IC Time: Evening, April 29
Location: The Cullen home.
Synopsis: Caius and the Guard pay the Cullens a visit.
Submitted by: Caius
There is no discernable noise when the Volturi arrive. The grey cloaks melt in from the forest, carefully securing
the area before Caius emerges from the treeline. His personal guard and a few selected to join him to this meeting
fall into step at his flanks. He approaches the door, fully expecting those inside to already be aware of his
presence. The number of the Guard in Forks is considerable. They are definitely here on some business.
Theresa follows along a few steps behind the guard that flank Caius. She's spoke to some of the Cullens before but
most did not know just who she was, now things are going to change that's for sure. She has her own grey cloak on
that flutters around her as she moves along. Her gaze drifts over the home before her and she smirks faintly while
she takes in a slight unusable breath.
Alice's eyes go momentarily blank, and then she rises from Jasper's lap, disentangling herself from his arms.
"They're here," she says simply, walking out of the living room and entering the foyer. She twists the knob and
pulls open the door, golden eyes peering into the meadow that was their front yard.
There are silent steps down the stairs as Emmett emerges from upstairs, jerking his thumb towards the front door as
Alice goes to let them in, glancing around the living room. They're here. He's been on alert ever since Alice
notified the family of the Volturi's intent to call on the Cullens. He's been on guard on the roof since this late
this morning, keeping watch.
Jasper stands, body instantly rigid. His golden yellow eyes flick over towards Emmett and he quickly moves over to
stand besides him. Jasper says nothing and keeps his lips pressed firmly together in one flat line. The Volturi,
even if they come without any ill will, still set him on edge.
Caius smiles thinly at the petite vampire that answers the door. "Alice Cullen, a pleasure. You don't disappoint, I
see." His filmy red eyes look past her into the room, at the rest of the family gathered. Many of the Guard are
known… famous or infamous, though not all move to enter the Cullen's home.
Emmett wasn't the only one watching. Rosalie comes in the back window as he comes down from the roof, joining him to
come down the stairs. She remains quiet as she joins him, standing at his side, watching as the Volturi enter their
home.
Carlisle walks up next to his wife as Alice goes to answer the door. "Show them in." he directs watching as they
begin to enter. Crossing the room towards Caius, "It is good to see you my friend." Holding out his hand to shakes
his own and greet properly.
Esme moves with Carlisle, so that she stands slightly behind and to the side of her husband. Upon the entrance of
the Volturi she offers a polite, not exceedingly friendly, but polite smile, to Caius.
Theresa is quiet as she maks her way into the home, she is one of the few that enter. Her gaze drifting to Alice and
she offers her a pleasent smile and friendly nod back before her gaze slips over the other here.
Alice smiles brightly at Caius, and gives a nod to the Guard that accompany him. "Come in, come in," she steps aside
so that they can enter, gesturing expansively. "Everyone's in the living room.. follow me." She walks at a human
pace into the living room, taking her place beside Jasper.
Emmett is the epitome of casual beside Jasper, and now Rosalie at his other side. He leans against the back of the
couch, an elbow touching Rosalie's, but his golden eyes betray his tension as he barely gives her a glance. As
Carlisle comes to greet, his eyes follow his every movement, nodding towards Caius in acknowledgement.
"Carlisle, my friend. It's been a long time." Caius follows Alice into the living room, then accepts the eldest
Cullen's offered hand. "This must be your lovely wife. And the rest of your family, some of whom I have met…" His
red eyes sweep the assembled faces. "…But I do not see your Edward here. I trust nothing untoward has happened?"
He seems relaxed, but of course he has his personal entourage here and many more gathered outside.
Jasper reaches up and places a hand on Alice's shoulder as she walks up to stand besides him. "Edward is very well,
actually. Thank you for your concern," he murmurs, being very careful to articulate only the bare minimum of what he
has to.
Rosalie doesn't look at Emmett, but she can feel her mate looking at her. As she watches Caius, taking him in, she
still says nothing. But she does wiggle her nose.
"This is my wife Esme, my sons Emmett and Jasper. My daughters Alice and Rosalie." Carlisle introduces his family,
"Everyone this is my friend Caius of Volterra in Italy." Placing a hand gently behind Esme onto the small of her
back. "Edward is around here somewhere I am sure." Perhaps with Bella or off by himself he wasn't going to make an
assumption. "Please have seat." he motions to one of the couches or chairs for them to be comfortable within.
The sudden gathering of the family, draws Bella's attention from where she was working on homework in the kitchen.
"What's up?" She calls out even as others are gathering Edward comes down to collect her, drawing her from her seat
without a word and moves to the back of the Living room, placing Bella protectively behind his back. Nothing
personal really, he is like this with any strangers around.
