boys like you love me forever... (Gideon)

[Penelope Marie Gatina]

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So tonight was a night like any other. Penelope would get dressed, go out clubbing, meet some guy who would do anything for her, get whatever she could from him for the next couple of days, then make him forget her… quite literally.

Except for the fact that today she had a new secret weapon. She was working on that creepy museum, thinking about how another day was going to waste, when she stumbled upon an old book. She didn’t think much of it, but decided to take a look anyways. She created a small force field around it and set it on a table, trying to refrain from touching it for as long as she could. She magically turned the pages wondering if anyone could see her, but not really caring if anyone could.

She snooped around for a little until she found a chapter on hypnosis. There wasn’t anything about a spell that would have such effects, but having been raised amongst so many witches had it’s advantages. She could read up on that and figure out a spell of her own. She wasn’t as good at it as Maddison was, but she didn’t want Maddison to know that she used to work with some dark stuff, so asking for her help in this was out of the question.

She read and read, and tried for hours, she spent the rest of her day trying to figure out what to do, then she ended up figuring it out after a lot of unsuccessful tries, and realized all she needed now was a piece of jewelry to put the spell on. Luckily for her, this museum wasn’t only full of dirty, old shit, there were also some good pieces, and there was this one pendant in particular that had belonged to some countess somewhere at some point, and she had always loved it. She decided that was what she was gonna use.

Stealing from a museum was easy when you had as much power as Penelope did.

Later that night…

Penelope double checked her outfit on the wall-sized mirror she had in her room… it was more like the whole wall in front of her bed was a mirror, she was that vain.

She finished her make=up, not doing anything too serious, just some black eyeliner, eye shadow and mascara. She always thought that going with the simple black make-up was much classier than doing something too flashy, she hated those people that looked like they were always going to a Rave.

She checked her purse to make sure she had everything she needed, and decided to only bring 20 bucks, even though she knew that the car ride alone would cost more than that. She really just had to hope she wouldn’t get a female driver or bouncer.

She got into the cab and patted her pendant, then stared into the cab driver’s eyes, giving him the address to the club. He drove her there, keeping to himself the whole time, then when she got out, she asked with a smile ”How much do I owe you?” and he just replied in his thick latino accent, ”Oh, don’t worry babe, this one’s one me!”

And from that second on, she knew her spell had indeed worked flawlessly.

A couple drinks and about a half hour later, she was standing by the bar, a couple men around her, buying her drinks and just adoring her.

She patted her necklace and wondered why she had never thought of this before.

[[ooc: I tried to not make it obnoxiously long, so I skimmed over a lot XP ]]

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[Nicolas Gideon Rorhelm]

A light film of soot had settled over the one piece of reflective glass the burnt out husk that had once been considered to be an apartment building, had left within it. All the other instruments of humanity's love of the sin of vanity melted with the heat of the fire that had not only consumed most of the upper floors of what had once been a packed nest of immigrants and hobos galore, and half of that population of 20 people. It was ironic to think that the last surviving mirror that remained, albeit damaged, but intact in a room the demon had rented out many a time to use as one of his favorite spots to take his usual nightly fare. Nicolas just stood in what had once been an oasis in such a run down part of the city, staring at himself through a film that was compromised of burnt wood, steam, and burnt flesh. It was a picture that all but brought a smile to his face. He could have cared less for all the belongings he had lost, or the fact he lost one of his many apartments he had throughout the city, what really bothered him was whether or not the heavy aroma of the recent fire would be easily detected over the usual smells that tingled the senses inside of one of the many clubs that entertained the city’s countless throes of life.

Like it mattered what they thought anyway…

The dark thought skimmed his poisoned mind, a mind that contained thoughts that would make even Ed Gene shake in his lady-skin boots. He frowned at his reflection, it was disgusting that he had to inhabit such a shell in the first place, he should be able to crawl amongst man as what he truly was. Even then, without a cow-eyed audience his eyes were consumed with shadow, his smile widening into a picture of hell that most never live to recount. And that was they way it deserved to be. With a calming sigh [ a gesture that the demon, Gideon, had quite grown to enjoy, there was something about the human reflex that settled what nerves a loyal demon of Satan can have ] the shadow dissolved from his otherwise brilliant blue eyes, leaving only the faintest trace of the cruelty that lurked behind them, a trace that Nicolas never seemed to shrug. Whether or not his usual prey noticed it was the real worry that ever really crossed the demon’s thoughts, and considering his success rate that answer seemed to be tipping into the decisively ‘no’ category. He watched his reflection as the thin smile that almost always occupied his near god-like features spread into another Cheshire cat-like grin. He was a hunter after all, and tonight even in the face of this charred set-back he would hunt. And he would kill.

