The Castle [03] (Remba, but don't let it stop you)

[Aisha deCabre]

Watching as Ketefe stood up to take the role of the first one to brave the effects of the spell, Rynkura gave the other felid an appreciative nod.  "Many thanks for your cooperation, child.  This won't take but a moment."  And let's hope it works, she added silently.

As the tigress stepped over to where the transformed girl stood, she quirked an ear to where Bambi lay exhausted--but not too exhausted to speak--and only gave a chuckle in reply.  "I have worked under such conditions for many years.  Don't worry, I take everything into account.  You just rest," she advised, and turned back towards Ketefe.  She heard Cogidubnus also offer more help as he finished remodeling the glyph.  "Cleansing bloody impurity..." she repeated to herself in thought.  It sounded indeed much like magical healing.

Looking over Ketefe, she laid her glowing palm gently upon the cat's forehead.  "You may become just a little dizzy," she advised in a soothing voice.  "Concentrate on standing, if nothing else."

The glow encompassed the light healer's emerald eyes again, giving her the look of being entranced...but the way her ears swerved showed that she could also still hear everything that went on in the room.  Likewise a glow encompassed Ketefe's body from head to foot, but very slowly, as if the light poured like molasses rather than water as it was more apt to do in a normal individual.  "Dark influence indeed," Rynkura muttered in observation.  But at least still the spell's light reached inside, as if peering through the soul as well.

The cat would have felt a pressure through her, not enough to hurt, but enough to cause the weak-minded to have become fearful of the whole process.  For the time being she was frozen in place as the properties of the spell sought out its targets of dark impurities.  It searched the body itself, blood and bone, and the less tangible properties of the curse, and everything it affected...but as with light, she'd have felt warmth and small comfort, almost as if she was defended.  But still she would have felt the slight dizziness as her mind could also be completely flooded with the magic's effects and any resistance the darkness put up...but if she was good at concentrating...

Through the magic Rynkura could detect some of the odd ins and outs.  But did nothing to purge the changes...not yet.  Not without her word.  Only when the light had a hopefully firm hold on the subject.

"Keep concentrating," Rynkura said, her voice normal to the others but perhaps somewhat strengthened to Ketefe, as if she was trying to speak through the hold it had on her mind.  "Just keep standing.  Don't be afraid."

Then, with a muttered prayer, she gave the word.  The light around Ketefe strengthened and swirled through the air akin to solar flares.  As it strengthened, so too did the pressure, as it attempted to purge the hold of the shadows.

[Angel]

Ketefe was a little anxious about the effects of the spell, but Rynkura calmed her by saying she'd just become a little dizzy. She doubted she'd be hurt anyway. The transfigured girl shut her eyes and began to focus only on her legs and her balance as the tigress laid her hand on Ketefe's masked forehead. Concentrating wasn't too hard, given the training she'd received as a child. Thank you, Jarevei.

Ketefe only felt the spell begin, keeping her eyes closed the entire time. She began to feel pressure throughout her body, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. The reach of the pressure was somewhat alarming; her nerves, her muscles, even her bones felt a strange force encompassing them. Drown out everything else, focus only on your muscles and balance, she told herself.

There was a gentle warmth pervading her along with the pressure, which was comforting. It was like a reassurance, a promise that she'd be safe. Even when the mild dizziness started, but Ketefe focused sharply on her legs, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling.

Then Rynkura's voice rang in her head, a little louder than she'd expected. "Keep concentrating. Just keep standing. Don't be afraid." She did just that, even as the pressure she felt began to increase little by little. This spell can't hurt you, she reminded herself. Nothing bad is going to happen. Trust the spell.

[Stygian]

