plate_builder | [Open Post]

Rufus smirks. If Reeve only knew how little Reno was at fault, how even the red-head sometimes got taken aback when his boss could win at what Reno considered his own personal game...

Well, if he knew, he'd probably be both amused and angry. Amused Reno could lose, angry that Rufus' mind could supply him endless terrible thoughts and why.

His eyes move to watch, though, curious what will be seen since he's never exactly been able to do a cartwheel, and gently reassuring Reeve that he isn't easy to make dizzy.

Reeve manages to pull off a few cartwheels up and down the bed, clearly amusing himself. From there he even sets Cait through the process of turning down the bed for him.

"You will be welcome to keep working with him at your leisure," Reeve offers. "I do have to advise you of a few things when you use him. Cait can read and process written word perfectly well. However his eyes are cameras, and cameras can't easily process other screens. It has to do with refresh rates and other technical stuff, but it's hard to see it clearly. I thought you should know."

Rufus watches, chuckling softly at Reeve's having the cat turn the bed down, before nodding at him. "Alright. I doubt I'll need to do a great deal of reading with him for a time, anyway. I did it before to see if I could handle paper."

"Paper is difficult. It has so little form. People don't think of that," Reeve admits with a shrug. "Weapons, materia, gear? Easy. But delicate things? I practiced with feathers."

Why he had an ample supply of feathers to practice with is a whole other question.

"It's also easy to tear if too much force is put into it." He smiles, having just enough understanding to be dangerous, it seems. "Still, maybe I can borrow some of your books from a distance."

"You'd be welcome to, once you're comfortable enough with paper. As a note, his fur is water-proofed and rather stain resistant, so he's pretty nice to take care of."

With that he looks to Rufus again, now calmed down from the earlier conversation.

"It's getting late. I should prepare to return home."

Rufus nods again, shifting to pull his phone out so he can text the Turks that Reeve is ready to go.

"I'll make sure not to interrupt you when you work. I'll also come up with some helpful tips for being more political and have them prepared for our next meeting. Anything I should focus on particularly?"

"Who you may know in positions of power in Junon. I can handle Kalm and Fort Condor myself. My initial focus is of course here on the Eastern Continent. It will take time to spread."

But he carefully picks up the controls and carries them over to the table that he set the amplifier up on.

"Thank you for entertaining my foolish idea with dinner tonight, Rufus. I will refrain from trying again."

"Was it so foolish?" He stands, deciding a good host will see his guest out - when not being a child, or sick. "I enjoyed it, even if the conversation took a rather sour turn. We don't get such good food here often."

It's unsaid, but he understands what Reeve needs, and will set to working on what the man needs come the next day. Insofar as he can, anyway. Although he's had the Turks see who and who isn't still around, there's a question of how much power any one of them has. Something he can naturally note in his papers.

Perhaps something Rufus can request of Tseng, who can pass it up the ladder to Veld to see what contacts that old man still has.

"It leads to an awkward situation where neither of us know what to say," Reeve answers. He's only starting to wonder if Rufus takes his meals with his Turks even. Was he trained only toward the formal dinners to be shared with others, and not more personal things?

Rufus smiles, perhaps an acknowledgment that what Reeve says is true, and actually moves to the door when there's a knock, opening it slowly and speaking to Tseng for a few moments. He then returns back towards Reeve, the Turk taking up his place rigidly at the door.

"Tseng will get you back in one piece. Please let either of us know if you need something before the next meeting."

"Of course," Reeve agrees. But he won't. Who knows how long before they can meet again even. "Thank you for seeing me, Mister Shinra."

He spares Rufus a nod for his goodbye before heading out through the door Tseng has open for him. Home, a long drive away. During which he intends to probe Tseng to see if he can't pinpoint if the man would ever give his boss the time of day.

It won't truly matter when it is possible again, as Rufus will seem to use the Cait unit at least daily to wander Reeve's apartment, both working with the suggested ideas that the man left - mastering them as efficiently as he can - and occasionally making sure the man is aware Rufus is certainly controlling it by getting into some of the man's books. In a way, that means he's seeing Reeve daily, even if only through the eyes of a tiny mechanical cat.

Eventually, Rufus will contact Reeve again to ask for a meeting, letting him know he has compiled several notes, names, locations and other pertinent information that the man could use for his expansion of the WRO.

