Gathering Places Sans Politics

Lucy
One of the great things about working unconventional hours (when she's working at all) is that the crowds are light.  If she wants to see a movie she'll be one of three people in the theater.  Want to have a late lunch?  She's likely to be the only person seated in a server's section.
Today, she's used that free time to park herself at a terminal in the Denver Public Library computer lab.  A few undisturbed hours later and she's stepping out from the odd public building.  It is shaped in straight square lines, with some bricks green and some bricks red.  It does not fit in with some of the older architecture in the building, but then it doesn't really have to.  The corner of 14th and Broadway is where a cultural pulse of the city rests, with the insanely structured art museum on the other side of the street.  Then, one block north, there are the municipal buildings and the capitol which give this neighborhood its name.
Lucy is stepping out onto the sidewalk, though, considering where to cross or where to go next.  In one hand she carries a sheaf of papers that she folds in half before putting into her canvas bag.  The rest of her attire is, well it's not terribly suited for the coolness of the day, at least not to ordinary people.  Her shirt is light blue chiffon, short-sleeved with black accents, and sheer enough that the lace trim of her black bra can be seen through the fabric, as well as a dark patch that is (hopefully) a sign of tattooing on her right side.  Her denim cutoffs are not so short as to expose the lining of the pockets, but it's a near thing.  She wears a pair of fishnets beneath that, and through the webbing can be seen more tattoo ink.  Her boots are the same calf-high black boots with the two-inch heels that she's been seen to wear.  Her hair is down over her shoulders, her make-up is dark, the lining around her eyes thick and shadowed (and a little bit smudged by now).
Pausing a little off from the main thoroughfare of downtown foot traffic, she pulls out her phone and thumbs it to life.

Kalen Holliday
[Nightmares]
Dice: 6 d10 TN7 (1, 1, 6, 7, 7, 10) ( success x 3 )

Kalen Holliday
[Awareness]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (3, 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 10) ( success x 4 )

Lucy
[oh right, awareness?]
Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (2, 4, 5, 5, 6) ( success x 1 )

Kalen Holliday
Kalen dislikes the cold.  And a lack of places to hide weapons, though he is not carrying any weapons right now.  For most purposes, his nature will suffice.  He's not exactly who he used to be.
He is never exactly who he used to be.
So he is wandering in the general direction of the library in jeans and a charcoal gray coat most people would think heavy for the weather.  There is a messenger bag hanging from one of his shoulders.  Perhaps shockingly, he is not carrying a cup of coffee.  Of course, he is hardly far away from a place to get it.  And they frown upon bringing it into the library.
He notices Lucy and walks past the library entrance toward her.  Work can wait, at least for a moment.  "Hey Snowdrop," he says as he draws closer, but not from too close.  If she doesn't know he's there, he'd rather not spook her.

Lena Reilly
[[Aware, Uncanny Instincts, etc!]]
Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9) ( success x 3 )

Lena Reilly
It's cool today, but not nearly as cold as it was when, you know, it was snowing.  One might even call it mild.  Still, Lena isn't dressed for summer; it simply means that she's not wintering it out in bundled-up gear.  No heavy coat, no sweater, nothing of that nature; instead she's in a light grey turtleneck underneath a brown leather bomber jacket, with a pair of jeans and sneakers completely the ensemble.  Oh, and a pair of headphones.  Them headphones are important, because they're attached to an iPod.  And that iPod is important because it's got her moving as she makes her way down the street.
She isn't specifically heading to the Library; she isn't specifically heading anywhere, really.  Lena is just out for a walk, and that walk has her dancing a little bit as the new Michael Jackson album thumps its way into her ears.  It's been quite a while since she's let herself loose like this, and it feels good.  She's not all-out, spinning and backing up and then moving forward.  There's just a little spring in her step, a little rhythmic moving of her upper torso and head and a smile on her face underneath a pair of green-tinted Lennon shades.  It's mostly in her hands; the way that they move and twist in front of her, shifting between waist and breastbone level as she walks along.  It's nice to feel free and to let all the rest of the world go from time to time, and she's really starting to remember that.
She senses the chill and the storm, both so close as she comes up to the corner of the street.  The wilting beat of her own Resonance pulses rhythmically and she's not particularly trying to hide it.  And when she catches sight of the two mages that she senses, she smiles widely and continues her little rhythmic walk over in their vicinity.
"Hey Lucy.  Kalen."  The movement only stops when she plucks the earbuds out.  "How are you two?"

