♬ karaoke party ♪

[deformiwhats]

“Welcome to Caritas!”

That’s what you’ll hear when you make your way down the stairs into the Karaoke Club. Dark and atmospheric, with glowing tables and a stage that faces the bar, if the sights don’t make it obvious this is a karaoke bar, the crooner up on the stage will.

He’s dressed to the nines in a cream suit, deep purple shirt shining under it as he belts away, welcoming you in. He apologizes for the intrusion, but it seems the ship wanted more than just his beautiful, sultry voice.

“My name’s Lorne, and I’ll be your host for tonight! So hit the bar and drink in your courage, Sailors. Because you might not be able to leave until you give us a show!” That's all he gives you before slipping into what he thinks is a pretty appropriate tune for the occasion.

If you didn’t come here by choice, hopefully Lorne’s words will give you a hint? The ship is hungry for bad belting. For some, the door will reappear after they chirp a few bars. For others, a few songs are required.

Some people have even gone up, struck with the strong feeling that they must do so, even if they’d been railing against singing at all just a minute ago. The ship just really wants everyone to sing and enjoy themselves, OK?

Comments

Rebekah (ota)

[easily]

Rebekah's not sure how she ended up here. She was trying to get to the 20s bar Katniss had shown her before. It was her favorite place to drink on the ship. But instead she's stuck here in this place. It's not exactly her style, but it could be a lot worse, she supposes.

Currently she's nursing a gin martini and looking through the song catalogs for something she might recognize. Luckily, Stefan's been helping introduce her to some more current stuff.

Not that what she chooses is that modern but still, more so than her usual fare from the 20s.

i'm so sorry, but i had to do it. i couldn't resist.

[otherwise]

Matt wasn't sure how he got there either, but having caught sight of Rebekah on the stage near the tail end of her song has him drawing closer to it. He's waiting for her when she comes down off it, completely unaware of the fact that this is a Rebekah Mikaelson who has no idea who he is. She never did time in Mystic Falls, never caused him to swerve off the road and veer straight into the river, never talked him into dancing with her at prom, never broke her vow to be as human as she could to save April's life, never sat down and helped him with all the schoolwork he was behind on when his friends were too busy to pay him any attention...

"Figures I'd find you here."

It's said as if it's supposed to have some bite to it, but is edged with an amused sort of budding fondness instead.

you're a monster

[easily]

Rebekah doesn't know the boy who approaches her. Doesn't know the history they would share in an alternate history she never lived. Before Nik could dagger her she woke up ninety years in the future and in a new, different Chicago. She reconnected with Stefan -- she lived her own life. The one she lived in Mystic Falls remains largely a mystery to her.

She tends to think that's for the best.

One of her brows arches in confusion at the familiarity in his voice -- a fondness she doesn't understand.

"Do I know you?"

Re: you're a monster

[otherwise]

"Funny," is his response. "Hilarious. Comedy's not a good look on you, Rebekah."

Re: you're a monster

[easily]

She just gives him a look at that. Seriously. No idea who you are, kid.

"I'm not joking."

[otherwise]

"And I'm Prince William."

He gives her a look, one that seems to ask what she's playing at. Rebekah screws with people, yeah, but she doesn't usually screw with him. Matt's well aware of the fact that he seems to be something of an exception to her rules and of her interest in him. He's not stupid or blind.

But he's not seeing any of that here. She's never looked at him like that before, and that bothers him for some reason.

"...alright, what's going on?"

[easily]

"Nothing's going on except me simply not knowing who you are. But you know who I am. I suppose it's one of the multiple universes thing -- you would think the Rifts would of left me more used to that."

Except most of the people she met in Chicago from Mystic Falls hadn't known her either -- except for Stefan who she obviously already knew. So she's never really gone through this scenario before.

[otherwise]

Matt holds out his hands. "Okay, what? Rifts?"

Elena had said something about rifting or whatever that was, but it had gone in one ear and out the other, the information she was sharing with him drowned out by the immense relief that filled him upon realizing that Elena was human again.

"It's me, Rebekah. Matt? The guy whose truck you ran off the road? Your brother broke my hand for the fun of it? Ringing any bells?"

[easily]

"In Chicago -- or an alternate future version of it." Rebekah had been arguing with her brother back in the 1920s version of the city when she showed up in the one full of rifts. She never got daggered, never woke up ninety years in the future and because of that never met Matt.

