Furrae Chronicles: Webs of Destiny (IC) [M] {2}

[Tapewolf]

"Greetings," said Jakob to the Mythos.  He was watchful, but not that alarmed - meeting Gabi had shorted most of the suspense away and his paranoia had shifted gears into suspicion.  But he didn't want it to show - if the Mythos was a threat, he wasn't going to put him on his guard.

Although it was the temple staff Jakob was most distrustful of, he was keeping his options open.  After all, he was a shapeshifter and skilled illusionist himself, so the notion that things might not be what they seemed came as second nature. 

If the Oracles were crooked, they could probably disguise themselves as others, perhaps even their creepy assistants like the crow and the maid.  He'd have to keep watch, and see if there were any two people who never emerged at the same time.

It was also possible that the Oracles were dead and some agency allied with the bandits they had slain had taken over the temple and was impersonating them.  Bet they wouldn't see that coming, he thought and turned his mind back to the present.

"How did you get past the bandits, if I may ask?" he said curiously.
Even without empathy, he could tell that Gabi was also unnerved by the fact that the Oracles had apparently lost one of their guests.  He was starting to feel that his paranoia might be justified.

[Gareeku]

Listening to the feline speak, Gareeku nodded and waved farewell as Ignatz left the scene. However, there was something about the stranger. Something quite troubling. Listening to Aisha, the wolf nodded his head in agreement.
"Good idea." he replied, walking with the pantheress and Anzimani as they re-entered the temple. Glancing at a rather ornate clock, whos face was carved out of the same stone as the structure of the temple was, Gareeku saw that they had about 20 minutes until the dinnertime according to Ignatz.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think I might check out the rooms." the wolf said to the others, before making his way down a set of corridors. It was then, however, that Gareeku turned a corner, only to come across Gabi and Jakob.
"I take it you guys have seen the rooms." he commented as he walked up to them. Before he could say anything more, however, the wolf saw the stranger with them, who appeared to be some sort of mythos.
"And you are...?" he asked curiously.

[Gabi]

Gabi turned to look at Gareeku, somewhat relieved to see him, but unsure of how to react after all that had happened... and in front of the stranger to boot. Lots of thoughts struggled to come out and, as usual, she had to set priorities.

She nodded in response to Gareeku's first question, and then asked: "Are you feeling better now?," at about the same time as he asked the second one.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

"Sister?" The drab grey servant looked over the feline in front of her and subtle shifting came over her, getting quicker as it went. The dull grey fur became brighter and silkier, becoming a silvery shade against which white stripes were a soft contrast. A little taller, much sleeker, eyes larger and a brighter blue. The features of the face made just tiny shifts but enough to turn from dull and ordinary to a pretty sweetness. As maid uniform turned itself into a dress and robe a pair of wings seemed to shake themselves into existence. Dove grey with tiny black speckles on each feather they seemed to change from light to dark and back as the feathers moved.

"Well then, Shadow, I think you should remind me of what name you go by at dinner time. Sisters should know such things." Half joke half request for information it was presented in a voice that changed more dramatically than anything. The village girl accent had become the perfectly accentless voice that marked someone as having spent a very long time in very expensive schools and was very difficult to fake.

[Gareeku]

As soon a he asked the question to the stranger, Gareeku turned to Gabi and smiled slightly, having heard her question.
"I'm fine, thanks." replied, with a headnod of affirmation as he spoke.

[Aisha deCabre]

As Aisha wandered into the halls with Anzimani and Gareeku, her ears swiveled to catch any sounds that were coming through the corridors, and she almost thought that the familiar voices of the party members could be heard.  Also glancing at the clock, the panthress figured that finding a room was a good idea before going to dinner.  The place was large enough that one might have been wandering for a little while if they didn't.  She nodded in agreement with the wolf and followed along until the voices were confirmed, and shook her head almost humorously.  Yeah, I knew they wouldn't be asleep yet.

