(1604) Konrad and Caleb

[Konrad Roth]

"So, what's your name, stranger? And what brings you to Prince Clarke's Domain?" asks Konrad, putting some space between them and the other Kindred. It's been a while since he had to Acknowledge another Gangrel. This one certainly looked rough around the edges. Something feral and hungry in the way he stands and stares. He's straight to the point at least. No nonsense. But Acknowledgement meant that Konrad would be putting his stamp of approval on the guy, so that meant identifying undesirables.

[Cabochard]

Caleb lets Konrad lead him, occasionally glancing at the rest of the small crowd in the club-basement. When Konrad stops moving, Caleb moves to stand in front of Konrad, then pauses and extends a hand to shake. "Caleb. Caleb Fischer." The Gangrel takes a second to consider his answer to the next question. "I wander. Sometimes others give me directions, places to visit, and things to do when I get there." A short shrug, almost like he was just rolling his shoulders. "Someone told me there weren't many of us here. Makes it sound like good hunting ground."

[Konrad Roth]

Konrad grips the rival's hand, never one to turn down a handshake. His Beast protests the action, but Konrad's calm demeanor betrays no sign of this. That is, so long as this Caleb behaves himself. He releases Caleb's hand and stuffs his own back in his pant pockets of his fine suit.

"Good to meet you, Fischer. Well, you would've been right a few months back. But lately we've been getting a bunch from all over coming into town. Still, it's good hunting all the same. You'll find out for yourself if you're good listener. So, since you sought me out, I'm guessing you've heard about how we do things here. As Gangrel Priscus the Prince has given me the right to Acknowledge new Kindred of my Clan into His Domain on his behalf. So you're my problem if you step out of line. If you want to hunt without being hunted, that is if you want those Feeding Rights, you'll listen to my spiel that I give newcomers. So, any questions before I get into that?"

[Cabochard]

For a second, just a split second, Caleb considers not letting his hand go, and instead holding on and squeezing until the bones snapped, crippling potential prey. Just for a second, though. Then, he lets go and actually pays attention to what Konrad is saying. Caleb stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets, just in case, and as a mirror to Konrad. It did not escape him that, in this pose, neither could easily threaten the other physically.

"Good to meet you too. And, yeah, word got around about what to do, so you don't get gutted before you figure out the laws." He idly scratches his stomach after he says that. "Yeah, I get what you're saying. I don't have questions yet, so I'll just listen."

[Konrad Roth]

Well-informed. A good listener. He's two for two so far. Konrad doesn't keep the man in suspense.

"Good. You're probably familiar with the Traditions. Don't violate the Masquerade. Don't Sire without the Prince's permission. Don't Diablerize anybody. Same as it is anywhere. On top of that you're responsible for your Childe, if you've got one, or any Thralls or what have you. So keep them in line. Don't violate the Havens of other Acknowledged Kindred. Don't kill or Torpor Acknowledged Kindred without the Prince's permission either. Prince Clarke keeps to Invictus traditions, so you can always ask Him, or rather His Seneschal, for permission via ye olde Monomacy. That's what we call a fight to the death. And along those lines he expects His residents to be courteous. So be careful what you say in Court. Too many times folks come in here and start mouthing off. You never see 'em again after that."

"Anyways, don't take part in Blood Vinculum without permission either. You're expected to take part in Blood Hunts, should any be announced. Don't kill or feed on any Cops, Firefighters, or EMTs either. They're off limits so we don't attract the wrong kind of attention. And make sure you do show up to Court or your Acknowledgment gets revoked like. A lot of announcements are posted here at Elysium so you're expected to keep track of those too."

Konrad lifts a hand that scratches at his ear thoughtfully. He's probably forgetting a couple things, but they're just not coming to him.

"That being said, I'm obligated to ask, have you ever committed the Amaranth before?"

  If Lying

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-04-11 00:20:37		Konrad Roth rolls 6 to determine if Caleb is lying/hiding something [WIT+Sub] (1s Subtract)		1, 6, 5, 3, 7, 10		failure

[Cabochard]

Caleb nods along. Most of what Konrad says is already carved into his mind - the Traditions in particular. Some of the rest seems new. Other pieces seem like things that are laws so the Kindred will be sneaky about breaking them. 'Don't kill other Kindred...or at least don't let me know it happened after the fact'.

