In a Quaint Little Town [Closed]

[carcinoGeneticist]

Sascha had always been consumed by the desire for travel. He'd spent his childhood crawling around the Court of Hearts, investigating every corner until he felt that there was nothing there he hadn't seen at least once before. When his parents allowed it, he began to roam wider, soaring above the rolling hills of the Highlands around the courts, meeting people and seeing things he'd never known before.

Now that he was a teen, he was permitted to go even farther than that. Kahmden, his parental units had decided, was a safe bet for the young bat-eagle. He'd finally be travelling on his own to another realm. At first, he'd been somewhat upset by this. Kahmden was famous for being utterly boring, after all.

But as the date of his trip got closer, Sascha got more excited. Boring or not, it was somewhere new, which was always fun in his book.

So far, the trip had been lovely. He'd explored, met people, ate new food, and generally made an effort to immerse himself in the local culture. Really, he was having a wonderful time. When he read about a so-called haunted inn, however, he couldn't help the childish excitement that almost immediately began to fill his body. Culture was great and everything, but really, how could anything potentially match haunted? He'd made his way there promptly, finding himself roaming deeper and deeper into the calm heart of Kahmden.

From the exterior, the so-called haunted inn didn't look like much. In fact, it looked quaint and quiet and a lot like the town it sat in. Appearances, Sascha knew, weren't everything, so he re-adjusted his pack and entered, rearing up on his hind legs to better see the person sitting on the other side of the desk. Another pure Kahmden - should he be surprised? really, he was finding that the variation avaliable to them in their coats was seemingly endless and lovely - sat there, glancing up at him.

"'scuse me? I heard a rumor this was the legendary haunted inn," he said in a good-natured sort of way, offering the woman a smile. She rolled her eyes and sighed, and Sascha could tell that people like him came in every day. "Well, even if it isn't, I'd like a room. Please."

He'd just have to see for himself.

[The Jenn]

"Legendary would be subjective, sir, as would haunted," the Doe replied politely. It was obviously forced around the edges, but she still managed a sort of smile out of a sense of duty. They were in the business of hospitality, after all. "We have several rooms available, depending on your preference. Would you prefer a single or space in the common room? The one is more private, the other slightly cheaper. All of our rooms are clean and comfortable, however. We provide evening meals and a small breakfast of local produce."

After he'd ironed out the details of his lodging, Sascha was led to the room of his choice and told that dinner would be served in roughly an hour and a half.

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Fetu sprawled on her bed in the inn's common sleeping room, squinting unhappily at the curtains drawn tightly across the window of her room. Little cracks of light still peeked through and a weak illumination diffused through the material, making her sigh. Maybe she should use one of the cute little complementary towels to further block the thing. It wasn't at a painful level, per se, but she didn't want to inadvertently glance in that direction at the wrong angle and be temporarily blinded by a stray shaft of sunlight if it filtered through the trees just right. That seemed less likely with the direction of her window and the thick forest foliage, but she had learned to be paranoid about the smallest things related to light. It had saved her a migraine on several occasions.

Why was she in Kahmden yet again? It was such a convenient route from the Wastes to Morganberry, but the people could be so strange about dealing with her and not very many of them were interested in her wares. She usually had to content herself with pity-sales here, which was aggravating and a mite shameful. At least she had found a good customer in Hisstor for her little trinkets prior to the trek so that she had enough money to actually pay for inns this time around. They didn't take kindly to vagrants finding little nooks to sleep in here. The law enforcement got tetchy about vagrants and loitering, even if she was only trying to escape the daylight.

The history of the building interested her less that the fact that she got reduced rates. Something about a local superstition that hadn't been squelched yet by the region's ever-present pragmatism. There were very few other guests in the place and they seemed to be in and out quickly. She'd decided to stay an extra night to nurse and baby a paw wound that was almost better. No sense in letting it get infected just because she didn't want to stop for another day. That would cost even more.

[carcinoGeneticist]

The woman's irritation was fine with the eagle-bat. He let it slide off his shoulders, simply giving her a happy nod as he rearranged his belongings and headed in the direction the sleeping area was claimed to be. It had been easy for Sascha to decide whether he wanted to have a private room or a space in the common area. For one, the common area was less expensive, and for another, it would put him around new people, a sure-fire way to delight the young man. Despite everything else, he was rather excited. It would be night soon, and Sascha knew that if there were ghosts to be seen, he'd find them in the next few hours.

