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[Gareeku]

"SATH!! NO!!" Gareeku cried out as he turned in time see the last of the girl disappear. No longer was he angry; the anger within him had been replaced by disbelief and sadness. "...She was just a girl...a sweet, innocent girl..."

His eyes shutting tight, the wolf fought hard to fight back the tears. Opening his eyes, he looked to the side, a look of mourning on his face, when his eyes caught sight of the envelope which hadn't been there before. Grabbing it almost instinctively, Gareeku fumbled almost frantically to open it. Once he did so, the wolf quickly pulled out whatever was within...

[xHaZxMaTx]

-Delete?-

[Gareeku]

((OOC: Huzzah for ruining the story we had going.))

[Aisha deCabre]

That would be the one moment burned in Aisha's memory...the look in the girl's eyes when she vanished...the pleading and sadness that she left with, and the friends that could do nothing to help, but watch her waste away into mist.

Sath had fallen away into nothing, right in the panther's hands.  Right in Gareeku's.  Calling for them... And they could do nothing.

Just...like...the nightmare...Aisha thought to herself as she fell to her knees and closed her eyes, as somber and mournful as the wolf was.  One thing that she never did like was watching someone she know just disappear from existence, and having nothing to do about it.  Though the panther didn't know whether or not the girl really "died", it felt like it.

She kept silent for a small while before hearing Gareeku moving and paper crinkling.  One misty eye opened to watch him open an envelope from on the table.  "What's that...?" she muttered and rubbed her eyes.

[Joat]

Sylver and I wake up.

“What in the world is going on?” I ask sleepily.

[Stygian]

Inside the envelope was a neatly folded letter, written in an exquisite but somewhat spindly traditional hand and with a single black feather inside it. It read:

   "Dear Gareeku and Aisha; If this letter should by chance reach you in the right place and time, that means that my work has turned out correctly, and that I am gone from Furrae. In fact, it means that I was never even there to start with. I am not entirely sure about the effects this might have on the nature of existence, but I suppose that all my direct and assured interference is gone from your point of view. Please tell the Boogeyman and Mel of this. I am sure that at least one of them will spend some time thinking on it...
   I have returned to my own existence to settle some accounts. Please, don't worry about me, and note the sarcastic tone. I am not sure that I am fine, but what is fine anyway? In any case, it was something that needed doing, and I am tired of solving other problems. Borrowed time is borrowed time.
   Still, I have not entirely left your existence alone, though I will probably never interfere with it again. I have set events in motion long ago that I hope will produce desirable results, though whether they are noticeable to you immediately is as much a chance as that this letter should reach you. Of course, that might be a parallel, so it is foolish of me to mention it from one perspective. Then again, who knows? It is better that I do from your point of view anyway, I think.
   One last thing before I forget after all these years; tell Gareeku that he's the naíve one to think that darkness is not a part of everything.

   Sincerely sincerely, Stygian"

[Joat]

Sylver and I walk into that room. “What’s going on?” I ask.

[Aisha deCabre]

As Gareeku reached in and pulled out the letter, Aisha curiously took the black feather that came with it, turning it over in her hands as she stood and leaned over Gareeku's shoulder to read what it said.  She squinted to read each word and sentence, even more so as the panther tried to comprehend what it was saying.

"He left...?  Or...he was never here?"  She repeated quizzically.  "But how can that be...?  Most everything that's happened now is because of..." she held a hand to her head, which was now aching and tired from the sleep that the panther had refused to give back to it.

She looked again at the feather in her hand, then back to Gareeku with a long sigh.  "I guess...it will be a while before you have to worry about him again..."

And that's when she heard someone else enter the library, and the panther wanted to groan.  Was everybody already waking up...?  She turned to look at Joat and Sylver.  "I don't think we even know..."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Just as Mel teased Boogey something started happening. She looked at him wide-eyed as the room started changing. The design in the curtains, the type of wood in the floor, "What the...?" Then she answered, "Stygian." She turned to Boogey. "We'd better check what's going on this time."

