Post by Jenn on Nov 12, 2013 20:29:02 GMT -8
Sarah sighed with relief and pleasure as Shani drove up the long driveway of their secluded suburban home. This one wasn’t the Renton house everyone knew about. This was her real home. The one with the tall hedges framing the property and the statuary out back. This was the house that she could actually relax in.
After she soothed her pissed off pride of cats.
Walking inside the two story home, Sarah was immediately surrounded by four demanding felines. She talked to them as she headed to the couch, praising them for doing such good work at keeping the house and Shani safe.
Her messenger bag set on the coffee table, she sat and let the cats claim their appropriate spots—Inky in her lap, Blinky and Pinky to either side, and Clyde on her feet. A rumble of purrs spilled out as Sarah adored her kitties.
Shani smiled as she came in. “Right beasts they were for the last week.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Ardeth needed me.” Sarah shifted and stretched out imaginary kinks. “Unpack my bag and such. You know the drill.”
She nodded. “Then messages?”
The vampire nodded. “A lot?”
“Eight emails, four calls, and an invitation to tea.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow then snapped, “No!” as Shani reached for the messenger bag on the table. “Don’t touch that.” Shani pulled back her hand as if it had been slapped. “That bag is off-limits. To all of you.” Sarah repeated herself to the cats in a language they could understand. The cats glanced at it, marking it as off-limits, and remained where they were. The blood bond trumped curiosity at all times.
They all stared at each other for a moment, not looking at the bag. Shaking her head and dumping the cats, Sarah stood, grabbing the messenger bag and its precious contents from the table. Shani trailed behind as Sarah headed to her hidden bedroom. All five of her ghouls waited outside the basement door for their mistress to return.
“Tea?” Shani asked when Sarah reappeared, pretending nothing interesting had happened.
“Please. It’s been a long few weeks. Then, just leave the messages. I need to cave for a bit.”
“As you wish.”
Once in the kitchen, Sarah watched Shani move about the spacious room, going through the motions of choosing and brewing the tea. Neither of them spoke as Shani set the mug of steaming liquid in front of Sarah.
She didn’t touch it. Just smelled the citrus scent wafting out of the mug as Shani hurried to her upstairs rooms for the messages. By the time her ghoul handed her a sheaf of paper, Sarah had relaxed into the comfort of her own place.
Travel was a wonderful thing. So many new experiences and discoveries. This last trip, the Setite notwithstanding, was one of the best she’d had in ages. The discovery of a tomb, time with Ardeth, and part of a mystery solved. But still, it was damn good to be home. Where her stuff was. Where no one needed anything of her. Where she could look up on the walls and see the decorations and pictures she liked. Even if the whole thing was very much Suburban McBurbansville. Sometimes, boring was perfect.
“It’s good to be home.” Sarah murmured. She nodded to Shanni. “All right. Lemme have them.” Sarah accepted the printed out emails and the typed up missed calls. She sorted through them. “Politics. Politics. Gossip. Politics. Gossip.” Pausing at one, she showed it to Shani. “Really?”
“Yes, Miss Sarah. Really.”
“Damn.” She put it aside. “Important. Gossip. Gossip. Politics. Politics.” Sarah paused again. “Important. And politics.” She stacked the messages up in the order of Important, Gossip, then Politics. “All right. And the invitation?”
“You have been invited to tea by Silas Boren, Harpy of the Emerald Domain when you are settled.”
Sarah made a face. “Well, that was fast.” After considering for a moment, “No rest for the weary. Call his people and set up the appointment…at his convenience. Yes, I’m available this week. We’ll see how quickly he wants to move.”
She stood, taking the messages and the tea with her. “I’ll be in my office. Interrupt only if something is on fire. Otherwise, email.”
Leaving Shani in the kitchen, Sarah strolled through the house, seeing it anew as one does after a long trip. None of the decorations were specifically personal. Those bits of treasure were locked away. But all of them meant something to her. The framed foreign currency showed where she’d been. The small knick-knacks spoke of her love of cat-shaped kitsch. The hanging weapons on the wall comforted her in the fact that they were all live blades and ready to be used at a moment’s notice.
Her office, on the other hand, was devoid of personality. A couch for the cats to sit on. A plain desk with a computer and a phone. A flat screen TV on the wall. This was a place of work and nothing more.
Sarah sat in the comfort of the familiar, turned on the TV to the news—muted—and got to work. Not three minutes into drafting the first email, an email from Shani appeared in her inbox.
