Seras little snippet thread

"Hmm. This is harder than I thought." I muttered twirling in place.

The first dot of my Discipline was done.

Blood Stained Regalia, was the name I came up with. Pretty cool!

Honestly it wasn't that complicated overall, it was more the act of enforcing it into existence and keeping it there. Magic didn't usually like to stick around, but since it was my own blood? It was a Discipline, an act of my own cursed soul upon the world, just like Thaumaturgy it settled in.

And now instead of my magical girl outfit, I was wearing a blood red dress. I was lucky I had some sewing experience with cosplay costumes and stuff, because otherwise this would have been hard. Blood Stained Regalia allowed me to transform a dot of blood into a certain amount of clothing.

I had to use a few dots to get it right, because it was based on my Willpower.

I slumped my shoulders. I really needed to level my goofy stats. The rest of my eight dots called for me to finish my discipline, but I had a feeling I was going to be pretty hamstrung without some changes.

Either way, I focused on my new outfit. Red dress, no shoulders, instead wrapping around the back of my neck, leaving my back free. I had also made a red cut off jacket that went over the top of my dress to try and pretend I was bothered by the cold. I twirled again and enjoyed the image in the mirror.

If it wasn't for all the blood red, I would look almost innocent.

I smiled widely, showing my fangs, and the image turned from Innocence, to something terrifying.

Amazing.

"What is that." Caine spoke up behind me startling me as I yelped leaping up in the air.

"Sire! You should make yourself known! You scared me half to life!" I said purposefully tweaking the words. "I almost felt my heart beat!"

"What is that." He spoke, not a question, but a demand.

"My Discipline." I told him proudly, hands on my hips. I looked at my character sheet, knowing he could see it as well. Let him see what I had come up with.

"You…" Then to my shock there was a noise. The sound of air escaping for just a moment. Shorter than a second. Then it was over like it never happened. "Why something so…"

"I'm gonna be a dark magical girl Sire! Fighting Evil by Moonlight! As the most evil thing out there! It's gonna be great!" I chirped and then calmed myself. "That and honestly, I wanted more defense and weapons, I wanted strength and power and flash and something fun. I wanted it all." I told him, my honest greed on open display.

"I see." He said nothing more as he walked over to the couch. I guess the sun was coming up soon. I watched without a word as Caine, one of the single scariest things on earth, settled onto the couch and turned up the volume on the TV.

Sailor Moon screaming about being called meatball head echoed through the apartment. I settled down beside him.

"I got a new haven if we want to use it. From the Tremere, so there will be eyes on us, but I can-"

"It matters not to me." He said and I nodded. Settling into the couch. I heard Alice come home not long after, and then the sun rose, and I slowly drifted off.

—--

I was staring at the Discipline power when I woke up. Just thinking about it.

No Life Princess
-Blood Regalia: Create protective cloth out of the user's own blood. The clothing will regenerate from damage with additional blood. +1 Armor rating.

It was simple enough. Not amazingly flashy. Nothing that will shatter the minds of Kindred who see it. I smiled. But it was perfect.

Caine I noticed was already gone when I woke. I would have to feed tonight. Maybe even overfeed. I had used a lot of blood on my dress the night before, and I was definitely burning more blood than I was taking most nights.

If not for Caines gift of ridiculous blood quality, I would have starved to death by now. Needed to work on my hunting.

Time to fix that.

Rising up I got dressed checking and smiling as the dress showed no wrinkles, or stains.

It was blood not cloth, despite having a texture to it, like it was woven.

Heading outside I went hunting. I quickly found that I rather enjoyed the simple task of following idiots into alleyways, and then sneaking up on them. I wasn't really that sneaky, but as a cute girl, I also didn't tend to cause a panic as I followed along behind people.

After catching my first meal, I went back towards the apartment, and this time there was no surprise car pulling up to me. It was just a quiet night.

So I continued hunting. It was surprisingly easy to get the drop on all sorts of people.

A hooker in an alleyway? Didn't even look twice at me, once she registered I was a teenager.

Drunk guy? Made me woozy, will try to avoid that in the future.

But each time it got harder and harder to stop drinking.

"Okay! Fuck." I grumbled to myself as I stomped away from some guy out trying to party by the pier. I wandered down and then onto the beach. Mostly ignoring the Thin Bloods that were hanging around as I settled onto the sand and opened my character sheet.

Two points went into Self Control. Maxing it out at 5. I would be much better at resisting the pull now.

Then because I might as well, I dropped two points into Willpower as well.

Four points left.

Still enough to spend making my Discipline if I wanted, but more importantly. It meant I would be a bit stronger mentally. I didn't want to enter a frenzy after all.

I hadn't yet. Managed to keep myself in control each time, but it was there, and I wanted to keep it from controlling me.

Closing the character sheet I stared out into the waves for a while. Just taking in the change to the world through me.

I wasn't human anymore. Kindred. Vampire. Cursed by God. Childe of Caine.

In the end, I was just what I was. I wanted to be a good-ish person. That was enough for me. I was no Saint or anything.

