[FINITO] Meet the Reaper [Jenn]

[The Jenn]

Parzi didn't like the noise his sister made at all, but there wasn't anything he could do about it just then besides keep his wing around her and shelter her under his feathers. That aura was just getting to him terribly. What a horrible person, exuding a sense of death just by existing. The young bird wanted him gone as quickly as possible.

Lior's eyes flicked away from the human man long enough to take in what the younger-looking birds were doing, which was... cowering. Well, one was doing something on the stove. Their fear wasn't at all unusual, though. He was used to it by now. It depressed him most of the time.

The mage examined the feline, then turned to Imre. "Deliver it to me upstairs once it's finished. You," he turned back to Lior, "will be coming with me. I require both an explanation and a dialogue if I am going to set you free again after this incident." He opened the door to the cabe, eyes sharp and watchful, and the Highlander hesitantly followed him upstairs.

[Vyn]

Poe was not an irrational creature, not by any means, but that sensation... that aura... Suits, it made her think such horrible things and reminded her of moments that she had never ever wanted to indulge herself in again.

She'd be glad to see him gone, no matter how kind he may have looked from afar.


Imre, on the other talon, was morbidly intrigued now that the sensation of fear had started to become a more familiar thing.

His skin continued to crawl and his feathers remained oddly poofed, a subconscious tension lurking in his bones, but the little corvid didn't hesitate to do as commanded. This was made especially easy once Lior followed Vren from the room.

Leaving the tea to steep on the stove, he hopped down and fluttered down to his siblings. "Are you two alright? ... Poe?" Parzifal, he was sure, could take care of himself but Poe he worried about the most.

Poe couldn't seem to find the proper words to express quite how she felt, but she managed a weak nod and a smile. "You should take the tea to Vren."

Imre frowned and nodded back. "Okay." He bumped Parzi a little with his head, flashing a smile to his brother before turning back to the task at hand. It didn't take him much time at all to gather everything up and take it upstairs, knocking lightly with a curled talon once he reached the door to Vren's office.

[The Jenn]

Parzifal glanced up as his brother fluttered down from making tea. He looked stressed, but nothing near what their sister was obviously going through. All three of them had strong connections with 'death', both fears and memories. "I've got her," he replied quietly to his brother, a reassurance that he was fine enough to look after her and also enough of himself to want and need to. "You should take the tea before he starts having withdrawals or something." Their Master was a caffeine addict to a notorious degree. He usually had about ten cups of tea a day, on average.

The light head-bump made him smile in return, lifting one wing as his brother turned back to work. Then he tucked both wings firmly around Poe and rested his head on top of hers. Once Imre was gone, he whispered, "Mom?"

At his knock on the door, Imre received a muffled command to enter the room, which was at the very top of the keep and its most narrow by a fair margin. The human man sat in a comfortable chair specifically designed for his form while the feline lay on a floor-pillow, looking up at him. They'd obviously been talking. "Ah, good. Imre, this man's name is apparently Lior. He didn't kill the other one we found in the forest. I think that's about all you need to know, unless you have any burning questions." One pale eyebrow rose as he accepted the tea from the avian.

[Vyn]

By the time Imre was gone, Poe's shaking had decreased considerably but her mind was still churning. It shouldn't be so bad... it shouldn't, it wasn't... but she couldn't get any of the events from that night out of her mind.

"Y-Yeah." The little finch heaved from another shudder and pressed more firmly into her brother. "I'll be alright, I will... It just caught me off guard, I think."Without even moving to lift her wingtip to her binding, Poe was wretchedly aware of them... aware of what they could do... Oh suits, she did not want to die like that!


Imre pushed the door open and followed the tray into the room. He easily moved it over to Vren's side before settling and allowing his attention to wonder over to the feline on the floor. That sickening wave of death or whatever it was had followed the stranger up into the room, strange.

He took in Vren's words with a careful nod of his head, thinking. "That sounds like everything... except..." how did you ask about that feeling the feline cast about him? Did Vren even notice it? "Why does the air around him carry such an... unpleasant feeling?" His masked gaze slid between both men but landed on Lior. "You don't seem like you're doing it on purpose..."

[The Jenn]

Parzi sighed and half-closed his eyes, reliving part of the memory himself. It had begun to fade in its intensity over time, but he would never forget the feelings of that day, nor the sight of the man who'd killed her with some of her blood on his pristine white skin. It had given them all nightmares for years, and still one of them occasionally woke shivering or crying or gasping for breath. He wondered if they would ever be free from the memory. Probably not.

"Okay. Well, I'm here, and I'll help protect you. Even from something like... like that." The terrifying aura of death made it difficult to say, but it was true. Besides, the feeling had begun to fade. He felt more like himself already.

