New Orleans by Night: The Stroke of Midnight

[Dark Silver]

Steele glanced sidelong at Cole at the smile which spread on the young man's face. Steele frowned at this, his eyes narrowing, before setting down his cup, and placing his hands calmly on the table top.

Suddenly, Cole would find himself unable to move from his chair - or his arms from where they suddenly fell at his side. Then a very heavy pressure seem to form right on top of the young mage - pinning him in place. Steele's voice was calm and even, as he spoke, though the lights in the room dimmed noticeably, even as the shadows darkened.

"There is a delicate balance in place in this city. Our place is not to upset the balance, but to help maintain it. Do not think the Tradition's grip on New Orleans is so secure that we could not be ousted by rousing the Others of this city against us....or that causing trouble with them would be fine as long as you can find yourself in the protective arms of one of this cities Chantries...."

Rumor rose from his place in the rug, moving towards the table even as all this occured, a gleaming look in his eyes, before he settled in by Ally, sitting on his haunches, the feline heading still rising a foot above the table's plane.

"Now...with this in mind. Would you care to rephrase your last statement young man?"

[B4UTRUST]

Jaxson contented himself to sitting back and watching the others. Really, he knew absolutely nothing about the person the old man asked about. When he figured out they were talking about vampires he still remained quiet. Hell, his knowledge of the things was what he remembered from those movies with Wesley Snipes, that old Leslie Nielsen flick, and the usual crap pop culture that everyone heard as kids. Afraid of crosses, garlic, sunlight and overly perky blonde cheerleaders and their Scooby gang. Beyond that? He knew practically nothing.

Then Cole opened his mouth. And stuck his foot into it, shoes and all.
'This isn't going to end well,' Jax thought to himself.
'No, no it isn't,' came the reply.

And so the prophet Jax thought, and so it happened. The old man put on his oh shit face. Jax called it the oh shit face because when the old man used it, everyone else around him went oh shit. Nothing good ever came of it. It was going to be a long night...

[LadyTevar]

Ally's mouth opened and she was about to reply to Eddie when Professor S got his frownie face on. There was a faint 'clack' as Ally's jaws slammed shut and her eyes got wide. Her eyes darted back and forth from Steele to Cole, knowing full well this was a dressing down that Cole brought on himself, and very glad that she wasn't the target of the Professor's ire.

Rumor sat beside her, and she reached out and started stroking the back of his neck, whispering out of the corner of her mouth to the MoorCat, "Cole's digging deep, isn't he."

[SirNitram]

"I beg apology, but what are we skirted around? Them. Camarilla. Sabbat. Led by a Prince. Leeches. Others. I am afraid, and again, I am sorry if I am interrupting rudely, but I would like confirmation on what we're speaking of." Eddie spoke up after the dressing down seemed over. "I can guess, of course. Vampire. Lamia. Empusae. Stirge. The servants of Set. Am I on the right course? If I am, I have no recourse but to vow assistance; I am honorbound to do nothing less than annihilate those I can." Several of the names were ancient; Roman Empire or earlier.

[Dark Silver]

Steele looked to Eddie as he spoke, losing the frown on his lips, though the atmosphere of the room didn't change. Neither did the pressure Cole felt holding him down - in fact, it even got a little heavier.

"Marcel Gilbeaux is a Vampire, yes. He is the "vampire prince" of this city, though when it comes to the Vampire's, they are more or less split among their two main factions, the Camarilla and the Sabbat. The Camarillian Vampires attempt to keep themselves hidden in plain sight, more or less, while the Sabbat are....shall we say, more wild. Of course, the Vampire's merely think they control the city. Well, most of the younger ones do anyway."

Steele allowed a small, private smile to himself. "And no, it's not for destruction I am asking you this, for you see, Monsuier Gilbeaux has begged a boon of me. Seems there has been a issue with one of his "subjects", and he needs outside help to settle the situation. Shall I go on?"

