For Your Consideration

[The Cedar Witch]

Reserved for Billiam


It had been a rough week from the start. Malakai swore that this was the last time that he would take Jerry’s advice concerning women because it never seemed to do him any good in the first place.  Sure, they were always attractive girls, always available, and always friendly upfront; but they had a whole train-full of baggage attached.  They would have been perfect girls if Mal was anything like Jerry, interested only in a few days worth of sex, but he wasn’t.  He just couldn’t bring himself to abandon them with the same finesse as Jeremiah seemed to do.  No one, not even some bat-crazy chick deserved that.  Jerry had told him that he let them guilt him into everything but marriage.  While a complete over-exaggeration, Mal was ashamed to admit that it was partly true.  This was why he couldn’t bring himself to formally end this most recent relationship.  He hated hearing or seeing anyone cry, especially if it had anything to do with him.

Mal hadn’t called Kate in about a week and a half.  Of course he felt terrible about it, so much so that he couldn’t bring himself to check his voicemail after she called every day.  In fact, he had stopped listening to her voicemail messages well before he had decided to stop seeing her.  She was the possessive, paranoid, jealous type who called every day twice a day just to check up on him.  It wasn’t terrible in the beginning of their relationship, but the frequency of her calls increased over time to the point where Mal just couldn’t take it anymore.  The girl was fucking driving him insane.  He couldn’t sleep passed a certain point without calling her because she would get suspicious.  The longer he put off calling her the more he would be subject to a barrage of questioning when he finally did call her.  The vampire finally took to turning his phone off during the day so he could sleep like any normal undead-person would.  

By tonight, Kate only called once a day hoping he would answer, and not her usual seven or eight times.  This came as only a minor relief to him, and it was terribly inconvenient because tonight he was playing for the first time at a new location, The White Rabbit.  Mal wouldn’t allow himself any distractions, especially something that had the potential to ruin his first impression on a new group of people.  He had actually woken up relatively early that night and dressed in the standard dark ripped jeans paired with a black long-sleeved shirt that had horizontal rips running all the way up the sleeves to his shoulder.  The choice was a little less elaborate than usual, but the look suited him fine.

Thor had found this little place almost by accident, being much smaller and less talked about than Risk.  It was promising with a nice atmosphere, and Thor set up a meeting with the owner of the bar almost immediately.  Lisa-Joe was a pleasantly attractive vampire, a professional woman who knew what she was doing.  By default Malakai respected her, because of her age and she seemed like an honestly nice person.  Then again, who the fuck was he to judge women.

The band had arrived a little earlier than expected and set up in a methodical fashion.  Malakai went through the motions, mind elsewhere.  He had made the mistake of listening to one of the many messages that Kate had left on his voicemail.  She was clearly crying, her voice thick with emotion so much so that he could barely understand what she was trying to say.  It made him feel absolutely terrible, and the man couldn’t help but run through his mind trying to figure out what he had done (besides not call her) to make her so upset.  Jerry had told him to “Wake the fuck up and get over her already” and by the time the band had started playing, he had done just that.

Their set was a little mixed that night, beginning soft with a cover of one of Coldplay’s songs and throwing in some of their own melodic pieces.  As the night went on, they played increasingly heavier songs and it almost seemed as though Malakai had completely forgotten about Kate and all of her voicemails.  Well, that was until he saw her through the fog of the dimly lit dance floor.  Just his fucking luck.

At first, Mal ignored her completely, looking out to different parts of the club and pouring all of his energy and emotion into whatever song they were playing at the time.  But every now and then he would catch a glimpse of her furious expression as she made her way closer and closer to the stage.  Mal glanced quickly at Jerry hoping that he had noticed her, but of course Jerry’s attention was on a group of scantily-clad women, showing off as usual.  Malakai was hoping that she would give up and leave so that he could avoid any sort of interaction with the girl, that she would have gone home by the time they were finished playing for the night.  That would only be too convenient.  

At the end of the night, the last few songs dragged on, Mal showing very little of it in his performance.  He felt a sense of dread seize him as soon as they had stopped for the night and moved on to pack up.  Kate seemed to have put every effort into making herself look gorgeous that night, as if to make him feel more guilty for ignoring her calls.  She walked sharply up onto the stage, eyes locked on Malakai only.  