Smiling Jack's words ran through my head. Don't kill innocent humans, but if some asshole levels a twelve-gauge your way, you drain him, skin him and bash in his skull. Self-preservation is a vital part of humanity after all.

It's something I could accept. A path to live by. I hadn't killed anyone as a human, because I wasn't some crazy fuck that just murdered people that annoyed them. If I was going to murder someone, it should be because they were trying to kill me. That was something I could get behind.

"D-dark Daughter?"

"Caitiff." I greeted back gently, having sort of expected this.

I looked to see her. Rosa the Thinblood Seer.

She looked nervous, doubly so now that my attention was on her, but she opened her mouth and couldn't seem to get the words out.

"I don't… I was going to say I don't bite, but we both know that's a lie." I said, chuckling a little at the thought. "But I have no desire to hurt you."

"I wasn't sure. When I saw… What I saw. You."

I looked at her, at her scared eyes and scared body. And just smiled gently. "You don't have to talk to me, if you don't want. I don't have any real interest in what my future is. I plan on finding that out myself. One second at a time."

She blinked surprised at my words and then nodded slowly. "The Dark Father… He's…"

"Working through some things still. Best not to worry about it." I offer. "The world isn't ending just yet. You have a few decades at least." I assure her, and she nods slowly. Finally her bravery left her and she ran back to her coterie.

I looked back towards the ocean.

The dark waves made me think of shadows. I wanted them too. With the first dot in my Discipline I learned how to control blood. How to even force it into shape as I liked.

The second dot? I placed it in, and felt myself change. My blood in my veins grew hungry.

I looked down and stared into my shadow. The light from the pier above me haloing above me left my shadow scattered.

But as I felt the knowledge flow through me. I unleashed it.

I felt a surge of blood leave me, and when I opened my eyes.

My shadow stared back. Blood red entwined with the dark. Two as one.

Obtenebration was a discipline I didn't want, because it involved the Abyss.

But who says I couldn't control shadows another way? Like Dementation and Domination, two sides of a coin.

This was controlling my shadow through my blood. Mixing blood with shadow until it became something that was both, and neither. It avoided the whole Abyss thing, because I wasn't controlling shadows through some dimension.

I was Ghoulifying my own shadow in simplest terms. Just as Vitae made a human more than man, my Vitae caused my shadow to become more.

Blood Stained Shadows: Blood corrupts. Even darkness is not immune to the dominion of Blood. Awaken your shadow with vitae and control it. Blood Stained Shadows are stronger than Blood. +2 Defense Rating for Regalia.

That was what the power said, but it didn't properly explain what it did.

A moment later my dress shifted. Shadows rolled up from my feet climbing my legs. I closed my eyes to concentrate, my improved Willpower actually helping as I managed the alterations.

Slowly it altered, adjusted, shifted, and as it reached my neck it finished. I opened my eyes.

My dress wasn't so red anymore.

Now it carried an additional color. Red and black. Blood and Shadow, both shifted into forms not their normal by my will and by my cursed blood.

I rose up and checked myself over. It looked alright. Honestly I should throw some points into crafts to bring my work up to a better quality.

I turned and walked back away from the beach ignoring the way the Thinbloods had all huddled away from me in terror.

Three xp points left.

—--

I decided to do something normal. First though I needed more cash.

Finding the drug house last time had been pretty easy. I had just asked my Sire for a ride.

So since I had the investigation skills of a High school girl, I went to where Sire had his Taxi parked, and asked him for help again.

Ten minutes later I was in front of a drug house.

"Fighting evil by moonlight." I sang as I walked over to the front door.

I burned some blood.

Then as I was about to kick in the door I stopped.

Reached out and turned the handle. It opened. Nice.

Gripping my Tire Iron I walked in and then into a living room.

"Winning love by daylight." I sang, alerting everyone in the house that I was there. The confused shouts lasted just long enough for my weapon of love and justice to slam into a guy's stomach.

—--

Pile of money richer, I walked out of the drug house leaving a stack of groaning bodies behind me.

*2 Experience.*

I actually had been pretty nice. Hitting people without going crazy on my strength. Thanks to Fortitude, I wasn't in as much danger of injury so I mostly just wailed on them until they gave up, instead of going for the old knee breaker special like I had the last time.

"Where to?" My Sire asked and I hummed a bit. "Ikea." I decided. I was basically a college student again after all.

I sat back and contemplated what else besides new furniture I would need for my new Haven. First thing first I would need to set up Thaumaturgy defenses. "After Ikea, I need a magic shop."

"It'll have to wait." He offered, and I agreed without asking why.

—--

"Oh. Hi Vicky."

"Alice!" I greeted from the front seat with a bright smile. That explains it. After Ikea Caine had driven downtown and there was Alice looking rumpled, and searching for a Taxi. "Need a ride?"

"Yeah… I need to go out to the ship. They have a boat for me in Santa Monica." She explained and Caine nodded, driving from Downtown back to Santa Monica.

"You doing okay?" I asked her and she nodded.

"I blew up a warehouse."

"Cool!"

"Got jumped by some Sabbat. They nearly killed me."

"Not cool!"

"Nines saved me. And then Prince LaCroix gave me a new task." She said the last part bitterly. I nodded.

