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In the Beginning...part 2
Players: DivineSaturn, Sarielle, Smerdle, Eight, Trinityblue
Compiled by either Smerdle or Eight
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This was getting weirder by the second. Angel found himself wishing somebody would throw cold water on him and return him to consciousness soon. This had to be induced by a blow to the head.

...didn't it? I mean, were you actually conscious of the fact it was a dream if it, well, was a dream? And the other three were awfully dynamic and vivid, not stilted puppets or vague faces as dream versions of people often are.

Balleratrix's voice was still loud and clear as ever. Instinct dictated he make for the bar with all haste, lingering memories of whip cracks driving him. But maybe...He watched the knob that now hovered in space turn in a hypnotic flash of colours.

"Think maybe we can get out of here?" he asked of nobody in particular. An artificial desert still stretched as far as the eye could see in one direction. Definitely not an appealing choice. It left this self-turning knob as their best hope.

He reached for it, then paused, struggling to pull a sleeve down over his hand. He had no idea why, but something made him not want his bare skin on it.

Still several feet from the closest person, Baxter continued to hang back. "This is a sick joke," he whispered when the woman's head popped out of the mirror, as if, after all the strangeness that had preceded it, that was the thing that finally made this too much to believe. Determined not to help... whatever this was along, he shoved his hands into the lacy pockets of his coat and inched away from the inky blackness that had once been the mirror. Maybe the cat-girl would sacrifice herself for the good of the team.

Crescentia was busy inspecting her new coat...if a coat was really what it could be called, so she was surprised to hear the angry voice of their self-proclaimed teacher. She glared at the spot where the woman's head had once been. "Amerei torcere il suo collo con i pantaloni del Baxter. " She growled, walking over to the bar and leaning against it with her arms crossed.

Angel seemed to cheer her up a bit with his question. A way to get out? Good! She hated being stuck in one place for too long! "Odd...there isn't an outline for a door there. The knob's pretty though." She mused, pushing herself off the bar and following Angel to it. The gypsy blinked and watched the man mess with his sleeve, sighing. "Where's your sense of adventure, Angel." Crescentia smiled and grabbed the doorknob to see if maybe she could push or pull open a magic invisible door. It wasn't like anything was going to happen.

“This is all a twisted dream. A seriously twisted dream, that or I was shot and now dead,” Trin said softly as she made her way to the bar. But that still didn’t explain the ‘teacher.’ Then the attention to the door got her attention and she wondered to where the others were up too.

“Just because there’re no seams on the door doesn’t mean there aren’t any,” she said as she walked to them. Then Crescentia touched the knob all the way to open the door.

Yep, she was brave.

As soon as it was touched, the doorknob twisted and immediately swung inwards into the darkness, pulling the person who had tried it along. The misty black turned out to only be about an inch thick, and once through, those who passed through the doorway would finally find the bar.

It was, in fact, an old Wild West saloon, complete with a tinkling piano in the corner, a counter with several shady men in cowboy hats and boots seated in front of it, a couple of poker games already in progress, and a woman with a gaudy, ornate dress performing a can can for the whistling crowd. When she saw the newcomers, she looked up and paused.

"Well," Balleratrix said, "it's about time you got here. But it's too late, I'm afraid. They're almost here."

He made a grab for Crescentia as the door yanked inward, to salve his conscience; but he was a few seconds too late. Instead of staring at their certain demise, he stared an an old saloon full of disreputable-looking cowboys.

And he was wearing a leotard and the fruitiest coat known to man. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. He was in so much haste to disrobe from the offending garments (he could just feel their narrow-eyed stares) that he didn't even check on the gypsy.

He did make time for a question. "Who's almost here," he demanded. Balleratrix's voice had sounded ominious.

Baxter offered a hand to Crescentia, narrowed eyes gazing suspiciously at the gathered men and Balleratrix, who was sporting yet another costume change. This was more his speed, but he still didn't appreciate that the scene seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Yeah, who?" he grated, backing Angel's words. Maybe if they showed a united front, he would get to go home.

"AUGH!" Crescentia gasped when the door pulled her in with it, letting go when she had the chance and nearly crashing into a table full of poker-playing cowboys that looked quite dangerous. Her surroundings didn't register to her yet though. "Owww..." She groaned, sitting where she'd handed and rubbing at her elbows. "Maybe I should have let you grab the knob, Ange--why hello there." The gypsy stared up at the face of a cowboy, accepting Baxter's help up and brushing herself off like she hadn't just come flying out of nowhere and nearly ruined their poker game.

...They definitely didn't fit in here. Oh well! That made her feel more at ease now! "Uh...yeah. Who's almost here?" Wow it felt weird not to know what was about to happen. She usually had tarot cards to tell her things!

Trinity went after where the other girl went flying only to notice that they weren’t alone. So this is what the crazy old lady meant. A -bar- like a place you buy drinks. Not a bar, like a pole! This was just too embarrassing. But she kept her cool and checked on the gypsy.

“Are you okay? You made one heck of an entrance,” she asked.

"The pirates, of course."

Balleratrix stated this calmly, as though travelling through mirrors and having saloons invaded by pirates was an everyday occurance. Which to her, it may well have been. Still, there was a nervous edge to her movements that had not been there before, and if anyone was looking closely, they might have noticed that the hand holding her whip- which was now a much shorter, more elegant riding crop- shook when she smacked it against things.

"You'll have to leave now," she said fiercely, looking over her pupils shoulders at the door they had emerged from. Instead of a mirror, it was that same pit of sand that had been in the ballet studio, stretching seemingly to infinity under an artificial sky. "Yes. That will do."

Behind the Balleratrix, and behind the cowboys who had abandoned their drinks and poker and were preparing their guns, was a double swinging door, one of the few things that actually fit in with the setting. Outside it, however, one could hear the clang of metal against metal, and the occasional "arrh!"

"Go on now. If you jump, you can make it." Swatting the students with her riding crop, Balleratrix herded them over to the sand pit. "It's best if you get a running start. Hurry." The sand didn't look especially inviting, with the way it funneled into central points, but it was possibly a better alternative to getting caught in a cowboy/pirate brawl.

"If it gets me away from that whip, I'm in," Angel said. And the cowboys. He hadn't even gotten far enough to worry about the pirates yet. But if they scared Balleratrix, they sure as hell scared him.

Besides, he could always...No. Not unless he had to. Gathering himself with an unexpected athleticism, he ran and threw himself forward.

Crescentia grinned and threw her arms around TB in a hug. "Yes, I'm fine! It's nice to know some people appreciate a gypsy's entrance here!" Balleratrix's answer drew her attention back to the situation at hand.

