Cassies Palace 15

[15:40]	<[GM]Mary>	One bath later...
[15:43]	<[GM]Mary>	Cassie puts on some fresh clothes, looking sharp, and sets out to find her beloved little sister. Enrica, Valea, and Isabel head off to other parts of the mansion. Victoria's location is unknown, and Krupskaya goes without saying.
[15:45]	* Tabitha	continues to sit in the game room, despite all her talk of important cleaning. Her mind has become quite muddled.
[15:46]	* Cassandra	thinks about Tabitha, trying to determine her exact location by psychically pinging her... She's still the game room? ah, jeez...
[15:48]	* Cassandra	huffs, and sets her jacket. Minutes later, she enters the game room.
[15:48]	<Cassandra>	...Tabitha?
[15:49]	* Tabitha	has since taken down that smudgy glass and is staring at it intently. She pays little mind to the newcomer, or as least she doesn't respond right away.
[15:49]	* Cassandra	. o ( Please don't do that, Tabitha... I don't want you to be like me... )
[15:50]	* Cassandra	steps closer, using a pool table to steady herself.
[15:51]	* Tabitha	's thoughts are murky and unclear, both to herself and to any mind readers that might so happen to be listening, for whatever reason.
[15:51]	<Tabitha>	(...want...need...both are...but if...)
[15:51]	<Cassandra>	Tabitha.
[15:52]	* Tabitha	(Why did Mother...)
[15:52]	* Tabitha	stops her random thoughts, but still doesn't turn around.
[15:52]	<Tabitha>	"Yes?"
[15:53]	* Tabitha	voice is more emotionless than it is actually "cold".
[15:54]	* Cassandra	takes a seat on a stool, wishing she had something to drink...
[15:55]	* Tabitha	comprehends her sister's presence. Considering it took that long, she must really be out of it.
[15:55]	<Tabitha>	"Oh. Cassandra."
[15:55]	<Cassandra>	Alright, I'm all yours. What do you want to know about Father?
[15:56]	* Cassandra	asks, more out of habit than necessity
[15:56]	<Tabitha>	"I have told you this before. I need to know which woman he truly loved. Your mother...mine...another...none...all..."
[15:56]	* Cassandra	sighs.
[15:57]	<Tabitha>	"And I believe we have agreed that neither of us know this."
[16:01]	<Cassandra>	I have my own opinions and beliefs on the issue, but I'm sorry to tell you that I can't give you any certainty. I believe he did love us, and I believe he loved you and your mother. But... I can only measure love by comparing it to what little I know of it myself.
[16:02]	* Cassandra	turns toward the bar, looking distant.
[16:03]	<Tabitha>	"I do not wish for opinions. I wish for facts."
[16:03]	<Tabitha>	"You may believe one thing. I another. Our mothers another still. Are these truths?"
[16:03]	<Cassandra>	Truth is relative.
[16:04]	* Tabitha	finally looks to her sister. Her grey eyes are as solid as stone.
[16:04]	<Tabitha>	"No."
[16:04]	<Tabitha>	"Truth is truth."
[16:04]	<Tabitha>	"It is real."
[16:05]	<Tabitha>	"It is hidden...but it is not relative."
[16:06]	<Tabitha>	"Do two and two make four? This is truth. Does the sun not shine in space? This is truth."
[16:07]	<Tabitha>	"Does a man love a woman? This is truth...but it is hidden."
[16:07]	<Cassandra>	That's what you believe. For you, perhaps, that is so. But really... Right, wrong, truth, lie, heaven, hell... these things differ from being to being, place to place, thing to thing... But anyway, I'm not here to talk philosophy.
[16:09]	<Tabitha>	"Very well. What ARE you here to talk about?"
[16:10]	* Tabitha	returns to looking at that glass. That glass...that glass...that glass...
[16:13]	<Cassandra>	I'll just tell you upfront. Trying to determine that man's loyalties in this world is fruitless, and will destroy you. You can examine all of the earthly things he has left behind, but there is no proof in the... world of him except you and I. Well... heh, even that's not for sure...
[16:18]	* Tabitha	takes a while to ponder these deep words.
[16:20]	<Tabitha>	"There are...always ways. There must be...remnants...truths left behind..."
[16:20]	<Tabitha>	"No one, is...perfect, at covering their tracks."
[16:20]	<Tabitha>	"There must be something..."
[16:20]	<Cassandra>	I've suspected since before he died.
[16:21]	<Cassandra>	Of an affair, I mean.
