My Dear, My Sweet [Dantye]

Dantye struggled with herself momentarily, trying to whisper the argument she was having with the face that stared back from the large mirror before her. If there had been a passerby to notice, they would have stopped a moment to ponder why this extravagantly odd creature was talking to thin air while answering for the nothingness in the same breath. Her eyes darted back and forth from the floor to the center of the reflective pane of glass, half heartedly attempting to not acknowledge that she could seethe hallucination of her mirror image moving while her physical form stood still. After a few moments of wrestling her subconscious Dantye caved, reaching quickly into a pocket of her skirt for the air-tight glass container of intoxicants she kept filled and on her person at all times. The motion of lifting it waist high and opening the lid were almost cathartic. Comfortingly signaling the last few moments of battle before sobriety was defeated in a white wave of beautiful forgetfulness.

Tap. Dip. Draw. Raise. Sniff. Breath in quickly so you don't waste any of the lighter and more precariously perched crystals clinging delicately to her ornate key-stick. She could almost taste it as the first sharp burning sensation caught firmly in the bend of her nose, cutting through her senses and the mirror image with a battle cry of victory over the other voice, now quickly receding in defeat to one of the many dark corners of her mind. She didn't know if it made her eyes water anymore and couldn't bother herself to investigate further as she turned back to her now docile reflection. Soft tendrils of hair cascaded down her shoulders, hanging tightly to sharp collar bones and the rougher top edges on her blouse. The thick, wild strands were pushed high off of her forehead, as if trying to run away from the almost painfully piercing gaze of her eyes.

One or two corset adjustments later... And perhaps as many more bumps were committed to the mirrors silent vigil of her preparations before she withdrew herself from it's crusade for perfection and started towards the main entertaining room. She moved quickly, not bearing the thought of extending her absence from her Sire's side any longer then necessary. If Dantye could manage it, she would spend every moment that existed in this universe in his presence, but she had needed to make herself presentable for the guest he had invited into his home. Pretty dolls and decorations do not impress guests when shown off in less the pristine condition. The best way to ensure Finn received the proper admiration he deserved from her (and from others because of her) steps had to be taken in order to maintain the level of perfection expected of her. She had started painting her nails, removing and re-applied her makeup, and styling her hair hours in advance. Each piece of the puzzle labored over in excruciating detail until she looked unreal... Not only in the sense that she was a kindred, but that when she sat still, there were times where she was mistaken for a toy.

The doors standing between her and her Sire opened quickly yet silently, moving as if by the same sort of eerie magic that consumed any space surrounding Finn. She sighed with a smile as her eyes met his, brightening her face just enough to complete her picturesque vision of porcelain perfection.

"Daddy!" Her voice broke like dropped crystal over the thick silence that layered the room in softness, cushioning the sharper tones in her voice until it rang out as if Dantye had sung. She moved quickly towards him, calculating the distance between steps so that no part of her body moved except the edges of her skirt making her seem as if she was floating towards him.

Dantye almost unhinged herself when he spoke; trembling on the edge of falling into perfectly chaotic madness at the subtle tone of pride in his words. Finns approval meant more then any precious commodity the world had to offer in her eyes.. Coming first in her book even before the substances that brought serene solace to her existence. It was his pleasure (however subdued it seemed to the others sitting in the heavily saturated room) in her mere presence that drove her almost to the brink of insanity in a way no other person, object or drug ever had been able to. He was a god in her eyes, the embodiment of the immeasurable darkness that threatens to consume your bedroom as a small child. His being held that same mystery, same encompassing fear of what was hiding in the darkness captured in the irises of his penetrating eyes. Finn, in her mind, was complete and perfect insanity... The definition of what she had spent her whole life running from in her own mind.

And she loved it in a way that only lovers can describe after living a lifetime with the the object of their devotion.

Despite the urge to melt into his madness, she kept every calculated movement precise; stopping for the exact amount of time required before accepting the silent offer to join his subconsciously and physically elevated position. It was everything Dantye could do to keep from squealing in pleasure at his openly inviting body language, knowing she had pleased him enough to be allowed physical contact. She hesitated slightly seconds before she reached Finn, jerking her head to the side moments after he finished speaking to silence the ringing derisive laughter echoing through the drug addled numbness of her mind. None of the sentient thoughts floating through the madness network would dare say anything even slightly off color to her with the knowledge of what cruel levels of pain he would bring to them, but the condescending belittlement she was enduring originated in her own mind. After a whispered threat to the ear tucked closest to her shoulder from tilting her head she straitened again, thanking whatever presiding power that Finn would be more pleased then angered by her outburst seeing as it did nothing to embarrass him and simply gave a brief glance at the psychotic inner workings of her mind. As Dantye crawled into the chair beside him she smiled, changing the running itinerary she kept of her movements slightly so she could play up her little outburst in a more flattering light.

She lolled her head back slightly, letting her eyes roll into her head as if they could see through flesh and sinew into whatever malicious and blackened organ he used in place of a heart. As if out of nowhere the room filled with a quiet, chortling laughter that seemed almost too deep or dark to come out of the same mouth that had moments before produced a noise so eerily high pitched and crisp. The sound touched every piece of matter in the room separately, as if it could vibrate at different frequencies within the same object to produce a feeling of uneasiness... Almost inaudible and yet more powerfully ominous then any sound of anguish or madness ever could be.

