Red wine will pour from the throat...

O-Yama, the Oni raging like the wild demon it is, screams at him to feed. He stalks about looking for anything that could be prey. He has a bullet-proof vest on, and his katana hangs at his belt, both obfuscated. He would use the blade to weaken a foe, before moving in for the throat.

Tonight there would be blood, red red wine, sweet and metallic....

NARRATION:

O-Yama finds one of the less reputable areas of town, one he knows through experience to be riddled with gang crime and prostitution and drugs. The residential areas are mostly public housing, built in the 1960s and '70s and looking about 50 years more run-down than one would expect from their age. Gentrification hasn't hit this part of Sacramento, but a lot of people hope a bulldozer will, and soon.

He sees scantily-clad women - black, Latina, occasionally Asian or white - standing on streetcorners and approaching passing cars. A ways down the street, he sees several young toughs clustered around a Range Rover that is blasting rap music.

In his red hunger, O-Yama's remaining human instincts kick in. His dead lungs take in air, that he might catch the scent of prey. Mostly he catches the scents of urine and sex and marijuana and stale beer, but as he approaches a group of women, as well as a very large man who stands at the mouth of an alleyway, he catches the scent of blood from further down the alley.

(O-Yama needs to roll Res+Comp -1 for being hungry)

O-Yama stops for a moment, taking in the scent. his Beast raging at him for more of it. Do not worry Oni, it comes tonight...

Spoiler:

Narration:

O-Yama is able to reign in his beast; though he stil hears and feels its growl within his chest, he is able to think through what he wishes to do, the man still in charge at least for now.

He sees one of the women break off from the others near the alleyway and approach. It's hard to tell her actual age given her heavy makeup, but her voice is rough. "Hey, sugar, it's okay to keep comin' this way. We don' bite."

[color=blue]In times past, Heathcliff simply drives to this area and gets one of the girls in his car to feed. Tonight, though, the Hunger is too unnerving to take a chance behind the wheel.

Up ahead, if he's not mistaken, is the Priscus. He approaches slowly, not wanting to cause any alarm or have him miss a meal, if he's hunting, too. The scent of blood strikes his senses like a Louisville slugger...

Spoiler:

Narration:
Heathcliff drives past several women who gesture to get his attention, and gesture obscenely as he passes. As he approaches, he can see a woman approaching his Priscus, O-Yama. Strong as the scent of blood is, he manages to maintain focus, keeping the Beast restrained despite his huner..

He, too, can tell the delicious scent of blood comes from down the alleyway. The large man is still there, leaning against the wall near the mouth of the alley, several hookers nearby. Heathcliff thinks he might recognize one of the girls from the last time he gave in to his urges and came to this neighborhood, though he can't be sure and doesn't recall her name.

Narration:

A couple of the women start to approach, but one of them - a light-skinned black woman with red hair that was almost certainly a wig - saw Heathcliff's stare was focused on her and motioned the other one back. As she approaches, Heathcliff sees her smile widen, and a look of recognition.

"Well, hey there, suga, I rem'ber you! You the man who did that think felt so nice on my neck!"

Heathcliff feels his Beast tense up, focused on the approaching feast.

She hikes a thumb back toward the alley. "Shantay is wi' a customer back there, but you like, I can get in your car an' we can drive over roun' there to that lot. My man LeeJay pays the boys do bus'ness there to use the lot, so nobody bother us there." She points across the way to a darkened parking lot - the nearby streetlights broken or shot out, no light showing from any windows - where several people hanging around a white Lincoln and a black Bronco smoke something sweet-smelling.

The woman gets in the passenger's seat. After closing the door, she scoots closer across the seat, sliding her already barely-legal skirt even higher.

"You gonna do that thing wit' your mouth that feel so good, hon?" the woman says, her hand sliding along Heathcliff's leg. "I can make you feel good wit' my mouth too if that's what you want, or we could do it like before. Jus' tell Carmen whatcha want."

Narration:

She giggles over Heathcliff's apparent friskiness, then moans. Her eyes roll back and she arches her back and gasps with the ecstasy of the Kiss, Heathcliff's touch only adding to the effect.

And the blood does taste good, to Heathcliff and to his inner Beast. So good, in fact, that he feels the urge to drink her dry.

((ST Note: Heathcliffe needs to roll Resolve + Composure at -1 penalty due to his hunger.))

