Ever Forward

[Alice Hart]

Alice laughs a hollow little laugh, "If they'd come here acting like that, with a Beast to match...then it would be an entirely different story. But usually, they're just so...pathetic." Alice frowns, as long as the Domain wasn't burning Asa left them to it. So if Ale really wanted a more rigid structer, as Reeve, Alice thought, she could enforce those sorts of changes, and if Asa didn't like what he saw, then he'd speak to Ale. Or to Alice herself, and have her talk to the Italian.

On Carthians Alice shrugs. She didn't understand them either.

"He left the Domain without word or warning to anyone, which happens, yes, but he was Reeve. That's why he knows he'll be punished."

Then Vivian's there to cut through the budding tension.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a bed. I made do on the floor or in the water. Then He was just there. And there was yelling. Well, I did the yelling. Then there was kissing and hands and he was there, and back and-" Alice cuts herself off. Because they really didn't need to know. "But yes. It was fun. I've never really-ever-that before, but..." Alice's head turns downward, her fingers twist in her lap.

Vivian's words slice through Alice's reverie and the Doll lets out another little laugh.

"Thanks! I just..." Alice tries to find words to describe how she felt for the Daeva, but after minutes of failing she settles on, "you're awesome."

[Alessandra]

While she agreed with Vivian, she wasn’t sure what else could be said on the matter.

There was a snort at the Daeva’s comment about the Carthian, “Vivian, I’ve been through many Domains in my years, both in America and in Europe, and I have yet to see a Carthian do something good and useful. Now, I don’t think it’s from a lack of desire to bring about change or whatever it is they are after, but they lack organization. I don’t even think there is a power structure to their Covenant. And without a pecking order, someone to take charge, they will keep floundering, keep trying to get out of that wet paper bag they always find themselves in. But their distaste for those in power, will continue to be their downfall. Every creature in the world has a hierarchy, someone who everyone answers to, without it, there is chaos. So no,” she says with a shake of her head, “he won’t be different. Unless you sway him to something more worthwhile and worth chasing.” Who knows, maybe the enticing Daeva could.

Amused eyes watch Vivian, squealing like a school girl at a rock concert. Maybe Ale was just more private about who she went to bed with, but it wasn’t an interesting topic to her. It continued to itch at her brain, make her wonder if Alice’s judgement was now clouded.

Nodding, “Thank you Vivian. It’s nice to know you can see that. And I like that I can be not only open with you, but blunt as well.”

Grinning to Alice, “Hell, even if they had a Beast to match, it wouldn’t stop me. Laws are the Laws and if someone wants to waltz in Beast out and have an attitude, well, then they are not going to like what happens. Beast or no Beast, it doesn’t stand, and I welcome them to try. They’ll end up staked to my office door for everyone to see.” She’d welcome the chance.

She still wasn’t sure about the punishment thing with Robert. Sitting and talking with him would help sort her mind. She had ideas for a punishment, but without speaking with the Haunt, it would be unfair to pass judgement.

And there it was. Alice had been a virgin before!

Wide, shocked eyes look to Vivian, the Savage wasn’t sure what to say.

[Alice Hart]

"It's not that they lack organization, they have that...in their own way. But they just, can't decided on which paradigm is best. So they just...argue over that. They're so focused on being right, that they drop the ball everywhere else." Or at least that's Alice experience with the Movement. Before Sacramento a few Carthians thought that just because she was young she'd join up, and want to do away with the 'feudal oppression of the Invictus' or something like that. At the time, Alice was more concerned with not making any waves and hiding in a corner so after that pitch was made, Alice got her bag ready and left the next night. "They don't want anarchy, or at least the ones who last long enough to live past telling others their involvement with the Movement, don't. My views on them, they want to destroy the current systems, and put their own in place. It's like they're a stew of every political anything and more in one pot and they're trying to make something out of that everything which is why nothing ever get done." To Alice, whoever decided that the Movement was an everything stew wasn't the smartest. Maybe within the Movement there were factions to sort everything, but they couldn't be specific enough since all of this...everything that keeps happening. Maybe the Movement should be divvied up, not in to factions, but into more specific Covenant lines.

Alice laughs, imagining the scene where Ale finally loses patients and stakes someone to her door. "Maybe the next idiot who mouths off should be staked to your door. Then maybe we'll get a few months of...not peace, but manners." They were kindred, and Alice knew better then to take a seeming peace at face value.

Alice might have blushed, if she had the blood to Blush.

"It-was-ah. It was, and not. It was a little...desperate...I think. He'd just come back and I was an emotional mess. He didn't just leave the Domain without word, he was just...gone one night. It took a while to realize he was gone. He's normally quite, sometimes he Cloaks when he wanted to get stalkerish. When I first lost my eyes, I would go out to hunt, but he'd follow me. To make sure I wasn't lost or doing something that could be considered a Breach just because I couldn't see." she shakes her head, "His scent was in everything around me at the time. So it...it look me longer then it should to realize he was gone, and not ignoring me."

Alice stops and shakes her head once more. This was stupid, she was stupid.

