IC Time: June 21st, 2007 - afternoon-ish
Location: Forks - Cullen Household: Living Room
Synopsis: Ramona and Esme chat. Despite her best efforts, Ramona can't seem to irritate Esme.
Submitted by: Ramona
Walking seems to be Ramona's thing lately. Clad in a beige detective-like coat that falls to her knees and brown leather flats, she crunches up the driveway and eyes the Cullen house, sliding her hands into her pockets. She takes a round mirror from her pocket and re-applies a bronze shade of lip gloss before proceeding to the porch taking the steps in one easy leap, her hand bracing the banister. No doubt any inhabitants probably heard her feet on the porch, but she knocks anyway, a common courtesy for a coven that seems to appreciate such things.
Esme most certainly did hear the other vampire’s feet on the porch, though she waits until Ramona knocks before opening the door. Once the large door is swung open she offers an upraised brow out of curiosity, and a smile out of pleasantries. "Hello," is given as a greeting as she tilts her head to the side, faintly. The woman steps out of the way as well, allowing the other vampiress to step into the house should she choose to.
"Hello, Mrs. Cullen." Ramona flashes her pearly white, apparently on her best behavior. Though, she'd never had a bad encounter with Esme before; only Edward and Emmett. Given the tacit opportunity to step inside, she pauses, a brow quirking in surprise before she accepts the offer, stepping just inside the door and glancing quickly around the spotless, bright house before focusing on the other vampiress once more. "I was hoping to speak to Bella; is she around, please?"
Esme quietly shuts the door behind Ramona. "I'm afraid Bella's out at the moment, actually. Probably hunting," she answers in a cheery voice. "Is there anything I can help you with? Or I could pass on a message to her, if you want," the woman offers, ever the pleasant individual, it seems.
"Oh, I see. Well —" Ramona glances toward the door and debates just politely leaving, thanking the older vampire for the help and heading off. That would probably be the wise thing to do. Instead, her brows raise a bit, an idea springing to mind. Unnecessarily, she clears her throat: "Actually, yes." A tentative smile breaks out on her shiny, bronze lips. "I was told by another of our kind in Port Angeles that there was something against the creation of newborns; yet I also heard through the grapevine that Bella herself was changed. I don't mean to check up on Edward, of course, but how does one secure that permission?"
Esme quirks a brow, again, at Ramona's inquiry. "You are correct. The Volturi have set out certain rules and regulations, which do not permit the turning of humans, at least not without their permission," she states, crinkling her nose faintly as she speaks. The woman shrugs, however, and sits herself upon a large, white chair that takes up space in the living room. "They, however, had already decided that it would be necessary to turn Bella, due to her knowledge of us," the explanation, of course, seems simple enough to her.
"Oh." Ramona mulls this over, following Esme into the living room, though her steps are stiff and she does not take a seat like the hostess does; instead, she stands, one hip jutted to the side in a sassy manner and her arms folded on her chest. "That seems reasonable." She pauses, clearly wanting to say something else but trying to work out how she should say it. "So, how has it all worked out with Bella's family and all?" Ramona asks next, friendly enough, hooking a thumb through the belt loop on her coat. "Because I got the idea that at least one of her family members is kind of suspicious."
Esme offers a faint 'hmm'. "That is a good question. For the time being, Bella and Edward are, to human society, on their honeymoon. The circumstances behind her turning were rather unexpected, it forced our hands a little sooner than we would have liked, and well before we had everything in place, especially in regards to her father," her voice is calm and serene, as it always seems to be. "It will work out," of this, she is certain.
Ramona nods. "Unexpected? How so?" She can't resist: "Did Edward finally let his guard down?" She would have liked to see that — Ramona's lips curl at the edges before she swiftly moves on, not wanting to become a hostile house guest and get kicked out. "I think it will, yes. It's good to know the Volturi are lenient on who might be changed. I guess it will make things with Spencer easier," she says, her tone lilting up happily. She leans against the wall, her hands still crossed across her chest, fingers on her right hand tapping her arm.
Esme shrugs. "She wrapped her truck around a tree… or something like that. It wouldn't have been possible to save her in any other fashion than to turn her," is offered. "And, no, Edward never let his guard down around her when she was human. He's very good at that, takes after Carlisle," and she pauses, turning her head. "Spencer? As in Swan? Bella's cousin? What is with those Swan kids and the mythological creatures of the world."
"Hmm. That's convenient. Maybe she did it on purpose," Ramona offers gleefully, her hands up wrapping from her chest, one sliding to the place above her on the wall to support her body weight. "Anyway, I'm glad to hear she's joined the ranks of our kind. Now, Edward doesn't have to corner me in the middle of the street and threaten me to not go near his precious human. That was rather rude…" She pauses, a grin spreading across her face. "That's the one. I don't know; it's Edward's fault. He's a smart kid and he figured stuff out," she lies.
Esme chuckles and shakes her head. "No, I doubt Bella would have intentionally wrapped her returned from the dead truck around a tree," she notes, referring to that beat up, old red chevy that she drove around until something happened to it. "And expect that Edward will still be warning people off of the humans, he's fond of protecting some of them, it seems," but then, which Cullen isn't fond of playing 'protect the human' on a regular basis. "How, may I ask, is it Edward's fault that Spencer Swan found out about you?"
