Broken Home - Elliot, Madison & Interested Parties
Posted: 10 Jan 2014, 09:39
--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--
‹Elliot dArtois› Every now and again, the dark-haired allurist gave a grunt. His skin is pale, his face gaunt; the too-blue eyes gleaming like gems in the dim lighting of the bar. Normally Elliot exuded an aura of health; normally he tended to look more human than the humans. Tonight, he looked like an ill human, one who was on the verge of needing to be sent to bed with a damp cloth and a hot bowl of soup. He continued to work, completely oblivious of how he looked, brushing away any concerns of the staff.
Beneath the blue jeans and the red button-up tee rolled up to the elbows were several wounds. One bullet had ripped through his thigh, another couple through his gut, and another through his shoulder. The sewers were a great place to let off steam, except when one wasn't at their best. Oh, to be sure, Elliot slaughtered all of those who caught him off guard. None ever escaped him. Still, though. The wounds, though an inconvenience, were merely a reminder. A punishment Elliot knew he deserved.
The juke box played a mix of Australian rock Elliot liked to indulge in a bit of nostalgia, especially when he needed to distract himself. He didn't like it when overly large problems arose things he knew he would have to deal with but which he liked to try to ignore, in the hope that they would go away. But as he grunted and moved back and forth clearing tables and serving customers, he couldn't help but dwell. He had but one anchor in this life. One. Pi, and by extension, d'Artois. But he could see the rope beginning to fray. Could see the links in the chain growing weak. He was afraid what he would do, what would happen to him if that anchor were to break away. He'd spin out of control, drift away another grunt, and another customer. He forced a smile. "What do you want? The words a little gruffer than usual.
‹Pi dArtois› She'd stopped answering the thread on the family crow, but that didn't mean she had stopped reading. She'd needed the water to calm herself down. She wasn't sure how many laps she'd done of the training room pool before she finally surfaced, 100, 200. She had stroked, glided, turned and repeated so many times she had lost count. All that mattered was the glide of water against her skin, the rush of white noise, the splash stroke and repeat. You could lose yourself in the continuity of it.
She was a long distance runner, staring at a road that stretched into a wavering horizon. The methodical thump of feet and pavement, eating through the distance, pulling her into the rolling hill and endless tarmac. Except hers marathon was cocooned in a wall of liquid, holding her buoyant, keeping her afloat. They say love of water like hers came from the womb, either a fond memory of it, or a deprivation so keen that the mind continually searched for it. Either way, whatever the reason, in times of stress Pi came back to it. It's why so many of her homes had pools, or spas or . Something.
But she couldn't let it go. That was the first epiphany. She couldn't regress into silence, despite the fact it was something she often did when it got too close to wounding her for real. Step back, say nothing, feel nothing and insulate herself from what was happening around her. It's how you dealt with the dirty work. You peeled yourself away from the sense of it, depravation of senses until you life took on the surreal quality of a silent film. Mouths opened and closed, hands lifted in anger but no sound, no piercing voices to disturb the lucid calm of the lake that resided inside her mind.
No, Elliot had taught her, if nothing else. That life, this life was worth investing it. Worth giving herself to, feel the pain and the anger, the sense of hurt and irritation. Without those, she couldn't feel the rest. Compassion, love, tenderness, forgiveness. It was this that took her to Lancaster's. He'd be there. He couldn't resist. Just as she turned to water, he turned to music. Their balms as predictable as the sun, the moon and the howling snow that fell in heavy drifts outside the bar door.
There wouldn't be many people in tonight. The hearty few who lived close and didn't want to make their own dinner or drink alone watching snow fall in soft slow motion outside their windows. Except it was clear now, cloudy, the temperatures plummeting to below zero and holding. No, there still wouldn't be many people and for that, she was glad. Pushing the Office Door open Pi stepped out into the bar. Music played, the twang of the guitar a band Pi had been introduced to by the man stopped to pick up glasses and clearing tables. She waited for him, taking a tall chair on the customer side of the long expanse of wood bar. And she watched him, her gaze frank. She loved him. God she did. But sometimes she wondered how on earth they had managed to find one another. What was it about their diametrically opposing personalities that brought them together. She couldn't fathom it, but she knew she felt it. The connection. Nothing before had compared and she could see no future where it would be any different.
