[IC] Texarkana by Night owod

[Bad Wolf]

Reza followed Gaius out of Elysium, trusting that the Brujah would be coming with them as well. What he hadn't expected was one of the Malkavians storming after Gaius, shouting at him about stealing his Brujah and his mission. Then the Malkavian was off in a taxi, leaving Reza feeling somewhat stunned at what he'd witnessed. He didn't have much experience with Malkavians, but...damn.

He cursed under his breath in Farsi, then stopped beside Gaius. "That one is..." he began, but he couldn't find the right words for it. He just swore again in his native tongue, then sought to get a cab as well for him, Gaius, and the Brujah. It would be faster than walking to the diner, he was sure. Not that this was any kind of race.

[Ellri]

After the other malkavian, the two Assamites and the Brujah had departed, Alodia decided to finally leave. It was starting to look strange, just standing beside the door as if about to leave. She could hear her stomach subtly starting to growl. It needed to be fed. And feeding was so enjoyable...

She wandered around the building for a while, eventually finding a place where she could check that she did not have any bloodstains on her face. It was... embarrassing... whenever she went out to feed without cleaning away the last meal. Spotting the so-called orderly, Alodia realized she had been followed. She did not want that to continue. It would not do to be seen feeding. Someone might see the pattern and take her food. “Not good at all.” she murmured, immediately running through the corridors, only to suddenly dash to the side and find a nice little alcove to hide in for a bit. Moments later, she could hear the orderly approaching. Unlike her, Alodia was barefoot, so her steps would not make nearly so much noise. A minute after the Orderly passed by, Alodia crept out of her little alcove, moving back the other direction, then heading up and out.

Once outside, she headed downtown. So much downtown as this place had, at least. Late at night as it was, that would be where she could find suitable prey. She had found out many years ago that not all prey would do. Among the mortals, only a few were palatable. Only then did she remember that her favored prey did not frequent bars. Half-way to downtown, she abruptly turned to the right, heading for a quiet neighborhood, listening for the right sounds. The sounds of geeks gaming. The sounds of food. No matter what metropolis, town or city you went to, you would always find a good group of their kind.

She was about to give up when she suddenly heard the faint sound of gunfire. The street was deserted, so she knew it had to be her prey. It was a nice neighborhood. Lots of trees, well-trimmed bushes and manicured lawns. “too few skinned rabbits hopping around.” she murmured after a thought entered her mind from the cobweb. “There ought to be skinned rabbits here.” She was about to look for rabbits to skin when her stomach again growled, bringing her attention back to what she was supposed to be doing.

“Hungry.” Alodia muttered, jumping up into a tree when a car turned into the street. Creeping upward, she jumped to the next tree, only to climb higher an jump onwards repeatedly, until she was outside the house of her prey. At this hour, after the car had passed, the street was deserted. Looking around, she saw that all the neighboring houses were deserted. Three of them even had “for sale” signs outside. “Perfect.” she whispered.

Looking into the house, she saw her prey sitting before its computer, utterly oblivious to anything else. She smiled. 'Play with your food', someone had told her once. Alodia saw no reason not to. Cloaked in the shadows as she was, few would notice her even if they had the mind to look at her tree. Reaching out with her mind, she subtly started stirring his emotions. Not enough to make an immediate difference. No fun in that. Over several minutes she slowly increased the pressure. Saw is frustration mount, his anger build. Concentrating on the prey, she started to let the madness seep into his mind, affect his vision. He clearly grew frustrated. He was probably losing. She smiled.

Moments later, he slammed his fist down on the desk in anger, and she could see his monitor turning red, as if blood flowed down it. Which it did not. The behavior was all wrong for blood, and there was none on the frame. Alodia looked around again, confirming that there were no one around. Then she crept down, out of the tree and over the fence into the prey's garden. She kept the pressure on his mind steady. Without line of sight, it would be much harder to increase it, and she did not have the skill to trick him into leaving the house on his own. She moved close to the wall, then carefully climbed up to the second floor, where his window was open. That was how she had heard him to begin with.

When she gazed over the windowsill, she saw that he was once again deeply entrenched in the game. She carefully crossed over. He was oblivious to her presence. When she was just behind him, she let loose the full strength of her dementation, even as she leapt forward the last distance, sinking her teeth into his neck, one hand holding him in place, the other covering his mouth. When she was sated, he simply sat there, silent, his eyes wild. She had not killed him, but it was not far from it. She had not been prepared for him fitting two of her prey requirements rather than just one. An error in planning, that. She pulled a knife from a display case on his shelf, slicing into the neck where her teeth had perforated. Her Sire had taught her to do that. She couldn't leave clear evidence of her act behind. It might risk the masquerade. Certain the trail was muddled, she jumped out the window and used the same trees she had used to approach to leave.

