Forest Gospel

Oct 7th, 2018 10:00 PM

Tonight Capitol Park is wreathed in a light fog, wisps of which move between its shadowed trees. It’s late enough now that the walkways and greens are empty of the living.

Hugh sits on a bench beneath the orange glow of a lamp. The light seems to float in the fog at the top of its post. Beside him, also on the bench, sits a dog. Hugh’s one eye is focused on nothing in particular, perhaps the concrete path that runs in front of his bench. Perhaps not. Dog, on the other hand, is very much alert: head on a swivel, ears pricked.

What might appear to be a lack of attention on Hugh’s part is something altogether different. He is attempting to prepare himself for his impending appointment, to preemptively calm the Thing Inside. The first time meeting another Stiff is always the worst. And Hugh cannot afford to make a mistake tonight.

He thinks about wind caught in hair the color of honey.

Absent-mindedly, he places a hand on Dog’s head, leaving it there. The dog does not seem to mind.

And so they wait for Mable, Priscus of Savages.

**Mable Wood** · Oct 8th, 2018 11:31 PM

Mable comes from the direction of a back garden, smiling and humming as she walks through the park. She slows her pace as she feels a weaker beast. She allows for her own to adjust before approaching.

"Hi there, Hugh? And who do you have there with you?" Her voice is super friendly sounding and she has a bright smile on her face.

Oct 9th, 2018 04:20 AM

Dog spots Mable first. His low whine brings Hugh to attention. And when his one eye find her, the rage of his Beast is immense. The Thing Inside wants blood. Demands it. Her blood. He almost growls but doesn't. Dog does it for him, if softly.

This inner turmoil is betrayed by a momentary grimace, a deepening of the lines about his mouth. And then he has control again. A smile, weary but sincere, replaces that look of distress.

"Quiet," he shushes the dog before standing, dusting off the oversized black sweater that hangs off his painfully thin form. "That's me," his voice's warmth matching her own. "And you must be Mable. A pleasure."

Hugh gives his four-legged companion a sidelong glance before looking back to Mable, still smiling. "And this is Dog. Don't mind him. He acts tough." Dog is now standing on the bench, no longer growling, but not exactly at ease. Eyes locked on Mable.

"Well. Should we sit or stroll?" Hugh asks. Trying to act casual. Normal. As if two of the living dead weren't meeting for the first time in the middle of the night in a deserted public park.

**Mable Wood** · Oct 9th, 2018 09:57 AM

Mable kept her distance from the dog not wanting to spook him or be attacked, "Dog, nice to meet you, welcome to the family."

Looking back up at Hugh she paused to study him for a moment. His voice was warm and he seemed polite. "Let's walk, the park is really beautiful. So, are you planning to stay around here?" She jumped right into questions, but realized she probably sounded rude. "Sorry, thought I would get any business stuff out of the way right off."

Oct 9th, 2018 01:40 PM

Dog tilts his head with a little sniff. It's not exactly friendly, but not aggressive either.

"Stroll it is," Hugh replies before setting off down the path with Mable. He gives a short, sharp whistle and Dog jumps off the bench to follow, seemingly happy to bring up the rear. "Don't let it bother you if the mutt keeps on your heels," Hugh says with a glance to Mable. "There's herding blood in him. And he's bossy on top of all that."

He's about to answer her question when Mable apologizes. Hugh gives her a puzzled smile, his one eye scrutinizing her with what seems to be good humor. He likes this Stiff right off the bat. A rare thing. Still, he can't help but warn himself: Don't let your guard down, you fool.

"Don't apologize. It's how these things work, right?" He's been through this process a few times in a few different places. And most have been much more uncomfortable than this. Some have involved claws. "I think we're looking to stick around. If only for the beautiful parks," Hugh replies, pausing to watch her reaction to his bad joke. "But let me ask you this: what's here like?"

Typical Gangrel banter: You sticking around? Maybe, what's the lay of the land?

**Mable Wood** · Oct 9th, 2018 04:02 PM

Mable gives him a sweet smile, "The parks here are beautiful. I work with the Urban Forestry Project and help maintain the trees in many of the parks and the cemeteries."

She glances at Dog. "Bossy, huh. I like a good herder. Does he ever let others pet him?" She was just itching to give him some loving scratches and pets.

Then she turned her mind back to business, "It's good around here. So far it has been one of my favorite areas to live. Lots of beautiful areas to wander around in and the night life is pretty awesome from what the others have said. I tend to be an outdoorsy kinda girl."

She gave a look around to make sure no one else was near, though she figured dog would alert if they were, so she felt she could speak straight out, "The Prince is fair, but strong. She is one of our kind. So, we have good leadership. The others in the umm government are also good people. I have never felt looked down on because of my clan. Also, all covenants are all fine. The Prince is Invictus, but she doesn't expect everyone else to be part of that."

