Sometimes, mornings just aren't set up in the right way to show houses. And so, today, Eve had elected to remain home in her own, which still held an odd, unlived-in quality because of the drastic changes that had been committed recently. All of the furniture, pictures, sculptures, really everything down to and including the glassware in the house had been replaced, leaving only the main windows, walls, and marble flooring of the home the same.
Dressed comfortably in a long set of silken lounging pants in deep burgundy that fit her rather nicely, Eve was sitting barefoot on her new couch. Wearing a charcoal grey camisole of a similar silk to the pants, with her hair up in a stylishly messy bun, she could very well have been posing for a layout in the lounge-wear section of any classy catalogue meant to entice people into purchasing clothing. While she didn't seem to be reading anything, or really doing anything, Eve's dove gray eyes were fixed to the wall of windows that led back onto her lanai, where she could watch fat droplets of rain crash down on the lush, green, foliage out back even as they overfilled her swimming pool.
Damien has possibly been spotted as he walks around the outside of the house, the young man seeming to loiter at the front of the house for a while before coming in. Stepping in from the entry hall, Damien is smartly dressed and looks like he has showered recently, there being a rosy glow to his freshly scrubbed skin. He is wearing a dark jacket with a finely cut white shirt, the top button undone to show that he is indeed of work. Dark jeans and boots only help to emphasize his slim frame, a silver buckled belt at his waist and a silver wrist watch his only accessories.
"Sorry for dropping in unanno... and holy moley what have you done to the house? Were you burgled?" It doesn't take him long to see the changed, the new clinical feel seeming to confuse him a little. "So uh... how are you? I'm sorry for just leaving the other day, it was foolish of me and I should have stayed around."
Eve hadn't shifted her attention from the back wall of the house until Damien pulled open the front, heavy, glass door. When he did, it was almost akin to watching a mannequin come to life, as if there had been no movement in her whatsoever, until she turned her head and blinked her eyes, watching him. Offering him a smile that caused her rouge stained lips to curl up at the edges, she inclined her head to Damien. "Aloha my love. I wasn't burgled, no, but things had to be replaced after I thoroughly ensured nothing would survive." She shifted how she was seated, facing toward the suited man and crossing her long legs once she set her feet to the ground. At least she looked more animated, though as always, there was absolutely no fidgeting in Eve. She simply seemed to find a comfortable place and stay there, without need to adjust anything. "I appreciate your apology, my son. Thank you for that. What can I do for you?" Eve's question was given with a curious lift of her chin as she spoke, pale eyes not leaving her visitor.
The smile from Eve causes Damien to smile himself, the young man's mood lifting visibly. "I was actually wondering if there was anything I could do to help?" Glancing around, Damien finds a nearby chair to drop into, although slink into might be a better description. "I should mention that I had a chat with Heath, although he is possibly tighter lipped than you are about all this. He uh... sang? at me at one point. Very strange." Damien glances down and frowns, remembering the incident and getting distracted until he rouses himself. "There is still a lot about all this that confuses me and while I am aware that it is because you have shielded me from a lot of this, it has been hinted at that this particular 'rabbit hole' goes quite deep."
"What exactly would you like to help with, Damien? While I understand that you might have an idea that the 'rabbit hole' as you call it goes deep, I'm not sure what you think you're actually dealing with." Eve stayed where she was, relaxing in her couch without movement aside from her mouth and jaw as she spoke. "Your brother has some interesting little habits, and sometimes, a little song isn't completely out of his normal actions. The fact that he might well have been singing on a different sort of frequency, in a special way, can make it very odd for us, because of the fact that we're more than just the shell we seem to be." Eve smiled a slightly lopsided, wry, grin, then shrugged in the most Gallic of ways. "It's simply something you will likely have to deal with when you speak to your brother, should he decide to do so. It can cause some reactions in the little demon you have tucked away in yourself."
"It was finding out that he was 'dialing back' on the parties that shocked me rigid. I never felt more 'little brother' than that moment." Damien chuckles, his own grin showing. "The singing? Yes, I might just have to speak to him about that, more for curiosity's sake than anything else, especially as it made me incredibly angry at the time." He sighs and settles back in the chair, letting his legs unfold in front of him. "My initial thought was that it was a cult, I have since been told that is not the case. The best I can come up with as to the description for 'them' would be 'un-fettered us' if that makes any sense? I'm also aware that I may have very little idea as to what that actually entails. I was hoping you could fill me in on some of the details. I'm also still a little sad about Yvette. The concept that father would have her... ended is also new to me. Well, perhaps not new but more unimagined."