"..Pirates? In the west?" That was weird. Oh well, best not argue with a woman with a whip! Especially if they were given permission to leave this crazy place. Crescentia didn't like it here...it was too peculiar. She followed the woman's gaze to the desert behind them, giving a little gasp. Where had that come from?!

Oh well. The gypsy wasn't one to spend time contemplating, she liked impulse! So she walked over to the Balleratrix then turned and ran towards the desert, jumping forward when she reached the edge of the saloon.

Well, s**t. This was just a madhouse. Baxter recognized the sounds of fighting, and whether or not these people actually believed they were pirates and cowboys was really none of his concern. He wasted no time peeling off his jacket and insanely ugly, itchy swimsuit top and throwing the top at the nearest scruffy, gun-toting freak. He kept the coat, balling it up into a compact pillow of sorts and holding it in front of his chest.

"It's a dream, right?" he muttered. He took a deep breath, jogged forward and jumped through the door after the younger man and woman.

Everyone had suddenly gone nuts. First angel jumped in, then Crescentia, whom Trin tried to stopped from jumping in only to lose her balance at the edge. Without her tail, she wasn’t able to get that balance back, and added to the older man jumping in, her balance was gone forever. She fell into the darkness without a clue what would happen next.

Well, that wasn’t any different from the time this event started.

In this case, the sand was quicker than the eye. As soon as the jumpers landed, they would find themselves being sucked down by the tiny grains. Struggling or trying to swim through it wouldn't help in the least. The smarter ones might have enough time to take an especially deep breath before the sand swallowed them, and everything went black.

When they awoke, they would find themselves in a completely different place yet again- in a library. Glass doors with elegant gold vine handles were open in front of them, and beyond were dozens upon dozens of bookcases, containing hundreds, or thousands, of books. Lamps atop the bookcases provide enough light to see without bumping into things, if not enough to read by. The books, however, are spectacles in themselves.

...Nope...Crescentia was too busy yelling as many profanities about her luck in both French and Italian. Sheee definitely didn't have time to take a deep breath before being pulled into the sand.

She had no idea how long they were out but she did remember waking up to coughing up bits of sand she'd gotten in her mouth from when she was yelling. "This," She wiped at her mouth the ugly coat's sleeve. "Is not my night." Crescentia sighed, looking up finally to see where she was. Oh wow...this place was actually pretty nice. "Pretty."

He landed with a grunt; but instead of hurting his knees, as he'd expected, he never quite got his feet, as the sand slid from beneath him, funneling down. He scrambled, but dropped

Screw that. "I am NOT going down there," he hollered as he disappeared from beyond view. Those following might have viewed a sudden mini sandstorm appearing over the hole, but it seemed Angel was mistaken; he fell through all the same, smothering.

He came to just as clean as last time. Books of every shape, size and hue swam dizzily into view. The perspective he gained from his position on his back gave the shelving monstrous proportions. And made his wings hurt.

With a muffled cry, they blinked out of view. He really, really hoped he was alone. Or at least, the first one awake. It was dim in here at least, he comforted himself, and he couldn't immediately see anyone. Maybe they'd been taken elsewhere; or been smart enough not to follow, he added ruefully to himself.

He did think he caught notes of Crescentia's voice somewhere in this place; and he called out himself, genuinely hoping someone would answer. Struggling to his feet, he made for where he thought she might be.

Baxter hit the sand hard, and as he felt himself sinking, he began to kick and swing his arms in a ridiculous attempt to remain afloat. It didn't help that the sand was sucking him straight down while he was executing some form of breaststroke. He had once been a strong swimmer, he would like to think he had been strong at everything, but at the moment he was tired and panicky and wearing a pair of the greatest sand-collecting pants known to mankind. He didn't have time to take a breath before he was under...

...and then he was awake again. He sat up quickly and began coughing, bits of sand sprinkling off of him in a sparkling shower. His entire body hurt as a result of his futile swim, and it took all of his concentration to stop wheezing. At the gypsy's declaration he looked up and the tickling in his throat ceased for the moment. Yeah, it was kind of pretty.

Trin landed on her backside, having been falling backwards the whole time. Swimming in sand was much harder than water, and harder still backwards. Then she hit something, and all was quiet.

When she woke up, the others were moving already and she gave a cough, trying to shake the sand off of her. It seemed to get everywhere! “Is everyone okay…?” she asked, then noticed the library. “And… I’m more lost now.”

The library was inviting, especially when compared to the Balleratrix's classroom, or the saloon that may or may not have been invaded by pirates. Its atmosphere was cozy, if a bit dark, and there was a light feeling of expectance in the air. The House knew that it had them now, and it was just a matter of waiting as the books called out to them.

"Mmm hmm," Baxter answered absently, rising slowly to his feet. He didn't really care anymore if it was the cat-girl who had asked. That was the way out. It had to be. He walked forward into the library, trying not to limp, and trailed a finger over the spines of the nearest books.

"Except for some sand up our noses we seem to be fine." The gypsy pushed herself up to her feet and looked around. Wow! It was the nicest thing in this house! And there weren't any crazy cowboys or kinky dance teachers! What a haven! "I've never seen so many books!" She said with a grin, glancing around to make sure the place was safe before running to the closest bookshelf with a giddy little giggle.

She plucked a random book off a shelf and skimmed through it, shrugging when the only page she actually read (Around the middle) held no interest to her because she didn't understand what was going on. She put that one back. "At least we got lost somewhere peaceful this time, eh?" Crescentia asked as she took a small pink book off a shelf with some French title. "This place must have every book ever published or something. There's so many!"

Past two bookshelves and around a rather comfortable red leather reading chair, Angel found them all. "Looks like we all made it," he commented; and then, "This really isn't so bad. There are some gorgeous volumes here."

He ignored the feeling that they were all still waiting for the other shoe to drop, and moved to peruse the shelves. The ornate bumped elbows with the practically decomposed. The musty smell of old paper was everywhere.

Still, it took him almost a full turn around the room before Angel moved to pull one off the shelves and actually open it -- sheer curiosity provoked the action. This book looked as though it had been fished out of a fire.

The cover, plain faded red cloth splashed with darker brown stains, was warped with heat, and one corner on all the pages was a little charred.

He moved to open the cover to assess the damage inside, but Crescentia's giddy turnings about the room distracted him, and he left it unread.

“I have to agree, at least it’s peaceful,” Trin said, getting to her feet and wincing in pain. That fall had hurt! But at least everyone was moving around. And now that Balleratrix wasn’t around, she started to shed the weird clothes she was given. It was starting to hurt her tail. At least to the point it could be freed.

