undergrounds | #makedonalddrumpfagain

1. CAMPAIGN TRAIL (OPEN) - out and about, first half of April
Ringer wasn't a particularly showy person. Her version of campaigning was primarily to make anonymous donations and strategic deals, like encouraging Vrinak to support Estergaard in the hope that Redbright would discover his subterfuge and withdraw her support of him. Even if he was the best candidate for the position, she wanted the Night Council to splinter until it was a schism of dissenting opinions. The fish rots from the head; an untrue statement but a sentiment she understood.

Part of those deals was showing support for certain candidates. Faolan's was, perhaps ironically, the only button on her messenger bag as she distributed flyers for Vrinak and Merad in local supernatural haunts. She had agreed to donate to Norrell's campaign, but had no interest in publicly supporting him.

"Vote Vrinak," she said with a practiced repetition, neither enthusiastic or entirely droll, as she offered the person a flyer.

2. REGISTER FOR REDBRIGHT (OPEN) - Hillingdon House or Redbright Institute, first half of April
Thanks to a strategic deal with the Dean of Redbright, Ringer had been made a temporary outreach volunteer, meant to educate shapeshifters, metahumans, and the like about a school that wouldn't accept her and encourage them to register and attend. Though anything involving talking to strangers was far from the list of her ideal tasks, she took to it with relative ease because she did believe in education, even if it came with a pretentious and exclusionary attitude.

Ringer spent some time at Hillingdon, knowing it was the best place to find people new to the community and lot in their ways, and some near the Redbright Institute itself, to make her face visible to the Dean and prove that efforts were being made. Maybe no one would notice that a human hunter was promoting a supernatural school.

3. SLOWLY FREAKING OUT (CLOSED TO FAOLAN) - Ringer's flat, mid-April
There was something off about Ringer's morning. From accidentally breaking a mug to tripping while running to catch her train, the list of deviant behaviors continued to grow. She didn't even make it onto said train, turning around and heading back for her flat as anxiety about whatever was happening set in. A headache, a broken textbook spine. She spent a few hours by herself, performing repetitive actions at first and then curled up in her bed and failing to sleep. It was another few hours beyond that, in the afternoon, when she finally made the call to Faolan: 'Something's wrong. You need to come over.'

She waited there, still in bed, mobile in her hand, for her friend to arrive. Because he would know what to do. Or because, as much as Ringer loathed to admit it, she didn't entirely want to deal with it alone.

4. ENIGMATIC STUCK LIKE STATIC (CLOSED TO JAMES) - Cafe near James's work, mid-April
Ringer sat stiffly in her seat at the cafe, staring down at the cup of tea in front of her as she waited for James to arrive. Her hands rested on either side of the cup, a mockery of holding it, wondering how long it might be. It had been a simple enough dictation for his secretary: 'Tell him his cousin will be at the cafe by two and needs to have a chat.' Hopefully the message was passed along. She twisted her wrist to glance at her watch.

Her gaze lifted a moment before the door opened, pulled from her anticipation with the sight of the man himself. She made no motion to catch his attention, trusting he would find and join her without fanfare. Ringer didn't look tense or sleep deprived, didn't look like shit. But it was clear, with one look, that something had her extremely worried, an unusual expression for the girl who liked to show how calm and collected she could be in nearly any situation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ringer doesn't believe that James doesn't know which territory he's eyeing after Havering. He strikes her as the more long-term planning sort. There are always things to plan outside of conquering new areas, though, so she doesn't push. He makes it extremely difficult to tell whether he's ever telling the truth.

"You should take Croydon and give it to the fae," she remarks idly, thinking about the map in her head. "Unless it's your intention to alienate them."

Edited 2016-05-01 02:24 (UTC)

James can't help but laugh lightly - it's better than flat out telling her 'no'. At least he think so.

"I'll see what I can do."

A lie. He couldn't give less than two shits about the Fae being alienated - it wasn't part of his list of Problems That Mattered. Not right now at least.

"Don't do that." Ringer shakes her head with a frown. "I don't want to be patronized. Tell me no, or yes. We both know you wouldn't move against your own schemes because I ask you to."

Ringer has no delusions about how little influence she has with him. Less than with Faolan, who it turns out she has almost no sway over. She might make a good adviser to someone who would listen, but men preferred measuring contests to chess. She understands that. All she asks is for some honesty, to properly gauge the right course of action for herself.

James sighs.

"Then don't suggest something so naive, Ringer."

He doesn't want to start a fight between them over this, but he didn't think she would ask him if he'd hand a territory over to the fae after taking one from them.

"I'm not looking to rule the world, as funny as it is. And I'm not looking to make nice with a group of people who use us as a food source. Vampire or Fae.

Better?"

He tries to make sure it's as genuine a question as possible - mostly because he doesn't want to actually patronize her but it's almost a state of being sometimes.

"Yes," she answers his vaguely rhetorical question, interpreting it as genuine instead of insulting, regardless of how he actually means it. It's refreshing to hear someone so open about their intentions and she appreciates that sincerity, and now understands something about the relationship between the Fae and the werewolves that she didn't before.

"You won't support the Fae or the vampires then?" She asks evenly, to clarify his position. "Or will you support whoever you need to to ensure you get what you want?"

"I'll do what I have to for the pack. What I want isn't going to matter if I become Alpha. Officially."

Which was where he wanted to be. Officially.

"What about you? What do you want?"

It's not accusatory, more...wondering. James has been talking so much he's never really gotten to ask Ringer where she personally stood. He's hoping she'll be candid and not hedge around what she means. He's starting to find that a relationship based out of honesty - not matter how bleak- was better than one based on lies.

He can be taught, ladies and gentlemen.

"How do you become the Alpha? Officially." She knows a decent amount about the supernatural community, but it's more in the vein of strengths and weaknesses and less about the hierarchy and how to achieve power among them. It's never been relevant to her as a human.

And Ringer, as a human, has rarely been relevant to them. Which is why it surprises her a little when James asks about her own desires. Since he's being honest, or seems to be, she'll grant him the same courtesy. "I want to find out why I have these abilities and how to control them. In general, I want humans to be minimized as collateral damage. They don't deserve being the victims of the supernatural community."

A beat. "I want to follow a leader who supports that and who I can trust to keep me alive. That's what I want."

#makedonalddrumpfagain

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject