Impromptu Singing (Open)

Word had reached David of the reception this evening and he could not pass up seeing Elezandra once more. The last time he had spoken to her directly would be something he would never forget. As he entered he saw the great gathering of Cainites. He felt out of place to a degree, the whole clans and bloodline thing but never the less he was here and always enjoyed being here. His eyes gazing around the room and how it was all decorated and soaked it all in and smiled loving what he was seeing.

Then his eyes saw Elezandra and he quietly stood there letting the memory flow him for now remembering her words to him of their conversation and then her voice came on and his eyes go from cold and distant to soft. The emotions took hold of him and the music and her voice overtaking him. The memories of his wife, his son, Aisha....all of them coming alive fully inside of him to the point he felt he would burst.

It felt like any moment his heart would start beating again. His eyes never moving from Elezandra and her performance. Then the realization slammed him like a freight train. He was in love. What Elezandra was doing....he was in love with Aisha. The flood never ceasing and yes he was gazing but in his mind he was with Aisha right now.

Rose had barely noticed David as he entered the room and joined the rest of the crowd, though she did recognize him as the vampire who flirted with Aisha at Mary's club. Had she been using Auspex, she'd have been surprised by the color of his aura. Such strong emotions as love were certainly rare or even unheard of in vampires. But right now, her own emotions were enough to keep her busy.

She gave a start as Nikolaus placed a hand on her shoulder before relaxing and almost leaning into the touch. It was meant as a soothing gesture, she could tell, and it felt as such. Her expression softened a bit, making her look almost vulnerable. 'I can't remember the last time I felt like this.' Or felt at all, for that matter. 'It's almost...' She had meant to say 'painful' but the thought died before she could project it. There was something about the way Nikolaus was looking at her. It was the same and yet different. It was... the way that young soldier had looked at her back then, after she saved him from an explosion.

The Tremere Regent blinked at the realization of what that implied. Did Elezandra's voice really hold that much power?

Who was she looking at-- wait, wasn't that the one talking to Aisha? ... no matter. This Presence is hitting him particularly hard, and he couldn't possibly care about anyone or anything other than Rose at this moment. He hadn't realized his hand was on her shoulder until she was leaning into it. No, he couldn't remember the last time he felt like this, either; Los Angeles had no shortage of Toreador (and the odd Ventrue) in Hollywood, but none of them had ever affected him this strongly. And if she could affect Rose, then Elezandra was every bit as powerful as he thought she was when he first saw her when the truce between Mary and Rose was signed.

This Elysium really was unassailable. It's a damned good thing Elezandra doesn't seem interested in picking sides between the Camarilla and the Sabbat. Just how powerful was she? A Methuselah?

Me neither... he thought back, his grip tightening just ever-so-slightly. But I think I like it.

David was lost within his memories and emotions until he heard Elezandra speak and directly at him. His eyes locking to her as he stopped spinning his glass in his hands. She was requesting him to come on stage and perform. Slowly he stood and took a deep drink setting the glass down on the table and quietly made his way to the stage. Once upon the stage quietly he speaks with the house band explaining the song and once that was finished he slowly makes his way to where Elezandra had motioned and for a moment stood there and the emotions that had stirred and the memories. His wife, his child, his sire and how he was embraced against his will. That would be the emotions he would use for this very specific song. He would use the regret and loss he was feeling right now.

(Melpominee Lvl 3/Madrigal:The Kindred may imbue her audience with the emotions expressed in her voice, rousing them to passion or deluging them with seemingly bottomless despair. Princes on good terms with Daughters of Cacophony sometimes have the songstresses croon before they make an appearance, bolstering their fellow Kindled with a sense of loyally.)

Slowly his glowing crystal blue eyes open and he let forth his gift into the song letting it fill the room for all to feel. His heart poured into each lyric, the tone of his voice matching flawlessly his emotions that were tearing at him. He wanted all to feel what he was feeling. Maybe even touch someone with his song.

Sure this was dangerous because there could be a daughter here and he would not know but right now this was what he felt he needed to do to release what he was feeling right now.

'Mr. Alexander.' Wait... the same one mentioned in the papers? Well, that explained a lot. He didn't seem to be a Toreador, but Nikolaus didn't have long to ponder that thought. He turned back to Rose, his other hand moving to her other shoulder. He had never seen her looking like this before... sad. She was usually all business, all the time, never one to let her emotions get the better of her. He had seen two sides of her tonight that he didn't even know existed. Had he the presence of mind to consider that thought, he'd have taken several moments to let it sink in.

But it was beginning to hit him, too. It didn't feel quite like the Toreador's Presence ability. No... this was something else entirely. It's as if his voice was what was causing it. Nikolaus wasn't as knowledgeable about rare bloodlines as Rose was; the only ones he had read about were the Baali and the Followers of Set (due to their repeated attempts to infiltrate or otherwise influence the Tremere Pyramid), and the Salubri (due to their history with the Tremere). Whatever he was, Nikolaus couldn't follow his own train of thought. For the first time in decades, he had realized that he had never seen his family again after his embrace. His parents surely weren't alive, but was his sister? Did she have children? Grandchildren? What did they know about him? Do they think he died a hero, or a terrorist not much better than the people he was fighting? Do they even know he died at all? Or maybe they think he was a coward who ran away the minute the German tanks rolled into Strasbourg?

