MURDER OF CROWS
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
-Alfred Tennyson
She wasn't as involved in the city life as she once had been. Taking herself away for the duty she must perform was an excuse that wore thin. Julianna and Jesse did not press for explanation of her absence, nor would they receive one. The events of the city and the creatures that dwelled within did not notice her passing. Her flight was unhindered in that regard. However, her own struggles were becoming an encumbrance.
Synneve was taking more control from Suneyva; the two lives mixing in dangerous ways. Sasha had noticed and commented when they were last together at the Hand's stronghold. it was time for the Gangrel Primogen to step forward again and do something for the clan. They were not officially part of anything, Camarilla or Sabbat, but the clan traditions went on as they ever had.
It was time to call for a Gather. The Childer would appreciate the opportunity, and there were enough Gangrel in the area to make it worthwhile. It would be secret and held in the wilderness of her home; Gangrel were not always so safe these days and none should perish of her actions or invitations.
She nodded sharply, blonde hair falling from her shoulders. "Julianna, we're going downtown. Get the car ready." It was time to start offering space to the players.
+
They were halfway to Illusions when she changed her mind. A Gather would do nothing but take up time. Nothing to be accomplished and most would not be willing to venture anywhere near Gothik anyway. Even the Gangrel within the city would not wish to bother themselves for their iffy Primogen�s effort. Julianna gave her a dark look as they eased the car into her reserved space near the club, and they got out without saying anything to each other. There was a lot of silence between them lately and Suneyva didn�t know how to breech it.
Relationships were not her strong suit. She wasn�t some arty love struck Toreador or moon struck Malkavian. Of course, contrary to popular belief the Norse women did not club their intended over the head and drag them off to the turf covered house either. She just didn�t have anything to say to Julianna any longer. Almost anything that came to mind was filled with secrecy, and though she longed to have someone with whom she could discuss politics of the Black Hand her Childe was not that Kindred. Julianna would never be material for the Hand.
Her Childe didn�t fill the silence though; as she once had done to ease the icy Viking. There was a blankness coming form both sides of the long-standing fence. If she could feels such things perhaps she would be saddened by the way in which their relationship had twisted. She looked across the sidewalk towards Julianna, watching as the younger Gangrel bent forward to pick something up from the ground. The dark hair swung forward, obscuring the face for a moment and Suneyva saw wings within the tresses. Of course, there was nothing really in the hair, just a play of light. She paused mid-step to watch and met Julianna�s curious gaze for brief seconds.
They both looked away and Suneyva stopped altogether. �You don�t want to be here, do you.� She looked across the street, watching the Kine pass by. There were so many of them, brightly colored lives swinging through the club district. No one slowed for anyone else, unless they were doing business of questionable morals. Some things never changed.
Julianna shook her head, her hair swinging again. �No, I don�t. Why are we here Suneyva? We never do anything together anymore. Why this so suddenly? I almost expect some hideously priced bauble to appear as an apology for your absence and then this. What are we doing here again?�
�I don�t know. Perhaps there was a reason, but I suppose it is unimportant now.� She looked towards the club. �Is there any reason to go forward? I mean, for us�is there something more for us, Julianna?�
�I don�t know. I had thought there was, but I know things now-� Julianna turned sharply, retreating towards the car. �You hide things from Jesse and I. Not all has been as secretive as you might wish. He doesn�t know and I won�t tell anyone, but I have seen�things. I do not know how to describe them. Nothing of our clan has appeared this way to me before. But your friend�� She laughed sharply. �that Meredythe or whatever she calls herself, I had thought to be a friend of mine and, well, she isn�t.� Julianna turned to face her sire again. �Did you think that I would never notice these things? After nearly five hundred years I am supposed to be so blind still?�
�Perhaps I am not supposed to know these things Suneyva, perhaps it is not allowed. I do know them. Not what to do with the knowledge, I don�t even know what most of it means. I know of these secrets and I know that they are what takes you from me.� She opened the door on the drivers� side of the car and got in, starting it immediately. �Are you staying or will you come home with me?�
Suneyva froze on the passenger side of the car, still unsure of what to do. �I will stay. I need to check on things at the clubs and the apartments; the kids. I may be gone all night.� She closed the door with a slam, and stalked away before Julianna had a chance to comment further.
