The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

A Return to the Hunt

Cassie, only recently Ascended to her place as a Queen of her people, was both too shy and unaware of things such as adjunct status to have accompanied the original group that had asked for it from Lash. However, her fellow South Pacific lilith Isla quickly educated her, as well as informing her of her newly shorn status. While painfully shy, she was still smart enough to see the benefits of being Embraced by such a powerful and ancient Great House and immediately went to the big vampire and also asked to be attached to House Lash. From an objective point of view, it was an incredibly savvy move by the two South Pacific liliths, being Embraced by a House as well-positioned as House Lash.

From a personal point of view, however, she found it grinding her stones like nothing else. How dare these newcomers swoop in and use an ancient law that nobody had heard of, to directly connect themselves to Lash's House! She wanted to be connected to Lash's House. Meredith wanted to be connected to Lash's House. And they couldn't, because of Conclave law. But those two had figured out how to do it, and it was a smack across her face. Who were they? Certainly not the vampiresses that had fought at Lash's side across a war-torn Ireland and mainland Europe.

To add insult to injury, they both now had that relaxed air about them that confirmed they both had their seasons taken care of the old fashioned way. Again, objectively, she didn't blame them. With an alpha prime male possessing a straight line of descent from the Ancient One available, one would have to be brain dead not to try and take advantage of the situation. But personally, they deserved to have their eyes clawed out.

From the Australians, she scanned over to the other adjunct liliths. Sakura, she also already knew and, while the Japanese lilith had nearly lobotomized Lash with her oversaturated Compulsion, at least she used Compulsion. And oddly the Irish lilith felt better about that. At least, she didn't find her grinding her stones like the Australians were.

Then there was the Indian lilith, Inaya Patel of Clan Ganges. While liliths possessed a level of beauty and physical perfection that put them an order of magnitude of attractiveness over a regular vampiress, Inaya somehow possessed a level past that, combining the flawless genetics of her people with a lilith's perfection to make all the other vampiresses in the room look merely ordinary.

Much to Fiadh's chagrin, she too had that relaxed look that said her season had been sorted by Lash himself, instead of with biochems. From this distance, she couldn't tell whether Compulsion was involved but, again, if it wasn't, she couldn't blame Inaya for wanting to have Lash active and participating. But at least she hadn't manipulated her way through the situation to get attached directly to Lash's own House.

Beside her and looking almost ordinary in comparison, was the fiery Italian lilith, Sofia Cogliano, of Clan Giovanni out of Sicily. She had pulled her long, curly dark brown hair into a more functional braid and her bright blue eyes were intent as she conversed with the Indian lilith. She and Inaya were quietly discussing the Stinger Sofia held in her hand, but the hand gestures Sofia used to explain herself were almost shouts amongst the muted sounds currently filling the muster room.

It wasn't surprising that Sofia also looked comfortable and satisfied. A force of nature, she had stormed Lash's rooms the very night Isla had her season taken care of, according to a frustrated Lash the next morning. The last thing the big vampire wanted was to find himself being used to sort out lilith seasons and not have the time to prepare his task force to deploy.

From House Cogliano, a sept of Giovanni, one of the more powerful Great Houses in Italy, and the premier House in the Clan that bore the same name, it was a mystery why the Italian clan had refused to retrieve their lost lilith. Unfortunately that put Sofia in a position where she needed to ask for Lash's assistance, her own House and Clan refusing to do so. Lash expressed a hope that they'd discover why in short order, preferably before Sofia did something that put them all in danger!