Catherine Sauvenay
- The Story of the Batards -P- Paris -P- Gangrel
Sobriquet:
Appearance: Cath appears as a 17 years-old female teen with a silhouette that could easily rival the most famous models in the world, a fascinating body with both the curves of a gorgeous, feminine woman and the feline grace and weightlessness of a teenager. But this appearance hides an athletic condition which betrays her when she walks, as her head and shoulders stay at the same height, giving her the appearance of gliding instead of pacing.
Her features are flawless. She has long, straight raven-black hair falling just under her tight, and which, despite their length, appear to flow in graceful waves with her every move, or under the caress of the wind, adding with her grace to give her a somewhat ethereal appearance. Her eyes are of a deep blue color, with purple-blue speckles turning bright purple under strong lighting, and her long, delicate eye-lashes increase the expressions of any of her glances. Under most conditions, her eyes convey both sensuality and a careful balance between true friendship and love, but sometimes, some kind of passion seems to emanate from her eyes, so intense it could frighten enemy, friend and lover alike. Her lips are naturally red, and convey a trace of sadness as she rarely smiles, and even more rarely laugh... Her skin is only slightly pale, despite her undeath, and lacks the slightest imperfection, giving her a permanent model appearance, without the need of any make-up.
Her nails are naturally blood-red, even when growing to claws (even if some already saw her with the same nails in a jet black color. She rarely walks out without make-up, as she loves to give herself the appearance of a goth teen trying to appear as a vampire of legend. As such, she rarely wears non-black clothes. But she can be seen with more conventional clothes and no make-up, giving her a virgin-like innocence and natural seduction. She favors light, peach-flavored perfumes.
She favors two styles: The first is the Goth-Punk, with heavy, dark make-up, with an artificial pallor, dark red or black lips and dark-red or jet-black nails. She wears, then, a simple lace bra, a mini-skirt and a Perfecto black leather jacket. She wears silver jewelry, including large earrings as well as a ankh necklace. Note that she calls it her war-suit, as it shows more skin than it hides... Despite the obvious effects on males (and some females), her true deadliness lies in the fact she can now kill with but a contact of her skin...
In her more normal style, she wears common, if almost always dark or grey clothes. The black MiB-like tailor is her preferred, which, combined with her natural charisma and sometimes deviant behavior, is enough to give creeps to most single-minded male. She likes to wear fashion dresses, (as always, black, or blood-red) which can make her the center of most Kine (or even some low-status Kindred) soirées. Only her closest friends will see her in common clothes, usually a black or white wool pull-over, and common or black jeans.
Those experts in Vicissitude will easily understand that, through she already was a beauty (Appearance **** before her aesthetic surgery), her appearance was increased by removing what little flaws she could have had. Her skin with uniform coloration (if not for the blood from her Baby Face Merit) and smooth texture are the greatest proofs, even if they remains subtle. Police investigating will discover her greatest change: She has no fingerprints. Experts in anatomy will also discover a slightly altered bone structure, to enhance her feminine curves to almost supernatural perfection. Last but not least, her eyes convey a maturity that contrasts with her 17 years-old teenager appearance.
Behavior: The old Cath was pleasant, easy-going, and followed great principles (7 then 6 in Humanity). She went to great length to avoid hurting innocents, and she wasn't the cruel type. She felt she was somehow superior because of her immortality, and so, learned a lot to teach the mortals their own history from a non-biased source... She felt also her life wasn't so important if it could help others, and she risked it so much some believed she had suicidal tendencies.
Being betrayed, by her Toreador friend and by the whole Kindred community, she suddenly became bitter. Her Humanity fast decreased (to 4) and she let appear another side --a dark side-- of her personality. She learned how to be devious, and her talent to intrigue awakened... Her lack of concern about her own life also changed of nature: When she could have sacrificed anything for the good of the other, she was now able to let everything down, including her own life, to make them pay for hurting her. Kindred who didn't understand this believed the weight of years was taking its toll, and she became known for her fearless and fanatic actions, tainted with madness, should she be hurt in any way.
She is instinctively perceiving the nature of her curse, and so, when she is good-natured, she usually shows signs of depression. When she is intriguing, then she hides every bit of emotions she can to replace them with fake ones. Thus she protect herself from manipulation. While she finds it horrible, she truly believes she has only two choices: Die while keeping her humanity, or survive by sacrificing it. As always, she chose a third way, combining the two: In any way the old Cath is dying. So why not using what remains to avenge her?
