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Charlotte largely ignores the friendly squabbling between James and Dalton, seeming lost in her own little world. It's only when James mentions regrets, and why he did what he did, that she seems to acknowledge that any of them even exist. "Death is all about second chances." She replies before following Morgrym inside.
"Heh, Uncle Lodin. Uh, Cousins in the City call me "Sir". You too can call me Sir or Cousin if you prefer. As far as why Lodin doesn't see people, I guess because he doesn't have to. I mean if you were the most powerful person in the city would you waste time with every person who wanted to see you?" Tara laughs outright (though, of course, only Charlotte can hear it) when he suggests people call him "Sir". Between peals of laughter she manages to get out. "Of course he does." A frown visible on her face, Charlotte gets up to leave, but stops, considering for a moment her cousin's words."Of course I would meet with others. We are family. I wasted time going to Uncle Modius's party, though I had other, better things I could have been doing." She pauses, thinking that the distance between them was growing rapidly, not just with her getting up from the seat. Not just with him not giving her an actual name. Annoyance sweeps over her as she considers her role in this. Errand girl to Modius, now being made to run around town, like she was part of some conspiracy. Because they liked it, and because they didn't trust each other. The family were vying for power, for influence. For most of them, the humans weren't the opposition, their own brothers and sisters were. She opens her mouth to explain this, but only says: "We ought to be standing together in the darkness. All of us." Giving nothing more than a small nod for the "help", she heads back to the group, intercepting James as he walks towards her. Speaking softly, though not without a degree of fury, she relays the next steps she was told: Going to the Cave, asking for Horace, getting in touch with Neally, and what she heard of Lodin and his solitary state as well.
Charlotte's ears perk up slightly. "Why does Uncle Lodin no longer entertain?" Ignoring when he calls her different (though it gets a snicker out of Tara), she adds, "Neally. Yes, thank you. And what shall I call you, Cousin?"
Charlotte frowns, not really wanting to tell this man anything more, but decides she doesn't have any other leads. "Prince Modius" She says finally.
Charlotte bristles at the inquiries. "Said I'm not from around here and I'm on an errand." She responds, giving him a look that says 'try to keep up'. "It would probably not be prudent for me to say more than that." Narrowing her eyes, she adds. "I don't know you, either. And Tara doesn't trust you."
Charlotte looks at him in disbelief. "Thou wouldst dine where others have already? Gross, dude." From there she looks off to the side, as though listening to someone who isn't there. "Right?" She says to the nothingness with a laugh. "What happened to romance?" Looking back to the man, she shakes her head, "Sorry. Look, I'm just trying to find someone named Lodin. Know him?"
Charlotte looks at the man in disbelief. "Underdressed, apparently." She mutters, looking at her own outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. "I'm Charlotte. New in town. My uncle's sent me on something of an errand." She rolls her eyes. "He's afraid of his cousin, you know. Terrible thing." Cocking her head, she looks at the man again, and tries not to snicker at his ascott. "You don't look like a man who's afraid of much of anything."
Choosing to steer clear of the more aggressive kindred, Charlotte makes her way towards the seated figure. With a smile, she nods to them. "Mind if I sit?"
As "Just Like Heaven" kicks on for the second time, Charlotte is stunned, a look of concern spreading across her face. She closes her eyes, and after a few moments, a smile moves to replace the frown. "Ah, of course." She says. "Next up will be 'Temple of Love'. Then 'Cuts You Up'." By the time that "Temple of Love" begins playing, Charlotte has become otherwise distracted, her eyes sweeping the floor. As she spots the man moshing, her eyes widen and she smiles again, noticing both him and the individual further in the darkness. "There are few cousins here, but I have discovered them."
When Rick mentions not wanting to make a beauty wait, Charlotte looks over at Tara. "I think he likes you." She whispers to nothing, an uncharacteristically teasing smile spreading across her face. A hushed song escapes her lips, "Tara and Rick, sitting in a tre-", before she's seemingly interrupted. "Oh hush, he is not too old for you. Besides, danger is sexy." She pauses before adding, "Sometimes."
Charlotte remains quiet on the ride with Kent and Dalton, her thoughts elsewhere, some still remaining in Gary. She wonders if Jeremy had known this might happen, if that's why he hadn't gone to the Prince's gala. "Coward." She thinks to herself. When they arrive and stand outside of the Sears tower, she's content to let the boys flex their mouths and muscles to try to gain entry, staring off into the night, seeing the Chicago streets for the first time. "There is more death here." She notes to no one in particular. As Morgrym flags down a cab, she wonders for a moment how they'll all fit into it. A little yellow clown car, stuffed with grinning monsters, ready to spread delight or despair to anyone they should happen across. Turning to Kent she has a large smile on her face. "We're all clowns." She says.
