The Mad God's Masque and Bellicose Ball (IC) (M)

[Cogidubnus]

"No." the black cat said, his expression unchanging. "You can't help me with anything."

He continued staring at the white wolf, his one yellow eye blazing with intensity. "You should leave. Today."

* * *

The librarian cocked her head at Rynkura, her eyes skeptical, and lips pressed together with the expression of every employee about to deal with what they suspect is an idiot customer.
"Excuse me?"

She swallowed. "It's...what? Do you have the book?"

[Gareeku]

"Right...ok then..." Gareeku commented after hearing the feline's inital replied, his eyes turning back downwards to read the book on the table. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to study alo-"

"You should leave. Today."

Though his head did not move from where he had been looked at the book, the wolf's eyes moved upwards, looking back at the male feline who was still standing there. "...Excuse me?"

Slowly, the lupine rised from his chair to stand, his hands still planted on the table. Staring right back at the feline's single yellow eye which was blazing with intensity. Unflinching, Gareeku's deep blue eye's narrowed with suspicion, a grim look on the warrior's face. "And why the hell should I...what do you know..."

[e_voyager]

Atem shook his head as he mad his way outside of the hotel. seeing the steward had some how thrown him off his guard as much as when the wolf Cogidubnus  spotted him spying on Mel.  he wondered half lost in thought wondering if Mel would read his letter. how would she respond? he could not find anything to clear up who this Luna that Cogi had mentioned was but he'd suspected some connection to the goddess of the moon in old lore. Atem stopped short shaking his head as he wondered if he really should deal with this now or just run away. He felt something warm almost directly in front of him the warmth out of place in such a cold place. Thinking he'd found a building other then the library he look up to see a tree?  looking around he realize that the tree in front of him was actually a huge leg! he some how walked past what was left of the stables barely noticing the destruction. Perhaps he'd meant to go to the library again but if he did he never made it. Now, looking up the leg he saw what it was connected to and felt dizzy.  huge freaking huge . a griffin was sitting on it's houches before him looking at the scene before him. he stepped back wondering how it had gotten so close with out an alarm being raised. then he remembered the griffin at the train station. was this the same one?

edited again for horrible grammar. image scenting a scene.

[Aisha deCabre]

Rynkura hadn't seen the look that the librarian had given her yet.  She was speaking with her eyes closed, one hand still holding her forehead as she replied.  The tiger could still hear the skepticism in the lemur's voice, and her reply was a mutter, though sincere.

"No, I don't...I'd rather not touch that thing again."  She sighed.  "It was your encyclopedia volume on the table back there.  I was only flipping through to two entries.  The words suddenly blurred together on the pages...and then when I closed it again, the pages were blank, all of them...and then, it...well, you could probably hear the noise in there.  I wouldn't fall over and take the chair with me, had I not been shoved.  I had a vision of a cracked mask..."

That was when her eyes opened again, looking into the face of the librarian...someone who was surely not going to stand to believe the ramblings of a middle-aged looking woman.  Rynkura's emerald eyes narrowed...but she kept her voice level.  "I am a healer and an enchanter.  I know a curse or a trick of magic when I see it.  I'll fetch the book so you can see for yourself.  Wait here."

Rynkura's eyes narrowed then, as she turned and walked back to the table where the book was surely sitting.  Her ears were pinned against her skull, but she assumed a state of quiet meditation as she went.  Her fingers were against her brow, letting her frustration seep into the curiosity of what exactly it could be.  The staff, with it's warm blue healing glow, was clutched closely.

I WILL find out what's going on, the tigress silently promised herself.  Because after close to a century of life, beating back every puzzle I've encountered, I CERTAINLY didn't come to be made a fool of.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace suppressed a sigh of relief as she squeezed through the stairway without leaving behind any scraps of her clothes... or fur. Once she was in the room above, though, she almost ignored the rest of it, her attention drawn to the array of weapons along one wall. She didn't bother to hide her gasp of delight as she noted the quantity, and quality, of the glittering display. Her ears perked up when the old badger started speaking. He doesn't miss much, she thought. Got me pegged, at least.

She cocked one ear and spread her whiskers with a dark-humoured smile. "A warrior when I need t' be," she replied, "but that costs more 'n most want t' pay. I'm an advent'rer, th' name's Andrace Kithara. An' if y' heard o' us, I'm one o' th' Kithara Pride. Heh — an' I got a couple o' cousins an' aunts y' couldn't get out o' this room wi' a crowbar. I just use what works f' me, they're th' masters o' th' Family when it comes t' ironmongery."

