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 Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 6:37 am
((No problem, Lynx, however you want to do it is fine, though I wouldn't worry too much about simultaneous RP ^^))
Lupinus nodded again, thinking of the deceptions she could play. "Yes, yes-- that's exactly what you could do. Small weapons can be concealed easily and only revealed when they aren't expecting it." He thought about the Sun Court's weaknesses for children and added, "Crying might help, to gain sympathy. You'll have to work with the situation." She seemed clever, he thought approvingly, and she asked fairly intelligent questions for a child.
He didn't want to be stuck dealing with more children unless it was on his terms, and when he chose to, though... Aranea seemed to like children, but then again, maybe she only liked that cat. Who was no longer a child anyway. He wondered if he could catch her off guard and ask her about it, see how she'd react. It ought to be amusing... "I'll take you to see Aranea later." He shifted impatiently as the child stared off into nothing. Daydreaming, huh.
"They were scouting to steal away a captive," he said, giving her a very brief overview. "But now we have captured one of theirs, a small woman who is held in the dungeons." A thought came to him then. "Yes, perhaps we should see Aranea soon, and ask if she minds if you... practice a bit on our prisoner."
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:21 am
"Crying, yes! I can cry too... I think I can. I need to practice though. Maybe that Neith woman can be used, I can practice on her. She can bring me presents from Gaia even, new books. Lots of new books." Pteryx curled her legs to her chest, and put the knife on the floor a handspan or so away from her.
Both eyes widened, and Pteryx seemed to brighten even more at that. She had a person to test on, right here! A real Sun Court person, even. But there were things she remembered being told by the other children long ago. "Does she glow bad like the sun? I heard they glow like the sun. But I want to practice on her, and even see if I can trick her and cut her."
After a bit, another thought crossed Pteryx's mind. She was starting to get an idea of what was happening, although there were a few questions she didn't want to answer. Like where her parents were now, that was something she didn't understand still. Pteryx couldn't ask that though, so she shifted a bit and asked, "Am I... us, I mean, me and the other girl the only children? Who is your age now, how long have we been free?"
She barely aware of just how many questions she'd asked the poor teenager. In her mind, she just wanted to know what, how, why, when, and there seemed nothing wrong with finding it all out as quickly as possible.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:41 am
Stopping himself from wincing, he hoped he would not have to listen to Pteryx practice her crying. He should really start thinking before he spoke when it came to children, he mused. Especially ones who chattered like this one. He couldn't help but be amused at her excitement when he mentioned the prisoner, though.
"If she glows now, she won't for much longer. Not when we're through with her." They could learn much from their prisoner, if they could get her talking... perhaps she would confide in a child who seemed to also be a victim of their court? Or perhaps she could be persuaded by other methods. Had she seen her companion escape? He would have to think more on this later.
"The Majestrix is the eldest; the rest are my age, save yourself and Astra. We have been freed longer. Our Court is eight in number, though still growing; we do not yet outnumber the Sun Court, though we are stronger anyway. And then there is the Oracle, though I have not seen her for some time. Be wary around her." He paused, unsure why he had felt the need to add that last bit. But then, if Spina was aiding them, where was she now? Why had she vanished after the ball?
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 7:15 pm
Pteryx nodded gleefully, her mind working on what she could say or do. ...If she could go in the room, anyway, she couldn't see a glowing woman if she had eyes that hurt in sunlight. She could wear a blindfold maybe if that was a problem.
"Oracle? I will be." Pteryx echoed. She knew what the word meant, but she wasn't sure if she could remember anything in her old books about oracles. Still, dispite his warning, she felt a nagging curiosity about this Oracle and a craving to see the Oracle. Why would she need to be wary, anyway? Pteryx decided to ask. "Why do I need to be wary?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:13 pm
Lupinus cursed silently. The Majestrix seemed to trust the Oracle, and if she could be trusted, he shouldn't be acting against her, or starting rumors. Well... he'd stand by his instincts on this matter. "Spina attended the ball with us, but we have not seen nor heard from her since. For someone who says she is assisting us, it seems strange that she has not been in contact." He shrugged, dismissing it for now. "That's all, really."
Glancing at the door leading into the hall, he looked back at Pteryx and asked, "What will you do now?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:18 am
"Oh." Pteryx thought on that for a few moments, "I would be worried too, if the ball was long ago."
She gatehred the knife and the dirk in her hands, letting herself get used to the feel of both as she pondered what he'd just told her. Although she knew nothing about this Spina, if she was an oracle, was there a reason she was avoiding the Moon Court? And was it good for them, or bad?
Again, she snapped out of it and blinked. "I think... I think I have got see how the castle looks now. So I can memorize it before any Sun Court people come. Do you want to come? You know the castle and can see it good." She held out one of her hands, after switching the dirk to her other hand.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:38 am
"It was not so long ago that I am certain of anything. Something may have happened to her, though she appeared powerful." He couldn't say either way, and there was no use dwelling on it. He would be cautious when it came to the powerful oracle.
As for Pteryx, she seemed to get distracted easily. She probably shouldn't be wandering the castle alone, much as he thought he'd prefer it. If the Sun Court came back to attempt to rescue the prisoner... yes, it was better that she should know her way around. He told himself how irritating she was, though he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince. Compared to that child Winny, though, Pteryx was quiet and not annoying at all.
