Mud and Straw

[Harlequin]

Reserved for Billiam

Felicia loved the first days of spring.

Like nearly everything living (so to speak) on the Penbrook Estate, the horses had gotten used to the dark; the cold, however, affected them just as much as the rest of their species. Which meant winter made riding difficult.

But spring, ah, when everything was wet with the thaw, and bright and cold and new -- the great beasts were as keen to run as Felicia, their most frequent visitor.

The rest of the horses stamped their impatience as the Ancient returned from her ride, walking her favorite, a blue roan quarter horse named Quinn, back into her stall. The stablehands rose from their chairs with a practiced carelessness, moving to relieve the tired animal of the trappings of riding. Her rider, however, looked fresh as a daisy, her cheeks colored pink with another's blood, the product of the chill wind whipping past her skin. The smell of fresh mud and alfalfa hay clung to her skin as much as it did to her horse's.

But there was someone else waiting for her in the stables, and she regarded him coolly as she tugged off her kidskin gloves, finger by finger. A smile touched the corner of her rose-petal mouth. He'd caught her in the best possible mood, "Brother," she greeted as she approached.

[Black Philip]

The seasons felt like minutes to Ari at this point, a smearing of cold into hot and back into cold again. He had been human in a very cold place, and so he honored winter differently than the rest of his family. As a mortal boy he'd huddled around large bond fires, as the Vendel priests begged Odin for warmer weather. Now it was spring, the season of rebirth and it presented new opportunities. His latest self help book had told him to use changes in the environment to promote changes in the self, and so Ari walked out towards the stables to find his fledge-sister. Their various duties had kept them apart as of late, and Ari knew he hadn't helped matters by spending all his time tending to the grounds and hunting in the forest.

He'd caught Felicia riding, and she'd looked particularly happy to be back in the saddle. He waited with the stable hands, arms crossed over his chest, and statue like. Upon Felicia's return he moved to help tend to Quinn. He like caring for the horses more than riding them. He was barefoot, and the thaw had made his feet covered in mud. His long blonde hair was tied back into a messy bun, but a single sliver of hair had escaped, and was now running along his left check as he helped Quinn to get water. He regarded his sister with a friendly smile.

"You looked good out there," he complimented, his deep baritone cutting through the sounds of animals, the wind and far off birds. "Next time you're going to ride let me know."

He hoped that Felicia didn't have anything else to do today. Since the south had been taken over by Sabrina, the bloodline of Charon had more free time. He hoped for, what did the books call it, quality bonding.

[Harlequin]

Felicia's first real winter had been a shock, and she remembered it well despite its distance in time. She remembered a lot of things well; and a lot of things not all.

She tucked her gloves into the pocket of her red wool riding jacket, high-necked like most of her wardrobe. She looked immaculate, as if she'd stepped out of a catalogue. The only indications that she'd set foot outside at all were the color in her cheeks and the wisp of hair at her temple that had escaped her tight braid. She came to rest a few paces away from her brother, watching him tend to her horse with her hands in her pockets. She rested her weight on one leg, crooking the other at the knee and crossing at the ankles. "I will," she said.

He'd always been very concerned with the horses. It was one of the few interests they shared. "How have you been, Ari?"

Apparently, bonding time wasn't far from her mind, either.

[Black Philip]

Ari was always amazed at how done up and sharp Felecia looked. He wasn't a vain man despite his obvious good looks, but when around his much more fashionable family member he wished he'd at least showered. On the other hand, it was nothing new for her to see him covered in earth. He half suspected Charon kept so many different kinds of animals because he knew Ari loved them. With the horses in the well trained hands of the stable boys, he motioned with his shoulder for his sister to follow.

"Better now that the party has come and gone," he admitted freely. The hair tendril on his check had become annoying, and so he quickly and expertly redid his bun as they walked. It looked much better. "Hugh has been pleasing Charon quite a bit lately," he shared, happy to give her good news about her fledge. He missed Royce terribly, but he'd gotten a letter recently from the rascal. He'd be home in a few more months, unless Charon extended the exchange program. He would ask his grandsire not to. He wanted his child back. 