Lucy
Lucy is vaguely aware that there's a storm coming, and not the one that has been sliding over the city all afternoon.  The sky is mostly cloudy, with a concentration of darker rain clouds somewhere north and west.  The wind is sharp and brings with it the smell moisture and the tang of electricity.  Perhaps there will be lightning for once, and thunder along with it.  What she gets from Kalen is a different sense, and comes from a different direction.  Still, he's practically upon her almost before she can react.
She's looking up just as he's calling out a nickname.  When she sees him she smiles, lowering her arm to her side as she does.  "Hey, Holliday, how are you?"  Properly fortified against the chill of her presence, at least.  It does not escape her notice that he - and soon enough Lena as well - are dressed for cooler temperatures.  In some places Lucy might feel self-conscious (oh crap is it colder than I thought?), but she's already seen a man in a sweatshirt, shorts, and flip flops, and more than a handful of women in short skirts and t-shirts.
"Hi Lena," she says, when the Ecstatic is upon them as well, and now her smile takes on a curious tilt.  If she didn't know better, she was the focus of this supposedly random encounter today.  That never happens.  "Can't complain, you?"

Kalen Holliday
He draws up to Lucy and stops, taking in a deep breath and tilting his head as he senses Lena.  Because run into one Mage in Denver.....
"Hey, Hummingbird," he says with a smile as Lena joins them.  Look at her, all bouncy.
"Impatient to be off battling the forces of evil, as always."  He grins, all playful.  Lena missed the part where he outright discussed that with Sid, but probably still knows better, though.  "You?"  The question, like the answer, is really directed at both of them, but his eyes are more on the people around them than on either of the people he's actually talking to.

Lena Reilly
She chuckles a little at Kalen's explanation of how he's doing, shaking her head.  "Yeah, that sounds like you."  Lucy may not be used to being the centerpiece of their gathering, but that will likely change.  They all get a turn at being the person who the others end up subconsciously flocking to; that's the way it works.  For Lena its all about their connections; they're all at the same place in space and time in her perspective.  It's only their mundane perceptions and the constraints of the codified world that separate them.
She gives them both warm smiles, slipping the earbuds into her pocket.  "I'm good, I'm good.  It's a good day so far, so I can't particularly complain much either.  Just thought I'd go on a walk and it turned into a bit of a hike around the city.  She reaches up, runs a hand through her hair.  "What are you both up to today?"

Lucy
Lucy slides her phone into her pocket, takes a step back, and tips her chin up toward the multi-colored brick building.  That's what she was doing, at least until the storm rolled up.  Turning back, dropping her hip so that one knee is bent, she explains.  "I needed a computer.  It's looking more and more like Delilah and I'll be sticking around, which means getting the hell out of a hotel and into something at least semi-permanent."  Her stomach gives a gurgle.  Smiling sheepish, she rests her hand over the flat plane of her belly.  "I got a little distracted and missed lunch, though.  Next stop's McDonald's, I think."

Kalen Holliday
Kalen makes a face at the suggestion of McDonalds.  "Mmmmmmmm...so many places you've never been in Denver.  Let's skip that one, shall we, and try something new?"  He smiles.  "And, you know, less likely to be horrible.  Also, I have a house I only sort of use, you could stay there instead of a hotel while you find something.  I'll have to give a few people an updated address for when they randomly stop by, but I spend most of my time elsewhere anyway."

Lena Reilly
Lena smiles when Lucy says that she and Delilah are leaning toward sticking around and nods.  "Awesome...I'm glad to hear it.  And I've got those apartment listings, by the way, if you two still want them.  I even promise not to snake the best one out from underneath you."  Said under the a fake solemnity, though she's smiling around the edges.
Kalen makes a face and suggests something non-horrible for food, and that makes Lena roll her eyes.  As a sometime customer of fast-food, she knows that there are generally only a few reasons why someone goes to them: they actually like the food (which is possible!), they're busy and looking for something with convenience or it's what they can afford.  Never discount the importance of a value member, after all.
"No Starbucks, no McDonald's...I swear, it's like you people are trying to cut all the convenience out of my life.  Some of us have to work and stuff, you know.  Food snob."  It's said with a good-natured tone to the Hermetic; she certainly doesn't mean anything insulting by it.

