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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 22, 2010 16:06:58 GMT -5
The sparrow peered through the window, thankful for his wing mutation. Though the rain was starting to hurt, and he would have loved to jump into the library to avoid it. As it was, he obviously couldn't, and he wasn't going to attempt anything stupid.
People! He saw people! He immediately recognized the avian and and the Corvie feline. He was slightly surprised at the fact that Joel was in the palace. Mori hadn't mentioned anything about it, but he had been preoccupied with all of the Court accounting and the shipping company issues he needed to address with Rogers.
The sparrow didn't recognize the rodent, but it didn't matter. He didn't even know Colin all that well, just the fact that he was a Jack of the Court. The three of them seemed to be the only ones around, and perhaps they could explain what was going on?
"Hey Colin! Joel!" he shouted. Hopefully it wasn't too loud, and hopefully the pounding rain wouldn't was out his cries. And he just hoped that he didn't look like an idiot.
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Post by Harpsdesire on Nov 23, 2010 12:18:55 GMT -5
When Joel said he had found a clue, Dania's expression softened with relief and she went over to quickly read the page. A clue meant they had not been searching in vain, and offered a ray of hope that she sorely needed. Colin's response was a little disheartening, and the rat had to admit that she was also unsure how the Mayor could possibly relate to the strange situation they found themselves in. Still, Dania had to admit that the way the book was lying open so neatly and strangely seemed to mean something, even if she couldn't say what. "Good find." She told Joel quietly, "Let's think about this as we finish moving the books, alright?"
"Okay." Her softer words were much more motivating to the boy, and he started moving books with considerable strength and speed for his age. It wasn't long before he had cleared the greater part of a bookshelf, although his speed eliminated discernment as to the value of the volumes, and rare and common alike were moved to safety.
He stopped, letting a book slide off his pile, as his large deer ears twitched. "Did you guys hear something? I think someone just called me from outside!" Joel put on a burst of speed to deposit the books in a dry place then rush to look out the window. "Hello?"
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Post by Lucca on Nov 23, 2010 12:27:47 GMT -5
Colin realized a little belatedly that what he had said might be disheartening to the kid, like he didn't appreciate the fact he'd found the...maybe-clue. Gah, this was why he wasn't too good with kids. He could be polite and formal, but praising someone for something minor didn't come easily. Maybe he should work on that. Hmm. He let Dania's words speak for him, smiling at the kid and poking around the table a bit to see if there was anything else odd there. He lifted up the book (putting a wing on the page to keep it there, of course), and scuffed a bit beneath the table too. Not really finding anything else, he began to pick up all the books that had fallen into neater stacks when he heard...his name from outside?
"Yes, I heard it, too," he told Joel, and turned, walking towards the window, putting up a wing to shield his face from the rain. As he approached the window, his new, higher Rank would be clearly visible to the man outside. "Who's there?" he called out, right after the Corvie kid, also peering out. He thought he might vaguely recognize the man...another Court noble. He relaxed just the littlest bit as he searched his memory for the other Avian's name. "Zane, I believe? Wouldn't you like to come in?" He couldn't imagine it was fun for him to be out in the pouring rain like that. And maybe the other man had some idea of what was going on.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 23, 2010 12:37:27 GMT -5
The pounding rain was starting to sting his wings. Damn all the suits, why was it raining so hard and why was he feeling so... tense? He couldn't quite place the feeling other than discomfort in his abdomen, the tightness could only be stress, right?
When Joel appeared at the window he backed up slightly. He was always filled with energy wasn't he? The appearance of Colin that followed shortly after made him give a small sight of relief. He could barely make out what the Villa was saying, but still... at least someone had noticed him.
"I can't come in! I tried and ended up back out here!" he responded over the pouring rain. "What exactly is going on?" He was practically yelling the entire time. It was impossible to gauge his voice properly.
The mark on Colin's chest finally registered, the sparrow looking terribly surprised. What? Colin was a Jack in the Court, Not a Queen. And he was fairly certian that the ferret and the Tulgey crow were still titled members. "When did you become a Queen?"
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Post by Harpsdesire on Nov 23, 2010 16:37:29 GMT -5
Once Joel and Colin were staring out the window into the soaking rain, Dania went back to moving books and searching shelves as she went. A casual glance into the rainy dimness outdoors didn't immediately reveal anything of interest, so she assumed Joel and Colin would take care of things. No use everyone standing around while books were getting wet!
It was strange, she thought, how dark it seemed out there. It was still very early in the morning when they had entered the library, and surely not that much time had passed. It must be the heavy black clouds blocking out the sun. Still, it seemed much darker than it usually was, even during a storm.
Joel stood close to the window, not really minding the rain that blew in and dampened his fur. Zane was out there, sheltering his head under his own wings. "Hey Zane!" He called, "Seriously weird stuff is going on in here!"
Dania groaned softly in dismay from where she attended to the books. Most people agreed that when a Corvie teenager called things "seriously weird", it was really saying something. "I don't know if you should come in anyway... It's sort of creepy and everyone is gone!"
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Post by Nathalia on Nov 23, 2010 16:46:03 GMT -5
((Dania appears to have unearthed something in all the stacks of books!
Ink Well: This small inkwell tingled like mad when touched and delivered a small electric shock to the first person to lay hands on it. After the shock, the SD in question slowly came to realize that they had gained a new ability. Once a week, they are now able to cause a thick blot of ink to appear in their hands, about the size of their palm; this can then be thrown, smeared, or otherwise propelled at an enemy. Once it hits any SD other than its caster, the ink will seek out the victim's eyes, nose, OR mouth, only one of them, and proceed to block them off entirely. Nothing can break through the barrier it creates and it will seal itself for a full 24 hours. There is no way to break this spell once cast.
