NIGHTSIDERS: Season One (IC / OPEN)

[Ameriganastan]

Down the hall a tad, a rustling sound emanated from the broom closet. A few moments later, Vasily came spilling out and landed flat on his face. Why he was dressed as a ballerina was a mystery he probably didn't even have the answer to.

"Oh, Moya bolyache holova (My aching head). Last time I party with the Vietnamese...or were they Laotian...eh. All Asian languages sound the same when the person has a ballgag..."

He stumbled to his feet, brushing the dust off his getup and peeling a beer label off his shoe.

"Well, better get ready for tonight. Can't have a DJ not show up. And if I don't, they'll probably get Daryl to replace me. That guy is a hack...I should probably change...and I'm not even on my floor..."

Trying to get all his rusted bearings in gear, he finally noticed the other resident of the hallway...whose name he forgot. So he winged it.

"Hello...female person."

He wasn't good at winging it.

"If you like decent ecstasy, over-priced booze and house music, I'm DJing at a club in Augusta tonight. Tell the bouncer you know me, and you don't have to pay the cover charge...unless it'd Todd. If you tell Todd you know me, he might punch you. He hasn't quite forgiven me for that incident with...well, that's a story for another time."

[Wheatley Laboratories]

Apartment 205
Alpha Johnson

Alpha had been relaxing in his apartment for the majority of the day, his camping things neatly packed up in a camping bag that he'd thrown onto his bed for later. One man tent, check. Food for the morning, check. Change of clothes, check. Sleeping bag, check. As always, he wished he could take his camera and take some pictures of the night wildlife, but it would be to much of a risk. If it got damaged...

There was a knock on the door. Alpha, with a sigh, climbed off the sofa and walked over to the door. He paused in front of it, not opening the door straight away, like always. One vampire and one human, that would be Mina, probably with her human friend.
He opened the door, Chet beating him to invite them in.
As he'd guessed, Mina went straight to asking him what he was going to do with the full moon.

"I... am going camping." Alpha replied, pointing to his bag. "I set up my tent in the woods, put my stuff inside and wait outside for the change. At sunrise, I locate my tent, sleep for a few hours, then pack up. I'll probably get back here about midday tomorrow."
He smiled.
"Sure beats chaining myself up in here. I've never had to, the camping method always works. There's been a few casulties, but not loads."

[Segral]

Les Claybeach

Les groaned as he shifted slightly on the couch. He was watching Friends, the episode where Joey gets a Porsche, and one of his favorite episodes, despite it only coming out three days ago. Mostly because of the annulment scene, but that was beside the point. The point was, he was lying on his couch watching sitcoms because he was extremely tired and really didn't want to do anything.

Since Game Night, things had been rather rough. His little bribe hadn't worked, and he had gotten his rent doubled. Les had a hunch that it was because of his stunt with Elsa, which was pretty absurd to him, although he wasn't gonna argue with her and risk getting evicted. Granted, it's not like he could lose, considering he was almost a foot taller and much stronger, but, no matter how much of a shithole Sunset Grove was, he had nowhere else to go. He had spent the week after that cursing Mina Harker in extremely colorful language and drinking way too much gin. After he got over that, the Sterns moved out because they needed more space for their baby, which Les couldn't really argue with, but it made him feel lonely and empty. And now he had to pay the full double rent with no assistance. So he had gotten a second job as a security guard. He worked from 12-6 every day doing shifts at the mall, before coming home, resting for half an hour or so, before heading out to the pub he tended, for six hours until 1 AM, before he headed back to the apartment for eight hours of sleep, and the cycle continued.

Needless to say, Les was exhuasted after that much work with that little rest. So today, he said "Fuck it, I need a day off", called in sick, and decided to spend a day of fun.

Les, partially through of his day of relaxation and enjoyment, sitting on a couch with a bottle of beer in one hand and a bowl of nachos in his lap, was interrupted by some ruckus outside. Cursing and running his hand through his messy hair, he got up, still clutching the beer, and walked out to see Mina going inside the apartment of his next door neighbors, Alpha and Chet. Les slowly began to smile as he realized what day it was. The full moon. And who precisely is Les' illustrious next door neighbor? A werewolf. "Today's gonna be interesting..." he thought, as he moved beside Elsa, casually sipping his beer, finally awaiting a spark of excitement in his shitty life, in this shitty building, in this little shitty town.

