My Little Ventrue Pt. 07 Ch. 06

Matt kissed her on the head, picked her up, and set her on her bed. "A lot of us have been setting up roots here. Whether or not David learns about what happened that led to the Azlu situation, or if that has any effect on why we came, a lot of us will want to stay. I know Art and I will want to stay for you."

Awww. She squirmed on her bed, thankful she wasn't Blushing Life, cause every time Matt or Art talked romantic talk, she could feel herself getting ready to blush blood red.

"W-Would you... really stay for me?" She almost stopped herself when she heard the shower turn off. Art would be coming out any minute, and she wasn't sure if she could say this to both of them at the same time.

"You don't... want us to?" Matt backed up against a wall, hands in the small of his back. He tried to look at her, but his eyes fell away after a second. From aggressive and possessive one minute, to uncertain the next.

When it came to wolfy things, guarding territory and protecting pack mates, Matt was comfortable. Not only comfortable, he was skilled and confident. She could throw dangerous hunters or deadly monsters at him, and Matt wouldn't blink. But, if she said something romantic to him, how would he react? If his averting gaze was any indication, he might be sheepish, or even shy. Hard to picture Matthew as shy, but she was picking up those vibes now.

"Of c-course... I want you to. Y-You and Arturo. I... have b-been... getting rather... attached, t-to you two, you know?" She held out her palms toward him, and made grabby hands, like a toddler. With a growing smile, Matthew walked over to her, and got down on his knees in front of her. Sitting on the bed meant she was in a perfect position to hug him, and kiss him, and nudge her nose into his.

He met her kiss, hands roaming down her body and squeezing her waist through her towel. It was a good thing she'd just drained them — sexually speaking — minutes before, or Matt would have pinned her down and started fucking her again, no doubt.

"Hey," Art said from her bedroom door, "I'm getting jealous watching this."

"S-Sorry!" She said, gently pushing Matthew away by the shoulders. "W-We were... getting a little... um... I d-don't want you to leave Dolareido." And now the cat was officially out of the bag.

"Oh?" And of course, unlike Matthew who didn't have a deceiving bone in his body, Arturo was a deceitful, manipulative bastard. His smile said it all. He knew she had feelings for him, and Matthew, and he was going to dangle—"I don't want to leave Dolareido, and I don't want to leave you. I like you, a lot." Grinning the whole time like Loki would, Arturo, also only dressed in his jeans, sat down beside her on the bed, leaned down over her, and started kissing her.

She frowned into his kisses, and punched him in the chest a few times. Pointless. The man may not have been as big as Matthew, but he was still huge. Might as well have been punching her door frame. One of his arms slipped behind her, half hugging her, and he continued to kiss her, until she relented. Ok, much as she wanted to punch him, Arturo was a really good kisser.

Like peeling a delicate gift, Matthew pulled the towel on her body apart, and groaned at the sight of her naked body, one of those happy groans Natasha made when drinking. "It's not just us, either," Matthew said. "Avery is getting in comfy with some human dude. Clara and Carter are sitting pretty in that tower. Mason and that Carthian chick are together all the time. And there's a rumor Clara's been having some fun with a bunch of guys."

Natasha laughed, before sucking in her breath quick, as Matthew started to kiss her neck, under the jaw and opposite of Arturo. She tried to push him away, but it didn't last long, and Matthew's hands roamed up to caress her breasts as he kissed her. He gently pressed his thumbs into them, and she could feel him smile against her neck, as his fingers tenderly massaged their softness. Small as her breasts were, the big man seemed perfectly content to obsess over them.

"I... w-wonder, about Clara," she said, little mewls slipping into her words and between Arturo's lips.

Arturo kissed her again, sighing into her kiss as he closed his eyes. "Why?"

"I still think she likes... J-J-Jack. She—" She squeaked, reached out, and pressed both hands on Matt's face. "If you d-don't stop, I'll drain you until y-you can't get up!"

"Don't threaten me with a good time."

She rolled her eyes, and wiggled away from the two men. If that went on any longer, it'd have led to more sex, and it'd barely been more than an hour since they finished up. Kindred healed quick, and she probably could go again if she really wanted, but it wasn't good to get addicted. It was a wonder the Uratha didn't spend literally every waking moment fucking each other, if they could all recover this quickly. It wasn't like they could simply not Blush Life, to prevent arousal.

Maybe she should drain them both of blood? She'd Kissed them just yesterday! But if she drained them both to the point they went comatose, or at least close to it, maybe it'd get their sex drives under control for a little while. Not that she minded. She wouldn't be able to make a sex tape if they weren't such bundles of testosterone and desire.

Thinking of sex tapes, she walked over to the laptop. She'd stopped the recording, but she hadn't had an opportunity to actually examine the footage yet. Unable to suppress her grin, she scanned through the video quickly, to make sure they never fell out of frame. And she muted the video ahead of time, because she knew she got all squeaky during sex. Didn't want to trigger her boyfriends' hunger right now. Maybe later.

