[Game Thread] Red Skies at Night

[Kapera]

The remnants of a scarlet sunset was left to greet those who woke in the embrace of the darkness. It felt poetically complete and just, the fingers of blood on a sable sky, tainted by the illicit glow of the city as it permeated and consumed the edges of true night. To each there were separate whispers, individual nightmares and horrors to have faced, to have overcome and their own burdens, own dreams and plans. The commonality through it all still loomed, hovered at the corners of each mind, each life, each death. Somewhere out in the city, out in the wilds of civilization, something lurked, a nameless, shapeless form which crept through the city streets and sought out that which still remained to be seen.

And so it was not just they who had taken on the Prince's request, their Elder's demands or their masters commands who woke with the knowledge that yes indeed, their world had changed, shifted off kilter without explanation nor understanding of just what this meant to them all. Yet for a small group, there was with waking, the knowledge that if the night prior had upended all that they had known, had relearned on their rebirth into living death, that this night only promised more revelations of a world they would perhaps have rather pretend did not exist beyond the safe walls they had built around their pseudo immortality.

To each there would be their own routines and plans, and yet within that select core who had begun, had dared to look back into the canyon of the unknown, there was the knowledge of commonality, of the unison in which they would soon be once more. It was perhaps this shared state which might aid, might buffer against the oddity that once faced when the world about them replaced the mirrors and rehung the curtain, the stage once more set and the truth, the reality carefully put aside to maintain the masquerade, the facade once more in all its brilliant darkness and dazzling delight.

The Elysium, the place once more teemed with people, the living danced upon the main floor to the throbbed beat of music as it poured out into the night, and above the displays, the art, the glory of all that man might create, was exposed once more to any who might seek it. It was as if the past night had been nothing more than a small blip, a tiny shake within the span of the Earth's existence and all who could, dared to pretend once more that there was naught which posed a threat and naught that might threaten all that they held dear, be it their lives, their deaths or their addictions.

Mischa, the Butterfly, the creature to whom the safety of they who moved amid the walls of the Elysium was charged, moved about her own, an ethereal creature caught between reality and reflection. While she held her own as might be expected, amid the few faces who came and went, when it was they who had been summoned and who had accepted the charge, to they she bid them to the top floor once more, where in turn and time, each might find themselves in the company of the others. A new night, another dance paced to the unseen musician, and with it perhaps the chance at answers still dangled just out of reach.

 

You are all still alive and woke up... heh... feel free to write in any routines or things that you do before rejoining everyone at the Elysium, and assume based on posting order, who gets here first to last. So first to post, Mischa will offer you an empty room, the next is ushered to the room with X already in it and so forth.

I am back, thanks for the patience... night two begins and yes... Yuul shall be meeting the rest of you

[Wynamoinen]

Leesa sits up. Unlike last night, where there was a shock of strange entities calling out to her in dreams, tonight, it's with the dull (and for that very reason, more disturbing) realization that it was all true, and some strange agglomeration of malignant forces are aligned. They don't seem to be aligned against her, per se. But they're ready to be, if she makes the wrong steps.

Arranging her short hair by way of scratching her nails through her scalp, she mutters to herself, "My job is to make the wrong steps." She rises from her bed. One of the nice things about undeath is the lack of sweats and oils and other distasteful mortal secretions. The downside is, it robs one of a sensible shower routine. And breakfast is rarely in the cupboard. Instead, her evening routine involves patching up any outstanding issues that arose at the office.

Opening her computer, she checks the messages. She hopes that the emergency issues will be light, since she tasked her assistants with more important business, researching the island and the regular transits made thereto. She scans her emails and phone messages for whatever was produced.

