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((this is an interaction between Claire, Constantin, and Rufus))
((OOC: haha, yeah, I'd heard that! Glad you're finally here!))
"Well... why don't you keep a hold of that pepper spray, and stick with us until we can find your dad?" He suggests, before fixing her with a broad smile. "You'd be doing me a favor: my dad would kill me if I let a young lady remain unescorted at this time of night, and I'd rather keep my skin. Help me out?"
((this is an interaction between Claire, Constantin, and Rufus))
Rufus has more experience dealing with kid's since he has a brother about Claire's age. "Where was the last place you saw your dad and we can start there." He hopes it's far, /far/ away from the knife wielding maniac inside.
[This is an encounter between Claire, Constantin, and Rufus.]
Claire
Claire chews on her lip, first eyeing Rufus and then glancing back the way she came. "Well, it was behind a bus, I guess? He was coming this way, though."
((this is an interaction between Claire, Constantin, and Rufus))
"What's he look like?" Constantin asks, finally straightening since she seems to be a little more comfortable now. He makes an aborted motion with his hand, like he was going to offer it but changed his mind.
[This is an encounter between Claire, Constantin, and Rufus.]
Claire
She blinks at Constantin, tilting her head slightly. "Well, he's kinda tall, and he has dark hair. He's forty-two," she adds helpfully as she fiddles nervously with her backpack tabs.
Where did he go?
"Well, let's go find him."
"Does he have a cell phone we could call?" Rufus pulls his own phone out of his pocket in case he does.
[This is an encounter between Claire, Constantin, and Rufus.]
Claire
"I..yes, he does." Even so, she seems oddly reserved about giving out the number, or perhaps just over the idea of calling. Huh.
"Well here" Rufus holds out his phone for her to dial, "why don't you try to give him a call and we can start from there."
[This is an encounter between Claire, Constantin, and Rufus.]
Claire
She eyes it like it's a thing that's poisoned. "Actuallymaybeyoushoulddoit," she rushes out with a quick nod.
Rufus blinks but isn't about to argue with a freaked out pre-teen in a scuzzy alleyway. "Okay, what's his number?" He pulls up the dialer and looks at her ready to start the call.
((GM note to Rush: revolver away! :) Also, you can definitely hear EVERYTHING the touristvamps said. Everyone in the room can: they're not being subtle!))
((This is an interaction between Sasha, Cyrus, and Alexander, although everyone else should probably be paying attention))
Sasha turns slowly (with a dramatic swish of his cape) to look at Cyrus, and both Alexander and all the waitvamps tense. They seem seriously, seriously afraid of this guy.
"You'll have the opportunity to become acquainted with our Lord Prince's lieutenant soon enough," Alexander tells Cyrus/Harvester, interrupting before Sasha can say anything. He pauses, eyes flickering over to Sasha and back again. "...Very well acquainted indeed. But Prince Malcom gives me the right to deal with intruders in my own restaurant."
"As long as you actually deal with him, Xue XianSheng," Sasha hisses, wandering closer to look down at Cyrus as if inspecting a bug on a microscope slide. "The Black Prince has been searching a long time to find the Harvester, and I was promised his hide as a gift." His eyes, still raking over Cyrus, turn blood-red and start pulsing, and his voice goes weirdly soft. "We have all waited a long time for this kill. The Prince won't be pleased if he knows you've taken the Harvester from me, Alexander. And neither will I."
"You can have him as soon as I've made sure he's bound to this body," says Alexander dismissively. "It shouldn't take more than a matter of minutes."
"You're not going to keep him from me?" Sasha persists, creeping closer to Cyrus/Harvester. His arms are crossed now, fingers tracing over the bloodstains on his shirt cuffs. "Not going to try to save your pet mage? I know he's worked for you, Xue XianSheng-"
Alexander lifts an eyebrow. "Hardly. Even if the mage were substantially more valuable than he is, the Harvester has killed too many of our kind to go unpunished. Tonight of all nights, we must enforce the Law."
"Very well." Sasha backs away to the wall, keeping his eyes fixed on Cyrus's neck. "Question him."
Alexander bows. "Certainly. I will try to be quick." He turns back to Cyrus. "You mentioned there were more of you? What, pray tell, do you mean by that, precisely?"
[Kalynn to Rush]
Kalynn
Kalynn looks around the room, trying to block out everything that's happening. "You invited me here for a reason, correct?" she asks, pitching her voice low. "How about we both move to somewhere that is less likely to kills us?" The smile on her face is strained.
