Shifting Ideas [1x1]

Nervousness spread all over Holly’s body as she watched Daggon read the papers that she had given him. She really hoped that he could figure out the meaning of the papers - otherwise, she was as good as dead by tomorrow afternoon. Doubt kept trying to rear its ugly head, trying to convince her that nothing could be done, but she forced it down, not allowing herself to get to such a state just yet. A pout laced across her lips while Daggon read the papers, which then morphed into a frown when he voiced his grim amusement and set the papers aside.

“I don’t like getting into trouble - at least trouble that I can’t hope to get out of. This is a whole new level of shit for me,” Holly said with concern. She blinked when Daggon said that his help would cost her, her mind trying to understand what he said. Payment. Of course. She was beginning to see that slightly shady side of Daggon that kept her the slightest bit wary of him. She may have tolerated him in this club, but she knew he did things that made her question his motives. But so far, it never affected their relationship, no matter how recent it’d been, and she respected him enough to not be nosy or smart mouthed.

He then asked her about some vampire clan, which, of course, she knew nothing about. She never dipped her nose in vampire affairs. The Valerius Clan. They sounded scary and dangerous with the name alone. And the more he began talking about them and their standing in the supernatural world, the more nervous and scared she got. What the fuck!? Why are they the most powerful in this country?! Not the state or city - fucking country. And to make things worse, they’re descendants of the first fucking vampire?!

‘Fuck me. Just kill me now, please. I can’t do this shit. I’m a dead woman walking for no reason,’ the young shifter whimpered. This was too much. How could anyone hope to face vampires like this? And come out alive?

Holly’s hands subconsciously balled into fists as she listened to Daggon, fear clutching her harder and harder by the second. Why her? She never did anything to those vampires! She never did anything to any vampire in her life! This was some sort of mistake or setup - it had to be. Her thoughts were halted when Daggon placed a big book on the desk for her. She jumped with a gasp, then looked at the book in front of her.

“Daggon… I-I…. We've known each other for months now, and I appreciate all that you've given me. And I normally would never ask you to do something so personal, but obviously this is more than I can handle. I only have about 200 dollars to my name, but I could give that to you…. And I'll do your favor."

Holly sniffed as she looked in Daggon's eyes. She didn't care how the vampire sounded asking for favors. She wanted to live and hopefully long enough to possibly scold Daggon for this moment in the future.

"This favor… it won't be… dangerous?" Holly hesitantly questioned.
 
Daggon shifted in his seat. A box of tissues was on his desk. He pushed it toward the crying girl. “Tut, tut, Holly. There’s no need to cry.” His voice grew gentle. “This favour won’t be dangerous at all. You said Celestine gave you at least twenty-four hours, well we’re wasting time sitting here, dear girl.” He stood once more. The clicking of his heels sounded against the smooth flooring. Daggon clicked his tongue as he moved from his desk toward a bust that sat in the corner. Pulling its head back, a small button appeared, he pushed it.

A panel of the wall opened, Daggon disappeared inside. It’d be a few minutes before he came back out with a small bag. Inside were unknown contents. He hit the button again, the panel in the wall closed with a silent thud. He closed the distance and put the bag on the woman’s lap.

“I need you to deliver this bag to this address.” Daggon speaks, putting an elegantly scripted piece of paper atop the bag. “It won’t be hard to spot. Looks like a big ugly neon club from the 80s. There’s going to be a doorman. Just show him what’s in the bag and he’ll let you pass. Once inside, look for a woman that bares this
symbol. It’s hidden behind her left ear. Her name is Penelope. Tell her I sent you and she’ll understand.” He instructs before returning to his desk. “Oh, and keep your money. Looks like you’ll be needing it for the cab ride.”

It was an address that was on the side of the city, more so on the edge of the city. That was territory that belonged to those from Greece, supernaturals from there could be icky about their possessions. Thankfully, Daggon was relieved he wouldn’t be the one delivering the message. He pulled his cup up to eye-level as he watched Holly, a sad farewell behind his gaze before he looked away to pull the straw to his lips. It really was a shame that Holly had to go. A few of genuine yet naïve individuals like her still existed within the city.

“Deliver it tonight. Penelope will help you with your problem.” He lied.
 