She spends her obligatory time putting out any administrative fires, and then gathers up her stuff to leave. Keys, phone, bag, notebook, knife. Out the door she goes, first stop: location of her herdCabin Coffee. A few members of the usual crew are there, including Caroline, a favorite of Leesa's. A small quiet woman of Korean descent, but passionate and hard working. They have a quick chat about the social justice topics of the day, and then Leesa switches to her Awe power, cost a blood point (though this is mostly just for narrative effect)more insistent tone, requesting that she come outside for a second to discuss some work to be done. Back in her car, parked in an inconspicuous poorly-lit place in the parking lot, Leesa Gain two blood points, which tops her off.feeds.

Satiated, Leesa sends the woman off with a promise of a few weeks of temp employment at her office. She then drives off to the Elysium. She parks and walks in, with a look of displeasure. "Yuck, sexy-vampire techno-dance club. So derivative." Mostly, she just doesn't like the music, but it's better to couch one's complaints in the form of social critique. She finds the host, Mischa, and says, "Good evening. I'm going to be meeting some people. Rita Carerra and a few others. Could we have a room, please? Preferably as quiet as possible? Thanks." She follows her guide, when a room is found.

 

Hunting in a Bohemian area, using her charm and shared empathy for the downtrodden. With Herd 2 --> 10 dice at difficulty 5

Dice Hunting, CHA + empathy + Herd(2):

10d10smh5

2 ✘, 2 ✘, 2 ✘, 3 ✘, 9 ✔, 2 ✘, 6 ✔, 7 ✔, 8 ✔, 10 ✔

(5/10)

Total = 51

[Phettberg]

Blut ist dicker als Wasser. Blood is thicker than water. Or as it was written down the first time in twelth century Germany: Kin-blood is not spoiled by water.

Either way - The saying was running around Adinas head as she awoke after a sleepless day of slumber. Yet things were different tonight. The Tremere were quite literally her blood, her loyalty to them without question. Still, she was aligned with others now, with no way to gracefully back out of it due to her affirmation and consent in front of the Prince. Her Great-Grandmother, herself having been raised in what was now Turkey, then the Ottoman empire, after the forceful eviction of all Jews out of Spain, had told a different story about blood - or rather family ties versus promises.

Her saying was not Jewish though, it was Arabian, a remnant of pre reconquista southern spain. To Arabs blood was thicker than milk, something her Grannie had picked up on. Yet some of the meaning was reversed. The milk was family ties, the suckling at the mothers breast. The blood bond was a conscious connection between two adults. Like the bond she had entered the last night.

So what was more important? The only thing Adina knew for a fact right now was that Proverbs won't tell you the answer, as it all depends on who you ask. Moral relativism - a dead end.

The Guilty feeling would not go away though, so Adina thought it best to not think about it any more and go about her business. Adina accessed the Chantrys blood banks to quickly gain the smallest amount of sanguine sustenance before heading out into the night again. Usually she would have hit the books, her reaction to literally any other problem, but the strange situation made the unusual necessary. She took a taxi to the Elysium.

The atmosphere was transformed, entirely different to last night. Adina had not seen it much more often than that, but she'd gathered this was more along the lines of normality for the locale.

Adina floated through the crowds until Mischa found her wandering, upon which she quietly explained who she was to meet here. She was led into a room only occupied by Leesa, and nodded at the woman before lowering her head and touching a fist clutching her pearl necklace against her chin. The string of whiteish orbs made a sound like chattering teeth as Adina shifted them around in her hand, staring away into nothing.

 

Just filling up on one blood point to offset rising from Adinas slumber.

[Yuul]

