Stepping outside Trax, Rudy felt like he should sigh. Sighing is what normal people do after leaving an exasperating scene. People. People who don't breathe and drink blood seem a lot more boring in dealing with stress in any way that isn't violent. He wished he had dealt with his beast as well as the vamps inside seemed to deal with theirs.
He turns to face Seth (@Bean), "Hey thanks for not making a comment back there. Still trying to get the Beast under control. Not something I'm used to while working behind a desk all night. I'm a web developer. Which is the polite way to say I make porn more accessible on the internet. It pays the bills, even if it doesn't thrill me like..." Rudy wanted to say, "blood," but did not want to deal with Weird Harold again, "...like it used to."
Out of the bar, the smells of Sacramento drifted and were sorted by the Mekhet. A city of blood is up in that smog. Among them fellow drinkers who would know things. How to muzzle a beast. How to transcend the Requiem. He would learn those secrets, even if he had to diablerize it out of them.
"So why Sacramento, Seth? Seems a man of means to be from here and there could be anywhere else that isn't a dive in a slum in a second-rate state capitol city."
Seth stepped out of the bar with Rudy. He has a duality in that he always seeks out people yet he absolutely hates crowds. He's glad to be outside. He was hoping a fight would break out on some level, though he's not sure why. He's been a lot more aggressive since his death. Maybe it's a side effect.
"No problem man. I understand. I'm surprised you still have a normal job, I don't. It's pointless really. And I'm here in Sacramento looking for someone to be honest. But that's a story for another day. What about you?"
"Well, there's a couple paths a man of limited income can walk. He can be destitute, living on what he can beg or steal. Begging and stealing are nothing overlooked. The beggar forces attention on himself. The thief summons the spotlights to himself by his activities. Or he can join the common slavery and be forgotten in the mass of thousands of faceless others just like him. The mass is the only way to stay out of the light."
"I prefer it dark. By being hidden we survive and thrive."
"Besides, I'm good with computers. It's a useful skill when faced with folks with a thousand years of experience, but no idea how to send an email. Helps to stay ahead of the food-chain, y'know?"
"Coming here, to Sacramento, was a choice. Grinding poverty doesn't give you much choices. I didn't choose to come into the world in a low-rent district with little chance for a decent education. I didn't choose to be ghouled. I didn't choose to be Embraced. I didn't choose to be saddled with a beast that forces my actions."
"So I chose to leave Reno. I chose to find an education. I chose to get some way to overcome the Beast. Heard the Ordo Dracul was an active part of the city here and they had ways to help one overcome their state. How do you control your Beast so well with the guy with the eyes and overpowering Beast in there? It's a trick I'd like to learn some night."
Seth nodded. He sure does talk a lot.
"Indeed. I don't really need money, I take my food and I make my bed. That simple."
Seth had his hands in his pockets, looking around at the street in front of him. He was usually a man of few words. He didn't really have much to say.
"What do you do when you're not working then?"
Wow, this guy is terse. Definitely not Daeva or Ventrue. Probably not Mekhet. Nosferatu or Gangrel? Nosferatu would probably be... spookier. Bet that's a Gangrel. Would explain his control over the Beast which he avoided answering. How can I get him to teach me? Or do I dare...? Would the half-man be missed? Just rolled into town and doesn't seem like much of a talker so probably few friends who would come calling.
No. Right now, you're in the same boat. Besides, you know they won't let you in town if you're known to not play well with strangers. Don't do it.
Not yet anyway.
"I collect trivia. Watch movies. Read blogs. Follow the news. And of course..."
Sometimes the best way to say something is just to say it, Weird Harold be damned.
"...hunt."
The familiar snarling crept up again. Rudy drowned out his Beast by talking over it's braying. Besides, now that Rudy had a suspicion he wasn't going to let the dwarf of few words dodge his question that easily. He couldn't be so obvious by speaking about it now. Not directly. Lay the foundations and you can get the information you require.
"But of late my overarching goal has been overcoming Weird Harold. Er, my beast. I bet we could learn a lot from one another. How about you? I imagine once food and bed is done probably leaves you with a lot of spare time of your own. Any particular hobbies? We could go hang out sometime and catch a snack off someone."
"Maybe. You want to know a secret man?"
Seth finally looked up at Rudy. He was used to looking up at people, he always did. His eyes were stern, his face a rugged line of scars and winkles covered in stubble and a goatee. His eyes were almost piercing in their directness.
Weird Harold growled. Rudy was half-inclined to agree that he was about to get sucker-punched. Shit like that happened enough in movies and gym class to expect it.
Still, he had to give his new friend the benefit of the doubt. Rudy might be quick enough to fix this if fixing was needed.
"What secret have you got for me, Seth?" Rudy asked not betraying any pretense. He was thankful he hadn't bothered with the blush tonight which might make his suspicions apparent.
If a little friendly brawl were about to ensue (and I'm not saying it is, just what my character thinks) I think initiative is called for. Never run combat up in here, so I might be wrong. For convenience...
| Date |
|
Action |
|
Roll |
|
Result |
| 2012-06-01 17:27:47 |
|
Rudy Davis rolls 1 die for initiative |
|
8 |
|
|
8+7=15
If I'm winning, treat as delayed action.
Seth kicked a rock across the street and it bounced off a building. He looked back at Rudy.
"You can name your beast, you can separate it from yourself, you can think you're in control, or you can seek to control it. But the big secret to our little curse is that we are our beast. We can hide from it all we want but that's what we are now. We're not human and we never will be. We're monsters. Through and through. You need to accept that or you'll go mad. And there's enough madness in the world already. Your Weird Harold, as you call it, isn't a dog you can tame. It's you. Once you learn how to work with it instead of against it, that's when you'll thrive. You got a cigarette?"
Seth looked at him hoping that he did. It was a comforting habit at least.
Philosophy? Rudy certainly wasn't expecting that from the erstwhile pithy pygmy. He was somewhat taken aback at his own preconceptions.
Rudy was quiet for a moment, not sure what to say. The screech of a distant car horn pulled him back to reality and reminded of a particularly brutal thrashing from his sire, in teaching the First Tradition. Rudy subconsciously grabbed for his unbeating heart.
"I think this was a conversation best held at another time and in private. You got a place?"
"Yeah you're probably right"
Seth watched a mortal walk by across the street.
"And you're the one with a job. I just drive my truck around."
"I figured you did, which is why I asked. You need a roof one day or a shower one night, I could help you out a bit."
Rudy thought about what he said after saying it.
"I'm not saying you stink, by the way. But I figure life on the road must... sometimes... um... yeah."
"How about I take you up on that offer now. You live far from here?"
Seth shifted his eyes back and forth as more mortals walked down the streets. Must be getting closer to bar time. It was still early in the evening after all.
Rudy glanced at the potential flavors that had caught Seth's attention. Nobody that looked particularly tasty, and quite a few that looked like they were already high, unhinged, or hopelessly diseased. "Ah, the night is young. Besides, I need to talk to the bartender one more time. Looking for information on the town and maybe a job that can get me into the city."
"Sounds good to me. Let's see who all is still alive in there."
Seth turns around and opens the door back into Trax and steps on in.
Seth and Rudy re-enter Trax
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