The Sheriff's big muscle car rolled past the front of the Nox, her head on a swivel as she swept the area, looking for her shy Deputy... and new Dragon aspirant. Apparently, since their last talk, he found himself interested in proceeding. She could work with that. There were some things he needed to know about the Order, first, though, so he knew fully what he was choosing.
Coming to a stop, she unlocked her doors.
Vassagon
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The Mekhet appears, walking out into the open and nervously looking around. He may have been concealed safely behind the Cloak until recently and now openly shows himself. He doesn't have to look for long though, as the flashy muscle car draws his attention. His enhanced senses spy the familiar features of the superior predator through the glass and he heads over to the passenger door swiftly.
He tries the door and then slips into the passenger seat, smoothing out the pant legs of his grey jeans and flips back the hood of his staple black hoodie. There's no knife or laptop bag tonight, though he still has his smart phone tucked in his pocket.
"Uh. Hi," he says, turning his head enough to look her way and then settling his vision on the dashboard. His eyes look nervously around the interior, darting about with only slight adjustments of his head.
"Hey, Mitnick. Seatbelt," she said, edging out into the light nighttime traffic without waiting. The Mekhet knew how to buckle up. He'd be fine. Glancing his way, the Grand Wyrm said, "You know, I love a good drive. Always feel like I'm getting somewhere, even if I'm going to end up right back where I started physically. It's therapeutic, especially with this baby purring." She patted the wheel lovingly. "You do much driving ever, Derek? Or was it all computers all the time for you?"
That last was said with a half-smile and a joking tone, like she was playing around.
"I think we're going to get somewhere tonight, you and I."
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Derek complies, strapping himself in and seeming to brace his feet and arms against the floor and door in a mild attempt to stay grounded in the moving vehicle.
"I, uh...never really. I...can't help but, um, feel like I'll be overlooked and get in an accident," he says through the usual nervousness. He's not panicked, but certainly not relaxed. But when is he ever.
"I suppose to an outside observer...it'd look like it's computers..all the time. Likely more than the average Kindred, or Kine for that matter." He pauses. "But uh, yeah, I've given it a lot of thought and I think I'm ready to commit to the Secret Estate. That is why you asked me to meet, isn't it?"
"We need to get you a tank, Mitnick. Just something with some fuck-you sized cojones that owns the road. Promise you they won't miss an F150 riding up their ass," the Grand Wyrm said with a chuckle as she took a right turn and started to head in the general direction of her usual driving route. There were highway speeds to hit, and she opened her window and let her left hand dangle out in the wind, idly riding it up and down in the breeze.
"It is. I want to make sure you know what you're looking at, so you walk in eyes wide open. A new Dragon has a challenging existence ahead of them. We live as a Chapter, and our Covenant is one based on a hierarchy based on how far along the path of the Great Work a Dragon is -- that is to say, how many weaknesses of this Curse that God has put upon us we have overcome. Those who have not yet experienced a Change of this nature are of the lowest rank. We call that rank 'Slave'. It's old-timey and unpleasant sounding, but it's traditional. A person who has had one change is called a Supplicant. Two, a Scribe. The titles sound lowly as you start and get grander as you learn more." She shrugged, giving it a little chuckle. "It irks most people, being called a Slave, but the kind of person who can't put their pride aside for a minute to learn from those more experienced... well, they don't often make it. Those who can, they rise, and their journey begins with knowledge."
She gestured at him, glancing over his way.
"Yours will, as well. Your objective will be to learn how to observe, create and measure Change, because ultimately, what you are going to learn to do is take a bane of our Kindred condition... and overcome it through scientific experimentation. It can be agonizing. It can be torturous. It can be traumatic, or lethal. But we do it, and we succeed and better ourselves, and nobody can ever take that away. There are many such Changes that we can learn, with time. Some need less Vitae. Others can simply... choose not to Frenzy. Others still, like me, appear perfectly human, even to the Kine, always." She framed her own face, vogue-style, with one hand.
Letting that sink in a minute, she finished. "All of this and more can be yours, in time, with effort and hard study. But understand that this is a one-way trip. Once you swear your Requiem to the Ordo Dracul, you will forever be a Dragon, and our secrets must be kept. Is that something that you can accept?"
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Derek lets out a puff of air that counts for a laugh at her suggestion. He doesn't say anything when she takes one hand off the wheel, though he stiffens slightly more as she does so. Perhaps there are already tests underway towards his endurance of fear.
"The hierarchy I don't mind. My Sire was Invictus and raised me with the intention of following that structure. But I'll say that it would be far more comforting to be valued based on one's capability than for one's influences. Though some might argue that gathering influence is proof of capability. The Change itself would be my goal, not necessarily the recognition for it."
