All the World's a Stage (Closed)

[Yuiven]

The cooling wind sent black clouds scudding across the lowering sky at a faster and faster clip, blanketing the whole Capital in darkness, turning day into night. All of the Cards in the street scurried to seek shelter from the oncoming storm, under the watchful gaze of the stone gargoyles. Perched high above on the parapet of a local church, these grotesque statues stood guard over the general populace.

Except for one, made of flesh and blood, camouflaged amongst the others.



Sitting hunched over between two of the stone gargoyles was a Torquehelm foxwing bat, wings pulled tight around her body. Her form was almost completely enshrouded,but her golden freckles refused to be hidden. Sighing heavily to herself, Oriana rested her chin on her chest. Looking to the street below, dull violet eyes flecked with gold tracked each individual until they disappeared from her view. A quote from an old book she had once read sprung to mind:

'All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.'

Oriana smiled ruefully. 'Act two, scene seven from "As You Like It," by William Shakespeare.' To her amusement- but not to her surprise - it was quite apropos in her current situation. Alas, amusement changed to despair in a heartbeat, and the smile turned into a frown. Unbidden, tears began to seep at the corners of her eyes as Oriana felt her fragile composure slipping away. Questions raced through her mind. What's her role in life? What's her motivation? What's she going to do now?

Oriana should have been ecstatic– she was free. Free from her bindings, free from the tyranny of the "Warden," and, most of all, free to live her own life. Just what she'd always wanted...or so she thought. As the day went on, a series of unfortunate events had transpired that made her come to the grim realization that surviving was difficult enough, but on her own would be daunting. Now she didn't feel well-equipped to manage the transition from foster care to independent living. There was so much to learn and so much to do. She had no family, no friends, no one to depend upon, except herself.

It was too much for the young female foxwing bat. No longer able to keep up the act, a sob burst out of her throat and she buried her face into her paws, letting the tears roll down her cheeks.

[Kiki]

The night was young yet and Isolde was getting cabin fever so to speak. She needed to get out for some fresh air so she decided going for a walk would be just the ticket. Just as she was loving life and the air outside... it was beginning to storm. Great. Ah well, I could probably get warm and cozy with Aureli-she stopped herself when the heard a small noise. What was it? Crying? Oh no... she always hated it when were people were sad.

She followed the noise but saw no one... until she looked up. Up there was a card and she really didn't seem very happy.

"Are- Are you alright, Miss?" she yelled out in concern. This was certainly not a situation she had been before but seeing as she didn't know how to fly, she would have to do what she could from the ground.

[Yuiven]

A heavy, dark ambiance seemed to weigh her mood down even further as Oriana sobbed quietly to herself. It felt like a vice tightly constricting her heart, strangling the distraught freed Torqey from inside her chest. All she could do was sob. It wasn't relieving the pain, but she couldn't do anything else. Questions continued to circle in her head. How will she get something to eat? Where will she sleep tonight? How can she keep herself safe? What-

"Are- Are you alright, Miss?"

Oriana's train of thought on her uncertain future was cut short as the voice of angel, compassionate and supportive but with a trace of caution, reached out to her through the veil of gloom. She stills, her head snapped up in surprise, gilded violet eyes wide with tears marking wet trails down each cheek. 'Oh my gosh, someone actually knows I'm up here?!' The foxwing bat looked around in search for the intervener, oversized ears swivelling like radio antennae to try to pinpoint exactly where that voice came from. It had been hollered somewhere within the vicinity of her temporary roost. She peered over the edge and looked down, waaay down to the cobblestones.

There, standing directly below her twenty-five foot perch, was a Card. Oriana squinted as she strained to make out the form. It was hard to discern from this distance, but the individual appeared to be a female raccoon/deer hybrid who was predominantly Selkie with purple accents (most likely a leftover from a Torquehelm heritage). She also noted the frown of concern apparent on the other young woman's face.

'This is ridiculous! Two civilized Cards can't carry out a decent conversation like this; I should go down there.'

