Re: Little Moments Between Steptember and November, Meetings and Endings Part 2 IC Thread 31

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Junkyard]

'Doubt it.' giving a "you don't want to look" look to Richard.

The Akashic seamed to get your point and he frowned.
"Oh wonderful."
He grunted.
"So what do we do with the van?"

'Oh, I have ideas for that [a little help], don't you worry.' Nicole replied to Jon. 'And to sell it we'll have to forge the log book and shit, which we won't need to do if we use it ourselves.'

Hildegard nodded at that.
"Very well, we will bring the car along and use it ourselves if the Deacons agree and find other ways to help the inhabitants here."
The Chorister said and Jon sigh and nodded.
"Yes ma'am, I will give it another look to see if I missed anything and if it is safe to move, just to be sure."
He said and Hildegard nodded.
"Good, thank you Mr Sherman."

'Already dead, he is.' Nicole replied with a little shrug.

The vampiress where wounded and moving where not easy but with some grunts she managed to get over to the dead man and more or less threw herself over him, and there was some...sounds as she attempted to get every last drop of blood out of the corpse quite desperate for nourishment.
"Well now that can not be unheard."
Bianca said and frowned as the others looked at one another a little uneasy. Fran though did not seam to mind, she was busy checking your rifle after the fight just to make sure she was ready if there where more trouble.

[Nicole and Cava]

Fix stuff? Every day, if you include my job.' Nicole replied, fixing the clamp to the edge of the workbench. 'The world is full of things which break often, and far too many folk simply shrug and throw it away.' picking up one of the toasters, ripping off the plastic panel with her hand and then taking out the tiny circuit board.

"Yeah many things can be fixed and then they can be used again."
The young mage said and nodded.
"Fixing things are good I like fixing things as well."
She added happily.

Doing soldering is dangerous, Cava. The metal bits get very, very hot and can burn skin. Which really, really hurts. So no playing with it, hold it firmly and always make sure it's in it's holder when not in use.' she warned the child, fixing the toaster's board in the clamp. 'Now, watch me and learn.'

"I do not want to get burned Miss Nicole I will be careful."
Cava said as she leaned in to see what you where doing.

'Firstly, we take the iron... wipe the end in the pad to clean it-' a little hiss as she did so '-and now we remove the old solder by heating it up...' pressing it on one of the connectors '-and when it turns to liquid - see, there it goes - we suck it up using this-' wielding the small implement shaped rather like an old-fashioned needle. 'Now, you try doing it to another connector.'

"Do we clean it to get rid of stuff which can make it harder for the electricity to go where it should Miss Nicole?"
The little girl asked, she watched what you where doing reverently and then when you let her try to repeated the steps carefully.
"First we clean the iron..."
She said as she did so.
"And then remove the old metal and suck it up with the sucker thingie."
She said as she did so and then placing the soldering iron bac in the holder as she waited for further instructions.
"Why do one type of metal melt while the iron do nto Miss Nicole?"
She asked.

(OOC: I saw it and have replied to it now. Also I forgot about the purse in the car, it contained a wallet with 20 dollars and change, a driver's lisence for Olive Westbrock and a picture of a small family with the young vampire woman in the middle before she was turned, there was also some make up, a box of pepper spray, a pair of reading glasses, some nail clippers, a motel room key, a small drawing book and several pencils.)

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Junkyard]

Anja's Post:

'Hmm... just drive it in deeper and let it die?' the large woman hazarded. 'Not really worth having or anything...'

Anja's Post:

A nod to this.

Anja's Post:

Nicole stood nearby, shotgun at the ready, a look of clear distaste on her face and with the vampire's handbag at her feet.

[Run out of road... better let Colin catch up before replying...]

[Nicole and Cava]

Anja's Post:

'Got it in one.' she replied, to the first question. 'By tidying up the connectors, we can make the fix not only cleaner, but also better. As for melting... solder's made from lead, which has a low melting point. Much lower than iron.'

'Clean job.' she said, looking closer to the kid's work. 'Next bit is to tidy up the wire.' going back to the toaster and yanking out a length. 'You get your wire-cutters...' rooting around the workbench, locating it under a packet of nails '-and you snip the frayed bits...' she did so '-and then you strip off the plastic covering around a centimetre at the end to solder later... do it gently, don't want to break the wire...' completing the action. 'There, all ready. You try on the other end of the wire.'

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Nicole and Cava]

Got it in one.' she replied, to the first question. 'By tidying up the connectors, we can make the fix not only cleaner, but also better. As for melting... solder's made from lead, which has a low melting point. Much lower than iron.'

"Jay..."
Cava said and grinned when she was praised then she nodded to what you where saying before asking.
"But Miss Nicole, why do some metals have a lower melting point than other metals?"
The little girl asked.

'Clean job.' she said, looking closer to the kid's work. 'Next bit is to tidy up the wire.' going back to the toaster and yanking out a length. 'You get your wire-cutters...' rooting around the workbench, locating it under a packet of nails '-and you snip the frayed bits...' she did so '-and then you strip off the plastic covering around a centimetre at the end to solder later... do it gently, don't want to break the wire...' completing the action. 'There, all ready. You try on the other end of the wire.'

Cava paid attention to what you where saying and when you handed her the wire cutters she did as instructed, snipping the frayed ends of the wire, wincing a little as one of the frayed points poked one of her fingers, then she begun to get the plastic of, this took some time as she was very careful and she struggeled a bit and held the result up for you to inspect.
"Like this Miss Nicole?"
She asked happily.

[Junkyard]

'Hmm... just drive it in deeper and let it die?' the large woman hazarded. 'Not really worth having or anything...'

"That work if you are sure there is nothing in there that sleepers should not see."
Richard said.
"If not then I agree, let the old piece of junk die in here."

(OOC: Agreed, I replied for Richard but for the rest of the scene we should wait for Warp, he is probably out gaming he usually are in the Weekends.)

[Warpmind]

[Abandoned Junkyard]

"I will not be keeping the destroyed phone near my body to say it like that, however I will see if anything can be salvaged from it, sometimes the SSD or at least the sim card is salvageable even if the phone itself is not."
Jon said and frowned.

Colin nodded, "If possible, detach the battery and keep the rest?"

'Thank you, mechanic Akbar.' she replied, rolling her eyes for a moment, moving to the van to quickly physically check what was inside.

He glanced in her direction, expression quite unreadable, "Mechanic Akbar? I don't speak much Arabic, but... 'The Mechanic is Great' seems an odd expression, and if you don't mind my saying, rather self-indulgent, coming from you..."

"I will check out the blood van."
Richard said and headed in that direction.
"Off course I will deal with the paperwork for the car, though it do somehow feel wrong to keep it, perhaps there is some way it can be sold and the money used for the good of those who live here."
Jon said and he frowned again.

'Why?' Nicole replied with a frown. 'We - as in the whole base - could do with another decent car. Like if we've got to do a stake-out in a richer part of the city. Plus, would be available for things like first dates, job interviews or going to school reunions...' ending with a little smile.

"Yeah we could use it but I just think these guys could need the value of it more."
Jon said.
"It could keep them with food for months."

'That can be said for anything, no?' Nicole replied, turning to face Jon. 'But we can help in much better ways than a barrow of charity green. You, for example can help folk who don't exist legally get ID's so they can actually get a job and shit.' clearly one in the "teach to fish" group regarding charity. 'Plus, we don't help no-ones by beggaring ourselves.'

'But... this ain't actually our call.' looking to Hildegard for a moment.

"I can certainly do that for them."
Jon agreed.
"But they are in a desperate situation getting a little help might be good."
He protested. Hildegard considered then she sigh.
"While I certainly see Mr Sherman's point in this, I also think that selling this car might be quite risky, one thing is making sure we are able to use the car ourselves selling it though might be another story, then insurance and other paper work come into the picture. The Deacons have the final say, but I lean towards keeping the car and finding another way to help the inhabitants of the junkyard."
The Chorister said.

'Oh, I have ideas for that [a little help], don't you worry.' Nicole replied to Jon. 'And to sell it we'll have to forge the log book and shit, which we won't need to do if we use it ourselves.'

Hildegard nodded at that.
"Very well, we will bring the car along and use it ourselves if the Deacons agree and find other ways to help the inhabitants here."
The Chorister said and Jon sigh and nodded.
"Yes ma'am, I will give it another look to see if I missed anything and if it is safe to move, just to be sure."
He said and Hildegard nodded.
"Good, thank you Mr Sherman."

A nod to this.

He nodded, "I agree with Miss Bouchard here - giving the residents a lump sum from the sale of the car will be less beneficial than taking the car for ourselves and instead offering some long-term practical services for the people here. Medical help, legal paperwork, that sort of thing."

