My Little Ventrue Pt. 08 Ch. 12

He took a step toward her. She stood her ground.

"I'm saying you weren't with the man long enough for his death to leave too deep a scar, dumbass."

"I--"

"Shut up." He came in closer. Again, she didn't back off, but she damn well knew she should have. He was only two feet from her now, and if he wanted to get in a punch, she wouldn't even see it coming. "Ever talk to an old person, someone who's been with their partner for decades, and then suddenly they're alone? It's not just that the person they loved more than the whole world is dead, but that a part of who they were is gone. A part of their routine, a part of how they operated. Imagine waking up and you're suddenly missing a hand. You reach for a doorknob, don't remember the missing hand, and then walk straight into the door. You can't even open a can of fucking beans anymore."

She almost laughed, but the man's tone crushed the possibility.

"When you lose someone you've been with for that long, a part of you is chopped off," he continued, "and you don't recover, so much as learn to live with the handicap."

"But... we're vampires, Jacob. We live forever. We get to recover, right? And... you too?"

"Yeah, we can. But that doesn't mean recovering from that sort of wound is easy. You were with Julias for a couple years. And yeah, I was happy for you, kid. Seemed like a great relationship. But you weren't with him long enough to have him become one of your hands. I was with Minerva long enough that she was. So if you'll excuse me, don't compare your situation to mine. It's not about guilt for me, unlike you. It's about a million things you're not nearly old enough to understand. It's about... testing out a new hand, and trying to my damnedest to give it a fair shot."

Sighing, Triss finally took a step back and lowered her head. It was all true. She'd loved Julias, loved him with everything she had, but a bit over two years wasn't long enough to develop the same sort of reliance and cooperative existence Jacob was talking about. It meant she would recover, where he might never.

"If... if Minerva was that important to you, why did you give up on resurrection?"

He snorted a sad laugh, turned, and started putting on his shirt. "Gave up for the time being, Triss. You still have a long way to go with your attempt before you've put in as much work into it as I did. And I never really gave up. I'm just... biding my time."

"Biding your time?"

He grinned, that usual, half psycho grin of his. "I'll tell you more about it sometime. But for now, keep doing what you're doing. Hey, maybe you'll learn something I didn't." He walked past her, and she fell in beside him as he stepped out into the empty night streets of North Side.

"So, about Samantha," she said.

"You saw her naked and cumming just an hour ago. That horny to see some more of her?"

"What? Dude, I--"

"Give it a few more weeks and I'm sure she'll let you touch her. Hell, one more week and she'll probably want me and Othello to fuck her at the same time."

Triss facepalmed and groaned. "No! Dude, no. I meant, you... so you really like her?"

He rolled his eyes -- all in the head motion -- and laughed again. "Yes, you idiot."

"Good, good." She nodded, and smiled to herself as she looked out at the empty street, the street lights, and the images running through her head. "You really just, gonna share her with the whole Circle?"

"That wasn't originally my intention, but the more it comes up, the hornier she gets. Who am I to say no to her desires? Not like I haven't done all that and worse in my lifetime. Like I said, village, orgy, seven virgins."

Triss should have laughed, but she didn't. Instead, she set a claw on her lips, and thought about it, about that milf sitting on Jacob's dick, except with Othello and Madison there, and Jen and Triss too, everyone just fucking each other and being happy in a very weird, intimate, witchy atmosphere.

"It... does kinda make me... feel guilty," she said. "I know Julias and I weren't together super long, but still. And... and we were a little more conservative with the sex, you know? I mean yeah, Jen was always with us, and sometimes we invited some kine, but without Julias, I feel..."

"You know damn well the man wouldn't want you to feel guilty."

"Sure, yeah, and--"

"Sexual healing is a thing. Jen's been trying to help you with that this whole damn time. Hell, whatever happened to that dude she was obviously trying to get you with?"

She smirked at the man. Jacob damn well knew the man's name was Sándor, and he was doing that guy thing guys did where they pretended to forget a dude's name. Course, he wasn't doing it for the reasons a guy would.

"Sándor, dumbass."

"Well, go find him and fuck him."

She shook her head and sighed. "Dude is boring."

"He's a stoic fucker, I'll give him that. But he's probably fucking miserable, and I'd bet good money that's a big part of why he's so boring."

"So, you think, what? If I fuck him, he'll be more fun?"

