Date:         Tue, 5 Oct 1993 16:16:33 -0230
From:         "M. J. Farrell" 
Subject:      OUTFOXED:  A successful conference and an unsuccessful one


POINT OF VIEW:  Samantha, currently also using the alias Alsatia Moore.

        While waiting for Alex, Samantha asked Gideon if she could be shown
into a quiet room, as she had to check on something.  Always the perfect
host, Gideon showed her into one of the tastefully-decorated guest bedrooms.
She sat at a beautiful antique desk and removed her smaller laptop from the
shoulder bag she carried.  She turned the machine on, reminding herself to ask
Joshua about the desk on which she placed it, and began typing.  She was
frowning at the machine in deep concentration when Mitch came to the door.  He
stopped to look at what she was doing.  Using a laptop with a modem wasn't
anything new to him, Gideon indulged Mitch's taste in the latest technology,
but THIS one was different.  There didn't seem to be any cord or line!
Samantha was obviously carrying on an electronic conversation with somebody,
because she frequently paused to wait for a response.  But WHERE was the
connection to the telephone line??

        Alex had finally shown up and Gideon asked Evan to get Samantha.
He entered the room and stopped short.  Samantha was seated at the desk
typing with great concentration on a laptop computer.  Mitch on the other
hand, for reasons Evan wasn't even GOING to think about, had crawled under
the back of the desk and appeared to be looking for something.

        Samantha noticed Evan's expression and chuckled.  "I THINK he's
looking for the modem connection...I didn't ask."

        "What..huh?  Yeah!"  Mitch stuck his head out from under the desk
and peered up at her, "It isn't connected to anything!"

        "Actually it is, dear," Samantha said patting Mitch's head like a
puppy's, "But you just can't SEE it...it's a special...uh..frequency."

        Mitch, who seemed to be enjoying the head-petting a little TOO much
for Evan's taste, was practically sitting in Samantha's lap by this time.
Evan was wondering whether to intervene when Samantha turned sweetly to him
and said, "By the way, a DEAR friend of mine asked me to say hello to you
and to tell you she'd see you at the Yule party."

        "Uh..Oh really, who?"

        The smile became even wider and sweeter.  "Jessica!"

        "Ah..uh..Jes..ah..good friend?"  Mitch straightened up abruptly.  "I
guess I'd better be..uh..getting back to my job now.  What are YOU laughing
at?"  This last comment was to Evan, who'd began chuckling.

        "Give it up, Mitchy.  They're ganging up on you.  You're
outmaneuvered!"

        "And LOVING IT!" Mitch said in his best Maxwell Smart imitation,
waggling his large eyebrows at both people and exiting behind Evan.
Samantha groaned and giggled.

        "Gideon asked me to get you, Alex is here."

        "Great!"  Samantha turned back to her computer and concluded her
conversation with a couple of quick lines.  She disconnected and sat
frowning at the machine.

        "Something wrong?"  Gideon hadn't seen the eccentric feline THIS
serious before.

        Samantha sighed, "No....nothing I can do anything about NOW,
anyway.  It would appear I've got quite an interesting situation to deal
with once I leave though..."  She trailed off, staring at the machine.  She
recovered with a start and began to pack the laptop.  "But Alex is here and
we'd better get started!"  Some of her former enthusiasm seemed to return
and she smiled as she passed Evan in the doorway. "The lady seems to be a
little more complicated than she first appears," Evan thought, wondering how
much of the apparent flakiness and michieviousness was part of her "projected
personality."  He followed her down.

        Everyone had gathered in the study.  The introductions were made and
Alex brought Samantha and Arioch up to date on the situation as it stood.
After he finished speaking, everyone was quiet.

        "Quite a mess!" Samantha said.  "I had a basic plan formulated when
I came here but I'm not sure it will work now."

        "What was it?"  Alex leaned forward.

        "Well," Samantha began, including everyone present with her gaze,
"I'd PLANNED on telling Fox that I was here to investigate the "Cliff Road
Crowd" and that I'd come up with evidence that they were trying to pull off
some kind of hoax, convincing people they were supernatural beings.  Weak,
I know, but as I said, it was just a basic plan.  In my persona as Alsatia
Moore, I'm a well-known debunker of fake "Children of the Night", both for
the public's sake and for OURS!  I WAS hoping to use this to convince Fox
that Alex was at the VERY least a fraud..no offense!"

        "None taken", Alex said with a smile.

        "BUT," Samantha continued, "it looks like it MAY have gone a bit
far for THAT!  What did YOU have in mind, Arioch?  It looks like we may
need a Plan B!"

        Arioch gave a brief description of what he'd planned, and when he
finished it was time to meet Fox at the paper.  Wishing them luck, Gideon
escorted Arioch and Samantha to the door.  After saying a temporary goodbye
to their host, Arioch turned to Samantha, "How're we going to GET there?  I
don't see a car!"

        "Well..I've created a temporary transport portal from my hotel room
near the paper to here, we can go back the same way!"  So saying, she walked
down the steps and disappeared through a blue doorway that appeared
instantaneously.  Arioch just stared after her, until she stuck her head
through again. "Coming?  It's the ONLY way to go!", she said with an impish
grin.  Arioch shrugged his shoulders and followed her.

        The meeting went as Samantha feared it might.  Samantha, having
altered her appearance slightly to appear older, was trying every
argument she knew to convince Fox that the Cliff Road Crowd were just
messing with his mind.  Fox, very charming and intelligent, was nonetheless
VERY stubborn and insisted that Ms. Moore was WRONG this time and Alex WAS a
vampire.  Samantha asked him about holy water, crosses, etc.  This DID stump
Fox, as Alex hadn't reacted to them, but he remained solidly convinced that
Alex was a vampire and that Janine was in danger from him.