Then she started to explore the library with the rest, looking at books at random. Yes, this was much better than where they had been. All she needed now was a nice cup of tea and this was a good place to wait to get out of her.

That was, if they could read these books. Then one she was holding wouldn't open, so she put it back and reached for another to see if that one did.

The book in Baxter's hands was both small and fat, and almost looked like a block. Covered in multicolored cloth that could have come from a patchwork quilt, it had a pair of gold buttons sewn into its spine. Its pages were a soft, golden tan color, and extremely thick, possibly adding to the book's weight.

The next book Crescentia picked up was quite thin, with a flexible, pale blue cover. It appeared to have been embossed with a title some time ago, but the ink had rubbed of, leaving only slights indentation as evidence. Keeping with its light theme, the pages were a stark white, and quite stiff. It was a sharp contrast to the tiny, jet black print that was centered on each page.

Before Angel could open the cover, another caught his eye a short distance away. This book was somewhat thicker and heavier, covered with a lightweight red leather. There was a design painted on the spine of the book in gold. When he opened it, he would note that the pages were a deep grey, and softer than they appeared. Whatever color the text had once been, it had faded into an indistingushable gray, almost the same as the pages themselves.

As for Trin's, she had come across a book with a cover that shifted colors in the light, looking first blue, then green, then purple. Its cover was glossy and slightly warm, with no apparent markings on it. Inside, the pages were warmer still, and crinkled as they were touched.

Hm..she'd read that one later. She picked up the blue book next and stared at the cover. Weird...no title. Not anymore at least. Crescentia looked around for a moment to find something, smiling when she found a comfy chair. Just what she was looking for! She hated to read standing up! Walking over, the gypsy draped herself across the chair with her back against one arm and her legs hanging over the other. There! Now she was comfortable.

"Huh...what a strange book." She murmured as her eyes scanned over the words on the page. It was impossible not to read the words when the pages were the whitest pages she'd ever seen!

Angel wandered on, and picked up a book from a reading table this time. Red again. Why did that colour keep popping up tonight? He wasn't even particularly fond of it. An intricate design in gold snaked its way up the spine.

The pages of it seemed even more beautiful though, the dark, rich gray a sharp contrast to the warm tones of the cover. They were a pleasure to touch, he found, as he struggled to make out the letters that were only a slightly different colour than the paper.

Turning the book so the glare from the bright buttons was somewhere other than his eyes, he ran his fingers over the patchy cover before tilting the book and letting the heavy pages fall open where they would. A soft grin touched his lips, and for a change it wasn't angry or cynical. When he noticed he was smiling, Baxter quickly wiped the sentiment from his features looked around at the others, to make sure no one had seen.

A small, almost giddy, giggle escaped the tailed girl as she held the book. There was something about the way the colors changed urged her to open it. Now this had been one of the most interesting books she had ever picked up! It was strange that there were no words on the cover, and no writing on it what so ever.

Upon opening the book, her hand moved over the warm pages even as the voices of the others came. What they were saying was beyond her, for she was too focused in on the book, and what it read. As she read, her hand kept caressing the pages. The warmth reminded her of sitting in the sunlight, or next to a fire on a cold day.

The relative silence of the Library was broken by a sudden whistling. Seconds later, a teenage boy strolled past one of the bookcases, holding a young girl in his arms. Despite the boy being a bit pale, the pair looked more or less normal.

Then a miniature whale flew past them, encased in a bubble of water, and normal went out the window.

"He's gotta be here," Eriol said to the girl, looking around. "He was here that time b'fore, so he's gotta live here, or somethin'. Waitin' for innocent kids ta fall inta his trap-"

It was then that he noticed the others, looking at the books, and his red-green eyes widened in shock. Before taking in the whole scene- and the open books- he adressed them sharply. "What're y'all doing here? Careful, or you'll get caught too."

Crescentia was content reading her new book at the moment. It wasn't until she heard a voice and saw a flying whale that she looked up. Oh, it was just children with a flying whale.

...Wait...

A flying whale?! What?!

"Caught? In what? More sand?" The gypsy giggled and turned back to her book. She didn't mean to be rude to the boy but...honestly...they'd had a very odd night. If anything were to faze Crescentia after this it would have to be pretty spectacular.

Angel was, for one, getting tired of the endless parade of characters and their quirks. A whale did not belong in a library. At least nobody had weapons, so far as he could see.

"We're caught in here, yes," he broke in over Crescentia. "How do we get out?" Strange; for the moment, they'd all seemed to have forgotten escape as they'd picked up their respective tomes. It hadn't seemed that important just a moment ago.

Caught? As far as Baxter was concerned, they already were. If he had been able to find an exit, he would have left long ago.

"Who are you?" he asked, unconsciously cradling his book in the crook of his elbow. "Is that you, you crazy hag?"

“Caught by what?” Trin echoed, torn away from her book to look at the voice. Her eyes went large at the sight of the flying whale with the children.

Okay, that was just strange. So strange, it fit fight in with tonight.

"No, not sand," Eriol said dismissively. "Caught with a... book." Wait, she already had a book. That was bad. But when he looked around, he saw that far more disturbingly, they ALL had books. That was about as bad as it got. Those poor souls, he thought, looking at the ceiling quickly. And since he couldn't find that limeade guy, they were going to think it was his fault!

"Listen," Eriol said, adressing Angel, but also the others. "I feel for ya. I really, really do. But it's not my fault. Sounds like y'were stuck, eh? Well, so was I, last year. And it sucks. But that's kinda sorta not all of it."

Then Baxter spoke, and Eriol was outright offended. "Listen. I'm an innocent bystander in alla this, jus like you. Name's Eriol." Shifting the girl in his arms, he extended a gloved hand. "This here's Viviana, and the whale's Outcry. And... y'all might wanna come with me for a sec, so I can 'splain. Oh, an leave the books here."

While Eriol made introductions, Viviana looked out at the crowd shyly. Some people sounded angry, and it made her bury her head in Eriol's shirt. She didn't like how angry people sounded.

Uh oh. He was already making excuses about something. That couldn't be good. Once again Angel comforted himself by the lack of whips and yelling, and lay down the book -- albeit with slight reluctance -- and followed the teen. He was pretty sure by this point the only way to escape the fantasy was to see it to its conclusion, and apparently the conclusion wasn't one they could control.

"A book? Well we've had weirder done to us tonight." She said without looking up from her book, tuning out the others in the room. She sighed after a moment and put the book down. She couldn't concentrate now! She pushed herself off the chair and stood, crossing her arms over her chest and following Angel to the boy.