[Beiarusia]

Vasily Kozlov

Les Claybeach

Elsa Bancroft
Sunset Grove Apartments, Bangor, Maine - October 1999

The teenager stood near Apartment 207, back against the wall, bored and maybe a bit disappointed that she was on the wrong side of the door. (Judging by the raised voice on the other-side maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.) Elsa was minding her own business when she was approached by a strange hairy man dressed in a pink tutu and smelling strongly of alcohol. He tried to peddle some drugs, and she laughed at just how odd the situation was. Partying at a nightclub sounded like a good time, and it probably was, a jolly good time, but it was a school night and Augusta was kinda far when you lacked an automobile. Sure, her Honda scooter could probably make the trip well enough but it seemed like awfully more trouble than it was worth.

"Cool offer but I think I'll pass, Mr. Strange," Elsa said with a pleasant smile.

The tenant from Apartment 206 joined them. Lester Claybeach. A man whom Mina had encouraged Elsa to avoid like the plague. He was looking a bit shabby today as if he'd only just gotten out of bed. He was drinking a beer, and nacho cheese stained the corners of his mouth. Said not a word, just stood there as if expecting something to happen, sipping on his beer.

Elsa couldn't help but to feel a bit uncomfortable. "You need something?"

---

Alpha Johnson

Mina Harker
Sunset Grove Apartments, Bangor, Maine - October 1999

The werewolf was planning to isolate himself in the middle of nowhere, which was fine enough, Maine was home to countless many miles of vacant timberland, but at the mention of casualties, well, Mina couldn't hold back a scathing retort. "What do you mean?" she questioned, her lips bent into a deep frown. She jabbed a finger into Alpha's chest. "There better not be any casualties. If anybody goes missing tonight because of you then don't bother coming back!"

Harsh, but Mina had good reason to be. Nightsiders had it hard enough without some idiot werewolf going about eating people. There would be investigations, uncomfortable questions, dots to connect, and the last thing any of them needed was exposure. Not all humans were bad or evil or else out to get them, but centuries of persecution was more than just a passing fad. They would be hunted. They would be captured and dissected and killed, vermin to be exterminated, and they would be forced to flee like fugitives on the run. Perhaps such negative thinkings were the byproduct of a runaway pessimism, but to Mina, a witness to human cruelty, a victim, such ideations were fact as opposed to fiction.

Mina stopped herself before she could say more, taking a deep breath. "This is about everyone, not just you."

Not wanting to give in to another rant about how Alpha was being grossly irresponsible, the vampire took her leave, opening the door to find a new thorn in her side. Lester the Demon. Vasily was there, too, but he was mostly harmless despite his probable alcoholism... and the drugs... and his striking dimwittedness. He was an idiot but he meant well. Mina had yet to forgive the demon for his stunt, and maybe she was rash in her vindictive punishment, but Lester wasn't exactly trying to make peace. She didn't need to be a vampire to hear what was said behind her back.

So, with an indifferent frown, she looked to Lester and asked very plainly, "What do you want?"

[Talchyon]

Apartment 205, Sunset Grove Apartments
Chet Jones

Finding out one's genealogy was a pretty tedious task normally, but even more tedious when one's last name was Jones. Chet had had the unfortunate luck to find out just how many hundreds of thousands of Jones's there were, even in Maine of all places. And that's not if you're counting various Jones' who had immigrated from England, or British colonies. Yes, there were Jones' who came over from India, South Africa, and Central America. And what's more, none of them seemed to related to each other. Harold A. Jones, born in 1783, for example, was the second cousin of Harold D. Jones, born in 1779, but not related to the Harold F. Jones born in 1771 who immigrated from Derby. Nor was Harold A. Jones related to the Darryl A. Jones, or to Terrell A. Jones, both born in 1775 and 1761, respectively. Add in the juniors, seniors, those Harold Jones III's, and even the few IV's, and you had a headache already starting. Now, when you want to find out which Jones family you belonged to and had no idea who your parents were, multiply that unlikely probability that you would ever find your genealogy by ten.

That's why, instead of looking at the library books again on his end table, Chet had turned on the tv on Sunday afternoon and was watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS, when there was a knock at the door. Alpha had gone to get it. Glancing over and seeing that it was Mina, Chet invited her in.

He hoped it wasn't a complaint. He tried to be a good neighbor, not make much noise in the mornings at 4 a.m. when he left to go to school. And he used headphones on his tv so when everyone else was sleeping, he wouldn't be heard. Chet was halfway to turning off the tv when his landlady began to ask Alpha about his full-moon plans.

To be honest, Chet had kind of forgotten about his new roommate's situation. There hadn't been a full moon yet. So, while Chet had kind of gotten used to sharing his space with a new guy, it had kind of slipped his mind some. They had talked, a little. But it's not like they knew each other's life story. Heck, it's not like Chet knew his own life story, so he probably wasn't the greatest conversationalist on that topic anyway.

