Night 9 -- Reprieve

Night 9

Reprieve

Sunday, November 15^th, 1992

Suzanne and Zoe spend the day pretending that everything is normal, having lunch with Lucas. Zoe does some preliminary research into the information that Trent left them, figuring out for herself who to call and what they need to figure out. Suzanne tries to help, but becomes morbidly fascinated with the potential mysterious deaths associated with vampires. She asks Zoe some vague questions about how such creatures could exist, and how they might have come about. Zoe has little to offer in the way of answers, and Suzanne soon finds herself delving into the folklore section of the university library

Chaos Roll 10—nothing unusual happens.

The coterie finally has an “off night”—they are decently fed, have nowhere to be and really nothing to do but kill time. Trent wants to do some more research, as much as he can, so he heads out to the nearby libraries while they’re still open. He had already done most of what he could have hoped, and becomes bored going over the same material over and over again. Daron and Maya have no desire to be part of that, and head out to walk around town. It’s a bit awkward, both wish to be alone, but neither wants to hurt the others feelings. It takes a while before they’re willing to admit it this, 

though. 

What happens to each this night? Daron: Increase Suffering.

Daron finds himself on Tejon street, surrounded by small crowds of mortals. It’s Sunday night, but there are still people out and enjoying themselves, and Daron watches them, jealously. Jealous that they can drink, and smoke, and socialize, and just be out and be alive. While he’s standing there, he catches the attention of a group of party goers.  In particular, a girl named Shelly. She chats with him, her mild state of inebriation helping her be more outgoing than she normal. And for the first time in over a week, Daron finds himself feeling normal again. They talk, she introduces him to her friends, and he finds himself honestly enjoy himself. He joins the group as they hit a few of the bars in the area, doing his best to blend in and act as if he was just one of the guys. Daron rolls Charisma + Etiquette at a difficulty of 6 (1, 7, 1, 5, 7, 8) -- 1 success. He’s a bit awkward, refusing drinks and occasionally being oddly still, but fortunately the mortals are just drunk enough that they don’t notice, or don’t care. The group shifts and morphs—new friends joins, others leave, until only a few remain. As the bars close around 1, the few decide to head to one of their houses, to keep the party going, and Daron is dragged along.  At the house, they start hanging out in the living room, but when the beer pong is setup, Daron and Shelly find themselves left alone. A week ago, Daron knew exactly what he would do in this situation, but now? Now things were different. He wanted to desire her, but all he felt was an unholy urge. He isn’t starving or driven by desperate hunger, but a constant need to feed, to kill. He is aware of her, vividly aware of her presence. But it’s her heat, her heart, her blood that calls to him.  All thoughts of being “normal” vanish from him, and a bestial hunger begins to rise. Daron makes a Self-Control Roll (Dif 5)—3, 9, 4. He is compelled to reach out to her, and as she pulls herself close to him, offering herself to him, he feels her warmth and her heart beating through him. As he feels his fangs distend, he tears himself away, offering weak and nonsensical excuses and runs away. Cursing himself, he is pissed and angry at everything. Pissed that everything was going so well only to turn to ash in his hands.

Maya: Propose Disruption

Maya wanders the town, avoiding as many people as possible. She is filled her a nervous energy, finally allowing herself to dream that she might be able to wake from the nightmare her life has become. She finds her way to Anathema Books, a metaphysical book store.  She is drawn to the place, curious and hopeful. She spends her night flipping through the various books in the shelves, imagining all the ways to undo what has been done.

Trent: Carelessness competition

Bored and restless after wasting his time in the library, Trent also finds himself among the young mortals of Tejon. He lacks the personal magnetism and good lucks of Daron, and instead wanders alone, imagining himself a wolf among the sheep. He talks to a few, but he has learned the value of patience and taking his time. He doesn’t try to feed off of anyone, instead enjoying the “hunt” for its own sake. He takes a particular pleasure in finding women out with their boyfriends, and trying to seduce and entrance them, as he further hones his vampiric powers.

No random event due to Mythic. And, with finally a bit of a quiet night, the characters can spend XP. Daron focuses on further improving his social skills. Maya improves stealth, combat and animal ken skills. Trent focuses on improving his Presence Discipline.