This was a curious turn of events. Someone was actually going to explain what was going on! “But how can a book be a bad thing…?” Trin asked. That was bothersome, even if everything was about to be explained.

Reluctantly she set her book down and started to follow him.

"Oh... well, good to meet you," Baxter said, stepping forward and holding out a hand to shake before he really realized what he was doing. This was ridiculous. He put his book down slowly and made to follow Eriol. If this young man had answers, he was actually worth following for a change.

"Alright... this is gonna sound nutso. I know it will, 'cause it sounded nutso to me when I heard it. But it's true." That probably wasn't the best way to launch into an explanation, but Eriol had to have that disclaimer in place. That way, hopefully, these people wouldn't KILL HIM.

"So. These books? Turn into kids. Seriously, they do! She was a book once." Giggling Viviana in his arms, Eriol took a deep breath and continued. "I'm not really sure how it works, 'cause, y'know, it's weird. But I got sucked inta this madhouse, and wound up with her. Oh, an him too!" This time he pointed at the whale. "See, these kids come with little animal things called daemons. An it's really important to make sure they stay near the kids, or else they both get really sick. An the daemons get named from words in the excerpts. Which are... excerpts of the book, I think. I don't really remember well. But they're important."

Considering the circumstances, he hadn't done a bad job explaining things. He wasn't the lime idiot, after all. But there was one more thing to add. "An you hafta take 'em, even if you don' wanna, 'cause I am NOT takin' care of all these kids, y'hear?"

Then, before they could think he was a candidate for the looney bin, he herded them all back to the table with the books. They could see for themselves.

"Weird...books that turn into kids? That's kinda cool, but even I have to admit it's kinda creepy too." The gypsy glanced back at the books, listening quietly to the whole explanation the boy was giving.

When they were given the chance Crescentia walked over and picked up her book again, opening it to the page she'd left off on and reading through it again.

Baxter remained silent. That was not what he wanted to hear, not at all. He had no room for or inclination to keep some magical spawn with a mutant whale sidekick. If he didn't say anything, he didn't agree to anything. Right?

He had heard of stranger things -- Taka, after all, had been born from at least equally unusual circumstances.

...he didn't want another Taka.

Angel also didn't much know what to say, but at last he managed something. "Okay, so...we should go check for them?" He was a) taking this better than he'd expected and b) feeling really ridiculous. "I feel like a kid running downstairs to see if Santa has come yet," he muttered as he took a few hesitant steps back the way they'd come.

The stuff about daemons, excerpts, and what needed to stay where had completely washed over him unabsorbed. At this point, he felt proud he even knew there were supposed to be kids.

The books they were reading became children? With little creatures called daemon’s with them? She had heard that term somewhere before, yet before she could think of where, they were herded back into the room they had just left.

Everything was happening so fast now, she wasn’t sure what to do so she stayed silent and watched.

"Don't believe me? Well too bad." Frowning, Eriol pushed them out, in front of the rickety wooden table, to see exactly what was there where the books had been.

Sitting closest to the edge of the table was Baxter's, a girl with unruly dreadlocks and a long ornate coat- not unlike the ones they had been forced to wear by the Balleratrix. This one, however, along with the hat, gave the definite impression of a certain kind of seafarer. She watched the adults, giggling, and almost dislodged her excerpt from the corner of her hat.



"She sped ahead and leapt without even hesitating. Her leather coat flared out behind her like wings, and I thought, I'd like a coat like that. She touched down on the next building, arms wide for balance. My strides lengthened and I took flight, my body thrilling as it soared over the lane far below. I hit the gravel running and caught up with the girl. It was not a graceful landing. There was the sound of broken glass, and I was sprawled on the floor in the most undignified manner. Blinking away the rain, I turned to look back at the Ritz. A couple of pirates stood at the roof's edge, silhouetted briefly by their airship's spotlight as it soared over them, heading for us."

At first, the girl didn't appear to have a daemon. But then, the sock monkey she was holding- did it move? Before it was possible to tell for sure, the girl took her daemon in her arms.

Next was Crescentia's, a delicate and cheerful girl lying on her stomach. She too laughed at the adults, as well as at her companions. Clad in a blue leotard and skirt, she kicked her legs back and forth, jingling the anklet she was wearing. A snippet of paper could be found under her elbow.



Elle avait la grace d'un cygne, et la passion d'un professionnel, se deplacant comme l'eau par elle fait equipe des bras; la facon ses hanches oscillees et ses pieds deplaces, elle transmet et arme le demenagement avec la musique enchantait et seduire. La musique etait etrangere, probablement latin de quelque genre, mais cela n'a pas eu d'importance. C'etait comme si je regardais une sirene dansant au lieu de chanter; je l'ai voulue, j'ai voulu la tenir, la toucher, sentir sa peau douce contre le mien. Et alors elle m'a regarde...

Her daemon, a white crane with black and red markings, hovered over her protectively, flapping his wings every few moments.

Angel's was more surly than the two girls had been, and was also clad in a fancy coat. He seemed preoccupied with something else, and when he finally did notice the adults he glared at them, kicking his spurred boots against the table. A corner of an excerpt was visible from inside his sleeve.



Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat.

His daemon was also unusual, a sort of shadowy bird that seemed to take pleasure in nipping her child's clothes. The boy tried to ignore this, but the daemon persisted.

Finally, Trin's child was another cheerful one, her blonde hair falling in her face. She was clad in what may have been the most fancy coat of them all, complete with feathers at the sleeves. Her blue eyes took in everything, but other than a smile, she showed no other reaction. Just visible underneath her hand was a scrap of paper, with her excerpt.



She read very well, not only melodiously, but in a way which made the second verse fit the rhythm of the first, which in her opinion it did not do at all:

"If thou beest born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights
Till age snow white hairs on thee.
Thou, when thou returnest, wilt tell me
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear
No where
Lives a woman true, and fair."

Her daemon was another sight to behold, a ball of flame that floated around her head. Its only features were two glowing eyes, and a devious looking grin.

"There," Eriol said. "Toldja so."

Credit Cards and Kids
Players: Short Green, Trinityblue
----------------------------------------------------------

Now that Quixana was so thoroughly mobile, shopping had become much easier, Cressida reflected as she stopped to sort through a rack of minature jeans. Though that had just seemed to make things worse in Anemone's case, really. But her darling little Xana was different, an unusual child she suspected, ever polite and obedient except for a rare streak of mischief. Still definitely a little boy, he could be trusted to get up to a little discrete something every now and again, especially if he was playing with his best friend Walter. Glancing down at the little brown-haired boy, Cressida smiled and pulled a pair of jeans from the rack. "What do you think, darling?" she asked. "For when you play outside with Walter and Oblivion.

