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Post by Persephone Ruspoli on Oct 22, 2009 23:56:06 GMT -6
Persephone knew the way to Titus' apartment by heart, something she had tried very hard to forget (but had been unable to do so). She pressed her thumb to the scanner at the door and waited. The door opened almost immediately, and the smell of crepes flooded out. Perse kicked the door closed behind her as she walked in, dumping her makeup bag on the couch and heading into the kitchen.
He'd clearly only woken up a short while ago, since his hair was in disarray and he was wearing only the silk pants he slept in. She resisted the urge to wrap her arms around his back and bite down on that wonderful shoulder of his. Instead she took her place at the island in the kitchen and leaned on it, "So, what's so urgent?"
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Post by Titus Vere on Oct 23, 2009 0:00:35 GMT -6
Titus was finishing the last of the crepes when Persephone arrived, punctual as ever. He didn't bother to face her, sliding the finished breakfast/desert onto the stack. When he turned finally, she was waiting for him in her stool, those overlarge sunglasses of hers pushed up and resting on her forehead. She still had her pink hair, and he smiled despite himself.
He set the plate of crepes beside the whipped cream and fresh fruit. He began making up three plates, knowing Skye would likely wake soon and join them. "Do you remember when I was investigating my parents?"
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Post by Persephone Ruspoli on Oct 23, 2009 0:05:20 GMT -6
His parents. Perse rolled her eyes and sighed automatically. "Obsessed Titus. You weren't investigating them, you were obsessed with them." And obsessed was really only scratching the surface.
Everybody had parental issues. Persephone was no exception. Her parents had always loved her, but they had never loved one another, and when she and Titus had first begun dating, she had honestly though she'd found the true love her parents had happily forsaken in order for a secure political and societally important marriage. Unfortunately she'd discovered that true love (if it had even been love) did not excuse your partner being a total nutcase.
The problem with Titus was that he wanted to find that fatal flaw that had killed his parents, the secret affair or stolen research or whatever other dark secret had gotten them murdered. It had gotten worse once Titus began working as an assassin, and had heralded the end of their relationship. "Did you find something?" She asked, wondering if all his paranoid obsessing had actually paid off.
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Post by Titus Vere on Oct 23, 2009 0:08:45 GMT -6
Persephone's tendency to cut directly to the truth was both refreshing and infuriating. He smeared whipped cream across his own crepe, adding a few fresh strawberries and blueberries. "Yes, I did. A half-sister. My father was having an affair with a woman living in the Inbetween. He died shortly after she was conceived and never knew about her."
"They fell in economic standing quickly without my father to support them, and when I found my half-sister, she was living on the streets of the Below." He took a bite, waiting to see Persephone's reaction. Titus was certain he would never convince Titus, but if he could convince Persephone, then others would be swayed even more easily.
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Post by Persephone Ruspoli on Oct 23, 2009 0:11:36 GMT -6
An affair? Well, perhaps that would be enough for Titus, the explanation behind why his parents were killed. But that was a lie and Perse knew it. Titus would never be satisfied. Their death hadn't just affected his life, it had directly shaped it. He would never get beyond it without therapy, and though Perse had offered to pay for it, he refused to even consider therapy.
Persephone quickly saw where he was going with this, "Titus, you didn't!" Her voice rose as she dropped her fork back onto her plate, "She's a girl, not some sort of pet you can take home until you get bored of her!"
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Post by Titus Vere on Oct 23, 2009 0:14:20 GMT -6
"She's my sister." He corrected Persephone. Her concern was not unwarranted. Titus did lose interest in things quickly. And there had been other Below girls, not brought up by him but by other people he knew. Some had been pets, others had been treated as personal whores. Titus did not intend to treat Skye as such. "I'm just helping her onto her feet. In time, I'll give her part of my inheritance once I know what she'd like to do with her life."
"You were the one who said I should get in touch with my living family. And here I am, in touch with a half-sister." He leaned back, waiting for her reaction.
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Post by Persephone Ruspoli on Oct 23, 2009 0:18:44 GMT -6
"I mean living family you knew existed longer than two days ago!" Persephone was irritated to hear Titus throwing her own words back at him. She had encouraged him to seek out family, but she had meant his second-cousins. Both of their family trees were well documented, and the Vere tree was far from being branchless. It was only Titus' direct line which had dwindled, the only child of only children.
