The year is 2020 and Seattle has quickly grown to become one of the vampiric society's finest cities.
The Camarilla rules the city with an iron fist, ensuring the survival of the Kindred, and with it, the
rule of the Masquerade: Their existence must remain a secret to humans, and the Prince of the City sits
at the top of the hierarchy, enforcing the laws of the undead.
The clans of the Camarilla fight for power: It's a game of chess and your next move might determine
the future of all. When push comes to shove, which side will you take - and as a character with the
potential to shift the game, what will your next move be?
SOME RULES ARE UNBREAKABLE
In the past few months, the rate of newly embraced vampires have skyrocketed - most of which has
not been sanctioned by Prince Algernon: The Camarilla have worked day and night trying to track
down the one's responsible, but where one lead ends, another begins. Unable to figure out the culprits
behind the mass-embrace, the Camarilla finds itself caught between trying to restore power and ensuring
that the laws of the Masquerade are not broken - again.
A Blood Hunt has been called, and the Scourge has been sent out - and so the Caitiff are being hunted
down: Nothing but Final Death awaits them.
It had been another long day at work and as usual, Ash saw little reason to return to his small apartment: Instead, he'd opted for another night out on town, enjoying a refreshing beer as he allowed himself a moment to simply... Be. He wasn't too worried about how easy it had become for him to opt out of going home and instead exploring yet another of the many bars and clubs that Seattle offered. It seemed that every time he came to this part of Seattle, some new and fancy nightclub had opened, but then again, he wasn't always sober, so his memory of the street might have been warped.
It didn't matter, though and it wasn't as if Ash really cared enough to give it much thought. He was a man on a mission: He desperately needed a cool beer and while he didn't necessarily like the drunk people, it sure as hell beat sitting all alone in his apartment with the neighbor's cat judging him.
Damn cat.
Opening the door, his gaze immediately swept over the dim room: It was still early enough that the crowd was small. A few people scattered across the room, either sitting by a table with their friends, out on the dance floor or sitting by themselves, staring longingly at the women moving across the dance floor. Taking a seat by the nearly empty bar, he pulled his gaze away from the people and towards the bottles on the shelf above bar: He didn't even recognize half of the names. Probably for the best: liquor always made him his worst self. Beer was a much safer option.
Pursing his lips, the young man lowered his gaze towards the bartender: She was unique in appearance. With big doe-like eyes, a sharp nose and a doll-like mouth. She was pretty in an nontraditional kind of way, but looked far too young to be serving at a place like this. But then, Ash had never been good at guessing someone's age. She could be well over thirty for all he knew.
"I'll have a Blue Moon." He said, placing both of his hands atop the counter, fingers interlacing to prevent them from tapping impatiently. Then as if suddenly remembering his manners, he added a bit awkwardly, "Please."
A start of another shift at work was fast approaching and the young girl was at work to make herself look as approachable as possible. Eyeliner winged out with a red eye shadow, chapstick to accent her lips and an expression that left little in the way of an answer to her mood and she set out. Her legs wrapped in black skinny jeans, a red and black plaid shirt tied around her waist and a black vneck hugging her body is what she chose as her uniform for the day.
She walked into the bar and tied her hair back in a messy ponytail, she hadn't been back there long before she noticed a man approach the bar, her eyes wandered him up and down as he approached, she did this for most of her customers, sometimes attempting to suss out if there was any indication she needed to watch them a little closer or if they seemed harmless. He seemed like he could go either way. She heard his voice and tilted her head slightly, she figured she already knew what he would do with this, and it was always fun for her to see what type of man some turned out to be. She nodded and laid on a gentle smile.
"Of course Sir, Just a moment." Her voice was small and soft, no real grit had to it, the voice of someone who seemed like they had never yelled a day in their life. How wrong her voice was. She turned on her heels and fetched the bottle he had asked for and a clean glass. She sat the glass down and opened the bottle for him, setting it next to the glass. "So which is it...Rough day or just getting an early start?" She was very to the point as she cleaned off the counter with a rag. She knew a lot of her regulars but this one, this one was new. Though she did just switch up her shifts, maybe he would become one.
