Sacramento at Night

[Gage Lioncourt]

Gage is out for a leisurely stroll downtown on a Friday night; late enough for sky to be black, early enough that plenty of bleeders are still out and about. Walking slowly, his hands in his pockets, he casually glances upwards to Milton Tower a few times, quietly debating his avenues of approach. On a long enough timeline, anyone can accomplish anything, and Gage will have that tower. He ponders if any kindred within the city has targeted the building as well. He hopes that no court officers have, but anyone else... well, all's fair in love and war. Gage had been walking for the better part of an hour now, and thought it odd that he hadn't yet crossed another Kindred this evening. His whole purpose this evening was to start getting his finger on the pulse.. or lack thereof, of this city.

[Gage Lioncourt]

Bookkeeping

[Quinn Durant]

Quinn stepped out of some shops, her purchases hanging from both of her arms. She was laughing with the owner of the shop. "Thank you so much for staying open late for me. I really appreciate it. The scent is perfect. Exactly as I remmebered it to smell. You are such a genius!" Quinn gushed to the owner of the Perfumery. Quinn hustled out of the shop smiling to herself. She had felt the urge to shop. And shop she did.

Quinn was dressed in a dark brown soft looking leather jacket, with a black lace designer top with a built in bustier, tucked into a supple looking black leather skirt that fell just past her knees. She wore a pair of strappy heels that were definitely more for summer than winter, or in the world of women's fashion gorgeous look over practicality. Quinn's hair was styled in a messy fishtail braid she wore over her shoulder. Her lip a splash of rich red. The smoky eye enhancing the sparkling hazel eyes she had.

Quinn felt pretty good. She had drank deep from an extremely hot and sensitive vetrinarian. Celebratory of course. The new city had been treating her well. Sure, there was some psycho stalking her and killing the people she feeds from, but hey.....like Jennifer had said, she got to join the Elite of the city. If she lived long enough to enjoy it. Quinn decided to walk and take a look at the lights on the tower. Imagining it would look nice, and it was here that all the feel goods evaporated as Quinn's beast came face to face with Gauge's beast. Out in the big wide world. This was not Elysium, and she didn't know his face. He had never been to court....as she drew a few more steps near the truth began to dawn on her.....

[Gage Lioncourt]

Gage rounds a corner and finds himself face to face with a stranger... and not a stranger. Gage barely contains his face from snarling as Demon surges forward.
She can be yours, you know. She couldn't stop us if she wanted to. We are glorious - she'd be so lucky. And look at you - you're actually not hideous. Be glad you kept your face and don't have to wear mine!
Gage locks eyes with her and nearly calls upon his Eternal Gaze reflexively, but manages to control himself. Instead, he tries to place this familiarity. The Beasts were strangers, but the faces weren't. He knew her from somewhere...

"..Quinn?"

That's it. They'd been to college together. And her beauty then was lost on him, the way her beauty is lost on him now. It's not that he doesn't acknowledge it - she is beautiful. Very beautiful. In fact, dangerously so. He feels a tug of mortality; once, he was attracted to her. Now, its no more than a statement of fact in his brain. He acknowledges her charm indeed, but its no more profound on him than a particularly nice car. And in that moment, he understands the cost of immortality at the price feeling. Indeed, the Crimson Gold that flows from mortals has replaced all desire that he once knew.

[Quinn Durant]

Her lips parted in surprise for a moment before she recovered her senses. She simply stared at him for a few seconds. The shock caught her off balance just enough to let the silnece stretch as her mind supplied memories. So many memories that included Gage. Most were fun and light hearted, except for a few that had strayed into more deep discussion territory. Like her family situation. A fact that stood out like an exclamation point in her mind. The fact that she was actually Egyptian. A fact she didn't want anyone to know as it would no doubt connect to the sire and her past.

"Good evening, Gage."

He was older than she remembered, though Quinn had always been rather baby faced, there were signs of age as well. She found her lips curling into a smile. Nostalgia was a real pain in the ass. In that moment she felt the horror of the truth hit her. The moment was so bittersweet.

No...no no. It's all wrong! He should be married, happily even, some gorgeous blond to compliment his brunette. He should have 3 kids in private school, and Gage was working on his 3rd mid life crisis sports car. To see the fantasy she had held in her mind so far from the reality saddened her deeply. She never would wish this upon another. Especially not one as charming as Gage. He had always been a little reserved at times, I mean good breeding and all, but this was not the idyllic sweet thoughts she had had.

