The Chapter House Tour

[JC Smith]

JC nodded, listening to Dirt Nap explain. The sales pitch definitely wasn’t as enthusiastic as Horatio’s, but it was what he had asked. And, if he was honest, he trusted Dirt Nap more than Quilz.

“Well, I’m not sold,” JC said truthfully “Not that big on chain of command, most problems I’d be willing to die with have more to do with Kindred society at large than condition in general, and I’m still don’t exactly trust Horatio,” Though that could just be the man’s personality. “Not to mention y’all are pretty far off the beaten path here. ‘Bout as far as Davis.” Which would make travel either difficult, expensive, or conditional on others. “Library’s nice though.” And probably the biggest draw.

“I’ll see what you got as far as quest room,” JC concluded.

[Dirt Nap]

Dirt Nap nods. "Sure." He says. He leads J.C. upstairs to the rooms. They are clean, and most have somewhat fancy and ornate furniture, antiques.

Dirt Nap's room is beyond spare. It has a long, black leather covered storage bench, and opposite that, a single black folding chair. The closet door is shut, and there is no other furniture in it. The interior of the bedroom walls and the doorway are covered in 'blackout curtains', possibly covering up any windows and definitely muffling all sounds.

"I don't use it much. If you like it; it's yours." He offers.

[JC Smith]

JC smiled a bit at Dirt Nap’s room. Sparse was a good word for it. JC’s own Haven could give it a run for its money as far as homey touches, and he was homeless by Kine standards. And then there was the fact that it wasn’t a quest room at all.

“I’m wouldn’t feel right taking your room.” Part of it was the human instinct of fairness. A darker part was that he didn't want to reside in disputed territory that would eventually need bloody combat to resolve ownership.

[Dirt Nap]

Dirt Nap smiles slightly in turn. "Suit yourself." He says. "I prefer the outside, myself."

"So. If you don't mind my asking. What's your aim for improving your situation?" Dirt Nap asks as he continues to show J.C. the guest rooms. "As far as, iffin you had all your basics covered."

[JC Smith]

It was JC’s turn to remain silent. Although while Dirt Nap stayed still, Smith explored with his eyes the room’s corners.

“I aim...” he ran his hand across the furniture slightly longer than was normal “I aim to be content.” JC answered, pausing at each room Clay showed him. They passed room after room.

As far as if they had the basics covered? Smith Paused longer than he had on what had been built so sofar. “We survive as the least of us.” JC had made his way so far. Modern science was little shelter. Politics held rotten promises hid behind rotten cores. Lance and Circle offered spiritual direction, assuming he took the step off the cliff. All in all, JC need only hold to the suggestions that would keep hi alive. It just remained what suggestions those meant.

[Dirt Nap]

Dirt Nap focuses closely on J.C. as he is silent, but anchoring himself with a tactile connection to the physical scene. Dirt Nap remains still as J.C. answers. And then pauses. And then answers again.

"I think you maybe put it too deep for me, doc." Dirt Nap says slowly. "I mean...'contented' I can understand. I think that's more a choice than anything, at least from my angle it's my choice to be content or not."

Dirt Nap pauses for a long moment and then says, "I don't rightly get what you mean by, 'we survive as the least of us', though. It sounds a little like the Good Book, 'whatever you do for the least of these, you did it for me', but I don't think you mean quite the same thing as that."

"Either way, my way of thinking is, when I am as content as can be, I'm ready to stop living. Right now, if I died, I would be alright with that; I don't feel like I have any big thing undone. But I do have a few more things I plan on doing as long as I'm still around." Dirt Nap says with a slight chuckle.

"Is that what you mean, J.C. ? You got some things on your kicked the bucket list still to do?"

[JC Smith]

“Maybe it’s a choice,” JC allowed “But I’d hesitate to say it’s allowed to everyone.” He’d seen… he’d been on the cliffs of privilege. He was disappointed to hear Dirt Nap not recognize them as such.

“No,” JC stated sadly “I wasn’t talking about the bible.”

And even as Dirt Nap described who he felt, JC felt the beastly part of himself rise. Would Clay feel the same way as breath was squeezed from the lungs? Would tradition matter once muscles failed to move? Would fear rule the mind in absence of reason?

“No list in particular. Just a got no desire for nonexistence.” Death most obviously but in other ways Frenzy, Draugrship.

JC breathed without need, thinking of all these things. “I’ll stay a couple months.” He conceded. “Hallway,” he wasn’t going to take another’ haven “Or at least to see what it would be like. How the Order operates.” At least when they knew they were being watched. Not good from what he’d heard. Still…. it was a good library.

[Dirt Nap]

Dirt Nap is perfectly still as he listens and watches, completely focused on J.C. for all the good it seems to do; he still doesn’t seem to completely’get’ J.C.’s point about first not being able to be content with his lot in life and then saying all he’s worried about is his own survival. It sounds like JC is feeling endangered despite being acknowledged in the Domain and a guest of the Dragons.

It reminds Dirt Nap of the saying, ‘Just because I’m paranoid, doesn’t mean there isn’t really someone out to get me.’

”Fair enough.” Dirt Nap says with a soft chuckle when JC agrees to stay in the Chapter House a while. “You learn about us, and we’ll learn about you.”

Dirt Nap proceeds to set up the guest room of JCs choice, presumably nearby the library.

[Horatio Quilz]

You can hear clips of sound from the room Horatio is in. It sounds like he is watching cartoons.

[JC Smith]

JC helped where he could in set up, though he didn't know where anything was kept like the lines.

Once done, he set about reexploring the house again and familiarizing himself with where the basics were kept.

Seems like a good place to close. Thanks for the scene.