SILLY SPEC: HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES Part 1, Posts 1-30 Another one of those monsterous role playing silly specs, with even less plot then the last one! Our all star cast it: Lisa........... Armand Lisa.Hall@Colorado.EDU (Lisa Hall) Vanessa........ Daniel delvalle@sju.edu Stephanie.......David 00162763@ysub.ysu.edu Laura Ann.......Santino 73663.3603@compuserve.com Kim.............Gabrielle dreamstess@aol.com Hillary.........Brad and Tom h.meister1@genie.geis.com Cathy...........Louis hrpsicrd@tribeca.ios.com, JoAnne..........Lestat jsoperco@morgan.ucs.mun.ca Katie...........Khayman kscriven@winnie.fit.edu Lisa Marie......Jesse ljord02@emory.edu Heather.........Marius ash@eskimo.com That leaves Maharet, Mekare, Mael, and Eric open. Come and join the insanity! The plot? The coven has gathered to watch a spectacle- namely, the filming of The Vampire Lestat. 'Nuff said. ________________________________________________________________________ POSTS 1-30 _______________________________________________________________________ Post 1: Daniel Daniel is standing right outside the set. They are filming the Vampire Lestat. That last scene with Louis and Lestat. Yes, such a great moment. Daniel sighs. It's really warm out there. Why does he have to wait outside while Armand spies on Brad Pitt. This is getting very annoying. Perhaps after the film is over he will discard Brad Pitt. After all, he not nearly as beautiful as the real Louis! :Hmmm...I wonder if I could convince Louis to play the part himself: ___________________________________________________________________________ Post 2: Armand Still as the night itself, Armand watched the frantic activity of the movie set. How could anything be accomplished amid such a hornet's nest of movement? Everywhere he looked, mortals dashed back and forth, resembling nothing so much as a massive ant swarm. Only the very eye of this storm seemed calm, and it was there he focused his attention. The young man with the long dark hair... stunning in appearance. Perhaps the only mortal who would capture the beautiful one, at least physically. Still, he couldn't help but feel some disappointment. Armand had decided to visit the set on a whim, really. To see what, if anything, Brad Pitt might have in common with Louis. Not much, as it turned out. They were both ravishing beauties. That's about as far as it went. Brad currently slouched in a comfortable chair, drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette. Louis never slouched or smoked, and he drank with great elegance. His companion, however... there was a mortal with some style. Armand found his attention wandering to him more often than not, and decided to stop fighting it. Tom Cruise - who had, it seemed, abandoned wigs in favor of growing out his own hair for the role this time, sat in regal splendor, watching the set as a monarch might survey his kingdom. He was dressed casually, in contemporary jeans, shirt and boots. It was the boots that made Armand smile. Very very Lestat, those boots. In fact, he'd swear Lestat owned those boots, if he didn't know better. There was something.... he couldn't quite place it. But somehow Tom had managed to capture the quite fire of Lestat. The coiled spring, prepared to pounce on unexpecting prey. It was as though... suddenly Armand looked around, wondering if he were not the only immortal on the set. That he didn't see any others of the coven really meant little. Finally, he decided to go for a closer look. ________________________________________________________________________ Post 3: Louis From a discreet distance behind the cameras, a slightly buildt young man watches director Martin Scorscese coach actor Brad Pitt. Pitt has a cigarette dangling from his lip as he nods, listening to his director. The spectator, wearing grey jeans and a black leather jacket emblazened with the IWTV movie logo on the back, is Louis de Pointe du Lac. (He scapped up the jacket at the recording sessions of the movie soundtrack). The ID tag clipped to his belt reads "Jean Louis du Ponte". Lestat has managed to get set passes for them for the filming of "His" (Lestat's) Movie. Louis glances away from Pitt and the director. Lestat's off somewhere again. Louis sighs. :How can he smoke? Doesn't he realize what he looks like? (sighs again) Mon Dieu, kissing him would be like licking an ashtray. I don't envy Cruise...: __________________________________________________________________________ Post 4: Gabrielle Gabrielle followed them here, to the set of this movie set. She was being nosey, she just liked to follow people. Give them a scare, considering they all think she likes plantlife more than their own coven. She saw an angelic little boy dart closer to the movie set, his eyes glued to the proceedings, especially to one Tom Cruise. : How could they think *he* could look like my son, he isn't even a fraction as good looking as my son! : Gabrielle smiled as she saw Armand's gaze focus on Brad Pitt, that was one hell of a gorgeous mortal! Sealing her mind tightly, Gabrielle used her speed and caught up to Armand, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. " Bonjour, Monsieur le Imp, having fun." Armand glared at her, "Not you again! I thought we