Now, Cath is silent and distant. Easily depressive and always melancholic, she apparently changes her mood, sometimes at random, sometimes aggressive, sometimes lustful, sometimes arrogant and sometimes moralizing. But deep within her, she's someone who still has principles despite her low Humanity, and who try to upheld them, even if it seems she forgot why she cared about them years ago (or even if she hides her good action behind selfish motives). Sometimes, she let fall the mask, and she become more like the old Catherine, full with affection and care for those who could need her help. But she tries to protect herself from those who would try to use her, and because of that, she keep her distance from all potential friends, even if she needs affection... Anyway, she tries to avoid her greatest friends as she fears for their life. Her only real friend was Juan, of the Clan Gangrel. She still ignore she's his Kindred Sister, and Juan ignores it too.
In a psychological viewpoint, Cath is a young woman who has the constant feeling that the Destiny was only making its first try. She live night by night, trying to forget. Trying to convince herself that she should disconnect Richard. And when she reaches his room, she decides not to, as if hoping he would remember nothing... That he and his wife, and his family would live happily, and that, perhaps, he would give a little of himself to the one who should have been his wife.
Cath is in a dark mood most of the time, and with the addition of her natural suicidal tendencies (Now it's easy to understand why she would give her life for others so easily...), all this make her a very dangerous enemy indeed.
Catherine's and her Frenzy changed somewhat: Evil thoughts added to the instinctive reactions she believed she controlled.
The Lupine Sylvie could have been her friend, but Cath's past phobia for the Lupines (which was caused by... Sylvie!) make her avoid them even now, in any form, and the aggressive demeanor of Sylvie doesn't help...
History: Catherine was born in Paris in 1952. Her childhood was a normal one: Go to school, and demonstrate in the Mai 68 revolution (She even went to jail for that!). Young, passionate and really beautiful, she wanted to become professional gymnast. Doing babysitting for anyone who needed her was a way to pay for her gymnastics lessons. Sometimes, being the maidservant helped...
Thinking some had too much money for their own good, she started to use her talents to cure somewhat what she called "monetary cancer"... At first, simple, little thefts without any consequences. Then cars, and little objects of great value. They never suspected that the young discreet woman was their thief. In fact, they liked to believe her name, "Sauvenay", was of noble origins. To have a maidservant or babysitter with such "blood" glorified their own petty desires of greatness.
And then, her theft became more and more daring. The young maidservant couldn't be suspected, as more than fifty people could remember well she was at their service this night...
But someone understood her little game.
One night, her last night (as she liked to promise herself she would stop after this night), she entered in the house of a rich man who had courted her. Her surprise was great indeed when a wolf attacked her.
The Embrace was first painful. She fell suddenly, blood running from her torn throat. The man smiled as she turned herself to see her aggressor, frightened beyond reason.
"If you want to live, you must use the blood I give you..." He told her as he used a claw to tear open his own wrist.
The mysterious man was David, a City Gangrel who had fled the Sabbat and had arrived in Paris twenty years ago. He wanted to test her, in a most Gangrel fashion: If she could find the willpower to use the blood, he would let her live. It took some minutes, but, as tears fell from her blue eyes, her throat started to heal. Exhausted, she fell unconscious. The Gangrel was surprised to see she was still alive. The Prince of Paris, Fran�ois Villon, would not give him another authorization to Embrace, as his first Childe, Juan, was Embraced just months ago. He wouldn't even be permitted to Ghoul her, but he didn't want to lose her. He Embraced her, and left her, laid on the grass of the garden of the house.
Catherine awakened just minutes after the sunrise, as the sunlight started to become really uncomfortable. Feeling some heavy heat on her skin, and even seeing some smoke rising from it, she didn't understood when she felt fangs in her mouth. Her heart was beating very hard, but she was dizzy from exhaustion. Feeling a thirst for something she ignored, she walked to her car when she put her foot out of the shadow of the house. It was her first encounter with the sun as a vampire, and it hurt! Victim of Rötshreck, she bounced open the door of the cellar and hid inside.
She slept a lot, well after the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon. Burnt, tired and thirsty, she walked in the first floor of the house. Her Sire was there, Obfuscated, with his senses enhanced by Auspex, telling him something was wrong. Catherine was walking to the kitchen as if she didn't eat or drink since days. And her heart was beating!
Surprised, he wondered what went wrong: She was clearly alive! She was eating anything she found, drinking cold water with the passion of someone coming out after wandering days in the desert, but she seemed not to find what she wanted, what she desired. She was hungry, and thirsty, but couldn't find what could calm down her building frenzy.
But, as she was looking a piece of raw meat with a strange fascination, he saw the right side of her face was burned. He couldn't hide his surprised and she heard him. She stared her aggressor with eyes full of anger. He fled using Celerity, congratulating himself to have used his Obfuscate to change his face features. Should she be found in Paris, they would have no mean to find the Sire of such a mongrel.
