Dragon's Den

[Aaron van Valen]

Moving in together with another vampire is a very exciting thing for Aaron. As he had told her, he was used to living together for all of his unlife. He counts himself lucky to find a like-minded individual so soon after settling in a new city. Both their bedrooms aside, they share two more rooms. Seeing the armchair and the antique desk, the Lord recognizes some of his own taste back in Lina's stuff. They make a fine centerpiece of this office room. He looks around, what would fit this place?

'It depends really, on what kind of energy we want to go with. Something that makes you feel, at least, so not any random landscape.' He rubs his chin as he stands in a classic thinking pose. He starts thinking out loud. 'Perhaps the opposite of tranquil. Normally for bedrooms, modern feng shui practitioners want soothing energies, in order to rest easier. But I'm thinking we should attune the room to make us more... perceptive.'

'Thanks to my Sire, I have grown fond of old Dutch painters. But perhaps they are not really good for an office - more for an antique study room. I know one or two painters whose paintings always feature so many details, that every time you look at it, you see something new. This could give a healthy distraction when working on a case, by just looking at it, and having an "aha-experience" as they say in German.' He shrugs, trying to pulling himself out of his train of thought, but there's one more thing to say, 'In my own room I will probably have something from Mondriaan. Simple geometric elements work really well for me. To constantly structure my thoughts clearly.'

'Anyway. You already did a good job by not putting the desk against the wall. Many people do this so create space, but the effect is that you are facing the wall and turning your back on the rest of the room and the door; with all its positive energies.'

[Aaron van Valen]

'Ah yes - sorry.' Aaron laughs a little, reminding himself that not everyone is obsessively in control of their home environment like he is, 'Noir detective poster could do the job for a while. If I want to really make it work, I need to dedicate more time into it anyway.'

It might be better to get used to living together for a while before he starts deciding everything. There is enough that they don't know about each other yet. Like...

'How did that happen?!' He replies, surprised, but then adds: 'Congratulations though, team Priscus it is.'

And she actually has influence over quite a family.

It seems that after moving their first stuff, Lina had been holding back on quite some big topics to discuss. This makes Aaron all the more glad they have their own safe space to discuss this.

'Really now? Interesting. Great minds think alike, then. I have already been discussing the notion of subinfeudation with Vivian York - planting the idea in her head that I might be a good choice to help out. Similarly, with Alessandra I have discussed the obtaining of rights outside of the Communal Grounds. Just to get them thinking about it. Making it an Ordo Dracul thing would be a good move. Us controlling and securing the place would be a lot easier if we could actually settle and feed there.'

It would be a bold move, for sure, for two new arrivals. But they're also Prisci now and have a good case. Proper argumentation might win the Prince over.

[Aaron van Valen]

'They can't be? How disappointing. I mean, real masters of celerity...' Aaron teases with a soft chuckle. 'But good thinking on their part. It is good to have roles divided I suppose, making it easier for them to act in their Domain roles properly.' Now, if any Daeva is publicly corrected by Vivian, they would know she does it as Seneschal first, and as Daeva second.

He needs a moment to think about John Davis. Aaron replies slowly while choosing his words carefully. 'Like I told you earlier, he pledged his... well "loyalty" is a big word, but, friendship to me. Be as hard on him as you like, but as long as he does no serious harm to us or the Masquerade - I don't see why I could not still have him as an ally. I have an interest in him insofar that I think that he still has a future ahead of him. Whether it'll be as simple pawn or actually as ally with inter-Domain connections, that remains to be seen.'

He has no idea what Lina means when she says she'll be hard on someone. She would probably act within Domain Laws. But she is also smart enough and capable of making good arguments to get things to go her way. 'Then again, if he'd be Ventrue, I'd be quite correcting probably.'

Tough call.

'Sounds pretty good. I had not thought about Boons per se, since she can rescind the rights any moment she finds our work unsatisfactory. But it might be necessary to convince her of our dedication.'

[Aaron van Valen]

'Exactly, someday he may prove his worth. And we'll all roll over in our ashes when it turns out the hunters attack us through the sewers and he left it unchecked.' Imagine that scenario... 'But I perfectly understand your position and agree with you, for what it matters.'

From Priscus to Priscus.

He then nods firmly, 'We will do it right. I have plans already. You'd only have to stop me from trying to control it too tightly.' A Lord will always remain a Lord. But they would be sharing it; in their dream scenario as it is now. Aaron might be surprisingly good at that though. While with his Sire he was always in a subordinate position.

ahem...

He was always sharing an unusual amount of things for a Ventrue. Domain Privileges. Nests. To some extent status and influence. 'But so far we are making a fine team. We just have to make sure we don't come off as a threat to her Praxis.'

They would have to see how it all plays out.

'I have, in fact. I was going to tell you soon. I asked Cynthia Weiss if she would be interested, and she has agreed to meet with us both. So we should think how to present ourselves to her, and if we want to ask her things before making a decision from our side.'

[Aaron van Valen]

Aaron really awkwardly responds to the fistbump by extending his own fist and just barely touching Lina's. 'Someday you will make me get used to this.' Not tonight, not yet.

'I like the final part of that thought. I mean, if it reallygets down to it, vampires will always be unpredictable individual creatures. Personally as Prince I would not trust others to value Prestation right at the time when I need it. But this will have to be a relationship that grows over time. Luckily, we have that.' Although they are moving quick, they are not rushing into anything. Careful planning is all part of the Great Work.

Just like new recruits. He thinks back to his Reverence encounter with the Priscus of Haunts.

'What can I say. Weiss has had a nomadic past, though she moved here from San Francisco. She is mainly a painter, and hobbyist musician. She's not strongly religiously or politically minded, which is why she has not joined any other Covenant so far. I think she showed in interest in being our Academy tattoo artist. I would be eager to find ways to have her art bring us closer to our goals of Transcendence.'

Speaking of which: 'She's curious about how you do it. And come to think of it, so am I. We've been so busy setting up our Chapter that we have hardly been able to discuss the reasons for doing it all.' He starts to pace around the room. Their Haven would be a part of it. 'We should probably have a room for... well, experimentation. As long as we have no usable Chapter House.'