Two Jacks to Win [Finished]

[seraaches]

Kelasia had very politely asked for a day off for personal reasons, waiting very specifically for a day and time that Theofilus was away, thus putting it fully on Rogers shoulders whether or not she should get it. Of course, the canine was always trying to get her out of the shop, so, as expected, he was more than pleased to allow it when she hesitantly explained she was going on a sort of sight-seeing trip. She was glad to be caught up on her work so when the summons had arrived, she could simply cut out and go.

She traveled the streets in her animal form; her formal invitation was tucked away in her pouch and she would shift just before she reached the Palace and met the escort her letter said would be waiting for her. She was nervous as she moved through the semi-crowded streets, heading for the Palace to the South.

[Bee]

Mnem was on a leisure stroll (or, rather, valiant stab at a leisure stroll), gliding easily down the streets of the Capital, attempting to clear her mind. A friend of hers in the Gardens had suggested that, once, some kind of meditation or relaxation technique that she had picked up from some Highlands mystic that involved a lot of walking around and contemplating the beauty of the endless universe, of becoming one with the tree of life or some rubbish. Mnem had politely laughed in her face and informed her that tea--particularly, spiked tea--provided all the relaxation she needed.

But even Minh was commenting that she looked a little high-strung, and Mnem figured at when she reached that sad state of affairs, certain measures needed to be taken. Not that any of the current circumstances were her fault, truly. A couple of minor business ventures had failed to pan out, and, as in most things, this had energized her rather than depress her.

She just needed to step up her game, was all. She had made it to the rank of Ten, and that had intimidated a good number of people who had not been so frightened of a Seven even though the Seven in question had been notoriously cunning and ruthless.

She was still debating how she could do this when she spotted a familiar figure--Kelasia, the skunk, whom Mnem had encountered in a library some time ago and then had coffee with. Mnem had not seen her after that, though apparently Minh had.

Almost of its own accord, her mouth pulled into a wide smile. "Kel!" she called merrily. "Darling, it's been ages."

[seraaches]

Kelasia turned at the sound of being called and an only slightly distracted smile lit her lips as she caught sight of the tri-coloured canine. Like Minh, Mnem had ranked up quite a bit since their last meeting. Kel was glad to see it though she could only just repress a little shiver of jealousy; she was just hoping that she could make Jack today. That was her whole purpose of going to the Palace.

”It has been quite awhile,” she agreed lightly. She was more confident than her first meeting with the two other females and even more than when she had first met up with Minh again. ”Minh has said good things about your relationship with each other. I was relieved to hear that things have been working out.” Many roommate relationships swiftly turned sour.

”Wot brings you to this side of town today?” the skunk asked lightly. Her nerves were beginning to show again as the initial excitement of having seen Menm began to wear off. She didn’t want to be late for her appointment either.

[Bee]

The skunk looked to be fretting a bit about something, but she had gained a surprising bit of confidence since their last meeting, and Mnem was strangely pleased to see this even as she wondered what could have brought on Kelasia's emergence from her shell. She was actually taking the initiative in a conversation; Mnem didn't have to prod anything out of her at all.

"Yes," Mnem said, smiling fondly. "Minh and I are proving to have a most interesting influence on one another." To say the least. Mnem and Minh seemed to encourage one another to new heights of strangeness and extremes of behavior, which was mostly fine by Mnem; it spurred her to further accomplishments. Her pleasant smile then waned. "I'm not out and about for anything in particular," she continued, gesturing widely. "Merely trying to clear my head and straighten out a few things. But it's not really terribly interesting. What are you up to, dear?"

[seraaches]

Kelasia gave a small nod as she listened to the canine explain and she gave her own faint smile at Mnem’s apparent pleasure. It was even better that Mnem was obvious in her satisfaction and not keeping it hidden behind a veil of annoyance. The skunk was not, however, aware of her slow and steady rise into self-confidence, so any correlation between Mnem’s smile to that fact did not occur to her.

”Actually,” the skunk admitted softly and her unease and nervousness grew more and more evident; her eyes dropped to the ground and her tail twitched restlessly. ”I have an appointment at the Palace of Diamonds, and I really should be going. I don’t want to be late.” She looked up at the tri-coloured canine again and gave her a shy smile. ”It was lovely to see you again, Mnemosyne. I hope we can see more of each other again soon.” She bobbed her head and turned to continue on her way.