[Yugo]

There was a sudden silence between Elyse and Esme, their eyes locking together as Elyse struggled to find the appropriate words to continue their conversation with. The bat-woman's eyes now lacked the crippling intensity they previously had, instead seeming to search Esme's body for something as Elyse attempted to regain her previous stature. The young angel scanned Elyse's face for some indication of illness or possible disease, the healer within her coming to the fore. If an albino could be pale, Esme would not doubt that this was a crystal clear example of it, although the slight tinge on the woman's cheeks seemed to betray something else. A surge of concern flared in Esme's eyes.
   "Are you ill, miss?", she asked softly, taking a slight step towards the larger woman. "I am a medical officer if you have need of one," she motioned, passing a finger over the brilliant red cross on her upper arm. Cocking her head curiously, she backpedaled slightly as Elyse suddenly seemed to remember where she was and what she was going, snapping the both of them back to reality. "Well, I suppose you won't have to worry much about friends if you let me accompany you. I'm afraid I know nothing of this place," Esme replied, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "I don't have much influence either," she chuckled. "I'm not even fifty yet. But forgive me my manners. I am Esme Broussard of the First Belgaen Medical Corps." She extended a small open palm in friendly greeting.
   Strange, Esme thought. The difference between the proud, tall woman and the confused one was quite grating. She hoped that she had played little part in it, as it took quite a shock to offset a person of such confidence. Just who exactly was being invited to this ball anyways? There seemed absolutely no sane reason to invite such a young unimposing Creature as herself, and she had certainly not recognized anyone of fame yet, although that could be simply attributed to her own lack of world scaled knowledge. Her inquisitveness grew. Perhaps this woman she had quite literally run into could shed some answers.

[Cogidubnus]

"Er...what?"

Oh dear. the librarian thought, keeping her suspicions to herself and keeping her face carefully controlled. Bartholomew ran into one like this last year, said that the police eventually had to use 'sweet dreams' munitions to resolve the situation. Isn't that why they installed the panic buttons? Her mind wandered to the red switch underneath her desk that would send a silent alarm to the authorities. This one didn't...-look- dangerous so far, though. Not like she was about to attack her, anyway.

* * *

The cat convulsed at Gareeku's words, shuddering and doubling over slightly while giving the wolf a hateful glare, his disheveled hair faling just slightly over the yellow eye.

"I know more than Apollo," he said, falling quickly into a sing-song voice, "For oft while he lies sleeping, I've seen the stars at bloody wars in the wounded sky-arch weeping-"
The cat's eye glazed. Gar wondered if it had always been bloodshot. He shuddered again, and the look of hatred returned to his eyes. "By a knight of ghosts and shadows, ye summom'd are to a tourney. Ten leagues beyond the wide world's edge, methinks, it is no journey."

The cat twitched again, and ran.

* * *

"I have met many who seek fine blades, and consider themselves experts on forms and types of steel." the badger said, the end of the sword in his hand resting on the wooden floor. "People far more knowledgeable than I, who can tell at a glance the temperature at which I have quenched the blade, and the number of times struck with a hammer."
He shook his head. "There is art there, I suppose, in the knowledge of fine blades. But these are not warriors."

He looked Andrace in the eye. "Iron is useful only so much as it accomplishes its purpose. They are instruments of death. A poor blade, a fine blade, it doesn't matter. Well, it matters - but the hand it rests in is really what matters. You understand this."

The blade in his hand spun, the badger swinging it in a lazy circle until it stood upright in his hand. The hilt was a burning bright golden that shone in the sunlight, a double-guard hilt of some brass or gold with a handle wrapped in some soft red leather, with ample room for two hands to grasp it. The blade itself, however, drank in the light, a dusky charcoal color that did not gleam.
"Some blades are more effective than others, some so not because of the edge. I am...getting old." he said, his expression odd - he'd brought up the subject at an odd time, in any case. "To be honest, you are the first person of any worth that's ever walked into my shop. Nobles, collectors, and the occasional student of esoteric and ultimately useless arts, but never...a warrior."

"I'm speaking oddly. I apologize." he said finally. "Before I make any more a fool of myself then. I did not forge this blade, but I want you to take it. I think you might find it useful, and its presence here weighs heavily on me."

[Stygian]

