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Aug 19, 2016 17:05:27 GMT
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Post by Smitejr on Jan 26, 2016 21:38:18 GMT
I'd managed to arrive in Lakecrest only a few days ago. A scant rumor led me to go halfway across the world to reach this place of intense supernatural activity. None of my attempts to connect to resources I may have had, whether it be Strigoi or Mage's Guild, had come to anything so far. It was enough to get me to lose hope...but if I did, then my family would never realize their fault, would they? So I kept going until I reached the city, which proved to be pretty much all I had hoped for. There was not the faintest trace of the masquerade I was aware existed before my time, and things were so fresh and available, it was hard not to be caught off guard by it. This had negative consequences as well, though. People were extraordinarily careful at night, and as a result there were very few safe opportunities for me to feed. I was always in the habit of taking blood as little as possible, but this made him feel like I had to take every opportunity that came my way, niceties be damned. I wasn't sure how well I could survive here on my own...things were entirely different in Europe. Still, I had a goal here: Reconnect with either House Strigoi or the Mage's Guild, and use whatever I could get from them to further his research. I'd had to put it off long...far too long. Hopefully I wouldn't need to stay here...even survival was a hassle, let alone furthering my family's...no, my own knowledge.
Thankfully, at least I could do one of those very easily. The Mage's Guild had a place on the map...another amazing difference from what I was used to. It'd always been somewhat wrapped in shadows, not wanting to disturb people even after the Masquerade's fall. Here, though, it was completely open...that was something to find out. I adjust my windbreaker, I'd probably have to change into my more formal clothes...I didn't know what was appropriate. I couldn't ruin it after coming all this way, could I? I'm panicking slightly....I don't really know what I'll say.
"Plans are unnecessary. Keep growing forward. I don't want to have to see you falter again...it's unsightly."
A harsh, cutting voice sounds in my head, and I grumble. "Easy for you to say. You've got things nice and comfy..." I stop speaking aloud...no reason to try and bring even more attention to myself other than being a guy walking around in the middle of the night already does.
"Your fear is bothersome. I thought I had contracted with an apex predator...or do I actually assist a mouse? I suppose the scurrying things are alive as well..."
I don't rise to Ravi's bait. I'm more stumped by the problem I have to solve. I'm in the correct district, but I don't know where to go from here. I wander down the street, trying to find anything that looks like an office. After more meandering, I find a rather imposing building. This had to be it! I duck around an alleyway and change out of my ratty street clothes, and into the robes befitting a magus of the Turner family, and a member of House Strigoi. Walking inside and finding it open, I see a rather large, ornate lobby. I'm waived over to the receptionist's desk.
The receptionist is a man in a clean, crisp robe, elegantly maintained. I feel somewhat intimidated, but I don't let it get to me. "Hello. I-I'm a new arrival in Lakecrest..."
I take a breath. I could all but hear Ravi sighing at me, and I need to maintain better control of myself. However, he answers my question before I even ask it. "Of course. We have been aware of you since your arrival...there was some talk if you would be coming to us."
"...Ah..." My reply is stilted.
"If you're simply looking for some assistance getting situated and seeing where you it in with the Guild here, may I suggest meeting with Ms. Boivin? You likely have not met, but she acts as something of a mediator between House Strigoi and the Guild. Perhaps you might even be of some assistance to her.
At this point, all I can do is nod. Things were easy...to easy. Was this a trap? His answer is immediate. "I will see if she is available. In the meantime, please be seated. There might be some tea available if you are thirsty....I'm afraid blood is not something that is commonly served." |
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Post by Restkastel on Jan 26, 2016 23:26:45 GMT
Paperwork, it was the bane of all researchers. So much had to be done, filling out all the forms about experiment results, material requests for my blood and human body parts I needed, as well as incident reports that I had to deal with as the resident Strigoi emissary. Not only that, but the guild often dropped all sorts of stuff on me to review about whether an infernal magic grant or a necromancy magic permit should be granted, given I was one of the more practiced users in the guild, and they often didn't want to deal with it. I parceled out one day a week to take off from my research to deal with all of this...disgusting paperwork, and today was the day. Luckily there wasn't nearly as much to deal with this week, and I counted my blessings about how they haven't sent me to deal with that egomaniac in the entertainment district....yet. Hopefully they would send some OTHER vampire to talk with her, because by Odin's balls if I had to deal with her I would give her Final Death.
