Vampire: Dark Ages - Act II - Scene 1: The Crossroads

[Taduz Illyannovich]

Taken off guard by the sudden appearance of the puppygirl and her even more sudden distress, the scholar stumbles over his words, "Sabine calm, um, it's o, uh." he picks her up and holds her sobbing.

Mean lady?

"Shh, shh, my little puppygirl. Shhhh."

Maybe it's. No. I'd have detected that. Nothing from Over There came across. I brought Voragg, none of the others were named.

When she's calmed some, with a sense of urgency he asks "Who made you be mean?"

She's been acting strange since before that, you're jumping at shadows old man. You knew your business back there.

Closing his eyes, he concentrates and detects...nothing on Sabine.

That was uneventful. Wait, what's this? You corrupt bastard, you've being even more useful than I thought, so, it's like this?

Taduz looks at the miserable Puppygirl, his eyes narrow, and he really looks at her. [Auspex 2]

[Goatkiller666]

[Damn you, making me look up what the stupid colors are.]

Taduz looks at Sabine's aura, and sees a chaotic mess. The whole thing is pale, but somehow edged with darkness. Inside that, he can see every color of the rainbow mixed and swirled together. It's as if an indeterminate number of base colors were present, and then blended together so completely that at first it simply seems a pale grey. But the maelstrom of Sabine's aura seems to pulse over time, sometimes orange and silver are brighter, and some times a weird shifting between blue and purple? As he looks closer, he can see the orange, silver, blue, and lavender sections, and he can see that at times the first two seem to be dominant and at other times the latter two. For the moment, orange and silver are dominant more often.

As Taduz focuses his attention on Sabine's aura, the insanely swirling patterns make no sense, and cause him to briefly lose all sense of ego. For a moment, just a few seconds, he forgets who he is or where he is. He just stares at Sabine's aura until her distraught crying and crushing her face into his embrace jostles him out of the state.

[Taduz Illyannovich]

He almost lets the girl slip out of his arms then shakes his head to clear it and tighens his grip

The black, that does not bode well. The shifting patterns though, that concerns me also.

Looking to Seska, he says her softly "Something maybe out of sorts with our puppygirl. Beyond outbursts." [Strongly accenting the italicized]

Where would another pattern come.....the fae, her looks, her mannerisms.

Rocking Sabine but speaking to Seska, "How familiar are you with auras?"

Wait, Seska consumed Gabran, why is she not affected as such?

[Seska Karantanija]

"Yes. She's lacking discipline." Seska acquises, "Maybe more. I'm concerned she was too young to understand all that has happened to us."

She shakes her head at his next question. "I assume you do not mean the strange lights in the northern lands."

[Taduz Illyannovich]

"How to explain this then."

Rocking the sobbing child, "No, this is more of a personal aura. Everyone has one. My mother claimed to see them. Whether she could or not is not the point though, I never could. Each person has an aura, is supposedly will tell you the persons emotions, stability, future, and everything about them."

"Again, I know not how much of that is true, but in light of our recent changes, and further developments, it appears Mother may have been right, auras exist, I don't know if they tell the future, but from Mother's stories, the colors have meaning. Each is tied to an emotion. And certain colors will be there because certain emotions are tied to your soul. Your aura may chance at the outer edges based on what you are feeling, but there will always be a central color at your core, the soul."

"Sabine mentioned a Mean Sabinelady. This caused me distress, as who knows what it could be? A girlish flight of fancy, or something deeper."

Rocking Sabine, holding her and stroking her hair "Given we each have our own predilection for certain abilities now, I examined her, myself, and you for any changes and found nothing using my sensing of the domain."

That has a nice ring to it.

"I then concentrated on just Sabine, really focused on her, and then, it was there. A swirling chaotic mix, pale, but two things caught my attention."

"First, that there was black at the edges. I don't know what that means. It was never brought up. Second is that there was a second set of colors at the core. It pulsed and seemed as though there was a battle for dominance. Currently, our young lady is in charge. I think the Mean Sabinelady she mentioned maybe the other ones."

Seeing where this could go, "It is nothing I have summoned or wrought like upon Lothar, that was my first worry, but she had been acting strange ever since we left our sires, before the Fop's defeat. Before Lothar's unfortunate incident." He reassures Seska.

"I know not your aura, I have not read it, nor my own. I seem to be, lacking any way to actually look at myself with my own eyes. But if there is that second set, what is it? It's not demonic possession that is for sure."

[Seska Karantanija]

Seska shrugs. "Maybe all it means is her emotions are a jumble. She was not the most proper of children when we met her, and she has only gotten more feral as we have gotten to know her..."

"If she suffers from an affliction, then we should let Alina examine her carefully. It could be this is how she always was. I am not sure what else to suggest besides a firm hand and endless etiquette lessons."

[Goatkiller666]

Roderigo adds. "Milords, the black aura... I have heard Hardestadt and those others mention that. It's one of the signs of the amaranth." He looks like he has more to say, but is waffling a bit, before saying, "... Theophania?"

[Taduz Illyannovich]

Amaranth? The flower?

Barking at Rod "Speak up man. This is no time to cower. Your lady needs information, do not withhold what you know."

Could it be that, oh dear. Did she have the same idea I did?

Cooing to the child in his arms, "Sabine, dear, when did you first hear the Meanlady?"

to Seska "I concur that etiquette lessons maybe in order, but if this goes where I think it is, things maybe a touch more complicated then just discipline and finery."

[Sabine]

"I don't know..." I sob.

[Goatkiller666]

"That is all I know. Black streaks are a sign of the Amaranth. They are punishable by the final death."

"And we do not know what has happened to the Lady Theophania. She is... was... of the moon clan. Perhaps she cursed the child as she was consumed?"

[Seska Karantanija]

The realization of what might have happened at the monastery strikes Seska rapidly. "Oh." She stammers a bit. "Oh dear."

"Sabine? Did you..." How does one ask such a question? "did you... drink from Theophania? Until she was gone?"

[Sabine]

"I don't know." I sob.

[Seska Karantanija]

"Sabine. Look at me, dear." Her tone is reassuring. "You need to calm down."

[Sabine]

I look at Seskalady.

"Uh huh?"

[Seska Karantanija]

"You're a big grown up lady now, yes? Big grown up ladies need to control their anger and frustration. Can you do that, Sabine?"

[Sabine]

"I'm not a lady, I'm a puppy. Mean Sabinelady is a lady. But she's mean."

Silence, child. I will brook no disrespect. Not from the likes of you!

"You shut up! Mean lady!"

I will not. You are a stupid child, and you don't know what's good for you. "Obey me this instant!"

I stand up straight and stop crying.

No! I'm not your puppy, I'm Seskalady's.

I look like a lady again. I'm tall and beautiful. I'm dignified.

"I'm very sorry for the outburst. It is all under control, now."

Let me go! You'll make Seskalady hate me. Stop it.

[Seska Karantanija]

"Good. Would you care to enlighten us as to what is troubling you?"

[Sabine]

"No, I don't think I would."

Seskalady, don't listen to her. She's mean.

I sigh. I'm annoyed now. "Sometimes it is difficult to remember my true self. The changeling facade is a difficult habit to break, and if I am not careful, I forget who I am. Just for a moment."

[Seska Karantanija]

"Then why a facade? Be your true self, then you do not have to risk forgetting."

[Sabine]

"I was the facade for so long. My true self was hidden. Buried. It was the horror of nearly dying to that vampire that finally woke me from that dream."

No! I'm real. Seskalady, don't believe her.