KJ meet n greet at the CL

===> COH <===> 4/23/2020, 10:43:10 PM <===
Tijuana - La Mesa

	La Mesa is one of Tijuana's eight major municipal boroughs, occupying a large, almost leg-shaped swathe of the city directly to the southeast of Zona Urbana Rio. The Boulevard Federico Benitez Lopez runs through the entirety of the borough, and which is roughly equally located to either side of it.
	La Mesa is a densely populated urban zone that is home to the majority of Tijuana's working and lower middle classes, as well as many small family-owned businesses and restaurants catering exclusively to locals, in contrast to the maquiladoras (factories) of Otay Centenario to the north. It is rare to ever see a tourist in this part of Tijuana. The borough is chiefly known for three main features, which is its historical Chinatown, the notorious La Mesa Penitencia and Morelos Park.
	La Mesa's famous 'Barrio Chino' has been in existence for nearly 150 years, and with more than 20,000 ethnic Chinese immigrants, was for many years the largest such enclave in Mexico (only recently overtaken by Mexico City with direct flights from Shanghai). However, in recent years, many of the locals have begun to view the residents of Barrio Chino with suspicion and hostility, owing to the growing trade rivalry with China which competes with Mexico for the American market.
	La Mesa Penitencia is has a much darker history, and is primarily known to the outside world as a notorious hotbed of corruption - a prison where the inmates make the rules, and which even possesses a thriving real estate market within its walls, where local entrepreneurs pay exorbitant bribes to serve the captive population of ~10,000, including many of their families who also live within the walls.
	Finally, 'Parque Morelos' is the largest park in Tijuana by far, though it has gained a reputation as a very dangerous place to be after sun-down, having been largely overtaken by gangs, with the accompanying drugs and prostitution. Despite being more brown than green these days, families and children can still be seen visiting it during the afternoon, and some local community leaders have made an attempt to save it.

Contents:
Naozumi
Kokoro
Navigation:
  Camino Verde <W>   Cerro Colorado <E>   Zona Urbana Rio <NW>

Obvious Exits:
  The Crimson Lotus <CL>   La Mesa Penitencia <LMP>   Small House <SH>


	Look! It's a party!!! The local dhampyr known to the kuei-jin as the Sundown Kid, or to his pals as Mo, had arranged a tour and meet and greet with one of the wan kuei courts for some of the newer arrivals. "Welcome to the Crimson Lotus," he said, indicating the structure in barrio chino. "Home to the Court of Burning Sands. C'mon in."

Naozumi exits an uber in front of the Lotus.

[Kuei-Jin] Lady of the Burning Sands, Ren says, “Autumn Lotus is the Prospect Court, Burning Sands is the Tijuana Court.”
Naozumi he looks around, taking in the area and smiles ay MoGui, "Hey. Thanks for inviting me."
Naozumi he nods at Kokoro, "I am Oe Naozumi."

	Mo gives Nao a nod. "It can be a little rough and tumble type of a place inside. Sometimes, uninvited agents from the yomi realms pay a visit, looking for trouble." He then indicates Kokoro to Naozumi, "This is my pal from a project I have going on out Laughlin way, in the mojave."

Naozumi says, “A pleasure.”

Naozumi lifts a brow, "The yomi dare?! How brazen."

	Mo nods, "End times, man. End. Times." And with that, the dhampyr pulls open the door to the Crimson Lotus. "After you."

The Crimson Lotus - Sala de Juegos

	This particular little den of iniquity is nestled deep within the heart of Tijuana's Barrio Chino, or Chinatown, and has served as an anchor point for the large Chinese enclave since at least the first wave of mass Chinese immigration into Mexico in the 1880s. Meeting the entertainment and vice needs of the local ethnic community through the vices of gambling, booze, and women (now men, as well) - the gaming parlor is full of both traditional games of chance dating back to the very first arrival of the Chinese in this part of Mexico, along with more modern favorites.