She spared a wave to Gabi and Jakob upon coming across them, only for the panther to tilt her head at the stranger that they were with.  "A mythos...?" she hummed thoughtfully.  Another mystery had come up.  She wondered briefly if he had come alone, or was with Ignatz...and just how any of them did make it past the bandits.  Aisha's look was one of slight suspicion, perhaps as much as the others.

[Stygian]

"I'm Ignatz Donovan, if you remember?" the feline said, winking at Mel a bit and smiling. He had used that name when he first met her. "And you're... Amelaine. Yes. That sounds like you." He smiled, and offered his hand to the other feline, now looking somewhat similar to himself. "Shall we?"
   They walked out of the forgotten garden and into the monastery yet again, almost drifting through the corridors, and with his sense of scent and hearing 'Ignatz' began searching for the adventurers. He found their trace after a short while, heading in their direction with his 'sister' at his side.

[Hilary]

Anzimani agreed that seeing their accommodations before dinner would be convenient. She would like to leave her pack in her room if the security seemed adequate, keeping, of course, her weapons on her person. Despite the fact that the oracles seemed to genuinely want to help them, Anzimani didn't trust that they would be able to keep the group safe. Because of this, the phoenix kept alert as she wound her way through the maze of passages.

Anzimani tried not to stare as the mythos came into view, barely registering the additional presence of Gabi and Jakob. She had never seen a mythos before, though she had read about them, and her boundless curiosity was pushing her to ask the babble of questions that popped into her head. However, she knew that most of them would appear rude and she kept her mouth closed, veiling her intense interest. She nodded greetings to Jakob and Gabi politely, while inwardly taking notes about the stranger and wondering at his purpose here.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

The pair of felines rounded a corner and Mel saw a familiar group in front of them, along with a mythos she hadn't spotted before. Interesting that a mythos was now involved. She put on a politely curious smile and waited for Ignatz to introduce her.

[Stygian]

Smoothly walking up to the group, Ignatz mentally prepared, and then smiled at them. He stepped up just a few feet off and smiled.
   "Ah. Right. You were the others in the party that just arrived, correct?" he asked with a friendly tone, looking over Jakob and Gabi curiously. Thoughts, speculations and predicitons swirled in his head before he pushed them away, focused on the situation and proffered them a hand.
   "I'm Ignatz, and this is my sister, Amelaine. Pleased to meet you." He smiled and patted Mel's shoulder. "We were heading off to see the others about dinner. You coming?"

[Aisha deCabre]

While the others awaited a reply from the mythos, Aisha had started to step into the background a little more, leaning on the wall of the corridor as she watched them.  The panther had the mind to walk past and look for a room for herself, only to quirk an ear at someone else walking down the hall.  She glanced over curiously, only to view Ignatz and another felid that certainly had to be his sister.

As they came up to the group and introduced themselves, Aisha made a polite bow of her head to Amelaine in greeting, before her stomach started to growl again at the mention of dinner.  She put a hand over it.  Patience.  "Dinner sounds good," she replied, glancing at the others for what they had to say.

[James StarRunner]

Wordlessly, James walked past the group in the hallway. He was in no mood to talk at the moment. With his gaze pointed at the ground, James let his nose find the way to the dining area.

[Gareeku]

About to say something to the mythos, Gareeku then heard a voice. Turning to look, he found it to belong to Ignatz, who had another feline with him.
"Pleased to meet you, Amelaine." the wolf said politely, bowing slightly as he spoke. Hearing Aisha's comment, Gareeku smirked.
"Seconded." he added, before turning towards the approaching James. Gareeku was just about to say something, until he noticed the look on his friend's face.

It was a look of sadness, one of grieving, even. It was then that the wolf remembered how he had heard James' voice shout out in the temple, asking the question of where his parents were. Knowing that the squirrel would be in no mood to talk, the look on his face being evident enough, Gareeku let him pass as he turned to the others. "Let's go."

