All's Fair in Crime and Punishment (private w/Claire Buíocán)

[Esmerelda Umbra]

Another day, another boring meeting...

At least, that's what Esmerelda thought initially. Meetings typically ended up with Esmerelda having someone else attend in her stead and fill her in on the details later, not to mention her track record for paying attention in meetings was severely lacking. Four minutes and forty two seconds if she recalled correctly (someone else was keeping track, who begrudgingly lost a fistful of Lien). Needless to say, Esmerelda would have been dreading this day had Orpheus not picked the local diner as the meeting place. After all, Orpheus knew Esmerelda couldn't say no to food. Despite multiple visions of her Semblance depicting her oversleeping, she figured she could beat it this time...

Esmerelda awoke groggily and looked over towards her alarm clock, which seemed to read 10:42am. She blinked, but the time didn't magically change like she expected.

"Ah, fuck..." Esmerelda mumbled in defeat before literally rolling out of bed. Esmerelda managed to make herself look presentable rather quickly, but still arrived to the diner at 11:15am, fifteen minutes late. Walking into the diner, she scanned the booths in hopes that the Requiter was punctual.

Don't think what you're about to think... that familiar voice echoed in her head, her Semblance. Despite this, Esmerelda did it anyway. It's not like anyone here could read minds, right?

Please tell me the Requiter took a booth. I mean, what kind of psychopath picks a table over a booth? Esmerelda mused as she looked over the various patrons of the diner.

[Claire Buíocán]

Orpheus Umbra ran a tight ship. By all accounts, at least to outsiders like Claire, he'd taken over for his mother smoothly and performed adequately, leading the Dark Omen to a prosperous present and presumably prosperous future.

Personally, Claire found the young man to be percipient, patient, and startlingly competent. She'd been surprised when his advice about his sister when she'd reached out through the Menagerie branch of the Family to set up a meeting had been "use plain language and lots of food", but she would never be foolish enough to believe that she knew his sister better than he did.

It was on that advice that they'd settled on a local diner for their meeting, Claire having specified a late breakfast for the time because she knew the young Esmerelda had a propensity for hurkle-durkling.

They'd set an 11am meeting time; Claire expected her somewhere around 11:20 at the earliest, so she was pleasantly surprised when Esmerelda entered the establishment at quarter past.

Please tell me the Requiter took a booth. I mean, what kind of psychopath picks a table over a booth?

Easily catching the young woman's eyes, she gestured to the seat across from her in the booth, a small smile forming on her lips. "Good morning, Ms. Umbra," she greeted as Esmerelda sat down. "Thank you for meeting with me." Their waiter approached with impeccable timing far above the standard of service a place like this would normally offer. Claire mentally noted that she should see about finding him a better-paying job elsewhere as he asked for their drink orders. "We're on one check," she told him, before ordering a black coffee. She was the one who had reached out, after all - that made her the host.

[Esmerelda Umbra]

"Good morning," Esmerelda replied as she sat down in the booth across from the Requiter, mirroring her own smile.

"Thank you for reaching out." she added with a veneer of eloquence, albeit such eloquence was belied by her casual, skater girl fashion taste. Just then, the waiter arrived to take their drink order. After ordering a coffee with cream and sugar, the waiter walked off. Turning her attention back towards the Requiter, Esmerelda scrutinized her for a brief moment. Orpheus had told Esmerelda prior to the meeting to be very careful in her dealings with the Requiter, as he could not discern any information from her with his own Semblance.

Be careful of this one. Try not to think too much, and use me conservatively... Esmerelda's Semblance relayed to her. Given both her Semblance and Orpheus's advice, Esmerelda figured that it was a safe bet to follow along.

"So, let's get to business," Esmerelda began as she steepled her hands, not one to beat around the bush.

"Our organizations have coexisted together for some time, and if my memory serves me right, you were seeking to reaffirm our old ties. Is that right?" Esmerelda asked, evoking her "crime boss" persona.

[Claire Buíocán]

Straight to business, then. Claire could work with that.

"That's broadly accurate, yes," she confirmed. "Our organizations have coexisted on Menagerie for longer than you've been alive, and I must say that I'm quite pleased to find your brother more than willing to continue to do so. Now we're both looking to establish a more... enfranchised base in the city, so I wanted to ensure that you were of the same mind as your brother. We would do well to avoid running afoul of each other's efforts to establish a new branch here, so it seemed prudent to have a conversation about what exactly we're looking for during the seeding process."

Leaning back in her seat, Claire gestured for Esmerelda to go first. "What kinds of resources will you need, other than personnel?"

[Esmerelda Umbra]

"Right..." Esmerelda replied, nodding. Dealing with an unknown operative without too much assistance from her or Orpheus's Semblance was proving to be quite the ordeal. The Requiter was a mysterious one, after all. Gaining any insight into any future dialogue would be a large help, but the mental message from before was unnerving.

"What kinds of resources will you need, other than personnel?" asked the Requiter. Thankfully, Esmerelda already knew the answer to put forward.

