MM-Cliches and a Dark Past [Invite]

[NPC]

~~~~~

The Carnival season had kicked into high gear and taken the city into its thrall. Although every day and night at this time provided more than ample entertainment, it was at night that the festival truly came to life. Dusk was settling over Italy, another night of adventures to be had surely on that darkening horizon, and perhaps none were so close as the excitement unfolding nearby.

A throng of people were gathering around two young men who, from afar, sounded as though they were arguing. The first man, who was dressed in motley and was clearly full of drink, was repeatedly shouting a word that was utterly unintelligible, even to Nireva, in the way it was slurred. The second man's tone was much more even, and he was addressing the first man in Italian, in a much calmer, more even tone, as though he were trying to calm him down. The first man seemed very excited.

"Vedo che sei occupato, il mio amico," the second young man, a handsome and slender brunet, said to the other man, the blond dressed in motley, "quindi mi prenderò la questione al Luchresi. Lui me lo dirà-"

"Luchresi è un leccacazzi," the first man declared loudly, while swaying a bit to his left.

The brunet shrugged. "Eppure alcuni pazzi dicono che il suo gusto è un match per il proprio."

The blond spat, "Andiamo."

"Che...? Dove?"

"Andiamo." The blond grabbed his friend's arm and started to drag him through the crowd. The crowd followed them, however, and the brunet, detaching himself from the other but still following him, waved the crowd off. As he watched his friend do this, the blond had a different idea, and selected two or three people from the crowd. Those three happened to be beautiful women.

"Vieni con noi," the blond said with a grand flourish of a bow. "Potrai provare la superiorità del mio gusto, e berremo dalla bella collezione di cantina del mio amico."

The brunet was clearly displeased by the idea, but, as the blond was already eying the women and grinning, he decided it would probably be best for the women's sake if he played along and kept a careful eye over them with regard to his drunken friend. "Parlano inglese, idiota," he hissed at the blond, then turned to the ladies with a smile and addressed them in perfect English, save for a noticeable French lilt. "My apologies. My friend and I seem to be having a contest. Maybe you could be the judges. If you'd like, you could join us. My place isn't far away." Spotting the look on one of the women's faces, he added, "We mean you no harm, I assure you, no matter how hostile my friend seems to be. He is actually very mild when he's drunk." The brunet chuckled.

"Excuse my friend's poor manners," the blond interjected, his words still slurred, but understandable, with an Italian lilt, and listing to his right as he spoke. "I am Giuseppe, and this is my dear friend Alain. Come with us. This is your first Carnival here, yeah? We'll show you how the Italians do it. We know how it's done."

~~~~~

*Sorry for the bad Italian. I had to use Google Translate for most of it.

[Nireva Hale]

On a road lit only by fire; going where I want instead of where I should.
I peer out at the passing shadows. Carried through the night into the city!
Where a young man has a chance of making good! A chance to break from the past!
The caravan thunders onward, stars winking through the canvas hood!
The caravan thunders onward! On my way at last!
______________________________Rush - "Caravan"

The trip to Venice had been a surprise. After having her first cosplaying experience in San Diego, Jenna found herself afflicted by whatever bug had similarly affected both her girlfriend and the thousands of costumed attendees at the convention. However, having already been to one of the largest pop culture conventions in the country - if not the world - it was rather difficult for her to find anything that would have sufficiently qualified as being both bigger and better. A gathering which focused more on video games and anime rather than comic books and graphic novels would, according to Nireva, have been better, at least with regards to what the two of them had portrayed between them but, as for finding something of a larger scale, fulfilling such an objective was difficult.

But Jenna hadn't been too deterred. The approach of the Mardi Gras festivities down in New Orleans had stoked her desire to find a good party and, while she could have easily set plans in motion for them both to head down there for a weekend, it was their mutual desire for some time off work and school that caused her to search further afield. Knowing enough about her girlfriend's past to know that she'd been born in Italy, it wasn't long before she found websites regarding what was often billed as the birthplace of Mardi Gras and its international equivalents: the Carnivale di Venezia.

Taking place over a number of weeks, the Carnival season was the annual excuse for Venice to play host to a variety of events of all sizes, from small parties and themed nights in bars and restaurants, all the way up to the fabled Doge's Ball; a meticulous recreation of an eighteenth century masquerade held in the Palazzo Pisani Moretta where the complete dinner/party experience cost a minimum of just over two thousand dollars. As much as she would have loved to score a pair of tickets to such a prestigious event, Jenna was abundantly aware that doing so was well out of her league.

Keeping the secret from Nireva had been one of the toughest experiences of her life, least of which because the two of them shared an apartment, making it somewhat difficult to hide everything she'd used to prepare the trip, such as the brochures, website visits and, eventually, their tickets and boarding passes. But, once she'd seen Nireva's face light up at the prospect of experiencing the Venetian carnival again, Jenna knew it had all been worth it. Most of the ten-hour flight which had followed had been filled with conversation as Nireva reminisced about the last time she had experienced the Carnival, centuries ago. With the essence of the festivities having changed little in the intervening years, she was able to speak relatively freely about the subject, albeit with a few omissions here and there to avoid suspicion.