She followed him, but was surprised and easily defeated by the ex-Sabbat warrior. She awoke as he was giving her the blood of the dogs he hunt to feed his Childe. Her education was starting.
It goes on for a month, her Sire never showing her his real face, and never telling her his real name. He discovered she wasn't even Gangrel: She has strange difficulties to learn what should have been City Gangrel Disciplines, or even Gangrel ones, anyway...
He knew she could be useful to the sect of his master, but not now... She would have to learn to live by herself. She was left alone for 20 years.
1993. Using her newfound powers, she succeeded in making more money than ever. She drove now a sport car and had bought the magnificent house where she was Embraced. But her past reached for her: Alexis, a Toreador of Paris and master of a little sect of Kindred occultists, and master of David, her Sire, conjured her. Without having any choice, she was introduced with other Neonates in the second team of the Veilleurs, ready to replace the first should it be destroyed. She was surprised by the misogyny of the Elders and by the racism that they felt for her. She didn't understand, but they needed her, and she wanted to show them...
She didn't understand she was a Batarde, a Gueuse, a Caitiff and that whatever she would do, however she would succeed, she would remain one, always...
Cath was a naive Neonate. Her entrance in the world of the Kindred was stimulating, even if she was seen with disgust by others. She hoped that beings who lived since centuries would have forgotten any type of prejudices, like racial or sexual ones.
Living like in a cocoon, protected within the second team of the Veilleurs, and having a Mentor like Alexis, there was no reason for her to really understand her situation. Her natural good side was expressing totally, and so, she was able to even sacrifice her life for others. Her dark side remained in the shadows of her conscience, waiting.
One of the members of the team had the bad idea to intrigue, to increase his Status. But to do so, Catherine has to pay with her unlife... Unfortunately for him, his intrigue was of poor quality, and anyway, Cath had foreseen this kind of problems, (even if she didn't believe she would need such protection). She had the winning cards and her enemy had been ridiculed.
But he was Dominique, a Toreador, and Villon didn't want a Bâtarde to ridicule one of his Clan, even less his own ward (even if such a pitiful manipulator...) The two were condemned, and the world of Cath crumbled around her. At first, she tried sincerely to redeem herself for crimes she didn't commit. But her dark side awakened, slightly:
She understood that Villon would never clear her of this crime... And anyway, there was no crime, so there was no reason... No Justice... Why should she continue to play by their twisted rules?
To be Blood-bound to Alexis for a fault she considered insignificant caused her much pain. Because she had learned to like Spock (the surname given to Alexis by the young Veilleurs), and because she fell in love with him long before being blood-bound. But Alexis wasn't there, with her. He had just Embraced Anaïs, and the two Toreador lived together.
If Alexis wanted to cause her real pain, he wouldn't have done differently. Of course, it's not so simple, but it is easier to think it so...
The intrigue of a Ventrue, Léonard, as poor as the one of Dominique, pushed her beyond the edge. This time, nobody would ever use her. Never, anyway without paying so much this person would regret it bitterly. So she decided to become a mercenary.
She had nothing more, all her possession having been removed by the Prince, and all that remained now was the Herd she was building. She had to make a choice between her morality and her principles, and her survival. Vengeful, she decided she would survive. She was to accept the possible loss of anything she had, everything she held dear, so she started to remove herself emotionally from everything. No one would ever be able to frame her by any mean, be able to threaten her by any mean. Nothing was important but her vengeance.
This dangerous way of thinking had already appeared within the Veilleurs, as she accepted to sacrifice herself for the others. But now, she was able to sacrifice anything for herself, including to sacrifice her own unlife just to feed her thirst for vengeance. So some notoriety of her mental instability became known among the Kindred of Paris. She was, then, to be considered as a particularly unstable, impressionable and very dangerous pawn to utilize. And so, a very bad potential pawn.
She was seen only once after this: She appeared at the Soirée Villon gives for all the Kindred of Paris (each last night of the year). She made quite an impression, as she came in the company of the giant Ron Stewart, and as she and Ron had used Ron's talent with Vicissitude to make themselves more beautiful. Arnaud was clearly charmed by her (he had made a dress for her specially for this night), as were some other Kindred.
The same night, an Intrigue occurred between the Lady of the Gangrel and Villon. Cath was proposed to join the Clan Gangrel, and she accepted. But wondering at the true extent of the proposition, she asked to be taught (as any other Gangrel) the Animalism Discipline (which she cared nothing for). The Lady refused and Cath used this argument as a proof of the Lady's lack of trust, and she quite the Clan less than fifteen minutes after (Note of the player: The greatest mistake of my life... : ( ...).
Strangely, after this night, she was never seen in the company of any Parisian Camarilla Kindred (but Elle, for unknown reasons...) and was thought, for some months, to have quit Paris, to have met Final Death through suicide or to have entered Torpor.