The first thing he heard when he slipped into the common area was a sigh. His large, radar-dish ears rose as he glanced around the room, blinking. There was someone else in the room, he could tell that, but he couldn't really tell much more. His eyesight wasn't exactly the greatest, not in a room as dark as this one. Carefully, the boy made his way across it, crawling into the bed nearest the one currently being occupied.

Now that he was closer, he could better see the other person in the room with him. He could make out light fur and vague tabby markings, along with... ribs? An exposed ribcage?

There was a brief moment of excitement where Sascha believed that he had, in fact, just met an actual ghost, before common sense got the best of him. Not ghost, just Hisstor, a realm he had never met in person.

That was almost as exciting to him as "ghost" would have been.

"'scuse me, miss, is this bed taken?" he asked in a good-natured tone, a smile curling at the corners of his beak. It was a common room, but he figured it would be polite of him to ask, all the same.

[The Jenn]

'Miss'. It still took a moment for gender-specific phrases to connect in Fetu's brain, that feminine titles and pronouns were referring to her. It was so bizarre. Slowly she was adapting to the change, but it would be a long time before she felt comfortable with being female and everything that went with it.

The monthly bleeding was obnoxious.

Regardless of recognition, the voice registered in her ears before the words did in her brain and she glanced at the other person in the room with a touch of curiosity. She could make out his form and markings perfectly in the low light. How strange. Definitely a mix of Highland and something, though she wasn't entirely sure what. Avian and... again, something. It was hard to tell. She hadn't spent much of her life studying people, mostly from a lack of caring or interest. Definitely male, though.

"No, the bed's free," she replied after a moment. Her voice was naturally quiet, though not a whisper. It was easily audible in the quiet of the room. "I'm the only one staying in this area right now, unless I've suddenly gained company." Which it seemed that she had. Ah well. Part of her sighed in annoyance at having to share the space while another part perked at the company. She wasn't especially fond of solitude or people. Quite the dilemma.

"If you're going to be staying in here, I need to request that you don't touch the blinds. I have a very acute light sensitivity." Better to get that out sooner rather than later.

[carcinoGeneticist]

When the girl turned towards her, Sascha folded his wings in, his entire posture hopeful and excited, ears forward and surrounding his head. Perhaps this would lead to some more conversation? There were a lot of things that the eagle-bat wanted to know, desperately, about everything he could. Top on his list was in regards to people from realms he'd never encountered before, and he'd heard interesting things about Hisstor in his - admittedly limited - travels.

And yes, there it was, a positive answer! Sascha gave her a nod that was somewhere between a simple inclination on his head and a full bob of his neck, then clambered up onto the bed.

"Right, I guess that company'll be me, then, hm?" he said in a good-natured voice, smiling at the woman. The more time he spent in here, the more his eyes adjusted to the dim light, and the more clearly he could see the Hisstor girl. Aww, she was pretty! He liked the little tousle of red hair on her head, it went quite wonderfully with the rest of her. Her eyes, though... Like pits in her face. He felt his curiosity bubbling up as a torrent of questions went through his mind, questions he'd likely never actually ask her.

Besides, she said something that gave him a little bit of information without any prodding required. He nodded again. "Oooh, okay, that's fine." Light sensitivity? He'd never met someone with that issue before, but he imagined it would be quite a lot like his sensitivity when he stepped outside with his Spade ability to see in the dark still active. "By the way, my name's Sascha."

One wing, thumb-claw out, was extended for a shake. It seemed more polite than waving his foot at her, after all.

[The Jenn]

Fetu did have manners, even if she didn't always employ them. A small rodent paw reached over the divide between their beds and carefully shook his wing. That little thumb-claw wasn't avian at all. "Sascha. My name is Fetu." Manners, introductions, pleasantries... but perhaps a few questions would be acceptable. She had encountered many mixed breeds and realms in her travels, but he was an odd one.

"I think it would be easier if we discussed this now, as we'll be sharing a space for tonight. Are you especially talkative?" She was getting that hint from the way he moved, the occasional eager bounce and the readiness of his introduction. Straightforward was probably the way to go here. "I just need to know what to expect. I'm more active in the evenings, but that doesn't especially mean anything. I'm a very private person by nature. Hisstor chimpunk, to get the obvious out of the way, and yes, one of my parents was a full Hisstor, but no, I didn't grow up in the Wastes. I'm not going to kill you for your bones." Those were the most common questions for those who rarely met Hisstors, for some reason.

[carcinoGeneticist]

It was awkward, shaking hands like this, but it was the best Sascha could manage with what he had. Slowly, he settled back onto the bed, his feathers fluffing out with happiness.

