They've been needing to do this for a while, the group of them. Get together, that is. She had expressed as much to Kalen when she saw him after he woke up from his little coma. ("Little.") And while they may or may not end up short one person, the Hollower was determined to get them together to actually associate. They haven't all been together since they first discussed the idea of a cabal as a group; in fact, Alyssa hasn't seen any of them but Kalen since then. So she gives them all calls, tells them that they should get together and she'll even host.
Which is not to say that she straightened up the place. After all, she doesn't feel the need to look extra-presentable to them in any sort of proper way. She is who she is and she makes no apologies for that. The apartment is the same place they've seen before, with the clutter in the corners and the blood-dried sigils on the walls. No mirrors in sight whatsoever. Alyssa herself is made up, in a black and purple design that looks vaguely like Natalie Portman in Black Swan. It comes along with a pair of matching-color leggings and skirt, with a halter-top screened with a gas mask over upside-down red chevrons and in front of a dagger. She's got the window open so she can smoke without clouding up the place, a Corona in front of her as she relaxes on the couch.
Kalen Holliday[Nightmares]
Dice: 6 d10 TN7 (1, 4, 4, 5, 5, 8) ( success x 1 )
Kalen HollidayKalen shows up with a six-pack of beer. Because he and Alyssa love to dance on the line between affection and spite, it is a ridiculously expensive local craft beer. He specifically asked the nice people who were helping him for the best tasting beer in ridiculous packaging. There may have been winks and conspiratorial grins involved.
He hasn't really been out in the world much since he returned to this reality, and he is still annoyed by things like how heavy the beer seems to be right now. It isn't exactly a bad trade though. Trapped in that mindscape he would have traded needing to use Forces to help carry beer if it meant he could just go buy cold beers in places where his Node was still there and his friends were still there and there was a completely manageable and discrete population of undead abominations.
Maybe they can bond over killing vampires. Perhaps he will suggest that.
He is smiling when he knocks on Alyssa's door. Because vampire hunting. And beers. And friends.
Okay, mostly friends.
Alexander BrandtFor a cabal, they have been lacking a certain amount of cohesion. Admittedly Alexander has been staying away from the Awakened side of the city since that night down by the reservoir. He’d driven Alyssa’s car back, giving her a chance to rest and patch up after exhausting herself fighting the spirit. He’d not really spoken much. There had been a bit too much at the time for him to even start putting words to anything.
He’s slowly resurfacing, though. Swapping a couple of messages with Grace before she vanished, bumping into Elijah at the hospital. Meeting up with Kalen at the Chantry. So when Alyssa’s message comes through, it’s not automatically declined. He’s making an effort to get back in touch with people, although whether that changes again in the future is anyone’s guess.
So Alexander arrives with a cardboard box of donuts from whichever donut place he’s been told about over near the park. There’s a quick stop by the same shop he ducked into for coffee the last time he visited Alyssa, and he comes out with a cardboard carrier with 4 large coffees. Hands full, he taps on her apartment door with a foot.
Alyssa SolomonShe grins a little bit when she senses the approaching Resonances and hops up off the couch, stubbing out her cigarette and making her way over to the door. She's whistling that song that Darryl Hannah sings in Kill Bill, "Twisted Nerve," as she saunters up to the door and opens it up. She's clearly in a decent mood; she didn't even bring the gun just to be safe. The door is opened up and she arches an eyebrow at the beer.
"Oh good, you brought me target practice." She gives him a grin and a wink and steps back, letting him and nearly shutting the door on Alexander as he comes up. But then there's a knock and she opens it again. "Holy shit, you brought donuts. You're my favorite person in the world today. C'mon in. I left a message for Sid, but I don't know if she's coming. If she does, then awesome."
Kalen Holliday"I brought you real beer so we could use what was in your fridge for target practice. But...because I also care about the well-being of plants, I was hoping you knew of somewhere without any. I think even dandelions would be traumatized by your beer." He's still smiling. And Alyssa has seen him drink Corona, so it is hardly as though he could hate it that much.
"What?" He says, with a cheerful exuberance that does not match the shadows beneath his eyes. "It'll be easier to keep Sid and I from trying to stab each other this way. Are those from the place you were telling me about last night?" There seems to be no danger of sudden hugs today, but this is also Kalen a few steps back from emotions again. Not all the way into wary and practically expressionless, but even mentioning Sid makes his guard go up a little.
