Anna
Anna clapped Victor on the shoulder.
"Now now, ladies first," she said, nodding to Estella.
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Anna
Anna clapped Victor on the shoulder.
"Now now, ladies first," she said, nodding to Estella.
Estella crooks a finger to Joseph. Come along, dear. I need your help with something.
Spoiler: OocWell, if I am going to keep him occupied, I may as well get my money's worth. I'll spend a point of Vitae for the blush of life. Fair warning, sexual content incoming.
Anna
As Estella ensnares Joseph, Anna pulls Victor closer to the entrance of the alley.
"Joseph (if Anna knows his last name, she will use it here) is of interest to one of us," she whispered, "scar him or kill him and I won't be able to protect you."
She attempted to convey the seriousness of the situation with her words, expression, and body language.
Spoilerafb, not sure about the use of willpower to help rolls. I do intend to use it to help me out l.
persuasion + presence :[roll0] + whatever I can do with willpower, to convince victor that Joseph is someone important and shouldn't be seriously harmed.
It was nearly 6am by the time Karl made it back to the office. He had precious little time before the sun came up. The weight of nearly a hundred stolen years of life weighed on Karl's soul, turning the Vitae in his arteries to sludge and putting fog in his brain. Gabe was already at the office when Karl arrived, making himself an acrid smelling pot of coffee. The Ghoul's face was ashen and his eyes were webbed in red lines, but he was used to being in this early and there was no fatigue behind the man's voice. "Welcome back Chief. Let's debrief quickly, so that you can... take care of your daytime responsibilities". The last part was just stupid code, extra protection in case the office was bugged. A formality that the two had worked out long ago.
Spoiler: OOCDon't feel you have to type out everything Karl has discovered. We can assume Karl goes into sufficient detail. This is your chance to assign Gabe tasks to perform during the day.
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Anna offers up Joseph to her new colleague who leads the swaying mortal farther down the alley. The man mumbles something about needing to get home soon, but gives no physical resistance, almost melting to Estella's touch, falling into step with the Daeva like a well healed dog.
Before Victor can respond, Anna grabs a hold of the back of his collar and pulls the cocky Ventrue to her. He snarls for a moment in surprise as his prey starts to get away, but he goes quiet when he receives Anna's glare.
A flash of anger crosses Victor's face, replaced by a look of disgust. "Well then why did you come all the way out here? And you expect my help?" He crosses his arms, though Victor is unable to shake Anna's grip from his jacket.Quote:
"Joseph is of interest to one of us," she whispered, "scar him or kill him and I won't be able to protect you."
Spoiler: OOCA Willpower Point is worth 3 extra dice on a roll. Also, I would consider this an intimidation attempt, based on what you are having Anna do. I rolled three dice in the OOC thread for you, bringing up 3 successes. Victor will not do undue harm to Joseph, but now the issue is trying to wring information out of him so that the evening was not a complete waste. Please include the spent WP in your next post in your character box.
Anna Wu
Character Box:
Spoiler
Vitae: 9
Humanity: 5
Willpower: 5/ 6
Health: 8
Beats/Exp: 1/0
Tilts/Conditions: None
Aspirations:
1. Gain safety and security.
1a. Develop a reliable and low-risk source of vitae.
1b. Gain trustworthy help during the day (ghoul, staff, etc).
1c. Create a safe haven for resting during the day
1d. Create a safehouse which can be fled to in times of trouble.
2. End organized crime in the city.
2a. Eliminate Kindred reliance on organized crime in the city
2a(i). Discover the various Kindred needs which are filled by organized crime in the city and devise alternative methods by which they can be met.
2a(ii). Identify Kindred who need to be swayed in order to implement said alternative methods, and sway them
2b. Identify members of organized crime in the city
2c. Identify allies (among both Kine and Kindred) who share the same goal
3. Meta: I want my character to suffer a loss of some kind, be forced to deal with the repercussions (physical, emotional), and emerge stronger (but potentially not unscathed) after some kind of resolution.
3. (alternate) Ensure the safety of younger cousin Katie
"After the favor I just did you? Yeah, I do," Anna replied with a harsh whisper, "if I hadn't been here, you woulda gone on to do whatever you were planning with him, and gotten yourself staked or worse. Damnit Victor, you need to be smarter than this."
She glanced over to Estella and Joseph.
"Looks like they're going to be a while," she continued, letting go of Victor and whispering quietly now, "the reason we're here is because someone's been poaching in invictus territory."
