A Quiet Chat

[Swift]

Dr. Swift arrived at the Elysium common room under the Avalon at the appointed time and date. He was restless tonight, agitated really. He still could not shake the odd feeling he had with regards to the Brother Teodor Raluca . He had the damnedest suspicion that the other man held some sort of grudge against him. He had seen something like a smirk or mirth cross his face during their investigation when Raluca had had reason to believe that Dr. Swift felt some degree of embarrassment. He hadn't, not really, but that wasn't the point. Dr. Swift simply could not think of a reason why the other man might dislike him.

So, ignoring the beast's constant lobbying to simply rip out Raluca's heart and be done with it, he had asked the monk to join him tonight for a discussion. True, this was not exactly how the Danse worked, but Dr. Swift had never been good at subtle social interactions and he had never liked politics. He had had enough of that in high school, and then later during the graduate and post-doc programs he'd participated in while earning his degree and reputation. So, he was going to end it tonight, one way or another. The choice of Elysium was a deliberate one to avoid any unpleasantness from his own more predatory nature.

[Swift]

Dr. Swift nods as Brother Raluca makes his appearance. While restless and eager to get this conversation over with, he is at least less agitated than he was by the time he left court last. Only time will tell if he remains that way. "Good evening, Brother Raluca. The evening has not been notably less pleasant than most, recently. It remains to see how productive it will be in comparison." He expected it would turn both much less pleasant and more productive, one way or another.

Dr. Swift gestures toward the hall leading from the common gathering space of Elysium below the Avalon toward the offices and private rooms. The rooms were available for the use of the Kindred of the Domain when they wished a degree of discretion. "Shall we? I would like to speak with you privately." It wouldn't do to air his dirty laundry for all the Domain to see.

[Swift]

Once they enter a private room Dr. Swift takes a seat and gestures for Brother Raluca to do likewise across the table from him. "Thank you for coming tonight, Brother Raluca. And I apologize if I have been or seemed less than cordial of late," he begins, cutting right to the matter at hand. After all, it was exactly the sort of cloak and dagger twisty word play crap he hated and was trying to avoid tonight.

"I asked you to meet me because I have recently become concerned that things may not be as they seem between you and me. I believed - and would like to believe - that we have at least a friendly acquaintance, being both Kindred inhabiting the same city and with no particular feud or conflict between us." Dr. Swift's tone is calm, professional, and perhaps a bit cold. "And both of us working together for the Reeve and the Domain."

"However," Dr. Swift's tone becomes a touch more reserved and tense, "recently I got the sense that you did not see things in the same light. So, in the interest of not letting anything fester between us I feel compelled to ask you: Is there some reason you have to dislike me? Or perhaps something I have done to offend you that I may be unaware of, some reason I have given you to wish me ill?"

[Swift]

Bump Beej

[Swift]

Dr. Swift listens to Brother Raluca's words. And he listens to his tone and his body language. His words had the sound of truth, but his tone spoke of superfluous words and deeper disdain.

Dr. Swift doesn't respond at first, rather placing his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers together and placing his chin on the tips of his fingers. "I believe you, and I am pleased you feel that way about our work together. But I still sense there is more to it than this. Both at the lab and tonight. At the lab you smiled when Herald Villiers spoke of my frustration with the lack of progress. As an academic and a researcher I have no reason to be embarrassed by such frustrations and admit to them freely, yet you seemed to think it would be an embarrassment, and this pleased you."

Dr. Swift pauses for a moment, wondering if the monk understood how distressing that fact really was to the doctor. By no means does Swift have any desire to be universally loved and as a professor he's more than made peace with the idea that some people may loathe him for no other reason than he wanted to help them, but this was different. Brother Raluca had seemed genuinely pleased at the idea of Dr. Swift's suffering.

"And now, tonight, I still get the feeling you are less than comfortable in my presence." He leans back, removing his chin from his fingers and folding his hands over each other on the table. "Now, understand that I am not asking you to like me if you have a reason to not. I just want to understand why you feel this way. Perhaps we can reconcile the situation, or if that is not possible, an understanding will make it easier for us to avoid causing undo stress to each other." Because, truth be told, this feeling of duplicity from the Shadow before him was causing a rather large amount of stress for Dr. Swift. And the Beast liked the idea of solving this much faster than with words.

  2 suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-07-15 23:55:27		Dr. Swift rolls 8 to not be taken in by Raluca's subterfuge (Comp + Empathy) (10 Again, WillPower)		1, 6, 3, 3, 9, 3, 8, 1		2 successes

[Swift]

Dr. Swift takes a moment to answer, uncertain where the monk is going with this. He's also, once more, thrown off by the monk's odd way of naming things - something he wonders if it is a sign of age, cultural difference, or simply an act.

"If you refer to the Temple at Delphi," the Doctor pronounces Delphi with a long 'I' at the end, "then of course I am familiar with it. If you're referring to some portion of myth or another temple or other construction to Apollo then I'm afraid you'll have to narrow it down a bit. There are several." He doesn't add any questions as to the Dragon's intent. After all, as strange as Raluca's comments and thoughts can be, he usually comes to a cogent point.