(To Hunt) In the Reeve's Office

[Yumyumcrow]

Stax adjusted his short collar and preened his mullet as he crossed the threshold into the Reeve's office. His narrowed eyes slid across Emma as she joined them before settling more firmly on Alessandra.

"Thank you, Reeve. I do not believe I need to recount the unhappy events of recent nights? No? If you have pen and paper I can give you Lina's number, I suppose. I am sure it won't come to that."

Once Stax had wrote out the number, he strikes a pose once more. Once again, a poised hand runs through his hair.

"Well. Let us get down to business. Once again, I wish to offer my regret for me and my associates disrupting the nights of your Domain. For that I am willing to offer a Major Boon to you, Reeve, as representative of your Prince. I shall, naturally, eh provide my own contact details once the agreement is struck."

He paused to add his own contact details to the note.

"But that is not all that happened here, is it. The peace of Elysium was disturbed, yes. So I shall offer a second major boon - again for myself and my friends. A price, we shall say, for causing further undue disruption. I shall give up my pursuit of the renegade, Carson Forde. You correctly say that he killed in your territory and wrecked havoc here; so I think it best that you try him according to your local laws. Yes? This is a good deal?"

He frowned and bit his lip.

"But there is more. I am of the Invictus... And this is an Invictus Domain. It... It was my failings and lack of judgement that allowed this to happen. And this puts our two Domains - and our Covenant - in... question, let me say. So I will offer a third Major Boon... Ah! To be disposed of by your local Judex, yes?"

He looked between the two Savages.

"This is a good compromise, yes. My associates and I will leave. You gain an ally for your Prince and your Domain in San Francisco. I am not without influence there. The Marquis has been most attentive as a mentor..." Turning slightly to Emma, he added: "And I am happy to continue our discussions our Domain's respective power structures, as you seem interested in the subject. Anything to ... Deepen ... ties between us."

A slightly dramatic pause.

"One thing. Let my associates go. They really were paying off debts the Movement owed me. Don't punish them for doing what is correct by our kind, ok? Put the burdens of those Boon's on me."

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2017-02-02 02:18:59		Marvyn Stax to dissemble rolls 6 to Manipulation + Persuasion (10 Again)		9, 4, 4, 9, 2, 5		2 successes

Psychangel Alessandra Orianna

[Alessandra]

Her elbow was on the arm of the chair while her chin rested on her thumb, her index finger laid across her lips as she listened.

The pen and paper were pushed across the desk and once returned, she glances at the writing before resuming her pose.

Had to hand it to the guy, he was a smooth talker, and two major boons were not something to be taken lightly. And something that Alice had to be made aware of.

“Those are gracious offers.” She replies simply. “Ones I will have to let our Seneschal aware of, as well as your own. Bookkeeping and all that, but I’m sure you know all about that funs stuff.” Which was a pain in the ass, but as Reeve, she had to make sure rules were followed. “But I do hope and want our Domains to be able to work together in the future should issues arise.” Allies were a good thing to have.

And there it was, and it had to be explained. This was no longer an Invictus Domain, and she wasn’t sure how well that would be received.

“I must correct you on that, we are not an Invictus Domain. His Grace Alder Clarke, Duke of Sacramento, Prince of the Domain, is not of the First Estate. But should you still wish to offer said Boon to our Judex, I can call her and either have her come and speak with you personally, if she is free, or we can work something else out with her.” She also wasn’t sure if she could accept a Boon for Twist.

She had already planned to keep the brat, he was theres to deal with. Instead of a wise ass comment, she simply nods. “So long as your associates agree to not break our Laws while you pass through, I don’t have a problem letting them go. Sounds like you are willing to vouch for them not poaching or causing a scene?” she asks. Though there was really no way to know for sure. Well, kinda. She intended to walk them out herself, with of course Emma nearby.

“I did have a question, a simple one that will help put my mind at ease and help me fill out my reports to my superiors.” She hated paperwork. “If you answered this earlier, I apologize. But how did you know to find him here? Our kind are typically not the easiest to track down, but then again, a scared neonate might leave behind quite the trail.” She looks to him expectantly.

[Emma French]

Emma felt her temper fade now that the danger was over. She wasn't so sure she trusted Stax but he seemed to be handling the politics of the situation well.

Looking at Stax, "I would love to have our conversation about the way your domain is run. I am also concerned about the issues you say you folks have. If the issues you brought up are true then perhaps we could discuss those further also." Emma had lived in poorly run domains before and it wasn't easy to get out in one piece.

Many thoughts were running through her head as Ale spoke. Number one thought was how glad she was that she had a Reeve she was comfortable with and who came when needed to deal with this situation. Her second thought was, wow maybe title crap will relax a little now. Then she felt a little uneasy about Hennink and Eli. Were they trust worthy? They seemed to have an issue with Stax. Emma tensed a little thinking about trust and how little she could feel with anyone. Emma calmly ran a hand through her hair and straightened her shirt. Then nodded at Ale when she discussed escorting the men out.

[Yumyumcrow]

Stax's mouth popped open at the revelation of the changing nature of the Sacramento Domain. His youthful forehead creased. He raised his hand to run through his hair and struck another pose while he composed himself. He grimaced.

"I... I have made the offer and my actions have no doubt caused consternation among my Covenant. The chase... And so forth. No. It must stand. I owe a Major Boon to the Judex for the disruption to Domain and Elysium. I will owe one to you, Reeve, as the Prince's representative - for the disruption and the accidental invasion of your territory. Another must be offered for tarnishing Elysium. These must stand. There can be no other way."

