As the meeting was adjourned and those of their family began to disperse to the filthy corners of Amaryllis they had holed up in, Poltergeist took notice in @Laveau. Looking lonely and despaired (for he had known she was to be mated to Envy). He couldn't help himself.

"It's kind of rude of Envy to leave you behind," Poltergeist spoke, lingering. Had she no place to go now? Nowhere to make herself useful? "Did he not tell you anything of his travels? Or even invite you along?" It wasn't a secret that the former Patriarch took a wife, a much younger wife. Gossip had swirled around the family quickly, though it would seem perhaps a young wife was a bit too intimidating for such an old man.

Poltergeist was an opportunist even if he was barely anything else. If he could recruit Laveau to follow him around, then she could hunt for him and perhaps he could pay her back by... snuggling? Being there for her? He honestly didn't quite know how he'd pay back the favor, but surely... Laveau would want to be shared by the newest Patriarch himself?

---

this takes place directly after this thread :>

Potential XP
assassin
+5 Learrn or exploit a character's weakness (knows Laveau is lonely/sad from being abandoned, hires her to hunt for them)

beatnik
+10 Have another character perform a task or favour for you (hires Laveau to hunt for him and Recluse)
+5 Be gifted something useful (Laveau lol)

BG

The lioness had stayed quiet during the meeting, ears flat against her skull, her heart wrenched in different directions, she was in her own little world of blame and what could, or should she have done better? A voice interjected those thoughts, breaking her away from the deepest parts of her brain and grounding her, back at the Hot Springs, the warm air from the steam could be blamed for the wetness of her eye, if she needed it to.

Poltergeist. A cousin, she assumes. "It was an impulsive decision, I think. He had a lot of unresolved problems that were a result of his first mate leaving. And I thought it best to stay behind, we weren't getting any--" She regarded him with a quirked brow and had to stifle a glare, she hadn't gotten to speak to anyone truly about what she felt or why she thought it had happened and him asking almost caused her to retell everything to him like they had grown up closely. She wasn't unaware of the rumors about Envy taking her as a wide, of course she hadn't known exactly what was said, but she could feel stared, hear the whispers, it was no secret that Envy had dropped the ball on everyone including her when he staked his claim. She wondered why he would take a wife, and refuse to consummate, or to give her children to look after. Maybe she had been too young for Envy and he'd just wanted something to show off, but she wished she'd known that before she had been married off, now she was married with no husband, and Her innocence intact, married for almost a year, and not once had he touched her, always putting it off, it was infuriating, and she felt herself becoming more angered by the thought.

The lioness took a breath and looked back to Poltergeist, and when she lingered on his form, an idea formed, a means to get what she wanted, and possibly benefit him. She was a Black, a female member, she needed a husband, she needed someone to dote on, to take care of, and of course she wouldn't just dive in, she would work her way into the males life if he would allow it.

image by moogle/code by saph

Poltergeist's ears grew bigger the more @Laveau spilled about the situation, but just when it was about to get good, she cut herself off. It probably showed on his face that he was disappointed that she refused to continue. "Well," he said, pausing for emphasis. "Why take a wife if you're just going to abandon her at your earliest convenience?" Poltergeist knew he was pushing at some sensitive buttons, but his intentions were to upset her... and then offer solace.

"Where will you go?" he asked; his voice was softer this time. He supposed she could remain in the manor until she found some kind of purpose. Perhaps Recluse would find some purpose for her eventually... marry her off, or perhaps take her for himself. But if that was the case... "You can always come with Recluse and I... We haven't settled down in one place yet, but it's better than being alone." He pouted slightly as he watched her with his cotton-candy stare.

BG

Amethyst eyes noted the disappointment in his face, maybe if he could convince her, or of she felt like he could comfort her in some way, maybe she would continue where she left off. His question reopened the ache in her chest but she kept her head up, not letting her emotions get the best of her, atleast not yet. "Maybe he did it just to save face..for the family." She shrugged, her paws shifted, shoulders slumping a bit as she was reminded of her husband, had he gone off to search for his first mate? She didn't know, and it bugged her to no end, the lioness spoke softly, "Why take a wife if you didn't want to consummate the marriage? I could ask a thousand questions about Envy, and cannot answer one of them."

Where will you go? The question hangs in between them and she pins her ears back, where would she go, since the marriage had never been consummated, would Recluse marry her off to some other male, but what male? There wasn't many options, her eyes closed for a moment as she remembered how to breathe. His offer grips her, still wounded from the departure of her husband, she was lonely, she was hurt, so finding something to take the edge away was impulsively on her mind. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose.." She plays coy, plays the nice role, the part that lure men into darker impulses.

image by moogle/code by saph

She was almost too easy to persuade. It was almost as if she were a sponge, and he the water, and she was soaking him right up. There was no room for questioning it. Poltergeist saw no reason to linger on Envy - the past was the past, and right now, that old man was gone. "Look at the bright side," Poltergeist quipped, walking over and stopping beside her. "You don't have to wait around and hang on for him to come back if he never consummated your marriage. You're free to do-- well, you're free to get a new husband." He could kick himself for almost giving her the false hope of freedom. Truthfully, Black women didn't quite get that - unless they took it, but even then, the binds to their husband still remained even if they chose to ignore them. *Cough*Opium*Cough*

Pausing, he asked, "You can hunt, right?" Because he wasn't inviting her without her keeping up her end. If she was going to tag along after he and Recluse, then she'd have to earn her keep somehow. If she could keep them fed, well, that'd be nice. She could share their beds when it got cold, too. Perhaps until Recluse decided what to do with her.

