Art Gallery

"in the woods at dusk? that seems particularly contrasting with this piece. May I ask why you pursued that?"

"Kyle, Kyle Franesco" He shakes Derek's hand warmly. "And it's no bother at all."

Kyle's momentarily distracted by another tray, this one with drinks being carried by a cute brunette. He smiles at her as takes a glass and she blushes before continuing away. Kyle follows her with his eyes as he continues talking to Exxxcelent, he thinks as he continues talking with Derek. "I'm liking the show quite a bit. But, I've always been able to find something when it's supposed to be out of season."

Claudia looks at the painting again "Well it was actually her request to be painted in the nude in the woods at dusk so I obliged her this piece was more for me to show her that she was beautiful no matter where she was and also with clothing on." she smiles at the woman wondering why she was so inquisitive did she know the woman in the painting "Do you know the woman painted here?" she asked trying to remember her name but having difficulty doing so.

Leaning in a bit closer in order to speak in a slightly lowered tone of voice, Derek says "I've noticed something sort of unusual about the crowd. I'm pretty familiar with the local arts community, the artists and the arts patrons - as I should be, that's my life, pretty much - but an awful lot of these people, I've never noticed before, and, well... some of them are pretty noticeable. I'm not sure what to make of that."

Following Kyle's eye, he continues. "So, I was wondering if you know many of the people here, or if you've noticed anything unusual. Other than the fine legs on that server, that is, though they do qualify as works of art as well."

Rahyna sighs slightly hating the fact that she can't articulate her feelings to Shadow so she took a deep breath and let her actions show Shadow.

Grabbing Shadow by the hand already she pulls her closer to her and leans in Rahyna very slowly and kisses her first on the cheek then moves closer to her mouth enjoying the taste of the woman before whispering in her ear "I love you Shadow" she leans back a little to see the reaction her heart skipping a beat with anticipation hoping she would not be rejected yet again.

Friends the word reverberated in her head and felt like a jackhammer to her heart Rahyna has a look of hurt on her face briefly and then leans back in for another kiss and whispers along her lips as her hand slides up her arm to hold the back of her neck "No my love I don't think you completely understand you I love you as I have loved no one since him you are more than my friend." she leans in a takes another kiss gently then a little more forceful "I want you in my bed I want you to make love to me I want all that you have to offer." Rahyna's breathing gets a little ragged as she continues to tell Shadow what she wants.

There was what seemed to be a weight lifting off her chest as Shadow whispered to her "That is all I can ask of you." Rahyna whispered back before returning the kiss with the same longing and need that Shadow had shown her and there was also a bit of demand and desire mixed in as well.

"We can take it slow for now love if that is what you require to feel comfortable but this feeling that I feel is something that will not go away so you will have to understand that what we once had can be no more." she collects her thoughts once more leans in and gives Shadow a final kiss full of tenderness, lust, and love.

"No, i've never seen her before. In the nude at dusk? Is that a normal request?" Mrs. scotts is showing geniune interest. She turns to Erika, a ghost of a smile graces her lips. "Dr. Brady, so good to see you again, This is miss Esperonsa, she created this piece here."

"No it is not usual but it is also not unusual for people to request how they wish to pose."

"of course Dr. Brady, it would be my pleasure." Mrs. Scotts' ghost of a smile grows every so much more.

"Well, it is a stunning portrait. I must say that I do like it quite a bit. If you will excuse me though, I have other pieces that I should look into." Mrs. Scotts smiles at the woman before heading off.

Eva makes a face, everyone clamoring around another artists work, she sighs.

I guess I am too morbid... I dont mean to be, I just paint what I feel... Ah well, you cant win everyone over, and Derek likes them...

Mrs. Scotts notices an uhappy Eva, and that will not do. She heads over there rather quickly considering the crowd.
"What is wrong Miss carino?"

"I am afraid that perhaps I have gone too morbid... I thought it would be thought provoking rather than disgusting to people, I have missed the mark, but fear not Mrs. Scotts, I will not dissapoint you with my next showing." she smiles hopefully.

"I am hardly disappointed miss carino. If the viewing public doesn't understand, then you need to push harder. That being said, perhaps a gradient might be more appropriate."

"Thank you Mrs. Scotts, I greatly appreciate that," she smiles, though it doesnt reach her eyes she at least looks more content and she looks around to see if anyone has questions for her.

Darren circulates the show very slowly with Aura, their arms linked. As they stop by another piece, Darren leans down and whispers in her ear, "I really don't get it, honey," ending with a snigger.

Looking around, he asks her, "So, do you actually know anyone round here?"

