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Daniel Hawthorne:
The night was relatively young, and on this particular evening Daniel had posted up in one of the booths near the back of the diner, laptop out in front of him and a set of earbuds keeping the sounds coming from it to his ears only. The Haunt was casually dressed for him in jeans and a dark grey t-shirt along with his ever-present sunglasses, but those with the eye for such things could see that they were altered to fit him to a tee rather than some off-the-rack fair. A cup of coffee rested nearby, freshly refilled judging by the wisps of steam rising up from it.
Izumi Masaki:
-The door opens up and in pops a woman wearing a jean jacked and leather pants, holding a motor cycle helmet which she just sort of leaves fairly nearby. The back of the jacket prominently shows off Dragon Ball Z. She makes her way over to the counter and orders (probably too much) food. Then leans against the counter and looks over the waffle house to see who all was present while also fixing her hair from being inside a helmet-
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel glanced up from the screen as the door opened, giving Izumi a curious look as he spotted both the motorcycle helmet and the DBZ emblem on her jacket. When she scanned the room he gave her a nod, pulling one of his earbuds out and putting it in the case to be polite. "Evening."
Izumi Masaki:
"Heyo, what's up?" -She asks while taking a stack of pancakes and some coffee over towards Daniel's table and quite literally just making herself at home. As if simply acknowledging her meant "hey come sit with me" I mean it probably did right? Who knows, who cares! The woman then proceeds to put butter in-between each individual pancake and then a slice on top before she pours syrup on the stack-
"I'm Umi, nice to meet you!"
Daniel Hawthorne:
He smirked a touch when she plopped right down in his booth, sliding the laptop back so she had room for her plate before taking a moment to finish whatever he was working on. "Not much, fiddling around online a bit. Daniel, nice to meet you as well."
Izumi Masaki:
"Your face isn't one that I recognize, which aisle do you hail from?" -Curiosity in her tone as she starts to cut into her pancakes and eat from it-
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Kindred myself. " He closed the laptop and put it back in the black messenger bag sitting nearby, also well-made and likely pricy to match. "You?"
Izumi Masaki:
"Mage, here. Been a bit of a ride but not too terribly unpleasant for me. Hoping for a little more excitement in the up coming weeks. Not always a a good thing to hope for, I just want to get to do something fun."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"I've heard rumblings, admittedly, what with the robocops running around and all that." Daniel nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "Not too involved with that myself, though."
Izumi Masaki:
"Just no interest in it or not really you're area of expertise? Isn't there some stuff going on your end? I swear I heard some rumor about something going on with you guys. I know that's vague as hell but I don't remember what the thing was so I can't give you a full mission report."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"More the latter, honestly. I know enough about computers to be dangerous and that's about it." He offered with a smirk. "Not opposed to lending a hand if I can, though; one of yours did me a grand favor some time back and I'm willing to pay it forward to the community at large since she's not in the city anymore."
"There...is something on our end as well, yes, although I haven't been too enmeshed there either. Been handling more personal business as of late."
Izumi Masaki:
"Well I don't believe that I have the authority to recruit people so I can't exactly extend an invitation since it's not exclusively "my thing" or something i've been specifically tasked to do and given the ability to build my own team. Though I'd obviously need more than just someone's word on them being good at something. Actions tend to call focus more than words most of the time."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Understandable. I'm more on the socially adept side of things skill-wise, although I can handle myself in a fight if pressed, along with getting myself and others in and out of places without too much issue."
Izumi Masaki:
"My getting in and out of places depends on how the whole thing is supposed to go. If you don't care about how much noise we're making? Well I can absolutely make certain that they'll know what side we're coming from to make it easier on an infiltration team. At the same time I do have abilities that allow for subtle intrusion."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Try to lean more on the subtle side myself. Easier to stay unnoticed that way." He took a sip of his coffee, smirking a touch. "To each their own, though."
Izumi Masaki:
"Well I tend to go by Kaminari in my circle so . . . as a bolt of lightning I'm not exactly known for subtlety." -she laughs at that- "But that again doesn't mean that I don't know when and where the correct place for it is. It's merely easier for me to fight without restraints."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Fair enough." He replied with a chuckle. "Take it you're in the more martial arm of your people, then?"
Izumi Masaki:
"Very much so. There are times when I would prefer to be alone so I don't have to worry about protecting other people and defeating someone who threatens those I care for. But such talk can really ruin a good meal, so tell me more about yourself.'
