[Giuliana] Click (March 3, 2010 part 4)
“So….” Reggie says in a façade of casualness, sitting down next to Giuliana as she returns to the table, “do I get to know what that was, or is that privileged information?”
Giuliana looks away and lips her lower lip slightly, “I got some bad news. Unexpected news.”
“Alright….” He rests his chin in his hand, elbow propped on the table, ready to hear it, and blinks twice, waiting.
Monica looks at Giuliana with a mixture of concern and curiosity, and she glances around the table, and then down, saying quietly to no one in particular, “I apologize for running off like that.”
The others take the hint, and begin talking casually about other things. At some point, Giuliana looks up, feeling eyes on her, and sees Alex Finn approaching the table, and she smiles slightly in greeting as he joins them.
Reggie nods at Alex, “Half surprised to see you here, Alex.”
“Only half?” he replies, “I’m entirely surprised.”
Giuliana smiles, “You can blame me.”
“Well,” Reggie replies, “Brickhouse McBride came out of left field. After that, surprise Carthian
visits don't shock me. Well... as much.”
“ Tsk tsk, losing your element of surprise, Finn,” Monica teases.
Welcoming the distraction, Giuliana looks at Alex, feigning seriousness, "By the way, Alex. I'm going to Fort Myers in a few days. Do you want me to pass on a message to Harpy Voda?" She references the fact that he hit on Voda on the global forum, not realizing that Voda is a man.
Not missing a beat, Alex replies in kind, “If you'd like, tell him that I know a top notch cosmetic surgeon who could fix that little sex/gender problem.”
Giuliana smirks, “I'll pass that on," and then glances at Reggie as he curses at his phone, texting someone back, “Everything ok?”
“Mmmmmm.”
“I don't think I can handle any more bad news, so please tell me it isn't."
Reggie puts the phone down on his lap a moment, “The night is still early... we should go do something fun. And no, not news. You didn't elaborate on your news. I don't know if you planned to or not.”
Giuliana sighs, "I just found out that someone I trusted kept information concerning my Sire's death from me."
Alex looks at Giuliana, “Anyone I need to hurt?”
Giuliana’s eyes snap to his face, and she says almost too quickly, "No. We'll talk later."
Alex nods and looks hard at her for a few seconds before visibly relaxing, and then looks at Reggie as he snickers at his phone and types on it again, “Jeez Reggie, do I have to tap your phone to get you into the conversation?”
The two Egregoroi’s minds click seamlessly, and she answers before he has a chance to ask, “You know Samuel Hatch?”
“Name sounds familiar.”
“Openly Khaibit.”
“And he knows something?”
“ To make a long story extremely short, a few of the bloodline have expressed an interest in me over the past couple of years, and I finally agreed to learn more, and to begin training to join them. I chose him as my avus. He just told me tonight that Herid Fel is his Sire.” She tenses instinctively, fighting the anger and betrayal as it conflicts with her trust in him.
Alex blinks twice, looking at her, his mind a tumult, and she continues, “My reaction was a little more volatile than that.”
Finn's thoughts rapidly settle down to a very level, calm, placid pool, with a very sharp focus, “Did he defend his sire's actions?”
“No. He was worried that I would blame him.”
There’s a long and guarded pause, and then Alex responds, “Do you?”
“I... shouldn't. It isn't logical. He had nothing to do with it.”
“I didn't ask if you should. Do you?”
Giuliana shifts uncomfortably in her seat, glancing at the others as they chat, and then back at Alex again, “Yeah, kinda. I know he couldn't have done anything, but... it's... I don't know. Instinct.”
“What is the source of this instinct?”
“I don't know. It's.. I mean, he shares Blood with Bennet's killer. I know it doesn't make sense.” The whole situation threatens to overwhelm, and she locks down on her emotions, hard.
“ It always makes sense if you think it all the way through.”
“How do you mean?”
“All emotion has a reason.”
“Right, but it's irrational.” Frustration manifests in her, why is he questioning her about this?
“What exactly does "rational" mean?”
“You're psychoanalyzing me. Samuel had nothing to do with Bennet's death, and he didn't know in advance. He couldn't have stopped it.”
“No, I'm asking you to psychoanalyze yourself. Without introspection, you will never understand your emotions, and you cannot control what you do not understand.”
There’s a long pause, and then, “I don't think I'm ready for this right now.”
Alex pushes, “Readiness is irrelevant. Now is when your emotions chose to intrude.”
“It doesn't matter,” she snaps, though outwardly she seems to be listening absently to the conversation at the table, “I'll deal with it. The fact is that it isn't fair of me to feel like blaming Samuel, because he had nothing to do with it.”
“The fact is that it's unwise to act on the feeling, but you can't stop yourself from feeling it. And fairness is irrelevant.”
“Si.” Weariness invades her, breaking through her defenses, and Alx glances at her intently, shifting gears.
“So for now, smile and continue. And know that I'm here for you.”
Another long pause, “Grazie, Alex. I know you are.”
“And when the pain has some distance, we'll want to talk about it again.”
“Si, I promise, we will.”
The connection breaks, and Giuliana sinks back into the conversation at the table, willing herself to put the night in the back of her mind and allow herself distraction. By the end of the night, she’s agreed to have Reggie Maxwell help teach her about modern innuendo so that she can understand Prince Slim better.