As I was doing my paperwork, my phone at my desk began ringing. What in the blazes did someone want of me at THIS hour? At least it would be some sort of break from this paperwork no matter how brief. Taking a deep breath and rubbing my temples, I grabbed the phone and picked up, answering, "It's me. What is it? If its not important, can it wait until later? Tonight is paperwork night," I said, my voice a little cross as I kept my cool as best I could. Hopefully it was nothing too bothersome. The voice on the other end of the line proceeded to tell me that there was a new arrival here, and he was a Strigoi, so he was sending him my way. Hmmm, this could be interesting, and definitely more so than my paperwork. "Send him back to my office, I'm a bit too bogged down in my paperwork to come out and get him, if you could, bring him back yourself. Don't want him getting lost," I said, giving a curt goodbye to the man after he acknowledged what I told him, his voice a bit irritated, probably because I am having him bring him back instead of coming to get me himself.
While I waited for the secretary to bring this new arrival back, I continued my paperwork. Ugh, another one. Why did the guild have to dump such nonsense requests on me. This one was a necromancy request for an experiment to make a mage a female ghoul for....questionable usage. Rejected. Really, were some mages that juvenile that they would make a ghoul for THAT reason? Whatever, this was none of my business now that I had rejected it.
After a while, I didn't particularly pay attention to how long, I heard a knock at the door and assumed it was the Strigoi and the assistant, and said, "Come on in. Please, sit down and introduce yourself when you do."
All that was left was to wait for him to come in.
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Post by Smitejr on Jan 26, 2016 23:47:44 GMT
The receptionist returned to me relatively quickly, I had barely managed to pour myself a cup of the rather fine, if somewhat hard to identify, blend the Guild provided. "Miss Boivin is prepared to meet you, Mister Turner. I shall lead you to her office at your convenience, though I would recommend against keeping her waiting." I stand up, and drink the tea rather faster than I would normally. Hopefully there would be a trash bin at some point...it was rude to waste a host's refreshments, but even more so to bring trash into someone's chambers. If worst came to worst, he'd hide it inside his robes and find out how to clean any stains that might arise from it later.
After a while traversing through meandering hallways and blessedly finding a wastebin, the receptionist leaves me in front of one room, knocking on the door before departing. At her command to come in, sit down, and introduce myself, I perform those actions in precise order, doing my best to do it with the etiquette instilled at me at a young age...if somewhat dulled by long years of mean living. "My name is Kursten Turner, madam. It is a pleasure to meet you." She was very striking in appearance, an absurdly detailed white and red dress etched in black filigree, covering a young girl with the unmistakable red eyes most vampires had...not what I would expect from someone sitting at a desk and filing paperwork. I felt somewhat sympathetic towards the monolithic pile she had to work with, and almost felt bad for taking her time. If the trouble of staying in this city wasn't so high, I'd have certainly excused myself and made an appointment for a more appropriate time. Still, the words flow easily enough, and I'm somewhat relieved by it.
Instinct doesn't die, Kursten. Especially in matters of survival, like this one.
Ignoring Ravi's interjection, I focus on making an impression and dive right into explaining my situation, the logical continuation of introducing myself. "I am a recent arrival to Lakecrest...and I confess, I have been having some trouble getting my bearings correctly. The times have not been kind, and I have had trouble getting in contact with either House Strigoi or the Mage's Guild." I wonder if I'm being to liberal in describing my failures, or if this is just a basic amount of honesty that is expected of me. Either way I'm likely being too wordy. Perhaps if I'd been doing this twenty years ago, things would have been simpler. While Ravi was right that instinct never dies, it does get dull, and I don't have the same inherent grasp of social niceties that the young heir to the Turner name had.
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Post by Restkastel on Jan 27, 2016 1:17:27 GMT
As the Kindred walked into the room and sat down, I noticed a few things about him. First off, he didn't have the distinctive red eyes many Kindred did, but that wasn't a hard and fast rule, just most of us had them. His skin was a bit paled than a normal humans, but still with enough pallor of life to mark him as a relatively recent turn, definitely at earliest the cold war era. His hair eyes and robe were all purple, albeit of sightly different shades. Wait, he was walking around in robes? How odd, especially for a new turn. Perhaps he was still trying to come to gribs with his identity as a Strigoi, or perhaps his sire had unusual tastes in attire. No matter, it was irrelevant after all. His age of appearance was only about a year younger than me, but he was definitely over half a foot taller than I would be if I were standing up.
