Saving Parker on the evening of 09-11-19

[Madame]

As the clock struck 12, Madame knew she could no longer help the young man in her arms. So she carefully let go of the former kindred and gave his body to his family. How ever it may have made her feel, she showed none of it. Instead she kept calm and reserved as she watched all but a hand full of those present leave.

Feeling the veil thin out further, it made her mind turn to the task at hand. She needed to get young mister Parker out of the predicament before he would fade altogether. So she walked up to Fleur and smiled faintly.
"The veil between worlds will be at it's thinnest soon. Can you please do me the favour and collect the personal items of Mister Parker you and Vid have collected? In the meantime I will prepare the rest" she started to turn, but seemed remembered something and quickly added. "Could you also ask Vid to make sure we are not disturbed? Since he seems to know the owner of this place best" giving Fleur a thankful smile, Madame really did turn away this time. In deep thought on how to best construct the trip she was about to make.

Madame had her bag with her, which contained almost every component needed to every ritual and Miss Fleur luckily carried a veil, which completed the set. They had confirmed earlier that Madame would borrow both the veil and the bracelet to retrieve the young gangrel. But she would need at least three items to make it work. Adding his voice in the recordings, they were shy one item. But mister Parker himself had told her Duncan had some of his blood. If this were true, the problem would be instantly solved by him bringing it.

After walking up the small flight of stairs, she sat down at the far end table, where she had spent most of her evening, opened her bag and started rummaging through it. The book that always seemed to with the bag lay beside her on the table, still closed.

[Fleur]

Most of the guests have left the bar, Fleur just managed to make sure the reporter would sent his story to her first and not publish anything about the tragedy in respect for the family.

She is looking at her empty glass when Madame starts talking to her. Fleur almost jumps up but when she sees how Madame smiles she stays where she is.
“Of course Madam” Fleur is about to turn when Madame turns back.
“Yes, that will be no problem”


Fleur plays with the bracelet around her wrist as she walks to Vid
“Vid my love, Madame has asked if you could take care of no one distubering us when we”
Dont say try, this will work it has to work
“We get Parker back. We should also give her the objects of Parker we collected. Shall I ask Tanner for the voice recording and the blood? Or do you want to do that?”

Why didn't I pick him up. It would have been so easy. Then nothing would have happend. Does Milo know? Should I call him? But how.... maybe Tanner knows how to contact him. He could be helpful, if anyone is close to Parker it is him

[Charlie Tanner]

Tanner assured the rest that he would take care of getting them some personal item of Parker's, for which he'd employed Duncan's help since the younger man was already out and about from looking for their gangrel friend earlier. So he stepped out of the bar into the hall to endure the fiddly annoyance of communicating via mobile phone. Luckily, he'd already sent a message earlier to ask about getting something from Parker earlier during the party, once everyone started asking him about it, so now it was time to see the results...

D: Milo is coming that way because he wants to help, personally. I couldn't care less. Good luck. If he gets focked at least we're rid of him.

Then another message, after Tanner had shared that Madame was going to try and rescue Parker using a ritual.

D: Also please stay out if the ritual ok

Duly noted. Tanner wrote back. Then he walked down the stairs to go wait for Milo, stripping out of the shiny vest while he did so in order to be less of a sore thumb... and not risk getting it ruined. It was a rental, after all.

[Vid]

He hugs Fleur close, just for a second, before dashing off. He's never known Madame to be optimistic about chances, and she's said this is a sure thing. He's tried to convey that to his love, but completely understand her reaction. It's very similar to his response, that night that Fleur just disappeared together with Parker.

It's easy to close a door when you have the keys. The silver jingles merrily in his hand, not at all reminiscent of spirit bells. He's come a long way in letting go of superstitions. And learning to separate fact from ...fairytale.

Going up again, skipping steps in the stairs and bouncing off one wall just to go faster, he skids around the curve of the bar to come and fiddle with the electronics. It shouldn't be too hard, cable is still there, just connect your phone and hope! About five minutes later the drums from "glitter and gold" resonate through the room on repeat. Parker's song.

[Duncan Ackerley]

Below, at the side door of the Tapuit, there's a sound of a door opening and closing. Tanner sees two men approaching him as they climb the stairwell, two familiar faces. The bright red hair absolutely overshadows the rather casual, if neat look of the other man, but it's not hard to see who they are.
"C-... Tanner," the more casually dressed man greets him. His hair is dark and neatly combed and he looks a little bit vintage in style, clearly appreciating the current hype of bringing back the 30s, but his entire outfit looks rather new and well taken care off. He wears a suit and a grey woolen coat over it with leather gloves to battle the chill from outside. He lets the red-haired man pass them by, asking for a moment under his breath.
"I never expected Duncan to actually text me to arrange to get someone here. He really grew up into a quite a confident guy," the man amusedly shares with Tanner. "Well, I'll hang out at the bar for a while if you don't mind. I was planning on picking up 'Sir' within the hour anyway."

[Milo Hayes]

Accompanying the other Brit was one harder to miss, largely on merit of his unnaturally bright red hair and almost aggressive sulk. Favoring black leather, eyeliner and an unnecessary amount of jewelry, his overall appearance was somewhere between goth and punk.

Milo's expression was one of vague yet perpetual annoyance, likely familiar to Tanner by now at the least. It was now embellished with hints of caution and perhaps even concern as he stepped further into the Tapuit. He would never admit that he was actually relieved to see Tanner's face, for once. Icy blue eyes pried into the Aussie for any hints or unspoken cues he might glean about the situation. A small messenger bag was slung over his shoulder, and one pale hand clung fiercely to the strap as Milo familiarized himself with the interior of the place.