	The parlor is divided into three walled off sections, full of smoke and the scent of booze, arranged around a circular bar in the center of the space space where patrons can come drink, socialize with other men and women, and cash out their winnings. Each of the three sections of the parlor are dedicated to different types of gaming. To the left is the section dedicated to domino chino, or Mahjong. To the right is the section dedicated to the juegos de dado, or dice based games. Finally, to the rear of the circular bar is a section dedicated to the juegos de cartas, or playing card games.

	*** <PLACES CONFIGURED> ***

Contents:
Naozumi

	*** Nightzone ***

Obvious Exits:
  Out <O>   Office and Cage Pit <OCP>

Kokoro comes in from Tijuana - La Mesa

Kokoro had apparently just been lingering off to the side of MoGuie, vaguely observing those present. When Noazumi introduced himself to her, however? She cracked a brazen smirk and offered a two fingered salute. "Yo. Name's Kokoro, good to meet you." She greeted in kind, grinning only more devilishly as Mo helped in her introduction, and then explained the yomi spirits that entered the place. Something that she only grinned at. "Sounds like a good time to me."


	Once inside? Mo will quickly check the corners and doors. "Corners and doors, neh, always check the corners and doors." A rueful grin, "Force of habit." Assuring himself that they're not gonna get jumped by untowards outlanders? The youth sets to scanning the place for the Lady of the House. "She's gotta be in here somewhere...let's head on back."

Naozumi admires the place, glancing at the games and other patrons. "Seems popular."

Kokoro seemed more at ease when entering the old venue of intrigue and pleasure. Though given her general demeanor? It was hard to imagine a place she -wouldn't- find herself comfortable in.

	 "Fair enough." She still remarked to MoGui's caution, following up swiftly with. "Seems fun." To Naozumi's opinion of the area.

The Crimson Lotus - Office and Cage Pit

	The back of the house -- which also serves as a public Yang attuned temple pulling double duty to Jiutian Xuannu - the goddess of war, sex, and longevity and to Zhurong - the god of fire and of the south -- is where two things are located: the owner's box/office suite, and a large octagonal steel cage where combatants can square off in mixed martial arts bouts for the purposes of betting and entertainment. Security is high here, both in terms of surveillance and armed personnel. One set of security staff patrol the owner's box/office suites, while the other set keep the crowd from getting too rowdy near the cage matches. Waitresses in skimpy outfits wander through the space every so often, serving drinks and cigarettes to the patrons and taking down bets.

	The owner's box/office suite is set along the far back wall, and consists of a large steel door, and an extra wide one way mirrored plexiglass window that provides a view of the action within the cage.

	*** <PLACES CONFIGURED> ***

Contents:
Ren

	*** Nightzone ***

Obvious Exits:
  Sala de Juegos <SJ>

Naozumi follows MoGui in, keeping a respectful posture.

	HEY! IT'S MOGUI! Like some pied piper of Hamlin, or lute player of Qin, he comes into the back of the house leading a parade of /three/ himself, Kokoro, and Naozumi! "She's gotta be back here somewhere. Keep your eyes open and your head on a swivel..."

Naozumi looks around, figuring the court elder will stand out amongs the casino workers.

"What exactly am I looking for?" The scarred woman asked as she indeed kept her head slowly turning from one side to the other for someone that just seemed to hold more 'presence' than everyone else in the room. It wasn't a terribly hard thing to do, after all, she tended to hone in on the 'strongest' person present. Even if only because she had a natural draw to wanting to fight them.

	Ren is sitting in the owner's reserved seat in the executive box overlooking the fight pit, lounging almost like it is some sort of throne as she watches the blood sport below. She's dressed perhaps a bit eccentrically in a red and black velvet and lace gothic style, physically not looking like she should be much out of high school, but that just goes to show she died young and has likely lived more of her life as one of the undead than she ever did alive.
	Down below in the pit two shirtless fighters slug it out in an underground bloodsport cage fight, which Ren is watching with rapt attention, seeming to take special enjoyment in each brutal strike as they tear each other apart for the enjoyment of the crowd.

