Blood Will Out

Leopold grimaced through pursed lips. The night had really taken one terrible turn after another, only to end in a drainpipe looking unkempt and homeless. Well, as far as he was concerned he looked that bad. He absently touched the side of his head where his undercut began. "It's been so long since I've spent a day from home that I almost forgot. I'm so used to my routine. Thankfully it's not as if I'll awaken with a lion's mane, just a little longer on the sides." He downplayed his disliking of the situation but it was still clear he would not be pleased with the change in look.

"As for the sleeping arrangements, at this point I'll take what I can get and deal with the mental scarring later," he said lightheartedly. "I've had fireballs thrown at me, threatened to have my head crushed, and had a delightful vision of my own death by sunrise, all in the name of your safety. How about we make a deal that when night comes again you get me to my home without anyone seeing me, and I'll keep my whimpering in shame and disgust to a minimum?" He may have been unhappy with the situation, but Leopold was still running on an emotion high from the Fae blood and at Victoria's appearance to not make jokes at his own expense and attempt to keep the mood light. The night was hopefully almost over and they had found Victoria in one piece. Well, she found them, but it didn't matter.

"You came here... for me?" She dawned a look that spoke of confirmed fears. "I had assumed it was in you that was in some kind of trouble. Come children... we need to talk." She spun on one heal and motioned to follow with the flick of one finger. Her strut half a march and half confident sway. She lead the group out from the maintenance room and down a set of tunnels. Stairs led them to an arched tube with no real walkway to speak of. 



Mold and calcium grew thickly in sheets on the bricks. Following the water's current brought them to a large dark shaft. The tunnel ended with its water descending into blackness. Several other tunnels were similarly concluded at various elevations across the chasm, and their waterfalls passed of fungus patches of disgusting sizes that wafted and shifted in the eb of underground air, their movements unsettling. "Please tell me we aren't actually going down there." Nathan said, his voice begging for mercy. Victoria responded only with a smirk over her shoulder and grabbing him about the waist, locking her hips with his. She let out long sinews of Obtenebrous tendrils from either side of her and begun to grip at small pipes and hooks that protruded from the aging brick walls.

She scaled along the wall towards a window like hole on the left side of the shaft and took Nathan inside, her cargo whimpering all the way and cradling his pet. Bastion offered out his hand as if to dace, "I told you wear we were wasn't dangerous enough... Shall we?" He smiled, pleased with himself to be Lasombra at that moment.

"Oh I do believe we shall," Leopold said, taking Kreiger's large hand, smirking up at him. He held back the urge to act on his habit of playful flirting, especially with new acquaintances.

The whimsical facade vanished as Bastion's face and extremities faded away into a wispy shade. As the writhing tentacles pulled themselves about Leopold, he could feel his blood curdle in his veins. He choked on it in his throat and felt it pushing against the inside of his eyes. Before he knew it, Leopold was on his knees in some kind of fore-man's office, coughing black blood onto the dusty floor. Leopold raised his head, wiping his mouth. The back of the room had caved in completely years ago. There seemed to be no way in or out of this room save for the window. Several of the bricks had been lined in a neat platform near the wall to fashion a crude facsimile of a bed, though it seemed to have more in common with the floor of a burial vault.

As he rose to his feet, Leopold could see upon Nathan's face the same asphyxiation he must be displaying. It was the same as the dying Tremere woman no more than an hour prior. Victoria and her Childe spoke as Nathan and Leopold regained their senses. "Bastion meine Liebe, wie haben sie weiß, dass ich in gefahr war?" Victoria stared at Bastion with a look of wonder rarely seen on her.

"Meine Liebe , gingen wir in die Mühle. Als wir ankamen, fanden wir Hexen sah sich um." He spoke with pride, but also a hint of concern.

Victoria was clearly shocked, "Hexen? Es ist ein glück, dass sie gekommen sind. Ich hatte recht, Sie von zu hause aus anrufen. Ihre instinkte kann mein leben retten."

Bastion hesitated. When he spoke again, it was guarded, "Eigentlich... Ihre verbündeten... kam zu ihrem haven. Sie fragten ungerade fragen. Sie bestanden auf der suche nach ihnen." He let his eyes drop to the floor.

Victoria slowly turned her attention very intentionally towards Leopold, her eyebrows high, "Oh really... well then, I'm glad -some- of my allies have instincts that I can trust." It was hard to believe, but Bastion seemed to be actually ashamed. "Tell me everything." she commanded.

Leopold was slightly confused by the introduction into the conversation, but took it none the less. "Well I wouldn't say my instincts are very good, you know how I am. I just have an unhealthy amount of confidence and determination. I go get what I want." He smiled, overtly proud of the skills he had, even if they weren't always the best skills to have. Confident to a fault.

