(2010): Edward, Quinn, and Dirt Nap

[Dirt Nap]

Dirt Nap seems slightly distracted, possibly at the latest development between Horatio and Lady Hazelton and now possibly the Prince.

Manfully, he pays close attention to Quinn Durant's admittedly captivating story. He doesn't comment on it except to nod, slowly.

When Quinn Durant offers to demonstrate at the Chapter House, Dirt Nap is quiet for a moment and then nods slowly again, "If you've a mind too, Ma'am. Maybe after we get a chance to talk a bit about some things." He suggests.

Dirt Nap pauses in watchful silence when Edward Heinrich seems to go all out, asking the lady to some kind of sport and then inviting himself to her promised demonstration.

[Quinn Durant]

Quinn herself paused in their engaging conversation, to lay some eyes on Horatio/Jennifer/ Prince/Jennifer club deluxe, with a confused Maeve on the side. Quinn watched the spectacle, with zero amusement. She wanted nothing to do with this shit sandwich, but it was family. Her concerns were growing, but the Prince seemed to be the sort that gave one enough rope to hang themselves. By themselves. At least for now. Joyest of all joys. Quinn took a quick glance around court, attempting to gauge just how much of an ass he made of himself. Shit.

Quinn's face was in neutral lines. The slight squint to her eyes eased and she turned back to her company. Her gaze went to Dirt Nap's first. Meeting them directly for a moment with a slight hint of mirth and warmth returning, seeing as things were not going to the next level, she eased again and looked at Mr. Heinrich.
She chuckled and nodded. "I am familiar with the game yes, came out in the 80's. I had no idea it was still popular." She paused a beat. "I'll be your Huckleberry. As far as the mortals are concerned, don't fret. Most think I'm full of malarkey, and the cops have gotten so desperate they are willing to appeal to woo for inspiration. The ones who actually know what's what in this big dark world of ours are the ones who benefit the most from dealing with me. There are always the believers and the skeptics, but results speaks to all. No matter how dubious the source may be."

She watched Dirt Nap and gave him a reassuring smile. "I also heard your thoughtful words, an excellent reminder to be careful with those in Emergency Services. I both understand and will obey to the letter of the law. You have my word." She nodded to him. ""Oh of course you are right, Mr. Clay. I have a lot of settling in to do first. Don't I?" She looked to Mr. Heinrich. "For now, we'll stick with our virtual games Mr. Heinrich. Just to be clear, the stakes are much higher where my powers are concerned. They exact a price on the one doing the asking. If the old adage of 'knowledge is power' is to be believed, be mindful of what you place directly into my hands."

She turned and looked to Dirt Nap again. "Mr. Clay, being that I am a bright shiny penny, I need a pocket to travel in to find my way to the Chapter House. I would be delighted to travel with you, when you have an evening to spare a bit of your time, of course, I will adjust my schedule to accommodate yours." The beast inside paced in its cage. It didn't want to be here. It was growing weary of being surrounded by predators. While Quinn could control the monster within, it didn't mean it was idle or appeased. Quite the contrary. For now her yearning for her own kind outweighed the discomfort of the shadow and hunger inside. The dark passenger.

[Edward Heinrich]

Edward smiles wide as his offer is accepted. "I am so pleased to hear it, on both counts, Ms. Durant."

Quinn offers her polite refusal: "Of course, Ms. Durant. Please forgive me for treating your singular talents as one would a mere curiosity." Edward gave a shallow bow.

Dirt Nap had not answered Edward's question, if you could even call it a question, likely interpreting it as conversational noise. So Edward put it more clearly long-windedly, focusing on Dirt Nap. "Mr. Clay, I should imagine there are innumerable professions which one such as yourself, could apply themselves to with great accomplishment. Among those, what is about the role of farmhand that so grasps your attention? I mean no insult by it, yet to my mind, it seems beneath you." Edward seemed to apologize for the last part of his opinion.

[Dirt Nap]

Dirt Nap nods as Quinn Durant seems to take his suggestion to heart to hold off on offering demonstrations until she's had the chance to meet more exclusively with her Covenant. Could be she's taking her rank serious. Remains to be seen.

He could also be nodding at the fact that their mutual superior in that Covenant has survived a direction correction from the Prince, for now. The man seems to have as many lives as a cat, though his reputation does suffer.

He hears Quinn Durant asking his help to get to the Chapter House, which he can hardly refuse.

"I'd be more than happy to take you, Ma'am." Dirt Nap says slowly.

Then Edward Heinrich asks him, seems like, about a lack of ambition on his part. Seems like he thinks just anyone could handle beasts just as well, or whether they could or not, working with animals is of little value.

"Well, Sir. I don't know if you have much experience with livestock, but I have tended to specialize somewhat. Not always though, you have a point. There have been times I got by on plain ditch digging or fence posting. I suppose I do lack a certain kind of ambition. Or it could seem that way from a certain angle." Dirt Nap muses.

"For myself, I'd say that my highest ambition is to get and hold onto control of my ownself, instead of anyone else or any big pile of things. The work of training animals has taught me a lot about training the Beast, at least my Beast, so I consider it a more than fair trade." Dirt Nap explains. "If I can learn what I want and practice, without anyone noticing or thinking much of it or me, I like that just fine."

He nods towards Quinn Durant. "I heard a saying once that I took to, 'It's amazing what one can accomplish, if you don't care who gets the credit'." Dirt Nap says. "I imagine what you can do could get accepted on the down low by the authorities if it works, and you don't mind letting them take the credit."

[Quinn Durant]

Quinn bowed her head back to Mr. Heinrich, smiling gently. "There is nothing to forgive. Just a reminder that when I do readings you have to give up something personal of your own for me to read. I don't like putting my fellow Kindred in compromising positions without at least a small and gentle reminder of these things. The little niceties must always be observed."