Daniel Hawthorne:
"No harm no foul." Speaking of a good meal Daniel's order of over-easy eggs and corned beef hash was dropped off by a server, with the Haunt giving her a nod and polite smile as she headed off. "I'm a clothing designer by trade, currently running a studio off of Rittenhouse Square."
Izumi Masaki:
"Okay sorry if this is personal, but I seriously have to ask; isn't food pointless for you all? I was under the impression that if you ate it didn't provide any actual sustenance for you and that you all really only feed off of blood. I am not very well versed in how your bodies work. I mean I gather that garlic, holy water, and a cross are all bullshit that was planted into movies to make mortals think that's a way to discover if someone is a vampire. Because that's just a smart thing to do."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"It is, but I still like doing it now and again. The food here is excellent, and spending time here without actually ordering anything doesn't sit well with me."
Izumi Masaki:
"Does it adversely cause any issues? Medically I would think that your body wouldn't be able to properly process food given its state. I'm probably fixing too much on this. Sorry about that. So computers, what do you do with them?"
Daniel Hawthorne:
"It does have to make its way out eventually, one way or the other. I'll leave it at that." He smirked, taking a few bites of his meal before answering. "Design work, primarily, along with some gaming things. MTG Arena, stuff like that."
Izumi Masaki:
"Any specific games that you like to play the most other than MTGs? You like single player games or anything like that? Not sure how long you've been around, any specific genre of movies or tv shows you like?'
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Fighting games, primarily. Was in the tournament scene when I was younger but have been playing online for the most part as of late." He motioned around them briefly as an explanation. "I watch a little bit of everything, honestly, although I haven't really done a deep dive into the anime side of things."
Izumi Masaki:
"Well anime is sort of my thing, I do tons of different cosplays and I make a decent amount of money doing it. Going to cons and making the costumes and sometimes selling them. Occasionally I'll do custom orders but there are hurdles to jump through before they get something like that."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Had a feeling with the jacket." He nodded to it with a small smile. "Very cool. I've made costumes for friends in the past, although I haven't gone to a convention myself in a while."
Izumi Masaki:
"I'd think it'd be hard you know, since most of them are during the day time. You'd almost have to host your own convention to be able to fully experience it again. So basically all you have to do is rent a place out and get some famous faces to come and be the stars of the con to gather an audience. Which is a lot of fucking work but if you have the connections, do able."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Mmhmm. That and mingling with most folks in general can get a little...sporting at times." He nodded, smiling a touch. "Maybe, but I'm good with what I have available at the moment."
Izumi Masaki:
"Hey you do you, if it isn't your thing, it isn't your thing. Pretty easy there. I mean you gotta live your life for you, that's just kind of how it is, isn't it?"
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Agreed. I'm still able to indulge in my interests, just in a different way than I did when I was living."
Izumi Masaki:
"Well I'm sure that you've had some time to adapt to it, right? You aren't well I have no idea what a new vampire would be called or even if there's a name for that kind of thing."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Close to a decade at this point. The normal term is neonate, and covers those who have been dead for under fifty years."
Izumi Masaki:
"Culture is always such a fascinating thing. We really don't have names for anything like that except to denote one's magical strength. There are no special words for us but I guess that's because most of us can't really live for thousands of years."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Those of us who reach that age are few and far between, admittedly. One of the oldest I've personally known was about 350 years old and he was a relative rarity in Boston, although I know there are some here that are older."
Izumi Masaki:
"Huh. Well I guess you can get careless when you think you can't die, just like anyone. I'm not an expert on the supernatural but I don't think anyone becomes truly immortal."
Annikah von Steiger:
As Annikah steps through the portal, talking to the shorter blonde woman at her side, there's a not entirely subtle shift in her demeanor. She doesn't stand out immediately as a vampire to everyone looking, though she does to vampires. In her case, it's that she stops trying to pretend to be human, and moves like the preternatural predator that she is. Like every movement of her body is perfectly placed for executing the next ten steps of a fight she's not currently even engaged in, just in case it might be. Even while she's being silly. "And that's how you get to Maddy's," she says. "By walking through the magic door! Tada!"
Victoria Fuchs:
The platinum-blonde woman behind Annikah nigh skids to a stop after stepping through, looking behind her and out the windows and such, clear signs of it being her first time. Unlike Annikah, this one doesn't shed the sense of control- everything about her still seems both cultured-as-in-high-culture and cultured-as-in-developed-by-design. "I- this is the point where everybody makes the Dr Who jokes, I presume?"
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel looked towards the portal as the pair emerged, sitting up a little straighter on reflex as he spotted the Dragon Knight. "I went with a Portal reference myself, I think." He replied with a small smirk, the almost-British Boston Brahman accent coming through loud and clear.
