The Blank Slate Estate (Closed/Moving)

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Aisling Dubhthach~*
Location: Somewhere Outside with Rowen…

Oh the cold water, Oh the shrieking, Oh the roaring! And now the clambering and slipping and falling! Aisling yelped as she felt herself being knocked, pulled…pushed…tripped?! Either way she was falling to the ground and landed hard on her side. “Ahhhhhh!” She gasped, her body curling up as she tried to roll on her other side…blocked by Rowen’s form and forcing her to roll onto her knees. She quivered and cowered as he grumbled about Cera’s incompetency…and practically lost her breath at the sight of his eyes. Or did her breath get knocked out of her when she fell?

She made no noise, unable to speak for a moment or two before she finally let out a high pitched gasp…her lungs finally working again, allowing her to breathe. “I’m fine! I’m fine!” She whimpered as she rubbed her sore hip. “A-are you o-ok…?” She asked as she slowly started to test her weight on her shaking legs. “I c-can fix it…fix it in the morning…not going to swindle anyone anymore. D-don’t want to do it anymore…” She muttered, inwardly thankful she was alive…that the voices had quieted and that the leocorn had not eaten her in his fury.

[DizzyThoughts]

Rowen shifted and moved to get up, trying not to slip again on the now slick grass. His bright blue eyes, looking light they were floating in the dark, now dimmed as he was calming down. "I'm fine, I'm fine... Should have looked at this in the morning." he grumbled a bit, then sighed. He reached for her hand again, going to pull her up if need be or lead her to the building. Some light was peaking through the clouds above and letting in moonlight, and his eyes were now adjusted to see fine. "Let's get inside.. or we'll catch a cold.." He warned, making sure not to leave her behind in the sprinklers. But he raised his brow and huffed again at her stumbling and silly promise to never swindle again. His shyness towards girls seemed to temporarily go away as he rolled his eyes and scooped her up. "What's with you? You act so strange.. Like I intend to kill you for just being human." He huffed, taking her over to the doorway - out of the sprinklers, so she wouldn't slip again - and would set her down gently. "I'm not... I mean, I won't..." Rowen shook his head and fluttered his ears, shaking the water off them. "Let's go inside. I'll have the servant give you a towel and maybe Cera can make you clothes..." He got out a bit quickly and headed for the door ahead of her. Just before he would enter, the leocorn would take care to shake his tail and twist the water out of the paint-brush tip, as to not drip water everywhere inside.

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Aisling Dubhthach~*
Location: Somewhere Outside with Rowen…

She showed no resistance when Rowen pulled her up, but stiffened when he scooped her into his arms and carried her towards the porch. “I’m sorry…my aunt believed that unicorns are angry when their horns go aglow…” She admitted rather sheepishly, her face grow hot with embarrassment when he pointed out how stupid Aisling was acting.

The servants were already there to hand towels to them both. The girl thanked them quietly, but remembered that she had left her bag in the library…which was now being handed to her by one of the servants. Another quiet thanks…as well as a thank you to the leocorn…but as swiftly as he was heading away, she figured he didn’t hear her.

Aisling was guided to the coed locker room, where she took a hot shower and changed into dry clothes. But stay inside, she would not. No…she didn’t want to lose her soul. She found her way to the porch that was just outside of the café, and a servant served her some hot apple cider and even brought her a warm blanket to bundle up in while she looked through the books by candle light.

*~Cerynitis Shi~*
Location: The Office, in the Main Building.

After quietly leaving the library upon completing what she had been tending to, Cera made her way into the office to take care of some business. Her ears flattened at all the screaming and roaring going on outside, but only smirked to herself when she came to the conclusion of what could have happened. “Serves you right for not turning the power off before you fixed it.” She purred as she made a few updates to her portfolio and store. She then looked at a purchase that was made, and shifted her lower jaw. “Well…let’s hope we get back to that era or earlier so I can get that shipped out on time.” She murmured before typing up a response to the order. “I knew I should have set up a warehouse outside of the property…with someone competent enough to manage it for me. Hmm…maybe I should make that my next project.” She chimed a bit with a slight wiggle in her seat.