“Hey, Kate!” it was Jerry, of course, who noticed her before she reached the side of the stage where Mal had retreated to.  She ignored him, continuing on to where Mal sheepishly stood.  Before he could even mutter a greeting, she brought her hand around and smacked him in the jaw.  The vampire, though shocked, had no mark on his cheek from the blow.  Mal blinked.  Jerry laughed loudly.  

“I’m—“

“Oh no, you’re not fucking going to try to explain yourself out of this one, Mal.  Have you even listened to any of my voice mails?  Why the fuck aren’t you picking up your phone?  You know I’ve been worried sick about you.  I’m glad to see that your still fucking standing and not some pile of ashes somewhere on the street.  What’s your fucking problem?  Are you seeing someone else?  Are you fucking cheating on me?  I knew you fucking were.  After two fucking weeks of not a single fucking phone call, I knew something was up—“

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s the matter baby?”  Jerry interrupted her, much to Malakai’s relief, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t ‘Baby’ me, you fucking piece of shit, I’m not fucking talking to you right now.”  She shoved him off, coming back at Mal with a pointing, accusatory finger.  “You better have a fucking good explanation, because I’m not going to take any bullshit from sleaze like you.”  
Here we go.

“Look, Kate, I’ve been meaning to call—“

“Really?  You’ve been fucking meaning to call me?  Because my phone didn’t fucking ring once for two fucking weeks.  You’ve been meaning to call me, fuck you!  You should have fucking called me!”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but I wanted to say—“

“Sorry?  You’re fucking sorry?  After two weeks that’s all you have to say is sorry?  Do you even know what kind of a fucking week I’ve been through, worrying about you?  You’re my fucking boyfriend and I deserve to know what the fuck you’re doing at least once a day.”

“I don’t want to see you anymore.”  He exhaled quickly, holding his breath and bracing himself for the worst.  As much as he hated dropping the bomb so suddenly, she wasn’t letting him get a word in so really he had no choice.
 
“What?” Mal cringed at the sound of her voice, shifting his gaze to the wall behind her so he didn’t have to look in her face as she processed what he had just said.

“You’re dumping me?” her voice jumped a few octaves, “After everything we’ve been through, after the two weeks of hell you put me through you’re fucking dumping me?”

“Look, I’m sorry, but it just wasn’t working out—“

“No, fuck you.  You’re not going to dump me.  I don’t want to see you anymore.  Not after the past two weeks you put me through.”  She was crying now, going on and on about a score of other things that Malakai could barely understand.  He felt like a dick for saying anything to her in the first place, and he didn’t have the heart to walk away from her now while she dumped all of her frustrations on him.  So the vampire let her talk until she was finished with her speech, was slapped again for being a “fucking dick-head of a boyfriend “, and watched her leave  the bar.

What the fuck, he sighed, rubbing his jaw despite the fact that her hand did absolutely no damage to him.  Jerry patted him on the back, laughing.

“See, now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

[Black Philip]

The band played on. The patrons of the White Rabbit seemed pleased with the mix of harsh sounds and sweet melodies. The first floor\'s inhabitants, who usually avoided the live music, flocked upstairs to listen. The place was packed. There were the young, the old, the hot, the ugly, the normal and the weird; each person jumping, singing and having an all around good time. The bar\'s owner wore a cocky smile, as more and more money was piled into the bar\'s cash registrars. Lisa-Joe had stepped into her office at the completion of the band\'s latest song. She was truly enjoying herself, so it was a tough feat to rip herself away from the sounds of the second floor. Still, Lisa-Joe knew that business came before pleasure, and there was business to attend too.

She sat at a simple metal desk, with a comfy black office chair. Her computer, which was used as little as possible, sat itself in front of Lisa-Joe\'s eyes. Poster\'s from Lisa-Joe\'s favorite rock groups gave the small, confined space a more punk feel, which was the image Lisa-Joe wanted to convey to potential clients. Lisa was writing a check for her silent partner. She hated that she\'d needed a Ventrue in order to go into business, but Jake was an old friend, and as a result, he deserved his cut. The bar was still young, but good advertising, both natural and supernatural, and good word of mouth had filled the bar nightly. Lisa-Joe hadn\'t recouped her investments yet, but that would come with time. She finished the check, and signed her name in a most sophisticated way. Then, Lisa-Joe grabbed her perfume and sprayed a squirt on Jake\'s money. She loved to add such personal touches, and she knew Jake appreciated them too.

