Curiosity Caught the Cat (Renee, Isis)

[lucius]

The sun had set now, its last few glints of lighting causing the horizon to bleed pink and orange as darkness descended upon the city. Stepping out from the shadows, a pale man glared at the receding sunlight, its last few rays of warmth seeming to be so uncomfortably foreign to him. Shaking his head, he glanced down the street for a moment as shadows engulfed completely the alleyway he stood at the mouth of. He was waiting, and patiently at that. "If my information is correct"--and it, somewhat annoyingly, almost always was--"she should be here any moment," said the man to another in his presence, glancing over at his enslaved necromancer, Isis, whom he had brought along with him.

Lucius Erif did not fear the darkness, but he was used to operating out of an abundance of caution. Vampires did not live as long as him by being sloppy. It was not that what he sought this night was a threat; not at all. He just wanted to ensure totality of victory in the task he set out upon. A few days ago, while going over reports on various creatures that could be of interest to his operations, he came across a file on a one Renee Clover, a neko with a knack for stealing things. She also had certain other skills that he found desirable in the various enterprises he was engaged in, and decided that the cat-woman would be rather beneficial to his staff.

Having eventually found her and followed one of the trails in the area that the kleptomaniac typically set off on, he decided to plant a trap for her. Leaning against the wall in the alleyway, the elder vampire pulled out a wallet loaded with cash, and made sure that his watch and a golden wristband were showing as he pretended to count the money. He was hoping that the creature would feel an urge to steal or, perhaps, recognize him and be curious as to what one of the city's richest men was doing in an alleyway counting money. Either way, he wanted her attention so that Isis could work her magic and torment Renee into service. He was sure that this was going to be an enjoyable task; it was not often that Lucius got to play the game at this base level. He missed how exhilarating it was.

[emiko]

Renee had recently gotten released from her slavery. She was quite proud of herself for being free again. Not that it really had anything to do with what she had done. Kayen had just asked for his crystal skull back. She had been quite fond of the crystal skull but it was either give up the skull or be a slave. It was obvious which one she had chosen. On her way out, Kayen had given her a little prize. She chewed on the little crystal for a bit before throwing it away into nearby bushes. She had a small stash of things she had stolen before somewhere near the streets. She put all her stolen items in a box and buried it. No one knew where they were located. She didn't even have to dig the box up herself when she wanted to put new things in. She simply had a human bring a shovel. Humans were a lot easier to influence than the other creatures. Kayen hadn't been effected by her influence, though she was sure if she worked harder she would have finally gotten him under.

Now she walked the streets, as she was used to doing. The streets were her home, the only place she felt safe. Ok, maybe not safe. She could use the humans here though and every so often she used more powerful creatures. She took these minions and made them hers. She used them for protection. That's how she was. The little klepto had never thought of stealing a slave, and now that the thought came to her mind she realized that she liked the idea. Oh the things she could do with an influenced slave. She wouldn't even have to worry about being caught for slavery again. She could just steal a slave from a home. She smiled at the thought, making her way down the street with her tail swaying behind her. Her mind was open to feel any emotions around her and she could feel some nearby. Her ears twitched a bit and she focused on the darkness in front of her.

There were two figures ahead of her. She had every intention of walking by them just as she had the few people who were still walking around that night. One of them was leaning against the wall and had something in his hand. She was nearing them now and could see his watch, wristband and money. She felt a small pulling at the back of her mind. She paused, looking at the two of them. There was no fear in Renee as she stared up at him with sweet eyes. Sure, she had no pupils and it was a little strange, but still sweet. Renee was playful, really. She was more childish than anything, but only to pull people in. After all, how many people could resist a cute, playful kitten. Renee was short, shorter than most. She was adorable, honestly. She stood before Lucius and smiled kindly. "Hiya!" she giggled.

[lucius]

The elder vampire smelt the neko before she came into view, but did not show any sign of acknowledgement until her bubbly, friendly form was right in front of him. He glanced up slowly, his blue eyes falling upon her small form. She seemed so sweet, so pure, so innocent. Like an adorable pet. And, perhaps unfortunately for her, that is how Lucius Erif saw her-- a pet.

A charming smile gracing his handsome face, he gave a friendly chuckle at her approach, as if amused by her friendly greeting and giggle. He would play along with her and let her think she had charge of the situation; whatever made her most comfortable at this particular point in time. There was no need to startle her yet; Lucius wanted to get to know and observe her a little bit before motioning for Isis to do her thing. He wanted to see what lay in waiting beneath the kind and giggly facade of Renee.

