T - Harps, Lucca

[Lucca]

Colin smiled then, a true smile. After all, any ego fluffing was good ego fluffing, even if it was from someone a little bit creepy. "Well, I wasn't born one, either," Colin said, with obvious pride. At one point, his low birth Rank had been a sore point, but now that he'd risen far above it it was simply another things to prove his worth. "I worked hard to get where I am today. And now I have my own Court." This last part was added almost to himself, and his eyes went a little distant...he had accomplished so much. Everything else had been worth it, and when the moment came where he could look out over the Court that he'd just rebuilt with his own two claws, the most powerful Spade in the world...that moment would make all of this worth it, too! Then even his family would bow before him and see how great a son he was!

Colin's fantasizing was interrupted by a quick movement, and his head swiveled in time to see Faust lean over and grab a pile of food. For a moment, Colin had a good glance at the back of the half-Avian's head and those ominous black stitches there. Though they looked...different from what the Cardinal remembered. Cleaner? Well, perhaps it had been Joel's work. He chalked it up to that and listened to Zacharias describing matters at the Court of Hearts. He shook his head. "Sounds like powerful magic," he said, frowning.

Faust's table manners left a lot to be desired, and Colin tried not to let how offended he was at the display show on his face. If he truly did want to get a job here, he'd have to learn to eat like a civilized Card! "I...suppose he hasn't been eating much," Colin said, though he privately was starting to agree with the Wolf. Had Faust's brain become even more addled? And why did he keep shooting Colin looks? Before, he'd seemed almost terrified of the Cardinal!

Colin was quite happy enough to ignore the strange guest and pay more attention to the Tove curled around his neck, who was trilling in a low, content, steady hum. He smiled. "Well, it's a bit difficult to describe, I'm afraid," he began, rubbing at an apple and offering a piece of it to the Tove, who snatched it up hungrily. "It's certainly nice, to have a creature so loyal to you, who will come at your call. Curious things, Toves...you know, there's still a lot we don't know about them, even after all these years of living so closely together."

Arpeggio looked up at the Wolf, blinking blue eyes at him.

[Harpsdesire]

”Not really.” Joel admitted, ”I’m just curious about lots of things.” If it wasn’t for how all-consuming his interest in exoskeletons was, Joel would happily pick up several more branches of science as hobbies. Medicine, for example. It was really quite gratifying to see how much his intervention had helped Faust and Arpeggio. The tove especially seemed to be feeling much better.

”Interesting.” People frozen in place in the palace? That was even weirder than just vanishing. It sounded like more of a matter of magic than science, not that the two could ever really be separated. ”That must have been some powerful spell.”

When Faust started wolfing down the food, Joel stared. The bird had more than overtaken him in both speed and quantity of consumption. If he wasn’t careful, he’d make himself quite sick, since it was likely that his body was devoting most of its energy to healing, and digestion would be slow. On the other hand, perhaps the healing process was causing him to need additional nutrients? Joel looked at Faust quizzically. ”As my mom would say, ‘Don’t forget to chew!’ Seriously, though, you’re gonna get sick.” He wasn’t sure if he should be amused, impressed, or just a little grossed out by that performance.

Faust was acting weird all around, even for a guy with a head injury. ”I thought you had a message for the queen.” Joel said, eyes narrowing as all his earlier suspicion came flooding back. ”Now you want a job?” Although neither his words nor tone were openly hostile, there was a subtle tension in the young corvie. What could be compelling Faust to change his story now? In light of what Dania has told him, there seemed to be a lot of reasons not to trust Faust.

Upstairs, Dania shivered a little as the other Faust’s fingers twined in her short, silky coat. It was a little strange to be touched that way—she wasn’t sure she’d felt anything like that before. The rat wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. It certainly wasn’t unpleasant, but… she didn’t know.

