Howell Maxen

private roleplay blog for Vievecor City RP

[howellmaxen]

Howell eyed the man on the floor, from first guess he’d wager the man was beaten pretty badly. Then again that was the typical motive operandi for most gangsters if they wanted their victims to live. Taking further steps into the lion’s den, he wagered that Ayumu wanted more to do with him than the man at his feet. That sort of thing happened a lot recently, various supernaturals wanted to talk to him and on occasion he just tended to bump into them. This situation was different, the man lounging in front of him that radiated power wasn’t just a random supernatural. He had acquired access to his medicinal skills in a very roundabout way. The blackmail and violence that came with it seemed par for the course in this crowd. Kneeling he took in the man’s injuries, staring with the head noticing a spilt like right away. “You’ve met me several times over the past two decades Mr. Nakatomi. What would my status change for you? A termination of employment?”

[nakatomi-ayumu]

"Oh, but it has, Mister Maxen," Ayumu replied. "You're part of the Council now. That would change things a great deal between us," they added with a tilt of their head.

"But I don't think I'd terminate your employment. I do so enjoy having the human representative doing odd jobs for me from time to time," the spirit chuckled darkly.

"Tell me though. Were you one of Artemis'?" This was really what Ayumu wanted to know. "This whole time?"

[howellmaxen]

"Really?" One thing Howell could appreciate from his defacto boss was getting right to the point. None of that pomp and circumstance he was sure to come by at council. No there were no politics here because this was a monarchy ruled by their wily spirit king and when he held court you listened. Howell cared for his life so he listened when Ayumu spoke.

Careful not to injure the beaten man at his feet, he kept his eyes locked to his patient ever aware he was being watched all too closely. Unbuttoning the man's shirt he slowly began feeling around the soft tissue of his torso. His lips curled into a small smile at the prospect of someone thinking he a spy. "You believe I am that deft to trick you for all these years?...I should be amused if you actually believed that."

Stopping he looked up from his squatted position over his patient. "No not this whole time. If that were true, I'd wager you'd have me killed. I've been on forums about supernaturals more than half my life...but Artemis. That's new. Er."

[howellmaxen]

For: @vievecorcitystarters Location: Garond District Hospital, Evening of Day 1 of Vibefest

The headache was well set by the last two hours of his shift, not even extra strength Ibuprofen would do anything to fix this. He needed a thick, greasy burger, a glass of scotch and a twenty four hour rest. At this rate he’d be lucky just to get one. The hospital had a policy of zero days off during city wide events so even if he had wanted to he’d be back in twelve hours. He could hear the crowds that still cluttered the ER waiting room as people waited likely impatiently to be seen in order of severity. People didn’t always understand that. They hurt, they ached and like anyone in discomfort they wanted it to go away. Unluckily for the people of Vievecor who directed themselves to the Garond District Hospital they’d find that a slew of emergency vehicles kept their automatic doors busy, bussing in various injured individuals from Vibefest. “Alright let’s get some fluid in Mr. Parker here, check his vitals again and if stable send him on his way.” He nodded to his CEN before heading back to the central desk. The place were chaos was supposedly wrangled, the altar of the ER gods that everyone had to pay tribute to. Quickly he swallowed down the last of his fiber water, having aged out of energy drinks, and grabbed the next clipboard.  Rolling his shoulder, before during back around to the zoo he called home.

“What’s next?”

[aragarna]

Wilberforce chopping wood in the rain, as requested by Anon. - Ioan Gruffudd as William Wilberforce in the movie Amazing Grace.

[howellmaxen]

“I can respect fairness, and it’s honestly appreciated.”  Howell wasn’t sure if he’d ever get over their bias if that had decided to muffle him. He wasn’t a hard gossiper, nor would he run and tell everything to the human community but something about an NDA had sat wrong with him. Perhaps it was the years of being silenced at home as child that influenced his grown-up opinion on the subject. “Golden Rule?....the one to not expose the community to the rest of the world. As much as I would love there to be true transparency, you won’t find me mentioning any of this to other humans that don’t already know, but only if they need to know.” “I’ve meet with Elijah Remington, I think he had hoped to possibly be a friendly face as well….” Starring at the dark liquid in his cup he fought with the idea of how open he should be to her curiosity. “Well…I’ve been told I’m an open book by many, my ex fiancée doesn’t count, so please ask me whatever you’d like.”