The effects of the spell were hardly as quick and dramatic as those that Stygian had caused. The comforting pressure kept building, and at first it seemed that they might have gone for a wrong solution. But then, slowly, Ketefe started feeling a tingling sensation starting up inside her, like a limb that was asleep waking up again as the shadow was purged from her, prickling and chilling like cold water. She felt odd, squirming movements under her skin much like those she had felt when the darkness came rushing at her, cold and roiling and making her feel like her skin was somehow loose around her moving insides, an odd sensation to put it lightly. It was nothing of the smooth transformation of a cubi or the eerie but quick discomfort of a magical transformation or simple lack of sensation of an illusion. Rather, it felt more complete, like hundreds of hands of ice reaching into one's body and rearranging one's organs to whatever new shape they thought would be right. And the others could see it; it was not the look of discomfort on Ketefe's face that did it, but rather the way her shape crawled and moved. Her hair and skin shifted and re-grew over moving muscle and bone, and she couldn't quite keep her limbs still. The whole of the process did not take much longer than half a minute, but it felt much longer, before she stood back in the same place, unmoving and silent, herself once again.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog nodded his head at the spectacle, relieved that Rynkura had been able to heal Ketefe after all. The circle, for whatever uncertain and perhaps dangerous effect it may have had, would be unnecessary. Setting the book down, Cog exhaled a breath of air and smiled slightly, before setting it atop the other book laying on the table and approaching Rynkura.
"One less problem then, I suppose. Ms. Icewing may be able to help you with the rest of the girls. I...well, honestly, I have no idea how you did that."
Cog gave an apologetic grin. "Despite the thunderbolts and whatnot, I am somewhat...inexperienced. I..." Cog sighed. "It would take me far longer to learn to cast that than is prudent. If you'll excuse me." Cog bowed to those in attendance, and sliding both books back into the stacks walked out of the library.
The storm was still raging with fury, and Cog sighed, listing to the distant sounds of rain pattering on the glass windows that lined the hallway. He could see more of the Castle and the grounds outside, the gardens and the stone walls ominous in the late-afternoon storm, and far in the distance the dim lights of the city, visible through the cloud-brought darkness. Cog paused by one such window, the wrought-iron frame and decoration splitting the glass into several pieces. In some ways, it was fortunate the castle had been so cursed - the thrill seekers had been killed by the very real dangers, and the tomb robbers and hooligans were kept away by the very real deaths. It left for a very well-furnished, finely decorated and very dusty palace, really.
Fortress might be a better word. Cog thought, his face blank. Shaking his head, he sidestepped a little stand set up by the window and continued down the hall, his footsteps soft of the dark red carpets. He passed by the staircase without glancing at it, instead taking another left towards the wing that contained the kitchen. It took him only a few minutes to traverse the distance, and once there he grabbed a bottle of whiskey from out the cabinets, before he paused. Patting his jacket for a moment, he stopped, and the faintest outline of a smile could be seen on his face, tinged with a bit of sadness.
Turning around, he took the little packet of coffee from his jacket and grabbed a pot, filling it with water.

[Angel]

As the pressure built, Ketefe began to feel funny. Her skin felt like there were thousands of tiny ice-cold ... things crawling around underneath it, as if she was being restructured from the inside out. It felt rather like the dark spell had felt when it first struck her, but much more uncomfortable. Her muscles and limbs felt agitated, and she was gritting her teeth and squinching her eyes tight with the effort it took to keep still. She could feel her hair and skin moving unpleasantly over her body, and knew she must look even stranger.

After what seemed like an eternity, it stopped. She opened her eyes, slowly, and looked down to find herself female again. Her eyes widened, not with fear, but joy and relief. She bit her lip so she wouldn't cheer out loud, but she gave Rynkura a look of pure gratitude.

"Thank you so much."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Letting the illusionary glyph she was studying fade away Mel closely observed what Rynkura was doing to Ketefe. She saw that the tigress carefully searched out all the shadow magic lingering in the girl then destroyed it by blasting it with light magic. The dragon wasn't sure if she could effectively do the same thing. Her magic was a large part elemental and she wasn't sure if her light magic would pack enough punch to totally burn away the shadow. She shifted her thought, destruction wasn't necessarily the goal, just removing it from her body. Starting at the very tips of her horns and the very tips of her toes she thought of her light magic not as something that spread ever outward, but as a wall, or a screen. She slowly moved the filters towards each other, herding the little bits of shadow ahead of it. She understood Ketefe's need to squirm, it felt rather disgusting as more bits were gathered together.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Bambi watch the process that Mel was trying, and could see the flaw that she was just moving the shadow around and collecting into one area.  She was stubborn in her aiding, but she did learn somethings  ah sometimes....

A light green glowing of light magic formed between the Fae's hands and stay there floating in front of her.  "Mel, only the Shadow will burn in the light sphere, you can put the shadow into your hands and force the dark into the sphere to burn it away.  Or this time, you can take the magic yourself and do whatever you need to with." Bambi says as she stands in front of the dragon with her light sphere.   

PBH

[Stygian]

While Mel's approach was rather different, it did work about as well, though it left her with a good bit of that shadow to deal with. Getting it out of her system, she slowly clumped it together in a ball over her open hand, that grew as the stuff was concentrated and pushed out of her. It soon became rather evident that it was moving, a crawling shape of shadow glistening and shifting within its prison. When finally Mel had expunged it all from herself, what she had was a squirming, struggling little mass of blackness that hovered ominously above her palm.

- -

The quick and inexplicably silent movement would have passed Cogidubnus by, had it not been for the sudden sharp smell that had entered the room and alerted him. Stygian had already turned though, leaving his teacup on the counter and his thoughts of getting something to drink behind, instead now heading back up at a brisk pace to return to his moving. Cog just caught a glimpse of his back and leg through the door before he was already leaving.

[Boog]

Jeremiah snapped the book he'd been checking through closed, hoping that it was just his eyesight and the letters hadn't really been moving, as soon as the others figured out what was going on. Finally, something that hadn't turned into a serious situation. He didn't end up possessed or monstrous, Mel didn't end up wounded, Rynkura wouldn't be putting anyone back together, Bambi stayed fully clothed, it had all just worked out.
Of course, he then noticed the squiggly thing Mel had conjured up, "Yeeg! Alright, before anyone asks no, we can't keep it. Ugh..."
Steal it? Should I? Wannawannawanna-!
Plic, no!

