Danielle smoothed the dress down that she'd worn for this occasion. She never dressed up, not even for Ash, but this once, for the woman known as Celeste, who seemed to know everything Danielle hoped and desired, she had made a special purchase.
She'd stood at the dressmaker's for hours whilst being fitted - she could not have some clothing that simply hung on her form. What would Celeste think of it? Did Valentino's gowns simply come in a size 4? No, they were tailored, as -she- deserved. Gown was a bit of an overstretch, though, for Danielle had gone with a simple dress, chosen in virginal white, finally, which spoke volumes of what she thought of herself, and Celeste, and in some forms, Ash - and where she stood with all of them. This was wrapped in her subconscious, of course, so to Danielle, she had chosen white simply because Celeste reminded her of an angel, and angels liked white.
She walked, the skirts playing at her shins. It was flowing, but not floor-length, with a top that had an almost bodice-like quality and thin straps. She looked practically ethereal, with her vanilla blonde hair and some cream-coloured eyeshadow (yes, she had on MAKEUP). She sat down at the bar, awaiting both Ash and Celeste, as she had arrived early to try and calm her nerves. A drink wouldn't help, but the lounge as a whole seemed to ease her.
She glanced back as Papa Aristide himself strode towards her, and she stood to greet him. She was going to request that they be given a slight privacy, but she knew he didn't play favourites, so she didn't know how well this would go.
Papa Aristide didn't play favorites, that was true, but he did play a game. The rules just weren't apparent to the other players. Thus, when he saw Danielle Vida again, all dressed up for a change, he was already willing to put her and her party into a more secluded corner. He'd approached her personally because of the last time she was here, with her Triste friend. They didn't need another show like that in the Lounge.
"Come wit' me, petite blanc," he told the young witch in his deep, rumbling voice, gesturing for her to follow him to a roomy table in the furthest corner of the establishment's main room. "Dey won' keep you waitin'."
With that said, he turned and left, not specifying if he meant her guests or the server, but either way, Ash appeared in the room a moment later.
It wasn't at all difficult to locate Dani even in the Lounge, considering his power level was back up to normal, and he approached the table with the smooth grace that he wasn't even really aware of. His initial time as a shifter was so messed up that he hadn't even taken notice of any changes in his movements. He was just glad to be somewhat back to normal.
"Good evening, cherie," he said to Dani with a smile, though it faltered ever so slightly when he saw that she was all dressed up, make-up included. She was beautiful, but he didn't dare think that she'd done it for him. That was for this vampire, he would bet his life on it. He fixed the smile, even brightening it, and took his seat at her table. "You look amazing. I didn't know you owned a dress like that."
If he had, he might have requested they go somewhere for her to use it earlier. Of course, before everything in his life had gone to Hell, he'd held a much more aloof, distanced sort of mentor relationship with her, even if he loved her. It was as though Morfeus had managed to knock him down a few pegs, whether he liked it or not.
C?leste had also dressed for the occasion, though the reason behind it was... different. She knew that she was meeting Ash today, you see. Though 'meeting' might be the wrong word, as she already knew him.
That, actually, was one of the things that she had been out to make him think of.
She wasn't quite in her usual outfits, and that was for Danielle's sake - but she wasn't dressed in white again. No, it was dark colors this time, mainly a rich brown so dark that it could almost be mistaken for black, though with threads of cream and black in complex, beautiful patterns, to accent it. The skirt was long and, unlike Danielle's, was not at all billowing. It was, however, slit over both legs almost the entire length of her leg. The bodice, however, was closer to what she usually wore. That, and the dark color both, was for Ash.
She looked very dramatic, her black eyes accentuated by both eyeliner that spiraled off into the usual exotic pattern and dark brown eyeshadow - to match the dress. The rest of her almost looked like it was made of porcelain, it was so fair in comparison. She looked very dramatic, the white of her skin and hair against the dark of her clothing.
She walked gracefully into the lounge, strolling in with a graceful, beautiful, confident air, and then looked around for a moment before she was directed to the two who were waiting for her. She almost danced up, the movement was so graceful, and looked at Danielle first.
"Hello, petit ange," she said with a smile. "You look wonderful!"
And then she turned to Ash and, before sitting down, she sank into an elegent curtsy. "Ashtaroth Leone, yes?" she asked with a pretty smile after rising. "Ash? I am pleased to meet you."
She gracefully sat down, and then smiled over at Ash. "I always think it's so important to show someone you've just met the proper respect, don't you?"
