A Pirate Walks into an Alley

Feeding was tough. And so too was the world Larkin Trask lived in. These were the hungriest of streets, and he was on edge. The lack of blood was making him want to spill more of it. His single eye scanned the alley for anything he could drain. A whore. A rat. A dog. He didn't give a fuck. What was important was filling his tank so he could wake up for the week.

His Beast was hidden, as it always was. So too were his weapons and his kevlar; he was a careful monster as much as a piratical one. The Beast's screaming in his Blood was getting to his head, and he was itching for someone to cross him.

He pitied the foo who crossed him in this state. Because there was never enough blood in his veins.

Sharp senses listened for any signs of easily available life to find a drink from. Was that a skitter of a rat?!

rolls

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-07-28 21:02:25		Larkin Trask rolls 6 to ToS Rapier (-2) (10 Again)		5, 2, 5, 7, 8, 8		2 successes

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-07-28 21:02:35		Larkin Trask rolls 7 to ToS .357 (-1) (10 Again)		10, 4, 4, 6, 8, 4, 2, 4		2 successes

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-07-28 21:02:47		Larkin Trask rolls 7 to ToS Vest (-1) (10 Again)		4, 5, 5, 10, 2, 1, 1, 5		1 success

I should have Obfuscated.

The clatter of Rudy's stumble in the alley was subtle, but it rang like a gong to his Auspexed ears. That's when he noticed he wasn't alone. Someone else just as sneaky. No beast.

But that face. That horrible, monoptic monstrosity. Standing in the same alley.

At least Weird Harold didn't go off with this guy.

Rudy's own beast, almost ubiquitously concealed shouldn't provoke.

Still, he wished he had a friend or two. Even some backstabbing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern allies would be preferable to being caught dead to rights.

Hopefully he's looking for food and not a fight.

"Wazzup, water flea?"

ooc 1

When a dude with a sword says he hears a rat, can anyone seriously not think of the scene in Hamlet where the titular prince kills Polonius? Hence the necessary reference to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

ooc 2

A water flea is a Cladocera, a crustacean noted for having one big eye. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladocera

I remember you.

The Mekhet's head cocked slightly to the side as he peered at his clanmate. His eye flicked up and down Rudy Davis, reading his body language for intentions even as his right hand whirled out a lighter to light a cigarette. A flick of fire, a small flinch, and the smoke began to burn in the alleyway. Trask peered at Davis for a long moment as he took a long drag and let out the smoke.

"Call me that again and you'll soon see 'wazzup' from your back," he said calmly, smirking slightly, the cigarette dangling from between his lips. It was almost friendly, even as the words contained a warning. Trask, as always, was in decent humour. "What brings you out tonight?"

If the cycloptic Shadow was at all concerned about Rudy Davis' presence, he certainly did not show it.

  wits+emp 3 sux

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-07-29 03:18:06		Larkin Trask rolls 7 to Wits+Empathy to determine intentions (10 Again)		10, 9, 4, 1, 8, 3, 6, 5		3 successes

Rudy cringed a bit and looked like he might be ready to run at the drop of a hat, but was cautiously congenial to the surprisingly affable Balor-gazed vampire.

"Sorry. What was your name again? L-something. Likho? Leela?"

Fucking fire-faced, polyphemussian prick. Why always lighting with the fires? Cigarettes don't even taste good anymore!

"I was following a tasty looking.."

dontsaycatdontsaycatdontsayCAT!

"...c-c-cat."

Idiot!

Rudy winced in self admonishment and preparing for the derision that usually follows that kind of admission.

"Yourself?"

Cigarette bounced and smoke flew from between teeth as the cyclops said, "Trask is fine."

An eyebrow went up at the admission, but Larkin wouldn't be the pot calling the kettle black. However, saying 'tasty looking cat' in public was fucking weird. "I was going out to find a bite to eat too," he said quietly, only for Rudy, reminding the other Mekhet of the need to not be a fucking idiot. "Slim pickings though, this time of night. All the half-decent restaurants are closed." Nightclubs. Homeless shelters. Doors were shut and locked this late.

Good God, if Legsimus Maximus heard you say you were chasing a tasty looking cat, she'd make you Dog's bitch.

Jackson was beginning to hate this.

No food, no contact with Kindred, no supplies, no haven, no anything. But he couldn't go back. So he trudged on, wearing one of the three outfits he had with him upon moving - a black t-shirt, and black jeans, with black shoes. His (surprise!) black backpack was worn on his back, but he kept it concealed so as not to make himself a target for thugs.

He maneuvered the alleyways carefully - in part to avoid notice, and in part to find other alley-lurkers. There were bound to some in Sacramento. Alleys don't have the best catches, but they're fairly reliably. Bums, criminals, stray dogs and... cats?

