SOMBRETA - THE ESTATE
Mar 4, 2015 0:30:27 GMT -8
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Mar 4, 2015 0:30:27 GMT -8
IN THE WAKE OF the night of the symphony, whereupon
Jack was perturbed by Dragomir and Theodore announced his intentions, it was agreed
that perhaps the young vampires would be safer away from Angela. Jack had been angling
for his own place. Vitus insisted on putting up Jason and Eli at The Old Harlan Arms, as
they had a reserved room there, and it would be quick.
As the next night began, Jason and Eli were already packed up for the move, but Jack had
fallen behind. Jason had to cut out early due to some kind of Gastonfoolery, but was set to
return to the estate one more time to meet up with Eli.
That left Eli and Jack alone in Jack's room...
He flopped down and kicked off his sneakers while
he was at it. Jack flopped a few feet away from him.
Eli moved closer, assuming she would go in for the hugz but trying to steel himself for
whatever. Jack did his duty as well, and they got hugged by the beast. She felt like a
a powerful animal beneath the silk of her dress, some kind of ice cold leopard, taut
and uncanny. At the end she rubbed their sides in a way that felt creepy, but was
thankfully short lived.
Suddenly, they were set upon once more by the iniquity of evil menz.
LATER STILL,
Jack was finishing his packing, and Vitus was around.
He went to pick up one of Jack's trunks.
They were mid-sentence and not paying close attention when a conversation that should be alarming began in the foyer nearby.
He went out to the foyer. Jack could hear them. He fumbled with his phone for half a second, looked around the room for a weapon. But if Vitus couldn't-- no...! He called Angela with his mind, maybe she could--?!
Jack was opening a window, when a dark figure emerged from the floor next to him.
A small object flew into the foyer, and bounced off the wall. It landed and spun on the wooden floor, Angela looked at it quizzically. Jack took a turn to the window. The grenade burst into thousands of metal shards that tore through his flesh and through his skull. The window burst and glass scattered on the cobblestones.
Jack was perturbed by Dragomir and Theodore announced his intentions, it was agreed
that perhaps the young vampires would be safer away from Angela. Jack had been angling
for his own place. Vitus insisted on putting up Jason and Eli at The Old Harlan Arms, as
they had a reserved room there, and it would be quick.
As the next night began, Jason and Eli were already packed up for the move, but Jack had
fallen behind. Jason had to cut out early due to some kind of Gastonfoolery, but was set to
return to the estate one more time to meet up with Eli.
That left Eli and Jack alone in Jack's room...
Jack-
"That hotel is gonna be crazy expensive. Once
I have a settled place, y'all should come stay with
me. Just makes sense."
Eli-
"Yeah, that would be cool. Where do you think
you'll go? Probably some okay apartments out
of town if you don't mind the commute."
Jack-
"Commute... I don't think we'll need to do that, but I haven't
been a vampire long enough to know how many office meetings
we have to show up for. I'll telecommute, heh."
Eli-
"Haha, yeah, guess a guy like you
could get play even in the suburbs."
Eli-
"Maybe we could start a weed stoner house.
I mean, more power to get your meals how you
like, but I'd find all that stuff exhausting."
Jack-
"I wasn't thinking of that as work, but it is, isn't it?
Maybe the weedstoner speakeasy is a good idea."
Eli-
"Well I'm looking forward to it then. Think you'll
need any help moving? I know you had more
of a chance to get a possession or two."
Jack-
"Naw, let's just chill here for a minute before
Jason gets back. Have a seat on this giant
bed. Kick the trunks aside if you prefer."
Eli-
"Ah, sounds good."
He flopped down and kicked off his sneakers while
he was at it. Jack flopped a few feet away from him.
NOT LONG THEREAFTER, Angela was upon them...
Eli-
"Too bad we can't light up without a big hassle, huh?
It's like some sucky fable. Plenty of money but no...
uh, lungs. Or whatever."
Jack-
"Yeah... Hey, earlier when you were sayin' 'a guy like you',
what did you mean by that? What kind of guy am I?"
Eli-
"Oh you already know, Mr. Smooth. Don't act like
having a whole week on us is your sole advantage."
Jack-
"Smooth, huh? I guess I could look that way,
from the outside. But, y'know, it's all a bluff.
Social stuff isn't easy for anyone, I don't think."
