Well, now this is unexpected . . .

[Epiphany]

Who ever knew that taking a photo would be a lot of hard work. She didn't. When she went into town and saw pictures on magazines - on of the modern things she had been introduced to and was finding an interesting source for clothes and concept ideas - she had thought that the people in those pictures were having fun. That, perhaps, the one holding the camera had simply told the subjects to go have fun while snaps were taken. However, after hanging in virtually the same spot, midway up the Effile Tower wearing hiking boots and climbers gear hanging from around her waist, she wasn't so sure.

It all started a few days ago...

Epiphany had been relaxing at the bar area of the Inn as she tried to work on her latest picture. All of it was in her head; she even had a sketch of it on paper, but was having a hard time translating it into a more permanent medium. The trouble it was causing her was almost enough to make her crumble up her drawing and forget about it all together. The only cure for this was travel.

Epiphany never liked staying in one place to long and recently she had been feeling more restless than usual. Any sleep she attempted to get only ended with her sitting down and having a conversation with the Door or dressing and volunteering for a late night shift at the Clinic. Sleep was needed.

When she left the Inn's bar that night she went up to her room and grabbed a travel magazine and began to flip through it. She needed somewhere to go and this magazine held the location. She saw a pull out section on Paris, France and it captivated her with pictures of cafe bistros, boats floating down canals, and a large structure known as the Eiffle Tower. There was even a scene of the location at night. Now that she had the destination in mind, she needed to get there.

Travel there poised a slight problem. Paris was a place on Earth and aside from taking a long journey - she might be missed if she was gone from the area for more than a month - the only way to get there quickly would be to ask the door.

First she got dressed, donning a short gray skirt and long sleeved cream top and lace up knee high flat boots. Over it all she wore a mate green light wool single button jacket that went to her knees. She thought it made her look like a tourist. No bag, no carrying case, she knocked on the Door and presented her case.

"You want to go to Earth?" the Door had asked in disbelief. "Popping you in and out of Earth isn't the same as Rhydin. There are laws you know and these things called restrictions. Not to mention you're going alone." not as though the Door would have accepted another person, but the didn't mean it liked the thought of Epiphany going to that savage land called Earth alone.

"Yes. Yes, I know but I really need to go." That was her plea. The Door could have simply made a copy of what was in the picture, making the scene real enough that anyone who didn’t know would think that they actually were in Paris. But Epiphany would know it wasn’t the real thing and therefore there was no sense in trying to trick her into thinking otherwise. “It’s only for a few days.”

The Door could have a strong resolve (or hard as a block of wood) it could sit there and not answer her plea for days, see how she liked that. But this was Epiphany and there were only so many things that she wouldn’t do for her. Then it sighed. “Well, at least it isn’t Saint Louis.” Could the door have a penchant about that location?

Happy that the Door hadn’t taken long to see her side of the argument Epiphany stood ready and, at the proper time, knocked and opened the door. Since she had been standing inside of her room, typically when she opened her door it would have let out to the second floor of the Inn, but that is not where she appeared . . .

The din of chatter, water running, and toilets flushing greeted her senses and she realized where she was: in a stall of a women’s restroom. This wasn’t the only thing that was different. She felt more…air. Looking down at herself she saw that her outfit had changed. Her perfectly good outfit had been swapped for a pair of rugged hiking boots, terribly short denim jeans and a denim vest over a brown shirt. “Door!” The name was said under her breath as if it were a curse. It had been stupid of her to think that the Door was going to just drop her off in Pairs. She should have asked what it meant by laws and restrictions. Or perhaps this was the Doors idea of a joke.

“Hurry up ladies, we start again in five!”

The loud booming male voice that suddenly filled the room had taken Epiphany by surprise. Just what was going on? She had stepped out of the stall and saw her reflection in mirror, her hair was up and she was wearing. . . makeup? What exactly was she wearing make-up for? Epiphany never wore make-up, unless it was costume and for one of her plays and so the image was a shock. The other females around her were busy combing out their hair or wiping brushes across their faces. They all seemed to know what they were doing and so she had moved over to an unoccupied sink, just to get a better look at her face.

Lipstick. Dark red in fact and to her it looked like her lips were bleeding. Smiling she saw a smudge on her teeth and, just as she had started wiping at it with a finger, the door to the restroom opened. “Let’s go ladies! Your belts are waiting by the tower.”

So much for examining her face, she didn’t want to be left behind – she didn’t know what she was expected to do – and so she followed the other ladies and left the room. What greeted her outside of the restroom was the Effile Tower, along with a full production photo shoot crew. She knew what it was from other research but she never thought she would actually see one.

