Room 244, Royal Grove Hotel
Room 244 at the Royal Grove Hotel in Waikiki wasn't really something you'd write home about. It's more the place you stay in order to save your precious Instagram pictures for things you do while entirely away from where you're sleeping. The single, queen sized, bed in the center of the room had a comforter over the top of it that looked like it had been en vogue in the late 70's, floral and done in mauve and burnt reds. The carpet wasn't something you'd want to wander around on barefoot. The whole place feels a bit worn, including the bathroom, which had a steady drip coming from a shower head that didn't look much like it would provide the real pressure required to wash off the salt and sand from a day at the beach.
Rather than have access to an actual lanai, there was a sliding glass door that opened to a strange, little alcove about 2 feet wide that afforded a lovely view of the alley behind the hotel, and the windows across the alley which belonged to another, decidedly better kept, hotel.
By god, it may have been worse than Eve had expected, the scent of chlorine rose up from the tiny pool below in a mist as a group of barely supervised children screamed and chased one another around the pool. There were a pair of adults there as well, the couple had clearly let themselves good and had contented themselves in their grand family vacation to this... Place.
The chemicals were already crawling over Eve's skin by the time she had made it to the door. Her knuckled may have hovered over the door with the thought the paint may peel off on her on impact. The room was silent for a moment, the bed squeaking as the bed shifted underweight, and after a couple of footfalls, the door opened revealing Yvette, cousin to Eve. Her blue eyes lingered on Eve, taking in her form, and Eve could almost watch the war of emotions in the woman before she flung herself onto Eve, gripping the woman as if she were life itself. She drew in a deep breath of Eve's scent. "Tragically, my neighbor was rushed to the hospital due to poor life decisions. I'd introduce his wife to you, but she's at the hospital... Or funeral parlor..." Girly and innocent laughter bubbled out of her as she released Eve, kissing her cheeks, and stepping back with a happy hop and gesturing inside.
Eve had obviously shown up intent on doing at least one form of battle, if her attire said anything about it. For shoes, she'd gone for a pair of velvety black Farragamo heels that would have given short women nosebleeds, and just happened to push Eve up into the stratosphere, towering at 6'6" in height with their stiletto style heels in shimmering, very sharp looking, steel. Her blacker than midnight skirt was short, and made of some sort of leather that looked suede, and soft, but was cut in such a way that the sharp lines at its hem and waistline made almost a perfect bar across her hips. Beneath the skirt were some sort of stockings, sheer black. For a shirt, naturally, Eve had gone for something of a different color to break up the blackness, and had opted for a silken, button up blouse in bruised Eggplant that left her arms completely bare and had a neckline left unbuttoned far enough to leave the lovely imagery of her perfectly shaped cleavage on display. With her hair up in a swept French twist, it left the kohl darkened lines of her eyes in dramatic effect, and enhanced the pale, dove gray of those twin orbs. Her lips were stained a dark, bruised sort of red that looked like it could have been a highlight color of the dark, silken shirt.
As Yvette came to her in a rush, Eve didn't back away, and instead patted her gently on the back, murmuring a discordant "There, there. I'm sure it could always be worse, Cousin." The scent taken in by Yvette was that of Orchids. A pure, undiluted floral that carried with it no softening agents but its own mystery. Eve watched Yvette as she flounced back into the travesty of a hotel room, then stepped in after the bouncy woman, shutting the door behind her as solidly as she was able, considering its construction. "At least you aren't starving, that's good to see." She eyed Yvette over, looking at her from head to toe, then back up, before offering a slash of a smile and a very slight incline of her head. "It is nice to see you looking fat and happy, even if it's been so recently I already spotted you in the same light, Vet." There was a moment of preponderance as Eve looked for somewhere to sit, and finding nothing suitable, she simply placed the paper bag she had in her hand onto the edge of the bed and remained standing. "I was hoping, perhaps, that you'd have more to tell me about the incoming possibilities of threat against me."
Yvette stared at the woman, taking in the details of Eve's clothes and their stark contrast to her own, white fleece microfiber and a white cotton t-shirt. "Starving?" She echoed the word as it seemed foreign in language and thought, tilting her head. Her mouth formed a happy sort of smile as she rocked on her heels and toes. "I suppose the concept of 'last meal' has been difficult to comprehend as there have been many." Rather than take a defensive stance, she showed her back as she crawled onto the bed and up to the pillows to sit Indian style. "Rarely is anyone so crass to simply leave detailed plans laid out on a table to read..." She paused, her eyebrows coming together as she pondered, "Unless it was a distraction for their true plans." The woman rolled her eyes. "So naturally the Oni were the cats paw... Whether to pressure you or subjugate you, I'm not certain..." A pleased hum escaped her, and she licked her lips. "Your father... Whenever I read an article about Henry, and make it a point to linger near him, for just that perfect moment when he reads it..." Yvette closed her eyes, inhaling deeply through her nose and shivered. When they opened, her pupils were a touch dilated and blue eyes had silvered. "Divine..." The word purred for effect.
