The Talamasca Motherhouse

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha should have grinned, some very slight sense of victory within her. But her attention was focused elsewhere, her eyes sharp and hazy, and for a moment it seemed she wasn't there at all. "You should very well know that, mon cher," she told him softly, her voice breaking every bit of distance in her features. All at once, faster than the blink of an eye, the animation returned to her form, the haze cleared from her eyes as they softened, and her lips did indeed curve into a faint, wicked little grin. She even bothered to kiss him while he stood before her, the umbra's hold slack. She didn't trust that he wouldn't back away. "Or have you spent all of this time ignoring my words?" Speech brought the cigarette back to her lips, turning her head just slightly to exhale the haze of smoke.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

Antha should have grinned, some very slight sense of victory within her. But her attention was focused elsewhere, her eyes sharp and hazy, and for a moment it seemed she wasn't there at all. "You should very well know that, mon cher," she told him softly, her voice breaking every bit of distance in her features. All at once, faster than the blink of an eye, the animation returned to her form, the haze cleared from her eyes as they softened, and her lips did indeed curve into a faint, wicked little grin. She even bothered to kiss him while he stood before her, the umbra's hold slack. She didn't trust that he wouldn't back away. "Or have you spent all of this time ignoring my words?" Speech brought the cigarette back to her lips, turning her head just slightly to exhale the haze of smoke.

Vikteren watched the smoke rising from her cigarette, his vampiric senses turning it into a scene not unlike that of a street junkie's. "Yes. I have." He tilted his head slightly to one side, not looking at her. "Your words promise hurt. They reek of a child's selfishness."
The kiss didn't mean anything, after all. He had kissed hundreds of dying creatures in such a fashion. Although, Vikteren had to admit--none of them had ever given him the urge, afterwards, to strike them, or flinch away from them, or escape them.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

"I'm not so cruel," she said quickly, her words just a little rushed, "I've made it clear before to my playthings. The few lovers I've taken fled from me." Her eyes had hardened, sharp like the gems they so resembled. "Really, I'm not such a selfish person. Aaron and Singe can say what they like, but they know I try my best not to hurt anyone." She paused once again, contemplating her words, before she added quickly with a wave of her hand, "Unless they deserve it, of course." It took her just a moment, but she seemed to realize how little sense she was making, the futility of her words, and without a glance back she glided up the stairs and stood silently beside the doorframe in David's reception room, dark since Sara hadn't yet arrived, and took a long drag, exhaling slowly. The cold was making her shiver, the poor, sickly girl, and for once the taste of the smoke seemed quite unpleasant. Though, that didn't stop her for a moment.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

"I'm not so cruel," she said quickly, her words just a little rushed, "I've made it clear before to my playthings. The few lovers I've taken fled from me." Her eyes had hardened, sharp like the gems they so resembled. "Really, I'm not such a selfish person. Aaron and Singe can say what they like, but they know I try my best not to hurt anyone." She paused once again, contemplating her words, before she added quickly with a wave of her hand, "Unless they deserve it, of course." It took her just a moment, but she seemed to realize how little sense she was making, the futility of her words, and without a glance back she glided up the stairs and stood silently beside the doorframe in David's reception room, dark since Sara hadn't yet arrived, and took a long drag, exhaling slowly. The cold was making her shiver, the poor, sickly girl, and for once the taste of the smoke seemed quite unpleasant. Though, that didn't stop her for a moment.

Vikteren did not believe it, but he followed her, despite his better judgement. His intuition--a developed sense, after four hundred years--was screaming that nothing good could come of this. But he had obligations, after all.
Obligation d'ame. He thought suddenly, the thought stealing into his mind like a thief.
He touched his hand to her shoulder, his skin flaring into heat again. Vikteren had learned how to feign what he asked next, well enough that even Cyrus could not tell the difference. "Are you alright?" he said, concern seeping into his voice. Not overflowing, but just a hint of it--like a flavor in tea--to comfort.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha turned her eyes from him, silent, one arm dropping to her side and cigarette pressed distractedly to her lips. For a moment, she looked worn. She thought to brush his hand away, but the warmth was too good to deny. Finally her eyes did cut at him, soft yet sarcastic in a way, and there wasn't a hint of emotion in any other feature of her face. "You're quick to make assumptions," her voice was flat, perhaps the slightest trace of thoughtfulness, distraction, as her eyes pierced the darkness before her, "But I wonder, what do you really know about me? Nothing, mon cher, nothing at all." She sighed in a flurry of wispy ribbons of smoke, tossing the small little stub of white into the empty tin garbage bin where it could smolder and die.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

Antha turned her eyes from him, silent, one arm dropping to her side and cigarette pressed distractedly to her lips. For a moment, she looked worn. She thought to brush his hand away, but the warmth was too good to deny. Finally her eyes did cut at him, soft yet sarcastic in a way, and there wasn't a hint of emotion in any other feature of her face. "You're quick to make assumptions," her voice was flat, perhaps the slightest trace of thoughtfulness, distraction, as her eyes pierced the darkness before her, "But I wonder, what do you really know about me? Nothing, mon cher, nothing at all." She sighed in a flurry of wispy ribbons of smoke, tossing the small little stub of white into the empty tin garbage bin where it could smolder and die.

