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"Do you not, Mister Mire?" Jen said, and tossed in a chip, betting one. It'd be nice if they could say what they were doing, to help Triss keep track. But the two Ventrue lived and breathed this atmosphere.
Superman tossed in a chip, and another. Raise by one then. "I'm not sure honestly. I consider myself a pragmatist, but I've seen enough in our world to believe in something beyond that."
Triss smiled. Good, because she'd hate it if it turned out Julias didn't believe in anything. It was rare for vampires to be atheist, considering all the shit vampires were, and could do. They were usually agnostic to some extent, believing in something beyond flesh and blood. And after the trip Jacob had sent her on, into the unknown of where-the-fuck-ever, Triss certainly believed there had to be something more than simple science. Part of the reason she was in the Circle, as was Jen. They believed the old myths, the old mythologies, in some form or another, that they were perhaps metaphors, or interpretations of grand designs.
She thought back to one of her first conversations with Jacob. 'Do you think there is some hidden meaning to being a Kindred? Some explanation to our existence that will raise us to a new level of understanding?' he'd said. And she'd said no, because of course she didn't think so. A new level of understanding, like a religious person finding divine purpose for their life? Fuck that. But, as she hung out with the others in the Circle, she started to notice Jen, Jacob, Aaron and Othello, everyone seemed perfectly open to the idea of there being higher entities, like gods, or greater aspects to the individual, like a soul. And Triss found herself leaning in that direction more and more.
Heavy topics seemed to be the theme of tonight, all driven by Jen.
Triss won the hand again. She felt like a bystander in the conversation though. Julias and Jen were fencing verbally, that much she could tell, poking at each other and looking for holes in their statements. Too preoccupied with each other to care about the game, maybe.
Triss slid Jen the deck, everyone threw an ante into the pot, and she dealt the cards.
"Sometimes I wonder," Jen said, handing everyone their cards almost as smoothly as Julias would, "if the Invictus believe in anything beyond money and power."
"Money and power are pretty appealing, and have proven their worth time and time again in the real world. The concept of a soul, or whatnot, hasn't so much." In went a chip from Julias's pile, betting one.
Triss checked her cards. Five and a Jack. She tossed in a chip as well, calling, as did Jen. Her friend dealt three cards to the table. Three, Six, and a Queen. Nothing. But, the two Ventrue weren't glancing her way, only looking at each other. Perfect time to try bluffing.
Julias tossed in one.
"I'll see your bet, and raise three." In went four more chips from Triss. Ahead, but if this backfired, she'd be hurt. Why was she bluffing? No fucking idea, except that it was something people did in poker.
Jen matched Triss's bet, and raised by three as well. New raises always had to be at least as much as previous raises, according to them. "Has it not?" Jen said. "You Invictus deal in only the things you can touch. The Circle, the dragons, even the idiot priests deal with real things that exist beyond your money, or defined walls of power."
Julias threw in his chips, calling. "No one in the Invictus denies that the Circle touches on forces that defy science, and our understanding of Kindred."
Triss called, and Jen threw in another card. Queen. Still nothing for Triss then.
Julias threw in two chips. So did Triss, and another two. Jen saw it, and then raised four. Pot growing damn big.
"Sometimes the Circle gets the impression the Invictus look down on us," Jen said, playing with a few chips in her hand as she waited for Julias to make his decision. "You and Triss hooked up when she was a Carthian. She's a witch now, though, a member of the Circle. Would you have given her the same chance?"
Triss raised a brow, and almost said something. But the environment was perfect for listening, digesting, absorbing. She knew Julias didn't care she was a witch, hell if—
"If anything, Jennifer, I would have been more intrigued. I dislike the Carthians and their juvenile attachment to their illogical anarchy. But the Circle? I respect your group, quite a bit, and I respect your beliefs... what I know of them." Julias called, throwing in enough chips to catch up.
They were playing for secrets, personal secrets. Kind of weighty, kind of a big deal. Twenty chips for a cash-in, to turn these innocent pieces of plastic into valuable information about the other players. It was a weird thing to play for, especially considering how open Triss and Julias were with each other. If Triss wanted to know about his past, she could just ask him. But, she felt it might be akin to torture for him.
"Triss hasn't told you much, about the Circle?"
"She's told me a little. She respects the privacy of the Circle."
