Hesitance - Jostonio IDV

Chapter 1

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Monsieur Desualniers." A feminine voiced softly spoke from behind the door.

Joseph was still laying in his bed, he had overslept. "Mmm, not right now." He groaned as he rolled over in an attempt to ignore the knocking.

"Pardon my intrusion, but our new 'friend' has arrived." The voice spoke again.

With that, Joseph sat up in his bed. He moved his hair out of his face before stretching. As quickly as possible, he threw on his usual clothing- a collared shirt, a blue tailcoat, and matching pants. He brushed his hair to make himself look more presentable before opening the door.

Joseph realized that the voice belonged to Mary, one of the few other french hunters here. He enjoyed her company during the few occasions that they spoke to each other.

"Goodmorning, monsieur. That was quite quick of you, I'm impressed." Mary piped as she motioned for him to follow her. They walked down the spiral stairs towards the foyer of the manor.

"Well, yes, I honestly want to get this whole meeting over with." He straightened out his clothing with a sigh.

Mary only smiled, "I understand."

In the foyer, Joseph saw the other hunters standing in a line. Mary and Joseph found their respective spots just as the new arrival walked through the large doors.

Joseph noticed his height first. The man was taller than him by a decent amount, even though he was slouching a little. In his hands was a violin and bow, which Joseph quickly noticed that the violin only had one string. His clothing looked cheap and unkept. His long dark hair also looked unkept. Joseph turned up his nose.

"Oh, why hello everyone." The new arrival took in his surroundings, looking at each of the unfamiliar faces.

The hunters remained silent but a few nodded or bowed as a greeting. Joseph stayed still.

"Right. I am Antonio Paganini, a violinist. I hope we can all get along here." His face maintained a wide smile.

The hunters nodded before leaving the foyer to carry on with their activities. This left Joseph alone with the new hunter. Before he could turn to go back to his room, monsieur Paganini called out to him.

"Signore? I hate to be a bother, but I'm afraid I might need some assistance around the manor. Do you mind showing me around?"

Joseph stopped in his tracks. He made an annoyed face before turning back around to look at monsieur Paganini. "Oh, no I do not mind. I am Joseph Desaulniers, the photographer." He offered a small smile.

"Thank you signore Desaulniers. It is truly a pleasure."

Joseph nodded. He motioned for Antonio to follow him out of the foyer. They walked in an uncomfortable silence, neither of them knowing what to say. They reached the dining room and kitchen first.

"We all eat here together. There are very few staff, so most times we cook the meals ourselves." Joseph glanced at Antonio. "You will have time to get to know everyone at dinner tonight."

Antonio maintained his wide smile. "I am looking forward to it." He paused for a moment, probably searching for the correct words to say. "You said that you're a photographer, right? Would you care to share your art with me? One artist to another."

Joseph's eyes lit up for a second and he nodded slightly. "I used to be famous in France, actually. Nobody could capture the unique photographs that I could. I had discovered how to capture life and moments in time. I can show you some of my photographs one day, they are truly beautiful."

"I see you're not very humble." Antonio chuckled which made Joseph flush in embarrassment.

They continued walking as they talked.

"Ah! I am not used to speaking about my art with other people. My apologies." Joseph shook his head.

Antonio chuckled again. "No no, I am only joking signore. No need to apologize."

Joseph looked at Antonio with a small smile. He honestly enjoyed his company so far. They stepped in front of a room. "The ballroom." Joseph walked inside.

In the ballroom was a large piano that hadn't been played in years. Joseph wasn't a big fan of music, so he normally avoided this room. He figured monsieur Paganini would use this room to practice since nobody really came down here.

They left the room and continued on with the tour. The two grew accustomed to eachother due to their shared love for art. After what felt like an hour or so, they stopped outside of a room on the second floor.

"I suppose this is where you will be staying." Joseph sighed. "I am off now, but it was a pleasure speaking with you."

"Right. You as well, signore Desaulniers." Antonio held out his hand for Joseph to shake.

Joseph took his hand and soon realized how calloused it was, probably because of his violin practice. Joseph shook his hand with a small, genuine smile. "I will see you at dinner with the others."

They went their separate ways.

Joseph found it refreshing to have someone around like monsieur Paganini, however, he wasn't really looking for any friendships. He was scared if he was being completely honest. Finding his brother, his only friend, dead in his bed had been enough to turn him away from forming any relationships. He wasn't ready to lose another person. He pushed those thoughts away to prevent any tears, it was too early for this.

Before he knew it, it was already time to go downstairs for dinner. He believed that mary was cooking something tonight. He opened his door to see monsieur Paganini also in the corridor.