Re: Feeding the Hungry Vampire - Natty & Ekat

by **Jedi_Master_007** Fri May 08, 2009 2:00 pm

OOC - Ok. I'm leaving this open only if Ekat wants to write a response to Natty for saving her from the botch. If not I'll give you each a new thread.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Thu May 07, 2009 8:38 pm

OOC - If you're trying to use Dominate, you still need to roll it.

by **purplegeekness** Thu May 07, 2009 4:26 pm

Natalya could see Ekaterina hadn't had much experience in this kind of thing. it was threatening to cause a commotion in the club. Ekaterina's position was precarious enough. If Dragon heard about this, she may be in greater jeopardy. Natalya rose from beside Vic heading over to the other two girls. Her eyes caught Linda's and held them "Ladies, might I suggest you both go up to room 6 and talk about any issues that you might have in private. This is not the place for a public argument." Her eyes drew Linda's deeper and deeper into her own, her eyes pulsed at certain words, making the impulses strong for Linda to go upstairs.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Thu May 07, 2009 3:59 pm

Vic looked like he was just about to respond when suddenly Linda jerked back from Ekaterina suddenly. She immediately excused herself from the table. "I think you've got the wrong idea." Oh no! That was not good...

by **purplegeekness** Thu May 07, 2009 3:44 pm

Natalya laughed a low throaty laugh "Well, not exactly your heart, Vic, not exactly your heart." Her eyes danced with mischief "I only took up fencing around a year ago. I've been having fun with it. It's quite interesting in its own right. I'd like to learn some kendo and perhaps kenjutsu to improve my technique, but can't seem to fit it all in. I do have a few interesting weapons in my collection. An English Heavy Cavalry sabre from the Napoleonic War is a particularly prized specimen." She listened intently to Vics speech. "I'm sorry, I guess my inexperience with the world of wrestling is showing here. Are there any schools in LA? If there aren't I'd still think it would be a good place, otherwise, NY or Chicago would be good places. You need that kids that want it more than anything else in the world. Mississippi and Alabama would net you the people you need, but they're too isolated. You might be best setting up a....roving clinic for want of a better word, to roam those areas and check out the local talent. Offer those that are good enough a place at your facility....assuming of course you can do that kind of thing."

Natalya's smile reached from ear to ear. "I was just curious to see the kind of company that would sponsor you. I would have thought they'd appeal more to the NASCAR demographic, but it seems they want to make you more upmarket. I'm sorry I'm talking shop again. I'm only curious because my magazine at one point attracted significant advertising revenue from Carheart. It was entirely unexpected, until they launched a series of tough clothing for women. I still thought we were a poor choice for advertising for them, but beggars cannot be chosers."

by **Jedi_Master_007** Thu May 07, 2009 10:46 am

"Oooh a fencer you say? A woman after my own heart, are you?" Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Vic's arm came down from behind the top of the booth and slipped snugly around your shoulders. "There are a lot of schools out here in California, actually. That's part of the problem. Even though there is a dense population, I really don't see this as a good location. I am really seeing more opportunities in the Northeast Great Lakes and Tri-State area. The Mid South, some places in Alabama and Mississippi are worth looking into too."

Vic scratched his chin with his other hand while he tried to think. "Uh, I'm not really sure what you might think is an interesting endorsement. I was the spokesman on a small advertising campaign for Bombay Sapphire once. I have an Amani sponsor. Not really anything interesting. Adidas and Ford are sponsors for the entire RWS, and so I get tons of free training stuff and a new truck every year." Vic shrugged. It didn't seem all that impressive to him.

