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Having arranged a time and place to introduce two of the newer vamps in the city to each other, Eyrgjafa has given them both the address of the house she owns in Lansdale. Not that Phaedra needs it, having been there before, but. Better to be safe than sorry.
Phaedra shows up, dressed in a casual outfit, peasant blouse and jeans--her hair's loose and a little tangled, and there might be some leaves in there today from wherever? But she's definitely eager to answer the call. She even has a small backpack with her--likely with a tarot deck and some other things.
Eyrgjafa rises when she hears the doorbell, going to answer it. She's dressed in jeans and a teeshirt tonight, nothing formal. "Evening, Phaedra. How've you been?" The Mekhet gets a smile in greeting. "Rena shouldn't be too much longer, I hope." There's only one raincoat on the hook by the front door, this time. Mina must be off somewhere.
"I've been good. Trying to stay out of trouble, you know. Rena...she's the one Nevermore mentioned yesterday. Right?" As she steps inside, she kicks off her sandals.
"She is, yes. I've been helping her adjust to our society, but she needs friends closer to her age than I am." Beat. "You look about the same age, too, which will help outside our community."
"Hmm, does she know you're planning to try to set her up with a friend?" Phaedra watches Eyrgjafa, the question light.
Rena is late. Fashionably late, mind you, but still late. She stomps up to the door, left hand in her pocket and bangs on it, trying her hardest to be abrasive without smashing the door. She's wearing her "Bash the Fash" overlarge shirt and carrying her dufflebag and has a gruff look on her face. She's not looking forward to this, clearly.
"I may have mentioned something of that nature to her." Eyrgjafa shrugs lightly, glancing up at the banging. "That must be her now."
Phaedra steps aside a little, uncertainly watching as Eyrgjafa answers the door.
"Yo!" Rena shouts, trying to look through the little peephole, "Let me in! I hate this neighborhood!" There is a nonzero chance that a neighbor is calling the cops on this junkie looking woman banging and shouting on Eyrgjafa's door.
The door swings open just as Rena's about to peer inside. "Keep your voice down, will you? I don't want to deal with the cops tonight."
Phaedra takes a small step back, the banging and shouting doing her a bit of a startle. But there's something thoughtful building in her eyes.
Rena enters. "It's not my fault you live like the Brady Bunch. Bet your neighbors call the cops when their sprinklers break. Fucking hate the suburbs." Rena heads in and sees the other Mekhet. "Hey, you're Phaedra, right? Eyr was talkin' you up."
"I like my space. This allows me plenty of it, while not worrying about being too far from the city." As Rena enters the house proper, there are scattered signs that Eyrgjafa's not the only inhabitant - soccer trophies on the mantlepiece, a few carefully painted miniatures and some oddly shaped dice on the coffee table.
"Yes, I'm Phaedra. You might've heard more about me, than I've heard about you, so far. Maybe. But I bet Eyrgjafa only said the nice things." She gives the Daeva a sidelong glance.
"I mean, shit like, 'hey, I know a cool person you can talk to,'" Rena says in a terrible impression of Eyrgjafa, "nothin' substantial. 'Nd I'm sure she was telling you all about how I'm a big fucking mess." She goes up and examines the soccer trophies. "She any good?" she asks Eyr with a sidelong glance.
"There wouldn't be trophies up if she wasn't," Eyrgjafa points out, smiling slightly. "And no, I didn't tell Phaedra any of that sort of thing. It's your story to tell, not mine."
"Are you a fucking mess?" She turns her wide-eyed gaze onto Rena, head tilting to one side.
Rena continues inspecting the place without looking at either of the other two. "There are shit kids on good teams and good kids on shit teams," she says, moving over to the miniatures, "she paint these? Kid's got talent." Then she turns to Phaedra, actually looking her in the eyes, and gives a sarcastic salute. "Yep. Rena Harlowe, professional fucking mess. That's why Chip is trying to set me up with people who aren't fucking messes. So hi! How are you?"
"Those are her work, yeah." Eyrgjafa glances at them, then at Rena. "That sort of thing something you're into?" The Daeva sounds genuinely curious.
Phaedra laughs. "Oh, well, if that's what she was trying to do, she's made a mistake, you know. Because I'm not people who aren't fucking messes, not really. But I mean. That can maybe be okay too?"
"Nah, I just like people who have talents with cool shit like art. Can't paint to save my life." Rena looks Phaedra over a little before visibly relaxing. "Thank god, at least we can be fucked up together. How long you been a vamp?"
"We're all fucking messes, when you get down to it." Eyrgjafa points out. "Some of us just hide it better."
"Five years now. So, yeah, I'm almost as young as I look? Not like the folks who've been around forever-and-ever. Which is probably really why she thought we'd get along, because we're young."