Her voice didn't surprise him: In fact it seemed to fit the picture rather well. A soft voice from a face that was equally soft. A slight curl to one side of his lips was all he offered as the young woman turned on her heel to fetch him his beer. He let his eyes wander, but not in a way most people would in his situation. Instead, it was the wandering gaze of someone who looked for hidden clues everywhere. It was a habit he hadn't quite managed to shake off whenever he left work.
His gaze immediately fell to the bottle and the glass placed before him. Pursing his lips in light amusement, Ash completely ignored the glass as he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a deep swig, contemplating the young woman's question.
"A little bit of both." He easily admitted. While he loved his job (why else would he keep doing what he did?), it was tiring. And in more ways than one. He wasn't really much of a talker, but then, he wasn't used to the bartender chatting him up either.
Taking another swig of the bottle, Ash placed it back upon the counter and rotated it between his palms. "But at least I don't have to spend my night serving drunks, so I doubt my days could ever be as rough as yours." In a way, he supposed, it was rather impressive how people could do these kinds of jobs day in and day out. He would never be able to do it, but then, he wasn't a very patient man. "How long you've been doing this for?" She seemed rather confident, so he doubted she was very new to the job.
Her eyes watched him as he abandoned the glass and went right for the bottle. Just her type of man. She took the glass and cleaned it off before setting it among the other copies of the same. She gave a small chuckle at his words, she leaned on the counter, her nails a deep red color as she tapped the counter twice, almost looking like she was thinking of the meaning behind his words before she clicked her tongue lightly and smirked. "Well there are some benefits to serving the drunks of the town. You get to learn all the juicy secrets of the town."
She said the words with a slight chuckle, it was true, she knew whose husband was cheating and who was stealing. It was a nice little benefit, though it did come with some bad. Not as much as one would expect though, being a pretty girl had the advantage of usually someone wanting to come to your rescue not that she would ever need it. " A few months actually. Figured I should pick up a normal hobby. Drinking. Better to make some money off of knowing how to do it well." She gave a small chuckle.
It was then that a thought occurred to her and her cast a small glance back to him. "...Shaan.. Vladislav. Local bartender at your service.." It was to serve as an introduction since she hadn't seen him around before.
Ash inclined his head in the young woman's direction: A slight sign of approval. A bartender would be an excellent informant. "But on the other hand, you do the same amount of work, but don't get paid nearly as much as a psychologist." He offered with something of a shrug. Even so, he didn't envy her the job. He could never listen to people complain about their problems. Especially not drunk people doing exactly that.
He was a little surprised she hadn't been a bartender for longer than a few months. She carried herself with a confidence that would have made him guess at least a few years. Perhaps she was simply that adaptable. A good trait to have tucked in your pocket. A dry chuckle escaped him at her words, "Ah." He nodded as he lifted the bottle to his lips. "Touchè." He took another swig from the bottle.
He pursed his lips at her introduction, a hint of disapproval crossing his features. "You really shouldn't give out your name to strangers." She didn't strike him as naive, though. He didn't doubt that she could take care of herself, but Seattle was filled with people who could easily track her down and find out where she lived based on her name alone. Heck, all he had to do was pick up his phone and call his buddy down at the station.
Leaning back in his chair, he looked at her directly, his expression neutral. "For all you know, I might be a madman looking for my next victim." Perhaps his job had made him far too cynical and distrusting of the people around him, but that hardly changed the fact that it was possible for something like that to happen. He had seen it before. Numerous times. It rarely ended well.
When the man chuckled she felt a small chill in her, he was handsome and she would give him that, though with a face like his he probably knew he was. She opted not to mention anything about it and instead grabbed herself a soda from the small fridge under the bar, popping the top and taking a small sip of it. She never drank during her shift but she often stayed around after shift to have a bit of a post day celebration.
