T - Xenon, Nako, Harps, Vyn

[Harpsdesire]

Selkie Lakes? Kendra couldn't remember ever visiting the place, although she knew it was generally considered a safe and attractive realm. "Better than staying here!" She declared, already walking towards the carriage. The small, enclosed space looked like a refuge from the discomfort in the air, and she didn't even mind that they would be joining some other travelers. If anything, it was comforting to be in a group. It made things feel more normal, like the city wasn't deserted and filled with a strange spicy smell.

"Splitting is fine. Company actually sounds nice. It's just so quiet out here." Anything to get in out of the creepy street. It didn't hurt that the Benyan and Yarrow women looked reasonably non-threatening and ordinary. Kendra smiled at her fellow travelers, who were already seated within.

Although she introduced herself with reasonable grace and made small talk to the extent that it was required, Kendra was honestly somewhat relieved when conversation lagged and she had an excuse to sleep off the remains of her pounding headache and rest her eyes, which still felt irritated even though the watering had stopped.

[Nathalia]

((Kendra gets an odd...off feeling as she steps into the carriage...almost as though she knows something bad is about to happen...though her headache starts to recede and after an hour, will have vanished completely.
The carriage driver was happy to have more people on board, obviously unnerved by his surroundings. The Ace seems terrified and goes quickly without prodding, taking them over hill and dale for hours without stop.

Nothing of note happens on the drive, but things do seem to get a little brighter, and the towns they do pass through are bustling with people as they normally would be.
The cabbie eventually stops outside of a tavern called the "Risen Wing", to collect his fee and wish everyone a good day.
He still seems chilled and something about his demeanor makes him seem...almost shifty...how odd.

The inn itself seems to be...empty...the podium at the front is not staffed by anyone and there's a strange dark substance smeared across the desktop. It smells a little bit like...ink.
There doesn't seem to be anyone around...maybe it deserves a good search? Or would it be better to skip this place entirely and walk the five miles further into the Lake town?))


~Nathalia

[carcinoGeneticist]

When Jordan woke up, her body was aching. The carriage rides were the very worst part of taking over the family's business, she'd swear up, down, and sideways. There was just no way to get comfortable. Of course, her mood wasn't helped in the slightest by the knowledge that she was on her way to deal with the damned Selkies.

Couldn't be helped. The woman jumped down from the carriage and made a beeline for the hotel, wanting nothing more than to take a nice long soak in some hot and nice-smelling water before business happened. Really, it didn't matter one bit to her if anyone decided to follow along. Inside, though, things were awfully dark and oddly quiet. Her eyes narrowed as she looked around, standing at the front desk for a while and waiting.

Nothing.

Nothing, and someone had made one hell of a mess on the wood. Her nose wrinkled - the clerk had probably spilled his inkwell and run off to find something to clean the mess up, leaving the whole place unattended. Typical. "Hey! Anyone here?[/b]" She called out, listening to her own voice echo. No reply. Of course. She wandered away from the desk, poking around the lower levels of the place. Finding nothing of interest and no damn people, she headed upstairs. Something smelled nice, so she moved in that direction - right towards the baths. It was a nice facility, and she felt a pang of unhappiness that it was looking rather like she wasn't going to be getting a soak tonight.

With a sigh, she stepped back out into the major part of the building, ears panning all around. "Seriously, now, dere's someone wit' good money who wants a room, de hell is wrong wit' y'all?[/b]"

[Vyn]

Freedom! At long last! Kaden all but flew out of the carriage, stretching his dual set of wings and his long legs with great joy. Oh he was cramped, so very cramped, but worse than that was the boredom. It was intense, soul-consuming, and (were he younger) he might have loudly lamented this to whomever was willing to listen until they were able to fix it.

As it was he kept his beak shut and allowed the mantra of boredom hatred to go on unannounced.

Jordan was the first off and the first inside, but Kaden wasn't in a rush to get inside. After being cramped in a carriage, he'd rather go for a walk or at least bask in the sun. Besides, he had an off feeling about this place. The Tavern was oddly familiar, considering where they'd just come from, and the driver seemed equally shifty despite the fact that the scenery was much improved with brightness and warmth. Hm...

He glanced back the way they came, wondering briefly what Ivy was up to since finding her prince charming. Hopefully all was well for her.

Escaping his momentary reprieve, he turned back to Kendra with a bright and cheerful grin. "Well! It's a new place and the world is our oyster. Got anything you want to do?"

[Harpsdesire]

"Oh, uh." Kendra murmured inarticulately as she woke and exited the carriage with a slight sleepy stumble. Whew. At least her head felt better and this place was certainly not as creepy as the capital. She moved her glasses aside to rub at her eyes, which also seemed to have recovered, although they felt a little scratchy from napping.

The inn before then looked reasonably ordinary and no lights or sounds came from the windows, which mostly had shades drawn against the warming sun. The Rising Wing, she read. How odd. She felt like the place they had left from had a very similar name. She remembered suddenly how strange and foreboding the city had felt as she had left it. Ugh. It was good to be out of there, even if the driver had brought some of the sketchy right along with them.

Still, the sun was out and Kaden seemed excited to get going. She joined him in a stretch and shook out her fine, silky mane. "I wouldn't mind looking around a bit, maybe in the garden to start, then inside. I'd like to find a powder room to wash my face and fix my hair once I've had a chance to move around for a while." As usual, Kendra felt the need to make a plan. Going with the flow, while it lead to interesting happenings (such as ending up in the Selkie Lakes with a group of total strangers) incorporated a lack of control that the girl couldn't entirely feel comfortable with.

[Nathalia]

((Brandy suddenly seems to slow as though becoming tired and sleepy, his body dragging as he finally slumps over asleep, outside of the Inn.

