November 27, 1800. 3:08 a.m.
the house in the alps
Michaela lay sprawled out on the back porch, gazing up at the gray-black sky. It should have snowed by now. For pity's sake, they were in the Swiss Alps! Normally you couldn't see the ground between October and May.
There was something wrong in the air....
The sound of hysterical laughter from above snapped the Gangrel out of her reverie. Wrinkling her brow in confusion, she stood up. That sounded too close to be coming from any of the bedrooms. She took a few steps forward into the yard, then turned to look at the wall and roof above.
Alectz and D stood on the small awning that seperated the ground and first floors as far as walls went. The wooden structure wasn't even wide enough to block the porch from the sky, and the two Malkavians were balanced precariously and dangerously close to to the edge. And laughing as if it was the most amusing thing in the world.
Mika shook her head in disbelief. "Alectz! D!" she yelled. "What are you doing?! How did you GET there?!"
"We FLEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!" D cried elatedly, throwing her arms out as if to take off and nearly taking the other Malkavian's head off in the process.
"GAH!" Carleigh suddenly burst out the back door. She ran to Mika's side and glared up at the two nutcases. "I thought I heard you two! Get down from there before you get yourselves injured!"
"Awww, why?" Alectz whined.
"Because we don't have the blood resources to heal you should you fall!"
"Oh don't worry about us." D interjected, suddenly calm. "Yeah. We're indestructible. Didn't you know that?" Alectz added, equally calm.
Carleigh stared.
"All Malkavians are indestructable." Michaela smirked. "It's common knowledge, Carleigh." that said, the Gangrel turned towards the woods and sauntered off.
"See? SHE understands!" Alectz cried, pointing erratically at Mika's departing back.
Carleigh held the sides of her head as if her skull was going to explode. "Get down from there, will you? Why must you two be so troublesome?"
"WE'RE troublesome?!" D pouted. "You're the one who's always showing up to ruin our fun!"
"She has a funness sense." Alectz informed her clanmate. "It picks up on funness from really far away so she can hurry and stop it."
Carleigh nearly screamed. "You weren't this bad before, Alectz! You were bad, sure, but ever since D showed up....does the Curse of Malkav grow stronger when bearers of it are gathered together or what?!"
"Oh, you should be at our Malkavian Meetings."
"I guess that answers that..." the Ventrue muttered. "Fine. Stay up there. Break your skulls. See if I care!" she stomped back to the porch.
"But we're INDESTRUCTIBLE!!!!!!" D screamed after her.
Carleigh slammed the porch door.
"Well she's no fun." D crosed her arms.
"Don't blame her. She's a Ventrue. They're not allowed to be fun."
"How sad."
"Yeah."
"What are you guys doing?"
The two Malkavians looked down at the sound of the voice. Ben stood on the half dead grass looking up at them and holding a broom.
"We're playing!" D grinned.
"Do you wanna play?!" Alectz asked cheerfully.
Ben smiled sadly. "Oh, sure, I'd like to. But Carid refuses to clean this mess up," he gestured toward the large pile of sawdust on the ground a few feet away, "And I want to put some bulbs in the ground there."
"But it's winter."
"That's actually when you're supposed to plant this particular bush. Before the first frost. And since the frost doesn't seem to be coming at all this year....."
"What weird bush....." Alectz muttered.
"I like it!" D chirped in conclusion. "Come on, let's go see what's on the OTHER side of the house!"
"YEAH!"
The two of them took flying leaps off the roof, miraculously landed on their feet, and took off around the side of the house.
Ben shook his head in amusement as he watched them go. But his happy expression faded when his gaze rested again upon the task before him. Stupid Tzimisce. Couldn't even clean up after herself.
He picked up a small box beside the porch. Well, he could just sweep the dust into the box a little at time and remove it that way. He had no idea where he was going to put it, but he would think about that later. Ben walked up to the pile and began scooping sawdust as carefully as he possibly could. He wanted no more of this junk on his clothes than was absolutely unavoidable. Yet that looked as though that would be more than he had wished.
"What in the name of Osiris are you doing?"
Ben yelped and jumped, dumping the half full box of sawdust all over himself.
Sobek, who had just come out the back door, laughed in cruel amusement at the Toreador's predicament.
Ben felt tears of embarassment and anger jump to his eyes, but he forbid them to fall with all the force in his small body. No way was he letting this horrible snake see him cry.
"Wh-What do you WANT, Sobek?!" he stuttered angrily.
"Pederston's on the warpath. Something about the Malks." the Setite told him, a grin still plastered on his face. "So I came out here. A good choice, too. Such prime entertainment." he chuckled once more.
Ben gritted his teeth. This-this-horrible person was supposed to be his partner?! It just wasn't fair. Why couldn't he have been partnered with Seldes and have the Assamite stuck with Sobek? She looked like she could take him.
"Anyway, you didn't answer my question." Sobek leaned against the railing with an obnoxious smirk. "Whatever are you doing?"
"Ben raised his chin defiantly. "I'm cleaning up this mess so I can plant my garden, for your information." he sniffed.
