Changed with Age [Closed]

[Travesty]

Ambrose wasn’t sure why he had left his laboratory to wander the narrow streets of Corvistowne. He had lived here since birth and rarely traveled elsewhere, but despite that the town was so mysterious to him. He knew the area that directly surrounded his apartment, leaving the rest to remain unfamiliar. Was that why he was venturing so far away from home, to fill up the blank pages in the map? Maybe it was his lab – at times he got positively nauseous surrounded by the needles, the syringes, that cold operating table, and of course, the scalpels. Oh yes, sometimes the scalpels made him want to scream.

So here he was, walking down a well-lit, populated street, avoiding the alleyways with a passion. Those would bring up too many horrendous and magnificent memories that he didn’t think he could handle at the moment. The fresh air, if you could call the polluted air of Corvistowne “fresh,” wasn’t doing much to clear his head. But what would? Nothing except work was able to affect him these days, and there were moments when even his studies could not rouse him from this apathy that seemed to invade his very bones. Of course, the next day he could very well be the opposite and overwhelmed with a manic energy he couldn’t explain.

It didn’t use to be like this. He didn’t use to be like this.

The ferret sighed and realized he had been walking without looking where he was going for nearly an hour and found himself in a square. The buildings surrounding it were, in regular Corvistowne fashion, a blink away from crumbling, and the place itself was abandoned and oddly silent. In the center was a fountain that no longer worked and its form was eaten away by age and disrepair, and yet it was strangely beautiful, in a sad sort of way. Ambrose felt as if he was rooted to the spot, his glazed lilac eyes looking for traces of what the structure must’ve looked like long ago.

[Kitty]

His tail tip twitched as he moved toward one of his favorite spots. Nothing here compared to where he grew up ... but he kind of liked the lack of grandeur here. Really, it just made his oh so shiny and rot free self look that much better.... at least in his opinion. Well, the inside of his home here was decorated with rather nice things but really... not many people got invited back to his place; except of course Aphasia. The highlander living in his basement had no choice but to be there so... that wasn't really an invitation was it?

He edged in closer to the dilapidated fountain, ribbon adorned tail curled up into a happy little 's' shape as he hopped up onto the edge carefully, he knew where he could step and where he couldn't because slipping off the edge of something and falling on your face wasn't a good way to pass of a 'cool' or anything else he'd prefer to be called. Especially since he wasn't alone.

Pointed ears perked forward at the sound of a sigh and he made his way gracefully around the rim to peer at who had joined him. His head tilted to the side a bit as he eyed the .... pink and black ... ferret? Gads that brought up a whole lot of memories; memories that he quickly pushed to the back of his mind.

He tossed his head just enough to get his bangs out of his face, the rest of his mane was tied back in a ponytail with another purple ribbon, before turning his blank, silver eyes back toward the Corvie and cleared his throat. He wanted this one ot acknowledge him, not the other way around.

[Travesty]

Despite the slight throb of anxiety he sensed growing in the pit in his stomach which appeared whenever he stumbled too far from things familiar, Ambrose felt a curious wave of peace roll over him. Whether this was because of the stillness that permeated the area or merely because the sky above him was beautiful and dark and pinpricked with stars he didn’t know (there was so much he didn’t know these days!), but it was a more than welcome sensation, although the cynical side of his nature couldn’t help but warn this was the calm before yet another storm.

He spotted a bench in the corner of his eye and padded over, feeling a tremor move down his spine as he moved. He preferred to blame it on the chilly air, but he knew it was the discomforting twitch he had picked up ever since…well, a while ago. It came and went as often as his capricious moods.

He had just alighted on the wooden bench when he realized, somewhat belatedly, that he wasn’t alone. Usually he was more aware, especially when he was somewhere alien, but the slight seizure had caught him off guard. His eyes, previously trained on the night’s sky, turned abruptly to the creature who had so rudely intruded on his rare peace of mind.

“Hello,” he said simply, because he felt he was required to say something. The form, larger than he and certainly not of the same species, was too far away to be completely discernible from the shadows. “It’s a nice night,” he added, his tone brisk and unnaturally loud in the quiet.

[Kitty]

A brow arched slowly as he continued to watch the little ferret ... what was with the trembling or whatever that had been? Curious indeed. His ears perked forward a bit with interest before the other mustelid, he considered himself to be on since he only had that rat tail, finally greeted him. Instantly a little smirk tugged at the corner of his maw and he gingerly hopped off the fountain ledge, disrupting a few little crumbly pieces in the process.

His tail tip twitched a bit more as the little smirk went from just a hint to a full, toothy grin. Before he spoke he added in a little of that good old diamond charm, coating his words with a nice layer of it.

Good evening, haven't seen you around here before.

He glanced up at the sky for a moment, taking it in for a moment. Everything was so much clearer and... detailed since he'd had that run in with that mirror... aside from not being able to appease his own vanity any longer it was a nice little gift. One of his ears twitched before he turned his gaze back to the Corvie, silver eyes roving over him in a manner that would probably be rather unnerving had he not had the gift of charm up ad running whilst he did.

[Travesty]

Ambrose grimaced inwardly. The creature, who turned out just to be an oddly-formed Mustelid, wasn’t going away as quickly as he wished. It was always the same with the ferret; he was often terribly lonesome, with only his occasional “patients” for company, but whenever the opportunity for real interaction was unveiled he made excuses and shied away. Nothing good ever came from conversations these days, and he just didn’t have the niceties or the deference necessary.