Daggon pushed a box of tissues over to Holly; she took some and wiped her face with a sniffle. She disliked it when she cried in front of others, but this was a situation that was proving to be too overwhelming for her. The idea of doing this by herself was too much to think about. She was grateful that she had Daggon to talk to. He began talking about wasting time, and Holly wholeheartedly agreed - the sooner this was resolved, the better. But Holly had no clue how he was going to help until he pushed a button.

A hidden door opened, making Holly lean on her chair with a hint of curiosity. He had hidden compartments…. She’d seen enough movies to know that whatever was behind the hidden door was probably fragile… Or dangerous. But the thing the vampire grabbed was just a simple bag.

A bag with unknown contents in it. The vampire explained what he needed Holly to do, the young shifter blinking as she looked at the bag in her lap. So she was basically a carrier? Like a mail deliverer? She could do that. What was so hard about delivering a package? She nodded at Daggon’s request and side comments - thank fuck that she didn’t have to give Daggon her money. Not that she wouldn’t have paid him, she just knew she’d struggle twice as hard without it.

Ah yes, the endless struggle of trying not to die.

Holly packed everything in her own backpack before grabbing the bag that Daggon gave her and putting it onto her shoulder. Picking up the piece of paper with the address on it, Holly sighed as she read it. And here she thought she was going to have some sort of sleep. Well, if she’d hurry, maybe she could sleep by the time dawn came around. The young shifter’s eyes glanced upwards towards the vampire, a mixture of worry, sadness and fear reflecting off them.

“Thanks again, Daggon. You’re a life-saver,” Holly thanked before she opened his office door, and left the room, leaving the vampire alone in his office.

The loud music blared and bashed at Holly’s ears as she stepped into the party scene once again. A sigh, deafened by the music, exited her mouth as she began to step back into the crowds, torn between hiding in the club forever or leaving the club to get back into the world.

“You finally done sucking up to Daggon?” the young shifter gasped as she turned her head. Keta was cleaning a cup, a smirk on his face as he set the glass down.

“Shut up Keta, not in the mood,” Holly growled as she went over to the bartender. She was barely able to hear the chuckle from him, but she could just imagine the way it sounded when she looked up at his smirk. She narrowed her eyes at him, but suddenly just shook her head and sighed.

"I…. Need a drink. Just one shot before I go," the young shifter moaned. Keta blinked at the request - Holly must've been stressed out for real if she was asking for a real drink.

"You mean, like a shot of rum or tequila? For real?” the young vampire asked with a raised eye. Holly nodded her head with a sigh - if this was going to be how she imagined this night would be, then she would want to try at least one drink before shit hit the fan. Keta nodded and mixed a drink together; Holly had no idea what he mixed, but it looked good enough. When the man sat the shot glass down in front of her, the young woman hesitantly sniffed the drink, detecting Shirley Temple with the addition of strong hints of what she imagined being vodka. It smelled the same otherwise, but she was suspicious.

“Drink it. I made you something more on the fruity side - I figured that you’d want something familiar,” Keta said with a smirk. Holly nodded her head and threw the shot into her mouth. The burn of the vodka coated her throat, making her shiver and choke a little with the sudden sensation.

“Fuck! I can’t imagine anyone just drinking this down!” Holly groaned. Keta laughed and took her shot glass. “Well you aren’t normal. You’re like the only adult here that still drinks virgin drinks. Hey, how was the shot?” Keta asked. Holly shrugged her shoulders. “It was….. Interesting. Strong. Too strong. I still prefer my drinks to be without alcohol,” the woman said as she packed herself up once more. “Well…. I’ll be seeing you. Hopefully,” Holly added with a worried sigh.

Keta seemed to pick up on the woman’s distress and straightened his face. “Hey, are you okay?”

“I…. I don’t know. But I have to go. I got things to do,” Holly said as she got off her stool.

“See you later. And thanks for my drink.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~​


The wind blew as Holly walked around, hoping to catch some sort of break. The gravity of the situation slowly seeped in her mind; not that she didn't know what she was getting into… Wait. Actually, she had no idea what she was getting into. She was just dragged in by the legs, and she had no idea who was doing the dragging and why. All she knew was that the entity snatching her life away was much more powerful than her.

Is this what being prey felt like?


"This is bullshit," Holly growled.

The sheer fact that Holly had no idea how she even fit into this plot knocked her for a loop - made her want to run and hide and never show her fact to the world. But she had to swallow her emotions for the moment and focus on getting to this - Holly opened the piece of paper Daggon gave her - '348 Dyon Way'. Holly sighed. She never went this far in the city, with her preferences being within her walking or bus route distances.

