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Cockroach Mansion -- Elder's Office

Salem's office is an extension of the same elegant display of wealth which characterizes the rest of the mansion. Most noticeable, from the doorway in the southern wall, is the large black-veined white marble fireplace taking up half of the northern part of the room, contrasting sharply with the ebony-paneled walls. A rug of forest green carpets the floor from wall to wall, while red velvet frames the wall of windows to the west.

The other decor is typical of the private office of a wealthy, old-world businessmen, from the ponderous mahogany desk along the eastern wall and the equally heavy chairs set before them, to the brass and glass chandelier dangling from the ceiling. A reproduction of Van Gogh's _Starry Night_ hangs above the fireplace, and the bookshelves behind the desk are, so far, nearly empty.

A door at the far end of the office leads into an adjoining bedroom and bathroom. This door is usually kept closed.

Contents:
Salem

Obvious exits:
Out

Natalie pushes the door open, pokes her head inside. "You busy?" she asks, without truly looking to see if the Elder is.

When the Galliard enters, Salem's sitting behind the massive, scarred mahogany desk, the laptop closed and set to one side. The fire's cracking merrily in the fireplace, something of a contrast to the Elder's rather somber-looking mood. "Not really," he says blandly. He nods toward one of the chairs in front of the desk. "Have a seat."

Natalie nods as she slips in, shutting the door carefully behind her so the only sound is a soft 'click' as it latches. "Thanks. I, um... bunch of stuff, really. To talk to you about." She slips into the offered chair, looking terribly out of place in her grubby casual clothes.

That's all right, because the Elder's not dressed terribly formally himself, though all she can see at the moment is the black long-sleeved t-shirt. Salem folds his hands together on the desk in front of him and regards her with a neutral expression. "All right..."

"Right." Nat runs a hand through her hair twice, perhaps collecting her thoughts. "All right. Bunch of stuff, like I said. I went ahead and ordered that greenhouse we were talking about. I figure it'll get here early next week, maybe Friday of this. Second, I'd like to show Megan or someone else who knows about Gifts that thing Jeremy showed me. 'Ve you seen it? The invisible jumping guy? Jer's convinced it's six-million-dollar man territory, but I dunno."

Salem smiles faintly at news of the greenhouse, but it fades as Natalie goes on. He considers a moment before nodding. "Yes. I've seen it. The jumping... some lupus have a Gift that does that. I suppose being able to withstand bullets isn't all that far-fetched, either, though I don't know..." He trails off, eyes suddenly narrowing. "I've seen vampires that tough, but even we're not usually that tough. And being able to attack while invisible..." He shakes his head. "I don't know. But, yes, go ahead."

Natalie nods her acceptance. "All right. Like I said, I'm not convinced this is Bionic Man territory, even if Jeremy is. What if it's a fetish - several fetishes - or something? Or..." She brushes away further hypothesizing with an impatient hand. "Anyway. Also, I've been thinking about Katrine. Are you still certain she should be out at the farm?"

Salem grunts. "It was Jeremy's idea. And it's done her some good, since I've heard she's talking to people now." He considers, eyes narrowing slightly. "How long has she been out there?"

"Jeremy said he took her out there... hmn, couple of weeks ago?" Nat thinks on that for a second, shrugs. "Anyway, if I'm going to be her, if I'm supposed to be her role model, it'd be easier for me if she were here. But I don't want to just go dragging her around without, well, without discussing it."

Salem's mismatched eyes get a bit of a gleam. The good one, anyway. He smiles a bit, and it seems that she just said something very Right. "Go ahead and bring her back home, then. Do you have a lesson plan in mind?"

Natalie has to shake her head, and doesn't look especially pleased that she is. "Not really. I know she needs Umbral training, but there's no way that's happening until March. She seemed - what little she talked to me - to know why. I'll want to sound her out, see what she still needs. Probably have her help me do some of the scut work with the greenhouse as well. Oh! That reminds me. I haven't asked about the official word on shifting here. Anything besides 'not where you can be seen, you idiot'?"

"That's pretty much the core of it," Salem says. "As for her lessons... concentrate on the basics. Tribe, auspice, how to fight, what we're about. That kind of thing. How good are you with a gun?"

Natalie snorts derisively; at herself, it turns out. "I've seen 'em on TV. Mom and Pop never allowed them in the house. I've been shot, just never done any shooting."

Salem hrmphs. "Something for both of you to work on, since it's a useful skill. Rina and Jeremy are the ones to see. Myself..." He shrugs faintly. "I have some practice, but I'm no crack shot. Especially not since this." He gestures toward the scarred mess of the left side of his face and the blind white eye.

