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Post by Kari Muffin on Feb 18, 2011 1:09:46 GMT -5
Heike was throughly distracted by the dried out arm. It was utterly amazing that it could work at all for the strange monster. He carefully sniffed it, and promptly sneezed. Dust, mold, and other unpleasant things. Guh. Maybe he could find a few tools down here to properly inspect it. He had found a candelabrum that tingled. And the cards probably wouldn't miss some of the things in the basement.
Oblivious to his sister's actions he searched a different section of the basement. He slipped open one of the unlabled boxes. It was filled with seemed to be knick-knacks made of various breakable materials, newspapers as packing material, and something to looked like it was a the handle of a Spade. He wrinkled his nose. There were a lot of boxes and several of them were unlabeled. Was the arm really worth the trouble of searching for a magnifying glass and writing implements to take down his observations?
Horatio froze when he caught sight of the strange fluffy monster that had spoken to him earlier. She seemed nicer than the big one and the cat thing, but he honestly expected her to attack. Instead she made a comment towards him, a mildly confusing one.
So he wasn't the only one who had no idea where he was? The monsters didn't either? He swallowed a bit before answering her quietly. Slowly he slipped down one of the stairs so he could potentially get a better look at her. "Hi... I um... I don't know what's going on at all. I just woke up here and the strange cat monster appeared and so did you. Y...you're not going to try to eat me or anything?"
That seemed like a stupid question at this point, but he just wanted to hear the answer.
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Post by Vyn on Feb 18, 2011 1:46:56 GMT -5
Nadja paused for a moment in her searching and tried her very hardest to stifle a giggle. Eat him? Her little wings fluttered a bit in protest of the very idea and she shook her head adamantly. "No, no... We wouldn't dream of eating you! If it was up to us we'd stay away from Cards entirely." She glanced back briefly to be sure Heike was still distracted. She turned back to the card and blinked in surprise when she realized he'd come down further to talk. She smiled but it was sad, uncertain. "Honestly, we were just here to find my niece but that didn't end well..." Nadja shivered and her face clearly explained the words she could not bring herself to say.
To fend off the distress, Nadja quickly busied her paws with searching the shelf. A beautiful wooden box opened to reveal a collection of decorative combs, and she lifted one up to examine it briefly. It was covered in dark colors, blacks and purples, and beautiful patterns... orchids? and Spades. That's right, because this place apparently belonged to the Spade-marked Cards. How egotistical.
She changed the subject as she moved to the next box (full of make up, apparently). "I'm Nadja, by the way." Just then she found what she was looking for. A small pile of towels had apparently been jerked out hastily earlier in the day and had fallen over the small white and red box she'd been seeking. Wonderful! She broke into a bright smile and yanked it free only to cause the remaining clothes to topple off onto the floor.
The fluttered down with a ... clink? The leveret made an odd face, setting the box back down to sort through the cloths and locate the strange metallic source. A locket? How unusual. She picked it up, spinning it lightly on it's long chain. How beautiful... Had someone hidden it here?
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Post by Kari Muffin on Feb 18, 2011 12:38:32 GMT -5
Horatio took to playing with the strange foot that had been thrown at him. It seemed to be magical, considering he had a faint notion of magic in the back of his mind. He quietly waited for the strange creature to respond. So it wasn't a Card and it wasn't going to eat him? It--she really--seemed sweet enough that she meant it.
He slid down another stair to get a clear look of what she was doing. Going through things, what was she looking for. "I'm sorry about your niece," he said after a moment. He glanced around to see the other massive monster in the background. What were these things exactly? At least the big one didn't seem to notice him. "Um... it's nice to meet you Nadja. My name is Horatio. W-what are you exactly?"
Heike sighed as he riffled through more boxes. He found a boxes filled with old portrait photos of various Cards--who he could only speculate that they were important if they actually had photographs--some broken toys, bedding materials, pieces of something that could have been a wine rack, and materials that seemed to be used for iron working. He had all but forgotten about Zuli, and simply assumed that his sister would be doing the right thing. The shuffling he was doing drowned out the voices of the penguin and his sibling.
It took a few more boxes of odds and ends for him to find some paper in the form of an old journal, and an ink well that wasn't completely dried out. He flipped open to a blank page so he could properly sketch the arm and write down his observations. Then he could focus on actually escaping this nightmare.
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Post by Nathalia on Feb 18, 2011 22:34:22 GMT -5
((Wow, looks like this little group has turned up a few things.))
Spades Ring: Oh! This seems to have fallen out of that jug Heike picked up! It tingles magically when picked up...huh, wonder what it does. This ring can be placed on or pawned off at a later date.
Caution, using this item has the possibility of changing one or two things about the wearer's appearance!
Spade Marked Combs: What a great gift to give to some Does! Perfect for holidays, these little combs tingle slightly when touched. Lovely oak things, in dark colors; blacks and purples, and beautiful patterns of orchids and Spades. There are three of them and each will grant a small power when gifted...and a small curse...hmmm, maybe it would be better to back-handedly gift these than to give them to close friends...
~Nathalia
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Post by Vyn on Feb 19, 2011 0:11:26 GMT -5
The more she looked at those combs the more they struck her as lovely and, in fact, something she could see going quite nicely with Rhosyn's personal taste... Maybe it wouldn't hurt to bring them along? She tucked the dainty set of combs into her bag.
The card really didn't seem so bad. In fact, he seemed just as nervous and uncertain about this little attempt at conversation as she was. She edged closer during her search until she was on the side of the shelf closest to the stairs and finally paused in her search to acknowledge him directly. She smiled very faintly and held out a paw. This was all very strange but it didn't seem to be wrong, either. Horatio, as he'd introduced himself, seemed very nice.