”Don’t worry, Colin and Joel are downstairs.” She hopped up onto the bed, not much hampered by her bound leg. ”There’s a visitor, too. Kind of a scary-looking guy. King.” She wanted to say, ‘He gives me the creeps. Also there’s another you’, but it seemed like a bad idea to confuse Faust any further with spooky mysteries at the moment. Dania frowned slightly when he asked about his injury, then looked up at him shyly and reminded him, ”You got hurt… trying to protect me, I think.”

”No, don’t worry about it. You weren’t at all useless. I might have gotten bitten much worse if it wasn’t for you.” She glanced at her injured paw. It still stung a little, but not terribly, and all the gruesome remains of the red dust had been washed away earlier when she splashed her face with water. ”You were… very brave.”

She quirked a half-smile as he spoke of his bindings. ”I don’t think it sounds silly. Bindings are… important. Part of who we are and where we come from. I know it's not the same but I just thought... I thought it might help, a little.” She wiggled the toes of her bound-up foot and smiled ruefully. The foot was asleep again. ”I’m glad you feel better. You sound better.” She looked a little uncomfortable, even though she was genuinely happy to see improvement in him.

”I’m alright.” She said, unconvincingly as she found she couldn’t meet his eyes. ”I…” She sighed heavily, resting her head on her front paws in a pose of abject misery, then started anew. ”I have an ability to get information from someone’s mind. I wanted to know how you’d gotten hurt and why it wasn’t safe to go outside, so I…” Tears started trickling down her muzzle and she gulped, ”I used it on you, e-even though I knew it might hurt while I was doing it, and I didn’t even ask first!” Her voice broke with a held-back sob. ”I’m so sorry!” Now he would probably hate her forever… Dania whimpered and covered her face with her paws. ”I’m so sorry, Faust…”


((Drama llama says, 'sorry it's so long!'))

[Nathalia]

(Oh, dear; seems like that boost of unnatural confidence and egomanical that had consumed some of Colin's sense has begun to fade. In a matter of three minutes, he'll be left only with his own confidences and pride.)

((Zacharias smiled at the Queen, sipping tea and leaning back, languidly.
"A powerful spell indeed, I'd love to get my hands on something of that magnitude."
He gave the Avian mix a bit of a sneer as he wolfed food and tried to ignore him. "And hard work does seem to have appropriated you quite the catch, it is a fine Court."
He nodded to the Corvie, dubiously. "And here I had thought Corvistowneian interests were more fixed and focused, this could explain the haphazard insanity one sees in their hometown. No offense meant, but the actual Realm is rather terrifying in its own right. You're the first of your kind I've met who wasn't blatantly mad, actually."
The Wolf eyed the Tove again, intrigued. "Understood, though I will admit to my envy, I can't get any of the usual Toves to stand my presence, Momes aren't to my taste, and only a madman would want a Jubjub. No, you are quite fortunate. It's a fine little beast."

Faust gave the Corvie a rueful grin at the slight admonishment, nodded slightly, and had just reached for another few slices of bread, when the boys' next statement halted him in place, frozen for a few seconds, a flash of panic crossing his features before he seemed to struggle to repress them and sat back down, wide-eyed and twitchy.
"Um...um, no, just..." He gave the Calloo Wolf a plainly frightened look, and was given a scathingly pissed one in response.
Feathers starting to stick out oddly with discomfort, Faust's voice became softer. "I-I needed to, um...I-"
"Do spit it out, Mr. Faust, won't you?" Zacharias snarled.
"I think...maybe...I should be um, heading home?" He mumbled, starting to get to his feet, shooting a furtive glance at Colin.
Joel notices the Wolf, very very briefly shake his head. Just once.

---------------------------------------------------

Faust moved over a bit to let the Rat up and placed his hands in his lap, unsure of what else to do his them.
Her fur had felt...nice.
His side stung and he tried not to move too quickly, a small glance at it showed him an awful lot of gauze and the stain of old seeping blood.
He winced.
"King? I don't...think I know any. How is he...scary?" He asked, staring around the room briefly, trying to get a better hold on where he was.
At the Rat's next words, he froze, eyes unfocusing as he went still and silent for a full 20 seconds, then snapped back to life, looking a little rattled. "Oh yeah...the attic. Did...did we get rid of them all? What...what was making them-" He hissed slightly, one hand clutching his side as he leaned heavily on his left arm until the stabbing pain passed.

