[Post 11]

Author : BurningRave

Date : Jun 3 11:25pm

"Don't worry," Amy found herself saying after Lothario apologized for his uncontrolled burst of swearing. "Compared to some other Malkavians I've dealt with, your tics are quite tame."

She wanted to take the conversation away from focusing on her. Once more, she glanced at the door. He knew about her hunger and her sin. Amy feared that if she continued talking with him, the deranged voices of his curse would uncover more of her inner demons, jeopardizing everything she had been sent out to do. She stood up.

"You know others like myself?" Lothario asked, not sure whether he should move out of Amy's way, or take a step towards her.

At this point, Amy realized that referencing Gerard and Mira to him was probably a mistake. "Yes, well… no. Er, not anymore…" She began feeling nervous, having enough trouble lying to vampires who can't get glimpses into her mind. "I have to go."

Finally making up his mind, Lothario stepped before the young Toreador. "Don't feed the beast by avoiding your nature. Please, let me help you."

"You're sweet," Amy looked off to the side and rubbed the back of her neck, "I didn't expect to run into such kindness tonight."

"You run from the beast as well as the point of this conversation. B-BITCH." Lothario took a step back and immediately began to apologize. "I'm terribly sorry…"

Amy didn't know whether to laugh or flee. In the end, she wound up standing silently. She was so hungry, and the Malkavian's offer for blood tempted her.

"Stay right here, tormented beauty, and I will bring you what you want."

It hurt. She felt empty and cold, starving and alone. "What I want? Can you bring me my humanity back? Can you make me feel again? No! You lie!" Amy shouted, losing herself in her hunger. "Of course not, you just want to feed me. And where would that blood come from? Do you plan on tricking some poor fool into meeting me here so than I may drain him to the brink of death like the leech I am?"

"The beast…" Lothario muttered, feeling somewhat worried. Her pain was growing, and the voices in his head made sure to make that obvious.

"You don't have a damn clue, do you? Do you ever stop to think about how it must feel to be fed upon? Do you ever even consider that we're just damned monsters lurking in the darkness?" No more thoughts entered her mind. She was lost. "Have you ever stood and marveled at the color of their flesh when they're drained? The color of blood… You're probably too batshit insane to even begin to understand what it's like to envy the kine!"

Without thinking, as conscious thought was well beyond her grasp, Amy lashed out and grabbed Lothario's shoulders. "We're ****ing monsters, you lunatic! That's all we are! Monsters!" She attempted to shove him aside, which only caused Lothario to stumble.

Not only was the Malkavian staring at her in curious shock, but Amy had gathered the attention of most other supernaturals in the room. Immediately she felt vulnerable and weak.

"I—I have to…" She stormed past Lothario towards the front door of the Asylum, only to collide in to another vampire.

The vampire, seeming to be a Ventrue, looked down at Amy as she struggled to gather herself. "That's just what Santa Monica needs. A completely unstable Toreador."

Amy was torn between wanting to flee and wanting to tear his throat our and drink his tainted blood from the floor. She managed to ignore his words and run by, leaving the chaos of the Asylum to continue without her. Surely, the other creatures of the night that remained behind would criticize and judge her while she was gone. Her outburst, no doubt, put great strain on her mission. Nevertheless, Amy had little time to think of how the prince would react to the scene she had created. She felt so miserable and hungry. So hungry.

The cool night air acted as a welcome relief to the stuffy atmosphere of the Asylum, but it did little to alter the disaster in Amy's thoughts. Humans stood all around her, tempting her lips to wrap around their necks. She ran into the closest alleyway, around the back of the club and collapsed on the ground.

"I'm so… so stupid." Amy got to her knees, staring down at the ground.

"I'll say. God damn, you Degenerates can be such nut jobs when you want to be." A mocking voice seemed to come out of the shadows. Its twisted words pierced Amy's dead heart. "You're not human anymore. Get over it."

Amy wished that she could feel tears against her cheeks. "Shut up! Please, just shut up!"

"Or else what, Princess? Why don't you go paint a picture or something?" The voice turned to laughter. "Oh, right. You can't anymore, can you? I'm sorry; I just really enjoy shoving the harsh truth into your sweet face."

"I hate you." The words fell from Amy's lips like lead weights.