        When Fox stopped to answer a phone call, Samantha turned to Arioch.
"Looks like it's time for Plan "B"!"  Arioch nodded and Samantha hit the
button that turned on her "beeper", just as Fox came back.  She excused
herself and asked to use the telephone in the other room, coming back in a
minute to tell them that something had come up and she'd have to leave.

        "But..Ms. Moore..we haven't solved anything!", Fox began.

        "Don't worry, I won't be long, and Mr. Hoffman (Arioch had told her
earlier he was using the name Kevin Hoffman) will stay and discuss the options
left open to us!"  Unseen to Fox, Samantha and Arioch exchanged a
meaningful glance as she passed him on her way out the door.
--------------------------------
Well....Fox(y)'s Arioch's headache now..I'm off to find that little
bubble-head Janine.....

Samantha, the Vampiric Cat
comments, criticisms and..of course..chocolate may be sent to:
mfarrell@admin.cabot.nf.ca
======================================================================== 216
Date:         Tue, 5 Oct 1993 19:50:51 CDT
From:         Adriel Ginsburg 
Subject:      Fluff: Outfoxed, a shocking reunion

        Greetings CotN,

        Yes another Outfoxed installment. For those who need catching
 up, Sam and Arioch have gone to try and convince Fox that the Cliff
 Road Crowd is really a hoax, but were unsuccessful. Samantha has gone
 chasing after Janine, while Arioch (aka Kevin Hoffman) stayed to work
 on Fox. POV is Arioch.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "So how long have you been working with Ms. Moore?" Fox was
 trying to make polite conversation with me.

        "Oh, not to long. She is very intelligent and obviously a very
 beautiful woman, so hopefully this is just the beginning of a long
 career with her. So what do you propose to do about the Cliff Road
 Crowd, assuming that you are right about Alex being a vampyre?"

        "I don't really know. I know that I want to get Janine as far
 away from that psychopath as possible. I know that she is in great
 danger from him and needs my help, but I don't know what to do about
 him in particular."

        "Let me ask you something Fox." My tone had grown serious. "Do
 you want a beer?"

        "Definately." Fox smiled at the line, expecting something more
 serious.

        After several beers and alot of useless babbling about wars, and
 women and football, Fox returned to his curiosity about the Cliff Road
 Crowd. Sitting up in the bar stool he asked, "What would you do about
 Alex and Janine, if you were me?"

        "Well Fox, I am not exactly sure that you have thought this
 whole thing through. How do you know that Janine is not a vampyre, or
 that Alex definately is?"

        "I know that Alex is a vampyre, that I am certain of. And I
 refuse to believe that Janine is a vampyre, she is just too..."

        "Charming, beautiful, innocent looking. Yes I know the
 affections of a beautiful woman can be so charming that one can lose
 his grasp on rational thought. But think for a moment, have you ever
 seen Janine in the daylight?"

        "Well no, but that could be coincidental."

        "You are a reporter Fox. When was the last time you believed
 something to be purely coincidental. Have you ever seen her eat?"

        "Well we went out to dinner one night, and she ate then."

        "Did she really? Or did she swallow a few painful bites and
 then claim that she wasn't feeling well and had no appetite?"

        "But she just can't be... Ok, assuming she could be a vampyre,
 then why didn't she kill me when we left the restaurant?" Fox had a
 triumphant glare when he posed this question.

        "Why didn't Alex kill you?" Fox's expression saddened in
 defeat. "Besides, didn't you tell me earlier that Alex was there when
 the two of you left the restaurant, thereby saying that you were not
 alone?"

        "Alright I can't prove that she is not a vampyre, but you
 can't prove that she is. Wait a minute, I have never seen you during
 the day, how do I know that you are not a Vampyre?"

        "Come with me I'll show you" The sun had come up by now, and
 Fox and I walked outside into the morning light. "If I had burst into
 flames then I would be a vampyre right."

        "Okay, so how do you know so much about the Cliff Road Crowd
 and Vampyres? It's obvious you're not really a lousy photographer."

        "I think you had better sit back down for this one." Fox and
 I took a seat at the bar again. "Tell me about your family."

        "Well, my father was from New York, my mother was from
 Chicago. I don't understand what you want to know."

        "I am trying to figure out a way to tell you something. But
 it is obviously not going to be very easy. You knew all of your
 grandparents except one right?"

        "Yeah, my grandfather on my mother's side died shortly after
 I was born. One of my grandmother's close friends helped to raise my
 mother in his absence, what is your point?" The subject was obviously
 a sore spot for Fox, as he was beginning to sound aggravated.

        "What I am about to tell you, very few people know. I am the
 grandfather that passed away. You are my grandson Fox."

        "You are so full of it!" Fox stood up as if to leave.

        "Sit down boy!!" I lost my temper momentarily "Let me explain
 what happened so that you can begin to understand" Fox sat back down
 and awaited an expanation. " When I was a boy in 1693, I was an
 obnoxious brat much like you were. I angered a sorcerer's apprentice,
 who in turn put a curse on me. The sorcerer attempted to lift the
 curse but could not, so instead he reversed its effects. Rather than
 aging twenty years each year, I age one year every twenty. Now, when
 I was about 20 years old or 248, whichever way you wish to look at
 it, I met a girl of extraordinary beauty. She was your grandmother,
 and we were in love. As you can probably guess she became pregnant,
 and wanted to keep her baby. Realizing that she and I and our child
 could never live a normal life with my condition, I asked my dearest
 friend to look after them. Then I faked my own death, so that no one
 would ever know my secret. It was the most difficult thing I have
 ever had to do."

