Meet the New Boss...

[DaevaDude]

Having arrived in Reno after successfully fleeing a bloodhunt in Sacramento, Jack Bennet and his newly-Embraced childe, Veronica Horton, encountered the Sheriff of Reno, a tall Native American vampire named Ben Two Bears. After establishing their intent to take up residence in Reno, Two Bears and two musclebound associates - ghouls, most likely - escort Jack and Ronnie to meet Bill Slade, the Invictus Prince of the Domain of Reno, Nevada.

Narration:

Two Bears and his goons escort Ronnie from the attached hotel to Harrah's Casino. They are led down a back hallway to a locked door, which Two Bears has one of the goons unlock. Two Bears gestures for them to go in, then follows behind with the goons. The room inside is mostly empty, save for a desk, a single chair and an elevator door, located behind the desk and chair. At the chair sits a hulking, bald man dressed in western wear. He is reading what looks - incongruously - like a paperback romance novel, but sets his book down, pages down and open to save his place.

The big man looks Jack and Ronnie over. He has small, dark, wide-set eyes and a pushed-up nose, giving him an unfortunate resemblance to a hog. "Ben," he says, in a higher voice than one would expect of such a large man. The resemblance to a pig's squeal is avoidable.

"Hiya, Porter," Ben says. He gestures to Jack and Ronnie. "The two new arrivals security spotted early morning."

The big guy looks Jack and Ronnie over, spending most of his time looking at Ronnie. Finally, he snorts - the pig comparison again unavoidable - and grins. "The boss is goin' ta eat you up, honey, so you better hope you're tasty." He grins. "Who knows, maybe he'll let me have a bite."

[Bo Albion]

Maybe pigs will fly.

The thought makes Ronnie smile. You just never know, she said, smiling, and determined not to show how scared she really was.

[Jack Bennett]

Careful what you wish for 'Mate'... Jack though in response to pig-boys comments with his arms crossed. Damn, he wasn't feeling like himself right now. Must be the left over thension from the Hunt.

"So, we heading up or down?"

[DaevaDude]

Two Bears looks at Porter. Porter nods and gets up with more speed and grace than one might expect of someone who had to weigh in at well over 400pounds. He moves out from behind the desk, making room for Two Bears. The Sheriff takes a key card out of his jacket pocket, punches several digits into the keypad near the card slot, then stands back, gesturing Jack and Ronnie. "Up," he says. He and his men get in with Jack and Ronnie, and Two Bears pushes one of the few buttons in the elevator, closing the door.

"Free word of advice," Ben Two Bears says, facing forward. "Don't fuck with Porter, and if possible, don't involve yourself with him. He's mean as they get, and he may look like nothing but a pile of suet, but he can outrun a deer and bite its fucking head off without breaking stride. I kid you not. And unless you have a death wish and don't think greeting the dawn will be painful enough, don't ever call him Porker, or Porky, or anything like that."

[Jack Bennett]

Sounds like most Nosferatu that get the short end of the stick to me. Jack though. He just gave Ben Two Bears a nod and crossed his arms.

"I'll keep that in mind mate. Not like we're looking for trouble after all."

[Bo Albion]

Ronnie looks at Two Bears, surprised. Thank you, she said.

He didn't have to give us any info at all on Slade or Mr P-P-P-Porter Pig. Ronnie gives herself a mental shake. Don't even think of the pig guy like that, you might make a slip of the tongue.

[DaevaDude]

"You're going to be seeing some more kindred in a couple seconds, so brace yourselves," Ben Two Bears says. Just seconds later, the elevator comes to a stop and the door opens, and Jack and Ronnie find themselves face to face with two vampires.

One is a very thin Latino man with pockmarked skin and collar-length hair, brushed straight back. He stands about 6' tall and wears black slacks, snakeskin boots, a black button-down shirt and sunglasses. He is also armed to the teeth, with a sheathed machete at each hip, a third machete across his back and a holstered shotgun also slung across his back. Physically, he looks like little more than a teenager, but he carries himself with the easy confidence of someone much older and more sure of himself.

