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Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li


Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

The girl beamed happily as Corrine approached her, embracing the bestial vampire like a close friend. Smells of tulips and citrus wafted into Corrine's nostrils, pressing her face into the girl's nut brown hair. It was like plunging into a soft cloud of lovely fragrance as Corrine pressed close to her prey.

Her victim hardly realized what was happening before Corrine slipped her fangs into her neck. A soft squeak fluttered from her lips, her legs going limp as she fell into Corrine's embrace. The blood rushing into Corrine's mouth was like a sweet red wine from the vineyards of the French riviera.

In what felt like only a few moments, the girl's wriggling was already getting weaker, her embrace wavering as she sagged in Corrine's arms. The beast inside Corrine soared happily, reveling in the taste of its prey as she continued to suck until there was nothing left to take from the poor girl. When Corrine was finished, the girl fell from her arms, falling to the ground in a heap. Brown hair pooled around her head, her eyes remained wide, lips ajar in the final throes of pleasure and death. Yellow tulips covered her body, the bouquet having fallen and scattered in her fall.

"Oh... maaaaannnnn..... you sucked her dry already? Geez!" The complaint came from petite woman with long blonde hair and a frilly black skirt. She'd been standing in a door newly ajar behind Corrine, but now she rushed over, frowning unhappily. "Well... you should go find Petra. My sister Charlotte is in the other room, and she can help you find her." The girl sighed grumpily, looking at the dead girl. "Bleh... I'm gonna have to clean this up now. Yuck..." She continued to whine unhappily as she started to haul the dead body out of the room, flowers scattering around under her.

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Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

As the bestial "thing" within her subsided along with the now satiated hunger, reason returned with horrifying clarity.

"Oh... oh my god."

Corrine looked down at the lifeless, bled girl in front of her, still tasting the warm, sticky, and entirely too delicious blood on her own tongue. In this moment, the pleasure paled in comparison to the realization of what she had done.

Corrine wanted to cry. She certainly began going through the motions of it, but found that tears were slow to fall even though she was wracked with guilt, shame, and abhorration. She barely noticed the petite, whiny blonde waif until she started to drag the tulip covered girl away.

"N-no! Don't touch her!" Corrine said as she fell onto the girl's fresh corpse, not knowing why exactly, but in her new mania she wasn't thinking about acting politely. She had quite clearly just ate someone.

She managed to finally choke on some sobs, and she felt warmth at her tear ducts, though the liquid there was sluggish to drip.

"Please... please come back. I'm sorry. I'm. So. Sorry!" Her hands shook as she dared to place them back on the cooling corpse, as if she might prod the girl back to life somehow. Failing in that, her panicked fingers started to arrange the tulips on her in a less haphazard way, so that the dead girl's body might look more respectable, more at ease in its repose somehow... less... just-been-murdered-looking.

"Oh god what have I done? What did you..." she glared up at the blonde girl with streams of red falling down her cheeks, her despair turning to anger. "What did Petra do to me!?"
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

The blonde vampire squeaked in surprise, hopping backwards out of the way to let Corrine pounce protectively over the dead flower girl. As Corrine weeped over her fallen prey, the blonde left her alone for the moment, not seeming interested in fighting her.

Corrine was unaware of what was happening around her anyway, so consumed by her grief. The
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. It was a sound distinctively different from a normal stereo, feeling more like listening to headphones, but Corrine wore none. The music didn't stop Corrine from her weeping, however. In fact, it made it even easier to focus on her own emotions, distracting her from her surroundings rather than the inside world within her mind. Corrine felt the warm trickle of liquid running down her cold cheeks, bringing a finger to touch, she found the tears to be a thick crimson. Corrine's senses were enhanced too, smelling her own blood, and of course the fragrance of the flowers and perfume. Her own body was cold, just as dead as the poor girl laying in her arms.

By the time Corrine looked up to berate her companion, there were two blonde women standing there, whispering to each other. They were either identical twins or some kind of mirage, but the woman had mentioned going to find her sister, so probably the former. It was hard to tell them apart except for the expression on their faces. One had an adoring frown like someone that wants to care for a lonely kitten while the other had a kind of arrogant smirk like she might prefer to torture the kitten. The frowning one whispered to the smirking one, "Just look at her Charlotte.. I think she's gonna pop."

Charlotte glanced back at the other woman just as both stepped forward. As they did so, both suddenly became stunningly gorgeous, beauty radiating from their bodies hypnotically, even the music in Corrine's head becoming strange as she looked up at the twins, Charlotte's sister stepping closer, kneeling in front of Corrine. "You poor thing, I know how awful it must feel, all alone and not knowing what's going on."

"That's it... listen to Emily. Come to us, and we'll take care of you, make everything better again," Charlotte added, now joining Emily, both twins opening their arms welcomingly. It looked like it would be so cozy and safe in their arms, almost too cozy perhaps.

Feel free to come up with your own music if you want. I just thought this one would be cool for the scene.

Also, Charlotte and Emily are using sublime magnetism (presence) on Corrine. She can try to resist if she wants to.
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

The change in the music added to Corrine's muddled confusion and emotional strain - not only because the music's tone was oddly appropriate for the inner turmoil she was going through but also because on some other level it seemed to cheapen the poor flower girl's demise. Her murder.

Corrine wondered if this would always haunt her for the rest of her days. The girl with the tulips, never leaving her until the day Corrine died. The tears rolled down her cheek then, with Corrine feeling sorrier and sorrier for herself. They felt so warm on her cold, cold skin. Too cold in fact. Despite her grief, at least Corrine had the wherewithal to notice that. She looked down at her hands, now incredibly pale with cool flesh as deathly as the tulip girl beside her.

What is going on here?

