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Mariel parked her car in the underground parking garage, and looked around for hidden minions and Circe's crap-for-van. She parked as far away from the elevator up as she could; hopefully Circe wouldn't see the little sportscar.
Maybe Circe thought she'd taken care of the situation, though, and wouldn't bother Mariel again. Sure hope so.
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Heathcliff sits a little bit taller, quite flattered that she thought he'd be an asset in a fight. "That woman tried to hurt you tonight? Why?" He also took the opportunity to look around before he exits the vehicle.
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She didn't just try....let me show you. Mariel pulls Heathcliff over to show him the car with its hood smashed in.
Mariel feels a little nervous. Come on, let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps. She looks longingly at the elevator.
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Heathcliff inspects the hood, then looks back at Mariel with admiration. Amazing what you can survive, once your dead, he thinks. "Shall we?" He places a protective hand upon the small of her back and walks her briskly toward the elevator, his eyes darting back and forth among the parked cars.
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Mariel is relieved to be headed upstairs, and she is very aware of Heathcliff's hand lightly touching her back. She smiles to herself. She pushes the Lobby button, and they get out on the first floor.
We'll walk the rest of the way, she tells Heathcliff before they get out. Fewer surveillance cams.
The lobby is beautiful, fully restored from it's 1920's-era glory. Mariel tries hard to act cool and casual as they ascend the stairs to her second-floor room. She fumbles in her handbag for the keycard.
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Heathcliff takes in the ambience of the renovated hotel. "It's a charming place," he remarks, and he continues scanning the hallway as Mariel looks for her keycard.
Ok, here we are. Home sweet temporary home! The room is deluxe and has a single king size bed, a small desk with wireless internet access, tv, small chest of drawers. All the furniture is vintage 1920's- solid deco-style wood furniture. There is a small table with two chairs, and a surprisingly large bathroom. Mariel has brought another bag up from the trunk of her car, and she hangs up a garment bag. Do you mind if I change into something more appropriate? she asks.
"Not at all," Heathcliff says, grinning from ear to ear. He takes a seat at the table while he waits for her, and looks about the room. It's very tasteful.
Just to be a tease, Mariel takes her bag with her to the bathroom and almost closes the door, leaving it open just a crack. She re-emerges in a spaghetti-strap sleep top and pants in a pretty sage green. She's not wearing a bra under the top, very intentionally. Ok, so how does this work? she asks. Have you ever taught anyone before?
Wow is all Heathcliff can think, and it takes him a moment to recover. "Uhh..no, you'll be my first student. I should tell you now that you won't learn to hide your Beast tonight. That comes after you've mastered the first lesson- how to hide an object. My sire told me that those with a talent for theiving are better at this part, which I unfortunately do not possess. However, my ability is sufficient to demonstrate it for you, and teach you the principle behind it." He nervously waits to see how she reacts to the bad news.
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((ST Note: Heathcliff can roll Manipulation + Expression to try to convey the basic concepts and successfully activate Obfuscate 1 while she watches and he talks her through it. Mariel can roll Int + Occult at -3 to grasp what he's saying. If those succeed, Mariel can purchase the first dot of Obfuscate when she has the necessary 7 xp (dot 1 of out-of-clan discipline), assuming continued tutoring and practice until such time as she makes the purchase.
Alternately, if Heathcliff shares a drop of his blood with her as he activates Ob 1, she can try to pick up the necessary Vitae changes with Wits + Occult at -2. This requires him to successfully activate the power himself as well. The single drop of Vitae is not enough to create Vinculum, but if Mariel tries this method multiple times in the same night, she may have to roll (with significant bonuses) to avoid that. ))
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Oh. Well. Mariel is disappointed. Baby steps, though, right? I'm game if you are, she says, sitting cross-legged on the big bed.
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Heathcliff watches Mariel cross her legs with great interest, sighs slightly, then leans forward in his chair, but doesn't yet relax. "Alright then. I'll try to explain it to you, but if you want to get past this lesson to move to the next, you'll have to learn the same way I did. You'll have to drink a bit of my blood as I use the Discipline, and feel the way it changes." He spies a complimentary sewing kit on a dresser, and gets up to pick it up.
"This is a classy place, most places don't give these away anymore." He removes the needle and places it on the table. Then he turns his back to her, takes one of the buttons from kit, covering it completely with his palm so that she will not see what, exactly, he's putting in his pocket. He leaves his hand there, over the button, and turns back to her with his best, uneven smile.
"Well, Mariel? Are you willing to take the risk?" One look in her eyes, and he knew what her answer would be...
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