T - Harps, Lucca

[Harpsdesire]

"Oh, apologies, Highness." Dania murmured, still flustered in the wake of her experience with Faust. "You flatter me, but I am not titled." The rat explained, allowing a little of her seldom-used Diamond charm to disguise her discomfort at the situation. Dania was glad that there was no way for him to know how recently she had been but a seven.

She felt herself blushing under his oddly direct gaze. He looked at her almost in the way that some men looked at women in bars, appraising and bold. It wasn't a look she received very often, as she was neither an astonishing beauty nor someone who often frequented places where alcohol lowered inhibitions. Something about his voice, his bearing, struck her as just a tiny bit 'off'. It made her skin crawl a little.

She felt drained and miserable after the foray into Faust's mind, and having the wolf show up was as irritating and inconvient was it was creepy and inexplicable. It didn't seem like he was thrilled to be here either, perhaps even offended by the deserted court. Under the circumstances, even Dania couldn't feel bad for him. Nor did she feel it was her job to speak in the defense of the Court of Spades. Colin was THE Queen now, and he was well qualified to answer for himself.

Joel watched the proceeding with silent curiousity. It was kind of wierd how the guy was looking at at Dania, but he couldn't exactly say what it was that was happening, and had no idea how to respond. He shifted from paw to paw nervously, but kept silent, mainly because he wasn't really sure what to say. He looked between Colin, Dania and the wolf. He half-smiled uncertainly and hoped that the adults had this situation under control.

((So what is his suit? 70))

[Nathalia]

(He is a Heart, sorry if the picture doesn't show it clearly enough. <3)

~Nathalia

[Lucca]

Colin wasn't sure he was very fond of the way the Wolf was looking at Dania. After all, the Rat was -his- guest here, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her when she was under the protection of his Court. He moved very slightly, very subtly, in her direction, placing himself closer to the spot between her and Zacharias. It wasn't a threat, no...just a warning. He smiled up at the Wolf, but his eyes held the same warning. He wasn't entirely sure he liked that explanation.

"You've been dropping in on a lot of Courts, then?" Colin asked mildly, eyes lingering on the other man's Suit. Surely, if a Heart had it in mind to visit royalty, Spades wouldn't be their first choice? "Strange...that one such as yourself would show interest in us. Still, welcome to the Court, and I must apologize for the lack of...servants. Something strange has been going on here the past few days, and I'm afraid I haven't quite solved it yet," he admitted casually, as if he were speaking of a minor mishap instead of the majority of the Court up and vanishing overnight. "Have you encountered anything else peculiar in your travels?" the Cardinal asked. "Please, if you like, we can retreat somewhere a bit more comfortable to discuss this." Even though there was still the problem in the basement to take care of, but those intruders didn't seem to be moving around too much, and the Cardinal refused to lay all his cards on the table in front of the Wolf. Not yet. He knew politics better than that.

[Nathalia]

Zacharias gave the stammering Torque a little nod of the head to acknowledge her apology.
"Not at all, I am flattered by your misdirection. Not titled, you look as though you should be, my dear."
A smile briefly graced his lips before settling back into a neutral expression as he regarded Colin.
Red eyes watched as the Cardinal slowly seemed to obscure the Rat from his direct line of vision.
Hmmm, perhaps he'd been a bit too obvious.
Though he hadn't seen a "fallen angel" in some weeks...it was easy on the eyes and the mind, as it were.
Pity, that the Queen already seemed to have prior claim over the Diamond.

Resting an elbow on the arm of the chair, the Wolf props his chin on his hand and watched the Bird as he spoke.
Pompous thing, wasn't he?
Interesting...
"Yes, I have been visiting the Courts. I recently had my fill of Hearts, as it were, you can only take so many of us before you really do feel the need to seek other company." He shrugged. "As I say, my Mother was a Spade, so this was the next place I made my way to."
He smiled, disarmingly, large teeth poking out of his mouth.
"I appreciate your welcome, your Majesty, and do hope I find you and your...guard? Well this evening."
He nodded to the explanation of a lack of servants...not seeming overly worried or concerned, though his tail flicked...as though in annoyance.
His eyes wandered back over to Dania, taking in her rank and Suit marking and then over her back to her binding.
An odd, natural one.
There hadn't been many of those, not even when he had visited the Realm itself...
Interesting.