"Your brother is very conscientious of what you do and do not find enjoyable, Damien. I'm sure if he dials back what he does with you while the two of you go out together, it's because he wants to make sure you have a good time and don't get bothered by the situations you enter into." Eve gave the gentle platitude with a slight smile. "He's got his position with your father's company for a reason, he knows very well how to read whomever he's entertaining." Eve took a moment and seemed to think, then shook her head. "The idea of it being a cult is almost as off base as calling the Roman empire just a town, my dear boy. You've known for quite some time that you're a vampire, and that you come from a family of White Court vampires. You know that we, as a family, feed on the emotion of despair. The fact that we belong to the Skavis line, quite directly, I do believe I mentioned to you when I changed my name to Dasse in order to re-establish my identity some years ago." Eve looked at Damien with her brows only minimally raised. "You've also been told that we do things differently than the majority of the White Court vampires of the world, whether they feed on Despair like us, or Lust, or Fear. I've raised you to subsist on small doses, taking only what you need, and not destroying lives entirely around you. It's not how most of them are, leaving a wake of dead bodies behind them after draining someone thoroughly over time." Eve shrugged one shoulder gently. "As for Yvette, are you actually saddened by the potential loss of her, or simply saddened you didn't enjoy yourself further before sending her off to the gallows?"
"I'm actually really bothered by the loss and of just how accepting she was about it all." Damien frowns as he thinks on this, his voice getting a little softer as he continues. "It all seems like such a waste." Letting out another sigh, Damien raises his head and does his best to shake the malaise that is threatening to overtake him. "For the rest? I remember you telling me about when you retook your name, I understand and deal with the lifestyle we have chosen. I try not to think about what it would be like to live to the demon's whims all the time. Surely the bodies would add up, especially on an island like this. It's the 'threat' that bothers me, wondering about how they would try to take your territory, the possibly background dealings etc. I'm assuming they wouldn't be so blunt as to just march in her?" Damien shakes his head, "except of course for when someone did just march in here. I'm sure that you are taking precautions and while real-estate isn't my particular area of law, I've been mulling over how one would interfere with a business such as yours. It's the impending doom that is bugging the hell out of me, I'd much rather see what we are dealing with here."
"She was accepting of the loss because of her particular brand of broken, Damien. Her demon has been her entirety for a very long time, she's never considered the idea of controlling it. And with that, her fixation and love for me has been very strong since I can remember her learning to walk. We were raised somewhat closely, in so far as initially it was hoped she'd be a boy, that would one day join with me to create a child, that would continue our family lineage." Eve sighed softly. "We quite enjoyed spending our time together, and when I banished her from my presence, it was so that I could resist the lure to go back to my old lifestyle. The choice, though, to become someone that doesn't feed fully lost me pretty much all credibility with the White Court of vampires. To them, White Courtiers that deny their true nature, their demon, the very whims that control them, it makes them not truly White Courtiers." Eve spread her arms slightly and grinned with a razor's slash of a slant to her lips. "You see, my love, it's not my territory they're attempting to take. It's the territory that your father insisted was sacrosanct. The choice of your father to threaten the White Court en masse was a bold move, but it's Henry. Henry doesn't much know how to move any other way. With Yvette's warning of, at the very least the Skavis family taking on an Oni contingent as their allies... it might give them the power they believe they need to overtake your father's hold on his territories. Because I am here, and do business on this island, this is considered your father's territory, and protected by the threat he made to the White Court."
Damien is silent as he processes this, his head dipping forward as he thinks. "You're quite right, Father does do 'subtle' but he's more about being as inevitable as an ice-flow." He raises his head to regard Eve, his smile returning as he looks at her. "You've taught me over time that 'grazing' on the fringes of life isn't all that bad and I've learned to adjust. I can't imagine what it must be like to be cast out but I am grateful for what you've done and the life you've chosen." He leans back in his chair, seeming more relaxed than he was earlier. "I still feel that they might be biting off more than they can chew on this one. This island is a rum old place and it seems that you can't step far without rubbing shoulders with someone of enhanced lineage. That on top of father's displeasure as you have laid out for me makes me wonder just what they could do. I'm not dismissing them by any means but I have thankfully been removed from the infighting that I think you mentioned in the past and not knowing how that works or understanding the possibly machinations behind it all is rather leaving me at a loss as to what to expect in it all." Straightening up a little, he flashes Eve a smile. "I have at least found somewhere safe to stay courtesy of Heath, it's really quite nice and a massive step up from my student digs."
