The commotion began with a passing shove as Brujah passed Gangrel. Women, by nature, seemed to be catty. That didn't change because they were Embraced. In fact, considering the clans, it only made things worse. Tension had been in the air all night, and it was only a matter of time before something happened. Either side was itching to go at the other, and their chance came when Brujah's Jordan Baxter bumped into Gangrel's Lisha Martin.

"Gangrel trash." Jordan's words were low enough to be heard over the thrumming music. She tossed her red hair over her shoulder and sneered. She brushed at her shoulder, then put her hands on her hips.

Lisha turned towards her and glared. Her leather jacket groaned as she rose her arm and ran a hand through her black hair. "Brujah bitch," she spat at her. She stood as tall as someone barely five and a half feet could. "Watch where you're going, or stay the hell out of places decent people gather altogether."

"Ha!" She rolled her eyes and smirked. "Decent people... Gangrel scum are anything but decent. Shouldn't you be out trolling the streets for a box to sleep in tonight?"

"Funny." She grunted. "Shouldn't you be out looking for a cold body to fuck? The way I hear it, that's about all Brujah can get. Anyone alive has enough sense not to be anywhere near your dirty ass."

"You..." Jordan started to swing and Lisha caught her arm. She brought the other arm around and connected with a loud slap across her face. "Bitch!"

And the fight was on. Before either clan could get to their feet, the women were on the floor, claws bared. They knew the rules. No killing blows. This wasn't a war. It was an ages old blood grudge, and to do more than bruise the other was grounds for a clan war. The prince had laid down the law. There would be no wars unless he deemed it necessary. Most doubted that a passing brush in a club warranted war.

Across the room, Cash stood up. While he would like nothing better than to see Lisha tear every hair from Jordan's head, he couldn't allow the fight to go on in the club. The Brujah primogen had yet to arrive, and someone had to keep the peace. His firey blood made him weary of the peacefulness that cohesion had caused in him, but there was nothing else he could do. He didn't want to go to war anymore than the others did. He just enjoyed a good fight.

Apparently, so did Sydney, shown by her hand landing on Cash's arm. "Let it go," she said with an amused grin. "Let the chicks go at it."

He groaned. "I can't do that. Julian would kill me if this got too far."

"Oh, please. He wouldn't kill you." She rolled her eyes. "I swear, you're way too uptight for the kinda guy Sasha usually went for. What did she see in you, anyway?"

Cash forced himself to stare forward. "How about you not start shit, huh? I've got enough trouble ahead of me." He snatched his arm from her and started across the floor.

Sydney stood up and yelled, "You just wanna get away from me! Just wait until I tell my grandfather... or whatever he is... that you left me alone!"

Continuing to go forward, he retorted, "Everything is not about you! Damn! And you claim you're not like Sasha. You're exactly like her!"

"You son of a bitch!" She ran around the table and grabbed his arm. "You say that again, and I'll kick your ass! There's no insult in the world greater than comparing me to that slut!"

Cash jerked away from her again. "You're lucky you're Julian's blood, or I'd have..." His arm rose haltingly, then fell back to his side. "Understand this... me stopping this fight doesn't have a goddamn thing to do with you, got it? It endangers the Masquerade. You're not the only human in this place, and if the claws come out, then we can't erase an entire club."

He turned away from her before the urge to belt her rose again. Cash shoved his way through the gathering crowd. Brujah and Gangrel were arguing amongst themselves. Anytime someone tried to break up the fight, someone from the other clan stopped them. Humans were gathering in a circle, mostly men who wanted to see a chick fight. Cash pushed them all aside and grabbed Lisha around the waist. Her jerked her off of Jordan.

"Stop it, now!" He set her down, then grabbed both of her arms. "When we fight, we don't do it in public, you got me!"

"She started it!" She whirled around and surged forward. Cash grabbed her around the waist again. "That bitch slapped me!"

Brujah were now holding Jordan. "All she had to do was apologize! The dirty trash should watch where the hell you're going!"

"Trash..." Lisha tried to jump at her again. Jordan fought at the Brujah holding her. The women were doing their best to get away, but the holds on them were too tight. They could scream as loud as they wanted at one another, but they weren't going to fight. Cash was just grateful that they had the good sense not to yell out clan names at each other with so many humans around.

Sydney stood by and watched it all with amusement. She had been through so many cities, accidentally involved with too many Kindred to have never seen the clash between Brujah and Gangrel. It was the exact opposite of what she had witnessed between Toreador and Ventrue. Where the latter two clans blended as though they were of the same blood, the others fought like oil and water. She thought it was funny, and at the same time, sadly all too much like life for humans as well. All the same species, yet all fighting. She was pretty sure that the humans thought this was a clash of black and white, racism flying on both sides. She knew that it went far deeper, and yet... was pretty much the same bullshit as could be found in the deep South.

A hand touched her hip and she whirled around. The man was attractive that grinned down at her, that was for sure. He was also very Kindred. His eyes weren't glowing, and there was no hint of fang, though she had to admit that she hadn't actually seen any fangs on any of the Kindred except for that one Nosferatu who had freaked her out when he came out from a shadow. But, despite any signs that she thought would have been telltale, she knew that something about this one was off.

Sydney's eyes dropped to the hand on her hip, then rose back to his face. "Your hand is somewhere that I don't want it to be."

He laughed, a short chuckling burst. "What's a pretty thing like you doing slumming with this bunch of trash?"

"The same thing you're doing with the trash that you dressed up in expensive clothes to cover the whore. Trying to have a drink. Now, get your goddamned hands off of me."

"Actually, I had one hand on you, but now..." He put the other hand on her hip. Slowly, he lowered his head until his lips almost touched her ear. "Another groupie looking to sleep in the streets with Gangrel trash?"

