[Semi-Open, Major Event] Handshakes, handshakes all around

[takeitinstride]

WHO: Liandrin Delacroix (+ the occasional Malice King) and Batch 001 for the Mandatory Interviews; others can drop in as they like
WHAT: The Kaiser of Netsach spends the day conducting mandatory interviews for Falner's latest batch of residents
WHERE: The Kaiser's Office
WHEN: Sunday, 13 June 2066 (or for some cases, depending on the time you show up, the whee hours of the morning of Monday, 14 June 2066)
SAFE FOR WORK? Yep.
OTHER NOTES:
+ Anyone who wasn't pinged for the mandatory interviews in Dove's post can drop in on the pretense that they're speaking to Lia in between interviews.
+ Please include the time that you drop by in the subject line of your comment.
+ Each interviewee will actually be observed by another NPC in the office. The NPC will be different per character, but they will always be another Malice King. Pammu will integrate their reactions into Lia's responses - unless, of course, the NPC in question is played by one of the other mods.
+ Anyone who actually comes in after midnight will still respond to this post, just to make sure that all of the interviews are in one place.


[ There is always a line outside of the office no matter what time it is; there are a lot of newcomers to Falner this month, and every new person who's been allowed to stay on the estate since January is required to speak to the Kaiser today.

Once you get inside, regardless of when you come in for your interview, you're going to find Liandrin in gradients of this position: at her desk, barreling through more paperwork for Netsach, the Pleiades or any of the other organizations that she belongs to. Sometimes she has something to nibble on. She also always has tea or - for the evening interviews - wine.

Aidan Clayce's desk and Riley Falner's desks are unoccupied. Beyond the observer that she has invited for your interview, this exchange is meant to be confidential. ]

Comments

9:00 PM

[deadline]

[Were one perceptive enough, one can tell from the sound of footfalls if a person is walking toward something she perceives to be dangerous, but against which danger she has steeled herself in her heart.

That's how Ela's walk up to your office sounds, and that is how her knock sounds, and that is how her voice sounds, when she says:]

It's Elanora Marasigan, Kaiser. May I come in?

[takeitinstride]

Of course.

[ And when you enter, she's reading your file while Lorenzo Reyes pours another cup of tea for her. The Acamoth swings his head sleepily in your direction, blinks, yawns, then lopes over to the couch where it looks like he's going to flop down and maybe fall asleep. ]

You need to speak to me about something.

[ She has heard from Elias, but she wants to hear the news and whatnot from you. ]

[deadline]

[Aosoth, Number 444 of the Thrones, has never felt this cornered her whole life. And she was hunted down by the Hounds, Hikaru Shinta, and Elias Tagabigay.

This place is safe, but it is Not Safe.

That would account for most of her trepidation.]

I- I know I probably should have said something about it earlier, but if... if you are okay with it, I would like to take classes in Balamb. Hopefully that doesn't cause too much trouble...

[She'll get out of your hair if it is trouble, promise.]

[takeitinstride]

It won't. In fact, I will make the arrangements now.

[ It does not look like she's making arrangements. It looks like she is sipping her tea, and then going for her cigarettes.

Trust in the Mastigos, though, okay? ]

Which program do you wish to participate in?

[deadline]

[Ey, she a mage. You say you doing something, you probably doing something. She gets that.

Brow furrowed a bit in thought, she considers your question several times before she speaks.]

I would like to be in Accelerated Special Cases, if that's okay. I mean...

[She makes a tiny little throat-clearing sound, as if the next statement is uncomfortable.]

I am a good student of violence, but I am no student of the Vigil. There is only so much I can learn from books and the various network resources my brother is kind enough to leave logged in for me.

[Except she actually means it? Probably a breach of clearance protocols, but she's pretty sure these ones are extremely shallow. For how earnest he was when they were kids, her brother keeps so many secrets now. It's almost sad. But everyone's entitled to their hidden things.

Besides, she wants to earn those clearance levels.]

[takeitinstride]

[ Listening at first as she goes through her cigarette, and then nodding at the end of it. ]

very well. I'll clear you for ASC, and inform the Headmistress. You'll receive your class list tomorrow.

[ Hmm. ]

Technically speaking, you have already been licensed with the Thrones. Do you plan on using your credentials from ASC to secure other licenses?

[deadline]

I... honestly hadn't thought of it that way. I just didn't want to be licensed to do something I do not fully understand, that's all.

[What she isn't saying is what is plainly blaring in her head, though: she wants to be worth the Hunting License. The hunted becoming the hunter. It's about making amends, to her.]