The bat seemed to hesitate for a moment, before she made a small half-thing between a curtsy and a bow, her right hand on her heart. Golden jewelery tinkled lightly as she moved. The movement was a reflex, and as she rose she seemed surprised at Esme's offered palm. She almost frowned, then took the offered hand, clasping it slightly without shaking it. Obviously, she wasn't used to handshakes.
   'Elyse Donovan, of the Corinthean Gathering of the church of The Martyr's Blood,' she responded. Her free hand made a little gesture of some sort at her side, reflexively. 'And I am fine. Just feeling a little impatient, I must admit.' Why speak of one's age just like that? It didn't seem like a touchy subject with her... 'These... pleasantries seem far to much a distraction to me. I am used to less delays before attending to business.' She gave the lynx a little jaded look, and hushed her voice slightly. 'Tardiness is a sin, after all, no? Proper decorum must be observed, of course, but somehow I can't help but feel that this is all we have seen of it. And at the wrong time, at that...'
   'Vell, patience is a virtue,' a voice next to them responded, suddenly, dryly, together with the clap of a book closing. It was partly distorted by the presence of something being chewed by the speaker. 'Perhaps if you vait, you will find it vorth it, hm?'
   A frown on his face, a dark brown rat peered at the group from the side, a slight note of disapproval in his black eyes, that took them in from over a pair of round pincher glasses. He held a bound old book, pressed to his hip under a copy of a newspaper, and a toothpick, upon which had sat a hors d'ouvre until a few moments ago.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel picked up the letter from the floor, reading Walter's note first. She remembered Atem as the grey feline who had questioned her about the ball in the restaurant the previous evening. She opened the letter and read it through. She chuckled a bit at the question about the Valmont family. It appeared as if the young man was trying to get information without going through proper channels. As she knew nothing about any Valmonts it wasn't like she could tell him anything anyway. She would pass the message on to Brun before they got to the castle. If Atem wanted information he'd have to go to grandmother.

[Aisha deCabre]

Rynkura sighed as she took her time walking up to the area, hearing the nonplussed reply that the librarian made behind her.  Trained as she was, she could easily tell between an "Oh my god" and an "I don't believe you."  The Healer tried not to let it get to her...after all, she was much more calm than what she had gone through.

Still, what had happened was quite a shock.  By now she was starting to wonder if it was indeed all in her head.  Fatigue from the traveling.  Rynkura's ears returned to their normal position...if she went on about the things she'd seen, they would probably have her thrown in an asylum.  The angel could fight off multitudes if she had to...but hopefully it wouldn't come down to the authorities.

Then she spotted the book on the table again.  Just an ordinary encyclopedia to her eye, and to everyone else.  "Hrm," she grumbled.  "I wonder if it will even be worth taking it...I certainly am not used to anyone holding me in disbelief."

She shrugged and reached out to take the book.  It is worth a try.

Encyclopedia under the crook of her arm, she returned to the librarian's desk with a calm expression on her face, and also with a friendly nod, proffering it.  "Here, the book in question," she said with a sigh.  "I have doubt that you will find anything, but being a magic specialist of a fair number of years, I am simply curious as to why something like that would happen to someone, a book attacking one's mind," she chuckled.  "And I do apologize if I sounded rude.  My own librarian would not have questioned me, and I've forgotten that I am not back home."

The tigress leaned herself against the desk and waited for a reply.  Hopefully her calmer demeanor would set the librarian's mind at ease about the white stranger with a staff.  After this fiasco, I may just go find young Gareeku and see if he's found anything.

[Gareeku]

Keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the feline in front of him, Gareeku watched as the cat's look turned into a hateful glare. The wolf did not move, watching as the feline's single eye glazed as he spoke in a sing-song voice of what was very likely some sort of riddle.

It was then, however, that once he had finished speaking and the hateful glare returned, the feline turned and fled.

Gareeku had been ready, his muscles being tensed while the feline had spoken. Leaping over the table, the wolf sprinted after the stranger, running as fast as he could and following the feline's every step. He wasn't about to let this weirdo get away that easily.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace hid a smile at what the old badger had to say about "experts". True, her cousins Eleni and Niko had never been members of the Pride; they'd only had the same basic weapons training given to everyone who lived on the Kithara estate. And her great-aunt Sophia's time in the Pride was long before she'd been born: unlike many of her other relatives, Andrace had never seen her fight at all except for a few times in the training arena. It looked like the badger might have a point.

She narrowed her eyes and her ears cocked the other way, though, when he held up his odd-looking sword. "Y' want me t' have it?" she said, a little doubt clearly audible in her tone of voice. "It's not cursed, or talks t' y', or anythin' weird like that, is it? Looks like somethin' one o' m' sister Despina's friends might've stuck an enchantment on. Don't want t' sound ungrateful, but... ah... an' what d' y' mean by its presence weighs on y'?"

Hoo boy, the lioness thought, this's beginnin' t' sound like one o' old Mad Stephan's yarns. But is it one endin' wi' rainbows an' fluffy Mows, or wi' th' poor inoffensive wolf gettin' herself chopped up by th' creepy kid in th' red cloak?

[Yugo]

Esme suppressed her surprise at the slight half-curtsy, clearly unused to the higher habits of greeting and conversation, not that such a thing wasn't already evident. Elyse's half-hearted grip told her as much about the tall bat-woman regarding simple direct manners of speaking. Internally, Esme shrugged. She simply had no use for tradition that got in the way of her business. Obviously the ceremony and decoration that these people were accustomed to would take some getting used to.