With the messy removal of hard earned money taken care off, Lisa-Joe decided to return upstairs to hear the band. She forgotten their name, but she didn\'t feel bad for it. Lisa-Joe ran every aspect of The White Rabbit, she couldn\'t be held accountable to remember every small detail. Before she ascended, she checked her appearance in a hall mirror. It was a work night, so Lisa-Joe was dressed to fill the part. Her knee high boots did well to accent her fish net stockings, and her black, Gothic corset. Her arms were covered in bracelets of all shapes and sizes, and her nails were a fierce black. A zebra print jacket covered her shoulders and back, and matched her makeup. Her black eyes, contrasted with her ruby red lips, but humans liked that kind of look these days. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and a black ribbon was tied into it. Satisfied by what she saw, Lisa-Joe returned to listen to the music.

Much to her dismay, it was far later than she thought. The band had finished their last set. Lisa-Joe rolled her eyes at her dissatisfaction, but wasn\'t to deeply upset. They\'d been a hit, and Lisa-Joe would book them again on the fact alone. The fact that she herself was a fan, was only a happy coincidence. Although Lisa-Joe missed the remaining music, she did get quite a show. One of the members of the band was currently having his head screamed off, by a glamorous, yet in Lisa-Joe\'s opinion boring, looking girl. Much of the bar had stopped to watch this episode of Cheaters, and laughed at the poor vampire\'s misfortune.

After the girl had left, Lisa-Joe glided like a phantom over to the stage where the band was still packing up. The human drummer Thor, with whom she was most acquainted said hello and asked Lisa-Joe what she had thought. After stroking the human\'s ego, she turned to the two vampires.

"Good show boys," Lisa-Joe complimented. Her voice was smooth and sweet, like honey being spread on a piece of fresh bread. "May I see you both in my office downstairs?" She failed to elaborate.

[The Cedar Witch]

Jeremiah seemed to think the entire ordeal was hilarious, despite the warning glances he received from his brother, Zach.  The fact that the entire fucking building had stopped to watch his humiliation only added to the vampire’s feeling of shame.  Despite this, Malakai’s expression was serious, if not blank, in response to Jerry’s comment.

“Fuck off,” he muttered; moving back to what he had been doing before Kate had graced the stage with her presence.  Mal felt terrible.  His mind was still in a whirl, attempting to catch up with what had just happened and trying to shrug it off all at the same time.  The sooner he could forget about the whole ordeal, the better.  Just as long as Kate stopped fucking calling him.  

Kim, cigarette dangling from his lips, quit early, calling out something barely intelligible as he stumbled off toward the bar for a drink.  By now, no one in the band bothered to translate what the mixture of Korean and English was.  It was always alcohol, sex, or tobacco related, anyway.  Regardless of exactly what it was, it meant that Kim wasn’t going to bother with the packing up part of the show.  Mal swore the only ones who bothered to do any sort of work were himself, Zach, and Thor.  And right now, Thor was busy talking to some Gothic Zebra-woman on the other side of the stage. It wasn’t until Lisa-Joe came over to the trio of vampires (mostly) packing up the equipment that Mal realized that she was the owner.  

“Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.”  Mal spoke quickly, to overshadow any comment that Jerry was notorious for quickly firing after a comment similarly phrased.  He was relieved that tonight had gone according to plan, Kate or not.  

“Yeah, sure, we’ll come to your office,” Jerry grinned with a full face of fangs, voice full of implications as he spoke before Mal had a chance to say anything else to the fine woman.  Unfortunately.  But despite whatever reaction the owner may have had, the two vampires left Zach and Thor behind to deal with the rest of the equipment and followed her to her office.  The three walked through the second floor, down to the first floor and finally to the basement.  By now, the majority of the crowd that occupied the building had left for the night, though the place was not exactly empty.

