The house rose above the long untended lawn and against the contour of a tall wooden fence that cordoned the whole property. The whole place was a ruin, like a dry carcass with the skin peeling in dry flakes.
It was instinct to double check the note where Anasztaz had scribbled the address of his residence. The place looked barren, like it had been empty for years. The holes that poked through the windows hinted that squatters might have tried to break in, or that junkies had tried to use it as a drug den. Either way, it didn’t seem like the place someone like him would use as residence.
The address was the right one, however. There was no doubt.
There were a few lights within, they flickered and danced. Where those candles? It was unwise, but likely a necessity in this place. It didn't seem to have any kind of public services active.
As Felix pulled up to the address on the note, he looked at Ariana puzzled. She looked back and him and smiled with reassurance. She was certain it was the place given what Anasztaz had mentioned during Court. As she got out of the vehicle, she looked at the severely weathered and disheveled residence. The dimly lit house had some shadow play from the slight flicker of lighting. It was as she had expected.
Walking to the door, the soft moonlight made her lavender blouse seem to glow slightly. Her black slacks and heeled loafer style shoes, made no noise as she walked up the small short set of stairs. Ariana set her phone to vibrate and slipped it into her pocket as she knocked on the door.
The door opened slowly, creaking. It had been left just barely wedged so the night breeze didn't throw it open but any other minimal effort would do it.
From within, the sound of one of the Nocturnes could be heard. The tempo was slower than what the sheets dictated, it made it sound haunting and melancholic.
"Come in."
It was Anasztaz’s voice, from somewhere inside the house. It didn't sound like he'd interrupt playing the tune to come and check just who had arrived, however.
Ariana thought she had accidentally knocked it open at first. As he heard Anaszatz's voice she entered. She smiled at the the sound of the Nocturne. It was music she played often when she needed to think. Although it sounded more beautiful and mysterious the way he was playing it. Perhaps it was the scenery that gave it the air of mystery. She followed the music into the house. It seemed to be fairly vacant. The moonlight giving hints of a pathway as she walked to where Anasztaz played.
Upon entering the room, she smiled to see him. At first she wanted to continue listening before interrupting him. She realized he must know she is there. In a soft voice she spoke. "Hello Mr. Veres."
Anasztaz raises his gaze momentarily and a couple of the notes lingered even longer before he lowered his gaze and resumed his previous creeping cadence.
"I figured I'd warm up before you arrived. Apologies for not welcoming you at the door. I hope you don't find my home too unpleasant."
The room was a disaster. Furniture that had been partially eaten lied around crumbling, wallpapers that stripped in opaque curls and marks of humidity on the plaster and wood beneath. And at the centre of it a white grand piano that looked brand new and the pianist in impeccable white garments. The contrasts were so dramatic that it could be thought to be a deliberate part of a composition.
Peering around the room for only a moment, she surveyed its display. It was like watching a music video that she could not recall, or her memories of Phantom of the Opera in various forms. A maestro by a fine piano, the room a wreck from succumbing to the lust of the keys, it was actually quite marvelous. There was nothing about Ariana's demeanor that spoke that she was disgusted by any means. "It is quite alright Mr. Veres." She walked to an area by the piano so he could see her in his peripheral vision. "I told you not to fret about your home. It does not bother me." She said sincerely.
"Beauty comes in many forms. It only depends on how you look at it." She said quietly when there was a lull in the music. "May I ask what you are playing right now?" A soft smile of curiosity was brushed onto her lips.
"Opus forty-eight, the first. At whatever pace I well wish." Anasztaz smirked. It hadn't been said aggressively, but perhaps in jest, or at worst apologetically. His words had been accentuated by the crescendo of the piece, however, which did add some undue gravity to it.
The lighting, as suspected, was all provided by candles. But at least he had the precaution to have them set safely and surrounded in glass mantles.
"I feel I've forgotten most of it, so I just let go. I play, but I don't remember. I couldn't write the piece down if I needed to. Maybe I am not playing the piece I think I am playing at all."
"Well, I am sure Chopin would not mind." She smiled with reassurance. "Unless one was classically trained, no one would notice. Or, unless it was part of a repertoire of music they preferred." Ariana mentioned slightly throwing it away, knowing that she told Anasztaz that she listened to classical music previously. "I believe it is quite lovely regardless." When Ariana entered the room, she wondered how he lit the flames of the candles, but some Kindred were old enough to remember doing so in the far past. She had no idea of his age, nor did it really matter to her.
