~~Author's Note~~
I'm going to start capitalizing more things with unique terminology in this setting, to help alleviate confusion. Not everything, but a few things that are easily mistaken for something else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Eric~~
Ganders was more than understanding of Eric's circumstance. Hell, all Jessy had to do was give him a few words and the man accepted everything with a smile. It really was a different universe these vamps lived in. They didn't worry about money, they worried about where their next blood bag was, or when the sun rose. They didn't worry about making friends, they just turned humans into slaves, and indulged in what a brainwashed ghoul would do for you. They worried about other vamps, and getting into turf wars. It was so alien to him, a guy who'd spent years now worrying about his next paycheck, and whether he'd be able to pay rent, and his loans.
He wasn't sure it was better. Since his new life had hit him, he'd gone through hell, and nearly died when a fucker put a silver knife into his god damn chest. It was still tender, and Eric rubbed the wound as he and Jessy found a booth. He was technically working, and was dressed in his suit for it, while Jessy had dropped by her place to get something more fitting a club.
Except, it was more fitting a beach than a club. The top was a black bikini top with some silver jewelry worked into the straps around the neck. And the skirt was barely a skirt, more like a small black piece of fabric that hugged the front of her pelvis, and another for her ass, with each piece joined by some straps that crossed her outer thighs and hips. An extremely short, extremely revealing skirt, that also made it obvious she wasn't wearing anything underneath it since it left her hips and thighs exposed. She did put on some heels, and Eric found himself quirking a brow at the sight of her in those deathtraps; they looked great, but he expected a sporty woman like herself to stay away from such unhealthy footwear. Apparently, she enjoyed dressing up. And being the weak fool that he was, he enjoyed looking at her all the more when she did.
"Look over there." Jessy nodded across the way to another booth. The two of them were on the bottom floor, where it was noisier, with people dancing, the music louder, and more people in booths compared to the second floor.
Eric followed her eyes, and like a firecracker went off in his mind, he immediately snapped to attention. A vampire, and a werewolf. He'd seen them before, and now he could make out their scents in the chaos of the club. There was more to it, too. His eyes noticed the way they moved, the way they looked back at him, and looked at the others. Subtle signs about who they were, what they were, mixed into the scents, confirmed what he knew.
"That's Tilly and Mason," Jessy said. "Tilly's a Carthian."
"A Carthian, here?"
"Yeah, and she shouldn't be." Frowning, Jessy glared at the two, and tapped her fingers on the table in front of her. "This is Invictus territory. She's not allowed to be feeding here."
"Doesn't look like she's feeding."
"Vamps come here to feed."
Eric shrugged, and watched the two intruders for a while. Mason gave him a nod, but otherwise turned to resume talking to Tilly. Tilly, on the other hand, seemed to take delight in Jessy's attention, and blew her a kiss. She had red hair cut to only a couple inches, and was a thin woman, average height with pale skin, and a few freckles. Mason was also average height, buzzed head with blonde hair, and like all the werewolves, a very athletic, muscular build. Eric took note, and memorized the faces for later.
"Is it breaking the rules if she's feeding on Mason?"
"I... don't know. I suppose not. We can't feed in each other's territory, but I guess the spirit of that rule has always been about not taking each other's kine." The reasoning didn't seem to make Jessy any happier though, and she frowned all the more as she continued looking at them. "We're not exactly on good terms with the Carthians lately. The Mirrden district takeover pissed them off, and then they did this shit with you and Terra Den, practically asking for escalation." With a long sigh, she nuzzled up against his side, eyes still on the distant couple. "They're damn hot, though."
Eric laughed, and she raised a brow as she looked at him. "Sorry. Still not used to my girlfriend—"
"Ooh, girlfriend. Never had someone call me that before."
"Never had a girlfriend so brazen about being attracted to other people, especially other women."
She returned his laugh, and gave him a buddy-buddy punch in the shoulder. "Men are hot, but women? Women are fucking hot, you know?"
"Agreed."
While the music continued, the hum of the crowd died down, and everyone looked toward the entrance of the club. Eric and Jessy both raised a brow at each other, before looking where everyone else was looking. Both of them dropped their jaws.
It was the Prince, Jack at her side, and two women the same size as the kid. Jack was wearing a nice suit, which Eric had come to expect from any dude in their Invictus covenant by this point. The two girls, who looked like they could be gymnasts with how lean their strong little frames looked, were wearing pink and blue tube tops, the brunette in pink, the blonde in blue; looked like cotton candy, together. They both wore miniskirts of the same color as well, and each girl held one of Jack's hands. Eric thought he was escorting the two humans, but on second glance, it seemed Jack was being pulled by the two girls.
It was the Prince that everyone was staring at. How the fuck did she get into that dress? It looked like it was made of leather, black leather, and it was nothing but straps cutting across her in various patterns. The skirt was straps, exposing basically all of her ass and legs, with a single strap covering her sex with all the conservatism of a g-string. A black, tight corset circled her waist, underbust, and a couple straps cut upward across her breasts, barely managing to cover her nipples. She wore fingerless black gloves of leather that reached her elbows, and knee-high black boots, with shallow, thick heels, the sort made for stomping. The woman already was ridiculously tall, so high heels did seem a bit overkill.
The Prince and her entourage walked past the bar, and out to the cusp of where the club opened up. To the front of her, the open stage where some humans were dancing, grinding, kissing. To the sides, tables and booths that were pressed against the sides of the stairs, the stairs snug to the walls, leading up to the second floor that sat above the club entrance. She looked around for a moment, and smiled a demon's smile, as she noticed Mason and Tilly, but also Eric and Jessy.
If Jessy was right, the Prince might disapprove of Tilly's actions, and—nope, that didn't happen. The Prince offered them all a small nod, and guided her three little ones up the stairs, disappearing onto the second floor. With the second floor only using half of the room, the other half open above for the dancing area, the seating on the first floor was able to look up and see the railing of the second floor. There were always a few people standing around, talking, drinking, kissing and touching. But the Prince didn't come to the railing, likely taking one of the grandeur booths behind.
Eric breathed easy. She made him nervous. Very nervous.
"God damn, she has the most ridiculous tits," Jessy said.
"... yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with that."
"Something about her isn't natural. She's super tall, fine, that's rare but not freakazoid weird or anything. White hair though? What caused that. And the tits with that tiny waist? That isn't natural."