[16:24]	* Cassandra	. o ( And if I told you why, you'd be fucking disgusted... )
[16:26]	<Tabitha>	"And your opinion on the matter? What did it do to your concept of him?"
[16:29]	<Cassandra>	I don't know. I was young. (hell, I'm still young.) There were... a lot of factors involved. But I did confront him once on the issue.
[16:29]	* Tabitha	perks up at the sound of that.
[16:32]	<Tabitha>	"Did he...say anything important?"
[16:32]	* Cassandra	appears to be in deep contemplation, talking slowly, softly.
[16:43]	<Cassandra>	Damn, how old was I... (was it before he started...no...) I must have been ten years old. He just got back from a business trip... Ch, I think it was in the summer... Anyway, he gave the housekeeper the day off, and he wanted to have a bath with Isabel and I like he used to when we were little. I was old enough to take care of myself, but it was rare that I got to do these sorts of things with Father, so I was happy to oblige. We were just playing around. He told us about his journeys across the world, which just fascinated Isabel. Dramatic tales, they were, like ones you'd find in story books... and probably more true than what one would believe. Izzy left for a while, so it was just him and me... We started talking about Mom. I can't really remember what we said in particular, but eventually, I asked him, "Daddy, do you love us? Just us, and no one else?"
[16:44]	<Cassandra>	He didn't even flinch.
[16:45]	* Cassandra	folds her arms across the bar, cushioning her head on them.
[16:53]	* Tabitha	contemplates the situation. (Didn't even flinch...)
[16:54]	* Tabitha	(Father...are you a good liar, or just star-crossed?)
[16:55]	* Tabitha	(...or...did you really only love Sister...?)
[16:56]	<Cassandra>	He told me everything he possibly could to reassure me. He wasn't lying for the barest of moments... I don't know how he did it.
[16:58]	* Cassandra	raises up, a little bit.
[16:59]	<Cassandra>	Tabitha... What do you know about supernatural arts?
[16:59]	* Tabitha	has difficulty switching topics when she's so involved in the first one, but she tries.
[17:00]	<Tabitha>	"The supernatural..."
[17:00]	<Tabitha>	"Nothing but fairy tales when I was young. Meant to scare...meant to inspire...meant to amuse. Nothing more."
[17:00]	<Tabitha>	"...When I was young."
[17:01]	* Tabitha	picks up the glass and looks at it, spinning it around in her hand pensively.
[17:01]	<Tabitha>	"But later...I began to hear things. See things. Rumors, and...more."
[17:03]	<Tabitha>	"I've heard of conjurers of spirits, telekinetisics, mentalists, physics, and their like."
[17:04]	<Tabitha>	"...Magic. They said it was impossible. But I saw it with my own eyes despite this. There is no doubt in my mind."
[17:04]	<Tabitha>	"And now I come here. I see a fairy who can change size...a tiger smarter than some humans..."
[17:04]	<Cassandra>	Yeah, you walked right into a fairy tale yesterday morning.
[17:07]	<Tabitha>	"I cannot say that I know very much. But I know OF enough. Enough to take it seriously."
[17:08]	* Tabitha	raises an eyebrow to her sister.
[17:08]	<Tabitha>	"May I ask, why the change in topic?"
[17:13]	<Cassandra>	The occult is more prevalent than it seems. Our very leaders are often masters of strange powers... Take the Xainae Dynasty, for instance. Within their military exists a series of supernatural martial artists capable of extraordinary destruction, and their government doesn't even attempt to hide it. Even within this country, beyond human capabilities have been recorded. Kostova won the last war with our neighbors because our armies were led by a cunning general... that has been dead for over a hundred years. But anyway...
[17:14]	* Cassandra	steps down from her seat.
[17:15]	<Cassandra>	Would you mind humoring me for a walk around the mansion? I need a little fresh air.
[17:18]	* Tabitha	steps down as well. For some reason, she brings that glass with her.
[17:19]	<Tabitha>	"Very well. Would you wish I hold you hand?"
[17:19]	* Cassandra	laughs, a little.
[17:19]	<Cassandra>	Sure.
[17:24]	<[GM]Mary>	Using a side exit, Cassandra and Tabitha step out of the mansion and walk quietly along its perimeter. The air is cold, but still, and feels pretty good, as if to compliment the vast whiteness all around.
[17:27]	<Cassandra>	Mmm...
[17:27]	* Tabitha	's thoughts continue to drift around the topic of the supernatural. What was the point of all that? And such a sudden transition...
[17:28]	* Tabitha	at least uses the opportunity to look around the grounds, if nothing else. Very...alone, up here in the mountains.
