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undergrounds2017-07-17 11:09 pm
bellbound) wrote in undergrounds2017-07-17 11:09 pm
Entry tags:
Protecting the family home
1. Don't leave your phones unlocked, kids (for Cesare)
Ever since the break-in at her flat, Samantha has added one more unpleasant trait to her many character flaws: paranoia. Mogget knows why she's so concerned. The flash drive that was stolen from her study contained incriminating evidence – not of herself, but of a certain Peter Vrinak. It was evidence that she was using to keep him on the straight and narrow and she doesn't have it any more. Vrinak has already defied her wishes by voting in favour of the summoning ban. The question is: who stole it and what are they going to do with it?
Mogget has a feeling they'll find out sooner or later. There are already signs of discontent amongst the masses if the peace protest is anything to go by. But for now, Samantha is suspicious of everyone. Everyone, including the vampire President she's sleeping with – yes, he knows about that too. Which is why on one of his visits to the Night Council HQ she asks him to sneak into Cesare's office, take a look around. Just in case.
So he does. He sneaks into the office one evening while the place is relatively quiet and takes human form to browse through the documents on Cesare's desk, searching for anything suspicious. Boring, boring, boring. The laptop is locked, he won't attempt to get into that. He's a familiar, not a hacker. But there's Cesare's phone, carelessly left on his desk, and a few quick taps gets him access to... well.
He really didn't need to see any of that.
Awful, gushing messages, terrible attempts at flirting and pictures. Pictures of a certain Lydia Bennet. He can only assume that she's trying to look enticing. Frankly, it's all in very poor taste.
Thankfully, he's interrupted by someone approaching. Mogget looks up, then hurriedly puts the phone down and transforms into his cat form, jumping up on to the seat behind the President's desk. Better not to skulk. He'll curl up on that chair in the same way that any cat curls up in any chair: like he owns it. Like he's meant to be here.
2. Don't trust sugar daddies (for Lydia)
It's unfair that he's the one to be given this task, really. Any witch could talk to her. Maybe they already have. But no, Samantha is still paranoid and thinks Cesare may be extracting Circle Daybreak secrets from Lydia as if the girl has anything but cotton wool in her head.
So it's up to him to talk to her. He sends a message ostensibly from Samantha's phone ordering her to meet him at a witch's circle in a small private park near her home. The cat drapes himself across the grass on the outer rim of the circle, turning his white belly up to the sun. Maybe she'll turn up, maybe she won't. He thinks Samantha's command will be enough to impress or scare her into coming. Either way.
3. Don't try yoga (for Desmond)
It's at the end of another coven meeting that Mogget turns up to check on Desmond. Perhaps by now he has come to see the benefits of consuming liquefied kale and contorting his body into unusual positions. Perhaps he's even learned something from that basic book of spells. Regardless, the cat slips by while the other witches are filing out and goes on a somewhat meandering route towards Desmond, unable to resist brushing his whiskers past the large exercise ball next to one of the yoga mats.
He approaches the witch. "Settling in?"
4. Don't interrupt a cat nap (open)
For the rest of the month, Mogget can be found in various locations. He's at the Magical Innovation Centre a few days after it opens, paying a visit with Samantha. The difference is, this time he's the only fae in the building. The atmosphere is notably subdued, nothing like the triumphant mood of the Centre's first opening.
Other than that, he spends an awful lot of time asleep on roofs around the Kensington area, or else in Kensington Gardens, his favourite park, soaking up the July sun. At night he hunts there too, chasing mice through the grass, or lying in wait for his prey, green eyes alight. It's all part of keeping an eye on magical activity in the area: Samantha wants him closer to home to protect the house and protect her son.
Which means if there is any magical activity nearby, he will investigate. He has to.
5. Choose your own adventure! Hit me up with your own prompt.
Ever since the break-in at her flat, Samantha has added one more unpleasant trait to her many character flaws: paranoia. Mogget knows why she's so concerned. The flash drive that was stolen from her study contained incriminating evidence – not of herself, but of a certain Peter Vrinak. It was evidence that she was using to keep him on the straight and narrow and she doesn't have it any more. Vrinak has already defied her wishes by voting in favour of the summoning ban. The question is: who stole it and what are they going to do with it?
Mogget has a feeling they'll find out sooner or later. There are already signs of discontent amongst the masses if the peace protest is anything to go by. But for now, Samantha is suspicious of everyone. Everyone, including the vampire President she's sleeping with – yes, he knows about that too. Which is why on one of his visits to the Night Council HQ she asks him to sneak into Cesare's office, take a look around. Just in case.
