[V20] Maiden, Mother, Crone

[Esbilon]

Landon & Álvaro

The trail of blood does indeed not end at the door, though does end just on the other side. There is a large spatter about a meter in diameter and trailing from it are two thin, close-spaced wheel tracks leading towards the small door in the back of the room. Unfortunately, the blood dries out before reaching the door and cannot simply be followed to whoever made them.

Susan

Boris takes Susan's call and assures her that he will convey her request at the earliest convenience.

 

[Arynne]

"Then I won't keep you any longer," Justine says, bowing politely. "Thank you for your time and help tonight, I am most grateful."

 

[Grey]

Bela Dragosani

Bela bows back, almost unable to stop such an old reflex.
"Thank you greatly for your hospitality and assistance, Madame Adler. You are welcome to House Dragosani at any time," he says, lacking any greater beneficence to offer. For now.
"I shall... keep in touch," he adds, trying on the idiom. He doesn't care for it.

Presently he begins making his exit, looking for Miranda. He is not disappointed in her lack of fortitude - it recalls his own first encounter with death...

 

[Epiphany]

Susan snaps her phone shut and represses the urge to look disappointed.

"Well. I imagine we'll hear from my contact at his convenience." Which is what she'd said on the phone, but clearly not what she'd meant judging by her tone of voice. The Lasombra turns to regard Landon and Alvaro with an appraising eye. "In the meantime, we have a contact to connect with. Ms. O'Connor, if you recall," she says for Alvaro's benefit. The two of them had just met the Kindred with the New Age store who served as the Prince's point of contact with the Garou community, of course. But for some reason, it felt like years had happened between then and now.

"Mr. Scott, if you have other business, then good night, good luck and please accept my business card should you hear of anything. If you have no other pressing engagements, however, you're welcome to join us." Judging all the mortals have put as much distance as their job allows from a scene of such carnage, the blonde woman smiles slightly and says, "You may hear her refer to me as Susan Rosenthal. You're welcome to use that name as well, so long as we're not around the police when we do." It's not hard to read between the lines and conclude 'Amanda Fitton' is fiction. Especially given the business card plainly lists 'Susan Rosenthal, CEO of Mirror Print Consulting LLC'.

She silently leaves it up to Alvaro whether he wants to mention his own name or stay 'Luis Reyes' around the newly met vampire.
Lord-Leafar Silanon

 

[Silanon]

For now, his search for clues seems to end along with those trails of blood on the floor. Perhaps with more insight, or through different eyes, more details will be found - either by himself, or in Roberts' recordings later on. The police tends to be thorough if nothing else, so they might see what Landon has missed thus far. Thus, there is not much of a need for him to stay much longer; little reason to avoid meddling in others' affairs, like meeting someone named 'O'Connor' - unfortunately.

His hand accepts the business card with the same cautiousness as if it was covered in acid, the eyes study the letters long enough to read each word at least thrice. Then, the man nods. "Miss Rosenthal it is, then." Undoubtedly, the police archives will be thoroughly searched for that name as soon as convenient, though there really is no need to mention that. "At least for now, there is nothing else keeping me busy; so I'd be happy to meet that contact of yours if you can spare a few moments while I make arrangements."

With that, he silently points out the exit, ready to let either of them escape the stench around them first if they so wish. Once outside, Roberts will likely be glad to get a few hints how to best handle this mess; for now, though, there's time for questions that mortals should not hear. "This woman, O'Connor - does she work with your agency often? And how could she be helpful, ideally?"

 

[Epiphany]

Susan is only too happy to accept Mr. Scott's invitation to escape the room. Which leaves her with some conflicted feelings. She'd grown up in a world where women weren't permitted to show weakness. And yet, it wasn't weakness or frailty at the sight of blood but rather the hunger for it that made it difficult to remain. Reacting to the effect of blood lust was its own show of weakness in Kindred society...which ironically meant neither excuse was particularly acceptable to her.

Thankfully, the gentlemen she was with hadn't said a word about it. Perhaps they had their own reactions to master.

Once outside, Susan breathes in the night air. At last, she answers the mysterious vampire that'd joined them. "O'Connor has her own affairs but all of us are accountable to the government, no? The caprice of the people can be as whimsical as the fancies of a Prince." With a smirk, Susan shrugs slightly and says, "We have a mutual interest and tonight's events may have some bearing. We arranged to meet and trade notes. She might find your perspective invaluable." Past the police line, she gestures to her Tesla. "You're welcome to join me or follow me, depending on how you arrived."