Giuliana looks away and lips her lower lip slightly, “I got some bad news. Unexpected news.”
“Alright….” He rests his chin in his hand, elbow propped on the table, ready to hear it, and blinks twice, waiting.
Monica looks at Giuliana with a mixture of concern and curiosity, and she glances around the table, and then down, saying quietly to no one in particular, “I apologize for running off like that.”
The others take the hint, and begin talking casually about other things. At some point, Giuliana looks up, feeling eyes on her, and sees Alex Finn approaching the table, and she smiles slightly in greeting as he joins them.
Reggie nods at Alex, “Half surprised to see you here, Alex.”
“Only half?” he replies, “I’m entirely surprised.”
Giuliana smiles, “You can blame me.”
“Well,” Reggie replies, “Brickhouse McBride came out of left field. After that, surprise Carthian
visits don't shock me. Well... as much.”
“ Tsk tsk, losing your element of surprise, Finn,” Monica teases.
Welcoming the distraction, Giuliana looks at Alex, feigning seriousness, "By the way, Alex. I'm going to Fort Myers in a few days. Do you want me to pass on a message to Harpy Voda?" She references the fact that he hit on Voda on the global forum, not realizing that Voda is a man.
Not missing a beat, Alex replies in kind, “If you'd like, tell him that I know a top notch cosmetic surgeon who could fix that little sex/gender problem.”
Giuliana smirks, “I'll pass that on," and then glances at Reggie as he curses at his phone, texting someone back, “Everything ok?”
“Mmmmmm.”
“I don't think I can handle any more bad news, so please tell me it isn't."
Reggie puts the phone down on his lap a moment, “The night is still early... we should go do something fun. And no, not news. You didn't elaborate on your news. I don't know if you planned to or not.”
Giuliana sighs, "I just found out that someone I trusted kept information concerning my Sire's death from me."
Alex looks at Giuliana, “Anyone I need to hurt?”
Giuliana’s eyes snap to his face, and she says almost too quickly, "No. We'll talk later."
Alex nods and looks hard at her for a few seconds before visibly relaxing, and then looks at Reggie as he snickers at his phone and types on it again, “Jeez Reggie, do I have to tap your phone to get you into the conversation?”
The two Egregoroi’s minds click seamlessly, and she answers before he has a chance to ask, “You know Samuel Hatch?”
“Name sounds familiar.”
“Openly Khaibit.”
“And he knows something?”
“ To make a long story extremely short, a few of the bloodline have expressed an interest in me over the past couple of years, and I finally agreed to learn more, and to begin training to join them. I chose him as my avus. He just told me tonight that Herid Fel is his Sire.” She tenses instinctively, fighting the anger and betrayal as it conflicts with her trust in him.
Alex blinks twice, looking at her, his mind a tumult, and she continues, “My reaction was a little more volatile than that.”
Finn's thoughts rapidly settle down to a very level, calm, placid pool, with a very sharp focus, “Did he defend his sire's actions?”
“No. He was worried that I would blame him.”
There’s a long and guarded pause, and then Alex responds, “Do you?”
“I... shouldn't. It isn't logical. He had nothing to do with it.”
“I didn't ask if you should. Do you?”
Giuliana shifts uncomfortably in her seat, glancing at the others as they chat, and then back at Alex again, “Yeah, kinda. I know he couldn't have done anything, but... it's... I don't know. Instinct.”
“What is the source of this instinct?”
“I don't know. It's.. I mean, he shares Blood with Bennet's killer. I know it doesn't make sense.” The whole situation threatens to overwhelm, and she locks down on her emotions, hard.
“ It always makes sense if you think it all the way through.”
“How do you mean?”
“All emotion has a reason.”
“Right, but it's irrational.” Frustration manifests in her, why is he questioning her about this?
“What exactly does "rational" mean?”
“You're psychoanalyzing me. Samuel had nothing to do with Bennet's death, and he didn't know in advance. He couldn't have stopped it.”
“No, I'm asking you to psychoanalyze yourself. Without introspection, you will never understand your emotions, and you cannot control what you do not understand.”
There’s a long pause, and then, “I don't think I'm ready for this right now.”
Alex pushes, “Readiness is irrelevant. Now is when your emotions chose to intrude.”
“It doesn't matter,” she snaps, though outwardly she seems to be listening absently to the conversation at the table, “I'll deal with it. The fact is that it isn't fair of me to feel like blaming Samuel, because he had nothing to do with it.”
“The fact is that it's unwise to act on the feeling, but you can't stop yourself from feeling it. And fairness is irrelevant.”
“Si.” Weariness invades her, breaking through her defenses, and Alx glances at her intently, shifting gears.
“So for now, smile and continue. And know that I'm here for you.”
Another long pause, “Grazie, Alex. I know you are.”
“And when the pain has some distance, we'll want to talk about it again.”
“Si, I promise, we will.”
The connection breaks, and Giuliana sinks back into the conversation at the table, willing herself to put the night in the back of her mind and allow herself distraction. By the end of the night, she’s agreed to have Reggie Maxwell help teach her about modern innuendo so that she can understand Prince Slim better.