Undercity August Court
| Undercity August Court | |
|---|---|
| Players
Jack, Kumanhi, Nichole, Marigold, Roman, Faith, Haliburton, Cumani, and Lilith as ST |
Undercity Elysium Undercity Court in the Oubliette. |
+----+ Lilith +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Several ghouls and the Fetcher - a woman shrouded on loosely draped fabric to conceal deformities - are busy, helping people find their way through the tunnels. With the fires and the minotaur and the Pure, care is needed to make sure paths don't cross on the way to the Oubliette. It also means that most are guided through different paths, to try and avoid drawing the attention of those things best avoided. Within the old cistern, the lights over head are dim and unsteady, the spider's web of old steel casting shadows on the floor. It's cold and damp, and the walls are slimy with algae. The least glamorous of the Princely holdings, by a long stretch. Tillo is unmoving, silent, perched in thought on his throne of twisted rebar, charred timbers, and moldering bones. The signature scythe is leaning against one side, while the other has what looks like a burn scarred, human hide cloak draped over the back of the throne. He doesn't bother to feign life, not even in the slightest of ways. Statue still and silent. Kumanhi pages: Has Tillo or Raul interacted with Kuma before now? +----+ Cumani +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Leave it to a Daeva to show up in an algae strewn hole in the ground covered head to toe in haute couture, and so Cumani shows up in Alexander McQueen, fulled decked out in the dim light, but following the Fetcher at a polite distance, carefully respectful about it and lifting the skirts of her gown an inch or two in her hands until she finds the Oubliette. Unlike the week before, she drops into a studied, exacting bow to Tillo when she reaches the appropriate destination though, remaining quiet unless or until spoken to, waiting on others to arrive. +----+ Jack +------------------------------------------------------------------+ Jack has actually dressed up today - he's wearing a form-fitting suit in a slim modern cut with a matching tie, wire-frame sunglasses, and shiny shoes. He's currently off with another group of Kindred near the back, chatting with them, though the topic of discussion doesn't appear to be terribly fascinating - something about ley-line shifts after the Great Fire or some other nonsense. +----+ Nichole +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Nichole follows the guide's lead in silent obedience, not questioning where she's being led. Arriving in the Oubliette, the petite woman dips down into a polite curtsey for Tillo before rising and moving off to one of the tables where she settles down, skirt spreading about her legs as she laces her fingers together to rest them on the surface of the table. +----+ Faith +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ Faith has come tonight, the Nosferatu knowing her way well enough through the undercity, dressed in her usual way. Nice jeans, nice shoes, her black shirt and black jacket with the hood up, bathing her face in shadow as always. She slips into the room that serves as Prince Tillo's court, a glance around briefly and her eyes settle on the other Nosferatu, her expression remaining passive and pensive, her gaze downcast slightly, as always. She's not alone tonight, entering with another at her side, and she leans close to Hal for a soft word and gestures towards one of the tables. +----+ Kumanhi +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Dressed in a red and gold Kaftan and simple leather sandals, Kumanhi follows the Fetcher on yet another byzantine journey towards the Oubliette, deposited into the throne room from above. Sans the blush of life, he joins his sister's side, bowing deeply and remaining bent, hands steepled at his chest. There he remains, still and frozen. +----+ Roman +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ Roman's schedule had recently gotten a /lot/ busier with construction on Satin and Savagery complete. Still, he found time to wander out of his new clubs with his trusty sledgehammer in one hand, still slung over his shoulder, and Marigold in the other. Upon being led to the Oubliette by one of the ghoul guides -- a thankless task considering how little Roman pays any attention to their existence -- he peels off to the side, leads Marigold to one of the tables, and then drops heavily into an available chair, his large frame causing it to creak as he *THUDS* his hammer down on the table itself and kicks his feet up beside it. +----+ Haliburton +------------------------------------------------------------+ Though he seldom dresses down, Haliburton knows not to come into a literal sewer wearing fine suits and