K. Solomon's Bookstore & Cafe - Under New Management - Open

Weather Report: Cool autumn winds blow multi-colored leaves and the smell of apples and pumpkin spice down the streets of Durem.

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Total Votes:			[ 22 ]

[Queen Quiddie]

Hero
Jezebel Herodias Kimhi

Appearance: [x]
The Dogs: [x]
__________________________________________

A worn out blue and white station wagon pulled up in front of King Solomon's Mind, the engine dying as the driving climbed out of the car. It must've been bizarre to see Hero driving to the shop, since she only lived a couple of streets over and tended to simply walk to the shop. The girl, however, was coming from the new brewery just outside of Durem, rather than home.

Hero walked into the building, slipping off her circle lens sunglasses as she stepped inside. It seemed that the shop was quite dead today, which meant that no one would want her to sell them stuff. Good, she thought with a grin as she rushed up the stairs to the balcony, making her way to the section about Asian Mythology.

The girl slipped a few books from the shelf before picking a particularly soft chair and began flipping through the books in search of some information.

[W H O R C E R Y]

Another guests enters the bookstore shortly after Hero - an elderly lady, one that looks to be well into her 70s and, after a brief moment of scanning the store to get an idea of where to go, hastily (well, as quick as one would expect a lady of her age to move) begins making her way toward the area's library. Her destination would lead her past a set of stairs where she would then stop to take a breather. It would take long before her heavy breaths turned to all out wheezing and coughing though. And with as violent as her huffing and puffing sounds, one could easily gain the impression that perhaps she's having an asthma attack.

[Rawrlicia]

Ellen was having a good day. They had taken a carriage all the way from their quiet hunting lodge home to Durem, a big city with many, many shops and different kinds of people. There were all sorts of new inventions and electrical devices, things the eight year old child was very excitable over.

She skipped along the stone streets with her new doll tucked under her arm, her other hand up and firmly grasping the safe gloved one of her friend Lexi. She was wearing her favorite dress today-it was blue with a pretty white apron, white tights and black Mary Jane shoes that, despite her uncle having just polished them yesterday, were already pretty scuffed up. Her blonde hair was loose down her back, the loose curls adding to her youthful vitality.

Ellen was a darling little girl with light green, almost aquamarine eyes fringed with pretty lashes. Her cheeks were rosy, her spirit high.

Because the BEST part about today was that she was with Alyssa, her older, prettiest, bestest sister in the whole wide kingdoms.

Jingle

Ten year old Alyssa entered the shop, her expression its usual serious, somber one, her sharp green eyes taking the shop in as she held the door open for her little sister and Lexi, their protector. Alyssa was taller than Ellen and dressed in the same old fashioned, Victorian style-a red satin dress with a lacy bertha collar and a large white bow pulling half of her blonde hair up into a ponytail. She wore black and white two toned boots with buttons on the sides, pristine white tights, and white gloves. She held little of Ellen's youthful innocence-looking at the world with an adult's eyes and seeming understanding.

Ellen paused at the door, beaming at the place-and almost immediately taking notice of the elderly woman. Oh no!

Releasing Lexi's hand the small girl hurried over to help. "Are you well mi'lady? Can I assist you?" The child offered sweetly, her brows furrowed in worry, sincere concern in her tone.

EDITED!

[W H O R C E R Y]

The coughing kept the woman from responding immediately but she showed signs of getting better. Somewhat hunched over, her free hand propped against the wall, she shakes her head at the young lady in refusal of help.

"I-it's okay...I just pushed myself a little too hard, is all."

Slowly she pulls away from the wall, now relying solely on the large walking stick in her right hand to support her old bones. She begins to walk away from the young Ellen but turns around before getting too far out of the child's range.

"Little one...are you familiar with this store?"

[Rawrlicia]

The eight year old girl curtsied in response, still looking rather concerned-but accepting the woman's refusal of help. "I pray you take more care in the future." She said politely, her little belle of a voice sweet in it's formality. She watched the old woman move away-before brightening as the old woman addressed her again. "Not I-but my sister!" She provided, all sorts of perked up-and unaware of her sister's open suspicion towards the older woman.

Indeed-still by the door, the tall, masked man by her side, ten year old Alyssa regarded the old woman with analytical, cynical eyes. She did not want to offer help. She certain didn't wish to be an errand girl for her "betters." No sir.

But Ellen had already turned around and waved excitedly to her, and Alyssa could not refuse her sister anything. With a sigh, Alyssa moved towards the pair, and Lexi followed. "What are you looking for?" The handsome porcelain mask only showed his eyes, but they were kind eyes and Lexi's voice was charming and his presence calming. "Perhaps Lady Alyssa and I can help."

[W H O R C E R Y]

"Thank you...little one."

