The Philanthropist

“I’m sure there are plenty who would jump at the chance.” Every time he expressed interest in her it came with the nagging reminder, that she was a monster. That she should walk away, it wasn’t fair to him to hold this. Just because she like too. Things like her didn’t deserve the way Xander looked at her. She turned her gaze towards the ground “I’ll do my best.”

“Good,” Silvia said lifting her gaze from the ground, truly happy to hear that he was doing alright. What he a been through she didn’t wish on anyone. His life was radically changed forever after the accident. Yet he still smiled when he looked at her. Silvia again wondered if it was because she was Veela that he smiled or if it was genuine feeling, or how anyone could really tell the difference between the two. “A walk sound nice, I’ve been stuck in the cold hospital all day. It would be a shame to waste a beautiful day.”

“Probably, but plenty is a bit much for any one man to handle.” Xander mused as he glanced at his pocket watch - he still had some time. Time enough at least to enjoy at least some of the day. He slipped from the other side of his chair and pressed his weight onto his cane as he stood. There was a relief that came with her modesty, her work ethic. Most women he’d been raised around competed desperately for approval; either from others or simple themselves. It was rare to find someone who was content with working quietly in the background, who seemed to shy away from the spotlight.

“Shall we?” Xander asked as he offered his arm, his eyes glanced to the window panes - summer would be drawing to a close soon. She was of course right, it would be a shame to waste it.

That was the one thing about humanity she never missed: not having time. Though she often despised having so much free time on her hands, the endless stream of days and nights that would continue on for eternity, it was better than not having any time to do as she wished.

She recalled the moment her family was lost to the dark grip of death, how it marked the end of family trips to the beach and any semblance of normal the blonde would ever have in life. “Luckily, Manhattan is an island. Should you ever wish to pick up where you left off, it’s easy enough to find a boat.“

Xander heard himself chuckle, honest humor was sometimes a rare commodity and he appreciated it when it came. “I suppose you’re right.” Xander glanced at his pocket watch, the runic numbers telling him he’d make himself late for his two o’clock if he spent much more time here.

“I should be going, it’s bad form to make a client wait too long. It’s been a pleasure Ms. Strait.” He put his weight on his cane as he stood and tucked the paper under his arm. Xander ducked his head towards the vampire and moved towards the door.

#convo:sophia #end?

Stolen // Beauvais Siblings

@altrix-beauvais

It was simple enough to find healers to interview, there was no shortage of medical professionals that were willing to jump at the chance to associate themselves with their family. To get their hands in the Beauvais’ infinitely deep pockets, the trouble was finding one that Xander and Altrix could even remotely consider for the position. Although each had their own motives, they were agreed upon one fact - no one as of yet seemed to be good enough.

Xander turned over the last of the final resume of the most recent interviewee and dismissed them. He recited the rhetoric that they’d be in touch within a week if they felt they were right for the position, otherwise they’d gone with someone else. Xander however, had been distracted for much of the afternoon - there had been a break in the night before. Somehow, someone managed past the defensive wards placed upon the ancestral home and made away with a number of artifacts.

One in particular had him quite unsettled. The authorities had yet to be informed, the family had agreed that it would be best to keep this... In house. If word got out, there would be too many people who might see this as an invitation, a challenge. Mother had reached out to a specialist she was apparently well acquainted with, but as the hours slipped past Xander began to feel more and more that time was of the essence.

Xander cleared his throat as he palmed the end of his cane and braced himself against it. There was a low thud as he silently cast a muffling charm upon the room, naturally paranoid - this whole situation had him quite... Unsettled. He moved around the large oak desk, they’d chosen their father’s study to conduct the interviews in and stood opposite from Altrix.

“I was hoping you could assist me... I believe I might have a lead on the swine who entered our home last night.”

Seeing as she rarely reflected on her past –too many memories that weren’t all good–, it was odd for Sophia to be recalling her experiences to answer Xander’s questions. His shared interest in sailing made the unfamiliar experience slightly more comfortable.

“Why did you stop, if you don’t mind my asking?” The open water was and, though she despised the sunlight she was often forced to sail in, the sights and smells made it all worth it. Besides, when she went sailing, her closet filled with scarves, sun hats, and sunglasses actually served a purpose.

