Chris Elkar

Chris's laugh was captivating in a way that Arjun had not anticipated. He might have wished to pin it down to what they had just done, but this was definitely something else. "I am quite happy for you to do that, but this is just who I am. I never leave a conversation unfinished." There was no resistance as he was drawn into the quiet safety of the shadowed corner. In fact, Arjun let his head tilt slightly into the palm sliding through his hair, his eyes revealing the truth about how he felt before his words did. "..and then what? How do I know this isn't going to end up hurting you? I can't be with anybody like this right now. So tell me. Can this just be..fun between friends?" The deity smiled faintly as he thought of the meaning of fun in this context.

So much for not overthinking it, but he knew Arjun was in a weird place. The deity had said 'right now' though, so Chris hadn't given up all hope. "You don't know for sure. I might get hurt, and if I do then it'll suck, but I'll deal with it. So you don't have to have that hanging over you." Chris sighed and gave him a small smile. "We've established I find you attractive, so this can be just fun. I also just like being around you regardless, so I'm reluctant to let you go now that I have you here." Even when Arjun wasn't doing it on purpose, Chris did feel more relaxed around him, and he always had been kind of clingy.

Nothing hyped her up more than a party and she was ever so thankful that Vievecor City always had one waiting for her. Musicfest was no different and with each area having a different vibe she was able to explore all sides of herself and give out the best content she could. Viewers were always hungry for more, and at least for now Lindley was willing to deliver to the greedy eyes that kept her joy meter running.

He caught Lindley with an 'oof' and a half step backwards, very glad for the strength that came from being a vampire because her jump gave her extra momentum. Still, he couldn't help laughing along with her when he lowered her to the ground. "I'm revising my guess, flying squirrel, though you need to work on the landing a bit." He linked their arms together so they wouldn't get separated and took a look around to see which direction they might need to go it. Lindley had a giant personality, but losing her in the crowd was definitely a risk. "Wingman? You're saying I don't get to be your anonymous will-they-won't-they mystery man for the event that sets all your fans talking?" He clutched a hand to his heart. "Lindley I'm hurt."

"Ah." Sipho nodded his head absentmindedly as he continued to glance between the acrobats above his head and the man standing to his right. "I am glad that they were able to provide you with assistance. My sister, in particular, is gifted in that area." He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again, his eyebrows furrowing as he gave the question some thought. "I don't believe I have ever been asked that question," he started, "I enjoy my coven and my family. I don't particularly enjoy the politics of it all but I was raised to put my coven's interests first and to take care of all their needs. It can be... burdensome I suppose, but can't all positions of authority or power feel like a burden from time to time?"

He'd heard about Sizani from some of the people he'd worked with but hadn't met her in person or remotely yet. "I'll have to make sure she gets our results, it's been interesting trying to figure out magic with conventional science." He waited patiently for Sipho to figure out his answer, though he was a little surprised that it was apparently a new question. Then again, all of this probably felt a lot more natural for someone who was born supernatural. "Makes sense that they would. I've seen Teddy having to herd cats sometimes with clan matters. Do you think having magic helps or just makes it all more difficult?"

She would need to have a long discussion about the project with Vivianne, although she had faith that Chris was being humble. He probably contributed far more than he was willing to admit. Then again it was interesting to see that there was a limit to his scientific knowledge. Belle would need to fund more research into the field.

Damn. He'd had a hunch that Isabelle would disapprove of the new rules but she was madder than he'd expected, at least outwardly - and with what he'd seen from Isabelle this was a lot. Was that a sign that she trusted him more if she was willing to be more openly angry around him? Or was this just that much of a sensitive question? Chris decided it was better not to voice any of his own opinions on the rules and he just nodded to show that he was listening. "So, what do you think is going to happen? I could see it being a bit controlled in some places like in the shard, but outside of that I don't see it ending. So I guess it'll have to be covered up" He was conflicted about that last part.

Was this wrong? There was a small voice in Arjun's head that did think so, a faint whisper reminding him of the very thing he was running away from. But as Chris’s lips pressed firmly against his own, returning the kiss, that voice was no more. It was drowned out; replaced by a much simpler need. The deity leaned forward, his posture folding to the hand cradling the back of his neck, and let the vampire take control. "Better." he managed to whisper, "This is a lot better.." But his words and the distraction could only carry Arjun so far. When he finally pulled back, his lips curved into yet another smile. His eyes captured the other's, searching for confirmation that he was fine and not blood drunk. "Thank you. For not staining my suit."

Right after he'd leaned forward Chris had gone through half a moment of panic thinking that he might have gone too far, but the way Arjun almost melted into him put that to rest easily. Chris let out a breathy laugh. "If you're still thinking about your suit, I think I need to try harder." He took a step back to tug Arjun gently with him into a bit more of a shadowed corner and slid his hand up from Arjun's neck into his hair. For a few breaths he just trailed his fingertips along a few locks of hair, tracing out the curls and searching Arjun's face. "Why don't we both try not to overthink things for tonight?"

