InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Don't be a drama princess."

tao_ (tao_) wrote,
@ 2010-09-15 16:55:00

Who: Riley and Tao
What: an unexpected visit
Where: Tao's office

Tao had not gotten a lot of sleep. Thankfully, he did not need a lot. He'd cleaned meticulously of course, then sat on the phone all night. His source did not like to have any suspicion on them that they even liked vampires let alone were indebted to one. So a late night phone call was pushing things. Unfortunately, he did not have a lot of time to placate her. After explaining the problem, and promising this was a final favor she had relented and headed out to the church in the morning. He had laid in bed, no not a coffin, and stared at the ceiling. Usually a good couple of hours in the room, even if it didn't last as long as he would like, were relaxing. He'd instead found he let his guard down more then he anticipated and the shifter had garnered more respect then he had previously expected to give. Worse yet, he wasn't all that sure the rule of keeping things in the room would stick, as they had finished out negotiations inside.

That was upsetting as well. He'd had no problem taking out tribute. He had purposefully given the new leader the information to see how he would deal with it. Seeing if he would reach for that small bit of power, or even more. It would be telling on his position as leader and give Tao some weak points to use. Still, he had planned on enjoying the negotiations. There was nothing like riling up a shifter. Even the idiot power hungry ones.

Deciding sleep wasn't coming he'd headed into work, checking over inventories, new information and new hires. The club was doing well, they had a steady stream of regulars as well as those coming for the thrill of seeing a vampire. He drew up the new treaty and even slipped in a clause regarding collars to see if it would be noticed. The phone call from his plant came early and she had information. Not that it was good, she promised to stay on it. He explained it wasn't necessary, but she felt obligated. If only to spare the pack and vampires more problems.

He accepted a glass of blood to drink, from a blood bank few knew he owned and sat back to rest. Riley should be calling soon so he could pass on the information. The phone call, Tao mused, would be short and to the point. The shifter did not seem to enjoy talking to him much. The thought made his mouth twitch and he almost chuckled to himself.

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amulius
2010-09-21 09:09 pm UTC (link)

Riley wrinkled up his nose. He had never been to church, his people didn't need a big building to be in touch with their gods, but he had met some church people. He knew that good church people were the kind that knew not to ask too many questions in the winter time when the pups were too many and food too scarce and they sent out their women to the soup kitchens on the edges of the city. The sun-worshippers were not good church people, he had known that even before members of the pack had started going missing. To much chanting and too many promotional t-shirts, too many men with too many straight white teeth talking too much on the TV. "So they're recruiting the distraught and getting them to go after vamps and shifters?" Riley asked, "Can your human get in closer? Try to see how they tell the humans about us?" He let out a soft growl and fell silent for a moment, and then- "I should go in." He said with a frown, "Help her."

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tao_
2010-09-21 09:52 pm UTC (link)

Tao nodded, "Finding those with great loss and giving them someone, something, to focus their pain and anger on. What better way to build a destructive but replaceable army?" It was the very opposite of what he himself had vowed to do with his territory and people, and that upset him more then anything. It made it personal. In someways it felt like his own sire, twisting things for pain.

His eyes met the carpet at the mention of the human. "I informed her that her services were no longer required, however she can be rather, stubborn. She used a variation on a story regarding her sister and vampires to get access to this support group meeting tonight. It will hold up if it's investigated." It would hold up because no one ever tried to find the truth. Most were ready to believe in the secret human slave trade enough to not ask questions.

His head snapped up, "No. You shouldn't. Do you really believe they wouldn't have something prepared for you? That they aren't hyper aware of either of our kind trying to gain access? You'd put the human, and yourself at risk. Is that wise with your pack still shifting to new leadership?"