“So what can we do for you, sweetheart?”  Jerry smiled, obviously attempting to be charming, but it came off more disrespectful than Mal could comfortably stomach.  Mal shot him an angry look and cleared his throat.  

“I hope our performance met your expectations,” Malakai smiled gently at the woman, easily a thousand times the gentleman than Jeremiah could ever be.

[Black Philip]

Lisa-Joe hated how disgusting men could be. Jerry, the group\'s guitarist, seemed to making sexual implications towards the bar\'s owner. The humiliated vampire, who was the pretty boy front man, seemed much more respectful. Lisa-Joe liked the band, and seeing as how breaking Jerry\'s skull could put a wedge between her and the act, Lisa-Joe decided to discuss the treatment of women with Jerry at a later date.

"Follow me gentleman," Lisa-Joe said in the same, silky voice. There pace was quick, and they dodged the various people who got in there way. The club was nearing closing, and so many of the patrons began to file out. Eventually the trio reached her office and after unlocking the door, Lisa-Joe sat down in her chair. Another sexist comment from Jerry was soon uttered, and Lisa-Joe decided to kindly reprehend him.

"You can start by calling me Miss Hampton, not sweetheart," said Lisa-Joe sweetly. A large, fake smile crossed her lips. Malakai\'s comment was honest, and much respectful than his comrade. She returned the friendly smile with one of her own.

"It surpassed them," Lisa-Joe said. Turning to a shelf on the back wall, she grabbed a large bottle and three shot glasses. "Come boys," Lisa-Joe projected, "Let\'s do a shot to celebrate our success here tonight."

The blood was blisteringly hot, as that was the only way to simulate the burn of alcohol on a humans throat.

[The Cedar Witch]

"My apologies, Miss Hampton," The youngest vampire replied, lapsing slightly into his own southern accent, purely for affect, and dipped his head respectfully.  Jerry\'s devilish grin, however, remained on his face.  He was notoriously an asshole, and that had lost the band a few good connections in the past.  Despite however it may have appeared, the punk had gotten better at behaving himself since their last mishap.  He was clueless when it came to dealing with people in a respectful manor, as those that knew him best were well aware.  But for the sake of their new acquaintance, Mal gave him another look.  That kid needed a fucking muzzle and a leash sometimes.

Malakai sighed inwardly, returning his attention to the woman at the desk.  He was enthralled to learn that they had surpassed her expectations, and couldn\'t help but smile widely at her words.  His smile was dorky, if not childish at times, and it was something that he was typically self-conscious about.  But his expression faltered when the owner brought out a large bottle that he assumed at first to be some form of alcohol until she opened it.

Jeremiah was instantly familiar with this particular way of serving blood and was the first to reach for a shot glass.  “Cheers,” Jerry lifted the glass to Lisa and grinned before downing it like a pro.  The fact that the blood was so unnaturally hot perplexed Malakai, but he partook in the celebration nonetheless.  He had fed well before the show, as always, to ensure his focus remained solely on the task at hand.  The sheer heat of the blood, however, had the effect of whetting his appetite for more.  The burn was shocking, and it showed slightly in his facial expression, but he put on the pretence that it hadn’t affected him much otherwise.  

“I would venture to guess that this means you’ll be calling us back for another show sometime soon?”  Malakai smiled again, placing his glass on the woman’s desk before politely meeting her eye.

[Black Philip]

Lisa-Joe would break Jerry like a mule. He needed to be taught some respect, and Lisa vowed to teach it to him. However, today was not the day, and the bar maid simply raised her glass in a toast like fashion, and took the shot. She loved the hot burn of the blood on her throat, and she also loved how human she was allowed to feel by taking shots, instead of ripping open throats. It should be noted, Lisa-Joe also liked to rip open throats on occasion. She ignored Malakai\'s question for a moment, and instead poured three more shots. She downed her own like a pro, and began to feel the effects of the warm blood mixing with her own. Color filled her checks, and her ashy complexion began to show signs of life.  

"Actually," Lisa began, "one of the reasons I called you down here was to ask you what night you are available to play here regularly. I\'m thinking Friday."