Xana eyed them thoughtfully. Then he glanced at Courage and tilted his head as if asking a silent question. She nodded, purring lowly. He laughed and reached out to pat her head. Then he looked up and grinned. "Yes, Mommy. Good for playtime."

They won't get ripped and who cares if they get dirty? Courage stretched her front paws out a bit, wiggling her backside in the air. She yawned. What else do we need? I would like a nap.

A look of annoyance crossed Xana's face at his daemon's words. He wasn't at all tired and he hated taking naps. How could she like such horrible things? It was like betrayal. The thought passed as soon as it occured and he dutifully translated for his mother. "What else, Mommy? Courage is sleepy."

Cressida smiled gently and draped two pairs of jeans over her arm to join the rest of the burgeoning summer wardrobe. "We need to get few bath things. Annie bit the head off or your rubber ducky, remember?"

He sighed and nodded mournfully. "Yes. Poor Daffy." Then he brightened. "A new one? Get Meme her own, please. So she won't bite mine again."

"Of course, darling." Reaching down, Cressida offered her hand for holding and, within five minutes, the little trio had migrated to the land of suds and towels.

Xana gleefully seized on a bright blue duck immediately and held it up hopefully. "Please?"

It was her second say at real motherhood. After having a night in this weird house, and reading a book, that book turned into a baby, and a creature called a daemon. That baby was in her arms with, balanced on a hip, and clinging to her shirt. The little girl looked around at this new thing with large, interested blue eyes. It was so interesting here! So much was going on! Her daemon hovered near her, looking around in interest as well. There was so much to burn here!

Trinity was rifting through the baby section. What in the world was she going to get the little girl? What all did babies need? She had never faced a challenge like this, and when she had, Ice was there to take care of it. Right now, Ice was unreachable. So, here she was, looking through the baby things. “Let’s see, kiddo. What all are you going to need?” Trin asked her little girl, not expecting much of an answer.

Besides, Madison was busy looking else where.

A blue rubber duck obligingly raised better into her line of vision and Quixana stood below, holding it high for the little girl. He beamed. "Ma'am, I think she'd like a ducky," he offered.

“Waahhhh…” A bright smile went over the little girl’s face as she saw the ducky being presented to her. Then her hands reached for it and her gurgled enthusiastically for the toy. Melodious, however, frowned at it. Just who was this boy and what was he going to do with Maddy.

And was that eatable?

Trin blinked, looking down at the boy and smiling at him and the duck. “I should say he does. Thank you, hun!” she said, taking the little duck and handing it to her girl. Then she looked around for his parent.

Who obligingly appeared in the next heartbeat, cheeks pink. Cressida and Courage came to a halt from their sprint from the next aisle and already the woman was giggling. "Quixana!" she scolded. "Don't do that to Mommy." He looked sheepish immediately, scuffing his toe against the floor. Sighing, she crouched and kissed his forehead. "You worried us." Then she glanced up to see the others and smiled, ruffling her child's hair as she stood. "But if you came over here to say hello to this adorable little girl, well... You're as bad as your father. Anything for a pretty face."

"Her Mommy asked what to get," he explained. "Everyone needs a ducky."

"I suppose that's true." Sharing her smile with the other woman, Cressida nodded. "I'm sorry, miss. My name is Cressida and this is Xana and Courage."

"I’m Trinityblue," the cat-girl answered, sheepish as well. Then she introduced her pair. "This is Madison and Melodious. I’m afraid I’m a first time mom, and I’m a little lost with all of this," she admitted. Then something clicked in her mind. Cressida had a child, and a creature with her. Were these more children from books? She didn’t dare ask yet.

Maddy, however, was talking on to her new toy, holding it up and looking at it as if it was the grandest thing she had ever seen. In fact, it might be. Melo just bobbed near her, looking at the other people who joined with curious purple eyes. At least things got more interesting.

"Oh, dear." Cressida's eyes were merry, though, and she nodded understandingly. "Madison and Melodious must be like Xana and Annie then. Annie is my daughter," she quickly clarified.

"Meme," Xana added helpfully.

"She and her daemon Terror were, um... Found by my fiance. Believe me. You get used to it very quickly. How could you not, though? They're so precious."

Courage arranged herself delicate between Cressida and Trinity, tail curled delicately around her feet as she watched the interchange. Catching Melodious' eye, though, she bowed her head in greeting. Hello.

Xana gave a polite little bow himself and smiled up at Madison. "'Lo," he said. "They've got other things. More duckies and whales and fish and things."

Maddy looked at the boy with great interest. He was kind! And he gave her things! Those were big pluses in her books.

Melo looked to the lioness, bobbing his whole body in greeting. ’Ello, he answered. Then his purple eyes dared from side to side, as if trying to find something else to say. It’s a little boring here, isn’t it?

Trinity gave a laugh at that. "She is! I’ve got so much to get though. A bed, toys, clothes, food—" Her mind went blank with all the items she had to get. "I’m not even sure where to start."

"Would you like some help? Xana seems taken by your little girl and we're here to shop, anyway..." Cressida trailed off hopefully.

Xana nodded furiously. "Please?"

Maddy gave her mom a hopeful look. She didn’t want this nice boy to leave! She loved him! But Trin’s face brightened up at this idea and smiled gratefully at the other lady.

“If that’s not to much of a bother, I’d love the help!” she said.

Both Cressida and Quixana's faces lit up with eerily alike smiles, brilliant as a handful of Christmas lights; while they were obviously not blood related, there was no trick to knowing they were each other's. "It'll be no trouble at all!" Cressida neatly shifted her purchases on her arm and stretched out her free hand to chuck Madison beneath the chin. "We'll make sure this little princess gets everything she needs."

Courage rumbled out a feline laugh as her Forgotten just barely stopped himself from clapping, instead choosing to bounce on his toes a bit. "Maddy's gonna need lots of things," Xana offered helpfully. "She needs blankets to keep her warm and pretty dresses and toys. I bet you'd like blocks, Maddy. I like blocks a lot."

Maddy gave a giggle to the chin chuck. She liked these too! They gave her lots of attention and she liked attention! But blocks? What were these blocks that he was talking about? Her blonde head tilted to the side, watching the more now.

Trin’s face lit up as well. Finally! Some good news! “Oh thank goodness!” she said, “I was worried for a moment.” Then she grinned at Xana about the blanket comments. “Then we should get her something soft and warm, yes? Doesn’t that sound good, Maddy?”

Maddy gurgled, talking happily to her awkward mother and trying to convey that she should have these things. They sounded nice! Melo started to bob in the air, floating around the pair in a need to do something.

