2024.09.10 Glass Walkers and Twins

Glass Walkers and Twins
Bruce and Vivian plan for future business activities while Dannica and Demira discuss city lore and forge-based partnerships
IC Date	2024.09.10
IC Time	Early Morning
Players	Vivian, Bruce, Cindy, Dannica, Demira
Location	Smoke and Barley - Private Dining
Spheres	Garou, Sorcerer, Mortal+

       Vivian steps down into the private dining area with a simple clutch in her hands. She's dressed professionally, as one might for a job interview, and she brushes a bit of hair back behind her ear as she descends to the dining area floor. Her eyes drift over the glyphs along the walls and then come to settle on the center fireplace, a smile creeping onto her lips before she steps over to briefly hold out her left hand to feel the heat from the fire. Her eyes settle on that flame for a moment, as if staring through it, before she moves over to the bar to peruse the menu.

Bruce shows up soon after, coming down the stairs dressed in a suit. His eyes flick around the room, spotting the unfamiliar Vivian. Putting two and two together quickly, he turns his stride in the direction of the bar and nods with a smile as he nears. "Hello there, I'm Bruce. You're the one who messaged me, correct?"

Cindy comes in a short time later but mostly looking at her phone. Click, click goes her shoes. "Meeting? Who?" She doesn't look up until she almost bumps into Bruce. A moment to look around then a grin appears on her face. "Oh. The cool kids are getting together!" she announces with a laugh.

       Vivian was glancing over the food menu when she feels the presence of someone near her. Her head turns just as Bruce arrives, her eyes darting up to look to the face of the taller man. She is wearing heels but it doesn't start to make up the height difference. She had been partially leaned against the bar but now she stands up fully and nods her head, clutch held in her left hand and her right extended out to Bruce. "A pleasure to meet you Jinx'rhya. Yes, I'm Vivian. Vivian Web. Ms. Spencer said that I should come meet with you. That I could be.. of assistance?" Her voice is soft and melodic, standing rather straight as she addresses the Garou. Her gaze then moves to Cindy and smiles, laughing softly. "Hello Cindy. It's good to see you again."

Bruce turns his head to look over his shoulder as Cindy joins them, then slips to the side to not be in between the pair. "Ah, so you two have already met then? Excellent." He takes Vivian's hand and shakes it quickly and firmly, keeping a neat smile on his face. "Great to meet you, Vivian. And please, call me Bruce. I find it's easier to be in that habit while working together, since once this thing gets rolling there will be a lot of people not in the know around us. So, to start off, how much did Ms. Spencer already tell you?"

Cindy gives a cheerful wave to Vivian and makes a brief curtsy like gesture towards Bruce. Back and forth she looks while you two briefly chat. "Yeah we ran into each other out at the kinfolk lodge. Had a short talk out there." And she loooks to Vivian for the answer to Bruce's question.

       Vivian pulls her hand back and nods her head affirmatively to the question of meeting Cindy already. "Yes sir, we have." She rests both hands on her clutch and holds it lightly against her stomach with hands folded over top of it while she speaks. Her voice remains polished and polite, "Ms. Spencer didn't tell me much, Mr. Wilson. Just that you could use my assistance and that my skill set could be useful to you. I am a mechanical engineer with some computer networking experience. I have also had some management experience. I am happy to help however I can though."
       Vivian's head turns towards Cindy and she smiles warmly, taking a slightly more casual tone when speaking with the other kin. "It was a very interesting talk for one so short. But it was nice meeting you. Are you working with Mr. Wilson as well?"

Bruce's lips twitch slightly at the switch to 'Mr. Wilson', but he lets it pass without comment. "Alright then, as a quick overview, I'm starting a new solar power company here in Prospect. Power farm setups, home and business installation, off grid configurations, on grid overflow feeding, all of that. The model isn't new, I was doing the same up north in the bay area before I moved down here. But I sold those holdings off, so we're basically starting over from scratch again. And yes, Cindy has already helped with the new set of articles of incorporation."

       Vivian's eyes linger on Bruce for a moment as she takes a slight breath and then releases it with a nod of her head. "Mr. Wilson, I do recall Ms. Spencer saying that it would be a solar project. I'm intrigued and would love to contribute. I have a great deal of technical expertise I may be able to bring to the table if that's what you're looking for. It's a good cause, trying to support the green transition."

Bruce nods, taking a more relaxed posture and resting a hip against the bar. "That is a big part of it, yes. This is one of the best options to lower pollution rates and stop poisoning Gaia. But even beyond that, I'm really looking to make it work on the business end too. If this succeeds, it will be undercutting the industries that the enemy is using to accelerate that harm. If we can hurt their profits, we'd be taking away their power. It's like another front in the war, closer to the logistical side of things. Sorry, I'm getting a little ahead of things there. But yes, technical expertise will be vital. If we want to really pull this off, we can't just do it. We need to do it well, better than anyone else. Better than the enemy, at the very least. Energy storage is one of the areas needing the most innovation, for example."

