The Regent Grand Hotel

Estela looks a little guilty when Lyle snaps that he doesn't need her pity. It is quickly replaced by fear and disbelief when he continues though. She begins to shake her head slowly, almost in a pleading manner.
“N-no...please... Please don't make me...” She begins to sound desperate again, not entirely unlike how she'd been before.

The Tremere's eyes widen as he notices the total change of attitude. He seems surprised, but also curious, he tries to analyze it, staring more deeply.
(Lyle) .. ? What is the problem ? You have to feed, it's for your survival and everyone's safety. You're afraid ?

He stands and approaches Estela, to look at her more closely. He makes a hand movement to take her chin and force her to meet his eyes, even if it's for an instant. His glare is deeper. He thinks about it an instant, then lets her go, muttering the first few words to confirm the diagnosis he had made before.
(Lyle) You truly aren't ready. You didn't even accept what you've become. When was the last time you had your fix ? Tell me.

His inquiry isn't forced, but he's not hiding the fact that he could force her to speak and explain herself to the Regent.

Perception+Empathy>4:

Estela lets herself sink further into the sofa, as though trying to just disappear through it. She doesn't meet Lyle's eyes as he speaks his disbelief on her refusal nor does she speak against it. There's a visible flinch when the Regent rises and moves to her, wide eyes flashing between the door leading back to the hall, and then to Lyle. They remain fixed on the Tremere when he stops before her. As he moves to grab her chin, she tries to inch away, then squirms when held and made to meet his eyes. The moment she's released the young vampire looks away, pulling her knees up to her chin. Some of the worry that had risen when the Tremere moved to her disappears at the same time, though she's still very ill at ease. It takes a while for her to gather her thoughts and answer the question.
“Little over a week...Just before I left Spain.”
After a moment's pause, she briefly looks at Lyle, a questioning look on her face. "What do you mean with 'not ready'?"

The Tremere stands back with a sigh.
(Lyle) Not feeding for so long is suicide. 'Not ready' as not ready to evolve and move in our society safely. As soon as you approach a little too much some fresh blood, you will certainly give up to the Beast. I do not think you'd be capable of covering your tracks after such event, and this type of Masquerade Breach is punishable by Death.

He takes out the vest, which he lets on the arm of a chair, and rolls up his sleeves calmly, determined. He speaks as if disappointed, as if he was speaking to a child (which isn't totally untrue).
(Lyle) I'll have to force you to it, then. Do you know about blood bonds ? Tell me what you know.

Estela gives a small huff in disagreement, her eyes warily on the Tremere Regent. She knows he speaks the truth even if she doesn't want to accept it, that much is obvious from the reluctant expression on her face. There's a light tensing in her body when faced with the consequence that her losing it on the streets would bring. She doesn't react much in the way of surprise though. However lacking it had been, the young vampire had apparently heard this before from her Sire.

Her eyes narrow a little when he rolls his sleeves up, becoming more suspicious. Her eyebrows rise in realization at his words. She stammers a few moments before finding her voice again. “Well...I...I know it can make one very loyal to another, even if they don't want to...”

The Regent gives another quick look to Estela as she speaks. He shows a small smile, half satisfied. He allows a small course on the subject.
(Lyle) That's the goal of it, yes. A blood bond has three steps, which consist of drinking the blood of one same vampire in three different nights. Each step further in the bond renders the thrall, the person who drinks, more and more attached and loyal to the regnant, the one who gives the blood. Mortals who drink the blood of kindred become ghouls, and as kindred blood is scare, they become enslaved soon to their one donor. Kindred who drink the blood of other kindred do it for multiple reasons. Some because they are forced. Some do it mutually to prove or to create love. Some do it when they have nothing else to give in exchange for a favor.

He shrugs and lists another reason with as much detachment and non-importance as the others.
(Lyle) And some do it to quench their thirst when nothing else is available. I'll give you my blood this once for two reasons. The first one is in exchange for my silence towards Claudia about your actions here, and the second is to ensure you leave without being a risk to the Masquerade. If you're going to frenzy once you get the first few drops of blood after starvation, better be it in front of someone who can control you.

