Offering terms

**Kaze** · Aug 9th, 2020 09:58 PM

Kaze's condo is a second floor walk up in a gated community called, 'Woodside' nearby the University of Sacramento. Inside the floor plan is spacious and airy with a private balcony and vaulted ceilings that make it feel open despite only being a 1 bedroom; 1 bathroom unit. The living room has only a desk on one wall and a futon currently in couch configuration on another, and a folded out beach chair with a tray built into the arm rests. In one corner is a large cage holding a number of pigeons, 8 to be precise if one takes the time to count them. The cage is about five feet square and about four feet high, with boxes mounted inside for roosting pairs. The cooing of the birds is omnipresent though not particularly loud.

There are stacks of books on the floor and on the counter of the kitchen area, and the bedroom itself is completely empty except for a padded mat on the floor and a wooden post with dowels projecting out that might be recognized as a kung fu training equipment, or just look like something for cats or maybe the pigeons. There is a holder on the bedroom wall for various staves and a set of two sheathed swords, one with about a three foot blade and another with about a two foot blade, both of them slightly curved.

The books in the stackes are mostly non-fiction, of

various topics and authors

.

**Naga** · Aug 10th, 2020 05:15 PM

Naga parked about a block away, then walked the rest of the distance to Kaze's home.

She came dressed for business, in a flattering grey pants suit and heels, her hair worn up. A briefcase was in hand.

Idly, the Warlock scanned the neighborhood as she walked. Finding nothing amiss, she made her way to the door and knocked.

**Kaze** · Aug 10th, 2020 07:43 PM

"Hi! Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it." Kaze says, opening the door. He's wearing a black tee shirt and loose sweat pants and is barefoot.

"Sorry for the mess." Kaze says, stepping back into the condo, inviting Naga by his physical gesture. "I...well, to be honest, it's been long enough since I moved in that I should have gotten organized, but I haven't had anyone over since I bought the place, and...it's the first place I've lived that wasn't just a room in someone else's house or a dorm room or a barracks."

"I've got bottled water." Kaze offers. "Um...no cups or anything though, but they're in the fridge, so they're cold if you want one."

**Naga** · Aug 11th, 2020 09:59 AM

"Thank you for the invitation," Naga smiled and nodded, stepping inside once invited. After a brief glance around, she waved off Kaze's worries. "I don't mind. I just moved a few months ago, myself. I understand the mess."

She shook her head, "No thank you. I'm good. Shall we get down to business?"

**Kaze** · Aug 11th, 2020 11:17 AM

Kaze nods and smiles. Down to business. Professional. So far, so good. So don't ambush. Work up to it.

Kaze heads into the living room, with the couch-futon and the beach chair, and offers the futon to Naga with a casual gesture. The beach chair is about six feet back, away from the futon which is against a wall. If Naga sits, Kaze sits in the beach chair.

"Right. Okay..." Kaze says. "I want to try to talk about what is on my mind step by step. I know I kinda jump around from one idea to another, lose focus sometimes, like, 'Squirrel!' you know?" He laughs.

"So, right, anyway..." Kaze says, "First and foremost, I need to ask, 'Are you good with the whole confidentiality thing?' I know, I am making a bunch of assumptions, because I tend to trust my intuition a lot. Like, I get the impression that you are someone who keeps everything to yourself, and that you're like, really calm and professional. I mean, I have seen you 'under fire', so to speak, and you held it together pretty well, and of course in meetings, you probably know a lot more about a lot of the things people are saying, and you keep it to yourself, not jumping up and interrupting people to correct them and stuff." He rambles, possibly exuding a low level of uncertainty, looking to confirm his impressions.

FYI: The living room, where Kaze and Naga are standing now, has a 1 dot Hallow with a Calm resonance, just in case Naga would sense that.

**Naga** · Aug 13th, 2020 05:19 PM

After studying the room, and it's resonance, for a few moments, the Mastigos sat down upon the suggested futon. Her briefcase was set by her feet. Then, she listened to Kaze speak, a pleasant expression on her face.

