Pole Position

[Jacque]

The new Priscus had proven herself quite intriguing from her watchful nature but to watch her shut down Thomas under her own strength? That was downright impressive. Jacque looked forward to this conversation; one of the few in many months that wasn't simply some chore or business transaction. Once Lenora engaged the hostess she would be escorted to the private room in the lower level.

Once at the private accommodations, the Host clicked a button on the outside of the door. She waited until a light turned on and then opened it, indicating to her that she was free to enter. There had been no noise coming through the door or walls before the door was opened. Inside, there was a round corner booth with soft instrumental music playing. There were a few other lounge chairs along the side of one wall, the other side had a long conference room table with seating for twenty or so. It was dim and lit for ambiance.

The Lord would just be moving to stand from the seat in greetings to his guest. Jacque was wearing a purple paisley vest over a black dress shirt. He was Blushed since there would be occasional encounters with the kine.

Once the hostess left and the door shut behind her he smiled. "Good evening Priscus," he offered as he bowed his head.

Stray Also the power icon is for the blush.

[Lenora]

Dressed in what could be best described as indigo, Lenora had barely entered the Smoke and Glass and spoken a word before she was quickly whisked away by the staff to meet her Whip.

Thus, when the pair were finally alone, a brow perked at Jack as he spoke, "Good evening," she offered, "It seems you are known here."

A nod of acknowledgement is provided as Jack show's his reverence. Jack's Beast was, as ever, absent. It made speaking with him, well, that much easier.

Lenora does not sit down, instead wandering further in, hands clasping behind her back as lets her eyes - and feet drift to the large table.

"Are you expecting a crowd, Whip?"

[Lenora]

Bookkeeping

[Jacque]

Jacque smiled, "I know the owner of the establishment quite well so I'm permitted to use this room for small meetings." His eyes lingered to the dance floor before following the Priscus to her new perch, "Not tonight," he coyly responded. "The door is soundproof so we can speak as freely as we like. I have to press a button to allow service in."

He took a few steps back towards the booth, "Speaking of which, do you indulge at all with spirits?" He paused before adding, "I know it never tastes the same but I try to remember every once in a while." He shrugs half-heartedly, "Ancient history and all that."

[Lenora]

Lenora gave a nod as Jack provided an explanation for his connection.

"You're man who enjoys a sense of control," she says as Jack speaks to their security and privacy, turning her head their gazes lock, "An admirable quality given our blood."

Following the Lord back to the booth, she chuckles, "I have often considered it a waste of the blood," she offered as the conversation turned to alcohol, "Admittedly though, the habit was infrequent at best even when I was among the Kine."

Slipping out of her jacket, Lenora moves into the booth to seat herself before gesturing for Jack to take a seat.

"Please imbibe at your pleasure," Lenora says. She didn't care if he did or not, "I am just unlikely to join you."

[Jacque]

Jacque nods with a grin, "I am." and before he could add a quip, she expands the observation into a compliment.

"That's a shame," he shrugged a shoulder as he replied, "I appreciate the offer, but my pleasure comes from the social side of the old habit." He resigned the thought for some other evening, some other company.

After the Priscus makes herself comfortable he slid opposite of her in the booth. "I am quite curious since you said you dabbled in strategy. Are you familiar with what the zwischenzug is?"

[Lenora]

Lenora offers a nod as Jack declines to get a drink for himself.

"It's a common tactic to grant oneself a greater degree of initiative and, ideally, advantage in chess," she offers, "You decide against playing the move your opponent expects by moving a piece to pose an immediate threat. The other player must act and after he does, you then play the move he expected before. However, the game changes, as his position and material have been shifted by the previous threat."

A thought hits Lenora's face and she offers the Herald a slight head tilt.

"Given your performance in the meeting, you went beyond expectation by offering my nomination," she analyzes, "However, to truly call it a zwischenzug, you would need to then play into that expectation and seek candidacy. Are you suggesting I was your intermediate move?"

[Lenora]

Unsure if I needed to roll, but I rolled Academics anyway to see if she knew the move. Forgot to post said roll

  2 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-10-01 14:13:12		Lenora rolls 5 to Know Chess Move (Int + Academics) (10 Again)		8, 9, 3, 7, 7		2 successes

[Jacque]

Jacque smiled waving his hand, "Kindred play games within games within games. I can assure you first and foremost that I have no current aspiration to finish this particular sequence. The aggressor forfeited and as you said, the game changed."

"Time has shown that pitting the Lords against each other over who would become her Whip was our former Priscus' largest blunder." He folded his hands under his chin, "The difference between Mister Boyle and me was that he came in seeing no other alternative but himself and I came in seeking out who out of all four of us would be the best for the clan. After seeing his approach to candidacy I recognized that this divisiveness was a cancer that our Clan could no longer suffer."

"My intermediate move was for one purpose only: to prove that the snake would turn his venom on anyone who stood between him and that chair while maintaining the clan's image for however long it took for him to make his move. Simply put, isolate the disease and then remove it. What I did not anticipate is how quickly he turned on you and furthermore, your immediate resolve to keep such behavior under your heel." He leaned back and clapped his hands softly in clear pleasure, "Bravo. I figured three months would be enough time for you or Mister Whitney to weed out the deceptions and make an informed decision, but your performance instead earned my full respect in short order."

[Lenora]

Lenora's ego nearly allowed the Herald's compliments to fuel her pride. However, he would not be the first Lord to lie to her. The position Lenora is was a tenuous one and she needed to identify potential threats to the unity she was attempting to develop. Thus, as the Herald spoke, Lenora searched his face.

  4 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-10-01 17:16:57		Lenora rolls 5 to Detect Dishonesty (Wits + Subterfuge) (10 Again)		10, 2, 10, 1, 4, 9, 8		4 successes