The Castle (IC) [M] {04}

[Sunblink]

Hackles rose as Stygian encircled her, Keaton's eyes tensely, unconsciously following his path until he vanished from immediate sight (Keaton adamantly refused to turn her head, as though she was certain it would expose her vulnerability). He listed the drinks in that questionable, secretive tone of his, making Keaton's brow furrow at the names of the beverages, especially that of the Mind-Eraser. Admittedly the Orgasm was hilarious by name, but she was too preoccupied to give into her immature streak and laugh at it.

Was Stygian trying to insinuate something unpleasant, specifically that he would completely brainwash her and remove all incriminating memories from her mind? That was... he couldn't do that, could he? Her mind was thoroughly-fortified and he wasn't a Cubi... was he? Come to think of it, she had no idea about his race.

"Uh..." Keaton kept that artificial smile intact, finally turning her head slightly so she could at least offer a slight glimpse at Stygian. "I'm actually not in the mood for a drink. For once..."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Angel]

Ketefe almost laughed at the "Orgasm" drink Stygian mentioned, but somehow, the atmosphere seemed too tense to allow it. Keaton was looking more nervous than usual, and even Cog, although more relaxed than the jackal, looked somewhat tense. Only Stygian looked completely at ease and happy to see the new arrivals. Somehow, this made Ketefe a bit more nervous, although she didn't show it.

When Keaton refused a drink, Ketefe nodded. "I don't really drink, to tell the truth. Coffee sounds good, though." She glanced around for an empty chair, and upon finding one, sat down with one leg folded Indian style underneath her and the other one drawn up to her chest, resting her palms on her knee. For some reason, that was what felt comfortable at the moment.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel was casually inspecting one of the pictures on the wall when Sebastian asked what everyone was drinking. "Whatever is easiest," she answered. Then she went back to trying to figure out the rather unusual painting. It was an odd thing of buildings that couldn't possibly stand and water flowing uphill. But it seemed to fit the room. She turned back to the group, hoping all the uneasy people had time to compose themselves.

[Cogidubnus]

The air in the room was veritably solid, everyone in the room seemingly catching on to the vibes that he and Keaton were giving out. Breifly feeling his gut clench in response, Cog willed himself to relax, taking another sip of his soothing drink and letting the dark, smooth warmth unwind him. He exhaled, his eyes sliding over the group, but only briefly stopping on the bat.
"An?" he said, taking a quick drink, and then addressing the others. "They really are rather good. Warms you quite well after being out in that rain." Cog motioned to the storm outside, and then nodded his head at Ketefe.
"A fellow coffee drinker. I was beginning to think myself alone." he grinned, sipping.

[Stygian]

The response was less than enthusiastic, and Stygian knew he was the cause. Still, in the spirit that he was, that certainly did not put him off. He gave a sly look to both Keaton and Ketefe, and snorted. He had a clear opinion of people unwilling to poison themselves just a little, not seeing how
   'Come on,' he said, teasingly. 'It doesn't become an addiction just because you take one little drink. That caffeine is just as dangerous to you. And more addictive.' He slowly began pouring up a wide cup of coffee, and then added a slight bit of milk and Bailey's to it and stirred, setting it on a platter and gently handing it over to the cat.
   'Go on. I'm sure you will find the taste to your liking,' he said warmly, then turned to Keaton. 'As for you, I've noticed how much you seem to like whiskey. So how about a Tennessee Cowboy? I served one earlier. Believe me, it will fire you up.' He put his hand on her shoulder for just a bit.
   When Mel answered indifferently and turned around though, he thought she was making just another exit out of the conversation and company. Under the circumstances, that would be an utter moodkiller. Even dragons could get drunk, couldn't they?
   'Fair enough. Then let's see...' he said, turning toward the dragon and looking at her very intensely, slightly under his brows. 'How about a White Lady then?' He smiled.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel nodded agreeably at Sebastian, "That would be fine. Interesting picture you have here. Is it a whimsy or does the water actually run uphill in your gardens? Grandmother tried that once but eventually gave it up. Water gardens are problematic of themselves where we live without messing up nature even further." She laughed, "Not to mention the nuisance of hatchlings jumping in to ride up the waterleap." She was babbling a bit, but Mel hoped that others would put aside their tensions for a short while and take up the lightness of the conversation. Whatever was troubling them would not get better staring grimly at one another.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"Please, Healer don't let me stop you from joining the others, I must reflect on my place here.  Or anywhere.  I know I am young for a Fae and if I run home now I maybe restricted to Fae kingdom for 500 years or more." see the gloomy Fae.  Bambi sits quiet with her tea and watchs the rain out the window.

