[Midnight July 9]Into the Magical World [David/Aisha]

David remained standing until both Rose and Nikolaus was seated. Slowly he sits listening to all three of them conversing and knew this could go good or south real quick since he was sabbat and they camarilla. The reason for this was about the safety of Aisha's student no more and he had no intentions of violating the peace treaty that was established. The treaty did interest him because there was nothing like that in New York where for the moment the sabbat reigned uncontested with him at the wheel of that ship.

"Yes we were hoping for a chance meeting this evening with the both of you. Miss Jillian did speak with me after I saved her life seeking knowledge in the worst parts of the city. She was very lucky that I happened to be in the area that evening." David whispers respectfully. "She was set on by two young ones that appeared fresh of the embrace." David really studies the tremere right now being so close to them. Yes he had seen them at the night of the club opening and then at the castle but never really fully conversed with them. All he truly knew of them was from Exo and Maria.

"She is safe and unharmed. Her question was answered by me. What concerns me is the question she was given. It was so broad. The representation I needed her to be more specific in her question. Something that I only know the answers is among us and not written unless it is in a book or tome that I am not aware of." Still keeps his voice low. "I do openly apologize to the both of you if I have stepped over the boundary with answering her question." David was being genuine and wanted no trouble form the camarilla at all especially the tremere.

The more the two spoke, the more Nikolaus' expression shifted from slightly annoyed, to amused. 'They really don't know anything about us, do they?' he thought to Rose, as she began her explanation. They didn't tell Jillian to go looking for other Kindred; quite the opposite, really. But Jillian's choice of action, foolish as it may have been, was equally illuminating. 'She didn't even bother to ask why there were kindred in Knockturn Alley in the first place. It's like Duvall said. We are a mystery to them. They've forgotten everything.'

And that put them in one hell of an advantageous position.

"One would have expected her to go running to the Ministry of Magic. But, as we've recently discovered, they've invited us into their world despite knowing so very little about us. Far better for them to learn about us by allowing us into their world, than foolishly inviting them into ours. They could get hurt." He turned to David. "I'm curious. Are you familiar with the purpose behind our treaty, Monsieur Alexander? Not between the Camarilla and the Sabbat. Between the Camarilla, and the Ministry. It is a dangerous world beyond the Leaky Cauldron. They demonstrate that they are unprepared for it."

If he's pointing out the inherent irony of David's implied accusation, it's purely unintentional. Rose already answered the matter regarding Jillian's task. "She bit off more than she can chew, if you will pardon the expression. But, she is still a student, n'est-ce pas?" And really, how many times have Hogwarts students gotten themselves into bad situations only to emerge from them stronger and wiser? In that, the Wizarding World and the Tremere align. 

Aisha listened to them speak. She hadn't thought about Mary and the implications of asking that particular teacher but now that it was presented to her she couldn't ignore the reasons behind the request Rose had given Jillian. She wondered for a moment.

"Miss. Penrose was my concern more so because she is a student of mine. She can of course make her choices, whether your knowledge can be found any where or not the girl is a curious creature. My only request is maybe to have someone keep an eye on her as she walks which ever path she chooses. I won't be here much longer, I am transferring to the American school in the fall though of course she will always be a student I taught." She seemed to have a fond memory of the girl and she had a pleasant smile on her face as she thought about it momentarily.

Aisha didn't interrupt David and Nikolaus and she looked at Rose. She wanted a moment alone, woman to woman with her. She gave her a polite smile and went to stand. "May I have a word alone with you Rose?" She turned and looked at David. "David will behave, she smiled at him but her eyes said a different story. There didn't need to be any type of behavior from him other than being polite. She set her glass down on the table and waited to see if Rose would walk with her for a moment.

Rose had, again, taken the words out of his mouth. Nikolaus is unsure of why David would need to stay away from the Daughters of Cacophony, but, well, that's not his problem. The Daughters made it a point not to support either the Camarilla or the Sabbat, and the affairs of a rare bloodline aren't even in the top one hundred things he cares about right now. "You know what they say about curiosity and cats. Of course, Mademoiselle Penrose is no ordinary cat, is she?" he asked rhetorically, as Rose got up from her seat.

