World of Darkness World of Darkness: Attrition - We're Just Friends!

[Lucien Hunt]

The low slung black bird of the L.A. streets quietly moved down the avenue like a predatory animal looking for a lesser vehicle in which to devour. However, and gentle as could be the the purring Lamborghini crawled silently into the parking garage of a comfy apartment building.

After several stairs the Underwear King of L.A. stood outside Ariel McKenzie's door preparing to knock. Of course he did the final check on his clothes and hair, and overall seemed rather pleased with his appearance. He wasn't dressed to impress Ariel, c'mon he was that Lucien Hunt, but as he was raised life is a formal affair for which one must always look their best.

With a last moment brush on his dark slacks he rapped on the door of the lovely and talented Ariel McKenzie.

[SalmonMax]

Ariel gave herself a last quick look in the reflection off her TV screen, then hurried over to the door. Despite her protestations online, she did actually hope to impress him a little...mainly because she had some ulterior motives. Her understanding of Lucien's powers was limited, but any and all resources would be needed for this one. She sincerely doubted they were going to find whoever'd taken those shots the old-fashioned way.

Especially since she didn't want the investigation to delve too deeply into the mysterious animal that had been rollicking around the park at the time.

She opens the door then, her red-orange hair done back in a sort of Chinese style bun with a stick holding it in place. It left the gentle curve of her neck visible as it blended into her freckled shoulders, all but bare under the narrow black straps of her dress. The dress was a little too informal to be an evening gown, but was nicer than casual. It was the sort of thing Ariel's mom might have called 'her Sunday best,' though it didn't involve any floral patterns, thankfully. Simple, figure-flattering black, with silver trim and a faint green iridescence that rippled and patterened over it as the wearer moved. It hugged her hips, but was modest enough in length; almost to her knees. Around her neck was a plain gold necklace.

Ariel offered Lucien her hand. "Nice to meet you."

[Lucien Hunt]

Attractive didn't begin to describe the vision of loveliness that stood across the threshold before him. He took her hand bowed low, kissing the back of her palm with well practiced gentleness. "And a pleasure it is to finally meet you Ms. McKenzie."

Whether he meant it or not his voice was soft and seductive and the single rose he raised up in his free hand wa presented with all the charm and romance of a live action Disney prince.

[SalmonMax]

He was, she decided, better looking in this context than when surrounded by a frat party. He just seemed to fit in more. The rose was a sort of geekily charming touch too.

Easy there. This one's taken. Sort of.

Yeah, but Sarah HAD said she wouldn't mind.

Bad brain. Bad. Go sit! Sit in the corner. Good brain.

After just a moment's hesitation, Ariel smiled and took the rose, then offered her arm for the short walk to his car. "So I'm curious. Why did you arrange all this? Just trying to expand your social circle, or...?"

[Lucien Hunt]

"Arrange all this?" He looked amused as he led her to his low slung, four-wheeled night prowler (it's not a 'car'! ). "Ariel, this hardly a grand design. Just a modest man being given the privilege of inviting an Angel to sit with him and dine."

He was hamming it up, but this was Ariel, one of Sarah's friends (and Sarah had some hot friends), so he figured it would be okay to be more playful with her than he would have with any other 'regular' woman he'd asked out. She seemed nervous though, even hesitant, so he hoped some good humor and foolishness might help to loosen her up. "Tell you what, the next time we go out I'll make it an event. Dinner for two along the Pacific Coast on a diamond studded yacht pulled by winged sea turtles as dolphin sing the songs of the sea to us in a romantic serenade."

With a witty grin, he slid the car door open and helped his lovely princess inside.

[SalmonMax]

Ariel laughed at that. Alright, maybe she WAS taking this a bit too seriously. She got into the car and automatically hooked up the seatbelt.

"Okay, maybe a bad choice of words," she admitted. "I just meant, what made you want to have dinner with me?"

[Lucien Hunt]

"My insatiable appetite." Lucien grinned and turned the key, starting his ride and gettign them on their way. "In all seriousness though Ariel, nothing made me. You were there, I was there, people need to eat. I decided, having never met you, that it would make a wonderful opportunity for us to meet, greet, and eat. What's the worst that could have happened? You say 'no'?"

Maybe it was because Ariel was a bit uptight, maybe it was because she was a cop, but for the first time in a long time Lucien drove like a gentleman, obeying all the rules of the road.

[SalmonMax]

"So you wanted to meet me," Ariel says, fishing out the answer she was looking for. "Which is fine."

She drummed her fingertips on the windowsill of the door for a moment.

"I wanted to meet you too."

[Lucien Hunt]

Lucien smiled and nodded a bit. "Well, see? Things worked out then."

Wow, poor girl is wound incredibly tight.

