(On the Hunt) Warehouse

[Clara E. Verne]

"Flatterer," she chided lightly and laced her words with an effortless invitation to intimacy. Clara felt neutral to the relatively new Lord, but the Danse Maccabre was just as much a masquerade as it was an endless waltz. Everyone had their part to play and she played into hers finely.

"Okay. So bad third date but I really like your car. Got it!" Clara let her body lean into his rough grasp. She gasped a little--the Blush had her running hot and the stark contrast of his icy grip made her recoil a little. A quick grunt was all she needed to stifle the instinctual recoil and, just as quickly as she pulled back, the Bacchante surrendered her arm to the Lord and kept pace with him. Clara drooped her shoulders and adopted the most thrall-like walk she can muster as they walked into the warehouse.

  zombie walk 1 suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-07-17 21:06:53		Clara E. Verne rolls 4 to walk like a zombie (Pre + SL + Exp) (10 Again)		3, 4, 1, 10, 1		1 success

[Yumyumcrow]

The warehouse would not be a nice place to work in, that is for sure. Even inside the paint is old and peeling; the decor hasn't been altered in many decades and its all brown and grey and black. The space feels "small" even though it isn't. And the air is still, stale, and smells stagnant. Not even the window's escape the crushing malaise: they open out onto the old parking lot, and the site's high walls block nearly everything else.

They find their prisoner in an upper level office, handcuffed crudely to some piping that took up the middle of one wall. There was a crummy old desk that might have been used as an anchor for handcuffs at one point and a selection of chairs. In a corner is a rank bucket. A tray laying on the floor contains a cold mush of yellowed rice.

Their prisoner was a lanky man with a bushy moustache. His clothes were a rumpled mess and sticky with blood and other fluids. He had a gaunt stretched face at the best of times - now it was positively ashen with a yellowish sheen, visible even in the weak light. He was on the floor, propped against the wall at an uncomfortable angle thanks to the handcuffs locking him to the pipe.

When they enter the room, his eyes flutter open and his head lolls. He makes a coughing noise and licks his chapped lips with a dry tongue.

[Aaron van Valen]

The warehouse puts Aaron in a somewhat gloomy mood. The place feels dark on multiple levels. A moment he considers looking for signs of truly darker energies, but he parks his Dragon urges elsewhere in his mind. He has a different role to play tonight. The interrogator. As they make their way inside it gets easier to play his part. Of course, he really is the interrogator. But his interaction with Clara requires some acting.

He enters the office with Clara's arm still in his hand. 'Now what to do with you,' he lets out an annoyed sigh, before carelessly pulling Clara to him and pushing her right beside the hunter. 'Sit.' The urge to actually Dominate her is great. It would feel so natural. But he resists.

While still ignoring their prisoner for now, he makes things in his order. He carefully places the duffel back and his backpack in one corner of the room. For now, he only takes out the bottle of water he has, and puts it just out of reach of the hunter. Then finally, he looks the man in the eyes.

'Sorry to have kept you waiting. Your other friends demanded our more immediate attention. You're both left with me.' Aaron takes out his phone and puts it on the desk. He grabs a chair and puts just beside the bottle - right in front of the two. With a single click he presses the record button on his phone.

'Interrogation night one, [insert date and time]. Subject one: hunter. Hostile. Mental state uncertain. Please state your name...' he smiles sweetly, this could turn out quite pleasantly if only the man participated.

Turning to Clara, he is much colder, 'Subject two: suspicious bystander. Role uncertain. Mental state: invaded. Your name?' He demands as if it is merely a formality for his recording. Of course he already knows.

  1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-07-18 05:07:47		Aaron van Valen rolls 5 to Be the professional interrogator (Presence 3 + Expression 2) (10 Again)		3, 9, 5, 3, 2		1 success

[Clara E. Verne]

The warehouse was as depressing a stage as one could find. If these walls could talk...the Court would have this place burned. Once inside the office, Clara would take the surroundings in with a glassy-eyed stare. Aaron's shove had the girl fall into the chair facing the Dragon Lord without having changed her expression.

She resisted the urge to reflexively call on her Disciplines to have the prisoner's attentions doting on her, asking how she was. Maybe spread the effect on the Lord and invoke a feeling out of him. She recalled what happened when Davis pushed his friend a little too hard and decided it best not to. Restraint was the right course for now. There was no telling how prepared these maybe-hunters might be. Instead, she lifted her gaze in Aaron's direction and said, "Gina."

[Yumyumcrow]

The hunter simply laughed.

Or made the effort to laugh. He ended up coughing and wheezing.

Pointedly, he did not look at the 'bystander.'

"Fuck your mother..." He managed to gasp out the words. His body shook but his gaze - though seen through droopy eyes - was firm.

[Aaron van Valen]

Of course. He would not cooperate easily. 'Really?' Aaron says in an apathetic tone. The Hunter must know very well what he has in front of him. Aaron realizes the man is probably trained or prepared for these situations.

