<strong>Denver, 2088: The Velvet Glove, New Years Eve Party. </strong><br/><br/>Michelle Telestrian was at the Velvet Glove - one of the cornerstones of Denver for someone like her - at the behest of a friend.  Of course, that 'friend' had been paid a hefty amount of cash (amongst other things) to make sure that Michelle<em>was</em>there.<br/><br/>Michelle Telestrian was one of the clan that owned and operated the A-Corp Telestrian Industries, though she was not one of the many, many of the Telestrian family that were elves.  Nobody was really sure how that happened, but it little mattered, because when Michelle Awakened, her human features went with it – a hefty dosage of SURGE ensured that, transforming her from human into a half-fox, possessing just the ears and the tail of the animal, as opposed to ‘Champagne’s’ full-body makeover due to the genetic triggering.  Though, she hardly needed her fox features to stand out – her (darker) gray hair and ice-colored eyes, on top of her well-built (by Nature) body ensured that she was quite beautiful, if a bit aloof looking.  Which suited her and her business just fine.<br/><br/>There’s a lot that could be told you about Michelle, readers, but let’s stick to what our friend Akiko – aka Champagne – was briefed on about her before that night at the Velvet Glove.  Name: Michelle Telestrian.  Gender: Female.  Age: 24 (Visually appears 19-21).  Job: Self-Employed.  Founder, head, and sole employee of Night’s Black Agents Magical Consultants.  Magically Active: Yes – Druidic Tradition, English Hermetic subsect.  Magical Specialty: Illusionary spells.  Arrival in Denver: September 2084.  Current Contracts: Only one of note – currently providing Saeder-Krupp subsidiary Spellweaver Consortium with parasecurity expertise.  Sexual Orientation: Evidence points to fluid.  Other Relevant Information: (1) Considered one of the region’s experts on Toxic magicians; (2) Has deep ties with local Knight Errant Special Investigation Squad, through a friend and mutual magician; (3) Currently paid up for the next two months at local place of residence.  Threat Level: High if allowed to tap magic; Moderate otherwise.  Do not engage if actively casting.<br/><br/>That’s what she knew.  Now, onto the rest of the show.<br/><br/>She hadn’t seen her inviter yet, but the Glove was a big place.  In the meantime, she was seated at a smaller-ish booth (this one was meant as a bit cozier place to go to) a stone’s throw from the dance floor, and two stone throws from the virtual nexus center (though anyone could access it when they were inside the doors).  Michelle was rereading news reports about various New Year’s celebrations going on in various megaplexes around the world, smiling to herself as metahumanity celebrated another year of living.  That was one of three windows – another had open her datasoft copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (along with various literary analyses), and the last one had the virtual interface of the Velvet Glove, in case she wanted food or something else…<br/><br/>…although it was something else that she didn’t call for, but called for her.  She looked up as the full-fox woman sashayed over to her to the music, and then spoke to her.  Michelle recognized the woman, she was one of the more popular celebrities (if you can say that about her) at the Velvet Glove.  “I know who you are…”  Something about the tone in the woman’s voice, though, sent a little shiver of enticement down her spine.  Notes for you about Michelle, readers.  She is what we call highly flexible when it comes to sexuality.  This particular druid had never had a serious relationship, but she had used what she knew was her body’s appeal with both men and women, and found she’d enjoyed it.  Part of the reason she was in so deep with the local Knight Errant SIS was because the girl she knew on it was someone she’d done on-again off-again friends with benefits for a couple of years with.  And as exotic as she was, Champagne, Akiko, was quite a bit more.<br/><br/>Michelle found herself speechless, she took a moment to refocus and then decided that…that didn’t really sound so bad, lots of people were doing way worse things, right?<br/><br/><br/>“Sure…”