Business is Good [Viktor]

[murdock]

"'An enemy...What is an enemy? Someone to regard or treat with haughty contempt. I'd rather deal with simplified things, like money and power."

Defining the term hostility is not as easy as it may seem, evidence would be that perhaps the number one enemy Salvatore had was the Lycan Alpha, Viktor... What made it strange was that the very person that could be named enemy was in this precise moment heading to where Salvatore was heading, to discuss negotiations and to further improve the peace between the wolf and the bat. The Elder loved cultural events so knowing of a marvelous opera happening that same night, what other place could he pick? Using his connections and money he got hold of a VIP balcony with prime view for the show.

He eyed the road through the window on the car admiring the way people moved through the night, unaware of the things that roamed the darkest corners of earth. His eyes lowered until they met the newspaper in his hand with which he "knocked" on the glass separating him from the driver, a fellow vampire "Move faster...I do not wish to arrive late.". With a sigh he kept on reading as the driver murmured a low y'sir. Being an elder had it's advantages, other vampires were basically forced to kneel before him and even most Lycans paid a certain amount of respect for him, knowing that he was a great opponent in battle; Viktor was most certainly aware of this.

The car started slowing down as they approached the building. He waited for the car to be perfectly parked and the driver to open the door for him. Laying the dark hat gently on his head and dragging the cane with him, a cane he didn't use but sported for the style only. Outside there seemed to be some cold air, but he wasn't sensitive to that kind of things. Buttoning up the long black silk suit he started walking toward the door, passing ahead the long line since he was allowed to.

The door was opened for him and before he got inside he looked around, looking for possible Lycans guarding the area. They were there obviously, but so were his men, neither of them were idiotic enough to come unprotected. Entering the main hall he was greeted by a short, ugly and bald man that seemed rather jolly even tho Notre Damme was too far for him. He showed both Salvatore and his guard the way to the places reserved for them and just as they got near the door the elder gave the hat to his guard and smiled "You go back outside, there's no need for me to be babysat.".

The prospect of leaving his master alone with a Lycan wasn't pleasing but he nodded and walked back as he knew Salvatore was to be trusted, and if he wasn't afraid, neither should they be. The door was opened for him and inside he picked one of the five or six red silk chairs, picking one of the two more at the center. Shortly after he was all comfortable a girl entered, clearly a vampire as she sat near her Lord without even asking for permission.

It wasn't common for someone of such importance to come to cultural events unaccompanied or just accompanied by another man so Salvatore enjoyed the company of a female, even if only for the appearance. She was to remain silent and just be a sort of pet there, which to be fair was good for her, they enjoyed serving him so obviously she wouldn't mind. The lights went down a notch as the people downstairs started sitting, the show was about to begin and the wolf was late.

Salvatore turned his head to the girl and whispered in a serious tone "He's late...That is quite rude, not only toward me but toward the actors and singers, arriving late at such events is only a sign of how primitive they still are!". The girl nodded and looked at the stage as he did the same. The show was starting, an extremely obese lady(like most of them were) started singing, and for her own good her voice was exceptional. He wasn't surprised tho, after hundreds of years living, he had seen better, but credit was due.

[Viktor Romanov]

The Grand Opera House, he could remember the first day it opened, how even on its debut the place was steeped in class and culture, it had attracted some of the world's greatest artists. Singers and composers flocked from foreign shores to perform here for the cream of society, social aristocrats that paid heavily for their patronage. It was a fitting place for the two leaders of the great races to meet, rather than cowering in the darkness hiding from the humans. Instead they would meet out in the open, where a vast amount of eyes could be upon them and yet neither of them would particularly care. Viktor had draped himself in a custom fitted suit made from the finest materials and on his arm he had chosen Georgia, an attractive young pup from his pack. He dressed her in designer garments, from head to toe she truly looked stunning, whilst he had stationed a few guards along the halls floor, she would be the only thing that stood between him and an ambush when he arrived to the luxury box. Viktor hadn't chosen to arrive late but the fact that he had neither bothered or annoyed him as he and his date strolled through the doors, security moving aside for them immediately.

They ascended the stairs casually, clearly in no rush to get to the box, the meeting wasn't going anywhere. The reverberations from inside the grand hall alerted him to the fact that the singers had graced the stage and opened the show. Viktor smiled as the harmonic echoes followed them up the stairs, on occasion he enjoyed classical music but tonight was not about the show, no and those upon the stage wouldn't be the only actors participating in a show. The luxury box would see business discussed, along with the fragile truce that allowed the world to live in peace for the time being at least. The fake smiles and pleasantries were nothing more than a precursor to the actual meeting. Neither of these men held a great love for each other, in fact both of them would have preferred to be anywhere else in the world right now, but for the sake of peace they tolerated each other one evening every couple of months. Viktor and his female escort stepped through the curtain and into the box, flashing smiles and making fake excuses for their lateness before taking their seats.

The tones of the opera washed over them as Viktor eyed the crowd, he wondered just how many of them were fangs, he was certain his counterpart would have packed the place with guards. But attempting to one up each other or getting into petty grievances would get them nowhere, Viktor knew there was no benefit to him stoking the flames of hatred between their two great races when the tension was almost at boiling point. He knew members of his pack had gone missing but unlike younger members of his pack, he knew that the fangs weren't to blame, the human plague was growing problematic. The day that a few of them joined together and found out of their existence was the day that a new war was inevitable, there was no way around it. Human's running around with weapons capable of killing both races would cause the angrier members to lash out and blame the others rather than the humans, too proud to believe that their brethren could be undone by those that they fed upon. "God, I remember when they opened this place, the talent was far superior, this place used to be filled with the finest society has to offer."