In which Michael meets with the Herald

[Martha Villiers]

The Avalon. In the basement area of the nightclub, away from the press and bright lights and mortals, there is an air of quiet calm.

Here the lights are low. Recessed lamps cast a soft glow. An aroma of lavender lingers heavily.

Tiny Martha is at work...busily studying the fire extinguishers in the Commons; examining them for fault.

Appearing to be in her late teens or early twenties, the small lady sits meek and sweetly attired in an English school uniform: a neat straw boater, a black blazer...a pair of scholarly spectacles are perched on the end of her nose. Martha wears a long gymslip shows her slim leg to mid calf. Her blonde hair is tied into neat twin tails, each with a red ribbon bow. a swift glance would reveal that her left leg is obviously a new prosthetic...one of the robotic style C-Leg designs. She wears a white kneesock on her flesh leg and a pair of carefully polished Oxford pattern shoes. A crisp white blouse is obvious where the gymslip reveals it, as is her red necktie tucked neatly into her gymslip. A satchel over one shoulder and a simple metal walking cane helps her along. She is youthful, pretty in an English Rose sort of way and seems to shun cosmetics. Though she emits no Beast, her presence seems almost palpably sweet and innocent.

Though occupied in activity, she looks meekly over to investigate the noise of the descent at The Stairs and to carefully study the newly arriving Beast.

[Matamune]

Sacramento was friendly to Michael so far. Everything had been arranged from New York and things had run quite smoothly. When he arrived at his heaven all his equipment and books were already there. He spent just enough time to change into one of the suits that he had worn back when he was a mortal scholar. It was a bit worn, but not too much as he now wore mainly comfortable clothing made of thick leather.

Michael left his apartment, took the bus and after a while arrived at the Avalon. Social courtesies weren't one of his particularly strong points, but he needed to be Acknowledged. And he needed information.

Following the directions he had received back in New York, he entered the establishment and took the stairs down to the basement. He was surely watched, but no one stopped him for questioning.

'They must be expecting me.'

Walking into the basement he noticed a young woman sitting at a table over some kind of work. He was positively impressed and even a bit alarmed by her innocent appearance. He expected... something else.

Trying not to look surprised, he began the conversation. First he needed to check that he was talking to the right person.

'Good night to you. I assume you are Miss Martha Villers?'

[Dillon Connery]

Dillon Connery is nearby, too, as always. Tonight the Deputy is half-reclined in one of the squashy couches with a thick book titled The Orthodox Church in one hand and a small pile on a short table pulled right up beside him. His right hand was jotting things down in an open notebook beside the small stack, the top volume of which is titled Kabbalah For the Student.

His Covenant affiliation is probably obvious, this evening.

Though he appeared to have been in deep concentration, he is sitting where both Martha and the stairs are in view, and looks up when the movement is seen peripherally. The Beast within snarls angrily, shamelessly willing to bully a defiant creature. It growls with three separate canine voices borne of hellfire and brimstone, before Dillon silences it. But only after waiting a few seconds. It's starting to get much easier now that he's spending so much time with the Herald, who seems to be welcoming new Beasts on a nightly basis.

He might seem too relaxed to come to Martha's aid should she suddenly need defending, but you'd be surprised what a book can do to someone's nose when it hits it at fifty miles per hour.

Dillon is smiling his friendly greeting.

[Martha Villiers]

With a tight grip, Martha held her cane close to her chest as Michael entered. Pausing from her inspection of the fire equipment she held even tighter to her control of the Beast within. The need to lash out and do harm to the newly arrived was held in check...at least for now.

Not more than a frown and white knuckles showed. The frown stayed a moment longer than it might have as she heard him know her name.

"I might very well be, sir...but, before I answer: I should wish to know, please, how you come by that name, sir...and I should also wish to know who you are and how we can help you?" she stayed exactly where she was, her tone friendly enough, but she wasn't prepared to negotiate on this. Tiny Martha leaned hard on her cane and studied Michael with care: watching his everyone move with wide, innocent, but attentive eyes.

[Matamune]

As Michael spoke, he felt another Beast in the room and immediately turned his attention to the vampire sitting in a chair and reading some sort of religious nonsense. The Beast surged within him, demanding a fight. For a second he strained and then the feeling passed. He was expecting other vampires here anyway and it didn’t really come as a shock.

He soon realized that Martha Villiers and the vampire who appeared to be her ally were eyeing him with suspicion. It took Michael a moment to understand that he wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what his contact was supposed to look like. He’s spent five long years as a vampire, but still wasn’t used to the fact that the only way to make a lasting impression of one was to draw a portrait.

“Pardon me, my name is Michael. Michael Redfill. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I was told by my Covenant colleagues form New York that you are the first person I should visit after coming to this city. They must have contacted you some time ago”.

