Flight of Fancy: IC (Mature) {Currently Closed}

[Tapewolf]

Jakob jumped at the interruption, put the last piece of baguette down, and turned.  He noticed a demon-winged snow leopard looking back at him expectantly.

"Me, madam?" the wolf said.  "I did notice something, in fact.  A sort of coloured flash?  I  wondered it was something in the tuna."

He looked around briefly to see if anyone else had noticed.

"I wouldn't worry," he said at last, "Probably just a transient fault in the magic-damper enchantment."

[Lisky]

Baseel tried hard to suppress a smirk and failed miserably.  His bemused grin, and casual demeanor meant to be disarming.  His tone cordial and polite as he gave a reply  " It's not my intention to be rude...   Nor did I intend to stare.  Simply that your current form is as unexpected as it is an oddity.  I've never seem someone quite like you before.  If you'll pardon my initial curiosity, it's simply a lack of familiarity that caused my gaze to linger a little longer than you may deem socially appropriate."

Giving a nod towards the dealer he checked his cards and tapped a finger on the table "hit me" 

As the others explained a bit about the game, Baseel added, "it's one of the few games where mathematical probability can actually give you an even edge though.  Compared to most casino games, the winnings here tend to be a bit more in the player's favor than most.  Something like sixty / forty in favor of the house.  So compared to the general seventy-five percent win the house takes, it's a shock they still keep blackjack tables at all."

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     

The demoness kept her purr as she let her demeanor of professional nobility falter a little more.  She gave a gentle lean across the table, resting her elbow on the edge of the table while propping her chin up upon her half-formed fist. 

"Well, this should be a fun little game...  Though why keep things so low-stake and mundane.  No sense of excitement unless there's a little risk involved, ya'know?" 

Leaning back, and crossing one leg over the other, she let the movement hike her dress up just a bit while still making sure she'd kept herself modest

[Angel]

<Magic? I wondered why those manacles were different from mine. What could this child be capable of doing?> Those were questions for later. Right now, he had to act as the protector he needed to be. Remembering Mateo's earlier outburst, he tried not to be patronizing.

"That is good. A young man should not have to know how to fight or kill," Kenyan said to Mateo, turning to face the cub with a tired, sad smile. "It should be your last choice, always. Those who use it first are the cowardly and the desperate."

He sighed, again lowering his ears. "But in this case, we are desperate. You will have to know something beyond whatever magic you have if you want to live, or if you wish not to hurt anyone innocent. Your job in this escape should be to keep yourself alive, long enough to get off the ship and home to your family. I'm sure there are plenty of us here who are willing to teach you how to fight for that."

At his last words, the lion looked expectantly at Jake and Wallard. No matter what angle you looked at it from, they were more experienced than him in fighting, defensively or not. Nodding encouragingly to Mateo, he now turned to the avian woman, who was standing behind them. Having heard her strange words and thick accent, he spoke carefully, but not too slowly or loudly. He knew she wasn't stupid; he wanted to make sure she knew it too.

"What about you? Can you fight or use magic?"

[Boog]

Jeremiah neatly dealt a card to Baseel with a flourish that COULD, but not definitely, have hidden a deal from the bottom of the deck. Or his sleeve. Fourty to sixty. Yes.
The card was of course nothing that cause the man to break twenty-one. Not yet, anyway. He'd had some bad experiences with demons, wasn't much fond of them, but he knew not to risk a sore loser. Still needed the house to win, but he had to make it look good.

A throb ran through the air around him, something in the back of Jeremiah's mind raised its head and sniffed...

Pulse.
What?
Pulsepulsepulse. Magic.
Jeremiah nearly groaned aloud. Of all the facets of his curse In was the least articulate. Literally behind the door when the other personalities had been staking out territories in his brain, the amount of intelligence that In had to work with left him perpetually stupid and unable to develop intellectually, like a goldfish in too small a tank.
What are you talking about?
Pulse.
Jeremiah finished dealing to the others at his table. He didn't have time for this.

[Kafzeil]

Kafzeil tensed up as Aisha' rage began to build. While he cast doubt she would attempt to take out her anger on him, the possibility was enough to put him on edge. Thankfully, for both of them, Aisha would calm herself down.

Well, relatively calm, but it was better then the alternative.

