming grin, eating another cracker. That one tasted a little...funnier than the last.

    Fang grinned widely at Jacquelyn. "Some guy was trying to get C.J. to sign his ass, then marry him and go honeymooning in Hawaii. I found it pretty entertaining, but then, that's me." He inclined his head towards Darien in vague agreement, then stepped aside to let the couple further into the room. "Well, come on in a make yourselves at home, and tell me sometime tonight when you'll be wanting those tickets."
    "I think that must be it," Tala said, with a grin. "Besides, if I had to deal with one more prissy, prima donna soprano, I was going to kill something." She glanced sideways at Jacob, laughter in her strange pale eyes. "Now I just have to deal with prissy guitar players."
    "I imagine anything you've found here is way different than home," Tala agreed. "For one thing, there's no cousin Rolf. Which can only be a blessing."
    "Oh, death and destruction, the usual," Darshan said dryly, if not completely inaccurately, in response to C.J.'s question. "It's probably nothing to be worried about. Just a problem that needs to be taken care of before it becomes a problem."
    "I won't sleep through college," Anna said pertly. "I just won't sleep." She turned a smile towards C.J., half professional and half genuinely amused. "Maybe for a few minutes, Ms. Tigre, but I doubt that joining you would result in my getting a full night's sleep."

    Jacquelyn giggled at that, eyes dancing merrily. "I bet it was very entertaining, and surprising C.J. didn't agree, if just for Hawaii."
    Eyes rolled patiently at his girlfriend before Darien smiled at Fang. "Thanks. I'm sure we'll be seeing you before we leave."
    Randi smirked again, before casting another pale-eyed glance at Jacob. "Prissy??"
    Jacob sighed. "Compared to Tala, more than likely," he had to agree, amusement flickering briefly in his eyes.
    "Then again, most people are compared to her," Randi commented with another smirk, looking back at her friend. "And that's true, but you'd have to meet the gang to realize the broad array of shit I get to go through these days. I'm not sure if cousin Rolf could even compare to these people."
    C.J. looked at Darshan in some concern, at least as much as she could manage between the alcohol and weed. "What kinda problem??" She offered him another cracker, this one with some kind of green paste on it. Maybe it was caviar.
    Head shaking, Price said patiently, "Oh you will be, don't worry. I have ways to make it so." He smiled at his soulmate, eyes casually flicking over faces in the crowd. A habit he'd picked up from his mother at this point.
    C.J. smiled brightly at Anna. "Sleep is overrated hun, trust you me."

    "She tried," Fang informed them. "Jacob and Tala dissuaded her. Strongly." He waggled his fingers at them in a little wave before moving on to the next person coming through the door.
    Tala laughed, and raised a slow brow at her friend. "I don't know. Do I want to meet people who leave ol' Rolf in the dust? That sounds a little frightening. I mean, there are only so many bare, hairy asses... and other body parts... that I can handle seeing, you know?"
    "It will be fine," was all that Darshan would say, his eyes hooded and secretive. Maybe he would say more later, maybe he wouldn't, but in the middle of a party filled with people he didn't know or trust, he wasn't comfortable doing so. He let his eyes skim over the small crowd that had gathered, his eyes tripping over Kersti and Adrian. He hoped that Gift would tell them some of what was going on. The healer needed to be warned if Terra was on the move again.
    He met Price's eyes briefly as the young man also glanced over the crowd, and smiled faintly before turning his attention back to his soulmate. "Please, don't worry. Enjoy your party. Christian is checking in to it further; I won't even know anything solid until I meet with him tomorrow morning." That alone was surprising, that Darshan was getting actively involved in whatever was going on.
    Anna tched softly, but there was a good deal of humor lighting her dark eyes. "Was that a threat, Price Kee? I'm pretty sure I don't have /time/ to sleep." She glanced at C.J., and waved a hand. "See? She agrees with me. So many things to do, besides sleep."

    Jacquelyn laughed gleefully at the thought and moved past him as Fang waved, going to join Zabri at the bar, where the human was dishing up various drinks from the opened bottles C.J. had left behind.
    Randi smirked. "Honey, if you saw the vast majority of these asses, you'd only wish you could touch." She winked a pale eye, then shrugged. "Actually though, they're cool. The alpha male is just the shit." Bigger smirk.
    C.J. saw the hooded, secretive eyes and sobered a bit, a little frown creating a line between her brows. She didn't want any trouble suddenly hitting here, and if Darshan was being all secretive and silent, it was because there /was/ something wrong.
    She set the cracker she'd offered him back on the tray, fingers tightening on the joint she was still holding. His following words didn't soothe her suddenly jangled nerves either, because if he was actively looking into it, it was going to be /really/ bad. And Christian being involved didn't help matters much.
    Price watched the interaction between that particular couple for a long minute, head tilted just slightly as he studied them. He was vaguely familiar with C.J. Tigre, having run into her a few times and having listened to her music before. The man he wasn't as familiar with, but something about him tickled up his spine, especially when he met metallic gold eyes for just a brief moment.
    Brow arched slightly but Price remained silent, instead turning a sweet smile to Anna. "I never threaten, dear heart; I merely foresee." He winked, then smiled indulgently at C.J. "As much as I admire a good drummer, I have to say I don't think she makes the best role model."
    C.J. managed a half-hearted grin, still wavering between joy-joy feelings from the pot and paranoia over what Darshan had said. She was actually wishing she had a bottle of alcohol in hand when a whirlwind suddenly hit the door. Price was quite literally shoved out of the way, making room for a barrage of ecstatic fans that had finally gotten hold of the after party address.
    "C.J.!!" And at the head of the group was ass-groupie, who immediately made a lunging tackle for her. "Are you getting ready for the wedding yet!? I've got tickets waiting to Hawaii at the airport as soon as we're done!"
    "Good gods," Randi said with unabashed fascination, watching this sudden treat avidly.

