Only When We Dance, Can We Be Free (Tag Adredoodle) (Complete)

The sound of the bass through the speakers washed through her, pumping through her veins like blood once had. She may not have been as brilliant a dancer as Adreana but she wasn't bad and Adre had taught her much over their long years together. They were the only two on the dance floor, before the club opened for the night, while the DJ warmed up and made sure the system was working properly. Her long curls of dark hair had been decorated with brilliant feathers and extensions so that she matched Adreana's wild hair. Her favorite purple leather jacket was tossed over one of the tables on the edge of the dance floor, the brilliant flashing lights shimmering of the crystals in her blue sleeveless top, a purple camisole adorned with a spider pattern peaking out when she moved. A black jean skirt covered her hips, and blue leggings covered the rest all the way down to the brilliant purple and blue heels on her feet.


She would always miss the balls and splendid dinner parties of her youth but this new modern age had it's perks. Hygiene was a big one. The bangles on her wrist clinked together as she reached out to wrap her lithe fingers around Adreana's hand and spin her around to the beat of the music. They were getting ready for a grand night, though of course, they thought every night was a grand night. For two dead girls, they had more zest for life then most of the living. Lilli's laughter rang out as the two spun under the lights and ocean of sound. She had long ago learned to watch Adreana for the little signs that Costanzo was nearby. She may not be able to see the ghost of Adre's late werewolf friend but she learned a long time ago that believing didn't always mean seeing. As Adre's eyes darted to the side, as if responding to someone talking, Lilli flashed a smile in the same direction. "Come on Costanzo, feel the music!" She taunted the ghostwolf.

The both of them were crazy, just different types of crazy, and you certainly didn't want to call either of them crazy where they could hear you. Lilli could be as sweet and innocent as a child one moment, and a blood thirsty monster the next. Adreana saw the ghost of her dead friend, though Lilli was never jealous of him. What was there to be jealous of? If anything, Lilli thought of him as a friend too, after all these years together. "What shall we do tonight? What are we in the mood for?"

Adreana’s body swayed gently as she let the music overtake her. It was nothing like the music she’d grown up with. This stuff was all bass intertwined with electric noises and the occasional voice made to sound like either an angel or an enraged harpy. It had its up and downs - literally - and it was definitely not something she would pick out herself, but the beat was easy enough to dance to.

Both hands lifted slowly as her eyes fluttered closed, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of her lips. The black miniskirt wrapped about her waist kept her legs together as she dipped, the chains dangling from it jingling with every swish of her hips. Beneath the skirt, a pair of neon green leggings made themselves quite apparent, little black skull & crossbones littering every square inch of the thin fabric. Thick soled combat boots finished off the lower portion of the outfit, making some of her movements on the barren dance floor that much more impressive.

Her favorite black denim jacket had made the cut for tonight’s outfit, but it was beginning to be a bit too restrictive for her taste. Shrugging out of it, she grinned wickedly before sending it towards her best friend with more than a little of her vampiric speed and strength. Costanzo side-stepped her “attack” with ease and she pouted at him for a moment before letting it go with a laugh and returning her attention to the music. With her arms free, she let them do their thing, twisting this way and that in the air as she spun. Like Lilli, she’d decided upon a tanktop for the night, though hers was black, much like majority of her outfit. A necklace with a large wolf’s head hung at her throat, swaying with each move she made.

One hand dropped as the beat dropped - a term she’d learned recently - grasping that necklace for a moment before her eyes flickered open towards Costanzo. He’d given her the necklace for Christmas two years previously, and she’d never gone a day without it.

The sound of Lilli’s voice dragged her eyes away from the werewolf, but they quickly flickered back as her words registered. “Oh, no… I already know his answer,” she laughed, stopping her dance and standing up straight so as to seem more like her companion. When she spoke again, her voice was gruff as she attempted to imitate his own. “My name is Costanzo Durante,” she began, her voice taking on the natural lilt of their natural Italian tongue, “and I’m far too dignified to dance. Besides, I only ever attended those fancy shindigs of yours, Adreana, for the money. Golly, but men were fools back in the day! Such easy targets, the lot of them! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

At last, she could no longer keep up the impression and she doubled over into a fit of giggles. She hadn’t got any part of it correct, of course, except for the fact that he wasn’t a fan of dancing. Still, it had brought a smile onto his lips. The sound of his laughter echoed over, renewing her amusement tenfold. As her laughter began to fade away, Lilli spoke up again and Adreana mulled over the question for a moment while she caught her breath. She didn’t actually need to breathe, but it had become a part of her lifestyle over the past few centuries.

