The Keeper of Elysium had taken the time to address Alexander properly, inform him that Mozart's 5th was actually the last thing being played.  She hadn't changed it.  The extras were simply a rarity brought out by the prince.  Most of the time, the extra drinks and even edible blood food was reserved for saloons and specifically elder occasions that warranted it.  Most of the time it was considered a bit tacky by the harpies.  If she had to guess, she would wager that the prince was feeling nostalgic and just wanted to show off some of the more rare possessions he had.  The "glasses" everyone was using were actually gifts to him from a powerful and greatfull mortal whose name had long ago faded into history.  They were nearly two centuries old, and hand crafted in India.

"Goddamnit."  Courtney cursed to nobody in particular from her seated spot across the room.  "Madhu!" She raised her voice.  "Like him or not, he is required to be here.  I suggest you control yourself and remember that your position has not been formally acknowledged by his majesty.  Therefore it has no bearing." She stood up.  She looked a little taller then she was.  She also looked a little flushed with anger, but it could just be her rapid intake of blood too.

"You would also do well to remember that his sire is Dora Delavergne.  Were I you, I would be more worried about the flaying I will receive at her whim for continuing to agitate an already bested and humiliated childe that as of now, is still under her protection." She finished with a straight face and raised eyebrow.

...

Crud.  So just who did Dora owe exactly?  Was it Madhu?  Was it Courtney?  Was Inferno just continuing to dig deeper and deeper?  Keep tuning in to find out...

OOC:  Intelligence + Politics (Elysium/Kindred/Status Specialties apply) @ difficulty 7 if you are interested in figuring this out please...

Abigail straightened a bit, about halfway through the lyrics, she smiled at the room, and curtsied at the end.
Then waited for MAdhu and Courtney to finsih it off, before she spoke.
"Still his skill must be complimented, I did honestly not think to describe myself with such colorfull words, neither did I realize that my kin were capable of spewing venom"
she let that hang in the air for a moment, those who knew of her heritage, and knew even the slightest bit of the clan as well would pick up on it, the rest, would be wondering for a long time.
"That aside, I would suggest you consider to exercise restraint in the future, at least in the future consider who you may antagonize, and what they may be capable of bringing to bear on you."
It seemed like Abigail had forgiven Inferno his ill considered lyrics.


4 success on figuring it out

11:07, Today: Abigail O'Carroll rolled 4 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,2,7,10,9,8. Politics who owes who.

Madhu narrowed his eyes on Courtney. He liked her. He really did, but she was splitting hairs and being daft in the process. No shit he had no plans of trying to claim any sort of boon from Dora Delavernge. Only a retard would try something that audacious.

He stalked towards her and growled once he was close enough for her to hear, "You really think Primogen Catrina Armstrong would put me to work on her behalf tonight without any prior approvals to make official my appointment as her Whip? Further, at no point has any successful Prince in the history of the Camarilla required their approval for a Primogen's Whip. His Majesty Juan has quite a bit more to worry about than me."

Once he was close enough so that only she could hear he said, "I am not trying to split hairs with you girl. I want Inferno to understand it is better to cooperate with me than fight me. Back me up and you have my debt." Owing the Keeper was not a serious boon, considering where Madhu intended to go.

The Keeper of Elysium stood her ground.  This wasn't the first time she had to deal with angry stalking Brujah.  She wouldn't have been made a Keeper of Elysium if she had been easy to run over.  "Madhu.  Calm down.  Now. She was quiet but firm.  "Right now you are being just as rude and uncouth as you claim he is, and unlike him, you are released and on your own.  What do you think the harpies will say about your performance?  Sure, the unreleased childe made an inappropriate blunder or two, but now is the time for you to stop.  You are ahead, and clearly you know what you are doing."  She blinked.  Once.  "He does not.  You will be seen as the kid who picks on the retard at school.  Some will think it's funny.  The mature will come to chastise you."

She waited just long enough for that to sink in.  "Now I know his majesty is already on scene.  He arrived almost an hour before the first of you showed up." She pointed to one of the closed side doors.  "He is catching up on what needs to be known about each of you.  I don't think disturbing him right now is very prudent.  Do you?"  She smiled.

