undergrounds | [semi-open to the Shadow Coven] [Nov 30th]

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[semi-open to the Shadow Coven] [Nov 30th]

Everything's been just so much lately, but it's important not to let that keep things from progressing. The day after the disaster at Lewisham, Abigail will have received an invitation inviting her and her coven to discuss an exchange that could be of benefit to her. He's been upfront, admitting on the invite that he's of the Unseelie court - it'll be obvious the second they get to talking anyway.

The restaurant probably looks a bit out of place somewhere like Croydon, it's not a borough known for elegant design and fine dining. Eames has had the place booked out, so no one will be there except them and a small gathering of staff; something to allow for some privacy. The table is set out with seats, glasses, pitchers of water. And menus, because you don't invite people to a restaurant not to eat. A handsome young man will show everyone to the table as they arrive and ask for any drink orders before they order their meals - he's not magic, but he does have the elegance and grace people expect of a fae. No wonder he works here.

At the table, Eames is sat reading with a glass of wine as he waits patiently for people to arrive. And he'll stand to greet them with a smile once they do.

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"Eames." Nancy is the first to arrive, escorted into the room by the young man. She hands him her coat, before waltzing over to Eames.

She's dressed with a bit more care than she was the last time she'd seen him. Granted, she'd been a wreck with ruined makeup, fresh off of work and a kidnapping. Now she wasn't planning on working tonight, and as such, was able to look a bit more respectable. Her eye-makeup is a sparkly, neutral eye, set off by a bright red lip to match her dress. Black booties matched her statement necklace, and her hair curled over her shoulders and down her back.

Reaching Eames, she leans in to give him a quick air-kiss, pressing her cheek against his. "Lovely to see you under better circumstances, yeah?" She steps back to look up at him, trying to see if there's any tells as to what he thinks of the whole her and Arthur friendship. Or if Arthur had asked him more questions about Fagin, later. It was very important, okay?

Eames returns the air-kiss, and if there's any feelings about everything that happened the other day, there isn't much to see on his face beyond a curious look to see if Nancy's good mood is more than just surface. Today is about business, he can't be thinking about all that right now. They can talk about it some other time if need be.

"Lovely indeed," he says with a smile, looking her over, "you look good."

Oh, he's good.

"Thank you- I can clean up pretty well. I think you've only ever seen me in work clothes or work-out gear." He wouldn't bring up her job during a business meeting, especially one that her voice would certainly be important in, she felt certain of that, so did not mention the subject herself other than in the vaguest of terms.

"Thank you for arranging this."

Unthank had little time for her now and less advice than that. Whenever she sought his counsel, he would give her that little smile and what had become a familiar reply. You've grown up, Abigail. I can't hold your hand any longer. Having looked to him for so many years and to now not have that guidance when she felt she needed it most unsettled her, but it was one of many changes she was resigning herself to accepting.

So, she can only look to herself and her sisters now. Those who have put their blood with hers to, unknowingly, usher in a new age. None of them had expected this, but it has come.

When she sees Nancy, she smiles and gives a nod before focusing her attention on their host. She offers her hand as she approaches.

"Thank you for the invitation, sir."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Widdowson." Eames smiles and takes her hand in a firm handshake as he looks Abigail over - so young and already with so much responsibility on her shoulders, but then. Members of her family often did make their mark young, didn't they?

Cordially, he gestures for her and Nancy both to take their seats as he sits down himself, "are we expecting any other members of your coven, or should we get started?"

"Abigail," Nancy said in greeting, giving her an air-kiss as well, once Eames was done shaking her hand. She gestures to Eames. "This is Eames. Eames, Abigail Widdowson." She may have been raised poorly, but she was still very English. And that meant polite.

As for the answer to Eames question? As she slid into her chair, she looked to Abigail to answer the question.

"One other," Abigail replied, offering a polite smile as she slid into a seat.

"I've asked the third founding member of the Shadow Coven to come. We began this together," she looked over at Nancy and gave a small smile, "so we will act together now."

He nods in understanding, itching a little to just get on with things, but he recognises the importance of that kind of bond. And he's certainly not about to risk sewing dissent or causing a blowback by trying to talk her into starting without everyone present.

That does leave them with some time time to kill until then, however. He gestures to a menu, "in the meantime, perhaps you'd like something to eat?" He smiles again, "the food is completely untouched by magic, I promise."

"Oh, good, she'll be here, then." Kenzi had been sick a lot lately, something that was more than worrying to Nancy. She missed her best friend.

"I'll stick drinks for now," she says, before telling the waiter what sort of drink she'd like. She trusted Eames as Eames, but she didn't trust fae, and given that this was business, she'd play her cards close to her chest. Not that she had any- as far as she was concerned, she was here for support. Abigail was their High Priestess. Enough said.

"Speak of the me!"

Kenzi smiled wide as she walked to the table - escorted by a steadily-fading-into-the-background-maitre d' - and pressed a quick kiss to the top of Nancy's head in greeting. Her eyes are focused on Eames however. He was there the night she first started trying on the vendetta vigilante role on a vampire. Hopefully the look she was shooting him would help him understand to keep that to himself.

Hopefully. If Nancy found out about it, she'd be in very deep doodoo.

The make-up she'd chosen tonight kept the haggered look away from her face at least. All this stress of trying to accost vampires at night had given her the worst cold.

"So! What are we talking about?"

"That is what I think we're all very curious to know," Abigail murmured. Like Nancy, she'd ordered only a drink for now. It would be rude to demand their host tell her if there was any chance of any food or drink coming into contact with fairy magic. But it was always on her mind.

