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 Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:20 pm
((Reserved, just in case.))
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:32 pm
RP with NarakaMeepfur After LP's visit, Iden was in a rather good mood. It was the first time in quite awhile she'd had anyone over, and she'd now resolved that she'd have to do it more often. Well, when there was someone to invite, anyway; outside of the Velvet shop, she wasn't particularly social, though mostly she didn't mind. Coming to the end of her walk, she opened up the door and sidled in. The vampire had come without Toby tonight, because the little dog was fast asleep, and she hadn't had the heart to wake him when he looked so cute, curled up with his sister. Naraka Irronically, Naraka's having a nap of his own. When being awake become unprofitable, it is often best just to sleep, and after troubling himself into a pit, he decided just to give in and go to bed. So, he kicked off his boots, slithered out of his fishnet shirt (which tends to be uncomfortable for sleeping in) and zonked right out. Suta, ever the opportunist when it comes to new bed real estate, siezed the opportunity at once to use him for her own private mattress, and has spread her lank, lethe body over his entire upper half, with her face buried in his neck, purring. The two sleep on, blissfully oblivious to everything. Meepfur Iden peered around the shop, but it seemed that there was no one upstairs. She thought about heading back home, but on the chance that Naraka was around, she decided to check downstairs. Apparently she'd said something she shouldn't have the other night, and it bothered her a bit. Opening up the door, she leaned down into the dark. It occurred to her that she could always head on down and then ask out to see if he was home, but that was a little like strolling in someone's front door and then knocking. Rude, and there was no telling what you could walk in on! Asking from up here was decidedly safer. "Hey Nar, you down there?" Naraka (( XD she's about the only person who thinks that way. Most people just wander in. Nar should have started going about naked, to teach them a lesson razz )) Something interrupts Nar's slumber, a little sound on the edge of waking perception. It takes him a moment, but he's awake, looking off into the basement, wondering if he heard something. A moment again, and he's regestered the words. ".... Yeah? Come in, I guess." He's still half a sleep, and not altogether with it. In a moment, he's drowsing again, certain he made the whole thing up. Meepfur 'I guess' worked well enough for her, so she made her way down the steps, stopping at the bottom to have a look around and pick out where he was. Not only did were there an awful lot of boxes, he'd moved them around since the last time she'd had a wander down here. Apparently he wasn't standing up amidst them, so maybe he was in bed? But not only had it been awhile, the maze had changed. After a moment, she had to ask, "Where're you at?" It was that or wander around until she tripped over him, which would be terribly inefficient. And possibly painful. Naraka Nar's definitely awake this time. He sits up a little and peers off. "Over here. Take a left." He wonders who the hell it is, and for some really peculiar reason, has it in his head that it's Enea. Once Iden finally makes it over, however, he flops back down and stares at her. " ' Thought you were someone else. Morning. Night. Evening? I don't know. Dark. Good dark." Meepfur It was the one thing Iden always forgot to do - say who the hell she was. Somehow it didn't really occur to her, although it probably should have. She followed the direction and his voice until she found him, with a particularly cute Suta to keep him company. She'd gotten a lot bigger since she'd last seen her! Smiling, she gave the cait a little wave. "Hey," she answered, inwardly amused by his indecision about what the proper greeting to use would be, one that she sometimes had herself. Maybe it would never go away; they all did make sense, after all. "Oh, were you expecting someone?" she asked. But then, he seemed to have been sleeping, so maybe not? Naraka "No... yeah, kinda. Not really. He said he might pop by... but you never know with that guy. Kind of a flake. Here... have a seat." He tosses her a cushion from his pile. "Well...." He wiggles around a little bit so he can see her without disturbing his cait. "I guess it IS the night. Or you wouldn't be here, would you?" Meepfur "Oh, thanks!" She caught the cushion...well, barely, because she hadn't been paying quite enough attention, but being on the larger side, it wasn't the sort of thing that was hard to get ahold of. Placing it on the ground, she had herself a seat, sitting cross-legged - but carefully avoiding resting the bottoms of her shoes on the cushion. "A flake, huh?" "Yeah," she answered with a bit of a smile, "Kinda hard to get here, otherwise. But then I usually have always come late, anyway." Naraka "Yeah. You never really know what he's up to, that's all." He carefully folds his hands over his stomach, over his cait, who doesn't seem the least bit troubled by the company. "That's unfortunate. But I guess.... you're