Picking up her satchel, the freed Torquehelm bat dragged herself to her feet tearfully and wiped the last of the tears from her red rimmed eyes with a sniffle. Drawing in a shuddering breath, Oriana then opened her wings, jumped off the edge and fell, her wings extended fully to catch the night air. She dropped like a snowflake swirling quickly to the ground and landed with a gentle click of her heels next to the mixed region hybrid. "It's nothing," she assured the kind stranger, turning on the old Diamond charm. "I'll be fine."

[Kiki]

"Well i'm glad to hear it, I really hate when those around me are upset. If you'd like to talk about it... i'm good at listening" she soothed. It was obvious that the girl was crying, she wondered if there was anything she could possibly do.

She took a minute to take her in... she was attractive but it was her lack of a binding that really made her take notice. She wondered how she was able to do it since wasn't it customary that all Torques be binded? Unfortunately she didn't know as much about the region and it's customs as she had wanted but she had at least heard this one thing. She wanted to ask the bat but she wasn't sure if it would be rude or not. Perhaps she would just ask Grandpa Ophelia about it when she got home... She really did hate making mistakes like that.

[Yuiven]

Taken aback, Oriana's eyes widened, but she still managed to keep the smile affixed on her face as she stared at the raccoon-deer. It was the only outward sign of surprise and disconcertment that had unwittingly slipped out from underneath her mask. 'Why would a complete stranger do this for me?' she wondered. Her previous experiences with the lack of kindness from others fuelled her suspicions. No one made such a generous offer without expecting to get something in return. It was doubtful that this lady was asking just to be nice.

Oriana opened her mouth as if to say something, to question the motive for giving the distressed young woman a shoulder to cry on, though before she could speak, she stopped herself. Snapping her mouth shut, Oriana eyed the raccoon-deer dispassionately while trying to decide whether or not it would be prudent to ask.

No, she thought better of it. That was an inappropriate question to ask right now. Instead she discreetly performed the lie detector spell...only to have the result come back as 'inconclusive.' Oriana raised her eyebrows. How come that didn't work? Almost instinctively, those unusual violet eyes speckled with tiny gold dots immediately zeroed in on the Selkie Lakes/Torquehelm mix's rank and Suit markings.

Oh, of course.

Ten of Diamonds. Such a rather important detail had been missed earlier, obscured by the distance between church roof and cobblestone street. It was more "influential" in comparison to her own well-to-do Eight. That would explain why the lie detector spell didn't work. Tension seeped into the air as Oriana stared at the other young woman, unsure what to make of her. 'Should I trust her?'

A great man once wrote a phrase that went along the lines of "Kindness is more than deeds. It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch. It is anything that lifts another person." He was C. Neil Strait.

The foxwing bat considered this as she continued to look at the raccoon-deer in front of her. Whoever this lady was, she seemed sincere. 'Maybe...just maybe she could be someone I might talk with.' As Oriana relaxed, her smile became more genuine. "Actually, I'd like that," she said at last. "[/color]My name is Oriana..." Before she could say anything more, she was rudely interrupted as the first drops of rain splashed against her face. She blinked, glancing upward, but those few drops were the only warning as the dark clouds burst open with a downpour of rain.

[Kiki]

((Sorry this is kinda short... i'm trying to get my muse back))

Isolde was hesitant to throw herself into the bat's problems as she seemed to not want to trust her. That was alright though, she understood how strange it must be for a stranger to come up and offer to help. Issy really did just want to help though, it hurt her to see someone in such obvious torment... she really hoped she would let her help.

"Oriana... what a pretty name" she smiled, trying to reassure her. "Well it seems nature has taken the first step so how about we get out of here before we get soaked? There's a nice little coffee shoppe down the way... we could go there?" She figured a hot drink would be just the ticket after they were most likely going to get poured upon. There it would be comfortable enough that they could talk in private as well.

[Yuiven]

Too busy marvelling at the sky, Isolde's compliment failed to register with the foxwing bat's sensitive ears. She would've been quite flattered if she actually had heard, as Oriana did so love to hear her own name. What she saw, the image painted in the clear reflection of her eyes, were dark clouds tumbling over each other as the blustering southwestern winds herded them along like sheep across the overcast heavens. A cascade of raindrops slowly began to fall on the quiet city street.