"Where do you come from?" general question she wondered how he would answer it.

Oct 9th, 2018 07:27 PM

A day job? Well, a straight job at least. "Have to say Mable, that's a first. Never met a relative in that line of work. They don't mind the late hours?" It's kind of a joke, but he's actually interested. Anybody who can get by in the breathing world well enough to hold down a job, especially without coercion, has his respect.

“Bossy,” Hugh replies with a nod. "Thinks he knows it all. But he listens." The blood helps.

Stopping, he turns to the dog. "Sit." Dog sits. "Behave yourself," he warns. Dog's ears perk and he tilts his head.

"Go on, give him a pat. He won't bite." If he knows what's good for him.

Hugh nods along to the pitch about the city’s natural attractions. But that’s not what he’s really interested in. He’s more concerned with the unnatural landscape. And Mable gets to that soon enough. “Well. A Savage in charge, huh? I’ll be damned.” He’s been around long enough and never seen it. That’s two firsts tonight. Count 'em.

Could be nice. Could be awful. He’s under no illusions about his clan mates and their less-than-savory foibles. Still, it’s new. Which is something.

The rest he absorbs silently, with an attentive look. Perhaps there’s a quirk of his brow when she mentions the velvet glove of the Sacramento Invictus, but no comment is passed. Finally, he responds: “Sounds ideal.” Or maybe too good to be true.

“Me? I’ve been all over. Originally from Massachusetts. But Dog and I are coming direct from Vancouver at the moment.” A pause. “How about you? Sacramento native?” She could certainly pass for a California girl. Not that he’s known many of those.

**Mable Wood** · Oct 10th, 2018 09:52 AM

"They don't mind my hours at all. There is quite a bit of work they would rather have done after hours or in the cooler part of the day. And after I explain about having diabetes and needing to keep my body on the same sleep schedule to keep it under control, well, I never have issues with anyone about it." She shrugged her shoulders.

Her eyes twinkled when he had Dog sit and welcomed her over to pat him. She approached slowly but with confidence, Holding her hand out for him to sniff. "Hi Dog, I'm Mable." After he sniffed her hand she then rubbed his face and carefully moved to his head and behind the ears. "You are a very good boy. Thank you for letting me pet you."

She straightened up and smiled at Hugh with a bright happy smile, "And thank you for letting me pet him."

"Yes, Alessandra Antinori is the Prince. An important item of note with her in charge, she believes in negotiations before fighting if possible. But fight hard if we need to. She asks that kindred i the domain pledge allegiance to her and the domain. Her laws are straightforward and simple. If you decide you want to stay I will have you read through them."

Mable pauses and considers, "About me, well I'm from all over. I have traveled quite a bit taking care of trees and learning about them. I worked in the Brazilian rain forest for a while. Most recently I was working with the giant red woods. This is really the first time I have spent much time in a city area with others. I used to be by myself a lot deep in the woods." She closed her eyes for a moment thinking, "Even before I evolved, I was raised by my dad and brother who were both lumberjacks so it's in my blood."

"Do you have any specific questions about the area or the people?"

**unlimited sink** · Oct 10th, 2018 05:58 PM

Disregard! Posted from wrong account.

Oct 10th, 2018 06:01 PM

“Diabetes, huh?” The one-eyed man chuckles, a warm sound in the back of his throat. “Good pull.” Somehow he doubts it’s the whole story. But who’s he to judge.

Dog gives her hand a sniff and permits the pats before pulling away, darting ahead of them by a few feet. Looking back as if to say, What’s the hold up?

All of which gets another laugh out of Hugh. “Don’t thank me. I just feed him.” He looks back at Dog. “I think we better keep moving before he gets upset,” he adds, starting off again.

“Well. Alessandra Antinori sounds sensible enough.” Hugh is not possessed of anything approaching bloodlust. Though he is subject to a mighty thirst like any other Stiff. Whether he likes it or not.

“I’d expect nothing less, this is her city,” he replies to the statement concerning allegiance. Always, wherever he goes, it’s allegiance. Good thing words are wind, as they say. “And I would be happy to take a look at her laws, whenever you have a chance to provide them,” he says. Mr. Keeping, model citizen.

“Brazil?” Hugh asks, incredulous. “How about it? Beat the states?” What’s the hunting like? he almost asks. If there’s one thing he shares with his Family, it’s the desire to travel. To keep moving. To see and, yes, taste other places.

But then Mable says something that simply puzzles him: “Evolved?” He can’t help but repeat, dumbly. “Like, this?” he strikes his chest with a fist, almost in disgust. It’s an outlandish concept to him, that becoming a Stiff would be some sort of evolution.

At the moment, that’s his only question.

Forest Gospel

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