Can you hotlink that in the header or Campaign Info? I'll super lose it / forget it exists.
"We should volunteer." Tara whispers to Charlotte. "What? No. Why?" She replies, tearing her eyes from Modius to look at the girl next to her, still looking the same as when she died. Of course, that statement applied to Charlotte herself, too. Tara rolls her eyes. "Come on. It'd be fun! We could use a vacation." With a groan, thinking she'd probably regret it, Charlotte raises a hand. "We'll go." She says quietly.
I am out of town this weekend for a wedding. Please bot me as necessary.
Charlotte gives Michael's hand an involuntary squeeze as the woman passes by, shaking her head once she's out of sight. "No one you need concern yourself with, little brother. One of our cousins has come to visit... unexpectedly." At the mention of the Juggler, Charlotte smiles. "That is his magic." She says, cryptically. "Most people cannot see what he juggles." She cocks her head, trying to think of an appropriate metaphor for Michael. "It's like a magic eye poster." she hears Tara say to her. "Yes." Charlotte agrees, thinking that is indeed a good metaphor. She always could count on Tara for things like that. "You have to know where to look, and what to look for. Not everyone can do it." "Modius got juggled. Hard." Tara says with a snicker. Ignoring her now, Charlotte squeezes Michael's hand again. "I'm sure he would be pleased that you like him, all the same. We-" she pauses as the elder stands and introduces himself, before smiling. "More cousins have come to join our party."
As the lights go out, Charlotte grasps Michael's hand, more than slightly afraid for both of them. "Let's find you somewhere safe, yeah?" She asks. Pulling him along she does her best to lead him through the darkness towards one of the bedrooms she had explored earlier. "Come on, Tara." She mutters. "Show me the way. You're better with directions than I am."
"Ah yes Walker. He sent me a letter declining my invitation and said he would send his Childe in his stead to fulfill whatever duties would fall upon his shoulders. Welcome". "Of course he did." Charlotte replies dryly. She forces herself to give a slight bow. "I am happy to serve however I can, of course." She nods to Michael with a smile, "Though I must say that I would prefer a Prince Myshkin to a Lodin."
Charlotte watches the exchange between Michael and Modius with some curiosity, but stiffens slightly when Modius addresses her. "Walker." She replies simply. Feeling other eyes on her, she shifts uncomfortably and adds, "I have yet to see him here this evening, though." It seems reasonable to her that he forgot - got caught up tinkering with some kind of contraption. She doesn't say that, though, unsure of how much the prince can be trusted.
Charlotte doesn't reply, but allows herself to be slightly dragged by Michael as he walks towards the group. As they get closer, she moves alongside Michael, ready to move in front of him should the need arise. The possibility of Modius actually being his friend felt quite remote - for all she knew, it was Modius who'd done this to him. She narrows her eyes slightly as they approach.
Plus Charlotte still needs her introduction ;-) Pfffft. :P Looking forward to it!
Michael gives Charlotte a big smile and hugs her, ”I knew I had to come but I don’t wanna be here, Char. Will you stay with me?” "Of course." Charlotte replies with a warm smile, returning his hug, though it goes on for slightly longer than she's entirely comfortable with. Seeing Michael made her wonder about the people who were chosen to be vampires, how it was decided, and who felt like they had the power to do such a thing to someone. There was a time when she hated Jeremy for what he'd done, refusing to let her die. Bringing her into this second life. She understood better now, most of the time. Jeremy had wanted to help. Well, no, Jeremy wanted to fix her. But that was the only way he knew how. She frowns, thinking that no one could be accused of wanting to help Michael. She didn't know who his Sire was, but thought she might like to kill them someday. Even if it meant their spirit stayed with her. "There's still room enough for one more." She thinks to herself. "Especially that one.". "I don't want to be here, either." She admits to Michael. "I haven't met the Prince yet. You might say I'm avoiding it. I'm not sure why I even came." She looks around with a snort, "It's not like I see Jeremy here, either."
I'm okay with either, too. Hardcover announced tonight at PaizoCon Ultimate Wilderness. New class: Shifter. February 2018 Adventure Path War for the Crown. Set in Taldor. It moves the timeline forward.I think the Book of the Damned had already been announced. Oooh, interesting.