Ignoring the police tape that had somehow materialized around his apartment, the demon stepped over the flimsy yellow tape and made his way back out to the street, finding a taxi almost immediately. The ride back into the civilized part, or what they considered to be civilized, of the city was a time for reflection for Nicolas, mostly reflection on how much damage had been done to his suit. Through what little light sitting in the back of a taxi could afford him he could see that the only stains that had been caused to his suit was a small drop of residue that had free fallen from a beam to land directly on his silk tie, lucky for him he could just close the steel grey suit coat over the stark contrast of crimson and hide the stain with relative ease, ah the rituals of a hunter, always so tedious…So..taxing. After paying the taxi cab driver a couple of stained bills Nicolas unfolded himself from the dirty cab, he could have sworn that the soot encrusted remnants of his apartment were cleaner than the Indian’s taxi, out of the corner of his eye he watched with contempt as the man drove off, they’d undoubtedly never cross paths again but when they did the demon swore then and there that he would kill the driver just because he smelled funny…

His entrance into the already bustling space with his usual entrance, quiet and dangerous. He sauntered through the crowd with the experience of someone who’s used to being stared at, and one who’s a skilled hunter of flesh, not an uncommon thing in New York. As he passed the bar something tickled his senses, and not any of the senses that have been hijacked with the use of Nicolas’ body either. A sixth sense that usually focused on locking on any one of the desperate women that occupied the club’s interior, but that now sensed something that distracted his mind from the usual, easier fare. A challenge. He could tell where she was just by the small crowd of men that had gathered around her, his smirk widened at the prospect. Silently he snuck between two of the worshipers and leaned at the bar next to the source of it all, a young woman, a witch undoubtedly. He glanced at her over his shoulder, before standing, looking at one of the other men that were attracted to her like a magnet, silly humans.

“Quite a crowd you’ve got here..”

A simple sentence for a less then simple scheme. A hunter’s prerogative.

[Penelope Marie Gatina]

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Penelope sat on a stool and crossed her legs, her dress riding up her thighs a little bit, exposing some more of her naturally tan Latino skin. Not that it was necessary, she was sure at this point, that even if she was a hideous hag she would still have all of these men at her feet. Her crowd of admires had risen from a couple to a few in a very short period of time, and soon there were about twelve men gathered around her, just giving her whatever she asked for, and –quite literally- adoring her. of course, she didn’t ask any of them to do anything ridiculous, they were attracting enough attention just by being gathered around her, just imagine what would happen if she had them all bow down to her.

She actually found it very entertaining to watch these silly civilians acting like this over her. she had had some hardcore male attention before, she was really pretty, but nothing was ever like this! This was just insane!

One of the guys in her crowd had come here with his girlfriend of five years, and not only that, he was all set to propose to her. He had walked in, holding hands with the girl, but once Penelope saw him, and saw how loving they seemed to be towards each other, she knew she had to have him. She didn’t care that he was in a good relationship, or that he actually had a potentially bright future ahead of him. All she cared about was the fact that he had money, and he was hot.

She got off her stool and walked up to him, completely ignoring the girl he was with, and then just touched her necklace, looking deep into his eyes and said ”Hey you… why don’t you come sit over here with me?” and he simply turned around, letting go of his girlfriend’s hand a followed Penelope.

”Mike? Michael, what are you doing?” his girlfriend was clearly very worried, it seemed that he had never acted like this before. ”Michael!” she said, going after him and pulling him by his arm. Penelope turned around, flipping her hair slightly and looked at the girl, who already had tears streaming down her face. ”Mikey, sweetie… why are you even with this girl? Why don’t you break up with her?” she said, gazing into his eyes and touching her pendant.

Five minutes later, the girl was leaving the club, crying desperately, and Oh-So-Sweet Mikey was sitting next to Penelope, buying her drinks and doing whatever she asked him to do.

But the night was just about to get even more interesting. Penelope hadn’t seen him walk in, but it seemed that he had definitely seen her. this guy was not only very handsome, he was also a really sharp dresser. The first thing that crossed Penelope’s mind is that he wasn’t human. She didn’t know what he was, but… he didn’t seem human… something about him made her sure of that.

