☯ Looking to the future ☯ (Closed)

[Keara Aithne]

The phone beeped and shuddered on the wooden surface, immediately drawing Keara's attention to it. Enver was not in the room but he was nearby. In case it was important, not that it ever really was, she leaned across the bed and picked it up. The text was from Crash, Enver's less than competent thrall. She'd of happily set the phone back in its place at this point, as Crash wasn't ever anything that couldn't wait, but the words caught her attention. The text read; 'Met Caitlyn like you asked. Nice girl. Worth you meeting.' She stared at the screen for a moment, blinking at the words. She had no idea who Caitlyn was or why Enver had to meet her. There were a number of scenarios that made sense to her. The mystery woman could be Crash's girlfriend. Though the moment that thought entered her mind she dismissed it. Crash was loyal to one person; Crash. Yes he was Enver's thrall but Keara didn't believe for a moment that Crash was loyal to Enver without that bond. The thought of the wayward male setting his sight on just one woman didn't make any sense to her, as Crash was usually surrounded by women if he was out and about. Sighing, she considered the next option; Caitlyn was a new hire at Hokey Hollywood. This was possible as the over protective elder had, had to 'fire' one of Enver's employee's in the usual fashion. Enver had no idea that the reason that, that particular business had such a high turnover of staff was because she was eliminating any threats before they became serious. Hokey was full of women with stars in their eyes hoping to be the next big thing and so she was sure that Enver assumed that they had just gotten a better offer elsewhere and moved on. This was not the case. Then there was the possibility that Caitlyn was someone Enver was considering turning, or worse, dating. She couldn't believe for more than a split second that he had any desire to be with another woman but that fear was of course ever present; hence the reason Hokey was almost always hiring from one month to the next. Keara replaced the phone from where she'd taken it and laid back on the bed and as she did so, one last thought went through her mind; could Caitlyn get pregnant with Enver's child?

Enver had been preoccupied with the thought of obtaining a human heir to further his family dynasty since his mother died and in this day and age it was possible to freeze both sperm and eggs, and she wondered if perhaps this was something Enver had done while he was human. Was it possible? The thought of another woman having his child caused her to take a sharp intake of breath, as a pain pierced her heart. A child, a real child, was the one thing Keara would never be able to give her husband and so of course, it was the one thing he seemed to want above all else now that he was feeling his mortality, or rather his immortality.

The sane thing at this point would have been to call to Enver and ask who Caitlyn was. Only when it came to Enver, Keara was, at times, anything but sane. They had a very good relationship or had, right up until he'd taken Shya as a child and broken his promise to her. They were slowly getting back to normal though and she had believed that they would pull through it stronger than ever. The fact was, they had settled into a new routine since he'd broken her heart and while trust, obviously, was still an issue, they were perhaps closer now than they'd ever been. Checking up on Enver had become a habit, one he'd agreed to, and so she regularly peeked into his mind. In doing so she'd never seen anything about this Caitlyn. Rising from the bed, she hastily dressed in a red and black dress made of silk and lace, pulled on and laced up her knee high boots, securing her tome in place as she did so and then disappeared without a word.

As we already know. A sane woman would have asked her husband what was going on. Keara, being who she was, was going to obtain her own answers. The couple owned a number of properties and yet Keara knew just where to start looking. If Enver was keeping anything from her, the answers would likely be in his office at the theatre. It didn't take Keara long to get there, as she skipped through a portal and emerged at the Mausoleum. This was the closest location she had at hand and while hoping on a train would have allowed her to avoid the sewers, this route was considerably quicker and would allow her to rid herself of some of her frustrations if she so chose in the process; which oddly, she did not. Running through the catacombs and up through the sewer she didn't stop to attack a single entity. She could have called her dagger into her hand and had some fun. She could have pulled the creatures a part with her bare hands, and yet she didn't raise a finger to any of the beings she would usually slaughter as she passed them on by. The question needed answering and it needed answering now.

The theatre was busy for a Wednesday night but she didn't stop to consider the reasons as to why as she made her way up to the office. She had one thing on her mind and nothing and nobody was going to get in her way until she'd figured out just who this Caitlyn was and how she fit into her husband's life.

