[20th August] Catching up with friends

Suit

David enters with Aisha at his side.  Before coming here David prepared Aisha as best as he could about the rules of the castle and how to carry herself while they were in the castle.

Then he noticed.  Some were looking, really looking at him and Mary's words ringing in his mind knowing those that were watching him and whispering about what they saw with him.

Looking around he saw Rose and Nikolaus at the bar and walked over with a smile.  His hair a lot shorter than last they saw him.  Two glasses were given and David gave one to Aisha as he took a drink.

"Good evening to the both of you.  My apologies we are late coming.  We have been trying to get back into our lives in New York."

Rose turned around as she heard footsteps coming their way and, sure enough, here was David. With Aisha. In Castle Vampyre. 'Et merde.' Rose was not the kind to swear, even via telepathy and especially not in French. But this time, she just couldn't help it. To her credit, her face remained perfectly impassible, betraying no disappointment or anger.

Luckily for David, the Tremere was so focused on Aisha for now, she practically ignored him altogether. Using Auspex on him was the last thing on her mind right now. And she didn't need to use Auspex on the ex-witch to confirm what she already knew. She looked Aisha in the eye for the longest time, her look still expressing nothing. In the crude light of the bar, Rose's pale skin seemed even paler than usual, making her dark eyeliner and her red lipstick stand out even more. It was as if she'd suddenly turned into a wax model of herself, and yet she and Nikolaus had fed right before coming to the Elysium, like they always did. After a moment, she raised her wyne glass as if to toast.

"Good evening. To the both of you." She said flatly, repeating what David had said, with the faintest hint of irony to her voice. She briefly turned to Nikolaus, before looking at the two other kindred again. "And here I was afraid I'd have to wait for another night to be able to congratulate the two of you on your wedding in person. Clearly this concern was not warranted."

She took a sip of wyne before gracefully setting it back down on the table. "So where in New York City have you decided to settle down, if I may ask?"

Aisha smiled brightly but the smile changed to a polite one as the two greeted her and David. She couldn't tell from Rose's looks that she was off but the flat tone said enough. She knew that Rose had wanted her to keep her magic, to work on things with her to go places further along her path before choosing this but what was done was done and Aisha wasn't upset about the choices ahe made.

Sure, she mussed her falcon and she missed her magic but she had something new to learn and discover and another world was opened to her. She drank a sip of the bloodwyne and her eyes opened with a bit of shock at the taste. It was delicious. She wonder what they did to it. Something to address later.

"Thank you both." She says. "I think it best though that we talk in a private chamber but firs please forgive me for not coming to a friend when needed. There were so many circumstances that I would like to discuss if you have the time." she is still holding David's arm as they stand there. She hoped the woman wouldn't hold any ill will towards here.

She had been warned about Rose's sect not getting along well with the Sabbot but what's done is done. She hoped that she could prove the other's wrong that Rose and her could still have a friendship of sorts. Only time would tell though and with what David had done, she knew it would but wedges there.

At least that is what she was told. She really hoped that other than her and David sharing the story that she heraelf could learn of the Camarilla's history. Find their point of views and hopefully make sense of what she was told.

Rose noted that neither Aisha nor David seemed surprised that they knew they were already married. Maybe they thought Jillian had told them, which she did. Whatever the case, that worked perfectly for Rose. That meant she didn't have to tell Aisha about the Scrying.

The Tremere listened to the other woman's words. Aisha was willing to explain how all that had happened and why Rose and Nikolaus had been kept in the dark all that time. Why would she say 'no'? She had initially agreed on meeting with David for that very reason, after all.

Rose nodded and stood up, taking her glass with her. "Sure. There's no artistic performance scheduled for tonight anyway." She answered, glancing at David, knowing he would get what she was referring to.

She started climbing up the stairs. "That sounds lovely." She said in regard to their new residence. "I've always thought that if I ever was to live in New York City, it would be near Central Park."

That was one of the reasons why Rose had been picked at the London Chantry Regent. No matter what her inner 'feelings' or echoes thereof were, Rose was able to remain 'professional' and make conversation as if nothing happened.

David remained quiet as the four if them moved from the bar upstairs to a private room. His eyes the entire time watching the other vampires who were watching him.

"I am sad that there will not be one tonight." He whispers as he stays as Aisha's side.

Once inside the room and the door closed he takes a seat at least relieved for the moment that the prying eyes of the elysium were not on him.

"I take full blame for not letting you both know. Things got very chaotic as soon as my sire brought us into port and one thing led to another. The surgeries I had to endure were very brutal and took up much of my time after everything. Having my face changed back, titanium removed from my ribcage, and poly carbon fibers from my muscles. I was awake the entire time." He forced a sigh. "Even had surgery to correct my voice." He nods.

Rose knew better than to interrupt Aisha while she was telling that story. It was obvious that the memories were still too fresh for the newly embraced Kindred not to feel emotional about it. The Tremere Regent's expression, however, remained impassible the whole time. Only once did Rose shake her head in slight disappointment. It was when Aisha mentioned David telling her to come to Rose and then tried to explain why she had thought it was a better idea to do the exact opposite and go see Mary instead. The blonde had to wonder how different the outcome of this story could have been if only she'd listened to her husband. But she didn't say it out loud and she had no intention of even bringing it up. Why would she have? If there was one thing even Kindred couldn't do, it was change the past.

