Beautiful Concerns

[Alice Brown]

With some old jazz playing on the background Alice waits on her good friend, fellow Daeva. Sarah Lafleur. She holds a rose in her hand and smiles to the door where she soon hopes to hear a knock or ring.

Sarah was nervous. Which was something unusual for her when the she was about to visit a special friend, but something about her time away had seemingly convinced the blond Daeva that Alice wasn't just a special friend. She had missed Alice, not just their physical interactions or the enjoyment of being a pair of styling Daeva, but the companionship of the other woman. Odd things such as being able to actually talk to another person, another Kindred who found the childish politics of their kind as silly as she did and resolved to just enjoy her nights as best as she was able or someone who enjoyed things like a good dance and a sonnet under the stars. Things that really mattered. Thus Sarah was a bit nervous as she knocked on Alice's door.

Alice almost makes a jump in the air when she hears what she's been waiting for. She rises from her couch and walks to the door. A quick moment she looks to herself in the mirror, did she look good? Perfect. At her own place she could just wear her night gown, but now a guest was coming she had put a white jacket over it. After all, she does want to talk to Sarah.

While holding the red rose behind her back Alice opens the door, a genuine smile appears when she sees it's really Sarah. 'Bonjour Sarah! Oh please come in.' But instead of letting her in she makes a step forward to hug her fellow Daeva.

After the hug, she steps back to make more space and extends her hand. 'Here, a rose for a rose!'

When Alice embraced her Sarah felt a flurry of emotions that all seemed to strike her system at the same time. There was a hint of fear as her beast was confronted with Alice's stronger predator, a notion that caused the Daeva to use her hands to softly caress the other Daeva's body, a gesture that confirmed to Sarah that it was Alice and not some monster in front of her. There was also more than a bit of desire at being so close to her friend again, a desire to just throw Alice down right her and take her now, to lose herself in the other's beauty and allow the lust to force away all of the pain, all of the frustration. However she is able to keep control and breaks the embrace when Alice pulls back.

She laughs and smiles with genuine affection when Alice hands her the rose. Sarah holds it to her nose for a moment, happy smile on her face, before moving closer to Alice again and moving her hand with the flower out in front of her. Sarah moves the rose so that it's soft petals make contact with Alice's cheek and then gracefully traces a line with the flower that gently teases the skin of the other Daeva before stopping at her lips. Sarah moves the flower away and brings her own body forward until her lips touch Alice's, a small and caste kiss shared with anything but a caste look in Sarah's eyes. "Thank you." She smiles and looks over Alice, taking a moment to appreciate every inch of the other's body. "I had almost forgotten how beautiful you were."

You could almost say Alice purrs in Sarah's arms when she accepts the embrace. It feels so good to have her friend so close that she can't put away her smile, even if she would wanted that. When the rose touches her cheek a hint of naughtiness flickers in her eyes. Alice moves the hand that first held the rose to touch Sarah's side, rubbing her body, curious how the fabric felt her cousin was wearing, but more to be able to deepen the kiss that was coming a little. She also brings her left hand to the height of Sarah's shoulder but doesn't go too far. It would be more appropriate to let her enter the apartment.

'Thank you, and I had almost forgotten what a good kisser you are.' After a short chuckle she leads the other inside and gestures towards one of the couches. 'Make yourself comfortable.'

With a naughty smile on her lips and a walk that shows off her legs, Sarah makes her way into the apartment and takes a seat on the largest couch. She makes sure that he skirt catches enough fabric so that it uncovers a good deal of those legs and pats the seat beside her with a genuine smile. "And I'm not even using my tongue yet" she says with a wink "but that's for later. First things first, what did you need to talk about?"

Still grinning Alice shuffles on the couch next to Sarah. 'Well well, straight to the business I see?' and with a playful expression her fingers slowly walk upwards the other's legs, stopping just before the skirt. 'I have been wanting to ask you this for a long time now. But I was sure you would return to me...' a short chuckle before she continues, 'so I did never forget it.'

