In the Rose Garden

[Thirteen]

The McKinley Park Rose Garden was a lovely venue, and looked exactly like it sounds: A park area full of rose bushes, manicured lawns, and relaxing walking trails.

Thirteen waited at the edge of the gardens, leaning against one of the entry archways, idly scrolling through her social media on her phone. She was easy to spot, with that big red afro and face full of freckles. It was a warm spring day in Sacramento, but she wore her biker get up, regardless. Blue jeans, black leather motorcycle jacket and matching boots, a black tee shirt featuring the logo for the rock band Guns n' Roses (a joking reference to her current location, perhaps?), and a long blue scarf with white stripes. Her black backpack was slung across her back.

It had been well over a year since the Acanthus had been to this park, where she'd had her introduction interview with Chambers. Now, here she was, on the opposite end of that situation, about to conduct said interview with a newcomer.

Not a fellow Enchanter, as she expected, though. No, a fellow Libertine, apparently. So be it. More Free Council in the city was a good thing. It had been a while since they had outnumbered any of the Diamond Orders.

Occasionally, she glanced up from her phone screen, checking to see if Zhu Wu had arrived yet.

[Zhu Wu]

Jason pulled up to a parking spot on the opposite side of the park from the rose garden. The helmet and gloves went into the storage on the back but the waxed cotton & Kevlar jacket and reinforced chinos would be fine. A small smile crossed his face as he thought, for at least the 100th time, whether it would be better to use shielding. But the gear was also a look he enjoyed. Besides, while he was willing to go to this meeting without any attempts at hiding from magical sight it would be bad form to show up with defenses.


He headed off through the park in the direction of the garden. The Free Council talked a good bit about flattening hierarchies. Thirteen wasn’t a potential boss per se but making a good impression was still foremost in his thoughts. Moving always brings a new social circle and Consillium politics put a strange twist on things. Perhaps even more so if Sacramento was as unusual as some in LA suggested.

The thoughts came to a quick end as he saw a red Afro that had to the Libertine, “How’s it going? I’m Zhu Wu.”

[Thirteen]

A black bird, a crow or raven, perhaps, was perched atop the archway. When Zhu came into sight and started in Thirteen's direction, the bird cawed. This seemed to get the redhead's attention, who didn't even look up at the crow. Instead, she scanned about until she spied the oncoming Obrimos. Pushing off of the archway, she put her phone away and nodded.

"Hullo," she said as she sized the newcomer up, "Call me Violet, if you need a name here. The Gardens here are quiet and we'll have some privacy, but there's still ordinary folks around. Best to be careful, aye?" Indeed, there were some Sleepers enjoying the roses, too, though none were uncomfortably close right now.

The Scottish accent was obvious, a Highlands one, if Zhu could tell the difference. She was far from home, apparently.

Attitude-wise, she seemed a little stand-offish, but she wasn't being rude, per se.

"Okay, so, I'm supposed to ask you some questions. Vet you for the club, so to speak. Nothin' difficult." The Enchantress started strolling forward, perhaps expecting her fellow Libertine to keep pace. The crow remained where it was, but was watching the pair. "And then you can ask questions if anythin' is unclear? Cool?"

[Zhu Wu]

Zhu Wu glances at the bird, surprised to see it hanging around a public park, even if a lightly populated one. Then he recognizes its nature and smiles before turning back to the Enchanter with a small laugh, “So we are yet another level deep in secrecy. I will work on that in the future.” He makes no comment on her accent. His own is LA although when he said his name it was with Mandarin pronunciation.


He takes a seat on the bench. “Perhaps I can short circuit some of the questions. I’m here for a change of scenery really. It’s been two years since I got woke. I started out fairly angry. I didn’t stir up any trouble to worry about but I’ve mellowed. I have no love for the other side but you might say I want to try judo now instead of karate.” Another smile. “Look at us! You have an old band shirt and I’m mixing martial arts styles like it was the 80s when Americans didn’t know any better. Anyway, I’m now into infrastructure and GIS. Practical feng shui against the man!” The last bit is said playfully as a way to mention the Seers without sounding out of place in the case of a Sleeper overhearing.


He leans forward resting his elbows on his knees and looks off across the rose bushes before continuing. “My questions, at least right now, are mostly about any good co-working spaces. Even in LA we’re heard about the Circle but no one knew anything about it other than it seemed to be one of the few constants in Sacramento.” He sits back and turns to Thirteen and continues in a quieter voice, “I do have a place of my own scouted out but your behavior makes me wonder if the threat level is higher than I might have thought even for someone who isn’t particularly known.”

[Thirteen]

"Secrecy has it's place, both for our own protection, and theirs," she nodded towards the Sleepers in the area. "For now."

