Unknown IC Date, 2018/09/17, New Albion Outskirts, The Streets, Doris, Lyna

Jelena09/17/2018
A raven lands on a tree overlooking the empty street near the town's north entrance. It paces back and forth on the branch for a moment before lifting off again and flying into a two-way alley. After a moment, a young women steps out. Her black hair quickly gets tied into a ponytail and she checks her simple jeans and black shirt over for any too obvious rips or stains. Finding nothing, she starts Walking down the street, looking for a conveniently placed map or a convenience store.

AtomicPom09/17/2018
Two figures approach from the South - although they make a pretty odd couple for this time of night. One is a man who looks around college age, dressed much like any other university student, pale and skinny. The other is a shoeless redhead in a Stevie Nicks shirt who could be any age. “Do you think I’m being too sentimental?” The young man asks. It’s a sincere question, muttered with almost embarrassment.

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"This is not the right shop for that sort of question. I was mooning about being homesick when you found me, remember?" The woman sounds amused. Her full skirt and bell-sleeved blouse are rather out of time and place but it is also the middle of the night. She, too, is pale and the streetlights seem to make her glow faintly. There is the odd sense that she seems familiar from somewhere, some film or television program perhaps. The aesthetic in her dress is Waterhouse by way of Fleetwood Mac.

AtomicPom09/17/2018
He nods, a little smile forming; but only a little one. “True enough. And you never did answer my question.” The young man is clearly trying to look anywhere but at her.

Jelena09/17/2018
The young woman's head lifts as the next breeze moves by her, as though she heard something. She looks around for a moment, undecided, but then keeps going in the direction the wind came from, brushing down her clothes and trying to look like she belongs.

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"My partner says my inability to answer questions is my worst quality." A companionable nod. North Albion is mostly residential, but there are some small pockets of shopping and other suburban amenities. Most of these oases of commerce are closed. A patrol car occasionally rolls by, but so far, Lyna appeares to be ignored. Doris and Sheridan are also ignored, but for totally different reasons.

Jelena09/17/2018
Lyna continues moving, again looking for convenience store. "Every little place has maps on the streets, just not this one," she grumbles.

AtomicPom09/17/2018
“A King needs his...” Sheridan doesn’t finish the sentence. Instead, he turns and shouts across the street at the young woman. How he heard her is a good question. “Use the app,” he yells. “This whole city is just one app.” He smiles apologetically at Doris.

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"You are both correct and incorrect at the same time." Doris smirks. She also turns her attention to the girl across the street, squinting slightly. "Are you lost?"

Jelena09/17/2018
Lyna's head snaps up and she turns it towards the walking couple on the other side of the street. She had noticed them but had been too concentrated on her search to look closer at them. "I don't have a phone," she yells back and then just checks the street and crosses over to them. Coming closer, she clearly doesn't look as put together as she might hope. Her hair, despite the pony tail, is a tangled mess and her shirt is threadbare. Her sneakers are also dirty and definitely not new. The same is true for the small back pack she carries. "Lost would mean I had a place to end up at."

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Or it could simply mean you are uncertain of where that place ought to be. You look as if you have come a long way from somewhere." The other woman sounds pleasant, if neutral. Compassionately distant.

AtomicPom09/17/2018
Her companion is smiling, looks relaxed. But also curious; why, in a city where everyone has a reason to be, would someone have no reason at all?

Jelena09/17/2018
"You can say that again," she mutters. "Well, I guess right now I'm looking for a job and a place to stay," she says louder. "That's usually the first thing I do in a new place."
Not that she needs a job, really, but it helps to blend in

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"I can do you a drink and a place to gather your thoughts if that helps." Still cheerfully neutral. "What sort of work are you looking for?"

Jelena09/17/2018
That sounds like a good start," she nods and then grins. "One that pays. Some thing outdoors would be good. Manual." She holds out her hand, sees the dirt under her nails, and reconsider, pulling it back. "Name's Lyna Grimm."

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Doris Ashview. Head of HR of Gordon Industries, so our meeting is lucky." There is no offense taken at the withdrawn handshake.