[LadyTevar]

"So... the Prince of the City wants our help to take out one of his wayward subjects?" Ally asked, still stroking Rumor's head and neck. "We get to be... like... the Heavy? Cause I can be the Heavy," she rambled on, totally obvious to the fact she was the absolute last person anyone would take as the Heavy.... much less as a real threat.

"So are we talking a dressing-down, a knee-capping, or a vanish-in-the-swamp deal? If its' the vanishing, I have been wanting to do an autopsy on a Vampire to see what the differences are..." she paused, blinking as she thought that over. "Or would it be a necropsy, since they're already long dead... or would there even be a body left to examine?" The last was directed not a Prof. S, but to Rumor, as he was closer for conversation. "What do you think, Rumor?"

[Dark Silver]

The oppressive air of the room continued on unabated, and Rumor shook his head as Ally scratched his neck and talked to him. The moor cat rumbled low in his throat for her to hush, lest she draw Steele's ire towards them, before putting his head in her lap and licking her thigh.

"No Allison...there is to be no "knee capping". What did I just say about destruction? No, one of his subjects has gone missing, and he requested our assistance in tracking them down. Since the other Chantries are to busy involved in their own political and internal intrigues, Monsieur Gilbeaux approached me. And thus, I asked all of you here tonight..."

[LadyTevar]

"GAH!! Rumor! That Tickles!!" Ally burst out as she wiggled in her chair, smoothing down her skirt where the Moorcat had rucked it up. "Naughty cat," she whispered, as Prof. Steele turned The Look over on her and explained patiently what he wanted.

"I'm sorry.... I went overboard, Sir." Ally said respectfully. "If you still want me to do this, I'll do my best to find out what happened. Sir."

[Jans]

Cole is silent for a few long minutes as the others speak. He suddenly smiles.

"You're right Sir, I forget myself."

He turns his head as much as he is able to address Ally.

"If you happen to mention the locations of any holes the Sabbat have found themselves to hide in in casual conversation, I'm sure that someone would happen to find him or herself with a few gallons of gasoline and a shotgun to pick off the runners. In a way that was in no way connected to the esteemed Chantry, not that the Brothers have been bothered with this sort of thing in the past. No one would dare consider running from safe haven to safe haven, hiding under the skirts of others to deal with his or her problems."

[Dark Silver]

Steele's gave flipped back to Cole immediately, the look in his eyes had gone from annoyed, to angry, to dead cold all within a brief second. The shadows lengthened and darkened in the room, even as behind Cole, three sets of glowing red eyes appeared - Spectral Minions responding to their Master's ire.

Were as the room was comfortable and cheery before, the mood and atmosphere had changed - the room had become noticeably colder, the bulbs which still burned brightly in their fixtures, shed little light on the room. Steele's eyes flashed for a moment, a rare display of the power he kept well hidden.

"You can be quiet now...." Steele responded, his voice cold and not much louder than a whisper but perfectly audible to all, the sound cutting like a knife. The words were not a suggestion, or even a command. It was merely the statement of utter and supreme truth, as Cole lost the ability to vocalize any sound...

[SirNitram]

Eddie's hand moved oddly, like a beast sharpening it's claws. "Professor." A smooth tone of voice. "Are you asking me to assist these beings?" The Mokole didn't blurt out things wildly, but kept a measured tone. He hated vampires, thousands of years of memories told him why they needed to be annihilated, to say nothing of the fact they were the very antithesis of the Sun's love. "I thought we had discussed my.. Views on the followers of Set."

[Dark Silver]

"No Edward," Steele spoke calmly, though his eyes never left Cole, "I'm not asking you to help the Vampires, more that I'm asking you to assist me and these young ones in their mission. With the Caveat that as far as I am ware...the Vampire who begged this boon has no affiliation with the Followers of Set. And little love of them. In fact, he's proclaimed a bounty on any of the Setites who venture into the city....something I'm sure you would approve of. In fact, you know my views on them as well, for the most part..."

