undergrounds | HOUNSLOW TERRITORY CLAIM

Just as Lancelot must recover from the ordeal with the vampires, so too must Faolan himself -- if, albeit, not quite in the same way. Faolan hadn't suffered any physical damage from the rescue, but emotionally he's on edge. The idea that the vampires could have just taken someone he cares for -- another person he cares for, but he quickly shoves any memories of his past well down into the furthest corners of his mind that he can -- the fact that they had taken Lancelot without any provocation other than his position. From the streets not that far outside his home...?

Oh yes, that had Faolan thinking about the vampires alright. And just what to do about the situation. Because something must be done. They can't continue on now as they had, not after this. Faolan doesn't care if he has a bias on the matter. They had their chance to do this peacably, and now Hillingdon will make them pay.

The question, of course, is how. A question that Faolan sits in his office contemplating for hours on end. And that should be where he is, if anyone should happen to be looking for him...

Edited 2016-09-04 15:10 (UTC)

After his conversation with Daryl, Faolan's mind is spinning, and he knows he needs to work this out with someone else. He thinks of Lancelot, but he knows that while Lancelot's advice might help more towards actually bringing this idea into reality, he knows he needs to address it within Hillingdon first. And he can think of no one more qualified to address it with than Arthur. A man who has not only been his confidant as far as his discomfort with the vampires is concerned, but also has worked his way up within the ranks of Hillingdon to become something of a leader of the hunters.

He hasn't heard from Arthur since before recent developments, but he figures that he should know about them as well if he doesn't already, and so it is with determination that Faolan sets out to locate the other man. It will be good to talk this out with someone who wasn't just involved in the rescue raid. Just in case this is more of a kneejerk reaction to that than he thinks it is.

Edited 2016-09-04 15:10 (UTC)

Faolan's mind is all but made up but he knows better than to go behind the clan's back and make a decision for them. Especially given his relatively shaky status with them, since the reveal of his status as a Guardian in the Night Council. He needs them to understand why this is a good idea, and he needs it to be their idea too, before he can go through with it.

And so it is that Faolan calls a Hillingdon Clan Meeting together. One of the only meetings they have had in the last while. Gathering all who attend together in the dining room and setting as many chairs around the large table and about the edge of the room as he can, to give everyone the opportunity to attend that he can.

When the meeting starts, Faolan is not sitting at the head of the table but rather in the middle of a side. A deliberate move, to demonstrate that at least in his mind, he is not holding himself in as high a position as the head of the table might imply. He glances around the room at those in attendance before he takes a deep breath and begins.

"I have called you all here today because I believe that we have something to discuss. A dilemma of which I'm sure we've all been aware for some time. Possibly longer than the city itself. But I also believe the state of things has reached a point where it cannot continue. Something must be done. And though Hillingdon has long sat out of the matters of the city, we are hunters. This is what we do. If ever there were a time for us to step up and defend what is ours, then I believe it to be now." He throws another glance around the room, gauging what reactions he's receiving across their faces before turning the question onto the people themselves.

"Hillingdon cannot stand against such a power such as we are. Thus we are faced with three choices. We may turn to our neighbors in battle, to try and take from Redbright for ourselves in a way that will put us on the playing board in a way we may not want to display ourselves. We may turn to them in peace, lending our expertise against this unifying threat in negotiation for more territory. More people. Or we may do nothing. And allow the vampires to continue their path of murder and destruction."

He allows another beat of silence, to let the three ideas sink in, before sitting straighter in his chair and continuing, "All those in attendance, I would welcome your opinion and your vote on the matter." And then he sits back to listen.

The vote has been cast, the general consensus and opinion has been shared. Faolan at once feels energized by the idea of this new direction they are taking, and also terrified by it. He recognizes what it will mean, to have to negotiate the final piece with Sylvia Redbright. He recognizes what a hold she has over him. And he recognizes what is at stake, not only if he should slip and counter her and find himself a statue in Sylvia's office, but also if he fails Hillingdon itself in this negotiation because he is, in the end, essentially at her mercy.

He spends the rest of the afternoon after the meeting contemplating the situation itself and how to approach it before, while going through his fifth possible 'worst case scenario' he knows that he has spent too long in his own head. Glancing up from the table he has found himself in the now almost-abandoned cafe and finding himself almost alone save for the waitstaff who continues to float around and attempt to refill his coffee, he realizes he needs to approach this differently. So after a moment he produces his phone and with another moment's thought, opens up a text to Lancelot:

Hey, are you working tonight?

Even after discussing it with Daryl, with Arthur, with Lancelot, and with the clan itself, Faolan is probably as prepared for this as he can be. Even still, as he makes his way to the appointed meeting place that he had arranged for with Sylvia and her underlings -- having stressed that this was strictly business between Hillingdon and Redbright and hoping that he will at least receive the appropriate treatment that a fellow faction leader should, instead of one of the many Guardians she had under her control -- as he makes his way to the appointed place he can't help but feel some sense of forboding. A sense that he can't quite explain.

He knows what Hillingdon is after. He knows what they are willing to give up to get it, and the line that they are not willing to cross. He's been a member of the clan itself long enough to have a pretty good grasp on what it is to belong to it, as much as a grasp on what it is to run the thing. But this is Sylvia Redbright. A woman who, as far as Faolan is concerned, seems to almost have a monopoly on the supernatural community of London itself. Whether she means to or not has yet to be seen.

All that Faolan knows is that he must be very careful here. And careful, while in his vocabulary, is not always an achievable concept as far as Faolan's reality is concerned...

Edited 2016-09-04 16:16 (UTC)

Say what they will, but the negotiation is done. Hillingdon has Hounslow, in exchange for their support of Redbright against Islington, on offense or defense. It is not, as Faolan will stress to whoever brings the word up to him, an alliance. Faolan is rather against the idea of any sort of blind alliance. It is an agreement against a common enemy. It remains to be seen how such an agreement will play out should said common enemy be placed under control, but that is neither here nor there.

For now, Hillingdon is to work with Redbright. And as such they need to know what it is that they are dealing with. Faolan encourages Hillingdon members into the territory, to seek out those of Redbright as an escort of sorts. Have the Redbright members show them the lay of the land. And if they should happen to be able to weedle information out of them about Redbright itself, then that is encouraged as well...

Closed to Daryl; Tuesday, August 30th

Closed to Arthur; Tuesday, August 30th - later

Closed to Hillingdon; Thursday, September 1st

Closed to Lancelot; Thursday, September 1st - evening

Closed to Sylvia (& Guards); Saturday, September 3rd

Closed to Hillingdon & Redbright members; Sunday, September 4th & onward