The League (small-ish group) (open, no need for a writing sample)

(I think I can post and then we can move on?)

(yeah, after Ella posts we can move on)

I think that’s wise, they wrote. Efraim didn’t really have anything else to say, so they went back to adding a bit more to their drawing of the other man.
(Snisjiskjfk)

By then they’d reached the Nautilus, a surprisingly fast journey Dorian could only attribute to some sort of motor mechanism. How this… Nemo had managed to get one only increased his interest in what this whole mission was about, he however knew the real truth of the matter. Why they were all really here. Three normal hunters, for a given value of hunter. Rounding up miscreants for purposes quite unknown to them, but known very well to Dorian. Allegedly to save a city, that part was true at least, oh how old James Moriarty loved his games. But still, there was more to it than that. Sanger ushered Dorian into the ship and away from any trouble.

The Nautilus was still mostly submerged. Only the deck and the bits above it were visible, and their boat nosed right up beside the massive ship. Some of Nemo's crew put down the ramp, carrying the luggage down into the belly of the Nautilus. The faintest of smiles danced around Nemo's mouth; the Nautilus was his home, and they were glad to be back to it.

Sherlock studied the ship, eyes narrowed. He could tell by the shadows in the water that it was bigger than it's surface made it seem; he wanted to explore it, but doubted that Nemo would allow them free reign over the ship.

Dorian didn't intend to stay put for long. If Nemo forced him to stay in one place, he'd find a way out for sure. Dorian was crafty, unfortunately for the rest of the group, and he liked to do what he wished as he wished it. Anyways, he needed access to the ship, and he'd get it if it took killing Nemo himself to get it. He needed his portrait back, and he needed it sooner over later.

Sanger meanwhile didn't like the look on Dorian's eyes. He was too keen on things, too observant in all the wrong places. Observant maybe, but also too open. Like he didn't fear harm, or death. Maybe with the bullets riddling his chest along with the disappearance of said bullets moments later meant something with regards to that, but Sanger Rainsford was not a man for trouble and he was starting to regret ever promising to watch Dorian.

Tom didn't quite understand all that was going on (shocking, I know), but he helped the crew with the luggage, keeping a wary eye on Dorian. Something about the man just rubbed him the wrong way, and he didn't like him in the least.

( @orion-lying here you go ^^)

(Lol hi. I can post somethin or y'all can??)

(shrug)

Dorian flashes a toothy, inhuman grin to Tom. He knew when he was being watched, it was an intuition. A skill built over years of having to watch his pretty ass on streets that knew the smell of blood.

Tom's gaze narrowed, and he frowned. Dorian very much unsettled him, and it was not a good feeling. He grimaced just a little bit, still watching the strange young man.

Dorian allowed himself to board the ship, Sanger following closely after. He didn’t want to lose Dorian, not after the man had gotten into so much trouble. But lose him he did, and Sanger wasn’t about to go to Nemo to find out what would happen if he admitted he lost Dorian. He didn’t want to die, mostly, so he followed around different crew members, trying and failing to get into off-limits areas in order to find this eel of a man.

Quartermain also offered to help Tom and the crew with the luggage, despite still feeling a little ill. He was too focused on the task to really care about Dorian, however.

When Mina woke up, she was far more energized. Upon ascending to the main deck and finding themselves arrived at the Nautilus, she looked it over, rather fascinated. It wasn’t quite like any mode of transport Mina had encountered before. Soon enough, she spotted Sanger and Dorian, frowned, and decided to go aboard.

Sanger eventually gave up, and sought out Mina. "Mina, help. Dorian left and I don't know where he is!" the man was on the verge of tears, and indeed his eyes were quite misty. "He was there one minute, and gone the next. He has given me the slip." he said.

Mina blinked, then rolled her eyes. Already? Dorian… “Calm yourself, Sanger. He does this sometimes.”
She looked around, then started walking to look for a more secluded spot. “Come with me,” she said, motioning to him.

Sanger thought for a second. Mina didn't seem like the killing type, except for when she did, which was most of the time, but also she could kill him very easily especially if she were truly a vampire. "Uh…" he followed, however.

