No past...no future?

[Lionsheart Steel]

* Once again he found his way back to that little black confessional book and gently easing it from it's hidey hole he gave a wry grin. He read through his entries and gave out small grunts accompanied by various nods and headshakes*
Let's see what the next few days hold...I may well have need of your services again....Mistakes? I've made a few....

[Lionsheart Steel]

Timeline : Fri May 15, 2020 17:00

The day had started well enough...by that I mean...He'd actually woken up, something he wasn't wont to do much these days.
The hubbub of the dealership was going on above him and he found himself wondering about how the business was doing...was it as busy as he remembered? Was it still profitable? If not how much of his personal wealth had this exercise cost him?
His mind wandered further...and what of The Skewed Moral Compass? He found himself inwardly sighing...this had been his first taste of business and he'd enjoyed the whole experience....but mainly because it had really been about 'them'. He and Ree had been madly in love when this place was started...and given that it was a store dedicated to love and eroticism it gave to the mood easily! They'd chosen stock together, laughed at some of the 'weirder' things that 'reps' had sent for their approval and generally mucked about as much as worked...but things got done.
It was a time full of fond memories, his induction into Ty, his first sight of Ree, his eventual full membership of Ty and the courtship they had shared as they worked side by side attempting to protect the 'masquerade'.
All of these 'visions' had him grinning like a loon until the sound of a car horn dragged him back into the basement of the Melrose Venue.
Knots in his stomach reminded him that now awake, it would be neccessary to 'partake'....
Pushing open the door he stepped out into the small private workshop at the very back of the basement level, his gaze rested upon the grey sheeted shape that sat upon a small hydraulic lift just to the far side of the room and he found himself smiling almost childishly as he strode purposefully towards it....Grabbing the material at it's highest point he gave a swift fluid tug and the machine underneath was once again free of it's soft charcoal coloured prison.
The key chain swung, key still firmly in the ignition and a glance at the wire plugged into the charger point next to the side panel gave his spirit yet another lift....hopefully there's fuel too he thought. Unclipping the small white plastic connector he tucked it safely under the ridge of the seat before swinging a leg over the beautifully decorated chopper and reaching for first the pet-**** and then the ignition...First the green light lit...so there's power....then the red light....and oil....finally he thumbed the starter....a metallic whirr was rapidly followed by a sound something akin to the noise a massive metal dragon would make if it whip-cracked it;s enormous silver tail.
Could the day get any better? He back-heeled the machine of the ramp and with a few throttle twists for effect he pulled the clutch lever and kick-shifted for first...it was kiddish he knew that but there was nothing better than making the floor rumble...his left thumb pressed the automatic garage door button and as it reached shoulder height he slipped the clutch and ducked his head as he took off into the twilight.....

[Lionsheart Steel]

Timeline : Fri May 15, 2020 17:30

Lionsheart's first port of call was the dank, dusty hiding place where since his earliest memories of this new 'life' he'd kept his journal / diary ... call it what you will.
A few moments of fumbling in the dark and he felt it's spine and hooked the book out of it's hidey hole, he gave a small nod and smile, almost as if greeting an old friend, before deftly slipping the small tome into his inside jacket pocket and heading back towards the exit ... this place was no longer anywhere he wanted it or himself to be ....
In fact as time passed and he'd had time to first wallow in a little manly self-pity which gradually turned into a rather scathing set of attacks on his own stupidity, he began to realise that an eternity spent either sleeping lazily or hiding and feeling sorry for oneself was going to be initially very boring ... and secondly incredibly lonely.
There was nothing for it but to buck up ... shape up and ship out, he would do a tour of all the old haunts, get his sh*t together, make sure his business affairs were in order, well, it really wouldn't do to have no income for an extended period, especially seeing as the ship out part of this equation referred to moving on ... another town ... another time ... another place ... in fact anything that put distance between himself and some sights that triggered thoughts of how ridiculously stupid he'd been.
The exhaust roared as he took the scenic route, he slowed as he approached the Docere building, he toyed with the idea of stopping, getting closer, maybe even leaving a note, something of an apology? A goodbye perhaps? As quick as the notion landed it was dispelled, He should leave Ree the hell alone, yes he was still the love struck puppy he always had been but it wasn't fair to keep dragging the girls emotions through the wringer. He'd totally f*cked up and he knew it, there really didn't seem much point 'picking that wound' ... and anyway, he knew her previous beau had returned when he'd last had contacted Ree and for that reason he'd stayed away ... realising She wouldn't thank him for messing up yet another relationship. He sighed inwardly and with renewed purpose he gave the throttle a gentle twist and once again sped up, the exhaust gave a loud backfire as unburnt fuel ignited in the red hot pipe, on to the next stop!

