Henrietta

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Concept

Nature: Survivor

Demeanor: Caregiver

Concept: The Grunch

Clan: Nosferatu

Generation: 11th

Sire: Grammaw

Attributes

Physical

Str: 2

Dex: 2

Sta: 2

Social

Cha: 4 - specialty Innocence

Man: 3

App: X

Mental

Per: 4 - specialty Uncanny Instincts

Int: 2

Wits: 4 - specialty Quick Thinking

Abilities

Talents

Alertness: 3

Athletics: 1

Awareness: 2

Brawl: X

Empathy: 3

Expression: X

Intimidation: 1

Leadership: X

Streetwise: 1

Subterfuge: 1

Skills

Animal Ken: 2

Crafts: 1

Drive: X

Etiquette: 1

Firearms: 1

Larceny: 2

Melee: 1

Performance: X

Stealth: 2

Survival: 1

Knowledges

Academics: X

Computer: X

Finance: X

Investigation: 2

Law: 1

Medicine: 1

Occult: 1

Politics: X

Science: X

Technology: 3

Advantages

Disciplines

Animalism: 1

Obsfucate: 3

Potence: X

Backgrounds

Allies: 2 (Fellow Broodmates; most older than her though same gen. Out of towners so they are reticent to interfere too much.)

Contacts: 1 (mortal family)

Generation: 2

Mentor: 1 ( Grammaw: hasn't left her trailer in almost 50 years...doesn't know much about the world outside.)

Virtues

Conscience: 3

Self-Control: 4

Courage: 4

Other Traits

Humanity: 7

Willpower: 8

Flaws

Short: 1-pt

Experience

8

Appearance

Before her transformation Henrietta was a stocky, plain-looking black girl with achondroplasia, she had a ready smile and a kind demeanour despite her harsh surrounds. Henrietta has small horn like growths jutting from her head and a sharp pinched long face, her nose is wide and there is little separation between it and her upper lip giving her a muzzle like appearance from certain angles. Her skin is leathery, almost scaly and coloured black-gray. Cartilaginous spinal 'quills' run down her back to a naked tail. her feet have two thick clawed toes and her fingers are stubby with spade like claws.

Background

La Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans) was founded August 25, 1718 by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of France at the time; his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris (1763) and remained under Spanish control until 1801, when it reverted to French control. Most of the surviving architecture of the Vieux Carré (French Quarter) dates from this Spanish period. Napoleon sold the territory to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, and Creole French. Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The earliest reports of The Grunch are said by locals to date to this period.

As a principal port, New Orleans had the major role of any city during the antebellum era in the slave trade. Its port handled huge quantities of goods for export from the interior and import from other countries to be traded up the Mississippi River. The river was filled with steamboats, flatboats and sailing ships. At the same time, it had the most prosperous community of free persons of color in the South. Many old stories from people who's family were around at the time have passed many oral traditions down concerning the Grunch. Legend has it that the Grunch dates back to the days of New Orlean's early settlement and that its name Grunch comes from the name of a road.

The Grunch has been called The Vampire of Farbourgh Marigny, and Bywater area dating back to the early 1800's.

An old story says Marie Laveau Castrated the Devil Baby when he was born. Because she wanted him to produce no more of his evil kind. The two bloody testicles fell to the floor as she used a very sharp hoodoo voodoo blade. Immediately they turned into a male and female grunch, who it is said actually attacked the great Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. The grunch are said to have almost killed her with their fierce bites and punching. The dark evil terror the old Voodoo Queen must have been unbearable as she struggled under their great strength before she fainted. When she awoke the Grunch and the Devil Baby were gone. Laveau was near death after this and many have said this is when Marie Laveau gave up her Voodoo ways and went back to being a good Catholic woman.

New Orleans Grunch have many strange reported powers. The most common description of The New Orleans Grunch is a goat-like being, appearing to have leathery or scaly black-gray skin and sharp spines, Long horns or quills running down its back. This creature stands approximately 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) high. They are also said to seem more intelligent and have human like skills, able to open doors, use tools similar to how a monkey or primate would.

