Log:Custodians Meeting: May 2017

Custodians Meeting: May 2017
"And now to the not so fun news..."
Participants Ashe, Alonso, Byron, Gisa, Grillo, Logan, Max	2017.05.11 The Custodians Meet for May and discuss the Troubles.
Location The Whelan Chronicle
It's a quiet Thursday evening so far. Which means that the building is cleared out and the Whelan Chronicle is closed for business. Except for the Custodians meeting that is happening tonight. Ashe is already in the conference room and there is tea and coffee already made for people as well as bottles of water. Muffins are the snack of choice for the evening and run the gambit on flavors. She settles down at the conference table, "We got a few things on the agenda for the evening, but otherwise this won't be a deathly long meeting." she admits. Byron may have helped set things up, considering he lives upstairs, but then, that might also be why the huge gargoyle is munching on a muffin when he walks back into the conference room and flashes a warm smile at Ashe. He at least offers, "I'm sorta waiting on Paige to text me, and will need to go when she does, but as long as you don't mind my looming at the back..." With that excuse given, he finds a seat to park himself out of the way. Look, it is a golem: she holds the door for those that are arriving, at least one of whom she probably brought with her. Gisa is patient and not exactly slow in her motions as she is... considering. Like she wants to be sure she knows as many of the potential consequences for every movement, and has considered it, before she does something like 'hold the door.' You never know what consequences holding the door might have. Making her way into the room, Max offers a smile to the first faces she sees there. A hand lifts as she greets the pair of Autumns. "Hey Ashe, Byron. How are the both of you?" she questions. Then she gives the towering gargoyle a curious look, her head tilting to the side and a brow raising. "Just hanging around or are you part of the Custodians now, too?" she wonders, something coming to the mortal's mind. A faint smile is offered to Gisa, more polite than anything. Then she finds somewhere to sit while grabbing a muffin. Grillo, fashionably late, maybe; he comes in already yawning a little. "Pardon me tonight, folks." He lifts the drink in his hand, substituting for his usual umbrella. "Coffee. It'll keep me...coherent for this? I think? I've had reasons for staying up." It could be the political beat. Not like things aren't on fire in the nation, drawing a reporter away. Alonso arrives with Gisa, carting a duffel bag over one shoulder and a ridiculous hat on his head. He has nothing to say, and is content to set down his gear and lean back against the wall with his arms folded before himself. He tips the brim of his hat towards Max with a hand when he spots her. A tip of her chin toward Max in greeting, and then Gisa picks up a chocolate muffin with chocolate chips in it. She passes Grillo on his way in, gently pats the tired cricket's shoulder. There. There. Battle Baymax trundles back to the Spanaird she brought, and she bisects the muffin, offering him half. Byron waggles his brows at Max and smiles, "No, no. Just figured it wouldn't hurt if we had a Harvestman hanging out to ask questions of or ask you people questions when things come up. At least until someone screams for my attention, however long that lasts..." With that said, the last of his muffin is shoved into his mouth. Munch, munch, munch. For once, Logan doesn't come with Max. But he probably enters in not too long after, dressed today in a casual blue blazer over a soft white t-shirt, paired with jeans and vintage blue and white striped Adidas. As usual, for those who already know him, bright light announces his presence, quickly chased by a shadow that seems to want to swallow the light for itself. "Sorry I'm late," he says brightly, looking around the table. He quickly takes a seat, probably near Max, and nods both to the folks he doesn't know and the ones he already does. "Good evening everyone." Ashe states to those gathered. "and to new faces, it's nice to meet you. I'm Ashe Whelan. And the big guy is Byron. Captain of the Harvestmen." she states. "They're going to be helping us out if we have to go into the Hedge and need backup." she tells them. There's a look to Logan when he comes in, "Welcome." she tells him. "Tonight is going to be a pretty quick affair. A few promotions and I've got some information that I want to talk to you guys about." she states. There's a grin when Max spots Grillo, offering the cricket a light wave as well. A nod is given to Alonso, friendly enough. Then