Rowan let out a breath. "Fine. FIne." he replied, trying to relax a little bit. But he was on pins and needles, really. He had no idea what to expect from Venus, no idea what to do or say. "Sorry. Uhm. Where am i going to be…where are you expecting me to sleep?" Rowan didn't actually have much of an accent. Or at least, if he did, it was such a strange blend of them that it wasn't easy to pick out. He had moved so much as a child that he didn't really have a single defined accent anymore.
Venus looked to the doorway as Charlene walked in, then back to Rowan to answer his question.
“I suppose you can stay in a guest room. There should be one in pretty good condition that I kept for uh … special occasions? Like when people show up in the same situation you’re in.”
Venus watched Charlene unsteadily place a tray down on the table, and beckoned for her to come over.
“Make sure you don’t injure your arm anymore, Charlene. Sit here and I’ll go get the medical kit.”
Charlene nodded, but before following her instructions, she placed the cups of tea in front of Rowan and where Venus had been sitting.
"Ah, alright." Rowan replied to Venus. He wondered what Venus had meant by "Special occasions", but figured it was best not to ask. He thanked Charlene and picked up the cup, blowing on it carefully to cool it, before taking a cautious sip. He kept a careful eye on Venus, still not trusting the gang leader.
Which, really, was just smart. You shouldn't trust a gang leader, no matter what they say in regards to whether or not they'll kill you.
Venus sat back down next to Charlene and opened up the medical kit.
“Your guest is very polite, Master,” Charlene said as she rolled up her sleeve. “Much better than anyone who came before.”
“Right?” Venus smiled, which reassured Charlene in knowing that Venus had an interest in this person and that she’d have someone else to talk to.
Charlene’s wound had opened up a bit again, and blood trickled down her arm.
Charlene clenched her jaw and looked away while Venus cleaned her wound. Though she didn’t really trust Venus removing the bullet, she knew he was better at it than she, and that she’d need help to properly wrap her arm afterwards.
Rowan was quiet, watching them for a moment, then looking around the room again. He let out a slow breath, rather unsure of what he was supposed to say. He settled for nothing, seeing as how even if he did say anything, he didn't know if it would be the right thing, if it would be something he should say. Plus, there was so much he had to hide…no. It was safer to be quiet.
“Master-“ Charlene winced. “You also have been asked to go in regards of a few of the newest recruits tomorrow.”
Venus sighed, “I suppose I’ll never run out of things to do, huh?”
In between the moments where Charlene processed his words, and became more fatigued by her injury, he carefully nicked out the bullet the rest of the way out.
Charlene gasped as Venus once again cleaned the wound, in an attempt not to scream. Injuries like this happened a lot around here, but that was no reason to get used to them.
“How long do you think you’ll be here for, Rowan?”
(gtg soon sorry)
Rowan looked up. "Hm? Oh. Right. I uhm…I don't know." he replied honestly. "It depends on…a few things." he shook his head slightly, running his hands through his hair and letting out a slow breath. "Sorry. I wish I could give you a definite answer, but…not everything is within my control."
“Alright, fair enough. As long as Charlene here, is still operating, I can manage to let you stay here.”
Venus finished wrapping up Charlene’s arm and put all of the used materials and the bullet onto a cloth. He’d need to clean them now.
“Charlene, you’re dismissed for tonight. We’ll clean up later.”
Venus first put away the medical kit and then moved the materials to a side table.
He sat back down and grabbed his cup of tea, the contents now only lukewarm.
“Now … my dear guest. How will you repay me for letting you stay here?”
Rowan let out a breath at the question. "Well…my Talent is truth-telling. I can tell when someone is telling the truth." he didn't specify which Talent. Having the talent of truth-telling meant he was very creative at dodging truths without outright lying. "So I could do that for you, I guess."
Venus thought about what Rowan said, for a moment. Though, he knew that he didn’t really have a need for that kind of Talent.
“You can come see the newbies with me then. It’s always good to scare them so they don’t slack off … Now, tell me more about yourself. You’re trying to avoid this as much as possible, tell me about your interests, pass times, family …” Venus listed each topic, holding out another finger each time.
He really just wanted to learn more about this person.
He grimaced. "Fine. My father is here in New Reynes somewhere. My mother left when I was ten. I enjoy reading, music, and drawing." he said. "Anything else?" he didn't want to say too much. Didn't want to reveal what he was, who he was. What he could do. Revealing that would get him killed, no questions asked.
He didn't want to die. Which, he knew, was kind of the refrain of his life. But he couldn't help it.
“It seems like you’re a pretty good person-“ Venus took another sip of his tea. “And that you had lead a relatively good life. Considering you’re here now … maybe not so much anymore. Perhaps you are looking for your father?”
