Taking in the Sights. (Open)

[sletzo]

Chris looked down on the territory that was apparently his now. He was perched atop a school, watching the cars go past on the main road. He didn’t much like the idea of being so involved in Kindred politics but after telling a few of the local Anarchs he knew, who were all gathered in one location at the time, of what happened…well they all more or less declared him to be the new Baron for being the one who had killed the previous Baron. He argued and argued with them, declaring he had no wish to hold such a position but they insisted and he wasn’t about to physically fight with the younger Kindred over the issue. So reluctantly he took the position and had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

The Golden Eagle flew off of the roof, headed towards the boarder of the territory. His gaze was on the ground below, observing every inch of the land that was now his domain…he still had to figure out how to run an area that was so big and more importantly filled with other Kindred. He had control over portions of land in the past, guarding it and keeping it in good condition until he was driven away, but that land had been his and his alone. He didn’t have other Kindred prowling in his home and if they had, he would’ve first given a warning and if that didn’t work, ripped their hearts out. But now he was supposed to lead the Anarchs of this area and he had only recently become a member of the Anarchs. He wanted more socialization when he came to the area, but he didn’t figure it would suddenly be his responsibility to ensure this remained Anarch domain…and more importantly that they were upholding the only laws they really had…the masquerade. Hell, only a few years ago, he had never even heard of the Masquerade, he just ensured no humans noticed what he was out of common sense.

His mind wandered as he memorized the land. An aerial view really made some things easier…in this case, learning the lay of the land. He saw buildings that he couldn’t identify and would have to explore on foot at a later date, entire clusters of humans he had never seen before. They would all be explored in time until Chris knew every inch of the area, so that in a moments notice he could go there without any need to look at maps or the like.

The Golden Eagle eventually landed down on the rooftop of a building near the border. A brief few moments later, he had his natural human shape once again. With a small jump, he landed down on the hard pavement, rolling as he landed to help break the fall…not that the fall itself would’ve hurt him, it was only one story. The roll became a smooth motion into standing and walking out of the alleyway at the side of the building. Now on foot, he walked down the street, his sunglasses in place, just to ensure no one was the wiser. The Gangrel didn’t know yet exactly where he was going, but if a meal presented itself…well he hadn’t yet eaten in the past few nights. He didn’t -need- to per say, but if the opportunity presented itself, why not? In the meantime, he could see the lay of the land closer from ground level and for now, at least, that suited him just fine.

[Iota]

James, the happy go lucky Malkavian had made his way to Stony Point, for no particular reason except for the News Reporter on his television told him to go, he had no clue on what to do whilst he was there, but he travelled there nonetheless, on his bmx, it was quite a trip!

Still, the hapless kindred entered the town making motorbike noises as he peddled "vroom vroom bbrrrrrrrrrgh" as he sped around the streets. He, of course, had no real reason to be here, except being told to be there and he was just mainly abiding his time. After a short while, he started humming the tune to the pink panther, again, for no real reason, but to be fair the majority of James's actions had no real meaning behind them.

"Stop!" a screeching sound bellowed in James's right ear, this distraction sent him colliding into a lamp post "ooofff" James let out an awkward sound as he fell to the conrete face first. He pretty much got to his feet instantly as he knew his rival was here! "he see's we meet again, Mister Stop!" James doing his best impression of Blowfeld from James Bond as he pretends to stroke an imaginary cat.

"Stop!" The sign repeated it's torment. "No, you stop!" James retorted, somewhat worried and getting anxious, he looked over his shoulders to see if any of his other enemies, namely the female reporter from the 9'0 clock news who taunts him through his TV.

"Stop!" The sign stating with no mercy, james was almost coming out in hives, or atleast he was acting that way. "ARGH... run away!" James turned tail and ran around the corner, safe from any signs or television sets.

[sletzo]

The streets were never all that quiet, what with the still irritating sounds of vehicles going by and trains and pretty much every other man-made invention that created noise…and there was so -many- man-made inventions that created noise. Still, even with all of the noise, he could hear the sounds of someone talking just one street away. His curiosity got the better of him and he ventured down the next street, just in time to see a man riding a bicycle, go careening into a street light. He might have found it amusing, just for how random it seemed…it’s not like there was anything in his way, it almost looked like he -intentionally- hit the light.

