IC Time: Saturday, November 23rd 2007
Location: At the beach in Port Angeles
Synopsis: When Stasia disappears for some alone time she is visited by an unsuspecting member of the Volturi Guard
Submitted by: Gregori
The Pacific ocean in late fall is cold, save for the warmer water of the current, heading south. It's difficult to
track vampires, once they take to water, but not impossible. Some miles out to sea, a pod of orca whales move on
their annual migration and it is here that the young vampire can be found. She gently grips the dorsal fin of one of
the striking animals, letting it pull her along. Most of her clothing has been left somewhere on shore, purely for
practicality reasons. She does retain enough to keep a modicum of decency however. Stasia is quietly passive on this
ride, only retaining a fragment of her awareness in her own body. The rest is split between the animals of the pod,
allowing her to feel the strength of the creatures, the sense of family among the pod. When brought to the surface,
she takes an unnecessary breath, completely timed with that of the whale that pulls her.
It's a soothing environment for them, the mortals, to listen to the salted water slap the sands in an abrupt
greeting before pulling away without so much of a kind greeting. Further into the waters would be Stasia's own place
of calming that he had witnessed since tracking her hurried movements to this place. Grey sand coated his boots as
Gregori stood at the furthest reach of the shore just short of the waterline actually making contact with him. He
stared for some time as a voyeur would and only to break away from gazing out towards the waters and to the clothing
she left behind. Still he barely moved a muscle from this spot as the decision was weighed again to join or not to
join. Both arms crossed about his chest that confirmed his choice. Gregori remained on the shore while keeping his
eyes out to the water.
Oblivious to the presence of the other vampire, Stasia is content to spend the rest of the night with the whales,
burying her own anguish by indulging her talent. It is a defense mechanism she has employed often enough in the past
and she accepts the comfort of the intelligent and powerful wolves of the sea. It is nearly dawn when she returns to
the shore. The faint lightening of the sky is only perceptible to vampire eyes. The diminuative young one surfaces
when she can touch bottom and walks toward the beach. Of course, she spots another of her ilk almost immediately.
"Gregori?" She queries. The two may have met in Volterra, but she is surprised to see him here. "I didn't know you
were in Port Angeles." Out of habit, she reverts to Italian, which is commonly spoken in their coven's homeland. In
a show of modesty, however, she stays in the water up to her shoulders.
To any observer they would have noticed Gregori remaining just as he was until some unspoken command forced him to
resume moving again. Since Stasia's return to the shore the vampire eased out of defensive stance and slipped both
hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "It was suggested I have a change of scenery for a while." The scruffy
ting of Russian could never leave his voice. His English was made rugged, rough and deep even though he spoke at a
low tone. His dark eyes remained focused solely upon her features without betraying to have a glance elsewhere. "My
post is here now until told otherwise." Gregori then moved the few steps needed to retrieve her garments. Once in
his hand the vampire extended them out in offering as the gentleman in him averted his gaze.
The woman hesitates a moment, then leaves the security of the ocean to retrieve her clothing. She wasn't completely
unclothed, but for her, it was close enough. She doesn't say anything until she is dressed once more. "Welcome to
Port Angeles," she remarks dryly, raking her fingers through her wet hair. The anguish and humilation from a few
hours ago is still quite present, but she does her best to keep it from touching her voice or her features. And for
a young vampire, she's good at it. But not perfect.
Once she speaks Gregori's gaze returns to Stasia and briefly nods from the welcoming. She is dressed and he doesn't
take the opportunity see how fabric and a wet body respond to one another. With dawn a few short hours away the
vampire briefly jerks his head in a suggestive notice to 'come' or walk with him without issuing a command. Even
when he is supposed to be relaxed his brows always appear too wrinkled as if muddled with anger thoughts. Gregori
features were always expressed in this way even if someone had managed to see him smile. "I have been informed of
some disturbance with the order of things. Much attention has been brought here to Port Angeles though not everyone
was required to relocate."
There is another hesitation, some latent instinct struggling against coming to heel. But it is momentary and Stasia
does follow the much bigger vampire. "The attacks.." she pauses, "The investigation continues. Afton is taking
point. There was a strong scent of wolves. Felix and Heidi have been killed." she pauses, "I heard it was Santiago
and Alec that perished during the hit on Volterra."
Gregori eyes the sands before them as it is a slow walk away from the earth slapping waters. As she speaks he
listens dutifully until her words had ceased to verify the suspicion. "Yes. Santiago and Alec are no more. The
floodgates have been opened and there is no telling what doors they will strike next. Our friends are.." The next
word seems foreign on his tongue. "..agitated in Volterra and there have been talks of former enemies temporarily
setting their grievances aside for this cause alone. Some are very eager at this opportunity. Others do not wish to
involve themselves."
