Circe studied the woman who was sitting at the end of the bar, feeling faintly curious about the odd vibe that the lady threw off. She was certainly attractive looking, with long red hair and a lovely body under those dressy clothes, but she seemed more interested in looking around for someone than in the company nearby her. She waved for another drink and Circe walked over, the blonde dressed in a leather bodysuit. "What can I get you?" she asked the newcomer curiously. "Rum and coke, easy on the rum," she answered, green eyes narrowed slightly at the glint of the zippers from Circe's clothes. "Of course," she answered as Circe poured the drink. Handing it over Circe asked, "I don't think I've seen you around Miss...?" "Margaret," she supplied quietly, "and I've heard about the Daughters before, but this is the first time I've been here." Without any effort Circe shifted her perceptions slightly, sensing a faint sheen of magic about the other woman. There was not enough energy there to indicate that she was a magician, but it did show that she was magically talented in some form. "Nice to have you," Circe smiled, "but what brings you here now?" "I'm not entirely sure," Margaret conceded. "Huh?" Circe blinked. "I'm possessed of a mild ability to foresee the future," Margaret said, "and my vision told me that I'd meet someone that I'm interested in here." "Who?" Circe asked. Seeing the other woman hesitate she added, "I might be able to help you find him or her." "Her," Margaret blushed faintly, "name is Athena." A fond smile, "I ran into her once over at the Sisterhood bookstore, then down at the local community center, but I don't seem to be able to make an impression on her." "Ah," Circe did her best not to smile or laugh. 'Wait till I tell Diana that her sister has acquired a groupie,' she mused. "I think I know who you mean," she said with a straight face, "why don't I go find her for you?" "No, no!" Margaret quickly held up a hand. She smiled at her shyly, "Do you think you could just point her out for me?" This time Circe dud chuckle, but it was a good natured amusement. "I'll do that," she smiled. Asking Diana to cover things Circe moved off into the crowds in the bar, weaving between all of the young men and women. Not surprisingly Athena was sitting at a back table, engaged in a spirited debate with Jess Drake. "But magic doesn't have base structures," Jess argued, black hair falling in her eyes, "it is more of a prayer to the powers underlying the universe." "But consider quantum theory," Athena pushed a bit of her blonde hair back, "and seemingly unrelated events that are part of a greater order..." "I hate to interrupt," Circe said with a grin, "but I need to borrow Athena a bit." "No problem," Jess smiled, drinking from a can of cola. "Staying away from the booze," Circe noted, recalling several apocalyptic drinking bouts from Jess recently. "Drowning my sorrows in booze just makes me feel worse in the morning," Jess answered dryly, eyes narrowing a bit. "Do me a favor and don't bring up the booze in front of Jess," Athena whispered to Circe as they moved off, "a few of her friends are trying to keep her off the drink while she recovers a bit." "And how did you get involved?" Circe blinked, "You barely know Jess." "Diana, however, knows Jess pretty well and she asked me to do this in her place," Athena explained wryly. Raising an eyebrow she asked, "Now, what exactly did you want?" Fighting back a grin she sketched in the young woman at the bar. "Looks like you've made quite a impression on her," Circe smirked, "so what are you going to do about it?" "I don't know," Athena frowned as she said, "I remember her from the community center, but..." Athena took a moment to turn her formidable memory on various casual meetings at the Sisterhood bookstore, eventually matching up the woman she had met at the community center to one of those conversations. "Do you remember her now?" Circe asked, once again feeling mildly in awe of the goddess's incredible memory. "Yes," Athena nodded, "but I thought our conversations were just casual." "For a goddess of wisdom you can be remarkably stupid about romance," Circe muttered. "Aphrodite can seduce anything on two legs," Athena said dryly, "I never really got that talent, thank you." "So, do you want to talk to her," Circe asked, "or should I just tell her I couldn't find you?" "I..." Athena hesitated a moment then continued, "I guess I should at least talk to her, she did go to the trouble of coming here looking for me." "All right, I'll tell her that you're here," Circe chuckled, walking back over towards the bar. Margaret looked up from her drink as Circe walked over to her, the redhead looking visibly nervous. "Did you find her?" she asked softly. "Yes," Circe grinned as she pointed towards the corner where Athena was gradually making her way towards them. "You told her I was asking about her?" Margaret asked resignedly. "Athena's a friend of mine," Circe reassured her, "and I promise she won't bite." Meanwhile at another table two very different young women were sitting down to eat their meal. Carmen Henderson smiled at her companion, the redhead reaching out to put a hand on her companion's arm as she murmured, "You have no idea how annoyed I was when you just disappeared on me like that." "I'm sorry," Diana said, the beautiful werewolf meeting her eyes gently, "but I was terrified of telling you the whole truth." "Considering I fainted dead away when we met your wolf mother," Carmen admitted wryly, "I suppose you had reason to be afraid." A smile, "I'm glad you left your name and number on your note, or I would have never found you." "I'm just glad you came after me in the first place," Diana murmured softly. "After our night together," a blush colored Carmen's cheeks as she continued, "finding you again was a priority." "Something that I'm looking forward to doing to you again and again," Diana's voice dropped to a dangerous purr. "Me, too," Carmen squeezed her arm. She pulled back a bit, clearing her throat as she looked around the Daughters, "How come I've never heard of this club, I wonder?" "It's a exclusive club that serves a pretty exclusive clientele," Diana explained, "all of us who are touched by the supernatural." "You mean that everyone here is...?" Carmen looked around with wide eyes. "That or their guests," Diana agreed, "I've met vampires, fellow weres, succubi, demons and many others." "Wow," Carmen blinked, suddenly looking a little lost. She smiled, "I thought I was in a minority being gay, but this is odder." "It's not quite that bad, but we're certainly in a minority too," Diana admitted. Dropping her voice she said, "Even the club's owners are unique." "Oh?" Carmen looked curious. "They've been running this place for nearly twenty years," Diana revealed quietly, "and apparently they haven't aged a day." A grin as Carmen said, "Wonder if I can get a bottle of that?" Diana reached out to stroke her cheek, "Trust me, you don't need it." To be continued... Notes: Carmen and Diana are from the story "The Wild" which I just finished up
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