Archangel

[Lykaios]

Constantine listened as his companions continued discussing the future job around him, until Garret spoke up, introducing himself. In response; Constantine simply nodded, and continued to listen. Finishing his drink, he placed the glass back on the bar and nodded his head again. Garret had asked if anyone required a lift home, and he was more than happy to accept the offer.

"If the offer stands, I'm happy to accept. I'm supposed to be staying at..." he pulled out a slightly crumpled letter, and opened it up, showing the hunters the name of the Hotel he was staying at, "This place. Only; I don't know where that is." he finished up.

[Arcane]

"Hmm, nice place," Allire nodded approvingly, leaning over to peer at the hotel name, "You must do a better job managing your salary than I do. And I'll need a ride home too, if it isn't too much trouble. I'd prefer not to have to a catch a cab at this hour."

Allire could probably take any trouble a human taxi driver would give her, but why take the risk? Tomorrow was bound to be an eventful day and there was no point in risking injury. Particularly not when her new "partners" all seemed to make much healthier paychecks than she did. Damn, she needed to get better at haggling. Clearly other hunters didn't just take the first mediocre offer they received. Although hanging around with the Core seemed to be doing her some good in that regard already, Allire thought smugly, remembering the shiny new deposit awaiting her in her bank account. Almost sure to be worth the trouble of this catch. Particularly if it proved as good a hunt as she expected.

Allire swung her pocketbook over her shoulder as she got up, checking to make sure it was zipped. Not many people crazy enough to mug a hunter, but she didn't look much like a hunter and she had a vested interest in keeping that lovely payment from Raphael long enough to spend it. Preferably on something with four wheels.

[Sparkles]

"Paramount Hotel... yeah..." she looked to Garret, "That's over near Times Square" she gave a half-hearted smile. "I'll take a taxi. See you guys outside Archangel Tower in the morning.. I figure we can meet around 7.30 to account for bad traffic or other disasters. I, for one, don't really fancy being late, she said before getting up off of her stool and, taking a deep breath, flashing them her best 'I'm okay now' smile.

Without waiting for so much as a reply, Sierra made her way out of the bar and, taking a cursory look around, found a waiting taxi and hopped in the passenger seat.
Instructing the taxi where to go, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the headrest.

She needed some time to herself where she wouldn't seem weak by her own. Being in the Core was all well and good for nearly everything besides privacy while on the hunt and after-hours. And usually, that didn't bother her.
Tonight had just been one of those nights. And would you blame her? All she knew.. all anybody knew about the Archangel of New York was that normally, if you laid your eyes on him, you wouldn't ever be laying your eyes on anything else.... ever.

[Elario Luminus]

Nodding to both Allire and Constantine, Garret pulled his keys from his pocket and began twirling them around his finger. "Are we good to go now? Cause I'd rather not stick around if we have to. You two get what you need; I'll wait by the car." He slid off his stool and followed Sierra out the door, though she was long gone. He unlocked the car via the remote, opened the door and settled into the seat, sighing contently. He'd had this car for a while, but sitting in it never got old.

He reached forward and played with the stereo system a bit, finding a song he liked in the thousands he'd had downloaded to the car's hard-drive. Finally coming across 'Ain't No Rest For The Wicked' by Cage the Elephant, Garret leaned back and bobbed his head along to the beat while he waited for his two passengers.

[Lykaios]

Constantine smiled and found his way out to the entrance, and into the street. He had not been paying attention as to whether the girl, Allire had followed him or not, but quickly discovered Garret waiting in his flashy car outside. Constantine nodded, content with Garret's choice of car, and took to opening the rear door, and climbing inside. Only moments, and he was listening to the song Garret was playing, and finding it oddly accurate for their lifestyle. He snickered lightly at the realisation and when Garret looked at him, he gave a cursory thumbs up and mouthed Interesting song choice.

[Arcane]

Allire followed Garrett and Constantine with a nod. She too preferred not to hang out around the bar any longer than needed. She had sleep to get that night and a goldfish to feed and a novel to finish, one she suspected she wasn't going to have much time for again for quite a while. Writing down her address on a piece of scrap paper, she passed it to Garrett. It was a bit out of the way, no where near Constantine's fancy hotel, and she hoped he'd be all right with driving her back. Her area was safe, if not exactly fancy, but some of the neighboring areas were...not.

"Here's my address. Sorry it's a bit far. Thanks so much for the ride."