[Aisha deCabre]

A few times, Rynkura wavered just slightly in her task to remove the shadows and transformation from Ketefe's being, feeling as her magic worked its way through when once she felt that it couldn't do much against the dark feeling.  But it weakened and changed the felid, back to the form in which she was born.  She willed the flares to stop, the light to dissipate, and the tigress removed her palm from Ketefe's forehead.

The glow faded from the old healer as well, returning her eyes back to normal.  Despite her elderly countenance, Rynkura didn't look ragged after using that much energy, but still she had to catch her breath and lean on her staff...the effort merely took the wind out of her.  Still she was pleased to see it had worked, and as well somewhat surprised.

"You are more than welcome," Rynkura said, her head bowed as Ketefe expressed her thanks.  She smiled with a thoughtful sigh, then caught Cogi's words, also giving him a smile.  "It could probably be within your power to try."  She said no more than that, and bid him farewell as he left the room, while Mel had concentrated on removing the spell from herself...and quite well.  But she wasn't surprised...dragons often had interesting skills.

"Nice work.  Your help may be welcomed," Rynkura said to Mel, eyeing the squirming mass in the dragoness's hands with narrowed eyes before glancing to Keaton, the final candidate, for her insight and permission.

*     *     *

Having not recieved much resistance from the crimson-eyed raven on her arm, Aisha walked down the corridor (cautious of its close proximity to her eyes, however) until she found a window leading to the outside, only to notice behind the dusty ornate glass that the sky was still grey and ominous, much of the morning's storm having been passed over, yet still overlaid with strong winds and a few droplets on her fingers as she opened it.

The panthress chuckled at the wonder of it all.  Even a small search mission was still a bit of an adventure.  "Calm spot," she muttered quietly, observing of the storm.  "Now would be a good time to dash out to freedom and find shelter, yeah?"  She urged the creature down her arm, and gently shook it.  "Go on now.  I oughta get back and check on mis amigos back in the library."

Perhaps they'd have a story for her on returning.

[Cogidubnus]

 As Cog poured himself a cup of the coffee, savoring the smell of the rich, dark liquid, he recoiled a moment as the smell of blood and ink suffused his nostrils. He eyed his cup and then turned around, catching a glimpse of Stygian's leg stepping out of the kitchen. Cog took a reflexive step forward, stopping jerkily and then moving forward. He set his cup down on the counter before stepping back into the hallway.
The bat was already halfway down the entire length of the hall before Cog got out there, taking long strides back to the stairway. Cog stopped as soon as he saw him, his hand raised in a futile gesture to catch him. He stayed silent as the bat walked away, his mouth halfway open as he watched. He stuttered something, and the bat turned a corner, leaving only the wolf standing by the kitchen door.
"Th...thanks for the coffee..." Cog murmured, his face fallen somewhat. He sighed, and turned back to the kitchen, retrieving his cup and walking back out into the hallway. He sipped the dark drink as he walked through the stone hallways, the storm outside battering against the wrought-iron windows. Stopping short of the turn that Stygian had made, Cog turned and looked out into the storm, and watched the lightning play to the backdrop of the town's dim lights.

[Stygian]

A bitter look of indifference tingeing his face a rather uncomfortable way, Stygian stopped his clip and turned against Cog, his eyes rock steady. One hand along his side and the other in his pocket, his slightly tilted head and forward posture, and the look of his eyes, seemed to shout are you really doing this?
   'You're welcome,' he said, quickly and casually and making sure not to put any hostility into his tone. It was clear that he was pained anyway. 'It was the least I could do.' That and make sure that the wolf had felt that he could actually channel some magic and put up with his confusion, and draw more hate to himself and put himself in danger, and what was more, actually being so idiotic as to spend time around him and the others when they were all better off without him, certainly when...
   He put out the flare of thoughts and the sudden dull ache in his chest quickly as putting out a candle between one's fingertips, and having made that quick statement, he turned again, resuming his quick steps on his way to the stairs.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog almost dropped his coffee when he heard the bat behind him, whirling around as the liquid narrowly missed splashing on himself. Cog composed himself quickly as Sebastian spoke, his face melancholy. Almost as soon as Sebastian spoke, however, he turned again, walking back towards the stairs. Cog gripped tightly on the coffee cup, his face tense, and called out to the bat again.
"I'm sorry!" Cog said, looking down as soon as he said the words, and then looking back at the storm outside. He sighed, turning back towards Sebastian. "I...I'm sorry for getting angry with you." Cog stammered. He grimaced. "And for stabbing you." he continued.
Cog looked down, and took a large drink from his mug, the cup obscuring his face.

