Prelude: Life Begins at Night

Liam nods. "Nah, she likes this kind of thing. If she's here it's probably got plenty of people. Grab the bass, I'm going to unplug the stereo."

"Let's hope so, I'm told they don't show up for just anyone. So have you made friends yet? Maybe a special friend? Or do you have anyone waiting back home?" Eve asks him a few easy questions like these as they walk and chat, meandering from the flats towards the back entrance to the college and the gardens. 

"I can't say I have.  I've got some folks back home, but it's really just family,"   Akil thinks for a moment.  "Although I am supposed to meet someone here, but they are supposed to find me, I think.  Where are we headed?"

Liam strolls up to the door. He gives a smile to some freshers who were just leaving the party.  "But you're going the wrong way. I heard this party was about to take off!" The young minds melt under his influence, instantly turning around, just because its what he wants. They hold the door open for him as they reenter. Following the horrible disco music to its source, Liam rips the plug from the wall. With a loud screech, and a pop the music stops. 

"Aww, I'm sure you will in time. Or are us British roses not to your taste?" She laughs. "Just through here and then we can see fairy hill across the lawn." Eve pulls him along, holding on to his hand as they pass the dark corridor. Just before they reemerge from the low, panelled ceilings, she brings her face close to his and then points at fairy hill. "Over there. See those stone steps? Rumour has it that it's they way across worlds. But really, they just lead to a bench at the top of the hill, surrounded by trees. Do you want me to show you something even cooler? You seem like someone who's into magic." Her eyes sparkle with excitement.

Feeling her phone buzz, Rae pulls it out and reads the text. "Weird? Would you like me to tail you?" She looks up to see the crowd proclaiming their annoyance at the sudden interruption.

"Something cooler?  What are you getting at?"  Akil smirks and looks towards Eve, before once again tasting copper.  "Damn, that drink left a nasty aftertaste."

Standing close together in the dark, Eve brushes the tip of her nose against his neck briefly, subtly inhaling his scent, then whispers in his ear: "Let me show you." Suddenly, she pulls him out of the tunnel and onto the open lawn, almost running towards the hill. About five feet in front of the steps, she stops and gets on her tiptoes to cover his eyes. "Keep them closed and listen carefully. Okay?"

"I.... I think this is moving a little too fast for me.  I'm sorry."  Akil attempts to shift away taking half a step away from Eve, "Maybe we should just head back."

Mehdi finds a place where Jetty can sit, hopefully undisturbed. "No matter what, do not eat anyone who tries to put a ticket on your face." he instructs firmly before nuzzling against her forehead, feeding her a bit of glamour. She gives an obedient croak, then Mehdi dismounts and hurries to pull the bass out of the truck and follow after Liam. He grimaces as the professor rips the partiers out of their revelry by taking over the stereo, and he rushes to open the case and get the guitar set up and plugged in. The sooner Liam starts playing, the better.

Eve lets him pull away and pouts. "But it's not as magical if you're looking. I promise, I won't bite!" She cocks her head, her skin reflecting the moonlight. "Are you sure you want to head back already? You haven't seen why people believe there's fairies up there."

Akil hesitates for a moment but relents, "Sure let's keep going."  Keeping his hands in his pockets he follows Eve's lead.

Liam stands there, taking the bass silently from Mehdi, eating up the ager around him. The two freshers already under his spell wring their hands in anticipation but the indignation of the rest of the room as they crowd him to ask "wtf man?" is exactly the tense start he loves. He holds the pic in his mouth, but spits it out. He never uses it anyway. He flexes out a single chord as the room goes silent.  Dun dun dun duduludu. Dun dun dun duduludu. Ping ping.  He knows he doesn't need a singer, or anyone else for this song - the room erupts, singing the guitar parts, stamping the drums. Everyone thinks they're the talent... 

Eve steps a little closer again, but doesn't cover his eyes this time. "Okay, well, don't close your eyes then, but imagine we're not standing in the middle of college but on a meadow, before all these buildings were here, before any of this was here." She gestures around. "Just that hill, that's always been here. Can you picture it? Now, listen carefully." She turns her back to him and faces the hill, calling: "Fairies of the hiiiiiill!" Then claps three times. After a moment, three distinct claps echo back from the top of the hill. Eve spins around again, laughing happily.