Strangely enough, Reeve doesn't seem bothered by the repeated reminders of Rufus, of the man moving about his life. Sure, he's in and out of his apartment with surprising regularity, and yes, he can definitely be caught out in not sleeping or eating nearly enough. But at other times he seems to welcome the brief distraction, and isn't against giving Rufus little pointers out loud. Granted, he hasn't given the man instructions on how to use the communication protocols yet, but he seems almost amused to be able to talk at Rufus and not have to have a response.

After a few days, though, Reeve pulls out a white pocket cloth from one of his less used suits and turns it into a makeshift white cape for Cait as a point of amusement. Because surely Rufus would not suffer the indignity of having this much color, even in a proxy. Black, white, and a touch of gold up top.

When the summons comes, Reeve has to send back that he needs a few days to arrange time. Almost to his own surprise the WRO is growing with a bit of speed beyond his hopes. Soon he is relieved Jasper has taken over much of the management of improvement to Edge, because he's got more volunteers than he knows what to do with, and a pending meeting in Kalm to deal with. It's after this that he agrees to meet Rufus. Will save everyone a bit of travel if he just has his guards take him a bit outside of the city for him to be transferred over to his Turk transport. Of course this is after several hard days of negotiations with Kalm, so it is a very tired Reeve that shows up in front of Rufus.

"Thank you," he says as he enters, looking almost immediately for a seat. "Forgive me for the delay. Things have gotten busy."

The white cape will only prompt Rufus to be a bit more childish, or perhaps Reno is encouraging him, because at one point after the addition of the item Reeve will find Rufus has waited for the perfect opportunity to lay the cat in front of an open window in a Superman-flying position.

However, there doesn't seem to be any issue with not being able to communicate, as if there is anything of question, Rufus will find ways to have the machine indicate this to its creator. It would seem he is decent at charades.

"It's fine." He responds to the apology, indicating the couch for Reeve to use as a seat. "I wouldn't have called you out, but I thought it would be best you can ask me about the information in the pages in front of you, face to face, rather than over a phone."

"Probably a better arrangement," Reeve agrees as he takes a spot on the couch and accepts the arranged file. "Granted it will take me a bit faster to peruse this than normal."

He's tired. There had been even less sleep in Kalm than he even got in Edge. It seemed like the WRO had skipped being a small organization entirely. "I thank you for being so prompt on this as well, even though I am well aware that you have other things you have to do."

He's slow as he starts flipping through the papers and it's very clear that without the more constant stimulation of conversation, he's already nodding off.

"It's no trouble." He assures, and moves off to the kitchen for a time, letting Reeve dig through the documents, which have been organized carefully for easier understanding and reference.

The names of various members of high society top the list, as well as what they could provide and how hard it would be to convince them to; easiest to hardest. Included are details on what they desire, what sort of people they are, and any other details Reeve might find useful; some of the names have even been placed in red, an indication they should be watched or left alone entirely.

After those names Reeve will find Rufus has focused on community leaders, obviously calling in some of his Turks skill at gathering intel, and those who seem to donate much of their time and resources to the cities.

The rest of the document goes into detail about how to retain some measure of power in a situation, how to negotiate, and words and phrases that tend to illicit good or bad reactions. Special thought has also been given to show Rufus understands Reeve's idea of power is quite different from his own, and an explanation of why any of it may need to be used is included.

Whether he gets far or not, Rufus will come back out of the kitchen after a time, laying a cup down in front of Reeve, who should recognize the smell quite well, even half asleep; the same sort of coffee the man drinks at home.

"Here. This should wake you up a little."

Indeed, it is his brand. Reeve, who has barely made it through the second page, smiles as he looks up at Rufus, and happily takes a sip. Not only the same sort, but seasoned how he likes it with only one sugar.

"Thank you," he says. "The town elders in Kalm barely gave me time to myself. I managed a gloriously decadent two hours of sleep last night."

None of that meeting had been easy, though Kalm was perhaps one of the easiest places to pitch to because he'd already done so much work with them.

"I get a few days of recovery and then I'm off to Fort Condor. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll be able to pick out who in the organization is skilled at organizational things. Get myself an assistant there. Apply better leadership roles, though at this point a lot is in flux."

