Interview With A Vampire

Jericho Thoughts
1/23/21
 
Well… well… well…. Look who wants to talk to Lauren now. What’s that Rufus? Got a little enamored? That’s what I thought.
 
So, against our better judgement, and against a direct order to Not go to Old Iron Sides.... we did it anyway. Don’t really know what the big deal was, we were just having drink. Try as I might, I couldn’t get Lauren to change the venue though even dangling tantalizing tidbits didn’t get me so far as some puppy dog eyes.
 
We had a pretty lengthy conversation though, I think the pack as a whole learned a little bit more than what I already knew, it was good to sit back and relax after a long day. It was all the better with Lauren as company. One thing that I may have learned is that it didn’t feel like she was trying to tear out information from us. I didn’t feel like my mind was being probed, prodded, or pulled. Now I’m not quite sure what that means yet, but it’s something to consider. Can she not yank a yarn out of someone? Does it cost something to do it? Was she being careful? There’s no way for me to know for sure right now but it’s a curiosity I’ll need to ponder.
 
I’m sure our politics (what little we may have) might seem odd from the outside (and to be honest, even a little odd from the inside as well), but one thing that struck me as weird was that V was actually glad the assassin the “Shrike” had failed to fell Jude. I don’t remember where exactly I heard it, but I remembered that for the Shrike to go on the hunt, she would have had to get permission from the Prince, Violet. They were even in the same faction, so when I asked if Violet was expected to let the Shrike in to save face or whatever I was met with some non committal answer, not really confirming or denying anything. I wonder if the Shrike wasn’t gonna kill him at all, but maybe just capture, just like what we ended up doing.
 
Another thing Lauren refused to answer was who she wanted for Mayor. My guess is we got some blackmail on the current standing Mayor and Jude is trying to get a new one in place. Having done no research, I think I might lean a little towards what Jude is planning, if only because he seems to be pretty progressive. I haven’t spoken to him much about his plans, but it seems like he’s trying to break some of the old habits of their society as a whole. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad I guess. But vampires have been getting a pretty bad reputation for the last almost 3,000 years, so maybe some change is good.
 
I dropped a little secret about what we do to help the city because she wouldn’t stop asking what we did and why we bothered. I told her about the fires that kept happening and how we stomped it out. I made a point that we could do something about it and they couldn’t. All they could do is be consumed by fire.
 
We eventually parted ways and everyone went to their respective homes for some well deserved rest. It was a busy week.
 
Now, Vlad had been trying to find these “Lunes” or something. Spirits that would grant renown for all to witness. The renown was bestowed because of the deeds that was performed. There’s Purity, Wisdom, Honor, Cunning, and we were searching for Glory. Seemed like Vlad had done his research, and he found out where we could search to find these spirits. So we ventured forth. We went when their presence would be strongest, during the gibbous moon. We went until we found the shadow of an amphitheater.
 
A suspicious spirit was selling tickets outside to the “event” whatever the hell that meant. Seemed like it was easy enough to just pay the fee, take a finger prick and be granted entrance. Didn’t want to piss anyone off after all. When inside we were greeted with spotlights, not just any spotlights, these things felt like the sun itself was shining through a great magnifying glass. I guess it was go time. Barnaby spoke first for Vlad, then it was my turn, and here’s what I said:
 
 
Glory: Something that brings praise or fame to someone or something : something that is a source of great pride.
 
I should first explain that I am not adept at fighting. I am no Rahu, I am an Elodoth. My talents lay in being the face, the envoy, one could even call me the mastermind.
 
So when I charged into the jaws of a beast that far outmatched me, I hope you will be impressed.
When I took a piece of the creature’s flesh and nearly ripped its leg out of the socket, I hope you will be impressed.
 
When my pack shifted into the god killing form to take down this monster I stayed in a more vulnerable form to keep my wits with me, I hope you will be impressed.
 
When I took a blow that would have killed a mortal man, I gave this terror another lick before moving to defend our wolf blood packmate, I hope you will be impressed.
 
After the creature had been felled and we were being pursued by police I darted out to give them a distraction to protect the pack, I hope you will be impressed.
 
With my wounds not even closing I took two more bullets that nearly ended my life at that very moment, but I pushed on, I hope you will be impressed
 
Even after this entire ordeal, I sacrificed my life blood to save our wolf blood from the clutches of death, I hope you will be impressed
 
The whole speech brought Rufus to tears, didn’t think that man had such a soft heart, guess we’re finally cracking through that ice cold exterior. Now who can I show off this new brand to? Can you believe it? Me, glorious… What’s this world coming to?