Narration:

The hooker is still sort of glassy-eyed as she mutters "Carmen... jus' ask fo' Carmen."

Heathcliff knows she will be a bit out of it for awhile, but she should be fine in a few days. Meanwhile, the Beast calms down, at least for now.

It feels almost like his dessicated muscles are trying to suck the Vitae out of his sytem to heal themselves of whatever happened to him, but he isn't sure how much they want, and knows that might put him back at the mercy of the Beast's hunger.

O-Yama walks towards the big man, having noticed Heathcliff but the Oni's call was far more powerful for the time being, he would talk to him later. Now... it was blood, vitae, the life of an enemy that he seeks. He starts walking towards the alleyway where the scent of blood permeates, and if the large man doesn't oppose him, he follows into it, whisper weakling as he passes the man and steps into the darkness.

Narration:

As O-Yama approaches, ignoring the woman who had come to talk to him, the other women stand back, several of them muttering epithets. The man pulls away from the wall he's leaning against, reaching one hand behind him. He's a big, beefy guy, well-muscled, Italian features, short, kinky black hair. He wears boots, loose-fitting pants and a red sleeveless t-shirt, plus lots of chains and rings. O-Yama can tell by the way he moves that this guy's muscles didn't just come from time in a gym, and that the guy knows how to fight.

"Where you think you goin' dere? Got a customer busy down dere, but he oughtta be done soon. So, take a look a' the girls, take your time pickin', then you can take a turn down there, got it? But you ain't goin down there yet.

The man stands between him and the blood he smells. The scent of the blood is so strong, it is near to overpowering

((ST Note: Go ahead and roll a Res + Composure at -1))

****

Heathcliff 's ruse seems to work. He can hear someone approaching behind him. "Yo, you okay? Som'tin' wrong wi' you, man?"

((Roll Wits+ Composure at -1 for Heathcliff))

Narration:

O-Yama is able to contain his irritation with the man standing in his way and daring tell him where he can and cannot go, and he is still able to focus past the lure of the smell of blood, albeit barely.


*****

In addition to the man behind him, Heathcliff hears two other people approaching, on each side of him. He's going to find himself surrounded there, right in the ATM kiosk, unless he takes immediate action.

((ST note: Heathcliff's ruse is so successful that the others aren't expecting the possibility he might suddenly spring into action, so depending on what Heathcliff does, he may get benefit of a surprise turn.))

Heathcliff, in his weakened state, sees that not only does his con work, but that they don't even expect him to be any trouble. He calls upon one of the unique properties of Kindred blood, and as Vitae courses through his muscles, he turns swiftly and attempts to put the 'concerned' criminal in a head lock...

Spoiler:

...but the illness ravaging his body is too much to overcome, and his effort is clumsy.

Still too sick for this shit. Maybe I should cut my losses?

2009-06-08 13:13:39 Heathcliff rolls 1 die for initiative 6+ 5 = 11 total

(ST Note: you forgot to add Heathcliff's 1 Brawl. Go ahead and do that starting this turn.)

Narration:

The man Heathcliff jumped at is obviously none too pleased to have his prey put up a fight. 'Oh, you think you're a tough guy, huh? Show you what happens to tough guys!" He swings a big, beefy fist and scores a solid punch to Heathcliff's jaw.


((ST Note: Heathcliff takes 3(B) from the punch.

The thugs are Defense 2.

Thug 1 got a 13 initiative, Thug 2 got a 7 and Thug 3 got a 9.

Heathcliff needs to roll Resolve + Composure to resist anger frenzy. He'll go next, before thugs 2 and 3, but if he doesn't get any successes on the frenzy check, he will either be in frenzy or have to spend 1 WP to try to get away before he frenzies. Frenzy modifiers are on V:tR, p. 179))

O-Yama steps forward one step, only one. He rests his hand on his obfuscated katana hilt.

"Step aside, or die. Make your choice now."

Narration:

The attacker subjected to the Nightmare power stops in his tracks; his eyes go wide, then he turns around and runs like hell. The man that hit Heathcliff yells after him "What you runnin' from, pussy?"

When Heathcliff darts for his car, the other guy - who was in the process of drawing a kinfe - runs after him. Heathcliff can hear the first attacker join in on the race, but he keeps ahead of both of them. He gets to his car, but can hear both of his pursuers right behind him. As Heathcliff grabs the door handle, he feels the first attacker try to grab him from behind, but Heathcliff's frantic actions prevent the man from getting a hold on him.