Alexander BrandtThere’s a muffled curse just before Alyssa reopens the door as Alex narrowly manages to avoid crushing the coffee cups and covering himself in hot liquid. But the smile when the door does open is genuine, if maybe not as broad and weightless as it had been only a couple of months ago. He follows Alyssa in, then kicks the door closed behind him. The box and carrier both go down on the table next to the pack of beer.
“Because broken bottles are so much nicer as weapons?” There is humour as he says it. He doesn’t quite believe that Sid and Kalen are likely to be actually attacking each other with sharp things. “ Yeah, it was kinda on the way here. I didn’t really know what anybody liked, so got a bit of lots.”
Alyssa SolomonShe's not entirely surprised by Kalen's reaction to Sid, but neither does she revel in it. As confrontational as Alyssa is, she doesn't go out of her way to antagonize her friends (and make no mistake, these are friends of hers). But she believes in tackling group dynamic issues head on and she's not going to shy away from it. Kalen's not entirely wrong in her assessment about her, as much as she hates it: she would have made a good Tytalan.
"That's because dandelians are wimps who can't hold their liquor," she says with a smirk as she moves to help Alexander with his load. But he already has it covered so she shrugs, heading back over to the couch to sit down. "Make yourselves comfortable. Mi casa is rented, so I don't care what happens to it. That makes it su casa as well."
Kalen HollidayKalen rolls his eyes and huffs, then playfully (and carefully) crashes his shoulder into Alexander's. "Broken bottles are terrible weapons," he says, before grabbing one of the coffees and settling onto the couch near Alyssa. "Also, thank you."
"Dandelions and your poor cabalmates who just had a month of enforced sobriety due to the abduction of their consciousness, no doubt." He takes a sip of coffee.
"So. Look at us. One room. There are things we should talk about, but I don't know-" He frowns. "I'm not even sure exactly where to start. Do either of you want to?"
Alexander BrandtAlexander settles wherever isn’t taken, pulling a cup out of the carrier and then taking the lid off to let it cool a little. There’s creamer and sugar and stirry things tucked in, if anyone wants them. The cup is stood on a clear spot of table and the donut box raided for a random piece of deep-friend evilness. He sits back and pulls the glazed ring apart slowly, contemplating Kalen’s question.
“I don’t have a clue where to start, but then I’ve never been in one of these things before. How do they usually work?”
Alyssa Solomon"Well, usually they turn into ways to consolidate power and become confrontational with all other cabals, while internally everyone's at each other's throats. At least until something threatens the group as a whole, at which point they all band together." She lights up a new cigarette and shrugs. "I think we should color outside the lines on that one, myself."
She looks at Alexander and winks, to throw a touch of humor on the point, and then looks at Kalen. "The first question is, what are we aiming to do as a group? I mean, fight for Ascension and go great things and yadda yadda yadda, but what's our actual definable goal? That would be a good start."
And she knows the answer, at least in part. They've talked about it before. But it's still somewhere to start.
Kalen Holliday"Yeah. We haven't either, actually. I don't think that's exactly how cabals go, although I guess it's a way cabals can go." He sighs.
"Power is not always a bad thing. And, in a lot of ways it is a thing Denver doesn't have much of. We might want to fix that, not for us, but for everyone. Which soft of falls into protecting Denver, which is a thing I did want to do.
"I'd love to say protect the world, but in all fairness, it takes more than one cabal to properly defend a city, so I haven't exactly set an easy goal. I would also like to try to keep political barriers being a thing that happens, but I don't have cabal-wide political goals so much. I may try to get us into a position where we have some allies outside of Denver, because that is a good thing. But that...doesn't need to be a thing we all do."
Alexander Brandt“Yeah, I care less about the power grabbing and bickering, more about the whole protecting the city thing.” Alexander pops a bit of the donut into his mouth and chews thoughtfully. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that there are things going bump in the night, and the day, that the mundane authorities can’t hope to handle. But maybe if we can fix things before they get too noticeable then we might even stop the Union noticing this place so much?”
“Allies are always good, though.”
Alyssa Solomon"Power's not a bad thing in theory," she says as she taps a bit of ash into the tray in front of her. "But it's also a big word. Means a lot of things. So I guess it depends on what kind of power it is and who we're gaining it at the expense of. I'm no politico and I think that all that maneuvering bullshit is...well, bullshit."
She looks over at ALexander as he talks about protecting the city, looks back at Kalen. Alyssa's usually full of snark...and of course, she's letting a little wit out here. But she's mostly staying serious and thoughtful. "Protection is pretty all-encompassing of a word too. You try to save the world, or even the city, and you lose sight of the goal in trying to find ways to acheive that goal. I think we should start small and work up, rather than the reverse. Easier to test ourselves that way, you know?