A question about the Antediluvians. Great. Just the topic he didn't want to broach... Noddism. He nods as Rose leaves with Aisha, shooting off one last telepathic message before she leaves its range: 'If you need me, you know how to reach me.'

Turning back to David, Nikolaus takes a sip of his own wyne. "You speak of the Camarilla's position on the Antediluvians. No doubt the Sabbat has you thinking we deny their very existence, that we believe Caine is a character in a book, that the moon landing was a hoax, and that we think the earth is flat and five thousand years old." And that Elvis is a Toreador and the current Prince of Nashville. "There are thin-bloods, tenth generation, ninth, eighth... so on, and so forth. Logically, there would have to be a Third Generation. What we question is whether or not they are still alive." He folded his hands on the table in front of him, leaning back in his seat. "You have been to Los Angeles, non? You are a celebrity, I'd imagine so. In the year 2002, the Prince of Los Angeles, one Sabastian LaCroix, truly believed a torpid Antediluvian was brought to the city in a recently-excavated sarcophagus. He intended to diablerize whatever was inside. Needless to say, the sarcophagus contained no such thing, and he met his Final Death shortly afterward."

Nikolaus couldn't suppress the smirk that followed. How he loved hearing that story during his time studying in the LA Chantry. "Of course, you do realize you are asking this question to a Tremere? We are unliving proof that the Antediluvians once existed. A topic around which I'd recommend treading carefully, especially with Exo. But to answer your question... we don't question their existence. We question their continued existence. I realize that's splitting hairs, but it's an important distinction none the less."

David quietly listened to Rose as she explained the treaty between the Camarilla and the Ministry here in London. Truthfully it sounded very fair to him and what he could gather both sides benefited. Even the consequences sounded just and honestly even though he was not part of their sect even he would honor the treaty. "The treaty sounds fair and just." David give a slight nod of respect to Rose.

"She was attacked in Regents Park. The two that attempted were at the most one to two years of the embrace with how they used their tactics. Very sloppy and no sense of the area in my opinion. Both had long hair, biker apparel, definitely unkempt. The first one I had to well....when you have a deathly fear of fire it works and the other backed off and knew to leave. Neither actually touched her that I am aware of. They both were not a part of my bishop's pack. So from there I escorted Jillian to our home to Aisha for safety." He spoke truthfully.

When the ladies left David turned his attention to Nikolaus and listened very intently about the views of the Camarilla and honestly it did not fully match up to what Maria had told him about their sect and at the moment David was very confused. Had Maria used propaganda and stretched the truth with him? "So in essence you do not deny them but question if they still exist. I understand." David nods in respect and then smiles and even chuckles about Sebastian LaCroix.

"Oh when I was told....my apologies but I could not stop laughing at the fact that he thought he actually had one." David had to pause to help himself stop laughing. "It was the talk of the independents for quite some time honestly and in truth what happened to him to me he got what he deserved. Gaining knowledge and such is one thing but to even attempt to go after such power in a crazy fashion to me is suicide."

David take a drink from his glass. "Please forgive me if I do not understand what you speak of in regards to your clan and Exo's. After I was embraced I ended up sleeping for 233 years on an island near The Straits of Gibraltar after a horrendous storm at sea that destroyed the ship I was on with my sire. I awoke in 1980 and have been trying to play catch up ever since." Another nod.

"As for curiosity....yes it does always kill the cat as they say. Mlle Penrose doit marcher très attentivement dans ce qu'elle cherche et où elle cherche une telle connaissance. C'est peut-être pourquoi j'ai ... devenir son amie. J'espère juste qu'elle l'écoute de temps à autre. (Miss Penrose needs to tread very carefully in what she seeks and where she seeks such knowledge. Perhaps that is why I have....become her friend. I just hope she does listen from time to time.)"

"Oui, c'est ça," Nikoaus replied. "If they aren't dead, they're woefully disinterested in us. The Jyhad doesn't wait for elders, no matter how old. We have far more pressing concerns."