Still, even he knew better than to abandon the other so early. A beam of moonlight illuminated the other’s rank, and Ambrose wasn’t about to turn his back on a Queen. With no other option, he found himself smiling his customary Cheshire Cat grin.

“No, you wouldn’t have – like most of my kind I prefer to keep to my lab,” he chuckled and felt his left forepaw twitch ever so slightly. Damn it. It always managed to make itself known at the worst times. He felt the other’s eyes flick over him (those Diamonds…they could get away with anything!), and if he hadn’t been so customarily high he probably would’ve felt self-conscious but now, hell, he couldn’t muster up the energy. “I never even knew about this place,” the ferret added, mostly to himself.

Was he supposed to introduce himself now? Was that how it was done? It had been such a long time since the last time he had met someone new. “I’m Ambrose, by the way.” There. It was over and done with: what else was there to be said?

[Kitty]

Morpheus was the ferret's complete opposite when it came to their social habits, he made sure that the only time he was alone was when he wanted to be ... even if that meant forcing his attentions on someone else. Or ... forcing himself on them in ... other, less legal more 'scar you for life' manners. He'd also gone great lengths to ensure that he was either in a 'relationship' or had some sort of one night stand constantly since he was thirteen ... and that's how he'd snagged his wonderful little Torquehelm otter that he was certain loved him more then air. It was a nice little thought that ... but it didn't quite keep him from roving when attractive little thing came his way.

This ferret though... looked to much like his first love to slink away from, even if it was just the breed and the basic colors .... Mia was Kahmden pink with a little bit of black.... but.. .Hell, there was a connection so he wasn't going to question it. No ... he felt compelled to try and make this particular Corvie enjoy his presence ... a vain attempt to set the past right again but ... he had his reasons. And, well... it didn't really seem as if the other male was going anywhere too fast with those tremors.

I never understood how you Corvies could hole yourselves up for such long periods of time ...

This was coming from a boy who hadn't had one normal, legal means of employment in his entire life. Really ... he hadn't worked a day in it because how could all those delightful things he did to people in the Capitol count as work? Oh, but look... the ferret was introducing himself without any prompts.... it was a good sign.

The Queen grinned and puffed up his chest, making the red Q that was there all the more noticeable, and curled his neck in the most elegant manner he knew as he made his 'grand' introduction.

A pleasure, Ambrose, I am Morpheus.

And with that he flashed the other mustelid his best little smile.

[Travesty]

What was this Queen? Ambrose’s eyes managed to focus on the figure getting disconcertingly closer, looking for markings indicating his origins. It was dark, but even so, the ferret could not discern a definite realm. There was just a lot of green, and swirls that really should’ve made the stranger a Highlander, but the Spade doubted it; Corvistowne wasn’t a place Cards from that region visited. Actually, it was a long time he had seen a “foreigner,” for lack of a better word. What an unwanted adventure this was fast becoming! That still begged the question of why the other mustelid sought his company; Ambrose was not one for inane conversation.

“Well, we wouldn’t be Corvies without our laboratories and experiments,” he answered briskly with a smirk. “We can’t all like company,” he added, not unkindly, just stating the facts. “Every civilization has its hermits,” He absentmindedly flicked the needle protruding out from his shoulder with one of his dark purple claws.

…Yes, yes, the Corvie saw the ‘Q’ on the stranger’s chest, and he was very well aware that he was only an Eight. He couldn’t make himself too worried about the abyss in rank, however; if the other had meant to cause Ambrose trouble he probably would’ve attacked him already. No, this Morpheus seemed to be the talking type. Great.

“So why are you in a place like this, Morpheus?” Ambrose asked, looking at their crumbling surroundings. Hardly a place for royalty.

[Kitty]

Still... it's odd to come outside on some days and not see a single soul.

This of course was because there were no potential targets roaming the streets, but he tended to keep his past times hidden in his own home, or out in the Outer Bizarre. This ran more along the lines of giving the ferret a hard time, really... he liked the habits of Corvies. He could definitely appreciate people who knew when it was best not to ask questions. Although some of them did ask him the strangest things...

Ambrose's thought patterns weren't entirely correct, Morpheus was not the type to simply attack out of nowhere... no, he liked a bit of a game involved with his 'victims'. He curled his tail and continued to peer at the mustelid, his last question pulling a little giggle from his maw. Why else would he e here?

Well, I live around here. Not too far from this fountain, actually.

[Travesty]

“Oh, I’m sure most people find it boring around here,” Ambrose agreed easily, glancing around the practical ghost town. He supposed that if he weren’t such a recluse he’d find the emptiness undesirable, maybe even unsettling. But when was last time he had left his apartment and the area directly surrounding it was…jeez, nearly three weeks ago, when he had paid a visit to the Court of Spades. Wow. He really needed to get out more, didn’t he?

The ferret yawned. “Strange. We don’t get many from other regions living here,” he noted with a measure of genuine interest. “I hope your house isn’t in as much disrepair as these.” He motioned towards the nearest apartment building, which was hardly standing, and chuckled. His own rooms were hardly in better condition. “If you don’t mind me asking, why live here? You don’t seem...what's the word for it? Ah, aloof, enough to live here,” he laughed bitterly.