To be thus is nothing; (Bromley territory claim)

[occultdisciple]

Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,
March 18th

Bromley. A beautiful borough that belonged in the hands of those mortal or formerly mortal. The fae? Were intruders. They had their own realm; there was no need for them to claim territory in this one.

So, the vampires were going to take it back.

The first day, it's a simple ebb into the territory. Beginning to push back against the fae. To try and drive them back into the Other Realm.


And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
March 19th

By the second day, the fae have responded. Hard and brutal. There are battles to be fought outside the sight of humanity. But there's power sparking, and some of it spills over.

Coward continues to fight, yes, and to lead his forces, but he also has to focus his efforts on keeping things at bay.


Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand,
March 20th

The battle is lost. Coward knows that.

Rather than risk too many of his forces on a battle that isn't able to be won, he orders the withdrawal. And oversees it personally, much as he's loathe to do so. It's frustrating, but it's what must be done.


No son of mine succeeding.
Aftermath

Coward is not proud of his failure, but he also can show Millicent the effort. These things happen, and he knows about it. He has his office open at Scotland Yard, his time available to the supernatural and human for all sorts of matters.

That he'll have to discuss about Bromley... he knows. But he's waiting for it.

Comments

[specifiercity]

Arthur sits down, then looks across the desk at Faolan with a frown. There's a moment of hesitation as he decides how to approach this, but finally he just figures it's time to get out with it. There's not enough time to try and come at this from a tactical angle.

"The vampires made a move on Bromley last night."

[reticence]

Faolan raises his eyebrows at that. He knows how Arthur has been facing against the vampires in recent territory disputes from their previous conversations. He doesn't understand why it would merit him coming to speak to him here and now about it, though.

"That's fae territory, is it not?" he asks, in as neutral a tone as he can. He wants Arthur to get out whatever point he has before he really says anything one way or the other himself.

[specifiercity]

"Yeah, but that's not the point," Arthur says. Faolan knows that Arthur has connections to the fae, but he doesn't want him thinking that that has anything to do with wanting to support them. He has his own reasons for wanting to push back against the vampires.

"We've talked about keeping them in check before. I think it's time to stop talking and start taking action. Last night was only the beginning in Bromley."

[reticence]

Faolan raises an eyebrow at the other man. A time to stop talking and start taking action. Brave words. He knows that Arthur is friends with some of them -- or that he has connections with them at least. Is that what's spurring him on here? As much as Faolan dislikes vampires, and as much as he'd happily see them fail, he has to take in all the facts here.

"You want Hillingdon to side with the fae against the vampires," he says. Neither an outright question nor a direct statement at that.

[specifiercity]

Arthur knows the wheels are turning in Faolan's head, and he takes it as a good sign that he doesn't have a direct no just yet.

"I think we could make a statement," he says, even a bit of optimism creeping into his tone. "Not that we're there to stick up for the fae, but that the vampires need to be kept in check. It'd be the same thing if this were Midnight or the wolves."

[reticence]

Faolan sits forward, steeping his hands on the desk in front of him and trying to think it through. They could make a statement. Is this the right time, though? Are they the right ones to be doing so?

"And what would we be checking them on, then? Everyone is entitled to make a territory claim against an opposing faction," he points out, raising an eyebrow at the other man. Still, it isn't an outright no. But he wants to understand why. Why act, why now, especially when he knows that it's going to get him in trouble with the Council for that matter.

[specifiercity]

"Are they?" Arthur says, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "We're locked in by the school, and everyone in the Night Council essentially forms an alliance against anyone they don't like. For one reason or the other, Islington is part of that alliance, and it's getting to the point where they can do anything they want. We can't just let vampires run the city like that."

[reticence]

Faolan makes a thoughtful noise. He isn't wrong, after all. Islington is frightening, especially with Millicent at the head. And now with Coward forming his alliances with Norrell?