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amulius
2010-09-21 10:51 pm UTC (link)

Riley left out another soft growl, "So, again, you expect me to do nothing and just let you handle everything." His breath rumbled in his chest, his lips quivering a little. He stood up from the chair and tossed his hair, turning away from Tao. He very nearly kicked over the bloody bag, but resisted, and instead stepped over it, his large hands clenched into fists. "The pack is - fine. We celebrated the killing of those humans who were tracking our pups. The Hartwicks are licking their wounds, my position is still strong." He didn't mention that, following his discussion with Tao, he had decided to have all of the former alpha's female offspring killed. "And you- just want me to wait."

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tao_
2010-09-21 11:11 pm UTC (link)

Narrowing his eyes, Tao let out his own frustration with hands gripping the chair arms. "Right now, it looks as though we are both handling it. Unless I missed the call you made when your pups were followed? Whether you realize it or not, we must be careful with this. I would much rather burn their church to the ground with the body of their leader on display in front of the flames. It would make him a martyr and simply forge astronger church from it's ashes." He sighed and loosened his fingers on the leather.

"For now, we both wait. We will do better when we have more information and can rake the church down in both the media and personally." he preferred the old ways himself, but had learned the value of politics and that was how they would have to destroy this enemy.

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amulius
2010-09-22 01:15 am UTC (link)

"I'd rather be getting my hands dirty." Riley replied, letting his hands open slowly. He looked down and saw that blood had come to the surface, his skin mottled in the shape of small crescents on his palms. He let out another growl and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling with a gravely sigh. "I hate this." He muttered, "When did we become so beholden to their rules?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder at Tao, meeting the vampire's eyes. "We're stronger than all of them."

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tao_
2010-09-22 12:52 pm UTC (link)

Pushing himself from the chair he stood and paced around the desk to stare at his poor carpet and the bag of body parts left there. "We are stronger, but it takes very little to send humans out to war. For some reason, they value the media's take on things. Rather then concern themselves with real honor, they prefer the reputation they can get in the eyes of the camera."

Slipping hands into his pockets he shrugged. "We are not beholden to them, however, they do not follow our laws, our rules. They rarely follow their own. We could simply take them down, but we would be taking down threat after threat. Leaving us constantly on the defensive. We play their game, by their rules, and win. It will do more then punish them, it will break them. Hopefully, it will eliminate them as a threat for a long time."

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amulius
2010-09-22 02:25 pm UTC (link)

Riley let out a snort, "That's always been it, hasn't it?" He grumbled. "The gods make these pink squishy things that wouldn't have any defense alone, but then they give them greater numbers, there's more of them than shifters and weres and the two-natured combined, more than vampires and all other things combined. And through that they get their greatest weapon." Riley bared his teeth. "Civilization." He tossed his head again and paced behind his chair. "And because of that, I won't be able to tear out nearly as many throats as I'd like." It was so ridiculous.

He turned his head towards Tao. "Fine, we'll do things your way." He said, clearly annoyed. "We'll do things your way. We have other things to discuss-" He raised a hand to scratch at his head, "Where's the new contract?"

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tao_
2010-09-22 02:30 pm UTC (link)

"You stick to the shadows for a reason." He reminded him. As satisfying as the idea of putting fear into the hearts of the humans responsible then ripping those hearts out was, it was a move that would cost them. He didn't bother to protest that it wasn't his way but the humans, if Riley felt he was making concessions then he'd let him fume.

Ducking his head to hide a small smile he moved to open the drawer on the right of the desk. "You are welcome to take them and have them read over first. The tribute was removed. As requested." He kept his voice empty as he handed the file over.

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amulius
2010-09-22 03:00 pm UTC (link)

Riley padded to Tao's desk and took the folder, closing his large hand around it. He took a few steps away from the vampire and cracked the file over. His eyes narrowed and his features became sharper and almost birdlike as he began to read. With the eyes of a hawk he scanned over the words, taking in line after line after line in a matter of minutes. After several minutes of this, he closed the file with one hand and looked back up at Tao, meeting his eyes with human ones of his own, his features returned to normal.