"It's okay. Just keep at it. I promise, you'll be free of that moron if you want to be soon."

She looked up with her dark eyes and then nodded.

"New Clothes?" She asked, and I smirked as she looked over my cute dress.

"Something like that." I agreed. "You doing okay? Need anything?" I offered and she shook her head.

"I'm… Adapting."

"Very well in fact!" I confirmed smiling. "You got the right instincts to be a Kindred for sure. Just… Take care of yourself. Final Death is final. Run if you have to." I urge her and she hesitates before nodding slowly.

"Good!"

And that was the last of the conversation. Alice was obviously focused on her task ahead.

I looked at my Character sheet while she zoned out.

I needed to be focused on my path ahead as well.

What should I do for the third dot? Hmm, It might be a little repetitive, but I kinda liked it.

I entered my idea, and the power was accepted. Knowledge filled me, my blood shifted, my shadow squirmed.

But I realized instantly. I didn't have everything I needed.

I had known generally how to craft clothing thanks to my previous time spent making cosplay crafts.

But this was something else.

Looked at my crafting skill and realized it would limit what my next discipline could do.

Then I realized that if I didn't have the skill and tried it… It would look super embarrassing! What if it was all funky!

Nope. I quickly decided not to use the next power until I had practiced in private. Couldn't let anyone see!

So I had four points, and I needed to level craft… And like half a dozen other skills… But this was more important!

I put a dot into craft, bringing me up to craft four. And I realized I got a second Speciality option! Perfect! I chose Blacksmithing.

And my mind flooded with new knowledge. Knowledge that told me I wasn't there yet.

Another point!

Craft 5. Was impressive. Basically the pinnacle a person could get without centuries of time to hone themselves.

I had two xp points left.

We parked at the Santa Monica pier not long after. Alice jumped out and headed down to the beach. I could see the Elizabeth Dane out on the waters. Slowly Alice got in a dingy and got it going and headed out onto the waves.

"So it begins." I muttered knowing that once the Sarcophagus was on shore everything would heat up.

"No childe. It has begun long ago."

"Yes Sire."

"Your new skill. You've claimed the Shadows."

"Yeah! I didn't want to learn Obtenebration! Too much Abyss bullshit. So I just wanted to force my shadows into what I needed with my blood instead."

He didn't say anything further, hell Caine probably understood what I had done better than I had, but he had shown interest in what I was doing.

That felt nice. Eventually Caine pulled out of the parking garage and I smiled when I saw that he took us to a magic shop.

Now I just hope they had a bunch of the junk I needed.

Really rituals had some weird requirements.

—---

Sun was coming up and I finished preparing the new Haven.

Well sorta.

I hadn't gone crazy yet, but I had cleared up some of the old trash. Put together some of the Ikea furniture and finished setting the place up for a Ritual. Defense of the Sacred Haven was great, and now when the sun came up. The light couldn't get inside, even through the heavy blinds on the windows.

No Hunter was going to get me by just opening a window!

I wanted to put up some wards as well. Considering how many Ghouls I was dealing with, and at least one Ghoul knew where this place was. I wanted to be ready. But that would be for tomorrow. I locked everything down, and for extra protection placed the bed in the bedroom against the door. Then I made a nice little fort under the bed and fell into slumber.

—--

Waking up I took a shower and relaxed in my new apartment. Honestly this apartment wasn't amazing, but I at least felt like I wasn't going to catch something by just using the shower.

Cleaned up, I put on my Regalia. The blood and shadow as clean as the moment I made it. With a thought I made a few minor changes to it. Just so it didn't look like I was wearing the same clothes.

With my enhanced skill it came out looking even better than before. The light texture to the blood now indented with tiny moons.

Heh. I must have Sailor Moon on the brain.

I looked at the TV which was unfortunately broken.

Might need to get a new one tonight.

Walking out to the street, I wasn't surprised to see that Caine wasn't in his spot in Downtown. Obviously Alice needed a ride. Let's see… After the Elizabeth Dane.

Oh.

If she went straight through the quests. The next task was about the Malkavian Primogen…
The Primogen that would be dead before she arrives…

I was tempted to try and join her. To be there when she ran into 'Nines' in front of the mansion…

No. I decided to just stay out of it. I trusted Alice. She was growing quickly, and this was her quest.

Instead I remembered that I needed to make a call.

"Yes hello! This is Patty!"

"Patty, It's Vicky, I promised to give you information about your Regnal."

"You found him!"

"Yes, but it's not good news." I responded back.

"No! You're lying, he wouldn't just die! He's like a super powerful Vampire!"

"I'm afraid he did die, killed by sunlight."

"Bullshit! You're just trying to like steal him from me! Don't think-" I hung up because I got what I wanted.

*1 Experience.*

So that was three points again, good enough.

I was about to move on when my phone chimed. Then before I could bring it back up, it chimed again.

I looked.

*bitch*
*ill kill you*

*stel my man*

I realized it wasn't going to stop and quickly just blocked the number.

Well that was my attempt at a good deed for that woman.

Next time I see her, I'll punch her. See if that makes me feel better.