Enver's more mortal secrets were kept in a wall safe in his office. One she knew the location of even if she'd never had any reason to use it up until now. The code too was known to her but even if it wasn't, it wouldn't have taken her long to figure it out as Enver was as obsessed with her, as she was with him, so she would have simply tried all the dates that held any significance to him. Dates that would of course have meaning to them both, such as their wedding anniversary or the date of their more recent binding.

The thick, metal door swung open and Keara peered into the darkness. The safe contained an awful lot of paperwork. A little too much paperwork in fact and so the first thing Keara did was snatch up the thick bundle of files. She moved over to the desk, and while it was a little unnecessary, seeing as how she could see perfectly well in the dark, she flipped on the desk lamp. As it flickered to life, she began to spread the files out across his desk. The folders all looked alike and bore the same logo. It wasn't one she recognised but after opening the first file and flicking through the pages she quickly surmised that it belonged to a detective agency. The one in her hand concerned a young man named Leopold Jenkins, aged sixteen. The information on the boy was unusual and contained things like his school grades, hopes and aspirations. There were a few candid shots of the kid too. Keara stared at the photos for a few moments and then set the folder aside in favour of another. This belonged to Thyrza Stien, a fifteen year old female. She sat herself at the desk and pored through every file, each one containing the background information of a different child between the age of fifteen and seventeen; Caitlyn Harris being one of the afore mentioned children.

Keara leaned back in Enver's chair and sighed. Her husband was up to something and it took her a moment longer than it should have done to connect the dots; Enver really wanted an heir.

She sat there, her feet crossed at the ankle, as she stared at the files. She'd thought he wanted an actual child. A baby. But no. He wanted an older heir, one that would soon reach adulthood and come into their own. It made sense; in some ways. He would be able to groom the child still but he wouldn't have to go through raising the child and seeing them through their formative years. It was a little like cheating in some ways and the moment she thought it, she smiled. Typical. Enver was skipping the beginning and starting in the middle. Picking a child in it’s teens would allow him to have a better sense of their personality and the person they would become. Information it was impossible to obtain from a baby. Yes, a child could be raised to think and act in a specific way but it would take them many years before they would be in a position to judge the child's true potential.

Files in hand, she returned to the safe only to discover a few more at the back that she hadn't previously noticed. She snatched them up and replaced the ones she'd already looked at. If the files were at the back then this batch was either older, or had already been dismissed. Or so she thought. The first thing she noticed was that one file was a lot thicker than the others and as she opened it up and opened it, her mouth fell open in shock. The first page contained the names of her family. Her human family. She was staring at the start of her own family tree. Without going back to the desk, Keara sank to the floor and began reading through the information it contained. Enver, or rather Enver's detective, had contacted a genealogist and traced her family line. She had two sisters and one brother and the three siblings had spawned generation after generation over the past four hundred years. Some lines had of course died out, but others had thrived. She read it all in amazement. She'd considered that she might have living relatives somewhere in the world but she'd never thought to track any of them down. As she perused the last few pages a few names were circled. There were a few children of the same age as the other's she'd been reading about. The rest of the files in her hand contained their information. Enver had, at least for a moment, considered taking one of her own blood relatives as his heir.

"Amazes me he does," she said to herself, her voice thick with affection.

[Enver Marshall II]

"We've got a new set of flicks coming in on the weekend. Make sure all the adverts for it get put up tonight, Elenor." Enver pointed to the large lit movie posters that were protected in their glass cages before he glanced over to the concession stand. "How are overall sales for the last quarter? And projected income in the next quarter for concessions?" Enver started to walk as Elenor began to talk about what he asked. "If sprees aren't selling, discontinue ordering anymore. Once we're out, we're out. Find a replacement." He tipped his hat to the woman, which implied he was going to leave her to the tasks he assigned to her, since that was what she was hired for.

Enver made a special trip in to the bathroom, an unexpected one just to see how the room looked before nodding his head in approval and moving out of the bathroom after he washed his hands and dried them. "Looks good, Jerry." Enver said as a hand landed on the kid's shoulder and gave it a pat of approval. "Check back after the eight o'clocker is done in the next twenty five minutes. Then come see me later about your yearly review." He moved away before the kid could say anything, and headed to his office. He had to put his John Hancock on a few things and then he was calling it a night and heading back home to his wife.