"If they can drink blood for a long as we can useit for ritual then it should be fine."
Bianca said as she went to drag the bodies over, if considerable difficulty as they where large men and she was a thin, small woman.

'Wait until we've done with the questions, I say.' Nicole replied, moving towards the body a bit.

"The girl is suffering. If the dead can ease that I see no harm in letting her feed."
Hildegard said.
"And showing her kindness might make her more willing to cooperate."
The Chorister said as she looked at the terrified vampire curled up on the ground.

A little sigh, shouldered her shotgun and moved to help carry the most-intact corpse.

That would be the one with the chest wound. You helped to drag the man over to the young vampiress and she fixated the man with her eyes then tried to look away.
"I...I am going to kill him if I feed I...am so hungry I...can't...control myself..."
She cried clearly not understanding that the man was already dead.

'Already dead, he is.' Nicole replied with a little shrug.

The vampiress where wounded and moving where not easy but with some grunts she managed to get over to the dead man and more or less threw herself over him, and there was some...sounds as she attempted to get every last drop of blood out of the corpse quite desperate for nourishment.
"Well now that can not be unheard."
Bianca said and frowned as the others looked at one another a little uneasy. Fran though did not seam to mind, she was busy checking your rifle after the fight just to make sure she was ready if there where more trouble.

Nicole stood nearby, shotgun at the ready, a look of clear distaste on her face and with the vampire's handbag at her feet.

He looked upon with a blank expression, then shook his head, "Well, I'm not having milkshakes for some time..."

"He...hurt us...let his ghouls...hurt us...while we where helpless..."
The vampiress said and she started sobbing again.
"Toreador...I am a Toreador..."
She managed between sobs.
"W...we left in the beginning of August..."

He nodded, giving her a warm smile, "The Clan of art lovers, is it? I've... met one of your kind before; quite a pleasant patron of music... What happened to you was wrong, but that cannot be changed now. However, we harbour you no ill will, and, well... why don't you tell us what you can about Livington, and we'll see where we can go from there?"

[Adley's return from Chicago]

"Yes, well I did say I would try to help with the cat situation. Which I have not forgotten and rather should start looking into, if I can." He frowned.

He nodded, "He didn't mention that in that future. Since you brought it up, I'm assuming you were already working on it at that point."

"Indeed. Also, do not look them straight in the eye. It allows them to work some of their mental abilities, so I was told. For your future reference."

He nodded, "You warned me of that before. He didn't have to look me in the eye to speak to me, though - likely some Linear magic, I would think. But yes, I do exercise caution - vampires aren't the only ones who can use eye contact like that, I hear."

"Yes. I think I am going to have a picture made as a memorial, if our new cabalmate will take on the task. I would like something to remember him by, though I have been gifted with the memories of a former life of course."

He smiled, "That should probably be nice."

He looked at the glass curiously. "It looks like root beer," he commented. He picked it up and smelled it. "It doesn't smell like it though..." He took a sip of it, then seemed puzzled as if he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. "It's like...a beer-coffee-chocolate cabinet," he decided after a moment. "Thank you for sharing, by the way..." he added, drinking some more.

He smiled, "An old friend of my father's brews it at home. Every few years, a small batch makes it overseas to me. It's hearty stuff, though, so the half-pint bottles are really best shared between two people. Which reminds me, would you bring your Pater a bottle when you go? He expressed an appreciation for it last time, must've been five or six years ago now. Come to think of it, I do wonder what Master Nassa might say about it, too..."

"You had me up until saving Anna's mother from Gabriel. Given that Gabriel is already dead, you can see my confusion. This sounds like more time shenanigans."

He grinned, "Of the most shenanigany sort. But the important thing is, if I can pull it off, the Paradox will be worth it."

((OOC: Not out gaming, actually. When I woke up, there was little to respond to, so I kind of got stuck in Pathfinder: Kingmaker instead. That game is one hell of a timesink, I tell you... Especially when my computer is just old enough to spend roughly half the in-game time on the loading screens... ))

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Nicole and Cava]

"You will have different things on different walls Sir?"
Cava asked and what if you have a spaceship full of unicorns, which wall with that go on?"

"In between the two walls obviously." Serge said with a smile. "Or just on the sci-fi wall. Alien unicorns riding in spaceships is a pretty sci-fi thing to draw."

"Umbrood Lords are really powerful. Yeah I hope so, I will be loosing another tooth soon, see it is loose."
The little girl said and she went to to wriggle one of her teeth a bit.

"I lost all of my baby teeth by wiggling them too much." Serge said attempting to wiggle his adult teeth. " Kids on Tv have so many drastic measures of pulling out there baby teeth. I got rid of mine by just lying in my bed bed wiggling until they suddenly came out."

"Yeah external that is the word, external alchemy that is it, that is when you use alchemical principles to do stuff in the physical world as opposed to working on one's soul and development or such, that is what Master Haagen says."
The young girl said.
"Yeah making everything taste like candy would be good, even vegetables."

"It's gonna take some Maser Level magick to make vegetable tastes good." Serge joked.

[Kyle's Room]

"You can send the drawing to me if you want and it is just dancing which will happen that is fine."
Kyle offered.
"Yeah one can get tired if one work allot of magick all at once."

"Alright, I'll get to work on the drawing. Prepare yourself....actually don't. It'll ruin the magick." Serge said as he began to sketch a picture of the two of the drinking cup sof hot chocolate onto his sketchpad. Just like before he didn't intend to do something Kyle expected.

"That makes sense Serge, however if someone want you to make a deck for them you should get paid for it for it have to be allot of work."
Kyle said and he smiled a little.
"However making a deck just the way you want it just for yourself might be nice."

"I don't want to get paid I just want to create something cool." Serge evenly. "And beyond that you do things for people because its the right thing to do. Not because you expect to get paid for your services. 5 masters owe me favors and I don't expect to call on them anytime soon."

"I think perhaps treating others like that is more what the Nephandi want than what the Union wants."
Kyle said softly.
"That slowly add to the decay of this world, and I am sure many are trying to do something about it, but will that be enough? Perhaps we should do something, anything you know, make sandwiches for the homeless or get them blankets or something you know to make their day a little less shitty."

"Lot's of things we can do. Lead by example. Talk with the homeless. One of the most painful things for them is that no one treats them like humans. Everyone ignores there existance... Serge said his hand trembling slightly although it was hidden behind his sketchbook. "Try and show the world that they're people too."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Abandoned Junkyard]

Colin nodded, "If possible, detach the battery and keep the rest?"

"That is the plan."
Jon said.

He nodded, "I agree with Miss Bouchard here - giving the residents a lump sum from the sale of the car will be less beneficial than taking the car for ourselves and instead offering some long-term practical services for the people here. Medical help, legal paperwork, that sort of thing."

"Very well, I guess that makes sense."
Jon agreed.
"Well is should get done with the car and the phone then so we can bring them with us."

He looked upon with a blank expression, then shook his head, "Well, I'm not having milkshakes for some time..."

Hildegard gave you a bit of a look but said nothing she did look a little disgusted though as just about everyone other than Bianca and Fran did.

He nodded, giving her a warm smile, "The Clan of art lovers, is it? I've... met one of your kind before; quite a pleasant patron of music... What happened to you was wrong, but that cannot be changed now. However, we harbour you no ill will, and, well... why don't you tell us what you can about Livington, and we'll see where we can go from there?"

The vampiress looked at you nervously and sat up, she seamed a little stronger now after her meal but it was clear tat every movement caused her pain due to her extensive burns, she sat sort of leaning og her knees with her upper body.
"Art lovers yes...I...draw and paint and Veronica...she....sings..."
She muttered sadly new blood tears welling up in her eyes.
"I don't know much Mr Livington is an influential Ventrue in Boston, and his influence have spread outside of this city due to his company if you will which have a side practice of delivering sweetened blood ice cream that those who can afford it can buy for their parties, or so Veronica told me, but from the look in her eyes the way this...ice cream is made is not...kind...we had no choice but to contact him when we heard he ran this place though, we were allowed to stay for only three days and we had to territory in which to hunt...this was our only choice. We met with him in an office and paid a steep price to get to feed here...I want no one any harm but we where so...so hungry."
The girl whispered as she looked at you.

[Nicole and Cava]

"In between the two walls obviously." Serge said with a smile. "Or just on the sci-fi wall. Alien unicorns riding in spaceships is a pretty sci-fi thing to draw."

"Yeah you are probably right about that Sir, the science fiction wall it is then."
The little girl said and grinned.