"I have some favors I can call in from time to time. I wouldn't say they're allies so much as people who have owed me at one time or another. But it's a start."
Kalen Holliday"Look. World was scaled down from all the infinite spheres of creation, so you should be fucking impressed I scaled it all the way down to Denver." Kalen sighs. "But I suppose you have a point. Start at Awakened in Denver and branch out from there? I realize that we can't protect all of Denver, but dividing it up by neighborhood is...not entirely feasible.
"I've been tracking data, though I'm behind now, and Elijah's willing to help and Gallowglass is willing to help. Grace made me software. The tracking need not be out project entirely, but...I did pick you all because the fighting maybe should be. Honestly, I think we just prioritize whatever we find as best we can.
"Or, we extend protecting the Awakened to include training the Awakened, and spend more time trying to get everyone ready fight. Teach them to shoot, teach them neat magic tricks, teach them to punch things without breaking their thumbs. Focus in. But that still leaves monsters running loose unless they come directly after us, and only so many of them do."
Alexander Brandt“As corny as it sounds, I like the idea of trying to keep people safe in the city. I don’t think we should be trying to do the full-on superhero thing, fighting crime and all that stuff. That’s what my day job’s for, and there are plenty of others out there perfectly capable of dealing with assaults, murders and the like. It would just be the supernatural side of things we deal with. Protect the people who aren’t able to protect themselves because of what it is that’s got it in for them. Us, sleepers, whoever.” He shrugs.
“But I guess you’re right, the city is a big place. There are people already keeping an eye on things. You,” he nods at Alyssa, “hear things through your line of work, and I’m likely to pick up on anything particularly hinky too. Is there anywhere standing out as particularly odd that it might be better to start out in? Other than picking a region of the city, I’m not sure how else we can start out smaller.”
“Teaching others could work, if they want training. But I’m not sure that should be the main focus of what we do.”
Alyssa SolomonShe can't help but smile as she listens. It isn't a mocking or condescending smile, no sarcasm behind it. There's some amusement, but mostly its reflective...thoughtful. The teaching ideas, the narrowing down to specific locations...it all adds up to something for her.
"Well, part of that does have a little problem, at least magically. We can't just teach everyone what we know. Sure, there are Orphans out there trying to figure things out that we can work with--present company included," she says to Alexander. Orphan, in her mind, isn't a dirty word. It's not insulting or dimunative. It just...is.
"But we know it's not quite as easy as teaching them a few tricks. Patience, for example, wouldn't be able to just pick up on my blood magic. I know you're teaching Grace Enochian, but our mystic ways are only going to go so far with her. And so on and so forth. Teaching them the Sleeper stuff is easier...shooting guns, combat, investigation. Knowledge for knowledge's sake. And I'm all for that.
"And I'm all for the protection, for the record. Including protecting Sleepers from the supernatural, not just our own. The where of it..." She shrugs. "I don't have anything with a specific bead, but I can definitely start reaching out a little more to find out. It wouldn't hurt to get an idea of where the Union is most active, as a side note, in persuit of that whole protection thing. Of course, how is another matter."
Kalen Holliday"If they're cleaning up monsters...." Kalen sighs. "So long as we can figure out how to stay clear of them, we can let them go at it. We just shouldn't forget we're on their list with those monsters of things to deal with. They mostly leave people alone though, so if we can stay clear and they're handling the same things we are...I'm for it.
"Fuck. At this point...maybe it wasn't exactly real like here is real, but I just got to see a world where nothing stopped the monsters. At this point I'm willing to take the incredibly unHermetic attitude of I would call a damned truce if I had to. There are worse things than making peace. Even uneasy peace."
"Yeah, those tricks are more difficult, but that's why only one of my examples was magical. And...Grace may not exactly learn well from mysticism, but we can work together. It's just harder. Sure, Patience may never learn blood magic. She might learn something. I know how hard training outside of your Tradition can be, but in a number of cases it is very possible. It's a thing to do when we can."
Alexander BrandtAlexander shrugs when Alyssa mentions him. He’s aware, and more comfortable now, that he isn’t part of any of the traditions. Oh, there’s still the potential to join – and maybe Alyssa has more insight into where that is more likely to be than Alex does – but it’s not as big a worry as it was.