Alodia knew well that her prey would remember little. His mind would muddle things up more than sufficiently for him not to have a chance of remembering anything the mortal police could use, if they ever got involved. She would head out towards this diner the others had spoken of. Maybe watch them a little. Then she would go back to the Asylum. No point in going any other places.

[necronevermore]

From the outside, the Estis Diner blended in with the other buildings of downtown Texarkana, down to the very ordinary light up sign that said Estis Diner in block letters. The music could be vaguely heard from outside. thwaps and taps of a drum circle emerged from the building like the pounding of bass coming out of a rave. It posed as a good warning to any with heightened hearing to turn it off or prepare for a headache.

Inside was like the stepping back in time. From the dirty wooden floors, to the candles providing the only form of light. The only signs of the modern age was the fact that the dishes were spotless, and the names on the barrels behind the counter were of modern beer. The smell of fire roasted meat, sweet wines, and stew filled the air, only thinly masking the scent of blood. The music had a more modern beat and feel to it, but every instrument was appropriate for the time period, except that it came from hidden speakers around the room.

The bar was to the left as soon as you entered the room. To the right was a collection of tables. There was an archway straight ahead, providing a glimpse of a long gothic wooden table and chairs. At the end of the bar, next to the back room, were the bathroom. The first room was two stories open to the ceiling, which held an ornate and long chandelier. Over the back room was an open balcony with a few more tables. The stairs to it were just inside the back room.

There were four people in the bar. A young set of twins, busy sweeping the floor as they danced to the music. they were boy and girl, both with long black hair flowing behind them. Their clothes were as black as their hair, but sparked like stars in the night sky. Their dance was sporadic, but the way they moved showed they could easily be professionals.

Another man sat on the balcony, sipping at a glass of wine as he watched the twins, and then the newcomers. He was dressed in a black an shiny blue business suit, tapping his finger on a briefcase he had sitting on the table to the music.

The last person was the bartender. He was dressed in a formal medieval outfit, and was wiping down the bar. His sharp Irish accent was instantly apparent as he spoke. "Ya late! I expected y'all half an hour ago."

[Gargoyle]

Gaius watched wide eyed as the Malkavian entered his cab and was taken away, apparently to the Estus diner. Gaius couldn't tell if what he felt was relief or anger. Take your mission? Gaius thought to himself.You can have your shitty mission. I'd rather be home instead anyway. With a sigh, Gaius prepared to head home, that is until Reza insisted on them heading there regardless of that psychos outburst. Is this guy serious? That Malkavian puts the discomfort I felt around Alodia to shame. And stealing your Brujah? Not only did the man willingly come to join us, but I wouldn't even consider stealing him if he hadn't. He considered arguing, but felt that it would be futile. He could explain that they would cover more ground by researching the town, or asking around about this sort of thing, but he would then have to admit that heading to the diner was their best chance of finding any leads. Besides, not showing up to the diner now would give everyone else free range on ordering me around.

Gaius took a deep breath in, then exhaled in an attempt to recollect himself. He saw Reza head out to hail a taxi, and followed him. The fear he felt was fading fast as he considered the situation he was in. If they show up, and the Malkavian decided to take arms, Gaius had Reza and a man loosely based off the Hulk. He would be fine. Gaius felt that Reza would probably come to his aid if it came down to it, but that wouldn't stop him from getting the hell out of there. Gaius may not be strong, but he was hard to catch. His size held at least that advantage.

Once the group of them finally managed to enter a taxi, and head towards the Estus Diner, Gaius sat in between the two men. He mostly kept his head down the entirety of the way there, not bothering to glance at either of them or out the window. When they finally arrived, Gaius was glad to be out of the cab. He hated feeling so restricted. When they all entered the diner, Gaius was amazed at how very vampire it all was. Props for embracing the Cliches. This place even has it's own pair of creepy twins! All that's missing is a room filled with coffins for vamps who had a bit too much to drink. Gaius silenced his thoughts silent when he saw the Malkavian, who had already arrived at the diner before them. Gaius decided to stand near the entrance, and let the others do the talking for him.