It had been a long, long while since Val had been to a party. Or any social gathering.
So far, what he could see if it was not as bad as perhaps he had been imagining. In the past decades he had managed to mentally vilify any event that included more than two people, and thus he was surprised to find that even a party that included this many normally sworn blood enemies, he might actually have fun.
Now he just needed to locate Connor.
He had never done anything this... showy, before. Even when Hiroshi had accompanied him to events, it had never been for the purpose of flaunting the fact that he HAD a bloodbond, and thus a power base, and therefore any right to expect attention. Not that he wanted too much attention tonight; some conversation and minor appearances would do fine. But he would be making the effort to being seen, and that was new. There were a million things that could go wrong - the least of which was Connor himself - but Val was for once deciding to hell with it and being optimistic.
He located Connor among a group of Hunters. Unsurprising. Val left him to it with only the slightest mental brush to declare himself present, before heading elsewhere for Connor to find him when he was ready. Connor was more pleasant to deal with and far more cooporative if he thought he was getting his way and running his life on his own time.
Val wandered his way to a small buffet table and waited, observing the food's presentation. Arrogant slavers as they were, you had to hand it to Midnight's lot; they knew how to throw a party.
Fortunately, Connor hadn't gotten himself too caught up in conversation with the other hunters, having stopped by mostly to check on them, especially Capri. When he felt that mental brush, something he wasn't terribly fond of in the first place, he set his jaw, managed a smile and said he was heading off. His mask went back on, he reached out on his own to ensure that he could locate Valerie for certain, and returned to the vampire's side.
"Have I told you lately that this is dumb?" he asked, still feeling stupid. He hated dressing up, and this was about as 'dressed up' as it got. It was true that he was easier for Val to deal with when he was at least given an illusion of having control over his life, though. Sure, he was there and dressed like all the vampires against his better judgment, but Valerie was being surprisingly careful about bossing him around too badly. Connor naturally knew that this was because Val didn't want him messing things up, but still, he preferred it that way.
Val managed not to look smug when Connor arrived at his side. The Hunter's observation was correct; Val WAS keeping himself from pushing his bond around too much, although both for his and for Connor's sake. Certainly, Connor was easier to deal with when he wasn't annoyed, but now that they were mutually recognizing the fact that this WAS an official bond, however contorted it may be, Val was feeling a few of the responsibilities towards Connor that he did towards Hiroshi. Connor may not have escaped the little box in Val's brain that said "tease it for personal amusement", but he WAS worming his way into another one that said "give it some semblence of respect". Connor was part of Val's hypothetical power base now. The position came with certain... benefits.
None of which Val would any time soon be telling Connor.
The Hunter's opening statement earned him a raised eyebrow and an amused smile. Not smug; just amused. "This is the first time tonight." He gave Connor an approving once over. "You have done well, Mr. Batten. We will be beating the hungry vampires off of you with a stick." A broader smile and blatant show of fang said clearly that there was only ONE hungry vampire who was allowed near Connor tonight. "Do not be so glum; this is a party, is it not? You should be having fun." Val certainly was.
Connor hadn't yet noticed any 'benefits' of being Val's bloodbond, except those funky little things that came with the bond itself, like the fact that his hurts healed up faster than usual, he seemed to be able to put quite a dent in Valerie's face when he opted to punch the guy in it, and a few other things. From Valerie himself, though?
Nada.
All Connor saw was the 'tease it for personal amusement' bit, and so he returned the favor by being a total ass for personal amusement. It was a mutual situation, though he sometimes thought that he was losing. "I didn't say I couldn't clean up, just that I don't. This is a matter of me keeping my hands away from my hair and trying to pretend I don't feel like a total idiot," he told the vampire, and he made a face. Any hungry vampires would be eating lead, with perhaps the exception of Valerie only because he couldn't and didn't know how to do anything about that yet. "I won't be bothering with a stick if any hungry vampires come my way, I'm warning you. You either keep those freaks away, or I will."
