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Post by Søren Kiirkegré on Jul 9, 2017 7:04:48 GMT -5
{ Enter from: The Tower - City Seat }
Søren stepped off the street and into the well-lit lobby of Tower 67 and brushed a few bits of snow that had collected on the front of her black coat off before removing herself from the doorway. The red-eyed Councilor had only taken the better part of five minutes to get to the meeting location from the Tower, and had crossed the majority of the distance between the two locations magically. That said, appearances required that she not show up in any public place suddenly by magical means - it would be bad for Council optics if the leaders of Vascxious Sigma were seen routinely teleporting in whatever fashion was their preference, and so Søren transported herself to the abandoned alley two blocks over and walked the remainder of the way.
The woman glanced around the lobby in order to get her bearings. Tower 67 was similar to many other towers: there were well-curated plants scattered along the walls, sitting in large pots, the floor was made of shining, light stone, and the information desk near the center was staffed at all times. The lifts sat towards the back of the lobby area, and there was a very large sign near them advertising the best view in the city - the 100th Balcony. It was late enough that very few people seemed to be coming or going - a small group of obviously intoxicated women made their way from the lifts towards the front door, whispering and laughing conspiratorially, but otherwise the large, well-lit lobby was quite sparse of life. At least that would mean that Søren would be easy to spot by the one she was meeting. Another great feature of a lot of Vascxious Sigma Tower lobbies was the refreshments - in the corner was a small seating area with five tables and a small bar that served both warm and cool beverages. The Councilor contemplated getting a drink, but thought better of it - there might be a more appropriate place to speak with this new Council-Elect that had a bit better faire, and more compelling atmosphere.
Søren stepped to the center of the lobby and crossed her arms to wait. Hopefully, she would be able to get done with this meeting quickly enough to get back to Callixta. It was strange, but after the events of the afternoon and evening, Søren felt as though she was already missing the other woman's company far more than normal . . .
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Post by Keretheriel on Jul 9, 2017 10:16:23 GMT -5
Keretheriel stepped from the lift with an easy grace noting the distinct lack of a crowd. Perfect: they would be relatively undisturbed as Councilor and Council-Hopeful found each other and gained their bearings. Slippered feet moved silently over that light stone as the Siren progressed into the Lobby. While there were a few women to be found in the curated space none attracted her attention quite like the dark-haired woman standing almost directly in the center of the Lobby with her arms crossed. Chalk it up to Kereth's intuition or maybe her ability to see a little deeper than conventional methods, but the Siren was confident that Søren Kiirkegré would definitely choose to be at the center of the room with resting bitch face that could give the jeer on Alpha's mask stiff competition.
The Siren did not slow her approach nor did she quicken her pace: she moved at exactly the right speed to allow violet silk to part attractively and not impede her movement.
"Councilor Kiirkegré?"
When the other woman focused on her she'd find a woman who matched her height almost exactly, with preternaturally pale skin, eyes matching the glaciers in the Ji'Vundus Mountains, and long raven's feather colored hair. Whatever allure Kereth might have had wasn't the result of any special effort: the Siren knew in cases like this it was best to allow things to happen as they would. Women like Søren were likely to instantly buck the moment they felt led. . .
If the dark-haired woman answered affirmatively her chin would dip forward, her eyes dropping respectfully.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet me at this late hour. I am Keretheriel Den S'laesenar," ice raised to meet fire, "and though normally a first meeting in a situation like this would call for all sorts of formalities and dancing discussions that lead to promises of future cooperation I feel more like night-time conspiring is more to my taste. . ." The Siren's very full lips curled into the beginnings of a smirk. "Perhaps there is somewhere we go, somewhere with the right mood." Kereth watched the other woman closely, but not expectantly.
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Post by Søren Kiirkegré on Jul 9, 2017 10:50:19 GMT -5
Søren caught sight of her late-night conversation partner just seconds before the other woman called her name. Keretheriel would feel the Councilor's red eyes tracing over her, taking stock of what she saw. While nothing particularly useful was displayed on Søren 's face as Keretheriel approached, the Councilor did smirk just slightly - Alpha certainly had a specific set of tastes, didn't he?
That the woman opposite her was magickal was easy for Søren to detect - something about the woman's appearance rippled in the Councilor's vision, just slightly, cluing her in to the fact that there was some manner of illusory process taking place. That said, whatever it was, Søren knew immediately she wouldn't be able to pierce it without a great deal of effort, so she left well enough alone for the time being, instead resolving just to be even more cautious than she usually was.
The Guardian straightened up and faced Keretheriel head-on as the woman approached, but didn't offer a hand in greeting. Eyes narrowing, Søren didn't go out of her way to present a friendly greeting for the woman across from her; yet, her customary smirk was amused, and not hostile - seemingly, Søren was reserving judgement. The Councilor drew out her words just a touch longer than normal, striking a more elegant, official tone for her introduction - a tone which would be dropped entirely by her second sentence.
"A pleasure to meet you, Keretheriel. Call me Søren, please."
Søren did find it nice that she could look the woman directly in the eye without straining her neck: one of the many perks of her recent body reconstruction was to get Søren to nearly Callixta's eye level, which made conversing with her comrade much easier. Keretheriel, as well would be an easy conversation partner in that regard - and perhaps in others, given the way she prefaced her introduction.
