Requiem 2.0: The troubled times of London's Kindred (IC)

[Elderand]

The streets
The vampire that accosted Emily gives no indications that he suspect her of anything. he turns around and lead Emily and Finn away from the main street. Instead he lead them down a large side alley until they approach a large but quiet house. It is only when they step inside that the place is revealed to be a brothel. Groups of men, and women, being waited on by young women whose attire is quite typical of their profession. As Emily and Finn are led toward a back door they see an older gentleman being led upstair by a pretty blonde.

Beyond the back door the vampire instruct them to wait into a lavishly furnished room.

The Pub
The young girl smiles softly to Emily and sits down, waiting for the child to lay down by her side.

"What story do you wish to hear?"

[Anyr]

Emily took a seat. She also took the opportunity to psyche herself up. A meeting like this shouldn't be taken lightly. She needed to be on guard. Sure, plenty of aristocrats just dismissed her without a second thought; But as her recent press-ganging showed, it only took one observant noble to mess everything up.

[Raunchel]

Marian curls up on the ground, placing her head in the girl's lap, looking up with a tired smile: "I want a nice story. Could you tell me yours?"

[Elderand]

The brothel
Emily and Finn waits together for a few minutes until the vampire that led them in comes back and motion for them to follow. beyond a saran curtain they find a tall woman wearing a long flowing black dress with jet black hair. the countess is sitting upon a tall backed chair at the end of the room.
She is alone and looks curiously at Emily and Finn.

"New customers I see. Fledgling hoping for an easy feeding in my bordello of blood."

The pub
The young girl softly stroke Marian's hair And frown softly.

"My story isn't nice. But I could tell you a little if you want."

[Raunchel]

Marian was even more convinced now, soon enough, the girl would start trying to extract her soul. Well, if she tried, the vampire would break her will and force her away, before running. She wouldn't let herself in the clutches of such a monster.

Nevertheless, she smiles at the girl: "Please, do tell me. I love stories."

[Anyr]

Emily curtsied with all the diffidence at her command. In appearance at least, the Countess certainly lived up to her title. A most impressive figure indeed. The meeting got off to a good start. From the sounds of it, the Countess didn't know who Emily and Finn were. So much the better. Unfortunately, Emily couldn't go along with the easiest cover story: That of being here to feed. She didn't have the money to pay this woman; And shuddered to think of the other forms of 'payment' that might suffice. No, she'd just have to think of something els-

-Wait. Actually, she wouldn't! Emily kept forgetting that she wasn't alone any more. No money? There was a giant, idiot-shaped bag of cash standing right next to her! With newfound enthusiasm, she nodded her head.

"T-that's right, your Grace."

[Belac93]

"Apologies if we have caused you any inconvenience ma'am. I'm just here to escort my friend around, and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble." Finn says, wearing his grin.

[Elderand]

The brothel

The countess looks at Finn then at Emily with a dubious glance.

"Your friend doesn't seem able to afford either of our times." She says to Finn while looking Emily up and down. "If you have come to feed you will have to pay for the privilege. Ten pounds for a year's worth of hunting in my domain. Each."

The pub

"My family comes from Russia", begins Elena. "Our great-grandfather gets into trouble with the tzar, so we flee and comes here. My whole family."

She sighs softly before continuing.

"Many died during our travels. We were hunted down. Some dies because they were too weak, or because they were too old. We left Russia more than a hundred strong. Barely a dozen made it to England. Our family has spread a little since."

Spoiler: OOC: The countess and price

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10 pounds at the time would be equivalent to 1180 pounds now. Or about nearly 1700 dollars.

[Belac93]

Finn thinks for a moment. "Agreed. Twenty pounds for one years hunting."

[Anyr]

Emily could barely contain her glee. Hunting rights for a whole year! That sucker Finn had given her something she'd never have been able to afford. This was amazing! She felt so..so...

Hold on; Something was wrong. What's this strange feeling welling up inside her? It was all warm and wholesome. Could it be...gratitude?! No. No no no no no! It couldn't be. She definitely, absolutely wasn't going soft! Emily was just conning this moron for everything he'd got. Nothing more.

"T-thank you so much, sir!"

And that thank you was totally fake as well! No sincerity whatsoever!

[Raunchel]

Marian smiles a little as she listens to the story. It sounds a bit strange, but she loves stories about people who traveled, she has never done much of it, and understands that it will never be easy for her. But she can still listen to them. The reason for the dispute is clear enough, one doesn't want such a cult in the country, and the grandfather was the leader. "That sounds really bad. Where do all of you live now?"

