(2106) Sanctuary

[Guru]

This not being a formal event Guru wasn't dressed up this time, he rolled in wearing a pair of sun faded jeans worn from work and use, plus a plain slate gray shirt, and pair of sturdy brown work boots. Nothing fancy for Guru today he'd planned on taking care of the garden here at the Circle and then head home to do the same. Did seem to be a sparse crowd out and about today, he gave a wave to everyone before his hand came back down thumbing at the copper ring on his finger.


Missing some but adding Winter, Guru couldn't remember the last time he'd seen him around the Circle. It'd been awhile or he'd missed him that was possible too. Seemed like he and Puck were talking which was interesting to Guru all the same. His eyes couldn't help but be pulled to the new face though, but he knew like last time it was possible this was where everyone went and said their hellos so he'd let them. Kaze was good on the welcome wagon front since he was so easy to talk to. He offered a smile to Aurora before looking over to corn. "You going jogging soon?"

[Puck]

"I've been good." The Enchanter smiles at Kaze's assessment. "Yeah, it's just been quiet recently. Well..."

He had done a thing recently, and no sooner could he say he acknowledged a new Acanthus then said Acanthus had shown up.

"Everybody, this is Popsicle." Puck begins pointing to the other mages to start associating faces with names. "Kaze. Winter. Aurora. Corn. Guru. Folks, this is our newest Acanthus Apostate in from New York."

With that Puck was happy to take a seat and watch. There were a lot of pretty people in Sacramento. He didn't always think of it, even though it was right in front of his face. Still most jealous of Kaze, but that was one of those things he wasn't going to say out loud.

[Kaze]

Kaze resists nodding back to Winter's nod to him to his saying 'hi'. He smiles at Winter, easily. Only so much guy non verbal communicating you can do before you have to admit, you don't really have anything to say to each other. Like, either move on or offer a fist bump. Kaze grins at Popsicle.

"Hey." He says, grinning warmly towards Popsicle. "Cool name." He says, completely unselfconsciously like he doesn't even mean it like a punny thing.

"Hey." Kaze says to Aurora when she comes in, smiling at seeing her. Whatever happens, it's good when Aurora's around. Just her being there seems to help keep things from going too far, not that anything seems to be going bad right now anyway. It's just nice to have a definite grown up around.

Kaze smiles at Corn in is athletic gear. Maybe suggest a jog later. There's some great trails in the city. Maybe Corn even knows some new ones.

Guru is on Corn about the outfit, but friendly. It's a nice vibe. Chill.

And Puck makes introductions, like a host! Nice.

Kaze just kind of vibes on enjoying the peaceful easy atmosphere, smiling to himself, feeling pretty content. He does kind of wish Crystal came around the Circle more, and wonders where Eulogy is, since he's been pretty faithful, but maybe that'll happen more later.

[Winter]

A warmer welcome is reserved for Aurora. "Hey", he mutters, before his attention is diverted by the newcomers.
The new girl was intriguing, there was something familiar about her looks. Her Shadow Name suggested a certain lightheartedness that wasn't uncommon among Acanthuses, even though she could be playing a part.
"New York, uh", he says, "welcome", not bothering to repeat his name, with Puck having done the introduction and all.

[Popsicle]

Initially it felt different seeing all these magi coming together, her brain still slowly working out the faces and connecting them with the names. It was convenient she could come and meet her fellow magi in such circumstances – it gave her a window into their lives and their Work – and that was a good thing.
As the riveting woman walks in Popsicle’s brain once again tries to work the connection. There was this feeling of déjà vu, or rather having seen that face and those legs elsewhere, she looked twice, but where was it she had seen her? Was it on OnlyFans? Instagram? Some party? The Acanthus quickly gave up as the threat of a splitting headache started to make such effort impossible.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-06-08 05:37:17	Popsicle rolls 10 to Recognizing Aurora: Wits + Comp + Fame (10 Again)	6, 7, 2, 4, 3, 4, 1, 3, 6, 7	failure

Meanwhile Puck makes the introductions – that was sweet of him – she decided. Newest Acanthus Apostate in from New York. Opting against letting her mind wonder if the introduction had made her justice she prefers to warm. There was no point in allowing this headache to ruin her first visit to the Sanctuary so she fought back with good thoughts of abundant ice cream and sunny summer Californian days.

”Hiii!” Cooing like a lost adolescent she wonders if that was how she intended it to sound all along.

”I mean, hello…” Finding her bearings and engaging Winter in conversation. ”… and thank you.” Clearly proud of her city and her birthplace.

”You ever lived there? In New York?” Posing the question as if moving from city to city was the natural state of the human being and finally choosing to seat in the empty part of the bench where they had gathered but at a sensible distance from Winter.

[Aurora]

The smile was returned to Gugu, who seemed a bit more, subdued, today than normal.

Popsicle? Seriously? Ok then. So they had a Corn and a Popsicle, seemed normal. Acanthus, a pang of longing in her chest, and Apostate. Cool.

Smile to Kaze, “Hey Kaze.” She needed to get with him and see how his studies were going. "Let me know if you want to practice again." they would discuss more this time, he would be pushed more.

The warm welcome was returned to Winter, “How’ve you been? Busy?” a hint of concern in her voice. Him missing meetings was a bit unsettling.