"Hello there," he replied kindly, that smile remaining locked into his handsome features as he looked at her. "Can I help you with something, miss? Perhaps you need an escort? I know these streets can get pretty rough when the sun goes down, and all sorts of people have been disappearing lately." Of course, no one knew why they were disappearing because Lucius saw to it that the slave trade stayed out of the media's presentations to the public.

He watched Renee closely as he acted the part of a concerned citizen, willing to offer a little girl some assistance in the rough city. It was a rather amusing role for him, he thought. He wanted to see what the little thief would react with, and how insatiable her corrupt desire to get what she wanted was.

[emiko]

Renee's eyes peered into his almost as if she was searching for something. His emotions were already hers. She had pulled them into her as soon she she layed eyes on him. She had already accepted the emotions coming from Isis as well, though those were different. She didn't think too much on that, though, she was more interested in this man. She didn't know who he was and she wasn't really wanting to influence him. What she wanted was his money, or at least the pretty watch he was wearing. Her ears were perked at him and her tail moving behind her. She folded her arms behind her back and continued to look up at him with cute eyes. She was swaying a bit as she stood there, cute and sweet. Of course, that was just how she was appearing to him. Or perhaps she really was like that. Underneath her cute exterior was something a little less obedient.

She couldn't help but notice that the man before her was quite handsome. His smile was charming, but she wasn't phased. He could play nice but she wasn't going to make a mistake again. She had made the mistake of thinking Leona was becoming her friend. Leona lied, though and jumped on Renee, taking her off and selling her into slavery. Renee wasn't stupid. She wouldn't let the same thing happen twice. She was going to be more careful this time. Even now she was being reckless, though. She shouldn't have been conversing with this man. After all, it seemed as though he might try the same tricks Leona had. Renee made sure to watch him and pay attention to his movements. She didn't wantt o be a slave. There was no telling what her owners would do to her. After all, Kayen had tried to rape her twice. That wasn't something she was wanting to experience.

Her smile grew at the sound of his voice. He seemed so kind, really. He was offering to escort her. She held back a laugh. Renee had no home, no place to go. She slept where ever she damn well pleased. It was strange that she appeared so clean after sleeping in the streets, but her cleanliness was something she would never lose. It was a cat thing. "I can take care of myself," she said somewhat childishly. Her eyes narrowed a bit and her voice lowered. "I'm not afraid of the scary things out there," she whispered, looking around. "I was just thinking, when I walked by," she said thoughtfully, putting a finger to her lips. "That watch you have is so pretty," she said, her voice seeming dreamy and holding a bit of longing. There was a little bit of influence, she was wanting him to hand it over as a gift. She wasn't trying to make him hers, but something as small as trying to get someone to give an item over was simple for her.

She moved closer to him her eyes peering at the item she wanted, then moving back up to his, hopefully allowing him to get lost in them. She could throw him through so many different emotions he would lose self-control. Being able to influence people helped her with changing their emotions as well. She could make them feel bad for her or perhaps excited for her. Humans were easiest to influence. They were so easily thrown around by their emotions, so easily controlled by simple suggestions. Some of them were stronger than others, though, but she rarely had problems influencing humans.

[lucius]

And there it was; her desire and her subsequent skill both becoming apparent as she inched closer towards Lucius. For over nineteen centuries he had played this little game, and had become quite adept at it, having learned over the years to block many telepathic tricks, much in thanks to his keener-than-average mind and higher-than-average intelligence. Yes, he felt her prying at his mood and trying to dig into his mind. And then, as she spoke, he could feel that touch of influence almost as if it were a physical nudge upon his brain. Within him, his being responded with a resounding, No, but his outward appearance looked mesmerized.

That charming smile remained fixated on his lips, though beneath it was not genuine friendliness towards her. There was an amusement; a feeling that stroked at his ego. The poor young thing--so very, very young--had no idea what she was up against in tangoing with his mind. Such knowledge of the situation was vainly triumphant for the elder vampire; he thoroughly enjoyed that little bit of power over the information of things. It was, after all, what dictated his life and led him to do what he did. Information. Whoever was a master of that had true power. That is why, over the centuries, he stepped away from the normal political games of power and became so increasingly focused on information. It alone led to true power; knowing not merely the what of things, but the why as well. It granted power. For example, if the poor Neko before him had known that her seductively charming influence was not working on Lucius and why it was not doing so, she would be in such a more powerful position than she was about to be in.

