Thread: An Appointment with Ash (6-29-10)

The blond looks up and smiles, "Yes, Ms. Montreve. Mr. Winters is waiting for you in the study. If you will follow me I will take you to him."

She then walks towards the rear of the studio.

(most works in the studio are Crafts x3, but there are several pieces that are Crafts x4)

Miranda lets her arms fall to her sides as she steps forward and follows the woman back into the Studio. Her gaze seems distant and unfocused, heedless of the beauty around her.

The woman leads Miranda to a small study in the back of the shop. When she opens the door Ash looks up from some sculpting books he is pouring over. Seeing Miranda he stands.

"Thank you, Ginelle. Please stay for a moment." Looking to Miranda, "Thank you for coming, Miranda. Please come in. May I offer you anything?"

Miranda takes a step into the study, standing to the side as Ash speaks to his receptionist and then to her. She inclines her head in a respectful gesture, "A drink would be welcome, thank you."

Ash nods and then looks at Ginelle. "Please come inside with us."

Ash will usher Miranda into the study and close the door.

"Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable. All I have to offer you in the way of a drink this evening is from Ginelle herself. I promise you there will be no tricks with her. She will simply offer you her blood, you may take it from her or she can prepare it for you in a cup if you would prefer that. I think you will find the experience most appealing."

A spark of interest stirs in Miranda's eyes. She regards Ginelle curiously for a moment before stepping lightly towards her and reaching a slender hand up to gently brush back the blonde woman's hair. Turning towards Ash, Miranda meets his gaze. "I am honored by your show of hospitality, monsieur." She returns her attention to the beauty before her, reaching one hand behind the other's neck and lifting up on her toes to delicately sink her exposed fangs into the willing flesh.

She drinks but sparingly before pulling back and looking up at the blonde. "Merci," she whispers before stepping away.

Turning once more to her host, she offers a slight bow. "Your kindness is more than I deserve and for that I thank you." Moving towards the offered seat, she sinks down into it, pulling her legs up and beneath her.

(OOC: For every trait you took you will recieve two in return.)

Ash smiles slightly, "It is the smallest of kindnesses that I can give to you given what you have endured these many months gone from us." The smile fades, "I am truly sorry that we did not know truth of your departure nor of your captivity. Though we have had our differences in the past, yours was a fate that I would not wish upon anyone. I hope that now and in the future that our family can help you to recover."

Ash looks to Ginelle, "Thank you, mon belle fleur. Please take the rest of the night to enjoy yourself. Ms. Montreve and I can see to each others company for a while."

As she leaves Ash takes a seat across from Miranda. "Is there anything that I can help you with now to ease your transition back into our society?"

Miranda's porcelain face shows sadness as Ash treats her with such unexpected respect and concern. "Perhaps there is," she responds to his question, "but first I would speak of why I said your kindness is undeserved."

She leans her head back into the chair and closes her eyes before continuing, "I find it hard still to realize it has been six months since last we spoke. For you, maybe, life has gone on and the past is unimportant now. For me it's as if the time between now and then has been a long, unbroken nightmare and to sit here before you now changed and unchanged is...difficult."

Miranda's voice is low as she relates to you her story, "I felt such passion Ash, such zeal for what I envisioned as perfect for this city. I had everything and I wanted more."

"You never knew my Sire and for that, everyone in Lamar should be grateful; but he was a passionate man. He would use you and you wanted him to, you loved him for it. He made everyone around him feel more alive in his presence, and he took advantage of it. I let myself slip too far in that direction, told myself the ends justify the means. They don't." She shakes her head, eyes still closed. "He is the reason I fled, the reason why my life has been hell these past months."

Miranda swallows a lump in her throat and forces herself to return to the present. Opening her eyes she regards Ash, "In the pursuit of my vision I wronged you, your sister and Benjamin. It is a weight on my mind and I would clear it."

Ash looks at Miranda and wonders at the sincerity, but pushes it away. "You played the game that we all do. We, members of the Rose, scheme against each other more than any other clan with the exception of maybe the Tremere. You never wronged me personally. It is just in my nature to take up for my sister whether I am in the right or not. You have nothing to clear with me. My sister may be a different story though, but you will have to work that out with her. As for Benjamin, I do not believe he would have come to retrieve you if he held to much rancor against you."

Ash pauses, "I am simply glad that you are returned and that our family is growing again. In that mode of thought, while you were away Prince Cahill rescinded the Acknowledgment of all Kindred in the city when he took Praxis from Mr. Arch. He then extended it anew to all those that approached him. As I am Seneschal, it is with my power to grant you Acknowledgment once again withing the city if you so desire to stay."