Northern Winds [NC-17] (IC)

[Boog]

Richard drove off when everyone was finally done with what they were doing and back in the car, fiddling with the radio every so often. He didn't floor it this time, taking a more cautious pace until he was just a couple streets away from Red Sands. Letting his passangers out with a gruff "Good luck," he drove away, leaving the car in a supermarket parking lot with its real driver still snoozing. With that, he set about walking home to his instruments, his couch, the thing of oysters he'd been saving (an undead's equivalent to a beer or a pack of cigs), and Marya, who'd be pissed off with him for coming home late and not calling. Oh, I'm gonna have one hell of a time explaining that...

[Stygian]

Unfortunately for the undead, he didn't have much more time than walk up to the entry to the building he lived in, before someone grabbed him. Hard. And though he could hardly feel it, there was something about the quick swishing sound and the low female voice next to him that told him that it would be a quite bad idea to try something rash.
   "Don't say anything. One wrong move and we'll rip your head off," the voice said, steady and calm. He was pushed on. "And keep walking. To your place. We just want to have a chat. Do this right, and your ladyfriend will go unharmed too."

- -

Unsurprisingly, Stygian was apparently nowhere in sight when they stepped out of the cab near the Red Sands, a rather large and classy-looking club occupying the full northern end of a tall old building, five stories and roof of renaissance-style architecture with a bit of modern thrown in. The sign hanging in front though depicted a view out from some orient-themed temple over a red desert and sun, with a pair of barely covered serving girls standing on wait to each side. It was not regularly a jazz club, it would seem, but rather a large theme-oriented place for the partly privileged and the shady types who'd enjoy such a place.

[Boog]

Richard was surprised, shocked, horrified, and was to a degree kicking himself. Nonsense, you're a musician, who's gonna pay attention? Idiot. As he continued onward, he went over what he knew. They obviously didn't know TOO much about him. First of all, they'd called Marya his ladyfriend. She was, if anything, his unofficially adopted big sister. Second, they'd threatened her. He'd seen that woman deck a demon. For a mongoose, she made one helluva bouncer.
Then again, whoever this was could apparently decapitate someone quickly and easily. Please let her be working late...
He went up to the third floor and opened the door, which opened looking right into the living room (ratty couch, potted plants that had gone wild over by the large windows, bookcase). It wasn't a luxury suite, but it was home.

[Stygian]

It seemed that Marya had not been working late this day. However, she also seemed to be strangely fine, considering the situation. As she sat in the sofa, cautiously watching, opposite to her and leaning back in a chair sat a moderately tall, well-built man with just somewhat long black hair and a coyote's sharp muzzle, drinking a cup of bag tea and speaking pleasantly. When Richard and the as of yet unseen woman entered though, his ear twitched and he immediately got up. Dressed in a stylish but sleek robe in red with lines and details in different shades of silver, ranging from close to onyx up to the polished metal itself, he moved smoothly with an almost regal posture, smiling a humble and earnest smile toward the baboon.
   "Really sorry for all of this, but it seemed necessary. Ah, Ace... You can put that away now..." he said. Quickly, the swishing sound was heard again, and the figure who had stood behind Richard stepped to the side, revealing itself to be a slightly shorter female figure nigh-completely hidden beneath a dark gray cloak. Only her somewhat canine muzzle peeked out from within the hood, just slightly.
   "I'm honestly sorry. We had to take precautions. After all, these were no ordinary troupe whom you were with last night," said the jackal, making a sort of conciliatory gesture.