‹Elliot dArtois› Elliot is aware of the movement behind him. A frown creases his brow as he focuses on the order given to him the customer, a young girl in high heels and with a broad grin was completely oblivious to Elliot's bad mood, had ordered an Espresso Martini. The coffee machine growled as it spat out the coffee into the glass. He added the Vodka, and the special sugar syrup that they made at the bar on a nightly basis. All together with ice in a normal glass, over which he secured the silver cup. He shook, now able to make basic cocktails like the best of them. All of the liquid ended up in the silver cup. With a strainer, he poured the liquid into a martini glass, filling it to the brim. He passed it over to the girl, who handed him some cash.
All the while, he was aware of her movements behind him. Of Pi, as she exited the office and took a place at one of the stools, amongst the customers. He didn't know what her plan was. Didn't know what she wanted. Did she think that his message on the Crow had been aimed at her? That he wanted her to come see him? That he was willing to talk to her?
He put the cash into the register. He pulled out the change. Shoved the change into the tip jar, as his wayward customer had wandered off. Another had shuffled forward to take her place. He continued to serve customers, to make their drinks and when there were none left he took a basket, breezed past Pi, with the intention of wandering around to collect the empty glasses and bottles.
‹Pi dArtois› The silent treatment. "We need to talk about this Elliot. She said softly, words uttered as he walked past her, behind the bar to fill an order. It was an ironic turn around really, that she had come here to talk and he was obviously in no mood to utter a single word. She kept watching him, her gaze tracking his movements. She wasn't an impatient person, she was used to the long wait, the deliberated pause. She thought that they needed to talk this through but she was in no hurry to rush into it. She simmered on low heat, her gaze direct and watchful, trying to see past the placid face he wore to what boiled beneath. And something did. She knew it, knew him. And knew too that it was big enough that he wasn't ready to let it out, and when it did her hackles would rise along with their voices and the words they said to one another would draw blood.
It was that big, that essential. Their wills were clashing. What they were and what they were becoming were moving on opposite tracks, destined to come together in a crash of bending steely resolve and unresolved issues. She could walk right out right now but that would be cowardly. She could give him his space but she wasn't sure she could live with the separation like the last. She didn't like the cold shoulder and she didn't want to sleep alone and be alone. So she stayed where she was, silent, watchful, waiting. For when he was ready, and for him to finally, one way or the other, turn around and give her his attention. She settled in for the long haul.
There was other staff on for the night and she gave them a small nod, but engaged none of them any further than that. She didn't chat or ask how they were. Much like Elliot she chose silence but unlike his hers was about waiting and holding still until he'd burned off enough of his irritation to speak to her. Blinking slowly she kept her eyes trained on him, her gaze stalking him across the room, or behind the bar. The weight of the stare heavy with arrested meaning.
‹Elliot dArtois› Elliot could feel the weight of the stare; jaws clenched as she said they had to talk about it. He didn't know what else they could say to each other. He didn't know how words could make this better. A rift had opened up between them; he was set in his ways, and she was set in hers. He needed time. He didn't know how much, but he was feeling alienated from everything that they had established together. It didn't matter how much he ignored her, however, how much he willed her to go away. She remained, steadfast and staring.
It was only when the bar had mostly emptied only a couple of people remained playing pool, and another couple in a booth down the front that he finally stopped in front of her. He shook his head. "Why here? You know it's not going to go well. I'm not talking to you here. Besides, I've got nothing to say to you. You're the one coming in here saying we have to talk'. What, you've got something to say to redeem yourself? he asked.
He couldn't help himself. He didn't want them to talk here, in a public place. In the bar, within which he didn't like there to be any violence. He didn't want to argue with her in front of the staff. But maybe this was a good thing. Maybe he could be able to school himself, if talking to her in front of an audience.
