The day had been cloudy and muggy, so it was no surprise when the night came as a violent storm. A pair of dark eyes observed the frequent flashes of lightning through the glass window. With one of the bright flashes of light, the pupils narrowed to unnatural slits, then quickly enlarged back to normal. A low voice growled in annoyance.
"Great, I'm going to be blind for an hour..."
A young woman, looking to be seventeen or so, scowled and turned away from the large window, walking a few strides away to sit on a leather loveseat. Though wearing only casual clothing of blue jeans and an almost skintight black t-shirt, she moved with an elegant grace. Even her manner was more sophisticated than most. She sat up straight, her back against the cushions, and her left leg crossed over her right, her toes tapping slightly. She was waiting...
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the two massive pull-away doors to the room were pulled open and in strode a tall man. He looked almost too sophisticated in his black suit, as if he preferred to be dressed normally, which he probably did. His hair was long, hanging to his shoulders, a slightly fluffy look to it, and the darkest black in color. His face was cleanly shaven. Upon seeing the female on his couch, he paused.
"Hey Katia, why are you here?" he asked, a slight smirk pulling at his lips.
Katia rose from the loveseat and stood up straight, her narrowed eyes not leaving the man. "We have a little problem, Prince..." she said slowly, almost sarcastic.
The man, whose name was Malachi, frowned a bit and walked closer. "What is it?" he asked.
"The Brujah clan is getting out of hand," Katia announced flatly. "Not that that's new, but it's getting irritating."
"What now?" Malachi muttered.
"Cameron has insulted the Toreador clan for the last time," Katia growled. "If it doesn't stop, a clan war will break out, mark my words."
Malachi rolled his dark eyes. "Don't you have henchmen to do that for you?"
"They're busy elsewhere."
"Doing what?"
"Nothing of your concern."
Arching a brow at Katia's audacity, Malachi smiled. Katia was his good friend from his days in the Toreador clan. He had been the primogen of the clan before he was elected Prince of the City. After, Katia was declared the new Toreador primogen and his right hand. Whoever wished to consult him had to go through Katia first, and if they got through her unscathed, they were lucky.
"Well Katia, I'll see what I can do, alright?" he proposed.
Katia nodded. "Right. Another thing Malachi."
"Yes?"
"Embraced is performing at The Haven tonight," she said. "You going to make it?"
Malachi smiled. "Of course."
---------------
The Haven was now Katia's club. It was left to her after Lillie's death. Malachi had embraced Katia, but Lillie had been a mentor to her. The former Toreador primogen, Lillie Langetrey, had met her unfortunate end in a clan war between Toreador and Brujah. Cameron had slain her. Since then, Katia had hated all Brujah blood.
Malachi was made Toreador primogen, but he had that position only briefly before a rogue Gangrel, of all things, assassinated Julian Luna, their previous Prince of the City. Cash had dealt with the rogue in an appropriate manner. His life was forfeit... Now the Gangrel primogen was loyal bodyguard of Malachi, one of his trusted friends.
Katia was announced as the Toreador primogen by her sire and she did her job well. Vicious yet creative, she took her job with pride. She wouldn't let her clan down without a fight. Malachi had sired her as Toreador for a purpose: she was true material, a rocker-girl, but cunning in her ways. Though everything in her shifted when she was enraged. Then, she was ferocious, brutal, and unmerciful.
She had befriended Cash and his Gangrel clan, but Katia couldn't bring herself to befriend Sasha because of her Brujah blood. Her Toreador blood boiled when her dark eyes were laid upon Sasha. The Brujah were her loathed enemies, and nothing would change that.
Staring into her mirror, Katia studied herself, mentally contemplating what to wear. Currently, she was in nothing but her under garments. Her dark chocolate eyes were narrowed in a thoughtful manner; her dark brown hair was a shade above black; it hung straight to her shoulder blades, the ends and a few streaks dyed cobalt blue. Her bangs were sapphire as well. She may have appeared a punk, but she was as stylish as they came.
Finally deciding on an ensemble, Katia went to her closet and pulled on a tight long-sleeved black shirt that looked as if she'd painted it on and a pair of torn black jeans. Spiking her bangs out slightly, she looked herself over in the mirror and nodded her own approval.
A knock came at her door. "Come in," Katia called.
Her door swung open and in entered none other than Cash, his illustrious smirk on his face. "Malachi wanted me to escort you to The Haven," he stated.
Katia smirked. "Escort me?" she repeated.
"Well, I'm supposing it's more for the show," Cash replied, "but 'escort' is the term Malachi used."
"Figures," Katia said. "Is he there already?"
"To my knowledge," answered Cash. "By the way, nice outfit."
Katia laughed. "How do I look?" She posed a bit.
Cash snickered and looked down a second, then back to Katia. "Like a Gangrel."
"Good." Katia smiled. 'Well, let's go."
Nodding, Cash smirked. "No prob."
-----------------
Malachi was seated, finally dressed in casual clothes, in a booth at The Haven waiting for Katia's band Embraced to perform. Katia was the songwriter, lead singer, and all around leader. She had embraced the rest of her band with the amused consent of Malachi. The band members were more than willing to perform their music forever.
As he waited, Malachi spotted the Brujah girl Sasha walking down into the club. She looked around briefly before seeing Malachi seated and striding over to join him. "Hello Malachi."
Malachi smiled slightly. Though he couldn't afford to be, he couldn't help but still be vengeful at the Brujah clan, but he was trying. "Hello Sasha, what brings you here tonight?"
Sasha tossed her curly brownish-red hair and smiled slyly. "Figured I'd come by to watch little miss Katia perform."
Malachi raised a brow. "Little?" he reiterated. "Sasha, how old do you think Katia is?"
Sasha shrugged. "Well, her band has only been kindred for a few months; she can't be that old."
Malachi laughed. "Katia was embraced by me in 1841."
Looking genuinely shocked, Sasha couldn't come up with a retort.
Malachi continued. "You're the little one Sasha, and I'd advise not to get on Katia's bad side. You have absolutely no idea what she's capable of."
A loud electric guitar strum cut Malachi off and he turned his attention to the stage, a smile appearing on his face. The curtain was pulling back to reveal Katia, her bandmate Kaylen next to her, his left hand on the neck of the guitar and his right holding a pick. The rest of Embraced stood at the ready until...
"One! Two! One two three four!"
Chords were struck, the bass beat throbbed, and sound filled The Haven. The Katia leaned towards the mic. "If you feel like you're being watched inside a darkened room, and you thought no one was there, I'm tellin' you don't scream, after all," she gave a short laugh, "it's me. I could never touch you so instead I watch you sleep, until I feel the lust in me, then slowly I'll creep! To your bedside, hear your heartbeat, kiss your soft skin, and feel the heat!"
Malachi smiled listening to Katia's song. She sang of what she knew, but no mortal would ever suspect anything other than words from a rocker.
A crowd of young rock fans had flocked around the stage, jostling and yelling, generally being rowdy to get attention. All but one... Cash stood a few yards back with the less obsessed fans and he was only smiling and nodding his head to the beat of the music. Chuckling to himself, Malachi shook his head slowly. To Cash, Katia was a Gangrel: she was rough, a rocker, and as bold as her music. Cash only saw the real Katia during meeting of primogens, and then she was serious, valid, and a true Toreador.
The Toreador primogen lived a double life.