"Well, the reason I'm in charge is pretty obvious," you say, doing your best to keep looking into Val's eyes. As you do so, you reach out and pick up the object you'd noticed on the desk beside you.
You push the object against your palm, pressing down against the skin and dragging it forward. The pain that you expected doesn't come, and you look down in surprise.
Instead of the pencil you'd intended to pick up, you're holding a permanent marker. Which means that, rather than drawing blood and impressing upon the assembled vampires your higher level of self-control, you've drawn a straight—and permanent—line over your palm.
After a few moments, Sonia shakes her head. "All right," she says, "we can act stupid when we all have more time. Human, stop drawing on yourself; Val, stop hassling the artist. Let's talk about what we're going to do, okay?"
The crimson eyes are all turned towards you again, their joint gaze filled with determination. You take some encouragement from this, opening your mouth to go on.
Suddenly, the door is pushed open, revealing Max. Several werewolves stand behind him, glowering at the vampires, who return the glares.
"We heard that you were working out a plan," Max says casually. "Figured that we might as well be here for it as well. That is, as long as there's no objections?"