Los Angeles: Blood Moon - ❌🌙ch7-i-see-trouble-on-the-way

Chapter 7 Location: To be determined Players: @Andante [Volg] Volg ST: The Croissant one, @Slinar [Alexander Montferrier]

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"Ash&Daniels" was winding down for the night. Usually Volg would be in his study upstairs reading a book by this point, but today was his employee's day off, so he was still standing behind the bar, looming over those present and quietly serving them the cigars and drinks they requested. The few remaining patrons seemed almost disappointed today, not by the quality of the produce of course, but by the fact it was a quiet evening and no spectacle had occurred as a result. Still it's a nice place in a scenic region, with a beautiful view of the rolling hills and forests of California so it wasn't all bad. The barkeep was certainly not much of a chatter, nor did he seem like he cared to listen in, so it was a great place to hold conversation Volg didn't dislike the job he was doing, but he was waiting patiently for the current clients to disperse so he may get back to his novel upstairs.

03:51

https://images-ext-1.discordapp.net/external/h9zMsscCC4ef1dHEdqCa15SBez0_Aqot4pDgokTHGB4/https/mshanken.imgix.net/cao/bolt/2021-11/eightbar1.jpg?width=1185&height=666

A young man entered the place. He was wearing a grey shirt, with dark stains there and there, and a ripped jean.

03:55

03:57

He looked around him, visibly lost a bit, and then began to advance toward the bar. "Am I..." He took out a piece of paper, reading it. "At the Ash & Daniels?" His voice was the one of a young man, almost a adolescent.

Volg looks down at the man with a slight scowl and the sense that his quiet evening is about to be ruined. But only with a mild bearing of the fangs he will respond with a gruff voice painted by a eastern european accent "Ah, we're literate. Congratulations kid. That's the place, yes. More specifically, that's my place" Volg leans in at the last part of that sentence, showing his teeth, before extending back to full, impressive, posture, clearly guarded. "Can I get something for you, friend?" (edited)

"I was supposed to find friends of mine here, and to reunite here. I'm new in town you know." He looked at the persons in the bar. There was a dozen still now. Vog noticed that visibly some of the customers were looking at them. "You've not seen a person of the name of Vog, did you ?" A shiver ran down the spine of the Gangrel.

"If you're looking for a Volg, with an L, that's me. Don't know any vog. And if you are looking for me, I sure as hell ain't seen you around kid." The larger man stares the creepyass kid down (edited)

04:09

The few remaining customers are likely blessing their decision to stay longer, since it seems like some shit is finally brewing

"You're having a nice bussiness here, it seems. What do you expect in the future ? To develop ? Or to stay schackled?"

"The name is Lester, it's a pleasure to meet you." He extended his right hand toward him. He was visibly wearing a leathered brown glove on this one.

"What's it to you? Lester, you a financial advisor or some shit?" Volg smirks down with open contempt and takes the mans hand before squeezing it very, very hard

The man hand was not hard for sure. But as he pressed, he felt something weird, has there was a hole in the middle of the gloved hand. He laughed, more and more, very loudly, as the shivers continue to ran across Vold spine. "I'm... Let's just say that I'm in the influence bussiness." The people around began to stand up and go for some, uneased by Lester. The grip of Lester became more and more strong, but not yet as strong as his.

"I'm going to have to ask you to cut to the fucking point, otherwise we might have to research the influence of being pushed through a wooden bar on a human skull." Volg will look over the rest of the customers "Bar's closed for the night, fuck off, you don't have to pay for whatever you're currently holding that you haven't yet paid for" (edited)

He detached his hand, as he took a few step back. "The point is that you're a great man, but I really don't understand why you abide by their rules. A free man like you, a warrior even should join a pack, don't you think ? Prove himself worthy." Some of the man in the bar didn't moved. Three of them actually, with a gloved right hand each of them. Vog has his eyes jumping from one another. The bald man to the counter, has put his left hand under his brown raincoat. He's muscular, surely a security staff. The woman, small, brunette but with a huge sport bag at her feet. The red beard old guy, at a lone table on the side of the bar, with a backpack.