Flipping the switch to turn the older tv set off, Chet walked over to the doorway to greet his landlady. And saw that she had her friend with her. And then he also saw his irresponsible drug addict of a neighbor, Vasily, and his trivia-challenge rival. Les. Seeing all of them gathered there made Chet a little nervous. But he wasn't going to show it.

"Hello, Mina. We're not in trouble, are we? No complaints about us, right? And, I'm sorry, I don't remember your name, but hello Mina's little friend. Vasily. Les." The last two Chet spoke more to acknowledge that they were there, without actually encouraging them to tell him what was on their minds. Of course, that didn't always work. Sometimes, Chet said, "Hi," and people launched into hours worth of minutiae that didn't matter. Who knew if they would react that way or not?

[Segral]

Les Claybeach

Les jumped slightly when Elsa spoke. He had almost forgotten she was even there, as he was so preoccupied with his own thoughts. Some of the beer spilled down his front, slightly wetting his shirt. "Fuck..." he muttered, desperately trying to wipe his shirt clean. He then realized Elsa had said something. "Wha-oh, right, uh, nothing, I'm fine. Just...burned out, and wondering if my safety might be slightly compromised. M' sure it'll be fine." His words were slightly slurred, not from drunkenness but from just exhaustion.

Eventually, that bitch of a landlady opened the door, and gave Les a cold look, as if he was scum or dirt. Lester's hands shook slightly, and he felt himself grow slightly red with fury, as he longed to give Mina a piece of his mind. But he held his tongue back, as he didn't want to be homeless, as well as the fact Vasily and Chet were watching. So, he managed to inject some calm into his voice, but it shook slightly.

"W-what I want? Why...simply to check if my safety will be compromised by that damn werewolf next door. Y-you know it is fool, I mean, full moon right? Is he gonna be anywhere me or my doubled-rent apartment?"

[Ameriganastan]

Les Claybeach

Les jumped slightly when Elsa spoke. He had almost forgotten she was even there, as he was so preoccupied with his own thoughts. Some of the beer spilled down his front, slightly wetting his shirt. "Fuck..." he muttered, desperately trying to wipe his shirt clean. He then realized Elsa had said something. "Wha-oh, right, uh, nothing, I'm fine. Just...burned out, and wondering if my safety might be slightly compromised. M' sure it'll be fine." His words were slightly slurred, not from drunkenness but from just exhaustion.

Eventually, that bitch of a landlady opened the door, and gave Les a cold look, as if he was scum or dirt. Lester's hands shook slightly, and he felt himself grow slightly red with fury, as he longed to give Mina a piece of his mind. But he held his tongue back, as he didn't want to be homeless, as well as the fact Vasily and Chet were watching. So, he managed to inject some calm into his voice, but it shook slightly.

"W-what I want? Why...simply to check if my safety will be compromised by that damn werewolf next door. Y-you know it is fool, I mean, full moon right? Is he gonna be anywhere me or my doubled-rent apartment?"

"Lighten up there, Beelzebuzzkill. I'm sure Rover in there has the situation well in hand."

Whatever point Vasily tried to make seemed moot by his current choice of dress. But he was giving it a go anyway.

"Heck, he's only a danger when there's a full moon. If you should be worried about anyone around here, it's me. You should see my apartment. I tell you, if the landlady saw-"

He quickly remember said landlady was right there.

"Uh...story for another time...I should be going. Give me a ring if you change your mind about that club gig tonight, kid. I know a guy uptown who makes a wicked fake I.D. Stuff is scary good."

He mock curtsied and strolled off for wherever he intended to go.

[Wheatley Laboratories]

Vasily Kozlov

Les Claybeach

Elsa Bancroft
Sunset Grove Apartments, Bangor, Maine - October 1999

The teenager stood near Apartment 207, back against the wall, bored and maybe a bit disappointed that she was on the wrong side of the door. (Judging by the raised voice on the other-side maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.) Elsa was minding her own business when she was approached by a strange hairy man dressed in a pink tutu and smelling strongly of alcohol. He tried to peddle some drugs, and she laughed at just how odd the situation was. Partying at a nightclub sounded like a good time, and it probably was, a jolly good time, but it was a school night and Augusta was kinda far when you lacked an automobile. Sure, her Honda scooter could probably make the trip well enough but it seemed like awfully more trouble than it was worth.

"Cool offer but I think I'll pass, Mr. Strange," Elsa said with a pleasant smile.

