"You suck." I glared.
"Vampire." He countered, before collapsing back against the bed and laughing hysterically. And also further ruining Therese's carefully maintained appearance.
"I…" I hated that that was actually a pretty good comeback. Also totally gonna figure out a way to stab him right in the Cobweb for that smug look he's giving me with Therese's face.
Before I could figure out a good comeback Malakai spoke up again.
"It's time to leave, before I burn out little Therese. Bye bye for now little auntie. See you sooooon~" He giggled and gave me a cheeky wave goodbye before Therese's eyes rolled back in her skull.
The Malkavian woman collapsed backwards down onto the bed like a puppet with its strings cut, a rather apt description all told. Her eyes opened again moments later, no hint of Malakai behind them. Instead she was staring at me in a mixture of shock and horror.
Oh fuck she was awake the entire time wasn't she?
"Malakai you bastard!! Don't leave me here to explain this shit on my own!" I yelled at the poor Malkavian who was scurrying backwards over the bed away from me and staring back at me with a look of wild panic in her green eyes.
Stupid insane nephews leaving me holding the bag!
So turns out Therese does remember that whole… thing. Which made for an awkward conversation where I had to explain the Madness Network - aka Cobweb - and yes all Malkavians are connected to him like that and also yes, I am of the Second Generation.
I didn't give my actual age, preferring to allude that I was still much older than I looked.
I did however also remind her that my Sire was in the city and would likely be thunderously pissed off if anything happened to inconvenience me because of her. Malakai too.
If she wasn't being extremely accommodating of me before then she certainly was after that little revelation. No need for the whole Tribute thing you're supposed to do when entering a Baron's domain and I've been given absolute free run of Santa Monica. Any problems, just let her know and she'll handle it for me. Immediately.
I could probably say jump and she'd be in the air before asking how high.
Not sure the whole mess was worth the single experience point I'd earned from it. Stupid nephew being stupid. My whole night is ruined, since it'll be kinda awkward as hell to go dancing and enjoy myself while Therese is upstairs busy cowering at the thought that the Dark Father and his only remaining Childe are both roaming about the city doing whatever the hell we feel like.
Honestly I feel kinda bad for her, having terrifying revelations like that dumped on her.
And so instead of enjoying myself for the rest of the night clubbing and enjoying the music I'm now wandering about in the general direction of the pier as I consider what to do now.
I'd swapped to a more generic teen runaway look to avoid drawing much attention, freeing my hair from my braid as well to let it hang loose.
I also decided - since Malakai was the reason for it - to sink the experience point I just gained into Dementation, gaining two new powers:
The Haunting, where I can speak with someone, spend a little blood and drive them a little mad as sensory hallucinations, guilty feelings and other weirdness afflicts them via targeting the sensory centres of their brain.
With the effect being especially pronounced when they're alone at night, just to gaslight them further.
And then there's Mass Hallucination - which is the video game power - and what I was really aiming for with this second dot in the discipline. Spend a little blood and nearby enemies suffer random sensory hallucinations to throw them off in combat. It only has a short duration - roughly twenty or so seconds - but in a combat situation like it's suited for that is fine.
Overall a neat little defensive power to help keep me alive. Though I am kinda tempted to just randomly activate it while in a crowded room to see what happens.
Eh, anyways I felt pretty good about things - visitations from semi-dead but wholey-insane nephews aside - I wandered down a nearby alleyway, using it as a shortcut. Then the good feelings vanished to be replaced with utter disgust at the sight that greeted me.
Because some drunk bastard couldn't be bothered to find a toilet somewhere. Ugh. Instead he just went and whipped it out, and was now cheerily busy pissing against a wall where anyone can wander by with their delicate vampire eyes and be scarred for (un)life.
I walked off in disgust. I hope he gets eaten by a Nosferatu. What is wrong with this city?
I stuck to the streets for now. Honestly there's not really a lot to do in Santa Monica if you can't go clubbing or don't need to visit the blood bank. I considered visiting the thin-bloods at the beach, but I did spend a fair bit of time with them last night so it's not urgent.