[Boog]

First thing Richard did was make sure Marya was alright, not one hair of her fur's banded brown pattern out of place. He looked at that familiar stern face for a good five minutes before he was willing to concede that she was unharmed.
"Well, since you apologized so nice. You alright Marya?" Lets see what I can get away with, "The oysters are still at the back of the fridge?"
"Yeah. Hey, I left my bandanna on the counter, pass it here," Yeah, she sounds pissed. They probably haven't laid a hand on her. If they had, she probably wouldn't have spoken at all. Richard nodded, balling up the red cloth and tossing it over to her with his free hand and carrying a tupperware full of still-living mollusks with his other. Marya immediately tied the bandanna on over her hair, letting her thick cable of a braid (dyed toxic green, with three totemic looking ceramic hair clasps) fall out the back of it.
"Don't mind if I indulge myself?" Richard gestured with the tupperware, producing a rather soothing clack of shells, "Not the most common of vices, but still living things are the only thing I can taste and these are the most socially acceptable snacks I can get my hands on." He sat down on the couch next to Marya, shoulders hunched.
Both of them simply looked at the jackal and the canine and waited, neither ever looking at the same one at once.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog's faced soured at looking at the outside of the place, and after looking around a moment for the bat leaned against a handy wall.
From what he remembered, they were to scout it out first, and then go and prepare. He silently hoped that bat hadn't gone in without them - having to rescue him would make this twice as hard. He sighed, and placed a hand over the hilt of his blade, his arm draping over it. Best to wait for the bat to return, or the explosions to start, he mused.
His eyes glittered under his shades. He did so enjoy being 'ambushed'...

[Sunblink]

Keaton watched everything occur rather soundlessly from the car, her normally vibrant-yellow face still colorless and eyes still owlish as she found her eyes inexplicably locked on the corpse on the ground. Only after she heard a gun fire she managed to pry her gaze away from the gruesome mess on the ground, her eyes traveling over to the wailing, writhing chauffeur twisting and screeching a distance away.

Ow. Keaton had never been shot before, surprisingly, but that had to hurt. Shortly after incapacitating their unfortunate driver, Stygian quickly and efficiently disposed of the vehicle--rather spectacularly, at that, as well. Six gunshots penetrated the crumpled car, making it explode in a glorious blaze. Everything else, in comparison, was rather dull. Cogidubnus refused to eliminate the lapine, eventually leading to Mel healing him (resourceful, that one) and him being chucked in the backseat.

Staring at the rabbit from over her shoulder, Keaton edged her way to the side, allowing a moment of silence to pass as everyone climbed back into the car. Cogidubnus seated himself somewhere beside her. Keaton glanced back and forth, examining the residents in the car.

Then she sighed. What a fine day this was turning out to be.

---

Stygian was apparently absent once they reached the Red Sands. Hefting herself out of the car, Keaton stretched her arms high over her head and rolled her shoulders, removing all traces of lethargy from her body. It was rather cramped in that car, so she was rather thankful that they had finally reached the club after so many delays. Burying her hands in her pockets, Keaton appraised the club, absorbing every minute detail. A rather classy place in appearance, it was definitely cleaner than what Keaton originally envisioned and definitely more ornate.

"So!" Keaton said pleasantly, clasping her hands together as she turned to everyone else. Richard had apparently driven off. "Now what do we do, now that we've reached our destination, which is likely going to end up destroyed in one way or another eventually?"

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Making a little dejected but still as calm smile, the jackal turned and sat himself down again.
   'I'm... sorry. As I said, we know who you were out with yesterday, and...' he began, then chuckled and looked down, setting the finished cup of tea down. 'Look, it would be much better for you if you helped us with this. It so happens that we think some very dangerous events are about to transpire here, and we need your help to do as much about that as possible.'
   The canine woman didn't sit down. She just pulled back her hood, revealing short grayish fur and the distinct jaw and neckline of a wolf, topped with short-cut and ruffled black hair. Her yellow eyes glinted in her beautiful but harsh face as she returned the baboon's and mongoose's looks in full.
   There was a sudden, frantic knock on the door, which just a moment later opened and admitted a somewhat short and youthful-looking but powerfully built otter, dressed in a vest and tough but loose pants, and carrying a rather menacing sword that landed somewhere between falchion and cleaver. He was visibly tense.
   'He was here, just now!' he said, holding up a little vial in which a dark red liquid swirled, giving off a very faint glow. 'I didn't get a clear look, but it had to be him!'
   The jackal gave him a blank stare, and then turned back to their hosts.
   'It would seem we have attracted attention. Meaning that we have even less time,' he said calmly, settling his serious gaze upon them both.