The asshole grinned at her like a happy pirate. It wouldn't have surprised her at all if he suddenly broke into a sea shanty. "I think if you and Jen fuck him, he'll be more fun."

"Jesus fucking christ. How does Samantha put up with you?"

He hooked an arm over Triss's shoulders, and laughed a merry laugh, again, like a pirate. "That woman has a bigger sex drive than I do, and kinkier tastes. It's just taking her a little bit to uncover them."

"You're corrupting her."

"Not even a little. If anything, she's corrupting me."

They laughed again. The idea of sweet, naive Samantha corrupting Jacob was pretty funny, and honestly, Triss could see it. Samantha was a walking bundle of sexual desire, and if Jacob kept nudging her onto paths the woman very much wanted to go down, it really wouldn't be long before things got super crazy in the Circle's cave. And, much as she tried to find that idea unappealing, Triss didn't. If Samantha and Jacob wanted to fuck right next to Triss and Jen, at this point, Triss wouldn't mind. Samantha's sweetness, combined with the milf vibe, was too damn hot. And, to her surprise, she didn't mind the idea of Jacob being there either. She didn't want to fuck him, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't find him attractive, or the sight of him fucking Samantha insanely sexy.

Sexual healing, Jen said. Sexual healing, Jacob said. Or were they just some horny witches that wanted to escalate the already insanely sexual Circle into full on orgy sex? Probably both.

"Sándor's busy with the other Begotten. Azamel's dying, and he's going to replace her as the leader of their little group, supposedly. Or at least their guardian."

Jacob shrugged, arm still hooked over her shoulders. "Sounds like a powerful individual, politically speaking. Even better reason to get him into bed."

She rolled her eyes again, but some tantalizing images of Sándor drifted up from memory. Him, basically naked, getting dressed by Jennifer for the ball. He was damn fucking sexy, too. But the man reeked of maturity and wisdom, and pain. And yeah, it was obvious now that that pain scared her. The man was just so fucking broken, and it scared the shit out of her to see what losing a family could do to a man, a father and husband.

"Pretty sure he's not interested."

"Probably feels guilty."

"G--" Fucking shit. She sealed her lips. Everyone feeling guilty for everything these days. "You think... I..."

"I think you should cut yourself some slack, you moron. Guilt is normal. It doesn't mean you're doing something bad, just that a part of you thinks you are. And guess what? We're all idiots, and think things that are wrong all the damn fucking time. You know damn well Julias would want you to move on and find happiness, and get laid. I know damn well Minerva would want me to do the same. Still feels weird, being with another vampire, even one as nice and sweet -- and horny -- as Samantha. But a big difference between you and me, Triss, is that I'm aware that these feelings are dumb, that it's ok to feel them, and it's ok to let them go."

She did her best to keep her voice steady, but it still came out a little wavery. "Sometimes you make it easy, for me to forget you're really fucking old, and actually probably know a lot of shit."

"All part of my charm." He winked at her -- all in the eyebrow -- and let go of her. "If you want to keep trying to resurrect Julias, go ahead. Lots of witches and warlocks have tried, and failed, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. And if you feel guilty for fucking someone, while trying to resurrect your old lover, don't worry about it."

"And if I feel guilty because I... because I'm trying to resurrect him? Because I'm killing kine to do it? Because--"

The man held up a hand. "That's part of being a witch, Beatrice. That's a big part of being a member of the Circle of the Crone. And it's personal." He sighed, a serious sigh, and she raised a brow. Jacob saying serious things was one thing, but for Jacob to actually sound serious, to use a heavy sounding voice? That was rare. "You're stepping into deep shit, but sometimes that's what's needed to change the world."

"What?" She blinked at him, and he looked away. That line, 'change the world', he said that with a straight face and a straight voice, and there was just no way Jacob would say a cheesy line like that with a serious voice unless he really fucking meant it.

"Keep working on it. I won't judge. Stop working on it. I won't judge. Hell, I think you're better off abandoning the attempt, Triss, but fuck me, who the fuck am I to judge any of that shit? All I'm saying is, you fucking dumbass, is that it's ok to do whatever, and feel whatever. There are no rules, nothing written in the sky that says how you should think or feel."

"That's, uh, a very anarchist philosophy."

"Yeap. S'why Garry and I get along."

After a few more chuckles, Triss took a deep breath and dug up another conversation topic she didn't want to have.