Alec Thorne Upon awakening, Alec found himself once more in his hidden haven. The warlock had been set to go through his normal slow rising routine when the memories, perfectly crystal clear reminders of the night before, roused him far swifter. He had stayed overly late at the Chantry the night before with his discussion with Neonate Higgs and the conversation that ensued afterwards with Leah, his new research accomplice, and as a result had only made it to safety scant minutes before the dawn broke over the horizon. Perhaps he should finally getting around to tapping the fund his sire had left him with and procure an automobile or similar mode of transportation? A wise choice no doubt, but not one he had time to indulge tonight. Contemplative thoughts of hunting as he reached the streets were quickly dismissed, Alec was after all nearly full and the time it would take all too avoidable. Particularly when he had to cross most of the city to reach his destination if the Butterfly was the goal he sought. Even if it was just a means to an end. As to those whose company he needed to reach, Alec could not even begin to guess as to their identities beyond one of them being of his clan and a woman in form with the name, either first or last, Menache. But the Butterfly heard all, or so it was said, and even if it turned out just to be most it would still be enough. Thus was why Alec found himself striding swiftly through the city's sidewalks and crosswalks, finding himself envying the oblivious ignorance of the mortals that passed a hairsbreadth from him as they returned to normal. If indeed any of them had felt the unnatural aura of that storm to begin with. The problem, or one thereof, with perfect memory was that it became very hard to distract oneself from immediate and possibly world threatening concerns. Certainly it was why all of the warlocks attempts to distract himself from the figurative storm already brewing failed miserably as his feet carried him toward Elysium. He could have easily taken public transportation, or hailed a taxi, and yet a part of him had always loathed them as far back as he could remember. Perhaps some event from before his Embrace? In the end all that it mattered was that he arrived at his destination far later than he otherwise might have, even without stopping to feed. Before even entering the club that doubled as a somewhat cliche kindred hideout, the sound of the music from the mortal level was an annoyance. Hell, he had heard it clearly from three blocks away! Although granted that had more to do with his own circumstances than the actual noise level but all the same Alec knew that the moment he stepped inside that it was going to hurt. Even with the wax earplugs he was already tugging out of a coat pocket and placing properly into his ears. When one had superhuman senses, even amongst kindred, it was an obvious precaution to bring a form of protection. Not that it actually muted the sound, as unfortunately the best it could do was make it somewhat more... bearable. So bracing himself as best he could, the warlock walked up to and through the doors in a state that brooked no argument given the irritation apparent on his face. Only to be temporarily blinded by the multiple sources of light throughout the establishment. With a grimace, Alec paused long enough to dig into another pocket for a pair of sunglasses and don them. The multitude of scents and odors on the other hand, there was not much he could do about with what he had on him. Instead he opted to just push his way to the desk at the back by the stairs as quickly as possible. "I have need to see the Butterfly." He stated, as calmly as he could with the abundance of irritating things happening around him. As he did so he placed the one item he knew almost for sure would be on the ban list, a rather sturdy stake, onto the desk yet hidden somewhat from public view. From what he knew the Butterfly could be, well, flighty about the ban list although he certain hoped his currently needed accessories were not on it or somehow someway he would no doubt find himself repeating the incident in the archives from the night before on another local uppity figure he would have otherwise been rather polite with.   OOC: Voluntarily cutting the benefit from my Acute Senses(the sight and hearing parts) in half while wearing those accessories. Seems fitting.

[Kapera]

A quick glance as Lessa entered suggested that the next evening might be a far more enjoyable source of entertainment, if only that the place would not be a club that night, but strings, granted it seemed like the music was still edgy, though would be nothing like the Indi-style that permeated the night this time. The trouble with a lunatic who could not make up her mind about the cover for the place had indeed resulted in a collection of a wide variety of acts which took the stage each night. Once she checked in at the front desk and 'security' ensured that she carried nothing banned from the Elysium, upstairs was far more silent and calm, the marvel of modern technology and sound proofing. While it did not take long to spot she who patrolled and enforced the rules of society, Lessa was forced to wait until Mischa finished her conversation with a slender young male that remained unknown, he was at least not a familiar face for the Brujah in this moment.

The Butterfly, the Keeper, Mischa of the Elysium merely smiled lightly at the woman and offered a small bow and sweep of her hand. "Rita has already arranged what is needed my dear one, upstairs the main room is free for you and they who come with you. She will be late however, the works of the living must be satisfied before we who keep the night are allowed to continue the delicate dance." Aside from the fact that this was at least not the most confusing conversation which could have been had with the Malkavian, all that was really clear was that there was a room upstairs and that Rita would be along a bit later than perhaps expected.

