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Post by Bee on Nov 26, 2007 21:28:24 GMT -5
Mnem took Aderlass's brief exit as an opportunity to check on some of her more delicate flowers, the ones that did not need to be exposed to Monty or broom battles. The little beast was quite upset when Mnem shut the hidden door to the staircase in hir face, but Mnem did not much care. She merely followed the narrow path to her small room. Mnem and Minh had been adding little bits and pieces onto their apartment for quite some time, mostly amusing little arcitectural quirks like stairs that led nowhere and secret passages the bathroom to the rooftop and crawl spaces for Monty.
This tiny room was at the edge of the apartment, and had a very large window. The plants in here needed quite a bit of light.
Before she could open the door at the other end of the stairs, however, she heard a terrible flurry of snarling and scraping claws and yelling and broom-whacking.
Damn it.
"Aderlass!" she called. "The panel by the bookshelf is a door! Get in here!"
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Post by Kasatsu on Nov 26, 2007 21:43:23 GMT -5
Upon reaching the back room again, broom in hand ready for battle should the vermin decide upon it, he was surprised to see that it was empty of Mnem. More then a little confused as to where she had gone, especially after all their warnings of being careful of the plants. He was equally surprised when Monty decided to take the chance to attack him.
“Why you little . . .” He swung the broom at the bander, missing. When the bander attached itself to his leg he let out a curse, swinging his leg around to try and dislodge it. When it did not work he kicked towards the wall, of which the bander let go and he rammed his foot into it instead.
Cursing under his breath and hopping on one foot he heard a muffled voice call out, "Aderlass! The panel by the bookshelf is a door! Get in here!"
More then willing to comply he made his way over to the bookshelf, whapping the bander all the while. Reaching it he fumbled with it till it opened, quickly making his way inside and shutting it behind him.
“Thank you.” he wheezed, rubbing his foot where he had banged it. He was going to be walking with a slight limp for a while, blast it.
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Post by Bee on Nov 26, 2007 22:09:07 GMT -5
After a moment, the noise died down and Aderlass made his way to the staircase, shutting the door and Monty behind him. He was rid of the menacing little bander. For now. Mnem wondered what it said about her that she actually found it quite adorable and amusing when the little beast attacked people.
Mnem glanced slyly at his leg, as he seemed a little uneasy on it, and crooned sweetly, "I can probably dredge up a cane for you, dear."
She opened the door and motioned for Aderlass to come up. The room was unbearably bright, just the way it was supposed to be. It housed few plants, but all of them were precious, delicate organisms that required a good deal of sunlight to thrive.
Especially her darling, bright and beautiful and--
Gone.
Mnem stared blankly at the empty place where her plant used to be.
Voice strangely tight, she said, "This is unfortunate."
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Post by Kasatsu on Nov 26, 2007 22:42:35 GMT -5
“Do not worry yourself over it, it will go away eventually.” He winced a little as he applied pressure to the limb, though he grew used to it quickly enough so that he was not grimacing with each step. The little bander was going to pay this time.
Following the canine he was taken aback at the amount of light that issued from the open door. Stumbling a little he placed his arm in front of his face. He would never have thought the two females would let this light into their home, though the answer was one that he should have guessed; their plants.
There were not too many plants in the room; it seemed only a few actually needed this amount of blinding light. After his eyes had adjusted some he watched as she stared at one spot in particular which seemed to be empty. With her tightly voiced "this is unfortunate," he was guessing that the empty spot was not suppose to be.
Motioning over to where the spot was he stated, “I take it that, that is not suppose to be like that.”
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Post by Bee on Nov 26, 2007 23:09:51 GMT -5
Not supposed to be like that, indeed. No, it was not supposed to be like that at all. There should have been a plant there, in the most ornate and lovely pot Mnem possessed--hand-crafted in the Gardens by someone who owed her a good deal of money, it had been inlaid with swirling patterns of lapis lazuli and studded with tiny blue gems and gold. One of a kind, really. And if Monty had managed to destroy that creation, s/he would have gotten a great deal more punishment than having her sheep liver privileges revoked.
The plant was by far more important than the pot, however. It bloomed once every seven years (dark blue-violent flowers that sparkled with the bright silver pollen that often fell on them), and required meticulous attention and a good deal of sunlight to survive. Mnem had been caring for the plant her entire life; it had been the one constant, immutable thing she always had.