Akil appears to focus much more heavily at the hill and looks confused, then anxious, " I've been having this itch all night and it's been bugging me. "  He quickly sports sleek black fighter's gloves but keeps his hands in his pockets.   "You're definitely not a sleeper and I'll take the risk of Quiescence if you are.  What are you, and what do you want with me?"

Eve still holds her hands clasped in front of her, but her smile fades. "I was hoping you didn't know yet..." She rolls her eyes and sighs. "And that's why you don't let yourself get that hungry."  She looks back at Akil, now holding eye contact in a much more intense way than before. "You are here to learn about the supernatural, right? I won't feed on you if you're unwilling, but I will tell you that it feels better than anything you've ever felt before." Closing the distance between them without any effort to hide her supernatural speed now, she runs a finger down the side of his face. "I'm known for being gentle."

Akil shudders slightly before catching himself, "I've heard about your kind.  Vampires right?  I've also heard that your feeding is addictive, and I don't think that's something I want."   Akil steadies himself pulling his gloved hands out of his pocket, "If you have any inkling about what I am, it's best we don't start throwing around our abilities.  But you are right I'm here to learn about the supernatural, at a safe distance.  Why don't we just talk and we'll see about that feeding later."

Eve looks disappointed, but recovers quickly. "It isn't actually, but I see you're new, if not entirely ignorant." Crossing her arms, she looks down at his gloved hands. "You're a mortal, but you want to be a mage. The first thing they will teach you here is that that," she nods at his gloves, "is no way to treat a lady. All learning requires personal sacrifice. You would do best to remember your manners, young Akil, or you won't fare very well at Oxford." After telling him off, she turns and starts walking back.

At the mention of his name Akil curses under his breath and calls back towards Eve, "Shit, that's not good.  But these gloves are for both your safety and mine, if I don't wear them things might get out of control.  And frankly attempting to seduce sleepers to feed off them is not a great principle of manners either.  You are abusing their ignorance."  Akil, recognizing his hostility, pulls off his gloves and jogs over to catch up to Eve, "This is all very strange for me, I've never met anyone other than a mortal and frankly I've heard many terrifying things of your kind.  I know I'm ignorant so why don't we come to a deal, I'll teach you a little about my world and you teach me a little about yours."

As Liam whips the students into a frenzy, Mehdi melts into the crowd. As he slips between the inebriated throng he opens his senses, feeling their excitement and letting it mingle with his own emotions. The glamour is enough to replenish what he spent on the hedgeway and pulling Jetty out, but these emotions are similar to the cheap beer these students are drinking: lacking depth and potency. The thought sparks a bit of thirst in Mehdi, so he slinks away to the kitchen and begins scrounging for a beverage. But how would he mask the taste of this bottom barrel vodka? He goes to work, raiding the unattended fridge for seltzer and cranberry, then another thought occurs to him. He darts back to the main room to snatch his bag then returns to his concoction. To anyone watching it would appear that he pulls an orange out of the bag, but in reality he cuts into the pink goblin fruit to reveal segmented flesh the color of a cloudless sky, studded with softly glowing seeds. A healthy squeeze turns the cocktail a brilliant violet shade. “Much better.” he looks around to see if anyone is paying attention. Of course they’re not. But there is one gorgeous girl, paying more attention to her phone than Liam’s mesmerizing performance. Interesting. “Hey, want a drink? I’m a wannabe mixologist and I need a taste tester.” he’s already mixing up another cup before she answers. His American accent is heavy, and he gives her a friendly smile as she looks up.

Looking up in surprise, Rae tucks the phone away. "No thank you, I'm quite alright." she says with a smile. "Oh hey, I think I've seen you around. You're usually with..." looking across the crowd, she quickly spots the man strumming his bass guitar  "...Liam." she says with recognition. "Eve has mentioned him once or twice. I'm Rae, nice to meet you." she extends her hand out to shake.

“Eve! That’s her name. Yes I’m Liam’s assistant, Mehdi. Nice to meet you too.” he looks at the second drink he just made and shrugs, leaving it there on the counter. Just a splash of goblin fruit won’t hurt  anybody. He slices the rest and begins to snack while he talks to Rae. “So you’re friends with Eve. Is that why you don’t drink?” He gives her a knowing look, and the implication in the question is clear.

