The Greatest Plans often go Awry

Now that she had been given that unexpected promotion to head bartender for the VIP section from Sebastion, Riot found her previous habit of living vicariously through the regulars that frequented the Velvet Masquerade had lost a bit of its flair. After all, It was one thing to blithely consider oneself an Eye of the Storm type aaand quite another to have your eyes violently wrenched open to the truth of how big the world really was.

It was enough to give a girl an inferiority complex.

Not focusing on it helped a little.

In some ways her life? ...Existence? Wasn’t all that different then it had been; though now she had a strange sense of possibility that hadn’t been there before. That was one of her favorite things about being immortal thus far.

Lately she’d more or less thrown herself and energy into her job. When she wasn’t at the bar she was spending time with Rage trying to learn through observation, rather than pester him with the million or so questions that popped into her head every time they had a conversation. While Riot knew he probably hadn’t noticed the effort on her part, she liked to pretend that deep down he was grateful. Not that she was absolutely sure of course, that Gangrel had a poker face that would make the masters from Vegas weep with envy. There was also training, with whoever happened to be available to give her a few pointers.

It was a slow process of progression, but time was hardly a factor anymore.

Last Call had come and gone at the Masquerade and the last of the barflies had paired off and staggered on out into the night to follow through with the drunken choices that will transform into regret with the arrival of dawn. Riot was finishing up a final wipe down and restocking of the bar somewhere around 3 am, when she paused to notice Rhev was sitting in his booth without the usual entourage gathered around him.

A rare sight.

Tossing the rag in the sink she decided to make use of the blue moon opportunity to have a private word with the highest ranking kindred of the city. Retrieving her new drawing book and pulled a loose page carefully from the back. Trying not to look nervous she tucked a strand of crimson hair behind her ear, she crossed the distance over to the slightly elevated booth and flashed Rhev a smile. “Do you have a couple minutes to spare?”

Rare indeed, for one to find Rhev alone. Rare even still for him to find himself alone. These days he always seemed to be surrounded by creatures of some sort. It was why he had started to come to this club, he was able to avail himself of the crowd, even for a moment. The foreign book he had been gazing at sagged a little as he tore his eyes away from its pages to meet Riots gaze, curious "How can I be of assistance young lady?" His words soft as velvet

A breath that Riot didn't know she'd been holding slipped past her lips a few seconds after Rhev's words had parted the shadows. "Has anyone told you that you have a voice that resonates like it was meant to be listened to in the dark?" It was a compliment. A bold compliment at that. But there wasn't any inclination in her body language that she'd shared this, admittedly slightly awed, observation expecting a proverbial pat on the head.

It had simply struck her profoundly enough that it deserved to be mentioned.

Moving closer to the booth that was more or less serving as his throne and dais in the club, she leaned over a bit to hold the piece of drawing paper out face down.

"The story that you shared of your great trial at the mountain, struck a chord with me." A valiant effort was being made to not fidget under the weight of his ephemeral gaze while she attempted to summarize her explanation on the fly. Clearing her throat she continued. "Obviously not everything is going to line up in both, but the ardent route of your departure seemed... yanno to me at least, very similar to the ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice."

Rhev chuckles as he flips the page over to inspect it "Orpheus wasnt resolute to the end. He failed his trial." He smiled, those amethyst eyes flaring as he looked upon the scene on the page. A drawing of Orpheus and Eurydice attempting to escape the Underworld, but they were different. Both were warriors, fighting for what was there's. He couldn't help but notice the similarities between him and his Kai, and the two legends. "This is very well drawn. Thank you for the likeness." He set the page on the table in front of him, and covered it with a clean dry towel "But you are accurate. The story of Orpheus and his love is similar to my own. Although Kai'velle was unable to follow, and had to be carried." He set his book down and gestured for her to properly join him while grabbing a glass of blood wine.

"Like I said, not a perfect match and obviously you got the much improved ending having escaped with the soul you were fighting to free." A light nod and shrug followed, still smiling a bit in the wake of his complimentary words. Even he was just being polite, it was nice to get a sliver of recognition.