"You were very brave.." Faust looked back up at her, then down at her bitten paw, then flushed and turned away.
"I'm not brave...I don't think so." He mumbled, gingerly lifting up his repaired binding and studying it with a small smile, glancing up as Dania referenced her own and wriggled her bound toes.
"They are important, even if you aren't full-blood...like me, it-... Well, and I am better, really...thank you, Dania..." He mumbled, gingerly brushing his fingers against her paw and then falling quiet, staring at the floor.
She didn't sound all right.
He listened to her speak, and watched her face fall.
What..?
He didn't understand fully.
She covered her face with her paws and choked back a sob.
"It's ok..." He murmured, gingerly touching her shoulder, trying not to move too much, and brushing at the fur gently. "I'm fine now. Please...Dania, it's ok." He murmured, giving her a little smile. "I'm all right...I think. But, really, see?" He gave her another small smile. "Dania?"
If she didn't pull away from it, he would try to give her an incredibly gentle hug. "It couldn't have been that bad...I d-don't want to upset you but...why shouldn't we go outside?"))



(You kidding? I love it. Llamas back at you)
~Nathalia

[Lucca]

Colin blinked when Joel said that. He'd forgotten what Faust had said at first in his original rush of confused rambling, but...the Corvie was absolutely right. A slight frown turned the corners of Colin's beak down and his confidence wavered a bit. Something...something was wrong. Trying to ignore the feeling, the Cardinal nodded politely at Zecharias. "Thank you, it is a fine Court." It'd be finer still if there were actually other Cards in it, the Cardinal thought to himself, feathers fluffing just a bit.

As the minutes passed, his unease grew, and he suddenly didn't feel so utterly sure of himself, What if whatever was in the basement was too much for him to handle alone? What if it were more animated corpses, like the attic had been? The comforting weight of the Tove on his shoulders and the fact that he was entertaining company allowed Colin to keep his outward composure despite his near-maniacal egomania wearing off.

He gave a slight shudder at the comment about Jubjubs. "Suits, yes! Horrible creatures, Jubjubs...impossible to tame fully even for the experienced. But you said Toves take a dislike to you? Why is that?" He half glanced at Arpeggio, who made a small trilling noise and tilted his head. Colin was only half paying attention to Faust, but when he said that...Colin frowned, turning back to him. "Excuse me? You want to go home? What about what you said before, about it not being safe to go outside?" Colin didn't like this, not at all. The feeling something was horribly wrong gnawed at him. He also wondered what was keeping Dania. Even with her bound leg, she should have made it back down by now. And he was hesitant to send Joel after her, because he really didn't want to be left alone with the Wolf.

[Harpsdesire]

”Heh, it could just be me.” Joel shrugged. It seemed somewhat pointless to try to explain that there was a considerable difference between the burning need to know that centered around one’s actual interest and the curiosity any thinking person would feel when faced with something novel and interesting. The only Corvie who wasn’t mad? Joel was torn between feeling complimented and insulted, so he responded with a simple and not entirely heartfelt, ”Thank you..?”

He wasn’t about to mess with a guest of the court, even though his opinion of the man had changed from ‘probably dangerous’ to ‘rather rude’. Maybe rude and dangerous. The headshake that passed between the king and Faust was suspicious, perplexing. What did Zacharias know that he wasn’t letting on?

Faust was acting strangely too, even compared to how he was earlier. Maybe he would calm down when Dania got back. She seemed to have a soothing effect on him earlier. Joel hoped she would get back before Faust bolted or something.



What was it about Zacharias that scared her? Dania couldn’t place it at first, then mumbled hesitantly, ”He-he was looking at me… like he could just eat me if he wanted to.” Her smile faltered even as she spoke the words partly in jest.