[Lionsheart Steel]

Timeline : Fri May 15, 2020 18:30

Pulling up to a stop he looked at the rather impressive sign outside the complex, it read : HONEYMEAD MARKET. DELIVERIES ONLY
He reached for the key to stop the bikes uneven rumbling before kicking out the highly polished side stand and easing the bike down on to it, he paused momentarily, almost as if gathering his thoughts, would this place be the same? Would coming back here make him smile ... or wince?
He took an un-needed deep breath and leaned to his left as he swung his right leg clear of the machine, he fumbled in his jeans pocket and found the key to the back door of the shop, a shiny key fob in the shape of a chrome reclining lady hung from it and he couldn't help but give a grin as he slid the key into the lock, it span easily and a click of the tumblers indicated the door was unlocked, giving it a gentle tug, he panged momentarily
as he hoped he'd remember the alarm code as a small shrill warning denoted the intrusion!
He needn't have worried as the muscle memory guided his finger deftly across the small numerical keyboard and instantaneously the tiny siren was extinguished, once again he heaved a sigh of relief and pulled the door shut behind him sliding the bolt across. Two tiny rooms (an employee toilet and a miniature kitchenette were on either side of the very short corridor and a glance into each gave him cause to nod, it seemed that they were both cleaned regularly, this was always something of a bugbear with him ... it took minutes to clean up after yourself , so bloody well do it, he had lost count how many times he'd had to tell the grease monkeys at Prestige.
Stepping forward he pushed the door to the store open and instantly got a whiff of that bloody chocolate body paint, this had been guaranteed to make him chuckle ... and chuckle he did! A sample tub was on the counter to his left and without forther ado he reached for it, spun the top off and dabbed the little finger of his right hand into the browny goop, he held it up and inspected it before popping the digit into his mouth. Nope! he thought as he slowly screwed the top back on ... I still don't think it tastes of chocolate.
Eyeing the shelving and window display he noted that someone was actually making a real effort and wondered whether this was translating into sales, after all, there was no other store to his knowledge that had this much choice of this type of merchandise ... He gave a thoughtful little nod as he began to think that a payraise may indeed be on the cards ... 'but let's not be hasty ... I need to check the books' this remark was to himself, infact it would be, there was no-one else there yet, his voice cracked a little and he realised his throat was totally dry. This was probably the first time he'd spoken in .... actually he couldn't rememeber how long!
Taking steps towards the office door he couldn't help but squeeze the comical false tits that honked like a circus clowns car horn ... he wondered if they'd ever sold any of them? The door was slightly open and he gave it a nudge before stepping forward into the darkness, his hand flailed around on the wall next to the door and soon found the almost austere looking, gun metal grey switch.
This room was nothing like the shop itself ... it was very business like, some sombre looking filing cabinets ran along the side wall with small carboard inserts on the front denoting important documents, such as purchasing orders, invoices, billing information etc, he bypassed all the other drawers and headed to the one nearest the desk ... here, he knew, in the top drawer were the accounts, the ledger that would give him an idea of his busnesses health.
The drawer slid easily open with just the slightest sound of grating as it reached its limit, he pushed the hanging files back until he found what he was looking for , the top of the file was grasped and pulled out and just as swiftly tossed onto the desktop. Lions pulled the remaining files forward exposing a bottle and glass at the very back ... he helped himself to a substantial amount of the bronzey looking substance into that tumbler before making his way behind the desk and plonking himself down into the fairly comfortable office chair, he took a large swallow as his right hand opened the file ... he'd scarcely got past the third page and was already once again at the bottle ... taking it back to the seat he poured another large measure and settled in ... this could be a long night....

[Lionsheart Steel]

Timeline : Sat May 16, 2020 07:30

He closed the book and sighed, loudly, it wasn't quite the outlook he was hoping for. Infact it was downright worrying ... this needed addressing and now. He couldn't blame Valerie or Lucy, it seemed as if they were trying every trick in the book to keep the cash flowing. Lions knew where the fault lay and he was already hatching a plan. And with that he carefully put the ledger back, tossed the now totally empty whiskey bottle into the trash can under the desk and sweeping the tumbler up into his palm headed back the way he came in.
Knowing he'd been there and scanned the books, the girls might think him angry with them, he thought to himself, which he was anything but ... so out came the cell and he fired off a couple of texts just to explain the visit and that he was content that they'd been working to the best of their abilities ... 110% was the actual phrase ... a thank you of sorts, if you will. Placing the tumbler in the kitchenette and making a mental note to return when the place was open to thank the girls in person, he carefully closed and locked the door ... heading for the bike and the next destination on the list. ...

