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Walking to OZ (Gray Introduction; Attn Joey, Any other Elysium haunters)
#11
Rasmussen is observant and Gray gives no indication he is aware of this. Perhaps because he isn't but what is more likely is that She did much the same over the years he had been turned. Over the years that he hadn't. He was used to being watched for signs, signals, flaws and faults he couldn't catch. So when he steps to the Map and the broadness of the War-room's interior, it isn't with an appreciative glance around. It's with a glance across the cityscape and it's various inclusions and touches that Rasmussen and his cadre have thrown there.

His eyes dart, but not in scrutiny. Searching. Hunting for spot he thinks might be the loc-

"There." His finger taps in the Southern half of East Colfax, the bus routes few and the light rail distance. It is an intersection deep in the heart-pulse of what many might think a broken realm. Avoid at all costs. A 'Do Not Belong' zone where bullets are indeed, thrown and lives put on coat hangers, waiting to be used up. Gray is unabashed and quick to point out his mark.

"Old Complex building. Enough drink and bodies 'round to make it cozy. Any curious enough to wander down that street, don't got much to offer. Ain't friends here 'cept my crew. Most of 'em know a foreclosure 'n a street life is scarier than anything I got." A pause. That frown returns, remembering. "Least 'til recent. Lost a few to upstate relatives. Few more to the basement. Rest are living shakes and gnawing their nails off wondering. Second time in years..." A grimness. "Crew's wondering the same. Lost a couple in that swing-up." His head lifts to regard Rasmussen, frown something far more permanent now.

"Need me a few bodies to drag 'round the streets. Show 'em that scary can be tamed. Can be hurt. That I'm still their keeper."

He pulls his finger off the map, seemingly disregarding the rest of the landscape.

"So where's the fight?"
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#12
The sound of footsteps behind them echo in the glass sheathed corridor, light and high heeled, and then Samantha emerges.

Samantha is tall, elegant, her black hair smoothed back over her scalp and gathered in a top knot with an elegant clasp so as to fall down her back in undulating ebon waves. Her features striking, skin an ashen maroon, her lips full, her clothing tailored, business casual, dove gray with a voluminous wrap around her shoulders and neck.

"Prince Rasmussen." Her voice is warm, rich. A brief flicker as she examines the other Brujah, but not knowing his name, she does little more than afford him a nod.

Samantha drifts forward. It's been almost a month since she last saw this table with its scarred map, but she doesn't allow her eyes to linger. "I bring news of improvements to our infrastructure and mobility."
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#13
Samantha can see the holdovers of that older map in the dry erase marker's etchings on the smooth white surface of the table. She can probably identify the reason for the changes. New metrics. Her analytical mind is able to slice that map into more In it, in those metrics and updates, Samantha can see (or at least guess that she sees) the hand of the new Seneschal, Wenceslao.

The red to green ratios for boot and supply movement along lines becoming more reliable. Before and after. Safer. Markedly so since that Nosferatu antitribu's head found its way off the elder's body and into a state of slow decay upon that spike. A landmark all had to walk past to enter the new and more secure Elysium and approach the war room.

But her presence does not halt the conversation or the Prince's train of though. Even her greeting is ignored – at least for the moment – as he continues.

"Everywhere," he answers, sweeping over the map before he returns to that stretch of Colfax that is Gray's corner.

"The hold their bloody covens beneath Union Station," his finger stabbing at the place like he wishes doing so could dig out the very location he speaks of.

"But you are in an interesting location. A border. A no man's land normally reserved for Anarchs, Autarkis, thin-bloods and occasional stray Caitiff, and therefore more often a staging ground and field for harvest, a spawning ground for their dirty hordes of shovelheads and a place where they can slip from our ring of steel and blue," moving his finger from Colfax in a serpentine line just outside the borders of gentrification.

Projects in Sunnyside. Dirt cheap trailer parks and meth labs off Federal. Sun Valley. Montbello. Places saturated with publicly subsidized housing, projects, and squatters. And then there's the 16th Street Mall and the other corners that pepper the inner city the kine go for their fixes and drugs, some closer, others a further hike. Rescue missions here and there.

And of course there are the condominiums. A completely different part of the city. Projects of development and redevelopment and as the Prince's eyes graze over these finer places, the other side of the coin he is illustrating to Gray, those (aren't they a deeper and more inhuman?) blue eyes find Samantha.

"Lady Balbec," Rasmussen finally returns, as if the words directed to Gray can serve as enough of an introduction between the two before he gives a name to the other Brujah.

"Allow me to introduce Gray, a fellow Brujah who lost his sire in the siege," a hand out to quickly and casually indicate Gray as he posts his fists onto the sturdy table. "He comes to continue his fight in our ranks." Had Gray ever said that? Specifically? It doesn't seem to matter.

