All in Ash -Blood Roses-

(Character related post going over our current completion of our first vampire story in this new chronicle.)

Looking back over the last few days I have to say this. One hundred percent fucked. It's just going to happen. The good news is, we got the job done, the bad news is, we got the job done. I'll explain.

So we all hook up after meeting with Gabrielle, bent on finding out something about this Carl Vauchs. Halloway ends up with dead ends i guess, because he comes back with nothing. Wasn't sure if Vauchs would still have some loose ties in with his cash, but he was pretty much off the grid as far as that goes, otherwise i'm sure Halloway would have found it. Lisa comes back with something about him being in the bowery district, she comes back with a new cell phone too, my gut tells me she stole it, cause she's still wearing the same shit she had on before. I let it be 'cause its not that big of a deal, so long as she keeps her petty crimes away from the rest of us I wont have to take action. Not that i'd bust her or nothing, but i might have to slap some sense into her if she gets out of line. Crimes have a way of finding there way back to you, and being in the state we are, we got to play things so we stay off the mortal grid as much as possible. I dont mind pulling some strings to help these guys out, but that in and of itself might cause some questions to pop up too. As for Cowboy, well I didnt expect anything and thats pretty much what i got. Expectations fulfilled. Aside from his fame this guys worthless in info gathering. Glad we weren't hand picked to do investigating for Gabrielle. Oh wait. So we get our notes together, and I pull some strings and find that he was staying where Lisa had said, up in the bowery, in some not so nice flat. Also we got the make of his car. For the hell of it i had Juarez pull some of the little low life junkies and sellers off the street to lighten the load, was hoping for some luck and getting a few of Vauch's tough guys. Once we get to the place we make our way upstairs and to the room. The place should be torn down, its a piece of crap place with people that fit the mold. I've been to this area on a few investigations, and i'm not suprised at the location at all. Now, i should note, for sanity's sake, that my blood starts doing something at this point. Its like a low growl in the back of my mind, and as i go into this place it becomes almost a constant. I heard the term beast from Gabrielle, and I think my beast and my blood are cousins, cause they usually do shit together. Regardless, the beast is talking to me, but i cant understand it. Its telling me to do something though, or to follow it. Crazy i know. So i swallow all that and we get to Vauch's door. Knock Knock, not home. We use an old fashioned key, the kind that breaks doors. Some fat ass from down the hall comes out and makes some noise, Lisa chats him up, but the guys worthless. I say something to him and he shuts up. Seeing a guy in nice clothes, a drifter girl, a cowboy and a cop together is probably enough on its own. So we head inside and look around. Lisa has a good eye, and i'm guessing she's had training. I'll probably give her a few pointers, cause i have a feeling my own capabilities might start slipping as my blood and beast start moving the rest of there things in. Vauch's has some pit bulls in his bedroom, starved and mean, good dogs though, so I get 'em some food and something to bite and take there frustrations out on. I'm pretty good with abused animals, and these things just need something to tear into. We check the place and can find nothing except for alot of trash, filth, and oh yeah, a map with markers of who Vauch's has hit, and who's next. This guy was going down and he knew it, theres no way a guy is so blatant about his plans as to post them on his wall, he had a schedule to keep, and this last marked one would be his last. So we head over to this place, a construction site, and its about a third done i'd say. Black car in front, and the inside looks like something out of a bondage movie. Reminds me of my ex a little. We start moving in, being as quiet as we can, and it happens again. Theres this growling in my mind, though it sounded like it was right beside me. I can understand it this time though, at least a little, it wants to help, wants me to do things properly. It just wants a little control. I heard about this from one of the gangrel Gabriell introduced me too, said it was like a frenzy, but not. Said that it could happen to me, or it might not. My clan, we are all about clarity. So i say what the fuck, and i feel it step into me, thats the best way to describe it. I can see a haze of blood around the corners of my eyes, and i feel the beast telling me where and how to step, cause i'm normally not the most graceful of guys if you can believe it. But now, I feel more like a predator, like a kind of animal myself. I lose sight of lisa and the others, even though i know they are right beside me, or at least close. What i do see is Vauchs and a few of his cronies hanging out around a big pit they've dug out in the concrete. Normally i'd go up and try and tackle this guy, keep the gunshots to a minimum so we have more time. I'm not thinking like that, those artificial instincts are gone. I feel the cool metal in my hands from the shotgun, and suddenly i'm sinking to my knee, and line up a shot at his legs. I start the fight by clipping Vauchs on the side of the leg. The beast doesnt like the sound, and i drop the shotgun as Vauchs turns and shoots me in the chest with his shotgun. The guys cool, quick, and he shrugged that pain off like it was nothing. Lucky me, i'm wearing my vest. I think some of it goes through, but even if i was still breathing that shot could have been one i'd walk away from. The others jump into action. Cowboy starts firing off rounds at one of the junkies, and Count Halloway uses his command to make one of them fall on his face. Got to make sure not to look him in the eye after all. Now lisa, thats something else. I didnt catch her with everything going on, but one second she's sneaking up to one of them, and the next that guys running for his life, screaming like a mad man. She's