As Alyssa and her guardian approached, the woman couldn't help but notice how regal they seemed to be. Ellen and Alyssa were like tiny princesses! The only thing they're missing are crowns.

"I was wondering...if this store carried any information or remedies for curses." She says in response to Lexi's statement. In the back of her mind though, she imagined that her request would sound a little weird coming from her. Much like Ellen and her group had a certain look, the old lady before them also had a distinct style that could easily get her pegged as a witch. Clad in a plain blue gown and a tall, pointed hat adorned with stars and crescent moons she looked like the atypical old wizard type. Hell, even the "walking stick" she used could be considered a magic staff.

[darkqueenie]

Letting out a small groan, she sat up from the couch, rubbing her head as she sat up. Looking around, there was a ton of people there now, where was the doctor and Natalie? Claire didn't know any of the people there. Picking up her hat, she put it back on her head before feeling the pain in her chest and side were gone. Her rolled ankle was still there though. Letting out a sigh, she adjusted and put her leg up on an ottoman, twirling her magic paintbrush.

[Rawrlicia]

Lexi's eyes moved to Alyssa's frowning form, the girl much more knowledgeable than he on the bookstore's range in subjects.

"Have you been victim to a curse?" Lexi asked kindly, almost as kind as Alyssa was sharp when she instead asked "Planning to cast some undoable hexes?" in a flat, matter of fact tone.

Ellen straightened her doll's bonnet, mildly distracted from all this talk of curses and books. "I read a book once, it had a fairy in it." She said in the most unrelated way, looking all sorts of faraway and delighted by the recollection. Lexi patted her on the shoulder affectionately before she wandered away from the trio to finish tidying up her doll.

Alyssa watched her sister move away before she pointed towards the balcony on the second floor. "There's a whole slew of dangerous books if you need to research some curses up there. Otherwise, common remedies are in the warding and healing section down here." She pointed towards the appropriate shelves.

The girl was no more than ten, but spoke with all the well bred utterance of a grown woman, were it not for her belle of a voice that almost matched her sister's-were it not for it's flat tone. "If you have been cursed, there may be someone who can undo it for you, if you're willing to be looked at."

It was passive, but Alyssa employed her second sight. She didn't need a spell or a movement to do so, just a thought-and with the aid of her second sight she looked the old woman over, curious to find what her "sixth sense" would pick up on.

[Concrow]

Dr. Isha Arztin

"No......gott....please....no......I don't vwant to die like this......"

*A hospital hall way contained frantic medical workers.In the middle of all the chaos....A female with straight medium length black hair stood.She wore glasses.Her eyes a nice shade of brown.Her top was a white doctors attire that went past her knees.She watched with a blank stare as patients were being flooded into the hall ways to be evacuated. People started to become severely ill within the hour......it was too much for many of the patients there.....people were dropping dead left and right........and all Dr. Arztin could do is watch it all unfold.Dr. Arztin stumbled around almost in a lost trance.......The crys of the ill being blocked out and transformed into a white noise....all Isha could hear was her own thoughts.....and her deep breaths.

"Theres nozhing I can do......*shakey breaths*....why.......

*The good doctor passed by a room where a elderly man lay.....his bed had been moved....but....was soon forgotten......the old man didnt have a chance against it....The sound of the heart monitor flat lining rang through her head.Soon after that a bit further down the hallway another patient was falling victim......The medical workers were coughing themselves....while trying to desperately revive the doomed....A nurses aid happened to run through and spot Isha.He ran over to her before speaking briefly.*

"Dr. Arztin! THeres a problem. The transport buses are full for now and it will be another thirty to forty five minutes before more arrive........Dr. Arztin? Hello?

"....."

*Isha suddenly turned and took off,her eyes beginning to water.......

"Theres only one thing I can do....Im sorry......im so sorry everyone........"

*As Isha ran she shut her eyes,a tear falling free.But on her route to her office......Dr. Arztin became ill.A sharp burning sensation seemed to suddenly pierce through her shoulder,chest and right side.Isha stumbled,almost falling as she pushed her way through the crowded hallways.The good doctor noted she was having trouble breathing.....something was wrong...and Isha knew just what it was.....Finally Isha had almost made it to her office. She slowly stumbled down the small hallway that led to her destination.The vision in her right eye blurred so much she couldnt see anything out of it anymore........the pain within was only getting worse......and The good doctor now had a very high fever and was sweating profusely,red splotches began to appear on her skin as well.Isha stumbled towards her office door,her right arm reaching out for the handle in a desperate attempt.Her body shook with fear,the grim reapers breath on the back of her neck.*

"No.......Im so close......"

*Isha awoke in solomons in a cold sweat.Her breaths were heavy and uneven.