Oh god! That was her! Little her, on her back on Art's chest. Her pink-clad legs were sticking out from between the two titans, and the camera was pointed three quarters at her ass, showing what the two men were doing to her. How did all that fit inside her?

Shock over, she shifted herself a bit, to keep the camera screen out of sight of the boyfriends. Couldn't have them see it! Not until she edited it and got it all pretty. It was her project, and it had to be perfect before anyone could see it. Only then, she'd show them, and as long as they said it was good, she'd show Jessy too. And maybe Antoinette?

"You think Clara still likes Jack?" Matthew said. He'd joined Arturo on the bed, and both of them were staring at her. Oh, right, the towel. She closed the laptop, yanked on the towel, and pulled it out from underneath Matt's ass.

"I d-do. She, she um... she's getting d-distracted, right now. B-But that's just sex. So unless s-someone else comes along, I... d-don't see her just giving up on Jack."

The two men nodded, each lifting a hand to hold their chin, in unison, like a choreographed maneuver.

"Know any vampires who'd like a strong-headed woman like her?" Art said. "Clara's fun on the outside, but once you get to know her, she's damn stubborn."

"Um... I d-don't, no. I mean, there are lots of single K-Kindred in Dolareido. Does... does it n-n-need to be Kindred? You said Avery is d-dating a man named Henry." And there was no vampire named Henry, unless the Prince's opening of siring had led to a new Kindred with such a name.

"True," Art said, "but Avery's Avery. Sometimes I think she'd prefer to just walk away from all this, and live a quiet life with a baker named Henry, Henry McBoring"

Giggling, she tied the towel tight around her, and came over to sit on Matthew's lap. She snuggled back into his chest, turned so she could press her cheek against it, and set her legs on Art's lap.

"She... d-doesn't want to be Uratha?"

Art shook his head. "More like, she's paid her dues, and she wants to live a quieter life. Still be Uratha, still hunt, but not at the front of the pack, and not into life-threatening danger." His hands found her legs, and traced fingers up and down her skin. "Sometimes I think that's half the reason she came to Dolareido, to settle an old score so she could relax for the first time in her life."

"First t-time?"

"I think Art's right," Matt said, kissing the top of her towel crown. "Avery found us after she left Dolareido, but we can tell she's been carrying scars. She's been fighting and hunting for a very long time."

"W-What kind of scars?"

"Well," Matt continued, "as far as we can tell, she and her pack got pretty upset about what happened in Dolareido, about killing Minerva. They must have done something reckless since then, because her old leader Simon is dead, and her old totem is dead. Flowing Sanctuary was a spirit she befriended not long before she met me."

Art nodded, and started to massage her calves. "She's been through hell, but she doesn't talk about it, with anyone. We just know about Minerva, and Jacob, and the shit that went down here in Dolareido. When David said the spirits were pointing to this city, she was... excited, in a way. Or terrified maybe. We could tell she wanted to come here, but..."

"But," said Matt, "she seems to be happier, now that she's here. She's dating, and we think she's going to try and reconcile with Jacob again."

Natasha looked down at her lap, frowning. The idea of Jacob ever forgiving someone a major transgression was difficult to imagine, but the death of his love Minerva, she couldn't see him forgiving anyone for that, ever. Avery had a long battle ahead of her.

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~~Antoinette~~

Come dusk, she sat upon her throne in the primary meeting room of her headquarters, her Elysium Tower, and waited. With Daniel at her side, standing and still, an eternal gargoyle guarding over her, she feared no vampire. As Maria, Michael, Garry, and Jacob stepped into her room, she offered each a small nod, a knowing nod, a 'this is my city, obey me' nod. Only Jacob, and his eyeless gaze, offered anything resembling defiance, subtle motions hidden in his body language.

Would her old friend ever calm himself? Would he ever be her friend again? Doubtful, and tragic.

"Report," she said. It was a formality of course, to ask for redundant information. And yet, there was always the possibility for misunderstandings to be cleared, or for the Primogen to announce newly developed issues they'd yet to share with her. Hopefully they would not, but it was better to brave such waters immediately.

"The sweeper teams have found nothing," Garry said. "Couple of the Uratha say they get close to finding something, but however this Elen woman is getting around is throwing them for a loop."

Michael nodded, and tossed a few pictures onto the glass table. "We've found more remnants of those burned symbols, the ones we think Elen uses as a portal. The hunters are clever, but they seem to be on the run. Or at least licking their wounds."

"Mister Terry," Maria said with a small smile, "has done them far more harm than any of us could have predicted. Were it not for him, I fear more than Berry Tellern and Julias Mire would have died. The hunters are indeed hurting, and we must take advantage of this as soon as possible."

Jacob chuckled, but nodded, saying nothing. Garry, on the other hand, leaned back in his chair and donned the expression he always wore when ready to speak, like an aggressive, barking dog. Forever a child, this man.

"But he and no one else has managed to find the hunters, since he captured the monster," Garry said. "We're running out of time. Sooner or later the hunters are going to strike again."

