Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
The cafe is called "Espresso Yourself," and on
this Sunday afternoon, it's pretty empty. It's a small hole-in-the-wall place,
not far from Columbia University, pupular among certain members of the schools
faculty and students for it's quiet atmosphere, low prices, and staff that
doesn't harass you or attempt to be cheerful. Griffen sits in a booth near the
door, fairly visible, with a house coffee at his side and exams in front of
him...the man is always working. Today, it's grading papers.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: Griffen's phone rings,
breaking into the quiet of his grading of papers.
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He looks over at the phone, with a trace of
annoyance...that the school required him to carry one irritated him to no end.
He picks it up and holds it to his ear. "Yes?"
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti -> Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Hiya Ace." is all she says a smirk in her voice.
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He freezes at something. He looks around the
cafe, paranoia hitting his eyes. "Who is this?"
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti -> Griffen "Aconite"
Aston: "It has been awhile I realize this, and maybe
you have forgotten me." It is said with a hint of saddness in her voice. "It is
Tansy. Mom wanted me to call you that."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
A brief pause, and something odd flashes through
his eyes, as his emotionless face breaks ever-so-slightly. "Oh. Good afternoon,
Tansy."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti -> Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Good Afternoon Griffen. You know I have to say it was smart
of you to not tell me the other name you go by. I would have known right off who
you were then." a chuckle. "But if you have some time, I have been busy lately,
and haven;t had a chance to call. Mom told me that there was something that you
have of her's that I should get from you. If you have the time that is."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He nods slightly to that. "Of course. I am not
particularly busy right now. Do you know where the Low Plaza at Columbia
University is?"
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti -> Griffen "Aconite"
Aston: "Yes, I do." there is a brief pause. "I can be
there in about half an hour if that is okay?"
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"That would be excellent." He nods to the phone.
"I will see you then."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti -> Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"See you then." she says and hangs up.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: Tansystill managing a walk
than a waddle, even at this stage. She looks around as she goes. She is wearing
a pair of pants, in black and a blue top. A black jacket tops off the outfit.
Her black hair is longer hiotting the tops of her shoulders now. She looks
around as he walks to the low plaza. ((And let's not forget the awareness roll))
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
d10: Per+Awareness: 2,3,3,9,2,4,7,
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He's standing next to the fountain, a cigarette
being smoked, papers now in the satchel bag in his right hand. He looks around,
something gathering his attention, and he looks off into the direction of Tansy.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: One hand to her back she makes
her way to Griffen, a lop sided smile on her face. "Hiya."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Good day, Tansy." He nods, his face impassive as
always. "It is good to see you again. How are you?"
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: "I am doing okay. Getting my
internal organs pummeled, but that I hear is normal." still smieling. "By the
way." she reaches out and flicks his ear. "That is from my mom."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
The cigarette, of course, is stubbed out and
deposited into a pocket before Tansy can get too close. The girl is pregnant,
after all. He flinches at the ear flick, raising an eyebrow. "From your mother,
you say?"
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She smiles full out. "Yeah,
I got a chance to talk with her, when I went to Loa Angeles two months ago." she
takes a deep breath. "I went back to the Hotel....and we talked, she told me
about who you were. That is when I got ahgold of who I knew and got your phone
number."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Ahh." He nods slightly to that, his expression
unchanging. "I'm...glad you were able to speak with her. I'm sure it meant a lot
to you both."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She nods her head. "Yes I
believe it did.But she made a request, and I would like to follow through with
it, to get her athame."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He blinks to that, watching her for a long moment
before he nods. "Of course. It's in my apartment...we can retrieve it now, if
you like."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: A soft smile. "That would be
great, thanks." she takes a step back so that Griffen can stand up without
running totally into her. "I never got a chance to ask, what do you do, I mean
work wise."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"I am teaching environmental ethics here at
Columbia University, currently." He moves to lead her off, toward the faculty
apartments.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She follows, her steps slower,
she nods her head. "Wow, that is cool. I have only done a little bit of
teaching, mostly dancing, and yoga." a shrug of her shoulder. "But not lately."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Yes, I can see where teaching either would be
difficult in your...condition." He matches her pace, making sure not to get
ahead as he leads her along.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She laughs. "You might be
supprised, but I can still dance, and fight, even six months pregnant." she rubs
her stomach with one hand. " But I think the monsters prefer my singing to me
dancing."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"I trust, of course, that whether you can or not,
you are not fighting while you are with children?"
