Making Plans (Artskaf)

[Lore]

Lore settled easily into her new life in Moscow. Jessika was insanely busy, and Lore still coordinated her diary and generally smoothed her day-to-day with efficient tweaks, but it was more a hobby than a necessary job. The new Privilege had plenty of her own people to rely on, and even if Lore obviously did a better job, it wasn’t taxing work. It was beginning to feel like perhaps Damien had just wanted her out of Mexico.

Unperturbed, Lore turned her free time to her own endeavours. In the coming days she had a meeting with Ana Vega, though it was only out of courtesy given she was in the city. She had no desire to interfere with how they would run Second Chances here, but she was eager to hear what wonderful things they had planned – to see the business really spread its wings and thrive. Similarly she had a meeting arranged with Ephraim Haart to discuss the IP she had sold on from Cyberpoint. From the portfolio she had perused, it was an exciting opportunity.

Beyond that she was busy filing and making notes on potential contacts - that was the way her mind truly flourished and started making connections. The Vasiliev’s masquerade had provided some networking openings, though mostly Lore had simply observed the glamour around her. She hadn’t even danced. A table in the cosiest coffee shop on the street alongside the company of her spreadsheets was much more her speed though. She much preferred to be prepared for speaking to people.

[Cadence]

Cadence pulled her gloves off as she entered the cafe. Since her time here with Casey, it had quickly become her favorite place to get her morning coffee and sometimes a snack. The young woman behind the counter gave her a smile. Cadence had learned her name was Katya. Cadence also knew she was a fan. Her nearly daily visits to the cafe had excited the young woman. Still she had never gone full fan-girl.

”Good morning, Katya,” she said, approaching the counter. ”How are you today?”

Katya beamed. ”Im well, Cadence. How are you? What can I get you today? Your usual?”

”Im well too. You know me - same as always!”

Katya smiled and took Cadence’s payment. ”Ummm…I had a question,” her face flushed. ”I was wondering if you’d sign one of my albums?”

Cadence gave her a chuckle. She had expected this. ”of course. I’d love to.” she went and got the album and cadence signed it with a personal message. Katya gave her thanks and returned with Cadence’s order.

Cadence found a seat near a woman who was busy with papers piled around her. She had been working at being more outgoing a bit. It was her nature, but had been suppressed from her traumatic childhood. ”Good morning,” Cadence said, just being friendly.

She turned to her drink and pastry, thinking about how the past few weeks had gone. Recording, developing a crush, finding out her best friend was a channeler, learning how to link. It had all been quite a lot, but she was handling it well. Better than she would have before. And now met with Emily Shale as well. Her orphan project was combining with an organization called Second Chances. Cadence had of course approved and had given a sizeable donation. She had appreciated Emily’s telling her though. The woman seemed to do everything above board. That was appreciated.

[Lore]

She tuned the humdrum around her out without even thinking about it, though she wasn’t entirely ignorant, just focused. Someone moved past her table, though not in a way that jostled. Lore wondered if maybe it was just one of the servers, since the place was so vibrant in her periphery – clearly a popular place. Then she used the opportune break in her thoughts to sip her coffee. Only to find it stone cold. And with that disappointing sensory realisation, suddenly alphabatising her lists slipped her mind

“Cold, actually,” she said, faintly surprised, though she didn’t glance up from a rather plaintive look down at the mug in her hand. She might easily have been talking to herself. “A cold morning. Not good at all.”

[Cadence]

Cadence was actually a bit surprised when the woman woke up from her project. She imagined she looked the same when she sat at the piano, writing songs or practicing. The rest of the world didn’t exist. All that existed were the pages in front of you. It had actually worried her parents the first time it had happened. They thought something was wrong. Cadence has just been in the zone.

The cold cup of coffee was also a familiar experience. When she was in the midst of recording more so. She lived off caffeine and sugar. It wasn’t odd to come back to your cup and realize it had been sitting there for so long it had gone cold. The woman had to be very invested in her project.

”Well, we can’t have that,” Cadence gave the woman a smile before turning her attention to Katya. ”Katya - our friend here’s drink has gone cold. Could we get a replacement. On me.”

