Secrets

[AzuraGallu]

Azura snorted. "Though I've been following you through the airport despite your sour attitude, I do believe you've taken us right back to where we've just come from. Aren't we supposed to leave the building and go to the Court?" He raised a glossy black brow at her, knowing she'd made the mistake in her thoughts.
He didn't know why she was being so bitchy about it. It wasn't as if he'd led her on...or did he? He looked skyward, tapping a finger to his chin in thought.

[Doctor]

"Yes, we're supposed to be heading towards the main entrance. Forgive us, Azura, she's a bit of a lightweight," he said making a short drinking motion at Azura's direction. Anshel took these small delights where he could.

He ushered them to the correct entrance and opened the door to a waiting limousine with its passenger windows completely blacked out.

"The ride will be a few hours."

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The limo doors opened to reveal a covered valet entrance and two massive glossy mahogany doors set in a wall of dark gray stone. Above it, inscribed deep into the archway: Let justice be done, though the heavens may fall.

"Welcome to Banglaire Court."

[MeloraBelikov]

Suddenly, busting through the doors, the shrillest sound in the world came to their ears. A harpie couldn't have made a sound much higher pitched or louder. "Meloooooooooorrrrrrraaaaaaaaa!" Oh dear God. It had begun.

She had narrowly avoided this before, but here it was, right in front of her, making it's presence known. Laura. The child stumbled over herself to get to her, and Melora fought the urge to hide behind one of the men on either side of herself. The creature, even smaller than her, lunged at her, wrapping it's bony little arms around her waist. It buried it's head into her, squeezing ever tighter, making her think that perhaps her internal organs might cave in on themselves.

"Oh, Hello." She acknowledged the child, who grinned and immediately started chattering at 100 mile an hour or more. Her squeaky chatter was more than hard to follow, but it was a relief to hear something other than smart ass wit. "That is good малыш, but please, I have things to attend to." Laura nodded, barely keeping the words from spilling from her tiny little mouth. She ran inside, still just as enthusiastic as when she had come outside. "Cute kid," Melora muttered as she stepped into the main hall of the court. Laura was, in truth, Melora's number one fan. Every time Melora was here Laura wasn't far behind, nipping at her heels for attention like a poodle dog. Cute, but almost painfully annoying.

[AzuraGallu]

Azura walked with rapt attention at all the new sights he was witnessing. He'd never been to the court, though he'd heard his father had been a time or two concerning a few rogue Gallu.
His eyes swept the spotless halls and lingered on those he passed, though he pretended to feign indifference. He was nearly as curious as a child, but that was before he had to clamp his hands over his ears.
"Dear god! What the hell is that thing?" he eyed Melora and the young girl warily, carefully putting down his hands, but ready to reseal his ears at a moments notice. After the child had left, he shot an accusing glare at Melora. "Please tell me she wont be following us around."

[MeloraBelikov]

"Should not be." Melora shrugged to him, obviously used to the child's attention. In either case for the time being the child-creature was gone, and should probably remain gone for the rest of their trip. Melora wasn't sure how well Azura did with children, especially ones of the completely obnoxious variety. "I'll let my attendant know to distract her while I'm here." Noticing him look around a bit she got an idea. "Azura, would you like a tour? Have you not been here before?"

[AzuraGallu]

His eyes lit up eagerly at the prospect. "Yes!" he said quickly, excited smile alighting his features. Besides, he needed some time to think about how he would address the Court, among other things. There was still the matter of his father's funeral he had to attend to, though he wasn't sure if he'd be able to attend it himself. If things went badly and the Blackraven clan was as big of a threat as everyone seemed to think they were, he'd be up to his eyeballs in work. Managing a warring group of vampires was a lifestyle, not a job.

