It Takes Two To Tango (Ayesha and Anne)

It had been a couple of days since Ayesha had shown up at the stable house with a trashcan on her head looking for wrestling pointers only to wind up getting a tango lesson. Since then contact had been very sparse, partly due to Aye's broken phone, but just the same they had managed to schedule a second lesson. Anne honestly wasn't sure exactly why Lily had taken in this weird stray, modesty wasn't really part of Lily's brand, but she was charmingly sincere. But now the rocker found herself standing in a converted conference room staring at a wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling mirror and checking herself out. She wore black suit pants, wedge heels, and a sheer red blouse with just enough buttons undone to let the lace of her camisole peek out. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail as she turned to look at her own backside.

From the doorway of the room came a soft voice, "Your ass looks great, now relax. Remember, it's not a date, just a dance lesson. She doesn't care how your ass looks in those pants... which is great, by the way... why don't you wear those more often?" It was Lamya, the curvy Kuwaiti, leaning against the doorframe and smirking.

Anne shook her head, "I dunno, they're not really my... vibe? But I guess I can't do the Naughty Schoolgirl look forever, huh... A-anyway, I know it's just a dance lesson, that's why I'm nervous! Sexy and flirty I can do, but teaching... eh... Think we have time to go through the steps once more before she gets here?"

Lamya checked her phone with a raised eyebrow, "Well, since she's supposed to be here right about... now, no, we probably don't... You just try to breath, I'll go sit in the lobby and keep an eye out for her." She'd never seen Ayesha before, but Anne had said she was orange and not to make a big deal about it, so she wouldn't be hard to spot. Not that the hotel got a lot of random visitors being closed and outside of the city, although sometimes lost tourists would stop in asking about vacancies. That normally wasn't a problem until that time Mina actually booked a family in and they had to pretend to be a real hotel for three whole days.

PREVIOUSLY

If anyone who had met Ayesha the first day she appeared into the world of Friction saw her now, they'd be quite surprised.

On her first day, she was a meek if dedicated person. Often looking upset or worried but nevertheless determined and always glaring at a challenge, willing to face it. But she wasn't the happiest looking person, indeed, she often didn't smile.

So seeing her smile, so widely, as she walked up to a place that looked like it could be the place for the homeless was both uplifting to see her face, and extremely concerning due to the location.

Walking to the hotel entrance, she thought for a bit on whether to knock, then remembered technically, she's also been sorta hired by Lily, so she decided to just walk in through the front door. This is also her place now! Kind of a strange thought.

She pushed the doors open as their noise echoed through the corridors.

Before Lamya had the opportunity to find Aye another one of the hotel's residents had picked up her scent. As the new arrival wandered the serenely quiet halls of the derelict hotel a small voice with a heavy, albeit fake, British accent piped up behind her. "Hohohohoho, are you lost, little lamb? It can be dangerous to wander the castle without an escort."

Like an ominous shade the slender form of Mina slipped out from one of the side rooms Aye had just passed. She was a petite girl with fair skin and light blonde hair worn loose about her shoulders. More eye-catching, however, was the frilly black party dress she wore. It was costume-y and cheap, her "wear around the house gown" as it were. "Or, perhaps you like a little... danger." She smiles, pointed fangs showing between her pink lips.

Ayesha had frozen on the sudden speech beginning behind her. Though it took her mind a few seconds to register Mina used the word "lamb."

As Mina finished her second sentence, Ayesha turned around to see the person who had decided to reveal themself to her, and she......stared blankly at Mina for a moment. Her brain just blanked out on seeing Mina, what was she saying, and only 1 word came to her mind; "What."

Her eyes looked about left and right, as Mina asked if she likes a little danger. Ayesha stared at her feet for a bit, then replied,

"......well uh, only if its an energy drink?"

