[VegasRigged]

I inform him that no, I will not be charging extra to have someone watch and learn. I bid him good evening and head out to the club in my evening attire, the time is just about right and it's going to be an exciting evening.

[Mercy Merchant]

@Eva   Mr. Smith nods and smiles.  "I would like to have two of you dominate me.  It would be fun."  His eyes glance at you in your change of clothing but he does not seem interested or even attracted to you in this garb.  He nods at you as you leave, handing you a cred stick for your services.  The ride to Dante's Inferno is unremarkable.  There is a message on your 'link from your secretary.  >>Oh, Miss Coulter, this is such a surprise.  The VIP entrance.  We feel very privileged and we will be there on time.<<  As your cab pulls up to the club parking lot, you can see that tonight will be jumping.  There is a long line of people winding almost around the building waiting to get into the club.  You are let out at the VIP entrance at just before 2100.  Marie and Tom are already waiting.  She brings him over to introduce him to you.  "It is very nice to meet you, Miss Coulter.  Marie has told me a lot about you.  Thank you very much for the invitation.  I did not expect the line to be so long."

A man in the uniform of the club comes up to you and verifies that you are with the Lady Marisart party.  He nods motions you into the VIP waiting pavilion, where you can see several sets of chairs and couches and a few people wandering about.  he also asks if you would like some refreshment while you wait for your hostess to arrive.


@Cynthia   Roger raises a finger.  "I said a hint just to get you thinking.  Contact me if you are interested enough to work together on this and I will talk to my employer.'  Your internal alarm goes off, indicating that you need to change now or you will not make your appointment at the Inferno.

[VegasRigged]

I take up the offer of a drink and buy the first round for Marie and her boyfriend, who name i quickly check on my link. I also take a moment to evaluate magical security before addressing Tom casually

"So Tim, I'm afraid Marie has been vague on the details, what is it you do?"

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - The Digital] #47

Cynthia chuckles. "Hey, I had to try! But sure, I will. And now, I'm sorry but I must go to this business meeting. If it really is a business meeting that is and not some kind of prank. See you!"

While quickly changing in the restroom, Cynthia checks to see if she has any answers from Barbara. She will also thank Arsène, and call Sherlock, asking him to find what he can about the bombing and the assassination in Bogota, she'll help after her meeting. Once done, she checks herself in the mirror.

*Erf, that's not me... Maybe I should have bought a bra too though... Bah, it's not like there's too much pressure on the buttons.*

With a sigh, Cynthia tries to tie her hair in a tighter ponytail than usual, without much success. *I hope it'll be enough. Nothing I can do know, even if I wanted. And since I'm not sure I do want... Best be on my way before I change my mind.*

Cynthia exits the bar after a wave at Xiaoyou and climbs in her car. Checking the traffic, she makes sure to take the fastest way given the conditions, and make sure she'll have a parking spot - cheating a bit if she has too - waiting for her not too far from the Dante. Once in front of the VIP entrance, she'll send a message to Eva <<I'm here. I think?>>


With a comlink in the back pocket of her pants, and that's pretty much it. And of course, not a touch of make-up.

[VegasRigged]

I shoot over a response to Cynthia and inform the man who seated us of another arrival, along with a quick description of her.

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno, VIP entrance] #48

Cynthia approaches the VIP entrance, looking for Marissa. Once she gets the answer, she looks for someone to take her in charge. When someone in a Dante's uniform comes to her, there's a bit of a misunderstanding: no, she's not with someone called Lady Marisart. She doesn't even know any Lady, and certainly not one called like that. Wait no, she does know a Lady Marisart, but she never met her. Someone called Marisa Coulter invited her. Unfazed by the situation, the man confirms with her that the woman who sent him to fetch Cynthia is indeed the one Cynthia is talking about. Fortunately, this is done quickly, and he guides her to the VIP area. On the way, he asks Cynthia if she wants something to drink, but is answered that she just had a beer, so water would do.

Once in sight of the VIP area, Cynthia stops, overwhelmed, like a deer in headlights. Saying that she's out of her element would be a gross understatement. And it's clearly visible: her clothes are almost tasteless and utterly unsuited to the situation. They look new but anyone with at least a bit of knowledge can see it's ready-to-wear, costing probably no more than a hundred nuyens - if half that. She doesn't wear any make-up, and obviously didn't make any effort regarding her hairstyle judging by the simple rubber-band holding her ponytail. And seeing that she's underage, she's probably one of the youngest in the club. A far cry from anyone else in the crowd.

It's not all that that make her stop though. She doesn't really care that she stands out in such a bad way. And judging by the burning glazes she returns to some disdainful glances, she doesn't care what anyone else thinks. No, it's the simple fact that she is in a crowd of people she doesn't know, with whom she has absolutely no common point and should probably never have interacted. She's at a complete loss as to what to do. She knows she shouldn't glare at that sneering bimbo, more plastic than flesh by the look of it; or at that mocking asshole, who (probably) made a joke at her expanse. And while it's better than bricking the 'ware of that arrogant moron, an idea becoming more tempting with each passing second, knowing she should just be on her way to Marissa, or the respectful nudges from the guide, doesn't really help right now.