As Aisha eventually sat back, Rose spoke up. "Jillian mentioned you might be mad at her because she didn't congratulate you for getting married with David." It was the truth, not the entire truth because the Tremere knew about the wedding before Jillian came to visit them the second time. But now that Aisha and David had strengthened their ties with the Sabbat instead of severing them as they'd suggested they would, Rose was less inclined to tell them about the ritual she had used. She couldn't use the feather the witch had given her to perform scrying anyway. She intended on keeping the feather, though, as a memento of sorts. "Jillian is a very honest girl, maybe too blunt at times, but it's still far from being a bad thing. And considering how chivalrously David saved her life, it was to be expected that, the minute she got worried about David's fate, she would not stay out of it." Something in her tone suggested that Aisha, as her teacher, should have seen it coming. "Offering her a tour with her favorite band was a smart move, though. She certainly sounded excited about that." She paused, looking Aisha in the eye, seriously. "That's your prerogative to decide who you want to tell. Jillian won't learn about your change from me or Nikolaus."

Rose pondered something a moment, staring at the wyne swirling in her glass, before looking up at Aisha. "That witch you mentioned, Quinn, was it? Is it the one the newspapers talked about recently?" And, more importantly, could she be the woman the Tremere saw with Aisha in that park when she used Scrying? For some reason, the newspapers didn't contain any picture of the witch. So Rose couldn't be sure.

She then turned to David. "Sorry for the loss of your phone, then." The fact that she didn't add 'And for the loss of your Sire' would be enough to tell the Son of Discord that the Tremere had yet to use Auspex to read his aura. "You both had an eventful summer, indeed. I'm glad you managed to get through it together, even without our help. Though, it seems pretty clear to me now that your... family has no intention of letting you two emancipate yourselves any time soon. If I may ask, are there still parts of this story that are currently unresolved? Some loose ends that you still have to take care of?"

Davud rubbed his face and glared right at Nikolaus. "Can we cut the sect crap out." He hissed and then leaned forcing a sigh. "So what she went to my sect. Last I checked here the four of us are right here as friends or am I mistaken?"

Yes they were camarilla and yes David and Aisha were sabbat. But that did not mean a damn thing right now.

"So apologies she did not come to you. She already feels bad enough about it. As far as Jillian goes she will always be safe with us. Now can we get passed all of this or are we all wasting our time."

The one thing he learned during what recently happened was never to take things for granted anymore.

Rose had tried to keep her tone and her dialogue carefully neutral. Nikolaus, however, clearly hadn’t been able to hide his disappointment that well. The Tremere lay a hand on top of his arm, both to appease him and to ask him to keep quiet now. He had said what was on his mind but if he kept on, there would be no going back.

The Tremere looked at David, studying him for a bit before turning to Aisha. Were they really that innocent? They genuinely believed that friendship between them was still possible? That the sects they respectively belonged to didn't matter?

The Regent would have laughed at anyone else trying to persuade her of that. But she was starting to get to know the two people in front of her. And she didn't even need Auspex anymore to tell they were not trying to lead them on. Whatever had happened, whatever the Sabbat had in mind for them, David and Aisha were still trying to do right by Rose and Nikolaus.

Rose sighed. This was exactly why she normally tried to avoid friendship with Sabbat members. It could get really complicated really fast. But since that bridge had already been crossed…

"You have to realize that this kind of friendship is usually avoided for a reason. Because the views of our respective sects differ on many subjects. Now if we hadn't thought it could work," the blonde paused, locking her hazel eyes with David’s, "we wouldn't have accepted it in the first place. But even friends can occasionally be disappointed in each other. Is it that surprising that we’re a little upset by the story we've just been told?"

If they didn't care about them, the Tremere would not have reacted at all. Neither to what happened to David or to what Aisha was about to face due to her new existence. She turned to Aisha, her expression softening, if only barely and her eyes showed genuine concern.

"I'm terribly sorry for what happened to you, for what you both had to go through. I understand everything happened fast and that sometimes decisions have to be made sooner than we would have wished for them to be."

The fact that Aisha insisted on the fact that she still had the choice to join the Sabbat surprised Rose. Since when did the Sabbat give newly embraced Kindred a choice? The only explanation the Tremere could think of is that Aisha hadn't yet partaken in the Vaulderie. But even that degree of freedom was unexpected. Nonetheless, it had the immediate effect of having Rose visibly relax a bit.

"That said… I am glad to see you again and find you both well."

She raised her glass, glancing at Nikolaus so that he would do the same.

"Let's celebrate, then."

David was relieved. Honestly when it came to Rose and Nikolaus he hated speaking about sect business. Truly he saw them as dear friends and be damned sect politics.

He raises he glass and nids in deep respect to all of them and takes a drink. He pondered the taste a moment. It was good, flavorful but....ever since the diablerie blood had not tasted right to him.

"So....this coming tour will be our last. Afterwards I plan to retire and spend my time fully with Aisha. I would love for both you and Nikolaus to come to the final concert in New York." He spoke to Rose.

"Would you both be interested? Aisha and I could even give you a tour of the city."