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.