Eve snorted softly, her version of a slight chuckle, and shook her head. "I've never understood why you wouldn't just take money from your account and buy a house with it, or buy yourself a condo downtown, Damien. It makes absolutely no sense to me." Eve motioned with her hands, showing them empty of explanations. "You have a father that can literally give you everything you need or want, you should appreciate that and simply accept that you have the financial backing for nearly anything you require. Provided you aren't buy children, that's always a gray area, and requires more negotiation than simply throwing money at something." Eve took a moment and seemed to think something over, before shrugging gently. "It's entirely possible that power has sung to someone and they wanted to move on it. This is an area with plenty of power to go around. Though you're right, this isn't a place hospitable to someone attempting to move in and destroy everything in their path. One of the charms of the Islands, really." Eve gave a soft smile, her dove-gray eyes softening a touch, as she really did adore Oahu. "As for the situation with Yvette. The loss of someone quite beloved to me is difficult for me to stomach, despite the fact that both she and I knew of the consequences. I had thought to bring up a couple of other options to your father, but you may not like them, so if you would like me to prepare you for what they might be, I can do so now."
At the question of money, Damien takes a few moments to gather his thoughts before speaking. "It is a tricky one and you are quite right, I could just 'dip in' to my account and buy what I needed it's just..." He pauses, struggling with his words for a moment. "It's like easy mode or cheating. There's a palpable feel to holding what you have earned and I just wanted to feel things that way. It's quite helped me to stay level headed for the most part and it's given me a better understanding for when I've been practicing criminal law. I certainly understand the concept of hunger and the variations there of that drive most of the people I see but to really feel it?" He chuckles, fixing his mother with a grin. "Of course I'll probably grow out of it at some point and just say 'damn it' and splurge but for now, I quite like living to my own budget." He becomes more somber as his mother mentions Yvette and he simply nods to her in return. "Please do."
"Hmm. I suppose there's some understandable levels of despair to give to yourself with the limitation of one's assets as well. A little self torture has never been beyond the members of our House, my love. In that way, you're oddly in line with something you were never taught." Eve gave Damien a grin, then a small chuckle, hollow and empty. "With the mistake you made of neglecting to wear a condom while fucking Yvette, there's the chance she could have been impregnated. Further more, there is the possibility that if you were to continue to engage in sex with her, without proper protection, she could most assuredly become pregnant. If that were to occur, I am quite sure that your father would never follow through on the threat of death to the Skavis family members. At the very least, not until she were to give birth to your child. It's not in him to destroy a child that would be of his own blood." Eve watched Damien closely as she spoke. "Furthermore, if you were to take her as a bride, and impregnate her, you might be capable of protecting her from death indefinitely, as he would never rob you of your choice of a partner, my dear boy."
"Self-torture? Heath has some things to say on that and he bemoaned my lack of education." Damien chuckles and grins a toothy smile. "Becoming a criminal lawyer was just the icing on the cake I guess, although it has certainly taught me a few interesting things." His smile disappears after he has listened to Eve, a more thoughtful looks coming over him now. "Gosh." Moments pass and then he speaks again. "Gosh." It takes him a few more moments of cogitation before he is able to string a sentence together. "This is quite a tricky proposal. Obviously there is a part of me going 'oh no, we get to keep having fantastic sex with Yvette...' the rest though." He closes his eyes and considers things, listing them as he thinks. "She knew what she was doing and did mislead me a little. That isn't however as far as I know a capital offense. It was very good sex. Super good. I do feel more than a little guilty about it all. A bride? bachelor life has been good so far. Being married does help one to appear stable though. She's probably quite filthy so things wouldn't' get boring. It is also my fuck up. It wouldn't be terrible to have her as a partner... I think." He looks up, his cheeks flushing as he realizes he has been speaking out loud. "Given the choice? It's option 'B' for me. It has really saddened me and well, if I can attempt to fix that, I'd like to."