“Well, you know me… I’m always in the mood for Russian,” she responded finally, a mischievous smile on her face as she shrugged. It was her answer any time Lilli asked what she wanted. She wasn’t entirely sure why she preferred drinking the blood of those from the Motherland, but she did. There were worse things for her to be addicted to, at least.

Lilli arched a brow as Adreana drew herself up in order to mock her best friend. Lilli had never met Costa alive, so she had no idea what he actually looked like, though Adreana had never accepted his death and Lilli had never seen the purpose in shattering her little dream world. Her red lips curled into a smile as Adre mocked Costa, and she couldn't help the torrent of giggles that bubbled from her throat. They three of them laughed for a bit before Lilli sobered enough to muse about their plans for the evening out loud.

"We had Russian for lunch." She stated, with just a hint of a whine to her voice to make her point. "There are not enough people from the old country here." She heaved a very heavy sigh, her Italian accent creeping into her words heavier than it normally did. She moved to the edge of the dance floor and dropped into the cushioned chair at the table that her jacket sat on. "What about Thai....there has to be some Thai on the Boardwalk somewhere." A night out sounded like a great idea, but so did a massive bloodmilkshake and a good night in painting landscapes.

That was her eternal problem, the constant inability to make up her mind. It was why she'd traveled the world, the constant itch that kept her moving. Some might speculate that she was searching for something, some thought it was the family she never had, so she just kept collecting more and more. "Maybe I'm finally getting homesick." She thought on that for a moment before she rolled her eyes. "But that requires having a home to go back to now doesn't it?" She hopped up out of the chair she'd just flopped into and sauntered off to the bar.

"Shots! We need Shots! And don't you skimp on me, Erika!" She teased the bartender, a hot blonde were with the tribe spider tattoo on her wrist. Erika was smart enough to pour them three shots, not two, having learned a long time ago the wherever Adreana was...Costa wasn't far behind, the other members of the tribe only played along so they didn't piss off Adreana.

Adreana glanced over towards Costanzo as the words slipped past her lips. She didn’t have to see him to know he was rolling his eyes. Both of them were, she guessed. Neither Lilli nor Costa shared her love of Russian. Granted, Costa didn’t consume blood to begin with, but even if he did, she had a feeling he’d feel just as neutral on the subject as Lilli was. A look of confusion filled her face, at the sound of Lilli’s whine and she canted her head slightly.

“I don’t see the problem…” she said, her voice deadpan. As Lilli went on to explain precisely why they couldn’t keep eating the same ethnic foods for each meal, Adreana cracked a grin to show she hadn’t been serious. It was rare for the young vampiress to be incredibly serious. Ever since Lilli had rescued her from her metaphorical tower, she’d had a hard time remaining lucid and without glee.

How could she be sad, after all, with so many amazing things to see, taste, smell, and experience? After years being shackled by her sire, she’d spent the next century of her life gaily running rampant throughout the modern world with Lilli. They left a trail of blood wherever they went, but Lilli always took care to cover their tracks and leave behind some loyal Tribe mates.

“Oooh… Thai could be good… A little sweet, a little spicy…” Adreana licked her lips, her tastebuds already anticipating the onslaught of flavor. As she returned to the present, she was a bit shocked to see that Lilli was moving off to the side of the dance floor. Blinking, Adrie took a quick look in Costa’s direction before hurrying after her friend. She arrived at Lilli’s side in a heartbeat, thanks to a bit of a boost from her enhanced speed and quickly flashed a bright smile towards the her best friend.

“Hey now. We have a home here. No getting all Mopey McMopeypants on me, Miss!” Sliding over towards Lilli, she threw one arm around the other vampire and gave her a tight half-hug as they moved at a more mundane pace towards the bar. “Home is where the booze is, after all - and I do believe Erika here has got plenty of it!” Her eyes flickered to the girl’s throat for a brief moment, but the desire left as soon as it had arrived.

The grin that splayed across Adreana’s lips as Lilli perked up and called for some shots was almost feral in nature, with a hint of childishness. “Whoo! Bourbon it up!” she called out excitedly, even as the bartender’s hand reached for the familiar bottle.