He started with how he had gone to Deacon's show, the grotesque creature that had killed him and fled into the night, and about Alex. "After that, I picked up Nathan on my way to see you. I figured you could help me track Alex down considering the unusual circumstances. We found Mr. Kreiger at your abode instead of you and eventually he agreed to venture to find you. The night was already going awry and heaven knows all I needed was to lose two valued friends in one night. He did make the night go considerably smoother I will say. All things considered." Leopold paused to think about everything that had happened so far. He had definitely never had a night like this, though he didn't hope to have many more. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that it wouldn't be all parties, gallery openings, and fashion shows anymore, however.

"Anyway, dear Nathan drove us to the mill where Mr. Kreiger believed you to be. There were some other vampires there, though aside from Alex I'd never seen them before. Camarilla for sure." He paused to try to recall their appearance. "Well there was a Tremere girl who threw fireballs, a couple aimed at me. Long, blond hair on her. Lovely thing she was," he commented, voice dripping with sarcasm, "Uh... A broad, black gentleman dressed like a fop. He could do with an updated look. Didn't speak much, at least not that I heard." Leopold scrunched and stretched his face about as he thought, clearly unable to hold back expressions while in his elated state.

"Uhhh..." he sighed, "let's see... They set the mill on fire. I went around to try to get in because I assumed you were in there. Who else would be in there, after all? The Tremere girl noticed me, fireballs and yada yada yada," he said, glossing over his experience with the Red Fear with a circular wave of his hand. Leopold was looking about the room trying to recall details that seemed important. "I ran into Alex again, he didn't seem pleased by my appearance there, Mr. Kreiger very helpfully put his sword through his gut which gave me enough time to contact Nathan to pick us up. Unfortunately Alex must have been very well fed or very powerful because he was quickly back on my tail threatening to smash my skull with a rather large piece of tree. Not an experience I think to be pleasant. Ah, yes, telekinetic powers on him. Be wary of that. Then Nathan took him out with the car, bless him." Leopold smiled over at his friend who appeared to be doing better as the minutes passed.

"After that, we picked up Mr. Kreiger who was entangled with the Tremere girl. I shot her most excellently," he paused to realize that he possibly killed a member of the Camarilla. "Well... hopefully she isn't dead. I'd hate to meet my Final Death because I happen to have a lucky shot. Normally I'm not so good with a gun or anything physical, really..." He looked genuinely concerned for his safety at that moment. Not that such a mean brat deserved to live, but it would make his life infinitely more difficult if she didn't survive.

After a few moments Leopold continued with his retelling of the night. "We figured best to lay low for at least the rest of the night and day, and Mr. Kreiger suggested getting to this location as it was closer and more secure than the other places we had thought to go to. Said he didn't exactly know the way but what choice did we have but to follow? Plus he seemed to be able to navigate well enough and his physical skills had made themselves apparent when fighting Alex and the other Tremere. Like I said, good head on that one. Along our way through these lovely pipes and passages we encountered a rather large, white alligator who is apparently a member of the Fae folk. Some sort of Changeling or... what was it you two called it, Nathan?" He asked his friend for he seemed to know more than Kreiger on the topic and he hoped that getting him reincorporated with the group would sooth him a little bit. Can't imagine how he must be doing after all this, especially with that last bit of trek suffocated by Victoria.

Nathan seemed uncomfortable "Um, it's not something I should really be talking about in front of vampires." He looked around as if something invisible could be watching him at this very moment. "But nothing about it would have explained the supernatural wounds anyway. There was definitely more to that thing than meets the eye, however."

"That's Isabella," Victoria added, "she's one of the reasons I make Haven down here. She keeps the Camerilla rats away but I don't much about her other than she's been down here since the 1920's, and she's very angry." She thought for a moment, "What you said about Decon saddens me, but he was ancient. He was bound to loose it eventually if he did not lay down in Torpor. And that whatever thing managed to take an elder down is now loose upon the night is unsettling to say the least.

But, Alex also showing up at my meeting-place the same night is no coincidence. At first I had suspected that Kyle was going to tip me off about Deacon. I've been aware of the Camarilla's attempts to sway him, powerful as he is. But when he didn't show tonight I bailed, smelling a setup. But if Kyle and I weren't there, why the need to burn it down?"

"Actually," Bastion responded, "Kyle -was- at the mill."

"Really? Where?"

Bastion and Leopold passed a glance between one another and back at Victoria, "All over the place." said Bastion.

Leopold thought back to the burning mill. It seemed things had been spiraling since the new Prince came into power. Maybe it's time to pack up and relocate. Though it'll be hard to find as nice a cultural gold mine as New York.

He lingered on the thought a moment longer before pushing the idea of having to move back to be dealt with at a later time. "Well, good to know that at least someone knows what that creature is. Isabella, I mean. And that we need not worry about the Camarilla finding us for now." Leopold was pleased, but then realized something and began looking mildly confused. "Who is Kyle, though? Another associate you have yet to introduce?" He knew that it wasn't required that his friends tell him about everyone they knew, but he figured it would have come up in conversation at some point before. "Similarly, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned Mr. Kreiger before, I must say." Victoria is much older, it shouldn't be surprising that she knows many more people than she tells, I suppose, he thought, though it didn't stop his curiosity from asking anyway.