Quinn arced one eyebrow briefly at the question he posed to Dirt Nap. She watched Dirt Nap closely as if reading him. Gauging his reaction or lack of reaction. His inflections in tone, the length of his pauses, the cadence of his voice, the little things.

When Dirt Nap reassured her he would take her to the chapter house one night, she smiled and gave him a nod of respect. "Thank you Mr. Clay." And to the last she chuckled softly and nodded. "That is it exactly, Mr. Clay. You have gotten right to the very heart of my feelings on the matter, and why it works so well. I stay out of the limelight. You'll never see my name in the papers. That's not how I operate. I consider continuing this persona as my charity work, so to speak. It also helps to alert me if anything is amiss. A great contact to have." She said with a slight nod.

Quinn's head tilted slightly, and her gaze traveled to JC Smith and Alice Hart's conversation. Something in particular caught her attention. The part about fire bombing and Brood. She also watched the spectacle of the Prince herself correcting Horatio. Your luck holds, tonight. For how long thought? That's the million dollar question. Her gaze moved to her new Cousin Maeve. Almost complete. She just took the oath.

[Edward Heinrich]

"I shall keep your words in mind, Ms. Durant." Edward rose from his bow.

Edward appeared to struggle with Dirt Nap's explanation. The lack of comprehension evident to those who studied subtle conversational clues. It was as if Edward were waiting to hear something he could grasp as a verbal hand-hold, only to find the surface sheer. "I see." It was apparent he did not. "Yet, if that is your belief, there must be merit in it." He was sincere.

"But, I should imagine all may appreciate examining another to realize the self. To apply the concept to beasts to understand the Beast is quite novel. I would expect nothing less from you, Mr. Clay."

As the Dragon's spoke of secrecy, Edward appreciated the moniker of 'the Secret Estate.' Given his own nature, it wasn't something he faulted them for. He might have interjected but was mentally still occupied with puzzling over Dirt Nap's reply.

[Dirt Nap]

Quinn Durant is able to observe a working of Dirt Nap's mind that might be somewhat familiar in her experience with the Dragons, or not. He seems to begin to be offended at Edward's questioning of Dirt Nap's occupation and its value and his, but then he seems to decide to entertain the question as a theory to be tested dispassionately with logic and observation. He chooses not to take offense, and to ruthlessly and rigorously examine the evidence to support or prove false the assumptions that seem to motivate Edward's rather pointed inquiry.

Dirt Nap pays close attention to Quinn Durant's 'friendly warning' about the price of being subject to her psychic powers.

He nods, "My pleasure, Ma'am." Dirt Nap says in response to her thanks for agreeing to show her the Chapter House without delay.

He nods again at her agreement to his proposal, how it is the Law accepts her help.

If Dirt Nap notices how his examination in response to Edward's questioning seems to throw Edward off his stride in the conversation, it doesn't seem to be something he is particularly happy about.

He nods slowly to Edward as the man graciously accepts his answer and compliments him in the process. "If you don't mind my asking, Sir." Dirt Nap says, "Do you have a particular ambition with your type of work? To be the best, outsmarting all the others or something like that?" He asks, curious as to a profession that would seem to require a constant immersion in the world of technology so as to stay relevant and not be left behind.

[Quinn Durant]

Quinn watched between the two Kindred now, sensing Dirt Nap turn that introspection back on Mr. Heinrich. The shadow did not mind the spotlight shifting to Mr. Heinrich. Not one bit in fact. She felt a slow smile forming on her lips, as she looked between the two. Watching the conversation organically unfold. This was one of those moments that was such a temptation for the shadow.

To reach out with her clan's signature power and read them like books. This is why the other clans fear the shadows. Quinn was a patient predator. After all, if you spill someone's secrets so soon, what was there to look forward to? There would be other nights. Nights when Elysia isn't there to protect them. Not yet. Not yet. Quinn resisted the temptation. It was a near thing, though. The newness of everything was bringing out the darker urges that sublimated themselves in the nightly games of the Kindred.

[Edward Heinrich]

"Not at all, Mr. Clay. Although I fear my rationale is somewhat base: Fame. Just as your avoidance of attention is a means to an end, so too is my search for the limelight a means to an end. It is nothing in the nature of this profession that grips me. Rather it is the relative ease regarding the acquisition of fame against the distribution of my talents." It was unpleasantly direct and analytical for a social, at least to Edward, but he also wanted to meet Dirt Nap halfway since he seemed to be reaching out.

"To illuminate the idea, although I have little doubt you have both already grasped the heuristic, I have recently shifted my focus from penetration testing to cryptography. Despite cryptography's far more inscrutable research contents, it is none the less far more salient to the masses, doubly so when it comes to headlines."

[Dirt Nap]

Dirt Nap looks surprised at Edwards answer!

He glances over at Quinn Durant as if to guage whether she seems surprised as well or like he wonders whether she's in on a joke being played on him.

He's quiet as if pondering for a moment and then says slowly, "Well. That seems surprising, Sir."

After another silence, Dirt Nap ventures, "I don't know hardly anything about it, but maybe was inside one or two times where a show was on with people typing away in front of a screen or something... but I somehow got the idea those kind of folks were all about no one knowing who they are? Seems like a funny way to get famous?"

Dirt Nap addresses Quinn Durant. "Ma'am, is being famous a thing that happens in your computer type experience? Pardon me, Ma'am, but I guess I wonder how well it's working out for Mister Heinrich, getting known in the computer world. Have you heard of him before? I guess I heard of Billy Gates well enough, but he's the only one I can think of, myself...."