The question pounded insistently in her head until at last she looked up to lash out at the blonde girl, only to find that where there had been one there were now two. Identical twins. One looking sympathetic, the other looking amused. The dichotomy made Corrine more frustrated. In what rabbit hole had she climbed down exactly? Where was Petra? Where was Lionel? Where, for that matter, was she?

The sisters conversed, Corrine having to concentrate to hear them clearly beyond the music - which also required an explanation, but was only one of a long litany of questions she had, and she would need a clearer mind to ask them all properly anyway.

The one called Charlotte was the smirking one. The one eventually identifed as Emily seemed more like a friend, or at least someone who understood the gravity of the situation. Then again, she wasn't freaking out about a dead body either, so what exactly was Corrine supposed to make of them both?

Then they stepped forward, radiant and beautiful, and Emily knelt in front of her like an angel come to offer her grace. Corrine knew that something seemed off, but their suggestion seemed so inviting, so cozy. She hesitated, not wanting to simply put aside her anger so freshly renewed. For her own sake and for the murdered girl's as well, she wanted answers.

Then she collapsed forward into Emily's arms, shuddering under the emotion.

"What's going on? Please. Tell me. Why am I so cold? Why is there music? Why did I-" she gulped down a fresh sob. "Why was I so hu-hungry?"

Corrine buried her blood-streaked face on Emily's shoulder, and felt Charlotte's cold arms slide around her back. They were cold like her. Cold like Petra too. She didn't know enough to fight all this. She was being pulled out to sea by a strong tide and no one had taught her how to swim. Now here were some strange girls saying they'd make her feel better and they were *so* pretty and wonderful. How could she refuse when she was looking for something, anything solid enough to keep her afloat in all this madness.

Your music choice is really good. I'm more than happy to keep you on the helm in that respect.

Corrine's not going to resist. Not because it's not in her nature to question, but because of a "any port in a storm" mentality. And now they're both looking so darn pretty too. ;)
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

"Awww... there there," Emily cooed, stroking Corrine's hair as the girl buried herself in the embrace of identical twins. "We know you didn't mean to sweetie. Just relax and let me hold you..." The parts of Corrine's mind that cherished beauty and pleasure rejoiced. She was lost at sea, pulled out by a horrible and unknown tide, but the embrace felt so very comforting. It was as if she'd been swept into a peaceful, shallow hot spring in the middle of the ocean.

Although the numbers of arms around her quickly went from four to two, Emily continued to stroke Corrine lovingly, holding her face just above her soft bust where she could relax and forget her worries, her fears. She kept brushing Corrine like that, hugging, and squeezing her gently before eventually turning the fledgling vampire about. Not wanting Corrine to see the frightful result of her frenzy, Emily lifted Corrine's chip up with the tip of her fingers. "Here let me clean you up..." A radiant, angelic smile highlighting her features, Emily brushed away the blood from Corrine's cheeks with a soft cloth, then also her own chest and shoulders.

Once she was all cleaned up, the smiling blonde scooted next to Corrine, pulling out a mirror. "This is going to sound weird, but... did you feel the animal inside you? We all feel it..." Emily said, seemingly lamenting the words before brightening up again, showing the reflection of the pair in the mirror. "But look in the mirror. See how pretty you are? Pretty girls like us shouldn't cry. You're still Corrine, and I'm still Emily. We're different now, but if we remember who we are, we can keep the animal from getting control." Emily smiled sympathetically, pulling Corrine closer to her. "Here I'll show you, but try not freak out okay?" The blonde added as she parted her lips to show her teeth, her long fangs extended in a silly smile. "We're vampires Corrine. Vampire sisters. Daughters of Cacophony."
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

The sympathetic embrace went a long way in tempering Corrine's overwhelmed and fragile state. The thin blonde twin with the caring eyes and gentle voice was like an angel to her. Her soothing words seemed so magnified, so wise, so truthful that the strong current of fear, hysteria, and horror waned with each caress of Corrine's dark hair and neck. The blood stopped streaming from her tear ducts, and with Emily's help, the excess was wiped clean from her face and from the twin's own chest and neck.

"Sorry about that," Corrine mumbled weakly, referring to the blood she'd apparently poured onto her comforter. She had numbly attempted to look again at the dead body, but Emily wisely had anticipated and stopped her from looking from anything but herself. Corrine didn't fight this. Emily was looking more radiant and beautiful with every passing moment and the fledgling vampire could do nothing but feel in awe of this helpful, caring savior.

She stared into the mirror that Emily produced. The two of them were near enough in height and frame, and Corrine nodded mutely at what the other girl said. They did look pretty. Beautiful in fact, if a bit pale. Corrine's face didn't even look particularly splotchy or ruined by her recent bout of crying. Usually her face would be red, her eyes puffy, her lips quivering long after the initial sobs had stopped. There was none of that flush now, just cold, numbed serenity looking back at her from the mirror.

"I'm not an animal," Corrine whispered to her own reflection, trying somehow to internalize Emily's words and make sense of them. "I'm not a murderer."

Emily pulled her closer then, putting the mirror aside and making Corrine look directly at her. She told her not to freak out, and because Emily was so amazing and beatific, Corrine nodded quickly to assure her that she would keep it together. Then Emily produced the same fanged expression that Petra had, just before the pain and the darkness had come. Corrine wanted to flinch away, but the raw magnetism Emily radiated prevented this. Instead, she began to giggle.

"Of course," she said through a giggle. "Vampires. That explains everything."

