(1408) Notaku & Sinead

[Djinn]

"Ah! Notaku!" A bright smile lit the blonde's features as she offered a curtsy, looking him over with a little bit of confusion for a moment. Goodness, she had no idea what any of these people were dressed to represent. Had she, perhaps, misunderstood the point? That was troublesome. "I thank you kindly for that sentiment," she smiled a little bit, playing with her skirt a little before shaking her head.

"I fear I may have misunderstood the theme of this gathering. I couldn't precisely recall what Lady Étaíne ought to look like... my memory fails me, it seems. I may, in fact, be too covered," she added as her eyes trailed after a woman she didn't know... and then another... and another... What was it about this generation that made them so prone to wearing so little at a gathering such as this?

Her gaze settled on his chest appreciatively, mind, and she decided against verbally protesting in any way as she looked him over more thoroughly, spending a few moments thinking before lifting a finger. "Ah! Lord Shiva, perhaps?" she inquired of his attire, looking up after a few moments again and smiling brightly. Yes, that seemed about right, didn't it? She was reasonably confident in her guess, and to be fair Shiva was an apt fit for the theme...

As large as the man was, he did a fantastic job of dominating most of her line of sight, and she hardly minded. There was something to be said about having someone such as Notaku between herself and figures such as the Reeve, and the other man whose presence made her Beast rattle the bars of the cage it hid itself within.

[Djinn]

Her expression looked a little thoughtful at his words, before she smiled and nodded warmly. "... There is that, I suppose. It depends on how interested this gathering is in Irish Mythology, I suppose," Sinead sighed lightly, shaking her head. "Tochmarc Étaíne is, as I've learned, the inspiration for Shakespeare's Othello... perhaps that is of some interest?" she mused, before shrugging lightly.

Ah, something the Kine were interested in? "Lord Shiva is also at times known to be Shiva the Destroyer," she stated absently, "perhaps this, too, is an inspiration?" Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer... East Indian Gods that she tended to identify with the concept of reincarnation. "Still, I am certain you embody this being quite well," Sinead smiled warmly, nodding pleasantly.

"Do you, perhaps, understand better the concept of this gathering? I'm afraid those I would tend to rely on for such information have... ah... recently... met with their end... and the use of computers is still somewhat beyond me," she sighed heavily. "Trying to keep up with time as it flies past is difficult and tedious all at once. The Kine create things in such sudden bursts that it's nearly impossible to keep up!"

[Djinn]

She listened thoughtfully as Notaku spoke, considering his words for a time before glancing around the room contemplatively. Similar to All Hallows Eve? That was how the custom he spoke of sounded to her. She was distinctly interested in the way he viewed himself, but she chose to make no comment as he questioned her own thought processes.

"To best answer that question, I ask that you look at me. Look me in the eyes and tell me that I am not a predator," her gaze settled on his face, calm and composed, though the smile she tended to wear eased away, leaving a thoroughly haunting expression on the Haunt. "Consider how you feel to interact with those around you such as the Reeve. Wariness. Fear. The entity within pulls and pushes adamantly with regards to both of those things...

"As Nosferatu go, I am trapped. Our tendency to disappear into the shadows or to seem invisible is, it seems, often at odds with how I am treated for physical appearances. It is rare that I go so often unnoticed as it seems I do here," a peculiarity that she was still attempting to grow used to, "and that can draw both positive and negative attention. This state of concealment, however, ensures that those who I view as prey are still willing to associate with me without feeling uneasy at a multitude of levels. This state of concealment also ensures that those who would see challenge in my strength will not act with hostility on part of the entity within.

"This is not hiding," Sinead finally donned a smile once more, "this is evening the odds. It's a trick I've learned over my many years of this state. The danger you suggest is fascinating, as what you propose is that even knowing that something is not quite what it seems about me, one would blindly choose to attack, unknowning of the full situation. That, for me, is to my benefit. I have a better idea of what to anticipate from those others than they know to anticipate from me.

"For instance," a feral smile, "do you consider me to be a threat, brother? Do I frighten you? Because perhaps I should."

After a moment she looked away, her expression easing off as she reigned in the challenge she felt her Beast pressing for against this man's. "I come to gatherings, however, not to pose animosity or challenge, nor to create fear. I come to socialize. That alone is difficult enough without the entity within adding to it."

[Djinn]

"One does what one must to survive," she responded with a little smile, though she watched the woman who appeared to be... well, was she even wearing clothes, or had she simply painted her skin red? ... huh. "But if I do not socialize, I cannot keep up with society. If I cannot keep up with society, I become a relic. A relic is of no use to anyone, and what is the purpose of an existence with no use?" she inquired absently, though it wasn't precisely directed at him as though it needed an answer.

"If ever you feel the need, I do hope I can assist in this issue for you. Though at current I am as new to this city as you," Sinead shrugged a little bit with a soft sigh. "This... may well be the most difficulty I've had with socializing. I suppose I grew too used to being treated differently for the way I look... but there are many, many lovely individuals whose beauty takes distinct precedence." Her hand rested on her cheek as she looked thoughtful.

The Curse of her Blood, she supposed... perhaps in much the same way as she found it uncomfortable to be around Sir Baldwin, others, too, found her presence unnerving for other reasons? Were this not an Invictus city, things would be much easier, but propriety dictated that certain steps must be taken, and certain things must be adhered to...

... unfortunate.

[Djinn]

"... that sounds unhappily familiar," Sinead sighed softly, before she took to quoting something. "'It may be that your soul purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.'"

But not her; not for her. She wasn't going to be passive in the existence she had, she refused to grow idle and cobwebbed under the fog of ages... "Socializing itself is not a method of survival, I fear, so much as a means of pretending that we are, in fact, still similar to the kine in some way. It is events like this that allow us to keep up with things, for those of us who've fallen behind, to learn how quickly the kine have grown in recent times, and to find a way to continue to exist beside them, without making ourselves entirely obvious."

This particular gathering, though... she still didn't quite understand. The attire being worn, the costumes, the scantily clad kindred... Their vanity. That was what it seemed as she looked around. This was an instance of vanity on a large scale.

"Regardless, we all strive to exist in the best way that we can." For her it was sad to think that Notaku felt that having some light difficulties in socializing with other Kindred constituted apt tribulation. Did he struggle with it and have it go against his nature so much more than she could perceive? What was different was not necessarily difficult, in the end. Socialization was not what left scars on the soul.

"Perhaps this is your trial, brother," she responded, "but I will walk the path with you, as we are never truly alone."

With a moment more of hesitation, she offered a curtsy to Notaku, gentle and graceful, before she smiled absently. "If you need me, you know how to find me," she greeted quietly before making her way into the gathering again. One thing was true - she wouldn't be able to acquaint herself further with individuals if she stood in a corner with only one individual.

Sinead wanders off into the gathering.