[Sparkles]

Once the cab pulled up at her apartment block, Sierra payed the driver, got out and, taking the elevator, made her way up to her apartment.
The first thing she did once inside was make a beeline to her ensuite and her shower, chucking off her clothes along the way so that she was finished with them once she got to it.

Turning the water onto scolding hot, she took her strawberry shampoo, conditioner, her apricot soap, her pink razor, her nail file/cleaner, her hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpicks, dental floss, toothpaste and moisturisers, and closed her bathroom door.

Inside, it didn't take too long for the mirror to fog up or the air to turn thick, but it was just long enough for Sierra to brush her hair, her teeth and wash her face with the mirror unclouded. She then began work on her nails that she always kept bluntly short to avoid getting grime under them, then stepped into the shower where she lathered her hair, washing it twice through, soaped, shaved, soaped again, and stood for five to ten minutes, letting the heat take the stench of shit-scared vampire out and off of her skin.

She eventually got out, moisturised and left her bathroom feeling much warmer both inside and out than she had when she'd entered.

Sierra usually made a ritual out of washing off the grime and slathering on the creams and perfumes she collected. Ransom thought her girly tendencies the funniest thing ever, constantly teased her over them, but the last time he'd opened his big mouth, she'd got her own back by pointing out that his long black hair sure did look well conditioned.

She slipped into a pair of cotton pajamas before going to put on some coffee.

[Elario Luminus]

Garret smirked in response to Constantine's silent remark and shrugged after looking at the scrap paper Allire had given him. "No problem. The car's almost due for a service anyway, and I don't go with their 'service by this date' crap. Miles have gotta be done. Plus the drive would be nice. Constantine, you'll be the first drop off point."
Igniting the engine, he drove out onto road and headed towards the Paramount Hotel. The night sky was as clear as it ever was, which was not at all due to the pollution in the air, but Garret didn't mind. He put the windows down a little to get some semi-fresh air in the car and turned up the music slightly, now playing 'Burn It To The Ground' by Nickelback.

Pulling up to the Paramount Hotel, Garret turned down the music and looked to Constantine in his rear view mirror. "Here's you, freshman. If you want, I'll be able to pick you up tomorrow morning, at...say...0630? Sound good?" As much as he was put out about the some foreigner joining the Core, thus the "freshman" remark, Garret wanted to get to know this guy. He seemed nice enough, if a bit of an arrogant tool.

[Lykaios]

Through the drive, Constantine lent with his head against the window, listening to the music and just watching the city that refused to sleep as they rumbled past the sights. He wasn't at all interested in conversation, as it was late, he was looking forward to rounding off his night, and getting back to work, first thing in the morning. He looked forward to the chance to go hunt some vampire again. It was his life-long career, after all. And it was going to stay that way. At least until he was too old to keep up. The vehicle pulling to a stop, Constantine looked out from where they'd parked, and he saw a big sign stating Paramount Hotel as boldly as possible. It definitely was grand, he realised. He hadn't even chosen the hotel, but rather asked his Guild Leader to select one for him, so he didn't have to worry.

Apparently, his Leader was getting some of his own back on Farlius. At least he knew he still had the ability to craze his leader, time and again.
Climping out of the vehicle, Constantine propped himself against Garret's window-frame, and nodded. "I'd appreciate that, actually. Wasn't paying enough attention to not get lost. The town seems a bit boring, if you look closely enough." he said, not sounding cautious about upsetting them for their home, as he was only saying what he felt. "I'll see you at oh-six-thirty, then. Ef kharisto." he dipped his head - as though to make to tip his hat - and slunk away from the vehicle, walking into the hotel's grand reception area.

Approaching the service desk, he was soon received - with a look of contempt, for not fitting into the high standards of the place - and began to say his peace.
"How can I help you this evening, sir?"
"Constantine Farlius. I'm here to check into my room. There should be one waiting for me."
"One moment, please." replied the clerk, and looked him up on the monitor; his expression turning suddenly anxious.
"Of course, sir! The Hunter, Constantine Farlius?"
"The very same."
"Our apologies! Here is your key, and your belongings have already been taken up. Room 617; sixth floor." he said, rather quickly, his focus and attentions all aflutter with horror.
"Excellent."
"Please! If there's anything we can do to--"
"Save your sucking up for the next check-in, please." he responded coldly, waving his hand dismissively as he stalked off toward the elevator.

