Watchstanders - Fieldwork

[Otto Schneider]

Reverend Otto Schneider was fortunate enough to have his own Herd to feed from. They were a gaggle of idealistic, good-natured acquaintances that didn't realize that their Bible Studies group was little more than a way for him to means for the Ventrue to monitor livestock. But the Priest was well-aware that not every Kindred had steady access to Vitae, and that hunting for prey had become slightly more difficult in recent nights. It wasn't too long ago that he had encountered one of the patrols advising people to avoid strangers.

Now, he actually wanted to find one of these groups. It had become clear that the patrols were not as small-scale or short-term as he had originally assumed so he wanted to gather information. And, at least for the moment, the simplest way forward seemed to be straight ahead. So, the Lord had simply picked a route along one of the neighborhoods that the patrols had last been seen at and started walking. He'd thrown what was essentially his only set of casualwear, the same t-shirt, slacks, leather jacket, and tennis shoes he had worn to the flower garden. While he didn't care to be seen in it by most other Kindred, Otto knew that walking around in a full suit in the dead of night would probably raise more questions from

As he saw it, trying to get more information directly from the source was more efficient than sitting around and waiting for an opportunity to present itself. At the moment, he was loitering outside a convenience store and checking his phone for news updates. If there's a headline along the lines of 'neighborhood watch arrested for assaulting walkers at night', I don't think I'd be surprised.

[Otto Schneider]

Bookkeeping

[Seryna]

Otto walked around the area. There were people moving around on their daily lives, bright and quick. Many people were checking cell phones and stepping away from others to make a phone call. Yet Otto notes that people are pausing and embracing and the little bits of human interaction in the light. The dark alleyways and dark spots are not stepped into. This problem seems to have grown since Otto witnessed the Kine organizing a group. Time had marched on. People seemed to have learned something different than the stories and campfire tales passed down from their ancestors. What have they been told?

As he looks at the people, he sees groups of two, three and a few of six. The nightlife is occasionally laced by vehicles driving past. This was an area where people came together over drinks, to socialize or to meet their other needs. He does not see the woman who spoke to Helen. Otto does note a dark haired man wearing a headset with two other women, who wear radios on belts. The three stand under a streetlight, bathed in light. People pass by them, as they are in a central area. One of the women holds a lit votive candle, the glass jar wrapped with yellow and blue design.

What does Otto do?

[Otto Schneider]

Otto's attention was drawn to the small group with radio equipment. He approached, though he warily eyed the votive candle. At least it's not exposed. As commendable as it is to make an offering to the Lord, why must people insist on involving fire? The Priest managed to keep the disdain from seeping into his voice as he addressed the small group. "Hey. Nice night." He greeted them casually.

The Priscus had his hands stuffed into his pockets, trying to approximate the same sort of casual posture he'd possessed so many decades ago as a mortal man. Ironically, years of molding his behavior to the exacting standards of an Invictus Sire meant that it took a concerted effort to appear relaxed. "So... are you guys with those safety patrols?" He was trying to play dumb ant provoke some kind of reaction. Sometimes just giving a person the opportunity to talk about themselves was all you needed for them to spill their life's story.

[Seryna]

The three people look over to Otto. The look is appraising, and Otto may feel that this look is more direct and open than most Kine behave. They are clearly looking over his face, looking at his clothing and appearance. The two women resume casually looking over the area, including observing the behavior of the people nearby. Otto is aware that the two women still look at him about every minute to see what Otto is doing.

The man turns his body to face Otto as Otto addresses the group. He is physically fit and appears confident. "Hey." He greets Otto. "I am Matt. What's your name?" He inquires.
Otto notes that the man devotes his attention to Otto, watching Otto and his expressions.

"Safety patrols? I am a leader in a Neighborhood watch for this area. We have the watch tonight in keeping everyone safe."

"Bravo to Alpha, we have two on Magnolia in shadows. Observing." The radios on the women's hips sound at speaking volume. The headpiece that Matt is wearing appears high quality.
"Alpha to Bravo, heard." One of the women speaks into the radio.