“Quite a crowd you’ve got here..” he’d said, making his way through her little crowd of admirers and standing closer to her. She was sitting back, leaning both her elbows on the counter, her body nicely spread across the stool, in a very cat-like pose, but as soon as he made his way to her, she sat up straight, her hair sliding from her shoulders and gathering on her back, her pendant visible and open for a touch, in case it came down to it, but she decided she would give this one a choice at having n actual conversation with her. Besides, she really wanted to know what it was about her that dragged him over.

”Yeah, what can I do, they just adore me!” she said, grinning and shrugging. ”I’m Penelope… Penelope Gatina.” she held out her hand for him to shake, but feared what might happen if he indeed wasn’t human. Either ways, she wasn’t about to let her concern show in her expression, so no matter what happened, she held her smile in place, and kept her confident pose.

After all, she did get herself a crowd of fans tonight, didn’t she?

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[Nicolas Gideon Rorhelm]

If there had been any doubt in Nicolas’ mind that this woman was more then familiar with magic then the ever growing crowd of worshipers that all but salivated in her presence would have convinced him otherwise. Throughout the ages that the demon had wandered this putrid soil, he had seen countless different wonders and spectacles through countless dull, lifeless human eyes, he had met countless women many who outshined this woman in beauty, but all had hardly garnered as much attention as this woman was receiving. The demon’s mind had been transformed into a ring, one lone matador standing tall against the large black bull that he saw to challenge. On one side of the matador’s red cape there was the chance to ignore the woman and chase after lesser fair, an easier challenge then what the demon had set off to capture. On the other side of the crimson cape there was the matador, sword at the ready the delicate slice of steel wavering with each quiver of the Spanish breeze. This was the unique balance of danger and excitement that the demon was always in search for, and like before his attention was honed in on her almost instantly. He knew the risks of getting near a witch were the same the bull risked with each vain chase of the red cape, any moment could be the moment the matador chose to strike, to pierce the thin flesh that separated bone from air ending the bull’s charge forever. But then again there was always the change that the bull would get a strike of his own into the fray, goring the matador spilling more then just his own blood on the sand of the arena. It was a chance the demon was more then willing to take.

Most of Nicolas’ attention had been focused on her throngs of admirers, but now that he was finally close to the source of the magic he found his eyes drawn to her much like the others around her. She was stretched out before him like a cat waiting for someone to come along and scratch her belly, the confidence around her even playing into the image, after all any self-serving cat has never once felt unsure of their power to seduce hapless humans into giving them a little attention. But Nicolas was far from human, it was only a human heart that beat inside of his hijacked body that linked him to the world that was half his prison, half his playground. Like a cat, once her radar had picked up on the slightest movement from his muscle-bound frame she straightened, the demon had to struggle to hold in the grin that was trying to break his usually composed smirk. Around them he could sense the gaze of all of her admirers, and here in the circle to the demon it was something more akin to desperation then adoration. The spell that had consumed them had all but revealed what human men were best at doing, begging at the feet of a strong woman. When the woman spoke his attention was snapped back to his initial target, his curiosity serving as more of a compass to once more direct his attentions elsewhere. It was hard for part of the demon’s mind to detach from the testosterone fueled atmosphere around them, to ignore the fight he could spark with just a minor touch of one of this woman’s fans. But that was a minor challenge, the trophy prize was now introducing herself, and more importantly offering her hand to him. Silly girl.

He took the offered hand and held it for a long moment, his ice blue eyes focused on her own. Oh yes, she was indeed a witch, there was definitely no doubt about that especially after the contact. His smile spread slightly, never breaking the rouse of yet another admirer, this one free of the spell she had on the other suitors. “Pleasure to meet you, Penelope. I’m Nicolas, Nicolas Rorhelm….” His gaze dropped from her eyes to the pendent that graced her neckline, his smirk widening, “My, what a beautiful charm you have there. Acquire it from yet another one of your fans?”

Slowly his eyes traveled the trail back up to her eyes, and there they lingered. He had learned what he need, and he was sure she had learned a few things about him from their less then cordial handshake. If she did he wanted to see it in her eyes, to see the fear, hatred or distaste that would cross them..Either that or curiosity and longing to dive headlong into the darkness. Not like she hadn’t before. Through that small bit of contact he had sensed a soul not unfamiliar with shadow, now it all made sense to the demon, why he was drawn to her, the magnetic pull, the edge of danger..It all made sense to him now..And it only made his grin widen.