Epiphany must have looked awestruck – or dumbfounded – because a pair of fingers was suddenly being snapped in her face. “Margaux? Earth to Margaux. Come in Margaux.”

Margaux? Quite obviously the person was speaking to her. So, the Door had switched her with someone else. Figures. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. At least she knew what person she was posing as.

When Epiphany came to, she saw that the lady in front of her was holding out a heavy looking leather belt equipped with hooks and a rope. It was for her to wear. “Oh. Thanks. Didn’t know where I was for a moment.” That was a believable statement and it was one that the lady accepted for she patted Epiphany on the shoulder and began walking her towards the tower.

“We only have a few more hours then I promise we can see the sights.”

And that was that. It was also how Epiphany, Margaux in this case, found herself hanging off a side of the Efflie Tower, fully equipped, and in the midst of a photo shoot.

The only question now was how to get home?

[JonLouis]

Two cloaked men approach a pair of twin males, also cloaked. It's early afternoon in Paris, and this business meeting had taken on new urgency. The taller of the two cloaked men spoke first. {1} "Malachi le messager, Mordechai le guerrier, deux savez-vous pourquoi nous vous avons appelé tous les deux ici ce jour?" His voice had a growl in it's depth, despite the fact that French was not the German's language of choice. And this was the most pleasant of the Malkavian's personalities.

Both men stood with their heads down. They spoke in unison. {2} "Oui Primogen." Their heads remained hung in shame. Waldemar shook his head as he looked upon the two men from beneath the hood of his cloak. {3} "Est-ce que jeunes ceux, vous me dit est Antitribu? Vos confrères parlent-ils vrai?" The two men looked up at Waldemar for just a moment before they put their heads back down. "No Primogen." They knew the punishment for being a traitor.

That was when the Primogen de Ventrue spoke up. {4} "Vous savez ce que votre Primogen ferait si elle découvrait que vous étiez Atitribu, oui?" This was a very serious matter. JonLouis wanted them to understand what they were being accused of. The Primogen de Toreador did not become such because she was the oldest. She got her title for being the most powerful of her clan. A position she hated, but it did keep her seated upon the council.

The twins nodded in silence. They had not committed the crime they were accused of. They would never give the location of a council member's private getaway. JonLouis spoke again. {5} "Peut-être nous devrions la contacter et …" He was cut off by an odd feeling that came over him. He looked around. There were a group of female models coming out to the tower. One of them seemed to get lost in thought for a moment. JonLouis was strangely drawn to her.

When he had chose this meeting place, he had not anticipated a photo shoot a few short feet from them at the Eiffel tower. When they arrived and saw the set up, he brushed it off. He figured that they would be to busy to notice four cloaked figures having a quiet conversation. {6} "Waldemar, si vous plea les rappellent que leur Primogen est marié à Dieu de la mort et obtiennent au fond de ceci." He never looked back at the three men, he simply moved closer to the models. Not too close, just close enough to hear what he wanted to hear.

He carefully listened to the heartbeat of every woman who was heading up the side of the tower. Slight tilts of the head as he examined each one. The woman who had found herself lost in thought before. She seemed different than the others. She was more familiar, her heartbeat was different. He could feel in his gut that he knew her from somewhere. Then he realized who she was, but it couldn't be, she didn't look like her. He would wait until after she was done before he would approach her. He let Waldemar deal with the twins.



(({1} "Malachi, the messenger. Mordechai, the warrior. Do you two know why we have called you both here this day?" {2} "Yes Primogen." {3} "Tell me young ones, are you Antitribu? Do your clansmen speak true?" {4} "You know what your Primogen would do if she found out that you were Atitribu, yes?" {5} "Perhaps we should contact her and ..." {6} "Waldemar, please remind them that their Primogen is married to the God of Death and get to the bottom of this."))

{Waldemar the German Malkavian}

{Malachi and Mordechai, Toreador's}

[Epiphany]

Her attention should have been on the director and she should have been paying attention to what he was saying. If only she had been paying attention she would have realized that Director was shouting at her through the megaphone, shouting, "What are you doing? Come down before you fall!" If she had been paying attention she would have heard the other girls calling out to Margaux telling her to "Hold on!" and "Don't look down!"

If she had been paying attention. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

When Epiphany stood at the base of the Effile Tower, hands and feet positioned to make the first pull, she felt something that caused her to pause. It wasn't strong; it felt like a small nagging in the back of her mind. So small it could be dismissed as a passing fancy. She was in a different body but that didn't mean that everything that was Epiphany was muted.

