Beating Curfew

[Existentially Odd]

(Continued from \'When All Is Said And Done\')

Kerr had debated with himself (as he rode down in the lift from his apartment, which was really the only time he had to spare) whether he should hit the streets or hit Risk.  Frankly... he needed a little space so the streets had their benefits but he didn\'t always find people that could be easily nabbed walking around the CBD and he couldn\'t be bothered Dominating anyone.  Between almost gaining then losing Ben and then finding that Ichabod was a lot more tenacious about what he wanted than Kerr had previously given him credit for, his brain was fried.  He needed easily-obtained nourishment.

So, he went to Risk.  He drove to save time (not that the club was all that far, being just north of his place) and strode to the club in a swirl of long, dark cloak.  Considering all that was on his mind, the scowl that dominated his expression didn\'t invite conversation or willing volunteers for him to feed from, but he was rather hoping for a live donor over a cold glass of blood.  He wouldn\'t give it a lot of time before the decision was made, though, for he had a curfew to keep; he\'d promised he\'d be back at his apartment, with his pet, in an hour - and that was ten minutes ago.

Kerr entered the club quickly but his rapid pace slowed as he entered the bar area.  He then walked slowly through the average-sized crowd, looking around to gauge anyone that might be a potential volunteer to surrender their blood to him.  He was headed vaguely in the bar\'s direction (in case the glass ended up being the victor, after all) but was quite intent on all the mortals he could see.  He was assessing them silently as he went, trying to ascertain whether they were alone, would suit his preferences or were already with someone.  Tonight, he wasn\'t in too choosy a mood.

[Malkavian Riddler]

The Irish are coming!

A voice declared this with glee inside his head with sounds of military battle, though with the sharp pop that came with muskets rather than new weaponry.  Digital\'s head swivelled, his hand left that of his Rose and he moved deep into the crowd that they\'d been surrounded by near one of the booths.

He headed in one direction instinctively, allowing the nature of his insight to lead him to blood kin with a darker appearance.  Digital didn\'t stop until he was right in Kerr\'s face, then reached out to grab his upper arms.

"He handed himself on a platter for you to feast on, but the appetiser was still on your plate!" he declared, unsure if this was something Kerr would understand.  Digital then got a flash of a gunmetal muscle car.  "Now he leaves the beast asleep, unable to make it roar, and flees from the circle that keeps him safe."

The friend of Brom Bones waits for him / You have to hurry / He has to eat and run

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr\'s hands lifted, fisting instinctively when his upper arms were grasped and he leaned away from the strange man, blinking and giving him a horrified look.  As soon as the initial wave of shock had passed, though, he lowered his hands, remaining slightly leaned away and shifting his weight so that he was better balanced for walking - should he desire the option.  He didn\'t pull away, his curiosity was piqued.

He\'d seen this guy before, in Risk.  He always wore this crazy outfit and he\'d been near him when he shouted crazy things, too - often they got people riled up enough to go after him, causing a scene.  Obviously, he\'d said something to them like he just had to Kerr that had significance.  Those other times had been things the people hadn\'t wanted to hear, he supposed, but Kerr was astute enough to make the platter connection to Ben.  He wasn\'t sure about the beast bit but leaving the circle that had him safe got the sire in him worried.

"Will he be okay, beyond that circle?" he asked tentatively, unsure whether the vampire before him had that sort of insight.  Obviously he knew things - Kerr didn\'t need to question how, he\'d met kindred and people like this before - but he couldn\'t necessarily see the future.  It didn\'t hurt to ask, though.  He looked worriedly into the goggled eyes, focussed on what he might learn, rather than the fact that he\'d been accosted out of nowhere; his number had probably just come up, that was all - his turn for a little slice of crazy to enlighten him.

[Malkavian Riddler]

"Your son will be followed by the King and lured into his Kingdom," he said, his fingers gripping Kerr\'s arms with more urgent strength before he looked around them, as though he might be attacked from either side. Then his grip released when he realised Kerr wasn\'t going to run away, or be taken away by anything hostile.