I suppose I could visit again tomorrow night. Bring some blood bags with me again to make sure they're eating right.
Instead my feet carried me down to the pier and I leaned against the railing watching the dark ocean, and the cargo ship responsible for so much of the upcoming future mess still anchored offshore.
I was about to leave and go hunting when a hand suddenly grabbed me from behind, and a rag doused in some sort of sweet smelling liquid was shoved into my face.
I started struggling for a moment as I realised that somebody was trying to kidnap me while I had been distracted.
Then I forced myself to stop panicking. They were trying to drug me, which meant they thought I was human. Otherwise they would've staked me. The chloroform - or whatever the chemical it is - didn't actually do anything, but I let myself go limp in my potential kidnapper's arms. A little bit of blood was spent to activate Blush of Life to make myself look alive and I was the perfect little totally unconscious runaway teen.
I just need to remember to keep breathing.
I've never been kidnapped before. This is so cool! Now that I'm a super scary vampire anyways. Before that happened this would've been terrifying and scary.
From the sounds - as I had shut my eyes to make pretending being unconscious easier - there were two of them. I wonder if they're human traffickers and planning on selling me overseas? I already have a super rich, older Arabian gentleman in my life. I don't need another one. Or maybe they're a gang full of pedophiles or something?
Eh, I guess the why doesn't really matter. I'm gonna eat them regardless. After all, guilt free food is the best.
My limp form was quickly pulled onto my kidnapper's shoulder while another voice told him to hurry up. Before long my 'unconscious form' was gagged, zip tied, tossed in the trunk of their car and being swiftly driven off into the night.
This is so exciting! I wonder if they have any other victims I can rescue? I could even use my Calamity outfit and confuse the hell out of the PRT!
Title: The Placeholder
Night 4 Part 2
I lay quietly in the trunk of my kidnapper's car and considered things.
Regardless of if there is anyone else to rescue, these guys have obviously had plenty of practice with kidnapping people so I doubt I'll feel any guilt when I eat them.
It was a bit of a boring ride - considering they were driving slowly to avoid attention - but eventually their car pulled up at our destination and I was carried inside of wherever it was that they'd brought me. I could hear another couple voices arguing, though I didn't get to hear what it was about before one of my kidnappers decided to interrupt them.
"Are you still on about that video we found?" Mr kidnapper complained - loudly - as he dumped my 'unconscious' body on what felt like a bed. Definitely a mattress of some sort.
"Well yeah, that was some freaky shit man." One of the other voices said. "Those walking head things tearing that chick apart. Amazing as fuck special effects. We're going to make some serious dough selling that shit."
Walking heads in a video? Oh damn!? Have I gotten kidnapped by those snuff film guys from the game? This is awesome! I can speedrun getting the film for Brook to give to Isaac. Only downside is there probably aren't any victims to rescue because these are the snuff film guys.
Wait, hang on a second. I got kidnapped by guys who make snuff films! That's actualy kinda fucked up, or would be if I really was a runaway teen instead of a Second Generation vampire.
Well ok, technically I recently was a runaway teen - since I did run away from my foster family and all, screw you Martha! - but I'm now a scary super vampire and that's the important part right now.
Actually, let's see what they do if I stop pretending to be alive?
This was a profitable gig for the four of them. Sanchez and Wayne, both large and muscular thugs, handled acquisition of new merchandise. Evett had camera experience and did a lot of the tech work. Rick handled the remainder of the tech work as well as handling the business side of things, including keeping contact with their Cape benefactor.
No-one outside the crew knew that Death Mask Productions was one of Bastard Son's pet projects, set up shortly after he joined the Elite. That was the way everyone involved liked things. It also gave them peace of mind to know that they'd have cape backup if heat from the law ever came down on them.
Not that it ever had. DMP operated within the city of Alexandria herself and not once has anyone within the LAPD, the PRT or the Protectorate been able to catch them.
Grab vagrants, runaways and worthless street whores to get their film stars. Everything was filmed here underground, nothing linking each set to anything outside that could give the game away.
And after the footage had been edited properly their merchandise could be delivered to their clientele via dead drops and untraceable VHS.