He once knew a man with an obsession for reclaiming what had been lost, he had told Xander that those with mind’s that questioned the boundaries of magic - magical theoreticians - all had their obsessions. Love or the mind, this philosopher was obsessed with time itself. Though it was eventually his downfall, Xander thought of him frequently. Like Icarus, those who flew close to the sun were doomed to plummet into the sea.

“I suppose I stopped finding time for it. My grandfather passed and I no longer had the desire.” It had been twenty years since sickness had taken him away, an apparent pattern on his father’s side. Xander rarely thought of him, he was there one day and then gone the next, death was peculiar in that sense. A fact that had long been Xander’s obsession. “Though I must admit, there are moments when I do miss the sea.” Usually it’s from his office when he would watch the world and the ocean move along before him.

“You’ll be the first to know. If you’d rather ask someone who can be sure, I’d understand.” She answered with a smile. It was easy for her to keep at an arms length, easy to not them get close enough to see what she was hiding. Somehow that didn’t seem to apply to Xander. When he looked at her she wondered if he knew already. He had his own darkness, who had been before she helped him in the hospital. Both keeping something from the outside world. Maybe that what drew them to each other. “It’s the same as ever, we’re down a few healers so I’ve been picking up a lot of extra shifts. Not that I mind the work, it keeps me busy.” She added with a laugh. “What about you? You look really good.”

“I wouldn’t.” Xander assured, truthfully he couldn’t think of anyone else he’d rather go with. He enjoyed her company so because she didn’t see the man from his past, or the facade he portrayed for the world. She saw what he couldn’t hide and perhaps she was blinded by it. “I wouldn’t rather go with anyone else, that is.” Truthfully he’d end up stag if she couldn’t attend, the women from his past were little more than passing smiles. They had no depth and Xander no longer saw any meaning in consorting with them.

“I’m well,” Xander lifted his right arm and turned it over for a moment, the artificial limb was covered by his suit and dark brown dragonhide leather. It was his wand hand and had remained so, his attempts to learn with his left had been... Less than fruitful and more embarrassing than anything. His hand came to rest on his cane, it was a peculiar feeling, the magical prosthesis did not afford him the sensations of touch, but Xander could still remember what it might have felt like. Which was a sensation in itself. “As well as can be expected. Would you join me for a walk? I’m suddenly feeling a bit stifled.”

“Me neither.” She nodded in agreement. Even now she had to look away from him, the way he smiled at her made her cheeks flush, her hands folded in front of her and she nodded at his offer. Pulling the chair out and sitting across from him. Silvia glanced up now eyes wide, shocked at his invitation. “I-I’d love to Xander it’s just that, I might be working.” She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. Anyone would be lucky to go with Xander, but a gala was far too much attention for someone like Silvia. Yet something in her couldn’t turn him down. “I’ll request it off.”

“Do let me know if you can attend.” Xander smiled, he knew mother would approve of the decision and it would spare him the indignity of going alone. He’d come to compartmentalize certain people, particularly those from his past into groups. Those who knew him before the accident and those who knew him afterwards, there were few from before that he still maintained contact with - those like his sister who saw through his bluster. Those that came after saw only what he wanted them to see, but Silvia was caught up in something else entirely and he found it hard to place. As someone who preferred to keep things in neat order, it could be frustrating at times. “How has work been? It feels as though it’s been ages since we last caught up.”

motorcyclemuses

“I don’t see how. I had to attend last time and it made me wish a fire crab pinched my eye. It got worse when they introduced that trained hippogriff that did circus tricks.” He finally pays attention in the other man. The fancy clothes, hair comb perfectly and the open smile makes him lapped himself mentally. This man probably would attend at the gala and he threw in the garbage potential donations. "Thanks by the way, It will be great to prove a point to my boss.” Jackson takes the seat, and folds the newspaper, looking at the time in his watch, noticing he had to wait a little for his landlord to bring the keys he forgot. “Yes, it is. Most of restaurants uses spells to make tenderloins steaks harder in the middle to disguise as erupent’s tail or octopus’ tentacles to pass as sea serpent. You should have, especially when it’s a house elf cooking instead of a wizard. I mean, they love to work and it’s not in their nature to be disloyal, but its owner can order them to do it, and they can’t disobey.”