[17:29]	* Cassandra	. o ( Very. )
[17:29]	<Cassandra>	You know... I really hate the cold... but there's just something blissful about this place...
[17:31]	* Cassandra	saunters on, still mindcruching a few things.
[17:31]	<Tabitha>	"I must agree, sister, despite my indifference to aesthetics."
[17:32]	<Cassandra>	Well, anyhow... You're wondering why I brought that up.
[17:36]	<Cassandra>	I have reason to believe that our Father was capable of supernatural influence.
[17:36]	* Tabitha	stops walking. This is...a new development.
[17:37]	<Tabitha>	"...what exactly do you mean?"
[17:39]	<Cassandra>	I mean just that. I have no proof that it's true, but some things... He simply shouldn't have been able to do. Things beyond mundane deceit.
[17:41]	* Tabitha	grips that glass a little more tightly than she should.
[17:43]	<Tabitha>	"Are you saying...he could lie without being detected?"
[17:44]	<Tabitha>	"Things such as that?"
[17:46]	<Cassandra>	More than that. You can easily pass any sort of lie detector test if you can summon the will. Soldiers learn it to avoid giving away information to their enemies when captured.
[17:46]	<Cassandra>	He... I don't know...
[17:48]	<Cassandra>	He just seemed capable of making things true. Not just for himself, but for everyone. But maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions.
[17:48]	* Cassandra	sits down in the snow.
[17:49]	* Tabitha	considers the possible options. (More that undetectable lying...)
[17:49]	<Tabitha>	"Making truth...? Out of lies...?"
[17:50]	<Cassandra>	Truth is truth.
[17:52]	* Tabitha	sits down on the ground herself. She angrily stabs her knife into the snow beside her.
[17:52]	<Tabitha>	"...Indeed."
[17:54]	<Cassandra>	He was uncannily good at making friends, no doubt about that. Everyone wanted to be his friend, even the most jaded of people... I'd say we've had over ten thousand visitors here just on that account. The man was practically a hero around here.
[17:58]	<Tabitha>	"Obviously. Any man can become a hero with people to support him."
[17:59]	<Tabitha>	"...even a villain."
[18:00]	<[GM]Mary>	Tabitha: you look over Cassie's shoulder to spot that tiger again. It's plodding around in the snow, still near to the mansion, inspecting things only in ways greater beasts can.
[18:01]	* Tabitha	smiles, if just a little bit.
[18:01]	<Tabitha>	"That tiger...may I ask what his story is?"
[18:01]	<Cassandra>	...huh?
[18:02]	<Cassandra>	Oh. Heh, seen the tiger around, have you.
[18:04]	* Tabitha	points over where the tiger is. Oh wait...Cassie can't see.
[18:04]	<Tabitha>	"Yes. He watches over us even now."
[18:07]	* Cassandra	smiles.
[18:08]	<Tabitha>	"It is...sad, perhaps, that I feel a greater bond with him than with the other maids, even."
[18:08]	<Tabitha>	"Am I in err in your service for this?"
[18:11]	<Cassandra>	hehehe... no. But you may want to address *her* correctly.
[18:13]	* Tabitha	is taken aback. Her...?
[18:13]	<Tabitha>	"I, was...not, aware."
[18:15]	<[GM]Mary>	The tiger takes interest in the two conversing maids, and makes its way towards you.
[18:15]	* Tabitha	wonders... (Wait...did I not ask the tiger about his...her, gender before? Or, perhaps I didn't...Mmm.)
[18:15]	<[GM]Mary>	oh wait, it's just one maid a master. Whatever
[18:17]	* Tabitha	notices the presence of the tiger.
[18:17]	<Tabitha>	"Ahh, greetings, friend."
[18:18]	<Tabitha>	"I apologize for not completing my tasks, but I was...waylaid."
[18:18]	* Tabitha	glances at Cassie and dulls her eyes.
[18:20]	<Tabitha>	"You were saying, Cassandra?"
[18:20]	<[GM]Mary>	The tiger makes a low, acknowledging purr and lays down in the snow next to them.
[18:20]	<Cassandra>	Hmm?
[18:22]	<Tabitha>	"Our father...if I can even call him that."
[18:23]	<Tabitha>	"If my life was not a lie before...how can I even know if it is now?"
[18:23]	* Tabitha	curls into a ball, partly cold, partly alone in the world.
[18:24]	<Cassandra>	Mmm...
[18:27]	<Tabitha>	"...Did you bring this up to dissuade my quest?"
