# {V:tM - IC} New York by Night



## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 16, 2003)

_Lies…

Everything you had known was a lie. Your mommy told you monsters where make believe. So how are you to tell mommy than now you are a monster? Monsters aren’t real? It feels pretty f**king real now doesn’t it!

You’re dead. Torn from a mortal life, you where drained of blood, and reborn as a creature of darkness. Since that day, you have started over. You watched in horror as your body decomposed. Died on the inside. 

Yet somehow you live. If that is what you could call it. You drink the blood of the living to quench a thirst no mortal could ever know. Is it a thirst really? A hunger? Addiction? Who knows? It is an all-consuming desire to tear out the still beating heart of the closest living creature and gorge on its lifeblood.

What a way to spend forever…. _

Welcome to ENWorld’s first ever Vampire: the Masquerade play-by-post game.

Viewer discretion advised…


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## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 16, 2003)

*12:15 AM, November 30th 2002 – The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden (Elysium*







New York City…..The City that Never Sleeps

A young waiter, fresh out of high school, made his final rounds. A young girl, who had come to New York to become an actress, washed her last load of dishes. And the chef, a man with considerable talent, prepared his last dish for the night.

All of these people had one thing in common. They didn’t where blissfully ignorant of the immense danger they where in. They had no idea that the private dinning room, now with the curtains pulled shut, housed a collection of the most dangerous predators the planet had ever seen.

Vampires…The Kindred of Caine*

It had been less than a year since the bloody war that raged through the city, even then hidden from the mortal world. Immortal turned against immortal in a bloody struggle of sectarian beliefs. In the end, the fiendish vampires called the Sabbat where destroyed or banished from the city. In their place, a new power came to be. The Camarilla.

In reality, the Big Apple just exchanged one worm for another.
Now, the kindred, gather in the sanctity of Elysium** to hear what their Prince would tell them.

The room was dimly lit, better to hide the pale skin of the undead, and the curtains where pulled to separate the kindred from the kine***. The bar was closing soon. As was customary, Elysium was held at the last day of the month. Every kindred was invited to hear what the Prince had to say, though most never showed.

Soon the doors would lock and only the kindred would remain. The Club was open to the kindred somehow due to strings pulled by the vampire known as Valentine. Valentine himself sat lounging on a black leather sofa in the southeastern corner of the room. He was dressed in a fine red silk shirt, and black slacks. His hair and goet-tee immaculately manicured.

The room was filled with several tables, and a podium sat in the north end of the room. All around the room dwelled the undead. Among those whose names you knew where Hellene Panhard and the always arrogant Mazz. The stood off in a corner, talking amongst themselves as the harpies**** often do. Hellene wore a dark blue evening dress, while Mazz wore a simple, yet elegant, white sued shirt with black slacks and a black sued vest.

Another kindred sat in a dark corner, with only enough light on him to see that he was there. His face hidden, you suspect he was one of the hideously deformed nosferatu or maybe a gangrel. He was quiet and none bothered him.

Your sires where there as well. After a few hours of lecturing about how to handle yourself in Elysium, they finally saw fit to let you attend. Of utmost importance, was politeness. In the mortal world, manners and respect were always welcome. In the world of the kindred they where a matter of survival. Setting another kindred into a frenzy was considered very bad form and shaming to both vampires involved, assuming they both survived.

Nathaniel, the sire of Jemal, and the guardian of Sabrina sat at one of the tables with his childe and ward. His hands where steepled and he simply sat quietly, awaiting the arrival of the Prince. He was dressed in a black dress shirt with black pants and a black overcoat. It seemed he might go hunting before the night was done. Before he was seated, he exchanged a few words with Valentine, but no one was close enough to overhear.

Morgan Thepclay, always alluring at social gatherings, sat at another table not far away. She wore a silver sequin dress with an open back. Here long curly hair was all done up atop her head. Occasionally she reached out to pat her childe on the hand to assure him that everything would be fine tonight.

Carrick Ashton was just arriving with Vychtorya on his arm. He was dressed in a white dress shirt with black slacks and a dark red sued overcoat. He strode in, graceful and confident, with his lady at his side.

Nikolai entered directly behind the couple. As he did so, he caught the attention of his new associate, Qadir Al’Asmai, the sheriff of New York who nodded and stepped aside to give room for Nikolai to stand beside him if he wished. Qadir guarding the door, he watched over the others like an alpha wolf looking over his pack. He wore a long black coat that Nikolai knew most likely covered a shotgun loaded with dragon’s breath shells. This was Qadir’s favored means of dispensing justice. Beneath the coat he wore a black dress shirt and kakis. Over the shirt he wore a silk gold and black vest.

Just behind the podium, and another set of curtains, the mortal band called the Kindred Knights prepared to play for the night. It seemed Valentine had also taken it upon himself to procure entertainment for the night. He had discovered the band at one of the local clubs and immediately took a liking to their music. Once he heard the name of the band, he knew this was what he wanted. The irony was too much to ignore. 

The band had been paid twice what they made for their last gig, and was told to show up at midnight and play an assortment of songs for a banquet he was throwing. The money was enough to overlook the oddity of a banquet at midnight and to bare playing music a bit lighter than they where used to.

* Vampires
** A safe place for vampires to gather. Violence, feeding, and the use of any discipline is outlawed.
*** Mortals
**** The social elite of the Camarilla.


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## Shalimar (Jan 16, 2003)

Sabrina had barely been able to climb into the seat, and as it was her legs were left swinging rythmically beneath her.  The little girl was wearing a purple sundress, her favorite one with an array of bright yellow flower images across the front.  She looked back and forth between her brother and her uncle feeling somewhat out of place among these obviously important Gentlemen and Ladies, and slipped her tiny hand into her brother's larger one comforted by the touch of his hand.

Normally she might have been out of her seat and going up to all these people and saying hi, its only polite afterall, but the events of the past few days made her nervous and unsure of herself.  Nervously she put a hand in the teddy-bear backpack she had brought to make sure the package was still there, the weight of the preseant reasured her.

"Jemal?" She asked whispering her bother's name and tugging on his sleave.  "I'm thirsty, and you and uncle Nathan wouldn't let me have anything to drink before we left.  Do you think it would be ok for one of you to get me something?" she asked her uncle and brother, feeling thirsty despite her inability to drink anything over the last two days.

"Please?" she entreated, doing her best to look cute and helpless, something she was remarkably good at for her age, she even knew how to make her dimples stand out more, which she usually used to great effect.


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 16, 2003)

_Oh god, can I do this?_

Caitlyn Tran closed her eyes, trying once more to control the frightened swirl of jittery nerves that always came before a performance.  It never failed.  No matter how much practice she put into her work she could never get rid of the feeling that when she stepped on stage it would all be a fleeting dream with everyone laughing at her and her parents sitting front row center.  Not that something like that had ever happened, but it didn’t stop the gnawing fear.

_Game face_, she repeated to herself.  _Put on your game face._

And deep down inside her she searched for that other her, the more confident woman her that would come out on stage and take the audience by storm.  She was there somewhere; Cate just knew it.  It was only a matter of finding her.

No time…no time.   Her band mates were motioning for her to come forward and stop hiding behind the curtains.  Blessed curtains.  She would have to leave their comforting darkness, their comforting anonymity for the light and the eyes that never left her.

Stepping forward into what light there was, Caitlyn inhaled in a glorious breath, tensing her muscles before releasing it in relaxation.  All those eyes staring at her, strange eyes with an odd sort of feeling to them as if they could see more than she could.


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 16, 2003)

_What did they see?_

A young woman, perhaps too young, stood there dressed in a flowing sapphire silk dress that seemed to hug and ripple across the curves of her lithe body with every movement.  Long black hair infused with a hint of auburn and glowing like mahogany in the dim light pulled back into a simple chignon at the base of her neck where antique choker clasped the creamy skin in a gold band.

Her face remained the most striking.  Everything about it was expressive to the tiniest emotion.  Brows that arched and relaxed with every connotation, dark rose-coloured lips that unlike the members of her audience still released the warmth of life, and eyes the color and texture of warm chocolate created drawing points on a canvas of delicate Asian beauty.

Then she parted her lips and something even more beautiful was released.  Luxurious could be the only descriptor for the voice that issued from the young woman and wrapped around the words in a seductive blanket as the sounds of soft punk rock began to play behind her.


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## Jemal (Jan 17, 2003)

Jemal looks down at his sister, then back to his sire, then back down to his sister.  He shakes his head at Nathans seeming obliviousness and then turns to her "Sabrina, remember what we told you?  After the meeting with the prince, we'll take you to get something if you want, allright?"  He glances around, a bit thirsty himself, and spots the band.. 
'Hmm.. that is absolutely delicioius looking.  He thinks, watching the lead singer closely but also trying to keep an eye on his sister and the gathered kindred.


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## Shalimar (Jan 17, 2003)

Jemal said:
			
		

> *Jemal looks down at his sister, then back to his sire, then back down to his sister.  He shakes his head at Nathans seeming obliviousness and then turns to her "Sabrina, remember what we told you?  After the meeting with the prince, we'll take you to get something if you want, allright?"  He glances around, a bit thirsty himself, and spots the band..
> 'Hmm.. that is absolutely delicioius looking.  He thinks, watching the lead singer closely but also trying to keep an eye on his sister and the gathered kindred. *




Sabrina  looked up at Jemal as if considering the offer of food later, and finally nodded happily at him, she was going to get her way afterall no need to be graceless about doing it.  For a minute or two she went back to shifting around in the overly-large chair trying to get comfortable, but only for a minute or two as her attention soon turned to the beautiful woman who was singing up on the stage.

The music was simply enchanting to the little girl.  She couldn't understand how such lovely sounds could exist, and despite the slightly dark note of the song she found herself kicking her feet in time with the music.  "Jemal, shes the one, I want her for my party, it has to be her."  she said thinking about the birthday party that she had been planning for months now.  It was going to be her 8th birthday in a week, and she can't wait to see her friends again.


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## Jemal (Jan 17, 2003)

"Yes, Sabrina" Jemal says, still slightly entranced by the site of the woman on stage.  "She certainly is.  We'll have her, my dear.  Don't you worry."  He managed to tear his gaze off of the singer (He had to get her name later tonight) long enough to take in the other guests, looking for a few in particular - Those known to him.

He wondered if the B*tch (Elizabeth) would be here.. She must, but he would really rather not interact with her...


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 17, 2003)

Caitlyn couldn’t help it.  For the first verse, she had her eyes closed, trying to control her own fear of the audience.  People had always found it incredibly amusing that she would have stage fright but that didn’t take away the fact that she did feel that horrible shaking in her stomach.

How could she not when her very soul was on exhibition each time she sang?  But nothing can be more powerful than an addiction, especially an addiction to the music that made her feel so alive.

_I would die for you
I would die for you_
_I've been dying just to feel you by my side
To know that you're mine_

Deep dark, she pulled the emotion from the depths of her soul and put it into her music, opening her eyes to gaze at the crowd.  

_ I will cry for you
I will cry for you_

Those dark orbs passed over those that sat beyond with their pale skin and age old eyes.  Their lips so strangely more alive than the rest of them.  Yet they were hers.  Her captive audience.

_I will wash away your pain with all my tears
And drown your fear _


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## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 17, 2003)

[Cate's Musical Performance [Performance+Charisma - Diff:6]: 6,5,10,6,9,8,1,2,2, = 4 successes] 

Moments after the mortal band took the stage, a haunting tune filled the room. Valentine grinned slightly in satisfaction. He knew he had made the right choice.

Cate's Attraction [Appearance - Diff:6]: 10,8,7,10,9, = 5 successes!! WOW! 

Slowly all eyes begin to focus on the beautiful mortal siren. Almost hungrily they took in every sway and step, every breath and heartbeat. Some seemed unable to tear their gaze away from her. 

Even the brooding Nathan seemed to come to life at the sight of her. He gazed at her, and while he had recently fed, he still felt the desire to take the lovely creature before him.

A glance around the room reassured Cate that her band was being well received. Well….she was. Nobody seemed to notice the other Knights. 

*Jemal:* - [Jemal's bloodpool: 7,]
As the young woman before you began to dance and sway, you began to feel the beast rise in you. It hadn’t been long since you last fed, but looking upon the woman before you quickened the Beast within you. [Jemal’s Self Control - Diff: 6: 2,6,2, = 1 success] 

*Sabrina* – [Sabrina's bloodpool: 5,]
As you sat there, you found it hard to think of anything more than the thirst that had been growing in you all night.  [Sabrina’s Self Control - Diff: 6: 5,1,6, = 0 successes, uh-oh Willpower point?]   The more you thought about it, the more you wanted it. You could feel a tingling in the roof of your mouth as your fangs tried to elongate.

*Vychtorya* - [Vych's bloodpool: 9,]
Walking into the curtained chamber, you immediately notice the young mortal woman who has came out to offer the entertainment for the night.  [Vych's Self Control - Diff 4,8,4,10, = 2 successes] You suddenly stop dead in your tracks, enraptured by her beauty and air of grace. With a little effort you shake it off and continue into the room. Carrick leads you to a nearby table and pulls out a chair for you to sit.

*Nikolai* – [Nikolai’s bloodpool: 10,]
 [OOC: I’m not sure what you are doing as you haven’t posted yet. Regardless you can’t ignore Cate.] The mortal woman before you is truly a sight to behold. Even if she wasn’t your beautiful Victoria, you are not above the lusts of the undead. Watching her for a moment, you can feel the Beast begin to stir. Luckily, you had fed recently and you where able to keep your head clear to focus on more important matters. You didn’t think you could bring yourself to feed on someone who reminded you of your lost love anyway.

*Maxwell* – [Max’s bloodpool: 12]
 [OOC: Like Reaper, I’m not sure what you are up to, but your attention is focused on Cate for at least a few seconds.]   As the mortal woman came out on stage, you were suddenly awestruck. For good or for ill, you had fed already tonight and her alluring beauty still wasn’t enough to distract you from the nervousness you felt in coming here for the first time.


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 17, 2003)

The table nearby caught her attention as Caitlyn sang, initially only because it held the only child in the room.  How strange!  A child in the midst of what seemed so obviously an adult gathering of some kind.  And what a beautiful little girl as well, so innocent…but what was that strange expression on the child’s face?  It certainly made her feel very...uneasy.

_I will pray for you
I will pray for you_

Her sweet voice echoed out to  her audience as she wrapped herself within her words until she noticed who else sat at the table with the young girl.  

_I will sell my soul for something pure and true_.  

So strange.  

_Someone like you_.

Two other men sat at the table with her, a very dark mysterious looking man and a younger handsome one.  And such eyes they had!  Captivating and yet so very strange indeed.  She had seen men looking at her before, knew what the gaze of attraction was like, but their gaze seemed very different from the others very…feral.

_See your face every place that I walk in
Hear your voice every time that I'm talkin'_

And there sat Valentine, the strange man who had contracted them for the night.  He seemed pleased with her performance which made her very glad indeed, but she remembered the way his lips seem to twist into some kind of smile whenever he said the name of the band.  

Why was that?

_You will believe in me
And I will never be ignored_


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## reapersaurus (Jan 17, 2003)

Nikolai entered the room with a sense of foreboding, his senses increased from both Auspex powers.
He thinks . o 0 (Going into a snake's den, one must always be Alert.)

He has been anticipating/dreading attending Elysium ever since he learned of its existence, something he surpringly didn't know until recently even with his decades-long interest in Kindred Lore.
Actually attending the decadent ritual he finds ironic, since when he was a Hunter, a group of vampires together was something The Brotherhood always wished to find out, so they could dispose of many birds with one big stone.

Now he was here, among Them, and while a part of him rebelled at the sick play that danced before his eyes ; vampires acting like the cream of humanity ; a part of him schemed, wondering what paths he could plot to gain power or prestige from such a Gathering.

Nikolai made his acknowledgments to the vampires he knew attending. He looked around for Aisling, his Chantry's Regent, not finding her in attendance as yet. His Sire, Mikhail, was not present and Nikolai hadn't seen him since Nikolai left Knight City a month ago.

He made the rounds that Etiquette demands, surruptitiously bowing in respect towards the corner of Power where the Prince looked to be wanting to be kept alone. 
Nikolai's Appearance was augmented this night by a ritual he had performed to allow his animal magnetism to make up for some of the gifts that the Embrace didn't provide him (Impressive Visage, App of 4).

As he came round to Qadir, he was pleasantly surprised at his invitation to stand nearby, and Perceived it as perhaps a desire on the powerful Sherif's part to speak to someone who was not a stuffed shirt.

"Ah, Qadir - you look so ready to jump to action - as if we may be so lucky that tonight's schedule might include such excitement!
Have any Elysium's you've attended needed your palpable services as yet?"

Nikolai stands beside Qadir, his back to the wall looking out at the crowd, and makes a joke intended to make fun of Nikolai's less-than-awe-inspiring physical threat :
"Yyyyyep! You just let me know if anybody here gets uppity and in need of getting their skulls cracked, cause I'm yer man!"

Nikolai blusters up and cracks his knuckles like a bouncer to further illustrate the absurdity of the statement.


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## Shalimar (Jan 17, 2003)

The woman on the stage was so beautiful... it was so easy to lose yourself in the her grace and wonderous voice.  Or it would have been, if not for that burning in her throat, that craving.

She had never wanted anything as much as she wanted to sate this thirst, and to top it off her mouth was all tingly, it was almost intolerable to her.  She made low whimpering sounds in the back of her throat as she tried to force herself to remain sitting and patient for her treat.

_I can wait for my treat, I can, they promised I could have something in a little while.  Besides I don't want to embaress uncle Nathan after he went to all the trouble to bring me here._  Despite these thoughts bouncing around in her head, it was only with a great deal of willpower, and keeping her hold of her brother's hand that allowed her to stay in her seat.

OOC: 1 Willpower point spent.


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## reapersaurus (Jan 17, 2003)

After speaking with Qadir awhile, attempting to ingratiate himself to the Sherrif so that Nikolai might be able to tag along any upcoming raids or official duties the Sherrif might perform, Nikolai encountered the song piercing thru the room, all the way to the back where he stood.

Its unmistakable power and beauty did not entrance him like some silly distracted Toreador might, but its purity resonated with a part of him that did not see the light that much these days.
He listened to the song, losing himself in memories of a time long ago for him, when such strains might have played his heart strings with wild abandon.

He shook himself free of the painful yet undeniable memories that Caitlyn's performance arose in him, and proceeded to watch the impact it had on the audience.
Knowing how close to the beast we Beasts are at times, he began to fear for the obviously-human girl's safety, what with her assets being displayed prominently for the enjoyment of all.  

He began to concentrate on picking out any Auras that may show up a deep red, or even worse, an aura of rapidly rippling colors indicating that Kindred being Embraced by their Beast.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 17, 2003)

Qadir cracked a slight grin at the Tremere's antics. "You have much to learn yet childe....", he said with a heavy eastern accent.

After a moment he added, "I do not think my services will be needed tonight. Assuming of course the little one can get a hold on herself." He nodded at Sabrina sitting at the table.

"She thirsts. She should have fed before arriving..... better yet... she shouldn't exist at all. Her maker should have been destroyed. The child should be destroyed."


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## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 17, 2003)

*Nikolai*

Concentrating, Nikolai's gaze pierced the veil of the natural world and fell upon the very souls of those before him. He could see that the young child pointed out by Qadir was indeed suffering from the hunger, though she appeared to have it under control. 

The other Kindred in the room seemed to be well at ease, as at ease as kindred ever got around each other. He noticed that the band playing on stage seemed to be very nervous. They should be.

As he continued looking around, his gaze finally landed of Qadir. He appeared calm and in control, but black veins of energy coursed through his aura.

He raised an eyebrow at the young Tremere. "Take care where you cast your scrutiny Nikolai. You know it is forbidden to use the dark gifts in Elysium."


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## Vychtorya (Jan 17, 2003)

As Caitlyn finishes the set, Vychtorya leans in to Carrick and tells him the lead singer MUST sing at the club. 

_"She is just simply scrumptious.
Maybe if we present her a sweet enough deal, we could get rid of that band YOU had in the club last week. 
I hope you learned to let me pick the performers from now on."

"She seems very talented, and on the verge of becoming known. You know how well that would promote the club if we can have her perform there before she gets her first record deal. 

In fact, maybe you can talk to some of your contacts in the recording industry. Talent like hers NEEDS to be discovered."_

Carrick agrees with Vych's assessment, telling her he will consult Valentine to see his thoughts on the matter, and that Vych should talk to the singer at the next break to see if she would be interested. 

Carrick says, "You can make the offer to her entire band, or make the invitation to just her personally."   

Vychtorya stands and excuses herself from Carrick's table. With that, Carrick rises from his chair and leans in to kiss Vych on the cheek.

Vych adds before taking her leave, _"I also see that Hellene and Mazz are here. Decorum advises that I spend time with them tonight. 

I shall return shortly my love."_


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 17, 2003)

Who where those men standing over there by the door?  They looked like bodyguards for the group, probably security.  Even though they didn’t look armed, Caitlyn felt strongly that they would be any match for anyone who wanted to disturb the gathering.

One of them seemed more excited than the other, as if something within him was barely held in check.  The way he looked around the room as if willing something to happen was almost a little disturbing.

_I will burn for you
Feel pain for you_

Those eyes.  Some kind of pain in his eyes when he listened to her sing.  But what was it?  As her words rolled off her tongue, they seemed to fall right into his thoughts and touch something else there.  A memory perhaps.  He stared at her, but not her.

_I will twist the knife and bleed my aching heart
And tear it apart_

Not enough light in this place to even qualify as a child’s night light, and yet everyone seemed to move so comfortably.  Even stranger, with the exception of the child, nearly all of them looked beautiful and young, as if frozen in at the cusp of perfect adulthood.

_I will lie for you
Beg and steal for you_

Yet there was something about that man.  The way he stared at her and moved his eyes.  He knew something more beyond the enrapture of the crowd.  The electricity of whatever his thoughts may hide crept into her words and she watched him as she sang.

_I will crawl on hands and knees until you see_

Something about him that wasn’t quite right.  Something bestial, a font of unrestrained power locked within those muscles.  Something kept within and hidden from the light, a darkness that reached out with a thin finger to add a hint of flavor to her timbre.

_You're just like me_


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 18, 2003)

_Violate all the love that I'm missin'
Throw away all the pain that I'm livin'_

The time seemed to pass so quickly, but still she felt locked in this moment forever.   How could her voice possible hold, but it did, and the audience with such discriminating taste seemed completely mesmerized.

_You will believe in me
And I can never be ignored_

Her dark eyes passed over each of the occupants, noticing the beautiful redheaded woman who stood up as her song was coming to an end.  She seemed so sure of herself, this woman, with a confidence that Caitlyn had always wanted for herself.  Perhaps it was having someone like that handsome blonde man by her side that gave her the strength. Or maybe she just had an incredible inner strength to begin with.

_I would die for you_

Wait there was someone else in the audience she recognized.  Was that her neighbor from across the hall?  Why was he here at this gathering?

_To be close to you _

And who was that man way in the dark corner where she couldn’t see his face.  No one else seemed that aloof and yet they paid a great deal of deference to him.

_To be part of you_

Definitely the strangest, most unsettling audience she had every played for which was saying quite a lot considering some of the clubs in NYC that her Gothic rock band had been playing in lately.

_'Cause I believe in you
I believe in you_

Her voice halted softly as her song finally came to an end.

_I would die for you_.


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## Festy_Dog (Jan 19, 2003)

Max looked at Morgan, giving her a brief smile as repayment for her reassurance. He thought for a minute on the child present, how horrible it would be after her mind matures within that juvenile body, these thoughts were whisked away though in an instant. He looked up at the stage to see his neighbour, certainly as attractive as always, if not more so, he couldn't look away. 

_Wow, not just a pretty face, I wondered what she did for a living._

It was forunate he wasn't hungry, though the sight did make him peckish. The music seemed to end too soon and his thoughts became his own again. 

_Well, she's done hijacking our senses for the moment. Is that the Prince back there? Heh, they're all as hideous as the next, I guess its the Prince's honour and sense of duty that sets him apart from the rest._

He sits quietly, glancing at Morgan now and then to gauge her reactions to things.

_I hope this doesn't take long..._


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## reapersaurus (Jan 19, 2003)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> *Nikolai
> Qadir raised an eyebrow at the young Tremere. "Take care where you cast your scrutiny Nikolai. You know it is forbidden to use the dark gifts in Elysium." *



"Awww, you know you have nothing to fear from me, Qadir. I told ya that the first outing you let me go on.

I heard about all the  that went down during the Take-back of the City.
We wouldn't be here now, enjoying the lap of luxury that the Big Apple's opportunities provide, if it wasn't for you and others risking your unlives to take out the Sabbat slime.

I applaud your efforts, and between you and me, any power you can take when opportunity presents itself is a Smart Play in my book.
As many of us (and the Prince) know, a lot of things that normally would be all-important were overlooked during the battles. 
I think that shows the Wisdom it takes to run a city.

Not smart to slap the bloodied hands of the men who got you where you are."


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## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 20, 2003)

*Sabrina and Jemal*
Nathaniel, awakened from his brooding by the performer before him, eventually turned his attention to his childe and ward. He looked at Sabrina a moment and then at Jemal. 

"She is hungry. Watch her. You must take her to feed once we leave here."

*Vychtoria*
Mazz and Hellene still conversed in the corner. Occasionally they would look up, both turning their attention on the same person. Most likely they where discussing the way they where dressed or what rumors they had recently heard. After a moment, they both turned their attention on you and nodded a hello. 
Hellene's small smile was openly warm and approving. Mazz on the other hand, appeared to be measuring you in some way.

*Nikolai*
Qadir remained silent for a time then finally said, "Why do you have interest in accompanying on my patrols young worlock?" The question was simple, yet direct. "It is unusual that one of your house would be interested in such things."

*Cate*
After the first set. You got a signal from Valentine that you could take five. There where refreshments set up for you behind the curtain. 

*Maxwell*
Morgan sits clamly, seemingly at ease in her enviroment. She claps lightly as the Kindred Knights finish their song. "She looks familiar Max. Is that the young girl from the apartment next door?"


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## Shalimar (Jan 20, 2003)

> Nathaniel, awakened from his brooding by the performer before him, eventually turned his attention to his childe and ward. He looked at Sabrina a moment and then at Jemal.
> 
> "She is hungry. Watch her. You must take her to feed once we leave here."




Sabrina smiles at Nathan in thanks for making sure she got her treat, though she wasn't exactly happy about the way he said it.  

_It sounds like he doesn't even trust me or want to be bothered with me.  I wish I could make him love me again like he used to, he's been so grumpy the last two nights,  I hope it wasn't something I did.  I'll just ask Jemal, and he can get it all straightened out and Uncle Nathan will be happy with me again._  she thinks to herself giving her plan a nod of her head and a smile.

Feeling better about herself, she asks if she can go meet everyone.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 20, 2003)

Nathaniel looked at the child for a long time before he finally nodded.

"Jemal, perhaps you would escort her around?"


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 20, 2003)

Caitlyn made it to the refreshments, but the whole place felt so suffocating to her and yet exhilarating at the same time.  Pouring herself a glass of water, she looked for a balcony or somewhere she could get some air and calm down a bit after that adrenaline rushed performance.

What a strange audience!

When was the last time she felt as if she was flying above the world and yet inexplicably frightened at the same time.  Strange yes, especially when her always over eager imagination took those emotions and formed an image of her being devoured by said audience.

Cate laughed at herself, a sweet silvery sound, feeling more relaxed now that she could see the ridiculousness of such a vision.


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## Vychtorya (Jan 20, 2003)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> *Vychtoria
> Mazz and Hellene still conversed in the corner. Occasionally they would look up, both turning their attention on the same person. Most likely they where discussing the way they where dressed or what rumors they had recently heard. After a moment, they both turned their attention on you and nodded a hello.
> Hellene's small smile was openly warm and approving. Mazz on the other hand, appeared to be measuring you in some way./B]/QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 20, 2003)

[Vychtorya's greeting: Charisma + Etiquette, Diff 4,3,5,5,9,4,5,9, = 7 successes!]  

Mazz eagerly takes the lady Victoria's hand and gently kisses the back of it with his cold lips. 

"Good evening Lady Vychtorya. I trust the night finds you well?"

Hellene leans to kiss you on each cheek. "Hello child. I must say, you look stunning tonight! You didn't have to come over here and slum with the likes of Mazz on my account", she said with a mischievous grin. 

Mazz simply grinned passed a look over Carrick and then back at Vych. "I must say. Mr. Ashton has done well for himself", he said as he looked Vychtorya over. He made no effort to be discreet.


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## Vychtorya (Jan 20, 2003)

_The night does find me well, gentle sir, and I am very pleased to be in YOUR company tonight Hellene.... 

I must admit though I have always had a weakness for the "bad boy" type.
_Vych sends Mazz another look and leans into him and hugs his arm. She sends a warm smile and a wink to Hellene.[I/]

_So, what is the latest news to be known? Do you happen to have any info on what the Prince might be telling everyone this eve?

(OOC - I am having trouble getting everything formatted properly. Please forgive me.)_


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 20, 2003)

Caitlyn gathered herself together.  It was time to mingle with the audience, get their feedback and maybe make a few good networking opportunities in there somewhere.  Perhaps find a rich patron who would support her song writing so she wouldn' t have to spend so much time performing.  But whom should she approach first?

Memories of the two attractive gentlemen at the table close to the stage came to mind.  And the child with them was so beautiful and innocent.  Surely the child would put her at ease in this gathering of strange people.

Smoothing down her sapphire dress, Caitlyn slowly approached the table where Nathan, Sabrina, and Jemal sat.  Her dark eyes glanced around her, noting the other people gathered in the room.  Of all the times that she had done so, stepping beyond the curtain that separated her band from the audience felt more than just merely uncomfortable.  It felt as if she had pierced into another realm.

A realm of beautiful people moving and talking as if they were engaged in a thousand year dance.


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## Shalimar (Jan 21, 2003)

"Hi, I'm Sabrina.  Whats your name.  You are so wonderful, I wish I could sing that well."  Sabrina exclaims beaming up at the singer, her words seemingly falling all over each other.

"This is my brother Jemal, and My uncle Nathan.  Isn't he cute?"  she asks though its not clear which the energetic child is asking about.


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 21, 2003)

Why did she have the absurd desire to curtesy in front of Nathan?  Perhaps it was those odd clothes he wore.

"Very," Caitlyn replied with a friendly smile to Sabrina's last comment.  "My name's Caitlyn, but you can call me Cate and if you want to learn to sing that well, I do give voice lessons to cute little girls like you all the time."  

She tapped Sabrina's nose playfully before stretching out her hand first to Nathan and then to Jemal.  "It's a pleasure to meet you both.  I hope my performance pleased you."


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## Shalimar (Jan 21, 2003)

Sabrina laughs when the beautiful woman taps her nose, the laugh is that innocent laugh that only children ever have.  It has a quality that growing up normally strips away.

"Uncle Nathan can she?  Teach me to sing I mean?  She is soo good, I want be able to sing like that."  She looks at him expectantly, willing him to say yes.


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## Jemal (Jan 21, 2003)

Jemal smiles down at his sister, then back up to the beautiful Singer, extending her hand.  He takes it gently and brushes his lips across the back in a gentlemanly kiss. "A pleasure to meet you, Caitlyn, you are, as my sister has said, wonderful."  He smiled at her, not talking about just her singing.  Jemal glanced down at Sabrina's question, then back up to Nathan "It shouldn't be much of a problem, so long as she behaves herself." He turns back to Cate "And I'm sure we can make it.. worth your while."


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## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 21, 2003)

*Cate, Sabrina & Jemal*
Nathaniel stood, smiled at the young woman, and shook her hand. Before sitting he simply nodded at Jemal. "Singing lessons would be fine." He knew that anything to take Sabrina's mind off of the change would be better for her.

*Vychtorya*
Mazz let her take his arm. "I'm unsure. The Prince has been very quiet of late."


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## Festy_Dog (Jan 21, 2003)

"Yeah, I thought she would've been a model or something thats all, I really shouldn't assume what people do," Max says to Morgan, "Is that the Prince back there? I thought he'd be a lot more involved in the proceedings and all, seeing as he's the Prince. I think I might go compliment the neighbour's ability."

_And make sure she's not freaking out._

Max's mind ticks over.

_Hope nobody's planning on snacking on my next door neighbour. She's nice, doesn't need to get involved in this darker shade of reality._

Max approaches Caitlyn, greeting others as he goes. He extends his hand to her.

"Hi, Caitlyn is it? I'm Max from across the hallway. I didn't know you were so good. I have to commend that music, and your appearance, you stole the show there I reckon," he says brightly, "I think I've of heard of your group before, do you normally do heavier stuff?"


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 21, 2003)

Caitlyn smiled at Maxwell, extending her hand in greeting to him as well.  "Hello Max!  I've seen you a few times scuttling about when I come home."  She laughed lightly, soft and silvery.  "Thank you for the compliment."

_Accept the compliment gracefully, accept it!_ her mind scolded her but she couldn't prevent the rose hue appearing on her fair complexion despite her attempt at the cavelier.  _Drat_.

Her dark eyes dropped on Jemal briefly.  "Both of you."  _Stop the blushing, Cate, right now!_  And then returned back to Max.  "And you're absolutely right!  The Kindred Knights do play much...hmm...heavier music.  Your host requested something softer.  When I sing solo though, my music is much softer...I write love ballads.  You could say that..._love_...is my obsession."


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## Festy_Dog (Jan 21, 2003)

"Thats good to hear," Max says.

_Wow, she's blushing, I hope thats a good sign._

"Well, I'll probably see you later this evening. I hope you perform again, cya," he says as he heads back over to sit next to Morgan.

_I don't like seeing mortals exposed to this kind of thing, so many of us in the one place, this could seem a bit funky to her.... She's acting fine I shouldn't be worried._


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## Vychtorya (Jan 21, 2003)

Vychtorya releases Mazz's arm gently as she slides her hand down the top of his upper arm to his elbow.

At that moment, Carrick, while on his way over to Valentine, stops to see how his childe and love is doing on her own. Carrick's thinks to himself,
"It seems she is being well received. How could they not love her. Look at her hair...so soft, the dark auburn curls she pulled up are flirting with her shoulders of white, porcelin skin still blushed with the blood of life...every slight movement, every gesture like a carefully practiced dance...so perfect...so at ease...so......"

Carrick finally breaks his gaze on Vychtorya.
"Even in death she can still enrapture my Toreador heart."

Carrick is standing in the middle of the room now, but has forgotten where he was going. He instead shifts his steps toward Hellene, Mazz, and Vych. 

Vychtorya continues her converstaion with Mazz and Hellene, unaware Carrick is now approaching from behind her.
"I'm sure the Prince must have many things on his mind. There are so many here, and I'm sure this isn't everyone is it? That is quite the lot to take care of if this is only part of us. The Prince does host a VERY lovely evening I must say, although my enjoyment is due to my present company."
Vych reaches out both of her arms to graciously touch Hellene and Mazz on their arms just above their elbows to emphasize that it is them she is complimenting.


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 21, 2003)

"Bye, Max!" Caitlyn calls out a bit more cheerfully and energetic than she had intended.  _Gods, Cate!  They're going to think you're just a schoolgirl!  Be composed, be serene, like the lovely redhead. _  Her head tilted slightly as she watched Max walk away.  _But damn, he has a _really_ nice butt._

Turning to face the little group around the table, she smiled at them.  "Well, with all the agreement, I think you're going to have a new voice teacher Sabrina.  But beware!  I am very strict."  Those dark eyes twinkled brightly as she once again tapped the child on the tip of her pert nose.  "Sometimes," she relented with a slight chuckle and then winked at Nathan.


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## Shalimar (Jan 21, 2003)

"Thank you uncle Nathan, Thinks Jemal, Thank you Miss Cate, thank you, thank you, thank you."  Sabrina said giggling, and flushing in pleasure.

"I'll be very good, you'll see, I promise."  She hops down out of the chair and hugs herself against Cates waist.

"Uncle Nathan, when are we starting this thing, I'm soo hungry, and this is boring.  Not when you sing, just the rest of it, the waiting."  She hastens to assure Cate, not wanting to upset her new friend.


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 29, 2003)

Putting her own arm around the little girls shoulders, Caitlyn smiled at her.  Sabrina really was a precious thing!  And the money and exposure to vast networking opportunities would be nice indeed...not to mention the attractive older brother the little girl had.  Maybe she could convince him of a few things, like belief in her song writing ability and the Kindred Knights.  Maybe he could sponsor the band to all his friends.  Maybe he could stop looking at her like that so she could stop blushing.

Her fingers brushed Sabrina's hair and came into contact with the child's skin.  Odd...the child felt...slightly cooler than normal for just a split second.  Or perhaps it was just that Cate herself felt nervous and warmer...still it was strange.


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## Catulle (Jan 29, 2003)

So close to the singer, Sabrina could feel the blood pulse within her, bringing back sharp memories of her hunger. With the woman's touch, her warmth all but cried out for the child to take it... (Sabrina self control - 10,7,6 - 3 successes) She suppressed the urge swiftly, storing the hunger away, locking it up tight inside again.

(Caitlyn Perception/Empathy - 8,7,2,1 - 1 success) Cate felt the child's body shiver slightly against her touch; perhaps she did have a chill?

(Max Perception/Empathy - 10,6,6,4 - 3 successes) Max saw Sabrina's reaction for what it was; a moment of blood-thirst rapidly concealed...

Nathaniel cast a reproachful glance towards Sabrina. "All in good time, my dear. Impatience is not becoming in a young lady, after all." _Not if she knows what is good for her, that is._ 
He returned his eyes to Caitlyn, and a warm smile flitted across his features, "Do excuse my neice's excitement. It is rather late for her to be up but I had thought the performance would be a rare treat for her. She does so love music, as you can see, and you certainly did not dissappoint. I should hate for her company to become draining, though."
He turned to the younger man next to him, "Jemal. I sense we will be waiting a little longer yet. Why don't you take your sister for a walk. The exercise may take her mind off the 'tedium' here."_And spare us the embarassment of her losing control..._


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## Shalimar (Jan 29, 2003)

With the delicate arm draped over her small frame Sabrina instinctively hugged herself close to the warmth, trying to capture it for herself.  She didn't understand what she was doing or really why, but one glance at uncle Nathan was enough to tell the child she had better stop or else...

She didn't know quite what the or else was, but it was enough to drive the unpleasant desire from her tiny body once again.  Her body did give a shiver as the urge to drink was replaced by anxiety.  "I promise I'll be good uncle Nathan," she said earnestly trying to make him believ that she meant it, and it wasn't like the hundred or so other times she had said it in exactly the same way, with the same wide-eyed innocent expression.

"Can miss Cate come with us on our walk Jemal?"  she asks her brother enjoying the hugging and physical contact that she never got at home.  "And where are we gonna go? can we meet all these people, they all look so pretty."


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## Ashrem Bayle (Jan 30, 2003)

The curtain slid back to make way for another member of New York's night dwelling residents. Gabriel Cross was a Kindred who, if rumor was to be believed, had been in New York during the fall of the Sabbat.

A long black leather coat draped over his form, hiding much of it in shadow. He wore black dress slacks, and a dark gray silk shirt beneath the coat. A cane resided in his right hand. It was also black, and was topped with a beautiful silver wolf head. He didn’t seem to need it to aid his walking; it was obviously just an accessory, or maybe even a weapon.

He proceeded into the room with an air of confidence and nodded slightly to those he knew. Valentine, and Qadir specifically. His ice blue eyes almost seemed to gleam in the faint light as he glanced about the room.

_”Where is Aisling”,_ he wondered. Not seeing his surrogate sire, he moved to take a seat on one of the couches against the wall.


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## Jemal (Jan 31, 2003)

Looking at nathan, Jemal nodded almost imperceptably to show that he could handle Sabrina for a while.  He then grinned at the girls "Yes, I suppose your lovely new friend can come for a walk, so long as you behave yourself... And assuming she would like to accompany us?" Jemal shifts his eyes back to Caitlins face, his deep gaze clearly showing that he would really NOT mind the company as he gave her a slow, small smile.

Looking up to see Gabriel, their eyes met for a brief moment as Gabriel searched the room for something, and Jemal gave a small nod in his direction, before turning back to Caitlin and Sabrina.


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## Catulle (Jan 31, 2003)

With a flourish of his manicured hand and a smile, Valentine acknowledged the newcomer's arrival. Other eyes around the room followed his gesture to alight on Gabriel. The scrutiny was intense, but brief.

Qadir, however, seemed preoccupied for the moment with the dark-clad Kindred by his side... (Gabriel - Int/Politics - 9, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3 - 3 successes) Nikolai? Yes, that was his name - another Tremere and a recent arrival as well. It would seem that House and Clan did not go un-represented here.
_____________

Nathaniel cut across Jemal's reply, almost abruptly. "I do not think that would be fair, Jemal. Not when Ms Tran's friend here has waited so patiently for a moment of her time." his eyes moved across to meet Max's gaze, "If you will excuse me, my dear." He stood, and inclined his head briefly to Caitlyn and Max. A single focused glance passed between the elder and his progeny ~_Feed her, Jemal. Quickly._~  before Nathaniel moved gracefully across the room to intercept Carrick.


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## KitanaVorr (Jan 31, 2003)

Caitlyn released Sabrina gently, giving her a smooth brush on the top of her head with the palm of her hand.  "Well then, your uncle has spoken, go with your brother," she spoke gently with a smile.  "And I'll make arrangements later on tonight with your...wardens," she laughed again lightly at her choice of words, "to come teach you tommorrow?"  Her eyes alighted back again on Jemal and she felt her smile soften just a tad.  

Oh, Sabrina was such a beautiful child!  Just looking at her gave Caitlyn a bit of a yearning...just a bit.  Cate didn't have brothers or sisters, just endless masses of cousins that she had to take care of at parties.  Looking at Sabrina made her miss her family all over again and wonder why she was still here in New York.  Oh yes, she remembered now, that pesky songwriting dream. She sighed inwardly.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 1, 2003)

Max pauses as he heads back to Morgan's table, he glances back and notices the small girl flinch as she suppresses the urge to feed.

_Holy S! Didn't they feed her before they came?_

He rotates abruptly on his heel and paces back over to Caitlyn. He greets Gabriel with a smile and a nod on his way.

_Have to get her somewhere else, introduce her to some friends, thats a good idea._

Upon his arrival he waits patiently as Nathaniel, Caitlyn and the time bomb chat away. He is relieved when Nathaiel motions the girl's... brother?... to go get her fed.

"Caitlyn! Hello again, I was just wondering if you'd like to meet any of the people here?" he asks, a little desperately.

_I have to get her away from that wild cannon! Why did Valentine invite mortals to this!?_


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 1, 2003)

Caitlyn turned slightly as Max returned.  A friendly smile touched her lips.  "Of course, I'd love to meet everyone."  Then her expression changed to one of slight embarrassment as she spoke in a soft voice.  "I don't really know who to meet though...I only know Mr. Valentine and of course these wonderful people."  She nods toward Jemal, Sabrina and the departing Nathan.

Her head tilted slightly, the black-auburn hair brushing her bare shoulders.  "And I don't really know you as well either, Max...we haven't managed to exchange many words on occassion."   She laughed lightly.  "I don't even know what it is you do.  Perhaps you should be the first person I meet."  Dark eyes twinkled.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 1, 2003)

Max is surprised by her want to get to know him, he smiles meekly and takes a seat near her.

_Wow, she's a real looker, kinda blows you away really..._

"Well now, what I do for a living eh?" he scratches his head for a moment, not often facing this question. 

"Well my income comes from working the bar in the night club a couple of blocks that way, err," he forgets the name of the place, it being pushed out of his head by the shocked feelings of someone being interested in him, "Ahh, umm, I forget the name but its that way, I think. I do a lot of research on the side, psychology, religion and stuff. Sometimes people actually wanna know about those things."

He smiles.

_I better make sure I don't start rambling. I better not talk about the occult stuff or guns either. Gotta concentrate... very hard to though..._

"Anyway, I better throw in some history right?"

_Umm, better bulls about the apartment, I'll just say I come from a rich family._

"I grew up in Sydney, got a degree in Psycology with Honours, then moved over here to get work. I thought I'd get a job at a night club while I looked for a high paid one, but I found I liked the job too much. The apartment on the other hand my parents own, my father is all about the stock markets, I really couldn't care less though."

_I think that sounds believable, heh._

"Anyway, enough of my ramblings how about you?"


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 1, 2003)

Caitlyn slid gracefully into a seat, brushing down the silky blue fabric of her dress while she listened to Max talk about himself.  Her eyes watched him intently, dark chocolate orbs filled with warmth and interest.

"Wow, you're from Sydney?  I've never been to Austrailia before but it sounds like a fascinating place."  She matches his smile with a friendly one of her own.  "I haven't really been anywhere outside the States.  I'm afraid I'm rather uncultured to the international way of life."

Shrugging at his question about her, she laughed a little.  "Well, there's not much to say about me.  Girl from a big southern city comes to the big northern city to try and start up a songwriting career.  Sings in a band to pay the rent on an apartment that is insanely too expensive."  She shook her head.  "Sometimes I think our landlord must be a complete monster with the way he's always pinching pennies and demanding more rent.  Thank god our apartment is rent-controlled."


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 1, 2003)

_A monster, how true she is_

"Well I've got a bit of influence with the landlord, I'll see what I can do for you," Max says.

_The child is long gone. Hmm, who would have embraced a child? Yech, they'd need a good kick to the spine, or a walk into a furnace._

"So, wanna meet anyone else here? You might have seen my ex before, she's just over there. Have you met here?" he asks.


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 1, 2003)

Her eyes light up at his offer.  "If you can swing it so that crusty old landlord gets around to fixing my dishwasher, my roommate and I'll owe you a genuine homecooked meal...well, more her than me.  I'm not much of a cook."

Caitlyn glances over to where he was pointing at.  "Your ex?  I don't think I've met her.  She's a very beautiful woman, though.  So is it a good or bad thing that I haven't met your ex?"  Her lips quirked slightly in amusement.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 2, 2003)

_Woot! Good thing I can still eat._

"No need to worry, we're still friends, she just wanted me to come along to this get together of hers," he says.

_Sweet, this is all going smooth._

Should she not disagree, Max leads Caitlyn over to Morgan's table.

"Caitlyn, meet Morgan. Morgan, meet Caitlyn," he says.


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 2, 2003)

Caitlyn extends her hand toward Morgan, offering it along with a friendly smile.  _Wow she is a beauty, blonde and perfect._

"How do you do?  I'm Caitlyn Tran, the vocalist and part-time guitarist for the Kindred Knights.  I hope our performance was pleasing for you."


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 3, 2003)

Foregoing the couch, Gabriel walked over and stood by Valentine. 

"Evening Val. I trust you are doing ok?"


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## Jemal (Feb 3, 2003)

OOC: *L* After my last post I checked and saw that Kitana had posted, so i read her post.
Everytime after that that I checked it , it said "Last post: Kitanavorr", so I assumed it was still the same post..  Little did I know that that only meant she and festy had hijacked the thread.. *L*
Sorry bout that everyone, You know what they say "When you assume, you make an A$$ out of U and ME"
Also, if anyone else wants to talk to someone, go ahead (NPC or PC...), I'll RP the other half of NPCs for you, and the Prince won't be doing anything till Catulle gets back, so we've got time to kill.
Um.. er.. uh.. hmm considering the 'guests' at this party those words aren't very encouraging, are they?

IC:
(Little backtrack)
As Max siddles up to distract the mortal, Jemal watches him glance at the child, and when his eyes come back up, gives him a small nod of gratitude for taking care of Caitlyn.. but can't help feel a bit jealous.. Oh well, he's got a sister to take care of right now.

Excusing himself politely and nonobtusively, he takes Sabrina on a 'walk', hoping to make this quick so he doesn't miss the prince.

(Current Time)
Jemal walks along with Sabrina, wondering what to feed her for her first time, and whether he'll be able to keep her from draining it completely.  Did he dare risk one of his herd?

"So, what kind of food are you hungry for now?  Chinese? French? classic american?  Italian?  We'll just have to grab a quick bite to eat."  Jemal smiles slightly as they exit the building to look for a meal.


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## Shalimar (Feb 3, 2003)

*Sabrina*

"uh, I'm not hungry."  The girl said sounding confused by the talk of food, and ethnicity.  "I'm just thirsty, why couldn't we have just had someone bring us some water.  I mean its only polite if they have us there for any length of time.  Where's their manners?"  the child asked, looking quite humorous lecturing her older brother on manners.

"I do hope I can keep it down this time," the girl says sounding worried as she follows her brother.  She hadn't been able to keep down anything she had drunk in the last two days, not water, not juice, not even milk.  "Do you know whats wrong with me?"  she inquired of her brother.


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## Catulle (Feb 3, 2003)

Caitlyn, Max and Morgan


"Morgan Thepclay. A pleasure." Taking Caitlyn's hand, Morgan shook it firmly - a strength belied by the woman's slight figure. (Caitlyn - Per/Empathy - 10, 5, 5, 4 - 1 success) Morgan's eyes settled for a moment on Max a curious expression showing across her face for an instant, before she returned her attention to the singer. "I must thank you for your work - Valentine's certainly outdone himself by booking you. And your band, of course. You simply _must_ put me in touch with your agent." 
_____________

Gabriel and Valentine

"That seems rather forward, doesn't it, Mr Cross?" Valentine's craftly wink undermined the serious tone of his voice, though. "Of course 'things' are going well; but you would know that if you had arrived in time for the music." He smiled. "Quite exquisite." He cast a glance at Caitlyn, in conversation with Morgan "Is she not?"

"But less of me; you are well? I notice Aisling has yet to attend and hope nothing serious has kept her absent. Perhaps you are to represent her?"


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 3, 2003)

> Gabriel and Valentine
> 
> "That seems rather forward, doesn't it, Mr Cross?"




Gabriel grinned slightly.



> "Of course 'things' are going well; but you would know that if you had arrived in time for the music." He smiled. "Quite exquisite." He cast a glance at Caitlyn, in conversation with Morgan "Is she not?"




Gabriel'S eyes found the beutiful singer again. He tried not to stare, but it was difficult. "Very. That is quiet a find indeed."



> "But less of me; you are well? I notice Aisling has yet to attend and hope nothing serious has kept her absent. Perhaps you are to represent her?"




"I am fine. Things couldn't be better." His grin turned into a grimmace. "Unfortunatly, I haven't seen Ms. Sturbridge tonight. If she doesn't show, I'm sure she has her reasons." He gave Valentine a look as if to say that Tremere business wasn't something that need concern him. However, he quickly resumed a more light hearted air.

"I suppose, if she doesn't attend, I will represent the House Tremere." He looked around, and the only other Tremere in the room was Nikolai. He seemed distracted by Qadir however, and was too young to represent the clan. Even if Gabriel himself was newly embraced, he had several months on Nikolai.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 3, 2003)

Vychtorya politely excuses herself from the good company of Mazz and Hellene. Vych graciously places slightly warm kisses on Hellene's cheeks and then on Mazz's.

_T'was good to see you both again. Do enjoy yourselves this eve. 'Tis proving to be most interesting._

Vychtorya casually looks about the room noticing more people have arrived while others of note have left (for the time being she assumes).


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 3, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Catulle _*"I must thank you for your work - Valentine's certainly outdone himself by booking you. And your band, of course. You simply must put me in touch with your agent." *




Caitlyn coloured only slightly at the praise.  "We...don't have an agent really.   I've been sort of responsible for getting alot of our gigs."  Her eyes lit up like twin dark stars at the thought of more work, more exposure for her songs.  "But I would welcome any requests from you."

Diving into the small evening reticle strapped to her wrist, she pulled out a business card, a carefully done piece of artwork that she had spent more than she really could afford in order to present a good impression.  Offering it to Morgan with a smile, she added, "And if you ever need to find me, I live right across the hall from Max with my roommate."


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## reapersaurus (Feb 4, 2003)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> *Nikolai*
> Qadir remained silent for a time then finally said, "Why do you have interest in accompanying on my patrols young worlock?" The question was simple, yet direct. "It is unusual that one of your house would be interested in such things."



Yeah, well.....  as you probably guessed, I'm not like some of my House.
While I enjoy a good book as much as the next guy, I like to practice some of that book knowledge in real-world application, if you catch my drift.

Let's just say I'm a hands-on learner...   

And you have an open offer from me ; I will lend my meager sorcerous skills to your sorties, if you but ask.
I have the learned the Fifth Chantry's signature spell - the ability to track the location of a known target.
If you are in need of such information about an individual, you know who to ask..."


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## Catulle (Feb 4, 2003)

Gabriel and Valentine

The Ventrue studied Gabriel closely, appraisingly, perhaps. "Do pass along my respects when you see her again, won't you?. Of course, if you need any assistance I'll be available." He gestured expansively across the room and the Kindred assembled within, "I doubt I shall be required to do much other than play host. Perhaps recover my singer from _dear_ Morgan." He added, his brow creasing slightly at the last.

_____________

Hellene, Mazz and Vychtorya

Hellene responded with perfect etiquette to Vychtorya's departure - the very image of the lady at court. "Do take care of yourself, dear. I look forward to talking again in the future, and I'm sure Stephen does, too."

Mazz rolled his eyeballs at the name's mention and threw Vychtorya a broad grin as he eased himself further into his chair. "I think so. May I call you Vych in future?" He tilted his head to one side, his smile now reaching his eyes.

(Vychtorya - Per/Alertness - 6, 3, 2 - 1 success) She glimpsed motion out of the corner of her eye - her sire and another (she wasn't sure who) approaching her.

_____________

Caitlyn, Max and Morgan

Morgan took the card with a cool smile, flipping it in her fingers to read the detail and sliding it into her bag with a single fluid movement. "Well, as it happens I recently acquired a club in Bensonhurst. I'd need a great band to frontline at opening. Maybe I could drop around some time to discuss the possibilities?" One eyebrow arched questioningly "Given you're new on the scene too, we could be discovered together."

_____________

Nikolai and Qadir

Qadir nodded, an almost imperceptable movenent of his head. "Perhaps you are correct. My sources tell me that I may have business to attend to in the near future. If this proves to be true, I may call on you then." His cold gaze followed Jemal and Sabrina across the room (Nikolai - Per/Empathy automatic success) . It was not difficult to follow the sheriff's line of thought from earlier. His panning ceased abruptly on Valentine and the leather-clad newcomer. "Tremere, isn't he - one of Ms Strubridge's fellows, no?"

(Nikolai - Int/Occult - 10, 7, 6, 4, 1, reroll  3 - 2 successes) Looking at the newcomer, Nikolai's blood almost froze, a palpable rather than emotional sensation, at the sight of the ensorcelled mark that stood out to his eyes on the Kindred's brow. The Mark of the Betrayer, while known to him, was totally unexpected in such genteel surroundings.


----------



## Catulle (Feb 4, 2003)

Jemal and Sabrina

The foyer outside the function room was quite deserted, though well-lit. The hum of conversation within was audible, as were the sounds of the band backstage clearing away their equipment. No doubt, the doormen were minding their own business downstairs.

Two siblings, hand in hand and almost totally alone for the first time since Sabrina's 'incident'.


----------



## KitanaVorr (Feb 4, 2003)

"I'd love to open your club, Ms. Thepclay," Caitlyn agreed with delight.  Her mind already began to work on songs that would be perfect.  "Um, but my apartment is pretty small." _Mostly a closet,_ she thought wryly.  "But there's the quiet cafe just downstairs...it would be a great place to meet and talk.  I can be reached any time at that number.  Its my cell."

Her eyes passed briefly over to Max as if to say thanks for presenting her with this great opportunity.  It was strange.  Every since she got to New York, everything had been rough.  Starts she had thought would have thrown her into the big time, fizzled out.  Maybe this was her lucky day and perhaps this opportunity would finally pan out.


----------



## Festy_Dog (Feb 4, 2003)

Max smiles, glad to have done his good deed for the evening.

_Or does it count as two separate deeds, rescuing the damsel in distress and then getting her access to some good opportunities? I wonder if she likes me? Probably best not to think on that. Being a vampire and all would cause complications, best to just remain friendly, keep her under my wing seeing as she's getting drawn into our world. I'll find a nice vampire girl who likes me eventually. I think tonight has gone well, she might be a bit suspicious but at least she isn't a meal. Speaking of meals I should get some pizza on the way home I feel like a pizza, and maybe just a little drink... she has that affect on me... damn._


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 4, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Gabriel and Valentine
> 
> The Ventrue studied Gabriel closely, appraisingly, perhaps. "Do pass along my respects when you see her again, won't you?. Of course, if you need any assistance I'll be available." He gestured expansively across the room and the Kindred assembled within, "I doubt I shall be required to do much other than play host. Perhaps recover my singer from dear Morgan." He added, his brow creasing slightly at the last.
> *




"You might want to keep a close eye on her Val. There are a lot of hungry looks in the room." As he looked at the young woman, he felt his own hunger begin to grow.

[OOC: Do I see Nikolai looking at me? How much blood do I have in me?]


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## Catulle (Feb 4, 2003)

(Nikolai - Man/Subterfuge - 10, 9, 8, 7, 7, 5, 2, 2 - 5 successes)

(Gabriel - Per/Subterfuge - 9, 4, 4, 2 - 1 success)

If he had been alive, Nicholai might have breathed a sigh of relief. Despite his start, the other seemed rapt in conversation with Valentine and had - hopefully - not noticed his scrutiny.


----------



## KitanaVorr (Feb 5, 2003)

Now settled in with a good prospect, Caitlyn briefly glanced around the room to look for her current employer.  Did he like her performance?  Perhaps she should say something to Mr. Valentine, speak with him.  He had hired the Kindred Knights for the night.  Maybe he'd know if this Morgan Thepclay was for real.

She noticed the man standing next to him with the cane.   A cane?  How strange.

[Does she notice them looking?  If so then she'll smile at them, friendly-like.]


----------



## Vychtorya (Feb 5, 2003)

"Oh Hellene, you are most gracious. It is always a pleasure to converse with you."

Vych then turns to Mazz. A seductive smile came to Vych's luscious, blood-red lips, 
"Stephen is it....mmmm...what a most splendid name. It IS one of my favorites you know. Many a handsome man have I known with that name, and YOU, my dearest Mazz, are no exception."

Vych tilts her head down and to the left slightly, her dragon green eyes sparkling in the low lit room as she gazes into Mazz's eyes, the seductive smile still riding on her lips,
"Oh, and you may call me V or Vych.....or whatever ever strikes your fancy."

Vych gives curtsy to Hellene and Mazz, then turns away catching a glimps of Carrick out of the corner of her eye.


----------



## Jemal (Feb 5, 2003)

*Re: Sabrina*



			
				Shalimar said:
			
		

> *"uh, I'm not hungry."  The girl said sounding confused by the talk of food, and ethnicity.  "I'm just thirsty, why couldn't we have just had someone bring us some water.  I mean its only polite if they have us there for any length of time.  Where's their manners?"  the child asked, looking quite humorous lecturing her older brother on manners.*



*

"Water isn't going to quest your thirst this time, or any time after now.  You've reached a point where you need something more.. special." Jemal says as he tries to find somewhere they can talk without being interupted.. He had some things to explain to her, and quickly, before she fed.




			"I do hope I can keep it down this time," the girl says sounding worried as she follows her brother.  She hadn't been able to keep down anything she had drunk in the last two days, not water, not juice, not even milk.  "Do you know whats wrong with me?"  she inquired of her brother.
		
Click to expand...


*
"Yes, pet, I do know.. It's not a bad thing, though.  Not entirely." He stops walking to talk, crouching to be on her level and facing her "You know how people grow and change, right?  Well, you are going through some changes, big ones.  But don't be frightened, my dear, they're the same changes many have gone through before.. Uncle Nathan, and even big bro." He grins at her reassuringly.

"When we get to where we're going, I'll show you how we deal with the thirst, Uncle Nathan and I, and we'll fix you up, ok?"


----------



## Catulle (Feb 5, 2003)

Carrick, Hellene, Mazz, Nathaniel and Vychtorya

Hellene returned Vychtorya's curtsy with a nod of her head. From Mazz, she heard a murmer of "Yes, I think I will..." as she turned.(Vychtorya - Per/Empathy - 9,8,5,5,4,2 - 2 successes) She had certainly left a lasting impression with _one_ of the harpies, she was sure.

Vychtorya's turn left her almost face-to-face with her sire and a stylishly dressed man with long, dark hair and a penetrating gaze.
"Mr. Montague, might I introduce my protege Vychtorya-Lyn Fayrchyld; Vychtorya, Nathaniel Montague." The other, Nathaniel it would appear, extended his hand towards Vychtorya, palm up as if to take hers and kiss it. Pride seemed to glow from beneath the Toreador's skin as he made the introduction.

"Charmed to make the lady's acquaintance." Nathaniel's voice was deep, with a touch of a sandpaper-rasp to the ear. Dry. "I wish Jemal were also here that I might make such polite introduction of him. There will be time later, however."

"If I may indulge a moment on your time, my love," Carrick started, "I should speak to Ms Thepclay and Valentine about your earlier request. The game reaches pace without me, and my action is required should I hope to present you with that which you desire." He paused, pensive for a moment "Perhaps Mr. Montague would be so kind as to introduce you to the singer. You spent some time in conversation with her earlier, did you not, sir?"

"Yes to both, Mr. Ashton." That gravel-scratch again. "I would be delighted to escort the lady."
_____________

Nikolai and Qadir

"You seem distracted, Nikolai, that would be a danger in the field. If you remain interested, that is." Qadir's attention seemed locked on Nikolai's eyes, suddenly. Intent, and focused.
_____________

Caitlyn, Max and Morgan

"I'll certainly give you a call, then." Morgan followed Caitlyn's look to Max. "I should really leave you two some time. Thank you for the introduction, Max." She rose from her seat, glancing behind the pair.

(Caitlyn - Per/Alertness - 10,10,9,1 - 3 successes)She seemed to be looking towards a figure sat in shadow at a table in the room's far corner.

(Max - Per/Alertness - 10,9,9,3 - 3 successes) The Prince's table?

_____________

Gabriel and Valentine

"No risk 'Gabe'; the littlest danger has passed, right?" Valentine now seemed settled into the game's rhythm, but his eyes flickered towards the door. "Still, it's good to see Nathaniel has his house in order again. Reassuring." He paused for a second in concentration, perhaps taking in the ebb and flow of the room's social current. "You won't have met many of our Kindred yet, will you? Perhaps you should meet Hellene, should you feel that you could weather the attentions of a harpy so soon. If not, Mr Ashton is a man of quite the reputation." He cocked his head to the side with a smile "I'd be pleased to introduce you"


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 5, 2003)

Gabriel nodded. "I would appreciate the introduction." 

-As they began to walk.-

"I noticed the child. Was that her sire that left with her? I thought embracing children was forbidden."


----------



## Shalimar (Feb 5, 2003)

> "Water isn't going to quest your thirst this time, or any time after now. You've reached a point where you need something more... special." Jemal says as he tries to find somewhere they can talk without being interupted.. He had some things to explain to her, and quickly, before she fed.




The little girl looks confused by her brother's words, _Maybe he is sick too?  I hope he is alright though.  I mean how could water ever not be able to affect my being thisty? 

....Although having something special sounds very good.  Maybe I will get to drink all soda from now on?  Which kind, I hope its sprite, that other stuff makes my nose tickle._ she pondered happily, smiling up at him, and allowing herself to be led around by her hand.



> "Yes, pet, I do know.. It's not a bad thing, though. Not entirely." He stops walking to talk, crouching to be on her level and facing her "You know how people grow and change, right? Well, you are going through some changes, big ones. But don't be frightened, my dear, they're the same changes many have gone through before.. Uncle Nathan, and even big bro." He grins at her reassuringly.




Sabrina hugs him when he calls her pet.  Its his 'pet' name for her that no one else knows, a secret with her amazing older brother.  His reassurances ease the little remaining worries she has about her "sickness".  If Jemal told her something then it was true, no need to even check for herself.

"Will making me better hurt? Did it hurt you and uncle Nathan?"   She asked suddenly fear clouding her pixie-like visage.


----------



## Catulle (Feb 6, 2003)

Gabriel and Valentine

Valentine settled into an easy pace in the direction of the pair of Kindred one reclining, the other poised and alert by a table - the harpies, presumably. "Not from my sources' tell..." He leant in, conspiritorial for the moment. "There's something amiss, there; one taken too soon, if you understand me. Nathaniel is most upset by my reckoning and you'd do well to remember that, should you meet him."


----------



## KitanaVorr (Feb 6, 2003)

Caitlyn nodded and bid her farewell to the departing Morgan.  Her eyes traveled to where Morgan was looking.  "Who is that, Max?" she asked gazing with curiousity at the man all by himself.  She had thought the guests at this party all seemed very quiet, rather introverted, and restrained in a way.  It was interesting to note that the man in a dark corner by himself was more so than the others.

"Oh, and thank you for the introduction, Max.  That was really wonderful of you."  She graced him with a sincere smile of gratitude and briefly pressed her hand against his.  "I hope she really will have the Knights open the club for her.  Do you know much about it?"

[OOC: err I think Festy is gone for a few days so you can interrupt them or just wait a few days for Festy to return and reply.]


----------



## Vychtorya (Feb 6, 2003)

Vych gently places her hand in Nathaniel’s and gives a slight curtsy as well as giving him a warm, sweet smile and nod with her head slightly tilted to the left so as not to break eye contact with him.
“’Tis a pleasure to meet you Mr. Montague. Carrick speaks MOST highly of you.” 

Turning slightly to acknowledge Carrick, Vych says in a soothing tone:
“Please do not let me keep you, darling. I know you have important agendas to attend to this evening. I am sure I shall be well taken care of in the gracious company of Mr. Montague.”
Vych lightly touches Nathaniel on his arm just above his elbow to include him in her words to Carrick (also in case he feels like wrapping her arm around his to escort her). 

Vych offers her cheek to Carrick for a kiss adieu.
(OOC – I will assume Carrick takes his leave of them at this point)

As they are strolling, Vych says:
“Mr. Montague, I would be most pleased to make Jemal’s acquaintance later this evening…at your leisure of course, Sir. I know you must have important business to attend to as well, and I do not wish to be an imposition to you. I do thank you, kind Sir, in advance for escorting me. It is always a pleasure to be on the arm of such a handsome gentleman.” (Vych pauses her words for a short moment to gaze around the room to note who resides as the current company.) 

“I have been looking forward to meeting this evening’s entertainer since we arrived tonight. She truly is splendid! I must say her stature is as easy on the eyes as her voice is to the ears, don’t you think so?”


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 6, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Gabriel and Valentine
> 
> Valentine settled into an easy pace in the direction of the pair of Kindred one reclining, the other poised and alert by a table - the harpies, presumably. "Not from my sources' tell..." He leant in, conspiritorial for the moment. "There's something amiss, there; one taken too soon, if you understand me. Nathaniel is most upset by my reckoning and you'd do well to remember that, should you meet him." *




Gabriel simply nodded as they walked. 

As they neared the harpies, he grinned slightly and waited for Valentine to do introductions.


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## Catulle (Feb 7, 2003)

Gabriel, Hellene, Mazz and Valentine

Hellene was quick to react to the pair's approach, greeting them with a smile clearly intended for her clanmate, though her eyes settled on Gabriel with a finality that was not entirely pleasant. Mazz, in contrast, remained rapt in thought, only reacting when the two were stood by the low table that the harpies hadn't left all night, content for now to play host to their own court-within-a-court.

"My dear Hellene, might I introduce to you Mr Gabriel Cross of the Tremere, war veteran," Valentine's face betrayed his amusement, though the elegant, though plain woman could not have noticed, so intent was she on the newcomer "Gabriel, I'd like you to meet Hellene Panhard, childe of Michaela." Hellene extended a formal hand to Gabriel.

"The other," Valentine continued with an offhand gesture, "is Mazz, whom I do suspect has slipped into torpor for want of excitement." The reclining man straightened somewhat at this, brushing hair back from his faceand glancing up at Gabriel, whom he greeted with a smile and a nod.


_____________

Carrick, Nathaniel and Vychtorya

Carrick kissed his childe lightly in farewell, before glancing back  towards Morgan Thepclay already en route to the shrouded table in the far corner, "I shall be as brief as I can, my dear. I am sure you will find Mr Montague to be quite the gentleman."

Taking Vychtorya's arm and his leave of Carrick, Nathaniel listened and smiled at her comments on Caitlyn, though there seemed a certain hollowness to the expression and when he spoke his voice seemed, if anything, rougher than before. "Well, she seems to have quite charmed my neice to the point of employment. At least the lessons will distract the child in the coming weeks. I found it hard enough myself, I cannot think how... Jemal will help, of course. He must." The shadow seemed to pass from him before he spoke again "I will enjoy introducing him to you, once he returns."

_____________

Caitlyn and Max

Cate only had time to glance around the room for a moment before her attention was caught again by Nathaniel's aproach, but this time there was no sign of the young man, Jemal or Sabrina. Still out, presumably. Instead, he was accompanied by the beautiful woman who Cate noticed earlier, just as confident and striking in appearance without her earlier escort.

_____________

Caitlyn, Nathaniel, Max and Vychtorya

Nathaniel, still the formal gentleman, gave a short bow as he
stopped some five feet from Caitlyn and Max. "Ms Tran, I trust you remain in good spirits. I believe Ms Fayrchyld here may be a kindred spirit, if you'll pardon the play on words." he indicated each woman with his free hand as he spoke their names.

(Caitlyn - Cha/Empathy - 10, 10, 7, 6, 5, 4 reroll 4, 7 - 5 successes)
(Vychtorya - Cha/Empathy - 8, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 4, 3 - 6 successes; Self-Control - 10, 10, 7, 1 - 2 successes) 

His voice trailed off as the women took each other in. To the side, Max all but lost himself to the moment and other eyes in the room were straying towards the pair as well. Vychorya felt the familiar straying of her senses but managed to halt the spiral before she lost her mind to the feeling entirely.


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## Catulle (Feb 7, 2003)

Jemal and Sabrina

"No, pet, it needn't hurt anybody." Jemal's voice was quiet, reassuring. Taking his sister by the hand, he Sabrina through deserted hallways downstairs towards the garage level, where Uncle Nathan's car awaited. It was a very comfortable car, as Sabrina recalled from the drive over, with two men to drive it (why a car needed two drivers, she couldn't think, though it was very big).


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 7, 2003)

Amazing.  Caitlyn could not take her eyes off the other woman.  Was it possible that anyone could be that beautiful? Ms Fayrchyld was even more striking close up than when she had noticed her earlier from afar.  All that red hair and pale skin definitely distracted the eye from anything else in the vicinity.

Extending her hand in welcome, the singer smiled warmly at the other woman.  "Caitlyn Tran," she introduced herself in that luxurious voice that Vychtorya remembered from earlier.  "I am the lead singer and guitarist for the Kindred Knights.  Its an absolute pleasure at meeting you.  I hoped you liked our performance."


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## Shalimar (Feb 7, 2003)

"That's good."  She said, somewhat mollified.  her feet were barely touching the ground as she skipped along to Jemal's longer stride.  Her lovely voice was humming the words to her favorite cartoon show as she wondered where she was being taken to make her better.

I want to be the very best, like no one ever was. 
To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause.
I will travel across the land, searching far and wide. 
Each pokémon, to understand the power that's inside. 


Pokémon! Gotta' catch 'em all! 
It's you and me. I know it's my destiny!
Pokémon! Oh! You're my best friend in a world we must defend. 
Pokémon! Gotta' catch 'em all! 
Our hearts so true: our courage will pull us through. 
You teach me, and I'll teach you! 
Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all! Gotta catch 'em all! 
Pokémon!

"So Jemal, where are you taking me?  Are we going to the doctor's office?  Its getting too late for him isn't it?  I mean its after 6 I think he is closed."


ooc: I am sure this will convince the last hold outs that Sabrina is by far the most evil kindred of the city


----------



## reapersaurus (Feb 7, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *If he had been alive, Nicholai might have breathed a sigh of relief. Despite his start, the other seemed rapt in conversation with Valentine and had - hopefully - not noticed his scrutiny.
> 
> "You seem distracted, Nikolai, that would be a danger in the field. If you remain interested, that is." Qadir's attention seemed locked on Nikolai's eyes, suddenly. Intent, and focused.*



Nikolai remembers the rumblings in the Chantry that ensued when the New York Tremere were told of the existence of the Betrayer in their midst.

Nikolai hadn't seen him in person before, and was surprised to see him make his appearance in Alysium, of all places, and unescorted.

He considered a variety of courses of action upon seeing Gabriel.

Hearing Qadir's voice, Nikolai doesn't meet his gaze, keeping his attention focused on Gabriel like on a hunt - "Not distracted, Sherriff : _focused._

That Tremere there *motioning to Gabriel, but not taking eyes off him* is not what he seems.

Do you know of him, Qadir?
It is unfortunate that Aislinn is not here to acquaint us with him..."

Nikolai continues to look at Gabriel until Gabriel notices the gaze, and will "give respects" when he does, from across the room, then go back to paying visible attention to the discussion with Qadir.


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## Catulle (Feb 7, 2003)

Nikolai and Qadir

"Yes, Nikolai. I have met him." Simple, understated and bluntly honest - how very Qadir... "In his caution, the Prince thought it best that I meet our Kindred that he may be easily drawn to us should our trust be misplaced. Sturbridge, of course, assures his loyalty, but the wise man goes prepared into all things. Would you not agree." The statement, definitely not a question, was hauntingly familiar to Nikolai's own train of thought upon entering Elysium.
_____________

Gabriel

(Gabriel - Per/Alertness - 10,10,7,7,5,1 - 1 success) Gabriel felt, rather than saw, the intensity of the scrutiny directed at him, though from his position he could not see who or what it was taking so sudden an interest without turning from the harpies.


----------



## Catulle (Feb 7, 2003)

Jemal and Sabrina

"We're... going to sit in the car for a little while. Uncle Nathan wanted me to explain some things to you. About what we've been through; what you're going through now."

As he reached the car, Jemal opened the door for her revealing the snug cabin of the limousine. "You just hop in - I've got to give the driver some instructions for Uncle Nathan then I'll be right with you." The interior was dim, warm and smelt of new leather, the small television was still playing from the journey to the restaurent, though it had been muted. Big brother cast Sabrina a friendly wink as he indicated for her to get into the vehicle.


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## Shalimar (Feb 8, 2003)

The little girl  nods her understanding to her brother waiting for him to open the door to the large limo for her.  Sabrina smiles in answer to the wink bestoweed upon her by the gorgeous vampire.

Sabrina slides into a seat and starts kicking her legs which don't even reach the floor.  She looks to see whats on the TV, and giggles happily on finding another of her favorite cartoons, Yugi-Oh.  On the screen a multitude of furballs were being destroyed by a huge three-headed dragon.  _The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Kaiba's most powerful combination,  I hope Yugi can beat it_ she thought idly, knowing that her parents had bought her the entire series and it was sitting with the box series of Pokemon, and Digimon.

"What did you want to explain to me?  I thought we were going to go see a doctor or something."  She asks her brother.


----------



## Festy_Dog (Feb 8, 2003)

> Caitlyn nodded and bid her farewell to the departing Morgan. Her eyes traveled to where Morgan was looking. "Who is that, Max?" she asked gazing with curiousity at the man all by himself. She had thought the guests at this party all seemed very quiet, rather introverted, and restrained in a way. It was interesting to note that the man in a dark corner by himself was more so than the others.




Max turns to Caitlyn, "I'm not sure, I haven't met him myself yet."

_Hmm, I guess thats the Prince._



> To the side, Max all but lost himself to the moment and other eyes in the room were straying towards the pair as well.




Max looks back and forth between the women in front of him.

"Wow," he mouths silently.

He watches the introduction quietly, then introduces himself to Nathaniel and Vychtorya afterwards.

"Good evening, I'm Max Freigart. I'm here with Morgan," he says, indicating towards her with a tilt of his head.

He extends his hand to Nathaniel and Vychtorya to shake.

_Thats the guy who was sitting with the child. He looks important, I doubt her embrace was his doing, I wonder what happened?_


----------



## Vychtorya (Feb 8, 2003)

Vych noted how upset Nathaniel seemed at the thought of his niece having to succumb to her new reality. And with that, she decided not to possibly further intensify his distraught feelings by offering her assistance. The thought of one so young pulled at her heart stings even though in the old country she was warned one created so young, as well as the insolent bastard who dared reckon with the rules, would be put to final death. Vych would let Carrick know of her offer to assist, and see what he had to say aboout it. After all, no one had mentioned anything to her about it being wrong to help a little one; even if it was just to offer the simple etiquette of how to properly “do things” as a lady. Perhaps it would be more suited for Carrick to make such an offer to Nathaniel since she was not as familiar as to how he would react, and this certainly was not the place to find out. 

Giving Nathaniel’s arm a gentle, reassuring squeeze Vych says,
_“And I know I shall enjoy meeting the other Mr. Montague if he is anything at all like his most handsome uncle.”_

Vych turns her attention ahead of her looking slightly passed Caitlyn so as not to distract herself and “warms” her appearance to look as human as possible without hurting herself. 

Vych gives a most exquisite smile with her lips as well as her eyes at the play on words from Nathaniel and extends her hand to Caitlyn. Vych places her left hand over the top of Caitlyn’s and her own. Attempting to keep her focus and control, Vych’s slight accent appears as she begins to speak. 
_“I believe the pleasure is all mine, my dear. My name is Vychtorya, but you may call me Vych. I did catch myself several times becoming enraptured by your beautiful voice during the performance. I do hope you will be playing another set this evening. Might I inquire who writes your songs? I must say they are as lovely as your voice.”_

Vych knows there is someone standing near by, and that she must acknowledge him soon as etiquette would have it, but Caitlyn is quite beautiful. She finds it difficult to shift her eyes away. 

(OOC – Vych would wait for all dialogue to finish between herself and Caitlyn, and then address Max unless he should interrupt them first.)

Vych extends her still warm hand and a gracious smile to Max, accent still in place, 
_“It is nice to make your acquaintance Mr. Freigart. Isn’t this a lovely gathering?”_


----------



## KitanaVorr (Feb 8, 2003)

Caitlyn colours slightly at the beautiful woman's praise.  "I'm pleased you really do like our music.  Our songs...I write them myself."  She glances at Max when he speaks to contain her nervousnes with a familiar face before looking at Nathan while Vychtorya spoke to Max, anything to keep from staring like a starstruck idiot at the lovely Vychtorya.

Sabrina's guardian was certainly creepy strange with the odd clothes and the weird scratchy voice that was oddly mesmerizing.  And this was to be her employer?  Perhaps she shouldn't let his absolute charming little ward colour her perception and find out more about this Montegue family before diving into the den of...of whatever it might be.  Families like the Montegue always had secrets, didn't they?

But Nathan and Jemal seemed nice enough.  And Sabrina seemed so lonely, how could Caitlyn say no?  She understood loneliness.  Even in a city teeming with people, it was still so easy to be lonely in a crowd.


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## Jemal (Feb 8, 2003)

> The little girl nods her understanding to her brother waiting for him to open the door to the large limo for her. Sabrina smiles in answer to the wink bestoweed upon her by the gorgeous vampire.
> 
> Sabrina slides into a seat and starts kicking her legs which don't even reach the floor. She looks to see whats on the TV, and giggles happily on finding another of her favorite cartoons, Yugi-Oh. On the screen a multitude of furballs were being destroyed by a huge three-headed dragon. The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Kaiba's most powerful combination, I hope Yugi can beat it she thought idly, knowing that her parents had bought her the entire series and it was sitting with the box series of Pokemon, and Digimon.




Jemal sighs, looking at his little sister as she enters, then goes to talk to the driver, thinking... So innocent, and he was about to show her the darkness of the world.  If he ever got ahold of that b*tch outside of Elysium, Elizabeth would be wishing she could kiss the sun within a day.  He blinks the thoughts away, not wanting to scare his precious sister any more than he allready would be.
"Driver, take us to my club." He said to the driver, then walked back and got in, turning down the TV so he could speak to Sabrina.



> "What did you want to explain to me? I thought we were going to go see a doctor or something." She asks her brother.




"Sabrina" His voice was different somehow.. sad, sorry  "We're no going to a doctor.. That's part of what I have to explain.  This.. thing that's wrong with you, it's no something doctors can fix, in fat most of them don't know about it.  We're not normal, pet.  Not you, not me, not Uncle Nathan... Not most of the people that were at the gathering back there."  he takes her hand in his "We've changed.. but you weren't supposed to change yet, you should have been older before it happend.  You'll remember it eventually, but lets just say you weren't ready." 

Jemal takes an unnecesary breath, deciding to just say it "We're vampires, Sabrina.. Both of us.  I know you have a lot of questions, and it's hard to accept this right now.  The most important thing right now is that you believe me, and trust me when I say that I'll take care of you, I always do."

OOC: I'm still around, don't worry.  Thanx for taking over a bit, Catulle.


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## Shalimar (Feb 8, 2003)

The childs mouth opens and no sound comes out for a minute a she stares at her brother.  Then the twinkle returns to her eyes and she laughs at her brothers joke.  "That wasn't very nice Jemal.  Everyone knows vampires aren't real, and besides, they have to drink blood, thats icky." she says pushing him as hard as she can, knowing she isn't strong enough to hurt him(well uh... she didn't use to be, but potence says otherwise).


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 9, 2003)

Max smiles at Vych, realising how small he feels in her presence.

_Wow, its people like Vychtorya (and... never mind) here who need to be embraced, such beauty cannot be left to whither under the wrath of ages. But then again there's her choice to consider, though such beauty should not be left to decay can someone stand becoming ageless? To watch loved ones shrivel and die around them, slaves to the constraints of time? I don't think I can imagine anyone who I'd miss... but then again I didn't have a choice about this._

He comes back to his senses and replies to Vych's question.

"Yes, quite enjoyable," he says, "I particularly enjoyed the music, but then again, who didn't?"


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## Catulle (Feb 9, 2003)

Jemal and Sabrina

(Jemal Per/Alertness - 5,4 = 0 successes)  Sabrina's push came as something of a shock to the older Montague.

OOC - Well, now would seem as good a time as any to run through a sample combat round:-

1) Initiative; Sabrina 1d10+dex+wits = 13, Jemal 1d10+dex+wits = 6
Jemal declares no action (surprise!), Sabrina's going to shove her brother just a little harder than she intended.

2) Attack; Sabrina Dex/Brawl - 9,7,6,2 = 3 successes
Her shove connects, then.

3) Resolution; Sabrina - Str/Attack Successes-1 - 10,8,7 = 3 successes +1 automatic from Potence = 4 'damage'; Jemal Sta/Fortitude - 6,4 = 1 success
Total damage is 3, then (4-1); we halve it and round down since Jemal's a vampire and Sabrina's doing bashing damage leaving 1 level left. Since her intention was to shove him away, we'll apply the single level of damage as an effect (any more than that I'd have called as actual damage from hitting the opposite side of the car).

She shoved her brother away, and was almost as shocked as he was when the force sent him across the car's broad cabin to impact against the far door. (Jemal self control - 10,7,2 - 2 successes) He felt his rage rise for a moment, but suppressed the instinct just as fast.


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## Jemal (Feb 9, 2003)

Jemal winces "Perhaps I should have mentioned that as a Vampire you're... a lot stronger, faster, and tougher than any other child.. Hmf, from that Shove I'ld say you're almost as strong as ME.  Was that enough to convince you, or do I need to do more to show you that I'm not joking?"
His voice takes on a bit of an edge, from the rage, but he suprresses his anger 'she doesn't know, doesn't beleive.  It's not her fault, stay calm Jemal'


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## Shalimar (Feb 9, 2003)

Sabrina flings herself at her brother landing on his stomach with her arms around him, hugging him tightly.  "I'm so sorry, I...I didn't mean it, I really didn't.  I'm sorry, I promise I wont ever do it again."  the little girls sobs into her brother's chest, tears of blood trailing down her face.

Sabrina looks up at him from where her face is buried in his chest sniffeling.  "but I don't want to be a vampire, I liked being me, can't you and uncle Nathan just make it better?" she whined in those great hicccupy sobs reserved only for little children.

"Well, if I am a vampire does that mean I have to drink blood, and kill people, and then crosses will hurt me?  Like in that movie?  The one you let me watch when Mom thought I was in bed." she asks, still crying, but more out of habit then out of actual remorse.  Vampires were cool, well except for killing part, it wasn't soo bad, but it wasn't good..


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## Catulle (Feb 9, 2003)

Caitlyn, Max, Nathaniel and Vychtorya

Nathaniel seemed as content as Max to watch the interplay between the two women unfold, though he did take time to shake Max's hand when offered, "Nathaniel Montague, I am escorting Ms Fayrchyld whilst Mr Ashton is engaged." He indicated the graceful man standing with Morgan a little way from the corner table, "I trust Ms Thepclay is well?"

_____________

By the entrance

The doors near Qadir and Nikolai opened sharply, admitting a pair of Kindred;  

The man was of a serene disposition and seemed to be in his mid-thirties, with slight curl to his dark-blond hair and eyes as clear as glass. His tailored suit was clearly expensive, though slightly ruffled as though its wearer had undergone some recent exertion.

The woman with him, Aisling Sturbridge, was younger looking, dressed in a severe suit with her dark brown hair tied away from her face. She wore gloves and spectacles and appeared ill-at-ease at first inspection, though rapidly adjusted to a calmer veneer. As though some matters between them were yet to be entirely settled. They exchanged a few more quiet words before taking in the room.


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 9, 2003)

_What an odd party_ Caitlyn thought before the entrance of the two new people.  She studied them curiously.  They looked like two corporate executives, probably a more familiar form of dress than some of the odd clothes she'd seen in here so far.  _I wonder what's wrong?  I can't imagine how any exec would wear a wrinkled suit to a party like this._

"Who are they?" Cate asked aloud to no one in particular as she studied the pair.


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## Jemal (Feb 9, 2003)

"shh.. pet, it will be ok, don't fuss.. I wish there were a way to undo this, I truley do, this life is not for you, or at least it shouldn't have been."  He looks down at her, stroking her hair gently "But there is no way back, dear, this is us now, it is who we are."  

He laughs as she asks her questions "Oh, silly girl, this isn't a movie, you don't have to go around killing people.  Uncle Nathan has been one for a long time, do you really think he goes around killing people?  Or that I would?" He chuckles "No, we don't need to kill any more than humans, but drinking blood is true.. I know it sounds gross, but once you first taste it.."
He glances out the window, seeing that they're getting close to the club.  "It is the only thing that will take care of your thirst, and once you have it you'll want more.. You must be careful not to take too much, though, or you might hurt someone"


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## Shalimar (Feb 10, 2003)

Sabrina smiles slightly at her brothers laughter, scooching her small frame into his lap, something she did quite often when she was nervous but didn't want other people to know.  Her brother was her security blanket, some children had stuffed animals that reassured them, others had blankets, she had Jemal and was happy with that.