Clearly, it didn't. Not in Corrine's mind. She knew a little about vampire myths. She used to hang out with some friends at a goth club, dress up all in black leather miniskirts and fishnets, listening to emo music and punk metal, experimenting with light drugs, and kissing tall, dark, handsome boys who wore the same black lipstick that she wore. There was a scene for vampire cosplayers among that crowd. People who were into biting each other and 'claiming' one another for their bizarre, kinky, informal club. People would call each other names like "Raven" and "Shadow" and "Nocturn." They would hide behind these aliases, free to act without the inhibitions that came with their all-to-normal real lives. It was all a game, a silly excuse to dress up and drink different types of red, alcoholic beverages. When Emily said vampires, this was what Corrine thought.

"Petra showed me hers too. Said they looked so real it was hard to tell that they were fake. Yours look real too." Corrine replied. "But I don't ha-"

She stopped mid-sentence and ran her tongue over her canines. Now that she was actively thinking about them, she realized that something felt different about her teeth. They felt normal, but there was something lurking within her. That animal that Emily had just been talking about. And when she thought about it, acknowledging its presence, she felt her canine teeth extend along her tongue.

Corrine did flinch now, and drew in breath suddenly to produce a gasp. As her hand shot up to cover her mouth, she had another scary realization - she hadn't been breathing. Her gasp had been forced, the air filling deadened lung that had no compulsion to exhale. She stood there, frozen in place, her tongue licking against literal fangs, her body functioning without the need for oxygen.

"Fangs. Emily, I have fangs. I'm not breathing. I... oh my god. No, no, no... there's got to be some other explanation. Vampires don't exist. People pretend to be vampires, they're in the movies. Bela Lugosi. Christopher Lee. Gary Oldman. Robert fucking Patterson."

Her eyes searched Emily's for some sign. "Maybe I'm hallucinating? Maybe I had a nervous breakdown at the audition and - and - I fell down some stairs? Yes! And now I'm actually lying in a hospital bed somewhere in a coma and this is just some weird subconscious nightmare state, right!? Right?"

That last question sounded so pitiful coming out of her mouth. It was almost as if she were begging the blonde girl in front of her to tell her that this was in fact the case. That she was simply dreaming. Because the alternative sounded far, far worse.

No such confirmation was forthcoming. Emily just stared back at her with sad eyes. She seemed like she understood Corrine's confused, desperate denial.

Corrine shook her head and tried to reset herself. She closed her eyes, concentrated, and forced herself to exhale the air she'd just taken in. Then she looked up at Emily again. It helped that Emily seemed so angelic at that moment.

"How did I get here? Wherever this is. Why do I feel like I was singing? All I remember was meeting Lionel, and then Petra, and we were singing from Phantom in this crazy back and forth that I don't know how to begin to explain. Then Petra bit me..." Corrine looked at Emily with soft, pleading eyes. "I need to make sense of this all. Please help me. Help me understand it. I need to know why what happened just happened. Am I... am I going to kill again?"
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

Emily had started to smile at first, but it quickly faded when she realized Corrine was still in denial. She stayed quiet, letting Corrine get out all of her thoughts and feelings. Her expression became more sympathetic the longer Corrine talked, smiling sorrowfully. Unfortunately, she never affirmed any of Corrine's desperate hopes, however. Eventually, Emily looked down, her shoulders moving up and down like a person would do when taking a deep breath but no air came out. She was just about to open her mouth to reply when there was a laugh from behind them. Charlotte was standing there, giggling, mockingly rubbing her eyes.

"Oh wow. Boohoo, you gonna cry some more girl? Face the music kid, you're a vampire, and no amount of sob stories are gonna change that."

"Charlotte!" Emily scolded protectively. "She's just confused and afraid, leave her alone."

"Ha she didn't look so confused whe-" Charlotte started when Emily interrupted her. "Charlotte, shush. I'm trying to make poor little Corrine feel better, and you're not helping!"

After Charlotte shrugged and left them in peace, Emily touched Corrine's hand. "Don't mind her. She got up on the wrong side of the bed today or something. Anyway, yeah lots of questions! First off, forget about Captain Sparkles. Ever heard of Caine? Lilith? Lucifer?" Emily's eyes lit up as she rattled off the names. "Yep those are the kinds of ancestors you have now. Though none of them compare to Cacophony... she's the only one that still communicates with her childer. You might even get to talk to her soon if you're lucky..."

Emily gestured around them and smiled. "This is our home. It used to be an old opera house, but we bought it a while back, and nobody even bothers us here anymore. Petra brought you here after she saved you from Lionel," Emily paused with a meaningful glance. "You're lucky he didn't get you sweetie... you'd be just as mad as him. That's how it works for the Malks. They've got crazy in their blood, and pass it on to their childer." The blonde smiled happily, scooting closer to Corrine. "You'll be way better off with us trust me. We're an all girl club. Don't have to worry about any yucky boys here, and we can sing like nothing else. You'll live forever as long as you don't get yourself killed, and you'll be pretty the whole time! I can even speak telepathically with my sister.... I mean the music can be distracting, and don't even try touching fire or going out during the day. But hey, look at the bright side. At least you're not a Tzimisce!"
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

In a way Corrine would have found amusing had she been of sounder mind at that moment, Charlotte's abrasive, mocking approach focused her scattered mind better than Emily's kind, sympathetic approach had. It focused every thought into bitter resentment. At first it was aimed at Charlotte, but swiftly enough the blame settled on herself. Crying was doing absolutely no good, and neither was denial.

She had quite clearly killed someone. She had done it with fangs, she had drunk them dry and God help her, she had reveled in every succulent second of it. These were things that vampires did. Couple this with the fact that she seemed to be as cold as the grave and wasn't feeling the need to breath, and all signs were pointing to one conclusion.

"That wasn't me!" she yelled at Charlotte when the girl maliciously pointed out that she had been very deliberate in her first ever feeding. "I didn't kill that girl. That... that beast inside of me did. I would never kill. I've never killed... Damn it. That's why I was crying."