As well as arranging the flight to Venice and their accommodation once they'd arrived, Jenna compounded her surprise by arranging a visit to a traditional inner-city workshop where, without Nireva's knowledge, two elaborate carnival costumes had been made to their specifications. Although they could only afford to rent them for the duration of their stay, the opportunity presented for the two of them was certainly unique. "Think of it as an early birthday present," Jenna instructed, a smile on her face as her girlfriend gazed at the almost regal-style gown draped on the mannequin before her. All that remained was for them to pick out a mask to wear. Unlike the costumes, they were well within their collective budget and, while they couldn't take the outfits back to Los Angeles, they would at least have a souvenir with them on the flight home.

Later that night, the two women embarked onto the streets of Venice, their costumes and masks allowing them to effortlessly blend in with the rest of the crowd. Although they weren't part of the Carnival's official exhibitions, the fact that they could have easily passed for such people quickly got them looks of admiration from both visitors like themselves and native Venetians alike. For herself, Jenna had decided on a red-and-black gown, trimmed with a lace-like material and came complete with a matching hat and handbag. Her mask had been chosen with the hat in mind, avoiding designs which were overly elaborate so that the headgear wouldn't fall from her head.

For Nireva, however, Jenna had decided to express her affection by having her look almost like a member of Renaissance-era royalty. Like her girlfriend, Nireva's costume came with a small pouch-like bag into which she could hide her wallet and phone but, instead of a hat, she had been given a small, floral fan. It was a little superfluous, given that many of the festivities took place in the evening, but it added to the regal charm of the ensemble. In order to make up for the lack of a hat, Nireva had decided to try and one-up her girlfriend by choosing a mask which incorporated one. Electing to forego the wigs which had been offered along with the costume rentals in favour of styling their own hair themselves, the dark-haired women - if anything - blended in even more.

As well as a few important rules on Carnival ettiquette, Jenna had been given a crash-course in rudimentary Italian. "Buona notte! E, uh... grazie per vino!", she said, giving a wave to the bartender as she turned to leave. With her accent obviously making her out to be someone visiting from overseas, her mistakes could easily be forgiven and, with an appreciative smile, the bartender returned her friendly farewell. Nireva, of course, chuckled quietly to herself.

"Il vino, Jen. But nice try, though."

Waiting until they were well out of sight, Jenna gave her girlfriend a playful - yet gentle, given how they were renting the outfits they each wore - punch to her shoulder. "Please. I'd love to hear you try speaking a new language after an hour's worth of lessons," she remarked, her mask hiding the smirk on her face. The fact that Nireva was one language shy from qualifying as a polyglot was meaningless when teasing was the order of the day.

"Well, once you teach me some Spanish," she began, walking in lock-step with her girlfriend as they made their way out into the crowded plaza. "Then I will." Before long, the two women found themselves within earshot of an obviously inebriated man, shouting... something over and over again. His speech was so slurred that not even Nireva - with her fluency in the language - could work out exactly what he was saying. Thankfully, it seemed that he was accompanied by someone who possessed enough of his faculties to try and calm him down. "Vedo che sei occupato, il mio amico." Even in a different language, his even tone of voice was clear, marking him out as the mediator of the piece. "Quindi mi prenderò la questione al Luchresi. Lui me lo dirà-..."

Upon hearing the drunk man's response, Jenna couldn't help but tilt her head towards Nireva's ear and quietly inquire, "What's a leccacazzi..?"

"Uhh... cocksucker would be the closest insult in English, I think."

"Forget I asked. He must really not like this Luchresi guy..."

Their discussion was suddenly brought to a slightly embarrassing halt as the drunken man, having attempted to distance himself from the crowd, had stopped a couple of feet shy from bumping into them. "Vieni con noi!", he requested, somehow managing to pull off a grand, flourishing bow without toppling forward and landing on his face. "Potrai provare la superiorità del mio gusto, e berremo dalla bella collezione di cantina del mio amico."

While Nireva had followed along effortlessly, Jenna was at something of a loss. Before she could receive a translation, however, the more sober of the male duo chastised his companion with a muttered demand that he speak English before smiling at the women he'd enountered. "My apologies." The man's English was flawless but, within those five syllables, Nireva had already gathered that he wasn't Italian. By her own best guess, she would have placed him somewhere in southeastern France, on the other side of Mont Blanc. "My friend and I seem to be having a contest. Maybe you could be the judges. If you'd like, you could join us. My place isn't far away."

Jenna's eyes blinked. She'd worked a busy, drink-fuelled club for far too long to take such invitations at face value. Even with her mask in the way, her mannerisms betrayed her doubt at how things were turning out. "We mean you no harm, I assure you. No matter how hostile my friend seems to be, he's actually very mild when he's drunk."