- -

It didn't take long from the point where the woman walked out, before slow and calm steps began pacing up behind the wall and low voices could be heard, though they were too faint for even Somber to distinguish what was being said. They did seem just slightly heated though.
   One of the sets of feet then turned, and walked back away. The other pair, for she was sure there had been two, didn't seem to move. So it was just a little surprising when the door, several meters away, opened with a clack and a slow motion.
   'Dreadfully sorry to be kidnapping you, but I just had to take a look...' began a female voice, calm, low and strong.

- -

'We're no' really aiming fer that, y'know?' said someone behind Keaton. The voice, a bit coarse and deep and with a slight nasal tone, belonged to an old man, an albatross sitting on a bench right behind them in a rumpled gray coat, his hand holding a bottle in a brown paper bag. His creased face bitter and indifferent, he gave Keaton a quick look, much sharper than he should have even been able to, and then took a swig from the bottle. He hadn't been there when they got out.
   'Just goin' ta lookit the place. Ge' the idea. Big place like tha' sure gotta have sum open spots where we can gettin, know? O' we coul' jes steal sum invitations or send those o' you she don' know,' he went on to suggest in that slurry accent.

[Boog]

They were surprised when the otter entered with that vial of what was probably blood.
"Here? As in they were near our house!?"
"I sure as hell didn't invite him! I didn't even know he'd followed me!"
"Richard, what the hell did you do now?"
"What's this now business?" both of them shot each other looks that should have by all rights left the other a charcoal outline and a pair of comically smoking boots. Richard caved with a sigh and turned back to the jackal.
"What, exactly, do you want? Their plans? Don't think they have any. Their location? For all I know, pluto. What is it you need from me?"

[Aisha deCabre]

"Destruction can't possibly follow us everywhere," Aisha hummed as she got out of the cab and none-too-carefully slammed the door on her side, the colors of her cape shifting from dark blue to a greyish-black with just a whispered word.  The ride was smooth, for that she was thankful, and the road roughly clean in the daylight.

Beneath the folds of her cowl, Aisha glanced over the club that they had stopped in front of, and found herself just as intrigued as Keaton was over its design.  Tilting her head, the panther still kept note that no matter the fact that perhaps they were to walk right into a hornet's nest, she hoped that the group was prepared.  Of course, Stygian had disappeared on them again, an assessment that made her ears pin against her head.

"Think we should probably just go in yet--" she said, but stopped as she heard a ragged voice addressing Keaton from nearby, or if not her, some of the group as well.  Her eyebrow quirked at the avian and shook her head dismissively, taking quiet note that they hadn't notice him there before.  "Sounds like he knows us," she muttered.

[Stygian]

The albatross barked a short laugh, and for an instant his eyes were black as they focused on Aisha.
   'Ne'er mind thinkin' jes' a li'l bit firs', no? Hehehe...' he said, and moved a bit on his seat. 'No, I'd say we need someone ta go in ther', an' check the place out.'
   The old bird got up from his seat wobbily, and slowly began walking off, gesturing lazily toward the others.
   'C'mon. Le's talk this over before we ge' to it. They ain't open yet anyway, sho...' he said tiredly.

- -

The jackal looked at Richard just a bit more sourly.
   'I just want to know who they all were, and where they were going. That's all. I can guess much as to his plans, but... You are referring to Stygian, right? Of course you are,' he said, and looked away out a window. 'He's far from the only one here we should worry about. But if he is dealt with, then this situation is effectively neutralized. Do you understand?'
   As he spoke, the wolf next to him narrowed her eyes, her gaze losing itself and a bitter streak showing around her mouth. The otter just stood in the doorway, looking at them all, still seeming a bit edgy.

