Derek hadn't done much during his cousins outburst except for preventing her leaving, one would think he'd heard it all before. And he had, many nights he'd been woken up to listen to her rant and rave. Bella, while emotionally volatile, had a big heart and had taken a liking to Rua. Smiling charmingly at the owner, which she probably didn't see with her back turned now, he chose to respond. "Any room is fine. Princess back there may want a queen though." He teased the female behind him, only laughing as she swatted the back of his head.

Turning back around after he had mock pouted to the blonde female, he studied Jennifer, one elbow coming up to rest on the countertop and his chin resting in his palm. "Is something the matter Madam?" He asked, geniune concern lacing his voice. He figured it probably had something to do with the asshole that had just left, Darius, he recalled as the name. The man didn't look terribly pleased when the pair had first seen him, but Derek knew something might've change since when Darius had bumped into them, the man had been wearing a dark grin.

Bella had stared at Rua in shock at his comment, but knew she deserved it. That and so much else. Tightly smiling to Jennifer she'd been about to reply when Derek did for her. She pouted softly and smacked him upside the head for it, but the pout disappeared to a small smile when her cousin pouted instead. She loved her cousin, always had. He was like the big brother she'd never had growing up, helping her when she needed it, especially after her parents had thrown her out because she didn't want to follow in their foot steps, she wanted to do music.

Standing there as she thought back, palm running over the top of the thigh high black stocking, teeth biting her bottom lip, she hissed a breath softly when she accidently pressed down on a hidden bruise. "Just because I never showed it, doesn't mean I don't care." She said finally to the other blonde. "I'm glad you'll be okay though." She added as she turned to sit back on her bar stool.

(( AmaniIshtar: Are Bella and Derek both mortal humans? ))

"Oh, it's nothing, Derek." Jennifer did her best to sound as cheerful as possible she grabbed two keys from off the wall and pivoted to face the four. She smiled, although it was tight-lipped and obviously forced. Jennifer wasn't very good at hiding her feelings. "It's just Darius. He has a real knack for upsetting people."

She wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye with the edge of her thumb. "Here you two go - a queen's room for the princess and a single for her knight-in-shining-armour. I'll even cut you a deal if Bella plays tonight." Jennifer handed over the keys to Bella and Derek. Whether Bella played tonight or not, she intended to give them that discount. It helped to cut deals with the regulars every once and a while.

Rua had sighed softly, but he was silent, just giving Bella an almost sad look. The expression quickly faded though as Derek spoke to Jennifer and Rua let his attention go to Jennifer. He frowned just slightly, his eyes narrowed slightly he still know what that paper Darius had given Jennifer was about. It seemed to trouble her deeply though and Rua had no idea how to help.

Though, he wasn't sure if he should get deeply involved or not anyway. This had been just a quick stop on his way out of town. Though, now it seemed less like a quick stop. Rua chewed his bottom lip softly and remained silent.

Derek could tell the cheerfulness was forced, but decided not to say anything else about it. Wasn't really his business. He did smile lightly as the woman gave him their keys, passing one to the girl as she sat down. "No question about Bella. She intends on performing tonight. Even has a costume for it." He replied to older woman as he pulled out his wallet. "So how much for the rooms, a drink and maybe some snacks?" He asked, pulling out a few bills.

Bella slid into her seat, smiling at the older woman before grinning at her cousin, taking the key he handed her. Hearing about the older offering a discount for performing, she snorted lightly. Of course she intended to perform, she did bring her guitar with her. She fidgeted in the seat as Derek pulled out some bills. Glancing over to Rua, she wondered if he planned on staying or not. "Do you have a room already Rua?" She asked, thinking that if he didn't she'd pay for it, no matter what her cousin did. Her right hand came up to nervously play with her black belt choker.

(( I updated the first post to include the cost of each room. Just an fyi. ))

She eyed the bills of money in Derek's hand while she did the math in her head. "Sixty for the night." She replied, her voice firm. Jennifer had quite neatly slashed their bill in half since it was open mic night and there weren't any reservations for the weekend. She could afford to give away a pair of rooms every now and then. "That'll include your evening meal for tonight with any snacks or drinks - not including the alcoholic ones - and breakfast in the morning. I'll supply Bella with bottled water for as long as she's performing tonight."

It would have killed Darius to see her give away the inn's services like she had. The thought made her smile, a real smile no less, and she held out her hand to receive the money from Derek. Jennifer also didn't give Rua a chance to respond on his own to Bella's question. "He hasn't." She replied for him.

:Although he's more than welcome to.: Edgar, the snake coiled around Jennifer's neck, piped up so that everyone could hear him.

Rua blinked, he had opened his mouth to reply, but Jennifer had answered Bella for him. The blonde shook his head slightly. "I'm not staying all night." He spoke the words in a matter-of-fact tone as he glanced from one female to the other. No, Rua wasn't planning on staying that long at all, and if Bella was here, knew of this place, then his manager probably would end up checking this place out. Actually, he probably should have been leaving as soon as Bella had showed up. His gaze dropped to the bartop and he sighed softly.