[naz-ulusoy]

"That is the rule," the lawyer agreed. Naz had always had a way of finding ways around rules and laws and making them work in her favour but even she knew the importance of abiding to this rule. "It's for the best, it's impossible to know if our communities could co-exist if human's knew the truth." She was sure that Howell would want to disagree but his nervousness was a dead give away that he struggled with that knowledge as well.

She wasn't suprised that the coven leader had found a way to meet the human representative before the rest of them had. It might have been strategic or the witch could have been trying to scare him. "Did you find Elijah to be a friendly face?" she asked, curious to find out about her fellow council member as well. "If you asked my ex husband, he'd say that I'm the opposite. And you can ask him, he works up the hall," she remarked, pointing in the direction of Elliot Atwood's office.

"I guess I was curious why you would take up this job?" That felt like the most obvious question but she was still curious.

[howellmaxen]

“Elijah.. he seems friendly enough. He laid it on thick a little with the scare tactics but I don’t have any reason to doubt him.”  In truth Elijah had left out some information about certain species and he wasn’t sure yet if that was purposeful or a mistake. For all intents and purposes, the man had seemed to care deeply for his people, his coven. Whether that made him a good man, or a friendly face, Howell wasn’t sure but what it did mean is that Eljiah was likely to always vote on the side of safety for his people. A fact Howell could respect. A small smile appeared on his lips, happy to know he wasn’t the only one with exes, and wasn’t afraid to talk about them. There were many things in his life he didn’t feel the need to randomly share but talking about his exes was never one of them. They had been apart of his life, the experiences made him part of who he was. Then again one could say the same about family and more often than not the doctor kept mum about that. “You want to know the truth?” He set his coffee down slightly hunched over the table. “To be honest it’s love. I’m forty fucking seven years old and I still don’t know if I’ve gotten over my first love. The were a supernatural and I want to find them…know why they disappeared.”

[eremington]

"Most of the time, on civic issues, deities and demons tend to fall on opposite sides, so they balance each other out. It's mostly a matter of keeping that balance, and making sure the elders know what's happening with their communities." Elijah took a breath, thinking back to the paintings in the ruins that Caia had shown him. A massive war between deities and demons, the sort of thing where he'd been surprised the planet had survived. He needed to get back to her about that. "If things broke down entirely, I don't know what would happen but I don't imagine it would be pretty."

"Luckily they tend to avoid using magic at a large scale, so do witches. We would all prefer to fix things through incremental changes rather than something large that could end badly." It sounded like Howell understood what he was dealing with so Elijah decided to pull back a bit more towards the sort of issues they would actually face. "The ones who are here though, they like the world. Especially the ones on the council. Tempers can run high but in the end they want to keep things peaceful."

[howellmaxen]

This fragile peace was sightly frightening to Howell. As a human in lived in the world of laws and rules and rarely did it fluctuate to extremes in his lifetime. That was another privilege he had been born into by shear fact of where his family had decided to live. Still he’d come to know about supernaturals over twenty years ago. In the beginning he thought they must be ruled archaically through some sort of high powered monarchy but as time past he saw it was much less organized than that. By the time Artemis had come around he already had been informed of the council and was weary of exactly what the did and did not impose upon their own society. “A break down, well we wouldn’t want that.” The thought alone was terrifying, and he wondered if it had ever happened before or where they all just creatures of comfort these days. Could that be what’s keeping them all at bay from jus destroying each other and the city? “So what you’re saying is this alliance is fragile and only viable while the majority agrees on things….”

“...I think I’ll need another drink.” Flagging the waiter down he dipped in glass indicating he needed another.

[nakatomi-ayumu]

"This," Ayumu said immediately and gestured to the groaning man lying at his feet. "Can't have him dying on me when he still owes me so much money."

They eyed Howell as he walked in, their purple coloured eyes of the day squinting as he looked at the other in a whole new light. The humans and Artemis had somehow chosen this man to represent them on the Council. Artemis and her ilk were not high on the list of Ayumu's favourite things these days, which only meant that Howell instilled complicated feelings within the animal spirit.

