Walk in the Park

[Garrett Prosper]

The Sacramento State Park was the city's attempt to string together several historical sites in an insulated garden environment, fenced off from the concrete and iron of the city as time marches on.

Jacque had insisted on privacy without providing any suggestions, and so Garrett had decided to have a bit of fun with the Lord. Security was harmless, mostly just there to make sure no one set up camp, or the college students wouldn't tag the monuments with graffiti.

The annoyed questions to said college-aged Savage was given as he leaned against the fence in the dark; met with polite words and a bid for directions. He avoided the street lamps catching his unnatural features while he checked his phone, humming to himself.

[Jacque]

Jacque strolled around until he caught sense of the weak beast. It gleefully praised as he made his approach to the young Dragon, its maw salivating at the chance to strike him down.

He dismissed the urges passively as he smirked to Garrett, "Publicly private or privately public Mister Prosper?" Twisting his smirk to a grin, "Good evening, nevertheless."

He had intended for something a little less... outdoors but then again he left the request fairly open to the Dragon's whims. Still, the location did beckon the question, "So what made you pick this place?"

[Garrett Prosper]

Prosper looks up in surprise as he hears Jack's voice, checking off a mental note that the Kindred could hide his Beast. It made interactions less irritating, at least.

"Evening, Jack," he says, putting away his phone and offering a hand. At the question he snorts a laugh.

Because the last fucking time I met a Lord inside, I was hotboxed with cigars; worried I might bet cut up in a church basement if I didn't black out from a Command, first.

"It is nice out and I like walking? Usually when someone requests my time, the guest is not asked to host," he grins viciously before shrugging. "I also just find it a little more interesting than drinking in an upscale bar. Repetition is not my thing. You are here to talk science, yes?"

[Jacque]

He shakes his hand with a firm grip, "Good a reason as any, I suppose." He arched an eyebrow at the quip, "My intention had been so that you wouldn't be chasing after me to hold a conversation that is largely to my benefit." He returns the grin while waving a hand and shrugging, "But, I will remember the preference for the future."

He nods, motioning to the path to start their stroll, "Yes, the science, as it were. Has Lina shared anything about our conversation or myself?" He had noted his distaste for repetition.

[Garrett Prosper]

Prosper does one last sweep with his eyes to make sure they wouldn't be interrupted for a walk after-hours, before vaulting over the shallow barricade that prevented vehicles from entering.

"No, she has not," the Savage responds with a shrug, turning around to watch Jack. "Usually this conversation means she is looking to add another student to the ranks. Atticus pinged me and Blackbird a few months back that you might be asking questions, and I saw you two conversing in Court." With the lack of light, the animalistic state of the well-dressed man becomes more apparent as bright orbs catch the last light of the street lamps. His demeanor was entirely different without the stiff formality of Court, and there was an energy to his steps as he maintains some distance.

"And from what I gather, you practice law among the Kine and contribute these skills to your ongoing research into the occult. I see you asking a lot of questions, and I can relate to curiosity. My own question is this just a casual rendezvous to further sate your interest, or is this business?"

[Jacque]

Jacque follows the young savage's lead and hops the barricade for their walk.

"I had asked a few questions about the nature of the Dragon's work and somewhere along the line both of your names were shared as individuals I should talk with about your experience becoming a Dragon. As you likely surmised, I'm not aligned with any covenant but I have a healthy curiosity of them," Jacque keeps a steady pace so long as the distance is reasonable while keeping an eye out for eavesdroppers.

Smiling, "My conversation with Blackbird in court was unrelated, actually. I did also send her a letter requesting an audience for this same purpose though. She hasn't responded yet."

"Mostly correct. My practice is past tense, something I'm looking to reestablish soon but there are significant hoops to jump through to make it viable. My skills in the sciences are what contribute to my delves in the occult." He quietly chuckles at the question, "Sating my interest may lead to more formal business, or not. I do a healthy amount of vetting before making any significant decision." Shrugging his shoulders with a light flap of his hands, "At least when time can be afforded for it."

