Le Grand Théâtre

Anger issues.  You too, huh?  Duncan chuckles to himself.  I guess the humans don't call us both monsters for nothing.  And try not to get my head ripped off... Good tip; thanks.  

Our enemies... yeah, our own kind are bad enough; no need to look for more.  Hell, none of us are the good guys.  But the Sabbat... well, they like being the 'bad guys'.  At least my people don't usually blow stuff up.

Duncan stops talking, and shakes his head.
Never mind.  You probably don't give a shit.

OOC:

William follows Duncan after giving a half nod half bow to Mikael, he entered the stairway halfway through Duncan's reply, and motions Fred to follow them from a safe distance before he disappeared through the door. Once through, he studies Duncan and the Lupine.
"The markets at Victor Hugo and Saint Michel." William added to the conversation as he descended the stairs, however he did keep a certain distance as precaution, "One of our members had an off feeling at the markets at the charity shops without being able to pinpoint the location about an hour or 2 after sunset. Considering your spec- your kind, this time however, maybe your missing member is in that general area. If she is still there or ever was there, that is."

Nyx was quick to follow Duncan, happy for an excuse to continue listening To what the Lupine had to say. She kept behind the Brujah, and followed the path the Vigneron chose, when he mentioned the Kindred she couldn't help but ask.

So, what did the contents of the carrier bag actually want from your territory?

Fred follows along when William gestures.
When William mentions the event at the markets, Fred removes his beanie.
Terribly sorry, I could not help myself when faced with such a strong feeling of impending danger.
Hopefully I can learn from such mistakes and make amends for past wrongs.

Fred gives a small bow and stands back behind William.

The Garou nods and agrees with the fact that he doesn't give a shit, stated by Duncan.
(Winemaker) Leeches are leeches as far as we're concerned. You guys are just plain vicious. But unlike you, we're part of nature, somehow...

He seems surprised when William mentions Saint Michel.
(Winemaker) Saint Michel ? Nicole wouldn't hang there, too many foreigners to piss her off. As for that one person, he says as he gives a glance at Nyx, she said something about some lost powerful item. No, if you guys felt something in Saint Michel, it could've been lots of things.

Duncan gives a slight grunt when the Lupine lumps all 'leeches' together.
Nature?  Yeah, stick with that line, if it makes you feel better.

From the moment Kindred are Embraced, we're taught to "Stay out of the woods, or the lupines will get you."  You're the boogeyman.  But I've heard stories that some of the so-called 'animal attacks' on humans are actually you guys.  If that's true, your hands are far from clean.  So it doesn't pay to be too self-righteous, when we're both monsters.

As they near the door, Duncan shakes his head again, his annoyance showing through this time.
Screw this.  Too much history here.  You're not going to explain your role in 'nature', and I'm not going to explain why I prefer to think of myself as a symbiote, not a parasite.  Let's just say good night, and keep it civil.

William rolled his eyes.
"Every species has it's killers, be it humans, vampires or even the, " He considered the word he's use a moment, "lupines. Our kind just has a few things extra going for us that makes us be one sooner rather than later, even if unwanted. As for the woman. If she's indeed within the city, there will most likely be reports of unexplained mass panic attacks on mortal channels soon enough. All though, it will probably take place during the day. Time will tell."

He leaned against the wall, still keeping his distance.
"Also, we aren't Leeches. We are a symbiotic species whom has direct correlating effect with our host. Our symbiosis can benefit the recipient almost immediately, and like many of said kind of species with the exception, we have ways of staying unnoticed as we benefit from each other alongside methods of letting the 'host' have some sort of attachment so there is no real reason to get rid of us per sé. A leech, would imply that everything we do is steal, and give nothing in return, which doesn't correlate with our current position in the human world. Although when you only look at the bad sides our kind has to show, we could indeed be mistaken by it. Of course, purely technically; you're not speaking with the symbiont, but the host. The Symbiont is our hunger for blood, our abilities and such forth and our... defensive instinct, but our mind and body are still our own human selves, it has only been altered by our guest, in other words our vampiric blood, to benefit us both, in a way, I guess. It is the very reason we're not out there on a rampage like a wild animal, for the animal is not really aware of what's going on unless there are special conditions that would awake it, and even then the host, us, block it out... mostly to a certain point."