((To GM: 1. Roll to sneak out super-awesome ninja style? 2. Am I the only one that has large sections of posts repeating over the different pages? I'll be scrolling down the page, and suddenly everything repeats from the beginning, or the last 5 posts will repeat.))
[Rush whispering to Kalynn.]
RUSH:
Rush's complexion takes on a greenish tinge when the tourist vamp's start shrieking about the airport, and paler white at the confrontation between the vampires. He laughs nervously under his breath.
"I asked you here 'cause this kind of thing doesn't usually happen..." He nods at the exit behind the tourist vamps, who are offensive to the eye, but probably not nearly as dangerous as Those Three in the center floor. "That way, we can get out to the alley." He casts a slightly regretful glance at "Cyrus", then shakes his head and sighs, turning his attention back to Kalynn.
((To GM: I would also like to roll to sneak out alongside her!))
((This is a conversation with Harvester, Alexander, and Rasputin.))
Had this been Cyrus, he'd be freaking out right about now, with lots of screaming and begging for his life. Harvester, however, was not good at registering emotions, especially fear. There was, however, concern to keep his human vessel alive, as opposed to having his hide turned into a cape or whatever for the Black Prince.
With what may have been an exasperated sigh at the repeated questionings--or maybe just at Rasputin being such a creep--Harvester answers, "We are formed of nothingness, good sirs. So much is. Nothingness is a part of everything, after all, especially those who sleep. But even those who wake cling to the unknown, and sometimes, we find use for that."
After that cryptic statement, an idea begins to form on how to escape. Or, at least, get the upper hand of the situation. "We can show you what we mean better than we can speak, of course. We usually aren't so...limited, if you understand what we mean."
((Roll to convince Alexander/Rasputin to let me go, and to perhaps step outside? Please?))
[This is an encounter between Claire, Constantin, and Rufus.]
Claire
"It's, um." Awkward cough. "It's 0203-279-3695," she finally spits out. She leans a little to the right, peering around Constantin and Rufus to the door they came out of. "Where'd you guys come from, anyway?"
"Bar. Someone got a little rowdy and we decided to leave before we got caught up in anything." He dials the number and calls putting the phone to his ear.
((This is an interaction between Claire, Rufus, Constantin, Officer Morgan, Officer Thompson, and THE FUZZ))
The phone rings in Rufus's ear...just as a corresponding ring sounds from the mouth of the alley.
Rufus, Constantin, and Claire look up to see a group of about 8 officers, ranging in age and levels of physical fitness, grouped at the mouth of the alley. Not all of them are in uniform; a few are carrying guns. The only guy in full uniform, at the front of the group, is also carrying a bottle of water, a long thin wooden stick, and a truly ridiculous number of cross necklaces around his neck. His nametag (Constantin can see, thanks to his Speschul Vision Powerz) reads "Officer Duncan Morgan". He looks in his mid-to-late 30s, prematurely aged, with scars on his face and hands, and his expression is grim.
From behind him, Claire's dad, Officer Thompson, steps out, fumbling with his cell phone. He snaps it open, then notices Claire and the two boys standing in the alleyway, and his face goes white.
"...Claire?" asks Officer Thompson, stepping forward. "What are you doing here?" He notices Constantin and Rufus, and his eyes narrow as he takes a step forward, putting a hand on his gun. "Who are these two?"
((This is an interaction between Cyrus, Alexander, Sasha, and allllllll of the waitvamps))
Alexander raises an eyebrow. "And how, pray tell, would you intend to show us this...nothingness...you speak of?" A waitvamp comes out of the door to the kitchens and whispers in his ear, and-
For the first time since any of you have seen him, an actual emotion flickers over Alexander's face: naked fear.
He hisses, recoiling, and staring around the room in horror, before his eyes fix on Sasha. Slowly - very slowly - he brings his features back under control, then glances over to the corner where the Summer Wolves and Jacob are standing.
"I wonder," says Alexander, neutrally. "If the Harvester might be more amenable to answering the questions of someone who is not dead? Alpha Smith, Alpha Morningkill, would you come over here, please? And Blackbird Bishop Rush, too?"
((This is an interaction between Claire, Rufus, Constantin, Officer Morgan, Officer Thompson, and THE FUZZ))
Constantin doesn't do anything as undignified as raising his hands, but makes sure they are obviously out-of-pocket and not gripping anything, let alone the armed and suspicious cop's daughter.