        Fox stared blankly at me for a moment then finally spoke.
 "You're insane. That's what it is. You're certifiable."

        "Your mother's name was Cynthia Anne, your grandmother's was
 Samantha Nicole. She was born on August 15 1917. Your mother was
 born on October 5 1936, and you my friend were born on January 8
 1959 making you 34. I was at the hospital the day you were born. I
 saw your grandmother's funeral. Watch this and learn." I took a
 pocket knife from my backpack and cut a deep wound in my arm. I held
 my hand over it and in moments it was gone.

        Fox sat stunned, finally beginning to understand that he had
 only been exposed to one side of reality in his life, and that there
 were other sides that he needed to see. "I.... I don't know what to
 say."

        "Don't worry Fox, I know you're in shock and I understand. I
 just wanted you to see that all immortals are not nessisarily bad.
 As you suspected, Alex is a vampyre, and whether you wish to believe
 it or not, so is Janine."

        "Wait, how do you know all this?"

        "I came here because Baron Gideon Redoak asked for help from
 the other Creatures of the Night. I am not exactly a creature of the
 night myself, but it is the closest thing to my kind. I responded
 because I didn't want to see you get hurt."

        "Get hurt by who?"

        "If you tried to kill Alex, then by him or one of his kind.
 They would look upon you as a hunter, as a threat to their existence
 and would have to kill you. If you did nothing to Alex, then by your
 obsession Janine. She would kill you for the mere pleasure. She has
 become uncontrolable and intolerable. You see, the Cliff Road Crowd
 and the people of Fletcherville have an understanding of sorts. If
 no one trespasses on their land, then no harm will befall any of the
 townspeople. It has worked so far. Besides, not all of them are
 Vampyres."

        "The others are human?"

        "No, some are werewolves, or practicioners of bizarre
 religions. They all are different in one way or another, but yet
 they all live together in peace with the town and each other. Don't
 disturb that peace Fox, don't bring violence down upon the Cliff
 Road Crowd and the town."

        "You mean you want me to just let the Vampyres get away and
 not tell anyone?"

        "That is exactly what I mean. Besides, what are they getting
 away with, they aren't the brutal killers and homicidal maniacs that
 you see in B-budget movies. They are different from you, that's all.
 They don't go around raping and piledging and killing. They just
 want to live in peace. To be excepted by the town and not have to
 worry about their secrets coming to public ears. Let them be. Let
 them rest in peace."

        Fox was almost in tears from the discovery of his grandpa,
 and the nights events had really tested his nerves. "I think I'm
 going home now." He slowly rose, obviously confused, and headed for
 the door.

        "What are you going to do?" I silently prayed that I had
 made him understand.

        "I am going to sleep most of the day, and tonight I am
 going to see Janine and Alex." I started to say something but was
 immediately cut off. "To apologize to Alex for the way I have been
 acting and to tell Janine she will have to find her dinner else-
 where." I smiled.

        "You're going to be alright Fox, you'll be just fine."

        "Thanks, .... Grandpa."

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Comments, Critisism, and chocolate to ginsburg@rs6000.tcs.tulane.edu


     Arioch (Duke of Chaos)

     Ginsburg@rs6000.tcs.tulane.edu


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     ---I still search the streets of New Orleans at night,
        searching the back alleys of the French Quarter for
        the one with that most precious gift.  The gift of
        everlasting life, of eternal undeath.---
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date:         Thu, 7 Oct 1993 17:24:05 EST
From:         fraser@VAX.LIBRARY.UTORONTO.CA
Subject:      Fluff: Outfoxed: Pass the chocolate cake


Dear Kindred:  Yes, it's another Outfoxed episode, with no
particular POV.  The scene is Oakwoods, just after the departure
of Sam and Arioch:

The blue doorway vanished as soon as Samantha and Arioch had
stepped through it.  Gideon had seen this particular trick before,
but none of the others had.

"Wow!" Mitch exclaimed.  "Now *that* is a computer program!"

"I don't think Sam will let you copy it," Evan said, patting Mitch
on the head.

"Don't *do* that!" Mitch almost slugged Evan, but thought better
of it.  He might be a few inches taller, but that was the only
advantage he had over Evan, and he knew it.  Now Arioch might
be able to beat Evan in a fight...

"You didn't mind Samantha doing it," Evan teased.  "Or Jessica."

"Don't you talk about Jessica to me!" Mitch growled.

"Children," said Joshua severely, "Stop it.  Why don't we have
some dinner -- those of us who are interested -- and wait for
our guests to return and report?  Alex, will you stay and keep us
company?"

"Gladly," the tall vampire smiled.  "Since my other option is
to go home and have Janine glare at me."  He noticed the total
lack of sympathy this statement invoked.

"Come and join us," Gideon said to him.  "There's some excellent
wine to drown your sorrows, and you may sit on Mitch if he
misbehaves.  I do not know when my guests will return, so we won't
wait for them."

They were drawn into the small dining room, where all conversation
about Fox and Janine was forbidden.  When one bottle of the excellent
wine had been consumed, a second nearly depleted and dessert was on
the table, there was a faint *popping* noise near the front door.
None of the diners heard it, but Warg rose to his feet, tail wagging,
and went out to greet the electronic arrival.

Mitch noticed his pet's departure, but dessert was chocolate cake,
which held his interest even more than what Warg was up to.  More
importantly, it was chocolate cake made by Joshua, who baked from
scratch.

"Hey," a hand reached across Mitch and snagged his plate before he
could take a bit, "Is that mine?"  Samantha sat down beside Alex,
grinning at the astounded Mitch.  She wielded Mitch's fork to
good effect.  "Omigomdbiffifgmbh!"

"You're a vampire," Mitch sulked.  "Vampires don't eat chocolate
cake."