Ramona shrugs, letting her hands swing free, leaning away from the wall. "You know her better than me, I'll take your word for it," she responds smoothly, laughing just a bit as if to make her earlier jab at Bella just a joke. "Luckily, Edward won't have to anymore because of the Volturi," she points out on a more serious note. "Those rules were outrageous, weren't they?" Ramona paces, "It might be nice to have leaders that actually saw the value in expanding the power of our kind instead of forcing us to conform to human standards and wait in the shadows…" Her eyes grow darker for a moment, and then she eases back into a more relaxed stance. "He didn't find out about me just yet, though I think he knows something's up. But when he sees Bella again, there's no doubt he's going to start putting pieces together. Anyway, as you said, it all works out. The Volturi seem to like you guys, so if I say it was Edward's fault, maybe they will be more likely to let me change him."
Esme nods a little. "I can't say as I blame them. The disappearances from Forks, at the very least, have been getting to be a bit much. For a small town such as this, the number of vampires is a bit out of hand, to add more and more newborns to that is getting a little excessive," she gives, for once agreeing with the vampire royalty. "As for Spencer, he didn't see Bella very much when she was human, I think we can chalk some of it up to a make-over, perhaps to some strange illness she contracted while on her honeymoon that left her looking like she does. Coming from Carlisle, few will even attempt to argue that."
Ramona expected Esme's response to lean more toward agreement with the Volturi, considering her eye color. She comments no more on it; it's not as if either of them can do anything about it anyway. She whistles low between her teeth, "Wow. That would be some makeover, you know. And an illness? That make her look better?" A brow arches. "It seems a little far-fetched to me, but you're right, it will probably fool the humans. They seem intent to deny our existence." She nods her head as if to confirm this. "Will you be attending that party in Volterra?"
Esme offers that bright smile of hers as she nods. "It would be quite the illness, and makeover, but, who's going to argue with Dr. Cullen, probably no one in this community," is stated with a light chuckle. "And it's easier for them to take that then Bella's not human anymore," the woman offers. "The party? Yes, of course. Carlisle would like to go to Italy, as would I, so we'll make a little trip of it. He wants to see his old friends, as well."
"No human, at least," Ramona points out with a brow raise for emphasis. "How /is/ Bella taking immortality, anyway? Did you take her out for a snack in Seattle? I know your coven leads a different lifestyle, but surely you wouldn't deny a poor newborn her God-given rights." The reference to god is more of a saying than an actual thought out comment — it's doubtful Ramona believes in a greater being at all. She pauses to wait for a response and then gives her own two cents about Italy, leaning against the wall once more. "We're going as well."
Esme nods. "Precisely," is her simple response. "And no, Bella has not, as of yet, made a meal of a human. She's done quite well on our diet, and I suspect she'd like to keep it that way," the woman offers with a joyful smile. "She has our full support, however, and if she would choose to make snacks of humans, well…" a shrug is given with this. "I suppose Carlisle and I will see you there, than. It sounds like it's going to be quite an event."
Ramona responds to Esme's joyful smile with an indifferent frown. "I ate a deer once," she comments suddenly. "It wasn't very satisfying; I don't know how you people do it. Ahh, poor Bella. But, while in Rome…" The blonde vampire raises her eyebrows and then lets the conversation thread fade. "I guess so." She wrinkles her nose. "It sounds like a bunch of old fogeys in robes a size too big, if you ask me. I'm just going to bring my human to be changed.
Esme nods. "No, I expect it wouldn't be to someone that's used to eating a human. I suppose it can be comparable to human vegetarians. Tofu, I think is the name, does not seem to appeal to people quite as much as real meat does," she answers with a slight nod. "Animals are not as entirely appealing as humans are, but they do satiate the thirst, at least somewhat," is explained with her simple smile. "I'm sure we'll see very little of the Volturi themselves, their guards, on the other hand, will likely be out in force, with so many vampires in their little city."
The other vampire's serene responses have frustrated Ramona a tick; she continues to frown, fidgeting with the belt of her coat while she listens to Esme. "Somewhat isn't good enough for me. I lack your coven's control and grace, I suppose," she retorts quietly, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Hmm. Well, that sounds like a ball," she adds, in the same tone, rolling her eyes before she straightens and feigns a smile again. "Anyway, I won't wear out my welcome, Mrs. Cullen. If you see Bella, you can tell her I dropped by… or not. Whatever." She turns to go.
Esme has a habit of annoying people with her all too serene manner. "We've had a lot of time to practice, my dear. It's our choice in lifestyle, others may choose differently, we certainly won't look down on it," is offered as she gets to her feet to walk Ramona to the door. "It was nice of you to stop in, I'll be sure to let Bella know you stopped in when she and Edward come back. And I expect I'll see you in Volterra," she gives, her tone still bright and chipper, how infuriating is that?
My dear? Was she serious? Ramona gives Esme a long, baffled stare over her shoulder before she turns again to leave. "Yep, whatever," she mutters. It was exhausting — she could keep up the nicey-nice facade for a little bit, but matching Esme's level of chipper was too much. She stalks out, taking the top stair of the porch straight to the ground in a long stride and then delivering a kick to a rock in the driveway, which careens toward the woods. "Who died and made her Mother Theresa?"