[MeloraBelikov]

"Right," Melora nodded before stopping short."I am required to change my clothing while I'm here...follow me, we'll start our tour with the living quarters." With that she led him down a hall to their right and up a staircase, passing a few floors. On the top floor she led him through a set of wooden doors and into yet another hallway, this one carpeted unlike the rest of the building. When they came to her door, adorned with a gold marker with her name glittering in Russian she motioned to it before passing it, "My room," then down the hall she turned a left. It was just like she had assumed, they were offering him the same room they had offered his father years ago on his last visit. "Your room for the duration of your stay, hopefully it won't be too long for you, I am sure you have many things to attend to." In the halls she spoke just like she was expected to, with no familiarity towards him. People passed her by, all dressed in the clothes of their cultures. It was like the UN if the UN wore the traditional clothes of their countries rather than boring suits. Also if the UN was a group of skilled bounty hunters rather than politicians. Making her way back to her room, Melora quickly changed and explained to her attendant to keep Laura occupied while she was visiting.

When she emerged, Melora was dressed in the traditional outfit of a noble of Russia. The dress was floor length and red, hugging her waist. A gold pattern lined the dress, adding sparkle to the outfit. It was modest but tight fitting. She left behind the headband to match, instead favoring her hair the way it was, hanging loosely down her back. "Follow me. We'll start with the training school and make our way back to the living quarters."

Walking down the hall, Melora paused every so often to explain a piece of artwork until they made their way to the back of the court. Out a big doorway led them to a balcony high above the garden. Across the garden was another building, smaller in size compared to the one they were in. "The training schools are in many different countries," Melora explained, "and most of their time is spent shadowing another hunter anyway. But they all come here to take their testing. Below is the garden, obviously. I'm sure you could tell that, unless you have never seen one before." She smiled, letting a bit more of her personality shine through in that last statement. While they were paused here for a moment, Melora gave in to a subject that had been pestering her since they left his palace. "How do you speak with your passed relatives, Azura? That is what you were doing when we made that bargain, is that correct?"

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima smiled to herself. The biggest score yet. It had taken her a few days of planning, and a lot of careful acting, but after a while, she had finally gotten the prize: The Mona Lisa. Leonardo Di Vinci had been her idol: where as Michelangelo had been colder, Leonardo had warmed up to her quickly. She had been there, in his workshop in Florence, and had helped him pick the model.

Now, the priceless painting was rolled up carefully in the air and water tight, fireproof map tube that hung over her shoulder. Part of her was uneasy at the court in the past, right in the center of Hunter territory, but the rest was at ease.

The airport was large and bustling, and she had been yet to be noticed. She was wearing a dark maroon turtleneck, a long black duster, and jeans. Rima’s boots were heel, but with Cat’s Grace (thank god) she had yet to stumble in them. The long waves of black hair fell loose, hiding the distinct raven tattoo on the back of her neck, distorting what Clan she was from. Being on the fringes of Blackraven society, she had yet to hear any sort of news of any deaths within the clans.

Within the hour she had successfully exited, driven herself, and now found herself entering the Court building right behind Azura and his accomplices. Her footsteps echoed down the corridor behind Azura and Melora once she had finished depositing her things in her room. She was headed for the garden to make a phone call to Florence, checking in on her residence.

[AzuraGallu]

Azura pointedly looked away from Melora, a faint breeze picking up to the north, sweeping his hair back from his face.
Looking out at the garden he leaned over the railing, pushing most of his weight onto his forearms as he tried to think of a good way to explain. Of course, with Anshel there as well, it wouldn't be just Melora learning his secret.
Despite the short time they'd been together, Azura had grown used to both of them, and dare he say trusted them as well. Fondness was something else entirely. It would come at a price. By nature, he wasn't affectionate, just incredibly horny, and he didn't want either of the two mistaking his blood letting advances as anything more than face value. He was a little put off that he really just wanted to have friends for a time in his life.
A juvenile thought, but an earnest one as well.
"I was speaking with my mother...my father hasn't said anything to me yet." At that admission his mood seemed to dampen, as if he was waiting for some kind of approval from the late King. "I can see and speak with ghosts."

