Logs:Manuel Ward And the Blood Hunt

Cast

PCs: Magnus, Azar, Roux, Tova, Lilith, Scarpia, Walter

NPCs: Charles Pang, Sarah Anne Winder, Luna Demian, Farhad Sassani, Gene Nguyen, Camille LeFebvre, Zora Pavlova

Synopsis

Details on Manuel Ward's confession surfaces: Clan Tremere have been conveniently waiting to be asked about what dirt they have on the hunters that Ward recognizes from the film. A young Anarch puts her principles first only to be smacked with a Blood Hunt if she doesn't cough up information in 24 hours.

Log

Court Assembles

The Primogen and other officers of the Court (who you should entirely find a preferably teamwork-oriented-and-clandestine way to murder, replace, and otherwise set on fire don't make me keep playing 8 goddamn people) are here at the galleries, in their Sunday best. Zora and Camille take it in turns to quietly escort folks towards the stern room that has the commanding, impressive Skinner organ amid the Rodin collection, and Winder sits at the organ's bench, her hands neatly in her lap, her concerningly sharp gaze watching those who file in. xxxxx "Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I invoke Elysium on the entire grounds of the Legion of Honor," Charles Pang says, from his spot near to the Prince. The Primogen in general are standing in clusters about the room. Seating has been provided in the form of dining chairs, although there is no table. It's more like a church setup, where the organ plays the role of Altar. Or a theatre, with that organ as the stage. Winder rises to her feet. "Thank you for arriving. We have important news, and then I will take your concerns and inquiries, be it to this news or your personal affairs."

Magnus enters the room all noble and pretty and awesome and such, pausing to give a little formal bow to the Prince, then another to his Primogen. He wanders over in Luna's general direction, watching the rest of the gang come in.

\Alternately smiling and nodding at those of the Court she recognises, Azar slowly makes her way over to one of those dining chairs, claiming it as her own for the night. It's no brocade alcove, but it'll do. Like the Prince, she folds her hands in her lap. Unlike the Prince, she remains silent ahead of the important news. She will, however, seek out Luna with her eyes.

Winder's attention turns towards Tova as she enters. Truly, it turns to everybody when they enter, but her gaze does not linger beyond acknowledgement until she spies the unfamiliar face. "Who do I have the pleasure of meeting tonight?" The voice is warm and welcoming, and yet there's something pointed to its undertones.

Roux finds his way to one of the 'pews', removing his cap out of respect and tucking it under an arm. Leather gloves are awkwardly yanked free and placed in pockets as he nods his head in the direction of Camille. Those that can stand to look at his horrible visage may notice that is expression is strained. Nervous. Out of place. He nods once more to Camille, as if to reinforce his courtesy and deference towards the elder, before taking his seat in one of the dining chairs.

Luna Demian is seated to the right of the impromptu theatre, draped in one of her usual matronly gowns, staring at the Prince with all the personality of a goddamn piece of concrete.

Tova runs a hand over her crew cut, black hair - it feels weird having it cropped so short. "Tova. Anarch of Clan Gangrel. Computer specialist and personal trainer." Slapping skills onto the list to go with her name and lineage - insomuch as she knows it. There's a pause as she looks to where or if Walter has picked a spot, yet.

Magnus gives a little nod of acknowledgement to his dear sweet friend Azar as she arrives. Mag himself tries to balance Walter's repulsive attire by just looking so god damn awesome in his perfectly fitted sit.

Of course Lilith dips her head in respect to the Prince as well as those who hold rank that deserve such show of such. Everyone else gets a cursory wave as she seats herself. She has no one with her so should make finding a single spot easy to find, somewhere that allows others to gaze upon her as they wish.

Scarpia slinks in, silent on his soft-soled shoes, looking around with half-lidded eyes. He finds a seat in the back, and sits in it sideways.

Walter looms behind Tova. He's good at that. It lets him literally and figuratively back her up. He says little, just "Yeah," after she claims to be gangrel. He gestures with his head towards a suitable spot where they can watch all the goings-on more or less safely.

Farhad, the tall Arab guy with the curly hair, is accompanied by his quiet ghoul, Gene Nguyen, who is dressed like a snappy office worker in his slacks and blazer and polo shirt. Farhad himself has a relaxed vibe to his outfit thanks to that tactical turtleneck that he's wearing underneath his navy blazer, paired with slim dress pants that flatter his lean form. He turns in his chair, eyes focused on Tova for a moment of polite attention.

Farhad's attention lingers on Tova for a few seconds, his gaze focused. Then he turns his attention to Winder, catching her gaze with the motion. He flashes her a quick smile, showing that one gold canine. The unspoken transaction between them seems to be enough for now. Winder looks to Tova. "Tova. You will find that the Anarchs are another brick in the structure of our Tower and that our rules are rules all Kindred follow. I trust you are familiar with the Traditions. We take those Accounting and Progeny conservatively, and require permission to ghoul. I acknowledge your presence in this Praxis."