"can I admit something to you?" victoria asked, now taking her turn to lean in conspiratorially. "I had to track down a book on what a nuclear engineer did, and I read that book in its entirety. I'm still not expressly clear on what your job entailed, but I'm impressed." she was an old lady, despite what appearance may suggest, and not the sort who necessarily kept up with what was going on outside the sanatorium sphere which remained her ultimate priority. vix chuckled. "squishy suits me. I think I'm no good with the rigid rule sets of the physical space. I like to imagine the world a little more tractable than what it routinely proves to be." while that was true, there was little she enjoyed socially more than engaging with people on what they knew best. "oh, solo by nature. what about you?"

Chris couldn't help laughing because Victoria definitely wasn't the first person who'd said that to him. "Thank you. I appreciate the effort even if it didn't make much sense. It's mostly a lot of math-ing something out, trying it in real life, then doing that over and over again. Which is also what happens whenever I try to really understand psychology." He couldn't imagine how weird the world must be sometimes for spirits and demons and deities who could see other realms or planes or whatever they were called. At least being a vampire kept his feet on the ground. "Semi solo I think would be the best way to describe it. Kind of drifting between people I know, maybe leaving with someone."

Part of having lived a decently sheltered human life, up until she arrived to Mexico City, was that she never got to experience or learn much about other species at all. Ana had taught her about witches, and she had briefly dated another spirit who had more interesting connections, but she only had the chance to scratch the surface. Now she felt silly for thinking that vampires were like the ones portrayed in the movies she’d watched. “Do humans here know much about… well, our kind of people?” She knew the magical population was larger here, but could she go around screaming from the rooftops that she was actually just a coyote?

"Some of them do. Humans who know about the supernatural have a magic tattoo that shows up when they come into contact with the supernatural." He held up his left hand and tapped the underside of his wrist. "I used to have one before I became a vampire but something with the ink makes it go away." It was kind of weird once he looked back on it the way he'd grown up knowing the supernatural was real but that he shouldn't tell anyone, but when he thought about it more, it made sense for his parents to just tell him than keep it secret.

She still wasn't certain exactly how the distillation process worked. The fact that it would be faster than the alcohol from the winery just outside of town was promising. Belle knew that neither Viv nor Chris would allow the product onto the market before it was ready. They simply didn't have the tainted morals to do so. "So a quicker process then. That is promising." There were even machine that could help, or so she imagined.

"I think it'll be fine." Chris wasn't completely sure how it would all work, but he was willing to be one of the guinea pigs for it because it was Viv, and it sounded like Isabelle was on board. "Honestly, you're getting to the end of my knowledge about it. I'm working on helping get the process right, but it's her project."

"Yeah. Or I think there was something on the roof, whichever works for you." He stepped just inside the room when Arjun prompted him, shutting the door quietly like he was scared of it making too much noise. "I just didn't want to intrude."

Arjun released a soft breath, choosing not to add to the stress Chris was obviously already feeling. Instead, he moved across the room toward the dresser, giving him some time to simply exist in the silence without being interrogated.

HC wrap up: the two of them have some kind of connection and they'll see what happens

He scratched at the faint stubble across his chin with his thumb and forefinger, nodding his head thoughtfully. "I guess I could tell people that; seems a bit dishonest though. Maybe I should join a gym or something?" he suggested, his lips twitching into a teasing smirk. There was no way he would be joining a gym. His muscles were sculpted through years of lugging boxes of ancient books around his shop. "Hard to enjoy the festivities that way. I get it. Do you... work here, or are you just a concerned citizen?" He took Chris's hand and shook firmly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sipho. Head of the Dumisani Coven".

"I help out with clan stuff around here sometimes, but I'm not actually employed. So I guess I count as a concerned citizen tonight." He answered with a shrug. After the first hour or so he'd relaxed and had mostly just been going around different locations and meetin up with people he knew. He nodded when Sipho said his name. "I've worked with a couple people from your coven on getting some basic ecology measurements for some magical plants." Chris tilted his head and leaned against the railing. "This might be a strange question, but what is it like being a coven leader? Like do you enjoy it or is it a burden?"

Chris' quiet sign of protest was noted, but it did very little in the way of changing things. Arjun's eyes remained closed, his lips parting with the occasional hum as the vampire's fangs sank a little deeper on the flesh. He never drank too much, but every time they did this, it felt as if he grew a little more reluctant to let go. At least right away. The moment those fangs retracted, the deity shifted his current position, laughing at his statments. "I can't tell you. You're supposed to figure that one out." Arjun squeezed the nape of Chris's neck, inching closer to press a soft kiss right over the smudge of blood on his lips. He then rolled his thumb across the skin to clean up the rest, offering a lazy, unbothered smile. "You had a little blood right there. My bad."