Volg, confirming that there are no Kine left in the building, growls openly, and almost condescendingly as his fingers, tapping on the bar stand, start progressing into Protean Claws instinctively. Though he makes no aggressive motions yet. "See, you just now answered your own fucking question. It's all the fucking same. the Camarilla, the Sabbat, the Anarchs, everyone claims they have the answer, they have the freedom, the unity, the justification, whatever the fuck you want to call it. Anarchs talk so much about not being beholden to elders yet they still have a Baron, the Sabbat ramble on about freeing the sword of Caine but they're more fucking hierarchial than anyone. Even your pack, you tell me I am a free man and then within the same fucking sentence tell me to prove myself "worthy". I'm with the ivory tower because they at least don't fucking pretend to be anything else that they aren't. You're right Lester, I am a free fucking man. And if I intend to keep that freedom I'm not going to be joining any god damn packs. And if you brought the fucking looney tunes back there to intimidate me, please, go ahead, see how a real fucking Gangrel protects his turf." At which point Volg leans into the bar counter with his now almost fully out claws and crushes part of it into splinters, after which he will stand there and gauge if it will come to a fight, but will not yet be the one to start it

3

Lester smiled, showing his teeth and his fangs, seemingly happy to have a little of action. He continued to step back, as he talked. "As a vampire, you know the drill. It's either eat or be eaten. Or be useful to the one that can eat you. I think that you're wasting your... Prowess here, but maybe you're afraid ? You're not that strong ? Or you're just afraid of not fitting in ?" The persons behind him and on the side also began to take out weapons. The girl grabbed a shotgun, the old man didn't moved as he looked at Vog, and the bald one seemed to have a hand axe beneath his raincoat.

MOOD MUSIC : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE0MTYd5ifE&t

With a snarl Volg launches himself over the bar stand, initially headed towards the woman with the shotgun, however as he jumps, noticing the old man trying to set fire to him with a lighter and spray bottle. Deciding this to be the higher threat he swerves as shotgun pellets shot by the woman hit him but bounce off of his Fortitude enforced skin as he closes in on the Old Man, and sinks his claws into him, rending a deep gash on his body as the Old Man cries out in pain trying to defend himself. While the man with the axe runs up behind him and tries to sink it into the Gangrel's back to some, but not much success. In that time, Lester evidently decided that this wasn't what he's here for and made his way out of the bar (edited)

As the woman with the shotgun approaches to pepper him from a better angle, a deafening blast is heard, but after the smoke clears the enormous Gangrel seems mostly unfazed, so unfazed in fact that with a growl he grabs the woman's arm, his hand being damn near as wide as her bicep, and twists her infront of him with ease, bending her arm in the process, though not enough to do any harm. As he does so he then puts one of his enormous claws at her stomach, drawing a little blood the scarlet drop of which pours through the shirt and makes itself known. With teeth bared he looks over at the man with the axe and the old man who was hobbling away from him, injured severely by the previous slash "If you fuckers want to get out of this alive drop your shit." The command is given matter of fact, as though it's the only option they have except death. After a moment's hesitation the Axeman lowers his weapon, with a frown, unsure as to how he's going to proceed and the woman drops her shotgun, which Volg promptly kicks away to the furthest corner of the bar, being in a position with far less freedom of choice than her friends. while the old man continues to hobble away "Lucky for you fuckwads, I'm Camarilla, and killing Kindred is a bit of a no-no, it's not a pain in the ass you are worth. I don't fucking think you have much stake in this either. So if you just fuck off right now, I'll forget this ever happened. And tell your boss the next time he wants to talk he should come alone and have an actual fucking point to make. You dickweeds can even come back as clients if you so wish, but if you draw weapons on my fucking turf again, well you can ask the old man how fucking gentle I can be." (edited)

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1

The three mortals looks at Volg, visibly shocked by the violence you managed to muster in such a short time. The axe man ran away directly, as same for the old man. But the girl walks a few steps, before turning herself toward him. She's pretty, as a cat can be. Feral, needing to survive. "You... You think you can protect me from them? If I stay here, I mean."

@Andante [Volg]

Volg retracts his protean claws and adjusts his suit "Could I? Maybe. Will I? Depends if you give me a reason to. I think you have some explaining to do"

"They... They forced me to do that. It was this, or being killed. I didn't knew where to go. Lester... There are far more horrible people there. She shivered, as tears began to swole her eyes."

"Let's start with that, who the fuck is this Lester character and what the fuck does he want with me"

"I don't know. He... He just said that he wanted to have you with them, or ashed. I... I just drank her blood and it felt delicious at first, then I realized they were monsters... As you." She opened her eyes wide open, realizing that she insulted you, before raising her hand in front of her as a peace sign.

Volg chuckles "No, monster's a good word. So you don't know anything about the Camarilla or the like?"

"What's that ?"

Volg exhales deeply "I'm going to snap that little shit into half" he mutters to himself "Right, kid, what's your name?"

(you talking about her ?)

(asking her about her name, talking about snapping Lester in half) (edited)

"My name is Lucille. Lucille Asa."

