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Against the backdrop of a city of lights and sounds sat a small humble photo studio. Needless to say it was still an elegant building, a fact nobody could dispute as it blended in quite well with the businesses nearby, but it still stood out among the extravagance that surrounded it. In front of that building is where two figures stood, a man and a woman staring at the building that looked entirely closed for the night except a single burning light seen through the front window.
It was the woman, Emily, who spoke first. Gazing upon the building her ghoul had led them to just on word of mouth from a source of his, she had her doubts. “Are you sure this is where we're supposed to be?” A dry wind blew by as she spoke, a chill in the air that would have surely gone right to her bones were she able to feel much more than a slight breeze. Instead it did little more than ruffle her dress slightly to which she carefully smoothed the new wrinkles out of place.
In contrast Mercurio shivered in his jacket, a knowing smirk still situated on his face. “When have I steered you wrong?” Glancing over at Emily, his expression fades to a more neutral one with a shake of his head. “Actually, don't answer that. But this has to be the place. According to what I could find out, she used to be a magazine editor a few years ago. Guess that explains why she picked photography.” The ghoul shrugs as Emily makes her way to the front door, finding it unlocked and pushed open with ease.
The interior of the studio was stately and modern, a small reception area immediately after entering with the light they saw coming from an office to the right. A large window showed the inside of a rather cluttered office, where inside at the desk the pair could see a figure with long wavy red hair matching the description of the woman they were there to see. Though they only saw her from the side, it was clear to see that she hadn’t yet noticed the pair enter her studio. Emily moved first, walking up to the office door around the corner and knocking quickly but firmly as she opened the door to speak.
It was enough to get the attention of its inhabitant as the red haired kindred glanced up and away from her work to take a look at her visitors. By this time, Mercurio had joined Emily though she was sure he could only barely be seen behind her. “Ah, I’m sorry we’re closed for the ni…” The red haired woman’s voice was soft and melodic, barely reaching above speaking volume before trailing off into silence. Her originally calm and stoic expression switched to a polite smile while she set down her pen to pay full attention to Emily. “Ah, I see you’re not here to book an appointment… not with me at least, I would assume? Forgive my current appearance, I was not aware I would have guests tonight.”
“What does she mean by-” Mercurio peeked past Emily, glancing into the office to see the sight his domitor had already seen. It took a moment for him to realize what she had meant, as the woman’s long wavy red hair and simple suit seemed presentable enough to him until he looked closer at her face. An apologetic gaze came from the woman’s single visible green eye, with the other closed tightly shut and surrounded by the remnants of a burn scar. Before he could comment, Emily turned around and held a finger to her lips, a silent order he was more than willing to oblige more than content for her to lead.
She stood from the desk, walking around quietly and carefully til she was not quite in reach of Emily but near enough to be fully visible. “My name is Tammy King. I haven’t seen you in the city before, so there’s a few reasons as to why you could be here right now. I’ll make an educated guess, if that’s okay.” With a watchful nod from Emily, Tammy continues. “You probably need to see the Prince, and his childe happens to be the easiest way to get an audience with him. And that would happen to be me. Or I’m reading the whole thing wrong and I’m in very serious danger!” A light chuckle can be heard from Tammy as she tilts her head and shrugs.
Emily, whose gaze has not left the elder Ventrue since she got up from her desk, frowns very slightly. “How often does that happen if you’re making jokes about it?” She crosses her arms in front of herself, both curious and wary of how calm Tammy seems to be about the subject. It was clear enough to her already that Tammy was quite the abnormal Ventrue. Whether that was a positive or a negative she hadn’t quite decided yet.
“Not often, well, not anymore anyway. When I lived up north? Couldn’t go a week without something going wrong. It’s good to be home... I’m sure you don’t want to hear me rambling about that, especially not in this little office.” Tammy reaches into her pocket and pulls out a rose gold watch with the Ventrue clan crest cast on the outer metal. Opening the pocket watch and frowning, Tammy sighed. “I’m sorry to say though, that we’ve still got a while before Zacharias will be available. His last appointment tonight is at two, so he won’t be able to see you until then. Though as long as you’re with me, he’ll make time for you when he’s able.” The tips of her mouth tilted into a sympathetic smile as she tucked the watch back into her coat pocket with care.
