The Castle (IC) [M] {04}

[Prof B Hunnydew]

 Not knowing what to say to make things right, and knowing that anything she says right now, would  be unwelcome anyway.  Bambi was defeated and depressed, as she followed the others back to the castle... She wanted talk to Gina, but the ferret went ahead  to be by Aisha.. Bambi casted her umbrella spell over the Ferret, but let the rain hammer her down into the dark muddy path..She travelled to the castle with an embarrassed look and shameful feelings.

PBH

((Edit:
This thread has gone on long enough to be split. The earlier parts can be found at:
Section 01, posts 1-600
Section 02, posts 601-1200
Section 03, posts 1201-1800
All of these are in The Treasury.

Note also that the very first post, in section 01, has a very nice picture of The Castle itself, along with a probably useful description, and we recommend you read that at the very least.

Apologies for any disturbance caused. -- The Manglement ))

[Boog]

"Anytime I can be of service, Madmoiselle," Jeremiah replied with a bow of his own, mildly sillier. This the well deserved cold shoulder from yesterday, or does she just need to loosen up? Either way, best let it be. He fished one flashlight out of the basket before handing it back, remembering again at the last second to downgrade it from a grin to a smile, Just another little reminder...
"Well, if anyone needs me I'll be in the library," he said, waving over his shoulder as he walked away.

[Stygian]

The bat chuckled and closed her eyes, turning her face down. Arms laying over her legs, she rubbed her right thumb and index finger claw together a little, thinking.
   'No. I'm good,' she finally said, and dropped back on the bed, legs resting over the side. 'I'm thinking of getting some books up here or something...' Idly she lay there, waving her foot back and forth a bit, flexing and unflexing her long toes and claws, before she moved up and leaned over Cog's back, chin on his shoulder.
   'What do you think we should do? I'm going to have to check some things before I can start thinking of getting out of here. And I'd like to get hold of the papers for this castle. But right now...' she said, and sighed. 'Maybe the others would want a drink or something. I'm not being a very entertaining host.'

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel smiled back at Jeremiah as she took the basket and headed for the kitchen. Before she began unpacking the basket she conquered her fear of the stove enough to start water heating for tea. She didn't know who had eaten and who hadn't but tea would be warm and relaxing to those who had been chilled by the rain. By the time she had the basket empty the water was boiling. She found the tea service from before and began preparing a tray with the tea and some of the cookies the frog had picked out at the store.

[Sunblink]

Slightly discouraged after discovering Cogidubnus's room to be vacant, Keaton traversed aimlessly down the seemingly endless hallways of the castle, gaze shifting from side to side lifelessly in search for any sign or hint of the bespectacled wolf's presence. After what felt like hours of fruitless hunting, she started to detect something--unadulterated, exhilirating. A very outspoken emotional presence, especially in someplace as dreary and desolate as an abandoned castle... especially the emotions which quickly accompanied it. Humiliation or embarassment seemed to be accenting the rush of other emotions, up until something much more pleasant slithered its way through the stream.

A Creature often depicted in ancient legend as a carnal beast leeching off of desire and lascivious emotions very much knew where such emotions flowed from.

Keaton cursed loudly. And she ran faster, although part of her was uncertain about whether or not she wanted to arrive at her destination.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

The bat made another sigh, not minding how distracting the impression of her on his back must have been for Cog, and moved around, placing herself in his lap again where he sat, the bedsheet almost sliding off her.
   'I'm going to get going now, Cog. The others have to be back by now,' she said, looking at him. 'I think I owe Ketefe an apology.' Then, suddenly, she grinned, baring long fangs. 'I think I've apologized enough to you already. But if you want to talk more magic, or if there's anything else you want, don't be afraid to ask...' she said, and then quickly reached around and pinched Cog's butt with her sharp claws. Down below, Keaton felt another twinge of sadistic pleasure.
   It was when Stygian lazily began removing herself from Cog that she suddenly stopped and turned to look toward the entrance to the room, hearing quick and heavy steps from below. The next second Keaton rushed in.