[Hilary]

Anzimani smiled at the feline newcomers. She was about to introduce herself to Amelaine but was distracted as James walked by. The phoenix didn't know what was wrong, but it wasn't her nature to disturb someone when they were in such a mood; she wanted to help, but she never knew what to say. Just knowing that one of the group was downcast affected her own mood. Unable to say anything, she could only watch James walk by, feeling a little sadder than before.

She tried to put it out of her mind; she needed to have her wits about her. She had a strange feeling in her stomach that she couldn't place. It might be tension, undercurrents of fear, or simply the effect of not eating for a while; she couldn't tell. But she could tell that something wasn't quite right. It was like trying to remember a dream-- she knew she wouldn't be able to grasp it, so she let it go and prepared to follow Gareeku.

[Gareeku]

Seeing that everyone was ready, Gareeku turned and made his way to the dining room, situated just down the tall-ceilinged hallway from where they were standing. Upon entering, it could be seen that the room was rather formal-looking, in that the cutlery was all laid out on the various circular tables dotted around the room. There was also a long table situated as the back of the room slightly elevated up from the others. This would be where the high priestess of the temple, as well as the other priestesses, would sit, being able to see everyone in the room from the elevated position. Next to the entrance of the room was a small desk, where a canine servant sat. Looking up at the group, the brown-furred alsatian smiled.
"Ah, you must be our guests." he commented. "When you're done choosing what you want, come back to see me to tell me and I'll pass it on for you."

Each table sat up to 10 people, and on each of these tables were menus. If anything, it seemed more like a restaurant than a dining room in a temple. Gareeku wasn't surprised though; it was typical of a phoenix temple to be so formal, even when dining. Thanking the canine before sitting down on a table in the far corner of the room, the wolf grabbed one of the menus from the middle of the table and began to read it. Rather than a list of set meals, however, there was merely an option between the phoenix food and drink, which was also certainly some form of birdseed and tea, and other food and drink, which the group would have to pay for if they wanted it.

[Tapewolf]

Sitting at the table, Jakob took water.  Since he was able to subsist entirely off emotions, he generally avoided consuming anything with nutritive content in order to keep his base form lean.  Watching the others eat was a bit of a drag, but he was used to that by now, and besides it gave him more opportunity to covertly study the new faces.

I never did find out how the Mythos got past the bandits, he thought.

[Stygian]

The feline stepped over to the table where the wolf had seated himself, taking time to pull out the chairs for the ladies next to him and see everyone seated.
   "I'm hoping they have veal on for the evening. Couldn't well ask for poultry, now could I?" he said with a smile. "Let me get your orders for you. Sister, you can take care of them meanwhile. I know you're better than me on the etiquette." He stood to the side, eyeing the group interestedly.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel blushed a bit but smiled at those at the table. "I don't think we've finished introductions yet. As my brother said a moment ago, we are Ignatz and Amelaine Donovan. You can call me Mel. And you are?"

[Aisha deCabre]

As Aisha followed the others into the dining hall, she couldn't help but grin slightly at the beauty of the architecture.  Whatever one could say about the Oracles, they certainly knew how to prepare for guests, or at least expect them.  They weren't without courtesy, at least, though she was slightly intimidated by the formal look and feel about it.

She followed the others to the table after nodding to the canine servant, but then cast a concerned look at James, who had only silently went past before with a sulking demeanor.  The panther's ears went back to her skull briefly.  More bad news from the Phoenix I take it.  I don't suppose there will be too much light-heartedness tonight then.  With a hum, she sat down and looked over one of the menus, before snickering after Ignatz's comment.  "Dammit, chicken sounds really good about now, too."  The panther shrugged.  "I'm not picky.  Veal or perhaps beef.  Whatever's filling."  Or cheap, she added silently, trying to remember how much she had on her without taking out a money pouch around strangers.