Williams took another sip of water, choosing to ignore Edgar for now. He was still adjusting. "I think Derek asked for some sweet tea, Jennifer," he said with a smirk. This wasn't the first time he'd had to snap her out of a reverie, and, with what had just transpired, he could hardly blame her. "And what about the name of this place? I've always been a bit curious where it came from, myself."

Derek nodded, shuffling through the bills in his wallet before selecting four $20's, the extra just because he felt she was being too generous and he wanted to return the favor of being nice. Making to place them in front of her, the blonde blinked, staring at the reptile around the womans neck. It didn't look fake, but animals that could talk would normally be very hard to believe. Except he and his cousin did believe, kind of hard not to when another distant relative was a witch. Completely batty, but authentic, including a talking cat. Growing up, the pair had gotten teased over claiming they could talk to their family member's cat and eventually they quit talking about it. Shaking his head, Derek went and placed the bills in front of her. "If Mr. Rua does decide to stay, just let me know and add him to my tab, room and all. Bells will pay me back later." He replied calmly, folding his arms in front of him before resting his chin on top and closing his eyes in a light doze.

Bella smiled brightly to Jennifer, hearing the obviously slashed bill. One would think her smile wouldn't have gotten any bigger, but it did when she noticed Derek throw in some extra cash, only for it to falter a little when she heard that Rua hadn't gotten a room, nor planned on staying the night. She really wanted to talk to him though, and she'd started to, only her eyes were drawn to Jennifer's neck as Bella finally noticed the snake. Blue eyes widened when she heard the reptile speak, and her jaw dropped. It probably would have been completely normal for her to have freaked, one does not naturally encounter a talking snake, but she did not react as such. Snapping her jaw shut, Bella pouted a little before turning to look at the now dozing Derek. Pouting still, she turned back to Jennifer, the dangling ribbon from her hair swinging. "Where'd you get him? I want one. Can I pet him? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" She asked excitedly, bouncing in place with her hands on the counter top.

The sun was setting as Cheyenne (Shy-ann) and Taigi (Ty-ee-gee) approached the two story building in the woods. They had been traveling for some time now and heard stories about this Hall being their kind of place. Taigi was in his wolf form as he was most comfortable in it and felt he could protect them better that way if any trouble were to arise. Cheyenne stepped up to the door, her long light brown hair tied back into a loose braid, her short white midriff top tight to her womanly figure, paired with a pair of fitting ripped jeans and brown laceup boots. She had a pack over one shoulder with a few traveling supplies. Her hazel eyes looked to Taigi, as she placed her hand on his head to give his furr a little ruffle. He was larger than people would expect as he was a werewolf, his shoulder height matching Cheyenne's hips made placing her hand on his head less than an excersise. "Wait here" she said, not knowing for sure if the Hall was a place their kind was welcome. Cheyenne was a human with little controllable power, but no one would ever guess if she didn't tell them. She opened the door and stepped inside noticing the group at the bar. She found herself a stool, smiling at them as she sat. "Hi I'm Cheyenne, I've heard a lot about this place." She directed her attention now to the woman behind the bar, "Do you have any rooms available? I have a... pet with me, if that's okay?"


Taigi looked up at Chy as she spoke. He didn't like the fact that she would be wandering off without him. He could simply shift into his human form and accompany her... but he was tired so he didn't protest. He moved to lay under one of the windows as she opened the door, scents of the hall sweeping out over his nose. His hair stood as he bared his teeth, he smelled a vampire.

Jennifer blushed bright red as she picked up the bills Derek had set in front of her; she hadn't meant to space the questions from earlier but since Darius' visit she had a lot on her mind. "Of course, of course." After putting the bills into the register she headed back to the kitchen; from the kitchen came the sounds of a cupboard being open and shut and then the fridge door being open and shut. Right in the middle of Jennifer fetching the sweet tea came Bella's plea to hold Edgar.

:I don't mind if she holds me, Jennifer. Just.. don't let her squeeze me!: Edgar projected the image to those present in the inn of a cartoon version of Bella squeezing Edgar with his eyes popped out of his head. She laughed allowed and gave the snake a quick pet of reassurance.

"She won't squeeze you, I promise."

Jennifer was on her way back out to the common room with the glass of sweet tea for Derek when the new guest entered and took a seat at the bar. "Pet? Of course." She narrowed her eyes for a moment. "But I expect there not to be any accidents inside."

She set the sweet tea down in front of Derek and smiled. "As far as the name of the inn.. there's a legend of a harpy having built her home in these woods back before the world was tame - a harpy that wanted to be a siren. And her howling drove away the mortals except for one family of witches."

(( Sorry for the lack of quality. I'll do better in the future but I wanted to move the story along. ))

Cheyenne laughed, "No, no accidents, he's very, trained." She laughed again at the joke that no one else would get. "I'm not sure how long we will be staying" she said as she pulled off her bag and set it on the bar digging around for her roll of money. "Can I pay for tonight, and leave it open ended? We're travelers, but don't exactly have a destination in mind. In fact, this sort of was the destination!" Upon hearing the womans explination for the name of the Inn Cheyenne was sure this place was exactly what the rumors had told of. She looked down the bar at the others, they all seemed normal to her, but then again, she probably seemed normal too. The sign at the edge of the bar explained the boarding fees and Cheyenne laid $75 on the bar assuming a smaller room may not be sufficient enough for her and Taigi. She stood, leaving her things on the bar to go and get her companion. Opening the Inn door, she peeked out to summon Taigi noticing his hair was raised. She walked to him frowning as she knelt down to place her hand on him. "What is it Taigi?"


