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Gladwyne, PA is just past Bala Cynwyd on the main line, which means that Henevi's estate is not too much from the heart of the city than the Elysium there. It also happens to be approximately the 6th wealthiest zip code in the United States, so it goes way past bougie and into the territory of obscene wealth in many cases. Cases like Henevi's, apparently.
Calling her estate an estate is entirely accurate. It's set on almost 70 acres, with a long drive that takes arrivals past multiple secondary buildings to the main home on their way up the drive. There's more that enough room for her to hide away any number of illicit activities, or at least things that are best kept from the prying eyes of the public.
Henevi, as is often the case when visitors are expected, is waiting on a bench beside the courtyard. Tonight she's watching the sky, dressed in a red and gold sari and adorned with far more jewelry than any person could possibly need, just waiting and thinking. There happen to be a dozen or so other cars parked to one side of the courtyard, like there are other visitors to the estate, but nobody else is in sight.
One moment Atalo doesn't appear to be there, and the next he is, he and Cerberus fading into view and awareness. Respectfully though, he stands a good few metres away, giving Henevi chance to process his arrival and appearance. Tonight he's wearing leather armour, axe and shield strapped to his back.
Dipping his head he offers a slow smile. "Mother. Good evening, and how are you tonight?"
Henevi startles just a little at Atalo's sudden arrival, but with the distance and his not demonstrating any threat as he appears that quickly fades and her expression blossoms into a brilliant smile. She rises to her feet and approaches him, arms out, to offer him a hug that's emotionally warm but physically cool, due to the lack of Blush, and then to kiss him on his cheek. "Guardian," she answers him. "Tonight finds me quite well. I'm glad for nights where I can see the sky, but I do often miss being able to see it more clearly, without the city's lights dimming the stars."
He pauses, a little awkward, but pats her on the back and returns the hug, dipping his head lightly at the kiss to his cheek. Releasing his grip on Cerberus now he's not concealing the dog he lets him go to explore their immediate surroundings. "Yes. Humans harnessing lightning and storing it.. I learned to not underestimate them as I used to." A quiet chuckle. "But downsides, mm. I remember growing up and seeing the heavens every night. Harder when it's hidden."
"Me too, my friend." Henevi says with a nostalgic sigh. "Shall we go for a walk? There's a place where I think we could set up an altar, right out under the sky, and I would be happy to show it to you."
"Please." He grins toothily, stepping back and stretching. "I've practised along for a long time, it'll be good to share that with others too. And out here, away from prying eyes."
Henevi gestures toward one of the smaller structures to the side of the courtyard where the cars are. "Members of my cult tend to come and go until the middle of the night," she admits. "Hmm. I should say that many of them are potential members, but don't know the details yet. But they stick to this area except for planned events." She starts walking in the opposite direction, toward a path that leads away into the estate's grounds, moving at an entirely leisurely pace.
He pads after her, flanking on one side and signalling for Cerberus to do so on the other. "What would they make of me, if they saw me?" He asks curiously. "Humans have been known to worship the blood many times over, and those who possess it. Is that their nature here?"
"They're my worshippers," Henevi confirms with a smile, one of kinder disposition than might often come from Kindred who claim that humans worship them as gods. "The ones who are close enough and of the right mindset to learn of my divine nature, in any case. The others come to enjoy themselves and find similarly minded company, but are kept away from the more ritualistic aspects of what happens here." She leads Atalo through an iron-and-oak door in a perimeter wall, and continues along a path that leads to the wooded lands surrounding the estate.
A respectful nod to that. "Because the blood can elevate us, if we accept its gifts, make us more then we are. I am learning that, hgn. Why have the strengths I do if not to serve Artemis?" He grins once more. "And those willing to open their eyes, mm, faith is rewarded?"
"In many ways, my dear Atalo, since the day that we were embraced it's the blood that makes us what we are," Henevi replies as they stroll. The woods are quiet enough enough at night, but there are sounds of life continuing on around them, still. Insects, the distant hooting of an owl, something moving away from them in the underbrush. "It's what keeps us here, walking the earth. It's what gives us strength and ability beyond mortal reach. It's what lets us work magic; that power comes from us, and our blood."