ties. Instead he's come clad in practical lace-up leather boots that have nice good grippy soles, black BDU trousers neatly bloused just above the tops, though that is less apparent as he has somehow found gaiters to go over that and lace up almost to his knees. The rest of him is covered mostly in a charcoal grey trenchcoat belted neatly at the waist. A slouch-hat of a colour matching the coat keeps unwanted things from dripping on his head, and he generally looks like a civilised man who has prepared himself to be splashed with disgusting wet things. Hopefully that also means that he would not complain if such a thing happened. He comes immediately on the heels of Faith, whom it would appear he has been walking with or perhaps merely following. Hal's genial expression toward her seems genuine enough. +----+ Marigold +--------------------------------------------------------------+ Though some would call it a vice, curiosity is Marigold's chief virtue. So the entire trip down through that meander, she watches and listens, not so much trying to memorize anything but simply taking in this new-to-her space. She lingers at Roman's side, her bare feet quiet on the ground as she moves, that flowing deep green and gold maxi dress brushing the floor. There's a squeeze to Roman's hand as he leads her off to a table, letting the big man pick his chair before she makes to perch elegantly, not in one herself, but rather on his lap. One leg crosses over the other as she looks at those gathered, noting far more familiar faces than Marigold anticipated. +----+ Lilith +----------------------------------------------------------------+ One of the ghouls nods to the Fetcher, who subtly signals that most have gathered. Finally, Tillo moves, rising in a manner that is as inhuman as his motionless posture was. At his full height, the nosferatu crests close to seven feet tall. Gaunt and too long of limb, giving him a spidery air. As he rises, the feeling of insatiable hunger rolls off him - a monster that could drink the world and still want for more. An over long pause and he adjusts the lay of his older style suit - something more nineteen-twenties than anything modern. "The ghouls will tend those with thirst. None are contaminated with disease nor toxin." Another pause, a slow thinker, perhaps, or one that has lost some sense of the passage of time without a heartbeat to measure with. "Threads unravel all across the city. Above and below. The thing dubbed the Black ooze sparked a chain of events. Events that lead to fires burning for days in the Undercity. And soon after, the Minotaur arose and slipped free. The fires still above ground. The beast walking where it will. The Pure have been rumored to cross their paths with it." "What do you know of these things?" Beckoning anyone with information to come speak of it - then going motionless, not bothering to lower his hand. Statue still once more. +----+ Cumani +----------------------------------------------------------------+ After a brief, whispered exchange with Kumanhi, Cumani remains quiet for the most part as she remains off to the sidelines, black tulle and nude silk immaculate as her posture. Listening with rapt intent. She gives her taller Twin a thoughtful look, almost questioning, when Tillo beckons the question, one of her brows rising. +----+ Jack +------------------------------------------------------------------+ The conversation ends, of course, and at the mention of the Pure Jack gives the old Nosferatu his attention, though staying at the back and maintaining a disaffected air means he doesn't look much like he is. Still, this got interesting, and he'd like to know more. +----+ Nichole +---------------------------------------------------------------+ There is a slight squint as Tillo speaks, a thoughtful look on Nichole's face. But she doesn't offer up any words. Instead, her eyes shift to look around the room at those present, watching their own reactions to the question. +----+ Faith +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ After her gesture, Faith sets to leading Hal to one of the tables, and once the two of them are settled in she takes a moment to consider the other Kindred, familiar and otherwise. Her hands rest together upon the table, and she's got her attention on Tillo once the Prince sets to motion, listening quietly. When the question of the Pure come up, she shifts, lifting a hand a moment. But rather than speak, her gaze turns to peer across the way at Roman, lifting her head up to stare at him with a small amount of curiosity. She's waiting a moment. +----+ Kumanhi +---------------------------------------------------------------+ "Nothing he doesn't already know," Kumanhi relays to his twin, rising from his bow. He offers her a somber, wan smile, and departs her side. Instead of finding