She eyed Emily then, drew strength from the nod she might have gotten, and settled down a bit more. Subconsciously she began tugging at the strands of hair that had loosened from her perfectly done up styling.

"Mm not little..." she mumbled as Emily scooted closer. Then she looked down at herself and let out a half-laugh. "Okay, maybe I am a little. Oh God, I'm just overwhelmed. Too much is happening too quickly."

Emily began her explanations and Corrine tried to pay attention well, because Emily was still seeming like the best and most amazing person ever to her.

"Caine was in the bible right? I've never heard of Lilith. And yeah I know Lucifer... wait? Are we actually the spawn of the devil? Nevermind! Maybe I don't want to know that one right away..."

She put her head on Emily's smooth, pale shoulder, resting it there. She felt like sighing and had to concentrate on pushing the air through her lungs again to mimic the effect. Having done so, she took Emily's hand in her own and squeezed it appreciatively. When she spoke again, she was calmer and more solemn.

"So Petra saved me from Lionel. But she also sent me to him. And she let me wake up here with a girl just waiting to be snacked on, like a lamb to the slaughter." Her voice hardened a bit at that.

"Emily, you're... really amazing. And I can tell you're going out of your way to make me feel comfortable in an impossible situation. Thanks. I promise that when all this gets settled and I figure things out, I'll find a way to thank you properly. Even if I'm not understanding every word you're saying right now. If you think I'll be better off here, then I believe it."

Corrine ran her tongue along her new fangs and thought a bit more, then sat up straighter and took a look around the opera house.

"Okay. I'm Corrine. I'm twenty-two years old. And I'm a vampire. I'll live forever so long as I don't get too much sun, but I have to drink blood. There's an... animal inside of me, but Emily says I can control it. Good. I don't ever want it to get out of control again. Petra made me a vampire. So..." she turned to Emily and asked deferrentially. "May I please speak to her? I want to know why she chose me. And what happened with Lionel."
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

"Hehe, yeah I bet that's enough stories for now." Emily giggled, resting her head on top of Corrine's while the girl squeezed her hand. "You don't have to thank me. You're like my little sister now, and that's just what sisters do. Actually, I'll let you in on a little secret. Most vampires don't even know about that story, but I met this girl a few days ago... one of Petra's clients. She was just so amazing, musta been like 800 years old. She gave me the lowdown on everything. Petra brings in the coolest people. I don't get why people hate them so much..."

"Dear goddess Em, shush!" Charlotte interjected testily, hands on her hips. "You can't tell her all that... We don't even-"

"So what? Corrine is part of the family now." Emily said assertively. "Petra picked her for a reason, and I trust her."

"Maybe but Em... She's here..."

"Who's... wait you don't mean... Oh Goddess.... Does she know?"

Even the faint colors that might have existed in Emily's flesh seemed to drain out of her in that moment, going almost completely stark white. Charlotte just frowned, staring at Corrine accusingly.

"I don't know. I told Petra we had to get out of here, but she wouldn't hear of it. Wanted to stay for the little brat."

Emily hugged Corrine again. "She's not. Don't listen to Charlotte... she's just... ummm-"

Just then, there was a horrible shriek from the other room, a blood curdling scream that sent shivers down Corrine's spine, seeming to strike through her very soul. This wasn't just any scream. It was more like a wail of pain and desperation.

Both Emily and Charlotte jumped up, looking at each other nervously with horrified expressions. They stared toward the corridor where the scream came from.

"Sire? SIRE!!!!" Charlotte screamed in terror, breaking into a full out sprint toward the corridor. Emily started to run but then stopped, looking back to Corrine, caught in between running to her sire and staying with Corrine.
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

Corrine listened to Emily carefully, even managing to smile in return when the nice twin called her a little sister. The term of familiarity and acceptance gave Corrine some hope that amidst all this madness and death there might be something nice to look forward to. She'd never had a sister before, and even though she got the feeling Charlotte might be a pain in the ass sometimes, Emily seemed like the perfect friend. It may have been the raw magnetism of everything that the blonde girl was saying, but when those words spilled out of her, Corrine gushed. She really did want Emily to be her sister.

Charlotte intervened, showing agitation about Emily's little secret about an old client of Petra's.

"I promise, I'll say nothi --" Corrine began, but was stopped as Charlotte mentioned someone else being here. Something that obviously scared Emily. And when something scared Emily, her only pillar of kindness and sanity, Corrine became scared as well.

The wail from down the corridor was like a thunderbolt through Corrine's body. It was so unexpected that in the shock she rose to her feet, standing rigid. As Charlotte began to sprint, Corrine took a step to follow. Her hand was drawn forward by Emily who turned with a torn look in her eyes.

It took Corrine only a split second to make up her mind. She was throwing her lot in with Emily and Charlotte.

"Let's go! Go!"

Hiking up her dress, Corrine clattered down the hallway, attempting to kick off her heels along the way so she could move quicker, running as quickly as she could towards whatever other craziness was in store for her.

Something about this felt wrong. That scream of fear and desperation, it worried her greatly. Was it Petra? Was she in trouble?

Corrine's running with the twins towards the commotion. Would it be fair to say that Corrine doesn't know how to use her vampire powers yet?
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

Emily waited for the signal from Corrine, then nodded when the young vampire followed her, turning to run after her sister. By the time Corrine and Emily nearly caught up to Charlotte, they were in a large ballroom with a chandelier hanging in the middle, elegant chairs and sofas lining the maroon walls.

Petra was sprawled on the ground in the middle of the ballroom, writhing in agony. Wires hung from her fangs and reached out all the way to a tall, lithe woman standing above her. The woman had pale skin like the rest of the company. Her hair was long, black, and straight, reaching down to her mid-back, and she wore a scandalously short latex skirt of green and black. In her hand was the remote to some kind of shocking device.