"He needs tending to that's not of the magical kind and I figured it's as good a time as any to meet the Council's new human representative."

[howellmaxen]

Howell eyed the man on the floor, from first guess he’d wager the man was beaten pretty badly. Then again that was the typical motive operandi for most gangsters if they wanted their victims to live. Taking further steps into the lion’s den, he wagered that Ayumu wanted more to do with him than the man at his feet. That sort of thing happened a lot recently, various supernaturals wanted to talk to him and on occasion he just tended to bump into them. This situation was different, the man lounging in front of him that radiated power wasn’t just a random supernatural. He had acquired access to his medicinal skills in a very roundabout way. The blackmail and violence that came with it seemed par for the course in this crowd. Kneeling he took in the man’s injuries, staring with the head noticing a spilt like right away. “You’ve met me several times over the past two decades Mr. Nakatomi. What would my status change for you? A termination of employment?”

[howellmaxen]

Howell decided upfront he need not get frustrated, of course they’d likely keep secrets. The fact that he was getting nowhere though, not one scrap of information was unsettling. Would they all be this tight lipped? How was he supposed to work together with them if it was all just a dance of talk? Caleb seemed like a decent enough man, one focused on his community and at the very least he realized the other man’s concern for the safety of humans. Perhaps he could understand Howell’s worries but had it come from more of a place of neutrality?

“Too powerful to punish?” Now that caught his ear. “Are you saying there are those out there more powerful than the elders or that the elders have a hand in making these factors exacerbating?” Amid the soft low lighting and bustle of the waiter he was sure it would fall on deaf ears, or at the very least garner a highly egalitarian response.

[eremington]

"There are absolutely people out there more powerful than the elders." He sat back in his seat. "There are two types of power that you need to keep in mind. The first one you should be familiar with, money, social capital, those sorts of things. The other is magic. Witches can use almost any type of magic, and spirits can use illusions and dream magic, werewolves, elves, and vampires don't have any active forms of magic. Deities and demons though can use any type of magic and their powers are functionally limitless."

"Elio and Matthew are the senior-most council members for the deities and demons. The difference in magical power that they can wield versus what even an experienced witch is so large that it makes the comparison pointless." Yes he was laying it on a bit thick, but he needed Howell to understand why they couldn't do much when a demon ate someone's soul. If Howell knew any of artemis's tricks for depowering demons, Elijah might try to pry them out of him. "These are beings that can alter reality or summon elements from another dimension. Policing their behavior is difficult for any other species to do."

[howellmaxen]

With a heavy sigh Howell leaned back, licking his lips while deep in thought. Elijah was almost truthful with him, but that wasn’t enough to cut him off. Again he though, the witch in front of him seemed like a decent man, intent on making sure his own people not just survived but thrived. To survive they need not get on the bad side of Artemis, or at the most desperate measures eliminate the group. The newer council member did not want to see either outcome happen. He wanted an ally, needed one for that matter. “Well that sounds…. a little bit unfair in the grand scheme of things does it not?” Taking another sip he placed the glass down, fingers playing with the edge of the rim. “I am use to the power that comes with money and status yes…..but this.. this goes beyond that.” How on earth did they have any semblance of balance between powers? Just by a hand shake? He couldn’t imagine a being so powerful they could change reality just agreeing to something unless it benefited them. “So what do you do then…when policing doesn’t work?”

[howellmaxen]

His eyes followed the movements of her hand, aware that both were uncomfortable with each other’s presence. At this point in his life he wasn’t offended that a woman moved her drink way, he worked in a profession with the public and had undergone many different trainings that explained behavior patterns in humans. Though Ms. Laurent was decidedly not human she was still a woman and so the behavior patterns still lined up. In the city everyone had to look out for themselves for the most part, older beings included.

“I am not…” Howell studied her face and knew he was exactly where he should not be. He’d already known the district itself might be hostile but in his rush he hadn’t even considered that establishment he walked into was of the same category. “…but I tend to believe it’s best to see what this city is working with. Would you suggest I not bring patronage to an establishment even though it may wish to see me dead?”