Tova nods, lips thinning slightly. "Of course." This is paired with a dip of her head as she moves off with Walter to the 'over there' to hold up some wall and observe from. Contrasing his sludgy, bogness with her athletic wear that fits like a glove, her spendy running shoes and shaven head - though it's safe to say neither likely fit in with expected court fashion.

Scarpia rests an ankle on a bony knee and lifts a hand to Walter, half smiling.

Azar, honestly, isn't paying much attention as Tova presents herself. There are only so many ways that exchange could have gone. She leans back in her chair, slightly, and releases Luna from her gazes, checking out what everyone else is up to whilst they await the Prince's next words.

Magnus relaxes in his own chair besides Luna, a look of mild detachment on his face as he watches the goings on.

Roux relaxes into his chair, patiently watching the events play out before him while attempting to remain unnoticed. He takes in the scene, his eyes lingering on the Anarch woman as she presents herself to the Prince. Then moving to the giant who shadows her. Finally to the emaciated man who waved to the biker across the Gallery. His eyes glaze over as he retreats inward, becoming lost in thought as if filing something away in his mind. The vacant expression only lasts a moment, however, before his gaze expectantly turns to Winder.

Winder's eyes do skirt Tova's form, but she says nothing of it, then spreads her hands to address the room. She is apparently ignoring Walter, although if she does so with contempt she hides it well. "Onto why I have you gathered here tonight."

The Interrogation

"Magnus and Luna have given us the pleasure of their due diligence of exploring mister Manuel Ward and what brought him to us." A pale, graceful hand gestures towards the two Tremere seated with each other. Luna remains about as personable as a graveyard statue as she listens, her face unmoving from its neutral state. "Mister Walter The BloodLetter has done us the wonderful /favor/ of liberating what I have read are thirty eight server blades from Lucky Boar Studios and we will get to that." Now, NOW she looks at the bogman, and her gaze is a warning one. Then she looks back to the general assembly. "Camille and Zora have ensured that the security concern posed by mister Ward is neutralized, bringing him to places that bear no importance to us, and wearing diguises in transit. Now. Magnus, Luna, would you like to tell them what you have told me?" She shifts the stage to them.

Walter picks a suitable over-there. He settles into one of the seats - surely it'll need to be cleaned after this, though, from the creaks and protests it gives as he puts his butt into it, it may just need to be discarded. He laces his fingers over his stomach and lean back (the chair, somehow, holding together) and he just smiles at Winder. Maybe he's just planning where on his throne to place her skull.

Magnus shares a brief look with Luna, nodding and letting her deliver the report, because Batty doesn't have enough characters to run.

Scarpia raises an eyebrow, but stays silent, looking a little sleepy.

Tova's lips twitch into a ghost of a smirk when the server blades are mentioned, crossing one leg over the other and resting her hands on her lap, head turned slightly as she listens and watches with sharp senses.

Lilith listens intently, looking from face to face as she does so. There's no expression given that would hint to any reaction save for a tiny twinge of curiosity when Magnus and Luna are called upon to share what they know.

Magnus you horrible ingrate I give you a chance to take the STAGE and look what you do with it. And so Luna animates from Statue Mode. Luna opens her liar-flaps that other civilized people call 'lips'. "Ward was a member of a coterie, which the Sabbat calls a 'pack', called Iron Shields, and before that, another pack which was hit by hunters. He recognizes the voice in the Ramos torture video as belonging to one of the men who killed his compatriots and came here to San Francisco to avenge those fallen."

Azar visibly grimaces when she hears that. It confirmed a terrible suspicion - assuming Luna isn't lying again.

Scarpia smiles with one side of his mouth.

Magnus nods in agremeent with Luna, adding after she finishes the commentary, "I will also note, to Ward's knowledge, these Iron Shields remain in the area. We have their names and bloodlines, if any here are interested. Whether they intend to stay and make any attempts at vengeance, or they intend to cut their losses and return to their old grounds, Ward did not know."

Walter asks, his voice a low rumble, "And what're they then? Those names and bloodlines, I mean?"

Winder does not comment on Ward's final state, but she allows Magnus and Luna to speak. "Does anybody have concerns or questions to bring forth at this time regarding these discoveries? I assure you that we have a duty to your safety and well-being, especially against these Hunters, and are taking steps to sanitize where Ward has been, should the paths of our investments cross."

Roux quietly watches the Tremere, looking over the two with an appraising eye. The soft, indirect lighting of the Gallery itself casts a shadow across his features, sparing the gathered guests the opportunity to really appreciate just how ugly he is. He glances from the tremere towards Camille, his gaze lingering for a moment before his attention returns to the Cammie theatrics.

Magnus nods, reciting the list in a detached, emotionless manner. He could be reading a grocery list for all he cares. "They consist of 2 Nosferatu, and 2 Toreador. The Nosferatu are named George Otsuka and Gabbi Ramirez. The Toreador go by Allison Lewis and Leslie Diaz. Of the four, Ramirez leads the pack, and Diaz is, I believe it was termed, a spiritual leader of some sort."