"Thats good, I wouldn't have hurt people even if I had to, I don't want to ever be mean like that, and I just can't imagine killing people, its just wrong.  Are you sure I don't have to hurt anyone?"  she asked again but his hand on her head reassuring her was enough of an answer for her.

At his warning about taking too much the child nods her head dutifully not really understanding the difficulties to what she was agreeing.  "I promise I wont take too much, but can we go back to the party?  I want to see Miss Cate again, she's really nice.  If it doesn't hurt them, can I have her to drink?  And where are we going, I don't understand,  Uncle Nathan said it was important to be there I don't want to miss it."


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## Catulle (Feb 10, 2003)

Caitlyn, Max, Nathaniel and Vychtorya

Nathaniel answered Caitlyn's question with a slight smile, "They're the legal department. Mr Vanderweyden is the senior defence attorney and Ms Sturbridge is in research."


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## Catulle (Feb 10, 2003)

Jemal and Sabrina

The car pulled up by the back entrance of the club and one of the drivers got out, though didn't open the rear door just yet. The other called through to Jemal on the intercom, "We've arrived, sir. Will you go in now or would you like some more time?"


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## reapersaurus (Feb 10, 2003)

(OOC - nothing to see here...I forgot to log reaper out - grrrrr)


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## Vychtorya (Feb 10, 2003)

_"I have not been long here in New York, but I have been to many a club seeking out new performers. You are definitely the most talented singer I have had the pleasure of meeting since my arrival. But I have enjoyed your company as well tonight. Perhaps we might speak again later?"_
Vych hands Caitlyn one of her cards – the name on the card says club "Antiquities".


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## Vychtorya (Feb 10, 2003)

Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *Max smiles at Vych, realising how small he feels in her presence. He comes back to his senses and replies to Vych's question.
> 
> "Yes, quite enjoyable," he says, "I particularly enjoyed the music, but then again, who didn't?" *





Vych replies to Max with a twinkle in her green eyes and a flirty smile on her lips, 
_“Mmm hmmm….quite enjoyable.”_

Then, hearing Caitlyn’s comment, she too turns her attention toward the man and woman. Vych chuckles to herself (non-audibly of course) and thinks, “Wrinkled….what a waste of a beautiful, expensive suit.”


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 10, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Vychtorya _*
> "I have not been long here in New York, but I have been to many a club seeking out new performers. You are definitely the most talented singer I have had the pleasure of meeting since my arrival. But I have enjoyed your company as well tonight. Perhaps we might speak again later?"
> Vych hands Caitlyn one of her cards – the name on the card says club "Antiquities".*



"Of course," Caitlyn replied graciously with a warm smile.  She exchanged cards with Vychtorya.  _Thank you, Mr. Nathaniel Montegue!_  Another opportunity to network a network.  The night so far had been absolutely amazing.  



> _Originally posted by Festy_Dog _*
> "Yes, quite enjoyable," he says, "I particularly enjoyed the music, but then again, who didn't?" *



Caitlyn blushed under Max's praise, her cheeks turning a faint hue of pink.  After smiling gratefully at Max, she turned her attention to the new arrivals to try and get her embarrassment and pleasure at the compliment under control.



> _Originally posted by Catulle _*
> Nathaniel answered Caitlyn's question with a slight smile, "They're the legal department. Mr Vanderweyden is the senior defence attorney and Ms Sturbridge is in research." *



"The legal department?" Her dark brows furrowed slightly as she gazed at the indicated two.  "Oh, are you all part of a corporation?  Mr. Valentine didn't really go into much detail about what this banquet is for."  She laughed lightly, brushing a stray lock of black-auburn hair from her eyes.  "And here I thought this was just a party.  Is this the annual stockholders gathering?"


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 10, 2003)

Max hears Caitlyn's question but isn't too troubled by it.

_Yes, stick holders, rich parents = stock holders. Err, they bought me some stock a couple of years back as a birthday gift! Done. S, I hope this doesn't get too complex.... Whoa! Did Vychtorya just do something flirty? Damn I'm lucky tonight!_


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 10, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Gabriel, Hellene, Mazz and Valentine
> 
> Hellene was quick to react to the pair's approach, greeting them with a smile clearly intended for her clanmate, though her eyes settled on Gabriel with a finality that was not entirely pleasant. Mazz, in contrast, remained rapt in thought, only reacting when the two were stood by the low table that the harpies hadn't left all night, content for now to play host to their own court-within-a-court.
> 
> ...





Gabriel bent and planted his cold lips on the back of the woman's hand. "It is a pleasure Ms. Panhard."



> *
> "The other," Valentine continued with an offhand gesture, "is Mazz, whom I do suspect has slipped into torpor for want of excitement." The reclining man straightened somewhat at this, brushing hair back from his faceand glancing up at Gabriel, whom he greeted with a smile and a nod.
> *




"Mazz..." He returned the nod. "Likewise a pleasure."

He pulled his cane aroud to the front and leaned on it slightly with both hands. "It is a shame we haven't met before. Have you been in the city long", he asked to neither of them in particular.


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## Jemal (Feb 10, 2003)

"Another moment.  I'll alert you when We are ready to go in." Jemal says to the sudden interuption, then flicks the intercomm off, and turns back to Sabrina.
"I'm sorry, I should explain a bit more.. There are some people who know about us, but most don't, and miss Caitlyn is one who doesn't.  Only feed from those who are willing, I don't know if she would understand."  he smiles down at her. "But we'll be back at the party soon.. You need to feed now, this is more important even than being a few minutes late to the party.  If you go too long without drinking, you will feel the hunger more and more, until eventually it will take over.  That is how people get hurt, so we must keep it from happening.  I know a few people here, perhaps one will allow you to drink from her."

He gently removes her from his lap as he prepares to get out of the car. "Do you understand at least some of what I'm saying, my dear?  I know it's an awful lot to think about."


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## Shalimar (Feb 10, 2003)

"Ok, I understand.  I promise not to drink unless the person wants me too.  Besides it would be rude to do it any other way wouyldn't it?" Sabrina replies, sounding upset that 'miss Cate' doesn't know and wouldn't be able to share in this whole new world with her.  _Well if she doesn't know, I'll just have to tell her_ She thought brightly, though it wuld be fairly easy for her brother to read her emotions and know what she was planning to do.

Her Thirst surges with in her as she is reassured she is going to get something to drink soon.  But she is able to slide it back down and ignore it for the moment with only Jemal presant.  She wipes at her eyes drying them, as her mother had  told her, certain women could cry in public, but she wasn't one of them.  Her hands come away from her face tinged with red, with blood.

"Jemal, whats happening, why am I bleeding?"  she asks frantically, noticing the spots on Jemal's shirt, they could be covered by a coat, but to the one who was bleeding, they were disturbing none the less.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 10, 2003)

KitanaVorr said:
			
		

> *"The legal department?" Her dark brows furrowed slightly as she gazed at the indicated two.  "Oh, are you all part of a corporation?  Mr. Valentine didn't really go into much detail about what this banquet is for."  She laughed lightly, brushing a stray lock of black-auburn hair from her eyes.  "And here I thought this was just a party.  Is this the annual stockholders gathering?" *




Vych steps back and slips her arm back around Nathaniel's arm.
_"As I understand it, everyone is in various business dealings together here in New York and abroad; my love _(gestures towards Carrick)_ is in banking. Mr. Ashton brought me along this evening in hopes of making some new friends and business contacts. Also, I've been a bit lonely since we arrived. He thought seeing some familar faces and meeting some lovely new ones would make me feel better about our new home."_

Vych thinks to herself, "I do hope that was okay...." She glances up at Nathaniel with somewhat of an unsure smile that only he would notice.


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## Jemal (Feb 10, 2003)

Jemal looks down at her, about to tell her not to mention this to anyone - There wasn't time to detail the masquerade yet, but He'ld tell her eventually - but her sudden bloody panic interupted his thoughts.  "Well, this is new.. I'ld heard that some of us cry blood, but I have never actually seen another vampire cry before... Don't worry, it's just like tears.. But uh, perhaps we should clean it off and try to keep from crying around people, hmm?"  He reaches up with his allready bloody shirt to clear her eyes, and pulls his coat around it to hide the stains 'damnit, this shirts done for..' he thinks as he buzzes the intercomm "We are ready" is all he says before he turns it off and adds to Sabrina just before the door opens "Uh, perhaps you should wait here.. It's a little strange inside the club.  I could bring her outside easier and quicker by myself, and I would be back soon."


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## Shalimar (Feb 10, 2003)

"So its... its normal?  To cry blood like this?" Sabrina asks as Jemal dries her face with his shirt. the material of the shirt tickles her cheek making her giggle for a moment.

"Ok, I'll wait out here if you think it best, but I really want to go in.  And what do you mean its strange?  What kind of strange?  I thought it was awfully strange when Joey kissed me, I mean boys have kooties, well except for you and Dad and Uncle Nathan.  Is that the kind of strange you mean, or a different kind?"

She hops off her brother's lap as he attempts to stand nd decides to watch the rest of her cartoon while she waits for him to get back with her treat, or hopefully treats plural, she was awfully hungry afterall.


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## reapersaurus (Feb 10, 2003)

> Qadir said:
> "Sturbridge, of course, assures his loyalty, but the wise man goes prepared into all things. Would you not agree."



Nikolai affirms this approach with a stern brow and nod of approval as well as the word "Yes." in Qadir's language. (ooc - Nikolai spent much time in Arabic lands investigating ancient whispers and the like : Language roll to know the word?)

Nikolai then reacts to Aislinn Sturbridge's entrance, greeting her familiarly but properly, simultaneously trying to make people think that it's a normal entrance for the Elder Tremere, while also getting close and offering his concern and assistance (kissing cheeks, whisper in ear , etc) (Manipulation + Etiquette?)

edit: the purpose of this move is to help Aislinn :
Those at Elysium with high Perception and Intuition might notice her wrinkled clothes from across a room or something.  
Since it simply is not acceptable to have Tremere "have their hair mussed" (scholarly types that we are), I'm trying to have Nikolai greet her as a normal entrance, taking potential attentions away from her "mussed" condition, and making it part of the normal party.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 10, 2003)

As Gabriel spoke, he noticed Aisling enter out of the corner of his eye. He paused a moment and nodded to her. 

_Who was that fellow who was with her?_


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## Catulle (Feb 10, 2003)

*Caitlyn, Max, Nathaniel, and Vychtorya* 

Nathaniel nodded his approval at Vychtorya's continuance of the ruse. "Of course, some such as my neice are here as guests. When a pleasant evening's entertainment turns entirely to business, the effect is rather spoiled, don't you think? I do recommend the food here; if you have occasion in future you could certainly do far worse."

_____________

*Nikolai and Qadir*

(Nikolai - Per/Linguistics - 9,9,8,6,6,4,3,2 - 5 successes; Int/Linguistics - 10,8,4,4,4,1 - 1 success) Qadir nodded to Nikolai's basic Urdu (it seemed his Indian sourcework had not been a total waste...) without breaking his sight from continually scrutinising the room, "If you are needed, then do not let me keep you. I may call on you in the future." With but a glance to Aisling and her companion, he backed away to a discrete distance.

_____________

*Hellene, Gabriel, Mazz and Valentine*

Mazz took the bait first, "Straight to the point, I see. I've been here long enough; I hear you're a new addition, though." A more appraising glance followed. "It's a shame I haven't heard your story; come on - I'd love to hear it..." He smiled more broadly as he looked up in expectation of a reply.

"Now, Stephen," Hellene chided gently "I'm sure Gabriel's going to get to that shortly. After all, he did take part in the reclaimation, isn't that true, Valentine?" A nod from the latter confirmed this. "Though I've never met him before, I'm sure Prince Michaela was simply keeping such a treasure to herself. Isn't that right, dear?" Her dark, liquid eyes stayed fixed on Gabriel's throughout, perhaps even sympathetically.

Valentine rocked back on his heels for a second, apparantly transfixed by the harpies' genteel cross-examination. _Come on, Gabe, just stay diplomatic and don't tell a direct lie..._

_____________

*Aisling, Carter and Nikolai*

As Nikolai approached, he saw Aisling glance towards Gabriel over by the harpies. Behind her glasses, only he and perhaps Qadir could have notices them narrow briefly at the sight. "Good evening, Nikolai." She extended a hand to the apprentice, rather than get close to him. "I'd hoped to be here earlier, but affairs have developed rather since sunset. No matter. You and Gabriel are here, at least. You should acqaint youselves with one other as soon as possible." She paused, as if recalling something troublesome then indicated the man next to her, with a fast gesture. "This is Carter Vanderweyden. Carter, Nikolai D'Angelo."

The man smiled thinly and quite coolly, "Very pleased to meet you, Mr D'Angelo. Am I to note by your fellowship with Aisling and our sheriff that you are a man who understands duty and all its repercussions?" The accent was distinct enough to place locally, though fairly archaic to Nikolai's ears.


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 10, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Catulle _*
> Nathaniel nodded his approval at Vychtorya's continuance of the ruse. "Of course, some such as my neice are here as guests. When a pleasant evening's entertainment turns entirely to business, the effect is rather spoiled, don't you think? I do recommend the food here; if you have occasion in future you could certainly do far worse."
> *




"I'm sure the food is delicious," Caitlyn agreed with a slight smile.  Her fingers brushed her abdomen lightly as if to still a nervous appetite.  "But I shouldn't eat anything before I've finished performing.  Besides, you are all the guests and I am the entertainment."  With a sweep of one hand, she gave a half curtesy and then laughed lightly, dark eyes sparkling.  "How shall I entertain you?"


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## Catulle (Feb 10, 2003)

*Sabrina*

Sabrina was quite alone in the rear of the limousine after Jemal left, with only the Television blaring out its late-night cartoons into the ether to keep her company. Through tinted windows she could see that the rear exit to the club was closed over, seeming quite deserted despite the lights that shone through the crack beneath the door. The drivers in the front sat still and silent on the other side of glass, too, looking for all the world like they could be waxwork mannequins given only the semblence of life, or stuffed exhibits in a museum.

Time passed. The TV show played out in a coloured haze that flickered over the darkened walls of the cabin, deepening shadow and casting the tiny amount of blood on her hand into sudden contrast.

Time passed.


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## Shalimar (Feb 11, 2003)

Sabrina sits alone in the darkness, alone but for the lifeless drivers, and the sounds of a Poke Battle on cartoon network.  She had seen this episode before, Ash, Misty, and Terry were journeying through the Orange Archipelago to save Lugia's baby.  She had seen it before, and it slipped into the background, hidden by her thoughts.

_Where is he?  He should be back by now, he said he'd be back soon, he promised,_ she thought petulantly slapping her hands against the seat lightly. She kicks her heels irritably against the seat for a few minutes trying to see her brother coming out with someone.  _ I wonder what it'll taste like. It doesn't sound too tasty, and if its all I ever get to have it'll be icky if I don't like it._  The child sighed out her resignation with the situation, her brother said it couldn't be changed, and he knew everything there was to know.

_I wonder why I don't remember what happened, I mean I remember going to school, and I remember kaeko showing me that powerpuff girl lunch box.  I remember that really beautiful woman with those eyes, but I can't remember anything else til I woke up last night.  Why can't I remember? Why?_  She shiverered involuntarily, despite not being able to feel the cold.  There was just something about the woman that made her scared, made her want to call out for her momy and her brother, and she couldn't even say what it was.

Then like a sack of bricks it hit her, school, her friends, if she was only awake at night she wouldn't be able to go with them anymore, see them.  The thought was enough to bring tears to her eyes, bloody tears, sniffles and everything that went with it.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 11, 2003)

KitanaVorr said:
			
		

> *With a sweep of one hand, she gave a half curtesy and then laughed lightly, dark eyes sparkling.  "How shall I entertain you?" *




_"It would please me greatly if you would sing a ballad sometime this evening. I would very much like to dance with one of these fine gentleman."_
Vych takes in the view around the room with an eyebrow raised slightly and a lovely, infectious smile comes to her lips.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 11, 2003)

Max is soon infected by Vychtorya's smile, for a moment feeling jovial despite the occasion. Then an idea surfaces in his mind and he stops smiling.

_Caitlyn's getting very involved with us through her search for work, this could be bad, where will she go if she... discovers things? I should offer to help if things ever get awry, that way mortals are less likely to get involved, but how would I possibly help her? I'll talk to her when there aren't any others around._


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 11, 2003)

"A ballad it is for the lovely lady, and her gentlemen."  Caitlyn agreed with a bardic flourish.  Her dark eyes twinkled with amusement and she winked at her new found friend, Max.  "And I think you may have enraptured your first dance partner for the night, Ms. Farychyld.  Be sure to mark your card for Mr. Freigart."


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 11, 2003)

Max neatens himself up at the mention of dancing. His suit is composed almost entirely of black: his pants, shirt and long coat (down to his ankles). The only other colour being in his black vest which is bears a number of tiny gold fleurre de lie, and his cravatte which is gold.

_Proper dancing, how long has it been?_

"I'll have to catch up with you again later tonight," Max says happily.

_Maybe back-stage would be the best place for this discussion? I'll wait for the moment to arive before I finalise my plan._


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 11, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Hellene, Gabriel, Mazz and Valentine
> 
> Mazz took the bait first, "Straight to the point, I see. I've been here long enough; I hear you're a new addition, though." A more appraising glance followed. "It's a shame I haven't heard your story; come on - I'd love to hear it..." He smiled more broadly as he looked up in expectation of a reply.
> 
> ...




"I didn't know there was so much interest in my humble beginings...", Gabriel said with a slight grin. "As you already know, I was....drafted... into the war effort. My sire had evidently been watching me for some time in preperation for my embrace. The seige forced him to rush his plans and turn me."

He looked only at Hellen as he added the rest. "My sire met Final Death the next night. Luckily for me, Ms. Sturbridge was willing to take me in and act as my surrogate sire."

_"Let them chew on that"_, he thought. _"No lies. Let them assume I was embraced Camarilla."_ 

Now, he had devulged some information and, if he knew how harpies worked, they would have to tell him something he didn't know. Even the smallest boons must be paid. Oh what a dance this was. A beutiful and deadly dance. Or more approprietly, a game. Like chess.. He had just sacrificed a pawn.

He looked back at Mazz. "And now.... here I am." He spread his arms as if displaying himself for the first time.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 11, 2003)

KitanaVorr said:
			
		

> *"A ballad it is for the lovely lady, and her gentlemen."  Caitlyn agreed with a bardic flourish.  Her dark eyes twinkled with amusement and she winked at her new found friend, Max.  "And I think you may have enraptured your first dance partner for the night, Ms. Farychyld.  Be sure to mark your card for Mr. Freigart." *




_"Oh that would be most well met, my dear."_
Excitement filled Vych's dragon green eyes which made them sparkle even more.

_"I do hope you would consider a dance with me Max?"_
Vych takes the lead Caitlyn presented to her and extends her left arm to the side a bit giving a graceful but partial genuflect, tilting her head ever so slightly to the left. In doing so, that pesky little curl falls again just brushing her cheek and then bouncing lightly upon her left shoulder as she rises to compose herself. 

Vych thinks to herself, "I MUST speak with Max alone sometime tonight. I do hope he will dance with me. That would be the perfect opportunity."


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 11, 2003)

Caitlyn waited absently for Max's response which had to be positive because who could refuse someone as charming as Vychtorya?  The accent in Vychtorya's voice spoke of European orgin, but Cate wasn't sure if she could place it.

_What strange people attend this party! Why do I have a feeling that there's a secret floating about that everyone knows except for me?_

She glanced briefly at Valentine, wondering if it was time for yet another performance.


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## Catulle (Feb 11, 2003)

*Caitlyn and Valentine (across the room)*

Turning in time to catch Caitlyn's eye, the host nodded and gave an approving smile as he indicated the podium once more. The band had been silent for some time behind the curtain; she could only assume her friends were done refining the stage to match their preferences.

_____________

*Gabriel, Hellene, Mazz and Valentine* 

While Valentine seemed momentarily distracted, Hellene continued, "Why you poor thing, to lose your sire so soon... I know only too well that particular scourge." She paused, thoughtful for a moment, "I'm sure Aisling is keeping you well-informed on our customs, though." A glance towards the door, "Who _was_ he, by the way - I'm sure I'd have known him... after all, my sire gave permission - didn't she?"

Mazz gave a smirk, "Well, Hellene, some of us don't get along so good with our sires." a self-depreciating expression settled across his features, "Sometimes the childe ends up paying the price of disobedience. Somethimes the sire does..." His eyes had Gabriel fixed in them, now. "Right?" That smile again - playful, predatory, or both?


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## Vychtorya (Feb 11, 2003)

Vych looks directly into Nathaniel's eyes with more of a pleading type look.
_"Mr. Montague, would you mind terribly if I danced with Mr. Freigart here? That is, if he accepts my invitation."_ 
She then turns her gaze to Max and her eyes twinkle and appear to smile seductively at his.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 12, 2003)

Max is blown away by the invitation, speechless for a few moments before being able to reply.

"Undoubtedly! I could never refuse such a request," he says hurriedly and smiles broadly.

_Woot! She wants to dance with ME! *little victory dance in his head*_


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## Jemal (Feb 12, 2003)

OOC: 
Catulle, check yer email pls.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 12, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *
> Gabriel, Hellene, Mazz and Valentine
> 
> While Valentine seemed momentarily distracted, Hellene continued, "Why you poor thing, to lose your sire so soon... I know only too well that particular scourge." She paused, thoughtful for a moment, "I'm sure Aisling is keeping you well-informed on our customs, though." A glance towards the door, "Who was he, by the way - I'm sure I'd have known him... after all, my sire gave permission - didn't she?"
> ...




"I'm afraid I never learned his name, or if he told me, it was too much going on to remember. Our haven was set on fire the day after my embrace. I survived. My sire wasn't so lucky." Gabe gave a slight nod indicating Aisling. "Fortunatly for me, I found a good teacher."

He paused a moment, and changed the subject. He had given the two harpies enough to talk about for a while. Now he wanted some answers of his own.

He looked at the both of them. "If I may, perhaps one of you could answer a question for me? If I where to tell you that I was interested in acquiring a bit of blood, already stored, for a rainy day, who might I talk to about such a thing? I'm looking for a reliable......bloodbanker....of sorts that can provide product on demand."

Having given so much personal information, he knew they would feel inclined to give him a few answers of his own. He just hoped he wasn't tipping his hand.


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 13, 2003)

*Caitlyn's Performance, Part 1*

Taking her leave of Nathan, Max and Vychtorya, the young singer made her way back to the area set up for her band.  When everything fell into place, she  took a deep breath, whispering the mantra that kept stage fright at bay before turning around to face her audience once again...



Her loose silk dress spun in a rustle of sapphire blue, caressing her curves with the shimmer and fluidity of a waterfall.  Even the dim light playing over her delicate Asian features sought the stark contrast of lowered black eyelashes against the clear creamy skin of her cheekbones.

Slowly those lips, darker than a rose, parted and the voice that had charmed the undead began to work its magic with husky luxurious tones.

_One day...you're a dove_

Her lengthy eyelashes lifted to reveal a dark mysterious gaze directed at Nathaniel.

_And the next day...You're a hawk circling above_

Tilting her chin lower a mere centimeter, she deepened her gaze with a breath.

_Up where...there's a shortage of love 
but_ somehow _you get by
how do we get by?_

The slender fingers of one hand touched the cold metal of the stand, brushing along its surface as they slid upwards toward the microphone.

_One day...you'll be fine_

She ran the fingers of her other lightly against the other side of the stand, slowly raising them to join the rest.

_And the next day...You'll be trailing behind
By way...of a faulty design_

One long dark brow arched barely a centimeter.

_But_ somehow _it works out_
Somehow _it works out...You're just perfect_

Warm breath echoed over the microphone as she grasped it with her fingers and brought it even closer to her moving lips, never breaking her gaze with the mysterious man and his oddly mesmerizing voice.

_You're just _perfect_...For the end of this world_


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## Catulle (Feb 13, 2003)

*Max, Nathaniel and Vychtorya*

Nathaniel nodded and indicated the floor to the neonates, "Do not let an old man such as I impede you." He retreated to sit at his table and let the music - and the singer - lead his thoughts.
_____________

*Gabriel, Hellene, Mazz and Valentine*

As the band struck up again, Hellene gave Gabriel a smile and indicated another seat at their table, moving up to accommodate Valentine as well. It seemed their conversation was suspended, for the time being. Elysium was,  first and foremost, a place of art and culture. 

Mazz' eyes drifted across to Vychtorya as the music started, the source of his earlier distraction becoming clear.
_____________

*Aisling, Carter and Nikolai*

Aisling lead Nikolai to sit at a table some way distant from the stage, seemingly rapt in the performance. Carter broke away from the Tremere, however, approaching Qadir by the wall with a sense of urgency apparant in his stride, though notably not in his features.
_____________

(Caitlyn - Cha/Performance - 10,10,9,9,8,7,3,2,1, reroll 7,6 - 7 successes) Though not so vibrant as the opening piece, the more sombre pace of the ballad seemed better suited to the tempraments of the audience, a deeper resonance which was reflected on many of the faces looking up at Caitlyn on the stage. Once more, Cate realised, she had her listeners in the palm of her hand; the feeling of power was quite intoxicating...


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## Catulle (Feb 13, 2003)

*Sabrina*

Alone and tearful in the limousine Sabrina's senses suddenly registered silence from the TV, the noise replaced by a low hissing sound, though bright figures still chased across the screen. A flash of light from the club door as it opened and shut drew her attention briefly (Was it Jemal? Was he back?), but was destined to disappoint. As the door swung shut, she caught something out of the corner of her eye.

A face was reflected the light from the door, a face visible in the opposite-side window of the car. A child's face, that of a young girl, not unlike her own, in fact. So much so that it was tempting to ignore it; a trick of the light, nothing more. Then the apparition smiled, a strange mechanical gesture, and the eyes were quite dead - cold and soulless behind the mirth. Close, not five feet away, the proximity shattering the illusion of safety within the car.

Then it was gone as the club door swung open again, nacreous light thrown across the car park putting the lie to the shadows. Jemal emerged, the woman on his arm stumbling a little down the steps towards the car.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 13, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Max, Nathaniel and Vychtorya
> Nathaniel nodded and indicated the floor to the neonates, "Do not let an old man such as I impede you." He retreated to sit at his old table and let the music - and the singer - lead his thoughts.*



Vych, with her arm still about Nathaniel's, advances her hand down his arm to his hand and gives reverence to him as she speaks with the gentle whisper of a breeze,
_"Then given your permission, I shall take my leave of you gentle Sir for all but a brief moment."_

Offering her arm to Max to be taken onto the floor, Vych says with that gleam in her eyes again,
_"I must thank you Mr. Freigart for indulging my most guilty of pleasures."_
She shrugs her shoulders slightly in a somewhat playful manner and sighs, 
_"If there is music such as this and a gracious gentleman at my side such as yourself, I can not help but to let a most lovely setting consume me in a dance."_

Vych has a certain playfulness befriending her smile to Max as they approach the dance floor. She whispers happily to him,
_”I am pleased they play modern music. I have not danced to anything else since I was in France. I’m afraid my waltzing would not have been adequate tonight.”_

Tilting her head slightly to the left, and looking up at Max through her eyebrows a bit Vych says,
_”A slow dance will be most pleasing I think.” _


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 13, 2003)

> "I must thank you Mr. Freigart for indulging my most guilty of pleasures."




"Please, its no problem at all. Feel free to call me Max by the way, thats what my friends call me," he says.

_I hope I'll be able to dance, she makes it hard for me to concentrate on anything really. Very, very attractive._



> ”I am pleased they play modern music. I have not danced to anything else since I was in France. I’m afraid my waltzing would not have been adequate tonight.”




"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about," Max says reassuringly, "You'd still do better than me I'd wager."



> ”A slow dance will be most pleasing I think.”




"Whatever you feel like, I'm simply happy to receive an invitation to dance with you," he says with a smile.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 13, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Gabriel, Hellene, Mazz and Valentine*
> 
> As the band struck up again, Hellene gave Gabriel a smile and indicated another seat at their table, moving up to accommodate Valentine as well. It seemed their conversation was suspended, for the time being. Elysium was,  first and foremost, a place of art and culture.
> 
> Mazz' eyes drifted across to Vychtorya as the music started, the source of his earlier distraction becoming clear.




Gabriel, frustrated that he wasn't getting his answers, took a seat beside Hellene and Valentine. His frustration was soon forgotten as the young mortal woman took the stage. 

Between the mortal, and the gorgeous woman that Mazz was looking at, Gabriel was having a hard time deciding on whom to focus his attention on. He could feel his fangs begin to throb and he knew he should have fed before coming.

Finally he decided that it would be more appropriate to focus on the entertainment. The mortal woman looked absolutely delicious. He leaned over and whispered to Valentine. “Is she yours or simply entertainment for the night?”


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## Catulle (Feb 13, 2003)

Gabriel, Hellene, Mazz and Valentine

Valentine leaned in closer to Gabriel, casting a wary glance towards the harpies as he did so. Seeing them engrossed, he whispered, "A little of both... if you catch me?" Then, even quieter, "Well done so far with Hellene, I think you're away clean if Caitlyn up there continues cover for you."


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## Shalimar (Feb 13, 2003)

*Sabrina*



> A face was reflected the light from the door, a face visible in the opposite-side window of the car. A child's face, that of a young girl, not unlike her own, in fact. So much so that it was tempting to ignore it; a trick of the light, nothing more. Then the apparition smiled, a strange mechanical gesture, and the eyes were quite dead - cold and soulless behind the mirth. Close, not five feet away, the proximity shattering the illusion of safety within the car.




Sabrina rubs at her eyes still sniffling at the thought of not being able to go to school anymore.  Even though she is still upset about it, it is pushed to the back of her mind at the re-emergence of her thirst.  Her attention is caught by her reflection, or at least what the child thinks is her reflection.  Well at least she thought it was untill it smiled, Sabrinal really wasn't up for smiling just then.

Despite the souless visage Sabrina crawled towards it over the seats already missing her friends.  "Who?  Who are you? I'm Sabrina."  She says smiling at the other girl until she disappears in the wash of light from the club.

She remains crouched on the seat looking at where the other girl had been until the play of shadow and light on the car told her that her brother had returned.  She watches the woman he had brought her curiously as he leads her to the car.

"Hi, I'm Sabrina." she says automatically to the older woman.


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 14, 2003)

*Caitlyn's Performance: Part 2*

Her heart couldn't stop beating its fluttering rhythm and only training kept her from losing her breath, her words, her music.  Intoxication...the only word that could describe the euphoria she felt there on the stage, throwing her heart into her words and voice into the air.  Did everyone else feel the same?  Could they possibly understand how addictive this could be?  Stronger than the most powerful drug, and more dangerous than life itself?

_Sometimes the world turns...on its side_

Those dark eyes briefly moved from their vision of Nathaniel to wander about the room and gauge the reaction of the rest of her audience.  How beautiful Max and Vychtorya looked on the dance floor...perhaps her endearing friend would be lucky tonight and walk away with that lovely red-headed prize.  She seemed to like him a great deal.

_A roller coaster...and you're sick, from the ride_

Valentine, that strange man who plucked her from the night club and brought her to this even stranger place.  Thrown her into a den of...of what?  Equally elusive and odd people who had so many secrets...what did they know that she didn't?

_And the laughter...has you shrinking inside_

The metal stand felt like ice against her fingers, but she held onto the coldness, pulling it closer to her,letting it press against the warmth of her flesh just above her bodice.  Something about the chill that brought those tiny bumps of gooseflesh over her skin, something about it threw a deeper note into her voice.

_but somehow it works out_
_somehow it works out_

Every part of her body wanted to move with the music.  To become an instrument beyond just the one that brought such melody from her throat or perhaps just become one with it until every undulation merely became an extension of the song...her song.

_You're just perfect_

Her lips curved into a smile when she met Valentine's gaze, parting only to whisper the words as if she meant it only for his ears alone.  The look in his eye, what was it?

_You're just perfect...For the end of this world...
this World...this fickle...world_

She closed her eyes for a long moment, remembering every face but when she opened them again, she found herself gazing once more at the elusive Nathaniel there at his table and watching her.  What was it about that man that drew her?  Creepy...just a bit...his nephew Jemal was far handsomer as was Max...but he seemed to strike a cord within her.

_Where no one, and everyone, is beautiful_

Oddly enough she wondered if she had the power to strike a cord within him with her music. Perhaps awaken him from whatever dark thoughts seemed to hide behind those old..so old looking eyes.  

_You're just perfect...just perfect...for this imperfect world._


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## Jemal (Feb 14, 2003)

Jemal carefully leads the woman to the car, opening the door to see Sabrina sitting there looking out the window.  "Nothing good on TV?" He says casually as he helps the lady in, closing the door behind them.  "Sabrina, this is Becky.  Becky, my sister Sabrina."
He carefully watches his sister, sitting between her and Becky and hoping she doesn't.. snap.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 14, 2003)

Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *"Please, its no problem at all. Feel free to call me Max by the way, thats what my friends call me," he says.
> "Whatever you feel like, I'm simply happy to receive an invitation to dance with you," he says with a smile. *



_”And I am pleased that you accepted my invitation Mr. Fre……I mean Max,”_ 
Vych says with a smile as they approach the floor.

As Caitlyn’s voice begins to pierce her heart with it’s beautiful song tipped arrow, Vych closes her eyes briefly and thinks to herself, “I will stay focused, I will…..I have to.”

Vych places her left hand on Max’s upper arm and manipulates her fingers ever so slowly to his shoulder and places her right hand gently into his.

With an accented voice of sweet eloquence she asks Max,
_“Do you have many friends here in New York? I have found it rather lonely here so far."
_Vych’s sparkling green eyes sadden a bit as she raises her eyebrows and sighs lightly.

_"I had my work in France to keep me busy when Mr. Ashton_ (whispers into his ear: _”my sire”_) _was away on business. I am a cryptographer back home for a few museums. I study ancient relics and decipher archaic writings….well, I guess that would be I used to before we came to live here.”_

Her eyes showed Max the longing for her homeland that dwells inside her. She could sense her feelings escaping her. Perhaps it was the music tearing at her defenses or maybe it was Max.

Sweetly she asks him,
_"Might I rest my head upon your shoulder dearest Max?"_

Vych felt very comfortable with Max for some reason. It was the first time since she arrived in New York that she felt she could be herself and that she could speak freely. She hoped her perception of Max was true.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 14, 2003)

> “Do you have many friends here in New York? I have found it rather lonely here so far."




"Only those I know through my work. I work in a night club by the way, the friends I have there know nothing about me really but their interactions with me keeps the lonliness at bay," he says.

He cannot help but feel a little sad and lonely. Morgan wasn't any help to how he felt, rejecting him soon after the incident.



> ""I had my work in France to keep me busy when Mr. Ashton (whispers into his ear: ”my sire”) was away on business. I am a cryptographer back home for a few museums. I study ancient relics and decipher archaic writings….well, I guess that would be I used to before we came to live here.”




Max's eyebrows arch in curiosity and interest.

"Though my workplace never requires such knowledge, I'm learned in a similiar field. It was a gradual thing really. I started by getting a degree in Psycology because I wanted to know what people saw in religion, understand what they were thinking and all. Then my interest moved into the religions themselves and soon thereafter to the arcane. From there I gained an interest in vampires, and soon after coming to New York I was embraced," he said with a smile, "Oh, sorry I'm rambling here but if you ever want to exercise your mind a little I have in my posession a nice little library, aged to perfection. There'd be no problem in loaning you some reading material."

_I'm talking way too much! But then again she's a very nice person, I'm sure there's no harm. She looks home-sick, kinda makes me homesick too, damn empathy, heh._

"I miss my home too," he says comfortingly.



> "Might I rest my head upon your shoulder dearest Max?"




Max is caught of guard by the request, but could not find a hint of resistance against it, he gathered all the calm within him so as to sound under control.

"Of course you may," he said, but feared within him what may happen.

_OH MY GOD! She's resting her head on my shoulder. She's resting her head on my shoulder! She's just there, right there! Eek, getting that feeling again. This was why Morgan left me, she doesn't trust me any more. She's so close, so beautiful, makes me..... thirsty..... no, not again, not now, but it feels so good..... and wrong, no!_

Max clenched his jaw silently, not wanting to disturb Vychtorya, and felt his fangs trying to extend, he fought it for the time being. He felt so ashamed, wanting to flee into a dark corner and break down quietly, but remained dancing, with Vychtorya so close.


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## Catulle (Feb 15, 2003)

As the final chords echoed away to silence in the room, the assembled guests broke into quiet applause. A number took a time to respond to the end of the piece, and it was a some time before the long-haired security agent responded to anything. Even the shadowed figure in the corner moved for the first discernable time, clapping as did the others though unlike a number of them he didn't rise to his feet.

Their entrance covered by the music, a trio of newcomers stood by the doorway, all women and all clearly together. The most noteworthy among them stood taller than average, a poised, statuesque creature of almost impossible beauty dressed on the bleeding edge of New York couture, blonde hair styled inpeccably atop her head. 

Of the other two, one seemed of similar age to the first, though she was as as plain as her counterpart was luminous, a simple black dress covered a toned, athletic figure and long dark hair flowed freely down her back. One eye took in the room with an intent, focused gaze as she applauded the band, the other was covered with an eyepatch giving her a more menacing presence than her small build would suggest.

The last stood a little back from the other two and appeared to be in her mid-teens, her figure slightly disproportionate as as if still developing. She was simply dressed in similar style to the second of her associates but with the addition of a scarf-wrap covering the lower half of her face and shoulders. Piercing green eyes looked out over the wrapping, and long chestnut hair shrouded her spare frame.


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## Catulle (Feb 15, 2003)

*Caitlyn*

(Nathaniel Self-Control - 9,6,5,4,1+willpower = 4 successes; 6,5,5,3,1 = 2 successes [frenzy averted]) (Caitlyn - Per/Empathy - 8,6,5,4 - 3 successes vs. Nathaniel Man/Subterfuge - 9,8,6,5,3,3,1 - 1 success; Caitlyn net 2 success)  From her position on the stage, Caitlyn was in perfect position to see Nathaniel, standing to lead the applause, turn his head towards the door as he had done habitually since his nephew's and neice's departure. However on seeing the three women framed in the doorway his cool demeanour gave way to an expression of black rage. For a mere instant the mask was torn away from his visage to reveal torment in its purest form. The blonde in the trio smiled broadly as Natheniel whirled away from her. Cate could see his hands tense and his nails bite into the tablecloth as he sat, heavily, back down. Then, as fast as it had appeared, the fury seemed to pass, though it left the gentleman's face drawn and ashen in its wake.
_____________


*Gabriel, Hellene, Mazz and Valentine*

The harpies and Valentine all rose to give their ovation. As they did so, Valentine leant over to whisper something in Hellen's ear, and though Mazz was clapping as much as the others, his gaze remained fixed on the dancing couple as they came to a stop.

As the noise passed, Hellene looked back to Gabriel, "Enchanting, dear, quite enchanting. I'm sure Valentine's soirees will be the talk of Elysium for some time yet, do you not think?" She kept her eyes on Gabriel's as she sat down again. Out of the corner of his eye, the Tremere could see Mazz stalking out of view. "You simply must meet Thomas when he arrives. I'll find you then; in the mean time, though, I fear we're making Aisling jealous with our dalliance. I'll inquire about that request of yours - I suspect we might know just the man."
_____________


*Max and Vychtorya*

As their slow dance came to its inevitable end, both of the pair felt attention focused on them from elsewhere in the room; distracted by the music and other concerns, only now did they realise the latest arrivals. Though Carrick, Morgan and Mazz  applauded the musicians, they kept their eyes on the pair.
_____________


*Aisling and Nikolai*

Aisling remained seated to show her appreciation of the display, and whispered to Nikolai as she did so, "The latest guests to arrive are all Brujah; the blonde's Elizabeth Shaw. Next to her is Marlena and the girl with the scarf is Katherine Weise. They're ancillae by all accounts and though Shaw's the eldest of them, Marlena seems the most connected." She gave a glance over her glasses in the direction of the harpies, convened with Gabriel at their table. "They seem very interested in our cousin, don't they? Perhaps too interested. When Eugenio and Wainwright arrive, we should take some time together... Meanwhilst, would you mind awfully gathering our wayward friend and meeting me by the stage with him? I should finish up with Carter as soon as possible. Good work with Qadir."
_____________


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## Catulle (Feb 15, 2003)

Becky, Jemal and Sabrina

Examining Becky closer, Sabrina couldn't smell the alcohol-haze she'd expected, though the woman's eyes were out of focus and she seemed in poor control of her limbs. Jemal saw her confusion cast her a wink;

"Big brother magic." he said with a grin "Now, I need you to listen carefully - don't take too much;_ if at any point you think you can't stop, you should pull away and lick the mark._ I'll take care of things after that. Just try real hard not to lose control, pet. I'll be about to help you." Reaching out, he guided the mortal into a supine position in the back of the limo, resting her with neck bared, before nodding from his sister to the body. He licked his lips, a nervous gesture, but one quite poetic in the circumstances. Sabrina felt the hunger return, strong and sharp.

(Jemal - mesmerism failed (generation))


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 15, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Catulle _*
> (Nathaniel Self-Control - 9,6,5,4,1+willpower = 4 successes; 6,5,5,3,1 = 2 successes [frenzy averted]) (Caitlyn - Per/Empathy - 8,6,5,4 - 3 successes vs. Nathaniel Man/Subterfuge - 9,8,6,5,3,3,1 - 1 success; Caitlyn net 2 success)  From her position on the stage, Caitlyn was in perfect position to see Nathaniel, standing to lead the applause, turn his head towards the door as he had done habitually since his nephew's and neice's departure. However on seeing the three women framed in the doorway his cool demeanour gave way to an expression of black rage. For a mere instant the mask was torn away from his visage to reveal torment in its purest form. The blonde in the trio smiled broadly as Natheniel whirled away from her. Cate could see his hands tense and his nails bite into the tablecloth as he sat, heavily, back down. Then, as fast as it had appeared, the fury seemed to pass, though it left the gentleman's face drawn and ashen in its wake.
> *]




_What should I do?_ Cate wondered, torn between her sudden inexplicable desire to comfort Nathaniel and being rooted to the stage.  She glanced over at Valentine to see if she should continue her set or take another break so that they may all deal with the new arrivals. _I wonder what it was about that woman that upset him so?  An old lover?  God, she is so beautiful and perfect..._

Mentally chiding herself, she sighed inwardly.  _You must be lonely, girl...you just met this family and now they're all you can worry about._  As if to answer that, a powerful feeling of thorny hurt rolled around in her chest for a long moment before she cast it away.  _Maybe I should call home tommorrow..._

[OOC: If Valentine signals that the set is over, then she'll approach Nathaniel]


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## Shalimar (Feb 15, 2003)

*Sabrina*

The child couldn't stop herself as she crawled from her perch on the seat on to the floor so that her face would be level with the mesmerized womans neck.

For a moment she was perfectly still, watching the rise and fall of the womans chest, her scent like peaches filled Sabrina's small nose, it was simply intoxicating, she wished she could breathe it in forever.  Her neck looked so inviting she just couldn't stop herself.  She lowered her face to it, licking it to see what the woman tasted like.  Her hunger taking over she struck out, her dainty fangs descending from the roof of her mouth.

At the first taste of the vitae the young woman started to shudder in ecstasy at the kiss.  For her part Sabrina felt much the same way, the thirst was getting worse by drinking, she just couldn't seem to drink fast enough.  She presses her face againt becky's throat more violently trying to get it as fast as she could, almost in a frenzy to get at the precious liquid.  It simply tasted marvelous.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 15, 2003)

As the song’s end whirls about in her head, and the graceful movement of their dance comes to a close, Vych opens her eyes feeling as though she had been asleep in the most splendid of dreams. Still in her dreamlike state thinking of the parties her mother used to give back home, she thinks to herself, “It has been many a day since I felt so swept away by the music.” Then, all of a sudden she is aware of the applause from the crowd for the band, quickening her back into reality. Looking around the room with a bit of a dazed look on her face, she looks back at Max with her arms still about his shoulders and says smiling,
_”Max, did you say something about having a library?”_ 

Noticing Max looks a bit “tense”, Vych takes a small step back, sliding her hands down his arms to hold his hands instead of continuing their closeness. She says with a sweet, genuine concern upon her soft voice,
_"Ummm….are you okay Max? Perhaps we could move over there. I need to rest a bit,"_ gesturing to a nearby table. 

Now being well back into reality, Vych looks around the room sensing the attention still on them. As they walk towards an empty table, she attempts to locate where the attention is coming from.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 16, 2003)

> ”Max, did you say something about having a library?”




"Yes, feel free to borrow anything whenever you like," he says, a hint of urgency in his voice.



> She says with a sweet, genuine concern upon her soft voice,"Ummm….are you okay Max? Perhaps we could move over there. I need to rest a bit," gesturing to a nearby table.




Max smiles, relieved as the urge starts leaving.

"Let's sit awhile, get some rest, that would be nice," Max says.


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## Catulle (Feb 16, 2003)

*Becky, Jemal and Sabrina*

(Sabrina Self Control - 8,2 - 1 success) By now she'd been coping with the hunger all night, yet even so Sabrina was almost unprepared for the intensity with which it now assaulted her. The first taste all but stripped her sense of self away from her, pangs of hunger sharp as a knife stabbed through her and the first mouthfuls of blood were taken in wracked, sobbing gulps. (Sabrina - gain 3 blood points) The hunger seemed to be washed away by the red tide, yet she knew that she could (should?) drink more, and more, and more... For once in her short life, it seemed she had a true choice to make; a sensation of control and power reinforced with each pulse of Becky's heart.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 16, 2003)

whoops.


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## reapersaurus (Feb 16, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Aisling, Carter and Nikolai*
> 
> As Nikolai approached, he saw Aisling glance towards Gabriel over by the harpies. Behind her glasses, only he and perhaps Qadir could have notices them narrow briefly at the sight. "Good evening, Nikolai." She extended a hand to the apprentice, rather than get close to him. "I'd hoped to be here earlier, but affairs have developed rather since sunset. No matter. You and Gabriel are here, at least. You should acqaint youselves with one other as soon as possible." She paused, as if recalling something troublesome then indicated the man next to her, with a fast gesture. "This is Carter Vanderweyden. Carter, Nikolai D'Angelo."
> 
> ...



Nikolai plays the part of a loyal and subservient Tremere, and of course allows Aislinn to take the lead in all social interaction.
"I hope your tardiness does not indicate somthing gone wrong, other than what we have all already suffered by you not being present from the beginning of the festivities."

Nikolai then responds to Carter's query:
"Duty is something of a watchword for me, Mr. Vanderweyden.
Duty to your sire... to your clan... to those that look after you *a visible glance to Aislinn*.. to those who's blood and effort took back this pearl of New York from the slime...
I understand too well the implications of duty."
*Nikolai internalizes his thoughts for just a moment before a memory passes briefly by, like a shadow passing over a grave at night.* 

After Carter excuses himself to go to Qadir, Nikolai accompanies Aislinn to the table, seemingly content to follow her lead and listen to the Performance.

In reality, he focuses his will to ignore the music this time, and concentrates his Perceptions on what Carter and Qadir are talking about.

He watches as Gabriel and the harpies discuss things as the macabre dance goes on on the ballroom floor.
An image of skeletons dancing to and fro flashes briefly in Nikolai's mind as Vychtorya and Max dance.


----------



## reapersaurus (Feb 16, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Aisling and Nikolai*
> 
> She gave a glance over her glasses in the direction of the harpies, convened with Gabriel at their table. "They seem very interested in our cousin, don't they? Perhaps too interested. When Eugunio and Wainwright arrive, we should take some time together... Meanwhilst, would you mind awfully gathering our wayward friend and meeting me by the stage with him? I should finish up with Carter as soon as possible. Good work with Qadir."



"Thank you.

Even if Eugenio had not desired me to do so, I probably would have approached Qadir myself. Our good Sherriff's exploits during the Retaking were of interest to me.

As for the harpies' interest in Gabriel, I daresay it would be much magnified if they knew of his Mark...

Why you tolerate him in your House, I know not.
But since I do not know of him, and am yet New here, my concerns mean nothing.
I will trust your judgment and insight, my dear Aislinn. Your non-traditional ways and non-hesitation to work with many clans has proven successful so far... why would this be any different?"

Nikolai finishes the last sentence with a look of suggestion into Aislinn's eyes.

After any reaction, Nikolai finishes, "You wish for me to swoop into Harpie territory, and retreive Gabriel?

I'd sooner fight off a couple hungry Sabbat than enter that world of politics, but for *you*, I will brave the journey. 

Wish me luck!"
Nikolai dramatically waves goodbye to Aislinn, imitating a Toreador going off to Battle.


----------



## Shalimar (Feb 16, 2003)

*Sabrina*



			
				Catulle said:
			
		

> *Becky, Jemal and Sabrina
> 
> (Sabrina Self Control - 8,2 - 1 success) By now she'd been coping with the hunger all night, yet even so Sabrina was almost unprepared for the intensity with which it now assaulted her. The first taste all but stripped her sense of self away from her, pangs of hunger sharp as a knife stabbed through her and the first mouthfuls of blood were taken in wracked, sobbing gulps. (Sabrina - gain 3 blood points) The hunger seemed to be washed away by the red tide, yet she knew that she could (should?) drink more, and more, and more... For once in her short life, it seemed she had a true choice to make; a sensation of control and power reinforced with each pulse of Becky's heart. *




Even though her hunger is slowly disappearing the child is still straining to get every drop of the wonderous fluid that she can.  Sabrina kept suckling at the wound like a babe on her mother's milk.  She couldn't seem to stop herself, she had never been able to really deny herself when she got her hands on a treat.

She looks up from her meal still drinking in the woman's essence as she gazes up at her brother, trusting him to tell her when to stop.  He wouldn't steer her wrong in this, would he?


----------



## Catulle (Feb 17, 2003)

*Caitlyn*

To judge by Valentine's signal to the band and their reaction, it appeared Cate would have a little more spare time before she needed to return to the stage. Indeed, she might suspect that the Knights were already making use of the time backstage to take advantage of the refreshments the venue had provided.
_____________


*Max and Vychtorya*

As the pair found space to sit together, they were each able to take in the changes in the function since their dance;

Casting her eyes about the room, Vychtorya felt sure she saw Mazz stealing a glance over his shoulder in her direction, his expression obscured by a cloud of dark hair, as he stood in conversation with Carrick. The earlier concern had somewhat dissipated from the Toreador's face and he seemed to note his companion's reaction to his childe with some little amusement.

For his part, Max couldn't quite shake a feeling of unease that rose up from his withered stomach. The striking blonde had moved more fully into the room, her fellows in tow, and had been greeted by none other than Morgan. In a moment of chilling clarity, he saw them both turn to him as they exchanged what he could safely assume were pleasantries.
_____________


*Aisling and Nikolai* 

Aisling watched Nikolai intently throughout their conversation, her expression set in a pensive frown, "Regarding Gabriel, assurances have been given and extracted. But more of that later, once the others are here. In any matter, I do not think that the harpies are entirely in the dark about his past - I'd like to know how much they think they do... perhaps this may make a task for Eugenio." She drummed her gloved fingers on the tablecloth for just long enough to realise what she was doing and stop. She stood again, speaking quietly again "Mr Vanderweyden, I think."

She respoded to Nikolai's wave with a tilt of her head, one eyebrow arched above the plane of her glasses. Amused or irate, he couldn't be certain.
_____________


----------



## Catulle (Feb 17, 2003)

*Becky, Sabrina and Jemal*

Sabrina kept her lips pressed tight to Becky's open neck a while longer, though she found herself able to savour the taste more fully the slower she went. (Gain 1 blood point) It seemed like no time at all passed, so focused was she on the steady beat of the woman's heart, pushing the blood down her throat.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, pet. You don't want to hurt her by taking too much, do you?" Calm, measured tones from her brother, reassuring. "Now be careful and lick her wound once you've finished; that'll help to keep it a secret. Then I can take her back inside and bring you back to Uncle Nathan. We can talk to Caitlyn, too. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 17, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Gabriel, Hellene, Mazz and Valentine*
> 
> The harpies and Valentine all rose to give their ovation. As they did so, Valentine leant over to whisper something in Hellen's ear, and though Mazz was clapping as much as the others, his gaze remained fixed on the dancing couple as they came to a stop.
> 
> As the noise passed, Hellene looked back to Gabriel, "Enchanting, dear, quite enchanting. I'm sure Valentine's soirees will be the talk of Elysium for some time yet, do you not think?" She kept her eyes on Gabriel's as she sat down again. Out of the corner of his eye, the Tremere could see Mazz stalking out of view. "You simply must meet Thomas when he arrives. I'll find you then; in the mean time, though, I fear we're making Aisling jealous with our dalliance. I'll inquire about that request of yours - I suspect we might know just the man."





As the others rose to clap, so did Gabriel. "I'm sure they will. Mr. Valentine seems to have outdone imself this time", he added with a slight grin directed at Valentine.

"I would appreciate the effort.." With that, he took her hand and kissed it fairwell. "Until then.." he nodded, and gave another nod to Valentine. "Valentine. Perhaps we can talk agian later."

He turned to leave, and nodded at Mazz as he did so. _I wonder what his problem is..."_, he thought.

He tooka  few steps toward Aisling and noticed Nikolai coming his way. He nodded. "Nikolai..."


----------



## Shalimar (Feb 17, 2003)

*Sabrina*



> Sabrina kept her lips pressed tight to Becky's open neck a while longer, though she found herself able to savour the taste more fully the slower she went. (Gain 1 blood point) It seemed like no time at all passed, so focused was she on the steady beat of the woman's heart, pushing the blood down her throat.
> 
> She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, pet. You don't want to hurt her by taking too much, do you?" Calm, measured tones from her brother, reassuring. "Now be careful and lick her wound once you've finished; that'll help to keep it a secret. Then I can take her back inside and bring you back to Uncle Nathan. We can talk to Caitlyn, too. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"




The little girl moans her satisfaction over the meal, languidly pulling her lips from the womans throat.  Sighing at the order she sticks out her small tongue and proceeds to lick the older woman's bite marks.

With the touch of her tongue the wounds magically closed over making the child hop backward and look questioningly at her brother.  How was that possible?  BooBoos just didn't do things like that, at least when her mom tried to kiss her's better.

"I want another, I'm still hungry."  Sabrina whines at Jemal, wanting more of the rich treat, and besides she really could drink more so it wasn't exactly a lie, just not the whole truth.

"Hey, do boys taste different then girls?"  she wondered too him, trying to figure out the differences between the tastes, and what was best tasting.  "Make my next one a boy, I want to see for myself."  She demanded imperiously of the older vampire.

She stroked becky's face comfortingly smiling down at her.  The woman had tasted incredible, and had ended most of her hunger, she wondered how she could thank her properly and decided a gift would be the way to do it.  "Thank you for sharing yourself with me," she whispered and kissed the womans fore head.  She loojked up at Jemal for a second before asking, "Is there a thank you gift we can give her?  It is wrong to just take things."


----------



## KitanaVorr (Feb 17, 2003)

Caitlyn swept across the floor in a silken blue haze toward Nathaniel's table, after giving Vychtorya and Max a nod plus smile to compliment their dancing...they made such a lovely pair, caught up in each other's embrace, a dark head and a red one beside one another.

Her thoughts though weren't for the dancers as those dark eyes rested on the ashen man alone at his table.  Sliding gracefully into the seat beside him, she rested one a warm finger briefly on the back of his hand.  "Mr. Montague?  Are you alright?"  Concern alighted in those warm chocolate orbs.  "You've been so wonderful to me.  It would be a shame if you were taken ill so early into the night."

_Or morning,_ she added belatedly to herself, realizing that the hour was later than she had supposed...had time passed so swiftly already?


----------



## Festy_Dog (Feb 18, 2003)

Max smiles and gives Caitlyn a thumbs up as she glides past. 

_She was really good, it won't take much for her to start raking in the cash. That reminds me, I better catch up with her later._

Though as Caitlyn passes another image becomes clear to Max. Morgan was talking to an attractive woman and their attention was on him. He shrunk as a cold shiver went through him.

_God I hate attention! That's that Elizabeth woman isn't it? I'll ask Morgan later, she seems to know her._

Max tries to ignore the attention of his sire and her associate as he turns his attention to Vychtorya. 

"You dance very well," he says, admiring her, "You'll have to teach me some time." 

"Do you think Caitlyn might be getting in over her head here?" he asks, not just a little concerned for the well being of the mortal.


----------



## Vychtorya (Feb 18, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Max and Vychtorya
> Casting her eyes about the room, Vychtorya felt sure she saw Mazz stealing a glance over his shoulder in her direction, his expression obscured by a cloud of dark hair, as he stood in conversation with Carrick. The earlier concern had somewhat dissipated from the Toreador's face and he seemed to note his companion's reaction to his childe with some little amusement.*



As Vych’s gaze comes upon Carrick and Mazz, she lowers her chin subserviently in a slow, graceful nod in their direction. Her eyes seem to raise her chin as they move before her head resumes its position. Looking through her eyelashes, her eyebrows flatten to allow her smiling, dragon-green eyes to do their grace. With her sparkling, blood-red lips pursed into a seductive smile of their own, she thinks in her head, “My love, you know this to be my smile for you, but should Mazz think it be for himself, then I have done my graces well. T’would be best for Mazz to think it his, my dearest.” Just as her smile reaches it’s height of allure, she carefully shifts her gaze to Mazz hoping he can see her expression better than she can see his. 

Vych then turns to the lovely gentleman at her side, 
_”Max, are you feeling better? Max…???_


			
				Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *Though as Caitlyn passes another image becomes clear to Max. Morgan was talking to an attractive woman and their attention was on him. He shrunk as a cold shiver went through him.*



Vych attempts to follow his gaze. She sees he is looking in the direction of Morgan. Thinking to herself, “Who is THAT with Morgan!!? What fashion!”

Looking away so she can keep her wits about her, Vych says,
_”Max, who is that blond with Morgan? Do you know her?”_


			
				Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *Max tries to ignore the attention of his sire and her associate as he turns his attention to Vychtorya.
> "You dance very well," he says, admiring her, "You'll have to teach me some time."*



_”Thank you Max, you are too kind. I would love the opportunity to grace the floor with you again sometime soon.”_ 
Vych says somewhat aloof as the thought of the beautiful blond woman still floats about in her mind.


			
				Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *"Do you think Caitlyn might be getting in over her head here?" he asks, not just a little concerned for the well being of the mortal.*



Vych’s expression dropped at that thought that came to her. Attempting to make it sound more hearsay than anything final she says,
_”Perhaps your observations are true Max. I heard mention that Ms. Tran may be giving some music lessons to the young one that was here earlier. Personally, I would not want to hear of anything “happening” to her. The human spirit is something I hold very dear, eventhough I do admire the thought of preserving beauty in any form. I did give her my card though. I have need of entertainment in my club. Speaking of clubs, didn’t you mention you work in one?”_
A smile starts to come back to Vych’s face as she thinks of her club instead of the thought of lovely Caitlyn's humanity being stricken from her.


----------



## reapersaurus (Feb 18, 2003)

Nikolai crosses the floor, and greets Gabriel.

Looking him up and down in an openly analytical gesture, Nikolai says, "Good evening, Gabriel.

So.... you don't _seem_ to have horns and a tail - 
unless you have a VERY good tailor to fit one in that suit. 

the vileness of your mien doesn't match up with your diplomatic actions here...
did you get a bad 'rap', or are you truly the Beast you appear to Tremere eyes as?"


----------



## Festy_Dog (Feb 18, 2003)

> ”Max, are you feeling better? Max…???




"I'm feeling much better thank you," he says.

_Wow, she was worried about how I felt, how kewl._



> ”Max, who is that blond with Morgan? Do you know her?”




Max leans his face on his hand, covering his mouth as he speaks Elizabeth now, and continues not looking at Morgan or Elizabeth.

"I think her name is Elizabeth," he says quietly, "I don't know her personally, but I think she's powerful from what I've heard from Morgan."



> ”Perhaps your observations are true Max. Personally, I would not want to hear of anything “happening” to her. The human spirit is something I hold very dear, eventhough I do admire the thought of preserving beauty in any form. I did give her my card though. I have need of entertainment in my club. Speaking of clubs, didn’t you mention you work in one?"




Max looks at her in amazement.

_She thinks like me and she cares how I feel! Whoa! Have I found my someone?... I shouldn't think like that, I have plenty of time to make sure, no need to hurry._

"Wow, the way we think is very similiar," Max tells Vych excitedly, but soon quietens himself down, "Sorry, I just like the thought of us sharing the same beliefs. Cetainly nice to have someone you can talk to here. And about the night club, just a few blocks that way, can't miss it. I keep forgetting the name, I just wander in and out when I need to work, its almost subconcious."

He chuckles and looks at Vychtorya again.

_She's kind and immaculate, perfect in fact. It feels as though I'm wrapped around her little finger, but I couldn't care, I like this feeling. Its that same feeling from long ago...._


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 18, 2003)

reapersaurus said:
			
		

> *Nikolai crosses the floor, and greets Gabriel.
> 
> Looking him up and down in an openly analytical gesture, Nikolai says, "Good evening, Gabriel.
> *




Gabriel grinned slightly at the other Tremere's appraisal. "Good evening Nikolai.."



> So.... you don't _seem_ to have horns and a tail -
> unless you have a VERY good tailor to fit one in that suit.
> 
> the vileness of your mien doesn't match up with your diplomatic actions here...
> did you get a bad 'rap', or are you truly the Beast you appear to Tremere eyes as?[/COLOR]" [/B]




Gabriel's grin faded at the directness of Nikolai's demeanor. He leaned in slightly, so that only he and Nikolai could hear. "It is called 'discretion' my friend. It would serve you well here."

He leaned back and a small grin returned. "I am what you make of me Nikolai. Do not loose sleep fretting over where my loyalties lie."


----------



## Catulle (Feb 19, 2003)

*Becky, Jemal and Sabrina*

Jemal studied his sister's expression closely, "I think that's enough for now. We don't want to keep Nathan waiting, do we? Besides, it doesn't mean you cant feed again later; you get to stay up all night now. No more bedtime, right?." He all but laughed aloud at Sabrina's imperious demand, but his train of thought returned him to stark seriousness, _she would have made a good Ventrue if only we'd had more time..._

"Perhaps you can choose your own next time. I don't think you'll be as fussy an eater as Uncle Nathan or me, after all." Becky, supine on the leather seat, started to stir with the touch of Sabrina's lips on her forehead, though she remained lethargic and unfocused. "You _have_ given her something, Sabrina. She'll go away with nothing but pleasant memories of the time she spent with us, a nice dream but no clue as to what really happened - it has to be a secret, you see. Nathan will tell you better than I can, though."

He offered an arm to Becky, helping her up to a sitting position before giving a few curt instructions to the driver. The car started to move again, gliding almost silently out into the road, "Best if we take her home and make sure she gets some sleep; she's going to be pretty tired after feeding you. That wasn't so bad, now, was it?"


----------



## Catulle (Feb 19, 2003)

*Caitlyn and Nathaniel*

The older man's skin was cool at first, only a little above room temperature, but warmed quickly enough to the touch. His hand uncleached to lie curled in a more relaxed position on the table as he looked across into Caitlyn's eyes, weariness etched across his features.

"Be sure your sins will find you out, Miss Tran. Everywhere I look it seems my mistakes are rising up again to haunt me and those near to me. I would be concerned, were I you, and not for the likes of one such as I." He leaned back in his seat, exhaling a sigh as he pinched at the bridge of his nose. "But please forget my informality. I have quite forgotten my manners and indulged myself unforgiveably. Your performance, madam, was exquisite and the lyric content most thought-provoking." A wan smile returned to haunt Nathaniel's face. "Will you sing again tonight?"


----------



## Shalimar (Feb 19, 2003)

Sabrina watched Jemal watching her curiously for a few a seconds before agreeing to his suggestion.  "I'm still hungry," she said pouting her lips, "But I don't want to disappoint Uncle Nathan, So its decided, I feed again later."  she decreed as if she were a proper little princess and ruler of all she surveyed.

Her blue eyes twinkled at her brother's revelations of no more bed time, not for her, not anymore.  "Really? No more bedtime?  I can stay up as late as I want now?"  she asked, practically bouncing on the leather seats waiting for confirmation.



> "You have given her something, Sabrina. She'll go away with nothing but pleasant memories of the time she spent with us, a nice dream but no clue as to what really happened - it has to be a secret, you see. Nathan will tell you better than I can, though."




"But I want to really give her something, something to remember me by.  Like jewelery, or a bracelet.  I want to give my new friends something.  Its a nice thing to do."  she says chiding her brother at his apparent churlishness.  She hops from her seat to next to Becky and curls up with her head in the woman's lap.

"We are going back to see Uncle Nathan and Miss Cate after we bring miss becky home right?"


----------



## KitanaVorr (Feb 19, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Catulle _*"But please forget my informality. I have quite forgotten my manners and indulged myself unforgiveably. Your performance, madam, was exquisite and the lyric content most thought-provoking." A wan smile returned to haunt Nathaniel's face. "Will you sing again tonight?" *




“If only to provoke another unforgivable indulgence from you,” the young singer answered with a soft laugh, glancing down shyly at his praise.  Why did being around him make her feel like she was so much younger than her twenty years?  Of course he was older, but he couldn’t be so much older than her, couldn’t he?  Perhaps ten years at most…

A single lock of dark hair slipped from its neat coif, sliding along the hollow of her delicate cheekbone before her finger caught it.  Slowly she pulled it back, her nail brushing along the length of one long arched eyebrow before tucking the wayward strand into place behind one ear.  Raising her eyes back to him once more, Caitlyn let the faint hint of a curve touch her lips.

“Or to provoke another smile on a visage that seems to see it so rare.”


----------



## Vychtorya (Feb 19, 2003)

*



Originally posted by Festy_Dog

Click to expand...


*


> *"I'm feeling much better thank you," he says.*



Vych, gently resting her hand upon Max’s, 
_“That makes me glad,”_
she says as the concern on her lips turns into a genuine smile.
*



Originally posted by Festy_Dog

Click to expand...


*


> *Max leans his face on his hand, covering his mouth as he speaks Elizabeth now, and continues not looking at Morgan or Elizabeth. "I think her name is Elizabeth," he says quietly, "I don't know her personally, but I think she's powerful from what I've heard from Morgan."*



Raising an eyebrow at Max’s gestures, getting the feeling he is not comfortable, Vych turns slightly to keep her face from the direction of the ladies and whispers, 
_“Oh, okay. Perhaps we should talk later?”_
She releases his hand gently and promotes an understanding smile. 
*



Originally posted by Festy_Dog

Click to expand...


*


> *"Wow, the way we think is very similiar," Max tells Vych excitedly, but soon quietens himself down, "Sorry, I just like the thought of us sharing the same beliefs. Cetainly nice to have someone you can talk to here. And about the night club, just a few blocks that way, can't miss it. I keep forgetting the name, I just wander in and out when I need to work, its almost subconcious."*



_“I do too actually. It does feel good to have a real conversation with someone,” she says._ 

Vych pauses and bites her bottom lip slightly, raises both eyebrows and continues looking at Max. Then releasing her moistened lip, she says in a somewhat excited but quiet voice,
_“Umm, if you should you have some free time this week, maybe you would show me some of your books? Or, you could drop some off at Antiquities, my club, if you are too busy for company. I live above it.”_

She glances down briefly to locate a card for him in the very small and concealed pocket in her dress. 
_”Please for give me dearest Max for my formality of handing you a business card, but I do not have a thing with me to write on.”_

She glances quickly down at her form, tightly enveloped in the deep-red chiffon. Then Vych looks back up at Max with a light smile blushing her mouth, a small giggle. and a little friendly shrug of her shoulders as she hands him the card.


----------



## Catulle (Feb 19, 2003)

*Jemal, Sabrina and Becky*

"Nope, you just stay up as late as you want." Another smile, "We can't let her remember us, pet - not even a little. That wouldn't be allowed at all. Better that we don't upset her. If she even suspected we were real or got too curious, that would be dangerous for her. It could get her into a lot of trouble, and we can't do that to her, can we?." _Us too._ His features softened again, "If you like, we can arrange to get her something delivered later. I'll ask for her number just in case."

The car drove on in silence for a little time longer, before halting alongside an appartment building. The door swung open, and Jemal stepped out, helping Becky onto the pavement. She stood well, as he looked her in the eyes and whispered a few words to her. As he talked, lucidity returned to her eyes and she started to smile, a delighted animation playing across her features, before she passed Jemal a card from her handbag and, kissing him lightly, turned to enter the building. He waved once as she cleared the threshold and got back in to the car with his sister.


----------



## Catulle (Feb 19, 2003)

*Caitlyn and Nathaniel*

Nathaniel shook his head once, and glanced back to his hands for a moment. "I cannot burden you with my troubles, it would be quite ill-mannered of me. As it is, I think your voice will be a most welcome guest in our house and may serve to cheer the place a little." He looked across the room again, almost warily this time. "You should return to Mr Valentine, I think. No doubt he will want to discuss your set with you, and I believe Mr Ashton has expressed an interest in meeting you as well. Have you spoken with him yet?"


----------



## Festy_Dog (Feb 19, 2003)

> “Oh, okay. Perhaps we should talk later?”




"It's nothing really, I'm just not a big fan of attention, thats all," he says, smiling in return.



> “Umm, if you should you have some free time this week, maybe you would show me some of your books? Or, you could drop some off at Antiquities, my club, if you are too busy for company. I live above it.”




"Any time is good really, I'm always either at work or at home, and I'm never too busy for a kind guest such as yourself," Max replies, though a nagging fear revealed in the back of his mind.

_What will I do? What if I try to... It won't come to that she'll just borrow some books, there's no chance for trouble in that. If I'm just a little frigid... how can I be frigid to her? She's intoxicating, I hope I don't get addicted..._



> ”Please for give me dearest Max for my formality of handing you a business card, but I do not have a thing with me to write on.”
> 
> She glances quickly down at her form, tightly enveloped in the deep-red chiffon. Then Vych looks back up at Max with a light smile blushing her mouth, a small giggle. and a little friendly shrug of her shoulders as she hands him the card.




Max gladly accepts it. For a moment he can't help but soak in how she looks. 

_She's just sits there, and by doing so she turns herself and everything around her into art, only more real. Her presence is worth its weight in gold, if that makes sense, you can feel it when she's there but the feeling isn't in any way oppressive, very pleasant in fact, so much like her._

"A business card does the job quite well though, thank you," he says, soon adding, "Would you like my details? To get in contact and all. If you you're going to drop around I'd better tell you where I live."

He chuckles and takes a pen out from inside his jacket.

"I haven't got anything to write on, do you mind if I write it on the back of a business card or something?" he asks uncertainly.


----------



## Shalimar (Feb 19, 2003)

*Sabrina*



> "Nope, you just stay up as late as you want." Another smile, "We can't let her remember us, pet - not even a little. That wouldn't be allowed at all. Better that we don't upset her. If she even suspected we were real or got too curious, that would be dangerous for her. It could get her into a lot of trouble, and we can't do that to her, can we?." Us too. His features softened again, "If you like, we can arrange to get her something delivered later. I'll ask for her number just in case."




Sabrina lies down on the seat as she waits for her brother to return, kicking her feat lazily through the air.  Once he gets back in the car she scooches up to rest her head on his lap looking up at him.  "No,"  she says worriedly, "I don't want her to get in trouble, not after she was so nice to me.  Are you sure though?  Maybe just a little thing, like a frienship bracelet?  Would that be ok?"  she asks, still trying to figure out how to reward the woman.  Her face takes on a pouty expression that Jemal knows will mean she will whine, and beg, and argue, and plead until she gets her way.

"So, what do you think about Miss Cate, she's awfully pretty.  I hope I'm that pretty when I grow up."


----------



## Catulle (Feb 20, 2003)

*Jemal and Sabrina*

"Maybe" _God, I *know* that look..._ "You should ask Uncle Nathan. He knows a lot about all this stuff."

The car pulled away again, a short drive was all that separated the siblings from the stratified atmosphere of Elysium.

"Cate?" Jemal looked away from Sabrina back out of the window, "I guess we're going to be seeing more of her in future and I think that'll be... interesting."


----------



## Vychtorya (Feb 20, 2003)

*



Originally posted by Festy_Dog 

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*


> *"It's nothing really, I'm just not a big fan of attention, thats all," he says, smiling in return.*



_”Oh Max, I’m sorry.”_
Vych leans in and touches his hand gently with a very sincere look in her eyes,
_”I’m sorry to have placed you in an uncomfortable situation with our dance, but I must admit selfishly that I am VERY glad you accepted my invitation.”_
*



Originally posted by Festy_Dog 

Click to expand...


*


> *"Any time is good really, I'm always either at work or at home, and I'm never too busy for a kind guest such as yourself," Max replies, though a nagging fear revealed in the back of his mind.*



_”Then perhaps this Thursday evening would be good, Max?”
*



Originally posted by Festy_Dog 

Click to expand...


*



*"A business card does the job quite well though, thank you," he says, soon adding, "Would you like my details? To get in contact and all. If you you're going to drop around I'd better tell you where I live."*

Click to expand...


Vych smiles and blushes a bit,
”Yes please. Is it far from here? If not I could drive myself, but if it is beyond here I will have my driver drop me off. I fear I am still too new in town, and directions are not my strong suit yet.”
*



Originally posted by Festy_Dog 

Click to expand...


*



*He chuckles and takes a pen out from inside his jacket.
"I haven't got anything to write on, do you mind if I write it on the back of a business card or something?" he asks uncertainly. *

Click to expand...


She glances down at her form again, placing her hand briefly upon her cheek, then looks quickly back up at Max and laughs quietly to him as she attempts to locate another card. She shakes her head from side to side slightly as she finally locates one and says in a very playful, laughing manner,
”You know Max, this gown is going to be the death of me tonight trying to find my cards. Silly me to think this would be better than carrying an evening bag tonight.”

As Vych hands the card to Max to get his information, she says with a delighted smile,
”I do have such a passion for old books and artifacts. I really AM looking forward to seeing your library and  getting the pleasure to talk with you again. You can phone me with confirmation the day and time should you need to check your schedule.”_


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## Catulle (Feb 20, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:52, 11/30/2002

The constant murmur of conversation now filled the function room as guests continued to arrive, lending the place a more bustling atmosphere. The well-heeled attendees mingled, greeting each other and exchanging loaded compliments as if all were part of a grand design. Which, in a sense, they were. One might have sensed an edge of expectancy to the gathering along with an aftertaste of apprehension.

The harpies had come together once more, this time near the stage with the striking blonde a part of their company. They had been joined by a smartly-dressed man, the elegant black of his suit suit accented by a pastel blue shirt and dark eyes behind thin-framed glasses. The quartet scanned the room, their eyes never lingering in one place as they continued their conversation at a rapid clip. Mazz' gaze, however, kept returning to Vychtorya with thinly veiled intensity.

The dusky skinned young woman with whom the newcomer had arrived stood a little distance away from the group, noteable by her less than stylish mode of dress. The casual pants and outsize cardigan lead her to stand out in a gathering studded with haute couture, and thick, dark, curly hair framed the downcast expression she wore on her face.

Arriving shortly after the pair, Eugenio Estevez, a strongly built man appearing to be in his middle years and dressed on the upper end of smart-casual strode towards the huddle of Aisling, Carter and Qadir. He shook each by the hand before being lead to sit at a table a little way off by the other Tremere.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 20, 2003)

Vych could feel she had indulged herself with Max’s wonderful company for longer than she should, but he was so good to talk with and it was hard to want to leave his company.

Vych says with some sadness to her eyes at the thought of having to depart from Max,
_“Dearest Max, I fear I have lost myself in our wonderful conversation. It saddens me that I must take my leave for now. I would much rather remain here with you and continue in “real” conversation.”_

A happy, but lightly seductive smile seems to brighten her face as she speaks thinking forward to their upcoming “date”.
_”Thank you Maxx….for everything.”_

She rises and stretches her arms, palms facing the floor, out toward Max hoping to hold his hands and kiss his cheeks on either side as she bids him adieu for the time being.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 20, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
> 00:52, 11/30/2002
> 
> The harpies had come together once more, this time near the stage with the striking blonde a part of their company. They had been joined by a smartly-dressed man, the elegant black of his suit suit accented by a pastel blue shirt and dark eyes behind thin-framed glasses. The quartet scanned the room, their eyes never lingering in one place as they continued their conversation at a rapid clip. Mazz' gaze, however, kept returning to Vychtorya with thinly veiled intensity.*



*As she turns from Maxx, now facing out toward the rest of the company, Vych notices that as of late, the air around the room has gotten rather thick with conversation. She takes in the new faces that have arrived and realizes her instincts were right; she had stayed to long in Maxx’s gracious company.

She thinks to herself happily, 
“none-the-matter, I shall catch up, and Maxx’s company was well worth the time.”

Vych looks towards the stage to see if Ms. Tran will be gracing everyone with another of her beautifully, lyrical songs. As she looks in the direction of the stage, that all over seductive feeling she had, had earlier as she spoke with Mazz, returns in full force to her being and lands ever so gently upon her glossed, blood-red lips. She thinks to herself, “what is it about him that makes me WANT to feel this way? That’s not how it’s suppos….” She stops her thought in mid-stream.*


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 21, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Catulle _*
> "You should return to Mr Valentine, I think. No doubt he will want to discuss your set with you, and I believe Mr Ashton has expressed an interest in meeting you as well. Have you spoken with him yet?" *




At the mention of Valentine, Caitlyn's eyes traveled to where the man sat.  "Perhaps you are right, Mr. Montague, and I have been lax in my responsiblities...I should see if my employer has any special requests of the Kindred Knights."

Her dark eyes returned to his for a moment, thoughtful as she answered his last question.  "I have not had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Ashton.  An interest you say?"  A dark eyebrow arched gracefully.  "Perhaps he and I shall find ourselves an introduction this evening. "

"But never-the-less..." Those same ebony eyes twinkled with mischievous laughter. "I am quite capable of taking the hint that a man wishes to be left to his own thoughts no matter how deft his reply."  She smiled gently before placing her card on the table before him as she rose from her seat to move off toward Valentine.

"Good Eve, Nathaniel Montague."


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## Shalimar (Feb 21, 2003)

Sighing about the whirlwind of the past few hours,  finding out she was vampire, way cool.  Finding out she would be able to stay up all night was even cooler, a dream come true, she was quite convinced everyone had waited for her to go to bed to have all the fun.  Especially uncle Nathan and Jemal, she hadn't gotten to see them as much as she had wanted to, they were only ever around before bedtime.  _I geuss that makes sens though, I mean they are vampires.  And now I get to be around them so much more,_ she thought bouncing up and down in Jemal's lap.

_And they are gonna teach me all about it, so Uncle Nathan is gonna like me again."_  She thought brightly still bouncing about the seat and her brother energetically with that natural exuberance that all children possess, and all adults loath.  She passes the time on the way back to the party imagining the many things that vampires in movies can do.  _Will I be able to turn into a bat, or or or maybe a wolf, or mist?  How about hypnotize people,  Ooh I can't wait to hypnotize Brit, I'll make her do something, something stupid, to get back at her for saying I have cooties.  Oh and didn't dracula move super fast?  He was really scary, but he did have really cool powers, now that I am a vampire, I get to have cool powers too_ she thinks with a giggle.  Her time on their return to the party is spent trying to imagine what its going to be like to be a vampire.

"Jemal?" she asks, still happily geussing away, "Am I gonna be able to change into a wolf?  Or maybe a bat?  What are all the things we Vampire's can do?"


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 21, 2003)

> ”Oh Max, I’m sorry.” Vych leans in and touches his hand gently with a very sincere look in her eyes, ”I’m sorry to have placed you in an uncomfortable situation with our dance, but I must admit selfishly that I am VERY glad you accepted my invitation.”




"Nothing to worry yourself about, I can't help but find dancing with you very pleasant," he says with a reassured smile.



> ”Then perhaps this Thursday evening would be good, Max?”




"Perfect," he replies, "Just show up whenever you get the time."



> ”Yes please. Is it far from here? If not I could drive myself, but if it is beyond here I will have my driver drop me off. I fear I am still too new in town, and directions are not my strong suit yet.”




"Next to Central Park," he says, "Really nice view, you have to see it."



> She shakes her head from side to side slightly as she finally locates one and says in a very playful, laughing manner,
> ”You know Max, this gown is going to be the death of me tonight trying to find my cards. Silly me to think this would be better than carrying an evening bag tonight.”




"I think its a rather good idea. In all likelyhood you'd have to spend some time looking through a bag if you brought one. This way you don't have to worry about a suitable bag or worry about about carrying it around, I like it," he states, then adds, "Plus it brings attention to your form when you look for a card, certainly a good effect on guys."

_I hope that makes her feel better about her dress._



> ”I do have such a passion for old books and artifacts. I really AM looking forward to seeing your library and getting the pleasure to talk with you again. You can phone me with confirmation the day and time should you need to check your schedule.”




"Come by any time Thrusday," he says, his eyes giving away his happiness at the promise of seeing Vychtorya again.

_She is so very, very special. I have to make a good impression._



> “Dearest Max, I fear I have lost myself in our wonderful conversation. It saddens me that I must take my leave for now. I would much rather remain here with you and continue in “real” conversation.”




Max can't help a chuckle.

"It's certainly a jungle out there, I'm fortunate I don't have grand dreams, it keeps me out of all the manipulation, bickering and such. All that politics. Don't let me keep you though, I'll get by easily enough," he smiles again, but in a slightly melancholy way.



> ”Thank you Maxx….for everything.”




"You're more than welcome," he returns, taking her hands.

She then kissed him on either cheek. On the outside Max smiled still, giving her a brief wave as she went on her way, but on the inside he was tearing himself apart.

_She's just like her in essence, gives me that same miserable joy that I got when around her, I hope this isn't a repeat of high school. Yet I should hope for what happened in high school, if nothing actually happens between us she'll be in no danger at all. I just have to shut myself up, if I don't let on how I feel time will pass and we'll remain friends. How could I do that for eternity? Its not as though I can leave New York. I shouldn't worry, shying away comes natural to me, but then again I don't get that with her. Grrrr...._

Max sat, a war going on within himself, his eyes became moist. He put his pen away and took out a tissue, drying his eyes before getting up, but doing his best to make it look as though he was blowing his nose. Max folds the tissue up and returns it to his pocket as he stands. He then silently slips among the other vampires to stand quietly by Morgan, not disturbing her nor listening to her conversation should she be talking, just waiting, for something to do.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 21, 2003)

OOC: Awaiting Reaper's response.


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## Catulle (Feb 21, 2003)

*The Car Park, beneath Elysium*
00:53, 11/30/2002

The limousine pulled up into the same space it had left perhaps twenty minutes ago, as if it had never left, and Jemal held the car door for his sister. He paused for thought at Sabrina's question.

"Who's to say? I certainly can't, but some of our kind can. Then again, I'm kind of new at this myself. All I can do is make people think the way I want them to think - like being a hypnotist, really. You saw how I got Becky to forget things, right? Uncle Nathan's much more skilled than I am so he might be able to teach you a thing or two, and they say the Prince can do all sorts."

He lead the way back upstairs, inorexably closer to the court of the damned.


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## Shalimar (Feb 21, 2003)

"There's a prince?  Like in sleeping beauty?"  The child asks her brother simply enthralled with the idea of Princes and Princesses.  She is picturing someone along the lines of Phillip or Prince Charming, not even slightly close to the reality.  She skips along beside him, her small hand lost in his larger one pulling him along behind her.

Now that she wasn't thirsty, she could actually focus on the building itself, and its beauty and sophisticated decorations.  She liked the ornatness, the gold and silver, but the Gargoyles she had seen on the way in were pretty scary.  She is shocked by Jemal's admitance of his limits, to her, he could do anything, and the possibilty of him not being to do everything made her worry that she might not be able to do much of anything.  She was however, quite reassured by uncle Nathan's ability.

"He's not very happy with me," Sabrina says slighty perturbed.  "Do you think he'll still teach me?"  She asks, pausing before the doors.


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## Catulle (Feb 21, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:54, 11/30/2002


*Caitlyn and Nathaniel*

"I would be pleased to introduce you to Mr Ashton later this evening, since he and I have been... friends... for some time. I believe you have met his protege, Ms Fayrchyld?" 

He rose as Caitlyn did, offering a slight bow. "And to you Caitlyn Tran."
_____________


The door swung once more, admitting a small, stout man that could be described only as a dwarf. He was dressed in starched evening wear of an especially severe cut and a grimace was etched across his face. He strode swiftly across the carpet towards Sturbridge and Estevez' table, a baleful glance reserved for any who seemed to even consider staring at him for too long. Pulling himself up onto a seat, he removed his stovepipe hat, placing it next to him as he lapsed into conversation with the pair.
_____________


*Caitlyn and Valentine*

The refined host was alone by the time Caitlyn reached him, greeting her with exaggerated courtesy - perhaps he was a little the worse for drink? He didn't stumble over his words for a second, however. "Ah, Cate. I'm glad you made it to me and saved me the journey to find you. The guests seem to absolutely love you and your band, which you might imagine makes me all the happier." He paused, turning to the man sat alone, still, at the corner table, gave a nod and turned back to Caitlyn with purpose in his eyes. "I think there will only be one more performance required this evening, though it is a request. I trust this won't be a problem." He handed her a folded paper slip from two extended fingers with a wink, "There will be some private business to attend to in the main room, so if you attend to your equipment then head downstairs I think there's still some wine left. You'll be called for when it's time. I should think in about ten minutes from now." He smiled radiently at her.
_____________


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## Catulle (Feb 21, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:54, 11/30/2002


*Jemal and Sabrina*

Jemal paused before the doors, holding one open for Sabrina. "Yes, pet. He's not angry with you. Not really. It's somebody else..." his gaze locked onto Elizabeth's back, anger obvious to Sabrina across his features. He seemed to struggle with himself, before casting his eyes across the room to Nathaniel, now in conversation with Mr Ashton.

(Jemal self-control (diff 4) - 10,7,5/10,9,3 - frenzy controlled after 2 turns. Willpower spent to resist flaw.)
(Sabrina Per/subterfuge diff 5 vs. Jemal Man/subterfuge diff 7 = 9,8,5,3,2 vs 10,7,6,5,3; Sabrina nets 1 success)


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## Shalimar (Feb 21, 2003)

*Sabrina*

The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
00:54, 11/30/2002

"Thank you," Sabrina says curtseying to her brother, for his holding the door open, to her all of the etiquette is just a big game and she loves playing it.  She is about to offer him her arm to enter the room when she sees his expression, and the tension in his body.  Its scary to see, and she backs up just a little, only a single step, but its the most she has ever backed away from him.

