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 Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:21 pm
The day had started like most days for Remiel Quillan, with Taliesin sitting on his chest and demanding to be fed. The gryphon had interrupted a nice dream, but he didn’t care. He wanted his food now and refused to be ignored. The sun was just barely up. It was, in a way, a good thing that Rem got up so early. Because of this, he was one of the first to hear the news.
Everything checked out. It took a lot of back-searching on the part of the local magistrate, librarians, and other locals, but it worked out perfectly. Malcolm Lansing of Cambria, was officially the half-son of House Rosaylen of Albion. And, currently, the only male child, which made him the heir. No doubt, House Rosaylen would rush to make him an official son and not just a half-son. With Norene to marry into House Esterylen and Lenore… well, being Lenore the Ice Queen (some people added ‘b***h’ somewhere into that, but Rem was always far too polite for such a thing), House Rosaylen needed heirs. Badly.
Not that they would get one from Mal, not unless the biology of reproduction was radically changed recently.
Anyway, it was a good thing it was early in the morning. Rem didn’t know for sure, but he was pretty damn certain that Mal wasn’t a morning person. And he was also an extremely slow reader. It would be a while before he understood the message completely. As soon as he figured it out, though, Mal would run. But, there was plenty of time before he wrapped his mind around it. All Rem had to do was get there first and convince him to stay.
Actually, Rem wasn’t the first to figure it out. Contrary to what most people believe, Mal did not usually sleep in late. Military life was hammered into him and one of those things involved waking up at the crack of dawn. Also, old war wounds helped keep him awake. Staying at an inn didn’t make sleeping any easier for him anyway. There was always a lot of noise at the Robin’s Wing. Men bringing women back for the night or vice versa, or fights breaking out. This made a lot of noise. It wasn’t easy for a man like Mal to sleep.
As soon as the letter slipped under his door, he knew what it meant. He didn’t need to read it.
For a moment, he stared at the envelope before getting up. Well, he had heard that the west was nice this time of year. It was time for him to start traveling again anyway. Leaving the letter where it was, he started getting packed, wondering how Aeron would react to the sudden move. Hopefully, the poor gryphon’s wing could take it.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:46 pm
You can label us a consequence, Iris didn't know Mal incredibly well, but..she knew him well enough to come to the same conclusion as Rem.
What a...slightly-surprising chain of events. She had heard the whispers for a long time, so the fact that the 'investigators' finally came to some sort of a conclusion on the matter was more of a relief than anything else. However, like most things, even when one had an idea of the truth, the revelation still caused a bit of a ripple in that person's mind. And the fact that Mal had practically started this all himself was just...too amusing. She had to go congratulate him. And keep him from doing anything stupid.
Tracking him down was, admittedly, a little irritating. Snooping had taken a few days, but she finally found it - the Robin's Wing. An inn near the middle of the city, stuck somewhere between rundown and moderately respectable. Harsh, but true. She decided to bring Elrok on this little escapade, mostly because Sekhmet would be against any sort of physical restraint should it come to that. Expecting Mal to put up a fight? Sort of. She wasn't really sure what to expect, only that the man probably wouldn't be too thrilled when he learned the news. Seemed like that type, anyway.
Ignoring the hungry stare from the rather....grungy man behind the counter of the inn, the Nefretiri daughter strode purposefully up the stairs and onto the first floor of the inn, thankful that her information was detailed enough to provide a room number. Heh, she could be snooty, but..this had more to do with grungy people needing to stay the hell away from her and less to do with being stuck up.
Ah, 109. She heard movement behind the door, things opening and closing...a rather quiet mumbling coming from a man. This must be it. She raised a hand to knock on the door, wondering if he would actually answer. After all, she could be a Rosaylen kidnapper or something, ready to whisk him away to a life of riches and confinement. Of how much you have to learn.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:04 pm
"Watch him for me."
"But I don't have stalker skills!"
"...Make up your mind whether you want me to rest, or go about doing this myself."
"You're so mean, Princeling!"
Aaand that had been the gist of the conversation. And Princeling really was mean, using his injury like that to make Shane do something that she really didn't want to do! As if he really cared about 'being injured' and 'straining himself.'
Buuull. Shat.