It is said to howl like wolf, scream like a banshee or bellow and screech like an ape when alarmed, as well as leave a strong stench. Many reports note that the chupacabra's eyes glow an unusual red- orange or blue green. Some witnesses have reported seeing bat-like wings and a tail. Or long fur and goat like markings in grey on a black silky coat.

The grunch is said to drain all of the animal's blood (and sometimes organs) through a single hole not two holes.

The "Real Grunch Road" was located in a remote part of Eastern New Orleans near the community of Little Woods. Most people only encountered Grunch Road by accident. A dead end of scant shells and sand, sheltered by overgrown woods and great tall water Oaks, it led off into the ferny darkness off the major two-lane highway of Hayne Boulevard. From ghastly goat people, and several ghost of who knows what. Stories of floating lights and strange cries in the night continue to this day. Many recent photos of a creature have surfaced over the years, And this the legend of Grunch Road continues to this very day.

Although evidence for the Grunch road being haunted by these beast is anecdotal, it is interesting to find an old tale that has its reflections in a more recent sighting. A Harvey, Louisiana lady said she saw one eating one of her neighbors dogs. Also Sanitation workers tell of seeing them raid the garbage cans or chase the garbage trucks along the New Orleans East Haynes blvd and Grunch Road area.

Lakeview residents nowadays tell of how they no longer leave their pets in the yard since Hurricane Katrina, because so many Grunch were displaced into the neighborhood. In my Harvey, Louisiana, many people tell of seeing them knocking over trash cans and chasing cats to devour their blood. At first people thought they were mangy or rabid hairless raccoons.

Henrietta was raised in a caravan up on blocks in the scrub near Little Wood, the full statured folks in her family usually worked as groundsmen and the like and those like her got work during carnivale or at sideshows or when TV shows needed some little people. They had lost almost half the family in Katrina and the reduced numbers meant even less food was coming in than normal.

Grammaw had 'chased off' two of her cousins for bringing meth into the community.....well Ma had said she chased them off. the fact that half of one of them turned up in the river was probably a coincidence.

Anyways she had been a good girl, kept herself clean, said her prayers and tried not to hate folks who yelled abuse at her and threw things from their cars. She tended the goats and brought one to Grammaws caravan each month. Grammaw didn't live alone in there, there were others in there with her. But Henrietta never saw them, it always seemed so dark in there. Darker than an old van like that should be, police used to come to the community looking for folk but once they'd seen Grammaw they never bothered the community again. But there were always new police to be introduced....

Henrietta was called to the caravan on day by her Ma who was crying so hard that tears ran down her wide cheeks.Henrietta hugged her as best she could but Mama was one of the big folk and Henrietta only came up to her wide hips.

She was ushered inside the van and she saw Grammaw sitting on her couch flanked by half a dozen shadowy forms, " hush childe..téres no need for tears. Grammaw has a job for you. You are to be going to the city, to be my ears and my eyes and my fingers and any other parts i need....can you do that for me childe?"

" I'm gonna give you a kiss, childe. Like I gave your cousin, but I'm gonna bring You back. Because your a good girl and Grammaw loves you."

" Your not pretty and soon you'll be a sight to be sure. But I'm gonna give you a charm in your bones that'll make you anyone you want to be, and make them goats yer friend, and make you strong, girl."

" All these gifts, Grammaw gonna give you. But there's a price beside your looks...the night will be yer fren' and the sun your enemy and you'll be drinkin' blood now 'stead of that coloured water."

Henrietta swallowed hard, " Yer looking to Grunch me, Grammaw?"

" Grunch be the outside word for us, childe. You'll be Nosferatu...like your father and his father and his mother...", at these words the shadows hissed and chortled and figures became visible for the first time to Henrietta.

But she didn't scream, Grammaw didn't like it when people screamed...

She stepped forward...

Two months later....

The svelte asian girl in the wet green dress reclined against the wall and wiped the red away from her mouth, she felt much better she was sick of dogs and cats and the navy boy had been the one to suggest they go somewhere more private.

She kicked him and got a soft moan, not dead...probably for the best.

As she walked back onto the street her tiny perfect feet left footprints behind her in the soft mud.......wide footprints, two thick clawed toes on stump like feet....