Touching Base

Crickets chirp loudly in an out of the way location in South Sacramento. The Ordo Dracul's Chapter House looms in the darkness, a black mass against a blue-black sky littered with stars. It once was a jewel of Sacramento: glamorous architecture, manicured grounds, lights burning within. Tonight, only a few windows glow with light and age has long made itself known on the house.

But the bones of the House are good. The House endures, proud and defiant despite, or because of, its current state.

A single man cannot upkeep the house by himself, no matter how hard David tries.

The Grand Wyrm paces the Grand Library upstairs, in only his socks; shoes at the doorway. Juan Cordoba needed to talk in private and the best place outside of the Asylum, is the grand dame of a Chapter House. As David waits, disparate thoughts are written in snippets on the clean sheets of a notebook.

A black BMW rolled into view from the horizon. A lively looking Juan was behind the wheel. The light of the high-beams unveiling the house in the distance. Interesting architecture, could use a bit of work though.

Pulling into the driveway, he checked his rear-view mirror just in case. Then he turned the engine off and pocketed the key.

The Toreador dressed in jeans and a polo. This was a meeting of equals, however, it was not his house. Arriving at the door, Juan knocked lightly.

-1 Blush of Life

Words spilling onto a page stop, with the suddenness of murder, in mid-sentence. The pen is placed into the spine, and closed before David rises and descends the stairs; the Shadow's 'secret' penchant for colorful socks on display. Each step the Priscus takes is another one filled with dread as he knows just what is coming. Confrontation. A predator at the door, no matter how much they faked it.

The Grand Wyrm pauses at the knob, wrangling thoughts and impulses before opening.

Seeing Juan, the Shrike screeches in defiance and icy-anger. Juan's challenge is unspoken in the power of his beast in comparison to David's and the Shrike desires nothing more than to prove itself superior. To have the casually dressed man broken and bloody at the gangly-man's feet. It would be easy, it implores, and no one would know.

It's a familiar anger, a familiar feeling, and David smashes the impulses at the edges of his mind. It is a reminder that the Beast is at David's mercy rather than its own. The chattering and squawking is ignored and tuned out. Control is retained.

“Priscus Cordoba,” David welcomes, “come in, please.” The door falls open revealing exotic hardwoods and stained glass windows as well as the ravages of time that has consumed some of it. “If you don't mind, we'll head to the Lunarium.”

The thin man before him had sealed away the ever present dark companion. It was pleasant as not having the Beast jostle inside of him. Still it left a lingering question. How did the Mekhet compare to himself?

A pleasant grin manifested on his face, "Good evening Priscus Regan." Upon crossing the threshold, he takes on an investigative look. Brown eyes fascinated by the beautiful hardwood and stained glass. Though time had taken its toll, he could appreciate the interio design. "Oh my, I love this wonderful estate." he complimented to David with sincerity. "You have exquisite taste, sir."

Before taking another step, he paused. Looking down at the Shadow's feet and seeing distinctively colored socks. Cordoba raised a question, "Would you prefer my shoes on or off?"

Perhaps, that will be a question that nags at Juan Cordoba's mind as the night drags on. How pleasant is it, really, to not know the power of David Regan's beast? Is ignorance really bliss? How much can the beast within Juan plan, if he doesn't know what it is up against?

The Scarecrow of a man nods thankfully, politely accepting Juan's compliment. Even if, David believes it polite small-talk; knowing very well that the House has suffered with Hildegarde's (and Iago's) departure. “Whichever you are most comfortable with,” David answers the Incubus' voiced question. “Thank you for asking.”

The Shadow leads the Daeva Priscus through the first floor wing of the house, passed the formal dining room. Passed the very place, David welcomed the Coterie of Priscii to a few months ago to talk about the wickedness that has befallen the domain. Pressing on, David leads to a well furnished room, surrounded by windows with views into the moon-lit estate.

“Please take a seat, Priscus. I hope you are well. What brings you to South Sacramento this evening?”

The Daeva stepped back and pulled one foot out of his dress shoes, followed by the other. Bringing a warm smile to bear, he followed David into the Lunarium. Curious eyes soaked in the interior as they walked.

Upon seeing the windows, in response to the Mekhet's inquiry, "I wish I could say the wonderful view of the night sky." He turned and took a seat as requested.