"Honestly," Faolan says, "I'm worried about Daybreak. Islington is a force to be reckoned with, but Daybreak have been gaining too much ground. Their alliance with each other puts too much power into both factions. I suppose I never thought of it in the reverse for the simple fact that the vampires have always been dangerous."

[specifiercity]

It's surprising to Arthur that Faolan brings up Daybreak all on his own. Arthur thinks Norrell is the biggest threat to the supernatural community right now, no doubt of that, but he was treading carefully with that thought. Was.

"You're right, it's not just a vampire problem. But if we treat it like one, it could expose just how deep this goes, and how messed up it is. The Night Council can't be left to run the entire underground of London if they only protect the interests of the vampires and the witches they like."

[reticence]

And there is a point that Faolan can get behind. For the crux of the matter is that the Night Council does have a certain bias towards the witches, and only the Daybreak ones at that. And Millicent... He shudders to think of her. He has seen how she handles herself in the council. How she directs the vampires. How if she got anything into her head, there would likely be hardly anything stopping her. And the alliance between them...

"So what do you propose?" he asks the other man honestly. "We participate in this territory dispute. We shake things up. And what then? How do we proceed from there?" Of course, it would depend on whether they should happen to succeed in this or not, but still.

[specifiercity]

Arthur takes that as a hook. Faolan's giving him an opportunity to lay out a roadmap here, and he's prepared. He shrugs, like what he's about to say is easy and obvious.

"We make that our new MO. We make sure any dispute that Hillingdon takes part in, it's for the same reasons. We're not making an alliance with the fae and we're not attacking the vampires either. We're just halting Islington's progress because we think they need to answer to someone."

[reticence]

"Just Islington?" Faolan asks, inclining his head at the other man. "And what about Daybreak? They're the largest faction in the city right now. Suppose that they were to be making this claim? Pushing other factions out of territory that has been their home since this whole game began?"

He sits forward in his chair somewhat. "If Hillingdon is to take a stand in the territory disputes, I would rather it be as a neutral party. Perhaps not to keep the peace per se, but to help ensure the balance. I do not like the vampires, and I have made that plain. But I would not agree to single them out for the fact that they are what they are either. To agree to a political stance just because they are who they are. It would make us no better than any of the rest of them."

[specifiercity]

Arthur's surprised, but the only indication is the loft of his eyebrows before he replies. He wasn't going to push it with Daybreak - it's much harder to find a so-called neutral party who would actually call them on what they're doing. Islington is easy; vampires drink blood and kill people. Daybreak is a different beast and it's not as safe to speak up against them. He listens to the rest of what Faolan has to say with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"You've thought about this," he says, a little careful, "so you know that we could do this. We could help keep the balance when the vampires and Daybreak decide that they want things their way and don't care who they're stepping on."

[reticence]

Faolan shrugs a little, finding the corner of his mouth quirking at the other man in return.

"I may have done a little thinking, yes," he replies. "It is what I had in mind for Hillingdon, at least. In the long-term. If such a thing is not too far-fetched." He raises his eyebrows at Arthur, obviously questioning, obviously seeking his own opinion on the matter. Does he think such a thing is possible, provided they can build Hillingdon up to such a place?

[specifiercity]

Arthur nods, feeling much more comfortable about this whole thing. It's good to know where Faolan stands on it all, and now that he knows they're somewhat on the same page, he feels more and more like he can make a difference here.

"We have to be careful about it, but no, I don't think it's too far-fetched. The people here want to have an impact."

[reticence]

Faolan nods slightly. It's good to know in reverse that he isn't taking things too far. That the other man doesn't think that his ideas for Hillingdon would be pushing them past where they should be heading.

"Then... if you are not against such an idea," Faolan begins, glancing across at the other man and offering him something of an uncertain smile, "I think we have an agreement?"

[specifiercity]

"I think we do," Arthur says with a wry smile in return. It's good to be on the same page at last, to feel like this clan can be mobilized to action in some way.

"We should break out the whiskey or something."