"You should know a few things about her, before you choose to say yes to your apparent option 'B', Damien. The likelihood that she would ever be able to become a fringe feeder as we are is so slim I would call it non-existent. She's accepted who and what she is without question, and has been that for well over 100 years." Eve slowly pushed up to standing, only coming to a formidable 6'1" as her feet were bare. As it was wont to do, the silk of her clothing slipped easily along her skin and fell into perfectly cut, straight lines, to rest along the length of her body like water. As she walked a few steps, the cloth swished lightly around her ankles, a notable sound in the otherwise quiet home with its solidly shut glass windows and doors. "It gives a marriage where it would have originally occurred between myself and Yvette, had she been born a male. And you have to deal with the issue that she has been obsessively in love with your own mother for several decades. And has been quite familiar with your own mother since she was a child, since we both were, really. It lends a sort of... tension that might occur upon occasion, but I can assure you I will never touch her in the way of a lover if she were to be married to you." Eve smiled hollowly to Damien, but bowed her head gently as she made the assurances. "If the two of you are married, the only way it will work solidly in an argument to your father, it will have to be due to a pregnancy, or he'll see it simply as a way for your bleeding heart to attempt to get around his initial warnings to the Skavis family."
"I fucked up and I'd like to fix it if I can. My bleeding heart will have it no other way." Damien smiles as he looks up to his mother, regarding her carefully as she stands there. "You're aware that 'tweaking' my father gives me no small amount of pleasure so there might be other motives. I'm also loathe to deprive you of a friend, no matter how badly things might have been in the past. I say that in no way to make you feel guilty, it is just the way my heart lays." He takes a breath, his words coming out a little slower now. "It'll certainly be an adventure, might have knock some of the edges off and all that." Damien sighs, a thought coming to him. "I had such a wonderful April Fool's joke planned too. Never mind, Crystal and her tramp stamp will just have to wait." Regarding his mother, he returns the nod. "Levity aside, I'm aware things could get interesting but forewarned is forearmed or however that expression goes. I'm assuming she would be amenable to all this?"
Eve shrugged delicately, then took the few steps back to her couch, lowering herself onto it with a nonchalant motion that settled her immediately into position without so much as a muscle twitch it would seem. "Yvette... is obsessed. She'll consider this a chance to be a part of what she has been told she was never good enough, or male enough, to be a part of from birth. The fact that she's marrying you rather than myself will not really factor in. If I were to wager a guess, it won't be so much a matter of asking if she's amenable, as much as simply stating it's what you want that will have her easily agreeing to the terms. She was willing to die to come and warn me of an impending possible invasion. Yvette had no plans on taking pleasure from you during that time, it just so happened that you neglected my warning entirely and stayed to make it a possibility, which she used to her advantage in her twisted mind to gain even more than she'd originally thought she might." Eve's smile was a touch colder, this time, though none the less genuine. "I'm sure she'd be thrilled to be offered a chance to marry my son."
"And of course, to birth his child, or children, depending on how you two manage to line up the proper slots and tabs."
"Slot A to Tab B from what I recall." Damien offers, a little dryly. "I'm not dim enough to miss that you're possibly conflicted by all this. I'm also rather glad that I didn't go to see that urologist just yet." Damien lets out a long breath, seeming to sag a little in the middle. "No, I can do this. At the very least I can leave the screaming and weeping for when I get home, don't want to lose this dashing persona." He nods with this, seemingly happy with his possible course of action. "You can let father know that Yvette and I have been at it like bunnies and seem quite attached, that should forestall any shadowy dealings. I get to deal with my fuck up and learn a valuable lesson about listening to my mother and not getting confused." Looking up once more, he offers his mother a smile. "It might just be me being soft but there is always a chance she could change in time. Once she's in the family so to speak it might help. Of course, it could get worse and I'll be in for a roller coaster of a ride but there you go."
Eve nodded her head once, then proceeded to stand from her new couch, to walk over to the new counter that had been placed in the kitchen. Waiting on it was a folded piece of paper which she plucked up and carried over to Damien, holding out to him. "It's Yvette's address where she's staying while she awaits judgement. I'm sure that if you go and visit her, the two of you will figure out how to get her pregnant, and you can even make the suggestion of marriage. Knowing you, I'm sure it will be inventive and thoughtful. Please, though, if you're intending on making the proposal, use some actual money to invest in the ring. Don't do something terrible like limiting yourself to your measly income, my love. She deserves at least something worthy of a woman being accepted into the Idle clan. Not something a man only recently able to afford his own housing can scrape together." Once Damien had taken the paper, Eve stepped away from him, leaving the scent of delicious honeysuckles and almonds in her wake, likely from whatever soap and shampoo she used, or maybe she was just talented enough to have a perfume that managed to smell that good. "There will be a discussion with your father, and if you'd like to be involved you certainly may. I'll text you a time and location, and we'll discuss it with him openly. Please, do not make the mistake of bring Yvette with you to that meeting. If you manage to impregnate her prior to the meeting, that would be better, but even the slightest chance she might already be pregnant is helpful."