"Miff mmpire doff."  Samantha replied, then swallowed.  "Sorry.
This vampire does.  Don't you know about me?  I'm a hybrid.  I was
a shape-shifter before I was turned, and I've got both characteristics,
so I can stand some daylight and eat chocolate cake."

 Joshua cut another piece of cake for Mitch "Save a piece for
 Arioch," Josh warned.

Evan, who'd eaten his cake in about three bites even though he wasn't
in high cycle, stood up and removed the cake to the sideboard.

"I know how much is left," he warned.  "And if any goes missing, someone
is going to get thumped."  His gaze took in both Mitch and Samantha.

Gideon poured a glass of wine for Samantha, although the thought of
Chateau Lafitte with chocolate cake made him queasy.

"You came back alone?" he asked.  "I gather this does not mean success?"

"Not on my part," Samantha replied.  "So I'm off to talk to Janine, and
Arioch's telling Fox he's his grandfather."  She looked at Alex.
"Janine is at your place?"

The count nodded.  "Unless she's gone out, but I don't think she has.
Do you want me to go with you?"

"No thanks.  This will be a woman-to-woman chat."  She sipped her wine.
"Oh, that's good."

"On top of chocolate cake?" Gideon couldn't help asking.

"It was good chocolate cake, too."  She looked at Joshua.  "Grand
Marnier?"

"In liberal doses," he grinned.

"Marry me?"

"Gladly.  But what about Gideon?"

"He can come along, too."  Samantha stood up with a sigh.  "This is
fun, but I must go face Janine.  See you all later."  She was gone
again, more conventionally this time.  Since Valley Mansion was only a
mile up the Cliff Road, she'd decided to walk over.

"She's beautiful," Alex remarked.

Evan looked at him.  "Don't you think you've got quite enough
problems?"

Count Alexander Philippe Goldanias stood up, drawing himself to his
full six feet, four inches.  He turned to Evan, who looked up at
him blandly, and raised one finger in a gesture that was unworthy
of an aristocrat and a gentleman.  Then he looked at Gideon.
"Cards or pool?" he asked.

"Cards," Gideon decided, and they duly adjourned to the games room.
#############

Comments, criticisms, and pieces of chocolate cake liberally dosed
with Grand Marnier can be sent to:


  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  +                                             +
  +                                             +
  +          BARON GIDEON REDOAK                +
  +                                             +
  +   e-mail to:Fraser@vax.library.utoronto.ca  +
  +                                             +
  +#############################################+
  +                                             +
  +   "Never run from anything immortal.        +
  +    It only attracts their attention."       +
  +                                             +
  +    Peter S. Beagle, _The_Last-Unicorn_      +
  +                                             +
  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Samantha and Arioch, you're next!


Date:         Wed, 13 Oct 1993 18:39:54 EST
From:         fraser@VAX.LIBRARY.UTORONTO.CA
Subject:      fluff:Outfoxed:recap


Dear Kindred:

By special request, I give you the following recap of the adventures
in the little story I chose to call "Outfoxed":

A reporter by the name of Todd "Fox" Fletcher is wounded in Bosnia
and sent home to recover.  Now jobless, he turns to his numerous
relatives and is given a job by his Uncle Hubert in Fletcherville,
known as the family town.  Fox does not expect to find anything
unusual in a backwater fishing village/tourist trap, but strange
things about Fletcherville come to light.

There is a private road outside of town known as the Cliff Road.
The denizens of this road (and two people who live in town but
hang out with the others) have come to be called the Cliff Road
Crowd.  Fox is told to leave them alone -- don't interview them,.
harrass them, or try to take a photograph of any of them.

He attends the Hallowe'en party in town and meets several of the
Cliff Road Crowd:  Evan Jones, Mitch Pritchard, Alex and Janine
Goldanias.  He falls instantly for Janine, who is quite beautiful
and charming, and takes an equally instant dislike to the tall,
handsome Alex... whom he learns is called the Count.

He begins to pry into the Goldanias family history, looking up
their records, etc.  His aunt tells him that black bats pester
the town at night, and Fox becomes convinced that Alex is a vampire
and that Janine is in danger from him.  Alex confronts him in the
bar, and asks him to stop his investigation.  Fox whips out a
crucifix, but Alex's only reaction is to laugh.

Fox asks Janine out for a date, and Alex follows them and warns
Fox off.  Baron Gideon Redoak, learning of the situation from
Alex, asks Vampyres@guvm.bitnet for help.  Samantha the Vampiric
Cat and Arioch, the Duke of Chaos offer their assistance.
In her guise of a reporter who exposes fake children, Samantha
hopes to convince Fox that Alex is only pretending to be a vampire,
but she is unsuccessful.  Arioch reveals to Fox that he is Fox's
own grandfather, and convinces Fox to leave the Cliff Road Crowd
(aka the Brotherhood of Darkness) alone.

At this point, Samantha has gone off to have a talk with Janine,
Arioch has not yet returned to Oakwoods, and Mitch is hungrily
eyeing the leftover chocolate cake.  Everyone caught up?


  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  +                                             +
  +                                             +
  +          BARON GIDEON REDOAK                +
  +                                             +
  +   e-mail to:Fraser@vax.library.utoronto.ca  +
  +                                             +
  +#############################################+
  +                                             +
  +   "Never run from anything immortal.        +
  +    It only attracts their attention."       +
  +                                             +
  +    Peter S. Beagle, _The_Last-Unicorn_      +
  +                                             +
  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
======================================================================== 93
Date:         Wed, 13 Oct 1993 17:19:53 CDT
From:         Adriel Ginsburg 
Subject:      Fluff: Outfoxed


        Greetings CotN,

        This takes place after Fox and Arioch's conversation and just
after Samantha's exit to deal with the everly troublesome Janine. All
complaints can be sent to me. POV- Arioch

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Oh no. I am not going through there." Samantha had showed me
 how to return to Oakwoods through the portal, but I was not exactly big
 on the idea of stepping into a blue door which came from nowhere.

