Hidden Beneath the Carnations PV Julien Morte

𝕬s Julien looked into the mirror this morning, he almost couldn't contain his excitement. This is the most casual outfit I've worn since I got here! That is, of course, excluding sleepwear and other occasions that favored mobility. Even though the boy knew that his upcoming mission involved family business, he still feels like he is . . . "de-Morte-ized". A snort escaped Julien's nose at that made-up word, but he didn't even bother to check who might have heard. He didn't need to, he was very aware of the person standing right next to him.

"What in the hells is wrong with you, Fol?" The older boy's irritated voice did not do much to affect Julien's mood. If anything, it pleased him to hear the discomfort in Fabricio's tone as he wore nearly the same outfit as Julien. A black wool vest with a white shirt underneath, a pair of similarly dark dress shoes, and dark brown slim-fitted pants. That was the one difference between them, Julien's pants appeared a near-black navy. Another difference outside form their outfits is their hairstyle, Julien's loose and curly while Fabricio's naturally wavy hair was slick back like an idiot. "Fol, are you also deaf now aside from being an obnoxious bastard?"

"I'm so very sorry for your discomfort," Julien finally addressed his cousin directly, though his eyes were still fixed on the mirror, "but I sincerely believe that you can overcome such a minuscule obstacle. I mean, you have worn very thick and stiff gowns before, I would think that a rather mundane one such as this—"

Fabricio rolled his eyes and interrupted Julien's obviously dragged on rant: "Oh, shut up."

"As you wish, my lord." The boy put on a smirk and looked in his cousin's direction before bowing like a servant rather dramatically.

That was when Rafael entered the room wearing his own outfit, reasonably different from theirs as the only accompanying adult of the group. Well, the only visible adult, anyway. Agents will surely be hidden amongst the crowds or shadows, wherever this business was scheduled to be conducted. Rafael wore a more formal black suit with the only splash of color being a dark red tie just below his neck. He also had a silver bracelet on his left hand, one inscribed with runes that Julien could not recognize, likely some form of protection or alerting mechanism.

"Good morning, father."

"Everything prepared?" Rafael did not respond to Fabricio's greeting. He only spared a glance towards his direction as he asked his own question, and his son could do nothing but nod. Julien nodded too when the immediate heir of the Morte family looked his way. "Good. We may let people wait for us, but we do not let an Ashwood stand too long."

The walk to their destination was not at all troubling for Julien, it was also certainly no problem for Rafael. His physique is as trained as his magic, which had been powerful ever since his third birthday. Fabricio, on the other hand, looked even more miserable than before. The family possesses a muggle luxury vehicle, but it isn't worth risking malfunction from Rafael's potent magic when he's a part of the transported group.

Much to Julien's pleasure, Fabricio's discomfort only increased as they reached their destination. An old, abandoned potions factory with elements of decay all over the place. Dusty floors, scurrying critters, even a couple of snakes here and there. Though Julien only noticed the latter by picking up some phrases muttered in Parseltongue by his serpentine friends. He did not react to any of them, however, since his Parselmouth ability is still very much under wraps. He glances around naturally like a sight-seeing child, catching Fabricio waving his hands in the air. Is that cobweb caught in his hair? Amused, Julien's polite smile became easier to muster when the trio came closer to a muffled dialogue between two people, seemingly where the meeting place is supposed to be.

"Oh! A victim!" An oddly excited girl's voice prompts Julien to raise his eyebrows. Is this one of the Ashwoods? He had been briefed on everything important to note about the family, so the English did not come as a surprise. The Morte family's social circle mainly consists of Spanish families and any with ties to Durmstrang; for business, on the other hand, their contact list isn't as restricted.

The corners of Julien's mouth remain undefeated, but Fabricio isn't as calm as he. "What in the—" He couldn't say anything more before his father quietly presses his palm against the back of the boy's neck. That was enough to silence Fabricio, a proper teenager a couple years older than Julien.

The two boys naturally fall after Rafael, while the man strides forward with confidence as he turns around the corner and engages with the Ashwood patriarch in pleasantly macabre small talk.

"Ah, the wondrous Morte family. Always a pleasure doing business with you. Did you kill off anyone special these days? Any chance of giving a discount for being a long-time old friend, hm?" Julien rounds the corner right when the dreadlock-wearing man bluntly points out the Mortes' darker dealings. Not showing any abrupt reaction, Julien wonders how close the two families are. An honest relationship for once, it seems. Even if it's for transactional convenience. Rafael is not disturbed at all, seems like he is used to the man's tone. He eyes the crate sat in their vicinity, then looks back at the man with his own version of a polite smile.

"As lively as always, Ashwood. I trust you understand our regrettably strong need for secrecy? It pains me to not be able to satisfy your curiosity, though 'discounts' are certainly in order if you require our expertise." He offers his hand for a shake as he emphasizes the word so ironically shared between two death-bringing individuals, then tilts his head slightly as he notices the girl responsible for Fabricio's discomposure earlier. "Ashwoods, it seems. This is your daughter, you say? It just so happens that I have brought two sons of my own " With a small gesture of Rafael's hand, Fabricio immediately walks forward with a straight back, head held at a reasonable hight, confident yet without his usual arrogance. At least he's not a dumbass in social situations. Julien follows his cousin at a slower pace, his smile widening as he bows his head to the Ashwood patriarch, then his daughter. She seems quite a few years older than Julien, with large areas of burn scars across her face. Her eyes have a red glint in the pupils, the boy ponders for a moment how that came to be.

"This is me and my wife's son Fabricio," Rafael continues after the two children approached his side, placing a hand on Fabricio's shoulder, brightening the teenage boy's smile just a bit. "And this was my nephew Julien. A tragic story of his parents perishing in an accident, you see. Our family found my runaway brother too late, so Julien is all we have left of Javier." Before Rafael kept telling the story they say to everyone about Julien's background, he places his other hand on the boy's shoulder. Fabricio barely holds back a sneer, and Julien nearly flinches. It takes a lot of energy to merely tolerate the man's touch, but he remains as still as a figurehead on the front of a ship. "Naturally we brought him in, but the boy needed a family he could truly belong in, so we formally adopted him as our son. He now bears the Morte name with more legitimacy than before."

I didn't "bear the Morte name" before you found me. I used my mother's, the better one of the two. Julien slightly bows his head to both the Ashwoods again after his uncle's purposefully erroneous introduction. It may be difficult to turn the Ashwoods against the Mortes . . . I need to find something other than money that motivates them. The heiress, what does she value? Upon realizing that his gaze lingered on the girl introduced as Vale for a second too long, Julien decides to fill the silence with a verbal greeting instead of his polite nods. "It's my pleasure to meet you, mademoiselle, especially in such bleak circumstances." Julien extends his arms to emphasize the dark and gloomy space, obvious in his wordplay. From the sound of a cut-off breath coming from his left, it seems like Fabricio also wanted to take initiative to introduce himself, but was again stopped by his father before anything came tumbling out of his throat.

"Do excuse his playfulness, Ashwood," Rafael said without any actual apologetic intentions, "he grew up in France, and some cultural habits aren't as easy to cut. Now, let's move to business, shall we? What have you got for me this time?"

language: "Fol" is Julien's former surname, meaning "fool" or "madman" in French. "Mademoiselle", also French, literally translates to "my damsel", though is typically used as something akin to "miss" or "my lady".
ooc: "love vale's character so much, even her family's cool as hell! also feel free to contact me if there's anything you feel like i should modify to fit better:)"