Then, she briefly smiled as Amelaine introduced herself, the huntress giving a polite nod back.  "I've met your brother briefly.  But nice to meet you too, Mel."

[masked_bandit_lord]

"Bandits aren't hard to beat on a one to one, or even a two to one. I took a..." Nyfe looked for a proper word to describe the meandering path he took over several crags, rocky outcroppings, and pitfalls in order to reach the temple with minimal bandit interferance. "I took a roundabout way through Devil's Path. Just enough to get through the weak points in their defense. Really, if you're alone it isn't that difficult. Well, as long as you can climb."

Upon being asked his name, the Mythos looked around at the small group which had congregated. "My name is Nyfe Bikirivar Raxolith. You can call me Nyfe. I'm from the Armory Plains in the south." He looked around and then frowned. Somebody should have come for him by now. "Er... if it's not too much trouble could I stick with you guys for a while? I just got a seriously wierd vibe all of a sudden. Isn't this a temple? You would think there would be a little more hustle and bustle in the corridor's yeah?" It was strange. It seemed that the temple was deserted, though Nyfe imagined it should have been far more busy. They were after all fortune tellers. Fortune tellers tended to get a lot of business.

[James StarRunner]

Seated at the table, James looked through the menu. He pointed at one of the dishes to one of the servers and said a few barely audible words. Lot long after, he was served a small mountain of hamburgers. Throwing manners aside, James unceremoniously tore into his first burger, taking huge bites out of it.

[Gareeku]

After deciding what he wanted to eat, Gareeku glanced at the female feline sitting with them and listened to her introduction, smiling warmly.
"It's nice to meet you, Mel. My name is Gareeku Manoko." the wolf replied in an introduction of his own, bowing his head slightly in a polite manner as he spoke.

Getting up to order his food, Gareeku returned a minute later, only to find his food, a plate of hamburgers, arriving barely a minute after he had returned to the table. Eating his food, the wolf glanced to the squirrel seated next to him with a look of concern in his eyes, before looking back to his food. Deciding in his head that he would confront his friend about what seemed to be getting him down after they had finished dinner, Gareeku continued to eat his meal as he listened as the others speak.

[Stygian]

As the others helped themselves, Ignatz simply shrugged, made a bit of a smile and a roll with his eyes, and then went and took an order. He returned with a nearly uncooked piece of meat and some vegetables and marinated garlic, together with plain water and a glass of wine, and sat down, skillfully and orderly slicing up his meat and eating in a manner that much made James' munching seem doglike.
   "So, as I was saying..." he spoke, seemingly not minding anything much at all, "I am here on behalf of the Creature Council. Mel followed to look at some records. The phoenixes are also quite the historians, it seems, though I should not say that I know much of the matter."

[Tapewolf]

"Hmm?  Did you say the Creature Council, or the Being-Creature Council?" said Jakob.  "What are they after?  Have the kidnappings upset them too?"  Perhaps one of the Council has been kidnapped, he thought.  That would certain set the cat among the pigeons.

Jakob hadn't had much to do with the shadowy Creature Council itself, but he didn't like the Being-Creature council very much.  Some years ago he had been arrested over the Johan Cross affair and although he had been acquitted of genocide and most of the murders, he did have to pay some rather large fines.  Their poor track record in dealing with actual serial Being killers did not help matters either.

[Gabi]

Upon hearing the words "Creature Council", Gabi's ears perked up. She lifted her eyes from her plate and began to pay more attention to the conversation in progress. She didn't really know much about the Creature Council, except that they were very picky when choosing their members and dealt with obscure things for motives that were even more obscure. She wondered what Mel's connection to them was, and why they had sent her there. She didn't say anything, though, judging that listening would prove more fruitful.

[Aisha deCabre]

As the conversations started, Aisha had gone up to get her own order: a steak, not too heavy on the sauce.  Despite the fact that the avians had little to offer the adventurers much in the line of choices, the meat still looked succulent.  When the panthress returned to the table, she tilted her head and gave James a brief funny look.  I've heard of drowning one's sorrow, but bloating it?  She shook her head and sat down, hoping that everyone would have time to recover from their respective troubles in due time.  She wouldn't interrupt the squirrel if he didn't want it.