When he is able to control himself Sabrina looks up at him her mouth open in a dainty little cupid's bow, waiting to see if he's angry at her.  She follows his gaze at the woman's back, she doesn't recognize her, but she looks sorta familiar, and called up a trace of fear that she didn't understand at all.  She did know she didn't want to be around her, whoever she was if she made Jemal mad, and herself afraid.  _  I don't want Jemal to be angry at me, so I'll ask uncle Nathan, he should know.  And he can tell me all about being a vampire!_

She slips her hand out of Jemal's grip and skips across the room over to her uncle and the man he's talking to.  "Uncle Nathan, Uncle Nathan," she exclaimed quietly so just he and the well dressed man would hear.  "Jemal said that you could teach me how to be a vampire, and do all kinds of really cool stuff.  Like in the  car I pushed him accidentally and he went flying, I said I was sorry, but can you really teach me how to hypnotize people, and turn into a bat?  Well not a Bat, they're icky, but a wolf?"


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 21, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:54, 11/30/2002



> _Originally posted by Catulle _*
> "Ah, Cate. I'm glad you made it to me and saved me the journey to find you. The guests seem to absolutely love you and your band, which you might imagine makes me all the happier."
> *



Her hands clasped his in mid-greeting and her cheeks stained a hue of mulberry.  "I'm so pleased that you loved my performance as much as I absolutely adored playing for an audience such as this...I don't think I've ever had such a mesmerizing time on the stage."  Or felt such power...the thought made her shudder inwardly at how alien to her it had felt...insidiously working its way like a cold rivulets along her skin but his next words took her mind off it immediately.



> _Originally posted by Catulle _*
> "I think there will only be one more performance required this evening, though it is a request. I trust this won't be a problem." He handed her a folded paper slip from two extended fingers with a wink.
> *



_Request?_ Caitlyn held the paper, letting her fingers rub against its surface thoughtfully.  “Of course, Mr. Valentine.  I would be honored to undertake any request for you on behalf of your esteemed guest.”  Her eyes traveled to that dark figure as if trying to peer through the shadows to see the mysterious man hidden behind them.



> _Originally posted by Catulle _*
> "There will be some private business to attend to in the main room, so if you attend to your equipment then head downstairs I think there's still some wine left. You'll be called for when it's time. I should think in about ten minutes from now." He smiled radiantly at her.
> *



She returned his smile with one of her own that highlighted faint dimples on otherwise flawless skin.  “Only ten minutes?  That’s not long to wait at all, Mr. Valentine.  Plenty of time to prepare the band for any special request…,” her finger flipped the paper open casually to read its contents as she prepared to take her leave of Valentine.  “I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me…tonight has been an incredible experience and opportunity for me...and its all because of you.  Please believe that am I genuinely and incredibly grateful.”


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## reapersaurus (Feb 22, 2003)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> *Gabriel's grin faded at the directness of Nikolai's demeanor. He leaned in slightly, so that only he and Nikolai could hear. "It is called 'discretion' my friend. It would serve you well here."
> 
> He leaned back and a small grin returned. "I am what you make of me Nikolai. Do not loose sleep fretting over where my loyalties lie." *



Looking around to ensure that noone else is paying attention, Nikolai leans close, duplicating Gabriel's lean: 
See, that's the thing - discretion is for people with something to Hide.
Doesn't unlife suck when your past deeds come back to haunt you?

You may have staved off being Hunted, but my brothers and I aren't fooled.
Our senses reveal you to be a Traitor, and thus whatever frilly words, or whatever protestations of innocence you utter... fall on deaf ears.
We see the wolf wearing the sheep's disguise every time we pass our gazes your way.
And the proof of your guilt sticks to whatever soul you still possess like the stain of blood on a murderer's hands.

We'll be watching you, "brother"......... Always watching.

Nikolai disengages from Gabriel, taking a step back, while placing one hand over his fist in front of his chest, and saluting an exit gesture, as his compatriots in the Middle-Eastern group of Hunters would do.


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## Catulle (Feb 23, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:55, 11/30/2002


*Carrick, Jemal, Nathaniel and Sabrina*

Nathaniel frowned at Sabrina's quiet exclaimation, stealing a look at Jemal as he did so. "This is neither the time or the placefor such exposition; that will come over time, my child. First, you must learn... restraint." He placed a slender finger over his lips as he spoke, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper by the end of the word. "You have dealt with your thirst. Now, you must be introduced." He swept his hand, palm upward towards the well-groomed man at his side. "Jemal, you know of Mr Carrick Ashton by reputation already, and Mr Ashton I have spoken of my childe to you before now. Now I introduce you formally. And, of course, my neice, Sabrina."

Carrick offered a hand to Jemal, who shook it politely. He then turned his attention down to Sabrina, after a brief glance towards Nathaniel. She got the distinct, though not unpleasent sensation that the elder gentleman was scrutinising her most intently. "The resemblance is fantastic, Mr Montague. It's almost precisely as I remember her, in fact. Save for the years, of course..." He caught himself mid-sentence, a pang of something (empathy?) flashing across his face. "I'm positively charmed to meet you at last, Sabrina. Your Uncle has written of you often these past few years."

A look passed between the two elders. "If you would attend us," Nathaniel began, "we have yet to complete the evening's formalities and Mr Ashton would have you both meet his own protege." They started to walk, slowly, towards the striking woman in a red dress the compliment of Carrick's coat across the room. Jemal fell in step a little behind his sire, offering his hand to Sabrina as he went.
_____________


*Caitlyn and Valentine*

"Excellent." Valentine's smile widened, showing perfect teeth, "Then I'll have you called when it's time for your piece." He checked his watch, "If you'll excuse me, I should attend to a few final details. Believe me when I say you've done very well for yourself tonight, Cate. Very well indeed."

The man at the corner table seemed very tall, even when sitting, though the lighting at his seat was poor and Caitlyn could make out little else other than his figure. She could have sworn that he was looking at her in that moment, however.
_____________


*Gabriel and Nikolai*

As the tension heightened between the pair, Nikolai felt the scrutiny of others upon him, a creeping sensation that was only magnified by his suserior senses. Gabriel could see the trio of elder Tremere over the other's shoulder watching them with faces as impassive as masks.
_____________


*Elizabeth, Max and Morgan*

After a minute or so, Morgan turned to Max, as did her companion. Both smiled, though Max felt the gorgeous spectacle from the blonde was little more than the prelude to the hunt. "Max. We thought we'd lost you, there." Morgan put out both hands to him, a curious gesture, considering her recent distance. This is Elizabeth Shaw, my sire." She inclined her head towards the blonde, "She's recently come to the city to stay, so you'll be seeing more of each other in the future."

Elizabeth looked Max up and down, "I should hope so, Morgan." She put out a hand to Max, running it down the material of his sleeve, "I've heard about you, Max. Your passions, familiarity with the city and your _excellent_ taste... Morgan should be very proud of you. You seem a credit to her, and to your line." Morgan took a single step backwards, leaving the two a fraction more space to converse.
_____________


*Vychtorya*

Vychtorya sensed the proximity of Carrick a fraction of a second before she saw him approaching her, accompanied by the Montague family. He seemed at his ease, and his eyes betrayed nothing but good humour. They flickered across to the corner table, then back to her, though he never broke his easy stride.
_____________


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 23, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Catulle _*
> "If you'll excuse me, I should attend to a few final details.
> *




“Yes…,” Caitlyn responded to Valentine with a brief smile and light pressing of his hand in farewell as he left her.  “Attend to your tasks, Mr. Valentine.  I shall not disappoint you or your honored guest.”

Who was he?  Should she ask?  But why ask?  It would spoil the absolutely gothic atmosphere and Cate was nothing if sensitive to the whims of the imagination and all its myriad ways.  A mystery!  She adored mysteries and with so many abound at this strange gathering of beautiful people, Cate thought she must have reached the state of excitement several times now alone.

Restraint.  How she hated restraint.

In that moment, her dark eyes flared with the stimulation of a thousand lunar firecrackers and all the bottled up energy from trying to behave at such a stately gathering infused her skin with its warmth.   A curve trickled up the corner of her lips until it flashed into an enigmatic smile at her hidden observer.  With a short if bright laugh, Cate spun in a whirl of sapphire silk and glided back over to the depths of the stage to converse with her band before heading downstairs to the piano bar.


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## Shalimar (Feb 24, 2003)

*Sabrina*

The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
00:55, 11/30/2002

"I'm sorry uncle Nathan."  Sabrina says, looking anything but.  But even his sternness couldn't take her down off the high from her first taste of blood and finding out about the powers she is going to have.  When he goes on to say she must be introduced to everyne the child preens relishing the attention she knows she is going to get.

She waits her turn to be introduced to Mr. Ashton, shifting from one tiny slippered foot to the other.  When its her turn to be introduced she gives him her small hand and curtseys.



> "I'm positively charmed to meet you at last, Sabrina. Your Uncle has written of you often these past few years."




"I'm pleased to meet you too Mister Ashton." she says blushing, not quite knowing how to take his comment, she looks at her uncle for a moment, then impulsively gives Carrick a hug, instinctively trying to endear herself to the older man that her uncle was obviously friends with.  She looked up at him giving him her most charming smile, before releasing his waist.

She nods happily at his suggestion of meeting the beautiful red-headed woman.    She took Jemal's hand as he passed, following in the wake of the two elders.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 24, 2003)

Max is flattered by the statement.

"Umm, thank you," he says, not knowing how to respond though he makes an attempt, "Your words flatter me. I'm glad to be of value and proud to be of this line."

_I think I said that right, gotta give a good impression... What Morgan trying to do? Is she trying to give Elizabeth the idea that we're still together? Wow, all these women taking an interest in me, really attractive women. Well, three women, but thats WAY more than I normally get in one night. Then again, Elizabeth I don't think is all that interested in me, just being nice and all due to the occasion, and Caitlyn I guess is more of a friend. Meh, its all good, one is way more than normal anyway, can't wait till Thursday..._


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 24, 2003)

reapersaurus said:
			
		

> *Looking around to ensure that noone else is paying attention, Nikolai leans close, duplicating Gabriel's lean:
> See, that's the thing - discretion is for people with something to Hide.
> Doesn't unlife suck when your past deeds come back to haunt you?
> 
> ...




Gabriel met the gaze of the other Tremere, and nodded slightly as a show of respect. His eyes returned to Nikolai. "The more you speak about things you do not understand, the more you reveal your ignorance. Discretion, secrecy, smoke and mirrors are a way of life for our kind" he said. "You put too much stock in what you perceive on the surface, and it blinds you to what lurks below."

He could feel the beast begin to uncoil, and he tried to fight it down. He was beginning to loose patience. There was a reason kindred where so proper with each other...


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## reapersaurus (Feb 24, 2003)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> *"You put too much stock in what you perceive on the surface, and it blinds you to what lurks below."*



"Tell you what, then - 

Like I said, I'll be watching you.
I'll also be listening.

So if you can convince me that your motives are pure, than I will not ignore your deeds and words that back up your claims of innocence.

I am not prejudiced - I have worked with many different kinds of people in my life. Some not exactly of the most.... angelic of natures, if you know what I mean.

I know that people ... and even vampires.... can change - 
but until I have strong assurances that your loyalties lie within, I would be foolhardy to ignore what my senses tell me.

Tell me this, Gabriel : 
If I was to envelop you in the shadows of the Night as the Lasombre do - wouldn't you take pause, and not invite me into your Home?

If I was known to be of the fine upstanding house of Toreador - would you discuss internal workings of House Tremere in my presence?"


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 24, 2003)

Gabriel turned back to Nikolai. "Make no mistake. I am not... "angelic" as you put it. I am not a nice person Nikolai. I do not rescue kittens from trees, I stomp them if they cross my path."

He smiled slightly at that last part. _A bit dramatic, but it is an accurate metaphor I suppose..._

"Each night, I feed from the living to sate my appetite. I left my illusions behind when I died. But... If you must know. I do not discuss the clan's business with outsiders, and I do not bed with Lasombra."

He paused a moment, then looked back at the others of his clan. "Now... as amused as I am by this petty banter, I have more meaningful matters to attend. If you will excuse me...."

He nodded slightly to the other Tremere, and stepped around him. As he met the gaze of the others, he put on his most charming grin, and gave a slight nod of respect. "Evening ladies and gentlemen.."


----------



## reapersaurus (Feb 25, 2003)

.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 25, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
> 00:55, 11/30/2002Vychtorya
> Vychtorya sensed the proximity of Carrick a fraction of a second before she saw him approaching her, accompanied by the Montague family. He seemed at his ease, and his eyes betrayed nothing but good humour. They flickered across to the corner table, then back to her, though he never broke his easy stride.*



"….that’s not how it’s suppo….” Vych stops her thought in mid-stream as another came to the forefront of her mind, “Carrick…” 

Vych turns slightly to her right, and takes a few steps forward to greet them. She quickly glances over the group and notices there is a little girl with them holding a young man’s hand. Remembering her conversation with Nathaniel from earlier she thought to herself, “this must be his niece and Jemal. Nathaniel seemed so distraught earlier over the little one.” The thought of one so young tore at her emotions as they approached. Anger, sadness, and a host of others went rushing through her mind. She looked quickly up at Carrick, but he seemed at ease. Taking note, Vych tried to push the ill thoughts out of her mind. 

Looking back on the group as they made their last few steps toward her, Vych glanced up at Nathaniel, then briefly back to the little girl before resuming her gaze on the entire group. She attempted, with all her being, to present a warm, welcoming smile.


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## Catulle (Feb 25, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden* 
00:57, 30/11/2002


*Carrick, Jemal, Nathaniel, Sabrina and Vychtorya*

Carrick seemed to take Sabrina's familiar gesture in his stride, as Vychtorya completed the last few steps into the company. Nathaniel bowed smartly to her once more, as Carrick put out his hand to his childe by way of greeting. The Ventrue spoke, his tones formal, "I had hoped to have the pleasure as I indicated when we spoke previously. Madam, might I present Jemal Montague, my childe and last of the Montague line and his sister Sabrina, who is also under my protection." He turned to Jemal and Sabrina, emcompassing  the red-haired woman with a sweep of his arm, "Vychtorya-Lyn Fayrchyld, childe of Carrick Ashton of the line of de Corazon."
_____________


*Elizabeth, Max and Morgan*

As Elizabeth continued, out of the corner of his eye, Max could see Morgan fold her arms across her chest in a strangely defensive posture. "We simply _must_ get to know one another better, Max." Her gaze was almost indecent in its intensity, "After all, who would know the beast that sleeps within us better than another Brujah? The way it can drive us is our curse, and yet our passion, is it not?" Her arm was now intertwined with his and through the smooth muscle, Max could sense the incredible strength coiled within the older woman. An intensity forged in both body and will.
_____________


*House Tremere*

The faces of the three Tremere sat opposite Nikolai and Gabriel revealed little. Certainly, Sturbridge and Estevez were pictures of measured neutrality, though a sneer (of distaste? Contempt?) was apparant from the diminutive Wainwright, who did not shift his attention from Gabriel's forehead. Estevez indicated the single remaining seat to Nikolai.

"Gentlemen." Sturbridge looked to each of the four in turn. "My appologies for the delay in my arrival. I would have hoped to arrive first to chaperone our youngest apprentice," her eyes took in Gabriel over her glasses "but affairs with Mr Vanderweyden arose unforeseen, more of which anon. I trust that we have conducted ourselves with appropriate decorum. Have you learned anything of the Prince's purpose, yet?" The question was clearly intended for the pair of apprentices, as Aisling paused expectantly.
_____________


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## Catulle (Feb 25, 2003)

*The Piano Lounge in the Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:56, 11/30/2002

Caitlyn swept through the short corridor that conjoined the two rooms. Though small in terms of space, it seemed some soundproofing had been done, as the noise from the party did not travel into the intimate lounge where the Kindred Knights had gathered. An open bottle of Champagne rested in an ice bucket on the floor, and the three musicians toasted their singer on her arrival.

Maria pressed a fluted glass, cold to the touch, into Caitlyn's hand as she approached, her broad grin hinting at her previous indulgence, "Great job, Cate. Where'd you meet this Valentine guy, again?" her inquiry did not seem entirely professional by the look in her eye.

"Here's to us!", Xander was flushed with success, downing his glass entirely too fast.

"Here's to the contract which _must_ be in our future after that set..." Sita, perched on the piano stool, at least had her mind on business.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 25, 2003)

Gabriel nodded again to each of the men as he sat, and didn't pause before answering his better's question. "Fortunatly, Ms. Sturbridge, the other kindred seem to know as little about the Prince's business as ourselves. If they know more, none where forthcoming."

Having given his report, he added: "I hope whatever kept you and Mr. Vanderweyden resolved itself to your liking." He spared a glance at Nikolai. "We managed well enough." He didn't see any reason Aisling need learn about the tension between himself and Nikolai. Despite his precarious position, he refused to cower behind Aisling. He would take care of himself.

OOC: Actually, unless Reaper made a change, Gabe is older than Nikolai. So wouldn't he be "our youngest apprentice"?


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## Shalimar (Feb 25, 2003)

*Sabrina*

The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden 
00:57, 30/11/2002


Sabrina flushed with pleasure at the gorgeous woman's friendly welcoming smile, she was so pleased that she skipped the last few steps.  _Maybe she'll be as nice as miss cate_  the little girl thought hopefully, her hair bouncing to-and-fro with the motin.

She curtseyed to Vychtorya as her uncle made introductions, smiling at the beautiful red-head.   "Your very pretty miss Vychtorya."  the child says earnestly, her dimples showing on her face.  "I hope I get to be as pretty as you when I'm all grown up," she continues warmly.

Sabrina really wanted to ask the woman if she was a vampire too, and what stuff she could do, but one warning was enough, well at least while uncle Nathan could hear her at any rate.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 26, 2003)

*



			The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden 
00:57, 30/11/2002

Carrick, Jemal, Nathaniel, Sabrina and Vychtorya

Carrick seemed to take Sabrina's familiar gesture in his stride, as Vychtorya completed the last few steps into the company. Nathaniel bowed smartly to her once more, as Carrick put out his hand to his childe by way of greeting. The Ventrue spoke, his tones formal, "I had hoped to have the pleasure as I indicated when we spoke previously. Madam, might I present Jemal Montague, my childe and last of the Montague line and his sister Sabrina, who is also under my protection." He turned to Jemal and Sabrina, emcompassing the red-haired woman with a sweep of his arm, "Vychtorya-Lyn Fayrchyld, childe of Carrick Ashton of the line of de Corazon."
		
Click to expand...


*Vych places her left hand in Carrick’s and gives a most proper reverence to Mr. Montague and his family. 

_“’Tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr. Montague.”_ 
Vych extends her hand to Jemal palm down. Her eyes passed from his somewhat quickly considering how striking he was. Vych’s attention, for the moment, had been captured by Sabrina.*



			She curtseyed to Vychtorya as her uncle made introductions, smiling at the beautiful red-head. "Your very pretty miss Vychtorya." the child says earnestly, her dimples showing on her face. "I hope I get to be as pretty as you when I'm all grown up," she continues warmly.
		
Click to expand...


*Vych’s previous anger dissolves into a strange feeling of compassion for the child upon Sabrina’s greeting. The little girl’s voice is so sweet, her dimples simply irresistible. Then she hears the last words Sabrina said echo in her head, “when I’m all grown up.” 

With that, Vych feels something pull at her dead heart and slowly stretches out her arms to hold the little girl’s hands out to the sides in a sort of “ring-around-the-rosey” fashion. Then, she kneels to the child’s level bringing both their hands up just below chin level. 

With a gentle smile gracing her entire face Vych says,
_“how very sweet you are to say that Miss Sabrina. I think you are very pretty too my dear.”_
Vych touches the child’s cheek lightly with one hand as she rises. 

Vych continues to hold Sabrina’s hand until the little girl releases. 

Vych tries to hide the slight wave of sadness in her eyes as she looks at Nathaniel and says,
_”Mr. Montague, your family is lovely.”_


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 26, 2003)

*The Piano Lounge in the Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:56, 11/30/2002

“Oh my god, Maria!” 

Caitlyn laughed as she flopped unceremoniously on what had appeared to be a comfortable lounging couch, blue silk all wildly askew.  Holding the back of her hand dramatically to her forehead, she loosed her sweet southern drawl in a blaze of primness.  “Oh my _dear_, Maria, I just fluttered my lashes and the debonair Mr. Valentine came forward dropping this luscious opportunity in my lap along with a proposal and a record contract of course!”

Rolling her eyes, the young singer winked at her punk friends.  “What do you think?  He heard us play and…you saw how they loved us!  Just wait and see…today hoity-toity parties…tomorrow Madison Square Garden to a sell out stadium!

A dark eyebrow arched knowing at Maria as she took a sip of the cool sweet champagne.  “Though if you want to know the marital status of Mr. Valentine, I’ll certainly hint around for you…there’s no dearth of handsome young men in there, I tell you.  They’re just growing out of the chairs!  Sprouting like little bean stalks of hunky manhood.  There’s the lusciously naughty Jemal Montague, the endearingly sexy Max Freigert, the proper and broody Nathaniel Montague, the quirky Mr. Valentine of whom Maria knows so well and a mysterious man who likes shadows…and those are only the ones that I’ve met so far…so if you two want a set up…just ask away…I can be somewhat discreet.”  

She winked.  “Somewhat.”

“But I’m just glad to be out of the stuffed-shirt preening room and here with you guys!”  She reached out and gave Maria a hug. ”If I ever needed a reminder of why I left my parents, tonight brought it all just rushing right back!”


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## Jemal (Feb 26, 2003)

OOC: OOOH, I'm lusciously naughty..

OT: BTW, Kit.. That rundown of guys caught my atention for some reason, and I JUST realized what... That's the same way they introduce people at the beginning of each Just For Laughs episode..
"The cunning and witty Jeff Dunham, the insightfully satirical Bowser and Blue, The wild and Wacky Elvira Kurt, and the just plain crazy Scott Falconbridge"
And no, that's not an actual line-up.. GOD I WISH those 5 were on a single episode.. that'd be SWEET!

Anyways, back on track...

IC: 
_The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden 
00:58, 30/11/2002_

Jemal smiled to Vychtoria, momentarily taking her hand and brushing his lips across the back of her offered hand lightly.  As he returned his gaze to her and released her hand, smiling slightly yet pleasantly, he heard Sabrina's greeting, and nearly winced.  Glancing at Vychtoria to see how she would take the comment, he was mildly surprised at her gentle handling of the child.  Looking over at Nathan, Jemal shook his head slightly at his uncle/sire, to let him know that he hadn't yet explained it all to her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, miss Fayrchyld." He said, his gaze flitting between her and Sabrina with a slight twinge of... something.. fear? Jealousy? Defensiveness?  Sabrina was his sister, his responsibility, and she was getting exposed to this world way to rapidly for his tastes.  Nevertheless, he smiled slightly, not wishing to put anyone off.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 26, 2003)

> "We simply must get to know one another better, Max." Her gaze was almost indecent in its intensity.




_Ok, now she's officially scary and creepy, but much more older than I so I'd better keep her happy._

He looks away from Elizabeth to Morgan for second. Help me, etched desperately across his face. He turns back to her though with a somewhat cool smile.



> "After all, who would know the beast that sleeps within us better than another Brujah? The way it can drive us is our curse, and yet our passion, is it not?"




"Yes, I can't help but agree its a two-edged sword, but I guess it does influence us to be more articulate and diplomatic. We can make the choice to be extra careful to avoid waking our beast, and thus benefit greatly from it. To be seen as a Brujah who's in control can bring respect, but woe betide any who manage to enrage such a disciplined Brujah," he says, looking to Elizabeth.

_Hope that keeps the b happy. Is she trying to get in my pants? God, if there's one thing I hate about being a Brujah its that I have to try so hard to keep in control. It's so frustrating to have to fight with my own blood for rule of my flesh. Not the time to freak out though, I must cool it, put on a happy face. I'll just play Soldier of Fortune 2 or something when I get home. That'll make me feel better._

Max does his best to continue smiling, but the arm Elizabeth is not entwined upon is clenching its hand angrily for a moment behind Max's back. Once again he looks to Morgan in desparation, but does his best to hide his discomfort from Elizabeth.

_Uh-oh. Where's Caitlyn? I hope she hasn't left already..._


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## reapersaurus (Feb 26, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Estevez indicated the single remaining seat to Nikolai.
> 
> "Gentlemen." Sturbridge looked to each of the four in turn. "I trust that we have conducted ourselves with appropriate decorum. Have you learned anything of the Prince's purpose, yet?" The question was clearly intended for the pair of apprentices, as Aisling paused expectantly.*



Nikolai takes the seat next to Estevez, attempting wordlessly to convey that he's glad to be near "real" Tremere again.

"The excellent performance has taken the spotlight tonight - most of the attendees seem to be concentrating their attentions and discussions on the kine tonight.

I thought it rather ballsy of Valentine to bring humans into our little soiree.

Do you know of any designs he, or any others here, may have on the _belleza del cantante_ that performed for us? 

After waiting for a reply, Nik would fit in the conversation "Our esteemed acting-Prince's motivations are as yet tonight, his own."


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## Catulle (Feb 26, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:58, 11/30/2002


*House Tremere*

Aisling remained quiet, but attentive throughout the reports, brief as they were, "Perhaps the Ventrue and Toreador may pry him out of his silence," an incline of her head indicated the group's approach towards the corner table. She cleared her throat,

"Mr Vanderweyden is a seer of sorts after his clan's most traditional bent. His visions are often elusive after the fact, however, and my assistance in unlocking them has, before now,  brought the clan some useful hints of what is to come. A useful ally most definitely." She paused in thought, her eyes fixed on the shadow-shrouded table.

"¿Pero la claridad de su voz,  corta derecho a nuestros corazones, no?" Genie replied with a wry smile. Wainwright gave out an audible snort. His glare still had not moved an inch, remaining intent on Gabriel's forehead.
_____________


*Elizabeth, Morgan and Max*

Max's sire remained aloof from the growing discomfort of his interview... yes, perhaps that was what it was? Elizabeth's face mollified swiftly into a radiant expression, hinting at pride and pleasure intermixed. Her smile showed her teeth. "You, of all here, needn't fear me Max. The others are afraid of our passion, 'lack of control' they call it, yet on the blood of the Brujah was the city won..." She shook her head, the gesture sending strands of golden hair across her face, though she released his arm to brush them aside. "We will not be so easily forgotten; put aside as we were before once our use is concluded."

(Elizabeth Entrancement diff 2 - 9,6,5,4,2,1,1 plus willpower - 4 successes (duration one month)) Perhaps it was a moment of truth, the revelation of such unexpected honesty, but it seemed Elizabeth's persona shifted in that moment. Her confidence in him (she said 'We', right, and she's proud of me?) gave him a sense of purpose; it would only be the honourable thing to reciprocate such honesty, surely?
_____________


*Carrick, Jemal, Nathaniel, Sabrina and Vychtorya*

The quintet, lead by Carrick and Nathaniel, came to a halt before the shadowed corner table. The features of the man (?) on the opposite side of the table were, even so close, indistinct. It was as if the darkness itself clung to his frame, blurring the lines and deflecting the eye. Both Mr Ashton and Mr Montague bowed low, introducing themselves and their progeny in the most formal terms;

"Carrick Ashton, childe of Maria santa Lucia of the line of the de Corazon Toreador. I present my childe Vychtorya-Lyn Fayrchyld."

"Nathaniel Montague, childe of Simon Montague of the Ventrue descended from the Lady Almanov. I bring my childer Jemal Montague of my own line and," His pause was fractional, barely noticeable, and his expression hidden "Sabrina Montague, who is of my household."

The hitherto silent man they addressed waved aside the etiquette with a sharp gesture of his right hand "Let them talk. I want to hear what they say for themselves." His hand rotated, palm upraised, expectant, though his face remained hidden.


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## Catulle (Feb 26, 2003)

*The Piano Lounge in the Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:59, 11/30/2002

Maria's smirk was all but gleeful as she dummed her fingernails on the grand piano while Cate ran down her list. "Well, I suppose rich would be best, but you'd better make him a looker... and, well, _exciting_ if you get me? Think you could fill that order for me, sweetie?"

Sita lifted her eyes heavenwards in frustration, "Look, this isn't a dating agency, for 's sake, Maria. This could be our breakthrough. If the society crowd in there go for us, this could really be the start of, well, a *career*. Long-term prospects, regular meals, champagne," she raised her glass to illustrate the point "on ing *tap* for God's sake... Just stop thinking so... low down, yeah?"

Throughout, Xander stood by the piano, tapping the keys in an attempt to string together an approximation of a Sex Pistols song on the classical instrument. His success was limited, at best. "So are we done now, or not?"


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## reapersaurus (Feb 27, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *"¿Pero la claridad de su voz,  corta derecho a nuestros corazones, no?" Genie replied with a wry smile. Wainwright gave out an audible snort. His glare still had not moved an inch, remaining intent on Gabriel's forehead.*



Nikolai responds,
"Sí - at least what hearts such as we still possess...

For my part, I confess a certain....  affectation for singers of her talent.
I'd be.... disappointed if she was taken advantage of."


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## KitanaVorr (Feb 27, 2003)

*The Piano Lounge in the Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:59, 11/30/2002

“Oh, Maria, they’re all rich and gorgeous…it’s New York City!  So take your pick and join me out there in the den of the socially repressed.”  

Caitlyn stood up, taking a few steps forward and back, letting her hips sway a bit to Xander’s playing.  Fingers snapped to the beat in her free hand while the other raised the half-empty glass of champagne in the air while she danced.  Moving toward Sita, she gave her more serious-minded friend a wink.  

“It wasn’t all play and no work.  I did get a few contacts for you…we’ve got two potential gigs…with a Morgan Thepclay and her club in Bensonhurst…plus at another club run by a Vcyhtorya Fayrchyld called Antiquities.”

“And as for you, Xander….”  Flipping the piece of paper that Valentine had given her onto his lap, she grinned at her favorite bandmate.  “That’s a request from Mr. Mysterious himself.  And I’ve got a few ideas to make it a little more…_interesting_.”

Dark eyebrows arched high into the air.  A sure sign of mischief indeed.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 27, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
> 00:58, 11/30/2002*
> *The hitherto silent man they addressed waved aside the etiquette with a sharp gesture of his right hand "Let them talk. I want to hear what they say for themselves." His hand rotated, palm upraised, expectant, though his face remained hidden. *



Vych touched Carrick’s elbow as she stepped to the forefront of the group. She gives a brief but reverent nod, seeing as the Prince had just waved aside proper etiquette. She speaks with a clear, lulling accented voice,
_”I am Vychtorya-Lyn Fayrchyld as presented by my Sire,"_ 
(a graceful sweep of her right arm stretches out and back toward Carrick)
_"but your Grace may call upon me as you wish.” _
(She brings her right arm back across her body to rest against her chest with hand over heart, ending her first sentence in a nod looking downward).

Vych then raises her head slightly, drops her arm gracefully back to her side and pauses briefly as to not over speak in case of response. 

_”I am presented this eve to seek permission from your Grace to remain here in New York with my Sire, and, with your approval, become an active part of the community your Grace has in good care.”_

Vych, a little nervous since she could not see the Prince's facial expressions, genuflects with a slight nod at the close of her words to acknowledge the Prince respectfully.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 27, 2003)

[ooc: lol, i'm lucky reaper inlcuded a link to an online dictionary otherwise 'reciprocate' woulda had me stumped , thx reaper]

Max comes to a realisation. 

_She's not so bad, she's proud of me. She only tried to get on my good side with that stuff, she stopped it when she realised I was uncomfortable, damn I shouldn't be angry. She's crusading for the recognition of our efforts during the reclamation, I have to support that. She wants us to have influence in current goins on, I like that. This is something I should get involved in, if not because I want to, but simply because my sire's sire wants it. It's only right that I should help her out. This is a strange path of thought... nevermind._

He smiles understandingly at Elizabeth.

"Yes, we need some recognition of all we have done. Never should a clan's efforts be cast aside so lightly, its intolerable. How could we voice our concern over this?" Max asks.

Yet somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered why he felt so animated about it now and not before. He told himself Elizabeth had inpsired him, and nothing more.


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## Jemal (Feb 27, 2003)

OOC: Tsk tsk.. Poor max has become a pawn of the beast and must be destroyed along with her. 
Ah, c'est la Vie .. um wait, we're not alive.. OK, c'est la Mort then.

IC: 
Jemal waited patiently, hands crossed in front of him and an eye on his sister as he awaited his turn.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Feb 27, 2003)

> Wainwright gave out an audible snort. His glare still had not moved an inch, remaining intent on Gabriel's forehead.




Gabriel, tired of playing cat and mouse tonight, turned and stared at the little dwarf in return. A moment passed. "Is there a problem", he asked, his voice cold and raspy.

_Perhaps you need me to get something off a shelf for you?_, he thought.


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## Shalimar (Feb 27, 2003)

> ”I am presented this eve to seek permission from your Grace to remain here in New York with my Sire, and, with your approval, become an active part of the community your Grace has in good care.”
> 
> Vych, a little nervous since she could not see the Prince's facial expressions, genuflects with a slight nod at the close of her words to acknowledge the Prince respectfully.




_Seek permission to remain in New York?  But.... He couldn't really make me leave could he?  I mean I would have to leave Jemal, and Uncle Nathan, and Mommy and Daddy._ Sabrina wonders for a second, her tiny lower lip trembling.  _No, uncle Nathan wouldn't let it happen, Jemal either._ she reassures herself.

She takes a small step forward so that she is standing just across the table from the man.  "I'm Sabrina," the little girl says endearingly in her lilting sing-song voice, smiling at him, her cute little dimples standing out.  "I've never met a prince before.  Do you have a castle and a princess?"  she asks curiously.

With a small start, she scrunches her nose like she is thinking about something.  She reaches behind her back to her teddy-bear backpack, and pats it to reassure herself that its still there.  She sticks her tongue out and up against her cheek like she is concentrating as she works the bags zippers, they're little pink hearts.

Finally she gets the bag open, and pulls out a small package, no larger then her own fist, wrapped in lavender silk with tiny pink teddy bears printed on it.  Smiling she hands it to the shadow wrapped Kindred.  "Your suppoused to bring a gift when you first meet someone."  She says happily, waitin for him to open it.


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## Catulle (Feb 27, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:59, 11/30/2003


*House Tremere*

Eugenio reclined in his chair somewhat nodding his agreement with Nikolai as he smoothed out his moustache, before he turned his head back towards Aisling.

"There is no problem without remedy, whelp," came the diminutive Regent's response in a clipped tone, "there was a time when such as you were considered oathbreakers and treated accordingly. If the council have granted you mercy, I shall not gainsay it." Gabriel could feel the hostility, tightly controlled in Wainwright's voice, "_but_ I shall be watching you. We shall _all_ be watching you."

Sturbridge cleared her throat softly, bringing Wainwright's attention, thankfully, away from Gabriel. "Well, as I was saying it seems Mr Vanderweyden should bear close attention from our house. Eugenio? Will you make the overtures; you know how I fare in political circles. Ephraim, the Kenilworth's research programme continues to dominate your time, I trust?" A sharp jerk of Wainwright's head seemed to signify his assent and her attention returned to the two apprentices, "Do the others here bear watching? You have both seen more of the events than we, would that it were otherwise..."
_____________


*Elizabeth, Max and Morgan*

The details of Elizabeth's face absorbed Max as much as her words, as she drew herself closer to him, narrowing the distance as she lowered her voice, "Through unity. That's how the Justicars used the Brujah in the field, that's how we won the city. That's how we'll keep it. I'll not forget you, Max. Don't forget me." She pulled away sharply, back to a more normal approximation of conversational space. "You should meet Marlena my ,our, sister-in-blood. She may tell you more about our clan's immediate situation." Elizabeth winked at him, as she withdrew her hand from his arm. He could feel Morgan step closer behind him.
_____________


*the Petitioners and the Prince*

"All are welcome in New York." the more the Kindred listened, the more apparant it was that the voice seemed ragged about the edges. "Provided they obey the rules I've set for the good of all of us." The Prince remained shrouded in the darkness, which seemed deeper around his sparse figure than in the corner itself.

A racking wheeze issued from the stranger at Sabrina's question; a sound which only after consideration, could be interpreted as laughter. To the child, however, it seemed quite terrifying.

The hand which extended beyond the shadows to take the offering was pale and gnarled almost beyond recognition as a usable appendage. Chipped nails, almost talons, grew from the glisteningly blanched flesh that was too-thin on the bone. Yet with a surprising facility, it grasped the silk, unfolding it swiftly in a manner evocative of a carrion bird picking at its meal. Long fingers plucked out the object secreted within the material and the deep red of the crystal reflected what little light reached into the corner across white skin. The Prince raised the heart-shaped structure, catching more light through it and staining his hand  redder in the reflected glow.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said.


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## Festy_Dog (Feb 28, 2003)

> "You should meet Marlena my, our, sister-in-blood. She may tell you more about our clan's immediate situation." Elizabeth winked at him, as she withdrew her hand from his arm. He could feel Morgan step closer behind him.




"I'd be happy to meet her," Max says cheerily.

He turns to Morgan and smiles at her reassuringly.

_This is very kewl. Maybe a few heads will need to be broken to get our way, doesn't sound too bad._


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## Shalimar (Feb 28, 2003)

*Sabrina*



> A racking wheeze issued from the stranger at Sabrina's question; a sound which only after consideration, could be interpreted as laughter. To the child, however, it seemed quite terrifying.
> 
> The hand which extended beyond the shadows to take the offering was pale and gnarled almost beyond recognition as a usable appendage. Chipped nails, almost talons, grew from the glisteningly blanched flesh that was too-thin on the bone. Yet with a surprising facility, it grasped the silk, unfolding it swiftly in a manner evocative of a carrion bird picking at its meal. Long fingers plucked out the object secreted within the material and the deep red of the crystal reflected what little light reached into the corner across white skin. The Prince raised the heart-shaped structure, catching more light through it and staining his hand redder in the reflected glow.
> 
> "I'm sorry." Was all he said.




Sabrina stares fearfully at the arm that takes the presant.  Her eyes are very wide as she inches backwards behind the closest adult, just happening to be Vyctorya.  She grabs ahold of the back of the beautiful woman's leg making low whimpering sounds in the back of her throat.

Her skin is very pale from fear, almost as pale as the other kindred, and for one who is as lucky as she to retain her coloring that say a lot.  She looks over at Nathan and Jemal seeming to shrink in on herself and become even smaller.  She had never before seen anything as scary as this, whatever it was, prince she suppoused, but could a prince really be like that?  Weren't theysuppoused to be handsome and ride white horses and save princesses?


----------



## Vychtorya (Feb 28, 2003)

*Re: Sabrina*

*


			
				Shalimar said:
			
		


			Sabrina stares fearfully at the arm that takes the presant.  Her eyes are very wide as she inches backwards behind the closest adult, just happening to be Vyctorya.  She grabs ahold of the back of the beautiful woman's leg making low whimpering sounds in the back of her throat.
		
Click to expand...


*Not sure if she was taken aback by the Prince or by Sabrina grabbing her leg, Vych steadies herself, quickly looks down at the child, then back to Jemal and Nathaniel, and instinctively wraps her arm around the little girl’s shoulder, holding her tight against her hip and thigh.

Vych attempts to regain as much of her composure as she can manage while continuing to hold the child tight to her side.


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## Vychtorya (Feb 28, 2003)

Vych wished for someone to say something as she could not. She looks back to Jemal and Nathaniel, then over to Carrick with a somewhat pleading look in her eyes.


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## Catulle (Feb 28, 2003)

*The Piano Lounge in the Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
00:59, 11/30/2002

Taking the sheet, Xander examined it and played out a few bars on the keyboard; the others throwing in with their own improvisations about the theme; in seconds, the musicians had gelled their own interpretation firmly about the unfamiliar tune in just the manner Cate had hoped that they would. A synthesis of styles. Perfect.


01:01, 11/30/2002

A sharp rap on the door brought the group to their senses. By the time they could respond, the door was already open. The maitre d'hotel's form was outlined in the light from the corridor, the cast aging him to the point of appearing gaunt, even haggard. "It is time. Plans have had to change. Please, follow me."

He stepped into the corridor, indicating the small ramp up to the stage to the left hand side. The Knights looked from one to another as they moved, questioning as they drained their glasses. Though they knew the way to the still-curtained stage, the room was eerily quiet on the other side of the thick drapes...


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## Catulle (Feb 28, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
01:00, 11/30/2002


Perhaps in response to the girl's obvious terror, the hand withdrew. "Thank you Sabrina. Perhaps once you know more you'll forgive me. The first nights are always harsh." A throaty choking sound emanated from the shadows. Nathaniel and Carrick each took a step forward, bringing themselves in line with the neonates, as if to recieve judgement alongside their progeny. Carrick's expression seemed confident, Nathaniel's was far more pessimistic.


The figure in the shadows stood, surprisingly small, though the deformity to its spine was obvious at this distance, a tall, thin man, perhaps bent to three-quarters of his height. Certainty was impossible under the poor light; it was hard to even concentrate too hard on the Prince's form. The Kindred closest to him heard an intake of breath and....

Nothing. Not a word was spoken, but the figure stepped out of the shadows that had, until now, granted the mercy of shrouding the creature in the midst of Elysium from sight. A horror of pallid flesh hanging sparse from twisted bone, arthritic joints seeming to struggle to keep the abomination that was the Prince's body moving, inorexably, forwards. Into the light, that all might see.

The creature was quite bald, though the skin was peeling in flakes from his scalp, leaving a light dusting across the sloped shoulders of his dark woolen coat. Wide, deep set and bloodshot eyes stared broad-pupiled from beneath his sharp brow. His mouth was full of jagged fangs that were so poorly set as to chafe and rub his gums almost to the point of bleeding. Yet he still moved. Forward, into the light; forward, to the foot of the stage.

The room fell silent.

The creature - Calebros - cleared it's throat once more, and spoke, a dry rasp that with every ennunciation brought the audience's attention to those broken lips:-

"Welcome. As you should all know by now I’m not a man to mince words and I hate speeches.  Well, I don’t really have a choice in avoiding this one, since if I did I would, so you’d better listen well. I’m not going to repeat myself.

Some months down the line, I saw (and put it about) that the city needed stability – a prince, a primogen council… permanent measures to stop a return to anarchy. I set up some rules to help that happen, and appointed as few agents as were strictly necessary to enforce these so as not to step on the toes of whoever was to take over. I hoped you good, self-interested people would do the rest. I’m sure I don’t need to put this next part plainly, but I will. Since I’m a blunt old bastard at heart;

That hasn’t happened. The rules have been stretched, distorted – I won’t say outright broken, but some of you will know just precisely what you’ve gotten away with. Not one primogen has come forward, no suitable prince. Not even a sniff. Seems I’m unexpectedly popular, right?

Well, I don’t really care for popularity, and I have a life of my own. One with pressing issues I can’t ignore anymore like you seem to have ignored my commentary. I said I was going. I told you I wasn’t sitting here forever. You didn’t listen, so I’m going to have to put this a little clearer. I’ve let all the relevant dignitaries know. They’ll be taking an interest in your next moves, I think.

To clarify – the rules stay; The sheriff stays. The scourges stay. The traditions stay. Nobody creates childer. Note that the good archon Bell will be staying about to keep an eye on things, too.

That’s it. I’m finished with this job, and I’m finished with these courts. Farewell."


----------



## KitanaVorr (Mar 1, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
01:00, 11/30/2002

Caitlyn glanced at the other members of her band, placing down the now empty glass of champagne on the edge of the piano.  Her head swam with fuzziness…perhaps indulgence right before a performance was a very bad idea.  Or maybe she shouldn’t have played with the lyrics, the song, the whole thing…but wasn’t it the curse of a songwriter?  To always reinvent if not create?

Straightening her dress, the young singer headed out to take her place before the microphone to wait.  Why were the curtains closed?  That was odd.  They hadn’t closed the curtains for the performance earlier…and was the soundproofing that perfect?  What was going on behind…or rather in front…of the red velvet curtain?


----------



## Festy_Dog (Mar 1, 2003)

Max tilts his head to one side like a confused animal.

_Well. Thats a surprise._

"Didn't see that coming," he whispers to Morgan. "I mean, I know he didn't want or like the job but I didn't expect him to just get up and leave."

_Hmm, to make Elizabeth the prince would be a very nice move now that the seat is vacant. Hehe, I wonder if they could ignore us then._


----------



## reapersaurus (Mar 1, 2003)

.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 1, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
> 01:00, 11/30/2002 Nothing. Not a word was spoken, but the figure stepped out of the shadows that had, until now, granted the mercy of shrouding the creature in the midst of Elysium from sight. A horror of pallid flesh hanging sparse from twisted bone, arthritic joints seeming to struggle to keep the abomination that was the Prince's body moving, inorexably, forwards. Into the light, that all might see.*



This was not at all like Vych’s presentation to the Prince in her homeland. Unsure of what was about to happen, Vych kneels down beside Sabrina wrapping her right arm around the frightened child’s body, cradling Sabrina’s face against her chest with her left. 

A whisper, one that Vych had heard in her youth when she was scared, seems to pour unconsciously from Vych’s mouth only audible enough for Sabrina to hear,
_”We will be alright Precious. I promise.”_

Vych kisses the little girl lightly on the top of her head. Placing her attention back toward the Prince.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 1, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
> 01:00, 11/30/2002 Yet he still moved. Forward, into the light; forward, to the foot of the stage.
> 
> The room fell silent.
> ...



*Gnarled and disfigured as the Prince was, the way the pale flesh draped on the twisted bone with light and shadow appearing to play amongst the creases and caverns of the creature’s hunched form, a sculpture of macabre art seemed to appear in Vych’s eyes as she watched the tortured body, this Prince, give his address*


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## Shalimar (Mar 1, 2003)

*Sabrina*

The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
00:59, 11/30/2002


Sabrina turns herslf more fully into Vychtorya's arms letting the woman support her slight weight.  She hugged her arms tightly around the woman's middle, relishing the comforting hug that she wouldn't have gotten from her uncle or her brother, she definitely liked Vychtorya, if only for comforting her when she was afraid.  The hug was a soothing balm, easing away her fears, Miss Vychtorya wouldn't let the prince, if thats what he was, hurt her.  Her, uncle Nathan, Jemal, Miss Cate, they would all protect her from him.

She didn't understand much of what the horrid looking man said, it almost went over her head in its entirety.  The only thing she caught from his speech was that he wante a new prince, someone to take over for him.  He did scare her, but now that she saw all of him, and she knew she was safe with everyone here for her she wanted to speak up.

"Mr.  Calebros, I can't be prince, I am a girl."  She says hesitantly, still not feeling 100%, but willing to try.  "But I can be a princess, is that ok?" she asks.


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## Catulle (Mar 1, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*


Sabrina's small voice, and Vychtorya's reasurances were among a number of those prompted to action by the Calebros' words. Valentine was immediately at the erstwhile prince's side, Qadir was approaching from the doorway with a long stride. Carrick placed a hand on his childe's shoulder, as Nathaniel and Elizabeth locked their gaze on each other with apparant loathing. Morgan drew closer to Max as her sire's attention wandered. Other Kindred questioned. The Tremere studied.

Two steps took Calebros behind Valentine, and then... he was gone.

Unfazed, Valentine raised his hand in a quick gesture. The curtain on the stage came up as the house  lights went down, and the first chords rolled out across the room.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 1, 2003)

* The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*

One hand touched the cold mic as her dark eyes swept across the room.  “Hello again everyone, this is our last set by special request.”  Drifting over the assembly she wondered at their apparent unrest before glancing at the corner where the shadowed man had sat.  “We took some liberties and I hope you liked what we did with it.”

Picking up her electric guitar, she slipped the strap over her shoulder and held it in her hands.  Only a moment of silence to gather attention, to quiet down the unrest.

“_Na-na-na…na-na-na--na…_” she whispered into the microphone, letting her voice begin in a soft almost lulling chant as her fingers began to play a somewhat familiar yet strange melody.  “_Na-na-na…na-na-na—na---yeah…_”

“One-Two, One-Two-Three!” came the slap of the drumsticks from behind her.

Suddenly the room exploded in the sound of Cate’s guitar, the hint of a another guitar from Xander, Sita’s bass guitar, and the banging beat of Maria’s drums.  Although the song was familiar to some, the style had been drastically changed, updated to a darker rock more Kindred Knights style.  

_It starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn – _

Her lilting voice with its sweet clearness skimmed over the words with a slowing down in parts, but revving it up with a forceful emphasis at others.  She had forgotten this was a formal party, that she was in a long silk gown…the only thing for her was the music, the guitar caressed under her fingers, and her voice echoing through her body.

_World serves its own needs, don’t misserve your own needs
Feed it up a knock
Represent the seven games in a government for hire and a combat site_

Valentine stood so close to the stage…she wondered what he had to say?  Ah, the Kindred Knights’ savior from the back alley clubs where smoke (and not necessarily the legal kind) and old beer was the reigning scent of the day.  Her eyes drifted over to where the Montagues stood near that self-same corner.

_Wasn’t coming in a hurry with the furies breathing down your neck
Save yourself, serve yourself_

With a start she recognized the handsome young man from before standing beside his uncle and his sister.  They had both returned from that long walk and neither looked all that comfortable either, but the red-headed woman had the child in her arms as if in comfort.  What had happened in those few minutes?

_World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed.
Tell me with the rapture and the reverent in the right – right.
You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty psyched._

Breaking into her verse, she remained unaware of its irony with Xander's hard masculine voice echoing in the background.

_It's the end of the world as we know it. (End of the world)
It's the end of the world as we know it. (Save me)
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
(End of the world - Save me)_

Finally the speed of the verses increased, the music speeding up toward a crescendo that threatened to bring the roof down upon their heads.  But Caitlyn didn’t care anymore.  She wasn’t playing for a formal crowd who wanted ballads, she was there on the stage in front of hundreds of thousands listening to her music, playing the music she wanted to play, the way she wanted it played.

_Don't get caught in foreign tower.  
Every motive escalate.  Automotive incinerate.  
Light a candle, light a motive.  
A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies.  
Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives and I decline._

_Yeah---woah!_

Finally the last chorus reached her and she played it out louder and louder until the crash of the drums and the dying echo of the guitars infused her last words with an odd sort resonance.

_It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine._


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## reapersaurus (Mar 1, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
> 
> 
> Sabrina's small voice, and Vychtorya's reasurances were among a number of those prompted to action by the Calebros' words.
> The Tremere studied.*



Nikolai is intrigued by the turn of events, and leans in to his clanmates, secretly talking under the jarring, frenetic song,
"So have any of my esteemed elders gleaned where Calebros took off to in such a huff?

Perhaps one of your potent powers may have been able to pierce his palpable protections, no? 

Maybe our habit of studying, and patiently watching may have earned some information about the now-former-prince's mind-set as he left?
If nothing else, this could be a validation of our beliefs that Knowledge is the best tool for the job..."


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 2, 2003)

Max stands next to Morgan during the performance, quite content with the style of music.

_She's good. I have to get the album when they bring one out._

Like all good things the song comes to an end, leaving Max to ponder how long he'll have to wait before he can get their first album. He quickly remembers what he had planned to do earlier and hurries back over to his table. He writes his home phone and mobile number on it then folds it up and puts it in a pocket.

He discreetly makes his way backstage, waiting for an opportunity to speak to Caitlyn.

"Hey Cait, that was real good. I don't actually know the name of the song but its one of my faves," he says while reaching into his pocket, he hands her the napkin with his numbers on it, "Seeing as your getting quite involved in our little social group here I thought I'd better give you my number. We're a bit of an odd bunch so if you don't understand something or find something to be, I dunno, weird or creepy, just give me a call. I'm always willing to help, always, no matter how serious the situation may be."

He gives her a friendly smile.

"Well, I'd offer to help you pack up and stuff but I'd end up damaging something, I can assure you. So I'll just say goodnight and wish you and you friends all the best," he says with a shy wave, and heads back out to meet up with Morgan.

_Hope I didn't scare her or anything, just a subtle warning. She's my neighbour and she's a really nice, talented person. I have to be watching out for her._

"Just thought I'd congratulate her on a job well done," he tells Morgan, trying not to arouse any suspicion.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 2, 2003)

_That wasn’t so bad, was it, Cate?_ the young singer reassured herself as she stepped from the stage.  _And its over now…the magical night is over._ The thought of that suddenly gave her heart a weary feeling, the loss of that moment of power…draining away.

Just as she lifted the guitar straps from her shoulders, Max Freigart approached her and began to speak.  His words of praise brought a shy blush to her cheeks still unused to the compliments even now.  When he pressed the napkin into her hand, both brows arched and she parted her lips to speak but he kept talking as if there was something he needed to tell her and she couldn’t interrupt.



			
				Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> * "Hey Cait, that was real good. I don't actually know the name of the song but its one of my faves.  Seeing as your getting quite involved in our little social group here I thought I'd better give you my number. We're a bit of an odd bunch so if you don't understand something or find something to be, I dunno, weird or creepy, just give me a call. I'm always willing to help, always, no matter how serious the situation may be." *




Serious?  Weird?  Creepy? What was he trying to say?  What was he trying to warn her about?



			
				Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> * "Well, I'd offer to help you pack up and stuff but I'd end up damaging something, I can assure you. So I'll just say goodnight and wish you and you friends all the best." *




And as soon as he had appeared, he released her hand with a wave and good-bye not letting her get a word in before he was gone again, back to his ex-girlfriend and the stunning blonde woman Nathaniel had glowered at earlier.  Did Max know her, too?

Caitlyn slowly packed up her guitar, placing the napkin and the business card carefully within a slot in the case.  Once that was finished with, she set everything down in preparation to be removed…but she couldn’t leave just yet.

Moving over toward the edge of the curtain, she stood there, half in darkness, half in light to watch the beautiful people glide about out.  Her audience…her rapt and fascinating audience.  This social group that Max spoke of…that was so serious about warning her in some way she had yet to understand…what was so wrong about them?

Suddenly her hand flew to her mouth to stifle a laugh at the sudden thought that pervaded her mind.  Perhaps she had been watching too many of movies of late, but for some reason Stanley Kubrick's “Eyes Wide Shut” came to mind.  Her dark brow arched for the barest moment as she indulged her imagination about a few men in particular before laughing again, blushing despite herself.

Oh no…that couldn’t be it…could it?


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## Catulle (Mar 2, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Sqaure Garden* 

The crowd continued to wheel, confusion mixing with ambition, opportunity with resentment. Throughout, Elizabeth and Nathaniel remained intent on one another. Those close to either could feel the hatred roiling between them. Some of the guests left swiftly, while others lingered to oversee the aftemath of Calebros' departure. Morgan Thepclay, strangely, stuck close by her childe as the soiree broke up around them.


*House Tremere*

Wainwright's sour expression betrayed his frustration, "Damn him. He has quite the mastery of his clan's art. He left by the south door. Beyond that, I cannot tell you."

A swift nod form Aisling confirmed his judgement. "Well," she began, "it seems matters have airsen that will occupy at least my time for the foreseeable future. Eugenio's too. Perhaps you two" her attention was fixed on Nikolai and Gabriel "should learn to work together. You seem adept at dealing diplomatically and successfully with the other clans. Locate Qadir and nurture a relationship with him; you'll report direct to Eugenio on this matter. If he has aspirations on the praxis we shall need to know. If not, you should assess him for his political leanings." She looked each in the eye in turn, "I trust I make myself clear?"


*The Petitioners*

Carrick and Nathaniel brought themselves closer together, conspiritorial in their demeanour. A few words could be made out from their soft, quick dialogue; "unexpectedly swift... further discussion... coterie... other interests... Antiquities" They kept glancing back at the younger Kindred about them, but concern was apparant on both of their faces.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 3, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Sqaure Garden
> The Petitioners
> 
> Carrick and Nathaniel brought themselves closer together, conspiritorial in their demeanour. A few words could be made out from their soft, quick dialogue; "unexpectedly swift... further discussion... coterie... other interests... Antiquities" They kept glancing back at the younger Kindred about them, but concern was apparant on both of their faces. *



Still kneeling with Sabrina, Vych looks up at Nathaniel and Carrick when she hears the name of her club. 

_”Sabrina, I think the Prince is gone. It is alright now Precious,”_
Vych says to her quietly. Making sure that Sabrina is okay first, Vych stands back up holding the child’s hand.

Vych gently reaches for Jemal’s hand and whispers sweetly,
_”Mr. Montague, your sister was a brave little girl tonight.”_


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## Shalimar (Mar 3, 2003)

The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
01:00, 11/30/2002



> ”Sabrina, I think the Prince is gone. It is alright now Precious,”
> 
> Vych says to her quietly. Making sure that Sabrina is okay first, Vych stands back up holding the child’s hand.




Sabrina sniffless and wipes her eyes, a tear of blood had run down her left cheek which was swiftly scrubbed away by her well manicured hands.  She looks up at Vychtorya from her 'hiding' spot wide-eyed for a moment before hugging her tightly and then steping back from her to see her brother and uncle still griping the older woman's hand tightly.  "Th...Thank you." she whispers gratefully to the red-head.



> Vych gently reaches for Jemal’s hand and whispers sweetly,”Mr. Montague, your sister was a brave little girl tonight.”




Sabrina blushes at the compliment and gives Vych a small brave smile.  "Miss Vychtorya whats a... whats a coterie?" she asks, not understanding the french word.  Well, she didn't really understand any of what her uncle and mister Carrick were talking about.  She holds out her other hand to take Jemal's larger one.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 3, 2003)

Caitlyn's Theme for the Party

* The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
01:00, 11/30/2002

Caitlyn sighed and then smiled to herself.  Perhaps it was time to say her goodbye for the night and settle her affairs of business before leaving.  It would be so nice to leave the stuffiness behind, the pretending and posturing that always went with these events...to find a place again to be her real self without the rigid formalities.

Who should she go to first?  

Noticing the young child that she had met earlier, she made her decision to head in that direction.  Besides, Jemal and Nathan Montague stood nearby and she still had to ask them for further details about being Sabrina's voice teacher.

Brushing her dress free of any wrinkles, the young woman entered the main room amid the bustle of the guests still reeling from the former Prince's announcement.  With swift sure steps, Caitlyn reached the small group, gracing them with a wink and a smile of welcome to everyone.  

"I hope your walk went well, Mr. and Miss Montague?" she asked Jemal and Sabrina, offering her hands in greeting to those she knew.  "I'm sorry that you had to miss a few of my songs.  I would have liked to have you in my audience, but perhaps I can play them again later for you both?"

"And your dancing was beautiful, Ms. Farychyld.  I hope you and Mr. Freigart enjoyed it as much as everyone enjoyed watching it."

"Mr. Montague," she nodded toward Nathaniel and his striking friend whom she had yet to meet but surmised as possibly being Mr. Ashton.  "I hope you're in better spirits."

Was that really her talking?  The practised voice of years of speaking with her parents, with their friends, at their parties, their galas...so formal...so stifling...nothing like the freedom of music.


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## Catulle (Mar 3, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*


As Caitlyn approached the two men, they ceased their avid converstion, resuming a more open stance. As brooding as Nathaniel appeared, his counterpart was as vibrant as she had ever seen someone - he seemed more alive, somehow, than anybody she had ever met.

"Ah, Ms Tran." Nathaniel's voice was almost smooth, at leasts in comparison to his usual tones. "I had hoped to introduce you to Mr Ashton. Mr Carrick Ashton, please meet Ms Caitlyn Tran. I believe she has spoken with Ms Fayrchyld earlier in the evening."

Carrick's head tilted and his expression was welcoming, a warm smile that rose to his eyes gave a feeling of ease, "Charmed to make your aquaintance. Is Caitlyn acceptable? I do prefer first names, as a rule." He turned his head to take in Vychtorya, "My partner says your band would be an excellent feature at Antiquities... I confess my interest is more financial, and I only rarely appreciate art," he rolled his eyes once "but my instincts tell me we could help each other. Perhaps you could come by the club, as a guest, one night. Nathaniel, Mr Montague I appologise, could arrange a convenient time after one of your lessons, no? Perhaps even a lift and some company?"


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## Vychtorya (Mar 3, 2003)

Shalimar said:
			
		

> *The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
> 01:00, 11/30/2002
> Sabrina sniffless and wipes her eyes, a tear of blood had run down her left cheek which was swiftly scrubbed away by her well manicured hands.  She looks up at Vychtorya from her 'hiding' spot wide-eyed for a moment before hugging her tightly and then steping back from her to see her brother and uncle still griping the older woman's hand tightly.  "Th...Thank you." she whispers gratefully to the red-head.*



Vych takes out a thin, red, monogrammed kerchief from her secret pocket in her dress and hands it to Sabrina as a friendly smile comes to her lips.
_”I always carry one just incase, and red hides our tears best…it’s also my favorite color. You may keep it if you’d like.”_*



			Sabrina blushes at the compliment and gives Vych a small brave smile.  "Miss Vychtorya whats a... whats a coterie?" she asks, not understanding the french word.
		
Click to expand...


*Vych tries to think of a simple, but somewhat lighthearted definition of the word. No need to explain there could be many types of coteries – some nicer than others.
_”Coterie….hmmm….well Miss Sabrina, it is like a small group of friends that have a common interest.”_


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## Vychtorya (Mar 4, 2003)

*


			
				KitanaVorr said:
			
		


			"And your dancing was beautiful, Ms. Farychyld.  I hope you and Mr. Freigart enjoyed it as much as everyone enjoyed watching it."
		
Click to expand...


*Vych takes the hand offered by Caitlyn and says,
_“Thank you, but with such lovely music, I could not help but wish to dance to it. I am glad your friend Maxx accepted my invitation. I had a wonderful time with him.”_

_"...and please call me Vych if you'd like,"_
Vych says with a relaxed and very friendly smile.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 4, 2003)

*


			
				Catulle said:
			
		


			The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
Carrick's head tilted and his expression was welcoming, a warm smile that rose to his eyes gave a feeling of ease, "Charmed to make your aquaintance. Is Caitlyn acceptable? I do prefer first names, as a rule." He turned his head to take in Vychtorya, "My partner says your band would be an excellent feature at Antiquities... I confess my interest is more financial, and I only rarely appreciate art," he rolled his eyes once "but my instincts tell me we could help each other. Perhaps you could come by the club, as a guest, one night. Nathaniel, Mr Montague I appologise, could arrange a convenient time after one of your lessons, no? Perhaps even a lift and some company?"
		
Click to expand...


*_”I would love to have you all come by,”_
Vych says happily.


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## Shalimar (Mar 4, 2003)

The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
01:00, 11/30/2002



> Vych tries to think of a simple, but somewhat lighthearted definition of the word. No need to explain there could be many types of coteries – some nicer than others.
> ”Coterie….hmmm….well Miss Sabrina, it is like a small group of friends that have a common interest.”




"Its just Sabrina."  The little girl says gigling at being called miss Sabrina'.  She gives Vych's hand a friendly squeze.  "So does that make you and me and miss Cate and my brother a Coterie?" she asks curiously letting the unfamiliar word bounce around in her head.

The child accepts the red kerchief, and uses it to wipe her her cheeks clean.  At Vych's offering it to her she slips it into her teddy-bear back-pack.  "Thnk you, its soo beautiful, just like you.  Reds my favorite color too."

She gives Cait a big smile willing herself to be noticed by her and the two older vampires she was talking to.  Sabrina was used to being the center of attention, and hated it when she wasn't it.  She wanted everyone to pay attention to her, and unconsciously she was taking steps to see it happen (prescence).


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 4, 2003)

Caitlyn's Theme for the Party

* The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
01:00, 11/30/2002

“Enchante, Mr. Ashton,” Caitlyn responded to Carrick’s warm smile with a gentle curve of her lips, relaxing a little in his presence.  “Isn’t finance an art in and of itself?” the young singer responded with slight laugh.  “Anyone who’s seen the way the stock market dances its merry tune certainly can’t disagree with such a statement.”

Her smile widened further at the invitation to his club.  “I would love to come, but I confess that I haven’t really had a chance to discuss the particulars of my employment with Mr. Montague.”  Dark eyes left Carrick’s visage to rest on the other man’s for a long moment before turning her head to wink conspiratorially at Jemal.  “But it sounds like something I would enjoy quite a bit.  Who am I to ever say no to an offer of music?”

While speaking, her slender hand stretched out to Sabrina as if to reassure the child that she had not been forgotten.


----------



## reapersaurus (Mar 4, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *House Tremere*
> 
> "Well," Aisling began, "it seems matters have arisen that will occupy at least my time for the foreseeable future. Eugenio's too. Perhaps you two" her attention was fixed on Nikolai and Gabriel "should learn to work together. You seem adept at dealing diplomatically and successfully with the other clans. Locate Qadir and nurture a relationship with him; you'll report direct to Eugenio on this matter. If he has aspirations on the praxis we shall need to know. If not, you should assess him for his political leanings." She looked each in the eye in turn, "I trust I make myself clear?"



Nikolai wrinkles in pain at the request:
"I work with other clans well, yes.... but not Sabbat.

I'll work with him if Eugenio asks me.
I'm a team player and all, but you're asking me to sully my reputation by working *with* him?
Other clansmen might think I'm a sympathizer.
Can you all assure me that this will not happen?

If so, than my duty is but to serve the Clan in all its interests, and I will do as you ask.
I will endeavor to divine our esteemed Sherriff's motives..."


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 4, 2003)

Max looks to Morgan.

_She's been so quiet, is she angry at me? I mean she's over me right? I'm pretty sure I'm over her. Why is she so quiet?_

"Hey Morgan, you enjoy the evening? I found it alright, got to meet some people. Pretty good in all," he looks to her waits for her response expectantly.

_Maybe if I get her talking she might say what she's upset about. If she's upset that is._


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 4, 2003)

Gabriel listened as Nikolai made his comments. When the other vampire was finished, he looked at Aisling and then Eugenio. "It shall be as you say."

_I can't believe she stuck me with him..._


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## reapersaurus (Mar 4, 2003)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> *Gabriel listened as Nikolai made his comments. When the other vampire was finished, he looked at Aisling and then Eugenio. "It shall be as you say." *



Nikolai looks to Eugenio for his reply to Nik's first question, thinking to himself:
 . o 0 _ it sure as hell "shall NOT be as you say", Gabriel, if Estevez doesn't make me.
Damned traitor, thinking he can walk around and masquerade as a Cammy.
It disgusts me that without the insight of Tremere powers, I might be victim to his wiles, like others here might be.
Scum like him should be Hunted, and done away with as soon as their presence is known - 
Hey!
Maybe I could tip off a group of Hunters here in New York about him...  I wonder who works this town...
ehh...  I'll work with him a bit, and see how he acts - MAYBE his Mark is an unfortunate accident....  yeah, right._


----------



## Catulle (Mar 4, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*


*House Tremere*

Eugenio met Nikolai's gaze and held it steadily, "It would be for the good of the house. The business that Aisling and I will be involved in is likely beyond the capacities of neonates such as yourselves. Perhaps in a few decades you will have mastered the skills necessary... if the house thinks you have shown the requisite promise. Lord Wainwright may have alternative uses for you otherwise?"

The dwarf narrowed his already squinting eyes. "I think _not_." The majority of his venom seemed reserved for Gabriel, whom he kept glancing back towards.

"Then we are settled?" Sturbridge reasserting herself into the conversation. "We should keep discussions of more detailed affairs to more appropriate surroundings."
_____________


*Max and Morgan*

Morgan smiled back at Max, though the expression seemed hollow; a mere shadow of Elizabeth's presence. "You seemed to make a good impression on Elizabeth. Perhaps you're more alike than I'd thought." That curious, daydreamy expression flitted across her features again, "Maybe she'll be better for you than I ever was, Max." She seemed to focus herself again, "I'm glad you enjoyed things, though. It seems like I won't have to introduce you to the Prince after all. You might want to see about finding Calebros in the future though; I think you would have seem eye to eye on a few things. If he doesn't leave the city, at least."
_____________


*Caitlyn, Carrick, The Montagues and Vychtorya*

(OOC - Sabrina Awe diff 7 - 10,9,4,3 - 2 successes)  Perhaps it was an appeal to their maternal instincts, however suppressed they might be, perhaps something else about the dependence that the child's demeanour promised, but Caitlyn and Vychtorya couldn't help but feel sympathy for her situation increase (however thay saw it...).

Carrick's eyebrow raised a little at Caitlyn's remark, "Hardly art to compare with such as we have heard tonight. Craftsmanship, perhaps, but never art and ugly business, too, in its own way." As he spoke, he brought his arm up to place Vychtorya's hand near his elbow entwined in a formal poise.

Nathaniel nodded at the mention of unfinished business. "Jemal; could you clarify the missing details with Ms Tran. And Sabrina, I would suppose." He glanced, once, at his neice.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 4, 2003)

Caitlyn's Theme for the Party

* The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
01:00, 11/30/2002

"Well, Mr. Ashton, a beautifully run financial structure can be amazing to see," Caitlyn spoke, thinking about her parent's friends who worked in a few major corporations.  "I don't profess more than a layman's knowledge of business finance, but I've learned to appreciate a ... " her voice trailed off as if she just realized something.

Of course!  _Sabrina._ Suddenly her thoughts were for the child.  Wasn't Sabrina the reason why she was here?  And she seemed so lonely...Caitlyn's sympathetic heart went out to her, remembering her own experiences as a child.

"Pardon me, gentlemen.  I've been completely remiss in forgetting the reason I came over here.  I'm sure there's nothing about finance that I could say which you knowledgable gentlemen don't already know."

Turning toward Sabrina, a brilliant smile broke across her delicate features as she reached out to grasp the child's hands. "Oh...are you bored?  I know it can get very tiresome at parties like this, with just adults, talking about things you probably could care less about."

Her full attention turned toward the child, she didn't hear Nathaniel's words, but his voice stayed with her echoing in her mind like a tune she didn't want to forget quite yet.

"What would you like to do?"


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## Shalimar (Mar 5, 2003)

*Sabrina Montague*

The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
01:00, 11/30/2002




> I don't profess more than a layman's knowledge of business finance, but I've learned to appreciate a ... " her voice trailed off as if she just realized something.
> 
> Sabrina. Suddenly her thoughts were for the child whose presence, whose desire for attention...how could she forget someone so precious?
> 
> Turning toward Sabrina, a brilliant smile broke across her delicate features as she reached out to grasp the child's hands. "Oh...are you bored? I know it can get very tiresome at parties like this, with just adults, talking about things you probably could care less about."




Sabrina positively beamed at the asian woman as the woman turned to notice her.  That had never happened before, no one had ever paid attention to her when they were talking to her uncle.  It just seemed unreal.  _Miss Cait had just stopped in the middle of her sentence, that wasn't normal, was it?  Did I do something? I know Jemal said her could do stuff.  Maybe uncle Nathan can show me._  she thought to herself, her blue eyes sparkling misheviously at the possibilities.

"It is.... just a little, but so long as you and miss Vychtorya, and Jemal are here at least I have someone to play with."  She answers with a slightly confused smile, still not understanding what had happened.  She looked up at Nathan perplexed.


----------



## Vychtorya (Mar 5, 2003)

Vych starts to reach down to Sabrina and just barely gets out, 
_”We will go do something more to your liking soon Precious,”_
before she feels the easy touch of her Sire placing her back into 
the business at hand.

_”Mr. Montague, I would be more than happy to….play with Sabrina while Jemal, Carrick, and yourself wrap up the details so Ms. Tran may have both of her desires.”_ 

Turning her attention over to Caitlyn and Sabrina, 
_”Caitlyn, darling, I can take care of her while you finish up with the gentlemen. Carrick will fill me in on the details later.”_

Turning her attention over to Caitlyn and Sabrina, 
_”Caitlyn, darling, I’ll take care of her while you finish up with the gentlemen. Carrick will fill me in on the details later.”_
Looking at Carrick with a most assured grin, Vych releases his arm, and encompasses Caitlyn’s petite form in her arm ever so gently as she urges her over towards Jemal, remembering the young singer’s wink to Jemal from earlier. Vych looks at Jemal with a half alluring smile and eyebrows arched high tilting her head slightly. 

Vych turns toward Sabrina offering the child her hand and says,
_”Come dear. Let me tell you a story?”_


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 5, 2003)

Caitlyn's Theme for the Party

* The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
01:00, 11/30/2002

Caitlyn gazed at the beautiful child, listening to her words with the most understanding of looks on her face.  Of course!  Poor thing...she remembered how it was at those boring formal parties...those stifling events where everyone moved about as if they had something jammed into their spine....or other areas.

"Yes, absolutely!" the young singer agreed with the child, thinking of a few things that Sabrina might like to do.  How had she amused herself as a child?  Oh she could think of many...

Vychtorya's arm around her interrupted those thoughts and when she tried to move Caitlyn away from Sabrina, a displeased crease crossed the young singer's brow.  Caitlyn's hands tightened on the child's and she glanced at the woman who had just tried to shove her aside in a breech of formal protocol.

"Miss Faryrchyld, I'm quite alright," she spoke with a polite smile on her lips.  "And perfectly capable of moving on my own," she couldn't help to add, some of the irritation at the other woman's attempt to move her aside when Sabrina so obviously needed attention bringing out that last sentance.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 5, 2003)

> *House Tremere*
> 
> Eugenio met Nikolai's gaze and held it steadily, "It would be for the good of the house. The business that Aisling and I will be involved in is likely beyond the capacities of neonates such as yourselves. Perhaps in a few decades you will have mastered the skills necessary... if the house thinks you have shown the requisite promise. Lord Wainwright may have alternative uses for you otherwise?"
> 
> ...




Gabriel simply nodded at Asiling's words then turned his attention to the little vampire looking at him. He held his gaze. _You, Mr. Imp are a liability to the clan. Your destruction may be in the best interest of House Tremere._ Gabriel grinned slightly at the other Tremere, as if he knew something the other didn't.

Wainright didn't seem to like Nikolai either. The enemy of his enemy being his friend, he wondered if he could count on Nikolai's aid in removing the little imp.

OOC: Just so it is clear. Words in _italics_ are Gabe's thoughts. Of course, I don't want Wainwright to read my thoughts, so I'll spend the Willpower point to avoid it.


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## Catulle (Mar 5, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden* 


*House Tremere*

Aisling inferred the neonates agreement, or at least acquiescence with a final nod, "Then we all have our tasks to attend to," she rose from the table, adjusting her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose, "You'll keep Eugenio informed." She nodded once more, her demeanour hardening as she let her attention wander from the table, passing her gloved hand around to shake each hand in turn; Wainwright, Estevez and D'Angelo then Cross. "Good evening." She then turned, moving directly across the room to engage Mr Vanderweyden in conversation before he left.

Wainwright shrugged himself off the chair he had been sat up high on, donning his tall hat as he did so. Puffinghimself up to his full height, he strode out of the room, as passing whisper was all that escaped his lips as he passed the neonates "I'll be watching _you_." His address seemed directed at both, but his eyes still fixed upon Gabriel.

Eugenio stood with a more open smile. "Thank you both for your contributions yet to come. I look forward to hearing your reports." Like Sturbridge before him, he offered his hand for each to shake before he left, rather more of a spring in his step than there had been at the start of the evening, leaving the room towards the landing with the woman in the eyepatch and her companion, the smartly dressed man in the fragile glasses who had been making rounds earlier.
_____________


*Caitlyn, Carrick, The Montagues and Vychtorya*

Nathaniel's glance towards Sabrina was brief, but intense. It was as if she felt the wieght of her uncle's disappointment upon her without realising why he was... angry? sad?

"I think it would be best to take up this conversation later, Mr Ashton. Perhaps, as you say, at the lady's night-club. I think it is time for other business. Our kindred spirits are agitated tonight, and I suspect there is little to be done without further information." Nathaniel looked at Carrick throughout, but all the time, Sabrina could feel that his attention was more truly fixed on her... on what she had done to offend him (and what  _was_ that?).

Ashton's assent was swift, as he glanced towards Vychtorya. some concern apparant as it marred his all but perfect visage. "Yes, Mr Montague. For the future. We shall be in touch most directly." He tightened his grasp on Vychtorya's arm with his left hand, a jarring sensation for the neonate more accustomed to smooth dialogue and intimation than physical action. his voice came soft in her ear "My heart, you must centre yourself. You must focus. Look at me, please. See only me..." Vychtorya felt the tug of the blood within her, responding to  Carrick's call; though her senses revelled in the child's need, though she felt keenly the desire to help the poor creature, his voice salved away those concerns. For a second, there was only Carrick, and as she turned to him, as Sabrina's face swung out of her vision, low and to the left, the strength of the previous sensation left her, momentarily confused but safe, yes safe, in the presence of her sire. Her love.
_____________


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## Shalimar (Mar 6, 2003)

Sabrina nods happily and lets Vychtorya lead her away for a story, at least until Miss Cait's hand tightened on her arm.  She looked back and forth between the two arguing women, wondering what was getting them so upset.  _Did I do this too? I like them both, I don't want them to fight over me._ she worried wide-eyed looking at Nathan. _They're suppoused to like each other._  she thought frowning.

Nathan's look was enough to make the little girl cringe.  She had done something, and he obviously didn't like it.  She couldn't tell what he was thinking, if he was angry, or if he was disappointed.  Was it possible to be both at once?  She didn't know, and wasn't really ready to find out.  She moved to hide behind Miss Vyctorya, at least until Mr. Carrick took her am and pulled her away from the child, all the while whispering in her ear.

Still trying to escape from her disapointed uncle she looks up into miss Cait's face and pulls herself closer to the beautiful singer.  She tries to hide from her uncle's ire in the gorgeous woma'ns slender embrace.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 6, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden *

Caitlyn's Theme for the Party

Caitlyn's heart melted at the sight of the child's distressed expression.  Without another thought for decorum, she pulled Sabrina into a comforting embrace, trying to soothe her fears with softly sung whispers.  Oh what was wrong?  What was wrong?  Why was the child so frightened? 

So unhappy...Sabrina's face seemed so vibrant so  etched with every little emotion. It was looking into a song...a beautifully worded, sweet song that played over those youthful features with a melancoly air.  

Her voice wanted to join that melody, to raise high in praise and dwell within its notes of pure emotion.  Why was it only children that possessed that talent, that beauty of purity?  She did not want to look away, not even to see the source of Sabrina's unhappiness...the song weaved its enticing rhythm into her and she was hooked.

But somehow she knew.

_Nathaniel..._

Sabrina's embrace broke the spell of her face when it was buried into Cate's gown, but Caitlyn held on despite herself, not wanting to give up that intoxication...however small it might have been.  Straightening, she turned, one arm holding the child to her as she faced Nathaniel.

Her shoulders back, her head high, the  rivelets of her bloodline streamed into the straight arch of her brows, the exotic tilt of her almondine eyes as they leveled upon the man in question.  A faint tightness in her strong chin curving back along to her throat indicated her own displeasure with him and the fiery spirit hidden beneath the veneer of social decorum.

How could he make a child feel thus?


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 6, 2003)

First things first Max was going to address the statement referring to him and Elizabeth as a couple.

"Oh, um, its strictly a business relationship basically. I've got no intention of becoming close to her, though she is a really nice person. You've met Vych, haven't you?" he goes to say more but trails off, a look of concern comes to Max's face as he notices Morgan's somewhat distracted state, "You okay Morgan? You seem distracted."


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## Vychtorya (Mar 6, 2003)

Somewhat startled as she had not felt Carrick’s grip like this before, a slight, worried furrow comes across Vych's forehead. She thinks to herself, “Could my heart beat, I would feel its rush in mine arm.” 

Then she hears his soft, sensual voice she loves so much flow within her. Vych lowers her chin, looks up at Carrick through her eyebrows with a very subservient expression thinking, “Yes, my love.”

As she feels the blood within her relax, the rest of the room comes into focus again. Feeling slightly confused, Vych presses her body closer into the safety of Carrick’s.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 6, 2003)

Gabriel nodded to Aisling and wished her well. Though Wainwright had tried to make a point, it fell on deaf ears. He had taken to ignoring the little Tremere, knowing it would infuriate him to no end. 

He heard his warning that he would be watching, but Gabriel never looked up to acknowledge the little man. _I wish I had a pint of blood for every time I've heard that tonight._

He politely shook Eugenio's hand, and before he left, he asked how he could get in touch with him to make his reports. When he finished talking with Eugenio, he motioned for Nikolai to join him in a shadowed corner.


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## Catulle (Mar 6, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*


*Max and Morgan*

"Mm?" Max's last question seemed to penetrate Morgan's haze somewhat. Focus appeared in her eyes again, and the young Brujah sensed something akin to agitation beneath the calm surface she presented to Elysium. "Just be careful, Max. None of these people are precisely as they appear. None of them. Not you, nor I... I know we've quarrelled in the past; I wish we both hadn't taken some of the paths we did, but that's done and we can't return to that place again." She was talking lower, faster, now. As if she were confiding in him again, not on a sensual level as she had before, but as one mind to another. Dialogue, not manipulation. "If you like, I can give your number to a fr.. acquaintance of mine. He may be able to get you to Calebros, and I'd guess his line of work is one you'd do well at. Build a reputation, and there's no knowing where you could go, Max."

She stepped back from him, but rather than being an attempt to distance herself, Max sensed a bond renewed between his sire and himself. As she waited for his response, she even smiled.
_____________


*Caitlyn, Carrick, the Montagues and Vychtorya*

At Caitlyn's expression, Nathaniel's face shifted to a reflection of perfect despair. He brought up his long forefingers to pinch the bridge of that aquiline nose sharply as he shook his head as if to clear his mind. Lowering the hand again, the stain of his anguish had washed away, leaving...what; guilt? "Does our family so displease you, Ms Tran? I appologise if we seem a strange, contradictory brood. Perhaps you would be better off without us, maybe happier if you had never heard the name 'Montague'. Certainly happier than you are now." His gaze slipped down to Sabrina again, and a hollowness came back into his features. He turned his face away from the pair.

As Carrick Ashton cradled his childe, he was careful to keep her face turned from Sabrina's. Smoothing out her thick, red hair with a slender hand, he caught Jemal's gaze and held it, his expression unreadable, "I think the eve's festivities are all but done, young Mr Monatgue. We shall speak more anon, I am quite sure. For the meantime, if I may be so bold, you should see to your sister's education. I think Caitlyn would make a most eager tutor, do you not?"

Jemal spoke up softly, as he smoothly took his sire's role at the haed of the family, albeit temporarily. "I think she would, too. Mr Ashton, it has been a pleasure. If you wish, and it's to your tastes, you and Vychtorya are welcome at my club any time. I think I speak for my Uncle when I say that our two houses should keep our close ties."

He gave a nod of his head to each of the quartet before stepping away slowly, Vychtorya still enveloped in his arms. Jemal returned his nod, while Nathaniel seemed locked in his own thoughts.
_____________


*House Tremere*

Eugenio passed a business card to Gabriel and another to Nikolai. A tasteful eggshell white, it bore the motif "Eugenio Estevez, Maupassant Developments" and a telephone number in raised script.

As Gabriel stepped away from the Regent, Eugenio whispered to Nikolai, "Be careful, and stay alert about him. You may not be in the courts, but there's danger aplenty out there. I almost wish our roles were reversed. Almost." He winked at the neonate as he turned to leave, "I should be on my way."
_____________


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 6, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *
> As Gabriel stepped away from the Regent, Eugenio whispered to Nikolai, "Be careful, and stay alert about him. You may not be in the courts, but there's danger aplenty out there. I almost wish our roles were reversed. Almost." *




OOC: Any chance I heard that?


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 6, 2003)

Caitlyn's Theme for the Party



			
				Catulle said:
			
		

> At Caitlyn's expression, Nathaniel's face shifted to a reflection of perfect despair. He brought up his long forefingers to pinch the bridge of that aquiline nose sharply as he shook his head as if to clear his mind. Lowering the hand again, the stain of his anguish had washed away, leaving...what; guilt? "Does our family so displease you, Ms Tran? I appologise if we seem a strange, contradictory brood. Perhaps you would be better off without us, maybe happier if you had never heard the name 'Montague'. Certainly happier than you are now." His gaze slipped down to Sabrina again, and a hollowness came back into his features. He turned his face away from the pair.
> [/B]




His expression ripped the breath from her lips, leaving a jagged semblance behind that could not be enough to sustain her alone.  How torn she felt!  Between self-righteous anger for the child's emotions and the sudden connection in that moment with Sabrina's wayward guardian.  

Despair?  She knew it well.  Loneliness...she had felt nothing but all her life.  The more he anguished, the more she seemed to feel the song that was his half-pulling her away from Sabrina's sweetness.  Dark, brooding, as rough as his voice, that voice...so unique...she herself was a connoisseur of voices...and that one she wanted to possess with a sudden fierceness that both surprised and confused her.

Was he running away?

_Look at me damn it!_

"Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Montague," she spoke in a quiet voice after Carrick and Vychtorya left them.  Her expression though had softened to a more relaxed one if slightly confused.  "You can't get rid of me that easily...I am yours if you still want me."  

Her arm tightened on the child to contain Sabrina's own emotions and perhaps feed more on the child's intoxication if only to free herself from Nathaniel's presence.  "I'm available for lessons during the day or early evening until 9pm which is usually when I must go to the clubs and perform," she added more to Jemal and Sabrina though her dark eyes rested on Nathaniel.


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## Shalimar (Mar 6, 2003)

The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
01:00, 11/30/2002




> "Does our family so displease you, Ms Tran? I appologise if we seem a strange, contradictory brood. Perhaps you would be better off without us, maybe happier if you had never heard the name 'Montague'. Certainly happier than you are now." His gaze slipped down to Sabrina again, and a hollowness came back into his features. He turned his face away from the pair.




"No."  the little girl says defiantly to her uncle.  She takes his hand in hers and pulls him around to face her and Caitlyn.  She brings his hand and miss Caitlyn's together to try and end this, whatever it was that was making them all so upset.  She really wanted them to just like each other, and was worried about not getting her lessons to sing those beautiful songs like Cait.

"I want you two to get along," she says her tiny voice sounding like beautiful chimes. 

"I want miss Cait to teach me how to sing."  Her eyes were sparkling very determinedly at him, showing a tantrum coming up if he made the slender singer leave.  It had been awhile since she had had a nice tantrum and from the set of her delicate little face she had been saving it up for just such an occasion.  Her last tantrums had caused a fair bit of property damage as just a little girl, she didn't even realize that they could actually hurt someone know that she was strengthened from being a vampire.


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## Catulle (Mar 6, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*

The majority of the Kindred were either out of Elysium, leaving it, or secreting themselves away in distant corners of the Garden, cliques and coteries that would spread tonight's news out to the other, less _elite[\I] of the city's beautiful parasites.


*Caitlyn and the Montagues*

Nathaniel remained silent, absorbed in his own thought, though when he glanced at Caitlyn and nodded once to her, his eyes were dark and betrayed nothing more than regret. It seemed as if he was a hundred miles away to the mortal. Or a hundred years.

"I'm sorry, Cate." Jemal broke Nathaniel's silence for him, "Sabrina's tutor takes up most of her day. After dinner in the evenings would be best for us. If that's not too much trouble for you, that is. I'm sure we could up the wage if it's any bother." He added with a grin. "You'll really brighten the old place up."

Sabrina easily caught the old Ventrue's hand, which tensed at her touch, invisible to the naked eye. Despite his resistance, she raised it with little trouble. When his hand touched Cate's, Nathaniel conceded defeat on this matter to his neice, taking Caitlyn's hand to his lips. "That was churlish of me, madam. Of course we would welcome you into our home. Jemal will handle the details, but we must depart. Thank you for this fascinating evening."