[Penelope Marie Gatina]

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Penelope was so intrigued by this charming newcomer, that right now, none of her other admirers mattered. First of all, she knew that he wasn’t a hundred percent human, though she wasn’t quite sure what he was. Second of all, she knew that he was in some level, immune to her charm, and even though she hadn’t actually tried to put him under her spell yet, she was pretty sure it would be pointless in many levels. In fact, she didn’t know whether she wanted him under her spell or not, because if she did try it on him, and it worked, he would become nothing more than another one of her followers, and there would be no challenge anymore… and honestly, what’s the fun in that?

She carefully kept her eyes on him, watching his every move. Not because she feared him, or because she was worried about what he might do, but because she indeed was very curious as to what he was, and so far, all she could was watch his moves and be ready for anything that might happen. What made her more and more intrigued about this man, was his attitude. at a nightclub you are sure to find all sorts of people, but there usually are too many of those who walk around like they own the place, those who think very highly of themselves. But there were very few occasions where the people with those kinds of attitudes actually had a reason to behave like that. Penelope for example, she could own the place if she really wanted to, both literally and figuratively. In fact, at the stage where she was right now, being the undivided center of attention, she pretty much did own it. And this man’s attitude let her know that he also had some sort of power to him. He walked and talked like he knew that no one in here was as powerful as he was. Not even Penelope, probably, even though she did have a lot of power.

He took her hand, and the second he did so, Penelope knew he was also a dark creature. Not a vampire, she could feel the warmth of his skin and the blood pulsing through his veins. Not a werewolf either, those tended to be… well, a little bit of a mess. But what was he… she never, not even for a second let the question show in her face, she wasn’t about to give him that pleasure just yet.

”Well Nicholas, it is very nice to meet you.” she said, looking deep into his eyes and flashing him a nice smile. ”Oh no no, this is… a family treasure.” she said, smiling and absentmindedly bringing her hand to the pendant. It was true, it was a family treasure. Just not from her family, but it’s not like it really mattered now anyways.

She thought about it for another second and realized the answer to her lingering question couldn’t be any more obvious. So obvious she was now wondering why was it that she hadn’t figured that one out before. Of course, it could have been because although demons had always intrigued her, and even drove her to read and research them-surprisingly, since she never does that- , she had never actually encountered one. Well, not until now anyways.

As soon as she figured out what he was, her eyes narrowed a little bit, and she raised an eyebrow at the same time her lips formed an involuntary grin. Her expression was of pure excitement, though she managed to contain it the best way possible. She kept her gaze on his eyes and as his grin widened, so did hers. Of course, it could be for completely different reason, it could be because although she was very interested in knowing what he was capable of, and what he could teach her, and how much more powerful she could get, she knew that the grin on his handsome face could simply mean… well, that he wanted to kill her. Either ways, it was a chance she was willing to take. She did know how to take good care of herself, so she wasn’t particularly worried about her death.

At least not yet.

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[Nicolas Gideon Rorhelm]

Nicolas was a demon that was very much used to being the center of attention, he craved it on a daily basis and the way that the demon carried himself throughout what would other wise be menial tasks to a normal human being reflected that longing need to be noticed. Confidence was humanity’s way of masking their pride, and it only served to enhance the sin to a level that was more inviting to a demon of many vices like Gideon. Here, in the center of the ring of admirers that surrounded Penelope the demon was having a hard time keeping his focus on the hunt at hand. Surrounded by the ring of men that would just as quickly bend down and lick her baby toe at the smallest inclination of her head, Nicolas felt the urge to just reach out and touch one of the men, to send the spark of hatred through his own black shriveled heart into the man’s own naïve vessel. A spark was all it took to ignite a forest fire during the first long drought of summer, and a spark was all it took to incite a fight of near mythic proportions in such a crowded space as this. The demon had attended the gladiatorial matches of the coliseum, he had seen the plains of apocalypse bathed red from the blood of the crusaders and he had seen what Hitler had saved for the people he loathed so much, but nothing could ever top a good bar fight. At least not in the demon’s mind.

