A gathering

[Seryna]

The invitation explained that care should be taken in travel, the expectation that one should Blush. As you travel to Belle Vista farm, you drive for about thirty minutes outside of Sacramento proper.

The area becomes quieter. The sky seems to appear darker, removed from the light pollution. The area becomes rolling hills. Working farms, although well labdscaped and expensive looking, appear outside of your window.

Following the directions, you appear beside two gently glowing strings of electric lights arranged besides a large parking area. Electric candles are set on a walking path, leading to a shadow strewn two story house lit by electric candles.

Mr. Hoyle stands at the door, expectant and calm.

[Helen Kingsley]

Helen pulls up in her dark green Dodge Monaco and has a look around after getting out. After a short orientation, she follows the laid out lighted path to the two-story house.

"Good evening, Mr Waldorf. Thank you for the invitation. I hope I'm not too late ?"

As is, there's not too much that implies the place is already bustling with people, but you never know...

[Seryna]

"Reeve Kingsley." A slight pause as he leans in. "Is that how you wish to be referred as?" He inquires politely. "I wish no insult."

He turns and makes a gentleman - like gesture to the room yet unseen. "You are the third to join us. No one took up my invitation to teach a skill." He appears surprised at this.
"We hold our knowledge close to our chest, it seems. Although I plan on asking our guests where they were Embraced - and about the political landscape of the Domain where they resided before Sacramento. Learning about one another on something easily verified, yet not too personal. Learning about where certain Covenants have a stronger foothold could be exciting.

Madame Simone Perez is already inside. May I accompany you?"

[Raul]

The Savage pauses after he parks his dark coloured Dodge Charger. He stands beside it and looks up for a few moments. It's a rare sight for him to see a night sky like this, the paleness darkened and the twinkling of stars showing more prominently. He can even make out some of the constellations he's heard about but never really seen that often, if at all. The drive out of Sacramento was pleasant, uneventful and short. Now he turns his attention to the walking path, stepping briskly along it as he swore he just saw some motion up ahead. The Gangrel Whip is dressed in business casual this evening, a pair of dark slacks and dress shoes and a deep purple dress shirt with a maroon tie. No coat this evening. "Ah, good evening," he says as he steps up, giving a small tug on his shirt's cuffs to straighten them.

[Helen Kingsley]

"Eh, works, I guess. First name basis normally is good enough for me, but not everyone agrees." Helen shrugs. "To be fair, I didn't want to nail myself down too early. Also, I don't teach everyone, I'm picky. Especially with the useful stuff, some of which is not really something you can teach over a long weekend."

"Sure." She nods and follows Hoyle inside, but turns slightly as she registers movement behind them. "See, slowly getting crowded after all..."

[Raul]

"It depends upon the situation for me. Outside of formal occasions, I don't mind either name being used. I've probably been called Domínguez more often than my given name," he says.

"As far as teaching, the brunt of my skill set is very martial in nature. I'm not against sharing some of it, but not everyone wants to learn those skills. Other than that, many would call my other interests to be be more esoteric."

[Seryna]

"Come," The host pauses until Raul catches up to Helen and he. He leads you to a small, yet pleasantly appointed sitting room. Simone Perez, in her 3/4 length blue formal dress, is inspecting a sheath of papers.

"Good evening, Reeve Kingsley. Mr. Dominguez. Did I hear that you have a responsibility within your family now?" She drifts closer, the papers in her hand.
"I believe I heard that the Seneschal is looking to learn skills." The host leans in and states in a confiding tone. "I saw her at a mortal class training with blunt sticks." He straightened and spoke normally.

"I thought that we would talk about the political map of the Domains that we dwelled in before we moved here." Mr. Hoyle suggested. "I believe that it is known that I became a fixture here in Sacramento in the '40s. Before Her Grace, Alder Prince Antinori, we had Alder Prince Asa Clarke, Judex of the First Estate. Although he converted to the Ordul Dracul... and then stepped down from the role.
I moved to New York for a few decades. There were two Invictus Dynastic Houses there and a good Ordul Dracul scene. Seeing that sparring was unique. You all ever see an Invictus House?" He looked between the three.

"And what have you seen that interested you? As we are all different Covenants... and I do not believe anyone here is Invictus."

[Helen Kingsley]

"One, I think. And it wasn't pretty." She frowns as she thinks. "Basically there were two sort of dynasties in town. One leading the Circle of the Crone and a family that led the Invictus. The Prince, a moderate concilliator, her sister who I didn't really know, only heard she existed, and her father, the reactionary Prince who went to sleep and left the domain to his daughter. Lets just say the covnants got by not as well as they do here. In the end, the reactionaries in the Invictus allied with the Lancea hardliners and coup'ed the Prince out of office to replace her with her father, who as far as I heard had little patience for pesky things his daughter did, like legalizing the Carthian Movement or tolerating the Circle in town. Well, they had to find the Prince's body fiorst and also had this issue with the domain going to war, Invictus and Sanctified against Circle on the one side and against us and the Ordo on the other side.

But that was a while before I came to the area. My last stop was Las Vegas and that wasn't too bad."

[Seryna]

"Oh, I see. That does sound very strange. You say it was an Invictus Dynasty and a faction of the Circle of the Crone?" Mr. Hoyle verifies with an interested look to Helen.
"Yes, I have heard that the Lancea Sanctum and the Invictus do ally when it suits them. I see that we have proof of it that you have witnessed.

As a small matter of interest, have you seen Mr. Conner Wells anywhere? I know that he missed Formal Court, yet did he say he was going somewhere?"

You and the Ordul on the other side. Did you have a good working relationship with the Ordul Dracul? Or was it a any port in the storm situation?" A glance towards the quiet Gangrel. Mr. Hoyle looked back to Helen.

[Raul]

Raúl follows along behind their host and the Reeve. When they get to the sitting room, he looks around, giving a small nod to Simone. "Good evening. Indeed, I am now Whip."

Jennifer training with sticks? Interesting.

He listens to Mr. Hoyle's story, giving a nod to his question. "I also spent some time in New York. The covenant dynamics were much the same when I was there. It's where I found the start of my path with the Ordo. After New York, I spent some time in LA before finding my way to Sacramento. The Lancea have a strong hold on the City of Angels but there is a sizeable presence of Carthians as well. The rest of the Covenants are..." he pauses for a moment as he tries to think of the right word, "tolerated in the city, but largely in name alone."

He doesn't comment about Mr. Wells. While he's heard the name a few times, he's never met the man. He nods. "I do have a fairly good relationship with the Dragons, yes."