He turned the corner into the next alleyway with a mind to obfuscate, but he came within visual range of the individuals making conversation before he had the opportunity. I need to be more careful! He didn't feel a beast from either party gathered, so he approached them somewhat confidently, though cautiously. He generally had a good eye for danger.

"Yes, " he slipped in at the end of the conversation. "And it sucks, because I'm hungry as hell. " Jackson saw that the one vampire held a cigarette, and backed up slightly. "Cat's sounding damned good right about now, " he grumbled. "It's better than nothing."

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-08-03 02:19:44		Jackson Rail rolls 4 to Touch of Shadow on backpack (10 Again)		2, 6, 8, 2		1 success
2012-08-03 02:01:26		Jackson Rail rolls 8 to Wits + Composure to hear alley conversation (10 Again)		5, 7, 7, 4, 9, 7, 1, 3		1 success

Trask's single eye flicked from one idiot to the other. His mind did not immediately register that he'd never met the other guy. His voice was nearly a hiss as he said, "Well, cat-eaters, I'm sure the people in the buildings adjacent like hearing about your odd tastes in cuisine, but I'm going to go ahead and find a drink. So..."

The Shadow went to turn on his heel, then his eye locked on the new guy. He took a long drag of the cigarette, the moment stretching on and on as he assessed him before he quietly asked, "Also, who are you?"

A valid question, he thought.

An eyebrow popped up slightly as the piratical Mekhet decided if he'd have to c-arr-ve a slice off the random newcomer or not. He couldn't tell if the guy was Kindred or kine yet, but desiring kitty as cuisine was a bit weird.

The odd-smelling man surprised Weird Harold. Nothing and then something and something distinctive, but no Beast.

Not homeless from the looks of him. Well, mortal type of homeless. But to praise the flavor of cat, well that shit just aint right. Rudy knew it was a desperation food. Desperation is what brought him out tonight. Desperation was not something to be praised, but endured.

Then Trask opened that semi-sighted face.

Don't act like you're better than us, you sanctimonious cyclops!

Still he makes a good point, the pragmatic Shadow assessed.

Rudy looked with curious interest at the newcomer.

"Hey. This odin-looking badass is Trask. I'm Rudy."

Really? Just blurt out your name like that? The cat thing was bad enough! Why don't you get a, "I'm a fucking vampire" interpretive dance and pantomime routine, dummy?

Jackson smirked sardonically at the unidentified guy's remark before following up with a quiet retort of his own. "The people in the buildings adjacent are asleep. They're not listening, or caring about what a bunch of homeless guys are doing in a god-forsaken back alley. Maybe if they gave a damn, we wouldn't be starving. What does it matter to you anyway?"

Jackson wasn't sure if this guy was just being rude, or if there was something more to the statement - perhaps some fishing would do, but he would play the "I'm not an undead creature of the night" card until he wore it out.

The black guy who was also nearby spoke up before the one-eyed man could respond.

The one-eyed god, Odin, the Allfather. He looked a second time at the one-eyed man and looked closely at the lines on his face, hair his hair was set against his skin...

Not time for that. But he was too late. Jackson was inspired. So he decided to try and keep the guy around, learn a bit more about him, and perhaps feed on him, if it came to that. Baby steps. You're still outnumbered.

"I'm Jack, " he replied to the second Vampire. "And I think I'll go with Trask."

Jackson closed slightly on Trask, but kept a reasonable distance. Getting too close to a lit fire, even a small one, and having an episode would be pretty bad.

  reflexive Clash of Wills vs Mask, 2 sux

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-08-04 19:22:13		Larkin Trask rolls 8 to Reflexive Clash of Wills (Wits4+Invest2+Auspex2) (10 Again)		3, 9, 1, 5, 2, 6, 8, 3		2 successes

The "Odin-looking badass" thought that was a really awkward way to be introduced, but he nodded anyway in a begrudging sort of greeting. The fact that people were getting up in his business was really rather tiresome. If South Sacramento was the Caribbean and Larkin was Jack Sparrow, then he was waiting for Lord Cutler Beckett to tell him that the seas were getting smaller and the time of the pirate was up.

Not that he was a pirate. He was just one-eyed, bored, and had cool powers. And a sword.

His eyebrow cocked as 'Jack' tried to shut him down. "If you say so, pal." Then the whole thing about him tagging along with Trask, and his one eye scanned, trying to push and find if there was anything going on that might explain this guy's interest in hanging out with him. "Do you make it a habit of tagging along with people you don't know? Christ, if you're looking for some company, go to Trax. The bartender there'll give you all the love you could ever want."

And then some, if I remember his comments to Bennett right.

The cigarette's red light flared slightly as he took in a puff.