"It's nice to meet you." She would shake his wing if offered and then return to her search. "I'm a Rabbit." She supplied easily before hesitating and looking at her long, fluffy tail. It was still hard to accept that it was hers but it probably explained why he couldn't quite tell what she was. Or maybe Cards just didn't know what Rabbits looked like? They always seemed to have really strange notions about them... Such weird creatures. "That's Heike back there, my brother. He's uhm... Like your Queens?" That was how Heike described it, she was fairly certain.
It wasn't much longer after that that Nadja managed to fumble the towels. She toyed with the locket a bit but, when she couldn't get it open, she delicately tucked it back into the towels. Hopefully it would make up for taking the combs. She gathered up the first aid kit and one of the towels.
"So uhm... Another one of my friends is hurt and I need to bandage her..." She trailed off for a moment, an unsettled look crossing through her eyes. Was he... holding... her foot? The rabbit swallowed awkwardly and forcibly looked away. "So uhm, would you like to stay? I wouldn't usually hang around a Card like this, but... seems safer? With that... y'know, corpse thing on the loose?"
Nadja was obviously nervous about her request but it honestly seemed like the best thing to do and, really, asking couldn't hurt.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Feb 19, 2011 1:37:38 GMT -5
The penguin offered his stubby appendage to the young lady and gave her a proper shake. "I wish we met under better circumstances," he said with a small laugh. As he drew back she said what she actually was.
So that meant he was holding a rabbit's foot didn't it? Not to mention the fact that he was talking to a rabbit and holding another's foot. And rabbits were real... and... oh suits, this must have been some stoned delusion. Had someone slipped crack into his drink at the bar?
He silently watched the female rabbit go about her business and explain things. So her brother was like a Queen... which meant he had every reason to be terrified of him. Good to know. The penguin continued to fiddle with the object that had been thrown at him, periodically looking up the stairs. Dust? The cat monster had left dust behind... maybe he should go up the stairs and lock the door? He poked at a bit of the strange red powder, what was this exactly?
She was still talking to him. Right. "Ah... well, you do that and I'll stay over here, okay? I don't want to scare your brother or anything. He didn't... like me before. I don't think that's going to change. And if you haven't figured it out yet I'm not... that powerful." He whispered the last bit as he took another step down, trying to be careful of his binding.
Once he was at the bottom he slowly investigated the various boxes. There seemed to be an awful lot of Spade decorations. Perhaps they were in the palace of Spades? But that... that didn't make much sense did it? He poked at one of the boxes as a small ball rolled out to bump up next to him. Well, this was totally a place for storage.
---
Heike blinked a few times as he watched the ring hit the floor. He picked it up for a moment, turning it over in his hands with a small smile. Well, he'd keep this for all the trouble. He slipped it in his pocket and went back to making a furious set of notes.
When he was finished to his satisfaction he wandered back over to where his sister was, fixing up Zuli. Apparently he hadn't taken that long to look around. He set the arm on one of the boxes, and inspected the fallen leveret with distaste. "We should get going before anything finds us."
He glanced towards the stairs, freezing when he noticed the penguin. It was still here.
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Post by Vyn on Feb 19, 2011 22:43:13 GMT -5
Nadja agreed fully with Horatio. If only. But, honestly, it would've never happened. In a better circumstance, Nadja would've turned tail and run to the safety of her brother upon running into a Card. It was sad, but it was the way of Rabbits and Cards. Still, at least something good had come of all this.
A strange new friend, at very least.
His response made sense and she nodded. "I think that's probably best. I'll talk to Heike. Just stay calm and polite, I promise he won't attack unprovoked." She gave him a reassuring smile and quickly hopped over to attend to Zuli. Considering the girl's leg was already taken care of (again, urk!), she didn't have much she needed to do. Apply ointments, bandage simple scrapes, and she was done. It was also just enough time for Heike to finish what he'd been focused on doing.
The small leveret nodded to her brother and opened her mouth to begin explaining Horatio's presence when she saw him freeze in place. Oh dear, he'd noticed him. Her little wings fluttered somewhat nervously and she placed a paw on his leg. "I, uhm... His name is Horatio. I think he'd be willing to help us out, if we give him a chance." She offered meekly, almost as if aware of her brother's thoughts. "I can check, if we need to be sure?" Heike was the only one who knew Nadja's secret and, as such, he knew that she preferred to keep save her tiny gift unless absolutely necessary, but for Heike's peace of mind she would happily use it now.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Feb 19, 2011 23:10:37 GMT -5
Horatio nodded quietly at the strange Rabbit creature. He remained fairly close to the stairs, poking the ball with a foot, still fondling the rabbit's foot. He probably should put it down, but he honestly didn't want to at this point. It was kind of like having a stuffed animal that made this entire thing a bit more bearable.
He glanced over to the pair of rabbits. The massive creature was staring at him. He swallowed hard and did his best to look pathetic. He was just a harmless, flightless, bird. He couldn't do any damage.
--
The rabbit didn't take his eyes off of the Card as his sibling spoke. Horatio? At least it had a proper name, he supposed. Of course the strange bird could easily be hiding a good deal of magic. The Undead Cat hadn't attacked him... why was that? His face twisted into a frown after his sister was finished speaking.
"No, don't check," He said with a sigh. His sister was far too trusting, but it hadn't tried to hurt her, thank the White Rabbit. He ran his fingers through his mane as he tried to calm down. His ears started twitching hover. It sounded like a door had opened. What if the cat thing was back? What if it had brought reinforcements? (17 for hearing)
"We're going now, Nadja, before more Cards show up," he whispered as he motioned for his sister to go out the way they had come in.
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Post by Nathalia on Feb 20, 2011 0:35:08 GMT -5
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