Learning The Steps

[Lust]

Whoever said there was no such thing as bad publicity needed to be shot since they apparently never dealt with the delivate dance of politics. It didn't matter which newspaper or blog you asked, RIOTE was the global big-bad; they were the terrorist group that just about every country would pay any sum to see dismantled. Some hippie tree-hugging bloggers occasionally tried to sympathize, but bearded teenagers rarely got a serious listen on a global scale. They were large, it was true, and they had now gotten to a point that they pulled a lot of strings and were generally fairly safe from everyone else who wanted them dead.

What they lacked, Tandandra felt, was tact. The world was not some chess game, and to think you could control all the pieces and think of every move from every possible player was absurd. The key members of RIOTE and Aurel lived together in a mansion; by choice, Tanda stayed in her home in Rouen. Let them be one big happy; she had other plans. Golden eyes burnd in thought as she sipped the deep and bloody depths of her merlot. Sunlight bathed down upon her bronzed skin, the sheer silk robe open and draping from her shoulders as she sat back in the lawn chair. She felt so lost among them and lived as an outsider, but at least it was nice to know that some things from her life had never and would never change.

They would invade events, cause chaos, flip the tables of war, and then recede like a sudden tide going out. That chaos generally worked to their advantage, but the model saw little point in it; they gained control through fear and put their puppet leaders in place, and then what? Even if they removed all world leaders and wiped out everyone who objected in the name of rewiriting the world as they saw fit, the idea of doing it all for peace was childish. Human nature was a very stubborn thing, and peace through fear or control would not last. Regimes fell every day and the only ones who would benefit were the undertakers.

She sipped slowly, waiting for her company to arrive. Tanandra still "belonged" with RIOTE in only the loosest and most untraceable ways, the actress working hard to give her public image an almost diabetic saintly quality to it. Tanandra Collier had been most busy with charity work lately. For every war that broke out, the actress had some heartfelt statement. Cameras would do slow panoramic scenes to capture the misery and destruction, and zoom in slowly on the dirty, tear-stained faces of traumatized children in war-torn areas that had once been beautiful and shining beacons of civilization. Golden eyes burned through people, begging them to donate to the cause; her cause. Rebuild and save their futures. Give people hope once more while people tore themselves apart and left nothing but death in their wake!

Tanandra smirked, finishing off her glass. Damn, she should be given an Oscar just for that. Publicly, Tanda was as far away from RIOTE as possible, and there as no papertrail that could even hint at such a thing, which made life and her goals easier. Let the world be distracted by the three-ring circus of chaos. While they were busy with them, she would be over here, having gallas and soirees and fundraisers and doing her own form of "public unification" against the common threat. Another such event would soon be coming, and this time, Tanandra was planning on bringing a guest: her darling Tatyana.

The girl had quite grown on the actress. Tatyana had a sweetness to her that was pure, and the way she looked at the world as though it all held some secret newness was alluring. Tat was a rare creature who, as a blossoming young woman, held a lot of promise. Tanandra sought not to own or harness that beauty, but more to shape it. Her chimerae wolves were beutiful perfection because she tried and tried again to get only the best, and did; her rose gardens were the same. Tatyana had endless potential to be something incredible and rare, but she needed a guiding hand. You couldn't just make people do what you wanted out of sheer force' that was how you were eventually overturned. You had to give them a reason to want to. Charm them. Woo them. Let the poor fools in charge offer you the world on golden platters but then only take the daintiest of tastes, never dipping in greedily. That was what made them always want to offer more.

THAT was true power in society.

But that was not today's lesson. Tatyana certainly had potential, but first she needed honing from a manicured hand that knew the crowds. Tanandra knew how to play at parties and mingle, how to sit with dignitaries and royalty and be one of them. If you could play nice in polite society while making the general public love you.... Dark red lips smiled, Tanandra standing gracefully and closing her silken robe. Long brown legs strode gracefully from the gardens into her home, the robe dropping from her body as servants befhind Tanandra moved to open doors to her dressing room. Her darling should be here soon. Today she would be fitted for a few new dinner and tea dresses, and then there would be soem final practice for dinner etiquette and, if Blas was up for it, some dance practice.