When Madhu got close enough to violate Courtney's personal space, she put a hand on his chest.  Her response was low enough.  "Besides.  I am still trying to figure out how to collect from Dora.  Neither of us can do it alone, and any debt he gets stuck with on his own will wash away."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:18, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

As soon as Courtney's hand touched his chest Madhu relaxed. He felt the Beast that had been welling inside of him lie down and rest. Physical contact was so unusual like that. It had been that way with Catrina. He couldn't imagine the Beast raging right now.

He blinked at Courtney and nodded. Madhu grit his teeth and reached out, not just physically, but emotionally, in a way only that another Brujah could understand, and put his hand on Courtney's hip. Not a show of weakness. Instead it was a "Stop me from tearing this whelp to pieces."

Then, after a moment, after he pulled her close, he replied, "How do we respond?"

Alexander heard Courtney out with as much a straight a face as he could, he indeed did not know just how much of the preparation had been owed to her and how much to the Prince, and so it had seemed preferable to err on the safe side and thank her for something she might not have done, than being seeming ungrateful. After all, the woman was there, and as she had just left plainly clear was way beyond our status, thus, not the most profitable time for her in all likeness.

At any rate, his worries were cut short by the shouts of Madhu, as soon as that started, he took a step to the side, turning a bit not to leave someone clearly angry and dangerous on his back.

He really did not understand much about the boons that they talked about, but he figured he would do well to keep the words to memory and relate them to his Sire at a later time, maybe he would make head from tails on who owed who and what had really been at stake here.

As Madhu approached Courtney though, he felt a bit in the way and moved backwards a bit more, regaining his tray and drink to have something to do, but still remain at a prudent distance and not look like he took the opportunity to run away.

This Madhu was clearly trouble, he hadn't even picked up why he had got so angry, as the lyrics seemed to go against the Assamite rather than him, one could even argue those lyrics were close to breaking masquerade but, they were cleverly disguised enough to be on the fringe. So, what had really gone on? did the Brujah have... or wanted to have anything to do with the Assamite ? ... also to note, was the fact that the gorgeous Union Worker, had not even blinked to threat the Toreador with physical punishment... .

12:23, Today: Alexander Youngblood failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 1,9,2. Int+Politics.

Yuki smiled at the Nos "If I'll have some I'll be sure to ask you dear Alexander, though your appearance is hideous your kindness is quite the opposite" Just as Yuki took another sip from her drink, taking a cearfull look at the other kindred. Wondering as to what the Nosferatu had mentioned. who would belong to who .. and what made one different about the other. Appearances seemed to be an illusion. That much she thought she understood sofar

Thinking it was a wise choice for the moment to stay close to the Nos Alexander, keeping an eye out to him. See how the man would handle what situations came and went there was a loud noice, some .. arguement. Threads were being made. Had she had a heart she would have felt it thunder loudly in her ears.

["I'd hoped this evening would be more educative, but maybe even this arguement can teach me who to watch out for, who to keep close and who .. to keep even closer"]

DU made as if to follow up but Abigail's surprisingly calm reaction made him pause. Perhaps there was a way forward after all. Taking a deep breath he crossed the room over and waited respectfully approached Abigail and held out his hand.

"I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. This is all...different for me. Care to try again?"

Abigail had been slightly annoyed, when she realized he was approaching her, but quickly hid it with a smile.
"Yes, yes we may, I'm Abigail"

She didn't extend her hand, but that may simply be because both were full, she hand't extended her hand to Courtney either, after all.

"Yuki, a word please" Natalya had watched unfolding events like the harpy she used to be. Noting the successes and failures of the personalities involved. Though, in fariness, all of those involved were kindred, and therefor the abundance of alpha personalities, seemed to indicate there were bound to be clashes.

She walked away to give herself and Yuki some privacy, speaking quietly so as not to be overheard, except by rude people trying to overhear. "Yuki, I fear that your education has been somewhat lacking. In the current state of affairs you reflect poorly on Dragon as a prince of this city. I believe I should mention this to you, I am not sure if it's been mentioned before, but our society runs on obligations and favours. By asking so many questions... you're running up a form of debt. If the debt gets large enough, Dragon may have to supply some favours to resolve your debt." Natalya sipped at the blood, smirking at Yuki "There is always an accounting. You might wish to consider asking me or Dragon instead. The debt will still be there, but we have... an interest in seeing you do well." she waited to see if Yuki had any more questions before rejoining the party.

"Still working on it..." The Keeper of Elysium murmured both quickly and quietly.  She looked away from Madhu towards Alexander, and then waited to see if he would linger and eavesdrop.