Tova looks at Walter, arching an eyebrow, then back to Magnus and the others, not even really trying to hide the smile tugging at her lips. Shifting slightly, she tugs her phone out of a zippered thigh pocket on the charcoal grey athletic pants, tapping on the screen for a few moments, then turning it, face down, to rest on her thigh.

Winder allows the lying liar squad to continue to deliver the Truth at hand, so far without comment, to allow time for any follow up questions

"If there is anything else that we know of these Hunters at this current time, I would ask that it be publicly shared for the benefit and well-being of all present," Azar says, speaking up from her chair in that distinctive Persian accent of hers.

Magnus shakes his head slightly, in response to Azar's question. "For Ward's part, while I suppose it is theoretically possible he knows more on the subject ... I doubt it. I would put the odds very high that is all he knows."

Tova sits up slightly, hand on her phone to keep it from shifting. "Do you know why the Hunters keyed in on Ward and his pack in the first place?"

Walter nods along when he hears the name, and remarks, "Ward was the huntee, did he see anything when he got away from them?"

"Have you not disposed of him?" Winder asks, keying in on the present tense with which Magnus speaks. Luna draws in a breath with which to speak, lingers on it, then says, "We scrubbed the last drop out of his mind and we disposed of him as there was nothing more to do with him other than suffer his liability. It was a communal haven that these Hunters hit. Whether due to bias for his packmates or due to the truth, Ward was not aware that his pack did anything to attract attention. His theory was that whoever else was using the communal space must have been so foolish. He arrived one night to a different car in the apartment complex and noticed a door was left open and found it peculiar and went in through a side door to investigate. There, he heard a man giving instructions that he did not remember the precise wording of, but he remembered the voice."

"Huh." Tova glances at Walter, then taps on her phone and tilts it so the other Gangrel can see, arching an eyebrow in silent query.

Walter looks at Tova's screen, and shrugs a little. He refocuses his attention back to Winder, listening to the story of how his pack was destroyed.

Luna can only withstand the pressure of telling you the pen is in fact blue for so long. She makes a subject change, however appropriately. Either the appearance of the hunters is a detail she failed to scour or something the bitch sees fit to hoarde. "My Prince, I would like to move to a different subject of business, if briefly. I wish to focus on my duties to my chantry, and will be expecting for Magnus to represent our concerns and our clan to the rest of the Praxis. You will hear from him."

Magnus bows his head briefly in acknowledgement to Luna. Clearly it was either not a surprise move, or he's being realllllllly good at hiding it.

"Do you have Ward's phone?" Tova asks, moving smoothly from one question to the next. "A computer would be better, of course."

Roux runs his tongue over his jagged teeth as he listens intently to the discussion between the Tremere and Winder. A gentle sigh escapes his lips as Luna changes the subject, however. Looks like the interesting part is over.

Azar was just about to ask a further question, her lips just starting to part, when Luna makes that announcement. Her mouth slowly shuts once more, and she looks at the now-ex-Primogen with surprise, then understanding, then overly careful neutrality. At least the Tremere girl knows when to quit.

Farhad leans forward and repeats the question. "Did Ward have a visual memory of the hunters, Luna?" His tone carries just the tiniest, tiniest hint of some negative emotion, but it's too faint to pinpoint between annoyance, concern, or fantasizing about wearing the praxis hat.

"Two men, one thin woman. All white, all athletic, naturally. Dressed as they were in the video, roughly. Sunglasses, black clothing, face coverings." Tova's inquiry as to the captive's effects gets a glance. "My, but what enthusiasm from someone who just got here," she comments. "No, darling."

Walter nods, "So the people who torched Ramos were in fact, mortal vampire hunters? Is that it?"

Magnus nods at Walter, "As far as Ward knows, at any rate. I suppose we cannot discount the possibility it was mortal thralls posing as hunters."

Tova glances down to her phone and smiles at Luna. "Track his movements via the gps on his phone, and we have clues to the days before and after the attack on the communal living space. Might also access calls and get the number of the people involved in the raid itself, to be able to track them. Few irons in the fire, but I've juggled worse. It's not enthusiasm when there's Hunters involved. It's self-preservation."

Magnus to avoid more tense issues, rephrase his last line to say "As far as Ward knew"

Winder's eyes move off to Tova and she lets her speak without interruption. "And how may we contact you, Tova?"

"If I might ask," Azar again says from her seated position, "what did Ward do after he saw these Hunters?"

"For the moment, my phone number is 415 265 1116." Tova replies simply, falling silent.

Luna The Pen Is Red Demian turns her pretty, wearable head and says, "He attempted to kill the one who spoke. Under the cover of the blood, discouraging others from note of his presence. He crept towards the conversation, and heard multiple voices. Decided that there is a difference between bravery and being a fool, alone that he was. Went to find his pack to rally them. They were in the building, and they were already dead."

Magnus will totally remain for the duration of court, and just be quiet and enigmatic and all that fun stuff. Hit me up on @mail if you have business that you'da brought up here, we can deal later.