    "Reeeally?," Tala said, one brow still raised in question. "The shit? I've known you to say that alpha males -are- shits, but..." She shrugged. "Who are you running with? Anyone that I would know of?"
    "So you're foreseeing me going to bed at an hour you approve of, hmm?," Anna asked, her lips curling up into an amused smile. "I don't know. You never were good at prophecy. Remember when you foresaw us getting in trouble for that whole fish-elevator thing? They never did find out who was responsible." She looked at C.J., and shrugged, forced to concede that particular point, and started to say something more when a screaming blur of... something... went by her.
    That something was a fan. Or rather, several fans. Her eyes narrowed, and she turned to step into the hall, glancing around. "I'm going to kill whatever jackass is doing security tonight," she muttered, suddenly intent on finding said jackass and getting him to remove the sudden drool-monster infestation. Right after he removed her little black pump from a very uncomfortable place, if she had anything to say about it. Hotel security was supposed to be tighter than this - especially since the band had hired their own.
    When the ass-groupie went to tackle C.J., Darshan stepped out, so instead of getting an armful off tiger, the man ended up running head-first into a very solid wall of dragon.
    "Aww, hell," Tala muttered. She spied the twin tweenies from earlier heading towards them - or rather, towards Jacob, their very own love muffin. "Head's up, sugar," she warned, poking her band mate in the arm.

    Irene Adler sat in one of the plush chairs in her suite at the Luxor in much the same way that a queen sits on her throne; elegant, regal, and comfortable, like a woman in charge of her surroundings. Irene, of course, was not actually in charge. She just knew enough to blackmail her surroundings into cooperating, most of the time.
    She looked up from contemplating the last dregs of red wine in her glass, to the woman seated across from her. "You haven't told me yet why you're in Vegas," she prompted. She was digging, and she knew it, but digging was what she did best. Besides, if Julianna was hanging around the strip, it was probably for a reason, and that reason was probably worth a bit of digging. She herself was here because of some interesting rumors she had been hearing about certain groups within Daybreak, but she was interested to see why her friend was nosing around.

    Randi chuckled, a soft sound just bordering on evil. "You might actually; it's Mace Drache and his merry band."
    Brows raising slightly, a smile playing along his mouth, Price felt it his duty to point out, "Anna dear, they /did/ find out who was responsible. Only my very persuasive connections kept us out of jail." He winked before he was summarily shoved away to make room for...things. Because /people/ definitely did not act like that.
    Zabri had watched the incoming horde in her own degree of fascination, swishing her current drink around in its glass. "Hey, I thought you had George and his crew for your security detail," she said to Tala, raising a brow at the woman. "You hired them from The Hunters, right??"
    Ass-groupie smacked into Darshan and bounced off that solid wall, falling happily back to his own ass on the ground. C.J. had taken a startled step back, putting the joint back to her lips, which she puffed on viciously as she watched the fans a bit apprehensively.
    Ass-groupie grinned madly at Darshan. "Hey buddy! You coming to the wedding??"
    Jacob was staring in something akin to horror as the tweenies invaded the suite, momentarily unable to do anything but stare. Unfortunately, Tala's warning came too late, and the twins were on him before he could properly recoil.
    "Jake, Jake, we wanna have your babies!" The shrieks filled his ears and Jacob could only groan and groan.

    In contrast, Julianna Blackblood was slouched down in a chair opposite her friend, kicked back on its back legs, eating a bowl of peanuts seeming precariously balanced on her belly. Warm honey-amber eyes were filled with amusement and a secret or twenty, but that was par for the course, and she appeared every inch the easy-going tourist here for a good time. Part of her charm, an ability to fit easily into her surroundings.
    A lovely smile lit up her features, bestowed openly on Irene. "My sister's here," she offered most "helpfully." "We decided to have a bit of a bonding experience." Sure, she intended to conspire with Irene soon, but that didn't mean she wouldn't make her nosy friend work for it.

    "But we still didn't get in trouble," Anna pointed out, one corner of her mouth still tilted up in a small, playful smile.
    Then she was unavoidably distracted by the need to find security, and fast. She stomped down the hall, turned a corner, and nearly smashed nose-first into Tristan Chandler, who was standing there and looking very pleased with himself as he thumbed through a rather impressive stack of bills. The fans seemed to have been desperate to pass security.
    "There seems to be a problem," she informed him dryly.
    He simply shrugged wide shoulders, and looked her over with eyes the same color as the china that her mother had once owned. "The bribe was good. Buy you a drink?"
    She rather thought that her sigh could be heard even over the screaming from within the room. "Just take care of it, would you? We're not insured if Mr. Guivre pitches one of them out a window." C.J.'s boyfriend was around a lot, and for some reason, she had no doubt in her mind that he would do something like that if one of the fans pushed him.
    "Yeeeees," Tala said, drawing the word out into at least four syllables when she answered Zabri. The expression on her face was long suffering as the same romance reader from earlier fell to his knees before her and attempted to kiss her bare feet, and maybe take a peak up her skirt while he was there. Plus, the screaming of the tweenies was really, really annoying.
    She sidestepped her own fan, and before she really thought about it, reached out and smacked one of the tweenies in the back of the head with a solid 'whap'. "Jeez, girl, show some dignity."
    Darshan looked down at ass-groupie, his expression unmistakably un-buddy-like. "Wedding?"

    "Mmm-hmm," Irene replied, sounding unconvinced, but more amused than annoyed. She leaned forward to place the wine glass on the table, one of the red curls that had escaped the elegant arrangement at the top of her head swinging forward to obscure a pair of mocking blue eyes. "Playing the slots, that sort of thing?"
    She crossed her legs at the ankle, and leaned back into her chair again.

    Price merely grinned at his girlfriend but remained silent this time, letting her do her job. He returned to the doorframe, hands finding their way into the back pockets of his jeans this time, and his eyes found the man he'd been considering earlier. Gray eyes were cooler now, level, much like his mother's. Except curiosity was also there, and he observed the man silently.
    George Laten appeared behind Tristan then, a lazy grin curving the corners of his mouth. He had his own sizable bribe in his pocket; when first observing the rush of fans heading in their direction, the team had decided to position themselves at several places, to see just how desperate the fans were to get inside. It seemed they were, indeed, /very/ desperate.
    "Hopefully he won't be pitching Ms. Tigre's new fiancée out first," he observed to Anna, lazy smile deepening just slightly. "Did you hear we're all invited to the wedding?? Complimentary champagne."
    Zabri just grinned, resting an elbow on the bar top and her chin in her palm as she watched the display. Kersti, Adrian, Jacquelyn, and Darien had all been elbowed aside to make way for more groupies, and one could barely see Fang through the array of female flesh bouncing around him.
    The smacked tweenie let out a wail, which seemed to make her sister latch all the more tighter to Jacob. The vampire was trying to extricate himself, but it was hard. They were like hungry kittens with claws of steel, latched firmly into his skin. Maybe there was some kind of tweenie repellent somewhere. He'd have to look into it.
    Tala's most ardent fan latched onto her ankle when she moved away, making sure to stay at her feet. He seemed to be mumbling to himself about the perks of...toe sucking. Maybe he'd read a scene in one of Tala's books, and thought she might like it??
    Ass-groupie was totally unphased by anything realistic it seemed, as he hopped back to his feet with a wide grin. "You bet. C.J. and me are gettin' hitched. It's only fair, yanno, since I took her virtue and all." Since when did copping a feel become a woman's entire "virtue"??
    C.J. choked on a lungful of pot smoke, and started to choke in earnest, pressing a hand to her chest as she bent over a little. Another fan immediately popped up behind her, clapping her heartily on the back and surreptitiously trying to cop his own feel.