‹Pi dArtois› "Redeem myself? Pi shook her head. It was moments like this that hammered home how utterly different they were, how opposing their opinions on what had happened were. Her voice was soft as she replied. They were vampire, they had no need to raise their voices or to shout and she wasn't inclined to make a scene or make a spectacle of herself. "Redeem myself? She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not the one who decided that taking pot shots at Tytonidae was a good idea. Nor was I the one who decided to enter the EYRIE and give the biggest warring faction in this city the big middle finger. Madison only reaped what she sowed when she decided to go vigilante and take on the biggest bad asses in the city.
Pi leaned forward her blue eyes snapping. Nothing else showed her irritation or projected their talk' or the nature of what they were discussing. "How is anything I have done here need redeeming. I didn't open the door for Ty to enter. I didn't do anything to encourage or discourage or censor her behaviour when it was clear to everyone and their dog that she was going to get slapped down for what she'd done. Her fingers laid flat against the solid wood and she pressed down, pushing down. There weren't many people in the bar but she was still mindful of the few that were, and of the staff who, despite their soft tone, slid them curious stares. "I did not bring Tytonidae to our house. ALL of that is on Madison. I'm just not willing to help someone commit suicide by cop, or put the lineage in the same firing line. Which is exactly what Madison did. And if you took five seconds to see that, it would have been nice to get a little support from you instead of whatever that was you just did.
‹Elliot dArtois› Elliot shook his head and gave a bitter laugh. She had no idea why it was that he was furious. Why it was that he was so bitter, and what it was, exactly, that he disagreed with. His fingers curled around the cloth in his hands, forming a fist that he would not use. He leaned forward on the bar, as if the two of them were just having an ordinary conversation. Of course, if anyone came close they'd see just how tense he was. How tense Pi was. It was almost certain that a wave of discomfort rolled from them, wave after wave.
"She said a few nasty things on the internet. The ******* internet! And then took a step inside the Eyrie. She gets to die for that? Tytonidae came into our Den. Broke through our security. You don't think that's giving us a big middle finger? What you don't understand, Pi, is this: that place doesn't feel like home to me anymore. You joined Tytonidae. You side with them. You've split our family in two, by doing just that. Whatever we strove to build is gone now. Broken. Probably beyond repair. But I can see you don't seem to realise that. Or care. You have a new family now, eh? Go hang with them, yeah?
He stood, then, pushed himself away from the counter. The tension was building inside of him; he was upset, and furious. What upset him most was that the thought didn't seem to cross Pi's mind. She was too preoccupied defending Tytonidae. He wandered over to the sink and started to stack the dirty glasses into the industrial dishwasher beneath the bench.
‹Pi dArtois› Pi glared at his back. As if turning his back was the end of this conversation. Except it wasn't, not by a long shot, not even the beginning of what they needed to talk about. "She's a big girl, and she knew exactly what she was doing and whose tail she was yanking. I'm not defending Tytonidae anymore than I'm defending Madison. She kept speaking her voice low, her gaze trained to his back and watching as muscled moved under his shirt. He kept his hands busy and his back turned but she knew he heard her because his hearing was as good as hers. "She made her choices fully knowing how they would play out and then blamed the other side as if she didn't know exactly what would happen. Then tried to blame me because I wouldn't get our lineage to gut themselves for her.
She really wanted to stalk behind the bar and yank him around to face her. But she didn't. She had a captive audience and until he left the building she would continue to talk and have it out. What they had built was meant to give their family a sense of safety but that security only came if the people who took advantage of it didn't do something so enormously stupid as to call attention to themselves like she'd done.
"Do you know who made our Den unsafe. Madison. You know who brought them to our door? Madison. You know why they came to get her? Because she went batshit crazy and used weapons against multiple members of a warring faction. That's who made it unsafe. Not me. The problem being that once their gaze turned our way there was no stopping what happened next. We've both been in a Tytonidae war party and we both know how deadly efficient they can be. Do you know the last person who did this to us? Put us into this position? Robert. And I'll be damned if I'll feel guilty for giving her the best protection we could, sacrificing OUR safe place and then made to feel like I did something wrong. And you have no right to stand there and tell me I did this to us.”