"Nice to meet you, Cate. And I hope we see you again soon." Jemal, ever his family's keeper. "Can I call you? About the details, I mean." A hint of embarassment crossed the handsome young man's features, though genuine or feigned, Cate couldn't be sure. "Come on, pet. It's past Miss Cate's bedtime." He commented to Sabrina, the wink betraying his game._


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 7, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden *

Caitlyn's Theme for the Party

Her fingers smelled faintly of Jasmine and a mixture of leather and steel from her music cases.  Against his own, hers appeared smaller and more fragile perhaps because she was not one of them, a mortal destined to die within a short span of a vampire’s life.  For that brief moment when his lips touched her warm fragrant skin, her fingers tightened against his.

“You’re forgiven, Mr. Montague,” Caitlyn spoke softly as she watched him kiss her, the hint of a mischievous smile touching her lips and sparkling in those dark eyes.  “This time…”

When Jemal spoke, she glanced at him, her smile forming fully at the sight of the handsome young man.  “Of course!  I gave your uncle my card, but I’ll let you have one of your very own as well!”  She laughed, flipping a card out in front of him and then placing it gently in his hand.  “You may call me about details or anything else you’d like.”  There it was again, that mischievous wink just for him, her co-conspirator in filling the house with song and other things...

Finally her attention turned to Sabrina and she touched the girl’s cheek, placing a card in the child’s hand as well.  “And you, sweet Sabrina, I will see you soon, I hope?  Your voice has a good base.  Soon you’ll fill the house with music and nothing is better than hearing music in the night.”

After her goodbyes to the Montagues, she will go take her leave of the host, Valentine, and speak with him about any future engagements or anything else he would like from her or the Kindred Knights.  There is nothing but good will toward him and she finds she does like him quite a bit with his cheerful manner and mischievous ways so much like her own.

Then home…to dream of strange men with rough voices.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 7, 2003)

> "If you like, I can give your number to a fr.. acquaintance of mine. He may be able to get you to Calebros, and I'd guess his line of work is one you'd do well at. Build a reputation, and there's no knowing where you could go, Max."




Though his body was quite dead, a spark of happiness lit Max's face up at the renewed bonds with his sire. She smiles at him and he can't help smiling in return.

_Wow, I kinda miss her a little bit sometimes, but thats the kinda things that can't be helped. A good reputation and a job I'd enjoy, now thats something I've always wanted._

"Wow, thanks," he tells her quietly, "Can't pass up a chance that tempting. I'm the second person you've given a good opportunity to tonight, I owe you for that. Seriously."

He continues smiling and can't prevent the memories that seem to surface within him of better times, before the incident, when they were a couple.

_Like she said, whats done is done. We can't go back so I guess my best hopes are with Vych. She's a great person, I hope I get to know her better._

Max says his brief but polite goodbyes to those he knows before heading home.


----------



## Shalimar (Mar 7, 2003)

*Sabrina*



			
				KitanaVorr said:
			
		

> *The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden
> 
> Finally her attention turned to Sabrina and she touched the girl’s cheek, placing a card in the child’s hand as well.  “And you, sweet Sabrina, I will see you soon, I hope?  Your voice has a good base.  Soon you’ll fill the house with music and nothing is better than hearing music in the night.”*




The child hugs herself around miss Cait's slender body, frowning at having to say good bye.  "I'll miss you."  she promises,  "and I can't wait for our lessons."  she exclaims quietly.  She gives Cait's hand a quick squeeze and watches smiling as she drifts away to talk with Valentine.
Seeing that her gaurdians are ready to leave and waiting on her she skips across the floor to take Nathan's hand and wait for him to say his goodbyes.


----------



## Catulle (Mar 7, 2003)

*The Club Bar and Grill, Madison Square Garden*
02:00, 11/30/2002

Valentine surveyed the silent room once more as he walked towards the exit. The furniture had been returned to its customary layout as befitted a dining room, the musicians had taken their equipment with them. The conditioned air was cool on his face and hands. It was as if the gathering had never been there at all. Which, he reminded himself, was precisely the point.

He touched the dial by the door, dimming the lights down to nothing. The room returned to shadow.

Seized by a moment of good humour, a single laugh bubbled up from the Ventrue's throat, the sound echoing in the empty space. _If only they knew!_


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 7, 2003)

*One week later...*

Max slid the fifth .357 magnum hollow point round into the revolver. Long ago, while he was mortal, he realised that the undead are difficult to stop with bullets, thus playing on their thoughts of near invunerability he had made certain to purchase that which they would underestimate.

Max slid the sixth and final round into the revolver, spinning the cylinder before putting it back into place with a flick of his wrist.

_One day I'll have to look into getting a shotgun._

He quietly put the weapon into a concealed holster, close to 4 speed loaders.

_I wonder if I could get something like a Pancor Jackhammer or a Spas 12? No doubt illegal but no doubt effective._

He went over the velcro straps of his kevlar vest, checking they were secure. He was certain that if fighting another kindred was called for they wouldn't expect him to be wearing a vest.

_Hmm, I wonder... what about a grenade launcher? Heh, what about a GMG!? No I'm just getting stupid now, I'm assuming all kinds of things, I'm assuming I'll be fighting vampires for one. I'm assuming I'll be fighting at all. Thats Brujah blood for you I guess, not that I don't like that aspect of it, liking a fight and all. It's just the going beserk thing that ticks me off. This is likely a meeting to do with occult lore and such, that is a more realistic thought... I'll stay armed just in case. I can always hope._

Max throws a jacket on, not bothering to zip it up yet, he currently wears a pair of jeans, boots and a hawaiin shirt underneath the thick vest. The jacket seemed large enough to conceal his shoulder-holstered weapon and armour. Noting the possibility of a meeting based on knowledge and the like he grabbed his backpack, in case he'd be bringing back books.

He took a deep breath, though he really didn't need it, and went outside, locking his door behind him. He turned towards the elevator and noticed it was rising and only a floor below.

_That's convenient... Uh, wait a sec._

Just as the elevator door started opening Max started hurriedly zipping up his jacket. To his surprise Caitlyn stepped out as the zipper on the jacket caught, and he quickly spun about, trying to do up his jacket without tearing it apart.

_Oh the cons of inhuman strength, will anyone know how many keyboards and mice I've gone through?_

He manages to finish zipping up his jacket but is pretty sure that Caitlyn would have caught a glance of what lies beneath, she probably saw his vest at least.

_Dammit, I hope she's drunk or high or distracted by something for God's sake!_

"Umm... Hi," Max says nervously and gives one of his little waves as Caitlyn approaches.

_This is probably going to look bad._


----------



## Shalimar (Mar 7, 2003)

*Sabrina and Vychtorya*

Wednesday December 11th, 2003
Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague family suite

The lounge that the three neonates were reclining in was quite 'plush'.  The armchair that the little girl was reclining, almost lost in, was a rich chocolate colored leather.  Her slippered feet didn't even make it off the edge of the large chair.  Although it was all very functional, the whole room gave of a vibe of being very old and ornate, an aura of dignity.  It was obviously not suited to Sabrina, the seeming age of the room belied its true owner and decorator.

Sabrina had been fairly board over the last week looking towards seeing Miss Cate and Miss Vychtorya again.  Her brother and uncle refused to let the girl out of their sight after her antics at Elysium, not that she knew what that was.  The explinations of what she could do with her newfound abilities as a vampire were very exciting for her, butt she had been forbidden from using them without permission, apparently she had caused her uncle a bit of trouble when she had made herself the center of attention, something he called prescence.

He had been very serious when he made her promise not to use on on anyone without permission.  _He made it sound soo bad, I hope Miss Vychtorya and Miss Cait don't hate me now.  Well, I'll just say sorry, and it'll be all better._  she had thought while she had been waiting for them to arrive.  She had dressed for comfort since Jemal had taken her out to feed the night before and probably wouldn't be going out again soon.  It wasn't quite fair that she wasn't let out without a chaperone, she was a big-girl after all, and now she wa a vampire, so no one could hurt her, well at least probably not.  Maybe she could convince Miss Cait and Miss Vychtorya to take her out somewhere, just the three of them.

She was wearing a pair of small pink sweatpants and a pink hooded-sweatshirt with a picture of Teia from Yugi-oh on it that her mom had picked up for her.  Her feet were covered in large furry white bunny slippers that had the cutest pink nose.  When Vychtorya had entered the lounge she was greeted with a heartfelt apology.  

"I'm very sorry Miss Vychtorya, I didn't mean to use it on you, I didn't even know I could do it."  She exclaims tearfully, as lines of red trail down her cheeks as she looks up at the beautiful grown ups face.  The childs eye's are very large waiting on her friends response, hoping for forgivness.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 8, 2003)

Caitlyn’s Current Theme

*Carnegie Hill Tenement*
December 11, 2002

_Cold, so cold this time of year._

Only a short while ago a flurry of goodbyes, congratulations for a day’s worth of hard work on the new songs filled her mind.  Now it was only the thought of the cold as Caitlyn Tran sped down the streets on her second-hand sleek black motorcycle, something her parents would never have approved of but had been her first major purchase in New York City.

The hum of the engine rumbling beneath her added a strange harmony to the whistle of the wind and the loud noises of traffic remained the background, a disharmonious orchestra that still enthralled her never-the-less.  

_Everywhere music…everywhere an inspiration._

As she drove up to her apartment building, the exclusive Carnegie Hill with its view of central park and the reservoir, Cate once again found herself amazed at her good fortune at snagging a rent-controlled apartment.  Squeezing the bike backwards in between two SUVs, she kicked down the stand and locked up for the night.  Her black leather boots thumped on the pavement, taking her to the doors where a doorman stood.

Antiqued jeans hanging low on her slim hips, a long leather overcoat, dark red cashmere sweater cropped enough to show just a hint of midriff, plus the addition of a thin long scarf wrapped loosely around her neck, Caitlyn presented the perfect picture of affluent youth with the addition of her motorcycle helmet and black driving gloves.

_If they only knew…so many secrets in this town._ 

Caitlyn crossed the threshold into the quiet lobby and then into the elevator.  As the machine heaved upwards, she found herself thinking back to the events of last week and the possibility of tonight.  Mr. Valentine had been true to his word and the payment absolutely extraordinary.  Keeping in touch with such a find as him became her top priority; not that Maria’s nagging didn’t help make it even more so.  Her hints that he might have something more than business in mind didn’t help matters either.

Neither Carrick Ashton, Vychtorya Farychyld, or Morgan Thepclay had gotten back to her yet about playing at their clubs.  Maybe it was time to do a follow up to their inquiries.  It never hurt to keep options open, though she wondered what kind of music they played there.  Would the Kindred Knights fit?

And tonight the Montagues.  Jemal had been absolutely adorable when he called her up to talk about the details, but Caitlyn recognized his type right away, rich playboy out to add another notch to a well-worn bedpost. _I better be _very_ wary of him lest I become notch number sixty-two._

Hopefully the uncle would be in a better mood tonight.  A week and a half should have eased the friction between them right?  Speaking of which, what was the friction anyway?  And why had he been cross with Sabrina?  Jemal hadn’t explained that all too well, something about bad moods and such.  Right.

The elevator door opened and immediately she caught sight of Max, though oddly enough he was doing a little whirly dance by the front of his door.  Sometimes her neighbor could be strange indeed.  He looked well padded for the cold alright, but she could have sworn she caught a gleam of a revolver.

“Hey Max!” she called out with a smile, though one eyebrow lifted imperceptibly.  More secrets?

_Everybody’s everyone’s fool._


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 8, 2003)

He hurries to meet Caitlyn half-way to the elevator, anxious to meet the contact downstairs.

"Well, how's your week been since the get-together?" he asks, trying to hijack the topic of conversation before it went to his gun or armour.

_Oh crap, I forgot to talk to the landlord about her rent... I'll do it when I get back. Actually I better talk to Morgan about it, she could deal with it better._


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 8, 2003)

Caitlyn’s Current Theme

*Carnegie Hill Tenement*
December 11, 2002

"Been pretty busy," Caitlyn responded with a long sigh and cheerful smile.  "I feel like I'm working all the time these days.  How about you?  In a hurry to go do some target practice today?"  A long dark eyebrow arched slightly before she glanced down at his jacket and then back up again to meet his gaze.

_Where could he be going?  Certainly not off to meet Vychtorya Farychyld with a revolver...Oh! Does he know about Carrick Ashton?  Should I tell him?_


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 8, 2003)

_Duh! Target practice! I should have thought of that. Heh, guess I'm lucky there._

"Yeah, just something to do. I haven't been in a while so I thought I'd better brush up on my skills. Never know when they might come in handy," he says with a little shrug, "Anyway, I haven't had much of a busy week, same old, same old. Well I'd better get going, I've booked a place at the firing range and I'm gonna be late the way I'm going."

He smiles and gives a little wave goodbye as he hops into the elevator to head to the ground floor.

_Okay, nothing to worry about too much, she doesn't suspect anything I'm pretty sure... I hope..._


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 8, 2003)

Caitlyn’s Current Theme

*Carnegie Hill Tenement*
December 11, 2002

Caitlyn blinked slightly as Max jumped into the elevator and leaving again after yet another quick conversation without letting her get another word in edgewise.  Was this a habit with him?  He had seemed like such a nice guy at the party when she had first met him and she really thought they could at least be friends.

Then he got all weird after meeting Ms Fayrchyld...though who wouldn't, the woman was gorgeous.  They hadn't really talked since then with him always rushing about throwing one-sided conversations at her and disappearing afterwards.  Shaking her head, she headed toward her apartment.

_Maybe he has bad news about Morgan Thepclay's offer to engage the Kindred Knights and doesn't want to tell me_ she thought with a slightly disappointed look to her features as she unlocked her door and stepped inside.  _I really thought she liked the music._


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## Vychtorya (Mar 9, 2003)

> Carrick took Vychtorya home, and explained the child's use of Awe on her. He indicated the breach of decorum, but alluded to Nathaniel's difficult position. The two, it would seem, are allies of a long-standing nature, and while sympathetic, Carrick has obtained some compensatory concessions (in the form of information) from the Ventrue for his charge's misbehaviour. Still, he thinks Vychtorya should be careful, or at least aware that the childe is, by blood, Brujah (with all the self-control that entails). He has asked her to set aside a suite tonight at Antiquiites for himself and Nathaniel to meet with another elder.



Vych finishes up the last of the arrangements at Antiquities for Carrick and his guests. “Everything is in proper order,” she thinks to herself. With that, she goes upstairs to her apartment to bathe and get ready to head over to the Montagues’ with Carrick. Still in her satin bathrobe, Vych is getting ready to put on her lipstick when she notices she looks a little paler than usual. “Hmm, it has been awhile. I best have a drink before we go,” she thinks to herself. She finishes her make-up and then makes a quick call downstairs to her “friend”, and club manager. Pretty soon Vych hears the intercom beep and the guard say Sasha is on her way up. Vych leans her head into Carrick’s office doorway, 
_“Sasha’s coming up for a bit(e).  
Then I’ll be ready to leave with you for the Montagues’.”_

Vych opens the heavy mahogany, steel-lined door, greeting the beautiful raven-haired girl gripping both of her hands lightly and kissing each supple cheek, 
_“Thank you for coming up so quickly Sash. I am so very sorry for the short notice. I have just been swamped with all of the preparations for this week. Well, you know how it has been around here. I hate to rush this, but would you mind terribly if I….”_
Motioning over to the sofa, Vych’s words trail off as a somewhat glazed but pleasant look comes across the young girl’s face. Their eyes meet and the raven beauty offers herself freely. (OOC - using herd) 

Vych could feel Sasha’s vein in her neck pulse against her smooth lips as the warmth of the liquid quenched her hunger. She stroked the girl’s jet-black hair as she closed the wound gently with her tongue. She knew it gave ”them” pleasure too, but no matter how many times, no matter how willing her “friends” were, Vych always felt the need to ask their permission and thank them for their “gift”. (OOC - soft-hearted / high humanity) 
_”Thank you Sasha.”_ 
Vych paused for a moment looking at how striking the girl was. Lovingly touching Sasha’s face she says,
_“Let me get you something to drink. I’ll finish getting ready, and then we can all go downstairs together.”_
Vych places a crystal goblet on the shiny black table in front of Sasha, and then heads toward her room to get dressed.  

Opting for “warmth” tonight, she selects her lined black leather pants, a white cowl neck angora sweater with a ruby-encrusted rose pin, black dress boots, and a long black leather trenchcoat.
Her hair is still a little damp so she decides to pull it back tight into a bun at the base of her neck and wear her black leather beret tilted on her head to the left a bit.

_”Carrick, all of the details have been taken care of for later tonight at the club. We should probably leave now for the Montagues’. We shouldn’t want to keep them waiting,”_ 
Vych says as she passes Carrick’s office on her way back to Sasha.

Grabbing a small red package tied with a white ribbon off of the bar she says,
_”You look like you are feeling better Sasha. Carrick and I will walk you down to the club now. If you need anything, you know how to get ahold of me.”_


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## Vychtorya (Mar 9, 2003)

> She was wearing a pair of small pink sweatpants and a pink hooded-sweatshirt with a picture of Teia from Yugi-oh on it that her mom had picked up for her. Her feet were covered in large furry white bunny slippers that had the cutest pink nose. When Vychtorya had entered the lounge she was greeted with a heartfelt apology.
> 
> "I'm very sorry Miss Vychtorya, I didn't mean to use it on you, I didn't even know I could do it." She exclaims tearfully, as lines of red trail down her cheeks as she looks up at the beautiful grown ups face. The childs eye's are very large waiting on her friends response, hoping for forgivness.



Bending down to the child’s level, setting down the little red package, and taking out one of her kerchiefs again, she wipes Sabrina’s tears before they hit her pretty pink sweatshirt. 
_”I know Precious. Please don’t cry. I understand. 

I can do special things too.”_ 
Vych pauses a bit and looks up at Jemal then back at Sabrina.

_”Here, I brought you something.”_
Still kneeling, Vych gives a little grin and picks up the small red package handing it to Sabrina hoping the package will help stop her tears.

_”I hope you like it. I remember you said red was _your_ favorite color too.”_
Inside the package was a tiny, red ruby fashioned in the shape of a heart on a gold 18inch chain wrapped in a delicate red, monogrammed hanky with Sabrina’s initials.


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## Shalimar (Mar 10, 2003)

*Sabrina and Vychtorya*

Wednesday December 11th, 2003
Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague family suite

Sabrina's crying slowly ceases as Ms. Fayrchyld takes out another of her beautifully monogramed kercheifs and gently wipes away her tears.  Her reasurances, made the small frown that had been the childs mouth turn upwards slightly at its corners, turning itself into a small smile, hopeful smile, a cautious smile, but a smile nonetheless.

[/i]She doesn't seem very angry with me, maybe she's not angry at all.  I hope not, she's been soo nice to me, her and Ms. Cate.  And Ms. Cate is coming over tonight too, its gonna be so great.  Hmm, she said she can do stuff too, so maybe she can show me, and then I can show her it too, I mean she already saw prescence.  I can show her how fast I can run, and how strong I am.  I be she'll be proud.  Her and Miss Cate.[/i]

When Vychtorya handed the little girl her presant her smile widened until it seemed to touch her eyes, making them twinkle as her cheeks dimpled with pleasure.  She looked up into the womans face to make sure the gift really was for her before tearing into the paper with a squeel of delight.  Slowly she unfolds the red kercheif from around the ruby pendant, and examines it for a moment curiously.  Suddenly she understands what the letters are for, SM, Sabrina Montague, the kercheif was for her too, another part of the gift, just like Miss  Vychtorya's.

"Its soo beautiful," she exclaimed after examining the pendant for a moment.  She threw her arms around Vychtorya's neck hugging the woman in thanks for the exquisite gift.  She stays snuggled up against the well dressed woman for a moment before releasing her, slipping the pendant into Vych's hand.  Sabrina pushes her hood as far back as possible, and then gathers her her hair and lifts so Vych can put the necklace on her, if she wants to.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 10, 2003)

Caitlyn’s Current Theme

*Adrift to Crown Plaza Hotel*
Wednesday, December 11th, 2003

The cold bit into her, a million frosty mosquitoes running their icy pricks along her skin despite the layers of warmth.  It was a long walk to the Crown Plaza hotel even with taking the subway part way.  The motorcycle had quickly become a non-option when Caitlyn realized jeans wouldn’t be too appropriate for the first lesson.

High black leather boots rubbed against each other as she walked, adding to the warmth at least.  Dark wine colored cashmere skirt with a matching wrap top, elegant but still comfortable and her insulated leather overcoat.  Her mind had played briefly with the thought of wearing a suit or something, the formality of the family heightening that idea for the briefest of moments…well specifically the archaic formality of Nathaniel Montague in particular.

Freezing wind blew color into her cheeks, nearly bring tears into her eyes, but still she trudged onward, letting her thoughts drift more and more.  From songs still waiting to be written to the family she now moved inexorably closer to with every step.

Who were they?  What kind of secrets lurked behind their decorous manner…because there were always secrets.  That was the trick, the swift flick of the wrist that those like them held over others.  That was the secret to power…not money, nothing but blackmail…insidious strangulation of another human being until they had nothing left to bleed other than the blood of their souls.

Her fingers clenched in her leather cashmere-lined gloves, arms wrapped around her body for more warmth that the overcoat and vibrant red scarf could not provide.  Closing her eyes for a brief moment, black lashes pressed lightly against porcelain cheekbones.  

_I can’t live like that again._

Deeper into the cold darkness went the echoing of her footsteps inexorably toward the Crown Plaza hotel and its mysterious owner.


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## reapersaurus (Mar 10, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Gabriel and Nikolai have at least shown willing, providing Qadir with skills he doesn't possess in his task of keeping the masquerade. Gabriel's Dominate affinity and Nikolai's investigative prowess have melded well with the sheriff's social and physical skills, and eased his task in the last few nights, to the point where a professional relationship is developing. So far, Qadir has not alluded to ambitions of becoming Prince, but keeps his own counsel much of the time when not working.
> 
> The scene sees the pair waiting to meet with Qadir in a downtown diner, their usual pickup point when working with the sheriff. The place is deserted, save for the waitress, cook and a clearly homeless man taking advantage of the refill policy to stay warm for just a few hours longer.
> _____________ *



Nikolai leans back in the booth of the diner, trying to look nonchalant and patient, waiting with Gabriel when he'd rather be out in the Night, at least scouring another section of the city for both Qadir's efforts and perhaps to catch sight of his Beast.

He had prepared for the evening's outing by performing his rituals (Extinguish + _secret_), and creating another blood token (5 total in his possession, which he's created since Elysium, at the cost of slightly-higher feeding rate the past week+. 
12 blood pool currently).

He's wearing his Kevlar vest under a charcoal grey trenchcoat (OOC: would it be appropriate to be packing weaponry for this scene?).

He turns to Gabriel after looking at the breeze blow the trash by outside the window and asks, "So what do you think may be on the schedule for _tonight_?"


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## Vychtorya (Mar 10, 2003)

Hugging the child back, _”I had hoped you would like it.”_ Then Vych hears Carrick’s words of caution echo lightly in the back of her mind and releases the little girl gently.

Following Sabrina’s gesture, Vych places the necklace around Sabrina’s tiny neck. _”There you go,”_ Vych says with a friendly smile. _”I do wish that someday you, Jemal, and I will become close friends.”_

_”I had hoped to talk to your brother more at the party, but time and situation did not allow me such hopes.”_ Vych smiles wide eyed at Jemal hoping he will look up from his work.

_”So do you have any games you would like to play Sabrina? Maybe the three of us could play one. I’m not sure how long I will be here, but we could always start one and if we don’t finish it tonight we could always get together later,”_ Vych says remembering how she loved to play games when she was young.


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## Shalimar (Mar 10, 2003)

Wednesday December 11th, 2003
Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague family suite

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."  the child exclaims excitedly trying to show off the pendant  to her brother.  She grabs onto the toreador again hugging her in thanks once again for the expensive gift.  "But you are my friend already miss Vychtorya."  that childs says in answer to the woman's hopes.  She leans into to whisper conspirationally in the womans ear,  "I think Jemal wants to be your friend too, I 'm sure he wants to talk to you too."

She looks at her new friend seriously for a moment before smiling again, dimples once more in evidence, probably because she wanted something.  "Miss Vychtorya, will you come to my birthday party?  Its my birthday on Friday, and Jemal and uncle Nathan said my friends from school couldn't come because I'm a vampire now."  she sounds a upset about this quite a bit.  Its obvious that the party was rather important to her, and she probably been planning it for awhile before it get nixxed because of her embrace.  She looks rather upset, probably since she was told her entire geust list wasn't allowed.

She thinks about it for a moment before answering her games question, "We do have monopoly, if you want to play that, but I wanna be the puppy.  And Miss Cate is coming over soon too, for lessons."  she says swelling out her chest to show she is important too. "Hey, do you like Miss Cate?  I really do, she is so nice to me, I'll invite her too."


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 10, 2003)

Wednesday December 11th, 2003
8:45 PM, Claire's Diner

Gabriel sat quietly, his dark leather coat wrapped around him, and his cane resting on his legs. He could still feel the warmth coursing through him from the blood he had recently taken from a hooker on the corner. That was his preffered prey. Hookers, bums, petty criminals... Gabriel hunted from the scum of the world. He moved silently through the night, removing those who wouldn't be missed. 

They where society's sickness, and he was a cure. At least, that's how he justified it to himself. Maybe it was God's will. Was it their time? Had he not taken them, might they have died in a car wreck? It wasn't the first time he saw the irony in his name. Like the angel of death, Gabriel descended upon the mortal world and delivered those of his choosing unto God.

Nikolai's voice focused his wondering thoughts. "I don't know." Gabe was obviously unhappy about this little assignent. He had better things to do. He had no desire to hunt Sabbat and rogues. As long as they didn't interfere with his own plans, he didn't care what they did. Well... the Sabbat could be a threat, but anarchs were little more than a pests to the Prince and Primogen council.

He sighed. "So tell me Nikolai. How did you get involved with Qadir in the first place?"

OOC: Gabriel has 5 little blood marbles created from Principle Focus of Vitae Infusion. He has max blood points.


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## Catulle (Mar 10, 2003)

*Somewhere on the streets of Manhattan*
Wednesday, 11th December 2002

The chill of the wind caught Caitlyn full-on as she was walking, billowing her coat around her, seeming to insinuate itself right through the seams of the garment. Cars rushed past in the street, creating gusts within the swirl, a storm of neon bringing thunder and cloying smoke.

Perhaps it was a trick of the wind and her expectations for the evening, but she found herself moving, stepping in time with a meter unhead, a rhythm that stole the bite out of the wind and the chill from the air before she realised that she was humming along with her motion. In _that_ second, she heard the melody she'd been listening to all along. An adagio swirl, that faded swift as realisation into the discord of the streets. Unforgettable, yet forgotten.

The blare of a car horn snapped her back to sharp reality, as did the hand that she found clasped around her arm, dragging her back out of the street. The rush of air about the car brought disorientation back, before the vinegar-stink of the man who held her assailed Caitlyn's nose. He released her arm, muttering into his chest as he did so, a large unshaven bear of a man limping in sneakers that couldn't keep out the cold for a second. He took a step backwards, then another alternately making and breaking eye contact, as if unsure of something.


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## Catulle (Mar 10, 2003)

*Carnegie Hill Tenement, Foyer*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The lift came to a halt, the metal doors pulling slowly open, perhaps too slowly for Max's comfort. The confined space opened up into the drab faux-marble of the tenement's ground floor, wall-mounted uplighters cast as much shadow down as they threw light towards the barrelled ceiling. What the architect had been trying to achieve, he couldn't be sure but in that moment the effect was almost akin to a church.

A figure, broad-framed and dressed in black from his tight, high-necked shirt to slip-on boots was poised opposite Max's point of egress from the lift, perfectly placed to intercept the young Brujah should he attempt to break past to the main door. He was leaning, almost-but-not-quite casually against the wall, one hand thrust deep in his long wool coat's pocket, the other cradled a glinting gold pocketwatch in its palm. He seemed rapt in its face.

Suddenly, the stranger looked up to catch Max straight in the eyes. Intense, penetrating scrutiny washed over him in that instant. Max heard the sharp <snap> of the watch's case folding closed, finality echoed in his ears, the other spoke;

"Maxwell Freigardt. Come with me."

(OOC - Aura Perception diff 8 - 10,8,6 - 2 successes; what's Max's current mood?)


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## Catulle (Mar 10, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Jemal glanced up from the ledger briefly, the light casting a warm glow on his normally pale features. At first incongruous, the reading glasses he had on now added a degree of gravity to the youthful face and hinted at a hitherto unnoticed mystique. He looked over the narrow lenses at the pendant hanging from Sabrina's neck, forehead furrowing in appraisal. "Mmmm."

The familiar lopsided grin flitted across his features, throwing the veneer of seriousness straight into the fire. "I like it. Beautiful." In the dim light, Vychtorya wasn't entirely sure where his eyes were focused at that moment. "Maybe Uncle Nathan's got something extra special planned for your birthday, pet. You can tell."

Jemal laughed aloud at the mention of a board game, before he raised his brows and looked to Vychtorya with a shrug "Well, what'd you expect from Ventrue?"


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 10, 2003)

Caitlyn’s Current Theme

*Somewhere on the streets of Manhattan*
Wednesday, 11th December 2002

So torn from her melodic thoughts, Caitlyn had to take a moment to reorient herself to her new surroundings, and her new threat.  Those dark eyes, wide and deep, focused on the man with an almost questioning air from a face that looked much younger than her twenty years…the blessing and curse of Asian genetics.

_Is he a mugger?_ 

She faced him with her head straight, eyes unwavering but inside, her body shook like a thin branch unsheltered from the winds.  

_What does he want?_

“Can I help you?” she spoke in a gentle voice, loud enough to be heard over the traffic noise and keeping well aware of her surroundings should escape be necessary.  

_Would any one hear me scream?_ 

It was New York City…of course not.


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## Catulle (Mar 10, 2003)

*Somewhere on the streets of Manhattan*
Wednesday, 11th December 2002

The eyes fixed on Caitlyn's, watery, weathered orbs recessed deep into leathery pockets in the bum's skull. He took another step back from her, "Stay outta the traffic, lady. You wanna die?" His teeth were yellowed, one prominent one missing. She _knew_ how his breath would smell, even though she was mercifully far enough away to miss out on that experience.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 10, 2003)

*Wednesday December 11th, 2003
Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague family suite*

*Thank you, thank you, thank you." She grabs onto the toreador again hugging her in thanks once again for the expensive gift. "But you are my friend already miss Vychtorya." She leans into to whisper conspirationally in the womans ear, "I think Jemal wants to be your friend too, I 'm sure he wants to talk to you too." "Miss Vychtorya, will you come to my birthday party? Its my birthday on Friday, and Jemal and Uncle Nathan said my friends from school couldn't come because I'm a vampire now." "We do have monopoly, if you want to play that, but I wanna be the puppy. And Miss Cate is coming over soon too, for lessons." she says swelling out her chest to show she is important too. "Hey, do you like Miss Cate? I really do, she is so nice to me, I'll invite her too."*

_“You are most welcome,”_ Vych says as she kisses Sabrina on the top of the head, _“but I think you’ll have to work on Jemal for me,”_ she continues with a slight giggle to her now whispering voice into Sabrina’s ear.*



			Jemal laughed aloud at the mention of a board game, before he raised his brows and looked to Vychtorya with a shrug "Well, what'd you expect from Ventrue?".
		
Click to expand...


*Vych looks at Jemal and rolls her eyes while shaking her head as a very true and flirty smile comes to her lips and eyes at his question, “Monopoly….” Vych laughs hoping her comment was taken in the best of lights and breaks the ice between them. 

Vych turns her attention back to Sabrina and sits down in one of the chairs. 

_“Usually I work at my club on Friday nights, but I can NOT turn down a party,”_ Vych exclaims with an air of delight about her voice. _“I would love to come Precious!”_ 

With a slight bit of sadness encroaching on Vych’s fading smile she says, _“I know it’s hard not to share our secret…our secrets with our human friends Sabrina.”_

Attempting to lighten her face again Vych says, _“Speaking of humans…how are your lessons with the singer coming Sabrina? You mentioned she’s coming over tonight?”_ 
Vych looks a little past her, though not directly noticeable to the child, over at Jemal as she speaks with a slight level of concern resonating in her voice. 
(OOC – perception? / empathy? - sorry Catulle, I'm not very good at this part)


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 10, 2003)

Caitlyn’s Current Theme

*Somewhere on the streets of Manhattan*
Wednesday, 11th December 2002

There was a pause that lasted only a breath of a second.  "Sometimes," she told him with barely a smile.  "But not tonight."

"So you're the gallant hero that saved me?"  Her hands reached into her pockets searching around as she smiled warmly at him.  "You have to let me thank you somehow.  Let me get you something...would you like some coffee?  Food?  There's a diner around here somewhere I think.  I don't have alot, but I have enough for a meal."

The words though came out automatically.  Her thoughts rested somewhere else.  

That melody...where had it come from?  Relentlessly she pursued the reaches of her brain to bring that back up, to try and hum the tune.  What was it?  She had to know...she just had to know...it was so beautiful.


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## Shalimar (Mar 10, 2003)

Wednesday December 11th, 2003
Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague family suite

The little girl suddenly realized that she was feeling positively ravenous, she didn't quite understand how it had snuck up on her unnoticed, but there it was, she just had to deal with it, and that meant only one thing when Jemal had his head in the ledger, a tantrum.  "I'm hungry,"  she declared loudly, "I want to eat now, before Miss Cate gets here for lessons."  She gestures at her brother imperiuosly, expecting him to jump when she said she was hungry, but just in case she made herself ready to cry again, and tried to think up what exactly to say to make him feel guilty.  

_I know, you don't love, you don't care if I starve, or you would have let me feed already.  You want me to eat miss Cate, I hate you.  That should do it, and maybe some more crying after that._ she wondered idly, whimpering to make her seem pathetic and needy.


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## Jemal (Mar 11, 2003)

Double Post


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## Jemal (Mar 11, 2003)

Wednesday December 11th, 2003
Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague family suite

Jemal tore his eyes from Vychtorias beautiful gaze to look at his sister.  He'ld had a feeling that Vych had been trying to get some point across to him, but he was obviously too dull-witted around her ravishing beauty to figure it out.  Perhaps later he'ld have a more private conversation with her.  
Clearing his throat as a distraction, he looked into his imperious sisters eyes, ready to scold her for being so rude in front of guests, but as soon as he lay eyes on her, his cold, undead, lawyers heart melted.. _damnit, I really have been neglecting her recenltly, havn't I?  Well it isn't REALLY my fault, she was supposed to be Uncle Nathans responsibility.._ He sighed as he took off his glasses and stood _ Yeah right, he's been so distant recently he hasn't even been educating ME in the ways.  Good thing I had a head-start before I was turned.  
"Oh pet, I'm so sorry, I hadn't even thought of it." He said, his voice soft and soothing "and we really don't want you to get hungry and accidentally bite miss Caitlyn, now do we?" He smiled warmly, glancing at Vychtoria to see how she was taking this.  "Miss Fayrchyld, would you like to accompany us on a little snack run?  I'm feeling a bit famished myself, I've been working on these books almost since we got back from Elysium.  There's this wonderful little place I know.. Or would m'ladies prefer to dine in for tonight?" He gave his most charming smile, wondering if Arin would be home.. Or perhaps Lei-pan.. yes, she should have been back from her visit to her folks in asia by now.

He'ld have to finish quickly though, he wanted to make sure they all looked their best for when Miss Caitlyn arrived.  

OOC: What can I say, he's got a weakness for beautiful young women, which seem to be all-too-abundant right about now.  that could make things.. Interesting.
On a good note, we should be getting our computer fixed within the next week, which means I'll be able to get online for more than a little while at a time, so more posts (Theoretically..)_


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## Shalimar (Mar 11, 2003)

Wednesday December 11th, 2003
Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague family suite

Most of her brothers reply went over the starving llittle girls blond head.  Her eyes just tended to glaze over when he tried to be dashing and flirtatious with a pretty woman  like Miss Vychtorya.  In her eyes, that was the her brother's one flaw, he never really paid her full attention when other people were around, otherwise, he was the perfect brother, he played games with her, tucked her in, and over the last week, he had even let her crawl into his bed right before dawn so she wouldn't be scared of the light.

Sabrina knows it'll take Jemal awhile to decide, probably, and she decides to take matters into her own hands.  Thinking only about how hungry she is Sabrina hops up out of her seat and the chair. Moving her tiny legs rapidly she pushes open the door to her Uncles study, where he and Carrick were talking.  She marched up to him, her bunny slips making small slapping sounds on his hardwood floor.

"Uncle Nathan, I'm so very hungry and Jemal's just talking about girls and joking with Miss Vychtorya.  But I'm hungry now, can't you do something, before Miss Cate gets here?  I want my lessons to be just perfect."  she complains plaintively.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 11, 2003)

> (OOC - Aura Perception diff 8 - 10,8,6 - 2 successes; what's Max's current mood?)




ooc: Max is curious mostly, also in there is a little uncertainty, nervousness, awe and respect.

_Whatever evaluation he made of me right then it seems I passed. This doesn't feel like a meeting based on knowledge. Heh, I wonder what this is about, Calebros did say he had his own things to see to. Pretty sweet, seeing as I can probably help him out now. I'm glad we have some things in common, well, we apparently do._

Max silently follows the man in black, his mind calculating as many situations as possible that could lead out of this one. He thinks it unwise to ask anything about what they are doing, or about the person leading him to their destination, so he thinks of something fairly general to talk about.

"It's getting pretty cold, and Christmas' not far off, something to look forward to," he says as they walk. 

He takes a deep breath, but no cloud of vapour appears during the exhale. 

Some habits die hard.


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## Jemal (Mar 11, 2003)

IC: 
Jemal watched his sister move off, rather dumbfounded at her hasty departure.  After a moment of surprise, he shakes his head  "I guess that means she wants to go out. *Sigh* I really must remember to teach her some more manners, that was rude, just walking out.  Would you excuse me for a moment?"  Jemal nodded to Vychtoria, his smile fading as he goes looking for his sister.

OOC: UM, I happen to have 2 younger sisters, and if THEY've understood me since they were 2, then to a child as smart as Sabrina, who's been around this kind of speaking patern in her brother, uncle, and parents, her whole life, it should be easy to comprehend.  I fail to see the problem.  Maybe she's just dizzy from hunger..


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## Vychtorya (Mar 11, 2003)

*



			"I'm hungry," she declared loudly, "I want to eat now, before Miss Cate gets here for lessons." She gestures at her brother imperiuosly, expecting him to jump when she said she was hungry.
		
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*Vych, a little stunned by the child’s loud and sudden declaration that she was hungry, thinks of how close she had just been to the Brujah. Vych looks over at Jemal with a startled look on her face as her hand landed on her cheek with eyebrows raised high and her lips pursed together. She sits quietly and awaits Jemal’s response to the child.*



			He sighed as he took off his glasses and stood. "Oh pet, I'm so sorry, I hadn't even thought of it." He said, his voice soft and soothing "and we really don't want you to get hungry and accidentally bite Miss Caitlyn, now do we?" He smiled warmly, glancing at Vychtoria to see how she was taking this. "Miss Fayrchyld, would you like to accompany us on a little snack run? I'm feeling a bit famished myself, I've been working on these books almost since we got back from Elysium. There's this wonderful little place I know… Or would m'ladies prefer to dine in for tonight?" He gave his most charming smile.
		
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*Vych hadn’t really gotten a chance to see Jemal at the party as Sabrina had captured her attention in that evening of introductions to the young Montagues. As he took off his glasses and spoke, Vych could feel her muscles relax. Then, she caught his smile and heard his sweet voice ask if she would like to go with them. Vych thinks to herself, “Right now, I would go anywhere you asked me to. How did I not notice HIM?!” 

Beginning to realize she is staring at him wide eyed like a school girl, a giggling smile starts to creep across her lips as she says, 
_”I would love to go out with you…I…I mean you and Sabrina._
*



			Thinking only about how hungry she is Sabrina hops up out of her seat and the chair. Moving her tiny legs rapidly she pushes open the door to her Uncles study, where he and Carrick were talking. She marched up to him, her bunny slips making small slapping sounds on his hardwood floor.
		
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*Seeing Sabrina’s hasty exit towards the study, Vych stands up takes a couple of steps forward and stretches her arm out open handed toward the child and starts to say, _”Oh no...please, Sabrina don’t distur….”_ But alas, she was too late and she hears Sabrina interrupt the gentlemen’s conversation.*



			"Uncle Nathan, I'm so very hungry and Jemal's just talking about girls and joking with Miss Vychtorya. But I'm hungry now, can't you do something, before Miss Cate gets here? I want my lessons to be just perfect." she complains plaintively.
		
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*Vych sighs heavily as she walks over to Jemal. _”This isn’t going to be pleasant is it?_ Vych says to him with an ounce or two of despair on her lips.*



			After a moment of surprise, he shakes his head "I guess that means she wants to go out. *Sigh* I really must remember to teach her some more manners, that was rude, just walking out. Would you excuse me for a moment?" Jemal nodded to Vychtorya, his smile fading as he goes looking for his sister.
		
Click to expand...


*_“Of course,”_ Vych says with a considerable amount of understanding in her tone.


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## Catulle (Mar 11, 2003)

*Somewhere on the streets of Manhattan*
Wednesday, 11th December 2002

The man swayed slightly - infirmity or chill? As he held her gaze, thick lips working silently in the cold air. Steam escaped his mouth as he seemed to ponder her question.

"'m real hungry, lady. An' I know jus' where the diner is. If you'd spare some change..." He left the request hanging, like his breath, in the air.

Of the melody there was no trace.


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## Catulle (Mar 11, 2003)

*South of Carnegie Hill, Manhatten*
Wednesday, 11th December 2002

Max's companion grunted a reply to his pleasantries under his breath. Despite the chill, he didn't wear gloves nor did the pocketwatch leave his left hand for a moment.

"You brought weapons. Good. With luck, you won't need them. I'm David Morgan, by the way. I was Calebros' scourge, now it seems I'm New York's." His face twisted into a deliberate smile. "Thepclay says you're good with a pistol, and nasty up close. Are you?"

They approached a dark-coloured sedan parked so deep in the shadows that Max had trouble recognising the manufacturer. The lights pulsed, once, as the alarm deactivated, and David got into the driver's seat, motioning around the hood to the passenger side at his accomplice. "We can talk more on the way." He added, by way of explaination.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 11, 2003)

Caitlyn’s Current Theme

*Somewhere on the streets of Manhattan*
Wednesday, 11th December 2002

The melody...gone...her heart felt forsaken...empty...a crater of blackness.  She had to know, to remember...the not remembering was infinitely worse.

Caitlyn stretched out her small hand to him, the money clasped in her fingers.  No illusions danced about her head at his words.  She knew that the money would be levied into alcohol or worse, drugs.  The man looked as if forgetting was the only way to live.  But who was she, just as guilty as he,  to argue with hypocrisy on her tongue?

If and when he reached out to take the money, her fingers held on to his momentarily, dark eyes grasping his gaze but for a brief piercing moment.  "Spend it on whatever you want."


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## Catulle (Mar 11, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday December 11th, 2003

The oak doors swung easily open at Sabrina's touch, a feat of strength that would have seemed all but impossible to the child but two weeks earlier. They glid quickly over the boards of the study floor in two broad, swift arcs and bumped to rest against the sides of the cabinet wall with a final <thud>.

Framed in the light of the desk lamp, Carrick Ashton was already looking in Sabrina's direction, as if alerted to her presence even before she had taken the decision to open the door. His expression was nonchalant, amused, even as he folded himself back into one of the two overstuffed chairs Nathaniel kept for guests in his refuge.

Nathaniel looked up, turning from Carrick to face Sabrina. He glanced behind her, eyes catching Jemal's with a wry expression, before returning to his neice. His lips pursed into a thin smile. "Well, Jemal _does_ have work to do. It probably just slipped his mind, my sweet." He rose to his feet from behind the desk. With his shirt unbuttoned at the top, tie undone and shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbows he looked far less the starched veteran of the courts he had the other night at Elysium. Fatigue, perhaps, was evident in his eyes to close observation. He reached out to Sabrina, offering to lift her up as he walked over to a cabinet flush into the study wall.

Pulling down the door to form a leather-topped shelf, the contents - a collection of bottles and glasses - were made visible. The elder Ventrue drew out a cut crystal glass, broad-based and heavy in design which caught the low light, sending an array of tiny rainbows over the bottles which in turn refracted the light, throwing a luminescence across Nathan's face. He took out a heavy decanter, dark liquid sloshing thickly against the sides of the crystal and painting the inside crimson in its wake. One handed, he removed the stopper, pouring out the thick ichor into the glass, which he passed, deftly, to Sabrina.

(OOC - Sabrina self control - 10,5,4 - 1 success; good for whatever you do for 1 round which, if it involves drinking blood, will give her 2 points and end the stimulus)


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## Shalimar (Mar 12, 2003)

*Sabrina*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday December 11th, 2003

Sabrina ignores the thud of the doors against the cabinents, as she looks up at her Uncle, not quite sure how to take his answer.  Her determined frown fell apart at the merest hint of her uncle's smile.  She knew he would take care of it all now that he knew about it.  _He...he called me my sweet again._ she thought flushing with pleasure.  _He hasn't called me that since before last week, does this mean he isn't angry with me any more?_ she wonders hopefully.

She let her uncle Lift her up and carry her across the room, her head lying against his shoulder until he sets her down gently.  She watches him with wide eyes as he prepares her meal for her in its beautiful glass.  She finds her eyes drawn more to the precious fluid then him, hungrily she watches every drop as it flows out of the decanter.  She lets out a needy whimper as she is handed the glass.  In a rush she brings the glass to her lips almost spilling the life giving liquid.  Almost as soon as the glass touched her lips it was empty leaving a film along the glass, one that she tried futiley to lick up with her small pink tongue, trying to get each and every drop.  

"More?" she asked her uncle hopefully, loving the taste of the vitae and not wanting to stop when there was still more availible.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 12, 2003)

> "You brought weapons. Good. With luck, you won't need them. I'm David Morgan, by way. I was Calebros' scourge, now it seems I'm New York's."




"Good to meet you," Max replies.



> "Thepclay says you're good with a pistol, and nasty up close. Are you?"




"I've got knowledge of a broad range of firearms, and if in the right mood I can be good up close," he says with a smile, "But my preferance is in hand guns."

_Wow, the Scourge, this is gonna be good... Hmm, nice car._

Max nodded to David and got into the front passenger's seat, once inside the car he continued the conversation, assuming now that it would be alright to talk about what the night's activities held for them.

"So what exactly are we going to do? And what role am I going to play?" he asks casually.


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## reapersaurus (Mar 12, 2003)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> *He sighed. "So tell me Nikolai. How did you get involved with Qadir in the first place?"*



Nikolai stares blankly ahead, and answers numbly, casually lying to Gabriel as a matter of principle : "Oh, I was asked by my sire to do a favor and deliver a message to the good Sheriff."

Nikolai's gaze meanders back to Gabriel - "So tell _me_, Gabriel. How did you get involved with the Sabbat in the first place?"


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## Catulle (Mar 12, 2003)

*Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The scourge revved up the engine to a low purr, the car clearly well maintained and powerful despite its rather mundane facade. Like David himself? He certainly looked pretty average, the kind of guy Max would overlook in a crowd. Which was likely, on reflection, just what Calebros had been after when he appointed the Kindred to the position.

"Well, that'll depend." David commented as he looked on the road ahead, keeping Max in the corner of his eye as he did so, "we're taking a look into something that might just end up being nothing over on Staten Island. The territory's a little rough still, so I thought I'd get some help on board. I heard you did well in the business a few months back and you had Morgan to speak for you. And here we are." He eased into traffic along the bridge, and drummed his fingers impatiently on the wheel, before turning to face Max.

"I'd take the ferry but for the anarchs. Not that they're any real trouble, but slugging it out with them'd blow the discretion we were hoping for. Order of the night's investigation, not combat. Of course, if it's necessary..." He slumped back into his seat to wait out the queue.


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## Catulle (Mar 12, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday December 11th, 2002

Nathaniel looked down at his neice indulgently, perhaps only a hint reproachfully, as she finished the glass. "But what would a young _lady_ say?" He raised his eyebrows as he did so, alleviating the sternness of his sharp features as he weighed the half-empty decanter in his right hand.

Carrick stood from his seat, moving around to the doors, and the two neonates framed in them. He offered his hand to Jemal as he reached their position. He was dressed as casually as his Ventrue counterpart, a silk shirt worn loose with jeans, but carried the simplicity well. "I am sorry we couldn't speak earlier, Jemal. Perhaps we'll have some more time at the club, once the immediate business is concluded. You may wish to meet the Kindred we've arranged to rendezvous with." He glanced to Vychrorya with a smile as he spoke, then returned his attention to Jemal, "I know my dearest Vychtorya has been trying to pry a hint of that from me these past nights..."


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## Catulle (Mar 12, 2003)

*Somewhere on the streets of Manhattan*
Wednesday, 11th December 2002

The vagrant took the money with arm extended, wide eyes betraying some discomfort. "Thanks, lady." He muttered, as he turned from Caitlyn. He limped across the street, in the direction of the diner Cate had in mind, pulling his coat tight around him as he went, as if to shield himself against more than the cold.

The Crown plaza was a mere two blocks away, and Caitlyn's appointment awaited her.


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## Catulle (Mar 12, 2003)

*Claire's Diner*
Wednesday December 11th, 2002

Through the glass front that looked out onto the sidewalk, the pair of Tremere could see a figure approach, broad-framed and stoop-shouldered, another of the city's vagrant population hobbled towards the diner. Most probably in search of refuge from the biting cold, he kept his coat pulled tight around his bulk as he opened the door and staggered in. His bare hand was clasped tight into a fist, and the stale odour that he emitted was immediately noticeable in the clean, still air of the diner.

Reaching the counter, he dropped some loose change out of his hand, picking at the coins, "Cuppa coffee, miss." he said, voice stumbling over the words as if they were unfamiliar things to him. As the waitress gingerly took the money, and poured the steaming liquid, he surged towards the restroom, leaving the door to swing in his wake.

The woman simply shrugged and set the jug back on the hot plate, "Stinkin' bum."


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## Shalimar (Mar 12, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday December 11th, 2002



> Nathaniel looked down at his neice indulgently, perhaps only a hint reproachfully, as she finished the glass. "But what would a young lady say?" He raised his eyebrows as he did so, alleviating the sternness of his sharp features as he weighed the half-empty decanter in his right hand.




Sabrina blushed at the question.  It had been rather rude not to say please, but the blood was just soo tasty.  "May I please have some more uncle Nathan?" she asks again for more, this time politely.  She gives the glass one last lick before handing it back to Nathan, hoping he'll refill it.

"I know you said I can't have my friends at my party but can I have miss Vychtorya come over?  She's very nice, and I like her a lot."  She says smiling across the room at Vychtorya.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 12, 2003)

*Somewhere on the streets of Manhattan*
Wednesday, 11th December 2002

Caitlyn watched as the man moved across the street, taking with him the last of her money.  When he entered the diner, her dark eyes widened and the gloom that had pervaded her thoughts lifted in the brightness of her  song of hope, that moment of clarity in what had been a shadowy journey tonight.

_Un bel di, vedremo_

Everything felt a part of it, the hum of tires on the road, the air brushing past in cold frenzy.  She could taste the song on her lips in the form of the icy frost that warmed with a puff of incandescent breath.  A frost that wasn’t withering, that was damned from her touch.

_ Levarsi un fil di fumo
Sull´estremo confin del mare. _

She laughed at the choice of music that chose to fill her mind…oh it was so glorious and yet so true!  It felt like the whole of Manhattan sung to her, to take her mind away from it all, to a higher plane of wonderful. Her steps lightened, she began to move quickly, half-running, half-skipping.  

_E poi la nave appare._

Accompaniment, it needed accompaniment.  It was only fair after all.

_Poi la nave bianca
Entre nel porto. _

Glorious voice echoed through the streets, melding with the sounds of Manhattan, lost within the music that was the city that swirled within her thoughts.  She didn’t care who heard her, who stared, or who believed things of a young woman who sang with her heart upon the street.

_Romba il suo saluto._

The wind cut through her cheeks, the effort sustained in her hurry bringing more color upon them, lighting her dark eyes alive with the fever of her music.  Long black hair, thick and glorious, flew behind her, billowing in the wind like lustrous raven banner.  With every step to the hotel, her song grew louder, more full, rolling about the streets around her in a thick blanket to temporarily alleviate those listening from their own dark secrets.

_Vedi? È venuto!_

And that was how she ended up there in their drawing room, waiting for the Montagues to come down from their perch to retrieve her.  Frost melting upon her lips, the flush of exertion on her pale cheeks and the glow of fascination sparkled in her deep ebony eyes.   A wild spirit flying in from the cold dark night to alight upon their home, looking so human and so very much alive.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 12, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday December 11th, 2002*
*



			He glanced to Vychrorya with a smile as he spoke, then returned his attention to Jemal, "I know my dearest Vychtorya has been trying to pry a hint of that from me these past nights..."
		
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*With a playful pouting lower lip, squinting her face up like a little girl, Vych says, 
_“Yes, tried I have. Yet I _STILL_ know nothing more than to have a suite set aside for you Carrick.”_
Her lips curl into a little pout as she lowers her head and looks at Carrick and Jemal through her eyebrows as a teasing smile crosses her full lips.*



			"I know you said I can't have my friends at my party but can I have miss Vychtorya come over? She's very nice, and I like her a lot." She says smiling across the room at Vychtorya.
		
Click to expand...


*Vych, pleased that the possibly terrible and uncomfortable situation had corrected itself, when hearing Sabrina say her name, looks over and smiles very happily and friendly at the little girl.


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## Jemal (Mar 13, 2003)

_Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday December 11th, 2002_

Smiling again, Jemal accepts the hand and bows his head to Carrick respectfully.  "I would be pleased to, sir.  I think it would be a good idea.

He looks over to Sabrina and Nathan, a relieved feeling washing over him as his 'formal' smile melted into his more personal, half-smile 'I thought he'ld blow up or some such thing.. I never expected this.. Maybe he's getting over it, that would be great.' Jemals thoughts raced as he looked upon the 're-united' uncle and niece.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 13, 2003)

> "I'd take the ferry but for the anarchs. Not that they're any real trouble, but slugging it out with them'd blow the discretion we were hoping for. Order of the night's investigation, not combat. Of course, if it's necessary..."




Max nods knowingly, surprised by the faith David has seemed to put into his martial ability.

"Investigation... I have a bit of experience in that. Glad to assist in any way I can really," he says.

_Wow, sounds like Morgan had big praise for me. I hope I live up to the standards she set for me, heh. But anyway, this looks alright, a bit of investigation work won't be hard, I can handle myself pretty well in that department._


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 13, 2003)

*Gabriel's Story*

Gabriel watched as the peculiar bum rushed to the bathroom, then turned his attention back to Nikolai. "Your not one for beating around the bush are you?" He only grinned slightly. "Alright, it looks like we are going to be spending a lot of time together, so you may as well know my story."

He paused a moment and looked around to make sure none where close enough to hear. Even then, he spoke softly so that a human would have a hard time hearing him even if he where sitting where Nikolai was. As an extra precaution, he covered his mouth discreetly so that even his lips couldn't be read.

"Just before the Camarilla took the city, I had been discovered by a vampire of House Goratrix*. He had plans to embrace me. Well... evidently, the siege forced him to hurry his plans. I was drug out of my home, and became a victim of a mass embrace. From what I remember, I along with several others, where embraced, somehow knocked out, and them buried alive."

He hesitated a moment, remembering the horror of the experience. "I alone survived to claw my way free of the earth. As a reward, I was taken into their pack."

"The very next night would be the end of my short stay with the Sabbat. The pack shared a common haven, and during the day ghouls of the Camarilla attacked us. Again I found myself the lone survivor. I awoke to find the apartment ablaze and the pack, along with my sire, had mostly been burned to final death by the flamethrowers the humans used. In a panic, I leaped from the third story window into the sunlight. Fortunately, I landed in the shadows of an alley and was able to find cover in the sewers. To my knowledge, the rest of the pack where destroyed."

Gabriel, usually very cool, was obviously ill at ease by the memories he was reliving. "A few weeks later, I came was discovered by Valentine. I told him of my situation and he helped me. He later took me to Aisling in the hopes that she could determine what clan I belonged to. Obviously she could. She nearly destroyed me before Valentine could explain how he found me."

"A great deal of torture, and an equal amount of mental violation finally convinced Aisling that my story was in fact true. I was later bound in entirety to the clan, as you no doubt have heard, and now I sit here with you as a full member of House Tremere. I hope my story puts your mind at ease."

*House Goratrix is just another name for the Tremere of the Sabbat for those of you who don’t know.


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## Catulle (Mar 13, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday December 11th, 2002

"How could I refuse such a gracious request?" Nathan reached down to take the glass back, this time draining the decanter to the last trickle, holding it upended above the thick crystal tumbler to catch every drop of the dark liquid. He brought himself down into a crouch, handing the brimming recepticle to Sabrina as he saw eye to eye with her. "See, Sabrina. Good conduct will bring its own rewards." He rose again to his full height, smiling genially, but as Jemal could see while his sister was absorbed with her meal, his eyes were chillingly cold in the shadow of his brow.

Carrick smoothed his hair back as he seemed to weigh Vychtorya's pleading expression, before laughing aloud "You see, Jemal? She's desperate to know, and much as it pains my soul to do so, I'll stay quiet on the matter. Later, my heart, later..."

It was at that point, with questions raised but few answers provided, that a bell rang from deep within the house. The signal to the Montagues that a guest had been received downstairs.


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## Catulle (Mar 13, 2003)

*Snared in Traffic over the East River*
Wednesday December 11th, 2002

The engine idled smoothly as Gavid continued to drum his fingers on the wheel. He seemed lost in thought as, perhaps, he pondered Max's responses. Weighed him against some ideal? Judged him?

He fumbled in his pocket, snapping open the pocketwatch and glancing at it's face. From the seat next to the scourge, Max could see the time; 1:11. The dashboard LCD, lurid green in the dark, read 21:14. A quick flick of the fingers, and the watch returned to whichever pocket it had rested in before.

"Do you think yourself ready for sacrifice?" his voice came, soft and low against the ambient sound of the engine.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 13, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday December 11th, 2002

The city never looked so beautiful than it did from so high up here.  Lights twinkling across the expanse of city-scape, stars fallen to the earth and burning their glow into the paleness of human existence.

Reaching out with both her gentle hands she barely touched the window that covered one section of the immense drawing room.  When she had entered, nothing came to mind, only the the window that she looked out of now, the window that she wanted to fly through.

She could hear the music even now, playing with each sparkle of the city's lights.  It was the melody lulling her to them...so beautiful!  Slender fingers traced the pattern of the blinking lights, one note after the next, hearing it play within her mind.

The moonlight couldn't compete with it, echoes of New York's luminescence echoing in her own velvety dark eyes.  If only she could fly through the window!  Throw herself into the melody and drift upon it to its completion.  She could imagine the cold of the air against her, the warmth of music surrounding her, and the inevitable crashing crescendo that awaited the end of every beautiful piece.


There she stood in silence of the drawing room, and yet a silence so heavy with music only she could hear, her thoughts lost in a contemplation that few could break.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 13, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
> Wednesday December 11th, 2002
> 
> Carrick smoothed his hair back as he seemed to weigh Vychtorya's pleading expression, before laughing aloud "You see, Jemal? She's desperate to know, and much as it pains my soul to do so, I'll stay quiet on the matter. Later, my heart, later..."*



Sighing at her playful battle lost, Vych turns and uncharacteristically flops herself down in one of the chairs, legs apart, hands resting on the arms of the chair, she leans her head back and looks up at the ceiling. Thinking to herself, "I wonder if Jemal will be going tonight...Oh well, wait and see V...wait and see." At hearing the bell, Vych brings her head forward.


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## Shalimar (Mar 13, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday December 11th, 2002

Sabrina drinks down her second glass of vitae more slowly now that her initial hunger pangs were gone, savoring its heady flavor and scent.  As she drained it she watched everyone over the lip of the glass.  She probably wouldn't be getting anymore tonight, now that uncle Nathan had emptied the entire pitcher.  Determined to savor the flavor she sips it more slowly letting the pleasure of feeding suffuse her body.

"Thank you uncle Nathan."  She says in her happy little sing-song voice as she hands him the glass.  "I love you." she says as she wraps her arms about his middle in a tight hug by way of thanks for the wonderful feeding.  _Just once I want to see just how much I can drink.  I mean it feels soo good, and they never let me get all the way full up._ she thinks with a small sigh as she releases her uncle's waist.

_I should make up with Miss Vych now, I don't want her to be upset with me, and she was a little unhappy when I came in here.  I know what to do...give her a hug.  That should get her to like me again._  With a smile she sits herself down in the older woman's lap and leans her head against The red-head's chest.  She settles herself to wait for a total of a few seconds before she hoped up again at the sound of the bell.

"Miss Cate, Miss Cate, she's here she's here." the little girl exclaims happily grabbing at the closest hand to her and pulling them along with her to go down to the drawing room, the place where everyone who visited waited.  It just so happened that the hand she had grabbed in her haste to go see miss Cate belonged to Vychtorya.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 14, 2003)

_I wonder what he's judging about me now. With any luck he'll be judging how useful I am as opposed to whether I'm useful at all._

Max looks out at the occupants of other cars, wondering what their stories are. His looks back and notices the different times on the watch and the LCD display. He's about to ask when David asks him something.



> "Do you think yourself ready for sacrifice?"




The question was sudden and unexpected, he had not been prepared to answer something like that. He gave an attempt.

"For us, sacrifice costs so much more than humans. They know their lives will end at some point, which causes them to be prepared to part with their lives easier. We... we on the other hand can exist forever, there is no certainty that we will have to die one day, so the thought of sacrificing ourselves seems to be a waste of of our chance at eternal life. In my current state, the idea of dying is a lot more daunting than before. Not only because I see myself as worth more now, but mainly because I don't know what to expect if I do die. What awaits a vampire on the other side? I am always seeking answers. 

"But in the end, I would put others before myself, namely friends and decent people. I would do my utmost to protect those who don't deserve crushing misfortune and death, and the price I'd be willing to pay for that is limited only by what things I have. My life counts among those things," he says, and looks back out the window.

_Was that the right answer? Irrelevant. It was the truth, it was what I would say any other time the question was asked in pure seriousness. I believe it will be satisfactory._


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## reapersaurus (Mar 14, 2003)

.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 14, 2003)

Shalimar said:
			
		

> *Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
> Wednesday December 11th, 2002
> 
> With a smile she sits herself down in the older woman's lap and leans her head against The red-head's chest.  She settles herself to wait for a total of a few seconds before she hoped up again at the sound of the bell.
> ...



Feeling more comfortable knowing Sabrina had just fed, Vych cuddles the child against her chest, wrapping her arms around the little girl’s body.

Letting Sabrina pull her from her resting-place, Vych giggles and asks in a hastened fashion as they head for the door, 
_“Misters’ Montague _(to address both Nathaniel and Jemal), _do you mind if I accompany Sabrina to welcome the singer into your home?”_


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## Catulle (Mar 15, 2003)

*Prospect Expressway, Brooklyn*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The traffic eased somewhat as Max gave his answer. If David was impressed by the answer, he gave no indication, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead. Moments passed, demarked by the steady flash of white lines on the night-black asphalt.

"Prospect Park" Max's companion intoned as they passed the turnoff "is Gangrel territory; Jezebelle and her brood claimed it after the war." The car swung off the expressway, joining the Hamilton Parkway as it cut southwest through the city skirting Bensonhurst. "And this would be Brujah turf; your sire makes her haven somewhere in there, doesn't she?"

The flow of vehicles slowed again on the approach to the Varrazanno Narroaws Bridge, and the sedan was forced into a crawling pace. David flicked open the watch again, murmering under his breath "Can't be late..."


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 15, 2003)

> "And this would be Brujah turf; your sire makes her haven somewhere in there, doesn't she?"




"Yeah, its a nice place, haven't been for while actually," Max looks away, checks his own watch and says, "I noticed the time on your watch differs from the LCD display. Just wondering why that was if you'd care to tell me."

_I wonder if this job is to do with something here on Brujah turf. Hmm, what duties does a Scourge have that may not involve violence? Not something I have really thought about every day, guess I could try to remember if I came across it in my studies..._


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## Catulle (Mar 15, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"I think that would be quite acceptable." Nathaniel indicated the younger Montague gentleman, "Jemal will escort you both to the receiving room. Mr Ashton and I have matters to discuss still. We shall let you know once our business is concluded." His gaze shifted, catching Jemal square in the eye as he added, "See that we are not disturbed again until then."

Carrick crossed the room again, settling back into his chair with an easy grace. "A pleasure, as always. I look forward to moving to a more... social setting to continue the conversation. I'm sure our other guests will be most pleased to make all of your acquaintances."

The junior Ventrue followed the duo of Sabrina and Vychtorya, closing the doors after him as he lead the way towards the lift, that characteristic smile returning to his features "Well, that wasn't too bad, was it pet?" He tapped a code into the panel by the door, casually, the detail of the fingers' motion hidden behind his body. "I think Uncle Nathan's coming around, don't you? Maybe Mr Ashton and his childe's doing..." the latter statement, almost a question by the inflection of his voice, was directed at Vychtorya, whom Jemal kept at least one eye upon throughout.


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## Catulle (Mar 15, 2003)

*Claire's Diner, Manhatten*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Before the bum emerged from the dark recesses of the restroom, the main door swung again, admitting the dapper form of Qadir al-Asmai, a quick glance around the room seemed to secure the sheriff all the information that he desired, and he swiftly made himself space at the neonates' table. Despite his cool visage, a sense of urgency seemed to pervade Qadir's every action, each ennunciation falling from his mouth as if driven forth by Gehenna itself.

"You are ready, gentlemen? We're needed elsewhere and quickly. I have transport arranged, if you're both prepared to leave now. I can explain more as we travel." He cast his eyes around the room, once more with precision. "If you need to feed, make it quick. I don't think a much time can be afforded now."


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## Shalimar (Mar 15, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina is oblivious to the threats and nicities passing over her small blond head.  She just wanted to get down to the receiving room to see miss cate.  her slippered feet almost failed to touch the ground as she skipped happily across the floor to the stairs, still dragging Vychtorya in her wake.  She carefully takes each step one at a time remembering the last time she had run down the steps and hurt her head, pain is a much better deterrent then a timeout.

Once she was at the first floor of the opulant suite she broke into her skipping gait again, wanting to be with her friend as soon as she possibly could.  Once she was a few feet from the door she let go of the older woman's hand, and ran the last few steps before throwing open the door.  She hadn't gotten to see anyone new over the last week or so being effectively jailed in the penthouse out of her uncles fear of her actions.  She found her isolation hard to accept, especially to her childesh way of thinking.

She threw herself about the singer's slight frame in a hug.  "Miss Cate, miss Cate, your here, your here."  She smiles up at the asian woman her cheeks dimpling.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 15, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Lost in the music , Caitlyn didn't even notice when Sabrina and the others made their entrance.  But the child's voice, the effusive hug, the sudden explosion of that familiar feeling from last week at the party came flooding over her, taking her out of her contemplations and into present.

"Sabrina!" she exclaimed with laugh as she swept her arms downward to pick up the child.  "So how fares the fair Sabrina Montague?  Not too bored I hope?"  Holding the child loosely, she spun around three times in quick succession, sending both golden and dark hair whirling with her delight.


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## Shalimar (Mar 15, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina laughed as she was swung around in circles by Cate.  Her giggling did not stop until she was set down.  "Good,"  she says still giggling in answer to Cate's question.  "I am a little bored though, but not now that your here.  There's so much we can do.  And I want to know if you wanna come to my party on Friday.  I turn 8."  she says smiling proudly at the singer.

She lifts the pendant Vych had given her out of her shirt to show her friend, the ruby glimmering in the light of the receiving room.  "Look at what Miss Vych gave me, its very beautiful isn't it?"  she asks showing it off.  "So, will you come will you?  Please say yes?  Please?"  the child begs her words flowing over each other in her excitement.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 15, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Hmm..." Caitlyn had a twinkle in her eye that promised only fun and plenty of mischief.  "I think I have the cure for that.  And of course I would love to come to your party!"  Her dark eyes widened in mock horror.  "As if I could miss something as divine as Miss Sabrina's 8  year debut!"

Her fingers brushed the pendant admiringly.  "Yes, its definitely beautiful.  Ms. Farychyld has exquisite taste."  Then as if belatedly remembering that Sabrina was not the only person in the room, though it was hard not to pay more attention to the child, Caitlyn straightened and offered her hand to both Jemal and Vychtorya.

"How are you doing tonight, Jemal?  Ms Fayrchyld?" the young woman spoke with a warm if distracted smile, falling back on the ettiquette her mother had drilled into her if only to keep from being swept away by Sabrina, the music, the excitement.  "I hope very well."


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## Catulle (Mar 15, 2003)

As the pirouette began, form out of nothingness, the music swelled again in Caitlyn's heart, in her mind. Rhythm was given shape; Sabrina, the whole room, reverberated to the invisible chorus. Time itself stood still between the beats, motion transformed to sound and light transcribed itself to meter. It was all the mortal could do to retain her sense of identity in the swirl of sensation...


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## Catulle (Mar 15, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Jemal cocked his head (out of curiosity?), an enigmatic smile crossing his face, hardly unexpected "We're not formal here, Cate. At least, not while Uncle Nathan's safely upstairs..." A wink and a wave of the hand, familiarity underlined through action "Vychorya and I are well though... aren't we, V? As a guest here, you should feel at home. I hope I can help make you feel comfortable, though."

"If you'd care to follow me, the music room is on the upper floor; I hope you've a head for heights, the view's a little spectacular."


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 16, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"A guest? Ah, but I thought I _was_ in your employ, Jemal, as your sister's voice tutor."  

Caitlyn gave him a lazy smile though her mind clearly was on the music as she dreamily followed wherever he led her.  One hand securely in Sabrina's, she seemed to glide rather than walk, though at one point she did give the little girl a twirl, an accoutrement to a song that only she could hear.

"But are you sure your uncle would want me to feel _so very_ comfortable?  That's a dangerous endeavor there...it could lead to an utterly wicked and unexpected outcome," the young woman answered him with a mischievious laugh and a face that hardly ever seemed serious.  "One I doubt the formal and ever so proper uncle of yours would approve of."

Her brows arched.  "We might actually _enjoy_ ourselves.  Perish the thought."


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## Shalimar (Mar 16, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Of course I want you to be comfortable miss Cate, yor my friend.  Your silly."  the girl says earnestly staring up at Cait her eyes seeming larger then normal with their sparkle of pleasure, she gigles at the last part.  _Of course everyone wants miss Cate to be comfortable, its just silly to think anything else, we are nice to our friends_. she thinks giving it a sharp nod of her head.

Sabrina laughs out loud as her feet leave the ground at Cate's spinning and she is caught gently by the singer once more.  "She spins me just las good as you Jemal, can we do it again?"  she asks getting caught up in the excitement of having soo many people around after the lonliness of the last few weeks.


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## reapersaurus (Mar 16, 2003)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> *"Your not one for beating around the bush are you?" He only grinned slightly. "Alright, it looks like we are going to be spending a lot of time together, so you may as well know my story."
> 
> "I hope my story puts your mind at ease."*



Nikolai thoughtfully considers the Betrayer's words, and weighs the likelihood of their authenticity.

He _digests the message_* to glean the truth, but decides he does not possess the _Authority to Certify_* their contents.

Making a mental note to follow up with Aisling about what Gabriel has revealed to him, Nikolai responds gently yet hesitantly, his curtain of mistrust lowered from the story, 
"If what you say is true.... (and I don't doubt our esteemed mistress' powers in that regard)... than you should be more forthcoming with your story - you have been branded with a very dangerous (for you) Mark...

I'd suggest you make an effort to reveal your background, before someone takes it upon themselves to 'secure' Tremere interests in New York by cleaning House and eradicating the danger your brand represents.
It's not like our clan is known for their tolerance in dealing with House Goratrix issues, I'm sure you know all too well..."

Nikolai finishes his hushed commentary with Gabriel before looking up to see Qadir enter the room. Nikolai greets him with a thoughtful up-raising of the eyes and brows, while making room for the powerful Sheriff.

*forgive the computer encryption humor...


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## reapersaurus (Mar 16, 2003)

*Re: Gabriel's Story*

Nikolai replys obediantly to Qadir, "OK - I just gotta take a 'leak'  
I'll be right back."

Having earlier spied a likely volunteer in the form of the unfortunate vagrant, Nikolai gets up from the table and follows him into the bathroom of the diner.

Nikolai nonchalantly reverts back to his previous skills in bodyguard duty, casing the back of the diner, noting how many and what types of people are nearby. He senses a brief note of irony that he now uses the skills in reverse - for attack, not defense. Also that with his vampiric powers on ('turning on' Auspex), he sees how much more effective his senses are now, and feels a brief-before-being-repressed sense of sadness, replaced with the surge of strength and utility it makes him feel. 

He enters the small room quietly and inconspicuously (making sure to keep his face hidden). He tries to locate the bum, with the intention of striking from behind while the man is not paying attention (he doesn't feel that should be too hard, considering his level of inebriation  ). 
He'll pause before the attack and sense his target's Aura for anything of note that might persuade him not to follow thru.

But Nikolai needs food... Badly... his studies of Blood Magic of late have left him neglecting his hunger. 

If successful, Nik will feed from the bum until he gets 'woozy', after which Nikolai will maneuver the body into a stall and have him 'sleep it off' sitting on the throne.  

He covers the bum's mouth to insure his cries of pleasure are not mistaken for some other activity going on in the men's bathroom of Claire's Diner.


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## Jemal (Mar 17, 2003)

OOC: finally got my comp fixed! yeah!!
I'm catching up to the rest of the world, too.. Upgraded to Win 98 while I was getting problems fixed. (WOW, now I'm only 5 years out-of-date. *L*)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

IC: 
Jemal leads the group upstairs to the Music room, laughing cheerily at Sabrina's comments and antics, happy to be able to relax.. somewhat.  Things should be fine so long as Sabrina didn't blurt something out that would require some hefty.. explaining..
"Uncle Nathan can be a bit of a stiff at times, but we do so love him, don't we pet?" He says to Sabrina "I doubt he would have a problem with comfort or fun.. especialy since he's busy right now." He chuckled as they walked up the stairs.
"While we're on the subject, would you prefer to be called Miss Cate while you're here, or something a tad less.. formal?"


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 17, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Well, Sabrina, you don't have to call me 'Miss Cate'...just 'Cate' is fine," the young woman laughed as they stepped into the music room.  "And if you keep it a secret from your uncle, Jemal, maybe I can loosen the strictures just a tiny bit after all."

The words petered off as her dark eyes widened into  large luminescent orbs once she took in the spectacular view of the city through the windows.  "Oh its beautiful!" she exclaimed rushing foward  toward the twinkling lights of New York City.  

The song swelled with in her head and she felt dizzy from the strength of it returning.  Her hands pressed lightly against the cold glass as she stared at the view.  Notes played within her mind, dying to be spread out on paper, dying to be played into the air where others could hear.

_So many songs to be written..._

Wretching her gaze from the window,she turned around to pinion Jemal with her vibrant eyes.  "Tell me that this room doesn't go unused...tell me that you wouldn't let anything this beautiful be alone."


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## Vychtorya (Mar 17, 2003)

Vych acknowledges Jemal's question with a slight nod and a mere, _"Mmhmm."_ Then she half-heartedly watches the little dance ensue between the trio. Hearing Sabrina ask the human singer to her party, Vych stands ready to divert attention should the little girl accidentally divulge their secrets.

With watchful eyes and ears, Vych follows the group up the stairs.


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## Shalimar (Mar 17, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina nods happily when miss Cate, rather Cate, said she could call her by her first name.  It meant, at least to the little girl, that Cate really did like her just as much as she like Cate.  "Thank you Cate."  she says in her wonderous sing-song voice, it was just wonderful.

_Miss Cate and Miss Vychtorya are both coming to my party.  This is going to be great, I really hope uncle Nathan has something good plan like Jemal said he did.  This is going to be my bestest birthday ever._ she thinks to herself.

The child claps her hands when Cate says they could loosen up, Sabrina sometimes could not seem to force herself to stand on ceremony, it just got in the way of all the fun they could be having together.  "I promise to keep the secret from uncle Nathan." she says her eyes twinkling mischeviously.  "But only if really don't have to do all that silly formal stuff, its just boring."  she added.

Sabrina watched Cate wide eyed as she rushed into the music room.  She didn't understand just what was so great about it, but that might have had to do with the fact that she had already seen it, and had had it around since she was born.  But it did look like her friend was having fun so she joined her at the wndow looking out.  It was sort of pretty, but grown-ups liked the strangest things, or so it seemed to the little girl.


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## Catulle (Mar 17, 2003)

*Claire's Diner, Manhatten*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Crossing the tiled floor, Nikolai casually swung the restroom door, catching it swiftly on the backswing to eliminate any excess noise. The vagrant was leant heavily against the clean wall sporting the line of plastic urinals. Muttering to himself, he seemed oblivious to the approaching danger.

(OOC - Nikolai Aura Perception diff8 10,10,9,7,6,6,6,5 reroll 8,4 = 4 successes) 

The man's aura seemed bleak; another hapless vagrant with little left to hope for, even his depression was unremarkable.

(OOC - Nikolai dex/stealth vs Donny per/alertness - 9,6,6,5,2,2 vs 10,5,4 = 2 successes; Nikolai str/brawl diff4 - 6,5,2 = 2 successes)

The Tremere approached fast, effectively blindsiding his prey. Just as the mortal realised he was not alone and turned his head towards the door, Nikolai's teeth were in his neck from the opposite angle, one hand looping around to muffle the surprised gasp which escaped the man's lips.

Wrinkling his nose at the pungent odour rising from the bum, Nikolai was pleasantly surprised at the strong flavour to his vitae which now flowed freely down the apprentice's gullet. He felt his beast stir, and flex, satisfied as he gulped down the warm blood in greedy swallows. As the mortal's moans became more laboured, he felt the legs give way; his cue to finish. It almost pained him to set aside such a rich vessel, but necessity demanded speed and discretion.

He was licking the last of the loose blood from the wound, watching as it sealed magically over, when the man collapsed to the floor, drowsing from the experience. Nikolai was sure he'd survive - he'd seen this state before - and with supreme effort, dragged the dazed human into the shelter of the restroom's only cubicle. Pulling the stall door to, he stepped back out into the main room of the diner after remembering to wash his hands.

(OOC - Gain 5 blood)


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 17, 2003)

Before he could respond to Nikolai, Qadir entered and Gabriel's attention immediatly went to the older kindred. 

"I'm ready." he said, taking a moment to pull on his coat. 

He stood silently as they waited on Nikolai. "Where are we going", he finally asked.


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## Catulle (Mar 17, 2003)

*Hamilton Parkway, Brooklyn*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Even a stopped clock is right twice a day." David intoned, quite seriously.


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## Catulle (Mar 17, 2003)

*Claire's Diner, Manhatten*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Qadir responded to Gabriel's question by raising a single slender forefinger "All in good time, and elsewhere." He remained standing by the door until Nikolai emerged form the gents', before looking back to Gabriel, and swinging the door open for the pair. "We shall walk and talk, no?"

The icy chill of the wind blowing off the river was an obvious - and unwelcome - companion. Qadir turned south from the diner, speaking in a low, measured tone as he did so.

"We're going to Staten Island, to a place where each of your talents could prove useful. I've had a report of unusual activity in a graveyard there." He paused, allowing the implications to sink into the neonates. "We'll be joined by others and will uncover what has been happening there. And I'll be paying very close attention to you throughout, Gabriel. Should your erstwhile allies be behind it all..." He glanced at his watch as he continued to stride along, neon glinting off white gold and cut crystal. "We'll make the next ferry if we hurry."


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 17, 2003)

> "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day."




"Yeah, I guess it would be," he says ponderingly.

_Heh, never thought of it like that. Pretty tricky._


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 18, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn glanced down at Sabrina beside her, smiling warmly as she begins to settle down from the music ringing in her thoughts.  "Well, I think we've used up enough of your brother and Miss Farychyld's time. I'm sure they have more pressing business, hmm?"

Her hand ran affectionately along Sabrina's blond hair before she glanced over at Jemal and Vychtorya.  "Thank you for showing me the beautiful room.  I believe we'll start the lesson now."


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 18, 2003)

Gabriel flinched when he heard Qadir mention the graveyard...

_Darkness...cold darkness....a hunger no mortal has ever known... the smell of earth.... and blood...buried alive....blood...what was that?... another body?.... the blood!.... He tore into the creature beside him. The beast roaring through him…. He ripped and tore at the poor creature. It seemed no more than a ravening beast in a human shell. Gabe tore at its throat, and shivered in ecstasy as the warm life-blood poured forth, mixing with the earth to form a bloody mud.

There was another...it tore at his arms and chest, trying to reach his heart. He roared in pain and fury, but in the cold embrace of the grave, none heard it but himself and the bloodthirsty creature tearing at his flesh.  Dirty encrusted fingernails tore a gash in his cheek, but not before he sunk his fangs into the creature's wrist.... oh the blood...Moments later, the other creature was dead.

The hunger sated, he screamed and tore at the earth around him. He had to get free. Tears of vitae streamed down his already blood smeared face. Had to get free! His hands tore through the dirt, his fingernails broken or torn off in his panic, and then suddenly he felt the cold air of night. His arm broke the surface of the earth, and his screams echoed through the cemetery. From the womb of the earth, another of the damned was born._

Gabriel jerked back to the present. He looked hard at the sheriff. "They are not, and never have been, my allies...I wish only that the one responsible for my creation were alive tonight.... so that I may tear his......" He realized that the emotion was getting to him, and he took a moment to compose himself. Though not necessary, he took a deep breath of the cold night air. He still gave in to mortal habits on occasion. 

"Lets just go..."


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## reapersaurus (Mar 18, 2003)

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> *Gabriel flinched when he heard Qadir mention the graveyard...
> 
> "Lets just go..." *



"Yes, let us be off.
If I see hide or hair of those 'allies' a yers, Gabriel, I'll... I'll....."

*cracking knuckles*

"... I'll let Qadir teach 'em a lesson." *

Nikolai's looking a bit....  _animated_  after the drink from Mr. Nighttrain

* yet another Monsters, Inc. reference.


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## Shalimar (Mar 19, 2003)

*Sabrina*

.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 19, 2003)

.


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## Shalimar (Mar 19, 2003)

.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 19, 2003)

.


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## Catulle (Mar 19, 2003)

*Staten Island Ferry Terminal, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

When Gabriel resurfaced from his bleak reverie, he found the sheriff's eyes already locked with his, intense scrutiny passed over him before Qadir nodded once, seemingly satisfied. Nonethless, he remained focused on the defector until Nikolai's quip brought a wry smile to his lips,

"I hope you can do more than that, young Tremere." He turned from Gabriel, a welcome relief, and towards Nikolai. "The Anarchs state they hold domain over the ferry - a specious claim at best, but occasionally a risk to lone neonates. Given the secrecy of our task, I would normally avoid the crossing, but if news of Calebros' speech has reached the rabble's ears I would know of it. It may make them bold, so be alert. I am sure we can discipline a few bastard childer between us."


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## Catulle (Mar 19, 2003)

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## Catulle (Mar 19, 2003)

*Varrazanno Narrows Bridge, between Brooklyn and Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The sedan glided across the expanse of water, held aloft by steel and concrete, from out here the city looked alight with a million  slow-kindling flames.

"A trick of the light, or a glimpse of the future?" came the voice from the seat next to Max. "All those searching souls, and so many of us all trying to hide in a shrinking number of shadows. _That_ is why we have to do what we do."


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## Catulle (Mar 19, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The long-haired black man huddled deep into the wall's shelter, taking the bite from the wind for a few moments, as he kept the cemetery's gate in sight. The flickering police lights had been outside for only five minutes, but it was a galling sight nonethless. His information had indicated something amiss hereabouts, and the conversation with the Malkavian had confirmed it. Still, it ocurred to Kriang, better to keep on the scourge's good side and a favour earned is a favour saved. One that his creditors couldn't touch. _Watch and wait_, David had said, _I'm on my way_. What was keeping him?

An ambulance pulled up to the gates alongside the two police cruisers, siren off, lights casting more colour into the bitter evening sky. Clash of red, white and blue over the graveyard walls. How appropriate.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 19, 2003)

As Caitlyn dictates their leave, Vychtorya’s thoughts drift back to Elysium, where she had been a bit shocked at the singer’s dismissal of her, as Caitlyn was a mere employee there. But as the singer dismissed her yet a second time, Vych could feel the beast in her light its fire deep within her belly. Setting aside close to all etiquette, Vych relies on her vampiric powers as she speaks her words with fire in her green eyes and the power of an enraged dragon in her tongue, arm stretched out ALMOST in a pointing fashion toward the singer,

_”It would behoove you NOT to dismiss me a thrice time child. A guest you may be here in the lovely Montague’s home, but you are also currently hired help and it would seem that some of your employer’s words, and requests mind you, have fallen upon deaf ears. I find that rather remarkable since the myriad of singer/songwriters I deal with always seem to have impeccable audible capabilities, and based upon your singing talent, I thought no less would come from you. Carrick AND I have asked you to refer to us on a first name basis at an attempt of a less formal relationship with you.
My name is VIC-TOR-EEE-AH, and it would serve you well in the future to remember it."_

_”Sabrina, it has been a pleasure. Enjoy your…"_Vych pauses and looks the singer up and down in a rather degrading fashion, then Vych’s eyes return to fall back on Sabrina_…"your play date."_

Vych turns abruptly placing her back to the singer and Sabrina. She wraps her arm around Jemal’s, and laughs with a most wicked tone to her usually lilting, sweet voice as she speaks in a lowered volume, purposely ignoring anything the two behind them may have to say as they head for the doors. Remembering Caitlyn’s comments about Nathaniel from earlier, 
_”It would seem Jemal, that you as well as I, have been dismissed in your own home. I’m sure your uncle and Carrick will be quite interested to hear about Sabrina’s new playmate’s over-exaggerated views of our formality. Well in hindsight, perhaps just her views of your uncle and me.”_

Vych thinks to herself, “I do not like this feeling inside me. I feel almost sick to my stomach; like I did when I tried to eat real food once but somewhat worse. I had hoped to be “friends” with the singer. I loved Caitlyn’s voice at the party. Enough to even offer her the possibility of employment, and I’m extremely selective about that. This feeling of ill repute towards a human is not common place for me. I love them by nature, but something about this one awakens a fire in my dead body. I must ask Carrick and Nathaniel about it. Oh…I have to make this feeling go away. I have a full night ahead of me.” She places her free hand on her abdomen. Her care for Caitlyn’s safety within vampire society seemed to unexpectedly extinguish in her. She looks up at Jemal with an extreme sadness in her eyes as if someone had died. A real human-like tear rolls down Vychtorya’s cheek and onto her lips. 

