What We Do In The Shadows: "Jen..."

Summary: There are unexpected consequences when Laszlo seeks a new human familiar…

Part XXV…

Ginny's office…Zeller Properties…

"Hey, guys?" Colin enters room, Martha behind quickly shutting inner office door behind him…

Nandor, still tending the somewhat vague and wan Susan, looking his way…

"Mistress?" Phyllis, quickly taking defensive stance…

"Sweetheart…" Nadja sighs, rolling eyes. Sometimes minions are more trouble than their miserable lives and services are worth. "You know Mr. Robinson is one of us, our roommate and working with you people to see our purchase goes ok."

"Yes…"Phyllis carefully, still eyeing Colin apprehensively. "Sorry, Mistress…I'm a little keyed up, I guess. The thrill of meeting you and entering your service…" fond beam but a bit wobbly on legs.

"Hey, why don't you sit a mo, Phyl?" Jen suggests. "You can serve Mistress Nadja much better if you're rested."

Phyllis, slight glare…Narrow-eyed… "No one need tell me how best to serve the Mistress!"

"Phyllis!" Nadja, annoyed. "You'll be polite to Jennifer and to my own familiar, Ginny. Obey them as you would me, only me more so. Understand?"

Phyllis, a bit trembling… "I understand, Mistress. Forgive my rudeness, Mistress Jennifer."

"Oh, no…No…" Jen pats her. "I'm just Jen, your friend, Phyl. We work together to serve our overlords, just be careful you don't overdo the first day, that's all. It's fine. Your Mistress knows you mean well, don't you, ma'am?" anxious glance to Nadja, who nods.

"Of course, dear girl. Don't fret yourself, sit and rest a bit, as Jen told you. I will call upon you when I need you."

"All right, Mistress." Phyllis nods, taking seat.

"Of course, I'm still your boss…" Ginny smiles from her desk… "So in that, keep taking my orders."

"Yes, Mistress Ginny."

"Lets keep that whatever you used to call her, girl." Nadja insists. "As she says, follow her instructions as you used to you as well as any commands I send through her."

Ginny repressing smile…Nadja eyeing her…

"What is so funny, my familiar?"

"Sorry, Mistress. It's just Phyl never much heeded my orders before, except when she wanted to, it's kind of new to have her willing to listen now."

Phyllis looking vaguely embarrassed…

"It's fine…" Jen pats her again. "Ginny's just trying to see the funny side here. See once you get settled and got over that hyper feeling, you'll be able to relax and enjoy your servitude like we do."

"Yeah, Martha?" Ginny answers buzz. "Anne's here? One second…" She looks over from desk. "Mistress? Our office aide, Anne? The twenty-three year old? Did you or Master Nandor…?"

"I'm good." Nandor shrugs. "Maybe later." Nadja agrees. "I know I'm full right now."

Laszlo clearly rather miffed at not being consulted…

"Martha? Just have Anne do some of that copy work and maybe take the notarized documents to file? And anything else that you need her to do. Great, thanks."

Phyllis nodding to Jen… "Ok, Jen. Sorry, if I offended Mistress. I will do better. My life is yours." Eager flash, then subsiding to wan look, adjusting bunned hair.

Cut to Nadja, somewhat later in office chair in main office…

"Yes, the boys are right…I did give her a bit too much, just over the right level. But she should calm down in a day or two. Just have to give her strict instructions to act normally the first few days."

Colin, standing near, shrugging… "See? Exactly like I told you. Strong personality, breaks like a dry stick. Hopefully it won't be too bad…I've seen bad enthrallings that were real train wrecks. Most of them end up in the mad house or nowadays, in therapy, heavily medicated."

Back to present…Colin eyes the group…Nandor, seated with weary but anxious to reassure him, Susan…Nadja peering at computer images of the Fieldersen estate and various home décor websites with Phyllis eagerly guiding her…Guillermo and Jen talking to Erika, still a bit weak but recovering, they explaining the duties of a familiar, even an unexpected one with limited duties….Laszlo sulking a bit, watching them…

Laszlo to camera, frowning…

"So now I can't even drain a few more of the staff, so lady wife says. It wasn't my fault…I've been trying to follow the oral hygiene regimen the last dentist I could consult gave me but the gums still get a bit bloody from time to time. Whatever Nadja says, I have been flossing every day. You know, it's not easy to find a vampire dentist or a human dentist either delicately enthralled to just the right point or willing voluntarily to treat a vampire for a vast amount of cash. My family has soft teeth and bad gums by nature…" sigh, shrug. "Besides, we want a good brace of minions in the office and Erika was already slated to sell our home, we'd surely have had to take her in any case, as my dear Jen so kindly pointed out." Beam to Jen, still with Erika but glancing to see him and smile.

"Master? Do you need anything?" call…

"No, no…I'm fine, Jen."

"Cheated of a nice feast…" he grouses to camera… "But, fine."

"Guys…" Colin calling for attention. "Miss Eloise is here and wants to see how it's going as per our promises to her."