He listened to her. She briefly told him her story. The tone of her voice told him everything he needed to know. He crossed his arms, nodding solemnly as she finished, mentioning she would work with demons, just she wouldn't like it at first.

"Your story is not an uncommon one, I regret saying." He kept his eyes locked on her. "However, it is good you don't let your feelings of vengeance and anger rule you. I have seen this destroy people. Adventurers so caught up in there crusades that they knowingly or not let them destroy their lives, and lives of those around them. Even the ones who care about them. Too often have many let their vendettas turn them into the very monsters they swore to destroy."

He placed his hand on her shoulder again, this time smiling. "But you can at least work past that anger and know to only kill the ones who rightfully earned it. For that I admire you, my friend."

He took his hand off her and stroked his chin."She is a member of the Keter family. Fairly powerful, especially in mercantile circles. I doubt they would be connected to your past...trauma. They tend to frown upon such atrocities. For pragmatic reasons. Don't fool yourself by thinking they're weak and harmless, they come down harshly on those who cross them. But reward people who aid them generously."

Kafzeil chuckled a bit."Eden is...s strange girl. It's rare to see her frown. But she's intelligent, resourceful, and trained in combat.She's just eccentric.Very eccentric"

*********

Eden glanced over at the demon vixen, grin still plastered on her face.

"What kind of "Risks" are we talking about here?" She asked, glancing back the canine, then back to her cards.

[SquirrelWizard]

Evan thanked the barkeep and put some coin down to cover the beer. He had started the slow process of nursing the it when the moose slid into the seat next to him. Evan wasn't the paranoid type but he had learned long ago to at least size up the guy next to you, just in case things went south. He took a slow pull from his beer, using it as an excuse to get a good look at the moose out of the corner of his eye.

He didn't get much though. The moose could just be there for a drink, or just really good at being unassuming. There was really only one way to find out. Setting the beer on the bar, Evan tilted his head in the moose's direction, "So, what brings you to this flying menagerie?"

[VAE]

"True, true. That's the thing with underlings... whenever you actually rely on them tends to be the one time they royally fuck up. Either way, pleasure on my side. Captain."
As the captain left, Vladim dusted off his robes one more time, and set off out of the gymnasium.
Hmm now to find the dining r...  meh, don't think they'll be quite ready with lunch at this time of day. Besides- The lynx rubbed his chestbone and hissed. -this hurts like fuck, that demon has fist like a jackhammer..... a bit more liquid anaesthetic might not hurt, I guess.
Changing course towards the upper docks, he walked back into the bar.
Nice... that fancy angel sure as hell didn't bring those sandwiches as a pack lunch along with the tray... meaning they probably serve something here. Good to kill two flies with a single whack.
The lynx approached the barman again.
"Say, a shot of bitter, and something to eat if you will."

[Inumo]

The lion was talking to her, but it was hard to understand the merchant's tongue. Was that word... fight? Was he asking if she could fight? Xyrtia hoped she wasn't forgetting her vocabulary as she answered, "I can use a... metal thing on the end of rope, and a... big knife. But..." She didn't know how to talk about her disability, so she simply gestured to her wings. This language barrier was going to make things difficult.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had to let out a good-natured chuckle, after Kafzeil's praise on her self-control.  The panthress had never really thought of herself as one with the strength to keep their darker nature in check.  In her past, it was all she was...she was always ready for a fight the moment her tail ring had given off a glow in the presence of a dark-magic-inclined Creature, Demon or not.  Once, it had even led to the shameful death of an innocent...something that still haunted her.  But since, she had grown...she allowed herself to be more than a pillar of vengeful rage.

Not that I still wouldn't immediately draw my bow on a demon of Be'Laan, she thought.  The Risen was not about to let slip her mask, or her purpose.

The bounty hunter nodded to the Angel.  "Eden, eh?  Hm, yes, I have heard of Keter in some places.  It is somewhat reassuring to know that there are some demons with a sense of propriety."

With that, she turned back toward the door, stretching her arms as she did so.  "At any rate, amigo, if we are to be a part of a slave raid, we ought to get to some recruiting...after a drink or two on my end at least.  This is a luxury cruise airship after all.  I don't know about you, but I plan to enjoy said luxuries as much as possible before we have to start running for our lives," she snorted a short laugh.  "I'll be back up at the casino bar."

