Coffee Confab

[Mhairi Ankaa]

After her talk with Thomas, Mhairi knew she needed to talk to Ingrid. Not only for what they discussed between them, the offer of a Motley, Mhairi's proposal of inviting Sera...but for something else.

So the wisp called Ingrid , and set up a meeting several days after her late night with Thomas concluded and she was lead out of his Hollow. Mhairi's mind still abuzz with the wonders of his library.

She wasn't nervous as she dressed, in a black, lace halter top, a high wasted skirt with a skull and bone pattern on it, and her nearly always present, and favorite pair of boots

Though now, as she waited, coffee in hand, nervous wasn't a strong enough word to describe her mood.

After everything that happened, everything that was happening, would Ingrid still be interested? Would Ingrid shut down the idea of Sera? Would she just say -

Mhairi cuts offer her thoughts, though the tight ball of anxiety remains.

Mhairi couldn't see the future, all she would have to do would be wait.

Fingers want to twist, but the coffees she held prevented it, knowing that really didn't help with anything that was bubbling up in her gut.

[Ingrid]

Ingrid has been waiting for this call. She also desires coffee. Thus, when turns up in a light skirt, blue-and-white-stripped T shirt, plimsols and... beret (now where the hell did she find that; and the T is a bit too tight but she has only just realised that now!) the Darkling has a slight smile on her lips. And coffee in her hand.

"Well. Aren't you a sight..." The self proclaimed Queen of Spring purrs as she takes a seat.

The look the Darkling gives the Elemental across the space between them suggests that Ingrid knows exactly what this meeting is about.

[Mhairi Ankaa]

"Well," begins the wisp after a start, nervous spiraling thoughts distracting her from Ingrid's arrival. "I could say the same about you." and she could. Mhairi hadn't seen Ingrid in anything that wasn't, a large floppy hat, and the large sunglasses that probably half fashion and half protection from the harsh sunlight against the Darkling's sensitive eyes.

As they sit, Ingrid gives Mhairi a look and Mhairi's mouth dries. What did that mean?!

"That beret's cute, I don't think I could pull it off." she says instead of what she wanted to say.

Then she frowns into her coffee, taking a sip, stalling. This was big. Big. Huge. Monumental even.

"So." she starts, then stops, and starts again, "I had a, I mean, Thomas and I-we talked." Mhairi says, quicksilver dipping as she taps her fingers on the table. "About that study group." there, that had to be an okay-ish start, "And I, well. Yes. I'd love to join....but, well there's two, well, three things. But mostly two. First, uh-are you still interested even with everything that's been happening with the uh-staff?"

Mhairi's attention's back to her coffee, but her fell-flames flickers, and dart suspiciously over her cup.

[Ingrid]

"Yes."

Ingrid shrugged a little. Her eyes glittered.

"He's been lobbying. I must say he has been working very hard with his document. Its not without its good points. He also explained how you'd stepped beyond your bounds. Threatened him. I don't know enough of what happened to say much more than that."

The Darkling's eyes were still on the Elemental.

"If you did, you should probably find some way to fix things. Drop the grudge. It could be applied to us all right now. If thats what did happen, then he does have a point. In a way."

Ingrid shrugged again. Not so much as dismissing the event as simply moving on from it.

"Now Thomas, the little cutie. I'm glad he suggested my little Thing. I think its something we can all benefit from."

[Mhairi Ankaa]

"Has he?" voice, not faint, and showing no disbelief.

After week with this gnawing and snarling up her mind, Mhairi had, hopefully, turned the events of That Day down to a science, and if not, this was just more practice.

"What happened was...I let my paranoia grow, and when it hit a boiling point I made accusations - which is my fault, I should have handled everything better - and I demanded his word to the contrary, that he wasn't what I accused him of. He didn't give it, at least not then. Didn't even try to negotiate my terms. So, I told him if he wouldn't give me his word, then he had no business in my uh Park. And if he didn't leave....that's when I made my threat."

It was a little harder to discuss things out in the open. Maybe they should leave and find a place to sit on the other side of the Thorns, or maybe Mhairi should just show Ingrid her Hollow.

