1409/Are you ready to get your hands dirty

Are you ready to get your hands dirty
Date of Scene:	27 April 2020
Location:	Dr. Sofen's Office.
Synopsis:	Karla and Alexander talk about what boundaries and morality. Alexander gets away without paying for the consultation.
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Karla Sofen

---

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The invitation had arrived and it was a curious thing. There was no sign of delivery, no direct contact with a messenger. It had been in the evening when the young child of Olympus had returned to his home and found the slender black envelope stood up on end against a candle resting there upon the central table in the living area. Just a dark grey ceramic holder for the flickering illumination and the long shadow of the letter cast upon the wall by that same light.
    And when he had seen it, Alexander had stopped and stood there, considering it with a tilt of his head. Such theatrics for the delivery of an invitation. But what's more, someone must have broken in to place it there, to set up the candle, to make sure the lighting was just so.
    It was annoying.
    But that didn't stop young Phobos from taking up the letter and opening it, displaying the plain typed text upon the white card. Didn't stop him from reading it for a time. And eventually after he read it again he set it down and pulled his cellphone from his back pocket and dialed Dr. Sofen's number.

Karla Sofen has posed:
After the rather curious meeting with Uncle Addes when Karla had brought young Phobos to meet there had been no further contact from either side between the two. Did she regret having brought Alexander there? Nope. If anything she was helping in getting families back together. So kind-hearted.

Because everyone knows kind-hearted and Moonstone is something that just goes together.

She also knew a phonecall would eventually come. So when the phone is picked up it isn't Karla's voice there but instead a young woman's.

> Dr. Sofen's office. Can I help you?

Just a brief exchange but if a name was given she'd transfer the call. Maybe Karla's way of getting back at Alexander turning his back on her back at the church? Maybe! Vindictive personality and all that but eventually it's her on the phone.

> Alexander. Good morning.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Perhaps she was displeased with him, and perhaps this was her way of making him go through whatever hoops were needed. But the man on the other end of the line did not seem to take exception, nor begrudge the extra time it gave him to ponder the words and the phrasing of the invitation.

    "Dr. Sofen,"

    Alexander turns over the invitation and considers it as for a time silence reigns on the line. But then she'll hear him tell her. quietly, "I received the invitation. Would you like to be my plus one?"

    A little more of a hesitation then he adds levelly, "I think we should go over what this seems to entail in person."

Karla Sofen has posed:
The silence is punctuated by the sound of what most likely is a pen rhythmically tapping on a wooden table. Good quality too! But then again, she only goes for high quality. Not that she seems impatient, but if anything she is not apologetic. Maybe she wanted to make sure that didn't transpire during their conversation.

"I had the idea there was little choice in that. But very well. Come by the office, and we can discuss. I have an opening in ..., half an hour. Would that suit you?"

The woman rests back on her chair and asks. "You appear to be having some hesitation on going forward with what your uncle requested of you." Give it to a psychiatrist to read voice cues and hesitations over the phone. "Come by and we will talk."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The response she gets on the other end of the phone is a snort, and one does not have to be a psychiatrist to imagine the meaning behind that sound. But shortly after it she'll hear him again as he murmurs. "Thirty minutes."
    And with that he swipes the connection closed, holding his phone in his hand and pondering it for a time. He swipes down his list of contacts for a moment, drifting from name to name, but then just shakes his head and pockets the invitation.
    Once he puts the phone away he walks over toward the coat rack next to his door and grabs his jacket, slinging it on with little ado. The door opens and he peers out into the hall, then back into the place he'd called home for less than a year, considering what it might mean to him...
    And then he left, heading off out into the hall and then on his way to Karla's office.
    Twenty seven minutes later he'll arrive.

Karla Sofen has posed:
Yes, the office is in Manhattan, or a good neighborhood too. However she pays the rent on this thing though? But knowing Moonstone, she most likely made sure one of her patients handled it. The rich and the famous always have a wallet deep enough to burn on such things. Very Important Things, that is. Which Karla's help certainly is.