The invitation hadn't been expected. "Alright... But I'm going to warn you that I hadn't planned out what to say beyond that point, so I'll just be winging it. Which may involve some terrible puns, stammering, or awed silence."

For a moment she eyed the booth, unsure of what the etiquette was concerning where to sit. How close was too close? If she sat too far away would it be considered an insult?

Dammit Riot stop panicking!

Why were these suddenly critical matters not taught in school?!

Left to resolve the questions with naught more then her own humble common sense she slid into the seat and let where he placed the second glass serve as the indication of where to place herself.

"So what happened to your usual mob of eclectic associates?"

"You mean you going to actually have a meaningful conversation where you allow another entity to delve into your subconscious by exchanging knowledge and information while also attempting to read body language to garner further information" he smiled

He looked around almost as if he had just realized that he was indeed alone outside of her presence. "I'm not entirely certain. Im sure ill have some sort of update later this morning. Orchid and Johnathon can't help but keep my updated."

"You make the whole idea sound exceptionally intense and impossibly high risk." A bit of a grin teased at the corner of her lips as she chanced a glance over in the general direction of those piercing violet eyes he somehow wielded like a weapon all their own. "Is that a political manuver? Or is it just a habit from existing for so long?"

After a brief pause to contemplate, she added, "Or is that just a you thing?"

He chuckled at her words "It would depend on who you're speaking to. Some would say I know how to dance with my words" he leaned back into the cushions of the booth and lounged as he turned himself more towards her.

Curiosity twinkled in her eyes as she reached out for the bloodwyne. Once it was in hand the crystal tumbler was given a gentle swirl, and for a time those cerulean eyes were seemingly bewitched by the crimson liquid, watching it twist and spin between her hands.

"I bet it has been a long long time since you've felt like a little fish in a big pond." Tilting her head she set the glass back down and leaned back, her gaze sweeping over to Rhev as she continued. "Everything still feels... Surreal."

His gaze leveled and his aura calmed to almost silence as his words filled the air around them "We are but one city of freedom in this world of controlled chaos. Ive always had a are hanging over my head, its just that now there are more hands holding it. The world is a much darker place than you may believe." He watched her inspect the glass of Bloodwyne before setting it back down "It will. For a time. And then it will all become annoying, and you'll start looking for those certain things that arent quite as taxing on your mental capacities. Like trying to run a city" his laugh was sudden yet smooth "Or making alliances with other creatures of darkness"

"I recognize that what Daisha and I..." While his genial laughter had prompted her to smile, a frown was quick to replace it as she spent a moment wracking her brain for a socially appropriate way to get her meaning across. "...Endured. Was essentially a small, sippy cup with googly eyes when compared to the oceanic levels of depravity that plague the world." Riot had no disillusionment that their none too gentle introduction to the truth, was probably still rather tame compared to what was suffered by others.

It was a cold comfort.

"I don't envy you your primary job, if this is considered relaxing by your standard."

"Its not as bad as one might think" he gently touched his temple "Just minor headaches from stupidity" he smiled at her warmly "How goes your training? I know Rhage can be a hard ass"

"You have a kind smile." Riot hadn't intended to comment about it out loud, but the words had slipped from her lip before she'd really given much thought to the wisdom of their utterance. Though from the amiable nature of their conversation, she was betting he would take her words for the relatively innocent intention that had inspired them.

Being so new to this, where a learned Cainite would have reflexively schooled their response, her expressions were more or less an open book concerning her thoughts and the question about Rhage had sparked a brief, but genuine smile of admiration for the formidable Gangrel.

"I've never seen anything quite so prolific as his dedication to keeping the streets of your city clear of riffraff. The one night I was on patrol with him he cleared out a house of Sabbat in a matter of minutes." A little wide eyed at the memory, she gave her head a slight shake.

"My training is progressing... Slowly. Or at least that is how it feels. I'm doing everything I can thing of to be useful yanno, but..." Her narrow shoulders rose and fell in a shrug as she left her sentence unfinished.

