[Scarlet]Pre- event: Working on Security

[Caramia]

The meteor shower gathering was always the talk of the town weeks before it actually happened; everyone seemed hyped, and the increased activity in town in preparation for the Festival itself meant more work for the mafias in general. People were excited and easily excitable, sometimes not in the best ways; incidents happened much more frequently.

The event itself would be a bit of trouble too; people tended to have too many drinks on that night, romantic rivalries reached their peaks and could end in tragedy, and all that was without all the pickpocketing, robberies and general mischief the scum of the slum would want to pull. Also, the matter of the Wolf Gang had been a plague and probably would still be one on the festival itself.

Which meant he had to work incredibly hard and much more than at any other time of the year, in collaboration with the other mafias, if he wanted everything to go smoothly.

Scarlet had been invited over at the Oz Mansion, which was pretty unusual but not unheard of; it was all for business after all, and they had a truce going on due to what they had to work on together. Caramia was currently waiting for him in his office, enjoying his last minutes of peace and free time before he really had to get to work.

[Scarlet]

As Scarlet concludes one last patrol of his territory before it’s time to complete his acceptance of an invitation to the Oz Mansion, he duly notes just how much word of the Festival greets his ears. Everyone is so actively preparing for it in their own way, whether it be related to business, excitement, or bad intentions.

He knows the event is going to be taxing on the body and soul; it’s a beautiful event, but not exactly one for rest as a mafiosi – especially since he’s the stand-in leader of one of the factions. He doesn’t want anything to go wrong during this event – it’d be a shame for it to crash when it could be a much more peaceful day. There certainly are upstanding roadblocks – the slums and the Wolfgang being rather notable to the red-cloaked male, but that is not all. Organization, coordinated security, how everything is supposed to pan out. That’s the full meaning behind the reason he had been invited to visit the Oz Mansion, and the full meaning behind this truce.

This festival is quite a bit of work, but as Scarlet gains permission to enter the mansion and head to the office, he finds that it’s necessary work for a time of agreement, socialization, and freedom. It’s one of the days the ruling class themselves are on a truce, no matter the actual date, and it’s a good thing.

“Caramia-san? I’m coming in,” Scarlet announces himself as he opens the office door. “It’s absolutely necessary we situate our defense plans for the festival, so thank you for calling me over.”

[Caramia]

It was rare for people to actually announce themselves before walking in his office; most of the time the people around the mansion just waltzed in whenever they felt like it. It was a nice change, if not a bit depressing in a way; he really was everyone's errand boy in this house, despite his status.

Now wasn't the time to be bitter about some people's lack of respect; with a smile, he stood up from his desk to properly greet the other man. It was only fair to be polite and pleasant back after all. Even if the other had gone straight to the point.

It was always pleasant to deal with Scarlet; he had a good head on his shoulders and didn't get too distracted, generally getting work done efficiently while still being pleasant about it.

"Good afternoon Scarlet. I agree with you, just let me make some space on the desk and find the map I had for this..."

That said, he looked back down on his desk and carefully put a stack of paperwork back inside a cupboard, making it so they'd both have more than enough room to work properly, before turning around and pulling out a fairly big map, spreading it so they could have a good view of it.

"Just grab whichever chair you'd like. If you want something to drink I can try to go get that too. Make yourself comfortable pretty much..."

That was said with a quick smile thrown Scarlet's way as his hands were still working on setting the map down well. It was true Scarlet was technically not a friend, but then if they were to work together he wanted to make sure he had a good time. It was better to have a good reputation with the other mafias, and showing some good hospitality was a good way to start.

[Scarlet]

Proper manners really reflect in Scarlet’s actions as he takes the necessary steps to not rudely intrude on the don. Despite being invited, barreling indoors in enemy territory is far from ideal. Scarlet may not be quick to speak, but actions do go a long while.

There’s no reason to dally around either. The less time they spend on idle chatter and the more they work to place exactly what they need to have prepared, the better, right? At least, Scarlet thinks so, or perhaps that’s just the haphazard existence in a territory not his own that’s speaking. Efficiency, timeliness, understanding, it’s all necessary to ensure the trouble is kept to a minimum.