[Stygian]

Again, Stygian stopped, and sighed, both visibly and audibly. With more of a slump to his shoulders, he turned again, standing to the side and leaning a bit in the archway that led into the great hall of stairs.
   'I provoked you and I paid for it, simple as that. It's just pain. No lasting damage,' he said. That, at least, was true. All he'd ever had was pain, and nothing to show for it. Nothing good, at least. 'I shouldn't have expected you to see it anyway. It was just going against everything else I've done here,' he said, a tone of stinging sarcasm finding its way into his speech as he turned toward the stairs and slowly started walking up them toward where they parted in front of a large mirror like the one they had went into before, to get to the heart of the curse.
   'Either way, you can go back down and have your coffee. I'm no arcanist, so you're better off with your fellow mages,' he said, biting around the last word.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog's eyes went wide under his lenses as the bat spoke, his face drooping for a moment before setting again. His eyes stung, and his mug shook as it steamed absently. Cog almost bit something out, stopping himself just short, and took a deep breath, the cup settling as the wolf exhaled. Cog set it down on a window ledge, calling up to the bat.
"That stings. Worse than you know. In some ways, magic has yet again kicked me in the ass." Cog said, and took a single step up the stairs. "But I understand why...you had to make me angry. And I'm sorry that I made it so easy."
He adjusted his shades. "But I also understand if you wish me simply gone." Cog's voice was calm, and soft. He paused for a moment before stepping down again. "I never wanted to be just another source of pain. I'm sorry." Cog bowed, and turned, expecting to leave the bat to his peace.

[Stygian]

Unexpectedly, Stygian stood where he did, and snorted.
   'It's your problem. You just don't know,' he said, folding his arms over his chest and keeping a blank stare on the wolf below. 'I don't wish you gone, but you don't know half of it. Why would you want to hang around me? And you don't know what else you want either. Why do you think you can't use that magic? I'll tell you why.' A slight, slight tone of contempt was audible in his voice now. 'You're so conflicted you can't draw it out. And that's why you hesitate and roam and ultimately only follow where you think the situation dictates, or what feels easiest or most natural. Why you can't even control yourself in your feral form.'
   Stepping back, Stygian looked at Cog sideways, eyes slightly darker now, less of that clear blue-gray visible in his gaze.
   'You have no idea,' he said.

- -

Aisha had opened the window and ushered the bird on, but the crow just tilted its grip on her arm and sat, looking up at her blankly and unhesitatingly. If an animal like that could have made a facial expression, then it fairly surely would have raised its brow at her and looked confused or irritated. It seemed that it wasn't particularly interested in leaving.

- -

While she had held her tongue before, Gina finally took the time to speak up, seeing as the situation allowed her to make a more careful approach.
   'I think it would be nice to bring a little more light into this castle,' she said. 'It's... too dark and cursed. Things just don't feel right.'

[Cogidubnus]

Cog's expression turned sour, and he whirled to face the bat, his hand raised. He seemed to almost say something, his fangs almost bared, before he sucked in another breath. Cog unclenched his fist, and let his hand drop to his side. Slowly, he took his hat and shades off, and set them down beside his cup, leaning against the wall.
Giving the bat a look, he murmured something under his breath, and raising a hand snapped his fingers. A thundercrack flashed through the room in time with his fingers, a bolt of lightning landing not fifty yards away, the sound rattled the windows and almost shaking his cup off the table it sat on.
He felt his point made. Pushing himself back off the wall, he stared at the bat, his yellow eyes unwavering.
"Conflicted? Well...probably. The Wolf has nothing to do with that." Cog said, breaking his gaze with the bat and staring outside, his eyes searching the sky. "That's a curse. Magical in nature, specific to my race. Lychanthropy. It makes things in my head...complicated. Two parties are involved in things designed for one." Cog paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. He turned back towards the bat. "It took me a long time to get this far."
"But you are right. I -don't- know." Cog said, walking towards the bat. He stopped just a hair short of the stairs, not quite walking up them. "I don't have any idea. And who's fault is that?"
Cog narrowed his eyes, about to speak, and then sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I...I shouldn't get pissed at you. Obviously. Being around me hasn't done you much good thus far, I know. But..." Cog looked back up at the bat. "I can't know, unless you tell me. Say something. Give me a chance to be around you. And..."
Cog sighed again. "And, I may be conflicted, yes. There is one thing I know. I...do, want to be around you." Cog didn't turn this time, or walk away. "So, maybe I don't have any idea. Tell me, then."
Cog waited for the bat to respond, forcing himself to meet the Sebastian's eyes.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel looked at the squirming ball of shadow floating above her hand then at the ball of light magic Bambi was offering her. While she hadn't exactly been showing to her best since she had arrived at the castle she wasn't exactly a magical charity case. Even a little dragon had a significant amount of magic. Then she heard Gina speak about more light and had an idea of how to demonstrate the fact that she wasn't magically bankrupt. Mel smiled at Bambi, "Thank you, but you keep your magic. I think I can scrape up enough to take care of this handful of shadow." She reached up and caught the little ball of light that had been following her around the darkened library like an obedient puppy and force-fed it magic. The light flared like a noontime sun, filling the large room. Mel felt her third eyelid slide up, the light was brilliant enough to make eyes water. The mass of shadow gave a wicked hiss and slithered from her hand. Quickly lowering the light level to a comfortable level Mel watched the shadow mass skitter into the deep shadows under a nearby bookcase.