Izumi Masaki:
"I ran into the door my first time back because it wasn't held open for me and I wasn't paying attention. I mean . . . AW MAN, you all should'a been there! I came in right, being the total epic woman I am, blasting through and into the waffle house with confetti and the popping of firecrackers while performing an epic pose and flexing my muscles!"
Annikah von Steiger:
"I think there are a few different possibilities for the kinds of references you can make. Fortunately, since we're arriving at a diner, it doesn't seem like people with ordinary living stomachs get motion sick or something," Annikah says, grinning at Victoria's reaction. She moves toward Daniel, who gets a casual wave from her, though for all of her kind of carefree attitude, she still moves in that decidedly deadly way. That bone deep battle preparedness might be a bit familiar to Izumi, who has almost certainly met Yoshitsune.
"Sup Daniel?" she says when she reaches the table. "New ghoul," she nods toward Victoria. "Was letting her know how to get here, and all that. Hello," she adds with a nod for Izumi. "I'm Annikah, and my friend is capable of introducing herself. You two mind some company?"
Victoria Fuchs:
Victoria nods and absorbs what Annikah tells her, looking up as they're promptly addressed by the diner customers. "Ah! That- actually, that would have been more pertinent, I think," Victoria admits to Daniel, and to the other lady, she blinks. "My, what unlikely fanfare to accompany your arrival! Is that on hold for anyone who busts in the door or... just very interestingly timed?"
Capable of introducing herself... Victoria taps her chin in thought a few times. "Does that mean I'm free not to?" She asks curiously. "I don't at all mind introducing myself, but the question begs an answer."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Not much, took the night off and decided to see who else might show up." He said with a smirk, making an 'after you' motion for the pair to join them at the table. "Ah," he added at the nod to Victoria's ghouldom, giving her a respectful look. "Up to you, I suppose. Daniel Hawthorne, with the local Academy."
Izumi Masaki:
"I have no idea what the proper etiquette for this situation is because I have a tenuous grasp on your culture at best so I'm just going to go on ahead and say my two main names. I publically go by Umi or Umi-saki when on unofficial business and Kaminari when I need to be all psyched up and ready to do my job. The fanfare is there for people who have put in the time to set it up. I forgot to mention I also still had some glitter on me but that wasn't part of the fanfare, that came from elsewhere."
Annikah von Steiger:
"Yep," Annikah tells Victoria, about as straight forward as can be. "If you feel like that's the best choice, then I'll back you up on it." She seats herself and lets Victoria make her own decisions. "Umi," she repeats. "Nice to meet you. Honestly, my take on things is? We're in a diner. Proper etiquette is just being a normal fucking person and not worrying about a bunch of titles and formality and such. Suits me just fine."
Victoria Fuchs:
"Ah! Sorry, I'm afraid I'm still getting caught up on all the clubs and clubhouses and such since I came back to the fold, so to speak, Mister Hawthorne. It's still a pleasure to meet you, though! I'm Victoria Fuchs, no relation. Victoria suits me just fine, if you please."
Hearing "your culture" struck Victoria quite oddly until she reminded herself that not just vampires came here, and she nodded, offing Izumi a gentle smile. "My culture demands nothing in particular besides common courtesy, so don't fret over etiquette. If you're not intending to be an ass, just say so, and I'll make sure not to treat you like one. Deal?"
She grins at Annikah as it's confirmed she can be mysterious as she likes. "Much obliged to hear it. I think I'm okay sharing for now. And- can we clarify whether that wonderfully versatile word between "normal" and "person" was being used as an adjective or a verb? It does rather change the meaning, depending."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"No worries. That can be a lot to catch up on." Daniel nodded to Victoria, an eyebrow quirked up curiously. "Take it you've been away from the society for a bit, then?"
Izumi Masaki:
"Fuck yeah! That's what I'm talking about! The list is so damn boring ya know?" -She literally holds her fist up for a bump with Annikah- "I mean seriously, how much time is wasted just listing off your various titles and what not? Now that's a weight off my shoulders that's for damn sure."
-Pause as she looks to Victoria-
"I mean there are times when I can be kind of a bitch but that's usually by accident. I can't really speak to Annikah's definition of "normal" but to me that's a setting on my washing machine ya know what I mean? Or a dishwasher, they've got basically the same settings."
Annikah von Steiger:
"I intended it as an adjective," Annikah has to answer, but she grins. "Since when I'm verbing that one it tends to be pretty abnormal. Be sure you actually want to know before you ask too many questions." She reaches over and gives Izumi a careful fist bump.
