(2203) Sanctuary

[Aeolus]

Circle of creation

The Circle of Creation is the gathering hub for all Pentacle mages in the Sacramento Concilium, with chapter houses for all five Orders inside.

Located east of Sacramento and far outside the prying eyes of the inner city, the Circle of Creation awaits the mages of Sacramento. Despite being a replica of the Westminster Abbey, the sleepers who come by never seem to notice it. The wards built into the structure have made sure of this. To all but the Pentacle the Circle is essentially invisible, ensuring the safety of those who enter and engage with one another. Whether it had always been here for the Awakened was hard to say now, but it was the site that the Awakened gather to mingle and discuss official matters.

It is a time for simply for mingling among the Awakened. The common area is large and open, but over the course of the month it's inevitable that people may bump into each other. The official concerns of the Consilium are put on hold as a more lighthearted experience is shared among this community of the Wise. Ultimately, this is the opportunity to let the proverbial hair down. How much so is up to them.

This is the opening post for Sanctuary. Please read this for information on Sanctuary, Consilium, and the difference the two. Come here to be recognized!

Also a reminder, Sanctuary threads are not official Consilium threads. Those under an incarceration sentence may not attend a Sanctuary thread.

Sancturary is not a single event, or formal Consilium. It's a compression of time to represent the comings, goings, and intersections of Awakened throughout the month at the Cirlce.

[Crystal]

Crystal shuffled into the Circle with a cup of Starbucks coffee in hand. He was growing somewhat lazy and wasn't sure yet if that was a good thing so today he decided to mingle a bit with the other members of the Sacramento Pentacle. Today he was wearing a simple black Alexander McQueen suit and some Doc Martens - because if he was going all-out with the outfits every time the real showstoppers would lose their impact.

"Well fuck me." The Circle appeared empty. But hey, silver lining: he could chose freely where to sit. The Mastigos did some more shuffling until he arrived at some seats near the entrance where he sank down and closed his eyes for a bit. Some people might suspect he was nurturing a hangover.

Those people might be right.

[Moira]

Your friendly neighborhood Acanthus, after doing a wake and bake, and throwing on what most would presume to be some sort of body covering, made her way to the Circle for some good ole fashioned gathering! A yellow crushed velvet jacket over a rolling stones stoner shirt (clearly fished from the 2.00 vintage bin) and ripped jeans that were starting to border on 'maybe you should throw them away' rather than being fashionable, and sneakers. Her hair was floofed all nice and styled tho! I mean, it was the little things, right? Right!

She had a chai tea latte in her hand in a travel mug. She made it at home with a ten dollar milk frother, tea bags, a handful of spices outta a bag, milk, and her stove. She was feeling pretty good about all of that until her stomach complained. Oh the fuck! Wait. Moira stopped and had to think about it. Of course. It's not like that helped. She couldn't remember. She had to fish her phone out and check if she entered anything in her food log last night. Damn sure didn't happen this morning while she was smoking pot and playing with the stove! She had to have something in her bag....somewhere... maybe....

Fishing in the bottomless waste of her messenger bag that was supposed to be a purse thing, making frustrated noises, was how she breezed passed Crystal in his designer suit. She made a face when she fished out: peanut M&M's. Chai tea latte and peanut fucking M&M's for breakfast. Welp. It was what it was!

It flashed on her face, when she made a little O with her mouth, that she just passed someone sitting by the door. "Oh hey! Didn't see ya there for a second." Now she did see him, and you know what? Even uncultured swine such as herself could tell that was a designer suit. "Hey! I'm new in town. Moira!"

[Aurora]

Would this month prove to be a exciting month? Eh, probably not. The meetings had gotten quiet and not many were attending.

So…why was she attending? No good answer. There was nothing else planned for the day, and who knows.

Going with a wrap leather dress, something different, she grabs an energy drink and makes her way to the Circle. Her hair had a slight wave to it, her legs looking amazing in the dress and the shoes! She had to get more like this.

Walking in, she see’s Crystal and smirks, “Rough night?” she jokes.

Then she takes in the new face, wondering which Path she walked. “Hi, I’m Aurora.” She says and takes a seat near Crystal. Did she have the energy to be welcoming today? She wasn’t sure.

[Corn]

Corn entered the Circle with a cup of coffee in hand, dressed in casual clothes for the weather. He seemed a bit tired but he was his usual cheerful self regardless. He spotted Crystal that seemed to be having a hang-over but of course, that couldn't be true since he was the boss warlock now. Nah, he probably had some seasonal illness.

