JAX REED

"Hmm..." Caleb hummed a small smile because he was just as uncomfortable as Jax at one of these parties that he always had to attend to put up appearances.

It was subtle, but Jaxon had a trained eye for Caleb's micro-expressions. The sudden tension in the man's posture and the way his eyes widened made it clear he hadn't expected Jax to mention Naz, let alone admit to speaking to her. "Why's that? Somethin' came up?"Jax asked. She had seemed tired, and honestly, if her boyfriend had taken off as soon as they arrived, Reed didn't blame her for wandering off. The beta leaned back, shifting into a slightly more comfortable position. "Relax, Caleb. She probably saw me. Said she wanted to say hi. She sat, we talked. It's..no big deal, really." Except Caleb seemed concerned. "I like her. You still worried about the pack not feeling the same way?"

"You are such a warrior wart- worrier wort- you know what I mean!" He blew a raspberry, fed up with the way that he was tripping over his own tongue. The point was that Jaxon worried over something he didn't need to. He knew the rules: hands and feet belong in the gondola at all times. "So is it a maybe?" He grinned, eyebrows raising. "Oh can I get the water with the bubbles in it. What's it called again?" He scrunched his face, yelling loud enough for the people around them to turn. "White Claw!" He looked around, trying to spot his beauty among the bodies. "Probably. Caleb has her working. He's a funsucker."

"Did you expect me to stop caring the minute I left the pack?" Jaxon knew that this was not the case and that his friend knew, but sometimes a reminder did them both well. Now, had they both been on the same stuff, things might have gone a little differently. "You mean sparkling water? It is a maybe, yes." Jax turned, ready to offer an arm for support, when William got the wonderful idea to bellow at the top of his goddamn lungs. It didn't just startle him. Him, screaming like that, had everyone turning a look.

a tenseness in jax's shoulders betrayed the deceitful truth behind his quick denial. vix watched him carefully, realizing quickly that she would need to continue to do so if she wanted the full story. "are you counting up or counting down?" she never drank, and not only because spirits could not do so without possessing another. even when alive, victoria turned her nose up at alcohol. frankly, she needed no assistance to feel out of her mind.

"..up, I guess?" There was a way to answer that question. Jax just wasn't sure what it was. The contents of his glass swirled around with a flick of his wrist as the wolf contemplated finishing them. Would she be up for one? Could spirits drink at all? Yet another thing he probably should have known.

"No need to apologise, I know this even can make everyone a little tense," the spirit assured. She knew better than to take offense from the soured expression of a werewolf in a vampire club. They had barely gotten five minutes into the club before Caleb had left to check on his pack and likely to look for trouble as well. If she wasn't sure the alpha could handle himself, she would have been worried about not hearing from him yet.

Jaxon was glad that he did not have to explain what about this whole situation made him feel uneasy. He preferred his own pub for a reason. Fewer people, fewer problems..or at least, the kind that he knew he could handle. Either way, he felt bound by duty and, unfortunately, that meant he couldn't just skip events like this.

Carmen was extremely excited to be at a vampire event and away from the watchful eye of her parents and their security. That was of course, as long as she could avoid being dragged home like a grounded teenager once they figured out where she was. For now, she had been making the most of all the festivities had to offer.

Jax couldn't help the puzzled look on his face when the same vampire he'd met earlier was suddenly stood right in front of him. He knew that about vampires and yet, this one still managed to sneak up on him. Carmen, he remembered that. "Angry? No. Nothing's wrong. It's something I don't normally do, that's all.." Turning his wrist away didn't seem like a priority but the wolf did it anyway, trying to regain some semblance of composure. Maybe even confidence, but by the looks of it, he was a bit late. "Uhm..sorry. I didn't offend you, did I?"

She chuckled a little and nodded, "Yeah, maybe I used to love coming to these." The last two years had been... rough on them. Some more than others and she'd lost a lot of her desire to still be involved in the community. Her position for the council was now moot thanks to artemis.

Jaxon turned to face the bar, making sure they stood shoulder to shoulder, and held up two fingers to the bartender. He knew that he and Max had both had a rough go for the past year and, looking at them now, Reed wondered if he should've done a better job at reaching out, if only just to know what she'd got up to. "I'm glad you said hi."

"So you won't ride to the top with me to see all the sparkling lights?" He pouted, looking more like a kicked puppy than a grown man. He probably should be asking Faye to ride with him. Some people thought the Ferris wheel romantic, but he wanted to go on it with Jax. There was something about the two of them attending a carnival ride in the middle of a vampire festival that seemed right in Will's addled mind. His vision blurred a bit at the edges. When Jaxon took the glass away, his gloves were once again visible. "Pretty colors." He tried to touch them only to frown when they moved, not realizing it was his own hand.

