[Cornelius Bennett]

Did they know the Underworld would never let him in? Of course they did Did that stop them sending him? Did it hell. Bennett had been glaring at the same dark oak wall panel for over an hour, by now. It had only taken ten minutes for his mind to begin to wander and only half an hour for him to have changed seats four times. From under his eyelids, he watched the empty world around him. By this point, his toe had begun to tap the edge of his chair with some kind of rhythm, without consulting his brain in the meantime. He was only a few steps away from beating the door down like a five year old sensing sugar.

Nobody, nobody at all wandered the halls. In all the time he had been sat there, he hadn't seen another soul other than the nice young witch who had told him to wait there, because the director would be along in a few minutes. He hadn't even heard anythingthat hadn't been caused by his own movements since the door had clicked to a close behind her. In his mind's eye, he could see people behind the door, placing bets to see how long it would take for him to crack. At the rate time was going at, it wasn't going to be very long. A person could only take so much bordom in one go.

Another ten minutes passed, before a gentle clicking entered his awareness. He knew that walk. It was the walk of somebody who really didn't want to arrive at their destination, but had no time to spare. The footsteps stopped beside him, the sudden silence punctuated by a polite little cough. Bennett opened his eyes. Shoes....pale grey with a heel thin enough to cut through flesh...legs....he sped his gaze up and centered on her face. It was the same witch as before, looking incredibly appologetic.

"Mr. Bennett?"
Bennett nodded, giving a slight smile that was ruined by a yawn. He mumbled an appology and stood.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Bennett, the board has ruled that-"
He cut her off. "Let me guess, they said no....or they used a lot of flowery bussiness language that tells me no in such a way that I am meant to be left in the frame of mind that they are considering it?"
It was her turn, this time, to smile. "That was the jist of the speech. I'm sorry we've wasted your time"
Shrugging, Bennett gathered up the possesions and smiled at her. "It's all part of the job" With that, he turned to leave, careful to keep his expression the same. Who knew what kind of veiwing spells guarded this place.

It took him yet another ten minutes to find the exit, but it was worth every minute. So it was a cold, damp afternoon, he was outside and he didn't have to go into that building again. He shot a shuddering glance at the Underworld building. It was something about magical buildings that just got to him. Just passing by one got under his skin, made him dizzy with jumbled thoughts. He waited until he was far enough away from the building before he let out a breath. It had been a close call. He had almost been allowed to look at the Underworld's records. That would have been the last, the very last, event of his altogether too short career.

Now, however, he had little to worry about and the smell of fresh coffee was lurking at the back of his nose, urging him ahead.

[Marcus Scipio]

((ooc: I wasn’t sure if you wanted a reply but since I feel as though Marcus is growing dust…a reply is here. I can delete it if you wish. I kinda threw him into a coffee/tea shop since I figured that was where you were heading))

Marcus was out and about London earlier than was proper for his kind. This he knew by the slight tingling sensation that was building up on his uncovered skin. He had awoken early with for no apparent reason and found that it would be to much of bother to go back to the undead version of sleep, something akin to spacing out for a long period of time, when he would only ‘wake up’ a few hours later. Thankfully luck had been on his side and though it wasn’t fully dark, it was a murky day – weather that he could easily withstand so long as he took occasional ducks into the calming presence of artificial lighting and didn’t give a full-toothed smile.

And so he found himself wandering about with nothing to do, still being a jobless man. The job hunt thus far was a failure expect for the position he had done for a laugh – book clerk at some store specializing in paranormal books. They had asked when he could start three minutes into the interview. To which Marcus found himself confessing something one never tells their employer – no not that he was a vampire – but the reason he got fired from his previous job. In Marcus’s case however it was a tall tale that put every undesirable quality of an employee into a single person. The manager had turned pale and said something along the lines of they would get back to him, someday in next millennium. Marcus doubted even he would be alive that long. It seemed as though the London populace had no need for him or his skills. A depressing thought. One would think that at least they would need an ancient assassin that could pose as a lack luster artist. Apparently not. He knew should have learned accounting at the start of the twentieth century.