"I said, after he gave me his word that I could let the anger go - hopefully - that I could learn to trust him now, now that I know he's not..." she sighs. "But with someone I don't trust, or at least someone whom I've spent months Fearing I couldn't leave them in place as my Head of Security. I told him, he could talk to whomever I named next...and maybe if she-er-they felt like he was needed he could be Deputized. Maybe eventually work his way up the ranks and regain his former position, but, he didn't stay long enough to hear all that. I said he could be Deputized and I got a sneer, some polite but not really words, and he stormed out." Mhairi shakes her head, and takes another sip of her coffee.

"And that paper, he just wants us to sign it. He was pretty adamant that it wouldn't be tied to the-uh-you know....I didn't, and still don't agree with that. And having a paper laying around when we could go with a binding verbal contract...." a shrug. "And I'm calling a staff meeting, for the first. To air everything out. Which this" she makes a gesture in the air, "leads me to the third thing. Which has absolutely no baring on the uh-Thing."

Mhairi sighs, then nibbles on her lip. "Do you want to go somewhere quieter to talk? Or, are you fine here?" With a shake of her head, "I guess it doesn't really matter, I should just ask, right?" Ingrid was smart enough to see through the thin obfuscation needed in a unsecured setting like this. But if Ingrid wanted to move, Mhairi would wait until they'd reached their destination.

The wisp sucks in a breath, "First, or-uh second rather, if we're going with my internal list, and not that there's two things left for me to talk about." babbled out, a hint of a pink glow igniting within her moonlit cheeks, "So, that-uh, Study Group, I asked Thomas if adding someone was out of the question and he didn't seem opposed to who I had in mind. Sera, if you're wondering." the last bit, added just to add something, "She's a friend, and she's interesting in learning more. She's talked to me about a few things, her interests and focuses....they're what you'd expect from her, uh Family. But she seemed interested in stepping outside that box."

Then, "Uh, Second or third depending on your view on my list, I was thinking, that-ah-and this has no baring on our Thing, if it happens or not, if you want to include Sera or not, or anything like this, I'm asking because you're who I thought of first when no one came forward. So. Uh. How would you feel about replacing Brown as my Head of Security?"

[Ingrid]

"Here's fine. Unless we are going to talk loudly. And yell and scream. And stuff."

The Darkling grins wickedly and blows on her coffee. She stares at the dark liquid for a few moments more.

"Talk to Sera if you want. I have no objections." Ingrid wanted access to the mole man's library; and Desire could be negotiated.

"As for our friend. Well... He did say he loves his bureaucracy. So, naturally, I think he'll like everything codified on paper. With multiple forms. I'd probably take up elements of his idea if we were a bigger group. Then we'd need a framework like that just to survive. But not right now."

Ingrid paused for a moment to check her surroundings.

"You are going to have to make it up to the guy, somehow. How would you react if someone threatened you. Just saying." She was cooling her coffee again, more so she could glance across the table with a certain gravity.

And then it was gone. She placed the cup on the table and, exhaling, stretched. Eyes to the ceiling.

"Gee. Um. I dunno." Helpless laugh. But when she finished her stretch and hunkered down across the table, she was all seriousness. "In all truth, the position is a... Crimson position." She checked her surroundings. "He probably is the best guy for the role. Thinks like a spy, right? We don't have the numbers for a militia or anything like that. So we need someone like a spy. Or a scout... Kinda... Thing? Circe could do it, I think. But she got too many connections in the... ah... world. I don't think she is as cold blooded as our mutual friend. And that might get in the way."

She spared Mhairi an impish grin.

"Or you could just decide that management is not worth it and give it over to me." She gave an impish grin. It was impossible to say if the Darkling was joking or actually meant it.

[Mhairi Ankaa]

"No screaming, and whispering's-or at least not being loud's just polite."

A nod, "Okay. I didn't think you would, but I didn't want to talk to her, without letting you know, or seeing if it was okay." says Mhairi, fingers playing with the cuff of her cup.

"If we had the numbers we had when I first arrived, I would be cheering a the thought of that sort of mind, and framework he'd put together, but we can count how many of us there are using our fingers." she says, pausing, letting a moment pass, before she lets out a sigh, "I know. I just wanted-needed-some distance, and I want to talk to him...I mean, I don't want to talk to him alone, I need someone else there to make sure....everything's not. Well, I think it's pretty obvious as to why I need a third party to be there."