OOC - Penny, you can roll Charisma + Subterfuge and paste your results as your reply. Pending the results of the roll, I'll give you a response.

by **purplegeekness** Wed May 06, 2009 5:34 pm

Natalya laughed, resting her hand on Vics chest to feel the muscles playing there. "Well, you've impressed me with your knowledge and demeanour. I'm in the process of learning Chinese myself and Japanese myself. The Oriental languages are fascinating in comparison to others of the area. I'm also an avid fencer, so I'm not completely ignorant regarding fighting techniques and so on. I understand the effort involved to train in the martial arts. There seems to be no end of youngsters in LA that might jump at the opportunity for a better break in life. A school opened in the city by you, might go a long way to find talented fighters. I would recommend looking into it." Natalya smiled chuckling before leaning closer. "That depends on if you'd like the audience....personally I don't mind giving one or two a show, but I'd prefer not to do it right here in front of everyone." She leaned back her eyes showing danger and excitement "I just meant anything that struck you as unusual or funny or ironic in the endorsements you've made. I understand if you don't want to say."

by **Jedi_Master_007** Wed May 06, 2009 5:12 pm

Linda looked at you for a few seconds. She squinted, not quite sure of what to make of the question. "Not really. I've seen it before before. It happens in the locker room from time to time, but I've never done anything like that." Linda didn't seem bothered by how close you got to her. She finished the last of her drink, toying with the olives on the tooth pick, twisting it around between her forefinger and thumb. "Have you?"

by **Penny Dreadful** Wed May 06, 2009 4:39 pm

Ekaterina put on a slightly rogueish smile of her own. "I am currently at a crossroads in my life, as it were. Where my future will lead is likely going to be determined in the next couple of days. But those are long term prospects. Where I'd like to be in my immediate future is something I can tell with a great deal of certainty."

She moved closer to Linda and lowered her voice so the other two couldn't hear. "Have you ever considered kissing a woman?"

by **Jedi_Master_007** Wed May 06, 2009 4:21 pm

"Thank you." Vic said with a small bow. "I try to be more then just brawn. I went to great lengths to make myself legit. I graduated from ASU with a four year degree in Japanese, which included, of course, a three year stay in Japan. I am a black belt in Jiu-jitsu and Judo. I've also studied various military commando techniques. I am proud to say my stock portfolio is doing well. I was thinking about opening a school out here when my contract comes to an end." Vic responded to Natalya's comment about art with a bit of a chuckle. "Does that mean it involves crowd participation?" Vic nodded when Natty looked him up and down. When she asked him about his endorsements, he chuckled once more and then finished off his tumbler. He set it down and then spread his arms over the back of back of the booth. "What sort of endorsement are you talking about?" He purposefully left it open for her to reinterpritate.

Linda smiled at Ekaterina. "I don't suppose you've ever seen any of those paintings yourself?" She relaxed back in her seat a little, taking another sip from her drink. "You're very smart Ekaterina. What are you planning on doing with yourself? I mean, where do you see yourself in the foreseeable future?" She looked at you curiously. "I mean, clearly you like to travel, and you pride yourself on your intelligence and your education. But what else is there?"

by **purplegeekness** Wed May 06, 2009 3:26 pm

"You must have worked hard to get to the position you're in. Newcomers always want to shake the tree a little. It is the nature of the younger generation to covet the things that others have worked hard to attain. You're clearly a well educated and urbane man." She looked up from his chest whispering softly, in a voice filled with promise "I think that it will be tonight, Vic. You'll have your very own private viewing of something I like to think of as.....expressive art." before continuing in a normal voice "So what's the most unusual endorsement you have?"

by **Penny Dreadful** Wed May 06, 2009 2:24 pm

"Perhaps you simply haven't been exposed to the right kind of classical. If you ever get a chance, give Beethoven's 5th and 9th symphonies a listen, as well as Bach's 'Toccata & Fuge'. I promise that they are anything but mellow. The Ramones were more a guilty pleasure for me than anything else at first. They were of course not allowed in Hungary when I was younger, but I managed to get my hands on a few LP's. After the collapse of the communist bloc I purchased original presses of all their albums and they've remained a favourite of mine."

