[ The person that awaits Blythe is familiar, small and sharp eyed, dressed smartly. She extends her hand, offering a pure white, entirely too fancy, handkerchief.
It's not that Hlasoh doesn't respect it. She does, she knows Jessica is fighting for a future that might have less need of conniving bitches like them, and the man was a bastard of the first order. ]
I'm not mad, Jessica, but really? I haven't seen you in months and you decide to make my life that much more complicated without so much as a "how are you doing, lately?" Honestly. He was only my third least favorite cousin.
[ She makes an airy gesture of dismissal. ]
Well? How have you been, you shiftless ne'er-do-well?
[she doesn't touch the handkerchief, but she never really has done that kind of thing. she sits politely and lets hlasoh get through her introduction; blythe really had no idea this latest balancing act had been related to her. but hlasoh has this way of getting to the core of things faster than some others when she means to, so blythe just looks up from the bench with her expression as flat as possible.]
I'm sorry. I don't know a Jessica. [the blankness on her face fades away after a moment, softening to something a little friendlier. it's harder to talk to hlasoh in some respects, but in others it's refreshingly easy.]
So much care put towards staying alive. Depriving himself of the simpler pleasures to indulge only in the dollar. He feared another more strongly than the death that did come for him. [a break in the speech that makes it seem like she'll actually, finally answer the question that hlasoh had asked. no luck:] It doesn't seem appropriate to tell you that I am sorry for your loss; it's impolite to lie. You have come to expect this?
[ She doesn't expect any remorse, nor does she grieve for that man. But his death puts a lot more heat on her to keep her nose clean. Be a good black sheep and don't give them all a justification to destroy her, because right now the better part of her family is furious and paranoid.
They're not buying that sudden bout of illness for a second. ]
Well, if you ever meet her, give her my regards.
[ She gives a little laugh, then shakes her head. Beneath her poised irony there's tension, a noticeable edge. ]
Expect is a strong word, but I'm not shocked. I just wished you'd given me greater warning. As the lowborn adopted daughter of one of the most famous individuals our House ever produced... well, they're already suspicious of me, and now they'll be champing at the bit to find plots and assassins. Being inconspicuous is so boring. [ She sighs. ] Of course, I'm used to it.
Then you'll have no problem continuing to weather the storm.
[she would love to remain that cold, that distant. and even though there's no prickle of a threat at the back of her neck, her thoughts still shift towards finding a way to be at least a little... nicer about it. about the truth. she doesn't need to hide that from hlasoh.]
He was being targeted by many people like me. I needed to move fast to keep questions about his death as contained as possible. But I am not cruel, Hlasoh. [she turns her golden gaze upward, staring at the other woman from the comfort of her seat and behind her brow.] Check the autopsy report. You will find no evidence of burns in the throat. No forced consumption. No medical interactions. You will find only the fatal nephrotoxicity.
[she stands slowly, leaving her sandwich behind and rising to her full height that only ever feels imposing when speaking to hlasoh. she reaches up and brushes hair from her own face back over her ear.]
The heart beats two billion times per life. The air we breathe is deadly to our cells. The human body is such a frail thing, isn't it? So fallible. [her fingers twitch like she wants to touch hlasoh's arm; she refrains.] So malleable.
Oh, you're just too kind. And since you're so kind, and might I say, I just love all the memento mori too, it's making me feel so at ease with the universe right now; since you're so kind, you'll have absolutely no problem admitting that you owe me for this.
[ She grins wryly up at her. She knows that she covered her tracks. She knows how these sorts of operations need to go down. But there's still a satisfaction that comes with ensnaring her, if she can get it. ]
Does it excite you, thinking of all kinds of horrible things happening to my body?
[her arm prickles, the familiar feeling of a pinch in an artery. she thinks the word "no." sharply and tries to keep her face unemotive until the pain passes. "let me handle this," she thinks. "i am Yours." the feeling stops, and she crosses her arms over her chest in an almost comical show of intimidation.]
Perhaps. But it's even more exciting to think how I may be the one who owes you right now. [she reaches out; her insides do not protest. she runs the backs of her fingers along hlasoh's cheek and her Lady is silent.] What is it that you think I may be able to balance our scales with? How do you measure what I have done?
[ She doesn't flinch from Blythe's touch, even knowing the onslaught of infection that is held back by mere will. It hasn't killed her yet.
She wonders what she'll have done to deserve it if it does. Hopefully something interesting. She tilts her head and kisses those clammy fingers. ]
I'm really not sure yet. I've got a lot of projects going, you know. Assorted schemes, capers, conspiracies, forbidden rites, etc. Your sin is so heinous, I clearly need to consider carefully.
[she murmurs it as she feels her finger drawn into hlasoh's mouth, between her lips and teeth. there is a churn within her. she ignores it. she wants to ignore it. she ignores a lot of things when it comes to hlasoh. she's done worse before and if the worst that her Lady does at this point is make her queasy then she can handle it.]
Wrath? Envy? [she presses the pad of her finger upward against hlasoh's teeth. her voice has gained this darkness to it that she isn't sure she can support, but she is already speaking with it.] Pride? Or will your satisfy yourself with something no man would dare confine to words?
I'd need volumes to describe the sort of things you do.
[ She sucks on that finger, feeling all the teeming, voracious, murderous life that writhes within, a potentiality that could engulf her so easily. ]
We go where no man ever could. But you certainly do like putting things inside the scions of Rhen, don't you? Tiny hungry, needful things, desirous of warmth. Is that what you want from me?