He introduced himself as a one Kursten Turner, it was obvious he was a new arrival alright given what followed after. HE stated as much, and apparently due to hard times, he had fallen out of contact with both the magicians guild and house Strigoi, and was here to re-establish said contact. Odd, with how prevalent the Guild was in this area, it probably meant that he had come a long way to get here. It seemed this boy had a rather interesting past, so I decided that rather than try to guess about it any more, I would ask him directly about it.
"It is also a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kursten. I am Ruby Boivin, and as you probably know I am the emissary here between the Guild and House Strigoi, at least nominally. As you can probably see by the paperwork on my desk," I said, gesturing to the large stack of paperwork in front of me, "I am usually entrusted with other matters that are far more tedious. Like looking through the applications for permission to use infernal and necromantic magic, the higher ups can't be bothered to deal with it, and they figure they can drop it on the Daemon contracting Strigoi who does both," I finished as I sighed and continued on. "You look like the kind of youngling with quite the story to tell, Kursten. Tell me a bit about yourself and how exactly you lost contact with both the House and the Guild. That sounds like quite the story for one as young looking as yourself. When that happened to me it was because I was around Germany when Thule released the horrors and I had to go to ground," I said, giving a bit of a hint about just how old I was despite my appearance. Of course, this just gave him an idea but I figured a bit of storytelling on my part would help get what I wanted out of him.
After all, it was a rule of magic, to gain something, one had to give something of equal value.
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Post by Smitejr on Jan 27, 2016 1:42:45 GMT
Well, she seemed interested, at least. That was a good sign. The absolute worst thing you could do when making a first impression was to appear boring. At least making a buffoon of yourself got you remembered, after all. And in this situation, all the more so. It was clear that, despite her apparent age, she was far and away beyond me in years and experience...and the specifications she gave certainly seemed to support that. I really needed to make this work.
"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Boivin. I was indeed informed of your role by the receptionist." As she explains the grunt drudgery she was made to perform, I let my sympathy out...probably not the most tactful decision, but I couldn't help it. "I am sorry to hear you have been delegated such assignments. They seem rather beneath you." Now I was just sounding bootlicky! This wasn't going right! I had to get a hold of things fast, before I was discarded again. Fortunately, her story and request gave me something to steer the conversation towards in light of my misstep, and he was grateful for the good fortune. "That is certainly quite the story. I hope mine is an adequate exchange for it."
I take a breath to steady myself, despite the obvious lack of necessity for it, and begin to try and parse through the questions and unspoken demands she made of me. "Then I shall begin, Ms. Bolvin. I am from a long distance away, my family was Slovakian, you see." At the name of my country, my voice slips from the crisp, slightly accented English I had cultivated into something heavier, and I clear my throat. Not only did I need to be careful, I had to plan carefully what I would and wouldn't say...not out of a desire to hide anything, just the opposite. I didn't want to deluge Ms. Bolvin with unnecessaries. "P-Please, excuse me. I-In any event, my family were magi with a long, but suffering lineage. I was turned to the House in exchange for a correction of an unfortunate defect that led to the magic being all but bred out of my family. I was always on the tangential side of things...I had only served with my Sire, and she had little dealings with the house as a whole, mostly providing the USSR with research in exchange for materials and blood. My connection with the Mage's Guild was only through my family, while I had been inducted as a member, it was not easy to reconnect. The Mage's Guild operated with far more secrecy there...no convenient buildings I could simply walk up to..."
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Post by Restkastel on Jan 27, 2016 2:33:47 GMT
Listening to the boys story, it was rather amusing really. He seemed rather embarrassed that he had let his accent slip into something heavier when he mentioned he was from Slovakia. Rather funny, to say the least, I had an idea to turn the screws on him, but I would wait until he was done. He had also said something about how the paperwork was beneath me, and as it was true, I saw no real reason to address it either way. The youngling was nervous and it was obvious he was just trying to not get thrown out. When he began to tell his story however, it was rather comical how similar it was to my own, but with the period shifted and involving less horrors. At least how he lost contact with the guild, the house and his sire.
After waiting for the young Strigoi to be done, I leaned over and began to speak, in absolutely perfect Slovakian, "Would you perhaps be far more comfortable if we continued in your mother tongue?" I waited for the youngling's reaction, hoping that he would make a rather shocked and amusing face for me when I suddenly started speaking in his language without an accent, given my British accent when speaking English. If he said he was indeed more comfortable in it, I would continue ahead in Slovakian, otherwise it would be English.
