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[img]https://i.imgur.com/FGD7pKH.png[/img] 
Location: Hilton hotel, Las Vegas (lobby)
Time: About 9 pm in the Evening [/center]

After a good half an hour of explaining nearly everything new in the room, Ben had managed to finally lay his things upon the bed in an orderly fashion. He glanced at his watched. He had realized a while ago he wouldn’t have time to complete his set task before leaving, but it was still worth trying. As he discarded some plastic wrapping from a health bar, he turned to Katarina and examined her a moment. His thoughts trailed back to when they originally came. 

She reminded him of a little kid. So excited and filled with wonder, it irritated him to waste the time going over what he already knew. However, he didn’t make it known on the outside. One thing was pretty clear: he couldn’t simply leave her within the hotel room or the whole thing might go up in flames in his absence. 

Ben sighed. His hand zipped up the bag and turned to the newly risen vampire,[color=chocolate] “Alright, are you ready to head down to the lounge? I want to see if anyone arrived before we go shopping.”[/color]    

Katarina gaped at the room. So much technology, so much progress, so much [i]stuff[/i]! A television, a separate room called a bathroom, with something called a shower? She’d have to test that out later. Kat looked out from the window at the city of Las Vegas. The very view of the city astonished her - the idea that a metropolis of this magnitude, this sophistication, could be constructed seemingly out of nothing in the vast deserts of… No Water? Nevada? Katarina giggled at the joke she had just thought of. Small wonder the locals called it Nevada... there [i]was[/i] no water here. [color=921111]“Nevada… Las Vegas… it’s all so much to take in. Amerika in general is so huge, it’s nothing like even the largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire when I visited them. The idea of a place like this… larger than Koln, or Lubeck, but built in a [i]desert[/i]? I don’t know what to say.”[/color] 

Kat walked back over to her beau and kissed him on the cheek, giving a sly smile. [color=921111]”You’ll have to take me around it sometime. At night… I heard on the plane from several people that Vegas really… ah, what did they say, they said it ‘comes alive at night’. Sort of like me, ja? But for now...”[/color] Katarina sighed and played with a strand of her silver hair, pulling slightly at the neck of a leather jacket Ben had lent to her. Sadly, it was a couple sizes too small - as were most of Ben’s clothes - but it would serve the purpose for now; Katarina could do without the added risks of using supernatural powers in such a heavily-built up and highly-populated environment. Which was also all the more reason she was thankful Ben was close at hand… just in case she grew thirsty.

[color=921111]”Sorry. Back to the task at hand. I’m ready. Unlike you… I don’t have lots of luggage to carry around with me.”[/color] 

[color=chocolate] “It also means you don’t have anything to wear aside from my clothes. We’ll have to go clothes shopping as well, or I’ll run out of them at this rate. I’ve already got an issue with keeping them intact,”[/color] Ben commented. He had struggled not to react to her kiss as the sensation still tingled on his skin and created goosebumps across the surface. A brief memory of Kat’s teeth reaching for his neck pulsed through his mind causing him to brace. Immediately as it came, it was gone. 

Ignoring his sudden fear, Ben moved toward the door then gestured for Kat to follow him out into the lobby. 

Marie sat legs crossed on a burgundy sofa in a small section of the lobby, nearest the breakfast bar and across from the main elevator. It was a comfortable enough position that kept her from tapping her feet on the carpet in anticipation. She stared down at her mobile phone, the fluorescent light from the dining area glinting off the dark screen giving the illusion of a notification or incoming message. She’d been waiting for ten minutes or so, taking in the drab lobby decor which held the familiar hotel charm she’d become accustomed to over years of family vacations. 

Holt too seemed impatient, pacing around the sofa as a spectral feline, impishly pawing at the table cloths and throws that were neatly tucked onto the backs of the dinettes surrounding the breakfast bar. Passersby looked curiously at the sight, seeing fabric move as if influenced by a draft, but feeling no such sensation. 

[color=90ee90][i]It would seem that our host is running late,[/i][/color] Holt mentally groaned, jumping onto the sofa that sat Marie and curling up behind her neck. [color=90ee90][i]Or perhaps he was as exhausted as you from the excitement of his transformation a few days ago.[/i][/color]

Marie sighed, eyes glue to her phone. 