"The fifth clause has an addendum that reqiures the East Pack alpha to wear a collar during negotiations." Riley said finally, his eyebrows rising, "What kind of negotiations are you planning on us having, Tao?" He was still annoyed, but now he was a little intrigued, as well. Had the vampire simply added that to toy with him, or did he have deeper, more interesting motives, as well?

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tao_
2010-09-22 03:08 pm UTC (link)

He hadn't even had time to sit back down. The shifter was fast, but not entirely efficient. Taking his time he sat back and crossed his legs, hands in his laps. "You missed a little something didn't you? You'll be providing your own collar. As you tend to destroy mine."

Raising eyes to meet Riley's he smiled. "You seemed much more comfortable asking for what you wanted and negotiating in the other room. Perhaps I'm simply trying to make things, smoother for you." An out and out lie, but plausible.

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amulius
2010-09-22 03:37 pm UTC (link)

Riley frowned and glanced down at the papers again. His eyes found the line and he read over it. When he looked to Tao again, he was bristling. "I broke one.." He began, and then flushed a light pink when he realized that there was something slightly more important to discuss.

"I thought you said that what was said and happened in that room wouldn't leave that room." Riley snapped back. He hated that smile, that smug, self-assured expression. "Putting collars in the document that defines an ancient relationship between our people qualifies as information leaving the fucking room!"

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tao_
2010-09-22 03:42 pm UTC (link)

"YOU brought negotiations into that room! YOU defiled it." Hands gripped and he closed his eyes for one moment, forcing himself to calm. He continued without opening his eyes. "If you want to suddenly abide by rules, then the tribute stays in the contract. It was never discussed otherwise. You still have a few hours to request negotiations on the old contract or let it stand."

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amulius
2010-09-22 04:03 pm UTC (link)

"You are such a vindictive, self-righteous jackass." Riley replied, snarling, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He turned to face the vampire, his teeth bared, his eyes large and amber. "Talking about defiling things, when you never protested discussing the contract in that room." His upper lip curled into a sneer, "You're an impotent crock of shit."

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	tao_ 2010-09-22 04:08 pm UTC (link)
	Finally opening his eyes, he left his face impassive. "You knew the rules walking in. I made them clear. You wish to stick by them, then that is what we will do. Anything stays. EVERYTHING, stays. You still have the old contract in your possession I believe? Tribute starts in three days time. You have 36 hours to negotiate otherwise." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

amulius
2010-09-22 04:17 pm UTC (link)

There was the wolf's blood, beating in his chest and bubbling in his heart. He let out another growl and looked away from Tao and down at the ground, his hands clenched into fists. He remained silent for a moment, fighting to compose himself. Even so, when he looked up at Tao, his eyes were still large and yellow. When he spoke, his words were slow and carefully chosen, "Let's negotiate, then." He said evenly, "I want tribute removed from the contract. Name what you want in return."

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tao_
2010-09-22 04:28 pm UTC (link)

"Respect." The answer was simple and as he elaborated he stood. "This house is a sanctuary, I have important and delicate work to do here and the number of people that are allowed to even know it's whereabouts could be counted on one hand. Even by you." He added with a snap of teeth. "You set things back by dragging your mess into my home, you set back that work by purposefully antagonizing the humans living here. You ever set foot on these grounds, you do so with respect to those that seek the sanctuary here."

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amulius
2010-09-22 04:34 pm UTC (link)

Riley resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He kept his stare fixed on the vampire's face as he spoke, his eyes following Tao's as he stood. "Respect." He repeated, and fell silent again. His upper lip twitched, "You're a strange vampire." He continued, " Offering sanctuary to anything other than something rare or someone you're keeping as a pet.." And yet, Riley could not smell fang on her skin. "Fine. Respect."

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tao_
2010-09-22 04:51 pm UTC (link)

He could believe what he wanted. As long as he left the others be. "That means you do not disclose this location to any, including your mate. You bring none here unless there is no other option.". He added. Tao had long ago list mist emotions, whether he'd just forgotten them or was incalable of anything other the. Anger he didn't know, or care. It was his own rules, codes that he had come up with when finally free himself that he stuck to. Even if the rules no longer seemed wise.