"Do you? How can you be sure you don't love me? Come on, get over yourself." More laughter. "I'd say something comforting like, 'Aw, there, there, you poor thing. Don't worry, you're still very much human,' but frankly, I couldn't care less if you decided to stay outside wallowing until sunrise."

Amy was speechless. How she longed to feel alive again. It tormented her.

"Oh well. I got my laugh for the night." The voice snorted. "I'll just go back and tell Erik how much of a fuck up his slave is. With any luck, he'll turn his back on you and I'll never have to see your sickening face again."

The sound of a manhole lid being pulled closed echoed through the alley and then there was only the silence of the city. Amy crawled to a wall and sat against it, her arms crossed over her knees and her head bowed. She thought about what Daniel said about Erik and immediately began to worry about losing him. Misery twisted in her mind almost as much as hunger twisted in her body.

"Mm, aren't you just the sweetest." The voice of a young woman broke the silence as a couple turned the corner.

Amy looked up as a couple stood only a few feet down from where she sat. They were lost in the pleasures of a mortal kiss and never noticed the starving vampire. However, she noticed them and couldn't help but to stare with envy and hunger. Mostly hunger. Everything else was forgotten except for the hunger. It felt wonderful.

[Post 12]

Author : lothario

Date : Jun 4 8:33pm

Lothario watched Amy leave Asylum in a huff, and despite the fact that there were still kindred to meet and greet, and owing in part to the fact that Jeanette wasn't there, he suddenly didn't care to stay around anymore. Besides, the heady scent of Amy's suffering lingered in the air, filling his nostrils with the sweet, delicate odor of loss, and like a bloodhound chasing down the trail of a missing child, Lothario left Asylum and followed her outside.

He hadn't gotten far - little more than around the corner from the front doors, when Loth ducked down behind a dumpster in the alleyway and called up the power of his Obfuscation to hide himself from the deeply mocking voice that left Amy shaken, and then, finally alone. Thinking to comfort his damaged flower somehow, he reached out a cautious and invisible hand towards her, but then her head snapped up at the sound of a young mortal couple who spilled into the alleyway to kiss and fondle each other.

Cursing slightly - on purpose, for once - Lothario saw the dangerous gleam in Amy's eyes, and at that moment, he knew that if he didn't intervene quickly, the humans would certainly meet their doom. Her fangs were fully exposed as she opened her mouth in a lustful sigh, drinking in the sight of the fresh, thumping blood that giggled and clutched at each other not twenty paces away.

A low, guttural growl escaped from Amy's full, perfect lips, and Lothario's eyes opened in surprise as she blazed past him with supernatural speed, knocking the young man away from his date, and sunk her fangs into the man's neck with an animalistic snarl. Wasting no time, Loth silenced the mortal girl's shriek with a gong of his Dementated madness, causing the scream to die in her throat and instead emerge as a choking sob, as she clutched at her throat and helplessly stammered a stream of quiet, whispered obscenities. Ignoring the horrid slurping noises from Amy, Lothario kept his focus upon the girl, watching her for a second as she looked up at him in despair. Quietly approaching the young lady, he shook his head sadly and whispered into her ear.

"Don't worry, darling... this won't hurt."

Loth grabbed at the girl's arms roughly, pinning them to her sides, and as she was held under the spell of his madness, she was unable to resist him as he gave a savage growl and buried his mouth into the tender flesh of her neck. He drank deeply, each spurt of her lifeblood warming and tickling his throat, and when he had drawn off enough of her to daze her memory, he shoved her down into the street and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, looking over to where Amy had pulled the man down to the pavement of the alleyway, and now straddled him.

"Amy... that's enough." Giving no response, his vampire companion continued to suck noisily and greedily at the poor man, and Lothario raised his voice.

"Amy! That's enough!" Striding over to her, Loth grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her body off of the helpless young man, tossing Amy aside to tumble to the ground and into a heap of garbage lining the dirty wall of the alley. She was immediately on her feet with an angry snake-like hiss, and Loth noted that her face was smeared with blood that ran down into the front of her shirt as well.