It took a bit of searching but they finally found the rest of the group in the library.

[Joat]

“Should we go wake May?” I ask.

[Boog]

"I'll have to tell you later later," Boogey rolled his eyes and followed, "Can't that guy go a whole 6 hours without rearranging things?"

[e_voyager]

E groaned as he woke up. some one was messing with reality in the local area again he wondered when enough would be enough. half sleep gets up and refreshes his outfit before re-entering hit robotizes state. He groans as he looked around and heads for the center of the disturbance. " okay what now" he roans and her makes his way.

[Stygian]

Somehow it had become near-evening again, and that did not make the whole sleeping situation better. The sky was slowly going orange again as the sun began to set, shadows growing longer. Despite the fact that Stygian had left, there was still some sort of gloom, and a chill that gripped the house. All the lights and candles had gone out, and the large and looming halls, though not threatening, seemed empty. As the library crowded, and no one seemed to really have anything to say, the feeling was enhanced.

   Some distance away, a figure slowly made his way, walking across the landscape, headed over the outskirts of a town and down a slightly snow-covered road in the chill, toward his destination.

[Joat]

“Zzz…”

Sylver shakes me. “Joat, wake up.”

I wake up. “Sorry. Musta dosed off there. Pretty sleepy.”

[KarlOmega1]

*Karl walks into the Library*

Karl: Gareeku, Aisha...you two alright? The local Dimensional space seems to have been fixed...got any idea why?

*Karl notices them holding a letter*

Karl: what's this? *reads letter* ...so he's gone?

[e_voyager]

E arrives shortly after Karl reads the letter. hey what's up? i felt something strange when i woke up and follow it until it vanished and i wound up here"

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel rubbed her temples trying to keep a headache away as she tried to line up in her mind the events that had just taken place. Stygian was gone, but had never been here to go? Same with Sathariel. She peeked at Gareeku and Aisha, they were taking that part especially hard. They were all going to miss that little kitten. But leaving these two staring at the spot she disappeared from was not a good idea. Protective types tended to crash hard when they thought they failed to protect.

Mel put a hand on Gareeku's and Aisha's shoulders and began gently urging them out of the room. At their startled expressions she informed them, "We're going to go see if the drinks cabinet is still in the main room and drink a toast to wherever Sath is now. Stygian said he didn't make her, which means she was someone before she came here. She's just back where ever she was and we're going to send her happy wishes."

Mel kept gently directing the pair towards the door, hoping she wasn't telling a lie since she didn't really know what Sathariel was or if she even had a past to return to.

[Boog]

As Boogey read the letter, he followed the others and shook his head. Making it so you never were somewhere was a trick not unknown to those who twist logic into little spirals, but it was still dangerous and may have harmed Sath. In character for him really, but still... disappointing...

[Stygian]

The man turned, pulling his coat a bit tighter around him and swinging his tail as a gust of wind passed and threw up snow from the side. He folded his ears down and back as well as he could, and muttered. The place was supposed to be empty, but hopefully he'd be able to sit down in front of a warm fire before night fell. Perhaps he could even go back and find some decent tea in town, once he'd found what he was looking for.
   The man turned, and looked to the sun, squinting behind his round glasses. It would be another hour or so before the light completely vanished. Normally he would have been glad at that, but right now he was just feeling like staying somwhere calm and getting some sleep once he was done.
   Quickly, he slipped out a little etui and turned his back on the wind, which thankfully had died down a bit. Pulling out a matte silvery lighter, he lit a slim cigar and took a pull on it, and sighed as he turned to look at his destination. It was still small in the distance, but from his position halfway down a hillside he could see it, a big dark mansion standing not far from a very large lake that dissappeared behind some rocky hills further off, and with some woodland around it leading up to those hills. Not another soul on the long road leading to it.
   He started walking again. He would have flown, but it just felt right walking. The chill didn't get to him anyway, and if there was anything he had then it was time.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha observed the letter's words one more time, and then watched it get passed between the others who had come down only to see the dire mood unfold further.  Many were expressing more curosity than concern for Stygian's disappearance.  Only she and Gareeku seemed deeper in thought.  The panther stayed next to Gareeku, laying her head on his shoulder while her eyes just stared down at the feather.  She could sense his emotions just as clearly too...still mourning.  Still thoughtful.  Still not at ease.

