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Post by demikara on Nov 15, 2020 12:07:12 GMT -6
Broadmoore could finally stand on its own with minimal oversight. The newly appointed director knew what he considered important and was prepared for random inspections. It had been quick work to create a position for him to serve as oversight, and he calmly had appointed a handful of other to the board that would ensure that Broadmoore continued to use state of the art treatment both for the mentally ill and the imprisoned. He was determined that it would be a success story. This meant, of course, that he finally had enough time to properly do his duties as prince of the court, and he had dropped by his sire's office intending on offering his help where needed. He was familiar enough with the running of a court after all, having grown up among the former rulers. The mage was dressed in a suit, long hair pulled back in a french braid that went down his back and to his hips. Largely to show the casual nature of the day, he had braided in a ribbon as well, entertaining himself by doing his hair this morning. He had no clue what color it was. That aspect of his vision appeared permanently gone. But it had appeared to be a lighter colored one, so he was assuming it was the yellow ribbon. He had begun to understand the different shades of grey at least, even if he had bullied his PA into helping him re-learn what colors looked like. And it wasn't foolproof, which was annoying, but bearable.
If he was going to take up court duties, he'd need to get an assistant from the court as well. He had to look his best after all, and it wouldn't do to show any kind of weakness to the other vampires. Not that he would. He was practiced in that at least. Tyrus knocked on the door of Catherine's office, and checked to see if she was on her own with a quick sweep of his mind. "Principessa? May I come in?" Better to refer to her by her title until they were in private. Her office wasn't in private after all, and even a servant counted as in public. He'd have to see about the state of the court's servants at least, he decided. Everything appeared to be running smoothly, so he wasn't worried, but there could be a surprise. He still wasn't pleased with the lessening of his allowance, but perhaps there was a reason.
He'd have to see if she'd let him take over the financials. It was possible they were missing part of the court's financials given the messy nature of the transition.
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Post by Circe on Nov 15, 2020 14:40:38 GMT -6
Catherine glanced up and squinted at where Tyrus stood in the door, wondering what the hell had ever possessed him to put a bright yellow ribbon in his hair. It looked utterly ridiculous in her opinion, but she wasn't about to tell him how to dress himself, after all he was technically an adult. "Yes, close the door behind you when you do." She answered flatly.
Luckily for Tyrus, she was alone. Preferring to have little to do with the servants, even having gone as far as to dismiss most of the personal ones that Grigore had originally insisted upon. Most of the court found it bizarre that the heir apparent would rather live like a commoner, doing things for herself than never having to lift a finger again. "Did you need something, Tyrus?" She asked glancing briefly at her watch. This was supposed to be her day off from MCU, and instead it was spent catching up on business at the court. Catherine hadn't intended to get this far behind, but between the Court, the Council breathing down her neck near daily, and keeping her officers out of trouble, it was impossible to find the time for anything except work.
Paperwork at MCU, and even more paperwork at the Court. She suspected she knew why Grigore decided that she should be responsible for the day-to-day operations, and it had little to do with training up an heir. It was because he had little taste for the monotony and banality that came with it. That didn't mean she did either, but she understood that arguing otherwise as a lost cause.
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Post by demikara on Nov 15, 2020 15:54:55 GMT -6
He came in and shut the door behind him obediently. Given it was what he wanted as well, it wasn't exactly a hardship to do so. The mage took in the paperwork on the desk and gave a grim smile. "I've moved to a less intense position at Broadmoore. I'm available to take up some more work for the court." And it was his responsibility to do so as a prince of the court. He was rather surprised he hadn't been ordered back before this. "There used to be enough to do to occupy five adults, though both Milo and I only worked part time. I suspect the workload hasn't changed." And he suspected Catherine had been trying to do it all herself, rather than finding a trustworthy lieutenant to help shoulder the burden. He already had his eyes on a few potential vampires that had the experience to help out with his portion of the work.
It was a matter of helping Catherine get out from under whatever load Grigore had put her under. "I have some experience with the business portion of the court. But the majority of what I did was handle the social and spiritual aspects. But I do have a degree in business." So he understood everything at least.
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Post by Circe on Nov 15, 2020 16:31:31 GMT -6
Catherine looked at Tyrus suspiciously. The last time this had been mentioned, someone had nearly lost their hand. Grigore had not been terribly kind to the idea or suggestion that there was more work than one person could handle in any given day. The idea of delegation had not been well-received when it had been brought up again at a later date. Grigore was insistent that the court be controlled by the heirs, and normally there would have been more than one or two to handle the load.