Chris watched form behind his sunglasses as the man then proceeded to…talk to a stop sign of all things. -That- was sufficiently odd, just on it’s own merits. He started to walk quietly towards the apparently either delusional or insane man, even as he continued to talk to the stop sign. Apparently the man was upset with it’s wording. When the man turned and looked back over his shoulder, Chris stopped himself, after all…he didn’t want to alarm him by walking towards him. He waited patiently until the stranger turned back around before continuing to approach him.

And then all of a sudden, the man went running off down a nearby alleyway. Chris followed at a light sprint, for all he knew the insane stranger would attack him around the next bend…not that he was particularly worried about such a thing, still…it was best to be cautious when dealing with someone who was less than stable. The only reason he followed was just to see what would happen next. So follow he did, around the bend and into the alley, if he had already lost the delusional man…well he could always take to the skies and track him down.

[Iota]

James feigned being out of breath, of course being a kindred, he had no need to breathe. But he thought it upon himself to owe it to himself, for some reason. After a few moments had passed, James stuck to the shadows, shying away from the light emitted from the street lights. He didn't know where he was going, but he was determine to get somewhere!

He came to a point in the alley way where there were sporadic spots of light covering the walk way. To get by these, he used his obsfuscate ability to turn invisible as he ran across the light filled area. He had come to the conclusion that if he stepped into the light, that a Stop sign might see him. He was totally oblivious to the Gangrel following him.

[sletzo]

Chris followed the stranger through the alleyway, noting the odd movements and way he was apparently hiding from the light. To the Gangrel’s eye, that was either a sure sign that he knew he was being followed, completely bat- insane, or playing some kind of odd game. Whatever the case, Chris was even more curious because of it, so continued to follow the strange man. His steps were taken with care as he did, not because of any great need or desire to remain unnoticed, but rather because shoes were still so uncomfortable to his feet. He had spent centuries barefoot after-all, wearing footwear of any sort again took some getting used to.

…And then things suddenly changed. He had been under the impression that this was a Looney human or at most ghoul that he was following. When he suddenly turned invisible though, that was when the Elder Gangrel knew there was more to this. As Chris was reluctantly in charge of this entire area now, he followed the stranger out of more than just idle curiosity. Or tried to, at any rate. He might not know exactly what the position he held entailed now, but he figured it would involve looking into odd occurrences like this and making sure it wasn’t some unknown threat. Old instincts kicked in, this was a strange supernatural creature in -his- territory and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to at least look into it and try to determine what it was.

His mind went to work, trying to figure out just what this strange man that could turn invisible might be. Kindred was a possibility, but there were far deadlier things that were possible as well…like the Lupines. It was rumored that they could go invisible at will and when they reappeared it was often to tear someone to shreds. At least that’s what the rumors he heard said. Having spent the majority of his unlife avoiding the Lupines, he wasn’t particularly anxious to encounter one now. If there was one thing that a Gangrel was, it was a survivor…encountering Lupines often went at odds with that for Kindred. As a result, he moved with even more caution. Paying close attention to his surroundings…or at least, as close attention as he could, just incase of a sudden surprise attack.

It was then that the Gangrel noticed certain key things about his surroundings that he hadn’t paid much mind to before. First and foremost was that there were buildings on either sides of him. More than that though, these buildings were only two or three stories high at most. And the ground level, walking path he was on, was fairly narrow. Now there was one big reason that this was important to him. If it turned out he was following a Lupine and about to be attacked, he was in a narrow, enclosed area…and would potentially be fighting a beast that would have been, from all accounts, somewhere between eight and twenty feet tall. His odds of surviving such a fight, went down drastically he realized. On an open field, at least he would have had a chance to get away…but not here, not now.

As a result, the Outlander acted quickly. Without delay he scaled the side of one building up to the roof top and then walked carefully close to the edge. Looking down, he was perched exactly over the spot where the strange man had disappeared at before. He took a few careful sniffs at the air…immediately annoyed at the proximity to busy streets that they were on, it made it even more difficult to pick out one scent, much less track it by smell alone.

