Mini GP

[hollow_moon]

It was that time of the year, a time that used to fill Valentine with joy. Christmas was so wonderful usually, after all, but not so much this year. He simply wasn't in the holiday spirit. However, he'd planned this charity event months ago, and there was no cancelling it now. 

It wasn't as flash as ones he'd held in prior years, his museum open to the public with collection buckets all over for people to give what they could to ensure a better holiday for those in need. Music filled the space, and there were performers all throughout the space. Yes, he'd had to up security for the evening to keep his many occult related items safe, but- Well, it was worth it, he supposed. If nothing else, it seemed to be enough to stop his mother from worrying so much about him for a bit.

All were welcome and admission was free. The bar was reasonably priced, and there were a few free nibbles donated by a local restaurant. All and all, not a bad night for the bored and the generously inclined.

(Use this like you'd use any GP! OTA)

Comments

[hollow_moon]

He should have been mingling and circulating, but instead Val was lurking in the corner, nursing a drink and watching the crowd. Music filled the space, but he wasn't really listening, he was lost in thought, trying to decide what he ought to do next.

He'd loved this museum once upon a time, but lately he found it no longer interested him. Nothing did, if he was honest. The whole world felt muted, and his soul felt numb. Life had lost its lustre and... He was just done with it. The museum, being a better man... What was the point? Honestly... What good had it done him?

None, that's what.

[pecked_by_birds]

Prometheus' return to London had been quiet. In fact, this new body and face were, truth be told, the 'quiet sort'. Charming, handsome, but easily lost in a crowd when his mood wished it so. Easily hidden and left unobserved by the masses.

There was a darkness there too though, something lurking just behind his eyes. Cunning and vicious, and just a bit more mad than usual- Though that was something he was mindful to keep well hidden. He was old enough now that keeping that part of himself obscured was second nature, no matter how unhinged he became.

The party had drawn him out of hiding though, not because he cared for the cause or the host- Both were a mystery to him, honestly. No, it was more to do with the museum itself, and something it currently had on display.

Prometheus didn't have many artefacts tied to him directly, but there were a few relics who were woven deeply enough into his past that they held a hint of his power. One, in particular, being a vase that depicted his final quarrel with Zeus, and his fate. A hideous item, cursed, some believed, and they weren't completely wrong. It wasn't cursed, but it was filled with the titan's anger and pain, which were just as dangerous, really. It was like tossing a chip of uranium into a well. It wouldn't kill you right away, and would never be as deadly as its source, but it was still a volatile and unpleasant thing. ...And, though only a fraction of a fraction, it was a bit more of his power that he'd be happy to have back.

He wove through the party, glancing in glass cases and drifting from room to room, oblivious to the crowd around him and focused only on the items on display.

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin didn't know Valentine really. He was sure they'd met somewhere once, ages ago, but he couldn't even recall what the man looked like, if he was honest. He liked a party though, and so he'd been happy to come, dropping a generous donation into one of the boxes, and even graciously posing for photos outside where the press was lingering.

Inside he wandered from space to space, buying drinks for friends at the bar, gladly eating nibbles at the buffet, dancing in the space cleared for just that, and even loitering near the exhibits, reading about the various oddities on display. He was everywhere, yet there was nothing frantic or rushed about the way he moved. Finlay was as relaxed as ever, happy to chat with anyone who made their way over.

OTA

[leloupnoir]

Akeem wasn't quite sure how he'd never heard about this museum before. It certainly catered to quite a few of his interests. So when he'd heard about it, and the upcoming fundraiser, he'd decided to hold off visiting it until tonight. Visiting a museum he liked and donating to a good cause; now that sounded like the perfect plan.

It had been a new moon the night before, so if he was slightly off balance, it was in favour of the human in him, and he had a polite smile for anyone whose gaze he met while navigating from room to room, stopping by each glass casing to study the items inside.

He glanced up when someone stopped beside him, and tilted his head towards the object on display. "Quite intriguing, isn't it?"

OTA

[miss_ives]

The musem was one of Vanessa's favourite little oddities in London, and a year did not go by without visiting it at least once. News of the fundraiser had drawn her out, and here she was, a glass in hand, being bored out of her mind by the conversation of an inept old man blathering on about service not being what it used to be.

So when next someone walked by them, she laid a hand on their forearm and smiled apologetically at the old man. "I'm sorry, this is an old friend I haven't seen in far too long. We must catch up. Please do excuse me."

And with one last smile, she hooked her arm through that of her saviour and hastened away. "I'm terribly sorry," she told them, "but I had to find a way out of that conversation."

[miss_ives]

Vanessa had stopped in front of the vase, paying it closer attention now than she ever had on her previous visits to the museum. It was something to think that she knew him, this mythological being, this Titan who had defied Zeus well after his kind had lost the Titanomachy, defied him for the sake of mankind.