#########################################################################
L:On a couch further by the book cases//C:Herself//T:"I've lost my god damn mind! It happen's all the time~"

[Mademoiselle Alvinette]

Natalie was looking like death warmed over as she plodded back into Solomon's. Her once-cheery red sundress was now stained with blood and a mysterious liquid that had once been in a tank. Her face was streaked with tears and ruined mascara, though she'd tried to remove it in a bathroom at some point during the night.

She looked terrible, and she was feeling it too. Not physically, as she hadn't been harmed during her abduction yesterday. But emotionally, she had been through the wringer. As soon as Zephyr had plunked her down in a chair in his office, he'd tried to convince her to join him, and she'd refused. And then he'd forced her to watch as he hit a key on his keyboard and caused the liquids in the tanks where Reeker, Frank, Gorak, Mick, and Roland were being held to overheat...She had shot Zephyr in the face at that point, telling him he couldn't torture people anymore if he was DEAD. And then things got even more nightmarish. Zephyr was actually a robot clone of the real thing, and three more had come into the room. They'd told her that if she would agree to work for Zephyr, everyone except for Delly and Jed would be set free, but if she said no, she could only take one person with her, and she had to carry them out by herself.

She'd chosen Reeker, who'd been dumped unceremoniously at her feet. He was unconscious, and Zephyr informed her that he'd let his doctor flunky Madame Frankenstein vivisect the poor Ratling without any anesthetic. Natalie had barely been able to put Reeker, still dripping with the liquid he'd been immersed in and bleeding a little from his wounds, on her back and carry him outside when Zephyr had kicked the two out of the building, and then she'd called an ambulance. Reeker was still in the hospital, and after being checked herself for symptoms of shock, Natalie had spent the night in Reeker's room, sleeping in a chair by his bed when she'd finally gotten too exhausted to keep her eyes open.

Now Natalie was exhausted and racked with guilt over the way things had turned out. It gave her the creeps that this clown evidently had plans for Jed and Delly, but at least there was hope that they would be kept alive for a while longer. She was more worried than ever now about Frank, Gorak, Mick, and Roland. He's probably gonna torture them even WORSE now because I had to leave them behind... Every time she closed her eyes, she saw them there, in their tanks. Though Reeker had been knocked unconscious from the impact of his ejection from his tank, he--along with all the others--had been awake when Natalie was first shown the live video feed of them. She didn't know if there was a screen that allowed them to see her, but the fact that she'd been forced to leave all of them behind was eating her up inside. She was so thankful that she'd at least been able to take Reeker with her, though. Even with all of the trauma and fighting he'd seen, Reeker still struck Natalie as being so sweet and innocent. Not naive, but kind and optimistic and encouraging...

She hadn't talked much since she'd gotten through talking to doctors; she was withdrawn now, far from her usual cheerful self. And by the time she opened the door at Solomon's today, she was feeling completely numb. All her tears had been cried out. She was silent as she stepped into the shop, and she hung back, noting that there were several people in here. She wanted to let Miko know that she was all right, but she didn't see her friend anywhere...

((The actual abduction, Zephyr nabbing Natalie, happened in Solomon's late last night. Cookie and I did the rest over Skype.))

[W H O R C E R Y]

"Maybe~"

In all honesty she didn't know what had been cast on her. The affliction she suffered from was unlike any curse she had ever come across before. All she knew was that she needed to get rid of it if she expected to be alive next year. As for Alyssa's comment, the woman wouldn't feel any particular way about it. She simply smiles and offers an ambiguous "you'll never know" to spook the girl a bit. In any case, after being pointed in the direction of books that could help the old lady waves a goodbye and heads on over to see what she could see. It would take her old bones quite some time to make it over, but seeing as how rushing earlier almost gave her a heart attack she figured she'd just deal with it and take it slow this time.

In the meantime, Alyssa's psychic senses would scan over the old woman's body and would indeed pick up something strange, though perhaps not quite what she might expect. Latent runework covered every single inch of the woman's body, like strange tattoos that, as Alyssa's second sight would surely reveal, are actually invisible to the naked eye. That said, Alyssa might just be the only one in on the woman's secret, unless there were others there with similar abilities as well. Aside from the runes though, there isn't anything else that could be considered unusual emanating from her. One might notice that her aura is rather faint and dim, but that could simply be an attempt at masking her energy levels. After all, if someone had indeed cursed her it wouldn't be too out of the question for her to want to lay low and stay hidden for a while.