Azar And The Vile Forces Of Deception

Azar very slowly nods her head. "I see. And has the location of the encounter already been cleaned of all traces of the event? I would assume so, but these things are good to be certain of."

Roux allows a smirk to move across his face at Tova's tapping on her smart-phone. Was she implying that the Prince didn't know what a phone was? How delicious. "Perhaps..." he says, raising his voice to the collected Kindred for the first time that evening. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to place someone in charge of coordinating the efforts between the Camarilla and the Anarchs? Tova seems more than keen to help and the Tremere Magnus already has done a significant amount of work to investigate the matter. I'm sure that Magnus would relish the responsibility to demonstrate his usefulness to the court by taking responsibility to coordinate the join effort?" He clears his throat for a moment. "And I'm sure that Tova would appreciate being compensated for her assistance in the matter as well." The ugly looking Kindred offers a slight shrug before crossing his legs, suddenly seeming quite awkward.

Luna looks to Azar. "My darling Azar you ask very good questions," she says, with a charismatic smile of 'appreciation'. "We have curated the site of the incident and I can assure you that my associates have done their due diligence." As Roux speaks, the attention of The Court goes to him. Charles Pang in particular, the Master of Harpies who I don't pose enough. I guess he just spends a lot of his time looking debonair and stoic. Regardless, Pang does finally speak, in his pensive manner and buttery tenor. "When her assistance is rendered, certainly."

"This reminds me. Walter, thank you for your letter." Farhad looks to Gene, who is thus prompted to take something out of his little hipster backpack. The kind that's all sleekly tailored that you only have if you want to spend a shameful amount of money. The kind that started as a Kickstarter ad. Anyway, he pulls out a paper.

"Where are you dropping off the server blades?" Farhad asks Walter, looking to the man.

Walter looks at the paper in a calculating way. He doesn't do anything like glance at any co-conspirators, but he asks, "What letter? I ain't promised nothing to nobody. So I'm curious whose been talking about what." He does grin, though, "But I do have 'em and if you want em I can deliver. Can't promise they'll have what you want, though."

"This is an important matter, and so it seems only wise to get to the heart of it all before something unfortunate comes to pass," Azar replies (fires?) back at Luna with all the calm and serenity she is known for. "A follow up question for you, then. I trust your associates had the foresight to collect and store any noteworthy items during the cleaning operation? I am especially thinking, here, of any hair or spilt blood that may have belonged to these Hunters. I am sure that somebody of your calibre and reputation would know better than to discard such things." She keeps one ear on the other conversation, with Walter, in the meantime.

Farhad gives Walter a questioning look. "You have changed your mind?" He gestures to his ghoul, Gene, who reads it. "It says, Dear Winder, I have secured for the Praxis the server blades from Lucky Boar Studios and will be attending Court to discuss where I may drop them off. Walter."

Luna, meanwhile, purses her lips at the way Azar is phrasing things. She tilts her head as she looks on Azar in a dull manner, an undertone of 'don't come for me unless I send for you' to be found in the unimpressed nature of her stare. "Yes, Miss Azar."

Piano Fight

Walter points out, "I already tested what happens when I /donate/ stuff to the Praxis, and you failed." He grins, "After all, you guys can't even install a piano in a timely fashion." He unlaces his fingers to gesture, "I got my people looking through them already, but each one can hold like two thousand times what was inside the House of Wisdom in Baghdad." He raises a finger to point to the ceiling, perhaps at an imaginary stack of books.

Tova arches a brow, then chuckles softly, shaking her head. A glance to her phone, then back to the others, skimming her attention from face to face as she listens.

Azar, meanwhile, continues on her little crusade against the Vile Forces of Deception without the faintest hint of sneer or disdain in her tone. "I am glad to hear it. If, then, you are unable to use such items to locate these Hunters, I would ask that you loan them to me, that I may do so myself. I am a proficient tracker, of sorts."

"I have declared Elysium," Charles reminds Walter, his tone warning, "And you disrespect it? Either you have changed your mind according to this letter or you have an enemy, Walter. The former is inconsiderate, and the latter is just heedless and inconsiderate of a subtle warning in your best interest." Sergio speaks up, giving Walter an incredulous look. "You are expecting me to put a cheap Yamaha piano on my personal property on your schedule. If you want the piano back, then by all means. It was never asked for and I owe you no alacrity with how I choose to appoint /my/ salon."

"I appreciate the initiative, Azar," Luna assures the woman.

Meanwhile, Magnus does not relish demonstrating his usefulness to the court! There is no relish! None! But, according to the latest and greatest page from yon Von Moltke, the freshly appointed Primogen answers Roux with some sense of begrudging. "I would do so."