(OOC – manifesting a small amount of her vampiric powers, Vych harnesses the tiniest bit of Dread Gaze just to let Caitlyn know that Vych is serious)


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## Catulle (Mar 19, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

A thunderous crescendo shattered itself across Caitlyn's eardrums, all the fury of Vychtorya's voice resonant as she brought a fraction of her presence to bear on the artist. To the Montagues, her voice, though muted, seemed to cut across the air.

(OOC - Vychtorya Dread Gaze diff7 - she has 8 dice, but I'll assume she only uses 2 of them for the 'tiniest bit' - 8,3 = 1 success)

The effect was staggering; the cruelty that flashed in Vychtorya's eyes all but froze Caitlyn to the parquet floor in shock, the realisation of the older woman's inner fire savage in its abrupt revelation. For a second locked in time, trapped in her mind with the music caught between the beats, she truly feared what she had awoken.

Jemal's mouth gaped open a little, and uncertainty seemed to rule him for a few moments. To Sabrina, the anger in Vychtorya's voice felt akin to her own temper, which throbbed in recognition.

In the wake of the storm, the dark wood doors to the music room closed without a sound, well-oiled hinges sliding perfectly into place.

The sealing of the portal seemed to break the spell, restoring Caitlyn to her senses within. Adrenaline rushed through her system adding a slight tremble as she moved across the room.

In the corridor, rendered darker for the loss of the music room's light, Jemal smoothed back his hair and adjusted his collar as he allowed Vychtorya to take his arm. He seemed about to speak, when a smartly-dressed man, looking to be in his thirties and wearing an earpiece approached the Kindred duo. With a short bow to Jemal, then to Vychtorya, he waited in silence.

Jemal cast Vych a sidelong look, as he motioned with his hand towards the man, who seemed to take that as his cue to speak. "Sir, Madam. Messrs Montague and Ashton regret that their business will take longer to conclude than had been hoped. Mr Ashton would also have me relate a message to the lady that one of his evening's guests has a habit for punctuality and he would prefer nothing be left to chance. He asks that you, Sir, escort the lady to the other venue on his behalf and would consider it a personal favour should you do so." He bowed his head slightly at the message's conclusion, as he awaited their reply, but kept his eyes fixed on Jemal's.


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## Vychtorya (Mar 19, 2003)

*



			Jemal cast Vych a sidelong look, as he motioned with his hand towards the man, who seemed to take that as his cue to speak. "Sir, Madam. Messrs Montague and Ashton regret that their business will take longer to conclude than had been hoped. Mr Ashton would also have me relate a message to the lady that one of his evening's guests has a habit for punctuality and he would prefer nothing be left to chance. He asks that you, Sir, escort the lady to the other venue on his behalf and would consider it a personal favor should you do so." He bowed his head slightly at the message's conclusion, as he awaited their reply, but kept his eyes fixed on Jemal's.
		
Click to expand...


*Vych acknowledges the man with a slight nod. At his comment that Carrick had a message for her, Vych’s ears perked up listening most intently to the well-clothed gentleman. 
_”Please let Carrick, umm…Mr. Ashton, know I will take care of everything. All will be in place upon his guest’s arrival. Please also let him know I will be taking the car. Jemal, may I assume your uncle will take care of transportation upon their leave of here tonight?”_

Hoping to relieve stress and ease her tummy, Vych says laughing reaching for Jemal’s hand while letting her hair down and shaking it out of it’s bun with her other,
_”Come on Jemal. We’ve got the convertible! If we leave now, we can have some fun on the way before business tightens me up again. Plus it’ll give me extra time to change into something more appropriate for tonight’s venue.”_


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## Catulle (Mar 19, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"I'd be pleased to look after Mr Ashton's companion, Mr Cooper. Do let him know." The retainer bowed and after a couple of quick backsteps, turned and dpearted. Alone once more, Jemal looked to Vychtorya, rather more warily than he had previously.

"Wow. You really have a kick to you, don't you Vych?" He brought his mouth up into a more wistful smile than was normal, "Remind me not to do whatever Cate did..." He fell into step with Vychtorya, listening and, she was sure, considering what had just passed.

"I guess we're better leaving them to it." His forehead remained creased (with concentration, or concern?) as they walked, soundless on the carpet. "Nathan has everything in hand, I think. He's kind of better at coping with Sabrina than I am. You know, I think he thinks I'm too soft with her." He shook his head and straightened up. "It'll be fine. I could do with some time out of the house in any event."


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## Krizzel (Mar 19, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

_Hmm, the Land of Freedom_.  Kriang chuckled silently though his expression remained serious and intent.  Inky eyes scanned the line of police cars in front of the cemetery warily, while cool fingers closed on something under his long, worn coat.  _Perhaps I_ should _have left this, Mbita.  The ants are swarming here_.

Sticking to the shadows, he concentrated on the scene in front of him, hoping to see what was going on, or catch a stray voice.  _What are you so excited about, little ants?  The Scourge says wait - but where is he?  Is this something I can handle myself?_

_Slowly Kriang, slowly..._


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## Vychtorya (Mar 19, 2003)

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## KitanaVorr (Mar 20, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn smiled to herself, lost in her thoughts of Sabrina and the lesson to come.  It had been too long since she last saw the child. Not since that party.  She didn’t remember feeling so connected with her, so enamored of such an angelic face with its pure song.  Every moment spent with Sabrina was precious and Cate found herself impatient and longing for it, to have the child’s song all to herself.  Cate could hear Sabrina’s excitement about the upcoming lesson in her song, and so Cate, too, wanted the lesson to begin just as badly.

Suddenly Vychtorya’s voice echoed through the room, wrenching Cate from her thoughts of the lesson and the child into the present.  Her dark eyes widened slightly as the woman began a tirade but her words fled by uselessly.  It was her face that caught the young singer, the cruelty unleashed, the beast hidden behind what had previously been a polite facade.  A cruelty that provided that trickle of fear to worm its way into the song and poison her body with paleness and nausea.

The song that was Vychtorya’s face echoing through her mind, rolling over the older woman’s features as that face became something more familar, something more softer, rounder, delicate, until even the eyes formed someone she recognized and knew so well.  

The very same song.

_Mother_

And that was all the thought she could think of, all the memory she could see, the harsh discord of music that was her mother, that was Vychtorya in that very moment.  The pain of the disharmony was almost unbearable and terrible to her but she couldn’t stop listening despite her suffering, despite her terror of the beast.

That which Caitlyn had feared about the other woman had proven true, but all she could do was stare in silence, much like she did many a time in her child hood when her mother raged.


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## Shalimar (Mar 20, 2003)

*sabrina*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina's eyes go very wide as miss Vychtorya starts to yell at her friend.  _It wasn't right, it wasn't nice, they were suppoused to like each other, suppoused to like her.  It was the way things were suppoused to work out.  Everyone was suppoused to like her.  This wasn't right at all, she _thought to herself sadly, and not just a little scared of Miss Vychs yelling.

The child shrunk back from the look on Miss Vychtorya's face it was just horrible.  She was quite glad it wasn't directed at her, but her eyes teared at how mean Vych was being.  She scrunches up her tiny pixie like face in determination.  She wouldn't let them be mean to each other, not if she could help it.  She stomped her way between the pair and made her discontent known by tugging on Vychtorya's clothes to get the red-heads attention.

"I won't let you be mean to Miss Cate."  She says determinedly to the older vampire. "She didn't do anything to you.  So be nice,  Please?  For me?"  she asks, her eyes wide and glinting worriedly.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 20, 2003)

> "A trick of the light, or a glimpse of the future?" came the voice from the seat next to Max. "All those searching souls, and so many of us all trying to hide in a shrinking number of shadows. That is why we have to do what we do."




Max nods.

"So we're dealing with mortals?" he asks, a slight amount of worry in his voice, its not for him and David though, "Lets hope for their sake force isn't required."

Max looks out the window again and frowns.

_I hate the idea of killing mortals. Their lives are too short for us to bring about abrupt endings, they miss out on so much already. David does have a point though, there's too many of them, making less places for us to hide. Should the population become far too much where would we hide? It's like a really drawn out situation that happens with animals, when a species' numbers grow too much a huge culling happens in some form or another, usually through lack of food. Thats likely to be what happens amoung humans. If that happens then we may have trouble with food, as such occurances shake up the whole food chain. There'd have to be a ceiling to the population to prevent tragedy I guess. Urk, what a cold and inhuman line of thought that is... pity it makes sense._


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## Catulle (Mar 20, 2003)

*Amboy Road, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Pulling off the bridge and onto the road, reasonably clear for the time of night, David cruised the broad thoroughfare with a casual though attentive ease as he tapping a number into the mobile telephone hooked to the car's dashboard.

"Tonight, perhaps both kinds. That's why the sheriff's team will be along, too." To Max's second remark, the scourge simply shrugged. "What I do is operate on the other side. Keeping _our_ numbers down... I'm surprised Morgan wasn't clearer on what a scourge does."

Extending a finger from the gearstick, he pressed the 'call' button on the handset, letting the ring tone cut through the air inside the sedan.


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## Catulle (Mar 20, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Hidden in the shadows, Kriang's superior senses strained to catch the slightest hint of the activity, one officer's distinctive accent catching his ear easier than the others;

"...kind of goddamn vandalism I just don't get. And the stiffs - some of 'em looked, like, chewed..."

His attention was briefly snatched away, senses refocused, on the vibration of his cellphone deep in the recesses of the overcoat.


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## Catulle (Mar 20, 2003)

*The Staten Island Ferry, over dark waters*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The half-hour ferry trip, despite the sheriff's grim proclaimation, was a simple matter. Qadir remained focused throughout, stoically shrugging off the bitter chill of the river's wind while he stood out on deck. Occasionally, he would glance about himself, clearly straining his pretennatural instincts for the slightest hint at trouble.

"You would recognise the scene of one of the mass embraces, though?" Those dark eyes took in Gabriel's reaction with guarded judgement. "You would know if the Sabbat were responsible? And you, Nikolai, will be required to look beyond sight if need be. I expect the mortals are on the scene by now, and I will need to divert their investigation. The scourge will take you into the cemetery itself."

The dirty boat began docking at the Staten Island terminal, metal clattering on metal, setting the deck ashudder with the strain. "We'll get a cab from the rank." The Sheriff indicated the line of taxis ashore.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 20, 2003)

> "Tonight, perhaps both kinds. That's why the sheriff's team will be along, too."




"Sounds like something big and bad happened," he says, leaning his head on his hand in thought for a moment.

_What about the Heart Breaker guy I heard about? Have police cornered him somehow? That might be it, involves Scourge and Sheriff that way. That situation would need a group to deal with both parties._



> "What I do is operate on the other side. Keeping _our_ numbers down... I'm surprised Morgan wasn't clearer on what a scourge does."




Max is surprised by the statement and goes quiet for a moment while he formulates a small test.

_Numbers was an issue I kept in my head. Keeping tabs on my thoughts eh?_

"I've always been a little confused about Sheriffs and Scourges sorry. The fault was mine, nothing wrong with Morgan's teachings, I'm just forgetful," he says after the silence with a shrug, "My mind has a tendency to forget a lot of things of importance, unfortunately."


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## Catulle (Mar 20, 2003)

*Amboy Road, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

David's brow creased, the canyons that formed across his forehead stark in the headlights rushing on.

"Could be. Come on Legba, pick up..."

<ring>

"See, a sheriff's like the police - law and order..."

<ring>

"A scourge, well, he's a hunter, he hunts his Kindred..."

<ring>

"And culls the foolish. The dangerous. The orphans."

<ring>

He turned his head from the road, though the car didn't waver from the line, the scourge's attention seemed rapt on Max's body language, his expression, his eyes.

"Does that bother you, Max?"


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 20, 2003)

> "Does that bother you, Max?"




Max chuckles.

"No, not terribly much, there's good reason to certainly, but now knowing for sure that you're reading my mind makes it hard for me to think. Especially hard considering I would think of things that I wouldn't want to think about while my mind is being read, but I assume you already know the worst of me," he says with a nervous laugh, "It'd also give a pretty good advantage in battle."

_Err, yep... hehe, umm, heh... err yup..._

Max tries to not think, which makes him think, so he looks out the window and watches passing cars and pedestrians to occupy his thoughts.


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## Krizzel (Mar 20, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

With a grimace Kriang let his concentration lapse.  _Inconvenient_.  He drew away from the road and the cemetery gate, sliding back into the shadows so no one would hear him.  At least their attention was focused upon the graveyard.

Only then did he retrieve the phone from his pocket, reading the caller ID from the backlit screen.  _He could not wait until he arrived?  Or maybe he is about to - what do they call it - 'stand me up?'_

"Yes?" Kriang answered pleasantly as he held the phone up to his ear, though he kept his voice low, watching the approaches to his position carefully.


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## Catulle (Mar 20, 2003)

*Amboy Road, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

As Max turned his attention into the traffic, the 'phone was answered, projecting the heavily accented voice into the cabin. David cleared his throat,

"Legba, it's David. We're almost on the scene now and Qadir's people are on their way too. We need to meet up a little way out of sight. Go a little further down the road to the Ocean View Cemetery, near Sheridan; we can get together there."

"What's the situation on the ground?"


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## Krizzel (Mar 20, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Kriang took a last glance at the scene before slipping away towards the rendezvous.  "Some little birds are here.  They're chirping about someone feasting on the carrion - this is the trouble you were expecting, yes?"

Dark eyes still watched for difficulties along his path, but now Kriang's attentions were turned inward, for a moment.  _The Sherrif, too?  More new friends, hmm..._  A toothy smile crept across his lips as he went along.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 21, 2003)

*The Staten Island Ferry, over dark waters*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Gabriel stood leaning over a rail and peering out at the black waters of the night. Never again would he lay his eyes on the beauty of the bluegreen waters. Always dead black...

Even though his hatred ran deep for the Sabbat, he dreaded this encounter. He knew what monsters they where first hand. Monster both mentally and physically. One of the vampires in his pack... what was his name... Sullivan?... looked like something out of a nightmare. A Tzimisce, he was later told by Aisling. Even though he didn't feel the cold night air like a mortal, Gabriel shivered. The sight of one of the churned up graves would not be a welcome one.

As the ferry thudded to a halt, he turned and nodded at Qadir's comments. In his mind, he went over the words and mental exercises necessary to perform his rituels and tap into his innate blood sorcery. 

His hand gripped his cane hard as he stepped off the ferry. They might all meet final death this night.


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## Catulle (Mar 21, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Jemal took this moment to interpose himself between the trio of women. When he spoke his voice was even, well-inflected and hard to ignore. It had a musical lilt to it that seemed to set the listener at ease, "Now, pet. Everybody has reasons, don't they? But you're already late for your lesson, and I can tell Cate wants to get on too." He glanced to Vychtorya again, who by now felt the familiar swell of the blood, senses prepared to revel in the young man's tones, "And I think we should be on our way... There's plenty of time to talk this over later, right?"

He allowed Vychtorya to take his arm and lead the way, bowing to the pair in the music room as he pulled the doors gently to with one deft hand on their exit.

(Loop Jemal and Vychtorya back into their scene above; the music room scene is Cate's and Sabrina's to develop and I'll delete this note once things get moving again)


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## Catulle (Mar 22, 2003)

*A Taxi Along Amboy Road*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Crammed into the back of the cab hardly seemed the most glamourous mode of travel for the Sheriff and the two Tremere, though it may have been the most expedient. Ignoring the mortal driver's pleasentries, Qadir thumbed at his cellphone with a distracted air, before replacing it in his jacket with a frown.

"Engaged." he muttered to nobody in particular. "Drop us off at Sheridan Court, please." then, to Nikolai, "We can walk the rest of the distance easily. Perhaps by that stage, David will be off the phone."


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## Catulle (Mar 22, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The scourge's dark sedan crawled to a halt by the roadside next to the huge figure of a man David appeared to recognise. Weighing the pocketwatch in his left hand, he stopped the engine and motioned for Max to get out, as he did the same, walking around the car to offer his hand to the stranger.

"Legba, this is Max Freigardt. Max, meet my clanmate Legba. Extra hands for tonight's work, both." He flipped open the watch again, glancing at the face with a practiced air. "With any luck this is nothing to worry about, though. Get acquainted. I'll give Qadir a call." Returning to the car to pull the phone out of its retainer, he stalked a little way down the road to fiddle with the device.


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## Shalimar (Mar 22, 2003)

*Sabrina*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina nods in agreement with her brother, wanting to stay on everyone's good side. "I'll see you after lessons." she says to her brother, trying to sound serious, something she utterly fails at, giggling. She waves goodbye to Jemal and Vychtorya, and makes little shooing motions with her hands.  To her, now that Jemal had handled the situation, it was like it had never happened, she didn't retain any anger, or fear, it just hadn't happened.

"I'll be good, I promise." she says to Jemal trying to make him feel better about leaving her and miss Cate together. She had to ressist the urge to make him want to agree with her, I mean vampire powers were so cool, why wasn't she allowed to use her very best? It had made Cate and Miss Vychtorya like her and want to do whatever she wanted, so why wasn't she allowed to use it without permission? It just wasn't fair.

She takes Miss Cate's hand and pulls her over to a pair of high backed chairs that are over near the window.  She hops up on the seat with her bunny slippers hanging of the edge of the cushion swinging in the same beat as one of the songs by N'sync. "Well my absolute favorite is...umm I don't have a favorite." she says blushing sheepishly.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 24, 2003)

"Hi," Max says and extends a hand to shake, "You do much of this line of work?"

_Big guy. Probably does a lot of work like this._


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## Krizzel (Mar 24, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Max Freigardt," Legba pronounced experimentally, trying to wrap his foreign tongue around the unfamiliar sounds.  He shook Max's hand firmly as a toothy grin spread across his face, a startling slash of white among Legba's otherwise dark six-foot frame.  "So nice to meet you," he assured in a thick accent which made it difficult to read the emphasis of his words.

"And your question," the tall shadow went on jovially, "well, the answer depends on what this work will be, yes?"  He chuckled softly in a low tone, shrugging as he released Max's hand.  "What is it you think we will find within those gates, Max Freigardt?" Legba wondered in thick, rich tones, glancing towards their destination.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 24, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The click of the doors snapped Caitlyn out of her daze and she found herself being drawn to the chairs by the child.  A forced smile made it to her face while she fought down the memories, the lingering metallic taste of the fear and the brutish song ringing within her mind.

What _was_ that?  She had never felt anything like that before, never seen anything like that before...so overwhelming, so terrible in such a brief period of time.  Her stomach fought against itself for many reasons, one of which was to try so very hard not to lose its contents in such a beautiful room.

Slowly and surely though, Cate began to come back to her senses, listening to the child's enchanting voice as Sabrina told her about songs, gazing at her face with that pure sweet song to replace the other.

"Oh are you so sure, Sabrina?" the young woman spoke softly, her smile becoming more genuine the more she looked into those clear innocent blue eyes.  "I have so many favorites...almost a new one each day, each moment and for each person."


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## Shalimar (Mar 24, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The little girl looked confused, she wanted to know what it was that Miss Vychtorya had done, that was for certain, that look had just been so scary, if she could do it she was sure even someone as scary as Mr. Calebros would be scared of her and leave her alone.  _Maybe Uncle Nathan could teach me._  she thought.

She was also confused by Miss Cate, she didn't really understand her friends love of music so much, not when they could be playing together.  She liked music a lot, it was really fun to dance to, and singing really made her happy because it made her the center of attention.  "What do you mean you have a favorite song for each person?  Do you have a favorite song for me too?"  She asked the slim asian woman excitedly.  

She bounced up and out of her chair at the question and into the woman's lap, she really did want to make her friend feel better after that funny look, and she knew that hugs were her favorite way to feel better, so hug her she did.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 24, 2003)

> "What is it you think we will find within those gates, Max Freigardt?"




"I really dunno, but apparently, if negotiations fail, thats what we're here for," Max replies, revealing his aesthetic weapon briefly.

_I like this guy, he's just got a very kewl foreign guy aura about him, heh._

"So where do you originate from?" he asks for conversation value, "I hale from Down Under, got embraced here in New York though."


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## reapersaurus (Mar 24, 2003)

Nikolai leans a tiny bit forward in the cramped back seat, and contents himself to play the part of the guy who is supposed to 'deal' with the humans.

He effortlessly participates in idle chit-chat with the cabbie, so as to not leave any interesting impressions, or suspicious undertones with the kine.


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## Jemal (Mar 24, 2003)

After making sure someone would take care of Cate's departure when it was time, he smiled and took Vych's hand as she shook her hair out, taking a second to marvel in the beauty of the female form... specifically the female form now attached to his arm.
_It never gets dull_ he thought to himself _And I would hate so much if it ever did_.  He smiled warmly as they went down to the convertible.  "So, your place first for you to change, dear lady?  Or did you have something else in mind before that?" He inquired of her.


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## Catulle (Mar 24, 2003)

*Amboy Road, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002 

The cab rushed on, cutting through the traffic such as it was with a reckless abandon, its all-too mortal driver seemingly content to keep merely one eye on the road, the other on Nikolai's in the adorned rear-view mirror. The human's mouth seemed never to close fully, even when paused for breath or response, it hung somewhat agape, throwing a stratum of ignorance over his round face. The chatter, now with a captive audience, simply didn't let up. Irritation prickled within Nikolai, the Beast stirred, though it was faint indeed for now.

Qadir scooped the cellphone back out of his pocket, the face aglow, and placed it to his ear, "David." A lengthy pause, "We'll arrive shortly." No motion wasted, he returned the object, waiting in silence, before indicating the driver to the kerb.

A dark sedan was parked just behind the spot where he taxi pulled over, a trio of men arrayed near it. The sheriff indicated the door to Gabriel, sat nearest the kerb, as he pushed a bill towards the mortal in front.

"We go, gentlemen."


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## Catulle (Mar 24, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002 

The scourge replaced his handset, walking back to stand beside the car, Max and Kriang. "They're coming; not much longer now." He checked his pocket watch "Not long at all now."

He seemed content to wait, silent, in the cold night until a taxi pulled up in front of the sedan, disgorging its compliment of Kindred onto the sidewalk before taking off into the dark.

The foremost was the smartly-dressed Qadir, who cast a hawklike stare across Max, lingered over Kriang, then passed to David. "Your cohorts are ready?" A sweep of the hand took in the two men accompanying him, "these are Nikolai D'Angelo and Gabriel Cross, assisting us tonight with their Tremere lore." He looked _beyond_ for a mere moment, before refocusing on matters closer at hand. "What is the situation at the Cemetery?"

The scourge, shorter and thicker set than the sheriff, nodded towards Kriang "Legba was watching them for a while. I think he'd be best to start."


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 25, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Laughter erupted from her throat, starting softly and then growing fuller with each hug of the child in her lap.  If she could only just hold Sabrina forever!    Yes, that's what the child wanted.  Just affection and tenderness, and her complete attention.

"Of course, I have a favorite song for you!  I have many songs for you,"  Caitlyn agreed, giving Sabrina a playful squeeze.  "I even brought one especially for this lesson.  It could be our song."

Releasing the child, she smiled wistfully at her.  "Didn't you have a song when you were younger?  Did you mother or father sing to you?  Or maybe Jemal."  She couldn't quite picture Nathaniel Montague breaking out into verse, though the mental image prompted bright amusement into her dark eyes.


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## Shalimar (Mar 25, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina wiggles around on the singers lap getting herself situated for more hugs so she wouldn't fall out of the leather chair, or her warm seat.  The child smiled ecstatically at the woman as she admitted to having many favorite songs just for her.  When the woman asked if her mommy or dady had sung to her she looked upset.  "I don't have a mommy or a daddy.  Its always just been me and Uncle Nathan and Jemal for as long as I can remember."  she said with a sigh,  "I really do wish I had a mommy though, all my friends have them, I think it would be really nice, but I don't know how to get one.  I really wanted to have a sister too, sometimes Jemal is just soo silly.  But they're all I have." she says wistfully.

Her face does brighten when she remembers that Cate had said that the two of them could have a song just for each other.  "Whats the song? What's the song?  The one for the two of us?  Tell me, tell me."  she asks energetically.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 25, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Oh."  Caitlyn's smile dimmed slightly when she realized she had inadvertantly  tripped into a difficult topic.  What was the matter with her?  Always talking before thinking...that was always her problem.

"Well I didn't mean to bring that up like that, Sabrina.  I'm sorry."  Her cheek rested lightly against the cool glass of the window.  "I have a mother, but she and I don't talk very much.  But I wouldn't worry about a mother for you.  Your uncle is still young and I sincerely doubt that anyone as handsome as your brother has any problems finding himself a suitable sister for you."

"I don't know anyone who would not want you for a daughter or a sister," Caitlyn affirmed with a bit of laughter.  "But patience, Sabrina...you'll get your song...and I'm pretty sure you'll really love it!"


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## Shalimar (Mar 25, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina looks at Cate curiously wondering why anyone with a mommy wouldn't get along with her and love her.  That was the purpouse of mothers as far as she could tell.  All of her friends mother's always fussed over her when she slept over, they  hugged, they made cookies, took them out.  Mother's just seemed like so much fun to have, and while she while she wished she had one, she did have Jemal, and he did try, but the one time he had baked her cookies they were really hard and lumpy.

"Why don't you get along with your mom?  If I had one I would love her and get along with her."  she questioned the singer.  Her face brightened as a new thought flitted into her head.  "Miss Cate, you like uncle Nathan?  So why don't you be my mommy?"  she asks brightly.  "The only other girl that is ever around is miss Vychtorya and she likes Jemal I think."  she says smiling her cheeks dimpling in exagerated innocence.


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## Tory Adore (Mar 25, 2003)

The good feeling of Jemal taking her hand brings Vych’s head forward into position atop her shoulders with waves of dark auburn hair falling on her soft, white sweater. Catching a brief glimpse of him watching her, Vych’s eyes and parted lips turn themselves into a playful smile as her cheeks seem to blush a bashful red.

Vych swings their arms gently,
_”You know…I know when to be formal and when not to. I’d LOVE to just go have some fun if you think we have time before we need to get to the club for Carrick’s guests. We can’t be late, not even a little. I haven’t got a clue what time it is though. My watch isn’t working again,”_
she says as she lets go of his hand to tap the crystal of the rather useless watch her father gave her. Then something familiar and shiny catches her eye.





_”Hey look! There’s Baby! What do you think Jemal?”_
Vych says with a little excitement as she points, gazing at the meticulously shaped metal and smooth, glistening, candy apple red-gold fleck infused paint of her 1964 Mustang convertible. She jogs over to it spreading her arms out across the hood in a hugging manner and looks back to Jemal with her left cheek resting on the hood. 
_”It beautiful isn’t it? It is the best purchase I have ever made! I begged Carrick to take my car tonight.”_

Vych raises her cheek a little off of the hood and rests her chin in her left hand, still looking at Jemal with her sparkling eyes giggling a little.

_”Only problem is I don’t know the city well enough to get us anywhere. Wanna dive her Jemal? I know she would love it as much as I would.”_
Vych spins the silver, pony keys around her right index finger a couple of times on her outstretched arm before they land gently in the palm of her offering hand. Vych’s white smile is bright enough to light the garage afire as she thinks of getting to feel the freedom of being in her car again, not to mention getting to be next to a handsome man in it.

_”Driving was a favorite pastime of mine back home. Maybe you can help me learn the town so Carrick will let me drive again. He’s afraid I’ll end up somewhere I shouldn’t. He’s probably right.”_

She rolls her eyes, laughs again, then removes her left hand from her chin placing it palm down on the car and raises her chest off of the hood while stretching her right arm out a little more hoping for Jemal to take her keys.


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## reapersaurus (Mar 25, 2003)

Nikolai gets out of the cab, relieved at the ceasing of the incessant patter of unanalyzed drivel spilling out of the cabbie's squalid mouth.

He thinks to himself . o 0  Geez, if I had to put up with one more minute of that wretch's diatribe, I swear the interior of that cab was gonna get a new nice bright-colored paint job, courtesy of his blood splattering everywhere.

Nikolai follows the sheriff on his round, bowing politely with the appropriate Middle-Eastern flourish when he is introduced to the others.


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## Krizzel (Mar 25, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002 


> * "So where do you originate from?" he asks for conversation value, "I hale from Down Under, got embraced here in New York though."*



"Australia, Australia..."  Legba tapped his dark lips thoughtfully.  "No, I've never been there..." he informed absently.  Then the inky eyes glanced back to Max, bringing with them another smile.  "But I _have_ been to so many interesting places - it's hard to pick just one to call home, yes?  I think maybe I will say New York - it is a better place than the Carribean, wouldn't you say?"


> *... The scourge, shorter and thicker set than the sheriff, nodded towards Kriang "Legba was watching them for a while. I think he'd be best to start."*



"So nice to meet you all," Legba greeted, sweeping an arm wide with a slight bow.  "And yes, I saw the dogs scurrying about with their lights and sirens," he added as he straightened.  "They were chirping about chewed corpses, though just now their doctors have arrived.  Perhaps a few hearts still beat there..."

_So this is the Sheriff and his...deputies?  That is what they say..._ Kriang wondered to himself.

_Yes.  Hmm..._


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 25, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn glanced out at the window, at the lights of the city.  "My mother...they are like that...the women who live in this life.  Not all, but so many of them.  On the outside, they pretend to be your friend, but its all a lie.  They're only interested in using you...and that was what my mother did."

_Everybody's everyone's fool_

Her finger traced a pattern on the cold glass, playing the notes only she could hear.  "I ran away from her, from the life of lies and fake smiles, from the manipulation and deceit...I couldn't live like that anymore.  I don't want any of that."

Those dark eyes returned to Sabrina, delving into those blue eyes and reveling in that innocent song.  "I want purity, the kind of purity that helps me write my music.  I want genuine honesty, genuine emotion...just genuine everything.  And that's why I like you so much, Sabrina, because you're genuine."

Then the child's next words suddenly sunk into her music-filled thoughts, completely throwing the song out of kilter.  "Your...mommy...?" she stuttered slightly, her cheeks blushing a deep rosy hue.  "I...I think anyone would be so happy to be your mommy, Sabrina...but maybe you should leave decisions like that to your uncle."

_Oh stop blushing, Cate!  Not like you haven't thought about him at all since the night of the party..._ But the mention of the uncle brought a memory back of that raspy voice to play in her mind but she forced herself to cast it out, clear her thoughts to think on the rest of the child's words.

_Did Sabrina say something about Jemal and Vychtorya?  But what about Max?  And where does Carrick Ashton fit into all this...I could have sworn they were lovers..._  Cate mentally re-adjusted herself as she told her self firmly, _It's none of your business._

"Would you like to hear the song now?" she spoke again with a vibrant smile on her lips to lighten the mood.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 25, 2003)

> I think maybe I will say New York - it is a better place than the Carribean, wouldn't you say?"




_I guess I won't find out where he got the accent, oh well, now he's the mysterious foreign guy._

"I wouldn't know really, haven't been, I'm not very well travelled in truth. Nonetheless I'd agree New York's an interesting place to call home, I couldn't really call the place nice though. Hehe, because of us for example," Max smiles and cracks his knuckles.

"Maxwell Freigart. Pleased to make your acquaintance," he says, then extends his hand to the new arrivals.

_Hey, I saw him at the party, and the other guy. Tremere, I wonder why they're here? Is magic or arcane lore required to deal with the situation?_


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 25, 2003)

Gabriel stepped from the cab, and gave a short nod to each of the new Kindred. As introductions where made, he took each of their hands in turn.

The proprieties aside, it was time to get to business.

"Chewed corpses?" He looked at Qadir and gave a slight nod. It sounded like the work of Sabbat. "Has there been any evidence to rule out Lupines?" 

Lupines.... the very word struck fear in any but the most ancient of Kindred. Werewolves had haunted the night for as long as the kindred had, and their hate for each other had only grown with the times. 

"I only ask because Kindred aren't in the habit of "chewing" their prey. Of course, the Sabbat have some very feral vampires among their kind, and murdering kine* in cemetaries isn't typically the style of the Lupines."

* Kine is a slang term for mortals.


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## Krizzel (Mar 25, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002 

Legba simply shrugged.  "It sounded like  someone has dug up the bodies for a snack - odd to dine on 'dry' meat, yes?  I've never seen a dog do that."  Night-colored eyes looked to Gabriel curiously.  "You think there are...Sabbat...there, Gabriel Cross?"


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## Catulle (Mar 25, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Legba's last comment seemed to spur Qadir into action. He smoothed down his beard with his right hand and reached into his overcoat with the left, drawing out a dark object. The dim streetlight shone back off the badge fixed to one side as he slid it into an outer pocket.

"I will approach the main entrance. The Masquerade will be our first concern, and the ambulance delayed if need be. I can certainly divert attention from your entrance." Though he looked about the neonates, his attention rested at the last on David, who bobbed his head in agreement.

"We can get into the Frederick Douglas over the wall from deeper in here, if nobody's watching that's the best way in." The scourge continued "I'll need the... specialist" He looked from Gabriel to Nikolai and back "and his minder, whichever is which, with me. We'll make for the scene and take it from there. Contact me if there's trouble at the gates and I'll send help or come myself." It seemed the sheriff's turn to nod.

"Then I wish you luck, gentlemen. If there is nothing else, I must go to work." With a bow, Qadir stepped back to walk the distance back to the main access alone.


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## reapersaurus (Mar 25, 2003)

Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *"I couldn't really call the place nice though. Hehe, because of us for example," Max smiles and cracks his knuckles.*



"I unfortunately agree, Maxwell....
No place that has us around can ever be called 'nice' again.

But perhaps we can make this place, at least, a little bit more nice if we clean up the garbage that's around here." 

Nik hears Gabriel's analysis, and replies, "Some more bestial vampires might have lost so much of their humanity as to desire a nibble on a corpse or two....  I've seen more bestial things than that, unfortunately.

As for Lupines, they are creatures of base nature - more predictable than vampires. I agree that it does not match their modus operandi, but they at least have something to gain by chewing dead corpses, whereas only the sickest of vampires would consort with corpses." 

The mention of sick-fu%k vampires makes Nikolai's mind wander to tales he's read of vampires who hang around dead things...









*OOC:*


 Occult check, Catulle, specialty Kindred Lore


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 25, 2003)

> Night-colored eyes looked to Gabriel curiously. "You think there are...Sabbat...there, Gabriel Cross?"




"Possibly... some of them have slid so far from humanity as to be little more than animals." Gabriel answered in his typical raspy voice. "Still, it makes little sense. I don't think the lupines would go to so much trouble for a bone to chew on either."

He looks to see Qadir walking away, then turns back to the others. "I suppose we shall find out."


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## Shalimar (Mar 26, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room[/b]
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The little girl flushed in pleasure at the singers complement, _Of course anyone would love to be my mommy.  But I don't just want it to be anyone, I want it to be someone *I* want.  Uncle Nathan isn't always fun, so I want to make sure its someone really fun, like miss Cate, or miss Vych, well maybe not miss Vych, she can be really scary when she gives that look.  I'll just have to make Uncle Nathan make one of them my new mom._  She thinks to herself with a sharp nod of her small head.

She turns her attention back to the singer in time to hear her ask if she wanted to have their song now.  "Yes, please." Sabrina answered.  She hops up out of Cate's lap and leads her over to the entertainment center.  Its in a closed wooden cabinent with a scenes of mythic england engraved lovingly upon it.  Dragons, knights, and princesses.  It was one of her favorite things that was her uncles.  She opens it up to display an impressive home theatre system, everything that someone with no monetary barriers  might posses.

"Put it in, put it in.  Lets hear our song." she says hopping up and down impatiently.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 26, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Pulling a CD out of her leather coat, Caitlyn took off the coat itself, laying it across one of the chairs.  She moved over to make sure the doors were closed tightly before heading toward the magnificient entertainment center where Sabrina stood waiting.  Popping the CD into an empty slot, she pressed the button to let the music echo loudly through the room.

With a mischievous smile, she slipped her boots off and laid them to one side.  "One thing about singing is that you need to loosen up!  To enjoy it...and that's the first thing we'll do for you, Sabrina.  Let's free up you from that formal nonsense."

_Vacation...need a little sun to break up all the frustration_

Her fingers snapped on either side as she approached Sabrina in a stylized walk that was almost a dance movement in itself as she sang along with the music.

_And turn it into love 
Ain't nobody gonna tell us what we gonna do_

She motioned for the child to join her with one hand.

_Because today, it's up to me and you!_


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## Shalimar (Mar 26, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina clapped her hands excitedly as the first notes played from the speakers. She knew this song, it was one of her very favorites, she had even tried to get Jemal to dance with her to it, but he was too 'mature' he had said.

"It's Pokemon!" she shouted out giggling, she had never met an adult who liked them before, she really did like miss cate. _We are going to be such good friends, and she'd be a really fun mom, like Allisons._  "Yea, no formal stuff." the little girl agreed clapping to the beat. Her small but powerful voice sung out the words to the song she knew by heart, swaying her body to the upbeat styling of Vitamin C.

Temptation coming up to me 
A little brief relaxation and I'll be breaking free 
Come on and break it break it new and I believe it's gonna start now 

Sabrina swayed towards the singer to the beat at the woman's come hither gesture. She took the womans hands in hers and swung them both energetically dancing with the beautiful woman. Her cheeks were rather flushed with all the excitement. This was the most fun that she had had since well, she couldn't remember of hand, but for awhile.

Vacation's where I wanna be 
Buddy on the beach where the fun is free 
We don't need a holiday to start to celebrate


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 26, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Yes it is!" Cate agreed with a laugh as she spun around and around with Sabrina, laughing and singing with the music and the child.  "So don't slouch!  Sing with those pipes and show me what you got!"

_Vibrations Need to get me sun 
and break up all my complications and turn it into love _

Was it so long ago that she was this young?  Was it only so recently that she was this free?  Cate couldn't remember or didn't want to remember, just falling into the music of the moment.

_Ain't nobody gonna tell us where we gotta be 
Because today, today it's to you and me_

"Don't hold it in!  Let your voice flow with the music!  Don't be afraid of being too loud.  You want to relax and excercise your vocal cords--warm them up!"

_Vacation's what I wanna do 
Buddy on the beach, fun for me and you_

Sabrina's infectious happiness spread over Cate and she reveled in it, that emotional bond between them that had started at the point when Sabrina had turned that angelic face toward her and taken her mind off Nathaniel and Carrick.

_We don't need a holiday to start to celebrate_

Giving Sabrina a twirl, she smiled as they both tried to keep their balance.

_Repeat after me, "I need a vacation."_


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 26, 2003)

Max watches Qadir leave.

"Good luck," he says.

His attention returns to the remaining group of five.

"Well then," he checks his vest is securely on one last time, "Ready when you are."

_Dammit, lupine... I hope not. I wonder what it would cost to get silver bullets made. I'd probably have to make them myself though, that'd mean the price of the silver and the equipment to make my own ammunition. At least I've plenty of time to learn. If I stay in this line of work I'm going to have to get a shotgun._


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## Shalimar (Mar 26, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Will do," she says happily singing out even louder the before, not shouting, but certainly letting out a lot of energy and excitement.  Her hair bounced and bobbed, swung and swayed as she danced in time to the music, being twirled by Cate hadn't helped her balance, but it was certainly fun.  Giggling she turned a stumble into a cartwheel coming to rest against the plush leather of the chairs.  Sabrina didn't even miss a beat before she was giggling and back on her feat.  Shouting out the rest of the song.

_Let's go!_ 

The little girl clapped her hands in time to the clapping of the song skipping back over to the singer.

_Let's go!_

_"Don't be afraid of being too loud._   Miss Cate had said, and the child couldn't help but thinking, _Who, me?_  She was singing as loud as her little lungs could stand without shouting and ruining the song.

_Let's go! 

ooooo... 
Let's go! 

(The one with me) 
(Where the fun is free) 
(So come with me)_


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## reapersaurus (Mar 26, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> The scourge continued "I'll need the... specialist" He looked from Gabriel to Nikolai and back "and his minder, whichever is which, with me. We'll make for the scene and take it from there."



Nikolai responds confidently and matter-of-factly to David,
"In regards to The Sabbat, the _latter_ would be me, David.
Whatever specialities I *do* possess _apart_ from the internal workings of the Sabbat, however, are focused on our endeavors tonight, and at your service.
My senses are attuned for scouting, if that is what you wish me to do - they have served me well in the past, and recently in the service of The Sheriff." 

He wishes Qadir luck in his work, along with Max.


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## Catulle (Mar 26, 2003)

*Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Qadir rasied a single hand in farewell as he retreated into the chill of the night, thick hair tied back but still rippling slightly in the fresh breeze.

The broad-shouldered scourge glanced about the team, making contact with every pair of eyes, before turning to walk up the broad path into the Ocean View graveyard. The way was lined with evergreens, thick clumps of darkness which swayed and rustled in the wind.

"Good. We'll need all our senses about us for tonight's work."

To Nikolai's superior vision, the effect was faintly dizzying, almost mesmerising before he reined in his mind, focusing on changes in the information his straining senses were feeding to him. They seemed quite alone, though he could see the faint corona of differently coloured light being thrown up by the emerency vehicles some half mile away.

David spoke as he walked. "Some of you are carrying guns. Unless - even if - they're silenced, that's a last resort. They'll bring attention, and if it's Sabbat or Lupines in there, the last thing we want's more attention. If you need a knife, I have a spare or two. Buddy up, too. If it goes to fighting, I want one of you" he gestured to Max and Legba here "with each of them." his wave took in the Tremere. "I'll cover the lot of you, go wherever I need to be. And remember - you don't have right of destruction; I do. You don't kill anybody 'till you get the nod. If it's what I think it could be, you'll get the nod real fast."

The watch was out of his pocket, and the scourge was turning it over and over in his hand as he gave the brief. He popped the top open again and stared at the face for a long second, not breaking stride, "Any questions? I think we're good to talk until we hit the wall."


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 27, 2003)

"Well I'll gladly take a knife if no-one else wants it," Max says as they walk, "But I could probably handle without one."

_I better not lose myself in there. I mean they didn't mind the first time but... err... I don't think anyone would let it slide so easily this time._

Max bites his lower lip for a moment as the past resurfaces in his mind. Not good memories, but then again not bad in his opinion. Remembering the look of horror he put on that Sabbat's face will always make him smile.

_They deserve less than even we would give them. If I could find out how Tzimisce do that warping of flesh thing... I guess killing them is good enough. Torture would be overkill._

Clenching and unclenching his fists he continues to walk, trying to be observant of his surroundings.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 27, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

_Vacation's where I wanna be
Buddy on the beach where the fun is free_

When was the last time she had a vacation?  Caitlyn couldn't remember, but right now, dancing around in the room twirling around with the little girl...she felt like she was on one herself.  

While Sabrina did cartwheels, Cate managed to restrain herself, realizing that she was wearing a skirt after all.  _Next time I'm wearing jeans!_ she promised herself as she went slipping and sliding all over the music room, laughing and singing at the same time.

_We don't need a holiday to start to celebrate
'cuz I need a break, I need a vacation_

Sabrina was such a breath of fresh air in such a stuffy place like this house.  The place that didn't even seem like a child lived here at all.  Everything seemed so formal - so like Caitlyn's own childhood home - back in Texas.

_Vacation's where I wanna be
Buddy on the beach where the fun is free
We don't need a holiday to start to celebrate_

Leaning forward, she tapped Sabrina's nose playfully as she sung the last verse to the song.

_Repeat after me, "I need a vacation"_


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## Jemal (Mar 27, 2003)

"We should have time" Jemal said, checking his watch (OOC:How much time DO we have? anybody know or should I just make it up.. hehe)

Looking up as they reach the car, Jemal stops in his tracks with a low whistle. "That's a real beut... You sure you want me to drive it?" He moves closer as she offers the keys to him again.  "Well, in that case it would be my pleasure to drive this beautiful machine, and it's beautiful owner, wherever they want to go." He said with a smile as his hand lingers on hers as he accepts the keys.  

"Any time you want me to... Help you learn your way around, I am at your service." He says, taking in the beautiful site of woman and care before he moves to open the door for her.

"Where to first, lovely?"


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## Shalimar (Mar 27, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - Music Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The little girl convulsed with gales of pearly laughter as the last notes of the silly song echoed in the rooms specially designed accoustics.  Never before had the room seen such a lively song, always before it had been a calm and dignified place when it hadn't been left vacant as it so often was.  "That was so wonderful miss Cate, I didn't know adults could dance and be so excited like that, Jemal and Uncle Nathan never play with me like that."  she said conspiratorially as she collapsed to the floor into an indian style  position, her eyes twinkling like stars in the night sky.

Just as suddenly she was up on her feet again pulling on the singers hand, pulling her out of the music room.  "Miss Cate, Miss Cate,"  she exclaims as she pulls the woman behind her up the stair to her own set of rooms, forgeting in her rush to show off her house that she needn't say "Miss".  "Look, look.  Look at my rooms aren't they wonderful?"she asks proudly as she leads the woman into the first of her rooms, what wuld appear to be a study, if she was older.

The room was filled with shelves off leather bound books that were easily three times as old as she was.  There was a globe of some kind, though whether it was really made of crystal would take close inspection.  It didn't look at all as if a 7 year-old lived there.  It was almost as if the room was sleeping, and was waiting for some signal to awaken itself.  The only use of the room that was easily visible was a slight depression in the carpet going from the door that the pair entered to the other door wich led deeper into the girls rooms, obviously the child was simply to young for it yet, and as things were, probably forever.  The child drew the woman through the dignified room and into her bedroom without a pause, as if she were used to ignoring the room.

Sabrina slowly led Cate around her room pausing to tell her a story about this stuffed animal and that doll house.  She really was proud of her room, from the pepto-bismal pink four-post bed to the furry tide of stuffed penguins and other animals that was slowly spreading off of her bed to the entire floor.  Princesses in pink, knights in silver, even a fuzzy felt-toothed dragon done in a rich purple.  From the doll house that was twice as tall as the little girl to the plasma tv that was 4 times her size.  It looked like someone had had  shopping spree.  Through the open door to the left of the bed another room stood, even more full of toys and games and all manner of fun things.  

"Miss Cate," the little girl said lifting a small furry bundle off of her bed, "I would like you to meet my very good friend, Spots Mackenzie the 3rd." She smiled as she introduced the calico flufball of a kitten, holding the feline out for the singers inspection.


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## Tory Adore (Mar 27, 2003)

She folds the shiny keys into his hand making it into a fist. Still leaning across the hood of the car, she places her hands on the Mustang and eases herself up. 

Vych watches Jemal graciously open the door for her as she approaches behind him from the front of the car. She places her hand on his shoulder closest to the car, slides her hand across his back to the other shoulder, and down his arm giving him a friendly smile as she moves around the door hopping into the passenger seat placing her leather beret on her head

She touches up her lip gloss in the mirror as she waits for Jemal to get into the car.

Vych, obviously very ready to have some fun, throws her arms in the air and tosses her head back as he starts Baby's engine. Then she says looking over to him, 
_”Take me anywhere your heart desires Jemal!”_


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 27, 2003)

As Gabriel walked, he checked his cane. Absentmindedly, he twisted the silver wolf head and bared the blade hidden within only a moment before resheathing it. 

He looked at the other two kindred he and Nikolai were supposed to pair with. Catching Legba's eye, he nodded, indicating that he would stick with him.

"So what do you expect David?"


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 28, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

One moment Caitlyn twirled in the music room, and the next moment a strong little hand held hers.   A very strong little hand.  Propelled forward, her stocking feet slid against the cold floor sliding and yet the child’s grip remained firm, even felt so much stronger than her own.

“Just call me Cate,” the young woman managed to say as she kept up with the quick little girl.  _My boots…_ she thought for a moment but only for a moment as she stares the stark beauty and formality of the home that the young child drew her through until she reached Sabrina’s haven of pink.

Her fingers brushed the fur of the Calico kitten before she gave the young girl a mischievous smile and the animal a graceful bow.  “Why Monsieur Spots Mackenzie the 3rd, I am so honored to make the acquaintance of such a magnificent feline such as yourself.  Do you want a music lesson too?”


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## Krizzel (Mar 28, 2003)

*Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Legba gave Gabriel a pleasant smile before falling in step at his shoulder, slightly behind.  He was more than content to listen politely, sure that his new friends would ask the right questions.  There was a slight spring in his step as he took a careful look around the cemetery while listening.


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## Shalimar (Mar 28, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

After Cate had greeted the tiny kitten, the little girl brought her face in close to his and gave him a kiss on his small pink nose.  Sabrina seated herself on her fluffy pink comforter amidst the furry tide of animals that seemed to take up most of the bed.  She gently lowered her kitten back down to where he had been resting on her powerpuff girls pillow.  She smiled proudly at Cate her dimples making her look even younger then her 7 years.

"Isn't he just great?  I only got him two weeks ago, so he is umm...he's two months old, so he's really just a baby.  Isn't he just so delicate and handsome?"  the child asked trying to steer the conversation away from singing lessons.  She did really have a lot of fun singing with Cate, but she was just as sure she could have as much fun doing other stuff.  "Maybe we can play a game now?  I have a whole bunch of them, see, they are all right there."  She says pointing, and sure enough almost all of the games you could think of were stacked in the corner of the room.   It didn't look like most of them had ever been used before, probably because there wasn't anyone else really around to play them with her.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 28, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Well, maybe after the lesson," Cate spoke as she ran her fingers through the cat's fur and resisting the urge to just draw it into her arms and hug it.  "I love cats," she informed Sabrina with a contented smile as she melted onto the bed and against the feline, unable to stop petting it.

"And I would love to play any of the board games with you, but your uncle hired me to give you a lesson and if I don't, I'll get in trouble."  Cate's dark eyes met Sabrina's as she gave the child a conspiring wink.  'You don't want me to get in trouble, do you?"


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## Shalimar (Mar 28, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Of course I don't want you to get in trouble, your my friend."  Sabrina answers the singer winking back at her.  The little girl rolls over onto her tummy, her small chin resting in her hands.  Her face looking down at the kitten leaves her blond hair hanging down around her face like a curtain.  She bicycles her feat in the air behind her back idly as she decides whether she should make Cate agree with her.

The child rolled over sudenly having made up her mind, it would have spooked the kitten if he wasn't already used to her excessive energy.  Uncle Nathan had said not to use her powers if she didn't have to, but come on, where was the fun in that.  She screwed up her pixie-like visage into a smiling mask of determination.  She willed Cate to want to agree with her and to listen to what she said,  (Prescence, Awe, using a willpower point for an automatic success).


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## Catulle (Mar 28, 2003)

*Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The knife was in David's hand almost too fast, too subtle, for Max to keep track of. Almost. The edge didn't gleam in the slightest, a black lustre from tip to hilt. The scourge spun it deftly through 180 degrees and presented the Brujah with the grip. His eyes hadn't left the pocket watch the entire time.

The group had left the gravel path, forging their way through the evergreen sea, stained colourless by moonlight here, deep enough into the cemetery to shed the glow of the city's lights. The wind picked up here and there, setting the trees to rustling, as of dry cloth, and twisting as if in agony.

"I expect the worst, Gabriel." Came the intonation as they reached the high brick wall seperating the two plots of land. It was heavily weathered, an easy climb by day, though the night could conceal loose masonry from an unwary eye. David scaled it quickly, confidently, and above all quietly. He disappeared from sight over into the Fredrick Douglas' ground, dropping from the top without a sound.


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## Catulle (Mar 28, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

However impressed Caitlyn was by Spots McKenzie, the feline remained implacable throughout, bearing this evening's indignities with a quiet grace. He streched out on the bed to tolerate the fuss a little longer, poking out a small pink tongue to rasp at the child's fingers.

The harmonies in the bedroom seemed to Cate more subdued than those in the music room, a slow murmur no more comforting for its gentleness, an echoing tune  _...my name is Vychtorya..._ that looped through, again and again _...remember it..._ a troubling symphony that called out to the subconscious _...it would behoove you not to dismiss me thrice..._ undeniable, yet... here again, gone again at the same time.

(OOC - Sabrina Awe - 4,4,2,2 plus willpower = 1 success; recover a willpower point for satisfying her Nature) 

Sabrina's conversation drew her senses back to the physical, subduing the echo to a whisper, constant but out of mind for the time being. The surge of conflicted emotion was almost too much for Cate to contain... but the child need not be troubled by her woes, need she?


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## Catulle (Mar 28, 2003)

*The Streets of Manhatten, Between Here and There*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The convertible whipped along the road at a rapid pace, handling well and seeming to adhere to the road despite Jemal's inexperience. The wind was for the most part deflected by the screen, and the chill that remained hanging in the night sky was less noticeable to the pair of young Kindred. The benefits of company, or exuberance - who could tell?

The evening was still young, and despite the concern of her sire, Vychtorya was fairly certain that no guest would arrive at Antiquities for a good hour. Of course, the curiosity still gnawed at her as to who Carrick Ashton had invited into their haven.


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## reapersaurus (Mar 28, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *To Nikolai's superior vision, the effect was faintly dizzying, almost mesmerising before he reined in his mind, focusing on changes in the information his straining senses were feeding to him.
> David spoke as he walked. "Buddy up, too. If it goes to fighting, I want one of you" he gestured to Max and Legba here "with each of them." his wave took in the Tremere. "I'll cover the lot of you, go wherever I need to be. And remember - you don't have right of destruction; I do. You don't kill anybody 'till you get the nod. If it's what I think it could be, you'll get the nod real fast."*



Nikolai sees Gabriel nod to Legba, indicating the pairing.
Hell, Nik's vision can probably pick up 2 flies wooing each other at this point.

He looks closely at the group, sensing the emotions on display to his vampire eyes. 
(Aura Perception, please, with no requirements for people to post theirs)

He nears Max after hearing his request for weaponry, and says, cooly and somewhat detached,
"If the $hit hits the fan, Maxwell, I have a shotgun. 
Would you care to borrow it? It's kind of a pain to carry around..."

After waiting for any reply, Nikolai falls in step with David, waiting for an opening to talk (like any time his eyes are not glued to the watch).
When he can, Nikolai says,
"That's quite an antique you have there, David.
(lowering his voice) I couldn't help but notice, with my Eagle Eye sunglasses on, that it stays at just-past 1:10.

I also can't hear it ticking.

Either you are using some odd time zone I'm not familiar with, or your interest in that bauble does not lie in its synchronicity."


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## Jemal (Mar 29, 2003)

*The Streets of Manhatten, Between Here and There*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002
T-minus 1 hour. 

Jemal exhiliarated in the road and in the company, driving around the city seeing some of the views as he heads for his favourite club, always keeping in mind the time.

"You're going to love this place, Though I hope you don't mind being watched, they really appreciate beauty such as yours."


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 29, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

For a moment, Caitlyn had thought the merriment of before had taken the memory of that awful moment away, but she found it sneaking back again, peppering her thoughts with its harsh melody despite the sweetness of her surroundings.  The words echoed in her mind with that tune, bringing back the visual reminder of terror that she had felt earlier with the sudden mental image of Vychtorya Farychyld’s face that traveled with the cruel song.  

Sight and sound that knew no boundaries of the senses…that always were one.

Why? Why had she come so far to run yet again into the same song in someone else?  Why could she not escape it?  Would she have to run yet again?  Or would she only find it again in someone else?

Sabrina’s voice drew her away from those thoughts, from the painful song playing so quietly in the back of her mind.  And in place of Vychtorya’s face, she saw Sabrina’s sweet innocence, her cajoling expression.  A song that surged with youthful elegance and threatened to roll over her with its dominance.

What was the time?  There was only time for the lesson and Jemal had told her when he called that it would be cut short.  And yet…the child wanted to play so much…how could she deny her anything?  It certainly couldn’t hurt…could it?

“I guess no harm done if we play a game for a little while,” Cate began slowly, drowning in the oceans of music flying from the little girl’s blue eyes.  “What game would you like to play?”


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## Shalimar (Mar 29, 2003)

*Sabrina Montague*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina smiled at her success in getting Cate to agree with her.  She had only ever done it once before at the party where she had met her, and that Mister Carrick, and Miss Vychtorya, and wasn't quite sure it would work.  The thrill of using her powers so well gave her a boost to her self-confidence, she could do anything, and pretty soon Uncle Nathan and Jemal might even teach her how to use her voice to hypnotize people, it was all so exciting.

The child giggled as she had her fingers licked by the calico kitten.  He was just so fun and huggable, although he didn't like Uncle Nathan or Jemal and would run away from them wheb they came into Sabrina's rooms.  The child didn't understand it, but she knew her kitten loved her, or at least she thought he did, he always stayed around her and in her rooms.  _Maybe Uncle Nathan knows why Spots doesn't like him or Jemal_ the child thought shrugging.

Succeeding in getting Cate to agree to playing brought its own problem however.  What to do?  Sabrina did have an awful lot of dfferent games to play, but she was able to choose fairly quickly, it was a game she had been wanting to play for awhile, but it wasn't dignified enough for her brother or uncle.  "Twister," she shouted out ecstatically, pointing at a large box on the bottom of the stack that was twice as tall as she was.

She ran over to it and tried carefully, however futile the effort was, to remove it without dumping the whole pile.  Her attempts were quite humorous as a 7 foot stack of games collapsed on top of her covering her.  The childs laughter echoed through out the room as she emerged from the pile with her treasure.  Skipping across the room, she set the mat up next to her bed in the largest area of free space in her room.  "I get to flick first." she said excitedly and matching actions to words she ended up with her right hand on red.


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## Festy_Dog (Mar 29, 2003)

Max gratefully accepts the knife, holding it away from sight between his arm and body.



> "If the $hit hits the fan, Maxwell, I have a shotgun.
> Would you care to borrow it? It's kind of a pain to carry around..."




Max's face lights up at the mention of a big gun.

"I'll gladly carry it around for you, it'll make things easier for both of us that way," he smiles broadly.

When given the shotgun he straps it over his shoulder and swings it to be hidden behind his backpack.

"Thought it might come in handy," he mentions.

_Nikolai seems like a pretty nice bloke. I'll get to kill some Sabbat and make some good allies in one night, lucky me._


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## Tory Adore (Mar 29, 2003)

Vych takes in the sites Jemal shows her. She is amazed at the beauty the city holds. As the wind continues to flow effortlessly over the car, she takes off the beret that holds down her hair as well as the leather coat and places them on the floor of the back seat hoping to feel the cold a little more. Then Vych looks over to Jemal, studying his face as the city lights flashed behind him.

_”_WE_ shall be quite the sight for them then, won’t we,”_
She lets her hand come to rest on the cold console between them.

At the mention of the word "club" by Jemal, it was hard not to start thinking of her own club's activities tonight, and why Carrick was being so secretive about his guests.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 29, 2003)

_Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002_

Caitlyn laughed at the debacle of the strewn game boxes, pushing her sleeves up smooth arms.  "Oh you get to decide everything, you think, little girl?" the singer teased with a mischievous wink.  "Well, I'll let you know that I happen to be a champion twister player...that's right, little missy...I'm very bendy _and_ I've got longer limbs."

One fingernail flicked the little arrow sending it spinning around in speedy circles.  "Your uncle and brother play this game much?" she asked, one hand on blue.  "I can't quite picture your uncle especially twisting it up.  Jemal, I can see, but not your uncle."

_Who knows?  Maybe naughtiness runs in the family...Jemal and Sabrina, why not Nathaniel...now isn't that a fascinating thought in and of itself._

Red...yellow...blue...blue...this was going to get pretty tricky pretty soon.


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## Shalimar (Mar 29, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Taking care to keep her small right hand on the large red circle Sabrina flicks the spinner with her left hand.  Left foot green.  She is confused about what to do, at least for a moment, the green circle was farther from the red then she was tall, and she could barely reach it.  She ended up in a push up position with her fingers stretched as far as they could go above her head.  The only thing holding up her small frame is her tiny fingers and the tip of her toes.

She grins up at Cate her tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth as if she is concentrating really hard.  "Uh... yes."  she answers slightly confused at the question.  Of course she got to choose, she was the one who wanted to play the game after all.  It was only naturaul for her to get her way, she always did, when she really wanted to, in the end.

"No," the child answers with a sigh, "They don't really play all thatt much, its kinda boring, and never twister, 'Its not dignified enough young lady'" she continues in an imitation of Nathan.  "But your here now, so we can have fun together."  She adds excitedly.


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 30, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"I hear you there," Caitlyn responded with a sigh, memories resurfacing briefly.  "My mom wasn't into the undignified herself - at least never unless it suited her for a purpose.  Never do anything unless it gets you something in return...that was her motto.  Living with someone like that doesn't really engender trust in people."

Her dark eyes twinkled as she glanced at Sabrina who she was trying very hard not to crush or hurt by falling on top of her.  The child was so small and fragile wasn't she?  "But I think you're pretty trust..." her words trailed off as she gaped slightly at Sabrina's balancing act.

Was that even possible?  What? 

Blinking her eyes as if to clear away what couldn't be possible, she put her left foot on blue.  "You're...rather strong for your age, aren't you?  Have you had ballet lessons?" Cate asked, rationalizing it away fluidly.


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## Shalimar (Mar 30, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"N-no ballet lessons,"  she answers with a slight pitch change at the end as if to ask why?  She knew she wasn't suppoused to talk about being a vampire, so saying she was super extra strong was probably a no no too.  Jemal had said it would be a really bad idea to tell anyone and that she would get in trouble if she did, she really didn't understand why.  She thought it might be fun to tell Cate all about it, but she had promised to be good.  At least thats what she told herself for now.

"Well, when its just you and me we don't have to be dignified you said, so we can hae fun together, just the two of us.  And I'd really love it if you came over when its not music lesson time, would...would that be ok?"  she asked Cate hopefully.  She flicked the spinner once more, this time her left hand yellow, though it didn't look like she could do it, the flicking had unbalanced her rather precarious position and she was swiftly falling.  The child really didn't want to lose, she knew she could catch herself if she had enough time, and apparently she did, time slowed almost to a stand still and almost like magic she was looking up at Cate from her back still suppourted by her right and, and left foot, but also now with her left hand(Celerity 1 bloodpoint).


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## KitanaVorr (Mar 31, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn felt like she must be falling herself - falling into the darkness of her mind if but for a moment at the impossible things she was witnessing.  Had it begun already?  But where was the music?  Wasn't it supposed to begin with music?  No, she mustn't succumb just yet.

"I...I'd love to come when its not a lesson time," the young woman spoke, a bit of confusion in her voice until she cleared her thoughts and flicked the arrow for her turn.  "I know how lonely it can be with just adults in the house and I'm not about to let you get sucked into their crazy world just yet."

She gave the little girl a wide grin, determination in those dark eyes that at least one child would get a chance to have a real childhood.  "I'll ask your uncle later if he'll allow me to take you on a few little trips - maybe some breaks from your tutoring?"


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## Ashrem Bayle (Mar 31, 2003)

Gabe quickly scaled the wall and dropped quietly to the other side. He immediatly sought the shadows and then waited patiently for his companions.


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## Catulle (Mar 31, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Gabriel's jump down left him quite alone on the other side of the high wall. Of the scourge, there was no sign. The memorial park, which had begun its life as a cheap place to fill with paupers' graves seemed, if anything, to have become more neglected over the years and he smell of wet earth pervaded the Tremere's first impressions. Foliage, grown thick and wild, overgrew the moss-ridden gravel paths. Stands of trees stood crooked, unkempt and ragged, casting twisted shadows. From the midst of it all, bleak markers jutted up from the earth as bones from a carcass picked dry, granite and concrete testaments to those that had gone to rot in the earth beneath.

The place had never been landscaped, just left to grow at the heart of Staten Island, a malignant, living-dead thing in its own right. The gates were visible even at this distance, picked out by the halo of lights from the kine's emergency vehicles. Another, lesser, light source shone faint and yellow from a shallow, tree shrouded valley perhaps equidistant from both the entrance and the coterie's point of entry. All was silent save for the scrabble of the others' boots on the wall behind him.


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## Catulle (Mar 31, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

A polite cough from the direction of the door broke the pair's reverie quite sharply, bringing mundane reality pushing back to the forefront. A smartly-dressed man, looking to be in his thirties and wearing an earpiece stood silhouetted in the doorway, his poise indicating some urgency to his state of mind despite his immaculate presentation.

"Madam, Mistress." His address took in both, though he kept his attention on Sabrina, the watery eyes flicking once to the twister mat laid out on the floor, "If tonight's lesson is concluded, your Uncle would wish the pleasure of your company in the upper study. Ms Tran is also invited, should she be in a position to spare the time."

The message relayed, the messenger stood awaiting further instruction. Mr Cooper, Sabrina recalled his name now, who was much older than he looked - but that was a secret she probably shouldn't let on about right now.


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## Shalimar (Apr 1, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina smiled at Cate's answer, she was glad that her friend wanted to do things together with her, maybe she would even want to do things together with Nathan too.  It would be really great and it would mean she was around Nathan a lot, wasn't that how people got married and all?  She decided to ask her brother later before she climbed into his bed before the sun came up.

"I would really like that Cate." the little girl answers.  She would have asked what kinda trips, but Mister Cooper's interuption was rather timely.  Sabrina was never really comfortable around the old man, he always seemed to be so disaprooving of her and whatever she did.  He always scared her just a little, she wished her uncle would just make him go away.

The little girl let out a sigh, there would be no more games tonight she knew.  She let herself fall, and in the motion she unbalanced the singer on top of her, causing her to fall.  Laughing lightly she helped the older woman to her feet.  "Very well, I'll be right up," she says trying to sound like Nathan when he ordered around the servants.  She looks at Miss Cate curiously, "Are you gonna come too?"


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 1, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn tumbled to the floor with a slight grunt before laughing at their predicament.  Smoothing down her skirt as she stood up (whoa and Sabrina was pretty strong for a child, wasn't she?),  she gave Mr. Cooper a half-embarrassed  smile at being caught playing twister when she should be giving Sabrina her lesson.  

Why had she agreed so readily to something like that?  She had a feeling  the uncle wasn't going to be too happy about that at all.  Inside Caitlyn couldn't help but feel guilty at not providing the service she should have...well, then this lesson would be a freebie.

"Yes, of course, I'll come with you," the young singer spoke with more uncertainty than she intended.  When her stocking feet touched the cold floor though, she realized with a start that she had left her boots in the music room.  "Um...right after we stop to get my boots?" she added, trying to brush the dust off her clothes.  "And put away your game."


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## Shalimar (Apr 1, 2003)

*Sabrina and Cate*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina rewards the singer with a smile when she agrees to accompany her to speak to her uncle.  Her dimpled smile starts to fade as she realizes Cate intends to pick up her game, that was for servants to do, not for friends._  This was just going to make everything take longer,_ she thinks to herself impatiently, tapping her slipper covered foot on the floor as she waits impatiently for the singer to finish.

"We don't have to pick it up, miss Cate, its not really important.  But we really should go to uncle Nathan when he asks, he likes people to be prompt." she says sounding like she has quite some experience with the topic.  "A lady should always be prompt and not keep people waiting too long."  she continued in a slightly husky voice that was obviously suppoused to be an imitation of her uncles. She taps her foot impatiently for another few moments before stepping over to Cate holding her hand out to woman, looking her in the eye.  "*Come* on, we don't want to make him upset with us do we?"  She asks putting a small note of command behind the word come(Dominate 1).


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 1, 2003)

Max offers to give the others a boost over the wall. When its his turn he is up and over the wall without a second thought, landing next to the others fairly quietly. He looks about for a moment, puzzled by David's absence, and shrugs.

_He probably just wanted a head start on us so he could ascertain what actions will need to be taken... Ah, a light, I'll bet that's where we're headed, unless we're just meant to search the areas without light. Meh, I'll ask._

"Think we should make our way over?" Max asks, indicating the distant yellow light, "Or are we sticking clear of lights?"


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## reapersaurus (Apr 1, 2003)

Nikolai blends in, letting the others take the lead.
He'll concentrate on listening and looking for signs of note to pass on to the others, with a pat of the hand to reassure himself of the machinegun's heft under the trenchcoat.


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## Catulle (Apr 1, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

(OOC - Sabrina - Command diff5 - 10,3,2,1 reroll 9 = 1 success)  

Sabrina's voice was as clear as a clarion call to Cate, cutting through the dissonance. How could she refuse? She was already a dozen paces down the carpeted hallway, hand in hand with the child, before she even finished the thought.


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## Catulle (Apr 1, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

With Max's aid, Nikolai was able to heave himself over the top of the wall into the dilapidated cemetery, though it was clear to the Tremere that he was more out of practice than he may have wished.

The other Kindred's statement almost threw Nikolai, for a little way to their left, in the shade cast by a disease-ridden elm, stood the scourge. He was watching the group of neonates with an appraising air from his shelter, though none of the others seemed to have spotted him.


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 2, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Her heart beat in that instant as if for that one moment she had stepped out of herself and into a song that took over every part of her being, moved her legs, left her floating across the floor tethered to the small child's hand.

_my name is Vychtorya_...such terror..._of course I don't want you to get in trouble, you're my friend_...that pixie face with that undeniable song..._come_...

Suddenly Caitlyn blinked and almost in shock found herself not within the pink paradise of Sabrina's room, but in the hallway with the child leading the way. The hallway that with each step of her stocking feet brought the chill up along her legs to dwell in the pit of her stomach.


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## Shalimar (Apr 2, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – Sabrina’s Room
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The child's bunny-slippered feet made small slapping sounds as they carried the little girl along through the suite as she led the asian singer along by her delicate hand.  The child led her singing tutor back through her own rooms and out along the main stair case.  As she led Cate through the house it was easy for the older woman to get a sense of the dignity and history that the family suite possesed.

The little girl led Cate through room after room filled with ornate antiques, museum worthy art pieces, and even one room filled with swords and armor and other things of a historical military bent, each possesing the Montague family crest.  The differences between Sabrina's pink paradise and the rest of the house was rather profound.

The child didn't even hesitate when she finally reached her uncle's study.  She pushed  lightly on the doors and they swung open swiftly.  She marched her way right up to her uncle still dragging the hapless singer.  "Lessons are done uncle Nathan,"


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## Jemal (Apr 2, 2003)

(I think it's been kind of agreed that we don't want to do 2 'club' scenes right after another, so I'll just skip that first one by doing this)  : 

As they left the club, Jemal laughed again and put his arm around Vych's shoulder.  That had been quite a fun half hour, but now he had to get Vych and himself to another little party, one that his beautiful friend seemed to be rather anxious and expectant about.

"So would you like me to take you home to change before we head there?  I doubt there is anything in your wardrobe that could possibly make you look any better... after all, you're practically perfect as you are, but I'm not sure quite what the expected dress is going to be, do you?" The young kindred asked as he held open the door for her and then moved around to his seat after closing it carefully behind her.  
"We should do this more often, I have GOT to get away from those books more."  Jemal grinned at his lovely companion as his inner party-demon.. which he'ld tried so hard to supress during college... was finally getting a taste of fun, and didn't want to go back into its dark hole again.


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## Tory Adore (Apr 2, 2003)

Laughing with Jemal as they exit the club, Vych follows his lead and wraps her arm about his waist as they continue to the car. 

As she places herself comfortably in the Mustang, Vych answers with a blushing to her cheeks and a smile,
_“How is it that you make me blush so? That was very kind of you to say, but the dress tonight will be relaxed, and this sweater just won’t do. Picture a steamy Moroccan paradise.”_ 
She glances down at the white angora plucking it off her chest letting it fall back against her and then looks back up to Jemal. 
_” For now I live above the club actually so we can head straight there. It won’t take but a moment to change, and everything else is in place and ready to go at my command. Whatever you desire or request shall be provided for you.”_ 
Vych says as she does a little middle-eastern flourish to help get her in the mood of the party. Her fingers touch her forehead, then her lips, next her chest, slightly extending an open palm nodding her head in Jemal’s direction and finishing by placing her hand gently on the console between them.

_” I would like to get out more too. Starting this club has kept me way to busy I’m afraid, and I have yet to explore New York. This was definitely a great start! I love people, to dance, to go for drives, parties and clubs, and it seems I have gotten them all this eve. You showed me some very beautiful sites tonight Jemal. Thank you.”_
Vych smiles wide and turns her body back into her seat resting her head back as she runs through her mental check list making sure nothing, not one thing, is out of place or hasn’t been taken care of. Thinking to herself as her smile fades from her mouth, “I hope this evening goes extremely well. It just must…it has to…for Carrick.”


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## Catulle (Apr 3, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The two elders within had moved to more comfortable seats, on opposite sides of a great, empty fireplace. Carrick was already looking towards the doors by the time they opened, softly bumping against the retainers in the still of Nathaniel's sanctum. The air inside was warm, despite the lack of visible heaters in a way which made Cate feel quite drowsy considering her exertion.

In Caitlyn's wake, and perhaps six paces behind, Mr Cooper stepped quietly in behind the mortal. He assumed a ready position by the doors, yet managed to keep his eyes averted from the group.

Nathan stood as Sabrina rushed him, putting out a hand to his niece, and affording her a thin smile. "I trust that the lesson was both educational and pleasing," he began, as his hooded eyes swept up to ensnare Caitlyn's, "the first of many, Ms Tran?"

(OOC - Carrick man/subterfuge vs Sabrina and Caitlyn per/subterfuge - 7,7,5,4,2 vs 10,9,9,4,3 and 5,2; Sabrina nets 1 success)

Carrick remained seated, his expression indistinct though the Toreador, as ever, radiated a kind of quiet confidence. To Sabrina's eyes, he seemed a little _more_ intent on Caitlyn than she expected, and as she was sure his eyes shifted momentarily, becoming unfocused and dilated as if dreaming, while Nathaniel continued.

"I feel Mr Ashton and I are now adequately prepared for some later business. If you are unengaged, Ms Tran, you are most welcome to accompany us out for the evening. In fact, I would consider it a peronal honour." He looked down again from the singer back to Sabrina's tiny form, "I also think that you and I should speak awhile before we depart, do you not, Sabrina?"


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## Shalimar (Apr 3, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina smiles brightly as she takes her uncle's hand.  "Yes, we had a whole lot of fun.  It was really really great.  She said she'd come to my party too, isn't that great?"  She asks positively bouncing in excitement.  

Her heart-shaped face was positively flushed with excitement.  She was going to get to go out with Nathan and Carrick wherever it was that they were going, and Cate was gonna go with them, could things get any better for her?  She had thought that this would be the end of the night for her, Nathan hadn't taken her out since she had become a vampire, except for the party, and that had been special.

She wondered where Nathan and Carrick were going to take her and Cate, and the thought drew her attention to the Toreador.  She thought he was just a little bit weird, and that wasn't helped by the look he was giving Cate.  "Please say you'll come Cate, please?" she pleads with her best needy puppy look, one of the child's most valuable tools.  

Her uncle's belief that he and she should speak was a little disconcerting.  She hadn't reall meant to use her disciplines, it just sort of happened.  But maybe he didn't know, she thought brightly, maybe he just wants to tell me about my party, and she could ask him all about how she had made Cate do exactly what she said.  The little girl nodded in agreement that they should talk.  She released te hand that she had pulled Cate along with, and stepped in closer to her patriarch.  "Up please."  she said trying to get him to lift her up in his arms.  She knew people didn't yell as much if they were holding you.


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 3, 2003)

Max looks around for a moment further, making sure David wasn't there.

"Did David say anything about going ahead of us or something?" he asks the others, "I thought he'd stick around with us, but then again if he assumes we're capable enough on our own thats all well and good. Where do we want to go people? My suggestion is that we head down towards the weak yellow light over there, ascertain the situation then try to find David before we attempt to deal with any nasties who might also be here."

_But what if we don't find him, how do we deal with the nasties then? If its lupines I doubt we'd need permission to kill them, plenty of assistance but not permission. Two teams of two, and Nikolai was kind enough to loan me his shotgun. We're fine and I guess the others have their own means. I mean, a sword cane, where on earth could you get one? I thought they were just in movies and stuff, heh, like they were too kewl for real life. On the other hand, you could say being a vampire had nothing to do with 'real life'. If we're putting down wild animals I need not worry about controlling myself. Thats a relief._


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 4, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

That pale aristocratic hand reaching out for the child jumpstarted Caitlyn's mind from its hazy fog, recalling an age-old poet to her mind.

_This living hand, be conscience-damned -- see here it is -- I hold it towards you._

Now why had she thought of that particular poem?  And that particular poet?  Why had that come to mind as she watched Nathaniel Montague.

And then those eyes trapping her with their piercing gaze, asking a question that for a moment she couldn't find the answer to.  "Many more lessons, Mr. Montague," she agreed distractedly.  "But this first one  is free, a taste of what shall come."

But then his request took her by surprise.  Come with them?  Why did he want her to accompany them?  Personal honor?  Only the barest hint of a rose hue tinted her skin at his words.  Was this what Jemal was hinting at?

As soon as Sabrina spoke though, Caitlyn's attention immediately riveted on the child's face, swelling in her mind with the song and the words.  It was starting to be too much...why did her head feel as if it had been pulled, pushed and spread in so many directions tonight?

"Yes, I'll come with you," the young woman agreed, finding it difficult to say no to both the child and her uncle despite her reservations.  

Was this a sneaky way to try and get her be the child's babysitter while the two men caroused?  If so...Cate felt her streak of stubborness rising.  If so, employer or no employer, Nathaniel Montague would get a few choice lyrical words from this songwriter.

Or maybe she could ask him for a favor in return.


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## reapersaurus (Apr 4, 2003)

Nikolai thanks Max for the boost, and lands down from the wall, thinking to himself, "_Sheesh - and back in the day, I used to be strong enough to climb pretty much anything.... although climbing was never my _thing_.
I'll have to 'work out' some when I get some time from my studies._"

He looks around him, quickly spying David hiding within the cloak of Obfuscation's bosom, he surmised [Kindred Lore].

He surreptitiously acknowledges the scourge's presence with a wink/gesture, while taking a moment to absorb the atmosphere and surroundings - 
the dilapidated graveyard was quite the sight, the spooky atmosphere a perfect foil for the night's sense of dread and foreboding.

Nikolai replies softly to Max, "I'm sure that David will meet us on the way, if he wishes to.

Maybe he wants to see how we do on our own?

I think your suggestion is sound, Maxwell.

But it's not *that* weak of yellow light..." 

Nikolai walks 'point', peering thru the gloom, ears piercing the quiet, sniffing on the breeze.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 4, 2003)

Gabriel, a step behind Nikolai, and only a step ahead of Legba. He had his cane at his side, one hand on the "sheath", the other on the hilt of the blade ready to draw in a moment's notice.

Like those of a feral animal, Gabriel's ice blue eyes glimmered in the dim light. He walked softly, taking in his surroundings.

_Why would David skip ahead?_ 

His grip tightened on the sword's hilt. He knew enough about the Sabbat, first hand, to know that they could be walking into a very deadly situation.


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## Catulle (Apr 5, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The scent of decay was on the air, they could all sense it as the sharp, crisp breeze carried the smell towards them. Nikolai could taste the bittersweet rot on his tongue, feel the cloying hand of death about him. It emanated, clearly, from the valley that lay, silent, before them.

As they moved, Gabriel became aware of another presence, flanking the coterie's movements. He was about to react when a shaft of weak moonlight revealed the scourge's features for a fraction of a second, paralleling the neonates' movements, knife in hand and crouched low. It looked as if he would remain a little behind Nikolai, but far to the group's left. All semblence of human mores had fled from the Malkavian, now, and he moved like an animal in the night; swift, silent and predatory.

Nikolai could hear every rustle of his group's movement, the creak of Max's boots, the near-silent rattle of the sword concealed in Gabriel's cane - everything. Too-loud, but still softer than the harsh breathing coming from the figure stood by a portable light in the midst of the valley. The impurity and wet echo to the sound testified to his recently having been sick.

The graves in the dip were in total disarray, torn up here and there as if by force majeur, bones strewn across the charnel-field and parhaps a dozen corpses in a variety of states of putrefaction and integrity ripped free of the earth, to lie exposed and naked on the bloody earth. A bare tree stood in the midst of it all, and in drawing closer, a man's form was hooked to it, branches forced hard through flesh and muscle alike; one bloodied bough protruded from his chest and had been broken off.

A portable light threw illumination up onto the tree, as a figure dressed as a police officer cast it upwards, towards the body that hung there. His posture radiated unease, and such was his concentration that he paid no heed to the approach of the Kindred.

Above the victim's head was hung a wooden plaque, lettering indistinct in the shadow. Lodged in the tip of the broken branch, and sprayed red with blood, was a single white rose.


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## Catulle (Apr 5, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Free? But, dear lady, it would be churlish of me to refuse this gift yet at the same time ingratious of me not to extend my thanks for the favour you have shown my house. You have me in quite the quandry." The ghost of a smile graced Nathaniel's mouth but briefly. "Now I must insist that you accompany me out this evening; it is the least I could to to repay my family's debt to you." At Cate's acquiescence, the gentleman's poise softened to a more relaxed stance, as he extended that cool hand to take hers. The smile returned, warm where his flesh was not and he added with a bow of his head, "I thank you."

Carrick's gaze returned to focus as Sabrina watched him, and a whisper passed his lips at that moment that only Sabrina, by virtue of her height, was in a position to hear, "Bright star! Would that I were as steadfast as thou art...". He glanced across to Sabrina, and the smile he gave her was tinged with the hint of a deeper, painful death. The Toreador's eyes lead her own towards her uncle, and he raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Would that I could walk the mind, Sabrina. Things would be so straightforward then."

It was then that Nathaniel picked the child up, bringing her to his eye level as Carrick rose as well. "We must take some time together now; there are things you must know about tonight's company. And of other matters" Her uncle's tone at the second part did not indicate his pleasure.

(OOC - Carrick Awe - 7,7,5,3,2,1 - 1 success, affecting Caitlyn) 

Cailyn found Carrick by her side, the sharply dressed man's casual confidence was infectious after a fashion, and the smile he threw her simply radiant. "I think it's time to take our leave for a moment, don't you? If you'd like to accompany me to the drawing room, I think I could find us a little something to drink..." He offered Cate his arm, "And you must tell me about the fortunes of the Kindred - Vychtorya was really quite taken by your performance at the bar and grill and I think you've a fan there."


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 5, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Nathaniel's hand touched hers and Caitlyn could feel the warmth of her skin leech into his, affording it a bit of heat merely by contact and chilling hers in return to her heart but none of that appeared in the soft smile on her lips.  The poet's words came upon her again -- not conscience-calmed - but certainly damned as she had first thought.  And yet she did not want to let him go, only doing so reluctantly when he moved to pick Sabrina up.

Her mouth opened almost in automatic response to Nathan's tone of displeasure, feeling  a sudden need to defend Sabrina -- perhaps a note of that song ringing in her ears and melding her with the child's own uneasiness pulling her so. But then suddenly Carrick Ashton was there and the music that rang with him troubled and exalted her all the same.  

_This strong music - this beautiful and beauty making power._

Caught within the infectious song that rolled along the handsome features of the  man beside her, Caitlyn felt herself being pulled away from Sabrina's allure.  But unlike the sweet purity of the child's song, this man's, though beautiful, weaved within it the uneasy strains of the memories - strains that connected him with Vychtorya Farychyld gaze -- and tainted his desires.

Yet she placed her slender hand upon his arm as she dismissed the thought, enthralled with his infectious song.  How could she think those things of someone who seemed so nice?  And yet it stung in swift strikes, darting in places when her mind wasn't occupied by Carrick's music -- reminding her that something was wrong.

"Yes, of course.  I'd love to accompany you." _Maybe a drink is what you need to put your thoughts in order -- or maybe not such a good idea_

At the mention of Vychtorya's name, Caitlyn's fingers tightened on Carrick's arm as the terror began to roll over her in faint memory _my name is Vychtorya... remember it...it would behoove you not to dismiss me thrice_  Whatever color she had on her cheeks from thoughts of Nathaniel vanished.

"I don't believe she..."  Caitlyn could not bring herself to say that name for fear of the return of the memory of that awful gaze again."...shares that opinion."  Why did it frighten her so?  Her voice continued on unsteadily as she forced her mind to focus on something else -- on her cold feet.  "Please, could we go to the music room first? I left something there."  Her fear gave way to embarrassment.


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## Catulle (Apr 6, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Whyever might you think so?" Carrick's expression melded into a genuine semblence of surprise, then mollified to simple empathy "She spoke most highly of your artistry, to be blunt." He walked in silence a few sparse moments, keeping his own counsel briefly. His attention was fastidious, yet avoidant at the same time. Concern tinged with discretion, perhaps? "Of course we might. I'd be glad to accompany your way there."

_Or worse than foe, an alienated friend?_


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 6, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Max tilts his head to one side at the gruesome sight, trying to interpret the meaning of such a pointless and repulsive deed.

_Well, not often you get to see this in real life. They have all of eternity to expand their minds and evolve into a higher state of thought and what do they do? They go digging up corpses and messing around with them! To think that we need permission to kill something that would do this... Heh, without the effect of movies and computer games I might find this sight disturbing. Kinda funny that, I wonder if I'd vomit if I was disgusted by this? Hmm, so many others cannot eat but why can I? Simple explanation: I got the ability from Morgan, but where did she get it? Something worth time studying. Anyway, back on task... That lone officer could very well be a sitting duck for any Sabbat here, which also makes him good bait._

Max keeps a firm grip on the knife, and looks to the others.

"We could wait for our culprit to reveal himself. Lie in wait around the perimeter here so we can nail him if he goes after the cop," He whispers, "I'm sure you people would have better ideas though."

He waits for other suggestions, flexing his grip upon the knife, anxious for the opportunity to open up a Sabbat.


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 6, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

While her footsteps took her to the music room and hopefully to her warm boots, Caitlyn remained silent with his silence, thoughtful with his thoughts until she managed to shake her own thoughts free of his allure if only for a moment.

_Purblind doomsters strewing blisses as well as pain_

"Perhaps, but she made her true opinion of me very clear earlier." Swallowing that memory again, forcing it behind her, Cate ordered her mind to different thoughts other then the cruelty of the woman's words.  Was Carrick going to force her to speak about what had happened?  She hoped not.

"So where is it that you two are whisking me off to tonight?"  she asked with a smile, her own fingers resting lightly against his arm.  "Some place fun and cheerful, I hope?  Nothing too dour and formal?"  Her pert nose wrinkled slightly at the thought of going to another formal party.


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## Shalimar (Apr 7, 2003)

*Sabrina Montague*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Nathan's strong arm's lifting her up could never fail to make her feel safe and happy.  It was like there was no way for anything to go wrong, he wouldn't let it.  She knew she was safe from everything in his arms.  He always was just so in control, he could do anything, and he really did love her, she just knew it.

Once Carrick and Cate had left the romm she gave him a curious look, "Uncle Nathan, me and Miss Cate were in the music room and miss Vych gave us a really mean look and miss Cate got very afraid, was that a vampire power too?  Making people afraid just by looking at them, can I... can I do that too?"  she asked curiously.  The little girl leaned her head against her uncle's shoulder looking up at him from her perch on his arm.