[18:31]	<[GM]Mary>	The tiger grunts, standing up and approaches Tabitha. The tiger rubs its head against her softly, as if to comfort her.
[18:33]	* Tabitha	wraps an arm around him/her lightly. She's got nothing better to do with it, and...it actually feels safer like this.
[18:34]	<Cassandra>	I'm just telling you what I can, Tabitha. I've been down the same road as you... and frankly, I'm tired.
[18:35]	<Cassandra>	But, you're my sister. Despite our Father, I know to be true. I'll help you.
[18:37]	<Tabitha>	"I thought you said truth was relative. If he was lying, there is not one link between us. Why are we to be called sisters?"
[18:37]	<Cassandra>	I think it's true. In spite of it all.
[18:38]	<Tabitha>	"Mmm..."
[18:38]	<[GM]Mary>	The tiger leans in closer to Tabitha, nuzzling her neck... and then gives her a big lick across the face.
[18:38]	<Tabitha>	"Nnnghhhee!"
[18:39]	<Cassandra>	Hehehe. Having fun over there?
[18:39]	* Tabitha	didn't expect that. Great, now her face is all sticky.
[18:40]	<Tabitha>	"Personally, unn...I would say fun is relative."
[18:41]	<Tabitha>	"I am having...an experience, over here, we shall say."
[18:42]	<Cassandra>	Mmm...
[18:42]	* Cassandra	flops back into the snow.
[18:44]	* Tabitha	rubs a little bit of snow on her face. Cold, but as least clean. She hopes it doesn't insult the tiger.
[18:45]	<Tabitha>	"Mmm, thank you for that, friend tiger...I think."
[18:45]	* Tabitha	pets the tiger's back a few times for good measure.
[18:46]	<Tabitha>	"Sister, I have...an odd question, but I feel I must ask it."
[18:46]	<Cassandra>	Hmm?
[18:47]	<Tabitha>	"Our father, he had...powers. I have heard such...powers, may carry on through family lines, as with the blood of the old magicians centuries ago."
[18:47]	<Tabitha>	"Forgive me, but...what does this mean for us?"
[18:48]	<Cassandra>	Bloodlines...
[18:54]	<Cassandra>	I've never really heard of it in real life. Power through blood, I mean. Most occultists either gain their power though special means, like the intensive training Xainae martial artists undergo, or they learn it from supernaturally gifted humans... and other creatures.
[18:58]	* Cassandra	. o ( but it is a possibility... and if it is... )
[18:58]	* Tabitha	neither nods nor shakes her head. Not the answer she was looking for, exactly, but then again, what does she know about magic?
[18:59]	<Cassandra>	But, let me ask you this.
[18:59]	<Tabitha>	"Yes?"
[19:00]	<Cassandra>	What if there's more than just us? How many brothers and sisters do you think may be scattered across the globe?
[19:01]	<Cassandra>	Haaah... You said you saw Father a few weeks every summer, right?
[19:02]	<Tabitha>	"...I..."
[19:03]	<Tabitha>	"Y-Yes, obviously. He would have had to keep up appearances, whether it be a lie or the truth."
[19:04]	* Tabitha	balks at the thought, though. (A man with these powers...siring children all over the continent...anyone at all...)
[19:04]	<Cassandra>	Sheesh... By the time I was eleven, I hardly saw him much more than that. One or two days out of the month.
[19:06]	<Cassandra>	But... there is definitely something you should see. You don't have any pictures of him, do you? Do you remember what he looked like when you last saw him?
[19:19]	<Tabitha>	"I, I can remember...some..."
[19:20]	<Tabitha>	"Hair like ours, but...not the eyes, umm..."
[19:21]	* Tabitha	realizes just how little she actually remembers about her "father".
[19:22]	<Tabitha>	"Perhaps...I did not know him as well as I thought."
[19:25]	* Cassandra	finishes making snow angels and stands up.
[19:26]	<Cassandra>	Well, there's something I want to show you. I'm not sure if it will help you, but it is... interesting.
[19:29]	<Tabitha>	"I doubt...many things can 'help' me now, in that sense."
[19:29]	<Tabitha>	"I look for answers...finding only more questions, and more complexities."
[19:30]	<Tabitha>	"Interesting is perhaps all I have left at the moment."
[19:30]	* Cassandra	sighs.
[19:30]	* Tabitha	stands up, hand still on the tiger.
[19:31]	<Tabitha>	"Very well. Show me, if you wish."
[19:31]	<Cassandra>	Tabitha...
[19:31]	<Cassandra>	...nevermind.