"Your story is amusingly similar to my own, oddly enough. My sire worked for Thule, and I was tangentially brought into his research, mostly due to my ESP for language. As with your sire, he did research for materials and blood, though the sources were probably a bit more...mistreated before coming to use than yours were, though Stalin was rather brutal himself. As for how I got separated, I believe I mentioned before and you can fill in the details, and I went to ground for a while after that," I said, telling the boy a few of the details of my story since what he gave was so similar to my own. Deciding to switch the subject before too many questions came up, I decided to ask a bit about his contracted spirit and as a result, his magic.
"If we're going to get you integrated here I'm going to need to know a few things about you, so I hope you don't mind explaining a bit about your magic and what kind of combat applications it has. This mostly is for a bit of record keeping, as well as figuring out what kinds of permits, if any, we need to get you to legally operate in the guild, as well as how much blood you will need and what you can do for the guild in return. As for your contact with the House, I can get that in order, though since you likely will be with the guild, I will probably be the one you deal with most, given my position," I said, implying the youngling should tell me about those things I mentioned. After all, they were important. As I waited for him to do so, I fished out a bit of paperwork, a blank form for what I needed in this case, that way I could submit the official information to the guild. If he needed more permits, I would get them out later and get him to fill them out, since he needed to.
With that I just waited for the youngling to respond.
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Post by Smitejr on Jan 27, 2016 3:20:18 GMT
Her perfect Slovakian unbalanced me immediately. Such a mastery of such a relatively obscure language spoke to someone with an inherent mastery...but her accent was clearly British. While I tried not to let it show too clearly, it was highly likely that Miss Boivin could see through me rather clearly. Her offer...I didn't know how to treat it. It could have been simply the kindness of a stranger who sought to help calm me down, or it could be a show of weakness to accept such kindness. In the end, I shook my head. "I greatly appreciate the gesture, but it is unnecessary. Though it seems it would not inconvenience you based on your skill with the language, I must not allow my speech to crack under pressure. If mistakes should be made in pleasant company rather than unpleasant, then that is simply a blessing."
Wasteful. You should take advantage of the opportunity when provided. No. I need to focus on impression...besides, my English is close to flawless regardless.
Miss Boivin's description of her own circumstances causes a bit of surprise. "Truly? That must have been quite the experience...my work was fairly low-key, simple research into mass-produced magical weapon possibilities and morale stunts...parlor tricks in comparison to demon summoning." Someone connected to Thule was even less deserving of being treated lightly than the average centuries-old Vampire. I'm curious about the circumstances she parted with her family on, but that was doubtless a sore subject. It was for me, after all. "Ah...psychic abilities relating to language. It seems my reservation earlier truly was groundless, and I apologize for wasting your time." Things simply were not going well for me...let alone the possibility that my similarity to her circumstances crossed from the amusing to the suspicious.
At her requirement of me to discuss my magic, though, I brighten slightly, still trying to keep a measured, even countenance. This was good...I would only get this far if they were interested. I continue with more confidence. "My magic is tied to the nature spirit I am contracted with. It is focused around growth and expansion. While my research is more focused on biological processes and how magic interferes and supports them in different ways, combat applications tend to be more basic. I can heal injuries by invoking the natural healing process, appropriately accelerated and bolstered with blood. I can cause extreme fight-or-flight responses that serve to strengthen someone for combat. And I can grow my own weaponry, using my body as the base for it." I attempt to leave out how little progress my research has made since I left my family home...I was kept rather busy by my sire, and I hadn't had the luxury during my meanderings towards here. I needed to continue my research as much as possible...I needed to prove my family wrong, even if it took generations. Impatience gripped me, despite the near-endless amount of time my status gave me.
The more mundane topics were easy for me to dispose of. "I am used to rationing blood rather strictly, but as an important bodily fluid both in biology and in thaumaturgy, it ties rather closely to my research. I will leave it up to the Guild how much I am to receive, as I am yet unproven, though I would request a liberal amount. In return for it and some specimens....animals and plants, of varying kinds....I offer the fruits of my research, the discovery of unique biological augmentations and improved healing pathways, as well as potential for service as an enforcer. My combat abilities had...more use than I would have liked." I didn't want to fight anyone...to hurt anyone, but being offered blood and opportunity to research was enough to get him to offer anything and everything. Her statement about connection to the House, however, brought a smile to my face. "I am glad to hear it. While I do not know how the Guild will react to my offerings, it would be pleasant to deal with you. You are relatable...amusingly so, as you said."