lost you a while ago." he sighed. "Never! I track people much better than that." Gabrielle glanced back to the set where Tom and Brad were getting ready for the reunion scene. She bent over and whispered softly in Armand's ear, "Think they'll do the kiss, mon petit....." She saw Armand shiver a bit and was satisfied. She giggled as he pulled away in horror. _____________________________________________________________________________ Post 5: Lestat "Oooh! What's this?!" He leaves his perch on the branch of a large tree, hopping lightly to the ground, and saunters closer to the closed soundstage where filming is taking place. A large sign over the door reads "Closed Set. Entry Prohibited" "Ah, who the hell cares anyway?" Lestat brushes past, soundless on vampiric feet, humming the lyrics from a Mary Chapin-Carpenter song :"I never learned nothing from playing it safe, I say Fate should not tempt *me*! I take my chances..." Hmm...this is interesting--oooh! Who *is* that delicious young piece, that delectable stock dressed in velvet--oh, look at his buckled slippers! This is too perfect! Lestat collapses in a laughing fit, trying to smother his giggles with the back of his hand. This is all too uncannily *perfect*--this mock-up of an antebellum mansion, this delightful fakery... "Who is *that*?!" The blonde actor, the juicy piece in velvet, turns around, his brows knit in what is obviously anger. "I thought this was supposed to be a CLOSED set?!" "Oh please, don't let me interrupt!" Lestat is hard pressed to prevent his giggles from escaping. "Do, continue!" He flaps his hand imperiously, waving the actor off. "You're so very good at being me!" ________________________________________________________________________ Post 6: Marius He hadn't _intended_ to come to the site of the shooting. Really. He hadn't. It had simply been there, on his way to visit... well, on his way. It had just been right there, practically where he could stumble over it. And no matter what he might pretend, he DID have a fair dose of curiosity. So he had stopped and looked. And found himself facinated by it all, all of the frantic activity and inexplicable routine of a movie set. Especially the actors, those were fun to watch. The blonde was simply superb- like a more reasonable version of Lestat, because Lestat surely couldn't have kept his temper during the 6 re-shoot of a scene that Marius had witnessed. Lestat would have been pulling out his hair, and this mortal, this Tom Cruise, merely looked rather tired. Enchanting man. Marius sighed, glancing down at his watch. He was well and truely late, now, and David would have every right to skin him. He should go. But as he was turning away he caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of his eye. Long, dark hair- but not the young mortal, Brad, no. Definately not, for all the man was dressed in modern day clothes with the jacket of the crew. And if he was here... Marius groaned softly. David would just have to wait a bit longer. He walked up behind Louis, purposefully making a bit of noise. He still managed to startle Louis rather badly. "I'd say I'm suprised to see you," Marius said with a smile, "but I'd be lying. And if you're here then _he_ must be. Where is he?" _________________________________________________________________________ Post 7: Armand Armand watched as Louis demonstrated the proper vampire glide to the wholly unimpressed Brad Pitt, an amused smile turning the corners of his mouth. The two of them together... it was almost too much. He was reminded of the first time he had seen Michelangelo's La Pieta - a sight of such exquisite beauty he had been moved beyond tears. Now, the most beautiful of the world of mortal and immortal, side by side. He sighed quietly when Louis left the lights behind, moving toward their shadowed location. Gabrielle and he moved toward them when Armand stopped short. Another vampire got to Louis first. Tall, blond haired, blue eyed... and not Lestat. He heard him ask after Lestat's location and thought to give the two of them time to talk, but Gabrielle had already moved out of the shadows. He had little choice but to follow. "This is quite the reunion!" Gabrielle exclaimed. "And just exactly where _is_ my son?" "He's here." Louis assured them. Armand, meanwhile, had eyes only for Marius. They had seen each other fairly recently, but even so, he never quite lost the feeling that they were meeting again for the first time. "What are you doing here?" he asked the elder vampire softly. "Can you stay?" _______________________________________________________________________ Post 8: Marius He had no sooner spoken to Louis, then he in turn was startled by two others of the family popping up. Gabrielle, surprisingly enough, and... Armand. Marius managed to keep the shock off of his face. Of course, he was hardly one to talk. He was here, wasn't he? It always made him slightly nervous around Armand- this youth he loved yet hardly knew. Worse yet, explaining what he was doing there... No, he certainly wasn't going to mention where he had been going before he was sidetracked by this little spectacle! "I... just stopped by," he told Armand. "I had a feeling a certain yellow haired someone would be here- after all, it's _his_ movie, as he likes to remind us all. I wanted to make sure he wasn't stirring up more trouble." He sighed and glanced over at Louis. "I certainly didn't expect him to drag Louis into it! Or Louis to agree, for that matter." He looked back to Armand, feeling a little tinge of wistfullness. "Are you here out of curiosity? Or did Gabrielle twist your arm?" _______________________________________________________________________ Post 9: Brad Brad Pitt, player of Louis for The Vampire Lestat, sat outside on the movie set watching the din of activity. He had his favorite coffee mug with the picture of his dog 'Purty' on it filled with his favorite beverage -- coffee -- hot and black. He noticed he had been chain smoking his marlboro lights down to the butt flinging them across the grass and playing a game with himself to see how far the fling would go. He was bored, but making movies is extremely tedious. He already read through the script several times and needed a break from the soft-spoken, elegant and sensual creature he was playing. He liked this role. Louis was going to kick some ass! He couldn't wait. This time Louis was not depressed or grieving just happy to see his old friend Lestat. Brad had not read The Vampire Lestat novel though Jordan had given him a copy long ago when talk of the sequel first popped up. Brad could barely get through Interview with the Vampire. He sighed at the thought. 'Vampires in love, geez... how scary is that?' he thought. That's all he knew about this particular part -- that Lestat loved Louis and Louis had realized he missed Lestat. 'How melodramatic,' he thought. But he was going to get to kick some ass. And there was going to be a rock concert. 'Fuck -- I wonder who the hell they got to play the rock band,' he thought. That was a role he would've loved to try. He was dressed in his Louis outfit -- rugged black sweater falling apart, black jeans... His hair had been dyed black and cut short. He wore the green contacts and had to force himself to not rub his eyes. He thought of his lines, 'Can't always be the living legend.' He mouthed the words to himself trying to maintain a clear and even voice -- ridding himself of the Okie accent he was accustomed to. He flung his spent cigarette and watched where it landed. He noticed something beyond the tree where the butt sat. Something very white... a flash of something... what was that? He peered into the darkness to try and catch it again but it was gone. 'Oh, well,' he thought. 'Probably the lights or somethin'.' He scratched at his chest -- the sweater was a bit itchy. Then he stuck his hand down the back of his pants, while no one was looking, and scratched his butt. 'God, I wish I could drink a beer right now,' he thought. 'And where are those burritos that were promised?' He looked around him and thought of going over to the catering tent but was too relaxed to move. He looked over towards Tom's tent wondering when the brat prince of Hollywood would make his primadonna entrance. 'And I'm supposed to love that?' he thought. 'Shit...' _____________________________________________________________________ Post 10: Tom Tom Cruise, star of The Vampire Lestat, sat quietly on the set waiting for his cue. There was a torrent of activity around him all preening him, primping him, touching up makeup, fixing his clothes. He sat gracefully and elegantly as each and everyone of the crew had something to touch up on him. He thought of the lines in his head: "Where's the black cape and 'finely tailored' black coat and the silk tie and all that foolishness?" He repeated it over and over again in his mind, different words accented, different method of delivery. He kept in the back of his mind that Lestat was actually very glad to see Louis again, that he loved him. Ah, that was the operative word -- Lestat loved Louis. Tom snickered to himself and gave a little smile as the hordes continued their doting on the star. He also thought of the kiss that would take place later and a bigger grin appeared on his face. "Oh, Brad's gonna love this!" he said to himself. "Love what?" said Neil Jordan, director of the film, who peered open the canvas doorway to the little tent Tom sat in. He stepped in and sat down next to his star. "Oh, you know... the kiss," Tom said smirking. "Oh yeah. The kiss. What about it? Is there a problem?" Jordan asked in his cheerful Irish manner. "No, no, not at all. Not with me, at any rate. I'm a professional -- and a consummate one at that. I think you'd better talk to Brad, though. I don't think he knows..." Tom smiled. "Ah... well, I know it was not written into the script originally and we just recently changed our minds about it, you and I, but I think it might be better to keep the element of surprise..." "Oh, God!" Tom laughed. He laughed in the way he would laugh as Lestat. He always tried to maintain his character even when out of the lights and the cameras. "Those dry lips... I'll have to kiss those dry lips. Hey..." he pulled Jordan close to him and peered into his eyes with his own eyes -- now blue from the contact lenses. "Make sure that Brad uses some lip gloss before we do this -- understand?" he said, sneering. Jordan brushed Tom's hand away and stood up to depart. "You needn't worry about that, my friend," he winked and stepped out of the tent. 