“Probably best to stay out of the way of the Union when we find them, though. I’ve not had the pleasure yet, but from what everybody has said so far, I’m not convinced that they don’t belong in the ‘monster’ camp.”
“I don’t know if this really counts as cabal stuff, as it’s more of a general thing for all of us. What happens when someone comes across something strange and unfriendly? I know there are ways of people keeping in touch, but is there really anyone who would take an interest for the good of all of us? Or is this more of a Chantry thing? Although I guess not all of the Awakened go there? Would that be another place to start up, rather than throwing darts at a map?”
Alyssa Solomon"Yeah, that's what I'm getting at," she says with a nod. "Believe me, under no circumstances do I want to start taking the fight to the Union. I like kicking hornet's nests from time to time but that's like trying to slow grind on a killer bee nest to a Robin Thicke jam. I'm more thinking that we find out where they are so that we know where not to go crazy on the magical chicanery, which could result in us having to buy industrial strength stinger salve for our sensitive extremities."
Alexander is asking about people who take an interest for the good of all of them, and Alyssa's brow furrows. "I'm not sure what you're getting at. You mean, like, an information net of 'Hey, I just ran across this thing that's a problem, you guys wanna check it out?' We have one of those in Ginger, though I guess not everyone's signed up to it."
Kalen Holliday"That was why I was hoping to coordinate this thing with the chantry. I get that not everyone wants Ginger, and not everyone wants the chantry. Lena was already talking about setting up a gathering place in the city for people not already tied to the chantry who might not want to be. I think that is going to cut out you know...most of the Mages in the area interested in getting over their shit long enough to get along, because those were pretty much the people already affiliated with the chantry, but maybe she'll pull it together.
"At least she isn't going to set out to isolate. We'll have time to build bridges if it works. And if it doesn't, I guess they'll come back or re-evaluate how they might do it from a different beginning. Regardless, they shouldn't not be part of our network. So that doesn't matter.
"I think he's thinking more...who do we call if something happens, who responds, how do we coordinate. Because we can get out a heads-up, yeah. But who knows who to call if they suspect spirits are on the loose? If they need to know right now what to do about the baby sea serpent they just spotted in a river or if they really need silver bullets to kill werewolves? If they need someone who can heal them?
"We're hitting the point we need people who can coordinate. And maybe we can't do it as the chantry, but we could do it as a cabal."
Alexander Brandt“I guess coordination probably is a part of what I meant. If a newly awakened mage screams that there’s a monster on their lawn, what happens then? They need someone to go deal with it. From what Kalen was saying about why he wanted me to join this thing, I kinda assumed that we’d be the ones offering up to go take care of it. If it’s too big, then we get some backup – the others around here, and those others Kalen was talking about getting together with outside of the city – and then sort it out.
“Yeah, I don’t think we should be tied just to the Chantry, or try to exclude anyone. The big nasty nibbling on someone who doesn’t happen to go there would probably be just as happy nibbling on someone who does, so the problem still needs taking care of.
Alyssa Solomon"All right." She's quiet a moment, the butt of her cigarette held a couple of inches from her lips as she thinks. "So we're talking about making it known to everyone else that if anything needs Ghostbusting, we've got the car and the entrapment boxes or whatever and will go handle it? We're doing a lot of conceptual talking, and that's great but I think we need to narrow down to specifics.
"Basically we're talking about handling every aspect of Tradition caretaking all in one...training, coordination and sharing information, going out and tackling all the rough stuff. And I'm all for all of that, but I think that we're trying to say we'll do everything short of gardening at the chantry and that's too much for three or four of us."
Kalen Holliday"Well. Let's take training out of it, for the moment. I'm not actually suggesting we respond to everything. We can't respond to everything. Let's look at this from the perspective of people who understand organization. You may not have joined the Order, but you know some of how they're structured, Angel.
"Alce, you aren't going to tell me the police force isn't structured. In fact, for what we want, they're probably the better model. We need to figure out what our resources are, figure out a system that gets everyone access to someone who can get someone for them immediately if they have an immediate issue. Ginger is great for people who have it, or people who check the messages constantly, but if we put out an emergency call for help on Ginger...that's not going to help anyone unless they're lucky."
Alexander Brandt“Thinking about it, I’m not sure if training should be part of it anyway. I’m happy to teach people to point a gun the right way when they’re shooting it, and that doesn’t really need a cabal to do it. You guys have been happy to teach, and again that didn’t need a group of us to do. There are enough of us bumping into each other to figure out who to ask if we want to learn things without putting up a list of classes in the Chantry.