"You bring out the best in me. If that best manifests itself as madness then I am even more grateful to be touched by your presence." Each word continued in the same primal, vibrating tone, making Dantye's sentence more felt then actually heard. She had made sure to keep her vernacular proper and polite so that her tone only enhanced the atmosphere of the room instead of coming across as unseemly. She was a lunatic after all, not unbecoming or improper. Her eyelashes fluttered for a few seconds before she righted herself, jet black streaks perfectly kholed and separated to the point where there were equal glints of white eyes and red veins between them.

Dantye let her irises back out of their impressively long stint admiring the inside of their sockets and smiled, righting her dress to fall perfectly over her legs as she tucked delicate ankles under herself and transitioned smoothly out of demented and into pristine once more. "And I would never miss one of your parties Daddy, I always love them! They make me so happy...  I couldn't dream of being tardy." She turned ever so slightly towards him, lowering her chin while locking her eyes onto one of his knees after she had surveyed the others almost indistinctly quickly in the room around them. During her first moment after entering she hadn't wasted any time to address the others in the room or even to see who all had arrived at Finn's gathering; deciding that any curiosity could be dealt with after she had greeted and joined him instead of destroying the illusion of absolute disassociation with the rest of the world when she entered the room and gravitated herself to him. Now that she had a general grasp on the attendees her mind moved back to the impressive man next to her, waiting for his permission to acknowledge the others or meet his gaze. She had made sure to not lock eyes with him completely or directly at any point save when she first entered the room. Respect was key to convey, and she had spent days upon weeks doing nothing but  being conditioned and groomed to the correct (and incorrect) rules of engagement. He had chosen to give her a way out of the blurred and muddled existence she had held prior to being embraced.. After Finn hand broken the self-inflicted mental barriers erected over years of running from the psychosis, after she understood the gift he had given her; everything other part of her being became his choice as well.

Dantye shivered gently from the pressure of his lips in her hair as some part of her subconscious accurately feigned the sensation of goosebumps up and down her arms. She had held her breath momentarily after sitting down and addressing him, searching for some sign of displeasure or approval from Finn for her unique way of dealing with the small outburst. She wasn't necessarily worried that it would have caused him to be angry or upset with her, regardless of whichever possible outcome she had picked. If she hadn't played the moment of stark insanity off quite as nonchalantly, there would have been some sort of reprimand but Finn was not unintelligent enough to believe that she had any control over the multitude of psychiatric disorders she had such intimate relations with. The same intrinsic insanity that had originally drawn him and swayed his decision to eventually embrace her could do no wrong in his eyes from what he had explained to her during their first few nights together. He knew she was unhinged, and that level of absolute and unbridled derangement had laid seed to their eclectic and somewhat socially inappropriate relationship. Her madness was her greatest strength.. But, certain things have to be said and done in the presence of company by etiquette's decree, and as beautiful as her disorders were (separately and conjoined) the masquerade must go on. Sometimes even in the company of other kindred.

Even with knowing the punishment wouldn't be severe even if he was so inclined, her ever present need to please him had caused a few of her mannerisms to tense imperceptibly as she waited for his reaction. Her shoulders only finally relaxed at his touch; moving no more then a few centimeters in a gesture too minute for any of the others gathered around to notice save for Finn. If the two Malkavians were even slightly less in tuned to each others movements and micro-expressions, he too may have missed the change in her posture leaving her almost absolutely sure that he wouldn't perceive it as sloppy or unbecoming. It was a silent communication between the two of them, allowing for a split second of unspoken affection as Dantye let him know how relived his pleasure in her display made her. The two of them had spent months building up her publicly appropriate face, conditioning her until she exuded the picturesque vision of "perfect little girl", and yet even with access to the madness network, they had developed a closeness that was quickly loosing the need for telepathic communication between the pair. It was unsettling to anyone close enough to understand the amount of information, emotion, intent, etc. that could pass through  a twitch of his hands and Dantye's eyes, as entire diatribes were passed between them in seconds.

"I'd love to Daddy." She smiled sweetly at Finn, sanding gracefully as she glanced around the room again. Her eye's darted smoothly from kindred to kindred, a feigned excitement clouding the calculations running through her head from anyone who might happen to meet her eye. To the others, she simply looked as if she was searching for a familiar face, or a topic to address the entire gathering with before she broke off into individual conversations with those in attendance. To Finn, she was planning her attack, setting up a mental list of the best way to approach each Malkavian and in what order so as too keep them guessing at her game and distracted from his own.

"Good evening everyone!" Dantye chimed, perfectly filling the room with an authoritative and welcoming tone, non-verbally setting herself as better then the rest of them in a way that no one could fault her for. She smiled impishly, arms open wide to the room at large as she challenged someone to make the first move and play with her.

This was a game she had always been good at, a little bit of good ol' southern hospitality that tears flesh at twenty yards.