'He'd better moisten those lips,' Tom thought, 'or I might have to do it myself with my tongue and I'm sure Brad won't appreciate THAT at all!' He sighed and forced himself to relax again while the makeup woman smeared his face with the pancake powder covering the blue tatoo ink that gave Tom that 'veiny' vampire look. He thought again about the scene -- Lestat loves Louis, hasn't seen him in a very long time, is very happy to see him, hugs him lovingly, runs hands over face, hair, etc., chest? Does he kiss him here? No... that comes later... loves Louis... Loves Louis... yes, yes, yes... he loves Louis... does he say it? No... just loves him... Tom nodded his head a few times until the makeup lady grabbed it with her hands. "Hold still," she said. Yes, Lestat loves Louis... Tom loves Brad... Brad hates Tom... no, Brad is leery of Tom, yes, that's it, but Lestat loves Louis. Brad will love Tom too. Everybody loves Tom. Yes, they all love me... ___________________________________________________________________________ Post 11: Louis Louis pushed his hair back out of his eyes as he glanced over to Armand and Marius. Ah... that strong bond, neither of them could ever deny it. He nodded a greeting to Marius and slipped his arm around Gabrielle's waist. "Shall we move away from the 'shoot'? All this milling around in unsettling. Haven't see Lestat, but he told me he'd be here. He'll be so pleased to see you...(smiles) as I am, of course." He looked over toward Armand, and sent a thought- :I shall be here until an hour or so before dawn, mon ami. What was it you wanted to say to me?: ___________________________________________________________________________ Post 12: Lestat Lestat cleared the forest easily and moved out of the shadows (yes, I know he was inside before, but this is *my* character and *my* story, dammit, so to hell with continuity) He was now but a few feet from the trailer where Cruise was housed, undoubtedly being fawned over by the hordes of drooling sycophants that seemed to follow His Lordship everywhere... Lestat chuckled to himself. "Just a tiny little sip," he thought, "but I can't resist just tasting the darling, to see what he's made of." He crept around the back of the trailer, a shadow among shadows, soundless on vampiric feet, until he was at the door. It was child's play (well, Claudia play, anyway) to lift himself up and peer through the window. Ah, luck be a lady tonight! The juicy little tart was alone, was he? An easy feat to glamour the door, send the tinny thing swinging back on its hinges, slip inside and introduce himself. "Good evening Monsieur Cruise. I am the Vampire Lestat." The actor was lounging on the bed, reading "Weekly World News" and he barely looked up. "Hey, get out, " he said, rather snottily, and close the goddamned door." Lestat smiled, a cat-like smile that did marvelous things to the mobile muscles of his face. He glided closer, slid onto the bed until he was leaning over Cruise, close enough for the actor to see the gleam of tiny fangs. "Oh, but you don't understand, cherie..." Lestat raised one bone-white finger and traced a burning trail down the actor's cheek. "So lovely," he whispered, "so very like me!" "Who the hell are you?" Cruise's eyes were like saucers. "Get out! Is this some kind of joke?" "JOke?" Lestat threw back his head and laughed, pushed Cruise back down onto the bed. "No, no, relax now cherie." He regarded Cruise for a minute. "No, a joke is that movie you made, Top Gun. Now *that * was a joke..." "Who *are* you?" "I told you...I am the Vampire Lestat." Lestat shoved Cruise over, and lay next to him on the bed, leaning over him and continuing to talk in a most conversational tone. "So who's playing the band, do you know? I favour Bon Jovi myself, but no, they wouldn't go for it..." He twirled a strand of Cruise's tinted-blond hair between his fingertips. "So...might I take a little taste, cherie?" The scream was heard all the way across the lot. "SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" _______________________________________________________________________ Post 13: Louis Louis parted company with Gabrielle. as she went searching for her son. His soft green eyes fell on the form of Brad Pitt once more. The actor lit another cigarette and mumbled a phrase over and over. The corner of Louis' mouth curled up as he heard the words "Can't always be the living legend" drawled from Brad's mouth. :Should I do a 'Lestat' and go over to him? That's my one great line,and I can't bear to see him mumble it!: Louis hestitated. Lestat had practically sat on him this evening, applying bronzer to his face and hands so that he could comfortably walk among mortals. :Why not?: He smiled. Who knows what I may do to help this misbegotten soul...: Brad was mumbling when Louis sat down next to him and lit his cigarette for him. Brad took a deep drag on his cancer-stick and smiled over at Louis. "Crew?" He noticed Louis crew jacket from IWTV. "Consultant" (Smiles at Pitt, taking care to cover fangs) Pitt nodds and stares off mumbling. (Taking a short breath and focusing on Pitt's mind) :Take your time with it, mon ami. Remember all the emotion that's fighting to get out... be a little