“Yes, all right,” Scarlet says, patiently awaiting the reveal of the map, and further instruction thus forth. Upon Caramia’s suggestion of a chair, Scarlet carefully pulls over the chair closest to him to the desk opposite of Caramia and seats himself in it. “It’s fine, Caramia-san. I’d rather not trouble you. Thank you for the offer, though.”

He knows Caramia is being polite, but Scarlet decides that he doesn’t need anything to drink. It shouldn’t be too long, and it’s easier this way. He really does appreciate it, but if it’s more out of his way, and there’s nothing monitoring, then what’s the benefit? Caramia is pretty considerate for an enemy; it’s pleasant already, and reminds Scarlet of just how much nicer things would be if they are like this. It wouldn’t happen, but it really would be better. Ideological thoughts do not always correlate with attainability, though. This meeting, he feels, is off to a decent beginning, so as he looks over the map, he carefully says, "It would be better to have posts around the festival. Likely these areas being the most heavily watched," he points to the places closest to the entrance to the slums and the woods themselves. It's only a start, but it's needed. 

[Caramia]

Now that everyone was set down properly, and now that Scarlet had seated himself on the other side of the desk, all that was left to do was actually work on the matters at hand.

"It's nothing really, you are a guest after all... Just tell me if you need anything alright?"

Still offering him one of his pleasant smile, Caramia seated himself as well before opening a drawer and taking out stacks of white paper and everything they may need to write, as well as some small tokens; sure, it was old fashioned, but he prefered putting these down on the map to have visuals rather than writing on it. If they changed their minds, they'd be able to shift it all around, instead of having a mark that wouldn't go away. Plus it made it so they could reuse that map later on, so he saw absolutely no reasons not to use the more old fashioned ways.

"I already talked about this with Pashet briefly, her troops will be in charge of the gates as usual, with renforced security to keep anyone suspicious from entering town on the festival day itself..."

As he talked, he positioned the tokens around the map, where Scarlet had suggested a more heavy security as well as at the gates.

"I can offer some troops to cover one of the posts,you could offer some to cover the other one you suggested, and I'd say we should have a few people patrolling the streets as well. I believe we should probably have some more people around Soh's food stall given his position in the Wolf Gang, you never know what could happen there..."

Trying to recall all the things written in patrol reports was a bit complicated but overall, from his knowledge, the only real threat was Caesar. it should all go well.

"Do you have any informations that could be relevant here? I know our territory is pretty peaceful lately, nothing to report that could be linked to the festival."

As he talked, his face had gone from his pleasant smile to a more serious look, humming a little as he concentrated on the map, trying to see if he had anything to add. Snapping out of it, he looked back toward the other man, waiting for his input, before passing him some paper and pens too in case he wanted to take notes.

[Scarlet]

 “Ah, if I do decide I need something, I’ll be sure to tell you, Caramia-san.”

Scarlet is honest, and despite not completely trusting such an offer, he still cannot deny the kind intentions behind it. Still, he wants to focus on work. Everything needs to be sorted out, and he wants to make sure everything is as close to perfect as it can be.

This is far more efficient, the visuals help work through it all. This way Scarlet can make the notes he wishes to alongside tangible plans that could change if necessary. Really, this is the best way to work. The air is pleasant, much more so than on a typical day of fueding, but perhaps that really could be credited to the cease fire of the day.

“As expected her,” Scarlet says as he watches Caramia position the tokens as they are needed. But really, it’s a step in the right direction. Leave it to Pashet and Caramia to have this already planned out, just a bit. That’s how things should get done, he feels. Even if it’s not very “high-tech” it gets the job done in a way where any standard party can understand it.

“I can provide troops to better cover the post that’s here,” Scarlet says, pointing to the one that’s closer to his territory. “As well as provide part of the protection around Soh’s shop. If we work together there, there should be no issues, even given his affiliation.”

It will all be fine so long as all the pieces are in place, so long as step-by-step motions are in exact order. The smaller members of the Wolf Gang might possibly cause a ruckus, but it really is Caesar they have to watch out for. “Nothing that major to report. For the most part, things have been peaceful.” There really isn’t much to say that’s linked to the festival, he believes.

Regardless, Scarlet accepts the pen and paper, jotting down what had already been discussed so he could smoothly integrate these plans later. “Hopefully we’ll all be in full cooperation so that we can have a balanced workload. While this is important, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to take a few moments to themselves.”

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