Ann and Elissa go hunting in a bright yellow world illuminated by streetlights.

Ann looked about them as they strolled through the cemetery. There was no sign of anybody.

"Here, vampire, vampire, vampire. Come get the stake that the nice Slayer's got for you."

She turned to Elissa.

"Is it cheating if we dig up the recently buried in the day time? Though come to think of it, that might be difficult to explain to the Old Bill. We should find out where the new plots are and wait there, though. We'd really be putting the stake in stake-out."

As they rounded a wizened tree, she asked, "So are you planning to see Sonja again? Or have you already seen her? You two seemed quite into each other."

"I am all for cheating, girl" Elissa said cheerfully. She had her little sports pack on her back with a cricket bat handle sticking out of it. "I don't know the magic involved though. Maybe nothing happens before they 'rise from the grave'. Or maybe they would dust. I think we'd have to dig them up though... which is a lot of work. At least this way they come to us"

"Hmm... Sonja." Elissa's cheerful mood evaporated as though Ann had flipped a switch. She felt it important to tell Ann something first before answering "Got to say, girl... you're nice company to be with. At school people would say rude words. Well not to my face of course. Not any more. It's nice you are accepting. I've not seen an ounce of bigotry in you."

"So I'm thinking a lot about her. She's dangerous and sexy. That makes being with her exciting... She's a creature of passion, and funny, and knows things.... So that's all uber cool. But ... shit girl... she only exists because of hatred. She shares a head with a demon. Could I kiss her during the night, knowing that there is a vampire inside her watching?"

"And hell... what if I... What is we... Suppose she was my first to ...er ... and we ...er... you know... went all the way? What if we made out or more and that caused her to let go of her hatred and the vampire takes over? Suppose I survived but only by killing her... How would I feel?"

"I know this is personal, but hell girl... there's not many people I can talk about this with. I sure as hell can't talk it over with mum. She'd freak out because Sonja's a girl, never mind the vampire bit. If it's 'too much information' we can change the topic to 'cricket scores'"

"I definitely don't want to discuss cricket scores. And you can always talk to me about what's bothering you. I get that having a demon in her head makes things difficult. Three is most certainly a crowd, and there's no way of getting rid of the vamp."

She gestured across the cemetery.

"Look out there. This place is filled with people who will never get to experience passion again. Well, I suppose the vampires will. My point is, you're going to spend enough time here once you die. You'll have all of eternity not to not do anything risky. Maybe it's just because I know that as a Slayer I can't really look forward to living long enough to get old, but I think we should enjoy life while we can. If I were you, I'd talk it through with her. If you're worried about the vampire taking over, imagine how she feels. You can move on to someone new, but she'll always have this problem. Maybe she'd rather take the risk than live life like a nun."

Her brow creased in thought.

"Come to think of it, I imagine that nuns do get up to that sort of thing a lot. How else are they going to spend their time, especially with no men around and not being allowed to do anything fun like go to a club? So maybe that was a bad example, but what does Sonja want? Does she really want to live a long life that isn't much of a life? Perhaps she thinks you're worth taking a risk for. And you need something more in your life than walking through midnight cemeteries with me. I can't even promise you a good staking."

"Shall we try over there? There are no vamps in this part of the cemetery."

"You know, girl, normally I give that advice. I say 'what's the worst that can happen'. And the usual answer is 'not much'. Then I say 'fuck it, do you want to be a nun your whole life'... "

"Here... what's the worse that can happen? Sonja might kill me when the vamp takes over. She might go all 'Stephen King' and hunt down family and friends first. I might have to kill Sonja... There's quite a lot of 'what's the worst that can happen'."

"Then... you know ... Sonja lives through hate. I ... I have a problem with that. Hatred damages you. I've seen it people. My dad tells me stories of wars that he fought in, about how the hatred of the people turns them into creatures as bad as the vampires. If she was ... say you ... and you hated someone. I'd try and help you get over it. But Sonja... if I try and help her 'get over it'... her vampire takes over... and then we're into 'whats the worse that can happen'"

"Yeah... that's why I said it's hard. It's not like 'I am in love with her' or anything. And she said 'no' anyway. I could probably push, but I don't think I will. Because... you know"

Elissa sighed. Then laughed at the nuns comment "I think they are asexual. Married to God. Literally I think"

She went back to the main topic, although in a way that said she was good if that was the end of the chat with Sonja

"I have more to life, girl. I'm good. I have an acting career lined up, I'm one of the best dancers the CCAT has ever seen and I might go audition for the Royal Ballet and if those too fail. I can always join the deadbeats in the House of Lords. Sonja gave me an idea. If I can work with the security services... maybe we can deal with the vampires 'officially'. And  ... you know ... I like being your sidekick, girl. We've saved people's lives. Maybe half a dozen so far. If we do this regularly... sure we'll loose some and it will hurt, but we will do a lot of good"

"I don't have a 'darth vader' for vampires. You do. What's it's telling you? My 'darth vader' is saying 'there is no disturbance in the force'. If yours says it's clear why don't we do another cemetary and then hit a pub that has a lock in."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:30, Thu 21 Apr 2022.