Too bad the Charming Penguin's owner was too nice (and sweet and caring and the list could go on) of a friend to actually dissuade Deste from not going out and being stupid by tracking someone. Or...being a little thief and sitting on roofs and all those crazy things he tended to do anyway, while spying on someone. He'd probably lose his balance and then something nasty would happen to Shane, because then Iris would get upset. Or, in worst-case-paranoid scenario, Psycho b*****d could be watching him, and then proceed to re-apply previously inflicted damage onto the blond man's body. Neither prospectives were too bright, so....
Here she was. Bright and early in the morning - just an hour or so after her own bar had closed for the day, actually - waiting for a one Malcolm Lansing to appear. 'Stalking' was too creepy of a word to use, so really, she was just waiting for him to appear, like a good friend should. Besides, she really should congratulate him on pulling off such a fabulous scheme - not only had he just set himself in the life of pompous nobility, but he had also managed to piss off the most scathing woman in the entire city! Bravo, bravo!
...Then again, Deste was the one having to put up with the immediate fury of Lenore Rosaylen. Not to mention, the grandmother (a.k.a. current Head of House) would probably die of shock. Maybe. Hopefully not. Shane liked the sweet old lady.
Besides that, Dante and Norene would be back within the day, to send greetings from the High King. Hm...with all the special treatment Mal was getting, Shane wasn't sure why Deste thought he would run. Well let's see...what would Psycho b*****d say, in all his infinite wisdom, on the matter...
'Little boy cut off more than he could handle, hm?'
'Sem was such a horrible, horrible person.
Humming softly to herself as she sat inconspicuously at the bar - for once, she was dressed to blend in...though 'blending in' in her case was just throwing a loose shirt over her other clothes, and wearing pants - Shane suddenly spied a certain woman heading up the stairs.
...So, Princeling didn't think her competent, hm? Had to have his Little Miss go too? And to such a grungy place! Some fiance!
Sadly noting, once again, that these bar stools didn't spin like her fun ones, Shane slid from her seat and casually began to make her way up the stairs.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:11 pm
Mal froze at the sound of a knock outside of his door, his mind full with fantastical images and none of them particularly good. There was a good reason why he wanted to keep a low-profile for himself. Like it or not, he had made a good number of enemies in Cambria through his criminal connections and… well… he simply wasn’t important enough for them to chase after. But if he became more important? Oh, s**t… he would definitely be important. Ignoring the knocks, he continued what he was doing. At least he didn’t have a whole lot of stuff to pack.
All he really needed were some provisions for Aeron. Mal didn’t want to take a lot of time to hunt around.
Rem didn’t have as many problems as Iris with getting in. That is, he wasn’t leered at. He did, however, try not to touch anything, for fear of being covered with that layer of grime. Good God, why did Mal choose to stay here? It was hardly a place for animals, let alone people!
“Oh… Hello Iris…” he blinked in surprise, since he hardly expected her to be here. Not at all, actually. “You’ve heard the news then?” well, of course she did. Unless she had some other pressing reason to show up at Mal’s doorstep. Well, roomstep, anyway.
All the noise from the inside was a surprise, actually; Rem figured that Mal wouldn’t even be awake yet, let alone have finished reading the letter already. Although it seemed a bit redundant, Rem knocked on the door anyway. “Mal? Come on out, Mal.”
He managed to completely miss the fact that they were being watched by yet ANOTHER person, the bartender from the Penguin.
Mal glared at the door and continued with what he was doing. He had a Plan. It wasn’t an especially good plan, but it was what he had. He hurriedly finished tying the sheets together, tying one end to a bed and heaving the rest out the window. Standing back, he surveyed his work. Good. If anyone looked in, they would think he escaped through the window, especially if they heard a loud thump outside, like the one caused by the descent of his newly packed knapsack. It wasn’t particularly loud, but one could imagine that it was the sort of noise made by a somewhat short man landing on the ground and then taking off at a run.
His little scheme complete, Mal went to hide somewhere in his room. The closet was a definitely no. But under the bed? It would work in a pinch for now.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:32 pm
You can label us a consequence, Naturally, he wasn't going to bother opening up. Iris started to say something, before being interrupted by a familiar voice. She turned, to see a man standing beside Elrok.
"Oh....hello, Rem."
"And...Shane?"
Iris blinked, studying the entourage that had shown up to-...well, she was here to congratulate him and keep him from doing anything stupid. These two were probably here for the same thing. Unless Shane was just here to watch and laugh and pester, which could very well be the motive. She looked t'wards the door, noting the fact that there were now three people and a griffin standing outside the door of a possibly-fleeing fugitive of the house of Rosaylen. All they needed now was the b***h herself, maybe a mediator to keep the blood to a minimum...eh, just make a party out of it.
