Welcome To Volterra

IC Time: Late afternoon, May 31.
Location: Conference room, Volterra castle.
Synopsis: Stacy is introduced to Caius and Marcus.
Submitted by: Caius


The guest is shown into the castle and to the conference room, where the Brothers occasionally meet with their
guests. Two of the Three are present for this meeting. Caius sits at the table, his long white fingers steepled
before him. His hair, nearly indistinguishable from his skin, falls over the black cloak on his shoulders. For his
part, Marcus sits to Caius's right, his expression disinterested. Both pairs of filmy red eyes turn to the door as
Anastasia is escorted inside by two polite vampires in grey cloaks.

Anastasia has followed the two grey-clad figures into the winding trek that is Volturi Castle for a long time now,
unable to help looking around like a tourist. Which is, technically, what she is, heartbeat or no. The final
destination of the party is as impressive as the entryway, as are those present, and the girl's rose-hued eyes are
hard-pressed to remain upon the central figures in the midst of this visual feast.

As she is brought forward, she politely clasps her hands behind her back and bows her head, deciding that not
speaking until she is addressed might be the most polite thing she could do right now.

Caius smiles faintly, beckoning the young vampire forward. "Ah, welcome to Volterra, young one." He greets in his
smooth, yet somehow menacing whisper. The ancients are certainly impressive in their own right, looking as different
from younger vampires, as vampires look different than humans. "You will forgive us, of course, but our brother has
pressing business in Rome at the moment. We expect his return in a few hours. Please, be seated."
Marcus says nothing, his expression unchanged.

Stacy smiles quietly, lifting her head as the apparent eldest of the central figures addresses her. "Thank you," she
replies, softly, quickly followed by a nod and an equally soft, "Of course," as the absence of… /someone/… is
explained, and she is bidden to sit. Which she does, crossing her legs demurely and resting her palms upon her upper
knee.

Caius leans back in his chair, taking a moment to observe the young vampire before speaking further. "Perhaps we
should begin with why you have come to Volterra. Naturally, we have welcomed visitors in the past, even those that
choose to stay for extended periods. However, it would be best to understand your intentions and reasons for coming
to our little corner of the globe."

The long pause isn't lost on Stacy. Her expression doesn't change, save for a slight lessening of her smile. "I was
invited by two friends, who were themselves invited," she begins. "I've never seen Volterra, and have heard very
little of it. It's importance in the history of our kind cannot be overrated, according to what little I /have/
heard, and I wished to see the place for myself at least once."

"So your intention is to learn of our history, as a race? Well, you would not be the first to do so." Caius inclines
his head. "We were, of course, aware of you for awhile now. Both as your involvement with the now-defunct Krinov
coven, and due to your… interaction with one of our Guard. Perhaps we should discuss Kiri now."

Stacy's smile vanishes, her eyes widening. "Kiri… please tell me she is all right," she says, worriedly. "I've not
seen her in months. I had hoped she'd merely returned home."

The black-haired, sullen ancient shifts position slightly. The motion is nearly indiscernable, but clearly it has
some meaning for Caius. After three thousand years together, even the smallest nuance between the three can be
interpreted.

"We have no news on Kiri," Caius replies, somewhat reluctantly. "We believe she has been destroyed." A pause, "I
want you to tell me about your 'gift'. Your ability to hypnotize."

Stacy's eyes remain wide, and she hesitates a moment. "I… don't know how much I can tell you… I've never tested
it very much," she begins. "I have to sing when I do it, and I know that I have to sing for several minutes for it
to be effective. Once it's in effect, I can give someone commands with it, be they person, animal, or vampire. I've
never tried it on wild animals, so I don't know if they could obey commands through it, but a trained dog did once."

"You can give someone commands…" Caius echoes. "Can you command them to recall something that someone else
erased?" The ancient vampire leans forward, interested. His brother, by contrast, continues to watch the interaction
dispassionately.

"I don't know… I've never tried it," Stacy replies, uncertainly, her eyes no longer wide, but still cautious and a
bit intimidated. "I've told someone to forget things before, but I don't know if it worked… I never saw her again.
If it's some kind of hypnosis, maybe it could… I don't know how to do proper hypnotism, though. I've barely
managed my gift."