[Boog]

Richard mentally sorted out a few things such as what to tell them, whose names to drop, and how the hell he was going to deal with this while still keeping those of the group he liked out of the proverbial soup. He slurped down one of the oysters to buy himself time, letting the taste slide down his throat. He resented the comparison between an undead's cravings and a drug addicts, but sometimes the calming effect wasn't too far off.
"Ahhh..." he dropped the two shells back into the tupperware with a clack, and looked back up at the jackal, "I didn't get many names. It wasn't any sort of official thing, just a bunch of people who ran in the same direction when the flames hit the bar."
"When the what did what!?" Marya's eyes widened, I THOUGHT I smelled burnt meat! Thank ancestors, it looks like you got out okay. Better than okay... Who patched you up?
"Anyway, I didn't catch a lot of names. Styg was the bat with the motorcycle..." Who would they already probably know about? Who seemed like a major player in all this? The wolf knew him, he didn't seem all that shocked... "Gareeku, that's the big wolf with the sword. There was a Mel... Her appearance changed hourly, don't ask me about her. And a 'Cogidubnus'. Think that was his name, anyway. As for where they were going..." Richard reached for another oyster, "They knew I was leaving and washing my hands of the whole thing. The hell makes you think they told me the truth? Styg mentioned charging headlong into a trap."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel slid out of her side of the car and stepped away to let those behind her exit. She gave a vaguely disapproving look at the club. But in her current persona of a rich matron she gave everything and everyone a vaguely disapproving look. She saved a particularly strong one for the drunken bird with the familiar eyes who dared speak to the party. She followed, but managed to give off an impression that it was all a horrible coincidence that they were walking on the same sidewalk. As a corner was turned subtle changes occurred. Minute, almost subliminal, changes to the color, cut, and fabric of the dress changed it from haute to department store knockoff. Other subtle changes turned the feline from uptown to uptown wannabe and altogether more likely to be on this street with this crowd. A few steps from the corner Mel spotted the motorcycle, and in the deep shadows beside a cafe was Ignatz.

[Cogidubnus]

Cog raised an eyebrow at the Albatross, staring at it for a moment before a light grin began to tug at his features. It was a good disguise. Under the smell of alcohol, however, the bird reeked of smoke and blood.
He didn't say anything, however, and merely followed the bird as they started walking to their destination.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha blinked for a moment as the dingy albatross passed them by, suddenly thinking that she recognized the dark look in his eyes.  A little late she recognized what the others had, as they walked along behind the bird as per his request, and gave a short shake of her head.

Into the hornet's nest we go, then, she thought to herself, pulling the cowl further over her facial features, hands and arms hidden within the folds of the cape.  Briefly, she wondered where Richard had gone, before shrugging it off.  The Undead always liked complaining, perhaps it was best that he had distanced himself from the group...depending on who looked at it.

She followed behind the others, not as close and yet not as far away, and whispered a short prayer of luck.  Aisha wasn't one to rely on the far-and-inbetween promise of divine intervention, but it never hurt to ask.

[Stygian]

'That wouldn't be like him. Not from what I know. He's the one who sets the traps. Still, it's never easy...' The jackal muttered, and then snorted, tapping the armrest of the sofa.
   'Maybe we should get going?' the wolf to his side said, coolly but a bit impatiently. The jackal shook his head.
   'No. We're out to see what this is all about, and catch those behind it. Patience is a virtue, Ace. We wait until they move tonight, and then we may get a full grasp of the situation. Of course,' he said, and then directed a smile toward Richard and Marya, 'we'd appreciate all help that we can get here. And I doubt that just a bit of direction would be that dangerous.' Somehow, he managed to be courteous, polite, charming, and still not make that a question.

- -

Stygian looked at the others of the group a bit boorishly as they approached, and then pointed a thumb in the direction of the entrance to the café.
   'Some coffee would sit just right with me right now,' he said, and turned, walking over toward the door. 'We won't get into the club this early, this soon. So we might as well think a bit.'
   Casually, he swung the door up and strolled in, looking for a table.