"Why, Bella Swan. What a surprise." Caius's thin smile returns, gaze flicking over the still-human girl as he glides
to the offered chair. "We received the announcement of your impending nuptials before our departure. My brothers
send our felicitations." He gestures toward Theresa. "Please accept a small token."
Esme nods, politely, shifting her arm so that it wraps, rather protectively, around her husband, peaking out at the
other side of his waist. "Nice to meet you," she offers in a polite tone as she looks around to the rest of her
family, eyes resting on Bella for a moment or two, before they take in Theresa, though she doesn't visually respond
to the guard's precense.
Theresa follows along after Caius and the others, she remains quiet though choosing to just listion and watch the
others for the time being. Her gaze drifts towards the new voice and she tilts her head while watching Bella a few
moments before letting her gaze turn towards the other Cullens. Hearing Caius she moves forward to where he is
holding a small box now, though she doesn't attempt to actuall offer it to Bella, instead she moves to offer it to
Esme while offering her a warm smile. "I do hope Bella will enjoy the gift. There is a note from Aro with it as
well." She says with a friendly tone.
Emmett gives a short snort and a half-grin as he sees Rosalie wiggle her nose out of the corner of his eye, looking
down and shifting his weight to the other leg. A very human gesture of discomfort. As Carlisle invites Caius to have
a seat, he pushes away from the back of the couch and has a seat in one of the oversized chairs, near the edge.
There's enough room for Rosalie as well, if she wants to sit by him. As Bella enters, he gives a quick look to her
and Edward as Caius offers a token.
Carlisle watches as the gift for Bella is offered towards his wife. Lightly giving Esme's back a light rub to ensure
it will be alright to accept. "That is very kind of you." he smiles brightly to them wondering what this 'token'
might be.
Bella does well to hide her fear at least outwardly, though the hand hidden from view does cling to Edward and her
heart rate has sped up. Her last memories of this person were not pleasent ones. She at least manages a tentative
smile for the man as she peaks around Edward's shoulder, though there is little feeling to it. Just a little forced,
trying to keep up the facade, "We thought you would appreciate the notice of our impending marriage and such changes
that will bring forth." She manages to get out though her voice is just a touch high. Her gaze follows the gift and
she inclines her head at least in a gesture of Politeness, "Pass along my thanks for such consideration."
Esme takes the box from Theresa with a slight nod, afer her husband's reassurance. "I should hope it's something
Bella would enjoy," she gives, though her tone is gentle, perhaps her words are a hint harsher than she'd intended.
The box is then offered to… Edward. She doesn't give it directly to Bella either. The woman takes very little time
in returning to her husband's side.
Emmett's snort is very nearly Rosalie's undoing. She bites down hard on her lower lip. As if the two are connected
by an invisible thread, she follows him to the chair and settles in on the arm of it, hand slipping around the back
as she watches Caius still, tipping her head. She's never met him before, after all.
Alice places a hand on the curve of Jasper's elbow, the only movement she makes until she hears, then smells Bella
arrive. Her head turns slightly to the side, golden eyes leaving Caius briefly to settle on Bella. She gives the
girl a nod and a brief smile, before turning her attention back to Caius.
"Of course." Caius smiles, watching the elaborately cautious manner in which the gift is passed around with mild
amusment. "It was a trinket we had lying around." He doesn't wait to see if she opens it or not, but instead turns
his attention back to Carlisle. "My friend, the activity in this small town of yours is becoming something of a
concern to us."
Theresa ohs softly while her hands lower, hands clasping one another. "Oh I think she would.. Diamonds are a girls
best friend after all." She says with a rather chipper tone. Its hard to believe someone like her might actually be
in the Volturi guard with how she tends to act. Her gaze turns to Bela and she smiles while nodding. "I shall tell
Aro and Marcus personally when we return. I beleive Aro said it was one of the English crown jewels at some point."
See, it even has a history behind it.
Jasper reaches up and pats Alice's hand softly, ducking his head slightly though his eyes, reguardless of their half
lidded state, remain trained upon Caius's form.
Carlisle just nods his head, "That is what has brought you out here I take it?" he smiles. Surely they wouldn't have
made the trip to just deliver a gift personally to Bella, "Is there something we can help you with?"
The package is taken from Esme almost warily as if expecting it to be something harmful, though the images passed
reveal its true nature he before it is finally passed to Bella who just holds it without opening it at first. When
Theresa explains it, Bella's eyes widen for a moment and she nearly drops the present in shock, before closing her
mouth quickly enough again. Her fingers grip into the wrapping but still she does not open it here. As the talk goes
to more serious things she steps behind Edward once more.
