IKEA HATTEFJÄLL
#1

outfit



Kess had of course felt it- that internal alarm that beeped inside her- radiating throughout her body to let her know that she was in territory she didn't belong to. But, well, it was where IKEA was and she needed some furnishings for her new place. She'd just hope that she could get in and out before whatever clutch leader popped in, or, if they were particularly quick in finding her, nice.

For now, she was roaming one of the showrooms, drawn towards a [url=https://www.ikea.com/us/en/rooms/home-office/gallery/a-colourfully-contemporary-home-workspace-pubf8ac17b0]colorful home office.[/q] Kess was a fan of the overall design and even though she knew office furniture was not on her list of things to buy, still scratched down the names and numbers of some of the items with the dull pencil the store supplied.

Mostly though, she was a fan of the pink office chair. Eyeing it carefully, she pulled it out from under the desk and took a seat, feeling how it felt on her hips. The side flaps of the chair definitely touched her thighs, but as she rolled around, she found that they weren't particularly bothersome at all. She hummed and nodded her approval and then scooted back to the desk to write down the product number for the office chair.
#2

outfit/general look



No vampire right now, but a tiger was prowling the aisles at IKEA as if he might find inspiration up near the office furniture. IKEA was a really good place to find new buckets for his drumming set-up, comfortable chairs and stools that weren't going to cost him an arm and a leg and that were often easy to offload onto others when he decided he needed to move.

The scent of death close by alerted him to either an unfortunate customer or employee who'd got caught somewhere in the displays and hadn't been found yet, or a vampire in the vicinity. While the tiger in his soul lashed its tail and considered dinner, Jack was just feeling nervous, wary after his last encounter.

Walking within supernatural sniffing distance, he spotted her scribbling with a pencil. Just doing normal mundane things. And immediately Jack felt bad for making assumptions, and even though he definitely didn't need to say anything he felt like he had to??

So he picked on what was the most obvious thing to him.

"Wow, it's like this display was hand picked for you," he commented, and immediately felt like a fucking idiot "Because... pink... it's really your color..." Yeah he was a dumb. "... can I borrow your pencil for a sec?" Looking at the shelving units he could see a use for them in his empty apartment. Maybe he was thinking about staying. Or just sending it on to Hunter, in case he needed more shelves.
#3
Kess had been appropriately minding her own business, as everyone else in the store seemed to be doing. That was, until a were walked into the display and started talking. She looked up suddenly, unaware of the approach or the need to speak with her. The smell of cat emitted from the man and she gave somewhat of an awkward smile as she processed the compliment of the display room. It was weird.

But then he had asked to borrow her pencil and she wondered if that had been the sole intention for this interaction and the man was just otherwise a bit socially awkward. Tapping into her power, it felt like that had been what possibly happened. Either way, she pushed out some calming energy. And then gave him a smile and held out her pencil. "Sure, here you go."


1/5 min used for empathy

#4
"Thank you," he murmured, demure, polite as he accepted the pencil and leaned against the display desk to write down the product numbers he needed. The desk felt like it was creaking under his weight, or maybe he was pressing too much force into it, but it held regardless of how flimsy it felt under his arms. Good old IKEA furniture!

He barely noticed the difference in the temperature of the situation, serene as he handed the pencil back with no incident.

"Thanks. Again," he said, smiling softly. "And, uh. Sorry for being weird. But your outfit really matches the chair, I think." Not making things any better, Jack. "It looks very 'You', is what I... um. You know what I mean?" What was it about vampires that made Jack awkward? Something he was going to have to ponder later.
#5
Kess watched as the shifter wrote down the product number, keeping a slight smile on her face as she waited to retrieve her pencil once again. For now, things were alright so she dropped the calming energy.

He spoke again and was still being awkward. Was he.. flirting with her? Lord she hoped not.