"Somewhere more comfortable would be entirely welcome, your Majesty, I am quite tired and a bit peckish,should you not mind indulging me."
He stood, sweeping the cloak behind him and moving soundlessly after the group, claws on his feet manicured so as not to click on the floor, long fur between his toes reducing the sound of his movements to a swish of the cloak and tail.
"Odd? You know, now that you mention it, my travels through the Capital were a bit...off. Didn't seem to be anyone there, actually. I've never heard of anything like it." He watched as paintings and windows passed them by.
"When I was told tales of your Capital, it was supposed to be overrun with people, I admit to being quite shocked to find it empty, I had wondered if it was not a secluded day of worship?"


~Nathalia

[Harpsdesire]

"Thank you." Dania said, mainly because she didn't know what else to say. She could feel her ears burning still, and hoped the flush wasn't too visible. If it was, she hoped that Zacharias would assume that she was flattered, rather than uncomfortable under his gaze. She might outrank him, but she just didn't feel like a queen. It took more than a little diamond charm as well as a concerted effort of willpower to maintain even a shadow of the noble bearing that seemed to come so easily to Colin. She smiled back at the man, trying to keep the expression relaxed and natural. Her charm went a long way toward that goal.

Joel noted the protective way Colin moved in front of Dania. It seemed the bird felt the same way he did about Zacharias' glance. The boy couldn't help but grin when the king referred to him as Colin's guard. It was oddly pleasing to be mistaken for an adult member of the court. If it wasn't for his love of science, a career as a palace guard wouldn't be such a bad thing, he thought. He nodded to the wolf, feeling quite well for someone who had just completed a battle with reanimated bodies of his court's past queens. Playing the part of a bodyguard, he silently followed along beside and slightly behind Colin. Although he had the lithe bulk of an older, athletic male, the goofy grin that he only half-managed to suppress probably ruined the illusion somewhat.

Dania tagged along, staying close to the others, glancing around now and then for the dusty form of the queen that had taken off after Colin and Joel. There was no sign of it. Probably for the better, now that they had a guest. He was a large, handsome creature, she thought, intimidating but very regal-looking. Much more a king than she was a queen, certainly.

It was odd what he said about the Capital, and it gave Joel and uncomfortable prickly feeling down his back. Deserted? Like the palace... had everyone vanished from, well, everywhere? For the first time since all the strangeness started, he feared for his family's safety. Dania must have been having similar thoughts, as she answered in a rather strained tone, "As far as I know it isn't a holiday of any kind. The Capital is usually quite... lively."

In fact, it was usually almost to full of cards and bustling activity for her to bear. That it should be empty and still was frightening. Maybe whatever had infected the Court of Spades was spreading! She shuddered to think that it could reach out like an icy claw, touching even her home realm, grasping at everything she held dear.

[Lucca]

Colin made a small noise that, were it more undignified, would be called a snort. "I find that to be true as well, sir," he admitted with a small smile. "Refreshing to find a Heart who actually feels the same way." He nodded, looking relatively pleased with the way he was managing to divert the conversation. "Well enough under the circumstances," he said, though his mind briefly flashed back to the Tove and Faust, lying on the beds in the upper room. He hoped Dania had thought to lock the door when she left. Of course, again, there was no way he was going to divulge the fact that they had wounded to Zecharias.