The Setite arched an eyebrow. "You're dumber than you look, Torrie. Anything you plant now will be frozen and dead by next week."
Now it was Ben's turn to issue a superior attitude. "Shows what you know about gardening. It just so happens that these plants are meant to be put into the ground before the first frost."
"They're meant to freeze over winter?"
"What do you know about it, Setite?!" Ben glared. "Though I'm not surprised. All you know about living things is how to poison them!"
Sobek didn't even flinch at the insult. "That's all living things are good for, little Torrie." he sneered. "If your clan's blood didn't prevent your brain from functioning, you might understand that." With that, he jumped over the porch railing and circled around the side of the house in the direction the Malkavians had gone.
Ben stood there, seething in anger. That-that-that....SNAKE!
He took a few deep breaths. He needed to calm down. Losing his temper would only make the cruel Setite laugh harder. He had to stay calm and composed. That was the key.
He sighed heavily and attempted to brush some of the sawdust off his shirt. Once it became clear that there was nothing more he could do in that area, he picked up the fallen box and broom and returned to his work.
Sobek was so mean. Why did he have to be so mean? Was it just beacuse he was a Setite? Hah. Ben could already hear Seldes contradicting that and admonishing him for generalizing.
Thinking of his friend created another sadness within him. The two of them had divided up the yard pretty exactly, which was why Ben couldn't just put his plants somewhere other than where this dust heap lay. But that wasn't what bothered him about Sel's absence. He missed the Nosferatu's calming effect. Arguing with Sobek (a nightly event, since they shared a room) was never quite so bad if he could just run across the hall and rant to Seldes about what an awful person Sobek was. But Sel was gone with his cold Assamite partner to Geneva. That worried Ben too. That area was anything but safe.
Fate was so cruel. Why was it that wonderful, kind, understanding people like Seldes had to be so....well, to put it bluntly, so physically unattractive and awful, mean, nasty, generally evil people like Sobek were so...exotically gorgeous.
Ben's face turned bright red the minute that thought appeared of it's own accord in his head. Sobek, gorgeous?! Yeah, right! Like he was really interested in Sobek. Well, okay, maybe he was rather handsome....but that was easily counteracted by the distinct lack of redeeming personality traits!
Oh, is it now? A rebellious voice in the back of his mind asked. If personality mattered so much more than looks to you, why aren't you intrested in Seldes? Ben winced. He was victim to his Toreador blood after all. Seldes was his best friend, but he could never be anything but friends with him.
Okay, fine. he thought So looks do matter. But that DOESN'T mean personality doesn't! Physical qualities aside, Sobek was the LEAST attractive person Ben had ever met!
the house in the alps
Michaela lay sprawled out on the back porch, gazing up at the gray-black sky. It should have snowed by now. For pity's sake, they were in the Swiss Alps! Normally you couldn't see the ground between October and May.
There was something wrong in the air....
The sound of hysterical laughter from above snapped the Gangrel out of her reverie. Wrinkling her brow in confusion, she stood up. That sounded too close to be coming from any of the bedrooms. She took a few steps forward into the yard, then turned to look at the wall and roof above.
Alectz and D stood on the small awning that seperated the ground and first floors as far as walls went. The wooden structure wasn't even wide enough to block the porch from the sky, and the two Malkavians were balanced precariously and dangerously close to to the edge. And laughing as if it was the most amusing thing in the world.
Mika shook her head in disbelief. "Alectz! D!" she yelled. "What are you doing?! How did you GET there?!"
"We FLEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!" D cried elatedly, throwing her arms out as if to take off and nearly taking the other Malkavian's head off in the process.
"GAH!" Carleigh suddenly burst out the back door. She ran to Mika's side and glared up at the two nutcases. "I thought I heard you two! Get down from there before you get yourselves injured!"
"Awww, why?" Alectz whined.
"Because we don't have the blood resources to heal you should you fall!"
"Oh don't worry about us." D interjected, suddenly calm. "Yeah. We're indestructible. Didn't you know that?" Alectz added, equally calm.
Carleigh stared.
"All Malkavians are indestructable." Michaela smirked. "It's common knowledge, Carleigh." that said, the Gangrel turned towards the woods and sauntered off.
"See? SHE understands!" Alectz cried, pointing erratically at Mika's departing back.
Carleigh held the sides of her head as if her skull was going to explode. "Get down from there, will you? Why must you two be so troublesome?"
"WE'RE troublesome?!" D pouted. "You're the one who's always showing up to ruin our fun!"
"She has a funness sense." Alectz informed her clanmate. "It picks up on funness from really far away so she can hurry and stop it."
Carleigh nearly screamed. "You weren't this bad before, Alectz! You were bad, sure, but ever since D showed up....does the Curse of Malkav grow stronger when bearers of it are gathered together or what?!"
"Oh, you should be at our Malkavian Meetings."
"I guess that answers that..." the Ventrue muttered. "Fine. Stay up there. Break your skulls. See if I care!" she stomped back to the porch.
"But we're INDESTRUCTIBLE!!!!!!" D screamed after her.
Carleigh slammed the porch door.
"Well she's no fun." D crosed her arms.
