The Ship, way past Midnight

The fair had been quite an exciting activity all around. There were light shows and machines littering the place. Snacks and trinkets were bought in great supplies, at least by Ana and Luke.

Lucas Fairchild was the first to arrive home, having been emotionally as well as physically spent by the day's activities. He quietly moved to place the meat in the icebox and a few various snacks in the kitchen cupboards. Garrett trailed along behind him, grumbling under his breath in annoyance about the situation. Once Luke had finished there he took a quick stop by Dmitri's room to place the Naughtsian Ouija Board on his bed and headed for Alistair's and his own room, flopping on the bed without bothering to chance clothes before doing so. With a glance at the ground he set the board down on the floor by the bed, leaving it in a position for the ghosts to experiment with.

Alistair was sorting his purchases, admiring a few and setting them all out by who got what. There was a pile for Luke, with cufflinks, a couple of hats, and a vest. Then some hats for Alistair as well as a small package he had bought from a bookseller. Then a third pile, with the green and red houndstooth vest, a set of emerald cufflinks, and a silver cigarette case. Alistair did not know what he had been thinking there. He didn't know how he would explain those purchases, other than as a way to make his protege appear a bit more elegant.

Luke glared from the bed at the purchases, recognizing the sorting habit. He decided the best option was to roll over and act like they weren't there. "You sure bought a lot," He grumbled.

Meanwhile, Garrett snooped his way around the ship, looking through each room's doors for a quick moment before settling on his only option. Oh woe was he that he seamed to be the only one who had any interest in the big, fancy room. As carefully as he could, he headed down to the cargo bay and tried to retrieve his luggage. One, two three pull... And no luck.

Not long after, Ana returned, carrying sweets of her own as well as a few devices she had encountered in the fair, including a pistol now tucked away in her coat pocket. She hummed as she passed Garrett up the stairs, carrying her own equipment for her room.

Dmitri entered the ship not long after Juliana and, noticing Garrett struggle with his things, decided he would come back to help him after he put some of his own things away. In one of his hands was a Gudak case, his arm pinning two bottles of vodka as he kept the door open for Lavinia. In his other hand, a neat black umbrella and Garrett's umbrella were pointed so that they wouldn't get in anyone's way. Of all of his things that he missed, his vodka and gudak were the most missed items. The umbrella was for when he wanted to go out and about on his own, without the others necessarily knowing. He could feel that he would have to make quite an amount of trips to replenish on blood in this annoyingly wet city.

Once he was in his room, Dmitri lay the umbrellas and gudak case against a dresser, and moved to put one of the vodka bottles on his nightstand, when he noticed something square on his bed. Placing the vodka bottle next to the board, he picked the thing up, examining it. It had rows of Naughtsian letters and mystical-looking images all over it. He recognized it as an Ouija board, and wondered how the thing got there. Remembering that Luke was the one that told him about Ivanna, he figured that the elder Fairchild must have picked it up at the fair. He chuckled, thinking to himself that it was probably more for Ivanna than for Dmitri. Placing it back down on the bed, he left his room, grabbing Garrett's umbrella as he went to Garrett, wondering if he got his stuff yet or not. Seeing the young man still struggling, he pointed at the luggage, asking, "Want help with that?"

"I thought it necessary to buy a few things," Alistair replied.

******

Lavinia went to her room and laid out her purchases.

"Like more damn clothes," Luke grumbled back in annoyance. "Sticking to the necessities."

---

Garrett glanced up from his luggage, offering an embarrassed smile. "Think I over packed a bit." He answered sheepishly, looking down at the truck. He could drag it when he needed to, and had successfully dragged the trunk to the stairs. However, getting it up the stairs was another issue entirely.

Dmitri placed Garrett's umbrella to the side, moving to take the trunk. He would pick it up rather easily, though it was still fairly heavy. He would make it up the stairs with hardly any problems, and would stop at the top to ask, "Where to?"

