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Daniel Hawthorne:
After seeing the posting Daniel had reached out to Vincent to discuss one of the Discipline options that the young Daeva had inquired about wanting to learn, setting up a time to meet at the Bellevue Elysium. As was his wont the Haunt was neatly dressed, the ensemble casual but tailored to fit, glancing towards the door now and again as he waited for Vinny's arrival.
Vincent Drake:
Vinny may or may not have had a small smirk when Daniel reached out, something about the idea of a full set of powers just worked for the young Daeva and if this worked out, he'd just need one more teacher and he was set for unlife. He arrived in Elysium wearing black pants, a crimson shirt and a black waistcoat, which has become something of his 'court outfit' when dealing with Invictus and official vampire things. Walking into Elysium he spotted Daniel and waved.
"Thanks for reaching out," he said with a smile, "After the disaster of the last time I did this, want to do this more proper, make it a more even trade."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Welcome. I was a little surprised to see that posting, I won't lie." He eyed Vinny's court ensemble as he approached before nodding with approval. "What has you interested in Nightmare, out of curiosity?"
Vincent Drake:
"What, people aren't usually up for catching the power pokemon," he joked, taking a seat, "Two reasons, one, I'm finding that I need a little more....'umph' in intmidation, look at me, I'm a fucking twink but I'm in a buisness where, sadly, fear is just a part of business, so I'm looking to find a way to unnerve folks, try to make them think I'm someone not to cross, then their's the fact I won the god damn lottery with my Embrace, all but three where in my blood, I picked up Protean and now I just need Nightmare and Dominate, I'm barely a year old but look at what I can do!" he grinned from ear to ear, "I've mastered Majesty and am close to mastering Obfuscate, christ imagine me in fifty years at this rate."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Not in my experience, no." He replied with a chuckle, listening intently as Vincent continued. The mention of 'winning the Embrace lottery' sent a brief flicker of something across the Haunt's features but he made no further mention of it. "That's impressive. Shows what a good amount of focus can do in a small amount of time, if anything."
"What do you know so far about what Nightmare actually does?"
Vincent Drake:
"Well...from what I heard it's kinda like Majesty, but instead of charisma it's about fear, that it makes people scared of you and you can manipulate that fear, kinda giving me Scarecrow vibes to be honest."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"That's not too far off. The starting effects bring up a nebulous fear in others that they know you're the source of, for good and ill. As it progresses you gain more of an upper hand on their perception of reality, to the point where the fear they feel can actually kill them."
Vincent Drake:
Vincent nodded, going wide eyed at the 'fear can kill them', "Shit...well, that is a sinister ability...I mean, I was going to use it one dealers who sell to kids and abusive asshats....so really, it still works." he shrugged, "Yeah, I'm still in...what about you, what do you want to learn?"
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Inflicting abject terror on other people isn't really playing nice." He offered with a wry smirk. "I avoided learning it myself for a long while, but in becoming more comfortable with myself as a Haunt it was worth investing the time in."
"I've been thinking on that. Majesty would make the most sense, a specialty for a specialty, but I'm not sure if I want to point my studies that way just yet."
Vincent Drake:
Vincent nodded, "Well...I guess some people deserve it." he said with a smile, "It's what they get for selling drugs near school yards, so, Majesty, I can give ya that sure, if not that, I have them all save Nightmare and Dominate, so feel free to think what ya want."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"I'll think on it." He nodded, looking Vinny over. "Have you found a teacher for Dominate yet, out of curiosity?"
Vincent Drake:
"No...but I've been meaning to ask Dame-Knight Morrigan...but I don't know if she'd want to teach me that one."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"I would've thought it would need to be a Lord, considering it's inherent to their line."
"Dominate is not something to play around with, in my opinion. I've seen its effects in full force and it's..." The words trailed off as he failed to come up with a proper adjective. "As much as Nightmare plays on your target's fears, being made to do something with no chance of stopping yourself from doing it is terrifying in its own way."
Vincent Drake:
"I think she knows it, and to be honest, haven't really met much Ventrue in the city," at that Vinny makes a semi-conflicted face, "Well...is it really that diffrent then Majesty, I'm able to make thralls of people, make them worship me like a god, Dominate is just that but more in your face, at least in my mind it is." he gave a sigh, "It's a shitty thing to do to someone....but it has uses."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Majesty influences while Dominate demands, as I see it. They both have their uses but run the risk of turning people into playthings, which can make remembering that they are people harder if you're not careful about it."