"I said, get your goddamned hands off of me!" She shoved him back and glared. "Better Gangrel than Brujah in pretty suits pretending they're anything more than street rats."

"You little bitch." He grabbed her, and then there was a growl. His head turned slowly to Cash. His lips turned up into a mixture of a snarl and a smirk. "And what are you going to do, huh? Primogen that licks the prince's boots instead of leading his clan... Scared we're going to snatch this one away from you like we did the last one?"

Cash growled again. If they were anywhere else, he would have shifted and torn his throat out before he could utter another word. Instead, he squeezed the arm until he released Sydney. "I don't like anybody's boots. But I'll happily lick the blood from your neck after I rip your throat to shreds."

He snatched his arm back. "Big talk from a little man, Cash."

"See how little I am, Brand. I dare you to try."

Sydney's scream behind him turned his head, and he only barely managed to miss the swing that came his way. A Brujah had picked Sydney up, but her scream wasn't fright but fight as she reared around and punched the guy in the head. Cash turned back and when he connected solidly with Brand's jaw, the fight was back on.

Now, humans were in on the melee. People were fighting for no good reason and the place was being torn apart. Julian and Morgana ran down the stairs and waded into the crowd just as Dave and Chyna were entering the club. The prince's voice boomed as he shouted, "Enough!" The word reverberated off the walls and slowly, everyone stopped and turned towards him. It took all of his control to keep his eyes from glowing.

"The Haven is now closed!" Morgana called. "Get out before someone calls the police!" No one moved. "Get out!"

Slowly, the crowd started to dissipate. People began to quickly forget why they were fighting. Their energy was up, but since there really hadn't been much of a reason for the brawl, there didn't seem to be a reason to continue it either. Though the club started to empty of humans, the Kindred stayed behind. Julian and Morgana excused Toreador and Ventrue. The way members of Brujah and Gangrel stared at each other, it was very obvious to them that they were the ones who started the brawl.

Dave was talking low, but animatedly to his people. When there was no one left inside but Kindred, his voice rose. "I can't leave you alone for a few minutes? What the hell is wrong with you! We do not air our clan laundry in front of humans!" Someone started to speak and he shouted, "I don't care who started the fight! It ends!"

Cash grabbed one of his clan by the collars of his Harley jacket. His hair was long and curly. He was taller than the primogen, but that didn't stop his leader from being forceful. "What's with you, huh, Edge?" He shook him. "You're supposed to be my second and you let this shit go on? You can't break up a fight?"

"You started the fight with Brand."

He shook him again. "That wouldn't have happened if you'd have done something about the first one! I told you to keep an eye on Lisha! If I can't trust you to watch your own clan, how the hell do you think I'll ever let you guard the prince!"

"He's your prince!"

Cash threw him to the floor. His foot landed hard on Edge's throat. "He's your prince, too. I told you that tonight, and I'll tell you again. You better learn it, or you'll end up as dead as the others, got it?"

Julian let the primogens rant at their people, then finally yelled, "Stop!" He moved to the center of the room, stopping when he got to Sydney. "Are you alright?" he asked her. She nodded, then shrugged.

"It's no big. Some people just don't realize when no means no. I think I taught 'em."

"Obviously, Haven isn't the place for you." He looked around the room. "We will not have a repeat of the past. No one is Embraced without permission. No one is Embraced against their will."

"No one was going to Embrace her. We didn't want her trashy sister and we damn sure don't want her. Let her stay with her Gangrel scum!"

"Shut up!" He whirled on Jordan. In the blink of an eye, Julian was in front of her. He reached out and snatched her by her throat. "You speak when I tell you, do you understand?" She croaked out an affirmative and he let her go. Julian turned back to the others. "I'll tell you the exact same thing I told Eddie Fiori. Most of you exist because I allow it. Endanger the Masquerade again, and your lives will be forfeit. There will be no Blood Hunt. You will stand in line as I move through you and cut you each down. Don't mistake my kindness for weakness. I want a strong city, but any of you who show me disloyalty will find yourselves the same place as Lillie and Eddie." He looked at the primogens. "Control your clans, or I'll do it for you."

"Julian..." Sydney groaned. The look he gave her was not pleasant and she quieted. She wasn't afraid, but neither was she stupid. She had to live with the man and getting a smart ass and possibly undermining comment in wasn't worth the shit she would have to take at home.

"Get your things," he told her. "We're going home." Sydney grunted, but she went back to the table to get her jacket. Julian looked up and said, "Morgana?"

"I'll be there later. I have to clean this mess up." She looked to the Kindred in front of her. "Or at least start directing the cleaning. I will not do the work after the mess you've made. You destroyed this place, you put it back together and hope to God that the Toreador at the door caught every human and altered their thoughts of what happened here tonight."

Julian gave her a nod, then looked at Cash and Dave. "I mean it. You control them, or I will." Sydney came back to him and he put an arm around her waist. "I will not go to war because Brujah and Gangrel can't get along for a few hours in the evening. And since you act like children, I will treat you as such. For the next week, all Gangrel and Brujah except for the primogens and their personal guard are banned from The Haven."

He stormed out of the club, holding tightly to Sydney. He stopped when he realized that his driver and bodyguard were both still inside. Julian turned and saw that going back inside was not necessary. Cash and the driver came storming out of the club, followed closely by Dave. Chyna was missing from his side, and Julian assumed that he had left her behind to oversee the clan.

"Julian..." Sydney sighed as they continued to walk to the car. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes," he told her definitely, "it was."

His eyes glowed and Sydney knew that was the end of the conversation, whether she liked it or not.