Faith Everett
Run Like Hell
This is the night of the hunter
Deliriously pull the trigger, fire
You are my escape artist
Brujah | Bright Aura

---

“Sounds like I’ll like him,” there was a touch of a smirk. She could get a feel for how things would work out after meeting him. If he could hold things down during the daytime, that was valuable and important. Important enough not to mess around and keep things professional.

“I don’t have much territory to speak of yet. I snagged an old house around Seminole Heights but it’s in sore need of remodeling. Trying to keep that on the discreet side of things but…the hours.”

It was hard to manage the projects while being indisposed during the daytime. The house was a work in progress and for right now the only daylight free place was a larger closet. She was not waking up her most well-rested self these days.

“Annoyances aside, if you don’t mind sharing some supper I’d be much obliged,” lack of territory meant fewer feeding options. Besides, his hedonistic leanings tended to make things a little more indulgent and interesting. It wasn’t much different than their previous arrangement anyhow.

Back at the focus of her mysterious orphan, she let out a chuckle. He should be concerned, he clearly wasn’t. He wanted to know more, as did she but she was really unsure of how to go about things formally. Maybe an informal approach would be the more interesting option anyhow. Better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission. It wouldn’t be completely unexpected of her clan.

“Then I can’t wait to share the details later, there’s a lot of potential. Oh c’mon, I wouldn’t mind a few babies, they’re adorable with their posturing and acting like they have something to prove. It’s almost horrifying to think that we were like that once too. Maybe worse.”

Faith Everett
Run Like Hell
This is the night of the hunter
Deliriously pull the trigger, fire
You are my escape artist
Brujah | Bright Aura

---

“Just business,” Faith said in agreement to Mr Calloway. There wasn’t much else to say about it. It was just a way of offering a clean slate, it had been long enough after all and she wasn’t keen on holding onto old grudges. Specially not if they’re over a century year old.

Speaking of old memories, she had nearly forgotten the details of that particular operation they had conducted on that awful off-shoot that was infiltrated by some of the worse scum humanity had to offer.

“The Howitzers. I don’t even know how I could almost forget about that. Acquiring those was quite a feat”

It took nearly two weeks to line the whole plan up, the logistics were a nightmare since it required encoded telegrams and waiting on train shipments and deliveries, couriers sent with payment. A stark difference to today where you can get just about anything you want within the same evening if you grease the right palms and call in the right favors.

Clara had a good question, one that didn’t really need the passionate Brujah to think a whole lot on. She offered Clara a brief and gentle squeeze before stepping back with a grin, “If you’re going to stab me in the back, might as well get it out of the way now, hrmm?”

That wasn’t really a threat or meant to be anything short of amusing. It was a general truth of places like these, dealing with other kindred. A backstabbing was almost always promised, it was good to remain cautiously aware. There was also the very clear truth that neither of these ladies were aware of what they’ve been through all this time.

That length of time and experiences could create a pretty vicious predator.

“This is Clara Groves of the Rose Clan. Abel the master brewer here is one of yours. Geoffrey and Black Cat of Gangrel. This handsome warrior is Sergine, Brujah.”

Once the introductions and her attention was a little less distracted Faith was able to focus more on the whole group. Her brows raised a bit, did she pick up on a bit of a challenge? The idea seemed intriguing, she wasn’t even sure if this was a common thing or there was just some beef to work out.

The look she gave Abel was enough to say she was just as surprised as he was. None of this was planned out, it was wild coincidence coming together in a chaotic fashion.

She turned her attention back to Clara, “Oh, yeah, I’ve got a place here. Other place I lived was a little too dull and full of posturing try-hards. Not to mention the infestation of mangy strays.”

She hoped she didn’t need to clarify that the strays were a little understated as being something worse and she didn’t want to bother with it. That’s just a fight that ends badly all around, easier to avoid it all together.

Faith Everett
Run Like Hell
This is the night of the hunter
Deliriously pull the trigger, fire
You are my escape artist
Brujah | Bright Aura

---

How curious it was that most of them seemed to be new to the area. Maybe it was mere coincidence, either way it was probably in their favor. A unique collection of skills, abilities and pools of knowledge. She noted the statement from Sergine with a curt nod before her eyes cast over to Abel. She regarded his not so subtle action with a squint.

“Mister Beaumarchais, partager des échantillons avec de nouveaux amis?” the squint faded as she looked around the gathering to match the names to faces.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” a similar curt nod was offered to Geoffrey.

For the most part Faith was well practiced in being fairly friendly and sociable when she put the effort forth. It didn’t mean that the beast wasn’t just lurking nearby ready to crush some skulls. For the most part she was glad to be introduced to some new company. Wasn’t it reassuring to know that in the shadow of potential threat that there was going to be plenty of folks in on the fight. Unless they turned tail and left.

…speaking of which. Her gaze settled on The Black Cat. The right corner of her lip almost raised in a sneer. All she had to hear was his name to confirm who it was. It was a good thing she didn’t seem to hold a grudge for too long. There was also a matter of having well practiced control. There was the chance he could just casually dig up her own past. She wasn’t really afraid of that. Everyone had a past, past lives, past names. She just hadn’t gotten around to bringing it up among present company, particularly Abel.