She spoke slowly to let the implications of the similarities between what she now said with what Victor believed about Joseph (thanks to her) sink in.
"We want to know if you know anything about a young Kindred, about (insert mobius' physical description)," she said, "Who he usually spends time with, where, when did you last see him, anything you can recall."
As do I, my dear. But first, I need a man's opinion.
As she says this, she pulls her blouse open, exposing a set of lingerie that does little to conceal what it covers.
Which of my breasts do you prefer?
Joseph hesitates, and when he does, Estella grabs his hands and brings them to her, placing them over her barely existent negligee. At the contact, she moans softly.
Feel free to inspect them, she whispers into his ear. As well as anything else you want.
A little sluggishly, Karl explains the situation, Writing anything particularly sensitive down rather than saying it out loud. He lays out the case, and the steps taken thus far. He hands over the recovered hard drive, along with the tablet he's kept the data on. Lastly he gives Gabriel contact information for the other two kindred on the case, along with instructions to aid them with reasonable requests.
"Do you need anything before I go?"
Anna's words made Victor recoil, though she still did not release him. His pupils reflexively dilated despite his best interests and in a stammering voice, he said, "So what, your a dog of the Invictus now?". The last few words left his mouth like rancid tar. Rather than respond to Victor's provocations, Anna pushed on, describing Mobius. It was obvious who she was referring to, they were all members of The Ordo. And with this Victor finally did break free from Anna's grasp, tearing himself free with a few frantic swings of his arms, fumbling backwards. "So what, you want me to rat on Mobius, is that it?" Victor was now yelling, his voice reaching a piercing high pitch.Quote:
"Looks like they're going to be a while," she continued, letting go of Victor and whispering quietly now, "the reason we're here is because someone's been poaching in Invictus territory."
Somewhere in a nearby apartment a dog began to bark in low rough stutters.
Spoiler: OOC @TCSo Anna has broken down enough of Victor's Doors (thanks to the WP roll), but she needs one more successful social roll to get him to spill the beans. Again, I'd like the roll pool to be reflective of how Anna is trying to convince him. If she is threatening him with social or physical violence, I think Intimidation is the way to go.
Joseph's eyes went wide when Estella undid her blouse. When she had reassigned his resisting hands, his eyes bugged out of his head like a bomb was going off in his cranium. Numb fingers fumbled at Estella's flesh, warmed by burned Vitae and a recently restarted heart. Despite his active hands, there was a look of trapped confusion in Joseph's eyes, like his body was betraying him. He stammered something about a girlfriend, but there was little emotion or force behind these words.
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Gabriel shrugs, smiling coyly. "So, should I continue on with the Summers case," he asks in a way that implies he already knows the answer, "or are you re-assigning me to other duties?"
"Stay with the Summers case for the most part and try to wrap it up quickly." Karl shares what he found in the apartment the delinquent kid visited. "For now, when you have a chance, go over the data, maybe carefully ring up a few contacts, and let me know what you come up with."
Karl writes out for his partner as he talks 'Most of the POIs involved in this one will be kindred, and we don't want to appear as if anything in particular is out of the ordinary. Just do what you can and be ready for anything.'
Anna Wu
Oops, maybe a bit too far, better dial it back or I might end up in a tussle.
"Hey, hey," Anna said, switching to a soothing tone, "it's okay."
She glanced over her shoulder at Estella and Joseph.
"We're not like the others," she said quietly, turning towards the alley entrance so Isabella couldn't hear, "I'm along to make sure they don't just punish anyone they get their hands on... us Ordo members need to stick together, after all. You don't have to tell her anything, but if you know anything about where Mobius was recently, or where I might find him before someone else does, to make sure he gets to tell his side of the story..."
Spoilerpresence, persuasion, [roll0]
10 again: [roll1]
Hush, darling. I want this, you want this. Just relax. Enjoy yourself. This will be between just you and me. No one needs to know.
Gabe nods with a smile, "Sounds good." He slips his right hand to his belt, pulling back the heavy brown knitted cotton blazer to just slightly reveal the hard wood handle of his pistol. Gabe smirks just slightly at Karl, a gesture that Karl has seen many times as a show of solidarity from the well heeled Ghoul.
SpoilerIn my mind a good way to get rid of the tempted tilt would be to make an effort with the Summers case, thus making a "connection" with Karl's Touchstone, which is a nebulous idea when it is his PI practice. Does that sound reasonable? Remember a beat is gained when a condition is resolved.
