Post by The Serpent's Embrace on Nov 21, 2013 23:38:33 GMT -5
January 2, 23 CLE ((A continuation of the events found here ))
In the aftermath of the day’s most unfortunate events, no one would have expected to hear the slow chafe of scale on marble echoing through the dark halls of Du Couteau manor in the dead of night. Never the less the noise was unmistakable and decidedly present.
Just down the hall from her sister’s room, healed now from the wound she had received, Cassiopeia paused to stare down at the pinkish blood stain left in the void between the tiles. Long talons swept over the place in her torso where the knife had struck, the echo of pain made all the more tangible because this is where it had happened.
The strange sound began again as the lamia slithered up to the thick oak door that marked the entrance to Katarina’s room. Hope i'm not interrupting anything she mused to herself as she tapped hesitantly at the door. “Oh sister dearest… Are you decent?”
Post by The Sinister Blade on Dec 13, 2013 4:16:13 GMT -5
Katarina had been having a catnap after a job in the city. While it hadn't been difficult it had taken a bit out of her. Swain had been working her hard of late. Almost like he didn't want her having any free time to look into her fathers disappearance. Unfortunately there was nothing she could do about it.
It seemed like she had just gotten to sleep when the knock on the door woke her with a start. Before she realized she was awake she was out of bed, naked except for the dagger she held out in front of her. When she was awake enough to register the voice of her sister and make sense of the words she responded. She must have been very tired. It had taken a good five seconds for her groggy voice to leave her mouth. "Give me a minute. I was sleeping."
She quickly found her clothes scattered about the room. Making sure all her weapons were in there usual place before opening the door for her sister. She gave a sarcastic wave of her hand inviting her sister into her room that was a complete mess today. She had been more then a little upset when she heard she was to go on another of Swain's 'tasks'.
"What do I owe the pleasure of your company today sister mine? You have been quite difficult to pin down lately."
Post by The Serpent's Embrace on Dec 13, 2013 17:45:05 GMT -5
Cassiopeia shut the door behind herself, cutting off what little light spilled in from the hallway. “Not nearly as difficult as it’s been to pin you down darling.” The lamia replied with a little smirk, “Seems you are always off doing this or that. In fact if I didn't know better…”
Cassiopeia paused to gingerly lower herself onto the edge of the bed. “…but then, I do know better don’t I? In fact I think we all do.” The words were thick with implications. Even in the low light, she could see the shadows beneath Kat’s eyes, the exhaustion that permeated every fiber of her being. Perhaps now was not the right time to burden her sister further. Of course if I do not and something were to happen…
“You’re leaving again tomorrow.” It was more a statement than a question, Cassiopeia already knew the answer, in fact it was precisely why she had come. In the folds of her robe, she held several pieces of a puzzle, pieces of some bigger picture she had yet to fully see.
It was hard to believe now how safe she had felt once upon a time. Father had always been there to guide her, big sister was never too far away. She even missed Talon, constantly skulking about. Hurt welled up in her eyes. True they were better at stabbing things then patiently strategizing but it did not take a genius to realize that they were stronger together.
“Katarina… Kat, it is no secret that you don’t approve of what I used to do.” The lamia paused, her eyes downcast in an affect of shame. “However, I really was excellent at it. Regardless of what you believe about me, I was as good at gathering intel as you are with a knife. I can help if you will just trust in me as father once did.” Cassiopeia stopped herself short. It seemed no matter how old she became, being in Katarina's presence could still make her feel like the child she used to be.
She inhaled deeply, getting her focus back before continuing. “I thought that I could handle this myself but it has never been up to me to decide what to do about any of the information I gather. With father gone, I need your help, even if you don’t want mine.” Dangerously near exasperation at the difficulty of all this nonsense, she pulled her hand from the pocket of her robe and set the contents down on the bed sheet.
Laid out on the bed between them were two excerpts from the newspaper, a letter stamped with the signet of the black rose and their father’s watch, broken at fifteen after the hour.
Post by The Sinister Blade on Jan 14, 2014 21:45:41 GMT -5
As her sister walked into her room Katarina steeled herself. She was the head of the household and she would be damned if she would let her sister know just how exhausted she was in both mind and body. With father gone it was her responsibility to shield her little sister from the vipers nest that was the Noxus political court. While she herself wasn't suited for it she would be damned if she let her sister within reach of the Grand General and those of his ilk. Between the politics, her missions, the investigation into there fathers disappearance as well as keeping up with the house affairs the strain was becoming harder and harder to hide. But hide it she would. It was her duty and responsibility to protect her family and house.