[Elderand]

The brothel

The countess looks at them both impassively. "I expect payement tomorrow night if you do not have the money on you. You can feed already if you wish."

The pub

"We spread all over London. Grandfather says we should try to integrate ourselves in as many important places as we can so that we are less likely to be ostracized."

[Raunchel]

That rang even more alarm bells. If this wasn't a clear conspiracy, Marian didn't know what was. "But, if you are in important places, why are you here?"

[Anyr]

Emily curtsied, but didn't speak. The Countess clearly held a vagabond like her in contempt. She'd better let Finn do the talking here.

[Belac93]

"Payment will be given by tomorrow. Thank you for your time."

[Elderand]

The brothel.

The countess turns to go, paying them both very little attention now that business has been conducted. The sound of laughter filter through the door as she opens it and Emily and Finn can catch a glimpse of an older gentleman taking a young woman upstairs. The countess watches the couple until they vanish behind a corner then vanishes herself. Unlike the mortals she doesn't disappear behind a corner but simply disappear. There one moment and gone the next.

Spoiler: OOC

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Emily regain one willpower for playing the part of the street urchin.

The pub.

"Because Jacob is family. There is too few of us to allow someone to just vanish. We can't allow our bloodline to diminish any further." Says the young girl out loud, then in a soft whisper that is not meant for Marian's ear (but that the vampire catches anyway) she adds "if at least he'd had produced childrens."

[Anyr]

Though the Countess had disappeared, Emily behaved as if she hadn't. Better safe than sorry when dealing with Obfuscate. She left the room without another word. Only once the two had reached a safe distance would Emily risk speaking to Finn.

"Do you think we should feed first, or start by asking around? Which order is more natural?"

Wait, why was she asking him? This should be her decision. Damn it, she really was feeling thankful!

[Belac93]

"I'll leave the decision up to you." Finn says with another smile. "If you're hungry, we should probably eat before we talk."

[Raunchel]

"Your bloodline must be really special then. What makes it so special?", Marian asks, with complete innocence.

[Anyr]

"All right. Then I suppose we'll feed first. Still, try to coax some information out of people while you...browse the selection."

Emily was getting a bit excited. Who'd have thought that she'd get the chance to feed in a place like this? With the eagerness of a kid in a sweet shop, she looked from one Kine to another. There were so many to choose from! Whichever vessel she ended up choosing, she intended to savour it.

[Elderand]

The brothel

After easily finding willing blood dolls for your respective feedings. Both Finn and Emily are free to resume their search for information.

(Feel free to describe your own feeding scene. Given the nature of the place I see no need to make you roll to see if you suceed or any complications arising as long as you don't drink someone's dry)

The pub

Elena softly brushes Marian's hair as she speak, what harm could it do to tell this little part of the truth?

"We live for a very long time if we keep ourselves healthy. But we don't produce offsprings often."

[Anyr]

Emily ended up going upstairs with a very tall, strong woman, called 'Jane': The kind that would normally never give her the time of day. She loved the idea of dominating such a person. What power Emily had came from subtle deception, and the exchange of information. Even when the advantage was hers, she couldn't bark orders or make people bow respectfully. That just wasn't the way her business worked. But tonight, things were different.

Emily dictated every aspect of the 'encounter'. They kissed the way she wanted. Emily held and touched Jane however she wanted. She asked questions that Jane had no choice but to answer: Nothing directly about Jacob, though. The Countess probably pumped her little dolls for information afterwards. Emily hadn't lost that much of herself to desire. And then, of course, came the feeding. Exquisite. Absolutely exquisite.

The young vagabond left the room with some new creases in her dress, and a big smile on her face. She got to have a whole year of this? Her focus was going to suffer so much. With a contented sigh, she set off to do some actual work.

[Belac93]

Finn finds nice girl, around his age, and takes her upstairs. After subtly asking what she knows, drinking, and R rated activities, he sits down and talks about normal things until he gets bored. He then politely bids her farewell, and leaves, contented, and hopefully with some new information.

[Elderand]

The brothel
Emily's effort have proven fruitful. A combination of demands from her date and careful eavesdropping afterward leave Emily with the knowledge that many a regular of the brothel have failed to show up lately. Not all of them kindreds, most humans in fact.

There is a sudden jaring impact when Emily turns around. Her mind distracted by her earlier encounter and her present eavesdropping have prevented her from noticing the young man that was walking by. The street urchin finds herself falling backward but in a singular motion the man reach out and grabs her forearm and with a graceful twirl sets her back on her feet.