She looks into her fellow Daeva's eyes, the naughtiness has turned into seriousness. Although it's a cheerful seriousness, she obviously didn't ask Sarah to come here just to gossip about new arrivals. After a while she speaks, 'I wanted to ask you if we could form a coterie together.'

Sarah's body shudders slightly with Alice's touch and she is unable to keep her hands off the other Daeva, her fingers brushing aside the light white coat and offering a temping light touch against Alice's bare skin. She smiles at her friend's playful words and when Alice pops the Coterie question Sarah's face takes on a more serious and thoughtful expression, although her hands don't stop their movements. She purses her lips slightly in thought at the question and what it meant, a change to a Requiem spent mostly alone after she'd left her sire and possibilities of finally being tied to something, even if that something was Alice.

After a moment Sarah smiles and looks Alice in the eye. "I would like that." She says, her voice soft. "I would like that a lot."

The hand that was teasing Sarah's leg now moved to her cheek. 'Wonderful.' Alice pulls her legs up but keeps her eyes locked on Sarah. A moment she seems sad, as if a bad memory interrupted the perfect moment. Though the sadness soon disappears, put away by Alice to the back of her mind. She closes the distance between their eyes, between their lips, 'Now that's settled we can move continue with the real business.' And at last the distance between their tongues.

Her tone was very soft but also a little humorous. The need to kiss Sarah was just bigger than the need to talk. Of course she also knows they should talk about this. So Alice leans back again. 'We should find a place to live together.'

Sarah had noticed something change in Alice's face, a slight shadow seemingly crossing the other woman's beautiful features. It's something that sticks with her as Alice leans in, teases her and then leans back and while the question of finding a place to live excites her, she cannot go on without finding out the source of her friend's pain. Her features become empathetic and her voice soothing. "What's wrong?"

'Oh Sarah I...' Alice takes a deep breath, even though she didn't need to. She turns her eyes away for a short moment as the sadness returns. 'I didn't want to talk about this, avoid the subject at all. But now I ask you to let us become very close I thought about the only one other person I've been so close to. My sister, Bethany. We we're both embraced, but we departed because I had to go to America with my stupid ass. Now she's dead... murdered.'

She clears her throat in an attempt to pull herself together, but it fails. 'Do you mind if I cry?' Between the sudden sorrow she chuckles due to her own question, then the blush of life kicks in and her tears fall out. 'There's nothing I can do about it, no revenge, nothing.'

Sarah moves close to Alice and embraces the other Daeva, taking a firm hold of the other woman and holding her close. Sarah's own thoughts and frustrations vanish as she seeks to comfort her friend, her left hand gently stroking Alice's hair and her right hand holding the Succubi Whip's body against hers. "Go ahead and cry" she whispers into Alice's ear, keeping her voice firm and spirit dedicated to be an emotional rock now that her friend needed her. For a minute she is content to simply hold Alice, allowing her friend of cry, to let go with of the pain and frustration, to simply be there for the person she cared more about than anyone else, kindred or kine, in the whole Domain.

"I am so sorry." Her voice is soft. "Whatever you need, I am here for you."

Alice falls weakly into her friend's arms. She doesn't cry out loud but she can't stop the tears from coming. 'Even though I hadn't seen her the last couple of years I always thought to know I would see her again... you know, living forever and all that bullshit.' She sniffs and pushes herself deeper into Sarah's embrace. 'And somehow I felt really alone and angry, frustrated. I even killed someone just for fun.' The Beast in her makes her chuckle about that, making Alice feel even worse.

She loosens her grip on Sarah and moves back a little, still holding her friend but now looking into her beautiful blue eyes again. 'A couple of days after I had received the letter from my grandsire i asked Nicholas, some guy who I've been since I arrived in Sacramento, to become my childe. But...' her voice breaks and forces her to pause, 'he refused to let me kill him. So I granted him eternal life, he's my ghoul... but that's not the same. It certainly does not replace Bethany, it doesn't fill in the gap in my heart.'

