A Meeting in the Tower

[Joyeuse]

The Tower of the Circle in which the Arrows held sway was a spartan structure, though much of it was in disuse following some neglect from the absence of the Adamantine Arrow in the Consilium.

The First Floor opened up to a sparring room, within which the Arrows could, should they wish, hold training sessions with other Awakened or even spar with one another. Tucked in the corner, a spiral staircase led to the Great Room, a somewhat large room consisting of a kitchenette, a dining table, and a larger seating area for the Arrow to rest and relax, which included a small bookcase with a scattering of novels, though none of them of particular interest in matters concerning the Awakened. Another staircase would lead to the Third Floor and the lodging for the Arrows. Currently, only a large room was being used essentially as a barracks-style bunkhouse, featuring bunks for the Arrows to sleep in and footlockers as well as standing lockers in which they could store their belongings. Finally, a final staircase rose to the ceiling and a hatch on this floor's corridor, leading the the Tower's roof which was open to the sky of Sacramento.

However, it was the Great Room in which the meeting Joyeuse had planned was being hosted and it was there where the androgynous Arrow now waited, seated as they were at the dining table. Dressed simply in a faded unisex muscle shirt and black joggers, Joy is bereft of their usual makeup, leaving their face bare. They are also barefoot.

As promised, the counter in the kitchenette has a large coffee carafe, alongside a collection of coffee mugs, cream, and sugar, a large jug of orange juice, and there is a bag of plain bagels by the toaster with an assortment of spreadable cream cheese (plain, blueberry, and honey walnut). Joyeuse themself appears to be nibbling on a plain bagel with plain cream cheese with a cup of coffee simmering in front of them as they wait contentedly for the other Arrows, Skye and Asclepius , to arrive.

[Skye]

Having been eagerly awaiting the meeting ever since her return to the city, wanting to get caught back up and start being useful as soon as possible as she makes sure to grab her belongings dressed a bit differently than her normal than her usual attire, for once having taken the summer heat into account. Walking through the sparring room to the spiral staircase, with a model larger bag in one hand, and a smaller paper bag in the other.

Getting up with eyes darting around the room for a moment, a brief look to her fellow arrow, noticing the lack of shoes as she quickly takes of her own with a sense of relief, letting her bare pale feet touch against the floor with a hint of a smile as she neatly puts her shoes to the side.
”Hello, please give me a minute to prepare.”
Quickly walking over to the kitchenette, searching around a bit for a knife, taking out and cutting up two apples into slices, filling a mug with some orange juice for herself, then proceeding to go sit down opposite her fellow arrow. Lacking her normal cheery attitude she tended to display most of the time, instead replaced by a more serious look.
”Thank you for being so quick in setting up this meeting of our order, let me start with saying that my words at the larger meeting was not just for show. You were the lone serving member, hence I will gladly agree to leave you in charge if you so desire the role.”

The larger bag placed down besides her with a sigh of relief, accompanied by a plate of two apples freshly cut into slices, one green the other red, lastly one whole green apple and three oranges. Not having wanted to focus on bringing stuff to eat but fruit was easy at least. Taking out a notepad and a pen from her purse, placing them down before her to be able to take notes on the less personal aspects.
”Does the first topic of the evening include eventual modifications to the tower? Else I would like to request it added to the agenda.”

[Joyeuse]

Joyeuse looks up at the sound of Skye's voice, mouth half full of bagel as their usual mask falls.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-07-13 10:02:13	Joyeuse rolls 7 to Hide Emotions! Composure+Subterfuge+Specialty (10 Again)	8, 4, 5, 5, 2, 2, 1	1 success

"Take your time, Talon Skye," they offered after swallowing. Then, a sip of coffee.

The Obrimos' gaze follows Skye moves and seats herself.

"Of course, it seemed the best course of action. With our numbers increasing we need to establish how we operate early. As for leadership, we will discuss it collectively after Asclepius arrives."

Listening to Skye's question, her stoic compatriot considers the question for a moment before eventually nodding.

"We can discuss it once I've explained the amenities," they say, "I think that is a fitting place for it in the agenda."

Joyeuse drinks their coffee more deeply this time, their eyes flitting to the staircase in anticipation of the coming of Asclepius before returning to Skye proper.

"You're settling back into Sacramento well I trust? It seems some remember you quite fondly."