"You are tireless, Lady Balbec, and the fruits of your labors always impressive. Please go on."
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#14
This is when Gray's attention sharpens. Rasmussen flicks fingers across the map, the tall dark creature following with an avid eye as each target (Covens....Union Station....Everywhere) emerges and prickles at the quiet little recesses where ideas form in his mind. It isn't until Rasmussen mentions several other names or titles that his attention perks, or rather, clouds. That frown returns slight and internalized at the mention of 'Anarch'. A confusion both plain and distant. It is gone with a brief head shake, attention falling back to the map.

Samantha's entry does not receive any immediate recognition, as the young Brujah pours over the area of East Colfax, both as proximity to the train station and the surrounding neighbours in that area. He offers a vague huff, too unintelligible to be much of anything while Rasmussen finally pays the newly arrived her due.

He is leaning forward, hands spread and eyes regarding the slum quarter of his own corner when the Prince introduces the woman arrived. Claudia comes up, sparking another flicker of obvious unease to write itself on his features. He glances (eyes turning in his head, rather than his head turning full toward her) at Samantha, a frank once over to consider her state of dress and whatever judgments came quietly along with it.

He nods to her by way of greeting, recognizing the importance of the moment and Rasmussen's own interest, taking the time to hunt down a pen and a sheaf of paper or a napkin of some sort and begin scribbling a few small notes of his own.
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#15
Samantha studies Gray for a moment, inspecting the young Brujah as he in turn inspects the map. When he looks up and nods at her, she gives him a polite, half smile, a courtesy and no more.

"Prince Rasmussen." Returning her attention to the elder. "I can see that you are busy so I shall be brief. You asked when we first met that I look into several areas that are in need of development, one of them being safe transport in and out of the city. With Henrietta dead, that measure is already half completed, but I have my own contribution to make."

She steps up to the map. Scrutinizes it quickly, and then points to a high rise building downtown. "A helipad is being built here, and will host a helicopter that will be available for Kindred use. It's range at one go won't exceed a couple of hundred miles without refueling."

She points to a spot north and west of downtown. "There is a Brinks security branch here. I've suborned one of the managers, and had a private driver hired. We can now request an armored van - the kind used to courier cash from bank to bank - to perform private missions for us. Whether it's a pick-up, a cross city trip, or something longer to a neighboring town, it is ready to go."

Samantha steps back from the map. "Finally, within two weeks I'll have three armored cars delivered from Texas. These will be housed in parking garages triangulated across the city, and can be used in whatever way they are needed."

She spreads her hands. "I hope that helps ameliorate our transport needs."
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#16
Rasmussen takes in all that Samantha has to offer and when she is through reaches for the marker from the table, where it sits like a battle ship cutting across the white and black marked sea before finding its way into his hand, held out to her in the next second.

"Impressive as always, Lady Balbec. Please make the notes, but leave out the locations of the armored carrier and the where the cars will be left; pass them along to Wenceslao and Narcisa when you have the chance and all the information together," he says with a nod.

"Find one of the Nosferatu. The most social of the bunch seems to be a fellow named Jack - he makes his way to Elysium now and then, and I have yet to hear from their Primogen since the siege and his frenzy. The last I saw he'd succumbed to the Red Fear," instructions handed by the Prince directly to Samantha.

"Ask him about guarding their locations, and if not by his own hand, coordinate your efforts," he finishes.

His attention turns to Gray next. "There's a Ravnos who has chosen our Sect over her own yearnings for independence and proved herself of use. Her name is Kali and she has some reputation among the criminal elements of Colfax. Her and the Setites, which she can tell you more about," and just whether the she he is referring to is the aforementioned Kali or Samantha is a matter of interpretation, "have their own claims on parts of the neighborhood, but while respecting their territories, claim those currently under the flag of kine for your own. The more we can keep out of Sabbat hands and defend, the better. Just make sure your eyes aren't bigger than your stomach. Only what you can hold. No more. No less."

"Talk to the Ravnos about coordinating your efforts," he finishes, and then he gives Samantha a final glance.

"You're right. I am busy and I thank your for your briefness, but if the two of you wish to stay and further discuss the war effort, you are welcome to use the room," and with that Rasmussen is leaving the table, and if uninterrupted, will head down that glass encased hallway and to the upper levels of Richthofen Keep.

[ Wrapping Rasmussen out of this scene, though the two of you are welcome to continue if you want to make it a meet and greet. ]
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#17
Gray's attentions remain with the map and his own scribblings for the entirety of Samantha's diatribe and Rasmussen's resultant dictation. When the Prince eventually turns toward Gray, he has three napkins worth of scrawl and is bent at the waist, arms fetched against a portion of the map, in an effort to get a more ground eye view of East Colfax. His attention shifts upwards to regard Rasmussen, who delivers something like orders onto the table. Part orders, part offer. There is a quick flicker of something, an up down motion of eyes on the Elder before the young Brujah offers a tight nod and returns to his notes.