       Vivian smiles as Bruce lays out the philosophy beyond the effort, a warm smile coming to her lips as she nods in agreement. "It's a good plan and it makes sense. Turns the tools of the enemy against them, right? Align business incentives with greener energy options so that traditional energy sources start to be less efficient. Effect downstream supply chains and build a sustainable transition." Vivian very much is into this idea. "So you need people that know what they're doing and can manage and innovate. I'm in Mr. Spencer, whatever you need. I have my doctorate in mechanical engineering but I have a wide set of skills that could be beneficial here." She takes a small step closer to Bruce as he takes that more relaxed posture. "Should we talk over breakfast?"

Bruce's eyes are drawn towards the kitchen at the mention of breakfast, and his stomach chimes in its support for the idea. He straightens up from his lean and nods. "Good idea. This is the place for it, isn't it?"

He heads for an empty table to lay a claim on it and looks over the menu once seated. "You've definitely got the idea. I've even felt the impulse to look into expanding into related markets like electric cars, but it's also important to not bite off more that we can chew too quickly."

       Vivian's heels click against the hard floor as she follows along beside Bruce, hands folded into her lap against the clutch again as she nods her head in agreement with food. "Absolutely, and I'm feeling a little peckish myself." She waits to Bruce to sit and then seats herself across from him. The clutch is placed on the table and she quickly smooths over her skirt with her hands before she uses her phone to scan the QR code at the table. "I agree sir. It's a good idea and already sufficiently ambitious. And if we're successful the enemy will seek to stop us. We need to build this plan up first and then consider branching out." She blinks once and then looks back to meet Bruce's eyes. "But, perhaps it would also help if we knew a little bit more about each other as well Mr. Wilson?"

Bruce nods, his smile shifting to one a bit more sheepish. "Yes, sorry. I can get a little fixated at times on topics I'm interested in. At some point I'm sure I'll end up going on and on about firearms, so let me apologize in advance for that. And I skipped over the formal stuff, so let's start back there. I am Bruce Wilson, named Jinx by rite. Born of man under the full moon, and a cliath of the Glass Walkers. I just moved here a few weeks ago from the Sept of the Western Eye, near San Francisco. You're new in Prospect yourself, right?"

       Vivian straightens up and flashes a gentle smile to Bruce when he suddenly takes on that sheepish look. Vivian leans forward slightly, hands folded together on the table as she shakes her head. "There's nothing wrong with being passionate about the things that interest you. In fact, I rather think it's a positive trait in a man." Her eyes fix on his as he goes through his introduction, the kin nodding and offering her much less formal introduction. "Vivian Web, Dr. Vivian Web. My mother was Web-Cleave, a Fostern Glass Walker. Ahroun." She then gives a light shrug of her shoulders. "I'm returning. I left when I was a teenager so in a lot of ways it's like coming home, but in other ways so many things have changed. I was in Boston before this."

Bruce rests his hand on the menu, seemingly forgotten for the moment. Some of the stiffness drains of of his shoulders at the gracious acceptance of his enthusiasms. Even so, he does manage to keep a lid on them for now. He leans forward himself a tiny bit at the mention of her title. "Doctor Web? You know, I don't think I've worked with anyone with an actual doctorate before, that's excellent! I guess that would take a few years, but still, things couldn't have changed that much in... it must be around only a few since you went to Boston? Was that for school then? I wish I could have done that myself sometimes, but, well, you know how it is. Especially if your mother was an Ahroun as well."

       A few years. Vivian smiles at that, staring across at the young man she's beeing calling 'sir' and 'Mr. Wilson.' He's probably a decade younger than her and Vivian reaches up with her left hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear before she continues. There's a slight laugh at 'Dr. Web,' nodding her head affirmatively. "I left for school when I was a teenager Mr. Wilson. I went to MIT, received my bachelors, masters, and doctorate there. And then I worked for a local startup for several years after that. I've been away from Prospect for about 15 years now. It's a doctorate of science, a lot of people don't know that's a thing. Vivian Web, ScD." Almost as long as Bruce has been alive probably. "And yes, I remember my mother having her moments. She never hurt me though which I was grateful for. Is that also why you need me? To be a face in corporate meetings and for pitching investors?"

Bruce leans back, his face showing a little tightening around the eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything quite so drastic. But even on my very best behavior, regular people do not like being around me very much. So yes, your help as a buffer will go a long way towards improving employee relations with the non-kin. And as you pointed out, investors and external business representatives as well. Cindy will be helping as well. She has a business degree from... Wharton, I think she said. And MIT for you?" He lets out a small appreciative whistle. I almost guessed that, but I couldn't remember how close Cambridge is to Boston. I know it's around there somewhere, but... let's say my most recent reference source can't be counted on for real accuracy."

       "Wharton?" Vivian chuckles at that and nods her head, amusement showing in her face. "I am happy to be that buffer and that face when you need it Mr. Wilson. I imagine Cindy and I would both appeal to different sorts of people. Good to have a diverse set of skills represented among your staff. And yes, MIT. What about you? Where did you grow up, how did you get into this line of work?" Vivian leans forward, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin against her hands as she stares at Bruce. "Any family?"

Bruce's fingers fidget with the menu under them absently, his brow furrowing as he digs into his memory banks to put things together for her. "I'm from San Fransico, although mostly in Oakland when I was younger. I started getting into this business pretty early on with my cousins Daisy and Buck. We grew up together, and we were looking for something to do to help out as much as we could. Then, as a surprise to us all, I had my first change at a late age as things go. That pulled me in another direction, obviously, but I didn't want to abandon what I'd helped start, either. We made it work though. They're here in town too, they moved with me to help start over. The rest of my kin are still up north. You must still have some here, from before? Or did you come back here with... others, as well?"

