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Shinobaseru: Feles slunk down the hall slowly, tail twitching behind himself as he moved. He didn't make a sound, bare feet padding over the stone floor in complete silence as he traversed the upper floors of Castellum Umbra. Youko had been a sleep when he woke, and while the cat was a bit more at ease around the fox than he had been previously, he still didn't like the idea of someone holding onto him. He'd slipped out shortly after and had begun prowling around.

Now he stood at the library doors, peering inside. This place was familiar... the scent reminded him of that he'd encountered when he'd first woken. Before the bedroom, he remembered it from when Youko had picked him up and wrapped him in the jacket. This must have been where he'd been trapped all this time. Stepping into the room, he moved slowly, looking around with ears pricked up.

Silvamord1: Aranea shifted on the ornate wooden chair, trying to get comfortable as she leafed through the pages of an old tome on usage of herbs. The book smelt musty and the pages crackled, and as she flicked over another page she yawned. Pushing her chair back, she stood to go fetch another one and glanced towards the doors. She blinked; another Fey? She moved over quietly, two hands behind her back.

Shinobaseru: One pointed white ear swivelled towards Aranea the moment she moved, Feles' eyes following suit a moment later. It was a girl... an older girl, from the looks of her, and she was walking towards him. It didn't take much for him to realise that she was one of his own kind, and he stood his ground, ears flattening slightly against his hair. With Youko, he'd run... with another Fey, he'd at least give them the benefit of the doubt.

At the beginning.

The boy was small, appearing to be little more th an a toddler really, although he seemed to move well enough. As Aranea approached, he looked up at her with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

Silvamord1: She smiled benignly; why, he was only a child - he looked even younger then she remembered being when she was freed. She flicked a her hair back, and knelt before him, folding hand on top of hand as she looked at him. 'Greetings,' she said formally, looking him over.
Shinobaseru: Putting herself on his level seemed to make him more at ease, the boy's ears starting to lift as he clasped his hands behind his back and grabbed hold of his tail. Tails were wonderful things, he realised. Mood indicators, pillows, legwarmers... and security blankets.

"H'lo," he said softly, the word spoken as best he could manage."

Silvamord1: Aranea held out a hand, it strayed towards his ears and head involuntarily - such a strange little Fey, she mused, watching as the boy clutched to his tail. She bought her hand back though, not wanting at this time to scare him away. 'You have a name ?' she asked, pointing to herself. 'I am Aranea.'

Shinobaseru: "Fes..." he said just as softly, blinking at the way his name sounded. That wasn't right, he thought to himself. Ah well... best to go with it. He pointed to her then, tilting his head faintly. "Anea..."

He would be thankful for when he could just TALK.

Silvamord1: 'Fes?' she repeated, tilting her head a little. That was a peculiar name. 'Umm Aranea actually,' she said, sounding out the syllables. She grinned and went closer, one finger near her lips. 'But you can call me 'Nea',' she poked her tongue out at him. She wondered if Lupinus had seen this new Fey - but then would that be a good thing? What with him being of a canine totem, and this one obviously feline. She felt something tickle her, and touching her hand to her shoulder a spider crawled onto her hand. She moved her hand to show 'Fes', and it cleaned its two front legs as it sat on her hand.

Shinobaseru: "Nea..." he repeated softly, nodding. He sighed a bit, not quite sure just how he could pronounce that whole big name. Maybe he'd be able to after a bit of practice. At the sight of the spider, however, he stopped dead, ears pricking up fully as his eyes widened. He leaned forward until he was nearly nose-to-legs with the spider, staring at it with rapt curiosity. "Wha?" he asked, looking up at her again and pointing to the spider.

Silvamord1: 'Its a spider,' she said. 'Its my totem,' she explained. The spider lifted its front two legs up now and tickled Feles on the nose. Aranea laughed, her wings fluttering a little.

Shinobaseru: The pale pink eyes crossed until they were looking at the spider directly, the boy's nose wrinkling as it was tickled by the tiny legs. He smiled then, just faintly, but enough to be seen. This was alright, he thought to himself. This little thing wasn't bad. It also didn't try to hug him when he wasn't expecting it. He was still a bit wary of the girl, but the spider didn't seem to be worried about her, so she must be okay.

Silvamord1: The spider crawled right onto Feles's nose, waving its legs as it went. Aranea grinned; 'Well I guess my spiders like you - so I should like you. Of course if you hurt the spiders..' she left the sentence hanging, settling her wings back down. She yawned a little, covering her mouth with a hand. 'Do you have a Kithain somewhere here?' she asked.

Shinobaseru: Feles looked up at her in confusion. Why would he want to hurt it? He was about to protest, then paused as he heard her question and nodded. "Fox," he said simply, not knowing what Youko's name was yet. He pointed upward then, behind Aranea to what was now a blank pane of stained glass that had, up until that day, housed an image of a white cat. "Dere," he said, then pointed to himself again.