Walter laughs, "I'm sure it's not an enemy. Probably just somebody trying to be helpful, you know?" He grins, "Whomever wrote the letter on my behalf probably figured I'd forgotten that I stole them." He says, as an aside to Tova, "That actually happened a few times. Once I broke into this bank to loot it, only to remember I'd already emptied out the vault the week before." He turns back to Charles, "I ain't threatened nobody. As a rule, I try to never make threats. That's one I may slip up about from time to time," he admits. "But, back to the matter at hand. I got super expensive metal boxes full of blinky lights and you wanna ask em all sorts of questions. I'm letting you know that they maybe can't answer how you want, and I'm asking them already. You want me to stop and hand them over?"

"Insults, Walter, Elysium is no place for insults and you are well more than old enough to know this," Charles tells Walter. Winder, having watched this exchange in some quiet amusement and an assymetrical smile of contempt, speaks. "Doing so would make you a man of your written word, it appears, and certainly pay for the indecency brought to court."

Smiling lightly, Azar refrains from asking for a particular date by which she can expect the samples from Luna. That would probably be pushing things a little too far at this point, and would make her sheer disbelief in the Tremere's ability to work in good faith a little too apparent. So with a little dip of her head, she ends the conversation there, leaving the ball in Luna's court. No doubt she'd do something foolish like contaminate the samples, or some such.

Walter points out, "I didn't write the letter. But even if I did, and just forgot about it - the letter only says I was gonna discuss handing them over. Discussion ongoing, promise - made however falsely - kept." He muses, "Right now, the way this discussion is going, I am inclined to throw them into the bay."

"Are the laws of Elysium different here than other places? To my understanding, limited as it is, there is usually a limit to abilities used and verbal or physical threats. I don't believe I've ever been somewhere that 'they hurt my feelings' was considered a legit breach of hospitality?" Tova asks.

Roux lets his face turn sour as Gene reads the letter between Walter and Winder. He moves one scaly, grey hand to his chin as he muses on the subject. "Perhaps it would be better not to bicker about your personal grievances? Not when there are more important matters at stake." he says quietly, as if thinking aloud. The nosferatu sighs once again. "I don't think we'll be getting anywhere further this evening. Magnus is taking charge of the matter and I will offer what aid I can in order to bring a swift resolution to the issue. I'm sure you can expect the same aid from all the Anarchs, albeit on our own terms and not those dictated of us." Roux offers a deferential nod in the direction of Walter and Tova, rising from his chair. "On the matter of the server-blades, whatever they are... that seems like a matter that can be resolved in private and without reading out an individual's personal correspondance, doesn't it?"

Charles gives Tova a look of skepticism but he affords her his patience after that initial beat, telling her in an even but informative tone that does not appear to condescend. "Tova, Elysium is a sacred tradition of /peace/ between vampires. We do not insult those with whom we want peace. We do not rouse their Beasts. Even a mortal knows in his short life how to make his point heard without stooping to insult, and a mortal does not have to deal with the dance of managing the Kindred Beast. The principle of diplomacy is so sacrosaint that I may challenge even the Prince or the Sheriff, who has the right of Destruction, in the name of Elysium. Why should I consider insults to be remotely acceptable?" It's a rhetorical question, of course. "In Elysium we act with courtesy. Outside of Elysium is none of my concern."

Winder lifts her eyebrows at Walter. "It is frustrating to be put on the spot by somebody else volunteering your free will," she says to him, in what may or may not be labeled as 'empathy'. It at least quacks like empathy. "Tell you what, Walter. Do as you will with the server blades, but you get what you pay for, and good will is a currency as much as a boon."

Tova nods to Charles at his words, chewing on them in thought, then lifting a shoulder slightly. A nod towards Roux, followed by a small smile. "You have my number? I like help." She says simply, paying attention to the dance between Walter and the others.

Winder, after addressing Walter, then looks to the faces arranged at Court. "So it seems settled. The announcement of Ward has been made. Questions and concerns about the implications fielded."

Charles speaks up to tack onto Winder's summary and adds: "Yes, and Luna has agreed to supply Azar with the resources necessary to track down these hunters," he announces.

"Indeed," rules Winder, aloud. "Magnus will be acting as a point of contact, presumably with ..." She takes a moment to remember Tova's name, gesturing at the athletic woman. "The young Anarch before me, who has given her number. Walter will decide how he makes his bed. Is there any other business to bring before the Court?"

Roux crosses his arms over his chest. "Nothing that requires the court's attention." he says to himself, perhaps a little too loudly.

Unexpected Escalations

Tova tucks her phone into her thigh pocket as she rises. "I have reason to believe on the Nosferatu from Ward's pack was involved in the murder on campus. I've done some work for others looking into it, and altered the video footage to conceal what seems to be a woman, feeding from one of the stab wounds on the vic." She pauses. "You're welcome. I'm also in the middle of researching getting into Vital Records to alter the cause of the death on the ex-sanguinated chick in the dumpster. You can thank me later in the expected fashion."

At last rising from her seat, Azar momentarily places a hand over her heart as she regards Charles and Winder appreciatively. At least the people in charge are keen to resolve this Hunter threat. Whilst she doesn't have any further news for the Court, she does look across at Tova with something akin to pity.