a seat amidst the crowd, he steps purposefully towards the line of ghouls, but instead of feasting on them, he fall in, rank and file, a subtle, nuanced declaration of sorts. Once in line with the rest of Tillo's property, he pulls out his phone, idly texting. +----+ Haliburton +------------------------------------------------------------+ As he sits, Hal remarks gently, though without a tone meant to announce or draw attention, "What a surprise it would be if someone here knew a thing of importance and then chose to announce it." His eyes cut toward Faith briefly, but take their turns watching the other Kindred present. +----+ Roman +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ Roman has nothing to offer -- or maybe he does -- but he's too busy pretending to be asleep to contribute any new information to the group. One hand rests on his chest, the other on Marigold's lap, and he's leaning back in a chair that's doing its damnedest to keep from collapsing into a pile of matchsticks. Head back, eyes closed, he's only one step away from actually snoring. +----+ Marigold +--------------------------------------------------------------+ The heavy dark weight of Marigold's eyes finds rest upon Tillo quickly enough as she watches the Haunt rise and begin to lead Court. Her gaze doesn't move from him, unblinking as she listens to that speech. There's no playing of life in the Crone herself, that dark head tipped to the side as she sinks further into the familiar solace of Roman's lap. Once the desire for information comes from the Undercity prince, those eyes lift and move from face to face -- pausing at Faith for a moment, lingering with an unspoken question in her gaze before moving on. When Kumanhi moves to join the line of ghouls, and stays in the line with them as one, Marigold's brows loft and her lips quirk into a smile before she laughs softly, amusement growing in her gaze before she returns her attention to the Prince. +----+ Lilith +----------------------------------------------------------------+ One of the ghouls that is quietly off to the side, startling when a buzzing sound comes from their pocket. Tillo's eyes slow-roll that direction without moving the rest of his body at all. The poor ghoul fumbles a phone out and checks the message before tapping a possible reply. That handled, Tillo's focus shifts to Faith - the same manner. The eyes move but the body doesn't. No words, just the weight of the devouring aura and the Nosferatu's expectation. +----+ Cumani +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Once Kumanhi's departed and Tillo's immediate queries are touched upon the silence as his weight of expectation and devouring aura stretch on, Cumani's offering Faith a little finger-wiggling wave, tulle sleeve shifting to billow about a slender arm, before her fingers lace before her hips together, so she can listen quietly to the procession of events at Court. She nods at her departing brother, and then at Marigold in greeting, Brennan nowhere in tow this time. Apparently the Undercity is not his cup of tea. "I was once a Seer," she offers in a tone little above a whisper from her position standing closer to the throne rather than seated at the table, clearly a thing of the past. Though her tone is wistful. "Proper use of such can be instrumental, but... I have long since lost the ability to call upon it." And for once her features betray genuine feeling: Pained. A feeling swallowed back like so much blood, in seconds. +----+ Faith +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ "Well then," Faith says with a sidelong glance at Hal, a brief smirk curving her lips, something self-deprecating seen in her expression. "Surprise." And then she's rising to her feet, gaze downcast both out of habit, and because of Tillo's attention on her. "I am Madam Faith Wilson, Nosferatu of the Invictus and Au Pair. I know ... only a little, your majesty." She offers quietly, pausing a moment, and then announcing: "The Pure are recruiting. I recently saw a ritual down here in the tunnels -- ritual burning, branding. They worship the flames. New recruits, I'm given to understand." +----+ Haliburton +------------------------------------------------------------+ Hal affects a gasp of surprise, slowly pressing a hand to his chest as if to still his cold heart to further stillness lest it still itself completely out of his ribs. Clearly the shock of Faith's incredible outburst has...no, not really. He's grinning before she's even finished speaking. +----+ Jack +------------------------------------------------------------------+ Jack raises an eyebrow at that, and he shifts the way he's standing slightly, but he isn't so impertinent to interrupt. He does drum black clawed fingers against a pillar, though. It's a very light