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Spoiler: OOCImpressive 3 successes on four rolled dice. Nice :smallamused:
Victor's face turns into a mask of concern in only the way a Kindred's can. All muscles seem to tense so that Victor's face seems to be made of a playable pale clay, rather than layers of fat and skin over sinew. He seems to contemplate Anna's words, frozen solid as a statue. When Victor finally opens his mouth to speak, the long white spikes of his canines are now clearly visible. "I'm not sure", he says in a cold and measured voice, "I'm not sure. He disappeared without letting me know."
Victor stops, his eyes locked with Anna's (perhaps a bold move given the nature of certain Kindred powers), but Anna refuses to budge. But before Anna can speak, can urge him to talk more, he continues, "Look, all I know is that he was planning something with the Carthians. He was with them at least a couple times a week. He was supposed to be working with me on some projects, and he was just always too busy with The Rabble. But then he just disappeared. I don't know any more." Anna can detect know subterfuge in the Ventrue's words. Again she moves to speak, but he cuts her off, "Look, I don't know if The Ordo put you up to this or what, but I've done my part. Remember that... I don't want any part in any of this."
Suddenly empowered by God knows what strength, Victor breaks free from Anna, pushing past her to exit back into the street, and out in to the night. On the other side of the alley, Joseph finally gives in to Estella's offers, crushing himself to her in a pathetic display of intoxication and passion. He is somewhere between crying into her bosom and trying to further remove her blouse, allowing himself to be wrapped up in Estella's inhuman embrace.
Estella revels in Joseph's predicament. It instilled a thrill in her almost as good as feeding. She wonders how long she can keep twisting him about when she smells Victor's cologne fading.
Her hand pulls Jospeh away from her breasts and Estella brushes him aside.
It seems our moment has passed. Go back to Anna, she if she needs anything from you.
Estella then casually pulls her blouse closed, and buttons it back up, ignoring any protest from the man.
Anna Wu
"Don't you have a girlfriend?" Anna asked in Cantonese, "no more drinking for you, go home."
Assuming he leaves, Anna waited for Estella by the entrance of the alley.
Following Anna's confrontation, Joseph gives a short sigh as if trying to fight back a sob. He brings a hand to his face and pushes past her, stumbling off out of the alley. Anna watches him go, thankful that he heads in a different direction than Victor. She meets Estella's gaze, and waits for the Daeva to come down the alley.
Estella, clothes back in place, saunters back down the alley.
Did you get our information?
Anna quickly relayed what she'd heard from Victor.
"Are either of the other two on the list Carthian?" she asked.
I do not know. I haven't had much luck with the data given to us. We would probably do well to ask our associate, even though he seems a bit too wound up for his own good.
Spoiler: OOCWent through the things I have OOC, and made the best answer I could.
Anna sent a brief reply to Karl:
be careful.
Karl allows himself to be taken in by the death like sleep that comes with the rising sun. His dreams are filled with visions of a burning city, the howling of far off wolves, and the tall ivory Roman pillars of the Haus Der Kunst Munich, Hitler's private museum built to oppose the Degenerate Arts. The white plaster was chipped and dented, and vandalized in bloody VIIs.
The release from these dreams, and the return of Karl's consciousness to his corpse was punctuated by the sound of nervous tapping. Arising from his slumber, Karl's gaze was met by Gabriel's. The Ghoul was smoking a cigarette, taking hard thirsty pulls from the stick of tobacco. It was a habit that Karl had thought he had broken out of the man, whose lung cancer was only held inert by the gift of Karl's Vitae.
A cloud of dark smoke filled the room, telling Karl just how long his Ghoul had been waiting. The man's face was tight and pale. The cigarete embers danced a frenetic orange in Gabe's shaking hand, while the other tapped nervously against the wall.
"Karl allows himself to be taken in by the death like sleep that comes with the rising sun. His dreams are filled with visions of a burning city, the howling of far off wolves, and the tall ivory Roman pillars of the Haus Der Kunst Munich, Hitler's private museum built to oppose the Degenerate Arts. The white plaster was chipped and dented, and vandalized in bloody VIIs.
The release from these dreams, and the return of Karl's consciousness to his corpse was punctuated by the sound of nervous tapping. Arising from his slumber, Karl's gaze was met by Gabriel's. The Ghoul was smoking a cigarette, taking hard thirsty pulls from the stick of tobacco. It was a habit that Karl had thought he had broken out of the man, whose lung cancer was only held at bay by the gift of Karl's Vitae.
Gabe's face was tight and pale. The orange embers of his cigarete banned frenetically in the Ghoul's shaking hand, while his free hand tapped anxiously against a chair's armrest.
