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Friday night, Mouse and I drove out to Edgewood to meet up with Jacinta in the expansive meadow out back. All things considered? I think it went kind of okay.
I'd decided ahead of time to let her set the tone for the meeting, and for me to say as little as possible without looking like I was saying as little as possible. It turned out to be a good strategy, I think. I kept trying to put the ball back into her court, seeing where she was hitting it to, and then playing off expectations. Reveal things she asked about: don't volunteer things she didn't ask about or that might be seemingly irrelevant.
Jacinta mentioned how, by Mouse keeping me secret by my request, and it coming out now, Mouse had lost face in her eyes. I countered by stating that my being her was an attempt to repair that damage and to clarify that we were coming to talk with Jacinta and Elliot, but I had serious reservations because the garou had killed an open mage ally in the past. Demonstrate that I was a mage, but I was also an ally and kin of the Walker--and concerned about how I might have harmed the Walker elder. That seemed to garner some points--and it was truthful, too.
Jacinta soon asked, if things hadn't blown up like they did, what it was I was seeking from speaking with her and Elliot. I laid out a number of points:
That last part? Balls. I will have no clue who knows and who does not know about me. When the knife comes, it'll be because of that.
I'd prepped a kinetic dissipation rote while I was talking with Jacinta, just in case she decided to get physical. I thought I might need to deploy it at one point, when she got into a near-pouncing position and leaned forward a little threateningly when I'd mentioned that there were two other places of power besides the caern on the bawn. Fortunately, she backed off. I'm certain I can keep a garou at bay temporarily, especially when they give me time to set up defensive magics, but long term? And versus--what--thirty or forty of them I'd guesstimate? No. Not a snowball's chance in Hell.
I think I successfully lessened some of the shit that was headed Mouse's direction. I had no idea Dana and Jacinta used to talk. That's.... interesting. Probably helped to really smooth things over, too. Thanks, Dana!
Overall, I think my initial assessment of Jacinta proved to be correct. She's very honor-duty bound to a life of service to the caern. She's very likely intractable on that point. And by demonstrating that I'm both trustworthy and an asset--like Dana was earlier--might open doors to those two untapped nodes. The question is, once I'm able to locate them, will Jacinta then fuck me over by banning me from them? Honestly? If she does? I can just use some Prime and Correspondence magick to harvest tass from the nodes--once I've physically located them and pinpointed where they're at with a rudimentary Correspondence effect--from the comfort of my apartment in the Walkers' safehouse.
So. Next step? Talk to Elliot when the moon is slimmer and he's less likely to flip his shit out at both me and Mouse. I think Elliot's going to be much easier than Jacinta. Probably.
I'd decided ahead of time to let her set the tone for the meeting, and for me to say as little as possible without looking like I was saying as little as possible. It turned out to be a good strategy, I think. I kept trying to put the ball back into her court, seeing where she was hitting it to, and then playing off expectations. Reveal things she asked about: don't volunteer things she didn't ask about or that might be seemingly irrelevant.
Jacinta mentioned how, by Mouse keeping me secret by my request, and it coming out now, Mouse had lost face in her eyes. I countered by stating that my being her was an attempt to repair that damage and to clarify that we were coming to talk with Jacinta and Elliot, but I had serious reservations because the garou had killed an open mage ally in the past. Demonstrate that I was a mage, but I was also an ally and kin of the Walker--and concerned about how I might have harmed the Walker elder. That seemed to garner some points--and it was truthful, too.
Jacinta soon asked, if things hadn't blown up like they did, what it was I was seeking from speaking with her and Elliot. I laid out a number of points:
| Me | Jacinta |
| There used to be a very loose accord between the mages that were in St. Clair and the garou in the area. It fell apart. I'd like to see it re-established. | She didn't outright agree to this, but she did mention that her tribe associates with some tribal "angalkuq" (shamans/mages--likely Dreamspeakers or possibly Verbena). She asked if I knew of Dana. |
| I told her that I not only knew of her, I'd been in a "pack" with her and had taught her a thing or two--and had helped her and an extended family of CoGgies out long ago. Oh, and a former sept Alpha, Andrea Moon-Laughs-Quiet, met with me and knew about me. | I'll see about contacting Dana to verify these claims. I don't like keeping secrets unless not keeping the secret harms Gaia or the garou. |
The Veil is a great lie/secret that all garou share in. There are hotheaded garou out there, like that Red Talon that was killing families in the city last year, who'd come after me if they knew about me. | We wouldn't need a Veil in the Americas if the "Kass'aqs" (foreigners, I assume) hadn't come here and wrecked it. (Aka, it's your fault we have to lie about the Veil and keep ourselves secret nowadays.) If you have an alliance with the sept Alpha, the Warder, and your elder, then you'll be safe from the garou of this sept. |
Fine. There's two places of power on the bawn--not including the caern. Give me access to them and I'll reserve 25% of the magical energy harvested and designate that exclusively for the defense of the caern/sept. | No. Tell me where these places are. |
| Can't. I only know they exist. I could find them if allowed in, and I'd be happy to have an escort, but if it's not allowed (by your own arbitrary ruling), then no sweat off my back. Nobody benefits from these untapped resources. | Maybe I'll make an exception later if I can come to trust you in the future. Also? There's dangerous Wyld things out there that'd eat you. And packs of garou have territory claims out there, too. |
| If I find a lost cub, I'll return it to the garou. If you find a lost mage, you return it to me. | Deal. With the exception of Native American mages. We'll train those ourselves. |
| . o O (Jacinta's brain would explode if she ever met O-v3rfl-O, a Navajo Virtual Adept with not a lick of Spirit magick on her.) We'll deal with that on a case by case situation, if the need ever arises. I'm reasonable. | Agreed. I don't like secrets, so I'll be telling my pack about you, because blah blah blah mystical bonds of the pack so they'd know blah blah blah. You've got until the new moon to tell the sept Alpha. If anyone asks me about you, I'll tell them you're a mage. |
That last part? Balls. I will have no clue who knows and who does not know about me. When the knife comes, it'll be because of that.
I'd prepped a kinetic dissipation rote while I was talking with Jacinta, just in case she decided to get physical. I thought I might need to deploy it at one point, when she got into a near-pouncing position and leaned forward a little threateningly when I'd mentioned that there were two other places of power besides the caern on the bawn. Fortunately, she backed off. I'm certain I can keep a garou at bay temporarily, especially when they give me time to set up defensive magics, but long term? And versus--what--thirty or forty of them I'd guesstimate? No. Not a snowball's chance in Hell.
I think I successfully lessened some of the shit that was headed Mouse's direction. I had no idea Dana and Jacinta used to talk. That's.... interesting. Probably helped to really smooth things over, too. Thanks, Dana!
Overall, I think my initial assessment of Jacinta proved to be correct. She's very honor-duty bound to a life of service to the caern. She's very likely intractable on that point. And by demonstrating that I'm both trustworthy and an asset--like Dana was earlier--might open doors to those two untapped nodes. The question is, once I'm able to locate them, will Jacinta then fuck me over by banning me from them? Honestly? If she does? I can just use some Prime and Correspondence magick to harvest tass from the nodes--once I've physically located them and pinpointed where they're at with a rudimentary Correspondence effect--from the comfort of my apartment in the Walkers' safehouse.
So. Next step? Talk to Elliot when the moon is slimmer and he's less likely to flip his shit out at both me and Mouse. I think Elliot's going to be much easier than Jacinta. Probably.