    Julianna grinned merrily, popping another peanut in her mouth. "Among other things. Did you ever say what you're doing here??"

    Anna closed her eyes for a moment, as though she were hoping that when she opened them, George and Tristan would actually be inclined to do their job. The tactic didn't work; when she opened them, George was still standing there with his lazy smile, and Tristan was watching her, as serenely pleased as a cat who had just gobbled up a full buffet of canaries.
    "He is her intended," Tristan added in a very reasonable tone of voice. "It would be wrong to keep him from his lovely bride."
    The look that Anna gave him could have boiled water. "Fine. You have your bribes. Now could you -please- remove these people - including Ms. Tigre's affianced - from the hotel premises?"
    Tala turned a look of pure disgust to her fan, and pulled at her ankle as if to free it. She was a werewolf. She should be able to pull free of some weenie human fan. However, fanaticism seemed to lend them super-human strength, and she just could not unlatch him. Fang, for his part, seemed to be enjoying himself.
    One of Darshan's brows raised, while something cold flashed in the depths of his eyes, the proprietary anger of any dragon, and a protectiveness that was Darshan's alone. Any sane person would have turned and left at that point, but one couldn't count on the sanity of a fan. "Excuse me, sir, but did you just suggest that you have done something inappropriate to Ms. Tigre?" There was a dangerous edge to his voice; a sort of primal hiss that might even penetrate the hormone-hazed brain of this human.

    "No," Irene said, and seemed content to leave it at that.
    "Where are you staying?" she wondered a moment later, a hint of silent laughter dancing around her mouth and eyes.

    The lazy smile never wavering from George's face, he cast a sideways glance at Tristan before looking back to Anna. He couldn't help it; he had to make a last-ditch effort. "What will you give us for it??"
    The fan's hand tightened demandingly but not bruisingly around Tala's ankle before he actually managed to maneuver her foot so her toes were up off the floor. And yes, the next thing was inevitable; he took her big toe in his mouth and sucked sensually on it.
    Randi guffawed. "Now /that/ is the grossest goddamn thing I've ever seen."
    Grimacing by this time, Jacob finally did the last thing left to him. He stood up. The tweenies, being all of fourteen, slid down his taller frame, unable to fight with gravity. Yay gravity. Of course his pushing hands helped a little. "Would you two /please/ go home and go to bed like you should've done two hours ago?? For Christ's sake."
    The ass-groupie actually paused then, blinking at Darshan, before shaking his head and grinning again. Maybe not quite so boisterous this time, and a little more wary. "Oh no, I'd never do that. That's why I'm agreeing to marry her, yanno. To make it right." His grin widened, inviting Darshan to join in on the joke.

    Julianna grinned at her friend, entirely unsurprised at her less-than-giving response. She popped another peanut, then shrugged. "Oh, over there somewhere," she said, waving over her left shoulder. "Gift booked us at a more out-of-the-way hotel, to avoid all the mad rushes and stuff." She leaned her head against the back of the chair, still grinning. "Are you here with anybody??"

    Anna just looked at him, and smiled a wry little smile. "George, about all I have to bargain with is my weekly supply of frozen chicken and ramen noodles. Besides, I happen to know that you're being more than sufficiently paid for this. Come on."
    The look of horror and disgust on Tala's face was almost comical. She stood frozen for a long moment, then jerked her foot away with such violence at she nearly took his lower lip with her. She just barely resisted the urge to jump around on one foot screaming 'get it off! get it off'. Instead she jumped backwards a step, and lifted her foot to wipe the slobber off on the edge of the couch.
    One of the tweenies latched onto Jacob's waist as soon as she was on the ground, hugging him for dear life. "But I love you! We're meant to be... you looked right at me during the concert! I, like, know that you know it, deep down. Just accept destiny!"
    "In that case," Darshan said, in the same dangerous tone, "I have the previous claim, and you should leave. Right now." The look on his face was coldly contemplative, as though he was wondering just how many yards long the human intestines really were and if they could be used to tie a hotel room door shut.

    The look on Irene's face turned cool and shuttered for a moment. "I was. Not anymore."
    Then she was all smiles again. "What about you? Is it just you and your sister?"

    "Oh spoilsport," George heaved a sigh, but nudged Tristan and began down the corridor. The screams weren't hard to follow.
    Tala's number one fan raised up on his knees, looking at her with hopeful eyes. "Did that, um, make your 'womanhood pulse and quiver and strain for its highest peaks'??"
    Randi bent over, holding her side and shedding tears, she was laughing so hard.
    "Child, you're about a decade younger than I am," Jacob said, taking her arms and trying to detach them from his waist. "Not to mention you are serious jailbait. Now please, let go."
    The ass-groupie actually took a step back this time, more of a subconscious instinct than anything genuinely smart about him. His head tilted, still grinning, and he pointed a finger into the air. "But hey, isn't this a free-for-all party?? Open to anyone??"
    "Not anymore," came an authoritative voice from the doorway. George was all business now, ignoring denials and protests as he went through the room detaching groupies and fans and hauling them none-too-gently towards the door. "Say goodnight, kids."

    Julianna's brow rose with unabashed curiosity at the look on Irene's face, but she was smart enough not to poke it right away. An answering grin still on her face, she popped another peanut. "Oh no, there are a few other people. Ethan's wandering around somewhere with Patrick. And oh, did you know Rye and Jasper actually came down too??" A mischievous light shone through her eyes.

