All Too Easy

Once the Neonates had finished their discussion with Jeffery Armhert, Eito took personal inventory as he rode the trolley back to his haven. Thankfully his camera was unharmed, the bullet which had struck him only tearing the case strap. He had an old one he could use back at his apartment, though the quality of leather wasn't nearly as high. Still, this had proven to be a productive night, his unbeating heart feeling just a tinge of relief.

Until he  realized he cared more than his camera's accessories than the lives of eight men.  

It was Tom's plan to attack Capone's men, sure. But Eito didn't offer another alternative. In fact, he jumped at the chance to try and prove himself to a higher ranking Kindred.
He glanced to the pocket where his pistol lay, withdrawing it to hold in his hands. It was so much easier to kill than he thought- just point, shoot, and a life ended. A year ago he wouldn't have even dreamed of killing another man, being forced to or otherwise.

The metal of the gun started to feel colder somehow; he told himself he wouldn't be like the other kindred, treating mortals as lesser beings, as prey, as things to be manipulated and used. Yet he had killed these men as if they were no more significant than roaches under his mattress.
He sighed as he leaned back in his heat,  then realized that Sy still rode on the trolley with him. He put the gun away, deciding to get out of his own head. Seeing as they were the only two occupants, he said aloud,
"You fought in the Great War, right? What was it that called you to the battlefield?"

Sy rested his head against the trolley side window as it clacked along. He wore a contented relaxed look on his face. Another blow for justice...or revenge-same things really. They served their role well.

His thoughts were interrupted by his fellow coterie member. “The war...yes. I served.”

He looked over to Eito. “Bit different from what happened back there...”

The Brujah leaned back against the window and looked up. “I wasn’t called there...to the war. It was a punishment.”

Eito opened his mouth to reply as if he had already expected what Sy was going to say, but instead he paused for a beat. He blinked twice, "Wait, you were conscripted?"
The younger kindred's posture grew noticeably more intrigued as he straighten up in his seat, "I thought you were  of the sort who willingly joined the military."
He leaned in subconsciously, "And who were you forced to fight for?"

Sy closed his eyes and reminisced. “I caused as much grief to my parents as possible. Eventually they got fed up and sent me as far away as civilized society would permit to learn to improve my behavior, somewhere I couldn’t embarrass them anymore-in military school. Surprise-Surprise, guess who the first “recruits” for the “Great” war were?”

He opened his eyes, “It may come as a shock but I don’t intentionally go out looking for trouble or try to start a fight with the entire world. But I’m more than happy to end one I’m forced into.”

Sy turns to look at Eito his eyes full of anger, “Who did I fight for?! Does it really matter what side anyone was on? Scores of people died-on all sides.The point is never who is right or wrong. Victory doesn’t determine that, all victory says is which unlucky bastard is left standing.”

He leans forward and points back from the way they came, “You look at me and tell me honestly, with a straight face, you feel you were right to do what you did back there-that walking away from that somehow made you feel like more of a righteous man. You can’t, can you?” The man shrugged his shoulders, “I know two things for sure about killing: one-anytime you kill-part of you dies too, and second-the more you kill, the easier it gets.”

Sy hangs his head and says nothing for a long while. “Others might praise the glories of war or revel in its supposed accolades; marvel at how grand it is to die for king and country, but I wouldn’t lie to you like that. Real combat isn’t for honorable men-no more than the dogs we just slaughtered were fit to be called men. Nobody on a battlefield is thinking about what country they represent-they’re thinking about which bullet has their name on it-or when their time comes, how many things they still never got around to doing. For my own part- I would much prefer to never have to kill again...hell, that’s partly why I work on cars-killing people tends to be bad for business, and when I get mad at a car-anything I break can be repaired.”

Eito's eyes widened further at the rise he managed to get out of Sy, "I don't mean to turn this into a philosophy talk about who was right in the war. I meant I wanted to know if it was here in the States or another country you fought for as I was curious is all. Given my age at the time, the other thing I knew about the War was my parents telling me not to worry about it."