"I lost all of my baby teeth by wiggling them too much." Serge said attempting to wiggle his adult teeth. " Kids on Tv have so many drastic measures of pulling out there baby teeth. I got rid of mine by just lying in my bed bed wiggling until they suddenly came out."

"I just wiggeled mine loose as well Sir, they got looser and looser and then they came out."
Cava said and nodded.
"It did not hurt or anything but I bled a bit afterwards."

"It's gonna take some Maser Level magick to make vegetable tastes good." Serge joked.

"Vegetables can be ok but they would be allot better if they tasted like candy."
The little girl declared.

[Kyle's Room]

"Alright, I'll get to work on the drawing. Prepare yourself....actually don't. It'll ruin the magick." Serge said as he began to sketch a picture of the two of the drinking cup sof hot chocolate onto his sketchpad. Just like before he didn't intend to do something Kyle expected.

"Ok I guess I will just see what happens then."
Kyle said and grinned.

"I don't want to get paid I just want to create something cool." Serge evenly. "And beyond that you do things for people because its the right thing to do. Not because you expect to get paid for your services. 5 masters owe me favors and I don't expect to call on them anytime soon."

"That five Masters owe you favors that is really impressive."
Kyle said said then he turned serious.
"But Serge, you are kind, trading favors are fine that is a good thing but you should also make sure your kindness is not taken advantage of."
He said sounding concerned.

"Lot's of things we can do. Lead by example. Talk with the homeless. One of the most painful things for them is that no one treats them like humans. Everyone ignores there existance... Serge said his hand trembling slightly although it was hidden behind his sketchbook. "Try and show the world that they're people too."

"I can do that, talk with them and such, but I think they also need help with food and such."
Kyle said.
"And off course they are human they have just been really unlucky."

(OOC: Sounds like a fun game.)

[Adley]

[Adley and Nicole go to Beefbarn]

'More "can't be bothered" than "don't want to". Not that interesting, really.' giving a shrug, without a trace of shame.

"Since you insist," he said, shaking his head. "But racking up that many seems like something happened."

Nicole ordered the same as Adley, and giving a bit of a frown followed him to the table, which deepened on sitting down. 'Normal for you, or normal for here?' Nicole said, squirming in the chair a little, as though trying to find a comfortable position.

"I mean, I can't wait till I feel like I'm back to my normal activity level. Everything seems pretty normal here, at least so far as I can tell. Not too much has changed." He waited for their order to come up.

[Adley and Narim, after Chicago; Steelhaven, late morning]

"Entropy you say? I might be able to write a program to do the same to ward my room and my office and then we can see if that works."
Narim said then he grinned.
"Well we all have our quirks Adley."
He said sounding a bit amused.
"It could have been worse."

"Yes, the sound was still present but unintelligible. Might be useful. Perhaps I will ask him to make me a charm, and barter something in return," he said thoughtfully.

"So the spine make all the difference eh?" Narim said. "I know one Bible verse says it is an abomination to eat seafood without fins which makes allot of sense for the time and place it was written as shellfish spoil easily."The Virtual Adept agreed.

"Depends who you asked, in my family but yes," he said. "Plus, right if someone was following the old Testament, shellfish was unclean too and you could only eat fish that had scales and fins. And some Christian groups are vegetarian or eat kosher.." He shrugged. "Now though I only observe things like that for specific purposes, not all year round or whatnot, and summer is clamcakes and chowder time."

"Ah yes Jeffry's coffee is something else, he do like his treats bitter that is for sure, however I have seen the same thing in other older magi, they eat far less sugar than we do as it was not used as much. Master Nassa might not like his food bitter but he add far less sugar inn it than most and he do not seam to favor modern candy thinking it far to sweet."

"A little bitter is good for us," he said.

"I think the band that made the genre popular is called Treater of Tragedy, there are several syphonic metal bands now though and later bads have removed themselves more from traditional heavy metal than the before mentioned one have." Narim said before he picked up one of the little plates and eating one of mango and squash pieced and nodded. "Ah yes it is quite good indeed." He agreed before helping himself to another piece after dipping it in sauce. The Adept used his chopsticks with far more ease than you clearly fairly used to eating with a pair of them.

"I'll have to try a listen, out of curiosity's sake," he said. For a while, he was occupied mostly with trying to ferry food to his mouth without dropping it and drinking some of the tea. The rest of his attention was on not wolfing it down, as he'd gotten used to eating fast and whatever was in front of him.

[Adley's return from Chicago]

He nodded, "He didn't mention that in that future. Since you brought it up, I'm assuming you were already working on it at that point."

"I will have to start with Mr Ackerman. Perhaps he can point me in the right direction as to what to do, since he helped me before. And Adjan...I hope he's doing better. He got hurt a lot during the last few days."

He nodded, "You warned me of that before. He didn't have to look me in the eye to speak to me, though - likely some Linear magic, I would think. But yes, I do exercise caution - vampires aren't the only ones who can use eye contact like that, I hear."

"Hrm, I wonder why he didn't try it on me then...to work something and be staked...well, he was quite powerful. I wonder if he could not have tried to make a break for it, yet didn't." Then he nodded. "Yes, eye contact is a common form of making a connection to another person, for use of ars."

He smiled, "That should probably be nice."

"I think so, I asked if such would be acceptable to him and he agreed."

He smiled, "An old friend of my father's brews it at home. Every few years, a small batch makes it overseas to me. It's hearty stuff, though, so the half-pint bottles are really best shared between two people. Which reminds me, would you bring your Pater a bottle when you go? He expressed an appreciation for it last time, must've been five or six years ago now. Come to think of it, I do wonder what Master Nassa might say about it, too..."

"Certainly, Colin I will bring it to him before I retire. He probably would like to know that I'm back, anyway," he agreed. He drank some more of it. "So this is homemade beer, it certainly tastes like nothing I've had before."

He grinned, "Of the most shenanigany sort. But the important thing is, if I can pull it off, the Paradox will be worth it."

"Are you sure? I don't want to find out that you've had another visit from a certain spiritual entity, Colin. I do worry about you."

[Warpmind]

[Abandoned Junkyard]

The vampiress looked at you nervously and sat up, she seamed a little stronger now after her meal but it was clear tat every movement caused her pain due to her extensive burns, she sat sort of leaning og her knees with her upper body.
"Art lovers yes...I...draw and paint and Veronica...she....sings..."
She muttered sadly new blood tears welling up in her eyes.
"I don't know much Mr Livington is an influential Ventrue in Boston, and his influence have spread outside of this city due to his company if you will which have a side practice of delivering sweetened blood ice cream that those who can afford it can buy for their parties, or so Veronica told me, but from the look in her eyes the way this...ice cream is made is not...kind...we had no choice but to contact him when we heard he ran this place though, we were allowed to stay for only three days and we had to territory in which to hunt...this was our only choice. We met with him in an office and paid a steep price to get to feed here...I want no one any harm but we where so...so hungry."
The girl whispered as she looked at you.

He frowned, "Ice cream made from... I'm going to guess involuntary donors, then. Hm, I suspect that's a company liable to go through some... drastic changes shortly, then. He may be as influential as he pleases; he still crossed a line here, and for that, well..."
He glanced to Fran, "After this, do you think you'll be able to help her to safety somewhere? I know we can't very well take her in, but... offering sanctuary is not unprecedented. Someone might be able to shelter her... if not here, I do know someone in Chicago who might know someone, at least..."

[Adley's return from Chicago]

"I will have to start with Mr Ackerman. Perhaps he can point me in the right direction as to what to do, since he helped me before. And Adjan...I hope he's doing better. He got hurt a lot during the last few days."

He nodded thoughtfully, "There are moments when I think everyone except me got hurt that day. Then I realize that I was quite badly injured, too, I was just fortunate enough to be swiftly and fully healed, and quickly... Too many good people lost and badly injured throughout that week. Far too many..."

"Hrm, I wonder why he didn't try it on me then...to work something and be staked...well, he was quite powerful. I wonder if he could not have tried to make a break for it, yet didn't." Then he nodded. "Yes, eye contact is a common form of making a connection to another person, for use of ars."

He smiled thinly, "You had wards up at the time. He thought it impolite to hammer at those. And he still made apologies for addressing me like that. That spoke volumes about his character."

"Certainly, Colin I will bring it to him before I retire. He probably would like to know that I'm back, anyway," he agreed. He drank some more of it. "So this is homemade beer, it certainly tastes like nothing I've had before."

He grinned, "Most American stuff would be laughed out of a British pub. But, there are a few American breweries that do make acceptable brews all the same."

"Are you sure? I don't want to find out that you've had another visit from a certain spiritual entity, Colin. I do worry about you."

