(Nexus II) Chris, Crystal, Jen, Skye, Qu

[Kaze]

Kaze nods, seriously. "Yeah. Thanks." He says, seriously, looking Jennifer in the eyes.

"So...I am going to remember, when you mention someone, or introduce me to someone, no asking, like, 'oh how do you know each other?' 'cause, I mean I don't need to know. If I forget and ask, that's all it is, me forgetting. No pressure. I want to be able to meet people that you want me to meet without any 'clues' like, 'family' or 'work' or whatever. I'm going to do the same thing. Just, 'oh hey, this is 'Chris, he's awesome, I want you to meet him." He says thoughtfully.

"I'll try to just not say things instead of telling lies. I hate that anyway."

When she answers his question, or at least what she says after he asks what she wants him to know, to know her better, telling him that she's older than she looks or acts or seems, she makes it playful, but he looks at her seriously. "Do you want me to know when you were born? Like, where you grew up, what music you listened to when you were ten, or sixteen?" He asks. "Cause I am interested, but only if you want me to know, like, it's something that feels like it's important to be able to know you."

Kaze pauses. "My deal is different. I can pretty much tell you about my life. I mean, I kind of did already. But...if you are okay with it, if you trust me...I would like to...cast a spell on you, to let you see things the way I do, at least a little, for a few minutes." He says gently. "No pressure though. If you aren't comfortable with me using magic on you, it's totally okay."

[Jennifer Hazelton]

As Chris speaks, Jennifer feels that they are complementing each other well. Jennifer herself navigated her Danse with honesty. All vampires had to use subterfuge or manipulate at times, yet she kept herself as true as she could. Hearing that he hated telling lies as well made her glad.

"I'm not as old so that our experiences would be so different. I grew up learning computers, which I am grateful for. I'm alright with you knowing that I am likely closer to Matthew's age than yours. Matthew being the gentleman who we met at New years. I would tell you specifics were we alone, yet," She glances towards Twist's group. She didn't see any Kindred who might use the information to try and hold something over her, but it was quite an event. She might be missing an opportunist.
"- I don't share true personal things that someone might be able to use in a venue such as this."

Dark brown eyes swung back to Kaze, meeting his eyes. " 'Stellar' by Incubus was something I listened to a lot. How about you?"

"A spell?" Jennifer considered that, her eyes widening in surprise. She wondered if the spellwork was his devotion in the way her study of Blood Oaths consumed much of her. "I am very curious about this. I do trust you, and I do want to see things the way that you do."
The brunette nodded. "Go ahead."

Would she share a glimpse of her Danse to Chris, if it wouldn't be a Breach? Certainly. ​She considered.

[Kaze]

"Wow." Kaze says appreciatively when Jennifer reveals her true maturity level. "I like him." He grins at her reference to Matthew. He glances momentarily over at the older man. "You might be off on his age tho, I mean...he's here, so he might be older than he looks...or younger, I guess."

He really needs to focus some serious study time on the occult possibilities.

Still grinning, Kaze nods at Jennifer's meeting his eyes and telling him a song that was important to her once. "Icubus, huh?" He asks. "I...remember hearing the name, but not what kind of music they do; I feel like...they're a metal band?" He asks.

"I was raised on music my grandfather liked, Sinatra, Louie Armstrong, Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole...some Bennie Goodman...." Kaze smiles. "My dad...I had one year where I kind of went all around with him on sales trips. I was like ten. He was into eighties stuff, but he also played jazz, so he liked some of the same stuff as my grandfather..."

Kaze looks wistful. "I love music. I guess 'Nature Boy' by Nat King Cole probably meant the most to me for a while there."

Then he laughs, "But hey, I went through my 'Panic at the Disco' phase to, so...I'm not really that deep." Kaze says, "High Hopes" was a song I listened to death back in the day.

Kaze looks serious, and assessing when Jennifer says she trusts him, and gives permission for him to cast a spell on her to magically alter her perceptions. "Okay." He says decisively.

He seems to relax and concentrate at the same time, and Jennifer suddenly feels a little draft rise, and eddy, like a micro climate of wind and storm is swirling gently around Kaze and her. She almost imagines the lighting playing tricks on her perceptions, seeming to flash and glint from his eyes like sparks of lightning, and she imagines hearing distant thunder, faint but distinct.