The Garou listens with a look of incredulity, raising both eyebrows, and eventually rolling himself another cigarette while the Tremere gets all scientific on him. Once he's finished, he laughs.
(Winemaker) What bee got to you? I'll add a new word to your vocabulary, if you don't mind : metaphores. Host or parasyte, you're still a creature of the Wyrm regardless of what is.. "in control" of your corpse. I won't go on with theories and stuff, not my job, not my specialty, and I'm not patient tonight.

He sighs and then nods vaguely.
(Winemaker) As for Nicole, well I've tried the news already, and nothing that seems her handy work yet. I wouldn't have named her if it was that simple.

Duncan seems surprised that the Lupine doesn't simply walk out in the middle of William's speech.  Yet when the creature speaks again, Duncan quickly frowns and replies.

"The Worm?"  Sounds like we're getting into religion here, and you've already decided that we're "in league with Lucifer."  Which means that rational discussion is pointless.  So I think it's time to wish you a good evening, and let you be on your way.  We'll tell the Prince if we see your kin, and he can contact you through Chriss or something.

"No, Wyrm it means- ahh nevermind."
William just sighs.

Nyx had not expected a response but couldn't help but mutter.

Why doesn't that surprise me?

The Nosferatu made no attempt to make her words inaudible not caring who heard them. She seemed to listen with interest to the conversation. When the Lupine was about to leave she asked her next question. 

Why'd Nicole leave your pack? 


She was uncertain of the terminology and that much was evident by the uncertainty in her voice. 

The Garou just tssk tssk when smoking, making sure he doesn't seem aggressive with the source of heat.
(Winemaker) Basically it's a force of corruption that, uh, "hurts nature". Ya know, birds, trees and nice squirrels.

He doesn't seem to believe in the "nature" argument, somehow. He shakes his head as he steps out of the Theater.
(Winemaker) Nicole isn't part of my pack, cuz, well, I don't have a pack and neither does she. We're the old retired sages that the youngters come and find for knowledge and some punctual help.

He words it in a way that makes him smile, even if it's clear he doesn't consider himself an old wise Garou. He scratches his hair out of habit and answers Nyx in more detail.
(Winemaker) Basically Nicole's the go-to wolf for certain hunts, so the youth went to find her, but she wasn't there. It's very unusual, that's how I found out she was missing. It's not like her to leave without notice, and she doesn't hunt alone. So yeah, I thought the situation was serious enough to be worth mentionning to your kind, could mean something else is coming.

He inhales once more to finish his tobacco. He makes a hand movement to mean he's leaving.
(Winemaker) Here, leeches aren't as bad as they could be. Of course we can't trust each other, but if we're confronted to the same threats, it's smarter to at least share information. Farewell.


He moves to leave but he's not in a hurry.

OOC:

William just smiles at the Lupine as he leaves. Once he was (presumably) out of hearing range, he looked at Fred.
"Now, remember what he said, don't eat the squirrels."

Fred simply nods and gives a small smile.
I will do my best to avoid feeding from any squirrel that might be in the vicinity, wild or otherwise.

Ah! With the lupine once again outside, are there any tasks I can assist with?

With the Lupine's departure, Duncan becomes thoughtful.

That was educational.  I don't think that's what he intended, but it's a nice bonus.

One: Nature is their religion-- like some supernatural, militant arm of Greenpeace.  That's why they hate us; they see us as 'creatures of the Wyrm', some force of corruption that hurts nature.  So no, not all humans like William said, just the ones that hurt nature.  I was right though; you can't argue religion with a fanatic.