"Thank you. It is a very special watch. Jewel encrusted," murmured Lucius in response to her, his blue eyes locking with her own and seeing the power she actually did have. She was infectious and intoxicating. In the back of his mind, he felt a nagging feeling telling him to let her hold the watch. But his self-control was greater than many; great enough to put aside his kind's hatred for Lycans, for example. It won out in this battle.

Despite how she seemed to be destined for failure in dealing with his mind, Lucius found her incredibly powerful and, subsequently, useful. Yes, she would most certainly do as being a part of his operations and staff. Acting as if falling to her spell, he reached for his watch and took it from his wrist, holding it out towards her but also maintaing a firm grip, as if struggling to let go of it just yet. "Here, you can see it if you want..." Meanwhile, he glanced briefly at Isis and nodded, signaling the necromancer to unleash her own spell when ready. Lucius had seen enough, and only hoped that the girl's abilities were not making Isis feel too differently about this mission that the necromancer would become useless.

His gaze returned to that of Renee, and he smiled warmly--as warm as a vampire could, at least--at her. "Might I have the pleasure of your name, my sweet?" a harmless question from a curious fellow falling under the influential gaze of a playful girl.

[emiko]

Her hand went up to her ear, tugging on it carefully before running her fingers through her pretty hair. Renee was smart, though not as smart as the man before her. Of course, she wasn't sure how smart this man happened to be. His age might have given it away but she didn't even know that. She was too distracted by the pretty watch she wanted. True, she was working her magic on his mind, trying to get him to allow her to have it. She wasn't weak, physically or mentally. She couldn't be influenced, her mind was blocked against any mental attacks. Even the Tune vampires couldn't get her to come to them. Her body may have been small, but she wasn't weak there either. Renee was viscious, violent and hard to control. She just happened to like using others instead of doing things herself. If she had to fight for herself, she would. She hated slavery but the one thing that could calm her down was pretty things she fancied. Renee was easily distracted by things she wanted.

She liked to see that smile he had and hers matched his. She was being adorable with her big eyes peering up at him. She felt his emotions and monitered them carefully, making sure there was no dramatic change. Renee didn't really waste her time figuring someone out before trying to get what she wanted from them. Instead, she jumped in and worked with what she saw and felt coming from them. Knowing who they were and what they did...the things that Lucius would know, those things she didn't care for. Renee was good at what she did, though plenty of people seemed to be too powerful for her. Or maybe she just didn't care enough to try harder than she was. Renee had been influencing people since she was little. She learned to live without doing things on her own. She became dependant on her powers, on the people. She couldn't live without the people she used. She wouldn't get anything done.

"Jewel encrusted?" she repeated, curious. 'Pretty,' she thought, holding back the greed she was feeling. Part of her power was the way she looked, the expressions she had. Everything about her was cute and hard to resist. She was short and looked so young for a reason, and this was it. Though her face held that innocent, sweet look there was still something there that said you shouldn't mess with her. Renee wasn't sure if she was winning this guy over. He was a vampire, she could tell by the smell. He would be harder to influence anyway. So perhaps she would need to try harder to get what she wanted. "It must have been expensive," she stated, her eyes moving over it now and her voice holding a bit of amazement in it. Renee, of course, had no money. She didn't have a job, she didn't have any ways to get paid. She stole everything she had.

Her eyes lit up as he removed the watch and held it out to her. He still seemed reluctant to give it over. She bounced up and down while staring at it, looking up at him as if to see if it was ok to touch it. Then her slender fingers moved forward, moving over the pretty watch and feeling it. She giggled softly, looking up at him again. "It's so pretty," she breathed, smiling. She had noticed his nod toward the necromancer and she didn't understand but she put her guard up. She thought about moving away, not wanting to be caught up in anything. She had forgotten about the necromancer and wasn't using her powers on her. She turned to see Isis and smiled sweetly. "He's your friend?" she asked pointing a finger at Lucius. 'Damn,' she thought, trying to wrap her influence around the woman as well. Renee had never seen a necromancer, so this was a new experience for her.