Eli-
"Well you're a damn better bluffer than me then. I'd
have to offer some weird nerd a large pizza to sit on the
couch next to me. Okay, maybe not that bad, but on a
gradient to that."
Jack- Jack-
"An ingredient? Er..." "Anyway, I'm sure you could learn
the bluff too. You're funny, and
good lookin'. That's more than
a lot of dudes have."
Eli-
"Heh, well thanks, but are you sure you're not just
trying to get the master bedroom? You could probably
use it more anyway. 'Cause uh, haha. You know. Stuff."
Jack-
"True enough, but yeah, ugh..."
Jack-
"God damn, these are lousy times to be thinking about doin' it.
Last night... fucking hell. You weren't there... We didn't talk..."
Eli-
"Oh man, all that shit... Poor Sophie. And that
freaky kid? Man... Yeah, it's really messed up, huh?"
Jack-
"Man... That isn't all, but... Fuck it, just, us getting out
of this house is a good thing. Good timing. Can't wait."
Eli-
"Oh no, did I miss something else?
It's not Chloë, right? She's okay?"
Jack-
"Oh yeah, small miracle. Seems that
Wilhelm is a perfect gentleman."
Eli-
"Oh man, that's good. Everyone was bugging about that, before
we met the whole fam. We didn't even know, you know? Life's
too weird. We should get intravenous weed juice."
Jack-
"Yeah... Well... Sorry to bummer it up, dude.
What's a cool thing to think about when you're down?
Eli-
"Nah it's cool, man. Life is rough and tough, that's just real.
Hm, I'd probably go off about some wack memes or game
references but that's pretty lame for the situation. We could
talk about hot dudes, maybe. Is that too weird?"
Jack-
"That ain't too weird. What do you like?"
Eli-
"You know... I wrote this text post about how it's hot when
a dude like, looks gay. It's hard to describe, like how you can just
tell someone is a het bro and it's a turn off. The reverse? I dunno,
it was super eloquent when I wrote it, I swear. Otherwise it's
pretty diverse, maybe I'm just too thirsty, hah..."
Eli-
"As for IRL? Well, there's hecka hot vampires, obviously. But
the het factor is bad and the rest of y'all are kind of intimidating.
I'm not gonna bad self-esteem too hard here, but I'm a regular
Joe and you're like, damn."
Eli-
"Whoa, I'm like, slow motion embarrassing myself.
I see it happening, but I'm helpless to stop it..."
Jack-
"One guy's regular joe is another guy's damn, man. But even
if someone isn't a damn, it can be cool. Personality is a huge
deal. Like, OK, lots of people are uptight, but if someone is
extra high strung? Just makes it worse. You're chill."
Eli-
"Uh, yeah? Chill is good, yeah. Chilling is
cool with me. I can do that. Being chill."
Jack-
"C'mon, dude. You know if you're feeling uptight when you
wanna be chill, there's only one way to break up that tension.
Eli-
"Oh, big time. And we don't have any weed, soooo..."
Jack-
"So we gotta make out."
Eli-
"No other choice, right?"
Jack-
"Not a one..."
Some time later,
Jack-
"See? Now the physical
tension is broken, so you Eli-
can just be chill. So chill." "Hehe, yes, for def. Ummm...
Hope you enjoy it in that
Jack- master bedroom, my dude."
"I'll master your bedroom,
ya damn so and so..."
Jack-
"Anyhow, I'll let you know the first thing I get settled. It's messed
up that we got turned into vampires, but there's a lot of company,
and that has to count for something. Let's cohabitate. You, me,
whoever's down for it."
Eli-
"Man that's-- *sigh* That's really nice to hear.
It sounds pretty cool, as far as anything can be cool
right now. Let me know if I'm being like a clingy loser
or whatever, 'cause it's fun hanging out with you and--
heh, uh, stuff."
Jack-
"Will do. But I think it worked.
Right now? You're chill like
wintertime freezies." Eli-
"Oh without a doubt. Positively frosty..."
Angela-
"My beautiful baby boys, so nice to see
you coming together as family should."
Eli-
Jack- "Ah, uh, good evening...!"
"Hi there..."
Angela-
"Don't be shy! Come to me..."
Eli-
"Oh, sure... of course."