~*~*~
And so it begins. *cackles*
Danielle leaned across the table and gave Ash a small kiss, one that was hidden by hair hair as she moved so quickly none could see what she had done.
"Thank you," she said graciously, seating herself. "I didn't actually own one like this until this afternoon, to be honest. It had final adjustments that needed to be made, or I'd not have left until much later." She'd been sitting around the Hollow all day doing a lot of nothing until the woman who was fitting her dress called to make a last-minute alteration. She'd been furious. She had wanted to get it and go, not stand around and be a blonde pincushion.
As C?leste approached, Danielle stood again, smiling so much she felt her lips begin to twitch. And she thought that she looked wonderful, did you hear that? Danielle nearly burst with pleasure.
"As do you, C?leste," she said warmly, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. Danielle had suddenly snapped from somewhat-lax Vida hunter to Little Miss Muffet with her formalities and twinkling laugh. It was as if she was two different people, one with Ash, and one with C?leste. This evening would prove to be very difficult.
He should have known better than to trust the idea of meeting a vampire, but he'd never expected to find this particular vampire sitting at the same table as him, ever. In fact, he was positively floored just at the sight of her, and it showed on his face. If he'd been pleased with the quick kiss he'd received from Dani, seeing Celeste was the exact opposite, to the point that he actually pushed his chair back a few inches with his initial shock.
"Celeste," he said softly, not exactly as a greeting so much as confirmation that it was, in fact, her. Dani's reaction to the vampire only made the whole situation feel even worse. It was like he was with a stranger and this vampire, and that was the last thing he wanted. After the reminder about respect, of course.
"I always think it's so important to show someone you've just me the proper respect, don't you?"
He nodded to the vampire, forcing the verbal response he'd been trained to give back down and staying where he was seated. He wasn't going to give her what she wanted.
C?leste smiled the same honeyed, pleasant smile that she had used before, when she was training him, at Ash, resting her slim white hands in her lap as she blinked at the triste was huge black eyes.
"I am glad to be able to see you," she said. "Really though, I feel almost as though we've already met. After all, I've heard so much about you. You're a triste, yes? And a white tiger." She smiled fondly. "I must say, Danielle is lucky. They are beautiful cats. I used to have one as a pet, actually, but no more."
He couldn't take his eyes off of her, despite the way his mind kept telling him that he needed to ignore her and pretend that nothing was wrong. She was smiling at him just the way he remembered from the training she'd administered in that dungeon, and he knew she wouldn't like it if he looked away.
He shouldn't have cared, but he did. He'd be punished if he made her upset.
No, she can't! he told himself, his shock turning to a glare. She was doing this intentionally, just to mess with him.
"I'm a Triste, yes," he agreed, deliberately leaving out anything about being a shifter. He didn't want to address that with her, considering the fondness she had with felines and the fact that he was betting he was the tiger she was talking about. "Yes, and what happened to this pet of yours?"
He really only asked for the sake of making conversation for Dani, but Celeste was his true concern right then. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
Well, lucky for Danielle she had no idea that anything had transpired between them previously, or she might not have been the easiest person to deal with at the moment. No, she chalked Ash's unease up to the simple fact that Celeste was a vampire, and nothing more - stupid Danielle.
"Used to? I didn't know you had another big cat besides Liliane," she remarked, surprised. "I didn't think she'd take well to having competition," she offered with a smile.
The pale vampire glanced over at Danielle with a smile and a little laugh, the same pretty, innocent, bell-like sound. "Oh, I haven't had Liliane for that long, actually. She's fairly young yet." Which was true, when time was seen from an immortal standpoint. But, of course, her audience wouldn't know that. She sighed slightly, leaning back a little. "I will agree that she's very vain - but she's a cat. What can you expect?"
She looked over to Ash, and the action appeared perfectly innocent; as if she were merely including him in the conversation. "She's not my only big cat though," she said and then smiled warmly at Ash, pausing slightly in her speech to do so. Danielle wouldn't notice it, C?leste was sure - but she was equally sure that the triste, who was sure to be hyper analyzing every move she made, would draw conclusions from it.
After that second she turned back to Danielle, and laughed the same musical laugh. "I did tell you about Sara, didn't I?" She smiled, as though thinking of her. "She's like Ami, cherie. She loves me more then life itself. All my pets come to love me, though. All you need to know is what to teach them, and how."
"It's really a pity that some are so badly behaved at first," she sighed as she repeated almost the exact same words she'd used down in the dungeon, not even glancing at Ash as she said it. She hardly thought that she would need to in order for him to pick up on what she said and suspect something. As she intended. "But it rarely takes very long, if you know what to teach them."
