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I didn't get that charm finished in time for the new moon moot. Not that it'd have mattered anyway as I was going to just broadcast an illusionary cougar in my place, but I'd hoped to have finished it by now. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near being done yet. Damn.
The new moon moot? It actually went pretty well. Information was exchanged. I introduced myself. No one flipped their shit or tried to attack or grab the cat-illusion. And Alicia didn't demand that I reveal who I really was. (Surprising, actually.) All in all, it went well. Post-moot, some people departed for the caern, and I sent my illusionary placeholder as well. There I learned, from Salem talking with Val, that Zach had been making claims about looking forward to fighting me. (?!?!?) As more of the story came out, and as Val chipped in some additional information later, it sounds like he suspected I'd sic'ed Ghost on him after that phone call, possibly as a threat or.... But I hadn't. But the coincidence--damn you, coincidences--of Ghost turning up likely triggered a fear reflex.
Zach and I finally met up for breakfast at the Oriental Regency's back meeting room, which I'd rented for the occasion. I was right about the misinterpretation of Ghost being there earlier in the park, and we settled that fairly quickly. He is very scrappy, though. Very fixated on fighting. It's a bit disturbing, honestly. Mages should be able to talk things through. He also seems to almost seek out offense as an excuse to argue or fight. He's... interesting, but difficult to get along with--perhaps intentionally so. He does seem to have some interesting ideas, though. Anyway, I asked if I could use some truth-sensing magicks on him, and he agreed after some conditions, which I agreed to and didn't violate. He doesn't seem to harbor any ill-intentions. He's not out to hurt people, but he's not terribly concerned about pissing people off. We talked more, I told him the stakes were high right now in the area because of two BIG enemies in the vicinity, and that the last thing the area needed was someone stirring up enough trouble to derail efforts to fix these ongoing problems. He seemed to reluctantly agree. Time will tell if he can pull it off. Val had done some legwork on him earlier and the report came back that he was trouble in New York. Stole a Fury kinswoman--or was making noises of kidnapping her. In talking with Zach, it seemed more like he'd been framed--in his version. But again, he seemed to be telling the truth as he knew it. His word rang true when he aid he could keep a promise, and after he said he was okay with being out in the open as a mage with the local garou population, I told him I preferred the shadows but that the local garou would know of me as a secretive allied mage-cougar named Brings-the-Pack--but not as Nick. With a few exceptions. All in all, a productive meeting overall, and it sounds like he might be of some use if I decide to build a chantry--he's seen several from outside and in, whereas I've seen three. Time will tell with Zach. That and whether or not someone just gets pissed at him and kills him.
I sent word out about Zach being a mage (instead of a kami, which Salem'd initially thought he was) to those who know I'm a mage so they're not in the dark any more. I also told Zach that Ghost was invaluable and to not mess with her. He didn't care for that, but, frankly, I don't think he particularly cares for much of anything--or he does and hides it. Or did, lost it, and has been burned bad enough that he just pushes everyone away now. Maybe he'll open up later, and maybe the garou will just open him up in a more painful manner when he pushes the wrong buttons.
Later last night, in the city, at Slaughterhouse 5, I was having a drink and relishing in the energies pouring out of the speakers and through my body. (Very Cult of Ecstasy, Nick. Where'd that come from?) Long story made short, there ended up being three BSDs present and a handful of garou and a freshly painted spiral glyph that seemed to resonate with the energies I'd seen earlier back when the riots were happening. This might be reinforcements for the Queen's Tower? I figured it wasn't good to be there, so I bailed out the front door, get my car, drove half a block away, fired up some magick, and scryed the scene. The DJ was getting the crowd to start to turn on two of the garou, so I revved the Suburban's engine, converted the kinetic energy and heat into electrical energy, and linked a musical song to the speakers in the clubs. The DJ started playing Justin Beiber's "My Heart", which took him down majorly while he tried to figure out WTF went wrong with his equipment. Then, while he was playing with the switches, I swapped out Beiber for Nickelback's "Rockstar." That drew a ton of attention to the DJ and undercut his charisma, which seemed to be stirring people into a riotous mood at the time. And then the garou and Lilah, Gnawer kin married to Fenix, got out unscathed.
Unfortunately the strain on the car's engine caused it to throw a rod. I was able to limp it away from the scene and to a shop right before it gave up the ghost. Engine needs replacing. I just sold it to the shop owner the next day for parts and scrap--taking that as a sign I needed to move on. Been using Val's Harley Davidson for the time being, but I just got back from eyeballing and purchasing a new ride: A 2002 Audi S6 Avant Quattro in very good condition--except for the stale graham cracker crumbs and the faint smell of soured milk coming from the back seat and a couple dents on the front and rear bumpers from "full contact parking" incidents. Previous owner had kids, but a good detailing ought to work wonders, and I can use a bit of magick to get the dents out myself. I like this car. It's not as roomy in the back as the Suburban, and it's not going to have the same offroad credentials as that lifted 4WD vehicle, but the Audi has AWD, more horsepower (340), less weight, and it's a real sleeper.
Ran into Justin today while I was at Harbor Park laying some groundwork for those ley lines I'm looking to install. Planting tulip bulbs in little holes in a pattern around the fountain. Lots of redundancies in the pattern in case some die, and focused on the roots instead of the flowers-to-be above ground. Might need some maintenance from time to time, but it's subtle and functional. I learned that Thane and his pack have a warehouse hideout near Slaughterhouse, but they're moving out to become guardians. Justin and his Coyote pack are likely going to be moving in and keeping things in order. He mentioned how Thane can do all kinds of shadow magic to be stealth and maybe even attack/choke people. Interesting. And Justin's pack and I might work up a deal where I buy a foreclosed house, give them a budget, and they rehabilitated it to be flipped for a profit. Split the profits with them and repeat. I suggested this as it's essentially urban renewal, helps keep crime down, and gives the pack a purpose--which Justin says is nothing but "cause trouble." Plus I figure it's better to be seen as a friend as opposed to a target when it comes to a Coyote pack.