She chuckles amiably at the suggestion "Yes, I am of the same disposition. And I understand that Dr. McCarthy is as well, but you..." slightly tilting   her head to one side, her expression becomes puzzled. "I can't feel you like I feel them. I don't mean to be rude but...are you human?"  Her voice drops lower as she says the latter part of the sentence.

Mehdi smiles and shakes his head. "Nope. I used to be one, of course." he stops talking as someone wanders into the kitchen looking for a refill. They spy the vibrant purple drink and Mehdi gives them a nod. "All yours man, just sip it easy. It's strong ." Once the partier leaves he turns back to Rae. "Ever heard those fairy tales of children swept away by monsters, something that looks just like them left in their place while they are whisked away to a magical world? I got whisked away like that. Except I wasn't a child and it was more a horror story than a fairy tale."

Clarity comes to Rae's eyes, followed by further confusion "I see. So why would you be taken if you weren't a child? I haven't had any first hand experience with the Fae."

Mehdi's pleasant demeanor is broken by a scowl as the memory of his abduction flashes across his mind. "Consider yourself lucky. The True Fae take all kinds of people, of all ages. They're fickle and irrational creatures, powerful too. They say jump and their world, Arcadia, leaps to give them their every whim. When you're so high on the food chain that you're the one creating it, why not pluck some innocent hiker from the woods and transform him into a bat." He takes a sip and shrugs, trying to make brush off what is clearly deep bitterness and resentment. "What about you? How'd you get turned?"

As the pair finish talk, Liam finishes the first song. He gives a grin as the aura of majestic leadership washes from him over the crowd. He winks and strum three simple notes: Dun Dun Dun Excitement lights up the eyes of the front row Dudundun dundudun dudu Dun Dun Dun dududoo dun dun dun "Ooh. Let's Go" "Steve walks warily down the street, with the brim pulled way down low. Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet, machine guns ready to go." "Are you ready?" "Her are you ready for this?" He begins addressing members of the front row of the party directly, bringing them even further under his spell. "Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?" "Out of the doorway, The bullets rip." "To the sound of the beat." "Yeah" The whole crowd is now bobbing in hypnotised motion as they clap along to the bass line, to sing the chorus. 

Eve slows down a little as they come off the grass and get back onto the college walkways. "Little mage, mortals are better off not knowing. You'll understand that once you ," she turns around and glare at him from within the darkness of the corridor, "know a little more than them." Her angers seems to dissipate as he reveals about never having met a supernatural. "You... oh? You really have no idea, do you?" She shakes her head and looks back up at him, smiling now. There is a different intensity to her, as if she's changed tack. She lifts her chin and rests her hand on her hip.  "Then there is nothing you could teach me, is there, Akil? You have the sight, but you see nothing. Every moment of your life, you have a choice. To cling to the past, to stability, to the mundane - or to open yourself up to the future, to change, to the unknown. What will it be, little mage? You may think you are better than us, that we are creatures of darkness. We were innocent once. Don't underestimate the allure of darkness, even the purest of souls are drawn to it." 

Rae frowns as the pain of this recounting flashes across Mehdi's face. "I'm sorry, Mehdi. That sounds unimaginable." Her expression lightens before going on, "Well, I was actually turned by Eve. She approached me, in a setting not too different from this one. She saw me, truly saw me, and perceived that I was much like herself. May I ask how long you've been altered for?"

Damn, what is this feeling.   "You really think you're not as ignorant to my world as I am to yours?," Akil appears distracted and distant for a moment.  "Fuck it, maybe you aren't as ignorant.  Maybe you know more about me than I do.  Maybe we can come to another agreement."  He takes a deep breath and composes himself, "You introduce me to your world and I can provide you  sustenance."   He once again turns to fiddling with something inside his pockets, anxiously awaiting a response.

"Bites the dust eh..."&nbsp; Liam gradually lowers the amplitude.&nbsp; "Shootah" He knew the effect this song had, it wasn't even supernatural. It had everyone bobbing exactly in time, tapping their feet and hanging on the words of the singer. "Eh eh eh" The room had to be almost silent now to even hear the sound of the bass line, which Liam keeps playing as he speaks. "Now your mamas aren't watchin', so let me see you dancin' like you're givin it away."&nbsp; He hated speaking this way, he always spoke beautifully, pronouncing every letter like it held incredible importance, this was the time for dropped ts, dropped gs and dropped g-strings though. "I'm talkin' filthy, sweat dripping, bodies flailin', shakin what you got, shakin what you wish you had." His foot starts tapping, almost unnaturally fast. "I want to smell you from here." He gives a flick of his wrist, and immediately at the gesture, someone by the door turns off the light. The room is now bathed in the blue light from phones around the place and a couple of desk lamps at the edges of the room. dudududududududududu dududoo dududoo du duh duh duh du duh duh dududuh duh If queen brings them in and winds them up, this lets them go. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEXHeTcxQy4" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEXHeTcxQy4</a> "Owwwww" If he sang the rest of the song himself you wouldn't have been able to hear over the hysterical crowd. Jumping, ripping, grinding, bouncing, shaking. This quiet party, once at risk of falling flat, was now raving.