PBH

[Aisha deCabre]

As Rynkura walked amidst the shelves, but still nearby to the Fae so that she could hear what was going on, she had to shake her head with a slight bit of pity for the girl.  She sounded distraught, and perhaps rightly so...but just because there was a storm outside, there was no reason for anyone to act just as depressed.  At least that had always been her way of looking at a seemingly bleak life.

After a bit of silence, she heard Bambi drop the matter herself, to which point the tigress just chuckled in reply.  "I'm afraid I have nowhere else to go.  I wanted to stay in the library, and that's where I am.  You however..."

She paused and gave her a comforting smile. "You shouldn't be just sitting and sulking.  If you want to learn how to control and limit your powers, there's a whole resource here to choose from."  She waved her arm around the whole large gallery of books as if to present it.  "That is if you have the patience to search.  As for the Fae Kingdom, who knows.  Maybe it would do you a much better good to be around your own kind, instead of this world where people tend to loathe magic rather than encourage it.  But the choice is indeed yours."

The tigress gathered her empty plate and started out of the library and towards the kitchen to wash it, but giving her one last look before going through the door.  "Just take what I had said before to mind, and you shouldn't have any trouble."

As she made the trip to the kitchen and back, after washing and putting the plate in its proper place, Rynkura couldn't help but keep her eyes on the storm outside whenever she passed a window, and for once she swore that perhaps it was finally starting to recede.  There was a break in the dark clouds, in favor of what she could see of the sunset giving a simple little streak on the sky's horizon...still it was hard to tell what position the sun was really in, but it was there.

Oh what blessed hope, the healer thought before she started back to another table to study the books she had picked...but on the way, in the hallway before the doors, she thought that her sensitive ears picked up the sound of flapping wings, somewhere far off.

*     *     *

Back in the room, Aisha leaned back in her seat as she observed the goings-on.  Her face had a neutral, placid look, but her ears were pinned straight back to her skull in the presence of the discomforting air looming about their heads.  Despite the light-hearted atmosphere that mingled, the mood was only slowly deteriorating.

Waiting for her drink, the pathress glanced towards Mel as she examined the painting on the wall.  At least the dragoness had the right idea, turning from one distraction to another and keeping conversation alive.  She took a look at the piece of artwork from where she was positioned as well, and found herself looking over the fine details just as much.

"If water flowed uphill around here, somehow I wouldn't find it surprising," Aisha stated dryly and crossed her arms behind her head.  "Magic.  Anything it doesn't do?"

[Stygian]

As he leaned over the table, fixing up drinks for the others, Stygian raised an eyebrow at the girls and their conversation.
   'Actually, I'm not so sure that painting isn't just upside down. It's not my choice; it was here already. I never was much for the surrealistic,' he said, and chuckled. It took a short while before he was done with the drinks. When he was, he handed them out calmly, and strolled over beside Mel, taking a closer look at the piece.
   'There are various strange and curious things in this castle. The Caerules were avid collectors of more than just art. Doing as much traveling and business as they did, for such a long time, gave them ample opportunity to stock up on... exotics, of all sorts,' he said, and sipped his drink, before sliding out his arm and handing Aisha a glass. 'Here. This should fit you. I didn't know just what to whip up, so I went by intuition.' The liquid was a swirling dark amber with a slight green reflection to it, and smelled strongly of licourice and lime.
   Returning to studying the painting, the bat ignored the mood for just a bit, pondering what to do next while watching the others. Moving them up there was done, so he considered moving up some furniture and other personal effects.

[Sunblink]

"Oh believe me," Keaton said with such a calculating amount of calmness that it surprised even herself, "Me getting addicted isn't something I'm concerned about."

