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[Lothaire]

Lothaire was actually in quite high spirits as he headed down to the dungeon for todays bit of work. He had purchased a rather defiant slave some weeks back, and was on the cusp of finally being done with Breaking this one. Lothaire enjoyed using a technique he had refined ,in his opinion, to an art form. It was one that he had learned during his wonderful time in Nazi Germany in the 1940s.

Lothaire had always, since around the age of 18 or so, been able to beat a slave into submission (his father taught him that part of the family business at an early age). But to fully control a slave, they must be grateful, and have a desire to please, not a fear of pain. During the winter of 1942, Lothaire had been serving under a German SS officer that taught him to do just that. By playing "good cop/bad cop" with prisoners, they were able to break them in record numbers, creating an unheard of WILLING slave labor army. Lothaire was amazed at the officer's understanding of human mental states, and learned an immense amount, and has turned the technique into an artform in the dark, dank cells of Midnight.

Lothaire strode with purpose toward the isolated man in the cell in a dark corner of the dungeon. He was currently in "Good Cop" mode, dressed in a simple black suit, and with out the horrific face paint or bizarre costuming he liked to don when inflicting pain. Following a savage beating the night before, Lothaire KNEW that the proper amount of kindness, and a couple soft words combined with his inherent Kendra abilities would yield a finished product today. He smiled to himself, Yes this one had been difficult, but at least now he would have a full household complement of slaves...especially after the unfortunate disposal of a few in recent weeks.

Just as he was about to step into the dim light in front of the cell he heard a loud bang as the dungeon door was slammed open. Odd, he thought, no one typically used the place this early in the day. He then caught the sound of footsteps, that sounded as if they were headed his way. What on Earth could possibly be going on?

[Desten DuPont]

From the darkness emerged the true vision of loveliness that was Desten. She was incredibly tall, with long blonde hair, and brilliant golden eyes. She wore something Stefan had tailored for her - and he always had her clothing tailored, for a pet of his dressed well, as she was a reflection of him - it was a cream-coloured cashmere sweater that sat off of her sun-kissed shoulders at an angle, and a pair of simple black slacks. She had on heels, which only made her seem taller than she had been previously, although they put her shorter than Lothaire by an inch, and only that.

When she saw someone else in the hall, she slowed her movements down to a very patient stroll, and bowed her head. "I apologize if I caused too much noise, sir. My Master sent me down here to fetch something that I forgot in my foolishness, and I was moving with great haste." Notice how Desten didn't say, 'Stefan forgot to get this'? Because, as she'd come to understand, Stefan didn't forget anything. It was Desten who forgot - to remind him, mostly. Stefan had forgotten the whip, but it was Desten's job to collect these things as he placed them absent-mindedly around.

She did not smile, nor frown, nor did she move a muscle as she faced Lothaire. She was extremely well-trained, and was waiting for him to give her the right of way. If he did not, than she was afraid that it would be encroaching on her Master's wishes, and that just wouldn't do. She hoped he would allow her by with no disturbance.

[Lothaire]

Lothaire looked up the hall and noticed Stefan's pet headed his way. Ah, so it was a pet on an errand for her master, nothing serious. Lothaire had been afraid one of his slaves had made a run for it, which was why he had killed two of them last month.  Well Deston certainly painted an odd picture down in this dungeon, such a  beauty she was indeed. He had to admit that Stefan did have taste in his pets. Lothaire made a mental note that he needed to get a new pet, it had been awhile and just having his slaves around was getting boring. But first he figured he would have a bit of fun with the woman, because after all her master was a friend of his from "the old days".

"Ahh Yes, I see your master has forgotten something yet again. What a forgetful person he can be sometimes. But why didn't he come and get it himself? He still asleep at this early hour, or just to lazy to walk all this way?

Lothaire said all this with a bemused smirk on his face, hopefully she could still recognize humor when she saw it...

[Desten DuPont]

Desten's rage practically steamed off of her in misty puffs, but that fierce willpower not to make Stefan look like a bad Master overpowered her anger, and she merely held her head high and said, "Of course not. He has other business to attend to, and it was my oversight. I am only fortunate He saw fit to allow me to retrieve it than to punish me for my insolence."

She was so well trained. She didn't recognize anything the man said for humour, only insults to her Master, her lovely Stefan, the Golden Adonis who had saved her from her pathetic existence before all of this and given her a second chance to be what she truly had potential to - beautiful, noble, proud.

"If you'll excuse me, sir, " she said curtly, "I must return to my Master before He believes I am tarrying purposefully. Good day to you." And with that, Desten headed for the stairs.

[Lothaire]

Stefan really was a great trainer, probably too good. This one had had the humor broken right out of her. Lothaire considered her words for a moment, no doubt she would report them to Stefan like a good little pet. But that was no guarantee her master would show up, and Lothaire did wish to speak with him. Perhaps a more direct approach was in order.

"Yes, indeed hurry back to your master. And when you reach him, please tell him that Lothaire wishes to speak with him. He'll be able to find me down here, I shall be here most of the morning. Inform him that it involves business, not just a simple idle chat."

With his message thusly given, Lothaire turned and stalked back down the hall. He needed to finish this job up and move on to the next. He also wanted to speak with Stefan about the female Vampire's offer to sell her insolent slave. The idea was beginning to amuse him to no end. He could have fun breaking that boy, but then again, he had been having a hard time keeping slaves alive lately so maybe it wasn't such a good idea, thus he wanted to consult another of the more brutal vampires in Midnight to see what he thought of the idea.