Rasmussen departs with stately abruptness leaving Gray to continue his scrawl for a moment more, before lifting off the table with a steady elevation. He seems to pull his attention, zooming outward with careful darting glances around the borders of Colfax, the information put somewhere in the back of his mind for later perusal. The notes are plucked up and tucked into a pocket and his jaw hinges off to one side, bristling his beard thickly in the release of tension. A moment or more of scrutiny and then he's turning to stare rather bluntly at the well dressed Samantha.

"What's a Ravnos?"
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#18
Samantha merely bows her head as Rasmussen speaks, taking note of his suggestions and through her body language making it clear that she understands. There's a time and place for chitchat and commonplace dialog, and this does not seem to be one of those times - and when Rasmussen leaves shortly thereafter, Samantha finds her suspicion confirmed.

Turning to Gray, she steps up to the war table and gazes down at its scarred length. "Union Station," she says. It's the first time she's heard it mentioned that it's the Sabbat stronghold. She stares down at its marker, and then begins to measure off the surrounding environs.

Gray asks his question, and Samantha looks up, eyes narrowed. It's the kind of question a neonate might ask, but Rasmussen had seemed to treat this young Brujah with respect. She decides to reserve judgment for now.

"Ravnos. They are... a clan, much in the same way that the Brujah, or the Ventrue like myself, are. Yet they stand apart from the Camarilla and Sabbat. Few in number, they are considered to be tricksters, given to illusion, lies, and misdirection. Consequently, they are not often trusted."

A slight smile. "Common knowledge, I would have thought. Have you been so busy at waging war with the Sabbat that you have not learned of the Independent Clans?"
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#19
"Only just found out what a Clan was and that there are a few of them."

His voice remains that steady and patient plod, the hard lined cheat of a ghetto dialect, chopping off the ends of his verbs and gnawing his way through a throaty conjugation or two, minimized but not broken. A lesson learned and practiced with effort. He meets the Ventrue woman's gaze evenly, the bluntness of his response laid out without defiance or irritation. His ignorance was recognizable, to both of them and it did not seem to phase him like it would someone more unstable.

"So Ravnos. Don't trust 'em. Like playing tricks. Knee deep in the 'Fax." He offers a huff, that doesn't manage disdainful, so much as it reacts in resignation. "Sounds like wasted time."

He pulls the wool jacket a little tighter about himself, a vague unease creeping into his stance that symptoms in tension. Hands curl, jaw wrings itself in a tight circle. His eyes inspect the interior of the war room. Cleanly around a street man. Unease is the right word.

"Your war ain't been my war up until now. Bunch of shovelheads came through my Corner and dug up a bunch of trouble. Hurting my drink and crew." A pause. Thinking, frowning. "Took someone important too. I want to balance that asap. The Throne here-" He nods, as if to indicate the Castle itself. Elysium. "-gives me the best chance to find them and that's what I'm gonna do."

His gaze narrows thinly. Not enough to warrant suspicion. More curiosity on those midnight features.

"So what's the deal with this Sabbat bunch? They got Crews too?" A correction. "Clans to?"
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#20
"Understood." Her voice smooth, unruffled by his gruff demeanor, his direct bluntness. She leans back, arms crossed over her chest, and looks down at the map once more.

"The Sabbat share many of our Clans. There are Sabbat Brujah. Sabbat Ventrue. The difference lies in ideology. We believe with blending in with the human world so as to best control it, to exist peacefully within it. Less chance of an Inquisition burning down our haven that way. They, however, believe otherwise. That they can burn down human society as they wish, being superior to all men. That, and they despise the elders of the Camarilla for being, well, in power, I suppose. They are like monstrous anarchists, intent on burning down the world so as to liberate themselves from it."

A half apologetic shrug. "Or so I hear. I'm sure there are more eloquent exponents of their beliefs. However."

An arm extended, handing ghosting over Denver. She pauses over Downtown. "Here, here... here and here. These high rises are mine. As such, they can serve as a place of safety for you should you need to retreat." A quick flicker of amusement as she looks over at him. "Not that I anticipate your doing much of that. Still, you can find asylum there and a free room, no questions asked." She withdraws her hand.

"I have money at my disposal. Financial influence. If you have need of such things as money can buy, let me know. That could range from cash to buy weapons, cash for bribes, cash for hiring muscle, cash to change zoning laws... if you're intent on making Colfax your castle, you may need to impose your vision on it. I'm happy to help."
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