"So?" Mhairi says, "The things Sasha's looking after," Pledges, "Seems more Ashen to me." she shrugs, "He is a really good contender, yes. I'm saying no to that, but. He's to focused on this side of things, when I told him I was removing him from his position, he told me all about his wonderful mundane contacts. And he doesn't even seem to want to do rounds on the other side of things...for my Head of Security, I need someone who get's both sides and can deal with threats from each. You wear Emeralds, and our study group wouldn't be a thing if we didn't share common interests, you used to be a PI, right?" all things Mhairi thought were important to the role. "And if you really, really need him. Deputize him."

A laugh, "I don't think you're being serious." because who in the hells would want this sort of stress, "But if it's what you want, what you, you Desire. Take it. I would love to be able to sleep at night." her moonlit self, and a careful application makeup made the bags and dark circles disappear.

[Ingrid]

Something flashed across Ingrid's face. Her lips quivered, tugged up at the corners in an ugly rictus. Her eyes gleamed, hungry.

Licking her lips, she spoke. "Well. I'd be happy to take on the mantle if that is what you feel. Not being pushy. Just offering. You know."

She took a quick sip.

"Our friend has spoken with Sera and me. Given his side of the story. So... Yeah. Well. We could try that if you want. I could moderate. Or something like that. Try and get everyone back on the same page."

Licking her lips again.

"Yeah I could totally see the Pledge stuff fitting the ash perfectly. You'd really need to talk with Sasha on that..."

She looked ready to speak more on the subject but shook her head instead, breaking free of the thought.

"Well. Now you put it that way... If thats what our mutual friend feels then he might not be suited for the job after all. We gotta have eyes in two worlds. Because we're people of two worlds."

[Mhairi Ankaa]

Hunger was something Mhairi could recognize. Was it the idea of power? The thought of recognition?

"We could swap. You be Director, I'll take Groundskeeper." but to swap, or to make it like a proper swap, Ingrid would need to be Groundskeeper. "You know, I was actually interested in being the Notary. I thought it would work best, just because of my group and my own interests in wordcraft. But...I don't know if I'd talk to Sasha about it. She's a fine Notary, and I don't know if I'd want to make it seem like I want to take it from her, I don't, but...." Mhairi shrugs.

There it was, confirmation of the mirrorskin's campaigning. Or whatever it was that he was doing.

"I'd love to have you there for the meeting, maybe in a few weeks when I have a better handle on my schedule."

A nod, "That's my sentiment, even when I brought up that he'd need to be able to focus on the other side, he deflected, and tried to make his mundane qualifications more... her fell-flames sputter "I-don't-know, shiny!"

She shakes her head, and takes a sip of her coffee, "You know what really started all this...well, what was the spark that ignited an inferno?" Fell-flames look up to stare at the pale wraith in front of her, "We were talking about a Commons, somewhere nice, just past the Thorns in Funderland. He was against it, because not everyone's comfortable there. Which, sure. I can understand, but to make better memories and to help with the comfortably, wouldn't a nice, safe environment be best?" Mhairi shakes her head, "Then, he wanted to limit our ventures to the Park....not from a security stand point, but because 'others' and by other's I think he meant himself - aren't comfortable there. Which I took to mean, because he isn't comfortable, and so doesn't want to deal with trouble on that side of things.

The wisp shakes her head, drinking more of her coffee, "Which is again, why I don't want him as the head of security."

[Ingrid]

"Sure. That sounds like a great idea." Ingrid carried on, guilelessly. Her eyes were still gleaming with a feral intensity.

"I will be there." The cruel grin softened at last.

Mhairi continued speaking. Ingrid sipped more coffee, listening over her cup. Her expression turned to one of mild surprise.

"Whats wrong with a Hollow? If you don't want one connected to the wider Hedge don't cut a door there. Simple! Thats just plain... stupid. I mean sure, have a single 'official' trod if that makes you happy. But how the hell are you going to enforce a blanket ban when any of us can cut our way into the Beyond, at any time we put our mind's to it?"

She paused, breathed, let her eyes rove.

"If we give that place up, never know what will come sneaking in and set up home."

She tutted quietly. "If what you say is true... Then our Crimson guy has a big chip on his shoulder."

Ingrid sighed and gently put down her cup.

"So. Back to topic. You saying you want me as Groundskeeper?"