The tingling sensation on Marcus’s skin began to feel more like burning and less like a little prick. Time to duck inside for a bit he decided instantly, slipping into the nearest shop, a hole in the wall coffee and tea shop. He took a seat at one of the tables. A large woman appeared in front of him, hands on hips, looking very hostile. “Tables are for paying customers only.” she managed to say though clenched teeth.

“Many apologies my dear woman.” He replied politely, wondering if she would attack him with a spoon should he refuse to move. But being a well-bred gentleman he got up and stared at the chalkboard menu blankly. He hadn’t ordered anything from a coffee shop, not in his entire lifetime. The endless list of drinks and foods was overwhelming for someone used to two types of blood severed two different ways, human blood stale or fresh, or animal blood stale or fresh. He could have his coffee done every which way, and the tea – the different flavors … sure he couldn’t consume them but if he was going to buy the drink it might as well smell like something he had loved when he was living. So he stood, wondering what on earth to order.

[Cornelius Bennett]

Bennett was sure it would have been a better idea to get back to wherever he was staying, but the world just beckoned to him. Everything in that polite little London street just called...Come on, Cornelius, come and play...you know you want to. There was a good reason why people didn't read his mind, not simply because the seer side of things tended to make him slightly confusing, but because it was such a weird place. Logic, fear and patience were not often welcomed, although sometimes they held on tooth and claw.

He had been walking beneath the lemon yellow sun for almost ten minutes before he actually came upon what he was looking for. Just a cafe. Not a Starbucks or Nero or any of those faceless names, one of those tiny places that always seems overful even when only a few people are sat inside. Just the kind of place he liked, or at least it was just the kind of place he liked when he wasn't in the most social of moods.

The list was certainly...extensive. He could think of no other words to describe it. In such a small place, it was impressive; flavours, teas, cakes, juices. It was as if the owner had seen what every other place in the world was doing and decided to make an amalgorithmic shop of all of them.

It would have been fine, with such an extensive list, if he didn't know what he wanted and if the guy in front of him hadn't spent the past few minutes without ordering anything. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You know, some pe-" He broke off, shaking his head. He hated those kinds of visions, the ones that came and went without actually making contact...it was the only way he could think of describing 'feelings' without sounding like a total wack-job. The problem was, he couldn't tell if they were from the innocent looking man before him, or the rather intimidating woman behind the counter (who looked equally as likely to maul him to death as to read a bedtime story). "What was I saying?"

[Vladimir Night]

Vladimir strolled down the London street, looking around him at the random mix of people. He had just gotten off work at the pharmacy and he had the entire rest of the evening off. The Vampire smiled to himself. It wasn't often that he had any spare time in town, or had any spare time at all, for that matter, and he relished in the thought of spending an entire evening doing whatever he wished.

A beep came from his coat pocket and he pulled out his cellphone, flipping it open. A text message filled the screen.

"Vlad. Stop by the bar. Tell Zach I won't be home tonight. Thanks.
-T."

Vladimir grumbled something under his breath and immediately started a reply to his brother. "Trev, tell him yourself. I'm busy."

"Fine. Thanks anyways." Came the reply.

Vladimir sighed, closed his phone and slid it back into his pocket. He continued along the street for a while longer and then stopped suddenly. His nose had caught a familiar tantalising smell. Coffee. He needed coffee. He followed his nose until he found the little shop. It looked like a nice quiet place. Perfect.

Vladimir opened the door and stepped inside. Looking around he saw the counter and the small line waiting to order. He walked over and stood at the end of the line, looking over the selections as he waited patiently for the other two men in front of him to order.

[Marcus Scipio]

He couldn't do it. Ordering was going to be a major challenge and as more people stepped behind Marcus the panic rose. A glass of water would only get the already not so nice looking lady angry and he did not want to be attacked by her. Sure he was a vampire and the woman was human but still its wasn't as though he could ever harm a female and it was still day light. Lucky for her.

His eyes settled on something called a Latte. Since he was maybe causing people in line to run late that sounded more than appropriate. He was about to order when the man behind his started to say something. Marcus turned ready to make some cutting 'I'm better than you mere peasant' retort but the man had the oddest look upon his face. Dazed more like it. "What was I saying?" He asked.