[DizzyThoughts]

((Sorry it's short! But I should get to sleep... ))

Rowen took a towel and dried himself before entering, making sure to take off his shoes as well so that he wouldn't drag in any mud. He slumped his shoulders when she mentioned unicorns - Rowen was quite obviously not a unicorn, but a leocorn. That was indeed a difference, but he wouldn't say anything of it now. Instead he just waved and bit goodnight as he made his way up stairs in into his room finally. On the way up, he did glance back once and saw a servant leading Aisling away, then along who had only one eye looking up at him and made Rowen shiver. Some of those unfinished servants were just too weird to him! Again he shook his head some, then continued his climb to his room to change and later read - then sleep promptly after. It seems that he would have to resume work tomorrow when he awoke.

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Aisling Dubhthach~*
Location: On the Porch, just Outside of the Café.

The blue glow of Rowen’s eyes haunted her dreams; Aisling ran through the darkness as the eyes continued to pursue her. Voices in her head scolded her for dishonoring her clan; how she pulled a gun on her groom. She stopped in her tracks, turning to pull her gun as the eyes that followed her turned into her groom, reaching out to saddle and yoke her. But the gypsy girl was a free spirit! She would not be tamed, would not sleep indoors…refused to lose her soul!

Shots rang out as she fired her gun at him, but she did not stay to see if her aim was true. Aisling bolted through the darkness again, until she came slipped and fell…grasping the ledge she practically stumbled over. Rays of light rose up from beneath her, the ledge starting to crumble within the grip of her fingers as she looked down. Her emerald eyes widened at the sight of a toy she used to have as a child…a winged horse that flew up to rescue her! As she slipped from the ledge, the toy flew up and cushioned her fall…

…just as her eyes snapped open, gasping for air as she gripped the couch cushion she rested upon. A gulp as she looked around…before she sighed as she remembered where she was. Aisling groaned as she pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she had such vivid dreams, which made her wonder if it had anything to do with the magic in the estate. She breathed deeply before willing herself to stand and stretch…giving one of the ever attentive servants the books she had finished before dozing off…in trade for a note he passed to her from Cera.

‘ I made sure to replace the box someplace where it won’t get wet…but if my reference is wrong, would you please make sure the wiring is accurate. Thank you. ~Cera~ ‘

And, as if noticing something out of the corner of her eye, Aisling took a second glance towards the wall and found the control box for the sprinkler system. A gulp and a smile, even a light chuckle beneath her breath as she opened the box and checked to make sure everything was hooked up correctly.

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Cerynitis Shi~*
Location: In the Sparring/Dojo Area, Lower Floor of the Main Building.

Cera, despite her miniscule stature, wasn’t one to consider herself defenseless. Installing a holographic system to the matted training room, she decided to test the system out…setting it on random to give her a good idea of what it would throw at her, and how well she could stand up to it.

Finding herself in a cavern or dungeon of sorts, the little…well, whatever she was…walked nimbly along until she came across some cobwebs, woven thickly to block her path. She summoned forth a glaive and sliced through the webbing…piercing as high up to the ceiling as she could get before going down the sides to make it fall in place. Cera watched as the sticky strands of silk slowly fell to the ground, like a waterfall of cascading cherry blossoms fluttering in the wind. She smiled to herself, admiring the beauty she saw in it and marveled the simulator for creating it.

But then an arrow buzzed past her, drawing her out of her tranquil state of mind and forcing her defenses to return. She poised herself with the glaive, waiting for the archer to shoot again. As he did, Cera pinpointed just where the arrow was coming from before bolting towards him. She felt moisture soaking her shoes in time with the sound of the slug that slapped beneath her feet. Mud could mean swamp…and swamp usually meant sinking. She relied on her ever light weight to keep her afloat as she sped up her pace until…

…low and behold, someone got to the archer before her! She slowed her pace to check to see who it was. The face looked familiar…like an old friend from a time that had long passed. How…why…? She glanced up towards the sky, silently questioning the simulator on how it could create such an image. Well…duh! She created the system…that’s how. Taking the archer’s bow and arrow, she shot it off to her side…and the scene around her fizzed and skipped before disappearing all together. She managed to hit the control box for the holographic system. “Guess it’s back to the drawing board.” Cera sighed as she pulled a paintbrush from her hair and started to paint the control box out of existence.

She eventually made her way out to the Second Building to work on the guest rooms some more.

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Aisling Dubhthach~*
Location: Guestroom Floor, out on the Balcony.

