Location, fictional:

Jalaha's Fruit Island Paradise Blendies

Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai. metro exit - Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall

"Ahh, there you are. The two-story aquarium is hypnotic, isn't it? Here, a blendy. Drink."
"Heh, thanks. You caught me. Well time to mimic the kine around --" sips, eyes grow large, looks down in shock, then half close in ecstasy, resume shock and turns with incredulous seriousness to the purveyor.
Facing the massive aquarium instead, "Doesn't seem to be too much a struggle to drink. Special tomato blend on the secret menu. Proprietary anti-coagulant technology."
The newcomer finishes a big sip and replies,"OK, but cinnamon? And..." smacks lips in attempt to place flavor.
"Cardamon, clove, and refined date sugar. We're thinking of competing against sugarcane and beets for a future, long-term industry. Don't worry about upset stomach, though, it's just a bit of spices. You'll get used to it," as his host starts to amble towards one of the mall's many food courts.

WoD

Halal meat processing is stringent in its religious duties, and similarly related to the efforts that go in Kosher. One major part of that process is the draining of the animal's blood and disposing of it, as it is haram (forbidden) to eat for it is unclean. However, Ashirra have had to accommodate theology to their nature, noting that since Allah knows all surely making Cainite nature drink blood was also part of His Design.

The end result is a convenience of complimentary feeding habits. Excess animal blood, though not as refreshing as human, ends up being plentiful. Thus an entrepreneurial masking of a low grade blood trade as fruit smoothies. Tomato, red pepper, berries, carrots, any menu excuse really, ends up with its own secret codes for which actually ends up with lamb and goats blood.

But this still requires clean settings separate from other food preparation -- and intricate Ashirra sect speak to humans and ghouls in the know -- so as to not defile an unknowing human of the community. As such Ashirra don't share this knowledge readily, lest the seller goes out of business from an embarrassing blunder. But sect members do tend to have access to a 32 oz. (2 pint) spiced animal blood slushy at the right fruit stand. As the sect also prides itself in feeding restraint, it helps in a pinch to stave off hunger and subsequent loss of control.

Non-Player Character:

English male Architectural Critic, (Camarilla)

Edward Virgil Burlington
10th Generation
Toreador
Sire - unnamed, but protector of Sir Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington
1723 - Present Day

The world cycles with long sweeps of doldrums, decay, and destruction only to burst forth with creative fires once again. Edward was there in England as the Georgian and Palladian architectural and landscape revolution took place, watching as his sire took a patronly interest upon a member of peerage with actual taste. More an artist in words than form, his training among this circle left him with a burning passion to give advocacy to those championing new explorations in civic and living space.

As per the times Europe went nuts with colonial wars, though mostly mercifully distant and orderly, and the loss was mostly imperial fortifications. But soon again Europe went nuts, and this time on the continent with civil wars, and wars of republics. These great travesties assaulted his beloved nearby civic life leaving his humanity shaken. However it took 20th century Europe, which yet again went nuts with WWI and again with WWII, and its seemingly endless swaths of cities razed wholesale that made him lose it. And the brutal and soulless replacement structures, as crushing as the wars which destroyed the lives around him, breaks him beyond the Beast and into the arms of torpor.

Torpor has been a kindness for the past half century. From seeing the heights of new industrial architecture into the utter dissolution of ruins and shapeless blocks shortly thereafter, the 20th century was a blow that only time could soothe. Recently awoken and reinvested in the architectural world, he finds himself drawn to new cities with experimental architecture. Dubai is a natural stop, and after a very disenchanted past with Europe, a welcome respite. He finds these Ashirra needlessly maligned from Camarilla propaganda, as he already knows the depths of European insanity. And they have been so consistently friendly to him...

Non-Player Character:

American male Security Surveillance Consultant, informant for CIA (Camarilla)

Forrest Lee Bedford, "Gully Skipper"
12th Gen
Nosferatu
sire - unnamed, former Prince of Birmingham, AL, USA
1854 - present day

Forrest Lee waits like a hunter behind a blind to take out the enemies of his country. He sees a lot of enemies against his country, and has very specific ideas of who really comprises his USA, but to "git 'em" its all about the long wait. It's what his human folks raised him on since the War of Northern Aggression, what his sire trained him in resisting the North's precious Reconstruction, and what these sandy bastards gonna learn now that they forgot their place.

Time has been good to the tools of the watchful hunter. Surveillance gear has gotten much better, just in time as security firms have gotten cozier with intelligence agencies. The modern materiel subcontracting business has recently been a glorious liberation of paranoia, justifications, and displayed power against those who resist the natural order of things. Forrest is in his element and normally wouldn't be happier.

Except these dress-wearin' freaks don't play right. His front company gets contracts alright, set up between USA and our two-faced "allies" in this forsaken hellhole. But everything is used all bassackward and upside down. Rules of guest privacy, social custom, and other bull gets in the damn way. And who the hell can tell what they're saying anyway with their snot-swallowing speech?

And the other Westerners here aren't even worth their own black powder; the Brit is as useful as a polished turd, and that L.A. punk revels in keeping our side blind. It's like they enjoy the thought of another terrorist attack coming down the pipe. Looks like there needs to be another culling behind our lines to put things right again...