She had noticed the hint of disapproval and for a moment thought she had read the situation wrong, though at his reasoning she couldnt help but break out in a light and hearty laugh. It took her a moment to compose herself back to her lukewarm standard expression, though that smile did remain. "That was a good laugh, The concern is sweet, but I would bet my ass that if someone wanted to hurt me they would answer to Granny." She took another sip of her drink, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "Trust me, Granny could take down the bouncers here and not even have to put out her cigarette." She leaned back onto the counter, a relaxed state.
She chose not to mention that she could take care of herself, the knife in her boot felt weighty against her ankle. "If you're a madman out to kill me, death never looked so good." She gave him a chuckle and a teasing wink as she noticed another patron sitting down, she nodded to the man and went over, mixing the other patrons drink and sliding it over, the interaction took less than five minutes and she was back to leaning near the man that had captured her interest for the evening. She was in her zone tonight.
His eyebrows rose in immediate reaction to her laugh: It wasn't at all how most would react. At least not from his experience. But he didn't have much time to contemplate it before she spoke again and this time, his eyebrows fell down into a confused furrow. Her grandmother? Really?
For a moment, Ash found himself dumbfounded. Perhaps hoping that she was joking, but as the silence stretched on for a few seconds, he quickly realized that the girl was in fact quite serious. Either that or she was one hell of an actress. "Your... Grandmother." It took everything he had not to make a face. "I'm sorry - is the term grandmother different for you? Because my grandmother wouldn't be able to defend me, let alone get out of bed in the morning by herself."
She was... Refreshingly curious.
And then she spoke again, and proved herself to be both curious and rather forward. Forget giving her name to a complete stranger... Now she was hitting on one, too. It was perhaps a good thing then that someone else sat down by the bar, giving the young woman something else to do. That wasn't him. Muttering something under his breath, he looked down at the bottle between his fingers and shook his head.
Sadly, it didn't seem as if his escape would last very long: a few minutes later she, this Shaan, returned in front of him.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he turned his attention from the bottle and back to the girl. "Seattle has had a big increase in death rates the past few years - most of which takes place at night in dark alleys." He said lamely as he forced his expression to remain neutral in an attempt to hide the simple fact that he hadn't come up with anything better to say.
He could hear the faint snickering coming from another customer to his left, but he didn't give them the time of the day, even as tempted as he was to shoot them a glare. He could feel his left eye twitch in response.
Shaan understood the reaction, most probably would feel the same, through Granny was a force to be feared and the young girl had learned that first hand. Most grandmother made the kids cookies, hers made pipe bombs. It was a simple fact of her life that she embraced. She thought fondly to a time when she was younger, when she thought that she could take granny in a fight. That was the day she learned what a cracked bone felt like. It had been a ten second spar, four of those seconds for her to even realize she lost.
"Laugh it up, Granny had kicked my ass more times than I can count." She gave a small chuckle, noticing his prickly demeanor. He seemed like he was more serious than her usual patron and she decided to indulge him. "I can take care of myself, I know, I know. Everyone says it. Three different martial arts since i was six and daily workouts. I dont look it, but I'm not going down easy. Why I haven't even had to call Big Jim over once." She said the last part with a laugh and motioned to the larger bouncer by the door.
She understood the worry, she was a hunter after all, she knew why people would be worried about the increase in people dying. "And shouldn't I be saying the same to anyone who enters the bar? Drunk people make easy targets for most. Plus this is a city, cities have always been dangerous." She ran a finger down the length of her drink, thinking of all the recent worry in town. She always took care of people here, if someone was too drunk she called them a cab or took their phone and looked for a ride for them, she hated people walking the streets drunk at night.
He had to admit that despite how hard it was to believe that a grandmother could kick anyone's ass, the thought of it was simply terrifying. It wasn't that he didn't think women capable of taking care of themselves, but he'd seen far too many fragile old ladies in his lifetime that it made it hard to believe any one of them could kick this woman's ass. "Three different martial arts." He repeated, brows raising. "Well, alright then. I rest my case."
She made an excellent point and even though Ash hated to admit he was wrong, he had to give it to her: She was stubborn and seemed set on the fact that he could take care of herself. Who was he to tell her otherwise?
