T - Harps, Lucca, Callypso, Lauryn

[Nathalia]

Kendra seems to have managed to locate a heavy purse...it contained some loosed change (13 unassigned p) and an odd collection of tiny plastic leaves.
Four of them.
What on earth could they be for?
Meanwhile, Felix and Iso gazed out into the hall, and saw the strangest thing...
A boy, no, a man? A young person, an odd little mix, wobbling his way down the hallway outside, completely unaccompanied.
The hallway looks just as plush as the room, the walls lined with portraits of handsomely dressed Cards and little spindly tables, the kinds that contained little dishes of fine mints or pots of dried lavender.

Bristol had awakened about 10 minutes ago, two rooms down.
He'd found himself on an incredibly luxurious bed, all alone and frightened; remembering being chased down the foggy streets of the Capital by some unknown danger.
He'd leaped up and begun searching for someone, anyone, before he could think properly.

[Harpsdesire]

"'M fine, mom." Kendra said, although she seemed grateful for the attention. Any sign that Iso continued to recognize her as a daughter was met with relief and reciprocal adoration, even that which other teens Kendra's age might find embarrassing. "I don't think it was a curse, actually... I can use it to learn things. It's a bit nice."

As much as Kendra shared Iaso's mistrust of magic, she did not also have her mother's dislike of it. As the result of the portrait hadn't been harmful, she was pleased by the find. It seemed Felix had gotten something from under the other bed, too-- and also whacked his head. It was hard looking under beds with horns. Hmm, curious that all three cards in the room had them, even though not one was a species that customarily carried horns. Probably meaningless, but interesting, she thought as she picked up the jewelry box Felix had mentioned.

He was correct about its location, but not its weight-- made of a thin wood veneer, it was light in her paws. She shook it and heard a faint rattle inside, but the box seemed to be locked, or possibly just stuck. Maybe she should try to force it? It would be an ideal place to hide an extra key to the room! The girl called out to her mother, "Hey, the key could be in here.", and was about to bring the box to Iso when she spotted a curious handbag, previously hidden behind the jewelry chest. Obviously long disused, it had nothing inside besides a few dusty coppers and some fake leaves. It was, however, an excellent way to store the photo and the silky clothing she had previously found.

It was about the time that she was stuffing her finds into the bag when it occur ed to her that it was at best terrible manners to be making off with the trinkets in the guest room-- but with typical teenage (lack of) logic she comforted herself that whoever was holding them hostage, no matter how tasty his pancakes, was the enemy and therefore she was justified. Also he had more money than all the families in the outer bazaar, and was not likely to miss an old purse and some plastic foliage. Thus she soothed her guilty conscience.

With the purse over her shoulder and jewelry box still in paw, she came up behind her mother and Felix, ready for her turn to get a glimpse into the hallway.

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

Bristol had awakened in such fear from being chased down the streets of the Capitol, that after even 10 minutes his full faculties still hadn't completely returned to him. The Mix hadn't seemed to notice the plush bed he'd been laying on, nor the luxurious room which he wobbled out of into the hallway. Looking left, then right, he saw no one and pushed his way outwards.

His clawed paws were heavy and blocky beneath him and he was having a hard time keeping his balance. A couple of times he nearly knocked over one or two of those decorative tables. After bumping one, a bowl of potpourri overturned and rained little bits of dried flora all over his back. Well, at least they smelled good, he thought absently and continued his way down the hallway.

He stopped abruptly when the sound of hushed voices came from somewhere not too far ahead. Heart pounding in his chest he looked around for somewhere, anywhere to hide. There were many paintings of rich looking people on the walls, but no nooks or crannies. Only a wide variety of lavish doors. Creeping forward slowly, he stopped when his eyes caught a glance of something on the floor.

Bending his head closer to the carpet to inspect it, he realized it was half of a door handle. Looking to his left, sure enough, was a door sans a handle. There was a hole, but it looked darker than it should be. Squinting, Bristol inched closer until he finally realized he was looking at eyeballs staring out at him!!!!

Letting out an undignified and unmanly yelp, he backed up quickly and knocked into yet another decorative table. He looked up just in time to see a crystal vase come falling down. Bracing for impact he squeezed his eyes shut as tight as they could be; it wouldn't do to go blind from such an accident.

He felt a hard thump against his horns, and cautiously peeked up. The vase had landed, unbroken, on his pair of antlers. Breathing a sigh of relief, he lowered his head to the ground and let the crystal piece roll a small distance away on the floor.