"Hmm, we'll need a cart or something, though." Cressida looked around vaguely as if expecting one to appear out of thin air to aid the shopping adventure. As luck would have it, whatever karma Cressida carried with her rewarded her look with something as close as possible to magic - a slightly awkward teenager wearing the store's colors pushed a cart into view. While it was still holding a selection of blankets clearly meant to be restocked, the young man offered a sheepish smile to Cressida's instantanous one and promptly began gathering the blankets into his arms. Then he nudged it over towards the women and their children. "Oh, thank you ever so much!" Cressida regarded the event as if it was common and the helper received another luminous smile for his trouble. He walked off, overburdened, looking slightly punch-drunk.

Xana paused in his attention to Madison to send a narrow-eyed look after the boy while his mother happily dumped her purchases in the cart and then unfolded the seat. He was just being helpful, Quixana, his daemon assured him. Chivalry isn't dead at all. In fact, Mother seems to inspire it. Xana considered this and finally bowed to the wisdom. Then he rubbed his fingers through Courage's fur at the back of her neck in admission. He looked back up to Madison. "D'ya wanna ride in the cart, Maddy?" he asked. "It's like a ride and Melo can follow along."

A ride? Was it better than being carried so close and warm? It didn’t look too warm. Maddy’s small hand reached out allowing a few small, black feathers to peek out from her shirt and touched the back of the seat. It was metallic and cold! She frowned at this and looked to the boy. Then her mother moved to put her in it.

“It is like a ride!” Trin told her with a happy smile, still impressed by what Cressida accomplished so quickly. Then she thanked her for it while Melo immediately moved to sit on the back of the seat. Trin made a small, pained look. “Melo, please don’t over heat that, we don’t want Maddy’s clothes catching on fire, and we don’t want to melt the buggy.”

Melo frowned, but he bobbed in agreement. Not that he really wanted to agree, he wanted to eat! But he didn’t like the way the metal ‘tasted’ either. It was too tangy, so to say.

Xana promptly moved to stand at the carriage's side as honor guard to Madison. He reached up to touch her foot and smiled brightly. "See? Like a ride." Courage padded over to stand beside him and he set his other hand on her back once more. "D'you want toys first?" he asked.

Laughing, Cressida shook her head. "I think Trinityblue should decide that, angel," she suggested. "What do you think? Clothing, toys, bedding? What all do you need?"

“I think clothing first, since we’re here, then bedding and toys!” Trin said, smiling brightly. Her fluffy tail gave a small swish as she looked around for a moment. These little clothes were kinda cute!

Maddy looked down at Xana and grinned at him. He was so nice! She was happy he was here, and paying attention to her. There was so much new to learn as well!

"Clothing is probably the best part for us mothers," Cressida agreed cheerfully. "And having a little girl is even better. I hate to admit it but there are so many more adorable things for them."

"Meme doesn't like clothing." Quixana even managed to sound polite when interrupting.

"True enough." Cressida smiled at Trinity. "My daughter, Anemone. She's the original nudist. Of course, it probably bothers her fins to cover them."

Xana dragged his hands down his front, attention up at Madison. "Here," he explained. "Meme has fins here. An' she has Terror."

Terror is like us, Courage informed Melo.

Melo bobbed his head in understanding. So the other person they mentioned was another Forgotten.

“I haven’t figured out yet,” Trin admitted sheepishly. “Do you know how to sew? Maybe she just needs the right kind of clothing,” she then suggested.

Cressida looked sheepish, blushing fetchingly. "I never thought of that. I do know how to sew, of course. I just never... Huh."

Politely ignoring his mother's moment of less-than-perfection, Xana again touched Madison's foot gently to get her attention. "I like your coat," he offered. "Your mommy should get dresses that color."

Maddy beamed at Xana now, pulling at her coat just a little more, so that he could see it better. She liked this coat a lot! It kept her warm, as well. It was already noted in the child’s mind that she enjoyed warm things over cold. But then, who didn’t?

Trinity giggled at her new friend, “It’s alright! I think of odd things like that, I guess. We could pick up some material and patterns for you to make her some clothes with, as well. Then both of our girls can dress up nicely,” she smiled. The real question was, would Anna even like to wear them?

"It would be a minor miracle if my little Naiad kept a dress on." Cressida laughed, though, and shook her head. Clearly she was more amused by the situation than perturbed. Motioning, she indicated that the others should follow her as she lead the way towards dresses galore.

Xana set his hand on the cart and kept pace with it, walking fast on his little legs. He smiled, though. "Your mommy can dress you up like a princess," he suggested. At Courage's nudge to his shoulder, he sighed and added, "But you wanna get some pants, too. Hard to play in skirts, I bet."

Maddy blinked at him, tilting her head. Well, she only had her pants and she didn’t know how good a dress was, so, she’d give it a shot! Another little charming smile went on her face as she tried to see where they were headed. Then she went to lean over the cart, awarding Xana with some pats on the head and a happy laugh. He was so wonderful!

“Having pants to play in sounds like a really good idea, thank you!” Trinity told the boy, grinning at him as well. Dresses! She remembered all the things her parents, grandparents and great grandparents would dress her up in. Some things she wished the photos of would just burn away, but she said nothing to this.

“And she may not, after so long of running free,” she added to the conversation of the nudist child. It was funny to think of.

"I think it's certainly worth a try, though, don't you? She's too lovely to never let out of the house." Cressida drew to a halt at one of the racks of clothing and began pulling various things off and holding them up, one after the other. When Trinity nodded, the item was tossed into the cart. If she didn't show any kind of approval, Cressida carefully hung it back on the rack.

Xana watched the adults for a moment, allowing Madison to pat his head all she liked. Idly, his tail switched, indicating deep thought. After a few moments, he glanced at Courage. She regarded him back with mild interest. Then he looked up at Maddy and Melo. "Maddy?" he asked. "What's Melo? He's kinda not an animal."

Quixana, that's not exactly...

Contrite as soon as Courage started her correction, Xana smiled. "He's neat, though. All bright and shiney. Meme would probably love him."

Maddy regarded Xana a moment, curiously. Well of course Melo wasn’t an animal… he lacked the legs and things! But he was cute. When Xana stated how neat, shiny, and how this Meme person would love him, she cheered up. He was forgiven for mistaking Melo!

Melo was currently ignoring them as he looked around the store. There were so many eatable things here! He glanced at the kids and, on seeing them focused on him (not to mention feeling that from Maddy), he decided not to move yet.