So he took another tactic. His gaze scanned the alleyway, noting the lights that the strange man was apparently avoided earlier…it looked like a minefield of lights. That was his first clue. Unless the strange man was a Lupine planning to attack him, or something even more sinister than he knew of, it probably wouldn’t double back he reasoned…not when it had been running almost fearfully before. That meant unless this was all trap, he was headed forwards…into the minefield of light. A quick scan of the area ahead revealed a particularly dark area where the various street lights -didn’t- hit. That was where he would go to…if his suspicion proved accurate, that was where the strange man who had become his prey would be headed and would hopefully reappear. If that happened, that was where Chris would leap down from and speak with this stranger to his territory. …And if he was wrong, he would either have lost his prey or he was about to be attacked, which if that were the case, there was nothing he could do to prepare for an unforeseen attack…so he would wait and do his best to survive it, if it were the case.

[Iota]

James darted and jumped from shadow to shadow. the voices in his head almost screaming at him, he wasn't actually aware that it was acutally other malkavians in the state spreading their thoughts and images to other malkavians. James just assumed it was his mind. As he made his way down the street he noticed that a window was slightly open and from that he could see the television in the front room.

"This is the 11pm news, i am Andrew Sax..welcome.. The first news story this evening, the president has decided.." The news reporter paused for a moment before he noticed James "Ah, James.. welcome... you do know you are being followed, he's directly above you, watch out!" James had a similar expression as a bunny rabbit in headlights would, shock. He decided to initiate his obsfucate and climb the building, he could of taken the stairs, but it is a malkavian we are talking about.

After a short while of climbing the side of the building with a magnitude of effort, he had finally made it to the top, he raised his arms in the air like he had won something, but remaining silent to no startle his would be stalker. After a few seconds of scanning the roof top, he had found the man who made been seemingly following him, he decided to tip toe up to the man that would resemble something from a cartoon and eventually he stood beside the man and copied him looking over the egde, it was then he "de-cloaked" as it were and became visible "What are we looking for?" he simply asked to the unsuspecting Gangrel.

[sletzo]

The Outlander watched the spot like a hawk. He was a capable hunter, one who learned long ago to trust his instincts instead of mistrusting him. Other clans relied more on modern inventions to find someone…human like. Not Chris and not the Gangrel…they used their senses to track their prey and relied entirely on them. After almost four centuries of doing that, his were well attuned, even in this town with so many distractions present. It was by no means easy to track his prey, but his instincts told him that his prey would be appearing again in an area without light and the most obvious spot without light on the path that was being followed, was directly below him. So that was where he waited.

Unfortunately, Chris wasn’t tracking anyone with a sane mind, this made predicting his prey’s movements nearly impossible. Added to that, his prey happened to be able to turn invisible. Predictions and instincts went out the window as a result. If he knew any of this, he might have not even bothered to wait and just take to the skies and circle around in the area until his prey turned visible again and -then- find him. He didn’t know any of this though. All he knew was that his prey didn’t seem to be fully in control of his actions, more than a little disturbed, and capable of disappearing, along with that he knew his prey had fled from something that scared him. Chris was woefully ill-prepared in the end, for what happened next.

He had the distinct impression that something was wrong a few moments before the stranger spoke…evidently right next to him at this point. He didn’t shift his gaze from the spot he was looking at, in-order to look around though. He would wait for however long it took, regardless of the feeling that something was off. And then the stranger spoke from right next him. His senses attuned, had already picked up the scent of the stranger as soon as he appeared…he had known he was there, but if he wasn’t going to attack, Chris would wait until he either spoke or rabbitted and ran. He spoke first.

Not missing a beat, the Outlander turned to look at the man. Looking at him closely, trying to determine just what he was. When he realized it was a Kindred, he spoke in his usual soft, quiet voice. “You.” He didn’t know what Clan this man was of, but he had his suspicions. Rumors said that all he had noticed earlier meant it was most likely a member of the so-called Malkavians. Chris had never known one himself, as a result he could only base his actions on rumors. You didn’t suddenly grab an insane man without expecting a violent reaction…he didn’t want a violent reaction, so he resisted the urge to suddenly grab a-hold of this strange man’s arm to ensure he didn’t flee.