With the urge to reach out and ignite the spark that burned within each one of the men around him was only quelled by the attention that he was getting from Penelope. Nicolas was no stranger to being stared at by women, even when he was still completely human the boy had been a magnet for the desperate and hungry, and the boy had welcomed it all. Now, with the demon controlling the human’s lusts of the flesh he sought after more pleasing fair…Like the witch that he was now locked in an staring contest with. He was fairly certain that from the touch they shared the witch was able to sense that he wasn’t entirely human, maybe she was even smart enough to realize that he was in fact a demon, but her initial reaction, or more accurately, lack of a reaction disappointed the demon. He was used to a rather surprised reaction from those that were more in tune with the secret side of nature then your run of the mill human, he thirsted for such a reaction with almost as much intensity that he craved attention with. It was over more surprising to Nicolas because of the hint of shadow that he could sense within her, it was like an undertone in a fine wine, faint but easily recognizable. Out of all the witches he’s met over his long run around this globe this should have been the one to give him a good reaction…The demon should have just been more patient.

Just as his own grin was extending into a full-blown smile so her own coy smirk spread into a grin that only mirrored his own. There was the reaction he was looking for, but not the one he was hoping for. There was something about her eyes that made Nicolas long to see fear flash before them, he longed to see her face twisted in pain, to hear her voice ragged with adrenaline and hopelessness, but then again there was a part of him that almost didn’t long for those things. Not with this one, anyway. As his mind was spinning with more and more possibilities and images of the grim future Nicolas found himself, for once, excited at the prospect of maybe letting this one live longer then his usual play things…The demon had, after all, been able to hijack Nicolas’ body due to the boy’s curiosity of demons and satanic worship. He had never once tried to keep a cordial, peaceful relationship with any of the witches he had encountered along his travels, but then again none of them had been so intriguing, so self-confident as this one was.

Instead of playing on her magic, or his true race, Nicolas decided to lay on the charm. His grin softened to a small smile as he reached behind him and grabbed the barstool that he was previously perched upon, once it was over in the desired spot he sat down. He was still leaning against the bar, a few inches closer to his target now, testing his boundaries and how willing this witch was willing to leap headlong into a conversation with a demon. “A beautiful treasure indeed. But your family has given this world another fine treasure, you.”

Like before, his ice blue eyes never left her own eyes, to some it was unnerving how he never wavered from your gaze, but to others it only drew them in deeper into the depths of the icy glaciers…

[Penelope Marie Gatina]

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Penelope really wanted to know more about this guy whose eyes were fixed on hers, just as hers were on his. She was sure at this point that she could no longer hide her excitement of having met him, and she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face either. But she had to be extremely careful. When she worked the spell on her pendant, she never stopped to think about what could go wrong, and being that so far she had managed to balance out her attention and divide properly between all of her followers, she knew that this one guy, Nicolas, was gonna get her undivided attention for a little while. Of course, she wasn’t about to let him know he was getting her attention to that level, but there was nothing she could do about it, really. All of her other followers could barely talk, all they did was stare and adore, and Nicolas not only did manage to talk, he also was very intriguing and she wanted to know more and more about him. But once again, she was gonna go about all of this in a very nonchalant way, it would be very unattractive of her if she gave away all of her interest.

But her main concern was how her group of fans was gonna react when they realized that she was paying more attention to Nicolas than to the rest of them. it could be chaos, a huge bar fight could spark in a matter of seconds, and even though she knew Nicolas was a demon, she still wasn’t sure what he was capable of. She knew demons had different powers, there were rarely two with the same powers, even, but those powers varied a lot. He could… have Pyrokinesis, for example, and set all of those guys on fire before they could say “Hot Potato”. But he could also just be a sadistic freak, and despite his will to kill them all, have really no capacity and have a hard time, in which case she would have to help out, since she would be the one that got him in that situation in the first place. Not that she particularly cared, or felt guilty in any way, but she really was interested in hearing about him, and he couldn’t really say anything if he didn’t have a living body to inhabit.

She couldn’t really read Nicolas expressions as well as she wanted to, but one thing she knew, her reaction had not been what he’d expected. Perhaps he hoped for fear, desperation… that would have been the standard reaction, but that would only be from a standard witch’s point of view, and Penelope was far from the standards, she had actually always wanted to meet a demon, and now that she was getting a chance to, she couldn’t be any more excited.

She watched as he pulled the bar stool closer and sat next to her, so they could get to talking. She slid her hand below her hair and flipped it slowly, not to be sexy or anything, it was just something she did a lot. Her followers closed in on her and Nicolas, almost blocking her view from the rest of the club, but they left enough room for her to notice a group of girl in the VIP area staring at her, the only girl in between so many guys, getting all of the attention.

She looked at the guy who were around her and waved them of faintly, and they immediately took a few steps back, then casually started going back to their normal routines, as if they had never been around Penelope to begin with, then she looked at the girls and blew them a kiss, with an evil grin across her face, then turned back to Nicolas. ”Though we could do with a little more privacy.” she said to him, once again flipping her hair and turning on the stool to face him, leaning casually on the counter with her elbow, her body once again taking a cat-like shape as she looked at him.