“It would be good for her to meet others too. I could possibly help sew some things for your girl,” Trinity offered, hoping she wasn’t over stepping her bounds. She was in need for a new hobby. Though, as things were, Maddy might fill that void. Then again, Maddy was going to fill that void.

"Oh, that would be fun." Cressida beamed as she held up a little blue sundress. "I haven't had a friend to sew with in, oh, decades!" This could have been exaggeration except the brunette seemed terribly forthright about it.

Quixana reached up to wind his fingers through Madison's and grinned. "Okay. So Melo's a Melo," he announced, decided. "And my Mommy likes your Mommy. So we can play together. If you want to?"

Maddy beamed at Xana, giving a most entertained laugh at this promise of play. She could play with someone her own size (sort of) and not this tiny doll thing that enjoyed yelling at her. Bav was a real meanie.

Seeing his chance, Melo floated over to the closest rack of clothes he could get to that the adults weren’t at. Once at the right, tastiest piece of cloth he could find, he took a seat. Melo, being a blue ball of flame, started to eat the cloth. Unfortunately that eating equaled burning the said object.

Trin’s attention was brought to this problem the moment someone else gave a startled cry of fire. Her head whipped around to where her baby and daemon were. In her own home, Bavaria – the little feien – had been the one to cry this, alerting her to Melodious’ hunger.

Sure enough, there was the puff of flame, setting a blaze to a portion of clothing. “Melo!!” Trin immediately moved to the fire to get him off it and put out the fire. She was getting well acquainted to small area, oxygen-depriving spells. Ones that were useful in putting out fires.

Quixana stared with round, brown eyes. Then he pointed. "Melo!" he called. "That's naughty!"

If a lion could roll her eyes, that was exactly what Courage was doing as she took the more direct route and padded over to the afflicted clothing rack. Reaching up a paw, she gently batted Melo downwards to eye-level and blinked at him solemnly. That's not a good thing to do, Melodious, she said carefully. You'll upset Trinity and that will affect Madison, too. You have to snack at appropriate times.

"... Does he do that often?" Cressida asked, head tilted.

“Only when he decides he’s hungry,” Trinity said, checking to make sure she got everything. Then, with a resigned sigh, she started to pick the damaged ones up. She’d pay for them and hopefully not get kicked out of the store.

Shopping lesson number one: Feed Melo before going shopping.

Melo, being caught by the young lioness daemon, pouted. The glassy, purple eyes became huge with the teal colored flames that served as eyebrows slanted back making him look like a pitiful, and deeply saddened, ball of blue flame. He was just hungry...

Maddy was in her own frowning world. She was just about to laugh and giggle over what Melo was doing. However, the moment Xana yelled at him, and called him naughty, made her stop. Melo was doing something wrong? But she liked see things go up in pretty colors!

If only Trin knew her baby’s thoughts….

"So that's how he eats." Cressida helped Trinity remove the damaged items from the rack and she smiled faintly, bemused. "And I thought having a lion and a lizard thing was difficult."

And there's no need to yell, Quixana. Courage gently batted Melo again but it was affectionate this time. He's hungry.

"Oh." Looking chastened, Quixana dug in his pockets as he stepped closer to the other daemon. "Um, sorry." He frowned a bit. Finally, he pulled out a minature handkerchief and held it out. "You can eat this if you wanna," he offered by way of peace bargainning. "Daddy makes me have it but I don't use it and... Yeah."

Melo looked at the offering eagerly, but he paused in going towards it to give Trin a questioning look. She was apparently the boss, and if the boss was upset, then Maddy was upset and he didn’t want Maddy upset.

On seeing the questioning look, Trin turned to Xana’s mother to see if she approved this action. She didn't want to agree to anything she wasn't supposed to, after all.

Cressida merely laughed and nodded. "Go ahead. It's just cotton. Leon had me make Xana a dozen of the things because, according to him, a gentleman always has a cloth to offer a lady."

At this statement, Melo looked somewhat indignant. But cloth was cloth and food was food. In he could have shrugged, he would have, in fact. As it was, he simply went to the cloth and slowly started to burn it while it was in the child’s hands. Once Xana let go of it, he followed it down and eat it before it hit the ground.

Satisfied, he flew back up to Maddy and perched on her head. Amazingly enough, the girl’s hair didn’t even shing. Instead she giggled at the act, happy again. Xana was truely most wonderful! He even fed Melo!

Trinity gave a bit of a sigh. “Melo thanks you, Quixana, even if he didn’t say so,” she told the boy. Really, her two were going to have to learn manners!

Quixana beamed up at Trinity. "'S okay," he answered. "I know he says thanks. He kind of went blue-er. Courage says that's him being happy." The lioness nodded solemnly in agreement.

Trin had to giggle about this fact, looking to the little daemon. Melo just went more purpley instead of bluer, showing his embarrassment and looked away.

“I have to agree then, he does look happier. Now, shall we continue?” she asked them lightly, rubbing her baby’s back lightly.

"Of course." Cressida smiled and dropped her hand in offering to Quixana. He immediately took it and smiled upwards at his mother. "Let's see. That should be enough clothing for a bit. Do you have a crib and sheets yet?"

Quixana shifted his brown-eyed gaze to Madison and he whispered loudly, "My bed has fire trucks. Daddy got me a Big Boy bed this weekend."

"Because you kept climbing out of the crib," Cressida pointed out mildly. "Which was fit to give him a heart attack."

Immediately, the child looked contrite. "Didn't mean to. But Meme dropped things an' I had to get 'em for her. Right?"

Trin gave an entertained laugh while Maddy favored Xana with another of her charming grins and giggles. She wanted a big boy bed too!

Melo looked at her locks of corn-silk blonde hair, then slowly shook himself. That was not the right term for her to use. Ah well.

“Crib sheets and a crib will be needed,” Trin then told her new friend, looking for that area of the store. Besides, if it was far enough away, then when people came running about a ‘fire’, hopefully she would be gone.

"This way then." Cressida led the little parade in the direction and, within moments, was holding up two sheet sets. "Turtles or rainbows?"

"Mommy." Quixana sighed and went on all fours to dig in a pile of sheets on the lowest shelf. Courage padded over and assisted, nosing aside unsuitable choices. Finally, the little boy emerged with a plastic-wrapped package gripped in his chubby hands. He held it up to Madison. The sheets within were a delicate shade of purple with little yellow stars and white clouds and, best of all, prancing unicorns. "Unicorns, Maddy," he offered. "You like?"

Maddy’s lips formed a little ‘o’ shape as she looked at this bedding. It was much better than the other ones! Both of her hands reached out then, opening and closing as she wanted those sheets. She gurgled and squirmed in her seat, as if trying to get at it.

