The Underground Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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undergrounds2017-04-21 10:41 pm
undergroundmods) wrote in undergrounds2017-04-21 10:41 pm
Magical Innovation Centre: The Grand Opening
It's evening in Richmond and the grand opening of the Magical Innovation Centre is about to begin. Doors open at 6.30pm with the event closing at 10pm. This is a black tie event, so get out your evening gowns and tuxedos. You won't be allowed in if you're wearing trainers or jeans.
Fae are forbidden from entering. Any fae who wish to sneak in must do so under a glamour and are likely to be discovered and kicked out if they linger for too long. Alternatively, they could pretend to be in service to one of the witches attending the event, if they have any witch allies willing to do that. Fae already in service to Circle Daybreak are the exception to the rule and this will be the first Daybreak event where a number of witches in attendance will be accompanied by their familiars in various forms. Ever since Samantha took her crown as Mother of Witches with a certain cat on her lap, familiars have started to become fashionable again.
Order of Events
6.30-7pm: Doors open
The first half hour allows time for guests to arrive and mingle. There's strict security around the centre: everyone who enters must sign in and get a name badge at the reception desk.
7-7.30pm: Samantha's speech
Standing on the staircase in the foyer, the Mother of Witches will address her audience with a speech to announce the opening of the centre.
7.30-8.30pm: Tour of the centre
During this hour, guests can join a tour of the centre. There will be three tours of around fifteen minutes each. Guests will be shown the following:
• Starting in the main foyer, the tour guide will give a brief overview of the centre's purpose.
• Next, the Potions Lab, which looks very much like any modern lab except that the bottles on display are magical rather than chemical.
• Then, the Pentacle Room which is an empty classroom with several intricate pentacles drawn on the floor. Cabinets along one wall hold shelves of herbs and charms that are used to strengthen or protect the pentacles, as well as shelves of spellbooks. An empty iron bird cage sits on one of the cabinets. This room is where witches can work together to perform powerful magic or to summon fae from the Other Realm.
• Then, the Botanical Garden which is what it sounds like. Herbs and plants of many kinds are grown here, and there are tables where witches can cut and dry the plants to prepare them for use in spellcraft and potion-making.
• Finally, the Magic Lab which looks very much like the Potions Lab except that there's more space. This is where witches will experiment with creating new spells.
The tour is guided and guests may only spend a limited amount of time in each room. They can't go back to the rooms after they're closed; security is tight and anyone trying to sneak around will be quickly spotted.
8.30-10pm: Networking
The rest of the event is open for mingling. There are information stands in the main foyer where witches are handing out leaflets outlining the purpose of the centre and inviting witches to join. If you're not a witch, you can still look and ask questions, but you can't register your interest to work or study at the centre. There's also a screen playing an artfully shot video of Samantha and several young witches looking alternately mystical and windswept on a moor, then clever and industrious in one of the laboratories. Tradition meets the modern world.
Coffee, champagne and canapes are all available, and are served by handsome fae waiters dressed in sparkly blue tuxedos. Despite several setbacks (none of which will be mentioned by Samantha or any of the staff) including the recent loss of Croydon to the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, it seems that Circle Daybreak is still intent on portraying an image of success. The Daybreak fae here are tame, well-mannered and subservient. Everything is under control.
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"Thank you. I'm glad you think that way at least." She puts the faintest possible stress on the 'you'. He can probably guess who else she's referring to.
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JC would lead the Nest in the direction that he wanted it to. Cooper, with the streak of loyalty inside him, would never overrule his leader's direct orders. If he started questioning Jean-Claude, that would lead him down a slippery slope that he didn't want to think about.
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She isn't trying to hide her disappointment. To her, it's as if the Nest has taken a U-turn in its attitude towards what she's trying to do, and she can't help but wonder if that has anything to do with the sudden ending of funds from the Night Council.
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His face goes brittle and hard, revealing the old man inside the teenager. "And I didn't know when I voted it would provoke such a strong response from him." Was he implying that he didn't exactly agree with JC's proclamation? Perhaps, but Cooper had learned to guard his tongue when speaking of leaders of the Nest in the past. He wasn't going to start saying things that could get back to him now.
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He's dead weight then. A puppet speaking Jean-Claude's words. That's a shame. She's guessing that it's because Jean-Claude wasn't happy with Cooper's earlier vote that he's so wary of having his own opinions. Vampires have never been democratic. Why start now?
She shakes her head, her expression softening. "I'm sorry. That must have been hard. I didn't know I'd be putting you in such a difficult position."
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He can sense the disappointment coming off of her. "Look, I know things haven't exactly gone smoothly since the vote. 'N I know it may seem like I got no spine left. But I'm trying t'keep my Nest together."
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It's only because of the change in the law that she has been able to openly advocate for the use of summoning magic as part of the centre's work. So he has been useful to her, even if he isn't now.
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