When it was evident he wanted to talk, she quickly finished with Madhu.  "I'll queue you in.  Trust me."  Courtney made physical contact by brushing Madhu's arm, stopping when she grabbed his forearm.

She glanced between Alexander and Marissa.  "Alex." Once she had your attention completely, she pointed to the table.  She had already set her tray down.  She smiled politely.  "What do you suppose is in that briefcase that Marissa is carrying?"

Everyone was well into their cocktails, in some cases, the second or third.  It was 11:51.

OOC:  Mage Blood:  You have Mage Sight.  Tremere (if they used Thaumaturgy), mages, and other magically inclined supernaturals appear to have "sparkles" in their auras.

Kuei-Jin Blood:  You are ingesting the energetic life, or yang chi.  You are ultra-aware of sensations, and have a warm, tingly feeling.

Regular Alcohol: +1 Str, +1 Chr, -1 Int, -1 Dex

Alexander had clearly not been eavesdropping, he had maintained a prudential distance, and he had in fact not heard a word exchanged between the two Brujah, he had finished however the Royal Flush, and from there moved on to the Kuei-Jin thing whatever that was, but taken it very slowly from that point.

He smiled at Courtney noticing the use of his diminutive, Alex, and approached her and Madhu as she addressed him nodding at them both when he got within a couple of paces "I was just not sure whether you needed anything else from me, so I moved to a.. hmm prudential distance... but still readily available" he said before he was asked about Marissa. Including Madhu in the meaning with a quick glance, he added "Still, it was not my intention to impose myself, so if there is nothing else, maybe its better that I leave you and continue to try making the most of tonight's company".

When it was clear that there was something that Courtney wanted to comment on, he followed her indications, and left his tray and drink on the table. He pondered for a little while, without turning or looking at Marissa, rubbing his chin as he considered the question from different angles. Madhu was there, and it was not clear if this had to do with something they had both talked before, calling him in to see if there was any more information to be had, or if it was just designed to learn something about him, just by the reasoning or guesses he might be capable of giving.

His voice was really calm and methodical "She was not carrying any briefcase until just a minute ago..." he said quite sure that that was the case and looking at them both to judge their reactions. 'Was this what they were expecting? he definetely had looked Marissa, and was positive about this fact. However it could be that she had arrived with one, and left it somewhere before his arrival.'.

Quite unclear as to the reasons behind that question he decided to go for the blunt approach and be absolutely clear about his answer "<Gray>Now, I am normally not asked about opinions on any matter but rather about information. On this regard, I should better clarify then, that at this moment there are no facts that I can give you.".

He paused a bit before moving on, now that it was clear that whatever he said next was just his personal opinion and nothing more "I doubt that one as capable as Marissa, would bring any documents unrelated to the focus of this meeting of her own accord. Now, I do not know enough nor am I arrogant and foolish in such extremes as to even try to venture upon the objectives that our Prince might have set for this meeting. But I guess that if she were to bring information of interest to him, regarding Germaine... " he made a pause there "I wonder what may have made them both be at each others throats so...".

He made a long pause there letting them both chime in "At any rate, if it was rather a charming suggestion that I would go and find out, I'll take my leave and see if I can find out". He waited for his leave though, in case they had really wanted to know of his opinion... doubtful as it may be.

EDITED, to reflect Madhu in the conversation
This message was last edited by the player at 12:55, Fri 30 Nov 2012.

After spending a considerable amount of time studying the room and the guests, Marissa decided it was time to make her thanks to the Keeper for such an elegant night. With head held high, she made her way over to Courtney. "Courtney... such a wonderful party our host has put together. And you have done an absolutely amazing job in keeping all the details to perfection." She paused as she took a very very small sip from her glass.

Yuki thinking of what she could possible ask the Nosferatu infront of her turned her head as Natalya spoke her name. "Excuse me dear Alexander" Giving the rubberskinned kindred a sweet nod before leaving him to do what he was going to be doing.

