Furrae Chronicles: Webs of Destiny (IC) [M] {3}

[Cogidubnus]

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ephrael." he said, smiling just a bit as he turned to look at the water again. "And yes, I will be. For free too!" he grinned, looking at the strange little archer. "Your lucky day, for certain." he said, the expression on his face joking.

He nodded to her. "Jest aside, I am. I take it you're a part of this group here?"

[Paladin Sheppard]

Eph nodded in answer to his question "My sister Jade was taken, so I joined up with the others." She said as she also leaned against the railing. "She's all I have left, mom and dad were killed in a demon attack about eight years ago."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel frowned discouragingly. Ignatz and his tapping on the deck plates had been in the right, these adventurers had no intention of honoring the agreement. Since giving them the information about the next stage of the journey she had been treated most shabbily. Every time she began the most innocent conversation with someone another member of the party dragged them away before she spoke a second sentence. First Gareeku by the squirrel with the odd emotional swings and now Cog by the archer girl. Being marginalized and shunned was not the bargain agreed to.

Mel tapped her fingers irritably against the shaft of her parasol, the mild and amused mood she had been in so far turning cold and disgusted. She absolutely despised people who made bargains only to break them.  She furled the parasol then tapped the ferrule against the deck twice. With each gentle tap a wave of magic ran outwards through the ship. "Must I remind you that your bargain for the information given was that Ignatz and myself be included and you people behave in a civilized manner. Your exclusionary tactics are bringing you close to breaking our bargain. " Her caution given she turned and made her way to one of the upper decks. A cloud moved to cover the sun but it was unclear if this was a reaction to the snow leopard's magical display.

[Tapewolf]

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Jakob, pausing in mid-demonstration as Mel complained.  "I thought you'd already know this kind of combat.  Poor teacher that I am, I can only handle about two students at a time, although you're quite welcome to ask me about it later."

Oh.  Perhaps she meant her position within the party?  Well, that's really between her and Gareeku.  He's the leader, after all.

[Gareeku]

Feeling the pulses of magic, Gareeku turned to Mel as she spoke of her dislike that the rest of the group were apparently shunning her. Narrowing his eyes, the wolf watched her walk off as his fists clenched with irritation.
"Excuse me." Gareeku said to the others, before walking off after her to one of the upper decks.

"Calmed down yet?" the wolf said as he approached Mel, his arms folded and an eyebrow raised, clearly not impressed with what she had just said. "You know, for someone who has been lecturing the rest of us about how to act, I must say how you just acted was rather immature."

Taking a swig of his ale, Gareeku then looked back at Mel once more.
"Ignatz hasn't been exactly making an effort to mingle, what with cooping himself up in the cargo hold and the way he has been provoking members of the group." the wolf continued. "And some of us in the group have known each other for a long time, and considering the fact that we hardly know and that we didn't get to know each other under the best circumstances. Not everything is about you. A lot of us miss the loved ones who have been taken from us, so part of the way that we are talking to each other is to support oneanother and to take our minds off of the situation. I advise that you get over yourself."

Turning away from Mel, Gareeku then began to walk away.

"Feel free to join us when you have decided to grow up a bit."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel didn't even bother to look away from the ocean, but she did speak before Gareeku made it back to the stairs. "I was trying to socialize and play nice. I was not even intruding upon conversations. It is your friends ending any conversational attempts I make by breaking up conversations before they can start and dragging other people away. Considering you are the only one with any sort of legitimate grudge perhaps they should notice that you are the only one even attempting to deal evenhandedly." She sighed and added, "I will be back when the urge to live down to their expectations has passed."

[James StarRunner]

"Hey Mel, wait." said James. "I only meant to give a quick remark to Gareeku, I didn't mean for it to be a 'conversation breaker'. For what it's worth, you're much more pleasant to be around then your bat companion. But let's not pretend, shall we? You and Ignatz nearly killed off a good friend of our group and it's still fresh in our memories. So you want a legit excuse, there it is. I don't think you want us all to put on big stupid grins and pretend to like you either. As Gareeku mentioned already though, Ignatz hasn't exactly been Mr. Social and it's not helping you any. However, despite Ig's winning personality, I was just starting to warm up to ya. If you want the group's condition to improve towards you, I suggest to even attempt to build friendly relationships with us. You haven't exactly tried to even approach me and I even spoke up to have you come along and tried to end the stupid squabbling."