Eve's smile took on a slightly crueler tilt to it as she listened to Yvette. "It's good to know that the old Monster has plenty of reminders that there are some things even he can't have when he wants them. How very kind of you to continue the torture for me while I'm out of touch with him." Eve nodded her head to Yvette, indicating an actual appreciation. "Do you know nothing else of the intentions of the Family, or have any inklings other than the fact that they simply want what is mine, and have considered this place a good area to start?" Being as Eve had no need for pretense at all, there was no shifting back and forth as if to relieve pressure from one high as hell heel to the other. She simply stood, unmoving with her arms relaxed at her sides, her eyes remaining fixed on Yvette as the other woman made herself comfortable in what likely were millions of bed-bug corpses.
Another innocent giggle slipped out of Yvette, "I would have videotaped it and sent copies if our family wasn't so keen about evidence for blackmail." A bored sign escaped Yvette thought about it. "My sister wasn't forthcoming with details, but was guarding her daughter... Strangely..." Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated, "It was odd, but once my sister's place was searched and a weapon discover in connection with a suicide... My niece was far more forthcoming with answers." She dotted her index fingers together, "She was to act as collateral in the dealings with the Oni. While our family may be harsh, it has never just handed someone over to outsiders without VERY good reasons." She gestured to Eve as she would understand that, and watched the woman. "My niece did not know anything beyond that... I mean about the Oni."
Eve nodded her head once and offered Yvette more of a smile, so the edges of her lips actually curled up gently. "I appreciate it, Yvette. I do have one other thing to ask of you, while I'm here." She reached over to pick up the small paper bag she'd come in with, opened it without much fanfare, and pulled free a box of Clear Blue Easy pregnancy tests. The ones that say they're OH SO VERY RELIABLE! "I need you to pee on a stick or two for me."
Yvette tilted her head, staring at the test in Eve's hand. A frown graced her lips, but she nodded in understanding. "While there are miracles, Eve, I tend to think an IUD does a good job to prevent that sort of thing." She gestured towards the bathroom and sink before straightening her legs to scooch to edge of the bed to look up at Eve. "While I see why you wouldn't trust any receipt I handed you as it was given by me... It was not my intent to get knocked up by your son." A soft smile pulled at her lips as she considered it, "My intention was to warn you, because I have always loved you. Your strength, your elegance, and your will..." Rather than wait to be asked, Yvette stood and stripped out of her pajama pants, toeing her way out of them. Being naked from the waist down, she walked over to the sink, smiling innocently at Eve. "I'll pee, and this way that's no way to drop it in the toilet... Or would you prefer the shower?"
"I'm fine either way, but I need the test to make sure, Cousin. No matter whether you intended it or not, we all know that strange things happen." Eve opened the box as she walked toward the terrible bathroom, taking out two of the tests. The first, she unwrapped immediately and opened, then motioned for Yvette to sit wherever. "I don't care if you sit on the toilet, I'll be holding the test, you just have to spread your legs and pee. And at the very least, we know you can do the first with dazzling capability." Eve's lips formed a smile, over a mouth that butter couldn't have melted in. "This is just an insurance, of sorts, for reasons that I won't go into until I'm sure you're not with child." Eve stood and waited, her legs about shoulder width apart, brandishing the pregnancy test like some sort of ward against evil. though the only real evil here was the tile in the bathroom.
Yvette listened to Eve's explanation, and the dots were being added to slowly form a picture. A hint of despair began to build as she walked into the tub, turning to face Eve. She raised one foot on the far side of the tub, pressing back into the wall to support her weight, then sinking down she added the other. She oozed downward to spread her legs. A tremble ran down her thighs while she settled. Staring at Eve, a momentary smile appeared before she closed her eyes and concentrated on readying herself to urinate on demand. "I have been drinking water today..."
