Breaking bread among Devils

[Phoenix]

" I haven't met a lot of the community so far, Arthur has been the most helpful, having given me your contact details. And he explained to me a few things, like the need to be a part of a 'commitee' to have more than basic status, if you catch my meaning. He also explained a few of the perils that currently threaten the community."

He pondered why Arthur hadn't been more explicit or given more details on this, but that will come later.

" We'll need to determine whether it's best if me and Balham be part of the same committee or if we should spread the talents of the neighborhood. We'll obviously need to meet other 'free agents' to determine the best prospects. What is your thoughts about this Avis ? If I may ask."

[Avis]

"Well, from what I've seen so far, you happen to be very collected and not unopposed to settling conflict, even if that conflict is as small as the expense of two extra meals. Bahlam on the other hand," Avis continued, gesturing to the younger magi, "seems confident in...not taking advantage of, but, uh, let's say embracing opportunity, which isn't a bad thing. Together those qualities would work well, I think. Two strengths that help round out a committee. Of course, like y'all said, you'd need a solid third party to make things work. I don't know of any in town, now, so spreading talents might be a good idea.

"Speaking of which," she continued, "I'm curious about your names. Why'd you pick 'em?"

[Phoenix]

He listened not only politely but with great interest to both what Avis and Bahlam had to say. The part of Avis informed him a bit more about the current situation of the local consilium. As for the other Mastigos, it revealed a bit of what moved him. It felt only natural to return the favor.

"My current nickname is an homage to my mentor Ignatius. Where I come from, members of our neighborhood take the name of famous christian rulers. Which is also a nod to my ... 'group membership'. Helping to rule and giving spiritual guidance. Things like that. Also Richelieu was known to strengthen the political power of France and I intend to so something similar ... and not just for our neighborhood but the congregation as a whole."

He didn't even react when Bahlam ordered coffee, he wasn't surprised to see the young man that he was following the edict of modern trends. Such a shame, the Roobois was so delicious. He didn't know what he was missing. He then turned back to Avis.

"What about Avis? How did you come to choose that name ?"

It was a good way to give her the right of word again. Maybe she had other things to convey to them.

[Avis]

"My mom was Cajun," the Councilor replied with a shrug. "She spoke french, sometimes. Snuck it into sentences, sort of. 'Avis' was just a word that I remember. Got stuck somewhere in my skull. Eventually just seemed to resonate. I'm not fluent in french, just so ya know, but when I looked it up it said that it translates to English as 'idea', which is cool. It's not very specific, sure, but for people like us it fits."

[Avis]

"Well, obviously I'm not from the neighborhood with all the watch wearers, but I agree, it's bullshit to try and ignore the past. I mean, I don't think that holding to tradition for its own sake is smart, either, but I agree that the past is the eternal context for who we are. Without it we're a shell," Avis concurred, picking up her tea and giving it a sip. Definitely not something she'd had before. You didn't get stuff like this at the food bank, or the sale items at the grocery store, for that matter.

"As for the practical note, it is practical not to pick representatives from the sub-committees. Not that the sub-committees don't affect representation. You have to be in a sub-committee to get a seat on the council. Which, can be problematic, because sub-committee's aren't stable. In fact, I watched my own sub-committee fall apart because two of the people in it left. For different reasons, and at different times, but both were people that I never would have expected to be without, and it took months to get things back on track. Months of work was put on hold. Very, very important work. All that was required of me, though, was to form another group. If that group would then have to decide on a new representative, that would take even more time.

"But," she continued, setting her glass down, "that's not even the most important reason. The most important reason is that the purpose of the council is to help coordinate and settle disputes between sub-committees. If the representatives were picked to represent those committees, that would be a clear conflict of interest. No one would agree on anything. However, by choosing people from different neighborhoods, and the emphasis being on representing those neighborhoods, that encourages us to be less biased and more willing to put things into balance for the sake of not just us and those we work with, but for the sake of everyone that lives as we do."

[Phoenix]

"I take it there was and probably still are problems between the various sub-committees ? "

Said the Mastigos while eating some food just cooked from the pancha.

"In the spirit of honoring the past, why don't you enlighten us on the difficulties the sub committees are having between themselves at the moment? It might be useful to inform each of our position in the city."

[Avis]

"No, you misunderstood me. ALL councils are there to resolve disputes between sub-committees. Not just ours, specifically. And right now there are no struggles between sub-committees. Just the occasional dispute between individuals, but no ones, like, anyone's nemesis or something," Avis clarified, hoping the explanation wasn't too ham-handed.

"Besides, all the sub-committees are focusing on a larger problem: the violently ignorant problem. I'm assuming Crowley and Arthur spoke to you about that? Well, that's the more important thing. Which, really, is probably another reason why it would be smarter for y'all to join an existing one. That way you're not jumping into deep water without people that know what the riverbed looks like."