Northern Winds [NC-17] (IC)

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

In the face of Stygian's slightly critical comment, Keaton merely looked disappointed. Particularly at the prospect of her not being able to buy a snowglobe to entertain herself with. She always loved those ridiculous things, even if they were utterly pointless. Pouting a little, Keaton, after faltering slightly, ambled briskly behind Stygian, still maintaining her stillborn attempt at a conversation. "Well jeez, what kind of souvenir shop doesn't have snowglobes, for Chrissake?" Much to her dismay, Stygian didn't answer, instead abruptly turning toward the coffee shop, where Cogidubnus had apparently meandered toward. Keaton pouted again, but pursued into the establishment.

Not far behind her, Keaton heard Deirdre reluctantly follow. At the moment, Keaton didn't really care about Deirdre's presence, especially since she was so listless. Besides, she wasn't going to torment the little tramp in front of everybody; not unless she couldn't control herself. Considering Deirdre's heroic tendencies, that was likely to happen in the future if Keaton dropped an inappropriate comment after something particularly tragic.

Once in the coffee shop, Keaton waited on the side, toying with the marble in her pocket. She hummed. Nearby, Deirdre took refuge at a table, looking fidgety. Keaton herself watched Kerya and Mel depart the shop, with the former looking extremely hyperactive. Keaton made a mental note to give Kerya all the coffee she wanted the next time she became bored. Seeing the two leave in search of... whatever (Keaton wasn't paying attention) reminded her of her earlier promise to Stygian. Snowglobes didn't seem to be something he would particularly enjoy or find any use for, but it interested her to look for something that'd fit his interests. If she had the money she would buy everybody gifts, really, and proudly say, Here everyone, enjoy your gifts, because these are what your souls are going into if I ever decide to strip you of your souls.

Alas, finances were limited. So she'd probably have to limit herself to getting Stygian something. Sighing, Keaton kicked back and turned to the door, trudging her way there. Deirdre nearly jumped in her seat, producing a small output of tension. It made Keaton smile. "Weeeeeeeell, I'd love to stick around, but I've got some shopping to do, folks. I need to check if snowglobes are on the market." With a remarkable amount of false exuberance, Keaton waved to the group and disappeared as the door swung shut, her cheerfully trotting yellow-black outline quite visible through the glass windows.

---

...Deirdre:

Watching with an air of incredulity as Keaton waltzed her way towards the souvenir shop, Deirdre remained where she was. She decided that despite the comfortable ambiance of Jann's Cliff, she didn't want to explore. Probably for the sake of her safety, or in case her captors weren't interested in allowing her to test her limitations. Come to think of it, it was harder and harder for her to refer to these people as "captors," particularly when they were socializing and interacting much like actual people rather than faceless villains. Right now, though, she didn't want to provoke any of them. At least she had reconciled matters with Kerya. That likely gave her someone to talk to if she ever grew bored.

Deirdre yawned behind her hand and fluttered her wings slightly. She was sort of sleepy after her impromptu wake-up. Coffee seemed lovely at that moment. Shuffling a little, she stood up and approached the counter, digging through her pockets. Fortunately, her wallet was tucked safely in there, after having been transfered from her original suit. Deirdre withdrew the required amount of money and presented it to the man behind the counter. "Can I have the Java, please?" she asked.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

Cogidubnus found a small table located just outside the establishment, probably placed there for the convenience of those who wanted to stop for a moment and enjoy their drink. Finding a seat quickly, Cog leaned back with his admittedly second cup of coffee, and watched the rest of the party start running around the various shops - and with some amusement watched Kerya began to practically vibrate after half a cup of coffee. True, the brew was somewhat strong here, but Cog's caffiene headache was only now starting to go away on his second cup.

"Lightweight..." the wolf smiled to himself, and took another drink out of the lidded, paper glass the establishment had provided. He sighed for a moment, contented.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel had just picked two city guides out of the display when rapid footfalls and rapid speech alerted her to Kerya's approach. She stared at the novelty sunglasses for a long moment. Without laughing she managed to comment, "How very fashion forward. I am sure he will appreciate the time you spent picking them out. I have a few more items to pick out. I will be ready in a minute." Taking the two books she stopped at the traveler's aid section and picked up a selection of toiletries and minor first aid items. On her way back to the cash register she added a few pairs of sunglasses and a large bag of mints to her selections.