---

The second night to be forced from the Chantry, though at least this time Adina knew enough of what lay before her in contrast to how rudely Higgs had sent her out the night before. Not that in truth it made it any easier, to know that there was ought out in the darkness which waited, a thing which she knew deep within, as much as she wished to hide within the walls of security, they were naught but a false sense of defiance. From the slivers thus far uncovered, it was clear that there was far more danger than mere walls of the seemingly impregnable Chantry could offer.

Mischa seemed far more flighty than the night before, a restless pace and fluttered movements bared for all to see, the hallmark of the source of her nickname on display. That she was not the first to arrive was not a poor thing, and as Mischa ushered her upstairs, a murmur that Rita would join them shortly, was at least confidence enough that somehow over the day and slumber of it, the others had not all entirely vanished nor run from the terrors which threatened to lurk in each throbbed shadow.

It was Lessa who waited for her within what would have served as both a private hall for showings as well as a booked room for business meetings. It was more a surprise as to who entered next. While Adina knew well the names of those and even the faces of those within the walls, Higgs had made no mention that any else would join them in the danger wrought investigation, and yet somehow when she looked up and watched the relative newcomer to the Chantry enter, newer even than she, even if only by weeks, somehow Adina knew that the slight grin which had hovered on the Elder's lips this evening had been somehow connected to this. Alec Thorne, she knew his name, and knew that he had chosen to live offsite, but of anything else, she was woefully unaware. It seemed, if she was to be so paranoid, that Higgs had a thought to stack the deck, or perhaps worse it was Foreswill and his own move to counter Higgs, one could never be sure.

---

The man at the security desk, the sort who in a blink of an eye would be lost in the crowd, utterly unidentifiable, the epitome of bland, merely slid his hand over the stake and chuckled softly. no other words as he motioned that Alec should climb the stairs to the gallery above and turned his attention back to any else who dared to approach the desk.

A single time before was all Alec needed to remember clearly who each person was upon the main floor of the Elysium, or at least who he had met before, the foremost being Mischa. That security had not cared to tell him where the Butterfly was, was not of concern was he walked through the art displays above and watched the woman as she flitted to and fro, a restless creature to whom none seemed to fully catch her attention. An approach, her dark eyes lit upon him then seemed to look through him as a twisted smile curled over her supple lips. "One who seeks with a hunger as raw as an empty belly. Who who seek awaits above and what you hunt lurks in the shadows beyond, the night as only just begun and the darkest is yet to come." A lilt, near singsong faltered away as her eyes seemed to focus once more upon the man, the smile still present as she reached out and offered her hand out in a motion for him to take the far stairs to the top floor.

 

I never want to assume... Yuul, Alec is free to go upstairs and will find the other two women in the meeting hall. If he does not, tis no problem either. Lessa and Adina... go ahead and interact and Rita will be joining you all shortly, as well Waif and possibly Thom.

[Wynamoinen]

Leesa keeps a studious half-pleasant, half-business face as the madwoman in charge of the peace greets her. Given the pointer, Leesa shows herself upstairs and finds the room that looks like the centerpiece - the main room. It's empty, but that's hardly surprising. In her experience, Kindred seem to pride themselves on their lack of promptness. "Children of the Night" affectations, almost as bad as the sexyclub downstairs. The ones who seem to maintain reasonable schedules are mainly those powerful enough to demand that others attend to them at particular times and places. And, well, f*ck those guys. So, she is left without anyone worthwhile to appreciate her promptness. It's hard, being a timely Brujah.

She sighs and takes a seat, flipping through her phone. Eventually, Adina appears. Leesa hold her phone to one side, so that it's out of view as she converses.