And now it was gone.
"No," she said, softly. "Not supposed to be like this at all. Where is it?"
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Post by Kasatsu on Nov 26, 2007 23:26:21 GMT -5
He looked around the bright room, trying to see if there were any plants that were out of place. Though his eyes viewed quit a few, though nothing near the amont of the ones that occupied the room downstairs. Seeing nothing he turned his attention back to the female, a little worried about what this could mean.
“Is there any chance that Minh could have moved it? Maybe to take care of it, or as a joke to get back at you for something?” For some reason he doubted that both of those answers were wrong but he figured that he might as well as offer something up for grabs.
Watching the female closely he figured that this plants absence meant something more to her then just a missing plant. He wondered what kind of plant could cause this kind of reaction from her. His guesses were that either this plant was extremely dangerous or had a special meaning for her. He was not sure which one he hoped for more, they both seemed like bad answers.
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Post by Bee on Nov 26, 2007 23:42:02 GMT -5
Minh, for all her genius, was not a particularly bright individual, but Mnem sincerely doubted that she would be able to perpetrate such an act. Especially since Minh's relationship with the plants was marked by intense wariness and hostility. The feline avoided the foliage whenever possible--which wasn't really often, considering plants were the dominant life form in the apartment. But there is was.
No, the was the work of something else, someone else. Someone who must have known what the plant was for, and knew enough about Mnem to know where it might be located and how to get to it.
Her mind tried to wade through the sea of possibilities, but to little avail. She would need to fish about for information, somehow, prod at her contacts (quietly and subtly, of course, because who knew which one of them could be responsible?), and try to suss out what was actually going on. She needed to get that plant back.
Despair and paranoia nudged experimentally at the edges of her mind; Mnem tried to will them away.
"Minh didn't do anything," she said, firmly. "We need to find out who did this. Come. We have many people to see." She eyed him curiously. "If you've nothing better to do, that is, my friend."
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Post by Kasatsu on Nov 27, 2007 0:54:35 GMT -5
He shrugged carelessly to her partial question. He did not have anything planned to do and nothing seemed to sound any more tempting to him at the moment, especially not having to face that bander again any time soon. While he did have a slight affinity for the critter he did prefer it from a distance sometimes – and this one was defiantly one of them.
He wondered what she had meant when she said that they had people to see. What kind of people could they possible have to go to about this situation? He was not aware that the she even socialized with other beings, he did not take her as one to do so. He guessed that he was wrong.
Shrugging it all off, since he was apparently going to find out soon anyway, he followed Mnem out of the room willing to sacrifice her to Monty first.
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Post by Bee on Nov 29, 2007 3:30:36 GMT -5
Monty was perched atop the bookcase, snarling and using the height advantage to attempt to project a menacing and superior air, but Mnem merely issued a growl of her own and a pointed glare of warning. Monty bared her teeth and shrunk back, one wing flapping uselessly, looking for all the world like s/he wanted to charge forward and leap onto someone's head. Aderlass's, probably, which simply wouldn't do.
"You be a good twice-cursed little hellspawn," Mnem cooed, "and Mommy Mnem will bring you home the bloodiest, meatiest chunk of pork you've ever sank your demonic little teeth into."
The grumbling and subsiding noise was probably a good indication that Monty understood and accepted the proposal. Aderlass would be safe for the moment.
"Our first stop is nearby," she told him, as they made their way out of the apartment. "A small gang runs in the neighborhood. Petty little imps, but they watch this miserable ghetto with remarkable vigilance. They might have seen something."
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Post by Kasatsu on Nov 29, 2007 6:05:17 GMT -5
The promise of the ‘bloodiest, meatiest chunk of pork’ to Monty caused a great look of disgust to spread across his face. Though, honestly, anything that would keep the bander from attacking him he would gladly suffer through. Better the poor pig then his own precious skin.
Safe for now, he quickly made his way back to the front door gathering up his cane and hat from the table. Holding the door open for Mnem, he quickly slipped through shutting it firmly behind him – onto Monty’s nose. Chuckling softy at his outsmarting the bander, he cleared his throat quickly, before following behind Mnem to their destination.
Walking next to the canine, using his cane for it’s actually purpose for once, he wondered where they were going. When she told him about the small gang he was not sure what to make of the news. He had heard about the local gang and the mischief they created every now and then, he was hoping that this worked out for their benefit.
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