“A beautiful treasure indeed. But your family has given this world another fine treasure, you.” he said to her, looking deep into her eyes. She laughed full heartedly at his attempt at being charming. Not that it was bad, it would have worked on any other woman, but well, Penelope wasn’t any other woman, she was a master at flirting and charming, whether she had that necklace on or not. ”Wow, Don Juan, does that line normally work?” she said to him, still smirking and looking into his icy blue eyes.

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[Nicolas Gideon Rorhelm]

Just as Penelope was having difficulties reading his expressions, so the demon was having his own difficulties with the witch. It wasn’t everyday that he tried his hand at seducing a witch, it had been a rare treat to run into one, but then again he had to remember that this was New York. Just as soon as his mind began to conjure up the few doubts that Nicolas had circling his ever buzzing brain so then they were dashed away from his mind. There was a reason why he was drawn to this woman, and it wasn’t just because she was a witch, it was because of the shadows that he could sense around her, shadows that only follow a person after you’ve played around in the darkness for a good amount of time. That was what intrigued the demon, it was what brought him in this close, and it was what kept him here. But her answer to his small advance did give him more then what she had intended it to. He had tested the waters, how far she was willing to go, whether or not her bravery around a demon that he had no doubt she knew he was…All of these questions were answered in what usually would be just a coy reply to a simple pick up line. But to the demon her answer told more of a story then that of a woman that was well versed in modern courting rituals, but one that was also completely relaxed around a race that contained some of the most powerful beings to cross between the two planes. This development not only shrugged all previous thoughts of abandoning this target but it also set her apart in the demon’s mind, not an easy feat to accomplish.

Normally, if a woman questioned his advances it only stoked the undying fires of hatred that burned deep within Nicolas’ blackened soul. It was an adaptation that the demon had developed so that he could garner more pleasure from his kills, because even he could admit that killing humans the same way, with the same series of events that lead up to their demise did get rather boring after a time. It was more of an involuntary action, a reflex that he used when he was around humans, an act that he would describe to any other demon as ‘sinking down to their level and blending in with the natives’. Like most of his kind his hatred for humanity was ingrained into every fiber of his adapted being, the first grudge he will always hold against them is the fact that they must live on this plane. Nicolas despised having to use a human shell to walk amongst them, but then again a part of him enjoyed every minute of it. The sadistic side of him loved to watch the fear in the eyes of his helpless victims as he brought their little world crashing down upon their heads, shattering whatever belief systems they might have had just with a little word that most humans took for granted. It was poetic, in a blood thirsty, sadistic way. And that was just how the demon liked it. When Penelope so easily shut him down with that little phrase Nicolas didn’t let the hatred begin to boil up inside of him like he usual did, instead he let his small smirk widen into a grin. He turned his icy gaze away from her for a few moments, staring at the well kept bar nodding absent-mindedly. When he turned back to face her his face was still a picture of amusement as it was before, the wide grin out of place when compared to his iced gaze, “Usually, on humans.”

He let that phrase hang in the air for a few key seconds, using this time to try and break through the barrier that was between the two of them, more specifically the barrier that kept the demon from fully understanding her mannerisms. His mind kept on doing somersaults, as if the demon was confused at his infatuation and curiosity about this witch, somewhere in his blackened mind he wondered if she had spun the same spell she had on the other fools around them and placed it on his head…But then his better judgment got to him and cleared his mind, reminding him that if she did indeed cast that spell she had used to ensnare her worshippers then he would have been able to notice such a craft, and even though he was undeniably curious about her from the get go, it was not magically induced. As the seconds wore on, his wide smile began to fall from his face, giving way to a more predatory gaze that Nicolas was comfortable with. His body language, much like her own suddenly became more feline, however it lacked the seduction that her own pose did and carried with it the same predatory nature that his smile now held. Without her group of followers around her like a protective ring of knights surrounding their queen, Nicolas took advantage of the chink in the armor, that and their awareness of each other. The demon had to resist the temptation to just lunge across what little distance was left between them, grab her hand in his throat and demand her to explain the reason why he was so undeniably attracted to her. He wanted to hear her admit that she was a dark witch, he wanted to hear her scream it, he wanted it to be her last breath…

But that would be anti-climatic. He had gained lots of good things through the few dark witches he had known throughout his long run among the humans, perhaps this fateful meaning was destiny’s way of pointing him in the right direction. Perhaps it was time for one of those friendships once more. Nicolas sat up a bit, “I‘m going to be completely honest with you. You intrigue me. I‘ve met some…normal women, and your not like them, at all…You‘ve got a darker side to you…And I‘d be lying if I said I wasn‘t drawn to it.”

