Removal 101

[Roderic]

Invite

I couldn't believe what I was reading. What the **** was I reading? The guy had crocodiles in his apartment? I can't be the only one thinking 'what the ****?' But, at least he was trying. I give him that much. He just needed a little help on being subtle.

An offer was made by the guy and I was fine with taking him up on that. I had completed as much as I was going to tonight with the culling of the ancients, so I had time to spare. I didn't know what he looked like, but I did have his number that he posted up on The Bridge board.

With my back to a wall, foot propped up flat against it and one hand going for cigarettes, the other for my phone, I shoot the guy a text.

From: Ric Altaire
Message: Offer accepted. I'm in the Northern Catacombs. I'll spare you an hour until I recharge and keep on with the ancients. Look for the guy in a Cheap Trick t-shirt.

I hit send and pocket the phone. If he replies, he'll either agree or not. If he agrees, he'll be here in less than five minutes since we're both signed up for the same task. If not, after I was done with my cigarette, I would head to the southern catacombs and scout for more ancients.

[Trahir Trahison]

The ancient's head exploded with the force of the blow and it crumples down onto the floor. How many was that? He'd stopped counting. He brings out his cell phone and snaps a picture of the remnants, noting that he has a text. A single eyebrow raises as he reads it and he starts off at a brisk walk northward.

Much better than another post, he thinks to himself. His attire is simple, a black Wind River sweater and a pair of carpenter style jeans. Work clothes. Work boots. No jewelry, very plain. His hair is loose and hangs in his eyes as he walks onward. Eventually making his way to the entrance to the northern catacombs. He pauses, listening for any more of the walking dead or those weird cow things and hearing none proceeds forward texting back as he does.

From: T
Message: En route, black sweater and jeans.

It doesn't take long for him to find his man, not with hyper perception guiding him. The glow from his cigarette and the smell of burning tobacco act as a beacon to Trahir. As he rounds the corner from the hallway he says,"Beautiful place for a meeting. It has a cozy atmosphere does it not?" With that he steps forward and offers his hand to the man. "You must be Ric. I'm Trahir."

[Roderic]

My phone goes off, but I don't bother to look at it. I'm thoroughly enjoying my first and likely only cigarette of the night. No, I can't really enjoy its nicotine and the other 'bad' chemicals for you, but I still find myself enjoying the smell of the tobacco.

As I'm puffing away, I observe my surroundings. I see a mooncalf crawl on by, the large beast awkwardly moving around a ledge to find whatever it was looking for. Normally, I'd slice it to shreds, but my time was spent only on ancients the next few nights. I see an old, worn sword that isn't worth my time collecting, a dark haired woman that looks vaguely familiar. Maybe from my blood thief nights. I shrug and let her go on without saying anything to her and then I see a male approaching my direction.

I don't assume it's him. There are too many people down here for me to try and presume the guy might be him. I wait. I've got time. Fifty-four minutes, to be precise. He keeps coming and I size the guy up. His general appearance that is. He's wearing black. Pretty typical for our kind, I've noticed. He offers me his hand, but I don't take it right away. Instead, I lift up my boot and wipe the bottom of it with my cigarette, extinguishing the thing. Then I flick it away from me and from him. I nod and then give him a hand.

"Yeah." I reply to his almost inquiry about who I am. I think he's being funny, but I'm not sure. So I look at his facial features to ascertain the truth. I don't get much from his facial features, but decide he is, given his personality, or what has been revealed of it so far on his time on The Bridge. "Right around that corner there is a nice place to make out." I stare at him as I point to where I'm talking about. I stare hard. Then lick my lips. "With the ambiance of death suspended in the air, the dark, drafty corridors and the occasional screams of agony from the creatures slaughtered...really drives the chicks wild, man." Was I being serious? Maybe. Maybe not. That would be up to him to figure out.

[Trahir Trahison]

For a moment Trahir says nothing, merely watches the other man impassively. He appraises his wardrobe selection, his stance, tries to get a feel for him as much as possible. The cigarette smell doesn't bother him even though he himself never smoked while a mortal. He does wonder for a moment though if nicotine is addictive to their kind. Finally he opens his mouth to speak.

"Hm, seems you know the type of girl I would have enjoyed meeting when I was younger then." He stares back a moment, allowing an awkward tension to build before glancing toward the corner he had motioned to, cutting his eyes in the general direction. "More interested in where to store their bodies once I'm done than where to take them for a snogging. You said you could help teach me and I am here, a willing pupil awaiting instruction." He gives a small grin, it doesn't reach his eyes. "I very much appreciate you taking the time out of your evening to help teach me." he adds, acknowledging the fact that he does indeed need this meeting. It's a fact that galls him. He dislikes being indebted to others, to ask for help but here he is.

"Velveteen has told me I should reach out more and I'm sure this will also help relieve some of the burden she has taken upon herself in my education."