"Adina. Good evening." Leesa checks her screen for the time and nods in approval. "Well, at least two of us believe in showing up at a reasonable time. Or, we two avoided being destroyed by a mysterious cabal of warlocks. I guess we'll find out how the others turned out." It's hard to tell how seriously she means this, but one presumes it's sarcasm. Leesa has not struck anyone as the joking type, though.

"Anything interesting come up over the day?" She checks her phone's screen again for messages. "I'm still waiting on my report. I haven't been able to get in touch with my researchers yet. Which doesn't make me very confident that i'll turn up much. If they found what I wanted, when I wanted, I should have had the information in my inbox to read over breakfast." She scratches at the corner of her lip to make sure there isn't any dried blood left over.

"Doesn't Rita work here or something? Odd that she wasn't here to greet us...." She irritably checks her screen for inbox notifications again, but is polite enough not to read and scroll as long as she's conversing with someone.

[Phettberg]

Adina stopped briefly upon entering the room and seeing only Leesa in it. It was the downside of being punctual - others often weren't. While she had no problem with waiting, it was always different when a whole group of people waited on a straggler than when two people were alone together. It may have been old world manners, but in this conversation she felt like she should be making more than the barest minimum of conversation.

On instinct an anecdote about her mortal family came to mind - was it not what people babbled on about? Her grandfather had had a north african understanding of punctuality, whereas his son was already taking to more western notions, even while they had still lived in the Ottoman empire.

Yet none of that seemed appropriate to say to another walking corpse. Ancient memories.

"So it appears," she said curtly as one of her hands wandered upwards to play with one of her earrings. "The others won't be far behind. I have been made aware it is a matter of appearance for some to waste other peoples time."

She had actually heard that, though it seemed like yet another mortal memory. Under normal circumstances most kindred had time to spare a plenty, at least those that got to live beyond the fledgling state.

"No. I have nothing new to tell," Adina said, thinking about how she preferred to do her own researching. Greedy, maybe, but knowledge is power even in the hands of the least significant creature.

"I believe you are correct, and it might be significant that Rita is not here yet. Naturally only she will be able to tell you her reasons for being late." With that Adina stepped fully into the room. She had not heard what Mischa had told Leesa earlier, so she did not know Rita had set up this room to meet them, yet Adina was not overly worried.

So everything had been said that was expected. Adina tried to do one better against her natural instincts: "We did not part laying down a plan for how our... investigation was to proceed, did we? I suppose that will be the first thing to adress now."

 

As the next person stepped through the door Adinas eyes narrowed in mild confusion. It was not who she had expected, yet she had seen this man before, though she did not recall ever hearing his name spoken. He was of the blood, at least she knew that, though right now she wished she knew a hell of a lot more. Somebody must have sent this person here, yet for what reason she could not immediately fathom.

It stung slightly either way, because she could for the unlife of her not think of a reason this Tremere had been sent that was good for her. It seemed like a vote of no confidence to her. She may have been wrong, but it was the way her mind worked.

Pushing all of that down she composed herself while she squinted at the man. Her hands were running through the multiple bands of pearls hanging around her neck more or less against her will. In the end she only nodded politely but quietly.

[Wynamoinen]

Leesa nods as Adina speaks. She sees a lot of sense in all that. It's too bad she doesn't speak up more, when the crowd's around. She's got a head on her shoulders. She's, at least, not always teeth-gnashing and garment-rending about all the 'horrors' that everyone thinks we're dealing with.

She opens up her mouth to reply, but just then her phone finally buzzes. "Sure, well, what I... hold up, sorry, this is the call I was looking for..." She puts the phone to her ear, and gives an excited exasperated response without any greeting. "Finally! ... Yeah, hi.... Go ahead... Uh-huh... uh-huh... huh... hm..." Adina can see the interest drain out of Leesa's face with each passing 'uh-huh'. By the end, she's almost rolling her eyes. She gives an unexcited sign off. "All right. Well, it is what it is. Thanks for getting back to me," and she hangs up.