"No." Alice answers Vivian, the stops to think about it. It was all about her clothing, and nothing else. She didn't think Robert counted, closest he'd come to a complement since his return was 'you're not stupid.'

[Alessandra]

Smirking, “I try.”But the phrase fit the Carthians.

Shaking her head, “I didn’t think your opinion was based off being in the Invictus. You’ve never struck me as the type to agree with or go along with popular opinion strictly because it was popular opinion.” Defiantly a good thing, it meant the Daeva could think for herself.

“Heartfelt compliments?” she then shakes her head, “Not really. I’m used to the ones about my tattoos, it comes with the territory. But aside from that, nope. And not that I’m dismissing your compliment, or that ones I’ve said are false, but heartfelt isn’t something we usually get from other Kindred. We usually go through the motions of making nice, complimenting something about the other, and then moving on.” It was just their nature. “Which is interesting. As humans, we would compliment another as a way to be nice and try to establish a friendship or common ground. Now? Most compliments are said as a nicety and thrown around without feeling or sincerity, which is quite sad. And just so you guys know, I don’t thrown compliments around without meaning it. Blowing smoke up someones ass isn’t my style, if I don’t like you, I won’t sugar coat things.”

She listens to Alice, “Huh, sounds like you know more about them than I do. I’ve never seen them organize anything, but maybe I wasn’t really paying attention.” She usually overlooked them.

“That’s what always baffled me about them, them wanting to dismantle the current power systems. Now this isn’t the Invictus part of me speaking, but what is their malfunction with how things are run? If it’s not broken and is working, what’s the problem? How is their way better? I just don’t get it.” There was a shake of her head. If it didn’t prevent her from going about her business, she had no issue with it.

Chuckling, “Well, so long as they’re breaking Laws in Elysium, I just might. Unfortunately, I can’t stake them for simply being rude. Now if they get mouthy, don’t back down and pose a threat, then I have stakes waiting in my desk.” It would send a powerful message. But it had to be done when the situation called for it and not simply because she didn’t like the Kindred. Well, she could, but it would be an abuse of power.

[Alice Hart]

Alice nods, her strings pulled nod, she knew many preferred not to pay Carthians and a few other idiotic kindred, any mind, but Ale really needed to rethink that stance. She was Reeve and something slipping by just because she wasn't paying attention...

"I'm not a Carthian, I don't know what they're thinking, but I know they just want to be right and they want to be the one to prove that something that has been working for centuries...isn't. And that they have something better in mind. Or whatever it is they're on about."

"I-ah...did." Alice starts only to stop. Did Vivian think they'd reunited and were lost to passion? That they hadn't spoken at all yet. Robert's been back since the middle of April. There had been plenty of opportunities to talk. Besides, if she didn't want to pick up them pieces of them, she wouldn't have slept with him.

Alice hums at Vivian's words before she laughs, "What? Like the...I don't know. Purple cucumber?" it was silly, maybe silly was needed for right now.

Another strings pulled nod, "Me too. It's annoying having to put up my Court face and only have people see that. I miss being able to be me all the time."

[Alessandra]

She listens as Vivian speaks, “Well, things might get awkward if she lets him go. But I suck at relationships and all that stuff, so just ignore me.” Not only was she his Priscus, but the Seneschal as well. Sleeping with family had a tendency to muddy the waters. Would that happen with Alice and Robert? She didn’t know and only time would tell how it would play out. But she did hope for the best.

Nodding, “It certainly is a way to avoid trouble. But I’ve seen some Kindred offer insincere compliments and get ashed. I think that’s what makes it a dangerous thing, if you words aren’t sincere and it is obvious, shit happens and it can get ugly. So it’s walking that fine line and knowing how to make insincere sound sincere. But I agree Vivian, it is frustrating and I personally hate it.” She knew how the Danse worked, but it didn’t mean she had to like it.

An eyebrow raised, “Code words?” there was a sly smile and chuckle, “Now that could be fun. And would truly make us a girls club.” Cause don’t clubs use secret words all the time?

“Speaking of this,” she mimics the Daeva’s gesture, “How do we want to move forward with it? Do we want to find a Haven to share? Or keep things as they are?” would be good to know where the others saw this Coterie going.

“Well, I wish them luck then. Nothing is perfect. I’ve been through many Domains in my years, and each one had its own flaw in how things were run. No Covenant is perfect, despite what they might tell the masses. So of course there are always ways that things can be run differently and improved. Now look at our Domain. When I came here, it was an Invictus Domain, now that is isn’t, I haven’t noticed any difference in how things are run. The Prince is still fair and just, we are still able to follow our own Covenant. So I just find it funny that some of them think their way is the best, especially in Domains where we have such freedoms. Not that I’m going to give a Carthian a hard time for being one, but should one or more of them decided to try and pull something and disrupt what we have going, then, well, we will have a problem.” This was one of the few sane Domains she had been in, she liked it here.

“Wait, purple cucumber? Did I miss something?” she had some ideas about what it could be, but wasn’t going assume.

“Same here Alice. I have a mask I wear while in Court, and I hate it sometimes. I’m not always no nonsense and serious. I can be silly too, no, seriously, I can.”