tampered | Log; Ongoing;

Log; Ongoing;

When; January 23, late at night
Rating; PG-13?
Characters; Valerie

violet_overture
Summary; Valerie's kindness gets the best of her.
Log;

She was nervous, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, the same she had the night they came with their guns and their black bags and took her away. She wasn't even sure why she was going-- she should know better. Normally, when her gut waved a red flag, she heeded its warning and took a step back to regard the situation.

But with Joshua... it was different. Valerie was no stranger to dangerous people, or to pain. And she had no delusions that Joshua wasn't exactly stable, or exactly a safe person to linger around. But she had a feeling that if she hadn't agreed, something even worse might happen. His possessiveness was alarming; and while she knew-- to an extent-- what he was capable of, she didn't know how far, exactly, he might go to obtain what he wanted.

And that, more then anything, frightened her.

Her unease didn't let up as she reached the mansion, either. It was tall and dark and the windows looked like howling mouths, the points like claws reaching for the heavens. Both times she had seen it up close, it hadn't looked quite so formidable as it did tonight. A side-effect of her anxiety, she knew, but that didn't change the fact of the matter.

She clutched her pink sweater closer to her chest as she stepped over a chunk of stone, glancing briefly at it before looking away as she had every other piece of shattered statue thus far.

Yes, Valerie had a bad feeling about this.

And she continued up the path the mansion without breaking her stride even once.

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The people who mattered... He could sense them a mile off. Smell them. Hear them.

Joshua didn't smile much anymore, of course... With the effects of the City, and the lack of his sister, it was his sense of loneliness that kept the ticking a constant in his head. That accompanied with people's noise left him quite utterly mad. ...At least more so than usual. And when he did smile...that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

As Valerie closed in on the steps that lead to the mansion's entrance, a sudden breeze picked up the hem of her sweater, causing a flutter if only for a second. When it settled back down, Joshua was behind her, one hand pressing to the small of her back to urge her forward while he murmured in her ear, "Fiore is preparing tea."

He was smiling.

Involuntarily, Valerie gasped, and her fist tightened on the front of her sweater. Quickly, though, she composed herself, and though she followed the pressure on her back, her face turned. Sharp jade eyes glanced over her shoulder at the demon, brunette locks dusting passed her face, a side-effect of the breeze he had created.

"Joshua," She said simply, and didn't go on. She recognized that smile, now.

She had seen it on armored men and women in lab coats. It was twisted and dark and somehow reassuring all at the same time.

"I... could use a cup of tea," She went on, and though her insides shuddered, her voice was steady.

"Mm. Do you like black currant? I think that's what Fiore's making. And some tarts."

Pulling his hand away, he shed his blazer so that he could sweep it around to settle over her shoulders. "Cold? It is still winter, after all. It will be warmer inside."

And to continue with the illusion that she was doing this all of her own free will, he stepped away from her and walked on ahead of her to step through the door that hadn't been open a moment ago.

The tea took no time at all, the water coming to a boil faster than she'd expected- though she supposed that in part, that could be blamed on distraction. Fiore had never been particularly fond of having guests over without Master Aion's approval- and this woman, though she seemed nice enough, still left her wary.

It was the sweetest rose that had the thorns, and Master Joshua...
it would not do for unpleasant results to come of it.

He'd suffered badly enough after Rosette had vanished some time before, and now...

The smallest of frowns ghosted on her lips as she poured the tea, glancing up only to seek out the final ingrediant. Master Joshua's orders. It wouldn't take much, a sprinkle would be more than enough to put their guest to sleep, and once finished with her task Fiore added the cups to the tray and stepped out of the kitchen.

The blazer settled easily around her shoulders-- despite the fact that she was older then him, she wasn't exactly the tallest of women-- but instead of offering warmth, the chill only crept deeper into her bones.

Joshua was right, though. The mansion was warmer, though it did little more then heat the cool from her fingers and cheeks. On reflex, she rubbed her palms together, glancing briefly around the mansion's interior before they walked into the kitchen.

And there was the handmaiden, with the promised tea, and distraction. She smiled weakly. "Hello, Miss Fiore."

Joshua had stopped once inside to wait for Valerie so that he could shut the door behind her. The click seemed to echo in the expansive foyer, and he loomed behind her like a lurking shadow until they entered the dining room. Once there, he walked around to sit at the table.

The tea smelled delicious. She'd even prepared his cup just the way he liked it. Three sugar cubes with just a touch of cream. His sweet tooth could not be denied.