[Stygian]

Having given up the attempts at seeing clearly, Stygian had merely shut his eyes and proceeded to lean back against the counter. He could hear what was going on around him well enough anyway. Not that there was too much to keep track of, except the background noise. It seemed that these people practically needed a hot poker to the ass before they really sped up.
   'Hey, Cog... I got the idea that you were quite familiar with this Laertes', the bat said, suddenly and with no provocation. A little reminder. 'How is he most likely to find us? I imagine that he and Ace should be on their way already.' He moved around the wolf, placing himself a bit up along the counter and nearer to the exit, in what he hoped was a bit of a signal as well.

[Cogidubnus]

At the bat's question, the contented look on Cog's face seemed to evaporate like the steam from his cup. The wolf pushed his glasses up over his eyes, his gaze somewhat cautious under those shaded lenses, and leaned back in his chair. He looked at the bat with a blank expression on his face, although behind his glasses his eyes seemed more pensive than anything else.

"Yes. I am." he said, taking another drink of his coffee. "Although I am...unsure, of how he might chase us." Cog looked out at the bay. From where he sat, the wind was not so harsh, and the feel of it was much more pleasant. "I know only what I have been able to hear about him, and most of that is not encouraging as to an escape. He's an inquisitor - this is what he does."
Cog paused again, looking back at the bat. "I wouldn't count on him wasting any time. And I wouldn't count on him getting lost, either." he said, sipping on his drink. He paused a good five seconds before speaking again. "Although, who did you say was with him?"

Behind his glasses, one of the wolf's eyes narrowed.

[Stygian]

The bat frowned. Sharp. Now they were getting somewhere. The wolf's countering question might have been a little too sharp, but if he thought that Stygian was withholding information, even that could serve a point later on.
   'Ace', Stygian said, hissing the name forth. It sounded almost contemptuous, the way he said it. But Cog hadn't heard him speak of anyone in that tone before, so he couldn't make too much out of it. With Stygian, it was hard to judge right off. You really had to put things into context. 'A bounty hunter. Now, probably, you should just call her hunter. I don't think you could have missed her. Tall wolf, broad shoulders for a girl, always has more knives than you can count off sight on her...' He didn't want them getting stuck in the conversation. When the others got back, it was time to move on. Transportation planned first... 'Honestly, I'd consider her as dangerous as him. But that's because when he gets high and mighty and overconfident, she'd just shiv you in the back.'

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

With a startlingly uncharacteristic air of overwhelming elation, Keaton jogged briskly down the streets, staring attentively around for her destination. In short order she spotted the souvenir shop nestled between two buildings: one intended for numerous purposes, such as gambling, tobacco, and other activities Keaton hypocritically deemed as unscrupulous, another selling something quaint like tea and chocolate. Having a bit of a sweet tooth, Keaton decided to check that out later, if she was gifted with the opportunity. Singing something rather obscene under her breath (probably something universally censored), Keaton pushed open the door to the souvenir shop and ambled inside.

The place was rather quaint, Keaton noted, but it had a lot of items in its selection. Bypassing a few stacks of magazines and books, she started looking around, obsessively scanning over the merchandise snuggled in the shelves. A few things interested her, like a few unusually spherical stuffed animals (Keaton had a horrible weakness for stuffed animals), but her money was limited and she probably could only buy Stygian something. And he wouldn't like a stuffed animal, unless Stygian wasn't telling her something. Frowning a little, Keaton spun away from that section of the store and decided to browse elsewhere. Something over at the window caught the corner of her eye.

---

...Deirdre:

After retrieving her steaming cup of Java, Deirdre walked back to her seat and dropped into it with a clear air of resignation. Sighing, she started gently blowing on the drink to cool it off to a reasonable temperature, then settled the cup on the table in front of her with her head cradled against her hand. Somewhat detachedly she listened to the conversation going on between Cogidubnus and Stygian. After all, if she was to participate in their group, their enemies would probably concern her as well. Having nothing to contribute, she said nothing.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

The bat's response didn't seem to affect the wolf much at all, Cogidubnus simply taking in the information without blinking - or, so it seemed. He took another sip of his coffee, thinking. Laertes wanting Stygian dead, the bat's apparent knowledge of the Jackal's accomplices. That spider that had spoken with him before, warning him.
There's something here I'm missing. the wolf thought to himself, and shifted his gaze to the ocean.