[Otto Schneider]

Otto let out a whistle in an attempt to sound genuinely impressed, eyeing the radio equipment. "Call me Simon," he offered as his alias of choice for the evening. "You guys are pretty well-equipped. You sure you're not cops?" The Ventrue chuckled at his own comment to make it clear it was in jest. "For real, though, they don't make you buy your own equipment, right? That seems like a bit much for a volunteer effort. Which, by the way, good on you for taking time to do this. I don't think I'd have the energy to juggle this and my day job."

Despite the attempts to appear affable, it was hard for the Kindred to completely ignore the little votive candle. It hadn't yet driven the Beast into a rage, but his instincts weren't letting him ignore it completely. "Did, uh... did someone pass recently?" He gestured towards the flickering light in its jar. The Priest adjusted his tone to be slightly more respectful, in contrast to the 'affable to the point of annoyance' routine he had exhibited mere moments beforehand.

[Seryna]

"Cops?" The woman speaks now, glancing over at Otto.
"It's just stuff you can find in high end places."

"Hey Simon. Uh, we have what we need. Do you need to speak to the Watch about something, Simon?" Matt is looking at Otto."Have you spotted something unusual? Unnatural?"
"Oh, yeah. We found something very unusual last week. This one guy was being real pushy about not listening when we suggested not walking off into dark alleyways while looking deeply into some woman's eyes. We lit our lighters in his face to get a good picture for I.D., and he freaked out. Picture sucked, too."
"Girl had no idea who he was, turns out." The women said in a confidential voice. "Probably would have regretted going home with him in the cold light of day. That's why we're here - helping people think over their decisions and giving them someone else to blame if they don't want to go off into the dark with someone who they barely know.
And the weirdo abductors.
Just tonight, we found someone slurping all over someone who was out of it down at that bar. This stuff is not going to fly anymore."

Matt is running his finger over something in his hand as he talks to you. You notice that it is a torch lighter.

[Otto Schneider]

"Yeah, 'high-end' is kind of my point." Otto said with a smirk. "You guys are really going all-in on this stuff, must really care about the community."

He shrugged at Matt's question. "Nothing to report, that I can think of. I mean, I've heard some stuff about the local park, but that's more like teenagers bothering people and ghost stories." Even as he answered, the Ventrue's mind was rapidly piecing together the information that the kine were giving him. It was sounding like they had scared off a Kindred looking to feed, but he couldn't tell if they were aware of it. "To be fair, I think having a lighter shoved in your face after you've had a few drinks would scare a lot of people."

The Priest pretended to give the woman's words deep consideration as he stroked his chin. "I guess there's no harm in that. Like, sure, some lovebirds might find it annoying but if the alternative is... well..." His eyes were drawn towards the lighter and he knew the Beast would get spooked if they decided to spark it. Otto managed to keep his calm, but he was still wary of it. "When you say, 'slurping' on some- actually, I don't think I want to know that much, but what'd you do with the creep?"

[Seryna]

The woman frowns at Otto.

"People are being abducted. There has been murder." Matt stated. "We care about our neighbors.
Would it? I do not think so."
"Kristen came with her sister and the hooded him, cuffed him and threw him in the van. To run tests. No. That is not what Kristen said." One of the women speaks. "There are real monsters. True creatures of horror - and the flame exposes them. Hauls their sins out to daylight."
"Yes, that is what we're going to do. Haul them into daylight."Spoke the second woman.
"Bravo to Alpha, we have someone at the Grove Apartment who was attempting to walk into the apartment with the woman. They are resisting being separated for questions. He is attempting to simply walk out. He is Black, with natural hair about two inches -"
As she speaks, you realize that she is describing Mr. Jake over the radio.

[Otto Schneider]

"Sorry," the Priest said to Matt, "I didn't mean it in a bad way. Really, it's a good thing to look out for people like that." Otto tried to sound genuine as he attempted to assuage him.

The name 'Kristen' immediately grabbed his attention, and it took considerable concentration on his part not to show any physical reaction to it. If it was the same women he had met before, together with how they were talking about 'real monsters', these people were far more dangerous than he had suspected. "You don't mean Kristen Post, do you?" His voice was a little less excited and exaggerated compared to before. I have to play this very carefully.

The fact that they were possibly about to capture a fellow Kindred was alarming, but the Ventrue held firm and said nothing about it. He had to try to thread the needle first. "See, I met a woman named Kristen who helped me out with something... unnatural. So, I'm wondering if we might have a mutual friend."