Despite the rising usage of DvDs the crew preferred VHS. They may make the switch eventually, but for now who could even trace them through VHS in Hollywood of all places?
A downside of the work was that they had to work quickly once they got a new 'star' for the show. Holding captives always ran a little risk, so the sooner they finished with the new girl Wayne and Sanchez had brought in the better. Cheaper on drugs too that way.
Now if only they could focus on the matter at hand.
"I'm just saying that shit must be some biotinker experiment or something. When they get loose I don't want the PRT coming after us thinking we have anything to do with it." Evett, the crew's cowardly and rather overweight cameraman complained for the umpteenth time that night.
"Nah PRT ain't gonna do shit man. They try and Bastard Son's gonna come down on them like a sack of bricks. 'Sides that's why we use dead drops and VHS. Quit yo' worrying and get the girl ready." Wayne argued back, eager to get started.
"Yeah. Let's do Cheerleader and the Gym Coach!" Sanchez suggested eagerly. There wasn't much doubt about why he'd suggest that. As the most physically fit of the four he would be the one playing gym coach.
"Naw man. It's nearly halloween. Let's do something horror themed instead. All dress up as zombies and do a little horde action, if ya know what I mean…" Wayne suggested as a counter.
Rick rather liked the sound of that, even if Sanchez was still arguing for a cheerleader film.
Could make a good bit of cash, perhaps even dress their new toy in something sporty for the film? He glanced over, eyeing her up and trying to think of what sort of outfits they might have in the back that would fit her.
Actually the girl was pretty pale and it was giving him some ideas. A dark dress and some black eyeliner and some fake fangs and she'd make a good enough vampire. They still had that priest outfit that fit Evett, so perhaps a film involving a priest and some concerned citizens 'dealing' with a captive vampire could be an absolute money maker this halloween.
He was already picturing the basic script, though it had to be basic by necessity. They could even stake her through the heart with a real stake to finish her off.
Yeah, that should fetch the big bucks and be a massive halloween hit. He eyed up the girl, trying to eyeball her sizes so he could pick up a good costume.
And then Rick frowned as he looked closer. "Hey Wayne. How much chloroform did you use?"
"The usual, why?" Wayne replied, barely pausing in his argument to answer.
"Well then shouldn't she be awake and begging for mercy by now?" Rick sighed, moving over and putting his fingers to her neck.
No warmth. No pulse. No breathing.
"Fuck." He sighed. "She's dead."
Their overweight cameraman shrugged. "Well seems a shame to waste her. How 'bout a necrophilia vid instead?"
"I'm game." Sanchez nodded along.
Rick turned to give the pair of degenerates a piece of his mind. Necrophilia was so fucking niche it would take forever to find a buyer, even with Halloween right around the corner.
This was a business after all. If they wanted some corpse fun they could just grab a prostitute and choke her out on their own time. With his back to her he didn't see the girl's eyes open, nor did he see the disgusted look on her face.
"Seriously? You accidentally kill somebody and your first thought is necrophilia? The fuck is wrong with you people?" The dead girl spoke after pulling the gag from her mouth, the zip ties holding her having snapped as she sat herself up.
Rick felt he couldn't be blamed for screaming like a little girl when that happened. Not when Evett screamed as well.
Sanchez and Wayne - being former gang members - were a bit more street-wise and reacted differently.
"Cape!" Sanchez yelled, instantly pulling his gun and pointing at the girl and providing cover for Wayne to make a rush to the weapons safe.
"Ooh, a cape sounds like a great idea." The girl said with a fanged grin, her clothing shimmering and shifting, becoming a tattered funerary dress complete with a ragged cloak. The darkness of her new outfit contrasted with the paleness of her skin and hair.
Her eyes flicked briefly to the side at the DMP logo they'd spray painted on the wall. A smirk appeared on her face before a similar mask grew over her face.
It was made of bone with fangs that matched her own, covering the upper part of her face leaving her own fanged, predatory grin free. The forehead part of the mask split open, revealing a vertical purple eye with an hourglass-shaped pupil that glowed softly and flicked about between everyone present at random even as her regular eyes locked onto Sanchez.