The Galliard inclines her head sympathetically. "Couple other things, if I'm not being no... too nosy?"

Salem steeples his fingers, his eyes narrowing very subtly. "Go on."

Natalie plunges onward; if she's noticed his eyes narrowing she's not letting on. "The other night Joshua said something about cubs Riting before the next Moot, or two Moots, or something. What's that about?"

Salem grunts. "Megan's idea. Thing is, we have a lot of cubs currently who have been around a long time. Cat's the worst example, though frankly he needed it. Basically, those cubs who have been around since before the last moot need to be Rited before the next one. To be honest, I don't count Katrine in that category... but I would like to see her Rited as soon as it's feasible."

Natalie says, "I'll do what I can. That include the Rite itself, or just getting them to it? Reason I ask," she explains, "Is 'cause my own took, hmn, about four months. But anyway. The other thing's Rite-related too. You going to need any help with Josh and Cat? He said you told him 'end of the month', and that's coming up pretty quick here."

"They're as ready for it as they'll ever be," Salem replies. "Concentrate on Katrine. The time limit is just getting them to the Rite."

"That works for me." And if it didn't? "Lemme think if there's anything else. Greenhouse, Mega, Katrine... oh! Before I go pester Megan, what do you think about that guy in the video? You think he's human plus, like Jeremy does? Me, I don't see how he can be, but. I'm not exactly, as Jer'd be the first to point out, up on my technological advances."

Salem shakes his head. "Vampire, maybe. Or fomor." He frowns. "There's a Shadow Lord named Konstantin who I told, some time ago, to ooze into the Russian organization to see what he could find. Ended up tainted, the idiot, but he got cleansed. He might know something."

"Konstantin, right." A thought strikes her, her head tilts. "Tainted? By what? And are there lots of vampires in St. Claire that it'd be a worry?"

Jack Salem has the appearance of a man who's survived a tour of duty in hell. It shows mostly in his face, a hawkish visage that's extensively scarred along the left side, twisting keloid making a ruin of aristocratic features. If not for the scars, or for the way his left eye is a blind, dead white, he'd probably be fairly handsome -- in a vicious sort of way. The angles of his face are sharply defined, the nobility in them scoured nearly to the bone. Though his black hair is growing out from the severe buzzcut, his face is still clean-shaven. He looks younger than his thirty years, but his shadowed eyes -- the good one dark brown -- are much, much older.

At six-foot-three, he stands taller than most men, and an inherent athleticism indicates that he could probably hold his own in a fight. There's also an aura of pent-up violence about him, a tightly-controlled rage within the leanly muscled body that could be lethal if unleashed.

His clothing is both dark and simple, consisting of a black long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of loose black cotton pants. His feet are bare.

"Wyrmtaint," Salem replies sourly. "Which fits with our theory that some part of this mob is following the Wyrm, even if they don't call it that or even know what it is. And why I'm honestly thinking our Invisible Man is more likely a fomor than a vampire. We don't, fortunately, have many of the latter in town."

In the hall, you can hear Jer's voice call out. "Loooosie, Ah'm hoooome." In a horrible Ricky impersonation.

One of Nat's hands opens in a 'well, duh' gesture, but she doesn't say it aloud. Instead she clarifies, "I was thinking about more details than just Wyrmtaint. Like if he drank something, or saw something, or got attacked by something. Eh. I'm sure Jeremy'll be happy to give me his number. Do we have any idea how many of these Russians there are in town?"

Salem's head cocks as the sound of Jeremy's awful Ricky Ricardo impersonation drifts through the closed door, and he pulls a bit of a face. "Rina'd know better how many there are. A sizeable enough number to control things. More than we have on our side, anyway." He leans back, rubs a hand over his extremely short black hair. "And I didn't hear how Konstantin got tainted. Maybe you can ask him yourself."

Natalie frowns at Salem's expression. "I was planning on it," she says, sounding a bit wounded. "Speaking of, should I find another room? It's nice of her to lend me hers and all, but it'd be nicer for her not to have company in it."

Natalie says, "I noticed, since I've only ever met her the once. I'll see about one of the rooms down the hall, maybe." The Galliard drops her head to stretch her nack and back, then squints up at him. "Well, anything you particularly need from me? Seems whenever I'm around you're not, and vice versa. You got a preferred method of contacting you? Phone, mail, notes under the door?"