Marcus smiled politely through closed lips. The man who had started off sounding terse was now confused. He gazed over the dazed one's head to the man behind him. Perhaps they were here together. Marcus did a double take, nope not likely seeing that a fellow Vampire was standing behind the human. Bother. That meant he had to take care of the man himself. To bad he had no idea as to who the other vampire was so he couldn't call for some compassion from a like minded soul.

"Sir are you alright? You were about to tell me something about my lack of ability to order or some such nonsense." He asked, making his accent sound ticker than usual. Playing up the foreign card if questioned on his inability to order would work nicely. "Do you need me to get you help?"

[Vladimir Night]

Vladimir was intently scanning the menu, looking for something that he hadn't tried before. A Frappicino. That sounded good. With a bit of caramel flavouring added in, too. Even better. Hhmmm, what size? That was the ultimate question.

A sudden spurt of conversation in front of him distracted his attention from the menu. He looked over at the two men in front of him. The man directly in front of him seemed to be dazed, almost in a trance it seemed and the other man....'ah, a fellow Vampire' Vladimir thought....was talking to him.

"Sir are you alright?" The other Vampire was asking in a thick accent, "Do you need me to get you help?"

Vladimir pulled off his glasses and began polishing them on this shirt, when he had finished, he looked back up at the other two.

"Is something wrong?" Vladimir asked the other Vampire, slightly concerned.

[Marcus Scipio]

Marcus turned to the other man - well other vampire actually, that had addressed him before the human could, his mind suddenly finding the entire situation amusing. After all here was one dazed and confused man surrounded on both sides by creatures that human literature had painted as demon spawn with a satanic love of blood and torture. Wouldn't the human feel comforted to know he had two such creatures worrying over him? Sure the love love of blood part was right and even then not for all their kind loved that but demon spawn? The thought was offending to Marcus.

He shrugged at the other vampire, making a mental note to ask the man's name once things cooled down. It was always good to get in touch with the vampiric community when one came to a new city. "I suppose so? He seemed fine and quite ready to remind me that I was holding up the line, for which I do humbly apologize for, the next minute not recollection of what had happened." he responded, temporary forgetting about the man between them.

His thoughts returned to the man, "Truly sir, do you need assistance or would you rather be left alone?"

[Vladimir Night]

Vladimir listened to what the other Vampire was saying and frowned. That was really very odd. He wondered absently what could be wrong with the human in front of him and if there was any way he might be able to help.

"That is rather odd." Vladimir commented thoughtfully.

He opened his mouth to say more when a sudden thought struck him. He whipped out a small note pad and a pen from his pocket and started flipping through the pages. When he came to the most recent page he started furiously scribbling down some notes, nearly all thoughts of the other Vampire and the...confused....human gone from his mind. He soon finished writing and slipped the pad and pen back into his pocket...just in time to hear the song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" coming from his cellphone in his pocket.

With a slightly annoyed growl, Vladimir pulled out his cellphone and flipped it open. The conversation could be heard as follows...

"'ello."

"Vladimir, darling, it's been SO very long since I've seen you!"

Vladimir glared at a spot on the wall, "Monique, I told you before. Stop calling. Using me to get at my brother is just not going to work."

"But, Vladi!"

Vladimir cringed at hearing her say her nickname for him. "Monique, the answer is no." He snapped his cellphone shut and dropped it back into his pocket, a scowl still on his face.

[Cornelius Bennett]

Voices voices, why were there that many stupid voices? Bennett groaned softly, rubbing a hand across his eyes in a vain attempt at ridding himself of thought. "Look, I'm sorry, mate, I was out of line..." Once again he broke off, giving each man as thoughtful a look as he was being subjected to. What was that weird feeling? He couldn't get way from it, the thought just kept tickling the back of his mind.

