Affairs Of State

[Seragil]

It was a light brush, phantom like and if he hadn’t lived with a telepath all these centuries it would have gone unnoticed, but he recognized the feeling and it was not Shae Nicfaeghan trying to reach him. His first instinct was to put up walls, to block them out, to go on the defensive by attacking as best he could, but instead he relaxed and left the first layer of his mind open, curious to see how far whoever it was  were willing to intrude, maybe they just wanted to talk privately.

The rest of his mind however would not be so easy to breach and was certainly not left unprotected. The intruder would find a barrier made up with the imagery of flapping wings, falling feathers, shifting shadows and flashing daggers. It was a maze created to confuse, to distract, to waylay and mentally wound. if whomever was trying to breach his mind went further than that then they were there to snoop and invade his most private sanctum. It would be far more then feathers and shadows.

He crossed his legs over his knees and stretched his arms along the back of the couch, much like Kerr, and waited as he offered them both a friendly smile and raised an eyebrow questioningly in response to Ben’s future for Central. As for Kerr, he was curious; his manner was open and calm enough and yet there was something off about his energy, like a dangerous current beneath a mirror calm looking river.

“How do you mean a council of advisors? Do you mean to offer the leaders of the different supe groups that live in central an advisory role, if so, then I could get behind that, even offer support if you need or want it, as I have a similar structure here in the North. Or do you mean to try and create something more…expansive? City wide expansive?”

Was he suggesting he wanted to recreate the Oligarchy? With himself as Luminary? He flicked his eyes between the two vampires before resettling on Ben. If so, just how deep did this plot to overthrow the current power structure go. Who else was involved, was anyone else involved. His mind instantly started running through who might be involved or would like to be part of such a plan. His paranoia starting to work over time, his mind distracted enough that his defenses slipped and wavered.

[Trillian]

At the first two questions, Ben nodded. He felt no need to elaborate for Saraekiel was only summarising what he'd just said, after all.

The comment about the north having a similar structure surprised him. Saraekiel had advisors? Where were they? While he wondered what different species they might be, he was asked another question that made him laugh shortly, surprised by it.

"Let's just see if I can get into Central first," he said with an aw-shucks smile, then leant forward, forearms on knees, hands loosely together. "What kind of structure do you have?" Ben was intrigued. He didn't know anything about the dark angel or how he'd risen to power so quickly that he'd been able to stake a claim on the northern territory. There were rumours and gossip but it had sounded farfetched and silly. Ben would prefer to hear from Saraekiel directly how he'd set everything up. Ben could learn something.

[Seragil]

He recognized Ben's response for the evasion it was which in turn made him even more suspicious about his future plans and the direction he could be aiming for. Could he resurrect the Oligarchy? He flicked his gaze over to the pleasantly smiling rock that was Kerr, it wasn't impossible, he realized, certainly more than possible with the right support and if the current power structure remained as fractured and fractious as it now stood.

More work then but it was trouble that could wait to be addressed tomorrow. he refocused on Ben and smiled warmly as he settled deeper into the lounge and answered his question.

"The north works more like a coalition than an advisory board. At the time it looked like Jake McCloud was on a campaign to make himself emperor of the city with the North looking like the next most logical stepping stone to achieving that goal. He already had the west and central, taking the north would have given him an extra territory and would have also isolated the then only other district leaders, Charon and Zoheret, he would have had them surrounded. Nobody here wanted that, especially the werewolves. I offered them another choice and a way to avoid living under the boot of a vampire overlord.." He shrugged his shoulders. It had been easy enough to use that uncertainty and fear to put himself in the best light for the position as leader of the north. " The major groups have their own leaders, those leaders work with me to keep the north safe and secure for everyone who lives here. Typicaly they run their own groups but if a problem arises and spills out of their group or if their is a problem that effects us all, then we come together and sort it out. If more help is needed then we involve the ward, if the problem looks like it will effect the city I bring it to the City Council."

There was also bribery involved but that worked with any power structure. he picked up his water bottle and took a mouthful from it before placing it back on the table. " The system is working well so far. Unlike the District Leader Counsel."

He turned then and looked at Kerr.

"As someone who ran this city, do you think the current power structure can work? You had to work with most of the counsel members directly and have ties to all of them, how would you get them to work together?"

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr did his best to keep his lip from curling when Saraekiel declared he could get behind Ben's group of advisors - which was obvious to any imbecile as a revamped Oligarchy, the very structure he'd just shat all over. Again though, it came from Ben, so it had to be gold. He even claimed to have structure in the North! Similar to the Oligarchy! Fucking what?! It was everything Kerr could do to keep himself contained.

Thankfully, Ben employed his model smile and Kerr could see that he was finally thinking. He even asked a question that was relevant and informative - and the dark angel answered! Calling his structure a 'coalition, not an advisory board' was splitting hairs as far as Kerr was concerned but it was significant to Saraekiel. A rose by any other name would be a potato, apparently. Kerr had to disagree, though. Saraekiel's northern structure sounded less like a coalition than organised chaos, everyone for themselves until there was trouble and then they'd try to stopper the dam before it spilled out into the city streets and became someone more organised's problem. How very responsible of the 'district leader'.

This man wasn't leading the district. He was a spruiker standing on a soapbox with a megaphone, shouting into the wind and hoping everyone was okay. They would be, as long as they followed his expectations, Kerr supposed, but what sorts of fickle fancies did this this pretty-boy leader even have? What did he stand for? Just... 'everyone for themselves but behave, okay'? Yes, that certainly sounded more stable than the District Leader council. Not.