"Uh, yeah," she said, giving him a better smile. "I like the color pink." And because the situation couldn’t be more awkward, she added in "I’m not, uh, interested in dating."
#6
He had half turned away and was considering the lamp to add a splash of colour to his admittedly dismal living space when the stranger confirmed she liked pink, to which he smiled and nodded, ready to confirm that he had noticed.

And then she made things a lot more awkward than they needed to be by telling him she wasn't interested in dating him, as if he was flirting? And man he hoped this wasn't what he looked like when he was flirting!

"Okay," he said, trying and failing to fight a tiny little frown, turning back towards her and catching the lamp with his sleeve. "I have a boyfriend, so I wasn't like. Trying to--" As he attempted to explain, the lamp rolled right off the desk, the hinge breaking as it hit the floor.
#7
The situation may have felt awkward now, but Kess figured it was better to make sure certain things were understood. She nodded as he spoke and started to alert the man to the lamp caught on his sleeve, but it unfortunately was too late and the lamp fell to the ground. She looked at the man and laughed a little, reaching over to pick up the lamp and put it back on the desk.

The weight of the lamp weighed down the top, no longer held up by the hinge since it was broken. But she figured Ikea could jut replace it. Display items were bound to break. Kess looked back to the were. "Sorry, but you were acting really weird."
#8
He'd stopped speaking and just kinda scratched the back of his head awkwardly as the lamp broke, and offered an apologetic smile as the stranger lifted it back onto the desk. That was nice of her; most people would have scattered so as not to have been made to pay for it.

"Yeah, I guess I was being weird," he sighed, looking down at the desk. "I did need the pencil... uh. I'm sorry. I had a really bad experience with a vampire recently and I felt bad for feeling bad and I let it influence how I approached you and I'm sorry for that."

Honestly was the best policy, right?
#9
Kess listened to the were’s explanation and things finally clicked into place. While she hadn’t necessarily felt any fear or unease, it was possible that it was simply the nerves overshadowing everything else he felt.

She nodded and gave him a smile. "Some vampires are rough. I try not to be one of them." Though she did feel that many of the deemed rough ones were that way for a reason, she didn’t voice this thought to the were.

"This is a vampire territory, by the way. So if they make you nervous, there’s bound to be some here. Might be better to come here during the day."
#10
It was a relief that she wasn't upset about the truth behind the way he'd been behaving, but somehow her acceptance of it made him feel worse. Some vampires were rough. Some people were rough, but this wasn't just rough. The vampire had attacked him, and would have attacked others.

But she wasn't rough, or she tried not to be. He could tell, and there was an appreciation in him for that. He nodded, looking back at the lamp.

"Territory? Like there's a group here? Your group?"

He couldn't remember what he'd heard them called before, but it was kind of bullshit to him that a group of supernatural folk could rock up to a town and claim it as solely theirs, not even considering the irony of the fact that his tiger scent-marked everything it saw county-wide.
#11
Kess looked to him and nodded. "I’m not in any group, but I can feel it- their claim on this city. No one coming out here could be a good thing. It could mean the leader doesn’t care who passes through. But it could mean that they’re out of the territory right now."

She stood up, noticing that humans were starting to get close to them. "Could also mean they’re on their way." She motioned for him to follow her, but if he decides to split then, that would be fine.
#12
Wow, so vampires could tell if a city was claimed. Like how he could feel that shiver of unbelonging in a place claimed by other were-people. Useful, he guessed. Would be a lot nicer if there was like... a website that told people this stuff. But then he wasn't completely stupid. He knew most preferred their privacy, secrecy. Not to be noticed by regular folk going about their regular lives.

The stranger was on the move suddenly, and he nodded to her gesture to follow, doing so dutifully.

"Are they likely to be unfriendly to another vampire?" he asked, curious about how that all worked.
#13
The boy followed and Kess gave him a shrug at his question. "I haven't been in this part of my life too long. But like weres- vampires are drawn to each other. So I think most are alright with unclaimed vampires, as long a they don't make problems."

