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Post by Circe on Sept 16, 2018 14:26:28 GMT -6
Reluctance was initially the first emotion Catherine had felt about this so called royal summons. As far as she was concerned, Grigore wasn't even worth her time. The man or rather vampire, depending on how one looked at it, had for all intents abandoned her to be raised by someone else. That someone else had been for all intents and purposes her father, for good or for bad. Suspicion was another, given the vampire's tendencies to leave less than welcome gifts on her door step. The man just didn't understand why neither one of them was interested in knowing him; especially his eldest, Catherine, it seemed. She had even managed to drag a very reluctant Scotty with her to dinner and neither one was terribly enthused at the idea of a long drawn out dinner. Whatever plea that Grigore had for them this time, were likely to still fall on deaf ears. His exploitation and breaking of just about every law had left Catherine especially disinterested about that night's meeting. But, she hadn't unwisely gone into the meeting blind; she had recruited a few fellow officers to sit about a block or so away, easily within the distance that could be covered quickly in the event of an emergency. "Look, I don't want to do this either Scotty, but it's a necessary evil." Catherine explained to the other. Neither seemed to be eager to get along well past what little camaraderie that they had shared in Broadmoore. Especially now as they faced this new threat from a long absent ancient one intent on starting a war, with either one of them the catalyst for it all. "We'll only stay as long as we have to." That was the plan, figure out what the other wanted, and then leave. There would be no sting, and no attacks made in public; or so Catherine hoped. Scotty was still a failure at defending herself as far as she was concerned. But despite all of this they were there, with Catherine dressed in a simple black dress instead of her normal business professional suits she wore for MCU. The jewelry and makeup was still the same, minimal, and plain.
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Post by demikara on Sept 16, 2018 16:51:17 GMT -6
Scotty was dressed similarly, though reluctantly, in a dark blue dress and flats with minimal but tasteful and classic jewelry. Brandon had been the one to choose her outfit this time, so it was exactly what it should be, to her eternal annoyance. She felt out of place in the dress and flats, but at least she had won the argument on flats or heels. Better, at least she was no longer being hidden in the old Lessard place, and she had undergone a purification ritual so no lingering anything would remain. They had been taking everything to do with her security ridiculously serious.
"I feel out of place." She whispered, sticking close to Catherine. As they were led to a table, the man sitting there, looking close to Catherine's age, perhaps a hair older stood and smiled to them, pleased.
"I'm glad you were able to make it. I was...concerned that something foolish would be decided upon. Your pet fae had ideas before I even slipped out of her mind." He would wait for them to sit before he did so. They were ladies after all, and some customs that had appeared over the years were ones he had decided to keep. They seemed excellent to him at least. Still, it was good to see his daughters together. He'd hate to have wasted a perfectly good pawn for a missed meeting.
The man waited until they were all seated before he truly began. "How are you two doing?" He would play to the social niceties. As far as he was concerned, they likely wouldn't even get to the purpose of the meeting until desert after all.
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Post by Circe on Sept 16, 2018 17:45:38 GMT -6
"Believe me when I say, this isn't normal for any one of us." Catherine replied quietly. While she had a fair idea of how to act and behave in an place like this, it didn't mean she was comfortable. "I have things to do other than meet with some half crazed vampire.." She muttered more to herself than Scotty.
Reaching the table, she paused as the man stood, keeping her thoughts empty and her features carefully neutral. "Just because one of my officers has a thought, does not mean that they will be acting on it. Bronson is... brash, but far from impulsive." She commented carefully, hoping that for once she was right. Molly had been getting better about not acting on impulse, but then again she had spent a week running head long into her office door trying to bypass the wards.
Taking a seat, she found herself slightly surprised by the social niceties. How they were doing was quite the loaded question for someone who seemed intent on causing as much grief as possible lately. A half truth would be best, but Catherine was ill prepared to deal with this man that sat before them. "Good enough." She replied, shaking her head as the waiter motioned to fill her wine glass. Catherine had learned her lesson with wine and strange vampires; they didn't mix.
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Post by demikara on Sept 16, 2018 18:01:09 GMT -6
"I'm well." The waiter didn't try to fill Scotty's wine. She still didn't look 21. She ignored that firmly. The soda she was given instead was...well, it was better than nothing she supposed. Habit alone had her responding to the inquiry. "And how are you?" She did have some remnant of manners at least, even if currently she would much rather be somewhere else. Enough manners to at least respond appropriately to a common question and return the polite question. She could even say please and thank you, though Brandon had been trying hard to break her of the habit of saying thank you to anyone, yes especially Catherine and Molly.