A glance at Eyrgjafa. "The other one you wanted to bring the union rules to?"
"Barely a year. 'M younger than you in looks and truth, I think," Rena shrugs, "You know Finley? Zhe and I were talkin' about getting a bunch of vamps to watch Twilight, if you want in."
She turns to Eyr, "I'll pass on unionizing, thank you. I don't want to owe anyone."
"She was, actually." Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly. "No skin off my nose if you don't want in. I was too old for it even when it started." She glances between the younger two. "Twilight?"
"What's Twilight? I know Finley--zhe's pretty alright. But I don't...uh. I haven't seen a lot of movies or TV shows." She looks sheepish.
Rena puts on her best innocent impression. "It's this beautiful classic film about vampires and love. It's wonderful, really. Better than Casablanca. I feel like it'd be a boon to the kindred experience." She nods beatifically. "'Nd if you need someone to show you shit, I know great shit to watch."
"Truly? I tend not to watch movies about our kind, they get so much wrong." Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly. "I do like a good love story, though."
"I mean, knowing great shit's nice and all, but I sort of don't have a TV or anything to watch on. I guess I could maybe on my phone? Maybe. I don't really...know much about that." She shrugs. "But, uh, if you and Finley are planning a movie night, I guess...I mean, I could come?"
"I mean, I don't have one either, I just watch stuff on my phone." Rena pauses for a second, looking at the leaves in Phaedra's hair. "Do you have a home? If you don't, I bet there's a ton of people who could help you out. And you really should come to movie night, I think Huck needs more friends who don't scare them and aren't scared of them."
Eyrgjafa mutters something in Icelandic before reverting to English. "Like we talked about, Phaedra, I'd be more than happy to help you out. With this, too." She glances at Rena then. "Huck? Is that a reference to something?"
"I have a home. It might be out in the woods, but it's mine, and it's good." She sounds a little bit defensive.
"Yeah, Huck Finn. Literary classic. By Mark Twain, I think." Then Rena pauses, turning to Eyr. "Is that why you brought us together? Trying to get the two no home girls to take charity?" She quickly turns to Phaedra, "She/her, right?"
Eyrgjafa sighs. "If I said no, would that make you feel better or worse about coming?"
"She/her, yeah." She nods, but still seems a little sullen about the matter.
"Depends on if you're tellin' the truth or not," Rena says, sticking her hands in her pockets, "If you are, then no would be good to hear because that's a stupid fucking plan to be tryin' on me. If you start lying to me about shit like that though, this night is gonna go south real fast."
Eyrgjafa arches an eyebrow at that. "Are you trying to threaten me, in my own haven?"
"Either way, the point's moot. I don't need anyone's charity." She rocks forward a little on the balls of her feet, then back again.
"Point's not moot," Rena says, her voice getting louder, "I need to know how little she thinks of us. And jesus, yes, that was a threat but not the punchy kind. Like I'm threatening you that I'm going to get real pissed off and leave and probably never talk to you again. Maybe knock over a trash can. I ain't gonna hurt you."
"I don't invite people I think little of into my haven, Rena." Eyrgjafa sighs. "And it's not about charity. This isn't because I pity you, or any of that Christian stuff. Taking care of the community is a religious obligation for me, yes, but it's about helping you become stronger. Not reliant on me, except as you choose to be."
She shoots Rena a look, trying specifically to catch a reaction to 'that Christian stuff'.
Rena snarls. "If you don't pity me, then what the fuck are you doing this for? And you say you don't think little of me and yet you scheme me into talking to Phaedra over there hoping that we'll come together and start agreein' with you even though I keep telling you that I don't need your help? That looks like thinking little to me but hey, what do I know? Maybe I need your help using my brain too."
"I asked you here because I thought you and Phaedra would get on well together. Not to manipulate you into taking stuff from me." Eyrgjafa sounds slightly frustrated. "I know you had a hard life, before, but not everybody is out to use you, Rena."
"Just most people. But Eyrgjafa's not one of them. She pretty much thrives on the idea she's a good person for the sake of being a good person."
Rena grumbles and flops down on a sofa, legs in front of her torso and boots on the sofa itself. "As long as we're all on the same page that all I'm taking is space on this couch, this can work. Start trying to sell me shit and I'm out. Got it?" Even though she's known Phaedra for like 10 minutes at most, she still has to respect the recommendation of anyone who agrees that you can't trust most people. "Phaedra, you like comics?"
Eyrgjafa blinks. "Why would I be trying to sell you shit? Is this some idiom?"
Phaedra lets out a little bit of a growl.
