[V20] The Tale of the Crone

Justine watches for a few moments in pleasure, as a woman might admire a finely-trained horse, thinking How splendid this beautiful animal is! How strong and swift and obedient to the rider's will. It hardly requires the touch of the whip and spur any longer. Then she says, "Juliette will face me and kneel now."
 
Terezi





Karkat gives a faint smile and says, "we always do, Tezi." He glances around the room as if that meant something, "I can't say I like these new people, though. They're neither nice or trustworthy. Can't we make it on our own?"


Justine





When Justine speaks, Juliette is in a handstand, but at the sound of her Mistress's voice, she lowers her legs behind her back and bends them, letting her roll towards the vampire in her doorway, ending up pressed to the floor before her. With a second smooth motion, she raises herself to her knees with her gaze lowered and her behind her back.
 
Justine reaches out, takes hold of Juliette's hair, and pulls her head back to look into the girl's face. "Juliette will tell her Mistress," she says, "what she thinks of our new guest."


She seldom asks her ghoul direct questions of this sort, and she enjoys watching the struggle to construct a response.
 
"That's the thing." She stated. "There's... a collective, The Camarilla. There's rules it enforces on all kindred and those who get involved in that world. Most cities of any size with a Camarilla presence is going to have a leader, the prince. That's for men and women alike and those who assist them-a sheriff, Elysium masters, harpies on occasion, so on. Too many vampires, there's going to be people dying. Not enough hold on people, the whole situation blows open and it endangers all kindred. So they say. There may be a long time before I can go on my own in the eyes of the Camarilla. I am a Childe, not of any account yet. A neonate yet to prove herself responsible enough to follow the traditions and rules of the night." She explained. "They're not the only game-there's the Sabbat, the anarchs and independants. Sabbat is... very unwise. Extremely so for me." She said mildly. "I would be marked for death by other Tremeres. They are said to dabble in evil shit and tend in modern nights to be very short-lived. Anarchs are..." She shrugged. "The master of this house is an independent, an Autarkis. A vampire who holds no political views. Neutral as Switzerland. Or interested in other aims not copacetic to any political view. Hard to know or say but I'd think that it would be most polite to not speculate without hard evidence."


Nice people. What a pleasant dream. "Most kindred aren't nice people. Some are very cruel, vindictive, cold-inhuman to the utmost. But that does not mean we shouldn't give them the benefit of the doubt. So far, our host has done exactly what he has said. We should have a little faith in that. If you trust no one, then no one can protect you. I trust you-but we have to toe the line. We're the new game in town, homeless and without proven allies. If we mess up, we're both dead or worse." She'd heard the stories. "And there is worse things than death."
 
Justine





Juliette winces at the needless cruelty she is subjected to. It takes only a moment for her to overcome her well-ingrained instincts and look her Mistress in the eye, but the struggle is real and clearly visible on her face. "Juliette does not understand how he could both be so young and ignorant, and still reach out to her Mistress like he did," she says, her voice trembling at the unfamiliar command, "Juliette does not understand his wounds," she continues, slowly finding her voice, "he brings with him many questions and offers no answers." Her eyes have been drifting around Justine's face while she has been speaking, but she finds the vampire's eyes again and finishes, "Juliette does not trust him."


 
Terezi





"They must be crazy," he says trying to sound amused, but not quite managing, "calling you a child? I'm not sure you've ever been one." He sighs and shrugs, "but we seem to be in metaphorical Rome, so I suppose we'd better do like the metaphorical Romans." He gives a forced laugh and says, "worse than death? I'm not sure I wanna know what that is."


"So. Toe the line, do as we're told. I can do that. Not going to like it, though, especially not that you have to as well."
 
"Thanks, Karkles." She used an old pet name she used to rile him up and tease him with when she was being mean when they were young. Nowadays, it was simply affectionate teasing that let him know-kindred or not, she was still Terezi. Keeping that bit of humanity was mattering more and more to her since she became a ghoul.


Time would tell if she could hold on to that humanity.
 
Justine releases Juliette's hair with a nod, as though pleased with the ghoul's answer. She turns and shuts the door behind them, then puts her hand under Juliette's chin instead, so that the girl must continue to look at her.