gotta be a haunt. So i close in on Vauchs and me and him start fighting it out, I cant seem to land anything, and my beast wants me to flick those claws out and tear his head off. Thats not the plan though, so I keep the beast back on this one. Whats hillarious is when Halloway starts in on him, moving forward and taking some swings at him. Is this guy for real. He's taking swings at a trained killer, the real deal, with what looks like boxing jabs. Jesus Christ this guys going to get himself killed. So Vauchs ignores him, which i'd do the same, and stabs me in the chest with a stake. This guys fucking strong. I mean fucking strong. I feel my vest give and buckle, and then i feel pain. Right when i think i'm fucked the vest catches, and i have enough time to knock the thing out of my chest. He runs for it, but doesnt get far. I dont know what it was, or what happened, but Cowboy just kinda looked his way, said something, and Vauchs stopped. Second guessing himself. I felt it too man, some kind of pull, something tugging at my mind. Then my beast is barking at me, so i'm off, back to business. I swing again but the fucker does a great block. Halloway comes at him and i about piss myself laughing as Vauchs pushes him out of the way like some kind of distraction, but i have things to do, and this has to stop soon. Gunfire means cops, or at least we're going to attract onlookers. I give it everything i have, coming at him from the side, and this time i get him. His shades pop off and clatter to the ground and i see his eyes roll back in his head. Game over, we won. Oh wait. So we get ahold of Vauchs and lift him up, and along comes Robert. The prick sherrif. He says we did a good job, but he's being as condescending as possible. He says to take the ghoul back to gabrielle, but that we should leave now. A couple of his own chronies start picking up shovels, my guess is to finish the job that Vauchs was doing. We get out of there. I call Juarez and ask her to give me a hand and bring some trouble to robert, or at least to give the guy a hard time, but it appears Robert has some FBI buddies. fantastic. My beast is hypnotized by the ride back, i'm fucking lucky i didnt crash the car. So at the Wine Cellar they have me take Vauchs down. Gabrielle tells us to go home and come back early tomorrow. It takes me almost until sunrise, but i finally convince my beast to move back into the shadows, to leave me alone for a bit. I actually miss him riding along with me, but i cant think straight with him around me like that. So with a whine and a whimper, he moves back, but close enough that i can call when i need him. Oh yeah, vampires, we dont get along with animals. They hate us, even Ben and Jerry would growl at me until i fed them. They sense the death on us, sense that we're not that nice ole master we used to be, but something that might decide to kill them and eat them if it gets too hungry. But tonight they were fine, just like old times, and I could understand them too. Could get the jist of there instincts. That beast of mine, doing me some more favors i guess. So i settle down and wake up, do a little feeding (which involves a fake shakedown to someone that probably has it coming anyways) and then go back to the Wine Cellar to finish this little mission. Oh wait. So gabrielle tells us that this ghoul Vauch's has broken his vinaculum. Its a tie your blood makes on other people if they have a chance to drink it. Thats what Gabrielle told me anyways. She says theres little useful information in him. She then asks us to escort him to Prince Cameron's estate. Fuck you psycho. I keep that part to myself, Gabrielle is something for the Carthians, and she's one bitch i really dont want to fuck with. Everyone says she's great, and so nice. I dunno. I have a feeling that heart of hers is just as black and tainted as the prince himself. She has something planned, i can feel this, and she doesnt want us to know yet, so I just nod and say sure. Whats the worst that could happen. So we get Vauchs and i put him the car with my dogs, they growl, but there well trained and wouldnt bite him unless i gave the say so. He comments on them, being nice animals, then asks me to set his two dogs free when i get time. I was planning on it anyways, and thats what i tell him. I know he's going to die, and he knows this too. Part of me feels sorry for his situation, but the guy had it coming. He's got stained hands and the eyes of a killer. Justice has a way of catching up to you. No matter who or what you are, things come back around, and this was his time, his time to pay up. So we get him into the princes manor. Nice place actually, cant really talk to much shit about it, he's made a nice little place for himself. We get Vauchs inside and watch the Prince chide him and then send him off. The prince then asks us some questions. Halloway is a fucking riot. His nose is stuck so far up this guys ass that its not even funny. He's no carthian, Halloway's invictus. He might not think it yet, but he is, its only a matter of time before he turns. He told us that we should know our place, keep our mouths shut, and obey him in most matters present. Sound carthian to you? me either. So after they scoop bullshit into each others mouths and it looks like the prince is about to make stage left, I drop the question i've been waiting all night to ask. I play it smooth too, asking him if he knew about Vauch's ability break the vinaculum. Hah, you should have seen his face. Priceless. We're escorted out shortly after. And shortly after that, as i'm pulling out and getting ready to leave, good ole Robert shows up to give me a nice little threat. We go back and forth until both of our beasts are starting to show, and then he backs off with one last little warning. Me and him. One day. I can only hope that things turn out that way. After that we leave and go back home, We report to the Wine Cellar the next day, give our reports, and Gabrielle tells us to lay low for a while and let things cool down. I think she won a point or two with us, and she seems happy. I'll leave halloway's actions out of her ears for now. She probably already knows anyways.

(Thats that, i'll have some related posts here fairly soon)