    "Funny, you're the only one who thinks that," Anna replied, with a sort of resigned amusement. Tristan snorted, then allowed himself to be nudged down the corridor towards the room.
    "Don't help," Tala told Randi, her lip curled up in a silent, disgusted snarl. She turned to her biggest fan, wondering if he was diseased and she would need to be vaccinated. However, she seemed to be at a loss as to what to say in response to his question, and finally settled on, "No."
    The girl sniffled, and gripped tighter. "But you looooove me. I don't care that you're old!"
    Darshan didn't even bother to answer the groupie, instead turning to look at the two security guards when they finally arrived, Anna trailing behind them. Tristan caught his eye, and shrugged one shoulder before strolling over and catching C.J.'s husband-to-be by the arm. "Come on, buddy. I think the wedding's off." He reached out with his other hand to grab the guy who had been pounding on C.J.'s back by the collar of his shirt.

    "Rye and Jasper?," Irene asked, and she sounded surprised, although it was hard to tell if it was feigned or not. "My, my. Las Vegas is certainly popular these days, isn't it? I heard that Mace Drache and Koran Harman just blew into town as well. It's like there's a convention."

    George's chuckle filled the corridor like rolling thunder as he lumbered down to the band's suite.
    Randi was laughing too hard to do much else besides wave silently at Tala. This was the greatest fun she'd had in a while, she'd admit. She'd always known there was a reason she loved Tala so much.
    The fan's face crumpled in disappointment. "Well, I mean, I can try again??" he offered hopefully, before he was summarily grabbed and disposed of. Unfortunately, not in the literal sense. Too bad.
    Randi was still chuckling as she finally straightened, sending her friend an evil grin. "Let it get out that you devour bodice rippers, did you??"
    "Well you will in another decade, so get out of here," Jacob said bluntly, only too relieved when security finally stepped in. The tweenies’ screams of denial were heard clear out into the hallway, and he shook his head in disgust. Where were those girls' parents??
    "Hey," ass-groupie protested loudly, trying to free his arm. "C.J. hasn't even signed my ass yet!"
    C.J. jerked free of the grabby hands, still puffing furiously on her joint. Now, the fandom was starting to wear on her nerves. "Out out out, I say."
    Price was still staring at Darshan at this point, eyes narrowed and a little harder than before. Something was...off, a little.

    Julianna widened her eyes, a flash of interest showing on her face. It was just as hard to tell if it was feigned or not on her, and the merriment in her eyes didn't help matters. "Is that so?? What do you imagine they're all doing here??"

    Tala gave George a meltingly grateful look when he grabbed the fan at her feet, then wrinkled her nose down at her foot. Fang, on the other hand, was thrilled. Having been cleared of the ladies swarming around him, he had caught the last few moments of Tala and her foot-fetish fan, and thought that he had a buyer for the shoes.
    "/I/ didn't let it get out," she practically growled, and gave Fang an evil look. He just smirked at her, the little bastard, and shoved his cell phone number into the palm of one woman who was being dragged away.
    "Yes, well, that's what you get for forcing your attention on a lady," Tristan said mildly, and dragged the man the rest of the way out of the suite.
    Darshan wrapped an affectionate arm around C.J., tugging her up against his side. He placed a little kiss on the top of her vibrantly colored head, but looked up when he felt Price's gaze on him. Both brows raised in a silent 'yes, can I help you?' look, gently inquiring and resignedly amused.

    "Darling, you should know that I'm completely without imagination," Irene said, with a quirk of the lips that gave lie to that statement.

    The fans were quite quickly and efficiently ousted with these security men, though their screams and shrieks could still be heard from all the way down the corridor.
    Randi grinned at Tala again, wiping a few lingering tears from her cheeks. "Oh, you let it out to /someone/, sweetcheeks. You can't blame anyone but yourself for that."
    "But but but!" ass-groupie's protests could be heard the loudest, even as the other one complained how /he/ hadn't managed to touch C.J. Tigre's boob. How had ass-groupie managed it??
    C.J. had finished her joint by then and went willingly to Darshan's side, burying her face in his shoulder and nuzzling along his collarbone. Either she'd forgotten her earlier paranoia over Darshan's visit with Christian, or the pot had done it for her. Either way, she was feeling much more relaxed and mellow again now.
    Price though was still studying Darshan with a kind of hard scrutiny that went with being what one could politely term a Daybreak terrorist. Even though a young vampire in his own right, he'd always had good judgment for character, and this youngish looking man had his instincts rearing their heads.
    At Darshan's look, Price's own brows raised in a sort of "I don't know, can you??" look.

    Julianna giggled, finishing off the peanuts. "But say, if you were to really, /really/ try, what would you imagine??"

    Tala snorted softly. "Fair enough. I should have known better, and guarded the secret with my life. I can't even take revenge; the man has no shame, so all his guilty little pleasures are quite public."
    Darshan gave Price one of those long-suffering looks that is reserved for the very old when facing the very young. He leaned his head down to speak softly against C.J.'s cheek. "I'll be back in a moment, dear heart. Mr. Kee looks like he's swallowed a sour piece of canapé." He gave her a firm squeeze around the shoulders, and brushed his lips against the silken skin over her cheekbone before releasing her and stepping over to Price.

    "International weapons showcase," Irene said dryly. She snagged her wine glass off the coffee table, and tossed back the last mouthful or so.

    Randi smirked. "Now what kind of attitude is that?? I'm sure there's /some/ way you can take revenge." She looked over to give Fang a thorough once-over, smirk widening, letting it be known she had a few ideas for vengeance.
    Jacob muttered something under his breath and went to the bar, where Zabri passed him a glass without a word. Jacquelyn and Darien were still off to the side, shaking their head in wonder at what they'd just seen.
    "If this is what you go through for fame, I'm glad I never aspired to hit the entertainment industry," Darien observed dryly.
    C.J. made a sound reminiscent of "mmm-hmmm," giving Darshan's shoulder another nuzzle before he stepped away. Then she pounced back on the cart Anna had left unattended, an attack of the munchies in full force.
    Price's brows were still raised as he stepped out into the hall and a little way down the corridor, before turning to face the man fully. After a moment, he offered his hand. "I don't believe we were properly introduced. Price Kee."

    Julianna grinned, kicking further back on her chair, one long leg stretching out. "You think Mace and Koran care about international weapons??"