Needless to say, playing nice with Valerie and the vampires didn't quite make Connor comfortable, and he hadn't exactly told Valerie what his major malfunction regarding vampires (especially female vampires) was. That'd come eventually. Of course, Val hadn't asked about any of his scars, either, so Connor couldn't really be blamed for neglecting to bring it up.
"I never liked these parties. What's there to do that's fun?" he asked, though he was prepared for something he either wouldn't like, or wouldn't think was fun. He knew enough about Val, and vampires, to expect the worst.
Connor's response didn't exactly add to Val's attempt at optimism. The use of undiplomatic force (and, in Connor's case Val was willing to bet, a gun) would not help Val in what he was here to do. He expressed his displeasure with a frown. "If this is to go smoothly, you WILL refrain from doing anything rash, and leave any problems to me. You are not the only one who can be made to look a fool, here." Nevermind that over half the vampires here could probably take him down without trying. Fortunately, with Bruja providing the security it shouldn't come to that, and Val preferred words to fists and fangs, anyway.
A bit of lint clung to Connor's shirt; without thinking about the action, Val plucked it away. Perhaps he hadn't rid himself of all those pesky nerves, if he was getting nit-picky about his bond's appearance. Or, worse, allowing himself to give into that ever-present nag to rely on physical contact for comfort. Connor was lucky that Val had fed heartily before arriving, or else they would both be dealing with the awkward complication of Val becoming increasingly fixated on the pulse in his bond's neck. Such a situation did not appeal to him any more than he knew it would appeal to Connor.
The question put a bit of that smile back on his face. "I'm certain you can find SOMETHING," he mused, then reconsidered the implications of that statement and added, "within reason." Val would NOT find himself in a fix thanks to Connor's deliberate misinterpretation.
The problem with Connor, especially where Val was concerned, was that the man didn't take orders well. When he was told what to do, he had to fight down this sudden urge to do EXACTLY the opposite, which would have been bad here. Fortunately, he had slightly more self-control than that. "I already feel like a fool, so you might as well, too," he pointed out, but he wasn't going to do anything. "Relax, I won't shoot anyone. If it makes you feel any better, I have one knife on me, and that's just in case the shit hits the fan and you're not as good at fighting off other vampires as I'd like to hope you are."
Somehow, he got the impression that Valerie wasn't the most feared of the leeches.
"Stop that," he said, resisting the urge to crack Valerie in the ribs for picking at his clothes, if only because he really didn't need to have the vampire focusing so much on his appearance. There had already been enough nagging for his preferences. "I don't think you're going to be able to do all that much to save me from looking like a slob by picking my clothes for lint, so calm down. You're making me think you're OCD or something."
He was mostly kidding, but sometimes he had to wonder. As for finding something to do, he didn't think that much would involve Valerie, and wasn't that the point of all this? "What are you going to do?"
Connor was smart to have reassured Val that he wouldn't be shooting anyone. The vampire didn't appreciate the implication that his fighting ability sucked, regardless of it actually being true. The entire point of tonight was to present himself as less of a weakling than usual.
He also ignored the OCD comment. "I'll be making appearances. Not to anyone in particular, but we'll hardly be hanging on the sidelines. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to; the attention SHOULD be on me." This was something of a political maneuver, after all, although vampire politics often even more delicate to handle than human ones.
Between the necessity for security and Val's desire to look like he was stronger and more impressive, Connor wasn't well-armed, which would have certainly put the other hunters on guard if they'd realized. Walking around with only a knife wasn't exactly something that told other people he was prepared to take care of himself, which really should have let Valerie know that he was depending on the vampire if things got hairy and scary. Bond or no, he wasn't physically much of a match for a shifter or a vampire, even if he had a few tricks up his sleeve and the training to make him more dangerous than most humans.
"Okay, go make your appearances, I'll just follow and try not to say something stupid or to instigate," he told the vampire, smirking ever so slightly. He'd have LIKED to instigate, since he did it on hunts a LOT, but hey, he'd promised he'd behave.