What a time this turned out to be...

It was then that Mel came upon the two and started leading them towards the door.  Aisha had blinked curiously, but on the dragon's explanation she had started to go more willingly.  "I guess you might be right..." she answered.  "She may not have been there in reality...but she was in our memories.  That is important..."

[Gareeku]

As the others entered the room and talked, Gareeku stayed silent, giving the others the letter so that they could read it.
"I couldn't protect her...I couldn't save her..." the wolf muttered sadly. "...damn it..."

It was then, however, that Mel came over to them. Listening to her words, Gareeku found them to be comforting.
"Yeah...that would be nice..." the wolf replied, smiling slightly as he le himself be lead back to the main room.

[e_voyager]

upon  taking ill both the letter and the reaches E face palms. "this smacks of Paradox and i disk likes having to deal with major realty shifts." Still at this point there was little if anything that E could do. no with out causes another major reality shift.

[Stygian]

Downstairs, the house had changed, but not much. They had to take two right turns rather than a left and a right to get to the main room now, which was odd, but otherwise things were mostly thesame. The style of the architecture and furniture had become somewhat more romantical, but was still mostly in dark tones, and before lights and candles were lit, as the sun set there seemed to be a sort of dimness to the whole place, one of the kind that follows an autumn rain in an open field, surreal and distant.
   The drinks and tools, the food, all the stuff they had taken out was missing, replaced instead with books that gave the impression of having lain there for some time, and some strange silvery instruments and papers. There was a pot of tea standing out, but it seemed to have gone cold and stale long ago. It didn't gladden anyone, it seemed. Still, the cabinets seemed full, and the food in the refrigerator was still there.
   When they had gone in, the delivery fox from before showed up, dressed in some hastily thrown-on coat and with an aggravated look on his face. He seemed to wobble a bit on his legs and looked paler under his fur than before.
   "What the hell is going on, and who are you people!?" he said, eyeing them with a very critical expression.

   The man was almost at the mansion now. He walked slowly, having stubbed out his cigar long since, his boots making rough prints in the snow, which creaked a bit under him. Next time he would get a car, if one was available. He would need to get a place to put his things as well...
   Then, he looked up, and saw light, faint but clear, through some windows. He stopped. Wasn't this place supposed to be empty? He ran a pointy tongue over sharp teeth, thinking hard. He had not heard of any legal claims yet, and from what he knew no one was aware that the owners were dead, so it was improbable that these were relatives come to look at the house. Then again, with people like that you could see some strange behaviour, but...
   He shook his head and started walking again. He would do what he would do. Right now he knew nothing, and once he found out what the circumstances were he could regard them. All he had to do was be a bit cautious at first.
   He reached the front door, and very carefully tested it. It proved to be unlocked, to his surprise, and he looked in and around twice before actually slipping in. He closed the door as silently as the big thing permitted, and then walked, casually but as always with him very silently through the house, against where he thought he had seen lights.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel looked around at the generally unkempt air of the room with a bit of a wrinkle to her nose. This wasn't the messiness of a busy house but the decline of a lonely one. She'd grown up in a much larger and infinitely older place but there wasn't a single corner allowed to get this edge of decay feel. "I don't think you hired adequate cleaning staff in this timeline, Admiral. Your place is all run down."

[Joat]

“What’s going on? We don’t know. Who we are? That, we do know. I’m Joat and this is Sylver,” I say to the fox.