As her voice trails off Alice leans forward to kiss Sarah on her cheek, and to whisper in her ear, 'But believe me, when I saw you, I knew the gap could be filled with someone again.'

Sarah listens to Alice speak about how she has reacted to the news of her sister's final death and while Sarah's connection to her own humanity and soul does not allow her to agree with Alice's actions, she understands the pain and frustration being expressed by her friend. Sarah returns Alice's gaze into her eyes with an empathetic and understanding smile. She pulls Alice close and places a soft kiss on the forehead of the other Daeva and moves her own body so that her one leg is on either side of Alice, a gesture she hopes will convey the message that she does not believe Alice is a monster, that she is there there for Alice and unwilling to let her go. To the Beast, to the Pain, to anything that would try and keep them apart.

"Alice, I'm here for you and if I can fill that void, I ..." She looks Alice in the eyes "just tell me what I need to do."

With Sarah soothing her Alice feels better already, her crying stops. Once more she clears her throat. One hand rubs her cousin's cheek while Alice has a smile on her face that shows all the appreciation she feels. 'Do what you're doing already... it has actually make me feel better yet.'

She moves forward to place a gentle kiss on the other's lips, 'Be my friend, let us love each other even more, form a coterie...'

Sarah smiles and returns the kiss with gusto. "That I can do. Especially the second part ..." Her expression goes naughty and she pulls Alice closer…

Fade to black

[GB82]

A while later

Alice stretches her arms out, purrs in the bed blankets and looks the beautiful body next to her. 'Thank you for that, Sarah, I feel happy again.' Her hands caress Sarah's head, and she gently puts the blonde hair behind her ear.

'I think I'm ready to continue where we last ended... or started to do something else.' Alice chuckles and moves her body to sit straight on the bed. 'We should find a place for the two of us, whatever you like, as long as I can take my bed with me.'

Sarah stretches out her naked body, enjoying the touch of the fabric against her skin and when Alice's delicate fingers brush her hair to she smiles genuinely at both the gesture and the compliment. Instead of speaking the shorter Daeva leans her body over and seems to gracefully slide along Alice, their bare skin oh so barely making contact as her mouth gracefully finds that of her lover's. Rather than use words, Sarah offers her opinion of their latest interaction by kissing Alice deeply and with more than a little tongue, pulling back after a long moment and shifting her body to lay next to the other Daeva's.

"A place would be nice." Her expression changes slightly as the realities of the world intrude upon their moment of tender bliss, minutes ago there had been simply her, Alice and pure pleasures of the flesh, now each of the problems facing the two women faded back into existence again. "Somewhere that meets the needs of a pair of beautiful modern women such as ourselves. I'll start looking." A thought pops into her head and for a moment she is a bit fearful to give it life.

"Does this mean that we're an item? I know that you love your boys and have a few relationships with a couple of them which I would never ask you to give up." The Prince seemed to inspire lust in Alice and Sarah knew that the Gangrel Priscus had also caught her friend's eye. "Just as I have my own desires that I know you respect and I honestly doubt that either of us will end up monogamous." Sarah looks up at Alice, affection in her eyes. "Still you're far more than a good fuck Alice, in fact you're a great fuck." Sarah offers a coy smile. "You're also sensual, sweet, fun and someone I would have no issue calling my girlfriend, since I think we both understand each other and feel the same way."

The deep kiss is more than gratefully accepted. Alice's hands take Sarah's head, keeping it closer for a little longer. She would be very happy that this could last longer, and be repeated. Only to be repeated every night, to show how much they cared for each other. Indeed a place would be nice, Alice wants a large place, but she had never wanted to put too much effort in something just for her alone. Now they were going to live together... 'Start looking for a swimming pool, an art workshop, a big garden, a tower and of course a large bedroom.' Alice bites in her lips, the excitement readable off her face.