"I've never really read comics. Look. Rena. I was raised in a fundamentalist sex-and-apocalypse sort of Christian cult run by my uncle. I didn't go to school, never had access to TV or the internet until I got my fangs. I have not done any of the normal person stuff you have. Okay? So, if you're going to try to connect with me through pop culture, it's going to be a lot of you teaching me shit, because I just don't know how much I don't know. I have never been outside of the state, I have never eaten most foods that everyone raves about. I've never done a lot of things. So...so. Whatever ball of self-pity you've wrapped yourself around, whatever bitterness you have in your heart, you've got a lot of a headstart on me, in terms of, like...everything. And don't you dare turn around and try to pity me for what I've been through. Okay?"
The volume of her voice grows throughout that rant, until she's all but screaming at Rena.
That activates Rena's big sister mode right away. "Fuck, dude," she says at a loss for words, before deciding to double down on the first thought she has. Rena is nothing if not stubborn. "Well we should fix that, shouldn't we? Get you versed in pop culture basics. We live forever, right? Figure that's enough time to get you knowing my references. There's a saying in the comic community: every comic is someone's first. Here's yours." She pulls a slightly beat up omnibus of the Phoenix Saga out of her bag and hands it over. "Keep it, don't read it, I don't give a shit. I didn't pay for it."
Eyrgjafa arches an eyebrow at this attempt to connect, but doesn't interfere.
Phaedra steps closer slowly and accepts the book, brushing her hand over the front cover quietly. "It's a fuck. Becoming Kindred was the best thing that ever happened. My life only ever started when I died, isn't that amazing? I know it's not that way for a lot of us. Like...I've talked to Finley, Alex. But. For me, this is all I've ever wanted, a life where I can choose."
"I get that. Not the vampire part, I'm in Finley's boat there, but the bein' free to choose part. I ran away from my parents when I was young. Don't regret it. I've got nothing to my name and I'm dead but it's still better than bein' back there. Freedom's a rush, ain't it?" Rena says, giving Phaedra a soft warm smile. "I know I can be kind of a dumb fuck and I can say too many references, so if I start saying shit you don't get, tell me and I'll explain it to you or shut up, which ever you prefer."
"The embrace can be hard, yeah." Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly. "I wouldn't trade Rhea or Tahmina for the world, but if I had the chance, I would happily make the blood eagle of my sire."
"Please explain it. Please always explain it. I would always rather know, so I can learn. And...not just with pop culture, with like, normal things too. See. There's times when I'll know there's a word for a thing and I explain my way around it and I get my point across, but I still end up feeling really stupid, because I don't have the words."
"Okay, don't tell anyone this, but I had straight As till I dropped out. I could probably tutor you on some shit if you want. I don't know everything, but I could probably do a passible job with history or vocab." Rena's smile switches back to its usual bombastic and slightly smug grin. "Just don't tell anyone. I like 'em thinking I'm dumb."
She turns to face Eyr and asks, "Okay, I gotta know. What the fuck is the blood eagle?"
"Traditional Norse method of execution. Supposedly. Scholars differ on whether it ever actually happened." Beat. "Take a guy, lie him facedown, cut his ribs away from his spine, and then pull the lungs out to either side, so that they resemble an eagle's wings."
"...can we do that to my uncle for real?" Her eyes seem to light up at the idea, before she pauses, flopping onto the sofa beside Rena. "Why do you like people thinking you're dumb?"
"Hey, if you tell me where to find your uncle, I'll help," Rena says with a light laugh, before more soberly saying," Don't like people knowing shit I worked at before I ran away. Definitely don't like people trying to get me to make something of myself. Like people being surprised by cool shit I know. Pick one of the three."
She squints at Rena. "All three, but the second and third are really in conflict with one another, because you actually kinda want people to acknowledge you're someone who's competent, but you don't want them getting the idea to use that competence to their own advantage. You really do want more for yourself, but you don't know how to reach for it yet, and don't want anyone else deciding what's best and you're still working out who to trust in terms of asking how to get from where you are to someplace better. Right?"
"I... you... what?" Rena says, taken very aback. She curls in on herself more than she already has been and moves her dufflebag to be in her hands. "Obviously that's n- why would you- did you use Auspex on me?" she eventually stammers out. She's trying to keep herself from looking nervous, but it's not really working.
"We don't need Auspex to read people, Rena. It helps, of course, but relying solely on the powers the blood gives means you run the risk of coming across someone who's more skilled with them." Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly, turning to Phaedra. "If you have your uncle's name and other identifying info, and he's still around, we can make that happen, sure."
She shakes her head. "I wouldn't use Auspex on someone in Eyrgjafa's home. That'd be rude."
"Yeah, but I was hopin' it was that so I wasn't read for filth by someone I met less than half an hour ago. Don't like hearin' myself said out loud like that for reasons Phaedra over there already told you. Fuck." Rena continues to withdraw into herself, fiddling with something in her left pocket.