Naozumi peers down at the fight in awe, drawn in to the violent poetry. He then turns to look at the woman enraptured in the fight, truly the queen of the court.

Naozumi bows at Ren, "Good evening, elder. I am Oe Naozumi, newly arrived from the Uji Court of Tokyo."

	MoGui, he was many things. He is Thomas Hu, the Sundown Kid. Born a decade or so before the Second World War in Hong Kong, and he is still alive. He is nigh-immortal. For nearly a hundred years, he's been a warrior ... a lover ... a wanderer, constantly facing other nigh-immortals in combat, sometimes to the death. The winner takes his enemy's head, and with it, his power.

	This place? This was a place for the taking of heads! "Over there!" says Mo animatedly as he leads the group towards Ren, overlooking the match below.

Before anything else Kokoro is most apparently drawn in by the combat of the arena. The woman's one good eye immediately latching onto each and every move performed by both contenders as if she wanted to leap down there herself and test her own mettle against them.

	 -Thankfully- MoGui and Naozumi's efforts draw her attention towards Ren. . . though only so that she could offer a half nod-half bow towards the woman. "Kokoro Hagane." She began. "Western representative of the Ku Uji." She continued. . . and there was little doubt that in those two descriptive notes alone she'd managed to prove a less worthy introduction than anyone else present.

Or maybe she just did worse than MoGui.

	Mo flashes his two compatriots a grin, "See, I told you we'd get lucky..."

Naozumi nods to Mo, but is drawn back to the fight.

	Ren shifts in her seat, apparently drawn from the rapture of watching the bloodsport by Naozumi's introduction. She makes an offhanded waving gesture with one hand and well trained staff clear the executive box and close the door leaving the small gathering in peace. Mogui gets something of a wicked grin from her, the man clearly welcome in her court, before sharp appraising eyes turn to regard Naozumi looking him up and down and then Kokoro in turn as she processes their introductions. "I am Sasaki Ren, Jina of the Devil-Tigers, Sorceress of the Black Arts, Perfected Saphire Devil of the Sagacious Devils Society, sometimes patron of the Electric Devil Wickedness Club, Associate of the Genji, and Lady of the Court of Burning Sands. Welcome to my court, it has been some time since we've been graced with new arrivals from across the sea."

Naozumi says, “It is gracious of you to have us. I am a centipede and have yet to become a part of our society here. I did not even know there were two courts until this evening.”

Naozumi Stands near the pit with MoGui and Kokoro, speaking quietly to Ren.

	Mo pipes up after a bit, "Naozumi and I had a run in with some outlander sorcerer in Prospect earlier this evening." A pause, "He was summarily dealt with." But then, Mo catches sight of movement and another arrival, and then he's waving Ace over. Might as well get all the introductions out of the way at once!

Naozumi seems disgusted, "Stealing the chi of children... it was pathetic."

	Ace arrives late - because of course he does. "Sorry," He says, "A thing happened." Happens to him a lot, really, he's asked to show and a... thing happens.

Kokoro seemed. . . ill at ease with the formalities, something she's still not quite well trained for despite the many, many times she'd been drilled to deal with such occasions. When Ren addresses her directly though? The woman stood tall with a pride unbefitting her actual station. . . even if she managed to keep her actual speech to more fitting levels of reservation. "I am honored to find myself in your court, Sasaki-Sama. Clearly you have great taste in. . . entertainment." That part, of course, hadn't quite been something that she'd been trained to say. As was evident by the way her gaze traced its way back over to the ongoing combat.