A melodic little giggle piped from Mina's throat, her fingers lifting to her lips in a half-hearted effort to cover her laughter at the stranger's response. With a swish of her gown she closed the distance between herself and Aye, linking their arms together as she leaned into her side. "Oh, well, you're in luck then, my sweet. A drink is just what I had in mind." A broad smile spread across her thin lips, intentionally bearing her elongated fangs. They were a slightly different shade from the rest of her teeth, obviously fake at this distance.

In the lobby, Lamya was sitting on the reception desk idly kicking her feet as she waited for Aye who should be here any minute now. From time to time she would crane her neck and lean to peer out the front windows of the partially transformed hotel. She would wait a few minutes more before they called to check up on her, perhaps she was stuck in another bin.

Ayeshas eyes didn't leave Minas, which then didn't leave her (pretty clearly fake) sharp teeth. Her suddenly closing the gap and grabbing her arms, and the whole act, made her think maybe there was a camera rolling somewhere to post the whole gag on YouTube. Hopefully.

She gave a rather nervous laugh, not freeing her arms from Mina's, as she said, "Okay, Anne, I see what you're doing. Probably having a reeeeal laugh right now recording me like this".

She didn't truly believe this stranger in front of her was a vampire, but she was definitely feeling weirded out by the performance nonetheless. She HOPED this as just a dumb screen recording. If not?


Well she had her fallback plan.

Mina seemed not in the least put-off by Aye clearly perceiving her as some sort of weirdo. Of course, mortals' inability to comprehend the grander magical world around them was the most powerful weapon in a vampire's arsenal. She recalled some old writer's words about humanity floating on an island in the middle of a placid sea of ignorance, or something like that. But that.

Lifting a delicate hand she let her fingertips trace Aye's jaw, her body leaning warm against her side, "Oh no, my pet, no one is watching us. There's no one to see what is about to happen... no witnesses. Just you. And just me." Even with how slight Aye was Mina still at to lift herself up onto her toes to bring their faces nearer together, perhaps threatening to kiss her.

Ayeshas face slowly leaned back as the "vampire" stretched forward, her face getting way too close for comfort. Anne's lack of response, she assumed either meant Anne really wasn't around, or silently laughing and recording this.

Oh well, if she was recording it, then might as well add some extra luls to wherever she'll post it.

For as Mina closed in, Ayesha enacted her emergency trap card. The anti-personnel-

"EMERGENCY SCARF!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, probably jumpscaring Mina as she suddenly fired her arms out of Minas grip and up to her pink scarf, immediately pulling it off and wrapping it around Minas face, and turned tail and ran in the opposite direction, galloping off as fast as her legs could skedaddle away, making it about to the end of the hallway before suddenly jolting to a standstill and falling, almost spraining her ankle, as she looked down at-

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, ANOTHER GUM?!"

Mina gracefully tilted her head to the side as Aye leaned her head back unintentionally exposing her throat to the vampiress. But before she could take even a nibble she found a swath of pink coiled around her head and her "prey" rapidly fleeing. Clearing her vision by pulling down the scarf, Mina watched Ayesha's retreat but did not run after her. She had all of eternity to catch up to her, after all. Time was always on your side when you're an immortal.

From the lobby Lamya heard running, a crash and then some yelling. Her eyebrows perked in curiosity as she hopped down from the desk to peer around the corner and down the hall to where she saw a young woman scowling at the gum on her shoe. Heaving a sigh she gave her own scowl to the distant figure of Mina, slinking away at the far end of the hall. The curvy Kuwaiti moved towards the orange girl, "You must be Ayesha, yeah?"

Ayesha was pulling at her leg, trying to free it of the super gum, until it finally freed with a POP, causing her to be violently roll backwards and end up laying on her stomach.

On hearing her name being mentioned, she looked left and right, and saw the speaker. Her mouth slightly opened in surprised, and she blinked to see if she wasn't seeing things.

No, it was real. An Arab was staring at her.

"A...oh. H-hello, yeah, I'm Ayesha." She stood up, hoping she didn't look dumb as hell just now. Putting on a sheepish smile, and walking towards the newcomer to the scene, she asked, "Are you one of Anne's friends?"