[Stygian]

Stygian kept his cold gaze solidly on Cogidubnus, beaming down on the wolf the same way, up to the point where he stopped and pinched the back of his muzzle. His tone softened, the change of subject was telling, and slowly the bat's eyebrows crept up a bit, his eyes widening though he made sure to keep a level face. What was the wolf saying? He couldn't understand the idea, because Cog was plainly being honest and that was not possible. Not if it was about...
   The sudden realization was like a snap, and made Stygian blink, losing composure. He went silent for a few seconds, and then a twitch to the right side of his lips slowly developed into a smirk that he hid by sighing and turning around for a moment, taking a few steps against the mirror and the next set of stairs. Was he being conceited here? No, he knew his judgment. Cog seemed a serious, standup guy. Not the kind who'd say things like that for no reason. Talk about being confused... he thought, his smirk turning bitter and his hand clenching.
   A short but bright flash of light reflected from around a corner in the mirror, and Stygian looked up just before it was gone. He looked into eyes that were almost back to their former darkness, and he frowned. Then he got an idea. He turned sharply on the spot, and looked down at Cog, now grinning. If he could get the wolf up there...
   'You want a chance to know?' he said, and slowly walked across the floor toward the other stairway, chuckling. 'You've just proven that you don't understand, and that you're not even trying to look past the obvious.' Toward the end of the sentence, his voice began distorting, changing, and his figure somehow became... hazy. As if the shadows cast around him were somehow deeper. For a bit, his appearance looked uncertain, like when one is trying to make out a shape when it's too dark to see clearly.
   'If you want to see, doggy, you're going to have to look much more closely.' That was a familiar voice, but not...
   The figure above turned, and Keaton's face met Cog's. She grinned wickedly and leaned back against the wall beside the mirror.
   'As it is, you're not even trying.'

[Cogidubnus]

 As Cog listened to the bat, his hand drifted to the hilt of his sword, his arm draped across the hilt. As the bat started to change, Cog's hand clenched the pommel, his knuckles white, the silver endcap digging into his palm. When Keats stood before him, smirking, Cog's eyes went wide, then narrowed in anger.
He stalked up the steps then and there, silent, intent on giving the Cubi...he wasn't quite sure. His hand shook as it gripped the black-wrapped sword hilt, tightening cruelly around the silk as Cog approached Keaton. He almost broke his silence as he approached, a small growl deep in his throat, but nothing else. His eyes flashed as he climbed, bright with anger, and something else.
He stopped suddenly, about two or three feet from the Jackal. Her smell...Cog stopped, resisting the desire to tilt his head, one of his eyes narrowing. He opened his mouth, his gaze sliding to the mirror beside him.
Where the Jackal should have been grinning at him, Sebastian stood instead, his mouth of fangs bared in mirth. Cog stopped dead, his free hand still clenched. He met Keat...no, Sebastian's gaze, with something akin to irritation in his eyes.
"It is difficult to see that which is hidden." he countered, his hands dropping to his sides. "But my eyes are sharp. Sebastian." Cog nodded to the mirror. "And I do try to see. As much as I can."
  "As much as you have let me." Cog murmured. His eyes clouded for a moment, and then regained their intensity. "And I see more than you might think. But I can still only see what you show me."

[Stygian]

The jackal before him grunted and dropped the smirk a bit, and then she began strolling closer to Cog. And, as if to ridicule his statement, Cog's eyes again fooled him. The shapeshifting was hard to see; it didn't move in a distinct fashion like a cubi's, and Stygian was moving.
   'I've shown you. If you had only kept your eyes open, you'd have seen,' she said. And this time, it wasn't Keaton who said it, but Mel, with her exact teacher-like disapproval and reproach. 'It's not about appearances,' she continued, making an open gesture and passing behind Cog. 'It's about common sense. It's about judgment.' Even as Cog turned to follow, the voice he heard turned into an ugly croak, and next he was looking at Jeremiah. The frog eyed him with lowered brows, replicating Stygian's movements in the mirror precisely.
   'I am always wearing a mask. And not to hide the scars of my vengeance, but to hide how ugly that vengeance has made me,' he said gravely, arms crossed. 'And even if I live it, the mask is still a mask.'
   Again, he changed, walking closer to Cog. And this time, the face was more familiar. The same blond fur and black eyes, the same straight, sharp-cut flared nose, the same slightly tilted ears and smooth jawline. But more rounded and slender and comely around the strength, more feminine. As it had been before. And the reflection changed too.
   'Is this the face you are following?' she said, and nodded toward the mirror, drawing Cog's gaze. 'Do you believe in it?'