The broken doll had a hatchet for your head

Digital wasn\'t about to start telling Kerr of hatchets, not wishing to frighten away one of the few vampires who\'d bothered to heed his warnings.

"The dragon!" he yelled suddenly, attracting stares, his goggled gaze rolling madly about in his head before they fixated on Kerr once more. "The son of Christ will slay the dragon with barbs, and reclaim his throne."

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr frowned, unfazed by the yelling because he was too busy trying to decipher what he was being told.  Although he was released by the vampire, he found them standing in the middle of the club a little intimidating and he responded in kind, grabbing his companion\'s arm and leading him over to stand near a wall, where they wouldn\'t draw too much atention and he could concentrate without being bumped by drunk or careless clubbers.  The walk also gave him some time to think.

Both messages tasted of Lazarus - the son of Christ - and he assumed the dragon to be the beast of the Oligarchy, which was the ancient\'s goal.  That was a dragon he was determined to slay... if this vampire was correct, Lazarus would be successful.  This made Kerr a little nervous, for he didn\'t know about the city being returned to the chaos it had been in when he\'d first arrived; the domination aspect was fine but living without services like phones had been a pain in the ass - not to mention the big-ass wall that had confined everything.

He was also leary of the fact that he\'d made an enemy of the man that was about to be in charge... that surely wouldn\'t go well for him.

Of greater significance to Kerr was the reference to his \'son\' though.  Ben, again, but who was the King that would lure him to his kingdom?  "What king, who is the king?" he asked his informant urgently, having released the vampire\'s arm once they got to the quiet area he\'d wanted to reach.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Digital followed Kerr\'s lead, ushered by it, in reality.  He stood near a wall that he then trailed a hand over, liking its surface while Kerr cogitated through the messages that he\'d received.

"Rose," he whispered, wondering what he\'d done with the woman that he\'d come here with.  He\'d come here with a woman, hadn\'t he?  He wanted his Rose, but he couldn\'t see her from this corner.  It was too isolated and Digital began to grow uncomfortable for he liked being surrounded by people.

The King?  Kerr found his attention.

"You are the King and I am the Joker," he said with glee, then danced a jig before him.  "And the Russian snake will write a book with people\'s lives."

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr blinked again.  "I\'m the king?" he repeated, wondering if the stranger was to be believed.  If so, then... he would lure his son into his kingdom?  Ben would come to live with him?  "Ben - my son - will come round?" he asked urgently, knowing he should probably ask about the Russian snake but too focussed on the notion that he and Ben might actually work out to do so.  "He and I will be together, is that what you\'re saying?" Kerr demanded, looming closer to Digital.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Digital laughed with mad glee, stopping his jig and shaking his head. "A son of Adam will interfere, as will a daughter of Eve." Digital peered over Kerr\'s shoulder at what little of the crowd he could see from his vantage point.

"You are the tassels that Brom Bones and his rival fight over," Digital poked him on the chest, pointedly. "There are as many kings as in a deck of cards. The prince will think himself a pawn and confuse the cardgame for chess."

[pinkroses]

Roz hesitated for a moment when Digital suddenly disappeared from her side, but after watching to see where he went she slid out of the booth and followed him at a slower pace through the crowds. She pulled her dark hair over one shoulder as she approached Digital and the dark vampire he had accosted, lightly touching the Riddler on the arm to let him know she was there, before moving behind him and leaning against the wall. Her eyes cast over the crowd as she listened to him speaking with a small smile on her lips; she always loved to hear what he said, even though most of it had no relevance to her.

[Existentially Odd]

It was hard to concentrate on the notion that the vampire was talking about Ben when kings and card games began to confuse the issue.  It could also have been the pain in his chest from being told outright that he and Ben wouldn\'t be together, as a man and a woman would interfere.  Permanently and decisively?  Was that the final word on how it stood?  He and Ben were never going to come together so he might as well just go home and console himself with Ichabod?  Oh, he hurt, suddenly... it hurt to be told these things when he was too low to be able to talk himself into not believing them.  They were all too plausible.