[Skye]

Grabbing one of the oranges, rolling it between her hands for a bit as the stoic mask of her ally is seen upon their face, but not seeming to care nor pry, whatever reason it was hidden for was none of her concern for the time being at least.
”There we are in full agreement, hence it being among the first things I asked of you. I am not well versed with the ways of the other orders but for us to have a working relationship is crucial, both for our sakes and for others as well, and I fully agree we cannot get far without discussing it with all affected without setting the seeds for discord.” Which never ended well.

Beginning to peel the oranges with deft used hands as she quickly digs through its shell, placing down piece after piece upon the table, keeping her more serious or perhaps focused look and tone as a constant.
”Sounds good to me, I do not have much to speak of in the matter from what I have seen but I do have one thing.” Or maybe two, but that depended more on the outside.

Cracking the orange in half and beginning to sort out its pieces before offering one to her fellow talon.
”Slowly but surely, the concrete jungle will always feel quite foreign to me. The only ones whom I recognize are Aurora, Corn and Winter though, not that me and Winter ever interacted outside of the monthly meetings.” Placing the parts of the orange down before her ”Do you live here full time or do you have a separate resident? I used to spend roughly half my nights here and hope to get back to that schedule. And to have it said I do not drink coffee.” Nor could she grasp why anyone enjoyed that bitter taste.

[Asclepius]

Asclepius can be heard before seen. He is whistling a tune as he makes his way across the sparing room, Shadow boxing with wired headphones on as he approaches the spiral staircase. Using his arms he pulls him self up the stairs two at a time to get to the top, once noticing the others sitting and talking. He removes his headphones and turns the music off on his phone. His black tank top and Navy blue running shorts were drenched in sweat along with himself. He looks down as he approaches and notices that his company had stripped themselves of their footwear. Is this a rule that I missed? He quickly removes his black sneakers and keeps them a distance from his fellows that are eating.



“Hello both of you, I hope you are both well. You both look ready to spar downstairs in those outfits, that's not the real reason for the letter is it? I don't think I could take either of you in a fight.”

a light-hearted gesture but probably true, he knows it Is not the reason for the letter but might as well start off light-hearted before getting down to serious business.



He takes a seat next to Skye but leaving a gap between herself and him. “ I assume I have not missed anything?”

[Joyeuse]

Joyeuse nods attentively as Skye explains she is adjusting well and admits that few of the mages in Sacramento were present during her last tenure in the city.

"That may change, I suspect will may be assisting the Guardians a good amount, but we will speak on that later in the meeting," they offered as Skye spoke that she knew little of Winter, "And yes, I live here full time, though I don't expect you or Asclepius to do so. It is within my preference to reside here in order to better protect my Occultation."

Joy's eyes flit back to the staircase as they hear Asclepius whistling. As the man crests the stairs, the stoic Obrimos nods.

"Welcome, Asclepius," they offer before offering a slight professional smile at his observation, "I train often and I had little time to change before the appointed time. Please, help yourself to the coffee and the bagels should you wish."

At his question, Joyeuse affirms that they have not begun by simply shaking their head. However, once he seated himself, Joy clears their throat and prepares to start the proceedings.

"I am pleased we all had the time to meet," Joyeuse says, "As stated in my letter to each of you, I have called this meeting to discuss items of interest to the Adamantine Arrow and our operations in Sacramento. This includes, but will not be limited to discussion about the Tower and its amenities, conversing about our skill sets and the roles we will fill, short term goals for both the Order and ourselves as it relates to Sacramento, and, finally, I will open the floor for you both to ask questions or open discussion on other topics... With that in mind, we have a lot to discuss, so, if you'll forgive my expediency, I will now begin."

"I have spent significant time clearing the tower of clutter and other signs of its disuse. Thus far, I have been able to uncover the sparring room on the main floor, this great room, and a section of the third floor consisting of a corridor, and a large room. As is befitting of the Arrow, our amenities are quite spartan, but we have everything we might need for daily life, generally speaking. The sparring room is, naturally, to be used for sparring and training. There is ample enough space for each of us to train without interfering with one another.

The great room, as you can see, consists of a seating area, the dining table, and the kitchenette. I've also provided a bookcase with various novels and you are welcome to add your own. Currently, there is no television set. I have no need for such amenities and so could not provide it. Otherwise, the kitchenette is fully stocked with dishware, cookware, and the like. The fridge is sizable enough for us all to be able to store our perishables.

