^{ICON Chronicle}

^8c

Heart, Soul and Pride

Behind the heels and immaculate attire I found a massive heart. A soul aching for love and more so to share it with her people, her family, and the city of Philadelphia. She spoke of desires many men wouldn't, and probably couldn't. A softness and kindness was ever present. Yet, throughout our conversation one thing was very clear, she wasn't to be fucked with either. She was proud, and rightfully so.

Direct, unapologetic, intelligent and forward thinking; you'd be a fool to simply call her soft and definitely not to her face, unless you wanted a heel imprint to greet you in the mirror. Tellurium radiated a nurturing kind of energy yet at the same time it felt as if she'd crack you with the butt of what I imagine to be a fashionably accessorized gun the moment you threatened her, or the ones she holds dear. And she holds many dear, and not just her immediate people.

In her family obligations Tellurium reminded me of a motherly lion, yet she also reminded me of the whole pride itself. It's as if her energy encompassed the city of Philadelphia, or at least she extended herself to that degree and to some extent beyond it to the greater community as a whole. She spoke of her constant voice and presence among the people and it showed she cared for more than just her own.

You'd be a fool to mess with her cubs, yet her femininity may have you thinking you might just get away with it. I pity whoever tries, yet I kind of envy those she does have her heart stretched out for. The love and desire seemed effortless. Those in her inner circle and those that get a glimpse of it would be wise to not take it for granted, for the moments themselves, and the potential of the lioness in full roar. In our meeting I glimpsed a loving yet powerful queen of her kingdom. With heart, soul and pride Tellurium shared her story.

- George Brelis, GJDA

Not wanting to demand too much of the outspoken and ever street present leader, George made his way over to Philly. He rented a shitty motel and although he had conducted similar interviews in such a place before, he figured based on Tellurium's reputation for fine dressing it may be a little too underwhelming.

Instead of offering the invitation to meet and speak in the motel room, he proposed a local café instead. Somewhere informal yet out in the social atmosphere of the lively Philadelphia streets. Yet, due to his nature of questions he chose a table away from prying ears and eyes. The place was busy for the small and unobtrusive coffee house. It got its fair share of customers and was one of the more well known places to get a quick coffee and a small snack, or to sit down for a conversation amongst friends and family.

George arrived early, sat and awaited his lunch date to arrive. He wanted to be prompt and punctual as he thought Tellurium looked like someone who valued their time.

She had smiled when she read of the location, she knew it and the owner well and felt already happy that her whiskey on the rocks in a discrete coffee cup, for appearances sake, would arrive as always. After much deliberation she had gone for a navy trouser suit, huge black heels and her favourite red lipstick. Controversially and against the crews general opinion she had chosen a bright red clutch bag too, not the dowdy blue one they had considered the better option.

As she arrived at the café and swung open the door she gave a cheeky smile and wink to the lady behind the counter and her eyes skimmed around the room attempting to get a first glance of the person who seemed to have curious questions to ask her. Her bodyguards positioned themselves outside and loving this little place she relaxed and looked forward to some interesting discussions.

The sleeve of George's beige overcoat flapped as he raised his hand and gave a casual wave toward the front of the café. She was yet to meet him, yet George knew what to look for based on his investigative work. Axel owned the place he worked at and gave him minor details on a few people he enquired about.

George was quite a burly man, more large than strong, and his belly protruded quite a ways from his waistline. His appetite for information was just as big as his appetite for a heavy meal and coffee. As a waitress brought over a cup and coffee pot he hoped the women who entered was the one to satisfy the other.

She saw the man wave and her eyes took in her company for the hour or so...she sauntered over to his table and whispered to the waitress as she passed by:

One of my usual coffees please love - I will be sat with the man you just served.

As she arrived at the table she slid into the seat opposite him, lit a cigarette and smiled...

George I assume? Pleased to me you.

"Yes, yes it is!"

George took a sip of his coffee then placed it down on the table.

"It's good to meet you too. I thank you for meeting me. I'm not sure if you have many wanting to sit and interview you, yet you're someone seen quite regularly around the streets. I hope you don't mind.."

He pulled out a pad and pen from the inside pocket of his jacket and placed them on the table.

"Would it be ok if I took notes?"

