[Lorenzo gives him a wink as he settles at the table. "You know the trappings of the young, my friend. They like to play with an element of risk, no?" They come to gamble - they just don't realize they're gambling with their lives.
Stefan flashes her a smirk in return, before nodding.]
The Tower is knowing for their dramatics. They ... commit to the bit?
[Melanie and Damon head over to the craps tables, settling on the edges and Melanie flashes the group a smile. "Mind if I try my luck?"
"By all means," they reply, passing her the dice, and she rolls them in her hand before raising an eyebrow in Damon's direction. "Would you like the first throw or do you mind ladies first?"
Mia finds the corridor she needs to get to the security room (14) and glances to Rusty. He nods in acknowledgement and moves casually into position at the bar as Mia slips through (6 vs. 1), while Rusty engages the person nearest to him with a fair amount of charm (18), blocking the view.]
Fraternity or sorority, if adventure or debauchery is promised, they are not far behind. It isn't hard to get the right man or woman at Mississippi U to wrangle their friends.
Stefan's long, black ringlets are something. Buffy suspects Ezra's spell has to be grounded by something. Case in point, Mia's reflection passing by a few mirrors reflecting the girls from The Craft. )
That they do.
( She waves off a passing blood tray, but grabs a glass of something alcoholic to not stand-out.
Damon smirks, leaning forward, making his contribution: a flirtatious blow on the dice in her hand.
"Go for it, dollface," he says.
Rusty holds the person's attention, obstructing their view and their attention. As dark as Rusty is and haunted, he can turn on the charm when he wants to. He looks like an aged Tom Welling and whose type isn't that.
The corridor doesn't go for long before Mia finds the door. It's sliding, with a window on it. Inside sit two members of security and one leaning over the two of them. Out a porthole, she sees someone smoking and looking out onto the deck.
Two men in security uniforms look up, spotting Mia by the window, the one leaning over is very fixated on something he sees on the screen. Security Guard 1 slides the door open. (17, 16, 1)
[Melanie grins back at him, before sending the dice flying down the table. It's not a great role (8), but it's not a losing roll either. She pushes up on her heels to peer at it before raising an eyebrow.]
Shall I roll again?
[Stefan also takes a drink, scanning the room to find a table. "How do we feel about poker?"
Scarlett returns with the drinks, and passes one over to Rhett before settling on the seat next to him. "So what are we playing? Five card draw?"
Lorenzo smiles as he gestures to the dealer. "Whatever the lady prefers."
Mia strolls casually, making as though she's looking for something, and is maybe a bit lost (19). She blinks when he approaches her, before shaking her head. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was looking for the bathroom. I thought it was this way?"
She finishes the bluff with her most winning smile (15), hoping a pretty girl is enough to distract.]
("What do you say, guys? Let it ride?" Damon asks the table, playing at being the life of the party.
Buffy glances at him. )
As long as they're not playing for kittens or anything with a pulse, I'll be your moll.
( She rests a hand on his shoulder and follows Stefan to the poker tables.
"Five card stud," Rhett purrs, pulling Scarlett close for a kiss before letting her take her own seat. He takes a generous gulp and sets his glass down as the dealer shuffles. "Because you and I, Lorenzo, are studs, are we not? Prime specimen of man."
Lorenzo always eats up this men, man shit.
The security guard believes her, but just barely, like he knows she needed to go to the bathroom, but that she's here for a reason. (17) He just gets the wrong idea, flashing her a smile.
"You know, we can't rig any games, beautiful. It's against the house."
But, she's really very pretty. And her smile does its' trick (8) )
[The vampires all settle into their games, and Mia senses she has a fish on the hook.]
Guess I'll just have to try my luck the old fashioned away.
[She flashes him a curious glance as she tries to peer past his shoulder, before gently trying moving past him to get herself inside while he's bamboozled (15).]
( She may be a slayer, he may be a vampire, and she may look like Robin Tunney from The Craft, but he still has a job to do and he steps in front of her. One hand comes up gingerly, not forcefully as his bashful smile wanes.
"I'm sorry, security personnel only in here." Half-heartedly, he explains why. But he doesn't sound like he thinks she'll do this. "You could be trying to help your boyfriend cheat," he explains, teetering his hand to illustrate.
[She knows that William is going to drag her for having to listen to all this later. But she tries to play as cute as possible (16), hoping that she hasn't lost all of her socialite swagger in her brief turn as a runaway.]