[19:33]	<Tabitha>	"Hmm? Please, do not leave something unsaid if you wish to speak."
[19:34]	<Cassandra>	It's nothing that can be told. You'll just have to figure it out for yourself. Come on, let's go.
[19:36]	* Tabitha	faces a problem. She'd like to still hold onto the tiger, the glass, and Cassie, but...only two hands.
[19:37]	* Tabitha	eases the hand off the tiger. She might like to ride again, but no, now's not the time for that.
[19:38]	* Tabitha	takes Cassie's hand and is ready to go wherever her mistress wishes...within reason, of course.
[19:38]	<[GM]Mary>	The tiger nods slowly, and trots off in the direction Tabitha and Cassandra came, around the corner and out of sight.
[19:39]	* Cassandra	smirks again. What's so funny about sisters holding hands...

@@[19:39]	<[GM]Mary>	[quicksave, slot 1!]
@@[22:04]	<[GM]Mary>	[quickload, slot 1, please wait...]

[22:09]	<[GM]Mary>	Cassandra takes you back inside and leads you into her own room. Nothing of real note at a glance besides the canopied bed, which looks like it could comfortably keep the whole house. Cassandra wanders over to her dresser and opens the bottom drawer. Therein lies a variety of mundane things, but specifically a box of photographs, which Cassie slowly thumbs through.
[22:11]	<Cassandra>	I put some braille strips on these so I'd know which ones are which, but they're starting to fall off...
[22:12]	* Tabitha	walks closer to her sister.
[22:12]	<Tabitha>	"Do you need any assistance?"
[22:14]	* Cassandra	hands you a photograph, not looking away from... well, she isn't really looking at anything, but she doesn't turn.
[22:14]	<Cassandra>	What's the date on that?
[22:20]	<[GM]Mary>	Tabitha: you read the date on the back, but not before examining the photo itself. It's a picture of Andrei Tetromi, but younger looking than what you remember, like he was in his mid-twenties.
[22:17]	* Tabitha	flips the photograph over. A hastily-scrawled date rests in the corner.
[22:18]	<Tabitha>	"August 8, 1928, Miss Cassandra."
[22:20]	* Tabitha	is most confused.
[22:20]	<Tabitha>	"This...no, no, this...is this right?"
[22:21]	<Cassandra>	Alright, that's what he looked like before he died... ah, hell, I can't find it. Come on.
[22:21]	<Tabitha>	"This cannot be the right date, sister..."
[22:23]	* Cassandra	shuts the drawer and makes for the door.
[22:23]	* Tabitha	looks at the picture again. It's definitely AN Andrei she remembers, but the Andrei of her young childhood ten years hence, not one as the date dictates.
[22:24]	* Tabitha	follows her sister, still unsure of what's going on here.
[22:27]	* Tabitha	(I don't understand...He was always handsome, even I could see that. But this...this isn't right.)
[22:27]	* Cassandra	takes you downstairs, back to the little parlor you spoke in yesterday. Cassie stops at a desk with half a dozen framed pictures stood up upon it, and beckons you to come closer.
[22:29]	* Tabitha	shuffles inwards, still focusing on the picture in her hand for the most part.
[22:29]	* Cassandra	beckons more.
[22:29]	<Cassandra>	Come on, come here.
[22:30]	* Tabitha	rolls her eyes, and moves right up shoulder-to-shoulder with her sister. The proximity is a little unsettling.
[22:30]	<Tabitha>	"Yes? What madness are you showing me now?"
[22:30]	<Cassandra>	Look at these.
[22:31]	* Cassandra	places her hand on Tabitha's shoulder.
[22:31]	* Tabitha	peers at the framed pictures, comparing them with the one in her hand.
[22:31]	* Tabitha	takes a quick glance at the hand touching her, but says nothing, caring more about the photos at the moment.
[22:31]	<[GM]Mary>	Tabitha: for a short moment, you feel an unusual pressure on your eyes, but the feeling quickly disappears.
[22:32]	* Tabitha	rubs her eyes. That didn't feel very good. Must not be getting enough sleep...
[22:40]	* Cassandra	as Tabitha opens her eyes, Cassie's hand finds a specific picture, and holds it up in front of Tabitha. It appears to be a family picture, with Andrei and his wife in the center and Cassandra and Isabel beneath them. Izzy doesn't look very different, but Cassie is obviously younger. The Andrei in this photo is different as well; there's a deeper tan to him and less shine to his hair. He...