OOC: Unless Lord-Leafar or Silanon have other business here, I think we're good to move on to a meeting with Else, Esbilon .

 

[Esbilon]

Bela

Miranda is standing just outside the room, her back against the wall and her eyes turned away from the scene her Domitor has so recently left. She still looks a little queasy, but puts on a small smile and nods as Bela enters the hallway. As the vampire leaves, she follows behind without a word.

As they exit the Adler Estate, Camille stands ready to hold the door open for her master.

 

[Grey]

Bela Dragosani

Bela spares Camille the faintest recognition and sits inside.
"Home," he says, watching Miranda settle before turning his gaze out the window, to somewhere decades ago...

He allows a pregnant silence to fall.

 

[Esbilon]

Bela

Once they're in the car again, some of the tenseness leaves Miranda and she breathes a sigh of relief.

As the silence grows long, she fidgets slightly in her new body, touching first her arms and then har face, getting a feel for the strangeness Bela has imposed upon her.

 

[Grey]

Bela Dragosani

"I first saw death as a child," Bela says, gaze unmoving.
"In those days, I was considered a man, but you are all so much younger now," he continues. "My father was on the battlefield, and so left our estate in the care of my older brother. A cruel man, worthy of the line, eager to impress father in the bloodiest ways he could."
The city lights, through the tinted windows, remind him of the stars that night. How everything was too bright, too large.
"The sanctity of domain is everything, you must understand. A trespass on the land is a trespass against the spirit. Worse than a trespass was a poacher, and there lived near our lands a poacher. An old man, we learned, but cunning. When the bailiff brought him before my brother, he decided the man was too old to be worth the punishment."
He glances at Miranda from the corner of his eye.
"So my brother gutted the poacher's son before his eyes. And I, perhaps inheritor to the estate, was made to witness the judgement."
There is a pause, a moment longer than is comfortable.
"I vomited, I wept, and could not flee for my teacher's hand on my shoulder. Until the last drop of life left him in a twitch and a cough, choking on his blood only a mite more slowly than he could bleed to death."

He looks Miranda in the eye.
"You have done well."

 

[Arynne]

As Juliette escorts the Tzimisce out, Justine heads downstairs to where Theodora is caged, having given her household status some thought. This situation provides both danger and opportunity.

 

[Silanon]

A simple nod shows quiet agreement, at least with parts of the thoughts she shares; before any words can add to the gesture and give his own thoughts on both the meeting and the kindred, however, his eyes spot Roberts amongst the assembled officers, and he excuses himself. "Give me a moment, I'll be right back."

A couple of seconds to wait for his old friend to finish whatever he is busy with, then Landon pulls him over to an unoccupied spot of pavement to speak in private. "Good news for once, we managed to open the door and took a peek inside. Not as bad as what you've found thus far, but..." A short pause as he searches for the proper word to use, you rarely get to see things like these, fortunately. "Disturbing, I'd say. Maybe let as few as possible see it, it'll just lead to wild speculations. Just was invited to meet a contact who might have some thoughts on the mess, so I'll have news for you later tonight. Might need a few highly detailed pictures, though, didn't have my own cam on me. If you can find a way to send me those, that'd help." He shakes his head in disbelief as he takes another look over the scene, then turns away to leave. "Didn't think I'd see something like this when I texted you - crap. I'll call you as soon as I've found something, might take a while, though. Stay safe." By the looks of it, they - whoever 'they' are - do not care about unwanted attention, or they might have simply burnt down the place instead; but it never hurts to stay alert.

With that, he passes the police line as well, rejoining Miss Rosenthal and her 'associate'. "Sorry for the wait, just thought I'd let him know that we'll be on our way. A ride would be appreciated; came on foot, and don't want you to wait for me. Time's limited, after all; and I wouldn't mind a few answers, the sooner the better." Not that immediate results are to be expected, but every hunt begins with a trail to follow, and perhaps the meeting can provide that much. His thumb points backwards, at the buiilding. "Few should want this kind of attention, own affairs or not. Makes me wonder who'd be reckless enough... you briefly mentioned related happenings earlier; anything you'd be willing to share?"

 

[Esbilon]

Bela
Miranda seems entranced by Bela's story, her mouth opened slightly as she looks at him intently. "That's pretty fucked up," she breathes as he finishes his story.