"I remember her, yes." Cog said, his voice calm. "She was jumping about, for a bit there. Quite acrobatic." he paused, sipping his drink. "I didn't get a very good look at her fight, though. I do know that many have tried playing off that damned Jackal's arrogance, and he lives yet."
Cog's face twisted, the wolf reliving some memory. He sighed, and looked at the bat again, his face softening again. "But either way, I somehow think you already know what you've gotten yourself in for."

[SpottedKitty]

Paying for everything she'd got in the shop had eaten up most of the local money Kerya had left from Haszal. Ah well, she still had a fair amount of money from home to exchange; it seemed to be a bit more valuable here, perhaps just for the novelty of such odd-looking coins. After a last quick look around she turned back to Mel. "IamgoingbacktoSebastian," she said, at almost double normal speed, "perhapsIcangetmore ofthatco-faystuff beforehedrinksitall!" With a cheerful wave and a flick of her tail, the little stoat trotted out of the shop and back across the hall, her robe and cloak fluttering audibly in the wind from her speed.

Back in the coffee shop, the bat didn't even have time to react to Cog's statement before a small mustelid whirlwind descended on him. "ThereyouareSebastian Igotsunglassesforyou Ihopetheyfit!" In a matter of seconds, Kerya darted in from the main hall, bounced onto a stool beside Stygian then scrambled up on the counter, plopped the pink-framed sunglasses onto his face, and jumped back down again. She paused for at least a quarter of a second to make sure she hadn't put them on upside down, before she scurried off towards the serving counter to order another coffee.

[Boog]

Richard, meanwhile, was over by the counter being what was often referred to in the food service industry as a Difficult Customer. Coffee, to him, was essentially just a substitute for alcohol when it's too early for you to get any. He took it seriously.
"Listen, you little twit," the zombie growled at the barista (a rather thin ocelot), who very much looked as though he wanted to be somewhere- ANYwhere- else than where he was right then, "I'm assuming they hire people who speak English here. I am also reasonably certain that you have what I'm ordering."
"W-well sir, if you would look at our menu, we have our n-new frappe latte with-"
"Explain to me exactly what's so indesipherable about 'coffee, black'?"
The barista swallowed. His tips weren't worth this. "W-would that be tall, grande or veinty?"
He had been in town for twenty minutes, and already he had found a person he considered stupid and infuriating. In all that had changed over the course of the last couple days, this familiar occurrence comforted the undead in a way nothing else ever could.
"Large. That would be large," Richard replied, resisting the urge to grin at the barista's cringing at the word. The poor ocelot turned away and tried desperately to find out how to work the machine in such a way as to avoid the result having the words "frappe," "mocha" or "blend" used to describe it. Richard turned away, pleased at this towns ability to piss him off. Maybe it's not gonna be so bad here...
He nodded to Kerya when she approached, and then did a classic double take at the spastic mustelid. "Erm... Kerya, right?"

[Stygian]

Practically ignoring Kerya, Stygian didn't even blink as the stoat put the glasses on him, instead focusing on the conversation.
   'Do I look like a fool to you?' he said, turning to the wolf and giving him a closed-eyed look. 'No, I'm not completely sure of what the whole deal is, but I am rather aware of what goes on around me. It can't all be that old business that Ash talked about, if Laertes is in on things as well. I'm afraid we might be dealing with two completely different problems and motives here. And that makes it difficult to prioritize, since... Well, frankly, one is more dangerous, but the other is more imminent.' He sighed, turned his head and overheard the proceedings between the barista and the ever-charming Richard, and then sighed again at that. 'It might be possible to get away from Laertes though. Ace will be a little less easy to throw off, but I've done it before. And free of them we can work out the issue with Ashtareth and her companions.'

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya had just put her bulging shopping bag down: she turned and looked up at Richard at the sound of his voice... and froze. The hand holding her staff gripped it tighter, her free hand stopped half-way into a gesture that raised a tiny spark of light at each clawtip. She stood like that, eyes wide and fur bristling, for a long moment, then she relaxed with a sigh, almost collapsing against the counter.

"Myapologies... Richard, isitnot? Igot quitea frightthere, Ihad forgotten your... ah... condition," she said delicately, with a hint of a blush inside her ears. The little stoat's voice was rapidly slowing to its normal speed. She blinked, shivered from whiskers to tail, and deliberately looked straight up into the undead baboon's face. Her ears lay flat, but she didn't look away.