As she dug in, her ears were tuned to the conversations, especially the ones that Ignatz had started about the Creature Council and how they played a part in all of this trouble.  With so much concern, and suspicion from some of the group, Aisha wondered if those who needed sleep would actually get it.

[Gareeku]

Listening to the conversation unfold, Gareeku raised an eyebrow as he finished one of his hamburgers.
"So the Creature Council is involved in this...huh...it's not like them to get involved in such matters, unless one of them has been taken, too?" the wolf queried, before starting on another hamburger as he waited for a reply.

[Stygian]

The feline sliced off a bit of dripping red veal, and cocked his head to the side, his eyes gleaming distantly and with a bit of a glow to them as he chewed down his last bit and licked his lips, thinking quietly for a while, holding the readied piece on his fok in the air as if to signify that he was about to make a point or the like.
   "I think I heard something about relations being tense, or whatnot, because of these events. I suppose that means that someone on the Council could possibly have been kidnapped. But I wouldn't bet on it. It would more probably be someone they hired or who is connected to them somehow," he said, almost leisurly, and placed the sweet slice in his mouth, murring a bit at the taste. "Oh yes, and it was the Creature Council, not the Creature-Being Council, though I suspect they are in more of an uproar about it. I normally do not work with the likes, but assignments have been scarce since Al'Meddan about fifty years ago, and with adventurers like the Cabres and... what'shisnameagain, that western one... Ti'Fiona around, many interesting things have been cut short lately." The big cat chuckled and swallowed a piece of garlic. "Not that I'm complaining of course; peace and prosperity is very much enjoyable. But there tends to be so much more for a scholar to do and study, once the villains start to dig up the old libraries and tombs. You know how it is."
   He seemed to settle with that comment, and focused on his quickly finishing dinner, taking another glass of the spicy wine and leaning back contently.

[Aisha deCabre]

As the conversation went on, Aisha was moreover concentrated on her food with little interest in the topic of the Creature council, though her ear flickered and turned in the direction on the curious matter of the choice that one of them would have been taken too.  Peh, no doubt they wouldn't have taken that sitting down.  The other possibility is more plausible.  Otherwise we might have run into more chaos.  Or will, anyway.  By this point, it was hard to imagine that the group would be able to see much more peace for a while.

Then, at his mention of disturbance from adventurers, there was an audible gulp in her throat while swallowing as the Cabres were mentioned...the only indicative concern for it.  She continued to eat her food with a sort of blank look to her plate.  It wasn't too odd for her family name to have come up in the past...but not in any recent affairs.  She was most likely the only survivor.  "Ti'fiona I could imagine," she commented to that with a slight chuckle, sitting up briefly.  "And a few others."  She glanced back at Gareeku, for his name should have certainly been one, before her teeth sank back into a piece of steak.

[Gareeku]

Listening to Ignatz explain his relationship with the Creature Council as he finished off his meal, Gareeku smirked. In a way he was glad he hadn't mentioned the Manokos. Although a reputation was good for business, sometimes it annoyed him, especially when it meant he could be hunted by people. He knew he had a price on his head, and so sometimes he thought it was best to try to discourage a reputation.

"Heh, I'm sure." he commented with a slight grin, before taking a gulp of his glass of water. "I've heard about Ti'Fiona. I think he's retired though, though I could be wrong."
Looking around, the wolf saw that others had entered the dining room and were enjoying their meals. Most of them were phoenixes, obviously including the ones sat at the head temple. There were also a few beings and creatures, too; no doubt they were people who worked as attendants in the temple.

"So how did you get to this temple, if you don't mind me asking?" Gareeku asked, before taking another gulp of his water as he awaited an answer.