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog stayed silent throughout the Bat's tirade, his mouth twisted in distaste. He approached Sebastian again, staring her straight in the eye, searching. Her gaze was hard, as was his -  Cog was almost tempted to touch that face, but instead turned, his face a bitter smile. "What face." Cog murmured, looking into the mirror. "I still see a mask." He suddenly wished for his shades.
"That could be your true face, and none of us would know it. Who is to say I've even seen your true face, hm?" he turned, his eyes still hard. "Mel, Keats, Jeremiah...all those are just faces. Even as you are now. Even as you have been. I don't care what mask you wear. Considering..." Cog almost stopped, his voice faltering. He stood silent for a moment, and continued. "I don't even know what you are. Male, female? To you? You change forms like you change clothes. It's all faces you wear. So, no." Cog's gaze was firm. "It's not your face. I don't believe in any of your faces. Some are prettier than others, but...what's a face. To you? Nothing more than a form you choose."
He stood across from the bat, his eyes softening somewhat. "I'm not interested in masks. How...I've never even seen your face! You call me conflicted! Dammit! I've never even seen you! I don't even know what you are!" he finally said, his voice rising in intensity. He stood like that for some moments before he sighed, and looked at the ground.
"But...from what I have seen...masks conceal faces, but can't hide people. But then...dammit." Cog looked back up at the bat. "It's not your form. I know this." he finally murmured.

[Stygian]

The bat didn't so much as blink. She looked at Cog. But those black eyes were glowing now, their past intensity having returned. This was about what she had expected. And if he wanted honesty, then...
   'Look again,' she said. She didn't move, but then the mirror turned darker somehow, and Cog's gaze was drawn to it. And what he saw...
   The room in the reflection was a grim, twisted version of itself, a reddish and dim darkness where one could just make out the cracked and broken rails and fractured steps of dark marble, strewn with the stone fragments. The walls were peeled clean and broken in places, a great hole torn through one into the room behind so that the armament was visible, a gilt-framed painting darkened and withered with age laying by it. The castle in the painting showed even more than its real age. It was a broken, corpselike version of itself; the sort of environment that was host to nightmares. The red atmosphere made it look like some fire was burning just out of sight, everywhere one looked. The surroundings weren't the hideous part though.
   Cogidubnus's reflection was his own, though perhaps darker and more grizzled. But the bat was not there. In her stead there was a monstrosity, recognizable only vaguely as something humanoid amid the slithering and crawling tentacles and shapes, formed from the very darkness itself, snaking around it as they emerged from its shape, organic and repulsing. Claws, fangs, eyes glowing like hot coals, maws that breathed poisonous fumes. Spines and glistening skin, like a middle-thing between oily liquid and scaly leather. Hideous didn't begin to describe it.
   'It's what I've tried to show you,' the creature said, the face in the mirror that looked much like Sebastian's but not, making a mockery of its features and well-formed lips by means of dagger-like teeth like stained ebony. Its voice was burning, slithering, as infested and seething as its shape. It stepped closer, the bat before him and the monstrum in the mirror that mimicked her moves amid the creeping dark.
   'Horrid as Hell itself. Literally,' it fumed. 'In every conceivable way.'
   The creature stood in front of him now. And then, frozen as he stood, he felt a hand on his cheek, forcing him to turn his gaze back forward. The same bat's face as before greeted him. But now that same glow burned in her eyes.
   'Every way,' she reiterated. Something crawled under her skin down her neck and then vanished. 'And now you can't say you don't know, even if you want to be fooled. And I won't fool you.' Her eyes were awls into his. 'I'm a real-life monster. As bad as they come.'

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Bambi bows to Mel with respect, "Very Good, my friend, I wished only to give aid since, I know your magic is more elemental, you are still healing and I could give you some "light" magical energy." says the Fae catgirl when she saw Mel's look of annoyance.  "Please Mel, friends help friends even when they are too proud to ask.  But I am learning to offer first".  The Fae folds her light ball back into herself. and bows low to her again.

Please, Mel I I..." says Bambi "I respect you... I have what seems unlimited power but little knowledge on how use it...I need a mentor of some kind...and now oh .Well Keaton needs your help now. " says Bambi as turns and goes to Gina.