Finding a wall to lean against, while still within the little gathering, “Welcome to Sacramento.” She says. Since they knew her Path, “Shaman, member of the Mysterum.” Might as well complete the introductions. “How are you?” she wasn’t really her usually friendlier self. Lot on the mind.

[Crystal]

Ugh, Crystal really didn't like those informal meetings. Most of the time it consisted of standing around, snacking some of Guru's baked goods and do some chit-chat. Some times those kind of chats could get you into hot water and kick off an inquisition to hound you out of the city, and that was definitely always fun.

However, if he wanted to take applying for the position as Councilor seriously he'd have to show up now and then, play the part of the politician. He even dressed way too warm for the weather, although he enjoyed the loud print of his jacket and wanted to show it around some. Some people were just born with a gift of wearing clothes well.

Entering the circle his attention was immediately grabbed by a fresh face. Yeah, Sacramento had an absurdly high percentage of gorgeous people, but that one looked like a proper super model. She also looked like someone who knew how to party like a rock-star. Interesting.

Crystal was here to start making a good impression, though: his first way led him to Puck, Winter and Kaze. He tried to get all the eyerolls at the prospect of a possible conversation out of the way - only mentally, of course - and when he got there he only showed a big, friendly smile. "Puck, hi how are you?" When he turned to Kaze the smile didn't look any different, although it certainly felt more natural. "Hey buddy, how are you?" Finally, Winter was given a respectful nod - Crystal even turned down the smile a bit. Winter didn't seem like the smiling type. "Winter, I hope the last weeks found you well." He had been missing from official Consilium, after all.

Next stop: the other Councilor present. Now she knew how to wear clothes well. "Hey Aurora. Everything all right?" Corn got a mock salute and a warm "Hi.", and for Guru he turned the salute into a peace-sign. Fuck if he knew why, it just felt right at the moment.
And finally: the monthly introductions to whomever decided to stop by for a few weeks. "Hey, I'm Crystal. Welcome to Sacramento?" With the very real possibility of him interrupting some kind of chat he left it at that for now, all the while telling himself that that was the bullet he just had to bite.

[Corn]

Corn chuckled when Guru asked him if he's going jogging. "No man, I am just working on expanding the Mysterium's workshop and doing some mineral purification using science and mundane equipment... that I fixed with magic. I use simple knowing spells to check various coin seller products in person and I get the ones that have some silver. "

To Puck 's mention that @Popsticle is from new York, Corn showed interest. "New York eh? Never been there. My Fiancé travels there at least twice per year for her work but I have yet to accompany her. How is life in that big city, mage-wise? I guess there must be like 100 mages in the city and double that with the suburbs. I would be interested to learn more about the supernatural side of a city that big. San Francisco was... interesting but I didn't stay there for long." Too many snobs, corn thought to himself but didn't voice it. His expression when he mentioned that San Francisco mage community was interesting didn't do much to obfuscate his low opinion on many of these big city mages.

To Crystal Corn said "I hope you're doing fine, Crystal. Nice clothes there. Dressed to impress I see. It must be nice to be as financially independent."
Smooth. Butter him up for a few days before I ask him for gold later. Corn thought thinking himself smug and subtle.

[Guru]

Guru listened as Puck spoke, a brow raised when he said things had been quiet lately but then disappeared as the introductions began. His eyes flitting over to the new arrival with the thick east coast accent. He didn’t want to start any East Coast/West Coast beef anew, so he didn’t say anything his lips just drew into a thin wry smile. Not that he really wanted to go back to LA anytime soon though he was curious how things might have changed in the intervening years.

He gave Popsicle an upward nod saying hi without using words, those lips pulled wider as he saw Crystal throw him a peace sign which he gratefully returned. He was wondering if Winter and Poppy were going to start reminiscing about the big apple so he kept his ears open for now.

A look of disappointment spread over his face when Corn replied, he couldn’t help but frown. “Damn, I was hoping to see if you’d want to go jogging after this. You know if you need your equipment fixed and tuned I can help with that, I can bring extra PPE if you need it.” Then he continued with the coins and Guru started looking confused. “That seems really inefficient, are you trying to make money or trying to get the silver? Either way I might be able to help.” Guru shrugged, since he’d started his old life before this new one money had never really been a problem for the guru.

Finally he looked over to Aurora and nodded at her too before lowering his voice a bit. “Everything ok?”

[Puck]

Did the intro do justice? Probably not, but that was the point. Think how tedious these friendly get togethers would be if everyone knew everything about each other right off the bat. It's not about telling everyone everything about Popsicle, it's about giving people enough to want to ask her more. Plus, unlike Puck, she wasn't a Libertine. He didn't know how comfortable she would be if he told her everything. Not that he thought to ask a lot about her? Which was probably something he should remedy with the next Acanthus. Inching up that learning curve one task at a time.

"Good." That was his one word answer to Crystal as he continued smiling. The sincerity of the smile Crystal offered was lost as Puck seemed to give the Warlock the minimal time and attention needed to respond to his passing pleasantries. It wasn't like the Warlock waited for a response before moving onto his next target anyway.

"So what are we going to talk about this time?" He already had conversations with Winter and Kaze in passing before and enjoyed their company well enough. No harm in trying round two. "Orders? Current events? Anybody die recently? What's for dinner?"