It was a good story, wasn't it? One he would taunt the Ventrue with more often if he actually knew more of them. Almost all of his interactions were with his own clan, at least until he arrived in Knockturn Alley. "A cautionary tale to the Blue Bloods, and one they find very embarrassing. They had a lot of difficulty explaining that one away, that one of their own is responsible for Los Angeles being controlled not by the Camarilla or the Sabbat, but the Anarchs. Of course, the Tremere maintains a strong presence. Maximilian Strauss felt it was his duty to pick up the pieces after LaCroix's miserable failure."

His eyes narrowed at David's next question. Narrowed... a lot.



He knows that while David may be older, David has already all but admitted that he's been out of the loop with Kindred society. "Tell me, how much do you know about Clan Tremere's history?" He's not about to let too much slip; certainly not in front of a bunch of witches and wizards who had clearly forgotten a lot of important details over the centuries, themselves.

Aisha shrugged her shoulders, very unbecoming of her but she didn't have a polite answer. "Many things have transpired over the last several weeks since last we met. Things that cause me to question motives, intentions, under lying things that she is most likely taking control in. Things I don't agree with for many reasons. One of which is Miss Penrose going to someone to learn that may not have the best of attentions for the witch." She sighed again. "I get the whole recruitment thing." She whispered softly. "But from my point of view, anyone not Sabbat, is better in my book." She nearly said it under her breathe but it was meant for Rose's ears and her ears alone. 

"As for Miss. Penrose, David and I can take care of that. The only problem will lie in the fact that the Ministry has no idea who the Sabbat really are, who Mary really is under the facade of it all." She really did feel the stress of it all and the worse part was she just wanted to give up to the voice inside of her. That damned song of David's from that night, she wondered if it wouldn't have been best for him to leave her instead of doing this. The thought only lasted but a moment before she thought about David and his love for her and how much she loved him. A faint smile on her face appears as she looks down at the ring on her finger, the smile reaches her eyes for a moment before her thoughts are once more pulled from within. 

"I think more or less it isn't so much that she has such things for myself other than as a Professor of hers, I honestly believe it is because of David. His eyes, his voice, the way he saved her. I do believe she is quite smitten with him." She looked off in the distance. "His voice is what brought her to speak with us. She didn't want to bring it up at all to me but as I was concerned, I asked David to give him a little of his voice to calm her down and let her open up her questions. She was only swayed because of that." She was silent for as long as Rose, listening to the noises in the background though not quite focusing on anything in-particular.

"Yes, I am. That is what caused this little issue to begin with." She growled low in her throat. "I watched what his damned bishop did. Pompous fool." She seemed to seethe anger from every pore over that man. "Even before the third stage. I made a vow, a promise to protect David. I stand by them, even if Exo" She spewed his name out. "Thinks I am tamed. Bah!" She stretched her neck and heard it pop slightly, her jaw clinched. She took several deep breathes. She needed to meditate again. She didn't like all this anger built up in her. It wasn't an emotion she related to well, her hand found the vial of her own blood wrapped around her wrist and she clutched it, wishing with all that she could just break the vial and be damn the consequences. Another breathe. 

When Rose made the suggestion about switching sides Aisha cast an sideways glance at her. "Well, I do say that if he has to prove his loyalty the same way they do and then again with the things they do as well on top of it all. I am not sure. I know next to nothing about the inner workings of it all. I don't even know if David knows it all himself. But from where I am at the current moment, is one cult better than another?" She wasn't trying to insult Rose by any means. For anything she only compared what Rose's sect was based on what she knew of the Sabbat, she had no way of knowing what it was truly like. 

Then Aisha laughed. A wholehearted laugh filled with a sort of malice to it. "As for severing ties, David and I have had a few ideas we've contemplated." She sobers from her laughter as she thinks about the conversation David and her had when determining if Mary and Exo were better served up as tea cups or porcelain dolls. 