"Indeed," Jacob said. "Jeremiah and his hunters will do anything to obtain revenge against Azamel, and the longer we wait, the longer we allow him to recover. Let's not forget, their shaman can hunt down individuals, using some form of haruspex."

Haruspex. To know that such magics could actually be done, using flesh and sacrifice, was an unsettling truth to discover. Valuable information, but the sort that haunted her dreams. What madness could this Elen witch unleash with her mastery of flesh? What dark gods did she pray to?

"Agreed," Antoinette said. "But until we learn of a way to defeat Elen and her magic, they will continue to be cockroaches."

Jacob leaned forward over the table, smiling his deadly smile. Dressed in his usual black robes that he insisted on wearing to these meetings, he looked less a modern vampire, and more an ancient relic of magic and mystery. He found it fun, no doubt, while she considered it nothing more than quaint.

"I may be able to help with that. My fellow witches and I have been doing all we can, to find a way to beat Elen at her own game. We might be onto something."

Antoinette frowned at her old friend, and tapped a finger against the glass table. "You are the cause for the disappearances in Devil's Corner as of late."

"I am."

"You kill too many, Jacob. If this continues, you will summon yet more of these infernal cockroaches to my city."

Her words earned nothing more than an annoyed smirk from the man.

"And what progress have you made, in catching Jeremiah and Angela, hmm? Got that Begotten locked up downstairs, but has he told you anything?"

The game, once again, began. Jacob would take a jab at her, a verbal lunge, and subtly imply she was not suitable to lead the city. She would defend herself, assert dominance, and Jacob would retreat with all the regret of a mischievous child. Why did he insist on these stupid games, this pointless jousting?

"No, he has not. He will eventually break free of Elen's spell, but I imagine it will be too late by then."

Michael lifted a finger from the table. "But, without Sándor, she can't escape into the nightmare, correct?"

Jacob shook his head. "Jeremiah broke into the dream realm on his own before, the same night he kidnapped Jack. We don't know if he used Sándor to do that or not, but considering the magical handcuffs, and the strange glowing knives we've seen, I wouldn't put it past him to have done it without the gargoyle monster."

Far too many unknowns. The hunt for the hunters grated on her, irritated her beyond belief, a grain of sand that refused to be banished.

"Jacob," she said with a sigh, "Elen and her strange magics are beyond the reach of the Invictus and the Carthians. And though I loathe to say it, such... an obsession with flesh, is not my forte. In matters of Elen and this strange chamber of flesh that she hides her hunters with, I will defer to you."

The eyeless man winked at her, only noticeable through the small flex of his eyebrow. "Like I said, already on it."

"If I may," Maria Turio said, "I would like to speak of the Lancea et Sanctum."

Of course she would, because each grain of sand these children slid into her shoes was a victory for them.

Antoinette did her best to not roll her eyes. "I have already allowed Burksen to preach to any who wish to learn of Longinus."

"Yes, but you limited our freedom to speak of this. And, I am... seeking, to reestablish the Second Estate, in its entirety."

She glared at Maria, but said nothing, slowly tapping a finger against her table, while Garry began to boil.

"So we can kill all of you again?" the Gangrel said. "Learn from the past, for fuck's sake."

"It will not be as last time!" Maria slammed both hands on the table. It survived. For all her obvious frustration with the Carthian, Maria was not the sort to let her emotions get the best of her. She could control herself. But, could she control herself in matters connected to Lucas?

Garry, unlike Antoinette, did roll his eyes. "You say that, but all I see is Lucas's woman wanting to take up the mantle."

It was tempting, to interrupt this squabble and prevent escalation. But it was better to see how the Nosferatu would respond to this verbal torture.

"In fact, I wish to do exactly that, except without the man's eyes for conquest."

"The fuck does that mean?"

"It means, Mister Tones, that I wish... to leave my position as council member for the First Estate. Should I be given permission to do so, I will create the Second Estate as a child branch of the First Estate, until such time that we can be considered a separate covenant unto ourselves."

That was not what Antoinette had expected to hear. "Are you serious, Madam Turio?"

"She is," Michael said. "I will rule the Invictus, and Turio and I will be partners. We expect the Second Estate to rely on the first for all resources, until such a time they can stand on their own."

Maria raised a hand before Garry could speak up. "And before you seek battle, Mister Tones, allow Mister Terry and Mister Burksen to prove to you that this is not a bid to grow our influence."

The Carthian ground his teeth until everyone present could hear, but after a time, leaned back in his chair, and sighed. "As long as it's just the Church fuckers existing within the Invictus, I guess it doesn't matter much."

Antoinette smiled, a subtle smile, but one that earned a frozen look from the corpse woman. "Very well, Maria Turio. For now, you may act as leader of the Lancea et Sanctum, provided you remain within the confines of the Invictus. We will see, with time, if you remain true to your intentions."

Unless Antoinette's ears were deceiving her, tonight's meeting sounded like progress.