paris ♔ tried to save myself but myself keeps slipping away

[necessaryevil]

♬ Facade (reprise) - Jekyll & Hyde

WHO || Faith Lehane, Max Rast, Lissa Dragomir, Helen Magnus
WHAT || The Knights investigate a string of vampire attacks in France
WHERE ||Paris, France
WHEN || April 11th, 2015 [backdated].
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

One vampire attack is cause for worry enough, but when bodies are found with telltale puncture wounds and heavy loss of blood become a recurring nightmare across any city, alarm bells are raised.  Such is the case recently in Paris, where Wynn suspects that either a careless clan has moved in, or some lone vamps are stirring up trouble.  With the locations of the bodies marked out in the eight block radius where the deaths have been occurring, the team arrives in the late evening, staring at the rows of apartment blocks, small businesses, and pubs that comprise this section of town.

Comments

[roams]

[ he fails his opposed grapple and as such gets dragged away with her down the hall, cursing and trying to sink his fangs into her arm, unsuccessfully. the purple haired girl glances back over her shoulder, sees them coming, and curses, jumping right out the window, a crashing sound accompanying the splintering glass.

behind, quinn stays locked in combat with the red-coated vampire, barely escaping his grip again with another nat 20 strength check on his opposed grapple, where are these coming from??? he's been eating his wheaties. he rams the blade home into the vamp (16 dmg) ] I'll be along in a moment.

[msattentionspan]

[Faith sighs at the sound of glass (listen 26) and glares at Tristan to STAY THE FUCK PUT. (intimidate 20)

Once more, she tries to reason with the vampire that she's just dragging around.]

I'm gonna give you one more chance, because that guy over there is kinda banking on you guys at least telling me something. So I'll give you three options. Speak - Stake or I see how good I am at finding that Elder group you guys are so keen on going against and let them decide what to do with you. [Diplomacy 24]

[roams]

[ he'll be a good little vamp and do as he's told tbh.

the other speaks up as the sounds of quinn and the other vampire fighting continue down the hall.

"Fine, fine! I don't know who the hell you are, but I haven't seen anybody like who you're talking about. I don't know where your friend is, alright?!" ]

[msattentionspan]

[Faith cants her head, trying to see if the guy is lying or not (sense motive 22).]

They were killed by vamps - and unless you think there's another wild n'crazy gang just trolling that bar you were at and killing people...

[a beat]

Was it the threat of death or that Elder group that really got you talking?

[roams]

[ "They're the ones worth being afraid of," he scowls. "I told you I don't know what happened to her. But one of our friends didn't show up here either, so maybe it has something to do with that. She didn't answer her phone either, so hell if I know where she wound up." ]

[msattentionspan]

[Aww, you wound her so, LAME ASS VAMPIRE.]

Yeah? You want to tell me about them?

[roams]

[ "What's to tell exactly? I've got no idea where she's at." ]

[msattentionspan]

[Faith frowns.]

No. The Elders you think are the 'ones worth being afraid of'. What's the 'sitch with them?

[roams]

[ he grimaces. "They're the vampires who've been around too long to know how to enjoy the gift that's been given them anymore, that's what. We take what we want off the streets, while they hide their nature and shun the hunt." ]

[msattentionspan]

Right. [She isn't really impressed.]

Because, frame-jobs are totally being true to your nature. I mean, I'm sure you think that it's making it all under the radar - but guess what. I'm the radar and I spotted you.

Hell, I got led here by one of your own. Kicked his ass, ditched him, then came back, lured the rest of you here and promptly kicked your ass too. I think you should reclassify being afraid of someone. If all they do is hide and not kill people? [She sighs. She thought maybe they were a secret cult that had been sacrificing babies or something. Nope. Apparently, they're living by Angel's code of life.]

[roams]

[ "Alright, we get it. You're watching - whoever the hell you are." his eyes burn with anger, but he's clearly intimidated. "We'll go back to the Elders and we'll do as they do. Will that satisfy you?" ]

[msattentionspan]

You think they'd take you back? [Faith seems genuinely curious. She kinda has experience with the whole 'team evil' aspect of trying to get back into the fold. You work for one evil snake (literally) and everyone thinks you're going murder happy. (okay, they have a point.)]

I mean, if you're gonna go back to their code or whatever and they tell you that they don't want you in their special club... are you still gonna behave? [Sense motive 19.]

You gonna make sure the one that ran off follows that rule too?

[behindcloseddoors]

If they don't want us back in their club as you say, that won't be a problem anymore. [ because, he clearly implies, they won't be walking alive. Or undead, as it were. ] But I don't see that you're giving us a choice. [ and about then... faith's phone rings. ]

[msattentionspan]

[FROWN. Look, Faith wasn't big into them killing people, but they're willing to play by the rules. They should -- eh. Not her problem.]

Alright. I'll -- [and her phone is ringing. She makes a face and then reaches for her phone.] -- hold that thought.

[She answers it and presses it to her ear then lifts her shoulder to support it.] Faith.

[wynn]

Sir Lehane, report.

[msattentionspan]

[Ahhh, the calming dulcet tones of the boss. She'll step away from her little rag-tag gang of vamps. They need a team name. Faith's Ange... no.]