The big engine once again fell silent as the kickstand slid quietly into place ... there was no trepidation entering here ... the sign although aged, in fact, one could even go so far as to say very dated, was still proudly displaying : THE AITHNE ASYLUM , for as long as he could remember he'd always been welcome here. Keara had explained much of the workings of the city back then, recalling his absolute mindfog, vampire now sure .... but one with no past, She'd been invaluable in trying to discern his lineage. They still didn't really know the facts but enough to be sure he was definitely a Vedarian!
He spent an hour or so milling around the building, little had changed since his last visit and there was no-one around to meet and greet, Lions contemplated knocking Kearas study door but decided better of it and having grown tired with walking the corridors he made once again for the bike and the open road.
Next stop?

Outside the rather industrial looking unit a sign read C.S Distribution ... This was one of Ree's properties, She'd aquired it after they'd got together and had floated the idea that one day they might build a home here. Lions never knew if 'Rina had meant it but all because of that small comment this building had a place in his heart, so much so that he too had planned a future addition to Melrose that they could share leaving them free to move around the city with ease changing their scenery as often as they liked. 'Ha! 'He thought 'that was yesterday'. This had become his latest goto saying as he ruminated over his past mistakes.
Pushing the door open he could see a shift was in full swing, orders were being processed and dispatched, whilst at the far end articulated trucks were being unloaded. It seemed as busy as he'd remembered and he liked that. Looking at the labels on the boxes whizzing by he wondered just how much mystical stock was mixed in with 'normal' merchandising ... he knew that his own store The Skewed Moral Compass relied heavily upon the imports that came through this place. He couldn't see many labels but he was sure that somewhere in here was some of that stuff.
Nobody bothered him as he strolled around ... and why would they? He'd been coming here and wandering around almost as long as some of the employees had worked here, one or two even nodded politely but were way too busy to stop and he'd preffered it that way ... soon he'd had his fill of the ambience and it was time to
do what he'd come here to do .....

[Lionsheart Steel]

Timeline : Sat May 16, 2020 16:00

Inside the admin area of C.S. Distributions.

Closing the office door firmly behind himself and moving towards the plain looking desk, he coughed nervously as he pulled the tome out of his pocket. Fairly inconspicuous looking as it was, the untrained eye would think it just a book, but it was anything but! It was as a matter of fact a fast-track to the inside of his former home ... his former workplace ... the place he met 'Rina, this was another haunt he HAD to revisit, even if just briefly, to suck in the air, allow the memories to flow .... and to say his silent goodbyes.
Yeah he probably could contact his former colleagues, maybe they would still speak to him, maybe they all wouldn't .... probably just as peeved that he'd disappeared without trace as Ree was. He really had f**ked it up this time ...so yeah ... there was little point 'poking the bear' ... Vel would most likely shoot him herself ... especially after this. It was afterall a foolhardy thing to do, he knew all too well how the Eyrie bristled with defensive measures, yet still he had to go ... compelled you could say.
The tome lay open in his palm and when he looked up the room had changed to the all too familiar gloom of the fortresses 'Welcome Mat'. He stood stock still and only now did a proper pang of fear set in ... yes, it was familiar ... and yet, it wasn't! He saw enough to make him question his sense of direction and former memories, this portal or that one? Moving cautiously forward he spied the Summoned wretches that guarded this place and his purpose returned, shaking his head as if trying to force the directions to appear in his mind, he sighed and first crouched and then sat on the floor. He really couldn't visualize where he should be going. 'You've really gone and done it this time' The words seemed to be muffled as soon as they left his lips and he could only imagine what other terrors lurked in the corners of this dark place.
To his surprise as his eyes scanned the darkness, nothing was moving, aside from those poor summoned creatures that shuffled occassionally as if to help maintain their upright stature. He spoke out again, louder, seemingly testing the waters, 'Vel? ... Eve? ... Doc?' He deliberately paused between each call and was
pleased and yet disappointed in equal measures that no reply had come. He remained there for a long time before slowly, resignedly, he rose to his feet, brushed off the knees of his jeans and made a final
direction decision, it would be reckless and foolish to attempt to go any further into this place, no matter how much he wanted to. Fingers were crossed and eyes were closed as he used the fadeportal...


Just around the corner he could hear the ordinary sounding bustle of Honeymead station and he relaxed again .... He hoped they'd forgive him the intrusion one day...