"He can speak for himself, he's just dealing with temporal difficulties right now" What was that damned thought? He knew, knew, that he'd dealt with it before, but it hung just out of reach, just out of the lamp light. It was as frustrating as it was slightly scary. He had no idea just what was going to happen, or who was there, but unlike the other people surrounding him, he partially knew something was wrong.

When he looked up again, one man was on the phone, while the other had the concerned look on his face once again. "Thanks, no, I'm just fine...sorry to bother you really" He rubbed the small of his back with one hand, the thoughtful look becomming appologetic even as he spoke.

It was only seconds later that his dark eyes widened in realisation. Vampires. He was surrounded by vampires. He had never been sure why, exactly, he could sense it. So far as he could work out, he could generally sense those who had death in their very being; vampires, werewolves...among others. It wasn't that they were going to do something, necessarily, it was more that they could.

[Marcus Scipio]

Marcus watched in utter fascination as to what was going on around him. How had he managed to jump into the mentally unstable or the Attention Deficit Disorder hang out? First dazed man, who was mumbling something that he had been unable to catch since the other vampire, one he presumed to be normal as well, had started scribbling like a mad man and talking on his pocket phone. Was he the only one who had any sense of focus left in the world? Perhaps it had been lost in evolution and only his kind still had it.

His focus shifted from person to person, not knowing which one to really put faith in to make things seem normal at the moment. At least the man, the dazed one, had come back to the world of the living and made some half hearted statement about being fine. Right...

Amusement bubbled up once again in Marcus as the human's eyes went wide and he looked as though he had just found out that he was a fish about to be eaten. The human couldn't possibly suspect anything - humans in his experience were rarely that preceptive.

"I find that hard to believe. Here let me buy you a drink so that you might get your bearing. Would you happen to have any recommendations?" He glanced back up at the menu and the woman who any moment now would demand the removal of their presence from her establishment. He ignored her glare and turned so that he faced the other men. "By the way I'm Marcus."

[Vladimir Night]

Vladimir looked over at the other two. The human was apologising for speaking out of turn. Now that was interesting. Vlad wondered what it was that the human had said. He must have missed the conversation as he had come into the shop. Still, he admired the man for admitting to his mistakes. Not many people did that these days.

Vlad noticed that the human was suddenly nervous. 'Nervous about what?' Vladimir thought, 'Oh. No, he couldn't have figured that out. Could he have?' Vlad sincerely doubted that any human, at least any normal human, could have figured out that he and the other man were indeed Vampires. It just wasn't possible. Okay, wasn't probable. Now the other Vampire was talking and Vladimir listened intently.

"I find that hard to believe." The other Vampire was saying, "Here let me buy you a drink so that you might get your bearing. Would you happen to have any recommendations?" Vlad noticed that the Vampire was looking at the menu as if he'd never seen one before. 'Isn't that odd, now..' His thoughts were interrupted as the other Vampire continued speaking. "By the way I'll Marcus."

Smiling politely, Vladimir extended his hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Marcus, and you, sir, though I don't know your name. I'm Vladimir."

[Cornelius Bennett]

So...vampires. It wasn't so often that Bennett came upon Vampires, at least not in the daylight. Most tended to keep to the shadows, rarely seen by anybody who didn't do the same. Even then, most people were scared of them, although Bennett wasn't really sure why. So, he knew the reasons...cannibalism isn't exactly accepted in most societies, but most didn't even drink human blood often. All the same, he couldn't stop himself from rubbing his neck. It was all well and good with vamps he knew, but these two were totally unknown to him.

He shook his head slightly, breaking himself out of his thoughts. He really shouldn't have over generalised. The two of them seemed like nice enough people, after all and they hardly seemed fazed by him. Which wasn't really surprising, in all honesty. Bennett hardly looked intimidating, not by any stretch of the immagination.