Really, though, he was being remarkably good about this. Agreeing to stand off to Valerie's side like a good....what? Servant, pet, bodyguard? Whatever it was, he knew it wasn't an equal as far as the vampires were concerned. It was a blow to his ego, especially since he never wanted to be a part of their world, just to destroy their kind and make things safe for humans. Val had made a few good points to convince him to cooperate, however, and those included the fact that if Valerie was considered weak and killed, Connor would likely follow just from the trauma of the other end of the bond shutting down and he couldn't risk dying over something he hadn't even done. It didn't take a metaphysical genius to know that he wasn't the more powerful being in this bond, and that didn't bode well for him. He had Capri and a baby to worry about suddenly, and that meant not dying over stupid things, like vampire politics that he could swallow his pride and deal with, even if he'd rather just flick the whole group off and tell Valerie to shove it.
Not that he didn't say things like that to Valerie all the time, but doing so in front of other vampires might...undermine Valerie's non-existent authority a little too much and cause trouble. He'd refrain.
They seemed to be as ready to wander as they would ever be. Since Connor had expressed his dislike of Val's attempts to neaten him up, he fixed his own lapels instead. He had dressed on the formal side of buisness casual, working towards a sort of generic tall-dark-and-broody personage rather than someone or something specific. Playing pretend and wearing costumes were activities he left to those who felt they could carry it off. Val preferred not to burden himself with both a costume and whatever personality it might imply.
Taking Connor's words at face value (although 'face' probably wasn't the best phrase to use, given the man's smirk) Valerie brushed past him and away from the buffet, into the fragmented throngs of party goers and honored guests. Taking note of a few faces that were both important but possibly not the best individuals to approach while Connor was assuming the role of "bond", Valerie placed a casual hand on Connor's elbow, for all appearances simply getting the man's attention. He tried to think of a polite, delicate way to phrase his question. "Although I imagine I can guess, is there anyone here whom I should know NOT to introduce you to like this? Hunters or vampires with whom you would prefer to... be discreet?" Connor might have a stroke if he thought Val was doing this out of consideration for Connor's reputation. However, as they had indirectly discussed on previous occassions, it was in both their best interests that people who knew Connor NOT know about his moonlight occupation as a vampire's bloodbond. Valerie had no more desire to share this with Bruja than Connor did.
The thought that Valerie might actually be considering Connor's well-being, or at least, reputation was a bit surprising, but he managed to contain his shock for the time being. He was just a bit hesitant to believe it, considering the number of times he and Valerie had been messing with each other since they found themselves stuck in this situation. He wasn't so sure if he was ready to really trust the guy.
"All hunters," he told the vampire immediately, shaking his head. "There isn't a hunter out there that won't recognize my name. If we're keeping this quiet, don't try introducing me to hunters by name. I don't know what vampires would recognize me."
He wasn't exactly the most low-key of mortals on vamp radar, considering he was the leader of Crimson, but at least Crimson wasn't the most showy and violent of the guilds. They were a little more subtle, so he might not cause a ruckus being introduced as Val's bloodbond. He hoped not.
Valerie dropped his hand from Connor's arm and went back to scanning the fray. The answer had been about what he had expected; Hunters off limits and no real idea which vampires to approach and avoid. Ah, well, it hadn't hurt to ask. Setting off again, he headed for a small cluster of vampires who, by appearances, were not affiliated with Midnight. Best to start with the small fry and work his way up. Slowly.
As they approached the group, one of the vampires caught his eye. She ended abruptly her conversation with a young brunette in favor of turning to Valerie. Her smile was coy and highly amused, her words distinctly French.
"Valerie!" She held out her hands expectantly, and Valerie took them lightly as they exchanged polite kisses on each cheek.
"'Bonsoir, Madame Adeline."
The woman giggled. "{Come, come, Monsieur Valencia, has it really been so long that you can no longer call me Adele?}" She turned to her friend the brunette, who had on her arm a vampire who by Val's estimate could not have been more than a decade old. Mon dieu, what WERE his people getting up to these days?
"{My apologies, then, Adele,}" Valerie corrected. He would be more glad to see her were it not for that awkward complication of a man standing right behind him. "And it would be further rude of me to neglect to introduce to you Monsieur Connor, my bloodbond."
