(1812) Acknowledging a Lord

Dec 21st, 2018 08:27 AM

The space Rebecca had directed Jacque to was just enough away from the prying eyes and the listening ears of the other court members so that they could have a brief, personal discussion, without drawing the attention that a private room would bring. Once he drew near her she spoke. "You say your name is Jack. Is there a surname that goes along with it? You'll find that I can be a bit of a stickler for titles and names, so I'd prefer to use that if I can." Rebecca was always open to becoming closer with Kindred, but she wanted to set the tone of this first interaction right away.

**Jacque** · Dec 21st, 2018 09:45 AM

"Thank you Priscus. It is simply Jack. This is not for a lack of professionalism, which I respect and appreciate. Long, long ago now I had a bit of a spat of teenage angst and dropped my surname in some misguided attempt at rebellion or protest."

As Jacque continues he begins to look through Dr. Simmons, as if envisioning distant memories.

"By the time wisdom caught up with me it felt a bit... disingenuous to return to using the surname. I suppose it reminds me the importance of rationality and foresight in decisions as opposed to succumbing to emotionally charged reflexes. 'Burning bridges' as they say."

His eyes return to the present and he raises a cautionary hand with an impish chuckle, "I assure you, that type of behavior has not been a burden of mine in many, many decades."

Dec 21st, 2018 09:54 AM

Rebecca listened to Jacque explain the situation with his surname. It was a peculiar situation to say the least and her doubts were not completely extinguished, but compared to names like Blackbird and Dirt Nap, Jack wasn't truly that unusual. "It's interesting how our actions from years past can continue to have a ripple effect far into our future. While I personally cannot relate, I can respect your desire to accept your mistake, grow, and continue as you are without living in the past. One of our greatest skills as Kindred is that we have far longer than Kine to learn from our mistakes and grow, even if our bodies do not."

She then shifted her stance, an attempt to relax. "With that, Mr. Jack, please tell me a little about yourself?"

**Jacque** · Dec 21st, 2018 02:54 PM

Jacque nods in agreement and ponders where to start, "Let's see. As a child I had an aptitude for retaining knowledge and as a blessing I had also the thirst to obtain it. I expedited my way to post-secondary education at Stanford Law and successfully passed the California Bar just prior to my twentieth birthday." He raises a slender finger, "As a caveat, my certification never expires however the State of California is instituting a requirement next year for re-fingerprinting and a federal background check. As this would no doubt raise some alarms, I will have no choice but to allow the status of the certification to lapse into non-compliance."

"I have not had a desire to practice since the Embrace, but should yourself or the Prince see fit I can work on building the necessary contacts and appropriate alias to recertify. Otherwise, I assure you the extensive knowledge and experience is there to an informal capacity."

He relocates his finger to stroke his chin, "While practicing for some odd years I started pursuing what eventually became a Master's in Biology. Some time after that I lost interest in acquiring 'pieces of paper' to prove my understanding in any particular subject." He reels in his own thoughts and gives a gesture of open palms, "I can bore you with the details of my time in Palo Alto if you desire but I can assure you there is nothing extraordinary in my early neonate years. I'm just old enough now to have seen all of my mortal ties wither from a safe distance and I find myself yearning for more from this Cursed life."

"So, I found myself here to Sacramento and before you. As you can probably deduce, I'm not a skilled fighter to any extent but I am, however,.... I believe the saying was, 'Wise as serpents'. I hope that I can be of some value to you Priscus, and the Domain."

Dec 27th, 2018 05:21 PM

Rebecca listened intently to her cousin as he spoke because who knew what relevant information he would reveal. "Ahh, a former lawyer. I'm a Doctor of Pharmacy myself, so I understand how frustrating licensing requirements can be. I would certainly love to have a lawyer in the family, but I imagine your acquired knowledge would certainly be of great assistance to many instead." Herself included, though she wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the law.

Biology eh? "What aspect of Biology do you focus on?" She wondered how her chemistry could be combined with his skills.

"From what you've told me I believe you will be most useful," she said with a friendly smile. "I'm not a fighter myself but there are certainly those in the domain trained in such skills. It's always important to have scholars of the mind like ourselves to compensate, don't you think?" There was nothing wrong with focusing on fighting, it just wasn't how Rebecca was.

"Now that I know a little about yourself," she said, taking out a neatly folded piece of paper and holding it out for Jacque, "I am comfortable letting you enter. Please, read this and hand it back to me. If you don't have any questions you will then say: 'I, Jack, agree to Pledge my Fealty to Her Majesty, Alessandra Antinori. If I break any of her Majesty's Laws, I understand there will be consequences for my actions.'"

Dec 27th, 2018 05:28 PM

In my rush I forgot Laws of the Domain

**Jacque** · Dec 27th, 2018 08:43 PM

"It may be easier to outline what I haven't focused on. Much like a dog with a bone, once I sink my teeth into something I tend keep going down the rabbit hole until I've exhausted all avenues. The aspect I found the most fascinating was within Structural Biology."

Jacque's micro expressions betrayed a sense of excitement at the prospect of having an intelligent conversation in this Domain and it being with a fellow Ven to boot.

"I mostly stayed away from the far-reaching branches such as exobiology or theoretical biology."

He nods, "In all the great kingdoms worthy of their mark on history was a learned adviser whispering in the King's ear."

Jacque delicately unfolds the paper and carefully reads the missive before meticulously recreating each fold as he speaks, "I, Jack, agree to Pledge my Fealty to Her Majesty, Alessandra Antinori. If I break any of her Majesty's Laws, I understand there will be consequences for my actions."

He extends the folded paper back to Rebecca at the conclusion of the oath.

Dec 30th, 2018 04:34 PM

Rebecca chuckled. "It sounds like whatever your gaze lands on tends to become a fixation, which isn't necessarily bad. I would be interested in having a much longer conversation about your knowledge of Biology though." A prospect Jacque appeared to desire as well.

Rebecca's mask on the other hand was perfect. Infallible. She found humor in how unknowingly close Jacque was to Rebecca with his words. But nothing of her inner thoughts were revealed. Merely the words, "how true."

Once she took back the paper and he gave his oath Rebecca smiled again and said, "Well Jack, with that said, by the power vested in me by Her Majesty Prince Antinori, I formally acknowledge you as a member of this Domain, granting you protection under all Laws of the Domain. Welcome to the city. I believe we shall have much to talk about in the future."

Sorry I dragged this on so much. You are Acknowledged and must raise Domain Status to 1

**Jacque** · Dec 30th, 2018 10:35 PM

"Thank you, and I most certainly hope so, Priscus.", Jack humbly replied.

"If you happen to come across a task that my skills may prove beneficial towards by all means I am at Her Majesty's disposal. I do not wish to conclude our conversation so hastily but my tardiness has put my evening schedule off a bit.", he says as he respectfully bows.

"By your leave."

Don't mention it at all! Family first always plus the holidays. The extra time was a great opportunity to read through the Ventrue book. - Jacque exits the scene unless otherwise held by Rebecca

(1812) Acknowledging a Lord

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