Coming to the Nest

The Lance had managed to have a brief communication with the Harpy and had been invited to stop by her office. Since losing feeding rights throughout the city and being restricted to the barrens he had found himself having to visit these offices more and more frequently. Wearing a simple black slack and jacket combo with a white collared shirt, Arturo found himself knocking at the Harpy’s door.


He waited for a answer to see if the Priscus was in and ready to see him, leaning on the door frame while he looked blankly down the hall. There was cloud forming in his mind, a loud hiss hidden within it, the words of Rebecca Simmons pound in his mind. The beasts obsidian claws climbing up as if crawl out his throat. The hunger was very real - it is what made it an effective punishment.


He snapped back to reality for a moment, trying to make sure he didn’t miss an invitation into the room by Rebecca Simmons

The design of the Harpy's office was modern, to be sure. Walking in one's gaze would immediately land on Rebecca's desk; glass, simple and uncluttered. In front of the desk were two short, black leather chairs. Inside the office, to the right of the door, sat a black couch and another black chair around a glass coffee table.

Behind Rebecca's desk sat a wide walnut bookshelf that contained books related to many things, including pharmacy, drugs, and medicine. Among the books, separated by beautiful bookends, sat several devices from long forgotten medical eras. There were tools for the process of lobotomization, connectors for electroshock therapy, and a case of old scissors and scalpel that had seen god knows how many surgeries. On top of the bookcase was a collection of beakers and flasks and connectors. And at the end of it all sat a single flask, corked at the top with a dark powdery substance at the bottom. To any who entered the office there was the distinct impression that everything there had a place and that nothing would be out of it's designated space.

Rebecca had expected Arturo to appear, and thus at the sound of his knock she summoned her mask of friendliness and politeness and stood before speaking clearly. "Come in."

  1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-04-29 20:35:04		Rebecca rolls 6 to Tatemae (Man+Exp+Kamen) (10 Again)		2, 1, 10, 4, 6, 2, 2		1 success

He was tired of this place. Three separate trips while fighting the starving monster took a toll. Entering the room, the Lances beast took note at the perfectly fit vessel that was in the officer, and it roared, using what energy it could muster as it clawed, hissed, screeched to let itself be unleashed and act, to rip this weakling open, crack their ribs, tear out their innards, ass so the serpent could devour smaller, plumper, beast.


The taint radiated, and at the door Arturo stood with unblinking eyes on the Harpy. He stood for some time, fearing that one step forward would invite his beast to take over. It was only when it felt the fight die down as the exhausted serpent calm itself to posture dominantly that the man who carried it stepped forward.

Moving into the room, he took a chair - he had no time to decorum, it was better he find a place to sit rather than be in position to act.

”The Prince is insistent that I make amends with my family for my transgressions in court, if there is any chance for this banishment to end. What do you think about that, Priscus Simmons?”

There was no desire to play coy.

Rebecca watched him pause, then watched him enter and sit. Then she watched as he got right to the point, so she would as well."I would like to work out this issue as well, but I must inquiry into it first. Now obviously you did not respond well to my use of the word 'misspoke', but what specifically do you feel led you to take the deliberate step to demand Monomacy of Whip Jack?"

It was becoming a tale he was familiar with, he almost chuckled out loud as he thought it, but he would save the laughter for later.

”Trying to silence me in front of an Officer, and then having the nerve to offer prestation in my name. You yourself saw how that boils my very blood, and what sealed it was the decision to ignore my offer to take a seat and discuss the matter. He believed he had something more important to attend to than peace between us”

Cold, callous, casual all described the Lord with the starving beasts words. His eyes tracked Rebecca if she moved at all, like a predator with its eyes on its prey. It was an unsettling effect that unlife brought when mixed with the taint of the beast.

”Someone who so flippantly offers what they do not own won’t change any time time soon. So with insults made, peace rejected, and no mediation from yourself I took to settling matters. Sadly her Majesty didn’t agree, but I won’t take to street justice.”

Lina Moretti had maybe been the quickest to say it outloud. Arturo was not a very nice man.

Rebecca sat and listened. She had learned very quickly in Court that Arturo was a man of pride. He would want his grievance heard respectfully. "I can see how his actions would upset you. In regards to the Monomacy in general, Her Majesty takes the ritual quite seriously. We Invictus see it as an absolute last resort should all other measures fail." She paused for a moment as she thought.

"Here's what I'm thinking: If you offer me a trivial boon for the 'insult' to our family, then I can speak to her Majesty and tell her we've resolved that aspect of the situation. I suspect that part of her agitation stemmed from your declaration coming after the earlier events in Court. A casualty of an already agitated mood. From what I've seen, Her Majesty does not generally respond well to public outbursts, even if the one making them feels justified. So, once I've smoothed things over, I can re-acknowledge you and then, if you're inclined, we can engage in a meeting between Whip Jack, yourself, and I to de-escalate the situation completely. Does that work for you?"

Joking about the clan, and yet he is the one paying. Arturo’s eyes drifted around the room while he listened. There were several items that could get the job done, it wouldn’t be a struggle to make them fit the purpose. Many of her tools and decorations already seemed ready made for the task anyways.

”Of course.”

His eyes snapped back to the Priscus, his body unmoving, unbreathing, and doing nothing that would tempt the beast to exert itself and let it realize that there was such a thin wall holding it back. Snarling at the smaller creature in the room was one of the few things making the task easier.

”I offer you a trivial boon, as requested, for my insults.”

He was almost interested to see what other avenues could be offered.

”A meeting?”

He raised a brow.

”What do you think will need to be said to settle any of these matters? The Prince has been quite firm that she will not tolerate any application of my trade. If a meeting it required to end this wretched starvation so be it.”

"I accept," she said, no smile on her face. "With that you have made amends to the Clan. And I asked only for a trivial because while the situation was somewhat embarrassing, I believe you were justified in your anger and I don't wish to levy many additional penalties on top of what Her Majesty has already done. I will say as much when we finally meet with Whip Jack to resolve that aspect." She thought for a moment, her finger resting on her chin. "I wonder though. It may be smarter to postpone a potential meeting with Whip Jack and instead bring Her Majesty in immediately. I think alleviating your hunger would serve us more on the path to resolution than forcing to meet him while hungry. What do you say?"

The corpse watched things carefully, making sure the Harpy wasn’t making any moves against him that would require him to act. He let his gaze dart back to the lobotomy tools, knowing they would probably be the best should the situation arise. There was no need to move, no need to shift, not yet - conserve the blood you have.

”Serving the Domain and paying penance are difficult given the circumstance. There is little I can offer when everything moves like a timid deer.”

He was being honest at least. Even if he wanted to help he was smart enough to know just how on the brink he was during this outing to the Barrens. He was lefty mostly to the mercy of pleasant conversation. Not foreign, but hard when the serpent hissed so loudly.

”Any course of action you believer would resolve this sooner bears my approval up to the point of any transactions of course.”

He wanted out - he knew which other doors were already closed to him for the time being.

Rebecca continued to think for a moment. "On second thought, it may be beneficial to bring Whip Jack in and resolve the matter here and now. I imagine containing the hunger will only become more unbearable as time goes on and if I can resolve the situation expeditiously by summoning him here and now, then I'd rather do that." Rebecca watched him closely as she slowly reached for her phone. She knew what hunger was like. What her Catalyst was like when craving blood. She didn't want to provoke her cousin when he was in such a state.

With a few taps she sent Jacque a text.

Please come and meet Mr. Garcia and I at my office as soon as possible

Hopefully he would be available soon.

Jacque can just enter when he gets here. If he knocks, assume Rebecca told him he could come in and have a seat.