Testing the Waters

Characters: Reese Morgan, Valerian Cassidy
When: Daytime, sometime before all the families move into the Azoth Manor
Where: Azoth Manor, Seattle, WA
Summary: Reese Morgan, after getting to meet with Taylor Sullivan in her hometown of Bellingham, makes her way to Azoth Manor and meets one of the Arcanists in the manor while exploring the manor.

...Testing the Waters
Azoth Manor, Seattle, WA

Allowing her brown eyes to drink in the vastness of the place, Reese wasn't sure if she had come to the right place. Taylor had told her to go to Seattle and somehow she managed to stumble upon this place with no clue as to where she was to go and whatnot. She just took in the beauty of the architecture of the manor itself--something that must have took a while to plan up from the foundation itself.

Her Converses-covered feet squeaked as she walked from the Foyer to explore the place, her messenger back hitting the back of her thighs with a THUNK as she walked. She was too engrossed in her exploration that she didn't know where her feet were taking her until she was outside at the pool deck.

It had been a fairly uneventful day so far. He had spent most of the day in the pool. His natural skin color was very pale, and his boss at Mint wanted him to get a little color, so he would look better. He liked his pale skin, but what he wanted was not as important as him keeping his job. He saw the beautiful young woman walk out on the pool deck. She looked lost, and he certainly didn't recognize her. He used his hands to pull his hair back and slick it with the pool water. His lithe body glided through the water as his legs kicked the water away. He cut through the water with ease, and pulled himself out of the pool. The sun did nothing but make the droplets on his pale white skin glisten. His swimsuit was a metallic silver, and barely covered the "parts" that needed to be covered.

He walked past her and grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his petite waist. "Are you lost?" He said simply as he sat down in one of the lounge chairs and sipped on a diet coke nonchalantly as he looked at her. His brooding eyes examined her carefully and slowly. She was absolutely gorgeous and had a friendly look about her. She didn't look like she was there to cause any trouble, and it was far from his spectrum to cause problems. He grabbed his sunglasses off the table next to him and placed them on his head and waited for her to respond. He wasn't mean, he was just shy and broody.

Reese was startled out of her thoughts when a voice asked her if she was lost. She turned her eyes to a young man sitting in one of the lounge chairs, with a towel wrapped around his waist and a pair of sunglasses on top of his head.

"I guess you can say that," Reese said with a nervous laugh as she rubbed at the back of her neck, where the mark of the Arcane Protectors tattoo was located. "Ummm...I'm Reese Morgan," she added as she held her hand out to the young man.

"Well I don't know who you are, but this is private property. I'm Valerian Cassidy." He said as he shifted in the chair. "Is there a reason you are here?" He asked inquisitively. He didn't recognize her, and he wasn't about to give any information to her until she gave some information about herself and why she was here at the Manor. If his big sister was there, she would know what to do. He would bide his time until she made her intentions more clear to him at least.

He stood up and dropped his towel on the chair and walked over to the small hut on the other side of the pool. The sunlight reflected off of his swimsuit. "How about a water?" He asked her as he bent over and opened the mini fridge in the small bungalow and pulled out two small bottles of water, and sauntered back to where she was standing. "Here." He said flatly as he held out the bottle of water. If he knew to check for the tattoo, it would have been the first thing he would have done. He himself, had never met an Arcane Protector.

Reese was a little taken back by the inquiring of why she was here. True, Taylor might have mentioned the manor to her and she somehow might have forgotten something, but she wasn't sure just as whether she should tell him the truth or not. Going with the former, she didn't see Valerian get up and get two water bottles. She took the water bottle handed out to her and nodded her thanks.

"Ummm, I was told to come here by Taylor. She said that this place could be where I would be meeting her and a few other people..." Reese said as she took a sip from the water bottle. "Cassidy...as in the Cassidy family, a part of the Arcane families?" she asked, trying to place the last name to what she remembered from her days in the Conclave training.

Valerian looked shocked. "How do you know about the Arcane families?" He said as he regained his composure. She looked too pretty to be a Hunter, and someone would have stopped her before. He eyed her cautiously as he stood there with a hand on his hip. "I am the youngest member of the Cassidy family." He figured tit for tat would be appropriate for their relationship. He didn't shake her hand earlier out of distrust, but he offered his hand now for a shake.

"I don't know any Taylor." He said plainly as he tried to think of why this person was here. There was a missing piece of the puzzle here that he just didn't get.

Reese nodded her head as Valerian confirmed the family name. She shook his hand finally, realizing that he had a good grip. She placed the bottle of water down before removing her jacket--it was hot enough for her to go without her jacket. She turned around and pulled the back of her shirt down to allow Valerian to see the mark of the Protectors on the back of her neck.

"'Cause I'm one of the Protectors. Taylor Sullivan is the head of our group..." Reese said as she looked over her shoulder at the young Cassidy member.