[Sunblink]

Almost the instant Stygian had predicted the abrupt arrival of Keaton, aforementioned jackal burst into the room, Catastrophe drawn and energy sparking around the mace's spiked globe and handle. Expression was resolutely set in a sharp, vicious, battle-ready posture, teeth bared like enamel daggers and ears slanted back against the depression of her skull--a gesture reserved solely for any potential victim of her mace. She was here! She could distinctly feel Stygian and Cogidubnus's presences in this room, where the emotions were at the strongest and swirling through the room like a miasmatic fog, bathing the chamber like a sauna.

Moving instinctually, Keaton whirled to face Stygian, preparing a spell. No time to think or negotiate. If he had Cogidubnus in here he was inevitably going to devour him, past experiences be damned. She just needed to--

Before Keaton could even shout a battle cry or begin blindly firing off every spell in her arsenal, she caught a glimpse of chiropteran and canine in their promiscuous position.

And that glimpse was all she needed for her entire body to fall slack. The hand holding Catastrophe fell at her side, the other one drooping simultaneously, the residue of her spell defusing in her palm. All signs of hostility evaporated nearly instantly from Keaton's once tense and bloodthirsty expression. Under her vibrant yellow fur, the color began to drain, leaving her skin a cadaverous shade.

That explained the emotions, at least.

Color in her cheeks swept back in, flooding her flesh with a very bright and uncharacteristically feminine pink as she watched the two react, and slowly put together every clue presented. Slowly, Keaton began to take a few steps back, unable to remove her eyes from the two. Then, carefully, she edged her way out the room, making her way to the door. Opening it, she finally slipped out the room, gently closing it behind her with a nigh-inaudible click.

Then she collapsed against the wall outside of the room, sinking lower, lower, until her rear hit the floor and she was blankly staring against the far wall, digesting all she had seen with startling slowness.

FUCK.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog made a noise in his throat as the bat leaned up against him, looking at her from the corner of his eye as she rested on his shoulder. He smiled, taking another drink of his whiskey, letting the patter of raindrops fill the room for a moment before responding.
"Entertaining? I don't think you need to worry about that. I mean, I don't know about the others..." he said, taking another drink, his eyes sliding over to meet the bat's own. "But I can't say it's been boring." He grinned.
Cog raised an eyebrow as she swung herself back into his lap, smirking slightly at her antics. He nodded as she spoke, he opened his mouth to speak, but instead let out a tiny yelp as she pinched his butt, his eyes suddenly narrowing in mock anger. He looked at her for a moment, and laughed, eyes softening, and adjusted himself to let her up. "Well. Go find Ketefe then. And...about myself, I'm glad you finally think so. I'm sure the oth-" Cog stopped, following Sebastian's own gaze towards the door, a puzzled expression on his face.

  As if the hounds of hell were behind her, Keaton burst through the door, her mace Catastrophe blazing in her hands, an expression of utter vengeance on her face.

Almost as quickly as she'd run into the room, however, the Jackal stopped, as though she'd run into a brick wall, mace falling from her hands. Suddenly, painfully aware of his surroundings, Cog stared at the Jackal succubus aghast, one eye narrowed in twitching horror. He didn't quite know what to do - the Jackal could not possibly have come at a worse time...well, yes, she could have, but this was almost as bad -  the bat sitting on his lap, sheets strewn about madly, both of them naked, a glass of whiskey in hand...
  His mouth hung open, and Cog made a few strangling noises as they stared at each other, the Wolf and the Jackal, Cog quickly returning to deathly silence. He almost made as if to gesture something, raising a finger before his hand quickly fell back down to his side, seemingly defeated. His eyes never pealed off her, watching the Jackal slowly edge away and close the door softly, the nearly inaudible click like a thunderbolt in the silent room. Almost as soon as the door closed, Cog dropped his drink. The glass thumped onto the floor, a sound not unlike like a corpse hitting the ground.
Outside, a brief flash of thunder lit the room.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha sighed as she entered her room and closed the door behind her, the voices shut away and the quiet was left to herself for the time being...the only exception was the flapping of wings as the raven hopped from her shoulder and perched on the bed's headstand.  Uncaring, the panthress found her dry and clean adventuring clothes and changed out of the ones she borrowed from the castle, placing them on the windowsill to dry...hard to do, as it looked like the sun wasn't making an appearance anytime soon.  I wonder just how many times I'm going to have to fix these, she snorted.