Cadence took a sip of her beverage. ”Looks like you’re working on a big project - you will certainly need your energy.”

[Lore]

“Oh. No project. Though I supposed that is the project. A pre-project… project.” She placed the mug carefully back down on the coaster, studying the quandary a moment longer. Her eyes were tired from the screen, which perhaps suggested a break was due. Lore was dedicated but she wasn’t neglectful, and she usually used timers and alarms to keep herself on schedule. Being late was the kind of nightmare she woke up sweating from.

“Did you just buy me a coffee?” The words registered some surprise. Apparently it took Lore a moment or two to process – that being the multiple strands of thought in her brain at any given time, though most people just found her fractured. She shifted, finally looked up to the disembodied voice. Her expression was polished, welcoming, the absence tucked carefully away. Her hair was in a sleek ponytail, her make-up minimal and fresh, the blouse she wore professional with a nod to fashion. In a word, perfectly neat.

“Lore Dearborn,” she said, thrusting out a hand across the gap between tables.

“Oh. And you’re Cadence Mathis.”

Frankly she seemed more pleased to have been able to put a name instantly to the face than overwhelmed at it being the face of a very famous pop star. Not that Lore regularly tread in such celebrity circles, but she was certainly accustomed to the orbits of important people, so her introduction was undiminished.

[Cadence]

Cadence smiled. "I did - it is a time for giving, after all," she responded with a casual kindness. She had no reason not to and Cadence was feeling particularly generous today. It was only a coffee, and Cadence found this woman interesting. There was just something about someone who could remain so focused to forget about their hot beverage. Also "pre-project...project" made her hold back a chuckle.

Then Lore introduced herself with an offered hand before she recognized who she was talking to. It wasn't the typical "OMG YOU'RE CADENCE" she usually got. She seemed almost pleased to have recognized Cadence, but it wasn't overbearing - a simple statement of fact, but still polite.

"I am, indeed," Cadence said, accepting the woman's hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Lore. May I ask what it is you're working on so intently?"

[Lore]

“Well, thank you for that. Sustenance is important. Fuel for the mind and all that.” She smiled as Cadence shook her hand and confirmed who she was, though of course Lore hadn’t needed that. The shake was efficient, speaking of a woman more used to boardrooms than coffee shop introductions, but the friendliness of her manner was entirely warm. Pleasantries out of the way she might have turned back to her work, but then Cadence asked the question. About what she was doing. And Lore was only too happy to share. In fact it rather lit her up.

“Working on what to work on. I’ve only been in Moscow a few days, but I think I’ll be staying – for the foreseeable at least. I don't think Damien wants me back in Mexico, and honestly it's much nicer here. So I’m mapping contacts and opportunities for investment. See?” She had shifted her work station a little as she spoke, to allow Cadence to see if she wished. There was nothing confidential here, and anyway the woman was a popstar and probably not that interested in memorising a list of influential business magnates in the city, alphabetised and colour coded according to a system that would probably make very little sense to anyone but Lore. Though she would quite helpfully explain if asked.

[Cadence]

Cadence couldn't help but smile. Lore's enthusiasm was infectious. Cadence had been trying to be pleasant and maybe meet a new friend, but Cadence couldn't help but be interested in what she was so incredibly excited to share. It wasn't Cadence's cup of tea, but she understood the enthusiasm. She felt the same when she talked about music. It was easy for her to show significantly more enthusiasm than most people would.

Cadence picked up on a few things. The mention of Damien, Mexico, and her recent arrival to Moscow pointed to her being from the New Dominance of the CCD. She had to be referring to Damien Oakland. That meant she worked for some sort of representative from the new Dominance. Cadence didn't understand it that much. She wasn't incredibly political. Some thought so because of her charitable donations, but that didn't make her political.

When Lore shifted her work space to show her what she was doing, Cadence looked with rapt attention. She didn't really understand it. There was a lot of information, but she imagined this all made sense to Lore. There were colors everywhere and she could even tell that it was alphabetized. "You seem very well organized." Cadence said, a note of admiration in her voice.