Was he speaking through gritted teeth? He sighed and balled one fist, which he slid into a trouser pocket as he attempted now to stand casually.

"I would be happy to discuss the Domain of San Francisco but - quite honestly - cannot see how you could assist. The Primogen do look into these matters, which spring up with some regularity. I am not entirely certain how they would react to such an offer?"

The lilt of a question slid unnoticed into his response. His eyes suddenly glittered with a light akin to curiosity.

[Alessandra]

There was a slow nod of her head, “I must admit, I had my reservations entering this meeting with you. But thus far you have been a standup gentleman about this.” He was either just hoping the Boons would help sweep the mess under the carpet, or really felt bad about what happened. She quite frankly didn’t care either way. “We don’t currently have a Harpy to record the Boons, but I’m sure our Seneschal can take care of that. And should you wish to speak with Judex Twist personally, I can place a call to her.” It would be best for him to offer it himself, but it had already been a long night.

“Well, we certainly cannot speak for your Primogen, and without knowledge of what is going on, we can only say that sometimes it is best to have allies. Our nights are often unpredictable as new faces come and go more regularly. And I would like goodwill between our Domains. I believe what Deputy French is concerned about is if one of our Domains has a problem, and it isn’t dealt with, it may very well move on to the other Domain. But, we cannot speak for our Princes and what they may or may not desire.” Asa didn’t strike her as being unreasonable, and goodwill with another Domain seemed wise to her. But it may not to her.

“So lets settle our current issue at hand, present the situations to our Judex’s and Princes’, and see where it goes from there?” she presents.

Leaning forward in her chair, “Though I’m still eagerly awaiting an answer to my previous question.” Yeah, she didn’t forget that he didn’t answer her.

[Emma French]

"Mr. Stax, how about we meet for coffee soon to discuss the Primogen and other interesting things? And frankly, talking with me may help you personally. It seems you carry a great deal of stress and someone in my personal position may be able to help. I can't remember with all the commotion if I ever introduced myself, I am Dr. Emma French." Emma gave him an encouraging smile. "My specialty is cognitive archeology which is the study of society and social interactions past and present. I am also a psychologist who teaches stress management."

[Yumyumcrow]

"I would be happy to settle accounts," Stax smiled thinly.

"So how shall we do this? You can talk with your Judex and your Seneschal to record the boons here. I will contact mine by phone..."

His voice trailed off while his face turned blank. Then:

"I would suggest that I be allowed to reside in this Domain. At least until the boon's have been recorded. As surety, you understand? Some would see letting me leave as a kind of weakness." He shrugged and gestured with his free hand. "I am a Librettist of the Unconquered. I pay my debts. You may let the two Carthian's go. I'll stand for them. You can let them know that I do. There should be plenty of opportunity to finalise matters at Court." A brief, vulpine smirk crossed his lips.

He blinked the, a slight action, quickly controlled.

"How I found him? Oh - the poacher Forde, you mean? Well... I didn't. I left that up to the Carthians. They have access to a very wide night of contacts. As far as I know they put the word out, backed it with some bribes, a trawled through the information they got back. Most times we caught up with him too late, and he would - just - get away. This time, as luck would have it, we got there in time." And a nod to the Gangrel pair. "And other factors kept kept him in place before he could make good his escape."

Emma's offer was met by a blank stare; the look of one who has been completely blind sided.

"Stressed!? Stre...!" A pause as Stax turned on his heels slightly to recast his pose. The hand slipped free from his pocket and rested gently on his flat stomach. "I would be happy to chat over coffee." He carefully avoided suggesting the subject.

[Vampire ST]

Orianna

[Alessandra]

There was a nod of her head, “I’ll place the appropriate calls, and with your contact details, as well as the names of your Seneschal and Judex, we should be set.” This seemed like the best way to settle this. And without more bloodshed and more torpored Kindred. Now, as long as the Prince agrees with how she handled it, things would be good.

His next words surprised her, to say the least.

“Well, that sounds like a reasonable solution, but I cannot grant that to you. I would either need to contact the Priscus of your Family, or have you sit and talk with Seneschal Hart. Those, as well as His Grace, are the only ones able to grant that.” As a member of the First Estate, he surely knew that. “And I will pass along the word to your associates, and that you stand for them. Not many are willing to stand for Carthians, they must be upstanding Kindred.” Or owe him. It had been her experience that not many Carthians were worth their weight in air.

She didn’t much like his smile, but you can’t stake a guy for that. Well, you could, but it would probably be frowned upon.

Another nod, “Contacts and Allies can be very useful.” Which reminded her she needed to expand upon hers. And his explanation made sense, well placed calls could settle a lot of problems.

Smirking, “Well, count me out of the whole coffee thing, it upsets my stomach.” She adds with a chuckle. “I will place those calls and gets things in motion.”

[Emma French]

Emma could see stress written all over his face. She ignored that for now. Who knows it could just be a little trick he was doing to garner sympathy. She would leave it for now. He lied to her earlier or manipulated the truth. What was that called again? Oh yes, alternative facts. Emma felt that Ale thought along the same lines... No real trust for him but could be an allie. It was worth a shot.

To Stax: "I look forward to further conversations."

To Ale: "Do you want me to take him out to the other room while you make a few calls?"