She was glad for the quick change of subject. ”Yeah. Well, all but one. The one Colin soaked in water turned friendly. She was following me around for a bit… Kind of creepy but…” She looked blatantly embarrassed as she admitted, ”She was lonely…A-and she’s run off now, maybe back to the attic? I couldn’t see where.”

”I think you’re brave.” She reiterated, slightly surprised by how he turned from the sight of her injured paw. It really didn’t look all that gory now that the blood was washed away… Or had she upset him? She glanced at him uncertainly. Maybe that had been the wrong thing to say, even though she was sincere. In the images she had seen, it looked like he was with the police, definitely a job only a brave card would take. He had been going after that horrible… thing! At least, it seemed that way.

Dania was surprised when his hand grazed her fur, and a little shudder went through her. She had confessed to doing something horrible, and he was being so nice to her! It seemed to make her cry harder. When he gathered her gently in a hug, she relaxed against him, although she was careful not to allow any weight to rest on his injured side. After a moment, she gulped back her sobs, embarrassed to be crying like a child in front of Faust. He was the one who had been injured, then had his memories stolen—if anyone had a right to cry, it was Faust, not her.

When she had calmed somewhat, she managed to answer his gently-asked question. ”I’m afraid to tell you… She whispered, ”But since you’ll remember anyway before too long… There was a sort of… monster, and it hurt you. Other people, too. I think you were trying to stop it.” The images she had seen were horrifying to remember, and she found herself shivering in Faust’s arms. ”Don’t go outside…”

[Nathalia]

((Zacharias frowned slightly, his eyes flicking to the Corvie and a look of disdain flicking across his features.
"Can I help you, Joel?" He asked, raising a napkin to dab lightly at his mouth.
His duel tails lashed in irritation before he turned back to Colin.
"I disapprove of those foul little fiends, I think they should have stayed in the Tulgey where they belonged. They ought not to have been shipped out among normal people. As to the Toves, I've no idea, I've just never been able to connect with one to a level that satisfies me...I would love a summon. One day, I plan to see a mage about it...maybe I can get something worked out if I can scrape together enough money."

Then Faust spoke and the Wolf's face soured.
He gave the Torque mix and incredible look of utter disbelief.
Faust leaned back in his chair, eyes wide as he whipped his face back and forth between all three.
"Um...um....oops..." He whimpered, looking terrified, and edging a little bit away from Joel. "No...I, um...I'm just...confused?"
He whispered, desperately, hands scrabbling at his pockets and looking towards the windows.
Zacharias bristled.
"Mr. Faust? Don't. You. Dare..."
Faust let out a whimper, stared at Colin and all emotion suddenly seemed to drain out of his face, losing focus.
"You...you have...very...very pretty wings..." He mumbled, reaching for the pocket of his shirt.

-----------------------------------------------------

Faust sighed and leaned awkwardly into the hug, his side stabbing him with a sharp pain that he ground his beak to ignore as the stitches pulled.
"Dania..." He mumbled, barely audible...she smelled nice...
He didn't like the sound of that Wolf...he didn't like the thought of their friends downstairs alone with it...

She'd said...she'd said he was brave, right?
The idea of one of the corpses still staggering around got a shiver from him, but if it wasn't hurting anyone...
His brain hurt.
His head hurt, his side hurt, his eyes burned and fear consumed him.
And determination consumed the fear.
These people had...saved him? Yes...

He tucked her against his side and leaned his head on top of hers.
"Dania...thank you." He murmured, sitting in the silence and the comfort of her closeness, letting himself enjoy the moment...just for a few more seconds.
"If I'm brave, then...then you're a hero. We won't go outside, but..." He stroked her back gently, and then pulled slowly away. "But if we're brave heroes...we should help our friends. I'm- I think I'm ok, let's make sure they are."
He murmured, gingerly trying to stand, and then holding his hand out to her with a small smile.
He hoped this was the sort of thing he was supposed to do.

It felt right.))



