Jace sat behind a solid oaken desk, his feet propped up on the wood as he tossed a balled up piece of paper into the air and caught it over and over again. The paper just so happened to be the forms on his new Guardian and honestly... he wasn't happy. He sighed dropping his feet from his desk and running a hand through his hair before tossing the paper into the trash with a scowl. A woman would be his Guardian. Couldn't they have found him a male, weren't females rare to begin with? A male would be much easier to ignore... He could go on with his usual life and forget the guy was even there, but this... wouldn't be as easy. Hell, he'd hoped to have no permanent Guardian at all because keeping his mask in place was a chore on its own.

He heard the doorbell ring and pulled that said mask over his features, shifting them towards shy and polite rather than irritable and openly agitated. He headed to the door and opened it, knowing what he would find and not feeling overly excited about it.... Still, he pasted a kind smile on his face.

~*~

Shae frowned at the solid wooden door to the mansion in front of her and shifted her grip on her wheeled bag. She wasn't exactly feeling as excited about this as maybe her father had hoped she would but then... She wasn't your typical girly girl and marriage hadn't even been in her plans to begin with. She ran a hand through fire colored hair and took a breath before using the knocker to knock against the wood. She grimaced at the volume of the sound, and rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

Apparently, her father and Rae's mother had thought it a wonderful idea to have them spend a week together at his place so they could get to know each other. Shae wondered what was next, getting married at the end of the month? This was the first time she'd ever met Rae and they were already trying to get her to spend the week in his home... not just a night... the entire week. She knocked again and tried to steady her nerves, hopefully he wouldn't be a complete ass. The things she'd heard about him left room for speculation as to his character but then again... Who was she to judge?

Shae was beginning to wonder if they would ever answer the door when someone finally opened it.

Rauri knocked lightly on the door before taking a step back. She waited patiently, something she learnt well in her years training to do exactly this. She hadn't had the chance to meet Jace, him having graduated the year she arrived. When she had asked around about him after the offer, most people seemed unsure about how they felt about him, although they all seemed to think he was a pretty great guy. She guessed that she would just have to deal with it and hope for the best.

She held her hands behind her back, staring at the door, waiting for it to be opened. A moment later, a young man opened the door and looked at her. He looked similar to the image that was supplied for her, which she found a little strange. She nodded to him, not really knowing how he acted around Dhampirs, "I'm Rauri Brennan..." She said quietly, her accent seeping into her words, "May I come in.... Sir?" She added, feeling completely and entirely out of her comfort zone.
~
Rae was sitting as his desk in behind a computer looking over some statement that he was supposed to release along the lines of him taking over his dad's business. Rae wasn't exactly the best at this crap to begin with, add that it was supposed to sound professional and coming from a CEO, he was at a loss. He heard a knocking and slowly stood, closing his computer. That would most likely be Shae. He groaned, he didn't really want to spend the week with her. Nothing against her, everything against this stupid marriage. He walked as slowly as he could manage to the door. He stood with his hand on the knob for a moment, finally opening the door when Shae knocked again. He looked at her, "Hi..." His eyes dropped down to her bags, "Let me," He said quietly, knowing his mom would probably smack him if he didn't take the bags for her.

He grabbed hold of her bag and walked it inside. Once the door had closed, he turned and looked at her, "Sorry... I was looking for some business..." He shook his head, "I guess, I should show you to your room."

He carried the bag down the hall and into a room. He looked at Shae, "I figured you'd probably be uncomfortable with sleeping in my room... Since we met about twenty seconds ago."

Shae was more than a little relieved when he took her bags to a room of her own, as he'd said... they'd only JUST met and no matter how hard their parents pushed that was one boundary she was determined to keep in place.

"You didn't have to do that... but thanks."

She looked around the room and brushed her hair back over her shoulder, dark forest green eyes taking in the new place that would be the equivalent of home for the next week.Then, she turned to him. "Nice room..." she stated by way of conversation. She wasn't very good at it, "Look, I don't want to make this more awkward than it has to be so... I guess we should try and get to know each other."

She unzipped her bag and took out several paintings of people, animals, places.... all of them were bright slashes of color and all obviously done with hands but the detail and the vividness of the color and the bold way it was slashed here and there made them rather unique. She looked around and hung a few on empty nails on the wall. "I paint and sketch... what do you do for fun around here?"

~*~

Jace nodded politely at the Dhampir girl in his doorway and scratched his head sheepishly at the title, "Just Jace is fine.... Nice to meet you." He held the door open for her to come in and glanced at her bag. Playing his part he shifted semi-nervously on his feet, "Oh right... I should show you your room..."

He gestured for her to follow and headed up some steps before pushing open the nearest door on the right hand side, "This is your room... mine is right beside yours. Guess they figured we should be near each other." Which honestly made his life more difficult because that meant he'd have to keep his mask in place, if his mother didn't give him away.... Though he figured she'd just be grateful for the change.

"I'll um.... let you settle in," he walked off a little ways and entered his own room. He picked up the phone and dialed Rae, feeling irritable and hoping the guy's current problem would help him feel better about his own.

Rae watched her as she thanked him for the extra room, over making her stay with him. He shrugged and continued to watch her as she opened her bag and pull a few paintings out. He cocked an eyebrow and listened as she explained them. He took one in his hands and inspected it, "Hmph.... this is pretty good."

When she asked him what he did in his free time. He shrugged, "I like working with fire. I guess..." he heard the phone ring and sighed, "That's probably someone about business.... I'll be in my office... it's just down the hall... feel.. free to look around."

He turned and left, grabbing the phone in his office, "Hello, Rae Costa speaking."
~
Rauri nodded when Jason told her to call him Jace over sir. She grabbed her bag when he opened the door a little more for her to enter. She pulled the duffel bag onto her should and followed him to her room. She looked at him as he explained the location of her room. She nodded again and stepped inside her room.

She dropped her bag once he left and started to unpack. She wasn't sure how she felt about this... she didn't know what to do. She sighed and decided just to make quick of putting her things away.