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Post by Circe on Oct 31, 2019 18:05:05 GMT -6
"Yes?" She asked unsure what question he was asking specifically. He had always been full of questions, and even now she could sense his uncertainty and misgivings about the situation. "Trouble? Why would I be in trouble for summoning my own nephew?" Catherine asked again confusion briefly aparent on her face. When she had made the choice to join the court, everything had been forgiven by and part largely thanks to that decision.
"Your exile is over Brandon, the court is welcoming you back into its ranks."
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Post by demikara on Oct 31, 2019 18:09:38 GMT -6
He really wasn't certain he wanted to be welcomed by into the ranks of the court and that was very clear on his face. He had never been great at hiding secrets from her. Aside, of course, from the real reason his shop and business stayed afloat. He hesitated and he came a little closer. "I'm a little confused, Aunt Catherine. I think I may be missing something here. How are you able to summon me to the Ra's office? I thought only the Ra could use it." He was definitely not up to date on the fact that she was a princess of the court now.
The idea of her being here willingly was foreign. She hadn't ever liked the vampires, not as far as he could tell. And her being here...sans glamour, he noted and his brow crinkled as he realized that. She looked young and healthy and like the years had fallen off of her. What was going on?
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Post by Circe on Oct 31, 2019 18:21:26 GMT -6
"Or their proxy." Catherine pointed out. She could still see that he was confused and a little unhappy at having been summoned so early in the evening. Most of those who swore allegiances to the court of the dragon spent the first portion of the night hunting and feeding; something that was not lost on her.
They both had their secrets, and one was better at keeping more of them than the other. "This is a bit difficult to explain." She had done her best to keep things normal for Brandon, allowing him to know only a fraction of her history and personal ties. No one had the full picture except her, and another who was now long since dead. "How should I put this... it was a welcome opportunity."
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Post by demikara on Oct 31, 2019 18:32:46 GMT -6
He could put two and two together and her frowned, then offered a very human smile. "Al-Amryh Catherine then." He wrinkled his nose. "Though I hope you'll let me keep calling you Aunt Catherine." His aunt was the princess now. That was pretty cool. Still, if she had found the court to be a welcome opportunity, maybe the new Ra wasn't so bad. Aunt Catherine would never cooperate with someone evil after all.
She was too good of a person. "I'm glad you're no longer stuck with MCU then. They were terrible to you."
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Post by Circe on Oct 31, 2019 18:41:51 GMT -6
"la Princessa della Caterina, the Florentine court's naming conventions are followed now." She corrected Brandon. It was easier than trying to remember whatever damnedable arabic that the previous court had used. Catherine had never been a fan, always getting names or titles switched around or mixed up. After a period it had all sounded the same to her, regardless of what Tyrus had tried to explain. It had taken her the better part of the last few weeks just to get all the titles and names of important courtiers correct before the gala.
"But... you're welcome to call me whatever you like." She hesitated.
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Post by demikara on Oct 31, 2019 18:47:48 GMT -6
"I want to keep calling you Aunt Catherine." He offered with a smile. He loved her very much, his aunt. He wasn't sure, exactly, why she was leaning into the whole part vampire thing now, but he'd support her in it. Supporting her was the important part after all. Even if he was still rather confused. "If I'm no longer banished, am I back to being a prince again?" Because he had not so secretly despised all that came with being a prince.
He much preferred his life as an artist than he did his life as a prince.
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Post by Circe on Oct 31, 2019 18:59:16 GMT -6
"I would have to ask, but I suspect you might be. Although you more than likely would not be called upon for much." Catherine answered. Grigore was still a bit hard to read, but seemed to trust his daughter more than anyone else. That was understood in some ways, as most of the unseen world operated on the theory that blooded family was a better choice than a stranger.
"But if you wish to continue calling me your aunt, then I see no reason you shouldn't."
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Post by demikara on Oct 31, 2019 19:03:30 GMT -6
"Well. You've been my aunt all my life, so I think I'd like to keep it that way." He joked. He couldn't really think of anything he'd been called on for. He didn't consider himself to have special talents and tended to disregard most of his necromancy as something to be used offensively. He was ultimately mostly harmless with his magic and he knew it. That was a deliberate choice he made and kept to.
"Are you okay with all this though? I always got the impression you didn't like politics and vampires and everything."
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Post by Circe on Oct 31, 2019 19:42:20 GMT -6
Catherine smiled at Brandon's request, "Of course, whatever you wish." She was more interested in at least keeping whatever small family she had accumulated over time together. If that meant embracing the current situation, then that would have to be her choice. Besides, things didn't really seem all that bad for now.
