T - Gobbo, Satra, Bee, Lauryn

[Nathalia]

Up the stairs, should they all choose to go, they will find themselves in what looks to be a very small, cozy room.
That appears to have been abandoned in a hurry!
Looks like the previous owner didn't go down without a fight, though; there are bits of leaf and vine material scattered around, as well as the same odd, greenish mess that leaked from the vines binding Ger's paws.
Blood is scattered around the room too, and there's a rather large, singed hole in the wall burned all the way through to the brick backing.
Looks like the Card attacked fought back hard.

A window, letting in a dull grey light, is on the opposite side of the room. The glass has been smashed out and a tiny table with a dented drawer knocked over under the sill.
The air floating in from outside is chilly and the fog seems to be creeping in.
The street below can't be seen from up here.
Eugh, hope the previous owner made it out alive...
There's a locked closet and a small pile of books in the corner, as well as a chemistry set tucked in the corner. Search around, perhaps there's something to find.

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

Geronimo cowered when the large Adult came back towards him. He'd been the one with the very sharp weapon. He stared into the eyes of the Avian and felt fear tickling his insides, for to the young kid all Adults were Monsters and Not To Be Trusted kinds of people, just like his Father. The only person he could trust and ever felt comfortable around was his half-sister, Shoshanna. She too had suffered at the hands of the horrible Corvie.

But.... this wasn't a Corvie before him. And for some strange reason, be it the timbre of the man's voice or something else entirely, Geronimo actually found himself listening to the grown up.
Still doing what we need to do...
Wasn't that what Geronimo had been doing all along, for the sake of his sister? He'd been scared plenty times (especially during the Bad Times not too long ago), but he'd kept going. Determined to get her safe he'd been willing to fight off anyone or anything. Suits, but he missed her!

He watched as the man stood back up and went towards the area where the crash had come from. Ger was surprised to feel a sense of disappointment at his departure, but before he could try to analyze those weird feelings the man was speaking to him again.

There was something, valiant about this man (though Geronimo didn't exactly know the word just then). Much to his own shock, the KittenPup nodded and walked as close to the man as his nerves would allow. Even though he guessed there was something about Amherst he seemed to like, that still didn't mean he really trusted him. Ger didn't go directly under his wing, but looked at him with brave eyes as they walked to the stairs behind the door. They lead up, and that was always a good direction to go.

He followed Amherst until they both came into the small and thankfully abandoned room. But then what had made the crashing noise? His eyes widened as he looked to the ground and found bits of foliage and green sludge smeared about. Gently padding over to them, he realized they were the same kind of plant and substance growing out from his paws! Maybe whoever had been here before knew what was going on with him...

But there was no one around. Both a blessing, and a curse. Geronimo spied the open window and immediately felt fear. What if the crash meant something had broken inside?! Was it with them now, hiding and waiting for a chance to attack? His inside began to shake as fear once again gripped hold of him.

The young kid made his way back to Amherst's side, a little closer than before. He pointed an injured paw at the broken window, cringing as moving the limb that much caused a lot of pain.

"Something could have gotten in," he said softly, still roaming his eyes over the room. At the site of the Chemistry Set in a corner, his heart skipped a beat. He was inclined to hate anything of a scientific nature.

And what was that metallic, coppery smell? Geronimo forced himself once more from the Avian's side to look about the hopefully vacant room. Stearing clear of the science stuff, he made his way over to a pile of books haphazardly strewn about in a corner. Maybe something here was of use?

"There are some books over here, if you wanna take a look," he said to Amherst, calling him over as a way to avoid discussing his lack of reading skills.

[Bee]

The room was a masterpiece all on its own, in a curious way, like the aftermath of a quiet tornado, sparsely with blood and vines and leaves, coated with a thin and cold fog seeping through the window. The detritus of a diminutive disaster. It flowed logically from the red-blue leveret's vine infestation, but it still felt less real. She might have quite the tale to tell to her fellow Does when she saw them again, if ever she did; not only did she infiltrate the Card world and make a purchase, the joined a roving band of heroes led by the great Card warrior Amguardherst into the heart of a dreamy disaster land...

Except now it was reading time? She wondered what kinds of stories Cards told each other. She kept her ears alert underneath their scarfy confines, padding over to the man and his freed squire. There was a set of tubes and things, vials of little chemicals, almost toylike. The trappings of Science, of which she knew very little. She picked one of the little tubes up and stared into its blue, bubbly innards. Like an ocean, or her own erstwhile lakes...