Somewhere someone (or perhaps it's a nightingale) is whistling.

"I know you've got more in your life than this. But dancing and slaying, well, they're not the same as having a love life. You once told me to find someone. Consider this that advice returned."

Ann pointed in the direction of the whistling.

"There's a disturbance in the Force is in that direction. But we should be careful; this isn't a freshly risen vampire. Far from it."

She started walking in that direction.

"The pub will have to wait, it seems. At least we'll get some action tonight. It might take your mind off your problems."

"Advice accepted and ... oh hell what's that?" Elissa said "I wonder if it's the same Fey we met last time... Or maybe ... well I guess we have to go see"

She chuckled at 'mind off problems'. "No it's all good. I wouldn't have mentioned it if you hadn't asked. But ... advice accepted and I will act on it"

The vampire is a fat white man in an icecream coloured suit that barely stretches over his corpulence.  He is whistling some kind of New Orleans Jazz or maybe Delta Blues number.  It's hard to tell, this stuff was old when your fathers were young.  He carries a cane and wears a straw hat on his head.

He stops when he sees you and tips his hat.  "Slayer.  Blue-haired not-Slayer with the skills but no watcher.  Good evening to the both of you.  What brings you to this particular graveyard."

"Good evening to you too, Colonel Sanders. We're just out looking for a bit of exercise before bedtime. Though from the look of you, your heart is likely to give out before we get the chance to stick a stake through it."

She pulled out a stake and settled into a crouch.

"But you haven't told us why you're in this cemetery. You look and whistle like you should be in the American South. So what brings you to little old me in Cambridge?"

"Not a slayer. Just the sidekick" Elissa said pulling out her cricket bat. A cricket bat made for a truely excellent club substitute and had the value that the police wouldn't hassle her over it. Elissa didn't like this repartee. The less 'human' the vampire was, the easier it was. Thinking of them as mindless killers was a lot easier than fighting this quite polite and obviously perceptive gentleman. And his words begged many questions: how did he know that Ann was the Slayer? Did it show up on the vampire's 'Darth Vader' sense. And how did it know that she was a bit like Ann but different

She waited for Ann to lead. Elissa was the sidekick and would back her play

"Mah name is Jules Duchon", says the fat vampire, "And this is the fourth cemetery I've visited tonight looking for you two.  I am here on behalf of the godawful English poet to offer a truce until the fairies have finished the really stupid shenanigans they're fixing to get themselves into and threatening to take everyone else with them."  As he speaks he grows slowly smaller.

Roll Perception and Notice.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:56, Thu 21 Apr 2022.

"A truce? Would this involve you no longer feeding on humans, or are you just looking for me to stop killing your kind? Because that seems like a one-way trade. And what exactly are the fairies looking to do? Oh, and who's this English poet?"

OOC:
20:27, Today: Ann Winters rolled 9 using 1d10+5.  Perception + notice. – 9. That's a success level of 1

"I have no idea", said the vampire.  "Personally I loathe the taste of human so I'd say yes but I've no idea what William means.  Oh yes, the poet, he's called William the Bloody not because he's a vampire but because his poetry is so bloody awful.  Apparently that's funny in English.  I daresay he sent me here in the hope you'd put an end to me just like Mrs Parris did when I was alive.."

"Ah the nihilistic 19th century poet" Elissa stated. She was with Ann on the need to bash the vampire. It was interesting though that the vampires had sent an emissary. That was deeply worrying. Deeply deeply worrying. It implied a lot of things and none of the good

Of course the vampire could just be trying to keep alive.

"Got your back, girl" she said very quietly. She wanted Ann to know that she'd go with whatever the slayer decided. The words did offer an opportunit though

"He doesn't like you. Sent you here with a letter stapled to your forehead saying 'please kill me'. Do you want to do him a dirty? What can you tell us about him that he won't like?"

Jules is about half the size he was when you first saw him.  "He's an ignorant London pleb but I won't betray him.  Sorry ladies."  He tips his hat and says, "I bid you adieu and goodnight."  He is still getting smaller and smaller.

"So you're not a vamp, right? Not liking the taste of blood would be like a cow that turned its nose up at the taste of grass. Are you a fairy? As in, the Fae."

The stake in her hand was looking less useful by the second.

"Keep an eye open around us. He might be a diversion." she whispered to Elissa.

"You asked for a truce. Aren't you going to wait around until we give you an answer?"

Elissa started to put her bat away "We're talking" she said to the creature of unknown provenance. It was disturbing to realise that the vampires had alliances with creatures that had powers like this. It meant it wasn't just 'vampires' which was bad enough, but 'vampires and their allies'. Jesus this just bigger and bigger. It started with one long vamp. Then it was 'William the Blood and his psycho mates controlling the other vamps' and now it was 'William the Bloody, his psycho mates, all the vampires, and their allies from other demonic races'... Could the day get any worse?

