T - Lucca, Callypso, Xenon, Kari - Complete

[Lucca]

Arkady was worried. Rosewood wasn't looking good, and now the doctor was squawking about being drugged. Ark frowned over at her and shook his head, slowly. He would have remembered such a thing happening, he was sure. Up in the air above him, his Tove made the same motion, shaking his head. And even when Ark turned back to Rosewood and Farran, Dima kept staring at Zenon, red eyes unblinking and gaze slightly narrowed.

Ark yelped slightly as a book just...fell out of the air above Farran's head. He felt his thick fur rise up in a ridge, and he slowly stalked over to where the book was and sniffed it. He touched it with a paw and flipped it open, noting the it was a journal of some kind, though the writing was hard to read. He turned to see what Rosewood made of all this, but the Swan was...walking away. Arkady's ears drooped and he glanced at Farran. "What...what's going on?" he asked quietly. He nodded to the book that had just hit the Feline over the head. "Do you know this?"

[Callypso]

When the doctor spoke, Farran blinked a couple times before turning his head towards her, his eyebrows narrowing distractedly. Somewhere distantly in his mind, something suggested that that theory didn’t sound right, but he was much too absorbed in the idea that his father’s ghost was somewhere nearby. He seemed to have mistaken the Corvie’s thinly veiled criticism for what it was.

Rosewood stared at him, looking just over his shoulder at something only he could see. The Diamond looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever it was, then put his back down and whimpered. Why was his father here? Why was he visible to Rosewood and not him? Didn’t his father want to speak with him?

His face crumbled into a mixture of longing and resentment, though it was quickly replaced by a grimace of pain as a smallish book tumbled from the sky to bounce of the feline’s head.

OW!!

He clutched at his head, the pounding he’d been feeling around his stitches doubling in intensity. What now? Looking down, there appeared to be a well-used and blood-stained journal. Body trembling, he stared down at the booklet, afraid to touch it. Of what it might say.

Arkady padded over and pawed through the pages, not understanding the significance it held. The chicken scratch was very familiar to the Villa. He’d seen it quite often, back when he was younger. Notes and music scores had littered the living room and his father’s office.

That’s. That’s my, he cleared his throat again. My father’s writing. He swallowed, and scooped the journal up in the crook of his good limb, using his nose to shuffle through the pages. His journal. It’s his journal.

Farran nosed through the entries, arms shaking, and skimmed the pages that looked more worn and bloodstained than the others. His heart pounded in his chest. There was more of his father in this book than he could have ever hoped to get close to while the man had been living.

It’s... About his life. He frowned. This name. Cort Jameston – it – it keeps popping up. It sounded strangely familiar. Why do I know that name? He tilted his head skyward in thought and froze in shock. The mangled corpse of his father hung there, in front of him, and gave a brief nod before disappearing.

Farran continued to stare into the sky, heedless that the Tulgey had begun to move again.

Dad? Dad! Come back!, he choked as he began to sob, Don't leave me again...

[Kari Muffin]

Rosewood didn't want to cope with the madness. He just wanted to deliver the message and go home. He wanted to cuddle with Rogers and pretend that all of this was done and over with. He didn't want to think about watching someone die, he didn't want to think about a horrible monster taking a chunk of his skull.

He didn't want to hear anything.

The swan didn't walk very far when he heard Farran crying for his father.

"Isn't it better if he's not here. Maybe it means he's not suffering?" The swan said as he looked over his shoulder, his expression pained. He turned around fully. "Look we need to try... try to deliver this message and then I'll talk to Rogers about his... Uncle I think it was. However, Farran, you need to promise me that you won't do anything stupid. You will not raise a finger against my husband for something his moronic family member has done, or so help me I will make you pay with more than just your life."

He waited quietly for a response.

(( OOC: I have had this written for a while. And I never hit post. Oh I'm so brilliant it hurts. ))

[Lucca]

Arkady's eyes widened and he quickly surrendered the journal to Farran. The look in his eyes as he gazed at that spidery hand writing was almost...longing. He didn't think his own Father had kept any journals. Arkady had only stories to remember him by. And, truth be told, there were a lot of those, and he enjoyed hearing them, but to have the Bat's own words written out like that...it would have been a dream come true for the young Coyote.