He didn’t really understand the man’s disdain, they were just beasts. For Xander the displays lacked originality, it was just something for the privileged to talk about and compare to past events. He didn’t remember inviting the man to sit down and privately tsked at the other’s clear lack of manners. It was these tiny slights that Xander seemed to take personally, “was this man raised in a barn?” Was his first thought, a second glance at his appearances confirmed that to likely be true. “What point is it you’re trying to prove to your boss exactly?” Xander heard himself ask , absently feeling hungry at the talk of sea serpent.

#convo:jackson

“Thank you.” Sophia was pleasantly surprised by his reaction. She had become accustomed to reactions of unbridled fear or disgust whenever she spoke of her vampiric existence with anyone who wasn’t of her own species. People weren’t accepting of things that were different, a sentiment she could understand considering her diet. But for whatever reason, Xander was ‘fascinated’ and she wasn’t about to argue.

“It’s incredibly boring if you aren’t openminded.“ The question was simple, as she asked it of herself nearly every day, yet she could never find a satisfactory answer. She was never sure whether she was truly entertained or had only tricked herself into believing that she was entertained. Self deceit and actual contentment were two different things entirely. “Whenever I think of something I might be the slightest bit interested in, I center all of my focus on it until every aspect has been exhausted,” she explained after a moment. "I spent several months in Aegina, Greece in the early seventies learning the art of sailing. My appreciation of dark room photography came about as the result of a similar trip. There’s nothing like travel to keep you occupied.”

“I can imagine.” Xander mused as he listened intently, though truthfully his mind was elsewhere. He himself had traveled some, but not in a number of years and it had primarily been for work. Xander had been to Greece for such occasion, Africa also. The latter was considered by scholars who specialized in the history of magic as it’s birthplace. For leisure his experience was more limited, his family had a few estates in North America but any ‘family trip’ always seemed to feel more like work than anything else.

"Evidently.” It wasn’t at all difficult to visualize Sophia tossing atop the sea, nor was it much of a stretch to imagine her developing moving photographs beneath a dim red light. It was perhaps how she conducted herself with a sort of effortless worldliness that tied it together. “My grandfather and I used to go sailing. Though it’s been years.”

ivmwc

Altrix’s eyes remained aimed in her brother’s direction, but she was hardly taking in the site of the elves moving to clear the table as her focus had again been turned within. It was not that it could be said she was particularly close to the Beauvais patriarch, but then again it was rare that the same could be said of any of his children. Perhaps it was her appreciation for his never treating her any differently for not being his blood, along with the known fact that it had been the older man’s say that had granted her stay with whom she now called her family, that was causing her to feel this odd sense of upset over his deteriorating health.

“The mind can certainly be a fickle thing when it pertains to keeping the past where it belongs,” she started, her voice distant. She snapped her focus back to Xander. “But I think that might be a good idea … Yeah, I think I would like that.”

Their father wasn’t necessarily close with any of his children, but there seemed to be a fondness in his heart for the wayward girl he took in and called daughter. Much to the ire of some of his other children. He was not affectionate, nor attentive, he did not attend graduation ceremonies or dueling tournaments. Success was met with a nod, perhaps a glass of scotch in the lounge; paired with a cigar. Failure or disapproval simply not discussed, in most circumstances it was not an option. Of his many sisters, it was perhaps Altrix that would have been better suited to take over their father’s care - perhaps she even wanted to. But mother had requested Xander.

“That it is.” Xander agreed as he stood and shifted his weight to his cane in order to do so before balancing himself. It was second nature at this point, though his artificial limbs were concealed beneath clothes and garments - to others it was easy to forget. For Xander it was a constant reminder, one that pinched and hurt with the simplest of movements and left him laying in bed at night feeling spasms that were no longer there.

“Then I’ll let you choose the candidates and we can go through them together.” Xander assured as he ducked his shoulders so the elves could drape his coat over them.

“Oh yeah? You really want to talk about steak right now?” Silvia said stopping in her tracks as she almost walked past him. She recalled his voice from all the hours they spent together. Silvia smiled at Xander. “Besides I don’t think I’m invited, I’m just a healer.” Silvia hadn’t really thought about the gala, she just assumed she’d be working as she always did. That was far more Xander’s scene than her own.