Kra-Ka-Koom!

A jagged fork of lightening split the sky, briefly illuminating the surrounding area in pale yellow light. Oriana shrieked, nearly jumping out of her own skin, and her hands flew up to her mouth as if to prevent her heart from leaping out of her throat. Large, pointed ears flattened against her skull as she watched the tempestuous sky in newfound dread. The ominous rumble of thunder sounded too close for comfort. Deeply frightened, Oriana pressed a hand to her chest and took several deep breaths as she tried to calm her wildly beating heart. She gazed down at the raccoon-deer in front of her. A smile spread across the freed Torquehelm's face as she nodded in acknowledgement to Isolde’s suggestion. "Great idea!" she said almost too brightly to cover her own nervousness. How nice of the older girl to make such an offer! A hot drink would be the perfect thing to perk up one's spirit as well as ward away the chill from their bones.

"Let's get out of this rain and grab a coffee before the streets start to flood. Or else we'll be forced to build a raft and sing "Row, row, row your boat," as we float away downstream to God-only-knows-where." Oriana tittered softly. Then she gracefully hopped to the side and twirled on one foot, holding out a wing-arm in front of her as an invitation to go first. "After you."

[Kiki]

Just as she figured would happen, it started to storm out. Droplets of water pounded at her and she started off to the coffee shop, gesturing for Oriana to follow. "It's not a terribly pretty place to look at but they make a good cup of joe if I do say so. I've been coming here for years" she smiled, just making conversation.

"So would you like to tell me about your troubles now?" she inquired as she found them a table. "If not, you're welcome to change the subject at any time."

Small talk tended to be so awkward so Isolde liked to just dive in headfirst into something of value. She just hoped that Oriana wouldn't find her too pushy, people had a tendency to think that of her. She couldn't help it though, she just really legitimately liked talking to other people and making them feel better about themselves.

[Yuiven]

Oriana's eyes gleamed like chips of polished gold as her gaze followed the raccoon-deer hybrid.

At the same time, the rain increased in intensity from a fine drizzle to a heavy downpour. Water drenched Oriana instantly, causing black-and-violet fur cling to every part of her body (and in places she did not want to think about). It also cascaded down the iron chains she casually wore around her neck like a scarf. The calm voice of the woman speaking to her was almost lost in wild drumming of the raindrops, but fortunately, with her sharp hearing, she caught every word of what was said.

Hampered by the elements, Oriana just smiled and nodded in response. Lifting her satchel over her head to create a makeshift umbrella, she scurried to catch up with the storm-tossed angel who'd been sent to this lost, frightened girl in her darkest hour, careful not to slip on the slick cobblestones.

* * *

Well, the angel certainly wasn't mincing words when she'd said, "it's not a terribly pretty place to look at."

That was Oriana's first impression of the coffee shop as she was looking around to get a feel for the atmosphere with every keen bat sense. It was a quaint little place, very cozy, but the homely décor did leave something to be desired. The subdued lighting cast a warm yellow glow and the robust aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans percolated into the air. Focusing now on the patrons- having already sought refuge from the storm –most chatted quietly in pairs or in small groups; while the odd antisocial one or two were content to sit by themselves- all to the background of live music.

The question snapped her attention back to her companion. Oriana raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the other woman, but she pursed her lips and didn't say anything, mentally grousing, 'We just sat down for crying out loud! ...Hmm, but I guess I shouldn't begrudge her as she's just trying to help me.'

The silence started to stretch a little longer than she would have liked. Finally, she broke it with a light chuckle. "Not yet." she replied with a smile, eyes crinkling closed slightly at the corners. She leaned forward with her chin on the palm of her hand. "How about we order coffee first? Then you can tell me your name, oh divine angel, before I begin my epic tale of woe. I promise you it'll be worth the wait," she assured with a wink. "It's a tragedy and a comedy."

[Kiki]

((would it be alright to close this Yuiven? I don't have much muse for it BUT at least the two have met so they can interact in the future ))