Neutral territory : Saint James street and Place Fernand Lafargue

Mikael arrives from the Old Tremere Chantry, beign followed by the neonates of various clans.
He takes off a handkerchief from one of the pockets in his black blazer and proceeds to clean his glasses.
Considering Mikael is a vampire, there would be no reason for him to use them at all.

When he is finished, he whispers a mysterious latin chant before putting his glasses back on, and giving the neonates (who all had left the chantry by now) a "wait" signal with his left hand, while his right one is beign held in the side of his body, it seems to be holding an invisible sphere, with his arm protecting his ribs.

He looks extremely focused as he scans the area, apparently looking for enemies.

Storyteller:

Auspex 2:

Carrion doesn't seem to have noticed she's outside and nearly bumps into Mikael (she may have bumped into some of the others before she notices) since she seems deep in thought. She manages to stop herself touching Mikael and seems to be back in reality; she takes a few steps back to give him some personal space and observes him clean his glasses with a small smile. When he begins speaking Latin her head cocks to the side; even though she obviously doesn't understand what he has said or what he is doing. She is aware he is concentrating so she holds her tongue for now.

Stepping out of the damaged church, Estela takes a deep, but unnecessary breath and lets it out slowly. She steps aside quickly to avoid having a rather preoccupied Carrion bumps into her, scowling at the woman's back when she passes. The young vampire grumbles a little, then pulls her cellphone from her pocket. Pleased to see it working properly again, she gives a small smile while quickly typing a message on it, her eyes occasionally going back to the door they'd just gone through. There's a short moment of hesitation at the end of her message, but the girl shrugs and presses send. She keeps the phone in hand, probably expecting an answer within the next few minutes.

message to Claudia:

“Guess you two are going to go your own way here?” she asks Miriel while giving a nod to Duncan to indicate she means the two of them. It's clear she means it as a rhetoric question.

Empathy or Subterfuge >2:

Duncan steps out of the priest's entrance to St. Eloi, and he sees Mikael start off down the street without announcing where he's going. Fortunately, Mikael's detour around the police lines passes by where Duncan left his motorcycle. He shrugs to Miriel, and starts that direction.

As he stops at his bike, and turns it around to walk after the Tremere, Duncan speaks to Estela, who hung back to send a text message on her phone.

Not sure where he's going, but it's probably not far. I doubt he's taking us to the Regent. Duncan refers to the Regent Grand Hotel, the new Tremere Chantry. I don't mind chatting a bit, if anyone wants to discuss what to do next. I want to talk to Miriel a bit though; you can catch up to Mikael and Carrion, and we'll follow a bit behind. You'd better hurry; it doesn't look like he's hanging around.

Duncan finishes putting his motorcycle in neutral and turning it around, and he walks with it to where Miri paused for a moment to let him catch up. He continues to walk alongside her, letting Miri set the distance between them and the group behind Mikael.

Storyteller, Miriel:

Miri follows Duncan outside the ex-Chantry, watching on in silence as Carrion, seemingly in a daydream, walks past them and nearly into Estela and Mikael. Duncan glances from their surroundings and back to her, indicating with a shrug a welcome and coincidental opportunity to retrieve his bike. She smiles to him and waits while he goes to get it; Estela turns to talk to them.

Duncan fields the answer to that question for her on his return, so Miri says little to Estela besides assuring her warmly that they'll not leave her alone so soon, We'll catch up to you in a bit.

She smiles to her and begins walking again as Duncan joins her side, but her slowing pace indicates that she and Duncan are already taking their pause from the group for a moment of privacy.

Storyteller:

Miriel's pace allows the group ahead to gain many meters' distance from them. She gauges their progress carefully; once the gap is sizable, and ambient noises create a comfortable cushion of distortion between what may be overheard, Miri stops completely and gives Duncan an attentive look, ready to listen. She spends some time looking at something he gives her, walks some more, and smiles about something he must have said before saying something in return as they pace on.