    "Nothing that would leave him unable to stand and play," Tala reminded Randi with dry humor. "He really is a wonderful bass player. He's just a bit of an ass at times."
    "It takes a special sort of personality," Adrian agreed, coming up behind the couple. "I don't think many people could do it without burning out or breaking down. Then again, that might be why I'm not an aspiring performer; perhaps some people enjoy the pressure and the attention." He glanced towards Fang. "He certainly seems to."
    "No," Darshan agreed. He glanced at the hand that Price offered, but took it after a moment and gave in a firm shake. "I'm Darshan Guivre. You're a friend of Miss Valdez, I believe?" The last name, of course, was a dead give away to anyone who happened to know their lore well enough, but he had never tried to hide what he was.

    "No," Irene said, with a trace of humor, "those two definitely came for the showgirls."

    Randi grinned. "How many appendages do you really need to play??"
    Jacob chuckled against the rim of his glass. "My kind of girl." Zabri merely smirked, downing her own glass before pouring some more.
    Darien smiled at Adrian. "You've got a point. Some people seem to thrive in this kind of environment."
    "And some people find outside means to handle it," Kersti added a bit dryly, fingers laced through Adrian's as she watched C.J. inhale various crackers and finger sandwiches.
    Price returned the shake just as firmly, eyes flickering just briefly when he heard the full name. He didn't stiffen or tense though, which was something. "Guivre. That's French, isn't it??" he inquired, voice devoid of anything except casual curiosity. "And I am, yes. She might try to tell you I'm pushy, but I prefer to think of it as protective." He smiled, warming his gray eyes, which were still studying Darshan's face. "You're a friend of C.J.'s, I take it??"

    Julianna simply had to giggle at that one, leaning forward to set the empty nut bowl aside, and stayed leaning forward. Her elbows rested on her knees, hands dangling between, and her expression sobered a bit. "Christian's in town too. Have you heard from him??"

    "All of your fingers," Tala said, her tone contemplative, "none of your toes. Unfortunately, his favorite appendage is off-limits. Our background vocals would be completely fucked if Fang started singing soprano."
    "I'm not sure if that's the means of handling it or just an added perk," Adrian murmured, following Kersti's gaze.
    Darshan shrugged when Price asked after his name. "I believe so. That wasn't why I chose it." His tone was equally casual, and his gaze was very intent on Price's face. His lips curved into an almost-smile. "It's strange how often 'pushy' and 'protective' seem to walk hand in hand. I think Miss Valdez is pushy enough herself that if she really minded it, we would all hear about it."
    He studied the young man for a moment with flat golden eyes. "C.J. is my soulmate," he replied, quite calmly. It wasn't usually something he advertised, but whereas telling most people would have been showing a weakness he couldn't afford, Daybreak's views were considerably different than those held by many of those that he dealt with.

    Irene opened her mouth to make a crack about Christian not being there to look at the showgirls, when she saw that her friend had turned serious. It triggered an answering change in her own mood, and she leaned forward as well, tucking her crossed ankles beneath the chair and folding her hands neatly on her knees, left bare by the short hem of her dark red dress. "No. Should I be expecting to?"

    Randi heaved an exaggerated sigh. "/Now/ you mention that," she said, eyes moving towards Jacob. "What about him, can't he do the backup vocals??"
    Kersti grinned at her healer boy. "Maybe both, in her case."
    Darien and Jacquelyn chuckled.
    Price inclined his head, almost hiding the flicker of amusement that went through his eyes. "I have to assume you didn't choose it because you're afraid of naked people, right??"
    A little grin formed his mouth. "You are right on that front. She doesn't hesitate to voice her opinion when she feels they're properly deserved."
    No surprise shown on Price's face at Darshan's statement. He'd heard through the very convoluted grapevine that C.J. had indeed found her soulmate, but somewhere along the vine, a great deal of information had been lost about him. Price could now understand why some individuals would want to keep certain facts hidden about him.
    It didn't stop another half-grin from forming though. "Fun, isn't it??"

    After a moment's consideration, Julianna shrugged. "Right now, I'm not entirely sure. Have you heard anything out of Paris lately??" Though her face was still calm, her eyes had turned sharp, watching for any nuance or hint of thought on Irene's face.

    "Not on his own he can't," Tala replied. Then she glanced sideways at Jacob. "No offense, honey. Besides, it would make Fang sad. He'd be whining like a kicked cur for years afterwards."
    "I don't know," Darshan said, his face completely void of expression. "There are some people who I most certainly would not want to see naked." In reality, he had chosen his last name almost a year after his first had been give to him, from a modern book on dragons. The only problem being that he hadn't been reading anything but dragon hieroglyphs with any real competency at the time. So he had overlooked a few... minor details.
    A flicker of a smile crossed his face at Price's question. "You say that, but you don't have to face her fans. Perhaps the occasional boy who needs to be beaten off with a stick, but no fans." The humor in his voice might have been sincere, but more likely it was to put Price at ease.

    There was nothing to be read on Irene's face, blank eyes set over a smiling mouth. "Paris? Now, Julianna, why would you be interested in the city of love? More travel plans?"

    Jacob gave her a pained look, having regained his seat on the couch when the tweenies were shoved out. "Like I'd want to?? Let Fang handle the extra fans he gets from singing like James Earl Jones."
    Randi smirked again.
    A real grin widened Price's mouth, playing easily through his gaze. "I can imagine. Makes the beach a really scary place to be during tourist seasons." Some women, and men, just didn't understand that thong bikinis were not made for them.
    The next words made him chuckle good-naturedly, hands returning to his pockets as he leaned one shoulder against the near wall. "I can't imagine you having much trouble with fans," he commented, grin still curving his mouth, though his eyes were sharp on Darshan again. "You don't seem the type to put up with anyone's crap, much less a groupie."

    Julianna smiled easily, resting her chin in a cupped hand. "Not me personally, but yes, it would seem someone is flying in from Paris semi-soon."

    Tala laughed, then turned towards Randi. "How /did/ you end up in Vegas, girl? I can't say that I ever expected to see you here." She shuddered a little. "I can't say that I ever expected to see me here, either, though." The Strip was just too gaudy, too loud, too filled with humans. The surrounding desert was intriguing, but she hadn't had a chance to investigate it yet.
    "I'm not," Darshan said dryly, "but C.J. would be upset with me if I pitched one of her fans out a window. So would Anna, for that matter. She keeps telling me that hotel insurance doesn't cover things like that."

    The smile on Irene's lips turned dry. "I see. Wouldn't it be nice if, just once, you actually asked the question you meant to ask, and I gave you a straightforward answer?" She didn't sound entirely convinced that this would be nice, as though she hadn't tried it in the past. She was usually pretty forthcoming with her clients, but talking circles with Julianna was just fun.