"My list of titles is truly ridiculous," she admits, "but in general I try to save them for when they actually matter, and at the moment they really don't, and most of them don't mean anything to more than half the people who come in here, so, why?"
Victoria Fuchs:
"It can be, especially since my previous associates were very much the biscotti and board rooms type. As you can see, I have very firmly moved up in the world~" Victoria stated simply to Daniel!
"Accidental bitchiness isn't an issue, that's just rough manners. It's deliberately intending to be a lousy person I can't tolerate."
"And I don't ask questions I don't want the answers to! I knew what I was asking when I asked it~"
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Very much so." He nodded with a smirk. "I was in those conference rooms myself since a young age, and shifting to the more academic side of things has been very refreshing."
Izumi Masaki:
"I'm my own boss I don't have to deal with that crap. My line of work has been fairly lucrative so, score there I suppose. So you two just out checking out the sightings and seeing who's out and about at the moment? We just kind of vibing right now. Was learning a thing or two from Daniel here about some stuff, you know just kind of learning a bit about each other."
Annikah von Steiger:
"Oh, I'm definitely a bitch absolutely on purpose sometimes," Annikah says with a shrug. "But that's a conscious choice I aim at people who deserve it, not just a general manner of being." She drums her fingers on the table for a second and then glances around for a server, who spots her looking and signals that she'll be right over.
Annikah then pauses to consider Victoria for a few seconds, and to consider her words in a way that's not often the case for her. She ends up only smiling with her pierced lips and nodding, instead of even offering words. Accepting that Victoria asked what she intended to ask.
"Oh," she says, moving on. "Victoria's ability to access this place is... freshly restored, I guess you could say? I wanted to be sure she knew where it was. I'm sure you get the same kinds of things going on with new people in your area, whatever that is. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a vampire."
Victoria Fuchs:
"Well, if they deserve it, then one is clearly not being a lousy person," states the Victorious Fox with all the assurance of someone who has been there and done that. She returns Annikah's gaze with a confident bit of swagger in her upturned eyebrows before turning back to the others. "Well. It's new, I wasn't... ha, I'm going to sound like a tea, but infused when I was still back home. So this is my first time anyplace quite like this. A parlor for one's like kind isn't the same as a melting pot with good service and blue plate specials."
Daniel Hawthorne:
He nodded in agreement with Umi at their previous conversation topics, sneaking in a sip of his coffee before responding. "This place has been well worth the visits whenever I've come by. Being able to mingle with and get to know members of the broader community has been enlightening."
Izumi Masaki:
"I kind of got that vibe when you said "ghoul" I recall hearing that once before in mention to Vampires so I didn't think it'd be too far a leap to think you probably were one. Though since you told me what you are it's only polite for me to share what I am I suppose, right? I'm a mage." -She says bluntly-
Annikah von Steiger:
"It's a silly term," Annikah admits with a roll of her eyes. "Like so much vampire nonsense, to be quite honest. Oh. Hey. Do you know any mages who are particularly good with computers or anything? My husband has a little bit of a situation he could use some help with, along those lines." When the server comes by she orders a plate of bacon cheese fries, super healthy. But she's also a vampire, so who cares?
Victoria Fuchs:
Not like Annikah will ever have to count another calorie in her life, right?
"Well, I may make a habit of coming more regularly then. I'm mostly used to spending time in our spaces, where time in public is like being a guppy in the shark tank, just with rules, so being someplace a few steps more neutral is... nice," Victoria says to Daniel.
"A mage? Like- a wizard, or a sorcerer? Uh... wow. Wow. I didn't know that was a real thing, too. What's... what ISN'T real, anyway? There's vampires, wizards, robocops..."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Definitely. I served as a retainer for about a decade in a considerably more...cutthroat city, so I know how that goes." He nodded to Victoria with a small smirk. "Been settling in well, I hope?"
Izumi Masaki:
-She holds out her hand, away from anyone, and suddenly bolts of electricity arc between her fingers and circle around her hand which is followed by a small electrical noise. Then it simply disappears- "This felt best because I think fire is bad for you all, right? You unironically ran into possibly one of the best people to run into for computer problems. While I may not be a hacker or something like that, I have Mastered Forces and have almost Mastered Matter. Both can work with machines."
Annikah von Steiger:
"Retainer, now there's a more delicate way of putting things. A little less... whatever ghoul is. Ghoulish?" Annikah shrugs. "I don't care for that one either, but that's a matter of perspective, really? It might describe the situation you were in. I don't want it to be Victoria's. I just want to be the unstoppable force that keeps the rest of our society off her back, for the most part."