Sanchez immediately opened fire while Evett and Rick scattered away, knocking over equipment and gear as they tried to get clear.
The girl darted forwards, ignoring the two shots that hit her body even while ice grew over her arms. Ice that formed into wickedly sharp talons that eviscerated the screaming latino as he flinched at something that wasn't there.
A thunderous boom shook the room as Wayne finally brought his shotgun to bear. Ice instantly blossomed over her chest, weathering the brunt of the blow and shattering into pieces even as she was knocked off her feet.
Wayne racked the shotgun and went to fire again, only to drop the weapon and fall into fits of hysterical giggles. The girl, if the creature here with them could even be called that, used the chance to clamber to her feet and dart forward, tearing Wayne's throat out with her claws.
"What the hell are you?!" Evett shrieked, backpedalling so quickly the back of his knees hit the edge of one of the beds and caused him to tumble backwards onto it.
"Calamity." The blood-soaked monster hissed, stalking forward towards the fat man.
Evett threw a pleading look at Rick as the now-named Calamity hopped onto the bed. Rick ignored his soon-to-be former partner in crime. He had to get out, had to escape! The monster had left him an opening when she decided to go after the fat bastard first.
Wait! Where was the door? WHERE WAS THE DOOR?!?!?!
It should have been right in front of him, but instead all he saw and felt was bare concrete! The now-panicked man hammered in futility, his fists hitting nothing but concrete.
Rick glanced back. The monster was straddling Evett, her fanged mouth latched onto his neck and drinking deeply. He returned to hammering at the wall again. This couldn't be real! It couldn't!
"Ya know, I hope you bastards have some good shit here, because blood-wise this has barely been a net-positive dealing with you all." The teenaged horror - wearing a horrific real life rendition of their logo - mused softly as she approached, her bare feet padding almost inaudibly on the floor but leaving a trail of bloody footprints. "Sure, I've got a shotgun now, but unless you've got some cool goodies or piles of cash just laying about I'm going to consider this whole thing a wash."
"P-p-please… don't kill me. They made me d-do it." Rick begged for his life, praying she would believe the lie so that he could live.
She didn't, and so he didn't either.
Note to self: Shotguns hurt.
Good thing I can use vitae to heal, because even with my ice armour and buffed up stamina that was a rather nasty hit. Probably should have cast blood shield, but I'd forgotten completely about my magic in the heat of the moment. Definitely need to pay attention to that in future.
And I wasn't lying to Mr Receding Hairline either. Between all the vitae I spent boosting myself, powering my abilities and healing up I'd barely managed to break above even.
I suppose I could try drinking from the corpses of the two chuckleheads who grabbed me in the first place, but I was pretty messy in dealing with them so most of that blood is currently splattered about the room.
Playing horror movie monster is pretty fun though. Parahumans do have the right idea there. Go full on showman and drama. I'm definitely keeping the death mask thing I made of their logo for the Calamity outfit the PRT are already aware of.
Thinking back over the fight I was mostly happy with my performance, my little forgetting to use magic thing notwithstanding. My ice armour proved effective enough, and with more dots in Glaciem it'll be even better at soaking damage. The claws likewise worked well, filling their role of emergency weapons perfectly.
Chimerstry proved its worth, between my illusionary horror monster getup and Horrid Reality keeping Mr Receding Hairline from escaping by hiding the door. Hysteria had also once again proved itself an amazing crowd control ability for disabling victims, while Mass Hallucination threw off the big guy's aim so I could eviscerate him right at the start.
Definitely need to try using some blood magic next time. Something I should remedy. Plus Plus more dots also means more rituals, which will give me more versatility and utility options.
I hope they have a shower around here. While I don't sweat anymore I can still get dirty and right now my bloodstained body definitely counts as dirty.
So first I need a plan.
Step one. Clean up.
Step two. Find a bag of some sort and loot the place.
Step three. Go bother somebody important.
Step one was a pain in the ass. I had to settle for washing in a sink with rags I'd torn from assorted bits of clothing and bedsheets. It made a lot of mess on the floor, but compared to the rest of the place it didn't really matter.