Her sister's words hit close to what had just crossed her mind and it startled her that it was so obvious that she was so busy. "Things are busy at court and Swain is paranoid, he has been sending his assassins out to make examples of anyone stupid enough to say a word against him. That and I didn't realize there was so much involved in keeping the house affairs in order. I'm sorry I haven't been around much. You have been keeping yourself busy and out of trouble I trust? It isn't a good time to get into anything. Swain is looking for excuses to instill fear into the citizens. Don't give him a reason to set his eyes on you." She wouldn't say that his eyes were already on them. She didn't want to scare her. It was up to her to deal with this mess.
Again her sister managed to surprise her. "Yes....I am. Who told you that?" That was supposed to be a secret. Was her sister going back to her old trade? She hoped not. She was to good for her former trade. She could be anything she wanted to be. It had always upset her knowing what her sister did to get the information from men.
Her face must have betrayed her because she knew what she was thinking. It was an old argument between them and both knew how the other felt about her former trade. "I know you were good at it. I just know that you are better then that Cass. You could be anything you wanted to be. Why choose.....that."
"What do you mean? What can't you handle? What have you got yourself into Cass!?" It was all she could do to tamp down the panic growing inside her. Her little sister had no idea how dangerous things were! Noxus was about to blow up and her little sister was playing spy!? She know her sister was good at what she did but she couldn't help being terrified for her safety.
She took in the items that her sister had tossed onto the bed and took them in slowly before moving her eyes back to her sister. She was far to tired to take in all the implications of what the items represented. What she did understand however was that things were getting even more dangerous then they had been and despite her best efforts her sister had stumbled into the thick of it. She opened her mouth as if to say something but she had no idea what it might be. Instead she sat down on the bed and rubbed her eyes. "Why can't you ever find an easy problem sis."
Post by The Serpent's Embrace on Feb 3, 2014 20:28:18 GMT -5
The lamia sighed. This was going to be difficult. Clearly, games of intrigue had not become her sisters’ area of expertise even with the recent experiences in politics. Of course that made this conversation all the more important.
Sadly, the old fire between them was still full of kindling and Cassiopeia was quick to bristle at the notion of her work being beneath her. “You think I am better than that?" She knew precisely which 'that' her sister was referring to.
Furious, she hid behind a cheerless smile as she snapped “I am not entirely sure what I find more amusing. That you think our father would actually whore me out in exchange for information or that you believe lying on my back would garner any information at all! Dear sister, my work was so much more complicated than you ever realized.”
Cassiopeia dropped her head down to hide the genuine sparkle of her fanged smile. “I do what I do because I am infinitely better at it than anyone else in this family and someone had to take over after mother…“
The mirth in her countenance quickly faded as though perhaps she had gone too far for her own liking. When she spoke again her words came with measured slowness. “Not even our father could handle everything alone and despite what you think, I am no stranger to what it takes to protect this family.” Surely Katarina must know she spoke the truth; Unfortunately, the micro-expressions of fear on her sisters’ features painted a different picture.
“Oh for pity sake, I am not a child so will you please stop panicking?” The perturbed look the lamia gave her sibling would have been almost comical to most, so much did it make her resemble the very person she was irritated with.
“And before you ask… Yes it is that obvious to me because it’s what I do!” Cass gripped the bed post, as if she were making a great effort not to storm out of the room. Why must she always do this!? The question screamed through her mind. Kat infuriated her as only a sister could and it took a long moment for Cassiopeia to right her thoughts again.
Finally, with a delicate wave of her hand she brushed their old arguments aside, “But let us stay on point. I have not gotten myself into anything or found myself a problem; Father gave that letter to me the day he went missing and he did it for a reason.” She told Katarina, at the same time refusing to acknowledge her own insecurities about why she'd been chosen.
“As for the rest, I would rather wait for our brother to arrive. I think it would be best if I only have to explain this once.” She told Kat, composing herself on the end of the bed once more.
Post by The Sinister Blade on Mar 5, 2014 1:12:24 GMT -5
God....why did these conversations always go like this? She never intended for them to become tense and antagonistic but she wasn't exactly known for her tact and her sister was overly sensitive in certain areas. It was quite frustrating sometimes. She envied her sisters ability to articulate what she wants to say. She was good at making her feelings known but she did that with her daggers instead of her words. She was a fighter and a killer. Cass was better at intrigue and politics and she liked it that way. Fighting was so much simpler.
