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.
The day was just starting and that meant only one thing for the quaint little cafe. Morning coffee rush. Alex was dressed with his hair pulled back, black jeans and a white t-shirt, his apron pulled around his body. He was busy taking and making the orders, passing them out and giving a mock smile every time and thanking each customer for coming. It was exhausting but it was a days work. The young man had managed to survive much of the rush, looking at out at the mostly filled tables, a to go order came in every little bit but for the most part it had slowed to a trickle.[break][break]
He took the opportunity to restock a few things and organize the mess that became of the morning rush. He looked at the case of breakfast sandwiches and pastries. He liked the food here, the coffee was good too, but there was something about it when the place was quiet, it was nice and quaint and better yet, open until ten at night for the late night coffee hounds. They had an open mic night a few times a week and he performed at it a few times, nothing that was gonna give him his big break, but it made him feel at home as he looked out. [break][break]
There were all kinds of people here, people siphoning up the free wifi, studying for college exams and the like. Some people reading the morning paper and some just sitting blankly. Alex took his time to clean the counters and wash some of the to stay cups, catching up on some of the cleaning that he knew would pile up. He thoughtfully dried and set the cups down, he heard the bell for the door ring and was prepared to put his mask on. He forced a small smile to his face and turned around.
"Welcome, what can I get for you today?" He placed his hand on the machine and looked up at the newcomer waiting for a reply, his piercing blue eyes raising up to meet theirs.
[attr="class","note"] TAGS : OPEN [BREAK] WORD COUNT : 349
To say that the weather was unpredictable was an understatement. Idrique had glanced out of the small window in her living room before she packed up her purse and ensured that she had everything for the day. The weather seemed perfect when she prepared to leave. There were small clouds starting to form, and common sense may have tugged at the inner recesses of her mind to try and persuade her to take an umbrella with her on her travels. But, to the tall, lithe framed young thirty-year-old lady, nothing had warranted needing the extra supplies.
Idrique growled underneath her breath as her hands balled up into noticeable fists at her sides. You must remain calm. She thought to herself as she reached out and wrapped her hand around the cold metallic door’s handle to the café. She gave a quick yoink and pulled the door wide open only to come stomping into establishment. It was evident from the cackling sounds of thunder that slipped in through the open door as it closed behind her, and the dripping wet mess of auburn hair that it was raining. She slipped in line – which seemed short and quick – and made her way to the front of the where the registers stood between her and her morning coffee.
“Hello, uhm yes.” Idrique dropped her purse on the counter as her side with a heavy shrug. She began rummaging through the materials, pushing past a mountain of makeup supplies as she fished out her wallet. “I think I’ll have a….venti peppermint mocha Frappuccino with java chips. Please make it with almond milk. Add three pumps of vanilla syrup and one pump of caramel syrup, and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Did you get everything?” She paused and stared up into the deep blue eyes of the young twenty-something year old dark haired young man behind the counter as she pulled out her debit card, preparing to pay for her order. Perhaps this would make her feel better…
He took note of the woman who entered, she was nothing terribly remarkable, she looked nice but nothing about her made him think that she was anything but exactly ordinary. He kept his faint smile on as she ordered, his fingers deftly hitting the button and of course, the words he usually hated came out. He cleared his throat once, his voice coming out low and clear. "You asked for a Venti peppermint Mocha Frap, java chips, Almond milk Three pumps of vanilla one of caramel, whipped cream and a dust of cinnamon. Is that right. Would you also like your cinnamon in any particular shape or just a dust." He was used to asking the last part, odd as it seemed people did take pictures of their drinks, who was he to judge.
He gave her a warmer smile. "Six twenty three is your total. You can go ahead and insert the card if it has a chip If not... At this point I'm gonna assume it does, I havent seen someone slide a card in forever." He gave a small shrug and began working on her drink, he was a tall man, six foot six, tall thin and certainly took advantage of the fact that most people here knew better than to start anything with him on shift.
"First time here? I haven't seen you before though you coulda just come in on an off day." What the hell, he could make the attempt to be friendly right?
The rain poured outside, making pitter patter sounds against the cold glass windows of the small café. Alex easily repeated Idrique’s order back. The auburn-haired lady in her early thirties glanced around the café and took in the sights. The fragrant scents of fresh coffee and sweet cream lurked from over the other side of the counter, which seemed to help relieve her original annoyance. At least he knew how to get an order correct.
Idrique had been on the other side of the counter several times, but she found it harder to stay in place in such positions, so they never lasted. “Exactly, thank you.” She placed the chipped side of her card into the card reader and studied the on-screen prompts. It beeped, directing her to keep the card in place and to await on its every word silently. When prompted, she punched in her pin code – the exact time her mother informed her that her childhood Pomeranian had run away when she was younger – on the pad of the machine. After approval, Idrique would pull the card back out and place it back up in her wallet and toss it all back into her purse. A pause as she considered his question - which honest, she almost disregarded in her inner thoughts to herself. Was she just expecting him to be accurate? “The cinnamon does not need any particular shape, but I appreciate you asking.”
“I wasn’t expecting the rain.” The sour expression etched into the corners of her mouth. “Thank you for being accurate and helpful. Do you expect the rain to last long?” After she collected her belongings she would excuse herself from the line. If the dark-haired young gentleman were to ask her if she wanted her receipt, she would simply give him a nod and outstretch her hand to take the long white sheet of paper from him.