((ST Note: Thug 1 failed a grapple attempt; Heathcliff is up again))

********

The large man looks O-Yama over, and O-Yama can tell that the man notes his scarred face and that he carries himself with the condidence of a warrior. As the whores nearby yell "Go on, kick his ass!" the man sneers. "You look like you know how to fight, but what's that with yo hand back like that? That some karate shit? I ain't 'fraida no karate man, last karate man try shit with me, I fucked him up good!" The man takes a step toward O-Yama, his hands open and spread to the sides in the manner of a wrestler.

((ST Note: Roll Initiative for O-Yama.))

Spoiler:

[color=blue]Heathcliff eyes the knife, and quickly decides to send some of the blood he just paid for to heal the bruises left by the man's fists.

Then he reveals his fearful form to the man wielding the weapon...

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

"You made your choice, thank you, it was the one I wanted."

O-Yama smiles, letting the Oni push blood into his muscles, strengthening them. He lunges, drawing his katana and striking at the ignorant brute.

Spoiler:

((ST Note:
Technically, O-Yama's action above isn't rules-kosher, as activating Vigor is an instant action, as is drawing a weapon (unless one has the Quick Draw Merit). It is possible to make activation of Vigor or Resilience a reflexive action with appropriate Devotions (requiring Celerity as well). That said, I'll let the result stand this time because this goon is unimportant, and because I'm a nice guy. O-Yama had to expend one Vitae from his depleted pool to activate Vigor, though.

Also, O-Yama's attack roll should have been based on Strength+Vigor+Weaponry+Katana Specialization(which adds 1) + 3 Equipment bonus for the Katana + Willpower -1 due to O-Yama currently suffering from the effects of whatever forced him into torpor and almost took his life. So, O-Yama shortchanged himself a couple dice.

In contrast, Heathcliff's action is rules-kosher, as Nightmare 1 is an Instant action with no Vitae cost, and using Vitae to heal is a reflexive action (1 Vitae = 2 bashing or one lethal).

Keep in mind, all Kindred have limits to their maximum Vitae reserves and to how much they can spend in a turn, based on Blood Potency.))

Narration:
Heathcliff''s Beast rises to the surface for a moment, and Heathcliff focuses its attention on the thug with the knife. Apparently that guy is made of sterner stuff than the first one, however, as he stands his ground and thrusts forward with his knife, slicing into Heathcliff's dead flesh.

The other thug punches Heathcliff again, striking a glancing blow to the left side of his head. As he punches Heathcliff, the thug yells "Who's the tough guy now, bitch? Huh? Still feelin' tough?"

Heathcliff feels his Beast struggling to emerge in response to the thug's insults and the pain of his injuries.

Spoiler:

*********

O-Yama draws his katana and slices as one fluid motion, his daisho becoming visible as he does so. His blade slices the large man across the left pectoral and shoulder. His eyes widen in pain and surprise. "Where da fuck that come from?" he says. Several of the whores scream.

The man steps back and away from O-Yama, hands raised and open, indicating he yields. He eyes O-Yama and his blade warily. "Fuck it, man, you wanna go down there, go ahead." The whores likewise make way for O-Yama.

As O-Yama starts down the alley, he can hear the big man call after him "You see dat scruffy-lookin' fuck down there wi' Cindy, you tell him his time is up, and she better get her ass back here."

The alleyway is dark, and the smell of blood is quite strong. As he steps into the alley, O-Yama hears a slurping sound.

Narration:

This time the glimpse of Heathcliff's Beast is enough to terrify the knife-wielding thug, who goes pale, drops his knife, turns and runs.

The thug mutters something about "fuckin' pussies" as he again punches Heathcliff, this time striking him solidly in his abdomen.

Heathcliff realizes there is an advantage to not having to breathe any more, as this blow probably would have knocked the breath out of him and left him kneeling and gasping were he still alive. The Beast continues to roil within him.

Spoiler:

O-Yama sheaths the katana, making his way down the alleyway, keeping his eyes open for any obvious signs of blood.

Narration:

Heathcliff's incoherent frenzy finally causes the thug to realize he's in a much more dangerous situation than he'd realized. His eyes wide with fear, his fear allows him to break Heathcliff's grasp, though just barely. He screams "You crazy fucker!" and starts to run.