"Get control of it, Amy! You've had more than enough! Look at you! You're... C-C-COCKSUCKER! You're like a Friday the 13th sequel!" Loth watched the turmoil in her eyes, and then she finally regained her senses, the fresh blood giving Amy some semblance of control over her Beast. With a tiny sob, she gazed down at her handiwork, and Loth gave her a worried frown and knelt down to the man, who was still breathing, but wouldn't have lasted much longer. Touching a fingertip to his fangs, Loth carried a few drops of his own blood down to close the gruesome wounds on the man's neck, and listened to Amy's hasty and tear-filled retreat into the darkness, her footsteps echoing off of the dirty brick walls of the alleyway.

He let her go, shaking his head slightly in dismay as he surveyed the damage of their assault. The kine would live, although the male would definitely have a monster headache tomorrow. With a grunt, Lothario grabbed under the man's shoulders and dragged him to the wall where his girlfriend lay dazed and unconscious. Yes, these kine would live... but what should he do about his blood-flower? Brushing his hands down his long, velvet coat, Lothario stood and gazed down the alley where Amy had vanished into the darkness. The night was still young, and the lingering scent in the air spoke of tragedy. She wouldn't last long if she kept giving in to her Beast - but in a way, maybe it was best that way. Some people aren't built to last for eternity. Still, the whispers in his ears urged him to follow her, and the warmth of the fresh blood in his body encouraged him to continue. The thought of Amy meeting her Final Death saddened what was left of Lothario's heart, and with a smirk, he took off after the young Toreador.

Who knows what trouble she would find next? Maybe he could find some way to convince her to stay with him, where he could watch over her... until she sank or swam. Jeanette would know what to do. If he could keep Amy alive long enough to meet with his sire, then everything would be okay.

Yes... everything was going to be just fine.

[Post 13]

Author : roddyrod

Date : Jun 4 10:29pm

She's trouble, Roderick thought as he watched the red-headed Toreador run out of the Asylum. Not long after that disgraceful gesture, he noticed Lothario leaving too; hardly a coincidence. He didn't trust the Toreador to not do something stupid, having noted previously that she seemed to have not fed in a while; and he didn't trust the Malkavian to be entirely stable in case something did happen. Rod pondered for a moment the prudence of following, and then proceeded to do so. If nothing else, it would spare him further exposure to the noises of the madhouse.

Once outside, he spent a moment simply enjoying the night, almost forgetting why he left in the first place. He was broken from his thoughts by the sounds of what may have been a scream coming from the adjacent alley. It ended abruptly, replaced by a low sob; not difficult to notice with his supernatural hearing. He contemplated whether it would be sensible to approach; if the Toreador had indeed frenzied, he wouldn't want to be there. In the end he figured that he could hold his own if push came to shove, and moved down the alley.

By the time he reached the part of the alley behind the Asylum he saw Lothario running away. Maybe that's a good thing. He then noticed the two kine propped up against the wall, both looking rather pale. Will they remember? he wondered, never fully understanding how that worked, preferring to take his victims unaware. He decided against killing them; the risk to his remaining Humanity would be too great, and he had enough trouble fitting in with humans without a reflection as it was.

His thoughts flitted back to the Toreador. If she couldn't keep control of herself, she would be too much of a danger to the Masquerade, and if she were to meet her Final Death in a public place; that would be a problem. The Prince did approach her however, so he wondered if maybe he was underestimating her. He decided to let it go. She meant nothing to him, and he had no wish to waste any more time thinking about her. The night was nearing its end, and he had no more left to do until contacted by Therese.

He walked to one of the nearby parking lots where he left his car, a black Ferrari that he inherited a few decades back. Considering the general nightlife of Santa Monica, he left one of his ghouls, a rather unmemorable guy (who he had change his name to John Smith) with it while he attended to business.

"Still in one piece?" Rod asked.

"Some toughs were hanging around for a while, but I accidentally revealed the sawed-off I've been toting around and they scampered off," he replied, almost monotonously.

"Excellent. Let's go," Rod ordered, and entered the passenger seat. John took the driver's seat, started the car up, and they left.

There were several advantages to having some sphere of influence in life. While he could no longer run his businesses as he used to, a well-placed ghoul or two served his purposes amiably. One such ghoul was the owner of one five-star hotel in Santa Monica: a source of income for the vampire, and a haven. After all, he didn't like to settle for second-best.