[22:40]	* Cassandra	...still sports a warm smile, but he certainly appears older than the picture Cassie showed Tabitha before.
[22:41]	* Tabitha	's eyes flit from picture to picture. This...no, this can't be right!
[22:42]	<Tabitha>	"I do not need to ask, but...when was this picture here taken?"
[22:43]	* Tabitha	bites her lip. (First the lies...then the manipulation of emotions...now appearance as well?)
[22:44]	* Tabitha	(This man...THIS is the man who sired me?)
[22:45]	<Cassandra>	Uhhh... I'm not sure. Not so great with pictures, you know? But before he died, Izzy commented to me that he just looks younger and younger... I didn't think anything of it at first, but after the incident, I started looking into it... It's kind of bizarre.
[22:45]	* Tabitha	feels a little sick in her stomach at the thought.
[22:46]	<Tabitha>	"Bizarre...is an understatement here from what I am seeing."
[22:46]	<Tabitha>	"It's a shame you cannot..."
[22:46]	<Tabitha>	"Or perhaps...perhaps it is better that you not see this. Some things are better that way."
[22:47]	<Cassandra>	Hmm. So, you see the same thing she does.
[22:48]	<Tabitha>	"I see the same thing, yes. But I believe I understand more. And...less, at the same time."
[22:49]	<Tabitha>	"Do you think his...powers, could extend even to changing his appearance?"
[22:49]	<Tabitha>	"Or is this some new sorcery at work?"
[22:53]	<Cassandra>	Could just be extremely coincidental. It's not unheard of for someone to appear younger as their years progress... and there's probably only about five years between those pictures. Andrei Tetromi may just be a really lucky man. But it is unsettling.
[22:55]	* Tabitha	considers that possibility. (Luck...perhaps. I have been rather lucky in life, myself. But my life, as a whole...hardly lucky at all.)
[22:56]	<Tabitha>	"I will tell you something, sister."
[22:57]	* Cassandra	raises an eyebrow.
[22:57]	<Tabitha>	"I believe in luck. I believe that random chance can bring good fortune as well as bad. And perhaps this luck may extend throughout a man's life, or a woman's. It is within reason."
[22:58]	<Tabitha>	"But...I also believe in more that coincidence. And what I see here...this string of coincidence, this string of 'luck'..."
[22:59]	<Tabitha>	"...I am not convinced."
[23:00]	<Cassandra>	So much for wishful thinking, huh...
[23:02]	<Tabitha>	"I've spent fifteen years wishing for things. Most did not come true."
[23:02]	* Cassandra	steps back, sitting down in a chair near the coffee table. She looks a little listless.
[23:03]	<Cassandra>	Oh yeah? Which ones did?
[23:04]	* Tabitha	thinks back on her life. Which one's did, indeed...?
[23:05]	<Tabitha>	"I wished...that I wouldn't be useless despite my bodily weakness."
[23:05]	<Tabitha>	"And now I hold many skills that any would find sufficient for living a good life."
[23:07]	<Tabitha>	"I wished...that my mother would always hold me close until death."
[23:07]	<Tabitha>	"And no matter how little Andrei Tetromi came home, my mother was always there."
[23:09]	<Tabitha>	"I wished...that I would live to see this house, after so many weeks of pain and uncertainty on the road."
[23:09]	<Tabitha>	"And I still now take breath."
[23:11]	* Tabitha	states her last wish solemnly, and slowly. As she does, she starts flipping down any picture with Andrei Tetromi's face on it.
[23:11]	<Tabitha>	"I wished...that I would learn if my father loved me."
[23:11]	<Tabitha>	"And now I know...that he did not."
[23:13]	* Cassandra	shakes her head and crosses her legs. It's sad, how things are. But you can't do anything about it now. What is, is.
[23:13]	* Cassandra	asks softly,
[23:13]	<Cassandra>	What are you going to do now?
[23:16]	* Tabitha	thinks about that one. She really hasn't planned this far ahead yet. The revelation about her father just came like a flash to her in its own right.
[23:18]	* Tabitha	sits down in the chair opposite her sister, sighing.
[23:20]	<Tabitha>	"I...was really hoping my luck was going to lead me to some other epiphany about that."
[23:20]	<Tabitha>	"Thus far it has not."
[23:23]	<Cassandra>	Sorry, can't do anything about bad luck. (just because you got a lot of it doesn't mean it's all good, eh...)
[23:24]	* Tabitha	taps her fingers on the armrest. (I've spent so long searching for the truth...I don't even know what to do with it when I find it.)
[23:25]	* Tabitha	(Mother...what am I supposed to do with my life now?)
