Liefde Towers / Comming back for more / Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago

Comming back for more

Aron had been fairly surprised when he received a note from Megan, asking him to come see him. He had quite simply given up on the Nachton branch of the Evenhet clan. Now he was here however, in a less dramatic attire than last time. A black and white tailor made suit and his walking stick was all he needed for now. There was no need of being overly dramatic, it would be childish and futile even to attempt it. Jeeves was waiting outside in the car, not the long Hollywood star limousine, but a classic Rolls Royce.

Aron walked up the clerk with a feeling of curiosity in the pit of his stomach.

"Could you tell Lady Bjørn that a Mr Swiftwood has arrived? I belive she's expecting me"

This would all be very interresting indeed.

"And thus, the cub comes to see the mother bear..."

Aron chuckled at May's comment.

((Edited to accomodate tha fact that Megan had sent the note, not Meegan. I very much doubt she has been in the Liefde Tower at all))

Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
"Really? Now that explains a lot... "

Why Snorre had mentioned both light and dark elves in his Edda for instance.
Why there were stories of some taking care of children, while others would lure humans into bogs.

"And that is why the Anantya keeps loosing influence. In an everchanging world, even the tallest mountain must bow to the wind, or crumble trying to resist"

He took a sip of the drink. The stories of Anantya cruelty had not been forgotten, not even after two millenia. Stories of mares, girls who were forced to ride horses to their death at night. Stories of werewolves, people suddenly changing and attacking everyone and everything, even their most loved. They could not have made their signature any clearer had they written their name on the night sky.

"Tell me...where there many...hmm...clanless at that time?"

Many vampires flatly refused to acknowledge the existance of clan Tacharan, which disturbed him a great deal. But it was better to be polite right now. Much better indeed.
Megan Björn 18 years ago
"There are always the pariahs, the drifters, those who don't fit comfortably into the social confines of another's making. If you're asking if there were more then than now... I'm afraid I never bothered to count them."Â? Or rather, never bothered to count past Xerxes, she mused, then quickly drowned the thought with the last of her martini. She reached over and set the empty glass down on a nearby end table. The sound of glass meeting wood was hollow and lonesome.

"They are not the ones who write history,"Â? she said coldly. "They watch it pass them by from some cloistered existence and pretend that they are free. Freedom, real freedom, is taking hold of the reins and driving the beast forward yourself."Â?
Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
"Ohh, I do not disagree at all. It's just that there seems to be a disturbing amount of clanless actually trying to do just that these days"
He finished the drink and sat it down next to Megans.
"But ofcourse you know of such trivial matters. It is your town after all"

"Still...it is amazing what one can discover from old wives tales"
Megan Björn 18 years ago
"Yes, well, I've been keeping my eyes on a few of the more... ambitious of that lot. So far there has been relatively little need to take direct action, but there is always risk,"Â? she said, her expression grave.

"In every culture, there are those who seek to destroy what others have built. Humans established the rule of law to keep their own violent natures at bay, we vampires are not so different. Jealousy, malice, neglect; these are the cries of the wicked. But for every vampire that seeks anarchy, there are three that want stability. Solidarity. So, we, like the humans, established laws to protect us from ourselves."Â?

Megan rose to her feet and walked over to the massive window that offered up the glowing city below. She looked out and saw apartment buildings, street lights, automobiles, and countless human beings scurrying about their lives feeling content. Feeling safe. She wondered just how much of their safety they took for granted, if they knew how fragile they really were.

"They say this country was founded on freedom,"Â? she continued, "but the truth is most people want security in this world, not liberty. It is impossible to have both."Â?
Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
He studied Megan, and not just with his eyes. He might as well have tried to empty the pacific with a teaspoon. Reading elders was dangerous buisness, if you actually got through it was usually very disturbing.

"Laws?" He chuckled. "Laws within our clan, yes. Laws within our kin.... It appears to me that we are still running very much by survival of the fittest. The basic problem with laws is that the only ones strong enough to enforce them will usually wish to be excluded from them"
He sighed.
"People do not care about freedom nor security. What they want is the illusion of having both"
Megan Björn 18 years ago
Megan turned and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. She wondered at the boldness of Aron's rhetoric, and couldn't help but think the comment was a jab at her own morality, clearly being one of those powerful enough to enforce vampiric law. The fact that there was a large degree of truth in what he said did little more than to annoy her.

"Keeping the peace is not always as simple as night and day,"Â? she said coldly. "Maintaining illusion is a dangerous business, Mr. Swiftwood. Sometimes one must walk outside the wall in order to defend it."Â?
Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
He had to use every inch of self restraint not to laugh out loud. That she of all people would be using the same exsucse every corrupt lawenforcer had used since the beginning of time was extremly ironic.

"Well...the problem with only watching the wall from the outside is that it will give you the exact same perspective as the ones being held out by the wall, and the people behind it will eventually not know you from their foes. In order for someone to watch the law, they need special rights ofcourse, but there need to be laws for them as well. "

He looked out the window thoughtfully.