Hmmn…He eyes the newly enthralled Phyllis, Susan, and Erika…

Two of em look ready to die and the other about to start babbling about rats or something…

Still, at least they restrained themselves and didn't go hog wild through the office.

Anne, a medium-sized, brunette young twenty-three year old in navy blue suit, white blouse, black skirt, in outer office, pulling a cart of files.

"So you guys film everything Mr. Cravensworth and his wife and friends do?" she eyes camera. "Is he that important, or just…Eccentric? Oh…A writer and philosopher…" at hearing the explanation Laszlo has suggested to the crew.

"Wow…That's impressive. And I hear he inherited his money…Or do his books sell that well? I've have to look them up, but Angie, who's out now, told Marie over there…" points to cubicle. "…she couldn't find any books under that name. Does he use a pen name or something? Really? He's never told you? He sounds eccentric. Still, I guess he is loaded. That wife of his seems pretty elegant. Does she work?" nod at evasive answer.

"Sort of like charity work, that sort of thing…" nod. "She seems the type."

Eloise in outer office, waiting by Martha's desk, Martha on computer typing but keeping watchful eye.

Something different about Elly and I sense her tenseness and intense curiosity about what's going on in Ginny's office isn't just normal curiosity.

"So…Everything goin' ok with the deal?" Eloise asks, pausing in her just renewed pacing.

"I guess. They seem happy." Martha notes.

"Girl…Were you bit?" Eloise eyes her. "You stink of vamp blood too."

"What…?" Martha, tensing, reaching for phone…

Must alert the Master…

"I'm in on it, don't get worked up. Ask whichever of them took you." Eloise shakes head. "Go on…"

Colin emerges from inner office…

"They can see you now…"

"Ok, thanks." Nod.

Martha eyeing Colin…Questioning.

"It's fine, Martha." He notes. "You want to get the girls in here some more water, they probably should hydrate."

"I should…Check…" Martha, hesitant.

Eloise frowning at Colin who shrugs.

"She's just anxious to protect Nandor. It's ok, I'll have him call you right back, Martha. Eloise is part of the team, don't worry."

Martha calming…As Colin feeds a bit…

"Don't hit her too hard…I can sense your feeding." Eloise notes.

"No, just calming her down. They're always a little hyper the first day. Come on in, everything's fine."

"Let me get my phone out…" Eloise insists. "I want Roy to see I'm ok. Not that I don't trust you guys but…"

"Sure…Fine…" Colin nods.

Cut to Eloise later, in her cubicle…Leaning in chair as she faces camera…

"I wasn't trying to throw some shade there with having Roy watching, but you know…Vamps. Sometimes they're not cool and they pull real shit. As do some rogue wolves, like the dude who took me, so it's cool." Puts up a hand.

"They do seem to do a neat job. Martha was pretty much herself, just protective of that tall dude, the one who beat our guy Toby?…Nandor Relentless? But it's cool, like I said. It was a fair fight." She bites donut, a custard-filled one with chocolate glazing.

"These are da bomb, right?" warm smile. "Told ya. Wanda brings the best." Smile, then slight sigh. "Shame your guys can't do food. I don't mean to be disrespectful but seems to me vamps get a pretty raw deal. Lots of power, sure but only by night…You can't eat…It's hard to be with regular humans without eating them…Crosses and holy water burn…Shit, a wood splinter could kill ya. To me…Again, no disrespect…" hand on heart. "If you gotta be among the Occult, Undead, whatever…Werewolf. But that's me, you and other folks might see different and that's fine." Shrug.

"I know some of our girls do now." Wry smile.

"So, ok…They respected the truce and it didn't look like an orgy in there. Though I never love to see girls I know enthralled, these dudes do have a light touch, generally. And I get they need to keep things cool to get everything done and it's not like they're killin' everyone in sight. Though Phyl seems a little antsy. But it was good, they showed me respect and we're good, for now." Shrug.

"I mean, I get it. You do what comes naturally. I mean I don't love that I kill people sometimes, but nobody lives forever and I didn't ask for this, right? I try not to go after nice people, especially with kids…And I have never eaten a child or a baby. But, what can you do, you try to do the ones doing evil or harm or just nasty and when you aren't sure, you try to take just what you have to. I generally try to take a good piece of thigh. They can do a lot of reconstructive surgery now so it's not too bad a deal to fix. Do I transform people?" she eyes camera.

Slight wave of hand…"Eh, I try not to but sometimes, you get carried away, ya know? But if I know they're really bad dudes or dudettes…Like this gang that was comin' into my old neighborhood, really evil types, killin' kids who sold weed on their own, breakin' into old folks' places and hurtin' them, just for fun and some macho thing to enter the gang? Oh yeah, I make sure those kind of dudes don't see the light of the sun or the moon, you know what I'm sayin?" smile.

"Well, that's about all I can say for now. So far, we're good. Lets hope it stays that way." Careful nod. "Excuse me, I better get back to work here. I have an appointment at two and I need to get my paperwork together."