Breaking the Rules Pt. 05

"Try me."

"Tell you what. Let me set you up to assist at a party coming up, night after next. You make it through that, and we'll talk."

"Is it a sexy party?"

"Depends. It's not, for some."

"Looking forward to it then."

"Here's the deets. Go to this address tonight, and let them know you're volunteering as waitstaff. Show up and do as you're told, you get paid and word will get back to me. The day after, you come in here. I'll be in touch."

Tatenda dropped a card on the table and walked out casually.

"Don't find me, I'll find you," Nuru said sarcastically. "Alright, well, that's a start."

He finished his meal and went to the library. He quickly skimmed everything he could see on the Onyx Township and the surrounding area, and scoped out the address on the card. Looked safe enough, although where the door was he had some difficulty discerning; it was all just flat blank wall. After circling the block a few times, and starting to feel eyes on him, he spied a basement entrance blocked off by an iron fence and some stairs leading down from the rear; he ducking into an alleyway and jogged quickly around the back to reach it. He pushed open the surprisingly heavy door and slipped inside as it slammed behind him.

"What do you want?" the woman behind the counter said, staring at him intently. She was a cervitaur, a half-deer; the bottom half, specifically.

"I'm volunteering. For, uh, that party tomorrow. You need waitstaff?"

He showed her the card.

"Okay. Name?"

"Nuru."

"Sponsor?"

"Uh... Tatenda?"

"That crazy bastard. Shirt size?"

"Err... can't say I've ever been measured."

"Nevermind, we'll find something. Humies are easy. You... are human, right?"

"Don't hate. I was born this way."

She chuckled. "Well said. Alright Nuru, what else can I do for you?"

"Any good inns around here with an open bed?"

"That is our primary function. I do have a room. Come this way."

She led him to a room, barely more than a closet, with a cot set up.

"Perfect. Thanks so much. What do I owe you?"

"We'll settle after the party tomorrow. Get some rest, you're going to need it. Restroom's through there."

She left him, pointed towards an open doorway, and went back to the front desk, hooves clacking on the stone floor.

*****

Nuru woke late, to a pounding on the door. "Hey! Up and at 'em! Time for decorations!"

He shuffled to the door and opened it. "Sorry, what do you need me to do exactly?"

"Get out. We'll handle it."

A spinnerette was at the door, humanoid torso and human face, waving her six extra arachnid legs she wasn't standing on at him with cleaning supplies, and watching everywhere and nowhere with her compound eyes.

"Gods, you're hideous. Get out of my sight," the spinnerette said. "Yes, the way my eyes work, that means leave the whole hall."

"Get outta my hair, spidey," Nuru shot back, grinning.

"I- I can't tell if you're joking. I see fifty of you, but I can't read expressions too well."

"Lemme spell it out for you then. I'm totally joking, as long as you are."

"Oh yeah! Can't you see the googley arms?" she said, waving them again for emphasis.

"Ah, I actually didn't know what that meant. Cool, all yours."

Nuru picked up his pack and his drum, and walked up front. "What time do I need to be back tonight?"

"Just make sure you're here before the sun goes down," the brawny man with an irrepressable mane of hair exploding from his head said.

He looked human, but something about his eyes was unusually predatory, though he turned his head to look at the wall as if uninterested. Nuru walked outside and wandered around, checking out the message board and seeing the sights. He stopped for lunch at the Boar and Rose, picked a little table for himself, and ate.

"All set?" Tatenda said.

"Sure. They're decorating right now."

"Excellent. Word of advice, avoid the library. Neither you or I should be seen there right now. Somebody's stirred an anthill."

"I'm curious who. Maybe I should go ask."

"Are you deaf? I just said-"

"Not in person. By proxy, you follow?"

Tatenda shrugged. "I'm on that already, but do whatever you want. I'll let you know what I hear."

"Oh, well, that's fine then. You can do the proxy."

Tatenda relaxed subtly. "Enjoy your lunch."