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She looks up to Griffen a tilt
of her head. "One must do what one can, in certain circumstances. If a situation
occurs that i need to protect myself and my children I will do so."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"We must ensure, then, that such a situation does
not occur." Said in the 'brook no arguments' kind of way, as the apartments come
into view.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She nods her head, no other
comment made on the subject of fighting. She never got this far in her exploring
of the university campus before, so she takes the time as they walk to look
around and aclimate herselfto her surroundings. "May I ask, I figured this is
true, but now I am unsure. Did you come to New York tracking me or Robert?"
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Honestly, neither." He says it as he moves into
the building, and begins to head up the stairs. "I was searching for an old
cabalmate of mine and your mother's, who I hoped may have some information about
Robert."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She seems to do stairsd
well, having to climb them at home helping." An old cabal mate huh? Have you
found them yet?" a lop sided grin. "When we get inside i will tell you something
mom said."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"No, I have not yet." He moves up to the
apartment and opens the door, letting her in.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: "Oh, well if there is
anyway that i can help I will." She walks in and looks around as she does, She
heads for the couch. "Nice." she smiles to Griffen as she lowers herself onto
the couch. "Okay well, Mom told me that robert found the rest of the people in
her cabal, and probably me, by the things she was tied to. The Athame being one
of them. " she rests her hands on ehr stomach. "So either after I left
Andromeda's, or when you arrived here, he traced one or the other of us."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He presses his lips together at that, annoyance
(guilt?) tainting his impassive expression. "I...see. That was not my intention,
Tansy, of course. I had wanted to stay away from you, so that he would not find
you. My apologies."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She looks up at Griffen.
"None of it was your fault, in the slightest. I was meerly mentioning it because
you mentioned looking for information on Robert, and you had something in your
possesion that could have led him right to you." a small sigh. as she presses
her palm into the side of her stomach. "You see I now understand that i was the
one who in not knowing who Andromeda was, put her life in danger, But at the
time I had no knowledge of this. It was an unfortunate accident to be sure."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He nods a little bit. "Agreed...it was quite
unfortunate." A moment's pause, a look of momentary uncertainty from the man,
and then he moves toward the hallway where the bedrooms are. "Allow me to
retrieve the athame."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: "Okay." she says as he leaves
the room. She takes another look around. She presses a hand to her chest to stop
iit from pounding. A lick of her lips, before slightly nibbling on them. waiting
for Griffen t come back.
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He returns a few moments later carrying a wooden
box, about two feet in either direction, and a foot deep. He takes a seat,
cross-legged, in front of Tansy and sets it down in front of him. He withdraws a
key, inserting it into the lock on his side, and lifts the lid.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: Blinking a few times in
supprise at how box of a box he carried out to the living room. She manouvers so
that she can sit up and see what he is doing. Nibbling on her lip she remembers
what it looks like how could she not now.
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He lifts the lid, revealing a history of a cabal
in photos, letters, and less enjoyably, newspaper articles of murders. The large
box is fairly full of all types of papers, as well as a few other items. A
silver ring, twisted into a rose that consists of rubies, with one "petal"
missing. An athame, stained with dried blood. A large, battered wood-carved
pentacle. A shattered wand. And other such things. "This is the history of my
cabal, Tansy. And what happened to it."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She looks into the box, noting
some of the more familiar faces in there. She takes a deep breath and nods her
head. "I carried with me until recently the article of my mom, as well as a few
of her things." he holds up her right hand, on her index finger rests her mom's
ring. "I never take it off." she looks at griffen.