He chuckled softly, "Oh, he'll be visiting me again, I'm afraid - he was quite certain about that. Still, I don't think he'll come in guns blazing, as it were - he's quite amicable over a cup of white peach blossom tea. Nevertheless, rescuing Anna's mother is a project that will take years and years of preparation; remember, I do not only have to reach her through time and space, but in a Labyrinth that no longer exists, through wards that were quite well crafted - so that's going to take some work just figuring out how to find the place. And then there's how to replace the woman with, well, a mindless, soulless exact replica that won't make Gabriel suspicious - or perhaps it will be easier to move her mind and soul into a clone instead, I don't know... whatever the conclusion, it will take a long time before I can do it."

((OOC: It's quite good. Isometric RPG, Baldur's Gate-style, combined with nationbuilding micromanagement. ))

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Nicole and Cava]

"I just wiggeled mine loose as well Sir, they got looser and looser and then they came out."
Cava said and nodded.
"It did not hurt or anything but I bled a bit afterwards."

"You know the tooth fairy spirit was a bit late on taking my teeth. My teeth sat under my pillow for a while before she took them." Serge said with a smile. "Guess she was running a little late that day."

"Vegetables can be ok but they would be allot better if they tasted like candy."
The little girl declared.

"Bleh." Serge said making a disgusted noise. "Regular Vegetable are never OK. Much prefer candy vegetable."

[Kyle's Room]

"Ok I guess I will just see what happens then."
Kyle said and grinned.

"You asked for this. And basically consented to have your mind magicked. So don't get mad at me. Let's see if you can figure out the illusion." Serge said pulling out his phone and taking a quick picture of his drawing. It depicted Kyle and Serge, both talking and laughing, both in clearly fun moods. It depicted the scene that they were in now, except instead of washing the cups, Kyle was creating a new batch of hot chocolate for the two to enjoy.

Hidden in the patterns of the cups was the Wunjo rune (ᚹ) to signify joy and the Gebo Rune (ᚷ) meaning gift. The latter he had learned about from the book Mr. Bergen had gifted him.

The intent of the drawing was clear. On the surface it was intended to be a friendly scene between two friends. But beyond that it also depicted Kyle creating a new batch of hot chocolate for the duo. A joyous gift, not directly asked for, but one that both friends would enjoy. An action he would have no qualms against doing. No reason in his subconscious to deny. A sudden burst of generosity, seeing how much happiness his cooking had brought to his friend.

These were the thought that swirled around in his mind. He focused them through his art, not on the paper but now on his phone screen. It was a strange experience for him, but online art had influenced him for years now. More so than physical art. It was all the same in the end. Bringing the imagination into real life. He concentrated hard using it as a gateway for his magick...and then pushed the button to send the picture to Kyle along with his will attached to it, ready to transfer over into Kyle's mind as soon as he saw it.

"That five Masters owe you favors that is really impressive."
Kyle said said then he turned serious.
"But Serge, you are kind, trading favors are fine that is a good thing but you should also make sure your kindness is not taken advantage of."
He said sounding concerned.

"Preaching to the choir." Serge said simply, showing he already knew about that risk. " Your not the first to warn me about that. Anyways I'd much rather be used than ignored. Might as well be useful. And it's not like I don't want to ask for anything. I just don't know what to ask for. I don't really want anything....at least nothing they can give me."

"I can do that, talk with them and such, but I think they also need help with food and such."
Kyle said.
"And off course they are human they have just been really unlucky."

"They need help with a lot of things. Doing any one of them will make their day. Doing multiple will make them ecstatic." Serge said with a smile. "And if you can encourage more people to do that same you could help multiple down-on-their-luck people across the city. And thus the action of one person will have helped people all over."

(OOC: Mind 3 effect sent through the text message drawing. Contrary to what Serge said it's not an illusion. Using his generosity the effect will subconsciously compel Kyle to create a new batch of hot chocolate for him and Serge.

Arete Roll: 2, 9, 4, 2 - 8, 2, 4, 7)

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Adley and Narim, after Chicago; Steelhaven, late morning]

"Yes, the sound was still present but unintelligible. Might be useful. Perhaps I will ask him to make me a charm, and barter something in return," he said thoughtfully.

"That is what my ward was supposed to do, however it was worked more on the information being conveyed and not just scattering it randomly."
Narim said and frowned.
"I might have to talk with Mr Wainwright about that, the man do make some clever rotes."

"Depends who you asked, in my family but yes," he said. "Plus, right if someone was following the old Testament, shellfish was unclean too and you could only eat fish that had scales and fins. And some Christian groups are vegetarian or eat kosher.." He shrugged. "Now though I only observe things like that for specific purposes, not all year round or whatnot, and summer is clamcakes and chowder time."

"I think perhaps that when one put something spiritual in what one eat, or what one don't eat, it is not so much about exactly what it is, but rather the meaning put into it which is important."
Narim said and smiled.

"A little bitter is good for us," he said.

"Oh indeed so, but there can be to much bitter as well."
The Virtual Adept agreed with a grin.

"I'll have to try a listen, out of curiosity's sake," he said. For a while, he was occupied mostly with trying to ferry food to his mouth without dropping it and drinking some of the tea. The rest of his attention was on not wolfing it down, as he'd gotten used to eating fast and whatever was in front of him.
"I'll have to try a listen, out of curiosity's sake," he said. For a while, he was occupied mostly with trying to ferry food to his mouth without dropping it and drinking some of the tea. The rest of his attention was on not wolfing it down, as he'd gotten used to eating fast and whatever was in front of him.

"I have some CD's I can bring over if you like."
Narim offered before e ate in silence as well for a while, though he ate slower, savoring his food, after a while he asked.
"So I hear an ehm...expedition to Horizon are planned, among other things for your brother's trial but also to deal with other matters, I assume you will be going then?"
This he said softly not to be overheard, though none in the restaurant paid any attention to the two of you."

[Abandoned Junkyard]

He frowned, "Ice cream made from... I'm going to guess involuntary donors, then. Hm, I suspect that's a company liable to go through some... drastic changes shortly, then. He may be as influential as he pleases; he still crossed a line here, and for that, well..."

"I will assume so...Veronica did not say anything about it but she clearly where shocked."
The young vampiress muttered.
"So no I do not think the donors where willing and I do not understand how they got the blood to taste sweet as their product is supposed to do, if you add anything it just comes back up."
She said softly.

He glanced to Fran, "After this, do you think you'll be able to help her to safety somewhere? I know we can't very well take her in, but... offering sanctuary is not unprecedented. Someone might be able to shelter her... if not here, I do know someone in Chicago who might know someone, at least..."

Fran looked at you and sigh she did not look optimistic.
"In her current condition she...will not make it Mr Wainwright, burns take a long time to heal, even for her kind, and if she is as young as I suspect she will need a teacher, a carer...I do not know where we could possibly bring her..."
The Euthanathos whispered sadly and shook her head and she glanced over at the young vampire.
"There might not be anything we can do for her. I guess we can take er in for now but she will have to be...restrained, you know the Chief will not accept anything else, but at least that will give us time to see if we can find some solution for her."
She added, though she did not sound to hopeful.

[Nicole and Cava]

"You know the tooth fairy spirit was a bit late on taking my teeth. My teeth sat under my pillow for a while before she took them." Serge said with a smile. "Guess she was running a little late that day."

"Everyone have places to be and things to do, and perhaps there was traffic."
Cava said and shrugged.
"How much did you get for your teeth?"

"Bleh." Serge said making a disgusted noise. "Regular Vegetable are never OK. Much prefer candy vegetable."

"I think vegetables can be rather ok actually and they are good for us and one would not want to get sick, for that is really boring."
The little girl said and shook her head.

[Kyle's Room]

"You asked for this. And basically consented to have your mind magicked. So don't get mad at me. Let's see if you can figure out the illusion." Serge said pulling out his phone and taking a quick picture of his drawing. It depicted Kyle and Serge, both talking and laughing, both in clearly fun moods. It depicted the scene that they were in now, except instead of washing the cups, Kyle was creating a new batch of hot chocolate for the two to enjoy.

Hidden in the patterns of the cups was the Wunjo rune (ᚹ) to signify joy and the Gebo Rune (ᚷ) meaning gift. The latter he had learned about from the book Mr. Bergen had gifted him.

The intent of the drawing was clear. On the surface it was intended to be a friendly scene between two friends. But beyond that it also depicted Kyle creating a new batch of hot chocolate for the duo. A joyous gift, not directly asked for, but one that both friends would enjoy. An action he would have no qualms against doing. No reason in his subconscious to deny. A sudden burst of generosity, seeing how much happiness his cooking had brought to his friend.

