The Talamasca Motherhouse

[.David Talbot.]

"I was smashing!" Singe retorted, laughing smoothly. "So what has the princess's feathers all in a ruff, eh? Tired of your new toy already?"
David looked coolly at Vikteren, his mind working behind his eyes in a way that suggested he was picking Vikteren apart. I expect you to know. Mental connections can be guarded, but rarely are they strong enough not to be sensed. His eyes gave one tired look at Atticus and Aaron, switching between them before they landed finally on Aaron. "Take them to Genesis Tower and give them the rooms on either side of Singe's. Oh, and check in on him and Antha before you go to bed. That brat worries me."
When Aaron rose to his feet, beckoning for Rynn and Vikteren to follow him into the hall, Atticus glided quietly out before them and vanished in the darkness of the corridors.

 

[XCandy and LunacyX]

"Momentary rage," she answered simply, brushing a crimson curl from her face. "And you could hardly call Vikteren a toy. There's too much resistance within him, too much independence. Not particularly my usual type, but he's intriguing nonetheless, don't you think?" Antha let out a few little laughs, much like the ringing of bells, her eyes focusing sharply on Singe. "At any rate, what does it matter to you? Since when are my companions any of your business, ducky?"

 

[Vikteren]

.David Talbot.

"I was smashing!" Singe retorted, laughing smoothly. "So what has the princess's feathers all in a ruff, eh? Tired of your new toy already?"
David looked coolly at Vikteren, his mind working behind his eyes in a way that suggested he was picking Vikteren apart. I expect you to know. Mental connections can be guarded, but rarely are they strong enough not to be sensed. His eyes gave one tired look at Atticus and Aaron, switching between them before they landed finally on Aaron. "Take them to Genesis Tower and give them the rooms on either side of Singe's. Oh, and check in on him and Antha before you go to bed. That brat worries me."
When Aaron rose to his feet, beckoning for Rynn and Vikteren to follow him into the hall, Atticus glided quietly out before them and vanished in the darkness of the corridors.

Vikteren gave a very slight mental shrug. You believe anyone capable of fathoming the workings of Princess Mayfair's mind?
And without a backwards glance in David's direction, he followed Aaron.  

[.David Talbot.]

"Since you've taken them too close to heart, Miss Mayfair." With one movement quick enough to scream vampiric ability he had her against the wall, one arm outstretched to the wall to support himself with the fingers of his other running up her neck and stopping gently on her chin. "Your companions are getting in my way, Antha. Zero kept you away from me for months." He stopped only briefly to kiss her roughly. "And what worth are the new ones to you? The last ones ran crying from you, sickly jilted lovers, and they tested enough of my patience. Vikteren's the first vampire you haven't sought in lust, am I right?" The jealousy was tangible in his eyes as he stared down at her.
Aaron spoke as soon as they had left the office, eyes cast lazily at Vikteren over his shoulder. "Don't go provoking David," Aaron advised, "He's resourceful. Antha tells me you don't want your history discovered. If that's so I suggest not angering David." As he walked he could just make out two shapes farther down the hall, though it was dark and they were shadowed, and his pace slowed.

 

[XCandy and LunacyX]

As Antha's eyes stared hard up into the boy vampire's, a wicked little grin cut it's way powerfully across her face and, quickly following his last words, she began to laugh something cruel, true witch's laughter. Though she was not shrill or all too loud, it echoed down the hallway and even through a couple of adjoining ones. "Jealousy?" There was a shadow to her voice, a certain dark amusement. Presently she cupped his face in her hands, though only long enough to spare a few words, and for good measure she drew him in closer, nearly flattening herself against the wall. "Envy is a dreadful color on you, Mikael." The last word was said with heavy pronunciation, just the way his family had always said it, and not a moment after it was uttered she had slid beneath his arm and began again down the hall, her witch's laughter trailing after her like bells ringing for the dead, and her figure becoming lost to the sudden haze of the umbra, daring Singe to come after her.

 

[Rynn Calais]

.David Talbot.

"Since you've taken them too close to heart, Miss Mayfair." With one movement quick enough to scream vampiric ability he had her against the wall, one arm outstretched to the wall to support himself with the fingers of his other running up her neck and stopping gently on her chin. "Your companions are getting in my way, Antha. Zero kept you away from me for months." He stopped only briefly to kiss her roughly. "And what worth are the new ones to you? The last ones ran crying from you, sickly jilted lovers, and they tested enough of my patience. Vikteren's the first vampire you haven't sought in lust, am I right?" The jealousy was tangible in his eyes as he stared down at her.
Aaron spoke as soon as they had left the office, eyes cast lazily at Vikteren over his shoulder. "Don't go provoking David," Aaron advised, "He's resourceful. Antha tells me you don't want your history discovered. If that's so I suggest not angering David." As he walked he could just make out two shapes farther down the hall, though it was dark and they were shadowed, and his pace slowed.