Heathclliff's beast urges him to pursue.

((ST Note: the other guy is slow enough that on his turn Heathcliff can move and attempt another grapple or other sort of attack))

*******

Meanwhile, O-Yama moves down the alley with as much caution as his hungry Oni will allow him. A ways down the dark alley, after moving past a dumpster and a big stack of crushed cardboard boxes, he comes across a rather gruesome sight.

He sees a tall man with ragged clothing, shaggy blond hair and a long, bristly beard is holding an unconscious-looking woman slumped forward over his left arm. The woman's short skirt is pushed up around her waist, and the man has just finished pulling his pants up with his right hand. The left side of the woman's neck is bloody, with more blood having run down her front and her back, staining her yellow blouse. A few drops of blood drip down onto the asphalt. The man has blood on his mouth and dripping down his beard.

The man looks up then turns as O-Yama approaches. He studies O-Yama for a moment, then smiles and lifts his left arm, holding forward the slumped, unconscious woman. "You want? She still has more, I think, if you not mind sloppy seconds." He speaks with some sort of European accent.

O-Yama's predator instinct recognizes this man as Kindred, and of blood as strong as O-Yama's own. His Oni surges forth, urging O-Yama to test his might against that of this stranger, to see which of the two predators is the dominant one.

((ST Note: O-Yama needs to roll Resolve + Composure at -2 dice due to being Starving; if he fails, he goes into anger frenzy))

Narration:

"Get the hell off, get away, lemme go!" screams the thug, increasingly panicked. He tries to break free of Heathcliff's grasp, tries pushing him away, even headbutts him, but to no avail; Heathcliff's grip on the man is just as strong as the Beast's control over Heathcliff.

Spoiler:

O-Yama looks to the man, remembering his days as a diablerist, tempted, but he keeps himself under control. He steps forward, barely holding himself back from the urge to tear into the throat of the kindred beside him. He tears into the neck, drinking deeply. Yes... this blood is weaker, but it will fill me better, and then, I may take his, whether at his behest or not... He thinks as his fangs ravage her already torn throat.

Narrative:

As he feeds on the unconscious woman, O-Yama notices two things.

First, she has very little blood left. If he takes more than 1 Vitae from her, she is likely to die.

Second, she has no fang marks on her neck. Rather, it appears her neck was opened with a blade of some sort, most likely a razor. This would explain why she continues to bleed, and possibly the messiness of the feeding, but it doesn't expalain why a vampire would drink through cut rather than by bite.

All of this fades from immediate concern, however, as he tastes her blood. The Oni hungers... it wants more... and while O-Yama was able to rein in its desire to establish dominance, now he faces another task...preventing himself from going into hunger frenzy.

((ST Note: Resolve + Composure check again, this time at only -1 due to the high success marginon the previous one))

The unknown vampire stands by and watches as O-Yama feeds. He stands in a relaxed posture as he wipes his beard with a hand, then licks his hand clean.


**********

The thug tries frantically to escape Heathcliffe's grasp, but he has no luck at all as the Beast calls upon the strength of the blood to hold the man helpless. Heathcliffe's fangs emerge unbidden. Seeing this, the thug screams in a manner more befitting a scared chid than a hardened criminal, and Heathcliff distantly registers a sense of warmth on his legs but is too immersed in the Beast to realize this is caused by the prey having lost bladder control in his terror.

The Beast drinks deep the pure elixir of the man's blood, losing itself in the sensations that The Man has denied it...

"Oh, man...," the Thug mumbles, his eyes searching but not seeing, like a raver peaking on Ecstasy. "It's really...wow..." he says as he approaches Death with arms wide open...

...and while the Beast is occupied, Heathcliff rallies behind the iron wall of the subconscious, shaking the bars, screaming to make himself heard...

What if he has a daughter, too? Will you take her father from her, Beast!?! NO! YOU...HAVE...TO...LET...ME...

"OOOUUUTTT!!!" Heathcliff screams. Back in control of his faculties, Heathcliff realizes his victim is bleeding out, and moves quickly to lick the wound. Then he listens to the man's heart. Faint, but beating. Beating hearts are good. Heathcliff exhales out of habit. As he does so, the Frenzy takes its toll on his diseased body, and the skin over his left hand tears itself open. Heathcliff cries out in agony.