These were the thought that swirled around in his mind. He focused them through his art, not on the paper but now on his phone screen. It was a strange experience for him, but online art had influenced him for years now. More so than physical art. It was all the same in the end. Bringing the imagination into real life. He concentrated hard using it as a gateway for his magick...and then pushed the button to send the picture to Kyle along with his will attached to it, ready to transfer over into Kyle's mind as soon as he saw it.

"I am not going to get mad."
Kyle assured you as he pulled out his phone and had a look at the picture.
"Hum...before I wash the cups, would you like another one? I could mae some more cocoa, after all I have a bit more time before I have a lesson with Master Morgan."
He asked as he begun to find some more milk from the fridge.

"Preaching to the choir." Serge said simply, showing he already knew about that risk. " Your not the first to warn me about that. Anyways I'd much rather be used than ignored. Might as well be useful. And it's not like I don't want to ask for anything. I just don't know what to ask for. I don't really want anything....at least nothing they can give me."

"If you let others take you for granted you will get both used and ignored."
Kyle said.
"There is nothing wrong with doing nice things for others, just do not be the one who always gives and gives and never get anything in return, you deserve better than that, and I see no reason to ignore you, I think you will get real friends here, friends you don't have to bribe with favors to get them to like you."
He said with a smile.

"They need help with a lot of things. Doing any one of them will make their day. Doing multiple will make them ecstatic." Serge said with a smile. "And if you can encourage more people to do that same you could help multiple down-on-their-luck people across the city. And thus the action of one person will have helped people all over."

"Hum...yeah I might do that, see if I can counteract some of the decay, that might be nice."
Kyle said and nodded.
"I have to as Master Morgan for permission first but I am pretty sure he will not mind me doing something nice for others."

(OOC: Sounds like a fun game I might have to look into picking it up.)

[Adley]

[Adley's return from Chicago]

He nodded thoughtfully, "There are moments when I think everyone except me got hurt that day. Then I realize that I was quite badly injured, too, I was just fortunate enough to be swiftly and fully healed, and quickly... Too many good people lost and badly injured throughout that week. Far too many..."

"Colin, you /were injured/, several times and nearly had your avatar...well, yes, you got hurt, let's leave it at that, shall we? But I think I feel the same, honestly. And it might be a bit more true."

He smiled thinly, "You had wards up at the time. He thought it impolite to hammer at those. And he still made apologies for addressing me like that. That spoke volumes about his character.

"Ah, true. Not mine, strictly speaking but yes I did have a ars mens potion at work," he nodded.

He grinned, "Most American stuff would be laughed out of a British pub. But, there are a few American breweries that do make acceptable brews all the same."

"I wouldn't really know. It's all new to me, for the most part. I've had beer before but nothing that made an impression. Mead, or wine or an occasional whiskey or something like that. I've never really sought out trying to get drunk."

He chuckled softly, "Oh, he'll be visiting me again, I'm afraid - he was quite certain about that. Still, I don't think he'll come in guns blazing, as it were - he's quite amicable over a cup of white peach blossom tea. Nevertheless, rescuing Anna's mother is a project that will take years and years of preparation; remember, I do not only have to reach her through time and space, but in a Labyrinth that no longer exists, through wards that were quite well crafted - so that's going to take some work just figuring out how to find the place. And then there's how to replace the woman with, well, a mindless, soulless exact replica that won't make Gabriel suspicious - or perhaps it will be easier to move her mind and soul into a clone instead, I don't know... whatever the conclusion, it will take a long time before I can do it."

"That's not entirely comforting to hear, you know. Whether he decides to come in blazing or not, he is the most powerful Paradox spirit." He sighed, drank more of the stout. "Also, that plan sounds entirely insane, for the record. A replica? Moving a mind and a soul? Look, I know you just said I wasn't being an optimist but..." He shook his head.

[quo[Adley and Narim, after Chicago; Steelhaven, late morning]

"Really? Hrm...I've had people use a combination of magick to create a similar outcome, but yes, talk to Colin. I'm not sure why, if you were also using entropy magick, it didn't at least garble things. Odd, perhaps the reason is what you stated, I am not sure."

[quote]"I have some CD's I can bring over if you like." Narim offered[/i]

"Sure, that sounds good," he agreed. "I don't really watch a lot of shows or movies. I don't even have a TV and haven't been to a movie in a long time. But I watch hockey in the common area though, if I can catch the matches. I used to play."

"So I hear an ehm...expedition to Horizon are planned, among other things for your brother's trial but also to deal with other matters, I assume you will be going then?" This he said softly not to be overheard, though none in the restaurant paid any attention to the two of you."

He nodded a little. "We can talk about it more when we get back, if you wish. Pardon." He gave an apologetic smile.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Adley and Narim, after Chicago; Steelhaven, late morning]

"Really? Hrm...I've had people use a combination of magick to create a similar outcome, but yes, talk to Colin. I'm not sure why, if you were also using entropy magick, it didn't at least garble things. Odd, perhaps the reason is what you stated, I am not sure."

"I think it have to do with intent, my ward was never meant to scramble the information but rather make the information unintelligible, I used Entropy to decay information but not scramble it, which is why I might not be getting the same effect, I might try to use it to scramble the information randomly instead."
Narim said and nodded.
"That might work better."

"Sure, that sounds good," he agreed. "I don't really watch a lot of shows or movies. I don't even have a TV and haven't been to a movie in a long time. But I watch hockey in the common area though, if I can catch the matches. I used to play."

"I don't think I have watched a hockey match in my life, you used to play? Was it fun?"
Narim asked.
"Do you have anything to play CDs on? For if not I can rip them for you and just send you the sound files for the songs."
He offered.

He nodded a little. "We can talk about it more when we get back, if you wish. Pardon." He gave an apologetic smile.

"Ah yes, off course."
The Virtual Adept said also sounding apologetic before he ate a bit more of his food.
"So do you like ice cream, there is a kiosk not fa from here who have pretty good products I was thinking I could buy you dessert there."
He asked.
"Unless you don't like sweets?"

[Warpmind]

[Abandoned Junkyard]

"I will assume so...Veronica did not say anything about it but she clearly where shocked."
The young vampiress muttered.
"So no I do not think the donors where willing and I do not understand how they got the blood to taste sweet as their product is supposed to do, if you add anything it just comes back up."
She said softly.

Colin's expression soured momentarily, "If I were to guess... I would say the donors might be diabetics given extreme doses of sugar prior to, hm, donating. That could account for both the sweetness and the cruelty, since excessively high blood sugar can be lethal if not treated quickly... I would have to confer with our doctor about that hypothesis, though."

Fran looked at you and sigh she did not look optimistic.
"In her current condition she...will not make it Mr Wainwright, burns take a long time to heal, even for her kind, and if she is as young as I suspect she will need a teacher, a carer...I do not know where we could possibly bring her..."
The Euthanathos whispered sadly and shook her head and she glanced over at the young vampire.
"There might not be anything we can do for her. I guess we can take er in for now but she will have to be...restrained, you know the Chief will not accept anything else, but at least that will give us time to see if we can find some solution for her."
She added, though she did not sound to hopeful.

He nodded, "I'll call my contact in Chicago, perhaps she can offer advice. Keep an eye on her in the meantime?"
He glanced to Hildegard as he picked up his phone, "By your leave, ma'am?"

[Adley's return from Chicago]

"Colin, you /were injured/, several times and nearly had your avatar...well, yes, you got hurt, let's leave it at that, shall we? But I think I feel the same, honestly. And it might be a bit more true."

He nodded, "I know, I know... but all the same, I walk around seemingly untouched, it just doesn't seem at all fair..."
He smiled wryly, "Besides, you weren't injured in the same way, but you still took one hell of a hit to your system, sacrificing your own health to power the pine cone like that."

"I wouldn't really know. It's all new to me, for the most part. I've had beer before but nothing that made an impression. Mead, or wine or an occasional whiskey or something like that. I've never really sought out trying to get drunk."

He nodded, "They say that for most people, beer is an acquired taste... Personally, I think that if you have to learn to like beer, you're approaching it from the wrong angle; there are enough variations in flavour and texture to please any palate, however particular, so there's no reason to waste time forcing down beer you don't like. And with very few exceptions, I've never sought out trying to get drunk. Comfortably buzzed, yes, but... well, different drinking cultures may be a relevant issue here."

"That's not entirely comforting to hear, you know. Whether he decides to come in blazing or not, he is the most powerful Paradox spirit." He sighed, drank more of the stout. "Also, that plan sounds entirely insane, for the record. A replica? Moving a mind and a soul? Look, I know you just said I wasn't being an optimist but..." He shook his head.