‹Elliot dArtois› Every now and again, the dark-haired allurist gave a grunt. His skin is pale, his face gaunt; the too-blue eyes gleaming like gems in the dim lighting of the bar. Normally Elliot exuded an aura of health; normally he tended to look more human than the humans. Tonight, he looked like an ill human, one who was on the verge of needing to be sent to bed with a damp cloth and a hot bowl of soup. He continued to work, completely oblivious of how he looked, brushing away any concerns of the staff.
Beneath the blue jeans and the red button-up tee rolled up to the elbows were several wounds. One bullet had ripped through his thigh, another couple through his gut, and another through his shoulder. The sewers were a great place to let off steam, except when one wasn't at their best. Oh, to be sure, Elliot slaughtered all of those who caught him off guard. None ever escaped him. Still, though. The wounds, though an inconvenience, were merely a reminder. A punishment Elliot knew he deserved.
The juke box played a mix of Australian rock Elliot liked to indulge in a bit of nostalgia, especially when he needed to distract himself. He didn't like it when overly large problems arose things he knew he would have to deal with but which he liked to try to ignore, in the hope that they would go away. But as he grunted and moved back and forth clearing tables and serving customers, he couldn't help but dwell. He had but one anchor in this life. One. Pi, and by extension, d'Artois. But he could see the rope beginning to fray. Could see the links in the chain growing weak. He was afraid what he would do, what would happen to him if that anchor were to break away. He'd spin out of control, drift away another grunt, and another customer. He forced a smile. "What do you want? The words a little gruffer than usual.
‹Pi dArtois› She'd stopped answering the thread on the family crow, but that didn't mean she had stopped reading. She'd needed the water to calm herself down. She wasn't sure how many laps she'd done of the training room pool before she finally surfaced, 100, 200. She had stroked, glided, turned and repeated so many times she had lost count. All that mattered was the glide of water against her skin, the rush of white noise, the splash stroke and repeat. You could lose yourself in the continuity of it.
She was a long distance runner, staring at a road that stretched into a wavering horizon. The methodical thump of feet and pavement, eating through the distance, pulling her into the rolling hill and endless tarmac. Except hers marathon was cocooned in a wall of liquid, holding her buoyant, keeping her afloat. They say love of water like hers came from the womb, either a fond memory of it, or a deprivation so keen that the mind continually searched for it. Either way, whatever the reason, in times of stress Pi came back to it. It's why so many of her homes had pools, or spas or . Something.
But she couldn't let it go. That was the first epiphany. She couldn't regress into silence, despite the fact it was something she often did when it got too close to wounding her for real. Step back, say nothing, feel nothing and insulate herself from what was happening around her. It's how you dealt with the dirty work. You peeled yourself away from the sense of it, depravation of senses until you life took on the surreal quality of a silent film. Mouths opened and closed, hands lifted in anger but no sound, no piercing voices to disturb the lucid calm of the lake that resided inside her mind.
No, Elliot had taught her, if nothing else. That life, this life was worth investing it. Worth giving herself to, feel the pain and the anger, the sense of hurt and irritation. Without those, she couldn't feel the rest. Compassion, love, tenderness, forgiveness. It was this that took her to Lancaster's. He'd be there. He couldn't resist. Just as she turned to water, he turned to music. Their balms as predictable as the sun, the moon and the howling snow that fell in heavy drifts outside the bar door.
There wouldn't be many people in tonight. The hearty few who lived close and didn't want to make their own dinner or drink alone watching snow fall in soft slow motion outside their windows. Except it was clear now, cloudy, the temperatures plummeting to below zero and holding. No, there still wouldn't be many people and for that, she was glad. Pushing the Office Door open Pi stepped out into the bar. Music played, the twang of the guitar a band Pi had been introduced to by the man stopped to pick up glasses and clearing tables. She waited for him, taking a tall chair on the customer side of the long expanse of wood bar. And she watched him, her gaze frank. She loved him. God she did. But sometimes she wondered how on earth they had managed to find one another. What was it about their diametrically opposing personalities that brought them together. She couldn't fathom it, but she knew she felt it. The connection. Nothing before had compared and she could see no future where it would be any different.