Remembering the creepy eyes from the peephole he turned his head to look again. They were still there, but this time he seemed to be able to see more than just eyeballs. Perhaps....were there....?

"Uh, hello in there?" he called out.

[Callypso]

The numerous grunts and thumps caused Iso to turn away from the door for a moment to find the bulky porcupine rummaging fitfully under one of the beds. Not wanting to cause further grievance, she managed to suppress the sigh that threatened to escape.

Mayhap leave that investigation to Kendra or myself? We needn’t cause any unnecessary injuries to ourselves. She blinked. However he had managed to squeeze himself underneath those frames was beyond her.

When everyone assured her their afflictions were minor, Iso continued to poke at the deadbolt. She had thought about jamming the knife up into the mechanism with the paperweight, but now it seemed unlikely to have any effect, other than perhaps snapping the silverware and sending it careening across the room. That would not be particularly helpful.

Never mind about that weight, dear.

The Spade was perhaps not the most affectionate of mothers; her patience often ran thin in light of a litter of squalling babies. She oftentimes felt guilty for Kendra’s condition, though the nature of her magical birth had been out of her control. She thought it must be sad, sometimes, for her adolescent daughter to have memories of things that would never happen. The girl had essentially grown up without her littermates, and so Iso would attempt to include her in things she might not have otherwise, and try, in her awkward way, to make sure the girl felt loved and welcomed. It was difficult, being a new mother of infants and a blossoming young woman all at once.

The Corvie made room for the Selkie, pointedly ignoring his remark about niceties. While she might have felt ill at ease for terrorizing the serving girl, perhaps their “host” would reconsider confining people against their will.

As she put her eye to the space in the doorway, Iso drew in a sharp breath. There was a peculiar looking Card walked dazedly down the hallway. Though she wasn’t one to gamble, the ferret was sure his disorientation meant he wasn’t a member of the manor’s household. He looked positively perplexed as he ambled somewhat drunkenly down the hall. This was an opportunity they did not want to miss!

Sir!, she hissed urgently through the door’s gap, Pardon me, sir! Would you mind assisting us? We’ve been secured against our will – would you mind lifting the deadbolt, please?

She grimaced. Their appearance at the doorway seemed to frighten the fellow, and he went tumbling backwards with a yelp.

Quiet, please! Chrissie may have been blind, but she was not hard of hearing, and Iso was unsure of her location. Sorry to frighten you, only please let us out!

[Lucca]

Felix had expected the lavish hallway, the random tables with little bowls and expensive vases on them, and the many frames lining the walls. What he definitely hadn't expected was to see a small, odd-looking Card stumbling around as though drunk and bumping into things. He blinked, trying to push even closer to the hole for a better look. His fur was a lovely shade of purple, and were those...what were on his sides? Of course, then the kid hit something with a louder thump than before, and an unhappy noise. Felix watched as a vase landed perfectly on top of the kid's horns. Now that was talent!

Before Felix had gathered his wits enough to say anything, Iso was already bungling yet another meeting by being super demanding. Felix fixed her with his sternest glare, which probably ended up looking more comical than threatening, despite his horns and liberal amount of quills. "He's scared! You need to be a bit more friendly," he hissed in a stage whisper, and then tried to shove her gently out of the way to put his own face closer to the door. He smiled out at the other Card.

"Hello! I'm Felix and my friend here is Iso. Don't mind her, she woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Are you feeling all right, dude?"

[Nathalia]

Just a note to say that, should he try, Bristol could open the door. It is not magically locked; simply a rather heavy deadbolt.

[Harpsdesire]

It was just as well her mother didn't need the weight anymore-- between the jewelry box, the as yet unchecked-under bed the rather more interesting hole in the door, the places to look were getting overwhelming, even for a girl with Kendra's curiosity. Also the box was hard to open. She pried at it carefully with her paws, but they were rather small to get around the smooth wooden object.

When she heard her mother gasp, Kendra gave up the box and instead put more effort into getting a peak over Iaso's shoulder. She had no luck, and made a small unhappy sound as all the action seemed to take place out of view. At least her mother asked whoever it was to let them out.

It seemed Felix thought she didn't ask nicely enough. Kendra covered her mouth with a paw to hide a smile of mixed shock and amusement as the porcupine, a friendly but rather dim sort, it seemed, corrected her mother. That was something the teenager had never seen before!

[Callypso]

Bristling, Iso turned her head slowly to meet Felix’s stern glance with an icy glare of her own. Really. He was chastising her. For being rude. REALLY.