Dani certainly didn't know about what had happened, or he didn't believe she'd be so calm at that moment. Of course, he was also wondering what had happened to his Dani, and why she was acting like this as it was. He was horribly confused.
He tried to tell himself that she wasn't talking about him when she spoke of her cats, since that just made him paranoid. She had a thing for felines, so she probably had lots of them.
Nevermind, he wasn't just being paranoid. When she looked at him as she declared that the feline Dani had mentioned wasn't her only big cat, it was obvious to him what she'd meant by that. She was tailoring her words to try to make him react, but other than shooting her a glare when she said it, he didn't give her the satisfaction.
At least, not until she mentioned pets being badly behaved. Hearing those words, nearly the exact same ones she'd used before beginning her 'training' of him, his whole body tensed and his mind couldn't help but shoot to that moment, the last time he'd seen her. For the first time since Ian had allowed him to go off on his own again, he was afraid. She was trying to force him back into that mindset, and while it wasn't working completely, it was having an effect other than simply informing him that he wasn't as rehabilitated as he'd told himself.
"And does any of that teaching involve torture?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level and casual, despite the harsh implications of what he'd said. He was skating on thin ice where Dani was involved, but he already knew the answer. Celeste was just going to lie, and puni--no, she couldn't punish him. She couldn't do anything to him, not anymore.
"Ash," she said harshly. She got that he didn't like Celeste, fine, but wow, calling her out like that was kind of snotty right at the moment. She recalled asking him NOT to do just that.
"I met Ami, Ash, and Liliane, and dozens of other people at Celeste's manor. None of them acted beaten or abused," she snapped. "Ami was very gracious, and I was even able to speak with her. She didn't have even a scratch on her, nothing."
It was strange to see Danielle so defensive; she may have defended Aurashka in the same ways. It was hard for the huntress to find company like theirs. Especially Celeste. She understood Danielle. She knew what Danielle wanted, what she needed, and she wasn't afraid to give it to her, or to tell her how to get it. Why was Ash being such a twerp?
She huffed softly to herself; it wasn't even like she could get a drink.
She could feel the triste react as she aimed at every tender area she could think of, and the reaction pleased her. Not as much, though, as Danielle's immediate reaction to Ash's subtle accusation. Because it was more then just a question, and everyone there knew it.
Still, she decided to answer it even so. "Do you suppose," she said in a soft, almost-sad voice that was entirely for Danielles' benefit as she blinked at the tiger with her large, long-lashed eyes, "that they would love me if I tortured them?" She raised a hand towards Danielle. "As Danielle said, she met and talked to Ami - I even left the room, just so that she could be sure I wasn't influencing her at all. She can tell you the same, she can tell you the manner of questions and answers."
Which really, wasn't an answer to the question, but would Danielle pick up on that? Probably not.
He actually flinched when Dani said his name that way, immediately shutting up and dropping the glare, though only because of her reaction. He believed what she said, but he knew better, he knew how this vampire had worked. He remembered, but it was impossible to say that to Dani. She'd never believe him, would she?
It took an effort for him to push himself back out of the mindset both women were slowly pushing him back into, but some of the harshness had left him as a result of it all. "They would love you if that was what you taught them. They would think whatever you want," he responded, thinking back to Morfeus despite himself. He'd called for Morfeus when he was with Celeste, and he'd been terrified to leave him for Ian. He had no doubt that Celeste knew what she was doing enough to make her slaves love her, regardless of her methods.
Danielle slammed her hand down on the table. She refused to believe Celeste would do something so horrible - after all, Ami had said so herself, the Mistress just wanted what was best for her. And what had Ami been without Celeste? And Liliane? And the birds? Just useless creatures to society, in a cage, or a zoo, or hunted. Celeste had given them a purpose, a home, love. Who could call that evil?
"Ash, stop," she snarled. "This is exactly what I asked you not to do. I wanted you to meet Celeste because she meant something to me, but if all you're going to do is grill her, I'm going to go home and leave you to it."
She stood abruptly, pushing back her chair with a loud noise. "I don't even know who I was kidding, thinking that you actually cared." She was so hurt, so upset. Why couldn't Ash see that? Celeste was important to her, and here he was, practically accusing her of, well, Celeste just wasn't that way!
"Celeste, I am so sorry I asked you to come. If I had any inclining that Ash was going to be unable to contain himself..." she let out a shaky sigh. A tear slid down her cheek, and she took a deep breath. Oh, but she was poetry in motion, her reaction so natural, and yet what might it illicit from Ash? Celeste hadn't had to do much at all to work Danielle, and then, well...