"Besides personnel, we would like information. It is our specialty, after all. As for what kind of information, anything to do with organizations or people that would seek to disrupt both our organizations. Law enforcement, rival organizations and the like." Esmerelda spoke. Although she kept herself together on the outside, she always had that thought in the back of her head, questioning if going without her Semblance was even a good idea in the first place. She mulled over the thought for a brief moment.

Don't use you? What kind of ominous bullshit is that?! I should be able to use you if I have to! Esmerelda mentally vexed her Semblance, wishing that it would be more proactive about its usage right now. Her thoughts only brought her stress, part of the reason she finds her Semblance to be quite useful. It was easy to act the part if she knew the whole script ahead of time. If the Requiter asked a question she didn't know the answer to, she'd be hard pressed into using it at that point. Hopefully, that wouldn't be for a while though...

It's fine, everything is fine... I haven't royally cocked up the conversation. It's okay, you got this... Esmerelda mused, getting her thoughts under control.

[Claire Buíocán]

"Ah, yes. Information is indeed our stock and trade." That sounded suspiciously like a canned response, but from what Claire had heard it was Orpheus who inherited his parents' political acumen and Esmerelda who'd inherited the boldness that had allowed her father to rise to the top in the first place. She wouldn't begrudge the younger woman having asked her brother's advice, especially given she'd done quite literally the same thing.

"We would be happy to provide a few test swatches of the local color for you; in addition, I do not foresee there being any obstacles to our Vale branches continuing the arrangement we have in Menagerie where each keeps the other apprised of the goings-on in our relative holdings. Though I dare say that your organization will have more difficulty interacting with the law here - the local regulations are much more rigorously enforced, given that this is the Seat of the Kingdom."

It was good to confirm that no one had any intentions of causing problems for the other, and very good indeed to secure the exchange of information, especially red flags, between their power bases. The Dark Omen's raison d'être mandated that their operations be largely extralegal, while the Restitution's Vale branch would only touch on criminal affairs peripherally, at least until they acquired some leeway with local authorities; that process would take some years, which was in itself a method of laundering legal latitude locally.

Having essentially accomplished what she'd come for, Claire had one more (admittedly selfish) task before she could simply enjoy a good breakfast.

If the Requiter asked a question she didn't know the answer to, she'd be hard-pressed not to use it at that point.

"On another topic, it's been quite some time since I've had a proper sparring partner. Do you know anyone who would be a good match?"

[Esmerelda Umbra]

"Absolutely. Thankfully, we've taken that into account. I'm glad we can see eye to eye on those matters." Esmerelda replied as the waiter came back with their coffees before attending to some other business in the kitchen. Esmerelda got to work, pouring in the creamer and a concerning amount of sugar.

"Don't mind me, I just have a bit of a sweet tooth." Esmerelda chuckled a bit before offering the sugar to the Requiter.

"On another topic, it's been quite some time since I've had a proper sparring partner. Do you know anyone who would be a good match?"

Now that was an unexpected turn of events, but a welcome one. Esmerelda couldn't help but smirk a bit at the inquiry, feeling her "crime boss persona" melt away just a bit.

"Oh! I didn't initially take you for the fighting type. You're full of surprises, you know that? Anyway, if it's sparring you want... Orpheus is pretty knowledgeable about technique and stuff. I can put in a good word for you if you'd like." Esmerelda responded before taking a sip of her coffee. It took quite a lot to bite her tongue and recommend Orpheus instead of herself. She was aware of her own fighting style, after all. Besides, a sparring match between Orpheus and the Requiter would certainly be interesting to see. Despite her Semblance's warnings, she just had to see this...

A vision on the beaches of Menagerie took shape in Esmerelda's mind. The sky was clear and the breeze gentle, with waves lazily clawing at the shore and the occasional screech of a seagull. The sparring match seemed to be over before it started. With a flash, the Requiter held her kusarigama at the back of the masked man's neck. "Very well... I concede." were the only words out of Orpheus's mouth before the vision faded.

The FUCK?! How'd she move that fast?! Esmerelda mentally quipped in a knee-jerk reaction to seeing the vision.

[Claire Buíocán]

The beaches of Menagerie were quite the familiar sight to her. The sky was clear, the breeze gentle; waves lazily clawed at the shore and the occasional screech of a seagull rang out above the sound of the spray. The match was almost over before it could begin. With a flash, the Requiter held her kusarigama at the back of the masked man's neck. "Very well... I concede." were the only words out of Orpheus's mouth before the vision faded.

Claire's eyebrows rose involuntarily at the vision. She'd never received a visual cue from her Semblance before, meaning it was almost certainly related to Esmerelda's own Semblance.

"I appreciate the offer," she said, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Your brother is no doubt a force to be reckoned with; however, I was more wondering if you knew anyone... local: perhaps someone with an unusual style? I'm afraid that Grimm simply don't pose me any challenge any more, and I do not wish to become complacent during my time in the admirable safety provided by this Kingdom's protectors."