[Guest]

What day was it? Tatyana could barely tell as the dull ringing of her alarm clock pulsed in her ears. Lightly it stirred the sleeping woman inside and bid her awake. Time to play, time to go about the day as it would be any day. However, today was different. Today, Tatyana had been invited to Miss Collier's abode which was strange. She sat on the plane with no one but herself for now. Too bad that Rouen was a bit of a ride away, but Tatyana didn't mind. She connected with Miss Collier in an odd way and the pilot was naturally exuberant to be allowed even a glimpse of where she lived. Naturally he was the only trustworthy one that would be stabbed if he so much as glinted with intent to tell anyone.

The plane landed a distance from the manor, an hour early, which gave Tatyana plenty of time to maneuver through the vast forests before her. Soft calls of animals appealed to her ears, hovering and worming all about it. Beautiful beasts they were, magnificent in size and colors. Their eyes ate away at her soul (If she even had one, sometimes she wondered). The sky above looked far more gorgeous here then back at the manor.. there was something almost mystifying about where Miss Collier lived. Upon the last visit she couldn't explain it better than a fantasy world. The things all little girls dream of as they grow up.

The flat dress shoes she wore kind of hurt. It was another day that Tat had tried to dress more appealing, but she was too afraid to ask for anything. She was desperate to not seem like she needed anything. It wasn't like she was unhappy with what she had, but she was too prideful and stubborn to ask for more than she had. Even the gift she had been given by Santa was still used. How odd it was that she was still believing in such a thing. If she was sent back in time, it wasn't like he couldn't exist anyways. Yes she was over 20 years old and YES she still believed in Santa Claus.

Anyways, it took about twenty minutes before Tatyana finally reached the doors where the wolven friends greeted her without a snarl. That was a pleasing feeling alone, to know that the giant beasts weren't going to tear her flesh from her bones. She gave a slight of a smile, before her hand rose and she knocked a few times. "Miss Collier, I am here as you requested." She spoke softly, gently upon the air. "I hope I'm not too early?"

[Lust]

The mirror of the vanity was splendid, angled and spanning the full width of the furniture's surface, beveled glass sitting inside of ornately carved wood. It was an antique, with beautiful dovetail notches holding each part together and spoke of a craftsmanship long-forgotten. A testament of the beauty of Rouen, like Tanda one of the few things of it that remained and remained beautiful. She sat on the plush little stool, a wolf dressed in a sheer silk drap gently brushing the long green curls. Yes, Rouen was a testament and tomb of beauty, and one day may again have inhabitants that would hopefully pass Tanandra's high standards. She doubted it, but one could hope.

Tanandra was relaxed and quite content as her curls were brushed, her chin delicately resting on her laced fingers, elbows on the shining wood. The reflections of her body came from five angles, each lovely, and each plainly displaying the deep purple mark on her chest that marked who and what she was, on one level at least. No matter what, Tanandra was more. She would always be more. But right now, she was waiting for her darling Tatyana to arrive. Blas was somewhere, probably reading and enjoying the calm. She couldn't blame him. This was a nice departure from the strains of the filth of the rest of the world.

Nails lacquered, Tanda's black dress sat off her slender shoulders with airy sleeves that only attached in a few points down her arms. Her ample bosom was pushed up as a peacock-blue bustier cinched round her waist over the long shift-like silk that almost shone a deep emerald green in the light. Tatyana's dresses would not nearly be so bold, Tanda much wanting to play to the girl's sweetness and charm in her clothes. She smiled, another wolf entering the dressing room to say that Tatyana had arrived. Good. Tanandra rose, leaving her dressing room and made her way down the hall to the main staircase to greet her darling guest.

The grand door was opened, wolves and more human-like wolves ushering her in and escorting her again through the house."Miss Collier, I am here as you requested. I hope I'm not too early?" Tatyana's voice echoed gently in the airy hall.

"Good morning, Tatyana," she purred, her Rouenian accent flowing against the harsh Amestrian words. With all the grace of a stalking predator, she made her way down the stairs, arms wide to welcome Tatyana, a tiny kiss gracing each cheek. "Not at all darling. You're just in time." She stepped back, looking the girl over. Her dress today was a vast improvement on the rags she'd first met the child in, and not altogether unsuiting, but still not quite what Tanandra would be dressing her in for other occasions. "I trust your trip was relaxing. Would you care for tea before we begin anything?"

[Jay Furor]

~BUMP~

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