T - Lucca, Callypso, Xenon, Kari - Complete

[Callypso]

Okay, seriously. This guy had to be kidding. Strip-joint? So, what, was he one of the showcases? It would make sense, because the swan was being a total diva. Begging? Asking for sympathy? What the hell?!. Whatever control Farran had had over his anger was starting to crumble. Fast.

Look, we appreciate your help, but the lecture isn’t necessary. We didn’t purposefully barge in, okay? It was the nearest place that had lights on. Have you been out this evening? There is nobody out and everything is shut down. It’s not exactly late, so please, if you know something that we don’t, we’d love to be enlightened. We simply chose the only place near us that had lights on because we were being attacked.

Farran bit his lip, knowing that he was probably being out of line, but he was so angry by the insinuation that they’d caused the fuss on purpose. They were bloody and dirty, weren’t they? What more evidence did they need for their plight? He closed his eyes, and looked back up gritting his teeth.

I’m sorry that we ruined your night or made your shift more difficult, but we didn’t do it on purpose. I’ll even pay for the towels and cider since it’s such an inconvenience. And if you’re going to kick anyone out, let it be me. But I told Arkady that I’d help him find his family, and I’m not leaving until I make sure he finds them. I owe him at least that.

He accepted a towel and followed Arkady to the sink, wincing a bit as the cool water made contact with the gash somewhere near the top of his head. As he was cleaning up he looked back at the Tulgey with an apologetic look.

I’m not trying to be difficult. Thank you for not booting us out the moment you saw us, really. It’s just been a really weird night. And it keeps getting weirder. And I’m Farran, if that’s worth anything.

They weren't the most eloquently formed words, but Farran just couldn't sit there being accused of intentionally causing a ruckus. He really was thankful, but showing gratitude wasn't exactly easy when the person who was helping him was being insulting at every turn. He also knew he wasn't exactly the greatest at keeping his temper under control, but damn it if he wasn't trying.

Thank you. We'll be quiet and come out if you'll still let us.

[Kari Muffin]

Rosewood raised an eyebrow at the Villa. Someone was being a drama queen. He was a nine of Diamonds, it wasn't like he was royalty or anything. If anything the Solandrian boy should be the one getting touchy about the entire situation.

By all rights the swan should just boot the Villa out on his ass for all this trouble. He refrained from rolling his eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Arkady. You're quite welcome, and thank you for being a nice young gentlemen," He said with a smile to the Solandrian boy. "For you the cider is on the house. And I'll make sure the boss doesn't hassle you for being under age."

He looked to the Villa. His face turned from a smile to completely blank. "There is no need to be defensive or jump down my throat. I haven't been outside because I'm on a double shift tonight, and like I said I'll call the police if you would like to report the attack. If you continue to put up a fuss and verbally attack me I will ask my boss to throw you out, Mr. Farran. Your friend as been quite nice about the entire situation, unlike you. It would be best to control your temper when speaking to someone who has your fate on the line, don't you think?"

He didn't have to put up with this bullshit. The swan stood to the side and motion for the two boys to slip out of the storage room.

[Lucca]

Arkady's ears pinned back against his head. He'd only met two people today who weren't insane, and they seemed mad at each other. This was not all how he wanted the afternoon to go, and his strong desire to play peacemaker vied with his self-preservation instinct. In the end, neither of them were really his responsibility, being as they were both adults and so should be able to sort out their own quarrels.

So he nodded to Rosewood. "Thank you, Mr. Rosewood, I appreciate it." He eyed the Feline, considering putting in a good word for him, but...it was hard enough as it was for Ark, and explaining himself or the other would just be tiring after an already stressful day. Assuming he could even put their whole ordeal earlier into words, which he almost certainly couldn't. By now, away from the weird spice-smell and chilling wind and whispering voices, and miles away from that Deer, Arkady was his mostly-calm self again, and he didn't want to do anything to get himself (or his friend) kicked out.

So he went over to nose Farran's shoulder again in a silent message. Hey, calm down, we're safe now, he tried to say with his nose, his eyes, his softly wagging tail. It was the same message he always reassured his twin sister with when she'd wake from a nightmare. Man, how much he wished Laika were here now. She would know how to handle this, a lot better than he did.

[Callypso]

Yeah, okay, whatever. The damn bird wasn’t listening to a single thing he was saying. Fine. Just fine. He was tired of trying to explain himself, but it seemed like the stupid Tulgey just wanted to lord over him the fact that he was underage. As if he didn’t know, and as if he wanted to be in this stupid strip club in the first place. As long as Arkady found his family, he didn’t care. He wasn’t the one throwing around ridiculous accusations.

Farran jutted out his lower jaw, about to let rip another quip when the cold, wet nose pressed into his shoulder again. A little growl of frustration and resignation issued quietly from deep within his throat. Fiiiiiiine.