"If you think that was bad, you should have been there the time she tore a strip off Banan." Eyrgjafa snickers quietly. "That was amazing."
"Look. Look. That man is the biggest hypocrite on the planet, and if I see him again, I'll say it again." She crosses her arms over her chest, holding the comic omnibus Rena had given her against her heart, kinda like holding a stuffed animal. "I can't stand people who lie to themselves in public. Lie to me, sure, but don't try to pretend you believe what you're saying."
There's something undeniably adorable at Phaedra holding the book like that. Rena says nothing about it. "Wish I could have. Hypocrites getting told off is a top ten experience."
"Oh, please do." Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly. "I'm not one of the Sanctimonious, so you'll hear no complaints about you humiliating him from me."
She glances at Rena. "Sorry for calling you out so hard. It's just...you asked me to pick one, and from how you acted earlier, it was kinda...there."
Rena looks away to hide that she was totally looking at her before turning back smoothly, "it's fine. I mean, wish you hadn't, but you weren't wrong. You weren't misrepresenting me or treating me like I wasn't what I am. It's impressive frankly. Bet if you knew me for longer, you could figure out my social security number."
"And what are you, then, Rena?" Eyrgjafa asks. "Are you the deliberate fuckup, or are you the woman who wants to make something of herself on her terms?"
Phaedra waits for the answer, picking one of the leaves out of her hair and trying to figure out what to do with it. She settles on putting it in a pocket.
Rena opens her mouth to speak and then closes it. She repeats that process a couple of times before finally saying, "I wanna be the second, but then when I fuck up it'll look way worse. I'm having to do all sorts a shit I suck at lately and people who I actually care about are watching me and it's... I dunno, fuck, I suck at introspection and emotions. Can we all go back to pretending I have no emotions or depth other than being angry and liking fights and pop culture shit I saw in my teenage years?"
"We could, if that's what you really want." Eyrgjafa says. "But I think if you wanted that to be all anyone knows of you, you wouldn't have come here tonight, or taken Guy's offer to become his protégé."
"It's okay to suck at introspection. I'll...ex-trospect you." She seems to be teasing.
"You shut up," Rena giggles, reaching over to shove Phaedra before stopping with a hand in front of her, "you okay with being touched? Like just for a light shove."
She then turns back to Eyr. "You two ever get tired of being right? Look, I'm going to do my best and work with Guy and see if he can't let me crash at the new ordo base after I help clear it out. But... I wouldn't expect great things of me.
Eyrgjafa blinks. "Why would Guy be involved in that decision, even once we get the new base sorted? He might be mentoring you, but that doesn't mean he controls where you sleep."
Phaedra leans into that hand, like a cat deigning to allow itself to be petted. "You're fine. Any guy who looks like he's over about thirty-five? Less so. I once almost had a panic attack in Atalo's shop because he kissed me on the forehead. And Rena, I don't expect great things. I'm just kinda hoping you're an okay friend, while you get yourself wherever you're going."
Rena gives the promised light shove. She cringes at the story. "Remind me to stay away from that shop then. I'd have kicked his ass if he did that to me. And, uh... thanks." The best thing about not being blushed is that no one can see you heat up when a cute girl gives you the best compliment you've ever been given.
She whips her head around to focus on Eyr before Phaedra can read her again and says, "I just figured that he's got more clout than me. He could put in a good word for me being the guardian or at least help me work out something where I can work with him in exchange for the space."
"Does that extend to women, Phaedra, or just men?" Eyrgjafa asks, careful to keep her voice gentle. Her attention turns to Rena at the reply. "Oh. Well, we need to discuss it further, but he, myself, and a couple of others were actually talking about forming a coterie to act as guardians, so that it doesn't fall on any one Dragon."
"Women are okay, and like...a warning helps, in general. And I like to hold people's hands. And some other stuff. But not too much?" She shrugs, staying out of the Ordo talk.
"I'll make sure to give you warnings before I shove you. Better not dodge," Rena jokingly warns. "Yeah, that works for me. I'm better off not having to do all the work anyway. 's long as I can still sleep there and put it on my resume."
"Okay, then." Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly. "I wasn't planning on doing anything that'd fall under the "too much" category with you anyway, so."
"Anyway, I should probably head out. But, uh...can I get your number first, maybe, Rena?"
"Yeah, don't hesitate to text me," Rena says, reading off her number, "and stay safe, apparently something's been attacking new vamps like us." She stands up, "I should probably get goin' too. I actually have a meeting to go to. Recovery group." She says that last part directly at Eyr, a look warning that if she says anything there will be violence.
"Be safe, you two." Eyrgjafa stands as well, walking the pair out.
"That something's probably the guy calling himself Rihat." She programs the number into her phone, as she stands. "I kiiinda still wanna meet him. Kinda."
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