When she finished, she turned to regard the raven, which had been idly preening itself before turning its ebony head to stare at her again.  She stared back, regarding it with curiosity with her arms crossed.  "Well bird, now that that's over, I'm still wondering how the heck you were able to find me.  And why you keep following me.  I thought you weren't gonna fly in a storm," she smirked, then laughed with a mutter.  "Listen to me, I'm talking to a raven.  I doubt it can talk back either."

With a dismissive shrug, Aisha tied the cape around her neck again.  "Ah well, if you still want to follow, you can, cuervito.  Not like you've been much trouble yet."  The panthress left the door to her room open as she exited so the raven had the freedom to fly after her if it wanted.

Her mind off of the evening's shortcomings for the time being, the panthress wondered where to go next.  She figured on the library...surely her studious mentor still had her nose in a book or two, if she knew her.  But it was then that the calming scents of tea and cookies wafted from the kitchen and was caught by the felid's nostrils.  Well, I guess I have my answer.  She followed it and eventually came upon Mel, the one doing the culinary preparing.

"That looks pretty good, Mel," she smiled to the dragon and reached for a cup of tea.  "I guess your time in town was worthwhile."

[Stygian]

There was a shocked silence, as Keaton shut the door and left Cog and Stygian sitting. Ten, twelve seconds probably passed, the wolf's glass just slipping out of his hand and the bat not moving an inch. Then, the bat's ear twitched. She began shaking. At first it was just confusing, but then, as she failed to stay up and leaned down over Cog's knees, her face came into view, eyes closed and teeth clenched hard. She opened her mouth and let out a laugh that came out as hissing breaths first. She slipped off Cog's knees and hit the floor with a thud, sheet under her, but just lay there next to his glass, shaking with near-silent laughter.
   'Ahahahahehe...! Aaaw Hell... Damn but this is fucked up,' she said, once she had caught enough breath, slowly sitting up. She looked at Cog, grinning, wiping a tear from her eye, and then got to her feet, still chuckling. Her form began writhing and crawling even as she did her wrappings, slipping into black clothes with practiced quickness, and turned, changed back into her earlier form. He walked over toward the door with smooth, silent steps, and knocked it twice.
   'Excuse me, Keaton. Could you please move?' he said with a smirk.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel looked up at Aisha's words. "Yes, Jeremiah and I picked up quite a lot of items. I hope what we bought will suit everyone. Your time in town seemed quite productive in a different way. What did I miss while I was dining and shopping?" Mel slid the plate of cookies nearer the feline as she took up a cup of tea for herself. "I came in as Bambi smashed the window," she prompted.

[Sunblink]

On the other side of the door, Keaton sat against its surface, still looking very shocked and very red in her cheeks, turning her whole face into an embarassed inferno. Aside from a few instinctual blinks she looked very similar to a face-flushed statue, unmoving save for those few, ocular gestures. After what felt like weeks of stunned inactivity her brain finally started to work aside from interjecting any efforts of coherent thought with the mental image of she-Stygian draped in Cogidubnus's lap.

'Well, wasn't that a lovely little sight,' Keaton thought to herself, still seemingly paralyzed. 'Now what to say next when I inevitably see those Cog? I can already see myself now. 'Oh, lovely to see you again! What smashing weather we're having, and you look so healthy too. By the way, I saw you two in the midst of an aftermath of something probably unmentionable without offending the weaker-minded and as naked as the day you were born, which definitely came as a shock because I was expecting to see Stygian devouring you alive. Have fun? By the way, here's that book you wanted back, I'm afraid I spilled a bit of grape juice on the second page, but it was a jolly good read.''