Still they had stuff to do. Questions to ask before the creature ran away "If we were to say 'yes' to the deal, what would it mean, and how would we let you know"

"Theoretically,"  says Jules, "As you suggested, William and his coterie stop drinking blood from living humans for the duration.  I know it's possible because contrary to your suggestion, I am a vampire but I haven't drunk human blood since 1802.  I imagine that he will but he'll steal it from a blood-bank.  That's the theory anyway but of course, I wouldn't trust him as far as I could row the Mary Rose." Now he's barely the size of a child and yet still has the shape of a middle aged fat man.

"So the vampires won't attack anyone and I can concentrate on the fairies? What is it the fairies are doing that has the undead banding together in fear?"

"How do we let you know if we accept the deal"  Elissa added urgently "We need tonight to decide. Oh... and fucking well done if you haven't drunk human blood. Respect man."

"Just don't hunt any except the new born," says Jules.  "They're fair game but there shouldn't be any.  It will be obvious if the truce is either broken or not accepted."  As he finishes speaking, all that is left is half a dozen small mice disappearing rapidly into the undergrowth and he is gone.

"I didn't expect to meet a -" she struggles for the right phrase, "- vegetarian vampire. Our new supernatural lives keep getting weirder and weirder. Not that I trust the vampires, but if they stopped attacking humans then I'd be happy to strike that deal. Though when even the person proposing it says he doubts this William the Bloody, it makes me wonder whether it's worth it. What do you think? It should give us some nights off if the vamps keep to it."

"Hey... I am delighted to meet a vegetarian vampire" Elissa said looking at the mice in awe, and giving them a little curtsey. Something hard to do in trousers, but it looked like she had practiced it a lot "I don't have a yearning to kill everything we meet, just the ones that are a menace to people"

"We don't need to decide... that's the cool thing. We currently are only hunting the babies anyway, and that's how we say 'we accept the deal'... we just carry on doing what we are doing now. If we are going to hunt the Terrible Trio... oh I forgot to tell you 'you know who'" She wasn't going to use Sonja's name where she could be overheard by mice "said there were three of them... If we decide that, well ... our actions tell them the deal is off"

"There's nothing like a stake through the heart to make it clear that a deal is off. But do we even need to do that? If the trio aren't hurting humans, I say we shouldn't take the risk of going after them. But there should be no more new-borns, unless the vamps breaking the deal. I'd like to discuss it with Miss Casey. Maybe this sort of thing has happened in the past. It would be nice to know whether it was a trap to get the Slayer off-guard."

She looked around at the quiet cemetery.

"I guess this does mean that we can go to the pub now, rather than check for new-borns elsewhere. A girl could get used to this truce business."

This message was deleted by the player at 20:25, Fri 22 Apr 2022.

What I don't know is 'What's the vampire social structure'. Maybe Alice knows" Elissa mused "See girl, is it even meaningful to say 'the vampires' as though there is one group and we can make a deal with it? Do they have a vampire king? Or do they have 'little clans or families'?"

"As far as I know there are three of the them in William The Bloody's little group. The Main Man. Then Druscilla who is as much a psychopath as a prophetess. Finally one called Angelus, although there is doubt whether he's with them, or suffering from some curse. But are there ten other families like that? Or does he rule with an Iron Fist and there are no renegades?" Elissa sighed "I think we need a Vampire 101 lesson from Alice .. unless you've already had it"

"She's given me a lot of practical lessons on vampires: where the heart is, sunlight, holy water. Useful for turning them into a fine powder, but not for understanding how they work together. So you're right, we should ask her, and also find out exactly who these people with the funny names are: William the Bloody, Drusilla, Angelus, Jules Duchon. If they're not rising from the grave, I wonder where they stay during the day."

She put her stake away.

"I've got enough work with school, and my mocks are coming up. I'd embrace a pause in patrolling and Slaying. But they sound about as trustworthy as politicians. But it's nice to hope. So what's the plan for the remainder of the night?"

"I don't think this 'truce' will change anything" Elissa said sadly "I mean it's not like we were making plans to kill the Terrible Trio. The new vamps are going to keep popping up... I think the 'slayer gig' is just getting started"

"Do you remember girl, I said we had to plan R&R into this. We can't keep a 24/7 duty cycle going forever. No one can. If you try it will kill you. I'd say I'm surprised the Watchers don't tell you this, but you know what I think of them: to them you are a disposable component who they don't want to get too powerful, so they make sure you won't last long. You can see that in the things they do and don't do, and in the talk of the 'conservatives'. They've had centuries to get this right... so what you experience from them is deliberate not just casual"

"Part of that R&R is not patrolling every night. Even exercise freaks" which she'd been called more than once "only exercise hard six days a week. Me I do a three days on, one day off. The only thing that changed with super powers is that now I do more, and can't do it at the gym with other people watching. Which sucks by the way. Your body and mind need time off. Both need time to heal. Exercise...fighting... you know the mechanisms right? need healing time to be the best."