[Lionsheart Steel]

Timeline : Sat May 16, 2020 19:30

Taking a seat on the platform of Honeymead , he allowed the event of revisiting the Eyrie to sink in. Bittersweet the memories had been, on the one hand almost everyone he loved in this town had at some point done a tour of duty with Tytonidae ... and on the other, everyone he loved no longer even sought to find or make contact with him. To be quite honest he couldn't blame them ... His disappearance and subsequent eventual reappearance sent his beloved 'Rina into blind rage, one he had no wish to dwell too long on!
Vel and Micah had no way of knowing where he'd gone, how long for or even -IF- he was returning .... and it seemed that after a period of time elapsed, had eventually no choice but to remove him from Ty's ranks. This too had been a massive and mentally painful upheaval for him ... Having had no sire to teach him the path through this world , totally unsure of who or what had 'turned' him and being far from a socialite, choosing instead to limit his circle, this 'adopted' family had taught him all he'd ever really known as well as giving him purpose and drive.
The thought that of being so close to them and yet so far away ate away at him , this only stood to strengthen his resolve, pretty soon he'd move on ... he wasn't sure where but he definitely knew when .... within the next few nights! His thoughts went back to the businesses, leaving them in a good position was vital and he had much to do in order to achieve that. First job on the list was a spot of breaking and entering, he needed funding ... and more importantly there were some hard copies of files in an office that required 'disposing of' in order to assure his future anonimity, secondly a session of hacking, nothing that he hadn't done before and very successfully too. With that thought he stood up and got onto the next transit headed to his first target ... a rather tricky
burlary job!
Alighting from the carriage as the transit stopped he headed out of the station as quickly as he could...
sightseeing over for now and down to business. The streets seemed busy and he actually realised just how many soldiers there were on patrol, this made him more than a little nervous .... mainly because he really wasn't sure why they were out in force. A few blocks down he spotted the target ... a sleazy looking law practice, a few minutes and the slate would be well on the way to being cleaned.
The window had only a very basic connection to the alarm and as such was taken out in a second or two, palming the sill he lifted himself easily through the opening and looked all around before hopping down onto the polished wood floor, it had been a while since he'd last done this but he was sure it was just like riding a bike...
How wrong he was, almost as soon as he entered the building he was aware of a guard, slipping out of sight he gave it a few moments, thinking he was in the clear he stepped out ... right into the path of another!
The guard had his hand on a sidearm and began to ask questions ... Lions gave the wrong answers and the guard began to draw the weapon ... wrong move .... the Vampire had the upper hand on speed and had knocked out the hapless guard before the muzzle cleared the holster. That was the beginning of what was about to become a disasterous outing ... finally gaining the papers he needed at exactly the same time as the alert was raised. Minutes later the place was swarming!

Lions got away but only by the skin of his teeth!

[Lionsheart Steel]

Timeline : Sat May 16, 2020 22:00

Yes ... he'd eventually given the pursuers the slip and hiding out in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse he decided rather than waste time just sitting around kicking his heels waiting for the heat to die down, he'd use the time productively. Getting comfortable (well as much as one can in an a derelict building!) he used his most recent skill set to search for the digital files. It began easily enough ... a couple of attempts at
authentication, a spot of masking, now for some deleting and .... B*ll**ks!
Lions fumed, he'd been within a touch of deleting the last of the incriminating files and something or someone had shut him out! Attempts to regain access were all met with a brickwall .... and now to make matters worse he could hear foot steps crunching on the broken glass of the buildings former windows. Lying silently in his sheltered spot he listened as they proceeded, the sound of a communication radio crackling out a
stream of what at this distance was unintelligible commands, "Dammit these b******s aren't going to give up!" he thought, glancing around he looked for a getaway before they got too close, his eye fell on the skylight high above him, it had once been the cowling for a huge industrial extractor fan long since gone. It would take all of his vampiric strength to make a leap of that height and to be honest he wasn't even sure he could make it ... the rapidly advancing footsteps told him that he'd better give it his best shot or end up getting another first class ticket to the Hotel Realmafornia!
Getting quietly to his feet he bent to a crouch and summoning every ounce of strength made the leap, his arms swang forwards and upwards to help with momentum and allowing them to be just in the right place to catch the roofs edge, the sound of his scramble alerted the gaggle of soldiers, they instantly let rip with a hail of 10m/m lead and he felt multiple strikes before he cleared the opening.
Out of the hole he set off running and four massive strides had him at the edge, without looking he jumped and an unexpected crash landing onto an adjoining lower roof he fell and instinctively rolled .... right back onto his feet! Bullets were piercing the steel roof and whistling past him, and still he ran. In his mind he could see the lights of Alpha and on autopilot he sped his way there, the closest thing he had to home .... and a pretty secure albeit lonely hidey hole.
As the lights loomed up in front of him a vigilant cop spotted his approach and yelled for him to stop, Lions didn't stop, he wouldn't stop! The cop let off three rounds, the last of which hit him hard in the shoulder penetrating right through to the blade, his arm now up with palm raised hit the uniformed man square in the chest, knocking both him and his wind clean out. Before the officer could gather his senses Lions was gone.
Sprinting into the open doored lift in the lobby of Alpha he finally halted and allowed himself a moment of composure as the doors slid shut, he pressed the floor button .... and moments later did it again, he was fairly sure he'd be okay now but until he shut and locked the apartment door he wasn't feeling at all safe!

