Retorsion Noami
“You know I never noticed it when I was reading it yesterday but the guy that wrote that recipe book. His name is Philmore Graves,” Ruby said giggling.
Cinder groaned. “Only a Giovani would have a name so irritatingly on the nose.”
“The book mentioned they’re a clan of necromancers?” Winter said as she looked up from her own reading.
“That, and true blue bloods,” Cinder said simply.
“Oh gross,” Ruby said a few seconds later followed by a gagging Weiss.
A ringtone rang out and Cinder used a thumb to flip her phone open even as Ruby frowned seeing she wasn’t getting a call.
“See how cool it is! That’s why I do it!” Ruby protested as Weiss patted her hand with a fond smile.
“Talk to me Emerald,” Cinder greeted as she continued going through a book in her lap.
“You’re not serious. Give me Hazel. What do you mean he went for a walk?” Cinder screamed into the phone.
“Ah so you’re the…yes. I understand. If anything happens to them I’ll hold you responsible and sick my master on you. In return?” Cinder mused for a few moments.
“If you find Beckett tell him to come to me and I’ll trade away a few tomes I don’t need to get your questions asked. In return you protect them like they’re clanmates, am I understood?” Cinder asked.
“Ok, clanmates you actually like. Yes, help them with their current tasks and when you get back here we’ll figure something out.” Cinder clarified as she hung up the phone and sighed.
“News?” Winter asked in interest.
“They found a Tzimisce. A normal non insane or evil one apparently although only time will tell,” Cinder said as she rubbed her head to ward off a headache.
“That means I can make friends with them!” Ruby said excitedly.
“Of course,” Weiss said with a sigh of her own. “You know you don’t have to make friends or help every person you meet right?”
“Well yeah but I want to!”
“Maybe you should get some training,” Cinder said warily as Ruby pouted at her.
“I’m just saying if you keep trying to make friends with everyone eventually someone is gonna try to take advantage of that and or you at some point. Vampires are generally duplicitous in nature after all,” Cinder said standing up. “Come on, I'm not waiting to find one. I’ll just go buy a gym or building to use.”
“Mercury get your ass in here,” Cinder yelled out the door.
Mercury ran in looking confused until Cinder gestured him inside.
“You got a gym you go to or something when you’re not working? I need a private space to start training them in,” Cinder said pointing to the others.
“I mean it’s not in neutral territory like this is so you run the risk of someone else bothering you there,” Mercury said with an easy going shrug. “Tukson would probably sell it to you if you really wanted although it’s not exactly set up for the sort of training you’d need so you’d have to get that taken care of,” Mercury informed her.
“I have money, which makes things happen. Contact him and see if he’s willing to be moved out by tonight. Money isn’t an object but even so don’t waste it. After that, start taking a list of what we need and get it delivered. Again the sooner the better. Take someone else with you just in case you have to go out at night but otherwise you’re on your own for now,” Cinder ordered the man who smirked and left with a smug look on his face.
“Hey where do you get your hunting stuff made?” Cinder asked after a moment.
“Some of it we make ourselves but mother left a list of contacts we can use for more difficult to obtain repairs or supplies if we don't use Klein. Why?” Winter asked as she marked her place in her current book.
“I have an…old sword I’d like to see reforged, but well there’s not much in the way of actual blacksmiths anymore. I know they make ceremonial weapons, or some do it for hobbies, but this is more…important than that. I want it done right,” Cinder said, holding the bag containing the pieces of her sire’s sword.
“I see. Our family retainer is named Klein. If there’s anyone we could trust to know how to get it done or find someone to do it discreetly he’d be the one to do it,” Winter said gently with a nod as she waited on Cinder’s permission.
After a long moment she nodded. “It’s very important to me but if you trust him…then I’ll trust you.”
“If you’d like I’m sure he can get the person to come here to reforge it so you can watch it happen,” Winter offered gently.
“That would be nice,” Cinder said softly before she straightened up. “You two go get ready for lunch with your were-rabbit or whatever. And you,” Cinder said pointing a finger at Winter who looked bored watching her.
“Find a new bed for us, yeah?” Cinder teased her and ducked the offending swat as she cackled out the doorway.
Ruby giggled but followed suit. Weiss followed but paused at the doorway to open and close her mouth a few times. “I am so confused.”
“I am too,” Winter admitted. Weiss nodded and left the room not having any idea how to respond to that.
“I think she’ll like it!” Ruby said excitedly as she waggled the small lunch container with all of their lunches in it.
Ruby had insisted that making it was part of ‘girlfriend’ duties and Weiss hadn’t had the heart to refuse her even if she was mostly a lost cause in the kitchen.