Mina treaded lightly and cautiously. This vessel was unfamiliar to her, and she didn’t think Captain Nemo would tolerate recklessness. As she led Sanger along, her eyes flickered everywhere, taking in their surroundings and while also being careful of any crew moving past.
When she found a private enough spot, Mina stared fervently at Sanger. “Now, please do not scream, run, or anything else to that might cause a commotion.”
She closed her eyes, and in the blink of an eye, her form shifted into that of a wolf. She would come up to just above Sanger’s waist, with a black coat and, surprisingly, red eyes.

Sanger nevertheless let out a small whimper, backing away from Mina. So, she really was a vampire. "Uh, good puppy?" he said, fidgeting where he stood.

Mina huffed, swishing her tail in annoyance. Then she shook her body, trying to get used to it as if she had tried on a new dress. Licking her chops, she glanced around and sniffed the air. Dorian’s scent would be easy to recognize. Not only had she known him for a long time, she had noticed his scent was different from other humans, which may be due to the fact that he was immortal.
At first, her nose was attacked by an onslaught of various smells: humans, food, alcohol, iron, steel, and the like. And of course, the sweaty, but faintly woody scent that came from Sanger. She jerked back, squeezing her eyes shut and letting out a sneeze. Soon she recovered, and after a few seconds, was able to point out Dorian’s scent. It was minty, but also sour like a lemon. It was also faint, some ways away from where she and Sanger were located. Not wanted to head straight into human traffic, she found a more inconspicuous path to follow. She twitched her ears to signal to Sanger, then followed the scent.

Sanger followed. They tracked through the underbelly of the ship, to the upper decks, to here and there until eventually they reached a room out of the way of traffic, where Dorian was chuckling to himself just beyond the door. Sanger opened the door, and noticed Dorian had one less piece of luggage on him, the other open and currently being set up as a chemistry set. Mina in her current state would be able to detect the burning scent coming from the beakers, and Sanger and Mina both would recognize the state Dorian was in, slumped in the corner. Opium, and strong stuff at that. "Oh, Mina, glad you showed up. Would you like some?" he gestured to the pipe he'd used to smoke the refined substance, hanging loosely in his hand.

(Frankly, Dorian is much nicer when he's high, kinda like me tbh. I'm not sure where I wanted this scene to go, but I included it maybe to facilitate some… vibes? Between Mina and Dorian.)

(Vibes, you say?)

(Like, former friendship turned dorian-likes-mina-mina-hates-dorian vibes??)

(I see I see. Yes, I like these vibes)

(Neato!)

Mina had to jerk backwards again. The smells were so strong when she was like this. She shook her head rapidly, then transformed into a human. Or at least, her humanoid form.
She studied the sight before her. There was the strong desire to just walk up to him and confiscate the pipe, but Dorian was more subdued this way. And if there was anything that Dorian was good for, it was being subdued.
The smell was still strong, so Mina started waving her hand in front of her nose. “No thank you, Dorian. Have it all to yourself.”
Not only was it extremely difficult for her to consume anything other than blood, she had also learned that addictive substances affected the content of one’s blood. The blood of people who drank or smoked was disgusting to her, so she had quickly learned to avoid such people, and the substances they consumed.
“There’s something burning in here,” she said. “What exactly were you doing?”

"Opium." he said, if that weren't already obvious. "Strong muscle relaxant, relaxes the mind pretty well too. I asked a crewmate-" Sanger didn't like how Dorian said asked but didn't say anything… "-and the young man told me to come to these apartments. I did have a look-around, but I didn't find anything, either." he closed his eyes, he was feeling a little short of breath now but what of it? If this killed him, he'd feel better by tomorrow.

Mina just nodded. An obvious question with an obvious answer, but she wanted to be sure there was nothing else dangerous in the room. At least, anything that she would not have already detected.
“What were you looking for?” She then asked.

Dorian shrugged, not answering. He wasn't a fan of lying to Mina like this, and the obvious loophole was to say nothing. But, if you looked carefully, you'd see that Dorian's second suitcase was indeed missing, and if anyone cared to find it, they'd find it and some clothes used to mask the other things he'd brought onboard dumped into the sea.