The unseen community had such weird manners. Scotty didn't need them at Broadmoore and hadn't been out long enough to get a hang of all of the differences just yet. It was maddening how everyone seemed to think she should know everything already. She had only been out of Broadmoore for two weeks when she got the job at Visual Eyes. And it wasn't like she had learned crap in Broadmoore. She and Catherine had both been kept drugged and compliant.
Grigore smiled to them both pleased. "I'm doing well, child. It's kind of you to ask." Unlike Scotty, who's mind was an open book to him, despite her shields, he was more than familiar enough with the unseen community to know all the ins and outs. "Catherine, how is Officer Bates? Recovering, I hope?" She had been there when Molly had assisted his youngest in taking him down. An underhanded trick, but he had enjoyed seeing Scotty win something. The child was too meek. Perhaps her introduction to the unseen had ruined her. The harsh introduction had ruined others of his line, and he tended to not let them live too long.
He'd see if Scotty got to live much longer. She'd have to toughen up quickly. For now though, he was much more interested in the elder sister. He had plans after all, and they involved Catherine and her cooperation. And he would gladly tip the field over to war if she refused to assist him in them.
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Post by Circe on Sept 16, 2018 18:13:59 GMT -6
"Bates will recover, however I have reason to suspect that his pride has taken quite a blow." She replied, raising an eyebrow at the liberal use of her first name. Catherine had made it abundantly clear that she was not interested in a relationship of any level of familiarity with the other. Scotty meanwhile seemed quite naive about how complicated of a situation they were in that night; but then again the girl didn't seem terribly eager to learn how to navigate her way through the community either. Molly was trying her best, but it almost seemed like the blind leading the blind. Catherine though, had little sympathy for the unwilling and recalcitrant pseudo-sibling. She felt that she had more than done her time with Brandon, Dawson, and Will.
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Post by demikara on Sept 16, 2018 18:20:42 GMT -6
"Pride can be a fragile thing." He said simply and smiled, pleased they were here. He had plans after all and he needed both of them for those plans. "Tell me, are you both fully recovered from your time in their little prison? I know you only just got out Scottlyn." He said simply. He was leading somewhere, but he planned on taking his time getting there. Hopefully they'd both be able to follow. He did need three of his line for his plans after all, and the timing was right for what he wanted. If he had to make another child and wait for them to mature as well, then he'd lose out on the best time for his plans.
That wouldn't do. So it was ideal to get what he wanted shortly. Waiting would only complicate matters more than he wanted to deal with.
Scotty paled. "It's Scotty, please. And yes." And she didn't want to say more.
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Post by Circe on Sept 16, 2018 18:28:20 GMT -6
Catherine wanted to wipe the smug, self satisfied look off his face. She knew he was leading somewhere, but could only speculate based on his behavior recently. She admittedly did not know or much make it her business to know the mindset or habit of vampires outside what MCU had required in her role as Warden for the particular territory. Catherine had been more than upfront with the Council, explaining that she was much more versed in the habits and nature of the fae than anything else. "Why does my time there interest you?" Catherine replied turning Grigore's curiosity back onto him.
Many knew that Catherine's time in Broadmoore was a sore spot and one the other still didn't readily discuss. For Grigore to ask, was a violation of any sort of social niceties he had even started to attempt.
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Post by demikara on Sept 16, 2018 18:32:23 GMT -6
"Your time there does not. Your recovery does." He corrected very gently. He wasn't interested in her time there, though he found it fortuitous that his daughters had met in Broadmoore, but he was interested in their recovery. "And it seems pertinent to ask. Besides, however absent I admit I have been, I am your father." And he was due some concern, even if it was the slow concern of an old one who have entirely too much time on their hands and to whom a year or even a decade was not much time at all, in the grand scheme of things.
Oh there was a rush now, but if he missed out on this opportunity, there would be others. Less favored ones, yes, but others. And it was no problem to manufacture others as well. It was so easy to get the species riled up at each other after all. Peace was a fragile thing.