[color=ffe4b5][i]If he is asleep, he won’t be for long once he catches a whiff of my magic.[/i][/color] Marie responded promptly, her mental tone conveying her anxiety. She knew not whether Rune and Otto would make their appearance tonight, nor if they were to begin the magicians’ quest, nor if they would have the time to begin the hunt for the next of Gwyneth’s artifacts. 

The ding of the elevator caught Marie’s attention. She turned with a hopeful smile and, sure enough, out stepped Ben with a rather strange and bewildered woman.

 Ben’s attention spread between navigating their path and eyeing Kat. He didn't want her wandering off or touching anything that wasn't suppose to be touched. Currently she was behaving, but he didn't trust that to last very long. His hands found his pockets as he was the first one off the elevator. 

The magical scent hit him like a freight train. His steps immediately grinder to an abrupt stop and his head scanned the lobby in alert, his nose the only thing guiding him. The stronger the scent become, the more difficult it was to fight the urge to just coat himself in it. His teeth grinded against his cheek while he approached a petite woman in a white sundress and hat, his hand gestured to Kat to follow him. 

[color=chocolate] “That's not at all what I expected you to look like.”[/color]

[color=921111]”Verdammt, that’s strong…”[/color] The magical aura stopped Katarina in her tracks as she followed Ben. Immediately, her eyes changed from their usual black colour to slits of red, as her blood tracking took over from her normal self. She hissed softly, scanning around for the source of the witchcraft; she was all to used to that powerful aura - Revinskas had taught her much of the ways of the witch, though Katarina did not use them, opting instead for necromancy as the source of her strength - but was unable to pinpoint its exact location. 

Another thing that stopped her was the main lobby’s appearance itself. Katarina was momentarily stunned as she beheld its appearance, a far cry from the halls of her ancestors, from the environs of Castle Neuhausen. Pillars of stone, veritable sheets of glass covering whole walls, polished stone tiles, staircases that spiralled away from the ground floor, wide enough for potentially two men to ride on horses side-by-side… it amazed her to see such opulence and such architectural splendour outside of perhaps the richest Gothic English cathedrals of her time… and she was sure that the amount of colour was far superior in this massive room than in even Canterbury or York Minster. Katarina shook her head in disbelief as she raised her head to look at the ceilings, high above them all. And then… she felt the heat. The heat of the bright lights, the discomfort she felt as their rays touched her pale and deathless skin… Miniature suns, they seemed to be, of all different colours. Red, blue, pink, purple… all the colours of the rainbow, and then some. She shifted uneasily, and fingered a crucifix about her neck that she had bought at the… what did they call it, an airport? 

“[color=921111][i]Vertraue auf den Herrn, und er wird dich beschützen…[/i] My mother’s own words.[/color]” she breathed to herself as she felt the light’s effects slowly die away, a transparent layer of shadow thread coating her skin protecting her from the worst of their harsh glare. It was an old tactic she had learned from Vytautas when he had been forced to operate during the day. Vytautas claimed that he was no more vulnerable to the sun than any other man with it… but Katarina had also stabbed him in the chest, and he had said he was the most powerful man in Poland shortly before. She had learned to take his words with a pinch of salt. Bringing herself back to her senses, Katarina saw Ben over with a woman in white… a surge of jealousy and anger came to the fore, but Katarina quickly suppressed it. Instead, she, too, walked over, just in time to catch Ben talking to the woman. 

[color=921111]”It would appear you two already know each other. Intriguing…”[/color] Katarina gave a small smile, careful not to expose her teeth. For all she knew, this woman might be a hunter, or a vampire slayer.

Marie nodded to Ben and his strange companion, taking note of her dismayed approach. 

[color=ffe4b5]”Nice to see you too, Ben.”[/color] Marie unfolded her legs and sat up slightly, a hint of sarcasm in her voice for the unorthodox greeting she’d received. Not that she expected open arms. [color=ffe4b5]”I know I look a little more civilian than our last meeting, although I doubt anyone would bat an eye if I wore the costume . . . who’s your friend there?”[/color] Marie nodded to Katarina. [color=ffe4b5]”Found someone else to join the cause?”[/color]

Holt sized up the newcomer, death noticeably pouring off her skin. 

[color=90ee90][i]She’s a vampire,[/i][/color] Holt sent Marie a mental warning. Marie looked at her again for a brief moment but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. 

