ariana?? what are you doing here???? // closed

(no worries!)

With every step Artemia took, she could hear her brother cursing her and mocking her through their bond. She paid no mind to this, as the younger vampire did this constantly. At this point, Artemia would be more concerned if Niko didn't do anything of the sort. After a few minutes of walking, she stopped in front of a door engraved with vines. She took out a golden key from her pocket and unlocked the room. The room was dusty, and it seemed like it hadn't been used in ages, but aside from that, it was in a good condition. She turned the light on, ushered Katherine inside the room, and then entered. "This is the room you'll be using for your stay," she said, doing finger quotes at the word stay. "My brother should be here with your clothes soon."

There was a sort of crash just around the corner of the room, and a teenage boy with long black hair and pale skin barged into the room, holding clothes in his hand. He shoved the clothes at Artemia, saying, "Here are the blasted clothes," before disappearing. Artemia sighed and placed the clothes on the bed, looking around the room. "Will you need anything else?" Her tone made it obvious that she expected Katherine to say no.

"Very well," she responded with a nod. "I shall leave you be." Artemia glanced around the room one last time, before walking out of the room and slamming the door shut. It seemed this girl had some issues. Once outside, she transformed into a bat, and flew around the house, letting out some of her anger that showed up when Katherine broke into the mansion. She would need to reinforce the wards after the girl left and perhaps set up some deadly traps. She was sure Niko would be pleased at hearing these thoughts.

The door to the room Katherine was in opened, and in front of the entrance, stood a girl of fifteen, with gray skin, a big scar that ran diagonally across her face, and red hair. Her heterochromia eyes glanced around the room, before finally landing on Kat. It seemed she realized she had entered without knocking and she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry bout that. I should've knocked before entering. Heard that Mia allowed you to stay at the mansion, so I thought I'd introduce myself. The name's Branwen, what's yours?"

(don't think you did, everything seems to be in order)

"Kat," she repeated, enjoying how the name sounded to her ears. It just felt right. Not that the full version of Kat's name wasn't pretty. "Oh, Mia? Yeah, she has some issues, like everybody, of course, and she's not initially the nicest person." She leaned forward and lowered her tone as if she was just about to tell Kat a government secret. "But underneath all that, she's really sweet. Kinda like those sour candies that if you chew them long enough, they turn sweet."

Branwen, the poor innocent girl, had no idea what she had just done. She stood there smiling like the small innocent bean that she was. "How long are you staying? Do you want something to eat? Because I don't think Mia offered you anything did she? She's not really a good host if I'm being honest. Also, do the clothes fit you? Niko just grabbed the first thing he found and also you seem to be older than me so if they don't fit you I can always steal something from Mia."

(the siblings buy her clothes that are a bit larger than what she actually needs because of her growth spurts oof)

"Oh," she said, as her happy expression dropped. She was hoping that Kat would stay longer than that. She was kinda lonely in the mansion and Kat was the first person (that she could remember) that had manage to step one foot in the mansion instead of just dropping dead. Well, hopefully, the storm lasted a couple of days. "Uh, ah, do you wanna be my friend?" She asked hopefully, looking at her with puppy dog eyes.

Her face brightened and she had the biggest smile in the world. It was obvious that Kat had just made the gargoyle's day by accepting to be her friend. She was about to say something but stopped herself when someone cleared their throat. It was a maid, and she was looking at Kat and Branwen suspiciously. "Lady Artemia requires your presence in the dining room."

(bleep bloop)

(it's fine :DD)

(i don't mind short responses so its cool!)

The maid's expression stays suspicious, but she furrowed her eyebrows, a clear sign that she's aggravated. With another glance toward Branwen, she disappeared in a flash. Perhaps if Branwen had not been with Kat, the maid would have escorted the stranger to the dining room. Branwen frowned and then shrugged. "I'll take you to the room, just follow me!" She exited the room and waited outside for Kat.

As Branwen lead Katherine through the halls of the mansion, she kept her thoughts to herself. Perhaps she had noticed that Kat was annoyed, or perhaps she didn't want to annoy her. She did hum a small tune that Artemia would sing to her when she was younger. Soon enough, the two arrived at the dining room, and she opened the wooden doors. When Branwen looked inside, she noticed that Artemia was already sitting at the head of the table, and her brother Niko was sitting to her left.

"Welcome," Artemia said, as she stared at Kat. "Take a seat."

(help that's a mood)

Artemia's expression softens a bit as she sees Branwen, but that disappears as quickly as it arrived. Niko stares boredly at Kat, still thinking that it would have been far better if Mia had sucked her soul, and he her blood. But alas, Artemia and her "morals" always ruined the fun. After a couple of minutes, a couple of maids enter, holding plates filled with food. They place them on the table, and disappear, only for them to reappear with goblets filled with wine, and grape juice for Branwen. The gargoyle takes a bite of her bread roll, and watches Artemia, who was staring–glaring would be a better word choice–at Katherine.

(we sure love tension)

The air in the room was so tense, that if Branwen wanted, she would be able to cut right through it. "So, this looks very yummy, doesn't it Kat?" she says with a nervous laugh. She glances toward Niko, and silently pleads at him for some help. The young vampire rolls his eyes but doesn't do anything. Artemia leans forward, her hands on the table. "So, red-headed stranger that broke into my mansion-" she gets interrupted by Niko who says "our mansion." Artemia merely rolls her eyes. "Yes, yes, whatever, you annoying pest." She turns her attention back to Kat. "What were you doing so far away from society, hm? Did you think that it would be fun to break into the home of a vampire?" She trails off, seemingly realizing something. "You led vampire hunters to our doorstep, haven't you?"

Artemia glared at her, not trusting a single word of what Katherine was saying. She didn't trust a mangy human like her, or any human, for that matter, not after what those beasts did to her little sister. Her hand were clenched in anger, and she looked down at her plate angrily. Nikolaos was right. She should've killed her when she had the chance. Deep breaths, Artemia. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. "I see…" was all Artemia was able to say.

(hahah that's such a mood.)

Branwen looked at Kat with wide eyes and frowned. "You're not untrustworthy…I-I trust you!"

The room turned quiet at Branwen's outburst, and Artemia had an incredulous expression. Nikolaos on the other hand, looked like a child in a candy store and was ready for a fight to ensue. "Παιδί, δεν την ξέρεις καν. Πώς μπορείς να την εμπιστευτείς?" Artemia asked as she leaned forward.

Branwen stared at her, her face revealing nothing. "I just do. And honestly, I find it insulting that you're badgering your guest with these questions." She grimaced and looked down at her unfinished plate, and pushed it away from her. "She stood up and glanced at her mother figure. "I've lost my appetite, I'm going upstairs." And with that, Branwen walks out of the dining room.

(translation: Kid, you don't even know her. How can you trust her?)