[Boog]

Richard slurped down another oyster. Marya reached for one too (she didn't like them much, but she needed something to occupy her hands and mouth. Hard to yell things about fucking sleezeball canines getting out of your house and punching someone with a mouthful of mollusk and hands occupied opening said mollusk).
"Never easy at all," Richard nodded, his tone leaving no doubt that he was not referring to the Jackal's situation. He swallowed the mouthful of shellfish and sighed, "They had me drop them off by a club called Red Sands. That's all I got for ya."

[Tezkat]

Edge stepped out of the cab, slipped on his shades, and stretched out after the long car ride. He said his goodbyes to his new Undead drinking buddy and set off towards the club. As everyone else was dressing down for the club infiltration, he pulled off his tie and unfastened the top few buttons of his black shirt. Combined with the white suit and the time of day, his new look was a bit on the gangster side, but he figured it fit well enough with this motley group of adventurers.

Not wanting to attract too much attention by milling about outside, he turned into a magazine shop near the cafe. He emerged a minute later and strolled into the cafe with a newspaper tucked under his arm. Soon, he was seated at a table across from Stygian with a steaming cup of dark, vanilla-flavoured coffee.

The fox unfolded his paper and began reading as the others filed into the cafe. It was a local rag with a full colour image of a smouldering bar splashed across the cover. The headline read "DOWNTOWN DEATHTRAP!" with "Ten Killed in Bar Explosion" in smaller print underneath. The bottom of the page featured such gems as "Bask in the Red Sands: Haszal's Hottest Club" and "Trouble with your ex? Hire a Bounty Hunter today!"

[Cogidubnus]

 The door opening with the tinkle of a bell, Cog and the rest of the party entered the cafe. Taking a deep breath of the sweet, coffee scented air, he found a smaller table by the window and sat, and contemplated getting another cup of the water of life.
On the one hand, it was the water of life. On the other hand, he was no stranger to these coffee shops. They made it not quite strong enough to eat through the cups. Considering he'd already had four back at the hotel, he wasn't too keen on any more. He didn't need to get wired, after all.
Instead, Cog leaned back and admired the city, and thought about getting a bagel, maybe. A bagel might be good. If they weren't going to leave anytime soon, anyway. He could always come back later. Might be a good motivation to survive the next battle, he reflected, and grinned sardonically to himself.

[Stygian]

Ordering a caffé mocha, Stygian sat back and hummed, drawing a deep breath and looking around, waiting for the others to seat themselves before speaking. His mocha came in very nearly a latte, rather less strong than he'd have wanted, but he took it without fuss. A second glance around the room showed no signs of anything out of the ordinary. There was the waitress behind the counter, a feline couple discussing something over a newspaper at another window table, a mythos girl with intense red hair sitting and drinking a latte, holding her spoon above the counter, the hum of a refrigerator and the gnashing of a coffee grinder. Outside the windows, the sky was turning a light gray.
   'Rumor and slander are things you spread, not things you read,' he said distractedly, stirring his coffee and not looking at Edge. He sat silent a few more moments, wondering about what to say. In the end, he couldn't find anything pleasant to speak of, so that left only business right away.
   'We need to decide who are going to take a look at the place,' he said in a casual tone. 'And you're volunteering.' He set his eyes on the fox now.

- -

'Well, that certainly is a good start. I'd like you to come with us though,' the jackal continued, as calm and friendly as a sweet old grandfather. 'It would be most helpful.'

[Boog]

Marya nearly choked on the oyster she'd grabbed, "Alright you sonova bi-!" Richard's arm practically blurred as he clamped it over her mouth, holding her muzzle shut.
"Marya, I don't think that'll work here..." they both simply looked at each other a while. Finally, the undead took his hand off of Marya's mouth and she turned away slightly.
"You're going to get yourself killed."
"Too la-"
"Don't give me that bullshit!" Now Richard turned away, abashed.
"... Will I need to go armed?" He said, reaching for another oyster, "Or would that get in the way of what you have in mind?"

