https://youtu.be/AN7Cb-74W6s?si=lSCH32gcjNCMnjei

[Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] a good evening thank you for your time your efforts and your energies I am nobody your Storyteller your narrator and number one fan and this is officially the dark of Bethany season 1 episode 3 a good part of the Delight we hope most fervently that you enjoy the the shenanigans the stories and the adventures of the coder of Bethany we're just waiting for the players to arrive and we shall begin shortly thank you good afternoon good evening good night welcome welcome welcome neon how we doing I'm hanging in there how you doing not bad overall welcome welcome welcome how we doing welcome anony how we doing oh you know so we won't be having joji tonight yes just had an exciting moment yes yes all of that build up and no follow through just like a typical American you that and on similar notes as we prepare to dive in to episode three what questions suggestions hypotheses or Corners would we like to round off as we prepare to dive in with both feet hanging on with both hands for all dear life [Music] out a character these are definitely Chang link right I think they're Mages I don't know but it'll be fine he so Mages are still considered human aren they [Music] not what do you consider human being able to bend the very genetic makeup of this universe and all of those that connect with it I'm not sure that most humans will be able to to quantifiably accomplish that um which you consider a human a person who could expand their mind nearly as infinitely as all of space not sure that quite quantifies as well outside of the imagination um H uh could a human go back to the dawn of their existence and experience all of their Milestones of their life in slow Vivid Technicolor 3D surreal virtual reality outside of memory no I'm not sure they quantify as mortal human at least um everything's mortal even the universe itself has a shelf life the way I'm quantifying are you trying to log on is human you can shoot with regular bullets and it would hurt yeah bullets hurt everyone hang on werewolves you [Music] need werewolves you would need special equipment but bullets will still hurt kred you shoot with bullets it still hurts um there's a finite to everything that exist but in regards to what makes them quantifiably human is unfortunately a core facet of that particular Splat are they still human with all that they might be able to accomplish by exerting the nearly untapped potential of their willpower and here's and I'm I'm purposely being de plain Devil's Advocate to immerse you in that philosophical consideration that your character might have if they were to run across such a being they could do those things um to divorce you as much as possible from the mechanic consideration and keep in the moment you thinking in line with the character out of character considerations it varies the um using the more potent Ascension rules for mage creates a blurring of what that means because there are certain understandings of life and forces and spirit that removes that as a consideration there are certain considerations of time and entropy that removes the act of being able to even hurt them then there's so it's one of those things like mechanically there are so many different ways that a mage in a vampire setting would not seem and would not reflect mechanically as human it'd be a game of rock ATT tag who could do their thing first as to what the mechanics would show get to a mind whum before they get a chance to think the world's your oyster don't get to them in time and they have had time to watch or plan or even come up with a fallback plan for your potential actions and none of what you did Might matter you might cease to be you might wake up in your bed 30 years from that moment with your spouse and your grandchildren all sleeping soundly in your one room Shack in the middle of Far Eastern Europe your life and time as a kindred being just a figment of imagination a book that you happen to read before going to [Music] bed and then there's you know the Awakening rules but that changes things a little bit you be you know back in Atlantis or some [Music] such did that almost give you an [Music] answer you can tell you work at a lawyer's office um I can neither affirm nor deny that that comment I believe I'll be taking the fifth I will pleading that answering that question would further potentially arouse suspicions leading to a potential lack of faith and a belief in a certain level of criminality that I may or may not have been known of and a participant of after the fact in accordance with Keeping the Faith and shorty of my [Music] client well well that should be the case yeah that's the end of my question uh do we have any further considerations in regards to where the bethan nightes might actually be in regards to when we Dive In okay well you were saying no good question I have no idea uhhuh okay well in light of us Gathering once again my many many thanks and the light of us Gathering again sends a member who may or may not be able to arrive before uh the dment of the action we are in the midst of need you all to summon up where we last left our coding starting from the very very beginning when the pack of bipedal wolves that are the Hutchinson's rode into the carnival and circus ground with you three on their bikes and we use the the term bikes extraordinarily Loosely they're rat bikes by stylings but the truth of the matter is their bikes are more extensions of their bestial animalistic Natures their predatory drives towards living free their steeds of old in homage to their very Norse paganism which is an odd consideration as a good portion of the Hutchinson and by extension their families are of Central American Hispanic and Latin blood and a large portion of the Hutchinson and their extended family have a an interwoven English Irish Scotch Heritage at play so their fixation adoration and religious Zeal in regards to observing the Norse Pagan rights and rituals sometimes as a a a mental curiosity they have runes and mixed into the various Skin Art and Tattoos they have across themselves and yes there is a difference between the two some of the pieces they have on them are in fact examples of skilled Tradesmen of old it is a ordeal just having of what they have on their flesh having it placed there there's a skill and a talent in the craftsmanship of it not just in the artistic Merit of it and then there are some they're just tattoos they're labels and signed for juvenile and less than mature impulses the act of getting the tattoo isn't more important than what the tattoo signifies nor the skill that was put into it all the same you three arrived on the backs of their bikes finding Joi already in in presence already on the clock as it were in the course of arriving Lita slipping away in the confusion of this that and the other words being tossed off carelessly halfhazard there's a Mark Twain quote that comes to mind that words are the luggage to life and some people have unpacked before they've gone on their first trip that is very much the best approximation of the Hutchinson they are loud they are boisterous they are fully invested in What mo whatever moment that they are in and that chaos and that just need to express themselves that rocka's boisterousness gave more than enough cover for Lita to slip into the shadows and make herself part of the festivities of the carnival circus grounds the grounds themselves were and are out of the north from the very proud insensitive aspect of their freak Show to the wealth and abundance of tents fractions mid Midway sheds and slots and the huge Caravan that brought all of these things all of these attractions all of these opportunities to devest the locals of their Hard One funds is a rarity again most circuses most Carnivals that make their way through this circuit are winding down for the season most of the circuses and carnivals that make their way through this area more or less typically don't stop you have three or four a year at the most maybe one or two closer to shrie Port but for the most part making their way home to Florida to rest for the season is their goal and while two or three of them will occasionally team up and travel to the last leg or the last few legs together members dropping off here or there or in fact entire circus is deciding just pull over in their home actual original towns along the Route home to Florida whether they're stopping off in shreport or Louisiana well uh New Orleans or they're going down to Baden Rouge or they're making their way across Texas or whether they're stopping somewhere in Mississippi or Alabama it's just part of the circuit they twindle and fall off and two and three or travel together you have mixed match signage and and intentions of the circus and car folks that are there but a racket as large as this requires a huge number of Palms being greased forms being signed and bureaucracies they usually have to pay off the local police or hire off-duty officers to help with their security and it's a [Music] whole involved process [Music] this Shackleton has been different this group this production is larger and several others and have somehow found a way around most of the red tape and even with actions having been taken against them in the past they've seem to to if not profit from it at least not lose from those attentions often times striking back through some invisible means against those who've driven them B and as Lita takes in the freak Show and Maddie and Joi said about operating behind their cover story India in the frakas in the runes greeting a departure and being led that Maddie and Joi are doing would you be so kind as to First do you have eyes of the Beast or or uh sense the Beast sense the Beast will work better but either would count yes I have eyes of the Beast excellent that being the case would you be so kind as to go ahead and row your witch plus protein as high as you possibly [Music] can [Music] yes a to weariness is a natural default state for most Kindred whether they act on that natural predator sense to evade other predators to evade other trouble is often anyone's guess most kindri consider themselves the top of the food chain the top of the Heap the apex predator of apex predators hiding amongst their prey much like the wolf with sheep's clothing smart K realize that is never the case there's always a hungrier lion there's always a angrier bear there's always a Blinder rhinoceros so weariness comes very much in the same shade of consideration as a ounce of cure beats a pound of so treatment so forth and so on yada yada yada as the clearly lead Hutcherson is guiding Maddie and Joi through the crowd India catches sight of herself in one of the passing mirrors there's no way that her Beast is peeking out of her eyes with such clear visible easily discernable nature that's not who she is yet there's one mirror and she sees the tint of her eyes glowing back almost as if she's being flashed by laser lights looking left