~Nathalia
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Post by Lucca on Nov 23, 2010 16:46:40 GMT -5
Colin's face fell a bit, and his smile turned a bit bitter. "Actually, I was rather hoping you might know," he admitted, trying to quell the sudden uprising of frustration and despair. Here was yet another person who was caught by odd magic (seriously, not able to come inside? What was that about?) and yet was as clueless as they were about the whole situation. Although...
"You don't know anything about a mayor in Selkie, do you?" he asked thoughtfully, but then shook his head. "Ah, never mind! I was only recently, er, promoted, as it were. It was a bit of outside magic. Maybe..." he frowned. It wouldn't do for the poor Avian to just stand out in the garden. But if he couldn't come inside at all... He drew back a bit, looking around the room. Well...they were still occupied here, but they could sure use a bit of help, considering.
"Is there anywhere you could go to get us some help? Almost the entirety of the Palace has vanished over night. Which...Joel just said..." He shook his head, glaring up at the clouds and the rain steadily falling and soaking his feathers. This really wasn't getting them anywhere at all. He glanced at Joel. Maybe the boy should try going out to him? Apparently he knew Zane somehow. But what good would that do?
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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 23, 2010 17:04:08 GMT -5
"Does your mother know where you are, Joel?"
Well, considering how composed the boy was, at least no one seemed to be in immediate danger. Then again the boy was a Corvie. He would have patted the boy on the head if he wasn't afraid of the enchantment that seemed to be on the window. He didn't want to end up punching himself in the face or anything. The sparrow strained to listen to what was being said. Everyone disappeared? What the Suits? And Colin didn't know what was happening?
His brow was furrowed at both the cat and the bird. mayor of Selkie? What did he have to do with any of this? "I know very little about Selkie Mayor. I could probably tell you about how much money he makes a year, but I'd hardly consider that helpful. What does that have anything to do with disappearing and being unable to enter the building?"
He was trying to stay composed, but the rain was starting to get to him.
"Get help?" Zane said as he leaned a bit closer to them. "I can probably go to the Court of Diamonds. Is there... anything else I should know though? You said that everyone is gone?" How was that even possible?
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Post by Harpsdesire on Nov 23, 2010 20:42:49 GMT -5
"Ow!" Dania yelped softly, more in surprise than pain. She had just gotten a rather sharp shock from what looked like an ordinary inkwell. Magical, of course. Dania steeled herself for something dreadful or painful to happen, but all was quiet except for the rain and Joel's voice in the background. She felt that weird nudge in the back of her mind that meant a new ability had presented itself, and investigated it carefully. Huh. That was... interesting. Also not nearly the level of unpleasant she had feared when she first felt the tingle and realized it was too late to let go of the inkwell. It was only once she had felt out the extent of her new power as much as she could without activating it that she became fully aware that someone new had appeared. She set down the now-powerless inkwell near the central desk.
Joel, in the meantime, was a little taken aback by Zane's question. "Yes, she knows. She said it was okay, you know, before things went all crazy." he said, "I'm working with Dania. It was just going to be for yesterday and today." He looked around at the parchment-littered, soggy, decidedly unorganized library and concluded, "But it's probably going to take longer than we thought."
Since Dania had pretty much cleared the left wall of valuable books and any any possible clues, she went to join her assistant and the new queen, who were in the midst of talking to Zane. "Ah, hello." She said. She was more than a little relieved to see that it was still possible for others to get to the court, and the fact that Joel and Colin knew the sparrow was comforting. Strange that he was hanging around outside, though... she didn't feel it would be polite to ask about that.
Joel was taking the strange goings-on with surprising calm. It was partly his natural inclination for laid-back optimism, and partly that he wasn't old enough to entirely process how potentially serious the situation was. Any fearful event was met with near-panic, but that seemed to fade away quickly as it was replaced with curiosity. He replied to Zane quite cheerfully, "Well, not everyone. There are still two people here besides us."
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Post by Lucca on Nov 23, 2010 21:22:06 GMT -5
Colin shook his head. The mayor track was obviously getting them nowhere. "I have no idea how he relates to any of this. Just...please forget I mentioned it," he said tiredly, waving his wing and nearly knocking down several shards of glass that were in the soggy curtain down on himself. He winced reflexively...and suddenly wondered what would happen if he used his glass-restoring ability on one of the windows. It should fix it, right? Though what sort of good that would do, he had no idea. There would still be three other windows letting the rain in.
The Court of Diamonds? Ah, yes, Zane had family there. Well that sounded like it might actually do some good. And alerting another Court that there was something weird going on definitely seemed like a good idea. "Ah, yes, if you would go to the Court of Diamonds and inform them of the situation, Zane, that would be most helpful." His voice had taken on that strange, commanding air again as the authority in the back of his mind from the sudden boost in Rank was becoming ingrained into his consciousness more.
He nodded at Joel's statement. "Specifically, Queen Mia and King Raina are both still here, though the latter is unconscious and I couldn't wake her." His eyes narrowed in worry. Perhaps he should go check on the girl? He looked over at Dania, acknowledging her, but right now his foremost goal was to send Zane with the message. Hopefully whatever magic was keeping him out of Spades would no longer affect him when he went to the other Court.
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