She smiled greatly at both men. She was offering them a once a week house gig. For struggling bands to have one consistent job a week was rare, and Lisa-Joe payed very well. They would have been stupid to refuse.

[The Cedar Witch]

The three vampires took another shot of scalding blood, this time he was more prepared for its affects.  Mal had a content look on his face after the second one, his smile loosening into something that looked much less awkward than before.  He sighed comfortably, placing the glass back on the womans desk, though not for another small portion of blood.  Lisa\'s offer knocked the nonchalance right out of the vampire, and he looked at her for a moment in disbelief.

Malakai was stunned.  Once a week?  Who did that?  He looked at Jerry, unabashed in his astonishment.  The younger merely laughed (his usual response to everything).  It was obvious that Jeremiah had taken the offer as a direct, if not personal complement to HIS (not the band\'s) ability to play.  He visibly puffed up his chest, grinning at Malakai in the usual fashion.  The other would never be so easily inflated with ego.  

"Actually, that would be fantastic."  It wasn\'t that Mal was pessimistic about his art.  He was actually rather confident in himself and the rest of To Ashes.  But to be offered such a regular time-slot was an opportunity that he had never been given before.  He wondered, now, how many acts she had booked like this.  Still, it was immensely flattering that after one full show she would choose to book them not a second time, but regularly.  

Mal\'s mind raced, trying to think of anything to say before Jeremiah took advantage of the fact that he was speechless... Which of course he did.

"I\'m available any time you want, Miss Hampton-" the last syllable of her name came out more like an "nnngh" as Mal sharply elbowed him in the ribs, giving him a cut-it-the-fuck-out look.  He wasn\'t about to let Jeremiah ruin a once a week gig for the band.

"Fridays are perfect.  We don\'t have anything else that regular right now,"  Mal spoke quickly to distract from Jerry\'s running mouth.  "I\'m glad that you liked us that much and I promise you that we won\'t disappoint."

[Black Philip]

Lisa-Joe began to like Malakai more and more for his respectful tone. Seeing as how he addressed her with such reoccurring maturity, Lisa made a mental note to speak more with him later. For a man, he wasn\'t so bad, and she liked that he kept his outrageous companion inline. She poured herself another shot, and pushed the bottle to Malakai and Jerry. She wasn\'t sure how hungry they were, so she decided to let them pour for themselves.

"Don\'t get me wrong boys," Lisa said in a serious tone. "I book by the month, so if you fuck up, your out starting the next month." Lisa-Joe had made this comment for Jerry\'s sake, and to prove her point she asserted her piercing southern gaze directly at him as she spoke.

[The Cedar Witch]

Jeremiah seemed relatively unfazed by her glaring, something that came as no surprise to the older vampire.  He could be facing death and not cringe.  It was downright obnoxious sometimes.  For good measure, Mal elbowed him again, and for once Jeremiah chose to pour himself another shot instead of say a word.  After this little meeting, Jerry wouldn\'t be able to hear the end of it.

"Of course,” Malakai acknowledged the woman\'s threat with an almost humorous smile.  He knew that she was saying it purely for Jerry\'s sake, and wanted to make sure that she knew that Jerry was more talk than anything.  That wasn\'t to say that he couldn\'t do enough damage running his mouth alone. Malakai had enough things to worry about.

"If you\'ll excuse me, I have a call,” Jerry waved his suddenly vibrating phone in the air and bowed lowly before stepping outside of her office.  Malakai sighed irritably.

"I\'m sorry about him.  He is honestly harmless, just stupid."  With Jerry out of the room, the man found himself relaxing considerably.  "I\'ll give him a beating later, don\'t worry," he chuckled, shaking his head.

"I hope he didn\'t offend you too much,"

[Black Philip]

Lisa-Joe was very happy to watch Jerry leave, and considered locking her door to prevent his return. However, she softened upon hearing the other boy speak, and turned to address him in a encouraging manner.

"You better beat him good," Lisa half joked. "If you don\'t, I will." She said the comment as a jest of her own, but if Malakai was smart, which Lisa-Joe assumed he was, he would pick up on the subtext that she was serious.