It all looks very clean, professional, a mix of greens and blues on the wall that give it a more cozy aspect right by the entrance. To receive Alexander is a young woman, and when she speaks.. "Good morning, Mr. Aaron. Please, come in." it does seem like it was the woman talking with him on the phone. Brunette, tall even if not as much as Karla, though younger. Back straight and polite, hands folded over her front and dressed in a professional manner. Blouse, skirt to the knee.

"Can I get you a coffee? Or maybe tea?" she offers, opening the door to the office. The hallway gives way to another double door, where Karla awaits. Once it's open Karla smiles briefly, gesturing. "You came early." she had been curious. Whether he'd come in late or early.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "I left when I got off the phone, I arrived however long it took me to get here." Alexander answers as he enters that room, shown in by the young woman whose offer of refreshment is waved off with the lift of one hand. But for now Alexander holds his words until they are given a modicum of privacy, until then he'll step into the office and ponder the window that looks out upon the city.
    Once they are clear he'll produce the invitation from an interior pocket of his leather-sleeved jacket. That small envelope is set on her desk with the actual invitation already outside of it. And should she flip open that invitation it will display prominently.

    << Mr. Aaron. Yourself and a guest are welcome to join us for our festivities. Your every need will be met. Bring only yourself. Our driver will be present at 9:15 PM on the first of the month. >>

    << The Elis Society. >>

Karla Sofen has posed:
Moonstone gets up to her feet, she having decided for a mix of elegancy with professionalism. The lace mock neck blouse with the flower motifs about the shoulders and neck. The skirt that clings to her form. A pair of sleek glasses on. Which, to be fair, it is highly doubtful that she does need them. She does take them off when Alexander comes in and the door is close behind them though, her assistant's pacing heard moving away from the door.

Reaching over she picks up the invitation, turning it open. She reads in silence, only producing a non-revealing mmm once it is done. She folds it close again. "First of the month. Not long until it is here. Your uncle did mention you'd be getting an invitation soon afterall."

A gesture for the young man to sit. "Did you come here to ask me if I was having second thoughts about going?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Alexander still seems to be lost looking out the window. But then he turns his head slightly as if only then having heard her. He turns back to her and for a moment those pale eyes seem to be so much older than the youth who looks through them. His brow is furrowed marginally and his attention is on her. Then he shakes his head slightly and he says simply, "No."
    He turns then moving away from the window to her, following her gesture as he takes the proffered seat and eases into it, resting his hands upon the arms of that chair and looking across her desk to her. "It's likely your best move to go with me. Though I wouldn't fault you for not going. My uncle might."
    He straightens in that chair slightly, then murmurs, "I'm more considering the sequence of events, how they'll likely convey us, what they'd do. I've been told I have a mind for logistics, but I don't have enough information on this to figure out what it is that's feasible for them to do."

Karla Sofen has posed:
"My best move." The beginning of a smirk starts to creep up on the otherwise smooth features of the Californian blonde, those blue eyes turning to observe the young man while he sits. She doesn't sit, no, instead choosing to step out and pace near the window, her heels heard (expensive looking too!), ".. your uncle seems worried with other affairs without having to conside me and what I might do. He will be more focused on you I am sure." but those following words make one of her eyebrows turn up, thoughtful, considering..

"I wouldn't expect something simple. For if it was to be so would your uncle contacted you instead of some mortals to handle it?" she questions, arms folding together and she turning her head to look at Phobos.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "It depends on how much of an affront this is to him, compared to how much influence he wishes to exert on me." Alexander watches her with a steadiness, a calm that she's likely not seen him possess before. Just a clear focus that is responding to her, interacting with her, but there is something distant to him.
    He lifts his chin, "But come when you wish, meet me, and we'll take the ride with their driver at the appointed time."
    And for now... that may well be all they can do. All they can expect. But it does not stop the young Olympian from still looking to her, watching. A few long moments pass in silence until he breaks it with a murmured question.
    "You are a rational being, Karla. You recognize society's mores, its conventions. You recognize what is considered moral. Why do you stray from it? Or rather why have you? And how do you deal with it for yourself?"
    His head tilts slowly to the other side, "Do you rationalize in some way, draw lines for yourself that you will not cross? Or do you consider yourself having a different goal than others?"