"And what about the place we are now?" He scanned the dusty room over once more. Not much to be said of it, though it is more preparation than I ever had. "I do hope the plan is to leave sooner rather than later. I can't do much from such a place, especially when the only way in or out is through choking blackness. Not that I don't appreciate the lift." His gratitude was sincere, but his concern was clearly heard as well.

Victoria took a moment to consider Leopold's line of questioning. "My Childe is my most trusted ally, and my only true connection to home. Better to not speak of him, as it presents a weakness that could be exploited." She was true to form. Victoria had always been elegance and grace with an equal measure of cold calculation and strategy. Bastion, for his part, seems to have only picked up one of these aspects. "As for Kyle he contacted me early yesterday evening. Said he was a Caitif who had information about a Sabbat spy of some kind. I didn't trust him but if he wound up dead then perhaps there was more to his claims that it seemed. Its probably for the best that I high tailed it out of there when I did, I grew up in the Tremere clan wars I've seen first hand what they do to people."

She thought some more, eyeing the floor. "Actually, its surprising they didn't keep him in one piece, steak him. They must be getting desperate, but desperate for what is the real question. It's a pity we didn't get any information on Kyle, something more we could go on, since clearly this Alex is connected somehow."

"Now that you mention it," Bastion spoke up, his dry voice laced with a cocky attitude, "someone had to explore the warehouse while Leopold was out dancing with the Tremere." He reached into the breast pocket of his coat and pulled out a bloodied class ring. The three stepped in to get a closer look.

Nathan reached out and took the ring, "CSI... Staten Island College that's right across Willowbrook Park less than three miles from here."

Bastion lowered his brow, "How on earth do you know that?"

"What?" Nathan asked defensively, "That's where Gene Simmons graduated." There was silence for several seconds, "...What?"

"Well whats with the symbols?" Bastion asked.

"Its Greek, Delta Iota Kappa, must have been a frat boy."

Victoria snarked up, "You gotta be fuckin' kidding me. The Delta boys are recruiting grounds for a group of Anarchs that run out the Travler's Rest." She gave the impression that "recruiting" involved a lot of blood loss and a shovel.

"Anarchs, huh? Maybe we can use that to our advantage and get a few people on our side over there. If something is happening, then you know most of them are going to be against the Camarilla. And the more we have to help resist Alex and whatever he and his group have planned, the better." Leopold had taken on a surprisingly serious tone for his usual way of speech before flipping back to one more similar to his normal manner. "I hate to get so scheme-y and political, but I don't appreciate attempted murder." Although Leopold wasn't being entirely honest about scheming, his penchence for spite was known amongst his friends. He wanted to stop whatever Alex was a part of, tear him down, and make sure he knew he had made a serious mistake.

"Oh, I don't think we'll find allies among the Delta boys," Victoria dismissed with an amused tone. "You know what the difference is between us and the Anarchs?" She turned away and paced across the room a few steps. As attention followed her across the room, Nathan flashed a glance at Bastion and pocketed the ring. He and Leopold's attention turned back to Vicroria as she spun on her heel. "They have a problem with authority. Escaped the mortal lords and thought that meant their immortality should be free of lords as well. Children, the lot of them. They'd rather bury their heads in the sand and pretend to be above all law than help us. Still, perhaps in the evening Bastion and I can... politely request their assistance. Thank you for coming, Leopold, this news of Alex gives me an important lead. I'll see if the Delta boys know anything about him, but I need to know what the Camerilla wants with me. I hadn't realized I was important enough for them to take notice." 
She lowered her head and stared into Leopold's eyes with a very serious expression. "I need something from you Leopold. I need someone with ties to the Camerilla to find out what they're up to." Leopold knew what was coming, she had asked before, on occasion. But, never when she felt her life may be on the line. "I need you're Sire. Convince her to share what she knows, that her Childe's life may depend on it." She turned to Bastion, "You cannot under estimate how the sight of a wounded progeny effects their maker." Her eyes returned to Leopold, "That should be more up your alley than knocking heads at a frat house, after all."

Leopold loathed hearing the request. He was not on good terms with his Sire and hadn't seen her in years. "Come now, Victoria. You don't honestly think she would see me, never mind listen to me," he started, "Knowing her she probably has some new puppet, following close at her heels like a leashed puppy. Not that they could ever replace me, really, but I can't imagine she wouldn't try." He had been gesturing lightly while he spoke and when finished sighed in discomfort at the thought of ever being replaced, even by someone he no longer liked. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and shifted his weight to the other foot before continuing. "And even if I agreed, if she, or any Degenerates, saw me like this they'd probably only laugh in delight and at my fall. Could you imagine me strolling into... well wherever she is now, having to play the needy? Even if I got cleaned up a bit..." Leopold trailed off. He didn't really have point to add. His displeasure with the scenario, and situation on the whole, was plainly shown on his face and in his posture. He spoke and stood with almost child-like defiance.

