On the dance floor, Tom made a point of ensuring that everyone looking would be entirely convinced that he and Krystal were a couple. While it was Krystal who was the real actress, he could also perform this particular role just fine - which was partly out of practice: he'd played that role for his friend often enough.

Within ten minutes, everyone who could have possibly been interested in his partner was most likely convinced that he and Krystal were thoroughly, and exclusively, into each other.

{Having fun, dear? From the looks of it, no less than five guys are fervently wishing I had an unfortunate accident, so that they can jump in and comfort you for your terrible, terrible loss. I'm not sure what they would tell the girls they are currently dancing with, though...} Krystal could hear the chuckle in Tom's mental voice, which was as expected: having a private conversation in the middle of a noisy club, for some reason, never failed to amuse him.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:16, Tue 18 June 2013.

Krystal and Tom always moved well together. She was able to keep up, but he did have an almost inhuman agility and coordination - probably because he wasn't human. She smiled and moved in to secure the facade and speaking right into his hear. "More than a few girls have been checking you out from the bar. They probably think I'm on a date with David Tennent." she laughed and then pulled away grabbing his hand, "Come on. It's time for a drink."

A pair of young women were chatting near the bar. The blonde was wearing a sparkling, purple dress with a plunging neckline and short skirt. "Just a bit longer? How about another drink?"

Her friend was a petite brunette dressed in low-riding jeans and a black vest that showed off her toned mid-riff. "No, I told you I'd stay for one drink and that's it. I've got an early day tomorrow."

There was a minor ripple through the crowd as their attention was drawn to a small group of people that had just arrived. At the center of the group was a sharply-dressed man with dark hair. He appeared to be in his early forties, but looks could be deceiving on a vampire. It was Corbin Frost and his entourage.

Corbin wrote a book a couple of years ago about some of his titillating escapades through the centuries. It was a best seller, called Tales of a Dead Man. It had turned him into a minor celebrity and a favorite on the talk-show circuit. Corbin was a master at capitalizing on the romantic mystique long associated with vampires.

He moved through the crowd with the grace of a dancer, smiling and occasionally pausing to shake hands with someone.

"Oh! I've always wanted to meet him!" The blonde exclaimed.

"Go, but make it quick." The brunette shook her head as she watched the other woman wade into the crowd. "My sister has always had a thing for older men." She gave a slight shrug as she smiled at Tom and Krystal. "Not my type, I guess." She finished off the amber liquid in the bottom of her glass.

Human, definitely human. Both sisters smelled 100% non-supernatural. One of them seemed more level-headed than the other, but this wasn't something Tom gathered from his supernatural senses.

"Not buying into the whole 'vampires princes of the night' thing, I take it? Can't say I blame you." Tom gestured for the barman and ordered a piña colada. "I've met a few vampires, and you know what? At the end of the day, they're just people."

"Are you telling me that the undead put their pants on one-leg-at-a-time, just like the rest of us?" The petite woman smiled at Tom, before glancing in the direction her sister had gone. "My sister would probably pay good money to see that."

The bartender offered to get her a refill on her drink, but she shook her head no. Returning her attention to Tom, she said. "I'm not bothered by his state of unlife. It's the ego that kind of rubs me the wrong way."

"I've heard there's a secret entrance to that VIP lounge, so the celebs can come and go without the rest of us even knowing they're here, but not that guy. He likes to make an entrance."

"You don't have to be a vampire for that... I wouldn't be surprised to learn that somebody invented special clothes just so that they don't have to wear their pants one leg at a time like everybody else. Though I guess if they were magic users they would probably invent a spell. I'm Tom, by the way." He extended a hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:24, Thu 04 July 2013.

"I'm Ashley," the woman said, as she shook Tom's hand.

Krystal used this opportunity to jump in, "I'm Krystal." she tried to put warning, more than envy, in her tone. She wanted this girl to think she was important, but not in a relationship with Tom. To her, that was still kind of weird.

"Yeah, you can dress this guy up but I still can't take him anywhere." Krystal turned back to her drink, then gestured to Tom with two fingers which silently asked 'Smoke?'
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Fri 05 July 2013.