As he turned a corner and continued towards the restaurant he decided it was time to break the ice. "So, do you always tell your brain to sit in the corner? Or do I have the honor of being the first to get your brain thinking that naughty?"

[SalmonMax]

Ariel looked over and up at Lucien, her eyes narrowing for a moment. Her mind was complex, a mess of conflicting instincts and emotions kept in check by sheer discipline and sense of duty. For a moment the peeping mage got a sense of what was powering it all. Like a giant red heart, pulsing under the 'surface' of her mind, pumping not with blood but with primordial rage.

"Alright, ground rules then," she said, and there was plenty of ice to go around. "We covered some of it online, now I'll add another one. No mind reading without permission."

[Lucien Hunt]

"Now there's something we don't hear every day, hm? Do forgive me, but it's not that easy." Lucien said casually. He expected her to be angry with him, it was understandable, however all he could was simply give her the truth of the matter. "Sometimes I just hear the mind. Be it yours or anyone elses. We call it 'resonance', it's a by product of our chosen talents. Some of us answer questions before they're asked, others can hear dreams while their neighbors sleep. Please take no offense, however do try to be reasonable about it, I am in the car with a woman who is also a nine foot tall killing machine when the moods suits. I'd say there are certain quirks you and I possess that simply we must accept if this night is going to go well at all."

He looked at her like all this weird stuff was just old hat to him. "Would you prefer Chinese, or Thai?"

[SalmonMax]

"Chinese," Ariel replies automatically. "Actually, lets do Thai. I haven't tried that before."

A moment later, when she'd had a chance to organize her thoughts and reactions, she said, "Thank you at least for letting me know that I need to watch what I think. You didn't have to do that. Sorry if my reaction seemed out of proportion...that sort of thing just gets under my skin a bit."

She manages a chuckle. "I guess it's a little ironic that I'm so concerned with privacy, when my job is to investigate people. Maybe there's a guilty conscience in there or something."

"As long as we're violating privacy...I've been curious. What do you do all day, Lucien? I doubt photoshoots occupy that much of your time. You don't seem to have, or need, a job. So what fills your time?"

[Lucien Hunt]

"Thai it is." The sleek night machine took the next right and they continued on their way.

"Please, you needn't apologize. I understand completely how you feel." He seemed so calm, his voice almost hypnotic and soothing as he was never anything more with Ariel but polite and understanding. "But you can no more control what you think than you can stop your own heartbeat. Take it from me, I'm an expert on the subject."

He looked across the console and smiled kindly to his passenger. "You're not prying, honest. My life's an open book to those with the courage to ask. Well, not completely, I keep the odd stuff reserved for people like...," He seemed lost for the right word for a moment. "Well, like us."

"Had you asked me that nine months ago, you'd be right." A gentle sorrow seemed to grip his voice and filled the air with a tone of regret. "But now, I study most of the time, and when I'm not studying I'm watching. My real life is still very busy, but my new power has become my new passion. I want to more about people like us. Why are we... us? You know? Why do we get to have these abilities? The Awakened, The People, the Kindred..." He sighed. "There must be a 'why' somewhere, you know? The desire to understand, help, and protect people like us from the sleepers and in turn protect the sleepers from people like us. I guess that's what I do now."

After finding a parking spot and offering his arm to the lovely woman he was thankful to have asked out, they approached the finest Thai restaurant in all of L.A., and Ariel was thankful Lucien said he'd get the tab.

"Oh, and I play in a band." he said out of nowhere as he held the door open for her.

[SalmonMax]

Ariel gave Lucien a somewhat surprised look at that last. It was a welcome distraction from the sallow sullenness that awoke in her on seeing the restaurant. He just had to show off. She hated feeling like she wasn't pulling her weight. On the other hand, she realized that Lucien didn't see it that way. He probably had no intention of indebting her, or impressing her...well, maybe some of that...so much as that he just wanted to eat at the best place.

Besides, what was she going to do? Throw a spazz and demand to be taken someplace shitty? She had her nice dress on and everything, what had she expected, Jack in the Box? Why not just -enjoy- herself for once?

She took Lucien's arm and walked with him into the restaurant.

"Well, I could tell you about 'the people,'" Ariel said. "But probably nothing Sarah hasn't already. Most of it I'm still working out myself, honestly."

[Lucien Hunt]

They handled the simple formalities like locating reservations, discussing a table preference and all the typical things that went along with getting a seat at a more expensive restaurant. Jack-in-the-Box was looking like a good idea, actually.

"Then tell me about you." He said calmly as he politely pulled out the seat for his lovely date. "We don't always have to talk 'shop' you know. There is nothing with just being Ariel McKenzie, gorgeous detective extraordinaire, for just one night. Really, I won't mind at all."

He sat across from her and took in the atmosphere. She couldn't turn off, that much was obvious, but there was no reason she shouldn't try and unwind for a bit. "So, what do you recommend? I have no clue what any of this stuff is?" He tried, but failed, to stifle a bit of laughter.