Eli moved closer, assuming she would go in for the hugz but trying to steel himself for
whatever. Jack did his duty as well, and they got hugged by the beast. She felt like a
a powerful animal beneath the silk of her dress, some kind of ice cold leopard, taut
and uncanny. At the end she rubbed their sides in a way that felt creepy, but was
thankfully short lived.
She moved along, leaving the youths alone.
Angela-
"Ahh. Well, it saddens me to see you
leaving, even if it is for a short time."
Eli-
"Oh I know, maybe-- maybe we could talk
on the phone? Or I could show Vitus how
to do a Sk-- a video chat. Those are fun."
Angela-
"Oh could we?! That would be
sheer delight. Gaston-Louis showed me
what some people do with internet cameras, and
it was more thrilling than one might expect."
Eli-
"Oh! Haha, ah, yes! It's amazing. Maybe you
could read me what you're working on. Those
poems the other day were just lovely."
Angela-
"Oh course! And if you happen to be hanging
about in some intimate moment with a friend,
some state of undress, whatever, who are we
to stand on formality?"
Eli-
"For sure, that's what the
internet was made for!"
Angela-
"I can't wait! Until we meet again..."
Jack-
"Eh... What the hell, dude." Eli-
"Yeah. I figure, worst cast scenario I can
send her some X-Chute links to get her off
our case. But I'm usually able to just get her
talking about her writing or soaps or whatever
Jack- and avoid the issue."
"I guess I can't blame you
for putting the idea in her head,
if Sword-Cutty McGillicutty did."
Eli-
"Hey don't worry about it, man. I'll
take care of it. She's not super hot for my
jock and we'll be out of her hair in no time. Just
Jack- fob her off on me if it comes up in the meantime."
"No one should have
to play that game, but... OK."
Suddenly, they were set upon once more by the iniquity of evil menz.
Jason-
"Hey Eli. I'm ready to fuck off to the hotel now."
Eli-
"Ah, sure. Hey uh, have a good one, Jack.
Jack- Good luck with everything."
"Alright, dudes. Keep your
heads low, and I'll see you soon."
Jason- Gaston-Louis-
"Thanks, man." "Ignore zis coward advize, Zhason.
'Old your 'ead high, as a warrior."
Jason-
"Usch. Fan ta dig."
LATER STILL,
Jack was finishing his packing, and Vitus was around.
Jack and Vitus were sitting in the main lounge on the first floor of the Sombreta Estate. Jack's limited worldly possessions were crammed into a few steamer trunks - mostly new clothes. They had been talking about options for moving out - whether or not he wanted to move in with the other boys, and so on.
Vitus-
"I understand, yeah, it really isn't the
only option, of course. I think, keep using
the debit card. The estate will keep covering it.
For big purchases like if you get a new car, call us
because I don't think the companies will approve it."
Jack-
"Okay, I don't think that's gonna happen any time soon. I drove that old beater until-- uh, well until you ran it off a cliff. RIP Old Beany. Probably pressed flat as a platter somewhere."
Vitus-
"That's a fact. Yeah, it might be a good idea to keep your head low. Not be out on the streets. This latest flap with the Crowboys started with some of you youths out for a drive."
Jack-
"Dang I thought being with Mr. Diplomatic here would help shield against that. Guess our alliance ain't all that, huh."
Vitus-
"If I was with you, no problem. But like I told the other guys, you get in trouble, just call. Whenever possible, use a phone though, it's good to know what's going on."
Jack-
"Yeah, when possible, right?"
Jack-
"Man this sounds kinda dumb, but it's too bad you gotta stay here."
Vitus-
"Aw, that doesn't sound dumb at all. You got a good friend in that Chloë there. I don't know if Wilhelm's got room but..."
Jack-
"Yeah, I'm sure he'll make room. It's either that or me and Chloë find a flat, and he's gotta have his baby doll. Or whatever, ha... Gonna be kinda weird here though, right? Those other guys already left. Guess you had a long time to get used to things being how they were."
Vitus-
"Yeah, the weirdest thing will be remembering that you guys exist. Nothing personal... It's just a highly unusual circumstance."
Jack-
"I dig, heh, yeah I dig. This was about the weirdest living arrangement I ever had."
Vitus-
"Seems like it's unusual for the Sombreta
family here too. New fledglings getting to move out on their
own so quick. Hopefully that trend continues. Freedom is good."