"I'm not the best with formalities anyway - you may have heard as much, I know I have a reputation. Now, I don't know about you, but I've had a hell of an evening, and I could definitely use some time to unwind a bit - I figured this might be a good opportunity to multitask. I'll show you my favorite recreational establishment in the area, and we can get to know each other a little better in the meantime. Sound like a plan?"
Søren would take a step forward, to Keretherel's side, turn slightly, and offer her arm. Assuming the woman took it, they would start by walking toward the door of the lobby, where the Councilor, having anticipated a change of scenery, had ordered official City transport for them. Once inside the vehicle, it would only take them a manner of minutes to reach their intended destination, but that didn't mean that Søren was quiet the whole time. Alone in the back of the vehicle, which was a limousine-style, Søren and Kereth would be sitting opposite each other, allowing the red-eyed Guardian to stare her compatriot down as they travelled.
"So, here's the most important question - was it Alpha wo approached you for this? Or was it the other way around?"
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Post by Keretheriel on Jul 9, 2017 20:37:46 GMT -5
Keretheriel's smirk bloomed the longer Søren spoke. Well now, the Councilor was a breath of fresh air in comparison to what she'd seen of the rest of the Tower. Now that she'd obtained a first impression to go on it was becoming more and more clear why she and Tahliya would probably never see eye to eye. While her Aide was carefully composed as to be completely contrived Søren already seemed to have all of the delicacy of an Akrathi in a fighting pit― that was to say: none. There wasn't much room for common ground between one who clung to the scalpel versus one who clung to the hammer.
"That sounds very agreeable, yes." The Siren's thick winter accent was almost a purr.
Keretheriel didn't miss a step as her hand came to rest lightly on the Councilor's proffered arm. She hadn't expected to be able to make an escape from her private Tower so soon, especially only just after Alpha himself had descended from his Onyx Tower to inspect for himself that she was settling properly in her chains. It was an exaggeration, of course, but not by a large margin. Now more or less familiar with these traveling rooms on wheels the Siren was less taken aback by the odd method of commuting and slipped into the vehicle, arranging the velveteen silks absently as she relaxed into her seat.
The Siren didn't appear to be caused any discomfort by Søren's intensity. Her gaze had travelled the interior of the carriage before settling on the Councilor opposite her and holding her blood-colored stare, her smirk having subsided into something of a default expression rather than a reaction. The Councilor's questioned provoked a measuring look as Keretheriel made a quick decision on how to answer.
"I came to Vascxious Sigma in search of something important to me. Clearly no one is able to enter this City without drawing Alpha's watchful eye and I was. . . Collected and brought before him. I was not permitted time to make my intentions clear before his Grace," her tone lightly mocking, "the Magistrate proposed an offer I dared not refuse: his backing for a nomination to be placed on his Council. I interpreted his offer to mean that if I did not accept I would be escorted from the City or else further detained. . ." Kereth finished with an unreadable expression. "I chose to accept in the hope that I would still be able to find what I am looking for. . ."
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Post by Søren Kiirkegré on Jul 9, 2017 21:53:26 GMT -5
Søren watched Keretheriel very carefully, and took note of the fact that she was unfamiliar with street vehicles as a whole, but also clearly knew enough about how they worked to sit her butt down in the seat and not make a fool of herself. The lack of familiarity in and of itself wasn't odd - Søren had often seen the way some Azalethian tourists marveled at the level of technology in the Northern city, so that Kereth wasn't old hat with them just meant she was from out of town - a fact that her accent confirmed. Rhesian - old Rhesian at that. The only other person Soren encountered regularly with even a hint of that accent was Aeorex, and his was mostly hidden by time and practice. Keretheriel, however, did nothing to hide her difference in tones: probably because she was aware of how sexy it sounded to Northerners.
The Siren's answer to Søren's question was interesting, and more-or-less what she suspected. Still, Keretheriel let out a bit of extra information - she was looking for someone.
"Alpha does that. Though, considering that he called you up for such an offer definitely means that he knew who you were - which means you've encountered him before. Which likely means you've made a deal before."
Nothing the Councilor said was spoken in the form of a question - Søren seemed to be stating what she thought were pretty clear facts.
"I assume you know what I'll ask next - but, we are here, so you get a slight reprieve from my questions while we go in. I wouldn't want you to miss the sights."
Søren glanced out the window of the vehicle as it slowed, and when it had stopped completely, would step out herself before turning and offering a hand to help Kereth. What they had arrived at seemed rather non-descript - a set of wooden great doors set into the side of a medium sized building for Vascxious Sigma, with the Tower looming close overhead. A small set of red lights shone near to the large doors, and a suited figure stood outside them, ready to open the doors for the Councilor and Councilor-elect.
"I know I don't know you very well just yet, but I think you'll really like this place. It's called 'A Judicial Affair,' and it’s a favorite of a couple of the members of the Council."
Søren would smirk as she led Keretheriel through the door, which the bouncer opened graciously while saying 'welcome back, Councilor.'
"The owner and staff are, how do you say, very discrete."
{ Location Change to Third District, A Judicial Affair - The Night Before }
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