( he falls for it (12), between her charm, her glamour, and the Queen raison d'etre, he steps aside, gesturing with a hand. he gives his buddies a, 'don't worry about it, look,' and pretty quickly, they each make an excuse to clear out (break, a bite) leaving her and this man alone.
( There, is, on the back corner of the main, larger monitor.
"One of us has to stay on cameras, they can handle the rounds." And no, he's not going to explain what the rounds consist of. (Both on and below deck, yep.) "Why, worried they'll interrupt us?" he asks, hands resting on his spinny-chair.
She moves towards the big monitor before pushing herself up on the desk, keeping her attention on the security guard. She crosses one leg over the other as she attempts to slip the drive into the monitor while he's distracted by the bit of leg and the fall of her dress (17).]
Maybe. I'm not a girl who likes unfinished business.
[There's a bit of a double entendre in that, but not the kind he's thinking.]
[The drive plugged in, she rests one hand against his chest, playing with the lapel of his jacket. Mia raises an eyebrow, but her question isn't to him, it's her brother on the other end of the line.]
( He leans close, teasing, flirty, but doesn't seal the deal. He thinks she's in the palm of his hand, too, as much as he is in hers. His lips trail along, hovering close, a smile forming. "I just have to make sure we aren't interrupted, you understand."
"Yeah, yeah. In. Can you stake this guy, already," William asks.
"I second that," Buffy says under her breath through a smile. )
( Buffy looks over at Stefan, a nice (5) for her poker face as she realizes it's her turn, and luckily, their dealer is a women.. )
I mean. Hit me.
("Bust. Bold to hit on a face card," the dealer says. Buffy shrugs.
"I didn't mean, literally," William says. He doesn't think Buffy meant it literally, either. "Stash him or dump him, because there are two security vampires expecting their third security vampire friend to be there with you when they come back. Or, without you if they think you went off somewhere and -- I'm not finishing this sentence." )
[It's not like they weren't going to kill him anyway. But fine, now she has a body to deal with before the others get back.
She remembers a utility closet not far from here, and provided she has enough time. Or she can toss the body over the back deck. Or, she'll quickly scan around the room to see if there's somewhere in the security office she can hide him (15).]
( Remembering the schematics of the ship, it might be better to stash his body in a utility closet closer by. She'd have to go back down the hall, out the sliding door and then onto the deck, which is technically being patrolled by the two other security vampires.
There is a locked, metal truck if she wants to break a lock, or search his body for keys. )
[She is not (5). But she will steal them for later in case they have to get into other places on the ship. Instead, she's just going to haul up the vampire corpse, doing a quick glance to make sure the hallway is clear, before heading for the utility closet and stashing the body (nat 20).
If they come back to an empty security room, she has a feeling that it's probably expected for a guy that gross.
And as she makes her way back out again, she raises an eyebrow at Rusty, who's been gripping his glass a little too tightly as he makes conversation. He excuses himself from his current conversation and moves to another part of the boat, but out of the corner of his eye he catches something familiar (18), and tries not to let his attention linger too long, but as he rounds the corner, he finds himself drawn to a stop, eyes widening at the Arbiter sitting casually in the middle of the room.]
You shouldn't be here.
[This is probably not his best move. Given that he can likely see through their flimsy disguises, there's a chance that he will give them away. But he can't help but want him gone for what comes next.]
( Arbitration is a waiting game, and can sometimes last months, depending on what he's been dragged into. It forms differently. It requires different obligations. It is an unwavering rite.
Some of the time, it requires political maneuvering and invitations he can't say no to, especially if he's arbitrated them before. The same case can't be arbitrated again, but someone else can call for arbitration. Sometimes, it's all about angles. Very rarely does a new angle change the outcome, but people try.
His is fearsome. He is calculating. He is formidable. And he sees what shouldn't be seen. )
You aren't here.
( Except, he is, isn't he?
And no, Faron doesn't go anywhere he shouldn't be, where he isn't expected to be.
He turns to face him, setting his glass down before rising up from his chair. )
[Rusty's jaw sets, anger flaring because he remembers what happened the last time he was before the Arbiter. It didn't end well for him, and he didn't think the arbitration was particularly fair, but he was bitter and a little insane at that point.
Still, he doesn't want the Arbiter here for what's coming next. He takes another step closer and dropping his voice.]
Why are you here? I wouldn't have expected this to be your ... scene.