"Jack wants to talk to Black Blood."

Jacob's laugh returned, with a healthy dose of that cocky asshole vibe coming through again. "Heh, of course he does. Who tipped him off?"

"I did."

"Naturally."

"He deserves help, Jacob."

"Does he?"

"Yes, of course he does!" She grabbed the man's shoulder and forced him to stop on the sidewalk. "Dude, I owe him so fucking much."

Jacob's psycho smile faded away, and he stared at her, the sudden silence around them fucking haunting.

"Even after Julias died helping him? To save his mother?"

"Yes, even after that." She grit her teeth and shoved him. "And don't give me that shit. You know damn fucking well that was all Julias, dying a stereotypical, valiant death, like he was fucking destined to. And if it wasn't for Julias, you wouldn't have Samantha, the first woman I've ever seen actually manage to make you smile. Actually, genuinely, really smile."

Her rant got louder and louder, and only at the end did she notice the subtle smile on the asshole's lips.

She growled and shoved him. "You asshole. You already knew all that."

"Catching on, ain't ya?"

"The fuck? What the fuck are you digging at me for?"

"Just wanted to make sure you really understood your feelings."

"Oh fuck you." That hurt. That fucking hurt. Not that he'd tricked her; Jacob tricked everyone, and with the Circle, he tricked in order to teach them lessons the painful way. They lasted longer that way. What hurt was what she'd said, the way she knew Julias was bound to die because of the kind of guy he was. She didn't want to remember him like that.

Jacob grinned, hooked his arm over her shoulders again, and resumed their walk down North Side. "I'll talk to Jack, and so will Black Blood."

"Thanks. And... fuck, you are so damn hard to talk to."

"Am I?"

"Yes, you are. One minute you're hinting I should join you and Samantha for a good fucking. The next, you're... making everything hurt."

He chuckled, and half hugged her with his arm. "Gotta come at you sideways to get past the defenses."

"Defenses?"

"Yeah, defenses. Everyone has defenses, in the brain." He pointed at his temple with his free hand. "They try and predict conversations, so they can say shit to defend themselves from others, and from words. They block emotions, and keep shit at a distance." He hugged her a little tighter, and leaned in to bring his lips close to her ear. "You're the best witch I've had in a long, long time, Triss. I'm not gonna let you close yourself off to shit. You want to be a witch? You learn to embrace pain, and accept it. Don't rationalize it or explain it anyway, just accept it for what it is, and learn that it's ok to feel pain."

"The... same way you do, when learning Crúac."

"Exactly." He gave her a small shake. "Learn that you can do whatever you want, and that you don't need to chase some idealism some fool taught you. It's all ok. Do whatever the fuck you want. No one out there has the answers. No one fucking knows a god damn thing. For sure, no one knows of any correct way to do life."

She smiled and looked down at the sidewalk. That made a lot of sense, in a sad, and freeing sort of way.

"You probably loved Fight Club, didn't you?"

"Heh, to a point," he said. "The allegory was a bit thick. And I wasn't kidding, about your first point."

"First point?"

"You said I was hinting you should join me and Samantha. I'm telling you, Samantha would come her fucking brains out if you did. She really likes you two, and Othello and Madison. Especially Othello. Mostly Othello." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder if she's using me, to get to him?"

Triss rolled her eyes so hard she could see her fucking brain.

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~~Jack~~

A few days later.

Triss had told Jack that Jacob would come get him when he was ready, but that it might take a few days. BB -- yeah, she called him BB -- was busy, apparently, doing who the fuck knew what. Maybe that's what Daniel was trying to figure out? The man vanished randomly, sometimes for weeks at a time. He was less a sheriff, and more a detective, hunting down random shit that happened in Dolareido.

Sighing, Jack squirmed on the bench in the small room, and watched the two ladies change. The two ladies were, of course, Elaine and Antoinette, and both were trying on some of the latest fashion trends. La DaFraam was an upscale, overpriced fashion store, the sort where you could get something almost straight off the runway, instead of the watered down version that flowed out into the real world over years; Antoinette had given him a small lesson about the nature of fashion.

The store was open all night. All the fancy stores and restaurants in Dolareido were; just that sorta city. It was also the kinda store where the employees wore whatever they wanted, and were strongly encouraged to look gorgeous doing it. Three women and one flamboyant man were the employees tonight. The clientele was obviously supposed to be women, or men easily manipulated into buying expensive things for their girlfriends and wives. He'd never seen so many lacy bras in his life.