Lucy
Kalen pulls a face, which doesn't phase Lucy in the slightest.  When you're a vagabond dealing with a Hermetic, well, she's not surprised the fast food choice would get a look of some kind or other.  No, it's the suggestion that they are now going to go somewhere else.  Or is he using the royal 'let's?'  Lucy's brow furrows in confusion before that expression melts into an easy smile.  That smile widens when Lena calls Kalen a food snob.
"I like the cut of your jib, Reilly."  And to Kalen, "It also takes out the cheap factor.  I can get a meal for under four bucks at McDonald's, not that I can't afford more, it's just."  She pats her bag, which clanks a little.  "Some of these are houses and even rentals require a pretty hefty deposit.  As for the house, are you sure?  I only just met you what, a week ago?  We could be, I don't know.  What if we accidentally burn the place down?"

Kalen Holliday
"I could take a request to go to places like that but there is a special form which must be filled out in triplicate and notarized," Kalen purrs at Lena, all warm amusement.  He reaches out to nudge at her with one hand.  "It is way easier to just give up and let me buy you food."
His eyes roll.  "Please see prior statement about convenience."
And then something flickers across his expression when she mentions they might burn the house down.  "Mmmmmm...it is insured.  But, you do raise a point.  I'm not concerned about you and your sister, but that place might catch on fire.  I can promise it will likely not be accidental and...you know you could stay at the House....."

Lena Reilly
Lena isn't always in this kind of a good mood.  She is presenting herself well lately, but she has her dark moments still.  Days where she's angry or upset or any number of other possibilities.  Someone who saw those days might be deeply concerned for her, but this is healthier for her.  She's giving herself over to her Passions in a more open and regular way, staving off the fear that keeps her from letting go in that way. (Unless that emotion is Fear itself, in which case she still staves it off.  It's a thing.)  That she is able to do so lets her be more at ease among people now: smile more openly, even make contact with people sometimes.  She has her backtracks, but right now isn't one of those times and she grins when Lucy tosses the quip her way.
Kalen's reaction draws a brief bit of curiosity, but she doesn't press.  They've reached a comfortable level of disclosure between them, or did last time; they volunteer information and don't try to push for the others'.  She doesn't know why that comment about the house burning down may cause that reaction, but she lets it go.  "The House is a bit far out though, to be fair.  Even when I was staying there there were times I didn't head on out because of road conditions or just not having time to go that far."
She shrugs.  "I still think that at some point we should establish something here closer in the city.  But that's just me."

Lucy
[oh yeah, I should probably attempt an awarepathy on Kalen, eh?  let's go Luce, what's the worst that could happen (that you haven't done already?)]
Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 5, 6, 9, 10) ( success x 3 )

Kalen Holliday
[No.  Really.  That was nothing.....]
Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 5, 8, 8, 10, 10) ( success x 4 )

Lucy
[i am am unphased]
Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (3, 4, 8, 9, 9, 10) ( success x 4 )

Lucy
Whatever Kalen meant by the eye roll, or by that flickering look, and more importantly whatever Lucy takes from it, is anyone's guess.  He rolls his eyes and her smile widens a little.  Nose crinkling, she looks rather impish.
She shakes her head, though.  "All the same, thanks but no.  As for the house..."  Lena mentions the distance and Lucy nods.
"Yeah, it's pretty far, we don't have a car or anything, and I can't really bank on rogue Alexanders riding around looking to pick up hitchhikers.  The hotel'll be okay until we get our own place.  Thanks, though."

Kalen Holliday
"As you wish, Snowdrop.  Just thought I'd offer."  His tone is still warm enough, but his eyes are more distant now.  "I don't really think about it, but then I spend most of my time in that general direction anyway, and not so much here.
"You think?"  He asks Lena.  "Like...what are you thinking?"  Oh look.  A plan.  Plans are so much better than feelings.  Feelings are lame.