The the rest of what Sy explained seemed to catch him even more off guard. "I don't feel right killing those men- you won't hear me arguing otherwise. I didn't like how I just went along with Tom's suggestion,  or how I was using their lives to prove myself to Armhert. Given you had served in not only combat, but the supposed 'War to End All Wars', I guess I wanted to talk to someone who didn't just have to kill men on a regular basis but was expected to every chance they had. And how you dealt with it."

He frowned that seemed slightly ashamed, "You say it get's easier to kill from here. Than what worries me the most is how easy that first shot was to take."

Sy relents at the explanation. “Ah I see. Well then-do forgive my outburst. To answer your question-I served alongside the lads from Ol’ Britannia for the most part, until the doughboys caught up at which point I was an emissary of sorts. Eventually though I took on a support role for the blokes from Australia before my injury.”

He rests his hands on his cane. “As far as dealing with it goes, I reckon that is the real question. It depends on the fella’. Some swear drinking works...at least til the bottle goes dry. Others try smothering themselves in the company of the dames. A few just can’t hack it and clamp down on a barrel.” He takes a breath, “For me-it’s a careful balance of distraction and dedication. Find something to create, make, or do to keep yourself occupied. Then whatever you decide on-commit to it, all of it. The more outrageous or seemingly insurmountable the better. That tends to do the trick in keeping any of those pesky feelings from bothering me.” He sighs, “I think the reason killing bothers everybody so different is less to do with us actually killing the other person and more to do with our having to live with what we deemed was a good reason for killing to begin with.”

At his last comment Sy gives Eito a long one eyed gaze. “I’m guessing that was your first time.” He pauses.

“If it helps-you had likely already found your reason for taking a life-impressing Amherst...that’s why it felt easy to pull the trigger. Most people can’t take a life without some hesitation unless they’ve been trained to or if they’re defending themselves; they have to have a reason to justify it. Doesn’t seem to matter what the reason is, just the fact you have one. If you didn’t already have your mind made up on it, you probably would have been slower on taking your shot. Now you just gotta decide if your reasoning is something you can stand behind or if it’s something you need to run from because you don’t want to admit that to yourself about yourself.”

Eito’s gaze stayed on the floor of the trolley as he said, “Yeah, it was my first time. All the reporting I did for murders and all types of assaults- and even dying myself - I was not prepared as much as I thought.”

“It wasn’t just to impress Armherst. Even if I decided not to partake in the fight and maybe just run ahead to warn the others instead, I reasoned those men were as good as dead already. The only different result would be that the new acting Sheriff wouldn’t think I was worthy of his time and attention.”

He shook his head, “Though is that really any better avoiding pulling the trigger myself when I was fine allowing others to kill them?”

Sy shrugs his shoulder again. “That isn’t up to me to decide; that one is for you to riddle out yourself.”

He glanced out a window as he says, “I really wish I had an answer for you...”

The brujah turns to look back at Eito, “But until we can find a way to elevate everyone to a measure of equality and end the incentives that a life of crime offers for the oppressed members of society, I anticipate such encounters as we had tonight will likely become more common rather than not.” He gives an empty chuckle as he adds, “For now, we focus on the positive- at least their deaths made them good for something more than being a speed bump.”

Eito's demeanor did seem to perk up a bit at the ever slight change in topic. Even if he was the one to bring it up. "I suppose that only makes sense- just as we had our own motivations to fight tonight beyond the fact the Prince demands it, surely these men joined Capone's side other than just doing what they were told."

"It's far too last to ask them but, perhaps should we come across more like them we may yet see a pattern while who exactly the outfit is attracting. That was partially why I thought Armor Square should be our next focus. It would be bad enough for Capone to merely exterminate those Kindred, but worse yet would be managing to win them to his side."

He then crossed his arms with a ever slight smirk, "Though you didn't seem to be someone who wants to right injustice and promote equality given the talking points you had back at Elysuim. Unless you think every man, woman, and child deserves to have their own mortar."

