Rattlesnake {Nero}

[Libby Belmont]

But Nero was always alert, every second of every day.  He lived his life analyzing, searching, questioning; a lot of people didn't quite achieve his level of awareness.  However, even this critical mind was at ease around Sigried, was lost inside her game and he could do nothing to stop it.  And it wasn't even as if he didn't want her to, he certainly felt alright with it, so he really didn't feel much of a need to wonder if this was as it seemed.

The serpiente king wasn't someone Nero respected.  Not because of anything personal, hell, he didn't honestly know Lucien, but Nero didn't take to authority figures well.  He had stopped respecting them when he was young, back when he only just realized how much smarter he was than everyone else.  Once he knew that, he began to question why they were good enough to be in charge.  What had they done to prove their worth?  And from there, everything spiraled downwards.  Suddenly, Nero really didn't care what their opinions were.  And maybe in there somewhere, on top of all of this, was the primal instinct of wanting to be in charge, because wasn't he good enough?

Sigried spoke to him and he heard every word.  She was so. . . engrossing.  "You could say that," he answered with a grin and a slow nod of his head as they walked along the sidewalk.  "Most people can't even read my handwriting in my notes, let alone understand most of what I attempt to convey."  He looked a tad sheepish at this, laughing under his breath, but yes, he wrote his notes so quickly that his words hardly looked like much of anything.  On top of the fact that he wrote shorthand, something which everyone did differently, and his inability to say what he meant in the simplest form, his notes may as well have been encrypted.

"But the college funds a lot of my research.  I have a lot of side studies to keep them occupied.  I also assist with tutoring and the like, so I do my fair share.  No one really questions me."  He shrugged a little.

[Sasha]

Sigried was all the while wondering what precisely she wanted to work to her advantage, here. She'd have to see the work herself, but she was positive she wouldn't understand all of it, even with simple explanations. She was smart, sure, but she was definitely more adept in the language and history and art area of things as opposed to math and science. Ah well, she'd take what she could and do with it what she felt.

"So, you have full run of the facilities? Wow, that's amazing. The more I talk to you, the more I realize how utterly brilliant you are," she said, eyes never leaving his features. It was her natural awareness to the environment around her that allowed her to pay attention to him and not walk into something - she wondered if she'd ever been so graceful as a human, but oh, it was so long ago. Was it really worth thinking about?

No, probably not. "It must be pretty nice to be able to see your creations come to fruition like that. I suppose science really is an art all itself," she mused.

[Libby Belmont]

Nero took her compliment and grinned.  It made him feel really important and accomplished, two of his favorite feelings.  "Thank you," he replied automatically.  His eyes then slid to Sigried, studying her features carefully.  She was so pleasant.

"Yes, it really is something else."  He glanced back to see where they were walking, unable to do so without looking like Sigried could, and he led them across the street and passed a few storefronts.  The hospital was just up the road right off of the main street and the college was up along the left side.  When they approached, he popped open the entrance and held it for Sigried, then walked her through the hallways towards his laboratory.  There was still a bit of a walk left.

"So, what exactly are you interested in science-wise?  Or are you just curious?"  He raised an inquisitive eyebrow and smiled brightly, not really worried about her answer.  He did want to know, but no matter what she said, he wasn't going to not show her whatever it was that she wanted to see.  She probably could have said that science was a terrible thing and shouldn't be allowed to be done, and Nero still would have shown her around his lab.

[Sasha]

"Just curious, really," she admitted. "I just don't often meet people smart enough to even be able to do a fraction of what you do." She turned up that charm a hair more, enjoying the old saying that flattery got you everywhere. The man's ego nearly rivaled her own, something that surprised her in some ways, and didn't in others. She was impressed by his knowledge, truly, because anyone who enjoyed meddling in the lives of those around them on the notation that they were all lab rats was someone that she would devote at least a few hours to.

"Besides, labs are interesting in their own right. They always look like something's about to happen, even if nobody's there. I was interested in chemistry when I was younger, but it wasn't my strong suit. I'm an art buff - I run a gallery in the city. Some of it is nice - I try to limit the abstract stuff to things that I feel are actually worth something. I hate when people present me with scribbles on a paper and massive price tags. I guess they don't realize it's not expensive if they're still alive," she chuckled.

"It's a little more boring than your job, of course, but I like it. Lets me be around things I'm familiar with all day."