He shows his forearm, but doesn't approach and doesn't force it yet.
(Lyle) As a comparison to what you should expect, the first step of the blood bond is the one kindred have towards their sire.

The Regent gives a look towards the door as he hears it open. He nods seeing it's William but looks between surprised and annoyed to notice Rufus. He makes a sign to Estela to command her to stay silent.
(Lyle) I'll present you later.

He stares an instant at Rufus before addressing him in a commanding but low voice.
(Lyle) Rufus. Use the stones, this place is full of mortals. The staff is under my control but not the clients. Now move.

He signs towards the stairs and towards up, as obviously for the Regent one must take the stairs and one should go through the stones.

William touches his hat in a greeting gesture, "Right... stairs..." as he moved through the room, only briefly slowing down once he looked at Lyle's bared arm and the girl's nervous behaviour.

Auspex 2:

"Have fun." William said to no one in particular as he opened the door leading to the stairs and climbed several levels, cursing several times at the lack of an elevator. "Take the stairs they said, let's fly they said, and what was your name? they said, I'm hella old and I'm becoming a senile statue they probably didn't said but whatever..." He reached a door at the last step which lead to the roof. The door opened with a moderate creak and slid back shut with a soft click. He took a deep breath and wiped the scowl from his face and replaced it with an amused smile.

William took out the Itouch and scolled through the options and took out his own phone with his free hand and held it besides the other device.

Storyteller:

He slid the phone back in his pocket and regarded the lacation of the childe he was supposed to find once more and hid it once more as he calmly placed himself on a nearby piece of metal and awaited Rufus'es stone transfer journey-thing.

Rufus follows William into the foyer, but stops as soon as Lyle orders him. The look on his face (for those who can read it) is of mixed loyalties, for he was told by Tarcicus to go this way, but Kersten is the current Regent. The Gargoyle looks to the neonate William, and once he sees him moving toward the stairs, Rufus nods in compliance to Lyle, then melds into the stone wall. A few moments later, he emerges on the roof, and patiently waits for William. When the neonate arrives, Rufus looks to him and speaks very coldly.

"And for the record - no, you may not ride me."

The look on the Gargoyle's face seems to beg William to argue.

William stared at the gargoyle and the challenge which was portrayed in the gargoyles eyes, his mouth opened and closed several times and his his eyes briefly looked at at the direction of the stairs as they slit into thin lines, he briefly inhaled and exhaled a short sigh and his face lit up "Very well, I shall travel on foot then. Let me just briefly walk down the stairs again, past Lyle and his no doubt questioning gaze on why we haven't left yet. No doubt there is a chance I might be followed, after all, while the contents of this building are rather a mystery, the location is not. And I am not familiar to these parts, so I might be a bit more time consuming on the way there. Not to mention you'll have to dodge modern light systems a lot more since you have to follow me, which requires you to frequent in lower airs then Kersen and the masquerade would ever allow you."

William put a very fake looking façade of understanding, "Of course, you can fly, but that does not make you a pegasus, your honour, it would be damaged! Imagine the jokes, Rufus, the flying horseback! ... Or something as foul of the notion" he lowers his arms which had risen during his 'performance' and a smile settles on his face. "But I get ahead of myself, I considered time to be of the essence, the idea itself wasn't a party favourite of mine, I can assure you. Alas, our concepts of 'We need to get shit done yesterday' are vastly different"

The young neonate takes out his phone while going down the list of number he had, and selected a number while fingering the necklace with the reddish glowing stone with his free hand, letting his cane lean towards the door which leads to the stairs "Of course, don't blame me if we reach misses Voïgner and convincing her appears to be impossible or she cannot even help us getting into Brujah Domain with allowance, leaving us less time to plan otherwise or that we simply lack time to find the artefact, either by discovery or the rising of the sun. Considering the events at this moment to my understanding, time is short, and at the end of that time, it will damage the Tremere in either face of Vitae."

"You know, in Belgium we have a saying.. roughly translated it would be 'You suck bro' and not in the kindred sense." William pressed on the dial button and placed the phone to his ear. "Hello, reception, I was wondering if I could get a Taxi service around this time of the night." The Tremere asked with a look of mockery on his face.

Auspex 4:

The roof has no one in it at night time.


