Abe, Tom, and Sparrow walk out of the fire rimmed portal she had created for them and it vanishes behind her as soon as she exits. And as soon as you exit, the lights turn on.

You are in a large room with floor to ceiling windows everywhere you can see and a huge terrace beyond, curving around the corner. The terrace seems larger than many apartments on its own. Easily more than 1,000 square feet. And though you can see into the darkness beyond, you cannot see far enough to discern what view the darkness is hiding from you.

There is a dining room table before you, large enough to seat 10 people.

As you turn around to get the complete view of this large room, there a couple of sofas around a table with a large wall-mounted TV. There is a fireplace and as Sparrow snaps her fingers, a real fire is already welcoming you. Beyond the fireplace, that is not only not attached to the wall but also open to both sides, there is a bar.

Then there are corridors leading to the rest of the apartment followed by a well-appointed kitchen and another set of sofas.

"Mi casa, su casa," Sparrow says.

As Tom steps out of the portal, he looks around the room, admiring the lavish environment. "Very nice place, Sparrow," he says. "You could house a small army in here." He looks outside at the terrace and wonders just where they are. Are they still in California, or could Sparrow have taken them someplace else entirely?

"What should we do when we need to return to the Arcane Lux?" he asks. "Can we get there by everyday means?"

Abe looked around in wonder.  Just how much did she get paid for contracting to de la Vega?  He wandered to look out over the terrace, trying to figure out if he could identify the location.  "In this case it looks more like, 'mi castle, su castle'?"  He commented with a grin.  This place was definitely nicer than his room back home.

"Perhaps it is my castle," Sparrow says. "And it's not very far from the club. There won't be any problems getting there by everyday means.

"Let me show you around." She heads towards the kitchen across the dark hardwood floor. Both of the sofa areas are placed on carpets that complement each other and the design as a whole.

The kitchen has granite countertops and high-end appliances of a fully fitted chef's kitchen. On the other side of the kitchen, a corridor led to two bedrooms, each large enough to be their own apartment, with a double bed, walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom, as well as access to another terrace.

The terrace is about the same size as the bedrooms, but shaped like a curved rectangle rather than a more square shape of the bedrooms. With the San Diego lights, you notice that it isn't far to the Gaslamp Quarter, and the Arcane Lux is just beyond that.

There are two more doors leading to the terrace and with a wave of her hand, one of the doors slide open and she shows you a third bedroom, much like the other two. The other room is about the same size, but it's used as a gym. Well equipped for its size. Next door was a sauna.

Around the corner, Sparrow pointed at a set of double doors, that looked like the front door to the apartment. "Two private elevators in a private elevator lobby through there." The bar they had seen earlier faced those doors.

Heading between them and away from the great room and kitchen, she points at storage and laundry rooms to the left, shows the den straight ahead, and entered the master bedroom to the right.

The bedroom portion is twice the size of the other bedrooms, the ensuite bathroom is almost as large with a two-person bathtub and everything else furnished for two to use at the same time without being in each other's way.

There were two walk-in closets, each the size of one of the smaller bedrooms, as well as a private south-facing terrace larger than the terrace the three other bedrooms shared.

All bathrooms had tiled floors, but all other areas you'd seen had dark hardwood floors.

Having shown her apartment, Sparrow sits down on her bed.

"Now you've seen my place. Feel free to pick a bedroom. We are going to have plenty of space right here. And there's an amazing view! Especially of the sunset."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:11, Wed 27 Nov 2019.

The place was decorated with an eclectic eye, using juxtapositions of styles to elevate it to unknown heights. Not that the ceiling could be much higher than they already were. Or be placed on a higher floor, as this already was the penthouse.

Tom can only shake his head in wonder at the opulence of the apartment. This place must have cost more money than he would be able to make in ten lifetimes. "Sparrow, I'm astonished at what you have here. This place--it's like MTV Cribs or something."

"If it's okay, I'll take the room across from the gym. Is it okay if we use your gym? And any suggestions on good places to go for a run nearby?" Tom has no idea how he's going to balance his new life with his university and Air Force commitments, or if it's even possible, but now's not the time to let himself get flabby.

"Thank you. When you've lived as long as I have, invested wisely, and have a good interior decorator, there isn't much you cannot do. I'm not a billionaire or anything, but money makes money."

"You can take that room and you can use the gym as much as you like. The sauna too. I couldn't tell you where to run though."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 00:21, Fri 29 Nov 2019.

When Tom asked about the gym and running, Abe's eyebrows shot up.  Or they would have shot up, if he had the energy for that to happen.  Abe was in good shape.  Really good shape... for a human.  But he had been up for nearly two days.  It was past time for sleep.  It crossed his mind that being a Hunter might give Tom superhuman stamina.  And that thought did not even take root in his mind before wandering off.

He looked at the paired bedrooms and started walking toward the one on the left.  "Sparrow, I appreciate the hospitality more than words, but I am fast approaching uselessness to the world.  I will see you both in the morning.  The real morning that is not this kind of morning,"  He rambled a bit as he tried to end his thought.

When Abe had departed, Sparrow turns to Tom.

"You could share my bed if you like."

Nodding his head, Tom says, ”Good idea, Abe.” He is about to turn and follow suit when Sparrow makes her invitation. Tom blushes deeply and looks at her, half in shock and half disbelief.

”I—Sparrow, I—...” Words fail the student, and he looks down, not able to meet the Fae’s eyes. ”You’re—you’re incredibly gorgeous, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but—don’t you think this is kind of sudden?” He looks back up, his thoughts wildly running through why she might be so forward like this. Do Fae need to sleep with humans—or whatever Tom is now—for some kind of energy? Is she concerned that he’ll try to kill her as he grows more aware of his own nature and is trying to bind him her somehow? Is she just lonely?

”I mean, I can sit up and talk with you a while if you need the company. I swear, I won’t ever try to kill you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He looks back down at the floor and grasps his right arm awkwardly behind his back with his left hand. Come on, Tom, he thinks. You may never get another shot like this in what’s left of your life! But why does it feel so wrong?

"I'm not worried," Sparrow says. "And I'm not going to kill you either. You are safe here" She smiles seductively at Tom as she steps closer. "And talking was not what I had in mind. When would you ever have such a chance again?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:02, Wed 04 Dec 2019.

"It's like you're reading my mind," Tom says with a smile. "I want this, Sparrow, I really do, but this seems rushed. I might not ever get this chance again, but I want to wait, okay?" Even as he says this, Tom knows he may never have another chance like this again, but he has no desire to rush into a sexual relationship with anyone right now, even if Sparrow is the most stunning woman he has ever seen.

Sparrow allows Tom to leave with no hard feelings.

Saying, ”Good night,” Tom turns and heads for his bedroom, still half-kicking himself for turning down pretty much an actual goddess. He goes to the gym and lifts weights for a while until he wears himself out, and then he takes a short shower and hits the sack. In the morning, he tells himself, he’ll go for a run and then go see if he can hunt down Daiyu’s shop.

"Good night," Sparrow said.