[and she is right to do it. blythe does not need much further convincing, but hlasoh's words intermingled with her own finger are only reinforcing ideas that her mind had already been dancing so inelegantly around. perhaps she had chosen the incorrect vice, the wrong sin. perhaps she truly is guilty of a litany. her Lady would say so. her Lady is not her concern right now.]
And this will settle my debt? Making yourself into my prey? [she says it calmly, with emotional distance that she longs to close. tasteless as it may be, her body is already beginning to react to these low words and easy motions. she turns her hand so her palm can grip more easily at hlasoh's jaw and runs her fingertip against her canine.] It is a becoming role for you. I accept.
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no subject
[ The person that awaits Blythe is familiar, small and sharp eyed, dressed smartly. She extends her hand, offering a pure white, entirely too fancy, handkerchief.
It's not that Hlasoh doesn't respect it. She does, she knows Jessica is fighting for a future that might have less need of conniving bitches like them, and the man was a bastard of the first order. ]
I'm not mad, Jessica, but really? I haven't seen you in months and you decide to make my life that much more complicated without so much as a "how are you doing, lately?" Honestly. He was only my third least favorite cousin.
[ She makes an airy gesture of dismissal. ]
Well? How have you been, you shiftless ne'er-do-well?
no subject
I'm sorry. I don't know a Jessica. [the blankness on her face fades away after a moment, softening to something a little friendlier. it's harder to talk to hlasoh in some respects, but in others it's refreshingly easy.]
So much care put towards staying alive. Depriving himself of the simpler pleasures to indulge only in the dollar. He feared another more strongly than the death that did come for him. [a break in the speech that makes it seem like she'll actually, finally answer the question that hlasoh had asked. no luck:] It doesn't seem appropriate to tell you that I am sorry for your loss; it's impolite to lie. You have come to expect this?
no subject
They're not buying that sudden bout of illness for a second. ]
Well, if you ever meet her, give her my regards.
[ She gives a little laugh, then shakes her head. Beneath her poised irony there's tension, a noticeable edge. ]
Expect is a strong word, but I'm not shocked. I just wished you'd given me greater warning. As the lowborn adopted daughter of one of the most famous individuals our House ever produced... well, they're already suspicious of me, and now they'll be champing at the bit to find plots and assassins. Being inconspicuous is so boring. [ She sighs. ] Of course, I'm used to it.
no subject
[she would love to remain that cold, that distant. and even though there's no prickle of a threat at the back of her neck, her thoughts still shift towards finding a way to be at least a little... nicer about it. about the truth. she doesn't need to hide that from hlasoh.]
He was being targeted by many people like me. I needed to move fast to keep questions about his death as contained as possible. But I am not cruel, Hlasoh. [she turns her golden gaze upward, staring at the other woman from the comfort of her seat and behind her brow.] Check the autopsy report. You will find no evidence of burns in the throat. No forced consumption. No medical interactions. You will find only the fatal nephrotoxicity.
[she stands slowly, leaving her sandwich behind and rising to her full height that only ever feels imposing when speaking to hlasoh. she reaches up and brushes hair from her own face back over her ear.]
The heart beats two billion times per life. The air we breathe is deadly to our cells. The human body is such a frail thing, isn't it? So fallible. [her fingers twitch like she wants to touch hlasoh's arm; she refrains.] So malleable.
no subject
[ She grins wryly up at her. She knows that she covered her tracks. She knows how these sorts of operations need to go down. But there's still a satisfaction that comes with ensnaring her, if she can get it. ]
Does it excite you, thinking of all kinds of horrible things happening to my body?
no subject
Perhaps. But it's even more exciting to think how I may be the one who owes you right now. [she reaches out; her insides do not protest. she runs the backs of her fingers along hlasoh's cheek and her Lady is silent.] What is it that you think I may be able to balance our scales with? How do you measure what I have done?
no subject
She wonders what she'll have done to deserve it if it does. Hopefully something interesting. She tilts her head and kisses those clammy fingers. ]
I'm really not sure yet. I've got a lot of projects going, you know. Assorted schemes, capers, conspiracies, forbidden rites, etc. Your sin is so heinous, I clearly need to consider carefully.
[ She gently bites her index finger. ]
no subject
[she murmurs it as she feels her finger drawn into hlasoh's mouth, between her lips and teeth. there is a churn within her. she ignores it. she wants to ignore it. she ignores a lot of things when it comes to hlasoh. she's done worse before and if the worst that her Lady does at this point is make her queasy then she can handle it.]
Wrath? Envy? [she presses the pad of her finger upward against hlasoh's teeth. her voice has gained this darkness to it that she isn't sure she can support, but she is already speaking with it.] Pride? Or will your satisfy yourself with something no man would dare confine to words?
no subject
[ She sucks on that finger, feeling all the teeming, voracious, murderous life that writhes within, a potentiality that could engulf her so easily. ]
We go where no man ever could. But you certainly do like putting things inside the scions of Rhen, don't you? Tiny hungry, needful things, desirous of warmth. Is that what you want from me?
[ this bitch can and will anthropomorphize cum ]
no subject
And this will settle my debt? Making yourself into my prey? [she says it calmly, with emotional distance that she longs to close. tasteless as it may be, her body is already beginning to react to these low words and easy motions. she turns her hand so her palm can grip more easily at hlasoh's jaw and runs her fingertip against her canine.] It is a becoming role for you. I accept.