"If I wasn't, do you think I would be standing here? Politics in the line of duty are difficult, especially when one is forced to remain impartial when the rest of the world is not. This at least gives me support if something were to happen to you or anyone else I care about." Catherine explained. She knew that the Dragon Court commanded more respect than the fae could in the unseen realms, and that alone was a valuable bargaining tool. Especially when it came to the unseen and its Council.
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Post by demikara on Oct 31, 2019 19:51:30 GMT -6
She was smiling and happy. Being a warden had made her miserable and she seemed lighter like this. She seemed happier than she had been in a long time. Brandon smiled brightly, thrilled as it got. She was doing better, by the sound of it. Good. He may not be a fan of the court, but maybe it would change. He rubbed his jaw. He still wasn't thrilled about the whole de-fanging thing, but he had at least been given leave to properly hunt.
Given how much blood it took to get him feeling well enough to move around, he was all for that. "I'm glad then." She seemed happy. That was the important part. "I would suggest we hunt together at some point to celebrate, but I suspect we have wildly different tastes." And that never made for a good hunt.
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Post by Circe on Oct 31, 2019 20:01:00 GMT -6
"I'm sorry Brandon, but I can't." Catherine shook her head sadly, as much as she wished it, hunting wasn't something she could undertake. Upon admission to Broadmoore they had pulled many of her teeth, including her fangs; leaving for a time, bloody sockets that oozed and ached terribly. It had been difficult to eat and even harder to speak; which had likely been the intention behind the method. "Broadmoore..." She hesitated, "had some very strange ideas of dental care for their patients."
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Post by demikara on Nov 1, 2019 7:42:56 GMT -6
"Aunt Catherine..." He hesitated a moment. "You...I've been defanged too. You can still hunt without them. It's just...more difficult." Much more difficult. Fangs were designed for feeding, and without them, it was harder to hit the right spot, to not make a huge mess while feeding. He used a knife himself, but knew fangs were much more efficient, less prone to discovery. He was hesitant to admit this though, hesitant to admit how he hunted for his food. "The donated blood was easier, but a knife can make up for a lack of fangs. It just makes for a messier meal, mostly." And that was the real danger. A messier meal meant more chance of discovery.
And he knew about the no more donated blood edict. "I wish there was some way to regrow our fangs. Not having them makes everything more difficult."
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Post by Circe on Nov 1, 2019 12:34:18 GMT -6
"Yes, it's they considered it a fitting punishment for me at the time." She shrugged. It was something she couldn't have prevented had she wanted to or not. The rules had been explicitly clear, any vampire that entered into the institute would be promptly defanged, drugged, and kept in a state of near starvation. The staff considered them easier patients that way, when in reality they were all prisoners and many of them knew there was little hope for escape or return to their previous lives. A sentence within the walls of the Broadmoore Institute followed a being for the rest of their lives, if they were ever released. It wasn't just the records that followed them either, it was the scars and trauma from their time in residency.
"And I manage well enough on my own, but I'll consider your suggestion." Catherine added. Brandon was right though, a knife was messier, more difficult, and over all a much more crude method of obtaining what one generally wanted from their meal.
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Post by demikara on Nov 1, 2019 13:43:58 GMT -6
"Does...does the pain ever go away? After they pull your fangs?" He was searching for some hope, some form of something to look forward to. He had been made a vampire and a prince against his will, for powers he wasn't actually fond of, and then he had been de-fanged when he had no interest in ever being a threat to the new Ra. As far as he was concerned, the new Ra could stay far away from him and everything would be good. It didn't look like that was going to happen though.
At least he could still spend time with his aunt, even if he really didn't fully understand what was happening. She was a princess now, apparently, and that was news to him. She seemed happy though. And she wasn't hiding as much as she had been, so that was good.
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Post by Circe on Nov 1, 2019 16:42:06 GMT -6
Catherine sighed and debated her answer, she could say lie and say yes or she could tell him the truth. Neither of the options were terribly palatable to her at the moment. "Yes and no," She explained, "the pain eventually becomes something you grow used to or the infection that proceeds it kills the nerves... which is something of a blessing in of itself."
For her in had been something of a combination of the two, and the starvation diet from the institute and subsequent struggles after as she got used to the replacement teeth had been difficult to say the least. Adding insult the many injuries, the Council had bound her both in their service and away from her magic. "I am truly sorry Brandon, I wish I knew how to help."
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