and right she sees that no one's pointing at her using any of those little laser pointers they used to have back in the late 90s no nothing that's happening but as she passes one mirror she sees herself and then the next mirror she sees she feels fur her Pelt against her cheek putting her hands to her cheek she realize that is not in fact the case but every mirror shows that her inner monster is peeking out her eyes bright as leaves her lights catching her own gaze now there's not many things you can die again for the second time for the final time for but breaching the Masquerade is definitely one of them and if she is as out of control as these mirrors keep showing she is very much a threat to her own continued immortality uh and that case I think India thought would be discretion is the better part of valor and she needs to get away from the majority of these people so that nobody sees these weird changes or nobody sees the mirror that she's looking in and sees the weird changes cuz she's looking at herself she's like looking at down at her hands and touching her face and she doesn't see what's in the mirror but if she can see it then and there's probably somebody that's walking past behind her that just glances and could see it too so she's like no I need to get away from these mirrors uh need to not go in where there's a whole bunch of people and there might be more mirrors so maybe going closer down towards the bonfire would be safer so veering off as the lead Hutchinson gets Joi around the corner and them and Maddie and their thre some are heading in that direction you realize as you begin to Veer off that you don't know where Lita has gotten off to either I the curs to herself because of course the most delicate looking one is going to go disappearing somewhere and the most visibly different one that kind of changes her making maybe think she should at least put eyes on them at some point so that they can Mark where they were in case she needs to Circle back with that thought with those thoughts in mind how would India consider finding them [Music] um obviously since she's already feeling like she's getting beastly a little bit as she's going to lean into that just a little bit and use her senses uh she remembers pretty clearly what Lita kind of smells like because they were close together in the pawn shop and then uh standing near each other when that whole altercation kind of went on before they got on the bikes and then remembering that there would be that layer of hesen layered over that which would differentiate them in a cra she's going to kind of just like subtly not like overly walk around sniffing people but just like kind of wasting past areas pulling in their scent trying to find them okay that being the case do you have any um extra sensory disciplines that might be of assistance heighten senses or the like honestly this time no I don't think she does um there's nothing on my street as far as like specifically better hearing or better you know no height and senses basic okay that being the case In This Crowd of wild and wlly entertainment Seekers with the lights the sounds the distractions of everything that's going on which be so kind as to go ahead and roll your wits plus survival minus one original pool was six so you said minus one that's why I five it takes ridiculously long subtly quietly stalking tracking the mirror whiff and whim of Lita's passing her perfume her old the tlight is extraordinarily expensive meaning that it is something that's designed to last several hours with the mir's dog of it however while it is wellmade and well crafted and built for longevity as all finer scents are designed to be in the midst of this pre- poost during pubescence crowd of mixed and mingling with beer alcohol and various other things that they shouldn't have in and on them systems from the adults around them it is searching for a specific needle in a hay stack of hypodermics it is far more involved and involving than you would have ever believed it should have been thec of popcorn you're accustomed to roasting peanuts is fine but as you begin to catch whiffs and sense of AAL the parts of Beast that well they're Simply Delicious in the wild aren't exactly the most human friendly sense in the Raw you catch scense of old dead you catch scent of grave dust and Cemetery dirt you catch scent of more than one variety of Axe which you didn't think that there was really much difference between them all cuz they're all chemically empowered yet the with a variety of them on several occasions nearly causes your your eyes to begin to water and just as you have the gleaming thread the Golden Road that you are sure is going to get you to wherever Lita is you end up bumping into the surliest shortest wish version of yourself you have ever seen she is one and E times wider than you are 6 in shorter she has the sort of muscles that most of the ratch Ranch hands have long ciny cords of near steel her hair is pulled back in a severe plated bun and yes fullon plated not braided her head her forehead looks as if she dreams in Vivid IMAX 3D and she has the most unresting [ __ ] face you have ever come across watch yourself and instead of doing the usual sorry about that and stepping around she says just that plainly and just that lacking of Life watch your tucks her chin and begins to take a step forward once more through where you're standing India has a moment of the [ __ ] she say to me [Music] stepping back on one foot but not moving out of her way okay seems like you're a little short this evening but nobody taught you no Manor as you plant yourself that recognition of what that actually is is immediately communicated and she pulls up short fractions of an inch from barreling through your space talking to your chin she raises her gaze until she's staring up into your eyes even the poor in this God forsaken Place feel they can look down on people I don't repeat myself more than once get ooh it's funny you think you run anything around around here but I got better things to do than de with your little short ass this evening so fine walk around and I'll go my own way but if you got a problem and you want to keep having a problem then stay right there so your decided actions to to intimidate her to move out of your way and to go around you no India will give her space by S side stepping so it's very clear I'm giving you this chance keep it pushing [ __ ] so the moment you step to the side at least one of you can learn your place and she tucks her chin and continues moving forward does she smell human me do you have blood hound damn it no I don't yes she does have to think for a minute what would her brother do he was a local athlete he was a big man around around town he was the a local darling and a center of people's Good Will and intentions then he went off and died a hero what would he have done while alive he wouldn't have been in that situation he would have had a gang of Associates cronies friends those who wanted to be friends and those who wanted to be him to have themselves as friends he rolled deep and was always in the midst of some social group or another masquerade she has a job to do there's no time for a fifth fight as bad as she want to punch that [ __ ] in the back of the head there is no time for a fifth fight she will let it go this time and keep walking excellent let's see does her Beast actually agree with that because with that amount of consideration and force of will being exed to not engage it is a very real probability and possibility that yeah if this is something that she would normally have done restraining that urge restraining that pleasure and we won't say guilty pleasure because there's nothing guilty about pleasure then very much her selfish self-interest would be leaning in that natural for her decision to be so kind as to roll your resolve and composure your DC is three is said DC3 yes look at that fate loves India to remain the dainty Rodeo princess that she has been perceived as the vast majority of her existence and while the urge the natural inclination is very much there to let her hands translate her meaning to into the other woman's being she restrains with far less effort than one would assume cuz yes it'd be temporarily gratifying and yes she wouldn't feel as if she lost an engagement yeah she wouldn't have that prickling and percolating in the back of her mind I let her get away with that [ __ ] but the potential Fallout might be worse though of course as she's four six 10 steps too far a fight is always a good reason to have the police called in isn't it is but then she she just is likely get pinched toward herself she don't need to go lock too bad she can't run away in the dark and survive she finds Lita scent and of course after moving left right up down left of center right of Center back through the center and around she has a very good idea as to how large these grounds are how massive Shackleton is and then she gets to where she believes Lita might be she catches sight of two very large Lions being led into the employee clearly for her it has got to be the employee interest cuz that's what else could there be with doors on the side of a tent this size those have to be like the employee entrances but there's several of them spaced oddly apart from one another on the exterior of this potential tent do you walk around the front do you try to go around the side or do you try to go through one of the employees doors is this the tent that it smells like Lita went into or is this just a different it definitely feels and smells like Lita went into the tent that's curious but uh I guess try to follow the way the Lin went in I know it's weird to say that but she is so curious about where those lines are going out of character I was hoping that you would not do that here's the reason why okay no no here's the reason why why um as the lions are guided through a door into the side of the tent you quickly hasten up close enough to get inside the door before whoever is that that there at that door closes it behind the Lions as you get close enough to smell the stench of lion pelts things that aren't really bathed or showered regularly you also get a chance to realize why that person was so brus and in a rush to get where they were going because as she's closing the door you all come eye to eye as you're trying to slip inside that door you're not sure how she managed to get a a a quarter of a shade tone darker but same hairstyle same clothing same eyes that stare into the center of your soul and find you lacking same musculature and same as she immediately begin speeding up to close the door sense of disappreciate for you and everyone even remotely like [Music] you soon as she's in there I'd let her close it and stay on the other [ __ ] side cuz I don't want to deal with her again tonight is the door slam shut and you can hear the latch being thrown there's a curiosity that crosses your mind only as the lat slams into place how does she tan that quickly in a few seconds cuz you know she's a