Though she also imagined that there could be a courtesy only extended once if they found out that a vampire wasn't interested in joining their clutch. But that was vampire politics and didn't really concern the were. She looked back to him with a small frown. "So you said you were attacked? If you don't mind me asking- what happened?"
#14
On their way they were, if not precisely at lightning speed. Beauregard had only just made it back into the Heights some minutes ago, and he was not feeling pressed to engage in a mad sprint across town to greet a rogue.

On familiar white banded wings he fluttered, wishing he could properly pinpoint from a distance to direct Raziyya there in his stead.


skippable for 12 IC minutes, no need to tag until then :3 (and no sweat if the thread wraps sooner

#15
It was an interesting thought. Vampires were drawn to each other like shifters, only his tiger had never been overly interested in other shifters. Even his sire and his friends. It had tolerated them, but it had never loved them, or whatever the equivalence was in tiger terms.

Maybe more social animals were more likely to congregate.

Asked about his encounter, his head ducked sheepishly. Maybe he wasn't entirely innocent in the exchange. Another vampire might think he was out of line.

But there wasn't any point in lying about it.

"I was on a walk and I could kind of sense this guy following me," he murmured, picking at a thumbnail. "He seemed really annoyed when he realised I wasn't prey and asked if I'd seen anyone else and I said I'd seen some teens the way I came. So he went that way looking for them and I followed. I... I did take his photo which was when he attacked, then pursued me." But he still felt justified in it. Anyone who would stalk a lone walker at night and try to take kids as meals deserved exposure, right?
#16
Oh. Going after teens was sure something, but taking a picture was another thing too. Kess looked at him. "Well, what were you planning to do with the picture once you took it?"
#17
He had already done the thing, and he kept picking at his thumb. Of course this vampire was more willing to fall on the side of the creepy vampire, even if she seemed nice.

But what a mean thing to think when he hadn't even heard what she had to say about his plan!

On the other hand. She wasn't immediately condemning the other vampire.

"Just warn people about him, I guess," he said. "I sent it to my boyfriend first, since he lives near where I found the guy."
#18
She supposed that made sense. And clearly more people needed to beware of this vampire if he was attacking others. She knew some supernaturals seemed to always take things to 10- everything always had to be handled with death, and that was what she’d been worried about.

"Probably good to post it then and get the word out," she said with a nod. And then decided to go ahead and talk about her plans for this area. "I hope to stop stuff like that. I want to start a business where humans and psychics can be paid to donate blood and vampires can buy it. Stop this hunter-prey sort of stuff."
#19
She wasn't admonishing him for taking anonymity away from this vampire. In fact, she was talking about blood donation and vampires buying their food like going to a grocery store.

A good concept, actually!

He looked up at her, feeling guilty for still prejudging.

"It does seem kind of... outdated. The hunter-prey thing. It's not fair on vampires or humans."
#20
She agreed with that and nodded. It was part of why she wanted to start the business. But she also knew the downside to it thanks to her former clutch.

"I agree. It just will take some convincing for some vampires who will have no desire to pay for blood when it can be taken for free."
#21
Was it really free when you had to give up your humanity to become a prowling beast who could so easily justify taking blood from people, sometimes even taking their lives? Jack couldn't really understand it, how easily some people leaned in to the worst parts of themselves as if it was a good trade for power.

"It's fine if there's an arrangement or two in place for something free," he murmured, offering his opinion where it probably wasn't wanted. "But yeah.. being able to buy blood priced reasonably would be way better than... I dunno, having to hide from people because they're scared of what you can do to them. Right?"

Hiding was exhausting. How the older vampires did it, he had no idea. He was pretty used to hiding his animal side now but four years and several dozens of moves later and he was already tired at twenty four years of age.
#22
Kess nodded, having already figured that, if this place finally became a reality, she'd have some stuff in place for free blood. "Yeah, definitely. There's always going to be newer vampires who don't have money like a lot of the older vampires. I figured I could do some stuff on a sliding scale." She trailed off a little bit in thought since the were had also mentioned the whole hiding aspect too.