breathless: (Smiles) Brad blinks. ___________________________________________________________________________ Post 14: Lestat The lovely Mr. Cruise had landed squarely in Lestat's manly arms (he he) and now lolled, insensate, against his chest. "Oh, cherie, so very lovely you are!" he whispered, brushing away a lock of blond hair. "So very like...me...yes, like loving myself...how very perfect!" He bared his fangs and lunged for Tom's throat, just as the very perfect Mr. Cruise came to. With a shout of pure terror, he vaulted away from Lestat and flattened himself against the wall of the trailer. "Oh my god," he whimpered, "oh my goooodddd...." "Oh, God never listens," Lestat said irritably,flapping a hand in front of his face as if swaitting flies. "Stop whining and act like a man!" "You don't exist," Cruise said slowly. "If I tell myself that, you'll go away..." "OF course I exist!" Lestat snapped. "Oh, now I see I've frighened you..." he came near to Tom and in one swift movement, grasped the actor by the back of the neck and embraced him in a throat-deep kiss, his tongue flickering against the insides of Tom's lips. The young actor recoiled for a moment, but, overcome by intense pleasure, he moaned softly and sagged against the vampire, giving himself over to the insistent caresses of the Brat Prince. He'd never been kissed like this before: nothing could compare to it, and when that cool, white hand slid down to press against the rising bulge at his crotch, he nearly climaxed. "Oh, god who *are* you?" he whispered. "I must have you!" "Much better, cherie," Lestat replied, and started getting undressed. He must do his preternatural best to dispel those nasty rumours started by that Rice woman---what an utterly retarded idea to spread, that he and his kind were incapable of sex... Most mortals passed out from pleasure that intense... (You people want more? How raunchy do you want me to get? hee hee...) _____________________________________________________________________ Post 14.5 (OK! I messed up! So sue me!!!): Brad Brad thought he heard a voice in his head... was it his own? It sure didn't sound like his voice. Some sort of French accent to it... and there was a French word or two as well... weird. 'This particular film can't be getting to me,' he thought. He remembered working on Interview and how, one night in his hotel room, he peed in a waste-basket instead of the bathroom. He snickered at the thought and smiled a bit. He turned at looked at the man sitting next to him. Hmmm... really gorgeous, though Brad was not prone to looking at men that way. But for some reason, this particular one had quite a glow about him. 'Consultant,' he thought. 'What the hell does that mean?' "So... what are consulting on?" he asked dropping the elegant speech pattern he learned in favor of his own drawl. He reached inside his itchy sweater and scratched his chest. ______________________________________________________________________ Post 15: Armand Armand smiled slightly, watching Marius closely. At times he felt that he understood the elder vampire so much more than he, himself, was understood. "I wanted to see Brad, as it happens. I find the two of them together...intriguing." He nodded over his shoulder to where Louis and Brad stood talking. They truly made for a magnificent sight. Suddenly a piercing scream shattered the night. "Somebody help me!!" Startled, Armand whirled, at once pinpointing the location of the scream. The identity of the screamer as well. He hesitated only scant seconds, then sped across the set to the trailer of Tom Cruise. He found Lestat bent over the actor, fire in his eyes. "Just a taste, cher!" Lestat cooed, smiling wickedly. "Lestat!" Armand demanded, tearing him away from the actor. "That's it. I need no further proof. You HAVE lost your mind. What on earth are you thinking?" _______________________________________________________________________ Post 16: Lestat Lestat drew away from Cruise, found himself looking into Armand's velvet brown eyes... "I just wanted a little taste, cherie." He turned back to Cruise. "And you are such a gorgeous one...." "Hey man, I'm not that kind of guy!" Cruise looked and sounded shell-shocked. "What kind of 'guy' is that?" Lestat asked, reaching for the buttons of Cruise's shirt.... "Let me undress you, just let me see you, such a gorgeous one as you..." ______________________________________________________________________ Post 17: Tom Lestat began to unbutton Tom's shirt. Tom jumped up rather quickly, startling both Lestat and Armand because he was so quick. Lestat glared at him and smiled widely -- he enjoyed such pursuits... "Get the hell out of here, both of you, before I call for security. I'm giving you this one chance. After that... your ass is mine!" He brushed himself off and then suddenly felt faint. Lestat had taken quite a bit of blood out of him and Tom had risen to his feet too quickly. He lost his vision first and then reeled landing squarely in Lestat's arms. The last thing he heard before losing consciousness completely was, "Now I have you, cherie... let's just take a little peek..." _____________________________________________________________________ Post 18: Armand Armand physically pulled Lestat away from Cruise. "We