half shade quarter a shade darker and she was going in the opposite [Music] direction raw memory check if you like you go ahead and roll your intelligence and [Music] [Music] awareness You' seen her multiple points throughout the entirety of this evening since you immediately caught sight of yourself in the mirror since you immediately saw a portion of your Beast rising to the four you've seen her at several points several portions across their circus that's huge and as winding as these paths have been you've seen her at various different [Music] places speaking of being at various different places or at least in various differing Parts namely inside the gullet of a male lion inside the digestive tract of a female lion and spread all across the ground like a finely misted lawn Lena you have watched many things in your short time of being dead have you ever had the opportunity of watching someone expire right before your very eyes and not expire in a nice tasteful quiet way their arms folded across their chest and made comfortable in their bed as you've accidentally drunken a little too much but no torn limb from bloody limb and Gorman dies as if they were the best sweetest most Savory pasta sauce imaginable filled with nothing but iron and fortified vitamins little chunky meatballs that you know as the spleen that's a p part of the appendix that's the uh top of the left lung there it gets gummy if you chew it like that but you know it cracked open bones where bits of the marrow is SE to almost pulse because of the motion and the viciousness that the rest of the body is being consumed have you ever seen that I can't say I have it is definitely new so as she watches Shackleton seemingly being digested like a fine vintage wine chewed like the rankest oldest Bazooka Joe is there anything that she is attempting as she sees Joi appear in the doorway you know what I'm going to try I wear the veil thin to see if I actually did just see a [Music] murder you are attracted to places of power that is a very very good thing most times and by most times it's kind of got to know what library you're looking into and you start rifling through the stacks you have an autom atic two successes would you like to actually roll to see how many more or how exactly pinpoint accurate you might be I think I need three for it to work so I might as well roll for excellent do you know what my role is for that I think it's Oblivion plus resolve where the Shroud then did I keep a note of that uh I can look it up but excuse me no it's a ceremony no it's my discipline wa let's see [Music] um all right me one quick second here jumping jumping jumping aha yes there we go um go ahead and make that Rous R check for me really quickly and then would you be so kind let's go ahead and Ru your intelligence plus Oblivion okay intelligence pluss Oblivion that's actually a pretty good one so the Beast raises taking a small nibble at the edges of your soul does the world shrinking down to those that can be consumed and those not worth the time in consuming having starved your Beast as often as you have what is what would that make Le's present hunger three oh yeah it has gone from its constant needling whining to full out kick open the door and demanding you're going to feed me and you're going to feed me now you will have not one moment longer of Peace if you do not and it's railing it's beating pants it's kicking walls it is not full fall on the floor and throw a tantrum to have other parents and people looking at you as if you are despicable not my child e but it is very very close you can feel it causing your Undead long icated veins to throb with sheer hunger you feel a acidic burn where your gallbladder normally would be just to the top and behind where your stomach should be and it's a burning sensation demanding sustenance you can feel your stomach itself beginning to shrivel and crawl in on itself none of those things have a use in your dead body yetep your your Beast is literally kicking at the bars of its cell demanding sustenance just enough as you allow your eyes to die as you allow the cataracts of Oblivion to obfuscate the barest sense of living that exist in your and as the world shimmers and the colors fall away and the code the underpinning code to all living and dead things begins to open itself up to you where you can parse certain bits of information and understand what your Beast literally knocks the binoculars out of your hand your Beast literally up turns the table where the telescope is that you're peering into your Beast literally takes a big huge steaming piss all over the lens for your telescope staring out into the void but even with all of those distractions even with all of that attempts by your Beast by your drive by your hunger to steal reason from you to steal Clarity of thought and vision from you you are able to see this place is a [ __ ] Cesspool there are places in the world where the spirits of the Dead damned and dying pool most of those places are areas where the boundary between this world and the next are thinner and and so a little of it bleeds across backwards and forwards no nothing truly harmful to any measure of living even for the Kindred yet there are other places where the boundaries between this and all of the worlds that are but it aren't really boundaries they're more of a suggestion they're more of a a hint of what should be there and in those places the Necro romantic energies of the worlds of the Dead bubble and leak and it feels for those of us able to understand such things like a toxic waste dop because the the big large powerful things on the other side don't visit those places because it's nothing fortifying there for them to feed on is not a strength of emotion from the living invested in the place it is literally the runoff from the unused unso forged Dead who don't have their strength to go on most of their ties and connections to The Living World have faded away and have been obliterated they've been paved over they've been sold off they've been pawned and in those places where the dead go to die to escape the many maelstroms and storms on the other side unable to go on and continue existing unable to be of any use they molder in those places where the boundaries between this world and all of the others doesn't actually exist it's a place of last refuge for everything Only the Strong Survive and these are places where the weak Gather in droves it's the elephant graveyard of the pride lands it is the PTO potty of the Land of the Dead and every once in a while something larger stronger will come along and empty it occasionally cuz the stench of it gets so appallingly bad that even they began being affected by it and that's where you are that's what these entertainments I built upon what is Lita's Ault rating how many dots of a cult does she have three I just said I have five dots total last time I have six with my three intelligence which means with her a fixation on the debt and the tolls and the cost and the boundaries and bonds she knows that there's nothing altruistic about when those larger stronger things those Legions even band together to come clear out such spaces even the weak deplorable despicable that have no other use their energies can be put towards a goal living or a close proximity of the living who understand such things allow those areas to build up energy and and try to act before the forces of the Dead from the other side may take a hand they collect those runoffs they collect those ones and twos and threes and add them together into a portfolio equaling tens and 20s and hundreds as it were and if you were to you know incidentally accidentally overcharge those areas with things such as extraordinarily strong emotions of a particular flavor you would have a very potent untapped useful bit of energy to direct at your leisure so you know things like setting up a haunted house a freak Show oh a place where people think that they're having fun a carnival maybe it's not like they but you know be smart enough to set up like a I don't know a ferris wheel to get people's endorphins high roller coasters and things that get people really invested in the moment God forbid if you throw in some familial bonds people that are willing to kill for each other or die for each other throw that level of filial pety in there and you're cooking with juice you turned all of that toxic you could potentially turn all of that toxic radioactive sludge into Rocket Fuel all you might need is a couple of deaths thrown in Yep this seems like some magicky stuff going on on so as the Lions Bear Down on Joi besides staring into the V into the void looking wistfully into the middle space is there anything that LE attempting to do oh excellent screw that guy nobody liked him anyway all right Maddie [Laughter] there's a scent that the human body has when cracked open there's a unmistakable affectation and it could be faked if you know what you're doing but it's something that sticks with you something that's easy to understand and something that is um unfortunately unavoidably memorable so as the lion is covered in the viscous stench of human alul come barreling towards Joi what if anything is Maddy doing in her ground silly Lion so being clearly being the stronger of the two that she pushed Jo to the side that she yeah she'll do that she she tries to be nice sometimes to people she likes excellent would you be so just go ahead and roll your because you're just standing your ground we're going to say that that's a block shall we which be so kind go ahead roll your strength plus Athletics as you stare down the menacing charging gladness liines a even better much better much better if it matters at all I do have a fortitude one and potent one always always have a phone those are very good in regard regards to dealing out and dealing with the pain of the everyday struggles cuz you know you're just making your way down town walking fast right and I need you and that's means that they need a minimum of five to be of any bit effective if they're attempting to get their fill and not be baded as as side as if they're bad kitties no leaping on Bobby or something like that right right I mean they're just big kittens they want us to play with their topin and give them stretches no just the opposite of that they are horrible mistreated malnourished angry Beast I kept on the verge of devouring whatever is put before them to ratchet up the tension because they are actually roaring their anger they're actually attempting to cause harm enough cuz they realized after all of these many years on the road that the world is made of steaks and I happen to eat steaks and i' like to eat steaks oh and look there's another steak so as they rush they charge very much unlike their wild natural selves because lions in the wild stalk and find the most fortuitous opportunity to attack they play they pre and play off of pack tactics along with Ambush to maximize their success they very rarely come at a thing dead on unless of course there is no other