Rynn glanced back at David, noting his tired eyes, and felt a pang of sympathy pass through him. He didn't waste time on long farewells--merely flashed a smile and sent him the scent of the gardens in summer at Llyr's Court--honeysuckle and roses and fresh air and sunlight, all mingled together in an uplifting tangle.
Then he darted out into the hallway after Vikteren and Aaron, catching up after only a moment. Just in time to hear that haunting, eerie laughter.
His eyes widened, and he looked at Aaron questioningly, not quite daring to voice the unspoken inquiry.  

[.David Talbot.]

It was the laugh that stopped Aaron cold in his tracks. "Antha!" he called sternly into the darkness of the hallway, "Antha! Cut it out!" When only the eerie laughter answered him, he ran headfirst towards it. "Antha! Singe!" As he moved forward down the hall, it became clear quickly that something billowed before him like storm clouds come to earth, the power of them easily distinguishable and nearly electric. "Woman's insane!" he spat quickly, his voice heated with irritance, "And that stupid little boy fell right into her hands, didn't he?"
Singe had, in fact, run straight after Antha into the mist, but once he had passed into it, it was nothing but a hazy white blur. He could hear her somewhere close ahead of him, her voice echoing scarily within nothingness, and it was only this he followed. Antha might have been a crazed witch, but she wouldn't truly hurt those loyal to her.

 

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Though her eyes were open, they were blind to the world. Within the shadow world of the umbra, she was told of every movement that was made. Therefore she found it quite easy to find Singer and take hold of his hands to drag him along with her through the haze and out onto the old, nearly crumbling staircase. "Dawn comes too quickly," she told him softly, pouting as if all her fun had been spoiled. When the mists cleared, she turned to face Aaron a little ways down the hall, waving goodbye before she started off up the stairs, Singe in tow, giving off a few peels of that eerie laughter just to confirm his suspicions.

 

[.David Talbot.]

Singe gave Aaron a quick wave of his hand before taking the lead and dragging Antha up the stairs and along the corridors all the way to the top of the tower and to his room. He liked the fact that his room had once been a dungeon, imported from a king's castle. He liked it so much that all he had changed was tacking down a coffin in the corner and installing sliding metal frames over the barred windows. It was to the coffin that he went, arm dragging Antha by the waist and finally pulling her down into the worn, satin-lined depths of the deepest blood red. They had tested this before and it was plenty large enough for two, so fitting her in wasn't the slightest bit of a problem.
At their disappearance, Aaron, could only sigh and massage his temples. "No matter what gossip you hear, it's true," he assured them wearily, "Antha Evelyn Mayfair is insane. Truly. Father keeps her locked up, abuses her, Sleet tortures her for a few days, tries to slaughter her cousin, and all the screws just fly out of her head. As David'll tell you, she's brilliant, but it's applied to the most eccentric goddamned things." As he began to lead them again towards the tower, walking normally instead of running to keep up with them, he had to give another little sigh. His headache was killing him now. "She's going to be worse than Sleet and Singe combined when she's turned, trust me. The blood of a vampire'll only add to her insanity."

 

[Vikteren]

.David Talbot.

Singe gave Aaron a quick wave of his hand before taking the lead and dragging Antha up the stairs and along the corridors all the way to the top of the tower and to his room. He liked the fact that his room had once been a dungeon, imported from a king's castle. He liked it so much that all he had changed was tacking down a coffin in the corner and installing sliding metal frames over the barred windows. It was to the coffin that he went, arm dragging Antha by the waist and finally pulling her down into the worn, satin-lined depths of the deepest blood red. They had tested this before and it was plenty large enough for two, so fitting her in wasn't the slightest bit of a problem.
At their disappearance, Aaron, could only sigh and massage his temples. "No matter what gossip you hear, it's true," he assured them wearily, "Antha Evelyn Mayfair is insane. Truly. Father keeps her locked up, abuses her, Sleet tortures her for a few days, tries to slaughter her cousin, and all the screws just fly out of her head. As David'll tell you, she's brilliant, but it's applied to the most eccentric goddamned things." As he began to lead them again towards the tower, walking normally instead of running to keep up with them, he had to give another little sigh. His headache was killing him now. "She's going to be worse than Sleet and Singe combined when she's turned, trust me. The blood of a vampire'll only add to her insanity."