[SalmonMax]

Ariel looked at the menu and shrugged with a grin.

"No idea. Like I said, I've never tried Thai before. I think I'll just get something that hasn't got too many little pepper things by it and hope for the best."

She takes a sip of water and eyes Lucien over the rim of it.

"So...tell you about me, hm? Lets see, what's most shocking...ok, I know. I am a big fan of old movies and music from the 80's. Everything people did then seems so perky and upbeat and charmingly cheesy...and of course, that's what my parents listened to, so I grew up with it."

"So what deep dark secrets do you have?"

[Lucien Hunt]

"I like food sex." He replies as blunt as a tack hammer right between her eyes. "Not 24/7 mind you, but I went to one of those sushi bars where the girls are the table and you just eat it right off of them. Kinda surprised at how turned on it made me. Found out at home with a couple of Vickie's Secrets models, and one of their agents, that it really is a good time all around. Been a fan ever since."

He sips his water while setting his menu down, considering he couldn't read it anyway, and looks over to Ariel. "Ever been covered in banana pudding?"

Ariel's silent pondering took hold of the table for a moment. He could tell she wasn't sure if he was kidding or being serious.

"If not, we can give it a shot later." He wiggled his eyebrows at her giving her a grin that almost begged to be slapped from his face. "Any flavor you like."

His stare told her nothing, but his pheromones told her that skipping dinner was always an option. However there were tell-tale signs in his body language that left her wondering just how much of his offer was serious, and what was fun n' games.

Click to reveal..

Seduction, witty exchange, 3 successes

[SalmonMax]

On the one hand, that kind of talk was several shades too familiar for where they were at, in Ariel's view. She couldn't help it...when it came to relationships she was a bit conservative. If he hadn't been so earnestly serious in saying it, she could have passed it off as irreverent humor and laughed. As it was...

But then to complicate the matter was the fact that Lucien was dead gorgeous, charming even in the process of being overly familiar, and she herself was achingly lonely. Some of that she knew was just that reaction of being packless. She knew that. But it didn't HELP to know it. She wanted to be with someone, or with several someones and sometimes it almost hurt not to be. Lucien wasn't who she wanted, but he was someone, and he seemed interested in her, and that was flattering no matter what.

Back in the real world, she managed a somewhat uncomfortable laugh, and blushed deeply.

"Uh, okay...I guess I deserved that, asking that question." She chuckled again, more genuinely, at herself this time, and nervously fiddled with tucking her hair back behind her ears.

"Let me rephrase that. Strange sexual preferences aside, what sort of things do you like?"

[Lucien Hunt]

"I embarrassed you." He seemed genuinely concerned. "I'm sorry. I'm just not shy in the slightest and have tendency to say exactly what's on my mind."

He chuckled along with her, she was cute when she was flustered, that was for certain.

"See, now that's an easier one." The playboy looked about the room and noticed that apparent;y Thai Cuisine was not a popular choice tonight. The restaurant was fairly empty and would give the couple ample opportunity to speak freely about, well, themselves.

"To be honest, I really don't do much of anything anymore but study. After learning what I was I found myself consumed by a driving passion to know. I guess I have Peter Parker syndrome; we all have a great power, and with it comes a responsibility to use it for the greater good, but who decides what good is?"

"I used to like music a lot. I'm actually rather gifted with a guitar." He seemed to have brushed aside the rich-boy humor. "Be happy to play for you sometime. I don't know Ariel, to be honest, most of the things I used to enjoy I really haven't had the time for, I guess I'm becoming obsessed with searching for answers. Oh, I do like dating, so thank you for helping me with that little... vice."

He shot her a wink as their server arrived.

[SalmonMax]

Ariel gave the waiter a smile and moved her glass to make room for the meal. She turned the smile onto Lucien then and raised the glass in a little toast.

"Well, occasionally awkward or not, it's been nice. Glad I could help you with that vice."

She takes a sip then sets the glass back down and studies Lucien more closely. "So you study, and you have a drive to know things. I guess you don't have a teacher? Self-teaching can work, but it's not the easiest or best way to master something. I mean, I've been having a bumpy ride myself, but I can only imagine how much worse it'd be if I hadn't had someone to hold my hand a little in the beginning and show me the ropes."

[Lucien Hunt]

"You seem fine to me." He rolled some of the veggies around on his plate letting Ariel's detective skills ponder the possible double entendre.

The Thai music softly filled the air in the background while the couple enjoyed their fist few bites of a new experience. "No teacher per se'. I have resources, which is, for now, enough. We Mastigos," his use of the unfamiliar word didn't stop him from finishing his sentence. "We love to know. Everything has an answer, sometimes it's not the answer we wanted of expected, but to know the truth carries with it a certain measure of satisfaction for us."