"Excuse my friend's poor manners." Cutting in - and trying his best to hide the slurring in his voice - the second man was making an effort to be sociable to the elegantly-dressed women. Unlike the first man who had conversed with them, this man had an obvious Italian accent to his voice; perhaps even one local to the slowly sinking city. Nireva was actually finding this man's accent tougher to place than the one before. "I am Giuseppe, and this is my dear friend Alain." Eventually, he managed to gesture to himself and the Frenchman, indicating who owned which name. "Come with us. This is your first Carnival here, yeah?"

Nireva couldn't help but grin under her mask. It was likely that she had seen this man's distant ancestor enjoying the Carnival at some point. But, of course, nobody but Jenna would ever have any idea of the possibility. "We'll show you how the Italians do it. We know how it's done."

"Sure, why not?" To Giuseppe, Nireva would have sounded like any other American. Having lost her Italian accent centuries ago, there was very little - if anything at all - tying her voice to her storied past as an immortal. "Though how, exactly, are we going to judge your wine-tasting contest?"

[Sophie Nyström]

Sophie basked in the early night air as the sky was painted orange, red, pink, and purple with sun sinking slowly beneath the horizon. Venice was in full bloom as the carnival brought to life the esteemed northeast Italian city. A few lifetimes ago she had called this place home for a few months, as she tasted the Italian life after the fall of Constantinople. It was a very interesting place to live, of that she could not deny the Venetians, but the way the city states conducted themselves had left her sour on Italia as a place to permanently reside.

That aside, they sure knew how to throw a party, one that lasted weeks on end with a grand ball for the Doge, or at least it used to be. Sophie was not sure what the head magistrate in the Italian cities were anymore, perhaps Venice, Florence, and Genoa still had Doges after all. It would not surprise her, as the atmosphere of the city had barely changed in the five hundred years since she had called this place a home. Sophie was not sure if there was any other nation on Earth that clung to the past quite like Italy did, though being the birthplace of the Roman Republic and Empire, they had a reason to commemorate the past and cling to it.

This night was filled with exuberance and the ego of youth though, as Sophie watched from her balcony a slew of youth populating the streets. In just a short while she would be among them as well, though she was bemused with what confidence that they strode back and forth. It was as the world around them was just a playground for them to enjoy, you would have never known that a few short years before there had been an attack on Vatican City or the world was indeed on edge. It was refreshing even, as these young men and women were cherishing all that life had given them and what more if could give them in time if they took the chances life presented.

With a grin, Sophie left the balcony, closing the large, ornate glass doors behind her. She slowly untied the belt that had been keeping the rose robe tight against her body and slid her arms out of it. It fell to the floor softly and left her in her naked form for just a moment. For the evening she had chosen regal but dark attire, it suited her mood and how she had desired to mingle about the crowds. Unlike most people, who were simply renting or buying costumes, her own dress and outfit was one hundred percent authentic.

When she had lived here, Sophie might have disagreed with the politics, but she had found the fashions fascinating. While the original gown was long since the ability to be worn, Sophie had sewn a perfect replica of it, using the materials available at the time. It may have been tougher to do, but it gave it more of a pristine showing, an authentic look over those that used more modern materials. However she did purchase the gloves, choker, and heels to go with the outfit, though it was completed with a mask that was simply to die for. Her own long, dark hair meant she could forgo those less than fancy powdered wigs the costume shops were offering and instead styled her hair hair, opting for a trio of braids that fell on her shoulders.

As she exited her residence, she noted a small crowd following a pair of men, who seemed to be having a most intriguing conversation. With nothing better to start off her evening, she joined in the crowd and managed to overhear voices of two women speaking English. While it was nothing remarkable in itself, plenty of English and Americans visited Italy for Carnival, it was remarkable that these two women were women she knew. Jenna Delgado and Nireva Hale, resident of Southern California just as Sophie was, and of whom Niri was the granddaughter of Sophie's ... personal obsession.

It seemed fate had a very uncanny way of bringing people together indeed, that they were to choose to come here and she be among the same crowd that they were. Well, she would follow them as long as they entertained her and did not ask her to leave. Or so was the plan until the two men having their discussion made a quick change of course and set their sets on Jenna and Niri and herself indirectly. As the crowd parted, leaving the trio to be the center of the pair of men's attention, it seemed her entanglement was assured.

Hiding the grin behind her mask, Sophie allowed Niri and Jenna maneuver through the delicate situation. The blond smelled and spoke as if he was already full of alcohol, while his brunet friend looked like he still had his wits about him. Sophie had to stifle her laughter though when Niri asked her question, it amused her greatly.

"Indeed i miei figli, how are three belle donne going to settle such a score? Soprattutto quando uno di loro ha viaggiato per il mondo e assaggiato molti vini." There was twinkle in Sophie's eye that suggested she did not think this was going to be a wine tasting contest at all. Though Jenna's own body language had prompted the brunet to ease such concerns. "A pleasure to see that you two young ladies are enjoying yourselves, though I don't suppose Khalidah is here by chance?" Sophie said in a bit of an ecstatic whisper to the pair of women as they waited for the boys response.