"Sure, but I want to know your name too," she responded, no longer bouncing but still running her fingers over the watch. She was wondering if she was putting fingerprints on the pretty thing. She couldn't stand the thought of smudging it. "I'm Renee, but you can call me Ren," she said, remembering saying such a thing to Kayen. He didn't call her by Ren, though, instead calling her Renee. She didn't mind though, a name was a name. Renee was hers. If thats what Lucius wanted to call her so be it. She was still feeling a little less than satisfied about her work on the vampire before her, not wanting to take any chances. She couldn't make a mistake against, especially not this soon.

[lucius]

Now things were beginning to grow a little more interesting and different, and Lucius decided it now would be an opportune time to gamble or not. He did not want to risk losing the abilities of the necromancer in controlling the situation, but it was appearing that another avenue might be opening up, and Lucius had to think quickly on his feet. Should he risk the girl using his influence to alter Isis' will to summon her monsters and attack Renee if another possibility was making itself known? He was not so sure, but he decided to take the gamble anyways. If worse came to worse, he could use his own skills to try remedy the situation if it came to the necessity of force.

Machiavelli had taught (and Lucius knew this from dining with the man once) that it was best to be feared, but even better to be both feared and loved. He decided to try see if such a situation could be created here. Perhaps she could be won over by a mixture of not-so-violent means and the fear of violent reprisal. It was worth a shot.

With another curt glance at Isis as Renee became fixated on stroking his watch, the elder vampire motioned her to hold off a short while longer before returning his gaze to the neko. "Yes, it cost a small fortune, but nothing to outrageous for me," said Lucius as he continued to hold onto the watch as she touched it. He was unsure of how much it had cost; just that it had cost a lot. Prices were of little meaning to a man whose fortune gathered over centuries could buy most anything he wanted. Material gain was never of huge value to him anyways, except for his collection of artifacts, art, and books that he kept.

"Nice to meet you, Ren. I'm Luc," he replied politely, his voice layered with the animal magnetism of his seductive personality, though he knew that it was probably pointless against a creature of her abilities; it was worth a shot anyways, and did not hurt employing it as he spoke to her. Seemingly amused by her fascination with the watch, he gave her another warm smile. "You know, I have a whole collection of watches, and other similar things. If you really are so enthralled by it all, I can let you take a look at my collection and you can choose one. As a gift," he said, trying to lay the seeds as a benefactor. He thought of himself as beginning to understand the motivations of the creature and how to best manipulate them into getting what he wanted. Mayhaps, he thought, she would be a willing employee. If not, he could continue forward with plan A.

[emiko]

Renee wouldn't have been able to control the things that the necromancer summoned seeing as they were already being controlled by another. She would have never gotten past the monsters but she didn't know that Isis was a necromancer. She would have been frightened slightly by the things this woman could summon, though only thrown off for a moment. Renee thought highly of her abilities and if she could control Isis, she could control the monsters she summoned as well. It seemed as though there was an unknown battle going on between Renee and Lucius. She was oblivious to it, though. Had she known her influence wasn't going to work, she would have dropped the issue. Had she known his intentions, she would be gone in an instant. Ren was quick and was sure she could get away if she had to. She wasn't worried at the moment, though a bit on edge. He still seemed nice.

"I wish I could afford something like this," she said, pouting a bit now. She seemed to remember saying something like this before. How many people was she going to come across that had a lot more money than her and make her feel like she was worthless? She realized he was not letting the watch go as she touched it and she frowned a bit. If he let it go the watch was as good as hers. She tried a different approach, her fingers moving from the watch to his hand. Her touch was gentle and warm, moving carefully over his fingers then back down to the watch. She could be seductive if she had to, though she wasn't sure if he would react to that. Most vampires had been living long enough to not be effected by such things. Renee had no intentions to actually follow through after being flirty and she certainly wasn't looking to be raped. No, she wouldn't allow that.

Renee brought a smile back to her face and her tail fell behind her. There was a black band around the very end of her tail that stood out against the white. She was wearing some shorts and a matching shirt, nothing great or anything. Around her neck was a chain like necklace with a small pendant hanging from it. Her white ears twitched a bit, listening for the sound of footsteps. She certainly didn't want any more people showing up. It wasn't really that she wasn't fond of big crowds, she loved attention. Renee wasn't much of a talker, though, she preffered the silence to long conversations. She stared up at Lucius, wondering what he was thinking. Did he think she was strange? 'He's quite handsome,' she thought, not being able to ignore his beauty. "Luc?" she asked, saying it as if she was tasting it, testing it out on her tongue. It had a nice sound to it. She approved.