~Nathalia

[Lucca]

Irritation with the Wolf grew under the surface, now that the overwhelming confidence that had been pushing all his natural feelings to the side was all but gone. He kept the polite, correct expression on his face, while privately determining how best he could get rid of the Wolf so that he (with the help of Joel and hopefully Dania) could properly get to the bottom of this whole mess. He made a small noise of disgust. "I agree with you entirely," he said, shaking his head. "Why, there are more severe injuries and accidents reported from supposedly tame Jubjubs than from feral Bandersnatches. It's nothing more or less than foolhardy overconfidence that makes Cards think they can make a pet of such a beast." Which was an ironic statement coming from the Queen at that moment, but the Cardinal, of course, failed to notice.

Light purple eyes narrowed at Faust and he stood up, giving the half Avian a suspicious look, though a polite smile stayed on his beak. "Oh? Perhaps so." A horrible inclination was tickling his brain. This wasn't adding up. If it didn't look exactly like Faust, down to the stitching on the back of his head, Colin would suspect that the half Avian across the table from him was a completely different person. But could that be possible? Something very, very odd was going on here, and Faust's next statement made a shiver run down Colin's spine that he couldn't entirely repress.

The warm weight of Arpeggio around his neck was a great comfort, and the Tove made a low noise that might have been a growl, sensing his tension. It was time for a quick decision. He had facts, but no time to make sense of them. He wanted to ask Faust some questions, but his instinct told him to try a different route. Forcing the polite smile back on his beak, Colin relaxed his feathers. "Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous with everything that's happened today, servants disappearing and such. Forgive me, Faust," he said, smiling widely. "Sir," he added, turning to Zacharias, "You must be tired after such a long journey. There are plenty of guest rooms available in the nicest accommodations and I could draw you a warm bath, if you wished to retire. You, as well, Faust. I do not wish either of you to suffer for our internal problems." Praying to whoever would listen that his diplomatic skills alone could get him through just one more sticky situation, Colin waited for an answer.

[Harpsdesire]

Joel shook his head somewhat emphatically, muttering "No sir." In a tone that just managed to sound respectful. He wasn't sure why the King seemed to take pleasure in antagonizing everyone, but it would be a terrible breach of court etiquette to interfere with a Queen's guest. He had the right to defend Colin in a conflict, excepting those for queenship or a pre-agreed duel, but when it came to a war of words, the new Queen would be expected to fight his own battles.

"Calm down, Faust. Dania will be back soon, I'm sure of it." He tried to sound as comforting as the rat would have, but his tone leaned toward perplexed as some sort of a message seemed to be passed between avian-mix and wolf. Ok, now he was pretty sure something was up. But what?

Dania soaked up the surprising comfort of Faust's touch until her breathing returned to normal and she felt some sense of equilibrium returning. "I'm not a hero... Joel was the one who... he fixed you up." She was clearly embarrassed by his words, but also strangely pleased, and a bashful little smile touched her face.

When he stood, she hopped lightly from the bed beside him. Unable to walk properly with her paw in his hand, she instead nudged her shoulder carefully under his waiting fingers, allowing him to support himself against her if needed. "You're right. We ought to go down and make sure they're holding up okay." It wasn't a long walk, and they took it slowly enough, but before long Joel's boyish voice and the deeper rumble of Zacharias could be heard.

She remembered something, suddenly, with a flash of horror that might have shown in her eyes. "There's a... complication. There's another... um... one of you... down there. Seriously, a guy who looks just like you. He's not... not the same... but he looks the same. So... maybe when we get downstairs, stay out of sight and let me try to get Colin's attention, so we can figure out what to do."

If Faust didn't object, she'd leave him just beyond the doors of the dining hall as she entered, nodding respectfully to the king and Queen. She licked her lips nervously as her eyes fell on Zacharias again. He was still intimidating, and Not-Faust was still blank and creepy... "Your Majesty, I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I have a word?" She motioned toward the doors, hopeful that Colin would take the hint and speak to her in private, out where Faust was hidden in the hall. She had a lot to tell the Queen, who had not yet heard the things she saw in Faust's head.