The true gem of this fuckup was the extra three experience points I'd earned for ending their little filmmaking operation.
Loot-wise I'd come out way more ahead than I had in the blood collecting department. In fact I'll probably have to leave a bunch of shit behind as I'm held back by the fact I could only find a single duffle bag.
Still I now had more money and more guns, some expensive-looking cameras and film stuff. The large collection of restraints, sex toys and drugs were mostly ignored. I'd nabbed a set of handcuffs and some weed to bribe Trip with, but the rest wasn't worth grabbing.
The large collection of video tapes however was a different matter. I needed to find that tape that that Tzimisce guy made and everything was unmarked.
Much later I was in the back of a very familiar taxi, grumbling to myself and ignoring Caine's air of amusement at my disgruntled mood.
After spending too much time fast-forwarding it took nine snuff tapes before I found the one I was looking for. After having to watch all that I decided that those bastards died far too quickly.
At least my loot bag was basically full of goodies. If anyone asks, it's the spoils of war or something. I think cape vigilantes get to keep loot when they take down criminals.
Caine's cab was waiting for me outside when I simply walked out of the internet cafe their illegal film studio was hidden in under Obfuscate. My Sire is just that awesome after all. He dropped me off outside Trip's pawn shop and gave me a small nod when I glanced back. In return I gave him a small wave before he drove off, then I headed inside to convert my purloined goodies into currency.
Thank Big G for stoned out pawn shop owners that don't ask awkward questions. I made a nice little bit of cash, and also left with a rather nice-looking knife.
I saw it and immediately thought of Brook as it had a rather nice snake design etched onto the blade that reminded me of her tattoo. Dunno if she'll like it, but spending money on my sort-of friend is making me feel a lot better. Retail therapy ftw.
Ooh I know. I can give her a task of some sort to make up for ruining the 'find the video' questline she'd have been sent on if I hadn't killed and eaten those DMP bastards.
She can get the knife as a quest reward. I can even use that Burning Blade thaumaturgic ritual on it too, because the only thing cooler than a pretty knife is a magically fiery and pretty knife. It'll only be a temporary enchantment, but I can always recast the ritual for her when it runs out. Or teach her to do it herself if I can convince her to learn some blood magic. Plus it can give her a backup weapon for boss fights.
Liking the idea I headed up to my old apartment to make with the magic.
The ritual was easy enough to cast too. Just cut myself with the blade, bleed on it a bunch and spend ten minutes doing the incantations. Once finished a bright, neon-green flame flecked with sparks of orange blazed cheerily from the blade.
So cool!
I tucked the dagger back into its sheath. Ooh I know. I can slap assorted ward rituals onto it later on to increase damage against certain types of enemies. Maybe as some sort of repeatable quest reward for her? That could be cool.
I can even get Brook to collect the reagents for the ritual as part of the repeatable quest. Multitasking for the win!
Now to just think of some suitable side quests to send her off on. I have a couple ideas, and I can always adjust them a little if need be. I don't want to send her on anything too tough, but I do want it to be at least a little challenging so she can get more experienced with using her powers.
Hmm, what next? Ooh I know. Spending my hard earned experience points.
I'm thinking I should round out my build. Chimerstry has really been pulling heavy duty so far, illusions being so useful and versatile to use. By contrast I've barely used my Blood Sorcery which is something I should fix.
First though my own personal discipline. I flopped down backwards onto my old bed, opened my Character Sheet and put my fifth dot into Glaciem while focusing hard on what I wanted.
I held out my hand and focused. A large, vaguely humanoid mass of ice slowly formed up in front of me. My new combat servitor was at least nine feet tall, having to stoop down so it didn't brush against the ceiling, with arms ending in large spikes of ice.
Perfect. It was essentially a straight upgrade of the previous four dot ability. Capable of being made larger and holding more vitae to even use for self-healing. Basically the combat bruiser to the previous dot's scout.
Honestly it looked just like a frost atronach from the elder scrolls series. I suppose if I had better skill in sculpting I could make it look better, and it was definitely something to look into in the future, but for now I didn't mind the frost atronach look. Will be functional if nothing else.