Lena Reilly
She's seen Kalen get distant before.  She has an idea of what that means.  She frowns just slightly at it but that's a quick expression and it fades away in the blink of an eye.  Again, they don't press each other; they volunteer.
And then he's looking her way and asks about her thoughts regarding a place here in the city, and she shakes her head with a smile.  "I haven't thought all that much about it to be honest," she says, and that's true.  "Mostly because I know most everyone is okay with the House as it is, at least for the most part.  And it's fine, but the distance..."
She shrugs.  "And let's face it, there is a whole hell of a lot some people tip-toeing around each other up there.  When you put that many of us in one household, well...not all of us stay in the household.  And then you have a lot of people keeping their distance, which isn't good and defies the entire idea of community.  So I'm more just conceptualizing at this point, waiting to see if the need becomes real and not just in my own mind."
Lucy
Kalen just thought he'd offer and Lucy gives him a little nod of acknowledgement, but no more appreciative platitudes are offered.  In fact, Lucy doesn't offer much more for a bit.  Lena mentions setting up a place in the city, someplace that's not so far out, and Kalen looks interested.  And Lucy?
Well, Lucy's the new kid on the block, the new blood in town.  If she had to choose she would probably side with opening up a gathering place in the city if only because she and her sister don't have an independent mode of transportation.  But she knows how these things work.  This is their business.
For the time being she watches with a wintry, eternal sort of patience, and listens with earnest attention.

Kalen Holliday
"You have my attention.  I...I am pleased enough with the House, but I have noticed certain tensions.  I can think of a few people who might appreciate something less formal.  I don't think it's just in your head.  My concern though...well...is best discussed somewhere more private.
"Perhaps we could take the discussion to somewhere with food.  And convenient booths."  Despite the newfound distance, that offer does not seem strictly confined to Lena.

Lena Reilly
She seems a little surprised that Kalen's interested in the idea, to be honest.  He had just mentioned that he spends most of his time up there, after all, and she's never seen him as someone who had problems with anyone there or its policies.  But she is also very cognizant of the fact that she doesn't really know the whole of the situation at the Morrison Chantry anymore; even since she came back she's only been there sparingly.
So she nods a little bit.  "Yeah, I could be up for that, I guess."  She looks over to Lucy now.  "Wanna come with?  I wouldn't mind having the input of someone who's still new to the city and isn't quite as personally involved yet, but if you're busy I totally get it too."

Lucy
Lucy seems a little surprised at the attempt to fold her into the discussion.  Her brows lift and her eyes widen a little as she looks from Kalen to Lena, then back to Kalen.  Mouth twisting, for a few seconds Lucy is very, very still.
And then all at once she's mobile again, shoulder lifting in a shrug as she shakes her head.  "I don't think so.  If you're looking for votes, obviously I'd like something more easily accessible.  But as a general rule I don't hang around places like that more than very, very occasionally.  My presence alone weirds out about ninety-nine point nine percent of everyone I meet."  That's right, she's aware of the effect she has on people, just as she's aware of Kalen's distance and the fact that Grace doesn't like to be around her.
"I should probably go anyway," she says, pulling out her phone and checking the screen for the time.  "I need to show these places to Del and maybe paper another neighborhood with job applications.  But thanks for the invite."  It didn't sound like food is part of her afternoon plan anymore, and her stomach gurgles in protest.  Cringing and smiling at the same time, she says, "Lena, I'll give you a call later?  And maybe we can check out those apartments.  See ya."
She offers them both a wave and starts to head off to the nearest bus stop.

Grace
As they're considering places (not McDonalds or Starbucks) that they might go to obtain food and privacy, Kalen's phone goes and bleeps out a notification.
He has received a text.
I am so bored. Code compiling. It's like watching grass grow. :(

Kalen Holliday
"Yeah.  Good luck."  Kalen says with a slight frown.  He returns the wave, turns back to Lena, and sighs.
"Please tell me you don't actually have your heart set on McDonalds?"  His phone chirps and he pulls it out of his pocket, glances at it, smiles, and then looks back to Lena.