Talkative? "Er... Yeah, I've been told that I can be on the chattery-side," he said with a wide grin and an embarrassed flush, his ears drooping with a moment's shame. "But if I talk too much, just throw something at me, I get the point really fast and I'll shut up." the rest of the information was, in fact, rather interesting, and Sascha gave the chipmunk a wide-eyed stare as she spoke. He didn't know much about Hisstors, but this was informative, to say the very least. It was nice that she didn't give him much of a chance to mess up or do anything socially awkward - after all, there was no feeling worse than ruining a new friendship with a poorly-chosen comment.

"That's all well and fine." he said with a nod, his head bobbing happily. Then he looked at her, inclinging his head to the side. He hadn't thought that she had killed someone for her decoration, but the curiosity remained. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you get your bones? They're really neat." Hopefully that was a safe question.

[The Jenn]

Throw things at him to make him be quiet? Definitely a social creature. He probably had a wide circle of friends and/or siblings to be that comfortable with himself and his apparent extroversion. Fetu just nodded and didn't comment one way or the other. What was there to really say to that?

"I'm not exactly sure who these came from." She reached down to stroke one of the ribs, admiring the smooth, dull gleam of well-polished bone. Beautiful. "I've had them for as long as I can remember. I must have gotten them when I was very small. For some reason, they've grown with me. I think they may be enchanted to do that. For all I know, my father gifted them to my mother when I was small. I don't really think that's the case, but I just don't know."

Her father hadn't had much of anything to do with her when she was younger. And a little boy chipmunk. Sigh. The bones had been a persistent mystery to her, but one that she treasured. Even if they sometimes made her think of a bound Torquehelm whenever she approached a healthier weight. Incentive to eat less, certainly.

"If this is a time for questions, then I have one to put to you. What precisely are you a mix of?"

[carcinoGeneticist]

To say that Sascha had a wide variety of siblings was a massive understatement. Sascha's family was huge. Sascha's family was big enough to quite comfortably fill most of the Court of Hearts, a fair portion of the Court of Spades, and even wiggle their toes around just enough to stir things up in the Court of Clubs, should all of his assorted siblings, half-siblings, and cousins decide that they wanted a taste of the official life. Sascha loved family. He was fairly certain that he'd have a big one of his own, some day, assuming he ever decided to settle down.

Which, honestly, didn't seem too likely. That was okay. Friends were almost like family, and when you traveled and met new people all across the realms, you also made lots of new friends.

The look on his face was one of bright interest as the girl spoke, and he watched her stroke the rib, a hint of awe in his beaky, toothy expression. "That's... That's really cool, actually. I mean, otherwise what would be the point in giving someone something like that, but still. Thoughtful. Cool." He gave another birdy-bob of his head, clearly feeling quite entertained by the whole thing. There was a question on the tip of his tongue in regards to her father, but for once in his life, he swallowed it. He didn't feel like it would quite be proper, for some reason.

Her question caught the hybrid somewhat by surprise, and his overly expressive ears panned band and forth. "Oh, me? Haha, I guess if you didn't grow up around the Heart Court I'd look kinda weird, huh?" He grinned at that. For him, seeing bat-mixes was almost an everyday event, and it almost always slipped his mind that in most of the rest of the world, he was almost a sort of rarity. "I'm an Eagle-Bat mix, Highlands-Glacier. My papa was a bit... er, prolific, so there are a lot of Bat-Glacier mixes around the Court."

[The Jenn]

"Ah yes, I see. I've come across very few bats. I hadn't been able to identify the ears." All of her responses were short, simple, and didn't readily invite more conversation. She didn't really want to encourage him. She just didn't want to be too rude if they were going to be sharing this dwelling for a period of time. Funny that he had also grown up in the Courts, though. Probably far, far more involved than she had been. The Court of Hearts seemed like a much more lively place than the Court of Spades under Queen Lysaras. She would have hated it.

In the rest of the time before dinner, Fetu alternated between answering questions and feigning rest. It was hard for her to relax with him in the room, but at the same time, he seemed relatively harmless. Just talkative. Food was a welcome reprieve, though, until she considered the various ways to get it and squirrel it back into this room.

The hosts weren't thrilled about her request to eat in the common sleeping area. That sort of thing simply wasn't done in Kahmden, where a good table was set and the hosts expected their guests to attend to dinner, even if they were dodgy foreigners. In the end, she convinced them to let her take it away by sitting at the table with a blanket over her head and making them uncomfortable.