David took the flowers. "Thanks, Rasul, we'll be getting out of here soon." He looked at the club manager in such a way that the man walked slowly backward from the room.

David moved from his seat to pass the flowers to Orchid. "Looks like you've got a fan."

"Orchids," Morpheus observed. He shifted shape briefly to free his legs. "Who sent them?" David raised his eyes to find Morpheus glaring mildly, as if he were annoyed the shifting had been noticed.

"Doesn't say," said Orchid. He dropped back to the cushions and stretched his legs before him, now Morpheus was no longer beneath him. "I think I know who it is, though. We've got flowers like this before," He pulled a plastic card from the bunch. "An invitation to play for someone in Islamabad.Says we should leave a message if we're interested in the offer."

"The capital," Morpheus said, "we could cause a scandal if we tried."

Orchid laughed.

David turned away to pack their remaining belongings and let his favorite divas dress. It didn't take long, considering Morpheus just had to shift his exostructure and Orchid had a couple centuries practice handling clothing at Vampyre speed.

They kept their Vivid Sadness gear at Zulfi's house. Most everyone in The Village knew their Haven keeper and his lover were also masked singers, but they felt better if the children weren't given too many opportunities to ask about their performances. Fortunately, Orchid and Morpheus were good at keeping the details of their staging separate from running the Haven, or from any other aspect of their lives.

David said goodbye to Zulfi, Miko, and Laila who lived in the Village. As he left  Zulfi's house with Morpheus and Orchid, Orchid took the disc from Zalman's camera.  The three of them got into the Ford Vampire and drove the short distance from Village proper to the Haven's Villa.

They took the outside staircase to the rooftop patio and pool. Orchid handed the small media disc to David. "I'm going to take a quick swim, you can watch the beginning without me if you like." Orchid's wide cobalt eyes fell on David. He smiled.

"Oh, I'm going to watch it," David said. He stood watching a moment, while Orchid stripped off his clothes, before entering the adjacent penthouse apartment atop the villa, where Orchid maintained private quarters.

David found Morpheus inside, walking about the penthouse wearing only a kilt; not the tartan of David's mother's people, but some piece of modern menswear.  

David looked to his own clothes. He picked at his shirt with pale fingers, and it fell damply back against his torso, soaked pink with vampiric perspiration. David reached to the back of his collar and pulled the shirt over his head. He let it drop to the polished marble tile, knowing Orchid would later walk about rescuing all the fallen garments and put them neatly into drawers or hamper.

David put the disc in the machine, then sat in one of the faux-antique chairs near the monitor. He heard a splash of water, before the  guitar music came from the concealed speakers.

David had seen many Vivid Sadness shows live, at least the public ones. At first, he'd thought it a stupid idea. Morpheus was a real guitar player. He'd been playing since he was born-- or sung into being or whatever; David wasn't sure. Old videos of his acoustic covers of pop songs still turned-up on the net, sure, but David knew Morpheus had toured with actual rock bands back before David was even born. Orchid had, too. That was where he'd got the name, they said. Before that he'd just been Julien, and hadn't thought much of others choosing 'Vampyre names', but he'd picked a stage name and it had stuck.

Often, David felt like there was a a secret joke he just didn't get. Like, seeming vapid sex objects who shimmied and gyrated on stage to mostly pre-recorded dance beats and sing-songed repetitive hooks was art, because they intentionally chose this expression or performance. There definitely was intent and effort. They programmed those beats, and designed their costumes, and composed the lyrics.  

David had been seduced into coming to see a show, and now he had to admit he enjoyed them. If nothing else, they had fun on that stage. But, they were also hot.

David believed in a sliding scale of sexual preference. His slider leaned much closer to woman than anyone else, but there was that little margin. He might have said he was completely heterosexual and just 'gay for Orchid' through some vampiric transcendence of human sexuality. In fact, he remembered strongly suggesting this aloud to someone in particular; but he'd lied. There had been others.

David looked away from the recording of Orchid dancing about on stage to watch Orchid enter the penthouse, clad only in a towel and still glistening with droplets of water.  He walked directly to Morpheus and his open arms, and they kissed, before sitting beside each other on the couch. If, 'beside each other' were more like half entwined and barely watching their video.

As David watched the video he felt hungry. It was like that rather often. Since he'd been turned, his most Human hormonal urges had been replaced with vampiric bloodlust-driven urges. Hungry and horny weren't too distinct. It was especially bad living with these two, again. David had only just gotten the blood before he was forced to move out that time, but now, some recent events impressing upon him how much he was chemically unlike most Vampyres, he worried that being around Morpheus had some effect on him.

David had never been fully Human. He had been, by way of having Sidhe on both sides of his family, in varying amounts, 3/8 Witch, 5/16 Human, 3/16 Angel, and 1/8 Wolfbreed. Getting Orchid's blood had overwritten his mortality and most Human nature with Vampyre nature-- he'd been mortal enough to turn --but it hadn't canceled his other non-Human traits.

Morpheus, himself one of the Sidhe and only 1/4 Human, had to be casting off some kind of Angelic pheromones, and David swore he could almost taste them in the air. He couldn't quite. He might be imagining. But, his hybrid senses of smell and taste were acute; he had that sliver of wolf in him.

David's blood pulsed over quick. The video was sexy, but his state had a lot more to do with the half-clothed Vampyre and Angel doing a little bit more than making out on a couch not a meter from him. He tried to keep his focus politely on the video; not that Orchid or Morpheus cared if he watched. They'd stopped being discreet around him sometime during his teen years. The relationship between the three of them-- he knew --was a bit queer.  

 "Here's where that guy was all over Zulfi while he was working," David said.

 Orchid turned his head from Morpheus and fully toward their Monitor. "Is that Jinnah?"

"Jinnah? Where have I heard that name?" David asked.

"He's running for governor."

Morpheus groaned. "You are interested in this? Now?"

"You were done," Orchid said, quietly, but anything short of telepathy behind mental barriers was plainly audible to David. Orchid leaned back into the couch.

Morpheus looked across Orchid, as if to David. "Done is not the same as being finished with you."

"You being finished with me will never come," Orchid said. He took Morpheus' hand in his. "Not true for poor Victoria, if this is how Jinnah spends his nights. No wonder she wants it."

"You wouldn't tell her?" David asked.

"No. But if he's a fan," Orchid said slowly, probably distracted by someone arranging the towel over his thighs. "Maybe he could be persuaded to concede some Darkling Rights legislation if elected."

"Persuaded. Like blackmail?" Morpheus said.

Orchid lifted the Angel's hand and kissed it. "I'm not going to out my own fan."

"Our own fan."

Orchid pretended to ignore the correction. "But, maybe I could show Victoria some affection?"

Morpheus laughed.

David focused again on the monitor, watching the beginning of the backstage video. When Jinnah again came into view, he was standing in the hall. For a couple seconds there was a clear view of Jinnah with Zulfikar kneeling before him. "Now, that you could really blackmail someone with."

"We can't use this video," Orchid said firmly. "If we have to ask Zalman to edit this out, then he'll have to view it. It's better no one else has a chance to see this."

"What ya gonna tell Zalman?" Morpheus asked quietly.

"I'll say that I just don't want to use this one. He's got better stuff already." Orchid sighed. "I mean there's a reason we don't let him take direct shots of the audience...."

David wondered who he would vote for.

------------------

Secret: David became a citizen sometime during childhood immigration procedures, though he was born in Scotland.