Neither was the severe amount of innuendo lurking beneath Stygian's voice, but regardless Keaton was wondering if he was doing this just to make Cogidubnus sweat, like he had stated during their conversation. Certainly he wouldn't end up confessing all that had occurred in this room, would he? Unpredictability could be such a curse. Ultimately, at the mention of whiskey, Keaton resigned, promising herself that she wouldn't become so inebriated that her senses would be clouded by intoxication. Her nervousness was already obvious despite her earnest efforts to conceal it, but she had to loosen up somehow. The hand on her shoulder wasn't helping.

"Yeah, alright," Keaton muttered, eyes shifting to the side. "I'll have one of those Tennessee Whatever-You-Called-It's."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

 "What can't magic do?" Cog said, turning to Aisha, his expression mildly bemused. "Magic can do a great many things, yes indeed. It is powerful." Cog sipped his coffee and continued, looking at the painting Aisha had pointed out. "Very powerful. It can make water run uphill, yes, bid the ocean calm and the skies rage, move mountains, cheat death, and turn the universe itself on its grand, immutable head."
Cog peered at the painting, the others now looking at it, with a musing expression on his face. "If I could stop the very flow of time itself, but cared for others not, what good would I be?" Cog said, sighing, and sipping his drink. "If I could bring the dead to life, as some wizards do often, and yet did not care, I would be better off dead myself. Power without responsibility or conscience is as a sword without a sheath. Dangerous and largely useless." he said, suddenly quirking an eyebrow.
"I seem to have gone off on a tangent. Apologies." he said, nodding his head at the panthress, and took a drink. "I don't suppose all that is really magics fault, anyway." he said grudgingly. He took a sip of his coffee, making himself more comfortable on the bed. "It is a nice picture." he murred.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha continued to lean back into her chair comfortably, listening to the others, including as Sebastian made a commentary on the painting himself.  An ear pricked as he mentioned the Caerules as well as some of their habits, and for a moment she remembered that it was their castle that they were in, and also ones whom were subject to the adventurers' investigations.  But she didn't inquire...being in that place seemed to almost make her forget what answers they were looking for there in the beginning.  What answers?  She tiredly mused.  Now the huntress felt more like a freeloader than a thief.

Then the bat arrived with a drink of her own.  "Gracias," she thanked with a nod and took the glass, observing the appearance and scent for a moment before tasting it.  It seemed to make her tongue tingle, but she found it good nonetheless, and took a better sip of it before quirking an ear to Cogi as he spoke about magic.

She nodded in agreement with his statements, though perhaps somehow she found some of it had a tinge of sarcasm.  Aisha chuckled when the wolf finished.  "You're forgiven for the tangent.  I was never big on magic...considering the things I kill wield it.  No offense to the Creatures," she said quickly and held her hand up apologetically.  "Other than how I like my weapons laced with magic I doubt I could handle it myself."

Deciding to simply listen to the conversation as she took another sip from the glass, Aisha suddenly thought she heard something approaching the door that sounded like a flurry of feathers, followed by a squawk, and finally the sight of a black blur landing on her head.  "Gah...heh, so it followed me again after all," she muttered with a roll of her eyes and picked the raven into her hands again.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Bam sighs and starts the search for a book on the Fae and their magic... If not Fae than the Mythos, and her finds a books on Creatures in general and another on the Fae.

PBH

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel had been about to agree with Sebastian's comments about the state of the closets of a long-lived and curious family based on the storerooms at home when Aisha and Cog began discussing the evil of magic. She took a sip of the drink she had been handed and laughed a bit. "No offense taken, Aisha. I know exactly what you mean. Kill all the magic users. Except for the healers. And the ones who sell magical items that make life easier for those without magic. Or that nice old man who does magic shows for the children at the library. Yes indeed, we should kill all the magic users, except for the ones we shouldn't."

She shook her head and wet her mouth with another sip of the drink before adding, "Your definition is too wide and your stereotypes end up killing more innocent than guilty. Say what you really mean, that you hate the abusers, who would be abusers if they were magic users, accountants, bakers, or even adventurers."