"But wish not to give in to the Beast because you still feel mortal" his words weren't exactly flat, he did lean slightly "And thank you, its taken me three hundred years to learn how to smile properly" he straightened himself and his suit like a proper gentleman "Your mortality. Its gone, you understand this?" His brows quirked as if his curiosity had taken form

The idea of having to learn ow to smile was a foreign concept to her, though from the furrow to her brow she was putting in a good effort to try and imagine what that was like.

The end result was a very brief, but profound look of sorrow. One that she abruptly attempted to veil, for numerous reasons; top of that list however was concern that he might mistake her sympathy for pity.

The mention of her mortality was an appreciated distraction. "I comprehend the words in the sense that you are speaking English." Sighing softly her brow furrowed all over again. "But it kinda seems like when you talk about mortality, your talking about a far larger concept then I am."

Frustration at her own ignorance clawed at her, manifesting as an angry little huff.

He watched her as she grew flustered, his eyes narrowing softly, inquisitively.
His entrance into her mind was minute, merely side stepping through the doorway into her mental scape of fog. The dark shapes looming in the cloud danced closer briefly before darting away again. It didnt take him long to find the stable core that he knew he would find her at, alone, and lost "I'm not certain if this is excellently crafted, or you have some ailments youre either not aware of, or quiet about" his mental form wisped closer to her as he spoke "Not that I'm one to judge"

Within her mindscape, Briar turned in a slow circle. In the dim ambient light had turned her eyes an almost luminescent, cornflower blue she pensively scanned the looming walls of fog that shrouded the city streets. Streets that were familiar to her despite being able to see so little.

Haunt a place long enough and eventually it becomes so familiar that you know it by feel alone.

Of course this was the first time, while awake, that she'd experienced actually being there so vividly.

When she reached for it, she could tell Riot was still sitting in a booth at the Masquerade with the cities leader. There was even enough awareness of her physical surroundings that she could tell that the conversation had trailed off. Meanwhile, the spark that was Her was here.

"Well this is unexpected."

In her initial solitude she explored the environment around her, at a loss for where in the city she found herself. Drifting between two rows of stone carved chariots, each pulled by a pair of elegant horses with a single Romanesque driver. The bronze sentinels and their beasts that signature shade of hollow green that came from a healthy coating of Copper oxide.

Briar had progressed about halfway down the center isle between the soldiers when the flicker of movement out in the fog pulled her to a stop. The flitting movement of it not just unnerving because of its erratic path, but because it was the only thing hastening closer.

It dawned on her that the source of the shadow was something outside of herself. Knowing that, it took focus to stay where she was when her sense of self preservation was ordering her to retreat.

In that split second before Rhev spoke, offering the familiar resonance of his voice as a means of identification, Briar had thought herself in the presence of some sort of phantasm.

Relief flooded through her.

Taking a centering breath she turned and looked up at him. "Whatever are you doing here?" The words were out before his comment caught up with her train of thought. "I'm not exactly sure whats happening... But did you just call me crazy?" A halfhearted grin was offered with the comment.

He smirked and leaned against one of the chariots "Crazy is a word for mortals, if you talk to the Malkavians. And what i have done, is entered your mind. Its a Blood Power called Telepathy. It helps some to sort out mixed feelings, exchange dense knowledge, or even torture someone." He stood upright and moved around the street lazily inspecting the street that was beginning to reveal itself lightly. "It also helps to introduce one to certain aspects of oneself." Almost as if on cue there was the subtle roar of a feline close by. Rhev looked off in the direction that it came "Here's the true question that I must ask you" he turned his gaze back towards her, and held his hand out towards the sound "Will you face your new found demons, or run from them"

While he was throwing a lot of unfamiliar terms at her to explain what was happening, she was a smart cookie and she managed to piece together from what she did understand, a basic idea concerning what had brought her here, and why.

The whole thing left her a little awe-struck. But she didn't miss that there were implications suggested by the design her own subconscious had enigmatically chosen. It made her uncomfortable, the realization that maybe he had been right, and there actually was something wrong with her.