He grinned, "True, he is the most powerful... but he's also compassionate, it seems, and if I can manage to rescue Anna's mother in the past without any apparent changes to the past events - meaning nobody notices the substitution, and everyone assumes she died on the torture bench seven years ago - he might not bother with it. The real issue, I suspect, will be to bring the poor woman up to date when her toddler is suddenly a woman grown herself..."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Abandoned Junkyard]

Colin's expression soured momentarily, "If I were to guess... I would say the donors might be diabetics given extreme doses of sugar prior to, hm, donating. That could account for both the sweetness and the cruelty, since excessively high blood sugar can be lethal if not treated quickly... I would have to confer with our doctor about that hypothesis, though."

"That is horrible."
The vampiress said.
"But yes something like that would account for the sweetness and cruelty for we can taste to much sugar in someone's blood, Veronica said she had to send a favored ghoul to the doctor once when his blood started tasting sweet. That is how we met, she was taking Stephen to get tested while I was in the hospital."
She said then she sigh.
"The more I see of vampire kind the more I realize there are some real horrible people among us."

He nodded, "I'll call my contact in Chicago, perhaps she can offer advice. Keep an eye on her in the meantime?"
He glanced to Hildegard as he picked up his phone, "By your leave, ma'am?"

"I will keep and eye on her."
Fran confirmed with a nod.
"And see what can be done to further calm her down." Hildegard nodded.
"Off course Mr Wainwright."
She approved and nodded.

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Nicole and Cava]

"Everyone have places to be and things to do, and perhaps there was traffic."
Cava said and shrugged.
"How much did you get for your teeth?"

"10 dollars." Serge said remembering how nervous his parents had looked that day. "Guess the tooth fairy felt a little guilty for delaying my tooth delivery."

"I think vegetables can be rather ok actually and they are good for us and one would not want to get sick, for that is really boring."
The little girl said and shook her head.

"Guess you got a point there Cava. Shame that all the things that are good for us are all so terrible. Vegetables, Exercise, Going outside."

[Kyle Room]

"I am not going to get mad."
Kyle assured you as he pulled out his phone and had a look at the picture.
"Hum...before I wash the cups, would you like another one? I could mae some more cocoa, after all I have a bit more time before I have a lesson with Master Morgan."
He asked as he begun to find some more milk from the fridge.

"Up to you. I'm fine either way." Serge said simply. If the magick worked he wouldn't need to answer the question, at least not directly. He had already planted the suggestion into Kyle's mind and if all went well he would do it without any further input from him.

"If you let others take you for granted you will get both used and ignored."
Kyle said.
"There is nothing wrong with doing nice things for others, just do not be the one who always gives and gives and never get anything in return, you deserve better than that, and I see no reason to ignore you, I think you will get real friends here, friends you don't have to bribe with favors to get them to like you."
He said with a smile.

"Thanks. I know I'll have friends. I've been through enough therapy to know that." Serge said returning the smile.

"Still doesn't change the fact that I don't know what to ask for." he said with a shake of his head. " If they offer me something than that's perfect, I'll accept it right away. But if they ask me what I want I'm kinda screwed. I'm not gonna deny someone's request just because I don't know what they should give me in return. So at the end of the day I just get a bunch of favors that I don't plan on calling on. Makes it kinda hard to get anything in return."

"Hum...yeah I might do that, see if I can counteract some of the decay, that might be nice."
Kyle said and nodded.
"I have to as Master Morgan for permission first but I am pretty sure he will not mind me doing something nice for others."

"Really! Helping the poor! Is that really something you need Master Morgan's permission for?" Serge said with an astonished look on his face. "I mean...yeah...I guess....Hermetic apprenticeship and all that. Still kinda strange though."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Nicole and Cava]

"10 dollars." Serge said remembering how nervous his parents had looked that day. "Guess the tooth fairy felt a little guilty for delaying my tooth delivery."

"She must ave or she was very generous with you."
Cava said and she smiled.
"I got a dollar for each tooth."

"Guess you got a point there Cava. Shame that all the things that are good for us are all so terrible. Vegetables, Exercise, Going outside."

"I don't think vegetables are terrible Sir and I like running and I like going outside but I am not allowed to do so very much."
Cava said as she glanced up from the circuit board to Serge.
"Why do you think such things are terrible Sir."

[Kyle Room]

"Up to you. I'm fine either way." Serge said simply. If the magick worked he wouldn't need to answer the question, at least not directly. He had already planted the suggestion into Kyle's mind and if all went well he would do it without any further input from him.

"Yeah I think I will make us a new batch."
Kyle said as he poured the milk in the pan and set it to heat as he found more cocoa powder.
"Do you want it the same as the last."

"Thanks. I know I'll have friends. I've been through enough therapy to know that." Serge said returning the smile.

"Still doesn't change the fact that I don't know what to ask for." he said with a shake of his head. " If they offer me something than that's perfect, I'll accept it right away. But if they ask me what I want I'm kinda screwed. I'm not gonna deny someone's request just because I don't know what they should give me in return. So at the end of the day I just get a bunch of favors that I don't plan on calling on. Makes it kinda hard to get anything in return."

"But don't you need things like food and clothes and art supplies and such? That costs money, and I mean eventually you might end up in some trouble you need resources to get out of."
Kyle protested then he sigh.
"But it is not my place to tell you how to do things."

"Really! Helping the poor! Is that really something you need Master Morgan's permission for?" Serge said with an astonished look on his face. "I mean...yeah...I guess....Hermetic apprenticeship and all that. Still kinda strange though."

"I am a prisoner Serge, not just an apprentice, I have been let out of that cell and let of that dreadful serum, but I am still a prisoner I am not free to do as I please and I would rather ask one time to many than to risk what freedoms I have been given being taken away again and there might be some reason or another why my Mentor would not want me involved with something or another."
Kyle said in a serious tone of voice.
*I can't even leave the Chantry without permission so yes I would have to ask."

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Nicole and Cava]

Anja's Post:

'Erm... not sure, really.' the large woman admitted.

Anja's Post:

'Hmm... think so.' Nicole replied, taking a closer look. 'Next, to solder the wire to the board. First, you get your wire and twist the end so the ends don't go everywhere. Next, we get a roll of electrical tape and a roll of solder-' moving back to the tool-box and getting them '...we snip off a little bit of tape-' locating a stanley knife from the table for the purpose '-and use it to hold the wire in the place we are gonna solder it. Don't use your teeth on the tape, it just goes all stretchy. Now, we're ready to solder. We unroll a little bit of the solder, hold it in one hand. Now we get the iron, wipe it clean again-' another hiss '-and hold it in the other hand. Now, showtime-' a tiny bit of smoke as the Etherite held the iron onto the solder on the point the wire needed to be connected, the slivery blob forming. 'See what I did? Don't need too much. We wait for a moment... then we remove the tape, give the wire a very gentle tug.' this she did, the wire staying attached. 'And done.'

'Now you try with your wire. Wait...' grabbing a rather large metal box and placing it on the floor in front of the bench. 'Stand on that; the table is a bit too tall for you.' logical enough, as all the surfaces in Nicole's apartment were several inches higher than usual so the large woman didn't have to stoop over things.

[Junkyard]

Anja's Post:

'Do a quick check before we leave it, I will.'

Colin's Post:

'Admiral Ackbar, Star Wars - "it's a trap!". As in: master of the obvious.' Nicole replied, a little sourly.

Anja's Post:

Nicole was silent to this, clearly not overly caring. 'Heard a couple of things before, I did... one about grabbing the kids and the other about one person they were not to touch.'

[RI Roadtrip]

Adley's Post:

'Not really.' Nicole replied with a little shrug. 'You know how... no, you don't.' a slight pause as she shifted in her seat again and then continued...

'Living off the radar always ends up with you living on the wrong side of the law. Illegal ID's so you can drive, tax evasion 'cos you're taking everything in cash, fraud if you're using a fake bank account and so on. It's like a whole different world-' waving an arm towards the plate window outside. '-if I can't do a "normal" job with Social Security you always end up going shady shit; driving product from city to city, auto chop-shops, p'haps working as muscle and stuff. You know how fucking hard it is to buy even a cell with cash these days? This means you end up shopping at shady places, where the two rules are "we only take cash" and "don't ever fucking ask where we got it from". In the dark, every city has a whole network which has folk living 24/7 off the books, off the radar and out of view of The Beast.' a moment's pause to let this sink in, then continued.

'See how it tots up? A fraud charge here, a evasion one there... and I didn't even go properly into that business.'