If Lyle had heard the discussion, he'd probably be laughing. He just signed a "yeah sure whateva" to William when he basically told him to have fun before worrying about his guest.
The Reception answers and tells William :
(Marie) Yes, certainly. It would take them fifteen minutes to be here to pick you up, where would you like to go ?

The Gargoyle quickly advances toward William and places a giant stony paw over the neonate's phone.

"You younglings have no sense of humor. I said you couldn't RIDE. I had every intention of carrying you. Now put that infernal contraption away before I discard of it for you."

The Gargoyle mutters something to himself under his breath in old Latin at this point, obviously ignoring William, as he steps toward the ledge of the roof, his red eyes surveying the city night.

Latin:

His voice trails off as his eyes seem to grow moist at the vista before him.

"What was your name again? Nevermind, doesn't matter. Look at it. Just look at it! This is nothing compared to the sights I see on a nightly basis. Your generation of the mortals may have stolen the secrets of our clans, but I swear by God that they shall never know the sheer joy of what you are about to experience."

Rufus looks at William for a long moment before he seems to realize his usual gruff facade had slipped. The Gargoyle seems rather awkward at that point and straightens up.

"Are you nearly ready to go?"

William almost trips over as the massive gargoyle placed a hand on his phone, pushing it away from his ear. He rolled his eyes at the comment and quickly spoke on the phone again.

"Hello? Ah, well it seems a..."

William studied the gargoyle for a brief moment.

"...colleague just offered a ride, many thanks either way."

The Neonate lowered the phone and hang up in a single motion as he let the phone drop back into his pocket. He raised a brow at the muddled words which resembled Latin, shrugged and followed the gargoyle, following it's gaze.

"My generation? The Wright Brothers are late 19th Century early 20th Century. I'm not nearly as old as that."

He saw the Gargoyle compose himself and mended the cracks of his mask.

"Besides... Roofy? I can call you Roofy right. What made you think the kine stole our secrets. Movement of the mind is a very rare and very protected path that requires years of study, I doubt 2 random people can steal it, let alone use it. And yes I'm quite ready..."

William leaned over the barrier and glanced down.

"Veeeery ready."

He almost gulped.

Auspex 4:

His calm demeanour slipped a bit as he climbed the stone elevation.

Auspex 4:

He made sure all his pockets were closed and his hat and glasses were secure.

"Sure, let's do this."

Though Estela looks away when Lyle gives her that small smile, she listens intently to what he has to say. Some of it, like the three separate nights and the ghouls parts, seems to be familiar to her, coming back to her with the subject being explained again. The rest appears to be new to her, and she absorbs the knowledge as it comes.

perception+alertness>5:

The reasons he gives for offering his own blood and the sheer detachment in his voice make her shudder lightly and she looks at the Tremere warily, though also a little conflicted. It's clear he struck a nerve with the unveiled threat of telling everything to Claudia. Her eyes wander down, to the exposed arm and the silent relief it could offer her. She clenches her jaw and tears her eyes away from it with effort. The distraction of the door opening is more than welcome to her. There's a flash of recognition in her eyes when she spots the Tremere with the cane from before. She's in the process of giving him a nod in silent greeting when she notices the looming shape behind him, her mouth literally falling open in sheer amazement and surprise. Her eyes remain glued on the stony figure as he's berated by Lyle and even linger momentarily after it had melted into the walls like it was water.
“W-what?”

Lyle approaches a bit closer Estela and shows her his forearm. He speaks a bit low, in a sigh and a whisper, like if he understood the reaction she had to what happened before her (be it the gargoyle but also her non-feeding problem), like if he was tired, jaded.
(Lyle) Don't mind the Gargoyle and drink.. I'll explain after. There's a bit too much you've been confronted to, tonight. This is your new life, you'll get used to seeing these kind of curiosities.