tap-tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-tap. +----+ Roman +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ This news has apparently not snapped Roman out of his silent, faux-sleep. If anything, it seems to have put him /further/ into a bored stupor because the moment Faith talks about the Pure worshipping the flames, he snores. Loudly. It is of course an act, and one that should fool no one considering he's Kindred. One eye does finally slither open as he stares side-long at Faith before he lets his lid drop again while he smacks his lips and returns to his sleeping act. +----+ Lilith +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Tillo's Beast roils beneath the surface, more felt than seen when he moves again, readjusting in an absent way to stand rather stiffly. "Werewolves." Nothing nice in the way he says the word. Another of those odd pauses, the gaps in motion and sound that echo the utter lack of humanity left in the Prince. "Coins. Coins to those that bring me information. More coins for more information. Heavy purses for the hides of the Pure. Ways to stop the fires, ways to put an end to the thing under Central that threatens everything. Whatever tool you can bend to the task? You will be rewarded for the use of." Blood, money, kine, Lost or Wolf. +----+ Kumanhi +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Kumanhi spends the interlude between Tillo's speech scanning faces, briefly looking up from his phone to study a few Kindred in the crowd with his acute senses, until Tillo mentions 'Coins'. Fuck, that's right, the coins. The Daeva in red and gold silk steps forward, producing three coins from his kaftan pockets, "One from me, one from my sister, Cumani Bellecourt, one from my brother, Brendan Crow." From his stooped, subservient position, he looks up at the dread thing, the nosferatu, and murmurs, "For the war effort, my Prince... The Night Garden procudes.x" After that shameless plug, he turns and stalks proudly back to the line of ghouls, falling in line as Tillo's property. +----+ Haliburton +------------------------------------------------------------+ "For those hungry for coins and Pure-pelts, I suggest adding fire extinguishers to your kit. The heavy duty professional kind. That's not a joke. Nothing shuts down a firebug who thinks they're being a clever little shit quite like a face full of chilled carbon dioxide and foam." This from Hal, who seems happy to offer up a little advice for those who might go after fiery werewolves. +----+ Jack +------------------------------------------------------------------+ This time, Jack speaks, since they asked for information. "These fire-cultists. I can't claim to be an expert on their society," Jack says, "I do know one thing about them. You have one advantage, which is that in their arrogance, they'll underestimate you. To them, you're vermin. It's the other Werewolves they hate, and who they'll want to convert -- or kill. Distract them with the prey they crave, and then crush them under your boot-heel." +----+ Faith +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ A slight bow of her head, and Faith is settling back down again, hands clasping together, content for the moment as she listens to other thoughts and processes, glancing from speaker to speaker. She watches Cumani handing over coins thoughtfully a moment, before glancing sidelong back at Hal. "Hey, I suggested that to one of the Lost I met. Fire extinguishers." +----+ Roman +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ Roman grunts and shifts, finally dropping the sleeping act he pats Marigold on the thigh and murmurs something to her quietly as he reaches past her dangling legs to get to the phone in his pocket. He's largely ignoring the conversation blossoming around the room about the Pure and how to hunt them best, and instead begins texting. +----+ Lilith +----------------------------------------------------------------+ As with the phone... Tillo has a ghoul for that. A different one moves forward to hold out their hands for the coins from Kumanhi, head bowed to hide a heavily scarred face, features distorted by an old, nearly fatal injury. +----+ Haliburton +------------------------------------------------------------+ "Of course you did," remarks Hal to Faith with a half shrug and an amused tone. "You and I are both clever little shits." +----+ Marigold +--------------------------------------------------------------+ The greeting from Cumani is seen, and just as Marigold about to give a finger wiggle back in return, the other Daeva speaks about /once/ being a Seer. That brings a pause to the Crone as her dark eyes narrow, curiosity still there, but something else glints to life. She studies Cumani as her hand falls to rest on her knee, dark eyes kept there until Faith speaks up. Oh, this Court has