Antoinette sat beside him on the bench built into the wall of the changing room, legs folded, hair pulled over her shoulder, and she combed it absentmindedly with her fingers as she watched Elaine.

"Perhaps the red one?"

Elaine nodded, slipped the dress off, and slid into the red one.

"I thought we were looking into possible thralls?" he said. "I mean, not that I mind this." He gestured to Elaine, and waved his hands toward her ass. She was wearing a black thong, high hip, and holy sweet mother of god there was just something so arousing about watching a woman put on and take off clothes while wearing a thong.

Antoinette chuckled and shrugged. "We are."

"We are? Looks like we're shopping."

"Veronica Tam, one of the assistant buyers here at La DaFraam."

"Veronica? The girl with the blue hair?"

"Indeed. She has been exposed to the world of the paranormal."

"Really? How?"

Antoinette shook her head with a quiet but annoyed sigh. "A chance encounter. Unfortunately, Kindred are not perfect, and make mistakes. Normally, as you know, an Invictus Ventrue would be sent to make sure she does not remember."

"And I'm to be that Ventrue?"

"No. I am told that the woman did not panic when she discovered a vampire in the act. In fact, it was likely she had seen a vampire before, and had kept it to herself. This was likely a second sighting."

"Oh, so she's... kinda trustworthy?"

The Prince nodded. "She managed to notice the presence of vampires in my city, and did not open her mouth, of her own volition. Likely, the only reason she was caught spying, was due to her raised interest. The vampire who noticed her said she did not attempt to film the act. She simply wanted to see more of the world hidden in her shadow."

"Ah, I get it. She's a classic innocent young woman who finds herself pulled into things bigger than she is." Sounded familiar, too damn familiar.

Elaine laughed, but said nothing as she admired herself in the mirror. Skimpy little red dress, and Jack forced himself to look away and back to Antoinette.

"Oui. And we are going to offer her an opportunity. My file on her says she recently left the arms and money of her parents, and a relationship with a man, only to then move to Dolareido where she lives by herself. She is alone, and struggling to survive, likely deep in debt."

That was strangely detailed information, and Jack raised a brow at her. Her smile was flawless, best poker face ever, but it was obvious she'd done a little digging outside the usual means. Maybe she'd been looking into getting Veronica as one of her own thralls?

"So, she has good enough eyes to catch a young vamp making a mistake, and enough brains to keep her mouth shut. She doesn't have a support mechanism in her life. And, she went out of her way to look into stuff, without risking taking a picture; just wanted to see shit with her own eyes. Together, it all... makes her a perfect option for a thrall."

"Agreed," Elaine said. She slipped out of the red dress, and instead of grabbing for another, she reached out, took Jack's hand, and pulled him up to her. "Look her in the eyes when she comes in." His great grandsire smiled at him, and met his eyes. Powerful, deep, brown, scary eyes. "You will see it, plain as day. Instead of the mindless gaze of a sheep, you will find the eyes of someone with--"

"A brain?"

"Ha, in so many words." Elaine winked at him, walked over to the door to the changing room, and stuck her head out, careful to use the door to cover her naked chest. "Veronica dear, could you come here? I have a question."

Of course they were going to do this now. Jack almost interjected, but the click clack of Veronica's heels silenced him.

"How can I he--elp!"

Elaine yanked the woman into the changing room, closed to the door, and turned her to face Antoinette and Jack. With hands on the kine's shoulders, Veronica wasn't going anywhere, and she rapid fire blinked in total confusion and shock.

Jack groaned and gestured at Elaine. "You're going to scare her to death. Probably thinks we're going to rape her."

Elaine rolled her eyes, but kept her hands where they were, and the kine close enough her breasts pressed into Veronica's back and shoulders. "Hardly."

"W-What's going on? I'll... I'll scream if you don't--"

Antoinette lifted a hand and swiped the air gently. "Come now Veronica, you are an intelligent woman, are you not? You understand who we are."

"Who you are? I... I..." The pale woman turned paler, and her arms fell limp at her sides. "Oh."

That was surprising. Veronica looked at each of them, and her eyes fell as she realized the situation she was in, body going limp with submission. Smart, and she was quick on her feet to come to the conclusion that fast.