       Vivian listens attentively, keeping eye contact and offering a reassuring smile throughout the story. She nods her head at each name that's mentioned, perhaps making mental notes of their names and who they are. And then the question is directed to her and she glances to the side as she straightens up and then drums a freshly manicured set of nails against the table. "I came alone." It's a simple enough statement before she looks back to Bruce with a smile again. "I've been focused on my career. No family to speak of. My mother and father, unfortunately, have passed away." One might guess how her Ahroun mother died. "No.." she glances down at her left hand for a moment and then shakes her head. "Nothing else tieing me down. I think I came back because I'm ready to.." Vivian pauses, searching for the right way to say this as she tilts her head to the side just a bit, "ready to start something new."

Bruce nods grimly, knowing that type of story well enough. One that more likely than not will apply to him sooner or later. It takes a moment to push those ruminations to the side and catch up with the rest of her words. "Something new... Well, I hope I can provide something that helps there. Hmmm, maybe another startup doesn't quite count though? It's still work- What was the other start up you worked with, come to think of it? My wild guessing hat wants to go with Boston Dynamics, but that's a long shot, right?"

       Vivian laughs softly at the guess of Boston Dynamics and shakes her head, waving a hand dismissively. "No, nothing like that. I would've loved it though. Just a pipe-dream effort from someone I was close to in college and I came on board to help out. And I'm sure that I will enjoy working with you plenty. I'm looking forward to it really." She leans back in the chair for a moment and then glances off to the side. "I need to excuse myself for just a moment," she gestures towards the bathrooms, "Could you let them know I'd like an orange juice please?"

Twins! They are dressed absolutely identical today. Casual top and skirt, matching shoes. Even their hair is down and both are straight today. Danica and Demira come down the stairs, arm in arm. One is fiddling with her phone. "You know, this is pretty good, actually. I wasn't sure if it was going to be absolute crap flip phone or not, but this is good." She isn't paying attention as they walk down the stairs, but she isn't tripping over things either. "Not bad at all." Once they hit the bottom of the stairs, Demira tucks the phone into the pocket.. YES her skirt has a fucking pocket and she looks around. "Hey, Bruce."

Dannica has her phone in hand as well. The blinged out case catches the light. "And having Candy Crush already loaded on here? I'm obsessed already!" She sees Bruce as well, and Vivian disappearing. "Hey there, Jinx! I see you met Vivian? Sorta. Is she coming back?"

The clinking of glasses and the sound of beer being poured comes from the bar. Bruce turns in his chair at the entrance behind him, waving hello to the twins. "Well, look at that. It's like a Glasswalker convention in here today!" He pauses to look around, noting the lack of signs of the others besides one place across from him at the table also being set. "Well, it would be if the others came back. Yes, we were just talking. Cindy was here about ten minutes ago too, but she had to step out to take care of something. Care to join us for breakfast? We were only just starting to order here."

"If only we were Glasswalkers, you'd be right!" Demira chuckles and leads her sister toward Bruce's table and takes a seat, finally letting go of Dannica so they can sit. "Man, breakfast is my favorite food of the day. Well, almost. The 3 am wake up snackies is the best. I've got a pint of Ben and Jerry's that I've been eating just one bite at a time. "I'm more of a Fallout Shelter girl myself. Candy Crush just makes me want to throw things." She's ruined more than one phone that way.

Dannica laughs! "Yes, that is why it is good there is this phone service here. Thank you, Glass Walkers." She takes a seat herself. "Breakfast is exactly why we are here. The smell of bacon in the tech haven got me more hungry, and I want some food." She says to Bruce, "I mentioned you at the caern yesterday. Ulysses was around, and he's teaching me and Fedir, the new Silver Fang, some rites. Vivian was there, and Stephen. Later on Boots and Ramona."

       Vivian comes back from the little kin's room and looks over to the table she just came from to notice that there are now two Dannicas sitting there. She smiles politlely and approaches the table with the three Garou with her hands folded together in front of her. She smiles first to Bruce and then to Dannica and Dannica too. "Sorry for disappearing on you Jinx'rhya. Forgive me.. I know I met one of you yesterday.." she looks between the twins and remains standing at the table for now.

Bruce's mouth curls into a small smile. "That's funny, I almost mentioned Fallout myself a few minutes ago, but managed to slip around it. That sounds like a party too, sorry I missed it. Boots has been teaching me some rites lately, or at least trying to. It turns out not to be my best subject. Oh, welcome back. And that's nothing that needs apologizing for, doctor."

"I missed all that because I was burning the heck out of my fingers in the forge. That little glassblowing station. Man..." SHe lets out a happy sigh. These two might look absolutely the same, even down a freckle on one arm, but five seconds talking to them and it's obvious how different but complementary they are. "Breakfast. Yes please." She points over at Dannica. "You met her. I'm the pretty one. That makes it easier to tell us apart."