"Don't blame her. She's a Ventrue. They're not allowed to be fun."
"How sad."
"Yeah."
"What are you guys doing?"
The two Malkavians looked down at the sound of the voice. Ben stood on the half dead grass looking up at them and holding a broom.
"We're playing!" D grinned.
"Do you wanna play?!" Alectz asked cheerfully.
Ben smiled sadly. "Oh, sure, I'd like to. But Carid refuses to clean this mess up," he gestured toward the large pile of sawdust on the ground a few feet away, "And I want to put some bulbs in the ground there."
"But it's winter."
"That's actually when you're supposed to plant this particular bush. Before the first frost. And since the frost doesn't seem to be coming at all this year....."
"What weird bush....." Alectz muttered.
"I like it!" D chirped in conclusion. "Come on, let's go see what's on the OTHER side of the house!"
"YEAH!"
The two of them took flying leaps off the roof, miraculously landed on their feet, and took off around the side of the house.
Ben shook his head in amusement as he watched them go. But his happy expression faded when his gaze rested again upon the task before him. Stupid Tzimisce. Couldn't even clean up after herself.
He picked up a small box beside the porch. Well, he could just sweep the dust into the box a little at time and remove it that way. He had no idea where he was going to put it, but he would think about that later. Ben walked up to the pile and began scooping sawdust as carefully as he possibly could. He wanted no more of this junk on his clothes than was absolutely unavoidable. Yet that looked as though that would be more than he had wished.
"What in the name of Osiris are you doing?"
Ben yelped and jumped, dumping the half full box of sawdust all over himself.
Sobek, who had just come out the back door, laughed in cruel amusement at the Toreador's predicament.
Ben felt tears of embarassment and anger jump to his eyes, but he forbid them to fall with all the force in his small body. No way was he letting this horrible snake see him cry.
"Wh-What do you WANT, Sobek?!" he stuttered angrily.
"Pederston's on the warpath. Something about the Malks." the Setite told him, a grin still plastered on his face. "So I came out here. A good choice, too. Such prime entertainment." he chuckled once more.
Ben gritted his teeth. This-this-horrible person was supposed to be his partner?! It just wasn't fair. Why couldn't he have been partnered with Seldes and have the Assamite stuck with Sobek? She looked like she could take him.
"Anyway, you didn't answer my question." Sobek leaned against the railing with an obnoxious smirk. "Whatever are you doing?"
"Ben raised his chin defiantly. "I'm cleaning up this mess so I can plant my garden, for your information." he sniffed.
The Setite arched an eyebrow. "You're dumber than you look, Torrie. Anything you plant now will be frozen and dead by next week."
Now it was Ben's turn to issue a superior attitude. "Shows what you know about gardening. It just so happens that these plants are meant to be put into the ground before the first frost."
"They're meant to freeze over winter?"
"What do you know about it, Setite?!" Ben glared. "Though I'm not surprised. All you know about living things is how to poison them!"
Sobek didn't even flinch at the insult. "That's all living things are good for, little Torrie." he sneered. "If your clan's blood didn't prevent your brain from functioning, you might understand that." With that, he jumped over the porch railing and circled around the side of the house in the direction the Malkavians had gone.
Ben stood there, seething in anger. That-that-that....SNAKE!
He took a few deep breaths. He needed to calm down. Losing his temper would only make the cruel Setite laugh harder. He had to stay calm and composed. That was the key.
He sighed heavily and attempted to brush some of the sawdust off his shirt. Once it became clear that there was nothing more he could do in that area, he picked up the fallen box and broom and returned to his work.
Sobek was so mean. Why did he have to be so mean? Was it just beacuse he was a Setite? Hah. Ben could already hear Seldes contradicting that and admonishing him for generalizing.
Thinking of his friend created another sadness within him. The two of them had divided up the yard pretty exactly, which was why Ben couldn't just put his plants somewhere other than where this dust heap lay. But that wasn't what bothered him about Sel's absence. He missed the Nosferatu's calming effect. Arguing with Sobek (a nightly event, since they shared a room) was never quite so bad if he could just run across the hall and rant to Seldes about what an awful person Sobek was. But Sel was gone with his cold Assamite partner to Geneva. That worried Ben too. That area was anything but safe.
Fate was so cruel. Why was it that wonderful, kind, understanding people like Seldes had to be so....well, to put it bluntly, so physically unattractive and awful, mean, nasty, generally evil people like Sobek were so...exotically gorgeous.
Ben's face turned bright red the minute that thought appeared of it's own accord in his head. Sobek, gorgeous?! Yeah, right! Like he was really interested in Sobek. Well, okay, maybe he was rather handsome....but that was easily counteracted by the distinct lack of redeeming personality traits!
Oh, is it now? A rebellious voice in the back of his mind asked. If personality mattered so much more than looks to you, why aren't you intrested in Seldes? Ben winced. He was victim to his Toreador blood after all. Seldes was his best friend, but he could never be anything but friends with him.
Okay, fine. he thought So looks do matter. But that DOESN'T mean personality doesn't! Physical qualities aside, Sobek was the LEAST attractive person Ben had ever met!