Duncan:

As promised, they catch up with Estela; Miriel walks ahead of Duncan just enough to absorb her to their little group, making it three. She smiles when she's noticed, Hello, again.

Carrion observes Duncan and Miriel wander off slightly; she doesn't seem to bothered but shifts her position to keep them if not in hearing distance then at least in sight. Her attention quickly goes Estela for a moment to see where she is then back to Mikael; whom she whispers in his ear.

Mikael or Auspex 1:

Her eyes don't stay in one place for too long; she is obviously taking in her environment and looking for any signs of trouble and dividing her attention to what the others are up to if not audibly then certainly visually.

Estela smiles a pleased and somewhat relieved smile when Duncan says he doesn't mind spending some time to chat. “Cool.” She chuckles a little and shrugs. “Alright, I'll leave you two your private chat. See ya in a bit. Oh, nice bike by the way.” Turning, she follows after Mikael and Carrion, her phone still in hand. After several moments of seemingly getting no answer, the young vampire frowns a little and looks at the device, some confusion in her eyes. They then widen in realization when she remembers something, smacking herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand. “Wherever did I leave my brain this evening.” An exasperated sigh follows her mumbled words as Estela tugs the phone back in her pockets.

With both hands in her pockets, Estela calmly continues following after the two other Kindred, her gaze idly going over her surroundings without paying to much attention to it all. She does occasionally focus on the two before her, raising an eyebrow and rolling her eyes at one point. Miriel's approach is quickly noted and appears to be quite welcome to Estela. It seems like the distraction company brings is much preferred to the young vampire over being alone with her thoughts. At least at this moment. “Heya. All done plotting and planning?” Her tone of voice shows she says this solely in jest.

Miri touches the tip of her tongue to a corner of her lip; an attempt to curb a smile. It doesn't work, her lips curl into an amused grin, Oh yes. Can't trust a pair like us, can you? She shifts her friendly gaze to see Estela more directly.

When Duncan and Miri catch up with the others, Duncan raises an eyebrow as Mikael finishes his strange movements, but the young Brujah says nothing about that. He does turn to face Estela though, and he smiles at Miri's reply.

Oh yes; evil plots, in fact. Not 'world domination' plans, but maybe I can mess up someone else's plan to rule the world. That's almost as satisfying, and a lot less work.

Duncan puts the kickstand down on his bike, and leans against it as he faces the group.

Okay, so we're all together. Any ideas for tomorrow night? Leads that anyone would like to follow personally?

The main thing we've found out concerning tonight's Sabbat attacks is that our prisoner is Lasombra, and that he claims he was looking for some magical artifact that was either here or in Theodore Jacob's domain. Turns out it's already in Tremere custody. Whether that was really his motive or not, I doubt he did this on his own initiative. He doesn't seem like an elder, and from what I hear the Sabbat isn't big on letting the kids plan their own missions. So maybe someone fed him the information, knowing he'd take the bait.

I'm not sure what else we can find out about any of this. Gosuin might consider this case closed, and not bother with it any more, except for a well-publicized execution in a few days. It would be nice to know what the object of their search is used for, but if the Tremere have it, that information may not be forthcoming. Duncan gives a pointed look to Mikael. No offense, but you guys are pretty closemouthed about magical stuff. Although you're in a good position to ask Lyle about it. Maybe you could talk to him, and that would give us a clue as to who might want it.

Carrion was looking into some disappearances of humans around Bordeaux; disappearances that are stretching the bounds of the Masquerade. Theo thought it was a good idea if I helped her look into it. Duncan looks at Estela, and tells her: You might have heard something about them on the news. These may or may not be connected to the Sabbat's presence in Bordeaux, but even if they aren't, they are worth investigating, for all our sakes. Some of the bodies turned up in the river; some were students, some were foreign nationals.

Looking around the group, Duncan asks: Any comments? Volunteers to help?

After he is finished scanning the place, Mikael takes some time to answer to Carrion. He speaks in a normal tone instead of a whisper while he shrugs.
My mind was figuring out a spell to sunrise all of you should the Regent lose his temper. You know, no witnessess and all that. Bureaucracy is always a pain.