as Logan wanders in and sits near her, she offers him a warm smile. She offers him a muffin she had snatched, though remains quiet in way of verbal greeting as Ashe speaks up. Almost immediately her bright blue eyes turn toward her, leaning back in her seat as she settles in for business. She has half of a muffin in each hand. Gisa kind of gently waves half a muffin at Logan in greeting, and then at Byron. She stays quiet, though, because The Boss is talking, and not Springsteen. Byron lifts a hand and wiggles dark fingers when Ashe calls him out, but then settles back down without a further word, doing his part to Hold Up The Wall behind him while he listens. "I'm Logan Brenner. Interested in possibly joining the Custodians," Logan explains, smiling his beautiful smile in Ashe's direction. He'd probably try and shake her hand, but that might disrupt the workings of the meeting, so he stays where he is. He does grin at Max, nodding her way as he takes the offered muffin, and waves at Gisa as well. Grillo salutes Max with a wave of his coffee, and when Gisa offers a consolatory pat, the cricket lets his antennae perk up just a little bit. He settles in, and perhaps lounges a little, quite a bit of passive attention on Ashe rather than volunteering much. Tired bug appears very tired indeed. Ashe gives a nod to Logan, "Nice to meet you, Mister Brenner." she tells him after a quick handshake. The Shadowsoul then looks at the others, "Kat and Max are being promoted to full Custodians. Their recruit time is over. Max has been helping with more than a few things and has shown that she is resourceful when it comes to things." she states with a smile. "So congratulations, Max. Kat couldn't be with us tonight." she adds. Alonso considers the offered muffin bit Gisa is handing him. He accepts it with a slight show of bemusement, but ends up toasting her with it and lifting it up for a sniff. Then a nibble. Then a bite. He seems to approve, as his head starts nodding. "Good to meet you as well." That's to Ashe. After the news about Max, he sends a small round of applause her way. "Wow. Good job, Max! I'm sure that's well-deserved." He has yet to touch the muffin she gave him, but it sits there before him in wait. When it's announced that she's no longer a simple recruit, Max's expression lights up. Almost as bright as Logan, if only figuratively. A wide of smile spreads across her lips. "Thank you, Ashe! I'm glad you have found me useful for the Custodians. Though, I did have the help of a great mentor," she says, flashing a grin toward the tired cricket. "I'll keep doing my best to help out around here," she says with a nod. Byron chuckles softly at the news about Kat and Max and joins in with some of the applause, smiling a little more to himself before quieting down again and watching her reaction, before slowly dragging his attention back to Ashe to keep up. A small smile toward Grillo when he perks up just a bit. Bugs are easy to understand: they have antennae, and those help with the Emoting. Even Elementals can understand bug-friends. Her attention goes back to Ashe when she talks. "Mazel tov, Max," Gisa offers, saluting the new fully-minted Custodian with her muffin. "It's food," she informs Alonso sidelong. "You eat it. Even peasants can afford this, I promise." That might be a joke. Her attention flicks back to Ashe now: her eyeflames actually move inside the eye-pits now. That's new. "And now onto a not so nice subject." Ashe states with a bit of a frown. "So I've been doing some research into the Troubles that were brought up." she tells the gathered. "On a variety of local historical archive sites, I found references to a mysterious mass murder and disappearance back in 1963. People had been disappearing or being killed for five years before the final explosion of violence, which played a huge part in a local economic depression, and in the shaping of modern Fort Brunsett, frankly, due to their need to promote safe tourism and assure visitors that the area was safe." she offers to them. "Between the years of 1958 and 1963, twelve people between the ages 10 - 35 were killed, or disappeared under circumstances no one could discern." she tells them with a frown. "On Monday, June 3 1963, the bodies of 38 local people were found with an array of bizarre injuries, carefully aligned in the meadows on the east side of the Tam to form the face of an analog clock as seen from above, arms spread out to either side, facing the sky. Some of the injuries were consistent with knife wounds, others more consistent with longer blades or hacking blades such as axes, very few with guns, others with fire burns or