Karla Sofen has posed:
"For him to actually reveal it was something that deturped his purposes here on this earth.... Oh, I believe it is quite the affront. One he is willing to risk much to see end." Karla concludes, and without much hesitation too. Sure, Gods. But most people think alike where it comes to pride and hubris. And Gods just have so much of it afterall. If she notes that distance on the young man there is no comment about it, almost as if 'jabbing' him to speak about it without having her having to ask.

The following questions make her ummm, "Stray from what exactly? False morality?" she gestures to the office about them. "For most of those that I deal with every day I am considered close to a saint, an holy woman that saves them with each appointment."

One hand brushes across her hair and asks. "Do you really believe there are lines marked down in the sand that we can choose or not to traverse?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Alexander's eyes narrow as he continues to look at her steadily, "I don't know yet. I think personally I don't mind taking an effort to have my personal wishes align with what society deems acceptable. I have somewhat ascertained that I do this mainly to continue with my life as I have it, that it makes the most sense to follow mostly along with the accepted ways of current society."
    Then he shifts his head the other way slightly, "But I also do recognize that there's an element there where my respect for society diverges from my self-interest. I was wondering more just personally, for yourself, how do you define your own world view when it comes to morality as accepted? Do you simply just hide it from others and enjoy keeping it so hidden? Or do you have it delineated in your mind that you are fine with taking actions to a particular point, but won't go any further beyond that point?"
    That said he makes a motion with one hand as if waving her off, "Ah well, we'll have to figure it all out sometime soon."

Karla Sofen has posed:
"You have conformed to the way you have lived so far." Karla replies with a firm nod. Yes, she knows how that can be. "Change is the difficult part in life, isn't it? We like to remain on our small bubble, in apparent happiness with what we have got so far without grasping for more."

Her arms come up to wrap about her waist in a loose manner, eyes continuing to look out the window and the beautiful view outside. Because she knows how to choose her offices! "It's not a question of enjoying it. I have long since decided that I'd never depend on others to be who I am, or do what I do. And I have taken measures to do so. If it goes against what is morally accepted, well, I do not follow the same guidelines as those that have been favored by birth and never had any kind of difficulties do." a twisted little smirk coming to her features. "Which if one comes to think about it, are the ones normally dictating what is morally correct or not."

Her clear blue gaze then turns to Alexander, "For someone who claims to have no fear you do have many questions. Or maybe that's exactly why you do have them." that does leave her wondering.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    He's willing to entertain the possibility of that when she brings up the last, the possibility that this wandering train of thought that drives ever onwards might be because he does not 'fear' what he may fine by sifting through his own thoughts and views, and comparing them to others.
    Remaining in that seat, Alexander looks across the way at her, steadily, levelly just watching Karla as she considers that view and then looks back to him. His hazel eyes meet her gaze, looking between her irises as if seeking some answer behind each one. Then he murmurs quietly, "What are the boundaries you've discovered for yourself, Karla?" Not Dr. Sofen.
    He tilts his head to the side, "I know you may think telling me them might give me an... advantage some time down the line. But I am curious. Where do you draw the line, and why?"

Karla Sofen has posed:
"Not fearing what others may think of you, or too confident that makes it so opening up doesn't seem like a liability. Yet this also brings us back to what we were just talking. The conformism. No fear means you may not savor each new dawn as it should, not fearing there may not be a next one." Karla ventures, her eyes now remaining fully on Alexander, watching him, "Boundaries though ..."

That leaves her considering for a moment. "I am not a monster, if that is what you are asking." not a saint either! "I just do not follow the same moralities as others. I draw the line at seeing myself, or my liberty, in peril. I have garnered enough power that I will not allow it to happen again." she answers.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Nodding somewhat, Alexander accepts the answer given, keeping his silence for now and likely mulling over the words she had offered. He looks to the side and shifts in his seat a little to bring a shoe up into his lap, grabbing his shin and pulling it closer to himself.
    Then he looks back and tells her, "I am not sure if I have any."
    A pause, then he adds quietly, "I mean if certain balances were removed, if I was put in a situation where there are no repercussions for my acts. If there was nothing that stopped me?"
    The youth looks back to her, "Character is who you are in the dark, right? Without observation, what sort of individual are you? I don't know if I have... any morality ultimately."
    He takes a deep breath and frowns, "And is that what the whole thing is really? Does anyone really have any true sense of morals or are we all just... creatures shivering in cages of our own perception, playing up to this grand illusion each fearful of the other screaming and pointing to us that the emperor has no clothes."

