Warehouse of Woe

[Alice Hart]

"Everyone has always thought I was weak."

One way or another Alice has always been painted as a frail girl. Weak in mind, body or spirit. And she wasn't. How many others could wake up without eyes and not meet the sun? Alice was scared, sure, but she lived, and was slowly making it a strength. Or at least, not a weakness.

"And know that you're armed. You have claws, and you can chose to use them. I have a knife, and that's all I have and I know that It doesn't look good. For me. But it's something more then just you separating my head from my neck."

Alice shakes her head and winds her arms around herself.

"Sorry. I just. I was being serious. And I mentioned the show to make a point, not to say that I'm the little guy who can't fight my own battles."

Alice shakes her head again. She's scared and angry. Her thoughts are jumbled and the waters tumultuous, as the Wraith thrashes.

"You don't see me as an animal, and I don't either. But..." their's wasn't the opinion that mattered. "I'm being punished for killing Bea while in the throws of frenzy. It's your choice, or his to punish me further. That's why I suggested it. I didn't Breach but I frenzied. Another punishment instead of Final Death."

Alice's voice was ever-hollow, and low, so low that it was more whisper then words.

"Call him. If you really want to know his opinion, and...his orders. But don't. This can just be between me and you. You know what he said. And I frenzied, but didn't Breach. So. All that's left is for you to call him, or decide on your own.

"Punish me for this instance. Kill me. Or let me live."

[Alessandra]

There was a frustrated sigh, “Alice, you need to stop letting what others think run your life. Are others thoughts and opinions really that big of a thing for you? You cannot control what others are going to think or feel. But you can control letting those opinions bother you. If you were as weak as those assholes think you are, would you have been made Seneschal? A Prince and leader does not surround himself with weak allies. So stop with that.” Maybe it sounded a little harsher than she intended, but it needed to be said.

Seeing the blind doll hug herself softened the Savage,

“Something more? How so? Did you have some sick desire to see how long the fight would last? Is there some secret betting system that no one told me about? Cause if so, I want to throw some money into the pool.” There was a half-smile as she tried to make a joke.

Her head hangs as she figures out her words.

“Another punishment? You are banished to the Barrens, I don’t know what other punishment would be fitting. Don’t get me wrong, I have ideas, I thought it over in the nights after the order was handed down. To prepare myself should it come up. Of course Final Death being on the table should you breach or attack another member of the Court. I’ve taking away your right to feed from a Herd or your Ghoul. A punishment needs to fit the offense, needs to drive home a point, needs to make the offender think twice before making the same mistake.” Her first idea is to stake Alice where she stood, bring her back to Nox and inform Asa. Recommend leaving Alice is torpor for a month, let her nightmares punish her for her act.

If Ale didn’t act and called Asa, she’d be showing him that she was unfit for her position.

[Alice Hart]

"I don't care!" Alice gets out, frustrated that Ale didn't seem to understand. "I'm just trying to make a point. People see me and all they've ever seen is weakness!" Alice shakes her head. "I'm not! I'm really not. I'm strong. But...." she shakes her head again. Maybe she still cared.

"Something honorable." Alice says, ignoring the joke, or just not getting it. "Something that wont make you hate yourself. 'Cause if you deemed it necessary for me to...die. Then I don't want you to hate yourself for killing me. Honorable Trail by Combat seems like the best way to do that." Alice explains.

"I've never been punished here." They both knew that. "But in other places....I would have been staked and set out for the sun already. I just...I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't get in trouble for not...doing more. Or...something." Alice shrugs, looking strings pulled and awkward.

"I don't wanna die." Alice admits in a small barely heard voice. Her normal articulation falling away with the truth of the words. "I'm only twenty-seven. It's only after this - my Embrace - that I started living and I'm not done yet. So, Ale - Reeve Antinori am I going to be able to still learn Italian?" Will there be time for you to teach me?

[Alessandra]

There was the sound of Ale’s boots on the dirt and concreate as she slowly paced. Not closing the distance, just simply walking back and forth.

“Before I came to the Domain, before I became Priscus and then Reeve, I might have handled this differently. I would have acted rashly and without thought. But things have changed, I’ve changed, and as such, more thought and planning goes into my actions.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to say any of that. Maybe it was because Alice had helped show her that being in touch with her feelings and sowing them was ok.

“I’m touched that you’re worried about me getting in trouble, to be honest, I haven’t had someone concerned in many, many years. But I knew when I issued the punishment that there was a chance of another incident. And I am fully prepared to accept His Grace’s judgement in my failure.” She would always own up to her mistakes and accept her fate.

The steps stop, “I don’t want you to die either. I do not believe Final Death is warranted in this situation. And while you did Frenzy again, no Laws were broken and the Masquerade was not Breached. But the facts remain that it did happen again, and as such, it must be dealt with. Your original punishment was meant to help you learn to control your Beast, clearly that punishment failed. As such, my intent is to Stake you and then have a discussion with His Grace about what happened. Perhaps spending some time in Torpor, with the nightmares contained in it, will help you learn control. I wanted to tell you what my plans were, make you aware, of what was going to happen. I cannot speak for the Prince and what he will decide, I can only tell you that I will tell him the truth of what happened. Of how you help defeat the Brood in the warehouse, and while you did frenzy, it was contained to the warehouse and Brood. If he needs another witness, I’ll have Mr Cross come and tell what he saw.” She didn’t owe the Haunt an explanation for what was going to happen. But she did anyways.