[Cogidubnus]

Cog raised an eyebrow and the dragon, a slight grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, and inclining his head at Mel he took a drink of his coffee.
"But of course, Ms. Icewing. Did I say otherwise?" He seemed to pause a moment, and continued. "Of course I realize that magic is a tool, to be used as the wielder sees fit. But I said power 'without responsibility and conscience'. I hardly think little old ladies fit under that category." he murred, sipping more of his coffee.
"Not all magic users are evil, of course." Cog said, putting his chin in his hands. A thin arc of electricity moved deliberately over his hand, snaking from one finger to another. Cog grinned and continued. "What I mean, is that Mages and Wizards, or those who study magic for magic's sake, seem oft disinclined to restraint or compassion. Perhaps predictably so. Knowledge for knowledge's sake, in the case of magic, quickly becomes power for power's sake. Which is only a step removed from real danger."
Cog leaned back. "Still, your point is valid. There is good to be found in magic - much good, but much less good than ill," Cog said, his voice slowing into the lyrical. "and while the sun and moon endure, luck's a chance but trouble's sure - I'd face it as a wise man would, and train for ill and not for good..." Cog trailed off.
He sipped his drink. "I am sorry if you thought I meant to condemn all wizards of all forms. That, would simply be foolishness." Cog grinned.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha held her ears in a midway position on her head as she listened to Mel and Cogidubnus converse and reply to her statements on the position of magic users, while she coaxed the raven in her hands to calm itself down...if nobody had noticed its presence before, she didn't want it to be noticed now by a show of the creature's unpredictability.  The panther's head tilted, as Mel had retorted to her statement with a bit of gentle teasing snark.

Aisha recognized the tone enough not to feel foolish at all...but it had brought back a memory.  She had been called many things in her life because of shortsightnedness, and a presumably rightful hatred for demons.  Her eyes closed briefly as she took another sip of the tangy drink that Stygian had provided, and she chuckled to regain the lightheartedness.  It was surprising--if the huntress thought about it--how she had gotten used to more magic-based company than anything.

"You're right, Mel, and Cog, both of you, my apologies...I did mean that for the abusers...but I guess it all depends on opinion...perspective and experience.  Some have had it for the good, and others for the worst.  But I guess all anyone does with something like that is the best that they can."  She muttered and took another sip, murmuring something beneath her breath.  "Que será, será...que ha sido, ha sido. (what will be, will be...what has been, has been.)"

[Sunblink]

From afar, Keaton warily observed the raven seated atop Aisha's head with a skeptical expression. What the hell was up with that bird? Personally, she began to appreciate its presence, as it gave her something to momentarily distract herself from what she felt was an impending doom or confrontation with Stygian. She likely would've remained focused on the ebony bird for the rest of the discussion if it weren't for the few words which piqued her interest--and not in a pleasant way. Right ear swiveled upright and quirked itself in the direction of the three conversationalists, an eyebrow lifting in a rigid arc.

Moving her head 'round with a swift, yet noticeably deliberate jerk, Keaton stared at Aisha with a concentrated, stony expression, mostly unreadable and undetectable of any emotions. There was something distinctly not right about this situation, and it was lurking around Aisha. The weaponry, the slight contempt for magic, as well as the mention about killing some who wielded magic irresponsibly. Normally it wouldn't concern Keaton, but there was something Keaton was particularly adamant about, which she would be vociferous about.

"You're..." Keaton began stonily to Aisha, expression as hard and neutral as her voice was, but nevertheless intimidating. The fact she was exercising some form of restraint was something remarkable in itself, mostly because Keaton was notorious for acting on impulse, like many Cubi. "...an Adventurer?"

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Aisha deCabre]

As Aisha stopped her muttering, she had her own gaze drawn down to the bird in her hands for a moment.  There was a humorous thought on perhaps naming the little raven, if it insisted on following her like a familiar of sorts.

But her distraction didn't last long however, for suddenly the huntress felt like one set of eyes in the room was bearing down on her with what could be best described as disapproval.  Then her ears quirked as she heard Keaton, with a hard tone and suppressed annoyance, inquire as to her profession.  Just from that look, the panthress inwardly cursed herself as she remembered the state that the jackal was in upon entering the Castle...perhaps she should have kept her mouth shut.

Nevertheless, perhaps it would have been a good time to see if the mood could be mended.  She didn't want any more enemies made.  Aisha set her glass down and looked back to the succubus with the same kind of expression, sitting up straight in her chair.