Needless to say, he understood Farran's pain. He nosed his leg gently, and his ears twitched as Farran spoke further. The Coyote frowned in thought for a moment, and then shrugged. He'd never heard the name. When Farran looked up, Ark did too, but he didn't see anything, just empty air. So when the Feline suddenly cried out like that, Ark jumped back in surprise. "What?" he asked, out of reflex, though he instantly felt stupid for it. Obviously, Farran had just seen his father.

He turned, glancing over at Rosewood, and nodded. Right. The message. He would follow wherever the rest of them chose to go.

[Callypso]

Farran choked a little as the Tulgey turned to speak to him. Sullen, tear-filled eyes looked up at the bird as he suggested that maybe his father was in a better place, and not suffering. Clearly, if the man was hanging around dripping blood and leaving books for his son, he was not at piece. If Vicente Drake was a bloody ghost, then that meant he hadn’t been able to find peace. It was a horrible prospect.

He swallowed hard, You said he’d been around for a while? Did – Did he say anything?

The feline felt shamed, having to ask this question, but for some reason his father’s ghost had only been visible to the swan. Why had Farran only been able to see him for that brief moment? It seemed terribly unfair, knowing some aspect of his father had been following him, but unable to reach out to his son.

He briefly rubbed against Arkady’s side to return the sweet gestures the Solandrian had offered. The poor Solandrian had been through just as much as the rest of them, but he still found time to give comfort to others. He hoped they could find his family soon.

Looking back to Rosewood, pain still clear in his eyes, he nodded. Okay, I promise, his voice was still thick from crying, I just want to talk to him. He clearly meant a lot to my Dad. If Jameston was such a good friend of his father's, he would know about the duel. And if it turned out that he was somehow involved, well, he needn’t raise a finger at all. There were ways to get around a promise like that, though if he had to, he’d break it in a heartbeat to avenge his father.

Um, he sniffled again, tuckin the journal away in his now bloodied and tattered coin pouch, Where are we supposed to take the message again? Pier’s brother?

[Nathalia]

((The dead Cat does not appear again.
The little group is about 25 minutes out from the Outer Bazaar square, they could easily trot in the direction of the lights and terrible noise if they want to try to deliver the message.

If not, it's up to them. Either way, the lamp-lights are getting low and they seem to be approaching an Inn/pub called the "Fallen Wing".

A Mid-Range Rat in a Capital Police Jacket shakes his head and bars the door, he looks ill at ease, his head has a bandage wrapped around it, and a nervous tic is making his eyelid twitch oddly.





"Y'don't wanna go in f'here, I promise." He looks exhausted and sympathetic. "If you knew anyone stayin' 'ere, you 'ave my sympathies, but it's no use waitin' around. F'here were no survivors. If you jus' wanted t' go in fer a drink...I'd advise against it unless you're sick of life."

He gazes over the group, looking as though he rather wished they hadn't appeared and hunches into his coat, muttering to himself about someone named "Nafalia" and how he was going to kick her ass for this project.))


~Nathalia

[carcinoGeneticist]

After the group's rather strong rejection of her idea and her suggestion, Zenon went quiet again. She was angry at them all. She wanted to cry, but refused to show any sort of weakness in front of them. Her head was throbbing dully, each beat of her heart sending a new burst of pain through her. She wanted to go home.

Her home was destroyed.

Like a shadow, she followed after the group, lagging a few steps behind them and keeping out of their ghost-talk and promises. Up ahead was an inn she'd been to for drinks once or twice, looking utterly deserted - except for a police officer standing at the doorway. The last few hours surfaced in her mind and she approached him, ears laying flat.

"Officer... Thank you for letting us know. You need to know, though. Something's happened at the Station.[/b]" She glanced back at the group. "Not a soul to be found in the whole place. Someone broke into my lab, too. We also need to file a report. Racists killed a man.[/b]"

She grinned wryly, looking utterly defeated. "The whole world's gone mad today, I think.[/b]"

[Kari Muffin]

The swan wasn't quite sure how to handle the question Farran asked. Should he tell the boy the truth that his father was suffering horribly and muttering about no forgiveness? At the moment he didn't think being honest was the best course of action. He shook his head, "No, he didn't say much really. I'm sorry."