[Harlequin]

Felicia fell into step beside Ari, content for now to let him lead the way. She didn't have anything much planned for the evening, after all. She chuckled at the comment about the party. Crowds had never been his forté. She smelled new foliage, animal blood and leather on her brother. The scents suited him.

"Has he? I'm glad." she said mildly. Her overall apathy toward her second fledgling had never been a secret, but she at least had the courtesy to pretend she cared most of the time. Maybe if Charon took enough of a liking to him, he'd cease being her problem altogether.


"And Royce? He is where? Away on family business?"

[Black Philip]

Ari was always amazed how little Felicia and Hugh connected. He felt responsible for the boy’s creation. In a rare show of emotion Ari had begged his fledge sister to make him. Charon had felt Royce needed a companion but instead he’d gotten a rival. Ari suspected, although he’d never ask, that Charon didn’t approve of Royce’s free willed love of life. His ability to dive in and make strong choices was not Ari and certainly not Charon. To the Scandinavian, it was this very quality that attracted him to the lad. Ari often didn’t feel excited about eternity, but when he was with Royce he truly felt alive. As he looked at Felicia, there was an absence of this quality.

“He’s part of the family exchange program. He’s in Vienna with the Giovanni clan. They’re part of those clanned vampires Jake McCloud champions. They practice necromancy it seems.”

Ari was open minded, but had written Royce to tell him that he did not approve of him learning that sort of thing. However, Royce normally took Ari’s objections as incentive to do the opposite of his sire’s wishes, and he half expected him to come back with a zombie as a pet. Charon would be delighted or horrified.

“I miss him,” he added, looking only slightly less stoic than normal.

[Harlequin]

Felicia reached out to pat her brother gently on the shoulder, "He'll be back before you know it. These field trips never last too long."

She remembered missing Catherine terribly when she'd been sent on a similar errand. The memory brought with it an unexpectedly sharp pain, like poking at an old scar with the tip of a knife.

"Necromancy?" The idea caused Felicia to frown. She disliked the idea of flighty Royce being under the influence of such characters, "I hope that's not a skill they can teach him."

[Black Philip]

He accepted the pat, Felicia being one of a very few number of people who could touch him in that way. He didn't hate affection. It just made him uncomfortable. He preferred to be serious, or at his most lighthearted moments, relaxed. However, they'd survived the death of their maker together, and so many other deaths too. Charon wasn't known for being warm or fuzzy, and so in the rare moments of anguish he'd felt it had always been Felecia and Jeanne who'd provided support.

Her reaction to necromancy had been the same as his. His family was interested in many taboo subjects, but not something that dark. "I hope so too. I feel like he knows that I'll disapprove and will learn a few things just to spite me."

He smiled at the thought. Royce loved to shock him, and while he wouldn't admit it, he loved to be shocked by the lad. He turned his thoughts to his sister, and her behavior as of late. He had a small bone to pick with her.

"It's been hard to see you lately," he tried cautiously, testing the waters with a simple observation. "Have you been occupied, or preoccupied, or have I just been spending too much time outside?"   

[Harlequin]

Felicia clucked her tongue at Ari's assertion that Royce would likely learn the Dark Arts out of spite. Most of Hugh's charm was in the fact that he was terribly boring, and would never cause her such trouble.


As to the other part, she merely shrugged, "Likely a little of all three, I suppose. I've been keeping to myself a bit, or spending time with my ladies. Though it was a shame to miss the party, from what Jeanne's told me." she turned her gaze on her brother,  "I haven't been avoiding you, if that's what you're asking."