She looks back to Adina, her mouth askew in irritation. "Well, that's unhelpful. Info on the Island. It's a nature preserve. You need permission from the OOC: not sure if the Canadian version of 'Feds' is 'Feds', sorry...Feds to even go over there. But it's privately owned. Which is weird, for Protected land. Weirder, there's no record we could find about who owns it. Then there's that whole Aboriginal 'holy site' storyline. Couldn't find anything about regular charters out there."

She stuffs her phone into her oversize 15-year-old faux-designer shoulder bag. "I thought we were making a trip to the docks. By midnight. I definitely want to sniff around out there. Meet our Tzim contact if we can. See the ships and the shapes out there. Figure out who is coming and going from this Island.

"I don't think Rita was super excited about that. But it seems like the next-best option was to be a bee in the bonnet of the Seneschal, which she was DEFINITELY not excited about. Do you see other options?"

[Phettberg]

"Privately owned nature preserve? That does sound like an oxymoron... a strange kind of coverup." Adina clicked her tongue and ran her hand over her curly black hair, sticking a hairpin that had just suddenly appeared in her other hand into it.

She winced visibly at the thought of their dockside meeting and wasted some time smoothing down her white flouncy silk blouse and picking fluff off her black pencil skirt. Eventually she spoke again, her voice monotonous: "I admit I have not forgotten our midnight Contact. I wished we would not have to meet them, but we do. I expect them to be dangerous, at least for me. That is if they know me for my blood."

Adina sighed then out of an old habit that had not left her flesh. A slight strain was creeping into her voice. "I'll deal with it. I have agreed to do this."

[Yuul]

Alec Thorne The Butterfly's words, as undesirable as they may have been, were not something Alec was inclined to forget. Even assuming he could. Some of it was obvious enough of a deduction, that the nights they found themselves in would grow darker still before they would see any sort of metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel, but to have a Malkavian confirm it in that strange, knowing, way of theirs did much to seal the deal as it were. Malkavians came in all sorts of variety, the influence of their bloodline's curse always inevitably felt, but one thing that often remained true to all of them was the wisdom or foresight hidden in their flights of fancy and vague murmurings. Presuming of course that one didn't drive themselves mad attempting to figure it out. In the end, Alec would take the obvious truth therein for what it was and leave anything else to be uncovered by time itself. After all, he was no doubt already behind in meeting with this group of kindred that had found themselves working together on the cities little problem. It was only halfway up the stairs to which he had been pointed that the warlock even began to realize any sort of sense of apprehension and anxiety. If he was forced to point to a cause, he would have been inclined to finger that there was another member of shared blood in this assembly. Events of the prior night aside, dealing with his kin was generally avoided aside from the necessities. He was as loyal to clan as any other was, all partook of the blood ritual that bound it so, but there was always something more there beneath the surface when conducting business with other tremere. Clan politics had a habit of becoming more labyrinthine than what most outside of it saw as the norm. Of course Alec hadn't been very good at avoiding it lately, the previous night had seen him behaving in ways he normally would have seen as inexcusable, for reasons he himself was still unclear on. He should be frightened by his own lack of care for the matter, but whatever had happened regarding the nearby isle and the visions caused by recent events had him all out of sorts with no sign of it ending anytime in the immediate future. What was worse, is that he was not sure he wanted it to. As dangerous as his actions had been and continued to be for himself, the thrill, the sense of self empowerment, was addicting. Alec was hard pressed to find anything to compare it to. Thusly when he strode boldly up the stairs and into the designated chamber whilst sliding the previously donned sunglasses back into his pocket, the warlock made no attempt at breaking free from the game that had begun the previous evening, despite that none of its players were present aside from himself. Dusting off his worn and rather out of date coat as he entered he looked up and glanced at the two other kindred present in a manner far more casual and at ease than he personally felt. His fellow warlock was easily identified, for though he had not known the name to her face until the night before, his unfailing memory still recalled her presence in the chantry. Honestly he probably would have been inclined to remember her even without it, the quality and taste revealed through her garb set her apart entirely on its own. So who then was the other? She was dressed professionally enough, certainly far more so than himself, and gave off a feeling not unlike a squirrel or other small mammal in the sense that she seemed eager to keep moving. He might be a bit presumptuous with that assessment, but time would reveal it either way. Turning his gaze back to Adina, he spoke up for the first time upon entering the room with an expression that was much more confident than he actually felt. Not that it would be the first time. "Given that I doubt the Butterfly would lead me astray, at least in this particular manner, you must be Miss Menache?" Alec gives a slight nod of acknowledgement. "Alec Thorne, Neonate Higgs sends his regards." ...because when you might not live to see the next sunset, you should never let something that amusing die quietly.   OOC: Sorry again the late post. No longer wearing the sunglasses away from the club lights, but the earplugs are still present.