So he does. He sneaks into the office one evening while the place is relatively quiet and takes human form to browse through the documents on Cesare's desk, searching for anything suspicious. Boring, boring, boring. The laptop is locked, he won't attempt to get into that. He's a familiar, not a hacker. But there's Cesare's phone, carelessly left on his desk, and a few quick taps gets him access to... well.
He really didn't need to see any of that.
Awful, gushing messages, terrible attempts at flirting and pictures. Pictures of a certain Lydia Bennet. He can only assume that she's trying to look enticing. Frankly, it's all in very poor taste.
Thankfully, he's interrupted by someone approaching. Mogget looks up, then hurriedly puts the phone down and transforms into his cat form, jumping up on to the seat behind the President's desk. Better not to skulk. He'll curl up on that chair in the same way that any cat curls up in any chair: like he owns it. Like he's meant to be here.
2. Don't trust sugar daddies (for Lydia)
It's unfair that he's the one to be given this task, really. Any witch could talk to her. Maybe they already have. But no, Samantha is still paranoid and thinks Cesare may be extracting Circle Daybreak secrets from Lydia as if the girl has anything but cotton wool in her head.
So it's up to him to talk to her. He sends a message ostensibly from Samantha's phone ordering her to meet him at a witch's circle in a small private park near her home. The cat drapes himself across the grass on the outer rim of the circle, turning his white belly up to the sun. Maybe she'll turn up, maybe she won't. He thinks Samantha's command will be enough to impress or scare her into coming. Either way.
3. Don't try yoga (for Desmond)
It's at the end of another coven meeting that Mogget turns up to check on Desmond. Perhaps by now he has come to see the benefits of consuming liquefied kale and contorting his body into unusual positions. Perhaps he's even learned something from that basic book of spells. Regardless, the cat slips by while the other witches are filing out and goes on a somewhat meandering route towards Desmond, unable to resist brushing his whiskers past the large exercise ball next to one of the yoga mats.
He approaches the witch. "Settling in?"
4. Don't interrupt a cat nap (open)
For the rest of the month, Mogget can be found in various locations. He's at the Magical Innovation Centre a few days after it opens, paying a visit with Samantha. The difference is, this time he's the only fae in the building. The atmosphere is notably subdued, nothing like the triumphant mood of the Centre's first opening.
Other than that, he spends an awful lot of time asleep on roofs around the Kensington area, or else in Kensington Gardens, his favourite park, soaking up the July sun. At night he hunts there too, chasing mice through the grass, or lying in wait for his prey, green eyes alight. It's all part of keeping an eye on magical activity in the area: Samantha wants him closer to home to protect the house and protect her son.
Which means if there is any magical activity nearby, he will investigate. He has to.
5. Choose your own adventure! Hit me up with your own prompt.
no subject
She rolls her eyes and resists the urge to just walk away as Mogget takes his time playing with insects.
"Hurry up, Fleabag" She snaps again. "I've got better things to do with my day than wait for you to cough up a hair ball."
no subject
"We know about you and Cesare Borgia."
His eyes are fixed on her, unblinking. He's just going to let her absorb that one for a second.
no subject
"I... what? We? Who - What? Me and... and Cesare? The President?" She laughs uneasily, not meeting Mogget's eyes. "Like Cesare would look at me."
Why the hell is she explaining herself to a cat? Get it together, Lydia.
no subject
"Yes, the President. Judging by the pictures of you in his possession, he must look at you rather a lot. How long has this been going on?"
It can't be that long, he's guessing, because Lydia herself has only been in London for a few months, but it would be useful to establish a firm date.
no subject
But something clicks then. How had the cat got hold of the photos? More to the point, why does she care what the cat thinks? Her stammering stops, and her voice hardens.
"Does Cesare know you've been stealing his stuff? He's going to be mad when I tell him."
no subject
He sits up now, watching her closely. This is what Samantha is worried about. That Cesare is using her as an unwitting spy.
no subject
"Who even cares what I tell him? He's a good guy, Cesare. He just cares about me. More than I can say for Samantha." She folds her arms, determined to brazen this one out.
"I don't even care about Circle Daybreak. It's a load of rubbish anyway."
no subject
And now she's skirting dangerously close to deserting Circle Daybreak altogether. Is this Cesare's doing or is she really that stupid? The cat shakes his head.
"You do know you're not the only girl he shares a bed with, don't you? Perhaps you're happy to share."
no subject
"You're lying."
It's lying. The damn cat is lying. Cesare wouldn't cheat on her, would he?Would he?
