Voices Past, Voices Present

[Sand]

Experience with spirits? None.
So instead of contributing, she sipped at the tea, snagged a sandwich to munch and listened.

Leaning forward to peer at the envelopes, "These came from here This bunker?" A puzzle piece seemed missing in the scene. She couldn't quite pin down though if the piece was from the shared history the other mages had, the history of this physical place or something else entirely.

No time to work it out though, "Well yeah- there are abandoned buildings pretty much everywhere there are humans. Florida, Hawaii... hell, Antarctica probably has a tent or two that was left behind. But not all of them are cold war bunkers." Laughter.

"I did. And yes and no to the tourists. Everyone gets tired of tourists. But like, in Florida... you accept them because they pay your taxes. But in Hawaii... I was kind of the most annoying tourist- the one who lives there. Unless your a true born Hawaiian, you pretty much aren't much better than a tourist." Laughter again. "So yeah- they were annoying. But all I had to do was turn around and see someone giving me the stink eye myself."

Another round of questions, but this time not toward her. The questioner becomes the questioned, and as she washes down another bite of sandwich with tea, she looks to see what answers come forth.

[Tuesday]

Nod, nod. "Yep. When we did that dinner thang."

Dick pops into shadows and comes out with goodies. "Huh. Like. Ditto questions." pointing to Sand and Campy. "Also. Have you looked into the archives in the Circle? Since. Near certain that Campy's been playin' scrivener. And if it's not in the open spots free for anybody to ogle. I'm sure that there's stuff in the Mysterium section. Unless Campy's been failing at the writing stuff down."

Turns towards the Moros. Brow arches in silent or not so silent question as it turned out, "Have you been failing in your writing stuff down thing that I assume you're the boss of?"

Spell pings and a Tuesday brow arches. When they're on the job she'll Luck without permission. Or when she's green lightin' a newbie she'll Look. Out side of that she asks first. Dick. Flingin' a spell, and words like a joke, but seriously not one at all. "Dude rude."

She knows it was a covert spell and with the Arcana that the private dick knows. Spirit. Best guess since. 'Possessed.'

"Also. Dude. Guardian." she says, traces of her normal cheer gone. If he didn't get why she was pissed after that then she was seriously wondering why he was a Fox. Since. Cabaling it up with a Guardian. There were Things. You Just Didn't Do.

Tuesday frowns, crosses her arms. Looks Seriously Disappointed, before turning to listen to Sand.

[Campanella]

Campanella sighs. He lays down the envelope and his cup with deliberate slowness, taking the time to let a look pass between Oculus and Tuesday.

"There are no archives. Whatever we had is... lost. I've had enough conversations with our Order outside the city to deduce that there was once a much larger and well established Athenaeum in the city. I've been unable to find it and there is most certainly no records left of where this would have been. I have no idea what the state of the other Orders is like."

The next words are more for Oculus. "I have established a new Athenaeum at the Circle but so far... All it holds are some ritual props for me. I've used it for ritual purposes... Because I've had nothing to secure there. And right now its even emptier. I have my own Sanctum now, so there is less need for me to store my accoutrements there."

Back to Tuesday and the others. "What we have is... What we have. I can only surmise that the Seers have scrubbed the Consilum's presence from history. All we managed to do was cling on. I have no idea if their campaign is ended or indeed, if we stalled them enough to waste their resources. All I can conjecture is that it would appear that way. For now."

He shifted uncomfortably.

"Of course, we should take heart. We have a base. We have the core of a Consilium. Alright, maybe not a Consilium but a Cabal at least. We have options. We can go on."

[Sand]

"Yeah... not really," said softly with a wrinkle of confusion apparent. Glances around, was she the only one not following? Even if not as fully confused, Campanella at least understood what Oculus was getting at though it seemed. So as he spoke, she ate and drank. Nodding at his comments about taking heart. Nothing wrong with starting small.

Brushing breadcrumbs from fingers, "It's not a supernatural thing. A cultural one would be the best way to describe it. Like any society they take who they are very seriously." A simplification of the situation but it would suffice for the time.

As the interaction between Oculus and Tuesday chills from the pleasant beginings she finishes off her drink. She wasn't new to seeing socially awkward- she was in the STEM field afterall. But repeated interactions with the phenomenon did not infact increase ones tolerance.

"So .... I'm still not exactly following what you had in mind for us here. Looks like you got the history part from your note down," fingers tap the letters. "And you say it isn't a letter drop or a new Sanctum so..." She trailed off.

There were basic steps in setting up an experiment or a paper and one of them was to properly identify the goal. Her goal in coming here had been to spend time with her fellow Mages, maybe get to know others besides Tuesday and Faye. And that seemed to be achievable with Campanella and Occulus here. But what was his goal with this? So far, despite his rambles as he put it, she hadn't been able to isolate that.

[Tuesday]

"Dude. It might seem like nothing. But it's not just manners. Or whatever. You need to understand that you can't just cast on me whenever you like. There's reasons." Ones that might, one day get him killed. "Sure. It was a Covert." since gold. "So it couldn't have been too bad. But. Dude. Think. Would you want me to cast one of my coverts at ya unprompted, and uninvited?" her Glare could still fell and empire. Or something. It wasn't about Pride. It was about sounding cool.

Frown. She's frowning. "So you cast to cast. And not just that but you cast on me. To leave a magic trail so someone could find it and Awaken?" Seriously dude? "Sure. Maybe a magic trail Awakens someone. But. They might not be ready too Awaken. What happens then? When they refuse, their souls refuse the Supernal?" Tuesday asks, leaving it hang in the air.