“I think she approves of it,” Trinity laughed, going to take the sheets from him. She was a little worried that Maddy might jus squirm her way out of the seat.

Quixana smiled and, surprisingly, the look was competely smug. Cressida laughed. "Unicorns, it is then. What else do you need?"

“Um…” A look of thought crossed Trinity’s face for several minutes as she thought it all out. “A crib, travel bag, play pin, books, food and play things,” she said finally.

Maddy was at that moment instructing Melo that as fun as it was to watch things go up in smoke, her new sheets were off limits. Melodious looked a bit dishearten by this, but not for too long as he went back to snoozing on Madison’s head.

Cressida smiled gently, dropping her hand. Quixana immediately accepted it and stood, quiet and watching Madison coverse with Melo, grinning. "Babies need a lot of things," she agreed. "But they're so sweet and worth it. You're going to have so much fun with Maddy and Melo. I promise. And you can come over for playdates. I know Quixana would love that." Her violet-eyed gaze drifted off in the direction of the cribs. "Now, then..."

((Do you want to call it quits here? *giggles* I can't see us keep RPing every minute detail. It'll get boring.))

((Done!))

The Cat's Bride
Players: Ice, Trinityblue
----------------------------------------------------------

Oblivion smelled metal. It seemed to linger in the air, forcing her to wake. She opened her eyes, blinking twice as an unfamiliar male stood in front of her. He didn't look like Walter, in that he wasn't standing on four legs. If anything, he looked like a gigantic pink and purple striped cat. She stared at him, taking in the way he lounged on a throne in front of her.

Then she slowly looked around. There were the remains of what could have been an open air throne room. There were steps to either the right or the left of her, and a wall behind her. There was a smaller chair next to the throne the cat was sitting on, his tail flickering back and forth as he appraised her.

"It's decided," he said cheerfully. "You'll be my bride. Someone get rid of that annoying lightening bug, would you?"

There was a white rabbit standing near the steps of the throne, dressed in a threadbare red vest, with a chain leading to his pocket. He was currently wringing his hands together, looking from where the cat sat to the fire ball that kept trying to burn up the card guards. They currently had the thing trapped against some of the rubble from the old building.

"Where do you, uh, want us to take it?" the white rabbit asked, looking back at it again.

The cat disappeared, reappearing on the rabbit's shoulders in a much smaller form. "You can put it," he purred, rubbing against the rabbit's head. "Somewhere not in my way," he hissed suddenly, digging his smaller claws into his shoulders. Then he disappeared again, appearing in front of Oblivion once more.

"So, do you like spring weddings?" he asked, "or Fall?"

'Why would I marry you?' she asked, wondering if he would even understand her.

"Because, my love, it's a nice day for a white wedding, don't you think?"

The white rabbit cringed at the hiss, looking more like a nervous wreck after the little 'talk'. He rubbed his shoulder, sulking away and to where the gaurds were. This job sucked! It was so much easier with the queen. All he had to worry about was losing his head.

This.. this was too much! He reached into a pocket for a flask he kept there, wanting a quick drink. "Y-you heard the Cat," he tried to order only to have it come out sounding soft, like he didn't really want to be heard. He reached for a bucket to hand it to a guard.

'Don't! He's mean!' Melodious called. They were using buckets against him! They hadn't moved to water, and he hoped they wouldn't!

'Where is my forgotten?' Oblivion demanded, ignoring Melo's crisis entirely for the moment. Her eyes were glowing bright red, showing her outrage at the situation.

"Perhaps, my love," he said, poofing onto her head in his smaller form. "You forgot him?"

"Three o'clock! Three o'clock!" one of the card guards suddenly shouted.

"Oh goody," the cat said, coiling himself up and pouncing off of her head. "Tea time!"

And he was gone, leaving the rest to deal with the angry daemons.

"Oh dear, oh dear," the rabbit said, wringing his hands more and starting to walk around again. What were these forgottens? And why did he have to deal with these two??

'My Forgotten's missing too!' Melo cried, again getting angry over this matter. He had noted it before, but then came the guards and the buckets and-- His vision suddenly went black as a bucked fell over his head, forcing him to the ground.

Oblivion bumped her way down the stairs, taking the bucket off of Melo and starting to eat it. She got several shocked looks from the guards, but she ignored them. She was hungry. 'We aren't dying,' she told Melo. 'Which means they have to be somewhat close to here.'

Melo looked a bit stunned as well, then he flew over to where she was, staying close to her. They wouldn't mess with someone that fat cat wanted, right? So, she was safety!

"Wait wait! You can't go!" the rabbit started saying, rushing to them. "He'll be -angry- if you left! And he'll blame me! G-Guards!" He was shouting at this point, hopping up and down as he pointed at them. "Don't let them escape!"

'That's right,' Oblivion said with malicious cheerfulness. "Bring those tasty swords over here, won't you?"

"Ah... Rabbit?" the Ace card said. "She's eating a bucket."

"And the other one catches us on fire," the Duce card complained. He already had a blackened hand from trying to catch him.

"Well.. get water! I don't care! Just.. just don't let them escape!" Rabbit ordered. Why wouldn't anyone listen to him? He didn't want to be tortured by the Cat! Oh how he longed for the days when he could just be calmly at home, not worrying about this life.

They all scurried off, stumbling over one another to do precisely that and be away from the dangerous creatures. That left Rabbit and the two daemons. Oblivion calmly munched on her bucket, watching him with glowing red eyes.

'I want my Forgotten, bunny. Or we'll be seeing what else catches on fire around here, got it?"

Melo flared up for an added effect, grinning at the rabbit evilly. He didn't have to worry about doing harm to Bliv. She was metal and wouldn't burn up like other things.

Rabbit gaped at the cards who all left him. Then he looked at the two daemons, starting to ring his hands again and back up. "Um, well, see..... What's a Forgotten? Does it like socks?" he asked timidly. He was in such deep trouble.

"No, a Forgotten is about five foot ten, blonde hair, one red eye, one blue."

'Or almost three foot tall, blonde hair, blue eyes,' Melo added. He wanted his forgotten too!

Rabbit looked lost as he just stared at them. "Um... no, no, nothing like that here," he told them, hands itching to get his flask again.

'Then you're useless to me,' Oblivion snarled before turning and walking away. She didn't know what direction she was walking in, she didn't really care. She had to find Walter before they got any farther apart!

Melo bobbed in the air, following her wordlessly.

"N-no! You can't leave! The Cat will get mad, and then I'll be blamed and--" Rabbit said, taking off after them.

'I like this place,' Oblivion said as she caught sight of a metal tree. 'It looks delicious.'