Iris sighed, giving a slightly-frustrated look to the ceiling before trying her hand at getting him to open up. "Come on, Mal, it's Iris. I'm tired, I haven't got to shop yet today, and I've got a griffin who's about as impatient as I am. Let's not make this any more painful than we have to, shall we?" Of how much you have to learn.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:37 pm
"My, Mr. Lansing sure is popular, today!"
Screw being inconspicuous. Shane wasn't about to act stalker-like in front of people she new and liked. Especially not after that whole thing, with the failure of sneaking into Iris' place to tell the night of the Shindig, wanting to tell her that Deste was all right, and the tumbling through the window, and the big white-and-red griffin dog-piling her, and losing her hat....
Approaching the two already outside the door, the bartender unlaced her over-sized outter shirt as she walked. It was warm, especially with the things she was wearing underneath. Today, it was a light pink shirt, cut off at the sleeves and long enough - though not really baggy - to hang well past her waist, light brown pants, and boots. And of course, her corset. This one was white, with pretty little lavender flowers decorating the outside. She did love this one dearly, and should get a chance to show it off.
Flicking her hair away from her neck, Shane smiled a pleasant 'good morning' grin at the two, she waited until Iris had given her little speech to Mal's door, and then and asked, "Well, I suppose we're all here for the same reason, yes?"
Thank you, Captain Obvious!
"Now, if Princeling were here, he would suggest picking the lock." Shane commented as she tied her extra shirt around her waist. "Though, since he isn't here, I'll suggest for him; does anyone know how to pick locks?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:46 pm
“Somehow, I doubt that we’re the only ones who will come out here before the day is over…” Rem muttered, sparing a moment to nod a greeting at Shane. He had a dark feeling that she was still angry with him over ordering water at the bar. It was ONE TIME!
Rem tilted his head to one side at hearing the sound. It sounded like a… a thump? No. Would Mal jump out the window? Of course not! That would just be silly and desperate! Then again, this was Mal. Few men would rather brave a blizzard than prison, but Mal was one of them. He would jump, wouldn’t he?
“Did anyone else hear that?” he asked, although he was pretty damn sure the others had heard it. “It’s either he jumped…” or he merely wanted them to think he had.
Mal, naturally, gave no answer and instead pretended to be nothing, nothing at all. He was good at that sort of thing. There was an art to disappearing. It wasn’t just standing still and wearing the same color clothing as those around you. You had to help people’s eyes see nothing. Colors were only one part of it.
At least Aeron was outside in the stable. He wouldn’t get into any trouble there… not unless someone got the bright idea of checking on Aeron.
For some time, Rem merely stared at the lock. “…Well, how hard can it be?” he said eventually with a shrug. Kneeling down, he noticed two things: first of all, he didn’t have anything to pick a lock with. Secondly, the letter was still halfway under the door. “Huh. He didn’t even open it… either of you ladies have anything that I could use as a lock pick?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:55 pm
You can label us a consequence, Rem probably had a point - anyone who really wanted to find Mal wouldn't have an incredibly hard time doing it, especially now that three had already shown how possible it truly was. Now that they were here, though, actually getting to the 'famous' heir wasn't proving to be incredibly easy. Granted, all that was between him and them was a door, but...doors were funny things. Made of wood, usually not very yeilding when it came to breaking them down...and those annoying lock things!
God, she sounded like Shane.
She heard the noise, but ignored it. Mal wouldn't be that stupid...she hoped. Holding on to the slightest hint of faith in his intelligence, she turned her thoughts to Shane's idea of picking the lock. Sadly, Deste still wouldn't teach her how to do that, but..it couldn't be that hard, right? Iris thought for a second, a slight smile creeping onto her face. She didn't have something with which to pick a lock, per say, but she knew one among them that did.
"Elrok, I need a favor," she said to the griffin, stroking his face as those intelligent red eyes blinked at her. "Could you stick one of your claws into the keyhole?"
The griffin looked as if he only had a slight clue what she was saying. Claw, he understood. The rest....the bird cocked his head. Iris chuckled, before tapping a finger on the doorknob. Elrok saw the hole, lowered his head to inspect it...then sat on his haunches and stuck a claw into the little hole. The woman couldn't help but laugh when the red and white bird turned his head to look at her, awaiting further instruction.