"If you'll both excuse me for a moment," she said, and turned swiftly to leave.
"Danielle, please," she said as she rose as gracefully as a butterfly, sweeping over, "please, don't." A tear slid down the witch's cheek, and C?leste's face turned more sorrowful. "Cherie, I never meant to start a fight. Please, don't worry so much about it. I suppose that it's only natural he should mistrust vampires. Even... even me."
But the witch left despite her words - which honestly, was rather what the vampire had been hoping for - and so C?leste sighed a little and slid back into her seat, and then watched her walk off. And then, as soon as the Vida could no longer see the table, her manner changed completely. She looked back to Ash again, but now there was a hint of a cruel smile playing on her lips and her attitude had become sleek, predatory. And ever, ever so much more reminicent of Midnight.
Well fancy meeting you here, pet,[/b] she thought at him with a cruel smile. Morfeus sends his regards, and says it won't be long now. Ready to come home, kitten?
As she lounged - obviously a Mistress of Midnight utterly in her element (but then when was she not? Never, no, she was always in control) she very, very carefully listened for the flavor of Danielle Vida's mind. When the little witch came back again this front would be gone as though it had never existed, she would be the sweet vampire with the cat and the birds who adored her, the one who had promised to help Danielle.
But for now... oh, for now....
He shouldn't have been so affected by Dani's displeasure, but he stared after her without knowing what to say other than to apologize. Morf's way.
He couldn't do that. Doing that would just make things worse, and it was for that very reason that he stayed perfectly still and tense, fighting the response but unable to offer up another. Dani had just left him, his only savior from Celeste was gone, and he was trapped here with the vampire.
Why was Celeste doing this? He could understand her desire to torment him, but Dani? How could she have managed this, and why would she have searched out Dani? It couldn't have all been just for him, could it? Celeste couldn't make a slave out of her, surely not.
But Dani was so completely enamored of her. It both infuriated and terrified him to realize just how lost Danielle Vida was to this vampire, and he would have gone back to Morfeus without the slightest hesitation if he could have been assured that Dani would have no further contact with any of Midnight's vampires. He didn't want to lose her to that anymore than he seemed to have already.
"What have you done to her?" he asked, though his voice died out at the end, hearing what she had to tell him. It drew a true shudder from him, multiple blows being struck with just that short comment. He couldn't go back to Morfeus, but why did he feel so defeated seeing Dani leave? That she would allow Celeste to do the very things that she hated Morfeus (though she didn't know his name) for completely baffled Ash, and he had to wonder if she'd agree with Morfeus' results as much. Celeste and Morfeus desired the same end, afterall. If Dani judged a vampire's goodness by how much their pets loved them, then she wouldn't hate Morfeus if Ash went back, would she? She would love him, because Ash would love and adore him. Ash would be put right back into the training required for it, and at the rate he was going, it wouldn't be long before he was completely tamed again, at the very least. He would no longer be the 'useless creature to society', and Morfeus would give him a home and a purpose.
His purpose would be loving Morfeus. Would that be so evil?
Dani was causing more damage than Celeste, at this point, and he was almost thinking that it wouldn't be so evil. He loved Dani, he was vulnerable, and she was hurting him for his resistance to Celeste's charm. She was punishing him, in essence, for fighting against the training Morfeus and Celeste had instilled in him. It would be so much easier to just give in, and have Dani love him.
Could Celeste see him falling apart inside? He'd regained his health, so surely she couldn't get into his mind so easily as that, but had this breakdown allowed her access? Would she know just how close he was to giving up after the disappointment Dani had displayed? He did want to go home, but right then even he didn't know if 'home' was Hellcat's Hollow, Ian's place, or with Morfeus. He may have been open to suggestions.
Home, yes...I need to go home...
He stood, as though to leave, not even knowing where to go. He just had to get out of there.
C?leste raised an eyebrow and looked at the triste with a chilling, fridged expression. Just in case you've forgotten the rules already, you aren't the one supposed to be asking questions, Ashtaroth. "But still," she said, finally aloud, and then spread her hands as she smiled chillingly. "I didn't do anything to her, Ash. Nothing physically, nothing mentally. I just let her see how kind I am."
She watched as the triste fell apart, just across the table.
His defenses weren't quite so shattered that she could break into his mind and do as she willed (yet) but he was certainly coming along nicely. If he'd been anything but immortal his mind would have been her playground, but his triste blood still held her at bay....