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Post by Circe on Sept 16, 2018 19:37:23 GMT -6
"I apologize, however I find that is really none of your concern, no matter how well placed it might be." Catherine replied. She knew that any confirmation or denial of her struggles afterwards were more than enough evidence to be used against her. There was only one or two people who actually knew what happened day to day; and it certainly was not the Council. Catherine had gotten good at performing and wearing a mask, hiding what she felt was the crazy behind a carefully controlled series of routines. Grigore had hit a nerve, but Catherine was doing well enough not to outwardly show it. She wasn't interested in some man who had centuries of commitment issues.
"I'm sorry Mr. Constantin... but I feel you are a bit confused about that. You see my father was Councilor McBride, not a commitment phobic womanizer." She remarked dryly. Catherine was more than happy to remind the man of just what sort of hornets nest he was stepping into.
So what if Scotty was a weak link? Catherine had made it a priority to not become too involved, if only for the sake of what little sanity she still possessed and her job didn't exactly make her the most popular person. Neither did being the daughter of a former Councilor, but that was another matter altogether. "All things aside, I don't think you called us here for a happy reunion."
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Post by demikara on Sept 18, 2018 6:22:39 GMT -6
Grigore raised an eyebrow at her harsh critique. "Very well. I suppose we can skip the pleasantries, if you insist on being so...uncouth. Though there's no need for such harsh words." A commitment phobic womanizer. Really, how impolite could one get. Perhaps he would set off the war regardless, as punishment for his daughter's behavior. At least the other one remained silent, even if it seemed that she was more silent from fear than anything else. He skimmed her mind and sighed. Scottlyn was certainly a failure as a child. She would have to be terminated once he had gotten what he required.
"I require your assistance, both of you, for a minor ritual. It requires three members of the same family line. Unfortunately, despite my attempts over the centuries, the only family member that had been a success if you, Catherine." She was his eldest largely because he had killed the ones before her. "Even Scottlyn here is ultimately a failure. But she will do for now." For now. Though unless she shaped up quickly, her existence wasn't guaranteed once the ritual was complete.
Scotty swallowed and sipped her soda, holding it close, more scared than she wanted to admit. It sounded very much like he planned on killing her once he had decided her use was up. How many half-siblings had he killed before her and between her and Catherine? She didn't want to know.
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Post by Circe on Sept 18, 2018 17:32:17 GMT -6
"I'm a cop for all intents, Grigore, I don't mince my words or hide behind fustian fantasies and words." Catherine replied, showing that she could use the same flowery wording if she so chose, but was hardly phased by his offense. She'd eagerly offended others in the past, if only for her own entertainment. After all, Kasimir tended to react quite similarly, and there were days when she took great delight in causing the vampire a little indigestion. Catherine knew they were hurtling towards a war, one that she also knew she couldn't single handedly prevent. She had done her due diligence, alerting each respective court, coven, or pack. There would not a be a repeat of the events that transpired after Sleeping One, there would be no condition black, red or any other inane color coded scale the Council could come up with. If it came to it, she would leave for the safety of the Fae courts, knowing precisely how difficult it would be to access it.
"In my experience rituals are never minor and never require three of the same genetic line." She added, revealing little else that she knew about magic and it's workings. Catherine preferred to keep the majority of that knowledge to herself and rarely played further afield. The risks were too high in her opinion, and it was best that the rest of the world not know how tightly tied to the very source of magic of the unseen she was.
She did however feel for Scottlyn, she didn't sign up for this and had been content living her life as a normal human. Until such circumstances dictated otherwise. "However, I am curious, if mildly... what precisely you dictate as a success." Catherine commented, taking a sip of her water. Far as she was concerned, she wasn't very successful. Several failed relationships, a failed marriage, and a precarious career; none of those read as success to her.
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Post by demikara on Sept 18, 2018 17:49:30 GMT -6
"That is your experience." He acknowledged, dismissing it entirely. "This particular ritual does." He shrugged it off. He would get his ritual done, and it would be best if Catherine was apart of it, given her age and power. The younger one could be replaced, though he'd have to wait for yet another dhampir to come of age, which was bothersome. They so rarely survived to birth, and even rarer made it to adulthood. Most were put down around the age Scottlyn had been imprisoned, put down for the madness of their power blossoming.