“Where does having four of us give us something that being on our own doesn’t? Bringing together what we pick up from our various sources. Working together when the shit hits the fan, getting in between the big nasty and whatever it has its eye on?
“We could start out as simply as helping people who ask for it. But then that means we’re only taking care of our own, who know we’re there. Or maybe we just need to talk about whatever information comes our way and decide if it’s something we need to do something about?”
Alyssa SolomonThere's a nod that dips her chin when Alexander delivers that last sentence, suggesting that they take it one thing at a time and figure out what to do with them. "That's a good plan. I don't generally like being reactive to shit, because the easiest way to handle a problem is to cut the head off before it can bite you, but to be proactive you have to have somewhere to start. And I think we can all agree that pointing at Denver and just saying 'We gotta fix it' isn't exactly the focused of ideas."
She grins a little, then looks at Kalen and nods to him as well. "I'm all for a little bit of structure. I think the problem is that what works for the Order, even partially, may not work when we're trying to act in an inclusive way with all the Awakened here in the city. I'm not saying it won't for sure, I'm just devil's advocating because if someone's gonna be the devil for Hermetic ideals, it'll be a Hollower, right?
"Seriously though...I'm all about the planning our mission statement." She picks up the cigarette again, takes a drag. "I know I'm even the person who suggested that first. But I'm starting to think that it might be easier to figure out a mission statement once we gel more cohesively as a group. Not that we're at each other's throats or anything, but..." She shrugs. "I think you guys get what I mean there, right?"
Kalen HollidayKalen settles into the corner of the couch, so that he can curl up with his coffee. He ends up mostly facing Alyssa, which leaves his back to Alexander.
"We could also form little teams. Grace would be good with communication, for example. We could focus less on one goal and more coordination. Ginger is a good start. Having some people who have already volunteered to be early contacts for newly Awakened Magi, or just those of us new to Denver is good. I think the hardest part will be figuring out how to respond. Bur we need to do that so we can be ready." You know. For zombies. For the end of everything.
"Maybe we can try to set some of that up and then see where we end up with a unified purpose as a cabal." He smiles, tired but very real. "And I don't know why you'd think Hermetic organization can fail, Angel." He lets his head fall back, lets his shoulders drop, so that he's regarding Alexander upside-down arched over the arm of the couch.
"Alce? You know about not Hermetic organization and crisis response. Thoughts?"
Alexander BrandtAlexander picks up one of the coffee cup and pulls the lid off, watching the dark liquid swirl around for a few moment before he speaks. “We have groups that take care of different things. Gangs. Drugs. Traffic. Crime scene stuff. And everyone gets some degree of training on what happens if the brown stuff really hits the fan and the whole city turns to shit.
“I guess I can kinda see that working for us, in a way. Some of us can find stuff out, some of us can hit things with big sticks. And, in theory, we can all come together if there’s a big nasty threatening us all.
“I think the problem is going to be trying to organise all the others to get the best out of everybody. Not because the organisation would be particularly difficulty, though.” He looks up at Kalen leaning back over the couch. “More because not everybody likes being told what to do.” Alexander holds his cup up in toast, remembering an encounter with a certain Chorister where he certainly didn’t do what he was told.
“Why would people be any more likely to want this little cabal of ours telling them what to do than they would if whoever runs the Chantry did? I’m just not convinced it would work.”
Alyssa SolomonThe woman's lips twist into a sort of amused smirk. "Or we can not talk about ourselves as a group and keep talking about the mission statement. That kinda works too." It's a bitless quip, intended to poke some gentle fun without carrying her more ascerbic tones.
Alexander's question draws her attention and she touches her finger to the side of her nose while pointing at him with the other finger. "That. That, exactly. Right now we're talking like the purpose of the cabal is to start working on all the problems of the city and take charge in organizing the mage community. I agree that needs to happen, but rarely does anything good ever come from a group of people--even people as awesome as us--standing up and saying 'Hey, we're going to be making sure you all get organized and coordinate.' A lot of the Awakened here are a pretty anti-authoritarian lot, or at least don't really respond well to people taking charge. And I don't think we should be looking at doing that...not yet, anyway. We need to figure out who and what we are as a cabal before we can start telling other people who and what to be, at least in terms of how they can work within the city. If this is our goal--acting as the great coordinators and leaders, which sounds like what we're getting at--we need to start with ourselves and show why they should listen to us."