recourse and as they leap and you shall joji bravely out of the way catching the male just as the female catches you you three tumble back and despite what most of the onlookers believe you realize that no no these aren't aren't Holograms these aren't animatronics well they might be animatronics they a little lighter than You're Expecting with you know two killing machines rushing you but they very much are as real as you fear the Stitch coming off of them the wildness the funk the insects in there pelts the very real hunger arousal at play lets you know that they are in fact as real as they possibly could be as one chess siiz paw makes itself at home in your dead flesh and you all go back and down out into the open area of the parks the blood dripping from their mouth is real also the Gory mess of their less than pristine fur let you know that the iron content the copper content yeah the lunch content messy eaters though they are well Keen I suppose so am I to assume that it like pushed me down on my stomach or am I on my back you're going back out of the tent yes okay cool uh is it going to try to stop to munch or is it going to try to keep going oh it's trying to devour you much like it did the the the carcass inside amazing I'm going to bite back um that being the case would be go ahead your strength plus brawl rolling as high as you are able it is there's a meme that had been going around where it was the sounds of a scuffle and you can hear someone's voice saying fight back fight back let him get let him get up fight back fight back and that's what MADD feels under the Press of two lions working diligently to Maul them into a state of permanent death not just this vacation that she's taking presently for the rest of immortality they're attempting to do actual honest Grievous harm they're attempting to consume you an equal part so as you clamp down on the female that's swiped across your stomach the male attempts to clamp down on well attempt is a very light word for what he's doing to your shoulder and working his way towards your neck it it is a scene out of a horror movie the Gory kind where the jump scares are all about making sure the audience feels as if they are covered in the sticky residue of formerly living individuals Le watching this happen it's hard not to Envy the Lions it's hard not to Envy Maddie because you clearly see her clamped down on the female as if this is the world's largest adult Capri Sun filled with the sweetest brightest best Pino or Savon she's going to have a boozy good time there's no sparkling can of anything now this is that deep robust stuff that is clearly bad for you but you're going to have a hell of a time once you get it all down it's the wine that comes in a box but tastes like it came out of a Kool-Aid packet arm me and the ooze and O of those who are sickened by what they believe they're seeing all part of the show of course all part of the show and there is an excitement there a very cruel pleasure at seeing something die you can imagine what hundreds or a thousand of these voices would sound like with the entertainment at the coliseums if they were as bloody and spectacular as you've seen on movies throughout the ages that bloodthirsty C tear our head off at the exact same time being having a semblance of affinity for the wild twins typically don't happen in the wild not the way that humans think it's a lit litter for the survival of that particular animal but none of them are actually twins they are singular instances of live birth or egg birth but they're all different and individual even if they look alike on the surface there will be differences and VAR variety there for the benefit of the species all of that to say that while cats sound similar and make similar sounds there is the immediate understanding of the difference in size strength diet and the smells that began bombarding India she thinks about how many times over the course of the evening you're seeing that same woman in with lighter or darker not yet that could be made up with makeup or lighting or but she seen them at various places almost instantaneously for her like she it took her 5 minutes to get there there's no way that someone ran past her or ran around the entirety of the circus to get there ahead of her that's course they're that quick and then you hear it the snarling gluttonous growling mutilations of large predatory animal that is demonstratively feline I slowly start walking towards s but I am also looking around to see if everybody else is panicking or if anybody else has noticed are there Hutcherson around no the freak Show is closer to the end of the grounds it is a little more isolated yes it's down the C Boardwalk but the entrance is offset so that standing on a central Boardwalk not that there's an actual centrer Boardwalk but that that main trunk of the branching paths you won't really see anything but the lights and hear the sounds so no one's really paying all that much attention and the few people that might be able to see that are on the ferrah wheel no one can hear them being you know 65 ft in the air [Music] well again I'm going to keep going towards the sound but at the same time uh if anybody passes me I'm going to start like hey call the cops there's a lion boo um kind of shouting to get attention s thing we not shouting cuz I know [ __ ] Lions I am one that would not do well um but yeah like some urgency like trying to find people close to me telling them call the police the more police that are called the the more times the cops are called the quicker they'll get here because it's a big thing um but yeah I keep going cuz I I feel like I might need to help whoever is getting attacked I don't know how I'm going to but I'm going to there's a cost of doing business for every Enterprise for every facet of the world there is a normal and expected cost that most people understand that the the return on investment of if I do this for $2 and I get $3 bad that mean I made a dollar profit but you forget about the $2 you initially invested it's it's a huge thing that no one really considers how to actually rate and consider a return on investment outside of the business majors and Company owners and a certain facet of society everyone has it in their head like if I get X back for what I'm charging then I'll may be making a profit that's not the case you got to know the value of the thing and how much it costs in terms of time time labor all of those variables that change that you can try to maintain as close as possible but if you're getting a supply from someone else that affects your cost as well so whatever it is the shock is up to the spectacle these spectacles and keeping people off balance and lost in the various branching Paths of their setup is worth the return on investment most people are willing to go along if they believe that it's something in it for them and those gathered inside the tent while having watched the lions attack shacklin and devest him of his living in front of them this is all part of the show cuz there's no way there's no way that that's is real the they were how do they call them they were Shields they were here they're part of it oh my God they think we're going to fall for this a teral killer it's competing senses of human interaction people who don't want to believe that they are witnessing what it is that they are witnessing and those who don't want to miss out what they hope they're witnessing and as Maddie is literally fighting for their immortality a she is literally onv twoing killing machines that have been mistreated to drive their natural prey instinct to include humans and the fa simile of those that are human she for the second time this evening has been close enough to these that she's been within leaping pouncing biting range and unlike the natural normal reaction to swallowing and tasting dead blood it seems to urge them forward and do more the shaking and biting and trying to get those dagger likee teeth further into the soft places trying to exercise some demons goting and spurring them further on something more than just simple hunger madd's never wanted to know what it was like when watching those old Tarzan movies of him wrestling Jaguars and leopards and controlling lions and fighting tigers and death rolling alligators she's never wanted to be up close and person and experience that in 3D the question the most pressing question with their existance flashing past their eyes does Maddie have iron [Music] gullet no that's a silly [Music] question the reason for asking there's a certain value and inherent Vitality that comes from almost drowning in the hot viscous heavy animal blood that is coating her tongue filling her nostrils more blood that she can easily lap as she bites into the and then that she's bit into and then she's all but pinned is one huge paw that stretches the entire width of her is attempting to rip that from her and as teeth Burl and gnaw and tear at her shoulder working their way towards the cred in her neck she's never wanted to be this close to them but there is still a Vitality in all of that blood that is very much working antithetical to how blood is supposed to blood is supposed to stay inside the body supposed to have just enough to lap it away the Pelt is soaking up much of the lion blood as well and iron gulet will help in the digestion not just the absorption of that blood she does not have a heightened blood potency does she she does not excellent that's a very good thing because there's only so much junk food you can eat missing something it'll do in a pinch nothing like a good oldfashioned Crystal Burger or White Castle or hell even a rally or Checkers burger right now all of that is all to the good but if you have too much of it there's natural responses that happen in India seeing all of that lovely bloody red hair beneath those two huge engines of death and destruction is there anything you might be contemplating before you answer it is 47 after the hour let's be back at the Turning of the hour sounds like a plan [Music] welcome back folks how we doing yeah all right forsaking T te for a little bit we're going to move on to this lovely uh crazy key Li [Music] yeah what excuse me I'm here hi here not even a grown for the dude that's just okay okay fine all right fine right sorry that's totally something I would say in reply so I can't be mad at it so I was going to say I thought you were there but okay so you are saying that you're neither here nor there interesting I am atherial non-existent understandable so as we um take a pause from our own hurtling through the the Infinity of space on on this little mud ball that we are upon and visit once more this world a dark mirror to our own as a pair of lions a lion and a lioness find that Kindred flesh isn't as bad as you'd think it would be there's a subtle sweetness to it a melon Rich mellowness that has very interesting notes of this that I believe that's teak oil uh mixed in with subtle hints of melon there and it's a little bit uh it's a little bit exciting