He turns to see the other neonates, despite having split off for some talk, are regrouped around him. He pays a little bit of attenttion to the talk. When it is finished, he comments with the same expression he used with Carrion, where one couldn't be sure if he was joking of being serious.
I trust you are not attempting to foil my world domination plot, Mr. Oliver. That would render me quite peeved.

Over here. - as Mikael leads the young vampires into the benches of Place Lafargue, and sits in one of them like he owned the place - The surroundings are safe - he comments, to any paranoid Kindred in the group - we can speak here.

Despite the waning night, the Tremere seems in no hurry of his own. He keeps silent and allows someone else to start on the topic of the attacks investigation / kine disappearance / stolen bodies.

Mikael maintains a calm face while he listens to Duncan. When the Brujah is finished speaking, Mikael comments to the group from his bench.

I'll take care of the artifact business, and if anything new comes up, I'll let you know.
I was going to see the Prince tomorrow night anyways, so I can give him the info. But of course, you neonates can always go on your own, if you're scared that I will steal your credit for myself. Especially you, Mr. Oliver. He looks at Duncan when he says this.

I will help you with the kine's disappearance. Mikael now looks bored and tired. They can be taking these Kine to turn them into shovelheads for the next attack. How many have been missing and how many showed up dead?

Estela chuckles cheerfully at Miri's answer, glad that the other plays along a bit. “Not as far as I could throw the two of you! Hear that, he even outright admits to it!” She points at Duncan when she speaks the last bit, her grin joyous and a tad mischievous. “And lazy at that as well.” As the others come to a stop on the Place Lafargue, she too stops and turns her body so that she can see everybody. She makes no move to take the word, content to listen to what the others have to say. Duncan takes the word first, after a short remark of the Tremere that causes the young vampire to grin a bit.

As Duncan gives them a summary on what they know, Estela takes up a more serious demeanor, listening intently to what he has to say. Some of it seems to be new information to her, for surprise occasionally makes its way on her features. This is replaced by grim recognition when Duncan reaches the end of his wrap up. “I've heard of those disappearances yea, though not much from the news and they were little more than rumors. Until not to long ago, I was studying the arts here on Bordeaux, on the same school that the disappeared students came from. I don't know how much faith you want to put in hearsay, but I guess every bit of info might help? Anyway, rumor had it that they were in some sort of group, always hanging out in the same places. I think one of those places is actually a church here in town, but,” She shakes her head. “I have no idea which one. It wasn't something I felt like looking into at that moment. Had my own life to live problems to solve at the time.” For a moment, Estela seems lost in thought, then perks up a little. “If you want, I could see if I can still log on the websites. Access would probably be somewhat restricted here and there because of the permissions assigned to a student's profile, but I might be able to dig something up for ya.”

Carrion listens to Mikael as they walk to the bench; when he makes the comment about the spell she chuckles. The expression on her face one of genuine amusement. The smile itself seems very genuine and almost happy. When she arrives at the bench with Mikael she sits on the opposite end with her feet on the seat and her backside on top of the backrest. Her elbows resting on her knees and her chin resting on the palms of her hand.

She listens to the others speak; she appears attentive but doesn't chip in until Mikael asks his question.

Two were studying in cinema and documentary, three were in philosophy, two were in art history, and one was in communication. So that's a total of eight male students and three bodies have been found in the Garonne already. All of them were seen out drinking on Thursday, Friday or Saturday night...

As for the girls fifteen have gone missing over the past three years, all young, bodies were found in the roads and natural parts around the city were mostly associated with outcasts.

She doesn't seem particular upset or emotionally invested; she sounds like she is merely repeating facts that she's memorised. She cocks her head to the side once more as she thinks of something; a pensive expression developing on her face.

Hey Mikael, how come the Tremere aren't big on talking to the dead since Lyle got put in charge?