Dannica gently elbows Demira in the side. "I actually confused Ulysses, by mentioning the glassblowing, by calling it glassworking, and he thought we employed a Glass Walker, and even thought at first it might be Bruce here." She giggles softly. "Thankfully, Vivian was fast to figure that out. Ulysses looked like he had had a rought night.. probably burning the candle at both ends to create something or other. I have to ask..." she looks to Bruce and Vivian, "Is it true that coders exist on Twinkies and Mountain Dew?"

       Vivian lets out a small breath of surprise a being called 'doctor,' her eyes alight with amusement as she looks back to Bruce. A wry smile comes across her lips as she stares at him knowingly and then gives a slight nod of her head. She stares at Demira as she speaks and then looks back to Dannica with a chuckle, "It's good to see you again Patient Tempest'rhya. And some certainly do, yes. The ones I've worked with tended to survive on estradiol and spiro." Vivian smirks at her own statement and then directs her attention back to Demira, staring curiously as she remains the only uncertainty. "I'm Vivian Web, Glass Walker kin. It's nice to meet you." She does not introduce herself as 'doctor.' Prim, proper, stylish, Vivian is very well put together.

Bruce can't suppress his own grin, either at the aggressive titling or the coder food bit. "I always preferred beef jerky to twinkies, even before the change. But the Dew remains a staple. Then again, I'm just a dabbler. I'm willing to bet that Ms. Web is much more of an expert on the subject."

"Oh, yes. Sorry. I'm Demira Malkovich, Rited Thunder Clap, Cliath of the Shadow Lords, blessed by Grandfather Thunder and honored by the Ancestors under the Galliard moon. It's nice to meet you too." She grins at Dannica. "I mean.. like.. glasswork... But he thought... Glasswalker...." She crinkles her nose, clearly perplexed about the misunderstanding, then shrugs. She glances over to Ms Web to see her opinion on Mt. Dew and Twinkies.

Dannica did not miss the doctor comment earlier. "Oh? Vivian.. Ms. Web.. did I hear doctor earlier? Have you spent that much time in school to earn a Ph.D? You certainly appear quite professional, and smart. What is your specialty? Did I hear mechanical engineering yesterday?"

       Vivian closes her eyes and nods her head for a moment, dedicating a bit of information to memory, before she reopens them to look to Demira. "Pleasure to meet you Thunder Clap'rhya." And then, salutations complete, Vivian reclaims her seat across from Bruce. She sets her clutch back on the table. The comment about her supposed expertise does get a smile from Vivian cast in Bruce's direction before she glances sidelong at Demira. She speaks up quickly. waving a hand dismissively. "It's a simple mistake really, glassworker, glasswalker. It's not hard to make." She's immeidately a little defensive of Ulysses.
       At the question of her specialty she looks back to Dannica and smiles again, nodding her head. "Yes, ScD actually. Doctorate of Science in Mechanical Engineering. I'm hoping to put some of it to use helping Mr. Wilson with his ideas. He has an incredible idea that will make a big impact if we can get it off the ground." She gestures back to the Glass Walker Garou.

Bruce taps his knuckles on the table's surface lightly, a widening grin on his face. "And we're really close to that launch now, too. The paperwork is all filed with the state, and the office space is ready to get moved into. Next up is equipment acquisition, and then recruiting the people to use it. My cousins are down at the Green Building right now getting set up for those steps. Soon enough, we'll be ready to start installs at the forge for you."

Demira nods to Vivian and she glances around to see if someone's coming to bring food or if they have to get up... or... her tummy rumbles. But then the woman gets a faintly toothy smile as she defends Ulysses and then glances down at her lap and smooths her hands over her skirt. "Quite an easy mistake. Yes." She turns her attention to Bruce then. "What are you installing at the forge? You heard about our INCREDIBLE filtration system, yes? Did we tell you about that?"

Dannica smiles to Demira, "He's doing solar panels. It's a great idea, didn't I tell you sister?" Maybe she forgot in all the other excitement. "It will be clean power, which going with our filtration system, we'll be the cleanest forge around!" She smiles to Vivian, "That is impressive. I'm glad to hear you are jumping in with both feet - actually both of us! If nothing else, it lights a fire under our butts to get going more."

       The toothy smile from Demira gets an awkward smile from Danica in return and then her eyes are quickly cast down to the menu to break any eye contact. When one of the kin wait-staff comes over Vivian waits her turn to order. She does look up curiously at the mention of an INCREDIBLE filtratino system, curiousity in her eyes. Dannica's kind words get an appreciative look from Vivian, "Thank you Patient Tempest'rhya. I'm hoping to be useful, it's nice to put my skills and knowledge to work for the Tribe. What is your specialty?"

Bruce nods along with Dannica enthusiastically, holding back any interjections of his own. One eyebrow shoots up at the mention of the filtration system, that being news to him as well. He murmurs an order of eggs and sausage to the waiter, quietly to make room for answers to Vivian.

"Oh! The solar! Yes. That's exciting. I was talking with some of the people we have working there who ACTUALLY know what they're doing and they think it'll work for a lot of the residual stuff. We probably can't power all the equipment with it, but solar is definitely a way we want to go." She skips right over the awkward smile from Vivian and launches right into the filtration system. "It's a magic item, created by one of our kin who used to own the place. The smoke goes up and it's transformed, not by a spirit but by literal magic into something as pure as water vapor. They just set it in the stack and it does its thing. No maintenance or anything."