"You are up", Gabe says with a dual look of relief and hesitation. His hands continue to move independently of his consciousness while the man anxiously watches the waking Vampire.
"I am" Karl says, working his left arm to get the fluids within moving again. That limb is always a little slower for some reason.
"I gather you have found something not to your liking? Let me hear it then."
Estella sends a message to Karl asking for the names of the Carthians. When she gets the reply, she sends a message to Nova, requesting a meeting.
Nova, there is a matter I wish to discuss with you. Please respond with a time you may be available tomorrow night.
Thank you,
Estella Du Chevalier.
Anna
"Hope that works out," Anna said, "I'm going to buy a mirror first thing tomorrow, if you want to join?"
Spoilerdonwe want to move on to the next night? Can Anna get a quick hunt in, maybe resolve it with a roll so we can catch up with Karl?
"Someone's been tailing me", Gabe growls in response, "for the last couple of hours, like my shadow." Gabe's hand shakes, and a shower of grey embers flutter to the floor. The image of the room catching fire shakes Karl further awake.
Gabe gets up from his chair and paces the room. His steps are long and fast, like he is trying to speed walk out of the room but can't find a door. Gabe continues without looking back at Karl, "I don't know who, they were good. It was a black Sedan, maybe a BMW, but they were always just too far away. Couldn't catch the license, couldn't see his face. Christ, I'm not even a hundred percent sure I'm not going crazy!" Gabe finally turns, his arms folded over his chest, his eyes wild. "What the hell is going on Karl?", the question is frantic, like he is asking God.
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It is about 15 minutes later that Estella gets a response, "About what?"
Estella has never interacted with the Carthians before. From what she knows, the Rabble elite was rather antisocial; she rarely even came out to the Monthly Grand Gathering.
Spoiler: OOC @ TCI'm okay with a quick feeding. Again, please detail how you want Anna to hunt and we can come up with a roll or two, and a quick scene.
I suppose that depends on how much experience you have in antiquing?Quote:
Originally Posted by Thundercracker
I am looking for information on a poacher. I am hoping you will be able to help me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bennosuke
Karl looks at the ghoul with the closest thing to sympathy he feels these days. "I cannot be certain yet, all I can tell you for now is to remain cautious, act as if you'd been assigned a case on a big ticket criminal. I suggest setting up a surveillance trap when you get a chance, get good details on your followers. And for your sake, avoid confrontation."
Anna Wu
"Um.. none," Anna replied, "I was going to ask the assistant for help."
As she spoke, Anna tapped out a message to screech.
Screech, are you free to meet tomorrow night (late)? Something to discuss.
Anna Wu.
Edit: regarding feeding, Anna will probably head to where bars are letting out, find a guy by himself who looks sufficiently inebriated, and ask if he needs a ride.
Nova's response came quickly to Estella, "Oh, so the big bad Invictus now needs my Rabble Ass??? LOL!" She was clearly the obstinate type, and would be hard to convince.
Standing nearby, Anna received a response via The Pulse as well. "Anna Wu???", read the first text, which was followed by, "I take it you need something".
Spoiler: OOC: @TCSure. In the OOC thread, please roll Presence/Manipulation + Socialize. See the Core book and add modifiers as you deem appropriate, I can always make adjustments based on whether or not I agree. Also, remember that Anna has a meeting with Miho at 3AM
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Gabe points the lighted cigarette at Karl as if it were a weapon, starting to say something before stifling the thought. He turns and walks to the window, peaking his head past the sill to quickly look outside. The ghoul spins quickly, shaking his head as if to dislodge a bad thought and says, "I've never been so spooked in my life. There was a presence to the thing, like... like when you've gotten really angry. I can feel it; it's like I'm a kid again, and I can feel the monster under the bed, waiting for me to fall asleep. What the hell is going on? What are we getting into Karl?"
Tes. I need your assistance. You would be doing me a favor, which would put me in your debt. And I always pay my debts.
After she sends the message, she turns to Anna. Depending on when I get a meeting with Nova, if I can get one, I will be glad to offer my assistance.
Anna Wu
"Great, thanks," Anna replied, "I'll let you know."
She replied to Screech: Just a quick chat, better in person. 11pm okay?
She then tapped out a message to Katie, See you at the hospital around 8pm
With that, Anna returned to her car to head to the Rack and see if she could find a late night snack.
Spoiler
Presence 3 + Socialize 1 + Rack 2 = [roll0]
Apologies for the brief updates but free time is scarce these days.