And with that the first five dots of Glaciem were set. Created minions, armour and backup melee weaponry. Exactly what I wanted when I first started creating Glaciem.
I think higher level dots should allow me to imbue some of my own disciplines into my servitors. At least the physical ones, as they're still pretty stupid overall and likely wouldn't be able to play with the more cerebral disciplines. That and the ice should also be supernaturally cold, which means it should lose the weakness to fire.
Probably.
Now though I can stand back and dps with spells or whatever while my minions do the tanking, whenever it's not just more efficient to claw my way through enemies anyways.
Hmm, I suppose I should go for magic next. Give myself ranged options. Two more dots will let me finish with the Path of Blood as well as unlock up to level five rituals. I sank the new dots in the discipline, my mind buzzing as the new information filled my brain.
That should round out my skills nicely. Now I've got Blood Salvo, basically a multi-shot version of the Blood Strike spell I'd unlocked with my first dot in this Discipline.
I've also gotten the Theft of Vitae spell, which will make feeding at range a possibility, plus it also prevents blood bonds from forming if I use it to steal vitae from other Cainites.
And to top things off, there's Blood Boil. Perfect for casting on things I want to turn into a living explosive, considering it literally boils their blood to the point they explode violently. I also have the tabletop Cauldron of Blood, which is basically the same except touch range, but happens slower and doesn't make stuff explode so it's just the boring, cruel option.
However the one spell I was really curious about was Blood of Potency. I'd unlocked it previously along with Blood Shield, but haven't tested it out yet.
It's meant to essentially 'concentrate' your blood, temporarily lowering your effective Generation for a short while. Typically abused to cast shit like Dominate on vampires that would normally be immune to you, but I wondered how it would work with me, since I'm basically the lowest generation anyone other than Caine can be.
Deciding to test it out I cast the spell and immediately felt a sort of metaphorical 'heaviness' to myself. Very strange. I tested out a couple different powers to see if there was a difference.
Nope, nothing. Can't even blood buff myself up any higher than usual either.
I feel kinda cheated.
In theory though, I should still at least be immune to Dominate powers from other Second Generation vampires while this spell is active. However that was kind of a moot point considering there are no other Second Generation vampires left.
Ritual-wise I'd unlocked some extremely neat stuff, but nothing that I really needed to cast just yet. The assorted minion creation rituals I'd originally have been thinking of trying out I didn't need now that I have my fifth Glaciem dot.
There's the Enchant Talisman ritual, which is something I definitely need to go for - especially as I'm going the mage route - as essentially allowing me to create a magic staff, or something that'd function like a magic staff.
The downside is it'll take an entire lunar cycle to create, so it's gonna be more of a long term thing after I'm done with Los Angeles.
I've still got some experience points to spare too, but think I'll save them for an emergency.
Or maybe spend them on something fun like making me sing better. Can't be serious all the time, and hitting god-like singing skill could be a funny way to transfix Toreadors. Wonder if I can make them follow me through the city like a vampiric Pied Piper?
Hmm now what? I suppose I could go wait for Brook outside her apartment while I think of suitable quests for her to do.
Yeah that's a great idea. Now though, what would be the most confusing outfit to be seen in? I have a reputation as a kooky possibly-Malkavian elder to uphold after all.
Brook Singh, Brook to her friends and lately 'you fucking snake bitch' to her enemies, waved goodnight to Pandora's probably-ghouled taxi driver - seriously he drives her everywhere - and trudged wearily towards the apartment block's door. It had been a very long evening.
The Anarchs hated her now because she'd seen Nines leaving Grout's mansion last night. While it was nice not having anything from that jackass LaCroix to deal with, it seemed everyone else had little tasks or favours they needed done.
Some she was happy to help out. Staying in Fat Larry's good graces meant easier access to interesting hardware and other goods, and he'd put in a good word for her with the absolutely delicious Venus Dare, owner of the Confession Club. Even if she had to slaughter a whole lot of Russian mobsters in the end.
That had worked out really well for her and now with a decent source of income she could at least pay Heather back for the money the redhead had given her from her college loan.