George looked at Tellurium eagerly, then went about having another sip of his coffee. He was already a little nervous given who he was meeting with, and the coffee just added more energy to his already stimulated nervous system.

Tellurium smiled at the waitress who placed her coffee cup down on the table..

She considered George carefully and blew a smoke ring into the air away from their table.

My pleasure George. I am interested to hear what will be discussed that makes such a journey for you worth it. I have spoken to a few people but more on an informal one to one arrangement. Take notes by all means.

She leaned back and sipped at her coffee never breaking eye contact with George once.

George took pen in hand and flicked open the notepad to a free page.

"I'm just here to help the greater community know more about those that have an opinion one way or another. Hopefully we can bring some truth public about who you are and why you're so highly regarded by some.."

George quickly moved onto his first question.

"So to begin, who exactly is Tellurium for those that don't know? And what is it you actually do here in Philadelphia?"

Tellurium that maybe George should of done more research before visiting but she took the opportunity to have a trip down memory lane anyway and thought she would need several more special coffees.

Who am I? Since my birth I have tried to bring all of who and what I am to anyone I have the pleasure of an exchange with - adapting this as required of course. I was brought up to speak my mind, respect my elders, to listen to all points of view and consider them and hold ambition and happiness as dear and equal. I am lucky to have journals that gave me a fantastic grounding and I visit them often. So in summary I am a woman who speaks her mind, shows respect, considers all points of view and who is ambitious and will seek happiness wherever I can find it or share it or deliver it.

What do I do in Philly?

She shuffled a little uncomfortably as she wondered how much has made its way outside of Philly about the HQ parties and some of the unique requirements to obtain your button with her.... She drank a large gulp of coffee and smiled sweetly...

Well I came here when Philly was deserted as part of the free cities project the God's set. I came with ambitions to build a quality crew and see where it could take us and literally started from the ground up. What do I do - what have I done? I used my journals to learn from my ancestors, I built a dedicated and engaging crew and I started to find my voice more and more in the streets and businesses. Once our city became a traditional one we grew as a city too with like minded people with the same ambition and vision for the future to build and make Philly the fabulous thing she can be and now is.

She smiled once again and indicated to the waitress with a little wink that another of her coffees would be needed.

George nodded and kept eye contact whilst Tellurium spoke, looking down at his notepad at intervals, jotting down words and key phrases for later use. He took a sip of his own coffee, then continued, attempting to dig a little deeper into the response given.

"So you said your ambition was to build a quality crew, and it seems you've done just that. What do you mean by crew, and what business do you and your crew engage in exactly?"

We are a family, a close family that looks out for each other and helps each other. We know each other well and use each other's strengths to support areas to be developed in others. We are there for each other no matter what, the good, the bad and the just plain ugly! We are loyal and committed and we work hard to make sure that everyone feels that they belong to something they really want to be a part of.

What do we do? Well we don't advertise our activities but we find ways to make some money and get by in the crazy world of ours.

George scribbled some notes and nodded.

"And you spoke about the city of Philly being what it is. Tell me more about the city, what you love about it, what brings others flocking in and what others should know about it that they may not already know."

George took another sip of his coffee. Running a little low, he waved to the waitress to get her attention.

Tellurium smiled as the waitress carefully placed each coffee cup in front of the correct person. Tellurium then lit another cigarette.

What I love most about Philly is the people, our little community is a lively one and I love the connectivity we have across all families and districts and how we all bring that to the shared communal chatting areas. I love that we have a fabulous sense of humour and more than anything most can laugh at themselves. I love our little rituals that are designed to build moral that has grown across other families too as we have grown and I love most of all that we all work bloody hard but also play hard too.

I think those that approach us fresh off the boat are met by friendly people who want to get to know them, we like people who are engaging and who interact so these initial conversations can tell us a lot about how good a fit someone might be with us. We have a fabulous mix of people here who have had family around these parts for many, many years and brand new people to this world of ours and I think we offer an exceptional place to flourish in either set of circumstances.

George took a gander at the waitress as she placed the cups down. Nice ass, he thought. When she parted the table he removed a hip flask and added a dash of whisky to the fresh cup of coffee.