"Ooh, and geuss what! Guess what uncle Nathan.  Miss Cate wan't coming with us right away when Mr. Cooper said to, she wanted to clean-up first.  But I said 'come' and just like that she did exactly what I said, and it was like she was in some kinda trance, it was very weird.  Is that what you and Jemal do?  Is it?  Does this mean I can use that dominate thing on people too?"  She asks rapidly sounding like a small semi-living machine-gun.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 7, 2003)

Gabriel dropped low at the sight of the police officer. _What in God's name?_ It looked like some of the Sabbat's work. Though it wasn't like them to play with corpses. Usually it was the living they enjoyed tormenting.

He squinted his eyes to get a better look at the plaque. What did it say?

It was good to know that the Scourge was still with them. He wondered if he had ever seen anything like this before.


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## Tory Adore (Apr 8, 2003)

Vych, sure that everything is in place after going over her mental check list, places a call on her phone as they roll up to the curb in front of Antiquities. _”Sasha, I am back and with a guest.”_ 

The building itself is of a rather plain peach-colored stucco with no windows showing. There are two doors on the front of the building. If the doors were shut, one would see a single mahogany-stained door to the right side of the building front, and a double door out of the same wood but located dead center; both covered in a red Arabian style canopy. 

The door in the center has an impeccably clean red carpet flowing down the steps along with the canopy to the curb of the street and three handsome valets await their duty at a small covered service desk. The other door is lined in red ropes and has two bouncers and a woman with a clipboard. Multitudes of people are slowly moving forward hoping they will be the next selected to enter. 

Above the doors stands a grand, lighted, malachite-looking sign reading “Antiquities” in an ancient scroll type lettering with a red rose sprawling the length beneath it. 

A fairly tall, striking blonde woman dressed in a short, black skirt with knee-high boots and waistcoat with beret is at the curb. Vych gives a slight gesture with her head and eyes for the woman to open Jemal’s door first. She opens his door and holds her hand out for the car keys, 
_”Sir, I shall be taking Vych’s car to the garage. Do enjoy your evening here at Antiquities.”_

The blonde moves around the back of the Mustang to Vychtorya’s door and lets her out as well.
Vych says, _”Thank you Skye. I would expect Carrick as well as his guests to be arriving within the hour. Should any guest be early, please ring me in the penthouse immediately.”_

Vych holds out her hand to Jemal, wiggling her fingers excitedly, 
_”Come on. I’ll give you a quick tour of my club before I have to change clothes.”_ 

They walk the red carpet beneath the canopy to the center doors where a stocky, shorter man greets them. _”Ah Vych, and good Sir! Sasha advised me to let you know she has your wardrobe ready so please take you time with your guest.”_

The large heavy doors swing open to the inside revealing the foyer. From inside looking back as the doors close, one would see highly polished brass-lined doors reflecting the light coming through the stained glass entrance to the club. A man and woman tastefully but scantily dressed in vaguely Egyptian attire open the amber colored glass doors with an inviting flourish to reveal the club and its music and merriment within.


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## reapersaurus (Apr 8, 2003)

Nikolai's blood runs cold... colder than the grave... at the scene displayed before him - almost framed as if by a twisted painter, the boughs of the tree canopying the bodies twisted in the cold earth.

His senses revolt against the sight, his nostrils filled with the stench of The Thing's handiwork. He is overcome with thoughts of the Past, and how the object of his undying hatred may well be the perpetrator of this inhuman Work. The unwelcome memory of his Victoria's life being taken... her blood spilling from her as it stained the ground beneath him as he cradled her... wells up inside him. He fights to maintain control, setting his mind on the Here and Now - this chance to have his Revenge, after all these years of Hunting.

Hand on the machinegun in his trenchcoat, Nikolai concentrates his vision on making out the scrawling on the wooden plaque, while he delves deep inside his vampire nature to focus the Power of his blood in preparation of What May Come.









*OOC:*


 Higher Purpose edge in play for actions in this scene, I'd guess?
Blood of Potency - one blood point spent, Willpower roll for successes (12 dice?)


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## Catulle (Apr 8, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Once Caitlyn and Carrick had swept from the study, the hitherto motionless Mr Cooper trod carefully out, pulling the panelled doors shut with him. Despite the lack of sound, Sabrina knew the man would be waiting, patient as a statue, on the other side for just so long as Nathan wished him to do so.

The stay in her uncle's arms was a brief one, as he settled her down quickly in the vast leather hollow that was his study chair. The elder Montague perched himself on a corner of his desk, expression quite serious as the child related her news, his eyes bearing close scrutiny to every inflection in his niece's speech.

"Yes Sabrina. All of these things and more are part of the Montague blood. Ventrue blood, at least. Blood which you no longer share." His eyes studied, probed, and though his face gave nothing of his mood away, Sabrina was aware of a slight chill creeping into Nathaniel's tone, before he let out a sigh "But for that, at least, you bear no responsibility. The shame of the thing is done, but if what you say is true there may yet be hope for you." He paused to smooth back his loose hair from his scalp, though his eyes never left the girl.

"It is considered... crass... to use the blood's gifts so freely. It is akin to using a shovel to swat a fly, for it tells our kindred that you are not sufficiently controlled to accomplish your goals without brute force, be that of personality or physique. To do so on Elysium as you did that night Calebros spoke would be most dangerous. You, we all, were fortunate that you were noticed doing so only by your family... and their closest allies. Do you understand this, Sabrina? Or need I be more explicit?"


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## Catulle (Apr 8, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Carrick's laugh, pure as a note rung from cut crystal, seemed to break the tension that was forming in the movement, dissipating the building cacophony. "She certainly follows the passion of the moment; I doubt any discord will be lasting. Then and now are such different things to her, you see, and the ghost of the past is easily banished." 

His smile broadened at her reflection, one eyebrow crooking upwards in a mockery of surprise. "Yes. To more cheerful things; I think _formality_ is the last thing you'll find at Antiquities."

They rounded the corner, and stepped into the music room. The percussion of the gentleman's leather soles on the wood parquet floor rang out to Cate as he strode across to the window. "The view's quite spectcular from here, isn't it? I always feel that from this distance one can sense the city as if it were alive itself; even beneath the patina of all of those who eke out their existance here - something bigger than all of us, but part of us all..."

(OOC - Carrick self-control  - 10,9,4,3 - clan weakness overcome) 

Carrick seemed to lose his focus for a moment as he stared out of the window, overcome by the sensations cast by the neon-lit metropolis, before turning to look at her with a rather appologetic crease to his forehead. "It's hypnotic, sometimes. I am sorry."


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 9, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn listened to Carrick speak while, withdrawing further into herself.  His words about Vychtorya Farychyld unsettled her in many different ways.  She wanted to please him...for some inexplicable reason...and her inability to do so distressed her but she remained silent.  What more could she say on the matter?

Again she felt the distinction, the separation when she entered the Montague home.  Of shifting into disparate identities, of becoming less than equal, a servant who could not speak freely.  And yet plagued by people who on one hand demanded familiarity and yet dispensed condescension with the drippings of their words.

A grief without pang, void, dark, and drear...so stilfled and drowsy but she was passioned!  Deep inside, the passion wanted to be let free but there was no outlet here in this cold world, no relief in word, or sigh or tear unless she was with Sabrina - the pure child whose motives she could trust.

Slipping on her boots, she ran her fingers against the length of the leather as if the cold could ease her troubles.  Was it a mistake to agree to enter deeper into this world?

When he spoke again about the view, she answered him, but her voice held a note in it - a soft musical ring that seemed to echo across the lights of the city.  The music touched her as she glanced out again, swelling within her soul and pouring into her voice the edge of passion, of emotion so wrought that it threatened to overpower her.

"The city is alive...with music.  There's harmony in every sound from a whisper to the blare of every horn, art   in the hollow cheekbones of a crack addict and in the perfect ones of a fashion model.  The city breathes into  us and we are a part of its vastness."

Then her voice dropped to a faint husky whisper with a hint of frustration in its depths.  "I want to capture it in a song...but I can't seem to find the right words...the right melody...it all seems so infinite and yet so intimate at the same time."


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## Shalimar (Apr 9, 2003)

*Sabrina Montague*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The little girl let out a small sigh when her uncle put her down in the chair, she really loved it when she was held, and she knew that it was more difficult to punish her or even just to be mad at her if he was rocking her in his arms.  Her face continued to fall at the seriousness of her patriarch's expression.  

_Did he... did he just say I.. I'm not part of the family anymore.  _  she wondered her lip trembling in fear, _does that mean him and Jemal don't love me anymore?_ she wonders helplessly her eyes filling with crimson tears.  "You...you don't love me any more."  she cries out, her tiny frame seeming to sink in on itself, and at the same time its racked with sobs.  "Why... why don't you love me anymore?" she asks between hicuppy sobs.


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## Catulle (Apr 9, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - the Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

His eyes still staring out onto the city, Carrick's reply came as a soft murmur, barely audible even in the stillness of the music room, "I think a hundred years' experience would yet fail to do this city justice." He broke from the sight with a reluctance which Cate could feel as if through heightened empathy, turning to the singer with a wistful sigh. The smile had faded from his lips, but was now reflected in his eyes "But that wouldn't stop me from trying, nor do I think it will stop you, Caitlyn Tran."


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## Catulle (Apr 9, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The elder all but blanched at Sabrina's reaction, and for a moment it appeared as if he might reach out to comfort her with a touch, salve away the pain with an uncle's caress...

It took all of Nathaniel's potent will to keep him rooted to the spot. In an uncharacteristic lapse, he found himself chewing on his lip, and put a stop to the motion as swiftly as it had begun.

"Look at me, Sabrina." The urgent tone conveyed the gravity of the Ventrue's concerns, "And know that you are still a Montague. Alas that you are not Ventrue also, but I _must_ choose to believe that this can be mollified, if not remedied. These outbursts of passion must cease - they are the hooks which our enemy has set to tear our house apart! They are the legacy of Brujah worming its way into your soul. Let discipline be your guardian where Jemal or I cannot be, and be aware that while you remember your family, so will we remember you."


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## Catulle (Apr 10, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The harsh chill of the air cut them again, bone deep, now. The temperature was dropping, and they could see the steam of the policeman's warm breath rise to the heavens with his every mumbled utterance. He was praying, Nikolai realised, a note of  faith in his voice that was aowed entirely to desperation rather than conviction. A deathbed conversion, as it were.

As his clanmate focused, Gabriel could see the scourge moving around in a wide circle to roughly the point at which a path had wound towards the cemetery gates; the flagstones had been torn up and piled to one side. Something, he realised, was crushed beneath the weight of the makeshift concrete cairn. Something that had been alive, to judge by the dark stains on the chipped slabs. By the time he looked up from this latest discovery, there was no sign of David. He could surmise that the witness' line of escape was cut off, though.

Through the blood, Nikolai could discern the grain of the wood used on the sign beneath the peeling off-white paint, and make out the rust on each link of the chain that had held it, wrapped tight against dead wood, to be nailed atop the tree.

He could see words daubed upon it in blood, and bitter memories dragged him backwards in time. That night. This night. His percerptions of reality blurred about him and, as he struggled to reassert himself, the Beast raged.

(OOC - Nikolai self control - 9,7,4,1 = 1 success; good for a single turn before checking again)


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 10, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - the Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

A very faint smile danced over her lips.  "Would that I had a hundred years...I would spend it all in the pursuit of this perfection.  Its the pursuit, not the attainment that gives our life meaning after all."

Her fingers trailed along the edges of the grand piano, cold wood against warm skin.  "Its in the creation of something that is immortal that makes our mortality even more precious.  For why would we strive so much if we knew we had forever?  We'd become jaded, deluded, lazy...we'd lose that spark of life and exist only as faded memories of our former...our spectacular selves."

Dark eyes met Carrick's with a strength that flashed with her vibrance.  "That's why music...why art is so precious.  It captures that instant...that essence of our souls and let's it live in so many nuances...indefinitely."  Strains of mozart tinted the air as she let her fingers run over the ivory keys.  "And so you're quite right...death won't stop me...as long as my music lives forever."


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## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 10, 2003)

Gabriel, realizing that there was no escape for the unfortunate police officer, decided to put and end to him so they could further study the sight.

His cane at his side, he stood up straight and strode partially into the light. He made sure his face was still shadowed. There he waited until the officer saw him.

"A fine mess you have here," he said quietly. Gabriel's raspy voice was just loud enough for the cop to hear.


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## Shalimar (Apr 11, 2003)

*Sabrina Montague*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The child continued to cry hysterically despite her uncle's attempts at calming her, perhaps even because of the words.  Telling a crying child that she wasn't suppoused to feel emotions had never worked in the past, and definitely wouldn't work here.  Sabrina was an 8 year old, and even had she not been of the hot-blooded Brujah clan, her extreme youthfullness was simply not up to the task of keeping her emotions in check, not that she wanted to in the slightest.

Sabrina uses the red kercheif that Vych had given her to wipe away some of the crimson lines from her face.  What he said about not using her powers was really confusing to the child, why should she be given them if she was meant to use them?  She also knew that Miss Vychtorya got to use her powers on Miss Cate, so why can't I? the child wondered.

"Thats not fair," she says in answer to her uncle, still sobbing with a note of anger starting to enter her voice, "Miss Vychtorya uses her powers on Miss Cate, so why can't I?"  she asked with her face set in very suspicous lines.  The child instinctually reaches out with her ability to cause awe, wanting more then anything her uncles acceptance and love.


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## Catulle (Apr 11, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - the Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"We would strive out of love. Eternity need not seem so very long, compared to the myriad of experience the world has to offer. Just see what's come about this past century... and think what the next might bring. Here, in this city, and across the globe humanity is waking up to its destiny - a new renaissance in science, in art and in society. Doesn't it make you want to see it all, weave that together in your mind..."

His voice trailed off, though the spark of the passion with which he had spoken hung in the air between them. Carrick closed his eyes and stepped back to place his back against the window as Caitlyn started to play. Viewed from the piano, he seemed to hang suspended in the air above the city.

"They say that art killed Mozart, too. Van Gogh died mad and the state ordered Socrates' demise." He sighed softly as he tilted his head back to rest on the cold glass, "exegi monumentum aere perennius."


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## Catulle (Apr 11, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

(OOC - Sabrina Awe diff7 - 9,8,4,2 = 2 successes) 

This time,  Nathaniel did reach out to the girl, offering her his arms to pick her up out of the chair, scooping the tiny weight up and holding her to him. When he spoke, he mollified the natural harshness of his voice to a dry calm that echoed Sabrina's sobs.

"Sabrina. Very little is fair in this world. Caitlyn... Ms Tran, is mortal, and as such outside the world of our Kindred. Vychtorya is the childe of an elder of high standing, and a different standard must apply." He looked about to add something else, but perhaps thought better of it. The pause lengthened almost to discomfort, before he continued, "You are my neice, Montague despite your Brujah blood, and I would raise you by my standards. To use our disciplines is a sign of desperation, of action required where finesse has failed. The wielder disrespects his -or her- chosen target, if that target is Kindred, for by swaying their mind, he or she has effectively deemed that target beyond reason. That insult may prove lethal in our society over time."

He shook his head, and with the gesture, his long, unbound locks partly enveloped Sabrina, a flowing cloak of dark thread. She could smell him all around her, now. "With mortals, the kine, the matter of finesse still stands, the matter of giving offence less so; our first commandment, laid down five hundred years ago by Mr Ashton's ancestor, demands secrecy. To interfere too much with a mind too quickly might bring a mortal to the point of suspicion - or madness. Neither is an acceptable state of affairs, and I would look poorly indeed upon any who assailed that girl's sanity in the knowledge of her actions' consequence."

He gave a smile that fell a little shy of reassuring, despite his likely intentions. "I could command your obedience and enforce it through my will, or sway you to my cause through mastery of my clan's disciplines. I will not, however, because you are worthy of better treatment than that. Others, you will find, are less deserving. It saddens me to say that you will generally find them amongst the Brujah that created you, and I hope you will not fall to their base instincts."


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 11, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island
Wednesday 11th December, 2002*

Max tries not to focus on the sight before him, lest he gain full comprehension of the horrors.

_I'm a vampire, a desensitised one at that, why won't I let myself take a closer look? Because the cop's there, thats why, yeah..._

Max sees Gabriel approach the policeman, and decides that he'll be safe enough with Legba standing guard here.

"I'm going to check the perimeter," he whispers to the others, "Nikolai, wanna come with?"


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 11, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - the Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn smiled slightly, letting her fingers trail over the ivory keys in lulling melody...drifting through Mozart into something else...something that seemed to echo her thoughts.  "Didn't he also say 'Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero'?" she answered with a half-dreaming tone.  "What does one care about what you can see in a hundred years or more when you have so much here to weave in the present?"

This room, this beautiful room, a prison beyond her wildest dreams.   A slow sigh echoed from her lips. "I admire them...Mozart...Van Gogh...Socrates...because they lived and they died for their art.  In that short amount of time what wonders have they created!"

Her long black lashes closed over delicate cheekbones as she let her music pull her into that part of her she loved the most.  The one that drifted above the world and within the stars of creation.  "Do you think that if they could live to see the years...that they would have created in such earnest?  I think it's when the Angel of Death hovers above you that you work at your very best.  That feverish moment when there is nothing to lose...and yet _everything_ to lose that you are at your pinnacle. Quod me nutrit, me destruit."


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## Jemal (Apr 11, 2003)

> ”Sir, I shall be taking Vych’s car to the garage. Do enjoy your evening here at Antiquities.”




For the first time in his life... or his unlife, Jemal wasn't noticing the new pretty girl, save for a glance and a nod.  "Of course, thank you." He said as she let him out of the car.



> Vych holds out her hand to Jemal, wiggling her fingers excitedly,  ”Come on. I’ll give you a quick tour of my club before I have to change clothes.”
> 
> They walk the red carpet beneath the canopy to the center doors where a stocky, shorter man greets them. ”Ah Vych, and good Sir! Sasha advised me to let you know she has your wardrobe ready so please take you time with your guest.”
> 
> The large heavy doors swing open to the inside revealing the foyer. From inside looking back as the doors close, one would see highly polished brass-lined doors reflecting the light coming through the stained glass entrance to the club. A man and woman tastefully but scantily dressed in vaguely Egyptian attire open the amber colored glass doors with an inviting flourish to reveal the club and its music and merriment within.




"Nice place... very different, I like it." Jemal says as he takes a look around.  "I spend so much time up above that I forget that beauty can exist down here, but that's something I'll not be forgetting for a long time." He glances at her as he speaks.

"So do you have any idea whatsover what this suprise is going to be tonight?" Jemal asks casually


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## Shalimar (Apr 12, 2003)

*Sabrina Montague*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina's tears finally halted for good, or so it seemed to her uncle as he lifted her gently into his arms.  As always his hair cascading around her, tickling her cheeks couldn't help but make her giggle.  To her way of thinking, everything was right in the world now that she was being held and hugged, it might also have had to do with her uncle's not being mad at her too.  She learned her head into the hollow of her uncle's shoulder.

"When I met mister Carrick at the banquet he said I looked like someone,  who was she talking about."  Sabrina asked her uncle curiously, the question brought to the surface by his prescence in the family apartments.  She rubbed her face along his cheek like a cat scent marking her territory.

She looked up into his hair-obscurred face, with a slightly serious look, "Uncle Nathan, you like miss Cate don't you?  I think she likes you too, I really do.  You 2 should get married so I can have a mommy like Kaitlen does."  she says with an imperious nod of her head, naming one of her friends from school.


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## reapersaurus (Apr 12, 2003)

Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *"I'm going to check the perimeter," he whispers to the others, "Nikolai, wanna come with?" *



Nikolai absently responds with a perfunctory " No thank you - you go on ahead."

He fights back the feelings to make out the words scrawled on the teak.


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## Tory Adore (Apr 12, 2003)

The amber glass reflects beams of golden light as the handsome pair opens the gateway for Jemal and Vych to the fun that lay beyond. Music thunders out into the foyer and bass beats heavy into Vych’s chest making it feel as if the muscle that should be a heart is beating again. She can feel the excitement rising in her. She nods her head to the familiar tune as she slaps her hand against her black leathered thigh, making an interesting smacking sound when her palm hits a curve just right. She slips her other hand into Jemal’s as she steps through the threshold saying in a voice loud enough to be heard over the music, 
_”We have all different types of music…and people for that matter too. You name it, we will more than likely have it – hard rock to techno, classical to gothic. Our DJ has an assistant that logs requests, and he tries to get them all played by the end of the night. You never know what you might hear, although there is no country in my club. It grates in my head – can’t stand it at all. Sometimes we have live bands, acrobatic and dance shows, magic shows, and more. Tonight’s will be quite unique I must say.”_
A wide-eyed smile comes to light her entire face at the thought of what’s to come. 

Click here for layout of the club

Vychtorya guides Jemal throughout the club, proudly pointing out different areas as they progress.





Click here to take a virtual tour (3.3 MB)


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## Catulle (Apr 13, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Distracted by the gruesome scene, the officer didn't react while the Kindred approached, stepping carefully in the spaces amidst the fleshy ruin, until Gabriel's voice ground away the silence. He spun to look at the Kindred, snapping up the light as he did so and the glare stole the neonate's sight for a clutch of seconds, leaving ghostly afterimages spinning across his vision. "How'd you get in here? Who in the hell are you? Don't come any closer." The man was close to, if not already on the verge of panic by the tone of his voice, but in his near-blind state, Gabriel couldn't make out the details of his face.

(OOC - Max dex/stealth vs Brandt per/alertness diff7 - 10,10,10,4 vs 6,5,4,2,2 = 3 Max nets 3 successes; Max per/investigation diff7 - 9,8,7,5,2 = 3 successes) 

Maxwell was quick to take advantage of the diversion Gabriel provided, skirting the small space and crouching behind any and all available cover as he worked his way aroubd and about. His path took him to the broken paving slabs, heaped together by the side of the path. The putrid-meat stench was overpowering in any event and only intensified by his proximity to the earth and its exhumed charges. Dark liquid stains were apparant on the concrete, and oozed out from under the pile, slowly now, as if in the process of clotting. There wasn't - couldn't be - space for a person under the heap, or rather, not for an adult... Realisation began to crystalise in Max's mind, a chilling knowledge that made the winter wind seem inviting by comparison.

(OOC - Nikolai self-control 7,6,6,6 = 4 successes; frenzy averted)  

The heat of the memory subsided, yet in setting it aside, was Nikolai rejecting _her_..? The thought was almost enough to spark the beast to action again; it roiled once and was still, for the time being. As Nikolai had expected, dreaded and hoped for all at the same time, the verse was written in blood; spidery-thin letters that were difficult to make out on the wood to the naked eye. French, this time, or a dialect thereof...

(OOC - Nikolai int/linguistics - 7,6,6,5,5,4 = 3 successes) 

While he couldn't read the language perfectly, his experiences in the romance family lead him to a creeping conclusion; through the metaphor of the first stanza, the poem spoke in the second of the danger of a love that started only to protect and ceased to nurture, of obsession turned lethal.


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 13, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island
Wednesday 11th December, 2002*



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "No thank you - you go on ahead."




Max nods.

_He seems pretty focused on the crime scene, he's probably looking for something in particular._

"Back soon, cyas all," Max flexes his grip on the knife again, reassuring himself of its presence.

He proceeds to carefully to skirt around the crime scene, trying to remain out of sight while looking out for threats to the group.

_I hope whoever did that has left, then again I wish they were here. If I look at it positively its a win-win situation... kinda..._

He comes across the pile of stones, and within a matter of seconds has added together his observations about it. His expression turns to shock and he looks away from the hideous cairn.

_Dear God! Who would do this?_

He tries to vomit but fails in his lack of stomach content. Staring into space while bent over, trying to get over the the thought of what lies beneath the pile. He takes a deep breath, then continues around to get back to the others.

_I hope there's nothing else like that._


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## Catulle (Apr 13, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - the Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Carrick had tilted his head to one side, casting Caitlyn a measuring glance as she continued to both play and speak. His attention was caught somewhere between the two, though he appeared to miss not a single note of either.

"Of course. I should have mentioned Marlowe. I'd be inclined to the view that those particular men's tempraments, rather than their genii, were disposed towards self-destruction. Look at da Vinci and tell me he had time to fulfill even a half of his potential; look at Buddy Holly, or Aaliyah to take a more contempary example." He brought up a finger to his lips and tapped it against them as he seemed to formulate his next line of reasoning. After a few moments, he relaxed his posture with a shrug.

"In any event, I can't think of an artist who achieved their best work on their deathbed, after all. Ultimately, art is perception, is it not? And if we could alter our perceptions, deny death and all its effects upon the human psyche, wouldn't that affect our art - perhaps take it in a new direction?" He laughed again, the light tone melding perfectly into the overlaying music. "Of course, since nobody can take that step, we'll likely never know."


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## Catulle (Apr 13, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Well, that's better, is it not?" Nathan's voice retained its reassuring tone as he smoothed out Sabrina's hair with a slender hand. "Mr Ashton knew... he knew your mother, once. Before you were born, when she was a young woman and I was considering offering her the Embrace. He knew how much I wanted to give her eternity, and I belive his perception was correct; you are very much akin to her in a number of ways." His eyes strayed from her's casting across the empty room and when he next spoke, the soothing edge had left his accent, "Not only for the fact that in both your cases, my goals have been frustrated."

At the child's observation of Caitlyn, Nathan gave her a thin smile, "I fear my touch is a corrosive thing of late. If Elizabeth knew, or were to suspect... I couldn't be responsible for what would happen to that girl."


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## Catulle (Apr 13, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The press of humanity filled the floor, booths and tables of the club with a wash of heat. Warmth that emanated from the blood that flowed just beneath the surface of all of the Kine, and the vibrant pulse of the music echoed the beating of the hearts of the masses. The swirl of humanity could have been the surge of the city's heart, even, so wide was the range of the patrons; a tide to pull them under, deeper, into the living ocean.


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 13, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - the Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Her silvery laughter echoed in the music room, weaving its sound with the soft strains of Mozart.  “Perception is everything, but would the new direction be any better than before?  If we could have the power to ask those artists…ask them after that moment of death determined by the fates, what would they say?  Do they really have more to give or was what they had given the only bright star they had left?  Made all the more brighter by its short life, no matter what their attendant spirits may be inclined toward?”

“Plato believed that the soul exists separate from our body before and after death, that it is immortal.  And perhaps if you subscribe to that theory then there is yet a chance for art in immortality.  But I believe that birth is but a sleep and forgetting.  The soul that rises with us would be imprisoned in a body immortal to whither away with time.  Can you create true art without soul?”

Her eyes open to rest that dark vibrant gaze upon the man by the window.  “Even the sonata echoes that belief.  The opening _Allegro_...hear the vigor of that life.  My fingers can’t keep up with the operatic resonance in its tone.  And yet in the middle, the slowness enters as age dawns up on that soul.  The second movement comes with slowness but no less passion, I agree, _aria de capo_.  And then a dance in the third movement to greet us, a minuet of a soul’s release?  But the finale, yes that is the true telling tale.  It is but a shadow of the beginning, reminiscent of the first movement but only a coda that trickles into silence.”


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## Shalimar (Apr 13, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina listened intently to her uncle as his hand played gently with her hair.  _At least he isn't mad at me anymore,_ the child thought with a grin, happy at seemingly getting her own way.  The girl was momentarily saddened about hearing about her own mother's demise, but she didn't know her, she had never seen the woman, she was just an abstract, and the child wasn't very good at wrapping her mind around the abstract when what she wanted, Cate or someone like her as a mother, was very stract indeed.

"Oh, I geuss that okay, does that mean mommy was pretty?  And I am going to look like her when I get bigger?  And who is miss Elizabeth?  Is she a bad person?"


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## Tory Adore (Apr 14, 2003)

Vych leads Jemal, pointing to the right as they walk amongst the throng of humans dancing, talking, propositioning, etc – 




_”There is seating all over, but if you aren’t a fan of fireplaces, I would not recommend the lounge over there. The patios are to the right as well, but you can get to them without entering the fireplace lounge. We have 4 bars and a full service restaurant that serves dinner from 4:30pm until 8:30pm prior to opening the club each night. Well, except for Monday when we are closed or when we are closed to host special parties.”_ 





Moving forward to the curved staircase, it is quite apparent that two very large men dressed in all black are standing guard. Vych continues talking as the burly, well-built men step aside not saying a word, to let her and Jemal pass and ascend the stairs (1.5 MB),
_”This area, the mezzanine, has been reserved for Carrick, us, and his other guests tonight. While the drapes can be pulled to eliminate some of the sound from below, it really isn’t too terribly sound proof. It just allows one to hear a bit better during conversation. I had some of the booths and tables up here re-arranged to form that fairly large booth over to the left for a little more privacy and noise reduction. The bar up here will not be functioning tonight however. For our special guests’ “personal tastes”, anything needed or requested shall be provided over here in the VIP room.”_ 





Vych moves forward to the right toward the VIP room’s closed mahogany and brass lined door at the back of the mezzanine area. She punches in a passcode on a keypad to the left of the door and easily pushes it open letting the heavy door automatically close behind them. It was rather surprising at how little sound entered the room from the club once the doors were closed. A large, 12 top table is set up in the center of the room with curved fabric covered booths hugging the walls. In the left back corner stands a large beautiful fern and plant-covered fountain.

Gesturing to the back right of the fairly large room to a door matching the one they just came through with another keypad to the left of it, Vych starts _”My office is just over there beyond the dance floor.”_

Vych checks the time on the keypad. Then while punching a code in, she looks back over her shoulder to Jemal and says, 
_”I’m glad we got here when we did. I should have more than enough time to change and get back down to the club before Carrick’s first guest arrives. Would you like to come up to the penthouse for a drink?”_

The barely noticeable split in the wall opens to reveal a green marble and mirrored lined elevator, a golden handrail, and a single red rose etched in the floor.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 14, 2003)

Gabriel lifted his hand to shield his face from the light. In doing so, he shadowed his face once again. "I am just passing through officer." With his other hand, he made a sweeping motion. He could have been indicating the cemetery, or maybe it was the other vampires hidden in the dark. "I have many friends among the dead."

As he looked at the mortal before him, he called forth the arcane forces that resided within the blood of all kindred. Magical energy infused his vitae, intensifying his bond to the progenitor vampire.

The whites of the Tremere's eyes flushed red with blood. His blood almost hummed with the power coursing through it.

OOC: Blood of Potency


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## Catulle (Apr 14, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - the Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Would the new direction be any better than before?" Carrick's voice trickled off into silence, a protracted pause as he shadowed Caitlyn's sentence with a smile dancing across his lips.

"It sounds as if you advocate _not_ plumbing new depths of feeling, not scaling new heights of innovation; each point in counterpoint to the creative spark. Is _that_ truly living? Or is it an illusion of life? Each experience teaches us something new, a perception that we do with as we please. But though, your powers outreckoning, you hold you dead and dumb... If you'll pardon the allusion, that is."

"Even the analogy of the star reflects fear to my ears; better to burn out than to fade away, yes? You promulgate a terror of failure in that sentence belied by your talent, if I may make so bold." His gaze was penetrating, now, though still not unfriendly. A compassionate analysis of sorts, perhaps.

(OOC - Carrick Aura Perception diff7 - 10,9,8,5,4,3,1 reroll 'motives' 7 = 3 successes; bright aura, main emotion, aura pattern)


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## Catulle (Apr 14, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina felt a tension in her uncle's arms as she asked the questions, and he aborted the reply he was first to give. It was unusual to see him at a loss for words and, briefly, quite shocking. He recovered not unreasonably, keeping his tone level throughout, though the child could detect the old strain returning behind Nathaniel's composure. His eyes reflected nothing so much as pain intermingled with deep shame as he maintained eye contact with her.

"Elizabeth is wicked, and has made you what you are presently. Because of her action, you will grow no closer to your mother in image, as I have not aged a single night in two hundred years."


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## Shalimar (Apr 15, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina seemed oblivious to the tention in her uncle's arms as she balanced herself precariously with her tiny arms around his neck holding heself to his chest.  Her mind was just whirring away at the new information Nathan's answers had provided her.  _Well if she made me what I am that means she is my vampire mom, so shouldn't uncle Nathan like my mommy?_ she wondered, knowing uncle Nathan never told her everything.

Her tiny nose twitched pixie-like in curiosity, at her uncles dislikeof the woman who should be so important to her.  "Uncle Nathan, if Elizabeth is the person who made me a vampire, doesn't that make her my mommy?  So why doesn't she live here with us?  And how did she do it?  I mean in all those books and movies a vampire just bites someone and then they are a vampire too, I bite people, how come they aren't all vampires too?  I mean it would be nice to have someone to play with.  So, can I meet miss Elizabeth?" she asked in her lilting sing-song voice.  She seemed totally oblivious to the part about not aging, she was simply unable to comprehend it, and truly didn't want to, she would probably never accept it until it was rubbed in her face in a few years.


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 15, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Soul in soul reflected, the two breathed an ethered air.  Perhaps made stranger or stronger with the way time seemed to stand still and hold them tethered above the petty world below, adrift in the stars of the skyscraper.

As he watched her aura, the colors shifted from orange to a deep purple only to be fly into a vibrant green before growing colder into silver and warming into gold.  The pattern shifted with the music, with the emotions that rose and fell within her in a pattern resembling the Aurora Borealis.

"You're incorrect.  I do believe that."

Fingers continued to dance over the ivory.  "Innovation, creation...that's all that matters.  To achieve it is the true perfection in our world of imperfection.  But sometimes we don’t have a choice.   Sometimes we are given riddles that would make irony itself crumple with laughter."

"Sometimes we are left to wander between two worlds, one dead, the other powerless to be born, with nowhere to rest our heads."  The song  slowly comes to a gentle end while her slender fingers remained on the keys now warmed by her touch.


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## reapersaurus (Apr 15, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *As Nikolai had expected, dreaded and hoped for all at the same time, the verse was written in blood; spidery-thin letters that were difficult to make out on the wood to the naked eye. French, this time, or a dialect thereof...
> 
> While he couldn't read the language perfectly, his experiences in the romance family lead him to a creeping conclusion; through the metaphor of the first stanza, the poem spoke in the second of the danger of a love that started only to protect and ceased to nurture, of obsession turned lethal. *



Nikolai's mind literally freezes when he pieces part of the poem together.

He twists inside like a worm on a hook, becoming visibly pissed off at the suggestion his novice French can glean from the inscription.

Angry at himself for not studying French when he ALMOST had done so years ago, opting instead for Italian (what ancient tomes of power are written in FRENCH, anyway?  ).
He half-heartedly makes his presence unknown to the police-bloodbag, while simultaneously looking around for a variety of things (in order):

1) The immediate presence of the Thing that caused this Scene.
2) Record exactly what words are on the wood. Either write them down, or take the wood, or find someone amongst the group that reads French..... well.
3) Start Investigating the scene, collecting a picture of what went on here, who/what the principals involved were, etc.
Of particular note to Nikolai would be any PHYSICAL evidence around the scene of the Thing that caused this (i.e. hairs from It, flesh under fingernails of It, etc).

Nikolai would hiss under his breath to the group - "Look sharp, gang.

If the thing that did this is still around, we'll be in for a real Fight.

I figger."


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 15, 2003)

.


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## Catulle (Apr 15, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

At Gabriel's movement, the officer dipped the light from the Tremere's face. He set the heavy battery-operated lamp on the churned ground. It cast a bone-shadow over the hanging form on the twisted tree, and for an instant the image was fleetingly christlike; the beatific and the monstrous commingled as blood on the soil.

(OOC - Max dex/stealth vs Brandt per/alert diff7 - 7,6,2,1 vs. 9,9,9,5,5 = Brandt nets 2 successes) 

"Just stay where you are, sir." The officer was bringing his service pistol up to a cautious covering position, reaching for a clip-on radio with his left hand, when the motion from near to the cairn behind him caught his attention. Without taking his eyes away from the shadow-shrouded figure before him, the human took a circling step  to widen his field of vision. "Don't move. Either of you. If you come with me, we can get somebody to help you." Nikolai could make out the cold sweat trickling from the man's brow and the tremble in his hands. They could all hear the tremour creeping into his voice, that of underconfidence born of a sense of doom. Fight, or flight? Nikolai, too, moved in the darkness.

(OOC - David/Nikolai/Legba Auspex diff8 - 8,4/8,7/8 = 1 success each) 

To the three gifted of the sight beyond sight, it seemed as if the moment took forever to happen, the squeeze of the trigger as the gun pulled towards Max occurred, to them, as if time had dilated about the whole scene. Every sensation came stronger of a sudden, and threatened to overwhelm them.


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 15, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

_Sht_

Max hears the officer call out towards him.

_Better go along with this, but can't let him get a message to anyone else, at least until we're gone._

He slips the knife into his pocket discreetly as he turns to face the cop, bringing his hands up to shoulder height for the cop to see.

_Hope he doesn't realise thats the sling for a shotgun across my chest._

"I'm with my friend here," he says calmly, "I thought you'd noticed I was here but doesn't look that way. Sorry for scaring you like this, I was just looking at the stack of stones here. This is all prety freaky."

He laughs nervously and shrugs while his hands are in the air.

_If I'm quiet I could take him down, non-lethal-like, but I just gotta get closer. I better wait to see if we can resolve this with words before go all light-speed on his mortal butt._


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## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 16, 2003)

Gabriel peered deep into the cop's eyes. "Give me the gun," he said. 

OOC: Dominate


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## Catulle (Apr 16, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

As the heavy door leading away from the press of humanity swung to a close, Vychtorya's attention drifted on the tide, coming inorexibly to rest, for all of a second, on the hispanic features of a petite woman entering the lounge. Something in the way she moved called out to the young Toreador, and there was an echoing sensation of familiarity beneath the smooth symetry of the newcomer's bone structure. The snap of the doors' clasps broke the reverie that was her sire's legacy, and Vychtorya was free to pursue the path she had selected for herself and the charming Ventrue.

"I'd love a drink. Thank you." Jemal's eyes lingered on Vychtorya's throat a little longer than perhaps was his intention as he spoke.

The elevator was cool compared to the club, and the air cleaner for the absence of the crowds. Still, a sterility pervaded the atmosphere in the cubicle that could not help but cast the mind back to the swell on the dancefloor.

The doors glid soundlessly back, and the appartment beckoned them in, proffering safety at a comfortable distance from chaos. The pair of statues cast their shadows such that they crossed, finely sculpted faces looking towards the couple of Vychtorya and Jemal.

Faces...

That face...

Her.

The answer to the earlier riddle came rushing at Vychtorya as the planes of the sculpture's face resolved themselves in her mind's eye into the animated form downstairs. The swirl of her senses threatened to carry her away again, but she could assert control with little exertion.


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## Catulle (Apr 16, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - the Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Carrick's face assumed an enigmatic facade as Caitlyn delivered her response, caught in the instant of contemplation or reveling in a moment of clarity was uncertain.

"That you disbelieve me is obvious; that you are free to express that disbelief and represent your insight is vital. _I_ think, Caitlyn Tran, that your perceptions are limited by experience - as are all of ours." His features reflected concern, now, rather than the arrogance his words might have conveyed. "An attempt to harness both worlds of inspiration, to create a perfect synthesis, could be the key to artistic greatness or to great ruin. What matters is the strength of character one puts forth. Or so I'd like to believe."

_She did not know..._


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## Catulle (Apr 16, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Nathaniel tilted his head back to gaze up towards the room's ceiling, eyes straying from Sabrina for the first time as he forced  a breath out needlessly, grappling for purchase in the face of uncertainty.

(OOC - Nathaniel per/occult diff8 - 10,9,9,1,1 = 1 success; burns 2 willpower to resist Awe) 

When he returned his face to the girl in his arms, he looked at her with a sharp intensity, eyes that cut to the soul. Hardened eyes. "I _suggest_, Sabrina, that you never attempt _that_ again in the presence of your elders. Elizabeth is nothing akin to us; alien to our ways and barbaric in her attitudes. She is irrational and hates our blood with a loathing filled with  passionate intensity. She would destroy Jemal given half a chance. You, too. Do not become like her, despite the temptation that now runs in your veins. That you - we - cannot afford." His voice had returned to its normal harsh edge, "Do you understand?"


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## Shalimar (Apr 17, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina's eyes sparkled in curiousity as Nathan looked away from her.  When the older man finally returns his gaze to his niece, the girl cringed, her pink clad form pressing further into his shoulder, the jig as they say, is up.  She knew that tone of voice he was using, it was his tone for when no really meant no.  It was a tone for do what I say or else... and in the child's case that meant spankings.

The child looked confused at what her uncle had told her about Elizabeth, "Uncle Nathan, why does she want to destroy us?  I don't want to even hurt anyone, thats not very nice." she says, her beautiful blond eyebrows furrowing in confusion.  Her eyes very wide, "I'll be good, I promise." she says actually meaning it this time, she truly didn't mean to cause her uncle hurt with her questions, its just he never understood what would make him angry at her.  She really did want him to love her just as much as she loved him.


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 17, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite - the Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn sighed for a long contemplative moment and then smiled at him, the first genuinely warm smile she had given him since they met.  It lit up her dark eyes and brought a pink hue to her cheek bones.

"Strength of character means so many different things depending on who you speak to.  Experience is just as fleeting.  If we live to see a thousand years, who's to say that a newborn babe cannot hold more wisdom?  Sometimes the older you become, the easier it is to lose the basic truths that even a child holds.  So perhaps experience can work against you."

Standing up, Caitlyn clasped her hands behind her back, weaving a relaxed path to the window.  She stood there beside him, gazing out into the beauty of the city at night.

"Even in great ruin...there can be great artistic perfection.  Wouldn't it then be worth it...worth even being damned...?" One dark eye winked teasingly at him.  "...damned arrogant?  And if we're going to parry words like this as if we were old friends of Socrates...will you please call me 'Cate' and let me ask to call you by your given name?"

A dark brow arched slightly.  "Of course you can always call me 'Impertinent' but 'Cate' has one syllable to four."

_He doesn't know..._


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## reapersaurus (Apr 17, 2003)

Nikolai tries to simultaneously look prepared for action, yet deferring to David's lead in the situation at hand.

Just a look, if the ranking vampire catches his gaze, as if to say "I'd jump in if it was needed..."

He makes sure to stay out of sight, yet Dodging any sound and fury spewed his direction.


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## Jemal (Apr 17, 2003)

"Your place is amazing, Vychtoria, Very befitting." Jemal said as they moved  "I love the decor, it just seems right.  Where are these statues from, by the way?  Very interesting."


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## Tory Adore (Apr 17, 2003)

Ticking her head slightly to one side, a contemplative wrinkle presses its way into Vych’s brow as her eyes dance for an instance on the woman’s graces. Vych starts to say something to Jemal, but the start of her voice turns into a sigh as the door clasps shut.
_“Hmm.”_

She hears Jemal agree to a drink, which reminds her she must get upstairs and get ready. Vych steps into the elevator, leans in the corner, arms stretched out, hands grasping the cool golden metal, with her legs slightly crossed at the ankles waiting for the doors to open to her home.

Stepping out into the foyer, Vych punches her pass code and the heavy brass and mahogany doors open revealing the sculptures. 

Click here to see penthouse floorplan.

Answering Jemal’s question she says proudly, 
_”Carrick commissioned them.”_ 

Her eyes move to Jemal as she speaks in the sweetest of voices.
_”The one on the left is of me…before my embrace actually.”_ 

Looking back to the sculpture on the right, Vych walks forward reaching her hand out to touch the face of the exquisite female form.                                                   
_”I love this piece. This one is of Carrick’s Si…Sire….”_ 

Vych’s words trailed off rather quickly as the image of the woman downstairs melded with that of the sculpture, tempting her control. She thinks to herself, “no, it…it couldn’t be…could it?”

Shaking free of the image, but definitely not forgetting it, Vych says as she steps behind the bar placing a finely cut crystal goblet on the counter,                                               
_”I know it is very rude of me not to give you the grand tour. But I do fear I may have misjudged the time, and it is a must that I change straight away. Please feel at home here and look about at your leisure.”_
                                                                                                         Vych leans on her elbows on the green marble counter top with her chin resting in the palms of her hands, 
_“So, what might I get the handsome gentleman to drink while he waits?”_


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## Catulle (Apr 17, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

(OOC - pre-round David burns 1 blood for celerity, sneaks to flank dex/stealth vs Brandt per/alert diff7 - 9,6,5,5,2 vs 10,9,7,4,4,1 = 0 successes) 

The shadows' movement and the sounds of more arrivals promised only greater danger to the harried officer; on the edge of panic, he succumbed to instinct - it all unfolded, almost as the Sight had revealed as he brought the gun around to bear on Max. Spurred on by fright, he glanced to check on the nearer man as he squeezed the trigger...

OOC - Initiatives - David 15, Gabriel 12, Brandt 10, Max 9, Nikolai 8 (Max burns 1 blood for celerity) 

The scourge was by his side in a rush as he cut in from the opposite side to Gabriel, a black-bladed knife already in hand, he seemed to come right out of nowhere.

(OOC - Gabriel - Mesmerism diff5 - 7,5,5 = 3 successes); Maxwell Awe diff7 - 9,6,6,3 = 1 success affecting Brandt 

Gabriel's voice echoed across the small valley, an authoritarian crack to his accent which commanded respect. The policeman deftly spun his pistol about in his fingers, presenting the Tremere with the grip as his eyes reflected outright terror. Terror only briefly allayed by Max's overtures, and intensified by the appearance of David's knife across his exposed throat.

"Drop the radio."

The cop did so, gasping for air in deep, panic breaths as the predators closed in. He gazed imploringly towards the young Brujah approaching him.


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## reapersaurus (Apr 18, 2003)

Nikolai sees the scene play out before his horrified eyes, and the memories in his brain he tried desperately to lock up fly free like a Pandora's Box - 
Seeing the hapless human's plight in the face of vampiric powers brings his past screaming to the surface as insistent as a banshee.

The feelings of being helpless.
The feeling of being manipulated by someone else's will - of your control being swept away like a child's boat in a rapid - of your best mortal intentions being dismissed by a freak of nature that should be long dead and gone.

The strong similarity between Nikolai's mortal experiences and one of New York's finest becomes too much for him - he bends to one knee while witnessing The Blood in use, his hand clutching at his forehead, wishing he could claw his eyes out, if it would remove the memory.

His cool, submissive demeanor cracks completely, and he cries out, addressing the night in desperation and a vain hope that the cause of his pain is near enough to hear (_the bastard_):

" You sick fu¢k!
You manufactured this, didn't you?!
You get off on twisting the knife, eh?

Why don't you come out of the shadows you slink around in and let the "Puce Poseur" show everyone the "Art" he can play on his own kind?!! "

Nikolai's senses on full, he grasps his submachinegun, ready to fire at anything in the yard of graves that responds to his outcry.


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 18, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Max looks blankly at the police officer, crossing his arms he is about to say something when he hears Nikolai scream something.

_What the fck?_

Max looks about himself, trying to see what Nikolai is looking for. Assuming Nikolai has the situation covered, whatever it is, he turns back to the cop.

"You were seriously going to shoot me weren't you?" he asks, then shakes his head.

_Well, it seems they fixed the situation before I got a piece of the action. I'll hold the fort while they can look around._

He removes the knife from a pocket and walks around behind the police officer. Max then holds the officers arms behind his back with one hand and puts the knife against his throat with the other.

"You stay still and quiet now," he says, "My friends need to look around."

Max indicates to the others the general area of the crime scene with a nod of his head.

"I got this covered," he says.

_Ha, as if I'd actually ever hurt the guy. If we can just keep him scared that would be enough. I really should've brought duct tape or something. Hehe, hog tie a cop, that'd be funny..._


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## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 18, 2003)

Gabriel reached for the gun, took it, and felt it's weight. He slipped it under his coat and looked back at the policeman. "Thats a good lad."

He cringed suddenly as Nikolai let out his screams. He spun, blade in hand. Looking around he saw nothing other than those he expected to see. 

"Is there a problem?" he asked calmly. _Great. A fine time for him to crack._


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## Catulle (Apr 19, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The sigh that Nathaniel let out bespoke a weariness borne of history. He shook his head, and returned his attention to Sabrina more fully.

"Her bloodline, the Brujah, are a petty rabble who have fallen far from their former state of grace. In the Second City, it is said they were noble scholars, rulers, and the peers of the Ventrue clan themselves." The irony as heavy in the elder's accent as he spoke these last words, "Yet they grew jealous of the respect which the Ventrue commanded, for while the Brujah were well-regarded they were feared by the people of the time for their savage furies; bloody frenzies fuelled by the passions I warned you against. So the Brujah did what comes naturally to them; they raged and warred and tore the first society apart. They birthed the first anarchs, also, who try to live outside our laws and scrape out paltry existances in the barrens. In time, they were brought to heel, and accepted their place in the Camarilla but ever since there have been those of the Brujah who revel in the torment they can inflict on Ventrue. Some, such as Elizabeth, are more active in this pursuit than others."

Nathan smiled back at his niece, "And truly I believe you. Be wary, though, for the Brujah blood within you may try to pervert even that nobility of spirit; twisting it to the destruction of our house." He settled her back into his armchair, rebuttoning his cuffs and shirt collar as he moved across the room, confident and unshakeable once more. "Now, would the young lady desire another drink before we continue with the night's diversions?"


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## Catulle (Apr 19, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"It's the mission of the artist, surely, to capture a mote of that experience, laying it down for all to see who desire its insight. The more proficient the artist, the greater the range of perceptions, of experiences, are communicable in a single piece. And the greater the experience of that artist, the more likely this scenario becomes. The idiot savant is, I fear, the exception rather than the rule."

Carrick stood slient for a moment, framed alongside Caitlyn in the bay of the window, the rush of the city's colour highlighting her reflections. _Great ruin, indeed._ He nodded with a solemnity his face betrayed to her final comment. "Then Cate it is. And might I hope, you call me Carrick?"

_How but in custom and in ceremony are innocence and beauty born?_


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 19, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Faint amusement.  "You hope not in vain."

Her finger touched the cold glass, tracing  Carrick's reflection almost absently.  Now that was interesting...the juxaposition of someone else's faint song onto the soaring opera of the city.  Would it work?  Or was it destined for disharmony?

_duo yu de ye zhan zhuan bu neng ru mian
er feng suo de gou qu que chen ji chong yan_

Granted beauty, yes, but yet not beauty to make a stranger's eye distraught, or his before this looking-glass...such beauty made beautiful overmuch might consider beauty a sufficient end.  The reflection certainly was less powerful than to look into such a vivacious man direct, but it remained interesting...the juxapostion.

_she fang de xin zao yi bu zai an quan
pai huai ce di beng kui de bian yuan_

"Carrick," she spoke, her voice a little unsure at the sounds of his name echoing in the room wrapped in the strains of her lyrical voice, but her unease settled as she continued.  "You speak so eloquently of art, but you told me once upon our first meeting that you rarely ever appreciate it.  Why so?  You seem able to appreciate my music so readily tonight."

_kan bu qing shi zi ji
ming tian yao ru he ji xu_

_wo yi jing mi wang zai zhe ye li_

A dark brow arched slightly and the laughter curving on her lips seemed echoed in her eyes.  "Does this mean that you believe that I am capable of achieving such a mission that you have set forth for all artists?"

_Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!_


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## Shalimar (Apr 20, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study[/b]
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina's train of thought was completely derailed by her uncle's wholly unexpected offer of a second drink of blood, she had never been fed twice in one night.  Not being one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, the child readily agreed, but she did remain curious as to his generosity, normally if she had been bad she would be punished, not rewarded.  That didn't stop her from trying to figure out her good fortune though (whats the roll? empathy + perception?).

The child rewarded her patriarch with one of her brillint smiles as a reqard for his generous offer.  "May I please have some more to drink uncle Nathan?" she asked as politely as she could, not wanting him to point out her manners twice in one night, not if it might influence him against giving her the offered vitae.

As the child waits for the rest of her supper she goes back to her train of thought that her uncles offer had interrupted.  "Uncle Nathan, if Miss Elizabeth is naughty, shouldn't she be punished?  That's what a prince does right?  Punish the bad people?  So since that scary mister Calebros isn't prince anymore, you can be prince and punish her, and me and miss Cate can be your Princesses."


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## Catulle (Apr 20, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The smile Jemal gave Vychtorya was as enthusiatic as his attention which continued to roam the immediate surroundings, lingering here and there on the lavish decor. He walked across to stand opposite her, both their images reflected in the polished marble. The Ventrue neonate licked his lips again and threw her a wink, wise to the game this time.

"You'll have heard we Ventrue are difficult to please, so far as tastes go... Why not surprise me; see if you've my measure by now." His eyes sparkled in the light cast over the counter, and he turned his head to examine the room again. The scent of his aftershave lingered faintly and not unpleasently, overlaying as it did the blood aroma her mind was already supplying in anticipation. "Do you know her well? Your grandsire, I mean."


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## Catulle (Apr 20, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The gun's prompt disappearance into Gabriel's coat left the officer bereft of any kind of confidence, taking large, panicked gulps of air He would have dropped straight to his knees had David not supported his weight, the broad-shouldered Malkavian taking the brunt with a single arm keeping his right free with the knife. As Max got closer, David cast him a level, eye-to-eye glance, before ceding the cop's care to the younger Kindred. "What are you?" He whispered as Max kept him secure, his undead strength easily subduing the mortal's desperate reflex struggle. The fight seemed to leave the captive entirely once Max returned to his field of vision. David nodded once and stepped back into the shadows, walking in the direction of the main entrance.

As Nikolai's challenge echoed out across the still night air, a single small figure darted from its place of concealment some twenty meters away from the site itself. In a rustle of withered leaves and the scrabble of dirt and twigs the childlike form took off at a run straight away from the group of Kindred. In the wan moonlight, it seemed a feral thing barely recognisable as human and streaked with filth.


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 21, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002



> _originally posted by Catulle_
> "What are you?"




"None of your concern, but if you want you could think of us as private investigators of sorts," Max says, and chuckles a little.

He sighs and looks at the mess before them.

"Not exactly your average open-shut case eh? People'll be wanting answers for something of this scale," he says casually to the cop, "Good luck to ya."

Max looks about, watching his comrades go about their business when he sees the response to Nikolai's challenge.

"Uh-oh," he says, speaking sternly to the police officer now, "Stay back, we'll deal with this."

Max releases the officer from his grasp and steps in front of him to face the small figure, knife on hand.

_Better not underestimate this thing if it did all this._

His mind strays back to the pile of stones and he shudders.

_Wait, Nikolai already knows this thing! How? When? Its obvious he hates it, maybe a vendetta... Is this that murderer Nosferatu?_

"Uh-oh," he repeats, and clenches his fist around the knife, trying to psych himself up for the coming fight.

[ooc: Max will use Celerity if a fight ensues and try to take out his opponent with the knife, if he gets hurt pretty bad though he'll fall back and pull the shotgun. He will only use it if given the all clear by David. Also he'll try to protect the mortal if he ever comes under threat of attack.]


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## reapersaurus (Apr 21, 2003)

Nikolai, finger on the trigger for any response, sees the movement, and immediately breaks into a cold dead run.

He believes this creature MAY have something... ANYthing to do with the Red Poet, or what has happened tonight in the graveyard, so he does everything he can to catch the thing.

Focusing the power of his enhanced blood.. the blood of a centuries-old vampire... he raises his Dexterity to 7 and takes furious chase, a quiet assassin on the fly, his senses working overtime to keep tabs on the creature that was silly enough to hide in noisy dry leaves when watching them.

He is not opposed to shooting the creature to wound it if its capture is in doubt.









*OOC:*


 If it would help, or is needed in this pursuit, Nikolai would spend a Willpower point to catch the creature.
He's a Fanatic in the pursuit of The Red Poet, and will expend every resource he has to follow any real leads in regards to it.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 22, 2003)

As the other Kindred took off in pursuit of the small creature, Gabriel looked at the policeman. "Don't move", he commanded, his voice reaching out to dominate the mortal's free will.


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## Catulle (Apr 22, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

(OOC - Max burns 1 blood for Celerity, Nikolai burns 3 blood to increase Dexterity; Initiatives - Nikolai 11, The Feral 10, Gabriel 9, Max 8, Brandt 8) 

Nikolai's motion began before the creature could gain ground, and although it surged away from the bush, he was tight to its heels. The advantage of surprise lasted hardly any time at all, and as the Tremere gained on it, the blur of motion that was Maxwell cut sharply in from the blind side.

They came at it at the same time, the quick blade of the young Brujah competing with and yet complementing Nikolai's sure aim to bring it down...

(OOC - Max dex/melee diff7 - 7,7,5 = 2 successes; damage 8,6,5,3,3 vs soak 8,1 = 3 damage) 

A savage impact and the tear of flesh accompanied a surprisingly human shriek of pain as the creature tumbled to the earth, landing on its back with the Tremere's gun pointed directly at its forehead.

It was a child.

Clad in rags and viscera, Nikolai could see through his preternatural vision the cords of flesh caught in its teeth, the apron of dried out blood that adorned the feral little beast's chest. He could smell the decay that clung to still-living flesh. Madness raged in its eyes, yet it remained supine - defeated, at least, for the moment.

(OOC - Gabriel mesmerism - 6,2,1 = 0 successes; Brandt courage 7,5,2,1 = 0 successes  

Amid the offal field, Gabriel's next order seemed to hold, despite the cop's reluctance to meet his gaze. The officer coiled up to press his face against the cold, damp earth and his body shook with the sobbing.


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## Catulle (Apr 22, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"I'm glad to hear that... Cate." Carrick kept his attention focused on the neon vista that shone through the window; though he clearly heard the singer, he remained rapt on the landscape.

"When I say I don't appreciate art, I mean that my experience is overly limited through academia. I have, I find, little talent for creation though some limited capacity for critique. The hallmark of a classical education, perhaps? Vychtorya, for instance, is far more refined than I in her tastes." A wan smile touched his features.

"I think," he conceded, "that you show an uncommon degree of promise; promise which I would loathe to see left to life's vicissitudes."


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## Catulle (Apr 22, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

(OOC - Sabrina per/empathy - 9,8,8,5,3 - 3 successes) 

The eldest Montague's bearing reflected genuine pride to his neice as he returned to the drinks cabinet and withdrew the decanter, now refilled, to the potent scent of old leather and older blood. Instead of pouring for the young girl, Nathaniel placed the vessel on the table, and a glass to its side.

"Take what you will, Sabrina. I do believe you have earned it tonight." He sank into the less-comfortable seat opposite her, watching keenly with his dark eyes and shroud of darker hair. At the next barrage of questions, he bowe his head and waited for the child to commence drinking before starting his explaination;

"Yet to be Prince is to walk the razor's edge. Calebros was wise, yet conceded defeat - and Calebros is older than all who reside in the city at present. Why, even Elizabeth covets the ivory throne and it is even more important that she not gain such a prize than for another Ventrue Prince to reign over New York. Can you imagine what she might mandate for our family?" Nathan's voice grew cold. "It must not be allowed to pass. I would rather the Montagues ascend to a position of strength under whosoever attains that honour. Better that we achieve indispensibility, surely, than compete only to fail at the last hurdle due to the ambitions of our Brujah enemies. The wise man fights only the battles which he can win, after all."


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## Tory Adore (Apr 23, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Antiquities Nightclub, Manhatten
> Wednesday 11th December, 2002
> 
> "You'll have heard we Ventrue are difficult to please, so far as tastes go... Why not surprise me; see if you've my measure by now." ...he turned his head to examine the room again. The scent of his aftershave lingered faintly and not unpleasently, overlaying as it did the blood aroma her mind was already supplying in anticipation. "Do you know her well? Your grandsire, I mean." *



Biting her lower lip, Vych raises her brows that frame her smiling eyes as she smoothes her hands from her chin down her neck resuming a standing pose. Her left hand continues to the goblet, but her right stops at the side of her neck, moving the angora sweater aside; a finger gently tapping as if in thought on a seemingly pulsing vein, 
“_Mmm… I could make some conjectures as to your... um ‘measure’._” 
[OOC - per/subterfuge to see if he was alluding to feeding from her] 

Vych watches Jemal turn away to examine the room again. Images of the earlier evening’s events flashed in her mind. Vych closes her eyes briefly taking in his scent and placing it in her mind next to the mental picture she had painted of him while he was driving her car. She hears Jemal’s question, which awakens her back to the moment. She flutters her lids open to look in his direction. She shakes her head a bit and leans down taking a black bottle etched with a swan on its surface from a special holding area below the bar. It is a personal favorite of hers as far as bottled vitae goes.

Uncorking and pouring a small amount of the thick, succulent, burgundy nectar from the black bottle, Vych says as the image of the woman from downstairs enters her thoughts again at Jemal’s words,
_”Well, actually…I…I’ve never met her before….but”_

Vych sets the bottle down on the counter. She walks around the bar to where Jemal is standing as she holds the goblet to her chest with both hands, eyes somewhat lightly fixated on the sculpture of Carrick’s sire with the left side of her body coming to rest against Jemal’s. Talking in a softened voice (to a sensitive ear, one might even pick out a slight tremble), 
_”Jemal, can I tell you something in confidence?”_


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina's smile would have grown larger if she hadn't already been giving her largest.  This was the first time she was ever allowed as much as she wanted, but she had to be very careful, if she took to much he might not let her get her own again.  Carefully she took the decanter in two hands, slowly she filled the glass, concentrating very hard on not spillling the prescious fluid.

Slowly Sabrina replaced the decanter on the desk, for a moment it appears she has poured too much into the glass, and indeed she had, but her tongue flicked out cat-like lapping up the blood till it was safe to lift the glass.  She was like a giant cat lapping up cream, savouring every last taste.  It takes the entirety of his answer for her to drink her fill, and when she is finished she curls up in his lap.

"You said we were going out tonight, with miss Cate and mister Carrick, so where are we going, and when are we leaving?"  she asked almost bouncing on his lap.


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 23, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Max pins the little horror, keeping the knife to its throat to make decapitation easier if needed.

"God, not another kid. This is what, the second one I've seen this month? You'd think they were becoming fashionable," he says bitterly to Nikolai.

_Ok, so it isn't the Heartbreaker or whatever its name is. I'm sure one of its spawn is good enough for the time being, just gotta wait for David's call._

Max looks to David.

"What's your call boss?" he asks.

_Nikolai seems pretty damn... fanatical... maybe if we're to kill it I should give him the honours. Should sate his thirst for... whatever... for the moment._


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## reapersaurus (Apr 23, 2003)

Nikolai leans in close, smelling the child, looking deeply at it.









*OOC:*


 is it human? what does its Aura display?
He tries to piece together the evidence on the kid, the grisly scene, and his knowledge of the Occult to come to a conclusion.
Is the kid a ghoul? 







Nikolai thinks . o 0 ( Did the Fiend purposely create this abomination to humanity's Innocence?
What sicker corruption of youth than to turn a bright-eyed boy into this.... hollow mockery of humanity? 

"Good work, Maxwell.

So who ... what... are you?" he asks the 'child', if it can still be called that, as he looks it over for signs of what it possibly was before the Poet entered its life.

He makes it reasonably clear to Max that he wants to keep the feral alive - very much so.


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 24, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn smiled slightly as Carrick explained his non-appreciation for art but as soon as he mentioned the name _Vychtorya_ again, the echoing of the older woman's words resonated in her thoughts to return the flickering of fear that tickled up long her body and wormed faint coils of cold terror into her belly.

_What pleasure can we have to war with evil?  Is there any peace in ever climbing up the climbing wave?_

Her smile vanished.

That dark glance turned more intense toward his reflection in the window, as if trying to gauge his intent or even his sincerity toward her.  Was he doing this on purpose?  Yet how could he have known what had been said?  Good breeding won out over any sudden desire to provide explanation.

"Sometimes life's vicissitudes come in forms unexpected," was all she that came from her lips.


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## Catulle (Apr 24, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

(OOC - Vychtorya per/subterfuge vs Jemal man/subterfuge - 10,6,5,2 vs 9,7,6,4,1 = 0 successes net) 

The exact nature of the handsome young Ventrue's allusion was lost to Vychtorya, as his features let nothing further escape their present facade of total propriety. Then he broke into another smile. His eyes folowed her around the bar after she had poured out the vitae; whether she or the glass was the focus of that attention seemed quite the mystery. She could barely see his nostrils flare as he scented the blood coming closer.

"Of course," his voice was silken, deep and at the same time confident, "tell me whatever you wish. I can keep a secret, if you want me to."


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## Catulle (Apr 24, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Nathanial stood nearby throughout his niece's experiments with the decanter, only taking it from the table once she had poured a sufficient quantity to judge the glass ready to drink. As he continued speaking, he returned the stopper with a deft, pale hand and stowed the precious fluid away in the appointed place, judging the remaining crimson liquid warily in the light first.

(OOC - Sabrina gains 3 blood points, including merit) 

"Enough, I believe, for the present. The remainder you may have on our return, provided you maintain decorum tonight and keep in mind what I have told you here."

He returned to the chair, and let the girl climb up to him, stretching out his arms to assist her navigation. "We're going to a nightclub belonging to Ms Fayrchyld, to meet with other Kindred of import and ambition. Mr Ashton has arranged for his sire, who goes by the name Maria Santa Lucia, there. As I indicated, one does not lightly begin an undertaking without being certain of a degree of success. Tonight is where we assess our strengths and weaknesses."


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## Catulle (Apr 24, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

(OOC - Nikolai Aura Perception diff8, per/occult, per/investigation - 9,8,8,7,7,5,5,5,3,2/10,9,7,3,2,2,2,2,2,1,1 reroll 6/6,6,6,4,3,3,2,1 = 3, 2 and 2 successes respectively) 

As Max kept the child pressed into the dirt, mercifully clear of offal at this spot, Nikolai took in the situation and forced his senses to slide through the physical plane as far as they could. The... creature's aura reflected its bright mortality and showed the orange-tint of fear in equal measure to obsession's green. The two shades merged, twisted and swirled in the hypnotic display that could only be psychosis.

Returning to the physical, both Kindred could smell the stench of rot the child put forth. Ragged clothes had absorbed the filth from the scene, and by their reckoning, from similar events before. Nikolai could make out earth and blood on the feral's hands and under its nails. The Tremere could see its teeth were stained dark with decay and the sweet-rotten scent of putrid flesh was on its breath.

And yet it still lived... it was a simple matter for Nikolai to dab a finger in the fresh blood welling from the gash Max's knife had carved in its... _his_ flank, it would be even simpler to take a taste of that blood to assess its purity and strength. If he dared. The repercussions of that thought couldn't fail to unsettle.

The child squirmed again under the knife, stopping only when the blade started to draw blood. It pulled back closer to the ground. The tiny wound closed over, leaving a pale, clean patch to contrast with the grimy coat over the rest of his skin.

"Donn... *Let* go..." The voice was deeper than anticipated, and shocking in that it came at all from something so base as this appeared to be. It shivered in the wintery air.


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## Catulle (Apr 24, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The sentence evidently struck a chord somewhere inside Carrick Ashton, for with the words still hanging in the music room air, he turned to face her directly. His voice was a whisper,

"I couldn't agree more fully. The cruelest lies are often told without a word..." He shook his head, "One of life's bitter lessons, at least for me." He broke eye contact to check the time by the wall clock.

"I think we can assume the family Montague are done in the study by now." Carrick extended his arm to her "Thank you for your converstion; I think it's certainly inspired my line of reasoning for the future, should you be willing to take up the discourse again. Will you accompany me, Cate?"


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## Tory Adore (Apr 24, 2003)

The scent of the elixir in the glass resting against her breast brought her eyes from the sculpture.

_”Oh…I am…_(sigh) _I’m sorry Jemal. My recent thoughts have overshadowed my manners. Here you are. It is a personal favorite of mine – well as far as decantered goes, but I fear time does not permit other luxury for us tonight.”_ 
Vych says turning to him (seeming a little shaky) as she offers Jemal the crystal goblet with both hands. 
_”How do I say this so as not to sound like I am going out of my head?”_

Vych says as she starts to pace a bit using hand gestures as she continues, her accent becoming more noticeable,
_”I saw a woman downstairs…just before we came up here. She caught my eye, but…well when we got up here and you were asking me about the sculptures, the woman’s form over-laid the statue of Carrick’s Sire in my minds eye. It was almost a perfect match Jemal…perfect, beautiful. What if she is the guest Carrick sent the message about at your home? You know the guest that…that tends to be punctual? It’s early yet. I have at least 45 minutes. That’s not punctual, that’s early.”_

Vych paces a little faster back and forth playing with her fingers. Definitely appearing a little nervous now, which seems very unnatural and unfamiliar, her speech hastens a bit,
_”What if I messed this up Jemal? What if the woman IS his Sire? I am always confident and well prepared Jemal. Why do I feel like this?….Uhh...I need a drink!”_

Vych strides behind the bar, grabs a glass and pours more of the viscid liquid. She drinks it down much more quickly than a lady of her caliber and status would normally be seen doing. A small trickle leaks from the left corner of her lips, and she pushes the stream of nectar into her mouth with her finger, gently sucking it clean of the redness it had swept away from her flawless skin.
_”Jemal, I must get dressed so I can get downstairs. There is a small gallery of art for your viewing pleasure just outside my room if you’d like to talk to me while I get dressed. I could really use the comforting sound of your voice.”_

Vych feels the blood mix in her veins and control starts to come back to her. She closes her eyes, takes a false breath in letting it out as a sigh, and walks the long hall to her bedroom, taking a quick glance back over her shoulder to see if Jemal is following. Sasha had placed upon the bed a lovely bright green satin and chiffon dress with matching sandals; perfect for the evening’s steamy Moroccan feel. Vych thinks to herself, “I can ALWAYS count on Sasha for her exquisite taste, and she remembered to put my little red heart pendant and earrings out for me too.”


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## Jemal (Apr 24, 2003)

> ”Oh…I am…(sigh) I’m sorry Jemal. My recent thoughts have overshadowed my manners. Here you are. It is a personal favorite of mine – well as far as decantered goes, but I fear time does not permit other luxury for us tonight.”
> Vych says turning to him (seeming a little shaky) as she offers Jemal the crystal goblet with both hands.




"Thank you kindly, Vych.  The scent of this is almost as intoxicating as you."  Jemal said as he accepted the goblet.  "Are you sure you're allright, you look like you've seen a ghost."



> ”How do I say this so as not to sound like I am going out of my head?”



"If you need to say something, my dear, just say it, I'm all ears when you need me to be.."

He listened carefully as she spoke of the woman, drinking from the goblet and puzzling as she was over whether this could be The guest.  "Well, I must say that... I don't know what to say.  I've never had a situation quite like that." He stood up and set the goblet down, walking over to her as she wiped the blood off her lip.  "You have nothing to be worried about, you're a wonderful woman, and if it IS Carrick's sire, is that a bad thing?  What is it that has you so nervous, dear lady?"

He nods when she invites him to wait for her as she dresses, and follows closely.


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## KitanaVorr (Apr 25, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"_Virginibus Puerisque_," Caitlyn replied as her fingers touched his arm however so lightly.  

Her lips curved slightly into a wry smile, however brief.  "So I approach uncertain; so I cruise around your mysterious islet, and behold surf and great mountains and loud river-bars, and from the shore hear your voice call.  Or is it you who approaches me?  Yes, I think it is.  The truth to facts is not always truth to sentiment as you should well know.  Perhaps I do leave something unsaid, but it is nothing that your sentiments would want to hear."

Reaching out, she picked up her leather coat from where it sat on the piano bench and placed it in the crook of her arm to carry. "I'll accompany you, Carrick."


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## Shalimar (Apr 25, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Now that she had drunk her fill, or as close to it as she had ever come the child curled up in Nathan's lap, sated, almost purring her contentment.  Nathan had been much warmer and more informative to her tonight then at any other time that she could remember, it felt right to her, and she was loathe to leave that even if it meant she would be going out with him. 

"When we go out, what should I wear?" she asked idly used to having him pick clothes for her for any important occasion.  "Can I wear my pink sweater and purle skirt?  It would match my necklace that Miss Vychtorya gave me."  She thought about what he had said a bit more.  "We are strong aren't we?  I mean you could be a prince, well, you always are to me, uncle Nathan, your my prince, like in snow white, Prince Charming."  she says smiling up at him, "since we are gonna meet mister Carrick's vampire mommy, does that mean we want her to be princess?"


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## reapersaurus (Apr 25, 2003)

Seeing the feral's wound heal over confirms Nikolai's suspicions about its origin:
this 'kid' has vitae in his veins, yet is not a Kindred.

The question remains: who's ghoul is it?

While the thought of ingesting anything from this abomination is repulsive, the chance of gleaning any speck of information about The Red Poet *drives* Nikolai to taste its blood.








*OOC:*


 A Taste for Blood Thaumaturgy discipline 







After literally sacrificing his own humanity to acquire power to put an end to the Poet's ghastly existence, Nikolai would not shirk doing whatever must be done to gain knowledge of the Poet now... and knowledge IS power, after all...


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## Tory Adore (Apr 25, 2003)

Talking to Jemal from her room with the door ajar so she can hear him, Vych starts to undress as she speaks. Her words sometimes halting a bit as she removes an article of clothing here and there,
_”You are too kind to me, and here I spill my everything to you and…and you still call me wonderful. Perhaps you are a knight from one of my mother’s stories sent to save me from myself tonight. I just wanted everything to be…perfect the first time she and I met. Willingly, I have gazed upon her beauty in Carrick’s sculpture every waking night for what…what seems like an eternity, wondering and listening to Carrick speak about her. Now I think I have seen her in her true form, but alas I am not certain it is she? How pathetic mine eyes are not to recognize her perfection even from a distance! 

I guess I want tonight go off well for Carrick, not so much for myself mind you. Not knowing who will be here makes the pressure all the harder for me to bear, but it is a small price to pay if it pleases him. This is the first event I have planned for Carrick here in the States. I wanted to meet Carrick’s guests as they came in tonight, but he insisted, as you heard tonight, that he wouldn’t let on who they would be. Now one guest MIGHT be my maker’s, maker, and she could already be downstairs. She doesn’t make me nervous. It’s the situation I am nervous about. I don’t even know if the guests know I don’t know who will be here. See my quandary?”_ 

Vych steps into the bathroom to quickly pull part of her hair back from her face into a gold clip. She straightens her lipstick, sprays a spot of light tropical musk on her neck, belly, and small of her back and moves to the bedroom to slip on her dress, shoes and jewelry. 
_”Oh I am _SO_ glad you are here with me Jemal, and I’m not alone right now. I would be much more of a mess I’m afraid if I was alone – I am a perfectionist at heart you see. It makes me a bit crazy at times, and I fear it will be my undoing some night. Forgive me please, and let this, another one of my weaknesses you have seen, be our secret.”_
She puts on her shoes and earrings, zips the back of her dress part of the way up, and then tries a few seconds to close the clasp on her little red ruby heart pendant.

In a softly toned, almost helpless voice she says sounding a little frustrated, 
_”Would you mind helping me with this clasp on my necklace? I can’t get it to close properly. I would hate to lose it. It was my mother’s.”_


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## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 25, 2003)

Gabriel looked down at the trembling cop. _hmm... what to do with him? He has seen our faces._ His gazed turned to the other kindred some distance away. They must have captured the creature. _What was that?_

"Stand up," he ordered the cop.


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## Tory Adore (Apr 25, 2003)

.


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## Festy_Dog (Apr 28, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Max eases the pressure on the child a little, seeing it isn't truly one of the undead. He watches Nikolai taste the blood and shrugs.

_He knows what he's doing... I assume. The Tremere always have something up their sleeve like that._

"A ghoul?" he whispers, "I dunno which is worse. A ghoul child or a vampire child, the mere concept is revolting. Should we interrogate it, err, him?"


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## reapersaurus (Apr 28, 2003)

Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *God, not another kid. This is what, the second one I've seen this month? You'd think they were becoming fashionable," he says bitterly to Nikolai.*



*"This is not.... a kid anymore, Maxwell.

I'm not sure what it is yet."



			Max eases the pressure on the child a little, seeing it isn't truly one of the undead. He watches Nikolai taste the blood and shrugs.

"A ghoul?" he whispers, "I dunno which is worse. A ghoul child or a vampire child, the mere concept is revolting. Should we interrogate it, err, him?"
		
Click to expand...


"I never said it was a ghoul...

Are you hearing whispers on the wind this eve?  

Well, this thing may have once been a child, but he is far from even being human, now..."
(a thought of personal irony passes thru Nikolai's subconscious as he says those words)

"Interrogating this thing would be a waste of time, I fear...
my only hope to wring any useable information from it is to bring it to my Chantry and ask the aid of the Tremere Elders."

(Nikolai looks over to Gabriel and motions, calling: ) "Could you assist us over here for a minute, G?"*


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## Catulle (Apr 28, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Music Room*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Carrick stepped in towards the musician as she reached for the coat, fingers trailing lightly across the old keys, barely disturbing their patina, and too soft to make a sound. He closed his eyes as he brought his hand up, gently, reverently, silently closing the case over. A faint smile crossed his lips, wavering as a candle's light caught by the breeze, as he listened to her voice.

(OOC - Carrick Spirit's Touch diff9 - 9,8,7,6,5,5,4 plus willpower = 2 successes) 

His eyes opened, warm brown and with a welcoming depth to them. "Where the wind's like a whetted knife? There is steel behind your speech, Cate, but I can't begrudge you that. I have pried too deep already, given our brief encounter, and would loathe to leave a poor impression. As to the rest, time will tell..."

Once they walked across to the doors, heels clicking in step on the wooden floor and the cool of the music room giving way to the corridor's warmth, Carrick reached out to dim the lights to darkness and the afterimage lingered in the mind for a few seconds after clarity had left Cate's perceptions. She could remember almost every hidden detail of that room as if it haunted her yet. It was an almost jarring sensation when the doors closed, and the short trip back to the study passed in barely-cognizant reflection.


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## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 28, 2003)

Gabriel, nodded to Nikolai and raised a finger as if to say. "One moment."

He looked back down at the prone policeman and sighed. "I don't have time for this nonsense...."

He flipped the cop's hat off and grabbed a handful of hair. Jerking him to his feet, he stared into his eyes.

"You will tell not speak of us to anyone," he commanded. "If you do, I shall see to it that your life, and the lives of your kin, are spent in fear till the day I decide to end them. Do you understand this?"

OOC: Dominate.....again. If I remember correctly, it is easier to Dominate someone you have recently Dominated. I don't think there is a rule mechanic for it though.


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## Catulle (Apr 28, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Nathaniel pursed his lips, pondering Sabrina's question. His eyes narrowed in concentration. "I think it best if you dress smartly, as you did for your school interviews would do well." His right foot tapped gently on the floor as he talked, though he kept his knee knee as still as possible.

"The rest remains to be seen. The only strength that counts in such affairs is comparative; ours to their's and everybody else's. And to be Prince is not necessarily to enjoy strength - if it were, would Calebros have stepped aside so easily. Often the prize can itself prove deadly to those unprepared for the consequences. The disposition of Mistress Santa Lucia remains uncertain. The Toreador of Carrick's line have long been allies of the Ventrue of  Montague's line, and it is our hope that a new ally in the city might increase the prestige of our double _entente_. The appearance of strength can nurture genuine strength over time, but we must also have an eye to the resources of our enemies. These are dangerous times, Sabrina."

A rap on the door moved the elder to silence, as he scooped up Sabrina to allow her to take her own feet and rose, lifting his jacket from the chair and donning the garment, "Enter." His voice was all confidence and authority, the image of a princely dignity.

The stolid family retainer opened the door, admitting Caitlyn Tran and Carrick Ashton. Cate now carried her coat over one arm, the other linked with Carrick's. Cooper softly backstepped out of the study at Nathaniel's curt nod and closed the study doors again with an audible bump.


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## Catulle (Apr 28, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The policeman's slumped posture and terror-stricken state of mind clearly affected his attention to the Tremere's command. His first order went unheeded, and it was only by pulling the cop's head back to lock eyes with him that Gabriel attained the requisite focus to work his discipline on the mortal. Fear-dilated pupils stared out from a muddied, pale face and the Kindred could smell the vomit-stink on the man's breath from his earlier disgrace.

(OOC - Gabriel man/intimidation vs Brandt willpower - 10,8,6 vs 8,3,3,2,1 = net 3 successes to Gabriel; Gabriel mesmerism diff5 - 10,10,7,2,1 plus willpower (bonus dice from complimentary action) = 3 successes) 

He could only nod in mute agreement to the vampire's demands. Not a sound came from the man's throat and he stared blankly up at the figure hanging in the tree.

A little distance apart, the child-thing continued to ramble and murmir in broken english, flinching in momentary pain as Nikolai probed the open wound with his finger, loading the digit with filth and blood. The taste was repellent, thick and strong.

(OOC - Nikolai spends 1 blood point; A Taste for Blood diff4 - 9,9,8,8,7,7,6,5,3,3,2,1 = 7 successes) 

His vision swam, and the nausea engendered by the tainted blood threatened to overcome Nikolai's senses. He rode out the sanguine whirl, sifting through what little information the watered-down vitae could hold with a sense of taste augmented by his own, reinforced blood. The blood was mostly mortal, with approximately a tenth part of the mix being True Vitae. The ghoul that lay in the earth before him was perhaps half-spent, kept animate and seemingly uncaring of the pain it must be feeling through the power of his domitor. Both had fed earlier the same night, though Nikolai could deduce that the child had taken his blood with a little of the body... maybe of more than one body, to look around. Even through the vector of the child's own diseased blood he could feel the power of the master, stronger even than his own thaumaturgical prowess currently permitted, though prehaps only one step ahead. Always one step ahead. Through it all, the honey-taste of diablerie ran like a thread, connecting each revelation to the next, a tempting undertow.

(OOC - Nikolai self-control diff4 - 10,10,2,1 = 1 success, good for 1 turn's control) 

The rage threatened to take him again, tempting him to simply reduce the child, the corpses, the witnesses, all of it, to ash in the white-hot passion of the Beast. Max could see Nikolai struggle to rein in the fury even as the child continued to whisper to him.

"Nous... *We* are hungry, so we feed... thirsty, donc... drinking... _le sang_... dou... *pain*." It grited teeth rotted to stumps, Max imagined out of malnuitrition, and the eyes assumed a glaze of purest insanity. The shrill cry split the air "*Poèt rouge, ils viennent pour vous!*"

(OOC - the feral - Mask of A Thousand Faces - 10,10,6,4,2 plus willpower = 3 successes; man/subterfuge vs Max per/subterfuge - 8,7,6,4,2,2 vs 10,7,5,5 = the feral nets 1 success) 

As it did so, its face shifted and seemed to shrivel before the Brujah's face, aging not as if growing, but the shriveling putrefaction of decay. The flesh sallowed and broke up, as wet glistening rot ate his skin away, opening up the mouth to a rictus grin of blackened teeth and a swollen, rancid tongue. The death rattle came horrifyingly late-on, as the corpse lay finally still.


----------



## Valara (Apr 28, 2003)

*this is shalimar, wrong log in name*

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina sighed at the mention of interview clothes, they were stuffy, and heavy, and secretly she thought they were pretty ugly.  The hose and the skirt wasn't so bad, and neither was the sweater, but having to wear a blouse under it, and some-times even a blazer was no fun, not at all.  She had worn the whole outfit everyday for school, minus the blazer which she had kept in her locker as often as she could.  She had gotten away with a few alterations though by looking into through the rule-book very hard.  She had worn a lilac skirt with pink hose, and a silk lilac blouse under a pink v-neck sweater vest.

When he set her down she marched dutifully through the open door, heading to her room, her lips turned downward in a frown.  Swiftly she went through the often repeated motions of dressing for school, adding a few finishing touches as she strolled back to the study on her black boots, they weren't really boots, not really, they were really only velvet from the ankles all the way up to the top of her calves where they ended, they had a small zipper along the back.  The only Jewelry she wore was the necklace from Vychtorya, and a ring that was her mothers that she wore on her thumb.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle (Apr 28, 2003)

Gabriel nodded with satisfaction, his fangs lengthening. "Good...", he said, a half second before his fangs tore into the mortal's neck.

The vampire groaned with pleasure as the officer's blood flowed into his mouth and down his throat. No matter how many times he did it, the act of feeding was never something he got used to.

Gabriel stopped himself before taking the mortal over the edge. He didn't want to leave a drained corpse behind. He licked the wound closed, and dropped his prey to the ground. 

Wiping his mouth clean, he strode over to the others just in time to see the creature shrivel and apparently die. He looked at the others. "What did you do?"


----------



## Festy_Dog (Apr 28, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "Are you hearing whispers on the wind this eve?"




"Tremere aren't the only ones allowed to know things, friend," Max says with a smile, "Did you expect this Brujah to be an uneducated grunt? Anyway, how did tasting the creature's blood help us? I hope it was worth it considering."

Maxwell grimaces at the appearance of the child.

_A living piece of decay. If it wouldn't be useful to him I'd kill it. Degenerate little creature, yech. I'm throwing this outfit straight into the laundry pile when I get back._



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "Could you assist us over here for a minute, G?"




"G?" Max says, then looks to Gabriel, then Legba, then David, then back to Nikolai, "You're talking Gabrial right? He's white.  You too, last I checked." 

Max peers intently at Nikolai for a minute intently, "Nope, still white."

He sees Nikolai struggle with himself and smiles again, but ironically.

"Hehe, a feeling I know all too well. But seriously, don't look at the crime on a personal level, detach yourself. Its better that one is unbiased when investigating something of this calibre, don't want your emotions carrying you away. Could lead to bad decision making," Max says, and is about to continue when the child yells something in french and dies.

Max recoils, cursing loudly.

"What the fck!? I mean, my french may be rusty, but did it say 'Red Poet'? I thought that guy butchered lovebirds not ate corpses," Max says, shock evident on his face, he composes himself and continues, "Well, this is a big case, and there doesn't seem to be much to go on at first glance. I wonder what the NYPD detectives will make of this?"

Max looks at the body of the child again, shuddering with disgust for a moment he turns to Gabriel.



> _originally posted by Ashrem Bayle_
> "What did you do?"




"Wasn't us, the thing had some contingency I'd guess. Killed itself rather than allow capture, ya know?" he replies.


----------



## KitanaVorr (Apr 28, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Caitlyn walked in companionable silence, letting Carrick lead the way back to the study at his leisurely pace.  The call of the running tide, wild and clear, that could not be denied, pulled her back toward that room once again where a man and child awaited them.  Her fingers moved slightly against the softness of the silk shirt that the man wore, but he didn’t feel so soft beneath that.  

She inhaled deeply wondering if she could catch his scent while so close.  A woman could tell many things about a man by his scent, but his was mixed with the clean Jasmine fragrance of her shampoo.

Yet soon they stood framed in the doorway of Nathaniel’s study, tall and fair-haired versus delicate and dark.  

Smiling warmly at both uncle and niece, she couldn’t help but glance after the child as Sabrina left.  The expression on the child’s face didn’t look particularly pleased at all.  _What had happened here?_

Then her eyes alighted again on the striking regal figure of Nathaniel and she gazed at him for the longest time, her mind listening to the song that played across his aquiline features and into his raven hair.  _For a wind's in the heart of me, a fire's in my heels.  Nathaniel Montague, what are you doing to me?_

“I hope everything’s alright?”