[NPC]

The two men looked at each other. Even though he was drop-dead drunk, Giuseppe had managed to choose some truly beautiful women for their "contest." They seemed part of the scenery, but in the best of ways; the city was lit up and dressed up all in lights and colors, bringing liveliness to the night. Alain decided that, although he had not planned to include anyone else in his plans for the evening, he could manage hosting these three women if his drunk charge did not scare them away.

For now, though, the women did not seem frightened or concerned beyond what one would typically feel when being invited to a strange place by strange men. Giuseppe gave another flourishing bow to the woman in cream and gold, then looked up with a slight drunken bounce to his head, and smiled. "You will taste the wine along with me, and you will show to Alain once and for all that I know my wines better than that whoreson Luchresi. And you will also get to spend the evening with two delightfully handsome gentlemen, of course." He grinned again, sloppily.

Alain put a hand on Giuseppe's shoulder to keep him from leaning to his right. "Pardon Giuseppe's language and manners, please. He is…" Alain paused. "Well, he's like this even when he is not drunk. Oh, well. Let's go on before it gets too late." He guided the group in the direction of his home, taking two of the women - the gold one and the one in black and red - each in an arm, leading the way before Alain himself and the woman in the elegant - and authentic, he mused - black gown.

"You say you have traveled and tasted many wines, miss? I guarantee you have not had a chance to taste this wine, and especially this vintage." He smiled. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it, however. There's a reason it's rare, and it has nothing to do with the grapes or the seasons."

[Nireva Hale]

There we go, racing towards the sun, ignoring all the noise!
Striving for the grace of man. People play this great charade and always miss the point.
Never fall for prophecies!
You say it draws near? That it will be clear? You act so convinced; a fortress you've built.
Remember the doubt by which I now stand! You write the book on the way it all ends!
______________________________Prototype - "The Way It Ends"

Neither Nireva nor Jenna were particularly shocked to see Giuseppe's current state. Although he still had control of some of his faculties, his inebriety meant that balance - and presumably walking - was going to be an issue. Their time at the club had exposed them to people capable of getting themselves into a far sorrier state than the Venetian man using nothing more than whatever alcohol was on hand. Unlike most of those people, thankfully, he had a relatively sober companion to keep him from doing anything embarrassing or dangerous. Mustering yet another elaborate bow - a feat in itself, seeing as he didn't fall face-first onto the floor - he smiled at Nireva's masked face and began to explain his intent.

Even when they were decked out from head to toe in an archaic costume gown, their faces covered by a mask and their hair styled in such a way to render it unrecognisable from their respective norms, Sophie was able to see through their ruse as though it was made of transparent plastic. "A pleasure to see that you two young ladies are enjoying yourselves," she whispered with a smile, loud enough to cause the couple's masked heads to turn, while still keeping the specifics of the conversation away from the presumably mortal men. "Though I don't suppose Khalidah is here, by chance..?"

It took a moment or two for the pair to realise who was speaking to them. Having last heard - and first heard, for that matter - her voice during an evening they both couldn't clearly remember, pairing the voice to the name was somewhat taxing. "Sorry, Sophie," Nireva whispered. Jenna offered a stealthy, yet polite wave in lieu of a grin of recognition. "Gran-..." Dammit, she wasn't going to break that habit easily, was she? "Khalidah isn't here. It's just the two of us. Jen treated me to a few days in Venice as an early birthday present. Even though it's closer to our anniversary..."

"You will taste the wine along with me," Giuseppe instructed, gesturing to his companion and the space around him as needed; and sometimes when it wasn't. "And you will show to Alain once and for all that I know my wines better than that whoreson Luchresi! And you will also get to spend the evening with two delightfully handsome gentlemen, of course." In unison, the couple smiled beneath their masks. While they - on their own - weren't averse to being attracted to or spending time with men, the fact that they were already an established couple meant that they would eventually have to shoot the two men down. It was a shame, really, given that Giuseppe and Alain weren't exactly ugly, but fidelity won out every time.

Although she had certainly drunk her fair share of wine since, the last time she had focused her efforts into learning the ins and outs of actual winemaking had been at least three hundred years ago. The vineyard had been in a quiet and secluded valley near the eastern coast of the country. Having left behind the identity of the Florentine housemaid, she was free to move herself up in the world and, deciding not to overreach herself, Nireva had decided to spend some time tending a multitude of grapevines. After being a faithful apprentice for a number of years, she eventually ended up outliving the owners. Without a next of kin with whom to maintain the business, they had decided to bequeath the whole thing to her. As much as she would have liked to simply live a sizeable chunk of her days at the vineyard, her mother's rules regarding suspicion had forced her to sell the vineyard and move on.