His pride was both an asset and a weakness. I may be able to manipulate most, but I'm not stupid," he thought stubbornly. There's no way she'd ever tell me what she knows... Though it would be a hell of a feat if I could convince her. Hmm. Heh, to see her trying to comfort me, that'd be a memory to keep. The idea was cruel and vindictive for him, yet strangely sentimental. Although Leopold was no longer on good terms with her, there was still a part of him that missed having contact with his Sire. Perhaps it was seeing Kreiger and Victoria together that had resurfaced the feeling.

"Are there no other options? Someone else to contact perhaps?" Leopold wasn't getting his hopes up, but he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Oh I don't know," Bastion countered, "Clean up some of the refuse and run a comb through your hair and I think we could make the whole barbequed metro sexual look a thing." No one laughed, but he didn't let that impact the smug look on his face.

Victoria moved on undistracted, "Contacts within the Camerilla are difficult to come by in New York, especially for known terrorists. You two are the closest thing I have, my brothers, and its not as if Nathan's sire is at our call." Nathan shook his head quickly, with clearly a hint of fear. His embrace was a punishment, after all. He was practically a caitif, were it not for his obvious derangements he may not have even learned the name of Malkav. "In the evening we'll head to Nathan's to fix ourselves up, he's likely low enough on anyone's radar to not be bugged. Then Bastion and I will put our back into it while you and Nathan find whatever whole your Sire crawls out of these nights. We simply do not have a choice this time, understand?"

Leopold sighed unhappily, but accepting of the situation. "Yes, I suppose you are right," he said as he sat on the edge of the brick faux-bed, crossing his legs and leaning back. "I suppose I should just be grateful to have the company of you three," he shot Kreiger a glare for his last comment, "and am not back at the mill, burnt to a crisp."

He thought for a moment about the danger of remeeting with his Sire, but understood the necessity of it.
Hopefully Nathan has something decent I can change into. Hmm... I wonder if I've left clothes there... Can't imagine why I would have, but a guy can dream.

"So, what are the bunking arrangements in this lovely cabin?" he asked after a minute, a thin smile on his face as he looked to Victoria.

"For starters?" She pointed at brick bed with a bouncing index finger enunciating this next part, "THAT'S mine. You three will have to fend for yourselves. I'm afraid this wasn't meant to be more than a one person safe house. And you aren't to wake me for an hour after sunset minimum. I simply can't tell you how m..." CRICK. The sound of splitting brick echoed through the ruined antechamber. In a flash Bastion was already leaning out over the great chasm, one foot up on the ledge and sword in hand. Nathan made his way to join him in a staggered gallop. The sound of breaking wall and aged brick tumbling into the dark seemed to shock both of them.

Nathan's eyes narrowed as he focused in concentration. "NASFERATU!" He shouted. Bastion stuck out with his sword, drawing blood and a hiss of a raspy injured howl. The next pair of strikes met wall and wall alone. 

"Dammit!" Bastion wailed, "Where is he?"

"She," Nathan corrected, "and she let go. She fell, but it looked like it was on purpose. Vic you have to do something, they know who we are. They know what we're planning, this could be construed as treason in the wrong courts... VIC!"

But she just stood there, staring at Leopold. She slowly backed away, half a smile on her face. "You know as well as I that she has not only the magick of Obfuscation, but an invaluable knowledge of the tunnels below... We need someone fast enough to catch her before she vanishes forever, and someone who can see the invisible." She leaned over to a broken table and tore a leg from it effortlessly. She returned to Leopold and got inside his personal space, holding the shard to his chest. "Leopold, listen carefully. If she dropped intentionally its because she knows she'll survive the fall. I want you to chase her down, and put this through her fetid heart. Go, Leopold." She commanded, a full smile upon her face. "Show me the Warrior's heart you've hidden, all these years." 

She had no reason to suspect Leopold capable of fighting, but there was something endearing about the way she begged this to be true of him. She was a natural leader, and people had died just to prove themselves to her. Indeed, becoming one of her ghouls was known to be a dangerous position for anyone involved. Her manner commanded immediate loyalty, such that it seemed the worst possible thing that could happen would be to disappoint her.

Leopold narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously but took the table leg anyway. He wasn't sure what she was getting at, or thought she could get, by asking him to pursue the intruder, but he knew she was right. He was fast, and he had the advantage with the ability to see auras and general hieghtened senses. Not that it always worked so well.

"I'll get her," he said taking a step to the side, headed towards the gaping crevasse. "Though in case I meet my final death, say kind things at my funeral, won't you?" His tone and smile were playful, but his concern was not. The night had been long, stressful, and draining. Now he had to track down a rat? He just wanted to sleep.

Instead he looked down into the chasm then took a step into the darkness. As he fell he tried to prepare himself to land.

Stagnant air rushed around Leopold. His head lightened as the force of the fall pulled his blood from its normal places. His blood had no oxygen to speak of, but its magic was still needed to fuel his senses. After all, a Kindred without Vitea was little more than a corpse. His vision darkened as he fell, the light from above becoming more distant, it gave Leopold the sensation of fainting before he slammed into the water below. Several joints dislocated from their sockets and the makeshift steak loosed itself from his grasp. His blood pulled his body together as it flooded back to fill his veins, sharpening his senses as it repaired his damage.