“Glenallachie 12 year, neat please.” With glass in hand he turned on his seat, face calm but thinking the situation over, voice soft and low. “So I assume you did not need a rescue.”

[isabellexlaurent]

"The establishment is naught but wood and steel; it's the proprietor who might object to you being here." Her eyes glanced towards the backrooms, idly wondering if Matthew was here this evening. The demon made his opinion of Howell quite clear with the way that he walked out in the middle of the evening. "Surely you do not blame us for being weary. Your organization caused several of us sleepless nights and a great deal of heartache." She wasn't trying to be antagonistic, merely stating the glaring facts.

"A refined pallet. You are particular about your Scotch." There were the rumors that one could tell quite a bit about a person by their drink order. Scotch tended towards the traditionally minded who values patience.

A smirk tugged at her lips as Belle sat back in her chair. "Matthew loathes when I get blood on his rugs. While a rescue was not needed, it is appreciated. Alas a man's claim is valued more than a woman's no to this day."

[howellmaxen]

“Ah yes, I am guessing then it is one of the council members?” Howell hadn’t had the chance to go over all the assets of the council members. Partly because it felt like an invasion of privacy, and he certainly wouldn’t want them going through his. It was clear that certain parties in the council and likely in Vievecor didn’t like humans in the know, especially in such a high place as council. Mid sip he stopped, wanted to be as diplomatic as possible was needed with a clear head not a mouth tasting of scotch. “I don’t blame you or your people in the least for being weary. I know many left before I could finish my statement but I do not agree with every tactic that Artemis has implemented but on the other hand you can see how tired they all are of feeling used.” “I am sure he does.” The thought of blood didn’t deter him, a man in his career field had seen many things. If he hadn’t thrown up when a bikers guts came in half out of his abdomen, then just the mention of blood, even it’s imbibing wasn’t going to bother him. “That I am sorry for. You seem a formidable woman on your own, it’s a awful a sham like me has to be present for you to get some relief.”

[spiritvictoriawu]

“Ayumu must be paying you handsomely for such a discreet service.” Victoria observed, but not without her own suspicion.

She paused for a moment, “Really? Why’s that?” She asked curiously, her gaze lingering on him for a moment longer. “Hm. Perhaps it’s all the lingering in the back corridors you’ve been doing. I’m usually a figure men don’t like to see coming at their gambling tables. It usually means their brothel money is going to quickly disappear before they can spend it.” It wasn’t all men, of course, but Victoria tended to find they remained to be the majority.

“Howell,” Victoria repeated curiously, “Doctor Victoria Wu. I am the lead Psychiatrist at the Sanitorium.” She introduced. “It looks like your work is done.” she observed as the doctor finished his last stitch and his patient seemed eager to leave their company.

[howellmaxen]

What did Ayumu pay him? At this point he was certain he was paid and not just blackmailed but the actual payment was a mystery. He was sure if he combed through his accounts he’d find it but the numbers had jumped so high when he inherited his great aunt’s wealth he never really bothered to look at it. The privilege of his class and upbringing, that he knew which is why he was ever so hesitant to tell anyone, even former girlfriends his exact net worth. “But hiding in back corridors makes me mysterious does it not? Would you have spoken to me otherwise?” “I wouldn’t mind seeing your figure.” Immediately his lips tightened and he shook his head, curls bouncing against his forehead before he smoothed them back. “What I mean is you seem like a delight, and I don’t frequent most gambling establishments or brothels. I may be horrible at smooth talking as you just saw but I don’t need a brothel.” The man straightened up slightly at her introduction. Wu? Had he read a paper of hers before? “Doctor Wu…..” His dark eyes quickly observed his patient. “It seems that I am…would you be up for drink or would that cut into your time swindling unsuspecting idiots?”

[nakatomi-ayumu]

services | howell & ayumu

for: @howellmaxen location: the basement of one of ayumu's bars in hedon

The Nakatomi Enterprises owned a good number of businesses across the island, one of which was this small bar located in Hedon. While this was not Ayumu's main district to conduct business in, that was the Shipyard, they still had tendrils around the island as a means to diversify their business portfolio.