Dannica wiggles her fingers as she raises them. "Magic! Well.. I think they call it enchanting? I'm not really sure, but I'd /love/ to learn more." Vivian's question has her smile right back at her, "My specialty? It is really in finding out stories. Our history, lessons, achievements, failures. Everything. Then sharing it with others, so they can learn as well. Memory is very important. Sharing it is tradition, and knowledge is power. It can be inspiring. It can mean the difference between winning the war, or being obliterated. Between the two of us, we hope to be a fount of information we can share, look good doing it, and still help kick the wyrm in the ass."

       Vivian is -very- intrigued at that description from Demira, eyes cutting over towards her before she looks back to Dannica. The description of the intent causes Vivian to smirk as she nods her head. "I'm sure you'll both do an amazing job at it Patient Tempest'rhya. Verbal histories are really important, they tell us so much and can include context.. emotion that is lost in traditional historical documents. That is a great purpose." She then looks down to the menu humming softly to herself before she looks up to the kin staff that came to the table. Once the Garou have had a chance to order Vivian flashes a bright smile to the other kin and leans in to her, "Just.. eggs overeasy and a large glass of orange juice, thanks." It's almost whispered and then her attention is back on the Garou at the table. Another quiet moment and then she offers up to Dannica, and the table generally, "I'm no expert but I know some basic enchanting.."

Demira definitely orders. Sausage, bacon, eggs over medium, toast, let's do grits too. But make them cheesy? And some biscuits and gravy. Metabolism? She's a Garou. She adds on to what Dannica and Vivian have to say as well. "The emotion and the LIFE of those stories, history. Yes. Exactly. Anyone can throw out facts and even embellish properly, but there is a lack of LIFE to the histories that we have." Bruce leans back in his chair comfortably after his order is in. He cocks his head to listen to the description of the filtration system, looking impressed. Even more so when Vivian mentions that she's an enchanter herself. "Really? That's all very interesting. I wish we could do stuff like that for normal clients, it would clean things up so much. But we are limited to regular human tech there, for better or for worse. By the way, what does 'basic enchanting' cover?"

Dannica looks to Demira, and silently they kinda share a thought. She places her order, bacon, sausage, ham steak, and some hashbrowns, toast - sourdough of course!. And then an egg scramble with onions, mushrooms, cheese, and tomatoes. "Yes, what sort of things have you been able to create? Even if you cannot be selling them for this business venture, it would be quite boon to the Nation."

       Vivian watches as Demira and Danica order and there is more than a little hint of jealousy in the Kin's eyes at the amount of food being ordered compared to their rather attractive frames. A little sigh escapes her lips and she just shakes her head to clear the thought away before she looks back up to nod in agreement with Demira's emphasizing the importance of life. At Bruce's question Vivian looks back over to him and beams happily, "I mean, it could be lots of little things." She taps the frames of the glasses she's wearing. "These? A teeny tiny bit magical. They help me just a little bit with recognizing magical or spiritual stuff. My phone too. I call it a 'wicked-smart' phone." She laughs nervously at the rather lame joke, looking down after a moment. "It sounded funny at the time. Just helps me whenever I tap it into other systems. I'm still practicing with other ideas but nothing groundbreaking. I have a few other little tricks too." She shrugs slightly.

"Yeah? What kind of tricks?" Demira is genuinely interested. But now that she's ordered, she's suddenly impatient for food. She taptaptaps her fingertips on the top of the table, then realizes she's doing it and moves to do the same against her thigh. She glances over at the kitchen and then back to Dannica with that shared thought kind of thing. CAN they read each other's minds? Who knows. Bruce gets a smile. "Why culdn't you slip something like that in somewhere? Like, here's your solar panel. It's 38% more effective for some reason." She isn't entirely kidding. But then back to Vivian and she peers at the glasses, then glances for the phone. "Is all your stuff tech-based?"

Bruce shrugs at Demira and drops his hands to the edge of the table. "Well, for one thing, I'm no enchanter myself. Even if I was though, I'd be a little concerned about leaving stuff like that lying around. I suppose something like a solar panel that works more efficiently would probably escape notice, but... I don't know, it seems like there would be some risks if you kept going down that road. And then there's the issue of scalability. There's a lot more regular people that work in the field than there are magicians." Dannica shakes her head, "While that would be wonderful for the gaians to have? Selling that to the general public may cause more issues. Especially with keeping up with supply and demand? While we know and have seen fetishes, I'm not sure how enchanting quite works, but I kind of doubt that churning it out at the rate a business would need to be successful woulbe worth draining your abilities? What you can do is special. Don't dilute it. With great power comes great responsibility... or so says spider man's Uncle. Although I hear that Voltaire and Winston Churchill also said it.. And the Roosevelts. So... it must be true."

