The Don’s View from “Clues, Coups and Chaos”
Notes by Logan
Location: Armandasanti Family Grave Site
Time: 10:30 pm
Date: Sometime in the Future
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“You ever step foot in somethin’ you know was a bad idea but had to do it anyway because if you didn’t, the resulting punishment might have been worse? Yeah, let’s say that myself and fire don’t really get along all that much. Sure, useful for lightin’ cigars or a toast a log for a guest but that didn’t mean I wanted to be anywhere fuckin’ near it. Yet, here I was. In a smoldering hot house only just moments ago a full blaze. I needed to see if my friend and neighbor had left anything that might have been useful, you know? An I was never one to lack any courage in this life. I’d be thrice damned if I started being scared now.”
Thoughts flashed before his eyes as he thought of the dangers up to this point. Surely living in this unlife was something that was simply dangerous on it’s own. Never knew who was going to gun for you next. The deal with the Brujah in the beginning was hard enough, the politics with his clan could go either way if he wasn’t careful. Calming down a frenzy ridden Gangrel would also count on his list of dangers. An now, he could add on to it, a burning house. One day, Vito often thought to himself, one day he’d write down his adventures under a guise or something similar. He didn’t want time to rob him of all his memories of things he had conquered before. What if one of these events gave him courage when he needed it most? Courage was what he needed now most of all.
“Yeah, so I went to look about the house. I had to pass some burning banisters but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Prentiss was with me. She could see and do things I couldn’t. Magic tricks and such, you know what I’m talkin’ about. See, we got to the office and it was strange. It wasn’t as burnt down as I would have thought. We did some searching and I found a safe. Prentiss found a ring and some remains. Said we’d need to find someone could see better than she could. Someone like Jinx. She said it with this fuckin’ venom too. Their relationship wasn’t all that good, lemme tell ya. Hostile even which was a strange idea to me. Thought family was supposed to stick together. I guess not everyone got the memo. She was a good worker so I let my personal thoughts stay silent on the matter.”
Yeah, Vito knew the look Prentiss often gave Jinx and the others. It was the same one he himself would give when brought face to face with disrespect. A nasty jeer for sure but to one’s own childe? Seemed like it was poor taste but often would bring reflection on to her own character. If Prentiss hated her, when did she embrace her? A potential oversight in Prentiss’ personality and one that Vito made sure to hang on to. These sorts of things could be used in the future if navigated properly. Even if Prentiss was a bit of wild card in that regard.
“Regardless, we gathered what we could and I signaled for everyone to leave and head back outside. Prentiss and I brought the ring and other evidence to my car where Jinx, Rose and Henry were. Jinx was holding Rose’s face and I was awfully tempted to remind them of why they should be far more careful in that but it was too late. Prentiss would have seen it and the cat was out bag. We asked for Jinx’s help and, after looking to me with a degree of pleading, stepped out of the car. I guess her magic trick worked. She pulled some information about some Red Talon people and some other things I can’t say here. Regardless, we had a lead and could begin digging a bit deeper. Prentiss and I left, she wanted to see more things and I needed out of this fireman’s outfit, when I got blasted by mental images. Fire. Death. Red sun. Fire. Walls. Red eyes. Ice. Death. To say I was fuckin’ out of it for a moment would have been a joke. I looked behind me to see Jinx staring at me like she needed something. I told her to wait and finished making a call to my operatives. Moving cargo to a more secure location before I rejoined the others.”
It’s one thing when you learn your friend and clan mate has been executed, presumably, by the whack jobs that is known as the Sabbat but its entirely another when you have images of death and destruction downloaded in to your brain at max speed. The trauma of such things being so suddenly dumped in to one’s brain was enough to cause a lapse in decorum. Something Vito could never properly allow. He’d have to find a way to properly deal with all this but now was not the moment.
“The ride home was smooth but the tension was not. Henry and Rose wanted to know what had Jinx so wound up and Jinx wanted to talk to me about literally everything that happened in the past hour or so. Just once, I’d like to be asked what I wanted, you know? I guess that wasn’t in the cards. When we got home we forged the idea that one of Jinx’s friends could help her cope with some things that she had seen before and just recently. We decided that was a good idea and we each went to our rooms or whatever business we needed to do. Jinx, again tried to get me to speak with her. We would have to work on her double speak when it came to hidin’ emotions. I suppose I can’t blame her. With all that has been going on the poor girl must’ve been stressed to the limit.”
He couldn’t be too hard on her. She had done amazing work these past few years in stabilizing herself and even working towards becoming a productive member of the Kindred society. In truth, they all have. Even if it was only personal growth, as long as it could be helpful to them, it wasn't a waste. Knowing one’s own desires and faults makes the individual a lot stronger.
“Before I could make it up the stairs, Henry wanted to talk about the elephant in the room and a ride home if need be. I couldn’t say much, it was better that he didn’t know the truth. He was wise to ask if it was going to become a problem. I assured Henry, the moment it becomes a problem, it will cease to be a problem. I proceeded to my room proper. As I was getting myself dressed in something different, the old clothes smelled like burning building, I received a call from my Family. It was important and I had to go tonight. I confirmed my presence there and was about to leave when I heard Jinx stampede into my room. She wanted to talk about where the cargo was, what was happening with it, where it was, if it was safe: so on and so forth. The less she knew, the better. I told her the cargo was safe, secure and wouldn’t expire. Jinx would get the chance to be better but she’d have to wait. I told her my name and gave her a hug. Awfully human of me but something tells me she needed it. Never mind the fact she looks to me as some sort of infallible creature that could mend the wound her history of absentee family members left. I wished that were the case. I sent her away after that before making my way truly down to the lounge where we all tended to meet.”
Vito was not blind to the eye that Jinx often cast upon him. There was a tone of respect, certainly but there was also this other vibe to it. As though Vito was meant to be the blended father and leader she needed when the world was closing in around her. It was not a hard role to maintain, simply part of his nature to guide those that needed him. It was oddly...wholesome and a role Vito didn’t mind maintaining. He hardly got the chance to be a father before. Perhaps now, in this odd unlife, he could do so for this wayward Malkavian. Maybe I wouldn’t fail this one, this time? Suppose only time would truly tell.
“I asked Rose to take care of them when they went on the trip to the University. Jinx then told of us of some other things she had seen. All the more reason to worry. A later concern but an important one. For now, I had to go. The car would do well here and give me time to think about all that had transpired in the past little bit. Their mission was still the same and I gave them the car they needed before departing. Now, here is the thing. I can’t talk about what went down at the family meeting. All you can know is that it was a lot like Mafia family meetings. We decided to go to war. As if everything up to this point wasn’t hard enough on my shoulders, I needed to bare this weight as well. It wasn’t hard to bare, mind you, but even a fuckin’ straw can break a camels back. I went home with the heaviest crown I’ve had to wear all my life. I needed to take a fuckin’ moment.”
What did Vito do the rest of the night? It wasn’t hard to understand. When he was stressed, he became a creature of habit. His family was always his rock and support when he needed them and none more so than his own son. He returned his old ways. Taking an hour or so to just paint the baseball memory that he had with his kid. It came out...beautifully. He was gracious for his ability to paint in moments like these. It helped preserve his soul in the canvas. How he wished he could be there for him but he was doing just fine without him. Storing the painting away in his vault just in time for the rest of the gang to arrive.
“We still had a party to go to the next night...and it was shaping up to be a wild ride…”