The light briefly glints off his eye as he looks to Prosper, "So how did you come to decide being a Dragon was the right path for you?"

[Garrett Prosper]

"Cool."

He appreciated the corrections to his surface read, as paper thin as it was. Slowing a bit while handsome Jack brings him up to speed, he nods his head occasionally, pausing at the mention of the former Slave. He didn't know the Ventrue, and it wasn't his business to divulge over the Grand Wyrm.

"That would be a tightrope to walk," he muses, preferring to do his business behind screens and phone calls. "Ambitious even. You would be surprised at the amount of Kindred that do not ask enough questions? If it is one thing I noticed about Sacramento, the dead here are sensitive." His tone is in good humour, though there is a slight undercurrent that polite words would not pierce further than the blank shots that they were.

"Well, I appreciate that you limited time has found its way to my company. I understand, so I will try and stay on track," he laughs. "For myself, the Ordo Dracul provided a mental exercise that supplemented my preexisting philosophy, with the key difference that it encourages evolution over the stagnation of the Curse.

I am in the business of discovery and change, though I am not as mentally talented as my compatriots, I approach in my own way. They are just tenants and scientific practice that can be adapted to whatever belief or personality that is willing to put this ideal first." He cocks an eyebrow. The answer wasn't exactly detailed to personal threads, but a Kindred expecting more would take him as a naive dolt.

"Have you been looking into this long? I always find it interesting when a Neonate starts thinking on what defines their purpose, or in other cases, someone who has managed just fine all these nights suddenly needing enforced direction." No assumptions of age. Open-ended.

[Jacque]

Chuckling at Garrett's comment about sensitivity, "I was surprised, actually. I always have had an expectation that certain questions might trigger a defensive response depending on how blunt I deliver them but seeing the raw reactions some have had to receiving an opportunity to set the record straight is nothing short of baffling."

He shrugs his shoulders, "I will always ask the question. After all, the best deception is the one you never have to speak. You don't strike me as the sensitive type though, are you?"

Nodding at his introduction, "What was your preexisting philosophy?"

Delightfully vague. Just enough information to keep me interested. "The nature of the curse? Decades. Specifically the Dragons? Not terribly long. I was never well connected before and the move to Sacramento opened up doors to such enlightening conversations. I had hoped to be able to look over research notes and materials that the Dragons might have collected, but that appears out of my immediate reach." He arches an eyebrow, "Enforced direction?"

[Garrett Prosper]

Garrett takes a left onto a side trail and down a garden path, "Please Jack, have you not heard how delicate I am?" he laughs.

"Preexisting before the Ordo Dracul? The answer unfortunately is quite boring. Guerilla fighting in the bush was stressful, and I did not like what the Beast did to my psyche. I did not really have the time to muse... I suppose I joined so I would not just be whining about how resentful I was of the circumstance. I prefer results. If I have a problem I eventually make a change." He tilts his head at the small comment on gate keeping.

"Was that the wrong word to use? I always saw a Covenant as a group of Kindred organizing under similar schools of thought. Information is not a free market in our culture, hence the appeal of Sacramento, but let us not kid ourselves that there are expectations of behaviour and service for said rewards in membership."

[Jacque]

"'Bitchers' and 'Doers' are two very appropriate categories to summarize most anyone. For someone who seems more on the sociable side, it is nice to hear you are the latter," He continues following Garrett's lead, taking a mental note of landmarks, "What problems have you overcome as a Dragon?"

He ponders the response, "Indeed they are, and that make sense in the general scheme of things but considering what you do is largely a science are there any fears of developing an echo chamber? Such things are often the leading roadblocks to advancing scientific discoveries."

He grins impishly, "Oh yes, I am not so naive but even a beggar can sometimes be thrown a scrap to chew on every once in a while."