Knock on Any Door

[Kenneth Gilroy]

Gilroy's Beast mind roused slightly we he saw Mr. Durand. The man's stance and gaze clearly marked him as a predator. Not a vampiric one though from what the primal instincts could see though, so his Beast mind burrowed into the back of his mind again. Gilroy was glad intellectual recognition was not enough to stir the Beast further, when Julian was introduced as Whip. He was glad so many of his clan knew how to mask the Beast as well. It made for easier conversation not wanting to flee every second. As easy as a conversation between Haunts could be anyway. The Australian's aura produced a similar but distinctly different effect. Gilroy was almost jealous of the man. As far as curses went they were on nearly opposite sides of the spectrum. A curse was still a curse, however. At the end of the day he'd rather be a dangerous vermin people were wary of than a predator viewed as a threat.

"It is an honor to meet you Whip Durand." Kenneth gave his gangly bow again before shaking hands.

Julian sized them up like a wolf sizes up sheep. The scientist notices the half second Julian's eyes fix on the religious icon. It was another aspect of the call and response he'd done before. In this case it was more of a catalyst to see how someone reacted. From the way Mr. Durand reacts, Gilroy can't help but feel he's just met an enemy of the Lancea. Ms. Ducard hadn't mentioned a covenant so Mr. Durand was presumed unaligned. As such, on a more conscious level, he knows he doesn't have the information to make the assumption. The man's predatory dread still makes it an easy assumption to make.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-03-17 13:39:06		Kenneth Gilroy rolls 5 to Wits+Empathy (10 Again)		7, 4, 10, 7, 5, 9		2 successes

[Cameron]

"Nothing important" he said cheerfully, bowing his head towards Angel. He'd been enjoying his walk, but there would probably be time to resume it after this meeting.

"A pleasure, Mr Lukyanenko;" Julian remarks pleasantly, echoing the manner in which Angel had pronounced it, albeit with his own accent, before continuing "Mr Gilroy. I hope you find the Domain to your liking." His own grip was firm, he wasn't trying to make this a show of force. Quite the opposite, in fact. "Indeed, I've often found that my nights improve when in the company of our Priscus." Not an untrue statement, even if the whole black and white thing is creepy as sin.
Turning to Kenneth with the usual lazy smile on his lips, he shakes his head gently "and thank you, Mr Gilroy - but there is no need to be so formal with me; we are all of the Blood here. You are welcome to call me Julian, or Mr Durand if you rather. Really, anything more polite than 'Hey, you there' is quite acceptable in my case" Stated the Haunt with a grin. It wasn't a rebuke, but the Whip was conscious of the fact this his own behavior would help set the tone for future interactions. Feeling approachable was important.

"Hmm, as for advice...Generally, if you are meeting someone new, erring on the side of polite and respectful is a wise move. We are an Invictus Domain" he gave Sergei a slight nod with a smile "so good manners are pretty important. Beyond that, just know that you are more than welcome to give me a shout if you need anything, or even just want to chat." Removing a small, black leather wallet from his pocket, the Haunt retrieved two business cards, and offered them to the newly arrived Nosferatu. Each was white Herringbone; J Durand - Author with a email and mobile number.

For Kenneth

Kenneth most likely recognises that the Whip is going out of his way to make the Sanctified feel welcome. While the offers of assistance and informality were extended equally to both of the newcomers, Julian had made an effort to maintain eye contact and a pleasant smile with Kenneth while he was speaking. It would seem that irrespective of any opinions he might hold regarding the Lancea Sanctum, the Whip was intent on not letting them influence his actions.

[Kenneth Gilroy]

Perhaps Gilroy had misjudged the Whip. Or perhaps he was simply using his melodic voice to cover up darker treacherous thoughts. There was still that nagging feeling that Gilroy got when Julian looked at him that said the man was an enemy. Kenneth pushed it down as best he could. The fact remain Mr. Ducard was what he so much appeared to be. However, so was every vampire in existence. The Haunts simply lacked some of the fragile veneer other Kindred possessed. They were all ravening beasts, blood sucking parasites, rotting corpses, and poor colorless reflections to the vibrancy of life. Few would openly admit but the Nosferatu had little choice. It was what made them family. Maybe not a loving family or a trusting one but at least a somewhat understanding clan. Kenneth would reserve judgment till he knew the Whip better. For now he’d simply be grateful none had spit on him.