He nods. "I'm hard to kill, strong, and have means to be heard by the natural world, and to go unseen. Most of my own strength is internal and integral to me. I don't have much that can affect the wider world. But, if you and Phaedra are willing to teach me, I'd be grateful." He pauses on speaking the Haurspex's name, before carrying on. "What do you think you and her would ask in payment for those lessons?"
"The question is flawed, the entire framework inaccurate." Phaedra's voice is soft as she steps up beside Atalo. She's barefoot and dressed in a floaty white dress. She gestures a rectangle in mid-air, and then a slashing motion.
Henevi turns when Phaedra arrives, already smiling from the sound of that voice. "There's Phaedra! Hello, dear one. Please, share with us your philosophy."
"Phaedra." Atalo glances her way, his manner softening a touch as he nods slowly, a flicker of a smile showing. "It'd be rude to ask you both to show me those things and be unable to repay for it. Mastery over the blood's no small thing, especially with magic involved."
"Why would it be rude? The Circle itself would be strengthened, by you learning such things. It is for the good of the whole, and the glory of the Divine Mother." She laughs, turning to walk backwards in front of the pair. "It's not transactional, it is through cooperative effort a prayer in itself."
Henevi makes a gesture toward Phaedra when she finishes her explanation and says, "you see? In this I happen to agree with our Haruspex wholeheartedly. I would only add that we wouldn't truly be giving you anything, either. The power resides in you already. It's not ours to bestow or withhold. We would only be guiding you in harnessing it." She laughs, cheerful and free. "All we'd be doing is saving you some time, and time is a cheap commodity among us."
He's silent a moment, then smiles widely. "Too much time spent in my own company, I forgot the strength of the Circle. We're all parts of the whole, after all, and we all have a role to play.
Me being better at mine is, mm.. good, beneficial." A wry look at Henevi. "True enough. I've seen quite a few years, and they're relatively easy to come by."
"Cruac is simply the forms and symbols we use to reach into the heart of the Beast and pull power out. What's interesting is seeing how different Kindred work within Cruac, what...mm, 'trappings' sounds dismissive, but really, that's kinda the idea. How do you dress blood sorcery up, in order to make it make sense to the parts of your mind that aren't Beast."
"Here is where Phaedra and I differ in our perspectives," Henevi says with another laugh. It's one of enjoyment and delight, not mockery, for she clearly embraces this kind of discussion. "I view the Beast as another aspect of our personal magic, not as the source of it. It's not some external force, like a supernatural parasite that empowers its host, but a facet of ourselves made internally manifest."
The Gangrel looks between them, considering. "To me." He decides. "The Beast is of my blood, vitae, coiled in there and waiting for when I reach for it. Be that for strength or healing or protection, but, I'm always stronger then I would be without it. So the Beast is always active and part of me. In short, I am the Beast. But sometimes it rests." A soft smile to Phaedra. "Which is when the Soldier puts down his sword."
Phaedra grins. "Oh, Henevi, supernatural parasite's a very broad brush to paint the shard of the Divine within us, that which comes from the Mother of Beasts herself. On some level, all Beasts are one Beast, recognizing itself through the lens of the Kindred, constantly embroiled in struggle within and without. That's where my philosophy sits on things. That also ties to why the Nereids are wrong. Their Beast is, heh, drowned out by the thing from below, the entity of the Depths."
"I've found that there tend to be nearly as many philosophies on our nature as their are Kindred to have them. Maybe more, since people's views change with time and understanding," Henevi says with an echo of Phaedra's grin, which she shares with both Atalo and Phaedra alike.
Their leisurely stroll into the woods finally brings them to a small walled garden, where the door is currently propped open, and Henevi leads the way inside. It's a well tended space within, with enough room for a small pond, a few benches, and a reasonably large flat area in the middle, surrounded by well tended gardens on all sides.