Charlotte ran straight for the woman who was torturing Petra, but her bodyguard was faster. The man dressed in black sprang from out of nowhere, easily knocking Charlotte down with a backfist to the face. This drew Emily to a halt, her hand outstretched in front of Corrine, slowly getting to her knees as the woman turned about.

"Stand down Isaac," The woman commanded as she turned, and the darkly dressed man once again withdrew to the side of the room. "How adorable, coming to the aid of your sire like that," The woman said, stepping forward toward Charlotte first. "Adorably stupid," she spat with with vitriol, rubbing her heel lightly on Charlotte's forehead for emphasis.

The woman turned toward Emily and Corrine as she rested her heel on Charlotte's face. "I admire your bravery. I really do, so maybe I'll let your sniveling sire off the hook."

Just then, there was a loud snap of electricity, and Petra screamed in agony, flailing around until the woman tossed the remote to the ground.

"Oops," She taunted, mockingly covering her mouth with her hand, her heel rubbing all over Charlotte's face before walking toward Corrine and Emily. "I guess my finger slipped. It won't happen again, promise."

"My prince, please," Emily began, but the woman cut her off.

"I am not going to kill your sister Emily, but you might want to teach her some manners. I'm more more intrigued by this little one here..." The prince added, stroking her fingernails beneath Corrine's chin.

"You've been causing me much trouble little strumpet."

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Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

The sight that greeted Corrine now was another new chapter in this rabbithole of madness she'd fallen into. There was Petra, with whom Corrine had every right to be livid, kneeling at the mercy of this dangerous new character with a penchant for the sadistic use of tasers. That this dark haired woman in the scintillating green latex outfit was called a "prince" by Emily was enough to give Corrine pause for concern and she stared for a moment at the lower half of the newcomer, wondering how a 'package' could be hidden behind such small amounts of fabric.

She had little time to dwell on this however. Emily was kneeling and frantically begging for leniency for both her sister and Petra. The woman - a vampire of some repute no doubt - was having her way with both of them, but seemed to tire of her game once it was clear that she had absolute control of the situation.

She bypassed Emily and went straight to Corrine. The young fledgling had no idea why she would be of such interest. She'd done nothing after all. Unless this was about the murder of the girl with the lilies? Best not to mention that. Maybe she didn't know.

She shied away from the fingers on her chin, turning her face to the side before looking back at the 'prince' with her almond brown eyes.

"I don't know anything about any trouble, but whatever it is you think I've done, I'm sorry okay? You've made your point. Please, just leave us alone."

Corrine was fairly certain that she was a guppy staring at a shark, so she did her best to keep her words civil, folding her hands together in front of her in a non-confrontational manner. Was it a mistake not to kneel like Emily had? Corrine had no idea, but she wasn't about to kneel to a torturer for no reason.
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

"Well aren't you a spunky one?" The latex-clad vampire prince replied with a smirk. "I like that. In small doses anyway. I tell you what... since I like you so much, I'll give you a piece of advice. Come sit with me... what was your name again?"

The prince guided Corrine to a soft sofa where she sat back, crossing her legs beneath the tight latex skirt, draping her arm behind Corrine.

"Right... I'm Theresa. As you no doubt are aware by now Corrine, you're a vampire, a member of the kindred, the Camarilla in particular, and in kindred society, we have certain rules. I see a great future for you if you can follow those rules Corrine. If not... well not so much. First, don't tell any humans you're a vampire. Remember how you used to think vampires were silly fairy tales? We like it that way, so don't go biting people in public or trying to make a buck off your silly mind powers. Second... and this is important... you're living in my domain. Fuck the mayor. This is my city to you. That means you do what I say and respect my rule. Don't try to take violations into your own hands, and sure as hell don't go off gallivanting with shovelheads or anarchs. Report them to me, and I'll handle it. Third... and I can't stress this enough... don't create new vampires without my permission! I'm really kinda pissed off about that one at the moment, so just don't do it. Any questions?"
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

Corrine was hesitant but after a glance at Emily on her knees, Petra on her back writhing in pain, and Charlotte rubbing her forehead from where this woman had just stamped on it with her heel, she thought better of saying anything else to anger this obviously dominating vampiress.

She let the woman guide her to the sofa, muttering her name "Corrine" to her along the way. She then sat on the edge of the sofa and tried to deal with what Theresa was trying to say to her.

She swallowed and then with the emphasis that the prince had put on that last line, it clicked in her mind what was going on. Petra had broken a rule by making her. And yet, if Petra hadn't done this, Lionel would have had his way with her.

"Don't alert the press, you're the boss, and don't make new vampires." Corrine said in a dull tone. "I get it."

Corrine looked at the arm Theresa had draped behind her. She felt like the new girl at school and the top diva was throwing her weight around, telling her how it was and what she had to do to be in the cool girl's club.

She debated asking Theresa about Lionel. Had he had permission to make Corrine into a vampire? Was she supposed to have been his? The concept was both frightening and fascinating, given the way Lionel had confused and overwhelmed her senses, yet had been so impossibly alluring to her. A part of her was curious to know what would have happened if she had lost herself in his arms and fangs instead of Petra's. According to Emily, she would have gone insane. But given the insane world she'd fallen into, would she have noticed? Was Petra getting tortured for having tried to save her from a broken mind?

"All my questions are for Petra. Please let her be. I'm sure she'll make up for her mistake. And since apparently I am that mistake, I'll help her make up for it too. If you'd be so inclined to let us."

Even though her words were even and calm, on the inside Corrine was anything but. She was worried that Theresa would let Corrine live, but hurt, lock away, or even kill Petra. Corrine didn't want that to happen. She needed to know why she'd been turned into a vampire. Why of all people had it been her? Without Petra, she wouldn't know that.
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

"You sound genuine," Theresa replied with a smile. "That's not always a common trait among vampires. I'm impressed that you would throw your lot in with Petra's burden despite what she did to you."

