You mull your answer over. It could be some sort of test. You'd really rather not get stabbed again, or be cut off from your rather sizable allowance. You settle on commenting on the power play and skirting around what your father said. Forcing him to explain further.
"That's... rather close to what I was thinking. Minus hormones."
When Max chuckled you relaxed a little bit, but not entirely.
"Even so, why didn't you say anything before?"
There's a creak of leather from your father's gloves on the steering wheel.
"I had to make sure you'd toe the party line. Whichever came first, your eighteenth birthday or your trigger, I'd sit you down and explain it to you. Your grandfather, he was a true believer. Sharon, she believed enough. Heith believed. I didn't care, I was better because
I was better. I had to make do, you will have to make do. Don't think that Jessica and Nessa haven't noticed your dissent, or James."
James Smith. Krieg, Gwen's Uncle. The Gesellschaft contact within the Empire. A believer if there weren't any else.
"James is going to oppose your rise to power, unless he can tie you firmly to Gwen, and rule you through her and the Empire through you, until such time he isn't needed; or you prove a valuable enough sympathizer, if not an outright believer. The Empire is not powerful enough to upset the Gesellschaft."
"Toe the party line? You had to make sure I'd spout my superiority based on an accident of birth?"
"Yes. I didn't want the Gesellschaft to come after you. They probably will go after Aster if I can't pull Kayden back into the Empire. They don't like letting go of parahumans. It was a fight and a half to let Night and Fog retire. It would be a war to get them to let you or Aster go."
Okay, that shit won't fly. The Society will get theirs.
"I might not be the best family man, or the best father, but I try. You and Aster will live long, fruitful lives if I have anything to say about it. Theo..."
He trails off.
A drop of cold-bone power flows into your veins, and your forehead doesn't split open. Holy shit! You didn't have to bleed every time you used your power. You would have to be careful, the cold-bone power was much smaller than the hot-blood power.
But you've used this power before and you inspect your father.
He really just wants to make sure you and Aster live well.
This sure as fuck upsets your world view.
"Theo," his voice is thick, "I'm sorry. I never wanted you to trigger in the first place. A life of violence for the last piece of Heith I have? A life of violence for my quiet son? You could just have MedHall and do your own thing. And then you trigger when I all but kill you."
The rest of the ride is quiet. You're not sure if you want to forgive him.
On one hand, you got sweet ass powers out of it. On the other, he
did kill you.
Max seems to understand this, without you even voicing anything. He's probably thinking the same thing, all the while beating himself up.
=====
That shit was fucked up enough, how many other people have been lying to you your entire life?
You pull a book on body language and another on facial recognition from the study and decide to sit in the mostly empty dining room, where you died. For the next few hours you whittle away the time before you have to go get ready reading.
Right before you have to get ready, you can feel a new pattern forming within your mind/power, highlighting the other patterns for a brief moment. Your new... spell? power? pattern? does something similar to the one you use frequently. It lets you know what the other person wants, what they are aiming for with a statement, and ignore what they were saying.
You feel the patterns, and you can discern a bit better what some of them are for. Half of the patterns/spells/powers involve using a sword. The rest seem to be of use in a social setting. You bet if you were creative, you could find more combat-oriented applications for those social powers. The final power is what let you flip around like one of those badly dubbed kung-fu movies.
You find your father in his study when you return the books.
"I'm a Trump. I just gained a new power. Keep this between us."
You enjoy the gobsmacked look on his face as you leave to go shower and change into your very nice suit. You can't help but notice you feel strangely energized and brimming with power.
Does resting provide power? You didn't feel like this after sitting in Johann's shop for a few hours. Maybe its the dining room?
You could ask the Lover when you dream of her again. Or experiment over the next week. You put it our of your mind and focus on the night ahead.
You know who's going to be there, and you have a business date (that you might be able to turn into something more).
How TDP treats Sabah:
[] She's set her boundaries, cultivating a good relationship will pay off in the long run. Pay enough attention to her that everyone (including Sabah) is sure of who she is there (and friends) with, but not enough to let everyone (including Sabah) think that you are there
together.
[] Just flirty enough to let her be sure you wouldn't mind some Persian spice. While that would cut into you possibly getting into another girl's good graces, you'll see most of them at school.
[] You want in those panties! You have powers, convince her. She could have a super-powered, rich boyfriend. But you probably won't be seeing much of anyone else.
[] Write in
TDP's first Target:
Attendees
[] Write in
-[] Write in on how to approach said target
======
Jessica and Nessa look absolutely stunning in opposite but otherwise matching slinky red numbers. Of course, you complement them properly. Jessica is giving you eyes that make you sure that she is going to honor her side of the bet, probably when you get home. Nessa gives you a good once over, and fakes a sniff.
"They grow up so fast."
Max offers you a nod, before smiling and ushering everyone into the limo. It was a holiday party, a time for good cheer, and a little politicking. There's plenty of small talk on the ride over, though the twins shriek with good cheer and begin poking fun at you when Max mentions you having found a date, just hours after another girl had given you her number.
Much of their good cheer is lost when you leave the limo and spot Sabah. You go over to her, eyeing her choice in outfit for the night. You can hear Max whispering harshly to them, likely reminding them of who was included in 'Aryan' and some of the modern day allowances that had to be made.
And some allowances would have to be made for Sabah's feminine lord's outfit.
She went for a stylish, and elegant coat, mainly colored silver, with gold buttons and embroidery. The high collar serves to highlight the fluffy and lacy poof of fabric that covered her cleavage, that same laces pokes out of her sleeves. The coat stops short, in the front, of her belt and her white blouse peeks through before running into her silver and gold pants. Her coattails sway as she smiles and walks to you, an excited bounce in her step.
Her boots are sporting low heels and are a dark brown leather, and they clack firmly on the cement.
"Theo! I've already had three people stop and ask me about my clothes and where they came from, I even got an order! I'm so glad I accepted your invitation," she says as she approaches you, your own face now sporting a smile.
You take her hand in yours and bow over it.
"Miss Sabah, I'm glad to see that you've come!"
You offer her an arm, which she takes, a bit of a blush on her cheeks. Perhaps she's never been treated right before? Or it could be the excitement at getting noticed in her chosen field.
And with that, the Dark Prince leads his current lady into the party, just trailing behind your father and cousins.
TDPs general attitude for the night:
[] I'm a motherfucking Prince. Get the fuck at me scrubs.
[] A Prince is the highest of noblemen, treat me with proper respect, peasant.
[] A Prince is the highest of noblemen, and noblemen should be loved by the peasants.
[] I am a humble but proud Prince. Generous to those who please me, terrible in my wrath to those who displease me.
[] Write-in
=====
XP Gain: 4 XP
+10 motes
Charm Gained: Scathing Cynic Attitude