Worked stone gave way to natural wall, Leopold floated in a basin at the bottom of the pit. A small rocky shoreline rose a short distance before him and the waters trickling in from above wafted out to his left through what was most likely a tunnel under the water's surface. The steak floated gently past him in that direction. The area was barely lit by... was it, Christmas lights? They were wired around an arm rail on a makeshift catwalk bordering the right side of the shore and leading to the caves beyond. The walkway seemed to be made out of rusting sheet metal, old road signs and bill boards. Leopold caught glimpse of a very surprised looking Nasferatu who quickly vanished from sight upon spotting her pursuer.

With a light groan at his reforming joints, Leopold worked his way through the water towards the makeshift stake. Well at least this outfit was already headed for the trash, he thought to himself as he sloshed through the basin and picked the stake back up. He was scanning the room as he did so, although unable to see the rehidden vampire, he didn't want to be taken by surprise for lack of trying. After retrieving the table leg he made his way to the shoreline.

Leopold was trying to be more cautious with his steps. Cautious and calculating. He wasn't the one hiding, but tromping around wasn't his style or a smart way to proceed. Travelling through water wasn't helping the situation though. As Leopold made his way to the shore towards where he saw the Nosferatu, he focused his senses and began scanning the room with more detail. The table leg was in his right hand at his side, ready to be used as a weapon but not brandished just yet.

"If I was a sewer rat," he murmured to himself, "where would I be hiding?" His gut told him to head up the patchwork ramp to the caves, but he didn't want to miss her if she was still hiding in the immediate area.

OOC:

Preternatural senses proved to be a curse. Pushing the sound of falling water out of focus was difficult, and gave way to the sounds of squeaks and scurrying - more rats. Faintly, under the ambiance of the caves, the steady thunk of boot on metal trailed in through the tunnel. "Damn." Leopold muttered before breaking into a sprint along the makeshift road of refuse, casting off sloughs of water with each hastening step.

OOC:

OOC:

Leopold knew there was no time for the tact or mental manipulation he would have preferred to use. He ran as fast as the area would allow, though was no less graceful in his ability to dodge the obstacles that he approached. He had his makeshift stake readied at his side as he ran towards the intruding enemy. Or at least where he believed her to be.

OOC:

Leopold pumped his legs as fast as they would carry him. Lifeless as he was, he would never tire, but he could hear the faint patting of the Nasferatu's feet upon the strange mixture of metal and cave floor. She was supremely silent - and she was getting away. Leopold Focused, his mind and his willpower concentrated on his speed. His blood burned in his veins and he shot forth with preternatural speed and persistence. He was on her in an instant, and could hear gasps and panting. But Vampires do not run out of breath - she was afraid.

She flashed into view abruptly as she started running along the wall, clawing her way up toward some piled debris. She grabbed an old refrigerator and spun as she dislodged it effortlessly from its place. As it came down Leopold fell backward on instinct, his great velocity carrying him forward on his heel, knee and palm. He could feel the large appliance passing through his hair almost more clearly than the rough floor ripping apart his knee and hand. Now she was visible. Leopold vaulted over a rusted highway guardrail and onto a streetlight beam, swinging over to the path ahead of her. A look of shock was clearly visible on her face just before being tackled to the ground. As they struggled to gain the upper hand Leopold felt her boots press upon his stomach. In an instant he was thrust upward, slamming into the pitted ceiling before falling down, only to be grabbed mid-air and slammed face first into the railing.

It took a moment for Leopold to regain his senses. The room was spinning and and he palmed his face he could feel new moisture accompanying the grimy water. A crimson blur filled his vision and red painted his hand. He pulled his hand from his face, and as he stared at the blood pooled on his palm he felt himself make 2 heavy breaths of rising anger. The full weight of the evening pulled at his mind and he couldn't help but let out a drawn, almost animalistic scream.

OOC:

"She'll never love you, you know." Victoria's words seemed to echo off the cave walls. The beast climbed up from the hollowness of Leopold's soul to stretch back his lips and bare his fangs. 
This ends, now. It demanded as his visioned blurred, giving way to Victoria's beach-side manor.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Leopold scoffed. He seemed confident, but she was old and he listened further. He tried not to let on that her comment caused him worry.

"Not the way you love her. Tell me, darling, have you ever owned a puppy? A woman needs an equal, not a possession. A Kindred needs something more."

"I am something more. She chose me." His words were childish and he knew it. Victoria's words hurt. He didn't want to believe them, but doubt was creeping into his mind. He couldn't imagine Yvette not loving him, or worse, choosing someone else to love instead.

"We are centuries old Leopold! In our day, when men marched to a village that was burned to the ground and bore witness to the charred remains of women and children that war leaves in its wake do you think they gave it a second thought? They didn't. They didn't think anything, they didn't FEEL anything. Because back then men were warriors."

