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Post by Esmerelda Baxter on Sept 13, 2009 13:58:45 GMT -5
The rainy afternoon was beginning to grow frustrating. Overcast skies usually provided a perfect setting for Esme to use in going out to the gardens without fear of sunburn, but when the rain was added in, she was stuck going nowhere at all. Staring blankly at the tall window as the rain continued to beat dully against the glass, she finally grew tired of the sound and walked out of the sitting room. Passing down the hallway to the library - which didn't even have windows - she slipped inside and started passing through the aisles of books. Well-stocked, the room housed some 10,000 volumes at present, and new ones were being rotated in in favor of old ones being done away with.
Settling down close to the fireplace with one tome she kept returning to, Esme chose to forget that she would soon have to entertain some woman her father had invited over - at least until he returned home. She had already had to do this countless times over the past year, and was starting to grow sick of meeting new faces and having to learn which name went with which. Sending word down with one of the staff house-elves that this woman should be brought upstairs to the library when she arrived, she flipped the book open to where she'd left off and started reading, centered in her own little world.
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Post by Noelle Hailey Morgan on Sept 13, 2009 14:12:02 GMT -5
Noelle glared at the wet pavement, irritated that the soles of her new boots were getting wet before she had properly broke them in. She hated fall in general, and she only liked rain when she was inside. Autumn meant that one had to wear more clothes, and she certainly didn't like trading her bikinis for sweaters.
Noelle was dressed for the occasion- and the weather- in a short gray skirt with black tights, her black boots, and a soft black cashmere turtleneck that hid the healing marks on her shoulder. Her long hair was in a casual knot at the base of her neck, and her green eyes were brooding.
She still didn't really know what to think about her meeting with Nick. The sex was good, and he was hot, but for the love of Merlin he was a freaking vampire. And he had sent her roses, a sign he didn't know her at all. Noelle only liked receiving flowers from her friends and family, much preferring jewelry from her men. Still, the black and red one was beautiful, and in a vase by her bed.
She rang the doorbell and was immediately attended by a houseelf, who led her to the library. She didn't spare her surroundings a glance as her eyes fell on another female. "Who are you?" She asked stiffly, frowning.
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Post by Esmerelda Baxter on Sept 13, 2009 15:07:54 GMT -5
Like always, Esme was right in the middle of a fascinating part of the text when interrupted. Flicking a glance upwards as the house-elf squeaked explanation for the other woman's presence, she watched the small creature leave, then sighed and snapped the book shut with no small amount of irritation. Another bed-partner of her father's, the look of her confirmed it..at least this one was younger and better-looking than the last.
"Esme Baxter, and don't jump to conclusions about the surname. I'm Nickolas' daughter. And I suppose you're here to see him." She sounded bored, and stood only out of a bare sense of propriety. "And you are? He didn't give me a name to put with the face."
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Post by Noelle Hailey Morgan on Sept 13, 2009 16:07:20 GMT -5
Noelle stared at her. Daughter? Nickolas had said nothing about a daughter. Then again, he hadn't said much about himself at all, preferring to introduce himself in... other... ways. "Daughter? Since when?" The girl looked about sixteen, maybe. Noelle wasn't a good judge of age unless it was around her own- she didn't like kids. To her, a baby in diapers was the same as a five year old or a twelve year old. They were all messy, annoying, and smelly. Not at all her cup of tea. Boarding school was in line for her children, should she ever have any- and before one could protest that no boarding school would take an infant, Noelle would smirk and reply that money solved everything. At least, it did in her world.
"I'm Noelle Morgan." She said, raising a brow. She suspected the girl might recognize the name, but even if she didn't, Noelle wouldn't really care. She was too young to run in Noelle's circles. "And when will your father be back?"
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Post by Esmerelda Baxter on Sept 13, 2009 16:59:10 GMT -5
"Yes, daughter." Very nearly smirking, Esme set the book down on a nearby shelf and folded her hands behind her back, adopting an air of nonchalance. She was used to this, most often on the brunt end of shock and disgust - what woman wanted to get involved with someone that had a teenaged daughter? By the time most women actually did get involved, that's when they found out.
"I was the accident child, born a year before he got out of school. He was sixteen, my mum was..twenty-something. She's long dead." Speaking of the matter almost as if she was an outside narrator, she shrugged. "And he'll be back after he gets done hunting." Figuring she already must know about the little bloodsucking thing, she pressed it anyway, "You do realize what he - and I - are, right?" Even if she usually ended up hating the women, they at least had a right to know.
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Post by Noelle Hailey Morgan on Sept 13, 2009 19:40:44 GMT -5
"Oh." Whatever Noelle had been expecting, it hadn't been that. "Yes, I- wait. You too?" She looked over the girl again, taking in her almost perfect beauty. Of course she was. But had Nick been a vampire when she had been concieved? Noelle sure hoped not. She hadn't been using any charms for anti-pregnancy the other night, which, in retrospect, was pretty damn stupid of her. Then again, the whole night in general had been pretty damn stupid of her. Coming here now had been rather stupid, too. Well, it was too late.
"Does hunting usually take him long?" Noelle asked uncertainly, her hand automatically going to the partially healed bite wounds. She caught herself at it a moment later and dropped her hand. She had a feeling the pretty girl in front of her could kill her, if she wanted. In fact, she was sure of it. It rather unnerved her to not be the queen of the room.
