Gathering Post

[lcrpg_npc]

The Queen's official birthday celebrations might wait for the better, brighter weather of June, instead of the actual date just passed, but there was no lack of things to do in London this week, even if it was cooler and damper than the week before. St. George's day festivities were scattered throughout the city, competing with celebrations of the four hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Getting around the city could be even more difficult than usual on Sunday, with multiple streets closed off for the London marathon.

There were exhibits - everything from graphic design to a survey of Sicilian history to the influence of underwear. And the same level of diversity could be found whether you were in the mood for music, theatre, good food, or late night fun. There was something for everyone, and no matter your plans - or lack of plans - you never quite knew what you were going to find, or who might find you.



[Week long gp! Tag in, tag others, and check in daily to see who's joined in.]

Comments

[thenorthman]

Eric saw absolutely nothing wrong with her outfit. In fact, it was part of why he had chosen her as she walked down the sidewalk. It was slightly underdressed, given the tickets he had, but anyone objecting to her presence would simply be bribed, or glamoured, into silence. She was exquisite, for a human.

"Eric," he answered, "but what am I saving you from, ...?" The way he finished his sentence made it clear that he was asking for her name as well as the nature of the necessary rescue.

[codenamemilady]

"Clarice." Eric hadn't offered a surname, so neither did she. "And from drinks with an intolerable boor." Eric, whoever he was, obviously had power and was used to having it. Therefore he was someone worth getting to know. Whether Milady's superiors agreed or not. "The why is a long and boring tale. He was barely worth the slight amusement of toying with him like a cat with its prey."

[thenorthman]

"And now you sound dangerous," Eric stated with a growing smile, clearly approving. "Have I just become your prey, for tonight?" he asked, as he offered her his arm to escort her inside. There was time to have a drink, if she wanted (he would abstain, for now), before the performance was due to start.

[codenamemilady]

"Anyone can be dangerous, I believe, given the right circumstances." Despite her words, Milady didn't feign innocence as she might have most of the time. Instead she took him in with another appraising look as she slipped her hand through his arm. "But I doubt you've ever been prey. Unless you chose to be."

[thenorthman]

"I might yet," Eric remarked with another slightly too sharp smile, and walked them towards the hall.

[codenamemilady]

A quiet hum of approval, and a flash of cat-sly eyes. "As might I." Tonight was going to be far more entertaining than a meeting with her handler, no matter how good the opera was. Milady made a point of turning off her phone before the series of increasingly chiding where are you? texts could begin.

[thenorthman]

They were quickly enough allowed inside, and Eric steered them towards the bar. "Would you like something to drink?"

[codenamemilady]

"I would. Something red and with depth." He'd asked, so Milady assumed he'd join her as well as order.

[thenorthman]

He'd asked, but hadn't warned her that he wouldn't partake, because wanting it to pass as something normal meant acting as if it were. His lips curved up in approval at her request; just the way he liked his drinks, too. "Of course." He turned towards the bar and quickly flagged the attention of a bartender; being physically imposing, on top of his natural charisma, had its advantages. It wasn't long before he handed Clarice a glass of expensive (and for a good reason) bordeaux. "I hope it'll do. We can always change it if it isn't to your taste."

[codenamemilady]

Milady approved of his choice even before her first sip, but that he ordered only the glass for her did get a raised eyebrow. She let the play of flavors from the bordeaux play out across her tongue, then tilted her head not quite a nod, but obviously approving. "It'll do. Worried you need to keep your faculties around me already?"

[thenorthman]

"That's a better excuse than any other I could think of," Eric replied with something close enough to a smirk. He thought that she might like that answer better than a lie.

[codenamemilady]

Which was no answer at all, but fit with the intriguing puzzle he'd presented so far. Oh well, if he wasn't drinking, he wasn't. Milady would decipher him in time. Men were rarely that difficult to puzzle out. She continued to enjoy her wine. "I'm surprised you'd be stood up. Someone not a fan of the opera?"

[thenorthman]

"Or not a fan of me," Eric supplied without missing a beat, before smiling and shaking his head. "Who knows."

[codenamemilady]

"Ask me again after the performance," Milady suggested smirking around the lip of her glass. "Perhaps I'll be able to shed some light on the question by then."

[thenorthman]

"Or perhaps you've got better taste by far," Eric suggested with a raise of his eyebrows.

[codenamemilady]

"Undoubtedly." Her glass now empty, Milady set it aside, sharp eyes on Eric the entire time. "Shall we?"

[thenorthman]

Eric did not seem phased at all by the sharpness of her gaze, and he offered her his arm in a polite, if slightly sardonic, gesture. Once she took it, they were led to a box that they would have all to themselves; Eric did like his luxury, and a little glamour had gone a long way to make this happen.

[codenamemilady]

Milady was definitely underdressed for the posh seats, but she was unfazed by the all too easy to interpret looks - both the censorious and the appreciative - she garnered on their way to the box. A box to themselves, a luxury that fit what Milady had seen of Eric so far.

"You're going to spoil me," she said, sounding completely comfortable with that idea. Powerful men fell into two categories, those who wanted to be and be known as powerful, and those who wanted to give up that power entirely from time to time. Eric, if she had to guess, was the former.

[thenorthman]

"I thought that I was, already," Eric stated with a hint of a smile. "I might have to up my game."

[codenamemilady]

"Always. Did you think I would make it easy on you?" Milady was in the mood for a challenge, and for being one, although not an insurmountable one.

[thenorthman]

"I was hoping you wouldn't," Eric replied with a half smile.

[codenamemilady]

"Wise choice. I'd say you should be stood up more often, but without our chance meeting, it wouldn't be the same." And Milady hadn't decided yet if she'd want to be more a sure date for Eric. She needed to know about him first, and what he might be good for.

[thenorthman]

"Sometimes, being stood up is a blessing," Eric replied, raising his eyebrows to dare her to contradict him. "Or, in your case, standing someone up."

[codenamemilady]

'It has led to a far more enjoyable evening so far," Milady agreed. Whether the opera would add to or subtract from that, they should soon find out, with the two minute announcement being made and the flurry of people getting to their seats before the lights went down.

[thenorthman]

"It's only just begun," Eric remarked with a hint of a smirk, and settled in to watch the opera.