Adjustments (Private)

Nov 16th, 2014 02:03 PM

Sometimes, you had to make a change in life.

There was nothing wrong with it, nothing improper - it just was what it was. And so it was that Peter Baldwin went to meet his coteriemate at her flower shop. The Knight wasn't excited about what it was he was about to have to say to her. Not at all. But he did what needed to be done, and to speak with her privately about it was the ultimate courtesy.

He had dressed formally, his black suit and dark green shirt with the jade cufflinks that he so regularly wore when he wished to make even more obvious his Clan. A little bit of bamboo flower was on his lapel as a reminder.

A polite knock, then he let himself in as she had said he could long ago.

"Lady Hazelton?"

**Jennifer Hazelton** · Nov 17th, 2014 01:10 AM

"Lord Baldwin, come in." Jennifer invited with her falsetto voice. It was fairly stable tonight - at least for the moment- and she was glad for it. It would be worse to have a conversation with a snake slithering over grass that had proven time and time again. Jennifer had been preparing a bouquet for tomorrows delivery and set the aster and babys breath aside on the work table. She was wearing a more modern green dress that was cut at the knee and showed sightly more cleavage than normal. There was a shawl somewhere.... Jennifer stepped to the straight backed chair and selected the shawl, wrapping it around her neck. The grievous wound certainly looked terrible and she was glad to bury it under cloth.

A glance behind him as she listened for a moment. No Lady Sage. "A seat?" She suggested, taking her favorite straight backed chair.
"Whats on your mind?"

Nov 17th, 2014 02:28 AM

Lord Baldwin entered, closing the door behind him. "Lady Hazelton, thank you," he said, nodding to her as he sat down across from her as he had so many times. A little half-smile crossed his face. "You know, as my coteriemate, I would not be offended if in private you referred to me as Lord Peter."

Informal.

It was a sign of friendship.

"As for why I am here... I feel I owe it to you to be open with you, both as a coteriemate and as Whip of Haunts." He folded his fingers, interlacing them. "You have not been around much. I see you at Court, occasionally, and of course, in our official investigation. Usually, I wouldn't say anything, as I know if you needed help you would ask, but for our Clan's interests, I have concerns."

His lips pursed for a moment, then he continued to speak.

"I haven't seen Villiers in some time. Connery is gone. The Domain is changing, and the Clan needs a Priscus now, more than ever, to unite us, advance our interests, and bring new arrivals into the fold." He looked her in the eye, coming to his point directly, as he promised. "I won't beat around the bush: do you have the time to do this? There is no shame in it, if you do not. I will stand in your stead so that the First Estate and our Coterie maintains its power and prestige. But there must be a Head of our Family who is both seen and available."

**Jennifer Hazelton** · Nov 17th, 2014 02:40 AM

"You more than anyone know the pressures that I've been under."

Jennifer stated, leaning back in her chair as she evaluated Peter. That is all that Jennifer replies for the moment. She has always been comfortable with the silence. Her dark eyes stare into his, another sign of trust. The Lords have their Blood Gifts and the Haunts have their own.

Nov 17th, 2014 02:45 AM

"I do."

Baldwin peered right on back. The fact was, he did trust Hazelton as much as any vampire could trust another without the Bond.

"Trust me - it doesn't bring me any pleasure to bring this to you. I just can't help but wonder if you'd find the pressures easier to deal with if I took care of the Clan for the moment. There are many opportunities to be had in the near future. We need to clear your plate of the things tying you down so you can overcome the pressures of tonight more easily - and can seize the greater rewards that tomorrow brings."

He shrugged gently. Even though the Menace twisted it, made it more sinister, the point was there.

"I trust you, Lady Hazelton. This is me suggesting a course of action that may be in your long-term best interest. A short step back, for greater gains in the long run. Whether or not you take me up on it is up to you."

The ball was in her court. This wasn't him telling her how it was going to be. This was him suggesting that she let him steward the Clan so that she could steward herself.

**Jennifer Hazelton** · Nov 17th, 2014 03:12 AM

"If you took care of the Clan for a moment." Jennifer turned it over in her head for a minute, tasting the words. Hearing them aloud.
"I understand your concern, Lord Peter. I appreciate you bringing your concern right to me. Immediately."

Jennifer considered the offer.

"I may be a bit distracted, but I am still the Priscus. I don't intend to slide into the shadows. Yet I have had some trouble focusing. Perhaps an effect of the Torpor?" Jennifer paused as she wondered about it.

"What precisely will you handle? Let us divide duties. Perhaps you can take this larger role for the next two weeks. Then we can talk again. You can give me this feedback again and we can assess our Family's direction."

Honest feedback to ensure that she wasn't sliding back into memory loss and torpor would be crucial for her.