"You better not turn her back onto the streets. If I find you have, I'll come here and cut your balls off." She stabbed her knife into the crepe for good measure, making sure he understood it was no idle threat. He smirked at her, and once again she was irked at how much she still loved him despite the knowledge that he was crazy. "I'll see what I can do for her after breakfast."
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Skye Thompson
Full Member
Human
Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich st?rker. ~Nietzsche
Posts: 211
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Post by Skye Thompson on Oct 23, 2009 15:37:23 GMT -6
The smell of food cooking was what finally roused Skye to full wakefulness. She sat up and smiled. Whatever was cooking smell delicious, and today she wouldn't have to steal to get some of it. As she got to her feet, Skye reached up and worked her fingers through her hair to comb out some of the knots. She picked up one of the bags Titus had brought last night and looked inside. It contained two shirts and a pair of pants. With trembling hands, Skye lifted the items from their bag, admiring their beauty. Then she clutched them to her chest, joy flooding her body. Looking down at herself, she realized she was still wearing the same clothes she'd worn yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that... She pulled off her old clothes and replaced them with new ones. They smelled fresh and clean, and were made of softer fabric than anything she'd ever worn.
As Skye stepped out into the hallway, she was surprised to hear voices talking downstairs. Who else was here? Should she stay upstairs? But as she listened to the conversation more, Skye realized they were talking about her. Deciding it was safe, she danced down the steps two at a time, feeling like a fairy-tale princess in her new clothes. A woman with pink hair stood in the kitchen, holding a plate of food. She was speaking rather threateningly, but Skye didn't catch what she said. She lifted her hand and waved. "Good Morning." Yes, she thought, smiling to herself, it is a good morning.
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Post by Titus Vere on Oct 23, 2009 18:06:08 GMT -6
And there Skye was. Titus smiled at her as she came down the stairs. She was wearing the clothes he'd picked out for her. He had been right about her size and he felt a bit of satisfaction. His attempts to purchase clothing for ex-girlfriends had not always gone as well as he would have liked.
"Good morning Skye." He greeted her, sliding her plate over to an open seat by Perse. It was best to have the two of them get along since Perse would be cutting Skye's hair and teaching the girl what she'd need to pass, "We're having crepes for breakfast."
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Post by Persephone Ruspoli on Oct 23, 2009 18:16:24 GMT -6
Persephone looked at the blonde girl coming down the stairs. She hadn't been sure what to expect, maybe a female version of Titus, but she wasn't much like Titus. They were both pale, but Titus' hair was dark, his jaw strong, whereas Skye was blonde and her features were more delicate. But, then again, she could take strongly after her mother. Perse knew Titus took after his mother's side of the family. She was pretty, that was clear, and a good thing too. A pretty girl was easy to pass off in high society.
"Morning." She greeted, making sure her anger at Titus didn't reflect in her greeting to Skye. If this girl was from the Below, then she was probably still overwhelmed by everything. Persephone knew the change well, memories of her childhood flooding back. Going down to live with her father had been like travelling to a different world, sinking deep into the earth, and the return to the paradise of light and air had always left Persephone uneasy.
She extended a hand to Skye as the girl got close. "Persephone Ruspoli. Pleasure to meet you."
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Skye Thompson
Full Member
Human
Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich st?rker. ~Nietzsche
Posts: 211
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Post by Skye Thompson on Oct 23, 2009 23:15:06 GMT -6
The woman called Persephone extended a hand, and Skye shook it. "Nice to meet you. I'm Skye." She sat down and took the plate Titus had offered her with a nod of thanks. The food on the plate was not anything she recognized, but Titus had cooked it so it was probably really good. Her face lit up as she took a bite. "This is delicious." She smiled at Titus, "Thanks." The hot food spread warmth through her body. It was good to have a warm meal again. So far, everything that had happened to her in the Top was good, throwing her life in the Below into stark contrast. It was as if the light of opportunity shown more brilliantly on the people and places in the Top than anywhere else on Terra. Then again, that was true both metaphorically and literally.
Looking out the window now, Skye could see the great round sphere of the sun climbing in the sky. It was a breathtaking sight. The sun was so bright, brighter than a light bulb, brighter than the street lamps that were the Below's only source of light. She could not think of things it was similar to, or things she could use to describe it. The sun was as bright as... well as the sun. As far as Skye had seen there was nothing brighter.