Though some of her other tasks had been a lot worse. Like convincing that irritating guy from that shitty Haunted L.A TV show - and which moronic studio exec approved that bullshit? - to go back to the abandoned hospital so Pisha could eat him. Or dealing with Patty the same way.
She felt like shit about those afterwards, especially Patty. The thought of Heather being in a similar situation had her clenching her fist in anger.
Sadly the Masquerade had to be maintained.
Honestly she felt shitty and stressed out so much these last few nights. While the powers were cool - especially the Serpentis stuff as she absolutely loved snakes - she could have honestly done without being turned into a vampire.
Aside from Jack, the biker-hobo Anarch that had helped her briefly after that confusing farce of a trial, only Pandora really seemed to be on her side. And for an insane vampire Pandora did seem surprisingly sane at times, the talking to her bear-backpack thing notwithstanding. That was weird.
'Don't open it', she'd warned her. Just like that thin-blood girl from the beach that seemed to have precog powers. That turned her thoughts again to whether or not Pandora was the 'dark daughter' ally the seer had told her about.
The meaning behind that title still eluded Brook. Would it be rude to ask outright if the words 'dark daughter' meant anything to Pandora? Ugh, it'd probably either be rude or be something so obvious to someone who knows about vampire history that Brook would just make herself look stupid.
She groaned as she headed up the stairs towards the shitty apartment. Between the ship and then her stupid curiosity about an abandoned hospital it had been a long night and she wasn't really in the mood for Malkavian madness. She'd already had plenty of that the other night from the Voerman sisters'. Naturally that meant Pandora was right there waiting for her outside her door.
"Brook! Hi! Fancy meeting you here." The elder Malkavian grinned, a single fang poking through her lips for some reason. Brook chose not to question it. Just as she chose not to question the bear in the elder's arms.
Or the french maid outfit.
And not a sexy french maid outfit either, but a boring utilitarian one with a skirt that reached all the way down past the ankles. Quite unflattering too. Brook wasn't a snob for fashion or anything, but that outfit just didn't look right on the other vampire.
Still, the young-looking vampire had said hello and Brook needed to respond, even if she was having a long night. "Yes, strange that. Meeting me here. Right outside my door. Where I live. What a coincidence."
And naturally she defaulted to snark like she did when annoyed. Fortunately Pandora didn't take offence.
"Yup. Mr Bearington thought it'd be a great idea and he's always right." She waved the bear around. "Also there's somebody in your apartment and I wasn't sure if you wanted me to eviscerate them for you or not so Bearington said it might be better to ask first."
"Someone… Oh right!" Brook snapped her fingers as she realised who Pandora was talking about. "That's Heather. She's… my ghoul."
"Oooh neat. Guess it was a good thing I listened to Mr Bearington then. I was going to ask if you wanted to help me with something important, though since it's getting early I'll leave you to your ghoul instead. Gonna bother you tomorrow night instead. Seeya then." The teenaged elder waved goodbye and skipped off back down the stairs with her bear on her back.
The Indian fledgeling just shook her head in exasperation. Malkavians. Deciding that trying to understand Pandora was an effort in futility, Brook instead turned her thoughts back to Heather.
Honestly she should have sent Heather away, but she was selfish. There was a bit of guilt as Heather was kind of Mastered into it - if only accidentally - but Brook stood by her decision that a bit of accidental Mastering was better than leaving the redhead to die alone and in pain.
Besides, Mercurio and Knox seemed pretty happy with things and lived perfectly normal lives. Hopefully Heather would be the same. Brook would treat her well. She wasn't going to be cruel to her. Besides, other vampires had ghouls, so why couldn't she be allowed to have one as well? Someone who would stand by her side no matter what shit the world decided to throw at her.
Even Pandora had one. Probably. Brook was around ninety percent sure that the taxi driver that 'just happened' to be there and ready to drive her wherever she needed to go was the teenaged elder's ghoul. Although then again Pandora was a Malkavian. The pint-sized elder could just be using some crazy vampire power to always get the same cabbie or something, just to fuck with her.
With a snort of amusement she shook her head at the thought and entered her apartment.