Over the centuries, she'd actually made quite a bit of money this way. But, with her identity changing on average once every four decades or so, the rightful owners of the money - at least in the eyes of the mundane lawmakers - were her descendants. As far as they were concerned, the likes of Sofia Martelli and Celine Levesque had succumed to old age or illness long ago. It was doubtful that inheritance law would ever be updated to account for people like her anyway. Ever the mediator, Alain clasped a hand against his friend's shoulder, stopping him from toppling to one side. "Pardon Giuseppe's language and manners, please," he sighed. They had three beautiful women to impress! How would they manage it if Giuseppe was letting the side down? "He is... well, he's like this even when he is not drunk! Oh, well. Let's go on before it gets too late."

Gesturing with his free hand, Alain politely ushered the women in the direction of his abode. Arching his arms, he invited Nireva and Jenna to link their arms with his own and, as effortlessly as if he'd been Tony Stark, he leisurely made his way across the plaza with a pair of costumed women on his arm. With Sophie left to trail behind him with Giuseppe, the Frenchman silently lamented his insufficient number of appendages. Although, in a crude metaphorical sense, he had three legs, he was only blessed with the normal pair of arms. But, having heard Sophie explain - in Italian, no less - that she had experienced a great number of different wines over the years, his interest was certainly piqued by one of his judges.

"You say you've travelled and tasted many wines, miss?" As Alain continued to speak, Nireva was listening closely. Apparently, the wine they were all going to taste was a rarity. On its own, this wouldn't have meant much to her or anyone. Many expensive wines were rare; whether produced in limited quantities or made so long ago that many of the bottles had been consumed. But, when Alain informed Sophie that the wine's rarity wasn't due to the grape varieties used or the time in which it had been produced, Nireva was even more confused. If the wine wasn't rare due to the only real reasons that a wine was ever rare, then what made it so special?

"Giuseppe..?" While Nireva would have expected more specific details for the upcoming contest to be forthcoming, something compelled her to inquire during the trip to Alain's house. "Tell me, how will us tasting the wines with you prove to Alain that you know your wines..? Or is our status as judges an easy way for you to share a drink with us?"

[Sophie Nyström]

Even the mask could not hide the momentary frown that Sophie had as Niri revealed that Khalidah was not in the city with them. It was probably for the best though, Adrianna likely would not forgive her so easily if she had found a way into the bed of the elder woman. Sophie herself was intent on staying loyal to her betrothed, it was her way after all, to love and cherish each of them for as long as the world kept them tethered to the Earth. Although she might have lusted for other women, her heart and mind was always with those she crafted relationships with.

"Well happy early birthday then dear girl. Another twenty first perhaps?" Sophie let out a small chuckle as she finished her little whispered exchange with the younger immortal. How many times had she celebrated that birthday, how many times had Niri done so as well? Such was the life of an immortal when surrounded by those who would see their prolonged life as something unnatural and unwelcome. Things had been different in the earlier eras and things were different now, though in both situations you still had to be careful who you let in on to the secret.

The young blond man seemed intent on letting the alcohol be the master of his wit and whims though, despite his friends attempts to soothe him. Boastful, proud, and full of the vigor of his youth but drowned in the intoxication of whatever he had before the swagger into the streets. Whoever this Luchresi was Sophie could tell that they were important and of course a rival of their young blond acquaintance. You did not get this upset and into a drunken stupor over a rival who mattered very little in the grand scheme of things.

As to be expected of someone of his bravado, Giuseppe took each of the younger women on an arm of his, leaving Alain to be her own guide to the residence. Unlike his fellow, he did not presume to lead Sophie along as some sort of trophy to parade through the streets of the old Italian city, but beside her as a guide or new acquaintance. He seemed a bit intruiged that Sophie had traveled well and was well versed in many different wines. Though both Sophie and Niri were confused as he said that it was not any of the typical things that made wine rare that made their collection rare.

"You speak big words and boast greatly of this wine that you and your fellow have. Yet I am wondering what it is that makes your wine so special, if not for the typical reasons for a wine to be so elated among its peers. I am greatly intrigued." Sophie had a little grin, clearly visible through her mask. She was also listening to see how Niri's inquiry was answered, the younger immortal was making some excellent points in her questioning of the young men indeed.

"I am wondering if I may have the very unusual luxury of being surprised tonight. Perhaps it was fate that me and my friends were to meet you two gentlemen tonight." Oh Sophie hardly believed in fate, but it was going to fun to play these two young men along. She was sure that neither of them realized that they had one being who was nearly two thousand years old and another who was around five hundred in their midst. The night could be full of surprises for them all indeed!

[NPC]

While Giuseppe was very drunk, he was also quite aware of when he was being spoken to and how to reply. English was challenging him, but Giuseppe had never backed down from a challenge. “Ah, cara, Your tasting of the wines is most important. You see, I must show my friend Alain that I am much better at identifying wines than the bastard Luchresi. You will taste it and give me… ah, the word, the word…”

“Descriptions,” Alain called forward.