"I try," Triss said with a grin, calling. Neither Ventrue looked at her, gazing at each other, or glaring. Almost made Triss envious, with how Julias was looking at Jen. Or maybe not, considering how much it was starting to look like a fight brewing.
Another card on the table. Better for her. Better for the others though? Their expressions were unreadable, but she was committed to the bluff. Julias threw in some more chips, so did she, and so did Jen. Only person looking at the chips was her though, the two Ventrue doing some sort of mind dance with each other. Now she was thinking about two cowboys dueling at the strike of noon, or two samurai, having a stand-off.
"I have to admit," Julias said, "I do occasionally imagine you lovely ladies, dancing naked around a bowl of blood or something. Chanting and swaying, painting your bodies with charcoal, and praying to unseen entities."
Triss snorted on a laugh. Half true.
"Maybe we could show you sometime?" Jen said, tossing more chips into the pile.
"I'm not sure your boss would be comfortable with that." Chuckling, Julias threw in some chips as well.
"And if he was?" More clink clinks, Jen shifting chips around in her fingers.
"Then I would say yes, I'd be interested. To observe, of course, not to partake."
"Does the concept of dancing naked around a sacrifice in the moonlight frighten you?" And of course, Jen had to add sacrifice to the description.
"Yes, but I also find it intriguing, and romantic in a way."
Heh, yeah, he probably did. Considering the sort of paintings Julias liked to keep around, he had a love of macabre shit, and dancing around naked in moonlight around a sacrifice was probably a painting he had somewhere already.
The hand ended. Triss came out on top. Again. This was getting very strange, because it was the first time Triss had more chips than others, let alone what was turning into all the chips.
But the two Ventrue had enough left for some more hands. Chips were going fast, faster than usual. They could cycle them back in, but they'd put out enough chips for a total of five secrets, and considering how powerful each cash in was, getting secrets from all other players, too many chips would have been deadly.
Normally, with strip poker and they way they played it, it was each time someone lost ten chips down from their starting pool incrementally, they'd have to remove some clothing. Pair of shoes, pair of socks, pants, shirt, etc. Doing it this way, getting to cash in on secrets, everyone's secrets, was weird. Why didn't she notice it before? Jen proposed the rules, Julias accepted, and Triss just went along with it. It was a weird way to play.
Were they letting her win?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~Julias~~
Well, Triss figured it out, perhaps a little. Poor girl wore every expression on her face, beautiful snake eyes dilating with every good hand, every realization.
Julias had picked up on Jen's plan the moment she'd mentioned the word secrets about their past. Talking about the Circle, souls, everything, was just pretense, poking at each other and seeing where boundaries lay. Dancing around each other in silly circles, because Ventrue never liked to lower their guard, expose their neck when engaging in contract negotiations.
Which is what they were doing, in a way. How deep were they willing to take the secrets they were willing to answer? Jen brought up souls, and he responded in kind. She invited him to see her dance naked around a sacrifice, and he found that inviting. Scary, and inviting.
This woman would be amazing at the Danse Macabre, if she engaged in it more. Jacob kept his circle out of city affairs, mostly, so Julias had little exposure to Jen when it came to dealings about territory, or dinner parties with Kindred poking holes into each other's defenses. Did so and so do so and so to so and so. Answer a question without really answering it. Ask a question without asking it. Imply a threat, suggest a course of action, without ever exposing your own motives. She'd be really good at it.
Triss wouldn't. Poor girl was perplexed, and glancing between them, trying to understand what they were up to. It was so damn cute, it made Julias want to hug and kiss her. But that would break the duel he was locked into with Jen.
Another hand, another round. Julias folded earlier this time. Another hand later, and Jen folded earlier. Throwing Triss off the trail. It didn't take long for the two Ventrue to run out of chips, and for Triss to have them all, leaving both Ventrue vulnerable.
If Triss had been with him alone, answering questions about his past would have been easy... easier, at least. And probably likewise for Triss and Jen. But two Ventrue, in the same room, learning a bit more about each other? That'd never come easily.
"Guess I'm cashing in." Grinning a big grin, but still eying the two Ventrue with mountains of suspicion, the Nos counted her chips up. Enough for five secrets, from everyone else at the table.
"Secrets of a personal nature, correct?" Jen said.