        I stopped at a library, looking for a map of the area. Scanning
 the map of Fletcherville and the surrounding are, I found the Cliff
 Road about 15 miles north of Fletcherville. "No prob, it's only 10:15,
 I can be there by noon."

        "New in town?" The voice startled me but I tried not to jump.

        "Yes I am." I turned to face a woman in her mid-thirties, who
 seemed very puzzled about the stranger she faced. I was positive I
 smelled of Jack Daniels, but I tried to hide it the best I could. "My
 name is Darian, Darian Fletcher."

        "Ah another Fletcher are you?"

        "Yes mam. I am on my way to New York from North Carolina and
 I thought that I would pass through Fletcherville and see some of the
 sights. It appears to be a lovely town, but I am afraid I have been
 walking all night. My car broke down about 10 miles south of town and
 I had to walk into town to find a phone."

        "Oh you poor dear. Do you need to use the phone still?"

        "No thank you, I used the phone in the local pub. Tell me, I
 see this large population block that represents Fletcherville, and I
 also see this block about 15 miles north, what town is that?"

        Her voice deepened, "That's the Cliff Road Crowd. You don't
 want to go up there. They are not friendly to visitors."

        "Well then I should be sure to stay away from there. What was
 you're name madam?"

        "I am Anne. Anne Fraser. It is very nice to meet you."

        "Likewise. I am afraid however that I must be going. I don't
 want to leave my car there on the road for too long."

        After reaching the outskirts of town I began to jog faster,
 realizing that I had spent 20 minutes talking to Miss Fraser about
 the town and its history. About 11:45 I hit the beginning of the
 off-limits part of the Cliff Road, and was met by man in a car who
 was coming from the town.

        "Where you headed?"

        "Oakwoods." The man looked to be a delivery man of some sort,
 probably the only one from the town allowed on the Cliff Road.

        "Me too. Hop in I'll give you a lift." On the way to Oakwoods
 I paid the man for the pizzas, and he dropped me off at the beginning
 of the driveway.

        "Now that's what I call a perfect guest!" Mitch exclaimed, as
 he opened the door seeing me with the pizzas.

        "I don't know about you but I am starved, let's eat."

        Going inside, Mitch, Joshua, Evan and I sat at the dining
 table, the four of us munching on pizza, and me trying to explain the
 concept of American Football to the three. We ended up on a disscussion
 of the World Cup, and after eating I was ready for a little nap. Josh,
 who understood football but didn't like it much, had prepared a room
 for me to sleep in.

        "I don't mean to be rude, but I am kinda tired. I haven't
 slept in about a week, since I came here straight from a party. Will
 whomever is awake when the Baron awakes please wake me at least ten
 minutes before he awakes? I need to speak to him as soon as he arises."

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date:         Tue, 19 Oct 1993 09:03:39 -0230
From:         "M. J. Farrell" 
Subject:      FLUFF:  OUTFOXED:  Girl Talk...or a vamp-to-vamp chat


This was MEANT to be posted yesterday, but my mailer was coughing up an
e-hair ball and was in a bad mood.  This takes place BEFORE Arioch's last
episode, while he's still talking to Fox.
...........................

LOCATION:  Alex's house.

        It was shortly after three and Janine was ticked off!  Alexander
had had the NERVE to confine her to the house!  How DARE he?  What did he
think she was, a baby?  Plus, and this REALLY riled her, he'd forbidden,
FORBIDDEN he said, for her to even see Fox Fletcher again!  The more she
paced the living room, the angrier and more defiant she became.  Then...THEN!
..he goes off to Oakwoods and leaves her here alone!  He was
always leaving her!  Why was WRONG with him?  Didn't he CARE about her
anymore?  She'd show him!  She snatched up her coat defiantly and opened
the front door.  She was half-way out through when she remembered she'd
left her purse on the table on the living room.  She went in to get it,
leaving the front door open, and when she returned there was a small, black
cat sitting on the front stoop watching her with large, flourescent green
eyes.  The sight of the animal brought Janine up short.

        "Well, kitty," she said, half amused and half sarcastically, "Come
on in and make yourself at home."

        **Gee, thanks, don't mind if I do!**

        Janine's jaw dropped open, as the animal sauntered past her and
into the living room.  Either she was losing her mind or--

        **Don't worry, Janine, you're not losing it.  Come on in and sit
down for a minute..and don't forget to close the front door, dear.**

        Janine realized she was still standing with her hand on the knob.
She was so surprised she did as she was told, closing the door and
re-entering the living room, to discover the cat sitting upright in a chair
by the window.  In the blink of an eye, the image of the cat was replaced
with that of a young woman with reddish-brown hair and incredibly large
grey-green eyes.

        "Ok..Ok..I've finally cracked.  Alex and the others have FINALLY
driven me over the edge.  I'm hallucinating!"

        "Sit DOWN, dear.  We're not going to get ANYWHERE if you faint on
me!"  She waited until the younger woman had taken a seat on the end of the
couch.  "My name is Samantha, and I'm a member of the Kindred--"

        "You're a friend of Alex's!", Janine said accusingly.

        "I just MET Alex today, honey, and to tell you the truth I can't
say I was devastatingly IMPRESSED!"

        "But..uh..what..What do you MEAN you weren't impressed!", Janine
said angrily, "Alex is a WONDERFUL person, how could you say..." Janine
trailed off as she realized she was defending the person who, less than a
minute ago, she wanted to bodily harm.  Samantha said nothing, but raised one
eyebrow meaningfully and waited until Janine had finished.