Jack-
"Yeah, I'm not complaining. Well maybe a little. Feels like I'm jumping out a moving car... into another moving car-- or something."
Vitus-
"That sounds kind of exciting. Did you see
that movie where that guy... 'Knuckles' something...
oh I dunno. A policeman of some kind..."
Jack-
"Hell yeah! Knuckles McClanahan from Deadbeat Cops, that was just on the other night. Man I wonder if someday I can pull those moves. You ever have a fist fight on the back of a moving firetruck?"
Vitus-
"Oh no... that sounds fun too, they got that ladder thing that goes up and down. And that lady in the movie, she was so thin. Kind of nice for the skinny girls to get to be sexy you know, why just a few years before that she'd have been stuffing her clothing."
Jack-
"Hahaha, oh that's cute. Maybe if you ever get a night off, you should come do a movie night with me and Chloë-- eh, well once all this stuff dies down."
Vitus-
"Sounds like Wilhelm isn't even waiting."
Jack-
"Yeah, they're already going out to the set. Maybe I'll go check out what they're doing when I'm packed up. Honestly I'm just being lazy about getting this stuff to the car."
Vitus-
"So just to Chloë and Wilhelm's tonight?"
Jack-
"For now, at least. Man... Life's too weird. You're gonna say, 'tell me about it', right?"
Vitus-
"Yeah, I know. That Wilhelm, he's a good kid. He acts creepy but he isn't all hardened to human suffering like those other guys. If you need help from somebody, and I'm not around... Wilhelm and Helen would be the best. After that, maybe Ellen and Santi."
Jack-
"Err those last ones, might be a little too soon for me."
Vitus-
"You can tell-- oh yeah. Um, I'm trying to think if there's anything important to tell you before we part ways here-- ah, I'm sure you know this because of calling me the other night, but you can't tell when someone is on the receiving end of a call. That could be a good thing, if that Theodore tries to call you again. If you can trap yourself in some way, keep yourself from moving easily, he won't be able to tell that you're not coming. Well, he'll have to assume you're not coming for some other reason and stop calling."
Jack-
"Oh good idea. I'll just belt myself in the car or tell Chloë to hit me with a brick. Well maybe I should get going..."
Vitus-
"Do you want me to give you a ride over to Wilhelm's? I can drop you off, or you can take one of the sedans..."
Jack-
"I'll take one of the cars, I think they're already out so I can go meet 'em at the set or whatever."
Vitus-
"Okay."
He went to pick up one of Jack's trunks.
Vitus-
"Um, it's been something else. Let me tell ya. You remind me a lot of that Henry. I dunno..."
Jack-
"Henry-- oh, oh yeah. From the... yeah."
Vitus-
"I didn't really expect to get to know you. I really don't know what to think. You're a pretty cool kid. You really got it together man."
Jack-
"Oh god, you're gonna make me cry. Hahaha. Thanks man. It's been for real, I didn't..."
They were mid-sentence and not paying close attention when a conversation that should be alarming began in the foyer nearby.
Servant's Voice-Vitus suddenly stopped talking.
"Apologies, but the masters of the house are ... Of course sir. Welcome."
Vitus-
"..."
Jack-
"Wha--"
Vitus-
"Let Angela know he's here. I gotta get this."
Jack-
"What!? Him?"
Vitus-
"I'll hold him up - it's all I can do."
He went out to the foyer. Jack could hear them. He fumbled with his phone for half a second, looked around the room for a weapon. But if Vitus couldn't-- no...! He called Angela with his mind, maybe she could--?!
Vitus-
"Pardon me, the servant here was mistaken. You are not welcome in this place."
Theodore??? -
"Oh well, I've come all the way here. Say, are you alone tonight?"
Vitus-
"Yes. No one is home except me. I'd really prefer to keep it that way."
Jack was opening a window, when a dark figure emerged from the floor next to him.
Angela- Jack-
"Darling, what's going on?" "There's an intruder!"
"An intruder? Who is it?"
Theodore??? -
"Say, I'm fairly certain there were no ladies in this family other than--"
Vitus -
"No, don't--"
Theodore??? -
"Excuse me--"
A small object flew into the foyer, and bounced off the wall. It landed and spun on the wooden floor, Angela looked at it quizzically. Jack took a turn to the window. The grenade burst into thousands of metal shards that tore through his flesh and through his skull. The window burst and glass scattered on the cobblestones.