[23:25]	* Cassandra	starts twisting one of her fingers back and forth, trying to think of how exactly she wants to say this...
[23:32]	<Cassandra>	Tabitha... you're my sister. I may not be a sister to you, but you are to me, regardless of what our father has done.
[23:36]	<Cassandra>	That's how I feel. Even if I've only just met you, that's how I feel. And I want to do whatever I can for you. I want to do what's right for you, but I can't ever be certain if I'm really doing the right thing... except if I can be for you like... like Izzy's been for me. Like a sister. Agh, crap, I'm not making any sense...
[23:38]	* Cassandra	pinches her brow, looking aggravated.
[23:40]	<Tabitha>	"The right thing...there's so many of them I could do, though."
[23:40]	<Tabitha>	"I could stay here and be a good maid...stay here and be a good sister...go into the world and show them Andrei was a liar..."
[23:41]	* Tabitha	suddenly recalls that tricky statement Cassie keeps telling her. "As you wish"...
[23:42]	<Tabitha>	"Or I could...do as I wish...like you always say..."
[23:43]	* Cassandra	takes a deep breath, and settles a little bit.
[23:43]	<Cassandra>	Yes.
[23:43]	<Tabitha>	"But...wishes...wishes are a waste of time. Why wish when you can work for it instead?"
[23:44]	* Cassandra	smirks, just a tad.
[23:44]	<Cassandra>	That's what we call puttin' the do in it.
[23:48]	<Cassandra>	The question is, what do you want to do?
[23:48]	<Cassandra>	I'll support you, in whatever you choose.
[23:48]	<Tabitha>	"I...don't, know."
[23:49]	* Tabitha	frowns.
[23:49]	<Cassandra>	Heh. That's about how I feel, really...
[23:50]	<Tabitha>	"I've never given it any thought; I've been too busy with Andrei."
[23:50]	* Cassandra	slouches down in the chair, trying to lie in it.
[23:51]	<Tabitha>	"And now, well...he is insignificant. Liar or no, you cannot claim true love and still do that which he has done. I realize this now."
[23:51]	<Tabitha>	"Why I couldn't before...I don't know."
[23:53]	<Cassandra>	And here we are.
[23:53]	<Tabitha>	"Here we are."
[23:55]	* Tabitha	's mind wanders around. There must be something she can focus on. Even for a few days. Some goal to reach for.
[23:56]	<Cassandra>	Let's just live, for now. Whatever crazy crap the world still has in store for us... It can wait. It usually does.
[23:57]	<Tabitha>	"Perhaps. I do not enjoy aimless living, but...perhaps."
[00:00]	* Tabitha	(...And get dragged around to hell and back by whatever insanity these girls are capable of.)
[00:02]	<Cassandra>	Hm. Don't be so quick on it. I bet you'll like it, after a while.
[00:02]	<Tabitha>	"In my experience, a while is always a while longer when more people are involved."
[00:04]	* Tabitha	(...which can only mean my aim must be something I can do alone. Perhaps in my spare time; there may be much of that in this place...)
[00:06]	* Tabitha	(All this talk of magic...perhaps I should research this further. Andrei's taint may affect me even after his death; understanding is key to such things...)
[00:07]	<Cassandra>	After the accident, my whole world fell apart, and everything changed... I'll probably never be the same. But some things haven't changed. Some good things. Some bad things as well. But a lot has happened, since then... There's still a chance for plenty of good things in our lives. Your journey here can still be a good thing. Maybe I can still be a good thing too.
[00:08]	* Tabitha	raises an eyebrow at her sister.
[00:09]	* Cassandra	laughs with a single breath, and shakes her head.
[00:09]	<Tabitha>	"You talk so much about your flaws, your sins, and yet I see no call for such lamenting, save perhaps your eyes."
[00:10]	<Cassandra>	Sorry. It's something I should keep to myself.
[00:10]	<Tabitha>	"...as you wish."
[00:11]	<Cassandra>	As you wish.
[00:12]	<Tabitha>	"I think...perhaps I shall clean the library today instead. Andrei's quarters no longer hold such a luster for me."
[00:13]	<Tabitha>	"Such a large mansion must have one, no?"
[00:14]	<Cassandra>	We do. It's two doors before you reach the infirmary.
[00:15]	<Tabitha>	"Thank you. For all you have told me. I am truly in your debt now, if I was not before."
[00:16]	* Tabitha	stands up and bows, once again forgetting Cassie can't see.
[00:17]	<Tabitha>	"With your permission, I shall take my leave."