need to talk." he said softly. "NOW." He turned his attention away from Lestat only long enough to send a thought to Cruise himself. In seconds the actor was sleeping soundly, and would no doubt think the entire incident a dream. "Come with me." The two vampires left the trailer and joined the others, still grouped on the edge of the set. __________________________________________________________________________ Post 19: Armand Armand dragged Lestat over to the rest of the startled group. "Is anything wrong?" Marius asked, diplomatic as ever. "No. Tom is asleep. And is going to _stay_ that way. Asleep. Not dead." "I wasn't going to kill him!" Lestat replied sullenly. "I just wanted to taste the little prima donna." "And frighten him so badly as to insure the scandle of the century. A little stealth, Lestat, would not come amiss." Lestat opened him mouth to retort when suddenly a voice came from the shadows. "Armand, is that you?" "Khayman?" The ancient vampire joined the group, looking slightly relieved. "At the risk of sounding redundant, what are you doing here?" "Looking for Jesse. Have you seen her?" "Jesse is here?" "Might as well call for a coven reunion!" Lestat muttered. "She's on her way." "I've not seen her, but I've only just arrived myself." Further conversation was cut off by a flurry of motion on the set. "One more time!" an amplified voice called. "And this time, I want it perfect!" The attention of the group was drawn to the set, where they still attempted to film "Louis" walking across the lawn, vampire style. Only... "That's not Brad." Armand commented softly. ___________________________________________________________________________ Post 20: Gabrielle Gabrielle watched as the aubrun haired demon rushed across the set.. Gabrielle mumbled to herself, "What the HELL has he gotten into now." She turned to Marius and shrugged, Marius smiled and a michevious twinkle gleamed in his eyes, "Well?" he asked. "Well what?" Gabrielle asked while still looking for a glimspe of Lestat. "Aren't you going to get your son?" "Hell no, let Armand take care of it!" Suddenly, Gabrielle saw Armand dragging Lestat through the trees. Armand had Lestat by the shirt, staring angrily into the mocking blue eyes. They came closer, stepping from the shadows to where Gabrielle and Marius stood. Lestat twisted himself to face Armand, "Could you please put me down boy? You ruining my shirt." "Can't you EVER stay out of trouble mon fils?" Gabrielle crooned, hands on her hips, triyng her hardest to look stern. A smile lit up Lestat's eyes and he gathered her into his arms and spun her around. "Alright, Lestat put me down and explain before we get Marius, here, to spank you." Lestat looked like a Mac truck had hit him, in his happiness to see his mother he totally missed Marius standing there. "Marius?" Gabrielle leaned over to Armand and smiled, "Is he insane?" "Totally and utterly." Armand answered. Marius, Armand and Lestat started to bicker amongst themselves when suddenly Khayman entered the crowd. Gabrielle stared up at this immense figure until she heard Armand comment softly that the figure that the camera was shooting....was not Brad Pitt. Gabrielle looked around for Louis....he was missing. ______________________________________________________________________ Post 21: Jesse Jesse felt like she was missing something. She was so so bored? How on earth did you keep from being bored with a multitude of lifetimes stretching before you? How did those others do it? Maharet. She monitored her "family." Marius. He watched Those Who Must Be Kept. Who knew what he was up to lately. Lestat? He played with mortals: watching them, toying with them, reveling in them. Maybe she should go visit Lestat. :Hmmmmm. Maharet wouldn't even notice I'm gone. She's been so busy lately taking care of Mekare and monitoring her estate. I think I'll go to New Orleans. See if I can find the Brat Prince. He's always entertaining. And maybe he'll know where Armand is. Armand has always been _more_ than entertaining.: With a chuckle to herself as pursued memories of Armand, Jesse began packing her bags. :And there's always the movie they're filming! "The Vampire Lestat: the movie! How funny. If only I had known when I first read Lestat's books that when they made movies out of them I'd be watching them film them like _this_. How ironic! I am a vampire. A vampire who is currently bored out of her everliving mind! What a perfect idea! Go visit Lestat maybe drop by the movie set... Observe that beautiful mortal they have playing Louis... And maybe find out where Armand is...: And with that Jesse left for New Orleans. __________________________________________________________________________ Post 22: Santino So, they were doing another one of those movies, were they? Santino leaned back against a tree and watched the hustle and bustle of the movie set. His dark hair and clothes made him appear to be the very shadow he was emulating. He didn't need to be seen, just yet. With his mind he tracked Lestat's progress with the mortal Tom Cruise. *I'll have to speak with Lestat later.