"One small problem, however." The Prince added, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Situations like this have consequences, not just for you, but for me. Here's what I'm going to do. There are probably three things I could do here, and I'm going to let you decide which one."

"First, I could do as you say - spare Petra and leave you in her care. If I do that, I'm going to have to deal with a lot of crap from the Malkavians, so both you and Petra will owe me a boon - basically a favor of equal weight to what I'm doing for you. It's a sort of currency among the kindred that you'll have to repay to me when I ask.

Second choice: Lionel wants you. I've told him that he can just sire some other girl if he wants, but it doesn't seem to calm him down at all. Maybe you feel the same way about him - I don't know. So I give you to him, thus getting his lot of loons off my back. Then I would bring Petra to the primogen court where her fate for breaking one of the six traditions would be decided.

Lastly, I could claim you as my own. Right now, I'm not sure why I would want to do that, so you'd have to give me a pretty good reason to fit your vampire training into my busy schedule. The choice is your's Corrine."

As Theresa offered Corrine her choices, Charlotte crawled over to Petra, where she knelt next to her sire and helped remove the prongs from her fangs, scooping her into her arms and caressing her lovingly, borderline obsessively. Meanwhile, Emily was still on her knees in the spot where she'd dropped earlier, watching Corrine talk to Theresa with a hopeful expression.
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

Corrine might have wanted to interrupt Theresa at certain points if the woman were more of a peer to her, but that wasn't the case. She was so blatantly above her that the prince might have well been Mount Everest having a conversation with a hill somewhere in Holland. So Corrine kept her trap shut until Theresa was done speaking, and when she had said her peace, Corrine's mind was left reeling in 'over-think' overdrive.

Three choices given to her, each with its own slice of information pie a la mode.

She could choose to stay with Petra - and by that extension Emily, the only vampire who had so far shown her an ounce of selfless kindness and not tried to claim her for their own. But if she did so, both she and Petra would owe Theresa a boon, and by the way she made it sound, those could be a bitch to pay off.

Then there was the Lionel option. She could hardly forget what had happened down there in the dark, on that island with the beautiful - insane - man. One thing was for sure, that look in his eyes, the way he had looked at her was the same look that Charlotte had for Petra right now. Could she give herself to Lionel? What did that mean? She had almost been wrapped up in his madness and for a long moment right before she'd pulled away, she'd been ready to throw herself into the abyss with him, even though she'd not known yet that the abyss was filled with blood and death.

The third option was the most shocking of all. Suddenly Theresa herself was claiming her. The cool girl of cool girls, the vixen in the latex dress who had complete control of the situation - or seemed to anyways. But she'd need a reason, and Corrine was far from sure how she could come up with one. It was just another unknown quantity.

The prince was looking at her expectantly, so Corrine just started talking out what was in her head, hoping that she wouldn't end up rambling.

"It's not that I particularly want to throw my lot in with Petra. I don't know her at all, and she just tricked me into a lair, murdered me, and now I find that she was breaking your laws as well. If I chose to stay with her, it would be because I want to know why she did what she did, and perhaps moreso because Emily was kind to me."

Corrine offered a soft look to the blonde who was still on her knees. "If I owe anyone here anything, it would be her." After a pause she continued.

"Lionel chose me, and it sounds like he was the one who had your permission. I won't deny, there was a moment where I found him incredibly... seductive." She squirmed next to Theresa as she let herself admit this. "But he was there to murder me and force me into his particular brand of crazy without my say so. If I were to ever learn under him, I'd need to trust him - and I'm just not sure I can do that yet. Whatever happens, I will talk to him."

Finally Corrine brought her eyes up from staring at her own lap and turned to look at Theresa. Talking things out had begun to calm her dead nerves.

"You're the first person to actually offer me a choice in all this. I suppose that's decent of you, even if my first impression of you was this." She gestured out to Charlotte taking the prongs off of Petra's blackened gums. "I don't have any good reason why you should want me other than that you seem to have authority and doing so could settle the matter between Lionel and Petra.

"I just don't want people fighting over me. I don't want to be 'owned' by anyone. I didn't ask to be a vampire. Christ! All I wanted when I got up this morning was a speaking part in a production of the Phantom! Now look at me. I'm talking to... well, you!"

Corrine stood up, smoothing her dress as she did so. "I want the option where no one gets hurt and no one feels like they came off worse in this. When you guys hold a grudge, no offense, but it seems really fucked up." Again she nodded to Petra rubbing at her fangs.

"If you agreed to take me on, and you agreed to forgive Petra, I'd do my best to keep the peace with Lionel. Maybe under your authority, we could agree to a... I don't know what you'd call it, like a time share on my training? I'd spend some time with Lionel and Petra when you were too busy for me. That way no one feels completely at a loss, you stay in control of the situation, and I get to figure things out before just jumping into bed with a complete stranger."

Corrine gave a sad look to Emily. Had the kind blonde girl been an option, Corrine surely would have gone with her, but it was clear that she wasn't. Whatever happened here, Corrine intended to make good on her commitment to the kind girl. If there was anyone she'd trust, it would still be her.
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

Corrine had the floor for quite some time. Theresa apparently felt it was best to let the new vampire express her feelings completely, or perhaps, she just couldn't be bothered to interrupt the girl. In any case, the prince seemed to be paying close attention to what Corrine was saying. It was a bit disconcerting in a way, almost as if the powerful vampire was not only listening to Corrine's words but also... examining her body and soul.