His smile had faded as the conversation turned to business, "I brought together Konrad, Hildegarde, and Alessandra to investigate the forest bunker. I had provided the financial support for equipment. Hildegarde led us to the bunker."

Juan shook his head, his bottom lip curled in frustration, "I don't know if you have been informed of what transpired."

“No,” David says placidly, “not yet.” As the Grand Wyrm settles into his seat he crosses his legs -- ankle against knee – while watching Juan expectantly. The silence stretches, crossing that invisible line between 'pregnant pause' and an awkward one.

“What did you find?” Is the question David asks eventually, realizing that it might have to be asked.

From the dour tone and the frustration evident in Juan's look, David expects that it went poorly. Knowing that before Hildegarde departed, she did not float through the house singing of Jacqui Cotouri's death; the Shadow hazards a guess.

Lips are drawn into a thin line as David lapses back into attentive silence. Waiting for confirmation of what David has already guessed.

Juan lowered his face, pressing two fingers up against his forehead. "Maldición," hissed from his lips. "Disaster is what I found."

"It is there we found a bramble barricade tended by the slaves. I remember there being a hint of smoke. If that's at all relevant, I don't know."

He paused in thought trying summarize, "We backed away to address the issue. It was her description that prompted Konrad to suggest adjusting the plan. I brought up the fact that none of us knew how fast they could move."

"I trusted Konrad to have the wisdom of hunting and tracking. We built two traps in the time we had. Konrad had sent away his Ghoul back to the van by himself. We returned to the nest and found most of the drones had retired."

Juan's lips curled into a grimace, "We found two sentries on guard. I don't know what Konrad did. I do know Ale fired her gun and dropped one of them. Konrad reported the other had skittered into hiding."

He sighed, "Konrad couldn't find an alternative entrance. He called myself and Hildegarde to help search. As we fell short on time, Hildegarde declared that we must go through the front. I hung back to ensure we would not be caught off-guard."

A palm raised to his face, "When I got to my spot, somehow they thought attempting to rip open a metal door was the best course of action. As Konrad had turned off his headset, I had no way of communicating with them without coming out of hiding."

"After failing to wrench open the door, I had to step out of my area to collect them. I feared we were to be ambushed. Hildegarde suggested we look for a barrel of gasoline and light it on fire. Konrad then immediately went searching for this possibly conveniently placed barrel."

Juan threw his hands up. "I lost my patience at that point. Setting a metal door on fire was insanity. Thankfully Ale agreed with my assessment, we managed to coax Hildegarde down. Konrad proposed setting the wall on fire. I suggested we haul back the peon and he had bled out thanks to the incredible mismanagement of time."

"We returned to the van and returned home. Everything we had worked for was for naught." Disappointment was heavy in his voice, "I find that the fellow Kindred here are disturbingly deficient in common sense."

Juan's eyes leveled with David's, "I want to help put an end to this before more of us meet Final Death. I have equipment and access to additional funding for more of it. What can I do to help?"

Preternatural stillness comes over David as he listens to Juan Cordoba's tale. That sillness continues for a long moment even after Juan finishes. The Priscus of the Shadows goes back over the accented words of the Incubus a few times before he begins to talk.

“I hope,” David starts at last, “I did not understate the danger of the place in the hearing. None of what you found: the faint, acrid smell of smoke; the bramble barricade; the drones; should have surprised you. Priscus Baldwin's Requiem ended there, after all, as I mentioned.”

Silence comes back over the Priscus as he looks towards Juan. For the Shadow, Juan is as much part of that failure as the rest, no matter how much he tries to verbally distance himself. Juan and Hildegarde had the information, they should have done a better job in prep.

David draws his lips into a thin line.

“And now, Cotouri has gone to ground.”

That bit of knowledge more for David's own benefit than Juan's.

“My group fared better. The objective given to us by His Grace has been carried out. Perhaps, despite the then Nosferatu Priscus. But, there is still much to do. What connections do you have?”

David's word cut deep - the sword of truth always does. "That you did and I can't deny part in that failure."

Upon hearing the implication of Straiphen's fate, Juan's spirit perked slightly. "You've certainly done more than I could hope to accomplish. Take a victory where we can."

When asked of his connections, "At the moment, no mortals that come to mind for handling whatever Cotouri is. If it's of any aid to this, one of my own, Marco Fernandez, one of the Carthians, is keenly interested in assisting the Domain. Perhaps we can bring him into the fold? Or would you prefer I find some Kine to pull upon first?"