[Hannah almost doesn't call. She almost locks herself in her room to wallow and be miserable; but she has never done very well with being alone. So when she calls, she sounds meek, quiet and a little sad.
It's a few hours after this conversation and she's still so very uncertain.]
Claude, [and she pauses to sigh.] Do you have a moment?
[Claude doesn't need to ask what this call is about. Like any other conversation in the manor, he overheard it when it happened. Since then, he has spent the last few hours perusing legal documentation, studying and then discarding every option he finds. Really, when it comes right down to endgame...]
Hannah.
[In the past, Claude having this tone of authority, of I know what I'm doing, could have been a grating thing to hear. He always did manage his household very well, no matter the crisis outside or within.]
Would you care to join me on the roof? I've arranged for a small sitting area where there is no chance of being overheard. ["Small sitting area" is actually a cathedral-skirted open tent in sandy colors that camouflages with the rooftop. Inside are a couple plush lounge chairs and a larger couch, which Claude is sitting on with one of his laptops and idly clicking his way through some .PDF file or another. Every so often, various spiders crawl up his arm to inform him of any new movements. On top of the glass table
( ... )
[There's an audible sigh of relief from her. Hannah has been holding that air in for a while; she's lost track of the minutes, really. But it screams of relief and discarded tension. There's a short pause; the sound of rustling as Hannah smooths down her dress.
When she speaks, her voice is still subdued and withdrawn.]
Ah, yes. That's fine. I'll be there shortly.
[And Hannah finds a kind of irony in running crying to Claude. She doesn't have it in her to find it funny.
She's a little slower than usual. Her body is listless and tired from being angry and miserable and it takes her fifteen minutes to get there. She isn't sure how she should be feeling. That gets to her because she had thought she had figured this out by now. How emotions work and what is appropriate to feel and what is not. It's frustrating to be feel so overwhelmed by them
( ... )
[As soon as Hannah sits down, Claude looks up and finally acknowledges her presence with a nod. His expression is plain, if somewhat resigned, like he's getting ready to console her that there's nothing they can do about it. Alois and Luca have a great deal of happier history with Jack Vessalius, don't they, so what can they do to prevent him from legally taking away their charges?
Then, Claude smiles. It's not a nice smile, but she'll know its malice isn't meant for her. A smile like this is more or less conspiratorial in its promise of pain.]
Hannah, it's going to be all right. [The authority in his voice--he is sure of this.] I have a plan.
[He lifts his hand and pats the couch cushion beside him, gently indicating she should come closer. If she needs someone to lean on, then he's perfectly all right with it being him.]
[His voice breaks through slowly. It's I have a plan that cracks through completely and Hannah looks at him surprised and then thinks, I really shouldn't be surprised at all. If she looks even more relieved, then it is only because she is - but then she is also conflicted.
Hannah doesn't want to lose Luca to someone she barely knows. Her spite and cunning would take her over if she really let it. The problem is, Hannah doesn't want to hurt Luca.
Luca likes Jack Vessalius.
Hannah doesn't want things to escalate, but more than that she doesn't want Luca Macken to be taken away from her. Hannah doesn't have a contract to hold onto like Claude or Sebastian and that makes her feel all the more hollow inside.
She drags herself to her feet and then sits down beside him. She considers if it's appropriate to lean her head on his shoulder. She does it anyway.]
Do you?
[She sounds drained, but that doesn't make her any less interested.]
[To be honest, it's much better to be on Claude's good side, working with him, than anywhere else. This way there's less a chance of everyone dying in the denouement.]
Yes, and I do wish to share it with you.
[Claude angles his body a little, accommodating her head on his shoulder, and slides the laptop over so she can better see its screen. He has uploaded numerous conversations from his NVs onto this computer, preparing a narrative that he will click through and Hannah can read while he explains.]
First of all, some necessary exposition...
As said before, I have been closely observing our master to better understand how he has changed in our absence. I'm not going to waste your time with his before as much, but what you ought to know is that he remained mistrustful of adult men, no matter how "good" their intentions. It took a great deal of effort on Jack Vessalius' part to be acceptable to our master, and even then, their relationship was delicate and stained with suspicion. Last month, after Jack Vessalius disappeared
( ... )
[There is a very slow, very careful smile that twitches and spreads into life across Hannah’s face. It is not a nice smile. It is a smile not unlike that of a predator preparing to strike. Hannah keeps it very controlled and very tight, but Hannah wouldn’t be able to keep it from her face even if she tried. Relief becomes pleased and then pleased becomes proud, because this is careful and precise and planned. Hannah doesn’t give much care into remember the Claude Faustus she has known, from the days where there afternoons filling Alois Trancy’s bedroom with bluebell’s. Sour, stagnant blood springs to mind, along with bitter, resentful jealousy. But Hannah remembers his cunning and precision before his perception became skewered by Ciel Phantomhive. Hanna thinks, why am I ever surprised with anything he doesFor the most part, Hannah has been terribly apathetic to Jack Vessalius. Luca Macken likes him, and that has been all that matters. Except now - Hannah wants to laugh at his brazenness. At his ludicrousness and absolute gal. Any and
( ... )
[Claude smiles just as carefully.] I'll take your speechlessness as a compliment, [he says, once he's satisfied with watching the progression of Hannah's emotions away from despair. It should be strange to be some hateful creature that's so invested in hope, but he never feels better than getting to feed off the happiness of another. Living vicariously, he enjoys Hannah's gratitude and relief as if it were his own. He won't have any exhilaration to know as his own until he gets confirmation that his threads are still wrapped tightly around Alois, when Alois is reacting in just the way that he should be
( ... )
[It's all very heartwarming, really. For a moment, Hannah recalls them being this unified in Nirvana. Recalls discussion and equality and being on the same side of things. She recalls a lot of things, sometimes because she is so terribly afraid of forgetting. She leans into him and she is aware of the implications of the touch, but Hannah has never minded being a weapon for the sake of Alois Trancy. Jack Vessalius will not learn of Laevateinn from Hannah's mouth, not by her own convictions.