For her own part, Emily looked completely crestfallen by Corrine's decision. Her pale little shoulders slumped as the blonde looked down dejectedly. Eventually, she too wandered over to Petra to help Charlotte tend to their sire. Petra looked like she wanted to get up, but her twin childer kept her down for her own good. She looked too tired to stop their efforts.

"I do apologize that you had to see that Corrine," Theresa replied with a rueful smile, referring to the electric torture. "Call it a crash course in kindred society I suppose. We are quite like humans actually if you simply enhance them in every way - beauty, power, speed, endurance... radiance..." Theresa smiled seductively, tossing her hair over her shoulder when she finished the sentence. "We also have rules just like humans do, as well as justice. However, vampires are quite powerful beings, so it can require drastic measures to... create an impression."

"However, I do believe I made an impression. I think I can see it from here... Isn't that right Petra?" Theresa said more loudly, standing up next to Corrine.

This time, Petra managed to sit up, fighting off the complaints of Charlotte and Emily to stand up completely but was content to let them help her remain upright. The brunette with the wavy hair looked frazzled and burnt but still managed to look haughty, her eyes stoic yet defiant like a rebel in silken restraints. Seeing Petra in full for the first time since their encounter, Corrine couldn't help but feel a natural attraction to her as if something in her blood itself was drawn to her creator. When she looked to Corrine, her eyes softened somewhat.

"I'm sorry the change couldn't be more comfortable for you Corrine, but... there were many complications." Petra said, appearing uncomfortable with the admission in current company. "I am positive you'll enjoy yourself with us if you give it a chance."

"As for you..." Petra looked back to Theresa icily. "With all due respect your highness, Corrine is a daughter. There are things that only her sisters and I can provide her. You'll never be able to..."

"Yes, yes," Theresa waved a hand dismissively. "Of course that is why I am being so lenient. You're new childe here as come up with a brilliant diplomatic solution to our problems. I claim her as my own and allow her to visit you and Lionel whenever she wants. The feud between you and Lionel ends, and she is responsible for making it happen." Theresa's smile was especially grand at this point, having cleverly dumped that responsibility onto Corrine's shoulders.

Petra looked indignant. "There is no... feud... between Lionel and I. There is only a feud between Lionel and himself!"

"Semantics really. Not my problem," Theresa shrugged before turning back to Corrine. "I like your idea Corrine. You're a very quick thinker, but I do encourage you to use discretion with Lionel. Malkavians can be quite bothersome creatures. I am very pressed for time though, so I should be going. You may come with me if you want - or if you want to stay here for now, you can find me at Pantheon Heights. Tell one of my assistants you're looking for me, and I'll fit you into my schedule. VIP treatment." Theresa added with a wink.
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

Oh God, I've been rambling again, Corrine thought as she finally drew silent and focused on how Theresa's penetrating stare had been fixated on her. It's like she's looking into my soul. I feel naked in front of her when she looks at me like that. The fact that she's wearing that dress at the same time doesn't help either.

The young asian vampire felt her emotions stir when the music in her head took on a erotic vibe as she looked back at the prince. The enhanced beauty of these vampires, be they man or woman, was hard to ignore. Eventually, embarrassed by the stirring within her, Corrine turned her gaze away from Theresa, unable to contest with her air of authority. She looked to Emily, but the blonde vampire was dejected by Corrine's words and had gone to stand by Petra. It seemed that in her effort to cause as little harm as she could, Corrine was pleasing no one. A pang of anger, followed by notes of sudden dramatic violin strings in her mind, came at this.

I haven't asked for any of this! Why get disappointed with me! What did you all expect! She screamed internally.

The soft look from Petra's eyes when they fell upon her did a lot to calm the neonate's inner voice and the music in her mind mellowed out. An apology of sorts followed, and though it couldn't sweep away the facts that Corrine had been murdered, turned into a vampire, and left to murder an innocent girl herself, it at least was a start. The connection she felt between herself and her sister-mother was powerful enough to snuff out the anger that she might normally have harbored.

An exchange between Petra and Theresa followed, and Corrine found herself admiring the way Petra refused to be cowed by the Prince despite the torturous treatment. Then Theresa made to leave and offered Corrine the chance to come with her or stay here.

"I... I think it's best that I stay here for now. You're busy as you say and... there are things that I need to say to Petra. And to hear."

She nodded at the information. Pantheon heights, talk to the assistant. It was all very efficient, very cold, very precise. Despite the fact that she was this Prince's 'ward,' it was clear that emotionally, Corrine belonged here among the daughters, who were more artistic souls and who would understand her better than Theresa ever could.

When the Prince had made her exit, Corrine found herself standing alone, looking across the room at Petra, who was flanked on either side by Charlotte and Emily.

"I'm not happy about any of this, but I really thought she was going to kill you unless someone appeased her," she began, then took a step closer to the trio. "I get that nothing seems to have gone to plan here, for any of us, but I really need to know, why am I even here, Petra? Why am I a vampire?"
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

"Very good. See you soon then Corrine. I'll get a room ready for when you come to stay," Theresa said with an amiable smile. She offered a curt nod to Petra and the other daughters, then turned to walk away, long legs, latex, and all.

As soon as the Prince was on her way, Isaac, the black clad bodyguard, brought his fingers to his lips to blow out a quick whistle. All of a sudden, four other guards came out from hiding spaces all around the room. Corrine and the others hadn't even known they were there! There were two women, one man, and one... creature that looked like a mummified leper. Each one was clad in black and followed in formation along with Isaac behind and around Prince Theresa, leaving behind them a still wake of silence.