"If I was you I would declare tomorrow a 'no patrol night'. Why don't we hit a couple more graveyards so that you don't feel guilty tomorrow. And maybe we'll find a vamp who knows where the Terrible Trio hide out at day. Or maybe nothing. Tomorrow night... let's just go for a beer together? You can come to the Hurricane and try out the Mosh pit. I think the new you will like it"

"There should be no more newborns. They're only created by vamp attacks, so if we still see them, we know the truce has been broken. Though obviously, people buried today still need to be dealt with. And I'm not so sure that I need R&R like normal people; I only sleep for a few hours a night, and my body recovers from tiredness and injuries super fast. There are some advantages to being the Slayer. Not that I wouldn't like some time off to enjoy myself."

She led the way out of the cemetery.

"You've been trying to get me to the Hurriane for a while now. Alright, I'll give it a go. What sort of threads should I wear? I'm guessing my glammiest disco clothes and platforms are out?"

"Sure" Elissa said not pushing it "Clothes... well ... see ... theres a thing here. You get punks going, and you get wannabee punks. The punks wear whatever the hell they want. The wannabees wear things to fit in with the punk style. Which is kind of the opposite of real punk, if get what I mean"

"So just wear what you feel good in. There's some basics, which I don't think would trouble you. In the mosh pit... we don't want to really hurt people. So spikes on the clothes or in the hair are mostly out. I'll wear my spiked collar, but that's not going to hurt anyone. Footwears important... I wear Shitkickers. They are probably the best. And make a good fashion statement. You will end up getting your feet trodden on, and having metal in the shoes is good thing. Most people would wear leather jackets to stop getting hurt. That doesn't really matter in your case... but if you can ... wear it anyway so people don't get surprised"

"It's not really about smashing people. We're all in there for a physical good time while listening to the music. There's obligations. If someone goes down... we get them up as fast as possible. It's everyone's job to stop accidental trampling in the pit. Occasionally someone comes along who thinks he's Bruce Lee and starts punching people. He won't last long.  The basics are to use your body flat surfaces. Shoulders. Open hands. The whole of your front."

"If you were a 'normal' you'd probably end up with a bruise or two. I don't think you will"

OOC: Next night, at the Hurricane

Ann made her way into the smoky club, wending her way past sweaty teenagers as she looked for Elissa. The floor felt like it had a century of spilled drinks on it, and she felt a sucking motion every she lifted her feet.

She hoped she fit in, with a yellow t-shirt and not-too-flared jeans. She didn't own a leather jacket, and wasn't made of money to buy one just for a night out, so that bit of Elissa's advice she'd ignored. And the shitkickers: she only owned fairly girly shoes. She was wearing her school shoes tonight, and would rely on her Slayer toughness to deal with punks jumping on her shoes. A light spray of Charlie and she hoped she was all set.

Not spotting Elissa, she got to the bar and ordered a pint of lager. She wasn't a beer drinker, but didn't want to order a babycham and stand out. She took a sip, noting how warm it was, and waited.

"Hey girl. Looking good. " Elissa was in her full Punk look. Her green hair wild. Tiny studs on her leather jacket, and small spikes on her leather collar. She too was wearing jeans but on her feet she had industrial shit kickers. The kind of footwear that if you had an accident with a pile hammer, the pile hammer would break and the boots would still be fine. Her makeup was aggressive and frankly brutal... saying to the world 'I like this, and I don't care what you think'. She was wearing a perfume too: something slightly vanilla and maybe a hint of citrus. It was a perfume whose name she liked: 'sweet honesty'.

In her hand she had a bottle of something called 'Old Peculier'. "Try this girl. See what you think. Totally different drink to what you've got. It's a bit stronger, but that shouldn't matter to you."

"It's not really started yet. Something will happen and it will kick off. It's not like it's orchestrated. Say... is your Darth Vader saying their's trouble here. I know about half the people.. I'd hate to dust 'em. Quite a lot of them know me by the name 'Blue'... and yeah I know the hair's green today. It's not like I can control it..."

ooc Music is probably a little like this. But louder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn4bfnhwq0s
Beer review: https://www.thekitchn.com/beer...beer-sessions-168455

GM: Is my 'Darth Vader' going off?

Neither of you has Spidey Senses tingling.  There are no vampires in this club and the Fae are behind the walls for now.

Ann took a sip of the Old Peculier, then handed it back with a grimace at its bitter flavour. She quickly washed the taste away with her lager.

"No vampires or other nasties to be worried about here tonight," she said as she dodged her head out of the way of a punk's hair spikes as he walked by. "At least not yet. Let's hope the truce holds for at least one night."

She looked about. "It's nice here, in a sort of grungy way. I can see why you like it, Blue. It fits you. So what do we do until it kicks off? Ask the band if they know any Cliff Richard and watch the disappointment on their faces?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:20, Sun 24 Apr 2022.

"Thanks" Elissa said with a smile and took a swig herself "I see we'll need to educate your tastebuds. I bet you don't like guiness either"

"He won't last in the pit if he goes in like that" Elissa said frowning at 'Mr Spike'. "It's like I was saying about spikes on your clothes" she showed her studs "These aren't going to hurt anyone." she lifted her neck to show her collar "And ... I had this before... but now I think I'm going to wear it more. I think it's going to spoil a vamps day if they try to bite. I'm even thinking about a tattooed cross..."

