Eyes on the Street

[Yumyumcrow]

The seasons turn and winter passes into spring. As the days lengthen, the nights shorten. As the hours of darkness become perceptibly less, the pressure mounts on the Kindred to conclude their nightly business with speed and efficiency. Now its either hunt or something else: visit the Nox, attend to business, indulge in pleasure; but never more than one thing at a time.

And the Nox is closed tonight.

The street is an ornate waste, barren of people, and burned under the harsh light of street lamps. A short walk away is the quiet heart of the city and the immaculate park is now lost in shadow. The alley's beyond the bright boulevard's are the haven of the destitute and the lost.

But on this night, a pall of silence and solitude hangs over the central business district. For a Kine this might be a pleasant night. For the walking dead its... dead boring.

A wasted night and a waste of precious Vitae. Or is it?

See there! - almost out sight down that broad alley (a service passage for trucks shipping in goods to feed the ravenous clubs - An unfamiliar sedan is parked. Too close for comfort and at this early hour in the dark morning? Is it something to worry about or just a random event?

And so begins a new plot for those who wish it. Please enjoy

[Mable Wood]

Mable was strolling down the street looking at the sickly trees placed on the sidewalks. They just didn't have enough room for the roots. She would have to recommend a different type of tree for this area in her next report. As she wandered the area she looked down alley ways to check for ... well just to be nosey and get familiar with her surroundings. Down one alley where she usually saw trucks delivering crap she saw a car which looked out of place. Curious, she crept closer sticking to the walls.

[White]

Each night the amount of material he could comb through lessened. It was a frustrating reality of their condition. He walked, thin blue wires stemming from his ears swaying with every step, the soft electronic whisper of a podcast in his ears.

As per usual, he felt the Beast before he saw it. He grimaced, yanking his earbuds away and absentmindedly pausing the playback while looking for the source. Ah, the newcomer. Time to be nosy. He crossed the street to the alley she seemed to be wandering into. He saw what she must be walking towards, and wondered at the connection.

[Yumyumcrow]

The Kindred slip down the alley, one after the other. It is dim in the baroque deep night of the early hours and the alley was almost a tunnel of shadow till it opened out where the car was parked.

A wan light washed the shadows in an orange glow, draining the car to a colourless grey. It was a gleaming, small, hatchback and even more out of place in the light; large bags sat in shadows on the back seat. Walls and fences crowded around, giving shape to the network of walkways between the buildings. In places, the fences had been reinforced with an extra layer of wire mesh, some of it barbed. The way forward was cluttered with bins and discarded pallets.

A startled cat meowed loudly as it darted this way and that.

Further down the alley and much closer to the Nox there were startled yelp followed by a bang and a thud! Nearby, a length of wire mesh bent and warped: down the alley, something heavy had tried to scale a fence and had obviously failed.

[Mable Wood]

Mable crept on... She heard the approach of someone behind her. she slid into a shadow behind the bins. Peeking around she saw it was one of the guys from court. "Pssst." She hissed, and grabbed him in as he got close. "Hi- what are you doing here?" she whispered in his ear.

When the cat meows-Mable gave a slight start, pressing herself into Jaccob. Mable smells like fresh air and tree sap. Then she heard and saw the wire fence move. "Shit. what was that?"

[White]

He raised an eyebrow, "reenacting the long walk." He half drawled dryly. His eyes flicked at the noise, and spoke softly -- "and what you are doing here will have to wait." He brushed past her approaching the source of the noise to investigate. Hunters had been in the city recently, he didn't want to be paranoid but there was some very real concern.

[Yumyumcrow]

Jacob brushes past Mable and heads deeper into the alley.

By now there are new noises to follow: yelping, grunting, scuffling. As the alley reaches the workman's entrance of the Nox, the Dragon finds the man. He is in a most compromised position, flopped on his belly and caught between two large bins; his head is bleeding and bruising up nicely from where he fell; one leg is stretched taut, caught between the rusted barbs of wire mesh running on top of an old and buckled fence. His black bag is tantalisingly out of reach. His coat has become a distended wing, snagged by the vicious fence in his fall.

His struggle is only making his predicament worse.

Metallic scent of blood is teasing the air.

"Aw fuck..." The man huffs, his eyes rolling. Grunting in pain he tries to extricate himself again, to no avail. Squirming with a grimace, he turns to Jacob.

"Hey!" Totally false smile.

Mable Psychangel and Jax zapero12 watch as Jacob heads down the alley. They hear - but do not see - the man as his voices bounces along the walls of the alley.

[White]

Jacob raises his eyebrows, "bad day?" He weighted the probability that the man wasn't up to zero good for a moment before making his way to the bag. Judging by the mans acting he wasn't in any immediate danger.
"How about we help you with your things? Hard to get over fencing in the dark."