At his praise, she seems to swell with pride and answers only with a smirk that doesn't quite fit her newly reshaped face.

Justine
Theodora is as Justine left her, naked and kneeling on the floor, her eyes fixed on the closest speck of blood she despite her struggles cannot reach. When the other vampire enters her prison, she raises her gaze minutely to focus on the point immediately before her Mistress's feet.

Landon
"Wait," Roberts says, "you forced open a door on an active crime scene?" He asks, visibly upset. "Fuck, when I said you could look around, that wasn't what I had in mind." He sighs, "shit. Given all the crap with this particular crime scene, it probably isn't too bad, but the paperwork's gonna be a headache and a half." He shakes his head. "Well, if your contacts can point me in the right direction, I'm willing to let this slide, but don't fuck up like this again, OK? We have procedures to follow and we can't just go breaking things apart." He sighs again, "I'll get you those pictures, shouldn't be too hard."

Landon, Susan, and Álvaro
As Landon approaches the car, a large, black bird swoops out of the night sky and lands on his shoulder with an insistent caw.

 

[Epiphany]

Susan Rosenthal

Once the newly met Kindred moves towards the car, Susan beckons him to the passenger side, trusting he and Alvaro can figure out who gets 'shotgun' vs. the backseat. "I'd be happy to fill you in on what's hap-"

At which point a bird lands on Landon's shoulder. A bird. Animals don't especially like vampires. Susan's one attempt to visit a pet shop with her children ended poorly. So it begs her imagination that a bird would actually aim for a specific Kindred's shoulder and perch there.

Unless it was betwitched by a Discipline of some kind?

"You seem to have a visitor. Does he need a ride?" Susan's mouth quirks in something resembling a smile.
Silanon Lord-Leafar

 

[Arynne]

For a moment, Justine considers simply locking Christopher Nelson in the nearby gibbet, and allows herself the fleeting pleasure of imagining two powerful Kindred caged and bound in her domain, unliving symbols of her dominance.

Then she gives a tiny shake of her head, and regards the submissive woman with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. As aesthetically pleasurable as it might be, she really cannot keep multiple vampires confined in her haven. If nothing else, she needs this room back. And she owes to both Theodora and Christopher Nelson a certain duty

"I have a proposition for you, Theodora," Justine says. "One that would allow you to leave that cage...for a while...and feed. Are you interested?"

 

[Esbilon]

Justine

Theodora remains perfectly still as Justine addresses her, but at the mention of feeding, a shiver runs through her and she bares her teeth momentarily. It is only a moment, though, and once it has passed she replies simply "yes, Mistress."

 

[Silanon]

"Need might not be the right word - wouldn't mind skipping the part where one needs to beat his wings, though." A short break before he adds: "Found this one earlier, in the park. Should be clever enough to behave itself." Miss Rosenthal has higher standards than some - the bird's dirt on the backrest would likely not be appreciated, and he makes sure it understands as much.

A whispered command and a short leap later, his second pair of eyes sits down on his arm, talons clawing into the coat's fabric without piercing through the cloth. Landon turns to bring his body between the unusual companion and the police; there'll be enough talk already, no need to add rumors about man-trained crows.

Anything unusual you've seen? Anything dangerous, apart from these two?

The second hand points out the other two vampires as he seeks to use his gifts for reassurance, the bird was meant to keep its eyes open, after all. If there is nothing that would require immediate actions, he'll pull the car's door open and take his seat. Before, that, though, his eyes find Roberts in the midst of his men once more; some things can simply not be delayed, like opening that door - he told his friend as much before turning away, reminding him that his specialists where stuck in some other place; but he is still likely as bothered by the blame as the officer will be with the paperwork.

 

[Epiphany]

Susan Rosenthal

On the one hand, someone talking to animals is a lunatic and you smile politely and step away from lunatics. On the other hand, Kindred were strange and at least some actually could talk to animals. Even if that didn't make any sense. Even if animals, particularly birds, lacked the cognitive ability to understand language beyond names and a few basic actions, much less reply in it. But then, a great deal of facts about the Kindred were bullshit through the lens of modernity and science.

Resigned to having her convictions tested once more, Susan simply accepts that the other vampire is in fact talking to a bird and gets in her car. Presumably the others do at some point. At which point, she drives them on to their inevitable meeting to learn what Else might have turned up.