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha said nothing to Stygian as they found him near the café entrance...and with her face shielded none could really tell her expression.  The panthress for the duration of this venture was going to keep it that way, as long as possible.  The scent of coffee entered her nostrils as she came through the door with the others, a quick glance spared around the other customers of the morning.  Perhaps they stood out as well as before, but for once it was nice to not have been given the time of day.

Her eyes caught the headline of the paper that Edge was reading for just a brief second, and it was confirmed...definitely nice to be ignored.

The panthress didn't order anything right away, instead seating herself at a table that was both nearby the group and also near to a window where she could keep a small watch.  She was already wide awake, and never depended on drinks for aid in that aspect...the adrenaline rush on the road to the club was enough for that.  Her ears scanned the interior, taking in the noises and conversation.

Stealing a quick glance at the dark fox as Stygian "volunteered" him for looking around the club, she had to smirk.  Good as anyone but not one of us...

[Tezkat]

"Oh, you'd be surprised. Those sneaky journalists are always poking their noses where they don't belong."

Edge, apparently engrossed in his reading, didn't make eye contact. He pulled a page out of the middle of his paper and set it down on the table in front of Stygian. It featured a full page spread on the Red Sands, with a photo of a rugged but elderly leonine Demon surrounded by scantily clad serving girls. It looked like a serious article at first, except that it also contained a rough floor plan with such annotations as "Fire Exit" and "Roth Starr's Table" scribbled all over it. That, and the text of the article began: "Ever wanted to infiltrate the hottest club in Haszal? Then you won't want to miss this..."

The fox took a sip of his coffee. "The club's a big place. I only saw part of it when I met with Starr yesterday, and I had little time or incentive to go poking around in back rooms or employee areas. I'm supposed to report back to him today. Presumably, he's got some contingency in place to deal with survivors of the op, so it could be interesting to explore that avenue. He's either a middleman with the next link up the chain or your lady friend in disguise."

He shrugged. "At any rate, it's a safe bet that almost everyone here would be known to him, at least in their current forms. I know that, of course, because he received descriptions of the people who helped you at the bar. He was even nice enough to place bounties on a few of them." His tone maintained such casual disinterest in the subject matter that he may as well have been talking about the weather. He took another sip of his coffee.

"It seems rather silly to wait until the place opens to walk into their trap, however. The employees and any extra muscle will be there early, and they'll either be in the loop or sufficiently unimportant to serve as covers when the fun begins."

[Stygian]

'Yes, very amusing...' Stygian muttered, and took a sip of his coffee. He paused for a bit, and then fixed his eyes very solidly on Edge's. 'Again, our senses of humor prove quite different. Firstly,' he continued, raising a finger, 'we're going to do it as silently and peacefully as we can. Secondly,' He raised another, 'we don't need to go in there early, and the more patrons, the more cover. Thirdly,' he said, and raised a final one, claw stretching, 'we still need to spy the place before we know where and when. And for that, I'd say only a few should go.'
   Satisfied, the bat went still and sipped his cup again, leaning back.
   'Besides, you didn't think that the extra muscle might actually be bugged, or that they might be more sensitive to strangers than you might think. You're cubi, I know, but that only counts for so much. And Ash is a scary person. Honestly, I don't think that anyone here has much idea what we're getting into.'

- -

The jackal looked nearly shocked at Richard's question.
   'That, you may choose as you wish,' he said, after a brief pause and setting his face again. 'Of course we won't expect you to get into any danger. Heavens... We're not that sort of people.' Just then, his face lit up, and he shook his head with a sudden smile.
   'Sorry. Where are my manners? I am Laertes,' he said, smiling pleasantly. 'This here is Ace,' he said and gestured to the wolf, who was still looking at them, 'and that is Carey.' The otter gave a slight smile and a nod.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel wasn't interested in coffee but picked out a fruit-filled pastry that she carried back to the table. "Who do you wish to go with you?" She looked at her watch. "The Hall of Records should be open shortly. Variations between what people report and what they actually do are often interesting. For example I've found the floor plans given to the city are often erroneous."

