The Pragmatist and the Lady of Ash

[Alice Hart]

After a quick word at the tail end of the Tournament Court, Alice was apprised of their newest arrival, the Deava Cadence Behr , who was also a Carthian.

Alice didn't know what to think of her. The Domain had a long history with the Movement, and the kindred that arrived claiming them as their Covenant. They also had a long history of those kindred jumping ship and joining a new Covenant, or even fleeing the Domain...for various reasons.

Alice didn't know how her Acknowledgement went with Vivian, since the Doll had been busy at the time with Gilroy, if the Succubus had told the new arrival of the mutability of the Domain, and of her Covenant, or if the women had left that for her to be told by someone else, or to discover it on her own.

Alice after being informed of Vivan telling Cadence to contact her or His Majesty Alice decided to take matters into her own hands and made time, some weeks after Court to meet with the Carthian.

A message was recorded on the women's phone to meet the Doll in her office at the Nox.

The door was open awaiting her arrival, the lights on since the slight ghoul sitting on one of the couches needed them to see, and tend to her own work.

The scent of sage and other aromatic herbs greets the deava's nose, she might note the piles of ash where incenses have burned and crumbled. Curiously there looks to be trailing patterns made by slim fingers in the piles. Her eyes are drawn to a magnificent dark wood desk, it's legs were carved to display scattered leaves, weaving vines. Predators and prey of all sorts, and among it all were the signs and sigils of the gods Alice had sworn her unlife to.

Alice sits behind the desk, fingers trailing over pages as her head points forward. In her sanctum her amethyst sunglasses have been set aside, leaving the gaping maws of darkness free to the world.

Once Alice feels the presence of a new Beast, a rival! A threat! Her head turns to the door, it takes a moment -- wrestling with the Wraith -- before Alice opens her mouth and in her oh so hollow voice, "Good evening Miss Behr, please come in." gesturing to the chair across the desk from her, "Unless you'd rather test out the couch?"

[Alice Hart]

"Then I'm Alice, at least here." behind closed doors that is. Court was another matter entirely.

Alice sets her papers down, closing the binder they were in and sets it aside. As Alice hears the women cross the distance from the door to the chair she pointed at first.

As unobtrusively as possible, Lyssa stands, closes the door and returns to what she was working on.

"With a Domain the size of ours, and with the scant number of kindred of note your's is a position that happens frequently. Were you Mekhet, you would be Priscus as well." Alice informs the daeva. "And, the Movement isn't seen as a joke-well yes, to some it is. But, it's just that those of the Movement, don't stay. They make their proclamations, with their pretty words and then as soon as we wait for them to work at whatever their dream is...they're gone. Or they've...well. Fucked up something fierce and met their end, fled or any number of things that suddenly require them to not be here.

"In fact His Majesty, Prince Clarke used to be a member of the First Estate before he turned to the Ordo Darucl, and he enjoys debates between himself and Carthians." Alice tells the women, wondering how she'd take it. "Though, sadly in my time here I have never seen the Movement as a whole shine."

[Alice Hart]

"There is always something underneath the reputation. It takes time to discover it." A new initiate, set upon Sacramento with no guidance, or at least nothing she was admitting, yet. "Luck or fate might bring more Carthians here. They tend to come and go, as I said."

Though when there was an established Carthian around they tended not to appear as they were wont when there wasn't anyone to spearhead their...organization.

"Were you specifically sent to Sacramento, or did you chose the River City for yourself?" Asks the Doll after a moment.

"As long as you are secure in your point of view and your augment's better then I'm a Carthian and so I'm right, then you'll do fine." Alice nods, smoothly inhuman, to quick to be natural. Like invisible strings were expertly loosened, and pulled taut once more.

The smoothly inhuman nod gives way to a too-wide-too-fake smile.

"You are in luck Miss Behr-Cadence. We need kindred who will take action. The summer of 2016, the Brood attacked. Firebombing the Crone Farm during a public Rite, the Summer Solstice. Since then we've been tracking them and trying to root them out. Now, we know their leader. Dirge, once a member of the Domain. She had many accomplishments to her name, she won a Regency through combat, and was named the then Reeve's Deputy. She threw that all away. Her Grace the Archon Twist will Summon Dirge, and we'll deal with her....and whomever, and whatever she brings with her.

"Taking part in the battle, for there will be a battle, might end with all, none, or even some of us ash....are you still willing to offer your serves in this?"

[Alice Hart]

An artificial brow raises at the fumbling words, but Alice doesn't comment on it. "Truthfully Cadence, I care not for your Covenant -- not that I don't care about Carthians, but I don't care what Covenant you claim as yours. I care about actions. Proving your own merit. I had a friend he was the last Carthian who had been within the Domain for years, and he fled a Blood Hunt on his heels, and that wasn't because of his allegiance to the Carthians, but his failures as the Gangrel Priscus.

"So, purvey your ideas, it's been...stale around here lately. I hope, you have more then just ideas though."

The silence grows as Cadence hopefully thinks over her words. Alice sits in her chair, still as any corpse, though she doesn't move her head -- her eyeless sockets -- from pointing towards the Daeva. It wasn't like Alice could see her, or whatever thoughts were visible on her face, but the Doll knew she was probably unnerving the succubus just by being herself, which Alice was tired of catering to everyone's sensibilities, specially in her own office.

Alice laughs at the words even as she give the women another too smooth and too quick nod.

"Thank you for agreeing. I know that facing such a foe when you've only just arrived is a daunting thing." a pause, more to pace the conversation then need of breath, "We will be meeting [here] at [date, time]...do you have any mortal contacts that you believe could be use? Weapons dealers or the like?" If Ale couldn't get this or that, maybe the Carthian could.

[Alice Hart]

Alice nods her all to quick, but still smooth and inhuman nod. She hadn't expected anything like that from a new arrival, not really. It took more then a handful of nights to cultivate such contacts.

"Have you skill in Majesty?" Alice asks, "Because I'm sure, if you work it a certain way, you might be able to cultivate such a skill." her lips twisted into a parody of a smirk. "Devotions are created, discovered, or rediscovered because of one's needs hmm?"

After a moment of quiet, "Id there anything else you wanted to discuss Cadence?"