Ben flinched at being called Benjamin but upon noting Kat’s reaction, his attention turned to address her first. He ignored the sarcasm in the woman’s voice from his greeting as he replied,[color=chocolate] “I met her, and others over the last two days, in usual circumstances. It's been a bit hellish to be honest and seems I'm a supernatural magnetic.”[/color]

His hand rubbed through his short hair as he considered what to say next,[color=chocolate] “Katarina, this is Marie. Marie, Katarina. As for joining the case, that's up to her. She arrived at my doorstep after you dropped me off, saved my ass from jerk metas, and is the primary reason I was able to get here at all without becoming a reported runaway.”[/color]

[color=ffe4b5]”Pleasure to meet you, Katarina. It’s nice that someone else is looking out for Ben, although I think he’s probably got a few too many of us at the moment.”[/color]

Marie turned her head to the side, [color=ffe4b5]”See, it’s fine.”[/color] she said in a hushed voice to no one. 

[color=921111]”What can you say, you have such a… [i]magnetic[/i] personality, Benjamin...”[/color] Katarina giggled slightly at her joke, and carelessly, unknowingly, flashed a fang in the woman’s direction. Turning her attention back to the woman before her, Katarina curtsied slightly, dropping her head in a respectful bow. [color=921111]”Well then, well met, fraulein Marie. As Benjamin has already said, my name is Katarina, of the family von Rysech.”[/color] [i]Be on your guard, Katarina,[/i] she thought to herself, [i]for this one is most definitely one to be trifled with.[/i] Katarina looked down and scanned Marie with her eyes, trying to take in every detail, every nook and cranny of the woman’s visage. Yet, as she did so, she could feel her mental image slipping from her even as she looked. Perhaps some sorcery to turn her sight? Some hex that surrounded her as she walked, ensuring her anonymity in the crowds of the American commonfolk? But how? She was the only woman dressed as she was, at least as far as Katarina could see. A woman in white. A witch in white, to be more precise. Perhaps she called herself the [i]weiße Hexe[/i]. It would make sense after all. The Red Countess meeting the White Witch… in the city of colour.

Katarina’s suspicions were heightened as she heard Marie talking to someone… some[i]thing[/i], behind her. Katarina’s steely, reddened gaze switched to the area behind Marie, where slowly, almost reluctantly, a shape began to coalesce from a mist… something was behind Marie, and seemed to be looking straight back at Katarina. Or was that a trick of the mind? No… there was something there, alright.

[color=chocolate] “I can smell your friend, which is putting me on edge because I can't see him,”[/color] Ben commented and added,[color=chocolate] “And my name is Benjamin, don't call me Ben again. So… we’re heading off to get some food and clothes shop for Katarina. Do you want to come with us?”[/color] 

Marie felt tense. This was exactly why she didn’t want to join this rag tag team of teens in the first place. But she was determined to make the most of it, even if she felt little remorse for her part in Broker’s scheme. 

[color=ffe4b5]”Sorry,”[/color] Marie responded dejectedly, [color=ffe4b5]”Won’t happen again. And maybe this will be easier for you to handle.”[/color]

Marie turned her head again to Holt. After a moment, a small, pitch black hare hopped down from behind her head and planted itself in her lap, fur black as night and eyes milky white. 

[color=ffe4b5]”Now you can see him, and I promise he won’t surprise you like he did the last time.”[/color]

[color=chocolate] “Thank you,”[/color] came Ben’s words, his tone a bit less irritated, but I explanation came forward for his sour mood. The hare still looked creepy as fuck with its undead eyes and twitching nose. A slight shiver trailed down his spine but he ignored it. 

[color=chocolate] “So, Kat, where you want to stop first at? Smith’s or clothes shopping?”[/color] his eyes drifted to Kat’s direction for an answer.

Katarina stared as the mists coalesced into the hare that now sat upon the witch’s lap. So… a familiar, eh? Interesting, but not wholly unusual - women of Marie’s type and ability always had need of familiars, for guidance, sometimes protection, other times to do things that the witch themselves simply could not do. It made sense… though Katarina eyed it suspiciously. It had already seemed to be… hostile to Katarina’s approach, and showed no signs of growing any warmer. Still, if this witch had helped Ben, as she claimed to have done, she wasn’t wholly untrustworthy. Yet. Kat’s attention snapped back to Ben as he spoke up. She looked over at him, an unconscious lust in her eyes which was present all the time she was with him. Was it lust? Was it love? Was it anything? Or was it just a… [i]thingy[/i]?