"Glad to meet you Miss Donovan," Esme said politely, noting the strange shape Elyse made at her hip. Perhaps it was a religious symbol regarding her church, but it didn't particularly matter. She smiled upon hearing that she was not the only one ithat lacked the patience for all of this courtliness and civility, preferring instead to take direct action. The thought piqued Esme's curiosity. She herself had her own business here, but what was this woman's? Maybe she was here out of chance, but from the woman's mannerisms and bearing, Esme doubted it. Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by the appearance of a third figure who was evidently intent on giving a brief lecture to her new associate. "Ah, welcome, I don't believe we've met," Esme introduced herself warmly, turning to face the short rodent.

[Cogidubnus]

 The feline, moving with surprising speed, whipped around a corner and into the main lobby of the library. Gar followed just seconds after, the white wolf moving with the martial prowess that years of training had bestowed on him. No chairs or tables remained for him to leap over, however - at least, none that would matter.

The cat was gone. As though he'd vanished into thin air. There was nowhere for him to hide - there weren't any stacks in the lobby to hide behind, just open spaces lit by large windows and glass doors.

He noticed Rynkura speaking to the librarian about a book, but nothing else that might give him a clue as to the odd stranger's location.

* * *

I'll bet she wouldn't. the librarian said, peering over her spectacles at the book that Rynkura handed her. It seemed to be a very simple encyclopedia - A through I, nothing particularly out of place with either the binding or the title. She cracked open the book delicately.
Various entries on differing subjects greeted her eyes. She peeked up at Rynkura, and as to not appear disrespectful, simply opened the book carefully and naturally in front of her. She looked up at the tigress.
"Could you, maybe...describe how it attacked you, ma'am? Was there a...questionable article, or maybe something you don't feel comfortable discussing or reading about...?"

* * *
The badger grinned, a surprising bloodthirsty grin. "Frightened of a blade?"

His expression sobered as the grin faded. "No. It does not speak. It is cursed, only as much as power itself is a curse. But there is...more than iron in this blade."
He sucked in a breath, his eyes closing. "When they pulled the iron from the depths of the earth, the miners claimed that there were whispers in that darkness. When it was brought to forge, only their strongest smith, the master-forger who was my ancestor an untold number of years ago, could hammer it, and it is said that the iron bled on the anvil when struck. When it was shaped, it was said to be quenched in the blood of a dying god." He looked to his side, at the small shelf on the opposite wall. "I do not know the truth of this story, but there is a nick in the blade - " he turned the sword so the edge was more visible to Andrace, and she could see the tiny chip near the base of the sword - "that I have never been able to repair. I cannot bring my forge hot enough to soften the metal."

He held it out for Andrace to take. "It weighs heavily on me, as I am the last of my family. I had no brothers, no sisters, and I have no sons or daughters. When I die...it's likely that some collector or someone who does not understand the responsibility of such things will end up with it. For, there is much to be responsible for in a weapon like this. Hold it, and you have the eyes of death," he said, his voice odd, "and with it, you can see the End of All Things." he said. His expression was twisted strangely as he spoke, both fearful and insistent.

* * *

Dark mahogany paneling, waxy greenery and ostentatious lighting greeted the succubus as she entered. Elizabeth was surprised to find the shop occupied - funeral parlors seldom were, excepting when...

There was a viewing going on, yes. Strangers turned around to look at her, and then turned back towards the front. Some milled about and talked with each other, some smiling and joking and others in tears, as often happens when families meet to pay respects to the deceased. Short-lived beings ignored the specter of death, or they simple became overwhelmed by the pathos of it - when someone close dies, it brings that specter even closer. Death seldom weeps for the lost - to draw forth those iron tears had been done but once before.

* * *

LL sat in her room, playing with a salamander in her hand. The little lizard flitted this way and that along her fingers and her arm, sometimes twisting all the way around and chasing himself in a circle around and about. The flaming creature left little pathways on her pale skin, and she giggled as Walter entered the room.
"It always does tickle so. Is something wrong, Walter?"

Walter shivered. "Nothing, milady. The morning is growing late, however - are we expecting to leave for the early festivities, or shall I simply cancel our travel arrangements?"
LL got up, putting the little lizard in a round, pumpkin-shaped bowl. The lizard skittered around the bowl a few times, lighting the glass-orange bowl for a moment before its fires died down.

"We'll leave shortly, I suppose. Be sure to send someone to fetch Melodie." Walter nodded. His gaze flickered to Icabod, the little lizard now curled up on his Asbestos bed hidden in the bowl.

It did always bother him when the mistress did that. The thing might be good for keeping the tea warm, certainly, but...

* * *

A few minutes later, Melodie heard a knock her her door, in that particular and rather familiar cadence that threatened to burrow inside one's mind and not leave without a crowbar. Icewing business, she guessed.

