orientation ♔ playing the role with nerves left exposed

[dragonsclaw]

♬ Reasons Why - Nickel Creek

WHO || Jack Chessing, Buffy Summers, open if people want to bang into them, just threadjack wherever.
WHAT || Jack meets with his squire
WHERE || Knight's HQ, Dragon's Claw office
WHEN || Friday afternoon
HOW || Actionspam

[Jack can't help but find it terribly impolite to go knocking on Buffy's bedroom door, no matter what the hour, so instead she received a very brief text transmission on her phone that asked her to come drop by his office at some point during the afternoon, if it was convenient. It isn't as if he doesn't have enough paperwork to keep him in there awhile.

Of course, this all involves... finding his office.]

Optional Rolls:

† If she goes searching on her own: Roll a d20. A roll of a 13 or above can locate the office. Particularly high rolls mean she finds it quickly and vice versa.
† If she chooses to ask somebody, roll a d20 for a Gather Information check and put the number you got in the header of your reply, with however she approached the person she's stopping to ask.
† If she texts him back, you can just do a text reply in here, because I am too lazy to make a drakenet entry for it too. Yep. /best GM
† If she's doing something else, that's fine too. Just tag it and if a roll is required, you'll find out. .__.

Comments

[chessing]

Not at all. [He seems thoughtful for a moment] It seems likely the mother of his child was a human, and with human lifespans being what they are... [A bit of a shrug, obviously not wanting to follow that orally to conclusion] He prefers not to discuss matters of an extremely personal nature, particularly with those in his employ. He expects the same of Thomas and I.

[slay]

He lives in a castle full of people and can't talk about his personal life to any of them? [ Sounds lonely. To have all these knights, but no friends. ]

[dragonsclaw]

He doesn't look at things in the same way as you or I might, and I think the Knights, in essence, are what he considers his life. They're certainly what he considers his legacy, so to speak.

[slay]

[ She doesn't buy that. Sure, maybe it's how he justifies it, and maybe it makes it a little easier to think of it that way, but nothing makes up for having a million knights and no personal friends who you can talk to -- rely on. No one who knows you, just people you know. And to lose the mother of his kid ... ]

Yeah. I mean, I guess so. [ She's dropping it, though. It's not her business, and she's not going to fight Jack on it. ] So! [ Peppy and cheerful Buffy makes a reappearance. ] Which way to the stables?

[chessing]

A bit of a walk but we're getting there. [He nods ahead down the pathway]

There's also a garage and poolhouse outside the castle.

[slays]

A poolhouse? Like the kind that comes with a pool inside of it? A preferably heated pool because seriously, who knew England could get this cold?

[dragonsclaw]

The very same kind of pool. [He smiles a bit] This winter's been uncommonly cold throughout the continent. Which has proven ... difficult for a number of our missions.

[slay]

Difficult how?

[chessing]

For one, the cold has been killing a large number of the refugees we've been attempting to save in the country of Slovechnia. They're turned out of their homes with nothing to their name and if we don't reach them in time...

[slays]

[ That earns a grim look. Suddenly, Buffy's curiosity about the heated pool seems a lot less critical. She goes silent for a moment, taking this in, then looks up at him, brow furrowing. ] ... Is that even a real country?

[chessing]

[Oh American public school system. Y so much failure ): Is what Jack's face says.]

... Yes. In Eastern Europe.

[slay]

Hey, don't give me that look. I'm amnesia-girl, remember? I demand pity for my memory-deprived state. And I am so not studying geography for what would probably be all over again.

[dragonsclaw]

Either way, it's very real, and in very sorry straits.

[slay]

Just 'cause of the winter, or something else? I mean, if there's been that big a problem saving the refugees, why not just set a silver, dragon-y base up out there?

[dragonsclaw]

On account of the riots, which have made it very difficult for us to secure any location for too long. If the citizens find somewhere they can't break into, it only encourages them to turn on each other. Our 'base' as it were has had to change locations many times, and can only house so many. But the real problem comes from those who try to escape on their own before we can find them. The winter claims them well before they reach the borders of the country.

[slay]

What's going on to make all the riots and running happen, anyway? I mean, what's so bad about this Slobechnia place that they're so eager to get out, even if it means dying?

[chessing]

The country's always faced a rather precarious economic climate, and relied heavily on black market slave trafficking of Shadowkind. We attempted several times to diplomatically resolve the situation, but our efforts were cut short when the country's banking system and stock market was ravaged by an act of cyberterrorism. It's plunged the country into desperation, and many can't afford to keep their slaves anymore. Some choose... brutal methods to dispose of them, while others turn them out into the streets to starve.

[slays]

[ ... Oh. Wow, that is some depressing shit. Like way to make her feel guilty for being alive with her first world problems and her desire to pet some fucking horses. She should just go kill herself. But, seriously, super blank face. ]

... Has anyone ever told you that this world kind of sucks? I mean, I may not know anything about where I'm from or ... or what my life was like there, but that's ... bleak.

[dragonsclaw]

It's hardly a common scenario, I assure you. It's one of the more... bleak conditions we've dealt with in some time.

[slays]

So, there are knights over there now? Helping?

[chessing]

[He nods as they approach the stables] We have a number of knights stationed there, but we recently recalled our diplomats - such as Sir Francesca - from the field. Particularly given that so many of them were Shadowkind, it seemed we might just be adding fuel to the fire.

Wynn will likely send another group out shortly to attempt a massive relocation.

[slays]

[ Buffy steps more delicately as they get onto the mud and wood chips of the stable's floor, a distinct change from the paved path. ]

Guess once people get so crazy, diplomats aren't any good. Nobody can get through to them. [ She hurries to one of the stalls, reaching over the door to hold out a hand, waiting for the horse to come to her and sniff at it. Her face lights up a little, despite the daunting subject at hand. ] Must have been scary for the Shadowkind diplomats there.

handle animal check!

[dragonsclaw]

They're all well experienced in dealing with crisis scenarios, and could handle themselves if it came to that. However, it seemed unnecessary to leave them in harm's way. Most of our agents currently stationed there are members of the Dragon's Hide, many of them coming from some of our other European cells.

[A horse comes to investigate in the stall he's standing next to, and when its nose nudges his shoulder, he glances over and smiles a bit at it, reaching up to scratch the top of its nose] It looks as if the government will be reverting to a monarchy, so ideally we can establish a positive rapport with the incoming monarch before he addresses his people.

20

[slays]

[ The horse trots closer to Buffy after sniffing her hand with a few great big whiffs, leaning its head over the stall gate so it can sniff her hair. She smiles, though her nose scrunches because eww to some degree, and reaches up to pet the top of its nose, looking over it at Jack. ]

Any idea who said monarch is gonna be yet?

[dragonsclaw]

Most likely a young man named Valentin Milosovici, heir to the former royal family that was deposed several decades ago. He's won a large amount of support in these past weeks.