Non-Player Character:

American male Information Technologies Contractor, (Anarchs)

Rudolph Shepherd ('wolf' 'shepherd'), currently Rudy Smith
a.k.a. Moon doggie (hippie), McGruff (80s/90s drug dealer),  Dogbytes (dotcom)
12th Gen
Brujah
sire - unknown, alias "Sunshine." Yes, at a festival like Woodstock.
1948 - present day

As a child steeped in the transition from orthodoxy to counterculture, Rudolph finds that the deeper he digs into the Conspiracy, the more there is to dig. Being thrust into kindred society amid an acid haze probably didn't help matters, but definitely cemented this world view. Not that kindred sectarianism disabuses such notions of a big, oppressive, Freedom Hating machine. Rudy just decided that with his new life it was time to throw his body onto the gears in his own way throughout the years.

Lately he finds himself on the opposite side of The Man while on the opposite side of the world. His years floating amid coastal California led him to a latent talent for electronics and, through his suspicious nature against authority, their circumvention. Going legit over the years has given him a new level of money and mobility. And as such he's been quite in demand as an alternative consultant to those who don't appreciate hegemonic pressures, be they government, Western culture, or Camarilla.

So here he is in Dubai, "helping" the locals update to modern technology along Western lines. But really he enjoys the pants crapping going on among his old bullies. It gives his work fruitful purpose. Of the rare Western kindred here the artsy fartsy Brit is tolerable as he seems disenchanted and uncommitted, but that "America Fuck Yeah!" bigoted dick deserves all the tech trouble he gets.

His minor assistance in the new expansion of domains beyond Latin script (i.e. away from .gov, .com, etc), as recently approved by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), is his current pride and joy. More obfuscation by dividing the internet through language could only help break the Conspiracy's hegemony. The enemies of my enemies are my friends! At least he spent the effort to learn a bit of the language and culture, unlike some visitors he knows.

Modern Sect Relations:

Summary: The Ashirra are in an unenviable location, at the crossroads of almost all vampire sects. Between Camarilla, Sabbat, Laibon, Quincunx, and Golden Court there has been no want for threats. At one time powerful enough to be a barrier and mitigator between them, the assaults over the ages has worn them down.

But it was the colonial age which left them destitute enough to call truce with the Camarilla. Interestingly enough, the kine's Western colonialism -- which the Sabbat, and especially the Camarilla, rode into global presence -- ended up providing just the sort of uneasy friendship the Ashirra needed. The Quincunx and Laibon in particular, previously upset over Ashirra incursions, find that old devils barely known are easier to bear than these new, rapacious, blue-eyed devils.

As Europe devoured itself in the early 20th century, it has given rise to shattering the colonial hold. However post-colonial meddling has been irritatingly successful in stymying regional (and regional kindred sectarian) resurgence. Though Laibon, Ashirra, and Quincunx regularly prod each other for weaknesses, they are finding that tacit cooperation helps keep fences and good neighbors. And they all have unwanted guests that need dealing with beforehand.

Sabbat: Of the Sabbat, the betrayal of so many Lasombra in Iberia and the intransigence of the Tzimisce in Carpathia, along with their callous disregard for their own kine community, has left relations almost unredeemable. The Camarilla is vastly preferable to these monsters. All known Sabbat members are killed immediately and with extreme prejudice, the blood hunt begins upon discovery. Outside of borderlands, Sabbat are all but unknown, except by reputation, in the deep Ashirra-controlled interior.

Camarilla: Grudgingly tolerated due to truce and weakened position. However the Arabian Peninsula region is far stricter about visitations, and this is generally supported by the kine governments. Tight visa quotas and restricted region access assure control. Further, only the muslim faithful Camarilla are allowed into the area around the Keening, where Mecca radiates astonishing levels of True Faith.

The only exception is Tremere; none, not even muslim Tremere, are allowed near the peninsula, or allowed to be taught the mystical Faith rituals. Any caught trying to sneak into the peninsula, or steal such faith ritual knowledge, are treated like Sabbat monsters and destroyed on sight. Given the region's True Faith radiation, differing language and culture, and expert intelligence gathering and assassination traditions, no Tremere has succeeded - or openly admitted it. The Camarilla and Vienna has learned over the years to accept these terms.

Anarchs: Mostly too distant to have relations, they are tolerated like useful, wayward children. Naturally if their attentions work to unsettle Ashirra plans within their domain they will be silenced immediately. But overall they seem weak and all too willing to blacken the eyes of the other two Western sects. Anarch strongholds are too physically distant to see as anything else besides disorganized enemies of my enemy.

Quincunx: Terribly alien to another and with a long history of grievances on both sides, they are currently settling into an uneasy armistice. Ashirra are the kindred most intimate with kuei-jin, and vice versa. The relationship with the Golden Courts is far better, but this has been the best level of relationship these two major sects has shared in centuries. Outside of kine agitation in Xijiang, meetings are cordial albeit formal. Religion is often a subject deftly avoided.

Golden Courts: These are heavily within the purview of Ashirra domain proper. From the subcontinent of India and surrounding countries, to the immense island chain along Malaysia and Indonesia, easily half the Golden Courts overlap with Ashirra. And since it is irregularly managed by dharmic orthodoxy, with all those heretical dharmas about with near free reign, the Ashirra support for kine and civic order is often welcomed. They gleefully cooperate in slaying found Faces of the Gods, certain heretics of the Tempest of Inward Focus, and others labeled akuma. Surprisingly cozy relationship, particularly with the religious differences.

Laibon: Once a target for their own colonial ambitions, time and reversed fortunes has softened much of those attitudes. Oh, it is still there, especially with regards to religion, and bloodshed does erupt. But mutual enemies makes for strange bedfellows. The result has been a surprising tolerance of "those living in ignorance." And given the long centuries of contact and trade, old contacts and anti-colonialism has allowed robust channels between these sects to flower.

Needs more malice.