Re: Caging Shadows - Dragon

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Tue Apr 21, 2009 6:00 pm

Maricruz nodded, still in awe of you, though you could already see the effects fading, and she was becoming herself. You knew you had won her over already. "Of course. Wait... Tatiyanna's childe?" She nodded in understanding before applying them to her wound. She watched in further awe, and it even surprised you, how the aggravated wound on her hand began to knit itself closed. Bones twisted out of her forearm, forming the bones in her palm. Muscle grew around it, nerves, blood vessels, and fingers. Finally the fingernails grew to long, well manicured tips. They weren't pointed sharp, but had a classy point on them. Rounded.

While you were on the phone she listened intently. Maricruz was observant and you could tell you would have to watch what was said around her, because she would pick up, and dissect it. Her eyes were still those somber pools, but she had the weight of age behind her. You had learned to recognize it, and seen it in your own when you looked in the mirror.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Tue Apr 21, 2009 3:04 am

Dragon rolled the small pebble in his hand along the palm of the Lasombra's hand when she came close. "I need you to not be startled. I need you to believe me, and I need you to understand that in times of crisis, I am prone to taking certain liberties that can be considered offensive to some. I do not make these decisions without first thinking them through and without first considering the consequences." Dragon made brief eye contact with Maricruz. He was not going to hurt her unless he had too. He wanted her to understand the seriousness of the situation.

With that, he started leading her towards the same exit he came in at. When vibrated, he knew (from which pocket it came from) that either Tyler or Natalya had just called him. Dragon's brow raised and his heart fluttered. He quickly shot a look to the Lasombra, but then stopped and turned just a little so he could keep his eyes on her and her dog. He answered the phone and listened to Natalya blurt it all out before he could even respond. When he had the chance, Dragon nodded sagely. He nodded happily too. It was a good thing what just happened to Natalya.

"Uh. Yeah." Dragon said keeping it short and simple. "I'm on my way. Don't wait for me or Tyler, think of your security first. We'll be there soon. Just let Tera use her card to bring your new friend in. When Veronica gets there you let her in with yours. Everything will work out fine, just keep your guard up. I will see you soon." When Dragon hung up from his call - it was 28 seconds long, he looked back at Maricruz. "That was my childe. She and Tera have caught Tatiyanna's own childe and are taking her to a safe location where she can be protected. It is the same place I am bringing you. As an effort of good will..." Dragon used his free hand into his pocket and withdrew a small handful of those little blood pills. It was the same kind he gave Natalya. "If you speak the right magic phrase and either put them in your mouth or apply them to your wound directly, you won't have that problem anymore." Dragon nodded at her severed hand.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:11 pm

Maricruz nodded and without another word approached you slowly. The big dog followed her. She took your hand, still enraptured by your presence. She was helpless against it, but you knew the effect would fade once you left the building. She would remember how she felt, but if she was as old as she said, she'd likely figure out that it wasn't in her nature to be like that, and thus deduce that you had done something to her.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:58 pm

Dragon listened to Maricruz answer and then nodded slowly. "Well then if you want to do something about your current situation, come on. There is no greater threat then exposing you. If Han has decided you are a liability to his presumed position and Tatityanna wants what you have, your only options for survival involve running or doing something about it." Dragon turned halfway to the front of the church. "I presume that since you didn't leave yet that you plan on trying to do something about it."

Dragon held up a hand to her, palm open. It might have seemed a little comical, but in this instance it was appropriate. "Come with me if you want to live."

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:36 pm

The woman took four steps backwards. She was clearly afraid as much as awed. She couldn't take her eyes off of you. "Of course he can't. Maricruz, and I've been here for at over a century. This church, has always been mine. And yes, Tatiyanna fears my influence. MS-13 has the potential to get what shes trying to get, and they can work during the day." There was a glimmer of pride in her smile, and thats when it dawned on you. The portions of MS-13 that Maricruz controlled were her own personal hit squads, and they were very hard to get to. This was one of those neighborhoods so bad the police only responded in numbers and with force. A domestic disturbance call brought out a SWAT Team a week ago and resulted in a shoot out between MS-13 and local PD, you had seen it on the news, but had not given it much thought until now. LA was known for its intensely violent gangs and their willingness to tango with the law. Maricruz had an army at her disposal.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:28 pm

"What is your name and how long have you been hiding here? There is a reason Tatiyanna fears you. It certainly isn't influence or discipline prowess, so what is it?" Seeing the wounded arm and the way she scratched nervously at the dog behind the ears,Dragon took four more steps forward and was now at the front row of pews looking up at her. He took some measure of pity on the Lasombra. He would still kill her if she even looked like a threat. "Do you believe that Han can take the city with me here, and would you like to strike back at Tatiyanna for sentencing your death?" Dragon perked his brow and cocked his head to the side.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:49 pm

