Bird seeks flower

[rhiann90]

I hope this plan goes well. Please, God, may she show up. Issac forgive me

A moonlit night, the scent of flowers fill the air. The skies are clear and sparkle with thousands of stars. Perfect for a romantic rendezvous. Perhaps tonight will go well.

A man with fire coloured hair cut clearly in rush with kitchen scissors and a suit definitely not tailored waits for his secret to arrive. He sees the carriage he hired and a youthful woman leave.

"Rose? Please tell me it is you." an accent attempts to be covered but slips of French sneak through. "It is I, Jack."

His voice has wisps of youth, they obviously have practised their tone. Upon closer inspection, one would assume he is siblings with the infamous Lilliana Crowe.

[Violet Clyntahn]

The carriage ride feels a long one. Not helped by the fact she didn’t know where the end point would be. She doesn’t speak to the girl riding with her, but occasionally lets out a deep breath to steady the nerves building up in her.

She wears a pale dress, her hair pinned up inside a matching bonnet, a single curl slipping from under it. It had been so long now, she had no idea what to expect. She could never say no to Lilliana, but if Zhaspar found out, the damage it would cause. Another deep breath, she smooths her skirts.

She leaves the carriage when requested, quickly looking around for sign of her friend. Given the letter the disguise isn’t much of a surprise. Even with the months that had passed the ability to spot her best friend had not faded.

It starts as a walk, but the closer she closer to a run it becomes. With every step her worries disappear, the fear, the guilt.
Once close enough Violet all but leaps on the other girl, wrapping her arms around her, burrowing her face into the shoulder of the ill-fitting suit. “Elsie” the name comes out part whisper part sob.

[rhiann90]

Hearing the soft voice of his dearest friend and the tears soaking into his shirt, Jack pulls the girl in. "I have missed you too, Rose. My sister Elsie misses you. She sent me here to be the in between."

Please understand my need for deception, his eyes beg. He sighs.

Gently, he lifts Violet's face and pulls out a silken handkerchief from his pocket, wiping her tears. He smiles sweetly, nodding. "You are still the sweetest girl I have met. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. I hope your father has been treating you well. Mine has been..." he uses his hands to gesture an inability to describe his awkwardness. "Father."

Jack takes Violet by the hand and leads her through fields of colourful flowers to a white metal seat underneath a large tree. The sweet slightly spicy scent of night flowers wafts through the evening air. He gestures his friend to sit down then sits next to her, sighing and placing his arm around her the way a lover would.

[Violet Clyntahn]

Violet nods her head in understanding, a promise. “I have missed your sister too, more than she can possibly know”

She lets herself be lead along. “My father has actually been absent a fair amount recently, he seems to be staying around at least for the moment though. For better or worse I finally have his attention”. Her mouth quirks into a small grin but she doesn’t look up, focussing on the path in front of them. “Your father has been kind to me in recent months. He cares about you a lot, you should know that”, guilt coils inside her but she ignores it. “But there are others in your family that would be quite happy to see us both destroyed”

A perfect opportunity but the question dies on her lips. Instead she sits, shuffling closer and resting her head on her friend’s shoulder. “What are we doing?” The question as familiar as ever lacks some of the energy it would have once had, but her voice still holds the warmth only Lillana could bring out in her.

[rhiann90]

He sighs. Knowing that she has been safe and is under his father's care relieves him.

"What are we doing?" the girl asks. He smiles heartily, a sly giggle slips out.

He leans in close, to whisper in her ear "Memories are powerful. Appearances are as well. You, Rose, and I, Jack have met at the gardens for a romantic rendezvous. A letter was sent from Jack and you did arrive at the theatre."

Jack pulls Violet in, he changes to a speaking voice, "I am glad to see you are safe. My father is the reason I am here. He wants me to leave and return home. I wanted to make sure... I had to..." he lowers his head, a tear falls down his face.

[Violet Clyntahn]

She couldn’t deny the plan was well thought out, the last of the uncertainties she had prior slip away.

Violet takes Jack’s face in her hands, and wipes away the tear. She lets out a shaky sigh, steadying herself before she talks. When she does speak her voice is level. “He just wants you to be safe. You must understand that? I want” She shakes her head “I need you to be safe”. Her eyes are wide, begging to be understood.