        "OOOh," Samantha said, "It's like THAT is it?"  Before Janine could
answer, Samantha went on.  "Listen, dear, I think I've pretty much gotten
the lay of the land here, so to speak, so just stop me if I'm wrong."

        "You are orphaned.  You magically discover one day you have a rich
and powerful distant cousin that, miracle of miracles, wants to take you
in.  He wisks you away to a beautiful house, with rich surroundings, fancy
cars, buys you beautiful clothes, etc. etc., basically Cinderally 1990's,
right?"  Janine nodded, completely dumbfounded.  Who WAS this woman, how
did she know so much about her, and...strangest of all..why was she
beginning to like her?

        "Time progresses and you come to the conclusion that you're in love
with him--"

        "I ...uh-I WAS in love with him!"

        "You were in love with what you SAW, dear. NO!  Don't interrupt,
let me finish.  You thought you were in love with him.  Somehow, and this
was one of the things that didn't greatly impress me about your beloved,
within a YEAR of you coming into his house, you discovered that he was a
vampire.  Why didn't you freak out?"

        "Uh..um..," Janine shook her head confusingly, this lady definitely
had a way of unnerving you.  "I guess I thought about it for a while and
decided that, since he obviously wasn't some sort of bloodsucking Bela
Lugosi type....Well, he still WAS Alex, wasn't he?"

        "The girl shows rudimentary signs of intelligence!  I'm impressed!
We might actually be making progress here!  So you decided you loved him
anyway, and that you wanted to be what he was.  You tell him this and he
weirds out on you, yes?"

        "Yes..he denied everything, and said I had no idea what I was
talking about..I KNEW..uh.."

        "Samantha."

        "Samantha...I KNEW he was a vampire!"

        "That's another question I was meaning to ask you, Janine.  HOW?"

        "I..uh..thought he was seeing somebody.  I guess I got jealous, so
I waited up for him one night.  It was really windy and a tree had blown
across the road.  I saw him stop the car, get out and lift it out of the
way..with ONE hand!"

        Samantha rolled her eyes. "Outstanding judgement your beloved has,
dear.  What then?"

        "Well..I never really noticed before, but he never ate!  I watched
him and discovered a small room off this room here."  Janine got up and
moved a book on the bookcase against the wall.  Part of the case swung
outward.

        "Jeez, THAT'S original!"  Samantha stuck her head in and saw what
she expected, a selection of wine bottles of "special" vintages.  "Janine,
I've gotta say, Alex isn't the most circumspect vampire in the world!"

        For the first time in the conversation, Janine smiled, slightly.
"He really WAS careful, you know.  I was just really..uh.."

        "Persistant?"

        "Yeah.  It was easy to find out once I knew what I was looking for.
But he STILL denied it!  I finally decided that I wanted him to turn me, no
matter what, so I...uh."

        "Jumped into his bed and seduced him into turning you?"

        Janine had the good graces to look look sheepish.  They were both
sitting on the couch by this time.  Samantha reached over and patted
Janine's hand. "From what I've seen of him, honey, I expect that wasn't too
difficult either."  Samantha remembered the way Alex had looked her up and
down when he thought she couldn't see him. "Your beloved doesn't seem to
have a keen sense of judgement when it comes to the fairer sex, does he?"

        "He's NOT my BELOVED!  He doesn't love me!  He doesn't even CARE
about me!  All he does is ignore me lately.  Either that or yell at me
for--"

        "Fooling around with Fox Fletcher", Samantha finished.

        "How did you--who ARE you, anyway?"

        "I TOLD you, Janine.  My name is Samantha, I am, as you know, a
shapeshifter.  Actually I'm a vampiric shapeshifter leaning towards the
feline species, but that's a bit of a long story.  Maybe I'll tell it to you
someday.  But my colourful history isn't what I've come to talk to you about.
I'm an old friend of Gideon's..Baron Redoak's.  We're...ah..kinda cousins
ourselves in a strange way.  He asked for help in solving this situation
between you, Alex and Fox.  I've come to help--"

        "You've come to help Alex!", Janine cried angrily, "You're on HIS
side!"

        "I've come to HELP!  Period!  And actually, from what I've seen so
far, I THINK I'm on YOUR side."

        "You are?"  Samantha had once again dumbfounded Janine.

        "It surprises even me!", Samantha said dryly, "I suspect, dear,
that circumstances have given you the short end of the stake..uh..stick.
Let me make a telephone call.  Is there a telephone in the kitchen?"
Janine nodded.

        Janine watched the woman stand up and move fluidly into the other
room.  A vampiric shapeshifter?  She'd never heard of it, then
again, she was pretty new to all this....and Alex hadn't told her much.

        Once out of Janine's fledgling vampiric hearing, Samantha dialed a
number.

        "Mitchy dear, it's Sammie.  Is the boss around?"

        Pause.

        "Gideon, I think we've tracked down the root of the problem.
It seems to be a combination of unrequited love..yeek, I agree..and spite.
Janine's completely POTTY about Alex (Sanites KNOW why, she said under her
breath) and is doing this to get back at him, or get his attention.  Seems
when he turned her and you guys gave him a hard time for it, he decided the
best thing to do would be to ignore the ENTIRE situation..including Janine.
The girl's barely TRAINED, Gideon!  He hasn't showed her ANYTHING!  It's a
bit hard to fault her when she really DOESN'T know any better!"