Vikteren had been quiet while Aaron ran, and Rynn caught up, and now finally he spoke. "I think perhaps I asked after one of those 'eccentric goddamned things'. Could that have been what...ah." he paused, unsure of the proper phrasing. "'Set her off'?"
She had not seemed insane to Vikteren. In fact, he had found that he rather liked her company--she was intelligent and strong-willed and, for all that, only a human, not even past her second decade. And still in that short time she had accumulated a cache of secrets that seemed impossible to crack.
Perhaps that was why.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

She half stumbled into the coffin, grinning wildly to herself. Somewhere in the back of her mind Aaron's words played, but she paid him little attention, merely drew herself up to fit in more easily alongside Singe.
Antha loved sleeping in coffins. When first she had let Khayman take her under his protection for a few days, she had been frightened of the old chamber in the crypts and had run instead to his rooms. Smiling calmly, he had let her climb into his coffin and she had slept quite soundly. Only Singe did not find this bizarre and so had taken a liking to shutting her in the little metal box with him for the daylight hours. Therefore she also knew to flip the little latches along the lid, preventing outside intrusion.
Do not speak so ill of me, Aaron. She sent this thought vaguely enough that it would find its way also into the minds of Vikteren and Rynn. If you will recall, I am the keeper of many of your secrets. Her voice stopped only long enough for the matter before the three to condense and form a thin, white image of her own self before them, bowing slightly in parting. Good night. Watch out for the shadows of the castle---you never know what's lurking around the corner. One loud laugh and the figure vanished, Antha fallen into sleep.

 

[.David Talbot.]

As many vampires do, Singe fell asleep the moment the lid was closed securely over his head. Antha he locked carefully to himself, his face nestled deep in her soft hair.
When Aaron heard her voice, he stiffened just slightly. Do not listen in on other's conversations, he replied in mimicry of her usual speech mannerisms. When he saw the ghostly form, he froze, and when it clearly became Antha he took hold of a hand from both Rynn and Vikteren and began quickly along up the stairs. "What did you see? Jars of mutilated body parts? Bloody old books in latin? Vampire or witch boy chained up in her basement?" He paused, a look of deep thought on his face, and turned to Vikteren as he continued walking. "It...it didn't have anything to do with red crayons or dolls of bone, did it?" The Talamasca knew very, very little of what she did with either of these, had a painfully small amount of understanding, but they kenw quite well that neither was good. Rather, David seemed to fear that Antha would accidentally bring the apocalypse crashing down around them by means of whatever she and her closest little companions did while they locked themselves up in Satis House.

 

[Vikteren]

.David Talbot.

As many vampires do, Singe fell asleep the moment the lip was closed securely over his head. Antha he locked carefully to himself, his face nestled deep in her soft hair.
When Aaron heard her voice, he stiffened just slightly. Do not listen in on other's conversations, he replied in mimicry of her usual speech mannerisms. When he saw the ghostly form, he froze, and when it clearly became Antha he took hold of a hand from both Rynn and Vikteren and began quickly along up the stairs. "What did you see? Jars of mutilated body parts? Bloody old books in latin? Vampire or witch boy chained up in her basement?" He paused, a look of deep thought on his face, and turned to Vikteren as he continued walking. "It...it didn't have anything to do with red crayons or dolls of bone, did it?" The Talamasca knew very, very little of what she did with either of these, had a painfully small amount of understanding, but they kenw quite well that neither was good. Rather, David seemed to fear that Antha would accidentally bring the apocalypse crashing down around them by means of whatever she and her closest little companions did while they locked themselves up in Satis House.

He shook his head slightly. "Nothing quite so...grisly. I inquired after--I heard her in her attic, making some sort of marks on the floor. From the rhythm of the sounds, she was writing something." Vikteren frowned slightly. "I wanted to know what, and why." Then, cocking his head with an unreadable expression in Aaron's direction, he said, with a raised eyebrow, "She has witch boys and vampires chained up in her basement?"  

[.David Talbot.]

"On occasion." He didn't know how far would be too far, but he continued anyway. "It's Singe's favorite sport. As you may have noticed, Antha has considerably strange hobbies...most of a sexual nature." He could feel the blood rushing to his face, hidden from their view, but he felt horribly certain that a witch boy and a powerful vampire could sense his shame.
But these ideas were pushed away as he thought on the remarks of Antha's actions. He knew Antha, and he knew that her attic was a place she kept for darker deeds.

 

[Vikteren]

.David Talbot.

"On occasion." He didn't know how far would be too far, but he continued anyway. "It's Singe's favorite sport. As you may have noticed, Antha has considerably strange hobbies...most of a sexual nature." He could feel the blood rushing to his face, hidden from their view, but he felt horribly certain that a witch boy and a powerful vampire could sense his shame.
But these ideas were pushed away as he thought on the remarks of Antha's actions. He knew Antha, and he knew that her attic was a place she kept for darker deeds.

A faint smile darted across his lips, quick as a summer storm. He hadn't figured Aaron as a prude--dealing with the inbred families of witches, after all, one had to have a certain amount of tolerance--but the quickened rate of his heart as it pumped blood to his cheeks said otherwise. "I see." he said lightly, and that was all. "But obviously, she did not answer my question, and...your thoughts on her actions would be welcome, Aaron."