"Just....move it around. Break it."
He knew what 'break' meant, and took to work at doing just that. Her companions were giving her odd looks, but..she meerly shrugged. "I didn't see either of you having a better idea." Of how much you have to learn.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:27 pm
"I knew I should have stuck something handy down my shirt today..." Shane commented in mock-afterthought. Scooting around the red and white griffin as he played with the lock, the woman stooped to pick up the untouched envelope from beneath the door. Checking the scrawl on the front, she recognized the sharp handwriting after a moment. "And how rude. He didn't even This is a personal note from a certain recently-recognized member of the Albinian nobility, too! Maybe with pointers on how to take it all. And probably where to go hide-out."
That was exactly what Deste had wanted to do when the inevitable came. Hum-hum-hum.
Tucking the letter into the faux-belt at her waist, the bartender stood back to wait as the griffin took care of the doorlock problem. It took a few minutes, but with a loud popping sound, the entire handle fell from the wood. Good thing Iris could pay it off. Then again, if no one noticed until after the fact, they could probably sneak out without anyone noticing.
If Mal didn't put up a ruckus, that is. And if that 'thump'ing sound had been him jumping out the window...
Taking the initiative to open the door, she squeezed past the fluff of feathers backing up, and flounced brightly into the room. "Maaal!" she called...before realizing there was no one in the room. And the window was open. And there was a little trail of cloth flung outside said open window....Oh dear.
Stepping slowly over to the window, Shane leaned outside, glancing to the ground. Something that looked suspiciously like a pack sat in the street, not too far from the window. Now why would he leave without his pack? Unless he'd panicked and thought it would slow him down...maybe he was going back for it later? Though...let's see. Would he actually run? Mal was too smart for that...especially if he could actually con himself into a very well-known and well-established noble family. Shane didn't know the guy that well yet...but predicting how someone would move had been her forte at one time.
"I think he's still around," she said simply. Maybe the closet, if he wanted to be that cliche. Or maybe he was small enough to fit into that chest in the corner of the room...
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:47 pm
“Probably didn’t need to read it to know what it was,” Rem said distractedly as Elrok busily broke the lock open. Inwardly, he was impressed by the gryphon’s ability to understand what his mistress wanted. He was pretty sure that Tali didn’t understand that much… maybe one day he would be this intelligent. “There weren’t guards with it; I guess that’s how he knew it was real and that he was officially accepted. And here I thought there would be extra time because it would take him a while to read it all, especially if there are lots of big words.”
He followed Shane into the room, rather warily because he knew that someone like Mal would set up a few traps. It was the type of thing a former thief would do, right? The bits of string attached to the knobs only seemed to corroborate this theory. But, if there were any traps, they were apparently designed to go off if someone opened the door properly. Good thing they had a gryphon.
Rushing to the window, he peered out. “Looks like his bag’s down there… I think he’s still here too. No sign of any gryphon feathers and he sure as Hell wouldn’t leave without Aeron. Unless… well, I suppose he could have simply run… doesn’t seem like him, though.”
Damn, he needed to sit down. Since the bed seemed like the best place for a sit, that’s where Rem ended up. The ancient springs squeaked a little as he sat down.
At least, he thought it was the springs.
In reality, it was Mal. There were some situations when Mal honestly didn’t mind being under the weight of another man. This was not one of them. It was cramped and there was someone sitting on the bed, making things extremely uncomfortable for Mal. And, worst of all, he couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t even wriggle to make things more comfortable.
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:58 am
You can label us a consequence, Eh, she'd pay for the stupid door. Donation to charity, she guessed.
The woman entered last, with her griffin...well,sticking his head in the door. The doors were rather small, and the hallway was not, so he pretty much had to stay outside. At least they wouldn't be bothered by yet another visitor. Humming lightly, she glanced about the room. She, like the others, doubted that he would do something so simple as going out the window. For one, someone could be waiting outside for him. Two, as Rem said - he wouldn't leave without Aeron...
Though, she could hardly see how Aeron could get in the room, judging by the size of the door.
Her head swiveled in the direction of the squeak, an eyebrow lifting almost involuntarily. It sounded like the bed, but.....nooo, he wouldn't do that. It'd be too degrading if he managed to get caught. Besides, that bed was rather low. Surely he couldn't fit under there....right? Of how much you have to learn.