Esme stands quietly, listening. She doesn't move from Carlisle's side. If he moves, she follows him, like a shadow,
but, not a shadow.
"We are uncertain why so many of our kind have chosen to settle here. But with so many vampires in an area with such
a small human population, it becomes necessary to enforce some rules of behavior. Frankly, my friend, we are tired
of reading about your little town." Caius speaks directly to Carlisle, ignoring the younger vampires for the most
part. "We have never before regulated the creation of new vampires in an area, but the number of newborns recently
drawn from the local population demands some control. From now, until such a time as it no longer becomes necessary,
my brothers and I are requiring that any vampire seeking to create another from among the citizens of Forks or the
surrounding area, first secure permission from us, in Volterra." His gaze flicks to Edward and Bella briefly,
"Naturally, we consider Bella's case to be an exception. Consider that request granted." A thin smile.
To Emmett, this is good news. It's a wonder why the Cullens haven't picked up and moved from the area yet, given the
absurd amount of newborns, vampires, and werewolves that are starting to frequent. He leans back in his chair,
relaxing just a hair, hand moving to Rosalie's lower back as she sits on the arm.
Theresa grins as moment as she catches Bella reaction, she expected there to be such a reason like that. Her gaze
turns to Caius while she listions to the conversation, sliping quiet for the moment.
Carlisle nods his head, "We don't encourage such actions either. Actually such has been discouraged before a young
lady was turned." his eyes briefly dart towards Rosalie and back to Caius directly. "Edward will keep good to the
promise made." he says leaving it short and simple.
Rosalie crosses her long legs as she leans into her mate. At Carlisle's words about the attempt to stop such a
change, and his glance to her, she only nods her head. Just once. A nod of acknowledgement to the truth of his
words.
As her name is brought up, Bella looks around the granite pillar that is Edward, his body tensing the more as the
topic briefly turns on his fiance. She gives a little nod to Caius, then to Carlisle's words, but otherwise remains
quiet.
"Excellent. And we have no doubts of your sincerity regarding Bella. Of course, your son is a man of his word."
Caius doesn't shift position or do any of the little movements designed to pantomime being human. He simply doesn't
bother. "But a control on new vampires is not enough. We are also declaring a moritorium on hunting in Forks or the
surrounding area. Any vampire residing here must travel to Port Angeles or Seattle to feed. We want no more 'missing
persons' reports from this town. We will be keeping a presence in Forks, while the vampire population is so high.
But my brothers and I would ask that you help keep the nomads and younger vampires informed of these restrictions.
We will not tolerate accidents or excuses."
Theresa lets her arms rests at her side while she listions still, her gaze drifting off slightly. She heard some of
this conversation eariler on the flight over so isn't at all surprised.
"Why is it our fault if they slip up?" Emmett asks, suddenly piping up instead of sitting in the background. At
least, that's how he took it. It sounded like a threat. "Personally, good riddance to the others. They're making
everything difficult for us here." Of course, he assumes the hunting restrictions don't apply to the Cullens, as
they eat a strictly non-human diet.
"Consider it done." Carlisle tells him, not like his family feeds on the population anyway. Figuring that they would
be sticking around the town, "When we come across any we will be sure they know." isn't like they haven't told a
bunch of them already. As Emmett speaks up he just lightly clears his throat, "Is there anything else we can do for
you?"
Caius's red eyes move to Emmett, as if surprised that the young vampire spoke. On the heels of surprise is
irritation that this mewling pup of a vampire actually -did- speak. Carlisle's smooth interruption brings the
ancient's attention back to the Cullen patriarch. "I wish to impart a warning as well." He says slowly. "We are here
in response to a threat by one of the werewolves in this area. One of them has been filming vampire activity and
threatened my brothers and I with exposure to the human world, unless we granted some concessions. We will deal with
that one presently, but as your coven has had friendly dealings with werewolves, we wanted to warn you about their
true intentions. Any activity or interaction with them must be assumed to have been recorded for purposes of
blackmail."
At the mention of the Werewolves, Bella tenses and almost moves to say something before Edward, just slides a hand
around her. "If you will pardon us…" He says in a low even voice and the pair move quietly from the room.
Rosalie gently pats Emmett's shoulder as he speaks up, as if to calm him down. She grins a bit wickedly, eyes going
his direction for a few seconds before returning to the meeting, as it were.
Theresa glances towards Emmett as he speaks up, listioning and smirking slightly before she shrugs a moment. Her
gaze then drifts to Bella as she catches the reaction from her about the werewolves, well she at least thinks it is
about that.. Interesting.