Stasia winces at the confirmation. Alec's power was considerable and losing him was a huge blow to the coven. "I
doubt there will be much support here." she says slowly. "The largest coven here is very close to the wolves. The
rest might refuse in the hopes that this weakens us. We do not have many friends here."
His head turns to Stasia briefly at the delivery of his words. "That is all the more reason for us to remain
dedicated to our cause and let nothing allow us to deviate from that path." By now they would have reached grassy
greeting of actual land and not fragile earth. "What coven is this and do you know what is the benefit they have
that alliance?"
Stasia flicks her gaze sidelong at Gregrori, figuring that his comment about dedication and focus is pointed. Easy
for him to say! But business is much easier to talk about and she did promise she would stay long enough to see this
through… with no guarantees of anything afterwards. "The Olympic Coven, otherwise known as the Cullen family."
Every Volturi knows who they are. The powerful family of vampires that eschews feeding from humans to embrace a so-
called "vegetarian" lifestyle as a higher moral calling. And Aro would give his right arm to bring some of them into
the Volturi, but as of yet, his offers have been rebuffed. "As to gains, it is a relationship of mutual protection,
it would seem. They are very close to the wolf-shifters of the indigineous people here. I expect they would be
sympathetic to the Children of the Moon as well."
Gregori responds, "It is possible. Has the likelyhood surfaced of the Cullen coven having a hand in these attacks?
Should the dogs prove successful in extinguishing our coven their organization would be placed at the top?" He
pauses for a moment to add in more of his thoughts. "Even noble intentions reach for power."
Stasia cants her head to the side. "It's possible," she allows. "Their self-righteous drivel is nothing but a farce.
They are just as capable of betrayal and treachery as any other vampire." Her lips pull back from her teeth briefly
in a silent snarl. Yeah, the Cullens aren't exactly topping her popularity list right now.
"It is a possibly that will need to explored. As it is known should the war erupt in full force tomorrow our kin
will fall. I will take tomorrow in seeing how this investigation may be proposed. It may prove to tip the bowel in
our favor." Gregori steps onto the pavement as the night air remains hushed before the pre-dawn hours. Behind them,
the waves of the ocean continued in muted echoes. "I am in need of a place of residency. Somewhere far from Forks
and out of the boundaries of troubled areas. I am open to suggestion Stasia." The topic matter was changed quite
abruptly after catching a glimpse of Stasia's distaste at the subject.
Stasia shrugs, "Most of us are staying at the hotel," she says. "The second and sixteenth floors are cleared for
us." There is a pause, "But I cannot go there right now." At least not until a certain someone has departed for
Volterra.
He doesn't probe her for the reason why. Instead Gregori offers, "We will find a motel for the evening. I had no
intention of residing at the hotel with the rest of the coven. I would prefer to have a dwelling elsewhere." He
states while choosing the street that leads them in another direction away from the hotel. "Come." Gregori says as
he eyes the east. "I could use your assistance in organizing some ideas to see if my suspicions are correct."
Stasia glances up at the other vampire, almost suspiciously, then nods. "All right." she says slowly. In fact, she
might be a bit relieved. She doesn't have to be alone right now, but also doesn't have to face the rest of the
coven. It's a good compromise. "I think there's something down this road. Do you have any American money?" She
fishes in the pocket of her duster jacket, finding a cellphone (no charge left) and a handful of twenties.
Gregori nods along with answering, "Yes. Some money." Though he does not pull out the currency for proof, he does
follow her gaze onto the road which will hopefully turn up with some temporary residency."Enough for a few nights if
it is necessary. I will need to have my funds transferred and exchanged within the next few days as I will not be
returning to Volterra for quite some time."
And sure enough, there is a decent hotel to be found. Nothing that equals the glory of the Olympic Towers, but it
beats the Motel 6. It's got a hot shower, which does wonders to remove the scent of saltwater and cetaceans from
Stasia's person. The young vampire makes small talk, goes into more detail about what they know in Port Angeles and
speculates on possibilties. She does confide that some months ago (shortly after she was recruited from the Volturi,
in fact), her mortal relatives here were murdered by werewolves, or so the subsequent investigation revealed.
Naturally, Stasia herself was obliged to stay in Volterra, being too close to the situation. But she does wonder if
these were the same wolves… and is personally driven to find out for sure.
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