I wonder if there's a pool in this place as well, the black jaguar hummed as she navigated back toward the aforementioned floor.  A water cat shan't be denied.

*     *     *

Back in the slave hold, Jake stretched his limbs (doing as best he could with limited movement, thanks to the weights on his wings) and wondered exactly what time it was.  If our gracious hosts want to keep us in fair condition for fighting, you'd at least think they'd have the courtesy to put a clock on the wall.  By his calculation, since they'd eaten some moments ago, it was winding down close to the evening hours, not exactly yet dinnertime.

He listened to the conversations that started after the coatimundi pretty much dismissed them to think about his offer, and regarded some of the younger ones with sad pity.  If they already didn't know how to fight, then they'd have quite the hard time.

Jake hummed.  "I can probably teach these guys a few things.  I'm basically what amounts to a captain of the guard at a Healer's monastery."  He took on a basic hand-to-hand pose, his talon-claws wriggling as he grinned.  "Some fancy unarmed combat, very basic, but very important for control, would help.  And if anyone has a stave or polearm, all the better."  The gryphon rolled his eyes upward and sighed.  "If I could only find out where they stashed my halberd after the rich bastards caught me."

"They more 'n likely took ana-thing an' ever'thing from us that counts as a weapon, kid," Wallard pointed out with crossed arms.  "Them martial arts would have t' do until we git our hands on somethin'.  An' when th' opportunity comes," he added, turning his gaze back to Kenyan and the young ones around him, "Y'all better grab whatcha can, when ya can.  In a fight or a flight, ev'ry second could be yer last."

Jake sighed and leaned back against his part of the wall, trying to think of how he was indeed going to defend himself when the time came.  And how he was going to get those stupid weight clips off so that he could move better.

Suddenly, just out of his field of sight, there was like a small shimmer in the air...the kind that looked like heat rising from metal.  He turned his head toward the short disturbance, but it faded almost as soon as it had appeared.

...The magic dampener must have glitches, he thought, narrowing his eyes.  Something to note for later, perhaps.

[Angel]

Kenyan nodded encouragingly as Xyrtia spoke. She was doing well so far; he could understand what little she said, and she had understood him. That was a good start. When she said she could fight, he was relieved. Whatever place she came from had taught her to fight even though she was a female. But then he noticed her helpless gesture to her wings. Was something wrong with them? Would it hurt their escape? He knelt down and carefully looked at the feathers, blinking in shock when he saw that her longest feathers had been cut. It was something he'd never seen done before. But the effect was obvious.

"You can't fly?" he asked, looking back up at her. "Did they do this?" He knew the answer already, but he wanted to be sure his anger was justified.

Then he heard Jake and Wallard talking again. He only caught a few words of what was said, though the direct address from Wallard was clear enough. But the words "fight", "teach" and "help" were clear enough from Jake. Uneasiness flashed through Kenyan's eyes, but he waited to learn more about this jay woman before talking to the warriors.

[Inumo]

It was odd to have someone else feel the stubs of her feathers. The lion started talking, then... Fly! Right, that was the word! Xyrtia shook her head, saying, "No, I cannot fly. The... men from before-time. Took me, did this. Sold me like this." She felt like she was expected to cry now, but she had already done that. Fighting was being discussed, and that meant no emotions, only logic.

[Angel]

Kenyan's tail lashed back and forth again, and he stifled a growl. He had been chained to the extent that any movement of his arms would choke him on the way here, but what they had done to the jay was ... insulting. Her freedom was one thing, but her wings? He suddenly remembered Wallard and wisely said nothing more on the subject. Besides, she appeared to be focused on other things. He briefly glanced at her nametag, itching his neck around his own cast-iron collar. He spoke again to her, carefully and slowly, doing his best to stifle his own accent.

"They," he nodded at Jake and Wallard, "want to teach us how to fight with our hands. It will help if you cannot find a knife, to learn from them. I need to talk to them now. If you need me, for anything..." He tapped his chest. "My name is Kenyan."

With that, he turned and walked over to Jake and Wallard. The uneasiness had returned. "It seems fair to tell you...I cannot fight with weapons. As I said to him," he jerked his head at the coati, "I hate fighting, no matter why it must happen."