She could feel his emotions quite plainly though, feel the jagged spikes and confusion, the ragged edges where his grasp on... well, everything was fraying, coming apart.
He stood up, emotions in a whirl - back and forward and sideways. "What, leaving already, Ash?" C?leste asked casually. Bad pet. And then, just as Morfeus used to do, she snapped her fingers to summon him.
No, he hadn't forgotten the rules...how could he? He remembered, and it stopped him dead in his tracks. He didn't have anything to say to her, but he didn't leave. She hadn't asked him to speak, and he wasn't supposed to ask questions. He shouldn't have been trying to leave either, but that had been bad behavior on his part.
"No, milady," he murmured, hearing her words in his head and knowing she was going to hurt him. He'd misbehaved, he deserved the punishment, so when she snapped her fingers to summon him, he didn't resist. He took the few steps necessary to carry him to her rather quickly, and dropped to his knees to put his face level with her hand.
Right, because I are lazy and don't want to switch accounts when C?leste only has a few things to say anyway, This is C?leste. Ok? Ok.
~*~*~
C?leste smiled when Ash came and knelt next to her, just as he was supposed to. "Good pet," she said softly, and then softy stroked his face and petted his hair, just as she knew he liked.
Ah, but by the time she was done with him tonight he would be running back to his master to beg forgiveness.
At first Belinda hadn't noticed anything, really. Well, not that one could blame her. After all the three of them - witch, vampire, triste - weren't exactly sitting right next to the stage, which was where she'd spent most of the night, nor where they doing that much that was overt.
Still, when they were taking a break between songs Belinda (as she liked to do) had mixed and mingled with the people there, walking around and asking people what they thought, smiling, flirting, and just... well, generally acting as she normally did. Which was why she noticed the trio off in their corner. Like most Serpiente, Belinda was pretty good at reading emotion - and the emotions coming off of those three were uncomfortable, to say the least. Still, it wasn't for her to get involved. She shook her head uneasily, sending black curls rippling over her shoulders, and returned to her drink.
In a little while, however, after one of the women had left and Belinda was just debating with herself about going over and seeing if she couldn't calm things down, things took a turn for the worse. The man seemed to be trying to leave and the woman snapped her fingers at him - which was bad enough, it was like she was calling a dog - but then he went and knelt next to her. Everything was at that point so mixed up she could hardly tell what he was feeling - but she seemed to have cruel satisfaction almost dripping from her.
Belinda decided that she didn't know what was going on, but she didn't like it. At all. She quickly slipped out of her chair and started over - seeing the impossibly pale woman caress the face of the man in what almost might be taken as a gesture of affection, were it not for what had gone on in the past few minutes.
Belinda abruptly decided that she liked this even less, which was surprising, really. She hadn't thought her estimation of the situation could sink much lower unless actual weapons were drawn, or something similar.
She moved a bit faster and almost stumbled on a chair, which gave her an idea. And so, quickly putting her plan into action, she walked over to the table and then conveniently tripped, stumbling so that she managed to shove the man hard enough that he almost fell.
"Get out," she whispered quickly and as loudly as she dared into his ear (or as close as she could contrive) as this woman, who she suspected was a vampire, looked on first in shock and then, eyes narrowing, with anger. She finished climbing to her feet.
"Ah, I'm sorry," she said, shamefaced, as she climbed back to her feet, then turned her back on the... vampire? - supposedly to help up the man. As soon as the woman couldn't see her face anymore she widened her eyes and mouthed 'Go' at the man, trying to get him to leave.
Luckily for her, he did. Belinda breathed a slight sigh of relief and then put a smile back on and turned around again. "One again, I'm sorry for that," she said ruefully. "He seems to be all right though, so I guess....
"I was just wandering around the room and seeing how people liked the songs thus far." She gave C?leste her most charming smile.
C?leste glared at the stupid girl. She was sure it hadn't been so innocent as all that - but it wasn't exactly like she could do much to her here. So instead she stared at her, eyes black as coal and hard as diamond.
Ah well. It wasn't, after all, as though she wouldn't ever be able to get the triste in her power again, not if tonight had been any meter to judge by. She'd hardly had to push to make him collapse. So this was only a minor inconvenience.
Lucky for the stupid girl, that was.
"Actually, we weren't listening," she said airly, icily, and then stood up. "If you'll excuse me."
But the triste was gone.