----------



## Catulle (May 1, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"The better now that we are assembled, Caitlyn. Mr Cooper will drive us to Ms Fayrchyld's club presently. I trust that you did not bore Ms Tran with talk of finance, Carrick?" The way in which light reflected on the Montague patriarch's eyes suggested joviality, though his bearing did not.

Carrick stepped gracefuly across the room to collect a jacket from its resting place, draped over the arm of one of the ample chairs by the fireplace. He donned it quickly, pausing to adjust the drape. "I'm sure Cate understood far more of our conversation than I, Nathan. In the struggle to keep up, I fear I may have slipped to parroting my teachers' arguments whole cloth. If I may be so bold, I'd suggest keeping an eye on the lady - I've not seen so much promise since... well." The Toreador and the Ventrue exchanged a silent, level look, each meeting the other's eyes for a long, awkward, moment.

Nathaniel, relaxed a little first, offering his hand to Caitlyn with a smile and a bow of his head. "Madam, will you accompany me?"

The taller, fairer man looked to Sabrina in turn, "Well, Sabrina, I think I'll enjoy introducing you to Maria. Let's see what your brother and Vychtorya have been preparing for us, yes?" He cast a conspiritorial glance to the child, indicating Caitlyn and Nathaniel with his eyes, and winking to her. The next statement was quiet, low-pitched and intended only for the pair of them "I think here is where we're meant to leave your uncle a little room..."

The doors swung open again, admitting Cooper once more. The broad-shouldered man swept a hand to the doors as he bowed. The corridor all but beckoned.


----------



## Catulle (May 1, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The harsh crackle of static from the intercom broke the intimate mood of the penthouse appartment for just a moment, before the signal levelled out, leaving Skye's voice hanging, clear, in the air.

"Vych, there's a man in the lounge that says he's one of Carrick's guests. Well, he said he was really here for you, as well. A tall guy, thin too, and quite the looker. Kind of dangerous... but I don't think he'd harm anybody here. His card reads S. P. Maslowe... Should I send him up, or will you be coming down?" Her voice trailed off, uncertain and questioning.


----------



## Shalimar (May 1, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina nodded happily, giving Cate and her uncle time together was definitely a good thing.  She was also happy that she was being included in Mister Carrick's conspiratorial look, she took his hand and pulled him from the room with her overwhelming vampiric strength.  Once she had pulled him into the hall and away from the singer and her uncle, she stopped pulling.   

"What do you think about Miss Cate?  Do you think Uncle Nathan likes her?  I mean enough to want to marry her?  I do, I like her an awful lot, she is so very fun." the child says excitedly to the older cainite.  She holds out her arms to him, clearly intending that he should pick her up and carry her.  "Carry me." she says giving him a bright dimply smile as incentive.


----------



## Catulle (May 1, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

(OOC - Brandt per/alertness 5,5,4,3,1 = botch; Gabriel dex/brawldiff4 10,9,3,3 = 2 succeses; Gabriel gains 5 blood) 

The police officer didn't have time to react, as Gabriel quickly took him to the point of exhaustion, passing out a little sooner than he may have in other circumstances. He sagged to the filthy ground in a dark, near shapeless, huddle. One more to lie incognisant, among the exhumed dead.

(OOC - Nikolai self-control 9,9,7,1 = 2 successes, good for 2 more turns) 

The searing fury that played across Nikolai's features was clear, though he seemed on the brink of mastering it - shutting down the savagery that lurked beneath every Kindred's facade, their Masquerade. The intensity of emotion returned in a surge as he looked to the ravaged appearance of the decayed carcass before them, and he had to still struggle to train in his temper.

(OOC - Nikolai and Gabriel per/subterfuge - 8,8,6,4,3,2,2,1 and 10,10,6,4,1 = 2 successes each) 

To their eyes, the child's corpse appeared in a state of decay perhaps akin to a couple of months' decomposition, circumstances permitting. The state echoed that of the other bodies cluttering the small valley, though it was notable that the man on the tree was considerably fresher. 

The temperature had dropped, or perhaps it was simply their perception that it had. The trio of Kindred felt cold, wet droplets touch them as the first flakes of a weak snow fell from the gathered clouds, melting away instantly as they touched the earth. The wind whistled again through the gully and bringing the foul sweet scent of the place back to the foreground of their minds.


----------



## KitanaVorr (May 1, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

_Caitlyn..._

His voice danced over the air and touched upon her name, plucking it from obscurity to let it loose so indiscrimately upon her cloistered world.  A name that never sounded so sweet, so divinely perfect until his lips mouthed each letter for her eyes to devour.

Whatever Carrick had meant with his insinuation, Cate would make an effort to find out later from the man when next they should parry words.  She was sure of it.  But now, her attention remained wholly focused on the striking man before her.

Certainly, Carrick Ashton's incredible beauty and charisma brought him more than his share of attention no matter where he went, but his friend had something that Carrick did not.  And she wondered if anyone else had noticed it...was it her little secret?  The way his voice seemed like a rough caress, his eyes that danced in and out of vulnerability, the way he moved...she could watch him move for hours if she could...he was so unique.

Her fingers slid into his hand, sensitive fingertips tracing the fortune groves of his palm as if they could tell his whole life just by touch alone.  Smile met smile with a slight inclination of her head, just enough for the highlights in her hair to shimmer in the light, a mixture of red and gold overlaying black.

Just as her lips parted to utter an agreement to Nathaniel, the last part of Carrick's phrase caught her ear - the name freezing her voice momentarily - as she fought down the fear that had become so automatic within the last half hour or more.  _Vychtorya_  only a moment, just a moment for her mind to click the words into place and extrapolate the conclusion.  _Cate, you blind idiot!_

Turning her head abruptly, raven hair spilling over one shoulder, she found herself too late ask for Carrick's clarification as Sabrina pulled him outside...but she didn't need to.  She already knew.  Pulling her hand from Nathan's, she spoke evenly with only a little hint of her panic.  "I can't come with you to..." Why couldn't she say the damn word?  The name was echoing in her mind, thundering with the woman's frightening face.  "...her club.  I just cannot.  You'll forgive me, Mr. Montague?"


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## Tory Adore (May 2, 2003)

Vych turns quickly, but gracefully to face Jemal with a half-frustrated smile upon her lips and brow at the abrupt interruption of their relatively innocent interlude. She touches his smooth face with her left hand as she strides over to the intercom by the bedroom door. Vychtorya tries to sound as professional as possible; hiding the excitement and pleasure tones from her voice at hearing Mazz is one of Carrick’s guests for the evening,
_”Thank you my sweet. I will come down directly. Please escort Mr. Maslowe to the Mezzanine if he wishes. Should he choose to look around first, please let him know I will meet him on the Mezzanine at _his_ leisure of course. Umm…Skye?_ 

There was a slight and very brief pause. Vych looked over her left shoulder to Jemal as she continued her dialogue with her “friend” Skye. A slight concern came to resonate in her usually soothing voice, and Jemal, regardless of the words that were spoken could see the real question, that of the striking woman – Carrick’s Sire, echoing with a longing, a beautiful sweetness in Vych’s eyes as she continued to speak,
_”Has anyone else presented themselves as Carrick’s guest? Is Mr. Maslowe the first and _only_ to arrive as of late?”_


----------



## Catulle (May 2, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Nathan's gaze captured hers, and his eyes were caught suppended in an instant of remorse which seemed to last for an eternity, shrouded globes of brown, dark as teak. He leaned in close to her, head bowing before returning to attend to every detail of her face. His hand passsed near her hair, and she could smell him; a hint of woodsmoke, old paper and ancient leather clung to the man. It was not hard to imagine him enshrined in this room, which echoed _him_ at every turn, for years at a time.

"No, Caitlyn, *I* am sorry. My selfish desires have brought you to this, and I want nothing more than to abate your pain, yet I fear the consequences of my aid. I wish I were a better man that I may resist temptation in this matter, but I am a base, self-serving creature."

His hand was upon her cheek now, even as his soft-rough voice insinuated itself into the tapestry of music she heard, accentuating his words. A quaver to his voice hinted at bitter tears welling up within, and guided her attention to his eyes.

_"Forget, Cate. Forget about the fear, forget the pain it caused you, but remember only what was said without hostility, without regret._"

His voice carried her away, spinning the music apart, dissecting the dissonant notes and weaving their themes back into a harmonious accord. 'Vychtorya' held no fear for her; it never had. And though the memory of her speech remained, the singer could recall it well, it took the guise of a polite request. The Beast was gone as if it had never existed. She swam in the lyrical flow a while longer, drifting through uncertain rhythms as she re-discovered the songs of memory after that point like she was hearing them for the first time.

"Forgive my intrusion, please, even if you never know of it..."

Cate returned to her senses, Nathaniel had withdrawn his hand from her face, and held hers again in perfect synchronicity with his earlier poise. It was as if time itself had stood still, though Carrick and Sabrina were out of sight and sound. A smile danced on the older man's lips, but his eyes betrayed sorrow.

"Will you accompany me?" he said.

(OOC - Nathaniel Forgetful Mind diff6 - 10,6,8,9,8,8,7 = 7 successes)


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## Catulle (May 2, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Carrick didn't even attempt any resistance as Sabrina led him into the corridor, in fact his longer stride gave him little trouble in keeping pace with Sabrina's excited rush. At her request, he scooped up Sabrina easily into his arms. The Toreador's frame was more spare than her Uncle's, though he smelled very different. Like spices, maybe, though there was a hint of Nathan's smoke there, too. Perhaps they had been having cigars.

He nodded at Sabrina's questions, as if taking his time to consider every word, and walked along the corridor with her as he answered, "Oh, I think Nathaniel likes her very much indeed. I can see why; there's a depth of meaning to that girl lurking beneath the surface..." He cast her what she supposed could be a 'significant' look, like squinting. "...and we can tell things about the Kine, Sabrina, the Toreador are infamous for it."

"Nathan never could resist that. I wouldn't think marriage an option; the daytime services can be... tiresome for our Kindred, and your Uncle's identity is quite secret, I do believe. Has been for a couple of centuries now. No... The Embrace is out of the question, for the present time at least, though in a few years he may find the possibility attractive. It'd be a bit much at the moment, with two neonates to instruct already."

"But that's all speculation, Sabrina. While I hold myself a good judge of character, your Uncle has hidden depths himself, and he's surprised me before now. I suppose he'll want to protect her from Elizabeth more than anything, and when we discussed it, we thought it best to keep her close in order to do that... Perhaps you could help protect Cate?" He shook his head, paused in his stride - they had been travelling pretty fast, in fact  "I'm sorry; sometimes I talk ahead of myself like that. But enough; what do _you_ think?"


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## Catulle (May 2, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"Oh, he's _on_ the mezzanine already; he said he'd keep himself entertained if need be. I think he's rearranging the tables, actually..." Frustration? It was damnably hard to read the subtleties of her voice over the intercom.

"But no, V, he's the first. We're all keeping an eye out, not that Mr Ashton left a guest list... He's been nothing but mysterious about this gig from the outset." A definite sigh, perhaps resignation, from Skye.

"You wouldn't know anything that you could pass on that would help us, do you? I hate to ask, but it's a little like blindfold darts down here if we get something wrong." The nervousness in the woman's voice was both reassuring and distressing, almost in equal measures.


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## Tory Adore (May 3, 2003)

_”Mezzanine already?…moving _my_ tables?…I’m coming down straight away Skye. By the way, it’s Carrick, remember my sweet? He didn’t seem to want us to have a list. I asked him, but…well, it’s really too late to be worried about it now. As far as any info…wish I did. However, we are all well versed in our operations, and I have you, Sasha, and Sebastian to help me personally. Plus _(she looks over her shoulder to Jemal)_ I’m sure Jemal here would be kind enough to offer his assistance to us, and perhaps Mr. Maslowe will help us too so he can stop moving my tables, but I will handle_him_ myself. See you in a moment. Oh, and Skye, there may be another guest here, but I…I can’t be certain. You need not concern yourself though.”_
Vych pushes a button ending their conversation. Vych takes a deep breath and thinks to herself a few choice words.

An air of irritation remains delicately on her brow and in her voice as she turns to Jemal.
_”Apparently Carrick left as much information for my “friends” as he did with me. Did he mention the dress for tonight to you? He said he would be letting his guests know the theme. Grrrr I hope he did. Guess we shall see shortly as it seems our first guest has arrived. Have you met Mr. Stephen Maslowe? Apparently he does not care for my arrangements downstairs, so we must head down to the Mezzanine now. I do wish we would have had more time together. Perhaps you would consider going out with me again? I have a feeling we share the same “taste” in many things Jemal.”_ 

Vych, hearing herself mention dress, takes in a gaze over Jemal’s clothes. Her soft gaze looks to his eyes, 
_“Would you mind terribly if I relaxed your shirt a bit before we go? It’s not formal by any means tonight. Tonight is about…well it’s about many things so it seems, but formal dress and dispositions are ones that I hope will be left outside Antiquities by our guests this eve. So, with that, may I?”_
Vych raises her arms slightly in his direction with a warm smile.


----------



## reapersaurus (May 3, 2003)

Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *"Anyway, how did tasting the creature's blood help us? I hope it was worth it considering."*



Nikolai replies and lies, emotion in check, " Sometimes I get.. peckish... and like to experience the vitae, like a connoiseur.


> *"G?" Max says, then looks to Gabriel, then Legba, then David, then back to Nikolai, "You're talking Gabrial right? He's white.  You too, last I checked."
> 
> Max peers intently at Nikolai for a minute, "Nope, still white."*



"Don't mind my colloquialisms, "G" ... I am just not as comfortable in yelling our real names across the _boneyard_ than you are.

And I am hardly 'white' anymore - as if Kindred are restricted by as Kine of a concept as 'race'.

I did not grow up 'priviledged', and in another life, adopted many urban mannerisms as a matter of course.

That black Elder you encounter some day may have been born a slave's son in Georgia, but he has seen so many Nights since then, and done and can do so many things, that his behavior is hardly a factor of the human race he was born into - it's much more impacted by the vampire 'race' he was Borne into..."*



			He sees Nikolai struggle with himself and smiles again, but ironically.

"Hehe, a feeling I know all too well. But seriously, don't look at the crime on a personal level, detach yourself. Its better that one is unbiased when investigating something of this calibre, don't want your emotions carrying you away. Could lead to bad decision making," Max says... ."
		
Click to expand...


*"Do not presume to lecture me upon the dangers of _bugging _, Maxwell.
You, of all people - a 'studious' Brujah  - should see the irony and absurdity of commenting to a Tremere to _chill_.

Where do you get off givin' me the _411_ not to 'look at this crime on a personal level'?."*



			"What the fck!? I mean, my french may be rusty, but did it say 'Red Poet'? I thought that guy butchered lovebirds not ate corpses,"
		
Click to expand...


*Nikolai visibly flares up, then spends an intense moment collecting himself before hissing a reply thru grited teeth.
"You are fortunate I possess the legendary self-control my _blood_ are known for, since you tongue flaps dangerously close to the Fire here...

I suggest you tread upon such ground very lightly, Maxwell, childe of Morgan - it is a slippery slope you dance upon, and I trust that you are wise enough not to play with a hissing cobra."

Nikolai slips next to Max with impossible speed, even for a vampire, and whispers in his ear, "Now hold that ... thing... tightly and as firm as you can.

It's still alive."

Nikolai steps to Gabriel, locks eyes, and very carefully and secretly tells him, "This decayed husk is not what it seems.

I believe it is a Mask it wears, and its heart beats still.

Can you Dominate its will, and ensure that it does not escape us, as I bring it back to the Chantry for further important research?

His capture and study is VERY important to me, Gabriel... "


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## Shalimar (May 3, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina snuggled her tiny arms up around Carrick's neck to balance herself out, and leaned her head n against his shoulder.  It felt safe, felt secure, like no one could hurt her while she was in his arms, or Nathan's, it was truly odd that in the short time she had known him that she had become so comfortable with him.  Maybe it was one of his powers, like awe or something, whatever that cause the child liked him.  What he said about the Toreador confused her, just how many kinds of vampires were there?  In books it was only one kind, but from the way everyone talked there was an awful lot.

"Mister Carrick, you said something about being a Toreador, and uncle Nathan said he and Jemal were Ventrue, and he even said that I was a bru..a bruj... a brujah," she said in her tiny voice, stumbling over the difficult word.  "Well, just how many kinds of Vampires are there, and Uncle Nathan said I would be all bad and angry since I'm a brujah, and you said what you did about Toreador, are we all different?  Do we all get different powers and all?  Because I really like mine, I can go super super fast, and I'm really strong, and I can do that awe thing, and I even made miss Cate do exactly what I said, uncle Nathan was really happy about that one."


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## KitanaVorr (May 3, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite – The Study*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Every nuance in his eyes spoke to her, sung to her.  The change from one emotion to the next, a shift in intensity, in speed, even in octave.  Her throat wanted to hum the song, to commit it to memory so she would never forget that look.   The song reflecting her in his eyes.

His touch, so gently, brushing her hair fluttered her lashes near to closing but still she kept her gaze on him.  Locked upon him, unable to look anywhere else, think of anything else but to dwell on his rough voice echoing in her thoughts.

Eyes, larger than possible, gazed into his, deep pools of ebony that swirl with glimmerings yet to be discovered.  Breath, soft and hesitant, brushed his face lightly and along with the warmth of her skin, reminding him sharply of her humanity.

Then suddenly she awoke and the world had returned to the one of before, of hand within hand, of eyes upon eyes, of words hanging in the air waiting to be answered.  Her brow rested lighter on her face, the tensions of before vanishing into a forgotten memory.

"Let us go, you and I, when the evening is spread out against the sky..."  Her lips curved into a generous smile touched with humor.  "Let us go through certain half-deserted streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent to lead you to an overwhelming question...do I _dare_...do _I_ dare?"

"Do I dare disturb the universe?"

Leaning closer, she whispered directly into his ear, warm breath brushing his skin with each word.  The strong clean scent of Jasmine mixed in with his own masculine scent invaded his senses much as she had invaded his study.  "Yes...I will accompany you, Mr. Montague.  Whither shall you lead us?"


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## Festy_Dog (May 3, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "Sometimes I get.. peckish... and like to experience the vitae, like a connoiseur."




"Hehe, wide and varied tastes ay?" he replies.

_God! There'd have to be a better reason to put *that* thing's blood in your mouth, blech!_



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "Don't mind my colloquialisms, "G" ... I am just not as comfortable in yelling our real names across the _boneyard_ than you are.
> 
> And I am hardly 'white' anymore - as if Kindred are restricted by as Kine of a concept as 'race'.
> ...




"Fine, fine, I apologise if my meager jesting has insulted you," Max says, "There was no harm intended."



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "Do not presume to lecture me upon the dangers of _bugging _, Maxwell.
> You, of all people - a 'studious' Brujah  - should see the irony and absurdity of commenting to a Tremere to _chill_.
> 
> Where do you get off givin' me the _411_ not to 'look at this crime on a personal level'?."




Max is taken aback by the statement, he opens and shuts his mouth as if to say something but cannot while keeping his own blood in check. He clenches a fist and puts a hand to his forehead as he bundles his scattered thoughts.

_Bugging? 411? What the fck do they mean? The guy wants to start a fight! Deep breaths... What kinda sht is that fcker implyin' by the way he said 'studious Brujah'! Deep breaths... He's under a lot of stress, he wouldn't be slinging sht at me if he was okay. Give him some slack... Deep breaths... Just gotta explain myself, he'll calm down... Deep breaths... Get your thoughts together... good._

"Look," Max starts, then takes deep breath, "I was just trying to... give you some advice... because you have gotten totally psyched... since we arrived here... I don't know what your problem is... but if there is something here... which has dug up an unpleasant... thing... of your past... then it is in your best interests... to put it to one side... while we are here."

Max takes another deep breath and tries to compose himself.



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "You are fortunate I possess the legendary self-control my _blood_ are known for, since you tongue flaps dangerously close to the Fire here...
> 
> I suggest you tread upon such ground very lightly, Maxwell, childe of Morgan - it is a slippery slope you dance upon, and I trust that you are wise enough not to play with a hissing cobra."




_What... the... fck... How old is this guy? Where the FCK was he when we fought to take this city back!? He's got jack sht fckin' respect! Holy mother of fck! Fine then, fck negotiation. I won't hold my fckin' flappin' tongue no fckin' more!_

"What fire!?" Max suddenly barks at Nikolai, "Where is this slippery slope I dance upon for there is no sign to declare its presence! You say I have no qualms with yelling our names out aloud but you're the one who snapped this eve and screamed our presence to the cops over there!" Max points angrily to the cemetary gate, "If you wanna keep whatever is pissing you off to yourself, fine, but don't you ever, fckin, ever let it get in the way of our work! We are conducting an investigation here, what kind of stunt, might I ask, are you trying to pull!?"

Max shakes his head then turns to say something to David when Nikolai appears beside him.



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "Now hold that ... thing... tightly and as firm as you can.
> 
> It's still alive."





Max's fangs try to elongate into a clenched jaw as he unshoulders to shotgun and thrusts it into Nikolai's hands.

"Here, lest I fall down your invisible slope," he growls, his fangs then take the opportunity to spring forth and expose themselves, "And when did a cobra ever present a threat to a vampire?"

Max turns around and kicks the decayed child's corpse before falling to his hands and knees. His breathing is rapid and he stares wildly at the ground. He struggles to reign in his anger but it has a life of its own, the beast won't let it go. His beast never sleeps, but lurks within the shadows of his being, waiting to prey upon anger or frustration. It never kills them though, it pins them down and doesn't allow them to leave. It forces them to struggle and amplify. Max's blood boils and seeths within him as he twitches and fights for control. 

"I'm really sorry, David," he says, clenching fist fulls of dirt, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to lose it."

His tone of voice is confusing though, and it cannot be determined whether he's apologising for what he's done, or for what he's about to do...


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## reapersaurus (May 5, 2003)

Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> Max's fangs try to elongate into a clenched jaw as he unshoulders to shotgun and thrusts it into Nikolai's hands.
> 
> "Here, lest I fall down your invisible slope," he growls, his fangs then take the opportunity to spring forth and expose themselves, "And when did a cobra ever present a threat to a vampire?"[/B]



Nikolai takes the returned shotgun and puts it in his trenchcoat before his hand returns with 2 small objects that he pops in his mouth, and replying, "My analogy was a human one.

And if you want to throw down, I feel obliged to warn you that you _will_ lose control of your Beast if we tussle... I AM armed.. I have armor on, and am not in the mood to have your feelings get in the way of my Revenge." 

Nikolai struggles to keep one eye on the feral thing's body, lest it try to escape.

[OOC: 2 blood gained from blood baubles, blood pool at 5 + 2 = 7 now]


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## Ashrem Bayle (May 5, 2003)

Gabriel mearly nodded at Nikolai's suggestion to Dominate the creature that now appeared dead. However, before he could act, Max burst out.

He stood with the look of amusement plastered across his face. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword. Amusing as the two kindred were, behaving like mortal children, he knew all to well what happened when a kindred lost control. Amusement faded to annoyance...

"Are you two finished?" he asked simply.


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## Jemal (May 6, 2003)

Jemal felt the quiver in his stomach spreading, and realized with a sudden lurch what was wrong.

"Vych, I'm so sorry, But I have to go... I just realized something that can't wait, and I really need to go RIGHT now."  HE paused and looked regretfully at her.  "I apologize, but I have to, it has nothing to do with you, or the party, I just need to get out right now.."

"It's been a pleasure."  He gave her a kiss on the cheek, smiled once, and left without looking back.


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## Vychtorya (May 6, 2003)

Vychtorya felt Jemal's feelings radiate from his kiss into her cheek, then into her dead heart causing it to weep. She could feel that this would be the last moment they would share together. As Vychtorya watched the beautiful man leave her side, she felt her heart beat in sorrow, and her lips quiver as her first real vampire tears sparkled in her dragon green eyes. Then the ruby-red droplets fell, staining her soft cheeks in crimson streams of blood. She watched through bloodied prismed tears as the heavy mahogany doors locked shut behind Jemal. Vychtorya could not speak.


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## Catulle (May 7, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Silence ruled in the appartment, the patter of blood on marble absorbed into the greater emptiness. The lingering aroma of his scent assailed Vychtorya and only heightened the resonance of his passing; an intoxicating torment that left her mind soaring in its wake.

(OOC - Vychtorya self-control - 9,7,5,3, = 2 successes, clan weakness resisted)  

Despite the temptation to simply let go, she could rein in her wandering mind. The focus of her gaze found itself fixed on a point between the two statues, from her position, Vychtorya could see both exquisite profiles; even the graven images stared blankly towards the door. Where Jemal had gone; beyond which her guests still awaited her.


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## Tory Adore (May 8, 2003)

Vychtorya flutters her moist eyes shut breathing in deep. When she opened them, a sight lay before Vych that pulled her heart strings from their torment, turning them toward the concerns that lay before her now. She sees the paths of the shadows from the sculptures intersect, and says out loud as if she is talking to them,
_”Jemal, guests arriving and no list of who to expect, Mazz moving my tables…and…maybe even Carrick’s Sire….”_ 

Vych sighs and places her hands up to her face resting her touching fingertips across the bridge of her nose, palms coming together slightly over her lips, thumbs out lying along her silky chin bone with eyes fixated ahead of her. Seconds hardly pass by when she realizes her hands are wet with bloodied tears that she had not yet wiped away from before. Vych looks down at her hands and notices she is without one of her handkerchiefs. She vows as she glances back up to the statue reaching her glistening, crimson hands upward toward the form of Carrick’s Sire; love and determination echoed in her voice,
_”Tonight WILL go well for Carrick. I will see to it with ALL that I am, and all that I have no matter what I might need to endure to make it perfect for his guests, for him…perfect…for you my Sire’s Sire if that is who you are.”_

With that, Vych turned in a hurry to clean herself up in the powder room and grab one of her red monogrammed kerchiefs to tuck away in her bodice. On her way out of the powder room, she caught a glimpse of the goblet Jemal had used and the open black bottle sitting on the bar. She recorked the bottle and put it away. Then Vych wrapped the used crystal goblet in a fine black linen napkin and hid it in one of the drawers beneath the bar’s counter. She checked herself one last time in the mirror behind the bar.
_”Okay V here we go. Carrick will be by my side soon, and everything is going to be just fine.”_

She opened the heavy doors waiting for them to lock shut behind her and pushed the code in for the elevator. Vych tries to put on her “happy face.”


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## Catulle (May 8, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The last echoes of rasied voices ebbed away to the silence of the grave. The fetid corpse lay still, a few feet away from Max's feet where it had fallen after the young kindred's boot had thrown it a few feet into the air. Though the stench persisted, the wind had die to the point where the snow was falling, gentle and straight down, upon the only witnesses.

Flakes of grey-white were starting to settle on the high branches, mixing with the blood of the suspended man and starting to cause the bloody poem's letters to run.

Gabriel's stark gaze took in both Max and Nikolai as he nudged the child with the wooden tip of the cane-sheath, "I'll need help carrying this... thing. I'd suggest completing our investigations quickly; the snow will cover our mess but obscure clues also."


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## Catulle (May 8, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Carrick paused at Sabrina's revelation, then resumed his course towards the elevator, "Well, it's a simplification to say we all 'get different powers', but not such an exaggeration either. More like we have different affinities, blood-bourne preferences for gifts which come easier to some than to others... it doesn't mean that one cannot develop a range, as you have, just that certain influences are required. Your uncle's instruction, I suspect, has taught you a little of his own affinity."

He chewed on the inside of his mouth, thoughtfully, as if forcing memories. "My sire's sire, though I've only heard about this secondhand, was quite the adept at mental influence too, though it doesn't come so freely to the Toreador blood as our sight, speed, and sway. I couldn't tell you how many kinds there are... common lore says thirteen exist these nights, though without doubt some are long extinct and others lurk away in hidden corners of the globe."

He came to a stop by the panelled sliding doors of the lift "And here, we wait."


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## Catulle (May 8, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Leaning his head in towards hers, just a hint, Nathaniel took in her perfume with the air of an epicure. He lead Cate through the darkened corridors at an easy pace as he spoke, keeping his tone as soft as his throat would permit,

"I will take you to Mr Ashton's club, Antiquities, in Manhatten. The reception will be rather more relaxed than the previous affair. A little business awaits me there, and for that I apologise, but I hope it may be brought to a conclusion with alacrity."

The corridor wound about to an end at a pair of oak-panelled doors before which stood Carrick, still holding Sabrina's form in his arms and with an expectant glint to his eye.


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## Catulle (May 8, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The club's rich, deep scent caught Vychtorya's imagination as much as it did her sense of smell. The crowds had gathered, though the Mezzanine remained clear and afforded, she knew only too well, a sweeping view of the assembled throng when, as was now the case, the heavy curtain was drawn back. The tall figure perched on the balustrade was inches from dropping over the edge and threw her a casual wave, wild hair spilling over the edge and being whipped into motion by the currents generated by the air conditioners. Mazz's long coat was hanging over the rail at his side, and he wore a form-fitting shirt by the looks of it, more mexican than Moroccan

Across the room, she caught sight of that prefectly sculpted figure again, at rest and seemingly in her element by the main bar and playing court to a group of young hopefuls. Her head tilted back in an approximation of laughter; even from here, Vychtorya could discern the otherworldliness about the Kindred that she had been told hung, cloying and cold, about the truly potent of the blood. To the enraptured mortals, however, it all must have seemed an intoxicating game.


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## Festy_Dog (May 9, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "My analogy was a human one.
> 
> And if you want to throw down, I feel obliged to warn you that you _will_ lose control of your Beast if we tussle... I AM armed.. I have armor on, and am not in the mood to have your feelings get in the way of my Revenge."




Max slowly calms. He stands and brushes himself off.

"Forget it Nikolai. I am myself again, and in my right mind I would never seek out a fight with a fellow Camarilla," he says, "My apologies for that little scene, my blood carried me away there."

_Well, if its revenge he's after at least that means he's determined. If he can exercise as much self control all the time as he did tonight... maybe he wouldn't cause much trouble by staying. I mean, a matter of revenge is a big issue, I should help him out if I can. Tremere are scholarly types, so we'd have a fair bit in common... pity he holds a stereotype of us Brujah, I can see why Elizabeth is making a stand for us._


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## Shalimar (May 9, 2003)

Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Sabrina shook her head, her hair swaying, in response to Carrck's supposition, "No, uncle Nathan never told me how, I just did it all on my own."  the tiny blond said proudly, wanting to impress her Uncle's companion.  The child let herself lay flat against the elder as they waited for the singer and Nathan.  It wasn't very easy for her to be still, she was so full of blood and energy that almost begged to be used.  She knew that she should be on her best behavior in front of her uncle's geusts, and at the place they were going, or she wouldn't get the rest of her treat, so she turned her pent up energy into questions.

"You said there were 13 kinds of us, and there were all kinds of really neat powers so while we wait can you tell me about them?  About all the different kinds I mean, and all the stuff we can do with them?"  Sabrina asked eagerly as she waited for the the other pair to arrive.  There was a look of wonder on her face as she thought about all the possibilities, but any other questions she might have asked ground to a halt as everyone arrived by the elevators, she did wave to her friend though, smiling at what might turn out to be a big aventure.


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## Catulle (May 10, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Carrrick raised an enquiring eyebrow in response to the little girl's refutation, "But surely, his presence has played its role in your education in our ways..." His attention lingired a little longer than, the child supposed, was strictly polite. Probing deeper, perhaps?

He smiled easily at the question, again - did humour come so simply to one this old - or was it fashioned of art and artifice? Sabrina could scarcely comprehend. No, this was Education; and Her Education no less...

"Well, of the thirteen, there are few that you need worry about; the triumvirate of the Toreador, Tremere and Ventrue are accorded the greatest respect in the Camarilla, our great society. The young call us, respectively, degenerates, warlocks and blue bloods by turns, and that is - to a degree - what we are. The others, Nosferatu (like Calebros), Malkavians and, of course, your own Brujah, make up the six most populous clans. The common terms for _them_ are sewer rats, lunatics and zealots..."

The Toreador's voice trailed away, as if alerted to another's presence. Mere moments later, Caitlyn and Nathaniel emerged from the corridor's recesses into view.


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## Tory Adore (May 12, 2003)

The infectious dance beat of the last portion of _Jessica Simpson – Irresistable_ greets Vychtorya as she opens the heavy doors to the Mezzanine.

Vych rounds the corner of the doorway from the VIP room, door closing behind her. Her body subconsciously moves in time to the music, the rhythms entwining with her spirit, invariably pulling her out of her sorrowful mood. Music always had done that for her. She pulls her right hand along the short wall feeling the prickly stucco beneath her fingers, scanning and taking in the senses of the club as she stops along the wall to catch Mazz’s wave. She lets her hand ease up the wall slowly until her elbow rests easy on the stucco and her left hip extends in a sensual curve to support her delicate weight. Her hand then falls to the top of her head as she pauses for a brief moment as the next song begins to play. 

Guns ‘n’ Roses - Sympathy for the Devil registers in her ears. With raised eyebrows and a laughingly pursed smile, she rolls her eyes a bit and shakes her head playfully, not revealing an ounce of her previous irritation with Mazz upon hearing Skye’s report of the rearranging of her tables. Vych casually glances over to the exquisite female form at the bar. It was a good that Maria, if that was truly she, looked to be fine on her own with her new entourage partaking in her presence. Vych felt Mazz would require her attention at the moment as she watched his form against the backdrop of human ecstacy with their scent of heated blood rising behind him from the dance floor. Had she not focused her mind before coming down, she could feel the sight would be terribly hard to resist. Seconds pass as she finishes taking in “the view”. Then Vych pushes herself from the wall and gradually extends both of her arms as she careens forward to Mazz.
_”It has been way too long since I last saw you Mazz. It pleases me greatly to find you are one of Carrick’s guests tonight. If there is anything I can provide you, you have but to ask.”_


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## KitanaVorr (May 13, 2003)

_Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite
Wednesday 11th December, 2002_

That ever familiar voice, soft, rolling, luxurious in its tones echoed to the pair standing in the hallway.  "Carrick, Sabrina...hope you didn't wait too long for us loiterers."  

Caitlyn's dark eyes sparkled as if a swirl of mischief spun in lazy circles around her, embuing her lips with a mysterious smile, her touch with a teasing lightness, and her bearing with the catalyst of her returning confidence.  The reason for the sudden relaxation perhaps not clear to the child, but it was obvious no more terror lurked in the recesses of her mind.

Gazing thoughtfully, the young woman spent but a brief if lazy moment contemplating the two men standing beside her.  How different they each were!  Yet perfect complements - a matching pair.  One was all lightness - a glib tongue, beautiful face, and dancing manner - all above a very hard even if honest heart.  The other was all darkness - calculating tongue, mysterious face, and cold formal manner - but beneath something so passionate that perhaps even he wasn't aware of.

Both such fascinating facets of perfection...

_Irresistible..._


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## Catulle (May 13, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Mazz' smile was born of a confidence that pervaded his entire bearing. When Vychtorya started to climb the stairs, he brought his knees up to bring his feet onto the balustrade. With the loose sleeves on his shirt, it looked as if he might consider taking to flight at any moment. Instead, his near-vertical jump took him backwards to the mezzanine floor. He all but strode across the floor in long strides to approach his hostess, impatience fraying the eccentric mystique he seemed intent on conjuring for her tonight.

Quick and deft, he slipped one hand, his left, into Vychtorya's while pulling the other away at the last moment. In a trice, rapid steps took him around and about to her left side and behind her, drawing her arm across her chest as he did so to limit the movement of the other arm, and bringing his chin almost to rest on her left shoulder. A heavy, faintly musky scent with a hint of copper hung in the Brujah's hair and gathered near his skin, and Vych could feel the tip of each strand brush her back where the skin was exposed.

"Too long, indeed, V." His voice was a whisper. "We've missed you, Hellene, Thomas and I have but I suppose your sire can't need you _all_ the time, right?" A hint of... was it pleading or gentle mockery? "I think we could make a place for you with our little coterie, in fact. And I'd like to... work with you some day."

He released her, but didn't step markedly away, casting his eyes about the decor appraisingly, before returning to her with a grin that exposed his teeth "Nice enough place you have here, V, but it doesn't do you justice."


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## Catulle (May 13, 2003)

*Crown Plaza Hotel, Montague Family Suite*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Ashton simply shrugged as Nathaniel manoeuvred the doors to the plush elevator cabin apart. "A pleasant conversation on the whole, wouldn't you agree, Sabrina? With a mind so enquiring, I wonder how you keep up with her, Nathan." He set Sabrina down on a cushioned seat for the ride, and left each to her own musings.

The ride down to the recesses of the private parking garage was both swift and comfortable; the ride across town somewhat slower going as the chauffeur was, it seemed, taking a rather circuitous route. The weather had worstened since Cate had been out, the chill wind dropping off and the first flakes of snow were now falling to the aspalt. The glare from the myriad of the city's lights caught the tiny crystals eerily, casting their brief lives into brilliant colour for the seconds before they fell fully to earth, where they were cast into darkness, melted away to nothing and forgotten.


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## reapersaurus (May 13, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island
> 
> Gabriel's stark gaze took in both Max and Nikolai as he nudged the child with the wooden tip of the cane-sheath, "I'll need help carrying this... thing. I'd suggest completing our investigations quickly; the snow will cover our mess but obscure clues also." *



"No problem, Maxwell -
I would like to have that blood at my 'back' if we were but to see a target that deserves our venting of emotion against.

Further - I have read that it is precisely our feelings - and emotions - that keep us connected to our mortal halves.

If we lose that spark that marks our human heritage, would we not be on the path to becoming something... else?

It is precisely the coldness and calculated inhumanity that dominates the atrocities commited by Kindred who have succombed to Their Beast.

Like this atrocity...."

Nikolai looks to see the evidence being obscured by the weather conditions.

"This atrocity!!" Nikolai startles, and races over to the crime scene to secure evidence.

He turns back immediately, calling to Gabriel "Please make sure that thing doesn't take off.

Maxwell, could you please carry it back with us?"


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## reapersaurus (May 13, 2003)

Nikolai quickly advances directly to the man suspended on the tree, and shows no hesitation or uncertainty in pulling down the piece of wood that has the blood written on it, and protects it from the elements.

This piece of importance secured, he then sets himself to a rapid Investigation of the scene to collect any other evidence, especially more physical remains of the perpetrator(s).

After a short while, he looks around and asks, "Where's Qadir?
I have a suspicion I could use his expertise right now.

David - do you know when, and if, he might be coming back?
Wasn't he to create a distraction or something for us?"


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## Festy_Dog (May 17, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> Further - I have read that it is precisely our feelings - and emotions - that keep us connected to our mortal halves.
> 
> If we lose that spark that marks our human heritage, would we not be on the path to becoming something... else?
> ...




Max nods, a sly smile on his face.

"You sound a bit like Louis, from 'Interview with the Vampire'. I liked the book better than the movie," he says jovially.

Max shrugs and looks about to gather where the others are.

_Our emotions are what separates us from the Sabbat, obviously. I was borne and bred to despise and kill them, tis in my nature to avoid becoming one. If Nikolai and I ever get the opportunity to sit down and talk I should explain myself fully to him, I'm under the impression he underestimates me._



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> Maxwell, could you please carry it back with us?




"Sure," Max says.

He wanders over to the child's corpse and effortlessly plucks it up by its remains of clothing and holds it at arm's length, grimacing at the filthy little monster.


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## KitanaVorr (May 17, 2003)

*Enroute to Antiquities*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The city appeared so quiet but Caitlyn knew better.  Snow reflecting the lights, multicolored lights not all of which could be dulled by the car windows.  And each flake carried with it a song. She hadn't heard it in a while, but it was so sad and so hopeful at the same time.

_Chiều buồn nghiêng nắng
Biển vắng mênh mông lang thang mình ta 
Mây trên cao bay khuất chân trời
Và theo gió cuốn trôi đi bao nhiêu mộng mơ. _

Her dark eyes rested on the men in the car with her, dark and light.  Their thoughts, what could they be thinking?  Lucky lucky men...and lucky child.

_Ngày nào mình tình cờ quen nhau
Và đến bên nhau vui quên thời gian
Quên đi bao âu lo buồn đau với kiếp sống lạc loài. _

What charmed existences they must lead.  They controlled their destinies...surely they must.  And Sabrina, one day, would control hers like others not cursed, not ladden with a brow heavily troubled.

Turning her attention back to the window, Cate gazed at the beautiful winter scene for a long moment before speaking aloud in a soft lyrical voice, "Waking or sleep, thou of death must deem things more true and deep than we mortals dream, or how could thy notes flow in such crystal stream?"

She smiled rather apologetically at the others.  "New York City always brings out the artist in me and tonight I feel like I'm living in a ballad."


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## Tory Adore (May 19, 2003)

Seeing Mazz ready to take flight from the balustrade brings back a fond memory of Carrick and the night of her embrace. Vych closes her eyes for a moment as he begins to leap; maybe hoping Mazz was not jumping into the crowd or perhaps attmepting to mirror the memory to the present picture in her mind. 

Her eyes open at the touch of Mazz entwining his arm with hers. Sensing a slight dizziness in her head, almost as if she was lightly intoxicated, Vych feels him move swiftly about her as she attempts to catch his face in her eyes. Unable to do so, she gazes outward with an almost blank yet pleasantly content look on her face appearing as if she were dreaming with her eyes open. Then she feels Mazz pulling her arm across her chest. She felt her blood beginning to course through her veins as her body warmed itself from head to toe presenting the warmest of glows. Her chest began moving in a rather rapid breathing pattern as she closed her eyes again and rolled her head to her right and slightly back leaving her neck exposed. 

Taking in the scent of musk and copper still whirling about her, she felt Mazz’s hair tickle her back causing her now warm flesh to tingle with a cooling sensation prickling her skin. Then Vych could sense the presence of his chin above her left shoulder. As his soft words spilled from his lips onto the skin of her neck and down into her being, Vych reached around and to the back with her somewhat free arm to lightly wrap her hand and fingers about his outter thigh squeezing ever so genlty.  

Vych starts in a bit deeper than normal, almost seductively sultry voice, 
_”Mmm my most beautiful Mazz. You must be able to read my heart to speak of the desires that do so lie within me as you have.”_

She counters Mazz’s words sweetly and with respect on her tounge, and does not move from the posture he has sculpted her into,
_”Carrick is quite accomodating when it comes to my…”desires” Mazz.’_
Vych pauses momentarily and releases his thigh though she could feel her hand would have rather kept in its resting-place upon him. 

Feeling his hold release her, Vych spins gracefully around to face Mazz as she says with a pountingly soft and submissive tone to her voice and eyes while searching his to find if he is teasing her,
_”I do hope your words are true and you are not toying with the tender heart of this young, helpless Toreador before you?”_

Vych watched Mazz intently hoping to pick up on his emotions as he looked about the décor. A nother song begins to play. _Live – Forever May Not Be Long Enough_ After he speaks, she steps in toward him wrapping her left arm around his right shoulder, runs her hand up under his hair to the nape of his neck caressing it with her fingertips. She lays her head against his shoulder and rests her right hand on his chest. Vych says quietly starring outward relaxing her eyes in a glazed look, 
_”Perhaps you could… make it do me justice... dance with me?”_


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## Catulle (May 19, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Partway between sleet and snow, the gritty flakes continued to fall. The wet-slick scent stirred and blended with the corpseflesh aroma, blood and turned earth to create an unforgetteble miasma.

Max could lift the frail body easily, malnourishment, decay and a lightness of build contributed to the simplicity of his task. His hand sank into the soft flesh, pulpy and wet to the touch, when he lifted the thing. He felt something fluid running down his arm.

As Nikolai took stock of the scene, it became clear that more than one perpetrator had been at work, here. Imprints of small hands and bare feet were still visible in some places; he would have estimated as many as half a dozen... people had been here, busily churning the earth and posessed of a ferocious strength to scar the earth so. To judge by the bite-marks in the rotten flesh of the recently exhumed cadavers, he could only arrive at the conclusion that those responsible for the horror were children. The unsettling image of the child vampire at the party mere weeks ago flitted through the Tremere's mind. The paving slabs likely covered a fresher corpse, judging by the ammount of blood that had seeped from underneath it. By the size, there was either a shallow grave underneath it, or the pile lay atop a small body indeed.

As much as the cairn was awash in gore, the hanging man was suspiciously free of the dark stains, almost obsessively clean, in fact. It took Nikolai until he was up the tree, locked into an embrace of sorts with the hanging man as he strained to reach the placard chained above, to realise why this was. The branch twisted through the heart, yet there was little blood about the wound; certainly not the deluge he would have assumed a logical consequence of this kind of massive trauma. The dead man's posture was a too rigid as well - hardly the expected relaxation after death, even including the chance of rigor mortis. The posture was wrong, as if he were paralysed; frozen stiff. In the moment, it made sense.

The victim on the tree had been Kindred. 

(OOC - Nikolai per/investigation diff5 - 8,2,5,10,5,7 = 5 successes)


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## KitanaVorr (May 19, 2003)

*Club Antiquities*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The long black limo pulled up to the curb, its gleaming surface reflecting the colorful people entering and exiting _Antiquities_.  All at once a smartly uniformed man stepped forward, pulling the door open to reveal first the jean-clad legs as Carrick exited with Sabrina still in his arms.

Next the somber-suited Nathaniel stepped out of his vehicle, turning slightly to offer one hand to help Caitlyn from the limo.  The young singer's large dark eyes took in the rich scenery with insatiable curiousity.  Her hand tightened slightly in his before releasing to take his arm as the foursome strode together into the club.

Strains of Live's "Forever May Not Be Long Enough"  played on the speakers to the club's patrons.  It's sweet tough melody echoed in Caitlyn's ear, swirling her senses.  She could feel her body want to respond in the slow aching throbbing of the other dancers.

Music wrapped her soul - impregnated it and begetting more creativity - and she had never been able to resist its pull.  The desire to dance tugged at her womb, the need to sing curled in her heart, and she found herself lost in an artist's bliss.


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## Catulle (May 19, 2003)

*The Mezzanine - Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

"So soon, V?" His smile bared teeth and the rakish Harpy ran his tongue across the bottoms of his upper canines, which could so easily shape themselves to fangs. "You wouldn't prefer to wait for an audience - I prefer to play to a crowd, myself..."

He took a step back which did nothing to distance their connection, cocking his head to one side as he looked down at her, taking in the view. "Oh, I'm not trying to decieve you; we Harpies find lies devalue our chosen currency. Got to stay in the red." His gaze flicked to her hair, and the jewelled pendant at her throat. "Yes?"

"A pity that things're as they are. I know something's coming up in the next few days you may enjoy; let your hair down a little - a Brujah tradition, if that's not a contradiction to you. Of course," and at this his smile grew even broader, "Carrick may not like it, but he should be able to 'accomodate' you on this, right?. I guarantee it'll be a blast." Mazz swayed in time with the music, silently tapping out the beat with one toe on the thick carpet of the guest area.


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## Festy_Dog (May 20, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Max visibly shudders and winces as he feels the cold, grimey, trickle of liquid run down into his sleeve and along his arm.

_This shirt and jacket are going straight into the washing pile..... BLUUUURGH!_

The trickle reaches his armpit and threatens to run down his side. He hurriedly lowers the angle at which he holds the child shaped hunk of meat, but makes no effort to bring it closer to him. With his other hand he leaves the knife in his jacket pocket momentarily and runs his hand up his side and sleeve, letting the fabric absorb the fetid fluid. Max rolls his eyes then turns to Gabriel.

"Well, where to now?" he asks, then noticing Nikolai's movements about the crime scene.

_Wow, looks like he knows what he's doing._


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## Tory Adore (May 20, 2003)

Vych slid her left hand down the nape of his neck under Mazz’s hair to his shoulder as her right hand moved from his chest to his right. She pushed her head and body from its comfort against him letting her hands glide down his arms until hers were at her sides. Looking up at him with heavy eyelids and a relaxed smile about her lips,
_”I shall defer to your preference then Mazz, but it will not be easy to quell the music’s hold over me tonight. Please don’t make me suffer too long.”_

Vych tries to stand still, but finds her bellydancing hips have a mind of their own at the trill in the singer’s voice. Her upper body is almost motionless except an occasional little movement by her neck as she glides over to the balustrade looking over to the bar where she had seen Maria earlier. Letting her mind wander over his words and taking them in, she turns her back to the dance floor and bar below so she can concentrate as she motions for Mazz to come closer,
_“A pity? I don’t know…if things were not as they are I might not be standing in your presence at this very moment. Now _that_ in itself would be a pity, and it would be I that was missing out. As for a Brujah tradition?…a little contradiction is very intriguing to me Mazz. You will find as you get to know me well, which I do hope will be the case, that I am not in opposition to too many ideas…or situations for that matter. And Carrick? Does he know of this ‘tradition’ then if he might not like it? I want to come Mazz, you have captured my curiosity. I will find away to attend. Just let me know when and where.”_

As the rest of his words filter through her inquisitive mind, she turns to face the bar again, casually looking for the beautiful Sire. Vych feels the infamous tug of business pulling her heart away from pleasure again, and starts to fidget a bit as she speaks,
_“And in the red is it? Mmm…Red _is_ my favorite color afterall. So what might a woman need to do to enter into your coterie? …or should we table all this for a more private discussion? I feel we could get interrupted at anytime now. The rest of Carrick’s guests should be arriving as the hour is getting on, is it not?”_


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## Catulle (May 20, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The dour Tremere nodded approvingly at Max's summation. "Out the same way we came in, I would think. Legba will have David's number, and we can call him from the car to let him know things are in hand." His eyes took in Nikolai's movements as his clanmate ascended the jagged tree, and snapped the stiletto-thin blade back into the body of the cane. "Provided Nikolai is done before long, not that I doubt Qadir's ability to keep the police out of our business."

A little way out, occluded by the darkness and cover, Legba was already on the 'phone, muttering softly into the handset and inaudible over the chill wind's bluster.


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## Catulle (May 20, 2003)

*The Mezzanine - Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Mazz' attention was intense as he riveted his attention on Vychtorya, taking in every swell and curve of her body. His skin was cold to the touch, contrasting with her stolen vitality, warmth fuelled by another's blood.

"Now, you're toying with the legendary Brujah passions; a dangerous business, some say." An exaggerated wink took the edge off the words, but Vychtorya was unsure as to the deeper meaning. His interest certainly seemed genuine to her expertly honed senses and his eyes didn't waver for a second from her. They barely blinked, in fact. Without breaking from her, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a tiny phone. Its sleek lines and compact size dropped neatly into her palm.

"I'll call you on it with details later. If anybody else 'phones, just talk and be yourself; I'm sure they'll understand."

A polite cough from behind Vychtorya caused him to start up, smiling as he caught Skye's pale eyes in his. The mortal returned his look with a little more than casual interest before passing an eggshell notelet to the proprietess.

It read; The Montague Party has arrived.


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## Catulle (May 20, 2003)

*Main Entrance - Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The broad sweep of the club's entrance foyer afforded a view across the pulsing dancefloor as well as bringing the faintest trills of hunger into the Kindred mind. So many assembled at one time all but called to them with its dull roar, an undertow that threatened, for all of a second, to drag their senses under and let loose the Beast. A good thing, then, that these guests arrived well-battened.

The deference the clubgoers showed to Carrick was obvious in stolen glances, even awe, as he cast out one hand to encompass the arches of the ceiling, taking in the african-themed furnishings. With one flick of the wrist, he could almost have been conducting the very music in the air. He easily kept Sabrina's lightweight figure clasped and supported with his left hand, only raising his voice a little to address the trio who accompanied him, and no others

"Welcome to my house. Come freely and all that." The flash of a smile heralded a short laugh manifested out of sheer delight. His hand took in the mezzanine gallery as Nathan moved his own to rest on Cate's wrist, a curious gesture to the singer, as she felt his dry, smooth skin on hers. "And there," Carrick continued, "my angel."


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## KitanaVorr (May 22, 2003)

*Main Entrance - Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Caitlyn matched Carrick's laugh with one of her own.  "Well, come freely I shall," she agreed, turning her gaze upon the child in the fair-haired man's arms just as the sensation of Nathan's fingers brushing her wrist registered in her thoughts.  "And what do you want to do first tonight, Sabby?  Get a drink from the bartender?  Dance on the main floor?  Meet the other seven year olds in this club?"  

Her dark eyes twinkled with mischief, but her soft hand brushing the child's cheek with affection eased any teasing in her tone.  What an interesting juxaposition of music those two made so close together, a swirling meld of the innocent child and the _not quite_ so innocent man in an awe-inspiring duet.


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## Tory Adore (May 22, 2003)

Vych is sure the Brujah must know she has her own phone he could just call her on, so for him to give her his must have ment there to be a reason behind it. So Vych thought it best not to ask and just accept it free from question. Vych flips the phone over with her one hand and clasps her fingers around it as she raises her left brow and gives him a warm smile.
_”Ahh…perhaps not toying though as there is always truth behind my actions. Now where to keep this close to me…”_
Laughing at the thought of where to put the tiny phone, she tucks the phone under and between her breasts hoping that it is on vibrate not ring.





A seductive smile broadens on her lips as she moves up against Mazz’s body placing her right arm around his left shoulder, resting her hand near his neck, standing chest to chest and placing her cheek next to his with her lips at his ears. Wet mouth whispering in his ear,
_”I shall then wait with baited breath for your call. And please remember you owe the performance of a dance with me tonight. It is one debt I plan to collect upon…and with interest should you skip out on me.”_

Vych slides her cheek down his just a bit and places a moist kiss with her full lips on his neck just below the lobe of his ear breathing in his scent for one last pleasure before the night turns to business for her. Hearing Skye’s cough she turns graciously away from Mazz and takes Skye by both hands, kissing her lovingly on each cheek as she takes the note and reads it. 
_”I would introduce you two, but I think you have already met tonight. It seems as though the Montagues and Carrick have arrived."_

Vych walks over to the balustrade, places both hands upon the cool, golden rail and leans slightly forward on her toes over it searching the sea of human beatitude for the handsome group. Looking back over her shoulder to Mazz,
_"Would you care to escort me to greet them Mazz, or would you prefer to remain here?”_


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## Shalimar (May 23, 2003)

Main Entrance - Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

The loud music had made the child give a small start in the elder's arms, but she quickly got over the noise and seetled herself in more comfortably.  Her eyes were constantly moving, constantly searching out all of the differnt things in the club.  Her eyes widen at some of the clothes being worn by the patrons.  _Thats certainly not very lady-like,_ she thinks about one girl in particular who was dancing awfully close to her boyfriend, er boyfriends to be more specific.  The woman was rubbing herself on the men like a wash cloth, not even close to any type of dance that Sabrina knew.

"What is she doing?" she asks pointing her small hand at the woman.  She looked puzzeled, and very curious about all the different types of dancing that the people were doing.  Sabrina blinks at Cate's question, refocusing on the singer, it took a little effort, the press of bodies and the warmth were over-whelming or would have been if she hadn't been allowed to feed.  "I want to meet Miss Maria." she said by way of answer to Cate.


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## reapersaurus (May 23, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *The unsettling image of the child vampire at the party mere weeks ago flitted through the Tremere's mind. The paving slabs likely covered a fresher corpse, judging by the ammount of blood that had seeped from underneath it.
> 
> The victim on the tree had been Kindred.*



Nikolai imagines hordes of soulless children, corrupted and destroyed by The Poet, and flushes with anger and revulsion.

He examines the corpse, and his understanding of vampire physiology, and tries to determine whther the victim could be revived in any way.

He continues his Investigation of the victim's body, then moves on, asking,
"Can I get some help in lifting up the slab?

Let's see who's made an impression here."


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## Festy_Dog (May 24, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002



> _originally posted by reapersaurus_
> "Can I get some help in lifting up the slab?
> 
> Let's see who's made an impression here."





"Okaly dokaly," Max says, moving over to the base of the pile of rubble where he drops the corpse to the ground and wipes his hand on his jacket.

_Damn, do I really want to see whats under this this? Business is business though, I better get to it._

Max helps any way he can.

"Watcha determined from the scene thus far, super sleuth?" he asks jovially, a tone of voice to distract himself from thinking about what he may be uncovering.


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## KitanaVorr (May 26, 2003)

*Main Entrance - Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Those dark eyes widened ever so slightly when Caitlyn realized the type of club they were in - in part with the way their hostess was dressed and reacting to that man up in the mezzanine...wasn't he from that formal party?  This place certainly wasn't appropriate for a seven-year old child...what were these two men thinking?

However - Sabby wasn't her responsiblity, not when her guardian was right here and amply amble to attend to his responsiblities.

_In fact..._ Turning that deep gaze right on Nathaniel, she gave him a smile - sort of mix between mischief and expectancy.  _Wonder how he's going to answer all of Sabrina's questions tonight?_


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## reapersaurus (May 27, 2003)

Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *"Watcha determined from the scene thus far, super sleuth?" he asks jovially, a tone of voice to distract himself from thinking about what he may be uncovering. *



Nikolai makes sure to retreive the single blood-stained white rose from the body, securing it with gloves on. He uses what tools he has to get it, making sure he doesn't hold it and spoil any Auras that may still reside on the rose that can be seen thru a more experienced Auspex-user's eyes than his.

Nikolai climbs down from the tree and straightens up momentarily and looks deep into the Brujah's eyes, weighing his measure.

It is not in Nikolai's nature to trust ANYONE nowadays, much less a vampire, but desperation and fanaticism DOES make strange bedfellows.









*OOC:*


 Aura Perception on Max - I'm sure he won't radiate any emotion that would cause Nik to feel suspicious. 







"Well, my dear Watson,  (exaggerated wink) this ..... victim on the tree is actually a Kindred.
I haven't been able to find out if he was dead before he was impaled. I think a Necromancer would be quite handy to have right about now......  David? You don't happen to know anyone that could help uncover some truths that lie within these cold dead eyes?

David? Are you here?

But anyway, Maxwell, these other bodies were munched on by some rather strong creatures that I would surmise are very similar to Slimer, here.

If I could ask for your guys' assistance, we should all find out what facts can be uncovered by revealing the victim under this slab, and if you all could help to collect any physical evidence you can find of Slimer's friends that may be on the gnawed-on bodies, or fingernails in the clawed earth, or tatters of clothing, etc.

I may be able to use them to track the little horrors down afterwards."

Nikolai steals a look at the feral thing's dessicated body's Aura, trying to determine if it still emits emotions, therefore most probably alive.


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## reapersaurus (May 27, 2003)

Nikolai relates to the others:
"If we need to get out of here secret-like, I could... 'cast a spell'..., if you wish, that would make it hard to see all of us - effectively making us invisible.

It would take quite a while to cast, though, so it probably wouldn't help us in this case."


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## Catulle (May 27, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003


_The Mezzanine_

Mazz' eyes strayed across the neonate's perfect form and over at the party entering as Vychtorya spoke. He gave a shrug of his thin shoulders which jostled the long tangle of his hair as if the strands were in turn noncommital. "I think I'd cramp your style, and 'sides, I always did like to watch." His grin returned as he flexed his arms about in their sockets as if straining out the day's cramps, adding "I'm just wondering who you'll greet first..." He winked again, and this time the gesture was less warm, more calculating than it had been before.

He took a few paces away, dropping with graceful abandon into one of the deep seats, and stretching long legs out across the floor in front of him and extending an arm out in the direction of the blonde mortal. "I think Skye and I can keep each other company for a bit, V. You do your thing."


_The Entrance_

Carrick followed Sabrina's gesture towards the tight press of knotted humanity which was sweating and surging on the floor. He rubed at his cean-shaven jaw for a moment with his free hand, and looked to Vychtorya, Cate and Nathaniel in order before replying. The music cut most of the detail from his speach to all save Sabrina, afforded the perfect position to hear.

"She's struggling to find an instant of hapiness in a life that all too often disappoints. She's striving to find meaning for herself reflected in the mirror of another. She may succeed, or she may fail, but she will have tried. At the end of it all, she can say she has lived. That is what happens here, Sabrina - people come to look for those answers that only humanity can provide. Ultimately, it's my reason for being here as well."

Nathan remained quiet through the exchange, eyes roaming the room as if seeing it for the first time, Cate could almost see the mind at work behind them as they pried out every detail of each sculpture, every painting. Sabrina knew only too well that Uncle Nathan did not approve of this kind of thing; bright colours and such, and it was a little surprising that he hadn't said something yet.

"All in good time, Sabrina." Nathan had to strain his voice to be heard and the ennunciation had the effects of a harsh croak to it; the raven in a nest of peacocks. He caught Caitlyn's look towards him, and the response was unreadable; a stoic visage confronted her and the dark eyes let slip nothing. "Let us see what our hostess has planned for us." He took a few paces, surprisingly determined in his stride before settling into a more usual stroll, towards the stairway.


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## Catulle (May 27, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Gabriel followed Max to the 'cairn', dropping his boot atop the corpse with an attitude of vague disdain, prohibiting the body's escape. He leant forward, placing much of his weight on his cane to watch Nikolai and Max at work. "David's gone to watch our backs with the sheriff; I think Legba's talking to him now. You'd be best to make that as fast as you can, though - the police are corrupt, not hopeless."

(OOC - Nikolai per/investigation diff6 - 10,10,9,8,2,2,2 = 4 successes; dex/athletics diff6 - 10,10,8,7,5,4,4 = 4 successes)

With careful hands, Nikolai pried the flower from its cradle in the shattered branch. A single white rose, sprayed in blood - likely the heart's blood of the unfortunate Kindred who hung mere inches away. The poetry was also daubed out in blood, a fine hand and an old style, though the ink of choice was not that best suited to the task. The placard was attached to a length of chain, the back reading "Cemetery Gates close 7pm" in bold black letters. His best guess was that the Kindred was both truly dead and relatively young, likely Embraced in the last few months, had kept the grave's rot at bay - for the time being.

Closer to the ground, it was impossible to isolate a single hair, nail or tooth, such was the carnage - a sample could come from any of the exposed cadavers as much as their 'assailants'.

(OOC - Nikolai aura perception diff8 - 10,8,7,6,5,4,4,3 reroll 3 = 2 successes on Max; aura perception diff9 - 10,8,7,7,6,4,3,1 reroll 9 = 1 success on the feral)

For an instant under Nikolai's level gaze, Max's basic emotional state was laid bare, the young Brujah feeling on an instinctual level the withering intensity of the determined Tremere's scrutiny, then the moment passed. Though he realised on an intellectual level that the feral could be capable of such a deceit, Nikolai was still surprised despite himself when the flickers of a living aura still played about the 'corpse' beneath Gabriel's boot.

It was a simple matter for Max to shift the broken flagstones a little, blood soon caked his hands, dark clotting gore mixed in with filthy soil. It got onto the pair's sleeves, under nails, ground into clothes, but in a few minutes, a broken, tiny hand was visible outstretched in the wan light of the moon. It was cold as ice, and the snow that touched it didn't melt away so quickly as elsewhere. The stones came faster, a child's makeshift grave, the heavy stones had taken their toll, and the cause of death could have been due to the crush as easily as the influence of the Kindred.

The clear sound of sirens caught first in Nikolai's ears, then in those of his companions.


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## Festy_Dog (May 28, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Max flinches under Nikolai's gaze, but is relieved when Nikolai stops. Convinced that he found, or didn't find, what he was looking for.

_Tremere can see what others cannot, they can look into a person a see whats hidden. Thankfully, it appears I've hidden some parts of me well enough._

He listens to Nikolai intently, his brow furrowing while the dead kindred becomes the topic. Max looks up at the tree again.

_Yeah, now that he mentions it, thats a vampire alright._

He goes about uncovering the remains, and isn't surprised to find a child, he fumes silently for a moment though while he imagines ways to cause great pain to another kindred. The sirens draw him out of it.

"Hmm, we best be gone," he says, and brushes himself off before picking the ghoul's corpse back up, "What's in store for that guy?"

Max indicates up to their impaled relative.

"I mean, we shouldn't leave one of our own for mortals to find right?" he queries.


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## KitanaVorr (May 28, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

A dark brow arched slightly at Nathan's look but before Caitlyn could say anything she found herself half-dragged with the quick strides of his longer legs.  The sudden movement, though slightly forewarned, still took her off guard and she found herself hanging onto him with more ardour than she ever intended.

_What the?!_

When he slowed down to a more reasonable pace, she managed to get caught up, though it wasn't nearly enough to stop that flash of indignation curling through her belly.  She loosened her grip, putting a more respectable distance between them, yet keeping her hand resting on his arm.

"So who is Miss Maria?" she asked nonchalantly, remembering Sabrina's words and briefly glanced behind them at the child before returning her dark-lashed gaze upon the stoic man beside her.


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## Catulle (May 29, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Caitlyn's voice seemed to hit the mark with Nathaniel, even if he didn't outwardly display it to a less appraising eye. Only a slight wrinkling about the eyes suggested his chagrin to the young woman. Perhaps the busy surroundings had the recluse on edge, perhaps the revellers had offended his sense of propriety, perhaps... The secretive orbs let nothing further slip, however, and there was a coolness in Nathaniel the equal and opposite of her hot emotion.

"Maria is an old friend of Mr Ashton, like a sister to him, and one from whom I have never had the pleasure of an introduction. She has come to the country from Spain for a brief stay, and Mr Ashton thought to play host tonight." His attention followed hers to the child and her temporary guardian, "I think, perhaps, he has regaled my neice with stories of the past, of Maria and Europe."


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## Tory Adore (May 29, 2003)

_Quistaday – Veil_
Lyrics

Vych gives a small wave to the beautiful group below, and motions that she will come down to meet them. With that she turns back around to face Skye, their height being almost the same as Vych was in flats. Vych tucks a stray lock of platinum hair behind Skye’s ear letting the palm of her hand cradle the blonde’s smooth flawless face for a brief moment, 
_”I think we’ve done all we can at this point, and I thank you. Just let Sasha and Sebastian know you’re done for the night, and please have some fun Skye. If you need me, you know what to do. We’re just going to have to go with what the tide brings with it tonight.”_
Vych kisses Skye to the right of her mouth, and comments out of the blue with a laugh to her voice as she hurries to the stairway to head down,
_”Oh, by the way Mazz, I like what you did with my tables…”_ 

Vych heads down the staircase with a graceful, playful bounce to her step. She acknowledges Carrick and Sabrina with a quick glance and a wink, and moves straight to Caitlyn and Nathaniel, arm extended, hand offered to the singer in genuine relaxed welcome with a warm and happy smile going to Nathaniel at seeing the lovely woman on his arm. Vych says plenty loud for Carrick and his guests to hear,
_”Welcome to Antiquities! It pleases me you could make it tonight. A private seating area has been arranged upstairs, and should you need peace and quiet for a moment, the VIP room is available to you all as well. It’s just off of the Mezzanine. If you’d follow me please, I’ll get you settled. Then you may feel free to do as you wish until the rest of the guests arrive. Tonight is all about having a good time, so please, should you require anything, anything at all, you have but to ask, and I will do what I can to provide it for you. This way please.”_ 

Vych makes a sweeping gesture with her arm as she offers to lead the group toward the stairs and the two rather handsome security guards dressed in all black posted at the bottom. Vych closes her gait a bit to fall in step side by side with Carrick and Sabrina. Still moving forward, Vych brushes the child’s face with her hand as she says sweetly, 
_”You are one of my very special guests here tonight Sabrina. I hope you will enjoy yourself. I have some special things planned that I think you might like.”_

Vych’s eyes look to Carrick’s giving him a somewhat half ‘smile’ and nod trying to convey to him the many emotions that have tortured and pleasured her tonight. Then she quickens her pace to pass the group to reach the guards first, moving past and acknowledging them as she leads the guests up the staircase.


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## reapersaurus (May 29, 2003)

Nikolai leans over close to Gabriel and conspires,
"My guess would be that you know of our blood's affinity for seeing deeply into things....
When I look at that 'corpse' there, I see that it's still alive, and feeling.
Have you Dominated its Will yet, so it will not escape us if we turn our backs?"

Nik replies to Max, 

That's a good question - wouldn't a vampire corpse make the forensic coroner suspicious?

Speaking of suspicious, WHAT is a child's body doing out here in the middle of a graveyard?!"

Nik leans down closely to the crushed little body, attempting to unravel the puzzle, and expecting to pin blame for the crime against humanity on the target of his Revenge.


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## Festy_Dog (May 29, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Max starts walking to where they came into the graveyard, eager 
to avoid law enforcement.

"Unless shes a recent resident here she could be a relation of our little friend here," Max says, indicating the festering ghoul in his grip, "She might not have wanted to drink icky blood, called her 'brother' here gross and he decided to teach her a lesson in return, which could also explain his reason for remaining here, but then again there are many other factors which we may not know about."

Max continues on his way.


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## KitanaVorr (May 29, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

"A Spanish lady, very interesting," Caitlyn murmured thoughtfully, but her mind wasn't on the woman but the man beside her.  Around them the music echoed, a woman's mournful voice riocheting from wall to wall, person to person, soul to soul.

_Bring down. Bring down the veil now._

Her eyes gazed at him and he could see his pale reflection in those dark depths.  

_I wanna see things like you see._

Then the moment was lost as Vychtorya's entrance commanded their attention.

"Hello again," the young singer greeted the woman with a smile and an hand clasp even as her memories began to tread the new paths that Nathan had placed there barely an hour ago.  For those who had noticed, the marked change from the terror of before almost felt eerie.  "You have very beautiful club.  It's more than I can do not to throw myself into the throng of bodies and feel the music burrowing through my skin."

When Vychtorya moved on to Carrick and Sabrina, Caitlyn followed Nathan wherever he led her.  The music, the colors, the feel of him beside her.  He made her so angry sometimes, frustrated, confused -- and very alive.  One finger lightly trailed a slow path from the knuckle of his hand resting on her wrist to the tip of his finger, her eyes following its tortuous route with absent curiousity.  If only she could return the favor.


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## Shalimar (May 29, 2003)

Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan
Wednesday 11th December, 2003



> ”You are one of my very special guests here tonight Sabrina. I hope you will enjoy yourself. I have some special things planned that I think you might like.”




Sabrina smiled happily now that Miss Vych and Miss Cate were being nice and really friendly, it had been a little worry, but not now, everyone liked each other, and most importantly they liked the little girl most of all, it warmed her down to her toes, almost as much as the blood had.  When Vychtorya ran her hand down the girls cheek it elicited a giggle of laughter.  Sabrina held up the necklace that Vychtorya had given her, smiling proudly.

"Look, look, I'm wearing the necklace that you gave me, see?  And whats the surprises, what are we gonna do?"  she asked, for all the world sounding like a small living machine gun, firing off words.


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## Catulle (May 29, 2003)

*Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

As he replied to Nikolai, Gabriel's voice was bitter with... sarcasm? Irony? "If you can find a window into that _thing's_ soul, you're welcome to make the attempt. Without the correct bridge, we can't work Sympathy, now - can we? Better to just drag it in to our superiors... prove our _loyalty_, yes?" The pale eyes he turned on Max glittered in the dirty velvet night, "Just keep a good, firm, grip, right Max? I'm sure that will work just well enough."

D'Angelo, the Hunter-instinct, took control of Nikolai's senses for but a smattering of seconds. The child, the stones, the way the corpse splayed, the torn wound in the wrist, not the result of bludgeoning... teeth, the mark of a feeding, a botched job. Fatal.

A sharp crack, plastic-on-plastic resonant in the thick air, drew their attention. Legba. His look was grim, to say the least. Though his eyes were as pitch, they could all sense the frustration of a Kindred. "David's out. He says take the car - sheriff and he had things under wraps, but the cops are coming; doesn't know how long we've got left to us... Let's take what we need and split?" The 'phone went into a pocket deep in the heavy coat, though his hand stayed within its folds... ready.

Thick flakes of ice drifted down from the impending storm, though sparse, they hinted at something worse, something colder yet to come.

The decision of a moment, the big man was by the tree in a burst of speed, akin to Max' legerity, lifting down the body and hefting it across one broad shoulder, eyes wide and muscles straining, he looked to the others about him "Are you coming? Or not?" He nodded across to Max as he spoke, the Brujah already a healthy distance away.

(OOC - Nikolai Auspex diff9 - 9,4 = 1 success)

As he turned to go, Nikolai caught it; the missing fragment in the puzzle. Entwined about the dead child's fingers were a few sparse strands of hair; not dark, like those of the Poet, the Heartbreaker, which he yet retained, but pale as flax... like the Kindred corpse across Legba's shoulders...

More questions than answers, indeed.


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## Tory Adore (May 30, 2003)

Caitlyn and Nathaniel

Vych nods humbly to Caitlyn as she says sincerely,
_”Thank you. Please feel free to do as you wish here. You are a special guest tonight, and any whim of pleasure you want is to be yours for the taking. If the desire should so present itself to you, an instrument of your choice can be provided at a moment’s notice. Being a dancer of sorts, I know how this club’s passions and emotions mixed within the music and energy can pull an artist’s form into the whirlwind of creation. Welcome my sweet. Enjoy.”_

(OOC – perception) 
Catching Caitlyn’s hand on Nathaniel’s after standing in their presence for a bit, Vych looks to him then to Caitlyn and back again to Nathaniel. The beauty of the two of them standing together captivated her attention for the moment. Vych attempts to desguise her pleasure at the sight with a more nonchalant tone to her voice,
_”It is a pleasure to have you in my club Sir. And please forgive me as I really did not mean to let my gaze linger so, but I must say that you make quite an attractive pair. I do hope you will let loose and enjoy yourselves here tonight. Would you both excuse me please? I have a few items I must attend to once we are all settled upstairs.”_
She reaches out with both arms touching each of them lightly at their elbows as she requests to take her leave of them.


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## Tory Adore (May 30, 2003)

Carrick and Sabrina

Vych’s eyes and heart fill with love and memories as she talks briefly to Sabrina about the pendants.
_”It does my heart good to see it being worn by someone who loves it so. It has waited many years to have someone care for it again. See, I wear its twin.”_
Vych places her hand on her neck touching for a second the golden chain so that only the red ruby heart shows.

Vych speaks in a sweet voice trying to calm the child’s excitement and perhaps her own too. She knows the feeling of anticipation herself as she waits to meet Carrick’s Sire. Vych continues,
_”Now what kind of a surprise would it be if I told you Precious, but…how about when it gets closer I tell you about it and no one else? It’ll be our secret. You see, Carrick won’t even know what it will be.”_

Vych takes the lead up the staircase. She breathes in deep and exhales in an attempt to refocus her mind and let a soft more carefree look come to her face. 

The music changes as Vych takes her last step onto the mezzanine.
_Poe – Hey Pretty_


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## reapersaurus (May 30, 2003)

Nikolai's eyes widen at the conclusion his senses force upon him - his trains of thought literally collide when the tracks of 'criminal' and 'victim' get re-routed like some insane conductor is orchestrating the thoughts within his mind.

He ponders the mystery one last second, before looking around one final time ; the horrific scene etched in his memory - one more piece of 'artwork' the Poet must answer for... but this one's personal flavor hits a bit too close to home... he's close now, he can feel it. After so many years of hunting, his Revenge may be within reach.

Nikolai blinks, then answers Gabriel softly, "Yes... our loyalty, of course..."

Nikolai quickly runs after Max to keep the feral 'corpse's' body closely in sight.


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## Catulle (Jun 2, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Mazz' casual salute from his reclining position did little to assauge Vych's sense of growing tension... would Carrick be content with her work thos night. Out of the corner of her eye as she left, she caught Skye's form stealing closer to the harpy. The descent into the seething tide of the dancefloor brought the heady musk of the living back to the forefront of her mind, and lapped at her Kindred consciousness.

The touch of Caitlyn's fingers on his own seemed to mollify the older man somewhat, and his demeanour softened for a moment, a wan smile crossing thin lips for a fleeting second.

(OOC - Vych per/empathy - 9,5,5,4,4,4 = 1 success)

The hostess' trained eye caught the guilt in Nathaniel's eyes,  quite clear from her perspective, so intent was he on hidding it from the young singer's attention. Carrick, on the other hand, positively revelled in his element as he exchanged glances and significant, subtle, gestures with a number of the regular patrons while the group crossed the floor.

"I must thank you, my love, for the trouble to which you have gone on all of our behalves." Turning to extend his reach with one arm still supporting Sabrina's weight, he reached out to caress her arm with his right hand. The touch brought a blood-borne confidence surging back into the neonate's heart reinforced by her sire's warm smile. "I trust that young Jemal is taking well to our hospitality?"


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## Catulle (Jun 2, 2003)

*Leaving Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

The fast-scrabble retreat from the scene of the crime was swift as could be managed under the weight of two carcasses between the four noenates. Legba and Max made for the most effective bearers of the twin burdens, and scaling the wall would have left even them out of breath, had they still the need for such mortal affectations.

The distance between the two cemeraries was enough to assure a decent lead on the authorities - if they even made any headway on this dark and inhospitable night. First out of the gate, Legba stumbled to a halt a few paces beyond the graveyard's threshold, though it wasn't the dead Kindred's weight that caused his stall.

Two men were stood by the car. A third sat, crouched over, on the roof of the black vehicle. All were dressed after a blue-collar fashion, thick clothes to keep out the cold they surely didn't feel any more. The crouching figure's long hair curled thickly over extended ears and the red light from glowing eyes made his pale flesh stand out all the more. A barrage of questions issued from his lips, propelled from deep within his throat.

"So what dragged you Cam-scum onto Anarch turf? Don' you know what Boss Calihan likes to see us do to you? What we like doin'? Which elder got you runnin' his bitch work, huh?"

A shift in the posture of his comrades indicated their state of readiness, and while the 'leader' locked his eyes on Maxwell, their attention flitted from one of the remaining trio to another in rapid succession, alert for the first sign of aggression from the interlopers.


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## Festy_Dog (Jun 3, 2003)

*Leaving Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Max calmly drops the body he was carrying to one side, locking his own gaze upon their 'leader'.

_Hmm, a possible source for information. Better be polite, don't want a scuffle._

Max turns on his awe ability, trying to subtly ease any hostilties.

"We're investigating some goings on here, of an unpleasant variety. Perhaps you would know something about what happened in the cemetary?" Max asks casually, then goes on to explain, "This is a serious matter and it could have negative repercussions for all. Though we don't doubt your own capabilities to handle it we see a necessity to become involved in its solution. We have many resources at our disposal and are hoping for your assistance... should there be any to offer. Though we intend to do the hard labor involved a little cooperation could bring a mutually beneficial resolution."

_Well, hopefully a little kindred talent made that statement more appealing than it really is. I think it should make them happy... maybe even get them off the car. If they are willing to talk though I doubt there'd be much time, maybe my little speech will just convince them to leave us alone. That's the best case scenario, worst case scenario I expect they'd want to beat us down for sticking our nose in what they'd think was their problem._

Max glances to the others, but doesn't let his guard down. His hands cross his chest currently but could have a knife firmly held in one at a hair's breadth notice.


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## KitanaVorr (Jun 3, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

As everyone wound their way toward their destination, Caitlyn let the music run through her, relaxing the tension in her body.  Elegant grace touched her movements so even in walking she appeared to be fluidly moving forward in a slow dance.  This was her world, the world of music - creation and destruction.  A world full of emotion - both good or bad - the world where she reigned in her element.  It wasn't something her parents understood, locked away in their social traditions.  Perhaps it was a world that Nathaniel Montague didn't quite understand as well.

Her voice echoed beautifully as she sang along with the music, a hint of mischief in those luxurious tones.  "_ Hey pretty, don't you wanna take a ride with me…through my world._"

Slender fingers trailed back along his arm very lightly where they rested, merely a breathy touch."_Hey pretty, don't you wanna get inside...through my world._"  

"_Don't you get the gist of the song now?_"

She leaned toward him imperceptibly, letting her breath touch his ear.  "_Hey now, can't you feel me longing...hey now, can't you feel me...feel me now._"

Pulling away, her eyes sparkled with laughter and she winked at him.  " You must dance with me later," she informed him with impertinence before she let her fingers slide slowly from his arm completely.  "Unless you wish me to be in despair."  

Her leather boot reached the mezzanine, lengthy and elegant like the rest of her that followed as she let her gaze sweep across her new surroundings.  The music bolstered her, soothed her, cajoled her, enthralled her - Caitlyn the artist - the siren with the black hair that glimmered red-gold in the club's light.


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## reapersaurus (Jun 5, 2003)

Nikolai uses his skills and his experience as a bodyguard to instantly assess the situation with the young punks.

He weighs the possibility of them looking for a fight with the possibility that perhaps a bravura bluff, to back them down might be a better response.
The desired outcome is that his group doesn't get in a fight.
He's had enough action for tonight, and just wants to concentrate on getting back to the Chantry and dissecting this damn Feral for every little scrap of information that he and/or his Elder clanmates can wring.

He looks at the Anarchs, peering beyond Sight, and collects the ihnformation about their mental states that he would have killed for when his job was to protect his clients from situations very similar to this.
Nikolai thinks to himself . o 0 (Damn - these vampire senses DO rock for certain tasks....
It's been awhile, but it's kinda like riding a bike... and I got plenty of practice back in the day in blunting young punks' bravado and posturing.)

Nik _Insightfully_ gathers his information and decides the best course of action to _Manipulate_ the punks into leaving them be.


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## Tory Adore (Jun 5, 2003)

Vych’s mind tenses and a well-performed smile works its way to her lips in response to Mazz’s salute. As she sees Skye drawing nearer to Mazz, she tries to shake the feelings that begin running through her body; both those that excite her and the those that make her jealous, but she is unable to descern if she is jealous of Mazz or of Skye. Vych silently tells herself as she turns away thumping her hand stiffly against her thigh, “As long as Mazz is content, as long as Mazz is happy, then…” 
She places one hand to her forehead, fingers and thumb temple to temple, and the other on her hip for just a moment looking out to the dance floor, remembering something she had put off for the moment earlier. Vych thinks, “Where did the beautiful woman go? Damn it.” She drops her arms to her sides and moves to descend the staircase once again. Passing the beautiful couple of Caitlyn and Nathaniel, Vych’s caregiving nature makes her think, “Yet in his eyes all the sadness of the world...those pleading eyes, that both threaten and adore...may she wash away that guilt tonight, may she take it from your sight.” She breathes deep and continues on stopping to hear her love compliment her.

Vych can feel her tension ease and the blood pass through her heart as she hears Carrick’s kind words and feels the touch of his skin against hers. His gentle caress makes her close her eyes as she senses his blood within her ignite. Just as the warmth begins to come over her shoulders and neck to her chest, she hears the last of Carrick’s words echo in her mind’s eye like a nightmarish image that fails to leave even after the mind is awake. The rosey color that had started to evoke its prescence on her bared skin quickly vanished. His words thrust her eyes wide open and she feels her insides churn in almost heaving convulsions as she quickly tries to think of what to tell her love about his trusted friend’s nephew. Vych places one hand over her stomach attempting to calm the paroxysm in her abdomen while she places the other across her heart to quell the feeling that was coming back to haunt her. She does what she can to keep tears from forming in her eyes and grabs the soft, sheer material covering her sides, letting her nails bite into her flesh bringing a stinging smile to her face. “I can do this. I HAVE to do this,” she thinks to herself attempting to gather her acting ability and present a believable dance of words. Vych’s eyelids begin to flutter more than normal and she has to look away from Sabrina. She attmepts to focus her gaze into Carrick’s eyes to make her words more readily accepted. As she starts to speak, her arms extend a bit from her body cavity, and her hands and wrists start to fidget a bit, talking with them as the words start slow and then begin to flow effortlessly off of her tongue, 
_”Wweell...yes. I believe Jemal did enjoy himself. He is very kind Sabrina. You are lucky to have such a brother. I do wish I could have spent more time alone with him to get to know him better, but business it did call tonight as we knew it would; presenting itself too soon perhaps. Just as it is now as a matter of fact.”_ A genuine smile started to come back to her lips as she thought she had done an amicable performance just then without ‘really’ having to lie to her love.

_”My love, might I ask you how many others have yet to arrive? Is there anyone...ummm...’special’ thaaat is to be expected by you personally maybe?”_ Vych places her hands together and rests them below her belly button with a child-like look of anticipation in her eyes and takes a step closer to him hoping Carrick will confirm her vision of Maria from earlier without her having to ask it.

_Therapy – Diane_


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## Catulle (Jun 6, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

While Max spoke, Gabriel took a step back to guard the rotten carcass, mistrusting Nikolai's assessment, but not so much as to risk embarrassment before the House. Legba dropped the unidentified Kindred he was carrying behind the wall, out of sight, out of mind.

(OOC - Max Awe diff7 - 5,4,4,3 = failure; Man/leadership - 6,5,5,4 = 1 success)

The lank-haired leader prowled araound and around Max as he gave his speech, the neonate could smell the thick earthy aroma that hung around him. The baleful gleam to his eyes was distinctly unnatural, as was the atavistic slouch that affected his gait. Cold, wet sleet continued to drizzle down from above and the scent of wet leather rose to mingle with the blood and soil stench.

"Can the bull$hit, little man. Only reason you're not swimming back to your Manhattan condo right now is 'cause we know who your sire is. Your buds ain't got the same getout, though - so they better be real careful 'bout what they do, an' what they say." He continued to circle Max, pausing to sniff at the air near him, twice in quick succession. "So what's a vet like you doin' working for the Prince's pety assassins? And why shouldn't we do a little killin' of our own? Staten Island's Anarch, true blue, and you _minions_ got nothin' coming but trouble here."

(OOC - Nikolai Aura Perception diff8 - 10,9,9,8,8,5,2,1 reroll 3; 10,7,6,5,4,4,3,1 reroll 8; 10,5,4,3,3,1,1,1 reroll 9 = 4, 1 and 1 successes)

The leader's aura betrayed a washed-pale blend of purple and green - a display of aggressive Kindred obsession. Most significantly, it was run through by wire-thin strands of pure black - the scar of diablerie on the soul.

The man on the left, at the trunk of the car, was of mixed-blood in his mortal existance, the pallid flickers of his aura hinting only at his Kindred nature. His colleague, with spiked blonde hair and tatooed hands was similarly difficult to read, though, again,  one of the Kindred.

As the leader finished speaking, the anarch poised by the trunk pointed at the feral's body with one callused hand. "Hey,what the fuc&'s that thing?"


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## Festy_Dog (Jun 6, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Max keeps an aura of calm about him as the anarch prowls about.

_Well, an acceptable outcome, unfortunate they won't buy my story. Better spell it out for 'em otherwise it'll go downhill._



> _Originally posted by Catulle_
> "So what's a vet like you doin' working for the Prince's pety assassins? And why shouldn't we do a little killin' of our own? Staten Island's Anarch, true blue, and you _minions_ got nothin' coming but trouble here."




"A job's a job. I have experience in this field, thats why I'm doin' it. Its what I know. We know the risks in coming here, but we didn't look for no fight obviously, we're just fixin' a problem. You could never 'ave found us and it would have meant nothing to you, cos its got nothing to do with you," Max says, "Reason you shouldn't do some killin' of your own? Well, we may not have been looking for a fight but we're not stupid enough to come unprepared. If you want some thats entirely your choice, don't expect to have it easy though."



