[Ariyah – First Hill – Some rich client’s apartment – BoL – NA]
[Rouse check – BoL: Failure. Hunger 1–> 2]
Ariyah put down her paintbrush and stepped back from the wall.
She tilted her head as she scrutinised the large green foliage extending down from the ceiling to the middle of the snow coloured walls. Calatheas, philodendrons, alocasias, they draped over and under each other, in multitudes of greens and greys, wistfully swaying in the non-existent breeze.
This was a far cry from the elaborate undersea kingdoms that was popular when she first started but then tastes change; minimalism is all the rage now. And if she was honest with herself, she even liked it.
Ariyah was considering whether any more final touches were needed when she heard the tap, tap, tapping of expensive heels on hardwood floors. She shifted her stance and put on a smiling face as she turned towards the living room entrance.
“Cassandra! I didn’t think you would be dropping by tonight~”
“Oh~ I know you said not to interrupt you while you were working, but I just couldn’t resist.” A middle-aged woman dressed in a pale green power suit quickstepped into the room.
She breezed through a quick peck-on-each-cheek greeting, “And Sofia said that you would most likely be finished by tonight… Oh Ariyah dear, you’ve outdone yourself again!”
Ariyah didn’t think it was quite the masterpiece to justify the gushing enthusiasm, but she nodded along as Cassandra immediately started verbally planning the layout of her new living area; it seemed that a lot of new furniture would need to be procured to match the new feature wall.
A breeze came through the opened balcony doors and Ariyah caught the unmistakable scent of Cassandra’s blood. It reminded her that she hadn’t yet fed for the night.
Without much conscious thought, Ariyah interrupted her client’s rambling, “Cassandra?”
[Activate Awe]
[Scene Queen Hunting Check: Manipulation + Persuasion + Awe; 3 successes vs Diff 4 – 1 Fame; Hunger 2 –> 1, No Resonance]
.
.
.
Ariyah extracted her fangs from Cassandra’s neck, licking the wound closed in the process.
Just like the woman, Cassandra’s blood was nothing exceptional, but that made the rare experience of tasting… something, more precious.
Ariyah checked to make sure there weren’t any rogue blood droplets that would stain the suit jacket before straightening the garment on Cassandra’s shoulders.
Her client still had her eyes half-closed from the pleasure of the Kiss, and Ariyah shook her gently to rouse her.
As soon as the woman’s gaze met her, Ariyah exerted her will and breathed, “Forget.”
[Activate Cloud Memory]
“…I think you’ve been working too hard,” Ariyah said, holding Cassandra’s elbow as if supporting her, “You must be exhausted.”
Cassandra blinked at her in confusion, “What happened?”
“You got dizzy and stumbled.” Ariyah answered, leading her out of the living area, “I don’t think the paint fumes helped either.”
Ariyah led the other woman towards the curving stairwell near the front entrance, “Don’t go back to the hotel tonight, you go sleep in your room, I’m done here anyway…”
After seeing her client up the stairs and tidying up her own gear in the living room, Ariyah sent a quick text to Sofia.
The wall in the living room's complete.
Cleaned up as much as I could; you pack up the rest tomorrow.
Client came in tonight, said you told her it was okay? Not okay.
Ariyah locked the front door behind her and left on foot.