Just as Rae finishes speaking, she feels a pull from across the room. Looking to Liam, she finds that she can't look anywhere else for a moment. His magnificent playing, his charm and style, it's impossible to ignore. But then she feels the arms of the Beast reach out around her and pull her back to herself, and she asserts her will over the effect that has clearly gripped the crowd. Once she feels it pass, she decides to seize the opportunity provided by the gentleman. "I'm sorry Mehdi, could you excuse me for just a moment? I'm still a bit peckish. " Moving into the hot, entranced mass, she finds a young man stepping from side to side by himself, a large smile on his face. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she steps in front of him and begins dancing, pressing her body as closely as she can into his. Several moments later, she brings her arm up and around his neck, hunching him over as she pulls him forward. She lays a single kiss on his neck, then gently sinks her teeth into it. He moans, obviously enjoying the experience, and she drinks of him. Leaving him in a bit of a stupor, she then repeats this process with two others, before finally returning to the kitchen fully satiated.&nbsp; As she steps into the space however, she feels the hunger again, burning in her throat down into her chest. The Beast bares its teeth, and for a moment she's gripped by fear. "Why? I'm full? ....oh no." Horror creeps over her as she understands the source of the sensation, and turns to scan the room for Eve.

Liam locks eyes with Rae, meeting the challenge for a second as he plays some forceful chords. Then she looks away?! He looks at her in slight horror, before his eyes return with a submissive nod, clearly impressed. He goes back to his playing though, letting the atmosphere of the room revitalise his spirits. This is why I prefer to play with humans. They appreciate me for what I am, even if they don't know what that is. Meanwhile the song comes to a sudden stop, as with the real version. There is a slight buzz of anticipation, Liam points down at the crowd at a girl he had heard singing quite loudly and dancing very provocatively during the previous few songs in the front row.&nbsp; A safe choice I think.&nbsp; She throws her arms around him, &nbsp;h e whispers something in her ear. She gives an excited squeal and a nod. He gestures for her to keep silent, she complies immediately of course, but sways side to side wringing her hand in excitement. Liam starts clapping above his head. The excited crowd joins in, still not sure quite what it is. Clap Clap stamp-clap, Clap clap stamp-clap. He quickly twists the tuning nobs, (which as a bassist he definitely knows the name of without using google [machine heads]) and starts playing.&nbsp; Dun dun dun, dun dun dun, dun dun dun dadun dun dun dun dun dun dun badadun badadun The girl misses her cue to start, but Liam just smiles, repeats the bar and nods her in.&nbsp; "I don't wanna be the girl..."&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ3ZM8FDBlg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ3ZM8FDBlg</a> After a shakey start, she really gets into the song. Her hips start swinging and she gives Liam a flirtatious smile as she dances around him. As the connection between them builds Liam loses himself in the music, picking up his performance to keep up with her vocals which are really good. He adds some flourishes and inserts a solo, as he listens to himself he starts to wonder if he is better than the original. The pair transition, shifting seemlessly into their own improvised version of the end of the song. Ending to rapturous applause.

