French Witnesses (TdS)

[Einstein]

The Temoins' Sanctum had already become a popular meeting location for most of the Consilium. The Thyrses, the Free Council, and the Councilors, all had gathered there for a meeting, summoned by one of the members who lived there. However, the Cabal had yet to use the location themselves. Einstein aimed to rectify that. With Gyges gone and Damascus being hard to get anywhere, they had a lot more to discuss than they even had before.

Einstein picked a time when everyone was home, and got ready for the meeting. Food wasn't set out, this was a family meeting after all, not anything official. She just fluffed up the pillows on the couch in the living room, and moved some of the bric-a-brac to make space and keep the others from being distracted. Then, a spell was woven, accompanied by chanting in the ancient Atlantean tongue, and a yell sent up the stairs. "GUYS, GET DOWN HERE! WE NEED TO TALK!"

  Control Sound P2, 2 tries

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-03-24 15:17:35		Einstein rolls 5 to Control Sound 2 (Forces + Gnosis + HS -1) (10 Again)		3, 8, 5, 8, 1		2 successes
2015-03-24 15:16:59		Einstein rolls 6 to Control Sound (Forces + Gnosis + HS) (10 Again)		6, 3, 2, 3, 3, 1		failure

[Truce]

Truce hears the voice clearly from his suite upstairs and puts down the book he had been pouring over for his lessons. He rubs the strain from his eyes with thumb and forefinger before standing. He then descends the stairs, clad in a button up short-sleeved shirt and long khakis as he looks to Einstein questioningly.

"What's the matter? Did something happen?" he asks with some concern.

[Einstein]

Einstein shakes her head at her Cabalmate. "Nah. I just figured it was time the Cabal actually sat down and talked this whole thing over. A meeting, you know?" They'd never actually talked it over. Gyges had got them together, worked through logistical stuff, but they'd never worried about whether or not they would work together. "Especially with Gyges gone and Damascus..." She waves her hands mysteriously. What was up with that girl?

"We need to hash out some basic rules for having guests over, too. But, mostly, we need to get to know ourselves better. There's just...I haven't been feeling much of that connection that should be here, you know? I think we can fix that." She shrugs. "Maybe it's just me. This is still a thing we should do, though. If only to pull back together with two of the members..." She waves her hands again.

[Truce]

Truce relaxes, realizing that there is no urgency involved in Einstein's calling him down. He takes into account what she is saying and sighs dismally. "Yes, you're quite right. A discussion would be best. I'm free at the moment. I'm not sure where Crowley is. Shall I make us some tea or coffee?"

He gets to the bottom of the stairs and stands in the threshold of the kitchen as he makes his suggestion. "It really is a shame that Gyges hasn't returned. I thought perhaps he was busy with his Provost duties or those occultist connections of his, until I noticed his things were missing in his room," remarks Truce, folding his arms in front of him.

"Damascus...she seemed to have gotten quite involved in the Consilium. Maybe the pressure overwhelmed her? But it's odd she hasn't said anything to us about leaving. I can't imagine what else might've come up."

[Einstein]

The Obrimos nods at his question. "Sure, I'll have some tea." Wasn't quite the time for coffee yet. Coffee was for 3 AM, when you suddenly realize you need to get your lesson plans in order for the next month. Not for the middle of the day, right before what would hopefully be a calm discussion. "Gyges seemed like kind of a drifter, so it didn't surprise me too much. I was disappointed, yeah, but not really surprised." She shrugs. "Damascus was a little more surprising, but, yeah, the pressure must have gotten to her."

"While we wait for Crowley, you want to have a talk? We never really got to know each other. I got to talk with Damascus and Gyges, but then the new Charter happened, and I got elected Councilor, and then all my time was just poof, gone." She didn't miss the strange fact that the universe had apparently decided that the only two people she actually knew would leave. "So, I never got to sit down one-on-one with you or Crowley."

[Truce]

Truce smiles softly and heads into the kitchen as he listens to Einstein's words reach him. He puts water on the stove and pulls out the tea bags from the cupboard before returning to the threshold.