Once Natalya had finished Yuki involuntarily blinked her eyes like she would have had she been 'alive' a thing she had actually not noticed she had not been doing all along. "Ow, .. I had no idea. Such a strange behaviour I must say. Still I guess its not all to odd actually. one service requires anothers servitude. Probably taken into extremes after they.." Yuki paused "..we live so long. But well, now that you mention it. I do have a few questions"

PM
[Private to Natalya Shrevchenko: OOC: How long do you want the question list of Yuki to be, considering, she doesnt know much AT all ^_^ as you could see]

Natalya nodded "It is precisely because everyone lives for so long that such an accounting is made. The harpies tend to judge whether the balances are fair when it comes to repayment." Natalya looked at a wall clock. "This should be interesting, Yuki, our sire has always had a flair and touch for the surprising, yet he's also traditional in some respects. He'll make an appearance on the stroke of midnight...and he never has a soiree like this without some kind of surprise hidden away....so ask your questions while we mingle and get to know each other better."

[Private to Yuki Nagasawa: ask as many questions as you feel necessary]

Yuki wasn't sure what to make of the title 'Harpy', but she had known of what it was supposed to represend in the world one of her former friends wandered around in. RPGs, Harpies .. nasty creatures that charmed you. But surely they didnt look so human did they ? Wich made her question a few other things aswell. ["I wonder.."]

"Well.." Yuki tapped her chin thinking but for a few seconds before she started to ask her questions "Can we fly .. like bats, Do we need to ask approval to enter someonce home. Or do we not cast a reflection in the mirror. Though I saw mine in the elevator so I guess that wouldn't really be a question. And .. Can we walk on hallowed grounds. Will we really like vaporize into ashes if we touch the sunlight to long. How do we know what mortals we can approach for use of our own goals in this life."

Then there were some more 'serious' questions regarding what she was to be expected in her first millenia.

Madhu listened briefly. The more Alexander the Not So Great talked though the less Madhu could remain interested in anything the Nosferatu was saying. He started out by gracefully deflecting the question, which was the smart thing. Then he kept talking... or rather, Madhu thought, taking a shit with his mouth. It was all the Whip could do to not slap him.

Madhu continued to listen, but had an honest mental debate about banging his head on the wall. Finally, he couldn't take it...

"For one so new and young you are either remarkably well informed or speculating on a grand level. Which is it?"

Alexander turned his attention back to Madhu, the man was clearly was on his throat, and not much a sticker to his own word for he had been listening to what he had said... though not so closely for he had made it crystal clear that it was but speculation...

At any rate it was not worth it to continue working on this man's anger issues and already patent dislike that he had taken for his persona. The seed had been planted, and it was time to play dumb and meek and just see if conversation would develop to matters of his interest or not...

The pause had been long now, he realized, he shifted his meager weight to the other leg, and spoke with softly without any edge on his voice "I am indeed speculating. I thought I had said it, although come think of it, maybe I didn't voice it". He made a short pause there as if considering "You are right, it probably does make an ass of myself, I should just keep my mouth shut... normally I would have, but Miss Courtney, asked what I 'thought' about it, and I was bold enough to actually go ahead and give one, on matters where you are both much better informed".

Natalya closed her eyes. "Exactly how long ago were you embraced. You're remarkably uninformed. We cannot as a rule, transform into bats and fly, there are some who can, but it takes time and practice and the practice belongs to another clan, who are unlikely to teach its secrets to you. Again, in general we have reflections though there are some rare individuals who do not. Fire and sunlight are however all of our worst enemies and if you're ever exposed to sunlight, you'll die in the matter of a few seconds. Fire generates an instinctual fear in you that will cause you to run. This fire is a problem for any of us to overcome......" Natalya paused looking at Yuki carefully "In your current state of knowledge it's exceptionally dangerous for you to be in public. You may cross normal peoples thresholds, some can't, but it's a psychological limitation, not a supernatural one...however, our society has some very strict rules governing entering territory and what you must do if you cross someones. These rules also govern who you may or may not take sustenance from. If you're feeling thirsty, take some nourishment from the vitae dragon has provided."
Natalya placed her glass on a nearby counter, reaching for Yuki's hands, wondering what on Earth Dragon was thinking by inviting her here. She was young and naive, and would be relatively easy to manipulate to suit someone else's goals. "Yuki, this is really important. For the rest of this evening, do not agree to do anything with anyone without talking to me first...unless it's Dragon asking. You can dig yourself into a large hole just by saying one word. Yes. Let's try to keep you from doing anything that might cause you to need to be killed."

Madhu shook his head, "No, friend, you stopped speculating and started talking nonsense as soon as you brought up the name of an elder who has nothing to do with anything tonight, and worse, you did it in a way that implies you know something. So, I return to my question." Madhu looked at Alexander gravely, "Do you know something or are you still making a fool of yourself?"