"And are you angling to lose your whole hand this time or just another finger?" Catherine asked without thinking. She was frustrated and tired, this wasn't a thing she had ever wanted, and lately it just felt like she was fate's plaything.
"I'm not disagreeing that you would be better at this than I am, I just see no way around... this." She added. While the idea of another to shoulder the burden was enticing, her sire's temper was not. Because of a lack of trust with others, and the previous experiences she had had with the court that had come before, Catherine wasn't eager to seek out others to assist her.
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Post by demikara on Nov 15, 2020 16:39:49 GMT -6
"I'm angling to not lose any, ideally." He said simply. "Though it may still upset Grigore if not worded correctly." He admitted. "There's too much for one person to do. But maybe if we manage it just right, he'll accept the idea of his other heir actually contributing to the court." He had no clue how managing to say it right would work at all. "If nothing else, then as an assistant to you." Though it would certainly be a different sort of position than what he was used to regardless. "You're over worked. Between MCU and the court, you've got too much on your plate. There has to be some way of making him see that." He just didn't know what that way was.
He held his hand up, looking where his finger had been cut off and sighed. At least it had regenerated. "This is not ideal. But it is what it is and there has to be some way of working with his temper so the court doesn't have to suffer." He just didn't know what it was.
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Post by Circe on Nov 15, 2020 17:07:34 GMT -6
"None of this is ideal." Catherine commented tersely. She had not been raised for this, and had never expected to be handed this much responsibility and power. It was akin to running a small country, something that she had absolutely no experience or basis to work on. The man who had raised her had expected her to take his position, while within the nobility, it wasn't nearly as much responsibility as Grigore had suddenly heaped on her in the last year.
"This isn't my world Tyrus, I do not belong, no matter how much he desires it so." She said, thinking how best she might phrase things and twist the words to please Grigore. What the Fae had taught her, if anything was how to twist words in ways so utterly charming and winsome that it was easy to agree with and cede to her position. But it wasn't often she took advantage of the magic and power that words could have over others.
"I will see what he would accept... I can't just resign from Dallas." She'd leave the court given half a chance, but that would be difficult to do. Breaking Grigore's bond would be difficult, but she was almost certain it could be done, given what she now knew about the solstice.
"In the meantime, you at least have my permission to do what you're able."
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Post by demikara on Nov 15, 2020 17:22:26 GMT -6
"It's the world I grew up in." He said simply. "And the world I was raised to. Pass over any financial documents you have. Given how sudden the change in leadership was, that area is ripe for some idiot to think he can defraud the court." Tyrus knew enough about the accounts to recognize what was meant to be there and to know if something was missing at least. "I've been keeping tabs on the social scene as well, even if I haven't been in the thick of it, so I can take that off your hands as much as possible." He could handle the lesser things at least and keep an eye on the court. "There have been no overt rumblings from that quarter at least. Just the usual whispers." Some upset whispers were bound to exist regardless.
"Hopefully he'll be fine with this. If not, we'll figure something out. The court is not exactly small in scope." It covered a significant amount of ground and had significant business holdings.
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Post by Circe on Nov 15, 2020 17:57:32 GMT -6
"Easy for you to say," Catherine said still wondering what on earth had possessed him to braid his hair with ribbons. It wasn't something she could think of any culture she'd encountered having its male members wear. Beads and other small trinkets had been popular once upon a time in her early years, braided into the hair to carefully denote the wearer's status and other important social signals, but that had fallen out of favor long ago. "Also don't demand, request, politely." She added producing a small black thumb drive and handing it across the desk to Tyrus.
"You're in little position to do so, given your questionable wardrobe choices today." Catherine commented pointing to his braid. "Yellow isn't your best color, mage."
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Post by demikara on Nov 15, 2020 18:04:24 GMT -6
"Yellow is most certainly my color." He accepted the thumb drive and pocketed it. "I was in a good mood when I did my hair today." He pulled the brain over his shoulder. "Though if it bothers you, removing a ribbon like this doesn't take long." He used magic for it once he hair was braided at least. "Besides, ribbons are significantly easier than beads when your hair is this long." So when he wanted to dress up his hair, it tended to be ribbons, or interesting styles. It depended on what he was feeling really. He tended to pin it up when exercising at least, though he was fairly certain Boyuan was the only one who had seen him with his hair pinned lately.
"It may take me a day or two to go over the accounts. Possibly three if any are missing." He'd have to compare them to older accounts and track down any changes.