"Altered the video footage?" Winder asks, giving Tova a questioning look. Camille suddenly rouses herself from the vacuum of Batty forgetting that she's here until she's relevant (whoops), and she picks at those white gloves she uses to hide the disaster that is her hands. "Altered the video footage where, exactly?" Winder asks. She adds, "The cavalier attitude is a little premature but this is is your first night here so I'll allow it."

Walter laces his fingers again once more, letting Tova talk about her particular set of skills.

"Cleaned up the expanded footage that I found before I passed it along to the one wanting it. Edited the part where it looked like the murderer was slurping off a stab wound. Upside: I didn't find anything to imply this was more than a one off." Tova says, stretching and relaxing. "Shit's too wide spread to make a clean sweep of it, but I wasn't going to hand that off to someone without cleaning it, either. I'm working on securing an 'in' with the local PD." There's a pause and she glances down. "With your permission, of course." tedious. "Unless you'd rather I not have any way to try and combat these issues BEFORE they spill out onto public forums and get spread faster than a whore's thighs?"

"The one wanting it." Winder brings up delicately, femininely manicured hands and gestures like she's reeling in a line for a half-second. When Tova says 'too wide spread to make a clean sweep of it', she arches a plucked brow. "So you gave an altered copy to a party that you have yet to disclose, and then ... What exactly is keeping this party from noticing a difference from the original footage, and therefore treating the original footage with additional scrutiny, my dear?"

Winder adds now, in a tone that brokers no argument, watching Tova like a cat about to pounce. "You understand that I now /require/ the footage that you sent, and exactly who you sent this discrepancy to. And I will have it in twenty four hours."

Walter's face is not perfectly composed. He does not have an I-Told-You-So expression on at all. That, presumably, will wait until later.

Azar's look of sorta-pity deepens.

"Trust. And an edit clean enough to make them question the original. When you have someone go digging, and they find discrepancies, you trust the discrepancies as the truth." Tova says, tapping her nose as she starts past Walter towards the exit. Neither agreeing, nor denying the terms of the demand or threat.

Roux frowns, raising his own opinion before the Prince had the opportunity to pursue the issue further. "She has a point. One could easily make the claim that multiple versions cast doubt on the authenticity of the original video." The Nosferatu nervously scratches at the back of his neck, obviously wishing to have kept silent in the matter. "While I understand your position on this matter, Tova has obviously acted in good faith to attempt to remove a breach in the Masquerade. That, and she raised the issue to you when she could have remained silent on the matter. With respect, I think such good faith should returned in kind."

"No, you do not. Perhaps some people do, but individuals are not -some people-." Winder's eyes double-blink in a subtle tell of her stress, her patience tested, her smile sharp. "Permission /explicitly/ not granted, until I can see that your enthusiasm will not break the very first tradition by drawing undue attention re-arranging dogs that already sleep. I appreciate your initiative, madam," she has totally forgotten this woman's name. "And yet, you doctored a copy of publicly available footage that includes what may be a Vampire feeding to give to a single person. I will have exactly their name, their contact information, and I will be watching every little move that you make. Who is accounting for this clearly young woman?" She looks to Walter. "Is she yours, or what?" Then her sharp gaze snaps to Roux. "Your point is why she is not dying on the -very spot-, but she could have highlighted that she was trying to conceal a Vampire feeding. Period." As Winder concludes, Zora and Camille start to get up.

Tova glances back and shrugs. "All the ants inside the anthill can be killed with a single strike. Stomp the hill, and it will take forever to destroy every single ant. Good luck covering up future breaches that make it to the general media." she says with a too-sweet smile. Roux gets a nod of recognition for his words as the neonate continues towards the doors.

Roux winces at Tova's last statement, stepping away from his seat and towards the side of the chamber. He looks to Camille, the nosferatu primogen, with a furrowed brow.

\Amidst the commotion, Azar wanders over to Roux's side and quietly tells him, "I would like a small talk, at some later date. Does the Petit Garcon suit you? I am there often."

Walter replies, "Her sire ain't around. Not sure who the sire is, but she smells like one of mine. Grandchilder or further removed." He geestures vaguely, which probably would send your average Ventrue into apoplexy, all those hours memorizing lineages just.. skipped. "So I've been keeping an eye on her." He shrugs, "Since somebody's got to."

Court has taken an interesting turn. Short recap, Tova has come forth discussing how she has taken initiative to alter footage of the Stanford murder case, as there may be a depiction of a vampire feeding within it, and Winder is grilling her like she cut a baby in half or something. Tova is taking her frustrated leave, and Zora and Camille and Winder herself are following right after her. "Do you have RETINOPATHY or GLAUCOMA Walter?!" Winder snaps, conveniently right after a lecture about how Elysium should be a place free of insult.

Walter tells the Court, "I informed Primogen Lefebvre of the potential breach some time ago. Days ago? Weeks? It all runs together. If your Court has decided not to do anything with that information over all that time, but then get mad about a fledgling's attempt to start mopping it up, then I think maybe it ain't me who hasn't been paying attention."