As usual, he was the only average-looking person in the group but that didn't stop him from approaching the two pretty women.
"Greetings Daduche Aurora ." He said before turning to the new comer.
"Oh, a new person! Welcome. I didn't have the chance to catch you name.
I am Corn, daduchos of the Mysterium and Moros - Master of matter in fact." He said before turning to Crystal and Aurora "I always wanted to say that in a greeting." and back to Moira. "I work in a bookstore and I am what people think as stereotypical Mystagogue. I do love my books."

The crowd today, Councilor and ex-councilor were neither very enthusiastic nor very energetic.
"Usually, we have bigger crowds that gather around newcomers to welcome them. It gets much more busy here as we come and go. So don't be dissuaded. The place will soon have an upturn. Other meetings we have are usually significantly bigger." he kinda lied. By the time the newcomer finds out that a handful of mages is not that rare, she would have forgot about this slight misinformation. But you don't welcome someone by telling them that half the people wouldn't bother show up in those unofficial meetings.

[Crystal]

At first, the only indication that the Warlock heard Moira's introduction were his eyebrows going up. The lids followed a few seconds later and finally the corners of his mouth lagged behind. "Oh hey. Hi." He straightened up a bit, led his cup to his mouth. When the fuck did he empty that? Ugh. The Mastigos Councilor shook the empty cup uselessly before putting it down next to him. He used the now free hand to reach out to the new face in town. "I'm Crystal, Councilor of the Iron Gauntlet and member of the local Mysterium." Please, don't let him have to do this today.

Aurora joined them and his mood improved a bit. Seemed like she felt similarly to him. Didn't they say misery loved company? He returned the smirk as nonchalantly as he could. "It had its ups and downs." And ups, and downs, and ups... "How are you doing?" The Starbucks cup was promptly moved when Aurora neared him. And next to the Shaman he felt a bit like a rock-star.

He was just about to worry about not coming off as super professional at the moment when Corn entered. Great, the Moros would probably ask all the important questions and buy Crystal and Aurora some time to really come to terms with the situation.
The Mastery-introduction earned the Necromancer a double-thumbs-up and a crooked smile. Despite how much he liked to talk it felt nice to have most of the Masters of the city in their order. "What Corn said. Hi Corn! The first and most important thing about Sacramento seems to be how much coming and going there is." A side-glance to Aurora. He really understood her attitude from back when Crystal was new now. "So what Path are you walking? What brings you here?" Ah damn, seemed like there were some of those important questions in him after all.

[Moira]

Moira watched Aurora come in and sit down, and instantly snagged a seat. Tossing the peanut M&M’s on the table and taking a sip of her chai tea latte to partially hide the grin. She recognized her. Not as ‘Aurora’ but as Madison Cross, actually. She was excited and took the moment to act like she was thirsty to calm down a second before her mouth took off faster than her brain. What came out wasn’t what she planned to say if she ever met her in person. Not even close…

“Oh oh oh I have seen you put your legs behind your head……on stage.” The on stage part was the only thing she could think of to make that first bit slightly less awkward. She grimaced slightly, and couldn’t help but shake her head and laugh. “Okay. That didn’t come out, like anything I would have thought to say if I had longer to adjust.” She rubbed the back of her neck a moment looking a little sheepish. “I’m a big enough fan of the show to have a poster on my wall. Sorry, um, Aurora. I bet you get that a lot. Hopefully a bit of a smoother delivery than that though.” Well fuck. If you couldn’t laugh at yourself when you said something stupid. Heh. “I’m uh Moira.”

She didn’t have as long to dwell on it as she might have, had Corn not saved the day with his entrance. She chuckled a little at his introduction, and frankly, she liked him immediately for it. Especially when he went full dork mode and admitted to being excited over using his new title. She giggled slightly, and nodded. “Hi Councilor Corn. I’m Moira! Nice to meet you.” The rest? Well she wondered if he was bullshitting just a little, but his big unpretentious smile and forthright demeanor made her not care too much either way. “Bigger isn’t always better for meeting folks for the first time. I like to talk a lot, and it's hard to say anything meaningful with a lot of people to respond to.”

Moira had a firm handshake for Crystal when he offered. Practiced. Like she was used to shaking hands upon meeting people, and she didn’t hesitate to take it. “Nice to meet you, Councilor Crystal.” She chuckled a little and nodded a bit tilting her face to the side. She knew a hangover when she saw one. Being guilty of that particular sin more than a few times herself.
“I wanted to relocate. It was as simple as that. I got a job offer at a larger studio and it just felt like perfect timing.” She said smoothly with an easy smile. “I already met with Councilor Puck. I was fortunate enough to get his number from contacts in Los Angeles, and made it a point to meet with him before showing up here today. Which makes me an Acanthus.”

[Aurora]

A nod to Corn. Though she wondered if he expected her to start to use Mysterium titles at these gatherings? Cause she was pretty sure he got that she wasn’t all about those titles. Yet he kept doing it, so was she supposed to? Directions were unclear, and something to ask at a meeting, of the Mysterium.

“Hey, good to see you.” Her smile friendly. And thankfully, he seemed eager to dive head first into talking with the new girl. Worked for her. But was she the only one who didn’t go announcing her Mastery? It felt like a weird way of bragging, and she wasn’t about that. And she’d rather talk about almost Mastering her second Arcana in private.

A solemn nod to Moira, “He isn’t lying, he loves his books.” Then sipping from her can. “Though things are small and quiet around here. Our population seems to be quite transient from month to month.” He might not want to say it, but she would. “Just a thing here, nothing to worry about.” At least, not that she knew.

Resting her elbow on the back of the chair, she rests her chin on her hand, looking at Crystal, “Sounds pretty typical. But I hope more ups than downs.” Ups were always better. Shrugging, “Can’t really complain, been throwing myself into my studies.” So not that exciting. “Thinking there needs to be a night out soon. With no work and no studies.” Just drinks and fun.

Crystal seems to take over the new girl convo with the right questions. So she was content to let him do his thing.

But then Moira surprised her. It took her a second to register before she laughs and nods, “One of the things I do, yeah.” Then a shake of her head and a smile, “It’s ok, you won’t believe the things I’ve heard or been asked. So no worries.” The Shaman assures her. Then a double take, wait…what? “A poster?” did she hear right? That was a thing? Though they did have the guy pass through who had one of the magazines she did a cover for. “Thanks?” not sure what to say, but flattered, which should show on her face. “Not as often these days, so it’s quite flattering.” The smile comes back, “Hi Moira.” A hand held out for a shake.

“I’m Aurora, Shaman and member of the Mysterium.” A fuller introduction.

A new Acanthus. Nice.

[Corn]

The revelations are coming fast... Aurora was a contortionist? He would swear she was a dancer.
"I thought you were a dancer, from back at the Mysterium party Crystal organized... Moira , you have to know that the Mysterium of Sacramento throws the best parties. Nothing like the Mysterium of ... more or less wherever you are from. " Not that it was a hard bar to pass.
Wait, councilor Corn? Corn shook his head in the negative, flattered never the less. He liked the new girl. "I am not a councilor, Moira. Eulogy is the Moros Councilor. May I ask, do you know if Councilor Puck will come? Speaking of councilors, where is Phoenyx ? Haven't seen her for some time. "
Oh, she didn't like large gatherings? Well, she will like this one then. Crystal and Aurora were quite quick to cut through his lie different take on numbers.

Then Aurora mentioned... studies and Corn's smile deepened.
"That's what I like to hear! Studies are exciting. Did you learn any new languages? I have some news on that front. I will tell you more later, but I don't want to take the spotlight from the new arrival.
Oh, and something to consider, fellow Mystagogues: I am thinking of ending that Mystagogue around May, so 2 months more to go. "

Turning back to Moira, he asked "What do you do for a living, if I may ask? What job brought us the pleasure of your presence?"

[Belle]

After last month, Belle was going to make a point of attending Consilium as early as she could. She couldn't afford to disappoint her Warlock Councilor after all, what with them being the only two of their Path in town.

But Belle certainly doesn't look stressed. She's dressed light in jeans and a blue-grey top with sunglasses to keep out the all-too-welcoming sun of Southern California. She has a coffee in one hand and has a shoulder bag over her opposite arm. "Hey guys! How's it going?" A bright voice pierces the sacred space as Belle greets those gathered. All familiar faces...except one. "Hi, welcome to Sacramento! I'm Belle." She steps in briefly to offer a handshake to Moira as firm and friendly as her smile. "Warlock of the Mysterium. I'm sure these guys have given you a shining welcome to our Circle." She looks across Crystal, Aurora, and Corn. All fast friends even though Belle was barely newer than the newcomer.

Pending any questions holding her in place, Belle moves over to Crystal with an excited look. "So, did Corn tell you about the prize we recovered? It's got some really nice parameters."