"Should it come to actually making a proposal, I'll take Heath with me to go ring shopping. It'll tweak his sense of humor and he knows how to spend money and has an eye for style." Damien smiles and nods to Eve. "It'll be suitably expensive but also stylish and not gaudy, not a ring you'll see on TMZ or the like. I can't have been raised by you and end up doing that, it just wouldn't do." He chuckles now, his good humor returning. "I feel the initial discussions with Father might be best left to you. I need to work on building up my own good favor with him before showing up for a shotgun wedding." He glances down at the piece of paper that Eve handed him, scanning the details before folding it and putting it into a pocket. "It rather feels like reverse courting or at least doing it the wrong way round. I uh I'm going to need to think on that. Also, will it be okay if I tell Heath? If nothing else, I want to see the expression, it'll be something to treasure."
"I have no reason to ask you not to tell Heath, love. Just, do not bring him with you. He's strong, but having him involved will muddy the waters, and I'd rather not have to give up both my Son and the boy I've raised alongside my own since his birth to the same mistake." Eve smiled softly to Damien. "But yes, I'm sure he'll even give you some decent advice on how to deal with all of this, should you ask him for it. And likely even if you don't." Eve settled herself back onto her couch and crossed her long legs, no random bouncing of her foot, just getting into a nice, comfortable position on the first try. "I'll talk to your father, and while you need time to think, I'd ask you not wait long to at least visit Yvette again and attempt to ensure a pregnancy. If, however, you elect that this isn't the choice for you, please just let me know so that I can tell your father where to send the intended enactor of his will."
"Okay, I'll follow your advice on this one. Heath will of course give me his advice and opinion." Damien settles back, looking thoughtful for a moment. "I'll make meeting with Yvette a priority and we'll sit down and have a discussion. Once everything has been explained we can try to work out the details and I'm fairly sure I'll be able to let you know if I can't go through with it." With that, Damien gets to his feet, taking a moment to straighten his clothes as he does so "I'll probably pop round to see her in the next couple of days. Accepting as she is, it would be cruel of me to leave her in limbo. I'm also going to need to speak to a friend of mine. He's an absolute bastard but he writes iron-clad prenuptial agreements. If I am going to have a child, I also need to make provisions for that. I guess I'll be dipping into my funds sooner rather than later. Doctors are also not cheap, at least the ones I'm thinking about aren't. Only the best would do and Father would require reputable proof. It seems that I'm going to be busy for the foreseeable future." Cocking his head to one side, he grins a quirky smile. "Not what I was expecting when I got up this morning but I do feel better. My bleeding heart has been calmed and I have something to do."
Eve stood up and walked over to her son, still a bit taller, though not as much as she normally was. She smiled, then reached out to pull him into a hug, placing a loving kiss on his cheek. "I love you, my son. Very much. I appreciate your consideration of this, especially since it has particularly long reaching effects on your life, since she's also a White Court Vampire, and can live a decidedly inordinate amount of time." Eve squeezed Damien tightly, then took a slow breath before stepping back. "Be cautious, when you go there. If she takes it poorly it could well result in her lashing out. Of course, her taking it well could also result in her lashing out, if for no other reason than the joy of such a thing." Eve cupped Damien's cheek in her hand and stroked his jaw lightly with her delicate thumb. "Be aware, be ready. Be warned. But be strong most of all."
"I will exercise extreme caution." Damien speaks softly, returning the hug and squeezing Eve gently. "Please look after yourself in all this, it's all up in the air still with those other bastards and I just can't even contemplate losing you." He gives Eve another squeeze before backing out of the hug. "I'm shattered, I'm going to go home, order out and then relax. I'm very likely going to need my strength in the next few weeks. I'll keep you updated via phone or in person, failing that I can let Heath know if our schedules aren't aligned." He chuckles now, regarding Eve as he grins. "We really do lead interesting lives don't we? Never let it be said that times are dull." With his and a wink to his mother, he heads out of the house, plans formulating as he walks, the dire need of a liquor store foremost in his mind.
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