Her expression changes when Sarah changes the subject. She keeps smiling, but is visibly tongue-tied for a moment. The first sound she makes is a laugh when her cousin makes a compliment. She continues to caress her body when more sweet words are said. A sincere smile comes with a nod before she answers. 'Thank you Sarah, for those nice words. Please realize you're the funniest vampire I've met in a long long time, and I really love you in a way I haven't loved many. I think you're even the biggest reason I'm still in Sacramento. But...' Her voice trails off, she doesn't want to hurt her fellow Daeva, her friend, the one she loved, but also the one she couldn't love like she would love a man. 'even though you've captured my heart almost completely... there will always be that tiny missing part that only a man can fill.' Tears well up in her still blushed face. 'I understand you, I love you and of course you may call me your girlfriend... but I can't change the way I'm born. You are my first female relationship that is serious.'

Alice said 'are' because right now she wants Sarah more than anything else. Nevertheless she knew that she would want a man as well. Call her dumb, but she believes in vampire marriages. A thing she wanted to do with a man, or not at all to stay with Sarah. A tiny voice adds a question, almost afraid, 'Do you, somehow, understand what I mean, Sarah? I wish I didn't have to hurt you like this.'

Sarah lays back in the bed, quiet for a moment. "Alice I said that I don't want you to be monogamous or to give up the relationships that mean something to you, I accept those things as part of who you are and I cannot ask you for a monogamy that I won't be able to offer. It's just not something that is part of our nature." She forces a sigh from her dead lungs. "What I am saying is that you're not a fuck buddy to me, you're a beautiful woman who I love spending time with, even when your clothes are on, and I want to acknowledge that fact. You say you have feelings for me, that I mean something to you."

The shorter Daeva's features begin to express frustration as she tried to seemingly use an act of pure force of will to make Alice understand what she is trying to say. "I'm not going to make you give up your boys, I care about you too deeply for that. I don't care that you like dick or that you see men, I care about one thing in this whole mess and that is you." She looks at Alice, pain, frustration, lust and genuine, honest affection in her eyes. "I'm asking that you acknowledge that you care about me, I'm not asking you to change or leave your boyfriends, I just want you to tell me that I actually mean something to you."

Her voice seems to be unsure of itself. "I don't want you to change. I came back to this city for you and ..." her voice lowers to almost a whisper "... and I need to know that loving you isn't a lost cause."

'Oh dear Sarah, please.' Alice lays back next to Sarah, making their bodies touch again. 'Of course is loving me not a lost cause.' Her voice is very emotional, and far from arrogant, which could fit that sentence perfectly in another situation. But Alice doesn't think about other situations now. 'You mean so much to me that I can easily say I really love you. That is said by a woman who was told that true love doesn't exist, by the one she loved, by the one who almost literally broke her heart.'

Alice comes closer and gently kisses Sarah's shoulder. Her voice turns into a whisper as well. 'You've mended my broken heart, Sarah. You were never a fuck buddy to me. I hope I hereby can acknowledge,' a hand caresses her cousin's hips along down her leg, 'that I truly care about you.'

She lifts her head away from the shoulder, trying to see if Sarah is still in the mood for more kissing. If she is, Alice will use her own beautiful lips to open the other's mouth and kiss her more intense. 'Shall we not focus too much on relations with others, but mainly with ourselves and how we can form a real coterie.'

Try as she might, Sarah is unable to pout when Alice caresses her body, the feel of her fellow Succubi's skin causing her frustration and tension to fade away slowly. By the time she is returning Alice's kiss, she is herself again, her lips touching Alice's and her hands brushing gently against the body of her lover, her girl, seemingly in an effort to explore every single inch of the beautiful woman. "I love you" The words are spoken so softly that they could be lost in the rustle of the sheets or in the slight moans of pleasure escaping from both of them. Still they had been spoken.

After a couple of minutes, Sarah forces herself to break her lips from Alice's. "Don't forget about the hot tub, clothing optional of course." She smiles and reaches out with her right hand, her fingers brushing lightly against Alice's facial features. "I hated to put you on the spot like that but I just needed to know where we stood." Lines of worry begin to invade her face. "The Dreams haven't stopped and I couldn't find my Sire. Three mouths searching for him in Arizona, New Mexico, Southern California and Northwestern Mexico and every answer I found simply led to more questions. Apparently he wandered for awhile after I left him, it seems that my rejection hit him hard." A touch of sadness shows in her eyes, while she thought of her Sire as 'That Son of A Bitch' that didn't mean she wanted to fuck up his unlife. "I just know that he's in Torpor somewhere in California."