like it's a little bit exotic it it gets the blood going or at least that's what they would say if they can communicate in English and while they work their way through and India is witness much like the Denis of the tent who are frozen between doing nothing absolutely beneficial and doing everything that you should not do when an animal attacks showing excitement and fear and the energy is just [Music] roiling we stepped away with a decision in the offing we stepped away with a realization that it very much is real and one of the few present aware that it is real Maddie being the victim of the moment having bravely stood their ground and shov Joi to the side taking the brunt of the hit taking all of the blows and Lita watching Computing and compiling data what is it if anything that India is going to do hate to see it but um she can't do anything vampiric right now so the next best thing to stop this whole situation is to pull her weapon she's packing girl's got a gun on her hip so yeah that's what we going to do she's going to draw her weapon and aim she's going to put Maddie out of her mystery no she's going to shoot at one of the Lions oh okay this just way you to shoot at she's going to fire a warning shot or she's going to well you know put some emphasis on that [Music] syab it's a no we morning already and it's it's time to go [Music] well at this distance and it's just within the comfortable shoot from your hip range is she going to take the time to aim and steady her shot or is she going to draw and Fire [Music] missing would be a bad thing in this case because you're going to piss them off so she would take that extra little bit of a second to steady herself and aim the only thing more well-known than the primary law of real estate being location location location is that in entertainment no matter one's natural gifts for drama comedy dramedies romantic comedies or Thrillers or all of it boils down to including for all the technical operators in and around their entertainment business whether it's singing It's dancing it's photography it's videography it's painting it's all of it boils down to a simple principle of understanding timing the maximum moment of efficacy the right time to shed a tear the right timing to dash the hopes of those who watch the trick turn timing timing timing and as the energies of the crowd the roiling emotions have been twisted and turned and shunted and pushed and they've gone on this opening volley of the [Music] horrific two small smaller ladies to ladies who are a few inches shorter than you seem to appear almost as if out of nowhere coming from the other edge of the tent coming up The Path and around the corner and seeming to have been prepared for such a seeming potential outbreak and they begin with the weirdest thing they don't have nues on long arm they don't have tranquilizer guns they don't have anything save themselves and they Rush forward and Wrangle the Lions off of Maddie some of them shoving their arms into the mouths of the Lions and as everyone's wondering what what sort of monstrously strong individuals how can they be so brave and foolish and we were about to witness the second Massacre the second they have them in almost complete control the sort of thing that you see often with very alpha male dog owners who have these huge hunting monstrosities that they wrestle with or the people that live with bears and wrestle and do absolutely foolish things sticking arms and appendages in open mouths or risking those claws those huge torso siiz claws these women these all looking similarly the same some of them have stars painted over one eye and some of them are wearing grease paint but there's a similarity of build and a similarity of severeness with which their hair is pulled back in buns or tightly woven plated braided ponytails and everyone's trying to figure out what to make of this chaos several of them are helping pull Maddie up to her feet some of them are bowing as the lions are still trying to get to Maddie and then you hear the Clapping of Shackleton who is standing in all of the gore that was him moments before the Clapping in complete imbalanced to the Roaring and snarling of the Lions somehow seems to draw mostly the attention back to him and as he speaks stepping out of the sling and sliding and sticky oal everything is [Music] never all there is everything is never what it might seem to be as stated if you remain seated you would be perfectly safe and you all are here hail and Hardy and have witnessed the feroc of the world around you but there's more we have for you coming all the way from and he speaks motioning back to the oal that was there and trundling forward is based on the bulging space at the waste of that in male you're not sure what there's hair thick and Rich long enough to be braided starting from the cheekbones it only gets longer as it drifts and swirls across the body the eyes as black as the devil's own soul and the ladies who are helping Maddie to her feet leading the Lions away and pulling Maddie along bow and smile as people's attention is torn cuz they were sure what they were seeing was real there's no way and then yet here shackles and then what the [ __ ] is that it is it's 8 and 1/2 ft tall its limbs its arms longer than most people in presence and it walks forward in the stooped gate oh all the way from a lost city in Peru he begins regaling with a story his voice seeming to bounce off the inside of the tent and Echo back to the crowd and he weaves how this being was found in a village as old as Jerusalem how the neighboring Villages believe that these persons with Forest spirits and how the first few expeditions to their lost space was eaten cuz you can't quite say that it's cannibalism as there are some similarities between good old Larry here and us the differences are far wider and faster than the mind can comprehend and then it speaks a low rumbling thing coming from somewhere near the sixth circle of hell it's clear that it has too many teeth in its mouth and those in the front row and close enough to really get a full view of those Chompers realizes that it's not just teeth not just the row and row of teeth behind tooth it is the multiplicity of tongues inside that cause the voice to do very weird things as you're LED away Maddie is there anything you're attempting as Maddie is Led away India is there anything that India is attempting and as The Story begins to wax and wne and Larry begins speaking from that lower region that nether region with a strangely unaccented near perfect English is there anything that Lita is doing Maddie is going to take the back of her forearm and just like wipe her mouth of the blood shake it off and just grin like a lunatic as she walks away India is going to holster her weapon and not let Maddie out of her [ __ ] sight because I don't know what these people have planned if they had all this going on I need to make sure nothing happens to Maddie right now I want to see how the show plays out yeah [ __ ] Manny me she did get a chance to taste lion flesh how often do you need a chance to do that know what a lion tastes like she's having a time of her life or un Life Time opportunity nothing like being almost eaten it'll be perfectly fine we'll talk to her tomorrow at church well I'm also a little bit on the how big a masquerade violation was with her biting the lion minuscule part of the ACT everything's perfectly silky silky smooth nothing like watching two murders almost happen it' be fine they they believe you know you know they believe the first murder was part of the show right what's one more so what if well you know speaking of so what and you know to catch you up to speed Joi really quickly as Maddie is being led away as Lita nods purses her lips underneath the mask and turns to get the full View and full look of Larry who Begins regaling the crowd a come down from the high peak of horror that was watching Shackleton be consumed and the horror of watching his life and his death Flash before his eyes as the Lions burrowed towards him being shun to the side by Maddie who was Valiant in her efforts but outnumbered to V one and if anyone was keeping score uh well it' been the bottom of the ninth but B is loaded not in her favor until the women showed up until India showed up and as the women lead the Lions and Maddie away with India trailing along holstering what at best can beid can be considered a an antique though kept up to date kept clean kept functioning a large bore modern Take On The Peacemaker what is it that Joi is doing realizing that Maddie literally was nearly consumed by a pair of lions um well for Maddie specifically there's there's not not much he can really do for her he said she's being led away so she's at least in enough of a piece to to walk away she is yeah um this situation is is just a cluster [ __ ] honestly it's very uh uh throwing me out of my my groove because when when last I stepped off the bus uh [ __ ] was getting real and I come back and [ __ ] has gotten real yes okay um I think the like the only thing I can really do in an attempt to to salvage the situation is uh try and try and what was it that someone mentioned that Maddie was joking about that it was just part of the magic I suppose I can go about trying amongst the crowd that Still Remains whisper here whisper there try and sell that yeah know that was all just part of the ACT okay so you're going to stay with Lita and attempt to woo the crowd into believing that mdny being pushing him aside and literally taking the brunt of the Lion's focus and giving as best as she could in return is just all part of the show part of the act and stay and listen to to to Larry and as Maddie is leted off into whatever the circus folk have in mind for her oh [ __ ] wait sorry I must have misheard um if it's not one of us leading her off no I'm I'm I'm going with her sorry about the uh the correction there but these the these folks aren't right in if possible I'd like to follow along is't that the pot call in the kettle well I mean yeah but like there is the devil you know and then the devil that's winking at you from across the road why is his head so close to the ground oh my God that ain't his head winking at me indeed indeed yeah I'll um I'll try and follow along then just make sure uh uh because I don't know what the [ __ ] this circus is about but we've seen some pretty strange [ __ ] so far already Yes strange is The New Normal we we still got the [ __ ] job of ensuring the police are called here for one reason or another yes yes you do they seem to be far too Adept at keeping the crowds entranced caught up in the magic of the moment caught up in the Illusions as being painted though judging by the Grievous near aggravated damage that maddia suffered you're not sure how much of that is actually illusion okay so the Caravan of six relatively short statured women all looking fairly similar there's differences in the most minute superficial ways you notice that the one with the star pained over her left eye she has