Red eyebrows rose up among that sea of freckles as she listened to the Theurge rattle off a bunch of answers to questions she hadn't asked. "Well, aren't you an eager one? That covers some of what I'm to ask, but not everythin'." The Acanthus rubbed the back of her neck, "I'm to ask if any trouble is followin' you here. A yes isn't a dealbreaker. Trouble follows most of us around. We just need to know so we can be ready. You already covered the trouble bit, but I want you to understand you can be honest about it. In case you were hidin' it because you were worried we'd reject you for it."

"That said, next question. Do you agree to follow our club's bylaws?" By that she most likely meant the Consilium charter and the Lex Magica.

Thirteen paused in her strolling and looked back at Zhu curiously. "Infrastructure and GIS? You mean like city plannin'? Roads and bridges and public works? That sort of shite?"

The Obrimos had questions already, and the Enchantress did her best to answer. "The clubhouse, aye. It's big. Each little... ah, gang has their own section, and there's a common area for the big meetin's. Next one is pretty soon. You'll be able to attend once we're squared away here." She rested her hands in her jacket pockets. "Havin' your own refuge is great. I got mine. You'll have to officially declare it if you want it recognized and protected by the bylaws. There's a sign-up sheet for that at the clubhouse." The redhead idly glanced upwards at the crow, who was busy preening. "Not gonna lie. We got threats aplenty. Fascists, crazies, big game hunters and more. We're swimmin' in trouble, mate." She looked back down at Zhu. "Keep your head down, watch your back, and remember the club exists for our mutual protection. Stand up for us, we stand up for you."

[Zhu Wu]

The Theurge becomes a little more serious. “The business side. No, there is nothing in my past that is going to cause trouble unless someone of your leanings is going to retroactively make me a liar.” He raises his hand, “Excuse me; that was uncalled for. Chalk it up to past experiences.” He pauses for a moment clearly thinking about wording but also losing the more serious tone. “Even now my original engineering training shows through in places. Time management is still something that confounds and surprises me.”


“I can say that I’m a believer in the bylaws,” said with a small cough at the word bylaws, “that apply to the club both between members and between members and non-members.” He stands and paces a little. “As for infrastructure you aren’t wrong but extend the meaning to cover our shared interests. Power lines themselves are one part but I also have an interest in the effects of infrastructure projects on the people.” For just a second it looks like he’s going to start up in a full scale rant about oppression but he pulls up short and the smile returns. “Sorry, I shouldn’t get carried away.”


As Thirteen answers his own questions he nods along only raising his eyebrows at the phrase “big game hunters.” “You’re probably,” there is a distinct pause as he checks the redheaded-enchanter-with-raven-and-older-than-usual-tastes out once more, “possibly? Who knows, maybe you are into the tech side of things. Anyway; I’m a fan of collaboration and distributed problem solving. We're all in this together." He turns and looks at the black bird for a second and gives it a nod to include it in the word we.

[Thirteen]

An eyebrow quirked at the odd accusation. Bad experiences with Acanthus? Not unheard of, but she had to agree it was uncalled for. Thirteen took a breath and let it slide, though her tone was a little cold. "Alright then."

Moving on, she nodded, "Good." That about covered her questions. The interview process wasn't long and complicated. "It's fine to be passionate about your interests. We all should be."

A tilt of her head, as the Obrimos declared himself a fan of cooperation. "Also good to hear. And I do enjoy technology. Cuttin' edge stuff is great, though I do got a soft spot for older tech." Anachronisms were not uncommon among those who walked the Path of Thistle. That may explain her tastes for music from before she was even born. Or maybe there were other reasons.

The crow looked at the Theurge, then towards the Enchantress. She shrugged at the creature before continuing to speak to their guest, "Any more questions?"

[Zhu Wu]

Zhu Wu notices the slightly puzzled look when he talks about cooperation and files it away for future consideration. Surely it is a rarity for any mage to avoid cooperation? Well, any Order mage.

"If you are satisfied I'm good. You have my contact info. I'll stop by the Circle in the next couple of days but I still need to finish moving so it will be more of a quick drop in to get a feel for the place."

[Thirteen]

Thirteen nodded, seeing the conversation was done. "Cool. Consider yourself vetted. We can talk more freely at the clubhouse sometime. Watch your back out there."

With that, the Acanthus started off, heading out of the park. After a moment of staring at Zhu, the crow took wing and followed in her general direction.

Okie dokie, you're free to participate in some other Mage threads. Sanctuary is nearing it's close, but Consilium will open on April 1st. There's some others that are currently open for Mages to join, I believe. Good luck and welcome to Mage! I'll close this scene!