[MeloraBelikov]

Melora looked up to the sky, wondering what to ask next. No, that would be too bold to ask, and she likely wouldn't enjoy hearing the answer. Nor would she enjoy the disrespect that was likely to follow from Anshel, and if that were the case Melora might honestly lose it and attack the judge, risking giving up everything she had ever worked for. But she wanted to know, could Azura speak to more than just his family? And if so, how would she go about getting in contact with her father? Of course, that was much trickier than she could possibly know, seeing as she had no idea that her father wasn't in fact dead. A moment of silence passed between the group before Melora took a breath and continued. "I see. So you can still speak to your parents." She half expected that they had followed him here and were now watching them. "It may seem troublesome to you, but I see it as lucky. I wish I had the ability to do the same." Melora spoke openly, now speaking as more of a friend than a political representative. Distracted by her thoughts, she turned from the garden and leaned against the rail of the balcony. "Would you like us to continue on with your tour?"

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

Rima neared the end of the corridor. It was perhaps 10 feet from Melora and Azura. The stairwell was what she was after, the thing which would take her down to the quiet solitude of the garden. Her steps hesitated when Melora turned in her direction, but she realized she was talking to… Is that the Gallian Prince? Rima thought, her gaze traveling over him for a moment. If she could only get a clear look at his face… No sound came from her, save the gentle steps of her boots and the swish of her jacket.

[AzuraGallu]

Azura shrugged in indifference to Melora, at this point in time growing weary from their tour. He actually enjoyed being out in the night air, relaxing as much as a King could relax in his position. Having company was a welcome reprieve form the loneliness he knew he'd be likely to feel if he were at the castle alone.
"I'll pass up your offer, but-" He was cut off, eyes darting behind him to meet a Hunter's. No, she was a vampire. He could tell from the distinct scent of death rolling off her. Why on Earth was she here? Normally vampires stayed away from Hunter's, especially their judicial center of power. His clan had made a point of only coming when invited, not keen on investing precious time and resources for fair judgement. They'd rather kill off their enemies.
Deciding she must have some sort of valid reason, he ignored her and went back to speaking with Melora.
"But what time are we going to be seen?"

[MeloraBelikov]

Melora checked her watch, noting the vampire in the corner of her eye. It was the one she had seen in Vegas nights before. Her expression turned sour, remembering the details of their conversation at the time. Still, there was nothing that the vampire could do here unless she was hoping to have her fangs pulled from her mouth. The time was 3.30 in the morning, past the time that the courts were typically open. "Most likely on the next night. I'm sure they look forward to meeting with you as soon as they can make time for it. By now they know we have arrived and are likely scheduling time for it."

[Rima Elaine Donavon]

‘Ah, so he is as I previously thought…’ Keen grey-blue eyes met his gaze for a moment. Rima almost decided to make a greeting remark, but decided against it. She had heard of the Gallu reputation. Granted vampire to vampire varied, it was still a reputation, and he was the Gallian Prince.

Then she caught Melora looking in her direction. Rima’s head tilted a fraction of a degree, nostrils flaring ever so slightly. This was the girl as had seen in Vegas, the one which had thrown her plans off for the Van Gogh painting’s theft time.

With another vampire and Hunter feet away though, she disregarded it, turning and directing down the stairs.

[Doctor]

Returning to the court should have felt like coming home for Anshel, few others were so well-acquainted with its halls, he having personally 'christened' each one after joining Bartholomew's cause. But with the state of affairs as it was, the safety of these walls was now questionable. There was no evidence that pointed to a network of moles, no bugs, no suspicions of double agents that weren't already taken care of. How had the Blackravens infiltrated King Sargon's security? And could they do the same here? Bartholomew, at least, thought so, as evidenced by his sudden, private departure. Wherever he was, Anshel hoped he was safe.

Learning about Azura's gift for conversing with the dead gave him hope for a new lead. Should Sargon choose to appear, some light could be shed on this ominous bitch of a crisis.

The three had come to the end of this junction of the tour. Thank goodness Melora so readily volunteered for the dull position of tour guide. Anshel had some appreciation for her now. Not only did she uncover confirmation of the King's ability, but he never knew her to be so entertaining. Had Azura ever seen a garden before? Either she was flustered by this newfound attraction to boys or just really terrible at flirting.

Azura, on the other hand, was all business. Before any contact with the other council members could take place, words needed to be exchanged between he and they.

"Before you see the council, we three have matters to discuss. Privately. It's three hours to dawn. We should head back to my quarters. They're secure."