Roux smirks slightly at Azar's question, his gaze moving away from the commotion for the merest of moments. "Perhaps if you had a private room, I try to avoid public appearances." he says, attempting to appear nonchalant. In reality, his grotesque features merely distort into a twisted grimace. "I'll drop by sometime, if you can accomodate me." The disgusting grimace disappears after a moment, being replaced by a look of concern - the elders are approaching the Anarchs like an oncoming wildfire, and Walter seems to be holding gasoline. "Yes, sometime soon but... if you'll excuse me." The surprisingly burly nosferatu steps forward. His jaw is set but his eyes flicker back and forth between the two parties.

Azar is going to have to ask one of her ghouls what retinopathy and glaucoma are later. Something to do with an imbalance of the humors, perhaps? "Mmm," she goes, watching Roux step away with loosely folded arms. Idly, she looks about the room for an alternate exit, just in case.

The Blood Hunt Threat

Tova's steps slow and she pauses, hand on the door, pushing it slightly before turning to watch. Tilting her head slightly, she listens as much as she watches - frustrated irritation yielding to the tension building in the space.

"The presumption that we have done nothing is your own hubris," Charles warns Walter, "And I will not suffer such a fool in my Elysium. You are not welcome here any longer until you can display some couth and manners." Sergio decides to rouse himself and Farhad? Farhad just rises, ready for the Doom music to drop, truly. "Elysium is still in place," Charles warns, but he advances on Walter, along with Sergio, to show the Gangrel the door. But The Prince has no patience for the insult and delegates the matter of detaining Tova to Camille and Zora, who will take the opportunity that she gives by pausing at the door. They will attempt to grab her. "The first time I asked you, a name would have done," Winder hisses, as she sidesteps Roux, but then she rounds on Walter. As she does, her glare flashes with the primal energy of the Beast, latent hostility bristling in such a way that her teeth are surgically sharp behind those painted lips. "Anarch." Walter, too, it seems, deserves no name. "You are allowed certain priveleges only by the grace of me, your Prince." The bonfire in her eyes relents into mere venom, but her Beast had made its obvious presence known. "I can revoke it at any time. -You- shall feed on scraps in South City and Daly City until I see FIT. -You- shall not speak to any sect officer until spoken to first. If you wish to survive in my city, perhaps the only way to do so will be by forsaking the -idiots- that you are so fond of sheperding."

Roux clears his throat as he steps before the trio, not daring to meet the gaze of the nosferatu elder beside Winder. "Pardon me, Primogen Pang, but what were you saying about Elysium? That it was a sacred tradition of peace between Kindred? Isn't the principle of diplomacy so sacrosanct that it even demands one challange a Prince in its name?" he says in a quiet, calm voice. "Of course, as a mere Anarch it's not my place to tell a Camarilla Primogen or a Prince on how to uphold their own traditions..." The Nosferatu pauses and moistens his lips with a ragged, warty tongue. "I'm sure that the Anarchs will happily leave. And I'm sure that, in the name of diplomacy, if you require anything of them you will speak to Baron Lopez first as a matter of courtesy. We all know full well that he claims these Kindred as his own."

Tova will not move directly against Camille or Zora, but does try to avoid being grabbed. "If you touch me, I will accept that as a threat, and call upon the sanctity of Elysium for protection against your efforts. And then I will defend myself." she says lowly - not interested in fight, but not inclined towards being manhandled, either.

Walter waits for Winder to say her piece at him. He seems content to let her vent her spleen, as it were. His eyes flick to Tova briefly when she talks, but he keeps his gaze on Winder. When they finish, he rises from his seat and heads for the door. And Tova. From the walk, it seems like he expects people to get out of his way.

"You're right, it's not," Charles says to Roux, "What you are seeing is the consequence of Walter violating the tradition. This is self defense." He lifts a finger to Roux with a smirk, and throws him a bone. "Winder, my Prince, it's not worth the emotional toil. There is no need to escalate to violence in my Elysium."

Farhad comes closer to the trio of women and Tova. He carries with him the attention of someone anticipating a fight, looking to end it, not start it. Camille tries to seek out eye contact with Tova. Her scratchy throat cancer voice tries to get Tova on the level, here: "You're going to hit bedrock if you keep digging, fuck six feet under. All she wanted a /name/, repeatedly. Are you really going to cause this much trouble for yourself over a name?"

Zora has her piece of rare dialogue: "God's patience is eternal."

Camille speaks over Zora's ambiguous statements of Godhood and how she can outlast Tova with, "We can follow you around until you leave Elysium or until Charles revokes it. The angrier Winder gets, the likelier that she /takes/ it out of your head, and God knows what else as an aggravation fee."

Winder's attention goes briefly to Roux, and Camille and Zora do not stand aside so long as Tova stays by the door. There are multiple exits, however. "I have every right to detain anyone that comes to Elysium if that person has brought forth a danger to my citizens. It's all on Lopez to seek retribution if he has issue. Petition him, should you feel so strongly."