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-02-06 11:26:23	Kaze rolls 4 to Uncloak Nimbus (Composure 3 + Occult 1) (10 Again)	9, 9, 10, 8, 3	4 successes

Kaze grins, "Ready?" He asks, looking into her eyes. Then he chants in a language that seems somehow more ancient than should be possible. After a minute or more of this, he stops.

"Huh." Kaze says. "You know what? I was going to show you about magic, what it's like...and I think I just did. My spell failed. It happens. And...as much as I wanted to show you what I see, I am feeling like Wisdom doesn't agree with me."

He looks at Jennifer, "I am sorry. I don't mean to be a tease, but...I don't think I am supposed to show you that." Kaze says thoughtfully. "I am not going to push it. I hope you understand. A lot worse than disappointment can happen if you try to force magic to happen when it doesn't want to."

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-02-06 12:08:25	Kaze rolls 7 to cast improvised Prime 2 Primal Flow on Jennifer (Prime 3 + Gnosis 2 + High Speech 2) (10 Again)	2, 4, 6, 5, 1, 3, 2	failure

[Jennifer Hazelton]

"I like him as well. Hopefully we'll see him again. Oh, that is true. I hadn't noticed him here."
Jennifer glanced over to the other group for a moment, watching what was occurinng over there. The Nosferatu turns back to give Chris her undivided attention. "With the exception of Ella Fittzgerald, I don't know much of those. Besides the classics by those artists." She admitted. "There is something so beautiful about Fitzgerald's voice. 'High Hopes' - I own that one. I tend to listen to it to improve my mood if I have had a bad night."
Jennifer listens to the language with interest.

"I agree. Sometimes things just don't work."
She again thought of when she strummed her supernatural ability to preside over Invictus Oaths. She had to coax her blood down paths of different Disciplines at times, and occasionally wondered if the supernatural Gift might balk when she had to call it forth.
"These things happen. I sometimes have to challenge myself when I am at my - lets say 'work functions'. There is always a chance that the supernatural elements we call on just won't favor us, just like what happened here."

"Could be worse. Could have been when Willow rained out the Scooby gang at the Beach in Buffy."A good natured smile. "Yes, I did research on what people might think about me. I had to quit Vampire Diaries, though. Too much drama, and I am not about that nonsense."

[Kaze]

Kaze grins, "Hah. Thanks for understanding! It sounds funny, like you're consoling me about 'performance anxiety' or something." He laughs. "But yeah, doing stuff on the fly is always dicy; it's way more dependable to be able to prepare ahead of time, for sure." He agrees.

When she makes the Buffy reference, Kaze laughs and then looks serious. "It's not just comparing shows tho, right? I mean, if I say 'it's like Hogwarts'-which it totally is not, by the way--am I talking about the whole thing, the constant worrying about infiltrators working for 'he who must not be named', and the possibility that your leaders are just setting you up to be sacrificed, and you have no choices?" He says thoughtfully.

"Like, if you say you like 'Buffy' better than 'Vampire Diaries', does that mean the real dynamic in your 'family' is more like how it is in Buffy, where they all are demons, really, and they aren't the person they were before, just using the memories to kill and not really caring about any of the relationships they had as humans? 'cause drama aside, I like the Vampire Diaries scenario of people still being who they are, just whatever personality traits they had are like, amplified, and they have a raging hunger, but they can resist it or direct it. They don't have to be bad guys." Kaze says, not asking, but asking...'what is it like to be you?'

[Skye]

Sorry completely forgot to do an exit scene here, had thought it would do that automatically when rejoining the main thread and then forgot about it.

[Jennifer Hazelton]

Jennifer laughs, then covers her mouth. " I hadn't thought of that! Well if I have to choose, I would guess vampire diaries. That's on the basis that I only saw three episodes.
For example, I think having time to learn new things and master subjects is the best. I only dislike being dishonest. I have to be very strict with telling the truth for my job, or I could be dismissed. So I naturally want to be honest. It's the biggest issue I had with spending time with you and Skye
Yet you understand, I have to lie sometimes, to protect you, and my family."
Just as Chris would lie or omit things. It was just the way her masquerade and whatever he called his protection order worked. It couldn't be helped.
She checks jis expression, concerned she might have upset him. Did anyone want to discuss what sort of demon they were dating?