Salem says, "Phone's fine. Leave voicemail if I don't answer. I check my e-mail fairly regularly, too. As for what I need from you..." His gaze is calculating, considering, cool, but the Philodox's thin lips curve into an almost-smile. "You're doing quite well on your own so far, it seems. Obviously, I approve of personal initiative."

"Thanks. Jeremy kinda, um, pushed me. I wasn't sure if I was going to get slapped down or not, but he said..." Whatever Jeremy might have said is lost as Nat trails off, eyes gone thoughtful and confused. "Did I hear somebody come in earlier?"

Salem grunts. "Think it was Jeremy." The Elder swivels his chair slightly, leaning over to pull back the curtain of the big window behind the desk. Not that there's much to see from a lighted room at night. "Why don't you go see if he's found out anything more from his bugs?"

Natalie says, "Ja wohl," as she stands - no saluting, though. "Well, if you do think of something you want me to do, just yell. Or holler, or beller, or whatever. I'll see about talking to Katrine some time this week." She turns for the door, then pauses and turns back. "G'night."

Salem glances back and gives the Galliard another of those faint smiles. It doesn't touch his eyes. "Good night."

Natalie nods, then slips out into the hall.

Cockroach Mansion -- Downstairs

The heavy, dark opulence to this mansion known as Dominion is perfectly exemplified by the room vistors first enter, this front hall. Dark-stained wood serves as paneling on the walls, gleams with high gloss in the hardwood floor, and supports a semi-circular balcony in carved pillars. The heavy double doors, made of oak, open into the hall from the south, opposite the huge, hourglass-shaped staircase composed of red and black gneiss which soars up to the balcony; both are fenced in with a wooden railing of simple spiraled posts. Several doorways can be made out on the second floor, nearly blending in discreetly with the back wall. The wall to the left of the front doors is composed entirely of windows which run from the forty-foot-tall domed dark wood ceiling to the floor; if drawn, the heavy velvet drapes of deep red would completely mask them from view, but when parted, as they often are, one has a marvelous view of the grounds outside.

A doorway to the right of the front doors leads to a parlor, and towards the back are the kitchens, the large dining room, and Salem's office.

(+views set)

Contents:
Anthony
Jeremy

Obvious exits:
Tower Stairway Salem's Office Front Doors

Anthony shuffles into the parlor and tosses his windbreaker at the window, finding the nearest chair to slump into and letting out a loud yawn.

Jeremy glances over at Tony and offers a nod, then goes back to typing, staring at the screen. He looks bored, eyes rolled upwards.

"So, what's going on," Anthony says, apparently to the ceiling in the position he's in.

"Oh, just hanging out, tapping away at Bejewled." Jeremy says with a chuckle, glancing over the lid towards Anthony.

"Computer stuff, then," Tony concludes, rubbing his eyes a little.

"Just a puzzle game. I love it." Jeremy smiles absently with a shrug of his shoulder. "Its like... tetris, with a hint of Dr Mario."

The door to Salem's office opens, closes again. Then footsteps come down the hall toward the parlor. Surprise! It's a completely healthy Nat who appears in the doorway, blinking surprise at finding it occupied.

"Computer stuff, then," Tony repeats, smiling a little.

Jeremy tilts his head over as the doors open and chuckles. "Here she comes... Miss Amerrrricaaaah. Yo Nat, sup'?"

Natalie says, "Huh? Oh. Not much. Just was talking to Salem a bit. I think I'm gonna see about bringing Katrine back to the city. Tether her to my waist, or something, so she can't run away." The Galliard leans against the door frame, her arms folded loosely. "Hey, Anthony. How're you?"

Anthony twists in his armchair to look at the door, now apparently uncomfortably sprawled sideways. "I'm good," he says. "Didn't have anything better to do so I came here."

"Pff... she's happy for a change. Why take her away? From what I've been told, she's gotten active and is even involved in combat training." Jeremy says with a shrug. "Dakota told me that she's in good hands."

"Who's Dakota, and whose good hands is she in?" Nat retorts, casting a smirk at the Ragabash. "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in, huh?" She turns back to Jer without waiting for a reply. "The girl's a Walker, not some granola-eating Fianna. I'm not just going to yank her out of there, if that's what you're afraid of. I'll ask her first. But I'll be able to do a hell of a lot better training with her here, instead of me putting the miles on my truck and neglecting both here and my stuff here in town."

"Besides, it'd be nice to have at least one cub that remembers the last time they saw the city, y'know, actually knew their way around," Anthony adds. "Cat's been cooped up here in the mansion since I got here and Josh is ... well, Josh is Josh."

