Tremere Business (Johnathon) - Johnathon's Haven

"A Nosferatu, from Seattle. He became a little bit obsessed with Areron, I'm afraid."

"Her first victim ?"

She shook her head.

"No. She was his victim. He nearly killed her."

"Oh? How so?"

"He staked her... or put her in torpor. I can't remember. But he removed her arms and legs, kept her hidden. It was a minor miracle that Joseph Mayek went looking for her."

"Why was he looking for her ? And why did Grimm attack her ?"

"I'm not sure that I can answer either of those questions truthfully."

At least she was honest about that?

"Suppose you can't tell me why you can't?"

"Because one I don't know and the other is mostly supposition."

He nodded. "Why are you holding back though ?"

She frowned.

"Because I'm not quite sure if I trust you yet, Mister Grant."

He nodded. "That is fair. What would earn that trust ?"

She shrugged.

"Time and effort. Trust, for our kind, is hard-won and easily shattered."

"Yup, that is true. Well, how much more of this story are you willing to trust to me tonight? I have the feeling Joseph Mayek played a large roll in this, and I have the feeling you are holding a lot of this back because he is Tremere and you were under his thrall."

Her head snapped up. Seriously, if he hadn't been across the room, he might have thought that she had been hit in the chin, the way her head whipped. And there was a flash of anger -- pure, unadulterated hatred in her face for just one moment. Just a moment.

"I was never in his fucking thrall," she snapped at him.

He winced. "My apologies. The information i have indicated you had a roll in this, and suggested you had no choice in your actions. I was drawing a clearly erroneous conclusion and i apologize for airing it as I did. "

She still looked pissed.

"And what role did I supposedly play that I had no choice about?"

"I was told" he said evenly "That your roll was to keep Raz0r away from Nobody's death, and that of the whole crew you were the only one that nobody faulted for their roll."

Her brow rose again.

"Who said I had no choice?"

"Please forgive me, but I had a number of sources and stories, you know how things group together. Again, I apologize, there was likely no easy way to raise that notion. I should not have had this discussion while drinking."

She nodded.

"There is a difference between disagreeing with a course of action and being forced into one against your will."

He nodded. "The fact razor counts you as a friend explains enough as it is. "

Her brow rose.

"Does it?"

"It means whatever reason your reasons were she has forgiven you or understood why. "

She smiled.

"She knows that I tried to stop them."