“when are you going?” She wants it to be said in an offhand way, she tries so hard to keep her voice steady.

[rhiann90]

There she is. My sweet Violet. I was worried for her, but she will get through this.

"When are you going?" She wants it to be said in an offhand way, she tries so hard to keep her voice steady.

He pauses. A sigh. He thinks through his reply. The wording is important. He still feels the need to protect her.

"I will be leaving soon, I cannot tell you when exactly or where I am headed either. Father will still be here but will have to publically detach himself from my affairs. He fears..."

A branch rustles, causing Jack to turn and look around, seeing a squirrel, he sighs. Paranoia is not a way to show strength. Jack leans back and stretches, flexing his muscles. If it's a spy, then they will see I am unafraid.

"He fears connection. Je suis difficile, er, I am challenging." He laughs heartily. "Yes, 'challenging' is a way to put it. More likely, he wants me to continue my studies. He desires me in becoming a 'well-respected businessman' like he is. Merde. I am not designed for the aristocracy of this world. However, if it means that when I return, dear Rose, I can be with you in public, so be it."

[Violet Clyntahn]

Her friend’s jumpiness makes her tense and frown, but she quickly relaxes again, taking a deep breath and looking up to the sky. Although the edginess troubles her it gives her something to consider. She couldn’t deny their need for caution. She gently takes Jack’s hand in her own.

A laugh escapes her at the phrase ‘Well respected businessman’.

“I will of course be here waiting for your return, you know that”.

“Who would have thought when we first met we would end up here, so politely discussing other peoples plans for us” She lets out a small chuckle at the irony of it all, shaking her head. “And what of you? What is it that you want?” It’s a loaded question with an irrelevant answer, but she needs to ask it. Needs to break through the vagueness to get a better idea of her friends thoughts.

[rhiann90]

"What is it that you want?"

What is it that you want? She asks me. What I want is to be a vampire. An actual one. None of this pretending that we are equal to humans. None of this aristocratic snobbery and lies, saying one thing and doing another. Having to be on guard because someone might be listening to this conversation. Having to be on guard because someone might try and kill Violet for being with me. Having to be on guard... for our own kind turning against us.

"What is it that you want?" his friend asked.

Jack hums while thinking through his internal monologue. He leans back slightly, puts his hand up to the purposely grown stubble on his chin and strokes it.

"What I want, is something I cannot have." He looks kindly at his friend. "I want to be able to live here, or where ever I am desirous of at the time, and not have that "stench" upon me. The one where the lack of tailoring on my suit," he pulls at certain points of puckering, "dictates rejection."

His eyes sparkle, with that fire Violet, has seen before. "Abilities and how you treat the kine versus the kindred, should dictate that. But sadly, little one, the world isn't there yet. If that is how it was, then we would be free to see each other whenever, where ever, we both wanted to."

The spark dims once more, a dejected sigh falls from his lips.

Idiot. You relaxed too much. If anyone had heard that... Merde. My passions are getting stirred. Calm yourself.

"Enough of my wants and desires. What is it you desire Rose?" he places a delicate hand on her face to move a fallen strand of hair off it.

[Violet Clyntahn]

The speech stirred Violet, the intensity of it, the passion, but this was nothing new, her friend always had that effect. For all the damage it may have caused Violet still couldn’t help but admire such freedom of emotion.

Yet his sentiment didn’t feel right, not the entirety of it. Whilst both her and Jack want freedoms, they didnt seem to align as comfortably as they once did. It wasn’t something she wanted to touch on however. How could she if this was their last meeting?

She should have been expecting the same question posed back at her, but somehow it still caught her off guard. She leans down and picks a few of the blades of grass by her feet, something to fiddle with as she chooses her words.
She wasn’t expecting the answer to her question to be so …large? I want you to leave Aquae Sulis and be safe. Please escape whilst you still have the chance. No. It was best to answer with her own hypothetical.

She takes a deep breath “abilities dictating standing is surely no different to how elders dictate their power through their age? I want to loose those restrictions. To be free to talk to whome ever I choose, regardless of their status as elder, or even kine”. She stops speaking abruptly, nervously looking around in case there's anyone near by.