[Aisha deCabre]

Rynkura turned her eyes to the book as the librarian flipped through it.  Yeah...that's what I thought, the tigress surmised as soon as she saw that the text inside was back, seemingly, in its proper place.  Every detail left checked and accounted for.  Something wants to toy with me.  But I won't have it.

She glanced up to the lemur again as she inquired as to the nature of her mental attack.  The tigress decided to answer her questions honestly, no matter how much she guessed that perhaps the young citizen just wanted to get back to her job.

"I remember it perfectly," she said.  "I was just randomly flipping through the pages, after figuring out that perhaps the information on the castle I sought after wouldn't be in there either.  It landed on the entry on figgy pudding...and while glancing through the paragraph, I saw this strange passage.  'You can sometimes tell I'm coming, swiftly and surely as black death, other times you are succumbing, with no time to catch your breath.'" she quoted, eloquently as a teacher who recites poetry in practice.

After that, she relayed again what happened afterward...the blending of the words, the disappearance of the text, the appearance of the mask...and eventually what caused her to fall backwards out of the chair.

"You may not find it if you looked, I wager," Rynkyra confessed as she finished, putting her fingers to her forehead again as she finished.  "Oh, this headache...anyway, it's quite curious.  I do wonder...has a similar thing happened before?  As a healer, I'm..."

Before Rynkura could finish, she whipped an ear towards where she heard the sound of rushing feet.  It stopped where Gareeku was frozen, who had returned to the main lobby with what seemed like a rather urgent look on his face.  The tigress raised her other hand and waved.  "Hail, sir Manoko," she smiled.  "Is something amiss?"

[Gareeku]

Gareeku looked around, confused and frustrated as shown by his grimace. The feline he had been chasing was nowhere to be seen. How could he have just disappeared into thin air like that? Invisibility spell? No...there wasn't enough magical residue in the air. Had he been imagining what had just happened? No. He couldn't have. It all seemed so real.

Damn it... The wolf cursed in his mind, thinking back to what the feline had said to him. Well this certainly makes this little trip more interesting...

"No..uh...everything's fine." Gareeku replied to the mistress' question, but his facial expression, a grim look, told otherwise. He didn't feel comfortable talking about it in front of the Librarian, who would probably think he was crazy.

[Azlan]

"Why did you ever buy that thing?"  Camiole spouted exasperatedly.  The pair had left the shop and continued on in search for interesting items in the shops.

Hefting a gleaming 3 meter long iridium butter knife proudly over his shoulder, Kiet merely smiled.  His demeanor hid a slight worry that lurked at its edges.  He had easily sensed the expert mind shielding, and the way the lioness caries herself.  The shopkeeper also was a good judge of skill and capabilities and Kiet did his best to hide any skill he might possess.  After all, it was important that others viewed him as just another noble twit.

"It is necessary to keep people off balance, when it comes to being me.  It is important that others think I am a mere aristocrat.  The currency I left behind was the full asking price based on this tag."  Kiet indicated the small red piece of paper attached by string to the handle of the strange implement, "the gold is enchanted so that only the shopkeeper can pick it up and make use of it."

They continued their shopping before retiring to the hotel suite to get ready for the reception.

   

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace's whiskers twitched as she snorted quietly. "Say cautious, an' y'll be nearer th' mark," she said, "We've had experience o' cursed blades, an' ones that seemed t' be cursed. Didn't end well, sometimes." She listened impassively to the badger's tale of how the sword was forged, her only sign of emotion a silent tap-tapping of her tail-tuft against the backs of her hocks as it flicked from side to side.

Her ears perked up at attention, though, at his last sentence. Her fur bristled, and the hackles at the back of her neck stood on end. She put the box of knives down on a side table, then reached out and carefully took the sword, trying first her usual one-handed grip, then a variety of two-handed grips. Andrace raised her eyes to look at the badger, a grim smile on her face. "Weird-lookin' it might be," she said, "but this might be one o' th' best weapons I've ever held in m' hand." The lioness gradually relaxed, no longer looking as if she were ready at a moment's notice to throw the sword away if it did anything uncanny, or even eldrich.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

At the knock on her door Mel looked around her room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She had changed to a pale blue cocktail dress for the art show and her gown for the ball was repacked and ready for transport to the castle. Her armful of bracelets jingled softly as she opened the door.

[Stygian]

For whatever reason, Elyse blinked, and then her expression shifted, slight and tightly held back notes of suspicious apprehension entering it. Gazing down at the rodent and his peering eyes, his immaculately trimmed white goatee that contrasted his almost black fur, it was clear that something about him bothered her as well. Then again, from what they had seen of her thitherto, most anything surprising might be upsetting to her. It was too early to draw conclusions.
   'Neither do I, aktually,' the rodent answered Esme, then just continued as if he had either not listened to her statement, or didn't understand what it meant. 'I must say, such an amuzing collection ov people. You agree, ja?' he rambled, and looked around at the assorted visitors. 'I vas told zat there vould be assorted dignitaries, but I vas not prepared for such reichlich... how do you say... diversity? Mmm...'
   Watching the rat frown and peer around, Elyse stared for a moment in disbelief, then looked to Esme again with a gaze that spoke 'just don't bother...'.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Tim raised an eyebrow at the officer. "If he'd asked first, I would have stopped him. And if I could get him to reliably draw like that, we'd probably make more than enough to cover the damage he causes. The key word there is reliably; usually he just draws smiley faces." She made a face.