Quiet again while she listened, she wondered if it bothered Anasztaz that she spoke while he did so. "If I may ask, does it distract you to converse while you play?"
"I'll admit it does, somewhat. Like I mentioned, I am struggling to remember."
It showed. The notes again lengthen in duration as he spoke, as his focus changed from remembering to speaking, dragging the tempo even slower. It created a strange effect on the room and the conversation, like everything around had slowed down with the music except the two speakers.
"But we came to converse and to indulge in music both, I was preparing for it, and it doesn't bother me at the slightest. Please, make yourself comfortable."
At least there were a couple of chairs that were functional. They looked somewhat newer and of a different style than the majority of the furniture in the house.
"I am sure it will start coming back to you faster than you think." Ariana spoke with confidence, even though she knew nothing of his true aptitude. "You are correct, I did come to converse." She looked for another moment at the piano, wanting to touch it while his fingers danced along the keys. Her politeness got the best of her, and she resisted doing such a gesture.
As she went to sit down in the chair. "I do hope I do not make you nervous, Mr. Veres." She said with a light chuckle. "If so, it is not my intention.”
"Nervous?" Anasztaz says, raising his gaze from the keys once more for long enough to draw an arched eyebrow.
"I do enjoy thrills, Madam Donovan, but I do not approach you because it makes my undead heart skip a figurative beat in fright, no." he says, chuckling. He picked up the pace somewhat, it seemed as if he played at the tempo of both his mood and memories, after all.
"I approach you because I find you a kindred soul where most others I find pariah. We share this. You understand the nuances." he was referring to the music and his own strange interpretation of it.
"But now, why would you make me nervous?"
Ariana laughed a little, "No, no of course not. I only meant the fact that I was standing. Nothing more." She was starting to slightly catch on to his tempo as they spoke.
"Understanding the arts is one thing for which I am thankful. Even though at times I work too much, I enjoy it for the most part. Watching people do only what I wished I could do. Or things that i use to enjoy before my requiem began." She smiled as she briefly thought of her mortal family. "It is those little things to experience that make dull times, decadent."
"Ah, I was simply being polite. You are welcome to jump, dance, or stand on the piano if you so wish. You are my guest." Anasztaz says, shaking his head and continuing to race his slender and pale fingers across the ivory keys.
"But I can definitely relate. You can learn to do only so many things, but you can enjoy them all. Right?"
"You are right. Yet, it would be a shame to waste part of a requiem not learning anything." Ariana smiled.
She arose and walked to the piano to at least give in to her urge to touch it. Ariana situated herself in the nook of the grand instrument. "I think that would be rather rude to dance on your piano." She smirked. "I do miss dancing sometimes." The words were thrown away as she felt the music resonating through frame of her body. "Booming nightclub music does not hold even a flicker to something such as this. Are you working to perfect anything in particular? Or..." She pondered for a moment to ask. "Do you take any requests?" She smiled and let her hands wander on to the to lid of the piano.
"You are a guest. I have offered you my hospitality." Anasztaz says, adventuring a gaze around while trying to maintain his tempo intact.
"Do as you wish, I won’t think any less of you. Ask what you desire, and if I can provide it I will abide by your request."
Ariana laughed slightly. "I have not let myself go in years." Not counting her recent melt down with Conner. She watched him as he played trying not to stare. It was so intriguing to see someone truly loving what they were doing. She leaned on the piano a bit, taking in more of the rhythm.
Thinking for a moment she asked. "How about Debussy, or maybe something a little enchanting."
Anasztaz ponders it momentarily, while drifting off of his Nocturne and improvising a soft transition into Clair de Lune.
It hadn't been seamless, but it had been a courageous attempt. His fingers danced over the keys as the tune emerged in its proper tempo rather than that one driven by his own mood.
"Somewhat less dour? I hope it is fitting."
“Yes, it certainly is.” As the keys danced out the harmony and melody, she wondered if the Haunt realized the power he had at his fingertips. It could persuade an audience to do what he wanted. To be happy or sad, excited or subdued. The melody enchanted her ears as the hammers strummed the strings. Ariana wanted to hop up on the piano and let it flow through her further. Yet, she could not. She became transfixed as the music lulled her into her relaxing a little. It was evident in her posture, which was normally perfect. Anasztaz's arms flowed up and down the keys from her perspective. It was beautiful and haunting, much like the musician manipulating the ivory keys.