Upon reaching his assigned room, he unpacked his belongings, so as to have a change of clothes, and prepared the shower. His day had been far too long, and a shower before bed sounded excellent at that moment. Getting into it, he washed his hair quickly, and after a scrub of his body, he allowed the shower to grow even hotter. Once he was satisfied, he turned off the system and began to dry himself. Once he was finished there, he moved over to the bed and - still naked - climbed into bed to drift almost immediately to sleep.

[Arcane]

Allire gave Constantine a brief wave goodbye, whistling to herself at the sight of the hotel. Damn. It was even grander than she'd expected, all fancy carvings and shining lights. Constantine, on the other hand, seemed less than impressed, with both his hotel and their city. Well, Allire doubted where he came from was any better, but perhaps he was simply naturally an unhappy sort of person. He was certainly a judgmental one, but if he was good at what he did, she wasn't about to complain. A bit of light entertainment on the Hunt was always good for morale, even if it did originate from a genuine cynic.

Allire leaned back in her seat as the bright lights of Time Square vanished and they entered her smaller neighborhood. The buildings here were short and squat, some a pristine white, others coated in the faint grime that was near inescapable throughout the city. A few blinking lights proudly announced cheap take-out restaurants and dry-cleaning services. There wasn't much here. It was quiet, residential, in a low-key, inexpensive sort of way. Not the best of neighborhoods, but certainly not the worst, perfectly adequate for the needs of a young hunter. It suited Allire well enough and she was fond of it, even if it couldn't quite compare to the ritzy area she'd grown up in.

"This is it," Allire nodded as they approached a narrow building of a vaguely greenish hue with a bright, cheery yellow door someone had recently taken the time to repaint, "Thanks so much for the ride. See you tomorrow."

[Sparkles]

Once her coffee cup was empty, Sierra made herself some waffles with honey, glabbed a plate and went to sit up in bed and watch some reruns of Buffy. They always made her roll her eyes and wish her job was that easy, but then.. it wouldn't be the same, would it?
And most of the time, she did enjoy her job.
Flexing her calf muscles, she buckled down in bed and made sure none of the honey dripped onto her clean sheets.
This was her home. And a hunter's home was their sanctuary. Here she could finally relax from the day's events and finally get ready for what the next day would bring; as much as you could actually prepare for the unknown, anyway.

It didn't take long until Sierra had drifted off to sleep. With the mostly unfinished plate of waffles to the side of the bed and images of a glowing being with wings haunting her subconcious, it was going to be a restless night.

[Elario Luminus]

Garret nodded with a hint of a smile. "Not a problem. I'll be able to pick you up tomorrow morning as well, if you don't mind. Probably be about 0700, depending on traffic."
He waved shortly, and drove off before Allire could answer; she'd know he would be there. As he drove, he visibly relaxed now that he was on his way home.

The drive wasn't too long, but it was long enough that Garret grew tired just as he reached the apartment block he was staying in. The building was pristine and luxurious, just the way he liked things. He nodded in greeting to the doorman, who bowed and opened the door for him, and walked through to an incredibly expensive building. The receptionist waved and smiled as he walked past her towards the elevator, and he winked back in response. Garret pressed the call button for the elevator, and stepped inside when the doors opened.

Pushing the button for the top level, he waited and listened the delightfully cheesy music they played. 'Why do they always need bad orchestra music playing in elevators?'
The tone sounded when the elevator reached the top floor and opened its doors right into Garret's penthouse suite. He sighed again as he walked into the spacious room and began undressing, flinging his clothes into the laundry chute. Garret passed into his bathroom and turned the shower on to a heat just right and let the water cascade down his body as he began to clean himself of the dust and grime of the days work.

After cleaning and mostly drying himself, Garret moved to his bed while he towelled his hair. He grabbed his phone and checked the time, groaned when he saw it was late, and flopped onto his bed. Throwing the towel away, he got comfortable and fell to sleep very quickly.

[Lykaios]

Constantine slept easy through the night, as he always possessed a perfect ability to sleep. At oh-five hundred, his alarm rung out, and woke him with a start; his hand reaching for the nearest weapon to him - in this case, the lamp - and instinctively leapt from the bed. Standing in a combat stance for ten seconds, Constantine scanned the room, searching for that which woke him. Once his senses reset, and he took a breath, realisation struck that it was merely his alarm, and he cursed under his breath, disappointed that he had been so alarmed when it was part of his daily routine.