Venus felt proud on the inside. So far, he had determined that it was a good choice to bring in this person. The pieces of information that were divulged were semi-interesting, but there was more. Missing pieces to the puzzle, and probably a better puzzle than all the other crooks out here.
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. He's been missing for nearly two years now, and everything I can find says that he's here somewhere." Hopefully not dead or imprisoned. He had inherited his necromancy from his father, which was part of why he was looking for the older man. Hopefully his father could help him with some of his…issues.
So our guest is looking for a missing relative … how splendid is that? What do they need to find them for? Do they simply just want to find them? Venus licked his lips.
“How interesting. I guess we’ll end this topic here, since I did say I wouldn’t pry. At least, not too much. Would you like to ask anymore questions?”
There’d be a whole lot of question asking for now, since Venus wanted to know more and he was sure his guest would too. He’d need to build up trust if he wanted to get the answers he so desired.
Rowan let out a breath of relief, glad that he didn't need to get into specifics. Glad that he didn't need to risk exposing what he was. "Right…so how is someone so young the Lord of the Doves?" He asked. Especially someone who…doesn't seem to think things through? He cocked his head slightly, studying Venus.
“Mmm … I guess part of it is luck and probably power. In this position, I mainly just have to keep together the organization and deal with our problems.” Venus put down his cup.
It was probably a good thing he was asked this question, which would force him to think about the answer. Thinking was something Venus needed to do more of.
”And as you may have deducted, I really don’t put a lot of thought into things. So, that’s another reason that I have Charlene around. Consider her the true mastermind behind the Doves. She fixes all the flaws of my plans and improves them, or makes better ones. Then I carry them out.”
(gtg soon sorry)
Rowan nodded slowly. "So basically, if someone wanted to damage you, they'd just need to take her, and it would cripple your entire operation." He replied slowly, arching an eyebrow at Venus.
Maybe Venus should have thought about how he should’ve answered that question a bit more.
“If that were the case, this would be Charlene #70. I didn’t say I was incapable of thinking, and I don’t exactly have a people limit as to how many can die in a day. So really, the casualties and injuries would just go up a bit more. Probably. And as we can see-“ he pointed, as if quite literally pointing out the situation. “Charlene is still alive. She’s very capable.”
If Charlene weren’t dismissed, she’d probably try to stop Venus from exposing everything about the organization.
Rowan blinked slightly, then nodded. "Mhm. Alright." he replied slowly, running his hands through his hair, a little anxious still. He didn't really know what else to ask. "So…why'd you choose to get involved with the gangs?" he asked, hoping this question wasn't too invasive or something.
“I was scouted, I think. For my Talent. Unless I was randomly kidnapped. Since making smoothies and whatever with my Talent wasn’t going very well, I went with it. I didn’t really like where I started out, or the people I was with, so it was a win-win. I’d be by myself and my Talent would have a purpose.” Venus explained.
He mainly felt a bit restricted in the South Side, especially when he was around Bianca. No one else really wanted to help him out either, so he was left ruining a ton of fruit alone.
He nodded again. "Right. Makes sense, I guess." he wondered what would happen if his own real Blood Talent were known. If people knew he was a necromancer. Would they report him, or try to use him? Either way, the results would not be pretty. But if they knew that he was a revenant…his fingers brushed against his collar again, and he swallowed. He would be killed if they knew that part of him.
“I’m assuming that’s all for now, so I’ll take you to the guest room.”
Venus stood up, the cups on the table reminding him of all the things he should get done. To start, he’d need to clean the cups, and he’d have to clean up his house. Tomorrow he’d need to deal with the newbies, and a few other issues. Venus would need to consult the list of things he needed to do.
The thing that would take the longest would probably be dealing with the newbies. A lot of the things that happened down there was mainly just kids who didn’t take this seriously and were slacking.
Rowan nodded slightly. "Alright." he replied, shaking his head slightly as he stood up. He slung his bag on his shoulders, standing to follow Venus to the guest room. "Uhm…thanks. By the way." he said slowly. "For…taking me in. I guess."
That sounds nice… Venus thought to himself, then laughed a bit, knowing Charlene would’ve scolded him before he got a bigger ego.
“You’re welcome then.”
Venus left the parlor room, before quickly pondering which way the correct room was. He decided on going left, and after passing a vase of faux flowers, he knew this was the correct way.
He opened the last door in the hall, a simple door with small fixing. A bit unnecessary, but like most things in his house, if Venus liked what he saw- it was put there.
He opened the door, proud he had chosen the right room and gestures inside, “Here’s the guest for you to stay in. Don’t go wandering and don’t get lost.”
Rowan nodded, and headed into the room. "Alright." he replied. "But…I do need to look for my father, so, I don't know how well the don't go wandering thing is going to work." he shrugged his shuolders, setting his bag on the bed and looking around the room to take in everything. "Also, where's the bathroom?"