"I owe you an explanation, I think," she continued after a few seconds. "I was avoiding you last night. To protect you. There are creatures somewhat like you where I come from. Like, but... unlike. Savage. Not thinking." Kerya's sombre mood broke for a moment with a mischievous grin: "And none of them would hold a carriage door for a lady, as I think you did when we escaped the club."

She held up her hand and looked down at it as she wriggled her fingers, as if getting rid of a cramp. "There is something else: the dead who walk are sometimes attracted to magic, and those who use it. A mage who is not trained to attack immediately when encountering one may find her throat bitten out before she can blink. It has taken me this long to... get used to you, if you will. Last night I was fighting my training. Now, I am quite sure I have it under control."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel arrived at the coffee shop a minute behind Kerya. She noticed the stoat was in line to purchase more coffee. "Is that wise?" She dumped out her much smaller bag onto the counter beside Ignatz. She gave him, and the pink sunglasses, one look then pushed two pairs of sunglasses closer to him. Both were black and somber, the only difference being one had rounder lenses and the other more square. "You might prefer one of these." She added one of the city guides to his pile then went to work stashing the gauze and painkillers and other first aid items in her pouch. The dragon left the bag of mints on the counter for whomever wanted them. Then she picked up the second city guide and began paging through. Her ability to memorize meant that one pass through was all she needed then the guide could be passed along to another party member as well. It wouldn't hurt to have as many members able to navigate the city as possible. "Where to next, Ignatz?"

[Cogidubnus]

Cog glanced at the bat. "I didn't say you were." he said, taking a drink, and sniffing in the salt sea-air. Languidly, he turned and looked out over the bay. "And if you need to get away from him, I understand. And I could care less about the other one. And I'm sure you do know what you're doing." he took another absent drink.

He paused for a moment. "If you're trying to get away from him, I'd figure out why he wants to kill you, first. It doesn't have to be large. Anything that catches his eye as heresy. You might be able to gauge just how important it is to him, then." he glanced at him. "I'm sure you already know all this. But I wouldn't write him off as easy to lose, either. This is what he does. And so far, we're blending in rather well, I think." Cog said, turning his glance away from the hyperkinetic stoat and Stygian's newfound star-shaped sunglasses.

"If he does find us again...well. Understand, that I...well." he paused. "I've been looking for him a long time. I'm not going to give up an opportunity like that."

[Stygian]

The bat shook his head and made a grumbling sound. 'An opportunity is only truly an opportunity when you know what to do and can manage to do it. Otherwise it is a missed chance. Are you so sure of your own purpose? And of the consequences?' He would have looked at the wolf, but his voice was questioning enough. 'I for one at least have no reason to face him, unless he comes across me. I would, actually, like to keep it that way.'
   For a short while, Stygian merely listened around and contemplated his next words. He could hear no sign of Keaton, and while Gareeku and Aisha were still out wandering... The former they could afford to lose, for the time being, but that would most likely drag the panthress away with him.
   'To wherever we can resupply and then arrange further transportation. We'll get no longer in the direction we want to go on the railway', he responded to Mel this time. 'We really should leave town quietly and covertly. It may seem that they care little who comes and goes in this town, but that is hardly the truth. And when anything that costs comes into the equation...'
   Smirking meaningfully, the bat turned a bit and opened his eyes a crack. Only then did he notice the ridiculous glasses. He thought they had felt odd, but... Carefully, pinching them as if dealing with something filthy, he took them off and put them in the breast pocket of his jacket. Then he gave a glance at Kerya, and finally a different one toward Mel.

[Gareeku]

Contrary to the bat's belief, Gareeku was not out wandering. He had in fact been nearby the whole time, merely staying quiet as the others looked around for themselves. As the other looked around the shops, the wolf had stood outside them. He wasn't interested in any of the tacky products that were being sold. Besides, he had been here before, and from the looks of things nothing had changed.

[Cogidubnus]

 The wolf simply nodded to himself at the bat's words, smiling to himself only slightly when Stygian finally noticed the oddly-framed glasses adorning his face. He managed to keep a snicker from escaping him, however, and drank down the rest of his drink.
"There's another pair on the table." he said, setting the paper cup down. "Better ones. You should thank Mel, I think."