"Aye, I think it's about time for a a smoke break. It was nice meeting you, Ashley." He took one of the club's business cards that was laying on the counter and stared at it a moment, before handing it to her.

When she looked at it, she could see a phone number and a small feline paw print on what had been the blank side of the card: they looked like they had been seared onto the paper. He winked at her as he and Krystal left.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:01, Fri 05 July 2013.

Krystal gave the girl a smile and pulled a pack of smokes and handed on to Tom as a prop and fiddled with the pack to make it seem like she was go to take one. Leading the way she headed outside.

"I should probably fetch my sister. It was nice meeting both of you." Ashley took Tom's card and smiled at him before she disappeared into the crowd.

Next to Tabú was a smaller mansion that had been built at the same time, in a similar style. The owner of Tabú also bought the sister mansion and used it as their private home.

Between the two mansions was a fenced courtyard that was accessible by a side-door of the club. There were garden benches, chairs, small tables, and even a pair of chaise lounges. It was decorated with various plants and warm, soft lighting.

Krystal and Tom had the area to themselves, with the exception of one young man seated at the far end. He had his back to the club as he spoke into his cell phone. "I just got an angry text from our landlord. Why haven't you paid him yet? Well, could you go do it now? What do you mean, you don't have the money?? What did you do with the cash I gave you?"

Tom handed the cigarette back to Krystal, knelt down, pretending to check non-existent shoelaces, and morphed back to his cat form.

After a moment of consideration, he lay down and relaxed, while she looked for an ashtray: he didn't need to be close to Krystal to talk to her, and he wasn't overly fond of the smell of cigarettes.

{Seems like a nice evening so far. I wonder if I should worry.}
This message was last edited by the player at 02:59, Sat 06 July 2013.

Leaving Tom to lay where he was, Krystal moved to a seat near a 'Cindy' ashtray. If she was going to be bad, she might as well do something good too. Responding through the mental link she asked, {Worried about what? Things are going good so far, but I'm surprised you gave your number to that girl. She was human. I thought your version of eHarmony would be Petfinder.com.}
This message was last edited by the player at 12:36, Sun 07 July 2013.

Tom sent her a half-smile, and began cleaning his coat - not that it needed that, but he found it relaxing. {Remember, my fiery diamond, having a mindless sex slave around is not as much fun as humans make it. And besides, petfinder wouldn't work all that well for us: humans base attraction primarily on looks, but we base it primarily on smells.}

He looked over at cell-phone guy, who appeared to have started another call, then back to Krystal. {Which reminds me... I can't judge this Ashley girl on my own race's canons: she has no tail and no whiskers, and her eyes are the wrong shape, although she was apparently trying to hide that with makeup. However, her face was very symmetrical and she seemed fit, which I think are things both humans and Bast consider points in favor, and I liked her scent. I realize large breasted females are considered more attractive by humans, which should probably be a point against her, but its actual importance seems to vary a lot from male to male, and it's hard to quantify... I guess what am asking is: is she cute?}
This message was last edited by the player at 08:27, Sun 07 July 2013.

Krystal couldn't help but mentally go over Ashley's body in her mind when Tom went through his check list. With a drag to cover up a wistful sigh she sent back confirmation. {I'd totally do her. What I liked? She had a nice attitude of being both concerned for her sibling but willing to let the other girl have her fun for a while. A nice personality can go a long way to compensate for, or enhance, a well constructed physique. The opposite is also true. Guys see my body so I try and be as annoying as possible if I don't find them attractive. They assume I'm not worth the effort and move on... well, most of the time."}

Tom finished cleaning up, and performed a few exercises that were the magical equivalent of stretching your muscles after running.

By the time he was done, Krystal's cigarette was finished. Cell-phone guy was still talking, so Tom figured he wouldn't notice that he had apparently taken several minutes to tie his shoelaces, let alone that he didn't have any.

He took a breath and changed back into his human form, and stood up.

The doors at the front of the club opened, and Ashley and her sister walked out. "Do you wanna get a cab?"

"No, we're just a couple minutes from the bus stop, and I think I could use the fresh air." The two women descended the steps and started walking down the sidwalk in front of the courtyard. Ashley seemed to be slowing down, and then she stumbled, dropping to her knees.