[Post 14]

Author : Flint_A

Date : Jun 5 12:58am

The shaggy Gangrel squatting on a table laughed and snarled, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Well, this wasn't a TOTAL waste of time...always fun to see a Toreador break down." He also enjoyed watching most Malkavians, but his friends knew that anyway. He wouldn't have bothered to come if he didn't hope Jeanette would show up.

Jack chuckled with him. "He he he...poor girl. Won't last a month here."

Damsel looked at the Gangrel with contempt. "Don't know, Jack. If our growling friend here hasn't gotten himself killed yet, anyone can survive. Ugh, can you at least get down here and stand up like a PERSON?"

As a response, he just licked his teeth and smirked. "Come now, sweetheart. We're all animals, even the kine. I'm just...a little more in touch with it. It's the Gangrel way."

"Oh, please! Skelter's a Gangrel and he's normal. You're just using it as an excuse to have no manners, creep!"

Skelter snorted. "Keep me out of this, sister. I would have showed him what's the Gangrel way if Nines didn't like him. What kind of an idiot doesn't even use a name? The Coyote, my ass."

Jack laughed. "Nines doesn't like him, I do. The kid's almost as funny as a Malkavian. He imagines himself Beckett's protégé, can you believe it? He he...like that ol' bookworm would look twice at a thug like you." A slap across the back was answered by the Gangrel's snarling, but he was too smart to lift a hand to Jack. Besides, he was the coolest of the bunch.

"Hey now, Beckett and I are old friends!"

"Old friends? Puh-lease! You've been a vampire for what now, a decade?"

He snarled at Damsel. That bitch was annoying. "Nooo...it's been longer than that! Yeah, alright, I'm not ancient like Smiling Jack over there, but it's been long in human years!"

Nines sighed. "Kid, everything's long in human years. In this city, they change five jobs and two marriages in a decade. Now be quiet. We brought you here so you can watch the Malkavian, not start a fight with Damsel."

Damsel smirked and turned away. "Hmph, looks like you won't get to see the slut anyway. I bet that stuck-up Cammy bitch tied her up somewhere."

"Well, duh."

Damsel turned to face him again. "What do you mean, duh?"

"They're the same person! Seriously, twin Malkavians? Get real."

Skelter raised an eyebrow. "Motherfucker's tellin' some tall tales."

Nines pushed himself away from the wall. "You got any proof, kid?"

"Grah...noooo, but Beckett told me!"

"Psh, right! Jack, can you believe this?"

Jack shrugged and crossed his arms nonchalantly. "I knew it."

Damsel's mouth dropped. "Wait, so it's true?"

Skelter shook his head. "Fucking crazy bitch."

The Gangrel half-laughed half-snarled again. "See! I told you! Thanks Jack!"

"Yeah, well, I still don't believe Beckett talks to you kid. Gotta hand it to you though, you ain't one for skulduggery."

"Hmph. Whatever. I'm gonna go try to get Jeanette to come out!" The self-proclaimed Coyote hopped off the table and dashed through the club on all fours. He stood up when he got to Therese, but his hunch still made him look like a hyena.

Damsel turned to Jack. "I bet he gets slapped within five minutes."

Chuckling, Jack shook his head. "Fool's bet. Kid's got no finesse."

Skelter snorted. "Ain't got no brains either."

A painful howl sounded through the room, managing to cut through the music that was turned back up after Therese's speech.

Nines sighed and leaned against the wall again. "Looks like you underestimated her, Damsel."

Jack grinned. "He he he...gotta admit though, a knee to the crotch IS more effective than a slap."

Damsel smirked at the Gangrel hopping around with his hands on his crotch. "She's alright...for a Cammy."

Nines closed his eyes. "Enough fun for one night. One Prince gone, two to take his place. The bastards are worse than cockroaches. Someone pick that idiot up, we're leaving. Party's over."