       What kind of tricks, Vivian thinks for a moment on that before she looks back to Demira. "So, no. Not all tech based. I'd say that I started with spirits, little things. Nothing dangerous or volatile." Vivian is -very- quick to add that when she mentions working with spirits. "But a lot of what I have right now is tech-based, yeah. And then I have a few natural gifts as well. I can read things just by looking at them. You know, I could look at someone's phone, turn it on, and then read their emails. All without getting up from the chair. Stuff like that." A brief pause and then she gets a big smile on her lips. "And I'm pretty good at hide and seek."
       She does think about the issue Bruce just brought up and she looks back to him, all smiles again. "That's a good point. I think it goes back to figuring out where can make the most impact. Magically enhancing a few critical parts and machines that are integral to the whole operation will produce the downstream products more efficiently. Maybe the solar panels aren't magic, but if we're reducing the carbon impact of making them in the first place that's still a huge benefit in the long run." Vivian looks to Dannica and nods her head in agreement. "Yeah, this stuff takes time and effort. At least for me it does. I'm happy to help but I don't want to end up working in a magical enchanting sweatshop churning out solar panels."

"Totally. Couldn't be every single person. But a few select ones. I know you can't do it yourself, but someone like Vivian here who could maximize efficiency in, say, a Gaian who lives in the city. " Then she makes finger guns at Vivian. "What she said. Enhance YOUR side of things." He wiggles a little and glances back over at the kitchen area and something she said really sinks in. "Spirits? Like fetishes?" Oh, she's all interested now.

Bruce reaches up to scratch his chin for a moment, then nods. "That's a good point about the possibility of using a few, uh, cheat codes at the manufacturing level. There are some efficiency concerns there, manufacturing has its own environmental costs. Not that a lot of business care about those points, but I do. Not that we're going to run enchantment sweat shops, of course!" Dannica grins a bit. "Oh... smart one indeed. Your business is going to be highly successful, which I'm sure many Glass Walker businesses are. Oh dear sister of mine, we need to get with the kinfolk and get some plans more for ours. Not that it is a competition, or anything, but useful to the Nation."

       Vivian had been a little wary of Demira since the toothy grin but the finger guns and agreement fetches a winning smile from the kin. As the kin waitress comes back over and starts delivering plates.. and plates.. and plates of food Vivian is once again taking in the rather staggering amount of food being eaten for breakfast. She hadn't been around Garou for awhile, she forgot it could be like this. She looks back up to Bruce and nods again. "Definitely, and some investors will care. Particularly out here. I can just drop a few lines about 'innovative green manufacturing technologies that reduce carbon footprint by blah blah blah while increasing output by blah blah blah' and there's a few rich progressives who will be all over it."

Bruce gets his own tooth baring grin at Vivian's comments on the investors. "You're not wrong there! And of course you have to leave in the blah blah blah bit, that's the most important part! But seriously, yes. There are market segments that do care deeply about the environmental impact, and we'll be deep in that sector. I don't plan on giving up too much control to outside investors, but it is hard to work without them entirely so we'll have to work with that balance." He diverts his attention to make his meal disappear at a prodigious rate, his stomach losing its patience with his flapping mouth.

Dannica mmms, "And from what I understand, some of the tech companies have leadership that can be controversial. Like Mr. X himself. Giving an alternative, with similar benefits, if not better? I am sure that will be like gang busters." And the food has arrived, and she forgot to order a drink so she asks for a fruit juice mixture, and then starts in on her bacon. "Do let us know when you get things open and going, I'm sure we'd love to come by and visit to see it all. Similarly, we'd love to have you come check out the forge. We need to complete a bit more, but soon it will be ready."

       Vivian blinks slowly at Bruce, eyes half-lidded for a moment as she responds to him. "Yes sir. I can help manage that balance. Just let me know where you want me to focus my work." And then he begins devouring the food and she leans back a bit in her chair. Her own plate is sat down, a couple of over easy eggs and toast. She lightly salts the eggs and picks up her knife and fork to start eating, taking occassional sips from the orange juice she ordered. Dannica's voicing support for the effort gets a nod from Vivian who swallows and wipes her lips with a napkin before speaking, "I'd love to! I'd really love to see those filters too!" The nerdy side of her slipping through as she very much wants to check out someone else's inventions.

Bruce comes up from air, his plate much lighter now. His face curls into a smile at the mention of Mr. X, and not a kind one. It lightens back up as the subject moves back to the tech and toys. "That sounds like it'd be a productive visit. I still need to do a survey of the place to see how much room there are for roof top panels, storage units, and so on. We should definitely set that up soon." Dannica nods at that. "Previous owners... not our family, but someone before that. They installed some things on the roof top - to make it more a patio in a way? And a hot tub? But we do not want to keep that. We are in the process of having it all removed, repurposed. So you can have a blank slate to start with for the solar panels. We are more than happy to show off your work and hopefully can get the panels as something all Gaian businesses utilize."

Demira gets toothy sometimes. Nothing to worry about. She's pretty level overall. But then plates are being brought. Dannica's words are briefly forgotten as food is put in front of her. Three slices of bacon and a half piece of toast are eaten quickly but neatly with the occasional patpat of a napkin. She also got something resembling Mt. Dew. Fuck juice. You don't need juice. You need that caffeine, the rush. It's water mostly. Right? "We don't want a hot tub upstairs, outside. Definitely not. Couple of idiots with a drone and then we're on some paid website." Demira has never considered selling feet pics. Nope. "We're happy to support. Maybe the Lords and the Walkers can join forces and we'll run the world."