Hedon was a great district in how it was a bit more lawless than the others and that was why Ayumu was seated on a couch in the basement of one of his bars that evening. There was a human lying at his feet who was bloodied and moaning in pain.

"Is he here yet?" Ayumu asked one of their bodyguards who was standing at the basement door. The bodyguard nodded and at that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," the ancient spirit said and the door was pushed open to allow Howell Maxen to step in.

[howellmaxen]

In his desperate moments when he lacked the ability to come to terms with the path his life had taken the man choose to look at things with a tilted perspective. Things needed to make sense. No need to feel depressed about being used by a spirit being for nefarious purposes in the seedy belly of Vievecor’s underworld! Instead look at it as compliment to his skill set, though should word get out he’d lose the license to that skill set, no longer being able to practice medicine. As he walked down the dimly lit hallway sandwiched between to guards, he couldn’t help but feel maybe his titled perspective titled too much. The rose-coloured glasses viewpoint had gotten him in a right mess over the years. As the doors opened, there like a king before him sat his blackmailing employer. “Ah, Mr. Nakatomi, what do I have the pleasure of being called for?”

[aragarna]

Ioan Gruffudd as Frederick Edward Francis Bywaters in Another Life

[naz-ulusoy]

She chuckled at his joke, finding it amusing because he wasn't the first man to say that to her. Naz was only five feet tall and she tried her best not to be scary despite being a spirit. Somehow, men were still scared of her. The human representative was already turning out to be interesting and his need to apologise showed that he was a gentleman at least. "I appreciate the apology but I assure you it's not necessary. This is an unusual time for you so that can call for some unusual behaviour," the spirit replied.

Naz was glad she could provide some positive news to start his tenue on the council. "Fairness is what we're aiming for. We have to trust that you'll follow the Golden Rule like we all do." Trust was going to take time to build. Many on the council were unhappy and are still unhappy that there would be a human representative. Naz was undecided but she was definitely curious.

His quesiton made her lean back and shrug. "I should likely say that I could be an ally or a friendly face on the council for you," she began. It wouldn't surprise her if another representative went to him to curry more favour for council votes. "Mostly, I was just curious. I know, curiosity killed the cat or whatever but I'm not a cat and I'm already dead so I let curiosity win."

[howellmaxen]

“I can respect fairness, and it’s honestly appreciated.”  Howell wasn’t sure if he’d ever get over their bias if that had decided to muffle him. He wasn’t a hard gossiper, nor would he run and tell everything to the human community but something about an NDA had sat wrong with him. Perhaps it was the years of being silenced at home as child that influenced his grown-up opinion on the subject. “Golden Rule?....the one to not expose the community to the rest of the world. As much as I would love there to be true transparency, you won’t find me mentioning any of this to other humans that don’t already know, but only if they need to know.” “I’ve meet with Elijah Remington, I think he had hoped to possibly be a friendly face as well….” Starring at the dark liquid in his cup he fought with the idea of how open he should be to her curiosity. “Well…I’ve been told I’m an open book by many, my ex fiancée doesn’t count, so please ask me whatever you’d like.”

[spiritvictoriawu]

The neat click of Victorias heels — or rather, the illusion she created of them — came to a slow stop in front of the doctor. “What would you call it?” She asked him. She hadn’t seen an emergency vehicle outside and she could only assume from his lack of uniform that he wasn’t performing treatment officially. She could have been wrong, but when concerning Ayumu and his business, she doubted it.

The spirit barely spared a glance at the wounded man, whose whimpers were making him sound thoroughly sorry for himself. “If the sound of moans bothered me, I doubt I would find myself in a brothel.” She pointed out to him, passing her dark eyes over the handsome features of the man’s face.

“What’s your name?” Victoria asked, most people lied, but it didn’t matter. “You sound as though you find yourself here often, yet somehow I’ve never seen you before.”

[howellmaxen]

“Well, I suppose touche, you got me there.” The curve of his lips twisted up into a small smile. He had always enjoyed when a woman pushed back a little with wit or sarcasm. She didn’t seem like one of Ayumu’s girls, but that wouldn’t have mattered to him. Conversation with a person, human or not was much more intriguing than tending to the injured in a place like this. Paying to lose money at the gambling tables and the exchange of it for sex weren’t on Howell’s list of things he needed to do before he died. His only purpose for being there was to keep the injured healed, so they’d stay quiet.