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Post by Circe on Nov 15, 2020 18:17:27 GMT -6
Catherine just raised an eyebrow at his reply, he made absolutely no sense to her. She who was so rarely given over to frivolous and feminine things, even her dresses for the court were tailored and austere things without much, if any ornamentation. "If you can use magic to remove a ribbon... never mind." Catherine started to say before catching herself and shaking her head. It wasn't worth pointing out the flaw in his logic. "Look, just don't let him see you with it. The braid isn't a problem, men have worn braids for centuries. The ribbons not so much." She added. It just hadn't been much of a thing, until the French courts of the 18th century; the very styles that had so caught the eye of the Fae, due to any number of reasons Catherine didn't have time to think about.
"Take your time, he's largely not interested in the financials I've discovered. As long as there's money to spend on any number of prostitutes, whores, and women."
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Post by demikara on Nov 15, 2020 18:23:39 GMT -6
"Mother enjoyed putting ribbons in my hair so I got used to it growing up." It was ridiculous, but it also was what it was. Still with a twist of his wrist, the ribbon untied itself and began to slither out of his braid. "But I won't upset him with a passing fancy." The ribbon coiled neatly in his hand and disappeared into the same pocket as the thumb drive had. "And there should be plenty of money for all three plus more besides."
Though the fact that he was spending court money on prostitutes was not ideal. The mage sighed and considered things. "Hopefully he hasn't spent more than an allowance worth. I have no clue how much prostitutes or women cost." Generally they cost a drink or two when he was hunting, but that was about it. More than that and they weren't willing so he wasn't interested. Bad enough he had to actually hunt now, as per king's order. It was much tidier when it was simply donor blood. Hunting too time and he wasn't fond of it.
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Post by Circe on Nov 15, 2020 18:42:53 GMT -6
Catherine offered a shrug, "Don't ask me. I'm divorced and don't get out much, even to hunt." It was true, she didn't much care for men after Izaak and women weren't anything she'd ever much considered. Sure, she could see the logic others had for the same sex or gender, but that was the extent of her thoughts on the matter. "My guess is he hasn't, given that it's probably quite easy for him to pick up women." He had after all managed to sway her own mother once upon a time, and more recently Scotty's.
"However smart choice, best to keep up appearances around him." At least they had managed to convince him that the solstice was a one time event, and it had been taken care of with some amount of difficulty. Xiaolian had even confirmed it for Grigore, providing some weird tasseomancy and paper magicry that not even Tyrus had fully understood. But, it had served its purpose and bought them time.
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Post by demikara on Nov 15, 2020 19:00:06 GMT -6
"Hopefully he doesn't ask me to cut my hair. I've never actually done that." He'd never even trimmed the roots before, given he took excellent care of his hair and had never had split ends before. Tyrus was incredibly vain about his hair and there was no denying that at all. "Maybe I could convince him of some magical reason for keeping it long." And not just long habit that meant he never had even considered getting a hair cut. At least not since he was a teenager and rebellious in general. He had quickly learned not to be too rebellious. The worst thing he had ever done was run away a few times. He had learned not to after the first time. The second time had reinforced this.
He still had scars from the first attempt. The whip had cut very deeply. "Men have had long hair before. It should be fine."
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Post by Circe on Nov 15, 2020 19:18:10 GMT -6
Catherine didn't see Grigore asking Tyrus to cut his hair either, most of the styles the other picked weren't anywhere close to offensive. The braided ribbons however, that could be done without. "I don't think that's the issue you think it is." She pointed out. Grigore rarely took up issue with how Tyrus dressed, but often did with Catherine. Constantly bemoaning about why couldn't she dress in a manner more befitting of her station, instead of in a selection of cheap, ill-fitting department store suits and black shoes. Catherine had argued that her job wasn't the place to wear designer clothes, and custom tailored suits, and that often things would or at least could get ruined.
"Do you need anything else, or just to badger me about my failings with the court?"
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Post by demikara on Nov 15, 2020 20:30:26 GMT -6
"Offer my services to the court." He corrected gently. "You aren't failing. Especially if no one bothered to tell you anything about it." Vampires had been cowering since Grigore took the court by surprise and force. It may have been different if his parents had survived, but they had willingly gone to see the sun at the council's hands. "It's not like you should be handling all of this on your own." He didn't agree with how the court was put together right now though. There was too much riding on Catherine and not enough on the actual ruler of the court.
He knew better than to say anything though. He tried not to think on it even, no where near the court at least. Catherine had never asked to be made heir and hadn't been raised to it either. Grigore wasn't really giving her a choice. Hopefully he wouldn't lose his hand for volunteering to help out at the court. It all depended on Grigore's mood.
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