"I am," she confirmed with a nod, truthfully and unintimidated.  "Bounty hunter, to be more exact.  But, I hope you can trust me when I say that I wouldn't dare try to pick a fight with you, let alone try to kill you, else I would have tried already.  One of my best friends happens to be a 'Cubi, so I have more respect than that.  Or I should," she ended with a chuckle, then sighed softly.  "We've all been here long enough and have been through enough to be considered friends, I hope."

[Sunblink]

Keaton's gaze was unrelenting after she addressed Aisha, eyes narrow and pupils as solid as muddy marble, ears slanted back in an apprehensive gesture of restrained disapproval. When the pantheress confirmed that she was indeed an Adventurer Keaton's expression only convulsed into something far more unpleasant, the scowl on her face mirroring the tension in her claws as they tensed and flexed unconsciously, just out of sight.

As she continued, however, Keaton started to loosen considerably, looking, for the slightest moment, crestfallen. How ridiculous was she, wanting to turn on Aisha, who had shown no hostile intentions toward her in the past, for finding out that she was an Adventurer? Considering her violent tendencies Keaton had a deep contempt for Adventurers--after all, it was by their doing that she arrived at the Castle in such a gravely injured state, but they only attacked because she had stolen someone's soul in the past and had followed the rumors to her current hideaway. They were annoyingly persistent, those ones, and unusually strong.

"Yeah, I'd say we're considered friends too..." Keaton said slowly, still looking shamefaced. "I just... eh. I'd rather avoid the subject about Adventurers. Let's just say that I ended up here 'cos of some of them."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel gave a little sigh of relief. It looked like Keaton wasn't going to take past issues out on the panther. "We should be friends, we kept each other alive against some horrid foes. To fight amongst ourselves lets them win after the fact."

She shook her head and sipped the drink in her hand. "Abusers are not limited to magic users OR adventurers. They create each other. My own family history is an example. Grandmother would not be the fearsome creature she is without revenge to drive her. And many of the worse adventurers were motivated by her excesses."

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Bambi, not looking so gloomy, but focus on her book. walks the halls of the castle or wandering about, and yet being pulled by her fae element to a courtyard garden in the south side of the castle.   

PBH

[Stygian]

As the topic had veered away from the amusing to the awkward to the irritating, so had Stygian's smile finally slipped from his face. When Aisha announced something that had been rather obvious up until then to him, that she was in fact an adventurer, he just sighed and stood to the side. The discussion about power and magic really did not improve his moods either. He growled under his breath.
   'Satisfaction. There is no such thing as power for power's sake. But for purpose, or influence or money, or for sheer entertainment; that is why all sentient things wish for more power, or less. In the end it is all about their own damned satifaction,' he said sourly, and kicked back his drink, looking out a blurry window. The clouds seemed to roll slower, and a bit of dark sky was visible through them, the rain having taken pause and the weather seemingly catching its breath before the thundering cover at the horizon would pull in and cover them again. 'Most people only care about others for their own satisfaction, even. The ones who realize how to use power correctly, and that it certainly cannot bring them happiness, are few and far between...' He glowered at Cog a bit, and then somewhat less intensely at Aisha. Talking about such things in their company...
   There was silence for a bit, and Stygian took he opportunity to open the window next to him slightly and slip out a slender cigar, flicking out his lighter and biting the butt off. He had only just lit it though, before with a flap and an audible swoosh a black thing swept past his face, snatching it from his lips. The raven cawed, flying out the window and away, while the bat's eyes widened and he glared out the window.
   'Oh, for fuck's...!' he growled, staring after the eerie bird. Then he snorted and turned around, pacing between them all. 'I'll be back. Please, by all means, continue,' he said gruffly and walked past them. After a few steps his shape started distorting, darkening and slithering. In just a few steps he practically dissolved into a haze of those crawling, monstrous shapes of tentacles and maws, which blended into the shadows, passing, as it seemed, right through the stone wall of the room and disappearing.