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Post by Restkastel on Jan 27, 2016 3:52:34 GMT
Writing down everything the youngling said, I filled out the forms I needed to with a rather quick pace. As much as I hated paperwork, I had gotten fairly used to the system that the guild used here. At least it was better than using a computer, those blasted machines were not my style whatsoever. I dug out a few different forms I needed the youngling to sign and fill out, chiefly a guild registry transfer form, a spirit magic permission form, a basic necromancy permission form, a blood requisition form, and an animal materials requisition form. Luckily, the guild had provided me with all of these, after all they did need SOMEONE to deal with the Strigoi in the city, and many of them were far less of a pain to deal with when they were dealing with Kindred. I had dealt with a few in my time that viewed pretty much every human as some sort of food or experiment material, though usually they tended to be on the older end of the spectrum. I also marked on the main form I was filling out that he was able to serve as both, and made a point to mention that he was more qualified than I in the area of combat.
With the paperwork done on my side, I handed the youngling a pen and the different forms that I had gathered before beginning to reply to him. "No need to apologize, youngling. Most people don't figure that a person has ESP, especially for something as odd as language. Let alone that they are able to speak pretty much every language known to human and mystic kind, minus whatever the horrors jabber on about. No clue what they are saying, if they are saying anything," I said, excusing the meek youngling. I was feeling in a rather generous mood today, or perhaps it was how the youngling was reacting, but I was being far nicer than usual. Perhaps it was because he didn't have the same air of arrogance that many other Kindred naturally gave off, or hadn't learned to give it off, perhaps.
Either way, I continued. "The guild will likely accept your proposal with my recommendation, especially since you can both research and fight. If you wouldn't mind filling out those forms with the expected blood required, research materials, and the permits you will need. Its a bunch of rather pointless red tape, but I got to have you do it. Don't worry too much about the guild's laws, they tend to be rather lax about it when it comes to their vampire members, just don't be an idiot about it. When you fill those out I'll take them for you. Shouldn't be too long for you to be let know whether or not they accepted, probably come back tomorrow night. Whoevers around will get you a strigoi apartment in the magicians guild if you need it," I said, letting him know what he needed to do next.
"As long as you live up to the bare minimum expectations, do your research reports, and take what jobs the guild throws your way, you should be fine youngling. I'll occasionally have something for you to do from time to time, either through the House or the Guild, so I'll likely just contact you on the phone about it. Otherwise, I'm here this night every week to do my paperwork," I said.
With that said, I waited for the boy to do the paperwork I gave him, and listened to what he said in response while sighing and doing some paperwork while I waited.
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Post by Smitejr on Jan 27, 2016 5:49:42 GMT
I can't help but laugh softly as she explains how reasonable my reaction was. I couldn't really agree with that, though. "No, but it was rather foolish of me not to accept your help regardless of whether you had ESP or not, wasn't it? I had to be stubborn, when it would have likely made things easier for me. I'll try to learn from this." That's what everything was, wasn't it? Learning. Finding out what made me get excluded, get rejected, get abandoned, and endeavor not to do it again. Hopefully this wouldn't have quite so drastic a result, but hope was, in general, a fragile and soft thing. Still, this seemed cold and formal enough to keep such base emotional reactions from having an effect...maybe this would be a safer place for me. I didn't really know...but I had to keep trying, didn't I?
Looking through the mountain of paperwork, I begin to fill them out. "I take it you don't mind if I do these here, then? If you would like privacy while you work, I can step outside." I don't really want to leave the room, it's comfortable, there is a seat and a desk, and the company was far from unpleasant. But one lesson I did learn was to be as nonexistent as possible if you want people to tolerate your presence. Though...thinking about that, was simply bringing the question up breaking that? Judgments like this, where both could be a potential fail condition were frustrating...but I could only play it off as simple courtesy as I continued to write down my specifications. Her encouragement earns a smile, as I work on the papers eagerly. I would get it? I'd get the ability to work on my research, to not have to worry about feeding, to have a place to stay? I wouldn't be expected to subordinate my time to the likes of my sire? Well, if there was one way to earn my loyalty, that was it...but I shouldn't get my hopes up. Promises were made to be broken...and there wasn't even a promise here, merely an expectation.