He stretched, his face quickly composing itself once more. He sat silently a moment before speaking again. "You speak truly. But I have had a long time to think about it." he shifted on his seat. "And I know what I can do, and how I might do it. We'll see if it works. But you are, of course, correct."
He shrugged. "If it's as you say, a merchant city isn't going to like us breaking or burning things, which seems to happen a lot, recently. Supplies and whatnot shouldn't be too hard."

[Boog]

Richard blinked at the stoat, what she was saying sinking in. Even disregarding the fact that someone half his size was worried that they could have hurt him (she was a mage, it wasn't too far fetched; God made furrae, but Zingauru made 'em equal), she was essentially apologizing for being scared of him.
He thought back on last night, in the car on the way to the train, where he'd been surrounded by so many people in such close quarters who were so very alive...
"Guess that makes us even then," he rasped, trying not to let his thoughts show (not particularly difficult), "Thanks. I'm not someone most people really try to get used to. And by the way, the word you were looking for was 'curse.'" He didn't have lips to smirk with, but the edges of a cynical smile tugged at the edges of his eyes, "Diabetes is a condition. I'm dead. There's a distinction, and I don't mind calling it what it is. So..." One ragged eyebrow tilted, "Where exactly ARE you from anyway? I think I missed it in the hubbub last night."

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya cocked one ear and smiled wryly at Richard's comment. "I think it would help if we do get along," she said, "or at least tolerate each other — lest we find ourselves in some improbable bard's tale where a group can be tricked into fighting one another at the least excuse. Although that may be a problem with Keaton and Dierdre; it appears they have met before, and — to put it mildly — not as friends. I hope Sebastian was... persuasive enough last night for them to hold their peace."

The little stoat sighed and scrambled up onto one of the stools lining the shop counter. It was a slightly ridiculous sight for someone of her body shape: her short legs reached less than half-way to the floor, but her long body almost put her head higher than Richard's. "As for myself," she continued, "I am from somewhere... different from here. I suspect it is probably another world altogether, there are so many differences. The magic here is not quite the same. Many types of people, like yourself and Dierdre, do not exist back home. And I only saw one moon in the sky last night, and it looked all wrong. I came here by accident, one of my spells... aheh... misbehaved slightly, and I found myself in an alley in Haszal about a week ago. I have been trying since then to return home, but the spell that took me here does not work here without some adjustment. Mel has given me some aid which is helping me find out how I need to alter my spells, but it is slow work."

Kerya's ears were held so low it was hard to tell if she was blushing. What she'd revealed of her situation was bad enough: she was not about to confess to all and sundry that she'd arrived in that alley by slamming hard into a wall, upside down, then slid to the ground and landed head-first in a bucket.

[Stygian]

'Yes, well...' Stygian broke in on Richard's and Kerya's conversation, 'While I can understand your unwillingness to remain in such an insane place as this, I think you can live with us at least, can you not?' He tilted his head lightly, and barely a fraction of his eyes showed through the squint. There was a minor black 'edge' to the contours of his face, where the light fell upon him. 'Even though we happen to be either horrid unliving things or monsters, for the most part.'
   Turning around to take up the sunglasses Mel had offered, placing the round ones on the back of his nose and adjusting them slightly, the bat took a coffee as well, turning away from the light streaming through the windows, before looking around a bit as if searching for an exit.
   'What say we get out of here and find ourselves something to eat while we search?' he finally offered as he put down his payment for the coffee, beginning to slowly walk away and not really waiting for an answer.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Stuffing the bag of mints in her pocket Mel then handed the remaining pair of sunglasses to Cog and the now memorized city guide to Gareeku who had been watching silently. Checking to make sure she hadn't left anything behind the dragon followed Ignatz to the exit.

[Cogidubnus]

Saying nothing, the wolf stood up from the small table and stretched, teeth gleaming in the sunlight for just a moment before following. His gray tail swished behind him as he looked around, and tilted his head. They were missing one.
"I'll go find Keaton, then. Just a moment." Cog said, turning and heading towards the stairs to the upper level.

He took a deep breath. The wind, as it was, made it difficult to smell anything other than the sea-breeze, but the yellow and black jackal had a rather unmistakeable scent as well - it was angry, overlaid on top of a strange sort of glee, and all mixed in with another acrid smell that might make your nose bleed if you multiplied it over a few hundred times. It somewhat reminded him of cinnamon on maple sryup and a bottle of 190 proof moonshine liquor.

