[IC] VTM 20th: The October Chronicles

[William Cade]

The safe house was humble. Only a wooden table, a few chairs and a lamp separated it from being a concrete animal den. The walls were dingy and the air smelled of stale blood, a temporary safe haven that now housed fear and defeat.

“We must leave! Yana and her Death Flowers will be here any minute!”

“Cowards! We must strike back!”

“Where’s Pytor?!”

Vampires were arguing and some were preparing to flee, while others were planning a counter-attack.
Belka appeared. Her stoic demeaner contrasted her playful like stature.

“Silence! You all know what to do!”

The room fell silent as quickly as a switch to a radio. Everyone knew that despite Belka’s size, she was to be feared and deeply respected. She has been at Pytor side longer than some of them had been alive and undead. Chaos turned into order. The once bickering revolutionaries organized and began to carry out their tasks.

Belka looked at Vauldis and Valentina.

“Pytor wants to see both of you.”

[myinneroblivion]

While Valentina didn't have much to do with the politics of the country, some of her family did. She had begun to notice more and more of them being absent at the camp, and eventually decided to take part. Her people, forever low class and outcast, clearly sided with the F.M.A., but even so, Valentina never held the passion the others felt for the cause. Perhaps that was because she was a vampire now, perhaps it was because she was a performer, and usually paid by the elites they were fighting, or perhaps it was because if it weren't for her family, she would be one of those elites at the arm of her Toreador fan.

All that changed in one moment. She had had the night off and her family talked her into joining them at the doors to the palace to protest. She had attended, but hadn't been there long when she was whisked away in the wake of destruction. Even after feeding from her parents, so much blood all around almost caused her to frenzy as she dashed through the streets in a numb state as she followed Belka. She wasn't sure where the rest of her family had ended up, or if they had survived, but she was grateful that her parents had stayed home.

In the safehouse, Valentina slipped into a corner and remaining silent. She was not a fighter, she was a speaker, and it seemed the time for speaking had passed, until Belka spoke up. Without a word, looking much like the scared girl she was, Valentina would follow Belka. Hell, what else could she do at the moment?

[Pyromaniacwolf]

Vauldis sat down with a sigh after he entered the safe house,ignoring the panicked voices for a moment as he collected himself. Whatever they were blabbering about could wait for at least a moment. The march had failed miserably, it had been less of a march and more of a massacre actually. The Gangrel rose with a sigh and rubbed his eyes, Gods he hated the great cities that had rose in recent centuries and he'll be damned if he'll die in one. As he went to survey the situation Belka entered the room and shouted the others into silence before addressing himself and Valentina directly. He replied to the command directed at him with a nod, waiting for the fellow Gangrel to direct him to where Pytor exactly was.

[William Cade]

†

“They found us! Run!” shouted a comrade. His fangs shined with fear.

The Dotchinye Lyudi opened fire on the safe house. A few vampires grabbed rifles and returned fire. Two were shot in the back of the head while attempting to flee. Blood splattered across Belka’s face.

Out the backdoor! Hurry! Run comrades! There’s too many! Belka shouted.

Bullets continued rip through the door and shatter glass and cheap concrete. The comrades that returned fire were limping away with blood stained limbs. Another, struck with frenzy, was cutdown as he ran out the front door.

[myinneroblivion]

As the guns went off, Valentina instantly dropped to the floor, moving in a low crouch, still to the back door. Once out, however, she closed her eyes to concentrate. She wasn't overly efficient at her powers, not compared to others in her family, but she was creative.

Through shear force of will, Valentina made the image of a deep black curtain over the door. To everyone, it would appear like they back of the building was in deep shadows, as if they were in a covered alley that didn't allow any light down. the illusion would be believable enough to anyone not familiar with the area, or not taking the time to think about it, and would give all those who made it out the door cover from gunfire.

with that, she continued to follow Belka, keeping an eye back to focus on the door to save as many as she could before she lost her concentration on the illusion.

[Pyromaniacwolf]

As Vauldis waited for Belka to lead him to Pytor, gunfire filled the safe house. The Gangrel dropped to the floor as the bullets began to fly and scrambled to the exit on his knees in an attempt to avoid the injury. As he moved he felt the fury of the beast rise within him but dispelled it, now was the time to flee not fight.

After Vauldis reached the back exit he noticed a black curtain had appeared at the door, as he slipped out the door and rose back to his feet he noted Valentina keeping an eye on the and presumed it was some Ravnos trick. Today that spell has been a help, how much more help will such a trick be? he mused to himself as he followed Belka away from the building,warily checking behind himself still as he moved

[William Cade]

Valentina and Vauldis heard gunshots and screams at their backs. Belka led them through muck filled alleys and cold dead city pastures; when they reached the north eastern edge of town, just outside of the Brujah-Gangrel border, they got onto a military carriage and rode off into Garou territory.

The threat of the Garou was in the air only to be enhanced by a rapidly approaching dawn. Fear set in on all riders some expressed it more than others. Belka as stoic as stone turned to Valentina and Vauldis.

“Be ready. We are almost there.”