Why did I initially want to try this the mundane way again?

What purpose would that serve? His Sire told him to not use their family's gift too often, too easily, for they could become addicted to it. But surely this situation deserves a full on approach.

Thus, he locks his gaze with the droopy eyes of his newest friend:

'First let me help you to drink two sips of water. Then remain sitting still and cooperate with me for as long as we are in this room. This means that every time I ask you a question - you will answer me truthfully. Every time I snap my fingers, you will be silent.'

Blink. Aaron then opens the bottle and puts it on the hunter's mouth to let him have some water. Afterwards he retreats to a safe distance.

'Now, what is your name? And what do you consider to be your home address?'

  5 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-07-20 21:37:32		Aaron van Valen rolls 9 to Mesmerize the hunter (Int 4 + Exp 2 + Dom 3) (10 Again)		9, 8, 7, 1, 9, 2, 4, 6, 10, 9		5 successes

[Clara E. Verne]

A Lord at work was spellbinding to behold. Clara took stock of Aaron's self-assured demeanor along with his precise use of the dreaded Ventrue Discipline. The thrall-like girl maintained her deadpan stare forward and was a little disappointed that there wasn't a bit of playing around with the man. This disappointment was mixed with the relief that this might be quick for the man. There'd be as little pain as possible.

Clara noted the hunter's non-acknowledgment of her. She was rehearsing the story in her head as she felt the hot Blush tingling in her limbs. Staying still while pretending to be alive. Who's plan was this again?

Oh right. Mine.

[Yumyumcrow]

The hunter emits a long drawn out sigh. His shoulders slump as his body shrinks in on itself.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-07-22 02:02:20		Hunter to resist vampire influence! rolls 8 to Resolve + Composure (Risks Willpower) (9 Again, WillPower)		3, 2, 9, 5, 4, 2, 4, 4, 4		1 success

"Jebediah Matthews. Trailer 13, Gateway Park, South Sacramento."

Hunter Risks Willpower. However, as the resistance roll failed this will be counted as a Dramatic Failure on the part of the Hunter to resist Aaron's influence.

[Aaron van Valen]

The Priscus of Lords notices the changes in behavior of his subject. He smiles, proudly having used the power of his blood.

I win.

The elaborate answer indicates that in fact, his power must have been overwhelming. Aaron quickly looks at Clara. He was pretty sure she could just interfere if she wanted to. But he could also still leave the two together, a bit later on. Either way, he carries out the first part of their plan.

First he produces the picture and the list from his pocket. After every question, he gives the hunter a chance to answer his question.

'What are the names of these individuals? - Are the Bush Whackers your fellow hunters? - And what is the usual meeting place for them?' Most he should get is information that would give them an advantage at destroying all hunter threats from the Domain. He lets Jebediah read the list, 'Why is this one location left unmarked? What still has to be done there?'

[Yumyumcrow]

Jed the Hunter sighed quietly.

"Uh huh. Yup. That was our little group. That was Moretti. Jonas... He was totally fucked up. Ain't heard anything since he was carted off to that street doctor, Culpepper so I guess he gone ghost from his wounds and what not. Cochrane's the hot chick of the outfit. Loves her bomb making. Lindasfarne is a safe cracker from Europe or so he says. McGregor... cute chick... she's our medic... Think she gave up her schooling for the Hunt. Giuseppe is our big contact with the underworld. He gets the guns and the gear from the black market."

He fiddles with the photo.

"That leaves the outsiders. Laxalt was the weird ass swordsman. Moretti vouched for him, so I figure he was okay. Damn tough in a fight with that broad sword of his. And Jerry Game the fucking ex-porn star. I still don't know who he leaned on to get in; he's as bad as the fucking monsters! Sorcerer my ass!"

Moretti was a big guy, chunky and massive in a Bandanna. Given the stories circulating from the other Kindred, he is already dead. Jonas was hale and hearty but otherwise unexceptional. Cochrane was a pale woman with flaming hair. Despite his name, Lindasfarne looked surprisingly mediterranean in aspect; he had a big moustache and shoulder length black hair. McGregor was a cute, squishy, voluptuous woman who would have looked better at a party than with her comrades-in-arms. Gieuseppe had a tan and wore a cheap suit; he was attempting to look professional in the photo. Laxalt was tall and spare with a shock of wild hair, eyes hollow and feverish. Jerry Game could have been a model if his looks hadn't been sullied by dissipation; he stared at the photographer as if completely bored.

"We bought a small house <here> in West Sacramento by the river. It was peaceful there."

Jed laughed weakly. "We had help from the Tribulation Militia. They'd been fighting satanic fang's all through the Central Valley. Joined with us to be rid of the fang's nested in the Old Maitland Junkyard. The pact was all friendly till they decided to set up shop in our back yard. So what were we doing? Ha! We were wiping off their tags. Bastards think they can roll into Elk Grove and lay claim to the place. So they can cleanse it or some shit! My ass! It was Moretti's idea. The others are too chicken shit to make a stand."