Tova loses track of where Walter is, too busy trying to keep tabs on three people at once and avoid touching any of them. The situation has the neonate jumpy, twitching her shoulder away from the door when she touches it in another bid to avoid contact, eyes and otherwise, with the trio. It does give her a point of reference, sidestepping, blindly groping for the knob.

"It's not JUST a name. If I just give over the name of a client and break confidentiality, how quickly do you think ALL of my sources of information are going to dry up? Hmm? I'll be earmarked as someone that cannot be trusted. It's not about the name at all. What I am doing relies wholly on my reputation to NOT throw my people under a fucking bus to be able to do what I do." There it is. Finding the knob, there's a bit of panic when she turns it the wrong-right-wrong way, before getting it twisted enough to release the catch and work on that retreat.

Roux straightens, drawing up to his full height. As Camille barks her words of warning towards the Gangrel Neonate, now scrambling with the door, the nosferatu lowers his gaze and steps the side, no longer attempting to impede the others. "It seems there's little we can do at this point apart from agree. But I do hope you know what you're doing here. What you could be UNDOING here." The words are spoken in general, presumably towards the Prince. However, it's Camille that the Nosferatu's eyes linger on for a moment as he says his piece.

Walter doesn't say anything, of course. That would violate the terms of the Prince's edict, and he does so love touching the line with his toes, it seems. He goes over to an exit, and, of course, it is the same one that Tova is using. He seems like he is going to open it, unless someone stops him. Notably, he doesn't seem angry. His Beast is not flashing around like Winder's was a few moments ago. Rather, he is letting a his civilized veneer draw back, just a little. It's in the intensity of his stares and the smoothness of his movement; he is a coiled spring, or maybe a mousetrap, ready to fly apart in an instant, if he is disturbed.

"So you hold your reputation over the sanctity of the Masquerade," Winder judges, as Farhad looks to Camille, intent between them when they meet gazes. "Get out of my sight. Go on. Go home." Camille meets eyes with Roux. Or does she? That visage of hers is safe for human consumption, but she's still a Nosferatu, and Camille's eyes never do seem like they're looking in the same direction at once. She yells 'pick that up' and three Nosferatu in the warrens bend over. Is she looking at Tova or Roux? Both are technically true! She lets her gloved hands stay where everyone can see 'em. Zora draws in a sharp breath of antici

(pation).

"Your reputation with whom, exactly, is more important than your reputation with the body of government who decides if you live, and how?" Winder sneers. "Answer that for yourself. Get out."

Tova leans against the door, pushing it up. "Wrong. I hold my reputation FOR the sanctity of the Masquerade. Everything I have done has been to protect it and cover up for others." She'll hold the door open long enough for Walter to step in enough to catch the door when she steps away from it, her tongue rubbing against the space where her fangs itch to extend, as if to keep them securely out of sight with the movement.

"Your blood hunt will start in twenty four hours, unless you can bring yourself to spit out a handful of syllables," Winder tells her. This is said the second that Tova says the word 'wrong'.

Walter seems about the drag Tova away unless she starts moving in his direction. Especially if she starts talking again.

Probably a good thing Minu isn't here. Azar thinks to herself that her Clanmate may start actually drooling at the prospect of a blood hunt.

As Tova slips out, Camille makes her way after her. She gives Walter some uh, distance. Farhad follows along.

Roux pauses for a moment as the other Anarchs depart, blinking his inky black eyes a few times as the dust settles. "Well, Ma'am." he says, still meeting Camille's gaze. "I'll, of course, follow your lead on the matter, Elder. Apologies if I acted out of turn, I-..." The nosferatu stops. He clears his throat. Obviously he has decided to shut his fucking mouth to avoid annoying the the collected Kindred, some of most powerful in the city, any further. And this goes double for Camille.

Walter is also leaving, of course. With Tova. So doubtless he'll see Camille momentarily.

Camille stops just long enough to afford Roux her patience. One of her eyes scrutinizes his self-consciousness while the other gives him a once-over. "She will come to her senses in 24 hours if she has any." Then, off she shambles.

With those present filtering out, one way or the other, Azar looks around at those who remain as if to silently ask if they're dismissed.

Winder lets her lackeys take care of things. She collects herself by standing there. Dead too long to do things like taking a breath for composure. Then she looks to the room. "Good night. That is all."

Roux takes his leave, having just enough awareness to nod in acknowledgement to Azar and Camille before making his way towards the door. His expression is difficult to read as he replaces the broad flat-cap on his scarred scalp as he stares blankly into space. On his way out, he lazily pats Tsui on the shoulder with an awful, clawed hand before replacing his leather gloves. "Big news, indeed." he mutters.

And Azar doesn't need to be told twice. Smiling and nodding to those who remain as if nothing had happened, she slips out without further ado. All considered, the night had actually gone pretty well for her. Eventually she slips away into the night, vanishing under the cover of Obfuscate.