The corner of his mouth twitched upward with an odd mix of anger and amusement. "But our captors do not know that. They only know the way I acted when I was brought in. I want to help you, but I do not want anyone to die. I think it will be useful if I learn how to fight without hurting someone." His expression had shifted to a more earnest one now. It was an odd request, he knew, but nothing about this situation was normal.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

The Slavehold
The thrum of the engines below you seems to wobble a bit or it might just be your collective imagination. Still, the even lights, lack of clocks leaving only the growing irritation in the bowels as a means of tracking time, which a few of the slaves relieve in an out of the way corner as the stench starts to make its way back up the hold in a perverse malaise that dries away hard thought and a tight grip on consciousness. Even teh newcomer's magic energy seems to be sapped a little, and he takes to watching Kenyan, Xyrtia, and Mateo, idly pacing around their little huddle but not saying anything.


Main Bar
The bartender makes up a duplicate sandwich and dip, passing it to Hobbies. "Again, beggin yer pardon sirs. I hope the service hasn't been too shoddy."

The moose wrings his hands together, and then leans in at Evan, not quite whispering, but talking low enough that it would be very difficult to hear him. "I was looking for you, actually. You are in some danger, and I'm relieved to see you safe. I was delayed earlier, but I see you've managed to avoid the threat. I don't want to talk though, not while our more......lizardy cousins are around. Don't trust dragons, and try to meet me somewhere out of their hearing, as quickly as possible. I think best would be if we left separately and met up near one of our rooms, doesn't matter which one. Don't be alone with a dragon." He pulls back, and quickly orders and absinthe, and even more quickly grumbles about how long it takes to arrive.

The Casino
The bunny gives Terry a little nudge. "You ok there, neighbor?" There's a minor disturbance over by the roulette tables, as the awkward dragon Itangast tries to maneuver himself into position to place a bet without knocking over other patrons in the process.

First deck bar

Silently, and keeping an eye on Ephrael and her steady progress towards stupefication, the bartender pours a pint of ale and slides out a complimentary bread trencher while passing Vladim a small menu. "Any preferences, sir?"

[Inumo]

As the coatimundi circled their group, Xyrtia's hunter training kicked in and she began to keep an eye on him at all times. While she doubted he would be trouble, one could never be sure. Unfortunately, this meant it took almost twice as long to translate the lion's last statement. "Okay, Kenyan," she replied at last, still aware of the coati. "I am willing to learn."

[Paladin Sheppard]

Paladin looked between the two demonesses trying very hard to keep up his illusion of just being a simple being, and while tangling with these two would be fun he WAS here for a rest. "Lasses" He pleaded with a grin oh his face "Are ye trying turn my hair grey?"

He paused for a moment as he saw dancing light around him, but he shook it off as some effect of the dampener. "And woe upon me if was to chase ye both off but I find the game more challenging for lower stakes"


****************************

Ephrael's ears perked up at the sound of a new person entering the bar and a predatory grin flashed across the Devil's face. It seemed that Vladim had just sat down when Ephrael was sitting in the stool next to the Lynx. "Hello there, I'm Ephrael" The Diminutive Tassie Devil said as she reached out a hand in greeting, ad toothy grin on her face.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel nodded in agreement. "You are probably right." But as she looked at the glass in her hand it seemed less and less likely. High end anti-break and anti-spill charms on each and every glass showed that the owner hadn't been shy about spending on magic. "Yet it seems a bit... odd... that the failure would be in one of the most important and advertised spells."

Could the failure have something to do with the losses in the casino?

[Tapewolf]

Jakob thanked the barman as the baguette was passed over to the other incubus. In some ways it felt like a bit of a hollow gesture since the food and drink were essentially free, but it was only polite.

"I never really saw the point anyway," Jakob said to the snow leopard, "I mean, if someone can afford a ticket on one of these, do they really have anything to gain by cheating the casino?  Wouldn't that be like hiring a dozen crack mercenaries just to rob a newspaper stand?"

[VAE]

Why the hell ale?! That's not what I... fuck... maybe they just don't have herb liquor around these parts... Meh, ale good enough for now, and I can always get more drinks.

