Sonja looked and Elissa and said, "I have no objection unless you decide I'm a vampire who needs to be slain.  If you're planning on slaying William the Bloody or Bloody Drusilla then I might even help, but for the time being, I came here to enjoy the Taboo."

"William the Bloody - was he the same bloke as William the Conqueror?" Ann asked. "And what's a Skinwalker? I'm getting confused. So Sonja, you're a vampire, but with the human part in control rather than the demon? So you still have a soul? And is there a shaman here somewhere else?"

She looked nervously at the doors.

"And do we know if there's something else going on outside? If that strange sensation was just from detecting Sonja and she's cool, then all's well. Otherwise, we may have something more dangerous to find and stick a stake or two in."

And what's a Skinwalker? I'm- "Please stop using that word," Inoue interrupts Ann, looking queasy. "All of you. It conjures up icky images and I would like to finish this drink without having it coming back up." Later, she adds: "Sorry, I thought she was a shaman but I guess I was wrong."

Sonja ticked words off on her fingers, "I'm not a vampire, I am a - that word we're not going to use." She smiled at Inoue.  "Usually it means somebody who is possessed or who leaves themselves open to possession voluntarily, like a shaman, but that's not what's going on here. I am, as far as I know, unique."

"Why am I not a vampire?" she asked a rhetorical question, "Vampires are dead, I'm not.  If you pushed a stake into my heart, I would die but I wouldn't dust.  More likely I'd spurt arterial blood all over the place.  Vampires are vulnerable to sunlight, not me.  Vampires drink blood but I don't.  Some vampires have this strange ability to control humans, frankly I wish I did sometimes but the only way I can do it is with intimidation or seduction, just like any other human."

"Why am I not a shaman?  Shaman's have a great deal of training in various practices, I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"As for something outside... sorry, not a clue, I was lost in rhythm."

"Well girl, sounds like you aren't a baddie" Elissa said cheerfully "You said you want to enjoy the taboo, and that sounds like a great idea. We are of course just a little twitchy that you could be a vampire just saying the words, but... you know... I don't think you are. And it's easy to prove anyway: let's meet tomorrow in the sunlight. That gets rid of any of these awkward doubts. What do you say meeting for breakfast at the <names a cafe just round the corner>."

"As for the 'noise' outside. It was bright and powerful and hit all three of us. Which is odd because I have as much 'psychic sensitivity' as a dish rag as far as I can tell. Ann and Inoue here both said 'hey this hot looking chick has cool powers', but I was just admiring your dancing"

"Breakfast?" whined Sonja, going full on Scouser as she does so, "Can we make it lunch at the Brass Teapot"

You all know the Brass Teapot.  It is two doors down from the Taboo in the direction of the main shopping area of Cambridge.

"The Brass teapot. Just after 12 sounds great, girl" Elissa said. The sun would be even higher then, and that should put to bed any lingering doubts "Does that work for you Inoue?" She asked the resident expert on magical matters. She could tell the Japanese girl was upset by the 'Skinwalker' comment, but she hoped that Inoue would get over it

"So does a Liverpudlian mind dancing with a Mancunian?"

Sonja takes Elissa's hand and leads her to the dance floor.  "I'm happy to dance with you Elissa, but I'm not a scouser, I'm Swedish."

Ann spoke to Inoue as she watched Elissa and Sonja head to the dance floor.

"Do you have any idea how to tell whether Sonja is as in control as she says? Sometimes we get her Swedish accent, and sometimes what I'm guessing is the demon's scouse accent. She doesn't seem aware of it, which makes me wonder whether there are other things that happen that she's not aware of."

She drained the remainder of her drink.

"We came here to dance, and we can better observe Sonja from the dance floor. Do you fancy getting out there again?"

"At noon... Ann, don't you and I have classes tomorrow? It might be hard to go out. Aside from that I have no objections, but I might need to bring some classwork." From their time together Ann has likely learned that Inoue's grasp of time is a little shaky at the best of times. She has obstinately refused to let Ann buy her a calendar, insisting that one has to feel their way through life to properly experience the metaphysical undercurrents or some nonsense like that. The point is, Inoue feels like they should have classes tomorrow and is subtly asking Ann to confirm that reality is the one she lives in.