* he reminded himself. It had been a while since he and Lestat had had any fun together. Not since Night Island, as a matter of fact. But Lestat was stalking a mortal and always got too moody when interrupted. Better to wait for a more opportune time. Santino turned his attention to the small reunion going on not thirty feet away from him. None of the vampires there were aware of his precence and he planned on keeping it that way for a little while longer. Gabrielle and Armand were ultimately dismissable for him. Louis was a pleasure to see but he, like Lestat, could be spoken to later. Marius, on the other hand, was a different story. *Now just were was our dear old Roman friend heading off to?* Santino wondered. He'd seen that almost guilty look in Marius's eye at the sight of Armand. *Marius and guilt... such a rare yet interesting combination. Perhaps he needs someone to help him unburden his soul?* Santino grinned. *And perhaps that someone should be me.* A mental flicker from a place that was some distance away from the set caught Santino's attention. Daniel was waiting out in the darkness, left alone by Armand while the latter went to have some fun. *Or perhaps,* Santino thought, *there is someone who needs me more? Decisions, decisions....* ______________________________________________________________________ Post 23: Santino Santino's reverie was interrupted by a shout from Tom Cruise. *Skittish little mortal, isn't he?* Santino smirked. Lestat had that sort of reaction on people. Santino watched as Armand ran off to get Lestat. *A clumsy incident, all in all,* Santino thought. *But one that is not without its advantages.* With the focus of the small reunion turned completely towards Lestat, Santino now had the chance to take part in some of this amusement himself. But his attentions were turned towards the figure standing outside of the movie set. *Marius shall have to wait.* Slipping through the darkness, Santino moved to stand behind the violet eyed fledgling. "Hello, Daniel. All alone tonight are you?" _____________________________________________________________________ Post 24: Louis Louis smiled over to Brad. "Authenticity Consultant. I'm an Historian." Brad sniffed "Aren't much for history? Ah, well." Louis sent him another thought. :Ask if I'll listen to your lines...and get rid of that cigarette, as well, mon ami. You'll be dead before you start to live.: ____________________________________________________________________________ Post 25: Brad "Hey! What's going on here!" Brad shouted, jumping up out of his chair and facing Louis with a nasty grimace on his face. "That's not my voice inside my head I'm hearing... it sure sounds like yours to me. Who the hell are you? Or should I say," he said, peering closer to get a better look at Louis, "what the hell are you? You aren't one of those voodoo guys are you? Goddammit!" Brad stomped around a little and then paced back and forth scratching his head. Louis simply looked on, quietly, elegantly, without hardly raising an eyebrow. He had seen mortals act crazier than this whenever he used the voice. Every so often Brad would stop and stare open-mouthed at Louis. Such beautiful eyes... Louis thought... but then, they weren't really Brad's originals... ____________________________________________________________________ Post 26: Lestat Lestat glared at Gabrielle. "Oh come off it, MOther! I was just having a little fun with the darling mortal, that's all." "You're going to get us all in trouble!" Armand hissed. "Oh, take a Midol!" Lestat shot back. Then he leaned close to Armand and kissed him deeply, mockingly. "Why don't you and I make a threesome with Monsieur Cruise? Hmmm?" Armand coloured, and jerked away. He was clearly both flustered and embarrassed. "Why do you do these things?" Lestat feigned innocence. "Why do I do it? I enjoy it!" He turned to gaze around him. "Ohhhh-myyyyy-God....." He noticed what the camera was filming, and it wasn't the insipid Mr. Pitts... "That's Louis!" He turned on Gabrielle and the rest. "And you said *I* was causing trouble!" "Lestat---" Gabrielle started towards him. "No!" Lestat's eyes flashed blue fire. "There's a rock band in this, isn't it? Some hopped-up skinny street boys? Well fine! The Vampire Lestat is back! Where's my electric guitar?" Behind him, Marius groaned softly.... ___________________________________________________________________________ Post 27: Louis "And......cut!" The director's voice boomed from the bull horn, Louis stopped just short of the flagstone patio, lifted his hand to shield his green eyes from the lights and peered over at the director. "Was that what you wished? He asked "Perfect" came the voice in reply. The director escorted Pitt over to the spot where Louis stood. "Look Brad, do you think you could walk up to Tom like that?" Brad shrugged. The director again turned to Louis. "You don't mind being a double, do you? Union payscale, of course... and I wouldn't mind having you stay for a screen test after we finish this scene." Louis surpressed a laugh. "Screen test? Surely, you're not serious?" The director drew Louis away from Pitt. "Now, look. I'm stuck with him. We signed him a year after "Interview", did you see it? (Louis nodded) Damn, if I'd seen you, I'd have signed you on the spot. You *look* the part, you *move* the part... " Louis glanced to a small gathering beyond the camera. Lestat was listening