There is a time and place for courtesies, and being imprisoned in a strange manor house is not one of them. I’m sorry if I am coming off as brusque, Mister Felix, but the last time I was in a similar position the Jossigies were waging war on the Lowlanders and the Selkies were dropping like flies. We have no conclusive evidence as to what is actually happening and I don’t know what has become of the rest of my family. So please excuse me if I seem a LITTLE ON EDGE.

She had not quite raised her voice enough to have been accused of “yelling”, however, by the time she concluded her thought her voice had risen several octaves and her nose was inches from the man’s face. The ink along her backside had erupted in spikes that receded, then jolted outward, then receded, and so on, repeating this horrifying pattern for the next few moments before diminishing into angrily roiling ink waves.

Any other time, Iso would have been appalled by her own behavior, but right now all she could think about was her mate, her litter and her dearest Auntie Polina. Not only was she fearing for her kin, but she couldn't quite abate the strong desire to throttle the so-called Master Mellowthorpe and let him know EXACTLY what she thought of his daring deeds. Bah!

The woman continued to stare into the Selkie’s eyes for a few uncomfortable seconds. Finally, she released a huff of hot air through her nostrils, then turned back to the door to once again address the young man. Her voice had returned to normal, and by every appearance – save for her undulating inky back – seemed unfettered by her little outburst.

I’m terribly sorry to have frightened you in any way, but we do need your help. I noticed you seemed off-balance. My name is Dr. Iaso Price, Iso if you please, and I would be happy to examine you for any possible irregularities. Felix and I are joined by my daughter, Kendra. We would very much like to be released, if you would be so kind.

[Lucca]

Well...well. That was...quite the reaction. Felix could only stare, wide-eyed, as Iso went off on him completely. He thought that was rather ironic, considering what it was he had been trying to say to her! And he had been nice about it! But...his ears went back as she mentioned...that. And it was for that reason that he didn't have an immediate answer. He stared back into her eyes, his own golden ones tearing up a little, as he thought about the parents he would never see again. Dead, lost to that horrible, horrible disease. And Iso just wanted to be sure something similar wasn't going to happen to her family. His eyes followed the weird inky stuff on her back as it rose up in spikes almost like his own.

Finally, he raised his paws in surrender, backing up a few steps. "Okay, okay. Chill out." His voice was a little bit shakier than it had been, though this was more from the tears threatening in his eyes than any sort of fear. "I know you're worried about your family. I get that. But that guy probably has a family too, y'know? And I'm sure they're just as worried about him." He was relieved when Iso used a much calmer voice the next time she spoke to the newcomer. He backed up a bit from the door and gestured to Kendra, so she could come and see what was going on, if she wanted. Besides, he needed...a moment. He scrubbed at the back of his eyes with a paw and swallowed against the lump in his throat.

[Harpsdesire]

Kendra's eyes went wide as her mother's voice went tense, loud and icy and the ink on her back rose in threatening spikes. It was rare to see the usually detached ferret so outwardly angry, and her daughter responded with something akin to fear, although she herself could not say if it was in fact her mother's ire that she was afraid of, or if the situation merely underscored her concern for the rest of her family.

Kendra was uncommonly devoted to the little brothers and sisters that she remembered growing up with, and willingly tended to them, played on the floor with them, and otherwise tried to recapture the childhood she had mysteriously lost. The fact that her mother admitted to worrying validated and amplified her own concern.

On the other hand, she had almost made Felix cry, it seemed, and that was a little mean. She would have liked to offer him a hug, had he not been so spiny, and if that wouldn't have seemed disloyal to her mother. She glanced from Iso to the porcupine with lips pursed tensely, unwilling to appear to take sides. Felix had wisely backed down, but Kendra was almost to stressed to be curious any longer about the hole in the door. Almost. Soon she saw that Iaso had calmed herself and turned back to the keyhole and the stranger, so she gave Felix a sympathetic smile and bumped a paw against one of his in a companionable manner as she went to take a look. He was a nice guy. Even dumber than she had assumed, if thought it was a good idea to sass her mother, but nice.

The hall looked much as she had expected, which was a let-down, but the other card did not. He had antlers on a sort of mustilid-shaped body, and was covered with wild colors which made her crinkle her nose in thought. He didn't appear to be of any particular realm or mix she had seen before. How curious. That required further study. He had antlers, too, which were kind of like horns, and close enough that it maintained the theme Kendra had previously noticed among the unwilling 'guests' of the manner.