[FIN] All the Demons Look Like Prophets [Vyn]

[Lucca]

Eldryia was feeling restless. She'd only been back from her adventures away from home for about a week, and though she was plenty busy now here at the castle, with all the children to babysit (and more on the way), after over a year of wandering and travelling, it was hard to be confined to one place. Her old familiar haunts and secret passages in the Palace and its grounds were just a bit too confined at times. Not that she wasn't happy to be home, just...things were different now. She was different.

Tonight, her restless feet led her down somewhere she hadn't been in many years (not since before her father died). The dungeons were just as cold as she remembered, and still had the same smell...blood, fear, metal, and death. She hugged the wall as she walked down the steps, as silently as she could, in case there was someone down here. Her one remaining ear was perked fully forward, and she barely blinked as she looked around the dingy cells.

Her initial search turned up no one, and she relaxed just the tiniest bit as she took her first steps on the cold stone of the dungeon floor.

Her first mistake.

[Vyn]

Eldy would have a couple minutes of exploring those cold dungeons, to see the horrified faces of prisoners and to drink in the atmosphere of misery hidden far below the surface of the glistening palace above. Since Pravus died Mephit had been a bit crueler to her prisoners, drawing out their lives long after they'd stopped being of use to the Court for the sake of her cruel sciences.

Eldy would find, to her luck, that the dungeon was currently devoid of its dungeon master but that ended with a loud metallic clang as the heavy dungeon door slammed shut and the hollow sound of hooves against stone echoed eerily into the chambers below -- even the prisoners quaked at the sounds of Mephitisia's approach.

The moment she landed on the bottom step, Mephit knew there was something.. off... about the dungeon. Something disturbed? No? A smell, perhaps? The black deer's serpentine eyes narrowed into slits, scanning the immediate area. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to escape without catching her notice - nothing escaped Mephit.

[Lucca]

Eldy surveyed the prisoners with cold eyes. They were fools and traitors, most of them, and she didn't feel the slightest amount of pity for them. (She refused to let herself). As a child, she had enjoyed sneaking down to watch her father work, and had grown rather a morbid fascination for the tortures they'd undergone. She'd only been caught once, by that stupid Deer Pravus had some affection for. It was probably a good thing he'd never had children by her. Eldy could easily imagine Mephit killing one of her children in cold blood if it wasn't the right Rank.

A slight shiver ran down her back, but she blamed it on the cold and kept walking, deeper into the dungeon. Eldy wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for...but she never got a chance to find it before there was the heavy slam of a door, and the fur on the back of Eldy's neck stood up. That could really only be one Card. And it wasn't someone Eldy ever wanted to meet again.

The Feline crept back into the shadows, crouching there to watch. Part of her was curious...she had been but a child when she'd met Mephit last. She hoped she wouldn't be as easily intimidated now. Certainly, the Deer would have nothing left to blackmail her with, since Pravus was long since dead and her existence no longer a secret from the world.

[Vyn]

The eyes of her prisoners followed her around the room, some hopeless and other defiant, but she noticed a trend with the ones that had yet to notice her presence: they were following someone else in the dungeons. That made things so much easier. As she paced through the chambers, following her prey in deeper, the eyes now averted more quickly and turned to stare at the floor.

And then, ever so faint, a little thought drafted into her mind that was not her own. Certainly, the Deer would have nothing left to blackmail her with, since Pravus was long since dead and her existence no longer a secret from the world. Ahhh, that gave it all away, didn't it? Pravus's dirty little secret -- "Eldryia." Mephit's cold hiss of a voice filled the room like a sinister gas, soft and icy but somehow it managed to reach every corner of the otherwise silent chambers. "Why don't you make this easy and stop sneaking around like your mother?"

Eldy was a lucky cat. Had Mephit arrived sooner to hear those thoughts of Pravus's affection, she might not have received such a casual welcome.

[Lucca]

Eldy had noticed some of the prisoners had their eyes on her, still...or, on where she'd hidden. She knew they couldn't see her. She knew that Mephit wouldn't be able to see her either. But...but somehow, she not only knew she was here, she knew who she -was-. Eldy hissed softly before she could stop herself. There was just something about that cold voice that set her on edge immediately.

However, she was no longer the cowering child she had been then, was she? She wouldn't give the Deer the satisfaction of thinking the Feline was afraid of her. Even if she was a bit...unnerved. Uncomfortable memories stirred on the edges of her consciousness, and she pushed them back. Standing up, forcing her fur to lie flat, Eldy walked just as silently out of the shadows and gave the Deer an even look.

"You should know, it's what I do best." She arched an eyebrow, as if daring Mephit to object to her being down here. She wondered if the other would notice her scars (well, she'd surely notice her missing ear, unless she was somehow blind) and the knowledge to her eyes. But there was, no matter how much Eldy tried to push it aside, the little prickle of fear in her mind. A part of her wanted very much to just run. She had abilities that would allow it. But she stood her ground. She wasn't sure exactly why she'd come to the dungeon, but it was not to turn tail and run at the first sign of opposition.