C?leste growled several curses in French, and then let it go and slipped back into the sweet, innocent vampire that Danielle adored so and slipped back to the table - which, she was pleased to see, the woman had abandoned. She sighed, sat down, and waited for Danielle to return. She'd have to play up her little tiger's 'abandonment' of her then.
~*~*~
Sorry for brief powerplays - if anythings wrong then tell me and I'll... figure out a way to edit. *laughs*
Danielle paced in the front of the lounge, angry for all sorts of reasons. She had no idea what had come over her - when she was in there with C?leste, she was very sure she felt this way, and now that she was outside on her own, she was sure she felt that way. She would know if the vampire was playing games with her, wouldn't she?
She sat down on a bench outside and exhaled slowly, counting backwards from twenty. She felt a sudden disturbance though, but she couldn't explain what or where, and got up, begrudgingly, to go back inside.
It was fortunate for C?leste, however, that Danielle had missed the entire display of obediance that Ash had tried to show. She might not have known who to attack first.
He leaned into her hand when she stroked his face like that, grateful for the affection instead of punishment, but he didn't have long to enjoy it. Soon, there was a body impacting his, and the woman was telling him to 'get out'. He looked at her, obviously startled, and she once again ordered him out of there.
He obeyed.
She helped him right himself, turned to talk to Celeste, and he took that moment to take off. He didn't even know for sure where to go, but he was getting away from Celeste. She would punish him for it when she caught up to him, but this other woman had been very direct, and he wasn't going to refuse.
C?leste decided with a slight sigh when she saw Danielle coming back to the table that it was probably just as well anyway. If Ash were here, the witch would doubtless have noticed how strange he was behaving. And C?leste could have used that, yes, but it might have made things more complicated. And it wasn't as if she couldn't also use him leaving. It wouldn't even be difficult; Danielle Vida was in the palm of her hand.
To that end, C?leste arranged her features into a somewhat dejected expression, smiling slightly for Danielle as she came back to her seat - though it was a sad-seeming sort of smile. "Hello, petit. Welcome back. You feeling any better?"
Danielle sat down, still gracefully despite her ire at the moment.
"No," she said honestly. She looked at the vampire. "I'm not. Where did Ash go?" It was hard to say what had angered her so much, but it was surely most rested on the fact that when she had arrived at the table once more Ash was nowhere to be found. She could have broken a glass if she didn't want the trouble of it.
She cleared her blonde hair away from her face and concentrated very hard on being calm. For all the training her mother had drown her in, she managed just this once, to allow her anger to slow to a simmer; it waited, though, just below the surface, looking for any reason to erupt.
Ah, the question she had been waiting for. "He left," C?leste sighed. "I suppose he might end up coming back, but he wasn't acting like it." She looked down. "Danielle, I'm sorry. This is my fault." Which was true in one way and false in another. "I'm sorry. I suppose... it might have been too much for him."
True. In one way. Of course, she was making it sound as she wished. C?leste manipulated people by nature, it seemed some days, and Danielle was ever so easy to manipulate. Of course she was. She trusted C?leste and believed herself worthless. It didn?t take much work to convince her - without saying anything outright, of course - that other people believed the same. Especially when she?d never been able to understand why anyone would bother with her.
Danielle just made a noise of irritation when C?leste said Ash had left. Oh, she bet. It would be just like him - just her luck, anyways. She didn't know why she was hating him so much suddenly, why she was so angry. She didn't know where it all came from anymore, it was just sourceless, endless, and black.
"Don't worry about it, C?leste," she said. Her tone was flat - not in the way she normally spoke to the vampire, with a tinge of awe; not right now, anyways. Danielle was seeing stars she was so angry, and she couldn't waste any energy on formalities, not just yet. She was practically shaking and began twisting a napkin 'round and 'round, trying to shut out the whispers of madness lingering in her ears.
"It isn't your fault. It's mine."
C?leste sighed and looked down at the table, seeming almost like a child for a few, brief moments. "I probably never should have come. It must have been too much for him - for... for some reason." She looked up, eyes sympathetic and kind. "But don't blame yourself, please. It must have been something to do with me."
She sighed and looked back down again. "Forgive me, I never meant to cause this kind of trouble."
She sighed. "I guess. Oh well, he's gone now. We should enjoy the rest of our evening, hm?" she asked, perking a little. She glanced up to the stage where the band was again performing, and then back to C?leste.
"Can you tell me more about yourself? I like hearing about your past," she said, leaning her chin on her hand, elbow on the table. So, she wanted C?lste to tell her a story, like she was a child? She was sure C?leste would oblige - most people Danielle knew liked to talk about themselves, and C?leste seemed eager to share with Danielle, to help her understand more.