[Ruido Blanco]

Time was usually never on his side, this was not a sequence of events where it would start to be. The arrancar appeared in flickers of sound and light that eminated in the air, a few feet from the ground. The sound of wind and air being torn made a smallest whisper as it echoed through the fabrics of the dimension he had re-entered. Well now, been quite a while since he had been at Solomons. He landed with a "plop", bouncing gently with it as his tail swished and twitched. He looked around as the breeze hit his ponytail, loosening small pieces of stray hair that flowed gently in the wind. "Hmm.." He said as he snorted. Unfortunately for it, the problem wasn't solved. The Beast and The lycan king still remained within one body. Both consciousnesses were quite their physical body could keep the state it had. Unfortunately this mean the occasionally oozing out of residual spiritual energy, which no doubt flowed from the arrancar's being; having a weighted affect on one's own energy. It would, however, do its best to hide its energy, lest people's bodies started to react.The arrancar dusted off its pants leg before making its way into the establishment.

Well, new faces, new scents, whole bunch of new stuff. He took a sniff of the air, and snorted heavily. Steam rushed out of his nostrils as he took a gentle sniff inward. New people, the being took note of as his eyes darted across the room. Ah, the young woman whom stook up for his cannabis habit, he would remember her face. An older woman who seemed to be a mage or some form of a magician. And then, he smelt blood. He hadn't smelt that in ages. The toxic aroma filled his nostrils and he licked his lips and blinked. He smelled the other woman too, what was her name.. ah Natalie. He remembered her, but something felt off. It's like everyone's energy was disrupted."What the hell is goin on?" He said slightly outloud, yet speaking to himself. Perhaps this was a clue not to leave so much. He felt out of place. More so, like he missed something that could have been avoided. His tail swayed back and forth as he sighed and sucked his teeth. Good grief.

[Rawrlicia]

The oddly apathetic child failed to be spooked, merely stared back at her flatly and with no expression. Power could be sensed in the child-in both of them, actually. A light, airy and undeveloped gift in the younger girl-and a clumsily concealed, ebbing power in the older one, as if she had contained it beneath some sort of inner trap door.

The tall man held the most power, unconcealed anyway. His magic was a good, calming sort, a light in a dark tunnel.

The runes were interesting. Very interesting. Alyssa had half a mind to go over there and try to discern their meaning, work out what spell had been cast on this woman and how it worked-but her sister was in the shop. It would hardly do to restrain the old woman so she could closer inspect whatever had been done to her. Unless of course the elderly woman might consent to such a poking and prodding, and then-

Jingle

"Miss Natalie!" Lexi's exclamation wasn't a gasp, exactly-but it carried the feeling of one as the tall man moved immediately towards the shocked, blood stained woman at the door, taking her by the hand to usher her towards a chair. Alyssa had barely enough time to tug her sister behind some bookshelves.

"What happened? Why is Lexi upset?" The little girl asked worriedly, hugging her dollie close to her chest as Alyssa pulled her along at a fast clip. "He just-uh, he saw a friend all wet." Alyssa lied clumsily. "He's gone to dry her off." Time to go-Lexi could deal with whatever mess the woman had gotten herself into-Alyssa thought with annoyance.

Yes, how DARE Natalie stumble in in her mental state while her precious sister was in the place! (Haha)

"What on earth happened? Are you hurt?" Lexi was saying, patting down his pockets for bandages.

[Mademoiselle Alvinette]

Natalie blinked, hearing someone address her. Lexi. He was asking her if she was all right. She forced herself to nod. "I'm n-not hurt," she stammered, barely audibly. "Blood's not mine. Just my friend. He's alive. In the hospital." She mouthed, "Reeker. Tortured. By Zephyr." She was dimly aware that if Lexi was here, then that must mean Veruca Salt was too. As long as she doesn't get too creepy... Okay, so the kid wasn't nearly as bratty as the character from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. But still, there was something unnerving about the cold, unfeeling way the girl seemed to look at the world. If she didn't get some serious guidance, that girl might wind up a budding sociopath. And I've had quite enough of sociopaths for one day!

It was hard for her to talk now; she'd been quiet all night and all day. Just hadn't had the energy to speak or do much more than think. She saw the lycan-esque guy from a few weeks ago, and a kindly looking older woman, but she couldn't even bring herself to wave. I've gotta snap out of this...

[Rawrlicia]

"I'm so very sorry to hear about your friend." Lexi replied quickly and sincerely, patting his pockets for a different item now, withdrawing a tea cup. And then a tea bag. He hurried off to the kitchen and returned with a tea pot of hot water, pouring it for the shaken woman.

"Drink some tea. Shall I take you home so you can clean up, maybe rest?" He inquired softly, registering this Zephyr person. Yes. Barbara had informed both he and Alyssa- and it was Alyssa he looked for now, but the girl had taken her sister and gone someplace within the shop out of his immediate sight. Probably better Ellen didn't see Natalie in such a state-and definitely better Alyssa didn't hear of her current obsession.

She wanted Zephyr dead, and only a vague respect for Barbara kept the girl from going there alone. Thank goodness-Lexi did not want any fool hardy missions for his charge, oh no. At least, not ones where she went alone.

"This Zephyr, he didn't harm you?" Odd, but a relief all the same.