Adley's Post:

'No, it hasn't. Same old fucking too-small uncomfortable chairs. Next time, pick a bloody booth.' the large woman complained.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Nicole and Cava]

'Erm... not sure, really.' the large woman admitted.

"I think it is odd, that some metal melt easier than other metals."
Cava said sounding confused.

'Hmm... think so.' Nicole replied, taking a closer look. 'Next, to solder the wire to the board. First, you get your wire and twist the end so the ends don't go everywhere. Next, we get a roll of electrical tape and a roll of solder-' moving back to the tool-box and getting them '...we snip off a little bit of tape-' locating a stanley knife from the table for the purpose '-and use it to hold the wire in the place we are gonna solder it. Don't use your teeth on the tape, it just goes all stretchy. Now, we're ready to solder. We unroll a little bit of the solder, hold it in one hand. Now we get the iron, wipe it clean again-' another hiss '-and hold it in the other hand. Now, showtime-' a tiny bit of smoke as the Etherite held the iron onto the solder on the point the wire needed to be connected, the slivery blob forming. 'See what I did? Don't need too much. We wait for a moment... then we remove the tape, give the wire a very gentle tug.' this she did, the wire staying attached. 'And done.'

The young mage was quiet and paid careful attention as you showed her what to do, trying to commit each step to memory as her eyes watched your movements.
"Ok...I think I understand Miss Nicole."
She said and smiled.

'Now you try with your wire. Wait...' grabbing a rather large metal box and placing it on the floor in front of the bench. 'Stand on that; the table is a bit too tall for you.' logical enough, as all the surfaces in Nicole's apartment were several inches higher than usual so the large woman didn't have to stoop over things.

Cava smiled.
"Thank you."
She said then she climbed onto the box and stood up. She carefully followed your instructions, she gently rolled the exposed wire together a bit and cut a bit of tape to hold it down before she too the soldering iron and then cleaned it before soldering the wire into place, she moved slowly and had a very focused look on her face.
"Like this Miss Nicole?"
She asked after she had put the iron back into place. Her work was good for a beginner, not perfect but quite acceptable for someone who had not done this before.

[Junkyard]

'Do a quick check before we leave it, I will.'

Richard nodded at that.
"Good then I guess we have a plan for the blood van at least."
The Akashic said and nodded.

Nicole was silent to this, clearly not overly caring. 'Heard a couple of things before, I did... one about grabbing the kids and the other about one person they were not to touch.'

The vampiress looked confused for a moment then she nodded.
"Yes...right before...before the attack, I did not mean to keep it from you I just did not remember, so much...much had happened and Veronica...Veronica dying...I...I don't remember the name he spoke that where not supposed to feed from...and he did speak about some kids...that is horrible one should not...feed of kids but we where in no position to protest...then everything happened at once I know nothing about the how and why of the people mentioned."
The young vampire said and she started sobbing again.
"We where not going to feed of the children, we where not going to hurt anyone!"

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Nicola and Cava]

"I don't think vegetables are terrible Sir and I like running and I like going outside but I am not allowed to do so very much."
Cava said as she glanced up from the circuit board to Serge.
"Why do you think such things are terrible Sir."

"I dunno. Never really liked them nor have I tried to like them. Always threw them away." Serge said with a shrug. "I never really went outside as a kid, even though I had nothing stopping from doing so. And running makes me feel tired and makes my legs hurt. Sadly I didn't have as much energy as you do Cava." he added with a smile.

[Kyle's Room]

"Yeah I think I will make us a new batch."
Kyle said as he poured the milk in the pan and set it to heat as he found more cocoa powder.
"Do you want it the same as the last."

"That should be fine." Serge said trying to remain as neutral as possible. He made sure to keep an eye on Kyle to see if he could figure out that magick had been cast on him during any part of the hot-chocolate making process.

"But don't you need things like food and clothes and art supplies and such? That costs money, and I mean eventually you might end up in some trouble you need resources to get out of."
Kyle protested then he sigh.
"But it is not my place to tell you how to do things."

"Damn, looks like you got me there." Serge said with a chuckle. "Most of my art supplies are really old or free. As are my clothing. But if I do ever need anything money is definitely something I ask for, even if I hate doing so. Just because I don't plan on calling on those favors doesn't mean I never do."

"I am a prisoner Serge, not just an apprentice, I have been let out of that cell and let of that dreadful serum, but I am still a prisoner I am not free to do as I please and I would rather ask one time to many than to risk what freedoms I have been given being taken away again and there might be some reason or another why my Mentor would not want me involved with something or another."
Kyle said in a serious tone of voice.
*I can't even leave the Chantry without permission so yes I would have to ask."

"R-Right..." Serge said apologetically frowning sadly as he heard of Kyle's predicament. "Sorry about that. I forget sometimes. Well, not really forget. I didn't realize."

[Warpmind]

[Abandoned Junkyard]

'Admiral Ackbar, Star Wars - "it's a trap!". As in: master of the obvious.' Nicole replied, a little sourly.

Colin chuckled, "I think we'll both owe the sarcasm jar some change tonight."

"That is horrible."
The vampiress said.
"But yes something like that would account for the sweetness and cruelty for we can taste to much sugar in someone's blood, Veronica said she had to send a favored ghoul to the doctor once when his blood started tasting sweet. That is how we met, she was taking Stephen to get tested while I was in the hospital."
She said then she sigh.
"The more I see of vampire kind the more I realize there are some real horrible people among us."

He frowned, then shrugged, "That goes for any demographic. You can't blame them being monsters on their vampiric nature, no more than you can ascribe a saintly personality to someone's mortality. But supernatural powers makes either extreme more likely."

Nicole was silent to this, clearly not overly caring. 'Heard a couple of things before, I did... one about grabbing the kids and the other about one person they were not to touch.'

The vampiress looked confused for a moment then she nodded.
"Yes...right before...before the attack, I did not mean to keep it from you I just did not remember, so much...much had happened and Veronica...Veronica dying...I...I don't remember the name he spoke that where not supposed to feed from...and he did speak about some kids...that is horrible one should not...feed of kids but we where in no position to protest...then everything happened at once I know nothing about the how and why of the people mentioned."
The young vampire said and she started sobbing again.
"We where not going to feed of the children, we where not going to hurt anyone!"

He nodded, "I heard that, too - the snob who led you gave the orders, including the one to take particular captives. You're not to blame for that."

"I will keep and eye on her."
Fran confirmed with a nod.
"And see what can be done to further calm her down." Hildegard nodded.
"Off course Mr Wainwright."
She approved and nodded.

He nodded and walked a bit off, calling Kristina, slowly scanning the surroundings.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Nicola and Cava]

"I dunno. Never really liked them nor have I tried to like them. Always threw them away." Serge said with a shrug. "I never really went outside as a kid, even though I had nothing stopping from doing so. And running makes me feel tired and makes my legs hurt. Sadly I didn't have as much energy as you do Cava." he added with a smile.

"But the more you run the less your legs hurt."
The little girl said and smiled.
"And there are allot of things to do outside you know."

[Kyle's Room]

"That should be fine." Serge said trying to remain as neutral as possible. He made sure to keep an eye on Kyle to see if he could figure out that magick had been cast on him during any part of the hot-chocolate making process.

"I you don't want any, or if you want something else it is perfectly fine to say so."
Kyle said and he turned and looked at you clearly confused over your reaction and the way you behaved, your might might have planted the desire to make more hot cocoa but that did not mean he overlooked odd behavior around him.

"Damn, looks like you got me there." Serge said with a chuckle. "Most of my art supplies are really old or free. As are my clothing. But if I do ever need anything money is definitely something I ask for, even if I hate doing so. Just because I don't plan on calling on those favors doesn't mean I never do."

"You can ask for pay for what you do you know there is nothing wrong with that but yeah I mean we live in a physical world so we have physical needs."
Kyle said.
"And do not quality pencils and such cost allot of money?"

"R-Right..." Serge said apologetically frowning sadly as he heard of Kyle's predicament. "Sorry about that. I forget sometimes. Well, not really forget. I didn't realize."

"Don't worry about it, I try not to think about it myself, I try to focus on the here and now and not the trial that avoid me and what might be the result of it, so yeah...don't worry about it."
The kid said and he looked away with a fearful look in his eyes.

[Abandoned Junkyard]

He frowned, then shrugged, "That goes for any demographic. You can't blame them being monsters on their vampiric nature, no more than you can ascribe a saintly personality to someone's mortality. But supernatural powers makes either extreme more likely."

"Yeah...there is some really nice vampires."
The young vampiress said and she looked around nervously.
"I have not really met that many of them though, a few of the Princes let us stay for a few days, that is kind, but so very many where not kind...not kind at all."
She whispered.

