Teatime with Death [Jusztina]

[Death]

Time never really mattered to beings such as Death. There was no need to worry about it. Time was something that passed and with it, nothing really. Unlike other beings, time didn’t affect Death. There was no way it would. Death had been here from the start, far before Time had ever come to be.

For Zoe In’Finem though, time mattered. It mattered a lot.

The tea was getting cold, Zoe observed as she stared at the cup in front of her. It was her own fault, really. She had gone and come to the meeting place early. What could she say? She was excited. It wasn’t just because this meeting was an important one. No, she had even more important ones that had come and gone, but this was an introduction meeting, something that she had been planning for a few weeks now. She had become quite impatient about it, though she never showed it on her face. You’d think spending endless amounts of time gave you infinite patience, but alas, as time went by, so did Zoe’s patience. The young woman looked out the window, her olive green eyes scanning the droves of humans and non-humans walking on the sidewalks, while others drove those ‘cars’ that snaked through every congested street of Arc City.

Zoe In’Finem was sitting by the window, the sunlight draping over her so perfectly that it seemed like that sun had somehow been biased on her by making it seem like she deserved more emphasis than everyone else in the world. Her brunette locks looked lighter as they rested on her shoulders, hiding the diamond earring on her ears, while her perfectly manicured fingers, adorned only by a silver ring, toyed a bit with them, her eyes still on the passersby. She wore a tight red dress, though the cut of the chest was conservative, that was cut an inch above the knee, showing her long legs while she wore a pair of matching stilettos as she sat, her legs turned to one side, ankles crossed.

Zoe wasn’t really looking at the passersby. She was, but unlike other beings, she was looking at their real selves. That was one of the perks of being able to see souls—those things could never lie. A lot of these people’s souls were obviously stressed; by the way they beat faster even though there was no indication of strenuous activity. It had always been a fascination of the brunette’s at how humans worked. They had always piqued her interest though now it had become duller. Still, she was lucky enough to have such distractions in front of her otherwise, the meeting she was having today wouldn’t go so well. She was early, that was for sure, but that didn’t mean she didn’t expect the same of the person she was about to meet. After all, it wasn’t a good idea to keep Death waiting.

Zoe smiled to herself. She had to give the person a bit of leeway, since no one knew who Zoe In’Finem really was. Even if searched, they would find nothing. For all the person coming in today knew, the meeting was about some sort of merger plan, though that was far from Zoe’s goal. She couldn’t care less about the other’s business. From the data itself, Zoe’s company was far more superior—making it the best bait to lure the person out. As far as the person was concerned, Zoe was getting the short end of the stick with this merger. Still, as Zoe watched the people walk to and fro, she wondered whether she’d be able to get here. The brunette had chosen a spot with lots of shade, though she wasn’t sure, or really cared for that matter, at what exposure to sunlight vampires could handle.

The bell rang as the door of the café opened, the brunette smiling to herself as she glanced at the person who was now sitting on the chair opposite hers—covered in shade of course.

“I’m glad to finally meet you.” Zoe spoke as she shook the others hand before she took her cup on the table. “Would like some tea before we start?” She asked as she pressed the steaming cup of tea to her lips.

Yes, hot Earl Grey was always good, Zoe thought as she smiled at Jusztina.

[Jusztina Draculesti]

1086 WORDS - DEATH - WEE!
Meetings. Ugh, she hated them - even more so when they were during the day. Instead of attempting to sleep or indulging in her usual vices of sex and blood, she was stuck going to some meeting one of her many vampiric assistants claimed was necessary - for the business end. Did she care much for merging businesses? No, but she might as well entertain the human even if they were getting the shorter end of the stick. Hell, maybe they would be attractive enough to eat. In a slightly grumpy mood, she sank her fangs into the thirty something year old woman with the flaming red hair and adorable freckles, killer hips, large bust, and even larger behind. Curvy. She liked them curvy with the concave stomach and itty bitty waist. Drinking deeply, she pushed the body away once they were no longer of use and licked off any excess blood on her full lips.