The kiss was unexpected, and he let out a surprised huff, but it was over too soon and Chris had to stop a while from leaving his throat. The blood left him with a lazy warm feeling and he leaned into Arjun's hand. "Think I managed not to get any on your suit though." He responded quietly, eyes flickering over Arjun's face to keep landing on his smile. Figure it out, huh? Well then. Feeling bold, he leaned forward to kiss Arjun properly this time, sliding a hand up to cradle the back of his neck.

vix immediately perked up. "oh yeah? which sciences are your favorites?" she was rather versed in medical and social sciences, as well harboring a rampant fascination with all things flora, fauna, and bug related. the more mechanical sciences were lost on her. things like the ferris wheel had largely escaped her attention over the years. "you can explain how all of this works to me?" engineering and electricity could be a tad intimidating considering when she was born and in what state she now existed. victoria smiled at his admission, glad to know she wasn't going to be missing much. "do you think you would have enjoyed it more with other people?"

"Well I told you about how I used to be a nuclear engineer, so I lean more towards stuff like that. Engineering, chemistry, materials science." He shrugged with a laugh. "Biology, medicine, ecology are interesting but they're a bit too... squishy for me." The ferris wheel was cool but in Chris's opinion they always looked more fun than they actually were. "I couldn't tell you exactly how it works, but the basic principles, yeah. I think the photobooth stuff works best if you're with someone who's into that." He shifted to lean against the railing so he could face Victoria. "Did you come with anyone or just going solo?"

“Not yet!” Carmen replied, “I don’t know many people here,” She admitted, “And I’m not usually one for big events like these.” She finished, down-playing her situation massively. It was because she wasn't allowed at big events like these. She wasn't allowed to socialise with other vampires. “But I wanted to come to this one.” She grinned. “Hello Chris, the vampire.” Carmen laughed cheerfully, “I’m Carmen. Also a vampire.” Greeting his hand with her own, she shook it. “Do you like dancing?”

"They can definitely be overwhelming. I came up here to take a breather and a lot of people clearly had the same idea." He agreed with her, gesturing towards a few other people visible around the room who were in the same sort of position as them looking over the main area. "I haven't seen you around before. So, nice to meet you." He chuckled at Carmen's question and shrugged. "I'm ok with dancing, why do you ask?"

The sensation of Chris’s fangs sinking into his throat brought out a soft, broken gasp from Arjun, his fingers instinctively tightening in the vampire’s hair in an effort to hold the vampire flush against his neck. He had been about to laugh at the way he referred to the silver mesh of his shirt, but he llet out a shaky breath instead, his eyes half-closed as he focused on the incoming sensations. "Your next move.." he offered, knowing the other was listening to him speak even if his mind was otherwise occupied, "It often happens when you feed, Chris."

Chris let out a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a grumble and tightened his arms around Arjun's waist for a moment to convey that he didn't wholly appreciate being judged even if the deity was right. He kept drinking a little while longer before withdrawing from Arjun's neck but not pulling away. With a human, he tended to hold onto them afterward to make sure they would be alright, but with Arjun he did it to keep the contact going for a while. The deity didn't seem to mind his clinginess though. "Well if I'm not supposed to think about it," He mumbled into Arjun's skin. "then you decide what my next move should be."

"it is certainly a large part of the job." she nodded her head in faux solemnity. "but again, tragically, I am not bestowed with omniscience inherently. I have to work really, really hard to know everything." there was more truth in that statement than victoria cared to admit. it was likely the reason that after over 200 years, she still held onto books like they were her last lifeline and waited pleasantly at the edge of any action to watch and learn. there were many nights of dream walking and years of perhaps overly invasive questions that only bolstered her boundary averse behavior. "I suppose I am enjoying myself to the extent that I ever do. I haven't been on the ferris wheel yet." frankly, the idea of it still made her a little nervous. "is it worth all the buzz?"

"I see. Well I'm happy to help fill in science based gaps if you ever need." He already did it for half the people he knew, so adding Victoria wouldn't be hard. 'To the extent that I ever do?' That was such a weird way to say it that Chris was sure there was something behind it but it wasn't his place to pry. Instead he leaned over and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial level. "Don't tell the people who set it up because they did great, but eh. It's a fun idea, but the engineering behind it is more interesting than riding it, though I was also on my own."

Carmen had been ecstatic to find out about the vampire led event. It would be her first one — at least, the first one she could remember attending— and she planned on making the most of her time away from her family. That was of course, until someone realised she had left and came looking for her.

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and he returned her smile. His own past history with wine fests made him a bit more wary, but it was always pretty cool, and this time with the restrictions from artemis he was hoping some of the worst excesses could be avoided. He could afford to relax and enjoy it it all for a while. "It is fun. Have you had a chance to go around the dance floor or meet up with anyone?" He shifted and held out a hand. "I'm Chris, vampire."