electrical burns, and some even seemed to have drowned, or frozen to death. In addition, 24 locals were missing. There was no sign of passage, no sign of battle. The bodies were brought in from elsewhere, to be arranged. The murderers were never found, though there have been some few of the Missing located over the years. The majority of the Missing are now deceased." she explains to them. "I'm not saying that it has anything to do with the Soundless...but it might." she states with a look of concern. "So what I need are people willing to go with me to look into this since it's been getting held up. Given the information I just went over, I'm guessing that it's not going to be a nice picnic type trip." she admits. Logan listens closely, with an impassive expression on his handsome face. He frowns a tad at one moment or another, but mostly, his face is neutral. "As a new recruit," he asks, "could I accompany you? I'd like to. That all sounds very concerning. Like a coverup." He finally remembers the muffin and takes a small bite, chewing thoughtfully. But seeing as he's new, he doesn't ramble on any more than he has to. At this, Alonso steps forward from his perch against the wall, muffin and all. He pushes the brim of his hat back enough to let the light of the room actually reveal his annoyingly perfected features. Well, perfected but for the muffin crumbs in his long, curled moustache. "I am Alonso Triste. A Pilgrim. I do not know many of you, but Custodian Cohen can speak to my skills. I offer you my services, madame, and more should that become necessary." There's a sort of dull look that spreads across Gisa's face for a moment, and the shin on her forehead flares from its normal orange to ... bluish white? and then fades back to its normal flickering orange. "I am capable," she answers Ashe. And then she tips her chin up toward Alonso. "He's almost terrifying with a blade, it's true. I brought him to become a recruit. Timing." She takes in a small breath. "Some of us have been gathering up hedgefruits. Probably we will want to gather them of a purpose before we go. Brumebulbs and healing fruits. I do not know very well the fruits of this place, compared to the desert." Byron listens to Ashe's information about the murders quietly, though he does shift positions a bit and the furrowing of his brow deepens in concentration. He does not, however, offer commentary, just absorbs it for now, as well as follow the conversation as it travels around the room, paying a little more attention to Giza's mentioning of local hedgefruits. Grillo just raises his hand, wordlessly, although there's a certain crooked-smile lurking that says some things underneath. It's clearly volunteering, not just asking a question, though he notes aloud, "Even if that's not tied to the Soundless...that's a not-at-all-comforting story about this place to be aware of. Ritualistic bizarre killings..." He shakes his head. Ashe gives a look to Logan, "If you'd like to go as a Custodian then I will accept you as a recruit, Mister Brenner." she tells him with a smile. Then there's a look to Alonso as he speaks, "And the same to you, Mister Triste. I thank you for volunteering to help." she states. Then there's a nod to Gisa, "I'm hoping we won't need to get into a fight when we go to search for things, but we never know." she admits. There's a look to her Gargoyle and a smile to him before she goes back to the meeting. "Mister Grillo, I'm going to be having you as one of the mentors if you'd be alright with that? You've done excellent with Max." she tells him with a smile. "And no, it's not comforting at all. I'm not sure how many others know of it either. So once I gather more information we may be presenting this to the Crown. I'll be adding the information to the library as soon as we're done with this meeting as well." she tells the gathered. "I'm definitely willing to tag along," Max offers with a small nod. "I've never had to use my abilities to look /that/ far back into the past, but, I might be able to pull it off. Probably," she says, her brow furrowing lightly. Then as Grillo is offered to be an official mentor to others, she smiles over at the cricket ones more. A thumbs up is offered to him, a silent congrats! Ashe also adds, "I figured you'd want to go, Max." with a smile. "Just be careful and don't stretch yourself too much looking back that far." she tells her. "Outstanding," Logan says with a smile, but then he's on his feet. The muffin sits there, only slightly nibbled on. "I'm very sorry to have to bow out, but I have to go virtually attend a company meeting." Three hour time differences come in handy sometimes. "I