In truth, she was let alone for two years, avoiding the Kindred. At first, life was difficult, as hunting in the far suburbs was dangerous. But she had discovered her secret power, and had started to create a new Discipline.
In the same time, she started to feel this eerie sensation of unstoppable destiny that conspired against her. That impression that, anything she would try, all was already written. This impression was confirmed when she met her ex-fiancé. This forty years old man saw her in the metro, and followed her. Cath, disturbed by her own thoughts, didn't see him. Not before he decided to do the first step.
The meeting was a shock for the two ex-lovers. Cath should have wed him years ago, before her Embrace, and instead, she had disappeared. And now he met her, in the metro, and as young as the last time he saw her. in the other hand, Richard was appearing in her life in a very critical moment, when she felt really alone. He was now married and had two children. She suffered to see him appear --with the secret hope that they could start all over-- and learn he was already married.
Richard was mature, in a sentimental viewpoint. Cath wasn't. She decided not to talk anymore to him, and walked away. Richard tried to follow her, but couldn't succeed to see through her Obfuscate.
But Richard was a danger to the Masquerade. He had seen her alive and as young as twenty years before. He could very well decide to ask the police to search for her. Cath regretted she didn't tell him she was the daughter of Catherine Sauvenay and that her mother had died some years ago... But perhaps she didn't want to...
Alexis had Blood Bounded her, and had after let her down. The time away from him disabled the Bond, and the secret hope of finding a kindred soul in her ex-fiancé was too alluring for her. She couldn't let escape this opportunity. For her own mental health, she had to take the chance...
Lying to herself, in believing she was doing it for the Masquerade, she looked after him, and his family for some nights. but, wanting more, she suddenly appeared to him in a café.
She and Richard talked a lot. Talked about anything, and nothing. He complimented her for her beauty. Her sadness only enhanced it. He talked about his own life. His wife, his children. Cath understood there was no room for her in his life. He invited her for diner in his house. She declined and as she felt she would cry soon, she stood up and walked fast far from Richard. He found her in a little, dark street not far from the café. She was sitten on the wet and dirty ground, tears of blood running on her cheeks.
Cath didn't care anymore, and told him everything. Her physical state, her unlife since 20 years, her need of comfort. Richard was more affected by the feelings he felt for her than the disgust for the supernatural side of her story. He decied to take her in his second house, far from Paris, this same night. Far from the vampires.
On the road, the state of Cath was getting worse. She understood now the scope of her mistake. Richard could not keep the secret. Prostrated on her seat, she looked her hand with morbid fascination, thinking that the same hand would have to kill Richard...
Richard was growing suspicious, and looked more and more Cath, and less and less the road, as he was starting to understand fully her nature, and the possible danger she could be for him and his family.
No one saw the truck that struck the car.
The field hospital ambulance arrived soon enough to save a young woman in her early twenties stuck in the destroyed car. The man was in a critical state. The two were taken in a Parisian hospital, under blood transfusion. The state of Richard was stabilized, but the one of Cath worsened: The mortal blood directly transfused in her arteries had provoked a system shock. She awakened just before the sunrise, and disappeared.
The next day, she came back, overwhelmed by the feeling she knew what would happen. That her destiny was working now against her. Richard win comatose, his body broken and half his face disfigured. The doctors didn't hoped he would wake, even if they had done all they could to heal him. They had called Richard's wife, telling her he had an accident with his daughter. When the police arrived, just after Cath fled from the hospital, the police and doctors reached the conclusion that Richard was in the company of his secret lover when the accident occurred. His wife saw all her life as a lie, crumbling around herself. Her pain was felt by Cath too, who realized she was the cause of it all... because of her own egoism...
It was so easy to hurt others when they were guilty. But Cath learned then it was harder to find justification of her actions in this case.
Her face badly injured by the accident made identification by the police impossible. And no one could explain her disappearance. The Masquerade had been protected. but even this feeling was somewhat hollow to Cath...
And Cath continued her nocturnal life, punctuated by some trips to the hospital, to visit the one she loved and had killed. His health was stabilized, but even then, the mental torture of the young woman continued: The wife of Richard, after a time, came back to visit him: She found she trusted blindly her husband, and she waited for him to wake, to explain her all this madness. And Catherine knew, even if it caused her much pain, that she could not let him come back to life...
Anyway, she frequently meets with Kindred of important station, like Elle, or Alexis.
She appeared once more to the Camarilla Kindred, at least as a freelance mercenary, even if she had moved to the Psaume 69, the Anarch nightclub in the Parisian suburbs. Some time after, she accompanied a Toreador Elder to the ill-famed, plagued city of Bregenz.
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