Still, her expression is soft... if a bit wary.

"Right then." Eames clasps his hands together on the table in front of him, smiling pleasantly enough at the assembled witches, "let's cut to the chase then, shall we?"

He pauses briefly when the drinks arrive, considering ordering food for a moment, but apparently it's bad manners to get a meal when no one else is eating. That can wait until after. For now he fixes his gaze on Abigail as he makes the offer; she's their leader for more reasons than her wealth, he assumes. "The offer on the table, is this very borough," he says with no more explanation than that, no terms. Nothing. Let the offer sit first for the trio to decide how they feel about it.

"Kenzi!" She can't help but let the girlish excitement of seeing her oft-sick bff out and about and a real person again. She'd brought her soup and what-have-you before, but here she was, all dolled up and excited. It was a pleasant change of pace.

Automatically, Nancy moves closer to Kenzi for Eames to make his announcement. she knew the offer, but it felt strange to pretend she did, given she was the common denominator (as far as she knew) between the three other people in the room.

So she kept quiet. She didn't trust the offer completely, because there was a difference between Eames and Business!Eames and this was Business!Eames and truthfully, she knew she shouldn't trust either of them. Too little, too late.

She watches Abigail and Kenzi's faces carefully for their reactions, before she'll state her piece.

"What's the catch?"

Kenzi didn't even wait for the offer to get cold before asking the question. She also had her 'business face' on and though she was snuggled up to Nancy in their booth, it didn't stop her from being shrewd. Really there was very little she wasn't prepared to negotiate at the drop of a hat.

Abigail gave a slight motion toward Kenzi, as if to second the question. After all, she trusted fae in the barest sense possible. Unthank, individually, yes. For the most part. But anyone else? Certainly not.

Especially since this sounded too good to be true.

Eames' lip twitches a little in a smirk, smart of them to ask. It's a good thing he's not trying anything underhanded here; it'd be so annoying to have to talk around it.

"The terms are simple. You'll not interfere with the comings and goings of the fae in any territory you hold, and of course it's to be expected that you won't attack any of our land either."

Nancy gives a small hum. It's good to see her sisters as suspicious as she is, more or less.

"Seems easy enough," she says, but waits a moment before continuing. "I'd expect those terms to go both ways." Meaning: no attacking the Midnight witches, either.

"Yeah. We're not the ones trying to kick your guys's collective tuckus.

Kenzi is all too glad to point it out and she seems plenty smug as she settles into the back of her seat with her arms crossed over her chest like she's protecting herself.

"And." It's the dicey part of things, but she's bound by her promise to Sylvia. Until Sylvia acts against it. "We cannot oppose Daybreak on your behalf."

She sighs a little, leaning against the back of her chair.

"I have given my word that my coven and Midnight as a whole will not engage in any action against Circle Daybreak. In exchange for the same."

"It's only fair," is his answer to the question of reciprocating terms, though the mention of Daybreak has his jaw clenching. There's a topic he hadn't intended to broach just yet.

"I'm certain I understand the importance of sticking to your word better than anyone in this room," he says lightly, with a smile - it's not an insult or anything of the sort, just a statement of fact - and he rests his elbows on the table, leaning forward slightly with the air of someone with a point to make, "but you must see we have something of a mutual enemy in the likes of Ms. Rebright. If you think she's not looking for ways to circumvent this deal, then frankly you're far too naive for the trust your circle has placed in you."

When Kenzi leans back, Nancy is the first to reach over and touch her arm, with what she hopes is a calming presence. But no sooner has she done that, but she's pursing her lips at Eames' declaration. Shit.

Maybe it should be Eames' she was steadying.

The hand on Kenzi's arm is enough to keep her from really laying into Eames. When he mentions 'naive' Kenzi has to laugh because - really?

"I'm sorry, did we come here for a lecture?"

She'll keep it at that. Let Abigail be the one to really lay into him if she wanted it to go there. Kenzi would just take her dinner in a doggie bag and leave it at that.

"Of course Redbright is looking for a way to break our deal." Abigail almost spits the words. Her eyes narrow, and she looks very ready to stand up and walk out. "However, I am not going to give her the pleasure of me being the one to break that truce."

Once Sylvia or one of hers broke it, then all bets were off. But Abigail hadn't gone through everything she had so far only to give it up by letting Sylvia claim victory on that field, too.

"You misunderstand." His tone and expression is, if anything, completely genial. Despite the brief tightness of his jaw, his smile hasn't slipped, and he gestures broadly as he speaks, "she'll find ways to move against you without breaking your agreement, and when you retaliate you'll seem unstable and vicious like she's always claimed you are."

He shrugs and leans back in his seat, and he addresses Kenzi briefly, "you're quite right, you didn't come here to be lectured--" and he turns his gaze back to Abigail, "and I'm not suggesting you move against Daybreak on our behalf. Beyond that, this has little to do with the offer on the table I suppose."

Nancy's lips are tight as she watches the exchange. She can't step in, as much as she wants to. She has stake in both parties. Which is why she's thankful, when Eames seems to call an end to hostilities. She'll just put up reinforcements.

"Alright then," she says, looking at each party, still keeping an arm on Kenzi. "Thank you, Eames. For the advice." See, look everyone. Advice. "Do we all agree to the terms, then? we won't act on the Fae's behalf, they won't attack us, we won't attack them. Did I miss anything?"

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[semi-open to the Shadow Coven] [Nov 30th]

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