Adele raised a manicured eyebrow and scrutinized Connor. "A new one? Mon ami, what happened to the last one?"
Valerie coughed. "{Hiroshi is still residing in my home in Japan. Connor, I acquired here.}"
"{Someday you must teach me your secrets,}" Adele teased. "{First that lovely little oriental boy, and now a handsome blonde adonis.}" She gave him a side look. "{On the other hand, one could also argue you need to, as they say, get a girlfriend.}"
Valerie colored.
"Monsieur Connor, how good to meet you." Adele's smile was thankfully pleasant and bland. "You are enjoying the party, yes?"
*{French}
Well, at least Valerie had taken his words to heart and gone for a few vampires that it was highly unlikely he knew, but it wasn't until he heard them talking that he realized the joke was on him. Valerie obviously knew them, and they knew Valerie. Great. It made Connor wish he knew more French than he did. He'd had to learn some for various assignments overseas before he became Guild Leader, but he'd never been incredibly good with languages.
He understood some of it, though, and that was perhaps not so good for his ego. It didn't take a whole lot for him to catch 'handsome', 'blonde' and 'Adonis'. The rest he caught in bits and pieces. Like, 'need' and 'girlfriend'. He smiled, rather liking that. Valerie definitely needed more time with a girlfriend, though Connor somewhat remembered hearing that Val HAD one. They'd said it all in French, apparently so he wouldn't understand, and so he didn't comment, but he wanted to. "Yes, Ms. Adeline, I am. It's a pleasure to meet you as well," he told her with a deep nod of his head, considering she didn't offer a hand to shake or anything of the sort. He also wasn't going to attempt French titles, considering mutilating the language might be a bit disrespectful here.
'Handsome blonde Adonis?' I think I might like her, Val, he offered up, aware that if he tried to direct the thought, Val would get it. So much for not commenting, but at least it wasn't out loud.
Valerie had been rather hoping that Connor didn't know any French. He still wasn't sure, given that the Hunter might only know enough to barely follow along, but Connor knew enough to have picked up the general gist of what was being said. Épatant.[1] Valerie was even less pleased with exactly WHAT Connor had understood.
Seeing as she finds you attractive, I'm not surprised.
Adele smiled even more at Connor's reply. She spread her hands and said theatrically, "Meeting me is always a pleasure," then laughed at her own pretension before turning back to Val. "It is good to see you out and about again, mon ami. We have not seen you formally since... mon Dieu, I cannot even remember."
"Marseille, 1870." Another vampire came up behind Adele, a gentleman just shy of Valerie's height. He put his arm around Adele's slender waist and nodded to Val. "It was at another party like this, do you remember? The bal du 14 juillet?"
"Roch." Valerie shook the newcomer's hand. "{I do remember. It has been many years.}"
"{The absence was yours, if I recall,}" Roch replied, but without the malice one would expect of such an accusation. "{It would seem you have returned from your time as a hermit.}"
"Returned and brought a friend, chéri," Adele said. She nodded to Connor. "He has replaced his Hiroshi with the lovely Connor."
"Men don't like to be called lovely, mon fleur," Roch said, then turned to Connor and gave his nod of acknowledgement. "Bonjour. I suppose congratulations is in order, then?" To Valerie: "To you, for adding a second, I mean. It must have been recent; the power you have acquired is... unsteady."
"All the more reason to see and be seen, then, is it not?" Adele asked. She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Although mon Roch does have a point. {This bond of yours feels most unusual. Since when have you been attracted to such antagonism?}"
"{Since I have stepped upon new soil and begun a new life,}" Valerie returned smoothly, but their keen observations were not what he wanted to hear. Hopefully they could only sense the difference because they knew him so well, or had once. "{Please do not think me rude, but I had intended to converse a few others tonight, and should find them before the night grows too deep...}"
"Of course." Adele smiled and banished him with a flick of a hand. "But do come find us soon, mon cher? We have missed you, and I am eager to hear the Orient boy's violin once more."
The compliment to Hiroshi drew a smile from Val. "Certainly. {Good evening, my friends.}"
"{Good night.}"
[1]Excellent, wonderful.