The other vampire is a woman who looks to be in her mid-to-late 30s. She's dressed in well-worn blue jeans, low-heeled cowboy boots and a white and blue western-style blouse of the sort you might see an old-style country western star or cowboy actor wear. She has curly, shoulder-length, blonde hair, worn in a style like one might see on a TV show from the 1950s. She wears only a tiny bit of eye makeup and subtle lipstick, and has a full, curvy build with wide hips, a narrow waist and ample breasts. She gives the impression of being an undead Dale Evans, ready to toss on a cowboy hat and head to a rodeo, except for the fact that she does not smile and has the cool, calculating gaze of a trained killer. Her cold, blue eyes flicker back and forth between Jack and Ronnie, one hand close to the holstered revolver at her side.

"Guillermo, Daisy Mae," Ben Two Bears says, nodding in turn to the two vampires. "Jack Bennet and Veronica Horton, two newe arrivals to meet with Prince Slade."

After a moment, Guillermo stands aside, moving so smoothly that he seems to flow. Daisy Mae nods and says "Right this way, Sheriff." Her hips swing in her tight jeans as she leads the way down a hallway ending in a double door. The decor here is as nice as anywhere in the casino, and done in the same style, with thick carpets and a color scheme dominated by wood and golds. There are unmarked doors to each side of the hallway.

Two big, muscular guys that look to be build from the same mode as Ben Two Bear's goons, save that one is black, stand at the doors, pulling them open as the vampire entourage approaches.

Guillermo: Blood Potency 2, Striking Looks 2(Unnaturally Graceful)
Daisy Mae: Blood Potency 3

[Bo Albion]

Ronnie cringes and looks down. There's no where to run. She tries to look as nonthreatening as possible, and followed Daisy Mae? Seriously? What is it with all the Western wear and the Clampett family here? Did I enter WestWorld without noticing?

[Jack Bennett]

Jacks fingers dug into his jacket, feeling fine pinpricks of pain shoot through his arms as he restrains the urge to step back and look like an idiot. A few seconds pass and he was calm. Annoying how every fuckin' kindred I meet thinks I'm up to something...Oh well, can't be helped. He gives Ronnie a small nudge before following the little entourage.

[DaevaDude]

The door opens into a large, lavish, modern-looking office, with expensive, comfortable-looking furniture and tasteful sense of decor. Trains and railroads are the predominant decoration theme; there are numerous statues, models and paintings depicting trains - mostly 1800s locomotives - and railways.

A red carpet runs from the doorway to the far end of the room. Off to one side is a set of workstations, at which sit four women in business attire - kine, apparently - working on computers. Off to another is a long conference table, complete with a Power Point set-up. At the far end of the room is a large, old-style oak desk, with four comfortable chairs arranged in front of the desk. Between the chairs and the door stands another vampire, a stocky male with shaggy, sandy-brown hair, an uneven, patchy beard and a generally disfigured appearance. The flesh of his face and hands looks like someone sliced it apart then stuck it together without a lot of attention given to matching the pieces up correctly. One bloodshot, brown eye is slightly larger than the other, and the man's lips peel back on that side, showing yellowed teeth. He has huge hands with jagged fingernails, and is clearly missing the pinky finger of his left hand. This guy is dressed in a grey suit jacket and slacks, a white shirt and a bolo tie held in place with a silver pin shaped like a scorpion. He holds a fire axe dangling from one hand; the head of the axe is nicked and pitted, looking like it has seen a lot of use. This vampire has very strong blood, stronger than that of Two-Bears or Daisy Mae. He stands back as Two Bears walks forward and gestures for Ronnie and Jack to follow, and he and Two Bears nod to each other as the Indian passes.

Behind the desk sits a broad-shouldered, clean-shaven man with short, black hair, gray at the sides. He is dressed in an expensive-looking, modern business suit and looks to be about 40 years old. He has dark, commanding eyes and an indefinable yet obvious presence about him... the look of a born leader, or executive, or general. His blood is also strong, of a degree matching that of the man with the axe.

Ben Two Bears walks to a spot between and a bit in front of the chairs, standing in front of the desk. "Prince Slade, I present two visitors to your Domain, Jack Bennet and Veronica Horton. They state they wish to reside in the Domain. So far as I can tell, they arrived in the early morning hours and have broken no laws or Traditions within the Domain."

Two Bears then bows and stands aside, gesturing for Jack and Ronnie to come forward.

Bill Slade, Prince of the Domain of Reno, Nevada: BP 4, Presence 4
Axe Guy: BP 4, Striking (Horrific) Looks 4