To Mrs. Scotts.

Elle gets out of the cab at Scotts place.

Goddammit I need to go get a car again. she growls to herself, tossing money to the driver.

She heads to the door and knocks.

Mrs. Scotts herself answers the door.
"Good evening Miss Moraine. Welcome to my home."

"Good evening to you as well Mrs. Scotts, thank you for your letter," she replies.

"Yes, please come in." Mrs. Scotts shows her to a comfortable wooden table in a dining room. On the wall is a piece of blue glass with a bullet hole through it.
"So, what brings you to my about Miss Moraine?"

Elle looks at the strange art, then shrugs.

"Ah.. Well.. I was interested in learning more about the Invictus covenant.. I am looking for a fold to fit into that will best suit me." she says, crossing stunningly long legs as she sits.

Mrs. Scotts is impressed, this girl knows how to use her looks. Now to get her to use her head.

"I see, well, what do you know of the First Estate?"

"Not much, other than that Davis was in it, and told me that someday he might want me to join." she says, "others don't have the nicest things to say about it, so I thought I would go to the source rather than listen to gossip."

Mrs. Scotts smiles. Maybe she wouldn't have to work as hard as she thought.

"The First estate is a group who prides itself on order. We seek to establish order and hierarchy. If everything is in its place, then everything and everyone works to their fullest. Many make the mistake that joining the Invictus is a desire for power for control. The Invictus is a group who beleives that control is a tool for power. When you have power, what you want to happen happens. Some invictus use such power to make themselves bad people. The prince previous to Fredrick was one such individual. However, many others use it for the benefit of society. Davis provided a high class club for people to meet and relax without worrying about low class individuals ruining their night. Lioni has created a club where people are able to express their dark desires and lusts without fear of reproach or retribution. I have begun a program to make the gangs of the city less incoherent, to impose order on them. We are all powerful individuals. But we are using that power to instill order into society. Would you like to make society better miss Moraine?"

Elle smiles pleasantly, finding this a fascinatingly different description than what she has heard before.

"And what of the idea that the Invictus would only want me so they could have a puppet Hound?" she asks, not looking upset, just interested.

"Your station has been duly noted. You will also note that Alder Viscount Davis was a Hound. He was certainly not a puppet of the covenant. What he did first and foremost was make sure that his only use to the covenant was not his station. I hold station in this city, but am not a puppet to the covenant. This is because the covenant sees me as a benefit regardless of my station.

The First Estate might ask you to do something for the estate within your duties as hound. Call that puppetry if you like. I instead say that it is you showing your loyalty. Show loyalty, get rewarded. It is the same as in any covenant. We are sometimes seen as either more blatant or more subtle about it, depending on whom you ask. But at least we are honest about it. We don't cloak things in religion or transcension or a cause. We do things for power. And when you give someone help, you get power for having helped them. And then the puppet becomes the puppeteer."

Elle nods slowly.

"May I ask the covenants opinions of the others? It can be short and sweet, or brutal, I am just trying to get a feel for it." she says.

"The Lancea Sanctum and The Invictus have been allies since Rome, and that alliance is still held. They provide the structure that the Invictus provides with a religious purpose. The Circle of the Crone uses magic that we don't understand. Magic that is heretical to our allies. The Ordo Dracul generally doesn't bother anyone. They just seem content to spend their lives in study. However, they need to be constrained, lest they perform abominable experiments.

The carthians make a big show about trying to be equal and just, but saying that a Roman vampire should be the same as a freshly turned one seems downright ridiculous. Equality works for those who are equal. They also rely on destabilizing influences to gain power. This makes our covenants similar. The only difference is one city is neat and organized, and the other will disintegerate any night."

"Interesting... So, control and organized, or equality and doom?" she smiles, amused by this simplification.

"That is the official position, yes. Of course, no self-respecting Invictus would let the city crumble like that. A good Invictus would set up a parallel government in another section of town, and kine would go through an exodus. Such a thing happened in Cleveland, where the carthians took control of an area called now called University cirlcefull of rich men and women. Now the place is one step above a slum, even with a large university situated in the middle. An Invictus controlled the nearby area, and kine fled there to avoid the struggle." She smiles, and whispers, so that elle has to lean in to "listen in on the secret.
"A great invictus would manipulate the carthians into providing the order themselves."

"Hm..." Elle thinks hard about this.

"And what do you think, personally, the Invictus has to offer me?" she asks, now so torn she doesnt know what to do.

"There are the material benefits of the invictus, the money, the blood, the underlings. But I think what the Invictus can offer most to you is self-discipline, control, and friends. Many of our members are powerful in this city, and can get you what it is that you need."
Mrs. Scotts leans back in her chair.
"Now, what can you offer the Invictus? Besides your station and your sex appeal."

Elle laughs out loud a that, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder.

"Ah well, sex appeal is high on the list. I'm the Hound, I'm dedicated, I have skills that no one else in the city possesses, I'm not really sure how useful they are to the Invictus." she shrugs.

Elle blinks, and suddenly mrs. scotts is no longer leaning back. She is leaning forward, very interested. "And what skills would those be Miss Morraine? The Invictus has yet to find a talent that couldn't be put to good use."

Elle tilts her head, smart enough to know that this is not something that should be common knowledge.