"This your dad, then? Well," he smiles, "he was even easier to find than we could have hoped!" He nods between Claire and her father, hoping it's therefore clear that he is in no way holding her hostage or otherwise interfering with her. And neither is Rufus.
And takes a very small step backwards. Those... crosses on Officer Morgan are making him seriously uncomfortable.
Rufus shifts to grab Constantin's hand. "Officer Thompson! I was just calling you to let you know we had found your daughter. How lucky for us that you were so close by especially since our next step if we couldn't find you was to take her to the police so she could be taken care of." He smiles easy, stepping away so that he's not within arms reach of Claire.
The Summer Wolves have been looking more and more uncomfortable as this goes on. The younger ones hiss in tiny whispers to one another, while Adam casts uneasy glances toward the door.
Just as he puts his hands on the table and begins to stand, Alexander's summon reaches him.
He freezes, and his lips form the word, "shit."
"Stay here," he says to the others, and walks toward Alexander. He gives the vampire a steady glare (focusing on the forehead, not the eyes--which may reduce the impact somewhat.)
"We're beta's, not alphas. What's the price?"
"That was kind of you two boys," says Officer Morgan, stepping forward and not-so-subtly grabbing one of the zillions of crosses around his neck. "Lucky you were here. Forgive me, but would you mind telling me why you are here? This doesn't seem like the type of neighborhood two lads like yourselves should be wandering around in at this hour."
"You're telling us!" Constantin agrees, laughing nervously. "We're from out of town," and for once in his life, his accent helps his cause, "and wound up in the wrong part of it. You wouldn't mind telling us which way to head to get back to Stanley Gardens, would you?"
((This is an interaction between Adam, Alexander, Cyrus, the waitvamps, Sasha, Jacob, and Jacob's two goons, so far, although at this point I can pretty much say everyone in the bar is involved or will be involved soon))
Alexander bows slightly as Adam comes forward. "No price involved, Alpha Morningkill. I simply wondered if you would be willing to help me ask this mage a few questions, away from...all... the vampires in the bar." At the word "all," he throws a quick look over at Sasha, who is still busily dissecting Cyrus with his eyes.
"I'll help," says Jacob, swaggering over with his two wolves. "No need to involve Eve's gutter scum of a beta in this. But I think I do want a price involved. If you want me to help keep your house clean of scum like this vamp-killer, it's going to cost you."
"Very well," agrees Alexander. "Shall we say, all tabs for both of you and your packmates on the house tonight? And I would very much appreciate both of your assistance, Alphas Smith and Morningkill. Forgive me, but I would hate to see a...dogfight get in the way of this interrogation going smoothly. If you are amenable, I and Gospodin Rasputin shall retire to a private table with the rest of my waitstaff, while you ascertain who this Harvester is, what his purposes and allies are, where he comes from, and whether destroying this body will get rid of him."
Jacob scowls. "I don't want my drinks free, vampire, I want real payment. A favor."
"I would be more than happy to give you a favor of equal value to the favor you are performing for me," says Alexander hastily, eyes cutting once more over to Sasha. "I would, of course, also appreciate Blackbird Bishop Rush's assistance. Shall I charge your drink to the house, Blackbird Bishop, or would you also prefer a favor instead?"
"I'll say you're in the wrong part of town," says Officer Morgan, striding forward to put a hand on Constantin's shoulder, not noticing the loud winces his fellow officers are making behind him. "Did you know that bar back there is infested with vampires?"
"I'll say you wound up in the wrong part of it," says Officer Morgan, oblivious to the pained expressions his fellow officers are making behind him. "You're lucky you two escaped with your necks intact. That bar back there is infested with vampires!"
"Yeah... a lot of suits, not the warmest place!" Constantin says, because clearly, by 'vampires,' he must mean lawyers and the like.
Where the hell are his sunglasses?!
"Well. Glad you found your dad. We'll just... be off then. Have a good night, officers!"
((This is an update on what Harvester is up to~))
While the vampires and werewolves discuss who's dealing with Harvester and how, the mage is being quiet. No, scratch that--he's muttering something in another language, and looks quite intent on whatever he's saying. That, or he's intent on getting the waitressvamp's other eye out. It's hard to tell at this point, but at least he isn't being cryptic for now.