I fill the papers with what I need...trying to find a balance between greed and nerves regarding the blood in particular was difficult. In fact...I feel ashamed looking back, but I don't know how much blood an average feeding is! I can generally stretch one feeding upwards of a week before headaches and nausea made it too difficult to think. And then there was the research... "I apologize, but...I'm not used to thinking of blood for food in liters...Do you know how much you drink? If I had a rough estimate, I could go from there." I already know my research, while varied, should be generously supplied with two liters a month...aside from rare occassions, it would be touched rarely. What was more important was the menagerie of animals I listed. Most of them were commonly available, which I specified as higher priority: Chickens, small goats, cats....but I also asked for less commonly available creatures, scorpions, squid, octopi, jellyfish, rhinoceros beetles...still not particularly difficult, but I needed to get them in a decent amount, and more importantly, have a place to store the less wieldy ones. A simple refrigerated water tank should carry the small sea creatures while a terrarium would suffice for the insects, but for the livestock, well...I'd have to work with them as soon as they arrive. I also listed some simple tools...most of the heavy lifting was done through magic, so I just needed simple surgical implements and draftsmen's tools. But that brought up something else... "When you say permits, what kind do you mean?" That was a vague term...were there laws that would need to abide by that I wasn't aware of? That could prove troublesome...
Eventually I manage to fill out my papers at least to a preliminary stage, before I can confirm what exactly I might need to change to fit in with the Mage's Guild as a whole. At this point, I grew more curious about the person who helped me. "What do you research, if you don't mind me asking? You can probably tell from the paperwork and from what I said already, but it's made me slightly curious." I was probably getting too bothersome at this point, but the thought was in my head. It'd be a shame if her life was consumed by this administrative work...a vampire of her age and inclination towards magic was likely to be making breakthroughs...and here she was helping him. It didn't make all that much sense...I wondered if he'd be asked to cover some of this from her, or if it was viewed as some kind of dubious honor? I bow to her at that thought, either way, it would probably be a good idea to show gratitude and respect. "Thank you for helping me, and answering my questions. I'm sure you must have grown sick of them by now."
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Post by Restkastel on Jan 27, 2016 18:14:01 GMT
"No need to be so humble and apologetic youngling. Humility is a good trait to have at heart, but I will mention that a lot of vampires take it as a sign of weakness, especially when you are dealing with the Aristocrats," I said, telling the young Strigoi in a rather roundabout way that while I was not taking it the wrong way, a lot of other vampires might take it that way. He was just rather nervous, and sort of rightfully so given his predicament, but it would likely wear on someone given a long exposure to it. I knew it was getting a tad annoying to me as it was, but that might have had something to do with today being paperwork day. Either way, hopefully he would get the hint.
"Don't worry about that, feel free to stay in here and fill them out, will be easier for both of us this way," I said, responding to the boy's request to stay in here. From what he would say after that, it was rather obvious his sire had not taught him all that much. Giving him a bit of a sigh I responded to him, "Average blood pack is about 500 ml worth of blood for our purposes, they are 200ml in truth but that's after the superfluous materials are removed. My intake is a bit all over the place since I use my own blood in research a decent amount. I will mention that an average Strigoi can probably go from absolutely empty to full with about 10-15 depending. As long as you aren't fighting you shouldn't need too much outside of research though," I said, explaining a bit more about that and how to fill that part out.
He then asked about the permits, and to that I began to answer, "Some types of magic require a bit of extra paperwork to perform, but as long as you get it in, you likely don't need to change your research at all. Spirit compulsion, necromancy, and probably bodily modification are what you need given your research. The guild doesn't look too closely at our activities though, so as long as you don't cause trouble you have a lot more leeway than the human mages if you get these in," I said, giving him a brief explanation and gesturing to the sheets of paper I had given him for those purposes.
As he finished up the paperwork, he began to ask about me and my magic. Well, he was a fellow Strigoi, so he likely wouldn't balk too badly at what I did, so I figured it wasn't too bad to tell him. "My magic, you ask? Normally I don't mention that or my contracted spirit because it tends to...unsettle most humans, but seeing as you probably are more better prepared to deal with it as Kindred, I will tell you," I said, prefacing my reply with a bit of a warning, "Personally, I'm contracted to a Daemon who specializes in necromancy. I also do research into blood properties of Kindred and other beings, so I probably am the picture most people have of Strigoi when they think of our clan. I've been wanting to document the changes and effects that a turning has when the blood isn't drained fully, but thats too much for the Guild's taste and I doubt anyone would volunteer with it. That leaves me with a need for a church agent or similar enemy to do it on so the Guild would just look the other way, plus the thought of turning a church agent into what they hate is more than a bit thrilling, I must say," I said, licking my lips a bit at the prospect of doing that to one of the Church's dogs.