Vincent Drake:
"Yeah...I don't know how I feel about that," he leaned back in his chair, "Not disagreeing, but thinking back, when I said I mastered Majesty, I was able to use the high end shit when I was turned, I came into this strong with it and I feel like it's natural, best power I'm good at....like fuck, what does that say about me?!"
Daniel Hawthorne:
"It comes down to what you do with the tools you've been given, in my mind. There's nothing wrong with being adept with any particular Discipline, but what you do with that power shows your true character."
Vincent Drake:
"Yeah...yeah that's a good way of looking at it," he nodded, "No need to feel guilty about being good at something, just use it for the right reasons, thanks, I needed that." he smiled, "Ok, so have ya made up your mind about payment?"
Daniel Hawthorne:
"You're welcome. It's something I had drilled into me while I was a ghoul and it's stuck with me since."
"Majesty would be a fair trade, I think. I know there can be some interesting combinations with it and some of the other Disciplines I have knowledge of."
Vincent Drake:
"Ok...so how do you want to do this then?
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Somewhere that's not here, preferably. It's a little too open for my tastes."
Vincent Drake:
"Yes, of course," he got up, "Let's take a walk." he smiled
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Let's." He nodded, hopping up from his seat and making an 'after you' motion.
Vincent Drake:
He lead him of the hotel, they spent a few minutes of walking before finding a nice secluded spot, no people or cameras seemed to be about.
"Ok," Vinny took out his pocket knife, "So, who goes first?"
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel kept pace with Vincent as they headed out into the city proper, pausing as the Daeva pulled out the blade. "I can," he answered, perhaps a little too quickly, his thumb lightly rubbing against the side of his finger.
Vincent Drake:
"Ok..." Vincent handed him the knife, "I'm not biting you, so just give yourself a lil prick."
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel nodded and took the knife, checking around them one more time for any potential unwelcomed visitors before cutting a thin gash longways on his arm near the wrist and willing the vitae to flow up to the surface. He then offered his arm to the Daeva, watching intently all the while.
Vincent Drake:
Vincent nooded, took the arm and took a sip, when he was done he wiped his mouth and looked to Daniel, ya know he never noticed how nice his eyes where...wait, fuck.
"Damn it," he muttered
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Everything alright?" He inquired, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket - because of course he had one - to wipe off the excess blood as the wound from the blade closed with a thought.
Vincent Drake:
"Yeah, yeah," he waved the handkerchief way, "Thanks though...it's the stupid bond is all, always risk of that."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Mmm." He added, more of a grunt than a verbal response, pocketing the handkerchief once his own arm was cleaned up and offering the blade to Vinny for his part of the exchange.
Vincent Drake:
Vincent took the blade and gave a quick cut to his own arm, reaching out, "Well, here ya go, have fun being the popular guy in the room."
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel allowed himself a small smirk at that, taking Vinny's arm with the reverence one would expect holding a chalice during a religious ceremony. He closed his eyes as he drank, and there was a brief moment that Vinny could sense him steeling himself against taking more than was needed for the exchange to be completed.
Nonetheless he stepped back, eyes still closed, and let out a deep shuddering breath.
Vincent Drake:
"Well, that was an experience," he muttered, "So, your not bound are ya?"
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel shook his head, holding his hand up in a 'give me a second' pose. After a long minute he opened his eyes, looking Vincent over. "Doesn't seem like it, no."
Vincent Drake:
"Will, that's good at least, so...you gonna test it out with some bar hopping?" he asked, "Ya got Majesty now, so you'll be the most important person in any room, practice and people will fall under your spell."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Maybe later." He pulled the handkerchief from his pocket again to dab the remnants of the vitae from his mouth. His voice was a little tight as he spoke, a note of tension clear in his features. "If you have any questions while testing things on your end let me know."
Vincent Drake:
"Sure, thanks by the way, just need Dominate and I'll have the full set," he grinned, "You need any tips, let me know, if their's nothing else I should get going, have a good night."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Will do. Have a good one." With that he gave Vincent a nod before heading out into the city proper, his pace a bit faster than usual.
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