"Yes," she mumbled. "Spin us a tale of the sea."

[Old Gobbo]

Amherst crept toward the window and peered out. "It looks like whoever did those things to you is no longer here." The fog was slowly creeping in, and so Amherst did not want to spend too much time near it. He picked up a piece of glass with some blood on it along with a few pieces of vine. Perhaps he could find a Corvie when this was all over that could help him learn more from such things. Perhaps one that child knew. Was his name Joel? Yes, that was it.

He turned back towards the child with the vines and walked towards where he was indicating, and ignoring the weird non-identifiable card for now. He assumed that she must be on some sort of Corvie drug. There were some books here and Amherst went to read their spines, hoping they were not too blood-covered to see. "My name is Amherst," he told the child. "What's yours?"

[Satra]

Victor smiled when Amherst comforted the child. What fortune to be teamed up with a good person! Called Kirby to follow as they all went into the next room. The sight that greeted them made Victor's fur stand on end. A fairly violent sight for all that it was only the aftermath. He swallowed, really hoping they wouldn't have to fight like this...

Victor took a quick look over the books, but decided to examine the chemistry set as the other three were already looking through the books. Would they find anything other than debris and shredded fragments of plant matter? Victor pulled his glasses out of his vest pocket and put them on then proceeded to look around the room, eventually making his way over to the chemistry set. He pretended the lady didn't say anything. Honestly, she was starting to make him a little nervous.

Hmm, maybe he should have taken a look at the books instead. He knew books better than he did chemistry. He looked first, looking for broken glass or mystery chemicals. He'd rather not touch it if it had either of those.

[Nathalia]

Ger's inspection of the books, led him to find an odd little scrap of paper...shame he can't read, sticking out of one of the cover inserts. The ink on it seems...fresher than it should be, and a little smeared.
Tripsei, meanwhile, seems to have found something magical. The test tube tingles lightly in her paw as she held it.

Tube of Light: This magical little potion will allow the SD or Rabbit that drinks it to see in the dark, just like a Spade, but with color, whenever they like! It also takes away that horribly annoying headache hangover they get. How wonderful! Finding spells other Suits have naturally is a wonderfully rare thing! I wonder what it would do if given to one who is already a Spade?...

Amherst was able to see the scrap in Ger's paw! It reads: Tell the Master I am unable to proceed, pick up three pounds of beef, find Gus and ask if the ratio can't be increased.
The rest appears smudged out. Darn.
The book titles appear to all relate to plants in some way...odd, that.

Victor's inspection found him a small, secret drawer under the table!
In it was a small key, silver, with a tag tied to it, reading in case, in the same smudged ink as Ger's note. Kirby can tell...

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

((Sorry it's taken so long to respond!!))

Geronimo watched, confused as all heck, when the odd looking Card picked up one of the filled vials and said something softly about the sea. A little odd, that one. But at Amherst declaration of solitude for the group, Ger felt a little bit of his innards untwist and breathing seemed easier, if just slightly. His Blobby companion wobbled gracelessly next to him, seeming in a chipper mood; all fear forgotten at the discovery of it's... brother? It nuzzled against the kid's side, offering comfort and leaving an oily residue behind on his fur.

He moved backwards just a couple steps when the older Card approached him. Years of detesting other Cards, save for his sister, had instilled within him mannerisms which wouldn't be soon forgotten. But there was still that nagging sensation. It almost felt as though he liked this man. Maybe whoever had tied him up and put these plant things inside of him had messed with his brain as well.

"I'm Geronimo," he answered softly, seeing no harm in telling his name. The man couldn't hurt him with only his name as information.

Looking back down at the books Ger spied a piece of paper sticking out from the rest of the book. Thinking it didn't seem to belong, he snatched the paper up and held it up to Amherst. He hoped it was something Important. He'd like for once to be the one to find something Important!

When the older card took the note, Geronimo listened as he read it aloud. Master, beef, ratio, Gus? That meant absolutely nothing to the young kid. Sighing, he looked down at the stack of books the note had come from.

"What are these even about, anyway?" It was a question close enough to admitting he couldn't read, but Geronimo was more curious than anything. Absently the KittenPup itched at the vines coming from his paws. They certainly felt weird. Like, he could feel them as though they were really part of his paws. That wasn't right, was it?

"Do they maybe say how to get this stuff out of me?" he asked hopefully.

[Bee]

Tripsei wheeled the little vial along her paws, enjoying the warm tingly feeling it emitted. Science was so palpable it was almost like magic, how very strange; she was going to hold onto this; it was very comforting.