She downed the shot she\'d poured earlier before going on. "No, he\'s fine. I agree he\'s stupid, but I don\'t let such young creatures affect my temper. Thank you for your assistance." She smiled warmly and leaned back in her chair, curious what Malakiai would say in response.

[The Cedar Witch]

Mal sighed audibly, rubbing the back of his head.  “Jerry doesn’t exactly know how to behave properly around people.”  A good reason to stop taking his advice with who to hook up with?  He met the woman’s eye and smiled.  “We’re all used to his antics, so I assure you he is generally kept under control.”  Zach was the best at keeping Jerry in line, and Mal assumed that this had always been the case.  He only knew vague generalizations about both of their pasts, but he knew that for whatever reason Jerry seemed to listen to his brother over everyone else.  Well, most of the time.

“There’s really no reason to thank me, it’s just a part of the job.”  He smiled wearily.  “And I doubt he’ll be back here any time soon, if I am right about who just called him.”  His enthusiasm dipped slightly.  Mal was almost one hundred percent sure that Kate had called him.  Kate was probably doing the same thing Mal wanted to do:  chew Jerry out for a terrible match-making decision.  He could only imagine all of the terrible things that Kate was saying, not that he expected Jerry to believe any of it.  That was just the kind of person he was, easy to talk to—when you managed to shut him up for a little while.

[Black Philip]

Lisa-Joe watched the other vampire\'s disposition falter. It wasn\'t her business to ask, but she assumed that who ever was calling Jerry, was someone that Malakai didn\'t like. She thought back to the girl who\'d bitched him out on stage, and began to wonder about the circumstances which led up to it. Again, none of her concern, but Lisa-Joe was a curious vampire, and she decided to push the envelope.

"I couldn\'t help but notice the female that wrung your neck earlier," Lisa began. "Not that I care, (which she did) but who was that woman?" Her expression was very non nonchalant, like if he didn\'t answer she would just start talking about the weather.

[The Cedar Witch]

"Heh," Mal smiled sheepishly and sighed.  "That was Kate.  My ex-girlfriend, now, I suppose."  He said it with a note of relief.  

"She was someone that Jerry thought I could get along with,"  The singer rolled his eyes, "So naturally, he hooked us up.  She was nice at first, and I guess that was why I even trusted his suggestion in the first place.  But-"  he sighed and chuckled to himself, finally looking up at Lisa,

"She turned out a hell of a lot more crazy and possessive than either of us expected.  So I can\'t really blame Jerry all that much for the way things turned out.  She sort of soured out of nowhere."

[Black Philip]

Lisa-Joe smiled softly. She thought of her own torn love affairs, and how badly they\'d ended. She looked to the cute, young vampire before her, and thought how sweet he probably was. She was by no means attracted to him, but she felt something different, a respect that could grow into friendship.

"Well I guess Jerry isn\'t all bad," Lisa-Joe joked. The blood had cooled, so instead of taking it like a shot, she wrapped her lips around the bottle and took a quick swig. She placed the blood back on her desk, and then untied the hair ribbon that had been in place. Her long red hair fell to her shoulders.

"Personally, I thought that girl was boring to look at. She was pretty theirs no debating that, but isn\'t pretty boring sometimes? I think your better off finding a girl that Jerry doesn\'t know."

She leaned across the desk and gave him a rough pat on the shoulder.

[The Cedar Witch]

Or stop fucking around with them all together?  He mused to himself, leaning over and putting his elbows on the woman\'s desk.  Yeah, Kate was kind of plain-looking, but at the time it didn\'t really matter all that much to the vampire.  He\'d dated some bat-crazy girls who were very attractive, relationships that ended rather quickly.  So really, it didn\'t matter.  He seemed to wind up with shitty women anyway.  Most of the time.

After the woman\'s pat on the back, he smiled, leaning back again into the chair.  "Well, trust me, that\'s the last one of them that I\'ll be associating myself with for awhile."  He laughed.

"I know I\'m going to hear about it later.  I need a break from that kid." Malakai laughed again.  He felt significantly lighter about the whole situation, as though talking about it with someone other than Jeremiah aided in his release of stress.  But Jerry would definitely be bringing it up after, when the band went to Mal\'s place for an \'after-party\' of sorts.