"Well, thank you for the compliment. Combat situations aren't my forte, but I did my best." A small shrug of her shoulders. Her eyes were curious. "In any case, I wouldn't be a very good lawyer if I couldn't maintain confidentiality. It's required for my clients. Anyone else, I wouldn't guaranteed anything, but I could try. It would depend on what you would want kept confidential, and for what reason."

**Kaze** · Aug 13th, 2020 06:21 PM

Kaze adjusts his posture in the beach chair to get comfortable, and then sighs, in a tone of relaxation more than anything.

"So, here's the thing--and I'm asking, please be patient with me, I do have a point, a couple actually, but I need to kinda lay the groundwork, if you don't mind--I used to really worry about making decisions based on logic, you know? If it wasn't logical, I wouldn't do it. I messed up a lot that way, and missed out on a lot. I took one of those tests, once when I was looking for work, 'Briggs-Meyers' I think, and it said I was an 'Intuitive Thinker', right?" Kaze says using finger air quotes for visual effect.

"Right, so I started figuring out that for me, the whole 'have to be logical' thing was more about being afraid of what people think than about making the right decision. I mean, if I do something that 'feels right', and it works out great, but I can't explain why I did it, everyone just chalks it up to dumb luck, but if I do something on feeling and it craters, well, then everyone just thinks I'm dumb!"

"Intuition, for me, is a lot like peripheral vision. In martial arts, you learn to use your peripheral vision to pick up threats and react to them because it's quicker, right? You're not still standing around thinking, 'what's that blurry thing coming towards me, oh! It's a stick!' and then wham!" Kaze explains. "But peripheral vision sucks for like, reading a sign or recognizing someone you know by face, so if there's a sign shaped like something you're used to, but you don't get a clear look at it and react, then you crash. No joke, I did that in Okinawa, because the signs are different. Or if you see motion where there shouldn't be any, and react, you might punch your friend who came into the dorm room late because the door wasn't shut all the way to get something he forgot. Yeah, did that once too."

Kaze smiles, ruefully. "Where I'm going with this is, I need to talk about work stuff. I think maybe you can help me. I have a feeling you might be able to help me, and it might work out in a way that helps you too. I could be wrong. I know that because of some screw ups here in this city, I don't think I have the greatest reputation for having the kind of judgement that someone from work would just trust. I think the people that knew me from when I first got here kinda figure I mean well, but am not the brightest bulb, you know?"

He laughs. "Well, I have learned somethings, that's for sure. One thing is, it's not so much the things that feel right to me, my intuition, that's messed me up; it's my impulse control. When I was here the first month, there was a situation that I acted, with 'direct action' on some people before all the facts were in. I had a feeling. It turned out, actually, that I was right. They were exactly as bad and as much a threat as my feelings told me. But, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't give anyone else a chance to check it out, to actually confirm, or just even be prepared for what I did. I felt like there wasn't time. I was wrong, because I didn't know what other people were n the scene, and I didn't know what they were capable of, and I didn't take the time to find out."

Kaze looks at Naga. "Kinda like when you and I were in that attic that one time." He says. "I'm sorry. I don't know if it would have been better if I stopped to talk things through; it still feels like it was necessary to act right away without warning, but I might be wrong. Either way, even if I was right to ast, I owe you an apology for putting you at risk."

Kaze is thoughtful for a moment. "So, no. I didn't ask you here just for that. I did it in public, and I'll apologize in public too, if you want me to. Or if you'd like someother way for me to apologize like I really mean it."

Kaze pauses and then says, "So...I asked you to come, so I could get your opinion and maybe some advice about a work related situation." He says. "This place is mine, and it's special, but I don't have the skills yet to provide security from work type snooping. Would you be willing to do that before we talk? Or do you think it's necessary?" Kaze asks.

**Naga** · Aug 14th, 2020 02:27 PM

It was quite a speech Kaze made. The Warlock sat through all of it, listening quietly. When the ~~Arrow~~Apostate was finally finished, she spoke once more.