Heathcliff does his best to focus on the task at hand. He doesn't know any of the Kindred Disciplines to make this man forget what had happened to him. Maybe he can trick the man into thinking he was attacked by a sick lunatic, rather than nearly killed by a raging vampire. He races back to the ATM, and finds the dropped knife. He picks it up and goes back to sit on the curb next to the thug. He wipes the blade across his bloody hand, which is torture...I richly deserve, he thinks.

He drops the knife close to the man's body, so he can discover it when he wakes. Then he goes through the man's pocket and finds a wallet. He finds a driver's license, which he puts in his own coat pocket. He'd need to monitor this man for the next few nights, make sure he wasn't spreading 'crazy' stories.

Then Heathcliff sees the baby pictures. A bright, smiling young boy wearing a Transformers T shirt. Heathcliff looks from the picture to the man, and sees the resemblance. It's the chin, he thinks, and the ears. He can't waste the blood he's stolen on tears, though he desperately wants some outward confirmation that he still has a heart, and that it is breaking.

Heathcliff leans in close to the man's ear, and whispers his answer to the man's original question.

"Yes. I am very sick," he says, ashamed.

He gets up and drops the wallet, sans license, into a mailbox, to complete the ruse of a robbery. His wounds cry out for attention, and Heathcliff realizes that once he heals them, he's worse off then when he started. All for nothing, he thinks.

He wants to know why he's sick, wants to know what's going on, but...the Priscus had nearly killed him the first time they met. If he was sick, too, could he really trust him not to try to take his Vitae? Heathcliff was in no shape to fight with another vampire now.

He decides the Prudent course of action is to drive out of town, far out, to a petting zoo he remembers taking his daughter to, so many, many years ago. It couldn't be more than an hour outside of town. There, he could heal this sickness, and if the Beast got out again, he was only a danger to the livestock. He had to get back to his paperwork and arrange for a new bank card, too, but that all could wait.

Heathcliff doesn't know if he believes in God, but he thanks him anyway, in the privacy of his mind, for granting him another night without the conscience of a murderer.

Spoiler:

O-Yama attempts to pull away from her neck...

Narration:

With great effort, O-Yama pulls himself away from the unconscious woman's neck, but the Oni is too strong, its hunger too great. He realizes that if he's to avoid killing this woman, he needs to leave immediately, but that in doing so, it is likely the Oni will urge him to feed on someone else.


((ST Note: O-Yama can expend one point of Willpower and seek to get away before he loses control and kills the hooker; otherwise, he is in hunger frenzy and will continue to feed on her until she is drained dry. A full run back the way he came will put him back outside the alley, where he will get a chance to break out of his frenzy (Resolve + Composure -2), with failure indicating he goes after someone else (most likely the big man, due to his being cut and O-Yama being lured by the blood). Or he can run past the vampire stranger and see where he emerges from the other end of the alley.

Another option is that he can attack the unknown vampire, though if he spends a Willpower to take momentary control, O-Yama does know he would be at a disadvantage, being as weakened and low on Vitae as is currently the case.))

((burn one willpower... i gotta get him outta there.))

O-Yama brakes his hold on the woman, and tears off past the vampire, running to get as far away from anything he can feed on, he needed to get some control over the Beast, the Man was losing grip and he wouldn't let the Oni take control of him.

Narration:

As O-Yama runs down the alleyway, he hears the stranger vampire yell out "Yah, great, leave me to toss out the empty."

The bit of Vitae he took from the woman is not enough... the Oni rages, urging him to run back the other way, to dine on the fool who had stood in his way, or his women, or perhaps the vampire that dared mock him... but yet O-Yama forges ahead, intent that the man will be the victor in this struggle.

He exits the alley. He sees a couple cars going by, and across the street he sees a trio of men sitting on a stoop drinking beer and smoking, but otherwise nobody appears out on this street. He feels his hunger tuning into rage... the Oni demands relase, that it might visit its wrath on someone or some thing. Glancing around, O-Yama sees the dumpsters in the alley, some streetlights, and down the block, away from the trio on the stoops, he sees a garbage can and some newspaper vending machines on the corner.

((ST Note: If O-Yama has more Willpower, you can have him spend another to delay the onset of frenzy a bit longer, maybe find something else upon which to release the frenzy. Otherwise, he has to release it at something within close reach.))