Paranoia began its march on him. He would die without Yvette. He knew he was not the type of man Victoria described. "Well what would you suggest?" Leopold was still trying to remain calm on the outside, though his confidence was wavering.

"You need to prove to her you are worth her love. Strong. Independent. She will never love you as her slave. If you crave her affection as maddeningly as you claim then show her you deserve it. Challenge her for your freedom, and make her give it to you when she refuses. Prove that you are a man like they used to make them, who lived by a code. Who had a sense of honor and dignity and an iron-forged cock."

"I am strong. And independent. And..." his words trailed off as he thought more about the last few decades. He had been her lap pet. He hadn't done much without her asking, or if so it was still done for her. But she was happy, wasn't she? She loved him back, right? Leopold started reanalyzing everything she had every said or done. Every look at him, to others, every word she ever said, every decision she ever made.
None of it made any sense anymore. None of it seemed to be as clear. Leopold's emotional foundation was crumbling beneath his feet and he was clawing at the stones trying to hold them together. He had to keep her love, keep her. He was frantic.
"What do I do?!" he begged of Victoria, the pleading face of desperate man staring back at the Lasombra. He would do anything for Yvette, anything to keep her happy and to keep her love.

"You stand up to her. Offer her your love, freely, and willingly by choice - not by blood bonds. You can give to her the love of someone who does not lap at her wrist, you can give her what she truly wants, someone she can share eternity with as a partner, not a Childe. You can be this love to her, my dear Leopold. But, for this you must be free. You will upset her, surely. But stand your ground give the ancient wench a good slugging and she'll see you on a higher pedestal I promise. But you have to actually do it, you can't be all talk and no trousers.
I can show you how..."

Victoria's words didn't make sense to him. Standing against Yvette seemed like it would surely upset her. But Victoria was old and she must know best, right? Yvette wants a man to stand by her side, not a Childe she must take care of. And Leopold couldn't risk losing Yvette, now or ever.

Leopold's head slammed into the rock floor snapping his attention to the present. A sizable Nosferatu hand was tight around his neck and the other arm pull back from his face for another swing. She hit like a Mac truck, Nathan did not over exaggerate the strength of Nasferat's Childer. 

Another blow cracked the bone of Leopold's brow. When Leopold looked back it was Yvette who returned his gaze. Disheveled, bloody, and kneeling between to pieces of what used to be a rather nice armoire. As blood dripped into his eye he remembered, none of the blood she was wearing was her's. "What has gotten into you!?"

"I am claiming my independence," his words were weak, but he slowly got to his feet. He tried to look as big as his thin frame and beat body would make him. His legs were shaking though, out of both fear for her love and the damage they'd taken. In the end she will love me more... he reminded himself. She wants a man, not a lap dog. He looked at her as self-assured as he could. He would be the confident man she wanted.

"Becoming a maker is an eternal commitment, greater than any marriage, deeper than any human bond. And you would take what I've given you and spit in my face a mouth full of my own blood? Fine!" She stood from him and strode several paces across the room. Leopold took the moment to force his body to regenerate some of its damage, making it slightly easier to stand. At least his legs weren't shaking anymore. Without looking at him she spoke softly, "Leopold Fitzroy, I renounce the ties of our blood, and my dominion over you as my Childe." She rounded to face him, a tear of blood rolling from her eye,
"As your Sire... I release you."

It was like a kick in the nuts. Leopold fell down to his knees and his stomach, long since turned to ash demanded to heave and purge itself though it would disgorge only blood. It was like his soul was trying to tear itself from his body. Leopold's freedom was not bitter-sweet. It was pure bile. Suddenly his greatest love was gone. He felt nothing. Just the cold, numbness of death. The past 50 years had been nothing but lies, smoke and mirrors. Like he was on some powerful hallucinogen that instantly vanished and put him straight in withdrawal. He had loved her, a dizzying and obsessed love that consumed his every thought for years. He lived to be hers and his every action was guided in some way by his desire to love her even more. And in an instant it was taken away, and it was as if he had never had it.

Regret was the first place his mind ran. Give it back, it pleaded. To stay a slave to her for all eternity is surely better than having lost this love. But he realized, she was still here. The only thing he lost was what her blood made him imagine she was. The decades of memories they shared were still there, he simply didn't feel the same way about them. He tried to remember her from when he was alive. He had fallen for her then, hadn't he? Had she simply glamoured him? Surely not, he did still love her, after all. But the severed Blood Blond made the Earth shutter violently around him and the walls spin. And the love he felt was the pithy, trite love befitting only of Kine.

He forced himself to meet her gaze, "Why, Leopold?" she begged.

"I... I thought..." he began searching for the words. "You would want... I wasn't..." he couldn't seem to piece together a full sentence. Everything hurt and his thoughts were flying as he tried to access them all, trying to understand. "You didn't really love me!" He blurted out, angry, sad, and confused.

"Oh Leopold... I've always loved you..."