"As for what now. We can go dance and see if that kicks something off. Or just talk. So if we're talking ... what's your idea of Mr Right? What does he look like? Tall, dark, handsome and rich. Or clever, funny... "

Ann laughed when Elissa mentioned tattooing a cross on herself.

"Sorry, I just had an image of a vamp attacking you, then another rising in your body and being all pleased with herself for a moment before she spotted her new body's tattoo. It would have just enough time to give a Willie Coyote look at the camera before it became flame-grilled."

"But it looks good. That collar should also keep away fangs from you. Perhaps we should try to start a fashion of collars or chokers. It might give the girls of this town a little more time if they run into the wrong type of stranger in a darkened alley."

At the question of Ann's preferred type of man, she gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"I guess tall, dark, handsome and rich would be a good start. Clever and funny would be a nice bonus. And since no other girls like those things, I get to have my pick. But really, I just want someone to spend some time with. Not fighting vampires in cemeteries time, but quality time, romantic time. Holding hands on long walks, going for a meal at Wimpy. Someone to make me feel like a normal girl for a little while, that I'm important to him, not the whole world."

She took another sip of her lager.

"But he'd better get a move on, or he's likely to find that I've gone the way of the other Slayers."

She looked about the club.

"Not many Warren Betty lookalikes here. So what's your ideal type then? One these punks, maybe?"

Elissa grimaced "Gallows humour..." she shuddered for a moment and then took a swig of the Old Peculier "But I tell you if I do go, that's what I would like to happen. So ... probably I'll do it... You should too. Mines going to be right over my heart I think."

She nodded at the Anns comments "Yeah I know what you mean about romantic. Mind you my romantic isn't 'holding hands' though. Not really. It's dancing together. Or running together. Or fighting together. I mean I get holding hands I guess... but" she shrugged and took another drink before "I like things physical. I like to use my body"

"Maybe we'll find someone. I mean I'm happy to try a little kissing and groping to explore, but I've not found anyone I'd let in my panties. That's going to take Mr or Miss Right... and I've no idea who that will be." Elissa looked around "You know, girl, if we went in and started maybe something will kick off...." she took a last swig of the bottle, tossed it into a rubbish bin and stood indicating the floor

"You want to get physical and use your body when you meet the right person? I think we're all looking forwards to doing that."

She drank a little more of her pint, then put the glass down on a nearby table.

"Come on then, let's show them how it's done," she said as she took Elissa's hand and they headed to the dance floor.

Once out there, she dropped into a simple dance, matching the beat but not showing off. Not yet. She didn't want to put off other potential dancers by setting too high a standard.

Elissa spluttered a laugh "Ann..girl..." she hadn't expected that from Ann "But yes"

"So isn't it interesting how when we were growing up everyone wanted us to do our best, and it was never really enough. And now... well we have to hide our best. You could win half the olympic sports... but you can't possibly compete."

"We just dance a bit...and when the time is 'right' either we or someone else calls for one. It's better when there is live music of course but hey" Elissa shrugged "We do what we can"

Unlike Ann she wasn't 'pulling her punches' she always danced the very best she could. She would run slow, lift smaller weights, pretend with other things. But when she danced she let go of all of that. The cares of the world, her worries over 'the Slayer' and what it meant, over Vampires and Fey... they all faded away and she just merged with the music.

Nobody else was bothered either.  Soon enough a mosh began from swaying slamming bodies all dancing exactly like Ann with some pogoing mixed in and some good old fashioned body slamming.  Despite the view from outside, it's not violence, it's humans enjoying the exuberance of bodies in motion dragged along by a fast moving beat.  It takes energy but never too much and it will leave bruises but c'est la vie.

"Competing in the Olympics really wouldn't be fair. I could throw a shot put further than the most steroids-jacked East German could dream. And I'm not sure that the sprinters could keep up with me even if they were allowed to ride motorbikes. Besides, I'm used to not being good at sports, so it's no big loss. Now if only my Slayer powers helped me pass exams, then they'd really be useful."

As the dance floor filled up, she enjoyed letting go and being part of the crowd. Her slight frame was pushed around, but she didn't use her strength to push back. For one night, she was determined to be just a normal girl. She didn't doubt that she'd have had bruises all over her body if it wasn't for her Slayer healing. But she didn't care as long as she was enjoying herself.

"I think I see why you like it here," she shouted to Elissa when the press pushed them close together. "Is this as crowded as it gets?"

