Roman Parrish (lawsofblood) wrote in nybynightic, @ 2020-11-03 18:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | activity type: log/thread, character: micah lucciano, character: roman parrish |
That didn’t mean that he had given an explicit reason for why he was requesting the appointment however. That would just give everything away and give his new partner a chance to buckle down on things. No, Roman wanted to save a few surprises. And he wanted to see the other man’s reactions to who he was and why he was there for himself.
Considering the people that Micah dealt with on a regular basis, Roman looked every bit like he belonged there as he was led into the Ventrue office right on time. Expensive suit, well groomed, and the way Roman carried himself said he was anything but one of the rabble here to lay his woes at the feet of the new Ventrue Primogen. “Mr. Lucciano, thank you for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to meet with me.”
Micah had been informed of the meeting ahead of schedule. But people he didn’t recognise were not routinely given an appointment. For this man to have somehow wrangled his way into one meant that he had either of the following in excess: resources or patience. Possibly both.
The look that he gave the stranger now was frank in its scrutiny—Armani? Or Gucci? Either way, that suit meant taste, at least. Which was unfortunately not a given thing even in the circles that Micah kept. At least the other Kindred had that going for him.
“Spare me the pleasantries. I hear that you have been quite secretive about your purpose in meeting me and your identity.” He stared up at the new arrival in his room, not offering a seat, not doing very much more than just looking at the man. There were seats across his desk that the Kindred could avail himself to. But until Micah knew more, he was less inclined to his usual standard of courtesy. Even then, his tone now was neutral, carefully devoid of any kind of criticism, but judgmental—perhaps just a tad. After all, keeping a Ventrue primogen deliberately in the dark was not something that would go down well for most people. “I have to say, I don’t very much like surprises.”
Roman could hardly blame the Primogen. Had the roles been reversed he wouldn't have been any more pleased than Micah was over this unexplained meeting. However, had the roles been versed, he was sure that the other Kindred would have been just as careful.
After all Anastasia had never wasted her time on idiots now had she?
Still, Roman seemed in no rush. He didn't help himself to a seat. For the moment he simply studied the office and then the man himself before speaking again. "Considering all that has been happening within your city I am sure one can understand one's need for caution among it." There was more than a simple fire going on, that much was for sure.
Micah observed the man without saying anything. It was not very often that someone could stand in this room, look at Micah and still maintain their composure.
He did agree. These were trying times they were in now. But he didn't have to verbalise that. He waited, silent, after all the man was on the clock. Micah was sure he'd find his way to his purpose in the end.
Composure had very much been installed in him in more ways than one. After a moment Roman gave a small nod of his head, coming to some nonverbal conclusion that was only for himself to know.
"Poor manners on my part leaving you to wonder who I am, though I'm sure you'll understand why in just a moment." For the first time since entering the room and facing down the displeasure of the Ventrue, Roman flashed him one of his charming smiles. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. Roman Parrish, Esquire. Prodigal son and only other surviving childer of the late Anastasia Thorne."
One didn’t get to the age that Micah was without living through a number of surprises—pleasant or otherwise. But the more of those that you encountered, the less they tended to truly surprise you anymore.
This tidbit of news was an exception, however. But Micah schooled his expression with a practiced ease.
“I wasn’t aware that Anastasia had any other childer.” Which hardly meant anything, of course. Every Kindred probably had one or two childer they were more fond of and others that they were less likely to speak of. But it did make Micah look at Roman in a new light.
“Why here, now?” After all this time, went unsaid. Micah didn’t waste time with trite sympathies. It would always be the hard questions first with him—everything else was immaterial.
Roman raised an eyebrow that asked the question of 'do you really need to ask why now?' Micah didn’t look like an idiot who would just go along with some gas leak story as being the reason that the Blue Velvet burnt down and Anastasia along with it. "I think we both know the now part of it."
The rest of it, however, Roman had come prepared for. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out carefully folded papers that he passed over to Micah. "We both know Anastasia never did anything without reason or a plan. I have been handling my sire's legal matters for years. All the reason she kept me tucked away elsewhere. Then there Sebastian's moving on. He has wavered all rights to Anastasia's remaining assets. You'll find all the paperwork in order including confirmation from your own Tremere Sheriff that I am who I claim to be."
And Anastasia really only had one remaining asset left didn’t she? The Blue Velvet had been everything to her until she had turned the Circulatory System into a new obsession of hers as a way to deal with her loss over Sebastian walking away and then her having to send her pet project away as well. "I had meant to be here sooner." Not that it would have made a difference other than possibly dying along with her he supposed.
Finding out that Anastasia had apparently kept her assets sequestered away was not altogether as unlikely a possibility as one would have originally thought. But it did mean that things were about to get even more annoying for Micah than usual.