‹Elliot dArtois› Elliot is aware of the movement behind him. A frown creases his brow as he focuses on the order given to him the customer, a young girl in high heels and with a broad grin was completely oblivious to Elliot's bad mood, had ordered an Espresso Martini. The coffee machine growled as it spat out the coffee into the glass. He added the Vodka, and the special sugar syrup that they made at the bar on a nightly basis. All together with ice in a normal glass, over which he secured the silver cup. He shook, now able to make basic cocktails like the best of them. All of the liquid ended up in the silver cup. With a strainer, he poured the liquid into a martini glass, filling it to the brim. He passed it over to the girl, who handed him some cash.
All the while, he was aware of her movements behind him. Of Pi, as she exited the office and took a place at one of the stools, amongst the customers. He didn't know what her plan was. Didn't know what she wanted. Did she think that his message on the Crow had been aimed at her? That he wanted her to come see him? That he was willing to talk to her?
He put the cash into the register. He pulled out the change. Shoved the change into the tip jar, as his wayward customer had wandered off. Another had shuffled forward to take her place. He continued to serve customers, to make their drinks and when there were none left he took a basket, breezed past Pi, with the intention of wandering around to collect the empty glasses and bottles.
‹Pi dArtois› The silent treatment. "We need to talk about this Elliot. She said softly, words uttered as he walked past her, behind the bar to fill an order. It was an ironic turn around really, that she had come here to talk and he was obviously in no mood to utter a single word. She kept watching him, her gaze tracking his movements. She wasn't an impatient person, she was used to the long wait, the deliberated pause. She thought that they needed to talk this through but she was in no hurry to rush into it. She simmered on low heat, her gaze direct and watchful, trying to see past the placid face he wore to what boiled beneath. And something did. She knew it, knew him. And knew too that it was big enough that he wasn't ready to let it out, and when it did her hackles would rise along with their voices and the words they said to one another would draw blood.
It was that big, that essential. Their wills were clashing. What they were and what they were becoming were moving on opposite tracks, destined to come together in a crash of bending steely resolve and unresolved issues. She could walk right out right now but that would be cowardly. She could give him his space but she wasn't sure she could live with the separation like the last. She didn't like the cold shoulder and she didn't want to sleep alone and be alone. So she stayed where she was, silent, watchful, waiting. For when he was ready, and for him to finally, one way or the other, turn around and give her his attention. She settled in for the long haul.
There was other staff on for the night and she gave them a small nod, but engaged none of them any further than that. She didn't chat or ask how they were. Much like Elliot she chose silence but unlike his hers was about waiting and holding still until he'd burned off enough of his irritation to speak to her. Blinking slowly she kept her eyes trained on him, her gaze stalking him across the room, or behind the bar. The weight of the stare heavy with arrested meaning.
‹Elliot dArtois› Elliot could feel the weight of the stare; jaws clenched as she said they had to talk about it. He didn't know what else they could say to each other. He didn't know how words could make this better. A rift had opened up between them; he was set in his ways, and she was set in hers. He needed time. He didn't know how much, but he was feeling alienated from everything that they had established together. It didn't matter how much he ignored her, however, how much he willed her to go away. She remained, steadfast and staring.
It was only when the bar had mostly emptied only a couple of people remained playing pool, and another couple in a booth down the front that he finally stopped in front of her. He shook his head. "Why here? You know it's not going to go well. I'm not talking to you here. Besides, I've got nothing to say to you. You're the one coming in here saying we have to talk'. What, you've got something to say to redeem yourself? he asked.
He couldn't help himself. He didn't want them to talk here, in a public place. In the bar, within which he didn't like there to be any violence. He didn't want to argue with her in front of the staff. But maybe this was a good thing. Maybe he could be able to school himself, if talking to her in front of an audience.