Lena Reilly
Lucy says she's not comfortable with throwing in a vote and that her presence weirds people out, and Lena also frowns just a tiny bit.  It isn't in disapproval, though.  The fact is, they all weird 99.9% of the people they meet out.  That's exactly what Resonance does; it gives them a sense of something otherworldly that, while not actively felt by Sleepers, does work on a subconscious level.  She's run across a few people who have strange after-effects--Paradox, or curses or whatnot.  Hell, even she has her own thing, although it's not a physical sense.  The point is, she does get Lucy's point, at least to a small degree.
"No problem, Lucy.  Yeah, we can absolutely do that.  Talk to you later."
She looks at Kalen and smiles, nods a little.  "Yeah, I didn't.  Lead the way."

Kalen Holliday
"You want to see the totally not in the city extra place?  Because there kind of is one.  It doesn't solve the problem you're talking about though, really.  We can grab something on the way?"  He smiles.  "Anything that will put food in boxes is fine with me."

Lucy
[thanks for the play, folks!]

Lena Reilly
She smiles a little bit and nods.  "Yeah, sure."  There's a little gesture from her, as if in deference to the Hermetic.
"Lead the way."

Kalen Holliday
Kalen nods, and takes Lena to get Japanese food because who does not love udon noodles.  Srsly.  And he picks up food for Grace, because he always picks up food for Grace.  As though she would starve.
He brings her to an office that has nice new biometric locks and solid-looking brick walls.  "So, ah...did I mention Grace and I were making us a virtual library?  And, to a point, a physical one?  It is, you will note, separate from the chantry library, although at some point we may get to scan that library into it.  Right now, it's still a baby library, but it's a good place to talk."
Kalen walks through the hallway, less interested in tours, and leads her to the physical library, a large room now lined with shelves, with more shelves forming little nooks for small groupings of furniture.  There is a large marble lion, but beyond that the decorations are mostly limited to antique maps on the walls (naturally in gilt frames, although, interestingly, those are old frames that have seen better days).  The shelves are largely empty, because, as some said, this is a baby library.
He starts unpacking boxes of food onto one of the tables.

Grace
[Awareness!]
Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 3, 9, 9) ( success x 2 )

Lena Reilly
"I'd heard about that," Lena says with a little nod.  "More power to you guys.  I don't have any real storehouse of knowledge that you guys can convert for me, or I might be on board with it too."
She's carrying some Teriyaki Bento, herself.  Good stuff, in the Cultist's estimation.  She looks around the place and smiles, nodding.  She's impressed, she's not gonna lie.  It's a nice place, even if it's not quite her style.  "So when I become super rich and famous like Tiesto, you're totally decorating my place right?  Can I sign you onto it now before you become known and it costs me an arm and a leg?"

Grace
As soon as the others arrive in the library, Grace's arm appears over the back of a couch, to wave at them. She doesn't give any other greeting than that, but the reason is soon delivered along with the noise of a yawn.
"Hey, Lena," she finally says, sitting up (but still all limp and relaxed from her nap). "What'd you get for dinner, Kalen?"
"Oh, and also, welcome to the Warehouse. You should see what he did to my office. Stars. It's quite nice actually," she says, and do mark your calendars, because it's about the only time that Grace is going to say some interior decorating is 'nice'.

Kalen Holliday
"You have a thing for beaten to hell old things that were once elegant, too?"  Kalen laughs and drapes himself over a couch.  He doesn't seem terribly interested in food right this minute.  Giving people food, yes.  Eating food...maybe later.
"So.  Your idea.  Tell me more.  I'm curious, and before I do that thing I do, I want to hear what you think."
"Black sesame beef udon noodles and those things you like from there," Kalen says to Grace, like this statement has all the information one would need to be comprehensible.  And, if you know where he gets black sesame beef udon, it probably does.  "Plus Lena and her really cool idea."

Lena Reilly
She sees Grace there and smiles, nodding to her as she moves to set her food down.  She'll eat it later, but Kalen's asking about her idea.  So she sits opposite him and settles in, leaning back and at ease.
"Well, like I said, it's not really a plan yet.  I don't even live anywhere right now, I've been living out of a hotel room since I moved out of my apartment following the whole thing."  She's not hesitating anymore.  That's how she'll refer to it most of the time anymore; it wasn't Hydra.  It's the thing.  But it's still progress and she doesn't flinch or get twitchy over it anymore.  It's growth.
"What I'm saying is I'm not at the point to begin planning right now.  It's just more of a situation where--and I'm not trying to slam the place or anyone there--I'm getting a little tired of having to drive my ass all the way up to Morrison and then deal with people being weird around each other and not knowing anyone because of all the new faces and strongly suspecting that there are people who don't show up because big surprise, the Nine Traditions have people who don't necessarily get along.  I like the House, but it's trying to fit a whole lot of pegs into one hole.  So I've been thinking that we should have an alternate place here in the city for those who aren't cool with going all the way out there."