Rising to his full height, which wasn’t all that tall, Chris stood face to face with the man before him. His voice remained quiet and soft as he continued on. “Who are you and what brings you to my town?” He still wasn’t used to declaring this town his, but used to it or not, if he didn’t make that statement, it would have left a question that he didn’t want to answer for himself yet, much less someone else. Now, hopefully, he would get to learn who this was and why he had been so terrified of a stop sign.

[Iota]

"Him?!" he said, his way of speaking was quite different to anything normal "he shall aid you in following him, him is a sneaky being..ortleast his minds say so!" James was obviously talkign about himself, even though he didn't realise it at first. The young malkavian took to twiddling his thumbs for the moment, the man was obviously the lone wolf sort and probably didn't have a lot of patience, james concluded.

"ah, he is James, descendant of Malkav! or so he is told." James smiled inanely, he didn't know that the gangrel was the baron, to be honest.. The only other Anarchs he had met were the rebels with out a cause and, he generally avoided those types as he didn't wish to be dealt his final death just yet. "he thought the puppet master prince ruled the kingdom of New York and all her subsidaries! oohh..interesting!" he said outloud "Who does that make the shadey figure before him, then?" he queried.

[sletzo]

The way the apparently insane man spoke was, odd to say the least. He spoke in what seemed to be the third person, it quickly became annoying to the Outlander. Not only was it unusual, but it was unnecessary as well. He wasn’t looking to play games and as a result, the way he spoke and more importantly what he said, would no doubt quickly became too annoying to bear. For a Gangrel to become impatient was well…perhaps not as dangerous as Brujah, who would be libel to throw a temper tantrum that would involve fire bombing buildings and wrecking cars. But it was still dangerous, considering that dangerously sharp claws could appear at a moments notice with little warning.

Evidently this stranger realized the potential risk involved, as he had started speaking more directly. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make Chris at least bear speaking with this James…as he had introduced himself as such. A Malkavian as well…what the rumors said were quite odd surrounding that clan. They could see the future at random or something like that but they were so crazy that to make any sense of what they described seeing, was difficult at best and impossible at worst. An odd clan indeed. Still, it was enough to make Chris reappraise the situation. If it were true, it would be best not to get too comfortable around them, for they might decide to attack you as just as easily as a Brujah, what with the insanity thing and all.

The next statement and question actually brought a smile to Chris’s pale features. He never actually dealt with the Camarilla himself but everything he had heard from the first Anarchs he met, who were the reason he became an Anarch…all said that the head Camarilla in charge would be called a Prince. So hearing that this area evidently had one and it apparently wasn’t widely known that the Anarchs had a claim on parts of the territory that was thought to be the Camarilla’s…was something he could actually fix and more importantly, it gave him some vague notion of what he would have to do now as a Baron…so it was good news. Not knowing was never a good feeling after-all.

His voice remained just as quiet as it was before, “Stony Point is Anarch territory, James. I am in charge of the Anarchs here, as Baron, it is mine. Where do your allegiances lie, childer of Malkav?” So it was more wordy than he usually was, but it was necessary in this instance and more importantly it would keep him from having to explain further, about the diablerie, he hoped. It was never good to speak ill of the dead, regardless of what they had done. Punishment was delivered for that crime and it was done with in Chris’s mind. So there was no great reason to spread word of what was done, beyond to those few who -needed- to know.

[Iota]

"Ah.." James muttered, he stood there twiddling his thumbs for a moment, taking in the scenary, almost forgetting what Chris had asked, james looked at his watch, which had stopped working for a fair while now, he sighed softly. "Oh..yes...allegiances" he became alert of what the topic of conversation was "He is an Anarch.. but he came here.. voices.. TV reporter, Alexandria.." James spoke sporadically trying to spurt the right words out "She told him that a creature of a night,, like you and he... drank.. no.. drain..young.. kindred.. hampsters.. trucks! no no.. heavy tune watching.. abiding.. sireless... Video.. proof...argh!" Jame's mind was over flowing with images that he couldn't quite keep up with.


