In Seasons of Wither We'll Stand and Deliver ((Open to HFC Inner Circle Members))

[ngm_hellfire]

After the ranks for the Inner Circle were given, Selene disappeared for a few days to handle business with other chapters of the Hellfire Club. When she returned to New York, she had invitations issued to the newly ranked members of the Inner Circle. They would each be shown to a different room from the one where they received their ranks.

The large, circular room had a black and white tiled square in its center. Where the pawns should have been on the large chessboard were two long tables. There were ornately carved and appropriately colored chairs at each spot for the rooks, bishops, and knights. No chairs sat in the white king and queen spots nor in the spot for the black king. The black queen's position had a familiar throne in it.

At each position was a triangular name plate made of gold with each person's name and rank. A couple positions had "Reserved" on their name plates: one of the white bishops and one of the black knights.

Comments

[lena_essex]

Lena was ready to mingle and make the acquaintance of the new Inner Circle members. She was wearing a black leather cocktail dress and a vintage Victorian mourning cameo on a black velvet choker, as a nod to tradition.

She sipped from a glass of red liquid, and sized up the rest of the room from over the rim.

[heirtoinhumanity]

Ahura had gone in entirely on the traditional Hellfire garb- the truth was that he found these clothes more to his liking than most modern clothing anyway. The tailoring was more precise and he'd always favored black over other colours anyway. The accents were mostly red- a little bit of 'hell' for the Hellfire. In regular business wear, one couldn't really distinguish oneself from any other well-dressed peon.

Anyone with a decent-sized purse could afford Armani.

But these were the clothes of a true aristocrat. A prince, of his own people, the Inhumans, but also of the Hellfire Club.

His eyes settled on Lena and he couldn't help but smile slightly as he walked over to where she was, glass of deep, dark red wine in his own hand.

"Lena. A pleasure as always." He bowed and took her spare hand to kiss it.

[lena_essex]

"Ahura!" Lena smiled widely. "I am delighted, although not surprised, to see you here."

She dropped her voice, and glanced around the room.

"There are some... surprises here, though."

[heirtoinhumanity]

He cast his eye around at the gathering group. Some of them looked like they more or less fit into the Hellfire Club, though not as well, in his mind, as Lena or himself did. Others, however, looked like strange additions indeed. He supposed that a society like the Hellfire Club accepted all manner of ambitious people.

Though some of them scarcely looked ambitious.

"Indeed. I suppose appearances may be deceiving, though."

He doubted nany of them would be terribly promising, but it wouldn't hurt to find out. He offered Lena his arm.

"Shall we go see if that's true?"

[lena_essex]

"Mm. Selene must have seen something in them all. I suppose it behooves us to find out what."

She took his offered arm with a sinuous, snakelike motion.

"Let us mingle."