Sarah purses her lips for a second, her mind lost in thought for a moment before she speaks again. "It feels like my blood is raging, changing inside of me. Did that happen to you when you took your bloodline?"

A sincere smile appears when Sarah accepts her touches. Alice keeps kissing until Sarah stops. They should take enough time to forget the awkward feeling a moment ago. When the words hot tub falls the excitement rises. The smile becomes broader. 'Optional clothes? No, everyone should be naked. Once you're allowed in our home you shouldn't be ashamed to show the beauty of your body.' With that the few blankets left are also pushed away.

When a more serious topic is started Alice listens carefully. She doesn't reply to the mentioning of what happened just minutes ago. She does reply to Sarah's quest to find her Sire. 'You're not capable of letting him go.' With a smile it was clear this was something Alice admired instead of disapproved. 'But maybe you should try to do that. We can't life with the pain of every memory, since we happen to life forever. I'm willing to help you, if you know a way I could do that. The way I let go of things is to accept the idea that they will once come to me, if they're really that important. I just let people know where I am, and they'll come to me.' Her expression turns naughty. 'And people won't forget me soon, once they've get to know me.' A kiss makes yet again clear what she means.

'My bloodline? I eh...' Alice is caught by surprise. 'I really don't know. The essential power that comes in my blood is based on illusion. The influence on people's senses and their mind. So... a lot happened to me. But I was embraced with full knowledge of my bloodline, so I can't say I really felt like I was changing. Why? Is that why you tried to find your Sire. From what bloodline is he originated?'

"My Sire and I, we had a rather strange relationship. I got involved with him while I was still alive, I was sort of confused about a lot of things in my life and suddenly here was this dashing, cultured, intelligent and attractive man and I allowed myself to be swept off my feet. Despite everything I knew about who I was, with him I felt like a Disney Princess." A sad smile creeps across her face. "One night he told me that he had something special planned and that I should make myself look perfect." A deep emotional pain is expressed in Sarah's eyes, it seems that the passage of decades had not been able to properly erase her memories of the last day she was alive. "He embraced me that night."

Sarah shifts slightly in the bed, sitting up and resting her back against the headboard. "We had a very complicated Sire and Childe relationship and I have realized that he tried to protect me from some aspects of our darkest natures or at least guide me slowly so I would be better able to deal with them. I guess one of those things he kept from me was his bloodline."

Alice listens to her friend, girlfriend, with a warm smile. If she had a Sire that made her feel like a Disney Princess, than that Sire was a lot nicer to her than Alice's was to Alice. But too much Licencieux turns everybody crazy, eventually. She isn't sure twisted how twisted her mind is already, but you never really know such things from yourself. Right now she is wondering from what Bloodline Sarah is. She would ask it 'sometime'.

When Sarah sits, so does Alice. 'It is strange to keep a bloodline away from your Childe...' Her voice is soft because she doesn't want to offend her fellow Daeva. 'Although I think telling things slowly is a good thing, I can't tell though.' She sniffs, there had been enough big emotional moments for one night, she wouldn't handle her own life story.

Apparently, now was the time to ask. 'Do you mind me asking from which Bloodline you are?'

Sarah makes an attempt to effect an unconcerned smile as she replies to Alice's question. "I don't know and there lays the problem. I know a bit about bloodlines, the names and basics of the most famous ones, but I am smart enough to realize that there are more of them out there that I have never heard of and which are more than likely hidden for good reason." She smiles, slightly more genuinely. "I don't believe that Christian was from one of the nasty bloodlines but I've been wrong before." A hint of a sarcastic laugh escapes her lips.