When Aisling completed the rewiring, set the timer and reset it once she knew that the sprinkler system was working properly, she finally went inside to grab a bite to eat. The chef-servant laid out a platter of fruit filled pancakes, a seasoned poached egg, with the sides of honey, syrup, and berry jams for the spreading, as well as a large smoothie made of vegetables and herbs…surprisingly tastier than the gypsy would have expected.

When she finished her meal, she went exploring the main manor house some more…deciding to head upstairs to the guest rooms. She wandered down the long hallway, finding the door to the first room to be locked, while the second door led to a communal bathroom of sorts. At the turn of the corner, she pulled open the door to the balcony that overlooked the walkway to the manor house itself. Gazing through the trees, she witnessed old rooftops that looked ready to cave in at the subtle touch of a bird’s feather. And yet…Aisling heard no birds; not a sound as smoke billowed from the horizon as the silhouette of a dragon rose up from a fiery light. Whatever time period it was out past the estate’s gates, the sight was all too gruesome as what remained of the villagers meagerly offered their last valued possessions to the beast.

As a tear ran down the gypsy girl’s cheek, the billowing smoke obscured her view past the trees…hiding the sight of the world changing through time.

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Cerynitis Shi~*
Location: Somewhere within the Third Building.

With the aid of some of her servants, Cera was able to complete two floors of the Second Building! Excited about this turn of events, she decided to take a break from the second building and headed over towards the third. “There were whole families crowded in those small guestrooms!” She chimed as she walked and talked with one of the servants. “It just isn’t right…and it’s not like I expect that anyone would want to live and raise a family on the property so much…but I want to be prepared in case more refugees from any era find their way here. That way…well…they’ll have more space to recuperate in, with a bit more privacy, too!”

It’s not that her painted helpers hadn’t heard it all before, or didn’t understand for that matter. However, with as incomplete in their physical features as they were, it was kind of hard for them to really respond with anything more than a nod or a shake of their heads…

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Aisling Dubhthach~*
Location: The Dormitory Floor.

Wiping away her tears, unable to see if the dragon accepted the villagers’ offerings or at them either way…Aisling made her way inside, upset at the sight she had seen. Here they were, an estate of land and buildings that somehow managed to travel through time, and yet it’s owner…Cera…didn’t do anything to help those outside of her property! How could she live with herself?! Did she even know what was going on outside?

Piercing her lips, she made her way up another flight of stairs that brought her to the dormitory. There…she found the doors of the small rooms that were available for one person, and one person only to sleep in. She looked at D2…Rowen’s name painted upon the plague above the peek hole. And on a nearby wall, a cork board with his name on it as well…along with a piece of paper that had a check list of duties on it. Clean the Kitchens, Tend the Gardens, Clean the Bathrooms, Fix the Sprinklers…Aisling found a marker on a nearby desk and crossed that off the list, only to watch it magically change to Clean the Exercise Equipment. She double checked just to make sure that’s what she saw…only gulp and weakly smile. Never had she witnessed so much magic in one place. She began to wonder if she’d slowly become cursed if she stayed on the property for too long.

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Cerynitis Shi~*
Location: Somewhere within the Third Building.

An elevator…AN ELEVATOR! OF COURSE! Why hadn’t she thought of that for the Manor House?! Though…when she thought about installing one, she quickly changed her mind…as it meant changing the layout of the entire building all together…and Cera had just gotten the way she liked it.

But no matter! The Family House was going to have an elevator! And oh how she was quite proud of the accomplishment as she spent a good hour riding the machine up and down from floor to floor…skipping one or two floors from time to time. It simply tickled her pink as she went around giggling about…painting up the stairwell walls and designing the carpeted floor. Oh, how exciting it was…and she enjoyed the creative juices that flowed from her to the brush she held in her hand. An itch at the base of her horns warned her that someone was surely up to no good, but she ignored it…figuring that no one was getting into dire trouble just yet…

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Aisling Dubhthach~*
Location: The Lower Library, in the Manor House.

Aisling continued to gaze blankly at Rowen’s bulletin board…as if trying to muster up the courage to do or say something. She gulped, but eventually went wondering around the spacious attic…looking in the drawers of desks until she found the paper and pen she needed. The gypsy girl didn’t know where he was or when he’s get around to seeing it…and she didn’t want to be a bother to him. So she simply wrote him a note.

I’m sorry for the way I acted last night. There’s a lot of the world that I’ve never encountered before, and there’s still a lot I have to get used to. I hope in time we can be friends.
A.D.