Charlotte begins to open her mouth to respond to Bradley calling her Madame, when she notices heads turning and follows them to see Michael. Without another word to Bradley, and ignoring the Prince's eyes on her, she walks across the room and approaches Michael with a smile. "Hello, Angel. It's good to see a familiar face. How have you been?"
Charlotte shrugs as Morag walks away, and stares blankly at Bradley. "Pay respects? For what? What land is he the ruler of?"Kine or insane? Didn't matter. Bradley pushed the thought away and answered, "It's his house. He'll want to see his guests." "Ah! Lord of the manor, then." She says with a nod, as if it all makes sense now. "Are you yourself royalty?"
Charlotte shrugs as Morag walks away, and stares blankly at Bradley. "Pay respects? For what? What land is he the ruler of?"
Marrow finishes with her snack, and makes sure there is no mark left on him. "Darling let's go back to the party. I'm sure you could use another drink." She opens the door quickly, and finds a young woman on the other side of it. "I'm sorry." not sounding sorry at all, "Was this your room? I didn't mean to intrude. My friend and I needed a quiet place to..er...chat." "Not mine." Charlotte replies, shaking her head. "We were looking for the same." She adds, nodding to the empty space next to her. Cocking her head at the gentleman with Morag, Charlotte slightly wrinkles her nose. "He will follow you now."
After Morag and her drunken man go through the door, Charlotte listens at it, seeing Tara listen beside her. "It's rude to eavesdrop on others' pleasures." Tara points out. "I'd pursue my own if I had any." Charlotte mutters back. Had it not sounded as though the two were pushed up against the door, she may have slipped inside to watch. As it is, she listens to the sounds behind, curious. "Food or fornication?" She asks Tara, who grins in response. "Why not both?"
"You're quite accustomed, it seems." Charlotte replies, feeling a twinge of jealousy. She hadn't come to an event like this before, not in the few years since she'd been turned. It was... she wasn't sure how to describe it. Other vampires, fancy clothing, chatting as if they were all normal, as if this were an every day event. She nods as Shane begins to walk away, "Yes, right. I think I see someone I know as well." She says dryly. "Thanks, though." As Shane walks off, she turns to Tara, ever beside her, invisible to all but her, and cocks her head slightly. "Tara, what's the word to describe this scene?" She asks. Tara replies, and Charlotte grins. "Surreal." She echoes. "Yes, that's it exactly." Satisfied, and feeling somewhat repulsed at the same time, Charlotte debates leaving, but that's when Tara has the idea to go exploring. "It could be fun." Charlotte replies, "But also dangerou- No, I know you'd never get me into trouble." Charlotte feels a stab of guilt at this admission, and caves. She slips away from the party, and begins wandering the halls, poking her head into rooms, taking Tara's lead and searching for something more... interesting.
"You should have seen me before the diet,"Dryly, "Feel free to call me Shane if you don't think 92 fits." "Shane." Charlotte echoes. "That does fit better. My name's Charlotte." Pausing, she looks around the room once more as it continues to fill with people. She for a moment considers them to be in an hourglass, slowly clogging up with more bodies, until it eventually is full. "Do you know any of the others here?"
Charlotte looks at the old man, seems to look through him, but if she recognises him for what he truly is, it doesn't show on her face. "You are too large to be 92." Charlotte states.
Charlotte steps out of the cab and closes the door, the driver yelling curses as he speeds off, realising that she barely gave any kind of tip. "I know I'd make more money at a different job," She mutters to the empty space beside her. "But I like the hospital. And the hours work for my... situation. Now hush, Tara, you sound like my mother." As Charlotte walks towards the door, she notices how other people are dressed. Jeremy had either forgotten to mention it or simply didn't care. 'Well, not really my scene anyway.' With a shrug, Charlotte enters through the door, stopping at the butler taking coats. He gives her a glance with a raised eyebrow when she hands over her patchwork jacket, revealing a t-shirt and jeans underneath, but is too professional to comment. She casually glances around for Jeremy, not knowing anyone else there, and wonders if any of the others are people he'd sired. It wasn't something he spoke of much. Of course, he rarely spoke much at all. The chandelier in the living room catches her eye, especially as one of the holders is bent, and she half expects to see Jeremy climbing up the wall to study it and repair the symmetry. Moving quickly, she finds a quiet corner of the room to stand in and observe the others. "End of the year." Charlotte says to herself. "Change comes quickly, with blackened wings."
Here is Yorick's submission. I'll probably take another run at the backstory because there are still a few things that I'm unhappy with, but the basics are at least there! |