Eve tries hard not to roll her eyes at the young guy's outburst, even though it takes a monumentous effort not to tell him off for his foul language. However, this was not the time for education, it was time to feed. Closing the little distance between them, she notices with satisfaction that he draws in an involuntary breath, his pupils dilate and his cheeks flush slightly. "Count yourself lucky, this is a better introduction than you deserve," Eve whispers before sinking her fangs into his neck. Akil barely feels more than two needle pricks before a wave of pleasure overwhelms him. She holds onto him to steady him until she has drunk her fill, then pulls away carefully, licking over the wound to close it. For a moment, she rests her forehead against his shoulder, giving them both time to come down from the high of the feed. Clearing her throat, she steps back again, licking her lips. "Feeling okay? I didn't take too much? Your heart is in exceptional shape..." She seems to ponder this for a moment, then says: "Shall we head back to the party?" The music seems much improved since they left and Eve can see from afar that the rather slow party is now in full swing. Excitement runs through her; there may be another chance to feed if people are getting carried away enough. She found it hard to be as careless as these young girls, but truly, she was jealous of their easy, modern lives. Rejoining the crowd, she sees Rae dance with another student, looking as mesmerising as the night she had decided to turn her. So confident, so free, master of her own destiny. For a minute, Eve just stands at the edge of the dancers, watching her. She hadn't planned to turn her that night at the party, after all, she had only been following her and observing her for a few weeks then. Eve knew the process, of course, but she had never turned someone herself... and had told herself that she wouldn't. Rae had seemed so removed from everyone around her, like she didn't quite fit in. Yet, unlike Eve, Rae seemed not a victim, but a free agent, like the laws of mortal society simply didn't apply to her. That night, Eve could not resist approaching her and Rae seemed all too ready to embrace the darkness... Something suddenly pulls Eve out of her memories and back to the present. Looking for the source, she finds her eyes drawn to the source of the music. That's the sociology professor, isn't it? Liam something? She remembers being told by a colleague that Liam is very into music, but she had never heard him play before. God, he was good. She couldn't help herself but smile. It wasn't just the music, she could sense that, but looking at the mesmerised crowd, she didn't want to resist either. Joining the dancers, Eve allows the first guy to pull her in from behind, intending to feed again. However, she cannot help but keep looking at Liam playing and forgets to pay any attention whatsoever to her victim. With a shrug, he moves onto another girl without missing a beat. When Eve turns around, he is already dancing with someone else and she curses herself. She moves through the crowd, looking for another victim and tries not let herself be distracted again. Luckily, it does not take long before she finds a lonely looking girl that seems like she has forgotten how to close her mouth as she stares at Liam. Moving up next to her, she shouts something about how awesome the performance is and the girl shrieks her excited agreement before launching herself at Eve for an overenthusiastic kiss. Feeding from her does not prove a problem. Feeling happy and nearly sated, Eve pulls away from the girl and looks back over at the stage - but instead, she stares straight back at the guy she had tried to feed from before. Apparently he hadn't fully given up on her earlier, perhaps followed her to try dancing with her again? Now, he seems a little pale as his eyes seem glued to her lips. Not missing a second, Eve steps up to him and shouts in his ear: "We came straight from Wadham's Bop, it's Vampires and Werewolves! Looks pretty cool, right?" She does her best "fake rawr" vampire impression - with retracted fangs - and grins at him. Then, looking up through her lashes, she adds,&nbsp; "Are you into sexy vamps too?" and pulls him&nbsp; in.

Mehdi waves Rae off to feed. He too feels the hypnotic pull of Liam's music, but he's felt it a hundred times before. Occasionally he succumbed to the fervor, but tonight like most nights he is desensitized. He rolls his eyes as he watches Rae and Eve feed like they're at a buffet, and wonders whether or not the humans of Oxford will ever realize that they're practically livestock. At least they're free range.&nbsp;

A chill wind whispers between the sweaty bodies of the gathered dancers, casting a shiver across the floor that bites to the bone. There's a taste on the air that makes the stomach drop and the hair stand up on the back of your neck - fear. The rustling rattle of a tree's denuded branches in the wind fills the room and the music dies with the fading drone of neutered bass. Dead leaves spin from nowhere and vanish to the same. Occult glyphs shimmer like witchfire in circles around Eve, Liam and Rae. They spread like blotting ink before fading and an atonal chant sings a wordless warning. In the doorway at the front of the room stands a tall, willowy girl in her mid-teens. Her skin is the pale of a china doll, made paler still by her jet-black hair and deep green eyes. She wears round, wire-rimmed glasses and a sheer, simply cut dress of midnight blue. Her hair has a richness that mortal eyes have never dreamed of, with layers of different shades of black that somehow all seem to be the purest black imaginable. Her skin is almost pure white, and her milky eyes lack any definition between iris and pupil. The girl's figure is impossibly thin, as though she might snap in half like an autumn twig at any moment. "Surely my eyes must deceive me, for the Kindred would not dare make a herd of the freefolk." She remarks as she crosses the threshold.