Once the song was nearly concluded, Ariana realized she been staring intently. She was glad she had maintained her resistance to dance. She regained some of her composure and smiled, “I do apologize, I believe I may have been lost in listening.” Her head titled slightly with a look of curiosity. “Mr. Veres, you mentioned before you were not ready for anything out in public yet. May I ask the reason? You are playing beautifully.”
"Why, because I wanted a private review first. Of course." Anasztaz grinned his victory; he had gotten what he wished just now.
He pulled back from the keys, resting his hands on his lap. He closed his eyes momentarily, as if the whole thing had fatigued him, and it truly had. The tune had been buried and it took him a significant effort to dig it from the dark recesses of his mind as he played it. Eventually he’d truly relearn them and then he’d be able to play them again without as much strain.
"I am ultimately a poor judge of myself, especially when my memory is in question. It was important for me to have someone else knowledgeable in the art giving me a second opinion."
“I am only a listener, Mr. Veres. My ears are only trained on what pleases me, or something I could dance to. I only know that is it intoxicating enough to nearly relax me. You play with such grace and dynamic that Clair de Lune had a sensuality about it.” Ariana realized a word slipped from her lips and she quickly changed the subject and looked to the lid of the piano as she continued. “Although, I believe that true artists have their own interpretation of what flows into creation.”
There was a fiery excitement in her eyes as they lightened to reflect her thoughts. “I know we had previously spoke of smaller venues such as hotels, or gala events. However, do you see yourself going further?” She hoped she had changed the subject enough times by now.
"With all due respect, Madam Donovan, you're an agent provocateur." Anasztaz grins wide again, this time with clear mischief. He obviously hadn't specified why he had made the statement, and it had been keenly deliberate. The nuance of the conversation flow hadn't slipped him.
"What are you trying to lead me into?"
The question against had been viciously open. He could still be referring to either subject.
The silence seemed deafening. Ariana still felt awkward with other Kindred. She wished she could break all the conditioning that had been instilled on her for years. Then by accident, words would slip and give way to her subconscious. Her fingers on one hand were absently and gently taping out the melody from the prior song. Yet there was no other body language to indicate what she may be thinking.
“Forgive me Mr. Veres. I think perhaps the music had me caught in a moment.” A small smile came upon her lips. “I was only inquiring in case I heard of anything in particular that would suit your interests.” Her eyes shifted back to Anaszatz. “I can be a little overly descriptive at times.” The statement may have been a small indication that there was more.
"You misunderstand me. I merely meant that anything greater than smaller venues would potentially attract too much attention and even endanger the Masquerade. Getting my heart to wish more is what would make you an agent provocateur." Anasztaz says plainly, resting his hands on the piano and pushing a couple notes idly, letting each linger. Mostly so he didn't push her further with his gaze. Noticing that she had become somewhat awkward, it was just the polite thing to do.
"Although your description didn't go unnoticed. I'll take it as a compliment. Thank you. It was just a descriptive term you could even have used in a written review and might have before, wasn't it? Why is there a need to apologize at all?"
Ariana smirked. “I think it was a mutual misunderstanding Mr. Veres. Of course I take the Masquerade into consideration, always. I work with mortals on a daily basis. Perhaps you are right, maybe I may be a bit idealistic.” She looked directly at Anasztaz. “Yes, my writing can be rather intriguing at times. Playing tricks with words was my only escape for many years. Although it was well received, and in most cases, still may be true.”
She thought for a moment as she looked upon the Haunt, “If you are not too tired from playing, would you play another song?” Ariana said with a grin. She turned to attempt to hop up on the piano. Clearly it was not something she was accustomed to doing. She was not weak mind you, she was just avoiding any bit of mishap. “Well, there went that idea.” She laughed a little and returned to her original position in the nook of the piano.
"The chair perhaps may make it easier." Anasztaz chuckles as he looks back down at the piano keys.
"Let's try something more animous, shall we?" he positions his hands and ponders it for a moment, before running his hands quickly through the frantic start of Danse Bohemienne.
While he was composed in play normally, he swayed slightly with intensity of the tune as he played it. The piece merited it.