Well, it sounded much better the first time it passed through her mind.

Before she could review again she heard Stygian's voice, giving her the same sensation that jabbing someone with a six-thousand-volt taser would. 'OhshitIforgotheknows.' She knew that she would have to react some time, though, five minutes of keeping her hands over her mouth and furious blushing later, and stood up numbly after kicking her body into motion. Fumbling for the doorknob, she opened the door, and stared with a strange amount of calmness at the once-again-male Stygian.

A second of silence later she said the first thing that came to mind.

"...Hi," she said in utter monotone.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Aisha deCabre]

"Hmph," Aisha scoffed slightly as she poured her cup and reached towards the plate for a cookie, sitting down as she did so.  "Productive isn't quite the word for what happened.  But it seems today wasn't the best day to be strangers in that town."

She took a sip from the cup, savoring the warmth in her throat, and continued.  "I chose to relax in the tavern and Ketefe, Gina, and Bambi joined me after a while."  She sighed.  "I guess there was some kind of disturbance following them...a succubus murdered in an alleyway by the square.  A policeman came into the tavern and made a beeline for the four of us.  I tried to reason calmly with the guy, as did the rest of us, so that we would be let go without suspicion...even when my little raven friend flew in and landed on my head during so."

The panther spared a quick smirk, but her eyes narrowed.  "But I guess the biggest mistake was actually thinking it could be pulled off.  Bambi went and told him that we were looking into the Castle, and that we had come from it...then proceeded to try escaping through the window, after magically transforming in front of a bunch of suspicious magic-haters, leaving us to deal with things...on top of that probably not having the notion that she could have been endangering us.  She came right back though, but still...that Fae is just too impulsive for anyone's own good." she gave an exasperated growl.

"So much for being covert.  The policeman let us go...but now we're forbidden from stepping foot back into the town again.  The people down there seem to be very superstitious about this place."  She rubbed the bridge of her nose and took another sip of the tea, having not touched the cookie.  Aisha nibbled the edge of it and looked back up at Mel.  "But thanks to you and Jeremiah it seems we have enough to last until they forget, anyway," she smiled.

But she couldn't help but wonder about the choice of revealing the murderer.  People were uneasy enough already...

[Stygian]

For a moment, Stygian stood, looking down at Keaton and using every bit of his advantage in height and the dim lighting to make an impression, dark eyes boring into the jackal's.
   'Hey. What were you doing?' he said, no longer a smirk on his face but rather a vicious, content and deceptively mild smile. The fact that he'd obscured his emotions and thoughts back to unreadable darkness was probably just as unnerving to Keaton, her being a Cubi. She didn't answer quickly, off-balance as she was, and he didn't let her.
   'Did you think...?' he said, face going solemnly serious for a second. 'Oh. Of course. That's right. I'm a monster, so...' Slowly, he took a step toward her. 'Well, you weren't entirely wrong, you know? I could still stomach some more.' He took another step, that smile creeping back onto his face, and Keaton was forced to retreat to avoid him coming closer.
   Suddenly, Keaton heard a hiss next to her. Next, she felt something brush against her leg. As she looked, she saw things, tentacles of viscous darkness, slither about her, emerging from under Stygian's shirt. A little demonic head, eyeless and with a sharp snout full of wickedly long teeth, hovered just over her shoulder, a long, slim tapered tongue running between its teeth. When her gaze returned to the bat, he had already begun changing, black veins spreading around his eyes and tendrilous things moving under his skin.
   'You've seen something I'd rather you didn't,' he said, voice creeping. 'And I would like another snack...' he said, and took another step toward her.