The tenant from Apartment 206 joined them. Lester Claybeach. A man whom Mina had encouraged Elsa to avoid like the plague. He was looking a bit shabby today as if he'd only just gotten out of bed. He was drinking a beer, and nacho cheese stained the corners of his mouth. Said not a word, just stood there as if expecting something to happen, sipping on his beer.

Elsa couldn't help but to feel a bit uncomfortable. "You need something?"

---

Alpha Johnson

Mina Harker
Sunset Grove Apartments, Bangor, Maine - October 1999

The werewolf was planning to isolate himself in the middle of nowhere, which was fine enough, Maine was home to countless many miles of vacant timberland, but at the mention of casualties, well, Mina couldn't hold back a scathing retort. "What do you mean?" she questioned, her lips bent into a deep frown. She jabbed a finger into Alpha's chest. "There better not be any casualties. If anybody goes missing tonight because of you then don't bother coming back!"

Harsh, but Mina had good reason to be. Nightsiders had it hard enough without some idiot werewolf going about eating people. There would be investigations, uncomfortable questions, dots to connect, and the last thing any of them needed was exposure. Not all humans were bad or evil or else out to get them, but centuries of persecution was more than just a passing fad. They would be hunted. They would be captured and dissected and killed, vermin to be exterminated, and they would be forced to flee like fugitives on the run. Perhaps such negative thinkings were the byproduct of a runaway pessimism, but to Mina, a witness to human cruelty, a victim, such ideations were fact as opposed to fiction.

Mina stopped herself before she could say more, taking a deep breath. "This is about everyone, not just you."

Not wanting to give in to another rant about how Alpha was being grossly irresponsible, the vampire took her leave, opening the door to find a new thorn in her side. Lester the Demon. Vasily was there, too, but he was mostly harmless despite his probable alcoholism... and the drugs... and his striking dimwittedness. He was an idiot but he meant well. Mina had yet to forgive the demon for his stunt, and maybe she was rash in her vindictive punishment, but Lester wasn't exactly trying to make peace. She didn't need to be a vampire to hear what was said behind her back.

So, with an indifferent frown, she looked to Lester and asked very plainly, "What do you want?"

Alpha simply stood there, letting Mina rant on. Once she left, however, the werewolf sighed and sunk back onto the sofa. "It's not my fault if people pick that day to go out hiking, I can't control my wolf form!" he said to himself. "Obviously, I'd rather nobody died, but I'd also prefer it if I wasn't a freaking werewolf as well... I don't enjoy being a werewolf!" he shouted the last sentance, everybody outside probably heard. Eh, who cares, it made him feel better.

Alpha stayed in the room, just gazing up at the ceiling. He could go now, but there was still quite a while until it got dark and it would probably take him an hour, tops, to reach his destination. But, what to do...? Honestly, there wasn't much around here, the best thing to do would talk to the group outside.
The werewolf walked out, gloved hands in his jacket pockets, and stood next to Chet.

[Beiarusia]

Mina Harker
Sunset Grove Apartments, Bangor, Maine - October 1999

"W-what I want? Why... simply to check if my safety will be compromised by that damn werewolf next door," Lester said with a slight shake to his voice. He was making an attempt to be civil, biting his tongue, but it was plainly apparent that such effort was beyond his capabilities, and cracks like deep fissures were beginning to appear in the fake cordiality.

"You'll be fine," Mina said, terse in her attitude. He was a demon, after all, and last she checked demons were impossibly hard to kill without divine intervention. To Lester a werewolf would be little more than an inconvenience. Chet joined them in the hallway (Alpha choosing to linger in the apartment a moment longer so as to shout to himself) and asked if they were in trouble, to which Mina assured him that, no, they were not in trouble, her tone softening a small bit. The skeleton could be irksome at times but he meant well. The werewolf, well, Mina couldn't say considering she'd spoken to the man all of three times since his coming here, but given his earlier statements she knew that she would need to keep an eye on him.

Vasily was the first to take his leave. "I should be going. Give me a ring if you change your mind about that club gig tonight, kid. I know a guy uptown who makes a wicked fake I.D. Stuff is scary good."

"We won't," Mina answered as the satyr headed back to his apartment.

Elsa, however, was considering the offer, and Mina noticed too late the mischievous look in her eyes. Giving a hurried goodbye to Lester, Chet, and Alpha, the teenager rushed after Vasily, dragging Mina along by the arm despite her protest. "About that guy in uptown," she said to Vasily as she blocked his way, grip too tight for Mina to escape, "there's a block party a few nights from now, in Bangor, and we need to get in. Think you can help?"