He headed down the hallway, whistling a Sinatra song before he grabbed his phone and sent his wife a text, letting her know he'd be home in a half hour tops. As he stuffed it back in his suit coat pocket, the other hand turned the handle to his office and his eyes fell on files. Everywhere. Then on his wife. He closed the door softly and quickly, not bothering to look at the files in more detail. He knew what they were. "Uhhh, read anything good in there?" Enver cracked a small smile to the direction of his wife before he moved in the middle of the piles, trying to distract her with his presence, since the topic they had discussed in prior nights about this hadn't been in his favor.

[Keara Aithne]

She could hear footfall as he came down the corridor and it was all too obvious to her who they belonged to. She was engrossed in what she was reading, but not so much so that she didn't hear his approach. There wasn't much about Enver that Keara didn't know, especially when it came to his sounds and mannerisms. She was smiling to herself as he entered but kept her attention on the task at hand, up until he was standing before her that was.

"Oh yes. Very interesting these files are," she said setting the one in her hand aside. "Very."

Before he could move away from her, she was on her feet and his hat was in her hand. She knew he still wore the thing, much like she knew he dressed for work but still, she preferred him in more casual attire. Naked was actually her favourite style of his, but clothes were a necessary evil when it came to wandering the public levels of their home. The hat didn't stay long in her hand as she tossed it with expert precision onto the coat rack by the door.

"Busy you have been My Love. Very busy."

Her eyes took in the files scattered around them on the floor. It wasn't a mess, as everything was still in order but some were open and others were closed. She'd fanned them out to get a better sense of them. It was fascinating to her to read so much about people she had not met and yet was related to. It was comforting in some ways to know that her descendants were out there. Granted they weren't directly descended from her, but they were connected to her siblings. She'd even been able to recall some of the earlier generations by name herself, as she had been able to watch over them for a little while. From a distance of course. It always seemed that the family was blessed with good luck for if they did fall on bad times, some kind of windfall usually came their way. It was usually disguised as a long lost inheritance or generous benefactor that wished to remain anonymous. It was best for Keara to watch from a distance. No-one beyond her immediate family had been privileged to her secret.

Keara stepped closer to her husband, her arms encasing his waist as she lay her head against his shoulder and hugged him tightly. Her head was still swimming with information. Her mind overwhelmed more by the sheer mass of intelligence her husband had gathered without her knowledge. She knew he could be sneaky. She knew he was far more intelligent and skilled than most people realised and yet still, this act had her in awe of him.

"Important to you this is. More important than realised I did."

This wasn't strictly true. Not that Keara could lie. She just hadn't realised that after so many months, the urge to adopt would still be with him Enver had a habit of being impulsive and while she was generally willing to go along with whatever he desired (with but a few exceptions), she had not wanted to indulge this particular whim, as that was what she had believed it to be. The elder was almost certain that his desire to adopt was a kneejerk reaction his mother dying but this, all of this, all the files, they proved otherwise.

[Enver Marshall II]

Looking at all the files everywhere, Enver became suddenly guarded of what he had been up to behind his wife's back. He knew how she felt about it, but that didn't change his mind any. He had things he worked hard to build. Things he worked hard to maintain and keep. The very idea of losing those things in a couple of decades; well, it just didn't sit right. He was good at what he did. So good, he had enough money to support them for decades. Comfortably. To piss it all away and restart again? No. Not something Enver liked the idea of. Not when this was the second time he had to rebuild his image in just a handful of years because of, well, she who would remain unnamed. Not that the woman was much of a problem these nights. Not with her share in his company meaning little to nothing. Eventually, Enver would buy the ***** outright.

"You're damn right it is!" Enver bellowed out, the defensiveness heard in his voice. This wasn't something he was going to shrug off and not think about. "Legacy is important." He nodded his head as his jaw clenched together tightly. "I know you're not a fan of the idea, but I think it's rather ingenious. Get someone to take over when I'm 'too old,' someone we trust." Arms crossed at his chest."Just keep working it down the line. We've got enough money to adopt one of these kids, and it's not unheard of for people from Hollywood to adopt. You should see Angelina Jolie and Bradd Pitt." He said these names as if Keara knew all about them, when in reality, he knew she didn't. But, Enver would use anything he could to try and sway his wife to see things his way.