"Might I have a promise that what I tell you doesnt leave the room?" she asks politely, "my blood is important to me, and I don't wish everyone to know."

"I completely understand. I was going to later ask you to keep the entirety of the conversation to yourself as well. What you say will not leave this room."

"Have you heard of the Anvari bloodline?" she asks.

"I must be honest, I have not."

"They call us the Pushers... We are rare, few and far between... And ancient. Our blood was founded in the 4th or 5th century.. We have abilities that no other bloodline can replicate called Nepenthe... Surrounding the drugs found in the middle east, opium especially..." she says.

"So what can you do with this Nepenthe?"

"Well... I can make anyone, Kindred or otherwise, deeply desire any drug that I myself have experienced... I can sense any drug in any room, body, hiding place that I am near... With a touch I can make someone under the influence of any drug, and just as fast I can tear the high away... When I have completed training myself I can poison one with an overdose with just a glance." she says calmly, wondering of what use she would be to the Invictus, the little druggie Hound.

"My goodness. That is impressive." Mrs. Scotts thinks to herself for a bit.
"That is a very interesting talent. At the very least, you could provide drugged blood to those who desire it. I could easily see you recruting a herd of addicts to yourself. Their blood would be worth much to those vampires who desire alternate experiences as well as those poor souls who are addicted. Additionally, you could provide such experiences to those who would rather not ingest the blood. In fact, you could build up quite the financial empire that way. And that is ignoring the more ... dirty options of blackmail." She says dirty like like its a good thing.

"I have done that, that is how I pay for my haven and the like, a small herd of druggies that desire what I can give them... I didn't think many of the straight laced Invictus would want me to drug them up," she smiles.

"Well, to be fair, I think your clientelle in the Invictus would be limited. But remember, its about power. If you have every single Crone doing what you want for that high, then you have about as much power as the highest ranking invictus, if not more. The Invictus wants each member to be powerful, regardless of whom that power is exerted over."

"Interesting... My problem Mrs. Scotts. Is that I am not sure how to advertise said services..." she murmurs.

Mrs. scotts nods her head.
"I can see the difficulty in that. My solution is to get to know kindred on a personal basis. Find those who are interested in new experiences. Offer them a new experience. You don't have to tell them exactly what it is, just say its a temporary mental disconnect, allowing a different mindset to be held.

I have another thing you may want to specialize in. Combat. I speak specifically of becoming a Knight."

"A knight? Like...of the round table?" he quirks a brow.

"Indeed. While I must profess I know little about joining an order, one of the Alder members, probably Lady Lioni, knows more about it. What I do know is that Knights are some of the most respected Kindred in the Invictus. They are fantastic warriors, and any who call their skill into question usually live only by mercy of the Knight in question. A perfect position for a Hound. Alternatively, you could go with being a soldier, like Davis was. A warrior, but without any creed or oaths to follow."

She nods, this is very interesting.

"Would the Invictus be very dissapointed to lose me to the Carthians?" she asks.

"Some in the Invictus would see it as you finding your rightful place, amongst those who are undisciplined. But I would be disappointed in you. I saw how you fought, I saw your strength, your inner fire. I saw that you have great potential, if only you could refine yourself. So would the whole of the covenant be disappointed? No. I would be."

She nods.

"The invictus are on the upswing Mrs. Scotts..." she says.

"Are you able to tell me what will be asked of me once I am accepted on a trial basis?"

"No. I can't. Not until you've decided to ask to join. I can however, tell you that I will present to you three tasks. One will test your physical abilities, one will test your trouble-shooting skills, and one will test your morality."

"Interesting. How long does the offer stand?" she asks.

"Normally, I'd say until you leave this room. However, I'll give you a week to think on it. Remember, pouncing on opportunities is what we do best in the invictus. Early decisions will look good for you."

"Thank you Mrs. Scotts I deeply appreciate your sponsorship, I will inform you in three days," she smiles, rising, stretching her lovely form.

"That is excellent. I hope to hear a favorable reply then." Mrs. Scotts leads her to the door and opens it.
"Have a safe trip back." Mrs. Scotts looks outside, and remembers the taxi pulling away. "You don't have a car. Well, that won't stand. Give me an address and I'll have a car sent to it. A Hound needs a car, regardless of a covenant."

"It's really alright, I'll buy one this week, you dont have to do that," Elle says.

"Alright, if you insist. But if you don't have one by the end of the week then I'm getting you one." Elle had the odd sensation of Mrs. Scotts almost half-sounding like a mother there.

"I mean... if you have one laying around you dont want... Davis's dissappeared..." she murmurs, not really sure where her finances stand since she hasnt been dealing in a month, and her ghoul has been MIA.

"Not here, but Mr. Lopez will drive you back home, and one will be waiting for you with the keys in the ignition. You don't mind slate grey as a color do you?"

"No, not at all, I'll pay you back," she replies, looking like she actually needs some of the guidance Scotts is providing.

"I'm sure we can deal with the financials later." Mr. Lopez, a hispanic man pulls out of the garage with a jet black hummer.
"Your ride is here. I hope to see you again Ms. Morraine."

"I think you might Mrs. Scotts. Thank you for everything," she says, hopping in the hummer to be taken home.

Mr. lopez only asks for directions, and then drives stiffly. He lets her out of the car, and then drives back the way he came.