"In a sense." Atalo hums. "I respect their dedication to what they serve. Singularity of purpose. But it's not true devotion. They speak with its voice, become elements of it. They're puppets, not devotees. And perhaps then a Kindred is simply a blend of the Beast with the humans it empowers and changes. We're not dead, simply beyond life." Falling silent the Guardian and his hound follow the other two, gaze sweeping the revealed garden as they enter.
Phaedra wiggles her bare toes against the ground, before kneeling to feel the dirt with her fingers. "Atalo, I didn't think you had a taste for philosophy."
"Nor I, but I agree with you, Atalo. Devotion is impossible when the will is subsumed," Henevi agrees. She doesn't make any explanation about the space where they've arrived, just lets the others take it in as they like. "Forcing submission and commanding someone to go through the motions of worship doesn't bring veneration from anyone except the self. It's simply spiritual masturbation." The disdain she has for the idea is entirely evident.
"There are a number of aspects to me you're both still to discover." He notes to them wryly. "But as you said, time is cheap to us. You have the time to learn them." A cant of his head. "It was.. hgn, a long time ago, when I ran with werewolves. That was a good life until it ended." A nod to Henevi. "Empty, without connection or true fulfilment. Connecting with others beyond the physical, I find that part of true worship." He kneels himself, pressing a flat hand to the earth.
"You ran with werewolves? What were they like?" She gives Atalo a questioning look, her big blue eyes wide and full of wonder.
He sits back on his haunches. "This would have been.. sometime in the 1700s.. I think. I'm not always good at recording time and some decades drifted, others raced. There were wars, but the one at the time, hgn.. it was to do with this country and France singing an agreement and coming into conflict with Britain. But you were asking about werewolves, not when."
His eyes grow distant. "Primal, savage, and strong for it. They didn't question their nature or argue it, they delved into it and accepted themselves for what they were. and for a time, me. But time's a curse as well as a blessing. Still, they made me who I am now." A finger points at Phaedra. "You'd know this, that there are realms beyond our own, and they showed me, this reflection where great powers act and rest, and where for a time, I saw Artemis. Briefly, and not without pain, but that, She showed me my path."
"A true blessing, to be able to see what your path is." She moves to sit beside him, her back against his arm, comfortably close. "You saw the realm of spirits, then. The Shadow. I've been thinking a lot about spirits, lately--though not in anywhere near that sort of a context."
"You don't mind touching me now?" He asks quietly. "Before.." A brief pause, and he picks up the conversation, leaving that statement behind. "That's what Amie called it. That or Hisil. They were part of it, and I wasn't, but I still learned a few aspects." A smile. "Share your thoughts?"
"Before, you kissed me. I'm not good with being kissed by men who look older than me. I'd like...warning, before you touch me in affectionate ways. Okay? And please understand if I'm not okay with it." She gives him a quiet look. "It's...not a you-problem, it's a me-problem, but it's a big one."
"That happens to be one of my areas of focus," Henevi speaks up, after wandering back from beside the pond. "Spirits and the Shadow, I mean." She doesn't butt in on the other matter.
He nods, dipping his head. "You and Henevi, a few others, matter a good deal to me. And I don't want to cause you any harm, so yes, I understand, and I'll respect that and what is right for you." A slight smile and a nod to Henevi. "My knowledge is somewhat faded." He admits.
"Thank you for understanding." She nods, then looks at Henevi. "Have you done any work with the spirits of objects? I've...been thinking about them, since I got a chance to look at Sledge's bike under Auspex. It's blessed with Vitae, somehow."
"Some," Henevi says before admitting, "not a considerable experience, though. My focus tends to be on more conceptual and emotional spirits, rather than animistic ones, but sometimes I've put out calls vague enough that the spirits of objects have answered. What's so special about Sledge's bike?" She carefully lowers herself to the grass in front of Phaedra and Atalo, legs folded to the side, and looks at Phaedra with quite the dose of curiosity.
"This can be done?" He asks, looking between them before he reaches for his back with the arm Phaedra's not leaned against, removing his axe and lying it on the ground between them. "A bond with a spirit would be a powerful thing." Atalo scratches briefly at his cheek, likewise looking to Phaedra.