"Ash! Are you ok?" The blonde rushed to her sister's side.

"I dunno. I fee... I... " Ashley's words sounded slurred, and then she collapsed to the ground.

Krystal could see Ashley collapse and quickly sprang into action. Years of dealing with psychic visions, vampires, witches, catholic school cheerleaders, demons, a slayer girlfriend and magical cats had prepared her for exactly this kind of situation. Without hesitation she turned to Tom saying, "You should probably go check on her."

Tom would have wondered, once again, how in the world he could have found the one human who managed to out-lazy a cat, but right then he was a little preoccupied: someone or something had apparently decided to harm the girl he had intended to put a mine sign on.

He jumped over the fence, landing gracefully on the other side, and in an instant he was kneeling beside the fallen girl.

"Ashley!" He looked up at her sister, while checking Ashley's girl's pulse and breathing: "What happened?"

Ashley appeared to be unconscious. Her skin was pale, with a bluish tinge, and she felt very cold when touched.

The blonde looked at Tom, "I dunno! She seemed fine, and then all of the sudden she was falling down." She sat next to Ashley and tugged on her arm. "Ash! Ash, please wake up!"

The young man who had been on his cellphone, at the other end of the courtyard, heard the commotion and hurried over. "I'll have to call you back." He ended the call without waiting for a response, and knelt down next to Tom. He looked at Ashley and joined Tom in checking for a pulse. He immediately dialed his phone again. "We need an ambulance, at Tabú on West Wrightwood."

Ashley's sister pleaded with Tom, "Are you a doctor? Can you help her?"

Tom placed a hand over Ashley's forehead, as he replied to her sister: "I don't think you need a doctor right now... Well, maybe a witch doctor. Does she use supernatural performance enhancers, or magic remedies of some sort?"

Even as he listened to her answer, Tom concentrated to activate one of his powers. Under his breath, he began muttering slowly: "Slàinte agus Tàinte... Slàinte agus Tàinte... Slàinte agus Tàinte..."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:35, Tue 09 July 2013.

Krystal "watched" the events unfolding, her eyes moving around the alley and looking for anyone or anything that might help make sense of this.

The blonde shook her head, "No, she barely drinks."

"Are you sure she didn't have a lot to drink tonight?" The man with the cellphone interjected.

"Yes, I'm sure." Ashley's sister looked up at him. "Are you a doctor? Can you help her?"

"No, I'm... I've had some medical training."



"What are you doing?" asked the blonde.

The man with the cellphone gave Tom a curious look as he continued to check Ashley's vital signs. "I think it's helping."

Ashley's eyes fluttered open. "Wha happen?" Her speech was still slurred but, she looked like she was getting better. Then her body suddenly began to tremble.

"She's seizing!" The convulsions only lasted a moment. "I've lost her pulse." The man began chest compressions on Ashley.

"Nooooooo! Her sister wailed.

Sirens could be heard approaching from the distance.

"Oh no you don't!" Cell Phone Guy paused with the compressions, and Tom proceeded to breathe air into Ashley's lungs, and then spoke to both her body and her soul: "Ashley, wake up. It's not your time, don't even think about it. Just wake up."

...compression, compression, pause, another breath.

A quick telepathic message to Krystal: {There was some magic at work, but I'm not sure it caused this: the magic seems to be dissipating, but she's getting worse. Did you see anything unusual?}.

He looked at Cell Phone Guy and said: "Let me know if you get tired and want to switch." Tom had no training in medicine, per se, but he knew that, while it may not have looked like it, CPR was hard work. Granted, he knew that because he'd read it on the internet, but it seemed to make sense.

For better ot for worse, mundane reanimation would have to suffice: Tom had a few tricks up his sleeve, sure, but nothing that could magically revive people - he had never gotten the hang of healing magic, and that entire class of spells was notoriously finicky. Besides, his ability to bless people was usually enough for most purposes - except this thing had apparently undone his power in seconds.

Tom was starting to feel angry. It's usually not a good idea to anger a High Bast. Angering this particular High Bast had a pretty high mortality rate.

First, save the girl. Then, if this turned out not to be a natural event... The responsible party was going to have a really bad day.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:06, Wed 10 July 2013.