[Cogidubnus]

 As soon as the Jackal had left, Cog shook his head, as though waking up from a bad dream, muttering under his breath. His eyes, however, were still wide as plates, and a deep, red blush was beginning to suffuse his features.
The bat sliding off his lap and thumping onto the floor seemed to jar the wolf back into reality. He cursed, leaning over to see if the she was alright. Foolish, really - considering everything they'd been through, a thump on the floor was nothing. What he saw, however, was completely unexpected.
He'd expected many things from the bat, shock, surprise, anger, or perhaps embarrassment, but not amusement. She was practically shaking with laughter. Cog continued to turn a brighter shade of red, and was about to stand when the bat got up, redressing herself and changing back into her...his, previous form.
Taking advantage of the interlude, Cog dressed himself quickly, pants and belt followed quickly by a shirt, then his shoes as he picked up his jacket and threw it over his shoulders, the cloth fanning out for a moment before settling down. Passing his arms through the sleeves was strangely comforting, and as he donned his jacket he picked up his sword and slid it back into his belt. His clothes were still a little damp from the rain, but at that moment they were the finest regalia he'd ever worn.
He turned as Sebastian knocked on the door, calling out to Keaton. He grimaced, panic suddenly evident in his eyes, and picking up his glass he poured himself another glass and turned to the window, gazing at the storm. He took a long drink, trying desperately from keeping his mind blank, the blush on his face still unfading. He turned as the door clicked, however, the Jackal coming back into the room.
Cog took a rattling breath, and steeling himself, turned around to completely face the Jackal, setting the whiskey down beside him. He almost spoke, his mouth opening, but the bat beat him to it, suddenly bearing down on the hapless succubus.
Despite the fact he knew the bat was only having a bit of fun with her, Cog found himself hard-pressed to laugh. He sighed instead, sitting down in his chair, and took a swallow of his resting whiskey.

[Sunblink]

Keaton wasn't exactly expecting for Stygian to react calmly to her impromptu entrance before. In fact, if she weren't staring in complete and utter terror, the blush which had been firmly emblazoned in her cheeks having faded away into that exsanguinous, lurid hue, she probably would've predicted what would happen next.

But if there was anything she had learned about Stygian by now, it was that he was, first and foremost, unpredictable.

The fact she couldn't absorb any emotions from him, or detect anything about his countenance was already unnerving. But when those rippling, squirming shapes started to stream from the shadows, slowly taking on the shape of something vilely serpentine, maybe even wyrm-like, and one of them brushed her leg, she nearly gave into that uncharacteristic feminine streak dictating her reactions and screamed. Hypersensitive, perhaps. Anything could set her off, especially something so unpleasant. Where the fuck was Catastrophe? Oh right, she had dropped 'him' when she stood up to answer the door. Attempting to edge away from the sinuous shape extending toward her from Stygian's shirt, Keaton nervously took a step back, forgetting exactly where Stygian had been cornering her and exactly what was behind her.

Her foot moved, heel starting to press against the subtle rise of the ledge behind her.

She felt herself fall.

Keaton's head snapped 'round over her shoulder, watching in wide-eyed horror as the darkness the stairs were leading into seemed to virtually open up to invite her form inside. Could've been her own surprise, could've been an exaggeration applied by her feverish mind, but it didn't change the fact that what undoubtedly awaited her was the painful and bone-breaking collision against the side of the stairs, and the tumultuous roll downward.

Instead, just as a half-scream, half-curse (likely something along the lines of "God-fucking-DAMMIT") started to escape her mouth, an alabaster-gold hand swept out and hooked around Keaton's waist, effortlessly pulling her away from the stairs and toward the body it belonged to, out of harm's way.

Or not. She wasn't sure what was preferrable. Being eaten, or getting her neck broken on the edge of a dangerously-pointed stair.

'Either way,' Keaton thought, unconsciously feeling a bead of sweat roll down her forehead, 'I'm not going to get a choice.'

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Still holding Keaton, Stygian leaned in and looked her straight in the eyes from close up. Now he was grinning.
   'Or, you could sit down and help yourself to a drink,' he said, voice slowly returning to normal. The veins were already retreating, his appearance miraculously regressing from corrupted ferocity back to pallid beauty. 'Or leave, if that is your choice. Because I'd much rather that than eat you. Honestly, I think you'd be too sweet.'
   Before Keaton could get another word in, the bat had let her go and started descending the stairs, the last snaking forms of blackness slipping back up under his shirt, leaving her standing there next to the half-open door.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel snorted her tea, "She told that bunch of hicks that we'd come down from the haunted castle? Could she have found anything worse to say?" The dragon shook her head, "I'm surprised we were only banished." She nibbled her own cookie. "What was it that got her so wound up about that dead woman? She made me go look at the body." 