"It's...bloodstained in more ways than one. It moves fast, faster than I've ever seen anything move before, faster than I can run with Celerity. I don't know what she does, but with Auspex, I could taste...blood, mixed with chemicals, like maybe gas or motor oil? They are partnered, Sledge and her motorcycle, bonded somehow, and it's beautiful to see."
"Fascinating," Henevi says with no exaggeration. "I might have to ask her about this some time, and see it for myself if she'll let me. I wonder if we could summon the spirit of the thing." She has a thought, which prompts her to add, "do you think it might be much like a ghoul? Have you studied the bond of a ghoul that way?"
"There is me and Cerberus." Atalo notes. "And yourself and Lamara Henevi. A blood bond, you're thinking? I didn't realize it could be done with an object, but perhaps if it's inhabited by a spirit, if it lives? Realms beyond ours, indeed."
"How would you go about ghouling a motorcycle?" She blinks at the idea. "Maybe next time I see Sledge, I should ask more about it. If I'm not distracted by, well...Sledge."
There's a smile that lingers on her lips after saying the Gangrel's name.
"I have no idea, but it could be a quirk of her lineage," Henevi suggests. "I like the way that I can temporarily gift beauty and strength of personality to mortals, or can pull upon the vitae in Lamara from a distance, or push it into her. Maybe she has some way of bonding with the spirit in the motorcycle?" Her expression brightens and she lets out a laugh. "Is that a crush, Phaedra? I sure hope so." It's actual delight, not teasing, but it might not come across that way.
Atalo cants his head, tapping the axe blade. "I'd like to talk to her too, if she's willing to share that information. A weapon becomes so much more if there's a bond, or connection there." He regards Phaedra thoughtfully at Henevi's last question.
"I'm not sure if it's a crush. I like spending time with her. I like when she spends time with me. But...she's not the only one I feel that way about, so. I really don't know how to talk about any of that sort of thing." She looks down at her hands for a moment. "I don't...want to end up in the sort of relationship most people seem to want, anyway. So, I'm not sure if it matters if it is a crush?"
"That would be an interesting thought as well, Atalo. I wonder if we can find some way to bring out a bond between you and your axe." Henevi thinks about that, but only for a moment before she asks Phaedra, "what makes you think you can only have one crush at a time? As for the kind of relationship you want, that's for you to decide, and then set boundaries around. Learning how to talk about these things just comes with time. If you want to practice with someone who will adore and support and understand and accept you no matter what you might stumble over, you could talk to Lamara. She enjoys teaching people how to have those kinds of conversations, and I'm sure she would roleplay scenarios with you, without judgment."
"I can speak for Lamara's wisdom." Atalo nods. "And why would it matter what most want? What matters is what you'd, and Sledge, if that happens, would want."
"...thank you both." She pauses, then looks at Atalo's axe. "If not bond it to you, perhaps rouse the spirit within it, and convince it to aid you in a fight. The spirit of an axe ought to be empowered, by doing what it was made for, hm?"
"We could try calling to it," Henevi says as they move on from Phaedra's feelings to other topics. "It may or may not answer. Chances are high that it's in the shadow, and not in our realm, and may not be able to come to my call."
"Then what might rouse it, and draw it out?" Atalo asks. "It's been with me a long time this axe, and witnessed a lot. Perhaps that would have an impact? Perhaps there's a spirit within that simply needs encouragement."
"It's something to research and work toward, I think. I want to study Guy's bike as well, to compare to Sledge's, but if they really have found some sort of a way to ghoul them, that's not quite the same really." She shrugs, before sitting up pretzel style, breaking contact with Atalo and smoothing her dress over her legs.. "Things to consider, things to consider."
"Crossing between worlds usually requires a place of power," Henevi explains to Atalo. "You may be familiar with loci from your time with werewolves, given their affinity for the spirit realm?" She tilts her head to look up at the stars, which are visible above the cleaning in the woods. "We might have to develop a ritual of our own to call things across that boundary. I can't imagine the passing would be easy, without such a place. We might also be able to develop a way to reach across the barrier between our worlds, to speak with a spirit that way, without bringing it here."