A quick survey of the area didn't tell her anything. This was still a public location and people were hanging around the productions perimeter - some were taking pictures of their own of the models.

They were given instructions - climb up a few feet and stop at the yellow rope. Simple. It helped that Epiphany knew how to climb so this task didn't fill her with doubt. When she started climbing she had been able to see over the crowds and then she saw something odd. It was mid-day, the weather was fairly good, and yet there were a couple people covered in cloaks?

Because she was focusing on those figures she had failed to stop at the yellow rope, and that is when the people had started yelling for her stop climbing and come down. Clearly they were concerned for her safety.

Cloaked figures? The nagging sensation in her head only buzzed louder and drowned out the words from the people below. From this distance, in this body, she couldn't tell what they were but it was unsettling and that was enough.

Epiphany had climbed a third of the way up the tower and hooked her legs securely before taking one hand off of the metalworking to shade over her eyes and look out. One man, who had been talking to the figures, was looking at her and their eyes met for a brief moment. He wasn't the only one watching for that meandering crowd around the Tower had quickly grown into an excited mob looking, and gaping at the 'girl hanging from the Tower.'

Apparently they thought that she was going to jump for she soon heard the sirens of a fire truck and a couple police cars as they sped towards her location. Great, she grumbled under her breath, can't a person climb without it causing a scene? Then again, this was earth and here it might not be that common to see people scaling the side of structures.

Epiphany shifted her attention back to the area where she had seen the men only to find that they were gone - probably vanished in the crowd. They were gone and people probably thought she was having a suicidal breakdown. In hopes of making all of this 'this' go away before it escalated any further, Epiphany put on her best smile before waving to the people below and starting her decent. She may enjoy putting on a show every now and again, but not like this.

People on the ground were coaching her on where to step, and saying words of encouragement (almost as if they didn't think she could get down without it). When she touched the ground a few people started talking to her at once. The Director wanted to know what the Hell she thought she was doing, Kris was asking her if she was okay while trying to convince the cop that Margaux was under a lot of stress and not to take her away, and a blanket was being tossed over her shoulders - they always put blankets on people, even if they had been basting in the sun.

All of this had taken time to sort out; needless to say the photo shoot was canceled for the rest of the day. After nearly an hour everyone started clearing out and Epiphany was left alone. Almost.

"Are you sure you're okay? Since when did you learn to climb like that?" Kris sat down on the grass besides Epiphany. The two of them had changed from the gear and were now in regular street clothes of ordinary jeans, a fitted print t-shirt and sneakers (Margaux's clothes).

Epiphany scrubbed her face with the palm of her hand. "I guess I got carried away." It wasn't a lie, per se, but it worked.

Kris scoffed. "No, you think?" A roll of her eyes and she stood up, patting Epiphany on the shoulder. "Come on, Margaux, I'll buy you a few drinks on our way home. We can forget about today and pray that we still have our job tomorrow."

"I think I'll just stay out here a bit longer, do some thinking." Didn’t seem like a bad idea.

"Tch. Fine. Whatever." Kris flicked her wrist as she turned and started off. "See you back at the loft."

Kris left and Epiphany was now sitting alone on the grass by the Effile Tower.

[JonLouis]

Primogen de Ventrue, Primogen, Ventrue, Kindred, Vampire, head of The Vampire Council, how ever you chose to address this cloaked being, he was JonLouis, and there he now stood. Fifteen feet behind Epiphany and off to the side, just enough that he was out of her direct line of site.

Still fully cloaked and with his hands clasped within his sleeves before him. How long had he been standing there? Long enough. How is it he was suddenly there? Maybe he poofed, maybe he walked, maybe he floated. One would only have to know him to know how.

With a tilt of his head he spoke softly, but loud enough to be heard. "It was good of you to send her away, did you know that I would return? Or was it pure luck?" He was, of course, kidding with her. If he startled her when he spoke, he would be apologetic. He approached her with caution. He had no idea what kind of effect he would have on her in her current state.

Though, she seemed rather harmless towards him at the moment. Having a soul allowed him certain freedoms that others of his kind could not afford. He had never spoken to her before, but even in this other skin he knew her. So he felt he had to come see if he could help.

He stopped walking about five feet from her, off to her side. He turned to face the same direction as she, and lowered himself to the ground slowly. "Tell me child, Epiphany yes? How is it that you ended up here?" He turned his head to look at her from beneath the hood of his cloak. "I am quite glad you did not fall. I am fast, but I fear I am not fast enough to have caught you from where I stood." He looked forward again.