He returned to Tellurium, scribbling along as she expressed herself. He smirked from time to time, appreciating her openness and the warmth in her answers. He's usually a bit of an ass in the office, yet more engaging out amongst certain faces, most notably those that he's somewhat intimidated by from their reputations.

When Tellurium had finished, George took a sip of his drink then went on to his next investigative query.

"Now, what actually happened recently in your fine city? A few bodies turned up, some connected to the not so lawful way of life. Can you shed some light on this event?"

Tellurium made a mental note to buy herself a hip flask on the way back to the HQ. She stared out of the window into the distance calculating that only around half of her handbags would be big enough for a hip flask and all the other essential things she carried each day. This required some more thought. Tellurium felt eyes on her and returned her attention to George who looked like an eager puppy poised to write down the next words she spoke.

Well George you know in this world of ours bodies are a way of life so to speak. All I will say is that collectively we made a decision to deal with an internal Philly matter in the only way we could see available to us.

She then gave George a cheeky wink.

George smirked. He knew too well what she meant, and continued on after jotting down more notes.

"Now what about the other cities across the nation? Philly is one of many that seems to be at the centre of thriving businesses. Do you know much about the other cities and what kind of ties does Philly, and yourself, have with them?"

As the conversation continued a kid can be heard starting to cry. He's over near the front of the café with his mother. He wanted a piece of cake and his mother couldn't afford to buy it for him, as they were only in here to collect some under the table liquor for her husband.

Tellurium was distracted by the squalling of the child and took a glance in the direction of the noise. She began to see this child's point of view and actually could use some cake herself. She snapped her fingers loudly in the air and shouted:

Cakes all round and on me if you please!

She saw the mother's shoulders viably relax. This pleased Tellurium as she took long gulp of her own coffee before meeting George's eyes again to respond to him. She felt the subtle but cheeky step up in the question and ensured her eye contact never left his.

I honestly think George that this is unlikely to be your only interview and I am sure when you ask other crew leaders a similar question you might hear something along similar lines. We can never hope for a democracy in this life that we choose and nor should we - however I think it has been a long time since we have seen a group of leaders communicate and work together like the current ones do. You don't get that by sitting on your arse and not getting out there and making a connection. I genuinely feel most if not all are of the opinion words over war where possible - sometimes robust words and consequences but words first. This is new for our world in recent times and I for one like it.

Tellurium was a little annoyed that George's slice of cake seemed to be a little bigger than hers as the cakes were placed in front of them by the waitress. But, she tried not to let it show.

George's eyes widened as he watched the cake being placed down on the table. He immediately grabbed a fork and started digging in, then after a mouthful or two he remembered the interview! After wiping his mouth, he then pushed the plate to the side and continued, still swallowing.

"Ok... So... Back to you... You’re always well dressed, what’s your reason to be so well presented and how did it start?"

Tellurium closed her mouth after realising it had dropped watching the man across from her try and devour the whole cake in seconds. She slid her plate to one side having rapidly lost her appetite.

Well George... as they say... you eat with your eyes first.

I was raised to always look my best and to speak my best and that it is the combination of the two that leaves an impression on people. For me it is a matter of pride to dress well. My mother used to dress me when I was small and I guess I have continued some of her style through with me today but I have carved my own unique style too I think. I feel it is a basic mark of self respect to dress well and in a world where respect from others is something you earn not something that is simply offered. My words, actions and my appearance all play their part.

George nodded, eyed the cake again as he half listened and scribbled on his note pad. Upon Tellurium finishing, he returned his attention to her and continued with his line of questioning.

"Now these may seem a little off the wall, but I hope they reveal a little about you to others in a not so formal style."

George cleared his throat then continued.

"If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?"

This is an easy one - it has to be Bette Davis. Absolute style icon, unashamed about others perceptions of what it is to be 'pretty' and a strong feminist. So I would like to be her for the day for all of those reasons but also because I would love to see how I would rock a blonde bob haircut for the day too!

She raises her children as a single parent too which I admire and uses her femininity in a mans world in clever not hysterical or slutty ways.

George smirked as he heard Tellurium's answer. He could see the relationship to what she was expressing.

"If it were your last day alive on this planet, what would you do and why?"

Tellurium slid her piece of cake across the table to George as his wandering eyes were getting distracting.