Idrique would place herself to sit at the edge of the closest table. She fished out a small black device that rung out playing a wonderful melody from one of her preferred bands. I’m the girl that you’re thinking about. The one thing you can’t live without. I’m the girl you’ve been waiting for. The dark chocolate hues of her eyes glanced at the foreign number with an odd area code for a split second and allowed it to ring just long enough for her to enjoy the song that played on her phone. Once it neared the end, she simply screened the call and shoved the cellphone back into her pocket. “How long has this place been around?” An idle conversation for any member of the staff – and probably one she wouldn’t spend much focus on.
I’ve already talk to them earlier this week. The thoughts muddied in the back of her mind. More nameless faces started to pour into the café, though they only came as a trickling stream. Did she invite them in after her, or was it simply ‘that time of day’ for the citizens of Seattle? Idrique wouldn’t have stopped by as promptly as she had arrived if it hadn’t been for the rain. Perhaps the downpour caused others to strive to seek comfort in a tasty drink or something scrumptious to snack on?
[attr="class","text"] He had launched into making the drink for the woman, taking extra care to get it all just right. So the cinnamon didn't need to be fancy? He already liked her more than most of the people that came in. He never understood the instagram fad or any of that. He had one for his music but that was about it, he hardly used most forms of social media for personal reasons. He came to the counter drink in hand and set it down about a minute after the transaction was finished. He was usually fast at making drinks, the reason he had the job as long as he did. He had seen many people come and go.[break][break]
" Would you like the receipt." He asked as per his job, he handed it to her politely and regarded the question with a shrug. "They're thinking a few hours, maybe until two? Should be a decent day after it though." He responded politely. He had set to work cleaning the counter and the objects used to make the drink while there was a small lull in customers. He did hear her speak however and he looked up. " Closing in on..two years next month actually. Long time in the cafe world."[break][break]
He noticed the people come in and let out a small sigh before perking back up and taking orders and making the coffee for most, one other employee in the back jumped in when it was more than one but for the most part they did everything they could to make themselves look busy without actually doing anything. He made the drinks for the customers perfectly until the last one. A classic case of wanting something other than he said. Make the drink with whole milk, no you idiot I wanted almond milk. There was some cursing from the burly man over the milk.[break][break]
Alex blankly looked at the man and poured the drink down the sink and motioned to the exit. " Well sir you can kindly leave If you're going to use that language." The man began to raise his tone, at this point most of the orders had been to go so it was the woman he served earlier, this man, and a regular he knew. "Sir, I dont think you heard me.. kindly get the fuck out." Alex spoke and straightened himself. The man looked at him and clenched his teeth before turning and leaving. [break][break]
"My Apologies." He said to the general few people enjoying their coffee here.
Although Idrique moved to sit down and wait for her drink, it wouldn’t take the young man long to make it. Within moments – maybe not even a minute itself – he arrived with her drink in hand and placed it down on the counter. The dark brunette plucked the small coffee cup off the counter and stared into the milky-brown texture dotted with cinnamon bits that floated around a sea of sweet succulence. Idrique raised the cup to her lips and sipped quietly on the drink as her returned to her seat. The bitterness of the coffee beans was hidden behind a layer of sweetness layered with a chocolatey expression and dashed with a peppermint aftertaste. Bliss.
She considered his notion with a quiet nod her head head. “I planned on having an eventful day…” Idrique murmured to herself. What would she have done besides window shop? Retire to an outdoors location, such as a park, and try drawing whatever caught her eye? She was never fond of her own works, anyways. Often her own worst critic, Idrique would correct every minute flaw that caught her eye until she either succumbed and just accepted the work with its flaws or scrapped the thing entirely – with the latter being her most preferred route.
Some of the customers seemed to be impatient in the line as it backed up closer to the door. She noticed the usual folding of arms, twitching of feet, and dashing of eyes around the establishment as each person tried their best to wait their turn. Coffee had a nasty habit of bringing out the best and worst in people, herself included. “I suppose it’s not like I had anything important to do…” An undertone of a growl escaped her throat. She turned away and fished out a small journal that she mostly used for small sketches and doodles, whose sheets were college-ruled lines and seemed to denote their purpose being more of a written persuasion.
A tall burly gentleman appeared within the line as Alex explained the short lifespan of the coffee shop. This guy was noticeably upset and agitated – the reason why he had caught her eye. “Caught between the teenage stage of coffee shops…” She mused, as she thought about it. Some of her old favorite dives hadn’t succeeded, but there were several franchises that had existed for what felt like forever – possibly longer than even her! She sketched the large and imposing individual in her notes with an overly sized club and grotesque features that seemed better suited for a troll or a goblin than a human. She recreated the customer as something in-between an ogre and a goblin, it would seem, though the sketches were rudimentary and definitely not her best. A way to pass the time.
This strange ‘goblin-ogre creature’ in her notes, most likely human in real life, became heavily upset and disgruntled. Idrique laughed a bit and added extra horns on the rough-draft sketch as the man started to swear and curse at Alex. She watched this gentleman slam his fist onto the counter and stutter angrily about how he demanded to speak to the owner of the establishment. Oh, that would never get you want you wanted. But, how many times had Idrique – caught in her own emotional storm – done the same thing? Too many to count. “You’re just…tossing him out?” She caught herself asking, too nosy for her own good.
Wasn’t there something about ensuring the needs of every customer were met? Surely that was an unwritten rule in the world of customer service employees all around? It was one of the many reasons why she didn’t last long in roles. She often only sought the comfort of another fast food or retail outlet occupation when she needed the monetary compensation to keep floating and was probably one of the many reasons why she never stayed at the same address for long. A terminal bouncer and drifter in every sense of the word… “I mean….he was very rude…” She stated as an afterthought with an ugly grimace expression. Very rude, indeed!