[Martha Villiers]

Martha smiles and nods happily. With her free hand, she twirls one of her long twin tails. Contact between cities was a rare thing. Limping carefully closer, she smiled again. A much friendlier smile than a few moments ago. Her English accent is bright and friendly; "Ah, indeed! Good evening to you Doctor Redfill! A delight to meet you! Do come this way!" with a gentle hand gesture, she beckons Michael closer to where Dillon is sitting, pointing carefully to Dillon with her simple metal cane, "Indeed...I am Miss Martha Villiers. I was recommended to you by your Chapter House as I have the honor to be the Mistress Keeper of this Elysia and also the Herald to His Grace Asa Clarke, the Alder Prince of this Invictus Domain! This Domain places a high value on good manners, sir...well, I should be delighted if you would call me Miss Villiers...never, ever, please, Ms" she said Ms with ill disguised contempt before cheerily adding, "...or, if you prefer, Herald or Keeper Villiers...never, ever should I wish to be referred to as Herald Keeper. How positively clumsy that sounds! That gentleman there is Deputy Dillon Connery...the Priscus of the local Gangrel." she enthuses, all sincere energy and smiles. She even risks a limping skip as she hobbles closer back towards Dillon's vicinity. "please come and say hello, Doctor!" she offers with a smile, her cane points to one of the seats and couches close to Dillon. "Please, Doctor, be seated...you must be quite tired after your journey! How can we be of assistance to you?" she asks with wide innocent eyes watching Micheal with far less suspicion than before.

[Dillon Connery]

Perfectly content to let Martha do the talking-- she's better at it anyway, in addition to it being part of her job description-- Dillon calmly closes the volume in his lap, places it over his writing in the notebook, and stands. He's wearing a variation on his typical Avalon attire tonight. That is, simple suit, without the tie. The top button of his shirt is undone.

He still has the pen in his hand, held momentarily in his loose fist like a stabbing spike. As the Herald confirms the man's story, and begins bubbling with her usual enthusiasm, the Deputy's smile is less forced, and still friendly. He intends to sit again if Michael decides to, but manners dictated that he remain standing, for now.

Dillon adds his own "Good evening, Doctor Redfill," during an appropriate pause.

[Matamune]

"Ah, indeed! Good evening to you Doctor Redfill! A delight to meet you! Do come this way!"

It was pleasant to be called a Doctor. Michael had long abandoned mortal academic life, but he was an active Ordo Dracul scholar and considered himself to be one of the best among the more recent additions to the Covenant.
He follows the Herald’s gesture and comes closer to the couches.

"...or, if you prefer, Herald or Keeper Villiers...never, ever should I wish to be referred to as Herald Keeper. How positively clumsy that sounds!”

“You have quite an assortment of titles, Miss Villiers! Then I will call you Herald Villiers, if you have no objections. The name should reflect the accomplishments of the individual”.

As he is introduced to the Deputy, Michael takes a good look at him. The man definitely has composure which implies power. Considering the current level of activity in this city, both he and the Herald must be quite formidable.
“Good evening, Deputy Connery, pleasure to make your acquaintance,” – replies Michael leaning forward and bowing his head slightly. Then he offers a handshake.

After that he decides to pay a well-deserved compliment to the hosts.

“Thank you for welcoming me here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such sincere cordiality from Kindred officials, Herald Villiers. I came here to receive permission to reside and feed in Sacramento. And, of course, there is the reason for my being in this city… There is quite a lot of activity here recently. If you could point me in the direction of some potential research it would be excellent. I am not a materialistic man and am mainly interested in the knowledge in itself. ”

[Martha Villiers]

Martha listened. Wide eyed she watched. Fascinated by the patter of the Doctor. She nodded to acknowledge his kind words and shared a brief and amused glance to Dillon to show Dillon she'd spotted Michael spoke boldly of Acknowledgement as a Right not a Gift.

Her happy and friendly gaze fell back upon Micheal, she studied him over the rims of her spectacles, tucking her cane under an arm as she stroked one of her long twin tails. "I see, Doctor! Well...splendid! I am glad you find us welcoming. Thank you. To spare your blushes at a later time, Doctor, I should advise that the Acknowledgment to reside and Feed in the city is not automatic upon arrival in this Domain. It must be petitioned for...requested...not immediately surrendered to all arrivals." her voice low so as not to draw undue attention to her careful correction. She adds a gentle smile to show she is careful to be advising rather than rebuking, With dainty fingers she adjusted first her spectacles then her hat, "We have a long tradition in this Domain, Doctor, of the newly arrived entering into a quid pro quo arrangement with either the Prince...in this instance through the Office of Herald...or a Regent once Acknowledgement is secured. However, I can see from your eager interest in research and the obvious distinction of academic achievement that you shall encounter no hurdle to vault in that regard! As it happens there very well might be something you could help with! But we shall talk of that later at the Chapter House, Doctor." a happy smile, "Now...to help the newly arrived I have a presentation to show you...once we have spoken about that, we shall then talk about the swearing of an Oath of Fealty to the Alder Prince...but first, Doctor, I wondered: do you have any immediate questions to ask of us?" another happy and sincere smile is offered Michael as Martha leaned again on her cane.

[Matamune]

This was one of the many situations when Michael’s habit of acting with some degree of superiority got the better of him. But, surprisingly enough, there appeared to be no ramifications this time. Not even a reprimand. Martha Villiers seemed to be an excellent Herald indeed. Getting things done without offending or hurting others wasn’t that common among Kindred.

Michael spoke with a slightly guilty smile:

“I am sorry, Herald Villiers. Unfortunately I have a bad habit of imposing a bit on other people, please forgive me. Of course, I will follow any rules that are set in Sacramento, and offer my services to the Prince and to Priscus Connery, if he so wishes it,” – he gave a reverent nod to the Deputy.

“I am sure that the important topics will be covered in your presentation, and my other questions are best left to discussion in the chapter house”.

He looked around, wondering on what kind of a surface the presentation would appear and what operating system will be used. Herald Villiers appeared to be quite comfortable with technology.
“Linux, perhaps,” – Michael thought to himself with a smile.