"Ah, he saw a man of the rose..a man of the wolf, no.. lone man.. unwilling man.. take the throne.. his minds had to investigate.." James shook his head and tapped his forehead for a moment until everything became clear again, he never enjoyed diving into his mind, he would sometimes get lost in the images and voices "His Liege, he is your humble minion whilst in your Barony.." James gave a bow before standing back up straight with a wide smile on his face.

[sletzo]

Chris waited patiently for the answer to his question when the insane Kindred before him seemed to complete forget what was going on. He had to idly wonder just what was going through the deranged Kindred’s mind in that moment, if anything. To the Outlander’s eye, it looked as though the thread of reality had slipped through James’s grasp and wasn’t yet replaced with anything else…an empty vessel, he had seemed, at least to Chris’s mind. Whether that was accurate or not, he had no idea, but that was how it seemed, as though he was waiting for something that took awhile to arrive. James’s looking at his watch, was probably the biggest reason the Outlander thought that.

When James started talking again, at first his words made sense. Stating that he was an Anarch was easily enough for Chris to understand. Pretty much everything after that was so random and nonsensical that it made absolutely no sense to the Outlander. Not only was it odd, but it seemed hurried and rushed…as a result, he was able to understand even less than he may have. If he had more time to consider each word, he may have made sense of some of it. But with how fast the words came out, he wasn’t able to understand it. As someone who had spent so long alone, without saying a single word, hearing a rush of hurried words like this would have been gibberish to his ears, regardless of what those words actually were. They were simply coming too fast for the Gangrel to understand.

After James’s words started to slow down, Chris was able to understand them once again. What he heard…was intriguing though not completely impossible. After all, he had told other Anarchs what occurred and it was because of their insistence that he was the Baron now. So it wasn’t completely outside the realm of possible that this Malkavian had heard from them or someone else they told, what occurred. As a result, he may have thought it odd that the Malkavian knew what occurred at first, but in a small amount of thought further, it was easy enough to explain without having to believe the rumors he had heard of the Malkavian clan.

The next words that were spoken however, those were truly disturbing to the Outlander. It wasn’t just the fact that he was declaring himself a minion while in Chris’s territory, it was the implication that Chris himself thought he was that and wanted to order him around. It was too alien and appalling to the Outlander’s mind. He had to correct the Malkavian before this conversation ended, on that point alone, if nothing else. “I want no minion, Childer of Malkav. Respect the Masquerade and do not commit diablerie while you remain in Stony Point, do that and you are free to do as you choose here.” He gestured around to the town at large as he continued on, “This is Anarch territory, I may be Baron, but we are not the Camarilla. Follow those simple guidelines and you can do as you please here. Don’t and I deal with you. I expect and want no minions. You’re free here, if no where else in this state.”

Of course, he knew it wasn’t completely true…there were other areas that the Camarilla didn’t dare to tread for fear of the Lupines and sensibly so…but mentioning those as being free areas as well, seemed entirely unnecessarily to him. He had already said too much without a pause as it was, there was no need to say more and strain his throat even further at this exact moment. He had meant what he said though, this was an Anarch town and if anyone tried to dispute it, his claws would come out to prove otherwise. Along with that, those few guidelines he had just mentioned would be enforced as well. He didn't plan on issuing tasks to anyone else though, if something had to be dealt with, he would do so himself. That was the way the Outlander was and that was the way he would remain.

[Iota]

"Righto, you're the boss! or so his minds tell him!" James replied as he spotted a rather expensive new car on the roadside below them at the entrance to the alleyway. James had a nagging sensation, he couldn't fight it for that long, but he had to do something about that new car. James looked to the Baron and said "he's fairly new to this world of darkness.. barely even a toddler some may say!" He nodded to himself, diverting his attention back to the car and then to chris a fair few times. "Bare with him, his liege!"