[Libby Belmont]

And flattery really did do wonders on Nero.  He found himself swelling with pride, his smile curving a bit more at the edges.  She was right, most people couldn't even begin most of what he did, let alone get as far along as he had.  That knowledge was what kept him at a distance from most people, his world revolving around his work.  He didn't have time for most relationships, save a couple, and that was what may have made this spectacle a little peculiar to an inquiring viewer.  It wasn't like Nero at all to bring someone he didn't know into his lab unless he was planning on playing with them.

"An art buff?" he repeated, looking highly interested in everything she had to say.  He laughed along to her comment, nodding his head in agreement.  "I don't know a lot about art or what's accepted as quality aside from the obvious, so I never understood modern art.  I'm almost positive that I could make something of that caliber and I can't even color in the lines."  He smiled, adding sincerely, "It sounds interesting though, seeing what people can create.  I'm sure it's far from boring."

They came up to Nero's lab.  He looked the slightest bit perplexed when he noticed that the door was open, but he didn't think much of it.  "Here we are."  He turned his head and grinned at her, all teeth, and walked into the room. . .

Only to find Aimee there.

His first thought was that it must have been time to eat (lunch, maybe?).  Not because he instantly associated Aimee with food, but because she always came around about that time; that was when they were both free.  But regardless, he didn't seem at all deterred by her surprising presence.  He waved and made room by the door for Sigried to come in.  "Aimee," he then greeted pleasantly.  "This is Sigried.  She's here to see the lab."  And he lingered just a little too close to Sigried as he said this, completely engulfed in her charm.  Nero didn't seem to notice any of that though, perfectly zen as he was.

[Aimee Forsyth]

It wouldn't have been entirely off the wall for Nero to associate Aimee with food, since she DID have a habit of showing up around lunchtime with food that he'd sorely need.  He tended to get so caught up in what he was doing that he forgot to eat, just like the stereotypical scientist.  He did amazing things, though.

Not all of them in the lab.

"Nero!" she called out pleasantly, looking up from the book she'd been reading while she waited for him to get back.  She hadn't thought it'd take long, but she hadn't quite been expecting someone to be with him, which was why she stopped her progress towards him and the welcome kiss she'd planned for him.  She didn't mind public displays of affection, but they weren't Nero's cup of tea.  Actually, being overly social wasn't really his thing, so why the strange woman being invited back to the lab?  What was going on?

"Oh.  Hi, Sigried, I'm Aimee," she introduced herself, offering her hand and just trying to get a feel for the other woman when she approached.  Something wasn't right here, especially with this woman and the way Nero was getting so close to her.  Upon getting closer, it was pretty obvious.  She only worked with vampires just about every night.  So, what did this vampire want with the lab, and Nero?

Not good.  "So, you wanted to see the lab?  Nero doesn't invite many people back here," she remarked, being subtle about putting the information out there that she'd noticed something was wrong, but she didn't want to turn this into a confrontation too quickly.

[Sasha]

"Hi, Aimee," she replied warmly, taking her hand only as lightly as perhaps Elke would have. Sigried's smile actually broadened a little with the thought of her sibling, but only because she realized that she might be able to involve Elke into causing damage without her even realizing it. She let that smile change into a grin as she placed her hands behind her back, fingers twined within eachother.

"It's nice to meet you. And, yeah, he told me he didn't, but I've never been in a lab before, and he said it wouldn't be any trouble to show me around. Really, it's quite fascinating. I work around art all day, so this is a nice contrast. Maybe it will inspire a new nook in the gallery," she trailed off, turning to look around.

Really, it was stupid how quickly Sigried could switch from sinner to saint, and with the way that she projected herself it was nothing less than innocence. A little naive, a little too pretty of a face, but definitely not as old as she was; not even half. A fraction, maybe. Animals can sense vampires, sure, but their age? Sigried smiled back at Aimee.

"Are you a scientist, too?" she asked, voice eager, inquisitive. She looked back at Nero. "You've been keeping secrets. You never mentioned someone else," she said with a girlish wink. She looked back at Aimee. "Is your work the same as his?"

It was really sick, what she was doing.

[Libby Belmont]

And it was sick how Nero was reacting.

He grinned, vapid and calm, green eyes moving from Sigried to Aimee and back again.  He felt a lot more vacant than he had in a very long time, and he honestly couldn't say that he disliked it.  His zen was welcomed, embraced even, whether it was the workings of a vampire or not.  Nero would never ever admit that however, because when this was over, he was only going to be angry.  Not okay, pleasant or enraptured at all.

Sigried and Aimee were talking, although Nero really only heard sound rather than words.  Sigried's voice was drawing him in much more, though, which would never have been true if not for her game.  Because Sigried was playing his strings just right.  She winked after addressing him, and his clouded mind turned his grin coy.  "I apologize," was his answer coupled with an offhanded shrug.