He narrowed his eyes at Roman. “I meant, where were you before all of this.” After all, it didn’t seem like Roman was that much of an embarrassment that he couldn’t be associated with in public. Not like another childer of Anastasia’s that Micah knew of. Which meant she had reason to keep him away. And Micah wasn’t sure that he was going to like that reason.
And the papers that Roman laid in front of him proved him right.
For what it was worth, Micah had been looking forward to a long-term working relationship with Anastasia. She was good to work with. Far more pleasant than others he had known and worked with for a long time. But with the Blue Velvet going down, the Circulatory System had fallen into Micah’s hands as a matter of course. The appearance of this… childer of Anastasia’s threw a wrench into the works.
“You being who you are doesn’t change a thing.” Unphased, even if Micah was already mentally tabulating the accounts. “The System continues as it always has. Anastasia and I have everything written down. I’ve merely been continuing our work the way we’ve always agreed on.”
"Boston. Anastasia had me close enough at hand but far enough away that no one thought twice of whose childer I was." Well, there was always those within the Boston court who wondered. He was too unusual for a Toreador but also too well groomed and taught to have been a thrown away Rose.
Roman gave a nod. "You're correct in nothing having to change. Most of Anastasia plans had other been ran by me or written up by my own hand. I've already been the one dealing with your own lawyers in the past and I see no reason for that to change now."
If Anastasia had not cared about this project then Roman would be more inclined to just walk away from it and leave it be. However, one of the things she had poured herself into was gone and so he could not bring himself to not see this through on her behalf.
Well, at least that they could agree to.
But if Roman was indeed a childer of Anastasia’s, it also meant that he was very much alone now. Without a Sire’s backing, few would be able to make a name for themselves. Some, ill-equipped and simply too young and green, wouldn’t even be able to survive. Roman, by the looks of it, had been given the best that Anastasia could afford. But only time would tell if it was enough to tide him through the politics of the New York Camarilla.
Now that business concerns had been partially assuaged, Micah was more inclined to the smalltalk. “Anastasia was a good keeper. I can’t say that she had no enemies, but few were even worthy enough for that term. She was well-connected and in a good position to remove those that stood in her way.” So much so that perhaps some decided it was enough to remove her instead. “You’d do well to be careful in the city, regardless.”
In this Roman smiled. "You'll find I lack the normal petals of my fellow Roses and will just find the thorns instead. I think we both know that Anastasia suffered no fools, especially when it came to her childer."
Then the smile faded. "From what I have been able to gather so far, it sounds as if we'd all do well to be careful in this city." It was a poor time for anyone to enter into it. From the sounds of things the burning down of Elysium and the death of its Keeper was just only one of the many things happening.
"No court is without its problems but this one seems rather ripe with them at the moment."
Micah fought the urge to sigh and massage his temples. He had no urge to enumerate the problems with this city right now—the hunters, Anastasia’s death were but only the tip of the iceberg. And given that his fellow Primogens seemed either ill-equipped to handle the fallout or blatantly in denial of what was happening here, each day at Court was simply an exercise in trying his patience.
“Leave the court alone. Until you know for sure who your allies are, that’s not something you’d want to step into just yet.” It was rare, heartfelt advice. Especially given that of late, nothing seemed certain. If even the Primogens were not safe from threat—and Maya certainly hadn’t been—then no one was. Let alone a childer like Roman trying to find his own footing.
Roman studied Micah for a moment before giving a nod of agreement. "Of course." After all he wanted to know what had happened to Anastasia, not end up like her. And he hardly wanted to take her place as Keeper.
Besides, he needed to learn more about the players here and just where everyone fell within this mess before he could even consider stepping into it. "I would hate to step into something that I won't be able to scrape off the bottom of my shoe later." Still,
there was something about this Ventrue warning him that just reinforced that feeling. "That in mind, it's probably for the best that we leave just who my sire is on a need to know basis. No need to make an announcement of it to the court."
Given who he was, it was a remarkable show of confidence that he had volunteered the information to Micah. Doubtless, it was something that Micah could have found out eventually, and given that they still needed to contact one another for business, knowing sooner rather than later would only make the downstream transactions much easier on them both.
But at least, it seemed, Roman was very much aware of his precarious position in the city.
“No,” Micah agreed. “It doesn’t seem like there’s very many that would fit that ‘need to know’ category anyway.” An intention to shield? Perhaps. But whatever it was, Roman was very much all that Anastasia had left behind along with the Circulatory System. If Micah could guard one for her, perhaps it wasn’t all that much to guard the other as well.
Roman would have to be a fool to not be aware of just how precarious his position in this city would be and well, his sire had not turned no fool. At least in this case. If she had she would have weeded him out herself a long time ago.
Besides, there was only one more that Roman could think of that needed to know and it was for personal reasons and what he had that he wanted to pass on to him. The rest of Kindred of the city could go on the way Boston always had and wonder what Toreador had decided to sire a lawyer with not one lick of artistic talent.
That grin was back. "There's really not."