Eve watched Yvette with an impassivity that seemed almost cold. Clinical. Once Yvette was postured down into the tub to be able to pee freely, Eve walked over with the hard, metal, spikes of her heels tapping loudly against the tile floor, then crouched down. Obviously she was avoiding even touching the floor of this place with her hosiery, it was so beneath her, as she set down the bag and box from the tests. Instead of simply placing the stick under Yvette, though, Eve brought her hand forward and with a clinical, almost completely detached way about her, and she spread Yvette's labia with two long, silken skinned, fingers. The other hand brought the test under the exposed woman, and Eve glanced up into her eyes, her own like two dove-grey clouds hiding whatever was going on in the sky beyond. "Pee, now. So we can at least move past this." There was no shudder, no strain of muscle, she just held the other woman's vestibule open with a practiced sort of ease and waited.
No matter how clinical the touch, the click of metal heels on floor caused muscle to flutter through Yvette and the flow of her breath to shutter. The echo of Eve's voice on tile danced to her eardrums and song in ways that nothing else in the world did. Her breath topped, held for only a second, and with a sign a dribble of urine grew to a full stream. Yvette opened her eyes, illuminated silver grew in her irises, and beyond the scent of feminine scents and urine, as pure dread and hopelessness. Her pupils grew out to thin the burning silver as she licked her lips and smiled warmly at Eve.
Eve's attention was focused downward, at the urine pouring over the absorbent end of the stick. Once it was thoroughly soaked, she pulled it back, and then slid her fingers up, out of the feminine folds of Yvette's body, so as not to get any of the bodily fluid on her own hands, at least no more than she already had. "Thank you, Cousin." She nodded to the woman and offered her a chilly sort of smile before Eve stood up and walked over to the sink. Replacing the cap on the test, she set it onto the edge of the sink and then went about washing her hands, touching the knobs as little as possible, but ensuring that her hands were well soaped before she rinsed them. As she reached for the hanging towel, she glanced back at Yvette and nodded toward her. "After this result shows up, we'll talk more." And then, instead of waiting, she picked up the test and walked back into the main hotel room, carrying it with her, as she intended to leave it nowhere alone with Yvette. As she passed the package on the floor, she dipped down and plucked it up, carrying it, too, with her into the main hotel room.
Yvette nodded to Eve explanation, and waiting until she had cleaned her hands and took the test with her before she moved. Palming at the wall, she pressed herself up to stand, taking toilet paper to dry herself and toss it into the toilet and flushing it. The sink came on and she washed her hands in them, taking in a deep breath. Once her hands were dry, and stepped out and waited in silence, watching Eve with her test. She stewed in her emotions, and if it looked as if she would speak, she looked at the floor instead.
Urine soaked down through the test, the hormones building and reading it as negative for pregnancy. The time ticking by slowly and doing nothing to curb the scent of despair coming off of Yvette.
Eve watched the test, as no one is as good at holding still as the immortal creatures of the various courts. Nothing else in the room seemed to matter, not even the terrible condition of it. When the result came back negative, she simply nodded her head, slipped the test back into the bag, and rolled the paper up to keep it sealed away. She looked back over her cousin then, a slow, intense scrape of attention that moved from the woman's bare feet all the way up to Yvette's face, not leaving anything out of the range of notice. "Do you want to die?"
A shiver ran through Yvette as she otherwise attempted to still as Eve's gaze fell upon her. Her silvered eyes locked onto Eve's for a moment, then looked to the ground. "There is always a part of us that wants to die, Eve. Failures becoming our deepest insecurities that we lock away. It radiates in us, and threatens to consume our very life force... It's the most beautiful of dances..." A soft smile touched her lips, and her arms crossed over her breasts to squeeze herself in a hug. "Your father's displeasure is so very well known within the Family... It makes him vulnerable. And one day, it stopped completely, and there were whispers to the reasons." Yvette squeezed herself about, "Someone always makes us pawns in their game... And in this, I may be one, but it doesn't change the fact I thought you were in danger..." Yvette's expression became pained, her skin paling as she reached back to take hold of the counter behind her. Her voice grew cold, "I will not sit back quietly when it comes to you. I knew of Henry's ultimatum, and I accepted the risk." The coldness broke in a whimper as she reached down to press her fingers into her thighs, pressing her nails into her flesh.
There were a few moments of quiet, while Eve just watched Yvette, her eyes still maintaining that delicate, velvety, shade of dove gray. She took the few, slow, steps forward that were required to reach Yvette, then moved the hand not holding the proof of lack of burden in her cousin's womb to stroke along Yvette's jaw. "Leave. Go back to enjoying yourself in the world. Don't stay here. You aren't going to die for this. But do not, I repeat myself, do not reach out to contact my son again. And please, don't make me supplicate for your life another time in the future, Yvette. I can only do that this time and have it work. It won't work again, for anyone. Not even you." She gripped into Yvette's jaw tighter, pressing her fingertips deep into the flesh, so a little of the anger she felt could be understood when she forced herself to pull her own hand away, leaving red imprints of those fingers left behind on Yvette's face. "I forbid you to contact me again, and I forbid you from dying in an attempt to do so, my beautiful, broken, dove. Stay away. I'll come to you when I'm ready, and have tired of the life I currently lead. You know as well as I do that stepping away from our true nature is never more than a short-lived fancy."