Once Elissa and Sonja are away, Inoue turns to Ann again. "I could perform an augury when I am back at my room," she offers. "Hurting others is a psychically intense experience and should leave readable residue to read. I could also try binding an interrogating the vampire spirit, but without evidence and Sonja's permission that would be extremely rude... I would also need to research the spell and sew a spell circle." She taps her fingers on her drink in thought. "If her possession is anything like mine, it should be very difficult for the spirit to lie to her."

"Oh, no, I think I am danced out," Inoue says. "This is not really my scene and it is by the grace of the spirits that I managed to not trip over my own feet before. You three have fun though!"

It was refreshing to dance with someone as skilled as Sonja or Ann. Frankly they were better than anyone else in her class, and they allowed Elissa to demonstrate her own skill: a good partner provided feedback in a way that was hard to describe.

"Swedish huh. Do you just put on the Scouser accent for fun" Elissa asked in the middle of one their routines

Sonja laughed.  "Nah, I never learned English at school so I watched a lot of telly and learned from that.  Do you watch 'Zed Cars' or 'The Liver Birds'? If you do, it'd explain a lot."

"We can slip out at lunchtime. We're in the Sixth Form now, so we're not treated quite as much like prisoners as the kids are."

She watched Elissa and Sonja dancing.

"Let's not do anything rude until we know if Sonja is actually a danger. She seems cool enough, and I don't want Elissa accusing me of trying to cheat to stop her from winning our bet. So you are possessed yourself. Who, or what, is doing that? What's it like?"

She didn't get up to dance; she wasn't going to leave Inoue alone. Inoue wasn't the most streetwise person Ann had ever met.

"Okay, if you're sure!" Inoue could study anywhere that wasn't a nightclub.

Inoue is curious about this bet, but decides to let it go for the moment. "Right now? No, I am just Inoue." She smiles. "It is an intense experience. Many kami are immensely powerful and it takes a strong will to not get swept away. It is like... riding a tidal wave, except the wave is inside you, and also you are the wave? Bad metaphor, sorry." She sips up the last of her drink, then peers into the glass with a slight look of disappointment.

"As for who and why... it depends." She sets the glass aside. "Suppose a construction site disturbs an old tomb and angers the spirits. I might invite one into myself to learn why it is hurting the workers, and it might use me to move their remains to a safer location where they can rest in peace. Or, I might have to wade into a vampire nest one day so I might call up the spirit of a samurai who died fighting vampires, borrowing his skills in exchange for granting him his revenge. Typically, it is a contract, each of us offering part of ourselves to the other in the pursuit of a common goal."

She taps her fingers against her knees. "Sometimes it is just for fun. It really is an incredible rush. You would be surprised how many kami are curious what it is like to feel the burn of exercise or experience the taste of a key lime pie, or to... you know..." Her hands tighten on the lap of her skirt, squeezing her legs. She smiles coyly. "Historically, many marriages between kami used miko ceremonies as proxies to consummate being wed... physically."

"I think I prefer 'Citizen Smith' and the 'Tooting Popular Front'" Elissa said, her eyes reflecting her enjoyment at what they were doing. She loved to dance, and with a superb partner like Sonja it was even better. She was also enjoying getting close to the other girl: there were some times when dancing should be 'a celebration of the horizontal from the vertical' and she was starting to move that way

"I hear they are going to make some more. Although with what's been happening recently I think 'The Tomorrow People' is more in line. I... don't really like watching Police series. But the Liver Birds is funny"

"So Sonja. You said you get the 'don't get old' stuff. How long ago did Mr Fangy and Unpleasant bite you? Put it another way: how long have you been this young and pretty"

Sonja grins and says, "Not long, it was six years ago in the West End of London.  Some out of date piece of shit from Percy Dashwood's mod.  I don't know whether you know anything about how vamps are made?  Boy were they shocked when broke open their coffins on the roof of Abbey Road studios in broad daylight".  At some point, the grin fades and she's deadly serious.