[Aisha deCabre]

As they strolled around through the house, Aisha had slowed her pace a little bit so that it was controlled by herself a little more than by Mel, though she still stood by the dragon and Gareeku.  By her hearing, the felid could tell that some of the others were following, too.  Her eyes wandered over the details of the place, as labyrinthine as ever if not more so.  It still felt like something brought right out of a point long in the past...and with recent events, Aisha wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case.

Her eyes took in the details, the new ones and the old, and some that she couldn't even remember if they were new or not.  But the place still felt dark, encompassing, and intimidating.

Once they made it back to the main lounge, Aisha yawned again and pushed some messy hair strands back into place, peering over to where the windows were.  Dusk...at this rate, the panther would be time-lagged.  But the time of day was at least very appropriate for the mood.

When a new voice had piped up, Aisha glanced towards the fox and curiously tilted her head, wondering how to answer for a second.  Huh.  A new person.  An apologetic smile of greeting appeared on her tired face.  "We don't know much about what's going on either.  We're all just party guests, basically..."

One of her ears tilted towards where she supposed the path to the mansion's entrance lay, suddenly having thought she heard footsteps.  But, in the milling around of the others, and her slightly lethargic state, it could have been written off as someone else...only a small tinge in her mind had a doubt about it.

[Boog]

Boogey raised an eyebrow as the fox walked in, interrupting his thoughts on what may have happened to Sath.
"I suppose that depends," He twisted an argument around himself, making himself appear as a bit more normal to anyone who hadn't seen his real face before; in this case, a mongoose anthro with a mildly mangey look about him, "What do you remember?"

[Stygian]

He stopped just before the end of a hallway, from where the light was coming, and tested the air. A mix of scents, varied and sharp in contrast, came to him. The sound of movement, the feeling of heat, speech... The scents from in there blended together, the candles, something chemical and steely, then some warmth, a sharp edge, contrasting cold, something... slick, and then something that he had simply never felt before. It didn't add up. There were six people in there, but...
   He reached out and felt the room through a bit more carefully. There were energies about all over. But none of them seemed strong or organized enough to be much of a threat. But just to be sure...
   He made a gesture with a hand, and fire leapt from his hand. It flowed and twisted into a formation over it, forming a complex circle diagram of symbols and lines for a moment. One transformation spell, some mind shielding, a few unknown minors and some free radical power just hanging loose. No great concern, he thought. The spell had told him little more than that, but he needed no more to go on. He would be cautious, but quick.

   "That... yesterday, that person took me upstairs, and...!" the fox started, blushed, and felt his neck. He silenced quickly though.

   The unmistakeable sound of a pair of boots, somewhat dimmed but distinguishable, came from the other side of the room, as a figure made itself visible, dimmed somewhat in the shadows. He was dressed differently, and his features were just slightly different, younger and not quite as bitter, his hair a bit longer and his face just a little less serious. He wore a pair of round glasses now too. But they all recognized Stygian very well. He stepped in right next to the piano, and leaned on it a bit.
   "So... Who are you, and what are you doing here? It would be best if you answered immediately," he said, coolly eyeing them over the bows of his glasses.
   The fox made a small, high-pitched eek, and ran straight out the other way. Stygian cocked an eyebrow, but otherwise made no notice.

[Boog]

Boogey's disguise added its own details. A mangy, aged mongoose, and not gracefully aged, whirled around and fixed Stygian with a look.
"Apparantly, answering silly questions. Why do you ask, Stygian?"

[Stygian]

Stygian cocked an eyebrow again, and this time he flinched, a curious expression entering his face. There was a small glint in his eyes.
   "Oh? So you've heard of me. That bodes ill," he said, his tone still mostly chill, but just a bit musing. "This place was supposed to be empty," he continued, still very much on his feet. "So I guess that you must have some business here, to come at such a... convenient time." A chill voice, yes, but filled with danger.