[00:18]	* Cassandra	sits forward, eyes flickering for a second, and then back to normal. closed.
[00:23]	<Cassandra>	You owe me nothing, Tabitha. Just be good, okay?
[00:23]	<Tabitha>	"I will do what I can."
[00:26]	<Cassandra>	Alright. If you see Victoria, send her my way, will you please?
[00:26]	* Tabitha	smirks.
[00:26]	<Tabitha>	"Considering her love of books, the library is as good a place as any to look for her."
[00:27]	<Cassandra>	Indeed, but you never know...
@@[*Mary] Scene transition! Or uh, maid transition! Whatever!
[00:39]	<[GM]Mary>	Victoria: Tabitha finds you within the library, and directs you to the living room, as Cassandra has asked for you.
[00:41]	* [PYG]Victoria	makes her way to the living room after encountering Tabitha.
[00:42]	<[PYG]Victoria>	Mistress, you asked to see me?
[00:47]	<Cassandra>	Hey, Victoria. take a seat.
[00:48]	* [PYG]Victoria	steps over to an empty seat and makes herself comfortable.
[00:51]	* Cassandra	sits still for a few minutes, not saying anything.
[00:52]	<Cassandra>	Victoria... I don't think I'm getting better.
[00:53]	<[PYG]Victoria>	...I was wondering how you were doing. We haven't really spoken to each other all by ourselves since we got here.
[00:53]	* [PYG]Victoria	reclines into her seat.
[00:53]	<[PYG]Victoria>	Is it about Miss Tabitha?
[00:55]	<Cassandra>	No.
[00:56]	<Cassandra>	It's about...
[00:56]	* [PYG]Victoria	sits up now, more attentive. This sounds serious.
[00:57]	<Cassandra>	It's about the safety of the people in this mansion.
[00:58]	<[PYG]Victoria>	Hmm...
[01:00]	<Cassandra>	The more... the more I've gotten to know the girls here... The more I'm afraid of what I might do if I can't get better. I think it's only a matter of time before I crack. I've been thinking about it ever since I've been home... and it scares the crap out of me...
[01:03]	<[PYG]Victoria>	But...how can you not be better? I see you with Miss Isabella, and I've never seen you happier, and those new girls, they adore you.
[01:04]	* Cassandra	looks direly murky, like if you rubbed her face, her features would just melt away...
[01:10]	<Cassandra>	...They do make me feel better. They're good for me, of that I'm certain. But those things are fleeting... I can step into a bath with Izzy and the new ones I'm starting to love, have a lot of fun, and step out... practically unchanged. I don't know what's wrong with me.
[01:12]	* Cassandra	sighs.
[01:13]	<Cassandra>	Maybe I'm overreacting. But... I'd rather be prepared, in case I do go overboard.
[01:14]	* [PYG]Victoria	isn't liking where Cassandra is going with this conversation.
[01:15]	* Cassandra	/No, you won't like it. And I don't want to ask you to do it./
[01:16]	* [PYG]Victoria	heaves a sigh.
[01:18]	<Cassandra>	...
[01:18]	<[PYG]Victoria>	It can't be helped...You let me work for you because of what I can do, that much I'm sure of.
[01:19]	<[PYG]Victoria>	And I know you don't have the heart to ask the others here to do that for you.
[01:20]	<[PYG]Victoria>	I was hoping I wouldn't have to worry about that here...
[01:21]	* Cassandra	swallows hard.
[01:24]	<Cassandra>	...I'm sorry, Victoria. But you know what to do. If things get out of hand... kill me. You may be the only one here who can.
[01:25]	* [PYG]Victoria	looks sad at having to hear this, but...
[01:27]	<Cassandra>	Better me than any of you.
[01:27]	<[PYG]Victoria>	Yes...Mistress Cassandra.
[01:29]	* Cassandra	can't stop the emotion from showing up on her face. Jeez, must I fill every day with something depressing...
[01:30]	<Cassandra>	...Thanks, Victoria. I'll never be able to pay you enough.
[01:32]	* Cassandra	starts up to leave, looking miserable, but a with a little relief.
[01:32]	* Cassandra	Victoria: /But really... thanks. Thanks for always being out there, for me. I couldn't have ever made it this far without you./
[01:33]	* [PYG]Victoria	smiles a little.
[01:33]	<[PYG]Victoria>	&#12298; And you'll be stuck with me until the end, you know... &#12299;
[01:34]	* Cassandra	smiles back.
[01:34]	* Cassandra	/I can't think of any better way to go./