“Tuesday night, 10pm, Ventrue domain. Apparently, he wants to work very fast.” Sarah leaned back in her chair, glanced from the cats to the TV to her email. “Welcome home.”
After she soothed her pissed off pride of cats.
Walking inside the two story home, Sarah was immediately surrounded by four demanding felines. She talked to them as she headed to the couch, praising them for doing such good work at keeping the house and Shani safe.
Her messenger bag set on the coffee table, she sat and let the cats claim their appropriate spots—Inky in her lap, Blinky and Pinky to either side, and Clyde on her feet. A rumble of purrs spilled out as Sarah adored her kitties.
Shani smiled as she came in. “Right beasts they were for the last week.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Ardeth needed me.” Sarah shifted and stretched out imaginary kinks. “Unpack my bag and such. You know the drill.”
She nodded. “Then messages?”
The vampire nodded. “A lot?”
“Eight emails, four calls, and an invitation to tea.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow then snapped, “No!” as Shani reached for the messenger bag on the table. “Don’t touch that.” Shani pulled back her hand as if it had been slapped. “That bag is off-limits. To all of you.” Sarah repeated herself to the cats in a language they could understand. The cats glanced at it, marking it as off-limits, and remained where they were. The blood bond trumped curiosity at all times.
They all stared at each other for a moment, not looking at the bag. Shaking her head and dumping the cats, Sarah stood, grabbing the messenger bag and its precious contents from the table. Shani trailed behind as Sarah headed to her hidden bedroom. All five of her ghouls waited outside the basement door for their mistress to return.
“Tea?” Shani asked when Sarah reappeared, pretending nothing interesting had happened.
“Please. It’s been a long few weeks. Then, just leave the messages. I need to cave for a bit.”
“As you wish.”
Once in the kitchen, Sarah watched Shani move about the spacious room, going through the motions of choosing and brewing the tea. Neither of them spoke as Shani set the mug of steaming liquid in front of Sarah.
She didn’t touch it. Just smelled the citrus scent wafting out of the mug as Shani hurried to her upstairs rooms for the messages. By the time her ghoul handed her a sheaf of paper, Sarah had relaxed into the comfort of her own place.
Travel was a wonderful thing. So many new experiences and discoveries. This last trip, the Setite notwithstanding, was one of the best she’d had in ages. The discovery of a tomb, time with Ardeth, and part of a mystery solved. But still, it was damn good to be home. Where her stuff was. Where no one needed anything of her. Where she could look up on the walls and see the decorations and pictures she liked. Even if the whole thing was very much Suburban McBurbansville. Sometimes, boring was perfect.
“It’s good to be home.” Sarah murmured. She nodded to Shanni. “All right. Lemme have them.” Sarah accepted the printed out emails and the typed up missed calls. She sorted through them. “Politics. Politics. Gossip. Politics. Gossip.” Pausing at one, she showed it to Shani. “Really?”
“Yes, Miss Sarah. Really.”
“Damn.” She put it aside. “Important. Gossip. Gossip. Politics. Politics.” Sarah paused again. “Important. And politics.” She stacked the messages up in the order of Important, Gossip, then Politics. “All right. And the invitation?”
“You have been invited to tea by Silas Boren, Harpy of the Emerald Domain when you are settled.”
Sarah made a face. “Well, that was fast.” After considering for a moment, “No rest for the weary. Call his people and set up the appointment…at his convenience. Yes, I’m available this week. We’ll see how quickly he wants to move.”
She stood, taking the messages and the tea with her. “I’ll be in my office. Interrupt only if something is on fire. Otherwise, email.”
Leaving Shani in the kitchen, Sarah strolled through the house, seeing it anew as one does after a long trip. None of the decorations were specifically personal. Those bits of treasure were locked away. But all of them meant something to her. The framed foreign currency showed where she’d been. The small knick-knacks spoke of her love of cat-shaped kitsch. The hanging weapons on the wall comforted her in the fact that they were all live blades and ready to be used at a moment’s notice.
Her office, on the other hand, was devoid of personality. A couch for the cats to sit on. A plain desk with a computer and a phone. A flat screen TV on the wall. This was a place of work and nothing more.
Sarah sat in the comfort of the familiar, turned on the TV to the news—muted—and got to work. Not three minutes into drafting the first email, an email from Shani appeared in her inbox.
“Tuesday night, 10pm, Ventrue domain. Apparently, he wants to work very fast.” Sarah leaned back in her chair, glanced from the cats to the TV to her email. “Welcome home.”