Danielle wanted to understand. She wanted to know how to be like C?leste.
"Yes, I suppose so," she said, smiling a vampire smile, one that displayed her fangs. It was strange how, despite that, she still managed to look sweet, even harmless. C?leste, really, was a marvel. In a bad way, perhaps, but that didn't lessen the truth.
She looked at Danielle with those large, black, expressive eyes and nodded in response to the question. She smiled again. "I'm glad you do, Danielle. It is nice to be able to talk to you. And of course I will, if you would like me to." The vampire seemed to sink into the past, into memory. Quite a bit of that was an act, naturally - she didn?t let her attention stray too far from the present. Allowing the past to sweep away what was going on was a mistake. "My mother died when I was very young," she began softly, not bothering to tell Danielle just how young she had been - that she had, in fact, not even been born yet.... Maybe she would tell the witch that detail later, for now she did not want to. "I don't remember her at all, but my father used to tell me about her, and I saw portraits. She looked very like me, but I was paler, and I had violet eyes. Her eyes were green." Or at least they were before she died, the vampire thought to herself. When she was an angel they were indigo.... Her father had told her many times.
She was sinking into memory, though not nearly to the extent that she seemed to be. That was mostly an act for Danielle's benefit, after all, she didn't have any particular reason to pine after the past. It was over - dead and gone and buried long since, and lingering would merely take away from each new moment.
She looked at Danielle and smiled. "I had the best of fathers," she said - and it wasn't even a lie. C?leste had loved her father dearly. "He was good and kind and gave me everything. He managed to get me drawing lessons, and painting - beyond what women were really expected to learn. It was the same with music. For my tenth birthday he gave me a horse that was as white as the snow and as fast as the wind." She sighed a little. "It was horrible when he died, but he did. He got sick. And then he died, and... I was lost, for a long time."
"I don't even remember my father," she said, amazed at C?leste's story. She sat back in her chair a little, and sighed. "My brother, though. I was devistated when he died. I still don't think I've let it go. And why should I?" she asked, mostly herself, a tone of anger in her voice.
She shook her blonde hair and rolled her eyes. She was being rude.
"What happened next?" she asked, interested. She leaned against the table, eyes bright with anticipation at what C?leste might tell her.
"No reason, cherie," C?leste said, ever so kindly. "He's part of what makes you who you are, and of course having someone that close to you die makes things hard. You are doing better then I did, certainly." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I...." she sighed a little. "It was... difficult." She looked back up. "I'd met a vampire named Kaleo before my father died, and..." she looked down for a moment, then glanced back up at Danielle. "A vampire bite feels very good," she said simply. "Have you ever been bitten yourself?"
Danielle seemed sort of surprised at the question, and raised a brow. "No," she said. She thought about it, and then shook her head, blonde hair tossing against her cheeks lightly. "No, I haven't." She supposed she could imagine how it might feel pleasant. A vampire could control what the mind felt and how it felt it, which she could see as being a great deal useful when attacking.
"What happened when you met Kaleo?" she asked, trying to divert this back to the original subject matter. While Danielle had toyed with the idea of being bitten before, she didn't really think it was quite the can of worms she was looking to open. Not until she had another one of her episodes, anyways.
C?leste nodded, then sighed and tossed her fair hair back over her shoulders. "A vampire bite feels... very good. I could show you if you like, actually, but I don't need to unless you want me to." The vampire subtly added a suggestion, a bit of curiosity and a slight desire, to the witch's mind as she spoke, but not much. It was more a helpful nudge in the direction C?leste wanted her to go then anything else, and if she didn't...? Well, then she didn't. It would be a bit of a disappointment, but she wasn't really trying; she didn't really care. Not right at that moment, anyway. Besides, Danielle's thoughts were harder to fiddle with then a humans would have been.
"When I first met Kaleo, though, I didn't know he was a vampire; he was simply a handsome, charming young man. I found out what he was before very long, however, and I let him bite me. It, as I told you, felt... good. And then my father died, and the world seemed to crack and half the time I wanted to die and half the time I didn't even want to do that.... Kaleo still stayed with me - actually, he was one of the few people I took comfort from, and I begged him to bite me again and again." She looked down at the tabletop and absently twisted a napkin in her slender white hands, twisted it around and around. "One day I hurt myself, hurt myself too much, and I was going to die. And then Kaleo came, and I decided that I didn?t want to die after all. It was a surprise, really. But he changed me, when I asked him, and that kept me alive." Not that alive was really the word for it, but ah well....