gotten interesting, and now the Crone fixes the Haunt with the weight of her stare, listening quietly to what she says. It earns a look at Roman right before he can pat her thigh, the gesture earning him the warmth of her smile as she lifts off his lap slightly so he can reach his phone. She doesn't even bother trying to watch him text, her gaze returns back to the gathered Court as information is traded so freely about. +----+ Cumani +----------------------------------------------------------------+ There is a grim dignity about Cumani after the admission, not detracted from by the couture affectation of Victorian chic. Her almost ramrod straight posture perfect as she stands to the side of the Throne, distant from both it and the table where others sit, yet also not among the ghouls, fingers folded neatly before her hips. She gives a silent nod at Tillo's words, not speaking again unless spoken to. That light in Marigold's eyes? Probably left Cumani's a long time ago. When the Sight did. Instead it is replaced with grim dignity in ink and tulle. Dour does little service to a Daeva's features, but she wears it like the rest of the couture - as if it were made just for her. +----+ Lilith +----------------------------------------------------------------+ "I have long studied the rent reality under the Loop. The things that come out. I have learned to feast on their essence. But fighting them? Knowing what will prove effective and what will do nothing?" Tillo forces air into his lungs. "Wolves bleed easy. But we need the Accorded ones to help rein in the spill of spirits. The others..." Tillo gestures vaguely towards the cloak made from a Fire-Touched skin. "Have betrayed us all. The city burns and they dance in the flames. I will speak with the other Princes about calling down a Blood Hunt on the wolves outside the Accord." A dicey affair of negotiating with the Crown, the Blue Moon Protectorate, and the other two princes. "If you want a say in that conversation, I suggest you seek to rise among your peers as Priscus or Primogen." Eyes slant towards Cumani, studying the female half of the twins. Thinking. +----+ Faith +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ She smirks at Hal once more, giving a little shrug, before Faith is reaching into her pocket for her phone that just gave a little buzz. She's staring at it a second, and then texting something of her own before setting the device down upon the table once more, her attention returning directly to the Prince. She watches quietly now, considering the threads of conversation going around, with little reaction to the eyes that find her here and there. +----+ Haliburton +------------------------------------------------------------+ Hal leans toward Faith and asks quietly and with focused interest, "How in the hell can you get a signal down here? Does T-Mobile have a sewer-plan?" As if to underscore this, he pulls out his own phone, which happens to be the latest Samsung Galaxy, and scowls at it for having no bars. At all. "This beknighted thing forgets its purpose if I go into the wrong basement, much less anything deeper than a subway tunnel." +----+ Roman +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ For whatever reason, something Tillo says perks Roman's interest, and he finally slips his phone back in his pocket and rouses himself into a slightly more active posture. Of course, that 'active posture' is just him straightening up slightly, rather than slouching in the groaning and creaking chair. He doesn't even bother to drop his boots off the table. "Fuck it," he growls low before clearing his throat and raising his voice, "Order Primogen. Vote, fight me for it," his voice trails off in apathy as he drops his hand back onto Marigold lap, the other on his chest, and lets his eyes drift closed again, "I don't give a shit." +----+ Kumanhi +---------------------------------------------------------------+ "I trust my sister, in manner of protocol amongst Daeva, and... that one, there... the Gardener Marigold, in matters of her Will... but my Prince," Kumanhi glances towards Marigold and Roman's tables, while addressing Tillo, "Is there anything in the Accords stopping us from ... simply murdering all the Pure? As soon as possible?" He flashes a pseudo-meek grin, trying to approximate subservience, "To be clear, do we have your permission to hunt them, on your ground? To kill the dogs licking at the Wound?" +----+ Lilith +----------------------------------------------------------------+ "May the most worthy rise to the top and guide the others along their path." Not the best, or the cleverest, but whoever can bite and claw and slither into a position. Blessing offered, Tillo's lips twitch in a tiny display of humor. "They are not of the Accord, and are not afforded the protections the