        Samantha listened.  "Yes....Yes..I know.  I'm not saying it's ALL
Alex's fault, mind you, Janine seems like a handful.  So what we have here
is a fledgling vampire MADLY in love with her master, and a master who
doesn't want to be one and maybe wishes she would just go away, correct?  I
think it's about time the two of THEM worked things out.  You talking to
Alex and me talking to Janine has done all the good it's going to do!
Yes...Yes...Either way she's going to need training and if Alex's is unable
or unwilling to provide it...yes, I agree.  So you'll send him back here?
Good.  I'll tell her.  Have you heard back from Arioch? ....Ok..I'll meet
you there."  Samantha hung up and returned to Janine.

        "Alex is on his way back.  NO WAIT!  Sit down and listen.  If I
know Gideon right, he's currently reading the vampiric form of the riot act
to Alex.  I can't say I approve of his behaviour towards you, but I can't
say that I'm too thrilled about YOURS either!"

        Janine thought about this for a moment and nodded her head
reluctantly.  She really HADN'T meant to cause SO much trouble, she'd just
wanted to get Alex to do SOMETHING.

        "Ok...Now when a suitable chastised Alex shows up here in a little
while, you two are going to have a nice long talk and work things out!  If
you should decide not to stay here and have Alex as your master, I'm sure
the Baron will make arrangements to have you..uh..educated somewhere else.
Meanwhile..I'm off!"

        "You're going??"  Janine had rather gotten used to Samantha's
amusingly dry manner.  She realized with a twinge that she was the first
vampire to actually treat her as an equal.

        Samantha sensed some of what Janine was feeling. "Don't worry, lost
lamb," she said, reaching down and patting her hand again, "I've got a good
feeling things will work out!  I'm on my way back to Oakwoods, I'll
probably see you before I leave, and I'm sure we'll meet again at the Yule
party!"

        In a blink the woman was gone and the cat reappeared.

        **Don't worry** the feline said with a mischievious wink and popped
out the open hall window.
....................................

Ok Gideon, Alex is all yours.  Sammie's trotting back, with a quick detour,
to arm wrestle Mitch for the last of the chocolate cake! :)

Samantha, the Vampiric Cat
mfarrell@admin.cabot.nf.ca


Date:         Wed, 20 Oct 1993 13:31:40 EST
From:         fraser@VAX.LIBRARY.UTORONTO.CA
Subject:      fluff:  Outfo xed:  a two-parter to tie things together


Dear Kindred:  here's a two-part episode of Outfoxed to tie up a couple
of plot lines:
#####
Part one:  Takes place in Oakwoods, immediately after Samantha's phone
call.  POV:  Alex.

Gideon came back down to the games room after being called to the phone,
and came up to me.

"Alexander," he said, "I wonder if we might speak privately?"

I had the feeling I was about to get that lecture I'd been spared
earlier.  But I followed Gideon up to his study, anyway, and let him lay
down the law on te proper care and maintennce of fledglings.

Something he said in the middle of ticking me off for neglecting Janine
sak in, and I rased my head.

"Wait a minute," I asked him, "What was that you just said?"

"You should be training her in the use of her powers, not the abuse of
them," Gideon replied.

"No, before that."

"She's in love with you."  He steepled his fingers.  "God knows why."

"She's not in love with me," I protested.  "She hates me.  She mentions
the fact at least once a night."

"Possibly because you have been neglecting her?" Gideon suggested.

"If I have, it's because the Brotherhood hasn't let up on me about
changing her!"

He looked taken aback.  "I hadn't considered that aspect," he admitted.
"Perhaps we have been at least partially at fault.  I will speak to the
others.  I apologize on my part."

"I just hope everyone doesn't hound you when you Turn Joshua."

"That is an entirely different situation, as well you know.  Look to
your own love life, Alexander.  Go home to Janine and try to mend things
with her.  If you find you cannot tolerate being her master, other
arrangements will be made.  But at least make the attempt."

"Thanks, Gideon.  And thank Samantha for me, will you?  I'll be in
touch."

And with that I went home to Valley Mansion... and Janine.

She looked up at me.  She really _was_ beautiful.

"I hope the baron laid into you," she said.  "Because Samantha let me
have it."

"I'm glad he didn't pick up some of his master's habits," I replied,
"Because if had, I'd be wearing welts right now."

"Serve you right," she sniffed.

"Yes, it would."  When she looked up, surprised, I said, "I've been
acting just as badly as you have.  Worse, perhaps, because I knew
better."  I kissed her then.  "Forgive me, Jenny."

She hung back for a moment, then returned my embrace.  "Oh, Alex!"
she sobbed.

"We've got a lot of work to do," I told her.  "And we're going to need
help.  But I think we're going to be okay..."
####################

Part two:  Takes place in Oakwoods, the evening of the day of
Arioch's return (if that makes sense...)
3rd person POV

Gideon woke that evening with a sense that at least one part of
the problem troubling the Brotherhood was solved.  Janine had been
set straight by Samantha and she and Alex were working on improving
their relationship.  One worry out of the way.

Now, for the other worry.  Arioch had not returned before dawn, and
Gideon wondered how he had fared.  Had Fletcher believed him?

"Ah, you're up," said a familiar -- and welcome -- voice.

He turned to kiss Joshua.  "Just barely," he smiled.  "Anything
happen today that I should know about?"

"Arioch came back.  He wants to see you right away."

"Presumably after I've had my bath and gotten dressed?  I doubt if
he wants to have a conversation with an unwashed vampire in pajamas."

"Your bath is waiting for you, oh master.  And if you're really nice,
I'll get some clothes out for you."

"What service," Gideon quipped on the way to the bathroom.

"Don't expect this every night," Joshua called after him.

Grinning, Josh got out a sweater and slacks for Gideon -- he was
slowly winning the battle against the baron's habit of wearing
business suits around the house -- and went down the hall.