"Really?" she asked, excitement flowing from her. 'So when I get there I can find other things to take as well,' she thought. Surely a man like this had plenty of pretty things she could take. He wanted to give her a gift, it seemed, though going with him somewhere didn't seem to be a very good idea. She stopped moving her fingers over the watch now and stepped away from him. She peered up into his eyes, searching for something. "Kay, let's do that," she said, smiling. Her eyes held a bit of distrust now. Going from talking to a random guy on the street to a random guys home was a different thing all together. When she was on his territory he had the advantage. She liked to think that she had the advantage here on the streets.

[Deleted]

_{isis ;;}


Always ready to step in, but finding it not worth it, that a different path was always better seemed to be happening quite a lot in the situation between them, though Isis din't really mind. The human, weak as she was, could feel the influence of Renee, as though it were forcing you to listen and obey, somewhat like other masters Isis had known. But she was just content with fulfilling the usage Lucius gave her, and so, she gave him a glance, unsure of what to do. It wasn't really worth it now, was it, to use her powers, for the Neko seemed to wish to come willingly, at least, for now.

Isis stifled a sigh, looking back to the two of them. It would seem as though Renee was out of luck, for her influence didn't match up to her Master's power, and that was where she would fall. The Neko didn't seem to be afraid, as far as Isis saw, but perhaps some ghosties would creep her out, at least. The slave was slightly grinning, her dark eyes closing for but a second, and then reopening. There were many variations of the dea she coul use, and hopefully, Renee would submit. No, Renee will submit, and then Lucius would be happy, and Isis could be left alone, for a little while, anyway.

[lucius]

Finally it was revealed; his way into her head, and potentially her way into his service. Lucius questioned, though, if it could really be that simple. Young creatures and their abject desires for material goods. It allowed so easily for corruption and manipulation. Anyone could be bought once a price had been set. Her wish for material goods indicated to Lucius a certain willingness to do things for wealth; now he would just need to haggle over the price with her. And, still, if it did not work out, Isis could bring some her friends out to play and he could just take that route, but he enjoyed the open-endedness of the current situation for the moment.

"Well, it's quite possible for a delicately beautiful creature as yourself to be able to afford this some day, I'm sure. With your charm, you could no doubt get a great job anywhere," said Lucius, his silver tongue shifting to more usual, unmystical methods of seduction and persuasion-- charm and compliments. He was also sowing the seeds for his plan B, all the while remembering that Isis was just a few meters aware if Plan A was required. Then Renee's fingers unexpectedly touched his hand, and he had to ignore the desire to recoil slightly. He had not anticipated the warmth of that touch. It, like the sun that had just set a short while ago, seemed so oddly foreign to him. She was switching tactics, shifting from charm to seduction. The latter had a history of being far more effective on Lucius than the former; the only area capable of occasionally overruling his powerful mind in rare times was the area in his pants. And, though he did feel a small surge of desire grow within him, it was not nearly strong enough to alter his priorities; she was cute, but only mildly seductive at this point in time.

As she stepped back and looked into his eyes, his blue orbs looked back at her, that disarmingly charming smile remain situated on his flawless face. The elder vampire noticed her hesitation, but understood it to be typical-- 'do not talk to strangers' was a rule engraved in many minds, and here she was about to accept an invitation into his place. "Splendid then. I'm sure you'll like the selection. Plenty of nice things to choose from," said Lucius, slickly sliding his watch back onto his wrist but keeping it in plain sight of her eyes. He stepped away from the wall, standing at his full, regal height now as he looked down at her. "Shall we, then?" he asked, turning to begin heading down the street with her, making sure Isis was closely in tow behind.

He placed the watch back on his wrist as a precautionary measure, to continue holding it tantalizingly in front of her, hoping that her want for it would continue as they trekked. Although ZaneCorp Tower, one of the dominant buildings in the city skyline, was visible from where they were, it would take some time to arrive and some time longer for it to be made known that they were heading to that particular building. "I live downtown... where is home for you, Ren?" he asked, already anticipating an answer based both on her responses to things and what information he had on her.