"Unfortunately, I don't think this will help with the whole hiding thing. Plenty of people are always gonna be scared of vampires- not that they don't have a good reason to be. But," she paused looking back to the were, "Shit happens. Just like it does with y'all."
#23
A sliding scale food bank for vampires was such a compassionate idea, and he couldn't help but smile in warm appreciation, an expression that quickly fell when the lady gave the opinion that vampires would probably always have to hide.

Like shifters.

He didn't want to believe that. It was tiresome. It was demoralising.

"People being scared shouldn't mean other people have to hide," he murmured, chewing the inside of his lip.
#24
Kess nodded. "I agree, to an extent. There's always going to be vampires and weres who will hurt others- kill them or change them for no real reason." But Kess was also a hopeful kind of person. "But hopefully, those will be a significant minority and we won't have to hide over it."
#25
There were always going to be people in general who, for whatever reason, wanted only to hurt others. That was true of any population.

Which really meant they were on the same page.

Jack drew in a weary breath through his nose.

"I hope so," he agreed, slipping his hands into his pockets. "You got people helping you with this project?"
#26
Kess paused in their walk to stop at another display room, wanting to check it out. Since there weren’t many around, she felt it was safe to continue their conversation.

"Not at the moment," she confessed. "I’m still looking for the best area right now. I don’t want to impose on any other vampire groups, so it needs to be an area not in their territory."
#27
In the new display room, Jack relaxed somewhat, leaning against another set of shelves. Sturdy!

"So you'll start looking for people when you find a good place?"

Seemed sensible, but wouldn't it be easier to find a place if you had people?
#28
Kess shook her head back and forth and hummed. "Kinda both at the same time. Once I figure out the best region of Ridgefield here, I'll start putting up signs to gauge interest and then, if it seems to be of interest, I'll get the building and everything."

Being a newer vampire meant that she was also limited in her money situation, so she definitely wanted to make sure it was a success and not a flop.
#29
Both at the same time was reasonable. Be on the lookout for good places while finding the right people.

"Anything a shifter like me could do to help?" It seemed a worthy cause and he had time in his sparse schedule.
#30
Kess offered the were a smile. It was good that there was already some interest in her idea, even if it wasn't from anyone who could really benefit from blood. But any support was good support. "Yeah, if you want to just help get the word out. If you want, we can exchange numbers- if you run into anyone who seems interested, you can let me know?"

Also, she wasn't above making new friends. She was always trying for that. "And we can always chat and hang out over non-business related stuff too," she tacked on with a grin.
#31
Get the word out. He could think of ways to do that. Nodding thoughtfully, he pulled his phone out, grinning when she extended her friendship in addition to her acquaintance.

That sounded like a good deal to him!

"Sounds great," he said, then thought to hold a hand out. "I'm Jack, by the way."
#32
Kess continued to smile. "Alright, well, it's nice to meet you Jack," she said, taking his hand. She gave it a shake. "I'm Kess. Lemme give you my number here." She let go of his hand to pull out her phone, ready to also get his.
#33
It was IKEA.

It was always IKEA. Shifting from bird to man behind the ugly shield of a box truck, he approached the building and considered. There was only one entrance and exit, barring that this rogue might favor fleeing from an employee only space.

Spending time wandering through the aisles and rooms of this damn furniture store did not especially appeal. He did go to the entrance, walk within, listening for the sounds of dramatic screams that might indicate trouble.

Nothing, then. Perhaps someone sincerely interested in shopping, or a quieter hunter. Deciding pride over pursuit, he exited again, deciding to wait out front and slightly out of the way so that he didn't trouble any patrons.

If he felt the vampire making a break another way, then, oh, he'd feel motivated enough to give lively chase.


skippable until Kess exits the building :3

#34
It was nice to not have to worry too much about shaking hands and hurting people by squeezing too hard, though of course he didn't do the annoying thing of crushing fingers like he used to in the before times. You learned quickly what kind of behaviour was unacceptable, especially when you were sharing your living space with three other tigers.

