[Open Thread] All you wanted

[etienne]

Etienne had soon realized as he had entered the club that the sin he thought was for him in fact wasn’t. Lust had seem like the floor you wanted to be on, but once there he had just gotten sickened of the dancers and various creatures staring their eyes out and acting like a bunch of whores. It was too tacky. So he had soon moved to another floor and had found himself at home by the Greed level.

Surely he did not have much credits to spend, but the ones he had, he would certainly do. He usually had a lot of luck and he could keep his face straight, perhaps it wasn’t fair when there were creatures around him that had far better senses than himself and could possibly read minds as well. Though he didn’t bother as he went in, slid down onto a chair with his firm bum that would make the most people full of envy. Well, that was if they could stop staring at his model like type face that was almost flawless in the context of perfection. Or so he wanted to believe. His ego was high but on the outside he was smiling kindly towards everyone, fat, skinny, rich, poor, ugly or beautiful, he still had the appearance of being interested, listening and understanding what the person said. He usually made people feel appreciated with this behavior of his, but on the inside his mind could be giving them the foulest of comments.

He had recently been to the blood bank so he did have some of the poker chips to spend at a poker table. After letting his sapphire like shimmering eyes roam around the different tables he soon found one that looked suitable with an open spot. He slid down onto one of the chairs and placed his chips on the table with a low comment that he wanted in on the next round. He had to wait some, regretting he hadn’t bought a drink as he could feel his mouth get a bit dry.

It didn’t take longer than 3 minutes before there were a new round starting and the cards were being handed out. Etienne embraced the cards, peeking underneath them to see what he had as he was keeping a stone face and taking one of his credit to participate in the poker game. As usually lucky Fortuna seemed to be shining upon him. He was keeping a close eye on the others though, to try and read their facial expressions and body language as they watched their cards. Etienne needed the chips, he wanted them more than anything. Greed surely was his sin.

[Margaret Rosier]

A dainty smile perched itself softly on her lips as the chips she had just won down in Wrath were dropped into her awaiting palms. Wrath and Pride had always been her favorite of sins. Being a young woman schooled in body language it made it easier for her to spot critical points of vulnerability. Before placing her bet Margaret had watched the way both men in the ring warmed up. The one in red was quick and nimble, swift footwork was on his side as he dipped, ducked and dived his energy seemingly everlasting. She had anticipated rabbit punches from him, focusing on the torso with occasion right hooks to the opponents jaw. If not for the opponents prowess her chips would have been on red without a doubt. However, black held his own advantages. Power wasn’t always the best thing to have in it fight, it typically meant that the fighter was slower, sluggish with his hits and with an opponent like the one in red it would be difficult for him to find his mark. He also was filled with rage, it burned in his skin radiating waves of hate toward those around him. The combination of the two normally would have suggested that he would bull headedly charge into the offense and tire out without much success inevitably losing the fight. Based on the expressions of those around her Maggie could see this line of thinking was consensus.

Little did they know it seemed that the man in black had one specific trick up his sleeve that had won him the fight. Despite the power and rage, he had control over it. Odds five to one in reds favor, Margaret had made her bet on black. The final blow resulted in a strong uppercut to red leaving the man in questionable condition when Maggie had left with the winnings weighing down her purse. She had felt the eyes on her since leaving the Wrath level. A pair of seedy men followed her through the crowd waiting for their opportunity to take what she had. It was amusing really that they assumed she didn’t know about their presence. Her superior hearing had detected their murmurs, the senses in her body tingling with the awareness that they were approaching closer. She could have taken her chances fighting them off, instead though tact was always a better option than exposure.

As she was passing by the bar she stopped off ordering two drinks, giving off the pre-mature appearance that she was going to meet someone. Numerous card games were going on around her in Greed all Maggie needed to do now was find her mark and use him to shake the two thugs that had been following her. Gaze scanning over the tables she looked for someone suitable for the job. Several people of interest crossed her path, but there was always something that turned her off from approaching them. She needed someone attractive, but would look like they could handle themselves. A lot of the attractive men that were in Greed at the time were too much of pretty boys, that didn’t hold the edge that she required- at least not until she spotted one in particular.

The two men were getting closer, it was now or never and Margaret was going to take her chances. Sliding up next to the man, placing the extra drink on the edge touching his fingertips with the glass, Margaret leaned in placing a tender kiss on his cheek. ”Hi handsome.” Her gaze wasn’t on her new companion though, rather flitted over to the thugs that had been following her, who were in turn looking at the man she was with, sizing him up. It didn’t take them long to abandon their plan and disappear into the crowd to search for an easier target. Finally looking back at the man there was something familiar about him. Those features, the alluring curve of his lips…those strikingly blue eyes. It couldn't have been who her mind was shouting at her that it was though, because he was dead last she had heard, but still, it was uncanny.

