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libraryofbabelHonestly, you hate these functions, but Elizabeth was one of your first friends when you arrived in Los Angeles,1 and her husband being Prince means that you now have one reason to show up to court.
It’s a little too rich for your tastes, though, still, as much as the Engelharts are philanthropists—largely because every single goddamn vampire wants to show off, on some level. That’s what these events are for, which is maybe why archaic terms like “Prince” and “Court” persist so happily in this modern age.2 Plenty of them clamored for a “nice” venue, which means that it’s absolutely dripping with wealth and there’s whole platters of food that none of the actual invited guests can or will eat, because it’s for the retinues. You’d ideally bitch about it with the Carthians, but the ones in this city are, as it turns out, awful.3
You do your best to extricate yourself efficiently from most of the small talk you get roped into without seeming overly frosty. Those other vampires of similar lineage are keen to try and recruit you to join them in commentating on the court’s social affairs,4 which just means they’re spectacularly poor judges of people, as much as they’re trying to be friendly to you in their own way.
Maybe you’ll actually get to settle down with your book for a bit while Elizabeth’s occupied—
—but, no, something catches your eye. Well, he’s one of the reasons you avoid the rest of the Daeva—Damian Silvanus would have been a terrible human being, on account of being a chauvinist and general asshole who thinks he’s the most important person in the room, and being a vampire has really just made him fucking awful. He’s usually got a girl or two on his arm (ugh), but this time he’s being trailed by a wide-eyed, fresh-faced but unnaturally pale young woman with perfectly wavy auburn hair framing her face—who looks wildly out of her depth and keeps running her tongue over her teeth. He tugs her around possessively but nudges away from the center of any conversation, and who is clearly looking for someplace safe.
So when you wander in her direction, it’s unsurprising that she very slowly sidles over. You gather over the course of conversation that her name is Eve; she came to Los Angeles from the small-town midwest hoping to make it in acting, and got sweet-talked by Mr. Silvanus and his slick manner and sharp suits without knowing what she was getting into, but she gathered that you were friends with some important people and might be able to do something.
She’s smart, you think; she’s been watching for an opportunity to get the hell away from him. He didn’t bother to blood bind her5—maybe the only decent thing he’s done in his worthless eternity.
You tilt your head, thoughtful, and ask her if she’d consider changing her plans from acting to continuing her education among your fellows in the Ordo Dracul.6
She smiles.
[1] Yi had been reluctant to consider any vampires outside her own religious order as potential friends. However, Los Angeles vampires required newcomers to the city to introduce themselves or risk being exiled or destroyed, and in doing so, Yi found herself being drawn in by Elizabeth's down-to-earth manner. One might also speculate it helped that Elizabeth was her type.
[2] In addition, vampires just happen to be very big fans of Machiavelli, on average.
[3] She often lamented the fact that she'd managed to find one of the few groups of Carthians who decided what they wanted to borrow from human society was fascism.
[4] The broad lineage known as "Daeva" are generally considered to be adept social manipulators, and often stereotyped as being beautiful and vapid. Yi did not find them to be the latter, precisely, but she hardly fit expectations and did not want to.
[5] It was easy for Yi to tell; she'd know the signs anywhere, and under no circumstances would one blood-bound be so eager to get away. To be bound by a vampire's blood is to have them occupy the center of your universe. Perhaps he simply thought he'd found a girl so starry-eyed over him that it would take far longer for the shine to wear off. Perhaps he thought he was a catch.
[6] Yi often found herself mentoring young women who reminded her, in one way or another, of her younger self.
What does it mean about you if you chose all your mentees because they reminded you of yourself in some way, and they all turned out terribly? She may well want you dead, as rosy as this seems.
It’s a little too rich for your tastes, though, still, as much as the Engelharts are philanthropists—largely because every single goddamn vampire wants to show off, on some level. That’s what these events are for, which is maybe why archaic terms like “Prince” and “Court” persist so happily in this modern age.2 Plenty of them clamored for a “nice” venue, which means that it’s absolutely dripping with wealth and there’s whole platters of food that none of the actual invited guests can or will eat, because it’s for the retinues. You’d ideally bitch about it with the Carthians, but the ones in this city are, as it turns out, awful.3
You do your best to extricate yourself efficiently from most of the small talk you get roped into without seeming overly frosty. Those other vampires of similar lineage are keen to try and recruit you to join them in commentating on the court’s social affairs,4 which just means they’re spectacularly poor judges of people, as much as they’re trying to be friendly to you in their own way.
Maybe you’ll actually get to settle down with your book for a bit while Elizabeth’s occupied—
—but, no, something catches your eye. Well, he’s one of the reasons you avoid the rest of the Daeva—Damian Silvanus would have been a terrible human being, on account of being a chauvinist and general asshole who thinks he’s the most important person in the room, and being a vampire has really just made him fucking awful. He’s usually got a girl or two on his arm (ugh), but this time he’s being trailed by a wide-eyed, fresh-faced but unnaturally pale young woman with perfectly wavy auburn hair framing her face—who looks wildly out of her depth and keeps running her tongue over her teeth. He tugs her around possessively but nudges away from the center of any conversation, and who is clearly looking for someplace safe.
So when you wander in her direction, it’s unsurprising that she very slowly sidles over. You gather over the course of conversation that her name is Eve; she came to Los Angeles from the small-town midwest hoping to make it in acting, and got sweet-talked by Mr. Silvanus and his slick manner and sharp suits without knowing what she was getting into, but she gathered that you were friends with some important people and might be able to do something.
She’s smart, you think; she’s been watching for an opportunity to get the hell away from him. He didn’t bother to blood bind her5—maybe the only decent thing he’s done in his worthless eternity.
You tilt your head, thoughtful, and ask her if she’d consider changing her plans from acting to continuing her education among your fellows in the Ordo Dracul.6
She smiles.
[1] Yi had been reluctant to consider any vampires outside her own religious order as potential friends. However, Los Angeles vampires required newcomers to the city to introduce themselves or risk being exiled or destroyed, and in doing so, Yi found herself being drawn in by Elizabeth's down-to-earth manner. One might also speculate it helped that Elizabeth was her type.
[2] In addition, vampires just happen to be very big fans of Machiavelli, on average.
[3] She often lamented the fact that she'd managed to find one of the few groups of Carthians who decided what they wanted to borrow from human society was fascism.
[4] The broad lineage known as "Daeva" are generally considered to be adept social manipulators, and often stereotyped as being beautiful and vapid. Yi did not find them to be the latter, precisely, but she hardly fit expectations and did not want to.
[5] It was easy for Yi to tell; she'd know the signs anywhere, and under no circumstances would one blood-bound be so eager to get away. To be bound by a vampire's blood is to have them occupy the center of your universe. Perhaps he simply thought he'd found a girl so starry-eyed over him that it would take far longer for the shine to wear off. Perhaps he thought he was a catch.
[6] Yi often found herself mentoring young women who reminded her, in one way or another, of her younger self.
What does it mean about you if you chose all your mentees because they reminded you of yourself in some way, and they all turned out terribly? She may well want you dead, as rosy as this seems.