James made his way down the side of the building, being careful not to pass over any cracks in the wall, it was bad luck after all, to him anyway. He jumped down the last few metres and made his way to the car. It was a lambo, probably bought with in the past week or so judging by the shine and next to no tyre wear and tear. James took out a set of keys he had in his pocket, they weren't his, just a set he took off of an old granny when she wouldn't do the river dance upon james's request. Anyway, he took the set of keys and proceeded to carve "Paint me!" down the right side of the car, from the front wheel to the rear wheel, he did it fairly fast, he didn't want to get caught by any officials after all. James looked around, sniggering as he tip toe'd up to the side of the building to climb it again to speak to the Baron.

"Anyway" James started to talk, as if nothing happened "If you need him.. he will be yours to command!" james smiled inanely as he waited for a response.

[sletzo]

No one could ever say Malkavian’s were predictable or ‘normal’, that much was certain. The reluctant Baron watched as, after announcing that he was apparently quite young, the Malkavian ran off to a car in sight. Chris watched his antics as he scratched something into the side of the car, but he couldn’t tell what was left on it. It was too far away to read. Although the Outlander had to admit it was amusing to see, even if it would no doubt inspire anger and frustration for the owner of the vehicle, but that didn’t much matter to the Outlander. Whoever owned the vehicle would, if human, just have to deal with it. It’s not like the police could hunt down the person responsible. Even if they could, that would probably be worse for them than for any Kindred in the long term…or at worst situation, bad for James.

While he was gone, busy scratching up the side of a vehicle, a new person was approaching the area where the reluctant Gangrel Baron was seen. Jasmine, a very young Brujah had heard a rumor and after confirming it, was in a hurry to deliver the information to the new Baron. She didn’t want to deliver the news, after hearing what happened the only time the new Baron was known to have been angry. The death of the previous Baron, didn’t really inspire Jasmine to want to deliver bad news to the new Baron. But it was important, so she had to do it.

Jasmine scaled the wall, her thin leather jacket flapping behind her, around the same time that James had scaled the wall. She paid no mind to the Malkavian, knowing that the Gangrel was just above and she was on a mission. She just hurried up to the rooftop and arrived there just at the time that the Malkavian was. Unfortunately James spoke before she had a chance to. So she had to wait. Almost as soon as she could, she spoke, blurting out the message she was there to deliver. “Chris! There’s been a Blood Hunt called! A Sabbat Kook committed Diablerie! The Prince called the Hunt on him!”

The Outlander was about to say something to James. It wouldn’t have been anything overly important, just an acknowledgement of what was said and then a brief ’bye’ before he himself left. That was when the woman he saw reach the rooftop alongside James, decided to speak and actually say what she was there to say. What she had to say was…quite disturbing. He was the Baron for all of one night and a blood hunt was called already. That wasn’t exactly a good way to start his new job, having to handle that and decide what the Anarchs would do. Granted this was an easy decision, he still didn’t want to make it and say the words. But he knew he had to, and if there was one thing Chris wasn’t, it was hesitant to act. His voice was quiet as he spoke, “ If this Sabbat Malkavian is seen in Stony Point, kill him. Tell the other Anarchs here. This Sabbat Malkavian meets final death if he comes here. Diablerie is not forgiven. If seen here, inform me, I’ll deal with it myself. If any aid this Diablerist here, they meet with final death as well, make sure everyone knows.” Chris gave a nod to the young Brujah who took off running quickly, wanting to both get away from the Gangrel and do as she was told, if just to avoid angering the new Baron.

[Iota]

James looked at the new comer with awe and excitement, he hadn't really spent much time with many anarchs in the past month or so as the ones in New York City were typically the rebels with out a cause kind and James thought it was odd, coming from him of all people. "a blood hunt? funky" James said outloud, mainly to himself, but audible to those around him.

It hadn't taken long for the Baron to respond, James was some what excited and in fear at the same time "He'll try to assist, but he is still young, realatively speaking... he thinks he needs a gun! pow pow " James made a gun motion with his hands. The Malkavian looked at the Baron, who seemed slightly annoyed, so he thought he would keep to himself, he decided to put his hands in his pockets and kick some small debris on the roof around with his right foot.

"Blood hunt sounds serious..." James realiesd as he didn't actually know what one was but thought it sounded important. "Why so serious?" he simply asked.