Oh...odd, I'm sure someone will collect him and bring him inside though...no cause for fuss. Right?
The other three Cards were just heading inside when a whirlwind descended, black and thin, as though from nowhere and dumped a little creature in front of them.
Then, vanished.
What...what is it?

Alicia has not lost consciousness and is full of terror and adrenaline...though she is surrounded.
Those long ears make her fairly hard to mistake...a Rabbit!?
Good lord, catch that thing!!! You could all be rich!
Take it inside and discuss what to do...even though the waitstaff seem listless and dull, maybe they're all just tired.
Hide your quarry and get a room...it's time to search your room for eavesdroppers and talk this thing over!))


~Nathalia

[Vyn]

Before Kaden could say anything in response to Kendra's well-made plan other than a cheerful bob of his head, a strange shadow wisped by and a Rabbit landed directly in front of them. All of Kaden's feathers ruffled up in surprise, eyes going wide with interest. As suspected from someone who'd just been transported from who knows where to here via a strange black whirlwind, the little beast was quite terrified but also still very much alert.

Instinct served the predatory bird well. Kaden lunge-hopped forward, wings spread for balance, and aimed to capture the panicked thing in a great big talon. If that failed, he had four more exceptionally quick legs to use and he'd managed to twist himself in the initial pounce that the most logical place for the rabbit to scamper would be straight into Kendra.

Hopefully she would catch on quick and actually grab the creature instead of letting it blast by.

Not that Kaden really had any plan for what they would do after they caught it. He was merely obsessively fascinated by the unusual creatures and was exceptionally excited to see one up close that was not bat-shit-crazy Marchie.

[Harpsdesire]

There was swirling, spinning, wind and darkness, and then there wasn't. Alicia squealed in a somewhat undignified manner as frightening chilly darkness gave way to warmth, light, and a huge, brightly colored bird. Huge creatures on every side of her—cards! Her ears flattened against her back in panic and confusion. Where had the warren gone? Shelby?

Dizzy and confused from her whirlwind arrival, the leveret made a desperate attempt to run, which only resulted in falling on her face as the earth spun around her and a heavy talon captured her with considerable force.

Suddenly feeling ill and helpless as well as dizzy, Alicia struggled weakly in Kaden’s grasp, then made an attempt to turn her head and bite the enveloping claw. Cards had captured her, waiting until a vulnerable moment to prey on her! She should have known that they had been behind the terrible things that were going on in the highlands. She made the small grunt-growl sound of a very angry rabbit and kicked towards her captor with the considerable strength of her back legs.

Kendra leaned in cautiously to examine the small creature. She gaped at it incredulously. She blinked several times, removed her glasses, polished them on her fur, replaced them, and looked again. The same improbable sight as before greeted her. It was larger than a bander, maybe about a young child’s size, and the thing’s long ears were partly hidden by an oddly luxurious mane. ”What in all the realms is that?!?”

Whatever it was, it seemed to be a creature of the highlands, for despite the lack of a rank marking on the creature, it was distinctly patterned in the gold and red of the realm. It also had longish gnawing teeth like a rodent, a small fluff of tail, big back feet and the ears of… maybe a donkey?

The corvie backed away from the struggling leveret. ”This day is just too weird.” She glared at Alicia, bringer of further weirdness, and felt her temper rising, ”Stop squirming around! We’re just trying to get a look at you!”

[Vyn]

Aha! Victory for the impulsive! Kaden's sudden assault on the obviously disoriented rabbit was quite successful and he quickly trapped the small creature beneath a large talon. It tried viciously to snap at him, but the brass knuckles provided a wonderful safety net between gnashing teeth and tender toes. He'd already lost one today, he didn't intend to lose another.

"It'd appear to be one of those fabled Rabbits." His feathers ruffled with pure excitement and he cast a quick wary glance around. It was then that he finally noticed the Yarrow horse had passed out. Uh... huh... He arched a brow, scanned further as Kendra examined the squirmy rabbit. Where had that other lady gone. Jordan? Weren't they companions? He shifted his weight suddenly, four long spider-like limbs expanding to support his weight while the rabbit was not securely grasped between both strong talons. "We should go somewhere private to get a better look at it, don't want anyone else seein' this... And, uhm, did you see where that Jordan lady went? Her friend seems to have passed out at by the door."

Should they go on without her? Kaden couldn't carry both and he was a little wary of passing the snippy creature to Kendra lest it bite her or escape. "Yo, Rabbit. Ya got a name?" Did it speak common like Marchie? Or did Rabbits do their own thing? It was terribly hard to tell. "Think you can restrain it, Kendra? I can help Ms. Brandy inside..." He glanced around again, truly taking in the strange solitude they had acquired. Where were all the staff? "Or we can leave 'er to Jordan, I suppose, and keep our rarity to ourselves."

[carcinoGeneticist]

"Goddamn,[/b]" Jordan muttered, under her breath. The place was dead, by the looks of things. That was just peaches and cream, wasn't it? Shaking her head and muttering curses under her breath, she turned to go back towards where the others would likely be. "Hey, Brandy? Watchoo tink o' dis? Not a soul in de place, maybe we should --[/b]"

The words ended, mid-sentence, as soon as she stepped outside.

Brandy was collapsed in a heap by the door, and her other traveling companions were wrestling with something small and Highland-marked. "What de hell is goan' on out here?![/b]" She exclaimed, fur raising along her back as she hurried towards the pair. It looked like the pair of them had captured a child, and that just didn't seem right at all! "You better let dat baby go, or it's mamma is gonna be right pissed at us, an--[/b]"

For the second time in less than a minute, words failed Jordan. As she got closer to the hubbub, it became obvious that what they'd captured was by no means a child. She went pale, muttering some quiet prayers under her breath. "Suits be crazy, dat's... Not possible.[/b]"