At Imre's question, Vren glanced over at the feline pointedly. Lior didn't want to meet the strange human's red eyes and looked away, gaze flickering from surface to surface until it landed once more on the black and white bird. For all that his presence may have been terrifying to most, the child unnerved him. He couldn't place it. Something about the way he stood, and... was that a white rank marking? "It just happens. I can't escape it. I-it's part of me now, this curse. Please, now that the horrible man is dead, I just want to get out of here..."

Golden eyes reluctantly returned to Vren, who tapped his fingers and regarded the Highlander levelly. "Well. I think I'm going to confirm a few more facts with you, inquire into your background, and then we'll see whether or not it's safe to release you."

[Vyn]

From time to time, Poe would still tremble delicately but for the most part she was beginning to tame her anxiety. That stranger had made her nearly sick with fear, filling the air with such a dreadful... such a dreadful malaise full of miserable old memories.

Poe sighed and pressed herself more tightly to her brother. No, the memories would never go away... but she had Parzi and Imre to protect her from them. For now, at very least.

Hopefully they wouldn't have to be in the room when, or if, he was ever released.


That made sense to Imre. A curse? Who would put such an awful curse on someone? It seemed terribly cruel, so much so that Imre was torn between his own uneasiness in the room and his growing sense of pity for the gold-eyed feline.

"I... thank you for th-the explanations." The bird bowed his head, shuffling backward. "I'm sorry to hear about your curse, Lior."

[The Jenn]

Memories could be dangerous things, or they could be sources of inspiration. Parzifal would never forget his mother's death at the hands of that monster, and the scene still haunted him at night sometimes, after the lights had all gone away and the noises of the Wood were the only things he could hear besides his own breathing. He didn't let it rule his thoughts, though. He couldn't. He had to take care of Poe and Imre, and work on earning them all their freedom. That was more important than his nightmares.

He pressed his wing tightly around her. "Do you want a cup of tea? I think there's still some hot water left in the pot."


Lior also ducked his head, unwilling to meet the gaze of either his host or the strange child. He had quite enough 'strange' all on his own. He really didn't need much more. Still, he'd been raised with Court manners... "It's no trouble, and thank you. I'm still alive." Which was more than could be said for anyone his curse drew him towards.

Taking a sip of the tea that had been brought, Vren nodded at the young bird. "He'll likely be staying for at least one night, if not more, until I'm satisfied. Make sure that the area he was in before will be ready for him when we're finished here." Quite effectively a dismissal.

[Vyn]

Tea would be lovely. It always was when her nerves were frayed. The finch nodded delicately, trying her very best to get a better hold on herself. Everything would be alright, she told herself that again and again... and yet it always felt like she was lying to herself time and time again.

One day she would be able to stop lying to herself. "Thank you, Parzi, I think tea is just what I need." She smiled weakly, the expression a bit sad but far less frightened. "What would I ever do without you, Parzi? I'm such a fluttering fool sometimes..."


Imre smiled a little, but the hesitant expression was mostly hidden by his mask, and bowed his head low until Vren spoke up again. A few nights? He would have to let Poe and Parzi know so they could give the cage a bit of a wide berth.

Poe especially... He felt terrible for the way she'd responded to seeing the strange feline.

"Yes, sir. Call if you need anything else." He bowed his head again and finally dipped out of the door, pulling it shut behind him. After slipping out of the room he quickly spread his wings and glided downstairs, eager to rejoin his siblings.

[The Jenn]

Parzi gave her one last wing-squeeze and then pulled the feathers away, taking a few steps towards the counter. "Tea helps everything." He hopped up next to the stove top, balancing on one leg and getting ready to pour more water into the leaves left over from Vren's cup. "That's why I'm here, Poe. I'm your brother. I'll always be around, for you and Imre."

He got the leaves covered in water and sat back to let it steep, looking down at her again with one bright red eye. "You aren't a fool... you're just my sister. And that was a really scary cat." Frightening enough to set all his feathers the wrong way and make his heart beat hard enough to pound against his ribcage.

Vren waved a hand dismissively towards the bird and Lior gave him a bit of a freaked out look before hunkering in on himself and drawing the wing-cloak closer around him.

[Vyn]

Poe had to agree heartily with that. Tea really did help everything, except maybe the pain in her neck after a long day of work. The bird briefly touched the tip of her wing to her neck as she sat and watched Parzi make tea. At least she wasn't in too much pain just then, and the scary cat was elsewhere so she wasn't feeling too sick either.

The finch blushed delicately to her brother's words, tipping her head down to hide the gentle flush. He really was too sweet.


Imre bowed once more before disappearing from the room. Downstairs, Imre had to admit he felt considerably better. That aura really was unsettling, there was no getting around it... even with that sort of morbid fascination he felt while near it...

Shaking his head as he landed in the kitchen, Imre glanced at Parzi and Poe. "Master Vren says he'll be staying another night and that we should make sure the cage is ready for him." Just a glance at Poe told him that she was not prepared to deal with the feline for another full day. "Sorry Poe..."