I would do everything I love to the extreme. I would drink expensive Champagne from dawn until dusk, I would skinny dip, I would hug those I love, I would walk somewhere beautiful and natural and I would have outrageous sex over and over again! I would possibly combine several of these activities to be honest, rinse and then repeat.

George waved away the offer of the cake. Secretly wanting it, yet not letting his appetite be too obvious, if it wasn't already. He too a sip of his coffee then fired out another question, trying to keep things moving along.

"That sounds very appealing actually. Now what's your biggest fear, and also what's your wildest dream?"

My biggest fear is being considered boring or bland. Someone that is a nothing that simply blends into a non descript background of nothing-ness.

My wildest dream? Hmm I have many but I guess it would be to find my soul mate, that one person that knows every inch of you inside and out and loves it all without reserve, someone that in one look can read you and know you, to feel that connection - that gorgeous combination of love, trust, lust and a deep understanding of another person is a truly valuable gift and in my opinion a once in a lifetime thing.

She sighed wistfully and gazed out of the window.

George removed his hip flask from his inner jacket pocket and offered it forward toward Tellurium above the table, out in the open. He himself was ready for a swig, yet sensed a moment she may be also, and offered her first dibs.

As he did this, he continued on, keeping the conversation going at the same time, more so the questioning.

"Now why is it we see so much of you in the streets given your reputation of working outside the law? Now I'm not saying you do work outside the law, yet people talk, people say things, the streets speak, and I simply listen."

Tellurium appreciated the gesture and took a long swig from the hip flask before handing it back to George acutely aware of the red lipstick smudge now imprinted on it and smiled a little apologetically.

Short answer George is why shouldn't I?

I have always been someone who feels passionately about things in this world and I have the confidence to speak about it - call that opinionated if you like. I have been very vocal about being a strong advocate for the streets once again being open and free for any and all to come and talk about anything at all regardless of rank or status as long as basic respect is shown. I would be a hypocrite to say that and then stay away from talking in the streets.

I think for a long time many felt this world was something that happened TO them rather than them being a part of it - and in that being a part of how it evolves too. The streets are the community space to allow those open communications and potentially changes or a new perspective or idea to be voiced. 

So I speak because I have both brains and brawn and I will use each as required of me.

"Why not indeed, Tellurium."

George flicked his pen, attempting to roll it over his fingers. He dropped it on the floor, quickly picked it back up then fumbled through his notepad, trying to quickly move on from his fail. Finding a fresh page he continued.

"I won't keep you any longer, just this last question. If at the end of your life people were standing and speaking at your funeral, what would you like to hear them say about you?"

I would love people to come saying that I was someone who spoke my mind, stood up for what I believed in, had fun, championed and encouraged people, took the tough choices when needed and someone who always wore fabulous heels.

George smiled, scribbled a little then flicked closed his notepad. He tucked it away inside his jacket and finally took a swig of his hip flask, not noticing the smeared lipstick.

"I have to say, it's been a fuckn pleasure getting to know more about you."

He'd let slip a cuss word, so much for his manners to this point. Back went the hip flask and down went the rest of his coffee. After placing the cup next to the half eaten cake he pushed out his chair and stood, offering his hand forward towards Tellurium.

"I'll be sure to send you a copy of what goes to print."

Tellurium stood up to meet George's extended hand, now a little wobbly on her heels...

George thank you for your time - I will certainly take in keen interest in seeing this in print as well as others I am sure you speaking to also. Please have a safe journey home.

She firmly shook his hand and slid back into her seat to finish her special coffee.

George felt good, warm inside and out. He made his way through the café that was still lively, with a smile on his face. A tip was left with the waitress at front counter before he made his exit and back into the Philadelphia streets.

She had bought a hip flask and re-arranged most of her handbags to accommodate it, she had been eager to see the publication...knowing in this world that many twisted words, made small things seem big and big things seem small. She was curious to see how devious the cake eating George had been...

As she began to read and take periodic swigs from the hip flask she smiles....George was a dark horse, he had only bloody well completely got her and articulated it so bloody well...perceptive bugger!!

She click clacks on her heels back to the HQ to immediately practice her ROAR in front of the mirror...