Of Banders And Pride (Closed)

[Kitty]

From living within the walls of a foreign Court... Osias had come to one conclusion, Sezja's aggression must be somehow leashed or he'd never get any work done at all. It wasn't that he, himself minded the stubborn, aggressive behavior of his boy but what he did mind was all the -noise- that went along with it. Every time a lesser servant brought him something, or someone came near his vicinity the orange Bander would come unglued. It amused him at first, and yes, he loved nothing more then to see others fleeing in fear with an orange ball of fur, muscle and teeth hot on their heels, but the research and idea mapping he was presently involved in was quite crucial and important to future plans and he needed peace to do any thinking.

It was, admittedly, a somewhat reluctant departure from the Court of Spades with Sezja to visit Ashwinn and for no other reason then the rodent was full of pride and this was a mild blow to said pride. And the closer he got to the shop the more it became apparent that he actually needed the help of another, but he could take solace in the fact that the man was a breeder and, if he weren't lieing, a rather good and knowledgeable one at that.

However as he approached something caught his eye and he wandered closer to it, it was a sign upon the door that read. Something along the lines of out to lunch and that he'd be back soon which caused the rat to curse softly under his breath. Who knows how long the sign had been there and if he actually planned on returning.

His focus didn't linger upon the sign for long though as something else grabbed his attention and that something came in the form of a warning growl from a certain orange Bandersnatch with quite the temper...

[The Jenn]

Serafino walked the streets to the market, deliberately wading through the crowd and watching some of them scramble back in recognition. It was absolutely hilarious, but not something he could indulge in. Leaving the palace grounds in and of itself was a rarity for him. Most of what he wanted or needed could be brought to him there, including people. Ashwin rarely left his house during the day, however, and never in the afternoon, when most of his customers were likely to turn up.

Besides, the pine martin served excellent tea, so visiting him in his home and shop always proved to be pleasant enough. For all that the man was a bastard, he was respectful enough in public and knew far more than the monarch on the subject of banders. It seemed only right to go and visit him with questions, seeing as he plundered the man's mind for knowledge every time they met.

He arrived to the correct street and had just spotted the sign on the door that said something besides "open" when Sultana stopped in her tracks. Her entire body had tensed and her head was turned unblinkingly forwards. Fino looked and saw someone else near the shop, a Lowlander for sure, though he couldn't discern number or suit. The bander in the man's arms stared at them in much the same way Sultana stared, making her hackles raise.

That stare said 'challenge' and 'dominance'. It was the kind of stare that precluded a spar, usually. He tightened his grip on the leash and glared at the rat to control his pet. Though he wasn't within speaking distance, the look spoke volumes.

[Kitty]

The leash that subdued Sezja was quite the primitive kind, much like the one's Ashwin initially gave him, he hadn't the opportunity nor necessity to really upgrade to something else as this had done it's purpose well in the past and he merely gripped it tighter as Sezja pulled a bit, wanting to stalk toward the other Bander who appeared to share a similar persona to his own.

The growl deepened within the orange one's throat as Sultana stared, his own hackles now standing at attention, his challenge had yet to have been returned where he resided and now it had and Sezja had only one thing in mind, set the female in her place.

Osias followed his pet's gaze and they landed upon a rather fancy figure who possessed a reputation that preceded him, but failed to really stir anything within him. Really, from what he'd heard, the queen of Hearts acted like a spoiled child with access to sharp, pointy objects and subjects instead of dolls, really unimpressive in his own opinion and far from truly intimidating, and he was in human form. At least he sensible enough to bite back his disgust in the presence of one ranked much higher then he.

He tugged upon his lead, reigning Sezja back for a moment, which only seemed to intensify the creature's agitation. He made a lunge, testing the lead and perhaps even Osias' strength before seemingly backing down, however this was an offense that needed handled and he lunged again, out of nowhere and pulled the lead clean from his master's grip, leaving Osias with a nasty rope burn. Osias grabbed for the lead but missed it so he tried in vain to call out a command to the affronted Bandersnatch who was on a set course for the pair.

[The Jenn]

Fino watched the vermin tug at his bander's lead and kept an eye on the pair while he walked closer to the shop. Ashwin may have left some clue as to his whereabouts or when he would return, which may or may not encourage the monarch to wait for him, depending on what it said. Sometimes he could tell where the man went for lunch if he added certain little things about company or atmosphere.

Before he could move close enough to read the handwriting, a blur of motion and a sharp call caught his attention. His head snapped around to look at the rat and his bandersnatch just in time for Sezja to reach Sultana and the two of them to start going at it.

The red bander had run of the court and all of the banders on its grounds, making herself an impromptu queen and leader in her little territory. Being brought to the city's center every now and again for a spar kept her active and vicious, and ruling her own little world just made her more dominant than she would otherwise be. She sneezed, snarled, and tackled her opponent. Her leash ripped itself violently from the Queen's hand as they engaged in a full-out rolling, noisy brawl.

He grimaced and stepped back, not wanting his skirt to get caught in the ball of claws and fangs. Once one of these spars started, it was nearly impossible to step in and interfere until a resolution had been reached. The creatures would never allow it, and trying left one worse for wear.

[Kitty]

Sezja was, unfortunately, not very battle versed either, chasing servants just wasn't the same as having it out with other banders and Osias certainly hadn't wanted the first one to be with the favored pet of the Queen of Hearts. However, Osias was nowhere near fool enough to even attempt to pull apart a pair of snarly banders and even if her were... he very much valued his limbs. It also left the matter that he'd have to stay in the company of the Queen as well... something he liked the sound of about as much as the idea of prying the two apart.