He was skirting around the real issue of the matter, yet another talent he had mastered over the years, but he knew Penelope would get the point. Out of the corner of his eye he could see one of the men that had previously been in the group of worshippers staring at the two of them, for the time being Nicolas didn’t pay much attention to the man, he was more or less a minor blip on his radar, a far away threat that had nothing to do with his current mission…At least for now…

[Penelope Marie Gatina]

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As much as she liked it, Penelope couldn’t help but wonder what was it about her that got Nicolas’ attention. It wasn’t because of how attractive she was, she knew the human within him would succumb to her, but she knew that the demon himself wouldn’t be charmed by how she looked. She also knew it wasn’t the spell, because even though it worked by itself to a certain point, she would still have to want him to be affected for it to work properly, and she didn’t want to charm him like that.

It could, of course, just be that he sensed that dark energy that surrounded her and felt like she might be a bigger challenge than what he was used to and any man, demon or no demon, could never resist a good challenge. And if he was anything like demons tended to be, he was probably a hunter also, and she was probably occupying the
“prey” position, and well… she was putting up a little bit of a fight, and from her point of view, he had two choices left: kill her right there, or try harder to get her where he wanted her to be… wherever that was, exactly.

After she shut him down, his reaction was very surprising, it was almost as if she’d done the exact opposite and fallen for it, his grin widened and he said something that made her sure this conversation was only gonna get more interesting from that point on.

“Usually, on humans.”

She laughed at that comment, flipping her hair and looking deep into his eyes, ”Well, I don’t fit into that category, you silly rabbit!” she laughed for another moment or two, but it soon turned into a grin that she could simply not wipe off of her face. She wished so hard that she could read his mind, because every second that ticked by them, she got more and more curious as to what he was thinking, but again, she wasn’t about to let him know how much he intrigued her.

Ever since her fans had left, she felt like she was more and more vulnerable, and even though she was not, in any way, scared of Nicolas (because she knew she could put up a good fight), she figured that he probably felt like she was more helpless, which made her a much better prey, much more attractive.

He straightened up in his seat and told her she intrigued him, and that he was drawn to her, but even though he danced around the actual point, and masked the real situation, she knew what he meant. Indeed she wasn’t like most witches, definitely not like the one’s he’d met during his existence, and it was, like she’d imagined, her dark side that seemed so appealing to him.

”Well gorgeous, there was no need for you to come all the way from… wherever you came from, to tell me that I’m different, I know that much.” she said, pausing for a few seconds and taking a sip of her drink before resuming, ”But… now that there are no secrets between us, do tell me… what’s your deal? Shouldn’t you be in Hell?” she said, in a lower voice so as not to get any attention from anyone around them, but still not leaning into him to whisper. She kept her distance, but made sure she said everything in a voice low enough so not even the bartender could hear them.

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[[OOC: I know it’s short, but I couldn’t gather up enough rambling lol I have a couple threads to start so I didn’t wanna drain all of my muse in just one]]

[Nicolas Gideon Rorhelm]

In nature it was a common thing for a predator to fail in it’s daily quest for death and destruction, it happened just as regularly as the predator made a kill, thinning one of the world’s countless flocks. That was nature’s way of keeping the odds even, even if it didn’t seem fair to the predator. But in nature, or at least in the nature that Nicolas had been aware of, it was fairly uncommon for the predator to get tangled up in his own web. Usually by this time Nicolas would have had his kill in his claws, venom circulating through the hapless victims circulatory system, pumped faster through her body as the moments intensified between them until finally her consciousness realized the danger the man she was with represented…But by then it was usually too late anyway. Here the demon was, locked in on this target before him, but every time his mind thought about ripping her limb from limb he felt an emotion he never thought he could feel, one that was just as foreign to him as was a woman that was an formidable opponent: regret. Never once had the demon felt one black drop of remorse ooze out of his poisoned veins for any of the victims he’d massacred over the years, not once! But here he was, merely fantasizing about how her blood would look pooled around his shoes before being so rudely interrupted to what amounted to his curiosity about this one little witch. It baffled him.