slightly longer lashes but those can be bought so maybe they're not hers maybe it's part of the makeup I don't know but then there's one who has her hair actually plated there's another who has her hair actually braided there's another who has her hair slicked and shellacked back so severely that you're sure that even in a hurricane that nothing would fall out of place they're all variations on a theme their complexions range from Cafe Olay to full boore milk chocolate in terms of coloration that could be just simply one or more having more Sun than the next they're all the exact same height they are all the same musculature and they all Brusly ignore you all the except for Maddie who you're going to have to come with us don't fight let's make this quiet we'll make sure that you're okay not that we don't think you're actually okay to begin with cool it get them back where they belong yeah sure always having to do the work it's only as you all exit from Easy view of the tent that you all just exited and you make a left and then you make a right that you realize that you're moving outside of the publicly accessible portions of the carnival grounds you're moving moving into the Caravan and and RV and tractor trailer portion of the carnival grounds and as you all they don't seem to really give two [ __ ] that you guys are following along in fact they fairly seem zoned out of it and for their lack of height in comparison to even Maddie they're moving at a decent clip not not running down downhill like an NFL back but they are moving at a decent clip H okay almost as if they're attempting to rush her towards medical treatment but here's the thing you three are Kindred you know what Kindred V smells like there is a for you a world of difference between Kindred and actual blood the magic of it entering into your dead corpse that you all control and pilot like Gundams there is a magic that happens to the blood it goes from being a copper iron rich thing with the same viscosity as the waterest oil possible but it's still blood like the there's a natural viscosity difference but V is thicker richer all of the iron and copper and those various minerals that course through the blood and all the fear and excitement all of that disappears once it enters into a kindred system and while when you Rouse and tempt the Beast to seem human it takes on a semblance of that quality but it is never as watery as blood it is never as bright as blood it is blood related but it is not in fact actually blood it is something so much more and the scent of it for you again Worlds Apart but even humans being this closed being bathed in the stench and scent of it there's that anybody smell something sweet or oh my God is that candy is that [ __ ] is that Hollywood being this close to it there is no doubt in your mind that the average person would begin to wonder because the entire upper left quadrant of Maddie is covered in lion bites her V that was close to the surface is all over her clothes she has lion life juice all over her mouth and she F and SED and they don't seem to give two shits see that is certainly interesting um am I am I with them or am I trailing behind you're just behind unless it go you catch up to India no I don't imagine it would be too difficult no no you guys are close enough to hide and you actually if I remember correctly are an inch or two taller or is it 3 in oh I'm 56 yeah I thought India was 55 54 how tall is India India India did we lose you mm no I went to look cuz got so many dang characters um actually she's on the taller side oh not like freakish five s oh she's taller there we go so it's I'm sorry I I lied I said um 6 Ines she's almost seven inches taller than these women oh fun uh as I'm just yeah you know I'm catching up with India and I'm just kind of um so how how how long are we going to uh let them drag her out there um is there anything I need to be worried about when it comes to these people they are I don't know if you've noticed it but there they seemed very very unaffected yeah one of them ran up on me earlier we almost got the fist cing but I backed off cuz I didn't want problems but now I think we might end up having uh I don't want to get her alone so we either got to stick with her real close or we got to break her away now you think they've got our uh particular Dental issue or something else they not like us but they something else all right well uh we need to figure out if we're if we're re kidnapping un kidnapping free grabbing her or or not really soon think we should grab her and get the [ __ ] out of here right now oh yeah but we've got a job to do we can't just dip right now not just watch the alliance eat that guy and then him pop back up like a [ __ ] Daisy yeah but the people in charge won't give a [ __ ] what excuse we give them if we don't get the job done there's also the fact that I've seen at one or multiple of them in several different places in the park while I was looking for leader and then they all just appeared out of no [ __ ] way yeah it sucks majy and [ __ ] to thing it's it's really [ __ ] weird it's really [ __ ] rough but we we we got to do what we got to do or are you more willing to to to take the consequences of not getting the job done the logic in this right now but okay H can I at least shoot uh shooting them would certainly get the cops down here no it wouldn't uh-oh uh there 's over source of the voice moving with the Entourage getting Maddy to what you all think or hope is medical treatment there's always a medical tin and and and or a medical office or at least a huge 2K siiz medical box at these carnivals and circuses you're hoping that's what they were they're leading Maddy towards um unfortunately they're not the only once there are two more bringing up the rear as you all get closer and closer to that Darkness between the bright lights and sounds of the actual Carnival grounds proper and the inner sanctum of the actual circus carnival people's living Transportation spaces and the now somehow even more distant light of the her the bonfire that several of the locals from town and and you know Jo's favorite fans are partaking in it's that Darkness between two bright or seemingly bright light sources where they AB but and there's nothing but a sliver of barely electronic faint blue light coming from the several of the campers and RVs the trucks and cars and this is the area where you all are being led and as you round the corner of a uh huge motor home that's designed for comfort and travel uh there's a smaller older style a silver thing that you've all seen on various movies a streamlined aerodynamic home on Wheels meant for vacations taken during the height of the silent Generations Glory Days it's a huge for its time small for now vacation Palace it is a motor home that has seen more history than either of you individually and some of you add it together actually in terms of how far back it actually is speaking of time Maddie how old how long dead are you uh uh little while why I was asking Maddie how long did they they been oh okay was MADD sorry yep uh so 24ish years 25 years oh yeah and and for the most part The Heavy Muscle lifting aspect of the localish Chantry occasionally doing jobs for sheveport as dictated more directly but you know 24 years is a long enough time to be accustomed to most of the slings and arrows of being dead most being eaten not necessarily one of them what is Maddy stamina let's see it is three plus one dot of fortitude with resilience if that matters it does it takes the clearcut visual aggravated deathly injuries that she's accumulated and turns them into more of what happens if you get drunk on a Saturday night and live on a three-story walk up so instead of just a tumble down the stairs that it feels like it looks as if you've been put through a thresher which you effectively have two furry six and 500 lb Threshers that were determined to devest you from all semblances of living to test how true and strong your actual immortality might be was their goal they missed it by a few inches so while you've experienced a good deal of pain and it is not the most pain you've ever been in you are hardpressed to decide where on your top three this particular night rates and seeing the Streamline from the America's houseon P when it fell in love with the road and the cars and built super highways um yeah it's a moment of surreality and speaking of moments of surreality as you all are led to what seems to be the penous suite of the Shackleton event inside the freak show tent Larry has picked out several audience members for an up close and personal would Lita willingly accept being chosen out of the [Music] crowd uh I think so I think she's trying to get the lay of what they're up to excellent so there's the four of you you and three others chosen that seemingly random from the crowd and as Larry speaks there's a scent of something fresh and citrusy about his fur cuz calling it hair doesn't quite do it justice it is the thickest richest most [Music] luxurious hair you've seen it is very much in fact close to what would happen if you had a a long haired Pelt it's that thick it seems like it's going to be coarse and stiff but it moves with him it moves with the gentle breeze that's passing as people move and he moves and it flows and his your think is going to be stiff it's going to be hard it's going to be but the moment he gets close enough for him to incidentally brush past you as he's speaking to the audience and speaking to you all along with that nice citrusy scent his hairs his Pelt seems to indiv individually each one gently caress your arm as he passes you know that's an impossibility but that's what it feels like it feels like a 100,000 little tiny fingers longing to touch you as he incidentally brushes past you and that lovely natural bright herbaceous Citrus [Music] scent it's hard to must up any excitement being dead it's the memory of those emotions and those endorphin releases and those chemical cocktails bombarding your system so you don't have that same activity emotionally however In This Moment smelling that scense it is very hard to work up any semblance of negativity it's hard to to work up any rational Detachment from there's the real Earnest calm peace and as he speaks and he has been speaking for the last 3 and a half 4 and A2 minutes you kind of lost some of it in this the the moment that that scent invaded your being it came harder even knowing that you're you know a effectively in a supernatural Chernobyl and you might have a spiritual third eye growing or uh extra tentacles attaching to what little bit of your soul exists in your present form but n that's future use problem and even though you know you you know that Shon was devoured you you smelled the oal you know what that smells like now you it's a little hard to get worked up about that it's hard to it's even hard to like clinically detach yourself and begin trying to break it down and figure out forensically detail what it was that you were witnessing was that really Maddie