       Vivian smiles wryly and focuses on her light breakfast now as she listens to the others talk shop. She grimaces a bit at the mention of the drone spying on the hot-tub and she nods her head in agreement. "I might be able to make something to kill any drones that fly overhead automatically.." She hums to herself quietly for a moment considering that. Yes.. yes maybe she could. "Maybe I should sell that to the government?" A bigger smile crosses her lips at that.

Bruce shovels the last bit of toast off his plate into his mouth and sets down his fork. "Yeah, I could see how drones would be a problem for rooftop hot tubs... An EM jammer might be a good option, but the transmitter power would have to be over the legal limit. Not that that would an insurmountable problem, especially for us. And it'd be quieter than a shotgun. And it would keep us from having to... rough up any idiots running drones like that, too. But also, there are better uses of rooftop space, as you've said."

Dannica nods and nods. "I've heard they had a drone out looking for the caern years ago. That is why the implemented the phone protocol. In fact, I heard taht the Mage behind that attack? They sent an attack copter to Hushed Blaze'rhya's home. So yeah, Veil first. Security for sure. If we want a hot tub, it can go inside. I do not need anyone seeing this that shouldn't." She gestures to her body. "So outside of solar, what goals do you have, Jinx? Anything else you are really interested in?"

Demira shrugs slightly. "Maybe that would be an answer, but an even better answer would be to use the rooftop for solar panels and maybe a clothes line because I LOVE the air-dried towels. Man, that's the one thing I really miss about home. We would always hang our towels out to dry after we washed them. So, yes. Boring stuff. Not important stuff. I don't even want the flower boxes up there for that matter. No reason at all for us to hang out up there really."

       "Hot-tub or not, you probably don't want uninvited drones flying overhead." Vivian is finishing up her own plate, cutting her toast into little squares and then using a fork to swirl each piece in the egg yolk remaining on the plate before she eats it. She looks up at the mention of an attack helicopter and attack on the tribal elder. A swallow and then she looks to Bruce to see how he'll answer Dannica's question. Demira's comment about air drying towels gets a glance from Vivian. "Where are you from Thunder Clap'rhya?"

Bruce sits up straighter, adjusting his tie before moving his hands to the arm rests of his chair. "Hmmm... Good question. There's some open space between goals and interests, but... So I'd say that firearms are a serious interest, as a hobby and a tool. But for goals, that's harder to really map out. Past what we already talked about, anyway. Of course, there's the obvious issue of making Fostern." He frowns at that, not really having wanted to get on that subject but wandering into it anyway.

Dannica smiles to Demira, "Maybe we just need to find a little cozy place out in the forest, and can setup that clothesline for you out there. In the city, it would just be tacky - and probably smell bad from the pollution all around." She's continuing to eat her food, now cutting her ham steak up. More than half of her food is gone, and thankfully her juice arrived. She listens to Bruce's answer to her question. "Oh, we just went an visited Hunter's Game the other night. We should go out there and take some guns for a test fire.. test run.. try out. I'm not sure what you call that for guns. Could be helpful for future uses - when not on caern patrols."

Demira shakes her head. "Of course we don't want them flying over. Protection of some sort would be super cool, but also, let's say that someone who KNOWS something is flying this drone and it gets splattered or whatever. And so they go 'huh. That's sus.' So they do it again. And the same happens. Much better to just have.. nothing interesting up there. And if THAT was the protection --- that everything seemed totally okay --- then that'd work for sure." She grins at Vivian. "Mt. Marcy in Keene, NY. It was Peak of the Sentinal. It's a Get of Fenris sept mostly. I could spend hours on the history of the place. But.. we weren't very far from Lake Placid. But that mountain air." She inhales deeply, filling her lungs all the way and then leting it out with a little sigh.

Then she eyes Dannica. "I'll just put them in the dryer." She makes a little hrmph sound and smiles at Bruce. "Fostern is just around the corner. Maybe we should all throw our efforts together and make it together." No she isn't implying pack.

       Vivian does glance up to Bruce when he mentions wanting to make Fostern, staring quietly for a moment before she looks back over to Demira. "That makes sense. Better not to attract the attention in the first place.." She hums to herself for a moment again as she crosses her fork and knife on the dinner plate and sets the napkin on the table neatly folded. "Mt. Marcy? I'd never heard of it. I guess I always forget there's a New York outside of New York City." Vivian stays out of the not-pack organizing, instead just listening in.

Bruce fills his lungs and lets it out, resettling in his chair. He nods slowly at the mention of teamwork, simple yet real wisdom. "A little cooperation never hurt anyone, that's for sure. We'll have to see what we can make happen. And I still need to visit Hunter's game. Do they have a range there too? I know there's at least one range in the city. And wow, New York? You moved a long way then, didn't you?" Dannica nodnods! "We did come a long way, but when family is in need and asks you to help? You do not ask why, you just say yes." Another bite of food really quick. "MMmm, yes, they do have a range there. Best part is that it is gaian owned. In fact, by a Silent Strider Kin."

"There's so much.. oxygen here." Not like they lived at the top of Mt. Everest. JUst a little over a mile high. But she lets her sister handle some more of the rest while she eats

       Vivian hands off her plate to the waitress when she comes back by with a quick thanks and then pulls out her phone, idly tapping away at it. Bruce did warn her that he would get into a discussion about firearms at some point.