Aimee's work.  Instinctively Nero's eyes narrowed and his focus turned to his girlfriend.  He unconsciously brushed arms with Sigried, the one with a respectable job, and said nothing at all.  Aimee the stripper who displayed her body for easy money.  Who danced for desperate men, who played with their testosterone, who Nero ultimately didn't trust.  What was she up to?  Who was she with?  Those stripper friends were infecting her.

Sigried just felt so much better to be near right now.  She felt so much more positive than Aimee did.  She just appealed to him, with her smile and her eyes and that serenity that she made him feel.  And he was locked where he was, a marionette for Sigried to toy with.

[Aimee Forsyth]

No, Aimee had no idea whatsoever how old Sigried was, but she'd have liked to know.  The more she knew, the more prepared for this situation she'd feel.  As it was, she didn't feel at all prepared, and she knew that was because she wasn't.  This was bad, and she didn't really have a whole lot of options from the start.  What did the vampire want?

"Oh, I'd imagine it'd be an interesting contrast," she agreed easily, not fooled by the daintiness of the handshake.  Such things didn't matter with vampires.  "I like to think I am, but I only help where I can right now.  I'm still working on my degree."

She wasn't going to go into detail, mostly because it wasn't necessary, and because she wasn't giving the vampire any more information.  With Nero's blank look, and what?  Did he really look at her, smile at her like that?  He apologized for not telling her about Aimee?  That alone was enough to upset the leopard, but there was suddenly that LOOK out of him when Sigried mentioned work.  Fortunately, Aimee didn't know the extent of Nero's thoughts right then.  If he'd have said it all out loud, she really wouldn't have known what to do, but it wouldn't have ended well.  There was a reason she and Nero didn't talk about her working at All Hallows all that often, and that was because they didn't agree on it.  She saw his point of view, what she knew of it, but he'd never told her all that before.  He was never that horrible to her.

[Sasha]

Sigried withdrew her hand, surprised by the brush on the arm as Nero passed her. His thoughts, his real thoughts on the matter of what Aimee did, which Sigried was now privy to, almost startled her. She'd had him centered around egotistical and devious, but she'd never imagined he'd display such a promise for ruthless behaviour. To be a very neutral partied scientist was one thing, but to have such ideas about a loved one...

She was an opportunist, after all.

She wandered away from what would slowly become a fray, and went to a table, picking up a small flask of a bright blue liquid. She didn't shake it, of course, but it was blue, and so bright - like liquid ozone. She held it up to the light, reading the label. It didn't sound toxic, but then again, it wouldn't matter it if were. Not like it could hurt her.

"Working on your degree? I had to bypass college. I got lucky, but that's all it was. The gallery was a one in a million chance. My sister went," she said over her shoulder, smiling in that deceptively sweet way. "She used to try and work as a waitress and a bartender between classes to earn money. She would fall asleep on her textbooks. It was hell - she made it, and she does well now, but I really hated to see her so worn out."

She paused, and it was a very dangerous pause. Slipping out with her power, she gave Nero a mental nudge. What does Aimee do? she wondered inside his head, so casually and nonchalantly that, combined with that power of hers, he could have easily mistaken it for a real, verbal question. She smiled again to Aimee, and turned back to the flask, setting it carefully down. It looked like the T-virus. She wanted to get a picture, to show Elke. She was so proud of herself.

[Libby Belmont]

Nero thought it.  He did.  When Aimee was out dancing, late late at night, Nero wondered what she was really doing.  If there was more to it, if she was spending extra time around those people.  And when he thought about it, logically of course, he took a moment to reflect on just how women of that nature acted.  Their persona, in general, and how completely free they were with their bodies.  And Aimee had told him that she didn't take personal customers, that she didn't sleep with those men, disgusting pigs with no real lives to speak of, and Nero wanted to believe her.  It was hard, though, in the end.  She stripped, and wasn't that really just one step away from prostitution?

When he had those thoughts, plaguing and dark and worrisome as they were, he often reflected on their relationship.  Was it worth it?  Did he really have that much patience and that much love for this woman?  Did he trust her to stay out of trouble, to keep safe and to be true to him?  And what bothered him the most was how he had to convince himself that it was all true, that he really did love her and it was his own insecurities that made him feel the way that he did.

And on some level, he was proud of her.  He was proud of how gorgeous she was, how she could do what she did and be good at it.  That he was the one that had her.  He was proud of her intellect and how open she was about it with him.  That she could best so many with her knowledge alone.  He was proud to be her boyfriend.