"I'm sorry, was the music too loud? Come in and enjoy it like everyone else." Liam doesn't put his bass down. In fact, he keeps plucking at it, a slow steady rhythm. "Everyone here is having a good time right?" He gestures his free hand upwards towards the crowd, expecting a loud cheer of approval. He gives a little wink and nods his head towards Mehdi, gesturing towards the newcomer,

Upon seeing the powerfull fae enter the room, Eve immediately drops into a low curtsy and stays there. "Your highness, we meant no disrespect. We simply got carried away in our... revelry. With the mortals."

Mehdi picks up on the aura of dread immediately, it's the chilling gloom of Autumn. He slips off his blazer and lets his wings stretch out through the slits in his dress shirt as he walks out of the kitchen to greet his fellow lost. He steps ahead of Eve and the others and bows, sending a cascade of petals to the floor. "Indeed. I've been keeping watch and making sure nothing gets out of hand. At worst they'll have a bad hangover, nothing they can't handle." he gives a polite smile as he rises. "I'm called Mehdi, as I'm sure you know. What may we call you? And, if I may, what brings the terrifying grace of the Autumn Court to a lowly Oxford rager?"

As the sun lowers itself past the horizon and the last glimpses of light fade from the blinds of Summertown homes, Silas abruptly arises from his deathly stupor taking in a deep gasp as his body jolts back into unlife. Preparing for the night he makes sure to stick to his normal routine of washing the smell of grave from his body, wearing his fine, hand-tailored suits, brushing his hair for mortal standards, and calling his black cab driver he finishes getting presentable. He sees himself in the mirror and sees nothing but a gaunt, pale, corpse of a man who used to have it all. He rinses his face with the ice-cold water flowing from his sink, invigorating him and brings a new blush to his skin as if his blood began to pump through his skin once again. He feels an incredible hunger come about him as the beast snarls back at him, refusing the illusion of mortality that is looking Silas in the face. Just as he finished getting ready for the night, he hears the honk of his ride outside, he grabs his wallet, smartphone, and pocket watch as he exits his house. Internally cursing the lack of parking and roads at Oxford as he walks past the luxurious car in his driveway, he enters the cab and tells the driver to take him near Balliol College Hall.&nbsp; As the cab drives towards the college, Silas spots a lone woman walking the streets, possibly walking home from work. He tells the driver to drive up to her and he rolls down the window as he calls out to the woman, "Excuse me." , her eyes turn towards him, just as he wanted, he continues, "You look awfully alone and tired of walking. Get in?" Silas's words piercing through her mind, she becomes entranced by every dictate he says. Her breath calm and her demeanor only a bit more relaxed than normal, she begins walking to the cab as Silas open the door for her to enter. She is mesmerized by Silas and can no longer resist his every command. Silas says to the woman, "Tell me where you live." &nbsp;the woman complies and the driver hears and recognizes the location. Silas tells the driver, "I apologize for the detour but can you take us there to send her off?" &nbsp;The driver complies and begins to turn the car around as he makes way for the woman's residence. As they drive off, Silas will not lose this opportunity to eat, he tells the driver to look away and tells the woman, "Stay quiet, and don't move too much." &nbsp;Silas kisses the woman's lips, as to look natural and makes his way across her cheek and down to her neck on the side away from the driver. He takes a bite of her supple neck, he feels her wince slightly, but quickly give in to the sensation. He drinks until he feels her pulse start to change and her skin grows slightly colder. He finishes her off with a lick to the wound as if nothing happened, she is still standing there in a daze, as the cab arrives at her residence, and Silas sees her off, "Get home now, have a nice night and forget the trouble I caused you." The woman complies and enters her home and Silas instructs the driver to continue on to the original destination. Silas watches the nightlife of this new place through the window of his cab. Lost in thought, the driver interrupts him, "We've arrived." Silas exits the cab with his belongings, paying respect to the driver. Silas looks up to see the ancient architecture of the building near him as the cabbie asks Silas, "Anything else, sir?" Silas looks to the cabbie realizing his hunger is still not sated and asks him, "Come out for a smoke with me."