AtomicPom09/17/2018
“Always construction,” Sheridan chimes in. “Seems like they’re working dusk ‘til dawn to get the ground laid for the next high rise, monorail route, whatever. Ah, Gavin, by the way. Sheridan. Nowhere near as important as Miss Ashview.”

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Sheridan is studying at university here." Doris volunteers.

Jelena09/17/2018
"Construction is good," lyna nods, commuting their names to memory. "Especially if there's an in to HR already. Might help woth the background check." She makes it sound like a joke but her smile doesn't reach her eyes.

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Is there cause for concern?"

AtomicPom09/17/2018
Sheridan is still smiling, but his acute hearing is listening, too. Initially it was just for where stress sat in the voice, but... is there a heartbeat?

Jelena09/17/2018
"Oh, No, I was mostly joking," she says with a shrug. "Just haven't had a steady life in the last six months. Moved a lot. But there's a bank account and no police report, so." Her grin turns slightly feral. "Nothing they ever caught me for."

AtomicPom09/17/2018
“And you’re looking for a steady life in New Albion?” There’s almost a hoot of amusement at the thought. “This place is crazier than Duckberg.”

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"The first rule is always unwritten, and it is always 'Do not get caught.'" Doris grins slyly. "Shall we find a drink?"

Jelena09/17/2018
"Maybe not steady but one can always try," she shrugs. "Ah, I don't really drink alcohol," she says, blinking innocently. "Impacts the senses, makes one vulnerable to all those things that lurk in the night..."

AtomicPom09/17/2018
“Aren’t you lurking in the night?” Sheridan says. “Although word to the wise - avoid sewer grates.”

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"We have nonalcoholic options." Neutrally oblique.

Jelena09/17/2018
"Am I lurking?" She asks. "Ardnt I walking down an open street?" She smiles at Doris, showing teeth. "I think I'll rather save my money until I found a steady place to stay at and get a paycheck. Is there somewhere nice to stay at night close by? And a rental company that opens late, by any chance?"

AtomicPom09/17/2018
“And there I was, thinking we were all kindred spirits.” Sheridan shrugs, letting the women do the talking, instead pulling out his phone.

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Did I say anything about you paying for things, Miss Grimm?" Doris' tone suggests that perhaps she took the toothy smile as some sort of threat. "Additionally, how are you going to rent a place with no steady means of income?"

Jelena09/17/2018
"I have savings," she answers, her smile vanished. "And I do not take charity." She takes a step back. "Thank you for the offer; I believe I will find my way from here." The earth is always a good place to sleep if necessary.

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"If you will be staying long, I suggest you make time to see me professionally, Miss Grimm." More neutral.

AtomicPom09/17/2018
“Sanderson Hotel is two blocks that way,” Sheridan says without looking up from his phone. “I think it’s Sanderson. Or Saunders. Or Danderbum. Something like that? Nice enough that the maids might actually obey a do-not-disturb sign. If you prefer things a little less scrubbed, head over the river. No idea about motels that way.”

Jelena09/17/2018
"Thank you," she says a bit stifly. "I'll gladly make an appointment with your office." She looks at Gavin. "Thank you. I will check it out," she says, having no intention of checking into that specific hotel. "I'm sure we will meet each other again."

AtomicPom09/17/2018
Sheridan glances up, gives a quick smile. “Probably. Welcome to New Albion. Stay out of the sewers. Really.” Then back to his phone.

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Undoubtedly." Still that nagging sense that Doris is familiar from somewhere. "And yes, do stay out of the sewers. Do not allow us to detain you, Miss Grimm."

Jelena09/17/2018
"No need for me to take to the underground, I prefer air," she says with a smile. She looks at Doris for a moment longer, then shakes her head ad she can't put her finger on it, and moves in the direction of the hotel, for appearance sake. "Foods easier to find out of the city too and rats taste horrible," she says under her breath, wondering if it will confirm her suspicion of the couple. She couldn't hear a heartbeat but one never knows.

AtomicPom09/17/2018
“Never tried ‘em,” Sheridan says, still glued to his phone, clearly not paying that much attention. “There aren’t any down there, anyway. All killed by multi-eyed tentacle monsters.”