    "Oh yeah, we started to get into that before the groupies attacked," Randi commented with misleading casualness, ambling over to the bar to take a glass from Zabri. "My pack's here, for one thing."
    Price kept smiling. "Yes, there is that. Though I don't think C.J. would mind if you pitched that young man with his naked behind somewhere."

    That brought a full-fledged grin from Julianna. "Irene, honey, I've worked with and around you long enough to question any answer you give me. And you know that's said with the utmost of respect." A golden-amber eye closed in a teasing wink.

    "That's likely toxic," Tala warned, gesturing to the drink. "Yes, your pack. You did mention that. You said that Mace Drache was your pack leader?" She rolled her shoulders to stretch them, her expression contemplative. "Not that's someone with a reputation."
    "Maybe not," Darshan agreed enigmatically, and said no more on the subject. "Was that all that you wanted to ask of me? My name?"

    "Hey," Irene said, looking mildly offended. "My information is always good. Just because not everyone can decipher it..." She shrugged, then smiled. "Besides, I've worked with you long enough to second-guess any question that you pose to me." She flashed from smiling to serious, her face rearranging itself in the blink of an eye. "Why are you asking about Paris, Julianna? What is it that you want to know?"

    Randi smirked. "I'm sure I've had worse."
    After hearing she was part of Mace's gang, Zabri's brows rose with a smirk of her own. "With that crowd, I'm not surprised."
    Eye closing in a brief wink, Randi turned back to Tala. "Yeah, I finally caught up with someone who likes to cause more trouble than me. And the families thought that would never happen."
    Zabri smirked again, then went willingly to the middle of the floor when C.J. tugged on her arm, and they started to dance.
    Shoulders lifted a shrug. "Yep, that'll do," Price said easily. He now knew for sure that Darshan was indeed a dragon, but he didn't sense any immediate danger from the man. With C.J. for a soulmate, he wasn't entirely sure he'd be causing any major trouble for anyone either. Of course he'd pass it along to his mother and see her reaction to the news, which likely wasn't going to be too happy. But he considered himself a passable judge of character, and again, he didn't sense any imminent danger from Darshan.

    "You just have to muddle through the three different codes you hide that information in," Julianna teased, eyes playful as she changed her chin to her other palm. But Irene was right; all of her information was correct. Maybe not as timely as it could be, but good.
    She merely smiled at Irene's own barb, and the smile didn't go away as she finally just asked, "What do you know about Blaire Fluores??"

    Tala chuckled, and reached out to take one of the other drinks that Zabri had lined up on the bar. "I think the families had trouble grasping how wild you were, much less that there might be more of you. Not that they didn't produce more than their fair share of trouble-makers, but you, sweetheart, you took it to a whole new level."
    "I'm happy to have obliged, in that case," Darshan said, and there was a slightly wry note to his voice. They both knew that his name was not the only information that he had imparted. "Allow me to escort you back to the party, so that you can retrieve Ms. Valdez before C.J. convinces her that 'overtime' does indeed involve loud music and mass amounts of liquor."

    "What is a spy without her codes?" Irene asked, waving a lazy, elegant had through the air. She returned Julianna's gaze smile for smile, but her answer was remarkably frank. "I know that I recently received an offer of employment from her. I know that I'm not the only one." That had actually surprised her. Most people wouldn't have thought to make an offer of permanent employment, and wouldn't have been able to pin her down well enough to do so. To a good portion of her clients, she was nothing more than a voice over the phone, and her appearance changed every few weeks.
    It wasn't paranoia when they actually were out to get you.

    Randi chortled into her glass as she took a seat. "And you didn't?? I think Grams finally breathed a sigh of relief when you hit the road." Her eyes slid over her glass to C.J., taking Fang in with the same look. "And for such understandable reasons."
    Jacob snorted.
    Price merely smiled again, the kind of non-threatening, no-meaning smile that could mean anything or nothing. At the following words, he sent a rueful look towards the suite, where loud music was still pouring out through the open door. "She's leaving now, even if I have to drag her out by the arm. I don't think she could handle C.J.'s drinking."

    Julianna just shook her head at her friend and oftentimes conspirator, but her smile turned a little grim at her words. "No, I know a couple of people and couple of organizations have received offers, as you put. A lot of powerful people and a lot of powerful organizations. Christian filled me in on what she's trying to accomplish, but I haven't been able to unearth how she's going to do it. Aside from massive strength at her back, but that won't be enough."

    "Honey, I was an angel," Tala said dryly. "Didn't you ever notice the halo?" She glanced sideways at C.J. and Fang. "Hell, the company I keep just makes me look more angelic.
    Darshan's expression was blank, serene, and completely unreadable. "Not if she's human, she can't," he commented, a trace of humor in his voice. "She would be pickled before the night is over. Besides, she's not legal to drink, is she?" Of course, tricky little human laws like that one weren't likely to bother them, but he thought he should mention it.

    "Unfortunately, Miss Fluores hasn't seen fit to whisper her plans into my little ear." Irene pouted prettily, as though she was quite put-off that Blaire Fluores hadn't seen fit to call her up for a gab-fest on the phone. 'Hello, what are you doing tonight?' 'The same thing I do every night - try to take over the world.' That sort of thing. Then her expression smoothed out, her usual, faintly mocking smile tilting her lips. "I'm working on it, though."
    She reached out to run the tip of her finger over the edge of her empty wine glass, and gave Julianna a coy look from beneath lowered lashes. "I do have one name that your friend Christian might be interested in, however."

    Randi smirked at her fellow wolf. "No darlin', I guess I missed it. Must've gotten a little dirty with all that grit flyin' around at the homestead." Her eyes followed Tala's and what she saw did nothing to diminish her smirk. "Even being here for ten minutes, I don't doubt it."
    A mischievous sparkle went briefly through Price's eyes. "How many times has C.J. left /you/ behind??" Even without the answer, he had no doubt he did /not/ want Anna in the competition.
    Price nodded agreeably at the latter words. "Quite illegal, which should be enough." Vampire he may be, all around rule-breaker and trouble-maker he wasn't.

    Julianna gave her a sympathetic look that no doubt hid some sort of laughter behind it. "I'm sure you'll get it out of her soon."
    One brow lifted with interest at Irene's dangling bait. "Oh, do tell."