supposed to get used to that sort of thing. If you never do, I know some people who can do something about it." He speaks frankly and cautiously. It's not something he feels really comfortable getting into; the wound is too fresh yet. But he feels obligated to offer all the same. Meepfur For all the she was talking to Nar, Iden was mostly looking at Suta, admiring. She'd actually had a cait of her own for awhile now, courtesy of Dee as well, but it was jsut sof ascinating to her to see what had once been a little clambering around her lap, having a go at her hair. "It doesn't bother me much," she answered, not quite so uncomfortable, "At least not very often. But you do? Is it, umm, like what's on your back?" She was interested - not in getting that sort of thing done, at least not just now, since she didn't feel she was having problems. Mostly she was curious. Naraka Nar gives a little shrug. "Pretty much. I'm told some people take to it more than others. Anyway... " He looks around, frowning. "I'd offer you something but... I'm a little stuck. And... I don't know what you'd take. So... just wandered by?" Meepfur "I don't know if I'd take it, either, but I don't know what you'd be offering," she said, chuckling just a little as she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. "Yeah, just wandered by. Just seein' if anyone was around." Naraka "Not much," He says, looking a little gloomy. "I'm not very good at being the.... Noble host or anything. It's pretty sad. Well.. it looks like I'm around." He sighs. Playing that everything's fine is tiring and makes him feel pretty antisocial and a little bitter. And for all his years, social intrigue seems to go over his head more often than not. "You want to get me up to entertain you? I'm afraid I might not be in the mood." Meepfur "Well, it's not like I come here to be...to be hosted, if that's what you'd call it. Entertained." Yeah, that was the word she wanted. "You don't need to get up. I can, if you're not in the mood for company, I just thought maybe we could talk a little. Y'know, just about whatever." "Oh.." she said slowly, "Sorry for chasing you off the other night, I was just being silly." Naraka "Good thing. You likely wouldn't get it. Go get hosted somewhere else, that might be what I'd have to tell you. Hmmph." He furrows his brow and closes his eyes. "I.... guess I had better get this over with sooner rather than later. Look... You may as well just tell me what you want out of me, and whatever it is, I'll give it to you. But you're going to have to spell it out for me, because... because of the way I am. I think I know what you want. You want me to be some casual friend that you can bounce into the shop and give a high five to, and you'll tell me about your day and lie and leave out all the important parts, and I'll do the same, and we don't have to care or worry about each other's lives, or anything like that. Well that's hard for me. Maybe impossible. And I guess I can try to get rid of everything that makes me concerned, or bothered, hide it, if that's what you really want, but that's hard for me also. I feel like I'm giving up some of my integrity. I realize you don't want to deal with my reactions, with the part of me that makes me hate what's happened to you. But I can't get rid of it. Really. I can just hide it, that's all. I'm sorry I let you in on that. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Explaining myself doesn't seem to have done a bit of good. I've just never been very good at being dishonest.... I don't know what you want from me...." He shakes his head and blinks back some unwelcome tears, though they've been a long time coming. "You keep telling me I've got nothing to do with all this. I don't know what you mean by it, but I can very well guess." Meepfur And there, it all came out. As abrupt as it was, and in a little way distressing, mostly she was glad for it. One of them ahd needed to get them to doing something other than skirting around the subject, no matter how touchy it was for them both...but especially Naraka, she suspected. What did she have to adjust to, after all? She hadn't been the one to come home to a terrible surprise - one that she'd already had time to get used to. Iden nodded, taking a deep breath she needed only for comfort. "I don't want to lie to you, really...and I'm not. And I don't want to be just casual friends - I want to be friends. I want to be able to talk to you about anything, or just nothing at all! Pour our hearts out or just goof around, all of it. I guess I've been leaving things out because I'm afraid that you don't want to hear them. That you'll get upset or you'll worry, but that's stupid, isn't it, because you already do. So I'll tell you now." "It's been almost two years. Will be, in a couple of months, since...well, since I became this." She stared down at her hands, finding it easier to talk that way. "It wasn't too long after the last time I saw you before you left - not that that has anything to do with why it happened, that's just how it worked out. It's not sore anymore for me, at least most of the time. There are days, but not often." "And well, Vlad...a lot of that's changed to. When I met you, it was new and I was scared, and I