A Meeting with the Au Pair

[Daniella Sage]

Daniella was sitting in her office, going over safety records for the Avalon, seeing Martha had been most diligent in her duties. It was a big shoe to fill, and one she intend on doing the best she could to fill. With so much paperwork she almost lost track of time, quickly realizing she had an appointment this evening. She was most eager, as she didn’t have many visitors to her office. She quickly slides the paperwork into a folder, one amongst many on her desk, and looked toward the door, ready to great her visitor.

Her office wasn’t much to look at; the most notable feature was that it was filled with books, of varying subjects. There was everything from William Shakespeare, to various books on art collections. She hadn’t had time to fully decorate it yet, still new to her promotion. But there was the soft, yet exotic scent of Japanese cherry blossom in the air; she had taken a page from the pleasant aroma that surrounded Martha. There were two leather chairs and a couch that filled the space quite nicely in front of her desk. The door was left slightly ajar.
Jokor

[Jokor]

Right at the agreed time Julian arrived at the au pair's office. The haunt knocked a few times on the ajar door to let the woman know he was coming in before stepping into the office. "Good evening au pair sage." He greeted her, giving her office a quick glance, books he never had read and probably wouldn't have the time to read any time soon were lined on shelves against the walls. He restedh is hand on one of the chairs. "Can I sit down?"

[Daniella Sage]

She hears the knock on the door, standing, “Please come in.” she calls. As the gentleman enters the door, she is struck by a peculiar aura around him. Not sure what to make of it, she also notices the lack of a Beast, something which was welcome. Her own Beast standing in its corner, its nose in the air, carefully sniffing for any weaker or stronger Beasts. Its nerves calmed by the lack of any at the moment.

Walking around her desk, she gestures to the chairs and couch, “Of course, please, sit wherever you are most comfortable.” She urges with a friendly tone. "I do hope the Domain has been treating you well since you arrived."

[Jokor]

"The domain has been treating me alright Au pair Sage." Julian said as he sat down on one of the chairs. "Thank you for asking. I'm grateful that you took your time out of your schedule to help me get up to speed with the etiquette. I'm afraid you'll have to start at the very basics though. I don't know a thing about the invictus titles or customs."

[Daniella Sage]

Her smile widens, “I am happy to hear that! You will find the Kindred within the Domain to be very welcoming and helpful.” She says as she sits down. “You are most welcome, and it was no trouble at all. I enjoy helping Kindred when I can. The basics sounds like the perfect place to start.”

Crossing her legs at the ankles, she tucks them off to the side, “You see etiquette and manners are a very high priority to the Invictus. There is a right way to address those within the Invictus, and a wrong way. A simple mistake, a misspoken title can work against you. Lets start with Titles, since that seems to be where people make the most mistakes. Most Invictus will introduce themselves to you using their full title, so pay close attention. Now let us say the Kindred has multiple titles, which can get confusing, cause which title is the right one to use? The easiest way to remember is to use the title that fits the social situation you are in. Take me, Lady Au Pair Daniella Sage, Mistress Keeper of the Domain of Sacramento. If you had questions or concerns regarding etiquette and manners, then the proper way to address me is Lady Au Pair Sage. Now if it is a matter of the Elysia, a concern you may have, then it is proper to use Mistress Keeper Sage, or simply Keeper Sage.” She pauses, “Did that make sense? I don’t want to confuse you, and want you to ask any questions you may have at any point.” She says and from her tone it was clear she was sincere.

[Jokor]

Julian listens carefully as the Au pair explained how the invictus used their titles. It actually seemed like a relatively simple system, as long as you were able to memorize a few dozen of titels and always knew when they applied.
"So if I wanted to talk with a hound or sherrif about matters of security I would use his title. But If he or she was also a harpy It would be more appropriate to adress him or her with that title when you are in court then. But What if a kindred with multiple titles is in a social situation where none of their titles specifically fit the social situation you are in?"Very likely, since the invictus seemed to have a title for everything he noticed.
"How would you know what title to use then? Are some titles of more weight then others and are you supposed to use them over the other? Are there some titles that you always should use when talking to a kindred who possess it no matter which other titles he or she has? Aside from prince I mean."