    "It was a mite bit tarnished," Tala agreed.
    She looked again towards her friends, and grinned. "Ah, well. They're trouble, but I love them anyway."
    A faint smile quirked Darshan's lips. "I never caught up. I don't even try these days. It was a great blow to my dignity when my shapeshifter girlfriend drank me under the table." This was blatantly false - Darshan didn't really drink, and never had. Someone had to be stone cold sober, with this group. But it was a decent joke, and he needed to make this young man feel at ease... or as at ease as a Daybreaker could ever feel in a dragon's company.
    "Well, let me escort you back to your erstwhile companion, in that case," he said genially, and turned back towards the hotel room.

    "Of course," Irene said, with mock-surprise, as though there had never been any doubt about it. After all, you could find anything out, with the proper amount of time, resources, and determination. And Irene was a very determined lady.
    "Hrm." Irene leaned back in her chair, looking like a cat with a canary. Now that the serious part of the conversation was over, she seemed inclined to go back to her usual games. "I don't know. Who is paying my fee, this time?" Then she waved a negligent hand, as though this was unimportant. "I've recently received word that Blaire approached Sonya Dayton with an offer of employment... and that Dayton accepted. She and Christian were comrades once, were they not?"

    "Just a bit," Randi said with a knowing smirk. Because, well, she might've had a hand in the tarnishing. But of course she'd always say it was all Tala's fault.
    She kept smirking at the wolf's sentiment. "Got a new pack yourself these days, wailer??"
    Price laughed outright, a warm bubbling laugh that just rolled right off his tongue. "I can imagine, and she seems the type to never let you forget it either," he added with a knowing grin, eyes bright with laughter. He nodded agreeably at Darshan's offer and turned back to the hotel room, where music was still blaring out.

    Julianna just grinned, then remained silent, knowing what was coming. She'd probably do the same thing if the roles were reversed. She was even /surprised/ when Irene gave in so easily.
    Not being /incredibly/ close to Christian and his girls, she didn't know the real status of their relationship. But she was surprised that Christian just might not know this yet. "They were at one point, yes," she agreed with a dip of her head, eyes thoughtful. "I'll have to run it by him and see if he knew it."

    "I guess so," Tala said, with a shrug. "If you can call them that. Two of them are vampires, and one of them has tried so many mild-altering drugs that she has this kind of cross-eyed look whenever she shifts." She glanced towards the door that Darshan had disappeared through. "And then there's that boy of hers."
    "That's my woman," Darshan said, with the same dry humor. He stepped back into the room, eyes stopping on the slim, dark girl that they had come to retrieve. She had a glass in her hand, but it looked like it was just soda. Of course, she was also talking to Fang, so one couldn't be entirely sure.

    The movement of Irene's shoulders was almost too graceful to be called a shrug, elegant and unconcerned. "He might, he might not. They haven't been much in contact these past few years. Or so I've heard."
    She tilted her head, her expression thoughtful. "I can't tell if Blaire Fluores is a big fish, or just a little fish with a big ego. Whatever the case, she seems determined to gobble the rest of us fishes up." She studied her nails meditatively. "Never mind that some of us are perfectly happy as independent contractors, with no inclination to bow and scrape." She had gotten quite enough of that when she was younger, and never intended to have to follow someone else's orders again. "She could make it hard for a girl to earn an honest living." Not that Irene's living was exactly honest...

    Randi actually grinned at the cross-eyed argument. "Well she'd fit right in at the ole homestead, wouldn't she??" Her eyes followed the path Tala's had taken. "Yes, there is that boy," she murmured an agreement. "Not sure I want to delve too deeply into that subject though. I've learned to take care of my hide."
    Price just grinned to himself, thinking the dragon sounded so...possessive. Like a throw-back to the old days. Then again, C.J. surely wasn't a feminist-talking, male-bashing superbitch either. Knowing what he did of C.J., and having met Darshan now, it was going to be interesting to really see the dynamics of the relationship.
    Upon entering the room, he sent a mock-frown in Anna's direction. "Do you think you should be drinking /any/thing here??" He winked teasingly at Fang as he spoke.

    Julianna just nodded, taking in that information silently. She knew things had fallen through with the three assassins after Storm had tied the knot, but she'd assumed they had at least kept in contact with each other. Though Sonya had been a bit of a loose cannon, from what she recalled.
    A sigh of agreement blew from Julianna's lips. "At this point, it doesn't matter if she's a big fish or a big ego; she's gathering the fire power to blow the pond to the sky," she said a bit grimly. "And she's not going to stop trying to get more until she has what she needs to get what she wants." Which, more or less, was the world. At least to her understanding.
    "If she succeeds in her little ventures, she could make it next to impossible to earn an honest living," she agreed with the other woman, giving a short nod of her head.

    "The folks at the homestead wouldn't know what to do with C.J.," Tala remarked. "Or Fang, or even Jacob. Jacob, at least, is a quiet sort of weird. But the other two?" She glanced towards the door, where Darshan and Price had just re-entered. "You can sense what he is. We all can, we just keep quiet about it most of the time." She had seen a few 'shifters try groveling when Darshan came around, or try to make him a figurehead for whatever cause they were fighting for. He had turned them all away. While he seemed to have no problem using his stature as a ruler of their race if he needed to, he also liked to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Of course, ignoring a dragon was kind of like trying to ignore the elephant in the middle of the room. "He's actually not a bad guy. A little scary, but not too hard to be around."
    "Hey, man," Fang said, waving a disclaimatory hand. "I wouldn't try to slip your girl anything. If you didn't kick my ass, she would." He winked back, then drifted away, going to trouble Zabri and C.J.
    "I brought it in on the cart," Anna added. "No one touched it before I did. I think that I might have the only non-alcoholic drink in the room."
    "I don't think, I know," Darshan replied, with a wry glance towards where his soulmate was dancing. "I wonder if I should warn some of the lighter drinkers away from Zabri's brews. I really would like to avoid seeing anyone dancing on top of a table tonight."

    "Too bad," Irene said. "I rather like my pond."
    She tapped one long fingernail against curved red lips. "I wonder where that leaves me. You know how I detest fighting my own battles, but the thought of being unable to make a living is quite... unappealing."