Silvamord1: 'Your Kithain is a fox?' more oddities, she thought. Hers was human - well she thought anyways. Not that she really cared either way. She looked in the direction that he pointed to. 'You came from the window? I did too. Mine was hidden away in a gloomier place though,' she folded her arms, and tapped her chin thoughtfully as she watched the spider continue to explore the young Fey.


Shinobaseru: Nodding again, Feles let his tail swish behind him as he listened to her and tried to watch the spider on his nose. As it worked its way up along one eyebrow, he snickered softly and let his ears fall to the sides. As Aranea spoke of her own window, however, he grew curious and glanced back to her. "Where?"

Silvamord1: 'Down below,' she pointed, a finger touching the stone floor. 'In the laboratory.' she watched the spider again, as it began to idly spin a web from one of his ears. She grinned, finally tickling between his ears with one hand. He probably wouldnt like it, but he was pretty - she liked pretty things.

Shinobaseru: As predicted, the boy immediately ducked out of the way of the touch, eyes narrowing slightly. The motion jarred the spider slightly, and he immediately froze, hoping that it wouldn't go away from the motion. The spider was a lot like him, he realised. It couldn't talk either, but it knew enough to know who it did and didn't trust. And it DID seem to trust the girl. Finally, Feles seemed to relax a bit and looked guiltily up at Aranea. "Sowwy Nea..."
.
Silvamord1: The spider dangled from a line, then scurried back up when Feles stopped moving. Aranea shrugged; what was it that she liked about this little guy? When he shrunk away she felt - bad? Her forehead wrinkled - maybe it was because he wasnt demanding affection of her like her stupid Kithain. A tiny scowl passed over her face, marring her beauty for a moment. It went again as she looked at Feles. 'Its okay - It takes me alot to trust people too,' she gave a faint smile.

Shinobaseru: That made the cat smile. She understood!! While he definately didn't mind being cuddled or petted, he DID require that it be on his own terms. If HE wanted the attention, he'd go seeking it... maybe that crazy fox would get the hint eventually and quit trying to grab him for a hug. The ear that the spider was on stayed pricked up, the boy making the effort so that he wouldn't disturb the web-spinning again. Something like that looked like it took a lot of work and it would be a shame for it to go to waste.

"What dat?" he asked suddenly, his attention taken by the books that lay open on the table that Aranea had been sitting at. Like his totem, this particular Fey seemed to have a fleeting attention span when something caught his eye.

Silvamord1: Aranea stood, stretching her legs where they had fallen asleep from kneeling on the cold floor, and walked to the table. 'This is what I am studying. So that the Moon Court can be powerful,' she pulled a chair out for Feles to scramble on if he wanted a closer look.

Shinobaseru: He did so, crawling up onto the chair and kneeling on it as he leaned against the table and looked at the book. He let his tail drape over the arm of hte chair as he puzzled at the book, frowning softly. He SHOULD remember this... part of him realised that the books were familiar, as was the language they were written in... but he couldn't quite manage to make them make sense. His gaze was drawn to the alchemical symbols and he let a claw tap against the page for a moment. "Dat..." he said softly, a tap against one of the symbols indicating which he was speaking of. He then looked to two others on the page and motioned to them as well. "An' dose... bad."

After that gem of insight, the boy turned his attention back to the spider, watching it dangle from his ear.

Silvamord1: 'You are right,' she said, chuckling. 'Not something you want to be touching - or putting in there,' and she pointed to his mouth. 'But these would be very handy for the Sun Court,' and her crimson eyes flashed with malice.

Shinobaseru: At the mention of the Sun Court, Feles turned quickly and scowled. Oh he remembered THEM... and a low frowl came from his throat as he looked back to the books. He'd learn... and he'd learn everything he could to help Nea with this. If she wanted to cause them pain, he'd be MORE than willing to do whatever was needed. "I help," he whispered solemnly, not at all the tone one would expect from a toddler.


Silvamord1: She looked a little surprised, but smiled in appreciation. 'Well - I wouldnt know how could help yet. I'm waiting on Lupinus to report back on the effect of some toxins I gave him to test.' she got carried away in the explanations of her work, but then thought that she might be talking about things Fes had no inkling of.

Shinobaseru: He brought a hand up to his head, tapping the side gently. "I 'member," he said, smiling almost ferally, the cat's fangs showing slightly. Motioning to the books around them, Feles let his gaze sweep the room before coming back to Aranea. "No good, fight. Fes read." He frowned then, sighing as he slumped back into the chair. "No good now."

Silvamord1: 'That's okay,' she said. She wasnt too fond of blundering warriors who thought that all problems could be solved with a flex of their muscles. Her potions were far more effective, and all the more dangerous. After all - someone with a sword was an obvious danger. Poisoned food and drink - that was something hidden and unexpected. A tiny spider, that they thought harmless, that she had changed so that its venom sacs held a toxin more deadly then it was meant to have...a wicked smile broke on her face and she shook herself. 'You would be far more valuable to me if you were to help me read and find the help I need. I try and split my time between experimenting and researching. But if you could help me..'