Vladim reached to grab the tankard and took a swig....Well, at least it was good ale - but then  ,that was half the point of traveling by an airship of this class.
Looking at the leaflet, he was interrupted by what appeared to be a slightly drunk .. what species is she even?
"'Ephrael, now that's an unusual name...." The lynx shook her paw... "Anyways, I'm Vladim, and before you even ask, I'm not a priest of the Kolman war god."  He took another swig. "Hmm, pork pie seems good. You want anything? The food's free as well, you know."

[justacritic]

Hobbies noticed the time as he finished off his snack. He said farewell to Jakob, saying that he had to prepare for the coming show. The incubus left the bar and headed to the stage. When he arrived several members of the crew had already started setting up. Hobbies went and made sure that the ushers knew of the additional instructions that he had. Next the incubus went backstage and began to set into position the puppets that he had. It was going to be a long night.

[Tipod]

"You're quite knowledgeable about probability for a demon." Oh, great, fifteen. Such an awkward hand to be dealt. He tapped his index finger against the table. "Hit me."

"...uh, not that I'm implying you're an idiot or anything," he hemmed at Baseel. Never once did Terry keep eye contact for more than a couple seconds. "I'm sorry, tall people make me nervous. A tall man did bad things to me." Hopefully, a good enough excuse for the demon to not inquire further. Demons had enough social grace to not push those sorts of things. Probably.

"...just don't stare, please."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel thought a moment before responding to the wolf. "Probably those who respond to a challenge. The owners have gone to great lengths to prevent cheating so beating the system could be more of a prize than the money to a certain type of person."

She wondered if following that thought could help with her search.

[Tapewolf]

"Perhaps," Jakob said.  "But the people I know who'd cheat for kicks, they tend not to actually take much.  The casinos tend not to care as long as the losses remain negligible - after all, the occasional win makes for good P.R."

He glanced discreetly at his pocketwatch - it wouldn't do to miss Hobbies' show.

[Lisky]

Baseel cocked an eyebrow and scratched his chin. His lips  formed a small smirk before he replied  "Hmmm... uncomfortable with tall people? Bad people and bad things... It sounds like you've had a rather, *ahem* interesting... life.   I mean... not be rude or anything, but you don't seem like any kind of mythos I've ever seen before.  Were you always like this?  Some type of wizardry gone wrong? "

His face shown a combination of amusement and intrigue for a moment before his train of thought was cut off by the mild disturbance.  A dragon seemed to have either forgotten how large their types really were... or simply didn't care.  A dragon is a dragon after all...  "Hold that thought..."  Baseel said, carefully maneuvering himself away from the table to a pair of patrons unlucky enough to be in the path of the club-like appendage.


*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *


Aleyna's predatory grin was all teeth and mirth.  T Claws clacking against the table, Aleyna watched the being with her wicked gaze.   Tilting her head slightly and subtly lowering her eyelids, the girl replied in a singsong voice, "Ohhh... the poor little boy worried that we're just too rich for his taste.  How mildly disappointing.  Perhaps we can find someone who's a bit more adventurous to play with us?"

[Kafzeil]

Kafzeil chuckled, following the pantheress out. He stretched with her, his wings spreading as much they could in the corridor.

"Not a bad plan. mInd If I join you for a drink or two?"He asked, arms resting behind his head.

"We might as well get to know each better, seeing as there is a pretty certain chance we could die horribly."

*******

Eden sighed, looking back at the canine, then the fellow Demon. "Come on, Good Sir. You're on vacation, live a little!"

She grinned at Aleyna, brushing her hair out of her face."I suppose we should. Not many would pass up this kind of...opportunity. Shocking, really." Eden leaned back very casually, maintaining eye contact with Aleyna as she crossed her arms.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha glanced back toward the winged ferret that followed her out, and gave a bit of a chuckle at his statement.  "The chances of death are always fairly certain in my profession, Kafzeil.  The best thing to do about it is to not dwell on it.  You do what you must, and the next time you can wake up to another sunrise, you appreciate it more."

The dark jaguar's tail swished, and she shortly missed the enchantment on it...they were after all going into the casino, where many peoples of many types had gathered, more than likely many among them with an affinity for dark magic.  Yet in this dampener it couldn't warn her of it.  The best thing to do was to blend in and act civil.

So long as they act civil to me.  At least it was a comfort to still feel the strap and weight of a hidden dagger on the inside of her calf.