"During the day...how dull," she muttered her own thoughts allowed as a vampire maid took the woman away. Walking over to her closet, she went to her "daylight" collection and grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans that clung to her legs and were slightly cropped, deep navy pumps, a simple spaghetti string tank top of silk, and a simple, short sleeved black blazer. She looked professional enough, her golden hair down and flowing as it normally was and a light application of makeup so she didn't look too pale. She remembered, years ago, how wonderful her skin used to look. It had been golden, sun kissed, the envy of the women who would come to their court. Sighing deeply, she slipped on her ring that had a tiny vial of Javier's blood in it - as a pick me up should she need it and, secretly, as a bit of a security blanket. She didn't like to admit that she was attempting to cling to her own humanity. She was failing, miserably, and oh how she hated failing at anything.

Since the elders were generally asleep, she checked the time, noting she had more than enough of it to get there. Three hours of sunlight. That was it. Longer than anyone she'd ever encountered - other than her husband. He had a half an hour on her but he was dead now so what did that matter? Grabbing a pair of aviator sunglasses, she stepped out of one of the many clubs the winding corridors of her home lead to and slipped into the heavily tinted town car. Her driver was fully clothed from head to toes - not a single bit of skin showing despite being inside the protective car with the specially made windows. Jusztina wasn't going to risk him being exposed. The drive felt ridiculously long, though it had only taken less than ten minutes. The Scarlet District wasn't far from the Business District. Of course it wasn't - she'd made sure of it when she'd taken up the land.

Stepping out of the car, she closed the door behind her, feeling eyes on her frame. The sun's rays felt uncomfortable but nothing she couldn't manage. She easily knew which woman she had to go to, of course having had her looked up by a private investigator, and she sat down across from her, lifting her sunglasses to the crown of her head to keep her blonde hair out of her face, piercing blue orbs regarding the brunette before her. She looked conservative, much to her dismay, but that was expected.

She'd had brushes with death on numerous occasions - ones much more than than others. She'd been tortured to the point where she'd been left for dead in a river when she was sixteen - though she'd welcomed death then. It hadn't come, instead spitting her back out into the world. She had gone through it again when her husband pounced on her, raped her, and turned her though that time, she didn't want to die. She wanted to stay alive, to avenge her two year old son who had been killed so carelessly, to protect her oldest son, to kill her husband and somehow make her own depression go away. She had lived, in a way, but it hadn't cured the depression and guilt that ate away at her. Now, death was a fear for her though she would hate to admit it. When the time came, she would submit to it because she knew she shouldn't be alive this long, walking this earth so uninvited when she should have been dead at the age of sixteen at the bottom of a river in what was now modern day Romania. She'd built her reputation to seem heartless and cold, calculating and torturous, it wasn't who she really was. Her human years had been filled with love, war, hardship, beauty, and innocence. She'd been adventurous, full of spirit, and she was sure if she'd died human, she wouldn't have been sent to hell. She'd been a good mother, had always gone to church, had been a faithful wife, had been loyal to her country. She'd still been a little girl and now, she was permanently seventeen and forever playing the role of dress up.

Clinging to her humanity, surprisingly in the form of Javier, was all she really had left.

"Likewise," she stated absently. As she offered her some tea, Jusztina glanced at the liquid for only a fraction of a second. When she was younger, she loved tea - Ginger Tea - "No, thank you," she replied in regards to the tea, one long leg crossing over the other and her hands neatly folded on her lap. Her long hair spilled over her shoulders and as she continued gazing at Zoe without blinking eyes, she was reminded of her mother with that shoulder length soft hair, the bright green orbs, the healthy figure. Jusztina looked nothing like her family - a blonde haired, blue eyed baby girl, "I have other matters to attend to," her Romanian accent was still thickly layered onto her liquid gold voice as she spoke, "So if you do not mind...?" yes, she'd like for Zoe to start with this silly merger business especially when she felt like the souls of all those she killed were clawing at her skin in the presence of this woman. She didn't like the feeling she was getting off from her and they were in public: ripping her head off her shoulders wouldn't be a very bright idea.

[/div]