[Sunblink]

When Stygian grinned, Keaton found herself involuntarily trying to force her lips to form a smile, although she failed miserably, only managing to make the slightest corners twitch. Either way, Stygian didn't seem to mind, as he seemed much more jovial than what she had originally suspected he would react. What, he was letting her live? After all she had seen, his little episode with Cogidubnus possibly not included? Apparently so, because he was leaving to descend the stairs the next moment.

Keaton tensely watched him disappear down the stairs step by step until he vanished from sight.

Well, she couldn't argue with that judgment.

Suddenly feeling a monster of a headache slip inside of her brain, Keaton trudged with a visible lack of enthusiasm towards the door, being sure to scoop up Catastrophe on the way inside the room Cog was in. Hopefully he had taken the opportunity to get dressed, and wasn't too pissed about her little interruption, otherwise she would be re-introduced to the very definition of awkward. Not that she wasn't considering it worse than what she had just experienced. Today was just not turning out to be a good day.

"Uh, hi," Keaton said from outside the door's threshold, keeping her eyes averted. "Please tell me you're dressed, or at least covered, Cog."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

 If Keaton had been looking as she had entered the room, she would have seen Cog sipping a glass of whiskey as he stared out one of the windows. He was a bit more composed, although he still seemed to be breathing deeply, and his eyes seemed a little...wild. He nearly jumped at the Jackal's words however, managing to suppress it into merely a slight tremor. He took a long drink before setting his glass down, and turning to view the Jackal succubus. He sighed, turning around to face her.
"Yes. I'm dressed." he said, voice strangely resigned. He only managed to not begin blushing again by sheer force of will. He grabbed the glass that Sebastian had left behind and set it on the drink table, turning to regard the Jackal succubus.
"About what you saw." he began, looking at the Jackal forlornly. He seemed to pause for a moment, mouth twisting, and turned back to the drink table. "The anwser is yes. Now," he said, picking up a bottle and topping off his own glass before setting it down, and turning to regard the succubus again, his voice just slightly off-kilter. "Would you care for a drink?"

[Sunblink]

Somewhat relieved by Cogidubnus's answer, Keaton glanced back into the room, looking rather sullen and still slightly pallid from what she felt was a close encounter with a very violent death. The fellow canine still appeared nervous despite his earnest efforts to suppress it, probably awkward and embarassed, and he practically radiated tension. Keaton didn't begrudge him that. If someone had walked in on her like that, then the results would have been far, far worse. Actually, she would've killed the unfortunate witness involved.

Ah, she could be so predictable sometimes. It was almost depressing.

Upon Cog's invitation Keaton somewhat hesitantly entered the room, looking crestfallen and exhausted (quite a feat for a creature which had no need for sleep), but otherwise grateful to be alive as she wiped her forehead free of sweaty residue. "Yeah. I really need a drink," she said tiredly, using a tentacle conjured from her exposed midsection to set Catastrophe back in its holster.

Stealing a bottle of whiskey, Keaton sat down nearby at a reasonably comfortable distance. No glass, of course. She preferred to drink from the bottle. "And in case you're wondering..." Keaton expertly gulped down a good deal of whiskey, then lowered the bottle, already looking rather pacified after getting some alcohol in her system, and continued as calmly as she could. "...and at the risk of making you feel even more uncomfortable, I'm not going to tell anyone about this little episode. I mean, I may be a bitch, but I'm not that much of one. To be frank I'm just glad you're in one piece."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Boog]