On the third floor, you will find that currently both our bathroom facilities and personal quarters are shared. The bathroom boasts a few shower stalls, toilets, and sinks. The large room I mentioned earlier is now a barracks with bunks, footlockers, and standing lockers I found left over from what I suspect was an early iteration of a barracks space. Perhaps in time as our investment space grows, so too will the option arise for each of us to possess our own private rooms, but for now, no.

Less an amenity and more a feature, a staircase leads to a hatch that opens up to the roof of the tower. It's quite nice, but offers little in the way of utility. Thus far."

Taking a breath, Joyeuse looks between the two before eventually settling their gaze on Asclepius.

"Now, prior to your arrival, Talon Skye had asked if future investment by other members beyond myself would be discussed," Joyeuse said before returning to looking between the two of them, "I am, of course, amenable to this. I never intended for the Tower to remain my own private Sanctum and welcome both of your investitures should you wish, be that now or later. There is more disused, neglected space that can likely be refurbished for our use. In addition, I wonder if we might find a Hallow given the longstanding nature of the Tower as the center of the Arrow, but I have had little time to search. Security measures are always welcome and I will admit the tower is currently lacking in that department. I'm certain we could find other uses for the space as we uncover it as well."

"Do either of you have questions about the space or wish to open the topic into greater detail?"

Joyeuse grants the pair their undivided attention, happy to silence themself from talking their ears off for a moment.

OOC Info: The Tower is currently a Sanctum with Hallow 0, Security 0, and Size 2. Joyeuse is suggesting more space could be unveiled if the Arrows are willing to put in the time to refurbish it (represented by Sanctum Size). I'm not sure what the Tower's max size is, but I'd suspect Size 3 or maybe 4 depending on what ReubanBrightwood thinks. In addition to lacking a Hallow and Security currently, the Tower does not have a dedicated Library. It is simply a comfortable, if spartan, dwelling for the Arrows to share.

[Skye]

Needing a moment to think on the word of occultation before giving of a light nod in acknowledgement.
”Another meeting it is.” Merely wanting to have acknowledged it as she goes on. ”Thats good, then there is always one of us available then, I do hope to spend a minimum of half my time around here as said, I like being easily available and think that for us so can that be crucial, besides I am not a fan of living alone.” Walking or working sure but living now that was dull. ”So I hope me utilizing the sleep here will not be a bother to you, and depending on what happens so will I gladly increase my time here.”

A glance towards the last to arrive, a soft but brief smile aimed towards him with a gentle wave of her right hand.
”Nothing of note just small talk.” Her voice and demeanor void of the carefree cheery ways of their last encounter, replaced by a more serious demeanor, the joke getting no reply from her.
Making sure to move away a little as he sat down, not in a way of avoidance but rather to give him proper space, he was bigger than her after all and needed more room. ”Please take of the apple slices, the whole apple or an orange.” Popping a piece of her own orange into her mouth.

Then swiftly back to Joyeuse with attentive eyes upon them, carefully listening to each word, letting them take the time needed with great care as she nods.
”Thank you for the description, all of it sounds good to me, I will offer my talents as a craftswoman to repair or mend parts that might need it, and assistance in clearing things out. I hold no questions so unless anyone minds it so will I simply add in that I have two levels of changes I would like to address for now saving the other for later. First off and perhaps more easily so would I like to add black out curtains for the beds for a level of sleeping privacy, I can handle installments of such easily with just getting the materials, next so like you spoke of so would I like to look into getting private rooms those are my main concerns for space usage.” Leaving the words of a hallow and security for now, knowing that she could not add much without taking a long proper look at the space they would be using.

Turning an eye to Asclepius.
”You plan on living here, or have another home or place where you will rest your head at night?”

[ReubanBrightwood]

Just going to hop in to answer the question: I have no issue with order wings going to the full 5 dots of size. Westminster Abby is a massive building with multiple floors, galleries, secret attics, basements and that's before we consider the circle is super magical and barely understood outside what is commonly know of it even by those who make use of it.

Sanctum derivates like workshop, hallow, library, scriptoriums etc are capped by size so if you want a big hallow you need a lot of size. etc.