Lyle's words draw Estela's attention back to him. She blinks as he approaches and inches back in the sofa, away from him and his offer. Though her actions speak otherwise, in her eyes there's a clear desire to take him up on his offer. The instincts of the Beast, driving her to want to bite and feed until fully sated. Shuddering, the young vampire tears her eyes away from the exposed skin, closing them firmly while resting her forehead against her knees and hands clawing in her hair.
“Please. Make it stop...” Her voice is barely above a whisper, desperate and scared. The light growl of the stirring beast sounds through her words.

intelligence +empathy >4:

The Regent stays silent a few seconds seeing Estela's reaction. He then puts a hand on her head, slowly, and goes through the spikes of hair as a comforting move.
(Lyle) It will go away. You have to drink, then it will leave you alone. It's why one should never starve, Estela, if you do the Beast screams and it turns you into a walking danger. Feed often, avoid certain stressful situations, and use your blood as little a possible, and the Beast will leave you alone. Now bite my arm or I will force you. Don't worry, I'll stop you if it overwhelms you.

His explanation seems quite personal. He acknowledges she could frenzy by biting him, maybe through experience.

perception + empathy >4 or conscience >3:

player:

The sudden touch on her head makes Estela flinch for a moment, then she relaxes. She raises her head from her knees and looks up at the Tremere. His word seem to have their intended effect, calming her down a bit, even if she's not entirely happy with them. She manages a small, wry smile. “You're probably thinking I'm a fool, huh. It's just...” Unable to find the words she just shrugs helplessly then sighs.
After a few moments, she tentatively takes his arm in her hands. The young vampire is tense and hesitant as she does so. She lets out a frustrated groan after a minute or so had passed with her not moving.

auspex 4:

Estela takes a breath to steady herself, clenches her eyes tightly shut and buries her fangs in the arm in one quick motion. Though her feeding at first is almost reluctant, the tenseness slowly disappears from her figure as she eases into it and takes more of the blood. There is a notable shift in demeanor after a few gulps, the drinking becoming much more forceful and greedy.

Seeing Estela comes to her senses, Lyle shrugs it off with a certain detachement. He gives her his arm without blinking and lets her drink without seeming too preoccupied by it. He smiles slightly, affected by the Kiss, and encourages her drinking by keeping the other hand in her hair. He watches carefully her behavior as she lets ferself go to his blood and waits what seems like an eternity before deciding it's time to stop.
When he decides so, he grabs the hair and pulls Estela back of his arm, to force her out. His voice is a bit darker, lower, and his own fangs show, betraying his Beast felt threatened.
(Lyle) You've had enough.

He doesn't let go but does lick his wounds to close them up and avoid any spilled vitae or stains, even if he may control his flow. He makes sure to keep eye-contact with the woman doing so, and observes carefully her reactions. He looks quite satisfied with the situation, which makes the situation a little creepier than it was already.

Estela:

There's a momentary struggle from Estela when Lyle pulls her away. She pulls against the hand in her hair and there's a short snarl. It fades soon after, the fresh blood in her system calming the Beast and allowing the young vampire to return to her senses. “Ow,” she complains, wincing, and her hands go to her hair that's still being held by Lyle. “ Ow, ow. That hurts. You're going to leave bald spots if you pull like that!”
She grumbles softly after she's released, gently massaging the skin on top her head, all the while avoiding to look at the Regent. When she finally does look up to him again, she appears embarrassed and quickly looks away again. “I'm sorry...”

When he sees she's taken back control of herself, the Tremere lets go the hair and smirks to the reaction, with a certain releif.
(Lyle) You're back to yourself, good job.

After having pulled the sleeves back to how they should be worn and tied up the buttons, Lyle sits next to Estela and puts a hand on her shoulder. He speaks quite softly.
(Lyle) I will keep my word, and not tell Claudia you came here. You shouldn't feel sorry, I told you you'd be safe by letting go. Now you have to train, and feed every night. The Beast should leave you alone as long as you don't stress her. Next time you'll bite, you'll stay conscious the whole time, it's up to you to take a few squares of the chocolate and not the whole thing.

He pauses an instant, then looks away.
(Lyle) I'm no teacher. It's hard to put these things in words, since I've lived them for so long. I learned as I experimented, and did the "money see, monkey do" rule.

Estela flinches a little when Lyle places his arm around her shoulder, but remains where she is, even allowing herself to relax, though she still avoids looking him in the eye. “I know you said it was alright...but it doesn't mean I'm proud of it!” She lets out a sigh as the Regent advises her, sounding reluctant but also resigned. “You make it sound way to easy...It might be just that for you, easy, but for me.... It´s like you said, I'm not ready for this whole thing. It's just to much at once I guess. To many strange changes...and not just in the world around me.” The last part is spoken softly, more to herself than to Lyle, and sounds more like an afterthought than anything else.