He let out a small sigh trying not to feel ill as they went back to walking. Downtown somewhere. That was all they had to go off of. "Piers's brother is somewhere downtown. He couldn't remember where...." The swan offered rather lamely.

And they walked.

He was starting to think everything was hopeless, and they finally came upon an officer of the law when they came closer to the Pub. He felt a bit of relief when Zenon decided to approach him and explain what had happened at the station. He paused a bit of a distance away so he could listen.

There was horrible sounds, and light in the distance wasn't there?

That was probably where they needed to go. Damn.

He sighed trying not to think about the horrible pain he was in. He gave the officer a small apologetic look and nod before addressing the rest of the group. "We still have to deliver this message, unless someone objects I'm going to see if commotion is where we need to go."

[Lucca]

Arkady backed up when it was clear that Farran needed to talk something out to Rosewood. After all, he hadn't seen any ghostly images of the Feline's father (for which he was immensely grateful, in fact) and so he didn't have much to contribute to the conversation. He sat nearby, holding his injured paw up off the ground, knowing it would only get worse if he put too much weight on it. And they had a lot more walking to do, he was sure of that.

The exhausted pup followed as they walked down the streets, all the empty, misty, dim storefronts and apartments sort of blurring together as they walked. It was dreary and gloomy and...boring, after everything else that had happened. Though really, there was something to be said for boring. And then they came across a pub, and his ears perked, glancing up at...was that a police officer? Relief flooded Arkady and he sighed a bit, sitting down on the cobblestones. All his paws were aching, not just the one that was twisted, and he felt tired and sticky.

He nodded to the officer. Part of him would have been glad to have handed this whole mess over into the hands of the law and be quit of it, but the rest of him wasn't going to settle for that. He'd made a promise, and he was going to keep it. So when Rosewood said that, Arkady stood instantly and limped to the Swan's side. "I'm coming with you," he said in a tone that brooked no argument. Dima still hovered by his shoulder, though he coiled to sit on top of the pup's head when Arkady gave him a concerned look. Where Master went, he followed.

[Callypso]

Well, that was disappointing. He’d been hoping his father had mentioned him or his siblings, about how much they missed and loved him. No, instead he just dropped a journal on his son’s head and dripped blood everywhere. Figures. He was too concerned with himself even in death. ((WHO DOES THAT REMIND YOU OF, FARRAN?!))

Oh…

The ragtag group made their way down the path, reaching a crossroads. Bright lights and angry sounds flashed from one end, and much closer there appeared to be a pub. He looked up, “The Fallen Wing”. That was weird, wasn’t the bar they were at earlier named similarly? The feline shrugged, he supposed most bars were supposed to have fancy, romantic or debonair names.

His heart leapt in his chest as he noticed an officer shifting to block the door to the establishment. Despite the fact that the man looked as though he’d been in a tussle, Farran couldn’t help but feel better knowing that there were still some semblance of authority out in the city.

The Villa’s face fell, when it turned out that the pub was yet another place unsafe for Cards. Apparently the whole city was going haywire. He listened to Zenon’s brief synopsis of the event, making a face as she neglected to mention some important facts.

Yeah, and we were attacked by King Mephit from the Hearts Court, and there’s a monster going around eating pieces of people’s skulls and changing shapes. He grimaced, it sounded insane even to him, and he’d been there! Something stirred in the back of his mind.

Oh, and sir? he said, tiredly, and I found this hidden in one of the officer’s lapels. Meadows, I think. Alvin? No, Albert. Yeah. Here it is, officer.

The Diamond handed over the small stash of Checkmate to the office with a strange expression on his face. It seemed a little silly, considering the police station was half ruined, with the front windows blown out and rot monster in the entryway, and the whole city had gone mad. Oh well.

He looked over to Rosewood, who seemed determined to trudge on to deliver the message from the creepy rot zombie. He shuddered, and tried to hide the exasperation from his face when Arkady said he’d follow the swan. Wherever Arkady went, Farran would go. He had promised, and this promise was more important than the one he had given to Rosewood. Arkady's extended family members hadn't murdered anyone he knew.

Excuse us officer, you’re welcome to come with us, but we have to go do this.

Farran didn’t really know why they had to, but he sure as hell didn’t want to be out here alone.