Mikael takes Carrion's question with a bit of surprise. His face and tone seems more serious than normally. The Tremere takes a few seconds to ponder, looking at the kindred girl.

It's Regent Kersten to you, neonate. And what makes you think that his regency would have anything to do with talking with the dead?

Carrion meets Mikael's eyes; or at least it looks that way, she could be looking just above or below them it's difficult to tell. Her posture doesn't change and her expression alters very little either; she merely shifts to keep Mikael in her line of sight more easily. She takes a moment to answer him, her tone becoming more serious to match his.

You assume I don't respect him, you're mistaken. I will call him what I will and still respect what his title gives him in my own way; my ways are not yours after all. I don't presume to know such things, I only asked because I heard that the practice declined once he took regency. Is there a stigma to it that I wasn't aware of? Or was it one of those don't ask don't tell situations until he came along?

Duncan nods in acknowledgement as Mikael says he will check on the artifact, although Duncan ignores the few little digs that Mikael throws his way. Instead, the Brujah focuses on Estela, as she tells what she knows and offers her aid in the investigation. He smiles at her reassuringly.

That would be very helpful. Don't get yourself in trouble with the school or the law by digging too deeply, though. It might be a good idea to speak with the people you heard the rumors from, and see if you can find out whether the missing students were in some school club or church group together, and perhaps what bars they visited when they went out partying.

While Carrion relates her details about the disappearances, Duncan nods at certain points, as if he had already heard some of what she is saying. However, when she says that the missing girls were associated with outcasts, Duncan frowns. Before he can comment on this, Carrion throws her necromancy question at Mikael, which causes a small argument. Duncan moves to cut this short and get the conversation back on track.

I'm not sure 'outcasts' is the right word, but the women were Travellers, which some people mistake for Gypsies or Romani because the lifestyle is similar. But one thing is for certain -- someone is taking people who they think won't be missed, although they underestimated the news agencies, as well as the Internet. Any murders or disappearances that stir up public interest is bad for us.

I think I'll check with Laure and Celine tomorrow, because I'm sure they have connections I don't. For the missing students, I mean; I think that takes priority over those missing skulls. Duncan looks at Estela, since he knows she has no idea what he talking about. Sorry; another matter that's getting the news stirred up. Someone is stealing skulls, bones, stuff like that. Old bones. Maybe it's Giovanni; they're rumored to be into necromancy. I'm not just going to ask Catherina about them, though. If her clan is involved, all that would do is warn them we're asking about the thefts.

Estela's jolly disposition leaves Miri with a smile on her face, even as she crosses her arms and stands silently beside the group after they gather to talk. Little changes about her expression as they exchange words; Mikael's comment about sunrise spells makes her eyes narrow slightly, despite the smile. A wince or a cringe, but some appreciation for gallows humor is apparent. Her eyes wander to each present as conversation furthers without her. She smiles to Carrion, seen perching comfortably atop the bench.

A new topic is brought up, about local disappearances. Each has something to contribute factually, with her exception, so she offers general assistance to Duncan's mention of Giovanni aside, as Carrion asks things more specifically of Mikael, I have an appointment to meet up with some of the other female kindred sometime soon. A sort of club. We may not discuss remains, but Catherina will be present and may be able to provide insight about the general patterns of disappearances of kine in the area, to better see if anything about the girls are truly amiss. She's certainly in the right part of town to know a little something extra about these things.

She shifts where she stands, tilting her head. She has been half-listening to Carrion and Mikael.

Duncan's warning to not get in trouble draws a chuckle from Estela. She smiles sweetly as she speaks, some amusement in her voice but her words are still mostly serious. “Now whatever makes you think I go look for trouble? Like I said, student access is restricted when compared to teacher or administrator access. If I can access it without trying to hack through, and let me tell you that even a basic password is enough to stop me in my tracks, then I won't get in trouble. As for those that spread the rumors...” The young vampire's silent for a few seconds, recollecting her thoughts and sorting through her memories. Her eyes shift to look at Carrion and Mikael as they argue about the means to show respect, but otherwise she gives no sign to listen or even be remotely interested in their discussion. “I could probably get back in contact with a handful without raising questions, or to many at least. I'd have to make up a reason for me being back in Bodeaux, but I'll figure something out. Might just send them a mail and sidestep that potential landmine all together.”