“I like to think I work efficiently and so I’m gone before I am noticed.” To be fair he wasn’t sure what his reputation would be if he was found in a brothel, he didn’t exactly stick with familial high society pressure these days and he wasn’t the head of any department. It would be safe to say that the doctor would just be looked at with side eyes from his coworkers, but no serious damage would take place. “If that’s the road we are going, I haven’t seen you either. If I did I think I’d remember.”

He had just finished the stitch on the man’s head when he turned back to elegant figure that loomed in his direction. “Dr. Maxen, but calling me Howell is just fine.”

[isabellexlaurent]

She was better off with the bore. Of everyone in the entire city whom Isabelle could be sitting next to it had to be fellow council member and Artemis member. She couldn't even excuse herself and leave the stranger who would not shut up with Howell. The strangers effusive chatter posed a danger to all supernatural people. Any information leaked portended a possible Artemis attack. She didn't care what the contracts outlined. Her gut told her that peace was far from achievable at this stage.

"Dr. Maxen, what a surprise." She kept her expression blank even if she did move her drink slightly away from him. "I did not think you a fan of this establishment." They both knew how Matthew reacted to the reveal of Howell's loyalties. Belle idly wondered if the human understood just where he had walked into. "May I buy you a drink?"

Before he could reply, she lifted her hand, signaling the bartender's attention. "What's your poison?"

[howellmaxen]

His eyes followed the movements of her hand, aware that both were uncomfortable with each other’s presence. At this point in his life he wasn’t offended that a woman moved her drink way, he worked in a profession with the public and had undergone many different trainings that explained behavior patterns in humans. Though Ms. Laurent was decidedly not human she was still a woman and so the behavior patterns still lined up. In the city everyone had to look out for themselves for the most part, older beings included.

“I am not…” Howell studied her face and knew he was exactly where he should not be. He’d already known the district itself might be hostile but in his rush he hadn’t even considered that establishment he walked into was of the same category. “…but I tend to believe it’s best to see what this city is working with. Would you suggest I not bring patronage to an establishment even though it may wish to see me dead?”

“Glenallachie 12 year, neat please.” With glass in hand he turned on his seat, face calm but thinking the situation over, voice soft and low. “So I assume you did not need a rescue.”

[eremington]

"We do care about what happens to the humans here." Elijah turned his own drink on the table, brushing a fingertip over the lemon slice on the edge but not taking a sip yet. "We do have files on past offenses, and Zamok prison does have a section specifically for supernaturals. Sometimes when a supernatural kills a human we have to bend the truth to keep our existence a secret. We punish the killer, but sometimes the family doesn't get answers, as far as the public knows, the case is unsolved."

"There are times when that doesn't happen though. Sometimes they get away, sometimes there are exacerbating factors, sometimes they're too powerful for us to punish. Even with magic, we face the same societal issues with justice as humans."

"Werewolves. You left out werewolves. Caleb's their representative and head of the Lycaon pack. They're mostly in Chissob." He answered with a slight grin. "You would have to ask each person and their answer might depend on the day." Of course there were people who he was more or less suspicious of, just like he'd said in his conversation with Atlas, but Elijah wasn't willing to expose those sort of cracks in the community to Howell. He'd see them soon enough for himself.

[howellmaxen]

Howell decided upfront he need not get frustrated, of course they’d likely keep secrets. The fact that he was getting nowhere though, not one scrap of information was unsettling. Would they all be this tight lipped? How was he supposed to work together with them if it was all just a dance of talk? Caleb seemed like a decent enough man, one focused on his community and at the very least he realized the other man’s concern for the safety of humans. Perhaps he could understand Howell’s worries but had it come from more of a place of neutrality?

“Too powerful to punish?” Now that caught his ear. “Are you saying there are those out there more powerful than the elders or that the elders have a hand in making these factors exacerbating?” Amid the soft low lighting and bustle of the waiter he was sure it would fall on deaf ears, or at the very least garner a highly egalitarian response.

