Adam Fenn (neonate) wrote in thisdarknight, @ 2016-07-11 15:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | !locale: french quarter, adam fenn, antoine savoy [npc] |
so far from your weapon & the place you were born
Who: Antoine Savoy [NPC] & Adam Fenn.
What: Savoy brings his childe up to speed on recent events and institutes new safety measures.
Where: Bourbon Orleans.
When: The night following this event.
Warnings: None.
Progress: GDoc, complete.
Two guests were leaving Savoy's office by the time Adam arrived to answer his Sire's summons. One was a normal looking woman, brown hair and casual clothing, but the man -- if one could call it that -- chatting in low tones with her looked like something that walked out of a nightmare. Hunched over, it still retained two arms and walked on two legs, but it looked like a human being put into a blender. The pair saw Adam coming, their voices growing quiet until the hallway was nothing but stillness, waiting for him to either pass them or make some comment in regard to their presence.
Had it been only the woman Adam might have spoken. He opened his mouth as if to begin, but the moment his eyes touched her companion, it shut tight again. He blushed, embarrassed by his own reaction, but still words eluded him. Enough time and steps had passed that even an apology would now seem stilted and strange, so he merely kept walking, and let himself in to Savoy's office without a backward glance. The two followed him with their eyes, their voices picking up as soon as they heard the door closing.
Inside, he breathed a sigh of relief. He closed the door and leaned on it for a moment, collecting himself. He had read enough in his time at the Bourbon Orleans to know what he had seen, but knowing and understanding were two wildly different things, a fact each new night seemed determined to teach him. He swallowed hard and stepped deeper into the suite.
"Antoine," he said, inclining his head in a sort of greeting. He chewed his tongue, still uncomfortable with his earlier tactlessness. "Um. You wanted to see me?"
Savoy was already looking up from his desk, standing next to it with paper in hand. He immediately noted Adam's discomfort.
"I see you passed my guests in the hallway; I was hoping they would have left before you arrived, but we don't get everything we want." His voice was dry and unapproving, though not toward the neonate standing before him. "And yes, I did want to see you. Please, take a seat. Have you fed already?" He gestured toward the chair across from his desk, doing what he could to put his childe at ease.
"Yes. Thank you." Adam folded himself into the seat. His fingers drummed against the armrests for a second before he realized; he stopped himself, and laced his hands together neatly in his lap. "I don't think I've seen Nosferatu since I got here. Are they... in the area often?"
Savoy shook his head as he placed the paper back onto his desk. He leaned against the furniture as though its strength would add to his own.
"No. Those were Marie Laveau's envoys. I don't know what you've heard thus far, but there was a murder in my territory the other night. A Kindred was killed. At least, it's believed to be a murder by those who knew the victim. Things are hazy, still, but I wanted you to be informed, first and foremost, and I wanted to discuss your escort."
Adam blinked beneath his furrowed brow. Rumors spread as quickly as fire in this place; he had heard, though in no great detail, what had happened. It was unsettling, of course, but nothing that had caused him any real concern. The kine seemed to think it arson, and that had been enough for Adam. Even now the word murder seemed out of place, a leap in logic he could not entirely support. He shifted in his chair.
"Escort? Do you really think that's necessary? I've been doing better with feedings, and Bastion's been very helpful…"
"Yes, it is very necessary." Savoy's heavy tone brooked no argument as his hard gaze settled on Adam's. "It's only one assault, Adam, but things like this do not happen in my territory regularly, and I will not have it happen to you if it should come to pass again. On this I will not bend. If you would prefer to not have one, then you'll remain in the hotel." His piece spoken, Savoy softened. His next words were spoken quietly, but with no less fervor.
"I know you dislike it; I don't wish you to feel as though I think you incapable. If I had the time to ensure your safety myself, I would. This is more for my own sanity than yours." He fell silent for a moment, letting his words sink in. "This is why I wanted to offer you the choice of either a ghoul, or to have another Kindred with you. I've recently made the acquaintance of another neonate who is in need of position. She is indebted to me, and no offense to your friend Bastion, but someone I would trust the life of my childe with."
Adam tried and failed to hold back a childish sigh. He raked a hand through his hair. The choice was not an easy one, though perhaps it should have been; Adam had found no reason to trust ghouls or Kindred above one another, and it was proving difficult to make a rational decision in so petulant a mood. His shoulders slumped. He spread his hands, shrugging lightly.
"The Kindred, I guess. I don't want to stay cooped up here, but ghouls still creep me out a little, and if you say you trust this neonate then so do I." He smiled, though the expression was somewhat flimsy. "So what's her name?"
"Regina Hawthorne." Savoy leaned one hip against the desk, clearly more at ease with Adam's acceptance. One hand gestured as he talked. "She's a Gangrel, embraced six months ago. Before that, she was a human hunter of our kind. If anyone can protect you, she'll certainly know how. She might also be able to offer some insight into this world since she has known it for so long." He affixed a smile to his own face, though it was as small as his childe's. "I certainly hope she won't 'creep you out' any further than my ghouls have, but it's difficult to gauge what it is you young people find strange these days."
Adam's laugh was open and unfeigned. He covered his mouth at once, blushing to the roots of his hair. "Sorry," he said. "I don't mean to be rude. Just… the way you say it, it really does sound kind of stupid." He waved, dismissing his own needless rambling. "Okay. Regina. Um. Can I ask how she ended up owing you? I mean, if she used to hunt us, are you sure this isn't some weird, really long con kind of trap?"
Savoy's smile grew easier, and he crossed his arms over his chest leisurely. "The thought had crossed my mind, but in the six months she's been in my employ, she's given me no cause for concern. She's not a fanatic like the Society of Leopold's members; she was merely trying to survive, and now she's learning a different type of survival. Not unlike you, Adam.
"And she owes me for help toward that survival; myself and others. She's proved to be quite an asset. That's not all she's getting out of this, however; I promised I would help her find a tutor to learn her clan's disciplines. I believe she has something of a vendetta against her Sire, considering the circumstances of her Embrace. But that's something you'll have to ask her about yourself; she's been fairly closed lipped on the topic."
The crease returned to Adam's brow. He felt suitably chastised for his assumptions, but curiosity and some shadow of anxiety still hovered at the edges of his thoughts. Still, Savoy's word went farthest of anything with Adam in his new life. He pushed aside his concerns and brightened the smile on his face. "All right," he said, nodding. "When am I supposed to meet her? I was hoping to go out for a bit tonight. Maybe catch another of Bastion's tours, or see a movie or something. Just get out a little. If that's okay."
His Sire's mouth flattened into a line, but Savoy eventually caved. "I would rather you remain in familiar territory at least until the NOFD has Bourbon Street cleaned up, but I can understand not wanting to feel like a prisoner in your own home." He pushed off of his desk, moving around to the far side where a phone sat. He picked up its receiver and pressed a button.
"Evening, Gerald. Would you please have Ms. Hawthorne waiting in the lobby?" His tone with the ghoul on the other end of the line was genial, and nothing in his voice sounded as though he were pretending his good mood. "Yes, he's going to be down shortly. Thank you." He replaced the receiver in its cradle and turned his attention back to Adam.
"She'll be down near the concierge; she stands out. I don't think you'll mistake her." He offered Adam one last smile after a moment's pause. "Say hello to Bastion for me, if you see him. Since you find him so worthy of your time, I've found I should reconsider his potential."