"You mean it's unfair because you are better?" Elissa said with a laugh "Each of them has a unique advantage. They got to the olympics right? Maybe it was that their mum was driven, or their country gave them steroids, or because they were born with the right genes. Each one of them... well it's unfair if they compete with anyone else. You being Slayer is as much a part of you as their genes are part of them. With the difference that you have to go out at night and do the Slaying. You earn your 'being better' girl"

Then they got swept up, and the excitement level shot through the roof. Elissa felt that adrenaline rush she got when she entered the ring, or in a fight behind the Apollo. With the difference that no one was trying to beat her. She could just get in, get physical, get the rushes, and no one really got hurt "Hell no, girl. If there's a live band on here there'd be 10 times as many. And we'd be having people stage diving... now that's for crazy people..." the last was said with the laugh in her eyes that implied she was one of the crazy people, and had been before she changed. "Just keep an eye out for newbies. And for 'Spike'"

This wasn't dancing anymore. Elissa didn't have to do her best. She just used her body weight and not her strength as she bumped into other people, using the flat of her body. She kept a particular eye out for 'Spike' the guy with the spiked hair... if he entered she might well ensure that he had a little accident and wouldn't be entering any more. Not until he'd had a hair cut. She spotted quite a few other people with the same idea, so she suspected there would be a queue

"I don't think that 'Spike' will be joining us," said Ann, pointing to the punk being helped from the club by a couple of his mates, clearly the worse for the drinks he'd had.

She'd been a little afraid of falling to the floor and being trampled, but she found that the advantage of being in such a tight cluster of people was that when she was pushed, there was always someone else to lean against.

Finding herself getting sweaty, she made her way to the edge of the dancefloor, only to find that someone had nicked her beer. She pushed her way back in.

"Elissa, do you want another drink? Unless you want to stay here."

"Sure" Elissa said. She was good with staying here for a while. She could loose herself here: forget everything but the music and the physicality of it. No worries about parental relationships, or would she find Mr or Mrs Right. None of her new worries about vampires of flying men on horses.

She headed to the edge with Ann and extricated herself with a practiced shove or two "It's not as good as starting a fight behind the Apollo for getting away from things, but it's second best" she said following Ann to the bar. "The difference between fighting a vampire, and fighting like that, is quite big by the way. In the first it's kill or be killed, in the second... well it's rather like in there. There are rules, even if no one can quite tell you what they are. But basically people get lumps and bumps and that's it. Sometimes people forget the rules, but that doesn't last long. Like in there"

"We should get you to a Roda. That's about ten steps back from even here. It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on. "

Ann bought a new round of drinks.

"Cheers. I don't think I'd ever want to get into a fight. Not by choice. I'd be very happy if the vampires and demons all disappeared and things went back to how they were. Or rather, how I thought things were. Not that it matters; I've got to keep fighting until I lose and Slayer number 627, or whatever her count is, gets called up. Lucky girl: she'll get a body that's more powerful than anybody else's, and a short life to enjoy it in."

She moved away from the bar to make room for others, watching the dance floor.

"What's a Roda? Is it crazier than this?"

"Fatalism will get you killed, girl" Elissa said buntly "Snap out of it. I'm in this with you, and I want to live for a long long time. That's why we are here remember? It's to recharge our mental batteries."

"Look.... we put the boot in the bad guys we can fight, and if they are too tough, we do it another way. There's always another way. The Watchers can feed you that 'conservative faction misogynistic it's the slayer on her own' crap all they like, but we don't need to live that life. We make our own life." Elissa looked as though she wanted to answer the question on the Roda... but this was more important.

"I know, I know. I'll do all that I can to postpone my death, but let's not pretend it's not hanging over my head every day and especially every night."

She took a sip of her drink.

"I intend to keep winning, don't worry about that. I'll collect my Old Age Pension from the Post Office in the morning, then go out and show the vamps that I've still got it in the evenings. But in between, we'll have to take each day as it comes. It's not that different to normal people's lives; one of my school friends was hit and killed by a car when she was eight. You have to get your living in while you can."

She gave Elissa a sideways glance.

"So is a Roda a big secret? Is that why you avoided the question? Do you need to kill me now that I've found out that it exists?"

"Let me tell you a story. When I was 11 years old, my dad took my to a beautiful country called Angola" Elissa said "I don't really know why: I was only 11 right? I think he was worried about some people, and wanted me out of England. Mum was hysterical when I returned... "

"Anyway... It was a country ripped by civil war. He was part of a military unit. They fought battles, they killed people. Sometimes they were killed. It's the first time I saw people die. The first time I heard the sound of a bullet fired in anger, people screaming as they died... The biggest thing I learnt there... apart from some cool Capoeria moves, was that it's your mind set that keeps you alive."

"My dad was the boss, and he made sure that every single one of them knew... knew in his heart... that he was going to get through this. Because the moment you start thinking 'I am going to die...' well you will. You get what you plan for, you get what you think about. In my heart I know I am going to get through this. Dad was at war for twenty five years before he vanished... and I don't know if that was war or something else. Some of his friends have been going longer. They are alive because of that mind set. They still go to war. They get shot at, bombed, snipped at. But their mindset keeps them alive."

"You need to be the same, girl. You are a soldier. Without the training you need to keep you alive, so you have to self learn. From what I've seen the Watchers aren't any good at basic military training, so maybe we have to sort that out ourselves."