Jeremiah had already sat down in the library to get to work when he finally realized what would probably speed things up. Talking to the person responsible for creating the specter curse in the first damn place. With a groan, he sent an illusionary message down the hall to seek out Gina and request a private chat. Probably shouldn't have been so worried about asking her in the first place. Admittedly, only a couple days ago she was a maniacal angel bent on killing all of us, but now she seems more likely to hide behind Bambi than do any vengeful smiting. All in all, unlikely to be a threat to others. Perhaps... He thought back on the previous day and winced at how freaking familiar it all was. Like when your friends suggest that you do something stupid and you're JUST drunk enough to listen, except the voice your listening to is in your own head. Perhaps with her aid, that could be true of myself again too.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog coughed a bit at the Jackal's words, especially the last bit, as he sat down in his chair. He crossed his legs, resting his elbow on one of them, and took a sip as he regarded the Jackal. He smiled slightly.
"Well, thank you. But honestly...knowing Sebastian..." he said, a slight, breathy groan escaping him as he leaned back. "Well, let's say I'm not worried about you telling anyone." Cog finished, taking a slight sip of whiskey. "Well, I knew I'd be paying for it, in one way or another..." he murmured, suddenly smirking. He stayed that way for a bit before returning to reality suddenly coughing. Not able to keep even a slight flush from his face, he took a sip of his drink and leaned forward, resting his head in his palm.
"Anyway. About that last bit...that's something you should probably talk to the bat about." he said, his eyes taking on a contemplative cast. It was strange-looking, the sudden, deep look juxtaposed with the panicked, wild-eyed glare of extreme embarrassment.
Cog broke the sudden silence. "Do Sebastian a favor, would you? Don't...at least talk to him, before telling the others." he said, sighing. "It's...well. Just talk to him."
Cog's last morose statement seemed to die in the air. Desperately trying to keep the situation from growing any more awkward, he suddenly began again, interjecting past the pattering rain on the windows.
"What were you even doing up here, anyway?"

[Sunblink]

Pierced eyebrow quirked irritably as Keaton took another, lengthy sip from the seemingly bottomless whiskey bottle, mostly in response to Cogidubnus's remark that Stygian would likely inform someone about their little bedtime misadventure. Gulping down the alcohol, Keaton rested the bottle on the table, wiping away the residual vestiges of whiskey from her lips with the back of her hand.

"Seriously. Why would he tell someone?" she asked, honestly intrigued, although somewhat unnerved by the idea of confronting the bat again. Considering he likely had the potential of disposing of her within a few minutes, she was, admittedly, almost certain that if things turned ugly he would emerge from their skirmish victorious. "Though, yeah... I should probably talk to him," she stated somewhat reluctantly.

'Grow a spine, Keaton,' she thought bitterly, 'Suck it up. You're not some idiotic brat scared of the monster under her bed. You have a mace and extensive dark magic abilities, and you're not afraid to use them. Act like it.'

In response to Cog's next question, Keaton coughed, then sighed in resignation. "Can I be perfectly honest? I thought that Sebastian was going to kill you," she said, "And I was soooo dead set on charging in at the last minute and saving you. Funny how the world works."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Angel]

Ketefe was still in the main room, leaning in the same spot. She was going to join the others in the kitchen soon. She just needed a minute for everything that had gone on that day to sink in.

So... in the course of one day, I've switched genders, switched back, withheld information about a somewhat-planned murder, and been banned from setting foot in a town. Should I write Jarevei about this or not?

She smiled a little at her own mental question, then tilted her ear. She heard footsteps approaching.

[Aisha deCabre]

Rynkura's ears quirked as she finally heard a couple of those far-off footsteps coming through the entrance to the library.  She had been standing behind a bookshelf somewhere near the central point, the enchantment book she was reading still on the table.  She listened for a moment, then peered out of the shadows to see whom it was.

"Ah, Jeremiah, welcome back," the tigress greeted with a polite smile, pausing before she moved across to another shelf.  She remembered the frog once before...and she noticed he looked just a smidge pensive at that.  "I take it your time in town was enjoyable?" she inquired.  Surely there was someone who could elaborate on the supposed problem.