Rufus has little to do here, and he's always been a watcher. In the past, knowing Reeve and his habits would have been a bad thing for the young president to have, but now, he seems at least to be giving some thought to how to use the information he gets for something positive rather than negative.

He sits beside Reeve as the man speaks, though, and chuckles softly. "I understand they like to speak. The Turks, Elena especially, can often get some good information from the elders in Kalm when it's needed.

"And don't expect things to calm down. Even when you have people assisting, with such a large organization, something will always be in flux. I should know."

For a moment Reeve is surprised to have Rufus sit so close to him, and then he's too distracted by coffee and papers to care. But Rufus is speaking so he best pay attention.

"They do speak. On end. The problem is that they come and go from meetings, as if they're bored. So between their tag-teaming I am about ready to pass out."

If this is how it's going to be, how is he ever going to find time to sleep? Time to himself? At least he won't have time to feel alone.

"How long until I can get away with claiming I have a business trip before spending a few days at the Gold Saucer?"

The last remark makes Rufus grin, while also shrugging his shoulders. "A long, long time I'm afraid.

"I wasn't around for my father's building ShinRa up at the beginning, but I got many stories about it. He rarely took a break for the first three or so years, and the ones he did, well... Let's just say I probably have siblings I am unaware of."

He knows Reeve will understand this, as no matter how much he was warned, his fool of an old man had a weakness for women. Rufus himself was still convinced Scarlett was only promoted as high as she was because she put out, and it didn't help that theory when she'd tried more than once to get into his good graces that way.

Reeve is not his father, however, so Rufus continues. "I imagine you can always say you have an important meeting with your benefactor and come hide out here if needed. It's not as fun as the Gold Saucer, but it's fairly quiet."

"Didn't think I'd be able to get away with the Saucer anyway. Dio would tell someone. Of course, they have beds."

He can apparently set himself up well. Meanwhile he takes another sip of coffee and flips the paper over. "This one here. The man Argus. Says he was with SOLDIER. Is there any way to confirm that? I know Junon's records are more complete than what little could be pulled from Midgar's systems, but... well, I suppose I'm a bit more leery knowing a 'former-SOLDIER' myself."

It would be easy to say something, but Rufus doesn't, instead looking at the page Reeve is on and scanning the synopsis of the man to refresh his memory. He isn't marked in red, but he's certainly not someone easy to convince and there is a warning that he's not good for any position too high in power.

"Tseng actually recalls him being SOLDIER." Rufus assures, knowing Reeve will trust the dark-haired Turk's memory. "From what he told me, Argus is the sort of SOLDIER who was in the business to make things better, but he has a short temper at times. If installed in a position of power, he would be miserable company, but if you are looking for someone to assist in rebuilding and protection of the city, he's very capable."

"That's always useful," Reeve admits. Not that Junon needs nearly as much work as Edge does. Still, plenty of places were damaged by the intensity of the Lifestream's defense. He hums in acknowledgement at the information and flips a page, but really, he doesn't focus on it too much.

"Three years?" he asks, looking at Rufus again. "That's a long time. Of course I imagine he chose to take time for himself now and then. I can barely get a weekend."

The world doesn't stop just because it's a Saturday. In a way, he's almost grateful for this meeting. Only one self-important person to please, and that's Rufus. That one he thinks he's gotten good at.

"From what he told me." Rufus isn't sure he feels all that important sometimes, but he knows that he is. At least, right now he is, to a lot of people who don't know he's even still alive. "According to my father, it was hard to get many of the resources he wanted or needed since he didn't have a name at that time. So he was dauntless in finding help, selling what information he could get and didn't need, and, according to him, practically laying each brick of what would become the ShinRa conglomerate.

"What others say is a little different, of course. Now, here," Rufus stops to indicate a name. "This woman, Alara, you'll want to make sure to get together with her. She's not a powerful woman, but she's capable, compassionate and very well liked. It seems when the Stigma first started to spread, she kept many of those infected despite the fear it was contagious. Still does, I hear. It endeared her to those whose families were stricken with the disease."

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Reeve, quit inviting Seph into your house - he always sheds those damn feathers /shot

Lol. Seph is TOTALLY too pale for him. The silver hair is just a no

Get yo pale ass outta my room! /Said as Barrett

The yo and outta made that clear.

hehe

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