Party Party ? (Losh)

[Helen Kingsley]

Combing his hair as best he could and brushing his teeth, he paid special attention to his fangs. Idly he wondered he wondered how many Kindred kept up this Kine practice, it's not like his teeth would ever rot or decay, he had the supernatural curse running through his veins to thank for that. Spitting out the paste he looked back up at the mirror, there he was, staring back at himself. Except, his face was blurred, obscured. It was a habit at this point, looking at himself, trying to pierce through the static.


Dressed in a tank top and jeans, he quickly changed into a white shirt and slipped on a leather jacket, it was the only one he owned, he picked it up at some point in the 1950s, imported from America when it was trendy among the Kine. He felt almost naked without it now, just as some Kindred felt exposed when not within their spheres of influence. Grabbing his shoes, he put them on and tied the laces.


Getting ready for his meeting with the Reeve, he grabbed his car keys off the counter and left for the office. Wondering just what he'll see when he gets there. He did have a single hope, that whatever this was about, and whatever "Questions" were waiting for him, weren't going to cause any more trouble for him or anyone else.

Losh finds the door to the Reeve's office open. The inside has a dark wood decor. A small table and a number of chairs are in front of the desk, one wall holds what looks like a cross between a bulletin board and a whiteboard and somebody has plastered most walls with maps of Sacramento and the greater city area. Some of those maps have needles with heads in different colours sticking in them, some of those connected by coloured threads or pencil markings, some pinning pictures or photos to locations. On the desk are a phone, a neat small pile of exercise books as well as a typewriter, a rolodex and a tin coffee box with the butts of several pencils sticking out. There's also a picture frame on the desk, but it only shows its back to the visitor.


The Reeve, blushed and in her red t-shirt, is already sitting at the table in front of the desk. She has a mug standing in front of her and motions towards the other chairs.

[Losh]

Losh gives the Reeve a slight bow, nothing medieval, but he hopes that it gives the proper respect and credence she deserved. Reminded of his blunder at Formal Court, he's been doing his best to brush up on his etiquette, so as to keep his head attached to his neck and his heart unstaked. He didn't get this far by being rude, he did it by showing temperance and contentedness.

"Good evening my Reeve, I hope the night has been kind to you."

As he rises he goes to take a seat as she motioned.

"I understand that you had questions for me, It would be my pleasure to answer them to the best of my abilities."

[Helen Kingsley]

"I guess, we'll see about that. Right now, I wouldn't want to bet on it. Okay, first thing. My Reeve, my Priscus, my what-ever. Watch where you say that. I don't give a shit, but most of the Invictus people don't like it. Demeaning, ownership, stuff like that. It's a good way to get into really hot water. You don't want in the hot water, trust me." Ridiculous as it sounds, but them's the rules. "I can think of a few questions, yeah. Maybe you have some too. So first the standard stuff. Where'd you live before you came here, what you did before the whole 'I'll never need anti-aging formula again' thing and what's your plans for the city ? For starters."

[Losh]

"I grew up in Finland, I stayed there for a century and a half before coming to America." Losh says, wondering how he should reply to the second half of her question. It was hard, not because he did anything difficult, but because of the exact opposite.

He was dull, unnoteworthy, and if not for Fate, he wouldn't have even been a footnote.

"I think I was twenty two or twenty three, I was a guard for my village. It was secluded deep in the forests, far away from Helsinki. At the time Russia ruled most of my land, though we were largely autonomous. But those that joined the Tsar's army received large benefits, and my village was in trouble. So me and a couple of other men decided to brave the trek to Russia to enlist and send our rewards back for enlisting."

He paused and tried his best not to stammer throughout his rant, the memories were old, the faces blurry and the names distant. His life as a mortal was a lifetime ago, those that he loved were in the ground.

"I got married, me and the girl only spent a couple of weeks with one another. It was so that her family could receive a small portion of the reward as well. I don't remember much about her, but I like what I can recall, and I think she was pregnant when I left."

He's never given it much thought before, that he might have had children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. Never thought that those great grand children might still be alive, totally unaware and ignorant of the dark curse that befell their ancestor.

"On our travels, we took camp once it got dark. I woke up in the middle of the night and went to investigate some noises that I heard. In hindsight it was stupid of me to do so without waking up my comrades, but I was tired, and we drank during the day to pass the time, so my sensibility was impaired. It was there my sire found me, and embraced me. They looked for me, the men I came with, but soon enough they had to move on, no doubt thinking me a victim of fairies or some other creature from our folklore that have been rumored to stalk our lands."

He mimicked a sigh, "Then for the next one hundred and fifty years I stayed with my sire, educated in the methods of my covenant. I was seeking knowledge, new ideas and thoughts to fill my head and occupy my time. So I came to America, I stayed in the South for a long while, but once that grew stale I moved West, so I chose Sacramento. It was random, nothing behind it."

He maintained respect eye contact with the Reeve, just enough to show her that he was aware of her imposing presence.

"That's the short version. At the moment, I have no plans for the city, I have a plan for a single building. It's the Chapterhouse of my covenant, I wish to repair it and make it seem more inviting to members of my group that arrive. That's the extent of my plans, or plan to be more precise."

He blinks and shifts in his seat.

"I hope that answered your question, of course, that's much more I can mention and clarify, but I don't want to speak for too long."