"Hey, handsome," Samantha emerged from her room on time to spot
him.  "Is there any cake left?"

"Is that all you can think about?" Josh teased her.

"No, but it's one of the essentials of life.  Chocolate is one of
the four major food groups, you know."

"No, I didn't know that.  There's  cake left, only one piece and
I'm saving it for Arioch, but I madeyou some brownies.  They're in
the kitchen if you can rescue them from Mitch."

"Say no more!  Is Gideon up yet?"

"Just.  He's in the tub.  Arioch wants to see him as soon as he's
dressed."

Samantha nodded.  "I'll talk to him later, then.  Brownies, eh?
You're a prince."  She took off down the stairs.

Shaking his head, but grinning broadly, Joshua knocked on the door
of Arioch's room.  Getting a sleepy response of "Yeah?", he opened
the door wide enough to step just inside.

"Sorry to wake you," Josh said, "But Gideon's just risen.  He'll meet
you in his study in about ten minutes."

"Thanks, Josh," Arioch said.

"You're welcome.  There's one piece of cake left for you in the fridge,
but you might have to fight off Samantha and Mitch for it."
Joshua withdrew and went downstairs to monitor the brownie situation.

######

Comments, complaints, and brownies may be sent to:


  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  +                                             +
  +                                             +
  +          BARON GIDEON REDOAK                +
  +                                             +
  +   e-mail to:Fraser@vax.library.utoronto.ca  +
  +                                             +
  +#############################################+
  +                                             +
  +   "Never run from anything immortal.        +
  +    It only attracts their attention."       +
  +                                             +
  +    Peter S. Beagle, _The_Last-Unicorn_      +
  +                                             +
  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Date:         Fri, 22 Oct 1993 16:48:55 CDT
From:         Adriel Ginsburg 
Subject:      Fluff: Outfoxed, the chase


    Greetings CotN,

    Perhaps the most important episode of Outfoxed to date, the
Race for the Chocolate cake!!!! POV- Arioch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>"You're welcome.  There's chocolate cake left for you in the fridge,
>but you might have to fight off Samantha and Mitch for it."
>Joshua withdrew and went downstairs to monitor the brownie situation.

    With that last phrase I sprang from my bed. "Chocolate Cake!!!"
Flying through the door I saw Sam down the hall. Her eyes met mine
and without a word we both knew that the race was on. It became only
more complicated when Mitch emerged from another room as Sam and I
began to sprint down the hall. He immediately took off after me, and
in front of Sam. Still sprinting and going much faster than Mitch,
Samantha shifted into her cat form and ran past him. Now dead even,
Samanthat and I reached the top of the stairs. Unfortunately for
him, Joshua was standing on the stairs coming up to check on Gideon.
He saw the three of us and didn't even need to ask. He tried to get
to one side of the steps as we approached.

    "What wonderful guests we have." He said as Samantha ran down
the railing to the steps and Mitch tried to run Joshua over. Knowing
that I needed to get ahead of Sam somehow I just hopped over the
railing at the top of the stairs, landing at one landing, and
hopping down to the next one. As we reached the bottom of the stairs
with Samantha and I running neck in neck, and Mitch not far behind,
we flew down the hallway and turned right towards the kitchen.

    Samantha, Mitch, and I, now dead even, hit the kitchen only to
find Evan standing there. Evan, who like all other heterosexual
members of the house had taken a liking to Samantha in a way
different than that of Gideon and Joshua, murmured the appropriate
line to describe the situation.

    "There can be only one." He said as he blocked the path between
the kitchen counter and the wall. Knowing that the only way to the
refrigerator was past the counter, Mitch tried the run-straight-at-
Evan-and-pray-he-moved method, only to knock himself down as Evan
waited for me to try and pass him. Knowing that even if I could get
past Evan it would slow me down too much, I found myself hurdling
the kitchen counter, bypassing Evan's blockade. Samantha, who had
simply run between Evan's legs, reached the refrigerator just as I
did. However, due to the split second it took her to change back
to a woman, she was too late. The cake was mine.

    Samantha turned to me with those deep green,grey eyes of hers
and gave me a look like a girl who had been stood up for her senior
prom. Over all the years that I had lived the only thing I was
never able to overcome was the powerful of an incredibly beautiful
woman. I gave in, just as Samantha knew I would. But not completely
oblivous to the fact that it was chocolate cake on the line, I only
gave her some of the cake.

    "What about me?" Mitch was still on the ground, probably too
depressed to rise.

    "Sorry Mitch, but you just aren't as beautiful as Samantha is."

    "Thanks alot Arioch, but you're right." Mitch had to throw that
in, hoping to flatter Sam.

    "Unbelieveable. The lengths some people will go for a some good
chocolate cake." We all looked up in surprise to find the Baron
standing in the doorway, obviously hearing our commotion. You wanted
to speak to me Arioch? Or would you rather it be in private?"

    "No, actually everyone should hear this. I don't think Fox will
be a problem any longer. In fact I think that you should inform
Mr. Goldanias that he will be getting a visit from Fox this evening
to apologize for his behaviour."

    "Apparently you two had quite a conversation."

    "Yes we did. I told him all about myself and Samantha and the
Cliff Road Crowd. He knows about the majority of what is going on,
and he can accept it."

    "I was afraid that you had had some problems with him when you
didn't return before dawn."

    "Actually I just wanted to prove to him that I was not a
vampyre. It's a long story, but the important thing is that we
came to an understanding."

    "Does he know of your.... relationship?"

    "Yes he does. And I must say, it was good to see my grandson
again." With that I left to go outside and stare at the night. I
needed to think about alot of things, something that I really
didn't want to do.


    Source: geocities.com/g_redoak