PBH

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog's eyes stared holes into the mirror, watching as...Sebastian, as he was, stared back at him from the glass. Cog would have lied to say the vision was not...horrifying. It was a scene from nightmares, from the darkest imaginings of his mind. He nearly flinched as something touched his face, but as he watched the hand in the mirror touch his face, he let it guide his face back to the 'real' bat. It was simply her hand, although something had...moved, beneath her skin, as she spoke.
She gazed at him with eyes like fire, and the way that something had crawled out of sight unnerved the wolf. For a moment, Cog briefly found himself...terrified. But he still didn't break his gaze from the bat's. Meeting the pupils glowing like hellfire, he narrowed his own eye, the yellow flaring and the pupils...contracting, into something infinitely more feral. Cog let just a bit of a growl escape his throat before they dimmed, losing none of their intensity. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in.
"A real, live monster. As bad as they come..." Cog murmured. "And yet. All I see is another mask..." His eyes suddenly softened. "Don't you realize what I am? Monster. I'm the kind werewolf that really does turn into a monster during full moons. I've yet to see you kill anyone here. I really would. You're not scaring me away."
He continued to look into her eyes. "You think I didn't suspect? I mean...I didn't...we found you staked to a cross, sealed within a chapel." His voice was soft. "And earlier, in the library? In the dark?" He gazed back into the mirror, and then turned back to the bat, meeting her eyes. "I'm not a fool, Sebastian, despite what you may think. I had...suspicions. Maybe not like...that, but..."
  "You've yet to shed a drop of my blood, although the same couldn't be said for myself. So, no." He met her gaze. "You don't scare me. You don't disgust me. I'm not a fool. You haven't fooled me. And you aren't fooling me." he murmured finally. "And I'm not fooling myself."
"Horrid as hell...." he whispered. He turned to the mirror, staring at it full on. "I call thee fair and name thee bright, ye who're dark as hell, and black as night." he said solemnly, intoning the lyric slowly. "Your faces are horrid as they are beautiful. It is for none of your masks that I seek. So..." he finally said, his hand suddenly clenching. He turned to the bat. "I've already said, you wear many faces. Just because your form is dark, does not mean you are not bright." he murmured, before raising a hand. "Just because you think of yourself as a monster, does not mean you are. As bad as they come...well, then. Do your worst." Cog raised his hand towards the mirror, a single finger crooked in his hand. With a snap, he sent a wave of force into the mirror, sending a thousand cracks spiderwebbing through the glass, the entire thing beginning to slide down off the wall. The tinkle of glass contrasted brightly with the patter of rain. "I've seen monsters. I've killed monsters. I've killed monsters here. I see none before me."

[Stygian]

'You see none,' Stygian said darkly, narrowing her eyes. She snorted. 'Well, you don't surprise me. Do you think I'm joking?' She turned on the spot and paced around aggravatedly, running her hand through her hair before twisting back and locking her gaze on Cog's.
   'Do you know what that was?' she asked him sharply. 'That was Hell. Or the Dark, or the Twilight. Call it what you wish. It is here, all around us. Everywhere we look.' She stepped up close, nearly snarling, tips of fangs showing over smooth lips. 'This world that we see is but a knife's edge between the endless reaches on each side of it. And I have been there. In the dark.' She leaned in.
   'The flesh and blood is the mask, the material. But there, the soul is what matters. What do you think I showed you?' she hissed, and paused, taking in the look of realization in his eyes. 'How do you think I know what I am? I didn't forget when I died.'
   She stood straight again so she wouldn't have to look up at him so much and folded her arms across her chest.
   'Let go and try and understand. Before you do, you'll never surprise me,' she said bitterly.

[Cogidubnus]

"You think I'm joking?" Cog said, dropping his hand. "I understand more than you think."
He took in her countenance, arms crossed and her eyes glowering, and sighed. "Just because I don't like what I see, doesn't give me the right to deny it, yes. You are what you showed me. Of this I have no doubt." He turned, meeting her glowing eyes. "But to say your a monster...would not ring true. After all. We should all be dead by now, then, shouldn't we?"
Cog turned towards the shattered mirror, and picked up a peice, idly turning it over in his hand before letting it tinkle back onto the floor. "If you are a monster, then you're no kind I've ever seen. And I don't mean you have teeth and scary looks." he said finally, turning. "Monsters don't act like you do. They don't let people stab them and throw thunderbolts at them at leave them unharmed." He walked up closer to her, staring into her eyes. They burned like coals. "Not to be flip, but they don't go buy coffee for people during storms. No...monsters don't care if they are monsters. They certainly don't show remorse about it. Ironically, it's just that...ah. I think I do see, Sebastian." He smiled at her sadly. "You do good, and yet...yes I do see." Cog paused for a moment. "You call me conflicted."
Before she could respond, however, Cog closed the distance, staring into her eyes. "But before you protest, hear this. I've seen you as you really are." He leaned forward, staring down at her. "I know. I understand. And I still want to be around you." he bit out, using every bit of height and tone he had to put weight into his words. "So don't tell me again I have no idea. Who knows. I may surprise you."
With that, Cog's face suddenly brightened, his eyes merry. Giving a toothy grin, he kissed her full on the mouth, and without giving her time to react trotted down the stairs.
"We'll be in the library, if you care to join." he called back pleasantly, boots crunching over glass before picking up his hat and glasses, and before Sebastian had gotten a word in edgewise he disappeared back down the hall, steaming cup in hand as he headed for the library.