Turning to Ms. Ducard he made careful note of her words as well. Ignorance is no excuse. How very true of most things in the world. Gilroy would have to make sure he got information before leaving. Sergei had already asked a question so it would have to wait.

“No, ma’am,” he answered “Those that stain their souls with the act deserve nothing less than fire and final death.”

[Cameron]

Vaguely amused that he'd been included in the interrogation, Julian simply shook his head. "No, I haven't". While he hadn't committed diablerie, he also didn't harbor the same knee-jerk disgust to the act that the two newcomers seemed to show. Perfectly fine to ash one another, yet our society holds it up as one of our three precious, sacred cows?

His attention, however, had shifted from the Sanctified to the Russian. The words...the accent; was he one of them? There was no point in jumping to conclusions - but there was something deeper that bothered him. His game plan had remained fairly static over the past year or so. Any time he'd ran into one of them on his travels, the Haunt simply packed his bags and moved on.
But this time, he didn't want to flee. Had something changed within him, or had he merely grown complacent in the relative comfort he'd come to enjoy?

Without any conscious recognition, the ever-present smile gradually faded from his face, replaced with a blank expression.

[Cameron]

Grateful for the distraction from his thoughts, Julian nodded - continuing where Angel left off.

"Our previous Priscus, Lord Peter Baldwin, challenged a Mekhet to Monomacy. In truth, it would not be honest to call it a duel. He toyed with his opponent, humiliating him in what was essentially a prolonged act of torture, before ending his existence. After receiving a very public dressing down by the Prince for his conduct, Lord Baldwin disappeared. We do not know if he has left the Domain, or whether he is lying low. In any case, his actions only served to reinforce the stereotypes many hold of our Clan. That we are monsters, with a tentative grip on reality. That we are somehow wholly defined by our Curse, that we are vermin; scum and otherwise despicable. Priscus Ducard and I are working hard to ensure these perceptions change, in this Domain at least."

His expression remained blank - the Whip wondered how they would respond. Would they have questions regarding the Laws? Would they share in our communal vision? He knew that many had been told so often that they were less; something worthy of contempt that they themselves began to believe it. It would be interesting to see.

[Kenneth Gilroy]

Kenneth smiled inwardly at the comment about not being able to feed on hospital employees. Tabitha would not have liked that one bit. He also made note to read the posting so he’d have a better idea of the exact words of the law. A verbal review was good, but more for getting a feel for the unspoken nuances. So far the Traditions, Acknowledgement, and proper etiquette seemed to be the things being emphasized. Not the others were necessarily unimportant, but they at least didn’t come up as much. He also didn’t miss that Ms. Ducard wasn’t going to acknowledge them just yet. Was it simply she wanting to make sure they understood the laws first? After Julian spoke, Gilroy felt there was a chance that she might leverage acknowledgement for cooperation.

With regards to what Durand had said, Kenneth didn’t feel the same kind of outrage at the idea of a slow torturous death as he did about the Amaranth. Mostly because of some things he had witnessed during his apprenticeship with his Sire. In addition there was a difference between death and having your knowledge forcefully ripped from your dying mind. Kenneth also couldn’t disagree with the other Clan’s assessment that the Nosferatu were a group of monsters. That they didn’t recognize (or were deliberately ignorant) that they also were nightmarish creatures of darkness was more a failing on their part. And there were advantages to being looked at with fear, just so long as it wasn’t enough to be run out of town with torches and pitchforks.

“If I may be so bold as to ask, how do you plan to change the Kindred’s view?” Kenneth’s questioning was like having a midge buzzing near your ear. “Civil conversation and avoiding cruelty can only go so far in our case.”

He would of course support his Clan. However, he knew better than most that being polite might make them tolerated but it wouldn’t make them great. They needed demonstrable actions or something useful to offer. Knowledge and secrets were the standard go-tos as his grandsire had explained it to him. The Priscus and Whip could have another power base they wished to work up though.