sincerely look forward to working with all of you." His eyes focus to each person in the room as he says that, making very quick eye contact with each if he can, and the light around him flares a little brighter for a moment. To Ashe, he says, "Thanks again for accepting me as a recruit. I won't let you down!" With a small wink to Max, he's out the door, quick as a flash. "I have talents that lie beyond bladework. I will inform you of them at a more convenient time, madame," Alonso replies to Ashe before stepping back again to resume his lean against the wall. He gives Gisa a sidelong glance, dips his head in a nod, and returns his attention to the others. He does begin brushing at his moustache when he realizes there's crumbs in it. His eyes roll, as he dusts himself off more thoroughly. "That's why I brought him. He works at my bookstore, he's good at it. Recruit him." Goylomim, not subtle. Gisa leans, finishes her half of the muffin, and nods her head in quiet understanding of what Ashe says. "Whatever we find, it will be unpleasant, it will be taxing, it will be hazardous to body or mind or both, to be sure." She clears her throat. "Preventing a recurrence is of the utmost importance." Grillo clears his throat. "TO anyone specific, or in general? I am not certain that my influence on Max is so outsized. Still, it's good to hear. I'm happy to pursue any avenues of inquiry that are needed from me." He takes a chug of his coffee to punctuate this. Gisa's right eyeflame winks out and back on again at Grillo, somewhat belatedly. Perhaps this is congratulations. Byron frowns a little more at the last bit of Ashe's comment, though he does attempt to offer a reassurring smile when she glances back at him. Its enough for him to lean back and let his gaze fall to the floor. When Giza talks about preventing a reoccurrence, he glances up at the golem and nods slowly in vague agreement with her, though he doesn't really say anything to that point. Ashe gives a smile and a wave to Logan, "Be safe in your travels." the woman states. Then there's a look to Alonso and she smiles, "Thank you for that. I'm sure I'll enjoy hearing about them." she states. She then gives a smile to Gisa, "Yes, he seems like he'll be a good addition to our little group." she tells her. Then she softens her features and nods in agreement with the Golem, "Yes. A reoccurence is not something we want." she tells them. Then there's a look to Grillo, "If you see one of our new recruits and you want to give them pointers and things, then please do so. I'm not going to force you to take on someone full time unless you are a good match." she tells him. "That is all of the business that I had this evening and that I wanted to discuss with you guys. If no one has any other business, we can close the meeting out. Please feel free to take muffins or hot drinks. We've got enough for everyone." Ashe smiles to them. "Thank you, as always," Gisa offers to Ashe, pushing away from the wall. "Mazel tov to you both, again," and she tips her head toward Grillo and Max, each in turn. "It's good to see that we're getting stronger, even as the challenges to the Freehold mount." She snatches another chocolate chocolate-chip muffin, and holds it up in offering to Alonso as she begins to trundle for the door. When the meeting seems to be coming to a conclusion, Byron slowly lumbers up to his feet, rolling his shoulders as he straightens up and surveys the room. He even goes so far as to offer a slow nod of his head to anyone that shoots a look in his direction, while he waits for the room to disperse. "Good evening, friends and comrades," Alonso offers with a slight tip of his hat. He shoulders away from the wall, plucks up a muffin of his own on the way to follow after Gisa, waggling it at her in response to her offer. "No need. I have my own, now. These are quite good!" Off he goes, with no particular goodbyes for anyone. "It was a good meeting. You all have my number should you need my abilities for anything. Thanks again for believing in me for the promotion, Ashe," Max tells the Autumn with a soft smile. Rising to her feet, she snatches another muffin before starting to make her way out, offering smiles and waves for all around! Grillo scrubs at his face. "Advice? Well. At least I'm built for thaaaa---" Then the yawn hits. The Emotional Antennae droop, his head tilts back, and then they vibrate up again as if to shake him awake. "I'm built for bedtime," he corrects himself, and rises. "There's not enough coffee in the world, not when I've got to get on the road again in the morning, I'm sorry. If you need me for anything, though -- my number. It's there."