The man is young, mid twenties at the oldest with long flowing and curly brown hair that frames delicate features and deep green eyes. His hand lingers on Emily's arm for a moment before he smiles and let it go, fingers brushing against her hand. As he does there is a jolt of lightning coursing through Emily as her beast reacts to him. he isn't a vampire, he is something, but Emily can't tell what.

"Are you alright milday?" he says, he speech as soft and gentle as his features and touch. The title spoken without a trace of derision or mockery. "Please forgive me, I didn't notice your presence. I hope I have no hurt you."

Spoiler: OOC

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(I shall get a picture for this new character as soon as photobucket stops being a butt)

After leaving the girl he took upstairs, Finn is left with very little information of worth. Certainly she knew a few things but nothing that was pertinent to Finn's interest. He makes his way down the stairs when he spot Emily being held by a stranger. before he can make his way down the stairs he finds his path blocked by two vampires that look seriously cross with him.

[Anyr]

Emily took a moment to catch up with current events. This whole incident came completely out of nowhere. Here she was, being scooped up in the arms of some mysterious stranger. Within, her beast growled in confusion. What was this man? Besides smooth and graceful, that is. He was a pretty good actor, too. Not many people could manage to call Emily 'Milady' with a straight face. There were warning signs all over him.

Okay (Emily thought to herself), time to regain some composure. She curtsied respectfully to her rescuer, in the obsequious manner than nobles expected from their inferiors.

"N-not at all, sir. Thank you for saving me from a nasty fall."

If this was a coincidental meeting, then the man (or whatever he was) would probably leave now. She wasn't the sort of person that nobles invited home for dinner. Emily watched for any sign that he'd seen through her. Did he know that she wasn't human? Just how much trouble was she in here?

[Elderand]

"No please, there's no need for thanks. I'm entirely at fault here. Allow me to buy you a drink as an apology for my headless behavior."

The man looks around for a serving boy/girl

Spoiler: OOC

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(Roll perception)

Spoiler: Success

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As the man turns his head to look around Emily catches a glimpse of his ears, normaly hidden by his hair. They come a slightly tappered point.

[Anyr]

"T-that's very kind of you, sir."

Emily couldn't really refuse the offer. It'd look suspicious for someone as poor as her to walk away from a free drink. She reluctantly summoned the blush of life, so that she'd be able to keep the beverage down. What a shame to lose some of her newly gorged Vitae so soon. Hopefully that was all she'd have to lose tonight.

Outwardly, she kept up a flustered facade. She had the look of a humble peasant, unable to believe that she'd caught the eye of a prince. Inwardly, her suspicion continued to rise. Those pointed ears were unlike any that she'd seen before. Was this man some sort of...Pixie? No, don't be ridiculous. In addition to keeping her eyes peeled, Emily constantly checked her thoughts for signs of tampering. There was no telling what tricks this man had in his repertoire. She didn't like this; No, not one bit.

[Elderand]

The man motions one of the serving girl over, a young mildly plump redhead. As she come close he leans forward and whisper something in her ear and the girl nods. The man picks up a flute of champagne for himself and take a sip while the girl move closer to Emily. Instead of offering her a drink however the serving girl extend her wrist toward Emily.

[Anyr]

Damn it. He knew. It had been wishful thinking to suppose otherwise. Ah well, might as well accept it gracefully. With a courtesy that she didn't really feel, Emily supped from the serving girl's wrist. It only took a little to fill her up again. When she straightened up, her eyes had a less naive quality to them. She still looked nervous (because she was); But a lot of the innocent peasant was gone. Once the serving girl had departed, she resumed their little talk: This time without so many veils.

"Well, you certainly have good taste in drinks. If you don't mind my asking, what brings you here? I get the feeling that it's different from the usual two reasons people visit this place."

[Elderand]

The man waves the serving girl away and offer his arm to Emily, leading her to a small side booth that contains a red velvet sofa for them to sit on.

"Perceptive, but then again I rarely met those of your kind who aren't. No my thirst for life is not so literral as yours. And while I can appreciate the company I didn't come this eve to indulge myself. At least not until my business was done. Now I'm entirely at your service mylady"

Again there is no trace of mockery in his words. He's either a very good actor or he truly consider the title appropriate.
He takes Emily's hand in his. His skin his warm to the touch, much warmer than usual for human flesh. the sensation isn't unpleasant. He leans down to land a soft kiss on the back of Emily's hand.

"My name is Andrew von Glower. May I ask yours?"