Alright, it was a good thing Valerie hadn't wanted Connor to talk too much, because half of this conversation was in more French than he could easily put together, though he got the general gist of it, and the rest happened to involve events he didn't know anything about. Yay for being uninformed. It was a good thing they weren't a threat, or he'd have been horribly unprepared.
Connor returned the nod to Roch, remaining silent and simply listening. Naturally, he didn't catch all of it with their rapid speech, but he tried. Unsteady? Yes, he supposed he had to agree with Roch on that, and perhaps that was his fault as much as Valerie's. If other vampires could sense that they didn't get along well, then it could be an exploitable weakness. That didn't sit well with him, and he frowned slightly thinking about it. He hated the idea of giving in to this mess, but he didn't want to be easy pickings because he wasn't willing to play along. He never liked being weak. This was going to require some thought.
He smiled at the woman and gave them both a good-bye before releasing a long breath at their departure. "You call those 'friends'? I'm worried about meeting your enemies," he remarked quietly, scanning the crowd almost like a good bodyguard would do. As though those enemies might appear rather suddenly before them. "Nice save, though. They might almost have believed you know what you're doing."
Considering neither of them seemed to know what they were doing, that wasn't so bad. And hey, at least he'd kept his mouth shut and hadn't offended anyone. "Where to next? As long as it's away from the buffet table and that pack of hunters I was talking to earlier, I have no ideas."
Verde was by the table, and Capri was somewhere near where he'd left her, he assumed. He didn't want to be anywhere near her if something crazy with vampire politics happened. He hated normal politics.
Speak of the devil; here came one of Valerie's enemies now. Well, enemy was perhaps a bit of a stretch. Antagonist would be closer. Diana loved being powerful - you could annoy people all you wanted and there was very little that they could do about it. Especially little weaklings like Valerie.
Diana was resplendent in a swan costume, with a small pearl diadem in her hair that was matched by pearls interwoven with the rest of her hair, winking like stars from the dark background and a snowy ball gown that seemed to be made half of lace, half satin - finished by a pair of white wings she'd managed to attach to the back. The train was long and elegent and designed to look like feathers; gauze and lace. She had pearly makeup on, primarily around her eyes, that almost looked like feathers itself - the amount of detail that was somehow brushed out in primarily white and shimmer pearl was almost insane. Still, despite all that she did still have a mask, one of the kind that was attatched to a stick, not ribbon or elastic that would trap it on your face. It was currently dangling from her wrist by a white satin ribbon. Ironic, really, that she should be dressed as a swan, but there you are....
Nothing much seemed to be happening at this party, and that made life dull. Therefore, naturally, when she spotted Valerie with someone else - a new bloodbond? Huh - she decided to go over and bother them. Bothering Valerie was fun.
"Hello, Valerie," she said, tone polite enough. For now. "I wasn't sure if you'd be here. You didn't exactly seem like the party type."
((*glomps* I have missed your character sadism SO MUCH. ))
The buffet table? Valerie glanced way back at it and spotted Verde lurking nearby. Ah. "I don't know, mon ami," he murmured, risking a smile at Connor's expense just this once. His nerves could use the release. "I think the great Domingos would find your situation a wonderful joke." Val wasn't going anywhere NEAR the buffet table, but it was still fun to antagonize Connor.
And then he saw a vision of angelic lovliness, and fun left the entire world.
"Connor..." Valerie felt a headache. "Tas de merde[1], I wish you would choose your words more carefully." He could discreetly run, but as she had already seen him, what would be the point? She would either give chase, or find him later and mock his cowardice. Might as well stay, be afraid, and get it over with.
"Diana," he greeted her, returning the politeness and betraying not a shred of uncertainty. "Good evening. I suppose it is a surprise, but even I could not miss such a large gathering." He faked his best fake smile. "You look stunning." When in doubt, pander to it, and even if she would see through him immediately, he was going to be civil to the end.
[1] "pile of... excretement
"Oh? What's this? Did someone develop a sense of humor all of a sudden?" he asked in his most false friendly voice, shooting a very brief glance at Verde and his...orange tie. Very festive. "It'd be the first time I saw that man laugh, I'm sure."