Jax squeezed William's shoulders a little tighter, not sure if there was much he could do to help. At least, now that he'd found him, he could make sure nothing too terrible happened, right? "If I wasn't afraid you'd fall, I would." the beta rolled his eyes affectionately, his gaze eventually drifting over the other's shoulder toward the neon frame of the Ferris wheel. Will was right. It did look pretty awesome. But first things first.. "Tell you what. You let me get you a tall glass of water and walk you to the bathroom to freshen up, and I'll consider the Ferris wheel. Is Faye busy with Caleb?"

one of the best things about being a spirit was the ability to simply disappear for a while, but it did leave her often feeling like no one would see her anyway. especially when surrounded by such a dense population of vibrant, lively others. vix hesitated, surprised to have been noticed as she skulked along the edges of the party. "three what?" she asked, curiosity finally getting the better of her.

"Uh, no." The wolf managed in a gruff voice the second his gaze locked onto Vix. He was obviously lying, from the way his shoulders had instantly squared up, but he hoped that she might humor him. It wasn't unusual to get distracted given all the people there. Jax glanced down at his drink, completing his earlier thought. "Three drinks. That's what I meant." he continued, offering a faint, humorless smirk as an olive branch for his sharp tone. "Let's just say the air in here is a bit crowded." Jax lifted the glass, as if to confirm what he was saying. "..who are you?"

Caleb was off making sure that everything was okay and while it was admirable, Naz hadn't planned on spending her night that way. But when she saw Jaxon Reed by the dancefloor, she felt like she had to make sure he was okay. Grabbing a second drink from the bar, the spirit moved across the dancefloor to speak to him. She stopped abruptly at his tone, realising maybe she shouldn't have been approaching him. The pack already hated her so what hard could it do? "I didn't mean to disturb you."

The frustation on Jaxon’s face smoothed out, replaced by a flicker of recognition as his gaze settled on Naz. He hadn't meant to look grumpy or anything, but judging by her own expression, it was obvious she'd noticed. "..uh, no. Don't be sorry. I was in my head." he muttered, looking from her face down to the glass she was holding out. "Naz, right?" The wolf reached out, his fingers carefully turning his inner wrist away from her line of sight, not out of shame but..in an effort to keep the conversation light and casual, as it ought to be. "Thank you. For the drink. It's definitely appreciated." he nodded, wondering if she'd been looking for Caleb. "..I think I liked the celebrations a lot better last year. How have you been?"

Caleb spotted Jax away from the dance floor. They had something of a truce between them now and it did not hurt to say hello to the lone wolf.

"Caleb, hey." Was it a surprise to see the alpha in an event like this? No. Jaxon figured it was part of protocol, to make sure nothing too unlawful happened. But it was obvious by the subtle shift in his features, that he had not exactly heard him coming. The loud music, the crowd and the heavy smell of blood and wine would have thrown anyone off, right? At least that's the excuse he gave himself.

Jaxon was sturdy. He needed sturdy when the whole room pulsed in time with the music. He wanted to ask how he was enjoying the party, but all that came out of his mouth was a garbled mess. His tongue felt heavy. He didn't know what made his tongue feel heavy. He grabbed a drink from the person passing, uncaring what it was. He drank down the fruity concoction, sighing in relief as his tongue felt lighter. He just had cotton mouth.

Jaxon’s jaw tightened the exact second he saw William snag a random drink off a passing tray. The way he had already downed the sugary, neon liquid so swift..well, there wasn't a damned thing he could've done to stop it. "..I will agree the Ferris wheel looks nice, but that's about it, you hear me?" The beta took the glass from him, lest he should fall victim to another one of his whims, setting it down on the nearest surface. Turning to face the man properly, Jaxon's rough expression softened just a fraction as he noticed William's glazed, drifting stare. "..hey, Will? Where'd your head go?"

"Spoopy. scary skeleton send shivers down my spine." He hugged his brother from another mother, feeling the love of everyone around him. "Your outfit is so cool. I thought people would draw on my shirt, but yours is a skeleton. That's sooooo cool." He giggled, not laughed, giggled as he hung off of Jax. "Are you having fun? This party is so fun. These people are so fun. I don't know why Caleb was so worried. Vampires are fun. They made the fun."

Leave it to William Rogers to find him among hundreds of people. That man had an undeniable ability to track people down, and he'd ..well, succeeded yet again.

"Just me." She slipped her arm around his being careful not to get paint on him. Max rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, she hadn't been to the bar in a little while. Avoiding going on another bender was for the best and she'd prefer to not end up in some kind of trouble here.

Jaxon wasn't sure what he noticed first, her presence or her voice, but the tension in his shoulders seemed to fade the moment he felt her leaning in. The scent of paint clung to her, not ink..but glow-in-the dark paint, which, lest he forget..was tonight's theme.

Viv internally fought with the voice in her head that told her it was a mistake. She was hungry, exhausted, and jet lagged which was a bad combination for a vampire to be, but she was also homesick. Something about Jax reminded her of the home she’d rushed to get back to when she finished her research, and she wanted to savor that feeling a little longer. She also wondered if some part of her clung to him because it was her last tether to Danny, to the person she was several lifetimes ago.

Jaxon switched on the overhead lights at the bar, choosing to leave the rest off, and moved behind the bar with a with a familiar, practiced ease..and a smile, which grew fonder when she spoke. "You gonna put me to the test, doctor?" the wolf said, giving the vampiress a slow, lingering look. The kind that she might have been used to from him once, before their lives and work took a hold of them. "I'll try my best, if that's the case. I can promise that much."