[hackerhyun]

Even though they were in a period of peace, Eun-ji could not bring herself to simply sit back and accept it. She still connected with people online doing forgery work and hacking, but she also found herself coming back to the forum, checking on it and hoping to hear something, anything. It had become remarkably quiet as of late and she was left waiting for the other shoe to drop when it inevitably would.

When she saw a message request, she couldn't help wondering who else was looking at the forums at this time of night.

03:46:10: Artemis: Another insomniac, huh? 03:46:15: Artemis: Don't worry, you haven't missed anything. 03:46:21: Artemis: It's as quiet as always

[howellmaxen]

03:46:45:hownow: Habit of the lifestyle being up this late

For a moment he wanted to type everything that had happened to him and who he had and had not spoken to. Just to let someone else know might lift the burden he was feeling. It wasn’t to heavy yet, just a small ache here and there in different joints but he knew eventually it would consume him if he didn’t have outlets. Howell typed a long line of text, less just a paragraph and more a dissertation. He stopped himself, finger pressing against the matte black backspace button that had gotten plenty of use over the years. In person he wasn’t always so calm but through the screen he could take all the time he needed to convey his words. Occasionally that backspace button was used more than he’d like to admit.

03:51:15:hownow: they all still seem on edge. 03:51:18:hownow: the supes.

[howellmaxen]

"Yes, well I'm unsure if that's a good thing. I tend to make impressions I don't always mean to make. I've been told I make myself an easy read." His younger brother had often teased him about it, in such a way Howell decided to make it a point of pride just to anger the younger sibling. Still, it was hard to shake off the idea that people didn't like him being honest. It wasn't a vulnerability in his eyes, but he'd been advised to keep things closer to the chest with this council business.

"Well I.." A young waiter with a handlebar moustache that could rival a train baron villain in some old western came to take their drink order, giving Howell some time to think. Did he want to allow council in so early or should walls be placed? "Macallan 18 please." He was sure the waiter had heard all kinds of conversations, but he took Elijah's lead waiting for privacy. "..I wanted humans too have a voice, for them not to be left in the dark when it came to things happening in their city, to their family and friends." Scratching at his chin, he hesitated for a moment. "You know, even those of us that have known about...others. Well, we're still looked at as less than by many." Howell chuckled, he never thought of himself as much of a politician and yet here he was. "Does that sound too polished?"

[eremington]

"There are a few other people who wear their hearts on their sleeves. You'll learn to read them soon enough after a few meetings." Half the council could also read Howell's mind, but it was generally considered rude. If Howell was connected at all to artemis someone there could help him shield his mind. Elijah though bitterly that Roan could at least help him with the basics.

"Amaretto sour please." He waited for the waiter to leave and for Howell to start talking again. "It's your choice how polished you want to sound. Though I'm sure no one would be surprised that you practiced for your introduction." He thought for a moment before folding his hands on the table in front of him. "The secrecy surrounding the supernatural has mostly been for our own protection. There are those who are worried about facing abuse if their abilities were discovered, others who worry about how they could be pushed to use them for ill purposes."

"This does mean however that there have been times where human victims of supernaturals have not been able to get justice. Some of us do our best to prevent these sort of abuses and punish perpetrators, but we aren't always successful. I do hope that your voice on the council will bolster that."

[howellmaxen]

“The fact that your numbers are limited…well I do understand the caution. The want to protect your own is something we both agree on.” Howell leaned back, taking a deep breath to collect his thoughts. Mr. Remington wasn’t pleading a case for the supernaturals but in the same turn he wasn’t threatening force with them either. This he could work with as long as they stayed on the same path. “Elijah, is that alright if I call you that?” The warm oaken spiced amber liquid pooled in his tongue heating his throat. Damn that was good, but he had to be careful. Even sober he wouldn’t be able to fend off any magic from the man across from him. “Tell me more about what happens when these instances aren’t brought to justice. How are they remembered? Documented and filed away? Does the majority of council care about what happens to the human inhabitants?”

He leaned in so the distance between them was closed and voices hushed. “Elves, deities, demons, vampires, spirits and witches. Did I leave anyone out? Who of you doesn’t seek friendly relations with humans?”