The woman staggered back under the weight of your gaze. It had caught her off guard. You could tell because she looked shocked and completely in awe of you. There was almost a fear in her eyes, like she was scared to get too close. "It- it's a piece of the Book of Nod. One of the oldest found to date. I have no idea she hired Tyler to kill me. If she did, its because she's scared she cannot do it herself." She looked around when you spoke of Han and there was a glimmer of something else in her eyes. "Han is trying to take Los Angeles for himself. I've heard, but do not believe, that hes already styling himself Cardinal. He came to me for support, I declined. He...didn't approve." She lifted her arm, and the robing felll back to her elbow. Her right hand had been severed at the wrist. That looked like something Han would do; cutting off someone's dominant hand.

She was continued to stare at you in awe. You knew what she said had been the truth, but she still regarded like you were some holy figure she couldn't approach.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:13 pm

Dragon turned from his position slowly, facing the alter. He ever-so-quietly folded up his map and put it back in his pocket. While retracting his hand, Dragon palmed a stone. Moving across the pews in front of him, Dragon turned again when he got to the middle isle and took about seven more steps forward towards the Lasombra. "Don't threaten me. Don't posture. Don't even bother trying to intimidate, beguile, or mesmerize me. It's not going to work and I'll make you look dumb. We both know that were there anything other then face to face meeting it would be lightning, and it would be going up your ass. Did you know I can do that while projecting myself astrally?" Dragon snickered and took two steps forward.

Then he slapped this Lasombra bitch right in the face with a dose of Majesty.

"So if you don't mind, why does Tatiyanna want you dead? Why would she hire Tyler to do it? And for my own personal interest, why would Han set you up by giving me your location?" Dragon didn't even hint that he was bluffing with regards to Han, but on the other two he was telling the entire truth. All the same, this woman's responses would say a lot.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:15 am

The dog whined and bolted, its nails making a clicking sound on the stone floor as it tried to get traction before he took off. It ran off into the shadows where you couldn't see.

In that same second you realized, you couldn't see. The entire room was black. Pitch, icy, cold, black. You felt more like you were swimming than walking as you did a small circle trying to regain your bearings. You thought you heard something talking, but it was far away, and sounded like it was under water, maybe in a tunnel. You were well on your way to using Blood Magic to solve the problem when the darkness retreated.

The light gently shone dimly through the church, and behind the alter was a tall, thin woman. She had the body of the quintescential super model. Leggy, thin, but fit, small breasts, high jaw... Her facial features belied a strong Spanish ethnicity. She looked at you from eyes that where almond shaped and a heavy brown. Her har was loose about her face, giving her something of a savage look. Her dress was very modest. Something befitting a nun you would find here, only she did not wear a habit. There was a cruel smile on her face for a small second.

You noticed the gigantic dog was sitting beside her, shaking. She idly scratched it behind the ears. "You're Archon Dragon Lee. I should have known you were in town. I received word from my servants that Tyler was in the area... I can only assume it has something to do with that political train wreck you serve... She took her hand off the dog and crossed her arms. "I'm curious, which is why you're not being torn apart right now: Why are you in my haven?" She raised an eyebrow at you and that cruel smile appeared again. Something about the way this woman carried herself, and the ferocity in her eyes told you, she was dead serious.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:11 pm

Dragon stopped what he was doing to look at the dog. That wasn't a dog. It was a warthog. Yea. It was a warthog on steroids obfuscated to look like a dog. There was no way that was a dog. For a brief second Dragon had thought he might have been messed with by a Ravnos, but a blink and a double take when the dog growled and barked was enough to snap Dragon's attention back to proper reality.

Tyler would never believe there was a dog this big. When the dog growled again and started sniffing, Dragon's brow furrowed. He really wasn't quite sure what to make of this situation. He'd cursed himself for not learning Animalism when he had the chance. Next best recourse.

Dragon's lip curled into something resembling a snarl. There was a a barely visible twitch in his eye. His expression hardly seemed to change. Even the low growl in the back of his own throat was hardly terrifying. What was it then? To be honest Dragon wasn't even sure what made his Dread Gaze so terrifying, but as Alabastar once admitted, it was one of the most terrifying things he'd ever seen. So with that, Dragon's attention went right down to the beast of an animal. The low growl went into a quick, harsh snarl. It was followed by a heavy hiss through grit teeth and narrowed slits for eyes. Following the quarter second action, Dragon's voice took on a commanding tone. "Go lay down!"