Speaking of which, he rested his cheek against a fist and pouted in Fiore's direction. "Aren't the tarts ready yet?"

She'd greeted the woman politely before doing the same to Master Joshua and placing their cups and saucers on the table. She looked quite wary about the whole situation, and understandably so. Still, it was nothing that could not be pushed aside with gentle reassurances and when asked about the tart, Fiore allowed a small smile to linger- if only in an attempt to ease the woman's mind. "Of course Master Joshua, I will bring them out shortly."

Nimble fingers gently placed the cream and sugar near Valerie's seat as her head bowed apologetically. "Forgive me, I did not know your preferences Miss Valerie. I hope this will suffice?"

Valerie paused a moment as Fiore set the condiments next to what was presumeably her seat, jade eyes flicking from the chair, to Joshua, and finally to Fiore. Athough the slightest of smiles wandered across the handmaiden's lips, Valerie was far from reasured. But there was nothing for it, by now. She was already balancing precariously halfway across the spider's web, and though she had yet to see the fangs, she knew it was just a matter of time.

She sat down.

"This is... fine, thank you," The woman said, and to do something with her hands, focused on putting the cream and sugar in. The tea did smell awfully good, and she felt a little of the tension creep from her shoulders in response. Taking a deep breath, attempting to settle her nerves, she curled her palms around the cup and let the warmth slide up her wrists before taking a slow sip of the steaming liquid, oblivious to any foreign substances that might be hidden in it.

Joshua watched as Valerie sipped her tea...and that might have warranted as suspicious, but it wasn't uncommon for him to watch people, anyway. Countless times he'd watched Fiore while she tended to her chores...or watched while Aion 'tended' to a victim.

Setting his tea cup down with it already half empty, he leaned back in his chair, tapping his index finger against the tablecloth.

"Were you here during the masquerade, Valerie?"

She'd stayed only long enough to hear their guest's reply before making her way back into the kitchen and returning with two strawberry tarts. Wordlessly placing the desserts on the table, Fiore stepped back to hover just near the door, hands clasped and head slightly bowed.

It was doubtful that she would be needed for anything other than cleanup afterwards, but to be sure she remained in the room, attempting to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Valerie glanced to Joshua out of the corner of her eye as he set his teacup down, and carefully put her own down as well, though not without taking another extra sip, as if to draw out the inevitable. He was speaking when Fiore came back, and jade eyes flicked to the handmaiden briefly, an off-handed sort of thanks, but most of her focus was on the teenager, and so the glance wasn't half as polite as it usually was.

Instead, hands still curled around her cup, chin tilted down just slightly, Valerie watched Joshua. The masquerade-- ah. Thats right. That was right after Ruth arrived, and they went with Evey and V...

"Yes," She said softly.

"I didn't like it," he responded curtly, watching as the tarts were set down. "There were too many people in here... I only let the mansion host it because that jester had something good to offer."

Joshua couldn't resist the allure of his strawberry tart any longer and picked up his dessert fork to break off a piece. Of course, it was delicious. Fiore's cooking always was. What he really wanted to try was Valerie's cooking, though.

He would make sure after this that Fiore would let Valerie help in the kitchen. Maybe get her a cute apron...

"Fiore, next time can it be blueberry?" the teenager murmured as he picked up his tea to wash down the tart.

From her post Fiore smiled gently, answering with the hint of a nod. "Of course Master Joshua. I will buy blueberries tomorrow."

Along the way, she made a mental not to buy more vegetables as well. She'd been far too lax with such things lately, and while there was nothing wrong with her Master enjoying sweets, such things had to be tempered accordingly. Carrots perhaps. It was just as well. If they were to have Miss Valerie staying with them, shopping for groceries would become a top priority if she were to hope to feed them all.

She remained still nonetheless, quietly observing their conversation. The masquerade...why had he mentioned that?

The brunette relaxed, if just a little bit, as Joshua went on. It was a relatively safe topic, perhaps not quite what she was expecting (though she wasn't sure what she was expecting), but she was willing to go along with it.

"It.. was a lovely party," Valerie said softly, and meant it. Although, she had nearly forgotten it was this mansion. It hadn't looked like this on the inside at all-- but it had been a wonderful night. She smiled softly at the memory, and following Joshua's lead, daintily lifted her own fork to taste the sweet.

[ooc: urk, sorry, typos;;]

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Log; Ongoing;

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