The Manor

" There's a place everyones been talking about!, No seriously. I mean everyone. Rachel's brother went there last week met this amazing girl and a group of other beautiful people, No i'm serious just wait till we go. It's called The Manor it's just a few turn offs and blocks from the High street kind of out of the way, But seriously. You will not believe how many good looking people go there, hey! Stop laughin' I'm totally serious!, Urgh, just follow me!  "

Discussion overheard from two kine.

The manor is a fancy place. One decorated in a classy gothic feel, it ressembles some sort of Mansion house converted into a nightly party for the youths of Illumnia; hence the name. There are three floors, the ground floor features the main entrance, The bar and one dance area, the top floor features a larger dance area and lavateries, smoking area and naturally the basement is the Headquarters for the staff and the -very-, very special people. The two tops floors are often over-crowded with kine, whilst the lower area is quite mellow littered with elegent seats and sofas, silk cushions and victorian chairs, A young gent with doll like skin and ginger hair seen to the far left, sitting on the largest throne he looks bored.

Clad in a long flowing dress that fell an inch or so past her heels, Grace admired the item momentarily outside the door of the club. It was a combination of a daringly bright shade of red, and a rather muted and dull shade of it - the two interwoven finely so that the whole dress seemed amost to blur, especially as she moved. It had a relatively high cut at the front, but left her arms bare, and dove down behind her back, leaving it exposed to the cool night air. Her hair was held up an extra inch behind the back of her head, before tumbling down past her shoulder blades in an elaborate cascade of ringlets, leaving the fringe of hair hanging to one side of her face straight. She hefted her handbag, throwing it from its perch on one shoulder in a small circle around herself, and onto the other, before pushing on the doors in front of her, and stepping inside.

She had to pause and survey the room cooly, her startlement at the throngs of kine within concealed in a neutral expression as she lifted her chin slightly so as to be able to look down her nose at the crowds displayed before her. She felt an elbow bounce off of her right side, and she turned her head slowly to give the young man attached to the elbow a level stare.

"Oh wow... Sorry. Sorry..."

The young man flushed slightly as he spoke, and started to lurch away, throwing several looks back to her before he was swallowed by a cluster of people at the bar. His nose was too big anyway. Spotting stairs both up and down, Grace spent a few more moments, still rooted to the spot, deciding where she was more likely to find what she was looking for, before ultimately, she opted to head down stairs.

Just before the basement would become viewable, a small landing had been built at it's entrance, A red curtain graciously concealed what was behind it and a rather large kine stood infront of it. A Bouncer, in a black shirt that barely held together his mass. He had his arms folded and tenced himself like a intimidating predator. His eyes widened as he noticed someone approaching, As soon as she was in speaking distance he scanned her greedily. A soft smirk spreading across his ugly mug. " ..Speak with the boss before you start anything. Miss. " He grunted,  opened the curtain, and allowed her to step through; if she chose to do so.

Grace made sure to give the kine a condescending sneer as she looked down her nose (even as she looked up) at him, before lifting her skirts slightly and stepping through the curtain he held open for her, murmuring a quiet 'Thank you', with a sickly-sweet smile on her lips. Instantly recognising the difference of the 'people' in this room, Grace's smile became somewhat softer and more genuine, her eyes quickly sliding from one side of the room to the other, before spotting what was likely for her to be looking for. Her eyes lingered on him longer, her head cocked slightly to one side, her eyebrows raised ever so slightly as she weighed him up and down in her head.

Seemingly satisfied with whatever conclusion she came to, she strode towards the throne he sat at until she was little more than a metre away.]

"I don't suppose you'd be who I'm looking for then?" She inquired, one eyebrow raised quizically.

John was lazily spread across the throne, surrounded by curtains of black and red silk, his back against one arm and his legs hung across the other, he had a hand in his short-cut ginger hair and targeted his eyes behind Grace, seemingly deep in thought. His icy blue eyes didn't make contact with hers even as he spoke.

" Pleasant greetings, Kindred. " He allowed the greeting to blossom in his lips before speaking, a rather bored southern english accent etched into each of his words. " And yes.. I would the prince of this little haven of the damned; Jonathan Baker. " His eyes flicker up to Grace before drifting back into the distance, narrowing at the bar. His tone drops to a rather annoyed and tempremental tone " Within my walls, remeber the Masquerade, no killing, no fighting. Or I will have your head cut off. " Once again his eyes shifted, this time they lock onto the female kindred, a considerably more gentle then earlier " ..If your simply hungry or looking for a haven for the night, Please. What is mine, is yours. Seduce any human you see fit... But not the latino boy at the watering hole.. " He nodded forward, revealing a colourfully dressed " Surfer " boy tourist, who seems to be happily chatting away with the surrounding kine. " That one is mine. "Now comfortly within the basement of The Manor, those who paid attention to thier surroundings would notice a fancy bar, a empty stage, red sofas and chairs littering the room, and both male and female exoctic dancers up against the wall. The sound of heavily beated music filling the air.

Ecaterina walked slowly towards the club, wrinkling her nose slightly in distaste as her eyes scanned the area. The doberman at her side pulled his lips back in a low snarl as a man walked a bit too close to his mistress. "Hush Vlad, we must remember that we are guests of this... place." Her eastern accent made her voice a bit harsher than it would be in her native tonue as she spoke sternly to the dog. Vlad the Doberman silenced himself and looked obediently up at his mistress.
She looked at the dog and nodded towards a sheltered corner outside the Manor. The dog perked his ears and scurried off to the corner, making sure to be out of the way.

Ecaterina approached the entrance of the Manor with a slight hint of confusion on her face. A low "Such odd mingling of kindred and kine..." escaped her lips.

Anton stood in the doorway, observing the manor. He had kept his eyes on it for a few days, studying it and trying to learn what he could from the exterior. He knew he wouldn't really fit in well in there, with his particular taste in clothing and accents. He'd stand out easily and be noticed. But it is a popular locale, filled with people trying to forget the past and the future. Intoxicating themselves with alcohol, drugs or just plain passion. The perfect hunting ground. As such, he'd be a fool to avoid it.

Anton stepped out of the shadows into the night and strode over to the club, peering around him as he stepped into the entrance and handed over his coat in the wardrobe. He then proceeded to explore the clubs bottom floor, studying it. Walking around with a straight back and a calm exterior. Composed. Elegant.

With a smirk, followed by the slightest hint of a curtsy even, Grace murmured her acquiescence and agreement; that of course the masquerade would be held, and that the young 'prince' was generous indeed. It was hard to tell just how sincere all of it was, but she seemed satisfied with the exchange once she was done, and turned to walk away, taking a long, considered look at the the kine and kindred alike sharing the bottom floor with her. And there were certainly some that stood out. One or two were about as well hidden as jaguaretes in the pampas.

Maybe they could do for some light hearted poking at later on, to see how uneasy they were here, but that would do for later. Grace instead made her way to the bar, and with little more than a bare flash of teeth in a smile and a couple of words, ordered herself a drink, turning back to her surveillance of the room.