"But of course," he said with a polite nod, and began to lead the way down the corridor. He was privately amused by the fact that Joel seemed to be taking the role of his guard...though after what they'd been through today, it was almost accurate. Joel had shown his abilities to think quickly in a bad situation, and for that, Colin would be happy to have the youth protecting him. Although, he didn't really need it now that he was so powerful. But the gesture was appreciated.

But when the Wolf spoke of the Capital and how he had found it...the first flickers of true alarm since he had risen to his new title. "No, that's not normal at all," Colin said, his voice only mildly concerned instead of what he was actually feeling. He nodded to what Dania said. "Yes, and even if it were a holiday, there are so many different Cards in the Capital, from every Realm you can think of, that there is no one holiday they all celebrate the same way. For it to be so deserted...there truly is something strange going on."

He wondered if the other Realms were like that, then...if something strange was happening everywhere. Perhaps this was something to do with why Donnie had suddenly lost her title? She was in the Selkie Lakes but...the Mayor. There was something about the Mayor and an old friend...oh, Colin suddenly wished he could go back up to the library, having remembered the odd book. Perhaps that was some sort of clue after all!

[Nathalia]

The Wolf gives Colin a mildly surprised look.
"Really? Is that so, I should wonder what's going on, then. The Palace of Hearts didn't even have anyone come out and grant me the decency of a greeting, you know?"
He gave Dania anther leering smile. "Lovely, is it? Perhaps, if it all clears up, you could show me how it is that a place as damning as this Capital can be so...lovely..."
He gives her a small half-bow and watched the way the bulky Corvie trotted.
Large beast, that one, he didn't envy anyone who had to physically try to best the Cat.

Following after the Queen, he took in the sights, comparing them mentally to those he'd witnessed in the Hearts Palace, less gaudy, for certain.
"Your Court certainly has more taste than the Hearts, they are an airy folk, for all that the abilities can be enviable, the attitudes that usually grace them are not."
His cloak swished behind him as they moved towards what he hoped was the kitchen, he was actually quite hungry.
"Your reasoning makes sense, I'm sure there is something going on, your Majesty. Have you been about town recently? In my travels I have seen an odd mist about. Seems to be everywhere, matter of fact."
He grinned again, watching the various, cultured paintings pass them by; some of past Queens.
One, a small oil painting, showed a thin, Sorgaire Feline Queen, her slight frame fitted into a willowy dress...something about her face may strike the other three as familiar.

The sound of clicking footsteps brought everyone to a sudden halt as on a staircase to their left, something began to descend.
Zacharias flexed his hands, large claws in easy evidence.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" He shouted.
A soft, whimper sounded as a familiar form descended the stairs.
Purple and black, tall and hunched, Faust slowly clicks down the stairs, eyes hazy and body moving in a tense sway with his gait.
He stops at the Wolf's words, stares at him in confusion, and then glances over the rest of the group, expression blank and confused.))



~Nathalia

[Harpsdesire]

"I, uh... perhaps." Dania's charm faltered just slightly, but she managed to finish on a placid and demure note. She didn't, in fact, find the city all that pleasing. It was crowded, loud, overwhelming. In the hot days of summer it was stifling and rancid-smelling. In the winter the streets were covered in dirty slush. She didn't see any harm in letting him know how she felt, even if he had misinterpreted her previous statement. "I don't spend much time in the city, if I can help it, so I may not be the best guide. I know far more about my home region."

The idea that Hearts, usually considered the most powerful of the courts, was also suffering from some strange magical interference was more than a little unsettling. If the Hearts were besieged, then Diamonds... well, it was unlikely that Zane's attempts to seek help there would pan out. It gave her a strange pang to think of the palace of her suit deserted and its nobles vanished; it bothered her in a way it never would have even a day ago. Was it something about being a queen that made her suddenly care what happened in the courts, or was she just worried about Joel's uncle, who had vanished into the stormy darkness?