He was a little embarrassed that Arkady had managed to keep his cool much better than he, but then again, if he was raised in the Courts reacting calmly to any situation had probably been drilled into him from day one. The kid actually reminded him of his own brother, Daniel, who was always cool and level-headed, no matter what trouble lay at hand. He owed it to the Solandrian to cool his jets, at least until everything was squared away. Speaking of Courts…

The police might be a good idea, though it might be better to alert the Courts… He looked to Arkady for confirmation. We know the name of the attacker, or, at least someone purporting to be from the Court of Hearts…

Farran let the sentence trail off. It was a really sticky situation that he had never had any experience with. Were common Cards even allowed to report on the Court members' activities? Also, just mentioning the crazy Deer-thing made his stomach churn and clench. If that crazy Card was terrorizing the neighborhood he didn’t think the local authorities had much of a chance.

Farran kept his trap shut about exactly he thought of the swan’s accusations of “jumping down someone’s throat”. He glowered at the man and gave a brief nod toward Arkady to lead the way through the door.

[Kari Muffin]

Rosewood was far from stupid. He just had a strong dislike of children, especially when they felt entitled. What had the Villa expected from him? To get down on his knees and cry "You poor baby let me get you fixed up?" Yeah. Right.

The mention of the court of Hearts made him raise an eyebrow. The only thing that came to mind was his correspondence with the Queen and the fact that the King of Hearts could easily be the one causing the trouble. Though if that was the case he was fairly certain that the pair of them would be in far worse condition. "The police would be the easiest to get a hold of for fast results. I suppose I could contact the Queen with an emergency letter, though I highly doubt she'd respond in haste." His tone was completely serious without a hint of sarcasm.

The man rolled his eyes as the cat passed him. Drama Queen. Maybe he would ask the boss to make a scene over him? It would be appropriate.

The swan followed after the boys and shut the door firmly behind him. He walked over to the bar, where three drinks had been set out for him and the two other Cards."Take a seat and make yourselves comfortable for a bit, herm?" the man said as he picked up his own drink and swirled it around for a few moments. Engaging in conversation was the proper thing to do, but he highly doubted the pair would be stuffing money down his g-string tonight. Tipping back the drink the swan nearly drained it completely.

"Why are you boys even out on a night like this?"

[Lucca]

Arkady was glad to see Farran visibly calmer, and he strode through the door with a thankful nod to the Swan. So he was going to let them stay after all. He couldn't stop his tail from continuing to wag a bit, even as they emerged from the relative quiet of the back room into the noise and crowd of the bar. He kept his head up and tried to look casual, remembering Rosewood's advice. He fluffed out his fur a bit (a little hard since some of it was still wet from the wash) to make himself appear a bit bigger, and hopefully older.

He hopped up onto the bar stool and pulled his drink closer, making sure to place himself in what was hopefully to be the seat between Rosewood and Farran. He didn't really want any more fights among what should be friends. The air smelled heavy in here, too, but not with spices...with some other, sharper scent that he'd smelt in his Mom's room before, perhaps. Arkady tried to ignore it, drinking his cider instead. Until, of course, Rosewood asked a question, and he turned to answer.

"I came here with some of my siblings on a trip," he explained, frowning slightly. "But we got separated, and then the air got colder and..." He trailed off, hesitant to admit he'd been hearing voices on the wind. That was generally considered to be a bad thing, right? Hearing voices? He didn't feel insane. At any rate, he didn't go around acting like that King.

[Callypso]

He was a little surprised to hear the change in tone coming from the Club. Well, even if he was rude, at least he cared for general public safety, or maybe he was just admitting that their story had some merit. Either way, someone with power should be aware of the creature’s prowling.

If you think that the best thing to do. I’d hate for someone else to run into that monster. Farran’s nose twitched involuntarily as he recalled the crazy biped. Thank you. He might have been still put out by his earlier treatment, but he was genuinely grateful that the swan would report the incident.

The feline followed Arkady through the doorway and wasn’t exactly pleased to see his companion’s tail swinging back and forth in a happy wag. Then again, he wasn’t the one being harassed for simply trying to explain himself. Honestly, he couldn’t be the only card offended by the Tulgey’s attitude. Perhaps the Solandrian was simply excited that their adventure back out into the eerie night had been delayed. Either way, he was grateful that the canine had elected to sit between him and the offensive bird. He may have been indebted to Rosewood, who actually seemed to be helping, but was still disinclined to want to be near him… for the time being.

Once the hot cider hit his lips, though, the Villa was in a considerably better mood. He hadn’t realized how the unnatural chill of the evening had seemingly frozen his very insides. The steamy brew filled his spirit and he felt himself returning to his prior vigor. It was a bit odd, really. Here he was, snuggled in a warm bar... yeah, okay, this place was kind of rank. Not that the place itself was in disrepair, it was actually well furnished and well-kept, it was more that he just wasn't sure how he felt about being in a strip club. He didn't think his uncle would approve. But it was safe an secure and he was losing himself in a stupid argument with a swan after he'd just escaped with his life. Suddenly the Tulgey biped didn't seem as bad, and he felt more inclined to cooperate when Rosewood asked what they had been up to.