I wasn't aware I had a scene. Tell me, what are my lines? And how should I say them?
( A glean in his eye, his mouth curls into a smile. )
What should I call you? Shakespeare? I'll just call you the Bard. Make things easy on everyone.
( He purses his lips. Catastrophe. )
You're the last person I'd think might call out my scene. I was extended an invitation. And we both know there are some invitations I can't refuse. Even for a few minutes of face time. How long do I have to... turn the page today?
[Rusty's eyes wander off the side of the boat, eyes pinpointing where they are on their journey down river. He takes a moment too long answering before Stefan's voice is in his ear:
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everyonelives2025-03-12 08:39 pm
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Stefan flashes her a smirk in return, before nodding.]
The Tower is knowing for their dramatics. They ... commit to the bit?
[Melanie and Damon head over to the craps tables, settling on the edges and Melanie flashes the group a smile. "Mind if I try my luck?"
"By all means," they reply, passing her the dice, and she rolls them in her hand before raising an eyebrow in Damon's direction. "Would you like the first throw or do you mind ladies first?"
Mia finds the corridor she needs to get to the security room (14) and glances to Rusty. He nods in acknowledgement and moves casually into position at the bar as Mia slips through (6 vs. 1), while Rusty engages the person nearest to him with a fair amount of charm (18), blocking the view.]
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Fraternity or sorority, if adventure or debauchery is promised, they are not far behind. It isn't hard to get the right man or woman at Mississippi U to wrangle their friends.
Stefan's long, black ringlets are something. Buffy suspects Ezra's spell has to be grounded by something. Case in point, Mia's reflection passing by a few mirrors reflecting the girls from The Craft. )
That they do.
( She waves off a passing blood tray, but grabs a glass of something alcoholic to not stand-out.
Damon smirks, leaning forward, making his contribution: a flirtatious blow on the dice in her hand.
"Go for it, dollface," he says.
Rusty holds the person's attention, obstructing their view and their attention. As dark as Rusty is and haunted, he can turn on the charm when he wants to. He looks like an aged Tom Welling and whose type isn't that.
The corridor doesn't go for long before Mia finds the door. It's sliding, with a window on it. Inside sit two members of security and one leaning over the two of them. Out a porthole, she sees someone smoking and looking out onto the deck.
Two men in security uniforms look up, spotting Mia by the window, the one leaning over is very fixated on something he sees on the screen. Security Guard 1 slides the door open. (17, 16, 1)
"You shouldn't be back here," he says. )
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Shall I roll again?
[Stefan also takes a drink, scanning the room to find a table. "How do we feel about poker?"
Scarlett returns with the drinks, and passes one over to Rhett before settling on the seat next to him. "So what are we playing? Five card draw?"
Lorenzo smiles as he gestures to the dealer. "Whatever the lady prefers."
Mia strolls casually, making as though she's looking for something, and is maybe a bit lost (19). She blinks when he approaches her, before shaking her head. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was looking for the bathroom. I thought it was this way?"
She finishes the bluff with her most winning smile (15), hoping a pretty girl is enough to distract.]
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Buffy glances at him. )
As long as they're not playing for kittens or anything with a pulse, I'll be your moll.
( She rests a hand on his shoulder and follows Stefan to the poker tables.
"Five card stud," Rhett purrs, pulling Scarlett close for a kiss before letting her take her own seat. He takes a generous gulp and sets his glass down as the dealer shuffles. "Because you and I, Lorenzo, are studs, are we not? Prime specimen of man."
Lorenzo always eats up this men, man shit.
The security guard believes her, but just barely, like he knows she needed to go to the bathroom, but that she's here for a reason. (17) He just gets the wrong idea, flashing her a smile.
"You know, we can't rig any games, beautiful. It's against the house."
But, she's really very pretty. And her smile does its' trick (8) )
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Guess I'll just have to try my luck the old fashioned away.
[She flashes him a curious glance as she tries to peer past his shoulder, before gently trying moving past him to get herself inside while he's bamboozled (15).]
Can you see the whole boat in here?
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"I'm sorry, security personnel only in here." Half-heartedly, he explains why. But he doesn't sound like he thinks she'll do this. "You could be trying to help your boyfriend cheat," he explains, teetering his hand to illustrate.
Or is he just asking if she has a boyfriend? )
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[She knows that William is going to drag her for having to listen to all this later. But she tries to play as cute as possible (16), hoping that she hasn't lost all of her socialite swagger in her brief turn as a runaway.]