As he was searching his charred soul for some semblance of a reason why he would find himself so drawn to this witch in particular, the fog of uncertainty lifted as the bleak epiphany struck him upside the head. While he had long since come to the conclusion and the realization that it was the shadows that stalked her own soul that drew him in, it was the potential for an ally in this new age that kept him in his seat, that stirred up the unfamiliar thoughts of regret that were even now lingering in his brain like a bad memory. Everyone could sense the end nearing, especially in New York, humanity had passed it’s peak and now it was reverting back to it’s primal nature. War, greed, lust and other earthly pleasures occupied the minds of anyone that was blissfully unaware of the unseen life around them. It was definitely an interesting scene to watch, a channel that the demon would never tire of, especially when he got to have a direct part of making humanity well aware of their more carnal desires. Yes, the end was near, and it was always best to have those beside you that could fight along side you, especially when that person could be casting spells that just don’t tip the battle in their favor but could win it decisively. Oh yes, there was no doubt in his mind that this woman was more then just a new prey item to him. She had potential.

”Well I don’t fit into that category, you silly rabbit!”

Laughter, the sound echoed over the space between them and wrapped around him like a shroud. His own smile widened as he watched her. No matter his recent epiphany or not he still couldn’t help but imagine himself killing her, especially now without her blind devotees she was like a lone cub sitting in front of a hyena. A dangerous situation for anyone to be in…But what stopped Nicolas’ thoughts from going any further about that was not the feeling of remorse, or his recent light bulb, but it was the fact that she wasn’t nervous about it at all. Most witches that he had the pleasure of being alone with were more jittery then a rabbit in a cage, their pink noses constantly twitching out of nerves, their black eyes shining with hope of an escape, an escape that will never come…It was then too that he gained more respect for the witch that was now returning his own stare.

He listened to her next words intently, she didn’t just understand the point that he was trying to get across before, but she was following up with her own question, although her’s was a bit more direct. He couldn’t help but laugh at her question, a thick and deep sound that reverberated off everything around them, never ending even when the smile was long gone from his face, dropped for the more appropriate straight face. He shrugged, a simple and astonishingly human gesture that seemed weird coming from the otherwise other worldly Nicolas. “We all have our vices, mine just so happens to be a particular enjoyment out of watching humans suffer…And even though I can get plenty of that in hell…I quite enjoy the sins most of them take for granted. Particularly wrath and lust. Emphasis on lust.”

His own voice was just as low as her own, his eyes locked on her in an almost robotic precision. He never let his true demonic self shine through in most public places, but here with Penelope he didn’t feel the need to mask it, she knew the same amount about him that he did about here. A mutual understanding that was still dangerous, for the both of them. But Nicolas didn’t care…And it certainly seemed that she didn’t either…

[Penelope Marie Gatina]

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Penelope wasn’t sure why Nicolas still hadn’t tried to kill her. you didn’t have to know too much about demons to realize that this particular one wasn’t normally very friendly. But she did enjoy talking to him and having him around, and it was all that much better because she hadn’t tried to use her spell on him, she hadn’t tried to keep him around against his will.

And still, he hadn’t left.

He stuck around, listening carefully to every word she spoke, watching her every move, he seemed to be completely drawn to her. she didn’t know why, but she loved the idea. She couldn’t quite think of what kind of relationship they could develop, but it seemed like they could most definitely get along. She was a witch who was very hungry for power, he was a demon who seemed to enjoy her company… so far, at least.

Maybe they could work together in a way, it was no mystery to anybody that all sorts of creatures roamed the earth, and there seemed to be a huge focus of them in New York, so if the powerful ones stuck together, they’d eventually be unbeatable, which was a word Penelope was extremely fond of.

He explained to her the reason why he stuck around, hanging out amongst humans on earth. It definitely made sense, it was fun to manipulate people, to make them do what she wanted them to… or to put them in bad situations and watch them squirm… those were most likely her biggest vices… along with shopping and sex, but hey, who’s counting, right?

She raised and eyebrow in a playfully inquisitive manner when he added the last part, about emphasizing “lust”. He was a very attractive man… or, well, had picked a very attractive man to possess, and it seemed that picking up women was one of his hobbies. What he did to them afterwards remained a secret thus far, she didn’t care for details yet.

”Fair enough…” she said, without laughing or even smiling, she had –for the first time in the evening- a more serious expression in her face, but she kept her position just as she was, twirling with her hair. ”Better question then: Why haven’t you tried to kill me yet? Emphasis on tried.”

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