[Ameriganastan]

Mina Harker
Sunset Grove Apartments, Bangor, Maine - October 1999

"W-what I want? Why... simply to check if my safety will be compromised by that damn werewolf next door," Lester said with a slight shake to his voice. He was making an attempt to be civil, biting his tongue, but it was plainly apparent that such effort was beyond his capabilities, and cracks like deep fissures were beginning to appear in the fake cordiality.

"You'll be fine," Mina said, terse in her attitude. He was a demon, after all, and last she checked demons were impossibly hard to kill without divine intervention. To Lester a werewolf would be little more than an inconvenience. Chet joined them in the hallway (Alpha choosing to linger in the apartment a moment longer so as to shout to himself) and asked if they were in trouble, to which Mina assured him that, no, they were not in trouble, her tone softening a small bit. The skeleton could be irksome at times but he meant well. The werewolf, well, Mina couldn't say considering she'd spoken to the man all of three times since his coming here, but given his earlier statements she knew that she would need to keep an eye on him.

Vasily was the first to take his leave. "I should be going. Give me a ring if you change your mind about that club gig tonight, kid. I know a guy uptown who makes a wicked fake I.D. Stuff is scary good."

"We won't," Mina answered as the satyr headed back to his apartment.

Elsa, however, was considering the offer, and Mina noticed too late the mischievous look in her eyes. Giving a hurried goodbye to Lester, Chet, and Alpha, the teenager rushed after Vasily, dragging Mina along by the arm despite her protest. "About that guy in uptown," she said to Vasily as she blocked his way, grip too tight for Mina to escape, "there's a block party a few nights from now, in Bangor, and we need to get in. Think you can help?"

"Well, yes and no. You, I can help. You can just pass for someone of adult age. Ronnie can fix you up no problem. As for pee-wee here..."

He didn't seem to care the person he called pee-wee was his landlord. Then again, there was a good chance he was still drunk from his previous night of debauchery.

"Well, he's good. But he's no miracle worker. No fake I.D. on earth would make someone think you were an adult...well, you are an adult I assume, you just don't look it...say, you ever hear of this thing the Japanese do called lolicon?"

For the first time in his life, his brain turned its rusty gears a tad, making him realize he really needed to change the subject.

"Uh...never mind...actually...yeah, that'll work. Cause who looks like a kid but is actually an adult? Midgets! Yeah, I'll get Ronnie to make you a fakey saying you're a midge. He's been expanding into counterfeit cripple placards, and he needs the practice. I'll give him a jingle forthwith...right after I change. This thing is giving me a wedgie in the worst way."

[Segral]

Les Claybeach

Les was now fuming internally, but didn't let it show. "Very well." he said quietly, near whisper. "How...thoughtful of you." He was about ready to go back inside, drink, sleep, and maybe hire a stripper. He really wasn't sure by this point. He just wanted a break. He didn't need or want the threat of potentially bloodthirsty werewolves stalking around. Maybe he should sleep with his spear, just in case. Nah, can't really fit that under your pillow.

However, a monkey wrench was thrown in his plans by Vasily the satyr's mention of nightclubbing. A club...those things the "hip" children go to. They sounded like fun, a night of drinking, dancing, drugs and hot women. Les usually wasn't up for that stuff, but today, today was different. It was a day off. It was time for him to just let loose and break out all that pent-up energy. Hell yeah, it was gonna be great.

"Oi, Vasily!" he called out. "You think you could get me into that club? I need a night out."

[Talchyon]

Apartment 205, Sunset Grove Apartments
Chet Jones

Standing at the open doorway of his apartment, with the scene that was happening out in the hallway, led Chet to get a little steamed. Yeah, so he and his new roommate had had a few adjustments to make sharing the same quarters. But Alpha wasn't a danger or a threat. Sure, he had different tastes in music and tv shows, but a roommate could adjust. But that's not how Les saw things. Les, his rival, antagonist and unfortunately, his next door neighbor, was moaning about how horrible it would be to have a werewolf neighbor on a full moon night. It's not like the werewolf's roommate was worried. And of course, Chet might think differently if he had more than just bones on him, and maybe some actual flesh. But he wasn't! As you know, there were potential dangers for skeletons too. Alpha might decide to go play fetch with him, or dig a hole in the backyard and bury him in there. But was Chet worried? Of course not!

"Les." There was more he wanted to say, but Chet had somehow lost his tongue - figuratively as well as literally. Oh yeah. He found the train of thought again.

"Stop worrying about Alpha. You should be more trusting of your neighbors. I mean, you're making it sound like Alpha's a monster or something. Well, more of a monster than the rest of us. If it ends up that Alpha sheds in front of your door, we'll make sure we clean it up then."

Man. Chet hadn't been this frustrated in a long time. It's probably not good for you.