Behind her, Rover noticed the orange striped feline, gibbering by his foot. He crowed "Brush!", reached down and grabbed the poor Being, dipped it in the now somewhat cooler hot chocolate, and promptly used him to draw a giant smiley face on the third side of the belltower; not visible from where Tim and Offiver Y'Mir were standing, it included spikey hair along the top, and several refreshes of his "brush".

After which, he placed the poor fellow back where he'd been, and bounced around to the fourth wall, before discovering that he'd run out of hot chocolate, and slouching - insofar as a 30 foot high creature can be said to be slouching - back to Tim.

Who was doing a little gibbering of her own.

"Have you quite finished, you big goof?"
"All gone." This in disconsolate tones.
"Yeah. We should be gone, too. Before anyone, like this officer here, sees what you've gone and done, and arrests you for damaging buildings." This in heavily sarcastic tones.
"Oh. Okay!"

With that, Rover cheered up, and leapt over their heads, and back to where the stable had been, to land next to the container, one paw resting on it.

"Go now?"


Tim turned to the officer. "May we? Before he gets bored and finds something else to do? I promise I'll come back when... er... when I can find somewhere safe to park him, and sort out any remaining issues. In the short term, we'll be heading up to the castle; hopefully I can drop in after the ball?"

[e_voyager]

the chocolate covered feline   stood  rubbing chocolate away form his eyes. he looked there was a smaller griffin next to some one in an officers uniform he looked between the small griffin and the larger one. then decided he'd probably be best heading back the way he came. still his had a stubborn streak that prevented him form letting it go that easy.  walking to the officer and the griffin he hear the words ...."in after the ball?" and shook his head bemused.

"hello sorry to bother you but i need a little help before i become a chocolate covered stature." he said knowing that in this cold the chocolate  would stiffen up in a matter of minutes. 

[Sunblink]

Dark mahogany paneling, waxy greenery and ostentatious lighting greeted the succubus as she entered. Elizabeth was surprised to find the shop occupied - funeral parlors seldom were, excepting when...

There was a viewing going on, yes. Strangers turned around to look at her, and then turned back towards the front. Some milled about and talked with each other, some smiling and joking and others in tears, as often happens when families meet to pay respects to the deceased. Short-lived beings ignored the specter of death, or they simple became overwhelmed by the pathos of it - when someone close dies, it brings that specter even closer. Death seldom weeps for the lost - to draw forth those iron tears had been done but once before.

Elizabeth couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed, to the extent that she ignored any and all similarities this Hanging Garden shared with the one native to her home. She was expecting something a lot more dramatic or something so outrageously lackluster that she could openly complain about it, not a bunch of Beings with their contagious sadness weeping over... something. Deceased relatives, most likely. The tremendous, asphyxiating output of sorrow permeating the air was almost choking; Elizabeth hated it. Despair was never one of her favorite emotions, especially not when such infectious emotions were starting to affect her. She watched, out of the corner of her eye, one of the most aggrieved families among the assembly share in what appeared to be devastation.

Come to think of it, her family never received a proper funeral.

Elizabeth shuddered bitterly and clamped her teeth shut, promptly restraining her emotions. Yes, this goddamn blasphemous effigy of her precious, most holy Hanging Garden of the Jyraneth was starting to affect her on more levels than just initial disgust. This disturbed her. Elizabeth was about to turn away and stalk out of the Hanging Garden, but something compelled her to remain. At least to investigate slightly. There were a few Beings who were laughing, and this did not provoke contempt within her, just curiosity. She wanted to know how someone could be happy when they lost a loved one, considering her entire family had been obliterated in a day's time.

[Yugo]

Esme eyed the short rat with a mixture of curiosity and discomfort, shifting slightly. Whether it was the strange way the rat seemed to regard, or rather disregard her, or his rather queer penchant for observing others, something about him made Esme feel rather uncomfortable around him. "I suppose we'll meet again later, I still need to get get a room for myself," Esme said softly, turning and motioning for Elyse to lead her somewhere, whether it was actually to the reception office or not, clearly hoping that she would in fact never meet the rat again.
There was one thing she could agree upon with the rat, and that was that there was most certainly an interesting array of characters attending this ceremony. Specifically ones such as him. Perhaps if she wasn't so offset she might feel compelled to try and learn more about the event from him, but she doubted he would do much more than ramble anyways. As she walked away, she locked eyes with Elyse and gave her a knowing look from behind her glasses.