Even with all that, the breeze still made it difficult. It was a few minutes later that he saw the jackal inside one of the small tourist shops, looking pointedly at something in the window. He walked in, coming up next to the Jackal and coughing softly.
"I think we're going." he said, standing a little behind the yellow succubus.

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya made a half-amused, half-annoyed tsk'ing noise in Sebastian's general direction as she hopped back down off the stool. "Silly bat," she murmured quietly to Richard, "does he really think I would run away home the moment I have repaired my Portal spell, and abandon you all? I have offered my help, on my word, and I shall do so." She picked up her shopping bag, settled her staff more comfortably, and directed a "shall we go?" look at Richard as Sebastian sauntered away from the shop towards an exit.

[Boog]

Richard blinked once or twice at Kerya's story, not sure which line of questioning to go down (His options being There any more of your people in this world? and Are you crazy?). He eventually settled on taking things at face value. After all, it would explain her strange body type. So would a tiny dash of mythos heritage, but the odds of that verses her story were roughly equal.
Stygian's interjection took the matter out of Richard's hands, and the zombie shrugged as he followed Kerya. Well, lets see what sort of trouble we'll cause today.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had also done very little wandering, contrary to what anyone had thought.  One thing was for sure, as the way she and Gareeku were usually so silent, it may have been hard to even pay attention to where they were at all.  Fine with me, the panthress chuckled to herself as she continued to lean against the wall nearby him, watching the others.  Adventurers make a career out of trying to be inconspicuous... ser claro, it's hard to do carrying a sword around.

For a little bit, Aisha tried to think and to hope that so much trouble wasn't really going to follow the group.  If she were to choose, she'd more likely rather fight than see more innocents fall along their trail.  But who knew if it could be helped...

Her ears perked then, suddenly having noticed the very energetic mustelid rushing about (Aisha wondered how Kerya hadn't even bitten her tongue, speaking so fast...), and her antics.  Surprisingly, the snort of amusement she meant to release instead came out as a suppressed snicker, almost on the verge of a laugh.  It was quick, but it was the first time that any kind of positive emotion was shown from the huntress since the last night.  Maybe the dream was best forgotten.

She watched as the group started to come back from their wanderings, and as Kerya started to finally calm down.  Then, an ear quirked in the bat's direction as he announced leaving the place and finding something to eat while they figured out what to do, and thus it was time for them to move on.

At the mention, her stomach made a low but audible grumble...the mind thought food a good idea, but the midsection was quicker.  She rolled her eyes.  "Sí, I wouldn't mind a proper breakfast for this morning," she muttered.  "Big and friggin' filling."

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

Intently focused as she was on her current activity, Keaton didn't see Cogidubnus approach her from behind, nor did she realize his presence until he attempted to gently alert her. Unfortunately, gentleness seemed to have no effect on her exacerbated reaction, particularly the loud yip she emitted and the great shudder which rocked her body - the object in her hands was nearly sent flying and would have sailed through the air if Keaton didn't lash out and grab it in a considerable display of reflexes. Something round, flat, and clearly metallic hit the floor amidst the bedlam with a resounding ring. All Cogidubnus saw was a glint of silver before it vanished between the yellow-black digits of Keaton's right hand and Keaton whirled around to face him at last. Her expression was quite shellshocked, accentuated by the aslant tilt of her glasses atop her muzzle. She quickly reached up and angrily plucked her glasses off her nose.

"Did you have to be so damn silent!?" Keaton hissed in an impatient whisper. She purposefully kept her voice down so to not attract the unwanted attention of the tourist shop's lone and very overworked employee. Already the middle-aged raccoon was looking at her in a slightly sharp manner. "God, I think my heart jumped into my throat, thanksverymuch."

Keaton mumbled something obscene under her breath and peeked at the silver-something nestled against her palm. Her other hand was busily fidgeting in her pocket. There was a slightly muted flash of white from within the confines of her pocket as Xianxi offhandedly warped Keaton the remainder of her limited finances (at least what she hadn't saved for emergencies), and then she withdrew a rather beaten wallet. Keaton leafed through the meager amount of money folded inside of it, counting the bills and then the change secreted within the secondary compartment, and then groaned, her arms slumping. She looked almost like a teenager dramatizing the newest curfew her parents had just set, and the melodramatic moan she emitted only emphasized that caricature.