[Cogidubnus]

 Despite the reflexive disquiet that Sebastian's more monstrous transformations seemed to impart, Cog sighed a bit as the bat left, his displeasure obvious. Cog sipped down his drink a bit more, the room suddenly quiet. His face soured. Probably not the best topic he could have brought up right then.
He looked up at the others. "Ah, well. He'll be back later." he said, crossing his legs. "Perhaps a change of topic is in order?" Cog put on a slight grin, and sipped down a bit of his coffee. Staring past his foot, he was looking at Mel, when he noticed a slight shine underneath a chair. Eyes widening, he seemed to whiten a moment, and his gaze suddenly averting he took another drink. An idea clicked into his head.
"Ah, but that magic thing does remind me - I've been meaning to try and enchant a little something. I think I set it down on that table over there, to show the bat later..." he said, standing and walking over to the side table, and making a show of looking for the knife. He seemed to pause a moment, scratching his head, and very casually looked under the chair. He murmured something under his breath and grabbed the knife gingerly, picking it up with his free hand. He started absently flipping through different grips with it, going from a reverse to a regular with alarming rapidity. "Hm. Must have fell off." he said, and gracefully inclined his head at Mel.
"Ah, but perhaps you can show me the better side of magic, Ms. Icewing. I remember you saying you did some enchanting, back in the library? I've been wanting to do something with this little piece, and am afraid I know very little about the actual imbuing  process."

[Aisha deCabre]

With a bit of relief as she observed Keaton's reply, however stone-faced her looks seemed to be as they pierced the hunter before her with an unrelenting coldness, Aisha found it safe to lean back into her chair again with an agreeing nod.  She held her hand up in a friendly gesture of peace, in any case.  "Subject dropped then.  To be quite honest I've gotten tired of the mood today anyway, being afraid of confrontations," she chuckled, half-joking on behalf of the jackal.  The other half was serious, after thinking of the tirade in town.

She was also grateful for Mel's interjection and for Sebastian's own take, however sour it seemed.  The panther flicked an ear and drank down some more of the liquid in her glass, briefly letting her grip of the raven perched on her leg falter...and it was then that the bat had opened the window, and with a surprise she felt the bird lift off and rocket towards the opening, snatching the bat's cigar in the process before she could try to grab the feathery mass.  "What the...!" was all she could exclaim.

Her tail ring seemed to flare with the same intensity as the feeling from the bat was as he transformed into his dark and shadowy self, the panthress shrinking back in her chair just slightly while he excused himself and slid out through the very wall.  "See you then..." she hummed...silence lingered until the panthress barked a laugh, an arm wrapped briefly around her side.  "I guess my little red-eyed shadow decided not to stay after all," she snorted and regained her breath.

Slumping back in her seat, Aisha watched as Cogidubnus thankfully started a new topic of conversation with Mel, to which she paid attention.  "Enchanting.  This ought to be interesting," she murmured.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel looked at the knife in the wolf's hand and could see that someone had been trying to enchant it, there was a lot of magical residue. "Yes. My first training was as a metalsmith and I often enchanted the objects I created."  Knowing she had stuffed it on top when Bambi had interrupted her in the magic store she pulled the toy butterfly from her pocket and allowed it to crawl across her fingers as an example of her work. "In what order did you cast the spells? Power, permanence, and then the actual spell? If you cast in the wrong order you will not get lasting results."

[Cogidubnus]

Cog bowed and handed her the knife. "I fear in no order at all, Ms. Icewing. Or, perhaps I don't understand what you mean - I did try and...well, it's hard to describe. Make the magic stick to the metal, as it were, and see if I couldn't make the knife itself cast the spell. Perhaps I was overthinking it?" Cog said, watching the little magical clockwork butterfly crawl over Mel's fingers.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel took the knife as Cog handed it to her, at the same time dislodging the jeweled butterfly from her hand. It fluttered for a moment then made a twisting circuit of the room, finally picking Ketefe to settle upon. "The method of enchanting I was taught consists of three parts. The permanence component would be the part to make it "stick." As a knife is not a living thing you also need to provide power, or at least an instruction on where to get power. Only when those two elements are in place will the spell adhere to the object." The dragon looked at the wolf very seriously. "With only minor variations this is the same way curses are laid so please make sure of your aim." Then she broke the seriousness with a smile. "That is also why most masters only take one apprentice at a time. Removing a glow spell from someone's behind is only funny the first few times."