didn't know what was happening. I didn't understand. And the scariest thing was that I didn't understand what was happening with me. Ever since I saw him, ever since I heard him, I've been drawn to him. I've wanted what he had, what was happening." She ran a nervous hand back through her hair, swallowing. It was a lot to get out. "But I wasn't supposed to, you know? It's supposed to be wrong, not...not something someone wants. Needs." "But I've realized that even though I'm not supposed to, I do, and I'm...I'm okay with that. I was scared of him then, I was, but things kind of settled out after awhile. He doesn't hurt me, he doesn't scare me, I'm just his. And I know it's crazy and I know it bothers you, but...but it's safe to me, somehow. That's a lot of what I mean when I say I need him." "I..." Iden trailed off, finally looking up again, "I guess that's...well, that's what it is." She was shaking, anxious, afraid of what he'd think, what he'd say. Even if she was content where she was, she needed Nar. Needed him there, needed acceptance, something. Naraka Naraka gives a slow, sad little shrug and squirms deeper into the cushions and turns away from her so he can weep in peace. The whole situation is still disturbing to him, awful, an ugly reminder of a past long done but not forgotten. And it's even worse watching it happen to someone else. But it's not nearly so bad as he might has guessed, and that makes it a little easier. But he's still not over it quite yet. That sort of thing takes time. "If that's all you want," he mumbles tonelessly, "I guess I can manage." But he wonders deep down if he'll be able to. She hadn't handled his honesty at all well last time, and seems more interested in having a smooth relationship than letting him be what he be. Meepfur "Hey.." Very hesitantly, she reached out to lightly touch his shoulder. "Talk to me? Please?" She'd told him everything, and the faint reply left her still worried. Maybe even more worried. It ate at her from the inside. "I can't...change what I am. It's too late for that. And right now, I want to be where I am. I swear to you it's the truth, even if it shouldn't be." She drew back, rocking a little. "But...what do you want? What do you want me to do?" It couldn't just be one-sided, she knew. It was just so easy to go defensive, stubborn, and try to justify her side of things. Naraka Naraka hasn't got it in him to attempt escape from her touch, as eerie as it is to him. "I know," he says groggily, wiping his eyes, "I sound like I'm whining. Maybe I am. Maybe I've just lived with too many women who were treated as property, as... a particular sort of property. I'd thought that vile era of human history was over. At least here. And for vampires, it's worse, because you live so long. What I want you to do, really, is to realize that you don't belong to anyone. Nobody belongs to anybody. I don't give a s**t what Vlad says. He's too wrapped up in himself to accept the fact. I doubt there's anything I could do to change that. But you... at least... " Meepfur "I..it's...it's hard to explain," she sighed. "It's not property, it's not slavery, it's...I don't know what it is. I mean, I do, but I don't know how to say it. Maybe nobody's ever come up with a right way to say it. It's not like I do what he says, he doesn't expect me to. Well, unless I'm doing something stupid, and even then I usually don't. Usually wind up regretting it too, when I'm hurting after." Realizing that she was going on, she cut off that particular train of thought and got back to what Naraka had been saying. "Change him, I know. Maybe. But I need time...I mean, lots of time. So maybe there's a reason I had to change," Iden mused before moving on, "He can't know what I'm at. If he did, he'd pull the other way so quick, and it'd undo everything. I don't really know yet what it's gonna take, just that it'll be a long time, and it'll be slow." Naraka "Yes, I've heard the same argument before," he responds sadly, and lets it go. "I wish you the best of luck. I wouldn't have it in me. I guess I'm too old. But you're in the right place to do it... so long as you keep your head on right. Well, there's nothing more I can say to you without being redundant. And I don't think I can help you much... so I guess I'd better leave well enough alone." Meepfur "Of course you can help me," she said, "You already have. I wouldn't've thought to do do it - wouldn't've thought I could - if you hadn't told me the things you have. And you're here, you care. It's a lot more than you seem to think." Naraka Nar wonders quietly for a while what things she might be talking about, and eventually decides that it probably doesn't matter, just so long as they work. Finally, he sighs, and says, "Tell me how, and I can try. I guess... we've both got a long time....." He slowly turns back over, and gazes at her with teary eyes that are lit with a peculiar intensity. "I can't help but feel like... I'm not very ready for this." Meepfur "I don't really know yet. I haven't exactly done this before. Maybe I'll have to get back to you on that," she answered with a tiny smile at such use of the phrase. "So far I just know that I need you." Something about seeing Naraka cry was...not hard, but it wrung