"Lord Byron was indeed a ladies man, though I am not sure if he had a club foot or not, and if portraits of him are to be believed he was rather handsome. He had many love affairs and was embroiled in quite a bit of scandal, and he was known to be intimate with both Mary and Percy Shelley. Mary wrote 'Frankenstein', of course, but Percy was a very respectable poet in his own right. I particularly enjoy his sonnet 'Ozymandias'."

by **Jedi_Master_007** Wed May 06, 2009 11:44 am

A change of subject returned Linda's attention. "The Ramones?" She crinkled her nose. "A-O! Let's goo!" She giggled. "I can't say anything. I still think McJagger is sexy, for an old man. And Sean Connery too. There's something about men who age..." Linda took a sip from her new Martini. She leaned backwards in her seat a minute. "Shelly was Frankenstein, right? Byron was Lord Byron too, right? Wasn't he the author everyone seen as a lady killer, even though he had a clubbed foot and was more or less ugly to behold?" Linda's head cocked to the side. She leaned forward. "I can't help much with Classic music. It's too mellow for me. It puts me to sleep. After I work out, I usually listen to some R&B because it tends to relax me some and slow down my heartbeat."

by **Penny Dreadful** Wed May 06, 2009 11:20 am

Ekaterina suppressed a grimace of annoyance. This woman had the attention span of a 5-year-old. If this wasn't going to lead anywhere soon she'd find easier prey, super attractive accent or no.

"Oh yes. I enjoy literature a great deal, especially the romantics. You know, Byron, Shelley, and so on. I also have a great love of music. I enjoy a lot of classical music, but I am also one of the biggest Ramones fans you are likely to meet."

by **Jedi_Master_007** Tue May 05, 2009 7:18 pm

"Well? What did you learn?" Linda's tone seemed slightly distracted. She seemed to have turned her attention once more towards Holly and what was going on over there. It sort of dawned on you that this conversation about the occult was already more in depth then Linda cared about...and that she was at this point, asking questions merely because it seemed prudent to do so, not out of any real interest. In the meantime, she'd used her teeth to pluck one of the two olives from her martini. Shifting in her seat, Linda changed the subject just a little towards a different direction. "I'm going to order another drink. Do you want anything?" She didn't wait for an answer. "So what else are you interested in? Surely being all into ancient mythologies is hardly your only interest." Linda plucked the last two olives from the toothpick and ate them.

Vic's conversation brought back to wrestling made him take another drink from his tumbler. He waited a second. "It's always complicated," he had said. "There's always tension in the locker room when championships and main events and big shows are on the line. Egos are huge, attitudes are generally bad, and most of the time the young kids have no respect for the old farts who came first. The old farts at the top are loathe to give up their spots and pass the torch, which only causes stagnation. Honestly though, Holly can be a bitch, and when she's a bitch, she's known for saying things she shouldn't but as far as personal heat between the two? Nah. Anything you might have seen on TV between them is just that, a work. Me on the other hand..." Vic shrugged and took another sip from his tumbler. "I have a love - hate relationship with most of the staff. I'm a cut above most of the locker room, I have tons of endorsments. I make the big bucks, I wear the strap, and I more or less tell the writers what script to use. I get a lot of negative feedback. On the other hand, I've been carrying the RWS now for three years. I am the main eventer, and I've got enough stroke to make or break someone's career if I want too." When you got close enough to be against him, Vic looked down at you a little. It was a nice cleavage shot. "Nice." He said matter of factly. "I don't think I'll be doing a viewing at a gallery. I have a zero dark-thirty flight to Chicago for a press conference the following morning. If you want what I want, and what I think you want, it's going to have to be tonight or never..."

by **purplegeekness** Tue May 05, 2009 6:11 pm

"That is a long and convoluted storyline, Vic. So is Holly accepting of her position defeated by Linda? What does the future have in store for the enmity of these two? How do your scriptwriters keep tabs on who hates who? Is any enmity carried on outside the ring? The only reason I ask is that it all seems so dramatic in the one or two shows I've seen of the genre." she looked mysteriously at Vic, smiling gently "Perhaps we can go once you've relaxed some more and feel comfortable tonight.....and perhaps go to an art gallery after your auction tomorrow?" she laughed softly, snuggling in at his side. He felt warm, warm and soft. He had that glow and smell about him that only a well cared for, well groomed man could. She thought she could make things interesting for him tonight.

by **Penny Dreadful** Tue May 05, 2009 5:15 pm

Ekaterina changed gears at top speed. She wanted Linda to be interested and intrigued, not confused. "No, you misunderstand me, though perhaps it is my fault since I am not used to speaking about these things in English. Few people here care for this subject, so perhaps I get overly enthusiastic when I have a willing audience."