[Cogidubnus]

 The wolf nodded at the archer-lady, his face sympathetic. "I am truly sorry for your loss." he said, his voice sincere. "I'm hoping that maybe I can help keep all you ali...I'm hoping that I can help you all until we can find your missing family members."

He gave Eph another smile, when two rather strange taps seemed to flow out from the deck. Giving a rather irate speech to the white wolf, she walked off and up to the deck above. The wolf followed her shortly, anger evident on his face, and shortly after him the blue squirrel ran after her. Cog raised an eyebrow, leaning back on the railing and facing the deck. He let a hand rest on his head, keeping the sudden breeze from knocking his hat off, and pushed himself up.
He wasn't sure why the others seemed to think being angry with the strange cat was going to make anything better. The squirrel, James, seemed to have some idea as to how business as a bounty hunter worked, but the rest of them...the wolf shrugged.

"Excuse me." he said to Ephrael, his coat caught for just a moment on the breeze before he walked up the stairs to the above decks, dodging a even-angrier looking Gareeku before making it up.
The squirrel was talking to the leapordess, and Cog again leaned against the wall, on the wall next to the stairway door. He adjusted his hat.

"If I may, Ms. Donovan, most of these people don't seem to be professional adventurers. They tend to take things a little too personally as a result, I think." he started, his voice conciliatory.
"Give them a little time, and I'm certain they'll warm up. They may be paranoid and cold now, but after a few nights of you not stabbing them, and perhaps after the next conflict this group experiences, you'll find them much more amiable. Defending a friend goes a long way here, methinks."
He smiled at the leapordess, tipping his hat. "If that is indeed what you intend, next foes we meet." he said, his eyes staring over his glasses with an amused glint. He adjusted his hat back into place.

"Fear makes people act stupid. I think perhaps those below are no exception."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel sighed. "You're right. I shouldn't expect people worried over missing relatives to behave in a professional manner or even as reasonable adults all of the time. I hope they can get over the fact that I can't work up an equal amount of panic over some strangers." She turned so she was leaning backwards against the rail, facing the other two. The snow colored leopard smiled a bit. "A peace offering?" She swung her furled parasol to the side and tapped the deck again. Rather than waves of magic this time there was only a small whooshing sound as a largish wicker box appeared. "I had ordered a hamper of food at the inn when I believed we were headed for a forced march. Would you care for some lunch? The meat pies looked rather decent."

[James StarRunner]

James sighed in relief. It seemed like things were finally going to go smoother between them. He clasped his hand on Mel's shoulder. "Well, when things calm down, hopefully you'll have less reason to be uneasy around us. In better settings most of us are a rather fun loving bunch. I can hardly turn down a free meal either, thank you Mel." James then proceeded to take a meat pie out from the box.

Before he started to dig in, he gave Cog a nod. "You seem to be quite the decent sort my good fellow. It should be a pleasure having you along with us."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had nearly left the conversations of the others behind her as she strolled slowly to the bar and grabbed a drink for herself.  Thankfully, things weren't all that expensive on the journey; saving money was quite another reason that adventurers liked walking, she's always heard.  Save it all for food, a room... I must be saving more, she thought to herself with a slight smirk, being used to sleeping in trees.

The panthress ordered herself a glass of water...moreover, glimpsing the sea for so long had made her itch for something that would quench thirst better than anything else.  By now she had even gotten used to the slight rocking of the ferry on the waves.  And that was when she could sense something else, a wash of energy running below her feet like a sound wave, or something similar.  Her tail ring hadn't flared, so it wasn't darkness...but somehow it felt like magic all the same.  Would they have hit something, the waves from the impact would have been much more violent.

