Ivory Tower

As Claire boarded the plane that would carry her all the way to Japan, she began to think about how frequently she'd been having diplomatic meetings lately. It seemed as if that wasn't about to change just yet though, as she was already in route to another. Her trip was nice, and she simply lounged around for the majority of the flight. She did eat once or twice, although she wasn't really in the mood for anything substantial at the moment, she felt more comfortable flying on an empty stomach. Her flight landed before she was able to grow too tired of being cooped up, and she exited the plane, finding herself in an extremely different environment that anything she'd experienced before. It was refreshing, she had always been one to enjoy new experiences and sensations. Luckily she'd arrived a few days before she needed to, and because of this she decided to do a bit of exploration.

It didn't take very long for Claire to get a feel for Karakura city, and before long she heard people speaking of a place she thought she'd rather enjoy visiting. It was described as a city in the sky, the pinnacle of man's development. She'd never heard of a city in the sky, so naturally she was quite curious. She approached the small group of friends and after a short and polite conversation received the directions she'd been looking for. Not long after she found herself entering what appeared to be an extremely tall elevator. It was comfortable, if a bit small, and there was a window in the back wall, although it was naturally covered with a thick cloth. When she pulled the cloth aside to take a look out of the window she realized how high they were truly going. Not that it worried her. For the rest of the elevator ride she stood staring out of the window at the fantastic view.

Before too much time had passed the elevator the elevator began to slow, and then it stopped, still a bit suddenly. The door opened in front of her, and Claire took her first steps onto the city in the sky. It wasn't nearly as different as she'd expected it to be, and she was actually a bit disappointed. This city was almost like any other, there wasn't much special about it. At least this area seemed to be more affluent, which meant that the food and any other merchandise she may want to purchase would be of a higher quality. With that thought in mind she made her way towards the center of what she imagined was the main shopping district, studying the storefronts as she went. One in particular caught her interest, and she paused for a moment in front of it. Just as she stopped though she began to sense a strong emotional energy. That always intrigued her, so she followed it, making her way down one of the streets that had originally been on her left for around six or seven minutes. Eventually Claire came to another large clearing, noticing that the source of what she hoped would be her next meal was standing directly across from her. A second later she'd covered that distance and placed her hand warmly on the shoulder of the young woman. She was giving off the most comforting feelings she possibly could, which meant that most people would very quickly find themselves feeling quite nice. It was her specialty after all. She would then introduce herself.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice that you look a bit lost. Is there something you need?"

Claire smiled widely, showing her fangs somewhat, but she didn't think that would be a concern. It was the smile that counted!

Claire continued to look down towards the younger woman, widening her smile somewhat. She could already tell that her senses had been more than accurate, and that this one would provide her with more than enough emotional energy. The only difficulty at this point was keeping her prey engaged. She thought about how to go about this for a few moments, but in the end she decided that she would almost certainly have more than one try, so might as well get things moving. She noticed, as she'd commented on upon their meeting, that the girl did look severely out of place. It probably wasn't the best for her to be walking around in an area like this in such a state or dishevelment. With that in mind she decided to take a more motherly approach, making sure the young girl had everything she needed. In this way she could use the girl for her power while still being a nice person. The best of both worlds. While she was thinking this though, she began to feel the most overwhelming urge she'd ever felt. Her fangs, usually quite small, had revealed themselves fully at this point. For whatever reason, she couldn't stop thinking of piercing this girls soft flesh with the points of her fangs, slowly sucking out all of the blood that was hidden within. That would surely result in her death though, which wasn't exactly what Claire had in mind, although the image was quite pleasing to her. Fulfilling and erotic at the same time, that was something she could always go for. There was the fact that the girl was no longer human, which did, to be quite honest, lessen her enthusiasm, but it wasn't the end of the world. Pluses could still be toyed with quite easily.

After having all of these thoughts in rapid succession, Claire decided that she'd finally make her move. The first thing on her list of paths to tread was the fact that the girl seemed to think that she was still in every-day, run of the mill Karakura, when she was in fact exquisitely far removed from it. She let more of her emotional manipulation run rampant as she began to speak. The effects of it would be akin to laying eyes on someone who had been a longstanding crush, although she wasn't sure how effective it would be. This particular combination of emotions was not something she'd tried in the past.

"Hmm, Karakura? I think you might be lost after all dear. While yes, I suppose technically you could call this Karakura, I don't think many of the locals would be so inclined. How on earth did you manage to get here, if you don't mind my asking? Oh, and please, do come with me. I just can't bear to see you in those rags any longer. I'll help you with your search after we get you cleaned up."

As she said this Claire would take the younger woman's hand in her own, if she wasn't resisted too much, and begin to lead her in the direction of the clothing district.

Claire was quite pleased with the way the younger woman was reacting. She was gaining plenty of emotional energy at the moment, and enjoying herself at the same time. She always loved to boss around the more meek or shy girls. She wasn't quite sure why she found it so entertaining, but in recent times it had become one of her favorite activities. That wasn't to say that she was cruel to these girls. Quite the opposite really. She did almost everything in her power to help them, she just enjoyed being in charge at the same time. This attitude only compounded the more influenceable they came across, which generally led to her taking even more advantage of whoever she was dealing with. This girl in particular was exceptionally interesting to her, and so she would attempt to shortly take complete control of their interaction, if she hadn't already, that was.

She could feel that her own emotional manipulation was causing the girl to experience other emotions that she hadn't intended to be there. She thought about it for a few moments, wondering whether or not she should lay off of the emotional manipulation altogether, change up her strategy, or attempt to counteract the negative emotions that were being generated. After a bit of consideration she decided that it would be the most interesting to attempt to negate the emotions that she wasn't directly controlling. First she would focus on the anxiety that Julia was feeling. In its place she would attempt to fill the girl with a warm comforting feeling, akin to the utmost relaxation and comfort. In addition she felt a bit of discomfort in the form of shyness. That hadn't been something she'd intended on doing, but she found it so cute that she couldn't resist amplifying the emotion somewhat. She was curious to see if the girl would bury her face even deeper. Was it even possible for her to blush more thoroughly than she already was?

Claire smiled at the younger woman's protests, not having any of it.

"I know I don't have to dear, but I've already made up my mind. You're going to be the cutest thing anyone around here's ever seen. Well, except for me of course."

She laughed a bit as she said this, then winked at Julia teasingly. The laugh carried, as it always did, and drew an exceptional amount of attention. She wondered how the already shy girl would react to this newfound interest. To provide at least some modicum of support though, Claire squeezed her hand gently.

Before long they came to what appeared to be the premier shopping district in the entirety of the city, which pleased Claire greatly. It would be incredibly annoying if the selection was too limited. She stopped in front of several clothing stores, each specializing in different styles before turning towards Julia.

"Well? Which one would you like to visit first?"

She waited patiently for a response, once more gently squeezing the other woman's hand.