Julias nodded, eyes falling to the deck of cards in his hand. Idle shuffling, a great way to mask fear. Few Kindred enjoyed talking about their past, and none of them enjoyed putting their neck out, over personal issues or otherwise.
"... you guys don't need to do this," Triss said. "This is starting to turn heavy. How about we all go to the master bedroom, fuck, eat, fuck some more, and sleep?"
Both Ventrue slowly shook their head. No, this was as good as it was going to get, to get both Ventrue willing to talk about shit like this.
"Marcus was a playboy, as you know," Jen said, swiping a hand across the table and snatching up a chip. "As often with sire and childe, our relationship was romantic, and sexual. But that faded quickly. The fallout of our splitting is one of the reasons I left the Carthians. And one of the reasons Marcus left Dolareido."
Now that was a secret. Julias looked at her, caught her eyes, looked into them and waited for the smirk or the grin to label it all a joke. Never came.
"... I never knew that," Triss said. "Barely ever talked to Marcus, and you weren't in the Carthians long enough for me to ever talk to you."
"I noticed you though." Chuckling, Jen mirrored Julias's chip trick, rolling the chip between her fingers across her knuckles. "God, you were a bitch. Hated everyone, always hung out alone, listening to your metal music and hiding inside a tomb."
"Hey! I was... cultivating an aesthetic."
Both Ventrue laughed, and Julias rolled a chip Triss's way. Girl could be damn funny when she wanted to be.
"My turn I guess." He sighed, and began cutting the deck with his one hand. Then shuffling it, with one hand. Decades with a deck in his hand, playing poker with kine in various circumstances, to sharpen his instincts and skills. It was always about the facade. "I was married when I was embraced, as you know. Viktor wanted me to stay here and help grow his arm of the Invictus." Long sigh, for dramatic effect, and because it was sincere. "After the embrace, I visited her, and we got into a fight. I hit her."
Both women sat up straight, looked at each other, at him, at the poker table, at him, and winced. Lot of wincing going on these days.
"Why?" Triss said.
"I was angry, at everything. My life was gone, and I had to leave her behind, and I couldn't tell her why. We were screaming at each other, and I tried to convince her to understand, and... and the argument grew larger, encompassing other things, earlier things." He rubbed his temples with his free hand, trying to dig the memories out of the haze of years gone by. "It wasn't the happiest marriage. It was a hundred years ago, and... you know how it is, was. Not that that is an excuse, but, I don't think she was ever truly happy, being my wife. The anger came out, from both of us, and... I let out a swing. Not a slap, but a punch, with a bit of my new strength in it that I couldn't control.
"She lived. I damaged her jaw, but didn't break it. I took her to the hospital, and vanished that night." He couldn't remember much, couldn't remember the details, couldn't remember what they were arguing about. But, he could remember the anger in her eyes, and then that single moment of realization, and fear, when he threw the fist. "I came back to her, a decade later, to visit, to apologize, maybe give her some of my new fortune as a member of the Invictus. But I found she was re-married, moved on, had children, and... and she looked happy." Another delightful memory that would last with him for hundreds of years, scarred into his mind. His wife, ten years older, gorgeous, with a smile on her face as she enjoyed an evening with her family. "I left. Didn't say anything to her, didn't let her know I was still around, or anything."
Both women stared at him for a while, giving up pretense of avoiding the awkwardness of it all. He sighed again, and stared down at the cards in his hand as he continued to shuffle them in the one palm. Never told anyone that story, ever. Not Tash, not Jessy or Jack, and certainly not his sire.
"I... can't imagine you hitting a girl. I mean, not in that context, not like that." Triss squirmed, and when he looked her way, she looked down. Yeah, painful.
"Me neither." Jen didn't lower her gaze when he caught it though. "You've changed a lot since then."
"Have I?" If Triss had said that, that he'd changed, he could understand. He'd had the time to prove to her and himself that he wasn't that guy anymore. But Jen, she barely knew him. Or that was the problem, that he thought she barely knew him, when she did. And in there, was probably the motivation for this dangerous game.
Maybe they should have played truth or dare instead, so he could at least take dares for the remaining secrets.
