The walk down to the Hovel will be hellish for Christine. Mister Greys new paranoia about his security will mean Christine is blindfolded, trudging through knee-and sometimes deeper wastewater and sludge. Grey and Hyde wont take her directly down either, she will be led through a maze of twisting tunnels at varying levels for a journey that will seem like hours before they get anywhere.

Chris has always been a shy dreamer, and, as a child had seen the original of Phantom of the Opera, in black and white, then another one in color.  Who could forget the classic ending, where Christine turns from Raoul, and towards Fame, Fortune adn Glory, leaving Raoul and the policeman behind. The last comment of the movie...after Raoul invites the policeman to dinner, saying 'with Christine out there, who's going to notice a tenor and a policeman?'

Perhaps she did tend to see bits and pieces of that movie, and the new one in her life?  Certainly now, as she is led through who knows what, tripping over whatever is down there, trying not to throw up over the stench...she can wistfully think of how the Phantom brought Christine into his world.  Certainly, it was a lot nicer...even if he was a monster.

As it is, she certainly has more than enough time, while slipping, tripping and trying not to think of what she's in, to remember all the rumour about the nosferatu.  

None of them very calming to her already overwrought nerves.

Christine will find no such romance from the Nosferatu. They dont wear masks, they rarely sing, and their plans for her are more The Hills have eyes than Phantom of the Opera. She can have her fantasies, but she will be sorely dissapointed with reality.

When they eventually reach the Hovel Christine should be good and lost. They are in deep, no cell phones or GPS systems work down here. Even the radios Grey hands out to his broodmates rely on a network of transmitters scattered through the various tunnel levels. This is likely the most isolated and trapped Christine has ever been without being tied to Alexis bed.

Mister Grey will pull off her blindfold to reveal the Hovel in all its second-hand glory. To her it must resemble caves carved out of a subterrainean junkheap. The lighting is bad and the only plus side she might see is that the Hovel is relatively dry.

'Come out come out wherever you are! We have company!'

Mister Grey suddenly shouts, his nasaly voice echoing in the tunnels as he calls the attention of his broodmates.  

--Last edited by Radiation on 2009-02-28 08:42:40 --

Upon being able to see again, she looks around, relief at the dryness, wondering if she's suddenly in a bad episode of Cities of the Underworld, then jumping as Mr. Grey shouts.

Wrapping her arms around herself and shivering continues to look around, hope fading slowly from her eyes as she begins to realize that she's....trapped.  Totally, impossibly trapped, away from sunshine, fresh air, art, music and anything else she enjoyed on the surface.  


Certainly she can't see any reason in the world that she was handed off, unless Arturo believed she was a threat to him.  As it is, she's beginning to feel somewhat like someones second hand shoes...tossed out, and abandoned, with no hope in sight.

Once she is done taking in her surroundings, Christine will turn to find Hyde's eyes boring into her as he regards her rather sternly.

Glancing toward Mister Grey he will rub his chin in thought and ask nonchalantly,

"You remember that flick 'The Runnin' Man?' I think we ought to put one'a them collars on 'er. You know, the ones that'll blow 'er 'ead off if she tampers wif it or goes wanderin' outside the range of our transmitters."

He turns back to Christine, continuing to speak as though she were not standing right there overhearing what he had to say.

"Ya can never be too careful."

Christine will stare in horror at Mr. Hyde, her hand going to her throat.

She's not going to say anything about she won't go wandering off, but then, how would she get anywhere she wanted to go?

Buggy would slip into the Hovel, perhaps a bit after Mr. Grey had started shouting...scratching a nasty case of scabies terrorizing where her left breast ought to be...she wasn't in the most splendid of moods tonight...not that it made any difference to anyone else.  

The dark orbs shifted, taking in the sight of Christine, Mr. Hyde, and Mr. Grey.  Her mouth didn't move...Hyde's words hit her ears and she smacked the palm of a webbed hand against her forehead, muttering under her breath..."you're fuckin kidding me..."  before plastering an obviously false smile across her features.  "You brought Caucasian...I thought I asked for Chineese..."

Grey will point a long, triple jointed finger at Hyde and nod in agreement. Last time Grey rigged explosives it took him and Hyde six months to reopen a tunnel, but hes always willing to give it another shot.