Turning to the Moros, "Campy. Dude. We've just stalled them. They went so far to rewrite Time. They're not giving up because we caused them some set backs." because even if the Clock was silent that didn't mean shit wasn't going down.

Unicorn nods. "What he said." a grin. "But yeah. We're here and we remember. They hadn't taken that from us." blink. "But Cabal? That mean you wanna be a Fox?" eyebrow arches, smile on her lips.

Then her thumb jerks, "Also what she said. Er. Asked." Since why were they here if Dick had done most of the work?

[Campanella]

"Collective effort?" Campanella raised an eyebrow. The expression did not last, however, as Oculus continued. The Moros averted his gaze and for a moment he looked weary, really weary, as the Shaman became more energised. With a slight shake of his head, he continued: "I have tried tracking down the old Athenaeum with little success. I fear it may be... lost."

The words clearly pained the mystogogue.

"As for the other chapters of the Order not helping... I believe that could be down to rivalry. Deep seated rivalry. The Golden Consilium has no love for us here in Sacramento. It has been that way since Sacramento broke free from the Bay's influence. We, as inheritors of that past, still have not been forgiven. I'm sure it will be thus until we roll over and beg to welcomed back into the Golden Consilium - and most likely beyond because they are sure to be suspicious of us."

"As for rebuilding the archive with our experiences of the now. I approve. Its a start. Its... Something. A record, at least. Right now there is not enough records and everything is vague and prone to vanish on a puff of wind. Or whenever someone leaves. I don't have the kind of mastery needed to make something imperishable. But it doesn't mean we can't start an archive with multiple sources. Digital, written words, photographs even. And yes, I'm sure I can purchase some solid stones for us to carve a stele or something - assuming any of you wishes to try your hand at stone masonry."

He paused.

"And yes, I am sure there are spells to block and/or protect against workings from a similar Arcana. Fate against Fate; Matter against Matter."

At length he turned to Tuesday.

"Fox. Or whatever. I am saying there is too few of us currently to be anything other than a single Cabal. I have tried to provide a stable point for a second group but all it has gotten me so far is an empty cabin. And as far as I can tell, everyone else is a Fox. If we really want to start working together then we have to start acting as a single group and that starts by become one Cabal."

Did the Guardian expect him to beg?

[Sand]

Well, if Oculus wanted to get the group talking, he definitely achieved that goal.

Conversation swirled regarding boundaries and safety, Awakening, the War, and even the very state of the city's mages.

Deciding that the last thing she wanted to do at the moment was put herself in between Tuesday and Occulus, she focused instead on the conversation that Campanella had progressed.

"Rebuilding what has been lost is good practice. I would only caution that we not put too much reliance upon mudane activities like such preventing the Seers. Without safeguarding our activities on ways that directly resist them," a nod toward Campanella's words, "any record we make will be as resistant to a changed past as a weed on the side of the road." Hopefully she wasn't overstepping, especially an experienced Acanthus present. But from what she had been told about this Time War, the only thing that they had was themselves and their fragemented memories of a different time. But items, buildings... those all had been erased and rebuilt.

A single finger lifted, a mouth opened to object. Because if Campanella wasn't simply making an error about her status as a Fox perhaps he was saying that she didn't count enough as an "else" and that would be far worse. One was a misstake. The other was an insult.

However, his point was valid, and her correction would be little more than erroneous data. And perhaps she didn't want to know that he truly meant the second interpretation of his statement.

"I think you might be on to something Campanella," was what ultimately came out. A bit softer than a true declaration, but audible nonetheless. But ultimately it was up to Tuesday, Faye and Occulus. Shifting slightly so that she stood with shoulders parallel to Campanella she faced 2 of the 3 Foxes. Afterall, if they did decide to go this route, she stood with him in petitioning to join.

It was one matter to dillydally in picking which cabal to join. It was another to reject the only one in the city.

[Tuesday]

Tuesday states at the private dick. He's cast something that told him something about her. That was on, if there ever was an on. "If they were ready, would they need that tiny trail?" Tuesday returns, but leave it at that.

"Sure. Fate to Fate. Matter to Matter. Plus all the other Arcana. If you want it to be as safe as safe can be. We need to use all of them. To protect it-them against that arcana." Tuesday says, maybe a bit slowly. Since. Thought this was basic mageness. "Which. There's six of us. We don't have all that magic to bring to the table. But. history. Ours. We know that objects and places are vulnerable, and even our memories aren't that secure. But. They're better then everything else around here. So. A remembered history, which is an oral one. We keep it safe, and we tell the tales to those of come to Sacramento, or if we leave. Bring our knowledge out to the world." Tuesday didn't know if that was the busking-skald in her or the Guardian, but that made the most sense to her.

Nod, nod. "Fox or Whatever." Tuesday brings out her phone, and starts typing. "So. Idea. One Cabal. Sure. Great. Since. Small. But. FD isn't a Campy or Sand thing." it really wasn't even a Dick thing. Since the ass slept in their Sanctum and used their Hollow but contributed to neither. "So. Theater. Have one. Great place. Hollow's awesome too. But. You'd prolly feel all weird being a Fox. Since. Not coming in on the ground floor. Or whatever. So. Keep the Theater. Ditch the name. Reform the Cabal, for all of us. So. We're all apart of it."

She looks up as she sends off a text.

Campy + Sandy wanna Fox but maybe FD's not them. Don't want hard feels. And do want them to be comfy. You cool if we keep the place but ditch the name?