[etienne]

At first Etienne could not act in any way other than being puzzled as he got a tender kiss lid upon his cheek. It totally blew his off his concentration on the game and he forgot to watch the faces of the others, and instead his focus was laid upon the woman beside him. He could see some of the men, smiling and looking jealous, surely the woman was beautiful. She had the blonde hair that many people dreamt of, a body that would make most women and men envious and a pair of absolutely stunning eyes which was set like two diamonds in the oh so adorable face. Though Etienne wouldn’t let himself be fooled by this, what really was this? Was she after his money? Trying to seduce him?

Handsome? Surely boosted his ego, and for that the woman was collecting plus points even though he wasn’t as sure about the kiss. However, the handsome won him over; he was really easy like that. Even though he was a young adult he surely fit into the handsome category rather than boyish pretty. But there was something more, he recognized the cheeks of the woman, weirdly enough, they sort of reminded him of someone when he was younger. He couldn’t just sit there looking like he did not know the other, it would be rude since she was obviously flirting, or so Etienne interpreted the signals. In a split second his lips had turned into a charming smile, showing off the perfectly aligned pearl white teeth towards the opposite gender beside him, together they indeed looked like a good couple. “Hello gorgeous.” He said gentlemanary, even though he was still thinking about who the woman was. He folded his turn because he really had no chance of winning either way.

Then it hit him, like a lightning from a clear blue sky. All the memories of Haven came rolling back and for a moment he was even more puzzled than before, he had so many emotions bubbling up inside of him that he almost thought he was going to have a heart attack. Come to think about it, his heart started to beat faster as he turned completely towards the woman and got out of his chair. “Margaret! What are you doing here dear?” The men around them also looked puzzled but were more focused in the game than anything. He smiled, this time more genuine as he embraced the girl in front of him, he couldn’t call her woman. Margaret had always been the little girl from what he remembered. “You’ve grown so big!” Oh Etienne, get a grip of yourself, you sound like an old granma. The fact was that once Etienne had reached the city he had never looked back on Haven, he did not miss his family or friends, it had just been a closured chapter in his life that he had moved on from.

He was bluntly shocked by the presence of an old friend. “I don’t even know what to say… Oh wow, you are stunning.” He chuckled some and took the drink to take a little sip of it before he eyed the woman again. “Let’s take a seat somewhere else.” He collected his chips and placed them down in his pocket before taking the hand of Margaret to pull the both away from the poker table and on a journey to find a free table with at least two chairs. Eventually he did find one, though it had an empty glass on the table, but it was better than nothing so he slid down and placed the glass that Margaret had given to him on it. He had to buy her back later upon. “What are you doing here?” He had so many questions, about Haven, how she had managed to get there, if she was alone. He could actually find himself grow excited by it all. Not like he was having a fully erected hardon in his pants, he was just excited.

[Margaret Rosier]

The recognition that hurried into his eyes when he got a good look at her had a mix of emotions swirling around inside of her. Maggie wanted to deny what her mind was telling her, that the man before her was the same one she had esteemed so highly in her youth, her first crush, the boy that she had compared everyone since to and never being able to find one that could hold a candle to him. She had immortalized him as that same thirteen year-old boy that meant the world to her and hadn’t seen her for more than a kid sister at most. Seeing him now made her anxious, it made her feel like she was seven years old again and all her conviction for what she knew to be true was taking its toll. Etienne was supposed to be dead, that was the last she had heard about him from her contacts back in Haven two years ago. He seemed so happy to see her though, like he didn’t even realize that he had betrayed everyone and that it didn’t raise questions for Maggie. She was too shocked by it all to say much of anything to him, all she could do was hug him back in that moment and relish in the feeling of what it was like to be held in his embrace.

Slipping away from the poker table she took a seat with Etienne at one of the open tables, her gaze downcast as her mind attempting to sort through all her own questions and organize them in a way that she could express them and be of sound enough mind to understand his answers. Her fingers worked over the glass slowly turning it in place. ”I’ve been here since I was seven, dad- Roman brought me to continue what we’re all about.” Did Etienne remember what Haven was all about though? Had he forgotten their mission like he had forgotten her, or his parents? Finally looking back up at him Margaret hated not having control over her emotions. She was overjoyed to see that he was alive, but it hurt knowing that he had disappeared leaving everything that had meant anything to him behind. Maybe nothing in Haven ever had mattered though? Maybe he didn’t care about any of the people that had cared about him.