"Righ Lucille, here's the situation dear Lester has put you in. Out of 10 paths 9 have you dying, and my input on the outcome is minimal. But low chances doesn't mean no chances. There is benefit to me giving you a hand, that's why I'm willing to fill you in. You can make your decision after that, sound good?"

"Yeah. Give me all you got, I don't have really any choice now." She nodded, before sitting on the counter.

"There are always choices, most of them just tend to be shit."

"I'll take it."

Volg will then explain the basics of Kindred, Ghouls and the Ivory tower to the presumable ghoul "As you can see, your position isn't enviable. You could go to the Sheriff or the Prince to ask for sanctuary in return for service and maybe eventually earn the right to be sired, but they're not guaranteed to help you. You can try your luck with the Anarchs, certainly they at least pretend to be more humane. You could go back to Lester, but I doubt that's the call. You can try to make it on your own, but unfortunately as a ghoul you need Kindred vitae and you might go into withdrawal"

09:30

Volg pulls out a cigar from his coat pocket and offers it to her "Technically it's the Domitor's task to take care of their ghoul and make sure they're not breaching the masquerade, because if they do both of them get the axe. But you being a ghoul may work to your benefit, if you were a kindred unlawfully sired the only response you'd have gotten from the Camarilla was immediate execution."

"And you, you can't give me a shot ? And I'll do whatever you want ? I see that you're not that of a monster, everyone in their pack would have killed me twice now."

Volg contemplates this for an excruciating for Lucille minute of silence "I'm a simple creature, Lucille. I try to survive, so I can thrive, and I don't do anything that is counterproductive to that. And I am firmly in the Camarilla. I operate on property. This is My bar, this is My property, there are My employees, if you touch My shit, well you saw what happened just now. I protect my turf or I die trying. If you want to stick by me you'll have to carry your weight and then some. And I don't intend to hide the fact that you're not my ghoul from the higher ups in the Camarilla if they come knocking. Nor am I invincible. I'm a monster as you said, sure, but I'm only one monster, and I'm far from the only one. I don't know how many resources this Lester has, but I can't promise you the same safety and power that people higher up in the Ivory Tower can. Also, I don't do childer, the Gangrel, that's my clan, ritual to raising one I believe to be necessary to instil them with a sense of survival, but I detest it and refuse to participate in it. Not that I'd likely get Permission to sire anyone anyway, I don't do much social climbing." Volg lights a cigar in his mouth and lets it burn without any breath coming in or out of his mouth "And to clear up a misconception. I am, most certainly just as much of a monster as your packmates, I just channel it differently. If I didn't assume wrongly that you were all Kindred and if Camarilla's rules didn't more or less forbid killing other Kindred we wouldn't be talking right now, I'd be preparing some pits to throw bodies into in the forest"

2

10:17

The Gangrel leans down to her face level, until their noses almost touch, with a wide eyed stare and his teeth bared "I don't do charity, if you don't want to drown you'll have to swim 2 people's worth. Were I you I'd try my luck with the Sheriff or the Anarchs." He leans back out to fill height

10:18

"But if you still for some reason want to be here, things are simple. You want something from me? You give something back. You want protection? You help in the fight. You want my vitae? You get me a meal to replenish my blood. If that's understood and the decision you want to make, congrats, you work here now"

10:19

He starts cleaning up the mess he made "You'll never be my ghoul, but you can be my employee. With all the things that implies. Make your choice, I won't judge you either way."

The woman smiled, a bit lost visibly at first, but rapidly comprehending what was her position. "Ok, boss. I'll stay with you for now, and maybe I'll look into this Camarilla or Anarch stuff later. You..." She began to help with the mess too.

-- Scene Recap --

10:35

Volg gets approached in his bar Ash & Daniels on a calmer night by an odd Kindred who went by Lester. After attempting to seemingly recruit Volg into his "Pack", prompting the Gangrel to express his distastes for groups. After being irritated by the refusal and calling him "not strong enough" as well as having his goons draw their weapons, Lester pushed Volg past the territorial man's patience and the Gangrel pounced, heavily injuring one of the goons while Lester fled the scene, realizing this wasn't a fight he wants to take. After apprehending Lucille, the ghoul with the shotgun who blasted him a few times to not much avail, he offered the "Pack" to fuck off and leave him alone, which they did having realized that this was not a fight they could win. Lucille however stayed behind and asked Volg for protection, revealing that she is in fact a ghoul, whereas Volg assumed they were all Kidnred and spared them thinking that killing other Kindred wasn't worth the trouble. After introducing her to the basic systems of Kindred she asked him to work for him, he laid out the grounds and conditions which she temporarily accepted. He also warned her abotu his other, human, employee and to not breach the masquerade to her.

#❌🌙🟩ch9-dont-go-around-tonight