"I did not say what I thought of you." he said, unhesitatingly. The subtext was clear: and it was rude to assume that I think badly of you. "And I am not your judge. Nor am I your darling, Antha." Vikteren did not want to bandy words with her now; his hand left her arm, and he went to lean against the doorway.
There was something about her that reminded him overmuch of Cyrus. His sire, who had left a mark in him that had lasted for all of his existence.
So Vikteren had to wonder if she would not do the same.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

"Me? Rude?" She laughed a hollow laugh, shaking her head slightly, crimson curls dancing about her face like leashed butterflies. A faint smile even lingered on her lips. "It's so frustrating sometimes," her voice lowered, just a bit more private perhaps, certainly gentler, "Seeing through people, I mean. There's never anything to discover. There's never waiting to discern if you will despise or favor them. The moment I meet someone, I always know how I'm going to feel about them. Where's the fun in that?" She didn't really seem to notice that she had ambled down the stairs, slowly, one at a time, until suddenly she was slipping through David's door. Quietly she crawled into his bed, legs folded beneath her, and stared dully at the coverlet. "I overdid it," she said finally, voice unnaturally soft as her eyes roamed to the gigantic metal door, noticing that it was open perhaps six inches, then back to the gold threads beneath her, "I let Singe drink twice. Small drinks---I would have been alright, but I've extended myself twice today.* She stopped to sigh, listless eyes grazing David's figure. It wasn't like she hadn't seen any of it before. "And quite frankly I'm already weary of these stupid games with him." Her eyes flickered momentarily to the door then closed all at once as she let herself fall back, the back of her hand to her eyes to guard against light.

 

[.David Talbot.]

He was patient as he listened, buttoning his shirt up his chest and flipping down the cuffs though he didn't button those. "Heart on your sleeve, Antha," he chided her quietly as he turned and slowly laid beside her. "Maybe it would help if you chose one path or the other. Then again who am I to give advice." He smiled in spite of himself, eyes closed tiredly. "A grown man fooling around with a bratty adolescent heiress. And you are queen of brats, Antha." He didn't know what to tell her about Vikteren. Jealousy could only rise to a certain point before it went wild.

 

[Vikteren]

In David's sitting room, Vikteren had found a seat in one of the chairs, and had turned on the light. It cast a lovely warm yellow glow over everything.
He closed his eyes, only for a moment, and let his mind drift, leaning back his head as he did so. Tension drained out of his features, from his stiffened shoulders, like water from a sluice. It was easy to see, in this forgiving light, what Cyrus had been drawn to when he chose to turn Vikteren.
He could hear their voices, Antha and David's.
With a sigh, he rose and left the room, following in Antha's steps to David's door.
The vampire rapped twice on it, gently, before opening it slightly and stepping halfway over the threshold.
"Excuse me. Are you quite finished?" he asked, green eyes flicking from Antha to David. It wasn't meant to be a jibe. His voice was gentle, or at least as gentle as it could be.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

The girl only sighed, nodding vaguely and giving a little rolling gesture with her hand to send David away, the dark polish of her nails gleaming under the soft white light. "Take care of what you need to," she told him simply, eyes sliding closed, "I'll be fine, mon cheri." Even when David had left and she silently commanded the door shut, she didn't do a thing. Her eyes opened, but she lay still indented in the thick gold coverlet, her hair in a gentle disarray about her on the pillow with one hand carelessly resting in the curve of her stomach and the other arm bent up beside her. "I'm surprised you even bothered coming down here." Her voice had her same wispy, dreamy quality, that constant thoughtfulness and simplicity, but there was something on the edge of it that was hard. "Or should I be? You're an obedient boy, after all." There was a moment in which she stared sharply at him, a pout to her face, eyebrows knit. "I'm not so certain I want you in my company," she stated simply, as if working her thoughts out just as she spoke them, "Now wouldn't that be best for everyone? The aggravation, the tension, the jealousy---all gone." She snapped her fingers for emphasis, rising up to fold her arms around her legs and lay her cheek gently against her knees with an airy trace of a long sigh, eyes still set on his figure. "Perhaps. But what do you think, mon cher? Tell me, please."