As she took a sip of her drink, feeling as though the alcohol was needed to help keep her calm, Maggie felt her throat becoming thick wanting to ask what was on her mind but fearful of the answers that she would get. Holding someone up as high as Margaret held Etienne for all these years and being faced with the possibility that they weren’t everything that you thought they were was a hard thing to deal with and if she was this distraught over the possibility of it she could only imagine what it would feel like if she found it to be true. Scooting over closer to him she wanted more privacy, not just because of the subject the conversation pertained to but also because Maggie wasn’t as confident in her emotions as she usually was and it was new for her. The intimacy of it wasn’t something that she wanted to share with the people around them.

”I was told,” Her voice wavered, cracking slightly under the pressure of keeping level. ”You’re supposed to be dead.” Putting that out there stung. Clearly Etienne wasn’t dead, they were sharing drinks together, and she had seen that contagious smile of his light up the room and felt those butterflies whirling around in her stomach when he hugged her. Etienne was real; he was tangible and very much alive. ”A raiding party two years ago…what happened? Why does everyone think you got taken out on that mission?” Maggie couldn’t wrap her head around it. But maybe it wasn’t as bad as she thought. Maybe Etienne was doing good here in New Vegas, maybe he had a similar task as her but needed to be dead to avoid detection for one reason or another. Maybe there was hope for her ideals of him after all.

[etienne]

“Since you were seven? … That actually makes lot of sense.. I always wondered where you had run off too, they said you had been taken into the city and in my young mind I always thought that was a lie, that you had been eaten by zombies or something and they refused to tell the truth to a little boy..” He chuckled some, not that it was something to laugh about though but he still thought it was a bit funny that he had in an early age always imagined the worst to happen, or well not the worst, just the darkest fantasies of his own had a upper hand, they always had. “I believed they thought we were a couple, as we used to hang out from time to time.” He tilted his head towards the side and studied Margaret a bit closer as he fired away another charming smile. Surely Etienne hadn’t looked bad in his youth either, and he honestly didn’t know if the young girls had been crushing on him, in his own eyes he had always been weird and wanted to be alone, though he had been kind to the girls, as his mother had told him to be. He had probably only once pulled on a girl’s hair to get her attention and she had hit him. Maybe that was why he liked pain so much. He rolled some with his eyes at his own thought but kept smiling. At least after that he had given up a bit on the girls front and had become more interested on what was on the outside. Margaret had been like a little sister to him. “Geez, you are so grown up now.. Little Maggie.”

Etienne rose an eyebrow, the thought was so wrong in so many ways. He was very much alive, though it did explain why no one had come to look for him, though they wouldn’t have found him either way if they had tried. He ran his hand through his own hair, moving a hair wisp away from his eye as he smiled some towards the woman beside himself. “Well.. I’m alive at least.” He stated as he shifted his position to take a new sip of the drink that tasted a bit sweet, perhaps too sweet for his own taste as he liked when it burned in his throat. Though his mind was mixing emotions of happiness to see the woman and regret for leaving everybody, but he had gotten his chance to escape Haven and he simply took it without any regret. “I wasn’t exactly taken out, more the opposite. I was taken in. Made into a blood slave for a year.” And he would’ve loved continue doing it if it wasn’t for the vampire growing tired of him. He found it wise to not mention that he had been a blood slave to a male vampire, instead of a female, he would just let Margaret believe he was. Etienne was bisexual though he wouldn’t like to admit his gay tendencies. He figured he needed some cover up to not return to Haven, honestly he did not want to go back. He appreciated life in New Vegas much more than he first had thought.

“It’s a pretty nice place to stay once settled.” Was all he said, sure he could’ve come up with something that he hadn’t wanted to go out from the borders alone to get back to Haven but that wouldn’t have been any good when a new raid were coming and actually could take him back. Then he would much likely go under ground until they were all gone. “But where are you staying?” He tried to get the subject elsewhere so he wouldn’t have to defend himself in the matter of not returning to Haven. He would’ve guessed someone bear the Burrows, as he currently was living as well. His eyes trailed over Margaret, for once he didn’t feel so alone. Surely a lot of the people in New Vegas had once come from the outside, but Haven was more special in a way, at least to Etienne since it was there he had been born and grown up. He folded his hands onto each other on his own lap as he leaned back against the couch, well hidden underneath the table he pressed his nails into his skin at the left wrist, where he had burn marks and newly healed wounds. It was an instant relief to feel the pain rise in his body. He let go a minute afterwards, feeling the heating stinging in his wrist was a bit euphoric. He would’ve moaned but instead he groaned a bit that he easily covered up with a little coughing.

