The Circle of Creation. All its resplendent glory displayed for the world. At this time of day, there is little traffic around the structure, and noone on the street apparently even thinks of going inside. To everyone around it is simply a landmark, used for some unfathomable purpose.

To the mages of the Arrow and the Guardians, however, it is home.

Gabriel looked at it and whistled. Damn, He thought. the Awakened in here certinatly live in style. He thought back to his mentor all the way in New York and how he would have been strongly against this idea of hiding in plain sight. He smiled, chuckled to himself, and strode up to the building. Well, lets get to it. Might as well get familiar with this city's Consillium.

The wards around the building easily part for Gabriel, and he reaches the door without incident. The building's inside is as imposing as its outside. Large halls, plenty of space. Probably enough for an echo to get going, if anyone felt brave enough to try it.

There is little in the way of human beings, however. In fact, there is only one plainly visible. An older man, probably in his fifties or sixties, standing in the middle of a hallway, and taking notes on a paper pad. His cheap suit is altogether unremarkable, especially compared to the place. A black marker pokes out of the jacket's front pocket.

Gabriel awkwardly looks around at the massive architecture Okay, I am now suitably impressed. Gabriel strides up to the older man, putting on a lopsided and awkward smile, and extends his hand in greeting. "Uhm, hello? My names is Gabriel, and I'm new to Sacramento. Second day here, in fact. I was hoping i could get a look around into the city's Consilium, maybe even meet some of the other Arrows?"

The man lifts his head at Gabriel's greeting, expressionless. It takes a him a short moment looking the new Arrow over, before he extends his own hand to shake Gabriel's. There are some small smudges of black ink on the fingers. Apparently the man likes to hold pens close to the tip. Even as the handshake goes on, his eyes dart to the door for a micro-second, before he finally looks straight at the younger man and answers, "Henry. It's a pleasure."

He flips the notepad closed in a single motion. "Your compatriots are out right now. I'll put you in touch with the Magister." There's a short instant of silence, before he continues, "Though I'm sure I can answer most of your questions about the Consilium. Ask away" He leaves the rest of his thought unsaid. His voice carries emotion that can best be described as muted, faded honesty. Almost... faked.

Gabriel's smile falters as he considers the sheer creepiness the man exudes. He diverts his eyes from Henry's, and says, "Thank you very much, that would be excellent. I'm pretty much a novice, and I just recently got inducted into the Arrows. From what I've seen so far this city is very beautiful... but something about it just seems... off." Both the city, and this creepy old man, Gabriel thought. Hopefully not all the Awakened in the city were like this, or he'd damn well better pack up and move back to New York!

Henry looks at Gabriel, and a small smile, which actually looks genuine, crosses his lips. "You're right," he says, "there is something off with this city." He knew better than to add more about what he really thought. "Something weird that has to be dealt with. So more Arrows are always welcome." He ponders the request for information for a moment. "Have you eaten yet? I can always heat up some leftover pizza," he offers. He himself had been too absorbed by his little game to take time to eat, and besides, the Arrows wouldn't notice a few missing slices, right?

Gabriel blinks, surprised at the sudden hospitality.
"Thanks, i'd love that! I havent really eaten a full meal since i got here. Lead the way."
He goes to follow Henry, still slightly awed by the massive building, but unwilling to show it, instead trying to put up a veneer of implacability.

Henry nods, and steps aside, indicating the direction the pair need to take. "I'm sure the other Arrows will want to give you the full tour later. Just know what you need is here." In one, easy, convenient location, he thinks to himself bitterly.

A short distance away, the two reach a small kitchen. Henry reaches inside the fridge and, after a few seconds of rummaging, takes out two cans of soft drinks, and some leftovers to be warmed over. Despite the hunger, he resists the urge to take any for himself. He offers Gabriel his choice of what's left, and sets it to heating. "Have a seat." As he says it, he indicates a pair of chairs.

Once the pizza has started warming up, Henry seats himself in front of Gabriel. He rubs his chin with a hand, looking first at a far-off point, then at Gabriel, asking in a "Now, where to start... What have you heard about this city? Or rather, what feels off about it?" Apparently, the concept of 'filling in the new guy' includes 'asking him questions'. It's still asked in a friendly, if somewhat neutrally-toned voice.