[Vyn]

Though Mephit could have gone into the shadows and located the feline herself, though she could have dragged the chained cat out into the open if she so desired, Mephit stood in the entrance (and only exit) and simply waited. The cat would come to her, she had no choice if she wanted to leave. Meanwhile, the deer listened to the feline's thoughts. There was fear in there, subtle but still there, and Mephit enjoyed Eldryia's unspoken pep talks.

Funny how if she would've just strolled out and acted as if she had some reason for being down there, Mephit would have simply ignored the girl once encountering her and gone about her own business. It was the sneaking that Mephit didn't like. Sneaking meant you had some sort of ill intention and Mephit didn't want to deal with any sneaking Cards with ill intentions causing her trouble.

The deer stared blatantly at her once she stepped out into the open, activating her small ability as she did. Mephit wasn't going to object, but she was going to make a point of her disapproval. "Ah yes, you and your mother both -- sneaking spies." Mephit had nothing personal against Peaches and, really, nothing against her daughters either. In all actuality she could have been fond of them for the sole reason that they were feline and Pravus's but all her internal frustrations begged for release. Why not torment this one? Pravus hadn't know of her, hadn't cared. "What are you doing hiding in my dungeon again?"

One of the prisoners made a miserable sound as he caught sight of Mephit's eyes, but the doe's expression didn't change to acknowledge the throaty sound of fear. Her focus was on Eldy.

Small Ability: Her eyes are incredibly captivating, staring into them can cause Cards ranked 8 and below to feel very, very afraid.

[Lucca]

For some reason, as soon as Eldy met Mephit's eyes (her very creepy, non-Deer-like eyes) she felt a stronger chill of fear go down her spine, threatening to turn her legs to jelly. She gritted her teeth and stood her ground, though her ear pinned back flat against her skull and her position became a bit defensive. The Feline had no idea why she suddenly found Mephit so frightening, and that further unnerved her. She blamed it on the bad experience in her childhood and bared her teeth at the Deer, though Mephit could likely smell her fear.

"Why? Do you have something to hide?" she hissed, more overtly hostile than normal due to fear setting her nerves on edge. "The dungeon doesn't belong to you. It belongs to my sister, like everything else in this palace." Her tail lashed a bit as she tried to calm herself down. She actually didn't want to make an enemy of Mephit, if she could help it. Not an active one. Not when she'd already somehow made one of Apocalypse.

[Vyn]

Mephit laughed. She couldn't help herself. Just the sight of the feline, so far below her, trying to resist her fear by lashing out. Didn't she know she was only working herself further into a hole?

The doe suddenly moved forward, leaning down to stare Eldy eye-to-eye. She motioned to the dreary surroundings, to the half-dead prisoners dangling uselessly on the walls. "What could I possibly be hiding in here? The secret to eternal life?" Truth, often times, was so much harder to stomach than lies. Mephit would like to see Eldryia believing that 'tall tale' as it fell past her long fangs. "Regardless, I belong to your sister. I have nothing to hide from My Queen."

With her sadism satiated, Mephit dropped her ability and straightened up once more. "Honestly, I don't give a damn that you're down here - but I would appreciate it if you stop skulking in the shadows. It makes me think one of my prisoners has escaped or some spy has come to liberate them and I won't be made to look like an incompetent in my workplace."

[Lucca]

To her credit (or perhaps not) Eldy didn't flinch when Mephit drew eye to eye with her. She bared her teeth a little, but she glared back at the source of her sudden fear with interest. Her tail lashed. "I'm sure I don't know. But you wouldn't be worried about spies if you were following procedure normally," she hissed, not believing a word of what the Deer said about eternal life. They'd gone over that last time, she was pretty sure. Or had that just been the meaning of life? Regardless, she didn't care. She just wasn't going to let Mephit boss her around, no matter how much higher in Rank she was.

As Mephit stood up again, Eldy felt triumphant for some reason. She didn't realize it was the very sudden withdrawal of the fear-inducing ability. But she held her head high as she responded. "Please, I would never free anyone who was rightfully imprisoned by our noble Court. And don't even tell me you thought a prisoner had escaped...you knew it was me down here right away!" How she'd known, Eldy still had no idea. But she refused to worry about that anymore. She lived in the Palace and she was the Queen's over sister, by the Highland Hills! She had every right to be in whatever public space of the castle she wanted. and if she wanted to 'skulk in the shadows' of said rooms, why, that was her own business as well!

[Vyn]

Was she honestly persisting as if Mephit was doing something wrong. "Please, if you're so concerned, examine the dungeons thoroughly. We can even play another game like we had when you were younger - you seem so determined to prove you can 'defeat' me." The deer had no interest in playing these games today, though the back and forth of snark was vaguely satisfying after such a long time in isolation.

I told you so. That smug voice muttered from the back of her thoughts. You really do like people.

Mephit rolled her eyes, both at the cat and at the voice. "I didn't say I was concerned about you, now did I? I never pegged you for a traitor to the Court, though this would be a good place to catch you if you were. You'd save us all the trouble of hunting you down." She turned her back on the Torquehelm then, moving toward a particular canine that still appeared to be in good condition. "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do. Stay or leave -- I don't really care."