His eyes flicker to her and back to the road, as if some obstacle might appear. "I can't say I like the idea of torture or trauma. I know in cases such as yours, your condition, they are acceptable risks. And I imagine it was those risks that the former Deputy succumbed to..." He lingers on that thought, a small moment of silence before continuing.
"As for myself, I don't know my limits unless I venture to make the attempt."
At her warning, the finality of the decision weighs on him, and he takes a moment to let it sink in.
"I understand what you're saying. Secrets, I can keep. And I don't wish to gain enemies. If I can achieve the Change that is offered, then I will have only gratitude for the Order that helped me there."
"It's pretty refreshing, isn't it?" Moretti said with a little chuckle. "There's room for influence, of course, and it's always good for the Chapter to have -- but our rank is about our advancement and our sworn duties to the Covenant. You can always see the road ahead of you, even if it's hard, because in the end, it's all about you."
His concern about the torture and trauma was met with a nod. "Well, to be fair, it's mostly self-inflicted as a means of pushing our bodies and souls into a stress point where they can actually change. Kindred don't change well, and it takes work. Don't worry, we'll teach you what you need to know and how to experiment to find the rest." The point about Blackbird was met with a nod. "There's always a risk that the student lacks the discipline and focus to get through a Change. It's definitely a leap of faith, but one we all say is worth the jump."
So there it was. He was really looking to do it. Great. She offered him a fistbump.
"I think you're going to find yourself very welcome, Mitnick." Glancing over at him as she pulled onto the highway onramp, she asked, "Welcome to the Order, then. We'll have you in for formal welcome shortly. Do you have any questions about what we do that are burning?"
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His eyes dart over at the raised hand, and seems confused a moment before a look of realization crosses his expression and he tentatively connects his fist with hers. He cannot help but make it awkward it seems.
"I'm sure I do." A pause. "I'm sure I don't know what they are yet, unfortunately. But thank you. For your trust and for supporting me this far. I'm certain I would have taken much longer to decide were it anyone else."
"Blackbird...she, uh...I had a chance to talk to her once. She did not seem undisciplined or unfocused. I'm...I'm just afraid I won't recognize the danger before it comes. But I guess that's up to me to recognize it...within myself." Another moment of mild discomfort, as if he were stuck during a debugging process.
"I suppose I should ask, is that all there is to initiation? I was thinking there'd be more to it. We once talked about my appointment as Deputy to be a test of sorts. Does that mean I passed?"
How was it this kid was able to make a jockish gesture of camaraderie awkward? She smiled gently at him, letting him know it was okay, and yes, fistbumps were a thing. "You're welcome. And you'll be supported going forward, too. Learn, serve, advance. We'll have your back through it." We. Because all of the Dragons stood together, otherwise they'd be picked apart by those jealous, those who did not understand all that they too could be if they just committed to self-improvement.
"Bird was... complicated," Lina mused, a tinge of sadness in her tone. "She was focused and disciplined, and she was trained to recognize the danger. But there's risk for all of us, each of us, myself included. Every Change is a fight against the Beast, and the Beast wants control. She just... couldn't do it, I guess. In the end, it's on the individual. The training just makes it easier for discipline to remain when it matters most.
There'll be a formal introduction for you at our next meeting, but for now, that's it. Lessons will be your next step. As for the Deputy thing, you've certainly started. Tell me, though -- when you accepted the position, what flowed from that change? Tell me about it. Within yourself, with others, within the Domain -- what have you observed?"
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Derek is quiet for the moment, perhaps sensing the subtle emotion. Though it may just be that strange Kine-like behavior the Sheriff is so skilled at emulating.
He decides to himself that he will find a way to mitigate the risks somehow. He has time, he knows, and if anything the distraction might keep him sane through his Requiem.
He looks up from his vacant stare at her question. "Mm? Ah. I, uh, suppose I am feeling the weight of the responsibility. The mindset isn't all that different. Identify possible threats and contingencies. But now I am expected to take action to prevent these rather than simply avoid them. So it requires I anticipate even more so. I cannot afford to wait until a conflict arises since I doubt I will have much control over a confrontation."
"For example, my question about spying on the Harpy, I wanted to see if the resolution you both came to was only superficial. If you perceived her to be a real threat... Well, plausible deniability I suppose. Better that I don't tell you everything unless there's something to tell. I just mean...those kind of threats. Seth's announcement as a Carthian, possibly stirring up trouble. I went to that meeting, by the way. Alder Twist was there too, for the same reason it seems. It turned out to be nothing worth concern. But all the rumors speak volumes about the rising conflicts between factions. The disgruntled and greedy. It feels like a clock counting down to something."
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Presence