Oh, that was right: a detective.
"Fair enough: I guess drunk people are more at risk than those who spend their night at a bar being sober." Drunk people tended to be more reckless and less aware of their surroundings. Leaning back in his chair, Ash lifted his hands in defeat. And while most cities were more dangerous, the death rates in Seattle had risen at an alarming rate the past decades, but then, he wasn't in the business of causing mass hysteria, either.
Not that he thought anything he could ever say would ever cause this woman to act out of hysteria.
Offering her his hand then, the left side of his lips twitched upwards into something that was supposed to resemble a smile, "Ash Taylor." It was only fair after all. "I don't think my ego could handle me being beat up by a girl, so please be gentle." He offered as a small peace offering.
She gave a small chuckle at his musings, she knew that she probably come off as quite odd. She rarely boasted about her knowledge of fighting, though it was a heavy point of pride for her. She nodded a broad smile on her face at him resting his case. The fact was she was adept in Muay Thai, Systema and Kali Arnis, the most use she had gotten out of them was hitting a mugger with a bottle in an ally, still though it counted.
She was well aware of the rising death rates and the reason why, though that was something better left unsaid for fear of letting a secret slip. She took another drink of her soda and noticed she had finally broken through, a hand extended signaled as much. She grinned and slid her hand onto his, shaking it firmly. "Lovely name... And I'll try not to kick your ass." She said with a wink and a slight chuckle. As long as he didn't try to feel up any of the girls working here or do anything unsavory she would never lift a finger at him, and he didn't seem like the type.
"So what do you do when you aren't warning girls to take care of themselves." She was betting it was some white collar job, though she had been surprised before. She was about to make a joke when a shiver ran down her spine and her eyes snapped up to the door. A vampire had slid into her bar under the beginning cover of night, he sat a table with a woman, from what she could tell the woman was human, but she couldn't be too sure. She watched for just a moment and returned her attention to the man before her. As long as it wasn't causing trouble she wasn't allowed to do anything, lest she risk granny's wrath.
319 wORDS ✖ Ash Taylor ✖ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) all hail granny
Normally, Ash wasn't comfortable around people as forward as the young woman, but then, normally they weren't bartenders and he wasn't drinking. Perhaps this was what it took in order for him not to be so uptight: No one down at the precinct would believe it. "Glad to hear it."
A wry smile crossed Ash's lips at the question. "Warning girls - and everyone else to take care of themselves." He simply offered with something of a shrug. At least it was somewhat part of his job, so it wasn't entirely a lie. The girl's attention snapped towards some other customer and Ash lifted the bottle back to his lips and took a deep swig, letting the cool beverage swirl around in his mouth before he swallowed.
"I'm a police detective." He clarified then, his tone low: He didn't want to cause any unwanted attention towards himself. Most people didn't enjoy drinking with a cop, after all. It was a bit of a cliche, he supposed, him sitting here, drinking and telling people to be safe. But then, he'd always felt that was as much part of the job as solving murders and catching bad guys. Of course, a lot of his coworkers wouldn't agree: leave the job at work and don't bring it home, they would often say. He'd never been able to separate the two.
When her focus returned back to him, Ash put the bottle down. "I'll have another." He tapped the top of the bottle with his index finger as he considered. "Did your grandmother teach you martial arts or was that your idea?"
The girl finished off her soda, throwing the empty can away and tapping her fingers lightly on the bar. Usually she was always watching over her shoulder. Planning steps ahead to keep an edge on herself. Though when she was working here she could relax, she could breathe and simply interact with the night life. She mused to herself for a moment at his comment. Suppose people did need to be protected from what lurked in the night. Human or beast.
"A protector through and through eh.. A bold way to live...I respect it" She gave a small chuckle though it died on the notion of him being a cop. "That makes a startling amount of sense I suppose." It didn't bother her in the slightest, honestly she figured if anyone was to ever understand what she really did, it would be a protector. After all isnt that what she was? She chuckled and went to fetch him another beer, opening it for him and setting the bottle down, picking up the empty one and discarding it into the recycling. She regarded his question with a nodding motion of her head.