It was amazing, really, how honest she was being. When did this happen?
"I think I'll pass," she responded to the remark about the bite. Danielle didn't need yet another problem to deal with later, which it would undoubtedly come to.
Danielle wondered if she were to mortally wound herself she would suddenly want to live? She didn't know. She'd yet to be put in that situation - she wagered if someone else had put her down that far that she was in immediate danger of dying, they'd probably be prepared to finish the job. It would be a stupid thing to let the Vida Witch live to come back for them later. Danielle was... vengeful.
"Kaleo, eh? The name sounds familiar. I'm pretty sure he caused a bit of trouble for my estranged cousin," she mused. Sarah was technically ex-communicated from her entire line due to that entirely huge mess that had happened a while ago. Danielle didn't really think Sarah wanted anything more to do with them anyways, though she did speak to her from time to time.
"Did you stay with him long? I've met vampires who hang with their sires for a long time, and some who pack up and go the moment they realize that they can... well, go anywhere they want."
"All right," C?leste agreed easily to Danielle's refusal. She sighed inwardly, just slightly, but there would always be time for that later....
The vampire laughed at the witch's mention of Kaleo, and the sound was once again perfect and bell-like. Her laugh was music, her movements were perfect, her very person divine.... "Very likely," she said in an amused tone. "It sounds like him.
"Yes, I stayed with him for quite some time. He gave me my first big cat; the white tiger I mentioned earlier. Her name was Agla?; he gave her to me when she was still a kitten. Agla? started the tradition, really - ever since her I have always had a big cat; white, of course. I love the color white." She played with a strand of her hair rather self-consciously for a moment, then laughed a little and shook her head, tossing the lock back over her shoulder. "And speaking of which, may I repeat that you look marvelous, Danielle. Ash obviously doesn't know what he has; look at you. You are wonderful, and you will be able to do so much."
On the suggestion that Danielle would be able to do 'so much', she sat up a little, brow arched.
"Why is it that only you can see my potential, Céleste?" she asked softly. "What is it that I do wrong that makes the others so blind? I could have been a powerful asset to my family, to my bloodline, but they chose instead to box me up. Where is the sense in that?" she continued, annoyed. There was a lot to say about her mother's bad parenting, but that was neither here nor there.
"Oh, I wish my brother were here," she sighed sadly. It was always obvious how much Danielle missed Marcus; that had cut her more deeply than any blade, any fang.
"You do nothing wrong, Danielle," Céleste said, expression softening as she reached out to brush the witch's cheek. "They are simply blind - so focused on what they believe is the right view of the world that they completely disregard all things that might contradict that. And it is stupid, but you will certainly be able to show them how very wrong they were. As I've told you - the talent is there. It just needs a little bit of guiding to get it to the proper shape."
Her black eyes strayed down to the table. "I am sorry about your brother. Would you like to talk about him, or not disturb the past? Either is fine with me - if I can help...."
She shrugged a little, stiffening when thoughts of her brother flooded her mind. Marcus was the only soul, living or dead, that she could never manage to block out. Not entirely. She could shut Ash down, and it would be his magic that worked himself back in, but Marcus had some preternatural tie to her that she could not sever, no matter how hard she tried... and she had tried very hard. Every life she took worried away at that golden thread a little more, but it never quite broke it entirely.
"It's complicated. I mean, I love Ash very much, but it isn't the same. This is something consuming, something twisted. Sometimes I wonder if we should have been twins. We bickered as all children do, but Marcus was more parent to me than my mother and my father, and more a mentor to me than any teacher. It's almost as though we were bound together, literally. One of us would get hurt, and the other would cry. One of us would get angry, and the other would react."
She looked away for a moment, and then swallowed hard. "It doesn't matter. He's dead - the real kind. In the ground. Rotted away. Nothing left. So why does it bother me?"
"Of course it's not," Céleste sighed, her mouth twisting a little. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. But I don't know why you think it shouldn't bother you - sometimes things change you, and nothing will ever alter that fact. Lives are shifted around them - sometimes it's even a good thing." She smiled a little, though it wasn't a smile of happiness, and looked down at the table. "There are certainly things in my life that have changed me, for better or worse." And that was a lie, of course it was, because as she was perfect everything that had happened had been to lead to that end. To ever-changing perfection.
She blinked up at Danielle with those big, coal-black eyes and smiled a little. "I get the feeling that I've ruined everything - first I chased your Ash away and then I started delving into subjects that I suppose are best left untouched. I am sorry."