Karla Sofen has posed:
"What is for you no repercussions?" Karla then asks, assessing the young man through furrowed brows, turning so she rests back against the window and now can face him fully. "Would you kill a child if you could? If you were in a void, just you and the child. Or would those repercussions be felt inside?" some silence follows it, her considering look continuing upon Alexander.

Eventually she speaks up again, "It is a question of power. I, for one, would never think of myself as some creature shivering in a cage. It's having your own set of moralities and not be swayed by how others judge or talk of you. Even if yes, I believe I would make a great empress with no clothes." injecting a small jest in the end. Perhaps to put the young man more at ease. Not entirely heartless!

"Bottom line is, you have boundaries. Even if you have yet to discover them. But morals coming from others? No, don't think you are the type to care about those.., Or at least not from those you deem unworthy."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "I would need a reason," He answers her, eyes distancing as he ponders the situation she presents before him. A tilt of his head is given to her, "A reason that the child needed to die. If it meant my survival, then... yes."
    He lifts a hand to scritch a fingertip to his brow as he murmurs, "Or if the child threatened someone or something I cared about more..." Alexander uncurls a hand to the side, gesturing as if brushing all of this away. But then he grimaces a little, "I wouldn't enjoy it."
    But then she makes her small joke and he exhales a breath to her, something barely there but if it was given an iota more life it would almost be a laugh. Shaking his head he murmurs, "That has been it in main, through my life. Finding someone or something I respect and following that."
    A fingertip taps lightly upon his shin, thoughtfully as he considers the matter. "I think that was one of the reasons I..." He starts to say something, stops and just shakes his head.

Karla Sofen has posed:
"That is morality. Doing something or not, finding the reasons for it, or not. Noone truly exists in a void in the end." Karla states, unmoving from her position by the window, one leg resting over the other, crossed by the ankles. "So you make choices. If your lack of fear will be an hindrance or something that helps you though. That's still to be figured out." she murmurs.

The rest she listens in silence, brushing some hair away from her face, an eyebrow arching up at the young man, "One of the reasons you what? That you came here to this office?" a knowing smirk starting to creep up to her features. "I will be direct. In terms of morality you will not find me to be a good guideline."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    A small laugh comes from him and he pushes himself to his feet, rising smoothly and shaking his head. "No," Alexander looks towards the door, but then back towards her, "Why I dated this one gal. I think." That said he stuffs his hands back into his pockets, and for whatever reason the hesitance he had, the reluctance might seem to at least be handled if not entirely obliterated.
    But the reason for it might well not be entirely clear. He turns and starts to move toward the door, "Meet at my place an hour or so before the trip. If you still are going to go. If not I figure I'll realize it when you're not there."
    That said he slides a hand into his pocket, pausing near the door to lightly nudge it with a shoulder as he twists the handle.

Karla Sofen has posed:
"My door is always open if you want to talk about that." An offer from Karla. As much of an olive branch she is willing to go considering her early betrayal! But no more than so, and certainly never a 'sorry'. The woman then watches Alexander walk to the door, thoughtful. "And risk anger dear uncle Addes? Why, I can't wait to do so..." which leaves it hanging in the air if she will indeed be there or not..

..But most likely she is. "You appear to be more ..., resolute than when you came in. Good. You won't be able to hesitate when the time comes." she lets those words hang.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    At the door, Alexander turns to peer at her from across the way and his lip curves up into a wry half-smirk. A hand comes up to point at her as he fixes her with a glower that's not quite so serious, but still his words might have a tinge of a threat to them that if she's feeling ornery she could take to heart. "Don't worry, Karla. If anyone has to carry the other..." He doesn't finish that phrase and instead gives her a knowing nod while biting his lower lip and cocking an eyebrow giving her a /look/ as it to say, 'oh yeah, it's me having to carry you.'
    But then he turns and steps through the door, letting it swing slooooowly shut behind him as he tells Karla's receptionist/aid, "That was wonderful, my compliments to the doctor."
    And off he goes.