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

The girl only sighed, nodding vaguely and giving a little rolling gesture with her hand to send David away, the dark polish of her nails gleaming under the soft white light. "Take care of what you need to," she told him simply, eyes sliding closed, "I'll be fine, mon cheri." Even when David had left and she silently commanded the door shut, she didn't do a thing. Her eyes opened, but she lay still indented in the thick gold coverlet, her hair in a gentle disarray about her on the pillow with one hand carelessly resting in the curve of her stomach and the other arm bent up beside her. "I'm surprised you even bothered coming down here." Her voice had her same wispy, dreamy quality, that constant thoughtfulness and simplicity, but there was something on the edge of it that was hard. "Or should I be? You're an obedient boy, after all." There was a moment in which she stared sharply at him, a pout to her face, eyebrows knit. "I'm not so certain I want you in my company," she stated simply, as if working her thoughts out just as she spoke them, "Now wouldn't that be best for everyone? The aggravation, the tension, the jealousy---all gone." She snapped her fingers for emphasis, rising up to fold her arms around her legs and lay her cheek gently against her knees with an airy trace of a long sigh, eyes still set on his figure. "Perhaps. But what do you think, mon cher? Tell me, please."

He approached the bed, but stopped a few steps away, out of Antha's physical reach at least. "Maybe you shouldn't want me in your company," he said, ruminatively. "I am neither a good influence on you, nor a respite from your difficulties. My obedience is, in fact, all I have to offer." Vikteren tilted his head to the side very slightly, examining Antha's expression. "I was trained well, I suppose..."
The vampire stepped closer and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. "You know you have only to say the word and I will do anything you demand. If it is your wish that I leave, I would not plead otherwise."  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

She just sighed her long, soft sigh, sliding forward so that her legs folded beneath her. "Damn you," she whispered, her voice so calm and abstract that it couldn't possibly be more than a careless comment, as she locked him in place with the umbra so that she could drape her arms around his neck and shoulders, "Damn you because I want you to stay. If I did happen to cast you aside and take a new companion, what could I possibly gain? What would there be that I haven't grown bored with already? They're all the same, you know---lovesick puppies that hang on my every word, watch me like they've never seen another living being. They're all so dull, so generic, so boring to every extent. No, silly me. Why would I throw you away when you're the only one left to me who's even vaguely unique, who strikes any interest?" Finally she sent the umbra away, let him move freely, but she did not withdraw for several more moment. Rather, she held on tightly for those few seconds, desperate in a way, and then dropped her arms altogether and drew back perhaps a foot or so.

 

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

She just sighed her long, soft sigh, sliding forward so that her legs folded beneath her. "Damn you," she whispered, her voice so calm and abstract that it couldn't possibly be more than a careless comment, as she locked him in place with the umbra so that she could drape her arms around his neck and shoulders, "Damn you because I want you to stay. If I did happen to cast you aside and take a new companion, what could I possibly gain? What would there be that I haven't grown bored with already? They're all the same, you know---lovesick puppies that hang on my every word, watch me like they've never seen another living being. They're all so dull, so generic, so boring to every extent. No, silly me. Why would I throw you away when you're the only one left to me who's even vaguely unique, who strikes any interest?" Finally she sent the umbra away, let him move freely, but she did not withdraw for several more moment. Rather, she held on tightly for those few seconds, desperate in a way, and then dropped her arms altogether and drew back perhaps a foot or so.

"I'm already damned, Antha." he replied idly. "You cannot curse me further." A sweet smile passed over his lips, reminescent of the beautiful human, the beautiful brother he had been. "And eventually, I trust that you will tire of me." He cocked his head at her, raising an eyebrow in a half-teasing, half-thoughtful expression. "I think that even Singe may have more stories to tell than I do. Perhaps you have only never asked." Vikteren's hand caressed her cheek, and he stood. "Shall we attend to David, now?"  

[.David Talbot.]

He wanted to be cold, really he did, but the cold was a part of him now. The numbness wouldn't invade. When he passed through the front doors he paid no attention to the receptionist and when he tromped up the stairs to David's office he nudged Singe aside with his foot and when he passed a shocked David in the stairway he only nodded, grinning wildly, fangs protruding. He passed all through the reception room and office and down the stairs to the bedroom where he stopped at the door, tapping his shoes against the floor with the vampire grace that made it soundless to rid them of all snow. The hem of his jeans were soaked with melted snow and his thin white shirt, so similar to David's, spotted with it. When he was clear of snow except for the glittering droplets in his hair he burst through the doors, arm stretched out towards heaven. "Heathens!" he declared dramatically, a good impression of radical Christian aunt Mary Jane. "Unforgivable!" He stopped, he sighed, he grinned so wickedly with the vampire beauty instilled in his naturally dazzling face that he felt any woman who didn't know him should faint. "You're lucky you're my favorite little sinner!" Nicolae taunted finally with a finger pointed dramatically at his little sister, winking once, grin broader still.

 

[XCandy and LunacyX]

She seemed vaguely shocked when the doors flew open, letting her wide eyes dart curiously to the door. It took only a split second for her to recognize the figure, no time at all for the glitter to adorn a newly sparked fire within her bright eyes and her smile to spread ear to ear. "Nicolae!" she cried, no reservations, childish in her excitement. All at once she was flying at him, seizing his collar and pulling him down to her level so that she could kiss his cheeks, his lips, run a hand through his mass of golden locks. "You dreadful little beast---you JERK!---I've missed you!" And at last she caught him around the neck, arms locking tightly to him, her cheek pressing hard against his neck.