[Sunblink]

While everyone loitered around the library and pondered about what to do next, Keaton spent a great deal of time studying the rearranged glyphs on the floor and adapting to her newly-masculine body. Surprisingly, after she had come to terms with the hopefully-temporary transformation she found that accepting this new form was relatively easy, if almost instant, once she had become engrossed with her work and thorough inspection of the circle. Recalling the original formation of the runes was insanely tedious work... almost maddening, really. But it was necessary, as difficult work as it was, as Keaton attempted to restore the circle back to its former state. As her finger touched the very tip of the nearest glyph she froze.

In the background, she distantly overheard Ketefe volunteer for something, garnering Keaton's attention. Tapered ears pivoted upright as Keaton glanced in their direction, removing the finger from the edge of the hieroglyph and draping her arm over her raised knee. She watched with a strange fascination as Rynkura worked her magic starting with Ketefe, resting her palm on the azure feline's forehead. Once she was finished, much to Keaton's amazement, she had been returned to normal.

Meanwhile, Mel too had succeeded in extricating the spell from her body, leaving it a squirming mass of darkness clenched between her claws. As the dragon lifted her hand an immense flash of light ignited in the palm of her claw, suffusing the room with energy. The shadows squealed and writhed, then retreated under a bookcase, Keaton's eyes involuntarily following the body of darkness as it withered and died.

After that impressive display, it seemed she was the only one left who was cursed. Either she could attempt her own devices, or she could accept Rynkura's offer. Ultimately, she decided it would be foolhardy to refuse an outstretched hand of assistance, and climbed to her feet, approaching the tiger.

"Alright," Keaton said, dusting her hands off. "I'm game. Go right ahead."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Stygian stood dumbstruck. Mouth slightly open, cheeks somewhat red, the bat looked perplexedly at Cog's back as he left, and then required a few more moments to gain composure. Then she sighed and shook her head, face turned into a frown. Of all the low blows... she began thinking. Still, she touched her lips once, and then took a long stare at the broken mirror, before swathing herself in shadow again and heading off.
   When Stygian returned to the library, he was holding a steaming cup of tea, not coffee, in his wrapped hand. Tattoo showing just slightly up his neck under his open shirt, he went over and leaned on a shelf and studied the progress of the group. It seemed that the only one who was still 'disorderly' was Keaton, and that was about to be solved. That was a relief. He would have minded getting pointed looks from the others, or upsetting things or looking like an ass just standing there watching, except he had his eyes on Cog and pondering some way of retribution.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha blinked at the hold that the raven had on her arm, the resistance it pulled as if expressing an outright insistence on staying right where it was.  Twice more as the storm gathered again, she shook her arm and gently tried to coax it into the outside, until a peal of lightning and droplets of rain had forced her to bring her hand back in again and close the shutters.

As the bird regarded her with quiet irritation, so she regarded it with a patient curiosity.  "Stubborn thing, huh?" she sighed.  "Well...at least I found you so no damage could be done to the place or you."  She shrugged.  "We'll try again later, if you don't mind."  For all that had happened in the castle, strangely, this wasn't the worst thing...she could handle a little raven sitting there for a while.  However funny it would be should the panthress be found talking to it.  Cheyenne would probably say I found a familiar, her eyes rolled.

Aisha looked around the corridor before finding the path back to the library, letting the creature choose a comfortable spot to sit but not letting it from her sight.  The jaguaress listened as the conditions outside continued over the skies, as if for the day the heavens were marking the point of the next great flood.

*     *     *

Rynkura nodded in assention as Keaton stepped forth, and for a moment the tigress's eyes flickered a bit of concern.  From what she had heard from Aisha of everyone's misadventures behind the simple-looking stone walls, the succubus seemed to keep her share of the bad luck, if more so.  She knew of the previous curse from that information and what it had took for the inflicted to rid themselves of it.  Yet still, what would she be thought of were she to discover...?

Oh but the unknown irony, she thought as the light magic once again gathered itself into her palm and her eyes took on the same glazed-over appearance, behind that of a steadfast healer.  All she really wanted to keep her mind on was helping her.  "I need not tell you what I had told Ketefe," she told the jackal, "But just the same, please try to keep your concentration."

And so she willed the holy spell to again pour over the jackal's countenance, but this time it was working a little slower, and she knew that it was because darkness was a part of Keaton's own being.  She willed and hoped it to still work.  And of course there was Mel nearby and the glyph that had been constructed perhaps should things fail.

She even acknowledged the presence of Stygian as he reappeared, but only silently.  The light drenched Keaton's outline and reached her feet...the same feelings came to her in what would have affected herself...perhaps the same warmth and comfort mixed with the discomfort of her spell taking hold of the other.

Rynkura muttered the same prayer as before.  Then the flares started again, bright and strong...the pressure tightening...the lines severing.

Still in the moments she could hear Keaton, she heard little complaints from the girl...she seemed strong-willed.  And within moments, she could feel the shadows of the spell as it gradually re-transformed her as it had Ketefe...the uncomfortable rearranging and shifting of skin, bone, and everything internal to external...then finally, the holds felt like they let go...and Rynkura's palm came away from the succubus, now herself again.