Um, of course, I will also take what you have said into consideration!

[Just in case you thought that was backtalk, okay.]

Roll Perception.

[takeitinstride]

[ It's a good thing she can read your mind, and that she doesn't have to call you out on anything. ]

Good.

[ And since she can read your mind... ]

Why the sudden interest?

Wits + Composure (9d, rote) = 4 successes

[deadline]

I... how to say. Well. I don't know how many Hunters had to die on my account. Several of them, I killed myself. "I didn't know any better" [She actually puts airquotes around that; she learned this from her sister-in-law] sounds like such a hollow excuse, though? I want to live, but I want to atone. My dying serves no one. Maybe I can serve a better purpose.

[She's aware that she just babbled, but she couldn't stop. Ever since she was brought back to the land of the living, she's felt like an outsider with a burden. Give her a chance to tell you of those burdens and she could talk your ear off, all day.]

[takeitinstride]

[ As you are talking, you'll feel another pair of eyes on you. The source appears to be Lorenzo. If you ever turn around to check, though, it looks like he's fallen asleep.

On Liandrin's end, though, she is listening to you quietly. By the time you finished, she has a look of approval on her face. ]

You are aware, I hope, of the possibility that you may lose your life in this Vigil, and that not everyone may be so ready to forgive you based on what has happened in the past.

[ Many operatives with special cases turn to the Vigil hoping for a fresh start. They don't always get it. ]

[deadline]

[Okay that's... definitely weird. She's had a lifetime so far of learning when to tell if something that could eat her is around. It was definitely that kind of feeling.

A tiny bit shaken, but probably not visibly so, she responds, after a bit of thought.]

I think... I think that those who would forgive me would forgive me, and those that won't, won't. But for those who aren't on either side, then at least I have put myself somewhere I can maybe be forgiven.

[She blinks, then looks down, looking somewhat ashamed.]

I am also doing this for myself.

[takeitinstride]

Good that you are, because if it was just for other people, I would tell you to reconsider.

[ It isn't selfish. That's simply how things should be. ]

Might I give you a bit of advice, though?

[deadline]

Always, Kaiser.

[And she does mean it. You understand her well, anyhow.]

[takeitinstride]

Forgiveness always starts with yourself, and being forgiven always starts with believing that you can be.

[ Measuring you with a look now. ]

I hope that you have taken a step in both of those directions already.

[deadline]

My brother... he could have died when he went to come get me. Seeing his happiness now makes it hard to forgive myself for putting him in a place where he could have lost all he has, now. I understand it's a choice he made, and will keep making, but then, those other choices aren't about me.

[Is she being self-centered? Maybe. Or maybe she's just being self-aware.]

I already think I am worth saving. If I did not, I might as well die, because there would have been no point to saving me. But to forgive myself... it will take time.

[And then she remembers who she's talking to.]

But, um. Yes, I think... I have taken some steps? I am not sure, but I think so...

[takeitinstride]

That's enough by my assessment.

[ Smiling a little. ]

I suppose our next order of business will be to help you find a mentor, then.

[deadline]

[Oh, right. Um.

She's just gonna blurt this right out before she loses the nerve she built up specifically for this question.]

I-if I have a say in the matter, I would really like for the Blade King to be my mentor.

[There. She said it. The worst that could happen is for you or him to say no, anyway.]

[takeitinstride]

[ Well, well, well.

A quick glance past you, Ela, has shown Lia that Lorenzo's wide awake on his side, and now visibly watching the exchange with interest. You've intrigued him enough to lure him out of hiding. ]

Perhaps you should ask him. He is rather fond of mentoring people, so you may not have a problem with getting him to agree.

[deadline]

[Not that she'll ever say anything about it (she is, after all, smart enough to know that Hikaru wouldn't harm her), but there is, nevertheless, a fleeting moment of fear in her at the prospect of talking to him. She hasn't spoken more than twenty sentences to him since being picked up from the Infernal Realms. How does one such as she even begin to talk to one such as he?

Well then. This was her choice, so she'll see it through.]

I think I will. [Softly, now.] Do you agree that he's the best choice?

[takeitinstride]

I do. There are many strong Mages of the Lead Coin within the Vigil, but by merit of his condition, he is the best Keeper to go to when it comes to exploring the deeper mysteries of Death and Matter. He is also an excellent teacher with a genuine interest in helping those younger than him grow and become not just better hunters, but better people.

[ And that is just her speaking professionally. ]