'I think we could fix up one of those. Even have a button on my rig to set it off if she gets uppity!'

Grey will smile with all his filed teeth at Christine before looking over to Buggy when she approaches.

'Youd just be lookin for more in half an hour, this will be better.'

Hyde turns toward her as well as Buggy makes her presence known, smiling goofily as if already laughing at the little joke he thought up before he even says it out loud.

"... Yeah, and besides, there ain't no need ta call out fer Chinese. Ya can have yer pick of cats and rats already down here anytime."

There was a raspy little chuckle, though whether there was any semblance of genuine emotion behind it...eh who knew.  Her eyes moved between Grey and Hyde again, sort of skipping over Christine.  She paused a moment before she returned to trying to liberate the parasites digging at her flesh as she spoke, "Seriously...what the fuck though?  We having pretty people happy hour?  Doesn't sound like it...not if you're trying to figure on how to blow her head off already..."  Her attentions shifted back to Christine..."But she's here...and she's not layed out...which means someone figured she ought to be here...question is...what the fuck for?"  

Okay so Beau was irritable...and seeing this lovely piece of Vanity Fair standing unharmed in the Hovel, really wasn't doing anything to improve her mood.  The fact that Hyde and Grey had probably brought her down here in some rediculous attempt to not feel like the ugly bastards they all were just grated against her the wrong way.  Dead.  Corpses.  Even if your junk still worked...girl like that would run screaming into a wall of C-4 before she'd do anything to stroke your egos or help validate you based on something so shallow as appearance.  Bitch.

Indeed, what the heck for?  She was wondering that herself, its not like it looks like they need an accountant down here.  Talking about blowing her head off is giving her less and less of a feeling that she's even wanted, or welcome.  

As it is, she can only stand there...willing herself not to cry, not to break down and beg for....what?  

Hyde cocks his head to the side a bit through Buggy's little rant, like a dog hearing some strange noise it is not certain how to categorize.

Perhaps Buggy is younger than he took her for, or not well versed in the quirks of Clan politics. Or perhaps she simply didn't understand the depth of Grey's loss when little Roach was exterminated. Perhaps Buggy was not as much like his former Elder as he had surmised; not what insiders call a Cleopatra, and never knew the sort of outward beauty that she now despises so. Maybe she did not understand that even as a Ghoul, Grey's blood would eventually make Christine a hideous wretch, just as Hyde's blood had done to his trusted Dvallin. She would never be as unique as a fully embraced Nosferatu, but neither would she ever be the same.

"Now that would be tellin'." He says at last in response to her question after glancing to Grey and his new pet in turn.

Truth be told, Hyde did not know with any certainty what Grey's plan was for Christine, beyond the simple fact that she was a distraction, a play-thing to be coddled, and leashed, and owned; to keep his mind off of the dog that he loved for so many years while he tested and trained this new puppy, ensuring that she is brought up right.

Sure, Hyde had grand delusions of tracking down at least one of the Sabbat Pack the Prince had marked for death so that he could claim the prize of the right to Progeny and bestow it upon Grey, but whether Grey would use it, Hyde also did not know. But it was the least he could do for his old friend. Even when he still drew breath, Hyde never had any desire for children, at least not of his own. It just didn't fit into his plans.

Hyde was satisfied in the knowledge that for now, Grey had not only entertainment, but easy access to blood without needing to leave his beloved control room.

Waiting to hear what, exactly, her fate is to be, stares down at the ground, shivering slightly as she listens to the conversation around her.  

Feeling her eyes begin to sting, she closes them, until the incipient tears are gone, before opening them again.  Still staring down at the ground.

'Now Buggy maybe if you were a little more domestically inclined we wouldnt be having this little confrontation.'

Grey teases. In all honesty even he really has no idea why he wanted Christine. But hes got her and now he isnt giving her back. He will snake a long, cold, bony arm around Christines shoulders like hes trying to cop a feel at the movies.

'She aint gonna be no trouble. She will be fittin in real nice, real soon...'