"Both? Systema came when I was six so that was more her call. Muay thai was a mutual choice and she was my teacher for that one and Kali Arnis was my call about five years ago? She's always been very big into taking care of ones body through strain." she said the last words making air quotes with her fingers. Her grandmother did always say that. "Aana pain is the key to focus and focus is the path to perfection" she was used to being told to push through anything that was thrown at her. It was somewhat relaxing in its own way. "So why choose to be a cop?"
"That's just how it be sometimes." he offered in turn with a slight shrug to his left shoulder. He didn't necessarily see himself as a 'protector', but he sure as hell didn't mind it being put that way, either. After all, it sure as hell beat the alternative. "Makes it hard to leave work at work." He added through pursed lips. But then, he didn't really mind that, either. He never had.
"Sounds like your grandmother should come down to the precinct and teach our new recruits a thing or two." It was far too easy to become a cop nowadays, and while not everyone was the same, a lot of the newbies seemed to do it for the glory rather than wanting to help others. Then there was the few who wanted it as a way to abuse their power. "Or you, for that matter." His attention turned back to the beer in front of him. He lifted it with practiced easy and brought it to his lips for another swig.
He could respect someone giving their passion all they had.
"You know how children have all these ideas of what they want to be when they grow up? Some want to be lawyers, some want to be firemen, some superman..." He spoke as he kept looking at the bottle. "And some, like me, don't ever grow out of that notion." It was a terrible explanation, but it was the best he had. He'd always wanted to be a cop, so he'd become one.
"Besides, I get to wear a cool badge and a gun." He added with another shrug. "What's not to love?"
The girl couldnt help but give a small chuckle. Sometimes things were just how they were. She knew that a lot better than most, she didn't have a choice in most things of her life. She busied herself by cleaning off the counters and wiping down a few glasses. She thought for a brief moment about the notion of her grandmother going to a police station in a positive light, not that she had a record, but there were plenty of conversations. "Ma'am why is there a crossbow in your trunk?" was usually the run of the mill day.
"Grams would probably love the chance. Young men in uniforms, as she always said "Were like caviar to a refined pallet." Grams always loved a chance to put a man in his place too." She couldnt help but chuckle, her grandmother was a wild spirit still, and she loved to watch her. Her smile died on her lips however at his next string of words. She blinked a few times and actually let his expression drop into confusion as she slowly shook her head. "Can't say that I know what thats like." She mused softly to herself
"I never really had dreams I guess. Maybe before I was adopted.. But that's not really a wholly good time either. I envy you though, being able to choose what you want to do. I wouldn't even know what to desire other than what is." She thought for a brief moment. She let a small smile play on her lips as she gave a gentle shrug of the shoulders "The badge and gun does sound fun though."
279 wORDS ✖ Ash Taylor ✖ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Granny likes a man in uniform
Ash could have easily pitied the girl for her words, but she hardly struck him as the type that would take that lying down. Besides, if life had taught him anything, it was that sometimes, it was good that people were different, with different upbringings and different experiences to bring to the table. If everyone had been the same... well, he didn’t think the human race would survive that for very long.
«Well,» he began, pursing his lips, «Having a choice doesn’t have to be the better option either. Sometimes there can be too much of the good, too.» After all, he’d seen quite a lot if people too heavy with the burden of choice they ended up not being able to choose at all. «I think you just have to accept the cards you’re dealt and make the best of it from there.» He offered with a shrug as he took another swig from the bottle.
He would never claim to be more fortunate than someone else. Everyone had their own demons to deal with.
«Sounds to me that you’ve lead a pretty interesting life thus far, and that’s more than a lot of people get.» And her grandmother sure sounded interesting, for whatever that counted. Leaning further back in his chair, Ash briefly let his eyes wander over the locale, studying every single person in there for a brief moment before passing on to the next. His eyes landed upon a middle-aged man, who stared at his half empty glass of... whiskey, probably, like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. «You could have been that guy, for example.» He said, offering the female behind the bar a small smile.