“Nice to know that Calloway is still as slick as his title. Out West may be real big but kindred move in small circles.”

That more or less may have answered any questions of where she came from, the drawl in her speech had risen a little in recalling his past. He was fortunate it wasn’t an outright roar of his lying, cheating, and thieving ways. It was a long time ago.

She was going to leave that ball in his court on where things were going to go from here on out. She wasn’t interested in seeking out any kind of revenge for something that was also her own failure. He baited a trap and she fell for it. It was fun and delicious until she had to deal with the painful consequences later.

She gave Dio a small wave in return, it was nice to release the tension from her fingers and settle into a more peaceful and calm flow.

Faith Everett


Run Like Hell
This is the night of the hunter
Deliriously pull the trigger, fire
You are my escape artist
Brujah | Bright Aura

---

“Same. I know we’ve both seen a blank slate a few times,” there were advantages and disadvantages to relocating. It was going to make a lot more long term financial sense for Abel, it was also an absolute playground of socialization, networking and well…plenty of opportunities for fuckery.

Maybe it was how he said something that made her nose winkle slightly and her brow reason to raise. Faith had been around enough backstabbing kindred to know it was difficult to put much trust into someone. To be honest, she was extremely suspicious of Abel’s intentions, the unspoken ones, when they had originally decided to work together. All these years and he hadn’t given her a reason to turn her back or leave given the opportunity.

“I’m here.”

She was having difficulty finding words. She expressed her agreement to maintain terms with a squeeze of his arm. She hoped that was enough. There was comfort and peace of mind in having terms and some semblance of a contract in place. She figured she had shown enough loyalty over the years to assure him she wasn’t going to make a power move on his assets.

“Mmm, then I’ll make a point to be there personally until you have reliable staffing. I don’t like the idea of trouble coming to your domain. Please let me know the terms of any agreements you make so that they’re enforceable.”

Her lips tightened for other reasons, the casual mentioning of St. Petersberg was edging onto another topic of discussion that couldn’t really take place in their current environment. She knew the games here, some things were best not discussed.
“I don’t have a terrible fondness of that clan, social experiment seems like an interesting twist. Modern times mean modern solutions I guess. Consider me warned. Speaking of warnings, I’m taking on an intern.”

She forced out a heavy sigh. It wasn’t the smartest of her ideas but it was the tugs of her bleeding heart that pulled her to want to take in the stray.

“I can explain more when I can get you alone, if you’re not too busy entertaining wee fanged children?”

Faith Everett


Run Like Hell
This is the night of the hunter
Deliriously pull the trigger, fire
You are my escape artist
Brujah | Bright Aura

---

The unpleasantries were already done for the evening. Faith didn’t have a chance to take in the sights of the museum and scarcely had a chance to appreciate the beauty of it under the glow of the moon in the clear skies above. There was a matter of business to be done with the Prince, formal introductions to be made to ensure that she aligned with the expectations of residing here. At this point she had done quite a few of these and she was used to the ritual of it. Being well practiced didn’t remove the tension that built up leading to the moment. Tension she hadn’t explained nor cared to. Sometimes the weight of the past felt heavier at certain moments.

That weight was lifted once she was done, once she was able to leave the private chamber and rejoin the cacophony of strangers gathered about. Sure there were the whispers and the looks, Faith had her own game of playing blissfully ignorant while being perfectly aware of their whispers. If she focused just enough she could pick up on a couple little morsels of conversation. The disappointment was that there was hardly anything worth listening to.

Her attire of choice blended in, a long statuesque black velvet gown that nearly puddled around her silver shoes. The dark shape was broken up by the strategically placed slits revealing her pale skin. A slit up along the side of her leg stopping nearly at her hip, another plunging downwards nearly to her naval and the back had a similar V cut that stopped at the small of her back. Strategically placed tape was the only thing keeping it from shifting into almost taboo territory. It was a look, but it was merely that. A first impression, an artistic expression of the creator of the dress. The ability to move freely if necessary was a must. Mostly it was to keep others guessing, to make a striking impression that was also a distraction.

Once business was done, it was like everything else around her came into a much sharper focus. There were plenty of things to look at. Not all of them were pretty but she knew that they held a great deal of value. She had found herself lost in some of the more ancient findings. A depiction of Athena that had caught her attention. A figure of myth and history she hadn’t even known about until recently. Where she had been for most of her early life and unlife didn’t really have this kind of exposure to arts and culture.

It didn’t take long for her to spot the Toreador out of the corner of her eye. She watched him for a few moments, half amused by the indulgence he was allowing himself to get up and close to one of the pieces of ‘art’. Maybe if she stared at it long enough some kind of meaning of it would float to her. It just didn’t stir the passions the same way it did to someone that could truly appreciate the deeper meanings.

“Careful, Mister. Get too close and it might touch you back.”

The smirk on her lips might have teased at the idea that the statue would spring to life. What she had really meant was a little more deeper, she knew objects had a little bit of resonance left behind from their owners and creators. While a handy little trick she had honed for many years, it wasn’t always pleasant.

“Any clue what it means?”