[Wynamoinen]

Adina starts fretting, and Leesa wonders if she was overconfident in her assessment of the bookish Kindred. She does her best not to brush off the concerns entirely. With only a small dismissive wave of her hands, she replies,

"We'll be fine. There'll be, what, four of us? Five? Where did Gardener go in all of this? Our counterparty spoke to Rita. He doesn't know how many of us there are, I bet. We don't all need to be there. Out in the open, I mean. Me and Waif can escort Rita. You can skulk around and do..." she gives Adina a piercing stare. What does she do anyways? Blaze said she was, what? Tremere? So, right?, she's just as into the mumbo-jumbo as some Tzimisce? Just trying to put a more respectable face on it. Certainly she hasn't been showing her cards so far. "... whatever it is you do. From afar. That's fine by me. Smart, probably."

She continues giving an assessing look at Adina when a lanky-haired pretty boy comes into the room. Fits right into the crowd downstairs, really. Typical. Even more typical, he all but ignores Leesa and introduces himself (to Adina!) as Alec. She looks between the two, transferring to the newcomer the same searching gaze she was just giving Adina. They know each other. Or a common acquaintance? What does that mean? Vampire Tindr? They went to witch school together?

Remaining seated, she replies to Alec, "Hi, can we HELP you? This room is actually reserved. Do you have a message or something? Otherwise, we were right in the middle of discussing something private so..." she shrugs and looks around at the empty room, hoping that he can fill in the rest of the implication.

[Kapera]

Waiting was never easy, even if for the moment it was only for Rita and the others to arrive, the former already noted for being late, as per at least what the Keeper had said to Adina. Waiting when one knew that darker things were to come and the fact that undoubtably even tonight, they would end up with yet more questions, for when did ever a crisis find itself solved in a couple of hours... No it was all the type of situation that would have left mortals in a knot, let alone the state of a couple of now dead beings with an innate desire to prevent completely dead.

It was not made any easier as a newcomer sashayed into the room. Possibly not quite a sashay, but close enough as he looked over each woman and then made his introductions. For Adina, it was not a greeting that helped, not at all as he ended it with two words that she knew did not belong anywhere together. Neonate Higgs... the Elder, the shared second in power within the local Chantry, more or less her boss in laymans terms, and here this fellow Mage, threw his name about in a tone that suggested annoyance, humour, resignation and the whispers that something, something indeed had happened and yes, Higgs was at the centre of it. The question was unanswered yet as to what, did Higgs think she could not handle it, did Higgs know something that meant there should be two of them, or more, had someone else insisted that she have back up? Questions, questions so many things to ponder and in truth, very little time to get to the bottom of any of it.