"Besides, I thought maintaining an illusion was our specialty"
Megan Björn 18 years ago
"Idealism is the opiate of youth," she responded, unmistakably amused by Aron's naiveté. "I was once like you, sure that the world could be changed for the better, and that I knew the difference between what it was and what it should be. You needn't worry though, you'll grow out of it. We all do. Time, if nothing else, opens our eyes."�

She had, of course, been aware of Aron's moment of weakness, that brief flare of incredulous thought that dripped from him like blood from an open wound. Though she was not particularly angered, she did find it to be quite telling. For all his decorum and civilities, he had much to learn about self control, and in a moment of weakness on her own part, she decided to make him aware of this. She met his eyes with her own, and then reached out to him, speaking, while her lips remained locked in an impish smile.

[It would perhaps suit you to remember that you are not the only one here with preternatural gifts, Mr. Swiftwood.]
Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
He shrugged. "One does not have to wish to become a mechanic, merely because the car is broken"

The hair on his neck raised as her voice sounded through his head.

"Well done love, you annoyed the mother bear. Very smart. Now if you wish to sit at the grownups table, how about acting the part?"

Great. Trapped between two powerful women. Under somewhat different circumstances that might have been fairly enjoyable. Now it was simply unpleasent. It was his own mistake however.

[I bow to your power and wisdom m'lady]
Megan Björn 18 years ago
Megan reached out, and with the backs of her fingertips gently brushed Aron's cheekbone, her long nails just barely touching his skin. His response pleased her greatly; even more so because she hadn't been expecting so humble an answer. Perhaps she had been wrong to judge him so quickly. Too often her kin felt relatively little connection to the world around them, it was refreshing to come across one with passion enough to argue his ideology, however misguided it may be

"If you weren't already a vampire,"Â? she said, in a near whisper. "I think I would have made you one."Â?
Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
For the first time in his not so long life, he was the one being charmed and manipulated. He felt like a schoolgirl, and he was farely sure he might appear as one as well. At least he didn't wear the skirt yet. He shivered at her touch.

"That would ofcourse have been an honor" he said, much to his own surprise with a fairly steady voice. In the depths of his mind, MAy was laughing at him.
Megan Björn 18 years ago
"I wonder, did you surrender your mortality?"Â? Megan asked, her timeless eyes fixed on his like a hawk to her prey. "Or was it taken from you?"Â?

She didn't wait for an answer, and instead brushed past him, circling around behind, her fingers running a path along his neck. Drawing closer to him, she whispered into his ear, "You don't seem like the type who would surrender."Â?
Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
Aron took a deep breath, and regained a bit of his composure. She was apparently playing him like a fiddle, but at least he was aware. A small advantage, but in this game every advantage was welcome...

He turned his head to her and smiled.

"Ohh I can assure you, I have surrendered more than that under the influence of beautiful woman. One most know when to obey and when to be...firm."
Megan Björn 18 years ago
"She was a woman then, the one who turned you?"Â? Megan asked, her voice soft and calculating. The game she played was older then she was, older then time itself, and after millennia of practice, she had become quite skilled.

"Was she beautiful?"Â?
Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
He sighed and spoke with a voice full of sadness.
"Yes, she was a woman. Even though it is centuries ago, I still see her face as clearly as ever. She was very beautiful indeed, and the woman everyone else has been compared to"

"See me as clearly as ever? I should certainly hope so....but thank you...very nice compliment"

"Which is my curse ofcourse...for which woman can compare to the dead?"
Megan Björn 18 years ago
Centuries ago, it might as well have been yesterday to Megan. She had long since discovered that the more she aged, the less meaning time held for her. Decades, centuries, they passed like wind through a meadow, and it was all she could do just to stay in touch with the world as it changed all around her.

She wondered how long it would take before Aron started to feel time wash over him. A handful of centuries wasn't very long, and it annoyed her to no end that his files hadn't mentioned a woman. A vampire, no less. It seemed a ridiculous oversight. Information was power, and she refused to go without.

"Tell me about her,"Â? she whispered. "This seductress of yours."Â?
Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
In the back of his mind, May was trying to reach through.

"Stay hidden!" Barely a whisper left his lips.

She laughed. "Why? Can't I say hello to your new playmate?" The struggle was short, and hardly very intense. May knew his mind too well, and was far older.

[Tell you about me? I think it would be polite to at least say gooday first]
Megan Björn 18 years ago
Megan was visibly startled at the strangers mental intrusion, and instinctively reached for a weapon she wasn't carrying. She quickly scanned the room with both her eyes and her mind, but there was no one here but Aron. Then suddenly a piece of the puzzle fell neatly into place. That second presence she had felt earlier, that disturbing outburst of protective, almost jealous emotion that she had failed to account for became all but crystal. He was possessed by his own creator, how delightful! She let out a burst of rich, unmediated laughter that filled the darkened room.

[Are you done hiding then?] she asked through a wicked smile. [I'd introduce myself, but you must know my name by now. Why don't you grace me with your own?]
Aron Swiftwood 18 years ago
Aron hated this. Being a projector for May. The fast struggle for power had even given him a light headech. Little he could do about it now though, May was obviously out and about.

She laughed, lightly with a crystallike voice.

[Hiding? I hardly hide, you just didn't notice me] she said in a rather amused "voice". [But ofcourse, you're right. My name is May]