"Good to meet you, too, Kess," he murmured, genuine in his smile and his words. Typing her contact in and exchanging numbers, he asked permission to take a photograph to put the face to the name. Not that he was liable to forget any time soon.
#35
Taking a picture of her for the contact was new, but she consented and gave Jack a bright smile. She got his number next and, since she liked the idea of pictures assigned to new contacts, asked to take his photo as well.

And with that settled, Kess moved out of the new room to head to the warehouse side. "Anyway, I'd love to talk some more, but I definitely wanna pick up that pink chair from the other room. And I'm in vampire territory right now, so I should probably work towards getting out."
#36
More than happy to have his photo taken he flashed a warm smile towards her phone camera, then nodded at her plan. He was being dismissed for now, and had other places to be in store anyway.

"Okay; I need to pick up some more things but I can text you later," he offered. "Be safe, okay?"

With a little wave, he wanted further into the store, back to his original search for comfort.


exit Jack but he's still hanging around if it becomes relevant!

#37
Kess smiled. "Sounds good. See you soon, Jack!"

And she would do just that- head to the warehouse, locate the pink chair, and then head to the exit to pay for it. It was only when she got to the payment part that she felt the other vampire’s presence, possibly lingering outside.

She was a bit nervous as she paid and carried the box outside. If there had been a problem, surely they would’ve come inside and told her to leave. Most vampires weren’t shitty, at least they hadn’t been in her limited time as one interacting with them.
#38
The presence didn't wander far, at least not so far that he could sense it pinging further away from him beyond the store itself. Still no shrill screams or distant sirens announcing that his own laziness had resulted in an incident.

Eventually he felt a nearness, turning to face the door at the side of his vision. When his vampire in question appeared, she was unfamiliar. Good news, for both involved.

The nerves she felt seemed appropriate. Neither excessive nor oblivious. A woman risking it for furniture, it seemed, but not an idiot from this internal glance alone.

"Good evening," he said, not an excessively boisterous greeting. Beauregard did not take pleasure in startling with his own prowess unintentionally. "Walk and talk? Don't want to make you stand here held hostage with a box."

A sweatered, gray-haired vampire was an unlikely conversational companion to anyone watching, but certainly she would sense the nature of his interest, given the significance of his power.
#39
For all it probably looked odd, Kess wasn't the least bit surprised that the vampire radiating power was an old white guy. There were lots of them, she'd been told. But this one was being nice when he clearly didn't have to be, so she fixed a smile on her face and nodded. She had no reason to conceal anything about her, so she simply walked towards her car, dominus paired beside her. "I hope you don't mind that I came into your area," she said softly. "I was planning to be in and out, but I ran into a new friend."
#40
It was as easy as Beauregard could hope. No fuss, no pissiness, no accusation that he ought not be here when she was minding her own business.

Convenient, and it put him at ease. The dominus did consider himself quite a reasonable man, when the world was reasonable in return.

"No trouble," he confirmed as he walked alongside her, eyeing a spread of cars and wondering what luck he might have in choosing hers from afar. "Passing through is no issue, so long as there's no dinner finding along the way. If you expect you might be shopping here again, we could exchange numbers so that you won't face another surprise greeting."

IKEA was, for no reason at all he could discern, a hotbed for shenanigans.
#41
Kess also relaxed a bit more when it was obvious the dominus was more easy going. She listened to his stipulations and agreed to them with a nod of her head. It was extremely fair. She smiled for it and nodded. "I really appreciate that. Thanks." She paused when she got to her car and set down the box by the trunk so she could take out her phone. As she pulled up the new contact page, she decided to ask, "Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions? I don't want to hold you up if you have somewhere else you need to be."
#42
Asking questions was a promising sign. Beauregard trusted reasonably intelligent rogues to express their interest in clutches if it appealed to them. He hardly needed to beg and plead for membership these days, nor did it interest him.