	Having waved Ace over, he'll facilitate introductions. "Pick a card, any card, they said, and so I did and I ended up drawing an ... Ace! Over here!" Mo looks to Ren as Ace arrives. "Another pal. Lightning people, dragon wizard, crimson thunder vizier, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera ..." Man, Mo certainly kept himself some eclectic company and led an interesting life!

Naozumi nods to Ace, "A pleasure. You oversee quite a diverse court. I am sure it has many strengths."

	Ace gives a short, formal bow. "Hi." He says, before he stands back up.

	Mo gives Ace a grin, then gestures, "Naozumi. Kokoro. And the Lady of the House - Sasaki Ren."

Ace nods, once. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you." He glances back over at Mo, and then puts his hand on his chin. "So... why am I here? I'm not going down another mineshaft, am I?"

	Mo shakes his head, "No, no mineshafts here." A pause, "That I know of, I mean." He gives Ace a look, "Moral support. And making sure you know who's who and what's what."

Naozumi says, “Are the two courts in conflict or do they exist peacefully?”

	Ren favors Kokoro with a smile, "A connoisseur of violence then? You will fit in well around here. Tijuana is full of violence and murder, just brimming with potential for enlightenment," her own eyes are drawn back to the blood sport where one competitor is now standing triumphant over the broken body of his opponent. Until her attention is captured again by the arrival of Ace and Mogui's introduction of him, "One of the Lightning People? You look positively delicious." The grin she gives him might be a bit unnerving to some. Lucky for him she is distracted by Naozumi's question, "Oh Karasu and I get along quite well." she replies casually using the given name of the Lord of the Autumn Lotus, "Prospect has it's own problems, particularly with the Kin-Jin known as the Camarilla in the past."

Naozumi lifts a brow, "Is there area more free of their interference?"

	Mo nods at Ren's words, "'s why I keep to chinatown, and then spend mot o' my time out east in the mojave, or up north in Fern Valley. But we have plenty of outworld threats to worry about, as evidenced by the run in with that sorcerer earlier."

	Ace's gaze slides over to Ren, and then back to Mo. There's a question in there. A palpable '?' in the air over his head. But for now he stays quiet.

And with those words alone Ren has easily managed her way into the redheaded Kuei-jin's good graces. . . not that such a thing likely mattered for one of such a high station. The malefic sparkle in the woman's eye at the mention of her being particularly receptive to matters of combat and violence though? It was by and a ways unlike any other. "I'd love to get a taste of whatever bloodshed Tijuana has to offer.~" She said with an entirely captive degree of excitement, entirely forgetting her place in the moment of introduction she'd been allowed in the foreign court. Thankfully, at least, she was swift to remember. "If you'd not object to my visits. . ." She eventually managed to take on

	A pager will BEEP BEEP BEEP at Mo's hip. WHO THE HECK CARRIES A PAGER?!?!?! Mo, apparently. "Aw man, I gotta split. I gotta go see about a component for my ship." A look to Kokoro, "See you back out at the necropolis." Then a look to Nao. "And we should follow up on the sorcerer incident when we get a chance." Finally, he takes his leave of Ren. "M'lady - see you 'round, 'm sure." Ace? Ace gets a grin, "Welcome to the red pill."

Naozumi nods, "I look forward to it."

	Ren looks amused at Naozumi's question but answers it seriously enough, "The Camarilla would not dare come down here, these lands are home to their rivals the Sabbat. Who have proven to be quite amenable neighbors. I visit their court from time to time to exchange pleasantries. No, there are none who impair our freedom down here or attempt to claim dominion over us." Question answered her attention shifts to Kokoro's question though her answer is seemingly intended for both of the Kuei-Jin, "You are both more than welcome to visit, or even to become members of this court if you so choose. It is nice to see more faces from home in this land of barbarians."

	And with the jina's pronouncement? The eye-of-the-storm that is Thomas "MoGui" Hu, the Sundown Kid, is headed out towards the exit! Luck be a lady tonight!
===> Log ended by user <===> 4/24/2020, 12:10:08 AM <===