[Post 15]

Author : lothario

Date : Jun 5 1:06am

2:37 am, The Penthouse Suite of the Piedmont Hotel, Downtown LA

Gorgana stretched languidly on the plush sofa, and stroked her long, painted fingernails down the stomach of her pet chihuahua, Pixiedust. The tiny ghouled creature gave a little shiver of delight, and Gorgana smiled at the sight of Pixiedust losing herself in the rapture of her Mistress' touch. Although the little monster seemed harmless enough, Gorgana had enjoyed watching the bloodthirsty beast tear out the throat of one of her more recently failed lieutenants, a particularly noisome Gangrel Antitribu whose ashes now adorned an urn on her mantle. The fool had made too many mistakes, and his blood was forfeit. But then again, Marcus had been just as much of a fool to entrust the security of the former Sabbat warehouse to the Gangrel, and when news reached her ears of Marcus' Final Death at the hands of the mysterious Kindred who had taken down LaCroix and then vanished into the woodwork, she had felt a tiny and uncharacteristic pang of regret. It had been a shame... Gorgana had been looking forward to destroying Marcus herself for so many years, and now some nameless upstart had stolen that satisfaction from her.

Gorgana was broken from her dark musings by the buzz of the videocom screen next to the sofa, and she pushed Pixiedust out of her lap to sit up and reply.

"What is it?"

"Mistress... contact has been established with Santa Monica. Our plant reports that everything went smoothly, and now he is awaiting further orders." Clicking her blood-red fingernails briefly on the glass coffee table, Gorgana suddenly smiled.

"No change. We didn't anticipate this, but perhaps this will work out in a different way. Have him continue as instructed, and when the time is right, we will put him in play once again. Hmm... I need time to think... could the Camarilla fools really be so easily duped? I smell plans within plans..."

"I'm sorry, Mistress?"

"Nevermind, Roger. I need you to check up on our holdings in Hollywood. Watch out for Isaac's ghouls, as we discussed before. They are old, and not to be underestimated."

"Yes, Mistress."

"And Roger? Do try to keep the rabble in line a little better this time. I would hate for you to end up as one of Pixiedust's victims like the late Mr. Travis." There was a poignant pause before her agent replied.

"Of course, Mistress."

The screen went blank, and Gorgana summoned her little dog back into her lap. Pixiedust gave a throaty snarl of joy as she hopped up and nuzzled into Gorgana's stomach, and then the vampire smiled as she resumed her petting. So the Fool's Errand had worked out after all... interesting. Rather than pluck this thorn from her side, she could twist it around and plant it into her enemy. The time for the LA showdown was quickly approaching, and her allies along the eastern seaboard had met with nearly unmitigated success. Now all that remained was to deliver the west coast into her master's hands, and the United States would belong to the Sabbat. The destruction of bishop Andrei had been a regrettable loss which slowed her progress, but soon she would have her pieces back into place, and then the battle for Los Angeles could finally begin.

Author's Comment: Here's the first time I start mentioning some other of my characters and give insight into Amy's background. I like how I managed to leave a lot of what was going on with her untold, only to be revealed later in the story as opposed to mentioning it right at the get-go.

Also, Flint does another wonderful job with established Bloodlines characters. It's kind of a shame that, aside from their names, he never described them, which could prove moderately annoying for anyone who hasn't played Bloodlines. Then again, Google is your friend .

I didn't think Loth brought up Gorgana this early, but apparently I was wrong.

I'll leave comments on roddy's little part up to him to post. I will say, though, that it's intersting to see how he handled the first appearance of his ghoul.

roddy's Comment: Huh. I just noticed Amy's comment about Lothario's tics being fairly mild. I guess I paid it no heed back when I first read this, but it actually makes sense now. Neat.

Now, this entry... it was pretty alright. I noticed a few pieces of punctuation that seemed out of place. No biggie. Anyway, this was the introduction of Roderick's Ghoul, John. I still hadn't settled on a personality for him here, but he doesn't get many lines so it isn't a problem. I thought he ended up rather fun a character. Also it painted what would appear to be a trend that Roderick would be chauffeured around by John, with the latter guarding the car, but I eventually dropped that. Something about using "the older car" or thereabouts. Unattended Ferrari + World of Darkness = bad idea. I think the older car ended up being a Ferrari anyway. I don't even know.

One final thing. Gorgana mentions a plant in Santa Monica. Way back when that was first written, Loth PMed me about it. We talked a little about that, about Roderick possibly being thought the spy, or perhaps his sire not actually being dead. I suggested that Bertram was a possible suspect, based on a few things I don't entirely remember. That, of course, went absolutely nowhere.