And investments in shared sanctums are a lot cheaper if you spread them out e.g. both Skye and Asclepius can buy their first dot of size by spending 2xp and that would still bring the shared space up to size 4 (same applies to all sanctum derivates)

[Asclepius]

Asclepius slowly trying to get himself comfortable in the seat, as offers of food and drink are offered to him. “thank you for the offer, I might take you up on that coffee in a little bit.” and then to Skye, “ooo thank you just one for now.” he notes Skye's lack of cheery expression, oh she really locks in when it comes to the Arrows Business. he takes and apple slice as he relaxes and lets his jovial demeanour wash out to a more serious look.



As Joyeuse begins to speak he offers nods that he is paying attention and following along, as various mentions of the different parts of the Arrow Sanctum are mentioned he looks in their direction. To the question raised by Joyeuse at the end he responds “I currently have no further questions and at the moment I am just taking the information in, you have done some good work here Joyeuse I see a lot of potential here in this place, I am more then happy to add to that in any way I can.”



As Skye turn to him enquiring about his living status, he turns to her. “I have a rented Apartment that I am currently living out of and currently was intending on using. As mentioned I know the living space is shared, so I do not want anyone to feel uncomfortable with my presence there while they sleep. However if people..." he looks to them both "...would feel more comforted by all of the Arrows together then I am also unopposed as well.” unsure if this is where the conversation was leaning, he feels that he navigated the awkward topic as best he can.

[Joyeuse]

Joyeuse listens attentively as both Sky and Asclepius say their piece regarding the Tower, slowly nodding throughout so both know they are listening.

"I appreciate that both of you are willing to invest your efforts. Given Skye's wishes, it sounds to me that the main focus of our efforts will likely be to increase our floorplan. I believe that to be a worthy goal as it will allow us time to consider how we will use the space," they muse, "That said, should either of you wish to invest a differing aspect in the Sanctum, I have no qualms about it."

As the conversation turns to Asclepius' accomodations, Joyeuse looks to the Shaman as he addresses Skye's question.

"It is not uncommon for any Mage to boast other dwellings, I have no issue if you choose to reside elsewhere for part or even the majority of the time," they offer, affirming that the choice to reside in the Tower is up to the individual, "My own specific needs make residing here at the Tower the best option, but it is not a requirement that you do the same. Should you wish, there is a bed here for you and your contribution to the Tower and its amenities is certainly welcome, should you desire to do so."

Naturally, there was an unspoken reality within the discussion itself. The greater amenities of the Tower would only be useful to those who had invested in the Sanctum. Should the Arrows discover a Hallow, gather a Library, or craft a Scriptorium, such assets would be unavailable to those who chose not to contribute. However, Joyeuse left such words unsaid, knowing well that the mages before them likely understood this.

"I presume then that we are ready to proceed, given the lack of questions. Though should you have questions, please remember them so they can be addressed before we leave here today," they say.

Clearing their throat, Joyeuse moves into the second topic of the meeting.

"While we are a small Order here in Sacramento, as are the rest of the members of the Pentacle, it is important that each of us has an understanding of our respective capabilities. It is also important to consider the needs of the Order and the greater Consilium as we move forward. I would like each of us to provide an overview of what each of us is capable of and roles we believe will be a fit for our capabilities.

I will begin. I am a competent combatant, with a specialty in Kung Fu. Although I am not a master, I am capable of holding my own should the need call for it. I am also fairly adept in social situations. As you two have no doubt noticed, I am able to hide my emotions and intentions quite well. In regard to magic, I am well-versed in Forces, fairly familiar with Prime, and a novice in Fate.

Due to my capabilities and my own interests, I recognize that I may not be the most adept among us to be selected for fieldwork. Although I am not opposed to it, I believe there is a very real need for the Adamantine Arrow to boast a face to the greater Consilium who can help to soothe tensions and promote cooperation with other Orders. Likewise, the Tower itself will need to be cared for and maintained. As I am residing here full time, I believe it is best that I be given this duty.

Given these concerns, I would be less available for fieldwork due to amount of time I would need to dedicate to fostering relations, maintaining them, and seeing to the operation of our space. I am willing to hear concerns of any who might be opposed to me undertaking this role, I merely believe myself to be particularly suited to it."

Looking between the two of them for a moment, Joyeuse allows silence to reign as the pair is given time to absorb what they have said.

"And what do you two feel you are best suited for? Fieldwork? Relations with other Orders?," they asked, giving them the floor to say their piece.