intently to the conversation. Louis grinned in Lestat's direction, knowing just the tips of his fangs showed. Ah..Lestat caught it... and Lestat though *he* was the only one who could ever steal a little thunder. Louis thanked the director and walked up to the group. "Bon Soir, mes ami... Lestat, I'm glad to see you." Louis leaned over to place a kiss on Lestat's cheek, but Lestat took a step backward. _____________________________________________________________________________ Post 28: Khayman "I can't believe I'm doing this". All Maharet has to do is say jump and I ask how high." Now she has me going to New Orleans to keep an eye on Jesse, like she can't take care of herself. Well, it might be nice to see everyone again. It's been awhile. I wonder if Lestat is up to his old tricks, he's probably already messing around with the movie or worse, with that Cruise actor. "Stop it Khayman, not even Lestat would have the nerve to do something like that, would he?" Arriving onto the set, I turned and looked around, "now where is everyone?" Oh, I think I see Armand over there, "Armand, is that you?" _______________________________________________________________________ Post 29: Santino **NOTE** As you know, Vanessa is off for a few days, so I'm taking over Daniel for her until she returns, with her blessing. ;) You know me, I'm a big one for playing fair. Daniel slouched on the support of the chain link fence, fretting. It seemed that was all he did lately - fret. Fret about Armand, life in general, being a blood thirsty creature of darkness... And now this. Another movie, and Armand suddenly decides he MUST visit Brad Pitt. "Heh. If he was a painting, that would be one thing. But how can he add a mortal to his collection without making him a fledgling?" Not that Brad would stand for it. Even so... Daniel was fretting. When the voice came out of the darkness, it was with no warning at all. "Hello, Daniel. All alone tonight are you?" He jumped and whirled around. "Santino? Scare the shit out of me, why don't you?" Santino raised his eyebrows and looked appraisingly at the spot Daniel just vacated. "Vampires do not shit. Even a fledgling should know that much." Daniel ignored that remark. "I'm here with Armand. He's snooping around inside the set right now." "Mooning over Brad Pitt, to be exact." Daniel stilled. "You've seen him?" "More to the point, Armand certainly has. Quite a beauty, that one." The fledgling let out a long, deep breath. "Yeah, well, he was curious. What can I do?" Santino's friendly smile caught Daniel unaware. "Come spend some time with me, then. Obviously Armand is not in a mood to appreciate you at the moment." _____________________________________________________________________________ Post 30: Santino For a moment it looked as though Daniel might agree, but then a flicker of suspicion flashed through his violet eyes. "Who are you to speak of what Armand does or doesn't do?" Daniel asked, rather defensively. *A little _too_ defensively,* Santino thought. *I struck a nerve there.* Santino made himself look even friendlier. "Daniel, please, you misunderstand me," he said. "I am only suggesting that we spend some time together, get to know one another. After all, here we are in the same coven and we are practically strangers." This was true. During the coven's time on Night Island, Armand had proved to be too possessive of his fledgling's time for Santino to have a chance to meet the mortal man that had finally captured Armand's vampire heart. Five hundred years and Armand had finally made himself a child. It took a special kind of mortal to get *that* out of Armand and Santino thought it was more than time to find out just how special Daniel was. Daniel was silent in thought for a moment. He looked back towards the movie set. "I don't know," he said. "Armand wanted me to wait here." "Oh, so Armand is coming right back then?" Santino asked. Daniel opened his mouth to speak, then shut it as the answer got the better of him. "He... I... not exactly." A slight frown touched the corners of Daniel's mouth. "Well then, so long as you have some time and I have some time, why don't we spend it together?" "I don't know," Daniel said again. He drummed his fingers on the chain link fence. "Doing what?" Santino took a guess as to what would interest the fledgling. "We could explore the movie set. It is possible to get a better view than the one here." He saw a spark of interest in Daniel's eyes and decided to press his luck. "After all, it hardly seems fair that Louis gets to meet Brad Pitt and Lestat and Armand get to meet Tom Cruise while you and I stand here in the dark." "Armand spoke to Tom?" Daniel's interest was fully captured. "Yes," Santino said. "Just now. I saw it as I was coming over to you. Lestat and Armand were with Tom in his tent or trailer or whatever it's called. They were there for quite a bit, from what I could see." "Really." Daniel said it simply, but Santino could see the frown on Daniel's mouth deepen. "Really," Santino said. He pretended not to know what Daniel was actually worrying about. "They were able to slip onto the set without discovery. As could we, if we wanted to." He smiled at Daniel in both friendliness and the idea of shared mischief. "Do we want to?"