But now, Holly had something to accomplish, before she’d probably disappear and never see the light of day. After walking for nearly half an hour, Holly pulled a sum of money out of her account and called a cab. Thankfully they were 24/7, so she didn't have to worry too terribly about being stranded deep in the city. As she was taken to the address she gave to the cab driver, Holly thought about how half of her journey was over, and how she would relish getting back to her normal life.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​


Nearly 40 minutes had gone by when Holly made it to the club. She got out of the cab, paid the driver, and stepped onto the sidewalk. Just like ShadowRealm, people were enjoying themselves, but the vibe was a bit more mature. Holly saw slight older people there, but that didn't mean that the occasional youth poked around. Holly sighed and walked up to the doors, where there was a man guarding the entrance, lile Daggon said. As soon as she was seen, the male guard eyed her, and she saw his eyes glowing orange. Usually things like that didn't intimidate her, but this time she shivered as if she was freezing.

"I-I've come to deliver something to Penelope," Holly nearly whispered. She opened the bag and showed him the contents. Holly turned away and cringed - she never even dared to look inside the bag, so she had no idea what she was delivering. Thankfully, the male guard didn't ask about the package, and just let her inside.

With a deep sigh of relief, Holly went into the club, fear and nervousness kept spreading to her limbs. No, no, no. She had to keep it together. She was almost done. When she got to the main club room, Holly looked around at the different decorations and themes - it looked like something out of the 80s for real. But it also had a sort of cultural theme of sorts - Holly could cheat and say Greek, but she wasn't entirely confident.

As Holly moved through the scene, it was clear that this was a supernatural club as well: she saw folks with hooves for feet, different eyes, some with fangs, and she even though she saw a cyclops somewhere. It was almost mesmerizing how there was a whole other culture of supernatural people in the city, and she wouldn't have likely seen it. She almost wanted to stay, but when she bumped into someone and nudged her backpack, she gasped and clutched the package tight to her chest, as if she was about to drop glass. Her heart raced, reminding her that she had other reasons for being here.

"Now if I was going to be Penelope, where would I be?" Holly thought aloud to herself. It was hard to hear her own thoughts, but it was the best she could do. If Ms. Penelope was someone Daggon wanted to talk to directly, she was likely the owner of the club. So where would the owner likely be? The young woman went to a corner of the club, rebuffing anyone who wanted to talk to her, and found a spot that looked like how one would see VIP people in those movies. She saw a woman sitting on a luxurious couch with multiple young men, and those couches were surrounded by a handful of guards, spread out so it wouldn't look too obvious. If anyone looked like a club owner, it was her. Perhaps she was Penelope?

The scene made Holly frown. She couldn't just walk up to someone like this and demand to see them. Yes, all she had to do was see Penelope, but she couldn't tell with certainty if this woman was Penelope or not. What did Daggon say?

"Look for the woman that bears this symbol. It's hidden behind her left ear."

Fuck, how was she supposed to do that?! She can't just go up to complete supernatural strangers and walk behind them. Or look behind their ears. There had to be - a tap on her shoulder made Holly turn around with a gasp. A large man with folded arms glared down at her with such an air of aggression and authority she shivered. Normally, anyone touching her would've been greeted with aggression, but she couldn't even muster any of that up.

"You have been noticed." The man growled.

Noticed? What?!

"N-noticed?" Holly timidly echoed.

The man simply glanced at the handful of guards in that spot of the club, and it dawned on Holly that she had somehow grabbed their attention without knowing. She couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Fear swam in her legs as she slid off her seat, backing away from the man as she went towards the door.

"So sorry, but I didn't mean to attract any attention. I just -" Holly suddenly bumped into another man dressed in black, growling and glaring down with the same amount of intensity as the other man.

"You don't have a choice in the matter. Come with us," the man stated in a way that really seemed to take all her free will away. Holly felt the urge to cry. Or die. Dying sounded better. Shifting would've seemed like an option, but she was honestly too scared to even attempt it. The men led her around the dancing hoard of people and right into the exclusive space of superiority, on the small couch across from this woman smoking from a long smoke pipe. The air of authority was strong, but it was that sort of female authority that she'd only felt one other time.

She stared at the woman dressed in clothes that made her comparable to a peacock - colorful, flashy and extravagant. It was almost hypnotic; she felt herself being drawn to the clothing like a fly would to light. But she had to keep focused - no direct eye contact.
 
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