(Half-asleep post, sorryyyy))

[Nathalia]

((Zacharias gave Colin a curt nod and Joel a slight sneer.
"Indeed, were the damn birds not so awful, perhaps we could at leats make use of them as a meal. Regardless, I do think that bed might perhaps be the best alternative for me, should you not mind. I thank you for the food, your hospitality is quite refreshing and I can draw the bath for myself, thank you."
The Wolf stood, shaking out his twin tails and reorganizing his cloak about himself, before giving Faust a cold stare.
"Perhaps Mr. Faust should retire as well? Yes, I think that would be appropriate, wouldn't it? If you could, your Majesty, I am happy to escort myself to my room with direction. I'll take Mr. Faust with me, should you wish."
Head slightly bowed, Faust slowly let his hand drop from its position, creeping toward his shit pocket, and moved to stand up and stride over to the Wolf, nodding and looking at the floor.
As Faust passes Joel, the Feline mix hears a soft whisper of a sound...he may even have imagined it, but it sounded for a brief second...like violins...

----------------------------------

Upstairs, Faust gave the Rat a small smile and leaned against her slightly as they began to move out.
His side ached horribly and he wished he'd decided to just stay in bed; he couldn't quite pin-point what drove him, aside from worry and a desire to know what was going on.
"Dania? This other man, the Wolf...? What about him was...bad?" He asked,
something in the back of his mind...his memory twitching.

He moved carefully along with her, trying not to focus on the pain for fear of becoming dizzy.
Some big hero...
When they stopped outside the hall, Dania suddenly seemed to realize something and the horror that crawled across her features deeply disturbed him.
Her next statement...even more so.
"I...I'm sorry, what?" He whispered, hoping he had heard incorrectly.
He hadn't.
"Oh...ok, I- Stay out of...sight? Yes, I can, Dania?" He fidgeted, feeling the world blur around him for a second, and then re-focus.
"Will you come back?"
He asked quietly.))



~Nathalia

[Lucca]

The idea of making a meal of something that ate brains turned Colin's stomach, but he merely chuckled. Zecharias had meant it as a joke, anyway. At least, Colin really hoped he had. Geez but those teeth looked awfully sharp. "Ah, I do not mind at all," Colin replied with a smile, moving away from the table and just barely refraining from slumping over in relief. At long last, the Wolf would be safely taken care of and out of the way. Now, if only they had their normal staff, Colin could just post a guard at the door to his room and have true peace of mind about it!

But as it was he'd have to settle for trusting the Wolf at least a little. He made to show Zacharias to his room when the Wolf spoke again. Colin couldn't hide the brief flash of surprise and something else that went through his eyes, but it was back to his normal, polite smile in the blink of an eye. "If Faust will consent to it, then that would be most convenient," he said, mainly for the sake of getting the Wolf out of his hair without further trouble. But this odd request, combined with all the other little warning signs, had his head spinning a bit. The Wolf had seemed to be disgusted by Faust. Why in the name of all the Queens would he want to share a room with him? Or even just be alone with him on a walk to their separate chambers for the night? Colin continued to mull it over while he spoke.

"Rooms fit for an important guest such as yourself are on the second floor, third corridor, and any of the doors leading off of it should be sufficient. They should all be unoccupied and most of them should have clean linens on the beds." The more he thought it over, the more Colin was alarmed, and he shot a quick, speculative glance at Faust under the guise of checking the corridor for Dania...who suddenly appeared.

"Dania!" Colin chirped, feeling vastly more relieved to see her than he let on. "You're just in time to say goodnight to our guests." He tilted his head in a very bird-like manner and shrugged. "Of course you may. Sirs, if you will excuse us." He inclined his head to the Wolf, who he half expected would start for his room while he wasn't there anyway, and strode purposefully over towards Dania.

As he passed by "Faust", Arpeggio, still resting comfortable across the Cardinal's shoulders, flicked his ears back and wrinkled his snout a bit.