The Meeting Begins

JP with Jaxx, Lasersexpanther. Lorem, LucianNepreen, mdman and Cindy

May 13, 1889
Ellington Estate. Paris
7:30 PM

Elizabeth had worked through tea, eating but not leaving her office except to help Dr. Jackal get the blood sample from Nugbu. Fortunately, the Orc was cooperative.

However, late afternoon had suddenly become evening and at about 7:30 PM, Elizabeth told the staff to prepare some light foods, tea, coffee and the like before going to the room where the team meeting will take place.

The seats were arranged in a circle with Cronk's chair brought in and a stepstool for Lorem. There were a few small tables on the sides of the chairs and a larger round one in the center. This meeting, Elizabeth, felt was going to be long and she wanted everyone to be comfortable. To that end, she poured herself some tea and waited for everyone to arrive.

Lily was listening to her mother's music box as she was thinking about her happy thoughts to console her loss for her dead father. He left her with a heavy burden of finding her siblings and dealing with the aftermath of his estate. Lily knew she needed to ask Lady Elizabeth's aid in that department. Perhaps she could keep his business intact after cleaning it up. It would help pose as a front for their secret work in the future. The main problem would be how to deal with her siblings. She wasn't sure if they wanted an inheritance or to become a family in the end. It was a lot to deal with but she took solace that she was not alone. Oddly enough it did help her to know her father's killers ended up in the belly of a demon and were no longer able to ruin her life. After a knock on the door, a maid told her they were having tea and a meeting. Lily replied she would be down after freshening up. So she washed her face and touched up her make up before she took a deep breath and followed the maid to the meeting. Once there she greeted everyone there and took her usual seat as she waited for Dr. Jackal to show up.

Dr. Jack was just finishing up his study of Nugbu's blood sample as he was comparing it to his fresh blood sample so he could get a clean set of results. He noticed there were some significant differences in the blood and wrote them down in his journal. Of course he would need a more clean Orc to test in comparison to Nugbu's blood. The good doctor wanted to make sure he didn't miss anything in his findings. This research could very well aid the Order in the future and improve the reputation of Lady Elizabeth in order to make the Baron back off. Dr. Jackal was not afraid of the Baron but tolerated him since Lady Elizabeth offered him a better life than he deserved. As he was finishing up his notes he heard a knock on the door and a maid entered to tell him of the tea meeting as well as to clean up his used coffee cups and snacks. The good doctor thanked the maid and followed her to the meeting as he was introduced and took his usual seat by Ms. Lavigne who seemed glad to see him. He could see the redness in her eyes and gave her a simple nod and hello as he gave her a pained smile. Under the table Lily took the good doctor's hand and held it tightly and forced a smile on her face. Dr. Jackal said nothing as he knew she needed this to geth through her loss.

Cronk had just downed a drink of bourbon when he had received the notice of a meeting. He hadn’t seen many of the team in a while and was anxious to see them, although some may be saddened, like the Young One.

Cronk sauntered to the meeting place. When he entered, Cronk looked at Lily and frowned. “Cronk sorry,” he added, attempting to comfort her.

Seeing the Good Doctor also, Cronk looked at his stomach. Cronk was surprised that it wasn’t huge. It was confusing. Shouldn’t he have a large bulge if he had eaten people whole. Of course, it was this Big Red guy, but does the contents of the stomach also change?

Cronk simply nodded, “Good Doctor, Cronk glad you back.”

Lily forced her smile as she replied, "Thank you Mr. Cronk. I am glad you are also doing well." Dr. Jackal replied, "Thank you Mr. Cronk. It's always a pleasure to see you up and about. I understand you all had it rough out there in the field.”

Cronk was relaxed at the moment. Playing with Clement rejuvenated him. Scaring the reporter got his adrenaline flowing. He wondered what surprise this meeting would have for him.

After the meeting, Camille would come, have a nightcap and read to him. Cronk especially looked forward to that.