Well, actually, I was looking for an old friend of the family. Lost touch years ago and finally heard word a couple of days ago. Apparently he knew my father, back in the day, and I was hoping to maybe catch up and get some pointers now I'm new to the city. I understand that his nephew, Rogers, works downtown and I was hoping to catch him to see if his uncle was still in the neighborhood. Of course, I picked a terrible night for that...

The lie rolled easily off the feline's tongue. It was close enough to the truth to be easy to remember, and beside, he had made sure he had his story down before he even headed into the city. Of course, "family friend" was code for "musical rival" and "catch up" was "hunt the bastard down", but hey, to each their own. Besides, it was a million-to-one chance that Rosewood would even know the guy.

((OOC- I tweaked the description of the bar a little bit for you, Kari! Sorry about that!))

[Kari Muffin]

The strip bar was actually a rather nice and clean establishment for the upper class individuals to enjoy some time off. Or anyone who was lucky enough to make a decent amount of money and wanted to spend it on booze and a variety of different men and women. That was why Rosewood had decided to work here for more than a few months, it was one of the nicest establishments he had been a part of.

Rosewood felt sorry for Arkady. Though he hadn't grown up with siblings he could easily put himself in the situation of being lost and separated from loved ones. He really wished Rogers was here. His brow quirked slightly when the boy trailed off. He brushed the curiosity aside for a moment. "I'm sorry to here that. I imagine they're fine, Mr. Arkady despite the decline in the weather. We could see if someone from the police department could help you find them."

When Farran spoke Rosewood eyed him. After years of psychiatry and dealing with matters involving "truth" he could tell there was something "off" with the way the Villa spoke. And then he mentioned Rogers. His feathers fluffed about a bit. Roger was a common name, yes, but most people didn't add the addition of "s" to the end of the name. The swan set his drink down and peered over Arkady's head to look the Villa up and down.

"Funny how things work. My husband happens to be part Villa and named Rogers. Though if he was friends with someone as adorable and memorable as you I imagine he would have told me." Or not, since the cat wasn't actually all that memorable. Short tempered and entitled were better descriptors. It would be terribly funny if he was actually looking for his Rogers, because the swan wasn't going to help some stranger who could be a potential danger near one of the only people he ever cared about.

[Lucca]

Arkady nodded. He knew there was no real way for Rosewood to know if his brother was fine or not, since the Swan hadn't even been out there to see how strange things were...but he took the comfort to heart anyway. The police? Oh yeah, that was a good idea! His tail wagged harder. After all, the guards at the Hearts palace only cared about missing kids if the parents were nobles and had instructed them to care, with a few exceptions. But here in the Capital, things were different, Ark had heard. And even just saying you lived at Court was enough for some Cards to pay a little closer attention to you. Not that Ark really wanted special treatment...at this point, he just wanted things to be normal.

"Thanks. I'd appreciate that," he said, tilting his head as he was called "Mr. Arkady" by the Swan. How very odd! He took a long draw of his cider, and turned to blink curiously at Farran. That was more information than he'd given Ark. But that could be because the Coyote didn't live in the Capital, so he didn't recognize the name anyway.

...but apparently, Rosewood did. Apparently the one Farran was looking for was the Swan's mate. Ark's eyes widened. He looked between the two. What were the odds of that? They hadn't even come here on purpose, and yet here was someone who knew exactly who Farran was looking for! The thought that the Villa may be lying didn't even cross Ark's mind.

[Callypso]

The feline had chosen that exact moment to take another sip of cider and promptly choked. He had thought about trying to act cool, but after the little stand-off with the swan it would seem way too suspicious. He hasn’t exactly been a smooth talker tonight… It would be his luck that Rosewood would be married to the very same Card he was looking for. Well, Rogers was just another step in the right direction, and Farran intended no harm to either of them. Beside, his opinion was that the Villa mix was probably being punished enough he was married to the awful Tulgey.

Really?! Your husband??, he exclaimed as he mopped up spilled cider, Did you here that, Arkady? I might have actually found him!, he told his companion excitedly before turning back to the swan, Perhaps our unfortunate circumstances were meant to be, if you believe in that sort of thing. And I doubt he’d have mentioned me, he wouldn’t know me personally, no. Like I was saying, my father was friends with Rogers’ uncle who hasn’t seen me for several years. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting his nephew, although we may have met when I was a kitten, but obviously I wouldn’t remember. I'm just going by a friend of a friend in the city mentioned in passing - I hadn't actually expected to meet him anytime soon, but I had time to myself tonight, so I thought I'd try...

He gave a wry smile and shrugged as if in disbelief of the coincidence. Farran decided to lace the tale with a little of his Diamond charm. He didn’t much care for the way Rosewood’s feathers fluffed out at the mention of Rogers’ name, and he really didn’t like the way he was being scrutinized. The swan had every right to be suspicious, but he really wanted to meet this Rogers guy. He couldn’t blow it now, not when he was potentially on the right trail.

Basic Magical Ability: He can act charismatic and persuasive at times, whether or not he actually has the natural charm and grace to pull it off.