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Post by Esmerelda Baxter on Sept 13, 2009 21:38:10 GMT -5
Biting her lower lip, Esme did it to show off the points of her teeth. She didn't see the need to bare them, as she could tell just the thought of it unnerved the other woman. The thought was nearly enough to make her burst out laughing, but she kept in the urge. She wouldn't be the one to chase this one off, not this time around. "Yes, me too. Born with tendencies, turned at seven." Pushing her hair away from the left side of her neck, she showed off the two faint scars there - perfect holes.
"He's been gone about three hours now, should be coming back within fifteen minutes or so." Glancing towards a nearby clock, she nodded in confirmation of that and went to a nearby chair, sitting down. "Sit if you want, might be best to wait in here. He's..not in a very good mood when he first gets home."
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Post by Noelle Hailey Morgan on Sept 13, 2009 21:44:23 GMT -5
Noelle opened her mouth to ask another question- who had turned her- then shut her mouth. The kid didn't matter. The fact that Nick didn't tell her bothered her, but ultimately it was inconsequential. She needed to take care of herself first.
She took a seat on the couch, leaning back and looking as if she was at home. Apparently she had time, so she looked around the room casually. It was an impressive library, but the lack of windows made her prefer her own at home. Not that she ever used it for reading, of course, but other activities...
"Do you know why he asked me here?" Noelle finally asked, locking her eyes on the other girl. She still didn't know what to think of the young vampire, but she was pretty sure she was going to give Nick an earful for not telling her that he had a kid. Men.
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Post by Esmerelda Baxter on Sept 13, 2009 22:00:17 GMT -5
"I wouldn't know, I'm not privy to such matters." Trying not to be too dismissive, Esme scanned the shelf closest to her and chose another of those books that she'd been reading. When bored with something, she'd put it away and pick it up at a later time. She hadn't actually been able to finish reading a book in one sitting without moving onto something else. No sooner did she set it down in her lap and start to open it than the sound of the front door opening reached her ears - that and the way her name was shouted made her flinch just a bit. He wasn't happy..at all.
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Post by Noelle Hailey Morgan on Sept 13, 2009 22:05:08 GMT -5
Noelle turned in her seat when she heard the front door open, and her eyebrows rose over her expressive eyes when she heard him yell the girl's name. So they weren't close, then. Good. The girl seemed sweet enough and all, but she held no interest for Noelle. She rose gracefully to her feet and headed towards the door, every warning the girl had given her forgotten.
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Post by Nickolas Baxter on Sept 13, 2009 22:13:42 GMT -5
"If you've let someone in I didn't want to see-" Able to tell that someone had come calling while he'd been gone - the rug was wet and he had been the only one to leave the house so far that day - Nick still seemed to have a good bit of anger to vent. Not finishing the threat, he started up the stairs and headed for the library first - then met said visitor in the hallway.
"Noelle." He offered in way of greeting, expression oddly harder than what she'd remember. He was also rather wet from the walk home, enough to be dripping on the expensive carpeting. "Wasn't expecting to see you today." He recalled the letter of invitation, but he'd just sent that off two days previous. He rarely ever got an answer in less than half a week.
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Post by Noelle Hailey Morgan on Sept 13, 2009 22:18:08 GMT -5
Noelle bristled at the roughness of his tone when he was addressing her, and her eyes flashed dangerously. This was how he was talking to her? Just who did he think he was?
"Nickolas." She said flatly, her lips twisted into an angry pout. She raised her chin in silent defiance of him. "Seeing as you invited me, you shouldn't be all that surprised to see me." She raised a brow at him, the idea that she was much smaller than him and trying to control him not even striking her as funny, though any observer would clearly think it was. She had plenty more to say to him- but she wasn't going to say it in front of the girl.
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Post by Nickolas Baxter on Sept 13, 2009 22:28:43 GMT -5
"Esme, go to your room, now!" Waiting until the girl complied, Nick let out a breath that sounded like a sharp hiss - and it wasn't like the ones she would remember from their one-night tryst. This was livid. "You want to tell me what else shouldn't surprise me, or was that point the only one?" Dark eyes were fixed on hers..searching and intensely sharp. These were the vampire traits that anyone who studied them would learn of - and would also be drilled in that situations like this were to be avoided. It was never wise to push a vampire that had just fed and still had instincts risen to the surface.
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Post by Noelle Hailey Morgan on Sept 13, 2009 22:33:37 GMT -5
Noelle growled in return and gave him a look that any girl would recognize as being the warning signs of a bitch slap coming. As soon as the door shut behind the girl, she snarled at him, not at all taking the hint that she should probably back down. Such things just did not occur in Noelle Morgan's world.
"I'll tell you what surprised me- why the hell didn't you tell me you had a daughter?" She growled, holding his gaze in a challenge. It was a miracle someone hadn't already killed the foolish girl for her inability to hold her tongue.
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Post by Nickolas Baxter on Sept 13, 2009 22:45:23 GMT -5
Top lip curling back in a silent snarl, Nick acted rather predictably - he had her by the throat and backed up against the nearest wall before she could do so much as blink. None of it was enough to hurt her, but it would also pointedly ensure that she couldn't strike at him - or get away. "I didn't tell you because there was no opportunity! As I recall, that night left little room for idle conversation!"
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