"The spirit and you have to agree then? So you can't force a vamp's demon into you, and it can't force itself into you? Ah, metaphorically force itself into you, that is."

Watching Elissa and Sonja, Ann got the feeling that the bet was slipping away. Oh well, good for her if it was.

"Consummate?" said Ann. "As in -. Oh. Have you helped any couples wed like that? You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. But have you done anything odd, beyond eating lime pie?"

"To an extent. I am not any more resistant to unwilling possession than any other human except insofar as I have specific training to remain calm and focused under such conditions. The spell I use to facilitate the process only sends out a psychic invitation and creates a safe, reinforced space within my soul for spirits to inhabit. I have a forced binding spell in my spellbook somewhere, but -- as I said before -- I would need to dig it out and prepare a ritual circle because I have never used it."

Inoue shakes her head. "Most Japanese spirits take a dim view of non-virgin shamans, so performing such a ceremony would be the end of a Deenelmaite sister's... career? Yeah, career." She tries to fish out the last few drops of her drink from the bottom of the glass. "I understand that English spirits are more promiscuous, though."

"As for anything odd, well... it is difficult for me to answer that question, such as my life is!" She chuckles. "We normally train until we are twenty but I was sent here to you long before that. I was basically just given some hastily copied advance reading and kicked across the pond with a 'good luck!' So I have not had a lot of opportunity to do anything interesting."

"What if the spirit doesn't want to leave. Can you just evict it from your body?"

Seeing Inoue struggling to drink every drop from her glass, Ann asked if she'd like another one.

"You've done well. One night out together and you're drinking and dancing in a club. I'm clearly a good influence on you. Or a bad one; I'm not sure there's a difference. But anyway, the important thing is that you're blending in. Apart from all the people checking you out, nobody is giving you a second look. Not bad for someone who's never done this before. I hope patrolling is always as easy and fun as tonight has been."

"But I think we should move on soon. Check out the Reality Checkpoint like we said earlier. Or look for vamps or Fae on the streets. Oh to be able to just stay at a place like this for the night and enjoy ourselves. Sonja seems fine, and there's no other dangers around here."

"No I don't know" Elissa said thoughtfully "I don't know much about vampires... except that they seem to be tribal, strong, tough. And in your case pretty and move beautifully" she moved to the edge of the dance floor

"Let's meet tomorrow Sonja. Lunch sounds great" she flashed an inviting smile "And maybe later we can go see a movie or something, if you want.  I think we are heading off now though. You keep well girl"
This message was lightly edited by the player at 07:06, Sat 19 Mar 2022.

In reply to The Hon. Elissa St. Clair (msg # 52):

Sonja smiles and says, "Okay, vi ses imorgon."

Elissa blew Sonja a kiss and headed to Ann and Inoue. "Hey girlz..." she said her eyes bright with the joy of what she'd been doing "Time to go walkies I think"

She waited until they were outside before "I didn't want to talk inside because we might be overheard. When that big 'pulse' happened... there were three people in there" she gave their descriptions (none was Sonja) "I had this feeling they were linked to it. Outside... I could feel a big presence. Can't describe it really. Felt... mmm... maybe half a mile, maybe less away. It was quite scary"

"I don't know what's going on: I've not 'felt' anything like this before... although the bright figure in the distance reminded me of those dreams I told you about Ann..."

Elissa can feel the brightness still, it's about two miles to the West now and moving Northwards.

The three people Elissa felt links to are leaving the club.

"That ... feeling. It's going North. It's not going slowly. Do we want to follow it, see what it is, where it is going... or do we want to go to a graveyard. You are the boss Ann. You decide" Elissa said gesturing in the direction she could sense 'whatever it was' in

Ann didn't need to consider the question.

"Let's follow it. The graveyard isn't going anywhere, and maybe we can get a lead on the Fae this way. Whatever it is, we should try to figure it out. Perhaps it will be a new ally. And perhaps I'll get to try out my new stake."

She looked at the surrounding streets before leading the way north.

"Come on, let's Scooby Doo this mystery."

Just then, she spotted the three people leaving.

"Those are the three, right Elissa? Let's see if they move towards the north. If not, I think I should follow them, and you two try to find the source of the feeling."