Two: They do indeed have a pack structure, which I would assume is similar to a wolf pack, with alpha males, etc..  The old ones can live outside the pack structure if they are 'wise ones', like this guy and the woman Nicole, who is currently missing.  Speaking of whom, they seem to assume she's in an urban area, since they can't find her in her usual turf.  I wonder whether they have some other information to back that up, or if they've just searched everywhere else.

Three: Lupines have issues with anger management, similar to our issues with the Beast.  I mean, we've all heard the stories about how they're basically nine feet of fur, teeth, claws and rage; but apparently it's not always under their control.  Can they become lost to their rage, like Kindred can be lost to the Beast?  Interesting.

At least they regard the 'leeches' in Bordeaux as relatively decent.  Or at least, "not as bad as we could be."  I wonder how they regard the Sabbat in Spain?

Yes, very educational.
For a moment, Duncan seems absorbed in his own thoughts; then he turns to the others with a smile.  His earlier annoyance seems to be totally gone.

So, what now?  I'm sure some of those upstairs will be eager to ask us about our recent guest.  The question is, do we really need to waste time humoring them?  The only thing to be learned upstairs is the identity of the bones he delivered, and I'm pretty sure I know that already.

OOC:

"Look at you, all knowledgeable and stuff. Exhilarating isn't it?"
William gave a short smile at Duncan before turning to Fred.
"I'm quite sure the only thing that needs to happen is us finding a way to spend time."

Once Duncan posed his last question, William seemed to have a moment thoughtfulness of his own.
"I have a feeling I need to consult with my Temporary replacement Regent about something, a little thing I've noticed during the little show upstairs. And Seeing I'm new, I'm actually interested in whom the remains belong to. But I'm quite sure my social interaction limit of the night can handle that last bump of social charade that the harpy kindred like to pull on who has the biggest stick up their arse, so we're pretty much free to do as we please until Nyx's people check out. Although lets keep it at safe places, while we now know that whatever checked us out at the market wasn't a Lupine, it still leaves us at zero clues other than that the sheriff might have sent them to keep an eye on you two," pointing at Duncan and Nyx, "after you came near his haven? You never did really explain what happened."

OOC:

I'm knowledgeable about a lot of stuff; I just don't advertise.  I'm surprised that guy didn't walk out in the middle of your metaphysical discourse.  Is that the official Tremere theory about the nature of Kindred?  It seems feasible, but I doubt you have a lot of proof.

I'd rather avoid the questions upstairs, if possible.  We can continue to El Bodegon, if that still seems like a good place to talk.  I can tell you about the other stuff there; what Lambert said, and the identity of the remains.

As for the alarm at the Market-- yes, I realized the same thing.  If that wasn't connected to this one, that's two distinct dangers we've avoided tonight.  So caution is stull a good idea.

OOC:

William gave a cheshire gin as he shrugged.
"Actually I made that up right on the spot, based on observations, but... yeah. Once you mentioned a basis, Symbiosis, the rest was easy. But it did give us the desired effect, we annoyed old grumpy, got some more information about the garou out of him, even though most was already known, and we now know what we're dealing with. I mean, can you imagine it? If I told that theory to my old Regent in Brussels... ohh boy, not even my sire could have gotten out of that argument scot-free. Heck I can alread-"

William halted mid sentence as he looked behind the group at a wall with a questioning. He looked at the direction the Lupine walked out, then at Fred and back to the group in general.
"I suggest we find another location to..." The Tremere gaze shifted to the stairs as his look of caution shifted to a small smile as he called out, "Griffin, good evening."

The moment Duncan notices movement on the stairs, he stops talking about their plans and switches the topic to their recent visitor, instead of the group's plans.

I know the Kindred term 'Lupine' derives from the Latin 'lupus'*, or wolf.  However, you called him 'garou', as in 'loup-garou', the French word for werewolf.  Is that the "scientific" term for their kind?

While he waits for William's reply, he nods at the approaching Tremere elder and greets him.
Evening, M. Griffin.  We're discussing the recent guest.

*ST: