(2206) Jacque's Orbit

[Jacque]

He had intended on engaging the new presence in the Domain, but he figured since she asked the question she would be led his way in good time.

Continued from (2206) Eternal Court...

[Aiko Hamura]

She took her time, but Aiko finally ceases floating about the rest of the Court and makes a straight line for Jacque. The weight of his gaze gave Aiko the distinct impression that she'd do well to dispense with "normal" protocol and present herself sooner rather than later.

"Most Respected Seneschal, please allow me to present myself, Madam Aiko Hamura, intent on becoming acknowledged within the domain."Aiko gives a deep bow from the waist upon reaching the seneschal and waits for a response to consider straightening.

[Jacque]

The Lord's face ticked to a smile as the newcomer finally made his acquaintance, "Well met, Madam Hamura. As you gathered from others, I am Seneschal Jack."

Conversation had mostly moved on without his attention, but he finalized his departure from the circles with nothing more than a few steps. "What has brought you to Sacramento?"

[Aiko Hamura]

"I am originally from San Francisco. After I found that my previous city - Las Vegas - did not agree with me, I felt perhaps I should move closer to home. My former human family has long since moved on after my tragic death, after all." Aiko pronounces the word 'human' with a palpable amount of cold disdain behind behind it.

"Besides that, I'd like to be in a city where I can be busy. Previous Lords and Ladies have found me useful at watching kine and making certain that they are fit for feeding, ghouling, or embracing. In in large cities such as Sacramento, it can be so difficult to find any and all skeletons in a mortal's closet."

Aiko glances back at the conversation she had come from. "I gather from the warm welcome, I am the first new arrival to the city for some time? At least, the first that is interested in being more than a guest, no?"

[Jacque]

"Hmm," he mused on the stated reasons for her arrival. "I always thought Vegas had a reputation for hiding those skeletons." A joke by the tone and delivery.

"Not at all," he addressed the question at hand. "Sacramento's kindred can be quite engaging, however I will concede that we do also have our fair share of temporary guests." Most of that stemmed from a lack of poise, but so far this one seemed to be well equipped.

He reached into his vest, pulled out and then methodically unfolded a piece of parchment and passed it over to Aiko, "Please read that carefully and let me know if you have any questions."

[Aiko Hamura]

Aiko lets slip a bemused smile at the Seneschal's joke. "Hiding them, yes. Hiding them well..." She trails off, finishing the sentence being utterly unnecessary.

The subtleties of Jacque's statement on comment on "temporary" guests doesn't escape Aiko. Vampiric tourism is all well and good... but despite the rather casual atmosphere this domain holds so far, it would behoove Aiko not to become careless. Not that she ever is. Mistaken, she often is. Even foolish. But careless? If anything, it's more likely even the Invictus of the domain will find her dry, tedious, and perhaps boring.

Aiko takes the offered parchment and first gives it a cursory glance over. A seemingly standard list of domain laws, with nothing that immediately jumps out as being extraordinary. She still takes the time to read it thoroughly, the Seneschal's potential impatience at watching a newcomer read the entire list be damned. She had firsthand experience with the potential wiggle room within seemingly ironclad rules. She'd even bent such rules when she was a human. Such vice was left behind when she was Embraced, but that didn't mean other vampires - with hundreds of years to perfect their loopholes - had done the same.

Only a small number of details stand out. Firstly, the specific note about the Kallisti. Certainly not the only city to reject practitioners of Perfidy, but important to note nonetheless. The second is that Seneschal Jacque seems to be the legally improper candidate to gift the status of acknowledgement. Where was the Mekhet Priscus, Lady Durant? The fact that she hadn't arrived before the Prince could be seen as carelessness, or even an insult depending on... Prince Alessandra Antinori's disposition. Abject absence would not be much better.

A missing Priscus... an innocent anomaly, or already a mystery to be unraveled? I've been in this city only a few hours and the paranoid shadows of my mind are already crawling out from the dark recesses they hide in. A city so comfortable it has no secrets, or one so full of them they are spilling out from the seems... perhaps the perfect place for a snoop like me. And endless puzzle to tantalize a twisted mind that doesn't know when to quit while ahead...

Should Aiko try to pry information? Not in a straightforward manner, surely. "Only one, Seneschal Jack. Are there any still within the domain that invoke Her Majesty's displeasure, that I should be aware of?"

[Jacque]

A sense of humor, good. The Lord thought to himself as she responded to his jest.

Her question was uncommon. It made sense to know who one might want to distance from to avoid tarnishing their own reputation. "Nobody of note," he responded after careful consideration. "Though I'm sure if you did some digging there might be some recent gossip to uncover. I simply won't spoil the hunt." Another grin, this one more to tease.

He waited for any other question to arise, or response to his obfuscated answer before continuing. "I have one more question for you before we proceed. Have you ever committed the act of Amaranth?" The steel eyes of the Lord narrowed on his conversation partner, intent on gauging her response.

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-06-27 12:41:12	Jacque rolls 11 to detect lies/deception (WIT+SUB+DS) (10 Again)	9, 10, 6, 9, 5, 3, 3, 3, 8, 2, 5, 1	4 successes

[Aiko Hamura]

"Nobody of note," Jacque responded after a pause. "Though I'm sure if you did some digging there might be some recent gossip to uncover."

Aiko grins again, but doesn't offer a joke in return again. Jacque wasn't even making a joke. Besides, Aiko had just told him she was an investigator; She couldn't have all the juicy info given away for free, could she? She makes a mental note of the specific phrasing: Nobody of note. So somebody, likely several somebodies. But they would be of low status, perhaps even barely above Aiko's current position. And the absent Prisucs Durant or any other officers that might not have arrived to court would not be part of that list, for one reason or another. Which meant any absences had their explanations sufficient for the Prince...


When Jack asks about Amaranth, Aiko visibly bristles a little. The question rips her from her musings, and even stirs the Beast a little. She has to push down the instinctive sense of disgust. Maybe the Beast in her wanted to drain a weak fledgling if she got the chance, but when Aiko was in control? The thought of behaving like a jealous, violent animal - like a human would - made her skin crawl.

But it was a normal question to ask of a newcomer. And displaying any wounded pride over the Seneschal doing his duty would only be unbecoming. Aiko straightens herself.

"Absolutely not."

[Jacque]

The Lord nodded, content with the answer and truth behind it.

"With that and your understanding of Her Grace's Laws we can complete the final step of presentation. Do you, Madame Aiko Hamura, swear loyalty to Prince Alessandra Antinori, to the the officers of her Court and to abide by the Prince's laws as set forth by her hand?"

The Lord waited patiently for the inevitable answer from their new guest resident of the Domain.

[Aiko Hamura]

With that, the magic words appeared. There is no more than a breath of pause before the answer. "By my blood, I swear it."

It was always remarkable to Aiko how little the moment lingered after a swearing. She'd heard that some cities employed more old-fashioned methods, such as signing a contract in blood, but all the courts she had encountered were content to accept a verbal swearing-in. And in the grand scheme of the court proceedings today, Aiko was sure she registered as barely more than a blip of curiosity to the vast majority of kindred in the city, present or otherwise.

Aiko takes out the second glove from her pocket and fiddles with it for a moment. "If you will permit me, Respected Seneshcal, I would offer you a token of my appreciation and admiration, along with my most earnest desires to be of service to you should the need arise." She offers the glove to the Priscus. Aiko couldn't be sure she'd have another opportunity to offer the gift in the future, and in the past she'd always found that work came more quickly when she was proactive in offering her labor to more valuable members of the court sooner rather than later.