Inspection [Charlotte]

[Winter Cardwell]

She was running late, of course. It never failed that if there was somewhere the Nephilim absolutely needed to be all the forces of the universe seemed to conspire to make sure that she wasn’t on time. Sighing and mumbling to herself, Winter checked her watch one more time and audibly groaned. “Not like the time ‘s gonna go backwards if I keep lookin’ at the damn thing,” she told herself as she hurried across the road. Rain was falling and the sun had set not too long ago. Normally she would be heading home after a long day’s work but today was different. Today she was finally getting to meet the owner of Theory at the coffeehouse itself.


It wasn’t often people got to meet Charlotte, so in Winter’s mind she must’ve done something that was either very good or very bad. Personally she was hoping for the former rather than the latter. Just thinking about it made her feel as if she wanted to throw up. Doing her best to ignore that nervous feeling entirely she rolled her shoulders, said a silent prayer, and pushed open the door to the coffee shop. Once inside she quickly shed her coat and put it on its usual peg before making her way towards her office. If she was going to get through this without making a complete and utter fool of herself, she needed a bit of coffee. Doing so had made her even later but she hadn’t seen or heard anyone else in the building.


By the time she came out of her office, fingers wrapped around her mug as if the coffee was a shield of sorts, it was ten minutes past nine. Ten minutes past nine and she was no longer alone. “I swear this ‘s coffee an’ not alcohol,” she practically squeaked out once she realized who it was. Yeah. That’s a great first impression.


Words: 313
Tag: Lady Charlotte
Mood: Nervous as hell

[Lady Charlotte]

WORD COUNT [ 447 ] MOOD [ amused ] OUTFIT [ click! ] MUSIC [ creeper snoring ] TAG [ Winter Cardwell ] NOTES [ charlotte thinks win is adorable ]

Charlotte had made herself look completely professional. She'd worn a pencil skirt in a nice shade of pink, white stockings, white heels, and a white, ruffly blouse. Her earrings were pearl, her simple bangles gold. Her blonde hair had been brushed then pushed behind her ears, its effortless waves falling neatly just below her chin. It was an important night, tonight. It was inspection night at one of the many shops she owned. Charlotte had a number of properties in a number of territories, all pieces of estate that she'd acquired before the war had began. A bookstore here, a bakery there... Little things, all the sorts of places that she would spend her time in, if she'd actually had a minute or two to relax every now and then. Unfortunately for her, with her position and her notoriety, her nights were all work, work, work, and relaxation was simply out of the question. That's why she wasn't here just to drink coffee and chat with the young girl she had heard so much about from her managers; she was here to make sure everything was running smoothly. The vampire found it a bit of a shame. Theory was a quaint little place, and the pastry she'd tasted when she'd walked in had been divine, even if it was a day old. Still. The vampire checked her watch, then the clipboard on the table in front of her to be sure she wasn't early, before checking her watch again, wondering where the girl had gotten to. It was just as she was glancing at the time that someone hurried past her, someone who had to be Winter. She raised a finger. “Winter, dear, I–” In the nephilim's haste, however, she'd rushed right past her boss without even noticing she was there. Charlotte gave a little chuckle, uncrossing her ankles and pushing herself to her feet. She picked up her clipboard and pencil, following after the other woman, her heels click click clicking on the hard floor. The vampire stood and waited outside Winter's office, smiling a crooked, amused smile once her employee finally made an appearance, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “I swear this ‘s coffee an’ not alcohol.” Charlotte laughed, covering her mouth with her hand and purring good-naturedly. “Oh, I should hope not!” she said with a grin. “That may as well put you right to sleep, at this hour.” Her voice had not quite lost the French sing-song quality to it, though the accent had definitely faded, over the years. The vampire offered out her hand. “I'm the Lady Charlotte. And you are Winter Cardwell, yes?” post template by Tony

[Winter Cardwell]

Winter stood with her hands still wrapped around her mug, staring at the woman before her with wide eyes while she internally chastised herself for the way she'd greeted the other. The moment she heard the other laugh she felt herself relax completely. Her surprise was written in every single one of her features even as she freed one hand and slipped it into the one that Charlotte was holding out for her. "Hello Lady Charlotte." Her own accent was a bit more concrete, full of a twang and ease that still tended to sound out of place in Central London. "That would be me," she confirmed with a quiet laugh that still held the sound of relief inside it. "Usually 'm not quite so late when it comes to business meetin's. I ran into a bit of a scuffle while runnin' some errands an' then I hadn't realized you were already here. If I had I wouldn't have stopped for my coffee an'--Not that that's an excuse. I mean it 's an excuse but--" Winter stopped short and cleared her throat all while ignoring how red she knew her cheeks were getting. "I talk a lot when 'm nervous. N-Not that you can't already tell that. O-Obviously. Sorry. Anyway...'S nice to finally meet you!"

While she hadn't been completely sure about what the proprietor of Theory was going to be like, she certainly had not expected the tiny blonde standing in front of her. Charlotte simply radiated both confidence and power while somehow managing to make it look effortless. For a moment Winter almost felt jealous of her. "So um...'M not quite sure how this works. Usually Arthur 's the one who sits in on inspections but he mentioned that you asked for me specifically?"

Words: 298
Tag: Lady Charlotte
Mood: Still nervous.

[Lady Charlotte]

WORD COUNT [ 415 ] MOOD [ concerned ] OUTFIT [ click! ] MUSIC [ Spirited Away soundtrack ] TAG [ Winter Cardwell ] NOTES [ n/a ]

Charlotte had to admit: Winter Cardwell was absolutely adorable. Maybe it was the accent, very clearly from the American South. Or maybe it was the fact that, in her nervousness, she just couldn't seem to find the words she wanted to use. Whatever it was, it had an endearing quality, and Charlotte was immediately thrown into mother mode. Winter was clearly scared stiff, and perhaps a bit embarrassed with herself. Charlotte softened her expression, let herself take a looser sort of stance. If people saw you as more on equal ground with them, they tended to fear you much less. And Charlotte really did not want to be feared, not by this girl. There were some people who needed to fear her, the majority of them the sort of people with no qualms with hurting others. But nervous coffee shop employees just needed to be scooped under Charlotte's wing and cared for until they weren't shaking like a leaf. There was a reason she'd earned the nickname Mama Charlotte. She had been seventeen when she was turned, and the youth was still clearly visible in her face, though the power and confidence she held made her seem so much older. But at that point in time, seventeen had been far beyond a woman grown. She had already borne two children into the world and lost both of them, by then, and their loss would always haunt her. Since then, she'd treated anyone she felt deserved it like her child, anyone who needed help or guidance or calm or just a hand to hold them up. She couldn't help herself. “I did ask for you, actually, yes,” she said, still smiling, inclining her head just so. “I had not met you, yet, and I make it my job to meet all of the employees I can manage to. It's good to know who's working for you.” She tapped her clipboard. “It's fairly simple, really, the inspection. I'll take a look around the building, make sure everything's the way it's supposed to be, then I'll ask you a few questions. It's nothing to worry about, I promise, just standard things.” The vampire tilted her head, a lock of curled blonde hair falling over her forehead. “How long have you been working here, dear?” she asked, beginning to walk toward the back, but staying turned enough that she could watch Winter. “Out of curiosity, mind you, that's not part of the official questioning.” post template by Tony