"And yes," she continued, her usually stoic and battle-hardened face having softened into a friendly smile, "By all means, join me for a drink.  They actually have a fairly good strawberry-flavored ale here, but I couldn't have time to savor it before the antlered gentleman intervened."

The casino was still lively even into the evening hours as they entered.  Briefly, her eyes scanned the room, and immediately spotted what could easily be a few demons, wings and horns and all, about the tables.  A sneer came to her lip before she could control it, and her head shook.  Civil, chica.

Making sure her hair was straight and her navy clothes less-than-wrinkled enough to not look out-of-place among the high-class patrons, Aisha padded up to the bar and took a seat, looking over some of those seated nearby.

"Again, amazing the types that litter this place; I hope you can easily spot your...friend somewhere," she remarked to Kafzeil and waved the bartender down for another round of that ale.

*     *     *

Jake wasn't too surprised that Kenyan had easily taken him up on his offer to teach anyone that they could some basic hand-to-hand moves.  He smiled, in fact, when the lion-lynx mentioned learning something that wouldn't harm anyone too badly.

Wallard had scoffed, however.  "If'n that's what yer wantin' ta learn, I'll leave that up ta the Captain, here," he jerked a thumb at the younger gryphon and turned away.  "Anyone who's wantin' to be given some more good advice, jus' come talk ta me."

With a sigh, Jake turned to face Kenyan again.  "You've come to the right place, actually.  The Monastery of Healing favors more peaceful methods of negotiation, but the majority of us can fight and defend ourselves if we have to.  My own teacher was a monk, and he taught me everything I know...as he used to always say, 'use a sword when your arrows run out...and use your body when your sword is knocked away; it's all you have, but it can be more powerful than those two combined'.  Now, one thing; I can help you train, but you must understand that in order to survive, you may have to get a little brutal.  There are people who wouldn't think twice about killing you even after you've offered to just talk."

Jake got into a less-than-accurate Ba Gua stance, hindered by his weighted wings, just for demonstration.  "Many of these are for defense only, and utilizing maneuverability and swiftness.  If you can keep your feet moving, you can even stay within your opponent's reach without getting hit."

The Knight grinned.  "All this, of course, if you're interested.  So, are you?"

[SquirrelWizard]

"Oh I don't know." Evan smirked as he finished off his drink. "I'm pretty certain dragons can be trusted to be dragons; else they'd be otherwise. I could argue that everybody has certain degrees of draconic traits, or that perhaps dragons exhibit traits more in line with us." He sighed as he put the empty mug on the bar counter, "The discussion of the qualities of species is an always an interesting debate, but I'm afraid I can't give it the attention it properly deserves at the moment. For now, I'll be retreating to my room to freshen up. Perhaps later we can do the debate some justice."

Evan stood up from the bar and began to pick his way through the crowd to the exit of the casino that led off to the passenger quarters.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

The slavehold

A few of the prisoners take up Jake's offer to learn a bit about unarmed combat. Most seem to have little skill or aptitude, and you get a nagging suspicion that they're participating merely to while away the time until something happens.

Main Bar

Food and drinks flow easily, as more patrons start to come to the bar for evening libations. The Moose finishes his drink and quickly steps up and out, quickly threading his way through the casino and heading towards the residential halls.

The Casino
Itangast has finally managed to get himself to the roulette table, and only having spilled a couple of drinks, which he profusely apologized for and had already flagged down a waitress to replenish. He placed a bet on the corner, (1,2,4,5) and turned to hail the large demon approaching him. "Hello there, don't think I've met you before. I'm Itangast. What can I do for you?"



The dealer gives Terry a six, and the rabbit claps him on the back, congratulating his luck. "Good job there. I think I'm going to have to stand though. Pity, with a nine facing, but we've seen quite a few low cards."


First deck bar.

The bartender hovers attentively, waiting for an order.


The corridors.

As Evan turns a corner heading to his room, he almost bumps over the moose that he had spoken to earlier,, slightly out of breath from running to the point ahead of him. The moose holds up a hand, looking for eavesdroppers, and upon seeing none. "That blade you carry, it's an impressive one. You got it from a dragoness. Yes, I know these things and many more. One of her kin is HERE on the ship. Do you know what dragons do to thieves they catch? Now, I can shield you from them, but my help carries a price. I have an errand of exceeding urgence, low risk, but utmost importance. I need your help, and I. Will. Have. It. Are we clear?"