Sy continued looking out the window as he said, “Capone doesn’t need any help from our kind to be any more of a threat, but him getting help wouldn’t be pleasant.” He pauses and looks down, “Though I think trying to treat these newcomers as recruits for our side isn’t likely to do us any favors. It isn’t their war to fight. Capone hasn’t done anything to them. If we go in with that former sort of mindset-I would not expect a welcome back.”

Sy looks back to Eito and says, “Take it from me when I say-a few well placed mortar rounds can serve as very strong incentives to re-evaluate your current life choices.”

He offers a genuine smile as he adds, “Sometimes you have to get rid of the weeds in the garden before you can plant the right seeds.”

Sy leans forward again and says, “The people aren’t ready for everyone to have a mortar...not yet, there’s too many things in their way that would lead them astray or hurt them. But one day-yes. I think they all should, so that none of them ever forget that their freedom came at a cost.”

Eito actually raised an eyebrow when the Brujah mentions that the newcomers fight is not their own. "Flick has set his sights on the vampire's of Chicago. I don't expect those in Chinatown to be very privy to what's currently going on, but they deserve to know that this will be their fight eventually. Even if we go as emissaries to the prince to gain their support and the cast us back into the streets, they still should know that will eventually threaten them."

He then adds, "Not that I expect them to do that- I think we should decide as a coterie what exactly our approach could be. I just figure Prince Bianca doesn't give two cents about them so we have some flexibility in regards to our appearance."

In a mix of speaking to himself and to Sy he continued, "And while I am not sure how handy they may be with a gun, they could still act as informants or spies. Or at the very least not side with Flick or Capone."

The brujah pursed his lips, “Go in and tell folk you’ve never met that a magical madman with a speech problem is on the loose and he’s out trying to end all vampires in Chicago-as your introduction...see how well that works in getting them to join the fight; A fight they didn’t ask for, don’t have any direct stake in, and don’t have much of a reason to take you seriously.”

He sighs, “If they haven’t introduced themselves to the prince, they obviously don’t know or care about the Camarilla political structure. If the priest we talked to was right, they are slow to warm up to outsiders. Maybe they listen to us warning them about Flick, maybe not...but that’s a far cry from getting them to pledge support to fighting for us.”

Sy shrugs again, “Not to mention, what’s to stop them from betraying us for their own selfs. Trust is a two way street. We can’t ask them to join us because even if they did, our side may see them as threats or competition...and react accordingly in times of stress”.

Sy sits up, “But of course this is a coterie decision-there’s just more to risk than it may initially seem.”

Eito gave a flat look, "Okay, maybe I am being a little too optimistic about gaining new recruits. But we certainly aren't going to win them over if we don't try. I don't expect them to lay down at the prince's feet. But they may still have some useful information yet if they don't join us all officially."

It was his turn to shrug, "Also, I didn't bring it up to Mr. Armherst because I still don't have a full gauge on him. But should they turn out to be a bit too rowdy or ill-mannered for our taste, than we may bring them up to the acting sheriff's attention and let him figure out what he wants to do with them. I just want to find out first before we let him make that call."

Sy thinks for a minute before he says, “Maybe you make the pitch and offer them a chance to join the Camarilla fight, but don’t beat around the bush about what you’re insinuating, and don’t make joining anything symbolic or conditional on anything.”

He taps his cane down gently, “Trying to be deceptive or anything like it isn’t going to make strangers like you. And trying to sway them to your cause is likely to get pushback, especially if there’s strings attached.”

Sy pauses, “Not sure about Amherst myself either. He’s got clout and a following currently, but something about him seemed shady. But keep in mind, helping the folk down in the square was at the request of the arbiter, who has some pull on the council. So if we were to feed the unaffiliated kindred to the stand in Sheriff, we risk jeopardizing one possible undecided weighted vote for an even more unknown and unpredictable vote that may have less pull....not to mention-I’m sure some of the others may be opposed to the idea anyway. I don’t think any of US are super thrilled to be involved in the war, so the idea of us pulling others in may not go over so well.”