"As for the attic incident, I've already moved past it. I chalked it up to the heat of battle. Don't sweat it." Naga smiled. "Just don't do it again and we're good."

There was much else to address in the speech, but for the moment, she focused on the final portion. An eyebrow raised an the sudden request. She hadn't been expecting it. "You want me to... prevent eavesdropping from our fellows? I can do it, but that would take some time. Whether I think it's necessary is hard to say. I'm still not certain what this is all about. Do you think it's necessary?"

**Kaze** · Aug 14th, 2020 04:38 PM

"Okay, thanks." Kaze says when Naga says they're good, but not to do it again. He silently chooses to interpret that as don't fail to apologize in a timely manner again rather than don't trust your instincts in the heat of battle again.

Kaze nods and smiles.

He decides to take Naga's answer about whether or not to ward the place as an invitation to speak freely. She can stop him if she feels it's too much; the main thing is, he's warned her the place isn't warded.

"I think that as far as I know, you are the only person who knows where I live who could listen in. I am pretty sure our Internal Affairs guy could, but I don't know if it matters that he doesn't know where I live. And he's on our side, so there's that. Plus...I wouldn't bet my life that he doesn't know where I live." Kaze smiles and shrugs. Time to trust his intuition.

"So, I do better with structure, with consistency in the work place." Kaze says. "Our work doesn't have that at all. I have a ton of respect for the people who are in leadership, or who were in leadership; it's hard to tell really, and that's kind of my point. I think this is going to end up with interdepartmental work groups being the only thing that really matters, and I don't know much about them. I was in one that was basically just everyone in my department, and then it fell apart basically before doing anything. And then I quit the department. As far as I know, they are supposed to exist for a common goal."

Kaze looks at Naga. "My goal is to support whoever is calmly working towards a good, workable structure that will last. I feel like you are my best guess at being that person."

Kaze looks around. "This place is a great location. I knew I had to buy it as soon as I walked in here. It's like I had a vision, you know? I could see a fountain of calm and peace right here in the living room, just pouring out positive energy." He says. "I have the skills to tap that, and to limit who else can, but not to protect it. Not yet."

"I feel like it could work, could advance both of our goals, to form a small independent work group, you and me, based here. I am picturing you taking the bedroom--I don't use it anyway; I sleep on the futon here--and I would basically think of myself as subordinate to you." Kaze offers. "I might be still getting better on my impulse control, but that's only ever been an issue when I didn't have clear instructions. I have always been really good at taking following instructions."

Kaze looks at Naga. "I got the idea of pooling resources, working together as a team all of a sudden when I read this verse, 'Matthew 10:16'; it's in the Gospel of Matthew, and Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He says, 'Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.'"

"It's just a suggestion, but if you end up agreeing, I think Matthew 10:16 would be a nice name. Or maybe just a plaque on the wall." Kaze says with a smile. "I want you to trust me, so your decision is based just on the merits, not on any question about if Iam trying to con you or something; if you want to use work methods to make sure I am as innocent and harmless and sincere as I say, I'm cool with that." He offers.

**Naga** · Aug 17th, 2020 01:22 PM

It was a habit of Naga's. The eyebrow thing. She quirked them upwards when she was surprised, or annoyed, or amused. A bit like Spock on Star Trek. Fascinating. Whether it was one or both of those lovely, well-groomed brows depending on the magnitude of what she was reacting towards.

This was a two-brow situation.

"Okay," she started speaking, then paused to gather her thoughts. "First, unless you have really thin walls and fear your neighbors overhearing, I'm not sure the code words are necessary. If someone were eavesdropping, I could sense it, most likely, and anyone capable of scrying is going to understand the terms, anyway. So let's dispense with the spy games."

The Warlock crossed her arms over her chest, "You want to form a cabal. With me? In hopes of creating a more stable Consilium. Do I have this all correct?"

There was a pause as she looked over Kaze's house again. "I would certainly love to see this city in a more stable and traditional structure. Here's the thing: I'm not sure it's possible. Sacramento has proven to be a rest stop on the side of a highway. The population is too transient. So I'm uncertain if anything can be done with that."

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