She arches a brow a little bit at the sparkyfingers and asks, "can they work on robocop brains with actual people in them?"
Victoria Fuchs:
Victoria Makes A Face at the term retainer. It's not hard to guess why. Certain societies would favor that term, and she likely has... associations tied to it.
"Actually, I'll take ghoul, please and thank you. I'm a person empowered by some portion of Flesh and Blood- namely the latter- so it's not really inaccurate. And it doesn't imply a state of servility. I'm happy to help my friends and return kindness showed me.
I never want to serve someone again," she states simply.
The display of lightning is fascinating, but something about the follow up has her squinting. "What do you mean, mastered forces? And mastered matter? That's... that's everything. Or- every thing. You have perfect control over every thing there is??? Am I hearing you correctly?"
She does preen a touch as Annikah states she plans to be the- wait, unstoppable force? Shouldn't she be the immovable object?
... no, on second thought, this is best.
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel blinked at the sudden show of power from the mage, eyeing her curiously before giving Annikah and Victoria a nod. "My former regnant preferred the term, although I was empowered by the Blood as well so both applied. It was definitely more of a servitude situation, though, the First Estate being what it is."
"Nor should you have to." He added to Victoria, lifting his coffee cup in a small salute. "This city is kinder on that front than most others, so you hopefully won't have too many issues."
Izumi Masaki:
"Mastery is the highest level of knowledge obtainable by a mage without ascension. Forces is one of ten arcana and is the embodiment of electricity, gravity, radiation, sound, light, heat, fire, weather, and movement. Forces is rarely a subtle arcana but there are ways to manipulate it so it's less blatant. There are technically six levels of Mastery but as previously stated only five are obtainable while remaining . . . here. You have your most basic understanding at Initiate level, then comes apprentice, then disciple, then adept, then Mastery. Talking about the sixth one is pretty much pointless. Matter is as it sounds, the manipulation of matter."
-She looks to Annikah- "I honestly would need to be there to test it? I could absolutely create an EMP and shut them down if they really are half robot as they'd get overloaded."
Annikah von Steiger:
"Ghoul it shall be, because you definitely aren't my servant," Annikah says with a wrinkled nose, like the idea is repellant to her. She pulls out her phone when it chimes, then frowns at the message there. "Victoria, you can stay here or come with me, as you prefer. I need to go, though. Probably nothing, maybe something, but being a Dragon Knight means being on call just in case, and..." she shrugs and gets up, then pulls out a twenty and leaves it on the table, presumably to pay for the food she hasn't gotten.
She gives her head a little shake. "Oh, no, in this case I'm talking about just the brain. Not the rest of the robocop. But I do have to run. Sorry."
Victoria Fuchs:
"The First Estate can suck my nonexistent balls," Victoria states simply. "I'm glad you're somewhere that values you with someone besides account numbers and contents, Daniel."
"Yyyeah, no, I think I'm gonna go. No offense, Umi, but I'm still getting comfortable having superblood in my veins again- I'm not quite up for pondering the ramifications of hanging out with someone who's mastered twenty percent of existence. You seem really super nice but I'm gonna take off just in case Annikah needs me for something! Thank you both for keeping us company, meanwhile!"
Daniel Hawthorne:
"As am I. I'm quite sure that if I stayed with the Estate in Boston I would have seen the sun before now." He nodded, watching as the pair readied to leave. "It was good meeting you, Victoria. Look forward to speaking with you again."
Once they departed he looked towards Umi, eyeing her for a moment but not saying anything quite yet.
Izumi Masaki:
-Umi arcs a brow, that looks like she did take it offensively-
"Got it. Next time you ask a question, mostly ignore it. That's hardly twenty percent of existence."
-she then looks to Daniel-
"I apologize but my mood has soured a bit. I'm going to go . . . do something else and clear my mind."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"You did mention that it was two facets of ten, hence the twenty percent." He replied, giving her a nod. "Not a problem. Was good meeting you, and have a good rest of your night."
Izumi Masaki:
"Almost Mastered Matter" -she reiterates a second time- "There is a significant learning curve between knowledge and I would not claim to have mastered something I haven't. It would be dishonorable of me to do such a thing."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"You didn't, but for someone who isn't familiar with your taxonomy almost and did is likely close enough. There isn't as much of a jump when it comes to our abilities."
Izumi Masaki:
"I think this is a conversation for after I've worked out and am a bit calmer. So I think I'm going to hop on my bike and head to the gym or go hone my swordsmanship further. Enjoy your night."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"You as well."
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