She exhales a drag of smoke, leans back in her seat. "Hell, I wouldn't be too inclined to listen if--completely random selection here--Eleanor, Lucy and Adam suddenly said that they were a cabal and they were going to be 'helping' us organize into teams that they could coordinate. Not until they showed that they were actually a team within themselves that could be relied on and whose voice as a group I could take seriously."
Kalen Holliday"Well, overlooking the fact that Eleanor and Gallowglasss might literally kill each other...." Kalen sits back up.
"Why do you assume I intend to tell anyone to do anything? I mean, aside from the whole Knight of the Hermetic Order thing. That isn't my proposal at all. If I ever lead anything, I want it to be because I was asked. I picked you to cofound this cabal because you won't let me just dictate anything."
"I'm saying lets see what we can do. Let's let who we are to each other fall into place. I don't think I can talk those connections into being. Maybe we can go hiking. Or you know, have a fire and marshmallows." There is a tightness to the word marshmallows. "What do people do? I think we're old for Disney World. Fuck if I know, snowboarding? I hate the cold, but I've never tried that. It could be neat."
"And yeah, I'm a little mission focused. Because right now that seems like the way to not ever have to put a gun to the head of a kid I rather like and pull the trigger. To decide at what point the pain is terrible enough that a few more breaths to be alive, to be fighting, and god he fought, aren't worth it.
"They won. Do you understand? I've seen chantries fall here but I saw what happens if we really lose there. It is-" There is rage in his voice, though it isn't directed at either of them. The cup of coffee is his hands is shaking and bowing into itself a a little. "Unacceptable."
Alexander Brandt“Because you’re asking about the force. We choose to serve, but there isn’t a lot of room for debate when the orders come from above. We go, do what needs to be done, and hope that we make it home again.” Alexander shrugs, taking a sip of coffee.
“That’s probably a good idea. Seeing what we can really do together before we start making grand plans of saving all of reality, I mean. I’m all up for fires and marshmallows, but how about finding a little mundane trouble and see how we handle it together..? We need to start somewhere, so why not pick something relatively safe, in the grand scheme of things?” No fireballs, lightning strikes, divine fire... Just the rather dull, but equally deadly, guns, knives, clubs...
Alexander goes quiet as Kalen gets angry. He reaches over, as best he can, and rests a hand on Kalen’s shoulder.
Alyssa Solomon"I'm not saying that you intend to tell people to do things, Kalen." She frowns a little, eyebrows knitting as she looks at him. "I'm saying that people are going to very possibly view it as such when we're talking about forming teams and coordinating response groups and all that sort of thing. Believe me, if I thought you were trying to turn us into the boss of everyone else I'd be lacing a little more barbed wire into my argument.
"As to how we get more cohesive..." There's a shrug here. "We get to know each other better, for one thing. I know who you both are. I can't say that I know a lot about you though. Finding things to do together as a unit is a start...but getting to know more about each other is also a good idea."
While Alexander reaches over to provide contact as support, Alyssa doesn't. It's not that she doesn't care...that's obvious in the shift of her posture, the softening of her features at Kalen's anger and pain. But she also has different ways of going about that sort of thing. "I get it. I've seen..."
She shakes her head, reaches forward and stubs out the cigarette. "Well. Not just chantries fall, although not what you've seen. None of it's acceptable. Not what has happened, not what may happen. What's important is that we don't force ourselves to push too hard before we're ready. We Awakened love coloring outside the lines, but we still need to take it from the small to the big, you know? That's how we stop it. By not seeing the forest without the trees."
Kalen HollidayIt had never occurred to Kalen, until Alexander said something about it, that people would come and sit with his body while his mind was elsewhere. And he had been so ridiculously overwhelmed by that there may have been an excessive amount of hugging. He does not fling himself at Alexander again. Instead he very slowly uncurls one hand from his coffee to grip the hand on his shoulder. It is shy of the pressure needed to bruise only because so much of what strength he'd regained before his coma is gone.
He opens his mouth to argue, because he learned to throw all of his fury and all of his fear into forward momentum. He wants to charge into something. He wants to tear things apart until the world is better. Or safer.
But there is nothing here he should be fighting. And there is Alexander's hand on his shoulder. Kalen closes his eyes and breathes in the scent of snow. He may revise his opinion about winter sooner than later. Solidity. There have been Mages in Denver who found static Resonance suspect. Feared that between his Stasis and his occupation Alexander was going to find a place with the Technocrats.
If they'd held him long enough apart from them, maybe he would have.