Shinobaseru: Nodding, Feles grinned. He could do that! He was sure th at with a bit of practice, the texts would come back to him... that he'd be able to understand them just as easily as he had before. He knew without even thinking about it that he wouldn't be able to write for a bit, but that would take practice as well. Something like this just didn't go away, not when he remembered everything else. "Yes!" he exclaimed, tail lashing behind him in excitement.

Silvamord1: 'I am guessing you need to..practice a little to read this ?' she said. It had taken her a while to learn as she recalled. Then she giggled, noticing that the spider had completed its web and now sat in the middle, the web itself stretching from his pointed ear to the middle of his head.

Shinobaseru: "Yesh," came the mumbled reply as he stared at the books. Dammit, the text was supposed to make SENSE. He barely noted the spider, but somehow managed to keep that one ear still as the other twitched nervously. "Fes help," he said stubbornly, glaring at the book as if willing it to make sense. A word here and there jumped out at him and he knew it would only take some time and work to make the rest do it too.

Silvamord1: 'I know you want to help,' she smiled again, reassuring him. 'But you will only make lines here,' and she pointed at his head, 'if you squint to make the words make sense.'

Shinobaseru: He brought up his gaze, looking at her finger and sighing softly before nodding. "Fes learn," he said, offering the girl a genuine smile for the first time. He WOULD help... he just had to keep trying.

Silvamord1: 'I know you will,' she closed the books for now, piling them up. 'But there is time I think before we make our move against the Sun Court.' and she returned his smile, wondering if he wasnt turning her soft.

Shinobaseru: Nodding, the boy leaned against the table again, reaching for one of the books and pulling it closer to inspect the cover. "Kifain help Fes learn." It seemed reasonable. The fox had to be good for SOMETHING, after all. And if he didn't want to help, Feles would MAKE him help.

Silvamord1: 'You make your Kithain help you,' she poked her tongue out at him. 'Thats what they are there for. They are our slaves.' and she smirked.

Shinobaseru: "Yesh," he agreed, the pale eyes locking onto Aranea as the slitted pupils narrowed. "Fes make him help." He giggled faintly then, sticking out his tongue back at her and accidentally jarring the spider. It scampered back up to his ear and as he felt the legs in his fur, he seemed to remember the tiny creature again. Looking up as far as he could, he huffed faintly. "Sowwy."

Silvamord1: The spider moved back down, as Aranea looked at it. Back down his head and then onto his nose, dropping from it on a thread and dancing a little. 'I think it likes you,' she chuckled.

Shinobaseru: "Fes like," he said, cupping his hands beneath the spider and grinning at it. He lifted his palms, letting the spider land on them, then held them out towards Aranea again. "Pretty."

Silvamord1: 'You can keep it if you like,' she said, as it waved its legs before scuttling back up Feles's arm.

Shinobaseru: While he'd love to, he already remembered his Kithain's first reaction to seeing a bug in the room. "Kifain squish," he said sadly, frowning as he tried to catch the spider and nearly wound up spinning himself around in the chair to do it. "No like bugs."

Silvamord1: 'This is not a bug,' she said, as the spider flew off the spinning child and landed on Aranea again. 'Spiders are arachnids, they have eight legs. Insects or 'bugs' as your Kithain calls them have six legs.' she frowned. 'But yes, if he will do that then it is safer with me. You can come visit my spiders at any time, they live safely in my room.'

Shinobaseru: "Acknid," Feles tried to say, watching the spider's motions. "Where room?" He was kneeling in the chair again, half leaning on the table as he watched the tiny creature crawl over the girl.

Silvamord1: 'Probably somewhere near yours. I think our chambers are all in one section of the Castle.' she drummed her sharp nails idly on the wood of the table, as the spider vanished into her web like hair.

Shinobaseru: "K..." Feles smiled then, resting his chin on the table and watched her fingers idly. "Fes like," he said idly, flicking his gaze up to her. "I come see soon." Next time, he promised himself, he'd have something to offer as well. Even if he had to drag books back to his room to teach HIMSELF how to read them. He was determined that he wouldn't be useless for much longer.

Silvamord1: 'If I'm not in my room I am in the basement,' she said. 'You can always visit me there too.'

Shinobaseru: Nodding, Feles grinned. He slid from the chair then and stretched, tail uncurling from around his leg. "I find," he replied, making a mental note of that. The basement would be easy enough to find... just keep taking stairs that went down. "Fank you."

Silvamord1: 'Well,' she said, standing and gathering up a few of the books to take down to the lab. 'I really need to get going again. My potions beckon me.' she knelt down to Feles and looked at him. 'And if you ever need to send your Kithain into a long sleep,' and she winked, smirked and stood again. 'Just let me know.'

Shinobaseru: Snickering softly, Feles determined that he LIKED this girl. Taking his leave then, he darted towards the door, leaving with as little sound as that which he'd arrived with. He paused just outside the door, waving to her. "Bye!" he called, tail swishing behind him as he disappeared from view.

Silvamord1: She waved with a hand, whilst clutching her books with two others. Well, it seemed she had gained an eager little assistant, and she left the library with a light step.