Valerian's face turned bright red as a hand covered his eyes and forehead. How could he have missed it. The Arcane Protectors showed up from time to time to learn the layout of the mansion and meet the Arcanists. How could he miss that. "Well I guess I should have known somehow." He said as he stared at his bare feet bashfully.

"Since you are here, I might as well show you around at least." He said as he pointed at the pool. "That is the pool." He said flatly as he seriously was telling her that was the pool. Like she didn't already know that. "I'm Valerian Cassidy, the youngest Cassidy. Follow me, and I'll show you the mansion." Not like he particularly wanted to, but she seemed nice, and the responsibility would have probably fallen on his shoulders anyway. His family had been pushing him to be more socially interactive with others. He of course, resisted.

"Follow me." He said as he walked towards the mansion, and disappeared into the Foyer and waited for her. "This is the Foyer. It can take you just about anywhere you need to go within the Mansion." He said as he showed her one of the secret passageways.

Reese just followed Valerian as he showed her the manor. This gave her time to examine the young Abjurer: pale skinned, shy around people...'broody' comes to mind upon a deeper examination. This is all from what she gathered upon her first impression of young Valerian Cassidy, thanks to her ability to read people and from her parents' law enforcement skills rubbing off on her. This trait came in handy during her Arcane Protector training and in real life when she went to college--however, it was rather annoying when she was younger. As a writer, she would definitely put Valerian's description as one of a vampire--just not of the sparkling type, but more of a refined one, at best.

She simply nodded her head as her Converses squeaked when she walked, her messenger bag still hitting the back of her thighs. Her jacket now tucked in-between her thighs and her messenger bag, leaving Reese in just a plain dark grey tee, which showed off her toned arms.

"So, you are thinking that, just because I'm a Protector, I'm going to be treated differently than what you had it from before," She said as her brown eyes took in the artwork on the walls.

He stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at her, first noticing her very very toned arms. "I'm not quite sure what you mean by that statement, but I assure you, that had I discerned that you were something other than a lost tourist or an Arcane Protector, we wouldn't be talking right now." He said without a smile. He just looked at her. He wasn't trying to be standoffish or rude. He was often curt and to the point. He often didn't sugar coat stories or draw conversations out any longer than they needed to be.

He started walking again, prepared to show her more of the mansion. "I do not mean to sound rude. I just value the safety of my family above all other things." He explained as he opened the door for her that led into a large library. "This is the library. My least favorite room in the Manor. Please, after you." He said as he waited for her to enter the Library. There was a spell that would not allow someone to enter if they meant harm to anyone in the Manor. He liked to feel safe. "The Library has a spell in it that creates almost a peaceful or tranquil feeling upon entering. That is why I hate the Library." He pointed out as he entered behind her. Almost immediately upon entering, his eyes became less broody, and almost friendly. He was simply not amused. "This is also like a safe haven in case the manor were ever to be invaded. That is my theory anyway seeing as how the spell repels evil." He said almost kindly.

Reese understood Valerian's reason and she couldn't agree more with him on that.

"Family is very important...as one wise man said, blood is thicker than water," Reese said as Valerian showed her the library.

Almost right away, she felt at home with the books. An avid bookworm, she was very into her studies growing up; not a lot of people knew of that side of her. She was in awe at the size of the room and the vast amount of books. She felt like she had gone to heaven and it was enough to nearly put her into tears had she really been that kind of person--instead, she looked impressed with the library.

"You don't like the library?" She asked, turning her head to face Valerian.

She had to look up a little bit, noting Valerian's height advantage over her 5'3" frame.

"No. I do not like the library. I love books, but if I am feeling aggravated, I wish to feel aggravated." He explained as the corner of his mouth tried to curl upwards. "I'll wait for you outside the library." He said as he stormed out of the Library. He had long ago accepted that he was a quiet and was broody, he didn't like that the library made him smile. If he wanted to smile he would do it on his own, and not with the help of magic. Damn the Abjurer who put the spell on the library grounds.

He leaned against the wall and waited for her to come outside. "The next room is the Arcane Museum. Neither one of us can enter it. There is a spell that keeps both of us out, but you can at least know where it is. I'm sure there is a secret way in, but I haven't been able to locate it yet." He said. The end, he voluntarily shared with her. "Only the heads of each family are allowed in the Museum. Something about the items being dangerous or something like that." He said as he rolled his eyes. "Just once I wish Eve would take me in there with her..." He mumbled under his breath and stopped.

"Do you have any questions so far?" He asked, giving her the opportunity to ask as many as she wanted.

Reese watched as the young man left the library. She wondered what would cause such a promising young man as himself to be so dark and dreary. She didn't stay in the library long before she found herself outside with the youngest Cassidy.

When Valerian asked if she had questions so far, one did come to mind.

"What about the Protectors--don't they get to stay here at the Manor?" she asked, adjusting the strap to her messenger bag to ease her shoulder a little.