"Not a problem at all," he said. "I have all the time in the world. The name is 'Beauregard,' by the way."

He'd have no issue briefly pausing the conversation for a standard number trade before letting her continue with her questioning.
#43
Kess smiled and started the number exchange process. "Lovely to meet you Beauregard. I'm Kess." Her initial plan for the business she was planning was to simply not let any vampire leaders know of her intent, but she'd determined after being in Alder Heights and seeing how reasonable Beauregard had been thus far to go ahead and go for it.

"I'm thinking about a business opportunity which I hope can hope both vampires and humans. I'd like to open a blood donation center where humans and psychics can be paid to donate blood and vampires can then purchase the blood. The donation can then be more clinical and safe for psychics and humans and vampires wouldn't have to worry about hunting and having access to blood to keep them from wilting. What do you think?"
#44
Oh, my.

What a thing to lead into. Beauregard had little polite way to address his thoughts on the matter. It was not that dreadful nonsense bar, but certainly it was a slippery slope.

"How do you intend to protect your living clients from inexperienced or troublesome vampires?" he asked.

It would take only one incident for the local task force to make a run of the place.
#45
Oh. She hadn’t explained the concept very well. "There wouldn’t be any interaction between them. Similar to how hospitals collect blood from people for the purpose of blood transfusions, my business would do the same. Vampires would purchase bags of blood."
#46
It was Drew who read hours ago and then forgot, but Beauregard would suffer like the old food he was.

Realization struck him for his writer's renewed ability to read.

"Ah, I think I was so surprised by the question that I misheard you," he said, amicable. "I suppose it's certainly a way to get your cut of the transactions that humans and psychics are already making locally. I suppose I don't know the legality of it to wonder if the task force might be getting involved."

Competition for blood banks that were already running rather low, so far as the local news and consistent blood drives informed him.

"But from an, ah, supernaturally policing perspective, I certainly wouldn't be kicking down your door or the like in protest."
#47
Kess nodded. These were all good points. She would definitely need to also check in with humans and psychics to see how they felt, since they were the suppliers. The addition of the task force was one she hadn't considered. But hearing that, from his point of view, he was fine with such a business was certainly promising and she smiled for it.

"Thank you for your advice and input. I will definitely need to look into everything more." She was quiet for a brief moment to give him another smile. "The task force, though- what's your opinion on them in regards to their general treatment of supernaturals; particularly vampires?"
#48
However much Beauregard found discomfort in her business idea, he did appreciate the respect Kess showed. Perhaps that represented some sinking of his standards, but he had always considered himself patient and reasonable when the same was offered in return.

And certainly, she offered it.

"Hit and miss," he said. Beauregard had his tie to Dakila, and that counted for something. But the rest of the officers? Hm. "I've kept my nose clean enough that I haven't had reason to deal with them directly. They're not ashing every vampire they encounter, but there have been some convenient deaths, disappearances."

He scrunched his face, then loosened the expression.

"But I think that may be consistent across all varieties of police."
#49
The information was helpful and while she had considered going to the Task Force for their input too, the addition of the final sentence gave her enough pause to highly reconsider. Police were police. The task force came with the same baggage as any other force.

Kess nodded. "I think that's important to note." That concluded her questioning, but she didn't want to simply dismiss Beauregard. Best to ease into everything and let the call to end be his. "Thank you for your time. Did you have anything you needed to know about me?" Seemed only fair to allow him to ask questions, especially if she was going to be a rogue who came into his territory.
#50
The continuation of good manners. Beauregard appreciated it dreadfully much.

"I'm happy to leave you to the end of your shopping trip," he said with a smile and a slow nod, some semblance of a distant bow. "If you find yourself looking into clutches at some point, you know how to reach me. I could walk you through those I know in the area, a bit of the history."

But he was in no rush, and again, not hurting for membership. He did like her, still, despite a business idea that inspired wariness.

"For now, I appreciate your discussion and questions. I do wish you the best of luck in your endeavor."
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