Davis senses the crowd and the pull of those heading to another section of the party. The Quiet Zone. His beast senses the presence of weaker predators in the crowd. They obviously feel his but in such a mass of bodies would they be able to single him out and more importantly recognize him. Maintaining his cover, he moves with the crowd toward the new area, careful to spot the bat symbol.
Really, before he can do much of anything, Theo's phone buzzes. Checking it, he makes a disgusted face and withdraws from the event. Brucie would have to simply endure without his presence.
I've got a lot on my plate and it's put worms in my brain that's keeping me from posting in vamp, so I'm pulling Theo for the foreseeable future. Sorry for wasting everyone's time. Good hunting!
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Ashley Cohen follows the Eatern European into the Quiet Zone. The conversations become muted and the booths turn each group of Kine inward. Privacy is almost assured. The Lord spies Lina Moretti settling down with a group that surrounds Jerry Game.
And then Eastern European ducks down a side passage, barely visible in the gloom. Carefully scrawled on the wall is a little bat symbol leading the way. If she had not been alerted to the fact, she might have missed it. And then another. And another. Until Ashley was led into a side passage lit only by the warm glow of a paraffin lamp. Two figures stood in the baroque gloom: all relatively young; all dressed in leather and jeans. They might have been a new trend, had it not been for the gleam in their eyes.
"Brucie plays host tonight. It just us." East Europe announces.
"You bought a friend? More the merrier." A well toned woman speaks.
"Glad to see he is finally asking for outside help. Setting up a new chapter is... boring." This from a man who could have been a hipster in any other setting. Here he was a kind of lanky sinister. "I wanna do some shit."
"Brucie says that there is a bone fide albino alligator in the sewers. But I don't think we can wait that long. You in?"
John Davis spotted Ashley as she vanished into the well hidden side passage. With a little mental gymnastics he could work out that the passage where the hidden meeting was taking place would lead directly to where he discovered the Plague Cat locked away.
Lina Moretti question elicited a flurry of slowly drawn out responses from the group. If the Daeva cared to, she had an opportunity to work out a great deal about the... acting... scene in Sacramento. Through it all Jerry Game leaned comfortably to one side like a benevolent god, murmuring responses when it seemed appropriate to do so.
Eventually bored, the faded star leaned in. "Well now that we are all acquainted, what say we make things more... interesting?"
@Clare E. Verne was still with the little group near the bar.
Anaemic Dude blinks. "Art? Well. Yeah. I guess." He chuckles and is looking at the Daeva curiously. "Shame you get shy."
Coughing Guy sniggers, smoke pooling around him.
Bubbly Voluptuous. "Art? Oh it is Art, honey! Shy? Oh yeah, we can work on that! Who knows what Brucie does! I mean, he makes all these parties! He gets in the good stuff! But its not like he parties. I mean, he parties... But not like all the time. I think he is, like, introverted because he has to take a lot of me time. Oh wow! Here he is!"
A flurry of sound and movement. Bruce Harcourt had arrived. See him: tanned, garish white toothed smile, zebra print suit - spats on his shoes. Already some of the other groups are flocking to him as he makes his bold entrance.
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Davis reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper and unfolded a small map of Old Sacramento that he had doodled notes on. Which way does that passage go? It took Davis only a moment to realize he had brought an older map that he had not yet updated with his recent discoveries.
Davis pondered a second if the Ashley would need assistance or would the other Kindred present. No kindred should face down a hunter alone. With his mind made up, Davis put the map back in his pocket and headed toward the direction of the secret passage. Only to sidestep away from the passage on the entrance of Harcourt.
Taking a position a few feet from the passage, Davis would wait and see how Harcourt's entrance would play out and then fall in behind him. Flanking your prey was a better strategy.
Reaching in his pocket, Davis sent a quick text to those he felt would be interested on the new burner phone he had acquired to replace his hacked one.
It wasn't about the scene or the words. It was about the feelings, and the feelings she had evoked had made the group talk and open up and give a modicum of temporary trust that would be what Moretti needed to work her way in and get the information she needed.
Game finally tired of his games, though, and went to swell the progress. Lina gave a wry, playful smile. "Lets. What'cha have in mind?"
Play the part. She belonged here, a new disciple of the great God Game.
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Striking Looks
PresenceClara was about to chalk this up as a slow night, when fortune brought Bruce into the mix. The Kindred had the Devil's luck tonight. She took a moment to take her measure of him, and then applied her critical investigator's eye to the man. His clothes, his walk, the way he stood. Anything that could be gleaned without speaking with him could prove crucial.