*     *     *

Aisha finished the rest of the warm drink, chuckling just a bit at Mel's reaction to her story.  As she reached over to pour a little more into the cup, the panthress shook her head as an answer to her inquiry.  "I wish I knew...people usually stay far away from a murder scene.  But from what I heard from the way she tried to talk to the policeman, she wanted to be a help in solving it."  She shrugged.  "The fae's heart is in the right place at times, but..."

She left the sentence at that.  Perhaps it was the calming influence of the tea and cookies, but she felt her aggravation on the matter start to dwindle, and thus figured any more behind-the-back talk wouldn't warrant anything useful.  "Hm, anyway, perhaps the matter will be cleared soon.  It's not like they can hold a grudge against people whom they think won't be coming back alive, for long."  She snorted a laugh.  "Underestimators.  He didn't have a high opinion of women like us either."

[Stygian]

Just a second or two after her noticing, Stygian walked in on Ketefe, a clip in his step that made his walk audible for a change. He stopped, and turned toward her, eying her with the same content smile he had given Keaton upstairs.
   'Ah. So you came back. Glad to see,' he said. 'I was afraid that I'd put you off somehow. You seemed... tense, earlier.' Slowly he stepped closer and looked down at her.
   'You have eaten, I presume? If not, I could always throw something together,' he said gently. 'I'm heading to the kitchen anyway.' He gave her one last intense look and then paced away, walking in on Aisha and Mel shortly after.
   'Evening ladies,' he said, walking over to a cupboard. 'How was dinner?'

[Boog]

"Hm? Oh absolutely," Jeremiah looked up from one of the numerous books he'd been searching through, "Found the nicest little bookshop. However, I think the others got into some trouble," he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I don't know all the details, but I think Bambi pissed off the cops. Then again..." the frog drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully, "It may just be a bad time to look like an adventurer down there. This cubi woman was found dead not too far from the bar where the rest of them were hanging out." He shook his head, "Yeesh. Curses, monsters, maniacs, whatever the hell Stygian is..." he gave a weak chuckle and thumbed through the book before him some more, "This sort of thing normal for you adventuring types?"

[Aisha deCabre]

Listening to the frog as she continued to browse, Rynkura's ears flattened against her skull as the events from the town came to her knowledge.  A murder? She thought, just a little surprised...but she suddenly seemed to understand what made Keaton edgy before, if she had been one to see it.

Bypassing those thoughts, she chuckled at the frog's question.  "Ah, my adventuring days are mostly far behind me...but I would imagine that such things are still part of what they have to go through, yes."  The tigress took another title from off the shelf and studied it...then when she started to thumb through it, her eye caught the ring on a finger of her left hand: remnant of such a past.

"There are more dangerous things in this world than anyone would bother to look for," she relayed.  "For adventurers it's just another day of work."  The healer's head shook thoughtfully.  "But perhaps the situation was called for."

At least I believe it wasn't one of their group.  There seems to be a few more Creatures than anything here.

*     *     *

Before she had recieved an answer, Aisha quirked her head upon hearing the bat's familiar voice as he strolled into the kitchen.  She kept her expression neutral (easy to do after a tired day anyway), but she couldn't help remembering what she had been told.  Was Gina mistaken?

Or maybe it's just unneeded paranoia.

"Mmh," she hummed a greeting while taking another sip from her cup.  "Oh we didn't eat much yet...at least I didn't.  Just getting an appetite ready though," she grinned.  "Haven't had a meal here yet to complain about."

[Stygian]

The bat took out some bottles from the cupboard and looked at Aisha.
   'Well, if you would want to, I could cook something quick up for you now. It wouldn't be too much of a bother. How about the others? You, Mel?' he said, looking at the dragon. 'Ketefe? Richard? Bam? Gina?' He began preparing a platter of things from another cabinet as well, stacking up small confections and fetching ice.
   'I will mention too that you are all welcome to join me for a few drinks in the northern tower.'

- -

Back in the library, Gina suddenly walked in on Jeremiah and Rynkura, placing herself at the end of the bookshelf next to Jeremiah and starting to peer through the many volumes with a serious look. Somehow though, the frog knew that was not actually what she was doing, but waiting.