[Daniella Sage]

She nods her head, “That is correct. Though it is worth noting that the correct title for the hound is Royal Archon, and the sheriff would be the Reeve. That is a good question, and let me give you this example. You approach the Reeve, whos title is Reeve Dillon Connery, Deacon of the Lancea Sanctum, Priscus of Gangrel. You would not address him as Priscus or Deacon, unless you were of the Clan Gangrel or of the Lancea Sanctum. So the safest form of address would be Reeve Connery. The proper way of address is City position, followed by any Convant titles, and finally Clan titles. But you would only use Covenant titles, and Clan titles if you share both with the person. But lets say you had an interest in the Lancea Sanctum, you could use his Deacon title at that point. Does that make sense?” she asked, “If no title fits the situation, use their city title, it is the safest. But by all means, if you are still unsure, feel free to ask them how to address them, some are more casual then others. There is never any harm in asking.” She assured him.


“Invictus titles hold a lot of weight, but again should only be used if the situation requires it. You wouldn’t always address me as Lady Au Pair Sage, Mistress Keeper of Sacramento. If you approached me in Court just to say hi and be social, then Lady Sage fits the situation. Every member of the Invictus is either Madam, Mister, or Lady. With the exception of the Prince, who is either Prince, Your Royal Highness, Your Highness, or Sir.”

[Jokor]

"It does. Though I probably will have to spend some time studying the various titles to get really familiar with the system. But as you said, there is no harm in asking which title to use if you aren't sure. Better to admit ignorance then to let them think you are insulting them isn't it?" The nosferatu said. "Just to clear up. Is sir a form of adress exclusive to the prince?" He used it almost habitually, so he really wanted to know if he wasn't going to get in trouble for that.

"For the rest I think I have a grasp on the system though. Though I'll be sure to bring any troubles I might be having up with you if I require it. Moving on from the titles though, what else is there to the etiquette that you think is extremely important?"

[Daniella Sage]

She gently nods her head, “It will take some practice and time getting used the titles, but I have faith that you will do fine with them. And yes, by all means ask questions! You’ll find most Kindred open to any questions you may have.” She tried to assure him. She made a few mistakes when she first arrived, and learned that most were forgiving with slight mistakes, so long as you were apologetic. Shaking her head, “No, Sir is not exclusive to the Prince. I find I use it when I first meet a gentleman before I know his name.” she replied.

“Please, any questions at all, let me know. My phone is always on, and you can always come to my office if you need as well.” She said with a smile.

She leans back and makes an open gesture with her hands, “Etiquette and good manners go hand in hand. It is always good practice to offer some sort of bow to a superior Kindred. You will notice in Court that when Martha enters, or if I enter after her, I always bow to her, for she is my superior. When you have the honor of meeting His Grace, you should bow and show respect. Or even when His Grace enters a room, it is respectful to bow. Never interrupt a conversation unless it is of dire importance. It is polite to stand off to the side, make eye contact and wait to be acknowledged into the conversation. Most manners are common sense. And I haven’t picked up on any poor manners from you as of yet.”

[Jokor]

Julian nodded as the au pair explained more. Letting out a small sigh of relief as she explained that no, sir wasn't a prince only term. He also listened carefully when she explained some other things. Bowing was important. It essentially just came down to that you had to Acknowledge your superiors. "That might just be that you barely met me Au pair sage." Julian made a light joke. "But I'm at least glad I don't have to break any bad habits on that front. Now I do have one more question. I heard about something called a court. I know that it's a gathering of kindred. But does it have any other mayor functions other then the purely social ones? Are there any other social functions where attendance is mandatory and how can I find out about those?"