"Right. Yeah, I get all of that. I'll have to watch my feeding a bit more than usual, then." Not a problem. A new challenge, to overcome and adapt to. And with that, would come wisdom.

Caleb takes a deep breath, and looks Konrad right in the eyes. "No. I have never eaten the soul of another Kindred."

He's telling the truth, naturally. That's abominable!

[Konrad Roth]

Agreeable. Concise. No questions. Just enough words to confirm an understanding. His new favorite person.

"Ah, right, just remembered. There's this zone called the Rack that takes up most of downtown. That's the Prince's private feeding grounds. Meaning we're standing in them. So make sure you move a few blocks away before hunting. There's a map buried on the bulletin board I think, but it's basically between fifth and twenty-ninth streets and J through W. If you somehow gain the Prince's favor he might award you access, but no one's ever impressed him so much in the last two years, far as I know."

Having followed that rule for so long it had become akin to common knowledge for Konrad, but the recent infringement by a couple poachers had kept it fresh in his mind.

"Okay. So, if you've any questions, now's the time to ask. But otherwise, do you swear to abide by the Laws of this Domain, etcetera etcetera?"

[Cabochard]

Caleb gives Konrad a smile, only showing a few of his teeth. "I'll have to convince him to give me access, then. Thanks for the warning." Another thing on the list. Caleb would have to get himself noticed by the Prince for something good. How? He's still not sure, but he'll work that out as he goes along. Being kindred would put the challenges before him, and, eventually, one has to be something that would impress the Prince.

The Acolyte shifts, curling his right hand into a fist and placing it over his unbeating heart. "I do so swear." Easy. Four words, that would change his behavior for possibly ages.

[Konrad Roth]

"Groovy," remarks Konrad with mild indifference. He's mostly just pleased to get through the process so swiftly. Being Priscus has been a pretty cushy job for him. His Clan never seems to get in trouble, aside from his own troublemaking. But maybe it's too easy this time. Either way he'd be keeping an eye on the new addition.

"And I hearby Acknowledge you into Prince Clarke's Domain." The Priscus fishes for a business card from his coat pocket, pushing aside the slim recorder. He hands it to Caleb. "Give me a call if you run into trouble or if you've got questions. Our clan just had a meet up recently so I don't think we've got anything planned for the next one. But I'll point our cousins out to you."

He turns and gestures with nods towards an adorable blonde and raven-haired hottie. "Whip Alessandra is the one sporting the tattoos, and Brittany is the blonde. Don't let her cutsy act throw you off. They're talking with some guy from the Crone, Silver I think. He just came into town recently too so I haven't met with him yet."

He looks around a little more. "Hmm, Seneschal Harding was around here earlier, but maybe she's in her office. Anyways, you might as well start getting to know them now."

"Oh," says Konrad with one last thing while his eyes swivel towards the Prince. "In case you haven't figured it out, that gentleman over there is the big boss. Take my advice and hold back on any convincing you plan to do until you've made a name for yourself."

[Cabochard]

Caleb takes the card and puts it into his pocket without really looking at it. That was something to deal with later. He felt an upwelling of emotion at the thought of finally being able to feed properly again. The Savage would have to hold himself, when he did. He was hungry enough that there was a chance he'd lose control, and that would not turn out well, especially with him as a newcomer.

With a shake of his head, Caleb brought himself back to the world of the present. He would deal with the potential issue of feeding when it was time to. For now, he had to meet the family. He watched as Konrad pointed them all out, committing the words he used to memory. "Convenient, they're all together." He'd noticed that happened sometimes. He just wondered if that was because others didn't want the wild, sometimes uncontrollable, Gangrel around them, or if the Gangrel just preferred to cluster with their own kind. Or if it was a coincidence.

"Yeah, I noticed him. He's hard to miss. And, don't worry. I don't plan on getting his attention by talking to him." Annoying royalty tends to end poorly. "If you'll excuse me, I have to talk to Silver about my arrival."