[Bee]

So that was what the skunk had been worried about. A meeting at the Palace! Very interesting indeed. What on earth would Kelasia--it struck her, then, looking at the skunk's markings. A Ten, a Ten, she was a Ten, and there was only one typical reason a Ten would be making his or her way to the Court. Advancement, Court position, the title of Jack. All Tens wanted to be Jacks.

Why had Mnem not seen it before, the next logical step? Being a Jack granted one a little bit of Court power. A little bit of Court power would be an excellent bit of leverage in a negotiation.

"Kelasia!" she said, quickly catching up to the skunk. "I think we might be seeing each other sooner than you think. Would you mind a bit of company on your journey?"

[seraaches]

The skunk blinked in surprise as the canine trotted back up to her and she tilted her head as Mnem asked to come along. ”Oh… uhm.. well… I guess not…” it came out as nearly a question. The Sorgaire Range resident didn’t mind the company so much as she was uncertain as to whether or not it was alright for someone to come with her. The invitation had not specified. She tried to explain this to the other female. ”I wouldn’t mind having you with me,” she said softly. In fact, she would be pleased to not have to make the nerve-wracking journey alone. ”It’s just that my letter doesn’t say whether or not it’s alright for someone to come along.” She mused briefly about that. ”Of course, we can just ask there; I don’t know anyone else who might know.”

Amiable to them both, they continued quickly on to the Palace to the south. Kelasia lead the way in, switching to her bipedal form so she could pull out her invitation and greeting the first person it seemed she should ask. ”Excuse me, I received this summons?” Depending on their answer and Mnem’s reaction, she would ask about Mnem’s inclusion on the venture.

[The Jenn]

The attendant, a Nine with markings that clearly denoted her as a Gardens canine, looked up from her clipboard and held her hand out for the invitation, inspecting it briefly before nodding. "Well then, it looks like His Highness is expecting you. If you would please follow me, I can show you to his chambers and leave you to make your own introductions. My schedule doesn't quite allow for all of the formalities and whatnot."

She made a gesture with her hand for them to come along, making no mention whatsoever of the extra member in Kelasia's party, and eventually they reached a door to what could only be a King's suite, situated where it was in the palace. The route hadn't been especially difficult, so they would be able to find their way back to the entrance with little trouble.

The Gardens girl pointed at the door with her thumb. "With His Highness expecting you, just knock and wait for acknowledgement, then walk right on in. Unless he gets to the door before you do, of course. Sometimes he likes to do that. I think he gets a kick out of startling people backwards. Make sure you smile." She poked the nervous-looking skunk with one blunt claw before nodding with a slight grin of her own and leaving them to handle things.

[seraaches]

Kelasia was surprised by the Nine, sending one brief glance towards the Ten Yarrow Gardens canine accompanying her and then back to their guide. O-kay, that was a little creepy, really. Aaannnddd, their escort had a lot in common with the woman walking beside her. Both seemed rather pushy and also quiet convinced of their own self-worth.

In addition, the Nine didn’t really give her a chance to ask about Mnem’s addition to the party and then the skunk was poked and their guide departed. Kel watched the departing pink canine before turning to stare at the door. She took a deep, bracing breath then lifted a hand before remembering to glance over at her companion. This was her quest, however, so she only really hesitated for a moment, nerves evident in her gaze. But she still rapped lightly at the door, hoping it was loud enough for the occupant King to hear all right.

[Bee]

Mnem took the fact that she was not told to bugger off as evidence enough that her presence was perfectly acceptable or even welcome. She had a fairly decent sense for when she was and was not wanted; she typically did not heed this sense when it told her something she didn't want to hear (one seldom accomplished anything extraordinary in life by being where one belonged at all times, was her vague philosophy about it), but she was aware of it.

When the other Yarrow Gardens creature scuttled off--she didn't see her own kind that often outside the Gardens, actually, so she had half-hoped for a moment that the girl would stick around for a few minutes--she focused her attention back upon the nervous skunk, who began rap-tap-tapping at the King's chamber door. She wasn't going to get any attention with hesitant prodding.

Smiling brightly at Kelasia, Mnem raised her own paw and knocked forcefully.