Enver sighed as a hand went to the bridge of his nose and pinched it. "Look. You're used to surviving without money. Hell, you could probably be dropped off in the middle of Antarctica and survive somehow, because that's who you are. What you are. This," His arms extended out to his office, implying his business and the others, "This is how I survive. The only thing I know."

[Keara Aithne]

The corner of her mouth twitches slightly as he starts on an emotional outburst. They'd always been a passionate couple but lately it seemed that they'd almost switched roles. Whereas before Keara seemed to be the more emotionally unstable of the pair, it now appeared to be Enver's turn. Despite the possibly shifting balance, it was perhaps understandable, if not inevitable, as Enver was the allurist of the pair. He was supposed to be emotionally unstable. Keara as a shadow, was supposed to be more aloof and detached. While those words could never be applied to the way in which she felt about her husband, she was perhaps finally settling into her emotions. Enver had woken Keara up and brought her to life. it would be all too easy for the elder to blame her issues purely on the two hundred odd years she had spent in the shadow realm but she couldn't; she'd always been a little emotionally cold, only she didn't know it. It had taken her around a year and a half to settle into everything she felt and understand the depths of these new and previously unknown emotions. It had taken Enver to bring her to life and show her what love, and by extension life, was all about. While she still didn't have a grip on her jealousy, she was now better able to control her emotions and everything that came with loving the man that stood before her.

She knew there was more he wanted to say, so like any good wife, she sat and waited patiently until he'd said all that he had to say. At first she could feel his frustration, but she didn't understand it. She hadn't wanted to argue with him, not over this, and certainly not after seeing everything she had. This wasn't a whim. It was a plan. A very well thought out and thoroughly researched one. Honestly, she couldn't deny it had promise. Ven had orchestrated a similar scheme, inserting himself into the family once every few generations. Only rather than having one family, he had several; one in France, one in Wales and one in Southern England. It made switching between identities easier and yet still there were times when it was best to "belong" to none of them. Keeping control of a family was easier for a vampire due to their heightened abilities and skills. No-one would double crossed Ven. And yet Keara had not yet begun to think of employing such a scheme in this day and age. For one it seemed a more daunting task given the advances in technology which would undoubtedly make remaining undetected more difficult. Photos and videos would not be a vampire's friend. Such evidence would eventually hinder them. Enver would have more issues in this than most, as he was a public figure. It was something Keara had once been wary of. Now it was something she accepted.

Trying not to laugh at the passion felt speech he'd given, Keara looked up her husband, the arms around his waist tightening as she struggled to remain in control of her mirth. Try as she might though, she could not keep it contained. She had no idea who the people were that he had named, so that meant nothing to her, but he was right when he said money was of little consequence to her. She did not require much to live. Now in fact all she seemed to require was the man in her arms, but he needed things. He needed gadgets. And the truth was, that whatever he needed, she would happily give to him; if it was within her power to do so that was.

The laughing, or rather giggling, did not require her to release her hold on him. In fact, it probably forced her to keep a stronger hold on him, as she knew he would likely try to push her away in anger. The anger would not be necessary, but Enver wouldn't know that until she was able to find her words. Which thankfully for both their sakes, she did quite quickly.

"Quite right you are. See now I do the merits of your scheme. And know I do, that you this for the right reasons wish to do. This not a whim is. This a plan is. Thorough in your research you have been."

Keara looked around at the files on the floor; the files that contained the information of some of her living relatives. She then looked over her shoulder at the stack of files she had returned to the wall safe. Finally she looked back to her husband and smiled.

Her eyes told him that she was now willing to go along with his plan. They would of course need to discuss what they wanted from the child. What aspects of their personality were most important? Keara had traits that she favoured and if they were to adopt she would want some say in who it was that they took as their own. Among the traits that she would prize in another human being, loyalty being one of them, she would also be looking for someone with a love of animals. It would not have been a priority for her before, but now with seven of the crazy critters running around there home, it was a must.

