The Wreckoning {Tag Lucien, Loreanna}

[Sasha]

Instead of knocking, Sigried just walked straight in, finding Lucien was not yet returned from wherever his little job had taken him today. She sat down at his desk busied herself on his computer playing Spyder Solitaire until he returned. She'd gotten an interesting message from her sibling Elke, one that she felt he needed to know.

When she heard voices down the hall of his office, she closed her game and looked up expectantly. He was going to be thankful for her presence this once, and not just on accord of her power. Sigried had some... interesting information.

[Lucien Cobriana]

Holidays were the bane of Lucien's existence sometimes, and not even because of family or the guild itself.  It was holidays such as Halloween, when the vampires decided to throw a huge party with as many influential people as possible present to show themselves off that made him hate such days.  Not only did he have to attend, which wasn't something he cared to do, but the Guilds had been asked to provide security.  That meant he had to get in touch with Shane and Batten to make arrangements, and they really hadn't been given enough warning.

Perfect, as usual.

Walking into his office and finding Sigried there wasn't quite what he was expecting, though he couldn't help but let out a long sigh upon entering.  There was just something about her, even if he didn't entirely understand it, that made him feel better.  Just being around her did it, and he'd almost forgotten about it in her absence.  "Hello, Sigried.  You're well, I hope?" he inquired, finding it a good bit more polite than 'what's going on' or anything else he could have said.  She might have just been there to see him, but the look on her face made him think that she had a specific reason for being there.

[Sasha]

She flashed a smile when he greeted her, though it quickly faded as she began to speak. "Do you remember that cat I purchased for my sister, Elke? I know I told you about it," she said. She waited for his face to display his recognition of the event, and once it did, she stood up and continued, walking to take his coat from him and hang it up as she did so. Considerate Sigried.

"Well," she began, "Elke contacted me early this morning to tell me that it isn't really a cat at all, but a shapeshifter. A Shantal, a cougar? And not only that, but he was also run through both a trainer at Midnight and someone else, someone I don't recognize. She told me that he was reluctant to give her any family names to contact, but she pulled a name from his head that I did recognize - from your paperwork. Loreanna Kiev. She's his... cousin, or something. That's what Elke gathered without hounding him for information, though. The bleeding heart. She wants to put him in therapy."

She just blankly stared at Lucien after she dumped all of the information on him, as though she'd told him something as simple as she'd bought a soda.

[Lucien Cobriana]

It was mean how she smiled, asked him such a seemingly innocent question and took his coat, then turned around and dumped all that on him, and any concerns about the Halloween mess that was approaching completely fled his mind.  Verde and Lore had both approached him on the subject, but he hadn't thought for a second that Sigried might have given Lore's cousin to her sister as a pet.  None of them had KNOWN the cougar was anything more than an animal.

"Oh, Hell," he groaned, closing his eyes and rubbing at his temple for a moment as he thought it all over.  There had to be a decent way of handling this without pissing the Kievs off or hurting the poor Rennick kid.  Telling Lore first, and letting her break the news to her brother, seemed like the best idea.  "I have to call Loreanna.  She's been frantic about finding that boy."

He had to take a moment to see if she was supposed to be in the Guildhouse for training, and fortunately, she was.  Thus, he put a call through to Verde to have her sent up to his office.  Verde wasn't pleased, but he didn't much care.  "Immediately, Verde."  And that was that, since the prick hung up on him.

[Isabelle Sweet]

Loreanna answered the summons immediately.  She'd been training with Dom again, and as the older Hunter was in none too pleasant a mood due to his current injuries, she was only too glad to have an excuse to leave a bit early.  Still, her training outfit was damp with sweat, and there was a smear of blood on her face from a mild injury that had already healed.  That more than anything, she thought, had pissed Dom off today.  The fact that she could heal so quickly, while he was stuck hobbling around with a cane for the next few weeks or more.  It was a good thing he liked her, or he might have done more than graze her with that bullet today.

"Dom told me to come see you immediately, Sir," Lore greeted, poking her head in after a cursory knock.  Actually, Dom's words had been more along the lines of 'Get your ass down to Cobriana's office before I shoot it again!' but she wasn't repeating that.  She gave the other occupant of the room a mildly curious look, but didn't stare long. 

[Sasha]

"Hey, now before you go dragging my sister's name through the mud, listen to what she had to tell me," she said, grabbing his arm before he started something that even SHE didn't want to bother with. "She says that he's been abused, really abused. She said that... ugh." Sigried frowned. There were things that she had done that were horrible beyond recognition, but even she didn't like the idea of rape. She was still female, after all.