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He nods a little bit and looks at the box. A deep
breath is made, and he picks the entire thing up, holding it out to Tansy. "This
is yours now, Tansy."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: Stunned she blinks several
times at him. "I...but" speachless, for one of the severl few times in her life.
"Why would you want to give this all to me?" a frown as she takes the box in her
hands. "I do not understand."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He's quiet for a long moment. "Tansy...I have
been carrying this around with me for many years. It has been my entire
life...everything that I am was based on this and the events revolving around
it." He stares at the box. "Now, I am free of that life. I present to you a
chance to learn of your mother, and who she and the people she cared about
were."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She set's the box to the side, her hand barely running over some of the items inside of it. "Thank you." her eyes shimmer with unshed tears, her voice showing nothing but admiration. "Mom couldn;t tell me, and I have been undecided on weather or not to ask."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"You are welcome." He nods a little bit. "Your
mother was...a wonderful woman. And one I very much respected. I am glad that
she lives on in you, Tansy."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: Her heart beats faster, as the
tears start to fall from her eyes. "She was." she nods. "Do....do you know who
my father was?"
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Your father was a Sleeper that your mother had
been seeing on and off, by the name of Michael Bagher. He died approximately two
months after Naomi did."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She nibbles on her lip
wiping her tears away. "Did he even know? I do not even remember him. Nothing."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Yes, he did." He nods. "He and your mother ended
their relationship soon after you were born. He did, apparently, know you,
having come to Los Angeles to visit once or twice, though you were surely too
young to remember."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She nods her head, once more
wipping away her tears again. "Thank you for telling me. My mom was a very
strong woman. I only hope to one day be as strong as she was."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"I think you quite have that potential." He
cracks a very small smile, an expression that is supportive...as emotional as
the man ever allows himself to be.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She looks over and a smile of
her own appears. "Thank you. For everything." She presses the palm of her hand
into her stomach wrinkling her nose and muttering in Romani. After a deep breath
and slow exhale. "Oh, if you were not aware, the Union has stepped things up as
of late. I do not know much of what has been going on, I have been isolated as
of late. But last time I checked most of us in the city were trying to get into
chantries."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He scowls a little bit at mention of the
Technocracy, but nods. "I see. Well, then...I will have to find out what is
going on." He nods to Tansy. "And you are most welcome."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: "Sounds good." another smile
to him. She leans back keeping her hand pressed to where her kidneys are now. "I
feel like I get to get to know my mom in a different light now, and I get the
chance to know you, a chance I wish i had with Andromeda. Oh before i forget,
Mom said that maybe sometime she will come and visit us."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
He raises an eyebrow, and smiles a little. "I
hope to see her, then."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She grins brightly. "I think
that would be good." She looks back over to the box, and picks up her mothers
Athame, nibbling on her lip as she does so.
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Indeed it would." He rises to his feet, looking
to her. "Do you require aid in taking the box home? I will be happy to help."
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: with a sigh she places the
athame back into the box and closes the lid. She nods her head. "I wasn't
expecing to head back with so much. Thank you."
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Of course." He moves to take the box from her
and locks it, before handing her the key.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She takes the key. She will
end up making sure that it get's a new special place of honor. But for now it
goes next to the one Andromeda gave her in her pocket. She grins. She moves to
stand up, pushing herself off the couch. "I have to ask, Whoch name do you
prefer I use? Griffen Aconite, or Ace?"
Griffen "Aconite" Aston:
"Griffen in public. Aconite is fine, in private."
No mention of Ace in there anywhere? What a shock. He nods, and moves to the
door, to open it for her and accompany her home.
Tansy "Sunburst" Sansretti: She keeps that grin on her
face, she will be using Ace as a shocker for point value when needed. ((And
fade))