“Not particularly.” Xander smiled as he recognized the familiar face, it was a difficult to miss. There was something in her voice; her eyes, the way the light caught her hair and the softness of her smile. He’d know it anywhere. “Please, sit.” Xander said quickly as he gestured towards the open chair. In another life he might have pulled it out for her, been the gentlemen his mother raised him to be but such things came at awkward strained effort now that he hoped the mere invitation would be enough. “I was hoping you might accompany me, I do hate attending such things alone.”

Sophia was surprised by how simply Xander asked the question. It had been years since anyone had taken the chance to ask, and even longer since she’d been willing to give an answer. Usually with women, age was a difficult subject, but being a vampire had changed her view of it entirely. To a vampire, age meant power and control. “Three hundred and fifty… three, my birthday was a few weeks ago.”

After a couple of decades, her birthdays began to blur into one another and she allowed them to pass without the fanfare and splendor she afforded to her house parties. In her mind, only the milestone years warranted celebration. “I was born a soon after King Charles II passed the Staple Act. A very prosperous time for England, might I add, though, being a infant, I had little interest in any of it.”

“Fascinating.” Xander said truthfully as he took in her features, vampires, by nature were astonishing. Powerful, mysterious creatures. He had a number of acquaintances that found them appalling, they were corrupted, damned creatures with dark magic sewn into their very being. But there was a versatility that Xander couldn’t help but admire, it certainly didn’t hurt that even as a young boy he had never been afraid of the dark. “Happy belated birthday then.”

“I should think after seeing so much it would all become - boring?” Xander phrased it as a question but at present he found politics and the daily machinations of wizardkind life to be quite dull. She would have outlived her family and her friends, there was never any clear foreseeable end to an immortal life. “How do you keep yourself entertained?”

Sophia raised an inquiring brow at the invitation. She couldn’t find any immediate reason not to join him, seeing as she didn’t have any prior engagements or idea of what she would do with her time next, though she hadn’t survived this long by mistake. The moment she became careless, her immortality was put in jeopardy. “Maybe,” she replied thoughtfully, trailing off.

Despite her reservations, with an infinite life came an infinite amount of time to spend wondering what to do next. At least this would provide her with something to do. After a moment, she shrugged. “Sure, why not? ” Xander Beauvais wasn’t even close to being at the top of her list of worries.

Gossip ran rampant among the elite, it was well known and no secret that Ms. Strait was incredibly wealthy, but with what could be an infinite lifespan, it stood to reason that her money could not last forever. The vampire, despite being so present in the public eye was an enigma to him and Xander had something of an obsession with mysteries.

He gestured for another coffee towards the server before he fixed his attention once more upon Sophia. “If I may ask... How old exactly are you?” Xander’s mother would have scolded him for asking a lady such a question, but given her unique circumstances he didn’t see the problem.

ivmwc

Her piece of toast long forgotten, Altrix merely stared through the half-eaten item more than at it. Brown eyes did not move as she spoke flatly, “I think the word ‘happy’ would be an understatement.” The Beauvais matriarch had been borderline ecstatic recently. Her emotional state ranged in the spectrum that Altrix herself was rather unfamiliar with first-hand, and this had lead to more than a few instances where misunderstanding gave way to friction between the oldest and youngest Beauvais female. Altrix considered how even in her brother’s absence, there had always been one sister or another’s accomplishments to contend with. She began to wonder if she ever truly stood a chance with regards to proving herself to their parents.

“Bad night? I know he hasn’t been exactly doing much of a recovery, but it was my understanding that he had stabilized quite a bit now that you had taken over his care personally.” The way she spoke the words, anyone would think she was greatly confused, but she merely thought out loud. “Is there a specific situation that continues to persist? Perhaps we could consider looking into more specialized care.”

“Better ecstatic than course, I suppose.” Xander shrugged, most of the time all that was expected of them was to smile and attend public events. To put on a brave face for the cameras, do absolutely anything that was requested of them and never ever do anything that might embarrass the family. Sounded simple enough, until one truly considered what could encompass embarrassing the family. The only scandal that rocked the Beauvais family for the greater part were ones that had been pre-planned.