"Oh...uh, Bennett...good to meet you too" Polite, old fashioned. it wasn't something he met with every day, it almost made him want to improve his own deplorable manners. His eyes fell onto the woman behind the counter and he felt his insides squirm slightly. They were the only customers at the desk, but the look she was giving them was akin to a max weilding maniac. If Bennett hadn't known any better, he would have sworn that she was cursing them, not to say that whatever was going through her head would not have been desturbing in Its own right."Oh, I guess...the lattes...look...good"

[Marcus Scipio]

Marcus shook Vladimir's hand while trying to guess his age. Other vampires for some reason made him feel a heady combination of trill and anticipation. Another person with history, a long history, that might maybe understand why he still jumped out of his seat if a woman entered the room. If anything he would love to drop the pretense of being a member of polite society and demand the other's age. Vladimir didn't look to be older than him but there was no telling with his kind. And maybe if Vladimir and him were to move past five minute acquaintances he could ask about available employment for their kind in the area. That would be nice.

"The pleasure is all mine Vladimir, believe me." He responded automatically to Vladimir, his eyes occasionally glancing at the menu.

His smile never left his face as he listened to the human introduce himself. Something was definitely off about that one. Neck rubbing and nervousness. Perhaps the man was a bit more in tune with his survival instincts than other humans? Or he wasn't normal. There was that small possibility as well. At least he mentioned a drink. The quest to order something was solved!

" The lattes it is. I believe it might be in my best interest to order before the amicable woman behind the counter looses her patience. If you'll excuse me."

Marcus left the other men and placed an order for two lattes with some difficulty. No one had mentioned he would have to pick a size as well. He went with the middle one figuring that the design on the cup was more pleasing to the eye than the small. Needless to say the woman was not amused but humored him. At least he was able to pay without issues developing and returned to the group with his order placed. "Shall we sit?"

[Vladimir Night]

Vladimir smiled as he shook the other Vampire's hand. He seemed like a very nice fellow, despite his inability to order coffee. Somehow it seemed to Vladimir that this other Vampire, Marcus he had called himself, it seemed that he was older and deserved more respect than your average Human.

He couldn't help but grin inwardly when he saw the Human's actions. The Human, Bennett, had been acting very strangely this entire time and Vladimir couldn't help but wonder if he really wasn't a normal human after all. It could be very possible, especially around these parts. London wasn't as normal as most people liked to believe.

"Shall we sit?" Marcus asked. Vladimir smiled and nodded. "Let me place my own order and then I'd be happy to join you at a table."

He had only just ordered his caramel flavoured Frappicino when his phone went off again. This time, however, the ring tone was "The William Tell Overture". Vlad muttered a few choice words under his breath as he pulled his phone out and flipped it open. Would everyone just leave him alone?!

"'ello."

"Hey, Vlad, where are you?"

He sighed, "Why do you want to know, Trev?"

"Well, um, I was, uh just wondering if you were home or not and if you could cover for me being gone tonight."

Vladimir groaned and started massaging his temple with his free hand. "Trevor, what did you do this time?"

"I haven't done anything!" Trevor's voice sounded almost panicked and the next string of words were said so fast and loud that Vladimir had to hold the phone away from his ear. Finally, Trevor was done yelling and Vladimir made an attempt to calm him down.

"Trevor, listen. Don't hang up on me, you listen. Call Des. He should be home and he'll help you."

"But Vlad!"

"Sorry, Trev, but I'm out tonight and I plan on making a time of it." 'For once.' Vladimir thought.

"Alright, thanks, Vlad."

"Bye, Trev."

Vladimir closed his cellphone, shaking his head at his brother and then walked over to the other two men.

[Cornelius Bennett]

This had to be the single oddest moment of Bennett's life. And he had seen some strange things, most had been of his own doing, of course. Coffee with vampires, it sounded like the name of a bad sitcom. Not that there is any other kind, so far as he was concerned.

"Sure...thanks, uhm, Marcus" His eyes fell on the other vampire, who was deep in conversation and shrugged. It wasn't as if he wouldn't be able to find them if they sat down before he ordered. Bennett pulled a seat out at a free table and smiled up at the two men. "You didn't have to do this. If anything, I should have bought you a drink, jesus, I am rude, aren't I?" Of course, he didn't really expect an answer. It was more small talk, although it was more real conversation than Bennett had been a part of since the last time he had met Annabelle.

More to give his mouth something to do, other than to babble innanly, than for actual thirst, Bennett took a sip of the drink.