 

Short and sweet to fill in some things and such... people will be coming along shortly/or meet you guys at the docks depending on time, carry on

[Yuul]

Alec Thorne While the earplugs he wore might be managing to dull, if not actually silence, the painfully loud music two floors down, they did nothing to shield him from the voice of the squirrel/chipmunk/mouse of a kindred that was present in the actual room with him. Inwardly, her entirely reasonable interruption and outburst had the part of him that he had always viewed to be normal, the one that tried to avoid attention aside from his sire, concerned and eager to apologize and possibly leave the room despite having full and valid reasons to be here. Unfortunately for what he probably would have at one time called his sanity, its instincts had not been the ones in the driver's seat since the night of visions. Thusly he responded not with meek apologies and uncertain stuttering, but with a smirk that radiated a confidence he still did not know himself how he came possess. "I am sorry, but I do believe it's quite rude to not introduce yourself to someone who has done you the same courtesy, what is your name Miss?" Which might have manage to salvage things if he had not immediately moved on to something else. "Some powerful mischievous entity of unknown origin with an apparent proclivity for extreme malevolence once sealed on that nearby island has now presumably escaped and is thus threatening doom on this city and its inhabitants? That is about the gist of it, yes?" Alec sighs, taking in a very much unnecessary breath before looking the not yet introduced Leesa in the eye. "Besides, considering this was the room the Butterfly directed me to, I would say I have every right to be here, if you disagree you may take it up with the Keeper of this Elysium. If you can keep her attention for more than a few seconds that is."

[Phettberg]

Before Alec had entered Adian nodded at the course of action proposed by Leesa. She was about to hint at what she was capable off after the teasing tone the other had used, yet held back. No need to divulge any when one can just keep everybody guessing. "Much as it is alluring I'd care to wager the Fiend is resourceful. I would not be surprised if they were right now taking measures to make hiding nearby much harder. In case you were wondering, disappearing from sight or the other senses is not my specialty. Trying and failing may enrage the creature."

And then Alec entered.

"I am," Adina answered the man before he went on to say something nonsensical. The rank of members was known and not something that was generally used for jokes in this manner, unless one never wanted to rise up the pyramid. Maybe there was nothing about it in the Code, but probably there should be. At the misrepresentation of the order of things and without noticing it much she had wrinkled her nose as if smelling sulfur. She was not surprised somebody that had never seen the heart of their blood, the byzantine hidden halls of Vienna, would speak so carelessly about their brethren.

"I don't know what you are talking about," was all she could say at that. Then Alec went on to talk some more and Adina turned her head away. Somebody wanted him there, and most likely somebody in the chantry. Nothing to argue about there as far as Adina was concerned. The rest was just posturing.

[Wynamoinen]

Leesa opens her mouth to make a snarky retort when the new guy - Alec? - starts talking about islands and malevolence. She closes her mouth and turns more fully towards him.

Stranger, Adina admits that she's part of his clan, but then all but disavows whatever his weird pick-up line was. He must have thought that was real slick, when he practiced it on his way in. Ah well. At least he seems more talkative than the others who've been sent on this cluster-f*** of a job.

Leesa stands up, straightens out her clothes and steps forward in a businesslike manner. "Okay. Started out on a bad foot. You got my interest. Lessa. Liddy. Esquire." She extends her hand and gives him a solid lawyer's shake, if he reciprocates. The last Tremere to whom she offered a shake avoided her touch.

"So. You got sent to us. Which means it must have been by a big shot. A lot of them seem to be floating around in the ether, around this problem. Well, have a seat, Alec, it was?" Leesa moves to a different seat than the one she rose from. This one is next to a table where a few people can gather. "Do you mind?" she asks, motioning to a few places where he might sit down near her. She looks over to Adina, too, suggesting subtly that she should also probably gather around.

"Let's try your little schpeil again, but slower. Maybe you were hovering out in the hallway and heard what I said. The island. A nature preserve. A private one, whatever that means. Full of spooky stuff, if everyone else is to believed. But you just said something else. Something about seals. And escaping, and malevolent something or other.

"So humor me. Suppose I'm not a local. Suppose I haven't spent any time reading ancient witch-school books. Suppose I've got a brain and no information. Then say to me again, what you just said in the doorway." She's looking him in the eye, all the while rifling through her bag, looking for the pen-and-paper she totes around. She finds them, pulls them out, and then remembers to add, in a flat assertive sort of way, "Please."