Her sister's words caught her off guard. They had this conversation over and over but she had never put it quite so bluntly. Blunt was usually her style while her sister wrapped her in big words until she was so confused she didn't remember what they were talking about. "No, I don't think he would do that and maybe there was more to it then I know. I just know how it looked. That and it seemed that your information came from men a great deal of the time."
She rubbed her hand over her eyes trying to push some of the exhaustion from her head. She hid the small wince. She had been doing everything she could to keep her sister out of dangerous politics and thought she had been succeeding. It was hard to take that she had been failing so completely. "But I don't want to have this discussion with you again today. It seems you have been up to more then I thought and I know I have been working myself to the bone. We have much more important things to talk about."
The words her sister spoke twisted the knife in deeper. Had she been so focused on keeping the house in order and keeping the household safe that she had been blind to what her sister was up to behind her back. She tried to keep things in perspective and stay focused but the feeling of failure hurt in a way that was very rare and it made her unsure of herself.
"I don't treat you like a child Cass. I am simply doing my duty as head of the household and trying to keep you out of trouble. But it seems that despite my efforts of working for and staying on the good side of the man most likely to know of or even have a hand in fathers disappearance you have gone out of your way to make sure you are in danger!" She was sure she had said to much once it was out but her emotions were stirred up and she was sure her face was red.
Why did he have to go and give Cass the letter. It was her job to protect the family. Her father had told her over and over that she was to keep the family and house safe when he was gone. The time had come sooner then she had thought but it was her duty just the same. Didn't he trust her? The thought stung her deep and further flustered her. "Sure....I suppose he should know. You should have told me this as soon as you knew it though. I might have been able to keep you out of any of this. All this extra work for Swain has to be good for something."
Post by The Serpent's Embrace on Mar 6, 2014 23:42:10 GMT -5
Lectures on safety were meant for children, yet she was expected to believe she was not seen as a child? Cassiopeia exhaled slowly but held her temper in check as she responded. “Safety is an illusion; I should think you of all people would know that by now.”
If she had been taught to fight instead of how to handle politicians and military moguls, would Kat think her more capable? Cassiopeia mulled the question over in her mind and decided that it was unlikely.
Even fighting on the fields of justice had not been enough to earn her sister’s respect. Years wasted trying to fit in, trying to prove that she was as valuable an asset as they were had gotten her nowhere. A serpent could never belong in their little club; she would never be one of them, the trio of blades.
The lamia caught her upper lip rising in a sneer and quickly schooled her expression. Katarina was the head of household now and whatever her decision, Cassiopeia must abide by it but she would be damned if she let them all fall just to save Kat’s pride. The time had come for harsh truths to be told.
“I am perfectly aware that you are in charge now and I respect you for your strengths. However, you must understand something. You were groomed for war, just as I was groomed for politics and our brother was groomed to do all the naughty things that we could not without sullying the family name.”
She let that sink in a moment longer and then continued, putting what she wanted to say in as blunt a fashion as she thought her sister could handle. “If you assume for a moment that you can take any one of us out of that equation and still manage to keep us from being dead pawns in a general’s game, then you are a fool. No one has that kind of power Kat, not even you.”
Cassiopeia knew the pain her words would cause but they did not have time for flowery vocabulary or gentile phrases. They never seemed to do much for the assassin anyway.
Post by The Blade's Shadow on Mar 10, 2014 7:31:53 GMT -5
With eyes half-lidded and a hand against his brow in an attempt to quell the throbbing just below, Talon entered Katarina's room without so much as a knock. Tact was long forgotten after having been poisoned by Cassiopeia, though the fact that she was already here was convenient. It took the assassin only a moment to realize that the pair of them were bickering, though that was hardly shocking. He had seen it happen enough times to know even if it seemed as though they were trying their best to hide it.
His hand dropped down to his side as he leaned back against the door, a dull stare leveled on them both as he waited for them to be finished with their tirade. Even after all these years and all they had been through, he still didn't feel like part of the family. Like they all seemed to try and make him out to be. Since the General had disappeared, it had only made him feel more alien, more like a hired hand than anything else.
He was still bound to the man, even if he wasn't here. He still had a mission, a purpose, a duty. These two, for as distant as they could sometimes be, were Marcus' legacy. Everything he had loved in the world. Perhaps protecting them hadn't fallen to him, but he would take up the mantle regardless.
His focus returned to the present as the pounding in his head reminded him that he was supposed to be doing something of importance. "If you've both got something you want to finish discussing, feel free." Talon grumbled, the pain in his head leaving him irritable even with the two people in the world he was supposed to trust.
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