"Need we do for to decide upon the criteria that require we do. A decision so lightly cannot be made. Especially when we so many options before us have. Have you criteria in mind? Beyond age that is. As noticed I did that most of these children between fifteen and seventeen are."

[Enver Marshall II]

She was laughing at him and it only aggravated Enver more. He believed his plan was ingenious. Sure, maybe some tweaking needed to be done, but the general gist of things? Why couldn't it work? Her arms were around him and he was ready to hear rejection to his idea once again. In which case, Enver felt as if he was going to have to put his foot down and tell his wife just how it was going to be. He liked his things. He wanted to keep his things. No, he needed to keep his things.

He cleared his throat as she began to talk, but remained silent as his eyes bore at the wall behind him. He hadn't expected her to say he was right. Normally, any ideas tied in with human aspects were discarded and disregarded for secrecy among their kind. He nodded his head. He did research. Or, rather, the guy he had hired and threw a lot of money at, had. No matter the case, Enver was pleased with the results.

"We?" Enver echoed after his wife, making sure that she was one hundred percent on board with this idea before he gave it any thought with her assistance. He would like his wife's support and input on the matter, but if she were going to fight him tooth and nail, well, he and Crash could figure it out. Maybe just he could figure it out. Crash would probably forget to get food or something for the poor kid.

"Well, he or she should be smart, for starters." Enver rubbed at his jaw with one hand, as his free hand rested on the small of her back. "And have a good sense of humor. That's important." A nod was given after Enver expressed his two seemingly important criteria.

[Keara Aithne]

With one word he asked her to confirm that she was on board with him, that they were together. She had used the pronoun 'we' and he intern had used it as a question. One to which she simply nodded. Yes. They were in this together, as always. If this was something he truly desired, she honestly saw no other way of responding. Whatever he needed to be happy, she wanted for him. And if taking a human child as their own to love and raise was his desire, even if the reason behind the kind act was ultimately selfish, she would readily go along with it. The main reason for her initial objection being that she thought it but a whim. Now, with the files at her feet as evidence, she could no longer see the act as such. Enver wanted an heir. Not just for him. But for them.

She listened, her eyes upon his face and her arms still tightly wound around him as he set out what he believed to be the two most important aspects of the child's personality. Intelligence she could readily agree with. They needed someone that would be up to the challenge, for while she couldn't ever see Enver relinquishing his control on his businesses, she did realise that the person to whom the businesses officially belonged would need to look and act the part. They would need their wits about them. Sense of humour was perhaps a minor personality trait to Keara in as much as it was subjective. However she took this point to mean that Enver wanted someone with whom he could comfortable get along. They needed a child that would be able to put others at ease and be likeable, and in this a sense of humour could perhaps be important.

"Think I do that loyalty also important is. But that in time see we shall. Loyal to us they must be. Even if grow we do, to love them. Which expect I do we shall. Willing we must be for them to replace if control of them we do not have. Even if enthrall them we must. Though of course prefer I would for that not to do. If helped it can be."

With one hand she reached up behind his head, her fingers slipping into the well-managed, short brown strands that covered the back of his head and drew him down to her level so that she could kiss him. The kiss was soft and gentle but filled with passion, as she knew no other way of loving him.

"And like animals they must. Think I do that Gizmo a good judge of character is. Meet they should the puppies before agree upon them we do. Though of course know the child must not that he a test is."

She'd practically whispered the words, her lips mere millimetres from his. Her warm brown eyes looking into his as she spoke. Even now this was a dangerous thing for the woman to do as with one look the man before her could bewitch her. Looking into his eyes she could get lost and drown in what she believed was the purest of emotions. Such a hold he had on her and yet she wasn't sure if he truly understood the depth of her love and devotion for him, as she wasn't sure she truly understood it herself; there appeared to be no limitation to it.

"Agree you do?" she asked closing the last of the small distance between them and kissing him again.

[Enver Marshall II]

The male was simply elated that his wife was not only agreeing to his plan, but wanting to take part in it. Loyalty. He nodded his head. It would be ideal, but that was easier said than done. People weren't just loyal to someone from the second they met them. It was something that was earned in time. Even with children. Or in this case, some teenager.

