North

Within the Northern vicinity of the city, the wealthy gather behind meticulously trimmed hedges and high-class architecture. The pristine streets are paved with stone and the storefronts are brightly lit and inviting - for the right clientele. In the North, every establishment is eager to cater to the rich and the wealthy. Many such places are used to the sometimes peculiar requests of the otherworldly but here there is little that money cannot buy - whether it happens to be illegal or merely involves looking the other way. Vampires and Dark Hunters are often found upon these Northern streets, their long lives often contributing to their sizable wealth which allows them the luxuries that the North provides.

What You'll Find Here

Eternity
The VooDoo Room
The Witchery

Where you invest your love, you invest your life;


Posted on September 22, 2021 by DAREIOS
North

It's not the long walk home that will change this heart, but the welcome I receive after the restart.



Every time his phone buzzed away in jacket pocket, the thin vampire would lurch forward in his seat with a startled expression on his face, and a pale hand would go digging inside said tuxedo. If he had a heart, Dareios imagined moments like this would be the time it would beat furiously in his chest. His beady stare would search the illuminated screen feverishly with hope it was a text from the curious doctor he hadn't heard from in weeks. But alas, Miya's name never popped up. It was always an email from his assistant, or his publicist, or a member of the City Council.

Dareios slouched, defeated, into the plush leather seat of the dark SUV, the unmarked car driven by a member of his security detail. His dark gaze drifted out the window and into the drizzly evening of the city, the soft pitter-patter of the rain a near constant this time of year. His phone buzzed again and he sighed, his gaze refocusing on it. His publicist had sent over his talking points for the evening ahead - a black-tie fundraiser for the local arts center, of which he was the main benefactor. He'd agreed to give the keynote speech of the night.

The car pulled up to the backstage entrance and he moved quickly out of the rain. His publicist - Amber - was there to greet him at the door. They offered each other quick, emotionless glares. Almost comically, the red-haired woman used two long fingers with blood-red painted fingertips to create an exaggerated smile across her face - signaling he should do the same, before she swiftly opened the door into the dazzling gala.

Dareios emerged into the dark, cool hall with his signature lopsided smirk, one hand casually entrenched in his tailored trousers pocket as the other swayed cooly at his side, in line with his long stride. He nodded and smiled, shaking hands of the other well-to-dos in town and made causal small talk. In between the mindless banter, his dark stare surveyed the crowd. The hairs on the back of his undead neck stood as he registered a dark hunter among the crowd. It wasn't all that uncommon these days - especially given Dareios' own mantra of equality among residents in their quirky, supernatural city. But his instincts kicked in, nevertheless.

After a while, Amber handed the Mayor of Sacrosant a glass of red wine and pointed toward the row of artwork - available for bid - along the back of the room. She wanted to get a few candid shots of Dareios enjoying the art and perhaps bidding on some. It played well for folks to know he was an actual connoisseur, and not here just because he had to be. Obediently, the tall vampire made his way through the throngs of dressed up people, silently grateful for a moment of peace as he studied the art available for bid. He stopped to admire a painting of the city's landscape - illuminated at night - when another Gala attendee passed by.

That familiar sensation of cautious recognition hit him again, and Dareios turned to stare the dark hunter face on. He was handsome, in a youthful sort of way. He seemed a bit out of place among the older clientele of the arts center. "Sharp piece." Dareious muttered, as he re-shifted his gaze on the cityscape painting. "But I prefer that one." He said, raising a slender finger to point in the direction of the one adjacent. He gave the stranger a short smile before grabbing at the pen and paper, and scribbled down a $20,000 bid, unbeknownst that he was in fact, standing next to the artist himself.

Dareios Auerbach | Vampire | Vinyl

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