Ariana opted not to sit on the piano for the moment. The music teased her senses as the lilts of the melody played out on the keys. Her head moved around the music while she watched Anasztaz play. As she listened to the key runs, she smiled wondering why he picked the particular song. "That one is definitely dance worthy." She laughs slightly.
"If I may ask, do you play anything contemporary. Sometimes people may request songs in certain venues." It was less of a business question, but more of a curiosity in her voice.
"I haven't kept up. I hadn't touched a piano for decades, I had no need." Anasztaz says, narrowing his shoulders slightly. Not strictly a lie. He had been in torpor for enough that he hadn't even heard anything remotely contemporary.
"But if I found sheets I could play pretty much anything. Maybe I should try to get something a bit more recent sometime and expand my repertoire."
Judging by his body language, Ariana did not press the reason. She knew at many different places that had a pianist, requests were often made. It would be a shame for him to be turned down for not knowing such things. "I believe you could." She smiled and tilted her head so that her red tresses fell forward.
"Would you like some assistance with that task?" She leaned forward on the piano while she looked at him. "I would enjoy helping you."
"Certainly. You'd know best." Anasztaz says, smiling. That would have been convenient, something that he hadn't even considered. It was dangerous to fall so far behind in time, but it was also in part why he had been so proactive with meeting new people.
He again laid his hands on his lap, and threw his gaze again to lock with hers.
"Seems I am just asking and asking from you, but I still have yet one more thing to ask. I don't know what I'll do when you ask me to repay for everything I'll owe you."
Ariana chuckled a little and leaned in further on the jut of the piano facing the Haunt. Most of her upper body was leaning on the piano. "I would not worry about what you would owe me." She smiled and looked into his eyes, leaving the statement out in the open. For so many years, she was held back from what could only come naturally. Ariana realized now, there was finally no need.
"So tell me, what is this other question you need to ask?" With her free hand, she moved it along the lock of hair that had fallen over her shoulder before her hand laid on the piano. Her smile was somewhat flirtatious.
"I am mortally afraid of debt. One thing I have learned is that our kind can be very creative in means of exacting payment." Anasztaz grinned again, but this time it was a mask; those memories weren't pleasant at all. He had sold nothing short of his soul to be able to come to America from the Old Country.
With her shift of demeanor the thought was quick to perish, however. He maintains the gaze locked, not one to be forced to back down at his favorite game, turning his grin into a predatory smile.
"And the favor I am about to ask will be costly. You see, I would ask you to intercede for me with His Majesty to grant me the right to bring one into our night."
He felt a pang of regret from suddenly bringing such an official matter to the conversation; it'd likely spoil the mood that he had been working hard to build.
She was unsure of how to answer his question as she continued to look in his eyes. "I do not know how His Majesty handles these situations as of yet. However, I would accompany you for this request, if you so wish." She smiled, not dropping the mood at hand. Yet she knew the gravity of the situation. "You have met many Kindred in the Domain, why is it you ask me?"
"Multiple reasons. First, you are a Court official. But more importantly, not everyone I've met warrants this kind of trust." Anasztaz explains, implying that he had a measure of trust on her. Why wouldn't he? After all, all she had done so far was helping him.
His eyes flickered, and he bit the corner of his own lip nervously. He was fully aware of the weight of his request, and although he was glad it was out of his chest he didn't feel in safe waters yet. Furthermore, that put him in a disadvantage at the game they were playing and he wasn't used to be at a disadvantage.
"I do believe that this mortal will be a worthy addition to His domain. A gift to our whole society, if you will, more than a service to myself. Criminal connections but no direct association, capable of falsification and a background in law. A little angel fallen from grace."
Ariana still maintained eye contact while she seemed a bit serious, yet not wanting to drift away from such a fun evening. "I see, those are great attributes. However, for my help, I will request to be owed a major boon for such a thing. This is not a trivial matter by any means. Yet, the way you speak of this mortal, it may be well worth it."
"A major boon? That is suitable, but..." Anasztaz says, exhaling for a few seconds without sound.
"What did you have in mind exactly? To hold me in debt till you find something you wish that I can provide?" he gazes down for a moment, just to find the keys where he wanted to lay his fingers, but there was no sound. "Or did you have a price in mind already?"
Ariana continued looking at him while Anasztaz looked to the keys. "I would thinking perhaps you could teach me something at a later date. Perhaps if the situation works out for you, we can discuss it?"
She moved around to the side of the piano to see what he was doing.