He nodded, "I heard that, too - the snob who led you gave the orders, including the one to take particular captives. You're not to blame for that."

"Yeah there was nothing we could do to help the people here, I felt so sorry for them, especially the kids...but there was nothing we could do. Will...will they be okey now?"
She asked softly.

He nodded and walked a bit off, calling Kristina, slowly scanning the surroundings.

After a few rings the Verbena Adept picked up the phone.
"Yes Mr Wainwright? What can I do for your?"
She asked over the phone.

[Adley]

[Adley and Narim, after Chicago; Steelhaven, late morning]

"I think it have to do with intent, my ward was never meant to scramble the information but rather make the information unintelligible, I used Entropy to decay information but not scramble it, which is why I might not be getting the same effect, I might try to use it to scramble the information randomly instead."
Narim said and nodded.
"That might work better."

"I'm not sure I see the difference...but then I admit that I have not the understanding of those ars that you or Colin do."

"I don't think I have watched a hockey match in my life, you used to play? Was it fun?"
Narim asked.

"Yes, I thought it was fun at least. Have you ever ice skated?" he asked.

"Do you have anything to play CDs on? For if not I can rip them for you and just send you the sound files for the songs."
He offered.

"My car has a CD player. Also my laptop."

"So do you like ice cream, there is a kiosk not fa from here who have pretty good products I was thinking I could buy you dessert there."
He asked. "Unless you don't like sweets?"

"It's a bit cold out for ice cream. But you know what, I don't care," he said with a grin. "Sure, that would be very nice, thank you."

Adley's return from Chicago]

He nodded, "I know, I know... but all the same, I walk around seemingly untouched, it just doesn't seem at all fair..." He smiled wryly, "Besides, you weren't injured in the same way, but you still took one hell of a hit to your system, sacrificing your own health to power the pine cone like that."

"Well, at any rate we can help others until they are back on their feet. And we are still here to do that, so for that I'm thankful."

He nodded, "They say that for most people, beer is an acquired taste... Personally, I think that if you have to learn to like beer, you're approaching it from the wrong angle; there are enough variations in flavour and texture to please any palate, however particular, so there's no reason to waste time forcing down beer you don't like. And with very few exceptions, I've never sought out trying to get drunk. Comfortably buzzed, yes, but... well, different drinking cultures may be a relevant issue here."

"I have an aversion to changing my mental state too much, at least in that way," he admitted. "I don't like the idea of losing control, or being unable to be ready for an emergency if one should arise."

He grinned, "True, he is the most powerful... but he's also compassionate, it seems, and if I can manage to rescue Anna's mother in the past without any apparent changes to the past events - meaning nobody notices the substitution, and everyone assumes she died on the torture bench seven years ago - he might not bother with it. The real issue, I suspect, will be to bring the poor woman up to date when her toddler is suddenly a woman grown herself..."

"Just be careful. Sometimes, it seems like the fate will shift over as we've seen happen already. Perhaps you should talk to one of the Euthanatos before you go too far along with such a plan, they have understandings of people's fates better than we do. If anything, you might get a practical perspective."

[Adley and Nicole go to Beefbarn]

'Not really.' Nicole replied with a little shrug. 'You know how... no, you don't.' a slight pause as she shifted in her seat again and then continued...

'Living off the radar always ends up with you living on the wrong side of the law. Illegal ID's so you can drive, tax evasion 'cos you're taking everything in cash, fraud if you're using a fake bank account and so on. It's like a whole different world-' waving an arm towards the plate window outside. '-if I can't do a "normal" job with Social Security you always end up going shady shit; driving product from city to city, auto chop-shops, p'haps working as muscle and stuff. You know how fucking hard it is to buy even a cell with cash these days? This means you end up shopping at shady places, where the two rules are "we only take cash" and "don't ever fucking ask where we got it from". In the dark, every city has a whole network which has folk living 24/7 off the books, off the radar and out of view of The Beast.' a moment's pause to let this sink in, then continued.

'See how it tots up? A fraud charge here, a evasion one there... and I didn't even go properly into that business.'

He gave a thoughtful nod. "Well, you had your reasons, whatever they were, to do what you did. Though I can see it bringing difficulties, especially if you did not have a lot of help."

'No, it hasn't. Same old fucking too-small uncomfortable chairs. Next time, pick a bloody booth.' the large woman complained.

He raised an eyebrow and then picked up his tray. Then he moved over to a free booth. "Forgive me for not realizing you would be discomforted but you could have said you prefer a booth."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Adley and Narim, after Chicago; Steelhaven, late morning]

"I'm not sure I see the difference...but then I admit that I have not the understanding of those ars that you or Colin do."

"I think the difference is that Mr Wainwright's rote, if I am going to take a guess at what it do, spread the information randomly around and by that scrambling it, while my wards seek to destroy the information leaking out."
Narim explained and he scratched his head for a moment.

"Yes, I thought it was fun at least. Have you ever ice skated?" he asked.

"No I...can't say that I have."
The Virtual Adept said.
"I have a feeling that doing so would land me on my butt on the ice more than on my feet."
He added with a grin.

"My car has a CD player. Also my laptop."

"I will bring the CD's over to your room later today then."

"It's a bit cold out for ice cream. But you know what, I don't care," he said with a grin. "Sure, that would be very nice, thank you."

"Ice cream in autumn living dangerously aren't we."
Narim said and he chuckle before eating another piece of sushi.
"It will be the perfect ending to a wonderful meal."
He declared with a warm smile.

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Nicole and Cava]

Anja's Post:

Once the kid had finished, Nicole took the board out of the clamp and looked at it critically. 'Not bad at all... we'll make an electrician out of you yet. Now it's for real - to do the same again on the speaker.' taking the board and dumping it on the now in-bits toaster.

Nicole will let Cava get on with it; only to step in if she does something critically wrong and/or dangerous - otherwise, the kid's on her own.

[Junkyard]

Anja's Post:

Colin's Post:

The large woman's face was impassive; a good eye would spot the Etherite didn't believe for one second any claims of morality. But didn't make any hostile moves towards her either.

As the group - Nicole assumed - sorted out what was going to happen to the vampire, she remained put; not aggressive per se, more... waiting, just in case something happened.

[RI Roadtrip]

Adley's Post:

'Thought you already knew... helped someone go on the run, they did. That's called "aiding and abetting" and broke probation. Which meant they was gonna be enjoying the ACI for a year or two, as well as any extra for helping the other person get out of state.' Nicole replied, dropping into talking about herself in the third person - perhaps sensible, as they were in a public place and she was technically still a felon on the run.

Adley's Post:

Nicole was silent to this, looking a little sulky.

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Nicole and Cava]

"But the more you run the less your legs hurt."
The little girl said and smiled.
"And there are allot of things to do outside you know."

"That's true. But starting is really hard." Serge said with a chuckle. "And I've always liked being inside more than outside. What sorts of fun things do you like to do outside Cava?"

[Kyle's Room]

"I you don't want any, or if you want something else it is perfectly fine to say so."
Kyle said and he turned and looked at you clearly confused over your reaction and the way you behaved, your might might have planted the desire to make more hot cocoa but that did not mean he overlooked odd behavior around him.

"Sorry, I guess I'm a bit out of it. I'm trying to see if the picture I sent you had any effect. I do actually really want some more hot chocolate." Serge said with a smile, getting rid of his passive attitude and returning back to his normal cheerful self making it easier for the magickal desire within Kyle to take root.

"Do you see anything weird?" he added wanting Kyle to think the magick was an illusion rather than compulsion.

"You can ask for pay for what you do you know there is nothing wrong with that but yeah I mean we live in a physical world so we have physical needs."
Kyle said.
"And do not quality pencils and such cost allot of money?"

" Sure they do but I don't need them. One thing I've learned Kyle. It doesn't matter what you use to draw with." Serge said with a shake of his head. "The tools you use don't matter. It's what you create with them. I've created works of art using pebbles on the sidewalk and my own nails on my own skin. Thinking you need expensive tools is a hindrance. Sure expensive tools might make you feel cool, but at the end of the day the drawing you create depends on your skill, not your wallet. Each drawing is supposed to be an extension of yourself not your tools."

"Don't worry about it, I try not to think about it myself, I try to focus on the here and now and not the trial that avoid me and what might be the result of it, so yeah...don't worry about it."
The kid said and he looked away with a fearful look in his eyes.

"Right. No need to think about it now." Serge agreed looking around the room for something to change the conversation to.

"How about you show me that racing game on your PSP? I wanna see why you like it so much."

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