"Listen. Elke is probably the only reason he's got half a mind to himself in the first place, so you'd better be damn careful what you tell these people." Sigried was threatening Lucien, basically, and it would be a threat she'd carry out in a heartbeat if he put Elke in any sort of danger. It was the closest she'd ever been in his face in aggression since they'd met, and as mean as she'd been from time to time, this was a -real- threat.

She let go of him and took a step back, trying to calm herself. When it came to matters of Elke, Sigried was not to be trifled with. An old Kendra with a temper and a powerful sire was not an enemy anyone wanted. "I tried to get here in here, but she won't leave the apartment without this fellow, and he won't leave the apartment, period - so you see, it's a predicament. I'm not telling anyone where she lives, either, not until I have cause."

All this had been said before Lore entered the room, because I'm a dumbass and posted under Capricia's account and had to remove the post, which happened directly before Maria hit 'enter'.

[Lucien Cobriana]

Sigried's reaction regarding Elke was rather unexpected, but fortunately only drew a raised eyebrow from him in response, given Lore's hasty entrance.  She must have been in a hurry to get away from Verde.  Having Sigried threaten him that way wasn't so surprising, given it was her sister they were talking about, but she really should have known him better than that.  He wasn't going to drag Elke's name through the mud, if only because he'd MET the woman and rather liked her.  He knew better than to think she'd done anything to harm the boy, and he believed she'd been helpful.  She seemed to genuinely care about people, and especially about cats.  From the sound of it, Simon Rennick was both.

"Have a seat, Lore.  I have some good and bad news for you," he told her, actually opting to remain standing himself, and he watched her from behind his desk.  "We've found your cousin, and he's in good, safe hands.  Sigried's sister, Elke, has been taking care of him, and only just today discovered that he is, in fact, a shapeshifter."

He wanted to let her know that her cousin was in a good place for starters, but there was still the rather obvious point hanging in the air that he hadn't addressed.  How could Elke have missed the fact that Simon was a shapeshifter all this time?  He was positive what the problem was just from what Sigried had said about the boy, but he wasn't so sure if Lore would get it.  "Please, wait until I'm finished," he told her when she reacted, since there was way more to it all than what he'd said.  "There's been some significant damage done to him, and I've been told that Elke has made some progress in helping him along, but he's...not well."

He watched her carefully, trying to judge her reactions.  The last thing he needed was an insane response, which would effectively make him want to switch who she trained with.  He didn't need more crazies.  Verde was enough.

[Isabelle Sweet]

Thankfully, Loreanna Kiev wasn't nearly as violent as her brother, nor even CLOSE to as crazy as Domingos Verde, so her reaction was pretty normal for a teenaged girl.  She sat down heavily in the chair that Lucien had indicated, wide-eyed and stunned.  A soft cry of hope and worry left her at the initial news that he was alive and in safe hands, but she shut up immediately as her guild leader continued with the bad news.

She DID have some of the Kiev temper.  Thankfully, she expressed it in a different way than her brother might have.  Hands fisting in her track pants, angry tears streaked down her face unchecked.  "I'll kill whoever did it," she vowed, her tone low and shaking with fury.  "Either I'll do it, or Vin will.  Oh god, I have to tell Vin!  Oh, Simon!" 

And then she broke down sobbing, unable to contain the mix of relief, anxiety, and rage that was threatening to burst out of her.  It was a good thing Thane had been working with her on controlling her new werewolf nature, or she would have shifted right there and then, and probably torn Lucien's office apart in the process.

[Sasha]

She watched the girl's reaction with little reaction of her own, except to stand casually by Lucien and wait patiently. She was glad he'd tried to put Elke in a good light - she'd have snatched his spine from his body in a split second if he'd even hinted that she'd had any part.

"My sister says that he was so deeply recessed into his shifter form, there was no way for her to know that he was a cat. She's had him for two or three months now, and has only discovered this a day or so ago," she explained. "She has a certain... knack for dealing with felines. He couldn't be in a safer place, period. Elke would obliterate anyone who came through that door - she's almost as old as I am."

She didn't know why she was trying to comfort the girl, and she frowned after she was done speaking. Perhaps she was more trying to press into their heads confidence in the Kendra, to make them understand. She fell silent once more, and placed a hand on the back of Lucien's chair as she shifted her weight. She cleared a strand of dark hair from her face absently. This was really just another day for her.