Quickly, Aisha gulped her water down and went back to where the others were, where the thing originated, and heard a bit of commotion...namely Mel, berating the adventurers, when she cocked an ear back to where she was.  Gareeku, James, and Cogidubnus though had spoken to her...so the panthress had little to jump in with.  All of the valid points had been made already.

*"Te merecer el confianza, en nos debes tener confianza," she muttered, crossing her arms over the side of the ship and laying her head upon them.

*("To earn trust, you should have trust in us.")

[Mel Dragonkitty]

"If you will excuse me for a moment gentlemen," apologized the leopard as she pulled a bottle from the hamper. Moments later Mel was climbing down into the holds. "Ignatz? I brought you some lunch." She held up the bottle of wine the inn keeper had included in the hamper.

[Stygian]

For a good few seconds, there was no response. The crates and tarp-covered stocks in the cargo hold sat perfectly still and silent, the only background noise being the occasional slosh of water against the hull. Then, Mel heard a slow breath right behind her, above her left shoulder, and then the bat's voice.
   'Oh, nice,' he said shortly. His coat laying on one of the crates with his boots under it, he was hanging upside down from the ceiling, having moved up beside her. Twisting in some slow, contortionistic way, he bent away toward the nearest tarp-covered pile, stretched out one hand-like foot and placed it down, and flipped himself over onto his haunches. Putting his hands out under him, he swung his legs between them and out, and then planted himself neatly on the side of what was probably a barrel laying down under that tarp, then reached out a long arm to accept the bottle.
   'Thank you kindly, sweets,' he said, black eyes glinting a slight blue sheen in the murkiness of the room. 'Not treating you too nicely up there, are they?'

[Sunblink]

Throughout the various interactions taking place on the ship, Keaton remained relatively introverted, automatically looking for a comfortable niche on the ship to occupy so she could maintain distance from most of the party members. Now that her participation in the group's hunt was validated, she found it was safe to relax, or at least isolate herself, as she felt she had fulfilled her obligation to "socialize." Oddly enough, the jackal felt uncomfortable about being friendly or forcing a facade around the assorted individuals. Fortunately for her, her search resulted in her slinking off to the side, and Keaton simply leaning against the railing, out of sight, out of mind.

After some time, she seemed to lose interest, and started to fidget where she was standing, the hand in her pocket toying with the marble nestled inside. Cubi weren't exactly notorious for their attention spans, but at least she was getting some compulsion to talk to someone. Or do something. Keaton already wasn't exactly on the best of terms with the group due to her misanthropic attitude, so she didn't see much of a point in attempting to kindle anything positive.

A shuffling noise. The leopard waltzed leisurely past, Keaton's eyes unconsciously following her. Even when she was obligated to be on good terms with most of the group, Keaton didn't trust Mel, or her accomplice. Speaking of the bat, where was he?

That question was answered well enough when Mel climbed down into the holds. Blinking, Keaton suspiciously narrowed her gaze, then slunk over, peering down into the holds. For a moment, she felt tempted to wander down after the leopard, see what she was up to; but Keaton had no intention of being cornered by Ignatz like she was last night. Anyone who made her feel vulnerable like that--she hated them.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Seating herself on one of the crates Mel shrugged, "Hazing newcomers is a time honored tradition all around the multiverse. I just hope they get past it soon. It has been a long time since I worked with anyone but professionals. The cubi must be feeding well on all the emotions."

Mel heard a small sound and looked around then back down as a rat ran past her foot. She laughed a bit. "Didn't you take care of the hitchhikers?" But at the same time the nearby ladder developed a bit of a sheen.