"I did not wish to imply that the Aztecs and Inkas of Middle- and South America were somehow following a faith that originated in Eastern Europe and migrated to the New World. I only meant that I wanted to examine both cultures and compare them to see if I might turn up any similarities. "

by **Jedi_Master_007** Tue May 05, 2009 4:44 pm

Vic laughed lightly. He stayed close, or rather, he didn't move, which let you stay close. When you mentioned Holly, Vic turned in her direction. "Right now? In the current storyline, both of the ladies are feuding with each other. Three months ago on a major show, Linda was in a battle royal with Holly and about 8 other ladies. It came down to the last three. Holly went to throw Kat--I mean Linda over the top, except she didn't hit both feet outside the ring... long story short, Linda comes back, dunks Holly over the top, and while she's on the outside arguing with me, Linda crushes the current champion. I turn around in time to see it, and call for the bell." Vic summarized it all. He shrugged when he was done. He finally decided to order another drink. "Oh, I don't know. I haven't really made plans. This is just a stop over for the weekend while I attend that bidding. I'm more or less free for the night, but I'm not planning on going anywhere else for a while unless it's upstairs... maybe to that room you mentioned." Vic cocked his head to the side. He was testing both your resolve and your previous offer...

Linda listened and asked questions where appropriate. She was clearly out classed when it came to this discussion. The more in depth you got, the more you lost her. As it turned out, she had less then even basic trivial knowledge. Her attention shot briefly between you, and then Vic and Natalya as they talked about her. She was listening to you talk about the natives here in California - something she was curious to know about, when her attention went right to Holly, who had been approached by two of the three yuppy rich guys at the one table. Seeing that Holly was alright, Linda turned her attention back to you. "That's interesting. But my question is this. If the pagan religions are all so closely tied together, how do you explain them traveling from continent to continent?"

by **Penny Dreadful** Tue May 05, 2009 4:38 pm

Ekaterina smiled when Linda mentioned magic. "I greatly enjoy history and literature. In fact, when I studied Eastern European history at the university in Budapest, my focus was on the pagan religions that still held a lot of sway in those regions long after the arrival of Christianity. Magic was a big part of many people's lives then, as they would make offerings to appease pagan gods alongside their worship of the Christian one."

"I came to California because the indigenous people of this region also held similar beliefs and practiced a wide variety of magics, and I wanted to compare them with the practices of my homeland."

She continued to elaborate on the subject of the hoary witch-doctors and pagan priestesses of her homeland for a while, but always in a fashion where Linda could interject with a question or comment if she wanted to. Her tone was casual, but her strong accent, her clothes, and her general demeanor lent the story an undeniable mystique, as if the ancient magics of the Carpathian mountains and the Black Sea might be a lot more real than anyone dared to believe.

by **purplegeekness** Tue May 05, 2009 4:27 pm

Natalya smiled, laughing politely. "Of course, I understand. This kind of thing is best sorted out when you are not relaxing. My apologies for taking up so much of your time. I'll have one of my staff call and see. Perhaps something can be arranged. Let's move on to lighter subjects. I know you're working with Linda, what does Holly do? What are you doing for fun in your time here in LA?"

by **Jedi_Master_007** Tue May 05, 2009 4:07 pm

"I do." Linda said with a smile. "I love to try and cook Italian food, but I don't get much of a chance being on the road as often as I am. I love those Harry Potter books too. I always thought creepy wizards and crazy magic stories were always interesting. When I was a child, I read those Lord of the Rings books too." Linda's British accent was easy to fall in love with.