[emiko]

True, she could almost be persuaded to do anything by offering her things she wanted, but slavery was not one of them. Renee had no intention of being manipulated by this man. She didn't expect him to be trying to lure her into submission, though the situation was a strange one. In a normal situation, what man would invite a little Neko into his home. After Renee learned that Neko's were being sold as slaves she found herself feeling very weary of people in the streets or anywhere else. You couldn't find Renee in many places. Mosty here in the streets, probably somewhere near her buried items, and sometimes at the graveyard. After all, this was her home. She sometimes snuck into houses and stole food, maybe clothing. Clothing was harder to find, seeing as she was so short. She had to find childrens clothes most of the time.

Her smile was adorable and there at the right times. Every expression she made was planned out first. It didn't take much time to decide what expression and emotion would work better for her. "Yea, maybe," she said thoughtfully, as if going over what he said in her mind. Perhaps she could get a job somewhere. After all, all she had to do was talk them into giving her a job. It could be anywhere, really. She could probably even control how much she was getting paid. But Renee didn't know the first thing about working. She didn't know what they would have her do. What job would suit her best? 'I could have everything I wanted without stealing,' she thought. Of course, Renee was a klepto, it wasn't like she could just stop stealing. She dropped the topic from her mind and looked down at the ground in front of her. Such a silly idea anyway.

Renee would speak to strangers without hesitation, but things had been different lately. Sure, Renee loved attention. She didn't spend much time in clubs, though, she didn't like the noise. She liked having people to talk to, though. Just not people who wanted her to call them master. Such a filthy word. Even her own slaves wouldn't have had to call her such a thing. It wasn't that Renee didn't like slavery, it was more that she didn't like the idea of being a slave. Humans deserved to be slaves. She nodded to the mans words, watching him replace the watch on his wrist. She could still see it though. She still wanted it. Renee could be quite obsessive over something she wanted, but she knew not to take it too far. Not to get hurt in the process. She noticed Isis had not spoken and wondered why she was so quiet. Renee walked beside Lucius though without much hesitation.

Renee peered ahead of them, wondering where Lucius was taking her. She was still very aware of the watch and even the wristband he had on. Not only did he have that, but the money she had seen before. How hard would it be to have this female kill her friend? Renee looked over at Isis, studying her and wondering. Her attention was brought back to the man, though, when he spoke. "My home? You're looking at it, puppet," she said, laughing. She didn't mind telling him that she lived here. He needed a lot of luck to find her if she was hiding from him. Renee was quiet and quick, great at hiding.

[Deleted]

Isis grinned as her company began to get moving, relieved that she didn't have to use force, not just yet. Renee reminded her of a child, but it was obvious she in't have the mind of one, most of the time. It seemed as though the Neko knew what she was doing, or so she thought. Renee ha no idea what she was getting into.

The familiarity of the route the three of them were taking was calming, and Isis needed calm to use her powers to the fullest extent, if need be. Otherwise, her pets would just crumble as soon as they were attacked, or wouldn't be proper, the way she wanted them to be, the way they should be. And that wasn't pretty, not in the least. Feeling a gaze of a female on her, Isis turned to look at Renee, her dark brown, almost black eyes blank for but a second, her face revealing nothing. And then, a nice smile broke out on the human slave's face, gentle and kind, mostly, but knowing as well, in a way. Her words before bothered Isis a bit, but she still didn't say anything, prefering to keep to herself, for a little while, anyway. But she couldn't help but ask Renee something, though the general rule she was taught had been, 'Speak only when spoken to.' Her pity was something Renee had caught. "Not a real home? This must be horrible like that. How long living as such, Renee?"

[lucius]

As they made their way through the dark and foreboding streets of the city, Lucius folded his hands behind his back, stretching his mind to try get a better reading on her thoughts and emotions. It was quite a task, to the point of near futility; she had skill in such areas, that was for certain. The ancient vampire decided to give it no more mind, though; he did not need any empathetic tricks to figure out that perhaps his plan B was not going to work out. The bait of a job did not get caught in exactly the manner that Lucius had anticipated, causing him to rethink his plan somewhat. He liked to do things without violence if they could be done in such a way, but if the situation called for the show of force he was originally intending to perform, then he would do it without hesitation. Ends always justified means when it came to dealing with the elder vampire here.