[Stygian]

Extending one long, curved claw, the bat hooked open the cork of the wine bottle and slowly pulled it out with a practiced motion. He peered after the rat, idly twirling the fingers in his other hand. Slowly, smoky slivers of darkness began congregating around them, taking on more and more solid forms, until with a movement of his hand he formed them into a bowl-like shape, where they quickly settled into a black cup-thing, like the top of a wine glass, made of something that looked like almost organically looking, smoky black blown glass. As he spoke, he began pouring the wine in with careless ease.
   'I'm saving them for night snacks. About the adventurers... Give them time. You were the one who suggested going with them. I only came for the Cubi,' he said. 'She didn't tell that other one her clan name, but...'
   The bat stopped at about the same time that Mel noticed something by the stairs. Only for a moment though, as he raised his gaze, face away from the opening, and then grinned shortly. Putting the wine bottle down, he raised the cup in his hand.
   'Of course, I have yet to apologize to that one for my poor manners the other evening,' he said, swirling the wine just a little and settling back. 'A man should have more self-control than that, especially in the presence of a lady of such beauty and charm. Yes, indeed. It was most shameful of me to lose myself around that creature of grace and flawless manner.'
   Throughout the whole of this speech, Ignatz's voice retained that same level of seriousness, up until the accentuation on 'most', where it quickly took on a character of sharp sarcasm. The jackal up the stairs could really hear the smirk on his face.
   'Wouldn't you agree, Keaton?' he finally added, still not looking back.

[Tapewolf]

Lighthouses might house the key... but can I reach the door?
I want to walk on the sea, so that I may better find a shore
But how can I ever keep my feet dry?
I scan the horizon, I must keep my eyes on
All parts of me.

Jakob smiled to himself as he thought of the song.  What was it called?  Act 4 of 'Lighthouse Keepers' or somesuch.  Actually, he thought, most of the lyrics of that act are rather apropos.  And walking on the water is something I really need to try someday.

The others had gone, to eat by the looks of it.   Jakob was undecided as to whether he should join them.  To be sure he wasn't hungry, and he'd been eating a great deal more food than usual.  Any more on top of the recent influx of emotions would not be good as he'd have to work it off, so he stood alone in his long black coat, resting his hands upon the railings and staring out across the water.
Suddenly he felt a presence approaching behind him - it was the snow leopard wandering over to the hatch where the bat had gone.  Judging from the basket, she'd gone to feed him too.  Not for the first time, he wondered what kind of a thing she was, but it was not something he was likely to find out in a hurry.
Given how cold, irritable and condescending she tended to be, Mel was one person he intended to have as little to do with as he reasonably could without seeming rude.

Just then, a thought occurred to him, and he went to find Gareeku.

[Cogidubnus]

 The wolf smiled, making a small bow, and accepting one of the meat pies from out of the basket.
"I am a little peckish, thank you." he said, taking a nibble from the edge. The blue squirrel also took one, and speaking cheerfully to the wolf. Cog merely nodded, taking a bite out of his pie before responding.

"You are kind to say so." he said, extending his free hand. "Cogidubnus Mithlome, sir. You can call me Cog."

[Sunblink]

For a good few minutes, Keaton merely stood at the front of the entrance to the hold, pivoting on her tiptoes and attempting to peer, unsuccessfully, into the hold, as though her glare alone would penetrate the darkness obscuring her view. After Mel disappeared down the hold she had been listening in on the conversation she that was taking place within the bowels of the ship, although given her lack of equipment the voices were quieted and whispery. Large ears alone didn't suffice as supersonic espionage tools. Keaton was perfectly capable of creating some sort of sound amplification for her to hone in on, but she was partially fearful that the two mercenaries would detect that use of dark-oriented magic.

However, this method at secrecy was irritating at best. Maybe she could go down into the hold. Hopefully the two weren't too close to the ladder, and maybe she could adopt a shadowy form and hide in the shadows before they could realize her presence. A risky bid, but Keaton was just about ready to attempt such a maneuver. She concentrated, allowing her influence to reach out, inviting the shadows' presence closer to her body. As had happened a million times before, the darkness responded immediately, crawling toward her body and enveloping her calves and combat boots, stretching up in diaphanous trails from the hold. Unaware of the icy sheen which had encrusted the ladder, Keaton started to climb down it, preparing to completely assimilate herself into the darkness by the time she bypassed the fourth rung and conceal her presence. On her way down, she overheard Ignatz's voice.

"...I only came for the Cubi. She didn't tell that other one her clan name, but... A meaningful pause, then Keaton halted in-between her descent, suddenly aware of how slippery her hold on the ladder was and how difficult it was for her to maintain her balance. "Of course, I have yet to apologize to that one for my poor manners the other evening."