is she really in on it you know she did make friends with those Hutchinson Hudson do work for the carnival circus freak Show maybe it's that illusion magic you've heard so much about they fools you they're having a a Gest at at your expense that's all that is right be nice okay so you're not resisting the logic that slowly begins to wash over you you're not resisting the live that slowly starts to entrance you to the idea of this has been one huge prank at your expense and you were smart enough to escape the brunt of it by mingling and mixing with these lovely people who are being taken advantage of by the local Kindred you refuse to be the BR of their joke you're not going to be their pranky just like small town people always picking out the one that seems different or has slightly more money or in your case a lot more money than they could ever muster and and didn't they call you a name 100 of names when you were alive and part of the community didn't they try to ostracize you didn't they try to call your dad names or whatever it was oh yeah yeah [ __ ] those guys you're not going to fall for their prank here is great here is perfect Larry actually seems far more caring than they have and you've known of them and known them for years good old Larry you wonder how they got him inside that costume cuz there's no way that anybody's actually eight and 1/2 ft tall that's got to be animatronics on in a mask or Hollywood Magic on a small scale they put a lot of work into the trying to prank you good thing the circus folk understand you right [Music] hey is kind of wondering in a certain direction and as you've gone along with this path of thought as you've been serated into the truth and everything is slowly adding up like this is a prank at your expense you might as well enjoy this portion of it being you as you were smart enough to side step it [Music] right so I think probably want to run this a little bit if I can tell I need to but do you though they clear having fun at your spense why why and as you attempt to resist whatever these thoughts are whatever this feeling of peace that is slowly washing over you is would you be so kind let's go ahead and roll do you have dominate or present uh I have neither that is not a very good thing all right that increases your difficulty but you pleas kind just go ahead and roll your resolve plus composure [Music] I put a difficulty in oh no it's test it roll as high as you possibly [Music] can [Music] um [Music] that is not in in fact a best shoe yet we shall see what fate dictates if you are exceeded by one that will in fact be a bestel but right now it is to successes so what does fate dictate for you does fate conspire to assist or antagonize leader it is in fact it bestro there are there are very few moments where the conscious mind of a kindred and their dark intrusive thoughts their Beast are in perfect synchronicity very few but when they happen when they occur it is usually to the confounding of the world around them it is usually due to the destruction and the attempt to drink down the entirety of the world in this case that is not exactly what happens as you realize where that Citrus sent is coming from it's coming from Larry's heart it's coming from Larry because every time he speaks every that animatronic head on that costume there's the a a freshening of the scent and it's crawling into her pores it is seeping inside of her with a sense of calm and you're trying to remember why it does so and then you think you remember mornings starting the end of the normal fall season going into the holidays the weekends and especially the mornings your kitchen would be filled with the scent of limes and lemons as your father started the day off instead of with coffee with freshly made Margaritas he wasn't a violent Drinker he was a boozy enjoyer of the art of drinking carousing with oneself as he poured over one AP a cryful tone after another as he helped you fall in love with the idea of finding the mysteries of the world around you as that strange visitor from that you would see him sometimes on your father's campus visiting him at late night hours and them enjoying hours and hours of private conversations would visit later that evening after it got dark and they spend the night pouring and attacking and analyzing and the scent of citrus abounded with the memory of his full attention until Nightfall it was a beautiful time the love of knowledge was deeply planted into her psyche that's what Larry smells like those moments of Adventure without having to leave her father's presence of knowledge just is filtering in almost as if by osmosis if there was some quiet voice in the dark Whispering secrets of the universes around that's what Larry smells like that's what that cus scent is doing and you'd expect your very childish selfish hungry and constantly angry Beast to respond negatively but instead your Fame sliding into place it's only as the hot vaguely peppery Taste of Larry fills your mouth that you realize it's simply because you bit your lip your fangs extending as they are your self-inflicted kiss washing over you it's only then that you realize that all of the other volunteers are are gone all of the other help to Larry are gone and it's just you left at the center of the stage Larry standing behind you his very real mess pressed against your upper back his hands large enough to throttle you three and four times over just between the four finger and thumb resting on your shoulder ERS his fingers lightly tapping out a Melody you staring forward into the mirror that has been brought on stage when did you agree to stare into your self when did you agree to look into this mirror as you look into this mirror and Larry gently urging you forward you get closer closer to yourself closer and closer and even with all of your regalia keeping others from seeing bits of your skin keeping others from being able to discern just how unliving you are you see you yeah the black the wellmade the tailored the expensive you but you see you and as you get closer and closer to the mirror just as your nose or the remnant of it is brushing against the mirror you realize it's not really a mirror is it it's a pool that you are sinking into it's cool on the other side you're not wet you don't feel any moisture about you but that's the only way that that could have work right there's only if you but no you have managed to much like Alice step Through the Looking Glass and speaking of looking glass as you all are led to the presidential suite as it is you are sure now as you get closer that what this is this is the big boss's private Abode this is the coming to Jesus talk you all are being led in with a gaggle of you're not sure what these women are are they muscle are they internal security or special police they clearly have some skill with handling animals or at least gaining the animals respect but here you all are and the door opens and there is Shackled come right in I believe we need to talk this our little gathering of heathens yes all right step inside cheely no for what that it has come to this and as you all step inside the large spacious clearly two bedroom apartment that this that this particular sh RV has the walls lined with unfortunately not the old 1970s fallwood paneling no there are mirrored surfaces on every aspect of the the mobile home s s again I'm sorry it's come to this I did not expect you all this particular visit but I'm glad that you're here it is better that we make some arrangement between us don't you think what did you think of the show uh uh quite uh surprising yes yes fate does that uh can I offer you all some an Atif we've got Rumple black house and a personal favorite of mine we've got this lovely bottle that we've picked up from the northern Chicago area it's a a private Brew uh they sell it in their Chinatown I'm not sure if it might be interesting to you all but if you would like I can have one of the girls fetch it for you while we discuss what the actual outcome and the agreement that we're going to come to to is sure uh F by me excellent good deal Madam Fortuna did not inform me which of you would beat the leader so I'm taking it it is you correct looks uh looks to the other members of his Rock shod [ __ ] codery anybody wanting to do the speaker bit no my thing is not much speaker all right that means it's me good good how can we change our Stars uh well oh Atif you said no maybe yeah sure excellent sit sit take a load off he goes to sit and just I I apologize we our goal here tonight is not exactly one that I would say is conducive to business nothing is save business um we we I know I know Madam for tuna her Visions come they go and I understand what the purported outcome is but we are better than that we can rewrite Our Stars don't you agree old boy yeah it doesn't have to be that we create our own fate ladies I'm sure you're unaccustomed to male talk consider this of of no real value to you all your place in fate decided by this lovely leader of yours uh we shall come to an agreement that won't have you will in so disastrously Maddie is just going to look at him like so confused like the [ __ ] is this guy saying what is with y'all and threatening people oh my dear please uh you don't have to yell he thought that was yelling oh yes please please not so shrill but I do miss the olden days when you all knew your place but uh we we must modernize as we can I completely understand so please uh a little bit of decorum a little maturity from and slower with that uh Urban speak that you all are using um could you say that in English please the [ __ ] is this guy saying oh Madam clearly clearly U please behave as a woman exercise some decorum we are trying to have a business conversation and your screeching and yelling and urbanism is a bit distracting I can't hear your leader there's this like kind of oh God please don't mention me in the middle of this you're riling them up please don't mention me is going to cross her arms and just like Arch an eyebrow at him clearly you've been out of the loop for a while oh no not at all I've seen some of the greatest sits that they are to see in this great nation of ours uh now as we were saying while we decide your fate and your futures and our own please do take notes uh there are pads on the nearby table nearest you there you could take some ition as we conduct business so that you might be able to someday accomplish much the same yourself yeah I don't do that shame you didn't matriculate I apologize for the shame you brought your father oh no no shame I uh can make some repairs better than he did oh assure you he was right quite proud I see I see you're one of the suffit nice I've met a few of you over the years and I must say that I'm always impressed when you all are able to accomplish something of note so Bill honey that was like 100 years ago no no time is but time is but a cycle what was once will be once more and all of that now yeah not this please Madam a small bit of deorum while I speak to your leader oh have at it