Sunday, 2 November 1800. 9:05 p.m.
"Auuugh!!!" Benjamin shrieked in a tone usually reserved for summoning dogs. "What have you done?! What did you do with my stuff?! WHAT IS THAT THING ON MY WALL!!!!???!!"
"YOUR wall?" Sobek sneered. "Just try and take it back, art fag."
"MY PAINTINGS!!!!!!!"
"In the name of all that is unholy, will you STOP screaming?!" The Setite growled. "Look, your stupid drawings are on your bed. I barely touched them."
Ben raced across the room to his bed and found, as Sobek had said, the rural landscapes that up to a few moments ago, had been hung on the wall opposite. But unfortunately for Ben and his paintings, Sobek had seem fit to hang a heiroglyphed and emblazed sheet of papyrus the size of a large poster in that very spot. From an objective perspective, the papyrus was an amazing piece of workmanship. From what Ben could tell, it depicted the daily battle between Ra and Set, when the god of darkness tried once again to cast the sun from the sky--yet always failed. The persistence of Set, and his courage in facing an entity so much more powerful than himself was an example of the sort of honor and strength that was known to bring tears to Benjamin's eyes.
Except, of course, when the Setite's stupid poster was displacing his paintings!
"Why can't you put that somewhere else?!" Ben whined. "My paintings were there first!"
"So?"
Benjamin stared for a minute. That wasn't supposed to be his response. Why was there never a script around when you needed one? "It's not fair! I got her first so my stuff gets priority!"
"Oh, is that how things work in La Salon de Toreador?" Sobek said in mocking French tones. "Welcome to the Temple of Set."
Ben stood up in a miff. There was plenty of wall space in there! Okay, so maybe the paintings had been a little closer to Sobek's side than his own, but that wasn't the issue! He shouldn't have to move his paintings! But there was no way he could make the Setite give in on his own. He needed someone with muscle.
He wandered out into the hall and just stood there for a minute. Who to ask for help? A few seconds later, a figure covered mostly in gray fur came up the stairs, carting two large heavy looking boxes.
The figure-Michaela Greywauld, actually-proceeded to dump the boxes in front of her own room and then bang on the door a couple of times.
"Alright, I brought it up the bloody stairs, but I'm NOT putting it together for you!"
The door swung open to reveal Mika's tall blonde roommate. "Thanks Mika!" She cried, hopping over the packages and throwing her arms around the Gangrel. "You know I love you."
"Um...whatever. Could you possibly let go of me?" Mika looked a bit uncomfortable with contact any closer than a half-mile radius.
But Sugar Kelly was already dragging the boxes into their room. Mika shrugged and made to go back outside. She'd rather be out there than cooped up in here, even if it did mean she got recruited for moving duty every time she turned around.
Ben lighted upon her immediately. "Michaela? Hi! Can you please help me?"
Mika sighed heavily. "Alright, where is it?"
Ben looked confused. "Where is what?"
"The package slash piece of furniture slash case of books slash stereo system slash kitchen sink that you want me to bring up here for you. Just like every other vampire around here tonight."
"Um....actually I want you to help me beat up someone. And by that I mean you beat him up and I watch and cheer for you."
Mika smirked. "Well, at least you're honest. But I'm not sure how badly I can hurt him without Miss Queen of the frickin world Pederston getting on my case."
"I just need you to make him move his stuff." Ben smiled, grabbing Mika's forearm-the one relatively hairless part of her body- and dragging her down the hall to his and Sobek's room.
Ben pointed to the poster. "I put my paintings there. But then he took them down and put that up. Make him move it. Please."
Mika stared at the poster. Then glanced around the rest of the room. "Is there some particular reason that you both have to put something right HERE? It's not like you're lacking in space."
"But my stuff was there first!"
"Oh for the love of--" Sobek muttered from the bureau in which he was placing his things. "You put your drawings clear on my side of the room! What's wrong with that big spot by your bed?!"
"The light doesn't hit them right! The deep blue looks black over there!"
"What deep blue?!"
Benjamin held up one of the paintings. "THAT deep blue!"
"That IS black!"
"It is not!"
"Yes it is!"
"How would you know?!"
"I can tell the difference between black and blue!"
"HEY!" Mika silenced them. "Never mind what color it is, it doesn't matter! Okay, look. If we take this lamp....." She picked up the tall lamp standing against the wall and moved it a few feet to the left. "Then Sobek's poster can move this way a little, and Ben's pictures can go on the right. And the glare of light off that wall should be exactly the same as it was a few minutes ago, only in THAT spot instead of THAT one." She turned to look at the two boys. "Agreed?"
After a few moments of staring blankly, Ben picked up one of his pictures and held it in the spot Mika had pointed to. It took about two minutes for him to sufficiently judge the effect. Then, finally...
"I.....guess.... that would be okay...."
Sobek threw his hands up in resignation. "Fine. FINE. I don't care anyway."
Mika slipped out of the room while the two others worked on redecorating. Sheesh, the most simple solutions could be lost on the most stupid people. It would have been funny if it wasn't so irritating.
"That was impressive."
Mika glanced over her shoulder. She had known Carleigh was there, of course, but she hadn't expected the Ventrue to speak. "It was a compromise." she shrugged.
"Ever considered a career in inter-clan diplomacy?"
"No."
Carleigh looked as if she was about to make some wisecrack about wild wolves, but was cut off by a burst of unidentifiable screaming from down the hall.
"I think they might need your help next....." Carleigh muttered. The door to Mika's own room opened and Sugar came over to them.
"What's up with them?" the indistinguishable shouts of rage were still going on.
Mika shrugged.
"What do you expect when you try to make two ancient enemies live together?" Carleigh sighed. "I know how they feel....."
"Ancient enemies my tail." Mika muttered. "Bet they never saw each other before two nights ago." Luckily, the other two didn't hear her. Suddenly, the door to one room was flung open and...
"Unidentified Flying Tremere at six o' clock." Sugar chuckled.
The door swung shut as quickly as it had opened. And a very disgruntled Amaranth Polgaran let out a scream of utter frustration before scrambling to her feet.
"Amy?" Carleigh said, walking to the Tremere's side. "Are you okay?"
"Okay? Okay?! I'm wonderful!" Amy shouted to no one in particular. She crumpled down to the floor against Mika's and Sugar's door and buried her face in her hands. "What have I done to deserve this?" She moaned. "Did I somehow offend the Regent? Why would my elders wish this upon me? Have I not always been faithful? WHY?! Why ME?!"
Carleigh sat down next to her an looped an arm around her shoulders. "Believe me, I know how you feel, dear. I know I didn't ask for my room assignment."
"But why? Why a Tzimisce? My elders want me dead. That's all there is to it. She'll kill me in my sleep......" Amy shook her head in resignation. "I might as well just accept my fate."
"She's not going to kill you." Carleigh assured her. "It's written very clearly. We are not permitted to kill any member of this team on pain of our own deaths."
Mika rolled her eyes. She was really getting quite sick of the Ventrue quoting her notebook. Granted, she had probably been the one to originally write those notes, but did she have to sound so.... bureaucratic when she said them?
The Gangrel shook her head and trotted down the stairs to wait for the next person who would expect her to move something.