Kalen breathes in the sense of ice that stretches through vast distance. Physical. Temporal. Dangerous, perhaps, but solid.
He listens to Alyssa, though he doesn't open his eyes as she speaks. His posture softens too, his head falling forward a little. Kalen and Alyssa may not have an abundance of gentleness in how they connect with each other, but when they aren't walking a razor edge between playing and striking each other they are surprisingly together on what they want. She gets a little nod.
And a cessation of hostility.
"Alce?"
Alexander BrandtAlexander leaves his hand on Kalen’s shoulder while he goes quiet again, gathering his thoughts.
Certain things were given, that couldn’t be changed. Primarily: shit happens. Bad things happen, and they don’t distinguish between good and bad people. There are things going on that the majority of people in the city – in the world – have no idea about. Popular fiction may skirt around some of the edges, but the hard reality? There really are ghost and monsters, which most people couldn’t even begin to handle. Just look at the spirit by the reservoir. How many people had it killed before the Awakened in the city had done something about it?
For Alexander, there is a still a lot lacking. He knows a little, can work his will even less. But he’s one of the few in the city who could stand up against what could come. Maybe more importantly, he would do. He’s been trying to figure out who and what he is for a while now, and it’s slowly coming together. He wants to be there for those who can’t defend themselves. The victims. The missing dead.
And this group, this cabal, looks like the best place to do just that.
“I haven’t seen a lot of the things you both have. I don’t think that I want to, but... It doesn’t look like this life of ours gives a lot of choice in the matter. And...” He pauses for a few moments, takes a deep breath. “I think I need to. “
He looks over at Alyssa, meets her eyes, before continuing. “Out by the reservoir, we were all pretty much doing our own thing.” He rubs the side of his chest absent-mindedly. “So before we get to the point of relying on each other, trusting each other to watch our backs then, yeah, we do need to work out how we’re going to work together. Learn how each of us will react. We can probably leave the big plans to save the world for the moment until we know that there is actually an ‘us’ to save it. I think there will be, otherwise we wouldn’t still be here talking about the best way to do what it is we want to do.”
Alyssa Solomon"Well, that was more about the fact that I still didn't trust Ian further than I could throw some of those heftier trees in that there forest than it was about you," she says with a nod to Alex. She says it in a very matter-of-fact tone, and it's not even a matter of her not trusting him now; it's that at the time she didn't, and that's the way it was. No need to gloss over it. "Partially because I didn't know who all was willing to kill if need be too...and partially because I was running on anger over my client being turned into a the blonde girl in a slasher film."
Okay, there's still a little residual anger at that last one. The shadowing of her voice makes that obvious. "But yeah, I'm in agreement."
She gets up off the couch now, finally goes over to pick up one of the beers that Kalen brought. She continues to speak as she does. "And I wish I could say you won't see bad stuff, but you will. And it'll be worse than you think you can handle, man." She pops the cap off the top, using the ring on her middle finger as a bottle opener, as she speaks. She's still matter-of-fact, but it's softer and a bit more sympathetic. "The good news is, you can handle it. And there is some good stuff that will balance that out."
She looks back over. "Seriously though, who else needs a drink?"
Kalen Holliday"Maybe a little," Kalen says in response to the question about the drink.
"I am sorry you'll see the things you'll see, Alce." He opens his eyes and arches back over the arm of the couch to look at Alexander. He keeps his grip on Alexander's and, though it lightens. "But if you don't see them with us you'll see the horrors they leave behind. Neither of those things is pleasant. You can't avoid at least one of them.
"But we'll be here. It will be alright." Says Kalen, who was practically having a full-fledged nervous breakdown last Alexander saw him, and is only marginally better today. Still, he sounds like he means that.
He settles back so that he can see Alyssa. There is a slight increase in pressure on Alexander's hand, and then he is released, though Kalen does not shrug off the contact. He just isn't holding Alexander's hand captive.
"I don't know how much mundane trouble we're going to find, but we could just try training together. Not so much impact, maybe a little less on the knowing how people respond under pressure. But it would be a place to start. Knowing what we can do before we go charging into something sounds rather like a plan."
Alexander BrandtI want you to learn how to navigate Awakened life with, preferably, more wonder than terror.
Eleanor, Kalen, Alyssa. Each of them warning of the dark things to come. Awakening sounds more and more like Pandora’s Box. So much darkness in the world and so little cause for hope. Perhaps if he hadn’t already seen some of the good, the hope, the peace that can come with Awakening he’d have followed through with the fleeting ideas of running and hiding and ignoring. Instead?