"I degrees though. I just simply wish for Jillian to be protected and looked after while she walks whatever path she chooses to follow. I know it won't be easy with the simple fact that she will be at Hogwarts with the Professor. I cannot stay though. David resides in another country. I must follow him, he is where I belong and though I worry over students, I worry for him first." She smiles softly, seemingly returning to her once pleasant self, though there is an underlying anger settling deep within her, the anger being drowned out by her love for David and wanting to be by his side for as long as he would have her. Even when he didn't she would stay in the background, always protecting him, loving him. She would do anything for the man she would call Husband one day.

"You understand that I am not at liberty to discuss much," Nikolaus answered, both in regards to himself and the origins of Clan Tremere. "But the story of the clan gaining its legitimacy is no secret."

"As you may have heard, we are the second youngest of the Kindred clans. Our founder was not one of the Childer of the First City." He takes a sip of his wyne. As he does so, David would feel the slightest pressure in his skull.



As Nikolaus sipped the wyne and glanced at his watch, David would hear Nikolaus' voice, clear as day, in his head. C'est vrai, the Tremere cannot trace our lineage to Caine. Our Founder is his own sire.

He would say no more on the subject; that much was common knowledge among Kindred. As was the next part, which he said aloud. "Our Thaumaturgy, as we call it, was not enough to solidify our legitimacy amongst the other clans, formidable as it was even then. Thus, our founder diablerized Saulot, the Salubri Antediluvian, while the rest were hunted nearly to extinction on accusations of infernalism. By the time the Camarilla was founded after the Anarch Revolt, we had amassed so much power for ourselves that we were welcomed with open arms as a founding clan. Now, we are inextricable," a word that, unbeknownst to him, is identical in English as it is in French except for pronunciation. "Only the Ventrue rival us for supremacy in the Camarilla." And that was because they've always been the unofficial leaders of the Camarilla, with their disproportionate representation in Princedoms and their iron grip on global finance.

Nothing he said wasn't public knowledge. Not a single Tremere secret was revealed. As for the question David asked about Nikolaus himself, he shrugged. "English is not such a complicated language to learn when you compare it to French. Also, I spent a while in Los Angeles, like I mentioned before, and I couldn't count on other Kindred to try and understand me. So I had to learn fast." From the way he said that, he clearly meant more than just learning the language.[/quote]

David remained quiet as Nikolaus spoke to him once more. "Yes I understand. Just as I am not at liberty to speak of other origins." He whispers in respect. What Nikolaus first spoke of he had known and then felt a slight pressure into his mind but did not resist though in truth he hated others in his head but he would remain respectful. Now hearing him in his head David just kept his eyes locked to Nikolaus and listened to every word being spoken to him right now right down to the diablerie of Saulot the Antediluvian of Exo's clan. The gift Exo had used on him David knew to be a form of Valeran.

"The blue bloods...." David had to chuckle. "Forgive me before speaking with Mary there was a group of blue bloods that tried to well recruit me and well their tactics never sat well with me. I would not say it was a recruitment more like them making demands of me to join and honestly I am the type that does not take demands well unless I know it is in my best interests. Besides bugging me every night thinking that will work as well.....yeah." David left it at that. He had no love for the Ventrue and what they did to acquire people and things.

"English is alright. I find myself as of late falling back to our native language for frequently. Could be the fact I am growing home sick or desire the old days upon the sea. I never know. But listen. Despite who I am loyal to, both of you will have no issue with me or my pack in New York. Honestly you both are more than welcome in my territory for visits if you wish. Of course there are rules yes but....should you ever find yourself across the ocean and there know I will do all I can to make sure the both of you have a good time in my city." He smiles.

"They rarely hide their self-interest," Nikolaus conceded. "But I will grant that they did not gain their current position by being fools. They respect power above all else. Their respect has to be earned. Clan Tremere has done that and more."

Nikolaus hummed quietly at the mention of English. He had only been speaking it for a few years now, and Rose was definitely the more fluent of the two. It was necessary for his current position, and if it meant he could serve alongside Rose, he'd learn English, Russian, Arabic, Icelandic, or Cherokee. He didn't care. He'd do whatever it took to stay at her side.

His next statement made him blink. "Impressive that Calabros has turned a blind eye to you for so long." Or was it disappointing? "I have no doubt that Rose will appreciate your olive branch, Monsieur, but we are here in Knockturn Alley for a reason. Our mission is of hautement prioritaire."