But when he questioned his feelings, he knew that there was a major problem.  It was her job that he disliked so horrendously that it dipped into his logic and blinded his rationale.

That fucking job that wasn't even fit to be called a job at all.

When Sigried asked him what Aimee did, he may or may not have thought it was out loud.  His answer was verbalized, though, in a simple, "You should ask Aimee what she really does."  And his expression shifted, cold and calculating, the look he gave his experiments, the look that he never gave to people that he deemed above a mouse.  And he focused that look on Aimee.

[Aimee Forsyth]

There was no way she could have been oblivious enough not to tense just a little when Sigried went on about her sister in college, and herself.  She wasn't sure she believed it, given vampire ages, but it was possible that this one was that young.  There was no way for her to know.  She wasn't stupid, though.  Mention of work, then all that about trying to work, waiting tables and bartending, through college?  Either the vampire knew and wanted to be a bitch, or Aimee was just that unlucky.  She knew that Nero was thinking about her job.  She knew he wasn't happy, and she knew the vampire was making things worse.

There was zero she could do about it.

No, that wasn't true.  She could play this with dignity and calm, and she could keep herself from overreacting.  Freaking out was just going to make things worse.  "I dance at All Hallows," she answered, and her tone definitely wasn't proud, but she was sure to avoid sounding guilty or ashamed.  She wasn't ashamed of her job.  There was a lot about it that she was actually proud of, including the fact that she could do it to begin with.  There was skill and talent involved, and it wasn't something she intended to keep doing, but it did what she needed for the time being. 

"I tried waiting tables and bartending, but you're right.  Falling asleep in your books doesn't help you learn the information, and I've had a pretty heavy course-load, so I tried something different.  It's not mainstream, but it works," she explained, and she wasn't going to defend it further than that.  The look Nero was fixing her with hurt, and that was because she knew it.  It was that detached, cold look of his, the one he used on people he didn't care about more than to watch the results.  The thought that he might not care about her right then, even if it was only for the present time, upset her more than she wanted to admit, and the emotion made her want to leave or snap at him, but she wouldn't.  The vampire was messing things up like this.  He never looked at her like that, and he never behaved like this.  Suddenly a vampire's around, and this is how it went?  She was going to do what she could to keep reminding herself of that fact.  The addition of a new variable to an old experiment yielding extreme results wasn't uncommon.  If Nero was going to give her that cold look, then she could calculate it out just as well.

Sigried was forgetting that they were in Aimee's control zone.  She wasn't going anywhere just yet. 

"So, lucky with the gallery?  At least you admit it.  I wouldn't dream of leaving it all to luck, myself, or bypassing college.  It's hard work, but you don't get anything worth it without a little work," she offered, smiling as though the talk of her own job didn't bother her.  Any other time, it wouldn't.  Moving on, plz.

[Sasha]

Sigried smiled, a sort of dangerous smile. She made a little pleasant 'hmm'ing noise, turning fully to face Aimee. Her hands planted behind her against the table as she leaned casually on it, raising one of her eyebrows. She ran her tongue across her lower lip for a moment, and then spoke. Carefully. Measured. "It's extremely hard to keep an art gallery running, but it isn't something they can teach you in school. Sure, I could have taken a business management class, or even an art history class, but unlike science, art is not precise. It's left up to the eye of the beholder, or in this case, the eyes of wealthy people who think they have taste. It's lucrative, and it leaves me open to do other things instead of being utterly tied down to one career. I'd have wasted money going to school over it; you can't learn the trade unless you're submerged in it."

She smiled again. "But art and science are polar opposites, so I suppose it's not something you'd be expected to be familiar with. All Hallows, you say? My sister has been there before - her... close friend is a bouncer there. Elke," she said. "But I'm sure you see so many people it'd be hard to remember her."

Now, that was a lie. Elke was memorable for everyone with feline blood. She leaned forward, off of the counter, and walked back to where Nero was, standing close enough to him to put distance between herself and Aimee again, but not close enough that she was touching him.

"It's pretty amazing that you can have a functioning relationship and still dance. I don't think I could ever trust someone that much - but then again, the last person I trusted ended up being married in the end," she said with a sigh. That was the same sad story she'd given Nero - and how. Weren't they all having problems with broken trust, lately?

Do you really trust her? Look how mean she is to me, like she's got something to hide. Sigried projected the thoughts again, that snake charm muddling them up in the course of the dialog. Had she said them? Her voice was certainly expressive enough, heavy with the feeling that perhaps she intruded, perhaps she should leave.

