725/Hunting the Blue Griffin - Recruiting a Vampire

Hunting the Blue Griffin - Recruiting a Vampire
Date of Scene:	07 November 2023
Location:	Obsidian Tower - Board Room
Synopsis:	In which Otto recruits a vampire, and a vampire becomes a blade.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Steiner, Norie Okana

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Hannah Steiner has posed:
Count Otto has been very nearly as miserable in Obsidian as he was in Defiance Industries back on Tharkad. Despite his actual skills as a corporate magnate bringing truth to his heritage as a cadet branch of House Steiner, his genius doesn't at all make up for the sheer /aura/ of unpleasantness. Haughty, dismissive, and only showing the faintest veneer of deference to other member of Obsidian despite his nebulous position, his self absorbed nature isn't exactly uncommon.

He just instead is followed by only minor victories and just falling short of true greatness that would give him an /actual/ position. No, most of his time is doing boring high level work, bullying interns and lower level employees, and plotting and trying to drag people in to his plots to murder his niece all while he familiarizes himself with his new Dark Energy powered Device based off of what Takashi brought him.

And so, after another hour of scanning the Inhuman Resources files, he hits upon a candidate.

La Crima gets a short email demanding a meeting. It's not even /polite/ corporatese. The man sits cross legged in one of the smaller offices. The entire place stinks of Dark Energy and unhappiness.

Running a hand through his blonde-and-grey hair, he scowls as he awaits his new potential assassin.

Norie Okana has posed:
La Crima, currently transformed and doing note taking about her various Dusk Zone studies and slowly filling a binder with what she deemed 'nonsense' got a notification of an E-mail with a donut in her mouth. "Mphfgdghle?" came the muffled voice as she looked down at her company phone. That she would never accidently leave in the Dusk Zone ever.

Thusly, La Crima changes into a classy business suit, the same one Takashi-senpai helped her shop and arrives into the board room, peeking in a little meekly, at first, but then quickly floating across the floor and having a seat. She isn't late! So that's good.

"Y... you wanted to speak with me, sir, Otto, sir?" she asks quietly.

'That's wrong.' goes the voice in her head. 'Oh... you're "Right!"' she goes, just the word 'right' audible.

"Erm. C..Count Otto. I am here." she suddenly bluthers as she remembers strange court manners from a life she never lived.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
The man gripped a cane, the thing slender but pulsating with power. Schwarz Greif is more of a construct than an actual Device, lacking the soul of such a thing, but instead filled with pure malice around the shell of Hannah's Blauer Greif. He idly spins it, and looks up from his computer to the person - creature in his eyes - before him.

"Mmm. Punctual. Better than most." He mutters, appraisingly. A simple nod, polite, but his brows tighten.

"You are some manner of creature connected to Dark Energy and subsist off of others' life force, yes?" He asks, in the tone of one already knowing the answer and is just going through the emotions.

He doesn't even let her answer. "I need someone dead. In return, I shall not only give you a favorable report to those..." 'Higher up' images that he's not superior intrinsically to everyone else in Obsidian. Which, to his mind, he is.

"More tenured in this agency. Und shall allow you to harvest every last speck of their life, in as slow und painful a manner as you may." He peers at La Crima, gaze never wavering, the arrogant man glowering at her!

Norie Okana has posed:
La Crima blinks a little. "Wait. You want me to. Kill someone? I mean yes. I subsist off life force. It's painful. But you want me to kill someonone?" she asks again, blinking rapidly. That's a new one. La Crima's feelings are all messed up, so she doesn't know how to take this.
R
"I mean..." she trails off. "You're not going to..."

"Stop me...?" she asks curiously. "I mean. Others are but..."

She seems to think about this. "I mean I can try." she says, in a strange, shaky monotone, as if she's waiting for the catch. "And you don't...want her 'Pure Heart' or anything like that?" she asks softly. "Just... you want her...Dead?" she blinks a little, curiously at the man.

"Yes. I'll try. Just. As long as there's no other strings attached."

Hannah Steiner has posed:
The man tilts his head. "'Strings attached'. Hm. Nein. None save one. Should you see a Device of Belkan origin in her grasp such as this one?" He holds up his own faux-Device to let her get a good look.

"Return it alongside some proof of her death. Preferably her head, such that I know mein work is complete." He offers.

Here? He actually smiles.

"Her name is Hannah Emilia-Lina Araki-Steiner the XIVth. Otherwise known as 'Trager des Blauer Greif', or..." He snorts.

"Trager-chan as the denizens of this little misbegotten dirtball call her. She is mein undeserving niece occupying a place of power she und her arrogant parents never deserved. Frau La Crima. Accomplish this..." The Count gives what's /almost/ a smile, but completely awful. His face twists in ambitious desire.

"Und I shall make you a Knight of Tharkad once it is given to mein rightful rulership. You shall have an entire planet to harvest from, so long as you are /politik/ about such things. There are an ocean of lives to devour. Und I shall reward mein /useful/ servants as a ruler should." It seems the Count is willing to sacrifice Tharkad's people to Norie's desires if she just helps him murder one magical girl. A picture is slid towards her.

"Assuming you can best her pathetic freunds."

Norie Okana has posed:
"Oh. You want. Her device." La Crima knows what a device is. Takashi uses one. She blinks. This name is vaguely familiar to her, but she can't figure out why. Maybe someone else mentioned it in passing. She taps her chin in thought. "Fine. I'll bring. Something. Her head if possible. It depends what her 'friends' will let me bring back." she says softly.

La Crima's eyes light up when she's promised things beyond her imagination. "Really? I mean of course, really." she says with sparkling eyes. The promise of power is a good thing. She looks at the picture. This girl is. Unfamiliar.

"I will...get to work, Count Otto on this. I'll have to track them down." she says. "I don't know this girl off the cuff." she admits.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
The man shrugs. "Be prepared for a fight. Her desperate freunds slaughtered a powerful youma und fended off the attempt by another Obsidian member to take her life. Und while her power is lacking und beneath such a being able to supp upon another's essence...she is, if nothing else, stubborn. Strike to slay from the first." He cautions.

That sparkle catches his eyes, and he finally, for the first time on this planet, smiles.

"Good. I intend to return to the throne of House Steiner und take power as I am owed by mein birthright. Should you be a faithful follower, und not that loud, irritating, pompous fool embodied by mein niece? I shall offer you the energy of any citizen you desire, within economic parameters. A whole world optimized for production, profit, power, und feeding her greatest Knight their very life's purity. Would such please you, frau La Crima?" He knows desperation and need when he sees it, and is happy to offer La Crima her dream!

Norie Okana has posed:
La Crima indeed has sparkling eyes over this. Still not a smile. Or a laugh but she seems intrigued. Knight. of a whole planet? Surely this must be a dream. But... she could use a really big influx of energy...

And if Count Otto doesn't care, for a change, that'll be nice. She just has to compete with the others that don't agree.

"Alright. I'll try to do it. This will take more than one try but I just need to keep at it." she asides.

"I'll let you know what happens after my first encounter, Count." she says softly, as she'll stand uo and float away, deep in thought now...

Well this was one way to prove a hypothesis. If draining someone fully to completion might return some emotional bandwidth.