Grace
Grace laughs at Kalen, at something that would only be funny to the half-asleep, or to a hacker. Good thing she's both. "I'm not going to eat Lena for dinner, and I strongly suspect that eating an idea would be a hard problem."
She sniffs at the air over black sesame noodles and those things she likes. Which are gyoza dumplings, for those interested. Which, of course, she grabs at, taking the whole box apparently for herself. Then, she grabs at some chopsticks, and snaps the wood in two.
"So what's to say that people won't get along at a place in the city too? I mean I don't stay away from the Chantry, but there's a certain bookstore that --" she starts, and then trails off, suddenly very interested in her gyoza.
"I guess what I'm saying is people can not get along just about anywhere if they're committed enough to the idea."

Kalen Holliday
Kalen laughs.  "Oh, Kit.  I may adore him, but I know how he is.  I wish you got along, but I'm not going to be mad about it.  Wanting to strangle him is a thing that happens.  Occasionally even for me.  But, if you get over all those quills of his, he's a good friend to have.  Not everyone does, but that is what it is."
He shifts a little to face Lena.  "We're starting to get Orphans that want to stay independent.  And while at the moment Denver is a pretty laid back place, that can change.  I spent a few years unaffiliated, and those were very valuable years.  I am glad I joined the Order, but that was my choice.  No one forced me into anything, but I do know what it's like, this world of ours from the outside.
"It isn't just the distance, though I'll give you that's a factor.  Some of us aren't going to be as comfortable as they could be in the House.  And for pretty much the reasons I mentioned and the reasons you mentioned, though I'd welcome them here -and I will- that isn't the answer."

Lena Reilly
She looks over at Grace as she maintains that people aren't going to get along wherever, and frowns a little.  "People might not, Grace.  But that's sort of a defeatist reasoning, and not really a reason not to do it.  We know that people avoid the chantry, just like they avoid other places.  Either they don't like the distance to travel or there's someone here or there that they aren't comfortable around.  Or they're uncomfortable with one of a hundred other things about it."
She shrugs.  "I know that if I'd had somewhere that wasn't the giant mystical housing way out of the city where I always felt like an outsider--for my own reasons or not," she interjects, trying to get that out of the way.  She's not making this about her.  "...than I might not have kept myself on the fringes for as long as I did.  And nothing bad happened to me while I was, but it could have.  We need a place for people who just don't want to go to the Chantry if we're going to be really cultivating a community here."
She looks at Kalen and nods a little.  "Yeah, I get what you're saying.  This isn't quite the same thing.  It kind of is, but it's..."  She shakes her head.  "It's not the answer.  Not exactly."

Grace
"He hates me, Kalen. I'm not going to get into all the specific details of what went down, but yeah. I don't think he wants to be my friend. And that's what makes me not want to be his, okay?" Grace says, and stabs a dumpling. Maybe she's pretending that it's really Adam's fat head, what with the extra bit of violence there.
But then Lena speaks, about cloistering herself away, and Grace freezes. She puts down the skewered dumpling. "But Lena, I would have gone to the 'somewhere that's not a giant mystical house'. If you felt like an outsider at the Chantry, why wouldn't you feel the same way somewhere else where we would frequent?"
To Grace, all places are fairly equally uncomfortable. In none of them does she feel like an 'insider'. Perhaps that's why as soon as she walks into someone else's house she makes herself at home on their couch, or picks up their things, or puts her feet on the furniture. They all feel pretty much like her own home does.
The only thing that makes sense to her would be avoiding people, and that's nigh impossible. Even Lena didn't manage it perfectly during her seclusion.