Keaton remained where she was, suddenly abandoning all pretenses at stealth. She frowned, the mask of darkness which was slinking onto her features stopping short of the jagged creases of her brow. Ignatz was continuing. "A man should have more self-control than that, especially in the presence of a lady of such beauty and charm. Yes, indeed. It was most shameful of me to lose myself around that creature of grace and flawless manner..." At this point Keaton was almost certain he was being sarcastic. She could almost hear the bastard grinning. Driven by morbid curiosity, Keaton started to attempt to step down again, just as Ignatz spoke again.

'Wouldn't you agree, Keaton?'

Slip. Keaton's heel grated against the next rung of the ladder, sliding right across the layers of ice. Her hands jerked down another inch, still trying to grip but failing quite spectacularly. Any and all exclamation - a curse, a scream, anything - was prematurely terminated in the middle of Keaton's throat as her hands unwittingly released the ladder, letting her fall--

--Keaton landed with a heavy thud, right on her back, at the foot of the ladder.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Tapewolf]

"Gareeku," said Jakob, "Our party has grown rather large, rather quickly and now consists mostly of people we have never met before.  While I am hardly one to complain about shady pasts, I do think that we should to lay out some code of conduct, for times like now when we are idle, or visiting somewhere.  If one of our new recruits starts killing people in the middle of a tavern or something, we could easily end up with a price on all of our heads.

"Specifically, I'm a bit concerned about what the leopard - Mel, wasn't it - did to the guards at the manor.  I think that we should, at a minimum, try to agree not to just randomly murder people who happen to be in the way like that.  And..." he gulped slightly, "no soul-slaying."

[Stygian]

For perhaps five seconds the bat contained himself, and all Keaton saw as she looked up was a shadow of his back and shoulders, point-tipped ears perking up like horns through his waves of hair. Then, he began chuckling, figure shaking, and when he leaned over forward he was outright laughing. Slapping his hands onto his knees, he stood up, flexing the finger-like toes on his feet, claws clicking against the floor a bit, and then strolled lazily and uncharacteristically audibly over to the jackal where she lay, beaten and knocked into a mess on her back. Leaning over her, his face upside down to her vision, he grinned, bangs falling and almost concealing his darkened face.
   'Curiosity bruised the jackal, it seems,' he said lowly, voice still full of mirth. 'Did you get tired of the fresh breeze and sun too, or were you just... itching for our pleasant company?' Closing his mouth and narrowing his eyes into a smirk, he stood looking at her a moment, then raised an eyebrow and reached down a hand to her, offering to help her up.

[James StarRunner]

James took Cog's offered hand and shook it. "James StarRunner, of the reformed group of bounty hunters known as Heaven's Grace. 'Keep the good kicking, give evil a licking.'

James heard something heavy fall into the hold. Did someone just fall in? He heard snipits of the conversation below, but chose to ignore it. They seemed to be playing nice for now.

James brought back his attention to things above deck and took a deep bite into his meat pie.

[Sunblink]

From her place on the floor, the shadows congregated over Keaton's body bled and retreated back into the darkness, crawling like thousands of diaphanous, parasitic wisps. Fortunately the shield partially encompassing Keaton's form had insulated most of the impact as she hit the floor, but she still felt nothing short of disoriented as she stared weakly around the room, vision blurring and adjusting erratically. As her consciousness drifted back down to the tangible she started to become aware of the fact Ignatz was laughing rather loudly off to the side, Keaton felt irrational rage start to flare in her slightly bruised chest. She hated being laughed at. Hated it. Her hands balled up into fists, and she snarled menacingly on the ground, although her rakish position and her bruised countenance decreased the intimidation factor.

Then Ignatz's face appeared over her head, and Keaton growled slightly in a way very similar to an infuriated dog. An invitation for "dog" jokes, but she didn't quite care at that point. In the face of Ignatz's query, she merely snorted, then mumbled, "Yeah yeah yeah, laugh away, assface..." she wasn't quite in the mood to come up with a rebuttal. "How do I know you're not constructing some kind of bomb to blow this ship sky high or somethin'? Somebody's gotta keep an eye on you..."