C'mon, I just wanna see. I promise I won't tell.
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"They need to make their rounds." )
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[Not that she's complaining. She lets her eyes scan over the terminals, seeing if there's a spot for her to plug in and give William access (16).]
I mean, if everyone's down in the casino, do you just look in and then head back?
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"One of us has to stay on cameras, they can handle the rounds." And no, he's not going to explain what the rounds consist of. (Both on and below deck, yep.) "Why, worried they'll interrupt us?" he asks, hands resting on his spinny-chair.
William gags. )
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She moves towards the big monitor before pushing herself up on the desk, keeping her attention on the security guard. She crosses one leg over the other as she attempts to slip the drive into the monitor while he's distracted by the bit of leg and the fall of her dress (17).]
Maybe. I'm not a girl who likes unfinished business.
[There's a bit of a double entendre in that, but not the kind he's thinking.]
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"What about pleasure?" he asks, pushing the chair out of the way so that he cans step closer to her. )
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You in?
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"Yeah, yeah. In. Can you stake this guy, already," William asks.
"I second that," Buffy says under her breath through a smile. )
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[The grabs the wooden stake she strapped to her thigh and brings it up hard and fast (nat 20), shoving it into his chest where his heart should be.
She can't say he hasn't earned it. Why do vamps have to be so gross?]
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( Buffy looks over at Stefan, a nice (5) for her poker face as she realizes it's her turn, and luckily, their dealer is a women.. )
I mean. Hit me.
( "Bust. Bold to hit on a face card," the dealer says. Buffy shrugs.
"I didn't mean, literally," William says. He doesn't think Buffy meant it literally, either. "Stash him or dump him, because there are two security vampires expecting their third security vampire friend to be there with you when they come back. Or, without you if they think you went off somewhere and -- I'm not finishing this sentence." )
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[It's not like they weren't going to kill him anyway. But fine, now she has a body to deal with before the others get back.
She remembers a utility closet not far from here, and provided she has enough time. Or she can toss the body over the back deck. Or, she'll quickly scan around the room to see if there's somewhere in the security office she can hide him (15).]
I'll take care of it.
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There is a locked, metal truck if she wants to break a lock, or search his body for keys. )
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William, where are the guards now?
[Where they are will ultimately decide what move she makes, but for now she'll pat the guy down looking for keys that may match the lock.]
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( He does not know if he knows ship directions, but this tells her they are each at opposite ends. She probably has some time.
There is a ring of keys! Is she good at identifying keys? She can do a sleight of hand check if she'd like. )
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If they come back to an empty security room, she has a feeling that it's probably expected for a guy that gross.
And as she makes her way back out again, she raises an eyebrow at Rusty, who's been gripping his glass a little too tightly as he makes conversation. He excuses himself from his current conversation and moves to another part of the boat, but out of the corner of his eye he catches something familiar (18), and tries not to let his attention linger too long, but as he rounds the corner, he finds himself drawn to a stop, eyes widening at the Arbiter sitting casually in the middle of the room.]
You shouldn't be here.
[This is probably not his best move. Given that he can likely see through their flimsy disguises, there's a chance that he will give them away. But he can't help but want him gone for what comes next.]
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Some of the time, it requires political maneuvering and invitations he can't say no to, especially if he's arbitrated them before. The same case can't be arbitrated again, but someone else can call for arbitration. Sometimes, it's all about angles. Very rarely does a new angle change the outcome, but people try.
His is fearsome. He is calculating. He is formidable. And he sees what shouldn't be seen. )
You aren't here.
( Except, he is, isn't he?
And no, Faron doesn't go anywhere he shouldn't be, where he isn't expected to be.
He turns to face him, setting his glass down before rising up from his chair. )
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Still, he doesn't want the Arbiter here for what's coming next. He takes another step closer and dropping his voice.]
Why are you here? I wouldn't have expected this to be your ... scene.
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( A glean in his eye, his mouth curls into a smile. )
What should I call you? Shakespeare? I'll just call you the Bard. Make things easy on everyone.
( He purses his lips. Catastrophe. )
You're the last person I'd think might call out my scene. I was extended an invitation. And we both know there are some invitations I can't refuse. Even for a few minutes of face time. How long do I have to... turn the page today?
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"Do we have a problem?"]
No.
[Then his attention comes back to Faron.]
Maybe a half hour? Give or take.
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