Nuru found that the server didn't take his money; Tatenda had already paid. He visited a few shops, memorizing price lists in order to know where the best deals were. Onyx was an art town, focusing primarily on precious metals and small statuettes crafted from semi-precious stone such as jade. He couldn't afford a single thing, but it was a great place to window-shop and bemoan his lack of fortune, and the lack of shelf space, shelves, and of course walls, in his non-existent house on the grassy patch he owned back in the Home Town region where he couldn't even travel anymore. The sun started to fall, and Nuru went back to the inn where the party would be held. He was surprised to see a very human-looking man behind the desk now.

"Can I help you?" the man said, so quiet Nuru had to roll back in his memory to make sure he hadn't just imagined it.

"Other way around. Show me my shirt and tell me what to do."

The man's eyebrows rocked, just the tiniest bit. "Mm, I see, you're the new guy I heard about. You look so normal."

"I could say the same about you," Nuru said.

"Rule number one, the wait staff should be seen, but not heard. Rule number two, the donors must not give more than a pint per hundred pounds of body weight. Rule number three, do not make eye contact with the customers. Rule number four, the customer is always right, unless I say otherwise. Rule number five, you will be docked the cost of your shirt should it be returned anything other than spotless. Any questions?"

(So many.) Nuru thought better of it and shook his head. The man stared at him a long time silently. Nuru kept his eyes on the floor, no matter how hard he wanted to glance up in confusion and alarm under the pressure of the stare.

"You may go back," the man finally said. "Dismissed."

The spinnerette waved him over as he walked through the newly-hung curtain to the hallway. Several doors had been opened up into a multilevel room taking up what had to be the largest portion of the building. that was built in a squared-off spiral with staircases shortening the distances between all the floor spaces draped back and forth.

'Oh, you actually made it,' she whispered. 'Guess I need to introduce myself after all. Name's Nnenna.'

'Nuru. Was there some kind of test?' he whispered back.

'Two of them, at least. First, your nerve in showing up, second, keeping your eyes down. Congrats on apparently passing both. So here's the deal. The customers will be at each one of these booths. We've set up donors in most of the rooms. Tonight's special is wolves, the old classic, so nothing special about the handling, and most of those donors are repeats so they already know what to expect, and I'm handling the first-timers. They are all along the east hall, and you'll be mostly working there. I'm going to show you the rest though, just in case somebody grabs you with an, uh, urgent request, and I'm not available to help.'

'OK, read me in on one thing here. The customers are vampires?'

'Yeah. You didn't know? This is The Zoo, humie, what did you think happened here?'

'No idea. Never heard of this place before. I was just told to come get a job.'

'Hoooo boy. Wow, a clueless human at The Zoo. Somebody's got a cruel sense of humor.'

'No... actually, I think it was test number three or four.'

'Shit, I don't even wanna know. Here, let me show you; drop your stuff in this closet and come back later for it.'

They went up and down the halls, opening doors briefly and peering inside where various creatures were getting dressed and, in a few cases, refitted with evening gowns and suits. In one, a centaur; in another, the cervitaur that had been at the desk the night before; yet another, a were-hare was taking some kind of potion to maintain the animal form transformation. An orc definitely too small to be the dominant kind. A satyr. A fat goblin. Several species Nuru had to read the sign by their door because he'd never heard of them before, such as a garuda, which was a humanoid with eagle appendages and face but the body of a woman. A pixie, who would only be able to donate to one lucky customer all night, on account of his ninety-pound weight.

A bell clanged in one corner of the building.

'That's it. Sun's down, customers will be arriving any moment. Help them find an open booth, and we'll start bringing out the donors for the first course. Remember, no eye contact especially within ten feet - you make eye contact, you're fair game, and the other customers won't be getting service. And then you won't get paid.'

Nuru felt a chill. One slip, and a vampire could be breaking his skin, potentially ending his life, although it sounded like they tried to avoid that here.

'How much do the donors get paid?' Nuru asked.

'Paid? They're gettin' their freak on as much as anyone here, you and I are the only ones getting paid tonight, aside from the entry fee. Look, up to the front, we need to escort them in. Formal etiquette and all that.'

In twos, the vampires arrived in high style; black travelling cloaks hid deep red ruffled shirts, slacks, dresses, and Nuru didn't know what else. They checked their cloaks at the door with the man at the desk, and Nuru and Nnenna showed them to a table as directed by the host, using gestures rather than words. Nuru had to look back carefully every now and again to make sure he wasn't losing them; they all stepped so quietly he couldn't hear it at all.