As Marius strode through the gallery, making sure everything was in order, he saw quite a few familiar faces, one of which he hadn't seen in a long time. West. Without as much as a second glance he continued his rounds, but made sure to keep an eye on him.

He found Reed, and walked up to him.
"I need to talk to you for a second. There is someone here I believe we should keep an eye on." He made sure they were a bit off to the side, where no one would hear his whispers, then described West to him in quite a bit of detail, and waited for Reed to find him in the crowd, so that he didn't have to point in his direction.
"The man's name is West. I met him a while back with some of his friends, and there is something off about him. I don't know exactly what it is, but when I tried to follow him that night, I was forced to walk away by a compulsion as powerful as a Ventrues gift of the blood."
He would have loved to talk to West alone, but he didn't want to make a scene. Perhaps there would be an opportunity later tonight.

All those in attendance will notice that there is a photographer from the local paper that has arrived she is about five foot eight with long black hair she is taking pictures of the various works of art and mingling with a few people here and there asking questions about their opinion on the art work. She stays for about an hour before leaving.

If anyone who has been looking at the picture of the woman in a room with dead bodies behind her and decided they want to have a second look at the painting they will look around and realize that it is no longer anywhere to be seen it has been removed from the exhibit.

Marius looked over his shoulder, to see what Reed meant by 'It's gone..'.

((Just to let you know this thread will be ending sometime tomorrow))

Since Kyle seems distracted, Derek just tells his fellow courtier "Let's talk later if you get a chance. Look me up, I'll be hanging around here for awhile."

He then intentionally walks by Eva's display again, smiling at her as he does so, and goes to continue checking out some of the other art. He notices a tall woman standing near a painting of a woman dressed in red. Thumbs in pockets, he studies the painting for a bit - "Not bad at all," he thinks to himself - then says to the tall woman, with a smile, "Very nice. I don't think I've seen your work before. Have you shown your works locally before?"

"No this is the first time I have shown my work publicly sir." Claudia smiles at the gentleman and extends her hand "My name is Claudia Esperonsa it is a pleasure to meet you."

Should he mention the picture? Nah, it was probably just him seeing things. "Well, I'm not especially tight with Vivian's crowd, but unless somebody's wearing a particularly good Mask, I think we're the only ones here." Kyle cocks his head to one side while he regards Derek. "And honestly? Artists are fairly eccentric people, and their shows are the time for them to show off. They probaby just cranked the dials to eleven for the evening. The only people I know here," Kyle discretly points out several servers carrying around trays. "Are Brian, Meg, Josh, Beth and Amy over there. The only really unusual thing I've noticed is that there are plenty of different maintenance closets just off the main party area, and all of them are unlocked. It's terribly convientent, really. Anyway, I think you should just relax. No need to get worked up about anything as simple as that."

Derek nods at Kyle's words. Kyle may well be right and he may be making something out of nothing, maybe because he's been so keyed up about these disappearances of children. That was probably it. Still, he just couldn't let it go...

Derek takes and shakes the hand Claudia offers. "My name is Derek Noble, and I'm quite pleased to meet you, Claudia."
Gesturing to indicate the other displayed artwork, Derek says "The announcement of this exhibit mentioned the works were by up-and-coming artists, but I don't seem to recall it mentioning who was sponsoring the exhibit. Did you and the other artists set up the show, or do you share a patron or sponsor of some sort?"

"The owner of the establishment Rahyna offered her space for any up and coming artist to show their work here" Claudia pointed towards where Rahyna and Shadow were standing on the other side of room.

Marius saw that the painting which Reed had inspected earlier was indeed gone. How could he have missed that?
"Alright, go straight to Lady Rahyna and ask her if it was taken down on purpose. In the mean time I will make sure that no one leaves the establishment. And let's be discrete about this." He whispered, then moved in the direction of the main entrance, all the while keeping his eyes out for any unusual characters.

Derek takes note of the woman indicated by Claudia, hoping to talk with her at some point, but continues to talk to Claudia at the moment.

"Could you tell me a bit about yourself and your approach to your art?, Derek asks. "And, are you new to Sacramento?"

"I am originally Pheonix I moved here about eight months ago." Claudia looks at the paintings she has brought with her and then muses about where her inspiration came from or how she approached the subject matter rather "Well to be completely honest sir my approach is kind of like the approach the wind takes it varies depending on my mood take this woman for example the first two painting I did of her I approached in a way that would capture the naked beauty of a woman's body in the light of the setting sun and rising moon where as this particular one was meant to capture the beauty of a woman's inner soul as well as the body." she smiled to herself at her explanation never before really thought about it she just picked up a brush and put it to canvas and then assessed what came out after the fact.