Mr. Grey may not actually care, but Christine is still shivering.  Cold? Fear? A combination of both?  Either way, the girl is shivering, and looks ready to collapse on the spot.  Another flinch as that cold arm goes around her, a single tear does escape, unnoticed, probably, since she's still got her head down*

In truth...Beaumont wasn't likely near as old as any of them thought her to be, that added to the fact that the little buggers that saw her as the best food source ever...were agitating her more than usual tonight.  The appearance of Christine was perhaps just adding insult to percieved injury.  The webbed fingers scratched a bit more at flesh burried beneath clothes and she refrained from shaking her head or saying anything further until...grey made his little comment.

Her maw opened and closed and she looked utterly speechless for a moment..."Domesticated?!?!?  Fuck you both.  I don't need this shit right now...she's gunna end up being another ugly fucker just like we are once she starts getting regular meals and then your little pretty is gunna be just like any other pet you get..."  She shook her head again, throwing her hands up in the air as if to ask the universe what she'd done to deserve a brood like this as she headed out of the Hovel.  

At Beaumonts outburst she finally looks up, a horrified look in her eyes, warring with the hopeless look of a person who just knows she's going to die.

Laughing at the effects of Grey's razzing, Hyde rests a hand lightly on Grey's shoulder as Buggy storms out of the Hovel, giving him a look that says 'I got this.' Taking a few steps away he flips the switch on his earpiece and lowers his voice to a stage-whisper, just loud enough to be heard over the comm-system, but not by Christine.

"That is the whole point, Beaumont."

The sudden lack of his trademark British accent is not all that unusual, most of the Nos have seen it happen far more frequently than any of the surface-dwellers, but there is something else in his voice now, something out of place, almost... feminine.

"Can you think of anyone more worthy of our gifts than the charming, discarded ward of a Toreador Elder?"

The last words are spoken with a subtle, but evident derision, before Hyde turns back to Grey with a confused look on his face.

"Oi. I think me 'eadset's busted. I can't 'ear meself talkin' init."

Vanity...definately something Christine does have.  Well...long dark hair that she's done her best to maintain clean, healthy and shining.  Large dark grey eyes that more than one person has seemed to enjoy gazing into.  Pale skin, decent regular features that add up to at the least, pretty.  Of course, that prettiness seems to rest upon her being happy, petted and taken care of.  Right now, the paleness is more like deathly white, along with a hint of blue of cold.

Perhaps its more her intelligence that she's even more vain of.  Training to be an accountant, enjoying the tedium of that task, even more enjoying the thrill of hunting down elusive numbers, or the more elusive fraud attempts.  Even to the time she herself was committing that fraud, after all, a certain former domitor was not that great at the entire 'skimming' process.  After she had researched it, refined it and set certain safeguards in place, he probably had had more money than he needed.

Well, certainly enough, remembering, with a slight sniffle the lovely riverboat...the warmth, the comfort...

Even at the Lucky Star, she'd had friends, people who had smiled, chatted with her, and been there.  Some of the time, even Thomas had seem appreciative of her work.

What now?

According to everything she knew, and had just heard, she was going to end up looking hideous.  Major blow number one to her vanity.  Probably end up looking like something that would send children fleeing from her if they even saw her shadow, was her gloomy thought.  As far as she could see, there was nothing for her to do.  Might as well just cut out her brain and make her a stupid ugly vegetable.  Keeping busy, that had kept her going.  She enjoyed working, even physical labor would be good, anything to keep busy, to think of anything else other than what was going to happen.

A pretty (ok, and vain) intelligent accountant, who loved working, shopping, walks in the sun and being with friends.  This was not a good combination with what she was seeing around her.

Like a stubborn child who is going to sneak his new puppy into the house whether mom likes it or not Grey just grins with all his filed teeth and bugged eyes at Beaumont. It was a reaction he wanted and it was definitely a reaction he got.

'Again!?'

Grey suddenly shouts, when Hyde complains his headset is broken. Hyde is notoriously rough with the sensitive electronics Grey rigs. Its almost a full time job keeping up with everything that breaks down way down here.

'Lemme look at it. You think Dvalin would be opposed to babysittin when the sun comes up? I bet hed like some perdy company...'

Grey stalks over to Hyde, dragging Christine by the wrist as he does.