It was dawning on him that he'd never had any real friends after his embrace. Colleagues and fellow apprentices, sure, but the Tremere intentionally fostered rivalry between acolytes and apprentices, resulting in, at best, relationships defined by trying to one-up each other. The closest thing to a friend he has now is Rose, and despite their close relationship, it remains, for the most part, strictly professional. But in that moment... all he wanted was to try to make her feel better. Moreso than he even wanted to help himself.

Perhaps later, once both this Melpominee and Presence have worn off, he'd ponder the implications of that. But for now...

"One moment," he said aloud. It's a good thing their car was still parked outside.



Nikolaus would briefly flash red, before vanishing into thin-air. A minute or so would pass, before teleporting back into the exact same position he had been standing in before; only with a Stradivarius case made of polished ebony in his hands, which he held out, offered to Rose. "I took the liberty of putting it the trunk," he said, forcing a smile despite the grief clouding his mind. He knew that was risky. That violin was Rose's baby, nobody touched it but her unless they wanted to lose a limb. Hopefully, given the circumstances, she'll let it slide.

Rose felt the magic rather than she actually noticed Nikolaus teleporting back and forth to bring back her violin. She would usually have been mad at anyone who would so much as lay a finger on her violin, including Nikolaus. But not tonight. The blonde reached out for the musical instrument and nursed it against her as if it'd been a pet, or even a child.

"Thank you, Nikolaus," she had a few tears in her eyes.

She stared down at the violin for the longest time, even after David had left the stage. She was so far back in time that Castle Vampyre could have fallen down on top of them, her Whip would probably have had to carry her out. Rose could see her sister Celeste get her flute out of its sheath and her Mom sit in front of the piano, like they used to do every time the three of them were about to play.

"What song, today?" Rose murmured, and there was a small smile on her lips.

"Please, if anyone should wish to express themselves, now is the time to reach deep into yourselves and show us what moves you." She motions gently to the stage for a moment then goes back to clasping her goblet in both hands, taking sips as she very thoughtfully watches the room. It seemed to be going in a much better motion and direction than she had originally anticipated. Her eyes studies everyone individually from time to time, her mind wandering around in a deep pondering about things she was most curious about.

Rose had not meant those words for Nikolaus, nor for anyone else in the room for that matter. So when the other Tremere actually answered her, it took the Regent aback. She blinked at him as if she were just waking up from a dream. In a way, she was. Though, she was not sure she had really wanted to.

Then Elezandra spoke up, and it was as if she knew she was addressing her, and only her.

Rose nodded and got up, still holding her violin close to her chest. She made her way to the center of the stage and after a few moments, she placed the musical instrument against her shoulder and chin, her fingers curling around the violin's neck, pressing firmly against the strings. Her hand holding the stick traced an arc in the air before she closed her eyes and started to play.

The music was soft yet violent, sometimes rapid, sometimes slow. It talked of love and war, of families and enemies, of hopes and delusions. It talked of the ones you lose to your ambition and the ones you save from their selflessness. As she played, Rose seemed to be in a sort of trance in which the world around her ceased to exist replaced by a mix of memories and of visions of her possible future.

Slowly David's attention turned to Rose and listening to every chord, every note that she played. So many memories flowing once more. His battles at sea, the smell of burning powder from a fired deck cannon, the sounds of steel against steel of the sword fights, the sea shanties of his men upon the winds of the roaring sea, the smell of rum, the noise of gold coin to gold coin.

The images so vivid as he listened to Rose play and his soul what was left or whatever it was now longing for those lost days. The days where life was so simple. The marking of a map, the turning of the wheel, the setting course with the stars to destinations to be discovered and lets not forget messing with the English and Spanish and bringing their riches they had plundered back to France for his King.

The battles so fierce not knowing if you would survive causing the adrenaline to rush and the blood to boil. Tactics, battle strategies......then the memories shift...loss of loved ones. The memory of his wife standing upon the dock each time he would come home waiting for him. How was she told of his death? Was the captain gentle about it or was she never told and she felt that he left her.....his son Baptiste, never knowing his father....he wanted better for his son, not to be a privateer...wanted him to be something more and was he able to do just that?

Gliding his thumb along his lower lip as he always did so deep in thought. His memory shifting to his greatest enemy...the one who turned him after slaughtering his crew and destroying the ship he loved so much. Being used and abused in all forms and fashions.....but the memories of a few good moments with Renee before the storm that caused the shipwreck.

Leaning back in his chair he tilts his head slightly. His eyes would show the menagerie playing out in his mind.

Elezandra simply nodded to Rose as she started to leave, it was transparent that she understood why the woman would want or desperately need to leave. She sits down at the piano in the room and gently starts to play some music. She seems very calm, her attention has shifted to a stained glass window in the back of the main castle chamber. The effect would start to dissipate now from the room, ceasing its relentlessness flood of emotions as a wave gently lapping at minds and hearts until it is washed back out of the room.