Granted she could make a simple filling meal, or salad, which was fortunate given who she was dating, but not much beyond that, or what Ruby had made for all of them before they’d called Velvet over the phone and let her know they were coming!
Weiss thought Velvet sounded rather pleased at that, or she was imagining it.
As the door opened and Velvet practically leapt into her arms and crushed her in an embrace Weiss thought Velvet might have missed them a bit more than she thought.
She was lucky she healed quickly and was sturdier than a normal human though as she watched Ruby smile and hug Velvet in return.
Cinder had claimed she’d be watching from a distance before they even left the club and she hadn’t seen her so she assumed much like before she would be around but Weiss wouldn’t notice.
“How’s work been today Velvet?” Ruby asked politely as they went into what was normally her private office where there were no cameras and closed the door.
Weiss made sure the blind was pulled down as Velvet took off her hairband and her ears sprang to attention.
Truthfully the way Velvet’s eyes lit up at the chicken salad Ruby had prepared for her as her ears began fluttering was far too adorable for Weiss to stand so she took a moment and snuck a quick kiss that left Velvet flushing red as she shyly smiled at them both.
Despite being in a relationship this was still new to them and well they just made each other feel so happy!
Velvet must have been feeling especially bold as she situated herself in Ruby’s lap as soon as the doctor sat down.
Thankfully other than a small noise of surprise she didn’t seem bothered. In fact the soft smile she wore as she gently ran her hands over Velvet’s ears made her seem very much at peace.
“Work has been fine. Boring but that’s good I suppose. I just…mostly missed you both,” Velvet admitted.
“We missed you as well,” Weiss said as she ate her own chicken stir fry Ruby had whipped up for the two of them rather quickly.
“It was like a light was missing from our world,” Ruby said suavely before she giggled and cast a quick frown to the side towards the wall with the clock.
“Did you find out anything interesting?” Velvet asked as she perked up at the idea of their investigations.
“Not much, but there was one thing that was kinda important,” Ruby said mischievously as she looked over at Weiss for a moment, who for some reason, felt a sense of dread overtake her.
“What was it?” Velvet asked excitedly as she wiggled trying to get a better position to see them both.
“You see I walked in on her and Cinder, and it turns out-”
“Ruby Rose don’t you dare!” Weiss tried to interrupt.
“That Weiss is a boob girl!”
“AAAAAAAAAGH!” Weiss wailed, clapping her hands over her face as she went entirely red.
“Really?” Velvet asked, sounding almost scandalized. “I suppose that’s why she wanted to date us then.”
“No kidding! So I get there and she punches her hand right into the breast of the owner!”
“Right in front of you? How bold,” Velvet declared, clearly catching on and playing along.
“We were fighting! I was trying to kill her!” Weiss tried to defend herself fruitlessly.
“Wasn’t that how it started for her sister too?” Velvet asked with a faux innocent expression. “Oh my, we’ve been replaced so soon!”
“I’ll be here for you, my love. Now and until the world ends and the stars in the sky grow dim and cold!” Ruby declared passionately as she took one of Velvet’s hands.
Velvet pretended to fan herself and swoon albeit with a slight bit of red on her cheeks.
“Excuse you both?” Weiss interrupted. “There will be no seduction without Weiss Schnee! You can’t spell seduction without several letters from my name after all!” Weiss declared imperiously.
“That’s…technically correct,” Ruby allowed with an amused grin as Weiss growled at her.
“Listen…Winter and I did find out something last night when you two went to bed, but you can’t even pretend you know this alright?” Weiss asked as she made sure the door was locked and they were alone before taking a seat on Ruby’s lap so she could whisper lowly to them…and for no other reason.
Cinder sighed from nearby making sure no one else had heard them aside from the idiot she’d had to ‘terminate’ for hearing too much.
Thankfully they were young and inexperienced so the sun would take care of the evidence for her, and more fortunate for her it wasn’t someone who had attended the club so she didn’t need to worry about any neutrality issues.
She did however need to find out who they were actually working for, or if as they claimed they just wanted hunter blood and had wanted to break in and see if there was more. It was after all even possibly true, but two things could be true at once.
She went back to making sure no one else approached for now as she faded from view.
“Idiots. They don’t even know how lucky they are.”
“You’re rather…talented at that,” Emerald praised their new traveling companion as she used her unique abilities to make work of a stubborn man who hadn’t wanted to allow them entrance to speak with his master.
Penny grinned brightly at the compliment as she gave a pat to the rudimentary lawn chair she’d made out of the guard.
When it groaned Emerald blanched. “He’s still alive?”
“Affirmative. If our meeting goes well I shall even return him to his normal form. No reason to agitate his master before we meet them, yes?” Penny asked as she skipped ahead.