Garrett stared at the feat in surprise, waiting at the bottom of the stairs as he watched Dmitri head up. That was certainly not a light trunk, and he was almost certain it usually took two people to get it anywhere. That marked Dmitri as a dangerous man, someone to avoid getting angry at any cost. He quietly moved after Dmitri once he was at the top of the stairs, regaining his compose in an attempt to hide his worry over the man he had been warned about interacting with.

"That room over there," Garrett said, pointing to the largest bedroom on the ship casually. The large space was quite empty at the moment, though the bed was still made and the curtains still shut from when Syme had occupied the room. An empty wooden desk could be seen in the far corner. Garrett headed into the room himself, pointing down at the foot of the bed. "Put her there."

Dmitri made a noise in response, taking the trunk to the designated spot. He placed the trunk down, trying to make sure it landed softly, though the deep thunk of the luggage reminded anyone present just how heavy it was. Standing up without needed to rub his arms or back, he asked Garrett, "Are there any more?" He saw some smaller, far lighter suitcases, but he figured he'd offer to help carry the rest up the stairs.

"Think I got it from here, thank you," Garrett responded with a forced friendly smile. He began to head out of the room and back for the hallway with his hands shoved in his pockets, asking, "That room's not reserved for anyone is it?"

Dmitri shrugged, saying, "I don't think so. No one's been using it since I came on the ship." He nodded goodbye to Garrett, heading back to his room. Almost forgetting to thank him, though, he stopped, and gestured downstairs as he said, "I'll leave your umbrella downstairs. Thank you for letting us use it."

"Oh, thanks," Garrett responded with his forced grin, moving for the stairs again perhaps a bit too quickly for the calm he was trying to give off.

Dmitri watched Garrett leave, a small half-frown on his lips. It sort of felt like he was too eager to get away from Dmitri. His first instincts were to glare at Alistair's room, figuring that the insufferable man told Garrett of his vampire nature. After a small sigh, he went into his room proper, laying across his bed, a bit tired from tonight. His arm lay across the Ouija board, and he sat up, looking at it. If Ivanna were here now, he could talk to her. On the other hand, the stories he heard about them made him weary of trying. He picked the board up, holding it in front of him. Maybe malevolent Spirits couldn't read Naughtsian. Dmitri laughed at himself, knowing that he was silly to think such. Sighing again, he stood from the bed, walking over to an empty space on the floor, grabbing the glass that went along with the board along the way.