> _Originally posted by Catulle_
> "Hey,what the fuc&'s that thing?"




"That? Well you wouldn't expect us to be coming out of a graveyard with a hot pizza would ya? Its a corpse, not a 'resident' of Ocean View though, just somethin' we're gonna have looked at. Get some clues to fix our problem, etc. etc., you'd know the story with forensics bullsht. We'll have our own little version of CSI happenin'," Max replies calmly, with a hint of humour.


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## Catulle (Jun 6, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

(OOC - ? vs Caitlyn/Nathaniel diff5/7 - 10,9,8,6,6,4,4,3,1 reroll 6 = 5 and 2 successes respectively)

Perhaps it was the harmonies , perhaps something beyond the simple tune - beyond human comprehension, but the pulse of the music threaded itself into Cate's very essence, inserted itself into the gulf of her soul that she never knew existed... until that moment.

_c'mon, take a ride with me..._

The strength of the feeling was overwhelming, potent beyond belief and intoxicating.

_but it's over now..._

The rhythym beat through her soul, as it wove her into its tight, taut mesh of blood and flesh.

To Vych, the mortal's response seemed distinctly... _Toreador_ in depth, as one of the clan of the rose, she well knew the distractions that she would discover in what others would ascribe the most trivial of beauties. Though now, while she felt none of that diversion, it struck her that both the young singer and Nathaniel did. Lost in the music both, they moved in time with the rhythm, swaying with the slurring beat.


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## KitanaVorr (Jun 7, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Her heart beat faster...slower...faster...body pulsing with each beat - a strobe light spinning out of control.  In every direction more yearning, more suffocation underneath the power of its rhythm - leaving her gasping for more and yet her body floated over the floor in the zenith of its grip.

All around her nothing but masses of people writhing in slow motion - frozen with snippets of her glances as Caitlyn sought out the source of her prison - her salvation - with the fingers of her soul.

Caught in flashes of the strobe, she spun around step by step - frame by frame, her image threaded its way through the dancers and social gatherers on the mezzanine - threading her way through the music.

Black eyes, clear and brillant, echoing the image of a sinuous woman arching her back while she danced with her partner.

Lips half parted - but not for air - the soft velvety skin wet with lick of her pink tongue as if to taste every musical note.

A flush of delicate cheekbone.

The arch of a black brow.

The curve of her body running smooth and generously with every undulation, every step foward, every step around.   She could not refuse - and each step became part of a dance, part of a sinous play of muscle beneath skin, skin beneath fabric until she became merely an extension of the song that echoed through the mezzanine.


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## Catulle (Jun 9, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Carrick nodded, a serious expression stealing over his features as his childe explained the affair of Jemal in brief. Was it disappointment, or sorrow that clouded his features? For as skilled a communicator as her sire could be, it struck Vuchtorya that he could keep to his own confidences as it suited him. As, in fact, he had been doing all week...

"A pity. And no, my angel, we are all but assembled. I trust the harpy is... engaged for the time being and Nathan, I sense, has his own affairs to see to. I think it time to attend to family affairs, no?" The slender man turned pointedly to Sabrina, blue eyes meeting blue, as he added;

"I don't think your uncle would mind us introducing you ahead of time, do you?" He extended his free right arm to Vychtorya as he awaited the child-Kindred's response, finally casting an almost casual glance at the fire-haired woman that Vych could sense hid a greater anticipation than Carrick was letting on, "And I know my sire will want to meet you, my love."


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## Shalimar (Jun 9, 2003)

Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Sabrina squired a little in Carraicks arms, under the wweight of his gaze.  She didn't really understand all of the conversation that was taking place around her, and it was making her act subdued.  "I don't think he'd mind an early introduction, not really."  she said in a small voice, wondering what her big brother was doing, she knew her uncle was gonna want him here to meet Miss Maria.

"Are we going to meet your Vampire mommy now Mister Carrick?"  she asked still sounding a little confused about her brother's abscence.


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## Tory Adore (Jun 11, 2003)

Vychtorya breathes a sigh of relief at hearing Carrick mention everyone is in attendance, 
and that he didn’t push her to further explanation as to where Jemal was in front of the little sister.

_“Yes love, it does seem that everyone is occupied at the moment and as for Mazz?…his time is being distracted by my…by Skye,”_ she says voice trailing off quietly yet still audible as she looks up toward the mezzanine in time to see the singer and Nathaniel’s dance and wishing she were dancing too. Then Vych hears Carrick speak to Sabrina.

_Peter Murphy – Indigo Eyes_

For Vych, seeing Carrick and Sabrina’s eyes catch each other’s gaze was like watching two diverged rivers coming together to form a fluid dance; one full of excitement and rapids, the other calm as a lagoon at dawn’s first light. Sabrina looked positively beautiful to Vych as the swirling lights of the dance floor spun their own golden hue in a ring about her head. It almost looked to her as though the little girl was wearing a tiara of sparkling gold like a princess or perhaps the golden halo of an angel. Vych smiled warmly at Sabrina, reaching out to touch the image her mind had created on the child’s long flowing hair. Vych says in a low voice, 
_”A beautiful princess or an angel you could be.”_

Looking to Carrick with a bright, shining sparkle to her emerald eyes, and a true, loving smile that could melt a thousand frozen hearts into floods of crimson, liquid essence, Vych entwines her arm about her Sire’s own at the mention of finally meeting the beautiful woman. 
_”Carrick! She really is here, here in my club. Oh, to finally look upon the one who made you, to see her eyes instead of those which I have imagined and placed upon the cold, sculpted marble for so long…”_

Vych tries to calm her emotions and begins to look casually about for the beautiful woman she had seen earlier as she holds tight to Carrick’s arm, excitement bubbling through her veins with blooded warmth heating her scent that lay on her warming flesh.


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## reapersaurus (Jun 11, 2003)

Festy_Dog said:
			
		

> *Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island
> Wednesday 11th December, 2003
> "That? Well you wouldn't expect us to be coming out of a graveyard with a hot pizza would ya? Its a corpse, not a 'resident' of Ocean View though, just somethin' we're gonna have looked at. Get some clues to fix our problem, etc. etc., you'd know the story with forensics bullsht. We'll have our own little version of CSI happenin'," Max replies calmly, with a hint of humour. *



Nikolai takes on a submissive tone, and portrays someone who doesn't care for fighting.

"But I thought that we were going to dump the bodies off, once we made sure it wouldn't fall into the cops' hands?"

Nik addresses the leader submissively,  We're just on clean-up duty - we're supposed to get the evidence out of the graveyard.
If the bodies stayed here, it might implicate a Kindred, and notify the police forces that there is Vampire activity going on out here.

You wouldn't want there to be cops on stakeout out in your turf, would you?
An increased human effort on investigating things in your backyard might make things potentially uncomfortable for you, right?

So let us finish our messy clean-up run, and we'll be out of your hair.
Let us get the other body - a dead Kindred - still over the fence, and I for one don't want to come out here ever again.

It's positively brutish out here... you're more than welcome to this Territory."

Nikolai tries to subtly suggest to them he's a Toreador.


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## Catulle (Jun 12, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

The leader stopped in his pacing between Nikolai and Max, though his attention seemed sharp on both of them, deformed, extended ears pricked and red-rimmed eyes flickering from one to another, highlighted by their own luminescence.

The other two leaned off the car at Max's responding to threats with veiled threats. Both had the wary eye of veteran fighters, though neither radiated the degree of aggression that the atavistic creature doing the majority of the talking did. The blond man's fingers danced busily away, an expenditure of nervous energy perhaps, before he spoke up.

"Look, man, it's not that we don't see what you're doing. It's good, really. I mean, we all get the Masquerade, yeah? We're no Sabbat psychos, here." His hands worked away, fluttering in emphasis of his words as he licked his lips between sentences.

(OOC - Drew Awe diff7 - 7,6,6,5,3 = 1 success; just Max, then)

The young man took on a more reasonable, confident demeanour as he continued. Max couldn't deny that he had a point... of sorts. They did have some things in common, it seemed.

"And, like your friend says, the cops can't get hold of some of this stuff. That'd just be one big loser for all of us, right?". The surly anarch, likely one of the elusive Gangrel to Nikolai's memory, going by his animalistic deformities, resumed his circling. Gabriel, they could see, clenched his cane tightly, hands ready to twist the hidden blade free. Legba was stoically impassive, as attentive to the dance as any, yet at the same time distant.

"But this place is all we have... We can't let you guys just step in whenever you like, no matter the reasons. We've got to deal with things on our turf on our terms. If we don't it's as good as saying your sort still own us. And there are those who'd die before that happened." He shrugged, raising his eyebrows as if to emphasise the quandry. "So why not let us deal with the evidence. We'll take 'em from here, make sure the stiffs aren't ever found, and you guys get what you want - it's all clean, and nobody got hurt. What'd you say?"


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## Festy_Dog (Jun 12, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003



> _Originally posted by Catulle_
> "But this place is all we have... We can't let you guys just step in whenever you like, no matter the reasons. We've got to deal with things on our turf on our terms. If we don't it's as good as saying your sort still own us. And there are those who'd die before that happened." He shrugged, raising his eyebrows as if to emphasise the quandry. "So why not let us deal with the evidence. We'll take 'em from here, make sure the stiffs aren't ever found, and you guys get what you want - it's all clean, and nobody got hurt. What'd you say?"




_Well, if Nikolai says we wanna get rid of the bodies, so be it, he's the one that did all the looking 'round. He's probably got all he needed from the bodies... I hope. Safely disposing of the corpses and showing some respect for the locals seems a wise move to me, blonde guy knows his sht. Respectable._

Max nods approvingly.

"You make an excellant point. I like your idea," Max answers, and looks to the others to see their reactions to the suggestion, "If everyone's happy with that idea you're welcome to the stiffs. My clothes're messed up enough already."


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## reapersaurus (Jun 12, 2003)

Between the insistence of the Gangrel, and Max's acceptance of their proposal, Nikolai is hedged in, with little flexibility in his actions.

He will play the subservient role to the hilt, and play into the Anarch's View of the Camarilla _minions_ and demurely accedes to the leader,
"That sounds acceptable to _me_ - let me just consult with my colleague to confirm that would be OK with our elders..."

Nikolai remembers back to when he inquired in the Chantry of his interest in learning the Craft Bloodstone ritual recently, and learned that the New York Tremere did possess the knowledge, and that a few members had it.

He takes a step back to where Gabriel is guarding the Feral 'corpse' and says quickly to his clan-mate,
"Please tell me you know the Ritual that allows you to craft a stone of blood that you can plant on someone and use to track them down.

If so, could you please plant one on this _alive_ ghoul for use WHEN he escapes these idiots?

And grab some hair from it for me before you give the thing over to the punks - I can use that for tracking, also - we can't let this ghoul get away from us. The information we could wring from it may be of interest to the Elders..."









*OOC:*


I'll stop and wait for a reply, or I can state my conditional action if Gabriel replies affirmatively... 
Nik would quickly turn back and tell the Anarchs that it is OK with them if they take the bodies, so they'll get what they want after my next post.
Nik will not let the Feral go without some way to track it down again - he'll fight before giving it up for real.


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## Catulle (Jun 13, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Carrick, Sabrina and Vychtorya_

"She calls me even now. I can sense her presence again, though it has been a long time since we last met face-to-face. But that was another country and another group of Kindred. I was incomplete then, and stumbling. It was, as I recall, shortly after your mother..." His smile faltered, for just long enough to register on the two other Kindred's senses before returning as splendid as before. Carrick took the lead, drawing them back down the stairs, past the sea of humanity towards the bar where Maria had been playing court.

She was a wondrous thing, small-framed and of a statuesque perfection. Flawless skin covered fine-sculpted and delicate seeming bones, taking to the pallour of Kindred age as paint to canvas and standing in contrast to her deep, dark eyes. She wore her black, lustrous, hair high with tresses escaping the crown, falling as shadowed coils around her face. The devotion in the eyes of those closest to her stood in mute testimony to the overall effect, love uncomprehending reflected on some faces and the misery of defeat etched deep on others. She was as a goddess among them, yet they seemed heedless of the real danger.

At Carrick's approach, she slid artlessly from the stool and awaited her childe's advance, an enigmatic smile on her lips as she stood to receive the small delegation. At perhaps five feet tall, Maria Santa Lucia, architect of Cordoba and sire of Carrick Ashton, posessed a gravity that far outstripped her stature.

_____________

_Caitlyn and Nathaniel_

So rapt was Cate in the music, the ebb and flow of it all, the eddies that it left in its wake amidst the crowd, that she didn't notice her motion until she was on the dancefloor. Perfectly coordinated, in harmony with the music, she swept across the room as if on dark wings. And he was beside her, as lost in the delerious swirl as she, raven hair training behind him, and keeping her measure step for perfect step. The lyrics tugged at her, an undefinable _something_ beneath their rippling surface, as if the singer were stood just behind her shoulder, in harmony with himself, a softer gallic lilt behind the beautiful, horrible, song.

Yet still it compelled them, ever onwards. Nathan's eyes reflected her own, his lips moving in synch with the words, and something stirred deep within him, spurring him ever onward... but to what ends?

When the song shifted, the sensation was dulled, yet the presence lingered after, diminished but enduring, the knife hidden for now.


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## Catulle (Jun 13, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

(OOC - Gabriel dex/subterfuge - 10,10,10 = 3 successes; Nikolai per/subterfuge diff (6-successes-2(auspex)) 7; 10,10,9,7,6,4,4,1 = 3 successes)

Gabriel responded with a shrug to Nikolai's question "I couldn't honestly say I do." His eyes remained on the anarchs as he made his statement, but Nikolai's augmented vision caught the traitor's thumb catch at an ornamental stone on his cane, gouging it free of its setting. The anarch gang seemed more intent on Legba and Maxwell at the moment when, all but useen, he let it drop into the Feral's ragged pocket.

(OOC - Gabriel dex/athletics diff8 - 9,8,7,6 = 2 successes

The stone dropped to the creature's chest and rolled into the cloth folds, concealed for now.


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## Tory Adore (Jun 15, 2003)

Vych feels her insides drop at Carrick’s words, _“shortly after your mother…”_ and reaches for the railing to steady herself, swallowing hard, and looking at Sabrina almost as if to draw her own confidence through the seemingly strong little girl. Attempting to hide the painful memory and unanswered questions his words brought to the surface of her heart clutching the cold golden rail, Vych looks down at her feet as a colorless tear drips from her left eye onto the floor never touching her cheek. Her steps falter a glide or so behind the duo. An acted smile breaks across her smooth complexion as she looks up to them in case they noticed her stride break from theirs.
_”Darn strap. It keeps slipping off of my heel, and it’s making my foot hurt. I apologize.”_

She pulls herself quickly together pretending to adjust the strap of her shoe and focuses her heart on meeting Carrick’s Sire. She hurries to catch their flow and falls back in step offering her hand to Sabrina.  

_Mono – Life In Mono_

If Vych’s heart were beating, it would have stopped upon seeing Maria Santa Lucia. Though more petite than the form the sculpture upstairs depicted, Vych could easily feel and see how her grandsire could command a room at the slightest blink or wave of hand. For the first time in her nocturnal life Vych felt very naïve and subordinate in her element, though she did not mind. Vych says in a low subtle sigh as she looks on with glazed eyes, 
_”I would humbly serve her forever if she would let me look upon her for eternity. Carrick, she is truly magnificent.”_ 

Vych’s anticipation is almost more than she can handle, and she smells the warmth of her own scent rise and bleed into the air as if seeking to blend and become one with that of Maria’s. Vych clasps her anxious hands resting them together against her abdomen with a submissive smile gracing her moistened red lips awaiting her love’s introduction. She desperately wants everything to be perfect for this first meeting so as to make a favorable impression on her grandsire for Carrick, but Vych can’t help wishing, wanting to be him as Maria’s form left the bar stool. Vychtorya felt the slightest bit jealous of Carrick as she looked on.


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## KitanaVorr (Jun 18, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_ I can't seem to recall
When you came along._

The whole world slowed down until each note stretched across the space of a lifetime with no chance to catch a breath in between.  

_ Ingénue _

Cheek sliding against cheek, her eyes closed - unable to stand the added torrent of vision upon sound - the long dark lashes brushing his skin in a caress lighter than air yet more potent than the densest elixir.  Beneath his fingers, her slender hips stretched and undulated in leisurely circles, sliding within his grasp and yet never forsaking it.

_Drowning past regrets
In tea and cigarettes._

Scents mixed, the earthiness of his with the light morning kiss of Jasmine twirling the air around them in a haze.  Her breath exhaled achingly slow - the warmth of the living upon the immortal skin - before he felt her abdomen tighten as she brought their mingled scent deep within her body.

_But I can't seem to forget
When you came along._

Fingers slid along his arms, alternatively squeezing and releasing with every movement.  Never had so little touch resulted in so much palpable intoxication and Caitlyn drowned in its tides – swept drunkenly through the waves.

_Ingénue…_

The lashes parted, revealing dark orbs gleaming with the reflection of the lights, the whirling people and his own gazing back at her.  Those lips – dark pink – parted ever so slightly and that familiar luxurious voice whispered “Nathaniel…” -  a start to a question so wrought with confusion, indecision, and vulnerability that the rest remained but a wordless intuition.

_I just don't know what to do._


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## reapersaurus (Jun 18, 2003)

Nikolai quickly turns back to address the leader, and humbly states "My associate agrees that your requirement that we give up the bodies to you may cause some unrest with our Elders, but I see no other alternative than to give them up, as you order.

G, give them the corpse there.

Do you want us to get the other corpse, or do you want to get it on the other side of the wall?"

Nikolai helps Gabriel give the body of the feral to the anarchs, and cuts off a large lock of hair with a Leatherman - "To show my Elders we at least retreived the bodies" would be Nik's response if anyone noticed/asked about it.


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## Catulle (Jun 19, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Carrick, Maria, Sabrina and Vychtorya_

The music continued with its measured pulse and time trickled past, slipping over the mortals in attendance yet leaving the Kindred untouched. As stones on a river bed - cold, hard things bereft of life, yet disguised just so by the illusion of the motion surronding them.

Then she was upon them, with a steady stride comprised of little delicacy but rather intimate of sheer purpose, Maria stood before the trio. The smile she cast to Carrick was as beautiful a thing as Vychtorya had anticipated, and yet beneath it lay... something else. Something colder, more primal perhaps... Like the perfect-crafted lines of a statue's facade. Her eyes, though dark, posessed a clarity that seemed to reach both around and through each of the Kindred in turn as the elder gently scrutinised them.

"Welcome to America." Carrick's voice was soft and even to the casual ear, but his childe could sense his anxiety, smell it in his blood that ran within her. She extended a slight hand, which he took gently, bringing it up to dry lips. As he negotiated the manoeuvre, keeping Sabrina's weight balanced throughout, Maria's eyes trailed over the child, flickering swiftly across her dress, features, pausing on the ruby red of the necklace. A brow lifted, and her gaze flitted to Vychtorya's throat as well.

"A pleasure to be here, amid my family." A smooth harmony underlay the woman's words and a distinctly continental spanish accent lifted them gently to the ear. "Of the pair, Carrick, I was ever fondest of you. My first was sheer folly, as you well know." She trailed off, glancing from woman to girl. "And these beautiful things?"

Ashton nodded with the air a man accustomed to a conversation oft-experienced and Sabrina felt a little of the tension in his shoulders slacken off. "My childe and love, Vychtorya." He indicated the radient woman with a roll of his free hand, inclining his head just a fraction to Maria as he did so. "And Sabrina Montague, descendent of the Mr Montague I've written of."


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## Catulle (Jun 19, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Caitlyn and Nathaniel_

His gaze held hers, and contentment semed to radiate from him. He opened his mouth to reply, and...

The waves of sensation dissipated further, breaking up as they crashed into other rhythms, fragmenting apart in the aftermath of...

Nathan's eyes clouded, all guileful pretence stripped from his visage to leave stark confusion reflected back to Cate, and mixed in with hints of desire, sympathy and red, red, rage.

He stumbled, missing a step for the first time as the compulsive motion broke down into echoing fragments. He twisted, avoiding crashing into Cate, tearing his eyes away from her as he did so, veering aside from the path to disaster.

_He will destroy you..._ A lyric, yet not a lyric; words comprised of pure music, out of the ether and solely for her.

(OOC - Nathaniel spent 1 willpower to resist a compulsion)


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## Tory Adore (Jun 19, 2003)

Vych clenches her own hands tighter together as she watches the exchange between Carrick and Maria with a strange pleasure rushing through her heated body. How lucky was Carrick to place his lips upon her perfect, softly chiseled flesh. How lucky Maria was to feel his smooth and supple mouth against her skin. A longing began to enrapture her and Vych’s senses wandered at the sight as she tries to fight her weakness yet again. She wonders what their embrace was like and a song begins to fill her mind alone, overtaking that of the club’s music in her ears, as she tries to imagine their dance, their story and what it might have been like so many years ago for them. 

_Bjork – An Echo A Stain_

Hearing Carrick introduce her as his “childe and love” brings her happily back to the moment at hand. Attempting an assurance yet tinged with a submissive flare, Vych closes her eyes and nods her head in honest reverence to Maria as she says as her own accent gives her origin away,
_“I am honored by your presence and very pleased to make your acquaintance My Lady.”_

Vych wanted to reach out with both arms and greet Maria with her customary greeting of holding hands and kissing each cheek, but thought it best to be a bit more formal than she would normally be. But secretly she wished for their flesh to touch.


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## reapersaurus (Jun 20, 2003)

Nikolai bristles at the thought that a Betrayer like Gabriel would attempt to deceive him - as if THAT was a surprise. 

[thinking] . o 0 ( Well, what can you expect from someone like that?
I'm amazed the Elders let him live, much less tolerate his presence in their Home... ahh, maybe they are just acting on the saying, _"Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer."_

I wonder if that dead guy had any juice left in him? )

He wonders if it would be possible to collect a sample of the dead vampire's blood, for use in a ritual he'd heard/read about (Earth's Blood Cry).


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## KitanaVorr (Jun 20, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Feel my breath
On your neck_

Her eyes riveted to his lips, watching as they parted with an absent curiosity.  Not so much as to wonder what words would come forth, but to feel the vibrations of each silky curve in the music that surrounded them.

_Don’t say no to me
You can’t say no to me_

Then the world tilted.

His confusion laced with all that emotion, the rage, the desire – so strong that music should have screamed in her mind but the softness remained with such eerie echoing…it was as if the whole world shrieked in open-mouthed silence.

_I won’t see you
Denied_

Nathan stumbling to one side shocked her even more.  All at once a gesture so violent and so alien to the formal graceful man she had come to know.  Her hands reach out to catch him whether uselessly or not – she could not let him fall.

_An echo
A stain_

Her eyes flickered around the mezzanine  when the lyrical words uttered their warning, almost disbelieving that she could have even heard them…if hearing was even the correct sense.  Who…?  Even as the words sunk in, she found herself echoing them in her thoughts.

*He will destroy you.*

_Free falling_

And the phoenix would be reborn.

_Complete_


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## Catulle (Jun 20, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

The blonde anarch nodded his assent, and an air of relaxation settled like the falling sleet over the group. By Max's side, the ringleader shrugged, the deformed talons which had extended from his fingers sliding back into the cold flesh as if they had never been.

"Good... You made the right choice, man. We'll fix the mess up real fast." The silent man strode forward, flanking the quartet as he made for the body behind the wall. Legba watched him intently, dark eyes boring into the rebel's back as he dragged the naked carcass back into the overgrowth of Ocean View. With a flex of his fingers which sent a dozen ink-trail serpents astir, the spokesman gingerly lifted the feral from Gabriel and Nikolai, easily hefting the weight in outstretched arms.

The gangrel cut in, his stance neutral, but his expression far less placid "Take what you need make your masters happy, little slave. The rest's going up in flames." It was a simple matter for Nikolai to take the clump of hair, thick-matted with grime and blood.

The gang stalked back into the cemetery's darkness and cover, the last to disappear into the tree-lined avenues was the speaker, who turned as he reached the limits of their sight,

"Stay free, Max..." Then he, too, was gone.


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## Catulle (Jun 20, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Carrick, Maria, Sabrina and Vychtorya_

The light touch of the spaniard's gaze whispered of a deeper scrutiny at work, though it lacked for outright intensity. She waited out Vychtorya's introduction with a patient half-smile, and the young toreador could surmise that her sire's sire was, indeed, reading every nuance of her body language,her choice of dress, even her scent.

"A bold choice, then, to embrace out of love. It is ancient wisdom that it only ends tragically." She paused, intent on Vychtorya, scanning for a reaction, awaiting the slightest clue, the merest hint. "But, dear, no doubt _you_ will prevail." She smiled, not without a certain warmth behind it.

"And how do you find your tender immortality? I understand it has been a simple matter of months?"


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## Festy_Dog (Jun 20, 2003)

*Outside Ocean View Cemetery, Staten Island*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003



> _Originally posted by Catulle_
> "Stay free, Max..."




Max smiles and nods to the anonimous anarch, or at least the distant space he occupied before disappearing.

_Not a bad bloke at all. In the end, my true enemy is the Sabbat, its what I was embraced for I guess. The anarchs know the value of the Masquerade, they only want their freedom. So be it, they have a right to it I'd say. I see them more as a potential ally than a thorn in the side, common enemies, common beliefs, I don't understand others' dislike of them. Treat anyone respectfully and you'll receive respect in return._

Max paces towards the car.

"Hope David turns up soon, wouldn't mind going home and cleaning up," he says to those present.

Max wipes his hands against one another, looking vaguely disgusted at his own scent and appearance.

_The sooner he turns up the easier it was for him and the Sheriff to deal with whatever problems are keeping them away. Lets hope its not a big problem. Meh, they're experts, they know what they're doing._


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## Tory Adore (Jun 21, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
*Wednesday 11th December, 2003*

The song that was dancing through Vych’s mind as she was surmising Carrick’s embrace fell short of its end. The last line she remembered hearing in her head as she finished her welcome was “…and your heart will race…” Then the song bled from her ears into that of the club’s music and disappeared as she felt her grandsire’s light gaze begin to examine her.

Vych relaxed her hands and arms, taking a step inward shifting her weight to her hip to form a most graceful curve and making her hands open up at her stomach, palms facing upward stretching out her arms to encompass, without touching them, her and Carrick. Her lips, moist and sweet, elicit the gentlest of voices into the air about them as her skin prickles slightly at the memory of her own embrace, 
_“If that should be true, then I made the right choice at Carrick's approach to willing give my life and heart to your childe. I wholeheartedly embrace the possibility of a forever of tragedy to have the chance, no matter how slight, to love for an eternity. To live and die to have never loved him…or to have never met you, that would be tragedy in and amongst itself.”_

Vych gracefully takes a few more steps forward to stand closer to the two beautiful Sires all the while looking to steal their crossing scents into her body to mark an indelible impression in her memory of this meeting of her lineage. She can feel the musical vibrations in the air tickling the naked skin of her back attempting to woo her to indulgence. Her body starts to sway ever so slightly as the song, Ingénue, begins to come to a close. Trying to stop her motion and hide one of her passions, Vych continues,
_”Truth be told? I find it difficult to control my passions in certain venues. I fear I can only hope to attain half of Carrick’s discipline in this craft. His confidence and control I am envious of…as well as…”_

Vych’s voice trails off with her last three words being consumed by the music swirling about them in its dance.

Throwing a hopeful glance in Carrick's direction as if to say 'Maria is staying with us is she not', Vych asks Maria,
_"I take it arrangements been taken care of for your stay with us?"_


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## Catulle (Jun 24, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Caitlyn and Nathaniel_

Despite her best intentions, Nathan twisted in her grasp, eluding it with a horrified, yet terrible caste to his fevered visage. His eyes were bloodshot, now, the sclerae themselves seeming reddish-tinged in the club light. Every step laboured, he backed away from her, although his face betrayed the opposite desire.

"I don't understand..." The directionless utterance, so far departed from his usual confidence, reached her across the slender space between them. Even in retreat, he had proven unable to detach fully from her.

Did he hear the song, too?

_HE will destroy you. Drain you away to dust and ash, burn out your soul and replace it with a monster of his own creation._ ...It *was* a voice, *the* voice, *her* voice. Resonant with power and music _and truth_, it cut right through all the club's distortions so clear that she could easily be going mad, all *this* a fabrication of her mind.

(OOC - Nathaniel spends another willpower)


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## KitanaVorr (Jun 24, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_*No!*  He won't...he_ won't...

Caitlyn stared after Nathan, not understanding his emotions, his confusion, his torture, any of it.  But all of it roared back to her with a sound so profound that she could feel herself physically pounded by it.

"No!" The strangled cry echoed into the music, becoming with it a note hanging in perfect disharmony with those words echoing in her head.  Fingers digging into either side of her hair, she squeezed her eyes shut as if the music could stop invading...twisting in like an unwanted guest to sully the house that she had so carefully built.

_Oh God if you are out there tonight...not now... libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna in die illa tremenda...please... _

Spinning around, her silky hair a raven banner behind her, the young singer pushed through the dancing crowd.  Her heart beat in time to the music, shuddering at its loudness.  Her body thudding against others as she tried to find a place where Nathan could not see her...where she could compose herself...control the music beating in her mind.

_Tremens factus sum ego et timeo, dum discussion venerit atque venture ira...why is this happening to me?_


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## Catulle (Jun 24, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Carrick, Maria, Sabrina and Vychtorya_

An cool smile formed of indulgence wound its way across Maria's dark lips, even reaching her glittering, vague, eyes. Perfect artifice lying beneath the skin.

"Of course, our 'curse', as some would term it. To resist it too well is to invite madness. I believe that, after a fashion, we truly feed off beauty in all its forms... in addition to the other thing, of course."

She leaned back, smooth interplay of muscles adding a mechanical grace to the motion, and with a languid motion, rolled her neck around to look up as far as the Mezzanine.

"My staff have my needs well in mind, dear. I will be well taken care of a little way distant, once the evening plays out. Perhaps Chicago will call to me next. There, too, is a lack of leadership..."

Her gesture came full circle, bringing her to rest her attention on Sabrina. "And you, childe? What occupies your sire that he sends my Carrick in his stead?"


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## Catulle (Jun 24, 2003)

*The Warrens*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Dim light shed from a single weak bulb flickered in and out over the table. Sturdy wood, piled high with sheafs of papers, strewn across with books and a multitude of little plastic discs, was barely visible in the gloom. Shadows crept in at every seam, blanketing the room in an oppressive shroud. The electric buzz was the only sound to be heard.

There were figures there, too, clinging to the darkness as a drowning man to the flotsam of his broken vessel. They moved in silence, the steady shuffle of building anticipation and the faint illumination casting only a suggestion as to the identities of the myriad of hidden shapes. Perhaps it was better this way.

A sharp click broke the silence and signalled the closing of a door, and a hunched, massive figure shambled to the table, one pallid hand thrusting into the light, thick-nailed fingers wrapped about a paperclipped folder. It dropped the dossier onto the table, before retreating from the light, as if in recoil.

"I'll say this for 'im." The voice, from deep in one of the room's corners, was nasal and yet deep at the same time, "'e could certianly keep the books, whatever 'is faults." A pause, and the sound of something being dragged across the concrete floor. A chair became visible, and a figure dropped into it. The batlike ears and bald scalp were the only discernable details of the occupant's head, who gestured with a gnarled hand in the direction from which the courier had approached, then retreated. "What is it, Krid?"

"Another." Gutteral, harsh accented speech rolled from the darkness. "Staten Island, this time. We've backtracked as far as Charleston, so maybe it came up with the Sabbat."

"Source(source)?" A third voice, muffled and echoing itself in a parody of resonance joined in the exchange.

"Ha. A little bird told me." The second speaker responded. "Area's crawling with other investigators, now. I think the sheriff could be there. My information was vague on that point."

"I can confirm that." A dry rasp and a fourth speaker cut in. "Both the Sheriff and the Scourge left Manhattan earlier tonight. The scourge collected his from Carnegie Hill." The shadows rippled with motion, as that of a predator under muddied water.

"Company?" The first, again. "who is 'elping them?"

"That could be the Brujah childe (childe). Thepclay's whelp (whelp). We know what he did (did)... Perhaps he will tell us what he found there (there)."

"Then we shall ask 'im for 'is 'elp in exchange for our silence..." The speaker leaned back in his chair, folding gaunt arms wrapped in heavy, filthy coatsleeves across his chest. His crusted pate vanished backwards into the gloom.


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## Shalimar (Jun 24, 2003)

Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Sabrina looks up at Carrick confused, she didn't quite understand the question, it was her belief from what she had been told that her Sire was Elizabeth, and not a 'he' at all.  "Mister Carrick, I thought you and uncle Nathan said that miss Elizabeth was my sire?" she asks from her position in his arms.

"I don't know where she is at all, I don't think uncle Nathan likes her though, not at all.  He's over there with Miss Cate, I expect he should be here soon though."  she said snuggling into the crook of Carricks shoulder, smiling up at the beautiful woman.  "You are very, pretty, do you think I might get to be as pretty as you and miss Vychtorya when I grew up?"  she asks Maria, to give her uncle more time to arrive.


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## Catulle (Jun 26, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Caitlyn_

The crowd surged about her, the maddening rhythm breaking against her mind, setting sharp promontaries of terror against the emotional storm that raged as nothing before.

She struck flesh on flesh, heard a distant glass shatter in her stumbling flight. Turning a corner, a bright-costumed acrobat twirled about a ceiling-mounted frame, dazzling; disorienting. And the music played on... twisting to preempt each horrible sensation, foreshadowing destruction.

Then, cool air. An open space, exposed to the sky, greeted her, and the music of her mind, synchopating with her heartbeat, assumed a more comfortable mein. The sleet continued to fall, melting on her skin where it touched, salving away the urgency of her situation. It was a small space, little more than two stone benches facing a little garden of low shrubbery, lit by a single exterior lamp.

Cate's awareness returned more fully; a man was sat on one of the benches, plainly dressed with short dark hair and a fair complexion. He half stood as she entered the space, head inclining a fraction towards her. "I'll go away. You look like you need the space more'n I do." The voice was light as music on the air with a lilt to it that, at that moment, proved difficult to place. He moved to pass her, keeping carefully back out of arm's reach, and gave her a backward glance as her reached the doorway. "Are you in a band, by the way? The Hundred Nights?"


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## Catulle (Jun 26, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Carrick, Maria, Sabrina and Vychtorya_

Carrick didn't respond to Sabrina's question, seemig lost in thought which her interruption failed to draw him from. Instead, it was Maria who answered, her voice wrapping about the child with a soothing tone beneath the surface.

"I see... The emphasis is clear, now, and I imagine precisely why this Elizabeth may incense Mr Montague so... la limpieza de sangre, si?" She smiled to herself, a flicker of the eyes towards Vychtorya as she did so. Nathan and Cate, Sabrina could note, were no longer in sight from her position.

"Thank you, childe. Change for you will be difficult and though there are a few way for you to change this, all are dangerous. This is why your sire's action will be thought by some as monstrous. We are statues, frozen in time at the Embrace, but some exist who can work at the stone of our essence, shaping it at will. The Tremere, perhaps..."

Vychtorya felt a flutter in her chest, a rhythmic pulse which stemmed from beneath her breast... Though sudden and silent, it took her a moment to realise - Mazz' telephone was vibrating busily.


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## KitanaVorr (Jun 26, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

The cold sleet touched her hot skin, melting away more than just the heat from her body.  Cleansing away more than just the physical agony but many layers more unseen.

Caitlyn almost didn't even see the man in the alcove, so intent was she on the sensation of cold.  Wrapping her arms around her, she sat down on the empty bench, every sensation of the snow - falling on her eyelashes, melting on her skin, clinging to her black hair - keeping her sanity in check in the wake of the lingering music's echo.

"Kindred Knights," she corrected absently in her soft luxurious tones.  Why did that seem ages away?  What were they doing tonight, she wondered and why wasn't she with them instead of partaking in this crazy and unpredicatable night.


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## Catulle (Jun 26, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Caitlyn_

"Of course." With her back to the door, she couldn't see him, but the cold, still air carried his harmonious, accented voice to her clearly. "I thought I recognised you. You're a very good singer..."
Silence. The music stilled. She sensed the man was gone, or going at the very least, and the sound from the dancefloor was muffled within the nook.

Sleet continued to fall, melting away to nothing as it brushed her and the true chill of the night only now started to work its way up through the stone of the seat. For now, it was a mild discomfort.


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## KitanaVorr (Jun 26, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

The crystalline tears slid down her cheeks with the silence.  Her heart struggled to return to its normal pulse, her breath already straggling far behind.

That had been so close...was it but a harbinger? The discomfort of the snow chilled her as much as that thought did.  What happened there?  Was this how it was like for the others?

Then a voice.  "You're a very good singer."

Singer.  Music.  Her only release and yet her current torment.  Someone who remembered her...who was he?  But she wasn't ready to talk, not quite yet until she had calmed the fear within her heart.

Slowly her mind began to put together the steps - logical musical steps - building back each section of her mind with every note.  A song - one of many - that she kept in her thoughts and pulled out when she needed soothing...because singing had always soothed her before.

_Right now I feel like a bird
Caged without a key_

Her soft voice reverberates in the nook, warming it with echoes, soothing echoes.  But her cage was one no one understood or knew about, no one could help her...did anyone even know her torment?

_Everyone comes to stare at me
With so much joy and rivalry
They don't know how I feel inside
Through my smile, I cry_

Why had Nathan acted that way?  Had he seen...why...what was that look?  Why had that moment when they seemed so happy had that voice intruded?  What brought that horror, that anger to his face?  Did he see within her?  Were those thoughts so visible on her face?

_I know why the caged bird sings
Only joy comes from song_

Caitlyn wondered if she should escape now like a coward or find Nathan again.  With a start, she realized she had given all her money to the homeless man who saved her and Nathan had brought them all here.

_Maybe that man can help..._ she thought absurdly dwelling for that moment in the fantasy of flight.  Spinning around, she headed toward the door in a rather reckless fashion.  "Sir...?"


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## Tory Adore (Jun 26, 2003)

_Alphaville – Forever Young_

She focuses on Maria’s lips at hearing the accented words rolling in question from the Sire’s mouth. Vych tips her head to the left, closed her right eye, and curls her lower lip, incisors dimpling the moist red flesh. Attempting to translate, then looking back to Maria with questioning eyes, Vych thinks to herself, “no, that translation can’t be right…cleansing of the blood…that can be done…and how could a Tremere help Sabrina…shaping at will?” Vych’s eyes wander to Carrick. 

Eyes widening, taking a little gasp of air and abruptly placing her hands over her left breast as the vibration fills her chest, she says to the handsome group with a light sense of urgency to her tone,
_”Please forgive me. There is something I must attend to.”_

Though it is extremely difficult for her to tear herself away and causes her pain, Vych takes two rushed steps backwards nodding to Maria, Carrick, and Sabrina before she spins around to take her leave. She quickly retrieves the phone from between her breasts, flipping it open and placing it to her left ear, right hand plugging the other.  
_”Hello…?”_

In a graceful and fluid rush, Vych heads toward and moves through the double hung doors leading to the foyer so she can hear a bit more clearly. She stands in the amber-lit foyer to the right of the doors and faces the corner with her back turned slightly to the main entrance from outside.


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## Catulle (Jun 27, 2003)

*The Warrens*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Once more, the buzzing of the bulb was the single continuous noise, mitigated on occasion by a shuffling from one shadow or another.

The dry-voiced speaker broke the impasse first, "What if Tess were to make the contact? This... Max has connections to her sire, no?"

"True (true). I agree with this plan (plan)"

The seated figure drew forwards a little in his chair, throwing his pallid dome into the light and in turn sending a cascade of shadows over his face. He looked to the far end of the room, his eyes mere black hollows, and sniffed in twice through a hooked nose.

"Yes. If she will 'elp us, she should go. Mulligan can get 'er into the building. She can wait for 'im there." The sitting monster rotated his head, throwing the jutting teeth that thrust from his gaping maw into the light for a mere second. "What do you think, ma reine?"


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## Catulle (Jun 27, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Caitlyn caught the stranger just as he was finally turning to leave, his face betrayed a little surprise when she stood up. He was neatly, though not ostentatiously dressed; a blue colarless shirt, dark trousers. His wardrobe certainly didn't stand him apart from the crowd.

"Yes, Miss?" His accent... a faint brogue, well-hidden but lurking behind each inflection. Scots, perhaps, or Irish. He leaned his head a little to the right as he spoke.


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## KitanaVorr (Jun 27, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Caitlyn nearly ran into him, stopping just short with surprise etched on her face.  Had he been there the entire time listening to her?  A faint blush touched her cheeks but she composed herself.

_Well...you can't just ask him right out, that would be rude.  Besides, you don't even know what you want yet, just a way to escape if need be._

"Oh...well, I'm Caitlyn Tran.  I didn't catch yours," she spoke if a bit flustered extending one slender hand in his direction.

_His voice - that's a really interesting accent...Don't get distracted!_


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## Catulle (Jun 29, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Carrick, Maria, Sabrina and Vychtorya_

The elder nodded her approval as Vychtorya backed away, and Sabrina could see her hold the departing woman's back in those farsighted eyes. When the crowd suged around her, concealing her from view, Maria turned back to her favoured childe and the neonate in his arms.

"It happens that, sometimes, a sire Embraces..." she let her voice trail a little, pensive, "...inappropriately. They choose poorly or for the wrong reasons. In cases such as these, it is normal that either the sire, childe or both will perish. Of course, this is in a city with an established leadership. I wish you all the best fortunes in the nights ahead, Sabrina. My house seems keen to afford you protection in addition to Mr Montague's... however your pedigree stands." To the child, there seemed an edge of indulgent pity to the lady's tone, whether a genuine sadness or one inspired from the connotations for her childe's status seemed irrelevent. She met Carrick's eyes, who miled in return.

"Speaking of whom, I should introduce you to Nathaniel in person. He was very keen to meet you when I informed him of your impending arrival and I trust he will be done on the floor soon enough" He offered his free arm to Maria and as she entwined hers about it, the group started, slowly, to make their way towards the mezzanine's spacious sweep. The better for the view, it occurred to Sabrina. She caught sight of Vychtorya as they travelled, by the doors in with a telephone gripped close to her ear.


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## Catulle (Jun 29, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Vychtorya_

"Mazz!" The voice on the other end of the line was effusive, though when she spoke, the speaker, male, paused for an uncomfortable period. The crowd was close about her, but thinned as she reached the oasis of relative clam by the club's entryway.

"Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?" The accent was a refined one, well up the social classes as she recalled such things. "And where might Maslowe be?"


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## Catulle (Jun 29, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Caitlyn_

He took her hand, warm to the touch and dry. He smiled as he shook it, and his eye contact wavered with a hint of awkwardness "Mike Shiels. Pleased to meet you, Miss. I kinda play a little myself. Not professional, though." The undertone of the earlier accent was submerging beneath that of a local, though there remained a discernable cadence to his words to which he seemed, himself, oblivious.


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## Catulle (Jun 29, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Framed in light, the creature watched the moves play out beneath it, experiencing life, as it had through all these recent years, vicariously. Shrouded from mortal and immortal alike, it tried to think, to select a course of action that would force it all to make sense. A way to reconcile the press of insanity into something... beautiful.

_It never stops. It can never be *allowed* to stop._

The child in the fair man's arms caught its sight, and it smiled.


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## Tory Adore (Jun 29, 2003)

Vych’s voice poured into the phone with a comfortable yet proper eloquence, 
_”My name is Vychtorya-Lyn Fayrchyld, Sir. I do apologize that I am not who you had hoped to reach. Mr. Maslowe was kind enough to let me borrow his phone for the evening while he is here at my club, Antiquities. If it do please you Sir I can try to locate him for you, and if it is not an intrusion of your privacy, might I ask your name?”_

Vych could feel the welcomed chill of the night rush at her spine, and the chiffon of her dress whirled and clung about her legs everytime the entry doors opened and closed. She rotated her body more into the corner and leaned her right side and head up againts the wall. Her right hand still resting against her ear so she could hear clearly with the other.


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## Elle (Jun 30, 2003)

*The Warrens*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

There was another short silence, then the rooms final occupant leaned forward in her chair, into the dim light cast by the naked bulb.  

"I...I suppose I could, I'd like a little more information of course"

The speakers whole body was covered over, a long, baggy, dark blue dress touched the floor with two small booted feet just poking out under the hem.  She wore an overlarge coat and gloves, her head was covered over completely with a thick black veil, held in place by a silver coloured band which appeared to have been made by plaiting three bands of metal together.  Only her voice and her dress suggested she was female.

She looked at the assembled creatures and, supressing a shudder of revulsion, cleared her throat.  "The more I know about him the easier it should be to get the information...and I'll need to know what his dealings with my sire were but yes, I'll go."

Then she quickly withdrew into the shadow, as if she had only just realised the light was on her and became a shadowy figure again, the light glinting off the circlet on her head.


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## KitanaVorr (Jun 30, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Caitlyn returned his smile and handshake.  Though she looked like the most delicate woman in the world, in her grip there rested a strong touch of self-assurance.  Thought at the moment, Cate felt anything but self-assure.

_Well he seems harmless enough...though who knows in this city._

"Mr. Shiels, pleasured to make your acquaintence.  I'm sorry to have driven you out of your own solitude.  I'm sure you wanted to get away from the press of the crowd as did I."

_I wonder where Nathan is..._

"Do you really play?  What instrument ?"

The cold air touched her cheeks, seeping the warmth from her skin and turning her pinker as her body compensated.  Standing out here as the snow kissed her body, talking to a strange man, dueling with the music in the midst of swarm of bodies earlier plus a whole array of conversations - this had proven a strange night so far.

Would it only get stranger as the night wore on?   Until morning's light brought illumnation and sanity into this realm of darkness?


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## Catulle (Jun 30, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Vychtorya_

"Marvellous, dear." The voice seemed effusive, affectionate even. "I had been hoping to speak with you at some time. I was afraid we rather missed each other at the Garden, but then, with the evening's revelations..."

"No, no need to call Mazz. I'm beginning to think he had an inkling I might call, and you'd be the best person for me to arrange things with as it happens." 

"I'm Thomas Arturo, a confidant of Mazz and Hellene, though you've probably heard a less... nice word for us, hmm? As an architect, I was very interested when Mazz mentioned that your ancestor the lady Santa Lucia was passing through town. In fact, I've studied her work and I'd greatly appreciate an audience with her... If you could arrange that, I could take a look at your interiors as a special favour; perhaps suggest some suitable additions?"

(OOC - Vych Int/politics - 9,6,4,2 = 2 successes)

Vychtorya had certainly heard of Arturo by reputation. By all accounts his designs were in high favour among the Kindred elite, and both Hellene Panhard and Eugenio Estevez had allegedly bolstered their social standing by employing the Toreador ancilla. The offer could be very tempting indeed for a neonate with aspirations...


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## Catulle (Jun 30, 2003)

*The Warrens*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

A nod from the figure at the head of the table brought the tips of those sweeping ears into the light , casting a grotesque shadow on the mountain of intelligence spread across the wood and plastic surface.

"But of course, we all do..."

"Not yet (yet). Trust has to be earned first (first)."

A clumsy silence lurched back to the room. The electric buzz became uncomfortably lound in a matter of moments. The shuffling this time came from the shadows to one side of the room. The click of another latch being lifted and the grind of stone on stone echoed through the chamber.

"We should tell her some of what is known. She is one of us, now." The dry whisper came from the other side from the previous noise. "Since _he_ is in hiding, we are her family."

The twist of the spine that the chair-creature gave might have been equal parts shrug and spasm.

"As you will, Mulligan. On your own 'ead and 'ers if she betrays us. I'll not see us exiled back down 'ere again, whoever grabs the throne..."

The touch, coming out of the darkness, took Tess quite by surprise in how gentle it was against her heavy coat. If she had not anticipated the contact, she would have scarce felt it. This time, the hoarse voice was almost to her ear though the room didn't betray the speaker's presence.

"Come, childe. I can explain on the way. We'll go now, the better to talk." The hand exerted a little pressure, seering her into the total darkness where she could only assume the door lay, and twin pinpricks of red light shone beside her.


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## Catulle (Jun 30, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

_Caitlyn and Mike_

Mike gave a self-conscious smile, looking past her to the falling sleet. "Well, I get a bit wound up in crowds. But the music..." He fell silent for the moment, losing himself in quiet thought until Cate asked broke the silence again.

"I play the viola, a little, like I say. Just for... fun, really. I don't think I'd be any good professionally, not if it was about money. I think it gets in the way of just following the flow." A look of sudden horror crossed his face. "I mean, for me. You're good enough not to get that distraction, I'd imagine." He raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck, and he struck an apoogetic look, almost unconsciously, she thought.


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## Shalimar (Jun 30, 2003)

*Sabrina Montague*

Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Miss Maria's words went over the childs head, she knew individually what they meant, but the conversation as a whole was simply too hard for the little girl to process.  She wore a slightly confused expression as the older woman spoke to her about lineages and leadership.  She had the feeling that Miss Maria dealt with adults soo much that she wouldn't know how to have fun, or how to treat someone who was younger then her.

"I don't understand," she said softly looking from Carrick too Maria and back again, "Why would I need protection, I'm a good girl, and everyone likes me, you like me too don't you?"  she asks Maria giving her an encouraging smile, her dimples showing, as she grasps the necklace that Vych had given her, as if to prove to the woman that other people liked her.


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## reapersaurus (Jun 30, 2003)

Nikolai reluctantly leaves the 'corpses' with the Anarchs, though he doesn't let them know he's watching.

He'll retreat with the others as they find Legba's car and get in.

Once inside, Nikolai turns fully towards Gabe, engaging him most full-well and blatantly:

"So let's get to a Chantry, unless your place is closer.
We have work to do before we report to the Elders about the doings of this Night.

Unless you'd rather be in the dark about who was in charge of that Feral thing's actions, tonight?"

Nik leans forward and asks Legba if they could be dropped off at the Maupassant Room on 77th and Madison. 

Nik leans back to Gabriel and says, "Kenilworth'd be nearer, but that's Wainwright's chantry...
you mind going to Estevez' instead?"


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## KitanaVorr (Jul 1, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

"Nice backhanded compliment," Caitlyn replied with a slight smile.  "But I don't think anyone is ever good enough not to be distracted by money in this profession.  It seems like the more we  make, the more we spend."  

_Not really sure what to do now_...it still felt completely forward to ask any favor of this nice guy.  And she still ached to find Nathan again at the same time she was terrified of the look on his face.  However that voice still echoed in her memory and she found herself unsure of everything.

"Though that certainly isn't my problem.  People aren't exactly beating down my door with lucrative contracts."  There echoed a forlorn air in that statement.


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## Tory Adore (Jul 1, 2003)

Vych’s voice contains an air of upmost respect and warmth for him at the thought of talking to one so highly regarded by those she wishes to join someday, 
_”Mr. Arturo, it is a pleasure to meet you. While in France, I had heard mention of your fine work at one of the gatherings I had attended before we moved to the States. I would be happy to inquire about a possible meeting with Ms. Santa Lucia while she is in town. I shall meet with her tonight and get back with you on the particulars.
As for the ‘word’. Yes Sir, I must admit I have heard it mumbled once or twice, but I have found that those using such do so out of ignorance for that which they haven’t the mind to appreciate nor understand. Most of our enchanted populace can only hope to aspire to such greatness and dream of the night they should be called in such fond a term. 
Oh my! Good Sir I do apologize…it…it seems my mouth has run away with me again. Do forgive me please. I do get a bit too passionate sometimes.
Mr. Arturo, your offer is most generous, and you are welcome in my home and club anytime. How might I get ahold of you later?”_


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## Elle (Jul 1, 2003)

The Warrens
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

She waited until she was through the doorway and walking down the pitch black corridor, one gloved hand in front of her and the other reluctantly holding on to the thing next to her.

"so, for a start... um, what exactly do we want to know?"  Her voice was raised in the apologetic tone of one who felt they should probably already know the answer, "and what is it we are keeping quiet about in return?" 

"I know I should keep a little more up to date but there are so many signs, so much to decipher, I lose track of what is happening outside my mind sometimes"  Tess knew what a lame excuse this was for not knowing enough about the situation but at the same time felt the guilty thrill of reminding someone she has a power they can never have.  Inwardly she prayed Mulligan would mention her gift, tell her what an important responsibility she bore, to make her feel less cursed than the things which now called themselves her family.


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## Catulle (Jul 2, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The play of light upon the elder's features shifted as the smooth planes of her face adjusted; exasperation, perhaps, or impatience straining to work itself past the facade? She drifted her obvious attention away from Sabrina, though she continued speaking;

"It is a dangerous world, is ours, and full of jealousy. That, girl, has claimed your life once already. I very much doubt that your Elizabeth is so fond of you as we all are."

Carrick nodded his agreement as the trio reached the top of the stairs. The mezzanine gallery was clear of others, now, and clusters of comfortable chairs and low tables were strewn about the richly decorated area. Looking out over the crowd, they could see Vychtorya by the entrance, speaking into a tiny handset. Further away, near the bar, Nathan and the tall thin man from the party seemed caught in impassioned conversation. They gestured widely, even violently as they spoke. Sabrina was almost sure her uncle was shouting, and the people nearest the pair were starting to look at them with curiosity.


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## Catulle (Jul 2, 2003)

*Adrift the city that never sleeps*
Midnight Thursday 12th December, 2002

What traffic there was between Staten Island and Manhattan drifted past in near silence. The rattle and roar of Legba's aging engine ate what little conversation passed in the car's cabin, and the chill permeated the confined space almost as totally as the rotten stench, flesh and blood, which they brought with them. The double-pip of the dash-clock rang in the death of another day. A reminder of the time that was ticking past them, slipping by unremarked.

"The Maupassant will be fine." Gabriel's growl broke the silence only for a moment, swallowed by the brooding, inward mood.

The Tremere got out on 77th, Max at Carnegie Hill. Before he pulled away at the last, the big driver leaned across to remark, in a low voice, "Now we seen the little birds, I think I'll get me a vulture, hmm? Maybe you want to hear one squawk some day, too?" He could have winked. In the dark, the Brujah couldn't be sure.


_Gabriel and Nikolai_

The doorman at the Maupassant was discreet as ever, the small conference centre's defences largely saw to the chantry's defences, or so Nikolai's elders assured him. Estevez' reputation as a spirit-binder granted the claims some coin to back them, as well. A portrait of Lucien de Maupassant himself dominated the close-feeling foyer, a stern victorian image of the departed elder who, it was said, had embraced Regent Sturbridge more than a century ago.

Of the incumbent regent, there was no sign, but Nikolai's chambers remained as he had left them. Gabriel took a seat, calmly withdrawing his sword-cane from the sheath, and taking a cloth from deep inside his pocket to buff the blade to a sheen.

"What did you have in mind? My ritual is worked already and in play... Can you add something more, _brother_?"


_Max_

The tenement sounded deserted, the security guard out of sight and no sound save the tapping of his feet audible on the stone-flagged floor. The smell emanating from his clothes in the clean hallway, seemed all the more repugnant now. The religious undertone to the hallway which had struck him earlier the same night simply reinforced the night's revelations, its desecrations.

(OOC Max Per/alertness diff8 - 10,5,3,2 = 1 success)

The lift seemed to take forever to arrive, a frustrating span of seconds that appeared to Max, covered in blood and dirt, to stretch for hours. When it finally arrived, he noticed the tiny powdery flakes, likely sand, which were concentrated in a croner of the lift - another reminder of his own unclean state.


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## Catulle (Jul 2, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

_Caitlyn_

"You sould look at it positively; if nobody can keep their artistic vision in the face of distraction, you might even have the better deal." He gave a little shrug, palms upwards and to either side, "Not that that means I wouldn't buy the album."

The conversation had lulled, an impasse of sorts reached, though the music still hummed with a secretive significance in her mind. Mike shifted his weight onto the other foot. "Um... Can I get you a drink?"


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## Catulle (Jul 2, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

_Vychtorya_

"Excellent. Might you have the time to spare for a little tête à tête with a group of us at some point in the next... month or so? I can contact your staff at Antiquities, yes? The faux-Moroccan place, am I right?"

"Politeness is one thing, but publicity endures, my dear. Rather the two together, of course... As for the passion, it's a curse I think we learn to live with. Better to indulge on occasion than to starve ourselves like... well, like _some_ others. Feel free to contact me on this number; if you don't get me, just leave a message."

"Thank you for your time, Vychtorya. I look forward to meeting you in person one night soon."


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## Catulle (Jul 2, 2003)

*Sewer Access Tunnels, beneath Manhattan*

Mulligan's hand remained pressed to her arm, curled around it and steering her through the gloom with a prodigious strength. Away from the hosting chamber, the tunnels became wider, slick with moisture, and lit by the occasional flickering striplight.

As her eyes forced back the light's intrusion, she could take stock of her companion of the moment; perhaps six feet tall, he would have towered above that had his back not been so sharply deformed; Mulligan was hunched to painful angle, the hump atop his shoulders almost scraping against the low ceiling. He was posessed of a dry, flaking skin which drifted from him with every light, otherwise controlled step. In his other hand, he clenched a sheaf of typewritten papers.

"We want to know what he's seen tonight. What happened on Staten Island. We _must_ know if these are the predations of Nictuku without exposing the warren. You will be able to tell this, if you listen to him, or so we hope."

Their heaving progress took them past other branches some little more than crawlspaces. Once, the concrete all about them shuddered to the passage of something massive above, perhaps a subway train. A dark liquid seeped from  a row of barrels stacked in an alcove, and her guide wrinkled his nose as they passed. Tess could smell nothing, as ever.

"During the war, the neonate we will be visiting, committed a serious crime; Gemini took note of this. We have arranged that this stay outside of common knowledge in order that one night, such as tonight, we can collect on that hidden favour."

They passed through a door, and Tess realised she had long lost track of her position in the confusion of turns the pair had made in the darkness. They could have been anywhere. They were in a utility storage room, ordered, tidy and with an elevator bay at the far end. Mulligan reached back, and with seemingly little effort, pulled a stack of crates in front of the door from which they had entered before leading Tess to the steel lift doors.

"The janitorial staff are glad of the help we can afford them from time to time; like us, they are trapped in their rut and like us, they often resent living at the bottom of the heap." The doors slid apart, and he stepped in, pressing a button as he went. The room shook as it rose upwards. The hunchback slipped a key-card out of his pocket. "The ignored in a society are often the most empowered in unlikely ways... But you may not have to blackmail the young man - as Calebros' childe, you might ply his sympathies too. But, we must know the answers either way."

The doors opened onto a short corridor, carpeted, warm and dry. Like at home, when she had one. Mulligan chose a door, and slipped the card, deftly sliding into the apartment beyond with a minimum of noise and disruption and closing the door softly after their entrance. When he spoke again, moving through to the main room of the domicile, his voice was a sibilant whisper.

"Keep hidden, if you can - no doubt he will be startled by your presence. I will stay close."


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## Shalimar (Jul 3, 2003)

Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Sabrina

The child watched interestedly as her uncle proceeded to shout at the man from the other night, she knew he looked familiar, and that he was at the party, but she didn't really know him.  For him to anger uncle Nathan enough to shout was a feat in an of itself, she had never seen her uncle lose his calm in public ever, and even with her he never really shouted, he just made himself very clear.

"Whos that with uncle Nathan?  He's making him very angry, whoever it is.  I haven't ever seen him yell like that or anything.  You don't think something is wrong do you?" she asks of the two elders, seeking reassurance from the oddity of the situation.  She wasn't really scared, she had just learned that if you make people want to comfort you that they'd do nice things for you, like give you gifts.  She was a little curious about the arguement, for surely thats what it must be, but not enough to let itdestract her from her favorite past time, wrapping people around her little fingers.


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## Tory Adore (Jul 3, 2003)

_’You are correct, that is the place. Would you consider letting me have the honor of hosting the “little tête à tête”? And yes, please feel free to contact Sasha or me.
Sir, I will be in contact with you after I have spoken with Ms. Santa Lucia. It has been a pleasure Mr. Arturo, and I too look forward to meeting you in person…soon.”_

Vych turns around, phone still to her ear, to look upon the sea of humanity and prepare herself to swim through its warm crimson waters once more. As she awaits a reply from him, she thinks about the words of Maria and Thomas. *”To resist it too well is to invite madness”* and *”Better to indulge on occasion than to starve ourselves….”* Thinking to herself, ‘perhaps I shouldn’t worry so much about indulging my passions and just go with them on occasion. I wonder what Carrick’s view is on indulgence of one’s desires? Strange that subject has never crossed my mind to ask him before now. Hmmm...’


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## KitanaVorr (Jul 3, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

A sparkle touched her eyes, a hint of illumination within the twilight at his words.  What normal everyday words they were.  The contrast between this conversation that sounded so much like one echoing so many before and those with Carrick and Nathan stood prominent in her thoughts.  In comparison, theirs seemed but an odd dream of faintly fantastical figures speaking in ancient languages.

"Sure, why not?  I could use one," she agreed, stepping past him and through the door to bathe once again in the hot humanity and thickness of the music.  "So if you're not a musican, Mr. Sheils.  What is it that occupies yoru time in the thankless pursuit of money?"


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## Elle (Jul 3, 2003)

Sewer Access Tunnels, beneath Manhattan

Tess stumbled through the half light, disturbing several rats in their persuit of food.  She silently took note of the information Mulligan gave her, briefly wondering why being Calebros' childe would make him sympathetic to her.  Possibly this Max knew more about her sires recent troubles than she imagined.
When she took note of where she was again she realised the light ahead was from a door Mulligan had opened.  She followed him through and into the elevator, a little nervous at the thought of what they were about to do and started to move the little flakes of skin which were peeling off her companion into a pile in the corner, she then noticed him watching what she was doing and stopped, feeling self conscious.

The lift opened and she stepped out behind Mulligan.  She couldn't help but notice how much more monstrous he looked stalking down a well lit, carpeted hall, a tiny hit of a smile played across her lips, hidden by the veil she wore.  Then she pictured how strange she probably looked and her heart sank again. 

She followed Mulligan into the apartment, he whispered for her to stay hidden and she replied, in as small a whisper as she could "Ok, I'll just follow your lead" She became distracted by something glinting in the light but then turned sharply back to make sure her companion was still visible.


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## Festy_Dog (Jul 4, 2003)

*Adrift the city that never sleeps*
Midnight Thursday 12th December, 2003

Max raises an eyebrow and takes a closer look at the small pile of 'stuff' in the corner.

_I won't even hazard a guess at what a pile of skin flakes are doing in the elevator._

He looks up to the ceiling to the elevator, expecting an open hatch or something else that would appear normal in a movie.

_My life has enough 'fictional' content already, as if I should try to make something from (a very strange) nothing. Anyway, probably a bald guy with really, _really_ bad dandruff on an upper floor. Looks like he lost half his scalp, hehe... Blech, that reminds me, need to get clean. God damn, I reek._

Max brushes aside strange ideas, seeing as he has none suitable to the situation, and walks quietly to his apartment. He wipes his hands on a part of his jacket which survived the onslaught of filth before digging around for the key to his apartment.

"Home, somewhat less sweet now but sweet nonetheless, home," he says quietly as he shuts his door behind him, "Still some time to check my e-mails and stuff."

Max removes his jacket, revolver, vest, then shirt and throws the articles of clothing into his washing pile, leaving his gun and vest on the table.

_Can't really wash them, just spray 'em a bit with air freshner. Can't hurt 'em any._

Oblivious to the presence of others he opens the refrigerator and removes a can of soft drink, taking a swig then checking under the sink for anti-bacterial spray.

"Wonder what carbonated blood would be like... hehe," he muses to himself.

_Note to self, shower _then_ computer._


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## Catulle (Jul 9, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

_Carrick, Maria and Sabrina_

Carrick didn't squint as his eyes followed Sabrina's gesture, flickering across Vychtorya, the crowd, and the bar before alighting upon the arguing pair. He frowned, pursing his lips before responding. "That's Patrick Maslowe, one of the people that I had hoped could help our families' fortunes. That they're clashing could bode ill. Or very well indeed. The Brujah are damnably contrary that way."

His fingers drummed along the railing against which they now stood. "I, _we_, should intervene..." He took a step back from the edge, turning slightly as he did so. Maria moved not at all, however, and this threw him momentarily into such confusion that Sabrina could inentify the indecision throught his cool veneer.

"I will be content here, my childe. Attend to things as you see fit." Seemingly satisfied of his sire's approval, he looked to Sabrina, indicting the stairs down.

"Will you come or remain?" His tone indicated no preference that she could discern. Maria gave the child a rather predatory smile, even as her eyes glittered in invitation.


_Vychtorya_

Arturo was barely off the phone at the other end when her wandering eye caught Carrick, Maria and Sabrina watching something from the balcony. Though she was certain their attention was towards the bar area, she couldn't make out the specifics due to the press of bodies between her and the source. Even from this distance, she could feel Carrick's anxiety keenly, though it didn't reflect in the way he carried himself. He broke from the group with some reluctance, she sensed.


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## Catulle (Jul 9, 2003)

_Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan_
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

_Caitlyn and Mike_

He raised his voice to compete with the clamour of the music indoors, and in doing so the Irish in his accent betrayed itself all the stronger. Leaning in towards her slightly to continue their converstaion, it ocurred to Cate that Mike smelled of... nothing distinct at all.

"Well, I work in journalism - entertainment pages, mainly. It's no great shakes, but it pays the way. I get to see a lot of new talent that way. And, please, it's Mike." Shouldering their way through the crowd, barely in sight of the bar, he added "So what're you having?"


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## Catulle (Jul 9, 2003)

*Carnegie Hill Tenement - Max's Appartment*
Midnight Thursday 12th December, 2002

The cola tasted staler now than it ever had. Compared with the blood, it was a fading and somehow unsatisfying reminder of times past. Max's entire system rebelled against the liquid these nights. He couldn't stand to swallow it, knowing that the result would be, as it had been on the last three attempts, a thick ash-tainted bile. Still, the sensation of the carbonated luiquid wasn't an unpleasant one. At least one thing remained consistent.

A voice broke his reverie, coming out of the appartment shadows. "Mr Freigardt..." It was harsh, dry-throated and quite without a hint as to where it was coming from. "We would speak with you."

(OOC - Hunchback Mulligan wit/stealth - 8,7,6,4,3,2,2 = 3 successes, enough (barely) to stay under Obfuscate)


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## Tory Adore (Jul 9, 2003)

Vych folds the tiny device and places it back from whence she had retrieved it. Catching her Sire and the trio in her eyes, she thinks to herself,
_”Wonder what is so interesting over there. Hmm…”_

Then she feels a disturbance in her blood that doesn’t match what she sees in Carrick’s form. At that sense, she quickly moves toward the area in which he seemed to be heading. Vych, not wanting to push her way through the sea of sweaty humanity, takes a shortcut up the three stairs to the Fireplace Lounge while constantly checking to see if she is matching Carrick’s seeming destination. Now that she is above the dance floor somewhat, she looks through the archway from the lounge to the bar area that the trio had been watching from the balcony. She takes the three steps up to the bar level for an even better view, and checks to see where Carrick is.


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## Shalimar (Jul 9, 2003)

Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Carrick, Maria and Sabrina

Sabrina was fairly sure that the Elder actually wanted her to stay, though she wasn't sure, that smile made her just a little but unsure.  She didn't think Carrick would let her stay if Miss Maria might hurt her.  She held out her arms to Miss Maria to show that she wanted to be picked up by the older woman.  "I'd like to stay with Miss Maria please." she said in her lovely lilting voice.  She wanted to make sure that Miss Maria liked her, so she definitely wanted to stay and get cozy.  Getting the elder to hold her, a hug, maybe even a kiss, and then she'd invite the woman to her party.  That should make the vampire lady like her just as much as Vychtorya did, and mister Carrick.


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## KitanaVorr (Jul 10, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2003

Caitlyn found herself once again mesmerized by the movement, the colors, the music playing in her head, whispering the visions before her.  As Mike spoke, she found herself following the lilt of his accent, listening as a connoisseur of voices.  Up and down, a curl and an slightly different tone.  She followed his speech as a melody, listening and smiling to herself.

"A glass of red wine - choose for me."


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## Elle (Jul 11, 2003)

Carnegie Hill Tenement - Max's Appartment
Midnight Thursday 12th December, 2003

Tess had now made herself unseen and waited until Mulligan gave the sign that she was to begin.

Another voice spoke, more feminine than the last, "Max?  My name is Queen Tess, I'm Calebros' childe and I'd like to talk to you, would you mind if I asked you some questions about what happened earlier tonight?"

Without waiting for an answer she continued "I can show myself if you would prefer, although I was warned it might suprise you to see me appear from nowhere, and to see me as I am"


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## Festy_Dog (Jul 13, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Catulle_
> "Mr Freigardt..."




Max stops dead still, his head turned slightly, trying to ascertain where the sound is coming from.



> _Originally posted by Catulle_
> "We would speak with you."




Max slowly turns around, casting his gaze around the room but failing to see anything. His displeasure is evident.



> _Originally posted by Elle_
> "Max? My name is Queen Tess, I'm Calebros' childe and I'd like to talk to you, would you mind if I asked you some questions about what happened earlier tonight?"




One of Max's eyebrows arch, he is about to reply when Tess continue's.



> _Originally posted by Elle_
> "I can show myself if you would prefer, although I was warned it might suprise you to see me appear from nowhere, and to see me as I am"




Max shakes his head for a moment, clearing his thoughts for what he'd say next.

_Umm... Whats happening now? I though I was working for Calebros... Meh, fck it. I'm just a grunt why would I be told why stuff like this happens?_

"Err, well, whatever you wanna do. I'm happy to help Calebros, you and your friend can take a seat if you want, I guess. Mind if I put a shirt on?" he asks, jumping suddenly from one phrase to another, speaking his thoughts as soon as they can be translated into speech, "Oh, I'll move this stuff. Not exactly welcoming to have it lying around."

Max picks up his revolver and speedloaders.

_Oh sht! David's knife!_

He moves over to where he tossed his jacket and removes David's knife, then puts the weapons into one of the many bare cupboards in his kitchen. Max turns back to where Tess' voice seemed to come from.

"Oh yeah, you don't mind if I get changed into something clean do you?" he asks.

_This is weird...

but I guess that comes with being undead._


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## Tory Adore (Jul 15, 2003)

...and the music changes...
_UB40 – Red Red Wine_


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## Elle (Jul 15, 2003)

Carnegie Hill Tenement - Max's Appartment
Midnight Thursday 12th December, 2003

"I'll just take a seat while you get changed then"  Tess sits down and waits for Max to leave the room before making herself visible again.  She perches on the end of the seat, a little unsure whether this is going well or not.  She looks around for where Muligan might be and raises her eyebrows in a 'is this going ok?' gesture before remembering the veil covering her face.

Her gloved hands smooth out her dress and coat to stop her looking quite so awkward and out of place and she gazes with interest around the room.  There was no comparison with the doorway she had spent the last few years or even the small room in the warrens she now lived in, this seemed like absolute luxury.

She waited politely for Max to come back into the room.


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## Festy_Dog (Jul 15, 2003)

*Carnegie Hill Tenement - Max's Appartment
Midnight Thursday 12th December, 2003*

Max silently changes into another outfit, taking a moment to wash his hands and use a little deoderant before returning.

_Hmm, what can I remember of the evening? Hopefully enough, not that I did any of the actual investigating. I'll just answer the questions as they dish 'em out._

He checks himself momentarily in the mirror before returning and taking a seat at the table.

"So what do you want to know?" he asks after a moment, "I should be able to fill you in on anything you think important."


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## Catulle (Jul 17, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Step by step, Vychtorya paralleled her sire's movements across the clud, the imagery of a complex dance emerging strong in her steps, his counterpoint, all swirling to a mysterious lead. It was akin to a hunt in many ways, though who was to be considered prey at any time was an elusive concept. Perhaps they both were, or neither. Beautiful monsters, they moved in a harmonious duet.

From the elevation of the mezzanine, Sabrina and Maria could see the scene unfold. The matched pair, sire and childe, took a meandering, circuitous route towards the bar. As tey did, and seeingly unseen to them, another pair took the stage. Cate and a young man broke from the crowd, towards a different point on the bar. The child could see that they would pass near Vychtorya before coming into sight of Nathan and Mazz' heated discussion.

"Is there something I have missed?" Maria had been intent on the small girl's reactions, her eyes following each flicker of attention from point to point about the room, with dizzying aptitude. Her own attention, though, brought with it a coldness Sabrina hadn't felt with Carrick. The elder reached down and touched lightly with the back of one middle ringer, cold skin, smooth and hard to the touch ran down her own. "What could you tell me about all these comings and goings?"


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## Tory Adore (Jul 17, 2003)

_Adrian Belew – Young Lions_

Vych maneuvered through the humid jungle of humanity approaching the bar, ever cognizant of her Sire’s movements. While this was not the dance she had in mind for herself tonight, the mere feeling of the hunt, the stalking, the dance, impressed itself within her body making its pleasure known through her facial expressions - seductively moist smiles, an irresistible sparkle to her emerald eyes, a rosey, warm glow to her porcelain cheeks. Vych could feel something dark and bestial pull at her from inside as she watched her beautiful Carrick, the most handsome man she had ever seen, from across the room. His graceful, fluid movement, the way his silk shirt flowed against the smooth, flawless skin beneath, every flex and tense of muscle brought back the memory of their first dance so many years ago, and it made her want him all the more. She could feel her emotions struggling to break free of their cage, and her love for him run wild inside her now throbbing heart as his blood pulsed in veins throughout her body to the tribal beat of the music, and she wanted more, more of the feeling, more of this dance, more of his blood. Vych could almost taste the sweetness of his unlife on her tongue, on her lips. She folded her lips in and closed her eyes at the thought, breathing in deep as if trying to smell his scent from across the room. As her lips pressed together, she felt the burning sensation of her fangs starting to descend, dimpling the skin of her wet, inner mouth. Vych stopped dead in her tracks realizing she was beginning to lose the main focus of her movement toward the bar. Vych thought to herself as she attempted to quell the beast, trying to block the music that threatened her to tell its story in a dance, in the hunt. She placed her hand over the little crimson heart pendant about her neck with her right hand. Vych forces her eyes closed tearing her face from her love's direction. 

(ooc – spend willpower point to avoid clan weakness)  

Trying to ease the pain in her body from denying that which called her, Vych gathers her thoughts,
_”You must focus V. For yourself if not still for Carrick. Remember what it was that called you to the bar, remember... Yes, the bar...that was it. What was at the bar that had captured so much of the their attention and had pressed anxiety into my love’s heart?”_ 

Vych fluffed her hair a bit brushing it away from her neck, smoothed her dress over her curves, and moved in to find the object of Carrick’s attention.


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## Elle (Jul 17, 2003)

Carnegie Hill Tenement - Max's Appartment
Midnight Thursday 12th December, 2003

Tess looked at Max for a moment "to be honest, I'm not sure what the important things are yet so if you can just talk me through what happened a the Graveyard I should hopefully be able to tell if there is anything significant.  Sorry to be vague but I'll only know what I'm looking for when I hear it."  She shrugged her shoulders apologetically and tilted her head to one side, hoping this would make it obvious she was listening"I'll try not to keep you too long, I'm sure there are things you would rather be doing." She smiled reasuringly under her veil, cursed herself again for forgetting he couldn't see and settled for a nervous laugh instead.


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## Festy_Dog (Jul 18, 2003)

*Carnegie Hill Tenement - Max's Appartment
Midnight Thursday 12th December, 2003*



> _Originally posted by Elle_
> "to be honest, I'm not sure what the important things are yet so if you can just talk me through what happened a the Graveyard I should hopefully be able to tell if there is anything significant. Sorry to be vague but I'll only know what I'm looking for when I hear it."




_Hehe, yeah _she'll_ know, leaving me clueless as to what she's looking for and what this is about. I guess I should go over it vaguely, then the things she's looking for she'll have to ask for further details upon. I don't like being left in the dark in situations like these._



> _Originally posted by Elle_
> "I'll try not to keep you too long, I'm sure there are things you would rather be doing."




"Heh, thanks. Well I'll describe what we found best as I can:

"We went in over a wall and went straight to the crime scene, multiple graves had been dug up, the... 'residents' snacked upon. Also of note was a dead female child found under a pile of stones, and a male vampire impaled on a tree branch. On a sign above the vampire's head was 'The Red Poet' written in French, I think thats what it meant. I'm sure we found a rose somewhere, a red one I think, probably near the impaled vampire.

"Nikolai, one of the Tremere assisting in the inestigation, coaxed a child ghoul from hiding. It attempted to flee but I brought it down, while I had it pinned it yelled something about the red poet, I think anyway, then died. Nikolai tasted its blood but wouldn't share if anything revealed itself to him from it. Nikolai did some more looking around then we made our way out. We were intercepted at the car by a group of anarchs, and after some negotiation they agreed to take the bodies off our hands, much to Nikolai's discontent in actual fact. I'm pretty sure from what he said in the car he wanted to keep the ghoul for further analysis.

"Tell me if I should elaborate on anything. I'm sure anything I can't tell you about, Nikolai could help you with, he did all the detective work. If you do visit him though keep alert. Not that he's a bad bloke, heh, he's just pretty secretive at times, and other times when he opens his mouth its only to change feet, so he may give you the wrong idea with some things. Its advisable to be patient," Max says, then chuckles, "Heh, I feel as though I should offer drinks but there's nothing really suitable to our tastes in my fridge. Kine habits hey?"

Max smiles and sits back, waiting for a response.


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## reapersaurus (Jul 23, 2003)

Back in the Maupassant Chantry, (immediately after securing his room)







> "What did you have in mind? My ritual is worked already and in play... Can you add something more, brother?"



Nikolai ponders the snake's words.
He reflexively weighs the likelihood of their veracity, as always.
He replies to his clan-mate, "I mean to divine the location of the Beast that perpetrated those acts we saw displayed in the graveyard tonight.

While some of the acts were not as heinous as they seemed, their nature suggests an old monster may have resurfaced, right here in New York.

I hope it is still close enough to detect thru our blood magicks."

Nikolai prepares the components necessary to perform the ritual of the Beacon of the Self. He carefully... methodically.... collects the equipment needed from their storage locations in his room, and retrieves his ever-shrinking sample of hairs obtained at great cost from the Red Poet. When he takes out the tube that contains the cloth they are kept in, he makes sure to block Gabe's view, as a matter of course - it's almost expected, in this situation.

He proceeds to cast the Ritual, but not before asking Gabe, "So how does that work, with the Blood Stone, and tracking the Feral's location?

Do you sense where exactly it may be, or do you just sense the direction it is from yourself?

Do you believe he escaped the Anarch's clutch?
Can you sense movement, perhaps?"

Nikolai expresses a hint of hope on the last question.


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## Catulle (Aug 5, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

The dancers flitted through the arches, through the hot steaming closeness of the nightclub's claustrophobic expanse. Past the unsuspecting audience, if the people gathered there for a thousand reasons of their own could truly be called that. Witnesses, perhaps.

Vychtorya caught Carrick's trail, instinctively following the line she thought, _knew_, that he would take, running counterpoint to him.

She saw the singer, Caitlyn, with a man she didn't recognise a second after the younger woman had noticed her in motion, so intent on her sire that her senses had started to ravel again.

And at the bar the three of them, diverse yet converging, were struck by the distant sight, meters away across the crowd or reflected in the glass of the bar mirror as their position dictated, of Nathaniel Montague in a state of fury.

The sounds were lost in the pulse of the beat, but his features were twisted in a rage, elegant fingers flashed in staccato getsure as he seemingly railed against the man standing with him. Mazz' posture reflected unease, but the taller man didn't move away, or break his eyes from his counterpart. A smile which lit his face was giving way in turn to a more bestial grimace as his elder continued the tirade.

In contrast, Mike gave the pair no more than a second glance as he stood to attract the waiter's attention, swaying slightly to the beat and muttering along with the occasional snatch of lyrics.


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## Catulle (Aug 5, 2003)

*The Maupassant Room*
Thursday 12th December, 2002

Gabriel's expression was as stony and impassive as his presumed ally's. He watched, attentive as a hawk, to the unfolding of the ritual that Nikolai prepared.

"The ritual operates much as a blood-borne 'radar' device. Not a precise location, but conveying an impression of direction and approximate distance. Unless the object is destroyed, I think we'll have our informant. If, of course, it doesn't turn out to be just another corpse." The older, though lower ranked, Tremere paused, focusing his mind elsewhere. Nikolai could attest to the discipline that his clanmate was exerting even as an afterthought. He was no stranger to the mnemonic cues himself.

"Mobile. Though I think not fast enough to be in a vehicle... You have a more certain means, of course? Might there be a means through which I can lend my power to your own - that we profit more certainly?"


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## Tory Adore (Aug 7, 2003)

The song faded, bleeding into the next, and Vychtorya felt her senses twist yet again this night. _Godsmack – Serenity_

She saw the young singer with her new companion and could not help but wonder if that had somehow sent Mr. Montague to his apparent fury as she caught the heated reflection of him in the mirror. No, that could not be it. It looked as if he was conversing with someone. Vych took a step to the side attemepting to clear her view to search the reflection further. A fleeting thought based on research long ago flashed through her mind. She would have Sebastian remove that mirror tomorrow. 

Then Vych noticed another reflection as people shifted about. It was Mazz with whom the elder was having this intent ‘discussion’. While this was not Elysium, it was still hardly the place to attract attention needlessly Vych thought, not tonight. There was always the private area reserved for such. She hoped the other patrons gave the conversation as much consideration as the gentleman with the singer had. At that thought, Vych glanced over to this new escort and the singer to see if she could grasp any feelings the young woman might have in reaction to the scene playing out.

Vych, knowing these gentlemen she was preparing to approach were far more seasoned than herself, closed her eyes and reached down deep into whatever soul or being that was left inside her belly. She opened her eyes and tried to read the emotion of the two Kindred and hoped to descend upon them before Carrick. Her eyes flickered over to her Sire for a brief moment as if to extract one last confidence from him as she began her approach.


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## reapersaurus (Aug 12, 2003)

Catulle said:
			
		

> *The Maupassant Room
> Thursday 12th December, 2002
> "Might there be a means through which I can lend my power to your own - that we profit more certainly?" *



"That there might.

Let me concentrate on locating our wayward pile of nauseating, oozing flesh."

Nikolai gets out the Feral's hair sample, and begins the Ritual of the Beacon of the Self on it. He puts the Red Poet's hair sample back in the cloth and in the tube, for now.

He gathers the components together, and places them in a structure similar to a candle-holder, or large incense-burner. Then he concentrates within, going through the steps in his mind, calling on the dread powers that were bought with the coin of his Humanity.

After some time, he looks up and intones:
"Ipsa scientia potestas est

Etiam capillus unus habet umbram."


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## Catulle (Aug 14, 2003)

*Antiquities Nightclub, Manhattan*
Wednesday 11th December, 2002

Vychtorya - per/empathy - 10,8,6,4,4,3 reroll 8 = 4 successes)

"...and you dare, you _dare_ to question the order of _my_ house, you upstart _pimp_? I am not a man to stand by and idly watch as _your_ petty band of thieves and vagabonds tears the heart out of _what is mine_..."

It was a familiar enough dance, easy to read. Shockingly so, perhaps, for the refined young kindred would have expected greater restraint from one of the city's elders. The rage boiling over with every sharp ennunciation was all too genuine for her to be comfortable with and it seemed to her that the harpy, Brujah to the core, was close to losing control of his own tongue as he weathered the storm. Vych could see his eyes narrow as Nathaniel provided him with more ammunition for the coming assault, and Mazz's lips pursed into a thin smile even as his hands curled into fists by his sides. The five or six people nearest the pair just stared agape at the spectacle, caught in the moment as prey animals awaiting their deaths.

Across the bar, she could see Caitlyn and her companion pressing for service. While the singer seemed distracted on the wings of a song, the young man with her was watching the little drama unfold with an interested expression.


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## Catulle (Aug 14, 2003)

*The Maupassant Room*
Thursday 12th December, 2002

(Nikolai - int/occult+1 (occult library) diff6 - 9,9,9,8,7,6,1,1 = 4 successes)

The vision took all of his strength of mind to focus, the connection seeming weaker than his previous castings of the ritual. Perhaps the sending was weakened by his own lesser connection to the messenger. The messenger he hoped would lead him to some new insight, closer to his prey, the predator, the poet.

_Neon and darkness, the flicker-flash of headlights over the dark expanse of water, steel mesh to the left-hand side and the gleam of slick, wet asphalt._

It was on a bridge, and moving. 

_The Brooklyn skyline loomed ahead and he was sure he saw the lights of coney island shine brighter, as a beacon in the darkness._

The Feral's destination?


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## reapersaurus (Aug 18, 2003)

Nikolai watched the images dance in his mind's capture of a fleeting memory.

He concentrated on them a bit longer, aiming at gleaning the gazing ball's destination before releasing his stolen vision.









*OOC:*


 Nik will watch until he is fairly sure that the Feral is stopping at Coney Island, and until he gets some sense of WHERE on Coney Island the thing might be stopping or going to. I'd presume it's a fairly large place, and it's not enough to just know it's going to Coney Island to realistically track it down.


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## Tory Adore (Aug 19, 2003)

A lyric coerced Vychtorya from her forward movement toward the word-dueling pair as "Serenity" played on, and she stopped mid-stride looking about the small gathering of Kine. 

Vych contemplates in her mind what role she should take as she steps to the railing. Thinking to herself,
‘V, this is not Elysium. Should you tempt your fate so with the Harpy after his earlier generosity? Should you involve yourself in the matters of Nathaniel’s house just yet? Doing so might place both against you, even against your love perhaps. Maybe you should just let their little symposium play out and be ready with a distraction for the humans should it be needed? Besides, doesn’t the heat between the elders intrigue you a bit?’
A slightly mischievous curve crosses the right side of Vych’s mouth at the last line of her thoughts, watching the drama unfold.

She glances to Carrick to see if he continues his advance on the pair. Vych thinks to herself with a little non-audible laugh in her throat,
‘Perhaps Carrick will offer them the gentleman’s ten paces, pistols remedy to their disagreement.’

Vych turns facing the railing  and looking out beyond the dance floor to locate Sebastian in the music booth, and motions for him to come to her. Leaning over the rail she begins as she brushes ‘Bastian’s cheek with the back of her hand,
“Perhaps we should be ready with entertainment. I know it varies from our previous schedule, but please have everyone at the ready. Be prepared and watch for my cue.”

Vych turns, moves to a good vantagepoint, and leans on the rail behind her with her elbows, hands hanging free, palms facing downward. There is no visible emotion to her face as she gazes at those about the bar listening to the onslaught of words. The gentleman with the singer does catch her eye. Vych wonders what his sudden interest is with this little discussion since he was somewhat idle before. She would have to worry about him later though she thought. Her gaze moves to the elders once again as she tries to prepare for whatever she may need to do.


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