“Descriptions. Yes, that is it exactly. You will describe what you taste, and I will tell him whether he has truly made a smart purchase and gotten his money’s worth. Then I will drink of it, and we will all drink together. So yes, you are correct, for both.” He smiled at Nireva and Jenna. “See, here we are. Alain’s home was not so far.”

It was an elegant home, a mansion of sorts, with many rooms and quite a few floors. Even from the outside, it appeared to be very spacious. Alain’s family clearly came from money, of the old variety. “Let us enter,” he said. “But Alain, where are your servants?”

Behind him, Alain was still speaking with Sophie, and ignored Giuseppe for the moment. The woman seemed very wary of the two men. That was certainly justified; they were very much strangers, after all. Alain tried his best to remedy that. “I just purchased a cask of wine that is hardly found anywhere anymore, and Giuseppe does not believe that I have it. The wine is made from grapes that are difficult to grow, and the vintage is especially rare, as the grapes were very much hindered that season, but the few that made it produced one of the best wines ever tasted. That is what I have.” He gave the woman on his arm a smile. “I’m sure you will enjoy it.”

He could tell, even past the woman’s words, that she was putting on something of a front. That did not bother him too much. “Fate, mademoiselle? Perhaps. At any rate, whatever may have brought our paths to cross, we are fortunate that they did.” He offered her another small smile, then, as they stopped as his front door, he reached for his keys to let them in. “I told the staff to remain here and guard the house,” he said to Giuseppe. “I can only imagine that they have decided to enjoy Carnival instead.” He shook his head. “‘Good help is hard to find,’ as they say.”

The foyer was lit warmly, and elegant statuettes lined the walls, and a polished wood floor marked their path. “I take it the cask is below, in the vaults?” Giuseppe called back, still arm-to-arm with the ladies of his choice.

“Naturellement,” Alain replied, and Giuseppe took them all around a turn and down a flight of stairs into a pathway that was much less modern than the mansion above it. These were old catacombs, stone built on stone, with a touch of a cold mist about them. There was one flashlight hanging on the wall, and Alain took it.

“I apologize for the cold,” he said to all of them, including Giuseppe. “We rebuilt the entire house recently, but these vaults were too difficult to remodel. The stone is - Giuseppe, are you well?”

The other young man had coughed, and swayed nearly into Jenna. “I am fine,” he said confidently right before he launched into a coughing fit.

“No, Giuseppe, you are ill. It’s the cold down here. We will head back. I will call Luchresi-“

“Luchresi!” Giuseppe yelled. “Luchresi, Luchresi, Luchresi. I am sick of that name! I will hear no more of him.” Giuseppe charged forward, into the dark, even past the current reach of Alain’s flashlight.

“As you say. You are too bull-headed sometimes, Giuseppe.” Alain glanced at Sophie and shook his head, and continued to follow him around the twists and turns of the catacombs.

[Nireva Hale]

As I unfold the mystery, I change the course of history!
With premonitions from the void! Will you live? Will you die? Will your worlds collide?
______________________________Judas Priest - "Prophecy"

"Ah, cara..." Although his speech was somewhat slurred from his inebriety, Giuseppe was making a decent effort of communicating in a language in which he wasn't fluent. While Nireva could have quite easily started speaking Italian in order to bridge the language gap, she was fully aware that doing so would have likely confused both Jenna and Sophie with the strings on unfamiliar syllables. "Your tasting of the wines is most important. You see, I must show my friend Alain that I am much better at identifying these wines than the bastard, Luchresi." For all the numerous vitriolic comments Giuseppe had associated with this mysterious man, Nireva and Jenna had no idea just who Luchresi was.

While Giuseppe seemed to despise Luchresi, Alain seemed rather indifferent with regards to the man. It was clear that the both of them knew him but, as of yet, Luchresi was yet to make any sort of appearance. "You will taste it and give me..." The final syllable began to elongate as the drunk Italian slowly trailed off, his mind reaching a stumbling block. "Ah, the word... the word..." Nireva knew precisely what he was going through. Having had to learn a new language twice, there had been more than a few occasions where she had been lost; unable to remember which word corresponded with which. Of course, unlike Giuseppe, the time available to her to learn a language was potentially infinite.

Alain, being a guide to his companion in more than simply keeping him out of trouble, was quick to alleviate the man's confusion. "Descriptions." By knowing what Giuseppe had lined up for the evening, the Frenchman was able to pluck the English words to convey his friend's intent from his own mind rather effortlessly.

"Descriptions! Yes, that is it exactly." Now able to continue his explanation, Giuseppe failed to miss a beat. "You will describe what you taste, and I will tell him whether he has truly made a smart purchase and gotten his money's worth. Then I will drink of it, and we will all drink together! So yes, you are correct, for both." The route up to Alain's house had been leisurely and, despite the Carnival, relatively peaceful. With the majority of people in Venice either congregating in the large plazas or attending one of the numerous themed parties being held across the city, the streams of masked and costumed individuals crossing their path was more a steadily trickling stream as opposed to a torrential deluge.