The result of that self doubt was almost eager to manifest, and hastened to thicken the already dense fog around them.

All the while those nearly luminescent orbs had watched him. Following the almost inviting, undeniably graceful sweep of his hand as he gestured out toward the unknown source of the roar, in the distance. "What's out there?"

He clasped his hands behind his back, and shrugged gently "I'm just a passenger. Youre the one driving" his words were full of curiosity "Again I ask. Shall we go find out?"

"No pressure, right?" The comment was offered with a wry undertone and no expectation of a response. Crossing her arms she just stared out into the fog for a long time, debating the two options and what each offered.

Eventually, the set of her shoulders dropped and without further comment she started walking in the direction of the primordial roar.

Rhev ghosted forward behind her, his form looming behind her as they moved forward though the fog "You seem very unsure" his voice was inquisitive

Those first steps forward into the foggy landscape had been confident, or at least quick enough that she felt some assurance that speed could be mistaken for courage. It didn't help that Rhev was so quiet that she wasn't sure he had followed until he spoke a few seconds later and she'd refused to look over her shoulder to check in the interim.

You seem very unsure.

She hated how right on the nose he was.

Ahead of them a massive, black silhouette was revealed by the winding brume. Slowing her stride she tipped her head back, gaze tracing the near thirty feet of stone to the top. "Is that an obelisk... or..." Squinting she drew to a stop and tilted her head, suddenly, briefly, the mist parted to offer them a clear view of the 280 foot diameter lower, 103 ft middle and 60 ft upper basins of the Buckingham Memorial Fountain; one of Chicago's most noteworthy landmarks.

"So that is where we are." Turning she swung her gaze around to regard Rhev. "Of course I'm unsure. My life was nothing special and I realized the other night that there isn't anyone that is going to miss me." It bothered her that she was so bothered by the knowledge; moreso that that fact so nagged at her that she'd brought it up when prompted.

"I've been telling myself to look at it from a practical standpoint, but it hasn't helped as much as I need it to." Half turning away from him she crossed her arms and sighed. "I spent my whole existence as a mortal not belonging anywhere and now I'm haunted by the fact that I'm staring down the road at an eternity of that same Hell."

A plaintive look was cast heavenward. I was so swept away by discovering the truth of how the world worked, that I didn't realize what was weighing me down until I gleaned that a single kindred could make a single childer."

He looked over at the fountain and nodded "Makes sense. Grew up knowing the streets." He waited for her to pause before he spoke again, stepping more into her gaze "Mortal or Kindred, everyone must find their place in the world. Kindred just have more time to figure that out." The roar split the air again, this time much closer. He turned and grew more curious. They began to move, almost as if being pulled through the streets, without lifting a foot. Until they stopped on a back street, in front of a familiar looking house, although Riot couldn't place where she'd seen it before. Rhev watched a group of black silhouettes walk up the path to the front door. They didn't even wait, and just kicked the door in and entered the house. Rhev and Riot appeared in the living room a second later to witness a man and woman being attacked by this group. The man and woman struck riot as familiar as well, as they fought back against theyre assailants, to no avail. They were slaughtered. The silence filled the room until there was a baby's cry from above.

Being zipped through the streets and relocated on the whim of something outside of herself, without any intention or effort on her part, was not a sensation she enjoyed. Worse though was the sight of the house. A place she somehow knew without any sense of conscious recollection, time, place, or practical context.

The figures that were indefinable outside of being human filed past and like a freight train barreled through the door. "Their moving like they planned this."

Again she was relocated, but this one she'd anticipated. She knew what was coming. Not because she remembered any of it, if this was indeed a dream, but because Death had strolled through the door after the intruders all spilled in and got to work.

Even knowing it made her look terribly weak, she turned away from the sight in those last moments before things became deadly. The brutality of what followed wasn't foreign to her. Firstly she'd been raised in the system, while she had been spared the worst of it, it still hadn't been an easy life. Secondly everyone knew Chicago was a city plagued by a history of violence; Gacy and Holmes were proof enough of that.

She'd been about to turn back, when the sound of crying pulled her gaze upward instead.