“I believe we’ll be able to being class in Italian sooner than you think.” a smile creeping onto her face and into her tone. Well, that was of course based off Asa’s judgement. She didn’t want to die either, but she wouldn’t hide the truth.

[Alice Hart]

"I know." Alice gives her Coterie mate a strings pulled nod. Ever since that disastrous clan meeting between Savages that lead to Konrad fleeing the Domain, and the bubbly blond's - Brittany's Final Death, Ale had taken more and more time to think before she acted. An inverse of Alice, who'd been taking less, and less time to think, and to just act.

"It's not just making sure you're noting going to get into trouble." Alice says, "I just..." a strings pulled shrug, she didn't know how much clearer she could be. She didn't want Ale to hate herself or hold any guilt for what might happen. What she might do to Alice in the course of following her duties as Reeve.

The sound of Ale's pacing stops and Alice braces herself.

"Okay."

She nods, her strings pulled nod.

"Do you...do you want to do it here? Now?" a pause. Alice didn't quite understand the terror the thought of torpor brought, but she'd heard horror stories, and other stories from the Sisters Three. "Or can I take some time to meditate first?"

[Alessandra]

She shakes her head, even though she knows Alice can’t see it, “Don’t worry yourself about me. If His Grace feels I’ve failed, I’m sure he’ll let me know and whatever comes of that will be handled.” She’d take any punishment with her head held high. “But what would be hard to accept is if you held a grudge or resent me towards me after. I don’t take pleasure in this, you’ve become someone very important to me.” But she would understand if Alice hated her, she was about to stake the doll. Surely some feelings of anger went with that knowledge.

“Yes. I’ll then contact the Prince and meet with him. Should Robert’s presence be needed, I’ll make sure and call him. Did you want me to call him anyways? With how close the two of you are, he is going to want to know where you are. Though, I suspect he isn’t going to be too pleased.” Nope, he was probably going to be pissed at her. Not that she owed it to the burnt Haunt, but he was important to Alice, and that mattered to her.

“If you would like to meditate first I have no problem with that.” She didn’t see Alice as a flight risk or a danger. If meditating brought her some peace before the stake went in, so be it, she wouldn’t deny her that.

[Alice Hart]

"Okay." Alice lets it go, Ale wasn't getting it, or maybe her fear of the Prince's reaction was looming to great in her mind for her to do so.

"I wont!" Alice tells the Savage quite fiercely. "I care about you, you're...important to me too! You're just doing your duty. I wont hold a grudge or anything like that. I promise!" Alice nods rapidly, trying to make Alessandra believe the truth of her words dispute the weight of Curse.

"I'll call him, just give me a sec." Alice moves away from the press of Ale's superior Beast to one of the walls of the warehouse, an illusion of privacy.

Alice pulls out her phone and presses a button, the call swiftly connects but from her words it isn't a proper conversation.

Alice moves the cell away from her ear and ends the call. She sucks in a breath, "Are you going to store me here?" she asks her Coterie Mate, moving to join her in the openness of the warehouse's space once more.

When Alice receives an answer from the Savage, she sits herself down and starts to breath, then she stops, and focuses her mind and steadies her soul.

Minutesmomemntshours later Alice nods softly and waits for the stake.

[Alessandra]

While there was part of the Savage that wanted to believe that her Coterie Mate said, a larger part didn’t. It wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience, and she fully expected some form of resentment when she awoke. She’d been in Torpor herself, not from a Stake, but it was still Torpor. The experience horrifying to say the least. But she entered fighting, maybe Alice’s experience would be different. She hoped the Haunt wouldn’t be caught in the painful and terrifying nightmares that plagued her own slumber. The Reeve didn’t want that for Alice. But she couldn’t control what she experienced.

There was a nod as Alice stepped away to call Robert. She had no intentions of eavesdropping, so she turns around and looks around the warehouse. Where a couple months earlier their Coterie had been training together. Simpler times, when she didn’t have to punish Alice for killing Bea. Part of the Savage longed for those times again.

Looking back to the doll when she speaks, “No. I won’t leave you somewhere not secure. I plan to bring you to Nox, a place I know is safe.” You don’t leave the Seneschal in Torpor in some random warehouse. And she didn’t think Asa would appreciate it either.

Ale watches with interest as Alice sits and begins her meditation. Maybe the meditation would help ease the Haunts nightmares that were set to begin. But she wasn’t sure, Torpor was weird, how it affected Kindred differently.

She gives Alice time to meditate before moving up to her. The stake hit home, Ale made sure of that. After seeing Konrad and Katya fail many times with the frenzied Brittney, she didn’t want to make those mistakes. But a calm Kindred, one who was meditating made for an easier target.

An arm goes behind Alice’s body as it slumps, being careful not to let her fall the rest of the way to the ground. Gently placing her on the floor, she removes her hoodie and drapes it over Alice, carefully obscuring the view of the piece of wood sticking out of her chest.

The lifeless body was lifted and carried out to the car, and as much as she hated it, placed in the trunk gently.

[Alice Hart]

The Stake hits true, the Doll collapse as if her strings were cut.

Further and further she sinks into Torpor as the Savage offers her unresponsive body gentle care, moving her to the exquisite car's trunk.

The engine revs, as the Savage beings traveling to the Prince's Elysium...