"The Watchers, well, Miss Casey, have been training me. She's pushed me hard, and trained me to fight both unarmed and with all sorts of weapons. Take away my super-strength and reflexes, and I'd still be a pretty competent fighter. Maybe not Bruce Lee, but I could still give him a run for his money."

"But I'm not a soldier. If his officer tells a soldier to go fight somewhere, he has to do that or become a deserter. I'm my own person. I decide who to fight and when. The Watchers don't own me, or pay me a soldier's wage for that matter, and so it all comes down to what I choose to do. Not that I'll always have a choice; if the world is literally going to end and only the Slayer can put things to right, there's not much point in me sitting it out to stay safe."

She took a long gulp of her lager.

"I know that I'm in a war, and not one of my choosing. I don't intend to shuffle off this mortal coil any sooner than I have to. But I'm also an eighteen-year-old girl who really just wants to go to pubs and discos. So I think I should be allowed a little gallows humour."

She stood up.

"And tonight was supposed to be my night off. So no more talk of war. Tonight my views on war are one hundred percent in alignment with Edwin Starr's." She held out her hand. "Come on, we're here to dance and have fun."

"Ah your view of the military is from World War two movies" Elissa said "It's not been like that for decades, but Hollywood loves to portray it badly. But no I wasn't talking about fighting. Soldiers don't spend a lot of time practicing that kind of fighting. Hardly any actually. Let's talk about it when it's not our night off. If you want I'll introduce you to Dad's friends."

She gave a happy laugh at the offer of the hand and took it "Sure, girl. Let's give this a go. The mosh pit is the highlight though. Can't do ballet here"

Ann led Elissa by the hand towards the mosh pit. On being told that it was impossible to do ballet at the club, she turned and performed an arabesque. She hadn't done any ballet since she gave up the classes when she was seven, but being the Slayer gave her a grace and flexibility that made up for her lack of experience.

Laughing, and still holding Elissa's hand, she brought her leg back down and pulled her friend into the mosh pit. They were soon being knocked around my sweaty teenagers. As they were being squeezed together, she asked, "So are you going to tell me what a Roda is?"

"It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on, girl. Really" Elissa said "There's a club in Manchester. Haven't seen one around here, but there's a club in London."

"It's ... I think I have to show you. It's like martial arts mixed with dance mixed with a game mixed with showing off. The Roda's the game." she shoved a couple of over enthusiastic moshers a little distance away then continued. "Part 'cooperate', part fight, all fun. Done to music. If you go deep there's religion. Like Kung Fu / Karate either goes to Buddism or Taoism, Capoeria goes to Candomble. And Candomble..." another little shove "is basically what our girl Inoue does. Which makes you think right? How much of the the things we think are just religious junk, are actually real"

"My Dad taught me. Then I went to Angola... and I tell you there's some really lovely stuff in it. I'd like to go back and learn more if it wasn't a war zone."

"That sounds crazy."

She paused to push a boy twice her size and weight effortlessly away.

"But I guess we could get the train down to London one day to try it out. If the world isn't literally about to end that day. It sounds interesting, though we'd need to pull our punches."

"I didn't believe in anything supernatural until recently. Ghosts, ghouls, gods, they all seemed so unlikely. But now I know better, and Miss Casey says there are hell gods. So maybe there are some divine powers out there, and there may be some basis to some religions."

She laughed when Elissa mentioned avoiding Angola because it was a war zone.

"What do you think this is? I don't mean the club," she added as she pushed away a couple of punks, "I mean this city. Cambridge may seem safe to most people, but we know better. You'd probably be less likely to get hurt out there."

As she said that, she was sent staggering by someone slamming into her back.

"How do normal girls learn to take the mosh pit? Two months ago and I'd have been limping home covered in bruises."

"It's mostly non contact, girl" Elissa said "You never have to hit someone to win the game. The rules are sweet: you can only hit another person if they are at your skill level or preferably above, and you totally suckered them. Like totally. It's called Malifica. I'm an actress, and I learnt more about acting in the Roda than I did at school. If you try and hit when they see it coming, or are weaker than you... you pretty much auto loose. I say rules... that's a bit strong... but except for rank beginners I've only seen people get hit hard a handful of times"

"Sometimes we play it at '1 mile an hour' sometimes at 'Duracell Bunny' speeds. It's the most fun at 1 mile an hour, but the Duracell Bunny is hot and sweaty and that's good in a different way. The goal is to control space... in time with the music of course. What's cool about it, is it teaches how to stay alive in a fight, how to run away from a fight safely, how to 'win' and 'survive' without fighting or hurting someone. Karate's response to a problem is to crush it. Capoeira's is to 'not get hurt', 'work out what is going on', 'run away or hit them really hard where they didn't see it coming'"

"As for here" she laughed "I've been fighting and getting hit since I was... well as long as I can remember. Bruises are just lack of body conditioning. And this is a great way to get it. You start at the edge for a bit. And after a few sessions, your body adapts and copes. Lots of martial arts... not the ones I like mind you, but I've tried them... start with a ten minute warm up where you hit each other. Just to get used to getting hit. I prefer coming here. Same effect, same body conditioning and not the pain"
This message was last edited by the player at 08:53, Sat 07 May 2022.