[justacritic]

        Hobbies stepped back and viewed his handiwork. All twelve performance puppets were ready for the first play. Also the fennec didn't need to convert puppets into another character until the next play. He heard the sounds of patrons being shown to their seats. He wondered if those three, the angel that worked for Clan Daryil, and the demon couple would be appearing. If so, the incubus hoped he had put enough space between them so nothing untoward would happen. Hobbies double-checked the puppets, props and scenery. This wasn't entirely a one-man show, other employees of the ship were to handle other technical tasks such as the curtains, lighting and moving the scenery. The incubus also checked to see if the enchantments installed into the puppets still were functional. While he was assured that the stage allowed for usage of magic. It paid to make sure that the show would still go on.

   Hobbies then took a deep breath as the sounds of people being seated settled down. In the wings an employee of the ship gave a gesture to see if he could pull apart the curtains. Hobbies nodded and beheld an entire audience in front of him. Another one of the ship's employees acting as the MC said. "Ladies, Gentlemen, Others, Demons, Angels, Dragons, Cubi, and other honored guests. The Flame of Freedom is proud to present Hobbies Sven of Clan G'ian and his puppet troupe who shall perform The Three Aunts, a traditional fairytale play in five acts." Hobbies took a bow and spread his wings to fly into the rafters above the stage as the curtain closed. For now he needed two puppets and focusing on the strings tied around his fingers. Using magic he attached the strings to two puppets, one that appeared to be a peasant wolf worn down by years of hard living. The other puppet was a girl dressed in simple clothing with only a few small attempts at decoration due to her station.

   Meanwhile the backstage crew hurried to place the backdrop. The curtain parted again and the story was told of a poor man surviving via hunting whose wife had passed away. The only legacy left behind was her daughter pure and innocent. As Hobbies moved the strings to create motion in the puppets, certain positions and jolts of magical energy at the right place and time made the puppets speak. Moving on, the wolf's daughter decided to make her way into the world. And to what would likely to be to the surprise of the audience she began to sing an aria of her hope to find her fortune, sorrow at leaving her father behind, and a desire to perhaps one day return and proudly bring her father to a respectable household. She traveled across the stage with the scenery moving with her until a large prop of a castle filled one-eighth of the stage. Hobbies shifted the father puppet out of view and detached the strings. He then shifted the strings to another puppet one that looked like a vixen. One dressed regally in imitation silk, velvet and to complete the look a crown covered in gold foil, every inch a queen.

   The gate of the castle opened and the queen puppet stepped out and reclined. The wolf girl puppet approached the vixen queen and they conversed. The queen was taken with this wolf girl and offered to take her in as a lady's maid. The two walked in together into the castle and the curtains closed to set up for the second act.  

[Tapewolf]

Jakob's watch made a quarter chime, giving him fifteen minutes to get to the theatre.  Bidding the dragoness a hasty but polite farewell, he made his way there.

Watching the first act, Jakob could not help but to wonder if the ragged wolf was in some way symbolic of Hobbies himself.

[Angel]

Upon hearing that Jake would teach him how to fight without hurting anyone, Kenyan visibly relaxed. He had been worried about receiving an immediate "no" to his plea. He listened intently, understanding enough of what Jake said to remain relieved.

"I am still interested, yes. It sounds like a fighting ... erm... fighting method worth using." He nodded, pleased that he had remembered the right word. His recent extra time around Beings was helpful for remembering their language, but he was tired and excited at the idea of being able to help.

"And it is one I could use well. Movement was the only choice I had in the forest to stay alive. It is one thing I share with my pride as well as the pack." He looked down at his scrawny body and ropy muscles with a bemused look before looking back at Jake. "I know why I may have to get 'brutal' as you put it, so I will learn. But I hope I do not need to. I believe others may wish to learn as well. Excuse me."

Unfortunately, his relaxed state made him briefly forget where he was. When he turned to call Xyrtia over to join him, Kenyan unthinkingly whistled a blue-jay's call. Immediately afterwards, he blushed, looked away and simply gestured for Xyrtia to come closer, wondering if Mateo would see fit to learn as well.