He almost flinched when Saraekiel had a drink and then turned his way, asking him a question directly. He took a moment to appear to think the question over, repositioning his arm so that it wasn't on the back of the couch and he appeared more attentive. Really, he just needed a moment to sift through what he could say and what he would. They were definitely not the same thing.

"I think it is working, to a point, though they're somewhat fractured, as you say," Kerr conceded graciously, repeating the dark angel's words back at him in an attempt at flattery. "Hopefully that will change once the election's done and there's a definite council. They wouldn't like it, but I'd bring them together literally. More meetings, more communication, more common agendas. Some infrastructure within the districts whereby the constituents can voice their concerns wouldn't go astray, either. It's all well and good to pin up a bunch of laws and expect people to blindly follow but if the leaders don't listen on a regular basis they'll soon find themselves leading no-one. They need to give, as well as take."

He and Ben had many, many plans for the development of more than just a council of advisors but Kerr had selectively fed Saraekiel the parts he believed the dark angel would be most drawn to. He gave everyone a voice in the North and seemed to believe pragmatism was overrated - mixing things up and seeing where everything fell seemed to be more his modus operandi - but Kerr couldn't come at that wholeheartedly. Giving everyone the chance to voice their needs was where he felt their two philosophies overlapped. It wouldn't devastate him if they couldn't agree on something, though.

[Seragil]

There was something about Kerr he didn't trust, his friendly smile, the body language and the pleasantly spoken words all just felt off. it cloaked him in an air of deception and aggression. There would be no potential ally in Kerr nor was there a possibility of an alliance between them, not unless Saraekiel was willing to become nothing but a means to an end, a tool, quickly used up and just as quickly discarded or destroyed. A pity.

He wished he could find fault in his advice, to pull it apart and find the soul of a controlling tyrant, instead he found them to be fair and they actually gave him some ideas. The thing about there being a definite council after the election bit gave him pause though. There already was a definite council, whether Jake sat the seat for central or Ben did, it was only one seat amongst six. Yeah, these two most definitely meant to grab all the power and remake a throne for themselves.

"You raise some valid points. The counsel needs more structure, better communication. We need to set our personal agenda's aside and work together if this counsel is to have any kind of longevity. the city needs a sense of stability and equality between the different species and classes."

He tapped his fingers on the back of the couch as he started to formulate some plans. he lifted his eyes to Kerr and offered a genuine smile of appreciation. " You have given me some idea and much to think on. Thank you."

he shifted in his seat, removing his arms from the back of the lounge and placed them in his lap and he leaned forward slightly, his eyes shifting between both of his guests.

"I know I asked this earlier, and you reflected the question very beautifully, but I ask again.Why did you come tonight?" he smiled and flicked his hand up to prevent an immediate answer. " I know I invited you both, but that was months ago, the political climate was different. The reasons I invited you then are not the reasons you came now. So, why now? You said it was to get to know me more but I sense it is more then that and my ego isn't so big that I think people just want to come and bask in my ambiance. What is it you really want?"

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr snorted a laugh, amused by the notion that Saraekiel sensed an agenda greater than getting a feel for him and his district's organisation. If only they had a dastardly plan for him to suspect, it would prove his intelligence! Did putting Ben close to him to see just how much like a cat on heat he could act, count? He followed his chuckle with a sigh.

"Alas, there is no hidden agenda and, now that you mention it, we've got what we came for - to learn more about you and the way you run your district. Thank you for sharing your, uh, views on the political climate of the city as well, it's certainly given us something to think about," Kerr expounded grandly and stood fluidly. He was still smiling and it was more genuine, now that he saw an opportunity to extricate them from the angel's den.

He looked to Ben, whom he could tell was disconcerted by the fact that he was still closed off to him but he wasn't about to alter that for a good long while, yet. He wasn't even planning to discuss too much about his opinions on Saraekiel and this meeting on the way home. Not with the mind-bending lust-haze Ben had fallen under the second they'd walked in. Frankly, Kerr was still upset his lovely fiancé hadn't supported him personally with the Oligarchy slander, but it wasn't worth fighting over. He would swallow it down and they'd move on. The sooner he got home to forget this awful mess, the better.

Added bonus: he'd get to shower and wash the skein of unrequited pheromones off him.

"Ready to go, sweetheart?" he prompted Ben before he turned to look at the dark angel once more. "Thank you very much for your hospitality and openness. It was truly appreciated. It's a shame you didn't take the time to learn more about the Oligarchy when it was around. You might've appreciated many of its facets. Hopefully Ben can revive the best aspects of it when he's elected. We look forward to working with you," he inclined his head graciously. His insides were wound tighter than a reel of barbed wire but he forced himself to look anything but impatient. Saraekiel would absolutely believe he was sincere because Kerr had perfected his act hundreds of years ago and the dark angel didn't know him well enough to be able to tell the difference.

If Ben made a move to get close to Saraekiel physically, Kerr would intercept or be close by to present a follow-up handshake, breaking their connection if it occurred. His ideal result was Ben standing, keeping his distance, saying his farewell and the two of them getting out of there without another round of talking or touching in any form. His mental fingers were crossed.

[Trillian]

It was easier when he wasn’t talking and could just listen to the two of them. His gaze was fixed on the dark angel with a kind of intensity that wasn’t considered polite in social circles. When Saraekiel returned the conversation to their motivation, Ben didn’t know what to say. He was running for election now and needed to find out more about those he might be working with. Kerr usually didn’t chaperone him but Ben was glad he had. He’d probably have given away too much of his thoughts about the other leaders, himself, life, death, the universe... all he needed was Saraekiel to smile at him while he asked.

He looked up in surprise when Kerr stood and then stood himself. After noises were made to leave, Ben stepped forward and reached out to shake the dark angel's hand. He was acutely aware of Kerr in his space while he did it.