Occasionally, tourists who had elected not to wear a costume or had recently changed out of one found themselves enthralled by the five-person procession as they made their way along the pedestrianised streets. While some of them took photographs on their phones as they passed by, others took the plunge and actually stopped the group, requesting that the quintet assist in producing the perfect shot. With Nireva and Jenna's masks in place, they were certainly a picturesque sight to behold with not a single hair out of place. The first sign that they were nearing their destination was when the group came across a securely high wall, capped by a foot-high steel fence to further deter interlopers.

Encircling an extravagant manor house, the wall met in on precise location, where a series of gates had been situated; a smaller one for foot traffic and a much larger one for vehicles. Initially, Nireva's expectation was that they would simply walk by and leave it in their wake, with the archaic and meticulously maintained building serving as little more than a landmark. But, when Giuseppe pointed it out by lifting a hand from Jenna's shoulder and remarking that, "Alain's home was not so far", Nireva had to try immensely to stop herself doubletaking so hard that she threw the expensive mask from her face.

Keeping her incredulity under wraps, Nireva allowed herself to be led by Giuseppe through the gate; slightly delayed as Alain keyed in the passcode to open the pedestrian gate. While, during the day, the post was manned by a trusted guard, there were times like this where some of his staff were permitted to have time off, leaving him in need of a method to ingress upon his own property. "But Alain, where are your servants?"

Having opened the gate, social propriety had allowed Nireva, Jenna and Sophie to make their way onto the grounds first, before he and Giuseppe trailed behind, linking up with their respective "partners" moments later. "I just purchased a cask of wine that is hardly found anywhere anymore," he explained, mostly to Sophie's earlier inquiries as opposed to his friend's own ponderings. "And Giuseppe does not believe that I have it. The wine is made from grapes that are difficult to grow, and the vintage is especially rare, as the grapes were very much hindered that season. But the few that made it produced one of the best wines ever tasted. That is what I have. I'm sure you will enjoy it."

Both Jenna and Nireva noticed the slight annoyance cross the drunk man's face as Giuseppe glanced over his shoulder as the five made their way up the path towards the mansion's front door. He was being ignored in favour of a masked woman! While he couldn't really blame the wealthy Frenchman for doing such a thing, his curiosity was compelling him to be furnished with an answer. But propriety, ever the restrictor, was instructing him not to simply yell a repetition to his question over his shoulder. Which left Alain with the opportunity to talk with his fellow wine afficionado. "Fate, mademoiselle? Perhaps. At any rate, whatever may have brought our paths to cross, we are fortunate that they did."

Quickening his pace slightly, Alain once more swooped around in front of Giuseppe and the other two women, producing a set of keys from his pocket. With his newfound proximity, he finally saw fit to address Giuseppe once more. "I told the staff to remain here and guard the house," he remarked, a roll of his eyes telling much about how he felt about the likely disobedience. "I can only imagine that they have decided to enjoy Carnival instead. Good help is hard to find, as they say." Shaking his head and sighing, Alain pushed open the door and stepped inside, but only so that the trio of elegant women could enter ahead of him.

"I take it the cask is below? In the vaults?", Giuseppe inquired, rather eager to begin his campaign of oneupmanship against Luchresi.

"Naturellement." The way down to the wine cellar wasn't lengthy by any means but, as they descended, it became apparent to Nireva and Jenna that, while the levels of the building on the surface had likely been renovated over the years, the delicacy of the stonework below meant that renovating it without casting the period craftsmanship to destruction was near impossible. So they simply hadn't bothered. There was no heating and both time and erosion had coated the floor in a thin layer of dust. Nireva almost felt bad that their rented costumes were now being slightly sullied by this trip. But, provided that she didn't fall over, she felt that it wouldn't be too much of a bother.

"I didn't think I'd be freezing in Italy...", Jenna complained, her voice muffled by both her mask and a desire not to moan too loudly.

"I apologise for the cold." The cellar - which looked like a set of renovated catacombs, more than anything else, due to the arched alcoves along the walls - made the temperature difference of Italy at night startlingly apparent. "We rebuilt the entire house recently, but these vaults were too difficult to remodel. The stone is-..." The sound of quiet spluttering quickly cut him off. At first, he could have been forgiven for thinking it was one of the women, whose masks were further compounding the problem of the subterranean air. But, when Giuseppe uncontrollably swayed into Jenna, causing her to stumble, there was suddenly cause for concern. "Giuseppe, are you well?"

"I am f-.." He coughed again, trying to be the stereotypical macho man about his ailment. "I am fine." He managed to get the words out before his arms slid away from the masked couple he'd been accompanying and he launched into a loud coughing fit. Alain was having none of this. "No, Giuseppe. You are ill. It's the cold down here. We'll head back. I will call Luchresi-..."

Once again, the utterance of the rival's name set the drunk man off. "Luchresi!" Bringing his coughing under control for the moment, Giuseppe dealt with the apparent compulsion to express his distaste for the man. "Luchresi, Luchresi, Luchresi! I am sick of that name! I will hear no more of him." And, with that, he set off down the corridor, heading deeper into the darkness of the cellar, leaving Alain to follow behind him with the only flashlight. "As you say. You are too bull-headed sometimes, Giuseppe..."

