Emancipated and Quite Capable

When Jack first woke up, he was aware of several things more or less simultaneously: His mouth tasted awful, his back was sore, and the tight leather pants he still wore were hell on his circulation.

Oh, and he was in a crypt. It was a bit hard to miss that part.

Controlling his urge to shudder, he rose to his feet and took the few steps toward the tomb where Kate laid peacefully. He was almost certain she was fine -- physically, at least -- and this had been a particularly cruel whim of the island's. But that tiny chance that, somehow, she wasn't was in his mind as he gingerly tapped her shoulder.

[OOC: For she who is there.]

Jack looked tired and pale as he shepherded the others into the living room to share the results of their investigations. He didn't have much fresh information of his own, and it wore at him.

"There was no magic there, but we couldn't rule a vampire out from the room alone," he said, crisply as he could manage. "We followed David for a bit -- Sebastien, don't pull that face, of course we were careful -- but there's nothing. His hotel is fine. He went to a club. No one else was watching him, and he doesn't seem to have a court of his own. Pray tell me the rest of you have something worth knowing."

( In which information is shared )



( In which Sebastien makes the papers )



( In which David is questioned )

[OOC: Follows this, this, this, this and this. Inspired by "Chatoyant." Preplayed with the fantastic chose_humanity, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, and vanillajello. NFB, OOC welcome.]

The doorbell rang just as the sun dipped below the horizon, interrupting the group's conversation.

Sebastien was not at all surprised by what he found when he opened the door.

"Hello, David," he said to the man on the stoop.

( In which David invites Sebastien out to play. )

( In which Jack frets. )

( In which Sebastien returns and further plans are made. )

[OOC: Follows this and this. some bits borrowed from "Chatoyant." Preplayed with the scrumptious chose_humanity, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, and vanillajello. NFB, OOC welcome.]

Jack had been prepared for an argument with Sebastien over why he'd summoned guests to their townhouse, but he hadn't gotten one. It seemed as though Sebastien's main priorities were getting David to head off again and solving the murders -- in more or less that order.

It was unsettling, to see him so preoccupied. But it did make the day easier.

( Emma was walking into a conspiracy of murder and vampires, in another universe, of her own volition.... )

[OOC: Follows this. Inspired by "Chatoyant." Preplayed with chose_humanity, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, and vanillajello, who all deserve pie, cake and/or cookies of their choice. NFB, OOC welcome.]

Jack had been in and out of Mitchell's hospital room all morning. It hadn't been doing the slightest bit of good from what he could tell, and had the unwanted side effect of making him feel like he was intruding on something between George and Mitchell. By late morning, he wandered off to get something to eat and send a few emails begging off on his schoolwork.

He thought about calling Emma. He knew he should call Emma, that he'd be blindingly furious if she didn't tell him were the situation reversed. But some tiny part of him was sick of dashing from crisis to crisis with her. It wasn't as if she could help, anyhow, he rationalized. He didn't think Mitchell even realized she knew he was a vampire. Calling her could wait.

So he put off that call, and made another one. He dreaded ruining someone's day this way, but Kate would have even more reason to be angry if she wasn't told than Emma would.

As the phone rang, he had a sudden fear that Kate would say what he had been telling himself: That he should have, somehow, done more. That he could have stopped this all if he'd been a little less stupid.

Jack never saw himself as a diamond thief, but there was something to be said for a job well done that had him distinctly self-satisfied as he got home from New York. He'd barely slept -- there had been too much adrenaline for that -- but it hardly mattered.

He tucked his take into a hidden corner of a dresser, planning to sell the diamonds and give the money to his sister during his next trip home. Then he sprawled on his bed to relax and idly checked his voicemail.

Well. It was good Mitchell was coming back, he supposed, but the whole thing made him frown a bit -- and not just because the messages were of limited coherence, or because he wasn't American. Things would be complicated. But then, they always were.

He picked up his phone to make a call of his own before settling in to write to Sebastien. It would, of necessity, be a rather more censored letter than his norm.

[OOC: Door is closed but knockable, or open to Andy. Aaaaaand let's call the specifics on his thread with Kate NFB.]

After his phone calls to Jack and Kate, George was practically scrambling to get down to the pub in time (although not scrambling enough that he couldn't pause, catch his breath, and opine on the stereotypical nature of said pub). He wasn't aware of anyone else doing the same. It was mainly terror driving him forward.

What if Mitchell bit someone? What if something was wrong? What if--

He was not necessarily watching where he was going as he wandered nervously onto the pavement.

( Meanwhile, a few blocks away... )

( Mitchell's walk just outside the pub was nervous... )

[OOC: NFB, NFI, OOC cherished. Preplayed with the stellar chose_humanity and vanillajello. Follows this.]

Jack was up half the night Thursday scrubbing pink dye out of his hair. After the fifth go at it with shampoo and a quick self-administered trim to a few scraggly bits that had absorbed more than their fair share of the dye, it was all but back to normal, with just a few blush-tinted strands around his ears.

This was, in his eyes, an essential first step.

After a call to Tony and a nap, he woke up and started to pack. Rationally, he knew he was not the first person to have something odd and embarrassing happen to him -- a love spell, or whatever it had been. He wasn't even the first person to waste time chasing after a straight guy. (And bless Mitchell and Kate for trying to talk sense into him, for all the good it had done.) But he still needed the brief escape of a respite with Sebastien to get him centered in his own head.

He packed quickly and neatly, door cracked open as usual so he could watch the motion in the hallway.

[OOC: Open if you need a Jack!]