She tried to get up on her own, but failed rather miserably, as Keaton found herself on her side the next moment. Blinking, the jackal tried to shake off her borderline concussion, then stared bleakly up at Ignatz's proffered hand. Her eyes narrowed, and, rolling onto her stomach, she thrust her hands to the ground and pushed herself onto her feet, ignoring his offer for assistance. Once she was on her feet again, she drunkenly swayed and pivoted for a moment before regaining her balance and readjusting to her new, upright position.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Muttering things under her breath and rejecting his offer of aid, the jackal stood up before Stygian. His smirk dimming a bit, the bat retracted his hand and stuck his thumb in his pocket instead, taking on a leisurely stance.
   'Have it your way then. But leave out the poor excuses,' he said, attempting to turn the conversation back on keel. 'Because we all know you wouldn't be keeping your eyes on me, or us, were it not for your own nature.' He had a perfect addendum to that, but kept it in. If she didn't ask what he meant, it wouldn't be as amusing. So instead he shrugged. 'Not that I object, of course. Your "concern" is noted. And...' He leaned in a bit with his neck, lowering his head to make up for those nine or ten inches differing between him and the jackal as he smiled slyly at her. 'I'll be happy to say you can stay, if you find it uncomfortable up top.'

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel snorted at Keaton's absurd excuse about bombs. She'd just shown that she had more than enough magic to sink a ship without resorting to mechanical assistance. But one couldn't be expected to come up with a good excuse for nosiness while seeing stars. Hearing Ignatz invite the jackal to join them Mel added, "Sure, stay and join the party of the newcomers to this adventure. Pull up a crate. At the very  least sit until you can see the rungs on the ladder." 

[Sunblink]

Keaton arched her back a little, resting her hand on the small of her back and cracking her spine. Ever since her impromptu conference with the floor, the long-delayed aftertaste of pain which was stinging at her spine was starting to torment her. It could've been worse, though. If she had her wings out, there could've been a possibility that she could've broken one due to the fall. Either way, her shoulder-blades felt like hell, and she was likely going to develop a nasty bruise for her troubles.

Keaton scowled a little at Ignatz at his comments, although she was too dizzy to completely comprehend them. Seemed a little irritated at the fact she almost told him to go fuck himself for wanting to help her to her feet... plus the height difference between both bat and jackal was quite upsetting. At a meager five-foot-two, Keaton wasn't a very intimidating sort in terms of height, but she liked to think she made up for it in other areas. When encountered with one who was much taller than her, she couldn't help but be spiteful, regardless.

"Whatever..." Keaton mumbled, trudging past Ignatz. She decided to take Mel's advice and use a crate as a seat. "I'll just sit down." Dragging a crate used for storing supplies out into the open, she dropped herself onto the corner, then slumped, still flexing and stretching her back in order to relieve the tension and pain built up. "Dammit..." Her eyes opened. "What are you two doing down here, anyway?"

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Turning to watch Keaton as she passed him, Ignatz strolled back, flexing his long, gripping toes a bit as he did. He was walking carefully again, and his hips and shoulders almost rolled as he moved, smoothly and silently.
   'I was actually trying to find a nice spot to take a nap, before Mel came down and got me something even more pleasant,' he said, and picked up the black cup from where he had sat before, taking the bottle in the same movement and raising it meaningfully against Keaton. 'It's lunch time, and one gets what rest one can. Besides, staying out in the sun and the breeze might have been fun if it were July and on the beach, but...' He looked at the jackal meaningfully, and leaned back. 'Well, I've never been a day person. And it was a relief to get away from those others. Caution is one thing, but direct hostility...'
   The bat stopped, leaning the glass, or whatever it was, back and taking a long and slow swallow of wine, closing his eyes. Drumming against the crate beside him with his fingers a bit, he sighed, and then looked up at the jackal again.
   'They don't quite seem to hold so much hostility toward you though, somehow. But I think that might be simply because you're another 'Cubi. Heh. It's like we we're a rare species menagerie...' Ignatz said, chuckling, and then putting down the wine. 'Go ahead. Have some. It's actually Mel's, but I don't think she'll object.' He gave the feline a bit to the side a pleasant smirk, and then looked back to Keaton. 'I think I heard that Jakob fellow complaining about how we managed the guards at the manor. Uncharacteristic for... someone like that.'
   The bat had been about to say 'a 'Cubi' at the end of his last sentence, but changed himself. It was a little bit too much prejudice at once. But from his statement and tone one could at least draw the conclusion that he did not agree with the wolf's worries, and more importantly that he had quite sharp senses.