"Yes, I'll come with you," he said. "What do you want to see first?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:51 am
Face brightening, Pteryx stood up and put both the knife and the dirk into a pocket in her tunic. She took his hand, humming to make sure she got it first go, and peered around for the door. "Well... um. I ... don't know. Is it still night, can we go outside and see how that has changed? If I will fly, I need to know what the land is like to land on."
That made total sense to her, so she tugged him lightly at the door. Oddly enough, the past idea of him seemed to be melting away. He was familiar, and Pteryx wasn't going to loose sight of something familiar till she felt more secure.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:31 am
Lupinus almost smiled as he let her pull him toward the door. "It's still dark," he said. "We can go outside." They would have to think of a way to protect her eyes during the day. Probably something simple would do, but it would be good to think on that soon.
He showed her the quickest route to the outdoors from the chambers, his mind wandering as they went outside; he heard howling and knew Comus would be nearby. The wolf had been restless ever since the intrusion of the Sun Fey into their territory. He looked down at Pteryx, allowing her to take in the setting at her own pace.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 9:14 am
Pteryx hummed another little song she'd been taught, making sure she memorized the way in her head. It might take a few more times down this way to get it right, but that didn't matter.
Once outside, Pteryx stretched her arms and both sets of wings. She stood there quietly, letting her ears take over so that she knew what surrounded them. There was howling, did that mean that they still had wolves? And something moved nearby, some sort of animal. She couldn't remember them coming this close to the castle, so the outside must have overgrown right up to the castle. She couldn't hear the flickering of flame, so the fire that was otuside the entrance was either not near them, or wasn't lit.
"Hmm..." Pteryx muttered, as she glanced around at her feet. She picked up a long thin stick and made her way foward carefully, still humming. "Are they those our wolves? Are they still alive? Or are they dark forest creatures?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 10:15 am
"Those are our wolves, yes. The pack was living in hiding for years, but they have returned. They are dark forest creatures themselves." He followed her as she moved forward. "I have been in the forest and have not seen anything very dangerous yet."
Not to say there wasn't anything dangerous out there, but he suspected that most creatures kept their distance from the castle, with good reason. He knew Aranea often used various creatures for her tests, and he did the same on occasion, op top of his hunting.
"How much do you remember?" he asked her. A vague question, but he would leave it open to a subject of her choice, be it forest or family.
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 7:57 am
"They must be scared of the court." She paused and started listening to the forest. Pteryx wondered about that. It'd been the same before, right? She couldn't remember. Besides, she'd never gone much closer to that forest than she was now. Her father never took her, and her mother's teachings didn't need to go into the dark forest.
"I remember... a fire outside. And the smell of roasting meat. More voices to listen to, and more of us walking around." Pteryx paused again, one of the ears on her head twitching in a direction. "I remember less little animals so close to the castle, so it must be very overgrown now?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:05 pm
Lupinus shrugged, watching the forest. He was used to the way it was now, and remembering the present was much easier than trying to dig up thoughts from the past. "I think... it was well-kept before. Much moreso than now. I like it better this way," he said. He'd always liked being outside more, and he'd never been overly fond of neatly kept trees or gardens. The forests were so much more interesting when they'd been allowed to grow as much as they wished.
He thought that maybe he'd remembered more before he'd grown; or maybe it was that he'd tried harder to remember. He didn't care much about the past lately unless it related to what was going on now. There seemed to be no use in dwelling on it. Stepping farther into the trees, he looked back over his shoulder. "Will you fly tonight, or will you only look around for now?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 2:39 am
"Was it well kept before? Well, it is very wild now. But I think I do too." Pteryx agreed, observing the closest areas. "It looks ... I don't know, better. And it would be confusing to fey who are not supposed to be here..."
She stretched her wings again, but shook her head. Pteryx craved to take to the sky, she craved it badly, but something was holding her back. She wasn't sure what, just some odd feeling that made her shake her head. "Not tonight, maybe I should ... learn where to land or something. I can't land on bushes, that would hurt a bit."
Taking a few steps in his direction, Pteryx was tempted to take his hand again. That way, if he deided to go in, she'd only run into something if he did. Or they could go inside quicker, without her stumbling into things. But Pteryx really hated addmitting she needed help, so she clung to the stick tighter and prodded at things in her way. THat could work too.
She stood nearby, and asked with a eager tone as another vague memory crossed her mind, "What will happen to the Sun Court fey we have? Will she go in the Arena?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 10:04 am
Yes, the woods were confusing at first. Lupinus hoped that Sun Court fey had gotten himself thoroughly lost. If he came back, Lupinus planned to ensure he'd never leave again. Surely someone would come to search for the prisoner, probably in larger numbers this time. He was rather looking forward to it.
Remembering how he'd felt when first freed, he wasn't surprised that the girl wasn't feeling quite up to flying yet. "Yes, landing on bushes would hurt. How much space do you need to land?"
He considered her other question for a few moments before responding. The Arena... that would be quite interesting. He hadn't seen an Arena fight in quite some time. It would be good to revive that tradition. "I believe it will be up to the Majestrix whether she will go to the Arena. And if we can find her something suitable to fight. Though she did not look to be much of a fighter, so I don't think she would last very long. It also depends on what shape Aranea leaves her in."
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