"Well, perhaps we can help you with that." Caius smiles, his voice smoothing. "We do, after all, have a few millenia
of experience in helping young vampires develop their gifts. We have a situation, you see, that we believe is
involved with your friend's disappearance. Our enemies know our strengths and have prepared for it, undoubtedly. But
you, my dear, may be able to approach the situation from a different angle. Assist us in this matter and we can
reward you greatly."

"If there's a chance that Kiri can be saved, I'll take it," Stacy replies. "Who do you believe is responsible? I
might know of them."

"We do not have a definitive answer, at this point." Caius must admit. "We are hoping that the information locked
away, inaccessible, might be able to shed some light on that. Many are jealous of us and seek to do us harm." A
pause, "Tell me, young one, do you understand what it is we do?"

"I've never known very much about the Volturi," Stacy replies, softly. "Someone I know once described you as
lawmakers and rulers of our kind, only in less, well, flattering terms. I know the some of the laws, to a point, but
not all."

"We are the oldest living vampires in the world," Caius notes, with a bit of pride. He knows that's not /quite/
true, but simply doesn't acknowledge those pesky, trivial little details that cower in Romania. "We have only one
true law, that is to uphold the secrecy of our existance. That law has many facets, but the underlying purpose is
always to protect the vampire race. To that end, we choose the best and brightest among vampire-kind and invite them
to join us. It is a heavy responsibility. Not every vampire is able or willing to help shoulder that burden."

Stacy's eyes widen again. "I see… and I begin to understand why people would be jealous, and why they and others
would follow the law. Yours sounds like quite a large clan."

"It is a large coven, a large family. We do not always see eye-to-eye on everything, but we are all united in the
common purpose. We are also called upon for other matters, to resolve disputes between covens, to hear complaints
and render a fair and impartial judgement, to seek out new lore or knowledges of our kind. My brother, Aro, in
particular, is quite the historian." Caius leans back in his chair again. "But this is not to say that the position
is not without rewards. My brothers and I see to the comforts of our family, provide for their needs, help them to
actualize their potiential. The importance of what we do cannot be minimized, however. We demand much, but we offer
much in return."

"It all sounds wonderful and noble," Stacy replies, thoughtfully. "If I can help you, especially if it might save
Kiri, I'll do my best."

Caius nods, "Excellent." The ancient smiles. His more reticent brother remains expressionless, bored even. "We will
set up accommodations for you inside the castle, if you wish. We cannot allow you complete access, you understand,
at least not yet. But we can make our common areas and recreation room available to you. Of course, there is a
moritorium on hunting the villagers in Volterra. However, larger cities are not so far away. We also
do…catering… for lack of a better word. Some of our valued and trusted Guard members are given the
responsibility of providing sustanence for such a large number of vampires, as well as disposing of the evidence
thereafter. Heidi and her team are quite skilled at this."

Stacy starts to smile, but her smile fades at the mention of sustenance for a large population. "Probably very
fortunately for all concerned. I think I'll just hunt in the closer cities, though," she says, a bit apprehensively.

"As you will," Caius says magnaminously. "So long as the village of Volterra is left in peace, we have no quarrel if
you choose to feed elsewhere." He noticed the hesitation of course, filing that away for later. And neither is his
statement /quite/ true. Just try being a vegetarian Volturi and see how long that lasts. "While you are in the
castle, we will assign you an escort. Please forgive our caution, but with Kiri missing, we can ill afford to take
chances. But you will be treated with every courtesy and it will give you the opportunity to meet some of our
Guard."

"I prefer my freedom, but I understand and accept your caution," Stacy replies, quietly. "And I welcome the
opportunity to meet more of your family. Thank you."

Caius beckons to the grey cloaked figures near the door, apparently giving the order to carry out his wishes. "If
you have no questions, then I will let Corin show you to your accommodations. Do let us know if there is anything
you need. My brothers and I will speak to you shortly, about the other matter." He smiles. Undoubtedly, Aro won't
like the implication that if *his* powers don't work, someone else's might. But Caius is, ultimately, a realist.

"Thank you once more. I'll think on what you've said, and on my own abilities, and hope I remember something I may
have forgotten," Stacy replies, bowing her head from the shoulders as she rises to follow Corin.

Caius affects to turn his attention to a few papers on the table in front of him, but instead observes the young
vampire's departure. Once she is gone, the two ancients share a significant glance, but say nothing.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License