As for what he defined as success, that was a bit more difficult. He took a moment to think it over, sipping his wine. "I consider you a success because you are strong enough to look after yourself. Your abilities are strong, and while you sadly hesitate to use your magic, your psionic skills are powerful." And well used. He glance to Scottlyn and sighed. "You however. You do not use your skills, deny your place in this world, and hide away like a rabbit. It's most disappointing. But I am kind, and will allow you a decade or so to shape up."
Scotty stare at him in shock. "Allow? Kind!" Where did he even get her definitions. Not pleased, Scotty sat back, her eyes narrowed. She'd leave now if she thought she had a chance of doing so. It wasn't her fault that she had a rocky start to the Unseen! And she was trying, even if she hated every second of it. The other could suck it! She wasn't going to just passively accept that he had rights to her at all. She had a family. He wasn't in it, and nor was Catherine, who was a reminder of her time in a prison cell being tormented by guards for a sin she couldn't even remember.
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Post by Circe on Sept 18, 2018 18:08:06 GMT -6
Grigore was playing a game, and Catherine could tell that herself and Scottlyn were the pawns for something on a much larger scale than either of them realized. She would prefer to not be a pawn, but it seemed like whatever he had planned was going to happen whether she liked it or not. "Everything eventually exacts it's price, magic is no exception." Catherine replied carefully. She hesitated to use the magic because it was dangerous, it almost possessed a sentience that few other kinds did. However, his definition of success bothered her more than the mundane definitions did; his was most certainly based off the kind of power one held.
While she could agree with him on Scotty's behavior, she also didn't agree that that was a reason to dispatch her. The girl was more than content to live life out, minding her own business, and largely anonymous. Grigore though seemed insulted by neither's desire to participate in the machinations and desires for power. Catherine had more than had her fill of that with the fae and the Dragon Court. "And what is this magical...artifice or ritual for?"
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Post by demikara on Sept 18, 2018 18:16:38 GMT -6
He smiled, pleased. "A cause I think you would approve, given it is against those who have harmed you and yours. Quite the trick by the way, finding a boy not from our line, but with our abilities." He considered it an excellent coup. As far as he was concerned, Brandon was theirs. "Are you aware of how the Dragon Court chooses a new head?" He wouldn't be surprised if she did. She was well educated, even if the other was not. "Well. Scottlyn likely doesn't, so I shall explain."
The smile didn't fade, though it became sharper. "One family line is the head. When one passes, or is removed, the next in the family line takes command." It was completely hereditary. But they ruled with an iron fist and no attempts to break them had ever been successful. He intended to be where others had failed. "The gift of their family line is blood magic. They use it to keep all vampires in line." A vampire, after all, could survive the blood leaving their body, even if they may be starved and withered by the action. It was difficult to overthrow a family line that kept a trained battle mage for every generation and who could each use their family's gift to punish any who crossed them. And the previous Ra had not let any fledgling walk free that wasn't completely devoted to him.
"Mr. Hammerstein already told me this. I'm not completely uneducated." Just mostly. She crossed her arms and glared at him. "And leave him out of this. He barely even uses his psionic abilities."
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Post by Circe on Sept 18, 2018 18:37:52 GMT -6
"Hush Scottlyn, do not speak of things you know nothing of." Catherine said automatically, without thinking. The last few weeks had been spent uttering the same phrase over and over whenever the young woman had decided to go off on some insane tangent about one thing or another. There had been multiple times that Catherine had seriously considered a silencing spell on the child, it seemed that her mouth ran constantly, and it was never anything other than a complaint. "Brandon was the eldest child of my.. previous husband's brother. He found me, I did not find him, nor did I look for him." She remarked, still largely disinterested in Grigore's insanity. Catherine knew that she couldn't let him get to her, or risk dropping her shields, exhausting though it was.
"Forgive my saying this, but I cannot in good consciousness assent to this. I have reached a resolution with the Dragon court, with out your help I might add. Unless they've committed new atrocities that I am unaware of.. then I have no desire to over throw or assist with the plans to over throw what is currently a stable court." She commented, still appearing unphased by Grigore's revelations. She also had little desire to go head to head with the magic of the Dragon court, no one would win in that situation. Fae magic, the veil, and a necromancer nephew or not; the situation wasn't good for any involved.
While Catherine understood that often the courts trumped the Council, and while his offer was extremely tempting, she knew better. "And in case it slipped your mind, these courts do not willingly welcome horrors such as myself or Scottlyn."
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