"I'd be happy to talk one-on-one. In fact I prefer it. I suppose I know what you mean about the suddenness of responsibilities. Being named Provost hasn't really cut into my time yet as there's so few of us Moros in the city. But studies and my indoctrination into the Silver Ladder has me fairly busy. So, let's start from the beginning then, shall we? I came from Arizona at the start of winter. I Awakened around when I came to adulthood so it's been about eight years coming to terms with it. I have a habit of academic pursuits so I've sort of continued with that tradition with my current schooling. I'm still planning on acquiring a doctorate in Psychology eventually so I can start a practice but it seems so insignificant now that I've become involved in Mage society in Sacramento."

Even that much information is general knowledge though, but he has to start somewhere if they were to get to know each other.

"How about you? What's been your experiences with the Mage society?"

[Einstein]

Einstein notes his time spent since his Awakening. He was almost twice as old a Mage as her, though she was older in the Lie-years. A quick second was taken to order her thoughts. "I only Awakened about four years ago. I was in Illinois at the time, getting through my doctorate in Physics." He already knew she was a fellow collegiate, but it never hurt to mention again. "I wasn't super-involved in stuff back home. I joined up with the Free Council, and then moved here in November." What four-year gap? She totally wasn't skipping anything. "At this point I'm still working a lot on my theories, but...I'm sort of taking a break from that? With all the politics and things going on, I don't have much time to devote to them anymore. Plus, with Gyges and Damascus' particular areas of expertise gone, I'm moving to try and shore up our knowledge in those areas."

[Truce]

"I suppose that makes it easy for an easy separation. Moving away from Arizona was a somewhat difficult decision for me, but necessary all the same. That's unfortunate you can't pursue your goals freely though regarding your theories. I still feel incredibly ignorant regarding aspects of the Unseen Realms and the nature of Universal Consciousness, the connection between the dead and the living, so many mysteries that I've yet to learn. I suppose it's silly of me to try continuing with Sleeper studies of the mind. But if I don't know that much I won't be able to communicate with the rest of those in that field."

"Gyges the Warlock, occultist and amateur politician. And Dami the Shaman, Spirit enthusiast and amateur politician. Well, if it's the purview of Mind I can probably fulfill whatever abilities Gyges may have provided. I'm certain you can supplement our collective understanding of the Shadow." Truce chuckles lightly, the comparisons bringing to light how well-constructed the Cabal was initially despite having known so little about each other.

"Did I mention how Gyges and I got in an argument during one of our initial meetings? It was during a meeting with the Guardians, Nous and Zodiac. Damascus was there too and I thought I might've given her a bad impression. But that and the discussions afterwards seemed to make getting to know each other easier since it was all out there anyways. I suppose I envied Gyges's candidness and honesty..." Truce trails off as he reflects sadly on their absence.

[Einstein]

Einstein shrugs at Truce's statement about his studies. "There's a little of the Supernal in everything the Sleepers do and study. Look into how they study their own minds, and you might find hints at how to study the Supernal Consciousness, or poke at the Soul." Free Council Doctrine. It exists for a reason. "It's never silly to continue to look at the way Sleepers see things. It's silly to lock yourself to that and assume it's the only way to look at things."

"As for the Shadow, yeah, that's my plan. Damascus knew a lot more than me, of course, but I know a little bit. I poked into it a bit with Parliament after we first met, if only to understand how his mind would work. It's...different. I think you, as a Ladder, would like it. In there, it's all about rank and status. The strong protect the weak, the weak serve the strong." That was how the Ladder worked, right? Right. "There's a lot more to it, but that's the basic idea."

"And with Gyges...not sure if you noticed, but we argued pretty much every time one of use had to open their mouth around the other." Really, how could anyone not notice? "The first time we met, we had a big disagreement. The time after that, same thing. The third time, it started well, then one of us said something dumb and it just went downhill from there." Thankfully, the bell rang before either of them said anything else stupid. "I'm not exactly happy he's gone though." Didn't mean she was sad, either.

[Crowley]

Crowley padded into the room. Today he wares a stained white T and a pair of black, baggy, track paints with sneakers. He had been jamming and he is still carrying his drum sticks, which he tucks into the back of his belt.

"Gyges liked to argue. I think it was his way of getting people to think about their respective positions, and defend them. Kind of like, force a confrontation." There was no introductions from this Acanthus, he simply dived straight into the middle of the conversation. "Besides, nothing wrong with a good argument. Its all we do at the FC. And thats a good thing. An argument means people are sticking to their guns, holding to their positions and such. And not giving into others."