Adreana’s eyes flickered to the side and her neck stiffened, the look on her face taking on a more serious tone for a brief glimmer. With a quick nod, she resumed the bright smile, her eyes lighting up at the sight of three shots. Her tongue slipped across her tongue again and one hand reached forward, stealing a shot glass. Lifting it into the air, she quickly tossed the liquid back into her mouth.

It burned as it hit the back of her throat, but in a satisfying way. Letting out a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes and hopped up on top of the bar. Her boots thudded against the polished wooden surface, echoing loudly across the empty room while the DJ took a quick break before the doors were scheduled to open. “I wanna rock!” she sang, gripping an imaginary microphone stand and holding it behind her. From across the room, she heard the distinct “Rock!” echo coming from Costanzo, spurring her to sing the next line. “I wanna rock!” Again, an echo, this time from considerably closer, signifying he was done with his nightly sweep of the inner premises.

“Turn it down you say. Well, all I gotta say to you is time and time again I say ‘No, no, no, no, nooo!” With a burst of excitement, she leapt down from the top of the bar without the use of her vampiric speed or strength. As soon as her boots hit the floor again, she began to spin, her colorful hair whipping through the air as she moved. One hand held an imaginary guitar while her other slammed out a few silent chords. “Tell me not to play. Well, all I gotta say to you when you tell me not to play, I say ‘No, no, no, no, nooo!”

Of course Adreana saw nothing wrong with Russian for Dinner, Lunch, Breakfast or any snack in between, but Lilli was much harder to pin down. She was spontaneous to a fault, and sometimes picked the option you weren't expecting...just because you weren't expecting it. She wasn't evil in the truest sense of the word, it was more that she was raised in a lifestyle where you did what you had to to survive and that's all there was to it. Right and Wrong were decisions only the rich and the Aristocracy had time for.

Lilli wasted no time in picking up her shot and tossing it back. Setting the shotglass back on the bar top with an audible clink she eyed Costa's shot still sitting there untouched. She scooped it up and stuck her tongue out in the direction that Adreana's eyes had darted towards. "Too slow!" And she downed his shot too. Of course, Costa wouldn't have wanted his anyway, he never drank.

As Adreana hopped up on the bar, Lilli leaned forward to grab the bottle of bourbon. Erika made no move to stop her considering the tribe basically owned the whole place. She took a long drag off the bottle as Adreana launched into her rendition of the Twisted Sister song. She danced in her seat, waiting for her moment to jump into the song. What were best friends for if not for random song and dance? Once Adreana reached the end of her verse, Lilli hopped up on the bar herself, using the bourbon bottle as a microphone.

♫SO, IF YOU ASK ME WHY I LIKE THE WAY I PLAY IT
THERE'S ONLY ONE THING I CAN SAY TO YOU
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)
I WANNA ROCK!  (ROCK)
I WANT TO ROCK! (ROCK)
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)

Adreana echoed Lilli, just like the song called for.

THERE'S A FEELIN' THAT
I GET FROM NOTHIN' ELSE AND THERE AIN'T NOTHIN' IN THE WORLD
THAT MAKES ME GO!
GO! GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!
TURN THE POWER UP
I'VE WAITED FOR SO LONG SO I COULD HEAR MY FAVORITE SONG SO,
LET'S GO!
GO! GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!
WHEN IT'S LIKE THIS I FEEL THE MUSIC SHOOTIN' THROUGH ME
THERE'S NOTHIN' ELSE THAT I WOULD RATHER DO!♫

The two sang the next verse of the song together, Lilli jumping down off the bar so she could dance around Adreana while she air guitared her undead heart out. The fact that there wasn't actually music playing didn't seem to bother the two of them as they belted the song in true rock fashion. Lilli lept up on one of the tables so she could exclaim that she wanted to rock. By the time their song was over, she'd practically consumed the entire bottle of bourbon. Apparently, this was going to be a drunk Lilli night. Which could be tons of fun...

or someone's version of a worst nightmare.

Adreana’s eyebrows lifted as she watched Lilli throw back her shot with practiced ease. She wasn’t surprised to see Lilli snag Costa’s shot, but she sent him a quick look as if to say “you snooze, you lose” as the other vampire swiped his shot, too. Costanzo didn’t mind; he never did. He hadn’t ever said anything about it, but Adreana was fairly certain he’d sworn off drinking ever since the night she was turned. To this day, she didn’t understand why - they had not even made it to the tavern by the time Gaius found them and took her.