As Duncan relays yet another matter, something about missing skulls, Estela smiles grimly and shakes her head. “I now see what they mean with 'ignorance is bliss'. If I'd known before how many shit happening is not because of terrorists or totally messed up humans, but because of vampires throwing crazy little parties without a care in the world for the consequences...” She glances at the damaged church, pulling a face “Well, lets see if I can't help you catch the bastards tomorrow evening before anyone needlessly discovers little bits of awkward truth.”

Estela's words indicate that she knows her limitations when it comes to hacking computers, which seems to be all that Duncan was concerned about. She mentions contacting old acquaintances, and Duncan nods.

Good. Maybe they will know something.

Duncan listens to the faint bitterness in Estela's voice as she talks about vampire violence, and he adds a comment after she is done.

We're not just protecting ourselves, you know. By keeping our secrets, we protect the mortals from the Masquerade, which demands their deaths if they find out anything about Kindred affairs. Think about it like that, and you're not just covering up for some bloodthirsty idiot who can't control his hunger.

Auspex 4, Perception + Empathy >5:

Looking at Miriel, Duncan adds: I'll see you tomorrow, early. We can discuss a certain matter then. Perhaps afterward, we can talk to Theo for a bit, before we do other things.

The Brujah turns to face Mikael and Carrion, and addresses both of them.

I'm sure we'll all use whatever resources we have to check on various leads. That's good; maybe one of us can find out something the others cannot. Carrion has my number; so does M. Kersten. Just for good measure, here. Duncan will take out 2 business cards, with only a phone number on them, and hand them to Mikael and Estela. If you find out anything you feel like sharing, call me.

To everyone, Duncan says:
I have a few things to take care of before dawn. I bid everyone here a good evening, and I'll see you soon.

He waits a few moments for anyone to reply, and then he gets on his motorcycle and starts it up. Any long speeches will merely cause him to grin, and respond, Tomorrow! Then he is gone.

Mikael was about to answer Carrion when Duncan intervened. The Tremere kept quiet all the way until the Brujah was about to leave, only giving a short laugh when Oliver talked about how the Masquerade also protects the mortals. When he was handed the phone number, Mikael looked a bit confused, almost as if he was trying to remember what was it for. Then his face read "Ah! I remember now", before he finally spoke to the entire group.

I'll take care of the skulls also, you all can focus on the missing cattle. To work this dissapearances out, you will need three things, none of which I have: contacts, computer skill and hability to socialize. If you all need anything or have any questions, let me know. Also, if I ever need of your abilities for something related to the skulls, I'll contact you.

He then turned to Carrion
I'll probably need your skills more than any of the others. I hope you're not afraid of getting nose deep into grave dirt. Or ghosts.

Mikael stood up from the bench, tapped his pockets until he found some business cards with phone number on it ("Is this the thing? Ah yes") and gave one to every Kindred in the group. Finally, he turned and spoke to Duncan.

Do me a favor, would you? Why don't you go ask the king of Bodegon castle why the news agencies of Bordeaux, which should be entirely under his control, are so furiously notifing the mortals about the dissapearances. Considering how Monsieur Theodore has always so dutifully and perfectly protected the Camarilla from the mortals suicidal curiosity, one can only think there's something odd in this situation. It would be a shame if the harpies started yapping about a lack of skill in the good primogen, or some weird, impossible plot of his.
The harpies don't need any more food for their lies, considering how much they would kill for just a glimpse of what happened in the chantry not long ago. Also, send him my regards.

Mikael once again turned to speak to the group as a whole.

Well, I'll be going now, dear children.

He gives a small goodbye to everyone with his eyes and, if there's no other question or comment, he will leave.