He was merely running the tips of his fingers over the ivory edge of the keys. Fidgeting. It was something that Ariana had never seen him do before.
"So I must be left with the debt hanging upon my head." Anasztaz says with a flair of overacted tragedy.
"I accept. They are suitable terms." he adds as he mercurially shifts to his usual tone, smiling again.
She laughed slightly, "Mr. Veres, I am not a cruel woman. I would not worry too much." She winked, which was indeed harmless. Ariana looked at him again, there was unmistakable flirtation within her eyes. "If you were to play song just for me, what would it be?" Her smile was coy, and since they still knew little of each other, she did wonder what it would be.
"Cruelty comes in many tastes and shapes, some not altogether unpleasing." Anasztaz quips, obviously in a flirtatious intonation as a comeback to her body language.
"But please, no more Mr. Veres. At least when we are in private just use my first name, it feels so cold otherwise. Here we are fluttering eyelashes at each other and still strung to such petty formalities." He follows it with an impish smile, drawing a step past subtlety.
"On to your question, I'd go with one of my favorites; Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. For reasons of my own."
Ariana's thoughts of cruel was quite different than Anasztaz's. Just for a flicker of a moment her sire drifted through her memories. She hoped that she could forget him some day.
Looking off for a moment to ponder, she returned her gaze to his. "How much do you know about the Invictus? It is not my intention to be cold by any means." She smiled and spoke ever so slowly. "Mr. ....Veres." Which rolled off her tongue playfully.
"Moonlight Sonata?" Ariana conveyed with piquing curiosity with her head tilted and a finger gently touching her cheek. "Will I have the pleasure of knowing your reason?"
"I know enough to know that this meeting is not official Invictus business." Anasztaz says, waving his hand as to brush off the whole idea away. In truth he didn't know much, their structure born just for the sake of hierarchy was something that he found somewhat unsavory.
"But you have been evasive; I take it as my prerogative to keep some small secrets to myself."
He smirked devilishly. It was a slight tease to cover the fact that he was thrown off by her constant fluctuation between fire and ice; he couldn't quite grasp it to work with it.
Ariana grinned playfully. Her internal struggle was perhaps evident. "Invictus tradition prohibits such an informality until a different sort of personal level is reached in a setting such as this." She tried to say in an unofficial tone, still trying to maintain the blithe atmosphere. She let her frame relax and become less rigid and poised in posture trying to become less formal in some other way.
"You are right, I have been a bit secretive." Her fingers gently touched the top of the keys, not playing a note. As if wanting to caress the power that they had conveyed. Her lips maintained no serious emotion, "What would you like to know?"
"I am not sure how much of Invictus tradition is secret, but for one it would be interesting to know what kind of personal level is required to achieve comfortable rapport." Anasztaz says, shrugging.
His mood was drifting slightly, and his body language showed it somewhat. If traditions made it so they could not really go past formalities, then it was a safe assumption that any kind of bonding would also be in breach.
At best he was tempting her to breach their code, and that wasn't his intent.
"Of course, that doesn't relate to you directly. Perhaps a better question would be why did you become awkward when you slipped the word sensuality before? Then again, that may be just Invictus protocol as well?"
Ariana wondered how many others were uncomfortable by her mannerisms. She had only been in these situations recently, and still did not know what to do. Her public and private persona nearly blended together, with one exception. Only one individual truly knew the depth of what she went through. Anasztaz had already trusted her by asking for her assistance in a very serious matter. Driving Anasztaz away was something she did not want to do. "I was conditioned in formalities from the beginning of my requiem. It is something that is hard to overcome," Ariana looked at him, even though he was not looking back. "Anasztaz."
Ariana’s fingers ran over the contours of the piano. “In regards to your other question, I suppose it may be that I never really speak those words out loud.” She laughed a little. “Moving to Sacramento has changed many things for me. Hopefully that change will continue.” Her lips curled into a smile, hopefully slowly putting him at ease again.
"Change is a necessary part of our stories, but I understand how hard it is put it in action. It is something I've written about, even.” Anasztaz says, smiling with the same warmth he had been displaying before. “I can help you break the shell, if you truly wish it so."
That she had acquiesced and broken the ice that was building between them showed willingness. He understood her reasons.
"I am formal out of necessity only. It is something I utterly loathe in the privacy of my home, or around those I bring with me to indulge."
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