Mercurio breathed a sigh of relief that the city seemed relatively safe, but Emily still had her concerns. “Then we will just have to kill time until then. As we still haven’t been welcomed into the city, it wouldn’t do for us to just wander off for a few hours. Could I ask you to perhaps show us around? If you’re the Prince’s childe then I am sure we would be fine in your capable hands. It would be nice if we can go somewhere to talk, so I can learn more about your city and its kindred as a whole. If I gain his permission to stay for some time, it would be good to educate myself on such things.”
Tammy tentatively nods, though it is accompanied by a frown. “I see no issue with that, of course if my guest wouldn’t mind introducing herself. Here we are halfway through a conversation and considering a change of venue and I still don’t have your name.” She offers a handshake towards Emily, meeting the watchful gaze of the woman who just as easily could have meant her harm.
Internally cursing her bad manners, Emily grasps Tammy’s hand with her own to give a light squeeze and a shake. “Ah yes, my mistake. It is lovely to meet you, Miss King. My name is Emily Boucher, and this is my ghoul Mercurio.” Emily steps aside to allow Tammy to see her ghoul, who had been conveniently quiet since the two Ventrue began to talk. “I am not sure how long we plan on staying yet, but from just the drive in, Reno looks absolutely lovely. I would love to hear more about the city, if you don’t mind.”
—
A few hours had passed as Tammy had called up her ghoul to take them around the city. Trevor put on his usual theatrics of trying to look professional when she called him, to which the two Ventrue and Mercurio mostly laughed off when it became obvious that the visitors could see right through him. True to her word, Emily seemed to be taking in everything Tammy said about the various parts of the city throughout their makeshift tour.
The parks were dangerous because that’s where the lupines kept their territory, but they stayed away from the kindred in the city proper due to some kind of agreement the sheriff had with them. The area surrounding the planetarium tended to be Toreador domain, except for the University which Tammy mentioned happened to be her domain. The Gangrel and Tremere often fought over domain due to both having heavy interests in the many wilderness trails outside of the lupine territories, and as to be expected the Nosferatu could be found just about anywhere if you looked close enough.
“The majority of the inner city streets happen to be Ventrue domain, much like where you met me in my studio. Mostly overseen by Zacharias these days, since there aren’t as many Ventrue as there used to be here.” Tammy sways side to side casually as she walks, the four having proceeded on foot towards a place Tammy claimed was welcoming to kindred and the two Ventrue could have an actual chat. “My friend Violet still hasn’t returned to Reno, her sire was the previous Prince, though she could be back any night and I wouldn’t be surprised. I’m actually the youngest Ventrue in the city, though there are just a handful of us so it isn’t saying much.”
It doesn’t take long for the quartet to reach a rather upscale bar further away from the inner city but still in a well maintained part of town. Emily hums curiously at the numerous motorcycles in the parking lot that Tammy and Trevor seem to pay no mind to. “The Lord’s Rest? What an interesting name, and you said they were kindred friendly? How can you be so sure of that?”
Tammy turns around, glancing back at Emily who has stopped in place staring past the other Ventrue towards the bar. “The owner is a business partner of the Prince. He’s also saved my life a few times. Honestly I probably should owe him, but Luciano’s always been kind to me about it. He’s a bit like a dad to the Brujah of the city, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time where there’s not one or two here.” She shrugs and continues, followed by Emily who seems satisfied with Tammy’s answer as the two enter the building.
The front of the bar is filled with kine, to the surprise of nobody in the group. The much paler bartender takes a single look at the group led by Tammy and motions with his thumb to move on through. Drawing as little attention as the four of them could manage, Tammy and Trevor led Emily and Mercurio through a hallway and down a set of stairs. Down another corridor and through a door the four enter a much smaller but more welcoming bar that is nearly empty tonight except for a group of kindred gathered around a pool table and one exasperated ghoul leaning behind the bar. As their ghouls branched off to go join the game of pool, the pair of Ventrue sat down at the bar which seemed to be the quietest place to chat.