He had no idea who Brom Bones was and who would be fighting over him... he really didn\'t care, but he felt compelled to ask, spinning and leaning defeatedly against the wall, looking at the strange vampire through saddened brown eyes.  "And so the prince will storm away from the board, never to be seen again?" he predicted bitterly, thinking that if the prince was Ben, it was likely the reaction he\'d have to believing he was being moved around against his will - and he supposed he and Arles tugging at him was a bit like that.

He spared a glance for the attractive woman draped over his companion suddenly but his gaze didn\'t linger.

[Malkavian Riddler]

And here, here was the woman that interfered with the story of Ben, for she distracted Digital when she touched him, and brought him out of the reverie that had taken hold, with voices urgent and hissing.  Her presence chased them away, and he was grateful for it, for they had him clutching his head at times, screaming for them to stop.  She was his calming ocean, and as refreshing as a glass of water.

"Rose," he said, her name on his lips with a smile, but seeing Kerr hurting before him wasn\'t something he wanted to leave with - but he couldn\'t see anything good to tell him, except --

Clutching at Kerr\'s coat now, fisting his hands in the lapels and pulling himself forward while also dragging the other immortal near, he stared intently at him, the most important message to come.

"If left alone, he will choose the blonde, and be miserable for eternity."  Now he released Kerr.  "Rose, this is..." he looked at Kerr, but the name wouldn\'t come to him.  "... a friend."  Then he smiled, pulling her to himself with an arm around her waist, holding her close to his side.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr\'s mouth fell open in shock at that message but, with a slight shake of his head and a few blinks, he recovered well enough and looked at the woman, holding his hand out politely.  "Kerr.  I\'m Kerr, pleased to meet you, Rose," he said automatically, mentally still reeling from being told that if he didn\'t pursue Ben, he would choose Arles and be miserable for eternity.  Eternity was a fucking long time to be miserable but... was he really ever going to be anything less with him, with the way they fought?

It was a tough call, but perhaps the vampire - whose name he didn\'t know, come to think of it - was telling him that he was simply to ensure that Ben wasn\'t left alone, so that he didn\'t fall into despair.  He definitely wasn\'t saying he\'d be best with him, just that he shouldn\'t be left to his own devices.  Kerr supposed he could do that; he\'d always love Ben and want what was best for him, even if it wasn\'t going to be him.

[pinkroses]

Roz looked towards Digital, giving him a smile and a nod as he murmured her name, but she didn’t want to intrude too much when he might be trying to tell Kerr something important. She had seen him like this before and knew he wouldn’t be truly content until he had given his warning.

“Hi, you too,” she said to Kerr, giving him a smile as Digital pulled her close to him and holding out a hand to shake Kerr‘s lightly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she added, glancing between the two as her fingers left Kerr’s to lightly trail over Digital’s shoulder. Kerr really didn’t look in the mood to make conversation right now and it made her wonder what news he might have just received and if that look was because he didn’t understand…or because he understood far too well.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Digital was entirely distracted now, his voices hushing and whispering amongst themselves, leaving him to his own devices.  He found himself entranced by a kink in Roz\'s hair, a single strand curling around her ear to defy the others around it, and reached up to shift it, twirling it around his finger when it wouldn\'t comply before yanking it out of her head with a broad smile, knowing she\'d protest.  Kerr was now just a bystander.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr was staring at Digital, waiting for the polite conversation his companions were having around him to have some impact; apparently he would be waiting quite some time, for the vampire gave no indication he was interested in even being there any longer.  Kerr could only frown when he pulled a hair from his girlfriend\'s hair and looked proudly at her.

In his experience, psychics along the lines of this vampire would give some sort of warning that thier gift was fading or changing.  It didn\'t seem to be the same with this one, though it was obvious his visions had run short.  Kerr waited patiently while Rose reacted to her hair being yanked, he then intended to ask the vampire\'s name so that he would have some point of reference for him - he\'d ask the girlfriend if he had to.