She then stretched and re-focused on the group huddled around the hookah. She waved away a bit of smoke, coyly smiling at Anaemic Dude. "Shame you ain't trying to help me get over that." She stifled a chortle and said, "Makes me think you're not even interested."
Bubbly Voluptuous was at an 11 and radiating with unrestrained energy. Clara couldn't decide if seeing Bruce was exciting her or if the hookah was laced with something. "How long's it been since you seen him?" Clara asked idly. "How long's it been since he's seen you?"
Gen Percep on Bruce 2 suxx
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Presence
Striking Looks
Blood Potency
With a smile draped across her lips, the Lord's eyes danced between them. [COLOR="#EE82EE"]"What did you have in mind?"[COLOR]
Information going in to this whole Underground party had been rather fleeting. Still, she picked up key words uttered by the bunch. There seemed to be some familiarity with the host, at least more so than what Ashley possessed. Beyond that, the chapter thing caught her ears. Were they bikers or some shit?
It was always strange trying to extrapolate information, as there were always tidbits that didn't quite seem to fit. Case and point; Albino Alligator and how its' presence could play into what they had planned and how they could continue on with the plan without the alligator. Ashley didn't have one shred of insight into that conundrum.
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Bruce Harcourt is the focus of the party now, a knot of energy drawing everyone to him. The Hunter is so focussed on putting his stamp on the party that he fails to notice any of the Kindred in the chamber at all. He is a whirl of meeting and greeting, posing at the bar with... friends. In every way, he is like the over-the-hill director who has become a socialite and lost in his own bubble world. The Colonel can easily fall behind. No one notices him.
Clara E. Verne is watching Brucie too. The teeth and tan are fake. The clothing is overblown and no doubt over priced. But Bruce Harcourt moves like he is decades younger than his apparent age and the way his clothes hang suggest his body is toned and well maintained. It might all be vanity - but this man is also a Hunter. She gets a good look as Bruce passes by her little group and chats with Bubbly Voluptuous and Anaemic Dude. About catching up and congratulations on work well done.
When he has gone to the bar, Anaemic Dude resumes his conversation with Clara. "Well. I didn't say I wasn't willing to assist you shed that shyness... Have you ever done any modelling before?" There was a gleam of mischief in his eye. If she had expected a lecherous leer the Daeva was to be disappointed: Anaemic Dude was enjoying the prospect clearly, but without a hint of malice or treachery.
"You are shocking!" Bubbly Volutuous realised that she was no longer the centre of attention, and playfully slapped Anaemic Dude. "He'll turn you into a cheap celebrity if you let him you know. Look what he did to me!"
"Oh. I was doing tables in L.A. They - that is him and Brucie - spotted me and got me my big break. I worked with them for what? A year or so, then got into theatre and some other stuff. Brucie then had to move to San Francisco because of... stuff. I moved out to the Central Valley which was closer to a couple of the smaller studios I was working for. And now we are back together."
Lina Moretti is still with Jerry Game and his crew.
"Ah well! Have you tried... This?" Game snapped his fingers at a passing wait staff. They vanished and reappeared with an effeminate little clutch, which Game took in his dextrous fingers. "I figured Bruce would be the best for the old party poppers. So I bought enhancements. We got the snow... now mix and match!"
From the bag came small bundles of drugs and other things: a sachet of ash; a packet of sliced mushrooms; what looked like hair; a bag of balled rice that had been soaked in something sticky, viscous, and crimson.
The fallen star grin wickedly when his little crowd drew back in confusion and perhaps a little disgust.
"Or. You know. You can just do coke or LSD. Whatever."
Over in the tunnels, Ashley Cohen receives guarded feral grins by way of reply.
"If Bruce wants to party, fine. We. We shall hunt!" East Europe boasts.
"We can at least take a look for this albino alligator. Partying is only good so often. And I really want to do shit."
"He's been having me stockpile supplies. We got enough for a run of our own. He won't notice anything missing."
"And thanks to you, we know the other chapters agree! It is time!"
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The salty Daeva leaned forward, looking interested, looking unafraid. Here was the goods. Was that blood? She grinned at him, all intrigued-like. "Ooh..." Not scared, not boring like the others. Two could play this game, Jerry... and the fact that he had what she figured was a rice ball of Blood made her wonder just where he was getting it from. Did this asshole have a captive?
Because if he was handing out Vitae as a drug and addicting people to it, that had to end.
"Ashes, hair and... is that blood? How do they... enhance it?"
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