Nov 18th, 2014 01:03 AM

"I'm sorry, but I haven't experienced torpor, myself." Most Knights did eventually, but Sir Baldwin had not spent time on his back. He was sure it would come eventually, but the so-called Fog had not yet become a part of his Requiem. The sheet music of his song still flowed from bar one to the present bar without interruption.

Lord Baldwin was perfectly still, and he cocked his head to the side at her suggestion.

"You would like to split duties for two weeks? Do you expect your situation will resolve itself within fourteen days?"

**Jennifer Hazelton** · Nov 18th, 2014 04:55 AM

"I don't want things hanging. If my lapses of attention have not abated in fourteen days, then we need to make our arrangement permanent and ensure the transfer of power is neatly attended to and tucked away."

That it was kept squirreled in their own coterie was unsaid. A lot of useless babble could be cut away between her and Peter. It was comforting.

"I plan to be on the top of my Game and in charge of the Nosferatu in fourteen days. Yet I did not foresee a handy little gun, so-" A wry smile. " - here we are. I don't want there to be any cracks in our Family. With our wonderful arrangement, lets ensure that we get everything covered between us as far as duties. I have been focussing an awful lot of time on the Blood Gifts that were charged in the meeting of the First Estate. Apparently its more draining than I thought." The smile gave way to a frown. The mind was a special gift, especially to a Nosferatu. If little things like time were slipping from her... Jennifer roughly shoved it aside.

Nov 18th, 2014 05:44 PM

Baldwin's gaze was long and contemplative before he finally replied.

"Two weeks is a blink in the Requiem."

What could change in fourteen days?

"If you think you will be at the top of your game in two weeks, then so be it. But, speaking frankly..."

Peter leaned forward just a little, as if to emphasize his point.

"I don't want to see you trip yourself due to having too much going on to recover from Torpor, not when there are big opportunities coming up for someone with your skill set. Think about it, and let me know."

His back straightened again. There was nothing humane about it - it was like watching a machine move.

"Your duties, as I understand them, are Acknowledging new arrivals regularly, holding meetings, directing the Clan's priorities, uniting us and representing us to the Domain. Mine are to ensure the Nosferatu are presenting the appropriate united face and to make sure we are being heard. Doing my duties and taking on some of yours creates an imbalance, and makes the Priscus look weak before the Clan - so I am not sure how to rebalance things." Baldwin gestured to her. "If it turns out that you do relinquish your Priscus seat, we could effectively switch roles, but how do you propose we rebalance things in such a way as to avoid you losing face?"

A Priscus who couldn't handle their duties would be sniffed out by the Domain.

**Jennifer Hazelton** · Nov 18th, 2014 06:13 PM

Originally posted by Peter Baldwin:

Baldwin's gaze was long and contemplative before he finally replied.

"Two weeks is a blink in the Requiem."

What could change in fourteen days?

"If you think you will be at the top of your game in two weeks, then so be it. But, speaking frankly..."

Peter leaned forward just a little, as if to emphasize his point.

"I don't want to see you trip yourself due to having too much going on to recover from Torpor, not when there are big opportunities coming up for someone with your skill set. Think about it, and let me know."

His back straightened again. There was nothing humane about it - it was like watching a machine move.

"Your duties, as I understand them, are Acknowledging new arrivals regularly, holding meetings, directing the Clan's priorities, uniting us and representing us to the Domain. Mine are to ensure the Nosferatu are presenting the appropriate united face and to make sure we are being heard. Doing my duties and taking on some of yours creates an imbalance, and makes the Priscus look weak before the Clan - so I am not sure how to rebalance things." Baldwin gestured to her. "If it turns out that you do relinquish your Priscus seat, we could effectively switch roles, but how do you propose we rebalance things in such a way as to avoid you losing face?"

A Priscus who couldn't handle their duties would be sniffed out by the Domain.

" I am not the only one in the Domain with my skill set. An invictus notary with computer skill is unusual, but more and more will be Embraced. To remain relevant and more importantly to me - to be most useful as Notary - I must master these blood gifts. It took so long to learn master Galloway's." Jennifer reflected.
" Two weeks is a blink... yet that was how long before my Blood responded for Master Galloway's teaching. I can not neglect our Family for the First Estate. ... "
Jennifer was quiet for several moments as she considered. "You'd like to do what - switch our positions while I recover?"
Jennifer considered that for a long moment. "That would be unusual. .. I could focus on uniting the family with those in the necropolis. " Jennifer considered the idea in silence. Relinquished power made her Beast gnaw on her cage. Two weeks was a blink... and the menace made the air cloying and sickly to Jennifer.

Adjustments (Private)

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