Taking a moment to stretch his arms out, Constantine ignored his mobile phones alarm, and walked over to his balcony. Opening the door and stepping out, he looked over the side, at the street below. It was absent of much traffic due to the time, so he could admire the place a little bit. A gasp and sound of shock to his right caught his attention, and he looked over. A middle aged woman was looking stunned at his nudity, and seemingly verging on outrage at his blatant disregard for decent public exposure.

"Oh, I doubt you've never seen one before, lady." he growled, facing her, then turning away and walking back into his room. Inside, he noticed that the temperature of his room was much warmer than that of outside, and that was something he was grateful for. It was fairly chilly outside.
Once he had reacclimatised to being somewhere so far from home; he dressed and groomed himself. By that stage, it was six-fifteen and he departed his room, taking what neccessary gear he had for hunting in a duffel bag.

By twenty past six, he was waiting outside the Paramount Hotel for Garret. And while he waited, the middle aged lady neighbour and her husband came out. The woman took one look at him and turned white; clearly still a bit at odds with the morning peep show and what was going through her mind. He took her reaction with a subtle smirk.

He'd made a good start to the day already. One person had been affected by him in a way that could be either positive or negative, and her reaction had been quite satisfactory.

[Arcane]

Allire nodded at Garrett's departure, grateful for the offer. She didn't particularly like taxis and wasn't about to turn down a proffered ride. But now it was time for sleep. Sleep and preparation.

Allire gave the doorman her characteristic ditzy smile as she entered the building. Her landlord had been nervous about renting to a hunter at first, so she'd set about putting him at ease the only way she knew how: playing stupid. It worked like a dream. By now, her neighbors had decided she was no threat and pretty much left her on her own unless she did something to raise a fuss. And even when she did, they never believed it was her fault. No, they would explain in their simpering way, Allire's too sweet. She would never have dragged a still bleeding vamp through her apartment. Someone else must have done the damage and left her to the delivery. Poor girl. She still had the new carpet they'd pitched in to buy her after that particular incident, so she wasn't about to complain.

The carpet was the only thing on the wooden floor of Allire's small apartment. The walls were equally bare and the only furniture was a narrow bed covered with an old quilt and a comfy chair tucked in the corner. Allire could afford better, even with the cheap fees she was generally guilted into accepting, but she didn't need anything else. She liked living light. Made it easier to pack up and go on a hunt. Allire didn't spend enough time in New York to make setting up a nicer apartment worth the effort. She'd rather save her cash.

After a quick shower, Allire collapsed into her bed. It was small, but it was comfortable. Infinitely preferable to those hotel beds which were invariably either rock hard or mushy as porridge. The instant her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.

Allire awoke at promptly six o'clock the next morning without an alarm. She'd trained herself to do this over the years, as she hated waking up to music or worse, beeping. Groaning slightly, she pulled herself out of bed and staggered off to the bathroom, where she washed her face and pulled her hair back, throwing on a skirt and a blouse in a half-hearted attempt at formality. She wasn't up to putting on makeup at this time of the morning and if she was hunting today, it would just smudge anyway. She looked like a fright, but she was ready by six forty five. Allire sat down with a cheap paperback novel and a bowl of cereal to wait for her ride.

[Sparkles]

The morning was rushed but she made sure she looked her best. She would be nothing if not organised. The occasion called for it if nothing else.


"I'm the best.. we're the best", Sierra muttered the next morning as she got out of the taxi in front of the magnificent creation that was Archangel Tower. "we're the best."

"Hey, lady, you gonna pay me or just talk to yourself?"

"What? Oh." Pulling out a twenty-dollar note, she bent down and crushed it into the cabbie s hand. "Keep the change."

His scowl turned into a grin. "Thanks! What, you got a big hunt coming on?"

Sierra didn't ask how he'd pegged her for a hunter. "No. But I do have a high chance of meeting a horrible death within the next few hours. Might as well do something good and up my shot at getting into heaven."

The cabbie thought she was a riot. He was still laughing as he drove off, leaving her standing on the very edge of the wide path that led up to the Tower entrance. The unusually bright morning sunlight glared off the white stone of the path, sharp enough to cut. Pulling off her shades from where she'd hung them in the vee of her shirt she placed them gratefully over her tired, sleep-deprived eyes.