As the two settle in the ghoul wordlessly pours two glasses of wine for the pair before stepping away, his attention fully on the group at the pool table. Tammy picks hers up and glances down at it, idly swirling the liquid in the glass. “I don’t know if you can drink or if you even do. If you do, I hear Luciano has good taste so you’ll be sure to enjoy it. It's mostly to keep up appearances, in case some kine wanders down here, since we’re sitting at the bar.” Relaxing a bit more now that the ghouls have wandered away and it was just the Ventrue left talking, Tammy turns her attention back towards Emily. “You said you wanted to learn a bit more about how my sire became prince, yes? I am a bit afraid that the story is a long one that mostly starts with my time outside of the city, but if you’re still curious we do have a bit of time to burn.”
—
As Tammy finished her story, Emily felt as if she had a better understanding of the Prince and his childe, though she could tell that the young Ventrue was leaving out a few major details in her story. Regardless, everything she did tell seemed to be earnest and truthful, despite how outlandish the events sounded. If Emily hadn’t had similarly strange and dangerous experiences in Los Angeles, she might have not even believed Tammy’s story. There was one thing that stuck out to Emily as strange however, which was how sociable and open Tammy was. Many of the Ventrue Emily had met prior were more often than not closed books when it came to their histories, ambitions and even true personalities. Tammy was unlike most Ventrue in those regards, no desire for power or higher station, much more casual in the way she carried herself, and almost too trusting of a Ventrue she had met only hours before.
These thoughts had crossed her mind as Tammy stepped away to make a phone call, watching intently as her demeanor almost entirely switched as she spoke. Though she couldn’t hear anything Tammy was saying, she could see Tammy was standing straighter, listening intently to what was being said on the phone and whenever she did speak her face showed almost no expression. It was almost as if Emily could see what lessons she originally had been taught by her tutors mirrored directly onto the Reno kindred. The difference would have been startling if Emily wasn’t well aware of this being precisely how young Ventrue are taught to act.
Once Tammy’s phone call was over she relaxed into a reassuring smile as she approached Emily again, though Tammy didn’t sit down this time. She remained standing as she addressed Emily, stashing her phone away in her pocket. “I’ve just checked with my sire, he’s kept his schedule for two-thirty open for us. Well, that is of course if you still wish to meet with the prince, if I haven’t talked your ear off already.” Tammy chuckles softly, brushing a stray hair behind her ear as she does.
Emily nods, setting down her hardly touched glass of wine on the bar as she stands. Deciding to take this chance to ask the question that had been on her mind the latter half of the night, she speaks up as the two begin to walk over to collect their ghouls. “Miss King, if I may ask a question.” The red woman stops walking, turning her full attention to Emily and nodding for her to proceed. Emily notices her smile has lessened slightly, taking on a more neutral expression while still being polite. “Why is it that you have trusted me from the start? You said as much yourself, that I could have been here to harm you. You do not know me, were not aware that I would be coming to see you, and have little reason to extend the trust you have to me. I would think that a kindred who has been through as much betrayal and hardship would be much more wary of strangers.”
Tammy closes her eye for a split moment, swaying slightly in the same way she had when they had been walking together earlier. “The answer to that is simple really.” Opening her eye and staring Emily right in hers, Tammy gave her a warm, friendly grin that Emily could tell was no act. “The song is soft tonight, a soothing melody. It would have warned me if you meant to bring me or my sire harm.” Left with possibly more questions than answers, Emily could only watch as the peculiar Ventrue turned away and began to walk on ahead. “If that’s all, then let's go find Trevor and Mercurio. Zacharias really doesn’t like tardiness and his office is halfway across town so we don’t have much time to lose.” Unable to do much else than follow, Emily continued on, intent on meeting the man who sired perhaps one of the strangest Ventrue she had met thus far.