It made her think of her own life - the opposite of organized. Papers were everywhere. She found it hard to keep track of her schedule. That was primarily the issue. Keeping track of everything made it difficult for her to get the rest of life together. Living off of caffeine probably didn't help either. Maybe this could help, and Lore seemed like someone who knew what she was doing.

"So this might be weird to ask," Cadence said, punctuating here words with a smile. "But could something like this be used to organize schedules. I'm recording my new album, and it's incredibly hard for me to keep track of what I need to do. It just bleeds into everything else too. Sometimes I feel like my whole life is a mess. Is there a way I can use something like this to make some order out of chaos?"

[Lore]

“Thank you!” She said it with completely sincere feeling. It was probably the best compliment anyone could give her.

As far as Lore was concerned there were no weird questions, and if there were it was usually her who was asking them. It was one reason high up on her list of why she preferred to be prepared for social interactions. In business Lore generally had all the answers ready to pluck right from her head, which was why she could deliver a presentation to a room of stone-faced investors and not even blink at the rapid fire interrogation which followed. But people were so much more subjective. And then there was the notion of what was actually appropriate according to the situation. So she only looked curious when Cadence opened her query that way. But it didn’t turn out to be a weird thing at all.

“This? No, not really. An alphabetised schedule is completely inefficient, and not something I would recommend. And the colours are… well, nevermind. Don’t you have a PA? Because they are doing a terrible job if you feel your life is unorganised chaos!” She scooted her chair a little, so that they could both see the screen easily now, and swiped her work away, back into its tidy folder. Since she organised Jessika’s life as well as her own she had plenty of generic calendar templates with which to work from. “So,” she said. Her tone was warm and engaged, and she smiled brightly. “First of all, let's use different colours to code for different categories. Work, Social, and Creative to start. That way you can see at a glance if your balance is off, right? Then we break them down from there. Set alarms and reminders where we need to – if you think you need him. That’s the PA’s job really. Let’s start with the non-negotiable – the things set in stone. Where’s your diary?” She looked up expectantly. Because Cadence must at least have one of those.

[Cadence]

Cadence felt a little embarrassed when she mentioned a PA simply because she didn’t have one. Mars was her agent, and had told her a PA would be a good idea. But the whole idea had gotten lost in the shuffle, and her own mental health at the time had made the task seem very daunting. She didn’t have to be there for the whole hiring process, but she had to at least speak on it. Her PA would be working very close to her, and they would ultimately have to get along.

”Well maybe that’s part of the problem. I don’t have a PA. My agent brought it up once, but other things got in the way and it got lost in the shuffle. Need to find someone who will work and not gawk or be intimidated by my status. I’ll send a message to my agent and producer. Maybe they know someone - or if you know someone who might be interested, they can contact my agent.” Cadence could easily give her Mars’ contact.

She pulled out her wallet. ”Before I forget,” she told Lore as she began to tho a message to Mars and Ezvin.

High time I got a PA - Mars - if you can get a posting for that, I’d appreciate it. Including Ezvin here in case he knows anyone who might be interested.

She turned her attention back to Lore. ”Sorry. Okay - so work, social, creative…diary. I have a diary - but it’s at home. Mostly for mental health journaling. This hadn’t been expected, so Cadence felt ill prepared, but she was handling the unexpected today fairly well, even though her tick of turning the rings on her fingers was beginning to show.  ”Well right now, things are hectic with the album recording. Work and creative time overlap a lot. Monday - Friday we’re in the studio from 9 - 7 with an hour break for lunch. The band leaves and I listen to recordings with my producer usually for one to two hours after - evaluating the work we accomplished that day. Another hour or two after that is spent decompressing - alone. No spoons for creative or social stuff. I get time on the weekend - usually to recuperate and get things done that I didn’t finish during the week - cleaning - laundry and what not. Social time is basically non-existent except for times spent with the band, but that’s beginning to change a little.” she was beginning to make friends. ”This isn’t my normal except when I’m recording. After the album the work portion will ease up quite a bit.” Cadence knew most people didn’t know how insane recording time was for the life of a professional musician. It ate up all the time in your day, and by the end of the day you were both mentally and physically exhausted. Maybe a PA could also assist with the more mundane tasks that she didn’t have time for during week as well.