It did give him a chance to give the Queen a good look over though, something he wanted to do anyhow. He wanted to get to know all the royalty and file away any weaknesses them might appear to have he'd have to see the Queen's other forms though someday to properly do this.. .and that might be tricky with this one. He tried quite hard not to let his gaze appear to be to scrutinizing though, best not to prod the temperamental fellow if it wasn't needed.

He did not, however, speak to Serafino... he seemed like the type that didn't like that sort of thing anyhow. Well, perhaps it'd be better then staring but one did not stumble over a Queen in the streets every day.

[The Jenn]

While the two banders roiled and writhed on the ground in a vicious dance, becoming tangled in both of their own leashes, Fino stood back and crossed his arms in annoyance. This hadn't been how he wanted to waste several minutes of his afternoon, standing around and watching both of the battlers embarrass themselves as leather and rope got in the way of their attacks. He hadn't even had a chance to remove her collar, and so the sound of the jingling and clashing bell rang out in a harsh counterpoint to their struggles.

He looked over at the irresponsible handler and caught the vermin's eyes on him, though it wasn't clear whether he had just looked up from the fight or had been watching him for some time before. Crimson eyes glared in disapproval at both the visible rank and the all-too-apparent region. A Lowlander's likely flea-infested pet was wasting his time. That would teach him for leaving the palace and venturing into the streets.

Not a word was spoken by either party, the impatience and disapproval thick in the silence on Fino's end. Sultana, on the other hand, did her best to work around the constricting leash and slam her opponent into the ground, making enough noise for both herself and her owner.

[Kitty]

Although the clatter the two furballs was quite loud and most would focus on that, Osias couldn't help but focus on the prim and proper figure that stood on the opposite side of the shop from him. His instincts were almost like Sezja's and just simply screamed rival in his mind and once the other settled his gaze upon him his own wiry fur bristled, but not in fear. Surprisingly enough the much lower ranked rodent held no tinge of fear of this Queen of Hearts and most would call him a fool for that... but he'd been called worse.

After awhile though that stare of Serafino's struck an odd chord in his mind and his stoic look began to falter, slipping to and from an amused state. He shook slightly, tears almost rushing to the surface of those goopy yellow visionaries and that's when it happenned... a laugh rose from his throat and not just a little chuckle either. In all actuality it was closer to a guffaw then anything else. Yes, he was laughing AT the Queen of Hearts.

Sezja on the other hand, also distracted by the restraints and totally over his head with this challenger, hit the ground and rolled, becoming completely entangled with his own rope lead and growling with a mixture of frustration and humiliation.

[The Jenn]

The sound of laughter was probably the last thing that Fino expected to hear burst from the unknown rat's throat. The thick, hearty guffaw and slight stream of mixed goo from the creature's eyes disgusted him, though he'd been witness to worse. He couldn't tell, from the way the rat stood, whether he laughed at the violent spectacle before him and his own creature's dilemma or whether he dared to do what the monarch had a niggling suspicion he was doing.

Very, very few dared to laugh at him...could that be what he was doing? Could it really?

"What's so funny?" Fino asked peevishly, ready to lash out if the answer was not what he wanted. His mood had begun to sour just from interaction with this creature.

Sultana, her own lead tangled around her torso, shoved both front paws against her fallen opponent's side and sunk in her retractable claws. She wanted to hear him squeal, and then she wanted submission.

[Kitty]

Sezja was full of as much pride and ambition as his keeper was simply refused to give the other Bander what she wanted. His own rope lead had tangled his front limbs, yes, but he still had his hinds and his teeth and all her claws merited was a snarly, extra loud growling noise which was followed quickly by the brightly colored male curling somewhat so he could orchestrate a rather awkward looking motion of snapping at her whilst kicking his hinds as well, claws still out. Long story cut short, he didn't know when to surrender.

At the words of Fino, Osias almost doubled over. He just couldn't help it. Really, honestly, THIS is what struck terror in the hearts of so many? Oh my, how utterly ... hilarious! He did, however, manage to control himself enough to peer back up at the Queen and spoke, amusement tinting every word and naturally his hand went up to wipe the tear and ooze mixture from his eyes.

I would have thought someone of your stature would own a reflecting glass for sure...

Not only did he dare laugh AT the Queen of Hearts... but he went far enough to insult him as well...

[The Jenn]

Sultana dodged the awkward snap fairly easily, but one of his back legs caught and bunny-kicked one of her forelegs up rather nicely. She bared her fangs in an open-mouthed snarl of rage and skittered back a few steps, trying not to trip over her impediment, before launching herself against his prone form in a bone-rattling slam.

"Oh, aren't you cute," Fino growled, then closed his eyes and focused on one singular feeling, calling up one of his magical abilities. Pain.

The ability, common to all Hearts above the rank of eight, allowed him to inflict feelings of pain and agony on another person's mind. Because of the extreme disparity between his rank and the rat's, as well as his human form amplifying the spell by a large degree, it worked very, very well. Osias's mind would be assaulted by blinding, roaring pain, wave after wave of it, until Serafino released his hold on the spell. It really wasn't very taxing for him to hold it in place, either, not at his rank and in human form.

The 'weaker' form. Hah.