    "What, and they knew what to do with you??" Randi smirked back at her friend, shaking her tawny hair back as she cast a heavy-lidded gaze around. There was a couple slow dancing in the room, clearly to their own music as the stuff pounding from the speakers was all head-banging rock crap. Another couple was begging off some of Zabri's drinks, which made Randi smirk again.
    Gaze moving to Darshan, Randi silently mused on Tala's words for a moment. "Why do you keep quiet about it??" She wondered if he was the dragon Mace had dropped hints about randomly. It seemed unlikely two badass dragons lived in the semi-near area.
    Price chuckled and moved to Anna, leaning over to mock-suspiciously sniff her drink. "Okay, you can finish your drink, then you're leaving," he said, wagging a finger. "You need to get home and sleep at least a little."
    He looked up at Darshan's words, watching C.J. laugh loudly at something Fang said when he joined them. Then, drink in one hand and taking Fang's in the other, she somehow managed to get on the coffee table without spilling her cup or tripping over something. Amazing what one learned when one drank enough.
    "Spoken too soon," Price commented mildly to Darshan as C.J. poked Fang into a decent rhythm on their makeshift dance floor.

    "A lot of people do," Julianna agreed, trying to think of /anyone/ who wouldn't mind Blaire taking over everything. "And sometimes you just have to get your priorities worked out. If fighting this once means you get to keep your pond and all of the little fishies you get to manipulate all the time, it could possibly be worth it." Then she spread her hands with a bland little smile that could mean something or nothing, eyes twinkling.

    "Ain't that the truth," Tala agreed, raising her bottle in a wry little salute.
    She looked at Darshan for a long moment, then shrugged. "Why shouldn't I keep quiet? He doesn't like attention, and I don't have any reason to cry... wolf... on him."
    "Sleep," Anna said, in a mock-dreamy voice. "I remember sleep. Vaguely."
    Fang grinned easily and stepped onto the coffee table, giving C.J. a little twirl with the hand that she was holding onto. He cast the coffee table a wary look, since the bouncing, hip-swaying rhythm that C.J. had adopted did not seem like the sort of abuse that any coffee table - and wooden coffee table, with nice, blood-poisoning splinters - would hold up under. So instead, he grabbed her by the waist with his other hand, and waltzed her around the table, miraculously managing to keep them balanced on the narrow 'dance floor'.
    "Anyone else," Darshan clarified, with a weary sigh. "I knew C.J. would make it up there at some point."

    "Or I could loose it all," Irene pointed out mildly. "I might want to do a little more poking around before I set my wagers. Maybe even do a little fishing in Blair's pond. Talk to the little fishies over there."

    Randi tilted her glass in a silent salute back, then drowned the drink. Ahh. It almost dulled the feel of a real life dragon coming into the room, swamping its corners with pure dragon power. Seemed a wonder everyone didn't take notice of it.
    Shoulders lifted in a casual shrug when Tala spoke. "Fair enough. Though you have to wonder if he's just biding his time for it." Not that she knew the guy personally, but dragons typically didn't like just taking a backseat to things.
    Price grinned at his girlfriend. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get properly reacquainted with sleep tonight."
    C.J. laughed giddily when Fang swung her into a waltz right there on the coffee table, but went along all too willingly with him. Pot and alcohol were starting to mix in her head, making everything seem alllll good.
    This time it was Darshan Price grinned at. "Well at least she's not alone, right??"

    "Just be careful you're not talking to the wrong fishies," Julianna advised absently. Not because she really thought Irene needed pointers to talk to /anyone/, but because she was a good girl and that's what good girls said.

    "He's been awake since before the Battle, near as I can tell," Tala remarked. "So if he is up to something, he's being patient about it." Not that ten years was really a long amount of time for a dragon... and not that she really knew him well enough to say anything for sure.
    "Oh, baby," Anna said, a hint of mischief in her dark eyes. She glanced at the clock on the wall, and stifled a yawn. "Not that it's actually 'tonight' anymore."
    Fang continued to waltz C.J. around, in spite of the fact that the music playing was hardly suitable for ballroom dancing. He dipped her, in a move that defied gravity and the narrow ledge of the coffee table, and Darshan just shook his head. "I'm not entirely certain that's a good thing," he commented, although at least the lamia's reflexes seemed to be working well enough, in spite of the massive amounts of alcohol he had been consuming.

    "Ah, but the only fishies that are really any fun to talk to are the ones that you know are all wrong for you," Irene said, with a lazy smile that didn't quite touch her eyes. In spite of the teasing, laughing tone of her voice, Irene wasn't actually fool enough to try anything like that. Talking to the wrong fish might be fun, but it could also get a girl killed.

    Randi's brow lifted with interest and she gave the dragon another musing look-over. Innnnteresting. Suspicious thing that she was, she had to figure he was planning something huge if he'd waited this long.
    "Did you mention he has a girlfriend??" she asked thoughtfully, unsure if it was Tala or Mace she'd heard it from.
    Price looked at the clock himself and smiled sweetly. "Oh look at the time. Time to go home."
    C.J.'s eyes were more than half-closed by this point, and she was practically floating in Fang's hands. Not by any kind of cat grace or delicacy, of course; floating in a cloud of pot pretty much summed it up for her. "You're good at this," she purred, snuggling closer to the nice smelling boy before taking a drink from her half-full glass. For shame! It should be empty! Or at least half-empty, or something.
    Price grinned at the dragon again. "It could still be worse, yanno."

    Julianna smiled at her friend, a completely sincere and just slightly mischievous smile. "Well yes, there is that. Opposites attract and all that fun stuff."

    "I'm sure someone mentioned it," Tala said, reaching up to adjust the strap on her slinky black dress. "He's hot under the collar for my drummer." She jerked a thumb towards where C.J. and Fang were dancing.
    "Yes, mother," Anna sing-songed. All the same, she put down her glass willingly enough, leaving it half-finished on the edge of the cart. "I'll say goodnight to the other kids, and then you can take me home and tuck me in so that I can go to school tomorrow, okay?"
    Fang grinned, not above enjoying the feel of warm, purring female in his arms. He gave her one more turn around the table and one final spin before carefully lifting her up and setting her down feet-first on the floor. "I think that's enough waltzing for you, Miss Cat." He released her slowly, either reluctant to part with warm-purring-female or aware of the possibility that she would fall over. He remained standing on the table, and grinned at the room at large. "Any other takers?"
    Darshan shook his head, looking resigned. "Get your woman home, Mr. Kee. Now is not a safe time for you and your folk to be wandering around unprotected at night." With that vaguely menacing and completely unhelpful warning, he started across the room towards his wayward soulmate, surpassing Tala and her friend and casting a tolerant eye on Fang as he approached.