Yvette stared at Eve as she made it clear as to the path followed. No pain from pressing fingers seemed to register as Yvette broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Her skin taking on a pearly luminescent. "I can't... I just go... A promise... A hallow promise of silence that has eaten at me every day..." The woman's legs trembled and she just oozed to the ground in a pool of barely upright limbs. "Just burn the place down around me, Eve... Let it be done..." The tears fell freely and she shook her head hopelessly. "Use me..." She choked, "Hand me to the Oni if it will buy them favor... Please don't discard me."
Eve growled under her breath and shook her head. "I don't WANT to." The tone of her words were like a curse. "If I wanted to use you, I'd have used you already. As it is, you had me considering serving my own son up to you as a fucking husband, someone for you to destroy slowly over time. For you to live, I actually considered this. Knowing the possible outcome was not necessarily going to end in anyone's favor but your own, Vet." Eve reached out and put her hand firmly on Yvette's shoulder, then shook her, violently, hard enough to make her head whip back and forth. "Get yourself together, and stop acting like a child. Stop thinking in terms of days and weeks and years, think in terms of centuries, because that's what we have. The things I have holding me to this life are fleeting, things of decades. Stop trying to make me remove the one thing I look forward to after all those lovely little mortal things die."
Yvette sobbed continuously until she was shaken violently, and she screamed to the end of her lungs to burn at the well of emotion. Her hands wrapped around Eve's wrist to hold it on her. With a long groan, she laid her head on the back of Eve's hand. Taking a deep breath of her scent, she nodded. "Please let me write... Something small... To pass the decades." Turning her head, she pressed her lips to the back of Eve's hand and held them there. "I'll beg if you need to hear it."
A hiss of breath filled Eve's lungs as she stared at Yvette, then finally groaned under her breath and leaned forward to kiss the woman hard enough to likely cut lips on teeth if Yvette didn't react soon enough. It wasn't a deep kiss, almost more a signing of a contract. Eve's hand still squeezed Yvette's shoulder firmly as she pulled back and stared at the other woman with her lips set in a line much akin to that of a razor blade. "Fine. Write to me, under the guise of some chosen acronym of your name. At my office, though, never send it to my home. And always address it directly to Eve Dasse, don't use the Skavis name. On anything." Jerking her hand away from Yvette's grip, Eve stood, and didn't bother smoothing down her clothing, as it seemed to do that itself, as if afraid of the lashing it would receive if it didn't. "You leave today."
Yvette took that pained kiss with groaned pleasure allowing her own lips to break on her teeth. Panting and sniffling, her hands moved to cup her breasts, and guarding her hardening nips as she licked her lips. "Eve Dasse, office, and under an acronym... Archer it is." The woman closed her eyes and nodded, a genuine and warm smile playing on her lips. "You are still... The most thoroughly perfect being in this world... I imagine my sister's lawyer is weaving his magic, Eve. Be careful, , my love, my mech. I will think of you in every meal, so when your lips find my body once more, you will be able to drink for months." Her breath shivered at the thought, and Yvette nibbled on her bottom lip, despair oozing from her.
Eve shivered slightly, a thin sliver of silver showing around the very outer edge of her iris. "I look forward to sucking you dry when that day comes, my beloved cousin." She rolled her shoulders back to relieve them of any tension, then turned her head to the side, cracking her neck. "I'm leaving. Be gone within the next two hours. Get yourself from here. And go somewhere that isn't New York. Just be... alive. When I find you next." Eve gave Yvette a small, but completely real, smile, softening her face entirely for a brief moment. "In the meantime, I'll remember you fondly, and be very glad I didn't need to marry you off to my son to keep you alive. I'd have been very annoyed if I had to share you with him for the rest of our lives." Eve lifted her hand to her lips, and blew a delicate kiss to Yvette. "Goodbye, vertun vinum. My only vertun vinum." Then she turned on one of those insanely dangerous looking heels and walked to the door, opened it, and left without looking back to Yvette where she was left on the ground behind her. Eve even left the door of the room open, so anyone walking by would see Yvette on the floor, bottomless, and a total mess.
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