[Black Philip]

Ari listened as Felecia explained her recent absence. He didn't agree missing the party was a shame, but he did wonder if Charon had any salt in him over his sister's absence. Doing your bit for the family was next to godliness to Ari, and therefore his sister's independent streak he'd always felt two ways about. On the one hand, it was the same trait that connected him to her and to Royce, and even his late sire. He needed people to make life exciting. On the other hand, it left he and Jeanne holding the bag, and that he didn't like one bit. Still, he hadn't come to fight, and was honestly just enjoying the casual chat. He didn't think she was avoiding him. If anything, Ari had been the one avoiding people.

"No, no," he said with a quick grin. "I just miss you is all," he said. They were near the gardens now, the stables now just a small hut in their vision. "How are the ladies," he asked, feeling like it was the best way to keep his sister interested in the conversation.

[Harlequin]

If Charon had any ill feelings regarding her absence at the party, he hadn't shared them with her. So for now, they didn't exist. Satisfied with Ari's answer, she turned her eyes back to the path ahead. Her nostrils flared as the green, new scent of the gardens filtered toward them on the night air. She did just love spring.

"Supple, as ever." She left it at that, though her face took on a dreamy, faraway expression. After a few moments, she chuckled gently, then offered an arm to her brother. "And the forest? Tell me of the hunt."

[Black Philip]

If Ari had fed more recently he might've blushed at his sisters words about supple things. He envied for her sense of adventure. He supposed his was just elsewhere, and the wilds were one of those places. When Royce returned, he'd ask Charon for some leave. They'd go exploring through Canada. He thought it might do his head some good to get away from Penbrook.

"The hunt goes well," he admitted, enjoying the sport in Meadowcrest. "There was a white wolf that came to the party, but Charon turned him away. He was also a vampire. It was fascinating."

His facial changes, while subtle, hinted at desire, and his sister would know it had been a long time since Ari desired anything. He put his hands in his pockets, a soft smile crossing his face like he had a dirty secret. "Come with me sometime. You can ride in the less dense sections."

[Harlequin]

"A wolf that was also one of us? Another clanned vampire, perhaps? They have those that can shapeshift, don't they?" She'd learned all of this at some point, but none of it had stuck. They weren't family, so what did it matter?

She let her arm drop back to her side. It wasn't personal; her brother wasn't one for casual touch.

Felicia's eyebrows shot up at the lilt in Ari's voice, and the hints of a smile touched the corners of her rosebud mouth. It had been so long since she'd ridden with a purpose, and Ari didn't make these invitations lightly.

By now they'd entered the garden, ugly in the burlap and plastic used to winter the plants. but the paths were the same, and their feet knew them without looking, "Oh, wouldn't that be fun? Perhaps we could find your wolf friend?"

[Black Philip]

Ari nodded approvingly that his sister accepted his invitation. He knew time was precious to her, and that she chose to spend it wisely. While he didn’t thank her or communicate his appreciation, he felt it and their bond was ancient and powerful. She’d sense the unspoken feelings. The idea of seeing the wolf again delighted him, and to show him to another was even better. They’d go in a few weeks, once the weather was more fair. It would be better for the horses.

“Perhaps if we’re lucky,” he confirmed. “Then you’ll have to bring me to one of your activities.”

He sounded nervous about that, and highly doubted she’d want her brother in her own hobbies, but it was about showing he’d be willing to be two sided in spending time. Hopefully, the proposal was enough. Jeanne would likely catch wind that they were seeing one another more, but she was always so busy at Ventrue or with Charon. Besides, while he loved his cousin, he’d always been closer to Felicia. Some of that prejudice was built in from the top, although it was no excuse to further it. Jeanne just happened to be Ari’s opposite in things.

[Harlequin]

Ari's appreciation warmed her sympathetically. Felicia's idea of fun (family-friendly fun, anyway) was a night at the races, and honestly she couldn't think of anyone she'd want to take less. If he could muster up the gall to step through the gates, Ari would undoubtedly spend the whole time silently brooding over the treatment of the horses. She snorted a laugh through her nose. She smiled indulgently at him nonetheless, keeping her thoughts to herself.

"Have you been keeping up with the politics in the city?" she asked,  ready for a change of subject.