Still, she did not complain. It was nice to know that no matter what, someone had her back.

Adrie’s gaze dropped slightly at the movement around her ankles during her solo atop the bar. One corner of her lips quirked upward as a familiar hand darted out towards the bottle of bourbon, its dainty fingers plucking it from behind the bar. She felt the rush of movement beside her as she leapt from the bar top and once the guitar riff was over, she looked up to where Lilli had taken her place, ready to play back-up just as Costanzo had done with her.

Although there was a distinct lack of lockers on which to slam her head like the music video portrayed, Adreana had no qualms with merely banging her head forwards and back each time she called out an echoed “ROCK!” Her lips continued to weave their way through the quick lyrics, but no sound came out until the next verse when the pair sang in tandem.

Adreana spun around in circles, continuing to wail on her air guitar as Lilli danced around her, a huge grin on her face. From the corner of her eye, she saw Costanzo finally move towards them and take a seat at a table just out of range of their rock’n’roll. As Lilli leapt up onto a table, Adrie followed suit, her powerful leg muscles sending her soaring up onto a nearby structure. By the time the song was over, she was on her knees, her upper body leaned back while her arms hoisted the air guitar above her for one last power chord.

A few moments of silence filled the mostly empty bar as her sensitive eardrums adjusted to the fact that there wasn’t a roaring crowd below and speakers larger than Costanzo lining the walls. Let it not be said she didn’t have imagination. Letting out a few breaths, Adrie shifted her feet below her and pushing both hands against the tabletop, eased her way off of the table in a slow, backwards flip. Even with the combat boots on, it was plain to see she was pointing her toes, just as she’d been trained to do so in her first life.

Once both feet were back on the ground, Adrie moved towards her best friend and threw one arm over the other girl. Her hand snaked out, snagging the bourbon before Lilli could finish it all on her own. “I’m parched!” she exclaimed, downing the rest of the bottle. As the last drop hit her palate, she lowered the bottle from her lips and let out a loud, hissing breath of relief. “So, whaddya say? Shall we open this place up and grab some dinner?”

As their song came to an end, Lilli collapsed into one of the cushioned chairs, flopping onto it from her position standing on the table. Her laughter filled the empty space as Adreana joined her, mocking fighting with her over the bottle of bourbon and pouting once she'd snagged it away. "Good idea, let's open up before I drink the bar dry." Lilli stated, hopping up out of the chair to snag her purple leather jacket. "Places my Brothers and Sisters!" She called out. While most of the staff weren't Tribe members, the management portions all were and knew the command Lilli gave them. The DJ had returned to their post and music filled the large room once more, ready to greet their patrons as the doors at the end of the building swung inward. Already there was a line wrapped around the block, the bouncers at the door were supes, perfectly capable of handling whatever physical altercation came up...even from another supe. Also stationed near the door was the head hostess, one of the Tribe Seers who's specialty was picking out the different types of Supernatural creatures and seeing that their needs were met.

"Hold down the fort, we're heading out." The fact that she was the Princess of the Tribe was really more of a secret, only the Elite truly knew her real place, everyone else knew her as a Hunter and had only ever heard of the Princess in rumor. Lilli liked it that way, she liked the mystery of it, and she enjoyed when others underestimated her. It gave her the upper hand and for a rogue like her that was exactly what she needed. The element of surprise was usually on her side.

Linking arms with Adreana, the two skipped out of the club, right past the line of people waiting to be admitted. "Let's head downtown, find some dinner, and then see what chaos we can cause. I heard rumor of a rave." She teased her friend, the both of them loved to dance and a rave was the perfect place for a pair of troublemakers like the two of them. Lilli and Adrie didn't go around making a big show of being Vampires like some had started doing. Their lives had depended on secrecy for so long that Lilli was loathe to break something that was working so well. The Tribe was a hub of information and secrets and she intended to continue running it that way. The rich and powerful chose them because they got the job done...and because they usually didn't have anyone else left to turn to.

"We should check in on Rosa while we're out, see how her new shop is doing." Rosa was a member of the Tribe, a witch who had chosen to break out on her own away from the main branch of the Tribe and see what she could do with her life. She'd started an occult shop downtown before the Veil fell and Lilli worried about her now that the cat was out of the bag.