Hungry Resolution

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 sat at her desk, no work before her, for she was there for but one reason: a carthian. As she made herself comfortable in her chair, her mask of friendliness already concealing her face, she pondered about the coming conversation. Her actions at the clan meeting had led things to this very moment, along with every consequence as well. Hopefully things would be resolved shortly.

  4 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-05-15 13:59:32		Rebecca Simmons rolls 6 to Tatemae (Man+Exp+Kamen) (10 Again)		9, 6, 3, 4, 7, 10, 10, 9		4 successes

Graham Finley

If Madam Harpy Simmons was hoping for a peaceable end to their minor conflict, Graham was at least as hopeful - though he wasn't optimistic. It simply wasn't in his nature. Even before finding his way to the tastefully arranged room, an impression was there:
The building, the walk inside and to the office, every inch of the environment seemed to press down on Graham. He was used to dealing with pariahs, Kindred outcasts and human flotsam.
In short, he was used to stepping into noisy rings. Here, he knew he was stepping into a quiet arena.
It did not comfort him in the slightest knowing that it would likely be just the two of them. Still, he seemed to have dressed for the occasion, having had the slim black suit he wore the last time she saw him laundered and paired with a new dark purple tie. It did almost nothing to offset his complexion, however, just as pale and dead as Simmons herself. No pretensions here.
He resisted the urge to take a seat uninvited and hovered just inside the doorway instead. Clearing his throat, he said:

"Madam Harpy. Thank you for seeing me."
He flicked his eyes over her bookshelf, taking in titles and names before making eye contact. He was clearly acting out of character by making a painful attempt at polite, unfamiliar conversation.
"May I come in?"

As Rebecca heard Graham at the door she stood and smiled. For a moment she took note of both his appearance as well as his use of her title and her smile grew. "You're quite welcome. Thank you for coming on such short notice Mr. Finley. Please come in. Have a seat," she said, gesturing towards one of the chairs in front of her desk before she took a seat herself.

Once he had settled in she said, "I'm just going to come right out and say we got off on the wrong foot. You were new to the Domain and I should not have held your tardiness so severely against you.
I know I expected prestation from you, but I did not act as a Priscus should, especially in regards to a new arrival. I'm a big enough person to see my own mistakes and correct them, and as such I would like to offer you a minor boon, both for how I acted as well as for the fact that you have had to spend your time unacknowledged since the meeting. I hope you accept."

She shifted in her seat. "With that said I'd like to circle back to our original conversation, and the reason I called you here: acknowledgement. Please, tell me what brought you to Sacramento in the first place?" Rebecca was fine chatting, but she wasn't going to dance around the topic. Acknowledgement is what they both wanted to talk about.

Rebecca was in a strange position. She had hurt herself by being rash with the man before her, and yet her Catalyst wanted to use his weakened state as an opportunity to destroy the man before he began. She resisted the urge.

"Well the Movement is only you and Mr. Kind at present, so I would imagine in theory you have the potential to start at the top, which is good if you're ambitious. I have seen many Carthian's fail during my Danse, but I do not hate the Movement as many in the First Estate do. I see competition as a way to help promote ideas for all, and I shall keep an open mind as to how you guide the Movement, along with Mr. Kind." She paused for a moment, smiling at the man but allowing the silence to linger. "I'd like to put our bad first impressions behind us. You have returned to the Domain and I wish for you to stay. You have already read the Laws at the last meeting, so if you swear to uphold and follow the Laws of Prince Alessandra Antinori, then you shall be granted Acknowledge, including all rights that come with it. Do you so swear?"

Sorry for the delay

No worries! I know you've got a lot of other caracter stuff going on.

As Simmons let her internal hears turn and, perhaps, grind, Graham was struggling to contain himself. A mixture of excitement and relief churned behind his eyes and he found himself gripping his knees. He'd been prepared for the worst. But, kindred did live for a long time - perhaps the worst is yet to come. If she wanted him in the domain she most certainly had a reason. Without so much as a pause, he affirmed:

"I do. To the best of my ability, and without exception."

Rebecca smiled at his eagerness to answer. "Good. Very good. With that I Acknowledge you within the city of Sacramento and formally welcome you to the city. I hope that this is the start of a positive and beneficial relationship between us, as well as for clan Ventrue. With that completed, is there anything you wish to ask me or would like to talk about?"

I'm good to close and get the acknowledgement in continuity unless you want to keep talking. Once it does close you can update your Domain status to 1.

Thanks! I wouldn't mind having the chance to ask a few question about the Domain, if you're open to that.

"The feeling is mutual. While I'm here, mind if I pick your brain a bit? I'd like to know what the Clan's aims are, and where we stand in the city right now. Since you've made me kosher, I'd like to hit the ground running. Its in my nature."

"Oh course," she said at the man's mention of wanting to 'pick her brain'. "After you left the meeting we discussed working on gathering power, as well as unity for the clan. At the next formal court I spoke..." She paused for a moment, thinking over her words well. There was no way to avoid the subject, it was known by all after all.

"Well you'll hear about it from someone eventually so I'll just tell you. I talked about torture a little too openly and it became the focal point of conflict. Then a dispute happened between Mr. Garcia and Mr. Jack, who I had chosen as Whip and who now serves as Herald to Her Majesty. Mr. Garcia challenged Herald Jack to Monomacy, which the Prince rejected in his place and then revoked Mr. Garcia's acknowledgement for the disruption to Court. Needless to say we have much work to do in regards to the Clan's reputation."

I sincerely apologize for my delays.

Graham Finley let's try and wrap this up today so that it'll be in continuity for court next month.