I couldn't think too much about the prospect however, as the youngling's voice snapped me out of my fantasy, and he said that he appreciated the help and apologized for the trouble. "It's fine, it's my job to do it after all. Just try not to get yourself in too much trouble if you are apologetic for taking my time. Punishments are a ton of paperwork, especially for non-human members, the politics are rather annoying," I said, sighing as I did so. Final Death was such an annoying bit of paperwork, even more so when it dealt with my house.
With that, I waited to see if the boy had any more paperwork, and continued to finish off the last bits of my paperwork as I did so.
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Aug 19, 2016 17:05:27 GMT
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Post by Smitejr on Jan 27, 2016 21:41:05 GMT
I take the reproach with merely a nod of acknowledgement. Of course it would be so. It was only to be expected, and it was good to have this corrected now then later. He'd inherently fell too far back on his personality, and had to continue to work to find the correct balance. The point where one wasn't a bootlicker, but wasn't prideful enough to warrant being pushed down...It was a struggle. At the invitation to stay in the office, I work quickly, filling the paperwork to her specifications. The blood amounts were rough expectations, but I do lean more in favor of too much rather than too little. If it turns out to be excess, I can always store it and dial back the requests in the future. This is one way to reduce my humility that bordered on weak and annoying...wasn't it?
The talk about permits was enough to require my input. "A seperate permit for body modification? I'll definitely be requiring that, then. It's rather stuffy for them to require those kinds of things...it does seem like it bogs research down in red tape. It was really nothing to complain over, though, so I get the requisite forms filled out and place them alongside the completed requisitions. It was slow, arduous going, the kind of paperwork invented by busybodies who didn't know about the importance of improvisation in proper research, but it wasn't enough to disturb me. This was just a means to an end, after all...I'd be willing to put up with far greater hardship than dealing with paperwork to take steps towards my goal.
It became rather hard to concentrate on paperwork as Miss Boivin began to explain about her magic, so intensely focused on their natures as Kindred and the effects of blood both in Us and in other beings. "Fascinating." I reply truthfully. "If you make much in the way of a breakthrough regarding the effects of blood in beings aside from Kindred, I would love to hear it, as it likely has ramifications towards my own work." Blood was the foundation of life, the courier, the source of magical vitality. To anyone who mixed biology with magic, it was an essential tool, and a greater understanding could only be beneficial. Her particular...bloodthirstiness, for the lack of a better word, towards enemies of the Guild was somewhat odd, but it really shouldn't have been. Still..."Is it truly so hard to find people who seek to be Turned? The shift in focus in research towards spiritual summoning and manifestation is awkward to be sure, but I would think many in the Guild would be lured to the immortality that being Kindred provides?" It was almost painful not to apologize for my nosiness...but I managed to keep it at the level of an intellectual inquiry. If I was reproached for it, then that would be what it was.
Her warning that came after was not focused on that, it seemed, but more on my prior meekness. So perhaps I was doing a decent job? "Please, don't concern yourself with that. I doubt you will find much to be concerned about from me. After all, even if I thought to act troublesome, I would hardly wish to give you more work to contend with." I smile, attempting to make it seem easier than I feel. It seemed things were all set in order...so all that was left was to wait. "While it was nice chatting with you, if there's nothing more, I probably should be off. I've taken enough of your time already, I'd hate to eat into any more of it without a pressing reason. Perhaps there may be more to discuss next week, after I've gotten settled in?"
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Sept 11, 2016 5:31:39 GMT
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Post by Restkastel on Jan 28, 2016 3:06:48 GMT
it seemed this youngling didn't understand what happened when you didn't drain a person thoroughly when you were turning them. I would definitely have to explain this to the young vampire first as well as a few other things. His interest in my research was rather refreshing, I must say. Most people either didn't bother asking or were rather horrified when they did learn the nature of what I did. Deciding that the best approach to this situation would be to just dive right into it and explain it from the beginning without leaving out a single gory detail, I looked up from my paperwork before I began.