A soft groan of pain caught Leopold's attention. The broken body of the Nosferatu lay at his feet, slowly putting itself back together. His knuckles felt as though they were fractured in many places, but he wasn't sure he could spare the blood to heal them.

OOC:

The steady ping of water drips on metal called Leopold's senses back to the present. A low hollow sound permeated the air, like the whole place was a massive sea-shell. In the distance, footsteps made a fast approach. Leopold's eyes darted in search of the wooden splinter he was intended to stake this Kindred with, but he was exhausted, it was dark, and he was hungry. He would collapse if his ancient legs weren't tireless.

"Marvelous!" Victoria said as she approached, "Simply marvelous, my darling I'm so proud." She pulled Leopold close by the cheek and kissed him on the opposite side. "I always knew you were more powerful than you let on."

Leopold's thoughts continued to race, still coming down from the effects of the Beast. He should say something to Victoria, something charming, something witty. The Nasferatu, she would be healed soon. Blood. He needed blood, again. Bastion came up from behind as the Nasferatu just started to lift herself enough to begin crawling away. He slammed a heavy boot into her ribs before reaching down to pick her up into a sitting position by her crooked pointy ear. 

"Who are working for?" he demanded, a touch cliche.

"Isn't it obvious?" she hissed, her voice hoarse and chocked with blood, "I'm with the Staten Island Sewer Commission."

Bastion grabbed her throat and slammed her head back against the cave wall. "Wrong answer."

"Leo," Nathan hailed, "are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Just a memory, my dear Nathan," Leopold said weakly, feigning a smile. "But I do need Vitae. I have not spent this much in a very, very long time." He pulled his face out of Victoria's hands and glanced over at the Nosferatu and chimed to Mr. Kreiger, "Give her hell."

He turned back to Victoria and Nathan as he approached. "I would very much like this night to be over with but I cannot sleep just yet. So please, let's find me something to eat. And preferably something with expensive tastes."

"That might present a bit of a problem, Casanova. The dawn is nearly now, those with any taste are unlikely to still be about. " Victoria said, also glancing toward Bastion's interrogation. "Still, our degree of safety in these tunnels is yet to be determined. If your heart is set on Human blood we might make our way to the surface, but we may require drastic measures to keep from the Sun. You could always drink from one of us..." She turned to Nathan, "perhaps not this one, however, you've had too much aberrant blood tonight I think." Nathan tried not to be offended, he wasn't doing that good a job.

"I do not give my blood. Not by choice." Said Bastion over one shoulder.

"Well that leaves me," she held one wrist up, "but it's up to you." One drink of three, Leopold thought. Victoria had earned his trust, he doubted this was some plot to enthrall him. Still, one could never be too careful where the Blood Bond was concerned.

Leopold looked at Victoria's wrist and wished it were as easy a meal as it seemed. "I think I will pass, my dear. That is one road I do not wish to tread near again. I do believe I could go for a bigger meal in any case." He sat down against a wall and put his head between his knees. He was so tired and the temptation to drink from Victoria was strong, but he had promised himself he wouldn't go there again.

He looked up again, "So who is our lovely, new comrade? And how should we deal with her so I can get on with this wretched evening and be done with it?" His hair was disheveled, his clothes destroyed, his energy drained, and his cheerful disposition hanging on by a thread.

OOC:

Bastion stood up straight at the question of his captive's identity. "It's anybody's guess, she isn't talking." He turned away from her entirely, trying in vain to throw the blood from his gloves. A look of hope taking root on her twisted face yet she remained still. Perhaps she was too cowed to act; perhaps she was simply biding her time for the right moment. "It is of small consequence, there is more than one way to skin a Rat, as it were." One corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk as he stared towards his Sire.

Victoria took on a solemn expression and she dropped her hand to fold it with the other at her waist. She was grim. But in his blood, still close to the Beast from frenzy, could sense something more in her. Contained excitement, perhaps, or even - hunger. Finally with a flash she bore her fangs, unveiled her Tenebrous limbs and began floating toward the lovely new comrade. All look of hope quickly vanished as the prisoner was grappled and lifted from her curled position and into the air. She struggled against her restraints to the best of her ability, but the elder Kindred far outmatched her victim. All the same, she showed no trace of fear, only anger - fangs defiantly unveiled. When Victoria spoke, her voice was raspy, unfamiliar, yet sincere. "Should you have anything to say before you lose your immortality, you should speak now."

Only then the Nasferatu's demeanor betrayed a flash of panic, gone in an instant. Perhaps she had been a formal spy in life, trained to know a night like this may come. There was no way to know, after what happened next. Her eyes narrowed and her voice softened. It was easy to imagine that she was some sort of vixen in life, with skin as velvet as her voice. She offered only this haunting proverb: "Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."

It was difficult for Leopold not to think on Diablerie as the water of Nathan's shower washed the dirt from his eyes. They say the slayer drinks in the very soul of their quarry. Leopold wasn't sure if he believed that. She had screamed in the end, before her flesh desiccated and turned to ash in Victoria's arms. Turned out she was, in fact, one of the Nasferatu loyal to the Camarilla. Perhaps at one time this would have been uncommon in New York. Perhaps that is why they chose a Nasferatu as Prince. 