[VegasRigged]

Marisa has the door to her left, she picked this seat on purpose so she could watch the room out of the corner of her eye and be difficult to sneak up on. As people begin turning her attention follows there's to young Cynthia, looking entirely uncomfortable.

Marisa looks Cynthia over for a moment, she could certainly be worse dressed, the fact that she's making an effort means she wants to be accepted here, and wanting in is the first step doing being part of the team. She's too distracted to get to her table, letting the voices and laughs get to her.

I remember for a moment, as if from a past life, the first time I attended a Wuxong social function. I was only fourteen and simalerly underprepared, though better dressed of course. I'd been nervous and sure that everyone was against me. I'd been teetering on the edge of nervous breakdown when my teacher from planes theory had called me over and asked about my studies, and from there the evening was a blur.

Now it would seem my time had come to bring the scared little girl out of her she'll, and the cyclical metaphors of the moment only enhanced it. First I need to get her over here, and I have the tools to do that.

As soon as she meets my eye I carefully and precisely cast a force one euphoria, rendering her fears a little less aggressive and her feelings towards me a little more positive.

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno, VIP entrance] #49

Finally meeting Eva's eyes, Cynthia takes a step in her direction when she's feeling some kind of ticklish sensation. She frowns, stopping mid-step, looking at Eva as this sensation quickly disappears.
*Was that...* Cynthia seems surprised, unsure of something. But by her expression, even if she doesn't seem quite sure about what happened, she's pretty sure something did happen. *Did she just..?* While she's looking at multiple possible explanations, she keeps coming back to the first one. And she doesn't like that one. Not at all.
*Is she a Mage? And did she just do something to me? No way! But... Did she!?*


Given that I have 12 dice to resist spells like Euphoria, at Force 1 (so with only one success) the spell cannot affect Cynthia.
Even if it were possible to consciously not resist a spell (and I'm not sure it's possible, the only indication one way or the other is the Levitate spell as far as I know), with her willpower of 7 there's no way Cynthia would let herself lose even a tiny bit of control over herself, unless she specifically chose too (and making her to want to lose that control would be a hard fought battle ^^). In this situation and since she doesn't know what's happening, she cannot not resist.

On the off chance that Cynthia noticed the spellcasting, I had her make the Perceiving Magic test (SR5, p280). Force 1 with a spellcasting of 5 implies a threshold of 4 on a perception test.
Perceiving magic: 8d6t5 4
So she notices... Not something prone to improve the situation, why did I have to get 4 successes on this roll? Good thing that it's probably the first time she's seeing magic, and won't really understand what happened.

[VegasRigged]

Marisa tilts her head slightly, suprised to see that her spell didn't work, then stands up and walks over to Cynthia, dismissing the doorman with a nod.

Her noticing the spell will make for an awkward start to the evening, but that's probably not  a bad thing since Cynthia is expecting a bizarre time and is already getting one.

"Good evening Cynthia, glad you decided to join us."

Now lets see what you do.

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno, VIP entrance] #50

Cynthia snorts. "Am I? Before that I'm pretty sure you've got some explaining to do." With a tone full of irony, she adds "Because certainly, there's some other explanation than you're a mage who tried to do something to me just now, right?"
Hey, good thing at least one one side: Cynthia doesn't seem so anxious anymore. Of course, her being angry might not be better, but...

[VegasRigged]

"It was a mind euphoria spell, designed to take the edge off of being in a new place and overwhelmed. I remember my first time in high society and how nerve wracking it was, I'm very sorry if my attempt to help has made you uncomfortable, it may have been overbearing of me."

Still your move, either you'll come to the table, which is as good as accepting the apology, or you'll leave and we'll have to consider plan B.

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno, VIP entrance] #51

"It was a mind..." Cynthia inhales sharply. "I see. When you only have a hammer, every problem looks like like a nail, right? So when you're a Mage, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised if you use magic for every little things. Even if you could just have walked to me or motioned me over? It may not. It was. Frag, mind magic!"

She snorts. Still, she seems mollified. "Since I'm here tonight, I'll stay. But note that first, I have another job offer pending, so I don't need whatever you're selling. I may take it if it's interesting and I feel I can trust it, but I don't need it. Second, it may not have been obvious, but I came here trusting you. Obviously, that was... I'll refrain from saying it was a mistake. For now. But I sure as hell hope you don't expect me to believe anything you say on the face of it now. If you're willing to use mind magic like that, I'll have to consider what you may use for more important stuff."

She grunts "You know, it's funny. I chose to not look into your comlink. Something I could do easily, believe me. Something that most in my situation would have done I think. I didn't even poke at your life on the 'trix. I thought I should play nice. After all, even if I had reservations, well..." with a gesture, she indicates the scene, indicating that for this, it may be worth it. "Maybe I'll have to reconsider this policy if you don't do the same with me. And for the record, I don't consider the use of magic - any magic, but most of all mind magic - without my agreement, to be considerate. While I have more reasons than most to not take trids about mages at face value, some of it is bound to be true. They can't be wrong on every little thing."

