Boston by night. (Lyra and Misha)

[Lyra]

Josephine tried not to look bored as she floated through the party guests. Even though she had not been on the guest list, a sizable contribution to the fund raiser that had inspired this particular gathering, along with her hauntingly good looks, had gotten her in the door. Tonight, her appearance was that of a pale black haired beauty with light green eyes. Her blue dress accentuated her curves nicely, drawing special attention to her chest with the halter style bodice. It would have shown her back nicely too, but her hair came down past the bottom of her shoulder blade hiding most of it from view. It was safe to say that she drew quite a bit of attention, but that had been her goal of course. Luckily with all the celebrities, mostly just locally known but with a few nationally recognised faces as well, she didn't't stand out too much. People mostly assumed that she was there with somebody.

This particular event was sponsored by one of the nearby Universities, she hadn't really bothered to find out which with there being so many in Boston, in an attempt to raise money for research. That's what had caught her attention. She was looking for someone with a particular frame of mind and she figured that this was her best chance of finding it. Anyone interested in science would do, but this suare had the added bonus of being geared towards the medical field. Still, she would have to be very discerning in selecting her candidate. Picking the wrong person would be disastrous to the both of them. He or she would have to be strong willed and resilient or they would get them both killed.

As the night wore on, Josephine started to worry. Her candidate had not yet presented itself and she feared the guests would begin to peter out. It was then that she was approached by a local socialite who had recognised her. Josephine had been ignoring this particular person all night for a multitude of reasons. One being that she did not like to associate with the local Toreador or any other for that matter. They tended to be too nosy and they liked to gossip. This one seemed no different on the one or two occasions that their paths had crossed. That was bad to someone in Joephine's position. The locals wouldn't like the fact that a Tzimisce was taking up residence in their city, and Josephine had taken great pains to make sure no one realised one had. The local authority, being a Malkavian, had only agreed to allow her in because he sensed that clan's special gift in her and mistakenly assumed she was a part of it. That had been a wonderful stroke of luck. She would, of course, have to suffer through a conversation with her to keep up appearances. Mentally readying herself, she turned and greeted the object of her annoyance, "Oh hello, Rita. How are you tonight?" Even as she smiled her fake little smile, her hope that she would make it out of this conversation to find her special someone began to die.

 

[Misha Hiroki]

Naomi tried to walk through the huge amount of active and bustling guests to get across the room, all while carrying a full glass of red wine. Trying to walk through while keeping a small profile only managed to get her so far until she tripped over her own dress and fell forward, launching the contents of her glass at the beautiful woman who seemed to be failing at ignoring some gossipy and annoying woman. She fell one her face, dirtying her beautiful red dress and breaking her thin, rectangular glasses. She sighed and stood up, her broken glasses in her hand. She thought positive though, she could still see without them. She only needed them to read and see things that were far away, and nobody could see past ten feet here anyway. She looked up at the woman she had spilled the wine on and cringed at how she must have ruined the woman's dress. "I'm so sorry!" She said.

 

[Lyra]

Josephine let out a surprised gasp before glaring coldly at the young. "Do you realise how much this dress costs?" she asked menacingly. To tell the truth, she didn't mind too much. Over the couple of centuries of her life, she had been able to aquire her fair share of wealth. It was fairly easy, considering she didn't have to waste money on cash sinks like food. Still, she knew indignation would serve her better here. "I hope you are able to replace it. Please excuse me, Rita, I need to find something to wipe myself off with," she explained to her would be tormentor. "You, come with me," she ordered the clumsy girl. With that, she led the way to the rest room. Once inside, she relaxed into her normal demeanor, wiping all emotion from her face. When she was satisfied that she was as dry as she was going to get, she grabbed a pen and a card from her purse and began to scribble.

 

[Misha Hiroki]

All the way to the bathroom, Naomi apologized profusely, claiming that she could pay it back no matter the cost. That was a lie, but she didn't want to do anything to piss off anyone that might be able to screw over any future career she would have once she finished college. She saw that the woman was writing something down on a card, she wondered what it was exactly. Her phone number, maybe her address so she could pay her back for the ruined dress. "I'm sorry again, miss. I tripped while I was trying to get my boss a glass of wine."

 

[Lyra]

"Oh you don't have to worry about it, sweety," she assured her. "That was just for Rita's benefit. I know you can't possibly afford to pay me back for this so I'll make a deal. I just need you to run a few errands for me and we can call it even," Josephine said, smiling as she handed the card over. It was just an address. "Come by sometime after eight. I'm a night owl, unfortunately, so I don't like to receive visitors during the day." Hopefully, the girl wouldn't get too confused when she came by. It wasn't in the best neighbourhood and the building was a little run down. It suited her needs, but it certainly didn't reflect the image she was portraying at the moment. With that, she turned and promptly disappeared in the crowd without waiting for a response.

 

[Misha Hiroki]

Naomi was speechless. She took the card with the address and took a look at it before tucking it between her breasts since her dress didn't have any pockets and her purse wasn't with her. She walked out of the bathroom shortly after the woman did and spent the rest of the party in a corner, looking over the address, trying to see if she could figure out anything familiar. Nothing hit her as the party ended, and still nothing as she drove home. She had a restless sleep, taking the day off since the party had ran so late. At the time quoted at the party, she arrived at the address at about quarter after eight. The sight confused her a little, such a beautiful woman in a ridiculously expensive dress staying at a run down piece of shit like this? She pressed the buzzer, then waited for a response.

 

[Lyra]

Only a couple of seconds after the buzzer had rang, the door slid open revealing Josephine. She was now clad in an even more attention grabbing dress than the night before. Attention grabbing not because it was more revealing, on the contrary it was much more conservative in that regard with a hem that brushed the ground when she walked. It stood out by virtue of the fact that it was overwhelmingly regal, especially contrasted against the urban surroundings of the neighbourhood. Her eyes also seemed different somehow. They appeared much lighter, still blue but now almost white. She was still beautiful but now slightly alien and a little menacing.

"Hello, I'm so pleased you made it. Come in," she said with an almost unnoticeable smile. "I hope you didn't have any trouble on the way over. As long as you parked out in front the neighbours shouldn't bother your car," she assured as if it was some everyday matter that didn't warrant too much concern. "Would you like some dinner before we get down to business? I prepared a bit of steak for us. The dining rooms is right this way.

The house was slightly less worse for the wear than the outside but it wasn't exactly a five star establishment. Still it had obviously been nice once upon a time. It appeared much larger from the inside in that way that houses often do. In the dining room was a rectangular table meant for only six at most with places set for two at each end. "Have a seat and I will get the food."

 

[Misha Hiroki]

Naomi sat herself down at one of the table ends and waited. The whole scene scared her a little. The woman looked a little scarier than she did back at the party, but she dismissed that as her mind using the situation to play tricks on her. She looked around, still wondering why such a beautiful woman that wore such an expensive dress stayed in a place like this. Maybe she's just very frugal. She kept her mind on what would surely prove to be a good meal in her very near future, she hadn't eaten anything all day out of worry.

 

[Lyra]

Josephine placed the steak in front of her guest before taking her seat. Her place at the table was conspicuously lacking food, but she acted as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. "I hope its to your liking, its been quite some time since I've cooked. I was once very good at it though," she explained. She really did want the girl to enjoy it. It would be her last after all. The next meal the girl ate, which was currently tied in the basement incidentally, would be infinitely more satisfying. She hoped the girl wouldn't be too difficult about the transition.