Sydney lounged in the antique chair, and somehow, she knew that it was Julian's. The table was rectangular, and each end had a chair, but something told her that she was sitting in the prince's seat. There was an aura about it, something... she couldn't explain it. Looking down the table, though, she thought there might have been a slight incline to the floor, rising the seat up a bit over the others because she felt that she was looking down.

The night had been long, and it was nowhere near over. In fact, it was just barely past eleven, and yet, she felt like the sun was about to rise again. She supposed fighting did that to a person. Granted, she was usually keyed up when she got into a regular fight. With Kindred, the brawl just made her tired. She wanted to go to bed, and he wasn't letting her.

"I don't see the big deal, Julian." She slouched further down into the chair. "Yeah, I get it. I mean, Brujah and Gangrel hate each other, but their guy had shown up. Cash was there. I'm sure they'd have gotten things under control."

"You don't understand the deeper roots, Sydney." Julian perched on the side of the table and looked down at her. For someone so travelled and experienced, she was still so innocent at times. She knew about the Masquerade, and she knew about some of the clans, but she didn't know what was behind San Francisco itself. She didn't know what was behind the war he had declared in his city.

Julian hadn't wanted to tell it all to her. There was enough going on that rehashing the past couldn't have been good, but if she were going to stay there, she had to know. She had to be more careful. And she most definitely had to not make the same mistakes Sasha had made. In particular, the same mistakes with Cash. Granted, she and the Gangrel primogen seemed to be at odds constantly, but Julian saw what Sydney was obviously missing in herself. After years of watching her, and a few hours with her in his home, she knew that she was too much like the Gangrel to go into the situation blind.

"I know that they killed Sasha. And yeah, part of me is pissed at that. I couldn't stand her ass, but she was still my sister. You know what they say... you can love your family without liking them. But Sasha wanted this, and it got her killed. Sasha..."

"You sister didn't want to be Embraced," he told her softly. "At least... not the way she was."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means..." He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. When thinking of Sasha's Embrace, Julian tended to go to either extreme. He either wallowed in the loss of someone who was under his protection, his blood relative, or else he burst into a burning rage. He closed his eyes and calmed himself. When he was sure that he was level, he said, "Sasha didn't know about the Masquerade."

"Then... how could she and Cash..."

"They fell in love and Sasha... she knew we were different, but she didn't understand how. She didn't know why. She wanted to be with Cash, she wanted to be like us, but... Brujah Embraced her, and everything changed."

"She hated him, then? Cash?"

"Sometimes..." Julian shook his head. "The blood will eventually overpower the emotions, and had she survived, she would have grown to hate him. She would have grown to despise me. I would have become the Ventrue prince, the one to rebel against."

"Julian, I hate to tell you this, but Sasha was already rebelling." Sydney shrugged. "She'd been rebelling for years. You come around when we're little, and I saw you watching us a few times when we were older. Sasha didn't, but I know my surroundings. A girl's gotta survive and all." She sighed. "Sasha bucked all the shit she could. Being Brujah wasn't going to make her rebel against you. Being Sasha would have been more than enough."

"You're not understanding." Julian stood and paced back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back. "I tell you this not to condemn or victimize Sasha, but to keep you from becoming like her."

"I seriously doubt that's gonna happen."

"You will spend a lot of time with Gangrel," he said, turning to her. "You would become bored with Ventrue and Toreador, and I will not allow you to spend time with Brujah. And Nosferatu..."

"Wait a minute." She sat up a little straighter. "I'm gonna go straight past the 'no way in hell are you tellin' me who I can hang with' part and go right for... I don't wanna be around Brujah, anyway. They're posers and wannabe mobsters. Hell, half of 'em probably are mobsters."

"Sydney, hush!" His voice rose just enough to let her know that he meant business. She returned to her previous slouch. "There is a point, and if you would be quiet long enough, I'll get to it." She gestured him on and he groaned. "There is a war coming, and you are right in the middle of it. You may be used just as Sasha was to push it along."

"Because of what happened at the club? Julian, that was just some guy hitting on me."

"It was more than that. The only thing I can say is that this time around, I know that I can trust my primogens. Despite those in their clans who may be in this little rebellion, I know they are with me on this. They will punish those who do the deed, but it would still have been done. Tonight..." Julian sighed. "Maybe I've brought you into more trouble than I thought when first bringing you here."

"I'll die out there, Julian. I know enough of Kindred law to know that I either have to be Embraced or killed, unless I am protected. You are my protection."

"And I may also be your end. Know this, Sydney. When you are Embraced, your human body will die. You will change, and in the end, you've been killed all the same. I have no doubt that someone who wants to push a war will Embrace you just as quickly as they did Sasha. My weakness is my human family, and you are the last one. Until you discovered the Masquerade, you were safer out on your own than you are with me."

"And Cash? Am I safer with him?"

"If you're as close to being free as I think you are... then, no."

"I'm not free, Julian. I'm bound, and I like it that way. You said you trust Cash with your life, and you trust him with mine. He's a lot of things... a complete asshole being one of 'em, but he's loyal to you, and he won't let anything happen to me. You've gotta stop mourning Sasha. And stop mourning me before I'm even gone. My heart still beats and my lungs work on their own. How about takin' some heart in that and not condemning me to a pine box or blood drinking before it's happened."

"I'm prince of the city, Sydney. I have to think the worse to prepare for it."

"Yeah, well, I'm not and I don't." She stood up and looked at him. Her tone softened as she said, "I know you care, and that's cool. Nobody's cared in a really long time, ya know? But you're gonna care too much, and with the shit going on in this town, that's gonna cause you trouble. Focus on your business and leave me to roam."

Sydney put a hand on his arm and hoped he got the point. Things were going to get rough, and they would be tense. As long as he had Brujah and Gangrel together in the same city, there would always be unrest, but he really needed to lighten up.

She shrugged and took a step back. "Oh, and tell that Morgana chick that her club's cool. If she needs a bartender, sign me up. This place is nice but it's stuffy and I can't just sit around here all day. Besides..." She winked and grinned. "I'm a nightlife sorta chick. Don't necessarily like to mingle, but the energy is a freakin' blast."

She turned and Julian watched her go up the stairs. She was a wild one, much like Sasha, but where her sister tried too hard to be free, Sydney was already there. If she didn't be careful, she would find herself Embraced, and he didn't know if, as much as she was against the idea, she would be able to handle it.

"She'll be fine." Julian turned as Daedalus came out of the shadows. "This one is a lot more street smart than the last."

"I hope so," he said with a groan. "I don't know if I can stand to lose another one." With a sigh and his shoulders slumped, Julian moved towards the foyer. Morgana would be there soon and he was in desperate need for a pick me up.