"You have," Triss said, and she slid her chair in closer so she could reach out and poke him in the leg with a claw. "I'd make a joke, maybe something like 'if you hit me, you know I'd hit you back, and I hit harder,' but... doesn't seem like the time. So, serious note, yeah, I don't get that impression from you at all. Hundred years of being a vamp has done you good."
"Ha." He laughed, barely, and set the cards down so he could take Triss's hand in both of his. And, of course, kiss her knuckles, like a princess. Which got her chuckling, and then rolling her eyes and pushing his hands away. Which made Jen swoon like a school girl.
"Kindred are often sired for reasons more than obvious." The opposing Ventrue reached out, took the cards, and began to shuffle them, in varying ways of fancy flourish. Not like Julias could of course, considering how long he'd had to practice compared to her. But still, he watched her fingers work the cards, and both he and Triss smiled at her.
"Do tell," Triss said. "I can do that, right? Ask for a more specific secret? I did win, after all."
"... alright." She palmed the deck, and began cutting it, over and over, one-handed like Julias. "As I said, we are often embraced for reasons not so obvious. It comes out of us in strange ways, small parts of us we take for granted." With a shrug, she started dealing herself a hand. Five-card draw. Two twos, two kings, and an ace. She dropped the ace, and drew a five. Two pair, mediocre, and she sighed as she put the cards back into the deck. "Marcus was hoping to use me, to play in the Danse Macabre, high stakes."
"How?" he said. Night was getting more and more interesting.
"He knew I had a knack for political seduction. And he wanted me to use my personality to sleep my way to the top, in a sense, ridiculous as the notion is. When I found out much of our relationship was built on that assumption, that I'd do his bidding because I was his childe, I told him to go fuck himself."
Antoinette had it right then, about Jennifer at least. Maybe not about Marcus, if the man was willing to use his childe as a stepping stone in the Danse Macabre.
Triss laughed, leaning back in her chair. But with a few moments, her laughing faded, and her expression grew heavy. Yeah, the grossness of the situation sank in, and she scratched the back of her head as her eyes looked left and right down at the table, piecing together the images. Girl was so damn readable.
It meant Jennifer's new life as a vampire, was founded on a lie. Marcus didn't love her, and her new eternity of being an undead creature, forced to subsist on the blood of the living, was bullshit.
"Damn," Triss said. "That must... really fucking suck. You know my story, that my sire was just an obsessed stalker. At least... at least mine has some honesty to it."
Jen shrugged, dealt herself another hand, and came out with a full house. "Marcus always did like to think long term, a trait sadly missing in most Carthians."
"... you should talk to the Prince sometime," Julias.
His fellow Ventrue laughed. "You can't be serious. She's ancient, and I'm a decade embraced. Everyone at this table is older than me."
"Yes but not everyone at this table manages to capture the eye of everyone the way you do." Winking at her, Julias held out a hand for some cards. She tossed him five, and after a quick peek, he held up two fingers. Four jacks. He showed the hand, as if it was prophetic in some way. He smirked at the thought, but he could see the two women were a bit more moved by the lucky hand than he was. They were witches, after all.
"... you think I capture everyone's eye?" Jen said.
A chip nailed the woman in the face. Incoming fire, from Triss.
"You go to a ball, basically naked, and have everyone staring at you? Not to mention I'm sure more than a few kine came their brains out because of you." The Nos rolled her eyes, got up, and slipped behind Jen. Curious move.
Not so curious, when Triss set her hands onto Jen's shoulders, then slid them forward to reach the woman's neck. At the chest, she started undoing the buttons of Jen's shirt. Jen was in a dark suit, jacket buttons undone, white shirt underneath, and a pencil skirt. Seemed Triss wanted to get her out of it, as her claws started to undo the buttons of the shirt, all the way down to the skirt. Jen never wore a bra, pointless as they were to a Kindred, and Triss set her claws along the inside of the shirt to spread it, exposing Jen's breasts.
And Jen let her. She sat back, leaned her head into Triss's neck, and kissed her jaw. But she kept her gaze on Julias as she did, both women did, subtle grins abound.
"I thought we were going to share more painful memories and secrets?" he said. Not that he minded, eyes drifting down the visual feast Triss was creating for him. Jennifer's smooth skin, tinted slightly dark, and heavy breasts with red nipples, were beautiful. And Triss cupping her breasts, letting the size and weight of them conform to her fingers and claws, was an addictive sight.
