[Ariyah – International District – Ariyah's Haven – BoL – Fame 2 – NA – PRE-RESET]
Ariyah exited the elevator, laughing and giggling on Jacob's arm as they headed towards her apartment door.
Immediately after the Newcomer's event, Ariyah had woken Jacob with a phone call and told him to meet her at Pho Bac, the Vietnamese restaurant he'd previously taken her to. They had then spent the next three hours hopping from restaurants to takeaway joints, sampling everything that was still open on a late stormy Seattle night.
The Tremere had said that their spell would last the entire night, and Ariyah did not want to waste that rare opportunity.
And the resulting experience was so glorious, Ariyah didn't even mind the frequent trips to the bathroom to expel everything she had eaten.
She'd explained the eating-spree to Jacob as a celebration of her painting being sold at the auction and the young artist hadn't questioned her further. If anything, he seemed to revel in her happiness.
But after three hours, even Ariyah was at her eating limit, and they'd ended their midnight food run with a visit to a Ben & Jerry's. Now they were heading home, with a bottle of red that Jacob had purchased as a nightcap.
The two artists stumbled into Ariyah's apartment, still laughing as they recalled the ramen chef's face when Ariyah ordered her third bowl for the night.
“And he thought I couldn't finish it,” Ariyah put her phone and keys on the kitchen bench before turning to face Jacob, “but I showed him!”
“That you did.” Jacob was already pulling wine glasses out from Ariyah's cabinets, his lean frame stretched up to reach the high shelves.
On a whim, Ariyah moved to hug the tall artist, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his back. “Thank you for celebrating with me,” she mumbled.
What she wanted to say was, thank you for celebrating my fleeting return to humanity, or thank you for being with me as I taste food again for the first time in ten years, but she couldn't, so she just gave the young man a squeeze with her arms.
Jacob turned in her arms so that he was facing her and lifted her chin so that their eyes met, “I'm just happy you chose me to celebrate with you.”
Looking into Jacob's brown eyes, Ariyah felt a rush of affection for the young artist… and… there was a surge in her blood as she felt a familiar tug from her beast…
[Accidentally using Entrancement on Jacob: Charisma + Presence: 2 Successes vs Diff 3 | Fail]
[Entrancement Rouse Check: Fail | Hunger: 1 —> 2]
…and the moment was gone.
Ariyah blinked, fighting to keep the smile on her face as she gave Jacob a quick kiss. She used the excuse of putting her purse away to escape the kitchen and into her room.
She wasn't sure what had happened, but that feeling of her vitae moving was similar to what she felt every night when she forced life back into her body. However, this was not the same power, this was something new. And she had nearly used it on Jacob.
Earlier that night, she had promised herself that she would never hurt Jacob, and here she was a brush away from doing _something_to him.
She had let the night's joy get the better of her; she had let her guard down.
Just because she could taste food for the night doesn't mean she's fully human.
Ariyah went into the bathroom and splashed water on her face; an attempt to wake herself up. There was no real need, the horror of what she had nearly done was enough to bring her back down to earth.
Maybe she shouldn't go asking the Tremere for the secret of that goblet of liquid after all. It might be best for her not to able to taste food; it'll be a constant reminder of what a monster she truly was.