[Helen Kingsley]

"Finland. Nice." Yeah, that's a lie. She had hated the place. "Don't get folks from there a lot in these parts." The cogs in her head are already turning with what she's just gotten. "South as in South America or South as in Ocean or Mexican border-like places ?" So Chapterhouse it is, well, well...

"Fair enough, so tangled a little with Russians way back. Still speak the language ?" Because why not, seems like there are Russian-speakers flooding the place right now. "As you know, folks in the domain are required to get involved with blood hunts and encouraged to participate in investigative stuff once dangerous things come up. Things like poachers, weird shit,but also if it's just something like someone who doesn't watch what they're telling whom in public and might cause bad issues if the wrong persons hear the wrong things." She gives him a very pointed glare at that last point. No, she has not forgotten Verity's message from way back. "So, suppose we got some sorts of stuff that needs looking into. What do you bring to the table. Things you're good at, things you're bad at, stuff you like to do, things you dont really want to be assigned to.

Also, just as a point of interest, what's your opinion on the different covenants ?"

[Losh]

"No, I don't. I only speak English and Finnish."

"South as in places like West Virginia or Mississippi, they have a bunch of small towns over there, good for blending in."

Losh adjusts his position in his seat, trying to get more comfortable.

"For what I'm good at, I'm good at investigating and gathering information."

At her glare and very pointed words, Losh knows he did something wrong, just not what exactly.

"Um," He glances off to the side before looking back at the Reeve, "As for what I can bring to the table, I'm good at sticking to the shadows. If you have anything that needs looking into, or someone that needs to be...observed for a portion of time, I would be glad to help. As for things that I'm bad at, you can probably surmise, but I'm bad at speaking with people, and navigating political situations that I don't have the full context to. I consider myself a philosopher and servant of the Prince first, so, if you'd be so kind, I would not like to negotiate deals or mitigate...issues."

"As for the Covenants, I think the Carthians are the ones I've had the most interaction with, at least in my past I have. I was around when Red October took place, not in Russia, but I met and spoke with lots of Russians who came to Finland, both Kine and Kindred, most of them came to either hide or hunt for those that were hiding. They are certainly a passionate group."

"The Circle has a pension towards paganism, the Sanctum believe in a sort of 'Vampire Christ' although I'm not sure if that's just a rumor I heard. The Invictus remind me of the nobles and royalty that ruled my homeland, so to be honest, I don't mind operating under their reign. It's more of the same for me. I just don't know enough about any of them to have a concrete opinion, I like to reserve final judgment until I've heard everything, which makes me reliable, or so I've been told."

"Also, I would be willing to do whatever you or your colleagues ask of me, I apologize if I came off as obtuse or vague before, that was never my intention. Lastly, if there are any purposeful troublemakers, I'm also skilled in...martial combat."

[Helen Kingsley]

"Fair." Well, sort of to be expected, but it doesn't hurt to ask. "Point taken, there are pretty rural stretches out there. Nice, too, if you're able to get around the idiots the place holds."

"HAH !" She laughs. "is there ever a political situation anyone has the full context to ? Right, stalker, spy, no people person. Got it." She listens and nods along as he talks about the other covenants. "Don't call him Vampire Christ'. Most Sactified don't like that. And folks who like Jesus better than Longinus also don't like it." Not that there weren't parallels, but still it felt pretty blasphemous, hearing it put that way. "Most longer-running Lances around these parts I know've been moderates, but it never hurts to tread lightly, so to speak. Also, you got any questions of your own, nowes the time to put them up. Just saying."

Helen leans back on the chair.

"That so ? What martial combat are you skilled in ?"

[Losh]

"Mainly sword combat, my village was so remote we couldn't rely on at the time fairly modern instruments like firearms, I think we only had a single gun, and since ammo was sparse for it, we only used it for hunting bigger animals. I still kept the sword that my village blacksmith forged for me, even after all these years." Though at this point it was more of a memento then anything else, besides practicing and keeping his skills with it sharp, he couldn't remember the last time he actually had to draw it to defend himself in the last century. While he didn't believe in the saying about brining a knife to a gunfight, there was some merit to it when he was armed with a sword while his opponents had, say, automatic machine guns.

"I can't really think of anything important I'd like to ask off the top of my head, but, if you don't mind me asking, I thought from what I heard, that a Kindred in your position took on the mantle of Sheriff? and that Reeve was not a commonly used title. Is there a story behind it? Or is it just how it is? Again, I mean no offense, I'm just...curious." He trails, waiting to see her reaction so he could backtrack promptly if it upset her.

[Helen Kingsley]

"Well, well, I see."

As for the rest, there is little to add to that, it's not like she hasn't had this talk before after all. "Sheriff's the first thing that comes to mind, but the Invictus calls the shots and they like it called Reeve. Two names, same thing."

She takes out a card and hands it to him.

"So, there's two numbers on this. The first is my normal number, in case you want to grab a hold of me, minor business stuffs, like that. The one below is the emergency number. For when the tree is already on fire. If it's not important, dont use the second one.

Also, short bit of advice: Get your shit with your Priscus sorted. Fast. Things go on like that, there might be other stuffs coming your way than just a taste of the Barrens. Just saying."

[Losh]

"Thank for you the advice, it's very much appreciated."

If she has nothing more to say to Losh, he will take his leave after respectfully giving his goodbyes.