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:49 pm
Now, a professional con-man would try to make it look like he had run, right? Then again, said professional con-man could have predicted that anyone looking for him would assume that he was trying to make it look like he had run, while he was really hiding out somewhere nearby...and thusly would the con-man actually run. But on the other hand, he could think that we would think that he thought that....
That was too confusing of a subject to try and pursue. So, Shane tried another tactic. "Maaal!" the bartender called in a sweet, almost sing-song voice, "Come ooout! I'll give you free boooze~"
...
......
.........Alright, so maybe he really wasn't there. So he had thought that they would think that he would see that they would....
"ARGH!" was all the woman could say as she flopped down on the bed hard enough to make the mattress bounce. That train of thought hurt her head...
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:06 pm
Free booze? Mal looked up as best he could, wondering how long the offer of free alcohol would remain open. Nah… it really wasn’t worth it. A lifetime of being told what to do? Pfft… nothing was worth living under someone else’s heels. On the bright side, it sounded like everyone was getting bored of sitting---or standing---around and waiting for him to come out, so hopefully they would leave soon and then he would be able to just flatout run…
He hadn’t been counting on Shane to suddenly flop down on the bed. This elicited a much louder squeal of pain from the hidden Cambrian, one that no one would have been able to miss.
Rem definitely didn’t miss it. Looking at the bed sharply, he had to wonder if Mal could actually fit under it. The mattress was awfully close to the ground, but he was also a pretty small man. Yeah, he probably could fit under there. Getting off the bed, Rem knelt nearby and peered under and grinned widely.
Damnit, but a squished Mal was an amusing sight.
“Is there any particular reason why you’re hiding under your bed, Mal?”
“Hidin’?” Mal wheezed as he started to wriggle out from under the bed. “I ain’t hidin’!”
“…You were under a bed, Mal. What else could you have been doing?”
“I was sleepin’.”
“… sleeping. Under a bed.”
“That’s right.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:38 pm
You can label us a consequence, Elrok let out a triumphant squawk, like it was he who found Mal. Silly bird...
Iris shook her head, kneeling beside the bed herself. "He wasn't hiding, Rem. He was simply seeing if there was some sort of trap door under the bed that would whisk him away to the Rosaylen residence. He's so keen to go there, after all...."
Her smirk said that she was playing, but in all seriousness, he looked thrilled. Not that he looked exactly upset, but...yeah. Poor guy. She'd be a little hesitant too, if it meant having to be directly related to that b***h. The grandmother was a sweety, Norene was darling...wonder what happened to the last one. Gene pools could throw wildcards, she supposed.
Honestly, she was kind of expecting Shane to begin prancing around, or start trying to drag Mal out from underneath the bed. She was also waiting for some innuendos - after all, it was Shane. Of how much you have to learn.
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:12 pm
Having refrained from yelling, "YAR THE BED'S COMING TO LIFE" after the much-too-human-to-be-a-bed squeal had issed from the mattress, Shane proceeded to put her hands behind her head, cross her legs at the ankles, and swing a foot back and forth in thought. And, after listening to the short exchange between the other three people with attentive politeness, the bartender began to ramble only as she knew how.
"This is fabulous! Not only has Malcolm succeeded in somehow finding it comfortable enough to sleep beneath a bed - I mean, imagine how this could revolutionize the concept of sleeping! - but he's managed to perfect the art of long-distance sleep-throwing too~"
After releasing one of her hands from its duty to propping up her head, and gesturing pointedly at the window, she continued with, "I mean, look at the distance he'd have to throw things! It must truly have been a spectacle!....I'm sad I missed it. Perhaps you could demonstrate it again for me sometime, Mal? We could even put on a show, like at a circus!"
She paused, letting the silence ring, completely aware that she was being a babbling idiot, but not quite caring either way. These people knew she was odd, and her oddness brought joy, rapture, and puppies to them every day. Well...maybe minus the puppies - she'd have to be stealing a lot of dogs to manage that - but that was the idea.
"And now!" Shane continued abruptly as she sat up with a flourish. "Let's Rem and I squeeze in with Master Lansing and enjoy some quality time~" Pausing, she gave an apologetic look to Iris. "And I'm sorry, Little Miss, but I don't think you should join us. Princeling might eat me for lunch if something happened."
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