"I should probably go," she said, tossing her hair back and looking at Nero. "It seems like I've intruded on something." Did he really want her to go, though? If there were any other Serpiente in the building, they'd have been beating down the door at this point. She was a beacon, a ray of light, burning - and it made them want to be close to her.

Aimee didn't have shit on her right now.

[Libby Belmont]

Sounds.  The feminine lull of words, biting undertones masked in pleasant falsity.  Coldness slathered in kindness.  Nero heard them speak, pretty lips and tongues insulting yet feigning innocence.  Yin, womanly, immature, cutting, picking, dissecting.

He stood silently, impassive as they attacked each other, disgust and dislike masquerading as casual conversation.  It sounded like high school, that deafening showdown between two queen bees.  They were trying to outmatch the other, kill them with kindness, but he knew that no one believed it.  He didn't, so surely there was not a chance in the world that the women believed it either.

And then Sigried said something that struck Nero the way she had surely intended.  She could never trust someone who danced, that was what she had said.  Not that much.  Nero's lips pursed together, anger and frustration and agreement falling on him all at once.  And then she asked him, do you really trust her? and he found himself unsure of an answer.  That hesitation bothered him.

Regardless of the charm, the spell Sigried had him in, Nero had enough of his own sense to realize just how horrible that was.  He wanted to say that he did, that he trusted her and he knew she would never do anything to hurt him.  She loved him, didn't she?  But how could he be so sure?  That seed of doubt that weeded inside of him was starting to grow and grow.  He didn't think that he knew what the answer was.

Sigried announced that she should leave.  She looked at him.  Expectant maybe, knowing.  That bothered Nero.

He had an answer for Sigried after all.

"I trust Aimee, Sigried," and it was the truth.  "But I don't trust everyone else."  His eyes shifted, pupils pulling in tight, slits against the green base.  And maybe, in that moment, he knew what was happening.  Maybe he knew that Sigried was playing a mind game with him.

Maybe he did.

"I think you should stay, though.  You aren't intruding.  I haven't even actually shown you around yet, have I?  That's rude of me.  You came here specifically for that reason."  And he smiled, the corner of his mouth twisting, open, friendly, sincere.

Maybe he didn't.

[Aimee Forsyth]

Aimee was expecting this to get worse, really.  The vampire had Nero messed up, that much was obvious, and Sigried definitely had wiggle room on this one if she wanted it.  Aimee wasn't expecting the bit about Elke, though.

She knew Elke.  That was Marius' sire.  She liked Elke, but that was because there didn't seem to be a rotten bone in the woman.  She was a vampire, yes, but one of the best examples of such that Aimee couldn't ever complain about her.  She just felt nice to be around, and it made sense to Aimee how Marius could be such a nice guy.  Who could have been sired by Elke and not be?

But...Sigried was her sister?! 

The surprise showed on her face for an instant, and she wouldn't deny it if Sigried had said it.  Being a vampire, Sigried probably would have noticed even if she hadn't shown it in an expression.  Then, after dropping that bomb about her sister, Sigried went on to explain how she could never trust a dancer in a relationship.  Bitch.  Nero was the one she was worried about, now.  She cared about him, more than she wanted to admit, and if he agreed with the vampire...

No, he wouldn't.  That wasn't who he was.

She didn't say anything, though.  She looked to Nero, waiting for HIS reaction, because she knew that was what this was about.  She didn't know what Sigried's purpose here really was, but it wasn't good, and she obviously wasn't fond of Aimee.  Now, it was just whether or not Nero would fall for it, and what he'd think afterwards.  For their sake, Aimee hoped he didn't fall for it as hard as Sigried seemed to be trying for, but she had no way to know until it happened.

THERE.

She actually breathed a low sigh of relief when he said it, and she couldn't argue with the logic.  As long as he trusted her, that was what mattered.  He didn't have to trust everyone else, because she would never do that to him, and as long as he knew that, that was what mattered.  She was safer in All Hallows than tending bar in 99% of the places in the city, because of a few things: Eden, Nikki, Drake and Marius.  Those boys alone would never let anything happen to anyone who worked in that club.  The latter three walked Melisande home every night, and no girl went out to her car without an escort.  It was just the way things were done.  They were all close, and Eden wasn't willing to risk his people.  For a club environment, Aimee felt very safe, so having Nero trust HER was all she needed.

Everything would be fine.

Well, not everything.  Sigried was still being allowed to hang around and see the lab.  Aimee wouldn't personally be following along for that.  She had a lunch break between classes that she'd hoped to spend with Nero, and she just wanted Sigried to leave so that she could.  She wouldn't be seeing him again until later.