"It's a bit complicated. I'm not the same person I was when I was a breathing person. I have to make certain actions that some might find very offensive.
No way about it, what I am needs to eat. I think all of us are a bit ... Touched. Some of us are more humane than others, some of us like spending time with people. I'm like that.
So I would say a bit of demon, but the average member of my family is not as bad as Angelus. Anyone of us could be, in order to protect ourselves.
I'm sure you have means of defending yourself, and your prized secrets that allow your existence without interference from people or the supernatural."

[Kaze]

Kaze grins when Jenna laughs out loud. It's a really good feeling to see Jenna laugh, and especially when she's laughing at something he said.

He looks sheepish when she answers his unspoken question. "Yeah, sorry; I didn't really think about how offensive that was, kind of asking if you personally or the people you are close to are 'demons' or 'real people'." Kaze apologizes.

He sighs. "So, fair question. I mean, people like me are...well, we are kind of born this way, and it's more like it just...comes out at some point. So on the one hand, we are the same person that we always were, but on the other hand, it...changes everything, basically how we see everything. Like you said, some handle it better than others, and...it definitely has some effect on everyone. It can definitely lead to some fanaticism. I mean, some people get committed to the idea that it's evil and want to destroy everyone like us, even though they are like us. Others believe it's like...a sign, that everyone who isn't like us is...less than, 'other'. That's not pretty." Kaze sighs again.

"Most people, one way or another it kind of dominates their life. There's like...different schools of thought, denominations, or factions, you could say. I was in one, and now I'm not. So...yeah, some people like me are basically trying to live our lives and help out in our community without...getting completely lost in it, if that makes sense." He says, unconsciously speaking a little faster, like the same sense that drew him here tonight is telling him that it isn't going to last much longer.

"I have a feeling this...whatever tonight is...isn't going to last much longer. I...don't know how things will be after this, but...I would like to keep seeing you, if you're willing."

[Jennifer Hazelton]

"I'm not offended. I'm mostly thinking some might think what I do is offensive. Jennifer assured.

"Less than? Oh that's a problem. It has to be hard hiding what you are, as well.
Well, I hope that you can find the perfect work- life balance. I can understand that you have to practice..or pursue ... something in your line of work.

Is it dangerous?" Jennifer worked to relax, letting her expression change to concern. She did not have to guard her expression the way she did around the Invictus, or rivals.
" I am happy to continue to see you. I've been looking forward to more of our text walls... Although getting together is far superior."

[Kaze]

Kaze pauses. "Okay...I guess I shouldn't make assumptions. Um...please, don't answer if this is too...what do I want to say here, 'intimate' i guess? But...do you...like, drink blood from people? I mean, you have to?" He asks, sounding curious and concerned for Jenna rather than grossed out or creepy. "I mean, I guess I am assuming that's what you mean, when you say people could find what you do as offensive? Is it dangerous?"

Kaze nods when Jenna gets it, "Yeah, anyone thinking other people are less 'real people' than they are is bad news." He agrees. "It's not that hard, hiding what we are from people that aren't, I mean, it shouldn't be hard. Getting arrogant is the problem. Sloppy. I mean, you shouldn't be able to tell from a medical exam or anything, only if we...do something we shouldn't, or say something. Get sloppy, basically." Kaze explains. "Honestly the biggest danger is probably that, screwing up and becoming a threat to the secret...community, world really. That's not allowed, and will be punished. I know. I...screwed up once, and was confined for a month. That was for talking too freely in public. I was talking to people like me, and I didn't say anything specific, which is probably why it wasn't worse..."

Kaze looks confused then. "Which is why this, tonight is So weird. And why I'm trying to be really careful anyway."

"Hiding from people like us though that have gone bad...yeah, that's a challenge. And there's...a whole world. I mean, what you told me about yourself...I didn't know the details or anything, but I wasn't totally blind sided, I knew...yeah, there is a lot of stuff that is real. Haunted houses, monsters that eat people, or just kill their spirits and take over...it's no joke, sometimes anyway." Kaze shakes his head. "And honestly, I am proud, communities of people like me...protect people, regular people, from a lot of that stuff."