"I don't know you, nor do I remember any of those things though if Nik only broke your hand you're probably getting off lucky."

Because as far as she knows, Kol hasn't been undaggered. Let alone killed.

[otherwise]

"Kol broke my hand," he holds up the appendage in question, as if whatever happened to the bone and tissue hasn't long mended itself or been repaired in the wake of his Gilbert ring revival, "not Klaus."

[easily]

"Kol did it?" She asks in confusion. Because he was definitely still in his coffin last she knew. When did that change....

[otherwise]

"Yeah, he did."

Matt had recently acquired a new vervain bracelet and was busy unhooking it from around his wrist. He set it aside on one of the nearby tables.

"If you don't believe me, compel me to tell the truth."

[easily]

It surprises her when he takes off the vervain -- she doesn't remember him but he clearly trusts her implicitly -- not something she's used to from anyone, let alone a human.

She let's her eyes meet his, her eyes dilating as she speaks.

"Tell me, how did we first meet?"

[otherwise]

It can take some time for Matt to trust someone, and he doesn't trust easily. But once you have his trust, it's hard to shake it. That's one of the reasons Matt was the last one standing (with Damon, albeit for reasons Matt viewed as far more selfish than his own) when it came to saving Elena from herself and having faith that she was still in there, somewhere.

"In the gym," he answers. "We were both there when your brother killed Tyler and made him turn."

[easily]

"Made him turn? Caroline's boyfriend?"

The Tyler she had been vaguely aware of in Chicago had never been turned into a hybrid. So this is of course all new information for her.

"And later Nik undaggers Kol?"

[otherwise]

"Yes. Snapped his neck, fed him Elena's blood so he didn't die like the others."

Matt wasn't always kept in the loop when it came to these kids of things, but he knew that much. Actually, a lot of what he knew he found out from Rebekah herself.

He nods. "Not just Kol. Everyone."

[easily]

"I had heard he finally broke the curse."

Stefan had told her that much, at least. The turning hybrids and Elena's blood role in it? Not so much.

Her eyes widen. "Even Finn?"

Finn hasn't been out of that coffin in like forever. Not that anyone really missed him. Or cared...

[otherwise]

Would they care if they knew Matt was the one to drive that stake through his heart?

"He did," and he killed a lot of people in the process. All so he could turn into even more of a monster than he already was.

A nod. "Yes. Even Finn."

[easily]

Maybe? It's debatable.

"Stefan didn't tell me much about what happened after I was undaggered, I had no idea."

She can't help but wonder what he might be keeping from her.

[otherwise]

"Stefan and his brother aren't big on sharing."

Is that a bitter note in his voice? You bet.

[easily]

"So you know the Salvatores as well."

Sorry Matt, this is going to be like the worst game of twenty questions.

[deformiwhats]

This time, Lorne waits for Rebekah to make her own way offstage. Of the few rules Lorne does follow, not assaulting an impossibly old and well-traveled vampire is definitely one. He doesn't keep his distance entirely, of course. Two drinks in each hand, one intended as an offering, Lorne smiles as if they were old friends.

"Now if we had a little more of that around here, I wouldn't need to pay that pesky no-violence tax. That was certainly something, Princess."

[easily]

No doubt that her performance probably showed him a lot of her very long life -- and the rather unhappy parts of a lot of it. Rebekah projects enough even without mystic help sometimes.

She smiles at the praise as she turns to the man. The green skin is definitely out of the realm of what she's used to but she's a thousand year vampire. She can cope.

"Why thank you, I figured if I was going to do it, I might as well do it right."

[deformiwhats]

He ushers her to sit with him at one of the tables, eager to learn more about her. While memories and feelings generally give Lorne a good idea about a person, he knows that a lot can change in very little time. And she's a lot different than the vampires he's met.

"From someone who's seen quite a bit of a few different worlds, it was a real treat. Don't get a lot of good ol' Billie around here, either." Lorne dips a toe in the water first. He's still not ready to let it rip on the empath thing. Caritas might be a safe haven but he'd like to be able to explore the rest of the ship without an angry, violated vampire looking for his head.

[easily]

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for a woman with pain and love in her voice." And generally the more jazzy tunes. But the rawness of Billie's singing was certainly part of what drew Rebekah in.

And probably best not to let the empath thing out too early. Rebekah will probably react a little better once she at least knows Lorne first.