The surprise is readable from Alice's face. 'You don't know? That is, or could be problematic. Let's hope you don't start to get any deformities or something. There must be symptoms, and there must be someone who recognizes them.' Her expression turn serious as she starts thinking of a way to solve this. 'Have you spoken to any elders about it? Perhaps the Ordo Dracul has gathered knowledge. I mean, except from the changing of your blood, have you noticed something else? Thinner blood, changing features of your body, the sudden appearance of emotions?' She had heard of some things in her life, yet she couldn't match them with bloodlines. It might help Sarah to identify her own change.

Sarah sighs as Alice's face becomes a picture of the emotions she'd been feeling for almost a year now. "Mostly strange emotions, almost compulsions or desires, and weird dreams during the day." A smile with a hint of sadness crosses her face. "I only came back to this Domain to find my Sire and learn what the hell was going on, needless to say I was slightly shocked at all that had transpired here since 1975 and the fact that he seemingly disappeared without a trace." She frowns for a second. "Well almost."

"I managed to realize that he left clues for me, like some strange scavenger hunt, mostly in Catholic Churches in the areas I searched. I found the first one here, contained in a Stained Glass window he'd given to a local Church while I was still here and that led me to a number of places he'd visited after I left him." The frown widens. "Apparently he didn't take it very well and wandered for awhile, leaving signs of his passage in case I ever went searching for him. Now I'm stuck searching for clues like a blood sucking, PMSing Nancy Drew."


'Churches? Why? Was your sire of the Lancea Sanctum? And, how do you know for certain that he is in torpor right now?' Alice starts to get slightly more interested, but doesn't know what to say, so she asks more questions. 'Unless he was attacked and torpored by surprise, I assume he would have left a final clue somewhere. If I were him, I would have done it in Sacramento. He embraced you here right? Or is there another place where you started first?' She understands Sarah's story, but doesn't believe it makes sense, yet.

'Or maybe... he doesn't want you to find him? You said he might not have taken it so well that you left him. Have you considered this to be a game? Constantly going on the wrong track?' Alice's voice was worried, not liking this idea.

"Christian was Lancea Sanctum and while they might not have much in common with mortal Christianity, he personally always loved the ritual nature of a Catholic Mass and old world style Catholic Churches." Sarah loses herself in memories of the past for a moment, both distant memories of her Sire and more recent ones of her search for him. "The most recent trace of him I found dated back to 1998 and indicated that he was going to "rest" for a while. His darker nature was old and strong, he kept it hidden almost all the time, I can only remember feeling it a hand full of times over the decade we were together."

She sighs. "I was embraced here and I don't believe it's a game, I have no proof but my own gut feeling and I'm sure that I'm right. I'm not going to give up trying to solve this whole damned mess either."


'Alright then, we should first investigate Sacramento. Knowing what bloodline you are might give an answer. Is there someone, with great occult knowledge you trust enough with this? Or shall I ask someone I know? I think it could help if you tried to remember our dreams. You often know more than you realize, and dreams tell you that.' Alice thinks for another moment, almost forgetting they were completely naked and just have had the hottest sex.

'Priscus Twist asked me to do a little investigation for her, like I told you earlier? Maybe if you'd help me we come along answers you want to know. The problems are all regarding older Kindred from Sacramento, just as your sire.'

"I started writing down the dreams a little while ago, I just haven't shown them to anyone because I was worried they would think I was crazy." In truth she felt crazy and had delayed even coming back to Sacramento back in the late winter because she refused to believe what was happening to her. "Also those months ago were not a total loss, I managed to pick up a bunch of good leads to check out here in Sacramento."

When Alice mentions helping with an assignment from the Priscus, Sarah smiles. "Sure. I would love to help you with that."

'You have other leads? Perfect! You should inform me later, and I might be able to help you further.' Alice brushes Sarah's hair once more and kisses her shortly, as a 'thank you' to her promise of help.

Then she stretches her arms out while also pushing more blankets away with her legs. 'Making love makes me hungry. You're up for a hunt?'

"Always." Sarah remarks with a smile, her smooth skinned legs kicking away the covers on her body. "Let us bring the pleasure of our kiss to a few lucky Kine."