[Stygian]

Turning after Esme, Elyse caught the lynx with a tap of a finger and a quick couple of words.
   'Excuse me...' she said, frowning momentarily at the rat before turning to address Esme proper. 'I might be able to help. Me and perhaps also this thing that seems to have latched on to me.' She kicked and scraped her shoe against Jeremiah's pants slightly, as if she were wiping off something filthy. 'We too are looking for some... clarity in the matter. And I think that it might help, the more people who are with us.'
   The bat offered no hints, gave no clues, and her tone remained casual. Yet her look hardened as she offered her suggestion, and her eyes spoke of far more seriousness than the rest of her indicated. For the bat herself, it wasn't just the fact that she'd had a quick reconsider. It was the fact that Esme was obviously a normal, sane, objective person. A perfect barometer thus, for whatever insanity might take place in her surroundings. And then there was just something...
   Then again, at the last thought, Elyse realized that she might just be hungry. Swallowing as she recalled the coppery scent, she looked around at the platters being carried around. A quick snack...

[Cogidubnus]

 The blade did do something eldritch, and quickly.

The blade, as had been mentioned, did not sparkle in the sunlight. It was black, the black of charcoal and ashes rather than shining obsidian or polished ebony, and as she shifted grips and stared at the sword, she found the edges of her vision blackening. Not entirely - fading, going gray. She tried to let go of the sword, and rapidly found that she could not.

It continued until everything had been washed in that colorless filter, everything shades of darkness and light, except for the blade itself, which drank in the colors near it like a vortex, disturbing the air and images around it into useless, unrecognizable slurry. The blade shone in the false-light, and in the depths of the reflecting metal she saw a face - a body. The badger, the room, even the blade itself seemed to retreat, until all she could see was that girl, magnified a hundredfold in size until she stood before the lioness. Andrace no longer held the sword, but simply stood before the vision. It was a girl - clothed in a stark-white shift and standing upright, with long, disheveled black hair. Her wrists were bound in chains, as were her feet, but the hair around her back flowed and gave the vaguest intimations of wings. Her eyes were closed.

Andrace stood before this vision for a few moments, in silence - until she heard whispers, on the edge of her hearing, growing louder with each passing breath.
And there the children of dark Night have their dwellings, the awful gods... The glowing Sun never looks upon them with his beams, neither as she goes up into heaven, nor as he comes down from heaven... One of them roams peacefully over the earth and the sea's broad back and is kindly to men; but the other has a heart of iron, and her spirit within her is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of men she has once seized she holds fast: and she is hateful even to the deathless gods...

The girl before Andrace stirred, and opened her eyes. The world lit up with fire and fury, the night of that place turning into an inferno of day in her eyes - every color of every rainbow was in them, as vibrant as any color Andrace had ever seen, more vibrant than even that - and the lioness found that she could not look away.
"Thanatophoros." the girl said, pointing at Andrace, and she felt ice clutch at her heart.

  And she was back.

The world still swam in gray, and she could hear the distant sussurus of whispering voices, and through the window the sky appeared cracked by an evil storm, but everything else was as it was. Except...

The badger glowed, illumined in gold, and inscribed throughout with lines in red - veins, lungs, arteries, vital organs - the lioness could see his heart beating. And across him...
Lines of bright red and gold crossed him in several places, and they shifted every few moments.

"There are strokes that cannot be recovered from, that cross muscle and tissue and organ." the badger said. Hearing a familiar voice in this place was a shock. "Places were fortitude cannot save. The lines you see...there are the places that a stroke will end someone. Always. It is more than anatomy - a fell magic permeates the sword, I believe. Strike the line and they will die."

Andrace noted that the badger had in his hand the curved blade he'd set down before. He tilted his head at the lioness. "Release your grip to release the sight. You will not have to go through that again."

* * *

Walter greeted Mel as she opened the door. "Good evening, my lady." he said, smiling his best. "Are you ready to depart? Your grandmother seems to be read to go."

* * *

Officer Y'mir glanced at the cat - ostensibly what could be the victim of a form of assault - and back to the two gryphons who'd caused more trouble in thirty minutes than he'd seen all week. Back to the cat, who was turning an unattractive shade of brown. Back to Rover, who was bigger than the entire local jail. He grunted, and waved the two away, heading for the hotel to ask for a towel for the feline.
"Gedaouttahere, before before he does something else." he said. The barista, who was still standing in the snow, snerked roughly from behind her certificate of credit that Tim had issued here.

* * *

Elizabeth heard someone start talking behind her.