Forsaken have. That's why I was working them." Disposable, unpaid help that no one will care about should they go missing. +----+ Faith +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ "You're showing your age again," Faith says in a dry tone to Hal, staring at his phone a moment. "It's 2022, get on the wifi. Can't help you with the wrong basements though." She looks up when Roman makes his announcement for Order Primogen, head inclining to the side just slightly, before watching Tillo once more. +----+ Cumani +----------------------------------------------------------------+ With a quiet look between Kumanhi, Tillo, and Marigold, Cumani remains otherwise mostly unmoving, just sort of standing there and watching the events of Court unfold. She does smile at her brother's words, offer a twitch of a nod at Tillo's. For most present, there is little acknowledgement or exchange offered. Aside from that second look at Marigold. One can imagine her intent to speak with the other Daeva later, it's almost written across her features, features that are otherwise largely placid and reflecting little. +----+ Marigold +--------------------------------------------------------------+ Another soft laugh bubbles up from Marigold when she is named 'Gardener.' It isn't false, but it delights. That light remains in her dark eyes, that glittery fire all her own as her smile brightens as she looks back toward Kumanhi as he speaks of his trust in her regarding the Mother's will. It isn't to that twin her gaze remains as it is the other, the sister, that those dark eyes return to with that penetrating and curious stare. Her voice comes soft but reaching, "You and I will speak. Not here. Not tonight. I'll send word when I want you." Mari turns away from Cumani and back to Roman, sharing with him a look before she settles down in silence once more. +----+ Haliburton +------------------------------------------------------------+ "Don't be like that. Ugh. I have got to find another valet to take care of this kind of thing..." Haliburton's grousing comes with a sigh and a note of mild annoyance as he puts his phone away. Notably he doesn't try to turn on the wifi, or ask for a password. Most likely he doesn't know how and would rather stab himself in the eye than admit it. The whole thing is handled in a hushed tone though and he somehow seems to have taken in everything the resident Prince has shared. +----+ Lilith +----------------------------------------------------------------+ "Are there any questions outside of what has been discussed tonight? or within the scope of that which needs addressed?" Tillo asks, looking between the various faces - lingering on Roman's false act of sleepiness. +----+ Kumanhi +---------------------------------------------------------------+ "May I nominate Roman to be your Scourge, as well as whatever his Order decides, my Prince." Kumanhi pipes up, looking to Tillo, "Beyond that..." He looks to the Kindred gathered, "If there are any willing to share their Vitae so that I, /We/ might divine our Prince's best, most fortunate path, I am seeking names to give the... appropriate times and places to offer tribute." He bows again, towards the throne, before backing up towards the old, moldy stone wall enshrouding them, near the exit. A sign of his withdrawal from tonight's Court. +----+ Cumani +----------------------------------------------------------------+ There is not even a beat's time before Cumani is stepping off after Kumanhi, her first sign of withdrawal following his. Perhaps not coincidentally in the moments after being asked about Vitae to Divine with. One can only speculate. Her features are as unmoving as they have been most of the night without her companion of recent nights to prove diversion. She nods at Marigold though, as she turns off toward her brother and presumably the exit. +----+ Faith +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ "Sorry. Distracted by ... things." Faith asides in her low tone to Hal, shaking her head a moment. "I can connect your phone if you want?" She offers, keeping her glance sidelong on the prince at least, gesturing at Hal if he wants to produce the device once more, staring at Kumanhi as he makes his announcement, her lips setting into that comfortable neutral once more. +----+ Haliburton +------------------------------------------------------------+ "No. It's beneath your dignity." replies Hal to Faith in a matter-of-fact tone. He's not joking about that, it would seem. As for Tillo's question, he pipes up a bit then with a real question: "Your Grace, how much time do we have before you expect results in this endeavour?" +----+ Lilith +----------------------------------------------------------------+ "Progress within a month." Tillo decides after one his classic, too-still, inhuman pauses. | |