All dry comments and teasing aside, Connor got a hint of Val's sudden shift in mood, and it would have been foolish to think that he hadn't tensed up somewhat and STARED at Valerie. If there's something BAD, you'd bett--- Nevermind, he could figure out what was wrong before he even had a chance to finish the thought, considering Val had hardly finished speaking before he was greeting a woman who didn't really strike Connor as being human. Given the reaction, he was willing to bet vampire, and took a step closer to Valerie without a word. If it was someone who caused Val to give off the feelings Connor was getting through the bond, the hunter was going to be on guard and best behavior. Antagonizing Valerie right then struck him as being a bad idea.
Keep me informed. I mean it. Is she a danger?
"True," Diana laughed, "but I still wouldn't have been surprised if you'd given it a miss." Let's see how much she could raise Val's bloodpressure, mm?
"You look stunning."
"I know," she said, flashing a dazzling smile. "But then, why come to a Masquerade Ball unless you're planning on it?" She laughed a little, and finally glanced down at Connor.
"Hm, you brought a new toy. Tell me," with a wicked glint in her eye, "does he do any tricks?"
~*~*~
*glomps Kuchi back*
[And then he saw a vision of angelic lovliness, and fun left the entire world.] XDD I love you.
Nevermind, he offered up simply as she responded and made it clear to him what his opinion was. It was vampires like her that made him hate their kind. Pompous, egotistical monsters. Really, she was likely to shoot Connor's blood-pressure through the roof before Val's, but she didn't need to know that. The fact that he was limited in what he could say and do there didn't make him feel any better, either. He was going to explode before the night was through.
"Certainly, but I have horrible stage fright," he joked, keeping his tone surprisingly light and teasing for the attitude beneath. He certainly wasn't about to do any 'tricks' for a vampire. "Besides, I don't take well to being shared."
Actually, he didn't take at all to being shared, and he didn't want to deal with Valerie, let alone this woman, whoever she was. He couldn't stand female vampires.
Connor's "nevermind" echoed in Valerie's head. No surprise there; the woman tended to have that effect on people. Valerie was actually proud of Connor to have dealt with her teasing so maturely. There had been a ripple of indignation from Connor's end of the bond that had had Valerie thinking for one terrifying moment that the Hunter would disregard everything and say something offensive.
But it had not gone that way. Connor had moved closer to him almost instinctually, the closing of their physical distance helping Valerie calm his nerves. Diana still scared the merde out of him, but at least he wasn't facing her alone. Speaking of which... Connor might as well know EXACTLY whom she was.
Diana is the vampire who lured me to Aristide's for the ritual.
"No one is sharing you, mon ami," he said gently, playing the part of a vampire calming his jumpy human. "Diana is teasing." She probably wasn't, but who wanted to be straightforward when subtle intimidation was so much more entertaining for the Devil herself? "You are doing well, I expect?" he asked of Diana. There was precious little polite conversation he could really make with her. Any ordinary comment could be turned against him. He hoped that if he remained stoic and gave no ground, she would get bored and leave him alone. Despite her best attempts to scare him, they WERE still at a party, surrounded by hundreds of powerful guests, and Bruja guard detail besides. He wouldn't put it past her to try something subtle, but at least for the moment there was little she could physically do.
Hopefully.
Diana smiled warmly at the both of them. She really enjoyed doing stuff like this - annoying or alarming or just generally... well, messing with people because she was old and powerful and they were not and so there was nothing that they could do about it. If she wanted them to like her then she was fully capable of being most charming, but in most cases.... Well, it would be a waste, that's what it would be. Let it never be said that Diana was wasteful.
As to them being safe - well, she wasn't likely to rip anyone limb from limb. Not that she did that very often anyway unless they really annoyed her. Or stumbled across her at a particularly bad moment. There had been occasions in the past when she'd visited such acts of violence upon others simply because she felt like it and for no other reason, but... well, while rending was all in good fun, she wasn't in the mood tonight. Besides, she didn't particularly want what seemed to be all of Bruja after her for crashing the party.
