[open]

[ofinspiration]

Would someone like to tell me why my friend and I found ourselves with surprise tattoos? I'm fairly certain they weren't there before we returned to Liminal Space - mine would have been... noticable.

Second question: how do I get rid of it? They're pretty, I'll give you that, and points for appropriate symbolism on her, at least... but I do have an aesthetic to maintain.

Comments

Perma-action

[howexciting]

[Leonardo spots Thorne and promptly comes over, but... pauses, partway through, as if he realizes that something is a little strange, off. Regardless, when he stops a few feet from her, the artist bows his head to her, politely.]

Sì, madonna. It is an honor to finally meet you. I assume this is your true form?

Re: Perma-action

[thornsofmalkav]

[She grins, despite his trepidation. The 'madonna' thing had confused Charoite in the jaunt, but now she knows he's just being polite in an Italian-y way at her.] Yeah, it is.

[It's way too tempting to make a joke about how he hasn't even SEEN her true form... but it would be a lie.]

[howexciting]

It was hard to tell who was who in that Jaunt, sometimes. I recognize voices, but not everyone still has the same voice... and, well, I...

[He leans in a little closer, nervously, looking around for signs of anyone listening in.]

... I did not expect you to be a, ehm... a vampire.

[thornsofmalkav]

[Her eyes go wide. This was not-- how did he-- but maybe she could work with this?]

We need to go somewhere private. Now

[howexciting]

... sì, ma certo. Just give me one...

[He makes a door, right there, on the wall beside them, opening it for her and motioning with his arm.]

After you.

[thornsofmalkav]

[She steps through and waits for him to close the door after them.]

[howexciting]

[And he quickly does, after a cursory glance outside to make sure no one is obviously watching them skulk away.

The room inside is something akin to a small courtyard at dusk, walled in with stone, attached to a building on one side. The cobbles are clean, as if they were swept just recently, and there is a cart of flower petals indicating they were put there to be carried away later.]

You need not worry about the sun, by the way. The sunlight I create, while warm and bright, and believable, is still an illusion within the confines of the workshop... even the singing birds and bustle outside the windows are quite fake, but, it makes it feel a little more like a safe place, so I... keep up appearances, as it were.

[thornsofmalkav]

[Selene flies over to the cart and settles down on it.]

Thanks. I'd been staying away from the windows... but that's good to know. I might go out, then. I kind of miss that stuff sometimes.

[She frowns, because she's not sure how to start this conversation.]

Look, [she says finally.] I have no fucking clue how you knew I'm a vampire but-- we have rules for this shit. Rules about not letting people find out we're real. Like, I should probably kill you for knowing.

I'm not gonna! [she adds hurriedly] I promise. You're Leonardo da fucking Vinci and killing you would be a waste of, like, a really smart and creative guy! And also you're way younger than that famous picture of you, so you obviously have to go back to your time eventually. But, you need to know this is serious?

I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS WORD VOMIT

[howexciting]

... it is something I picked up during my very first Jaunt. I traveled to a great mage's home, and was given access to his library. In it I found an entire compendium of creatures, both supernatural and mundane. I... well, I am a very quick study. Reading that book seemed to have made me rather an expert on the supernatural. "Vampire" was one of the stranger entries, now that I remember it... a lot of contradictory statements, obviously incorrect conclusions based on only a smattering of data, and the like... though the entry on the Kraken left much to be desired until we actually faced one, so it is not always perfect.

[Leonardo does kind of panic, at first, at the words "I should probably kill you" - for a myriad of reasons. One of which is not wanting to be the one to inform Joscelin who killed him, but... thankfully, his worries are resolved instantly. He lets out a soft sigh of and a gentle, relieved smile, though he could always do without the adoration he feels he doesn't rightly deserve.]

Yes, I am told that most are more familiar with my later works, The Last Supper, which I complete ten years from now, and the Mona Lisa... I really should figure out what the Mona Lisa is one of these days...

... at any rate, yes, I understand that in your world, it is something that must be kept secret. I will keep that secret here for you, on my honor. But... knowing the Trumps and their fondness for toying with us, it may come out sooner than you would like. I would urge caution in this case, and leave it to your discretion, being that... well, being that you are the one who will have to live with the consequences.

DO NOT BE SORRY AT ALL

[thornsofmalkav]

[Thorne breathes out a sigh of relief.] Okay. Good. I appreciate it, dude. [And she does. She'd totally kill him if she had to, but she doesn't particularly want to. And... honestly, part of her is glad to not be crossing the murder bridge just yet. Because yeah, sure, eventually she's gonna have to for some reason or another and she's pretty much okay with that inevitability--hell, that dark corner in her she recognizes is probably her Beast is even looking forward to it--but just because it's inevitable doesn't mean it has to be now.]

Also, the Mona Lisa's okay but honestly, I think your inventions are cooler.

[howexciting]

... "dude"? Er-- never mind. As I said, your secret will be safe from my lips. But please regard my advice. Do not dismiss it until it is too late to do anything about it.

I would not know, I have never seen it. My inventions, you say? Which ones do you mean?

[Please not the war machines, no whammies, no whammies, no whammies!]

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh, stuff like your ornithopiter and the self-propelled cart and the airscrew! Oh, man, and your parachute. Some guy, like, finally built one based on your sketches, like, fifteen years ago and he said it worked better than modern parachutes.

[The war machines are okay, but they're just guns and stuff. Giant crossbows and stuff. You know.]

[howexciting]

[OH THANK GOD. Thorne can visibly see him relax his shoulders as all the tension vanishes from his body.]

Grazie. I am honored that they are still revered after such a long time. I only meant to further the cause of science, and I seem to have done that. I can rest a little easier now.

[He's assuming the guy who built the parachute was a modern-day Assassin, okay, he made those for the Assassins anyway.]

[thornsofmalkav]

You totally furthered science, dude. You'd probably have furthered it even more if anybody ever paid you enough to make the shit you drew plans for, like, half the time, but you furthered it enough anyway.

[SHE WOULD HAVE NO CLUE IF THAT WAS THE CASE. I mean, shit, in her world the Assassins are basically the Assamites.]

[howexciting]

Well, that is... a different matter entirely, yes. My time with Cesare Borgia was not... entirely pleasant. I was paid well for some side projects from... another investor, shall we say, so it turned out pleasantly in the end. [And he'll shift a little uncomfortably. Not cryptic at all. Totally not hiding anything, nope.]

Was that all you needed from me, Charoite? Er, is your name truly Charoite, or is it something else?

... and what does "dude" mean? You keep using it.

[thornsofmalkav]

It's not truly Charoite, sorry. I've been calling myself 'Thorne' for the last couple years. With an 'E' at the end, like Caine.

[... why do you keep explaining it that way? Nobody's gonna get the reference, Thorne. Oh right. Malkavian. Sigh.]

'Dude' is, uh, a thing we say in my time. Like, it's a way of addressing someone? You could say, 'Dude, where's my car?' like someone from an earlier time period might say, 'Sirrah, where is my horse?' But it's also a way of indicating someone, like, 'Look at that dude over there' or 'This dude is awesome.'