She pauses, then chuckles a bit. "At least, even if it's not how you wanted it, I'm not so anxious anymore. But I hope you don't have too many friends in here, some people may have problems with their 'links and 'wares tonight." One again, she glares at some fool who's pointing at her.

[VegasRigged]

Marisa stands calmly with a look of composure and vague interest as Cynthia babbles at her, first about 'mind magic' then about how she didn't snoop any commlinks before showing up, that she has other work lined up and finally that she intends to cause trouble.

When she appears to have talked herself out Merisa takes out her commlink and removes the battery "It's nice that you trusted me, I appreciate the thought, but you should definitely not have come into this without snooping into my background and history and if we're going to work together I'd prefer if you got in the habit of invading everyone's privacy all the time. Now, my secretary and her boyfriend are at our table, let's take our seats while we wait for our other guests and you snoop these twos commlinks and later tell me everything you find. Does that sound doable?"

[Imladir]

[Cynthia Rawson - Sunday June 10th, 2075 - Dante's Inferno, VIP entrance] #52

Cynthia looks in the direction of the table, and cocks an eyebrow. "You want me to extract what I can from a couple of standard comlinks which are still running with their factory settings and you ask me if it's doable? The question is more why I should invade their privacy and report it to you. You know, I think there's something in the laws about this." She snorts derisively. "As for the rest, I'll keep it in mind. And maybe I'll let you know what I find. From time to time.". She grins "As for that" she gestures to the disabled comlink "You'll have to reconnect it at some point. Keeping me from snooping around at the cost of your connection to the matrix will quickly be too expensive to justify it."

She shrugs, and walks to the couple. "Hi. I'm Cynthia."


Speaking of hacking Mercy, given what I've d one up to now, I'd like to buy the Codeslinger (Hack on the Fly) quality and the Hacking (Hosts) speciality if that's ok for you.
I have the karma for that, but how does it work for training time? It should be a month for the speciality, but I'm guessing that given the nature of the game it's a bit different. How does it work?

[Mercy Merchant]

Cynthia moves to the table and the pair introduce themselves.  "Hello, Cynthia, I am Marie and this is my very good friend Tom.  I am afraid that we feel very out of place here tonight.  It was just such a wonderful opportunity, though.  Tom was just telling Miss Coulter, my boss, that is, that he is in construction.  We have been going out together for about five months now, which is quite a record for both of us.  Do you know anyone here besides Miss Coulter?  You seem so much less nervous than I must."

Eva notices Sylvia enter the VIP lounge and look around, presumably for her.  When her eyes catch yours, they light up with their own kind of smile.  As she takes the few steps to you, she frowns then gives you a hug, taking the opportunity to whisper in your ear.  "Your 'link is off.  Are we lovers or just friends tonight?"

At almost the same time, Tanya Marisart walks in, escorted by a very handsome man neither of you know, although Cynthia has a nagging idea that she might have seen his picture.  Both of you hear a slight buzz from some of the other guests in the lounge.  "Is that who I think it is?  And look who she is with."  "I did not know she was coming tonight."  "I wonder if this is a good time to mention that the charity ball is still looking for some sponsors?"  She sweeps in and takes Marisa by the hands, bussing your cheeks.  Her British accent is very pronounced, even if most of her words are UCAS.  "Miss Coulter, Marisa, I am so glad that you were able to accept my invitation."  She turns to Sylvia, then the others.  "Good evening, Miss Doss.  It is a pleasure to see you here.  And you must be Marisa's friends, Marie and Tom.  She has told me so much about you and your work at the shop.  And, Tom, weren't you the project lead on the new port docks.  Congratulations on bringing that in on time and under budget.  Probably not many could have done that.  And I am afraid that I must declare myself embarrassed for not knowing your name, dear.  I do like the way that pantsuit fits you, and the colors are perfect for you.  Now, I would like to introduce my companion and escort for the evening.  This is Colonel Rupert Sanks, Deputy Assistant Commander for the Knight Errant Active Crimes Unit.  I was able to persuade him to accompany me, even given the horrible things that are happening in Seattle.  Unfortunately, he will not be able to stay long."

Sylvia has gone momentarily still as stone, but makes a weak smile by way of acknowledgement.

Tanya moves up to Cynthia and says, "Please don't mind me.  I think I put my knickers on just like every other woman here.  Would you like to accompany me up to the club?  And you must tell me where you bought your outfit."  She holds an arm out for Cynthia to take.  She is clearly trying to ease the tension and break the ice.


Let's try not to get too far along, please.  I know this will slow the posts down a bit, but I will try to get on at least once or twice a day.  But there are things that need to happen here, or at least they do now, although that can change as we progress.  I am actually enjoying that the two of you are posting so much.