[Stefan]

Stefan was a great trainer, a fact which he'd been slowly teaching his peers as well as those who were inferior to him.  What was actually amusing about Lothaire's belief regarding Desten was that she hadn't actually had the humor broken out of her.  Lothaire just hadn't said anything that should have been funny to her.  Nothing at Stefan's expense was funny.

Of course, Stefan hadn't known exactly what was being said, just that his darling hawk was upset, then absolutely furious.  Fortunately, by the time he felt her fury, he was already on his way, after having not been far to begin with.  He was descending the stairs right at the moment that she reached them, and he gave her mind a cursory scan. 

Ah, Lothaire.

"Thank you, my dear," he told her, accepting the whip that he'd left behind earlier with his blue eyes flicking up to Lothaire.  He was one of the few vampires to change their eye color, and incredibly young for it.  He knew that, and he was proud of it. 

Actually, I was busy elsewhere, he shot at Lothaire, his own sense of humor really not falling into agreement with Lothaire's.  Lazy?  No.

[Lothaire]

Ah, Stefan. Lothaire knew his words and the resulting angrer they sparked in the pretty little pet would probably prompt him to make an appearance. In fact, that was the result Lothaire was hoping for. His work had already been delayed, so why not just leave this one in his cage for a bit longer. Stefan's anger amused Lothaire, the younger vampire was known for his temper, but Lothaire was older by 150 years, so he wasn't worded about any thing happening that he couldn't hand. And besides both of them had enjoyed WWII, that being the time that Lothaire had actually first met Stefan, albeit it was before he was turned and before he knew Lothaire was a vampire.

" Ah my young friend, I don't doubt you were busy, but I knew you would probably appear if she was upset, and that would save ME the trouble of finding YOU. I guess you could really say I am the lazy one today. But I digress, I wanted to talk a bit of business with you. I assume you heard about that incident in the lobby that involved myself, Cerberus and that worthless human slave? Well, his owner seems to be eager to rid herself of him...and I do always enjoy breaking one such as him. But do you think I would end up killing him? I've unfortunately misjudged a few slaves lately, and killed them quite accidentally...modern humans are just so much more fragile than those from my time. Since your methods are as brutal as mine...you think that boy would be a waste of money that would end up dead?

Oh, Lothaire did enjoy breaking one as defiant as that boy. But recently whether he had intentionally become more violent or not, he had beaten a few slaves to death...and he hated wasting his money like that.

[Desten DuPont]

Desten came down slowly after Stefan, chin tilted upward in that way that she always did in His presence. It made her seem even taller somehow, and it was utterly disturbing that a Golden Hawk could be so easily broken and conformed to the will of another. Desten didn't see it that way, though - Stefan had saved her. He'd made her realize her true potential - that she was a golden goddess, and He, her king. She smiled at him, nothing less than adoration and love in those gilded eyes of hers.

She took Stefan's hand lightly. Generally, she did not prefer to be so forward, but Stefan had told her more than once that He almost always welcomed her touch as long as it was not in a completely inappropriate situation. She required little else from Him, though she knew she was selfish to require anything at all. Desten felt that if Stefan thought her worthy of His affections, she would receive them, and she should know better than to beg... but really, she wasn't sure what to make of Lothaire, and she was displaying the fact that she wanted comfort from her Master.

Was that too much to ask?

[Stefan]

Certainly, something as simple as taking hold of his hand wasn't too much for Desten to ask of him, and Stefan held her hand lightly in his own, giving her a look of approval.  She was beautiful and perfect, so why wouldn't he show up if she became upset?  Lothaire was correct in his understanding that Stefan would appear rather quickly if she was bothered, but he was foolish in doing so.  He'd be better off not making a habit of it, since Stefan HAD disposed of vampires older than he was, and not always in a direct confrontation.

"In the future, I would advise that you direct your attentions towards one other than Desten.  I prefer that she remain free of harassment," he informed Lothaire pointedly, and the other vampire would have to have been living in a cave to have missed the news of what had happened to the last individual to target her.  Cassius had screamed for weeks under Stefan's careful attention, and only recently had he finally just killed the fool.  Harassing Desten had become something of a risky venture.

As for the human slave he spoke of...

"You'd kill the boy, I'm sure.  I know that I would, given what I heard of your encounter with him," he offered honestly.  "If you just want a plaything to keep you entertained, I wouldn't suggest against him, but I have a feeling his defiance would only last as long as the first major wound, and he isn't worth keeping as a pet."

That may have been personal preference leaking into his suggestion, but he didn't care.  He wouldn't keep the boy, nor would he even waste his time killing him.  He'd get bored far too quickly.

[Lothaire]

Lothaire listened to Stefan with a bemused expression on his face. In Lothaire's opinion, Stefan coddled Deston too much, because even despite her beauty she was still just a PET. But Lothaire had heard the screams of the last person to harass the pet, so he decided not to press the issue. It wasn't out of fear, rather it was just to avoid the work that conflicts like that brought about, those types of petty struggles were all too human. Lothaire slightly bowed, more in acknowledgment than in submission, as he began to speak.

"Very well Stefan, sorry to have perturbed your lovely pet. As for the boy..yes I think his defiance would likely be the death of him in the hands of anyone such as ourselves. I have been killing slaves at an alarming rate lately...perhaps I should find a lovely pet such as yours to take my mind off the utter disappointment that humans can be. My usual sources are exhausted at present for the more...exotic...shifters, perhaps you know of source that I don't..mein korpsbruder?"

Lothaire threw in the German partially as jest, and partially to remind Stefan that they weren't all that different...even if Lothaire had been a cruel slaver before being turned....