He probably didn’t live up to Margaret’s little dream interpretation of him. Which if Etienne had knew he would’ve been sad but he had never guessed that Margaret had any feelings for him more than regular friends. Etienne hadn’t exactly been liked by the younger boys, a few times he remembered being called a freak. Why he couldn’t really remember, maybe because he had been standing on the frontline of Haven and watching zombies rather than running around and pulling girl’s skirts up or acting like a dumbwitted fool. As he looked back now he must’ve been a bit of an outsider really. He didn’t find it odd that they hadn’t met each other before, Etienne had rarely explored the city, he had most of all been kept inside.

[Margaret Rosier]

When her dad had discovered Maggie was…special, he hadn’t wasted any time in whisking her away to the city to hatch his long-term plan. Maggie had barely enough time to say goodbye to her mother let alone Eitenne, it had saddened her at first, leaving those that she cared for only to be taken somewhere that she had been raised to hate. Margaret had always done as her father told her to though, even after he had been caught and Maggie was forced to assume that he too was dead, she had remained loyal to his plans for her. Every move that she made now was to keep with the grand scheme. Her mother would have never wanted her to literally sell herself to the many creatures- and humans when they could afford it- that inhabited New Vegas, but her father had said it was the most discreet way to gather information from others. The intimacy of the situations that she was put in meant that she often overheard things that wouldn’t be uttered in public places. ”Even at seven you know that would be unlikely.” She was been very bold in her youth, a bit of a firecracker. When it came to the boys in Haven she would have been the first to tackle them to the ground and throw a few punches simply because they were running off at the mouth, let alone a worse offense.

Etienne had been viewed as a bit strange by their peers but that was what had attracted Maggie to him in the first place. There was a gentleness about him, something so refined that the ruffnecks in their camp couldn’t being to embody. Etienne was a dreamer from what Margaret had been able to tell but until now she had never known what it was that had his heads in the clouds so often. He wanted to be a part of the very thing that Havenites hated. How a person who knew exactly the kind of loathsome things these creatures did want to willingly be around it? It baffled Maggie. ”I didn’t mind them thinking it true.” Whenever the other boys had teased her about having Etienne as her boyfriend she had simply smiled at them holding her head high. It was a thought that she had entertained on numerous occasions and when she had been told of Etienne’s fate two years ago, it had devastated her. At least when he had been a part of the raiding party, though it was dangerous work, she knew that he was where he belonged. New Vegas wasn’t the place for him, it wasn’t fit for the boy she had thought she knew.

The mere thought of him being made into a blood slave sent fire through her veins. She wanted to know who the vampire was and if they were still around, kill them. It made Maggie shudder with anger. ”A year!” Margaret was outraged, letting her gaze slip over him again to see if there was any visible damage from that horrible fiend using Etienne as cattle. Not only that but it seemed as though the vampire had domesticated him, tainted his mind with submission to the point that Etienne thought he had been content as its slave. Her heart broke for him. Her father had always told her that she couldn’t make rash decisions or act out based on emotion. She had to think things through and her personal feelings didn’t matter if it compromised what she was working toward. If she flew off the handle and hunted down the vampire in her rage it would mean she would become the hunted. It didn’t do anything for the subtleties she had built up. Taking a deep breath she let the moment pass just in time to have Etienne change the topic.

”I live in the Burrows.” Maggie was better up financially than most humans but she didn’t have enough yet to move to the Burbs and even if she did that was a little too much security for her liking. Rather than the gated community giving her a sense of security it would only make her feel as though she was being kept in, instead of keeping others out. She liked that she could blend in with the mass of other humans and just be another face in the crowd. Maggie only like the spotlight on her when she was working a job, and she only liked that certain aspects of herself were shone in that light. If Etienne had been pacified by the beasts then it begged the question of how much she could really trust him now. Back in Haven she would have spilled her darkest deepest secrets to him in a heartbeat, but they weren’t kids anymore and they both had changed. Keeping calm was her best bet and in time maybe Etienne would reveal things to her that would be of use, but until then, the niceties were going to have to be observed. She needed to know who he was now, not assume he was the boy she had left behind. ”How about you now that you aren’t working for a vampire?”