Vampires to Steele were viewed as vile leeches who consumed life and were the death of not a few of the Mages Steele had known in the past. But he also saw them as useful tools - especially in the case of Marcel - in the political arena. The Vampires of the Camarillia and the Sabbat were both used as foils for one another in the city, keeping them out of the Mages and other Awakened's collective hair - except in times like this.

"Of course, you are free to refuse my request, but there may be a chance to express your views in person to some of the parties to cause your grievances..."

[SirNitram]

The odd 'sharpening' movement continued. Luckily, no damage was being done. "Very well, Professor. As a personal favour to you, I will assist the younglings in this task. I trust this will not become common, this helping of the deniers of the Sun." The Mokole leaned back.

[LadyTevar]

"If you happen to mention the locations of any holes the Sabbat have found themselves to hide in in casual conversation...

Ally's jaw dropped again. "Are you SerIOUSLY asking me that?!" she exclaimed, shocked that he'd come right out and spout off in front of Prof. Steele after he'd already made himself clear, even when speaking to Ally, that no vampires were to be harmed.

Then the temperature in the room dropped like a rock as Prof. Steele got Pissed. Ally pulled back in on herself and started sinking lower in her chair. She never even noticed how her skirt was rucking up as she was more focused on if the table would be solid enough to block whatever the Professor might do next.

Sometimes she wondered why Eddy was never scared

[B4UTRUST]

Jax stared dumbly at Cole. He wasn't sure if he should laugh or shake his head. He didn't think anyone was that blindly dumb to try pulling that bit on the old man. And yet, it had been done.

However, before Jax was forced to make a decision on the laughter, his problem was resolved as the old man's mood grew more foul than it was before. The room got cold and the lights got low. Which made Jax concentrate a lot harder on trying not to piss himself in fear. Slowly, trying not to draw the attention or ire of Steele, he began to scoot his chair as far away from the area Cole was in as possible under the circumstances. His current preference for 'far enough away' was somewhere on the other side of the city. He was just hoping that the old man wouldn't blow a gasket and hatefuck all of the invited guests with a spell for shits, giggles, fun and profit.

[Jans]

Cole, for his part, didn't speak.

It didn't stop him from expressing himself however. Tension relaxing out of his spine and brow, wrists resting from where they hung instead of turned slightly inwards, eyes curious despite all that was going on.

He wasn't so audacious as to smile, or give any indicator that he was giving (or taking) insult. Instead, Cole looks almost reassured by what was being said and done.

[Dark Silver]

Steele's eyes would have bored holes into diamond as he looked at Cole, the physical pressure being placed on the young Akashic's body increased - as it stood it was at the point of inducing pain that Cole was no longer capable of enunciating (should he attempt to do so). Meanwhile, the light from the fixtures in the room began to be seen once more, illuminating portions of the room as the sudden darkness that swallowed it began to fade away - though the tempurature never heightened, and the three Spectral Minions behind Cole took on a more physical and threatening appearence as half-formed flowing skeletons

"Thank you Edward...I do appreciate your assistance in this matter, and no, I'll see that your... adequately compensated for your time and effort. Now....Ally...please, pull down your skirt dear....your giving Rumor a view..."

Rumor for his part had stood protectively over Ally, even as she tried to slink under the table, the intelligent human-like eyes of the Moor Cat staring at the monumental stupidity that was Cole, before leaning down to lick the Euthanatos girl's face protectively.

"Jaxson, are you alright m'boy?"

[B4UTRUST]

Jaxson was intent on one thing at that point. Not being noticed and thus not being the target of the old man's ire. So when Steele addressed him directly, his first natural reaction was to jump and let out a small startled yelp. After regaining what was left of his composure he looked over at Steele and nodded slowly.
"Yeah, sure, uh huh just fine!"

[Dark Silver]

"Good," Steele's voice was warming some, as the temperature went from ice cold to luke warm in a moment - still shy of being comfortable though. "Then stop acting like a scared rabbit about to bolt."