The Brujah crossed his arms after taking another sip of his drink. "I'm actually trying to help you. You're name dropping a powerful elder, off the top of your head. That is quite specific, and quite foolish without any evidence. I'm going to guess you have information we do not, and I would like to hear it."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:56, Sun 02 Dec 2012.

As Natalya answered all those questions she had thought of she suddenly felt rather silly. And .. was that a blush on her face ? Or was it just a sensation that she had felt because she still knew quite well how it felt.

"Well, Only just a few days ago actually." Yuki looked around nervously though afterwards she nodded and smiled "Well, I suppose that is a good idea." ["For the moment anyways. I suppose Im going to have to do some more research on what it means to be a vampire then"]

As Natalya finished her conversation, apparently. Yuki felt a shock. ["Killed ? why now .. that would be ?"] in her mind she was silent for a moment ["quite shocking"]

Alexander looked at Madhu for a long time, 'Does he really want to get information without offering anything in exchange and even make it look like a favour to me?'.

He smiled briefly at that, and then replied softly "I am not sure I understand you, I have made it clear... twice... so even if you return to your question yet again, I doubt it will change anything other than you trying to publicly prove a point over me".

"When one does make a fool of himself, its very rare that those pointing his fingers to him for all to see are actually doing any real helping. Be that as it may, I had thought the Elysium to be a place to communicate and share thoughts in peace... if not harmony. Mentioning an elder without accusing anyone of anything I think hardly falls into the disgrace category you imply".

He paused again a bit looking at Courtney "Ms Courtney has asked for my thoughts on the matter, and I may have been too bold, too arrogant or too stupid to try to give her precisely what I thought she was asking for... you have my apologies in advance Lady Keeper if I have failed your expectations in any way" he said addressing her, and then to Madhu "As for you, I am sorry that we must go on with this senseless bickering that, at the end, I think is probably anything but practical for you, or for me. I understand I may have wronged you more gravely than I believe I have. I will consult it with my Sire to understand the extend of the affront that you claim, and come back to you with a proposal to satisfy you if it is needed.".
This message was last edited by the player at 09:46, Tue 04 Dec 2012.

@Abigail...sorry for the delay

"I am Ricky, but most people know me as Inferno and frankly given the change in scenery I think Ricky is pretty dead at this point. DJ works too. So what brings you here?"

From the smile and gesture it's clear that he doesn't mean at this exact point in Elysium, that much is pretty clear. Instead the question seems more like an innocent probe onto the events leading up to her presence in vampiric Elysium.

Abigail had been paying attention to all that transpired around them, even doing her best to hear conversations, otherwise meant to be private, without seeming obvious, DJ inferno was a usefull instrument in this, but like any tool, he had his time and place, and was quickly outliving his.
"What?, ah, sorry i was listening to the music."
the fact he had taken so long in speaking hadn't gone unnoticed, perhaps the lack of his mask on hsi face left him less confident?, maybe he was one of these new people that had appeared since the internet became widely accessible, trying to mask their spite with anonymity.
"The prince's invitation of course, Ricky"
she said it like that was the only reasonable answer to hsi question, despite him having asked for something else entirely.

Madhu and courtney were dangerous, though for the msot part, Madhu was so crude about the way he tried to make everyone indebted to him it almost made her laugh.
Courtney was a different size, she didn't ask for anything, just seemed readily available, pretending to be everyones best friend.
Abigail wouldn't be the one to inform the young tremere she was so safely entrapping, that regardless of who and what they were, NO kindred was your friend, everyone who took an interest, saw something they wanted from you, those who left you alone, probably wanted something too.

Piranhas, that's what their society were, piranhas who, at the smell of even one drop of blood would swallow you up whole, and leave nothing to be found.

DJ begins to respond to Abigail's quick judgement, for a split second he reacts like she was being serious and had misinterpreted him. He opens his mouth, then closes it again. He fiddles with his tray and food uncomfortably. Things were definitely not coming up Ricky...


"Hey, come on..."

He flashes a perfect smile, one that would surely make any groupie scream at the top of their lungs.

"I thought we were being civil, friendly? Gimme an olive branch here..."

He glances over his shoulder at Madhu and Alexander's little tiff.

"From what I understand we're going to have to be putting up with each other for a long time so why make things more difficult then they have to be? This life might actually be fun if we stop tearing each other's throats out..."