Linda's attention shot briefly to Vic and Natalya who were engaged in their own conversation. Her attention then moved to Holly, who she realized was doing just fine on her own. Then her attention went right back to Ekat. "What about you? What kind of interests do you keep?"

by **Penny Dreadful** Tue May 05, 2009 3:59 pm

"No, I am just feeling a bit under dressed. I do not usually frequent venues such as this." said Ekaterina, in response to Vic's question about her looking uncomfortable. When he and Natalya went off on their conversation about magazine articles, she turned her attention back to Linda. She hoped this girl had more interests than wrestling and working out, or she'd never get her upstairs. Besides, those types were such bores, and Ekaterina was fond of playing with her food before eating.

"So what do you do in your spare time?", she asked Linda. "Surely you have other interests beyond athletics."

by **Jedi_Master_007** Tue May 05, 2009 2:54 pm

Vic shifted to look in Holly's direction. She was enraptured by the chef doing his thing. One of the nearby tables who had a couple ritzy guys at it were checking her out. It didn't seem to bother Vic, who slowly returned his attention back to you. Linda and Ekaterina were involved in their own conversation.

Vic didn't flinch away when you drew close to him, but he wasn't so easily seduced as to lose his composure either. "Sorry, but I'm on an exclusive deal with Armani." He paused. He started. He stopped. Vic looked thoughtful for a second or two, and then he started again. "The world of wrestling is a multi-billion dollar media entity, my friend. Movies, books, magazines, television shows, contracts and endorsements... it's big time." Vic shook his head. He frowned a little when you mentioned the club and it's upstairs rooms. "We'll see," is how he answered that. "As I mentioned a second ago, I can promise you there won't be any published interviews or pictorials in a magazine without my signature of approval. There are legal issues involved, as well as my own personal tastes. Even in the business, I've a reputation as a backstage politician. It's not the most complimentary thing, but I suppose it is true. I have a certain image to uphold, on and off screen."

by **purplegeekness** Tue May 05, 2009 1:32 pm

Natty smiled "Uh.....no, professional wrestling is a closed door affair for me. It is not something I've followed, it's unheard of in the Ukraine. The first time I heard of it was when I arrived on these shores. I'm aware it is a big business.....but unfortunately not enough to know exactly where you or Linda is I'm afraid. It doesn't alter the fact that I am appreciative of your company, it's refreshing to see such.....vigor and such entertaining company." she smiled at his refusal to drink more. "You know you are in Midnight Neon? The one place where most vices can be slaked without public exposure. They even have rooms upstairs if you do have too much to drink....I have one." her voice tailed off, she looked disappointed "Awww...I don't mind you have the right to read and suggest improvements, I'll even submit final draft for review before printing, but we keep editorial control. A Q and A alone would be very interesting, but I was hoping to see you in more suits. Linda would be perfect as the counterpoint in an evening dress. We could theme it? It's just you look very handsome in that suit. I know a few designers that might be pleased to see you both wear their names."

by **Jedi_Master_007** Tue May 05, 2009 1:06 pm

Vic had a very strong heartbeat that in spite of the energy and his alcohol wasn't even a notch above normal. Indeed, given his physical conditioning, it would take quite the workout to raise his heartbeat, much less make him break a sweat. He had large, easy to find arteries on his throat, and you imagined that with his physique, those in his shoulders and thighs would be easy to find too. You were a little startled when he laughed at you. It was more a laugh of humor, not mocking or anything meant in bad form. "You're not at all familiar with what I do, are you?" He had a bit of a smile on the corner of his lips.

"She's been in the ring almost as long as me. Exposure isn't something I need a lot of, but I can do a sit down Q and A if it's kept professional. I can promise you my agent is going to fill in some kind of compensation on my part, and that I never sign a contract unless I have some type of creative control involved." Vic once again waved off more alcohol. "I can't." He said. "Being drunk in public could be bad for my PR."

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