The girl throws Liam a sharp glance and the bass guitar string that he is plucking snaps with a dissonant twang. The crowd is slowly dispersing. The students scared and cold, like the power went out and with it the life from the party. Here and there a couple can be heard to ask " who turned out the lights? " The harsh expression on the darkling's face softens slightly in response to Eve's courteous apology, especially when Mehdi hurries to the vampire's side. She watches the changeling with something between curiosity and indifference. "Ah. A&nbsp; loyalist ," &nbsp;she observes. "How well behaved . The Autumn Court is always open to enterprising Lost. However, here at New College, we do not appreciate having our students eaten ." The girl's gaze now shifts to Eve. "Vampires are not&nbsp; forbidden &nbsp;from setting foot on college grounds - that would be impractical. Nevertheless, in future you will refrain from eating our subjects. Have we made ourselves clear?"

"Crystal. Your graciousness won't be forgotten. These three will never feed on your grounds again, I'll make sure of it. I may be courtless and running around with kindred, but I am loyal to my fellow lost." he gives his best reassuring face and bows once again.

The moment she gets a visual on the wraith-like figure, Rae moves into the crowd. Calling upon the darkness in her blood, the predatory aura of her Beast withdraws, and her features are shrouded with an ambiguity that deters even a second glance. Somewhat hidden, she watches as the Kindred interact with the skeletal darkling. But as the crowd disperses in sobered confusion, she realizes that she can no longer conceal herself, and comes to Eve's side as she drops her shroud.&nbsp;

Akil nods at Eve's request to head back to the party and follows her steps closely.&nbsp; Once finally arriving to the party he makes note of Eve's staring towards Rae and finally makes a connection that has been bothering him all this night.&nbsp; He mumbles something under his breath which is barely audible,&nbsp; "You all taste like copper." &nbsp; Eventually his own distractions pass and the music comes to bear at full force towards the delirious mage.&nbsp; It's pull is strong but his will is stronger.&nbsp; Once the music stops he realizes the students dispersing and looks towards the commotion, seeing Eve discussing with another individual.&nbsp; Overhearing the conversation he decides to approach the conversation, attempting to look inconspicuous while listening in.&nbsp; The Autumn Court.&nbsp; How many supernatural organizations are there?

"We will hold you to it," the darkling replies and Mehdi feels a fell pressure tighten almost imperceptibly around his throat. The taste of ashes rises unbidden on the young man's tongue, and the girl slowly turns her head back to him. Her milky blank eyes meet his with a gaze that strikes a chill to his core.&nbsp; "Introduce yourself to your Queen, Grimm. What is your name?"

"Mehdi Alvarez. It's an honor, your majesty." This time he does not rise from the bow. He'd already pushed his luck with his confident approach, now was the time for submission.&nbsp;

The driver locked eyes with Silas and was now lost to Silas' control. The driver very much obliged, He turned the car off for a moment and took the key with him. Silas leads him to what he describes as a "good place to smoke". The driver followed and in his mesmerized state, never questions Silas's leave of cigarettes or lighter. As they walk deeper into an unseen corner of the town, Silas looks the driver in the eyes and states, "Stay still and stay quiet." . The driver complied and Silas forces himself on his neck and feasts long enough to know he will still be able to drive back to the agency. He licks the wound clean and sends the driver off back to his car and back to the unknowing mortal world, as Silas makes his way into the college grounds.

The Autumn Queen nods in acknowledgement. "This is not the last that we will see of one another, Mehdi Alvarez. Enjoy your evening, although perhaps not too much." With that, her form dissolves into shadow, leaving only a flurry of golden brown leaves in its wake. The fluorescent lighting flickers back to life as power returns to the room, although somebody has clearly unplugged Liam's amplifier.&nbsp; A short walk down Hollywell Street, Silas crosses the threshold of Balliol College. Behind a small window to the right, the porter, obviously a ghoul, glances up at the elder vampire as he enters the lodge. "Good evening sir. Your invitation please?"

"Well that was a joyless end to an otherwise excellent evening." Liam curls his lips. "Let's go. We don't want to be late." He puts his bass away in its case, carefully, looking with irritation at the snapped string. I'll fix it on the toad.

Mehdi raises a hand and looks at the three vampires. "You heard what she said. If any of you feed around here again you're fucked. And so am I, especially me actually. The Autumn Court rules with fear and powerful magic, and they've just regained control of the freehold with the changing seasons. This was a show of power." he walks around the trashed flat, putting back on his blazer and grabbing the bass from Liam. "We're lucky she was in a good mood. Uhm, Eve and Rae, would you girls like a lift to Baliol?"