[Lionsheart Steel]

Timeline : Sun May 17, 2020 12: 05

Closing the door of the apartment he gave a sigh of .... relief? Maybe? Perhaps it was just from the massive amount of energy he'd burned to get here? Or maybe from the realisation that he was shot to s**t and that really had been a close call indeed. His instincts had lead him here, to the place he and Rina had spent a portion of
their courtship at. It was another of those buildings he didn't own financially but had emotional investment in, it was also one of the only places where he felt safe outside of the Eyrie. His camera at the doorway told him that Rina barely visited, so he knew that he'd be safe to hang here until he healed ... There was a small chance that his pursuers, if tenacious enough could find him and dispatch him but this place had a secret hidey hole and that would make it a tad more difficult!
Squeezing through the gap he spied the familiar but incredibly dusty crafting bench he'd once upon a time been given by Ree to practice his builds on, it was a solid and very inanimate object and yet it offered some small comfort right about now. Moving towards it he ran a finger through the dust, the squiggle formed a word: Sorry. He chuckled, it seemed only right to apologise for leaving it alone and unused for so long. Hanging his jacket on the end of it, he fumbled in its pocket and pulled out the gun, for the first time in a long time, he checked the mechanism, stripped, cleaned and finally rebuilt, he pulled the trigger and the click was loud in the small space, he gave an approving nod as he slid the mag back in, they might get in ... they might find themselves getting as good as they give!
The exercise had been a brief distraction and now he found himself once again alone and quietly contemplating, returning eventually to his jacket he fumbled again until he pulled the small black journal from within it. Crouching down he made himself comfy and opened the book once again, the pen jabbed into the bindings was smoothly retrieved and after a long pause he began to write ....

[Lionsheart Steel]

Sun May 17, 2020 12:45

Dear Diary,
How remiss of me to ignore you for so long, so much has gone on in the past that I never catalogued, so little has gone on in recent times that I question my very existance now daily. I started off in this life on the wrong foot and now it seems for every forward footstep I successfully plant, I follow it up with at least a couple of drunk man looking backwards staggers!
Where to start??
Okay, maybe now is neither the time nor place to rake over this total comedy of errors, suffice to say that it seems that everyone I cared about I managed to lose, my beloved Ree, my adopted Ty family, my childe Eleanore and to make matters worse it seems that even Keara and the inhabtants of Aithne are somewhat scattered.
Much has changed in this City since I last had the urge to wander it's streets and although this is the only place I know, I suddenly feel a long way from home. I see soldiers patrolling everywhere, a police presence I can never remember being this intense and after the events of this night I feel my current plans may be about to be cutrtailed.
My plans? Well, I had wanted to do a quick tour of the old haunts, you know, like soak up the atmosphere, just one more time. Things sort of went awry when I realised my 'retirement package' is actually struggling to stay bouyant in this strange uncertain new era it seems! Nobody had alerted me to the fact that there were regulation changes, I may have miscalculated previous investments and skill managements, The Skewed Moral Compass is close to being just another case of creditors cleaving in for a pound of flesh. The girls have been giving it their all but without any real management the tiller has swung very far off course and now navigates angry seas. I have a plan to rectify this but I fear this may have to be enacted remotely, my time here looks to be very short!
I'm lead to believe Prestige is currently breaking even, not breaking records so I would like to get that little venture back to the lucrative little earner I know it to be, again, I fear this is going to take time, patience and the internet.
When I last used my fledgling locating skills I could only sense 'Rina in those godsforsaken mines, I hated that I couldn't at least watch her sleep and hate more that I couldn't move her somewhere more comfortable. AND I hate myself for everything I did that now makes me afraid to even say goodbye.
It's readily apparent that this place is just not going to miss me, as soon as I heal I'm heading out. I shall try again, another time, another place, another me.
Mistakes? Yeah I've made a few....