Theresa and her retinue of dark warriors now gone, the four Daughters of Cacophony were left to ponder what just happened and Corrine hoped, to finally set some things straight. With the twins on either side of Petra, Corrine could easily tell them apart by their expressions, but there really wasn't any other way to distinguish them. If they changed their attitudes for whatever reason, it might be easy to mix them up! It might be a good idea to try to figure out a way to avoid that. Petra made sure it wouldn't be a problem right now, however, by sending them off to take care of a few tasks. As they left, Charlotte gave Corrine a smug glare and Emily an encouraging nod. Just like that, the twins were gone, and Corrine was finally alone with her sire.

"I guess it's been a stressful first day for you," Petra smiled ruefully, beckoning her childe to come closer. The brunette took Corrine's hand, pulling the young vampire close against her side as they began to walk out of the ballroom. "Don't worry about me. You did what you thought best, and that is all I could ask for. It should be a good opportunity for you I suppose. Not many fledgling vampires get a chance to hobnob with Theresa. Maybe you could teach her how to dress more properly while you're at it," Petra smirked sarcastically. Even with her wavy brown hair disheveled and frazzled and her lips chapped and burnt from Theresa's tortures, Corrine's sire still managed to look like a paragon of elegance in her long red dress. She still seemed strong too, despite letting Corrine support her.

Petra led Corrine out of the ballroom and into a hallway with portraits of old musicians, pictures of the building they were in at various stages in history, and other musical paraphernalia, remaining quiet for a little while before speaking up again. "Why are you a vampire hm? I guess the easiest answer would be 'random chance.' It's how most of us became vampires. As much as people like to search for it, there is really rarely ever an overriding purpose for any one person. Life is just a series of unexpected events after all. The more appropriate question might be, 'why are you my vampire? Or perhaps why wouldn't you be a vampire?'"

"You have a lovely voice Corrine and great potential," Petra said with a smile as they walked through a set of creaky double doors leading to a small opera theater. It looked like it hadn't been tended to in decades with dusty seats and cobwebs along the balcony, but it still had the air of elegance from an older time. "Would you like to sing on Broadway? Perhaps the White House or even some place more refined like Vienna or Prague? I've done it all, and you can too with the help of our muse. More importantly, I can tell you have a compassionate heart, and our lady Cacophony is most generous to such individuals. You help people when others might think first to save their own skin. It's not something all too common among vampires these days, but there are still those among the shadows who value a benevolent heart, especially when it seems so hard to come by. I've learned great things, seen miraculous wonders, and acquired great power simply by assisting those whom no one else will offer a helping hand."
 
Re: Final Curtain Call: Corinne Li

Corrine didn't know what to make of Theresa's smile. Friendly though it was, she'd seen enough of the threats and forcefulness that came from this woman - this Prince - to be able to recognize the predator behind it. If Corrine was the proverbial Alice in Wonderland, had she just booked a room at the Queen of Hearts' castle? If she still had human responses, she may have shivered. Instead she simply couldn't look away as the woman in latex sashayed out of the room, followed by her goon in black. Then four more all of a sudden, which made Corrine's eyes go wide. If she'd tried to do anything, if any of them had fought back, they could never have won.

She watched them all go out before finally tilting her head towards Petra and the twins. Charlotte and Emily were just so completely alike save for their expressions, Corrine easily predicted having trouble in the future telling them apart. Maybe she could convince Emily to change her hairstyle or wear a pin or something. But that was a minor problem that would definitely be addressed later. Right now, her focus had to be on Petra.

"Stressful?" Corrine asked, a hint of incredulity in her voice. Still, she stepped over to her sire. The relative calm of the situation compared to what it had been a minute ago left Corrine with no fear of further trauma, even if she was about to let her murderer lean on her for support.

"You could say that, yes." Corrine eyed Petra coolly as she put her shoulder underneath the woman in the red dress' arm and then wrapped her hand around her waist for additional support.

"I did what I thought would stop her from killing you, and me, and Emily and Charlotte for that matter. You seem less afraid about it than I am. Were you really in danger?" She asked as she started down the hallway.

Despite all that had befallen her, the brunette with the frizzy hair still managed to hold herself with dignity and grace. Corrine doubted she could be so poised after having been tortured. They walked out of the ballroom and into the hallway. Corrine noted the pictures on the wall and the items on display, all of a musical nature.

Petra began to answer her question then, and it didn't really make Corrine feel any better. Random chance, being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the right kind of voice apparently.

There was a loud creak as the double doors opened revealing a small opera theater, old and unused, positively choking with dust, though that wasn't a problem anymore for Corrine.

"I honestly don't know what to think of you Petra, and while your offer -if that's what it is - is nice and generous, I'm still coming to grips with everything. You've turned me into a bloodsucking vampire. When I'm hungry, I'll be a murderous monster, and when I'm not, I'm still hearing music in my head and not breathing or blinking or, or, any number of other things."

Corrine looked at her sire, her face a mixture of emotions.

"Did you make me yours to keep me from Lionel? Did you do it to protect me from him? Or did you do it to claim me for yourself? So that I'd sing with you? That's what I'd really like to know. You broke your own laws to make me yours. You really pissed off Theresa and Lionel. So why did you do it? My voice can't be THAT good. Can it?"

Corrine shifted her weight and turned about so that she was facing Petra, her hands firmly on the other woman's shoulders to steady her in case she still needed it. Corrine's eyes were soft and questioning. Despite all that had happened, she did feel a connection with her sire, and she didn't find it within herself to stay angry.

After Petra had answered her question, Corrine turned to look out on the theater stage.

"So you're all vampire performers. You and the twins. You're different from Theresa and the others. And now I'm like you. That's what you meant by calling me a Daughter, right? What am I supposed to do, Petra? Sing on the stage and then drink blood in the wings? How do you keep people from figuring out what you are? Don't you have friends and families who -" Corrine stopped, remembering suddenly about her own friends and family, some of whom lived in Philadelphia.

"My family. Can I ever see them again?"
 
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