Carlisle phone begins to buzz upon his side, "Thank you for the warning." Turning away he lifts his phone to check
it, "It's an important call from the hospital." he looks towards Esme then turns facing the pair. "I'm sorry to have
to leave you but I have to take this Caius. All part of staying up with the community. Hope we can talk again
sometime." he smiles politely and looks over at Esme nodding for her to join him. Though before heading towards his
study he casts quick glances towards Rosalie, Alice, and Emmett to be hospitable to their guests.
Carlisle heads into the library.
Carlisle has left.
Esme blinks as the phone rings, but is quick to take her husband's hand and make her way towards the study, offering
a polite smile towards the gathering, a warning look towards her children.
Esme heads into the library.
Esme has left.
Caius gives Carlisle a bemused smile and an indulgent incline of his head as the patriarch and his wife depart the
room. The reactions to his annoucement is indeed interesting. "Of course, this is a matter most dire. Our existance
cannot be revealed to the humans. Samples of the video evidence was sent directly to Volterra, along with demands.
In an ironic twist of fate, that same video is what led us to investigate the destruction of a vampire in this area,
some weeks ago. It may please you to know that the fugitive willingly turned herself in and has been brought to
Volterra. We have reviewed the case and chose to clear her of all charges. She is in Volterra still, in fact. I
expect she may stay awhile." A smirk, as he moves smoothly to his feet. "I thank you for your hospitality, young
ones."
So, they integrated Stasia. Figures. Emmett sits up and doesn't look sad to see Caius making excuses to leave,
though says nothing to try and clear Jacob's pack from the insinuation.
Alice smiles brightly at Caius, giving him a nod of her spiky black head. In her high voice, she says simply,
"You're welcome. Have a safe trip back to Volterra." She offers Caius a slender hand to shake.
As Carlisle and Esme leave, Rosalie sits up a little straighter, paying closer attention to Caius. Finally, she
speaks for the first time. "We understand the importance of the matter at hand, and assure you that we will bear it
in mind. Thank you for coming such a very long way to deliver your message us and the gift for the wedding." Her
legs uncross, and she rises with Caius to escort him out, like a good little hostess. "I do hope you enjoy your time
in the United States. You really should take in the view of the coast on your way back to Seattle. It is quite
lovely."
Theresa watches the ones leave before she looks to Caius and nods slightly while she turns to move towards the door
listening to the ones that are here. "Oh.. that shouldn't be a problem. We plan on seeing a few things while we are
here." Indeed they do.
"Oh how wonderful then, that you should get to see some things." Rosalie answers as she walks them out, getting not
too close to Caius, given the guard. "If a good storm should happen to blow up while you're here, looks us up. We'll
play some baseball. But we cheat, just to warn you."
Caius nods to his Guard, indicating that it's time to leave. "Indeed." He half turns then, looking at Alice. "I
would be remiss if I did not pass along to you, your brother Edward and his betrothed, that Aro's generous offer is
still open." He doesn't expect any of them to accept and neither does he seem disappointed by that. Rosalie's offer,
however, elicits a curious brow lift. "Indeed? While I am certain that the Guard would enjoy a bit of frolics, we
are here on more critical matters. If circumstances permit, however, I will allow it." A hand waves gracefully,
dismissively.
"We don't cheat," Emmett smirks, wrinkling his nose at Rosalie. It would be hard to imagine such an old fart of a
vampire trying to hit a baseball clear across the forest, indeed. He follows a ways behind Rosalie, helping to show
them out so he can shut the door with finality.
Theresa eye light up slightly at the talk of a baseball game and she chuckles. "Perhaps.. That would be fun..
Something I haven't gotten to do for a rather long time actually." This said with an amused tone. She pauses at the
door waiting for Caius to make it to there before she steps outside. "It was a lovely meeting.. Do take care." This
said while she slips outside.
"And since we have enjoyed your hospitality, you -must- allow us to return the gesture." Caius pauses at the door,
facing the younger vampires once more. "In a short time, there will be a celebration in Volterra, marking the
anniversary of the formation of our coven. Surely, your family will attend. We would be most disappointed if you did
not. As the date draws nigh, we will send word."
"We look forward to hearing word. We will, of course, try our best, I am sure. However, we do have two other up and
coming nuptials besides those of Bella and Edward. We will have to see the date, of course. Just send us a 'save the
date' card, and we'll be sure to RSVP and let you know." Rosalie smiles faintly, waiting at the door.
"I would expect nothing less of true and dear friends." Caius purrs. Of course there is an underlying message there.
"Enjoy your evening, young ones." In that oddly graceful, flowing steps of the ancients, Caius departs.
