Work Text:
Padding her feet through the marbled floors of the Kiramman mansion, Vi followed closely the directions she memorised a couple of months ago: a path from Caitlyn's bedroom to the private dining area. Unlike the undercity where there are oddities and asymmetries littered everywhere, topside likes their uniformed clean lines. So much so that after a few turns, hallways tend to start blending together.
So Vi developed a mental map of locations in the mansion by designating distinctive things she could find as landmarks. The weird fruit painting meant she was going the right way, an antique vase with foreign characters is a signal for her to turn right, and down the hallway, she would be greeted with a suit of armour with a small side table next to it. The suit is ever so slightly pushed forward and a curious glance behind it revealed a small sheltered crawl space with faded child's drawings on the wall. That meant she had to turn left next. If she stumbled upon the unnerving painting of Caitlyn's late grandmother, she had gone too far.
In a few minutes, Vi was drawing closer to the more homely (as homely as a mansion could be) private dining area of the Kirammans. She had to admit that she was slightly shocked when Caitlyn revealed that the family did not eat dinner every night at the ridiculously large main dining hall. Apparently, "The dining hall is reserved for formal dinners and it's much too far to walk to just for a simple meal," Caitlyn said. Instead, the family frequented an open-plan dining area and kitchen that was tucked away between the showy extravagant walls of the rest of the mansion.
The strategically unassuming double doors that lead to the area was slightly ajar when Vi turned the corner. Through it, she could hear the muffled conversation between Caitlyn and Cassandra. It sounded like Cassandra was making plans to have dinner at a restaurant with Tobias that night and invited her daughter to come along. Caitlyn, of course, declined and said something about having a lot of work.
"I don't understand what kind of work they are putting you through for you to be so busy every night. You should take a break, dear." Cassandra's voice sounded clearer now, with telltale hints of concern and annoyance. Caitlyn's voice, sounding more distant, echoed through as well, "I know, Mum. I'll keep that in mind."
Vi hesitated for a second about walking in but then she remembered she didn’t eat much last night. Caitlyn and her had been chasing down a lead on Jinx's whereabouts till midnight with only a quick bite in the evening. Unfortunately, the lead was a bust and Caitlyn only had tea and biscuits to offer when they retreated back to her room, preferring not to disturb the staff so late at night. Vi's stomach had chosen that moment to groan in hunger so she rolled her eyes and opened the door.
Inside, Cassandra was leaning against the dark marble counter with tea in one hand and a cane to her side. A few closed folders rest in front of her and on the opposite side was Caitlyn perched on a barstool, wearing a crisp white shirt and the bottom half of her enforcer uniform. Her coat was hanging on her backrest. Cassandra looked like she wanted to continue to persuade Caitlyn but Vi caught her attention instead. "Violet," Cassandra said in a deadpan tone.
"Mrs. Kiramman," Vi replied with the same tone. She knew how it irked Cassandra when she's called simply that, so accustomed to being referred to as Councilor. Vi still remembered being called a 'stray' so she could give a rat's ass about calling Cassandra by her title; So the name stayed. Caitlyn had aptly decided to break the building tension by clearing her throat and pointed towards the pan filled with freshly cooked sausages and eggs. "Breakfast, Vi?"
And just like that, the tension ebbed away and Vi entered the dining area fully, picking up a plate on the counter and scooping a sizable portion from the pan. Cassandra on the other hand busied herself with finishing up her tea then straightening out her outfit in the full length mirror nearby. The both of them were not antagonistic to each other after a lengthy discussion but for some reason their exchanges tend to go a bit… tense. Caitlyn chalked it up to pure force of differing personalities but she honestly didn't know if that was better or worse.
Cassandra done making sure her jewelry and hair was in order then casually said, "Have you been sleeping well, Violet? The housekeeper mentioned that your guest bedroom is still untouched." The tips of Vi's ears went a little red and Cassandra spot Caitlyn squirming in her seat.
"Mother," Caitlyn warned. It seemed like no matter how many times Caitlyn had explained to Cassandra the situation between her and Vi, her mother had refused to believe it. No, they were not together, and yes, Vi really had just been sleeping in her bed all this time (albeit she doesn't mention about her frequently waking up in a rather intimate position with Vi). There was just too much going on with the search for Jinx, her job, and getting Vi situated again in normal society to even start thinking about relationships.
If Cassandra was the type to roll her eyes in front of company, Vi bet her eyes had seen the back of her head when Caitlyn used that tone on her. But she is nothing but controlled and measured so a simple raise of an eyebrow was her only tell. She gathered her cane and ambled towards the sink next to Vi with her empty teacup.
Her walk had been slowly improving over the months and handsomely paid physical therapists had been working hard at making sure her road to recovery was smooth. The family physician's initial prediction of her possibly needing to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life were dashed rather rapidly when Cassandra started enlisting help to get herself back on her two feet. What money could afford, I guess, Vi thought when she overheard about the cost of all of the medical aid.
"Regardless, I think the least you could do is to use the front door like everybody else." She gave her teacup a quick rinse before setting it down and turned fully towards Vi, levelling the Kiramman look directly onto her. Under her narrowed eyes, Vi didn't feel very hungry anymore. "Must you always climb the window? I'm starting to see footprints on my wall and before you have to repaint them, I'd suggest you stop."
Vi shot a quick glance to Caitlyn for back up, only to find her sipping her coffee quietly with an eerily similar expression. If there ever was doubt whether Caitlyn and Cassandra were related, this single look would completely obliterate it. Caitlyn shrugged and watched the interaction unfold instead. After all, she had already told Vi the same thing as well and to use the front door but it seemed like Vi had made climbing the mansion wall her personal challenge and… it was no longer Caitlyn's problem.
Vi hadn't felt being scolded by a parental figure for a long time so all she could do was to slowly nod. "Got it."
Sufficiently pleased at Vi's reply, Cassandra collected her files and started to walk towards the door, "You are very close to trampling Toby's prized begonias so watch your step."
With that, the woman took her leave and Vi immediately felt her shoulder sag from relief. Caitlyn silently looked at Vi over her cup and Vi pointed her fork at Caitlyn, "Not a word."
"I didn’t say anything." Caitlyn flipped open the morning newspaper.