[Angel]

As he offered her a mixture of coffee and Bailey's, Ketefe gave Stygian a half-hearted look for the jab about her sobriety, the kind of look one would aim at a friend who was being a little too annoying. She accepted the drink nonetheless, sniffing it once. Finding the aroma to her liking, and noting that the bat seemed once again to be vying for her trust, she sipped the Bailey's-coffee mixture. The taste of alcohol had never quite appealed to her, but this was different. It left a sweet aftertaste in her mouth; there was almost no trace that it had even contained alcohol. Point one goes to Stygian for figuring out a drink I'd like. She listened quietly to the conversation, tilting her head at the picture Mel was talking about.
   
When the conversation turned to a discussion on magic, Ketefe got lost in her own thoughts for a while, sipping her drink pensively. Mel was right; many adventurers jumped to conclusions to fit their own liking on magic users. But after many shows of magic that day, Ketefe had decided that magic was quite a bit like people; there was no telling what you could do if you pushed yourself hard enough, but pushing to the actual limits on magic had never been done. Those who had tried had probably had something worse than death happen to them.

She became more alert when a few people revealed pieces of their history, however small. Aisha was a bounty hunter? Cool... Then she wondered what had happened to Keaton. She could guess: Keaton had been on the run and sought refuge here. To be honest, that seemed to happen far too often. If that wasn't the basic story, Ketefe would've been a little surprised.

When Stygian left after Aisha's raven, Ketefe whipped her head around and watched the bat transform and fade out through the wall. Unusual, and somewhat confusing (what threat could a raven pose, even a creepy-looking one?), but not unlike Stygian. The conversation turned back to magic, as if nothing had happened.

When Mel brough out her little clockwork-magic butterfly, Ketefe marveled at it. It was amazing that something that seemed so simple could have such complexity behind its creation. The thing took flight, and landed on Ketefe's ear. She smiled, a true smile for once, and giggled as she transferred it from her ear to her hand. It seemed fragile, so she handled it carefully as she continued to listen.

"Does that method you mentioned stay the same from magic user to magic user, or does it vary?" she asked Mel.  "Would you have to use the same spells, every time, to make something lik this happen?"

[Stygian]

Contrary to the belief of some upstairs, Stygian had not gone after the raven, knowing that it would be a useless flight out into the bad weather. Instead, he took form from a spot of deep shadow in a hallway below and walked into the library. He passed Rynkura with a somewhat pleased glance and a nod as he made his way back to the table where they had piled the books before, snatching up two volumes and then a third from a shelf down an aisle, before he made his way out of the place just as quickly, heading in the direction of the dormitories and storage rooms in search of a few things.

[Sunblink]

Tension in the room appeared to alleviate after Keaton's response to Aisha's question, much to the jackal's eternal gratitude. Sighing with relief, Keaton leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and running her fingers through her hair. Large ears snapped back up into an erect position after she heard Stygian speak, her head jerking upright to stare at him. She glanced up simultaneous to the moment the avian once seated near Aisha swooped away from its perch and snatched up his cigar, flying out the window. As amusing as the whole situation was from an observer's standpoint, Keaton found herself only able to smirk only slightly, inconspicuously. Not intending to garner Stygian's ire again.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to notice her little slip, as he was gone in the next moment, although his disappearance was rather dramatic. As the remnants of darkness slipped from the room and Stygian's presence altogether vanished, Keaton hesitantly realized that she still needed to speak with the intimidating chiropteran. God damn it. Shortly after she reached this revelation her attention was garnered by another, interesting change of topic. Enchantment.

In addition to the conversation, Mel brought out what appeared to be a jewel-encrusted butterfly, and magically animated it, watching it skitter over her fingers. Keaton watched with interest, feeling her smirk in a surprisingly genuine, not condescending manner. Her father had specialized in enchanting and crafting weapons imbibed with magical energy, his masterwork being the series of weapons which were bestowed to his children. Catastrophe was one of them.

Her views on enchantment were nothing short of benign. She found it fascinating, admittedly, and beneficial--even when origins were malicious.

After all, how many people infused their weapon with a person's soul?

~Keaton the Black Jackal