Ami rolled her eyes at the frustration. He'd freaked her out pretty good a couple times when she'd been Human, and she hadn't felt nearly as strongly about Vampires as Chance did. Whatever. They'd just hafta see how it went.
For something to do with her hands, she crossed the room to the bank of mirrors and fussed with her hair – which was swept back into a mess of spikiness at the back of her head – and adjusted her lipstick. She'd gotten over the novelty of her Vampiric appearance soon after her change, so she gave the rest of her reflection no more than a passing glance to make sure everything was in place.
Then the door burst open, and a raucous, laughing stream of humanity poured into the room. Ami barely had time to turn around before Morgaine was on her – hurtling across the room and throwing herself into the pale woman's arms, legs wrapped around her waist (so Ami had no choice but to catch her – which she did almost too easily) as she covered her errant bassist's face in kisses. Morgaine was too busy squealing to talk, but a flood of questions followed as the rest of her band members crowded in around her.
From Joe: Where the hell you been at girl? What the fuck happened? Did you kill somebody?" asked with a smile that couldn't have been more at odds withe nature of his questions. He was dressed in his normal khaki shorts, but his Hawaiian shirt (patterned with a loud assortment of lime-green palm trees and flamingoes) was worn open over a white wife-beater.
From Vivianne, looking at Cicero with open curiosity and only a hint of incipient panic as she hung at the edge of the group, looking like a waifish fairy in her gauzy skirts and chalk-blued hair: "Who's that?"
And then Chance, who squinted into Ami's face with tight lips, the bells on his legs jingling as he rocked up on his toes: "Are you dead?"
A hush fell over the room, and Vivianne's attention was diverted away from the other Vampire. Cicero would feel Ami's nerves reach a crescendo as she pushed at her lip ring with her tongue, looking quickly toward the floor, and then back up at Chance.
"Uh. Yeah."
"Well, fuck." said the dancer, throwing up his hands, "There go all our fuckin' ironic Vampire songs." He collapsed onto the couch in a puddle of denim and bare skin, "Asshole," he added, for effect.
And just like that, all the tension in Ami was gone and she laughed, low and throaty, "Fuck you."
Vivianne interjected, then, looking from Chance back to Cicero: "Really, though, who is that?" she asked, voice slightly a-tremble. She had come a long way since the Hunt had taken up residence, but a strange man in her dressing room was still enough to make her nervous. Morgaine's head whipped around, instantly hostile, and Joe frowned. Chance was very busy pointedly ignoring the Ancient.
"Cicero," Ami introduced, "My, uh–" Sire was the word Cicero always used, but it seemed so...formal to Ami.
"–Vampdad" Chance supplied, without looking up from the lighter he'd found in his pocket. Ami nodded in his direction.
"Yeah. It's fine. Chill." Morgaine shrugged, and wriggled her way out of Ami's grasp so Joe could envelope her in a bear hug, and Vivianne could kiss her fondly on both cheeks.
"Cicero, Wild Hunt. Chance, Joe, Vivi, Morgaine." she indicated each memeber with a wave of her hand. Joe offered his hand for shaking, Vivianne gave him a nervous smile, and Morgaine's eyes blatantly raked his form, clear by the devilish gleam in her eye that she liked what she saw. Chance had managed to locate his phone in the couch cushions, and had nothing to offer by way of greeting.