She turned her attention back to Persephone and Titus, noticing as she did so that the bright, circular shape of the sun seemed to be imprinted on her eyelids. She tried to blink it away, but nothing happened. Did looking at the sun damage your vision? No one had ever told her that. But the bright circle soon began to disappear, becoming fainter and fainter until it had faded completely.
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Post by Persephone Ruspoli on Oct 24, 2009 0:29:43 GMT -6
Perse didn't realize what Skye was doing until she turned back, blinking erratically. When she had been younger, she'd done the same, emerging back up into the light and finding her eyes drawn to the sun for too long. She put a hand on Skye's arm, "Don't stare at the sun, it's way too bring for human eyes to handle."
Below dwellers were so sad. Persephone was still pissed at Titus dragging Skye up here, not even considering how different this place would be for her, but she couldn't be too angry. A life where you felt like a stranger was still preferable to a life of starvation, or no life at all.
Perse turned back to her food, prodding the blueberries with her fork. On the walls, paintings and photos swam across digital canvases, and Persephone frowned as she noticed they were an assortment of her artwork, emphasis heavy on the show she'd done a month after their break-up. She'd channelled her pain into the statues, giving them twisted features, drawing the limbs in on themselves. "How very vain of you." Perse said, stabbing the berry.
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Post by Titus Vere on Oct 24, 2009 0:36:21 GMT -6
He nodded, acknowledging the compliment. Titus was going to enjoy cooking for Skye if he continued to gain similar reactions from her. Already he was mentally planning his week's worth of dishes, thinking of foods she would have likely never tried in the Below.
Staring at the sun was something he hadn't thought to warn her about. After all, every school child knew better. But then, why would you teach children to avoid looking at the sun when they would never see it? He was glad he'd called Persephone. She knew the Below and Inbetween intimately and indeed shot some of her finest work there. Titus was a tourist, a temporary visitor who left no mark on the world.
Titus raised an eyebrow at Perse's comment. She nodded to the wall, and the canvases. He simply shrugged. Titus didn't feel the need to defend himself. Those statues were about him, and they both knew it. And, maybe some dark part of him enjoyed needling her with that. She was the one who left him. She was the one who brought pain upon the both of them. He was simply keeping hold of the proof that he'd left a mark on her, even though she often pretended she hadn't.
He simply changed the subject, always knowing when to keep the conversation moving. "How did you sleep last night?" Titus asked Skye.
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Skye Thompson
Full Member
Human
Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich st?rker. ~Nietzsche
Posts: 211
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Post by Skye Thompson on Oct 24, 2009 11:19:02 GMT -6
"Oh," was her reply to Persephone's comment. "A- no one ever told me that." She sighed, close call. She'd almost said 'Adrian never told me that.' Of course she could probably figure out a way to work Adrian into her back story, but it would just make everything more complicated. So for now, as far as anyone besides Skye and Titus knew, Adrian didn't exist. She noticed Persephone's comment as she continued eating. What could the woman mean? Was she speaking to Titus? Had they been arguing?
Skye watched Persephone closely, curious about what she had said, but Titus' voice distracted her. "How did you sleep last night?" She smiled "Great!" She sensed somehow that Titus was trying to change the subject, so she continued, willing to help in whatever way she could. "The best I've slept in... oh, ages. I know I've said this before, but I really can't thank you enough for everything." With that she continued eating. She wasn't quite sure what was going on between Titus and Persephone, but if it was an argument, Skye was on Titus' side. She definitely owed him that.
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Post by Titus Vere on Oct 24, 2009 15:52:22 GMT -6
"I'm only giving you what should have been yours from the beginning. Had my father lived long enough to know of your existence, you would be accustomed to comfort." This was good. They could establish their cover story early. And if they messed up, he knew Persephone would keep quiet. They had their issues, but he knew he could trust her not to tell a soul about the things he said to her. Of course, he also knew she had a line he wasn't allowed to cross. She'd seen how dark he could get and she didn't want to know anymore for her own peace of mind.
"I have an appointment with Digeo this morning. Hopefully it won't be long, but these things can drag on." He would also be picking up the new papers and IDs for Skye after the meeting. Evading Digeo would be the most difficult part. "Persephone will be helping you with your hair and make-up, and perhaps if there is time, she can teach you how to use the holoboutique. I imagine you won't feel like shopping in public right away."
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