+
She went directly to the apartments, not so see the kids or the manager, Daesha, who would most likely be in the club on the lower levels. Selene Rafastio, Sasha�s ghoul was living there temporarily. It was an easy way to find the elder Kindred. She already knew the answers to the questions she must ask, but she had a need to hear them from someone with more authority than herself.
Selene answered the door with a �Yo, who�s there ,� but let her in quick enough. She pointed towards the second room, which held a computer. �She�s in there.� And then slipped out of the apartment with a grin. �Later.�
Suneyva steadied herself against the counter separating the kitchen and common area on the main room before heading towards the bedroom. �Remember when you first found me all those years ago? When I was still so young?�
�I warned you, didn�t I? And it has happened.� Sasha glanced up from the computer screen. �Do you really need this Synneve? I hate doing this, you know that better than anyone. It is your duty, Qadi. Go do your duty. The heart does not beat, and the blackness of it should never have been marred by her presence. Leave me the explanation and I shall accomplish little, but give me the dust of her eyes and I shall find you forgiveness in the Sect.� She flipped her fingers at the Gangrel. �Go. You know what it is that you must do and you know what will happen if it is not done with haste.�
Synneve hesitated once more in the doorway. �I had always hoped�� Her hand clenched on the doorframe for a moment and then she was gone. Sasha looked out into the common room for a moment, �But you always knew the truth.�
+ The Zoo was brightly lit when she returned, the car parked in the middle of the driveway. Jesse and Paul were away with their ghoul. Julianna was alone in the house. Her duty was in the house. She walked up the driveway, letting the cab avoid entering the Zoo. It took her a very long time to reach the house. Each step made slowly, with thought as she took her time to free her heart from the matter. To cleanse away many lifetimes of history. There was something in her chest, a hard knot of some emotion she had not felt in a great deal of time. She could not even put a name to it.
She entered the house with her reluctance cloaked around her shoulders, and went directly up the stairs. Everything she needed would be there waiting. It was in her bedroom. The locked box beneath her bed; she teased the old lock open and took out the one object she was allowed for this duty. It was heavier in her hand than she remembered.
Her Childe was coming down the hall, footsteps near silent on the plush carpet. �Suneyva?�
She stood carefully, pushing the old box beneath the bed again. �Yes?� She faced the doorway quietly, holding her burden against her back. �Julianna, you were right earlier and we need to talk about this�and the secrets. I know that you would never tell anyone. I trust you with everything I am, and I know that I have not been able to do so in the past, but now everything is different. We both know that.� She took a few steps towards the hall, towards the younger Gangrel.
Julianna nodded. �Yes, we do. I could ask you again�Is there something here for us Suneyva? Are we still something together, or are there only two individuals now?� She also took a few steps forward, coming into the bedroom.
�Yes, there is something for us together if you wish it to be. I certainly do. If it is within me to love, I still love you Julianna. That could never leave me.� She reached out to touch the side of her Childe�s face briefly before opening her arms and enclosing Julianna in an embrace. �There shall always be something between the two of us.� She squeezed gently to distract, and without another though brought up the burden she carried and plunged it through Julianna�s back.
The young Gangrel lurched forward, pushing herself against her Sire involuntarily, eyes bulging slightly. Her legs gave out quickly and Synneve let her down to the floor carefully. The slender dagger protruded from her back, braced through her dead heart. Julianna�s head shook jerkily, she eyes still seeking answers as she foundered and stilled.
�Not even we are immune to all things, love.� Synneve jerked the blade from her Childe�s prone form and tossed it towards the bed. She gathered Julianna�s body and carried her down the stairs. The medical annex was always prepped for her needs. One of the rooms was ready for this task. No blood to be spilled in the main house, nothing to stain the carpets or bring the wrath of cleaning people down upon her. Nothing to bring suspicion to her door. Instead, the continued secrecy.
Julianna was not dead yet. Her Final Death had not taken place in the house they had shared, their haven. It would be quick and as painless as she could make it, however. She strapped the girl to an examination table, and went to work.
+
the end�sort of.