As he speaks of his own experiences, she turns to look at him, giving a wry smile. “'Monkey see, monkey do'? I guess that could work but....I don't really see a 'monkey' for this one to copy.” She runs a hand through her hair and shrugs. “Besides....well, I've always gone my own way, doing what I want and aiming for my goals. I've even pretty much run away from my home because they couldn't accept me going here to Bordeaux, for my studies. Always wanted me to take over the business, but I couldn't stand it, so I left and have barely spoken two words with them since.” Another shrug. She doesn't sound apologetic about it at all. “And now I'm here again, my world turned upside down with no one to tell me what's what.” She smiles a little as she corrects herself. “Well, almost.”

The Tremere shrugs a little, letting the fingers on her shoulder move around idly. He listens but he stays quite distant.
(Lyle) You shouldn't tell me this, really. I knew about kindred ways before I was embraced, so I can't possibly understand what you're telling me. And making your own way is perfectly fine, but you must obey certain rules. The Camarilla laws you seem to know somehow already, but also the laws given by your new nature. Having a shelter from the sun, keeping the beast in touch...

He seems distracted, and he's staring. His fingers move a little bit closer to the neck, before he lets out a quieted growl and takes back his arm away from Estela. He doesn't apologize but he looks away, to let himself calm down and not want to feed, as betrayed by the fangs and his attitude.
(Lyle) Use Claudia, tell her to show you these things, or stick around other neonates, making a coterie. I will not feed you again anytime soon, I don't want a thrall and I tend to like having my blood in my own body. Experiment on your own if that helps you, and cover your tracks. Everyone finds their own solution to cope with being dead.

perception + subterfuge > 5:

The Regent smiles a little, then allows himself to look back at Estela. It's clear he has something in mind.
(Lyle) Think long term goals, and make your way up to them calmly, you now have all the time in the world to achieve them. And enjoy the little things.

Estela turns her head to look at Lyle and gives a half smile, shaking her head a little. “You know, if a girl talks, the boys should just shut up, listen and ask the right questions.” She gives him a light nudge in the side with her elbow as she says this, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “Yea I know the laws, and I know not to stay in the sun. It's that whole 'beast' stuff that rubs me the wrong way. Like I have someone or something in my head that's trying to make me do stuff I don't want to. And the longer I try to ignore it, the louder it becomes.”

Her expression becomes wary when Lyle growls and she notices his fangs, but at the same time she seems to be apologetic, knowing or at least suspecting that he's in this condition because of her. The young vampire looks down at her hands, a bit uneasy but overall unmoving. “I'll keep it in mind.” She gives a shrug and smile at the Regent's mention of wanting to keep his blood in his own body. “I can see why, though I don't think it's the only reason. Then again, I have a feeling you're not going to share that one with me, are you.”

Spoiler:

At his mention of taking up long term goals, Estela sighs. “I used to have goals. Before all this. Now I just don't know anymore. Maybe I'll find something again eventually. If I ever get used to being dead.” She can't help her expression becoming notably more curious. “Whatever are you plotting in that bushy head of yours?”

Rufus wraps a rocky anaconda of an arm around William's waist, then huskily whispers into William's ear, his stone lips softly grazing the vampire's sensitive flesh.

"Where are we going, childe?"

Once he has his answer, without further ado, Rufus leaps into the air and with a great thrust of his wings soars into the night sky.

At one point as they draw closer to their destination, Rufus gets a very sinister gleam in his red eyes and an evil smirk slowly grows on his face. His altitude starts to shudder as his wings apparently give out, and then the two of them begin hurtling toward the ground. The Gargoyle seems oblivious to the neonate's screams of panic (as surely even an undead creature of the night would panic upon seeing the ground coming up at him so quickly whilst being foisted by a massive stone automaton) as they continue to deadfall. After a while of Rufus holding back his laughter, he finally rights himself and continues his flight toward the Causeway Bay Gamecenter.