Kalen Holliday
"He's not...I doubt he hates you.  He just...quills.  All over.  Like a porcupine."  Kalen sets the backs of his hands together and waggles his fingers outward like bristling quills.  "And he starts by assuming you're wrong because you're not one of us.  Which is the thing that generally makes me want to strangle him, and why you two are probably never going to get along until he gets over that."
There is, as there has been before, that easy acceptance of people.  Here is a person.  Here are their flaws.  Here is Kalen just embracing all of that in its entirety.  As though its easy.
He thinks it is.
But Kalen knows how flawed everyone is.  He's had to find those flaws and exploit them.  He still looks for for them.  The gaps in armor, the limitations, the places he can slip under someone's guard.  He might be more into transcending limits now than using them to his advantage but he is never not aware of them.
"This is way too much like me playing lord of the castle and inviting you to my space.  And almost anything I do would be, which is why this probably shouldn't be something I jump into the middle of planning.  I'm happy to talk about it with you.  And I totally support you.  But you should talk to some other people.  Notably Alexander.  Possibly Ian, can I give him your number?  He's too independent for Ginger, that one."  Kalen's voice warms for both the mention of Alexander and the mention of Ian, but it softens a little for Ian, similar to the way it softens when he mentions Sera.

Lena Reilly
"This isn't about me, Grace."  Her brows furrow, and she shakes her head.  That was exactly what she was trying to avoid by her interjection.  "Just because someone might not get along with someone isn't a good reason not to do it.  You're burying the idea in the hypothetical example I gave.  It's easier for someone to not want to do something because they're afraid of what might happen.  I'm not dealing in 'What Ifs' and hypotheticals here.  I'm dealing in the fact that there is one place that some people don't go to because of several reasons, one of which is the fact that there are things about it that make them uncomfortable.  There is no way that having another option of somewhere for people to go to would make that worse."
Kalen mentions some names, and she nods.  She knows Alexander, of course.  To the best of her knowledge, she doesn't know Ian.  (That will be a fun surprise.)  "Yeah, of course you can.  And i get it.  To be honest, and this isn't a slam on anyone there at all.  You guys know I pretty much love everyone at the Chantry.  But if I do go ahead with this, I would want to at least start with people who aren't strongly associated with it first.  Not that I wouldn't want anyone there or anything, but that would make a cleaner start, you know?"

Grace
The confusion doesn't exactly wane on Grace's part. She still thinks that whatever problems the Chantry might have, the only one that would be solved by adding a second meeting ground in the city would be that of distance. It's just never occurred to her to think of the Chantry house as 'belonging' to someone in particular, to the Traditions, or especially one Tradition in particular. It's just so difficult for her to think in those terms, as though a place could be owned, truly, when it is so shared.
But still, Kalen and Lena seem to both intuitively understand what they're on about, so she doesn't ask the fifty different questions on her mind. Maybe she'll ask them of Kalen afterwards, to try to unravel the mystery of why anyone would feel uncomfortable at a Chantry -- and that reasoning she can't yet make sense of. But to make this conversation all about her own difficulties is perhaps not the most efficient use of time.
"I'm not against the idea, don't get me wrong. I just perhaps don't understand all the... details," she says, and finally bites a dumpling. "I wouldn't mind another place to go in the city. It would be nice."
They can both likely tell that Grace is rather uncomfortably holding back. The conversation is opening up entirely new vistas of questions. Should she be uncomfortable about going to the Chantry? What is it about the place that makes it a political statement? Who is considered strongly associated with it? She considers while chewing that it might have something to do with time spent there, in which case...
"Or I could stay away from it too, if I'm too strongly associated with the Chantry. If that's... even... I'll shut up now," she says, mouth half-full of dumpling.
People. Why do they have to be so damned complicated?

Kalen Holliday
"Yeah.  I know."  He smiles at Lena, and it is a little sad.  "Whether I have ever cared about any of that or not, and whatever the hell I may or may not be doing about oppressive politics, I am from the Order, and I am tangled up with the only place we have by virtue of being tangled up with everyone.  Regardless of what I may have chosen if there had been a choice at the time.  I know."
He glances at Grace.  "You're probably less problematic than I am, though perhaps still slightly so.  I though, am most definitely not invited to the opening ceremonies.  It's alright.  I'm sure they'll be amazing and I'll hear all about them eventually."

Lena Reilly
And then she gets a phone call and has to go.
[[Sorry guys, I completely lost any sense of this scene somehow and have typed and deleted like five posts, so it's best if she just go.  Thanks for the scene.]]