And there was something about the vase, something that made her wish the talisman PRometheus had gifted her with still hung around her neck. It seemed to be whispering to her, a dark, angry voice murmuring in an ancient tongue, pulling at thoughts and feelings inside her best left in peace. And as usual, now, without the protection of that talisman, Vanessa felt drawn to that darkness, an echo of that within herself. She gently laid her fingertips on the glass casing, her eyes on the raptors, the chained Titan, the offering, day after day, Judgment without end...

OTA

[whispersoflove]

Anael laughed as Julie excused herself with a grin, having just spotted someone she absolutely must catch up with. It had been a long time since their paths had crossed, but things hadn't changed. As usual, Julie had a party to drag him to. She'd been generous with the donation, and they'd been having a laugh, but it was no surprise that she had just fleeted off like the social butterfly he knew and loved.

Now on his own, Anael wandered back towards the bar and secured a glass of wine. There were a few items giving off the wrong sort of vibe, and he was wondering whether he could cleanse them without anyone noticing.

[pecked_by_birds]

"You wouldn't want to touch that," The titan said, voice low and much more charming than it had been last time around. A hint of seduction making every word fall a bit softer and feel a touch warmer.

"There are evils in there that not even Pandora's pithos could have contained."

[miss_ives]

The vision swirled into a flash of images, rushing through Vanessa too quickly for her to make much sense of them, but they left a vile, dark aftertaste, and she gasped, stepping back as her hand dropped from the glass. Her breath was short, and she turned a confused gaze on the owner of the voice that had so shaped what she had seen.

A young face, stubbled jaw, something dark just behind the eyes. Vanessa gazed into them, searching, frowning slightly. Then she asked, with no regard for what he might think if she was wrong, "Is it you?"

[pecked_by_birds]

"Hello Vanessa," he said, answering the question without actually offering an answer.

[miss_ives]

A small sigh escaped her, barely audible, and she laid her hand on his arm, finding a small smile for him. "When did you come back?"

[pecked_by_birds]

"Only this week," he admitted. "New York lost its shimmer, so I've returned to London for now."

[miss_ives]

Vanessa glanced at the vase beside them, and her fingers tightened slightly on the Titan's arm, wrinkling the fabric a little. "Shall we get a drink?"

[pecked_by_birds]

Prometheus lingered a beat longer, then nodded. He supposed he couldn't take the vase right this moment after all. At least now he knew where it was for certain.

"Yes, of course, let's."

[miss_ives]

Some small amount of tension left Vanessa as he agreed, and she shifted her hand to the crook of his elbow as they headed off towards the bar, each step away from the vase much like a step away from the edge of a precipice. "I've opened the shop as much as I could," she told him as they walked, using the conversation to anchor herself in who she was. "Started an inventory, even."

She would ask about New York in a minute. For now, she was still off centre.

[pecked_by_birds]

"Hmm? Really?" the titan asked, looking surprised. "I've never done an inventory," he admitted. "Hell of a task to take on. ...Why do it?"

[miss_ives]

"A purely selfish motive," Vanessa assured him. "I was wondering whether you had anything else of the same sort as the talisman you gave me. It..." She faltered, but went on, forcing herself not to reach for its absence at her throat. "It broke."

[pecked_by_birds]

"It...Wait, it broke?" the titan asked, looking puzzled as he came to a stop. "You mean the chain snapped, right? I can fix that..."

[miss_ives]

Vanessa gave him a chiding look. "I could fix as simple a matter as a broken chain." Her expression turned grave again. "The stone at its heart dissolved. On Halloween. It is a story best told over a glass of something strong. What will you have?" she asked, pulling her wallet out of her purse.

[pecked_by_birds]

"Whatever you're having," he replied, clearly more interested in the story than the drink.

[miss_ives]

A short while later, they stepped away from the bar with glasses of brandy, and Vanessa kept her voice quiet, her words only for him. "On the night of Halloween, a strange fog swept through the streets. It brought out people's demons." She glanced at him. "Thankfully, it left mine alone. But a friend of mine was not quite so fortunate, and his nightmare was formidable. I had to resort to... dark magic, to help him. Verbis Diablo."

Prometheus was the first person she told that she even knew any Verbis Diablo, and she was both anxious and curious about his reaction.

"The talisman seemed to take issue with that."

[pecked_by_birds]

The titan seemed to consider that, frowning slightly as his mind, old and full of knowledge as it was, mulled over this.

"As it would, I suppose," he said after a moment, sipping his drink. "I might have something else, though I'm not sure it'll be as effective. Given time, however, I might be able to uncover something strong enough."

[miss_ives]

"Any help you might be able to provide," Vanessa said earnestly, long, pale fingers tense around her glass. "I've been rather... restless, feeling quite so vulnerable."

It was only discreetly applied make-up that hid the bags under her eyes.

[pecked_by_birds]

Prometheus watched her, eyes narrowing slightly as he observed her.

"...Voices?" he guessed.

[miss_ives]

It was an effort to hold his gaze right then, when it generally wasn't much of one to hold anyone's. "One might call them that."