Bruce nods, the gears already turning in his head as he starts planning a trip out there. "Alright, I definitely need to stop in. But for now I need to go check in with Buck and Daisy to see how things are going and actually pitch in some help myself. It was great seeing you all, and meeting you, Ms. Dr. Web. We'll have to do this again sometime. Or at the range or the forge. Until then, take care of yourselves."

Dannica bows her head toward Bruce, "For sure. We definitely need to get together again. Soon. Have a good day!" She finishes up her food. "Dear sister, that is so true. Not only that, but the sea air here is something else. So long as we do not have sharks attack us." Demira nods to Bruce. "Enjoy the rest of your day." She has been slowly devouring every bit of her food in a strategic manner. By the time she was done with mopping up the very last bit of flavor from her plate with the edge of a piece of toast, the plate looked absolutely spotless. She grins at Dannica. "I mean.. like.. that might be cool. Kind of."

       Ms. Dr. Web looks up to Bruce and laughs softly, a wide smile crossing her lips. "You bet. I'll be looking forward to it Jinx'rhya. I'll work up some ideas in the meantime. I'm looking forward to getting to work." She glances to Dannica and adds, "I mean.. sharks really rarely ever attack anyone I'm pretty sure. It's like getting struck by lightning or something."

Dannica shrugs, "Tell that to the surfer girl in Hawai'i that had her arm bitten off. At least she still won a surfing competition and had a movie made about it all." She pays attention to pop culture! "That Island we heard about yesterday. I hope there are no sharks around there. I know there is a dragon, but that isn't the same."

Demira grins at Dannica. "I could take a shark." She's provoking her sister is what she's doing. She gives a little nudge in that direction then slides her plate to the middle. To Vivian, she offers, "Shadow Lords are all about Grandfather Thunder. We see lightning a LOT."

       "Well.. yeah.. but.." Vivian lets out a slight sigh, taking another sip of her juice and running her tongue along her lower lip before she continues. "Sure, -sometimes- someone gets bitten by a shark but that doesn't mean you should worry about it everytime you get into the water. There's a psychic cost to these sorts of things. You should put your time, energy, and stress into things that are more likely to go wrong." Vivian pauses for a moment and then grins as she adds, "Like getting eaten by a dragon." The kin looks back to Demira at that, eyes blinking as she considers that before she responds. "Okay, fair. Point taken. Some of us get struck by lightning more than others."

Dannica grins right back to Demira, "Some of us are blessed with extra power by the storms. Still. Sharks? I could see you taking one. We'll have to see what we get into here." She lokos back to Vivian. "Thankfully, we shouldn't be dealing with those in the city or forest."

Demira chuckles at Vivian. "There was a shark attack here in Prospect. In a coffee shop. All part of the lore of Prospect. We did our research before we came here." She picks up her drink and takes a little sip to let THAT sink in. Build the drama. Fucking Galliards

       Vivian drums her fingers over the table and shrugs a bit. "Probably won't deal with sharks in the city or the forest either." It's a quiet remark as she leans back in her chair before she looks to Demira, blinking a couple of times as her little side comment is seemingly instantly proven wrong. "A.. coffee shop?" Vivian's fairly dumbfounded on that one.

Dannica laughs! "Oh yes! The couch! I remember that story! Shark frenzied.. well Rokea. And destroyed the couch! Oh we need to go visit that place! Can we go tomorrow? Or later tonight?" It's like going on a tour of Hollywood Stars for them. "Wasn't here that a gorgon destroyed a table as well?"

Demira waggles her brow at Vivian. "There is SO much to learn about this place. Dannica and I have just scratched the surface. You know who I want to talk to? Shaderunner. He's a legend. But yes. We'll go tomorrow for sure. Maybe tonight. But we have a house meeting first, since everyone will be in town."

       Vivian bats her eyes a couple of times as she listens to this, not quite understanding everything being said. "Rokea?" Vivian says the word in the way someone speaks a foreign word they've never heard before. She thinks on that for a moment and then curiously suggests up, "Like.. Ikea?" She smiles to Demira, rather curious about all of this as well. "I'm starting to see."

Dannica explains to Vivian, "You know how we... our family.. we can change.. shift into wolves. Well... there are other types out there. Rokea.. those are sharks that can shift and take human forms. But from the little I've learned about them? They hate humans. So it is really rare to see one, and if you do? They have short tempers with humans... or those that look like humans. There are other types of animal shifters as well, usually lumped together to be called 'fera'. Like Lions, Tigers, and bears." Oh my! "Not that I've met any just yet, but I have heard they are around. In fact, there is a bear I heard about here. Aurora. Experts at cleansing the wyrm."

       More rapid fire blinking as Vivian hears this. "Huh." She glances up and to the side for a moment as she process that before she shakes her head. "That's very interesting.. but also probably not that.. I doubt I'll much interaction with these fera people." Vivian shrugs a bit and then sighs, glancing down at her phone. "My apologies, but I really should be going. If you'll excuse me." She does a quick look around, do they pay here? Is it covered by the Sept? She shrugs, assuming everything will be okay, and then standing to excuse herself. "It was a pleasure, I look forward to meeting you both again -and- to seeing the forge."