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amulius
2010-09-22 08:16 pm UTC (link)

Riley's eyebrows rose at that. He had no plans, nefarious or otherwise, to bring any member of his pack to this place. They would have gone if he had ordered it of them, of course, but he had immediately recognized this place as what it was, Tao's sanctuary, even if he hadn't yet made the connection about the vampire directly protecting his humans. "As you wish." He said with a slight shrug of his broad shoulders. He had no problem complying with a mandate that would not effect him. "There's no need to be so serious, you know." He added after a moment. "We don't have to be constantly at each other's throats."

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tao_
2010-09-22 08:21 pm UTC (link)

"I'm sure you take your pack laws just as seriously, even if you regret having to abide by certain ones." He just stared for a moment, assessing Riley's ability to mean what he agreed to and then finally nodded and sat back down. Pulling out the key board to the computer he began logging in. "It will only take a moment to make changes, unless you have more you wish to negotiate?" The first hint of a smile and he glanced up, "I have been no where near your neck. I doubt the room would have held up this well if I had."

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amulius
2010-09-22 08:35 pm UTC (link)

Riley smiled back, "Not that desk, nope." He said, cracking just the hint of a grin. His teeth had returned to human size and shape, and his eyes were back to normal. He slunk back to his chair and took a seat. In truth, he would much rather not fight with Tao, not with words, at least. "Make the changes, then." He said in an even sort of voice. Something had gotten into him, maybe it had been the wolf's blood. He kept his eyes trained on Tao's. "I can wait."

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tao_
2010-09-22 09:07 pm UTC (link)

"Hmm, I didn't think patience was one of your attributes." He took his time, and worked in silence. He was more comfortable with silence, there was less pressure on having to be appropriate and having to keep an eye on others, their tones, inflections, the lies. Silence was fine. Once he finished he pushed back from the desk slightly. "Would you like to read it over before I print it?"

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amulius
2010-09-22 09:16 pm UTC (link)

"Good things come to those who wait." Riley replied evenly, and extended a hand for the papers. "I had to wait for my chance to usurp Dean, didn't I? If I had just gone for his throat the first time he pissed me off, I wouldn't be here, pissing you off." He let out a soft snicker and then pushed himself up to his feet, rounding the desk so that he could read the contract over Tao's shoulder. Once he had read the entire document and had concluded that there were no more unexpected surprises, he returned to his seat, "Give me a pen and I'll sign it." He said, "Unless you want it in blood?"

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tao_
2010-09-22 09:30 pm UTC (link)

Tao hid his surprise at how fast he actually read. He'd gotten used to humans, with their lazy eyes and mind, having to wait, reiterate, and explain. Once he was finished he set it to print two copies. "Yes, and what would I do without a shifter to constantly annoy me?" He muttered. Grabbing pen and stapler he gathered the two contracts and separated them out before laying them on the desk facing him. "If I asked would you bleed for me then?" He held the pen just out of reach, eyes a bit darker then usual while waiting for a reply.

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amulius
2010-09-22 09:41 pm UTC (link)

Riley met those dark eyes and smiled just a little bit wider. He already had, he wanted to say, and he would do it again if Tao asked. But he had already promised not to let things leave that room, hadn't he? He couldn't break that promise so soon. "I might." He said in an airy tone, and rose up a little in the seat to grab the pen away from Tao. He also reached out for the contracts and pulled them back towards him on the desk. He looked down at the contracts and flipped them both through to the page where he was to sign. He let out a soft hum and then stabbed his right index finger with the pen. Blood welled up almost immediately. He extended his hand to the contracts and pressed two bright red streaks of blood down, one for each signing line. The blood dried fairly quickly and he used the pen to scrawl an X over each streak. "There." He murmured, and sat back in the chair.