"I don't think I need conditioning. Not any more. I barely get hurt with most blows, and I recover so quickly from them. Which is useful, because if I went to school with a split lip and black eye most weeks, I think they'd send the police around to check on my old man."

"A slow dance-fight sounds fun, and funny. I'd like to try that out." A sweaty teenager bumped into Ann at that point, her face squashed into her chest. She wiped her face and turned back to Elissa.

"A little more refined than here too." She pushed back her hair from her face. "But it is nice to let go, to not worry about everything else. But I don't get it. Why do you like to fight? I fight when I need to, and I practice a lot when I don't, but it's just something that needs doing. What makes you go out looking for fights?"

"I don't think you do either, girl" Elissa agreed "Slayer perqs right? I do though. Or at least I think I do." she gave a laugh and a little shove in the Mosh "Who knows. We are into fantasy land now right?"

"Anyway the Roda is a ton better with other people cheering along who know what is happening, so how about we just have a quick go learning the moves before we go to the Roda. They are not like you see on boxing, or Green Hornet or Wonder Woman, but being the Slayer I think it will take you ten minutes to get them. And... it might be something the vampires haven't seen before... the whole point of Capoeria is to trick the attacker and hit from a direction they aren't expecting. That sounds great to me if we have to fight some big bad"

"Come on girl, let's find a place we won't hurt other people and we can try. This isn't Capoeria music, but at least it has a beat."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:35, Sun 08 May 2022.

"OK, let's try it now."

As they moved away from the centre of the mosh, Ann looked about her. She always felt uncomfortable being out of place, and doing a slow fight rather than joining in the pushing and jumping with the others would do that. At least she didn't know any of the others at the club.

"I guess you'd best lead. So we just sort of slow fight, right? To the music?"

Elissa dragged up a couple of chairs "Let's pretend these are the musicians" she said "We start here. Remember every rule can be broken, but only if it's cool. So the rule is 'start crouched down, touch each other's hands and then we cartwheel away'. We're doing 'Angola Capoeria' so we do a really low, really slow cartwheel. We keep our legs tucked up so that at any time we could kick the other person, or parry a kick. As we do this just 'mirror' me. Don't worry about 'attacking' or 'defending' just learn the moves."

"Big things: we only touch the ground with five things: hands, feet and head. So no elbows or knees or anything. Other big things: we're not fighting we are learning skills that help in a fight... oh and have fun. If it's not fun, it's not working"

"Normally the people are singing and clapping around us, and that gives energy. But there's no shortage of energy here" Elissa gave a wave at the mosh pit and then moved to the base of the chairs

"After the cartwheel can you do a really slow spinning kick? Put you hands on the ground as you do so to give power like this...." she showed. "I'll go under it, then I'll do it to you and you repeat what I do..."

Here are some videos of Angola style capoeria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBfHb1RmS8g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gPi78MfVG4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...channel=EdgarBombril

It's not long before you've attracted an audience, which somewhat pisses off the Snivelling Shits^* on stage.  After a while, punks are asking to join in hoping Elissa will teach them Capoeira as well.

^*  Yes that's really the name of a punk band who were around in 1978.

A cartwheel followed by a spinning kick was easy enough for Ann to pull off. If anything, she had to hold back a little; no acts of superhuman strength or dexterity in front of witnesses.

Soon she was following Elissa's lead, feeling the beat of the dance.

"I get it now. It's like fighting and dancing, but all in slow motion."

She noticed the crowd watching them.

"It looks like you've picked up a fan club. Why don't you try teaching one of them. I'll get another round in."

Elissa nodded to Ann. She'd join her in a moment. But first she had some repairing to do...

"Hey guys. Girlz. There's a band here. Let's go dance there" Elissa said cheerfully "But if you want I'll set up a club. I'll stick up a sign on the wall tomorrow and you can sign up. If there's enough signatures I'll start. Takes about six months to a year to get so you look super cool"

She threw a 'sorry' gesture to the Snivelling Shits, and tried to lead the group back to the mosh pit.

Ann made her way through the crowd to the bar and finally got the barman's attention to buy another drink for Elissa and herself. She looked over her shoulder while she waited. Hopefully, the Snivelling Shits wouldn't be too annoyed about having their crowd taken away for a bit, though Ann wasn't too sure how likely they were to resort to violence if they were offended. Not that Elissa couldn't handle herself even without Ann as backup.

Ann make her way back through the crowd to a table, sipping her drink while watching Elissa dance with her admirers.

Giovanni Dadomo, lead singer of the Snivelling Shits makes a thumbs up gesture to Elissa and grins.  They continue paying as the pied Elissa leads her punks in the dance.

Elissa could see Ann was 'on edge' and had gone into 'protector mode'. She gave the other girl a grateful 'thank you' smile. It looked though as though the disruption in the evenings entertainment was resolved.