"Where am I needed?" He asked in a quiet gruff voice, swinging the pack forward so he could more easily unzip it. His eyes briefly fell on Fleur, recognizing her as well from their joint night out with the lads. It was a small comfort not to be completely surrounded by supernatural strangers. Another friend of Thomas's couldn't be a bad thing either.

[Madame]

While she had been rummaging through her bag, Madame had kept letting her gaze flit to the others, but only in the corner of her eye. Most of her attention had been divided between her book, that she never left opened on the table, and her bag. After picking out several objects, she pulled a large package of flour out of her bag. Leaving the bag and the book on the table, she started to make a circle of flour where the dancefloor had been. It was just large enough for three people to stand in.

Around the time she was done with the circle, the music popped on and Madame flinched before returning to the table and picking up a black lace veil, black lace gloves and a small silver knife, and laid them at the edge of the circle. Then picked she out a few coins, toys and sweets from her bag and put them in the middle of the circle. When she was satisfied she had prepared all she could, she put the book in the bag and closed it. Turning towards the bar area, she then silently walked up to Fleur and smiled politely at her. "Did you manage dear?" If she had an opinion about the two that had entered or anything else that had happened between the time she asked Fleur to gather the items, she didn't give any sign of it.

[Fleur]

Fleur is so nervous, the last time Madame did a ritual Laurens suddenly appeared. The pain of seeing her lost loved one almost broke her into pieces. The idea of losing Parker.... just as bad.

When Milo enters she breathes out in relief, that is the best connection they could have ever had.

Suddenly Madame stands before her, when she starts to speak Fleur almost makes a little jump "Yes, everything is ready Madame"
Fleur takes of the bracelet and holds it out for Madame to take "What do you want us all to do?"

[Duncan Ackerley]

Cassius sits on the barstool where not that long ago, a young man had collapsed. It hadn't crossed his mind ever since, allowing it no space to roam freely in his mind. He swirled his drink around in his glass, slowly coming back down from the evening, relieved that there is no instantaneous need to hide their nature anymore. There's an ever so light frown on his usually stoic face, as if he's contemplating something.

His gaze temporarily crosses the small area when he hears footsteps coming up the stairs and is greeted by the familiar sight of his companion and some red-haired punk accompanying him. He gives him no second look as his gaze only shortly meets Thomas' with a nod of greeting. Duncan's smart to have contacted him to let Thomas pick up this friend of the young man they are going to try and save and if he sums up the possible implications of a mortal attention a kindred's ritual, somewhat savage of nature. Somewhere, it amuses him and somewhat prides him that his grandchilde has the ability to do so, even if it should also frighten him on some level- it doesn't matter now.

His gaze temporarily lingers at Tanner with a fondness noone in the room would be able to read off of him and then trails slowly over to the other side of the room, where Fleur is talking to Madame. The young lady intrigues him somewhat, even if she's clearly young she radiates charm and wit and moves around a room filled with predators with the elegance of someone who must be years older. Whatever life has taught her, it must not have been easy.

The woman next to her, in her skull-adorned fifties dress that was no doubt meant to drive Tanner wild (in a best case scenario) and heels that could (literally) kill, is an incredible contrast. To everyone in the room, really. The short talk they shared shows all information he'd already been provided with and a growing curiosity to know more. Their meeting will no doubt be an intrigueing one.

The other people on the party haven't interested him as much, he needs to admit, but still he has kept his eyes peeled for them throughout the night. The bubbly, charming man from Eastern Europe is someone who is somehow connected to this group who's all grown so close to his Childe and Grandchilde, but somehow he doesn't alarm him. Which is good- and a compliment that he will not yet express, despite the clumsiness he's been introduced to the first time they met.

Remaining where he is seated, he awaits how the plans the group has will unfold on the sidelines, curious to see how they will fix this issue.

[Charlie Tanner]

Tanner was, for the first time ever, relieved- almost glad- to see Milo. It meant he could stop thinking about the life that had been lost here, less than an hour ago, or how painfully it reminded him of the agony of his own loss, still just as sharp each time it returned, even one year further. Milo meant distraction. Milo meant a chance to save one lost soul, not his Childe by blood or even regard, but one whom he felt close enough to- or responsible for enough- that his loss, compounding all the rest, would certainly lead to disaster. A frenzying Brujah was the last thing they needed, here, and something they weren't all likely to walk away from. Even if it didn't get that far, having Madame try to comfort and draw him out of it in front of his Sire or Cassius dragging him out by the scruff before anything could go wrong were still equally unappealing possibilities to consider.

Hold it together, man… Focus on now.

Tanner nodded in greeting to 'his' Thomas when his Sire's companion entered with the fiery haired mortal, just barely brushing past Cassius when he moved to intercept, as though that brief, nigh imperceptible contact alone was enough to sufficiently bolster his spirits for whatever was to come.

"Over here, Milo," Tanner said, with a jerk of his head toward the back of the room. He'd stripped off the wig and shiny waistcoat by now, but he still wore rather out of place knee high, black leather boots, black pantaloons and a ruffled black blouse, as though he'd just stepped out of a pirate movie. Tanner threw one last, quietly suffering gaze toward Cassius before putting his game face back on like a good soldier. Business first, feelings later. Priorities.

Whether the young man interpreted it as comforting or insultingly patronizing, Tanner laid a firm hand on the back of his neck to guide Milo toward the tiny staircase that led up to where Madame was preparing. It looked and felt gentle, but his grip was impossibly strong should the man try to shake it off. Most importantly of all, it spoke clearly to all in the room- in Parker's absence, be it temporary or permanent, this mortal was under his protection. Test it at your own peril.

"He's here," Tanner announced, as he brought them upstairs together, heading toward Madame and Fleur. "We good to go?"