Watching and waiting

Ryland sighed heavily as he appeared before his room in the hotel. It wasn't quite as nice as the ancestral clan home but it was closer. He needed to be close.

"William, you'd like this room," A smile curled his lips as he pushed opened the door and slammed it in his assistant's face when she tried to follow.

After making sure all his necessary things were in order, Ryland sat down on the bed with a grin. He closed his eyes and reached out with his consciousness for the bond that linked him to William. "Sleeping, my dear? How sweet. Are you in his arms? I just wanted to remind you that you can't get rid of me that easily. Have sweet dreams, precious."

He moved across the room to the closet to remove his clothes and put on some loungewear, wondering if it was worth the trouble to call a young pretty member of the clan in to spend the night with him as he dropped the connection to William.

Ryland looked in the mirror of his suite's bathroom and adjusted his tie. "Perfect." It was time to go out and he knew his assistant, a new one hopefully, would be waiting for him at the door.

"Wait maybe this is too much," Ryland looked down and hurriedly changed into casual clothes. "Much better."

Now it was time to go out.

Roxine tapped her foot impatiently.
Breaking into the Meagan Hotel hasn't been too hard, considering there were at least two vampires in her gang, but now she was getting impatient. She hadn't seen Ryland Blackington in almost four years, when she had taken that near-fatal first trip to Chicago. Now, though, she was ready to take him.
Well, she would be as soon as she saw him face-to-face...
Sighing again, Roxine glanced back at the door, before turning distastful eyes onto the black maids' outfit she had stolen, in order for her to get to Ryland's room unnoticed.
"Bloody vampires..." she cursed.

Roxine paused as she heard a voice from somewhere behind her, but stiffened as a hand was placed on her shoulder.
"You're not from around here, are you?"
Roxine smirked, dug an elbow into the person's stomach and flipped them over onto the floor.
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. A girl? Wait...an avian.
She smirked suddenly, and lifted up the hem of the maid's skirt, revealing a black garter with a gun held under it. Roxine smirked and drew the gun in a flash, aiming it at the woman's chest.
"Checkmate." she whispered, one eye closed and finger squeezing the trigger.

Roxine's eyes widened, and barely a split second passed before she raised her knee, catching the woman in the solaplexis. Taking her chance, she shoved her away and took the penknife from up her sleeve, clicking it open with a small flourish.
"Back off." she growled, holding the knife in front of her. She briefly wondered what Ryland was doing in his room that prevented him from hearing the fight outside his very door.
Shrugging it off, she smirked to herself and readied for another attack.

Roxine had to bite back a growl at this.
"And yet..." she replied coldly, as she yanked her hands and the knife from the other's grip. "...I am." she finished, bringing the knife round and slashing her forearm.
She lifted her foot and planted it in her stomach, shoving her away. Roxine glared at her.
"Who are you and what do you want?!" she yelled, taking a stance.

"Roxine." she replied, charging towards Jade, her footsteps precise. "Nor are you going to." she added, as she aimed a stabbing blow at the other woman.

Roxine growled as she tasted her own blood, before opening her mouth for a battle of dominance with Jade. She smirked as she let the other enter her mouth, before biting down hard on Jade's tongue.
Their blood mixed in their mouths.

Roxine's eyes widened at these words, before they narrowed into slits, a shriek of rage echoing round the hall as she launched herself at Jade.
"What? Become one of you?" she spat, as she swung one leg round to straddle Jade's hip, keeping a firm grip on her short red hair.

Roxine tilted her head to one side sharply. "Oh? And you're a mind-reader too, are you?" she mocked. She spat in Jade's face and sat back, breathing heavily.
"Don't treat me like I'm your property." she ended, glaring down at Jade as she too licked the blood from her lips.

Roxine gasped in pain, before snarling at Jade, furious she had shown weakness before her.
She removed her hands from Jade's hair, only to produce another knife from her other sleeve. She smirked nastily at the avian girl.
"Spare me the bragging, it's a bigger threat than you are." she hissed mockingly, whipping the blade across Jade's cheek.

"Oh?" Roxine asked, green eyes glinting maliciously as she too realised both knives could be used. "And why is that, then?"
This girl - avian, she corrected hastily - was interesting. A good fight partner if nothing more...and a good kisser, it was to be admitted. However, hearing her yell out in pain...was well worth the bloodied lip.

Roxine glared at her sharply. "Like you? In what way, wing-a-ding?" she snapped. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're two different species."