Taigi was in a trance, eyes narrowed, hair standing. When Cheyenne laid her hand on him and spoke he bore his large teeth and snapped at her, sending her falling back onto her butt before snapping out of it. He quickly stood and walked to stand beside her, nuzzling her in apology. He didn't know what it was about vampires that got him acting this way, probably the centuries of feuding between the two races and endless stories passed down of their awful ways that had been engrained in his mind.


Cheyenne jumped back falling onto her butt as Taigi snapped at her. Her eyes widened as he stood towering over her. What was wrong with him? He had never acted like this before. When he nuzzled her, she instantly forgave him, smiling as she pet him. "It's ok Tai, let's go get some rest." Standing, she thought it might be best for him to transform into his human self, but she had already told the others that she had a pet. Plus, it was clear something was bothering Taigi, he would never change into his human form if he thought there was a chance that danger was lurking about. She opened the door to the Inn to allow Taigi to walk inside. Still not knowing whether or not the customers of the Inn were 'special' or normal people unknowing of the magic inside, she hoped she could pass Taigi off as an abnormally large wolf, or hybrid of sorts and that he wouldn't scare any of them into making the two of them leave. As she stepped in behind Taigi she smiled sweetly announcing, "This is Taigi, my... pet."


Taigi walked into the Inn, immediately eyeing the vampire. He remained calm as to not scare any of the customers. He knew Cheyenne would be really dissapointed if he got them kicked out of this place. When she called him her pet her glared over his shoulder at her, who was she calling a pet!?

Rua had sighed softly. Remaining silent as he watched a girl enter, he only half listened as she spoke. Something about a pet, then she was leaving again. A few minutes later and she returned, with a large dog. No. Rua shook his head and blinked. It wasn't a dog. It was most definitely a wolf, a large wolf. Rua blinked again. A wolf? Wolves weren't pets..at least, Rua didn't think you could keep them as pets. Or maybe you could? He didn't really know much about that. He stared for a few moments.

Rua had to admit though, it seemed pretty cool to have a wolf for a pet. It was probably a great gaurd dog. Wolves were pack animals, so if it accepted a human as pack mate, or friend, then Rua figured the creatures loyalty towards that girl was unquestionable and absolute. Probably. Or..Maybe he just shouldn't watch animal planet so much. Rua ran his hand through his hair and offered a polite smile to the girl with the wolf. He remained silent. Rua was trying to decide if he should just go now or stay a little longer.

Derek smiled genuinely, he honestly hoped the other got a chance to relax soon, while it was still slow for the most part. Green eyes glanced around, studying Rua for a few moments, before flickering back to Jennifer as she set the glass in front of him. Taking a few sips, he smiled softly at the taste. It’d been a long time since Derek had had any good sweet tea served. Chuckling as he let his mind wander back to the image that had been projected to him. “She really won’t squeeze.” He commented, casting a sidelong glance to his cousin who had started bouncing in glee before one pale arm reached out for the snake to move to at its own pace. Drinking more from his glass, he considered the now unblemished youth his cousin knew. He slid from his seat, turning to face the blonde. “I was wondering if I could speak with you?” He asked quietly, one hand raising to motion towards one of the booths away from the bar.

Bella grinned when she was given permission, though it morphed to pouting even as she tried not to laugh at the projected image. Holding her hand out toward the snake, allowing him to slither up her arm, she giggled as the scales tickled against her skin. Cradling the legless reptile, she pet down the back, softly cooing over how handsome and special he was. Glancing around she tilted her head as another entered, her attention temporarily pulled away from the snake as the female mentioned having a pet. Shrugging as the female left, she returned her attention to the slightly warm, silk smooth bumpy skinned creature. “Do you have a name?” She asked softly, as she held it to her face to watch its eyes. Catching movement from the corner of her eye, she saw her cousin stand, asking Rua if they could talk, then the female entered again, only this time a very lovely larger than average wolf.

Rua had been staring at the girl and large wolf while he tried to decide if he should stay or go. He hadn't realized he had been staring, and he hadn't realized Blair's cousin, Derek was talking to him until a few seconds after the young man had finished speaking. Rua blinked, quickly looking to Derek before the girl and wolf could catch him staring at them. It took a few more seconds before Derek's words registered with his brain.

Rua blinked again and looked towards the booths Derek had indicated. Hesitantly, he stood. "I'm going to leave soon, I think, so make it quick." He wasn't being rude or demanding, just stating a fact. More or less. He glanced at Blair and the Inn owner for a moment, shivering. Talking or not, Rua would not have offered to touch the snake. He wasn't afraid of it, he just wouldn't want to be quite that close to the creature. Rua ran a hand through his hair and moved off towards the booths Derek had pointed out moments ago.