Gabriel slowly chews the pizza, appraising the older man. Before answering, he looks thoughtfully up, swallows and then answers:
"It feels.... its strange. I can feel the magic here. Ive felt it since i touched down. Its vibrant, everywhere. But its more than that. The whole city feels... alive. Even with what meager Life arcana i have i can feel it. But its not human life. It feels almost... stale" Gabriel punctuates this with hand motions, trying to describe the feelings thatve been buzzing in his head since he'd arrived.

Henry frowns, apparently making his own assessment of Gabriel. "Weird feelings. Pay attention to them, there's been a bit of that going around." Apparently he's not going to expand on that particular subject. Not yet anyway. But that mention of strange feelings. Of stale in the city. It meant something to him. "Do you have any affinity with Time?", he asks, part intrigued, part nonchalant.

Gabriel continues to wolf down the pizza, reaching for another slice. While he does this he surreptitiously glances at Henry. "Yes.... not as good as my affinity with fate, but its part of the whole Acanthus package y'know? My mentor had me train in it to be more versatile, but i've always had a natural knack for Fate magics"

Henry just looks at the apparently very hungry Arrow, silent. He ponders the answer a moment before responding. "Good." How that could possibly be good is anyone's guess. He fishes himself a water bottle out of the fridge, and sits in front of Gabriel. Uncapping his drink, he asks, "So what's brought you to this little slice of heaven, aside from strange feelings of staleness?"

Gabriel swallows before answering "Well... it was a Bureau thing. They thought that id be better placed in this particular city than where i was before. Whether or not thats true remains to be seen, however." Gabriel shrugs, and then says "It is what it is y'know? Its my job, i didn't really have many attachments back in NY, and at the risk of sounding melodramatic,i kinda just go where Fate takes me."

Henry hmmm's for a moment, considering the man in front of him. Taking a gulp from his bottle, he answers, "Understandable. Until you find yourself a place that suits you, there are worse things to follow than the currents of destiny." Even if he himself wouldn't be caught dead following those same eddies. "You'll certainly find plenty in this city to keep you busy. The Arrows are on the trail of a few things, I'm sure help would be welcome. Or the Mysterium's own ventures." Although he apparently won't elaborate too much on either, at least not right away.

Gabriel finishes the last of his meal and looks up, meeting Henry's eyes for the first time. "Yea im looking forward to helping out around here, becoming part of the city's Awakened culture. So, what about you? What do you do?"

Henry meets Gabriel's gaze, unflinching. A sip of water. "Help where I can. Make sure this city doesn't fall to pieces. Whether that means pushing back Banishers with the Arrows," he adds, "or greeting the new faces." He pulls out the notebook from earlier and, in a single motion, scribbles a note in it. "Speaking of which, here." He rips away the small sheet, and slides it across the table. "The Magister's number. He's usually here, but you might have some luck reaching him there. Get yourself set up." All of it said matter-of-factly, as though her were discussing the weather.

"Thank you very much," Gabriel says with a grateful look on his face "Im looking forward to doing my part, and helping around in the city." As he goes to put the number into his pocket however, he does a double take. "Banishers? Here? I thought Banishers were just a myth, in small little towns..."

Henry watches the man's surprise, keeping his own face impassive. The thoughts that cross his mind run along tracks of the newbie really proving himself to be a newbie, which was both good and bad. he shakes his head, once, "Sorry." He doesn't sound sorry. "Real and present. We have roughly half a dozen, by my count. Organized. Watch your back." There's only the slightest tone of warning in the words. "They haven't been aggressive yet, but that could change. Who knows with those crazies..." He lets the thought trail off. "If you ever need to find safe haven, this is your best bet. Unless you have your own place..." And the phrase trails off again, though this time there's the definite air of a question about it.

"Hm. This place is far more interesting than i thought..." Gabriel leans back in his chair and nods. "yea, i've got shitty little apartment a couple miles from here. Its nothing special, just a place to sleep when im not working, honestly."

Henry smiles, apparently amused at the idea. "Nothing wrong with that. I've done my best work from shitty little apartments." What work that might be, he keeps unsaid. And without really leaving time for Gabriel to ask, he adds, "Speaking of which, I should get back to it." Another scribble on a separate sheet of paper, another page torn from the notebook and slid across the table, with an 'H' over a phone number. "Here, in case you ever need to reach me. Just leave a message." Why he would anticipate not answering the phone is anyone's guess. He stands up, adjusts the cheap suit. "You can find your own way out, yeah?"

"Thank you, thank you very much." Gabriel picks up the slip of paper, folds it into his pocket and walks towards the door. "I'll be seeing you around, Henry." And with that, Gabriel turns and walks out.