She sits down quite suddenly, her cheeks flushing pink.
"Fucking mangy flea ball." she spits at the cat. "You're lying."
no subject
"I'm a fae. I can't tell a lie."
no subject
No - no, he's never said that. He's said she's getting better in bed. He's said he loves her blowjobs. He's never said he loves her.
She looks back at the cat. "Is this Samantha telling you to say this? Is she trying to wind me up? Well, you can tell the wrinkled old bitch that I don't believe a word of it and she's just a jealous old hag. Got it, Fish breath?"
no subject
"Samantha sent me, as you know, but that doesn't change the truth of the matter. Cesare has been sleeping with someone else at the same time as being with you. This isn't a joke or a trick or whatever you wish it could be so you can continue living in a state of denial. It's the truth."
Fae are often evasive. Now he's deliberately trying to do the opposite: tell her as directly as possible so that he leaves her with no wriggle room for denial. There's no sympathy in his voice. Just the facts.
no subject
Her face crumples again. It's somehow worse that he's not reacting to her anger.
"I thought he loved me."
She's too stunned even to cry. She feels numb.
"Who-?" She chokes out. She can't finish her sentence.
no subject
"You've probably guessed that I have done a little snooping on our new President. I reported everything I discovered to the Mother of Witches and it was her decree that I approach those affected. I have not revealed your secret to anyone else. Nor can I tell you the identity of the President's other lover. It's all rather sordid if you ask me, but I suppose this is her way of protecting you. No one else has to know."
Which should explain why he's the one talking to her instead of some other witch. Of course Samantha could have talked to her directly, but given the terms Lydia has used to describe her today Mogget suspects he knows why she hasn't. There seems to be some bad blood between them.
no subject
Lydia feels as if she's falling down through a rabbit hole, spinning faster and faster. Mogget's allegations whir in her head. He wouldn't. He loves her. Somewhere, it's all a lie. It just has to be, doesn't it? He loves her. He bought her shoes. He loves her. It's all lies to stop her from seeing a vampire.
"She's fed you a pack of lies," Lydia says with more determination. "She's lied to you because she's jealous of me." She tries to laugh but it verges on hysterical. "It's pathetic, really."
no subject
Will he ever get a sensible word out of the girl? Doubtful.
no subject
Truth be told, they don't really talk about anything much beyond sex. It's never really occurred to Lydia that she and Cesare know very little about one another beyond blowjobs and lingerie. Not that she's telling Mogget that. She would rather he didn't know about her personal life - and she'd definitely rather Samantha didn't know.
"I'm not talking to you about it. I need to see Cesare." She stands up to go. In truth, she feels like she's not quite in the park any more; it's almost like she's floating but definitely not through happiness.
"I... I need to go..." she says, vaguely.
no subject
"It matters because you're a witch and a careless word could put us all in danger. You're lying with a monster, Lydia, and a man whom the Mother believes to be utterly lacking in principles, interested in nothing but his own pursuit of power and worldly pleasures. She is doing her best to manage the vampire presence on the Night Council. Please don't jeopardise the work that other witches are doing to keep you and the rest of Circle Daybreak safe."
Those aren't his words, they're words that Samantha has put into his mouth. There's irony here, because Samantha hasn't taken her own advice. She thinks she can handle Cesare. She thinks she can sleep with the devil and come out unscathed. There's no fool greater than a clever fool.
no subject
"I don't care about Circle Daybreak. You know what?" She marches back up to the cat.
"You know what Samantha has given me? Jack shit. Cesare - he's given me shoes and - and - well - he's given me all sorts of stuff. You're an idiot if you believe any of that stuff you're saying, Fleaball, because it's just not true. Cesare's a good guy - he's better than someone who wants to humiliate me in front of everyone and snubs other girls and - and - well, I don't know what else she's done, but she's not very nice anyway. I couldn't give a toss about Circle Daybreak and neither could Cesare. Our relationship isn't political. It's romantic!"
Her chest heaves by the time she's finished spewing all of that. The colour in her cheeks has deepened and spread: it feels good to at least start getting some of her rage out.
no subject
By this point he's hoping that Lydia has been so idle that she doesn't have anything useful to tell Cesare anyway. Her lack of interest in magic is truly astonishing.
no subject
"Just - oh, you can tell your precious Mother of the Witches that I'll tell him whatever I like because I trust him."
no subject
The cat shakes his head. "I will tell her. However, everything I have said proves that you cannot trust him. Remember that."
There's no point in trying anything else. He stretches out his hind paws, then moves to slink away across the grass.