It seemed that yes the Anarch did indeed take into account that I rode a motorcycle as she pulled an old moving truck from the garage with a trailer behind it. A trailer big enough to hold my motorcycle so it was pretty obvious what was going to happen next. The part I was most interested in though was whether the box for moving was capable of sleeping in during the day. That would be cool…

  “So hey Lori, you wouldn’t happen to have a bedroom on this thing right?” I asked curiously looking over what I could only assume was a second hand u-haul or something. “I sure as hell do!” Was the reply as the Malkavian rolled the door up to reveal a twin sized futon, a trunk, and electrical hook up for electronics. I looked over at Lori with a questioning expression before she laughed realizing what I might be referring to. “Don’t worry we will both fit on the bed. Not like either of us are rough sleepers.”

  ________

  Three hours later we were traveling south since our goal was Georgia. Nothing like the open road at night to bring out the thoughts. So to avoid having to think about tough things I asked Lori if I could put on some music.

  “Oh yeah right, I forget that not everyone is psychically linked to the network.” Lori laughed as she turned the radio on for me. “Must be strange to live in silence.”

  Nodding slightly I connected to the radio via bluetooth and then put on Megadeth’s Greatest Hits album. When the first song Holy Wars came up Lori looked at me before shaking her head. “Once a Sabbat always a Sabbat huh?” Even I couldn’t help but find that funny in hindsight.

  It was the little things like that, which helped keep us sane as we continued on our journey. Honestly nothing interesting had happened during the night as the pair decided to stop in North Carolina at a state park. Lori paid their camping fee and the we found a nice little RV campsite so that we could settle down and maybe find something to eat before the sun rose. Now that I wasn’t traveling alone I didn’t feel nearly as stressed out about finding a sleeping space so we parked around four in the morning and my companion plugged the hauler into the local electric grid.

  “Hey Yuiko, what are you thinking about for dinner?” Lori asked as I pulled out my ritual book and began to hunt for the one I would need tonight to keep them safe out here. “If you want to go hunt, I won’t stop you. I still have a few bottles of preserved vitae I can share if you prefer?” I asked her back finding the ritual I needed and then fetching a clay bottle of the red stuff for her.

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  “That’s Thaumaturgy isn’t it? I can’t believe the Tremere let you all get that knowledge.” She asked, watching what I was doing before accepting the bottle offered.

  “Good thing they don’t have a monopoly on the art.” Was my response with a smirk before casting a ritual over the area to prevent their smell from lingering. Did she think some fleabag would show up? No but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially during the day when they were the most vulnerable. “This little ritual hides our smell and the one I used for that bottle preserves vitae as long as it’s not opened. Back with my pack I used to brew all sorts of illicit things to make cash. Just don’t throw the bottle away and I can reuse it once I find a ‘volunteer’.”

  “You are one multi-talented lady, Yuiko. What other tricks can you do?” She asked me taking a sip from the bottle and brightening up at the sweet taste of blood. “Hell yeah that’s the stuff. It tastes like I just drew it from the tap. You gotta teach me how to do this! Imagine how much better my crew’s life would be if we could stockpile this stuff?”

  “Sure I can do that once we get to Georgia and see what is left of my sisterhood's estate.” It was an easy agreement for a ritual that almost any Setite was familiar with. Besides it wasn’t like I had some sort of NDA. “Other things I can do though… Hmm let’s think.” I would have to think about that and what would be appropriate to answer. There was a lot I could say but none of them were things Lori needed to know. “I make enchanted gear, though I have the max number right now that I can upkeep so no freebies tonight.” I offered with a grin before putting away one of the enchanted pieces I owned, my Ritual Book.

  “Oh damn, so you are like a killer fox girl witch then? Was the sword you used before them? Surely it was because that thing was sharp as hell.” Lori couldn’t help but get a bit closer to the enigmatic Ahrimane. She had never thought for a moment that she would be making friends with a Sabbat, let alone an nearly extinct bloodline. If she could help Yuiko complete her quest then maybe the strange woman would join the Anarchs and help them throw off the shackles of the Ivory Tower.

  “Kill Foxgirl Witch huh? Not too bad, and yes it was. I can bind spirits to objects to grant them supernatural powers based on the spirit. No I can’t teach you as I use my bloodline for it but teaching you how to ritually preserve vitae is relatively simple.”

  Lori grew excited at the thought and was beginning to think that her new friend really was a witch. Spirits, rituals, magic, it was all stuff that didn’t really exist in regular kindred society. Sure some clans could do it but this was all magic far outside what she would encounter normally. “Can you throw fireballs and such?” She just had to ask, what witch couldn’t throw around fireballs after all.

  “Nope but I can summon animal spirits and I don’t require as much vitae because I can eat them as well.”

  Lori stopped dumbfounded at that remark but when she was about to ask about it Yuiko had already walked away to mark the trees around the campsite with a claw. Was her new friend really marking the territory? Sure Gangrel were animalistic but Yuiko was the weirdest kindred she had ever seen.