The Watchstanders

[Helen Kingsley]

The door to the Reeve's office is found 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 awaits her visitors already sitting at the table in front of her desk, the chair on its hind legs, She's in jeans and trainers, wearing a turquoise t-shirt tonight. Hidden beneath the actual issue of the 'Sacramento Bee'.

[Otto Schneider]

Otto Schneider strolled through the open door into the Reeve's office. He was wearing a rather bland, black suit and matching tie. There was the distinct impression that, at least in the Ventrue's mind, this was 'casual' attire. The letter requesting his assistance had been a surprise to the Priest; he was one of the more recent arrivals to the city and they had only briefly interacted in Court. Nevertheless, when one of the Prince's appointed officers made a request, few Kindred would consider declining. At least not if they valued the opinions of those in power.

The Beast was thankfully docile as he made his way inside, cowed in part by the familiarity of the Reeve and their surroundings. Taking a seat in one of the arrayed chairs and folding his hands in his lap, Otto offered a greeting. "Good evening, Reeve Kingsley. I take it we are waiting for others to join us?" His tone was casual, though his expression was neutral.

[Helen Kingsley]

"Guten Abend, Herr Schmidt. (Good evening, Mr Schmidt) Sorry, thats about as much as I can still scrape together and use in polite society, been some time. But yeah, we're waiting for the others for now."

Helen does not appear from behind that newspaper in any way, shape or form, but remains hidden behind it. The way she holds it, on purpose.

"Leaves some time for the fun bits, though. Now, with you following the teachings of Longinus, I thought you'd be good enough with talking to people, or at least talking at people that I could use that for general gain. I also like to get a closer look at greenies, especially those from your particular covenant. And let's be fair, bonus points with management are always nice, no ? That bit always gets me wondering with folks. As in, do they have any marketable skills that carry over well to fanger life, or am I dealing with the people who're shit out of luck in that regard. So, aknything fun or exciting you learned or did for a living back in the sunny days, padre ?"

[Marcus Roman]

Marcus made his way to the Nox as requested, excited for some work. He strolled into the Nox wearing a black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, ripped black jeans and combat boots. Not a formal court, no reason to dress up after all.

As he entered the Reeves chambers the Romans beast flared at the weakness in the room as his eyes passed over Otto, who he had only met the once. His hand rested just a moment on the door knob of the office, grip tight, wanting to fight but a quick breath later and Marcus was back to his usual well composed self.

"Reeve, apologies for my lateness. I should check my mail more often." He bowed to the Reeve, fist over heart. "And Otto, pleasant surprise." He tried sounding pleased, but it came off as more of a growl toward the Lance.

[Otto Schneider]

The corners of Otto's mouth briefly twitched upward as he tried to suppress a smile. Basic though it was, it had been quite some time since he'd heard his family's Muttersprache. "Sehr nett, Frau Kingsley."

He wasn't entirely sure by what she meant by 'greenies', but he could parse that she was asking how he could be useful. Usually you recruited someone after you were sure of their skills and utility, but who was he to argue with the Reeve? "A fair question. I guess you could say I was a bloodsucking parasite from the start. I was a stock broker on Wall Street. Good enough at talking people out of their fortunes that my Sire wanted me for the Invictus." He sounded a little wistful. "I'm alright with numbers, but I'm much better at greasing palms. Greed can be a very ugly thing, but it also opens a lot of doors."

As Marcus entered, the Priest inclined his head to him and offered a neutral greeting, again suppressing his supernatural 'fight-or-flight' response. "Good evening, Mr. Roman." He tried not to let the other Kindred's tone get to him. Gangrel, he reminded himself.

Muttersprache - Mother tongue
Sehr Nett, Frau Kingsley - Very nice, Ms. Kingsley
Only letting Otto get away with this because it's a very basic phrase, but until I purchase the appropriate merit his skills will be too rusty for anything more

[Helen Kingsley]

Helen lowers the newspaper to look at the new arrival.

"Eh, not the first, not the last... Technically, you're good. But checking regularly won't hurt for sure." She neatly folds the newspaper and puts it down on the table in front of her. "Bloodsucker for bloodsuckers, I like it. Last guy who used that moniker was the only thing worse than that, a lawyer. But that's what I meant, you guys tend to be persuasive. I need someone persuasive. Marcus and me, we are at our most persuasive when we fold clothes. Whiule they're still on the people wearing them, that is. But you ain't in the Invictus now, are you ?"

[Marcus Roman]

"Hey, I can be persuasive when telling people exactly how I'm going to fold their clothes with them in them as well." Marcus chimed in with a chuckle. "So, what's the plan? Otto talks and if it goes sideways I'm allowed to clean up?" He wanted to be clear, if combat was to break out should he actually try and join in or was he just supposed to scare them into backing off. Helen knew Marcus and understood the short fuse at the end of the dynamite that was his bloodline curse. The Roman was confident he could handle anything in his own particular way, like a hammer handles a nail...but was it allowed?

[Otto Schneider]

"No. I have nothing but respect for the Unconquered, but I realized they weren't the best fit for me." Otto stated matter-of-factly. There was nothing in his tone indicating that he was trying to hold back more information, it seemed he felt that he had adequately answered the question. "If Mr. Roman's suggestion is acceptable, I don't mind. But if we're still waiting on others, what other talents will we be needing?" It was entirely conceivable that the other Kindred would also just be muscle, but the Priest was curious now. And he wasn't sure how much longer they'd take to arrive.

[Benedikta Grey]

Benny arrives a tad late, but she arrives nonetheless.

Dressed casually with a black messenger bag around her shoulder, she offers those present with an apologetic smile to Helen before dipping her head in respect to her position.

"I apologize for my tardiness, Reeve Kingsley," she offered, "Traffic can be a bitch. Did I miss anything?"

Moving to an open seat, she would grant Roman and Otto nods respectively as she settled in.

[Raul]

Raϊl arrives just a few moments after Benny does, stepping into the office. He's dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a tight crimson Under Armour shirt beneath a leather jacket. A pair of black boots complete the ensemble. The Savage Whip looks around the room when he walks in, seeing one very familiar face amongst several less familiar ones. He gives a nod in greeting. "Evening, folks. Sorry for being late. Traffic's a bitch tonight."