Voice a little hoarse, he asks Alyssa, “Got anything stronger?”
Alex sits back on the chair, finally releasing Kalen’s shoulder as the other man’s grip loosens and fades. He clears his throat, getting his voice back to normal. “Mundane trouble is easy to find. Pick a bar, insult someone, stand back. Or just walk down the wrong street with your watch on show. Training sounds good, though. And snowboarding. And marshmallows.”
Alyssa SolomonThe gifts of being Awakened aren't free...they come with a price. Being able to see and do wondrous things means that you have to see--and do--things of wondrous horror. Alexander isn't the first to discover that, but it doesn't make his knowledge of this any less significant.
Alyssa smiles when Alexander asks for something stronger, and nods. "Now you're talking." She walks over and hands Kalen her open but untouched beer and heads back over to the cabinets to retrieve her scotch. "Sleeper trouble is...yeah, definitely easy to come across. I get into Sleeper trouble on at least a bi-weekly basis. Everyone has to blow off steam some way, right?"
She retrieves three glasses and walks back to take her seat on the couch, setting them down and pouring two. Alexander is handed one. "Alcohol is the best way to bond as a cabal ever. Says the woman who's never been in one."
Kalen Holliday"Well. I thought whiskey might not be the thing to bring, but clearly I was mistaken." Kalen sounds amused.
"We'll have to teach you Forces magic eventually," he says to Alexander. "You and your infatuation with campfires."
"Look. I was advised to stay out of mundane trouble. I was promised enough of the magical variety to last for lifetimes. So far, that promise hasn't been broken." He laughs. "And I don't think Alexander wants to print money or steal cars so my mundane trouble skills are only so useful...."
Alexander BrandtAlex takes the glass from Alyssa and settles back again. He balances the shot between his fingers and looks through the dark liquid at the others. “Will there be dancing on tables too?” The glass is emptied in one go, swiftly followed by a grimace as Alex feels the burn on the way down. “Definitely the best way bond.”
He rolls the empty glass between his hands as he looks at the others. “There was one thing I wanted to ask. Is there any way to hide... “ the glass stops rolling and is used to gesture around Alex. “The whole resonance thing? Given who I could bump into one day, I should probably figure out how to hide it.”
“I was suggesting mundane trouble because we’d probably be less worried about hurting someone who probably deserved it.” He gives Kalen a crooked grin. “Unless you like being hit?”
Alyssa SolomonShe affects a look of shock at Kalen. "Shame on you. Whiskey is ALWAYS an appropriate option." She grins widely and then lips the glass to her lips. "Unless it's not, that is."
She swallows her drink as Kalen comments on Forces magic. "Hey, now," she says to Alexander, smirking as she sets the glass down. "If you want dancing on tables, you're gonna have to buy me dinner first." She winks and then listens to him ask about hiding Resonance.
"It's possible, though it takes some effort and is sort of intermediate-level stuff. I don't know if you'll be able to do it, but there are a couple of ways to pull it off. Ars Mentis is the most popular and easy way."
Kalen Holliday"I'm probably not up to dancing on tables at the moment," Kalen says, a hint of a warm, amused purr creeping into his voice for the first time tonight. "And unless I miss my guess, I am soooooooooooooo not your type anyway. But if you convince Alyssa to dance on tables, I won't complain." He says this as though the thought of him or anyone suddenly dancing on a table isn't really even unusual.
"What kinds of things do you want to learn? About spirits, obviously. Alyssa is going to try to teach me some about that too. But there is a whole world full of possibilities. What do you want to be able to do? If we can't teach you ourselves, we can probably find someone to teach you."
Alyssa gets a look. "How am I better at using the vulgar names of the Spheres?" Says the guy who trained for two years with other Mages before he joined the Order. As though that is a mystery.
Alexander Brandt“Hey, I bought you donuts. You want food that involves cutlery too?” He laughs a little. “I think it’ll take a lot more of these before the table get involved, anyway.”
“I’d like to learn how, even if it takes a while. And how to stop anyone messing with my mind.” Even though it may well have saved his life, Sera’s forcing him to stop what he was planning on doing when he was Awakening still stuck with Alex. And it’s not something he’s overly keen on having repeated.
“Oh, spirits, definitely. Vodka, rum... “ He raises the empty glass in toast. “But, seriously, yeah. At the very least I’d like to meet some more. Finding The Message again sometime would be nice. And I bumped into that friend of Conor’s, too. How to get hurt less, maybe?”
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