Ah well. She had Valerie to tease and poke at now, and he (like all other stiffs) tended to be so much more fun to do so to then anyone else. What a pity that they liked it the least - but since when had she cared? Never.
"This is what for you, two bloodbonds now, Valerie?" Diana asked lazily, all but ignoring Connor for the moment. "My oh my, you're gaining quite the little following." He took such good care of them as well. Diana took care of her fledglings or bonds when she felt like it and killed them when she felt like it. She had a few of both running around - she'd occasionally drop down on them, for one reason or another. Some loved her, some loathed her - and both could be so much fun.
"Maybe you should consider getting another pet, to keep them company," she said with a very slight smirk. "Not a cat though, cats are aggravating creatures." She was betting that Valerie was a cat person. "If, of course, you want a dog then I might be able to suggest a few breeders."
It was ironic that Val was the vampire and supposed to be the more powerful end of this bond, but it was Connor who was completely unafraid of this vampire before them. Of course, he had a habit of doing that. He'd grown to be a man who would insult a vampire even as the creature tried to tear into him. He had in the past. He certainly had his fears, but dying and monsters weren't among them. This vampire, no matter how old and powerful she might be, wouldn't scare him. Sure, she could kill him, or at least, try. She could torture him if she could get to him like Tabitha had, but she wasn't going to scare him like that. It was just the way he was.
It was a delightfully free feeling.
The fun part about it happened to be that his getting closer to Val actually didn't do ANYTHING for Connor in this case, except satisfy the bond's desire for closeness. Val was the one who benefited, which was really the point. Connor could feel the man's fear leaking through the bond, and that wasn't acceptable. Hearing who she was helped explain Val's reaction, though for some reason, it pissed the hunter off. Part of that was because if Diana hadn't led Valerie to the ritual, Connor wouldn't be stuck bonded to him. He had to stop and think that it was better that it HAD be Val than someone like Diana, though he wasn't about to admit that to Valerie. No need to encourage him. That was really only a portion of it, however, and he couldn't entirely explain the rest. It felt like he was angry that she was intimidating Val, almost...protective, which made no sense. He'd figure that out later, though.
He made it a point to rest a hand on the vampire's shoulder after Val 'assured' him that nobody was sharing him, and he raised an eyebrow behind that mask of his. At least he was wearing it; he got the feeling that Diana wouldn't have minded spilling his secret all over the place. "Is that what she calls teasing? Jeez, you vampires have no sense of humor," he told Val 'privately'. He'd said it loudly enough that a vampire should definitely have heard it, and it was intentional.
"Actually, I can entertain myself pretty well without him getting any pets," he told her, his voice returning to normal volume as he managed a pleasant smile again. "And really, why a dog? They're so useless and needy. If I was going to bother with an animal, it definitely wouldn't be a loud, obnoxious, slobbering mess of a dog."
He was willing to bet his life that Diana was a dog person, from what she'd said, and though he didn't usually care either way, his cousin was a leopard. He was kind of 'required' to like cats better. Darren insisted. Besides, he could handle bashing dogs if it would annoy this vampire a little.
Valerie had a momentary out-of-body experience as he entertained the notion of thanking Diana for making an appearance. While he and Connor were not yet a completely synchronized bloodbond pair, they were at least beginning to take cues from one another and act that way, and Valerie could only attribute it to their need to defend against the threat that Diana presented. Connor's hand was a further comforting pressure on his shoulder, one he was glad for. He never would have instigated contact on his own; it would have looked too needy for his taste. Connor touching him, now that was fine. The bloodbond was allowed to support his master.