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Sheridan." Hissed. Doris does not sound pleased. "We do not discuss the tentacle monsters in public."

AtomicPom09/17/2018
Sheridan looks up from his phone, seemingly about to joke, but clearly thinking better of it.

Jelena09/17/2018
Lyna had turned around and was grinning at them. "Tentacles aren't scary anymore," She says, still in a low voice. "Montreal had those, too."

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"How long were you in Montreal?" There is a hint of sharpness in Doris' voice now.

Jelena09/17/2018
"About a year," she says, wary again. "Arrived last spring, left in January. There was a huge fight, almost died, decided to fuck off."

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Did you make the acquaintance of one Marcus Antoninus?" The question is slightly hesitant. Testing.

Jelena09/17/2018
She blinks. "Uuuhh... stuck up Ventrue in a suit?" she asks. "I think I gave him a dog once. But he arrived basically when I left."

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Who did you know?" Still hesitant. "All Ventrue are stuck up and wear suits, but thank you for clarifying your residential status for me."

Jelena09/17/2018
"Well, Prince Mowbarry, of course," she thinks back. "Sad to have lost her, she was... nice... Moreau seems to have the city well in hand, though. At least I haven\*t heard of it burning yet." She smirks. "Blackett is a fun guy, Mydol a riot... That good enough for your interrogation?"

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"Yet. Thaddeus is a good boy, but..." An eloquent shrug. "I shall let Mister Gordon know you are here. Which clan chieftain should I direct you towards?"

Jelena09/17/2018
"A good boy," she mouthes, grinning widely. "That's not something I have heard him called before. Who is Mister Gordon?" She flashes yellow eyes at her. "Gangrel, thanks."

AtomicPom09/17/2018
"The Prince," Sheridan says. Then a quick point at Doris. "And that's the seneschal. And keeper. Wasn't kidding when I said she's more important."

Jelena09/17/2018
She nodds. "Ah. Well, lucky I ran into you then." She shrugs. "Technically I'm still Primogen in Montreal? Maybe? Not sure I ever got replaced; they certainly didn't get to strip me off the title..."

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"One can be removed from office if one is absent for too long a time. I shall let Hackett know you are here. The metro park on the east side of town is the territory ceded to your people. There are, potentially, also werewolves. Please try not to antagonize them." There is the tiniest and most secretive of smiles. "And yes, a good boy in spite of his temper and general...Frenchness." A vague handwave.(edited)

Jelena09/17/2018
"You know Blackett?" she asks, intrigued. "Small world..." She orientates herself west-ward. "Thanks, I'll go there. Werewolves and I usually get along. If no Tremere are involved..." She frowns at the memory but it's easily dispatched by her opinion of Moreau. "Frenchness. Oh god, yes." She laughs.

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"He was quite kind and respectful of my prerogatives while I was a guest. But still dreadfully French. Giles was, I think, afraid I would lose my temper with the freshly-minted Prince at our first meeting..." Doris shrugs (and corrects her directions in her prior post because player is directionally challenged). "Hackett and Crickett are, along with a young woman named Caity Black, your clanmates."

Jelena09/17/2018
"You call him Giles?" Lyna asks, still delighted. "This is getting better and better..." She nods and commits those names to memory too. "Thank you. Can't wait to meet them."

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"You may change your mind once you are face to face with the Wolf of DC." Doris' grin is sharp.

AtomicPom09/17/2018
Sheridan says nothing, and merely rolls his eyes.

Jelena09/17/2018
"We will see," she says agreeably enough. "It's touch and go most of the time."

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
Doris merely gestures vaguely, indicating the dimensions of a vending machine. "Would you like that drink after all?"

Jelena09/17/2018
"Now that I know for sure I don't have to pretend to drink soda - yes please," she says, grinning. "And I can pay. I don't actually need a job, but it's a nice distraction."

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
"There is work and plenty of it here, and Himself pays more than well enough." An eloquent shrug and the barefoot woman turns to pad off towards her bar.

Jelena09/17/2018
"Sounds like dream come true," she says, following her.

AtomicPom09/17/2018
Sheridan pauses for a moment, shrugs and tags along quietly.

Doris Ashview (ST Euryale)09/17/2018
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