[Sunblink]

Keaton hummed nonchalantly in response to Ignatz's answer. Deep down, she felt both a mixture of relief and disappointment - disappointment that Ignatz and Mel hadn't given her a reason to throw them over the edge of the ship, and relief that the aforementioned mercenaries weren't in the hold simply to discuss any clandestine conspiracy against the group... or more importantly, herself. Their motivations for being down in the hold appeared innocuous enough, but Keaton doubted their sincerity. Tension was still evident in Keaton's features every time Ignatz moved in a manner which appeared suspicious or reached out of sight, even gripping the edge of the crate when he produced the black bottle.

He set it in front of them, and Keaton eyed the bottle nervously. Keaton glanced up at both Mel and Ignatz, raising an eyebrow, then sighed and reached down, picking up the bottle and, with one deft motion, gulped down a great deal of its contents. Gasping for breath as she separated her lips from the bottle's neck, Keaton set the bottle back down onto the floor, wiping at her mouth and coughing. A little of it had gone down her throat the wrong way. Once she finished hacking her lungs out, Keaton gazed back up at Ignatz.

"Yeah, didn't think there'd be many Cubi in the group..." she mumbled. "Though that makes me wonder..."

A thoughtful pause, then she spoke again, "What exactly are you two, anyway?" Keaton pointed to Ignatz, the angle of her finger switching between both Mel and Ignatz, deciding that there was no use being polite about this subject.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel cocked her head at the jackal as she downed half the wine. Seemed like a waste to consume it without tasting it, but evidently the cubi preferred effect to flavor. Maybe it would calm down her twitchy behavior, she was jumping every time either one moved. The bottle apparently gave her a bit of courage as she pointed her finger alternately at each of them and asked what they were. Mel smiled blandly and answered as if she hadn't understood the question, "A mage of several disciplines. A bit of a healer. A collector of stories. And if I must say so myself a pretty good jeweler and creator of enchanted objects."

[Cogidubnus]

 "Reformed bounty hunters?" the wolf asked, pausing just a moment to wolf down his meat pie. "I suppose there isn't anything wrong with being particular about your contracts." he said carefully, wiping a crumb from his mouth.

"Excuse me, I don't think I had the chance to eat breakfast." he said somewhat apologetically. The sea breeze passed over him for a moment, blowing his coat out behind him. He stood a little to the side, which seemed to help calm the garment down a bit.

"Tell me, Mr. StarRunner, did that leopard and that bat go around kicking puppies at random before they joined this group?" Cog said, smiling slightly. "Because by the looks of some of the people around here, I'd have to guess they did a lot of that."

His gaze grew distant, invisibly, as it was hidden behind his sunglasses. "There are far rougher and meaner types than the kind who give out meat pies. I recall one blackguard I once knew who had a penchant for setting forests on fire, and then burning the game that was flushed out of the ensuing inferno. Real bastards." he said musingly.
"Ah, well. You people use judo as a combat form." he said, almost laughing before he caught himself. "No offense, of course! But I've never seen a group of...well, I guess you're not adventurer's either. Either way, a group that tries to fight off demons with nonlethal combat, I suppose."

He paused, brushing a silver strand out of his eyes. "Being a former bounty hunter, I think you know what I mean. And, besides." he said, nodding his way back to the thump that seemed to emanate from behind them. "It's not like they've tried to kill anyone yet, yeah?"

"Unless that meat pie was poisoned." Cog said, pausing. "Hm."