Xander cleared his throat slightly, finished with his breakfast as he waved for one of the elves to take it away. “Physically he’s remained stable, but mentally he’s losing touch. Last night he thought the wolves were closing in, he was reliving the rebellion.” He paused for a moment, knowing full well that there was little to nothing anyone could do for the Beauvais patriarch. Over the past years they’d brought in Healer after Healer, each regimen of potion and spell did little for him. At least now the man was a bit more mobile, though after last night Xander had to wonder if that was necessarily a good thing. “If you think it will help, we could interview some together.”

motorcyclemuses

“Not really, unless you think it’s fun to see a bunch of rich people competing to see who craps more money in less time.” Jackson complains, knowing his boss would be obligated him to attend representing the department.”Boo hoo, poor people having to worry about their overcooked steaks of a fantastic extinct creatures.” He says, spying over the guy’s shoulder, trying to a bit of the news about an illegal egg that hatched something that looked like a baby hippogriff in the middle of a muggle neighborhood. “Do you know that it’s probably alligator that they are serving as dragon, right? It’s cheaper, and with the right seasoning, nobody notices the difference. It’s like what muggles do in restaurants, they serve a less expensive fish, like tilapia, diguised as codfish, and no one sees it. By the way, Could you give this newspaper later? There’s a story over there that might be useful to me”

“Actually that sounds quite entertaining.” If he was being honest it sounded like every Sunday at family dinner, but Xander was rarely honest - particularly with strangers. At a glance the man was easily dismissed, tattered clothes and an overall disheveled appearance - there was an odor to him that Xander couldn’t place that was a bit off putting. Still, he was anything if he wasn’t polite and the man had managed to pique Xander’s interest.

“Here, it’s yours. I’ve read it already.” Xander said as he gestured for the man to sit down and slid the paper towards him. The news was always the same to him, relatively boring and somehow a bit predictable. Xander fixed his eyes upon Jackson’s as he spoke. “Is that really something they’d do?” Xander shuddered. “I might have to start questioning everything I eat now.”

#convo:jackson

He realized too late that he overstepped, perhaps it would take some time for them to regain their familiar step. Their had been a time when their movements mirrored the other, but that like so many things was in the past. Xander felt he had betrayed her, broken some sort of unspoken promise when he left her to the Collective and their parents. Maybe he was beating himself up for the decision, maybe he should let himself off the hook but as her eyes hardened towards him Xander knew that would not be the case.

He was a narcissistic perfectionist, older than she was yet for much of their youth he felt as if he was just barely keeping up. Everything came so easily to him before Altrix walked through their door, she made him work harder - made him realize he could be even better. It was a fact he was grateful for, even if he could never bring himself to actually say the words out loud. “Take it from me Beau, their approval is hardly worth the effort.” Except mother’s, Xander would kill for mother. “I suppose it is always easier though, to be on the in than on the out.”

ivmwc

Altrix started a bit at his use of the old nickname. Her features lost some of the hardness from before, though in truth this hardly made her look any more approachable. Resting Bitch Face syndrome, one of Xander’s old friends had called it once. They didn’t remain friends for long after that. But that was a time when they functioned as a unit and what affected one, affected the other. Altrix always had an odd sense of herself, and the fact that her temper tended to get the better of her did not assist matters. Xander, on the other hand, was always charming and charismatic. He was the one to vouch for her ability to interact with others, if given time. He was her human credentials - was being the operative word.

She met his gaze with her own, “It’s a lot easier to denounce the merit of their approval when as the only blood-born son, there is little -if anything at all- you could possibly do to make them turn their back on you completely. After all, to see mother now you’d think being a lawyer is something you’ve been doing your entire life.” She poured herself a glass of orange juice and took a sip. “Though, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you about how happy you’ve made her.”

He couldn’t deny that she had a point, his past indiscretions were small matters so long as they remained just there. In the past. He had exactly six older sisters, it came as no surprise to anyone that their parents always wanted a son. Xander was just that, their perfect, prodigal son. “Perhaps.” He said, replying slowly as he picked up his cutlery once again, saying little further towards the matter.

“It gives me great pleasure to know that I have made her so happy.” It did the families’ image well for him to return to their open arms, no longer the rebel child. “My only hope is that her high spirits help to raise father’s as well. We had yet another bad night.”