But really - Hannah is just relieved that Luca will not be taken from her. Relieved and satisfied and she places a hand over Claude's. She's relieved but she is worried. Because while Laevateinn is within herself, Hannah is aware there are angels in this city. There are things beyond them and Hannah cares, after all. Her fingers curl around his hand and she turns her head to face him as much she can and lowers her voice on instinct.]
Jack is not the only man or being in this city who cares about or Master. I trust you and your precision, but- [
( ... )
[One of Claude's highest priorities is to catalogue and keep track of every holy and/or powerful construct that might seek to end him and his own. Thus far, it doesn't look like anyone but Jack Vessalius is willing to tango, which is as much disappointing as it is a relief. Claude is eager to prove himself by protecting his ill-gotten family; he wants to have actions to back up uncharacteristic, valiant intentions. Demons aren't meant to be so sociable in the long run--probably from some decree of the Father's--but Claude is feeling kind of rebellious this morning.
Hannah's hand is on his cheek, though, so he turns and presses his mouth to her palm with his lips only parted a little. Compared to her, he feels much colder, like he's ice and she's water--he's beginning to thaw from being this close. Eyelids lower than usual, he seems alluring in an eerily intense way, especially when his lips form soundless words that might be have faithThen, before he can corrupt her dark, perfect fingers with his tongue, he turns away from her
( ... )
It's a few hours after this conversation and she's still so very uncertain.]
Claude, [and she pauses to sigh.] Do you have a moment?
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Hannah.
[In the past, Claude having this tone of authority, of I know what I'm doing, could have been a grating thing to hear. He always did manage his household very well, no matter the crisis outside or within.]
Would you care to join me on the roof? I've arranged for a small sitting area where there is no chance of being overheard.
["Small sitting area" is actually a cathedral-skirted open tent in sandy colors that camouflages with the rooftop. Inside are a couple plush lounge chairs and a larger couch, which Claude is sitting on with one of his laptops and idly clicking his way through some .PDF file or another. Every so often, various spiders crawl up his arm to inform him of any new movements. On top of the glass table ( ... )
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When she speaks, her voice is still subdued and withdrawn.]
Ah, yes. That's fine. I'll be there shortly.
[And Hannah finds a kind of irony in running crying to Claude. She doesn't have it in her to find it funny.
She's a little slower than usual. Her body is listless and tired from being angry and miserable and it takes her fifteen minutes to get there. She isn't sure how she should be feeling. That gets to her because she had thought she had figured this out by now. How emotions work and what is appropriate to feel and what is not. It's frustrating to be feel so overwhelmed by them ( ... )
Reply
Then, Claude smiles. It's not a nice smile, but she'll know its malice isn't meant for her. A smile like this is more or less conspiratorial in its promise of pain.]
Hannah, it's going to be all right. [The authority in his voice--he is sure of this.] I have a plan.
[He lifts his hand and pats the couch cushion beside him, gently indicating she should come closer. If she needs someone to lean on, then he's perfectly all right with it being him.]
Reply
Hannah doesn't want to lose Luca to someone she barely knows. Her spite and cunning would take her over if she really let it. The problem is, Hannah doesn't want to hurt Luca.
Luca likes Jack Vessalius.
Hannah doesn't want things to escalate, but more than that she doesn't want Luca Macken to be taken away from her. Hannah doesn't have a contract to hold onto like Claude or Sebastian and that makes her feel all the more hollow inside.
She drags herself to her feet and then sits down beside him. She considers if it's appropriate to lean her head on his shoulder. She does it anyway.]
Do you?
[She sounds drained, but that doesn't make her any less interested.]
Reply
Yes, and I do wish to share it with you.
[Claude angles his body a little, accommodating her head on his shoulder, and slides the laptop over so she can better see its screen. He has uploaded numerous conversations from his NVs onto this computer, preparing a narrative that he will click through and Hannah can read while he explains.]
First of all, some necessary exposition...
As said before, I have been closely observing our master to better understand how he has changed in our absence. I'm not going to waste your time with his before as much, but what you ought to know is that he remained mistrustful of adult men, no matter how "good" their intentions. It took a great deal of effort on Jack Vessalius' part to be acceptable to our master, and even then, their relationship was delicate and stained with suspicion. Last month, after Jack Vessalius disappeared ( ... )
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But really - Hannah is just relieved that Luca will not be taken from her. Relieved and satisfied and she places a hand over Claude's. She's relieved but she is worried. Because while Laevateinn is within herself, Hannah is aware there are angels in this city. There are things beyond them and Hannah cares, after all. Her fingers curl around his hand and she turns her head to face him as much she can and lowers her voice on instinct.]
Jack is not the only man or being in this city who cares about or Master. I trust you and your precision, but- [ ( ... )
Reply
Hannah's hand is on his cheek, though, so he turns and presses his mouth to her palm with his lips only parted a little. Compared to her, he feels much colder, like he's ice and she's water--he's beginning to thaw from being this close. Eyelids lower than usual, he seems alluring in an eerily intense way, especially when his lips form soundless words that might be have faithThen, before he can corrupt her dark, perfect fingers with his tongue, he turns away from her ( ... )
Reply
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