"To a degree." He nods. "Somewhere powerful with emotions, or a concept, I believe. But I've no way of seeing where that's caused a loci." He smiles. "I'll offer my support in that task, my dedication, even if I lack the understanding you both have. You still have my faith to the Circle, and I feel that's a solid thing."
"And your axe." She may actually be referencing the Lord of the Rings movies there, sticking her tongue out impishly, before her attention turns back to Henevi.
Henevi, unsurprisingly, doesn't get the reference and just nods. "You know, we would all be served by having a communal location for the working of magic. I was thinking that this place would be a good one for building an altar." She gestures broadly with an arm. "The walls and the distance from the nearest ears would let us work magic together with privacy and without interruption."
Neither does Atalo, Phaedra just gets a confused look. "Wasn't that part of the idea?" He leans back, then smiles at Henevi. "You know my nature. I'm content to follow guidance. And this does feel a good place, one we can keep safe and away from outside interference,"
"Is it a place we can come when you're busy elsewhere? Are we all welcome here?" She brushes a hand against the dirt again.
"Yes," Henevi answers to Phaedra's question. "You two, at least, and most of the others within the Circle of the Crone. Anyone who is willing to invest themselves in the strength of our community's altar, for certain."
"There are others, yes." He nods. "Lamara, though she's already here. Lethia, the Sakima and Shiri, I hope all the Circle can be welcomed here, if this is where one of our altars will be."
"A grove, a glade, a sky-roofed temple. I like it." She nods. "It is good."
"I wouldn't object to any of their presences," Henevi agrees. "The natural world around us and the sky above is important to me, in my ritual work. I'll do it indoors if I must, but I prefer not to."
"And most of my years were spent before the discovery of electricity, when the night sky was far clearer, and I'm a Savage, even in a city. So those things tend to me as well."
"I am of the night. I will work under the stars, if it's at all possible." She grins at both of them.
"It seems like we're agreed, then." Henevi looks over toward the clearing. "What do you envision, Phaedra and Atalo, when you think of an altar for your devotion? What things would you need to feel as though it were complete?"
He stands, turning his gaze to the sky above. "A place for offerings from the hunt. Where devotion can be shown it's achieved through actions.
"A flat surface that's kept clean, or that can be covered with a cloth. I work with tarot cards, for my divinations, and don't want them to be affected by blood that's not related to a reading."
"I don't hunt the way you do, Atalo. You're going to have to tell me what that means to you, I think, in more concrete terms. Or work on setting things up for yourself, which you have my permission to do. We have no shortage of space in here."
Henevi listens to Phaedra as well, then nods. "I like a large, flat surface as well. Enough for a person to lay upon at least, and possibly too. Well smoothed, so that it isn't rough upon the skin. A structure above it that things can be suspended from is also useful for me, but that can be portable and moved into and out of place, or we can have more than one flat surface to work upon."
The Gangrel nods. "How much do you both know about the Hounds of Acteaon? We are driven to hunt and kill, that's our nature. But I've learned to not be callous or indiscriminate. And so when needed I'll hunt down an individual, a human who has caused harm to others and will keep doing so, someone of temporal power and wealth who misuses it. And they're hunted and offered to Artemis."
"The Soldier, not the Poet." She nods slightly. "It's good, that you only do it to those who cause harm to others."
"We've spoken about this before," Henevi confirms. "I take no issue with the idea of killing when it serves a purpose, only with aimless and callous slaughter."
"That part of my existence is long past." He tells Henevi, with a flash of shame. "I won't fight in humanity's wars anymore."
Phaedra nods, and slowly levers to her feet. "I ought to be heading out. I have a tarot reading to do in a bit, an appointment. But it was good to talk to both of you."
"I think we're all agreed, then," Henevi says, and she rises from her own spot on the grass. "It was good to see you, Phaedra," she continues as she offers a parting hug. "Take care." She looks at Atalo. "Should we head back as well? I was still planning to head into the city tonight to take care of some things."
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