Steele looked at the Akashic mage sitting in his chair, taking the punishment, then simply nodded as the three Spectral Minions faded back into non-existence. "I'm sure Cole is contrite for his error in words. Being unable to speak for the next two days will assure he has plenty of time to Meditate on the subject." The Archmage's words held no humor in them, merely statement of what was now fact.

"Now...Gilbeaux's...."man". There's be no sign of the Vampire for the past week, nearly - according to the Prince. He was last seen in the Japonica Street. I would suggest you could begin your search there. "

As he spoke, a map of New Orleans appeared floating above the table, with a small red dot appearing appearing in the Bywater District marking the street Steele had just said. "Of course, there's the issue that Japonica is very near Sabbat held territory..."

[LadyTevar]

Ally had been busy straightening her skirt, and getting her face washed by Rumor to say anything up til now, but she had wanted to come to Jaxon's defense by pointing out how scary Prof. S got when mad. The whole face-washing thing just got in the way, however.

Focusing on the map, Ally looked the area over. "Not one of the better parts of town anymore," she said sadly. "I wonder what he was doing there?" A quick glance to Prof. S, as she added quickly. "I guess that's something we'll need to find out as well, right?"

[SirNitram]

"Am I to be nice to these.. Sabbat.. As well, Professor?" In Eddie's mind, this was stretching the bounds of friendly favors and into life-debts. There had better be alot of steak involved afterwards.

[Dark Silver]

"Actually Edward, aside from those who come seeking our help, I don't give a beetles fart how you treat the Others in the city. If they get in your way, handle them as best you see fit. Especially if they are Sabbat. Just don't go starting a fight if it's unnecessary. Their leader already taxes my patience with petty games." Games, Steele didn't add, that he had learned centuries before the Vampire had been embraced, games which Steele also played far better than the Lasombra could dream of.

That was needlessly said, Steele didn't mind violence when it had to be employed, what he disliked was violence for violence's own sake - for acts that would cause the already tight tension in the city to explode into a war because of some over-zealous twit. Steele's eyes narrowed for a moment, and Cole felt the pressure on his chest compress sharply, and the audible sound of a rib cracking echoed briefly in the room, Cole would feel the pain for a few long moments, even as the bone was repaired in short order.

[B4UTRUST]

Jax nodded, to himself mostly, at Steele's comment. He took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on what he was saying and not worrying so much about the possibilities of... well a quick glance at Cole was a clear enough reminder of what would happen if he pissed the man off.

Jax listened to Ally and Eddie talking and was about to make a comment when he heard that shudder-inducing snap-crack of a breaking bone. It always reminded Jax of the sound of celery or carrots being broken. A crisp sudden and painful noise. He involuntarily felt his neck twitch and a shudder run up his back.
"I-I was gonna say that all neighborhoods can be bad depending on what you be after from dem. But I know dat area some. Got Vaughan's on Lesseps. Dey got good free red beans and rice on Thursdays and Kermit Ruffins does a good show when he be in town. And then you got da Spellcaster Lodge. It aint open all da time but it make for an interestin' night when it be. Might be able to find some people down dere who might seen somethin, no?"

[Jans]

Well now, a broken rib was certainly something he didn't like. Cole's wince ripples through his face, but fades into a look of profound confusion.

He doesn't attempt to talk, but his mood seems different now.

[LadyTevar]

Ribs breaking are a common sound in the morgue, between the needs of autopsy and the occasional problems of rigor mortus. Hearing it here, however, was a shock. "Professor!!" Ally exclaimed, surprised that he'd be that cruel to someone helpless. A look at Cole's sudden confusion and mood change only made her frown unhappily. Eddie's question made her mouth twitch. Violence was ok if the Vampires started it, but not if Cole went out and killed willynilly. Simple case of Self-Defense, just like human laws.

"Is there anything else you wish to tell us before we leave, Professor?" Ally asked quietly. It was time to leave, time to get out and let the Professor calm down.