[Lucien Cobriana]

Yes, it was exactly as he'd assumed regarding why Elke couldn't tell Simon was a shifter instead of a real cougar, which wasn't good.  He knew it had to be bad if that was the case, and Verde had filled him in on exactly what they'd found out about Simon's kidnapping.  Lucien could only imagine, and he really didn't want to.  "If I may, I think worrying about Simon's health is more important than killing whoever did it, don't you?" he asked, partially because they didn't KNOW who did it, not for sure, and certainly because he didn't need her and her brother going off on a vengeance mission.  Their cousin would need them.

"Sigried, has Elke determined whether anyone else can see him?  I don't think that too many visitors would be good for him, but if Lore could be careful, she might be a good choice."  The fact that the only name they'd gotten from the boy was Lore's had to mean something.  He must have thought Lore was the safest person to think about, or maybe they were just close.  Lucien didn't know either of them well enough to really guess.  Unfortunately, he also didn't know just how bad Simon was, so he couldn't really judge that, either.

[Isabelle Sweet]

Lore nodded, sniffling.  "Of course, that's more important," she agreed numbly. 

Then, she lifted her head, looking almost desperate.  They were talking about letting her visit?  "Can I see him?  When?  Why wouldn't visitors be good for him?  Is he...  Is he going to be okay?"  She knew some of what had happened to him at the kidnapping, but the thought that he'd been so badly damaged just brought up a fresh surge of worry. 

She was twisting the hem of her shirt into wrinkles, but she didn't care. 

[Sasha]

"It's completely up to Elke whether or not he has visitors, but since he seemed to recall your name first, I don't honestly see why she wouldn't let you come. I've asked her to bring him here upon the news, but she refuses, saying that she doesn't want to move him around too much. She knows better than I do, the old cat lady," she said affectionately of her sister, though Lore would no doubt miss the reference until she actually realized what Elke's special power really pertained to.

She had no idea why she was being so complaint suddenly, and felt quite obstinate for a moment. Irritation visibly crossed her otherwise blank features, and then she reminded herself that this was all upon Elke's request. She would move mountains for her sister, obviously. She turned for a moment, as if to study something on the desk, while mentally she reached out for her sister.

Elke, the cat's cousin is requesting permission to see him. What say you?

There was a brief moment of pause, and then the answer finally came.

That's fine. She comes accompanied by you, though.

Sigried raised an eyebrow at her sister's cautious approach. And if I bring Lucien as well?

I will not object.

She looked back to the girl, and then to Lucien. "She says it's fine if we go, but she said for the moment it needs to only be you. I'm going, naturally, and Lucien can come along, but I don't want to clutter her home of people she has never met."

[Lucien Cobriana]

Lucien nodded at what Sigried had to say, naturally finding it to be perfectly reasonable.  The fact that he automatically leaned towards favoring her in any situation didn't hurt, of course, but there was really very little reason to object even for someone who wasn't a Serpiente.  "I'll come," he said simply, then he turned his garnet eyes on Lore.  She was the one who mattered, and though he didn't see a reason for her to refuse, she might not want to go to a vampire's house.  Elke was a gem, but Lore didn't know that.

"Elke is safe, Lore.  I've met her myself," he assured her, and really, he was only going because Sigried had offered and so that Lore didn't feel so alone with just two vampires and her damaged cousin present.

[Isabelle Sweet]

Lore hesitated briefly, almost refusing to go on the very grounds that she didn't trust being alone with a couple of vampires, but Lucien's reassurance and offer to come with decided it for her.  Anyway, she couldn't refuse to see Simon, no matter what state he was in or who was keeping him.  What mattered most was that she could see him, and get him better fast so he could come home with her and Vin.  They'd help him.  They'd make him better, she was sure of it.

With a decisive nod, she looked at Sigried directly and said, "Take me to him.  Please."

[Sasha]

"Okay," Sigried said. "But just in case you've forgotten, Lucien, Elke's apartment is in Los Angeles, so unless you have a private jet, I'm going to have to take both of you." She paused. "I can do it one at a time, or I can take you both at once - either way, decide quickly, because I don't want to keep her waiting."

She looked pointedly at the girl, feeling like this wouldn't go over too well with her. Nobody here seemed to be fond of vampires. Sigried was actually the least likely Goodwill candidate at the moment, and as distrustful as the serpents she called, but right now, she was being honest.