She waited and waited for her new friends to tell her a story but nothing happened; she was roundly ignored. They did not appear interested in fantasy, only the child. Disappointment rolled over her like high tide. A story might have made the little leveret-thing happy too. She felt adrift.

"You're the sea," she murmured at the little vial, and then, more happily: "I've caught you!"

She glanced at the books the vine-child was indicating. She was surprised to see she recognized the text. Cards writing in Common as well as speaking it! She guessed that was why it was called Common. Still, so very odd, for both their societies to be connected by a shared language. Maybe they weren't so different after all aside from being entirely unalike in nearly every way.

"Plants!" she told the leveret-thing. "They are all about plants...you are all about plants...I think they should be yours."

[Old Gobbo]

((Sorry for the long post, it might be the only one I have for a while.))

The female Card was right, Amherst decided. "That's right, Geronimo. The books are yours now. When this is all over and we find a way out of here, I will escort you down to Corvistowne where we can find a man who can interpret these books and help you get rid of those vines. This I swear."

He turned to the crazy Card to his left. She was odd, there was no doubt about it, but she seemed sincere, even good. The words to Geronimo were a kindness, and kindness was becoming a rare thing in the world. He owed her more. "I have no tales of the sea, only tales of justice and war and righteous fury. But, when this day is done and we all are safe, let us go and share a drink and share stories. You can tell me one of the sea, so I will have one when needed. This I swear."

Amherst stood and turned back to the first Card he'd met in this mess, making sure to avoid the blob thing that followed him. "It is a hard thing, to experience similar worries so soon after the Day of Woe, especially with your markings. So, this I swear to you, this Lowlander will make it through to see another day."

The note mentioned something of a Master. Who he was, Amherst didn't know, but he would find out. But that was his secondary concern. His primary concern were the Cards in front of him. "Three vows have I made today, one for each of you. Thrice given and done. Today, we find a way out. No one falls. No one falters. I will see all of you home."

And, with that, a tingle began around Amherst, a warmth. And he felt taller all of a sudden. No, he was getting taller and he felt stronger. His hand grasped his halberd tighter, confused as to what was going on. Wait, his hand? Not his wing? Amherst looked down. Thrice given and done, indeed. The gods had heard his vows and given him the strength to carry them out. He stood tall in his bipedal form, a dark ten gracing his chest now.

[Lauryn de Vampyre]

Geronimo crinkled his little nose at the strange woman, "I'm not all about plants!" Though of course, they did seem to be coming out of him right now. And the young one did have a certain feeling that whatever they were, they were part of him now.

"M-my... books?" He had never owned anything before. Never has anything to call his, except for Shoshanna. The thought appealed to him greatly, but what would he do with books? He couldn't understand any of the scribble on the pages. "No, they aren't mine," he said dejectedly and hung his head. Nothing was ever his.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, and to chase back the sadness, he opened his eyes to the sight of the greenery coming out of his paws. He could even see now where the vine seemed to come right from the skin underneath the fur. These... were part of him now? How could something like this happen?!

Feeling anger, terror and frustration well up inside of him, it was finally obvious to him what had happened. It was experiments. The young lad's body began to shiver and shake with the effort of just remaining upright. Gojirra, or someone just like him, had captured him and begun the experimenting all over again.

"I can't go through it again, I can't!" he wailed, backing up from the group. And it was just then that Amherst's miraculous Form Change had taken place. To everyone else it was a sign that the good and righteous were on his side, supporting his speech. To a frightened child, it appeared as though the villian had finally taken off his hero mask and revealed the true evil underneath.

"I WON'T!" he bellowed. It had been him who did this? Was all the kindness a lie, a laugh at his expense?! The Avian now towered over him, and Geronimo could see no other explanation.

"Get away from me!" he shrieked. "You did this to me! THAT is why you want to take me back to Corvistowne! You want to keep experimenting on me. I won't LET YOU!" he shouted, scrambling backwards. Finally he turned around and bolted for the open door. Geronimo slammed into the wall in the hallway as he tried to recover his balance, but ended up falling down the flight of stairs back into the room they began in.

His head hit the hard wooden floor with a deep thunk. The fall had dazed Geronimo, knocking the wind out of him. He couldn't find air to breathe; couldn't make his lungs expand. He was going to die!!

((o.O;; I seriously didn't write this. Geronimo did.
WHY IS IT THAT ALL MY CHARACTERS COME ALIVE RIGHT AFTER I DECIDE TO KILL THEM?? D: ))