She folded the paper into an envelope and pinned it to the corkboard, before turning on her heals and trotting down the stairs. It was when she finally reached the library that she remembered the book that seemed to be stuck to the shelf. Looking around, she crept down the winding stairs to the lower library level, checking to see if there were any servants about. Inwardly she hoped they were all busy doing something other than keeping an eye on her. The gypsy girl even peered in through the glass to make sure none were hiding amongst the clusters of bamboo. Once she felt that the coast was clear, she crept her way over to the bookcase…as if sneaking up on some unsuspecting pray so not to startle it or cause unwanted alarm…

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Cerynitis Shi~*
Location: Somewhere within the Second Building.

Having returned to the Communal Building, Cera started work on the third floor. The library area was the smallest upon this level, and which she was ok with. She didn’t want to take away from the beauty she felt that the Manor House’s library held in her heart. Unsure as to how she wanted to design the two guestrooms on this level, she decided to see how she would construct another set of stairs that didn’t connect with the library’s winding stairs. As she mulled it over…she decided to take the area over the open air kitchen and turned it into an open air room. Three walls, and the forth would be columns to support the attic level…as well as a stone railing to keep people from stepping over the ledge.

She smiled…marveled as a breeze brushed against her face; how she loved to feel the wind against her face. To be up so high…and not be held back by stifling walls that threatened to fall in atop of you. A sigh before painting in the windows that would make up two of the surrounding walls. Cera then instructed some of her servants to go and fetch some of her sculptures, deciding that this room would be a nice place to display them.

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Aisling Dubhthach~*
Location: The Lower Library, in the Manor House.

Just as she was testing to see which book it was that she thought she grabbed, Aisling was interrupted by a servant that was putting away the last batch of books she had finished reading. Why he didn’t do it earlier was beyond her…though, she had a sneaking suspicion that he had planned it that way. Biting her lower lip, the gypsy girl had a feeling that Cera was hiding something…but what, she didn’t know let alone figure out until she had the chance to investigate the issue without being watched by anyone that worked for the…well…whatever Cera was!

A sigh…and a little frustrated as to what to call Cera, Aisling decided to skim through the book titles again to see if she could find something that would at least reveal what Cera was…as in what anyone could call the strange little creature…

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Cerynitis Shi~*
Location: Somewhere within the Second Building.

Content with the placement of the sculptures she had her servants bring up for her, she decided to postpone the work on the guest rooms. Instead, she was going to finally add a roof to the building…to give it a more complete feeling. That…and to help her determine how to set up the rooms on the fourth level.

Cera had an idea of setting up another open air area…thinking about how Aisling had yet to ask for a room; and she wasn’t too keen on letting the girl claim the porch for her own. It was too public of an area, and surely the girl would appreciate a little bit of privacy to herself…if they were ever to get more people to come in. Looking out from the high vantage point, the little creature witnessed the mists of time shifting and swirling as the world around her property changed yet again. It was maddening, just how much she had seen…but even more so trying to remember it all; the people she met, the lives that came in and out…changed forever when they came to the realization that not everything was at all what it seemed. Maddening…but it only gave Cera a peaceful smile upon her face. Yeah…at times, it was hard to remember it all…but when she could, she focused on the good and exciting memories…for those were the memories that drove her forward, inspired her to create…to build…to live…to love…

…to set to work on yet another project!

[A Caracal Yokai]

*~Aisling Dubhthach~*
Location: The Lower Back Porch, in the Manor House.

Her eyes grew heavy as she read and researched into the night. Aisling had gone through the library…skimming through the books…first to find any that specifically dealt with unique and mystical creatures, putting them aside before diving into them to read each individual being that had a name and a description.

But she didn’t get it. She read about the hydra, the hind, even found a little something about leocorns, dragons, and unicorns, and black widows, and ligers. She just couldn’t find anything on Cerynitis…other than the name itself referred to a hind or deer that was sacred to some goddess. Which made the gypsy girl wonder if Cera was given that name…or simply called herself that just to throw people off their guard…if people knew anything about anything the little creature talked about!

Rubbing her eyes, she slammed one of the books shut and pushed herself away from the table. “Ugh…I need some fresh air…” She muttered, making her way out to the porch where she had spent the past few nights. “Tomorrow…should see where…er…when in time we are….” She murmured, to help herself gage just how bad the situation was. Would she be able to feel comfortable roaming through another century…or would it be safer to sit and wait for something more closer to home…?