He loved Paris, it was after all, his home. Venis' too when she chose to admit it. The sun would be sitting low in the sky soon, and then he could rid himself of his cloak and enjoy his city of lights. But for now he waited to see what the answers to his questions were, then he would move on in the conversation.

[Epiphany]

Something was not right. Sitting there, on the grass, she could feel a presence drawing nearer. It was similar to what she felt when she was up on the tower, looking out at those hooded figures. They have returned. That was the thought in her head as she stilled herself sitting there upon the ground. Maybe not all of them, but the closer this person came, the stronger their presence felt to her – even in this alien body.

As he neared she kept her focus on the landscape in front of her and the Effile Tower to the side, not trusting herself to turn around and focus on the person. He started to talk and disciplined herself to be still and show only the amount of caution any person would who was approached by a stranger. This man spoke with a sense of acquaintance, as if the two of them had crossed paths before and that she knew what needed to be done in order to draw his attention.

Attention. Seems like all she has done since coming to this place was draw attention. The large crowds, gaping stares and thousand questions asked were something she could deal with but, having a stranger come out and identify her was not something she wanted. How did he know her name? Her real name when everyone else saw her as Margaux?

Epiphany retreated further into the borrowed body, letting the other take back most of the control. Body posture relaxed and the girl shifted to the side, pulling her legs under her as she responded. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Truthfully, Margaux didn’t.

Fall? She didn’t remember much of what happened at the photo shoot but that was normal. Most of the time she let herself sail through it, working through the poses like a doll. Tugging on her shirt she looked around and that’s when she saw that it was a man in a cloak. Why was he wearing a cloak? What did he want with her? Margaux was seeking to remain calm and was happy that she didn’t have a purse lying next to her. Maybe if he was seeking to rob her, he would see that she had nothing to steal.

Margaux started to rise. “You-you must have me mistaken for one of the other girls.”

[JonLouis]

He made note of her uneasiness. He was making her uncomfortable. He had figured that the five or so feet he had kept between them would have worked. But this seemed like something more than simply two different being sharing the same space. His head leaned to the side as he looked at her, almost a twitch in the way it did so.

That was when the voice was heard. It rang though his ears in an unfamiliar tone. He slowly turned to look as the sun was getting lower. Soon, the tower would light up. What colour would begin the rotation this eve. Perhaps blue? Or could it be his favorite color? He returned his gaze to the woman, his question of colour to be answered soon enough.

The sensation he was getting from the woman was changing as she spoke. "Hmm." It was a curious statement. It was then that she saw him seated near her. She seemed frightened. It had not been his intent to frighten her. Thankfully, the sun had gone behind the sky line. Bony fingers emerged from within the sleeves of the cloak and rose to the hood. He laid the hood back off of his head as she spoke with a bit of a stutter

He looked first to his beloved tower. As the lights ascended towards the sky a smile spread across his lips. Orange. His favorite colour. He loved seeing the tower in orange. Then he returned his attention to the woman. She was starting to rise. as she spoke those stuttered words. So he would try to sound a touch more comforting as he spoke, careful of his tone as it was not his intent to capture this young woman.

With a softness to his voice that matched the softness in his eyes. "Perhaps. I may have been mistaken. Forgive me? I mean you no harm. You have my word as a proper French Gentleman." He offered the woman a soft smile. He looked away from her eyes back to the tower, it was safer that way. It would not do to accidentally capture her mind when he was trying to convince her of her safety.

[Epiphany]

As she stood the orange glow of the Tower took her attention. It was a lovely sight, no doubt Margaux had seen it many times while in Paris? Whether she had or not, during the short span of time it had taken for Margaux to rise from the ground and stand up, Epiphany crept back to the 'surface' of the girls consciousness. She had never been to Paris before and it had been her intention to do some sight-seeing and relax. Not work as a model and climb buildings - even if that was something she enjoyed. The climbing.

For a moment she was captivated and she watched how the orange lights started to mix in the changing sky. Quiet a lovely sight to see and she was glad to be here - even if it was in a different body. People were still meandering around, others were watching the glow and enjoying the coming night as well. It was going to be a perfect night, maybe she should try to find Kris and hang out. Or, let Margaux hang out and she just sit back and watch.

She stood there for a moment, almost tempted to let herself show out more fully in this borrowed body but she knew that would only be for the worst. Instead she settled for looking as far to the side as she could, catching him in her side vision and then slightly turning her head. He was looking at the Tower too.

One again Epiphany retreated back into the corner of Margaux's mind and the girl spoke up. "If I see her I'll... let her know you were looking for her." Maybe this guy was her brother or boyfriend, something?