Or perhaps he'd take @Laveau as his wife... and just ignore her. He could blame her later for the reason he did not have children. He could blame her faulty fertility, or whatever. Perhaps the claims she made against Envy are all faulty, and it's her that was the dud all along... Poltergeist had to fight the urge to smirk as he looked on to her.

BG

Laveau tasted freedom, felt it in her paws, she was almost hopeful and happy that Envys departure would give her the freedom to leave, atleast until needed, if she were ever needed. She watched him walk closer to her, she knew her own family, and she didn't trust it one bit, but let him think she was his putty, it wouldn't phase her yet, as the emotional connection between them was a very thin strand. "Free to get a new husband? You say that like I get a choice." She gave him a half. Hearted smirk and shrugged, "I'll await my orders from Recluse, and then we'll see if I gain a new husband, though there's not many options, or if I gain freedom." She chuckled darkly at the last part, as if she could gain freedom.

"I can." She answered, watching him with a careful gaze, she would not sit idly by and be made out to be something she was not, she didn't know his thoughts but her mind was lingering on the possibility of another mate, if she gained one, she would not just be kept on the shelf. She would have bastard children just to spite whoever married the woman.

image by moogle/code by saph

Poltergeist laughed, the sound booming and echoing off the stones nearby. "No, you don't get a choice. Sorry, hun, but our new Patriarch is too focused on furthering the family lines to let you remain single and ready to mingle," he spoke, giving his hips an alluring (and sarcastic) shake at that last part. All females in the family would have to be paired off to spread the genes and cast the Black lines out. And if there were no females left? The fervent search for some new blood would begin.

"If you're lucky, while you're warming my bed, Recluse might take a liking to you, too. Since his last arranged marriage might've already walked off, what's an old Patriarch to a new Patriarch? They probably taste the same." His ego was bleeding through quite a bit, and it was obvious that he didn't see any sort of worth in her. Her job? Follow him and Recluse around, feed them, and warm their beds when they desired the company. For a female with no self-worth (which is what Poltergeist thought of all Black females), it was an easy trade. "Plus, what's Recluse's is also mine, so we'll both have you."

When @Laveau finally said she could hunt, he smirked and nodded. "Good because you'll still have to earn your keep, and you can do that by feeding us."

BG

What other choice did she have truly? This way she'd at least have something to do, somewhere to go, his laugh tested on her ears but she ignored it and chuckled as if her freedom were just a joke. "But if I'm too warm your beds, without a marriage, wouldn't that be wrong?" She quirked a brow, her eyes curious as to what he would say, would it not matter because they were the ones making the rules now? Her ears perked at the thought of Recluse taking an interest in her, a glance was thrown towards where the patriarch had stood, and guilt wormed it's way inside her, Envy. Envy was patriarch though, he had to have known by leaving an unconsummated wife in the paws of his cousins, she would be whisked away, used for her only purpose. Did he even feel for her? How could he have just left her, he had to have known what would happen! She was hit with a sudden realization, or atleast a thought, did he leave her here with the intention of his cousins swooping her away?


She eyed Poltergeist carefully, she missed her husband's chartreux fur, the way he smelled, the way he was there, and now she felt utterly alone. She gave a soft shake of her fur, "Alright, yes, I'll do it." . She gave her answer, choosing not to speak on his personal views on what sharing was.

image by moogle/code by saph

"Who said there wouldn't be a marriage?" he questioned, quirking a brow. He knew he didn't mention it, but should Recluse find use in his plan, perhaps @Laveau would be claimed by the both of them and used for their purposes. Poltergeist knew he'd be expected to reproduce at some point, and if he could form some kind of small family unit with his brother and their wife, perhaps he could wangle his way out of having to care for them at all.

"We'll iron out the sticky details when you meet Recluse officially. Until then, cuddles it is." He positioned his body towards the cave and tipping his head, he beckoned for her to follow him into the Black Manor. He had intended to live it up with her at his side until it was time to introduce her to Recluse and potentially have to share.

---

end on your reply? We can fade-out when they go into the cave or somethin :)

BG

His implication towards marriage had her feeling some kind of way, emotions some where between annoyed that her life could just be taken over, and sadness her betrothed left her, knowing she would be given away to the next Black male, to relieved that maybe now she could actually be put to use. She gave a soft hum, before taking a step towards the manor. "Let us enjoy it then." She offered, continuing to follow the male, her hips swaying with ever step.

Laveau flicked her ears back, she hid emotions very well, her heart still hurt from Envy, but whether that was from him leaving her, or her realizing he left knowing that since their betrothal never got consummated, that she could just be taken and put back in the pool. She would follow Poltergeist, letting him lead her away.

/Exits with polt

image by moogle/code by saph