"A regular turning? I don't think I would have too much trouble finding a willing volunteer, but then they would have to go through the process our Guild puts recruits through. But that is besides the point, what I would be doing would normally be considered quite the improper, and rather horrific, kind of turning. Your sire drained you of blood before turning you, the reason why this is has to do with the effects of vampire blood on humans. The difference between a human with blood still in them and a recently exsanguinated human is enormous. For one, it has a much higher success rate for making them into a vampire. But not only that, it is excruciatingly painful to the point of torture to inject a human with all of their blood with the blood of a vampire, as it slowly kills them from the inside to actually turn them. Not only that, but often when it does succeed, it leaves horrid scarring or other nasty physical problems that will follow a vampire throughout their undeath, as their body will regenerate back to that point as they suffered most of it ante-moretem. Hence why I said I would much rather leave it for a church agent anyways, after all, they deserve every bit of torture we throw at them," I said, sparing the youngling no gruesome detail. If I had pictures of what happened I would show him, but alas nobody really photographed or documented turnings like this.
After waiting a few seconds to gauge the younglings reaction, I continued to speak, "I will make note to let you know if I come across anything of import to your own research, and I hope you would do likewise." I continued on with the conversation like normal, partially because what I had said earlier was nothing really of great import, besides the fantasy about doing it to a church agent, at least to me. But also because I figured it would be a bit of a fun way to get a bit of amusement out of the youngling.
"Very well then, Mr. Turner. I hope what you say is indeed the case, I've heard that the paperwork for Final Death is quite the tedious and annoying procedure. If you do have any more problems, here's my card it has the phone number to my room here on it," I said, handing him the card. It was fairly plain, with my name and one phone number on it, after all I didn't bother with anything besides the phone installed in my room. "If nothing else comes up, feel free to drop by next week. It would definitely be a good way to take a break from the tedium of this paperwork like this time," I said, moving the last of the paperwork that I had finished while talking to the youngling onto the stack. Someone would be by in the morning to get it, so now all that was left was to wait around the office until they let me leave before daylight.
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Aug 19, 2016 17:05:27 GMT
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Post by Smitejr on Jan 28, 2016 3:33:12 GMT
Her description of the consequences of Turning someone who still had blood left in them was...rather horrifying for me, to say the least. Still...darn it, but now I am curious. What caused the blood to react that way? Why did the blood become vampiric before the body did? Furthermore...what was the exact nature of the turning process? I had always heard that it was a toxin present in the teeth, but now I was all but sure that was wildly off-base...Needless to say, I had an all but endless volume of questions to ask the woman who had helped me here, but he didn't want to get in her way any more, especially after what she did to help me. Still...I couldn't hold myself back totally. "If you find a subject, please inform me about it, if possible. I would like to witness the effects firsthand, and likely go over notes with you afterwards. The turning process is something I didn't think of, but would likely open up new avenues to my research...if there is any literature on the subject you could recommend, I'd be in your debt." I smile softly "Considering the Guild will likely use me in a combat capacity, I'll be sure to keep you in mind if I run into any of them."
Normally I'd be squeamish at the thought of ending another person's life...I always aimed his feedings at being nonlethal. Render the host unconscious, use body modification rather than his teeth to extract the blood necessary, and healing the wound afterwards. It was grossly inefficient, but it was a way to try and maintain some foolish sensibility...and the criticism I got from the one who shared my mind never got less loud about it. Still...I knew Church agents. They were ruthless, acted like the worst of the monsters they hunted. The fact that they obviously hurt Miss Boivin didn't exactly earn them much in the way of sympathy from me. I likely wouldn't enjoy watching them burn and scream, but I my stomach wouldn't turn either.
At the acknowledgment of reciprocity, I nod my head eagerly. I know it was merely a symbolic gesture, some way to appease the give-and-take they were expected to maintain. What could she possibly expect from a vampire who's second life hasn't even reached it's third decade, much of which regrettably focused on combat and hiding than research? One who didn't even know that you should drain all the blood from someone if you wanted to sire another vampire! Still, I keep myself calm, and continue with as much dignity as I can muster. "I'll be sure to do that, Miss Boivin." As she brings up the paperwork that would accompany Final Death, I take her card with a chuckle. "Please, believe what I say. I certainly wouldn't want to put either of us through that kind of trouble. I'll be good."
As I accept the business card, I check the number before pocketing it. Only one, and didn't specify whether it was home, cellular, or business. What a bother, he'll have to work with it. The invitation invites a smile from me. "I'll be sure to drop in...I'm glad you seemed to enjoy our conversation." Things definitely seemed like they were going well. I stand up from my chair. "Next week then, Miss Boivin. And please...I'm aware it came rather late, but feel free to call me Kursten, if it pleases you. If it is too informal, I apologize, but I'd rather not stand on ceremony forever, if it's all the same otherwise." With that, and after a pause to hear her answer and assuming no interrupting remarks, I make my way out, back into the night.
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