"I am just a little taken aback, I guess. I always pictured you living a different sort of life. Not to say our mutual corporation doesn't have its benefits but, its not the same is it. I am the head of my work group, here in Sacremento. A part of the official landscape, so to speak."


​

[Gage Lioncourt]

The sadness in Gage registers as even a foreign feeling; almost as if his body is telling him what it should feel like, to feel sad, but doesn't experience the emotion as truly as he once did. The bitterness regarding the absence of that, however, is real.

"I don't know how many of us do get to choose this life. I guess the best way I could describe it easily would be shallow glamour. Enough to feel shiny, not enough to sate your desires."

Gage sees the several bags she's carrying, and offers an arm.
"Allow me to maintain some dignity and help you with these?"

"Head of your work group, are you? I answer to some, am answered to by others. Currently, I'm looking at my avenues of approach to the Milton. Like a chess game, though, I need to consider all my moves, and it may take a while. Not that I don't have it to spare."

Does she mean that she's a Priscus? Beautiful and ambitious.

[Quinn Durant]

Quinn watched him a few heartbeats, and nodded a bit, all the while that sharp mind of hers was rifling through memories. Quinn chuckled a bit and nodded.

"That's an apt description for it. Contentment breeds complacency, Gage. We cannot have that?! Now can we?" She said with that winning smile of hers. Quinn winked at him and unloaded all but two of the bags. She carried one in each hand, and allowed him to manage the rest.

"The Milton? Ahhh yes. I would accuse you of compensating for something, but that's not really an issue that matters to those like us, anyway. I guess if you have to put your money and wits to something a fine office/home area is as good as any temporal goal. Huh..."

She muttered the last and peered up at him with a wicked smile. "So basically you want to be like Milton from "Devil's Advocate." I remember how much you liked that movie, but I guess life imitates art. Doesn't it Gage?"

"Well, I take it you are staying then? In fair Sacremento? Currently I am residing in a communal thing with the only boni fide cowboy in town. All the better to run our experiments and studies from my dear. "

She attempted to lightly hint as to her Covenant at least.

[Gage Lioncourt]

"We certainly can't."

Gage takes the bags gracefully, and walks shoulder to shoulder with Quinn.

"Be like Milton? Please; I inspired Milton!" Gage quotes Al Pacino,"Vanity - definitely my favorite sin! Besides... what is a Lord without a Castle, hmm?"

"I am staying in town, indeed. I have a few business ventures across the globe, but I think headquartering here is probably what will suit me best. My Corporation has a strong hold in Sacramento, so it seems fitting."

His tone takes a more serious note, and the volume drops outside of mortals hearing.

"Any news from home? Allow me to be perfectly candid; we knew each other before our change, and know each other now. If you ask me, that's worth some loyalty. If you run into trouble, you need only ask."

[Quinn Durant]

Quinn laughed with him at his impression. "True. It's just sad with no castle to look down on all of us peons."
She pursed her lips slightly, and grinned wickedly, deliberately ribbing him about his clan.

"Hmmm. What kind of business, Gage? I've been looking to invest some money. My club schedule is going to keep me quite busy, and my day jobs are really dragging on me. Time to think of the future. You of all people would understand my unique needs better than a traditional 9 to 5 lifestyle dullard in finance."

She paused a moment and when he lowered his tone and spoke under his breath, she shook her head gently, and tapped her full lips one time.

"Not out here, but I hear you, and I feel the same. Just remember one thing, Gage. Loyalty is easy to espouse when nothing is at stake. We will see then where your loyalties lie when it costs you something. Me? I've been busy wearing my many hats. C'mon, I just so happen to be in a celebrating mood tonight, and rented one of the best views in the city. We can talk with confidence there?"

[Gage Lioncourt]

"I hold a law degree from Berkely, but really I'm in the finance game - in addition to a rather lucrative portfolio, I also like to buy companies for pennies on the dollar. If they are particularly successful, I may maintain them and collect dividends; otherwise, I'm more interested in liquidating to bolster my portfolio. I could certainly get you started, if investing is something you're interested in. Show you how the business works, and then show you how to manipulate that to your whims."

Gestures ahead, "Well then, dearest, after you." With a smile, he says sarcastically, "These bags are getting heavy."