Lucius feigned shock upon his handsome face, quickly followed by what could have been seen as general concern for the neko's condition. "Here? On the streets? Why, how very brave of you, to stick out here when there is so much trouble going on of late," said the centuries-old aristocrat, beginning to carefully formulate his words so as to hopefully tilt her thoughts into the direction he so desired them to go. He was drawn from his thoughts when his slave spoke, though, his blue eyes glancing in the direction of Isis as she chimed in, pity in her voice.

Normally, such interruptions from a slave were not tolerated. However, on this occasion, it suited his purpose of being friendly towards Renee to lure her into his fold. There was cause for concern, though, as the necromancer seemed to wield general pity behind her words, and Lucius could feel the emotion emanating from her. He assumed it was highly likely that the Neko's gift was meeting mild success in getting Isis to prefer not to unleash anything upon her. That was troublesome, but hopefully it would not extend much further. If it did, things would have to get messy, and Lucius did not like dirtying his own hands in such ways.

Nonetheless he decided to let the human slave's question stand, his curious gaze shifting back to Renee for an answer as the trio continued to walk through the streets, the imperious facade of ZaneCorp Tower growing as they moved closer to it.

[emiko]

"Yea, it can be scary. But I can take care of myself," she said lightly. She was in no way afraid of the things here in the streets. "I wonder what's causing all the trouble anyway," Renee said thoughtfully, wondering if he knew anything about it. He seemed to be a guy who had plenty of money. Which meant a good job. So, perhaps the woman was his slave. So he would have known about the slavery. Not many people didn't, it seemed. After being in that club up in front of those people...the thought made her shudder. Yes, such a scary feeling it was to be stared at. To have all those greedy eyes peering at you, wanting you. She wouldn't go through that again. It was becoming a fear now as she kept thinking back on it. Her eyes moved up to Lucius now as if trying to read his thoughts. His emotions were easy to find, though his thoughts were impossible to see.

Pity. 'Got you,' Renee thought, glancing back at Isis once more. the look in her eyes was very animalistic, like a predator who almost had her prey. "Yes...It's horrible," she said, her eyes changing to hold a bit of sadness once more. "For as long as I have been here," she said thoughtfully, answering the womans question. She pitied her, it seemed, and that was where Renee could get her. If she could make her feel bad for her...well. Renee had her own thoughts on this. She noticed Lucius glance back at Isis and wondered if the woman really was his slave. It didn't matter to her, Isis seemed human though with a different scent. Renee's pupil-less eyes focused on the ground in front of her. What was she doing? Right, she was getting a gift. Perhaps even more if she could talk him into it.

Renee had no idea what was in store for her at his home. She figured she could get the woman to feel bad for her. She suddently realized she didn't know the womans name. "What's your name?" she asked, her tail swaying behind her once more. "You haven't talked much," she added, giggling softly. "I was beginning to think you were a mute...or maybe just really mean," she said, frowing a bit like she didn't like the idea of the woman being cruel. though Isis seemed to be nice so far, but that didn't mean she was. Plenty of people could pretend, herself included. Renee really was the sweet person she was being, though she could change to that sad little child quite easily. She could make people think she was so depressed, so lost. Some people felt bad for her when she acted as such.

(Sorry it's short...low on muse today ._.)

[Deleted]

Eyes flickering from her master to Renee, Isis decided that it would be fine, that it was was best to get the Neko to trust her first, to be friendly with her, lure her in just as surely as Renee was doing so to Isis. She could feel it, that small pull the girl had over her mind, slightly annoying, an unwelcome invasion. "I'm Isis," the necromancer replied, a smile on her face, pushing the blonde hair out of her eyes. She laughed, shaking her head, at Renee's next couple of words. "I'm no mute, Miss Renee. I just don't talk much." Isis shrugged, forcing herself to calm down. The slave was on edge as soon as Lucius brought her out of the house, and she didn't know why. It bothered her to no end, and her hand came up to her throat, tracing the necklace of thorns that was tattooed there, a mark of her slavery. It was a habit of hers that was yet to be broken.

Isis dropped her hand down, the red clothes that she wore in a vague style, like that of a gypsy, only slightly, though it had that air of another power, more subtle, not yet spoken of. When Isis evoked the spirits, her pupils disappeared, her whole eye become dark iris. It was quite interesting and unique at that. But for now, they remained the same as usual, nothing out of the ordinary. "Sorry for giving you that impression," Isis apologized, smiling gently, her footsteps a bit quieter than usual.