OOC - 4 successes on the Dread Gaze

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Wed Apr 15, 2009 7:27 pm

You took a few more steps towards the back of the church, towards the door through which the clergy would go when their holy duties were fulfilled. The dog made its appearance known then. It had almost crept up behind you. It was big. It was a boerboel. An absolutely gigantic dog cross bred with a mastiff and something even bigger. From the ground to its shoulders it measured easily just over two and a half feet. The dog looked kind of like a large brown / gray mastiff. It had to weight at least two hundred and twenty pounds. Its head was almost as big as yours. This wasn't a mere dog. This was a mountain of an animal. it growled at you and sniffed the air around you and looked up at you. Suddenly its bark broke the silence. It echoed through the building. It only barked once, then looked at you. You could hear it sniffing the air around you.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:10 pm

Dragon looked in the direction of where the dog should be, but otherwise didn't move. If the dog became a real threat he would do something about it. As a rule though, Dragon had nothing against animals, not even the ghouled beasts who served foul masters. Animals couldn't help their condition, and yet they still performed their duty to the best of their ability so in that regard, they were already of a much nobler breed.

Dragon went back to his directions, careful to tune in his keen sense of sound. Glancing at the map for about two seconds, Dragon quickly looked to see where he had to go next. He was not here to look at crosses or to make a wrong turn - at least not yet. He was here to take care of personal business involving the Tremere and something Tatiyanna wanted.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Wed Apr 15, 2009 4:52 pm

Entering the church the way you did you entered through the confession booth someone confessing would be using. The place was clearly enjoying a recent surge of money. You could see sheets of plastic wrapping around the stairs to the choir balcony. Those big thick sheets they used to prevent dust from going everywhere. The alter had a large statue of Jesus hanging on the cross at the back of it. There was a small set up at the front of the dias with a small statue of the Virgin Mary and some different holy relics. It was uncomfortable to get close to them, the whole place was a little unsettling. The dim lights cast jagged shadows on the floor with the pews and pillars holding the structure up. The under lighting for the statue made it look less holy and more grotesque. The place felt claustrophobic, stifling despite its size.

Across from you was a large ornate set of stairs. There was a set of double doors at the top of them. To your right and still across from you was another door. This one was decorated, but more mundane, and from where it was posiioned on the dias with the holy relics, that was probably the way to where the clergy lived. To your left against the back wall was the double barred entrance into the church.

That left you with some options as you took a few steps inside the room. You had made it just past the first of the pews when a low growl from somewhere to your left broke the silence. The growl was strictly animal, but you could imagine it belonging to a huge, vicious dog, and a ghouled guard dog presented problems...

by **Jedi_Master_007** Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:58 pm

Dragon watched the police drive by the MS-13 thugs unimpressed. Mere gang-bangers. Pssshhht. Following Tyler's path, Dragon double checked everything, making note to walk with a forced limp and a lean on his cane. With rituals set and mind grudgingly deciding to do what needed to be done, Dragon went forward with a sigh. Taking a second to look around inside the church, the first thing Dragon looked for were signs of light and illumination. That would let him know if mortals were around or if someone had taken care to keep the place up.

Assuming he wasn't stopped, Dragon steeled himself for an encounter with a Lasombra and then made his way to the secret passage.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:47 pm

Tyler had given you all the information he had, including copies of the map of the church, and had high lighted the route he was supposed to take on the map. he highlighted that in red, indicating that was probably a dumb idea, in fact his exact words were, "Going this way is probably a great way to get fucked in the ass. Probably the mouth too. Call it a hunch."

He had circled another route. Pouring over the map he had found what appeared to be closed off doorway, but maybe it wasn't. It came in through one of the confession booths, which was only a few meters from the stairwell you needed to be in to get to the basement level. The basement was where you were going to find the safe, and probably the Lasombra. Of course, there was always the front door...

So there it was, about an hour later, you had squared Natalya away and sent her on her own. Tyler and Regina had left, he was dropping her off with Mary Jane and then going after Kruel himself. You couldn't help but worry about Natalya. You found yourself looking at the Church. It was dark. A homeless man was curled up on the steps near the door. Probably passed out courtesy of the empy bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 he had sitting next to him. The street wasn't deserted, down the block you could see some local MS-13 kids hanging out on the corner. One of them was clearly dealing. Two squad cars rolled by, lights out, the kids just looked at them and continued about their business. The cops didn't stop. This, was not a nice area to be in. Still here you were...

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