wi is an illustrous leader okay uh so you know what we what we need to get done here or at least what we were sent to do or or are do you not know that quite yet yes Madam Fortuna despite her increased age is no less accurate we can avoid all of that messiness on your part I'm sure I understand that you I understand that you all suck of the the lifeblood of things um would you prefer a few cows or does it must be almost living oh no we we didn't come here for a meal no no an an arrangement to keep you from having to do what it is that Madam Fortuna has seen there's no need for further and he motions offhandedly towards Maddie nastiness we're not emotional women I'm sure we can come to some understanding I mean our our goal here is to just draw the the police away from something else oh is that all oh don't we just need we just need them over here for like an hour or two ah I see I see I may be able to help you all with that actually we made several arrangements with the local cust uh starting with your your Regional uh I believe they call them parishes this side of the Border or is it still counting I forget it's all Blends the same small local less than intelligent Cony so with that being the case and with us moving on within the next two days at the most at the outside there's no reason to escalate things is there uh so long as our objective is fulfilled and our bosses are happy we're happy right girls it is so kind of you to include them my but Joi would realize it's not one of those oh that's great smiles it's kind of a bearing of teeth more than anything but she stays quiet yeah so this will be a giant smirk from Maddie I must ask I I had to utilize several more effective means of breaking some of the female members of the carnival um how did you effectively manage to leash them so lightly but effectively I I'm not going to lie some of the things you say are not making this easier yeah no such thing as a muzzle here um I I wouldn't say that there's really a trick to it there's more just a natural instinct um it's a kind of GrooVe you've got to follow into during the work excellent yeah he's a competent handyman he helps me fix things helps oh I see I see uh if you all will excuse me a moment and he stands up frowning towards his door and then there's a one moment please and he takes a step back turns towards the door opens it just a crack and there's a mermaid oh I see uh if you all will bear with me a few moments longer make yourselves comfortable I will return post haste and he steps out of the RV steps out of the mobile home he closes the door behind him I am so sorry I'm so sorry I don't support any of what he's saying that's not me I'm not with that I'm just trying to get the job done please don't kill me now if I killed you you would hold the flashlight uh fun um yeah so uh I think he's is he one of us I mean if he is he's older than dirt n Ain't No [Music] Way remember how he's talking about how we need to partake and drink and he doesn't know that we the the whole bringing up giving us cows thing what Kindred in their right mind would do anything like that well I mean I think it would be an absolutely effective insult but he seemed like he was more trying to go down the route of very disdainfully getting us the [ __ ] out of here without causing too much of a curfuffle so are we I I I can't really say that we trust them but let's my my vote is let's see how they're offering to complete our objective and if it works out I'm good to get the [ __ ] out of here because this place is freaking me the [ __ ] out when you say that um does Joi have any aspects or dominate who of aspects excellent would you be so kind as to go ahead and roll your wit plus aspects oh Satan why do you test me boop let me go ahead and check Jo's [ __ ] hunger this is for Ryan and this right here should be Joi okay oh God I honest to God I thought one of you two were just going to jump up and beat the [ __ ] out of [Music] it I haven't yet ruled that app like I said who would hold the flashlight no no no not beat the [ __ ] out of me I'm just going to God damn it where the [ __ ] is it start the delay there it is okay what what's up did you say something my point is it took them entirely too long to come get the [ __ ] Ling I I I wonder if that was on purpose okay God damn it did I break it you broke it I did you broke it ah there we are spend the willpower do it all right that's a little bit better not quite a full success but as you're speaking you realize that your uh reflection is shaking its head no and is beckoning you closer to [Music] yourself I will approach the mirror hey uh or whatever is reflecting me if it's not a mirror oh it's a mirror is a mirror uh just like most of the surfaces guys there's something really [ __ ] up going on here just give me a second and if I uh you know start screaming or whatever please don't let me die as you get closer to the mirror you realize that it is in fact just a reflection and it's just Lita floating in the middle of [Music] nothing L Lita if you looked out into the darkness and you just saw Jo's face what would you say what would you do uh don't relax C right now on a scale of 10 you know one to 10 yeah about a 25 and probably give him a wave I wave back does IND does India or Maddie have aspex or dominate have aspects one would you be so kind as to go ahead and roll your um wits plus aspects for me please you need at least two is there anything particular about this mirror or does it seem just like a standard mirror just a standard [Music] mirror so uh guys I can I can I can see Lita in this mirror somehow that doesn't at all surprise me I saw a weird version of myself in the mirrors earlier so again we oh oh that's definitely Le and you see yourself beckoning you closer to the mirror all right I will uh take a peek you ease closer to the mirror and being as you two are at roughly Ground Zero um you all get to Ru your resolve plus composure plus your aspects oh that's not High um since this is an attribute role can I rousse for this sure all right India both of them are standing looking into into the mirror looking at themselves and Lita hey it's Maddie too oh God a why you do that to us I love this outcome I love when these outcomes appear I don't know what you're talking [Music] about this is my love [Music] poem well now for you hopefully Fate has nothing but the best of intentions for you in you know the rest get [Music] there well you know what they say uh nothing lost nothing [Music] gained [Music] no um there is a weariness that comes from being a predator India as you watch Joi and Maddie staring into the mirror as if they're seeing their future is there anything that you are attempting to do or anything that you are actively doing oh looking for something [Music] okay so as you're looking around the mirrored surfaces covering the interior of this RV you're not actively staring at Maddie as she falls into the watery surface of the mirror that she's staring into you are not actively staring at Joi as he all but Falls in but catches himself by placing both hands on two different mirrored surfaces next to each other as he snars when he realizes that Lita is attempting to pull him into whatever is on the other side of this mirror and he refuses to be the victim of anyone and everyone save himself especially being a how Lita got the image of his sire or his sire is that his sire that yeah that's cayin what how did she son of a [ __ ] [ __ ] and he's snarling and cursing and there's a for the first time in knowing Joi a rage and anger sitting on his shoulders that is threatening as he's just kind of pulling back just come F you can [ __ ] stay in there I'll break this [ __ ] and hopefully shatter you too and uh he goes to find a blunt object I mean I'm fairly sure that I've never heard that language out of his mouth before no you haven't and where you are so peaceful it's just destroying and disturbing the vibe you've never been this close or understanding why Lita does her best to avoid you all but where you all you and Lita are right now is the perfect semblance and state of satiation you can kind of see them out there in the darkness and you can hear him cursing and railing and you got away from him just in time because you've been dead long enough that you don't know what a headache is anymore but you feel one coming on dealing with all of that harsh negativity over there wherever wherever that was on a scale of relaxation of 1 to 10 you're about an easy 19 moving into [Music] 20 as just without any other obstructions picking up the nearest blunt object yes yes do it India catching side of J grabbing something she doesn't want him to break that mirror but she wants want to break mirrors so she kind like directs him to a different mirror yes fine just because he's got to add another thing to bust open on his list doesn't mean he can't eventually get back to this one and pointed at a mirror just fine throws a chair at it and there in lies The Dilemma there in lies the the gist of it all and is impossible to look at any space inside the RV and not catch a reflection of yourself or a reflection of a reflection of yourself remember the inside is paneled in Mirror after mirror after oh [Music] God there's a immediate understanding that begins to Dawn and crawl over Jo's mind that little caveman sitting in the dark holding on to the last Ember of fire as outside the Wolves and the cave Lions gather there's no way out except for through them and the only thing keeping them that bay is The Last Remnant of this light this gift from Heaven the lightning the light that flashed and caused the tree to burst into flames and you've kept this flame going and has given you a semblance of safety security because it keeps those other things at pay yet now it's dying with that same short with that same understanding that same instinctual grasp with the danger that is out there in the dark you realize getting you alone in this place in this space was part of the Trap Is there any information you attempt to share with India because no matter which way you look there is a reflection of a reflection of reflection which means there's only a small moment of time before well where is Maddie where is Lita where are where are you soon to be cuz you know it's only so long you can resist the siren Call of your sire I'll just scream out you know India get the [ __ ] out of here don't look in any [Music] mirrors that [ __ ] has gotten if I as he tosses another blunt object they're trying to trap us all in here with that being said shooting from the hip she's going to shoot the lock off the door unless she draws and Joi tosses another easily lifted item and Lita and Maddie for the first time finding a wavelength to understand each other floating in the Bliss of perfect peace and Stillness I'd like to thank you all for a lovely episode and I'll see you guys next time good night everybody good night good [Music] night great we stepped in the the Zen bear trap right

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