David was silent for a moment and rubbed his face a bit. "Please forgive me if I come off as rude because it is not my intention. But I truly have no love for the blue bloods. Perhaps chalk it up to what they did to me in New York. But honestly respect is earned and in hind sight they have earned their place so for that point respect is given." He nods and finishes his glass. "With your clan I know so little but none the less you and the lady have my respect. Not just because of the treaty but with speaking with the both of you."

David once more looks around the tavern and noticed a woman watching him and he paused and watched the woman look away. "Calebros....Honestly he is very reclusive so I have yet to have the luxury of meeting him face to face. But I do not bother him and it appears that I have not stepped on any of his ventures so....a mutual understanding perhaps. Only time will tell on that." The last statement David understood.

"I understand. In the end we all have something we are tied up in or goals to pursue. None the less the offer stands." David fell quiet now and could still feel the eyes of the woman on him. He was no uncomfortable but the way the woman was staring did not sit well with him.

"Disparage the self-proclaimed Clan of Kings all you like, their feelings aren't my concern," Nikolaus replied dismissively. But what he said next, Nikolaus could tell was genuine. He nodded, but his expression remained unchanged. "Reassuring, to know that knowledge is not required for respect."

"Few want to meet him face to face, and not because he is a Nosferatu. Mais malheureusement, the Tradition of Domain would demand it, were we to take you up on your offer." A sigh. "Again, hopefully. It will not be in the near future."

Nikolaus caught David's fidgeting. He'd been trained to read body language long before he mastered Auspex. Nikolaus' eyes followed David's, but he realized he couldn't turn to look, himself, without being obvious. Taking his wyne, he reached out with Auspex once more to Rose.

'I think we have company, Rose,' he thought to her. 'The woman at the bar, the one that keeps looking at David and I. What does her aura show?'

The Ventrue part of the conversation he just left alone at this point. After all they did leave a bad taste in his mouth presently. The woman that was staring pulled out a photo from her purse and looked at it and to David and smiled. David orders another glass.

"The same that I must every time I come here to London. Present myself to his excellency. A custom that must always be. Never questioned and one of loyalty." David speaks with respect. His glass comes as the woman stands for a moment and then sits back down deciding if she was going to approach or not. "This side of our world is still new to me with the politics. I just hope in the end that I can keep up and not break laws and well have my head removed or worse." He drinks and ponders a lot right now.

"Though I do find myself in a bit of a problem at the moment. My loyalty to sect and the love of a mortal that dares not wish to join the sect when she tells me she is ready to become." He sighs. It had been weighing heavily on his mind as of late.

Nikolaus could not turn to face the woman without it being obvious; but he could still call the waitress over. He motioned for the waitress to come back to their table. "Would you kindly bring us the check please?" He asked, taking the opportunity to glance sideways at the woman with the photograph.

She's probably just a groupie, but you can't be too careful.

"Just as the Ventrue could not force you to join the Camarilla, you cannot force her to join the Sabbat," Nikolaus said bluntly. The Camarilla may claim dominion over all kindred on paper, but in practice, it's a very different story. "She is loyal to you. That loyalty obviously does not extend to the Sabbat as a whole. And as a Son of Discord, you of all people should know that you can't force loyalty to a sect."

Even the Tremere's Transubstantion of the Seven enforced loyalty to the Pyramid, and not to the Camarilla. Any Tremere inside of the Pyramid would say that they are Tremere first and Camarilla second, even if they know the Camarilla is as essential to the clan's survive as the Tremere is to the sect's survival. The Ventrue, for all of their bluster, know that they can't lead the sect alone, and without the Tremere, the Toreador would immediately try to grab power from the Ventrue, the Nosferatu would threaten to leave should they succeed, and then the Brujah would have no more reason to stay, either, and would leave to join with the Gangrel in the Anarchs. And the Malkavians... well, who the hell knew, with them?

"Beyond stating the obvious, I cannot advise you. That is something you, et vous seulement, can solve."

He stood up and gave Rose and Aisha a smile as both women returned to their table.