"He is of the same kind as I, therefore he is privileged beyond a lowly Daughter of Eve such as Juliette. But..." She smiles, runs a thumb over Juliette's perfect cheekbone. "He desires Juliette. Juliette does not desire him, I think? Then she has power that he does not have." She lets that sink in for a moment.


"Juliette will...befriend him, become his companion." She waits to see if there is any sign of resistance.
 
Terezi





"You haven't called me that in years," he says with an amused smirk.


Before Terezi can reply to that, her phone rings once more.


Justine





Juliette leans into Justine's hand at the rare tender gesture, and blinks in surprise as her Mistress continues. She had not seen herself as someone with any kind of power, especially not in this house.


At the newest order, she involuntarily opens her mouth, almost as if she were to form a forbidden word, but she closes it before any sound can escape, Once she has composed herself, she replies "yes, Mistress."
 
Justine nods again. In a very soft voice, she says: "Juliette will assume this role, just as she has played others at her Mistress's command. This time, she will be the Sympathetic Listener. She will learn what pleases him and seek to draw him out. If he speaks of his family, she will tell him of her own. If he has interests, she will share them. She will hint that she may yield her body to him, without giving in. Juliette will hear what he has to say when the Mistress is not present. And she will never forget that she has the power, not he, and that she does not trust him."


She continues to stroke Juliette's face with light brushes of her thumb. "This will be a great chance for Juliette to prove her skill and show her sweet devotion. Success will be rewarded. Failure..." Justine's grip tightens ever so slightly, then relaxes. "But Juliette will not fail me, will she?"
 
Terezi's soft smile turns into a frown of disquiet. Oh god oh god. She was willing too bet it was from the Tremere. She took a deep breath in. No need for it, but habit is still master of all things. She took out the phone and checked the ID. Control. It was time for control.
 
Justine





Juliette gazes deeply into her Mistress's eyes, her love and devotion for the other woman obvious for the world to see, and at this moment, Justine knows that her slave would walk into a fire for her, that perfect smile ever on her lips. "Juliette does not know, Mistress," she responds apologetically, her smile wavering at her own uncertainty, "Juliette has never done such a thing before."


Terezi


"What's the matter?" Karkat asks as Terezi looks nervously at the small screen that just like before displays Amy's name in ominous letters.
 
"I'm aware of that. That's why this is a test for Juliette," says Justine. She lets go of the younger woman's face. "Now, Juliette will bring the printouts of the photographs I just took, and then she will dress and get the car ready. If our guest has no answers to provide us, we must look farther afield."
 
Here we go, time to face the music. Álvaro's jaw and muscles tense just a bit as he ponders the exact words to be said: "Name is Álvaro Castillo Ahumada, and I do not know who is the vampire that created me, we never got acquainted. " That was no lie, being a shovel head himself, Álvaro never had the chance for any introduction, or any kind of deep or meaningful relationship with his Sire, what he failed to disclose was that his creator was or perhaps still is, a monster from the Sabbat.
 
Justine


Juliette's head follows her Mistress's departing hand for a moment, but once the order is given, she rises fluidly and walks past Justine with her head bowed. A short time later, she returns with a stack printouts which she places on the table before Justine. She then walks to her closet and pulls out her driver's uniform for the second time this evening.


Minutes later, the car gives off the harsh purring sound it makes when awaiting instructions.


Álvaro & Susan


The Prince steps closer to Álvaro, and every step sounds like the toll of some great and ominous bell, the young Caitiff begins to feel the full weight of his presence, making it hard not to submit in spirit as well as body. "And what," the prince intones, his words ringing as harshly as his steps, "were the exact circumstances of your Embrace?"
 
Álvaro had hoped to avoid a situation like this, the Princes of the Camarilla often fancied themselves lions in charge of their prides, fearful of outsiders and overprotective of their territories, any shadow in the night was a danger to their kin, or worse, a contender for their throne, and to these Kindred in power, Álvaro was akin to a hyena, an ugly animal searching for the scraps of the pride. Many Kindred would have chosen to lie or sweeten their words to make a better first impression, but Álvaro was not one of these vampires, he knew with certainty, that despite all the disdain he was subject to, the smiles hiding disgust, the veiled threats and the fake pleasantries, when danger came a'knocking, the Camarilla needed Vampires like himself, nameless, expendable and willing to get their hands dirty.