"God-DAMMIT, I'm a dime short. I -" Before she could continue that tirade, she noticed the dime which was resting at her feet, grinned triumphantly, and leaned down to scoop up the coin in the same hand which held that mystery-object. At this point Keaton was absolutely bursting with what appeared to be unbridled delight, her toothy smile as bright as the sun.

It was quite frightening.

Without giving Cog an opportunity to talk, still, the raging whirlwind of overjoyed jackal cheerfully dashed over to the counter and slapped down her wallet on the countertop, the dime and the silver-thing following with a significant amount of gentleness. The raccoon eyed Keaton morosely, looking somewhat unimpressed with her overwhelmingly joyous demeanor. Although she stared at the money Keaton offered like it was impregnated with a foul and deadly acid, the raccoon accepted it without hesitation and took the silver thing off the counter. The raccoon dropped it in an uncharacteristically-adorable bag covered in tacky, lurid colors and then handed it to Keaton other than a "have a nice day." Utterly oblivious to the insincerity behind that statement, Keaton gleefully took the bag and walked over to Cog after scooping her now-empty wallet up and pocketing it.

"Okaaaay then!" Keaton said with that disturbingly out-of-character grin on her face. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

---

...Deirdre:

Deirdre finished her Java not long before Stygian announced he was going to leave the shop. Sighing a little, the Gryphon noncommittally stood up and discarded the empty Styrofoam cup in a nearby wastebin, then turned to follow Stygian out of the store. Eating something after such an unsatisfying and shallow sleep didn't sound so bad. Her oh-so-sunny disposition was beginning to fade, even with coffee. After all, she was being seen in public without her make-up and with her hair in a mess.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

Cog bowed slightly, a slight grin suffusing his features. "My apologies." he said, moving backwards to allow the jackal room to continue what she was doing. She seemed somewhat preoccupied, and he pretended not to notice as something white flashed inside her pocket.
It was slightly more difficult to ignore the almost-deranged smile on her face as she located her lost dime. She had very long and very white teeth indeed.

He stood politely as she checked out, and tilted his hat just slightly as she spoke to him again. "I said I think we're leaving." Cog said, looking at the rather eye-achingly bright bag she carried in one hand. He turned to leave the shop, and coughed in one hand.
"If I may ask, what did you end up getting, there?"

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

Keaton pushed open the door in front of her and stepped out into the sunlight, beckoning for Cog to follow her. Once the lycanthrope pursued her, Keaton addressed his question, still hugging the eye-burning bag close to her chest. She looked almost awkward, now, considering he had encountered her in such an elated state.

"Er, right. About that... it's a souvenir. Remember what I said about snowglobes to Styg?" Keaton raised her pierced eyebrow and grinned in an uncharacteristically awkward way. "Well I couldn't find any so I grabbed the next best thing instead."

It was a rather odd transition, going from cursing Stygian's name after last night to gleefully shopping for souvenirs for him, but Keaton wasn't exactly a very rational person when it came to her emotional patterns.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

Cog gave the yellow jackal a smile. "I'm sure he'll love it." He said, being careful not to entirely meet the jackal's eyes. A slight grin still suffused his features. He wondered what the item might be – he wasn't exactly sure what the next best thing to a snowglobe was, entirely.

Either way, it wasn't long before he saw Deirdre following the rest of them outside from the corner of his eye, and descending the stairs with the succubus began to again follow the party.

[Stygian]

Strolling away and looking a little odd in the morning in his clear-white suit - he would have to fix new clothes - and round glasses, Stygian headed for the nearest obvious exit. Another guard watched that one, though he seemed more busy speaking into a wall-mounted telephone than watching the people exiting the station, a not inconsiderable stream of creatures of all kinds.
   'I've had lots of people swear to me, on their word and honor', he commented over his shoulder, ears slanting a little. 'It gets tiresome after a while, actually.' Exactly what he meant by that, which by his tone might not have been literally what it sounded like, he left it up to them to interpret.
   Almost at the exit, the bat stopped all of a sudden, ears perking up and twitching. He stood there for a moment, before they swiveled a little, and he turned his head to look in the direction of the approaching jackal and wolf.
   'We're going for brunch', he said, over the murmur of the crowd around, when he thought Cog would be able to hear.