Placing the board on the ground, he set the glass on it, sitting cross-legged beside it. He reached for the glass many times, drawing back each time as he tried to convince himself to use the board. He eventually inhaled and exhaled deeply, placing his hands on the glass. In a quiet voice, so as to keep everyone else on the ship from hearing, he asked, in Naughtsian, "Ivanna, can you hear me? Do you... Would you like to talk?" He knew that she knew what an Ouija board was, and that he wouldn't have to explain it to her, if she was here. He exhaled in shock when he thought he felt something on his hands, ripping them from the glass. He placed his hands back, though they were shaking slightly. He had to keep himself from taking his hands away when the glass appeared to be moving of its own accord, spelling out "Hello Dmitri, my love."

~~~

Ivanna smiled as she led Dmitri's hands across the board, sending her message. After not talking to Dmitri in so long, she could finally speak, in a way, to him. When she said hello, the color seemed to drain from Dmitri's face. She thought it was a little strange, seeing as he had so readily believed Mister Fairchild when he said that she was here. Not to mention the fact that he had used the board knowing that he wanted to talk to her, or so she thought. She was a little concerned when this happened, so she led Dmitri's hands or, rather, the little glass beneath them, since she couldn't move his body itself, over letters until the words "Are you okay" were spelled out. Dmitri had watched the board, fascinated. When she finished, Dmitri seemed speechless, and could only manage a nod. She asked him if he wanted to talk later, and he shook his head. The first words out of his mouth caused Ivanna to cover hers, and she was sure that she would be on the verge of tears. Lowering his head, his shoulders sagging, he looked as if he were going to cry as well. Out of his lips came the words, "I'm sorry. So, very sorry."

"If we are to succeed in our business, Lucas, then we must be at our best," Alistair answered blithely. "Besides that..." He picked up his carpet bag and overturned it's contents on the bed. "Clothes are lighter packing than all of this."

*****

Lavinia, hearing it quiet down, went out and knocked on Dmitri's door. She had some business to set straight for tomorrow.

Luke twisted himself and sat up in the bed, moving his legs away from the small pile of valuables. He carefully reached out and picked up a candlestick that had rolled closer to him, inspecting the piece and admiring it's quality. "Jesus. Guess you weren't lying about the 'ouse you used to 'ave," He replied, holding up the candlestick to the light.

Dmitri jumped at the knock on his door. He picked the Ouija board up, sliding it into a space between the dresser and the wall, placing the glass in a drawer. Rubbing his eye, he went to the door, clearing his throat as he opened it. Seeing Lavinia on the other side, he said, "Ah, Miss Cardham. How may I be of service?"

~~

Ivanna watched Dmitri as he readied himself to be seen, and almost wished she hadn't tried talking to him. She had only seen him cry once, even though there had been many opportunities while they were together. She sighed, and contemplated asking Luke what she should do.

"I had ten of those," Alistair answered morosely, nodding toward the candlestick. "And a big mahogany dining set. My collection of books wasn't bad either." He shook his head. "Well, at least someone will have use of them."

"I have some matters to discuss with you," Lavinia answered in a low voice. "If you would be so kind."

Dmitri moved aside and gestured into the room as he said, "Of course." Once Lavinia was inside, he would ask, "What do you wish to discuss?"

Luke kept looking over the candlestick, trying to imagine just what it would have looked like. It was a bit hard to imagine him living anywhere fancy, not when he was introduced to Alistair in an ill fitting suit trying to scrape some money off gullible gamblers. "What kind of books were they?" Luke asked.

"Oh, magic theory, some older volumes to make collectors jealous, philosophy, literature..." Alistair shrugged. "If you expect a certain standard of life, then you should act like you deserve it."

"Lord Fairfax shall be arriving tomorrow," Lavinia answered in a low voice, closing the door behind her, "and wishes to speak with you about Lord Syme."

Dmitri replied in an equally low voice. "About his death? I know nothing. If I remember correctly, I was dealing with necromancers as this happened." He leaned against the wall next to the door, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know you want to look as least involved as possible, but what can I tell him?" He threw his arms in the hair, saying, "Hell, I don't even know specifically why Order wanted him. All I know was that I was to retrieve him."

~~

'There it is again,' Ivanna thought. ''The Order'.' What was "The Order"? Why was Dmitri involved in it? Were they the ones he was working for back then? She wanted to know more, but on the other hand, she didn't. Maybe she could get him to tell her, she thought, looking at the Ouija board.

"Why should you be expecting that standard in life," Luke asked casually, shifting to put his legs over the side of the bed and away from the pile of stuff. He laid back down again and stared at the ceiling, putting his hands behind his head for comfort. "Even if you get there, you're just going to lose it again."

"And that is what you will say," Lavinia answered, pacing as she thought aloud. "But he will ask you further questions on the Order itself and why you are here. Tell him what the Order seeks, but nothing of who is in it, or its structure. You may let him know that some of our agents are well placed for keeping the peace, but nothing more. Above all, you will disavow all knowledge of my family's involvement with the order or, at the least, my own. Knowing Perry, it is only a matter of time before he discovers the truth of his father's death. If you can make him see it was a necessary sacrifice for the furtherment of mankind, then there may be hope that he will join our ranks in the future."

Stopping, she added. "He will ask close questions about the Fairchilds. Be sure to tell the truth about their lack of involvement in the deaths of Syme and Lord Fairfax. I can use his anger at them, but I do not want him so angry he will take drastic actions."

*********

"Even if I do, I may live that way longer next time," Alistair answered. "I may even retire. It's a good life."