Humans On! Humans Off!

The door was clearly marked, "No Vampires Allowed" but the sign was ignored as the tiny woman lifted a hand and grasped the handle to the heavy metal fire door. Jewel bright emerald eyes sparkled with intense curiosity as Emerald Starr twisted the knob and pushed. As the door gave way, Em let out a soft squeak of satisfaction, and leaning in, peered into the dimly lit room.

"Ooo! This looks interesting! Why my goodness! Just look at all those buttons!"

The tiny vampire slipped through the opening, delicate fingers digging into soft velvet fabric as she made sure to keep the length of her medieval style gown from becoming caught in the door that closed with an echoing thud down the long hallway.

"Shhh!" The exclamation was given with a small finger to the her lips as though that very admonition would quiet the sound. Em eyed the door for a moment more as the sound faded, a look of indecision crossing her features, as though the diminutive woman was not really sure if she wanted to proceed. Em studied the door with a careful eye and tried several pulls on the handle to make sure she could get back out. She could, she knew, just use her innate powers to blast the door with a mere wave of her hand. The fact that she was also a mage had come in rather handy several times since her adventure in becoming a vampire, but it always made such a mess! The fact that she had studied hard to become a Frost Master was at times not very apparent when she made use of her abilities.

Em winced at the memory of a small bakery and the fact that she alone was responsible for filling it with snow.

"Well, my goodness! I was only trying to put out the fire, don't you know!"

The words were muttered as though in defense of her own remembered actions as she let go of the door. Convinced that she wasn't trapped, Em moved further into the room, her bright gaze taking in the series of lights that blinked in odd harmony on the equipment and then on to the other furnishings in the room.

There were several large screens mounted to the wall above a extensive console. The console itself was covered in an array of switches and dials and placed in front of this was a very comfortable looking leather chair. Em let out a squeak of delight as she hurried forward and gazed up at the wall of video monitors, realizing in delight that each screen was displaying a section of her beloved city.

"Ooo! How delightful!"

She placed a hand on the back of the executive style chair, her fingers sinking into the buttery softness of the leather, her piquant face lit with excitement. Em pulled the chair out and flung her small body down into the depths of the leather.

She gave a small yelp as the weight of her body tipped the chair backwards and she flung her arms out as if to catch herself, her gown flapping about her ankles, legs flailing, as she tried to keep her balance. But she gave a small giggle of relief as the chair stopped it's backward trend and then slowly settled back into position.

With a wide grin, Em scooted back onto the chair so that her legs were dangling over the edge of the seat and with nimble fingers, adjusted the skirts of her dark emerald green gown by tucking the material under her legs. When she was satisfied that her dignity was intact, Em reached out and using the edge of the console, pulled the chair closer to the screens and peered upwards.

"Well my goodness, you can just see everything from here, don't you know! How marvelous!"

Intrigued, Em gazed in wide eyed wonder, jewel bright gaze moving from screen to screen until it settled on the downtown area of Abyss City and the humans going about their daily lives. The tiny mage leaned forward in the chair, her face taking on a somewhat dazed expression as she viewed the humans. One wrestling with a small child who was pointing at a local candy shop and screaming a demand, another talking on a phone as they waited for the next transit bus to stop.

The spectacle continued as Em watched a rather large lady cross the street and... Em sat up abruptly and planted her hands on the console with a gasp. A bakery? Oh my goodness, yes! That was Gena's Bakery and the woman was going in! Excited and more than a little envious, Em sighed and rested her elbows on the console and then blinked as the humans disappeared from view.

Eyes round with bewildered confusion, Em leaned in to peer more closely at the screen, two small fists rubbing at her eyes as if to clear the vision of the missing humans.

"But....where did they go?"

Em lowered her hands to the desk, one small hand landing yet again on the console and on a button marked, "Humans".  With a small click, the humans reappeared. Blinking rapidly at this sight, Em turned her gaze to the desk under her hands. Spotting the button, she blinked in confusion.

"A human button?" Fascinated, Em reached out and poked the button with one tiny finger and with another 'click' the human disappeared yet again.

"Ooo! How delightful!"

Staring in growing excitement at the screen, Em began to poke the button repeatedly with a small finger and watched in amazed silence as the humans disappeared and reappeared with each soft click. This was too much for the diminutive woman and she let out a squeak as she wiggled in her chair.

She clapped her hands like a child given an unexpected present and, bakery forgotten, began pressing the button once more all the while mumbling to herself.

"Humans on! Humans off! ... Humans on! Humans off!"

If there were any in the downtown area that noticed the phenomenon, Em was quite oblivious to it.