[color=921111]”Food is of little concern to me at this point, though I can appreciate you must be hungry after such a long journey, so I would argue that is our primary concern. Let us locate food first, and then you and I can discuss what we do next. And, if she so wishes,”[/color] Katarina turned her eyes back over to Marie, [color=921111]”She may come with us in our little excursion… an expedition into the City of Many Colours.”[/color]

There was something in the way Katarina spoke that Marie found odd, almost out of place. It reminded her of the way in which many old world Fey spoke in English, with archaic words and affectations. She didn’t dwell on it, however.

[color=ffe4b5]”I could go for something sweet right about now. If you’re going out for dinner I could tag along and grab a dessert.”[/color] Marie chimed in merily, moving to the edge of the sofa as if to stand, holding Holt closer to her so he wouldn’t fall. 

Marie also thought it odd how no explanation was needed for any of what had just happened. Odd . . . but refreshing. She was accustomed to seeing many strange sights at The Red Devil that it almost didn’t occur to her that such things weren’t commonplace for most.  

[color=chocolate] “Well, it will be on the go. I found out I eat rather much like an animal. It’s a  fact that makes me uncomfortable and I’m sure no one wants to draw attention while we’re here. That alright with you two?”[/color] Ben asked mainly to be polite. If either of them denied his request, it wasn’t likely to matter much and he was going to order his food on the run. 

[color=chocolate] “Now my only worry is finding somewhere that doesn’t serve fully cooked meat.”[/color]  

[color=921111]”Ever the picky eater. I’m sure we can find some establishment or public house that will serve its meat [i]bleu[/i] or [i]saignant[/i] for you. If not… then we can always acquire some from a market or butchery for your delectation.”[/color] Katarina grinned and shook her head, snickering. [color=921111]”And I think you and I can get along just fine. Coffee and chocolate are my only mortal vices. And tobacco.”[/color] She had let it slip! Katarina cursed herself inwardly. The stupid fool, what if she *was* a hunter? She might have been waiting for an opportunity to strike, feigning friendliness with Ben! Katarina’s hand strayed to her side, expecting her rapier hilt… only to remember that it was in the room.

[i]Fuck.[/i]

Marie glanced over to Katarina as she stood up fully. 

[color=ffe4b5]”Are you alright?”[/color] she asked with slight concern. [color=ffe4b5]”There’s no reason to be worried. Holt told me what you were the moment you walked over.”[/color] She looked down at the jet black hare in her arms. 

Holt look up at Katarina and made a nodding gesture. 

[color=ffe4b5]”You weren’t exactly subtle about hiding it, either. You might want to work on that. In my line of work, I’ve spoken with plenty of vampires, I have no quarrel with your kind, but there are plenty of aspiring hunters in this city who would likely be less forthcoming; It’s good to stay alert.”[/color] Marie offered a bright smile before turning back to Ben.

[color=ffe4b5]”And if it’s rare you want, I could have Holt snag a choice cut from a butcher or deli while we’re out.”[/color]

Again, Holt looked up, this time at Ben, and offered a small nod.

[color=921111]”I’ve had too many experiences with those who would rather see me impaled upon a wooden spike, little more than a rotting corpse, crumbling to dust. Forgive me, but I do not trust easily, though I appreciate your candour. I suppose I can breathe easier now.”[/color] Katarina visibly relaxed, a warmer and contented smile on her features. [color=921111]”And your familiar… Holt. I sensed his presence… but I could not see him until I approached... Your aura is powerful, fraulein witch. You may want to… ‘work on that’.”[/color] Kat winked and turned to Ben.

[color=921111]”I think… we are ready to depart.”[/color]

[color=chocolate] “I hate to break both of your bubbles, but no one’s killing anyone in front of me. Not unless you want me to wolf out. With that settled and we’re all in agreement that no one’s getting into a fight, I agree it’s time to go,”[/color] Ben gestured toward the lobby exit and led the two women out, his hand raised for a taxi. After delivering directions to a local fast food joint, he plopped his back upon the seat as it pulled away.