Would she really tell Epiphany? Did she know who Epiphany was?

[JonLouis]

JonLouis smiled as he rose from the ground in a manor that was more human than he normally used. "Ahh, {1} merci beaucoup" He had still not mentioned the name of the woman he had taken this lovely lady for. Neither had she. Perhaps that was because the woman in charge was the same he spoke of, rather than who he spoke to.

He watched the tower for a moment, he loved the site of it, and he did not get to see it often enough. Then he looked back at the woman. "My name is JonLouis. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance {2} mlle." He did not offer a hand, but instead nodded a bow towards the lady. There was no need to cause an upset. And the touch of his cold, dead hand could do exactly that, for possibly more than one reason.

He tilted his head to the side as he looked at the lady. "Would you care to accompany me as I explore {3} La Ville des Lumières?" He straightened his head back up. "I have been away from home too long. I feel a need to get reacquainted with my city. I can think of no better way to see Paris than in the company of a woman who's beauty rivals that of my beloved tower." His voice held a sincerity to it that masked his true nature rather well.

He undid the zipper of his cloak and slowly removed it from his shoulders, letting it slide down his arms. Once he had it removed from his person he folded it over his crooked arm. He was wearing dress shoes, khaki slacks, and a forest green polo shirt. His shoes matched his belt. "I promise you, I shall not bite." He chuckled as if he had made a joke. Sometimes humans used that as a joke to put a persons mind at ease.

He looked of in the distance for a brief moment. "There is a café not too far from here. They make the most delectable desserts. They simply melt in your mouth. Perhaps you would like to join me, my treat?" He wanted her to feel comfortable. He also wanted to stay as close as he could, just in case the being that he had felt the first time he saw her needed any assistance.

(( {1} Thank you very much. {2} miss. {3} The City of Lights.))

[Epiphany]

He had spoken the name of Epiphany. When he had first sat down to talk to her it was that which had put her on such guard. Even as she thought about it now, watching him from the turn of her head.

Now, Epiphany knew some French - the first guardian she had, as well as those nuns at the church, made sure she knew at least the basics. Did Margaux know any? Surely she had to know a bit since she was doing a photo shoot in Paris, right?

Margaux took a few steps away from him. They were not fast or in any type of haste; and therefore when he started talking to her she was able to hear him without too much trouble. He had offered to show her around.

There was nothing wrong in going on an evening tour with someone. Sure, there were all those stories about men being nice and kind to lure sweet, unsuspecting girls to their doom. But this wasn't the case here in was it? Besides, he said that he wouldn't bite (even if Epiphany didn't fully agree with that statement) and he was kind of cute in the casual evening wear. Not to mention that he didn't look that much older than her.

What could go wrong?

"I'm Margaux," no need for full names, she gave her first as she turned around to see him proper. If they were going to go on a tour then she would have to look at him. It would be strange and awkward otherwise. Somewhat unsure if she should offer her hand or not she settled for shifting - slightly - from one foot to the other. It was a clear Epiphany habit.

"Sights are always better when you get to enjoy them with someone else." It was confirmed, they would go and see the sights. "Though, they are always better when you've had something to eat."

When was the last time she ate? If she couldn't remember, then it had been too long.

[JonLouis]

Perhaps old age was getting to the vampire as he recalled calling the woman by the name of Epiphany. It had slipped his mind that he had done so, so taken in by the beauty that surrounded him as he was. And who could blame him, beautiful city, beautiful lights, beautiful woman.

And of course, his carefully measured words. After all, Epiphany could possibly know that even though he had said he would not bite, that it was definitely his style to bite. But that was Epiphany, the vessel before him had no such knowledge. Hence the word 'won't' rather than 'don't'. After all, how could you expect trust if you tell a lie?

An innocent smile curled upon his lips as the lady offered up a name, her name, the vessel was Margaux. A truly lovely French name. That in and of itself brought him some sense of pleasure. He almost chuckled as he saw her shift from one foot to the other. This was a site he had witnessed on a previous occasion.

A chorus of Angels could be heard on high when Margaux agreed to accompany him on a tour of the city. "Very well, then it is settled. We shall go to the café and have some dessert before we head out to see this lovely city that I used to call home." He was very happy that she was going to join him. He offered her a crooked arm. But it was the arm that was covered by the cloak, just to be safe.

He waited for her to either take his arm or at least come to stand nearer him before he would escort her to the café. And of course, once they had gotten there, he would hold her chair for her as any gentleman would for a lady. He would even ask her what she would like to have before he would even dream of ordering for himself.

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