Remembered Pleasures (Open to all)

[Regulus Grey]

Regulus stands with his eyes closed on one of the many paths through the park, his breathing is deep as he draws in the scent of grass and clean water mixed with the smells of the city. Low lamplight gleams from dark blonde hair as he starts to stroll once more.

His movements are lithe and graceful, those of one who has spent a long time living as a hunter. The city was larger than he remembered, and beautiful in the dark.

[Caru]

"Hi there, am I interrupting?" a voice calls over.

She's nominally in her twenties, Embraced young (certainly the girl didn't carry the scents of a human; overlaid above the Undead void were the earthy scents of pine and woodsmoke). Dressed in comfortable travelling attire, the woman bears a Scandinavian set of features. Though oddly dark of skin, her hair is a duskier blonde, dirty at the roots. She has a few scrolls strapped to her back, and a leather satchel across her hip. Warm green eyes soften in greeting.

"It looked like a nice place to take a stroll. And I've bumped into people here before. I figured now as good a time as any to add to the number."

[Regulus Grey]

His eyes sweep across to her, assessing and determining her as a potential threat in only a moment. His gaze goes to the scrolls, the hunger for knowledge almost overriding his manners. Sketching a small bow he keeps his blue eyes on hers, a slight upturning of the corner of his mouth hinting at a smile.

"Not at all, I'd be pleased if you wanted to join me on my walk."

He stops and waits for her to join him, taking a moment to straighten his waistcoat. The long white sleeves of his shirt hide well muscled arms and he takes a moment to adjust his cuffs, the garment seeming uncomfortable.

[Caru]

Her shoulders are relaxed, the blonde head tilted to one side with an easy smile; her palms even, as they come forward, are open. No threat here.

"I'd appreciate that! It can get lonely on the road. My name is Caru, by the way."

'Caru' falls into step beside her newest travelling companion.

"There remain only so many ways I can do this without it becoming embarrassing so...are you..." she pauses as if in thought, lifts a sheepish hand to her hair, "A You Know What? Grrr? Not that I'd mind if you're not, but it makes the job of knowing what we can talk about a lot easier."

"I hope that's not too cryptic!" she grins.

[Regulus Grey]

Regulus relaxes his shoulders and shows 'Caru' his open palms, held out on either side of his body to show they are empty.

""It has been far too many years since I have had good company, you may call me Regulus if you desire."

He raises an eyebrow, and grins. His now part open mouth expose long fangs that retract back as she looks, raising one hand he pushes his glasses up his nose with one long claw that has extended from a finger.

"Kindred, yes. I can only presume...you wish to know if I am an 'Outlander'? As it happens I am."

He chuckles, claw retracting back into his finger.

"It's good to be back. I don't suppose...you know how many of us are in the city do you?

[Caru]

Caru's nose scrunches up delicately.

"I'm not sure what you mean by Outlander, but I take it that you're not from around here? That's fine, I don't live locally either. I'm hoping to attend the next Elysium, but I've been looking for the Gangrel Primogen for... about a month now. Something seems to conspire to keep us separate. That, or she's avoiding me. I hope not," she chuckles.

"And I'd say it's been a long time since I've had good company, but I'd be lying. I've been lucky enough to bump into a couple good souls out in this dark void. I'm from Southampton."

"How many? Hmm. Not exactly, no. But Bath's seen something of a population boom. It always happens when a Prince is slain, or one steps down, and Bath's had both. Power creates vacuums in its absence, and, well, everyone wants a piece of that."

"Back? Oh! You lived here before?"

[Regulus Grey]

Regulus shrugs

"According to my Sire, it's the nickname the other clans decided to label us with. More dignified than others...but still not as preferable as Gangrel."

He nods, noting the way her nose scrunched up and factoring it away for the future.

"Not since I was embraced...I have been spending my time in Siberia, but something called me home. I hailed from the area as a mortal. I only arrived a few days ago, but I hope between us we can locate the Primogen. I believe we shall need her to introduce us."

He glances at the scrolls again. But his eyes snap up at mention of the city's recent history.

"Oh my, sounds like quite the unstable place. I intend on attending Elysium as well, I'll be assessing the situation then. Hopefully there will be enough Elders left to answer my questions."

He nods, glancing up at the night sky.

"Are you a lore keeper then?"

He looks at the scrolls once more.

[Caru]

"Outlanders," she tries the word. "Interesting."

"I gotta say, I much prefer Gangrel. It's old English, if I recall. Means something like 'wanderer.'"

A small smile. "Something called you home? I understand that. Something's clearly calling a lot of people."

"Let's look for her together, as you say. What questions were you hoping to have asked? If it's general information about the area, I always research a place before I travel. I'm no Elder - I'm an Ancilla - but I've done my reading."

"Lore keeper? I suppose in a way. I've never been very academic, so I don't think I'd be welcome in places like Oxford, which suits me just fine. I prefer learning by doing, although I can read and write, if not very well. Language and writing looked like magic to me as a child, I always yearned to know more of these arcane squiggles on a page. Only holy men and rich men kept books, though, so it wasn't easy learning it."

"I was pretty keen though," she smiles. "And tenacious. Eventually you just start seeing patterns in some words, and though I later was taught by a nun how to read, I spent most of those first years desperately observing the written language. I think my ability as a cryptographer comes more from what I learned in ignorance than what I ever did with real instruction. It's easy to lose sight of the story when you're focussing on the words."

[Regulus Grey]

"Wanderer..that does have a nicer ring to it."

He seems to think about the word for a moment, then shakes his head.

"The area...I'm sure I'll find out about in due course. Although I may have some questions later...for the time being my main focus of study is the 'Omen War'. Whilst I respect the Clan's choice to keep history going through an oral tradition...in these nights I fear what may be lost if our history is not recorded."

He nods, clasping his hands together behind his back as they continue on.

"Learning by doing things...that is something I wish I had done. I am something of an academic, without much practical experience when I first ventured into the world. I regret that more than I can say.."

He smile ruefully.

"Tenacity was what drew my Sire to me...it's something of a hallmark of our clan from what I have been told."

[Caru]

"I can understand that," Caru shrugs. "A lot is semantically lost when you keep it to tongue, but at the same time, a lot of the original emotion is retained. I always think the culture of the time is less important to the message. I don't mind so much when I see a story changed to fit another place. In fact, I like it. I hope one day people will sing stories about me, and they'll do so in the language that they love, and change parts to fit wherever they grew up."

"It helps people identify with your tale. That they would change your story for themselves is beautiful. We can get a little hung up on keeping things exact, and much of the meaning of old lore is lost to modern idiosyncrasies. Only academics understand history that way. And who wants that?"

"I apologise, that's rude. And I suppose both camps have as much to say as the other. I hope your Omens find you."

She walks easily by his side, making humming noises of interest in response to things he says. "Oh, you're an academic," she pulls up short, horrified. "I'm sorry for my comments. I've never been an academic, and they don't really like me. I ruin their fun, I think. I don't have a tremendous amount of pride, and don't mind people using my work in whatever way they want. That can be damaging to modern academia. It makes sense in a way, they do have grants and funds and such going into it."

"Yes, tenacity is our middle name," Caru laughs. "I wish I could say that's what drew my Sire to me. But she just wanted someone to connect to humanity through. A proxy I guess, and I had a good heart. She's not the most benevolent of creatures, but she listened to me when I read. I don't think she noticed that I wasn't reading what was on the page."