Victoria could tell certain things about the Rat having consumed her, but it seemed that traces of her memories faded quickly after the encounter, and it was only with much effort that she was able to recall anything at all in those first few moments. The technique to do it was hundreds of years lost, and required much practice. Practice that Victoria like had the opportunity to acquire in the dark ages of her birth and subsequent embrace. 

The sight of it had unhinged Nathan completely, summoning one of the raving personalities locked in what remained of his psyche. Not much of a surprise, it was clear that he had barely been containing it since entering the sewer. Leopold for his part felt nothing. This, too, could have been due to his recent dance with the Beast. And as much as he cared for Nathan it was difficult not to think of calming him as just one more chore to be dealt with on a long night. He knew he was the only one who could, however. It took much more time than was typical.

Outwardly, Victoria suspected the sounds of their combat with Isabella had drawn the Rat's attention and she had simply followed them back to the safe-house. But clearly years of undeath had left the Elder paranoid - as was so often the case. She could tolerate the sewer no more after that. They retreated with all due haste, past the refuse, mold, and the fungus that seems to reach out for those who pass. Victoria seemed to want out of there as much as Leopold, perhaps more. She made no short use of curses on their way, the lack of remaining night hours the main source of her ire.

The Lasambra pair orchestrated the crash of the first car to pass them by. A poor soul likely on his morning commute. But Leopold didn't protest, starving as he was. The crash would make for a good cover, and he was unlikely to be able to stay his hand. Once he began feeding, the Hunger would take him. From there they were forced to dig themselves shallow graves to hide from the dawn, they lacked time for anything better, the clan of Keepers was particularly vulnerable to the light. Victoria did not bury herself at all. Instead she became one with the ground below her, clothing and all. And though she awoke last and with much protest, her clothing remained immaculate, save for what little her embrace with Bastion had deposited on her the previous night.

They split up in the evening, close as they were to the Delta house it made no sense to ride with Nathan back to his apartment since they would likely not have transportation once Nathan and Leopold departed for their part of the night's business. When Leopold came out from the bath Nathan was laying flat upon the raggedy plaid couch that provided the only comfortable place in the room. Though some metal lawn-chairs provided extra seating when necessary. He was feeding Quaid more of his Vitea. Leopold thought to ask how Nathan was doing, but he seemed no worse for ware, considering the night they had.

OOC:

He decided not to dwell on the previous night, for fear of triggering Nathan again, and because he had a bigger task on his mind. “Which do you think would look better?” Leopold asked, not particularly expecting an answer, holding up two scarves. He had managed to pull together an outfit that he deemed suitable for his meeting later on, it just wasn’t his first choice. “Maybe it’d be better if I showed up a bit destitute. Well, in her eyes anyway.” Leopold went back to trying to decide between a black scarf with small white dots and a green scarf with charcoal pinstripes. He gave himself another look over in the mirror in the bathroom. Khakis aren’t terrible… and this jacket is a surprising find here. He held the scarfs in front of his neck and decided on the black and white one. Neutrals it is. Nothing too fancy, don’t want it to seem like I’m doing well. He tussled his hair a bit, deciding to try for a less immaculate look.

The dark brown loafers squeaked slightly as he walked back into the living room. “I do wish I had a little something to spruce this outfit up. Something with a little glitz. There’s no way she’d believe I’ve changed my style this much.” Leopold looked around the apartment for something small to add to his ensemble.

"That one." Nathan responded heartlessly, not even bothering to look. "I don't really have any jewelry anymore. Used to have lots of gold around, back when I was a Theurge that is. Had to pawn most of it to afford this place, before I convinced a vampire to buy it. This one's the only one I got left," he said, lifting his left hand to show his gold pinky ring, upon its face a tower design embossed with a key. "'Fraid you can't have it. Besides, gold would look absolutely garish in that outfit. Honestly I don't know what you were thinking with that getup." He was ignoring the fact that it had come from his own closet.
Nathan pulled the class ring from his pocket as he added, "I mean, unless you want the ring I lifted from Kreiger when he wasn't looking, kinda bloody though..." He stared at it for a moment, unsure at first why he had taken it. "Ah hell!" he shouted, jerking up and pulling himself into a sitting position. "We should really scry this fucker before we go anywhere." He stood and came closer to Leopold. "Not that I wasn't able to do this last night, but I don't quite trust Bastion, and while I do trust Vic with my life, I'm not sure I want her knowing about my special trick - she would probably abuse it..." He hesitating, appreciating the gravity of his statement, then locked eyes with Leopold. "Take my hand, Leo."

"Yes, I agree. Some skills and knowledge are best left secret. Wouldn't be much fun if everyone was entirely honest, would it?" Leopold knew this fact was true of everyone; It was usually what he tried to manipulate.

He took Nathan's hand trustingly. "Now let's see what secrets this item holds."