I've tracked the group responsible for the murder spree down. They're missing one from their own ranks and one of them ran off, but they won't be killing and framing people up anymore. They're talking about some higher up group of vamps. Elders - some sort of underground society that plays by the 'vampires aren't to be seen or heard of' rules. They're going to return to them and keep by their code. It's either that or the Elders will deal with them. I still haven't found Helen, but the one that's missing might have to do with that. They say she didn't answer and they don't know where she is.

[wynn]

I'm glad to hear you have the vampire situation well in hand. Sir Winchester and Sir Hathaway should be arriving momentarily to assist you in finding Sir Magnus. Send them your current location, and keep me apprised of what you discover about her whereabouts. Understood?

[msattentionspan]

Got it. You'll be the first call I make when I find her. [Faith nods and hangs up with Wynn. She probably should have said when 'we' find her, but she's feeling a bit isolated with how her team crumbled apart because of her leaving them.]

So... this is your lucky day. I'm gonna leave and you're gonna do the smart thing and start acting like you're trying to co-exist with humans, not slaughter and frame them to get your kicks.

If I get even a whisper about blood loss and neck wounds, I'm gonna come for you and I won't be letting any of you go.

[She's a bit reluctant to trust them, but she figures she put the fear of SLAYER JUSTICE in them and she really has bigger problems in the moment. Like... how her boyfriend Quinn hid bodies for her and she's got two other Knights en route OH and Helen is still missing. Fun times.

She tips her head to Quinn, implying that they should head out of there and get somewhere to go have that 'talk'. She makes sure to send Wynn the location of the vamp "safehouse" just so they can have a more accurate location for keeping tabs on their activity. One of those tech guys probably can set up some sort of perimeter check thing. Maybe. (knowledge tech 13)

OH, but as she's headed to the door, these vamps might think she changed her mind, but she's got one more question.]

These Elders you guys are gonna go back to - they got a place like this? Some house they all go to? [She wants to say nest, but she's trying to be more vampire PC since they were behaving.] Maybe they can help me find the one that killed my friends. [Or her missing friend.]

[roams]

[ quinn glances over at her, before looking back at the vampire expectantly. he shrugs his shoulder, shaking his head.

"Most of them live on their own. They convene when they must, but you won't find them in one place. Most do not stay put for very long." ]

Helpful. Truly.

[msattentionspan]

[Faith nods and figures that at least she's got somewhat of a better idea of how those guys operate. She figures that's something for them to look into when they don't have two dead and one missing.]

Let's go.

[She moves toward the door and then outside onto the street, waiting for Quinn to join her. Naturally, she expects the third degree right away ... so she just keeps walking. Her mindset is to get away from the vampires that might have super hearing and also stalling.

Faith + Stalling = OTP.]

[roams]

[ yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

he walks quickly to catch up with her, stuffing his hands in his pockets and letting the silence hang for just long enough to make it seem like maybe he's not gonna--

yeah, he's gonna. ] So.

[msattentionspan]

[She's not gonna stop walking, but she's also unsure of how to start this. She's had this conversation only a few times in her life. She's not exactly versed in how to explain these things. There's also the added bonus of a few extra details that she's never had to explain before.]

I'm gonna let you lead, because you know where you put the bodies... but I guess I should start that explaining while we walk.

[Which is fine. She can do this. Maybe. Possibly.]

A year ago I showed up here. Not.. here, but in Vegas. In the middle of a stage show. Kinda wasn't where I'd been before and I wasn't exactly freaked out about it. Not that it happened a lot where I'm from, but I've seen a few things.

[She keeps alert to their surroundings as she continues. (spot 22 | listen 15)]

Like a guy turn into a giant snake in order to take over a city. He was pretty cool... up until that. I'm this Chosen girl. One in every generation and all that... so that I can fight the vampires and giant snakes. They started back when demons first started to show up. Boost up a girl, give her some magic, and make her strong as hell. Make her fight so they don't have to. Then when she dies, it just... goes to the next.

Over and over. Death. Rinse. Repeat.

I'm a vampire Slayer. [She glances to him, wondering if he's following the story or thinking she's crazy... or a little of both.] It's one of those titles that gets tossed around the vampire circles so that when they spot you they get this look in their eye and they think they're gonna be the one to take you down. Bag a Slayer. [She looks ahead, actually a tiny bit stoic in the moment.] It happens. A lot. But we just keep coming.

[roams]

[ he lets her talk as he leads on, glancing over to study her expression as she stays fixated on the streets around them ] A vampire slayer.

That... explains a lot, really. But what you're talking about, this whole Chosen gig - who exactly did the choosing?

[msattentionspan]

Old guys that didn't want to fight themselves. I mean, it started a thousand years ago. [She's guessing. It's a long time ago.] Then whatever magic they used... it just involves passing it along.

They put demon into her. Made her like the monsters she fought. I don't how know the choice happens, I just know that there's always going to be one girl to fight all the demons. At least, there was until I got dropped here. Who knows what's happening back there, now.

[roams]

When you say demons, I get the feeling you're not talking... metaphorically here.