"I say, there seems to be some fresh blood in the place," a man said to his female companion.

"Rather tacky, a human on wolf night," she replied. "Seems to defeat the purpose, no?"

"One hopes he's the barest bit competent, so that we might get fed sometime before sunup."

"Indeed, that ogre from last time mistook us for that elfish couple half a dozen times. Imagine, missing those ears as big as wings, I can't fathom what was going through his thick head."

"Madame, good sir gentleman, I assure you that your experience will be up to our reputation's standards tonight," the host said, giving Nuru a warning glare, which he could only catch out of the corner of his eye. "I believe our guests will enjoy the second-level table nearest the stairwell for the fastest service and the tantalizing aromas."

"That remains to be seen. Come on, vanilla mortal, let me show you where you're supposed to take us, as if we can't find our own way," the man said loudly.

They took the long way around the spiral, and placed their order on the way.

"We'd like a good vintage of wolf this time. Young, but seasoned; a woman. The testosterone throws the flavor completely off," the man said.

"And for the second course, I think I'd like something light but filling. Vegetarian-fed, if you've got it. I'm watching my weight," the woman said.

Nuru made a note to bring them the were-hare if she wasn't spoken for already. One by one the tables filled, and the quiet chatter of hushed voices filled the air. Light crystals dimmed, and the host came out, the same man who'd been at the desk.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming on our eleventh annual Wolf Night Blood Tasting; I am your host, Olamide. We have a fine selection prepared for you this evening, not only werewolves for the main course but also a chaser to finish out the evening in great variety, and one lucky guest will even have a chance to sample a rare garuda who may be the last pure-blood specimen left in the world. I hope I don't need to remind you that this is the highest-class establishment of its kind and your assistance is appreciated in keeping the paladins out of our business by not overdrawing from our lovely stock. For those of our guests whom I've not met personally, I'll start by sharing that I am blessed to be a vampire like all of you, with greatly enhanced hearing, and if you should have a need that the staff cannot fulfill, call out my name and I will attend just as swiftly as possible. Thank you, and please enjoy."

A smattering of light applause marked the beginning of the first course. Nnenne put her head next to his and whispered very quietly directly in his ear.

'Come on, Nuru. You take them up to the first half of the tables. Take the long way, start at the end, and work backwards, so that the closest tables get an aromatic appetizer as it goes past. Once the donor is accepted, close the curtains.'

'That one couple was getting special attention. They asked-'

'He knows. He'll be serving them personally, making up for a poor experience on their last visit.'

'Olamide?'

'Right. Don't say his name though, he's listening for it. He hears almost everything; the building is designed to carry all the sounds to where he is standing right now.'

'They're all hearing us right now, aren't they?' Nuru whispered, noticing that for the volume of people in the space it was remarkably quiet.

'A few, but they're all concentrating on their own discussions.'

They each went and opened a door without knocking in the hall where the werewolves were waiting. In their human form, they were dressed up and ready, following without hesitation, with veils covering their eyes. Nuru led his first to the end of the second-floor spiral, where the veil was removed and the man looked around, peering at each booth as they passed. Nuru took the veil passed to him, then with some silent agreement the man broke away, and Nuru closed the curtains for them as the werewolf stepped boldly inside. He returned to the rooms, urged on to speed by the others hissing and waving as he passed, then tossed the veil inside as he opened another door. One by one, the room occupants were led out and found booths to enter. Nuru heard some quiet bickering in the higher section; a man was gesturing at Olamide wildly, who was calmly standing, barely moving in fact, making little head nods and other gestures that indicated some sort of conversation happening but he didn't see lips moving or anything else. A woman was standing off to the side, looking quite disapproving. She retreated to the booth alone and closed the curtain. Olamide held his finger out authoritatively and held it for a minute as the man kept gesticulating at lightning speed, and then in a flash and a quiet gasp from the booths pitched him from the third floor balcony to land heavily on the ground floor on one knee. The man stood up, brushed himself off, and stood stiffly while the host glided down the stairway and escorted him out the front door.