“She’s…terrifying,” Emerald admitted to Hazel who merely grunted.
“You should see one of their Elders,” was all he said in response as he followed Penny inside.
Emerald gave the chair a final look before she followed after them.
“I have to say we’re not normally one to receive visitors unannounced or without an appointment but after the amusement you provided with poor Pyotr we felt we had to make an exception,” A woman’s amused voice carried across the room.
“I can return him to normal when we leave!” Penny declared brightly as the woman waved it off.
“That was never in doubt if you wanted to leave here alive. The real question is what brings you here?”
“We are searching for Beckett, and heard he had recently came into contact with you. We are hoping you have information on his whereabouts,” Hazel said with a bow.
“So polite for one of your clan,” the woman said with a sniff. “Ah, one of hers. Yes, he was here until a few days ago, and he might have mentioned his next general stop. What are you offering for said information?”
“Clearly you have no need for money,” Hazel said as he gestured to their opulent surroundings and the figure nodded.
“I want your word that you will approach your master about a possible alliance between our two groups. Events are in motion. Terrible events, and should the worst come to pass we would like at least one ally we can depend on who will hold to their word.”
“I can promise to inform her of your request but can’t promise anything more,” Hazel offered.
“As to be expected. We have a sealed letter here for you to deliver to her by hand. We will know if you’ve tampered with it. Inside is some…information that we are offering as a gesture of goodwill,” the woman said as she waved one of her servants forward who held out a fancy envelope with the letter Cembossed on the front.
“It will reach her. I swear it on my life,” Hazel said as he took the letter.
The woman nodded looking amused. “Have a safe trip, and do set Pyotr to rights on your way out if you would. I do hear Mantle is lovely this time of year. Especially the ancient history societies exhibits.”
Hazel nodded clearly understanding the hint for what it was and left the room with the other two following.
After waiting nearly a minute an almost identical figure descended the steps looking amused. “An alliance sister? How daring! What would father say knowing a Kuei-Jin was thinking of forming an alliance with a lowly vampire?”
“I wouldn’t know Miltia, but I will say that much like our former father I killed it,” The woman boasted of her acting as her sister giggled.
“Neo,” the second woman spoke, drawing a shadow from the wall that fell away to reveal a woman with a set of eyes and hair each a different color of pink and brown that seemed to change between one blink and the next.
“Follow and see what they want with Beckett and make sure it’s nothing that’ll be a problem for us. Feel free to test them and make sure they’ll keep their word about keeping the letter safe,” Miltia ordered.
Neo gave a salute before she signed a moment.
“No, don't actually kill them, just make it look like you’re trying to. Unless of course the information they seek is actually an issue for us in which case return with the letter,” Miltia instructed her.
After another moment Neo was gone as if she’d never been there.
“You’re sure of your information?” The sitting sister asked for what must have been the dozenth time that day alone.
“If I wasn't, do you really think I’d even offer to ally ourselves with lowly vampires? Or make an enemy of him?” The standing one scoffed as she brushed dark black hair over her shoulder and straightened her dress in agitation.
“If her patron is truly that strong then we need all the protection we can get. Especially if we’re right about things Melanie!”
“The idea of working with vampires leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Especially when we’ll have to hold up our end of the bargain,” Melanie said disgustedly.
“It’s that or we die,” her sister said blithely.
“I know that,” Melanie hissed, “but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. It’s only the fact that she’s an outcast with a powerful master that I even considered doing so. I hate vampires at the best of times.”
“At least her servants were polite.”
“Small mercies. Come along we have plans to attend to,” Melanie said leaving as she heard her sister following behind her.
“So uh what was up with that ‘we’ stuff? Is it just fancy old time speak?” Emerald asked.
Hazel gave her an amused look but Penny answered first. “Because there was another one there! A sister I imagine based on how similar they seemed.”
“Oh, I didn’t even notice,” Emerald admitted wondering what else she'd missed.
“It’s alright. They’re very different from any other vampire I’ve met,” Penny admitted herself.
“Because they’re not vampires. Not really,” Hazel said as they began their next leg of the trip.
Kuei-jin are…think of them as a Menagerian version of a vampire although they do exist elsewhere that’s where most of them tend to live.
Most regardless of age can’t stand sunlight for long but they pass for human easier than many vampires. They also don’t drink blood but something else no one really knows, and can’t embrace others so their numbers are limited.”
“Weird,” Emerald said in response.
“That’s about all I know about them but suffice to say they’re very dangerous.”
“Fascinating,” Penny said as she cast a glance back the way they came. “I hope I can continue to learn more about such interesting topics,” Penny said as she scribbled some notes in her own personal journal.