[Boog]

Not those sort of-!? I honestly think I preferred Ace threatening me. At least she's honest about it. "Richard. Sorry if the question seemed odd, but I've been caught helpless enough times in the last 48 hours. Where was that stuff from incident a year back, Marya?"
"Hall closet, under the coats," carefully avoiding sudden movements around Ace Richard stood up and collected a pair of cruel looking tomahawks from said closet. They weren't weapons any self respecting adventurer would wield. The blades were stone, and thus didn't keep a perfect edge. This made them no less dangerous, it merely guaranteed that they wouldn't make a clean cut. They were meant to mutilate or kill, a threat in physical form. He tucked the weapons into his belt and threw on a coat to hide them. Don't want to be scrutinized with those on the street, after all. Cops don't take well to such things.
"Well Laertes, Ace and Carey. Now what?"

[Tezkat]

Edge shrugged without giving any indication of whether or not he agreed with the bat's assessment. When Mel arrived, he finally lowered his newspaper to consider the others in the cafe. He looked back down at his oversimplified floor plan of the club and nodded.

"Well... who here is good at not looking like one of the people they're waiting for?"
 

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog looked up from his contemplations, and made a small grin at the cubi, tilting his head. "That depends, of course. What do 'ourselves' look like? Black-clad wolf with a sword? A panthress in red garb, and a..." Cog looked at Mel, quirking an eyebrow, "An eternally changing feline? A disguise might not be so hard." Cog looked back out the window, tapping a finger idly.
"Any one of us might do. I've got a good nose, but we're not looking for people, really. I'll go if no one else volunteers." Cog propped his elbow up onto the table and leaned into his hand, looking at Mel from the corner of his eye. "Of course, some of us seem more inclined to intelligence gathering, perhaps."

[Sunblink]

Keaton followed the others into the cafe wordlessly, still slightly in shock that the Albatross turned out to be Stygian. The guy was a better shapeshifter than her, she realized somewhat reluctantly (Keaton winced at this blow to her normally impenetrable pride). Once they made it inside, Keaton immediately took a seat at a table, not bothering to order anything--especially not coffee. Keaton never liked the stuff, even after five hundred years of existence. To be honest, she quite obviously preferred alcohol, as demonstrated before, as unhealthy for her as it was. But come on, she was a frickin' Cubi! Certainly she'd have more of a tolerance to alcohol than most beings?

Well, it made more sense in her mind.

From then on she listened to everyone's conversation, surveying and contemplating. When the question of who could easily disguise themselves came up, Keaton was quick to respond after Cogidubnus, draping her arm lazily over the back of the chair and folding her leg over the other. "If you want a shapeshifter and an actor, you have one right here," she said proudly, pointing to herself with her thumb. She needed an opportunity to repair her ego. "So I'd be more than happy to volunteer."

Of course, there were several others in the group capable of shapeshifting. Like Stygian... and Mel... and this new Cubi fellow... come to think of it, quite a few of them could alter their appearances and put on quite the facade.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha turned towards the others as Cogidubnus and Keaton easily answered the call to volunteer, and tried to consider an answer of her own while fingering the edge of her cape, the black-grey fabric nearly blending in with her melanistic fur.  She had to admit that one point stood clear.  The job of scoping the place out in the open belonged to the shapeshifters.  However stealthy the huntress was, she did not have that talent.  The next best thing was the enchantment of camouflage that her clothing possessed.

"The garb is red when I want it to be," Aisha smirked jokingly in reply to Cogidubnus as she approached the table where they were, pulling her cowl back a little and revealing a serious look permeating from the crimson orbs...business-like.  "I couldn't volunteer for doing the job of the shapeshifters, but, if a back-watcher is needed, just tell me where to stand."

Then she smirked again.  After all, she lived on waiting behind the front line...not inside of it.