After that, it was completely uneventful until all the booths were closed and from the sound of things, the feeding began; sighs and moans took on a decidedly sexual tinge, from the donors if not the customers. Nnenne waved him over and he followed her to the foyer. She put her head next to his again.

'We're done for now. They'll finish their feeding, and the donors will be released and return to their rooms; be prepared to help them, but rarely are any of them too weak to carry themselves. Second course starts in an hour. I'm taking a break; when the bell rings they'll all return to their booths, and we start on the exotics. Stay out of the way until then.'

'Got it.'

Nuru went back out to watch. Moans and cries came from different booths; they sounded, for all the world, like sexual ecstacy. One by one, the booths opened again and the occupants strolled and sniffed the donors at other booths, but none of them fed again. They all avoided the one booth with the woman alone, still with the curtain closed.

(!Kafa Mara Nauyi!) Nuru mouthed the words, but put no air into them. It worked; his footsteps lightened considerably and he slowly took the stairs up to the lone booth, making as little noise as possible, then stood just outside, pondering.

/Do it./

(Do what?)

/Say something to her./

(You've been watching this whole time?)

/I knew you'd be getting into trouble before long and I've been checking in every once in awhile. When I heard how quiet it was, I figured out you found the vampire party and been watching ever since. I wasn't sure what was going to happen here, but I approve of your choice to approach the woman whose date got ejected. She's getting the full pressure of social rejection right now; they're a very judgmental bunch considering they're quite frowned on by the High Factions./

(I don't want to get drained to death.)

/Let's have a chat with her, shall we? There may be an alternative you'll appreciate./

'Miss, can I get you something?' Nuru whispered.

A moment passed, then a slender hand emerged from the curtain and crooked a finger at him. He walked over and stuck his head in, keeping his eyes unfocused and turned away. She sat straight in her chair, staring downward, and patted the table across from her silently. He sat down gently. She waited a moment, then gestured with two fingers at her eyes, then at him. He tilted his head in confusion, keeping eyes cast down on the table. She gestured quickly, repeating the motion; two fingers, from her eyes, towards him, then back at her.

/Look up, Nuru./

(But-!)

/Ssh, I know what it means, better than you do. Just do it./

Nuru swallowed, then met her gaze. The world swam out and back into focus. Her red eyes bored into his, casting messages between them; he almost didn't notice her fine side-slit gown, the jewel-encrusted headdress. His Weightless Foot expired and slowly began the cooldown.

-Why have you disturbed me?- her eyes said.

+You did not get to feed+ he replied.

-I have been skipped for the first course, because of the breach in etiquette. If he hadn't been trying so hard to show off... but here we are, and no other donors are allowed to come up now that the curtains are opening for the scent buffet. I care not for the social niceties out there. I just came because he paid for us both in advance; now look at me, all dressed up and nowhere to go. I might as well just leave, myself-

+If I'm not mistaken, I could find a donor still waiting in the rooms. There are enough, and I haven't been instructed not to serve you+

-I've no appetite for wolf tonight. What else is there available? Certainly not the garuda that fool demanded we be served-

Nuru told her everything he'd seen.

-Pixie might be good, but I couldn't skip ahead, I'd be forever forbidden like that idiot I came in with-

+Seems a waste of a perfectly good evening. I have until second course starts, do you mind if I ask a few questions? My blunt ignorance may possibly balance against your... guilty association, if I may be so bold+

-Be my guest-

+I'm Nuru. What's your name?+

-Lesedi-

+Just that? No title?+

-None I am willing to share at this moment-

+You feed, I assume, on humans?+

-Most commonly, by preference but not necessity. It's respectably pedestrian; cliche, even. Here, we get to taste the subtle differences of the less common species. Wolf Night is meant to be a time when the werewolves are in the phase of the moon where they can control their transformation, and the feed is meant to happen right in the middle, to taste the flavor as it transitions from man to wolf. It is considered quite the experience, a test of the limits of our enhances senses, but...-

+You're not interested?+

-It seems to me that many of my fellow blessed ones are more interested in symbolic status in such things, rather than the joy of the feed itself. I find I rather prefer the old comforts; the drunk, deep in his cups, or the lusty youth such as yourself, lean and energetic with mischief and desire. I'd have taken a bite of wolf, to be polite, but now there's no need-