[Roderic]

I'm watching the cigarette roll away from us as the guy starts talking again. A glimpse in to who he used to be was offered, but I don't comment on it. I just store it away. Information collecting. Maybe he was serious. Maybe he wasn't. Still something to keep in mind.

I look at him when he talks about body removal and I shrug my shoulders. I didn't actually offer myself up. I offered anyone in the faction up, but here we were. I might be able to help him. Guess we'll see. "Depends." I say as I move away from the wall and offer a shrug. "Some people dump bodies in the river. But that's coming back on us now. All over in headlines these nights." I inform him, letting the initiate know that it wasn't that good of an idea. "Your pet idea isn't a bad one." I credit his attempt at disposing of them vocally now. "It's just with the small apartment you've got, and I know it's small, because I have one too-keeping those in there for that long is going to raise some eyebrows. With all the special conditions you must have to do to keep them alive." I look around and then back at him. "Know anyone with some land?" I don't really know much about his personal life, so this question is a two for one sort of deal. I get to know a little about him depending on how he answers and we get to potentially start to solve something that might be a problem in the future.

[Trahir Trahison]

Practicality vs. Politics. It seems a lot of his conversations have been a battle between the two extremes. He had already been told not to trust any one person, that he had to widen his social sphere. Thing is from what he had recently experienced, the more people you have in your life the more devastating when it is wiped away. Still, he knew he needed people. He would just be careful as to who those people were.

One thing he had learned since becoming a vampire: Getting burned was bad.

"Not in the city no, but I have made some contacts as far as realtors." He glances down at the cigarette. "I'm looking at some of the larger properties on the north end of town. Best option I have right now is maybe relocating them to Corvidae Flats temporarily."

He looks back up from the dying butt.

"Any other solutions that work for others?"

[Roderic]

The flats. I give a nod in agreement. "Not a lot of trouble there. Or if there is, no one seems to care." I add in my final thoughts on that idea, before I give another shrug. "I can't speak for the others. What works for them personally. Just that whatever they are doing, seems to be working."

I hate leaving things so vague, so I continue on. "Got time for a walk? Or a summon?" I look around the immediate area and not see any ancients and I'm pretty exhausted. So taking a half hour, to an hour tops away from the task wouldn't really affect anything in my mind. Everyone needs to take a break and recollect their energy and strength. "Shouldn't be more than an hour. I can show you what worked for me in the past. And still does, on the needed occasion." I admit to the guy before placing my sword in a sheath behind my back and stuffing my hands in my jean pockets.

[Trahir Trahison]

"Absolutely have the time for a walk," Trahir answers amicably. His voice is warm and friendly but his stance is still neutral and undecided, his eyes searching. Trust among the vampires of this city has been something of a rare commodity of late to the young fledgling and he has learned to take no offer at face value. Still, Roderic is Tytonidae and well, Trahir has stated that he would protecting their lives with his own and that he believes that would do the same.

If he can't trust Roderic who could he trust?

He visibly relaxes, steps slightly to the side, boot crushing the nearly burned out cigarette butt and smiles. "Where to?"

[Roderic]

He agrees to come along for the ride, more or less, and I nod my head. "I've a place. In the mall. 8th dimension. Ever heard of it?" Again, I'm asking for the purpose of gathering information on a multitude of levels from Trahir. I was undecided about the guy, but Velveteen seemed to like him. She liked me too, and I know a lot of people had been undecided about me when I was on The Bridge, given my past reputation as a Blood Thief and a Blood Thief that on the occasion made it a mission to piss people off in Tytonidae. Actually, when it came down to it, I wanted to piss off the entire vampire populace.

We had been viewed as a pariah of sorts. Stealing blood and borrowing powers. But, isn't that what vampires did? They took blood off people they didn't know and in return, keeping themselves strong to attain abilities. Sometimes, I wondered what things would have been like had Blood Thieves and vampires worked together, side by side. Would we have the problems we had with the Paladins later on down the road?

I decide that it doesn't matter. What is, is and there wasn't any going back. I head towards the entrance of the sewers, that will take us to the streets of the city. "I've always wondered, how is it you pronounce your name? I've a general idea, but I don't want to get it wrong." I think it's important to know just who I'm working along side with, even if it's as simple as knowing just how to say their name.

[Trahir Trahison]

The 8th Dimension Mall. Interesting. It resides fairly nearby one of Trahir's apartments. He nods at the mention of the place. "It's pronounced Try-ear with a rolling of the r. If you are more comfortable you can just call me T. As for the mall, I know of it. It's near Veil Tower. There's a leather shop in there where I bought my grand childe a journal for her to write in. Couple of fade portals in a gift shop there too. That's how I got here in fact. Have you met her? Her name is Corentine."

There, he is opening up. Well, sort of. It's closer to opening up than Trahir usually gets.

"One of the shop owners there has a friend who owns a fish store. Sometimes I get fish there to feed Gustave and Lolong."