The idea of having to enthrall a teenager wasn't something Enver had thought about, but it was better than any other, bleak and drier scenario that might pop in to his wife's head if the teenager couldn't be controlled. So, for now, Enver just nodded. The idea of having an affinity for animals wasn't a bad one either. They did have seven dogs and his wife a bird. He doubted these would be the only pets they would ever have. As much as Enver complained about the dogs, he had grown fond of them in his own way. "That makes sense." Gizmo was his favorite, but Enver would never say that to any one, most of all the dogs.

"Maybe we should think the selection down a little bit. Go through them all and pick out five possibilities and two as back ups. No need to waste the time of sixteen kids' lives." He rubbed at his jaw and looked down at the files, before kissing his wife's lips. "I guess we should start with, boy or girl?" Enver moved away from his wife and started organizing the piles by gender. Once they agreed on what gender, the selection would be smaller. There were more males than females to pick from, so the five plan might not work, but out of the stack, one of them had to be the one. They just had to be.

[Keara Aithne]

Yes animals were important and the child they chose would have to be animal friendly if they were to live in their home. Gizmo was indeed the best judge of character from among their puppies, after all he'd chosen Enver to be his master the night he followed him through the streets of the city. Really, Keara couldn't deny her husband this. he had a kind heart and if she were capable she'd of happily given him a legitimate heir of his own. Adopting made a certain kind of sense. the more she thought about it. The more she realised that expending their family would be beneficial to them all.

"Oh. Forget these not," she said turning to retrieve the files she'd placed back in the safe.

There were many children to choose from and she wasn't sure if it were best to choose one that lived locally or if perhaps they might be better off going with someone she was linked to biologically. As an ancestor of hers, they might even respect the bonds that already tied them and embrace the adoption more readily. If she wanted someone to be loyal to them and theirs, she hoped family would be the ones to be capable of it. Her father, mother and siblings had accepted her for what she was but then, they had known her, her entire life at that point of her change.

The question of gender though was a difficult one and Keara had to ponder it before she could speak and so she set about categorising the files she held. If they chose a female, she was scared that she would become resentful of the child. Allowing another woman into her husband's heart was, as far as she was concerned, dangerous and she already had to deal with his newest daughter occupying some of that territory. But males were no better. Enver had issues with jealousy too and she didn't ever want to make him feel threatened. She'd seen a glimpse of just how easy it was for him to snap when she'd told him about showering with peter and it was Andrew then that had paid the price with his life. If they adopted a son and he and Keara grew too close, she knew there was the chance that Enver might resent them. Really they needed a third sex. A completely gender neutral option; one neither could be jealous of and sadly that option wasn't available to them.

"Would you a daughter or a son prefer?" she asked, buying herself a little more time to think. "Ask I do as difficult find I do for this question to answer. Both their merits and their... problems, do have."

[Enver Marshall II]

For someone that didn't like the idea at one point, Keara seemed to not only be on board with the idea now, but pretty damn agreeable. Enver didn't know if he should be relieved, or a little suspicious. Primarily, because Enver was a paranoid fellow to begin with. Wasn't there some saying or something that when things start going good, it naturally turns to ****? Or was that just his view on things that became ingrained in his life?

He sighed and brought a hand to the bridge of his nose. He had hoped his wife would have just decided and it would have been left at that, but it seemed like the gender resided in his court. "Well," Enver started as he cleared his throat and gave it some real honest thought. Every instinct told him female, because, well, then he wouldn't have to worry about the girl trying to get on his girl. But, he knew she had the same reservations, and so, while his motivations were selfish in nature, Enver put aside what he wanted out of his own irrational fear and nodded his head. "I think male would be best." Keara was supporting him in this endeavor, and so, he would cast aside his reservations and ease his wife's fear of allowing yet another woman in to his life. "It makes sense, don't you think? Usually heirs are males anyways." Enver honestly didn't believe that men could run businesses better than women, but it seemed like the best thing to say, as to not say, 'So you don't go crazy and kill some poor human that didn't do anything,' to his wife. Because he knew that she would. Just like she had killed Hannah. Hopefully, his decision didn't bite him in the *** when the kid turned in to a man.