The carriage stopped in front a bunker. Belka rushed the gangrel and ravnos into the dark concrete hole, closed the door and locked it with a heavy clank.



Day time inched near and hunger had sat in. A small puff of life shivered in the corner of the frozen hideout. It was a miserable bony youth covered in mangy furs. The frightened lamb tried in vain to retreat into the corner of the bunker.

[myinneroblivion]

Valentina slipped into the bunker, stopping only once she had reached a side wall that she could lean against. Her mind was still racing with the events at hand. The sudden attack was a little excessive, and the repercussions of this attack were going to be staggering, this had suddenly become bloody, and Valentina felt very inadequate in that field. What worried her most, at the moment, however was her family. Some of them had been there, and her parents had no way of knowing where she was, or if she was ok. That had to change very soon. She had to keep in touch with her parents. All she could do now was to try and sleep.

[Pyromaniacwolf]

Vauldis sighed as he entered the bunker, this had been a disaster. Perhaps he should return to the woods at nightfall? No. He would do what he planned or die trying, everyday his chance to reassert the Old faith weakened with the advance of technology.

That small thought silenced in his mind Vauldis began to settle himself in the bunker when he noticed the youth hiding in the corner. His eyes locked on the child for several moments, the beast roaring within him for blood. He quickly crossed his distance between the two of them in silence before catching himself. You can wait for now, respect the beast but do not surrender to it. With that thought the Gangrel growled to himself before backing away from the youth and settling into a corner of the room, resting his eyes but not quite asleep yet.

[myinneroblivion]

When Valentina woke, it took her a long moment to figure out where she was. But as the hunger returned to her, and she thought to call for her mother, it all came back to her. She sat up slowly, straightening her dress the best she could, and leaned against the wall. The night before was still a blur, and she took a second to look around. The child was still there, which was good, it showed the other cainite with her had some self control as well. Speaking of...

She looked to the Gangrel wildman for a long moment. She recognized him from the Gypsy camp, so her parents trusted him at least as far as trading, so at least there was that going for her. "Comrade... The sun has set. Are you awake?"

[Pyromaniacwolf]

Vauldis awoke to the sound of movement and a voice, it was the Ravnos whelp. Traveled with the gypsies he traded with on occasion if his memory was correct. She wasn't the bad sort from what he recalled.

"Aye, I'm awake now. Right bloody mess we're in, any word off the others yet?" he asked as he gingerly got to his feet and rubbed his face, eyeing the youth again for a moment before deciding he could wait a little longer to feed. Not too much longer though.

[myinneroblivion]

Valentina sighed. "No. I have heard nothing. I really hope we get out of here soon. I am not used to being hungry this long." It was clear from the forced formality in her voice that she was trying hard to remain calm. Hunger was not her only problem. She was Rom, she did not like being in a box. She tried desperately to find something else to talk, and think, about.

"I have seen you at the camps. My great uncle tells me you are... Gangrel? It is nice to meet you. I am Valentina." It was modesty that made her continue to introduce herself. Nearly everyone in Russia knew at least her name and that she was a singer. She got tired of people brushing away her introduction by using it as an excuse to talk about music, or theatre, or worse, about her. Often times they launched into it so quickly that they never even introduce themselves. She would simply stop with introductions, but she felt squeamish about having the mindset of not needing to introduce herself when everyone already knew her.

[Pyromaniacwolf]

Vauldis nodded to Valentina when she guessed his clan "I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you but given the current circumstances perhaps not so much. I am Vauldis,and yes I am a Gangrel. Perhaps it would be best if we went on the hunt soon? I'm starting to hunger and I'd rather not kill the whelp in the corner before I know why he's here." he gestured to the entrance as he spoke, not only did he want to feed but he wanted to get out of this bunker, he was used to confined spaces by this point but the concrete felt wrong to him. Not something he'd like to sleep on again,even the mud felt better to him than this.

[myinneroblivion]

Valentina tapped the metal door behind her for dramatic effect. "I truly with we could, Comrade Vauldis, but I am afraid we are stuck until the powers that be come and let us out. I would truly like to touch base with my parents as well. I am sure my family would assist you in food, unless you simply prefer the hunt. These have apparently become hard times, and the Rom do not forget our friends."

She spoke these words with an air of nobility that seemed to be with her always on stage. Despite her age, both as a human and the undead, Valentina had always possessed a way with words and presence. It was often joked that the toreador had had a hand in her making after all when Valentina would walk to the fires after waking and silence a party in anticipation of her stories. It had been humourous before, but as Valentina sat in that cold concrete hole in the dark, it made her uneasy. What good could she do with her words when the country seemed bent on slaughtering itself.

[Pyromaniacwolf]

Vauldis shook his head at the offer "I hunt with my pack, the beasts are probably on the outskirts of the city even now waiting for my call so we can feed." He hoped they were still waiting, it would be unlikely that in the riots around the city that they had been butchered by a mob of angry peasants. It was less likely his kin had went through the effort of slaying the beasts but he supposed it was possible if they had wanted to.

The Gangrel sat back on the floor and sighed, he wished to go on the hunt with his ghouls but he was not sure that would happen anytime soon. Damn this failed revolution and damn the Church.