Although the knowledge wasn't uncommon, Valerie still didn't appreciate Diana knowing anything about his personal life, into which Hiroshi was most definitely included. He didn't appreciate the pet comments, either. Connor's little side quips, on the other hand... Thanks to the support indicated by Connor's close presence, he didn't think it was the human's intention to get them in trouble. Connor, in Valerie's experience, just simply didn't like to take things lying down. It was that aspect of him over which they tended to clash. Valerie preferred to stay out of trouble, and Connor found it amusing to taunt trouble to trouble's face. Like he was doing now. If Valerie could have smacked his head into something, he might have, but as that option was unavailable he simply stood still and pretended that Connor's words didn't shock him in the least. Even if Connor wasn't in Valerie's control, it would be prudent to maintain the facade that he was. "Not all of us share your unique taste in sarcasm," Valerie replied dryly, as if it was an old joke between them. Connor's support, potentially detrimental though it may be, was having the strange effect of giving Valerie's confidence a boost. Diana still scared him, there was no helping that; Connor couldn't be with him always, and if the female vampire decided to take him out when he was alone there wouldn't be much he could do to stop her. Still, he was beginning to understand what it meant to have power in the vampire world, or at least a standing higher than dirt.
"Oh? You are the bold one, aren't you? My oh my." Diana's voice was almost lazy; uncaring. Good for Connor if he wasn't scared; he didn't have to be. She'd found people who were utterly fearless in the past and had still made them eat their own intestines. Fear didn't much matter to her. Luckily for Connor, perhaps, that he was only human - as human was the operative word there, from her side of things. A lowly little mortal who, quite frankly, didn't deserve to be elevated further by her paying more attention to him. So she let her eyes wander casually up and down his form, as though he were nothing more then an exotic piece of furniture installed for the party, then turned back to Valerie. Who was, honestly, hardly any better but even so....
"I see you do have some work left, as far as training this one goes," Diana said casually. She didn't use the word 'train' in the sense that a Midnight vampire would; she found all that 'I taught them to love me' business both ridiculous and pretentious. No, she used it in a more normal sense, in the way that someone would train an animal to behave. Teaching a horse not to kick or a dog not to bite (except where you wanted it to). She turned back to Connor and smiled. "Careful - you keep on acting like that and you'll doubtless upset some of the more... fastidious guests here and won't be able to show your face in polite society for years afterwards." She turned again to talk to Val.
"Are you having problems with him, then?" Sympathy. "Well, I suppose I can see how he might present you some difficulties."
Translation: So you can't control your bloodbond? Only what I expected - weak. Having a standing higher then dirt? Hardly; it's below it. And, naturally, if Connor kept acting the way he was accustomed to, he'd be proving her point.
Diana smiled.
To give credit where it was due, Connor managed a laugh at Val's comment, playing along as though it was an old joke. Diana was grating on his nerves with each word, but he was trying to keep from getting too outwardly angry. First, he didn't want to give her that satisfaction, and second, he'd promised Val that he would try to fit the part he was playing. So, he was trying, while attempting to keep them from getting stepped on. He had to wonder how much it would take to get a couple of Onyx hunters to take Diana out.
The way she looked him over and so easily dismissed him was actually pleasant, and something he liked about vampires. They were so stupid. They had their heads stuck so far up their asses that they ended up missing important details.
He continued in the 'amused' vein and shrugged. "I'm a work in progress, but I can assure you that I'll know how to behave when we're finally presented with 'polite society'. I think that if the present company was to be included there, my dear friend would have been treated as an equal from the start, and his bloodbond would have been shown more respect than a mere animal. You don't seem quite stupid enough to be new at this, so I'm sure you know how to be courteous to those who matter, and you're making it look like Valerie doesn't matter to you. If that's the case, then why don't you stop wasting his time and move along? He promised to introduce me to some of the more respectable guests."
The way he finished, with his body having somehow ended up within mere inches of Val's, should have made it clear that the vampire could have told him to shut up at any point. He actually would have listened, despite what Diana might have thought. He wasn't actually going to cooperate if Val really tried to implement any 'training', but he could pretend that he would. He certainly knew how to keep his head down and make Val look good in the presence of those who mattered, and he didn't see how this woman did. She was annoying. Old, perhaps, but so petty that he wouldn't even take her seriously. And if she tried to harm them? She'd have all of Crimson on her ass. He'd make sure of it.
This one has her head so far up her ass, I bet she couldn't tell us if the sky was blue or green, he shot at Val with the mental equivalent of an eye roll. I liked your French friends better.