"Like I know you want something from me," the gentle clang of his fork was in contrast to the music for only a moment. "Which is good. Because I must admit, there is something I want from you."

[SalmonMax]

Ariel lifts an eyebrow questioningly, then sits back a little as she readjusts. Score one for Hunt, she decided. If it'd been his plan to get her to underestimate him with his frat-boy persona, it'd worked. Now she was off-balance.

She considered her words, then decided to lay everything on the table.

"Actually," she says, leaning forward again. "You're going to be very happy then, because I don't want some thing from you. I want two things."

She grins. "Though the nice night out is a pleasant bonus. So tell me, Lucien. What can I do for you?"

[Lucien Hunt]

"I want you to get into the police evidence compound and get for me a sample of the drug Crimson." He said about as relaxed and matter of fact as a man could. No hesitation, just pure absolute, confidence that no matter how ludicrous his request may seem her reply would simply be 'Okay, piece of cake.'. "I'll also need any lab reports and blood analysis, please."

[SalmonMax]

Ariel stares at Lucien for a moment, trying to decide if he was making fun of her. Then she breaks into laughter. For a second she just leans back in her chair and giggles until she has to dab her eyes with her napkin.

"Agreed," she finally says, "On the condition that any information and findings you come to you share with me."

Eyes still sparkling with merriment, she asked, "That all?"

[Lucien Hunt]

"Well, it's certainly a lovely enough smile, glad I could bring out again. That's all." Lucien said, smiling. "And I had already planned on sharing, so you'll find no problems there."

[SalmonMax]

"Deal then," Ariel replies with a nod.

"The second thing is a bit more potentially dangerous. I don't know what Sarah told you, but a few weeks ago she, I and another...one like me were attacked in the park Sarah's taken to haunting. Attacked by a man with a sniper rifle. He wasn't alone either. More got away in a humvee. He was on the roof though, and wasn't quick enough to escape."

She watches Lucien, trying to see if he knew all this already, then adds, "Right now there's a lot more unsures than sures to this, but from what the guy's said so far, and from the circumstances and...just from a hunch...I think these people either know, or have a good idea, about the kind of people we are. I mean, me, Sarah and this other guy, Moss."

"I'd like your help in finding more out about them. I'm going to coming at this from every angle I can, including mundane, but the idea of people driving around with high power rifles wanting me and other people I know dead is a very strong motivator for leaving no stone unturned."

[Lucien Hunt]

Lucien's brow furrowed with curiosity. "Ariel, I'm not intending on dismissing the danger of men trying harm you or Sarah, or this Moss fellow, but I'm not sure what you're asking me."

He sipped his water to clear his pallet. "I certainly agree that this should be handled, how exactly do you think I can help?"

[SalmonMax]

Ariel nodded and rubbed the bridge of her nose...annoyed a little at the persistent feeling from her rational mind that this whole thing was silly and she shouldn't even be pursuing it.

"I'm not sure exactly what I'm asking either," she admits. "I have no idea what you can or can't do. This is a stab in the dark for me. The guys that shot at us got away except for one. We have physical evidence; the rifle, ammo, and some personal possession of the shooter. We have the shooter himself. He's not giving any info though, and he's not cracking. He's a fanatic."

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, clearing away the haze of frustration that surrounded this issue. Her inability to get anything useful out of him had been eating at her. Then she looked at Lucien and just wore how she was feeling on her face without guards. She was scared, plain and simple.

"We've got more than enough to put the shooter away, but its his friends that I'm worried about. I figured maybe you could...read his mind or use him, or something he owns to...I don't know...zero in on them somehow. I wouldn't ask, but there's no telling when or where they'll try again. I can't be sure there's time for ordinary police work to do its job."

[Lucien Hunt]

"Ariel," Lucien started, the natural empath reached over and rested his hand upon hers. "Relax. Please. If I can help you I will, of that you can be certain. We're in this together."

He winked in an attempt to calm her down. No magic, no real particular effort on his part, just a reassurance that he was there and he would help her if could. "Now, if you're suggesting I delve into him mind and take a look around, I can do that, yes." He squeezed her hand gently. "Normally I shy away from such activities, but this is certainly an emergency. None of what I find will hold up in court, but it may allow 'our kind' to take care of things before things get out of hand."

With that business out of the way he felt he needed to add one more thing. His eyes met hers and spoke with a voice that was both sweet and tender in her ears. It seemed to have been sometime since Ariel had a man to her in a such a caring manner. "You needn't worry Ariel. I consider you as much an ally as I do Sarah, or Declan, even Amber. We're all in this together and it is only by relying on each other that we will pull through. Together there is no problem we can't solve, so don't ever think your alone. When ever you need something, don't hesitate to ask, and I'll do everything I can to assist you. Money, a place to come for someone to talk to, my door is always open, and I mean that."