“Cronk better,” he was glad to say. “Evil Doctor dead. Cronk thank Good Doctor.”

Lily looked at Dr. Jackal with a forced smile and a cocked head as she replied, "Yes thank you for that Dr. Jackal." Dr. Jackal gave a nervous smile as she played along and replied, "Ummmmm......of course." It was a bit awkward for the good doctor but Lily gave his hand a squeeze to get his attention as she whispered to him, "We will get through this together." Dr. Jackal was speechless as he nodded and replied, "Thank you.”

Lorem finally arrived. It had taken a better part of the afternoon to get cleaned up. There are just some stains that are harder to get out than others. One could see the areas where she couldn’t get the color completely off her skin; it would take a few more days as new skin cells replaced those on the surface. She was clean though, much to the servants' gratitude. Her attire was also clean, much to the servants' gratitude yet again; you never could be sure if you were going to be two for two with the little tinkerer.

Lorem greeted each person with a polite curtsey, but for both Lilly and Dr. Jackal she moved in as well for a hug. She held tight, even though she was petite and gentle looking, her grip strength was relatively surprising. She didn’t know what to say, hence the hug and smile; however, she did manage, “Welcome back.”

Vor arrived in a cleaner state than he had usually been, both since everyone was meeting and because of hearing of Dr. Jackal's and Ms.Lavigne's return. He felt there wasn't much he could say and wasn't sure a hug from himself would mean the same as with Ms. Ipsum.
Even with their interactions thus far being professional and few, there was a level of emotion that he couldn't hide as he passed by them. He had only seen a small glimpse of what the Children did to their enemies.

"I am glad to see you both again.

Both Lily and Dr. Jackal were baffled by the hug from Ms. Ipsum. It was both shocking and comforting at the same time. They politely thanked her for her words and hugged as she let go. Then Mr. Vor spoke up and Lily said, "thank you Mr. Vor" and Dr. Jackal replied, "Most appreciated Mr. Vor. I apologize but I am not used to people enjoying my company.”

Lorem took the seat that accommodated her specials needs and put her on a more equal viewing plane as the others. It was nice not having to always look up at others. She sighed in satisfaction. It was nice having the team back at the manor; though still waiting on a few more. It was her new family, away from home, after all.

The comment was odd, leaving Vor thinking as he gave the two a warm smile and a nod before taking his seat. While not Araundan, being reminded of the Doctor's feelings of isolation made him want to throw a gathering, one like his people would do for instances of grieving or simple emotional support. He kept the idea to himself for the moment however.

Masao was next to arrive, sober enough to understand and hold a conversation but slightly glassy eyed. Clearly a bit of drink to try and clean his mind of what he saw in the alley now that the adrenaline drained from him. "Salutations everyone." He said with a shallow bow.

Sung came in, gave a greeting to everyone and took his seat opposite Elizabeth. Harold came in, took a seat at the desk, set up a little ways away from the group.

"Harold will be taking notes," Elizabeth said, after greeting everyone. She hadn't wanted to concern Lily with such things, and being a team member the young woman wouldn't be doing that job for much longer. It was now just up to Sasha to arrive before they could begin.

A maid came in and took some drink orders from the team. Dr. Jackal ordered a large carafe of coffee while Lily ordered some black tea. Again Lily and Dr. Jackal greeted the other team members who came in afterwards. Once his coffee arrived, Dr. Jackal took a big sip of strong black coffee and closed his eyes to let it get absorbed by his body. He was enjoying this feeling since it gave him inner peace even for just a brief moment. Lily got her tea and sipped it like a proper lady as she was amused by Dr. Jackal's love for coffee. Oddly enough the strong coffee also helped the good doctor get the foul taste of blood out of his mouth.

Sasha arrived looking far less put together. Her clothes looked faded and parts were stitched and patched. Not ordering anything, politely declining. "Good evening everyone." She said as she relaxed into her seat.