"Come on." Now left behind by their respective male entourages, Nireva turned around to look at Sophie and Jenna. Deciding who looked the best amongst them could have been considered one of Hercules' trials, were they all alive two-plus thousand years before. Sure, Sophie probably had been, but that was beside the point. "We should get after them. Just be careful down here, okay..?" Lowering her voice, she hoped the two men were out of earshot for her next remark. "This cellar looks like it's older than I am..."

[Sophie Nyström]

Sophie was entertained by the young brunet man and was completely ignoring the blond one and all of his antics. It was clear that what spirits that he had consumed prior to the stroll was having far too much of an effect over his behavior and actions. That was why the brunet was around she surmised, to keep his friend from making too much of a fool of himself or getting into trouble that would pester him later. Honorable of the youth, they must have been close if he was taking care of him in such a manner.

All the same, Sophie was keeping him out of her mind and instead seemed interested in the conversation of her own guide. How, what, and where these grapes came from seemed like something of a great mystery to solve. Would she and her companions be let in on the secret after this little game of tasting and describing the rare vintage or would they forever be left in the mystery and supposed rarity of the vintage?

"It is not wise to tease women with such vague details my young friend. Do you not know that is how gossip spreads like wild fire, especially among such woman as we whose company is desired by all?" She was teasing the young mortal of course and playing among those stereotypes, but it was those very cliches that let her play so many roles through the years. There was some truth in them and if he could not take a joke, how poor he would be, but a poor man Sophie did not expect of this one.

The house was quaint, appropriate for someone of means, but the domestics had decided to forgo their orders and have fun on the evening. Ah, she could not blame them, she would have disobeyed herself at a night like this in her youth and suffered the consequences later. This was no night to be couped up and not taking in life!

After a spat from the boys and a complaint from Jenna, which Sophie had a very funny thought about, it seemed they were at last to the objective they have come here for. "Well then gentlemen, you have your three beautiful women here to be the taste testers, let us have the wine!"

[NPC]

Although he had made it very far into the vaults, Giuseppe heard Sophie’s call and was much encouraged by it. “Yes, my friends! Let us have the wine!” He grinned back at them; the look was illuminated by Alain’s flashlight. They walked a bit farther, with Giuseppe coughing a bit more as they went. However, he continued, and Alain refrained from complaining about his man’s health or calling Luchresi.

“These vaults,” Giuseppe commented after about a minute of walking, “are extensive.”

Alain nodded. “The Montresors were a great and numerous family.”

“Yes, I see! And you have a motto, yes? Tell me, I forget your motto.”

Alain smiled - a dark smile. “Nemo me impune lacessit.”

Giuseppe clapped. “Yes! A good, strong motto. Come, we will drink to it. Surely this cask of yours is not far.”

“It is not far at all.” Alain paused to allow the three women to catch up. The catacombs were wide enough that the five could walk side by side, and Alain could help the still-drunk Giuseppe walk by propping him up. And indeed, the end of their walk was not far; they found themselves facing a wall.

Giuseppe frowned, and then coughed. “The cask-“

“-of Amontillado.” Suddenly, Alain was no longer standing between Giuseppe and the three women; the was now a hundred feet behind them, and they were fewer than five feet from the wall. A simple raise of his hands, and Giuseppe and the women flew back, now pressed tightly against the wall. Another sweep of his hands brought two previously unseen portions of wall sliding together. It was then that the women would realize that they had been dealing with a very powerful telekinetic and teleporter.

Giuseppe scowled. “Montresor!”

“My apologies, ladies,” Alain said, leaning against the wall from his side. The four of them were still fettered to the wall by invisible bonds. “I had not planned to include anyone in my vengeance against Giuseppe Fortunato. But it cannot be helped; he brought you along, and I cannot leave any witnesses, you see.”

He sighed softly. “In pace requiescat.”

And before anyone could react, he was gone again, leaving the three women and the drunken man in the cold cellar, closed in tight, buried so low that no one would have heard their screams.

~~~fin Alain and Giuseppe~~~

[Sophie Nyström]

It was as Sophie was not living in the moment but watching as events played out as if it were a movie. It was not until the brunet had left that it dawned on her that they had been left here to die as unfortunately collateral damage. Well eff that, she had just come out of a long isolation period and she was engaged. There was absolutely no way she was going to let herself just be stuck here and wait for someone in happenstance stumble upon the would be tomb.

It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, maybe even a day, but Sophie willed herself free from the telepathic prison. The two ladies she had accompanied with into this fair festival was her next matter of concern as she helped them overcome the invisible bonds that held them.

Yet when it came to their blond companion, she had no compassion for. "You my dear friend have an ill mind filled with ill intentions and have the unfortunate pleasure of me being a man hater." Luck was all abound, ill and good, such was the gamble of life...