Although she was rather preoccupied and passed the paintings without much more than a glance, Joel (who was still following Colin in a passable imitation of a silently imposing bodyguard) had more time to gaze at the images as he trotted by. The solemn or regal expressions on the painted faces seemed suddenly threatening. Past queens of the court... he'd seen a few of them upstairs before, he thought. A heavily-framed image of Lysarus made him shudder, but a slender Sorgaire feline made him pause in his step for an instant: she looked eerily familiar.

Dania cringed slightly at the sound on the stairs, made jumpy by a long day of repeated unpleasant surprises. When Faust appeared at the King's challenge, her knees went a little weak with relief. "Faust!" She breathed, hurrying to the base of the steps and looking up at him with eyes that threatened a renewed surge of tears. "Are you... feeling any better?" At first glimpse it would seem that he was looking healthier, at least he had regained consciousness.

But then, it was almost as if his confusion had only increased. Dania bit back a whimper and hoped that it wasn't due to her interference that his condition had gotten worse. She wanted to run up the steps to his side, but it hardly seemed the right thing to do with the Calloo king looking on.

[Lucca]

Colin frowned. "Well, that was most ungracious of them," he said, but inwardly the wheels were still turning. So the Hearts were sieged as well? That barely made any sense. Who had enough of a grudge against both Hearts and Spades, as well as the Capital? Certainly not the Selkies. Unless...there was more than one perpetrator? Or unless the Capital was a different sort of thing entirely...but that would be an odd coincidence, wouldn't it? Two entirely separate places becoming all but deserted? These facts just didn't all add up, and the Cardinal was only confusing himself more trying to figure it out. He felt like they were running out of time. He had to solve this, and quickly.

"Was the Hearts Court also deserted, then?" he asked, only half paying attention to what the Wolf was saying to Dania. He couldn't help but quirk a slight smile at Zecharias's continued light poking at his own Suit. A bit of being able to laugh at yourself was always helpful in politics. "Out? No...I haven't...been a bit preoccupied here." That, and they'd been counselled not to go out. Besides...there was still the awful storm raging over the Palace. No need to go out and get his feathers soaked and watered down unless absolutely necessary.

"An odd mist, you say? Is it clammy or warm? Does it make one light headed? I apologize for all the questions, but I really must address any potential threats to my court and subjects, you understand, right?" He smiled brilliantly at the Wolf, and then he caught a glimpse of something on the wall and looked a little closer...wow, but the face of this portrait looked familiar. Why...it was the confused Queen who Dania had brought down from the attic. He peered at the name for a moment, and then took a moment to wonder when his portrait would be up on the walls as well.

He turned slowly at the sound, glancing aside at the Wolf. A bit jumpy, wasn't he? Colin blinked in surprise as he saw who it was on the stairs. "Ah, don't worry, sir. This is just another guest of ours...but he was asleep after having his injuries tended to earlier."

[Nathalia]

((Faust tilted his head at the Rat's outburst, his eyes unfocused and oddly blank-looking before they seemed to settle on the rest of the group.
He normalized, giving a nervous smile and stepping the rest of the way down.
"Um...hello."
Zacharias relaxed, letting his claws relax and giving the newcomer a sudden, disinterested look...and a flash of something else.
Recognition?
No, that's ridiculous.
"Ah...Faust, then? Good to meet you, I suppose." He turned back to Colin. "The Hearts Court did seem a bit deserted, yes, I was unable to find anyone until I managed to get myself into the main hall and was confronted by the Queen. She is, in my humble opinion, a horrendously frightful and unstable creature."

Faust gave the group a wave and put his hands awkwardly behind his back, looking at the floor and seeming unwilling to approach anyone unless given permission.
"Better? Ah...I think so. Sort of."

Zacharias proceeded with Colin to the kitchen area, he sniffed the air hopefully.
"The mist? Cold, actually, quite cold, my carriage ran through some on the way here, actually, glad to have this cloak. I understand the questions, it's quite all right, I'm pleased to see a Queen with the initiative to ask them. Instead of simply relying on courtiers."))


~Nathalia