Still and steady as a statue, Álvaro meets the eyes of the Elder vampire, an action that on itself shows either great bravery or great stupidity, putting himself in the line of fire of any mental disciplines the Prince could have. "I was ambushed by a group of vampires, hit over the head, drained of any blood and Embraced shortly before I was left to my own hunger 5 feet underground" The truth was out, for better or for worse, and now Álvaro just waits to see if his blunt honesty pays off, after all, no Sabbat spy would be stupid enough to admit to such a miserable Embrace, right?
 
Álvaro & Susan


"The Camarilla claims all Kindred as its members," the Prince says, sounding somehow both more pleasant and ominous, "even those who come to us from the humblest origins. You are welcome in my city, Álvaro Castillo Ahumada, but I have very little patience for incompetence and threats to its peaceful operation. I expect you will want to do everything in your power to prove your worth to the Camarilla and Kindred society at large. Am I correct in this expectation, Álvaro Castillo Ahumada?"
 
"That's correct" He wasn't entirely sure, but there was something about his choice of words that put Álvaro on certain edge, hopefully it was nothing unusual aside from the imminent danger that any centuries old Vampire poses to a neonate like himself.
 
She rose the phone up to her ear and pressed talk, silent. Not even saying hello. She held up a finger to her mouth, bidding him silence. Once more into the fire, perhaps. Her lips were drawn into a thin, flat line of displeasure and hid her fear as best she could. Perhaps, too she was a glutten for punishment.
 



  • "Good," the Prince says with a smile that bares his fangs, "I shall call upon you when your city needs you, then." He turns and gives a dismissive wave in the direction of the assembled Kindred, "you are dismissed."


    Else quickly rises and leaves swiftly, just short of actually running. Once back down, she sighs, letting out a breath she shouldn't have been holding this entire time, "that went better than I'd feared. I have no idea what I was thinking, bringing a Lasombra and a Caitiff to see the Prince," she mutters, mostly at herself.


 
Susan Rosenthal


The just-named Lasombra smirks. Then she pitches her tone to be comforting, conciliatory. "You didn't bring a Lasombra and a Caitiff to see the Prince. You brought two witnesses, who confirmed and supported your account. If we're individually...shall we say, less reliable, our testimony collectively adds weight to your own. It was a good decision, Ms. O'Connor, and you shouldn't regret it,"


"Now comes the difficult part." Susan looks between the two Kindred, Else and Álvaro alike. "How do we find our quarry, before we become the quarry. If you have any immediate ideas, I'm entirely open to discussion. Otherwise, might I suggest we meet up tomorrow night? The hour grows late, that's all. I can provide us safe, secure meeting space to discuss and plan if you're amenable."
 
Terezi still remained silent, letting Amy talk. "Bugs. Have you seen more bugs than usual, Karkat? I sure have." Click. If she got the hint, that was up to her. It was true, afterall. She silenced her phone. "Dreams of them, too. I hope he gets down here soon. I don't know what to say or do anymore. Amy was nice. But she can't protect me. No one really can, in the end. The best I can do is this-and hope that I don't dream about that ugly swarm of disgusting bugs, eating one another until there's one left. What can I do? It's not like I can go back to Minneapolis after running."
 
"I'm going to call on an acquaintance," responds Justine briskly, "and query him to see if he's heard of anything resembling what happened to you. I thought I'd better let you know, so you don't emerge to find the house empty with no explanation."
 



  • Else sighs, "thanks. And no, no I haven't." She stares out into the nothingness between Álvaro and Susan for a moment and then shakes her head, "I have some sources I can tap, but it'll take some time."


 
Álvaro turns to Susan to address her question. "Any prominent sewer rats in town? They might have some useful info" Interrupted by thought, Álvaro looks around briefly for signs of time past. "Now... I rather secure a place to crash for today" Turning to Else he speaks once more. "Your favor will be done tomorrow, you've got my word."
 
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