‹Pi dArtois› "Redeem myself? Pi shook her head. It was moments like this that hammered home how utterly different they were, how opposing their opinions on what had happened were. Her voice was soft as she replied. They were vampire, they had no need to raise their voices or to shout and she wasn't inclined to make a scene or make a spectacle of herself. "Redeem myself? She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not the one who decided that taking pot shots at Tytonidae was a good idea. Nor was I the one who decided to enter the EYRIE and give the biggest warring faction in this city the big middle finger. Madison only reaped what she sowed when she decided to go vigilante and take on the biggest bad asses in the city.
Pi leaned forward her blue eyes snapping. Nothing else showed her irritation or projected their talk' or the nature of what they were discussing. "How is anything I have done here need redeeming. I didn't open the door for Ty to enter. I didn't do anything to encourage or discourage or censor her behaviour when it was clear to everyone and their dog that she was going to get slapped down for what she'd done. Her fingers laid flat against the solid wood and she pressed down, pushing down. There weren't many people in the bar but she was still mindful of the few that were, and of the staff who, despite their soft tone, slid them curious stares. "I did not bring Tytonidae to our house. ALL of that is on Madison. I'm just not willing to help someone commit suicide by cop, or put the lineage in the same firing line. Which is exactly what Madison did. And if you took five seconds to see that, it would have been nice to get a little support from you instead of whatever that was you just did.
‹Elliot dArtois› Elliot shook his head and gave a bitter laugh. She had no idea why it was that he was furious. Why it was that he was so bitter, and what it was, exactly, that he disagreed with. His fingers curled around the cloth in his hands, forming a fist that he would not use. He leaned forward on the bar, as if the two of them were just having an ordinary conversation. Of course, if anyone came close they'd see just how tense he was. How tense Pi was. It was almost certain that a wave of discomfort rolled from them, wave after wave.
"She said a few nasty things on the internet. The ******* internet! And then took a step inside the Eyrie. She gets to die for that? Tytonidae came into our Den. Broke through our security. You don't think that's giving us a big middle finger? What you don't understand, Pi, is this: that place doesn't feel like home to me anymore. You joined Tytonidae. You side with them. You've split our family in two, by doing just that. Whatever we strove to build is gone now. Broken. Probably beyond repair. But I can see you don't seem to realise that. Or care. You have a new family now, eh? Go hang with them, yeah?
He stood, then, pushed himself away from the counter. The tension was building inside of him; he was upset, and furious. What upset him most was that the thought didn't seem to cross Pi's mind. She was too preoccupied defending Tytonidae. He wandered over to the sink and started to stack the dirty glasses into the industrial dishwasher beneath the bench.
‹Pi dArtois› Pi glared at his back. As if turning his back was the end of this conversation. Except it wasn't, not by a long shot, not even the beginning of what they needed to talk about. "She's a big girl, and she knew exactly what she was doing and whose tail she was yanking. I'm not defending Tytonidae anymore than I'm defending Madison. She kept speaking her voice low, her gaze trained to his back and watching as muscled moved under his shirt. He kept his hands busy and his back turned but she knew he heard her because his hearing was as good as hers. "She made her choices fully knowing how they would play out and then blamed the other side as if she didn't know exactly what would happen. Then tried to blame me because I wouldn't get our lineage to gut themselves for her.
She really wanted to stalk behind the bar and yank him around to face her. But she didn't. She had a captive audience and until he left the building she would continue to talk and have it out. What they had built was meant to give their family a sense of safety but that security only came if the people who took advantage of it didn't do something so enormously stupid as to call attention to themselves like she'd done.
"Do you know who made our Den unsafe. Madison. You know who brought them to our door? Madison. You know why they came to get her? Because she went batshit crazy and used weapons against multiple members of a warring faction. That's who made it unsafe. Not me. The problem being that once their gaze turned our way there was no stopping what happened next. We've both been in a Tytonidae war party and we both know how deadly efficient they can be. Do you know the last person who did this to us? Put us into this position? Robert. And I'll be damned if I'll feel guilty for giving her the best protection we could, sacrificing OUR safe place and then made to feel like I did something wrong. And you have no right to stand there and tell me I did this to us.”