"She is a Child of Gaia and a friend of hers... " Jeremy trails off slightly with a faitn smile on his face. "And sides, she needs to be around other Garou, instead of sitting upstairs in her room, drawing pictures." He shrugs faintly, then sighs. "Just at least allow her to go back an forth tho'."

"You volunteering to play taxi?" Nat wonders, her eyes fixed on Jeremy. "I've already said I'll talk to her. If she really doesn't want to, then fine. She'll just have to rot out there in no-phone-land until I've got time to come teach her. I've got other things to do besides keep her hand held."

"She has a phone." Jeremy notes with a quirky grin, eyes lifting up some in amusement. "I did give her a digital leash in case shit hit the fan down there."

"You sure it's a good idea for her to have a phone down there?" Tony asks. "I don't think they're too hot on electronic stuff there."

"They got a working fridge and stove and working plumping. So, those without sin.. cast the first stone." Jeremy says with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention my plan to her," Nat tells Jeremy coolly, still watching him.

Jeremy shrugs his shoulders. "Yer her Elder. I'm just the kin. Do what you want." He says, tending back to his keyboard, tapping away.

Anthony wriggles into a semi-upright position in his chair. "Oh, speaking of cubs, did you hear about what happened to Josh?"

Natalie watches Jeremy a moment longer before turning to Anthony. "No, what?"

The Gothic continues to type away at his keyboard without so much of a glance upwards. He simply allows himself to sink into the world of his computer.

"He and this other cub, some mule from up north or something, were arguing about her calling him city-tainted and then she called him some name and he went flying at her, and she pretty much tore him up and almost killed him in like one hit," Tony says, punctuating his story with a slow nod.

"The hell?!" That's gotten Nat's attention; she pushes off the doorframe to stare at the Ragabash. "Salem know about this?"

Tap, Tap, Tap.

"He all right?" she adds.

Anthony pauses. "I knew I came here for a reason," Tony says, rubbing his forehead. "I don't think so, unless someone else told him. Which I doubt." He sighs before continuing. "He's healing, though he's crazier than usual now."

Natalie snorts, then glances over her shoulder, down the hall. "That's all we need. 'Ve you been to see him, I assume? Joshua, I mean?"

Jeremy closes the lid of his laptop after a few minutes of typing, then starts slipping it away into his book bag.

"Yeah, I saw him," Tony replies, standing up slowly. "He'll be fine pretty soon, but, still..." He spins his finger by his ear, the semi-universal 'crazy' sign.

Natalie says, "Greaaat. You think he'll be healed enough to Rite?" She studies Jeremy absently for a moment, then jerks her head toward Salem's office. "C'mon, Tony. You're no Galliard, but he's still gotta be told. You calling it a night, Jer?"

"I dunno, I'm no Theurge, either," Tony says with a shrug as he starts a slow shuffle towards the parlor door.

Jeremy slips the bag strap over his shoulder and shrugs. "I don't need to."

Just call her 'No Sympathy for Others' Baker. "Huh?" she aims at Jeremy while getting out of Tony's way. "He was in a pretty good mood earlier." Which could be considering encouragement.

"Nothing." Jeremy says, glancing over towards Anthony as he heads for the door, hands sliding into his trench pockets.

Anthony steps just outside the doorway, glancing back into the parlor for a moment before heading towards Salem's office.

Natalie only shrugs at Jeremy's reticence. "Have it your own way. I'm heading up to bed. G'night Jeremy, Tony. See you in the morning."

Jeremy glances over to Natalie. "Well, do you want to do anything tonight?" He offers at least.

Natalie watches Anthony a moment longer before turning back to Jeremy with a neutral shrug. "Besides sleep? Not really. I do want to talk to you about the Russian thing. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to Megan yet about those possibly being Gifts."

"Well, I haven't found anything out yet that is important." Jeremy admits with a shrug of his shoulders. "Nothing has came over the phones and no one has came down the stairs of that basement."

Natalie grunts, then barely covers up a yawn. "Gah, sorry. Clock strikes ten, and this little Galliard turns into a zombie. Lemme know how things turn out, will ya, Tony? Leave me voice mail or something, if you don't catch me. And I'll talk to you in the morning, all right Jer? Damn, but tomorrow's gotten full fast. I want to check in on Joshua too, maybe before I talk to Katrine."

Jeremy nods his head. "Alright. I'll be up in the morning pretty early." He shoulders his bag a bit more, then starts for the front door. "Good night."

"Oh, sure," Tony replies over his shoulder, waving back to Natalie as he continues for Salem's office.

"G'night," Nat offers one last time to the hall at large before thundering up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

[End of log]