"Excuse me, did you know Harvey?" the voice said. She turned to see a roughly thirtiesh rabbit regarding her, casually dressed. His head was tilted slightly. "He did keep odd friends, I guess. Never knew Uncle Harv very well myself. Still, they have the funeral when he dies, right? I'm sure he'd be laughing, the bastard, if he knew he was raining on all those rich folks parades. He never did like them, although I hear he was a bit of a bastard to everyone." he smiled wryly. "Ah, sorry, didn't catch your name...?"

* * *

The librarian frowned, and looked back at the book. She shut it with a snap, and set it carefully to the side.

"I'll make sure the matter is looked after, ma'am. I'm sorry it troubled you. Also, please no running in the halls, sir." she said, nodding at Gareeku.

* * *

There were various tables already set up around Elyse and Esme, filled with various cheeses and cold meat, and in a few places trays set up beneath heated burners filled with hot desserts, including a cobbler and a thick chocolate dish. As Elyse's eyes were passing over the cold cuts and through into the ballroom, however, she saw a figure with a broken leg and missing at least one side of his face shuffle past the doorway and disappear. Conversation and activity around her remained normal.

* * *

In the rightmost hallway nearest the door to the drinking room, a fox in a perfectly black suit and a yellow tie was watching the german doctor with great interest. He checked his golden pocketwatch every now and again, and smiled with bright shining teeth.

[e_voyager]

Aten stood there shivers . he knew it was silly but he could swear that he could here the hot chocolate freezing in his fur. "officer do you know were i can go warm up and clean this gunk off my fur and clothes before i freeze solid" he asked through a set of  chattering teeth.  the wind really bit into one when one's fur was wet

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace's smile switched off like a light when she noticed the edges of her vision going grey. She tried to whip her arms about in a motion that would have tossed the sword into the far corner of the room... and nothing happened. She couldn't even open her fingers to let the thing drop out of her hands. As the colour leached out of her view and into the sword blade, she laid her ears back and hissed through her fangs, not frightened yet, but definitely getting anxious.

Then the whole room went away, and the chained girl appeared. Andrace thought she looked odd, no muzzle or tail, bare pink skin and no fur or feathers on her body. She wasn't sure she was a human, since she'd only rarely seen one, and they all looked alike to her anyway. The lioness only had time for a few questioning thoughts: Who is she? Where'd the sword go? Was she in the sword? Was she the sword? Then a voice spoke. It sounded like one of the old prophecies, the sort that foretold massive doom and destruction in a hideously cheerful manner, as if it was something to look forward to.

The explosion of colour when the girl opened her eyes almost made Andrace flinch, but she couldn't look away. This's gettin' well beyond spooky, girl, she thought to herself, an' edgin' t'wards run-away-an'-don't-look-back territory. And yet... why did the girl seem so familiar? Although she was near petrified with fear, Andrace felt she knew the girl, knew her as a calming, reassuring presence in the mind-bending place she stood in. Her eyes narrowed to slits and her tail lashing, she watched as the girl spoke a single word. She didn't understand it — although again, it sounded hauntingly familiar — but an icy shiver filled her body as her vision twisted again...

...And she was back in the badger's room. Still holding the sword. Still seeing only in shades of grey. And still, somehow, keeping control of her bladder. The lioness took a slow, deep breath as she listened to the old badger's explanation of the glowing lines she could now see across his body, and strained to raise her ears from their position folded flat back against her head. The last foot or so of her tail flicked back and forth in agitation, and she glared somewhat wild-eyed at him. "Who, what or where th' frig is Thanatophorous?" she snarled through clenched fangs. "Th' girl, she said that, an' then I was back here." Andrace strained every muscle from shoulders to claws in an effort to open her hands and drop the sword. She blinked several times quickly. "An' what th' frig happened t' th' colour?"

[Boog]

Jeremiah watched the proceedings with mild bemusement, even more surprised at Elyse's warmness than pleased by her being distracted from calling him names. Whaddya know, rich girl's got a soul.
I say we find out what it looks like.
Shaddap Bal, I'm enjoying seeing her like this. Besides, the new girl's cute.
Good to see your priorities and professionalism's worked out how to deal with this new trouble.
Fuggoff.
When the rat decided to involve himself Jeremiah kept his mouth shut; as a servant it wasn't really his job to make the guests be polite to each other, and as a guest the grouchy old man was it figured that it was necessary to let him be. The kick from Elyse, however, earned her a glare. The lord of Castle Damaske does populate his parties with such charming company.
With everyone wandering back inside he slipped out of his coat and put it in the hall closet, then turned back in the direction of his apparent ward and her new friend. This one, at least, seemed both polite AND sane. "Esme, was it? Would you like me to take your things to your room for you?"

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel smiled back at Walter. "I will be ready once I get my cloak. I left everything for later on the bed."  She paused as she picked up her purse and wrap and spotted a piece of paper on the table. "Is Brun around? I should give her this letter. I think your visitor from earlier is just trying to get free information, but better safe than sorry."