something inside her. And also make her want to reach out and hug him the way she used to be able to. "Is anybody ever ready? I'm starting to think maybe not. I..we...we've just gotta go with it, y'know?" It was a risk, and she knew it, but finally she scooted her cushion closer and laid a hand on his shoulder. He was in an awkward position for hugging, and besides that, she didn't want to trap him. Naraka "No... neither have I. And I can't really remember... I mean, I don't think I ever even knew what it meant at the time... for me... I guess you're right. But I'll leave it up to you. I will just ah.. play backup. Talk to Vlad only when I've got to." Nar looks over at her hand with a quiet acceptance. Suta suddenly pops her head up like a popup gun and gives it a quick, violent shake. "pppppprrddt?" She inquires curiously, first bopping Naraka's chin with her wet nose in a somewhat unhandy greeting, and then swiveling her head to get a better look at Iden. After a brief stint of stretching exercises, she hops off of Nar's chest and comes pottering into Iden's lap to say hello. She still thinks she's a kitten, despite her size, and flops all her weight into the poor woman. Meepfur "Thanks," she said quietly, drawing her hand back after a few moments. She wasn't about to try and push too far just now. A little bit was better than nothing. "Suta! Hey, girl." Iden brightened visibly when her old feline acquaintance came on over to say 'Hello.' Sure, things weren't all better, not by any means, but that didn't mean everything had to be dark and awful. And a lapful of cute and fuzzy was right up her alley! Even if it flopped and was kind of heavy. In no time at all, she was scritching behind the cait's ears, practically purring herself. "You've gotten a lot bigger since the last time I saw you." Naraka Now that Naraka isn't pinned down by his cait, he manages to sit himself up, and casts an eye around for a new shirt, as his old one has walked off into someone's lap. He finds his favorite black silk one hanging about in the cushions and slips into it. Suta is pleased as punch to be twittered over, and being used to vampire-kind, couldn't care less about Iden's change. Having napped for a while, she's full of bounce, and immediately starts to bat and grab at her arms and hair, though she is too well-mannered to use claws and teeth more than a touch. "Yeah, she's gotten huge," Nar remarks, as Suta can't really reply, herself. "Bigger than I thought she would. She was the runt of the litter, after all." Meepfur Iden laughed, indulging Suta's antics with a playful flip of her hair while Nar found himself a shirt. It was a little harder to use for playing now that the cait was so big, so she soon started to use her arms and hands instead...and really looked quite silly, flailing around for both their amusement. "It's always surprising how big animals get," she agreed, speech a little halting as she played. "Especially when you've seen them when they were still just tiny. I've got a cait now, too. Dee gave him to me, Christmas before last." Naraka "Maybe you can bring him over," he muses. "Suta doesn't really have anyone to play with. Kesin just screams at her, and I'm not around all the time." Suta hops up and down, looking twice as silly and enjoying every moment of it. But soon she's practically bowled Iden over, grapling her neck in a big bear hug, and then pops up in the air and sprints off through the boxes, dancing and kicking her legs, as cats will when they're in high spirits. Meepfur "I'd be ha-" Iden was cut off as she had to lean way back and Suta hugged her neck and then hopped on away. Laughing, she straightened and watch her gambol off before getting around to finishing what she'd been saying. "I'd be happy to! Sol's hardly lonely, but he's still the only cait around. He'd probably like to hang out with something other than pooka." Naraka Nar wrinkles up his nose with some distaste. He remembers THOSE things... they were peculiar, to say the least. "Well, I'm afraid Suta just may be. So.. well, before we get talking about anything else... is there anything you want to tell me, or ask me? To get it out, you know." Suta's wild galloping pawsteps fade off into the box maze, there is a small crash, and she comes galloping right back to fling herself into the pillows and grapple one, biting and kicking. "She... she seems to get. get on by herself, though." He says, while getting kicked at by huge, paddy paws. Meepfur Well, that was settled! She'd have to haul Solomon with her to the shop sometime, then. He could have himself a little adventure. Her cheerful musing were interrupted, though, when Nar get back to being serious for a moment. "I...don't think so," she answered after a bit of thought, "Unless there's something that's gone right out of my head." Iden couldn't help but wonder what exactly that 'crash' had been, besides Suta of course, but Naraka didn't seem concerned. When the cait came charging back to wrestle with a pillow, Iden reach out and grabbed hold of its edge, giving it a little wiggle....not thinking that maybe Nar didn't mean for the pieces of his bed to be playthings. Naraka "Very well... I don't think I've anything else to say. Except that I'm sorry about all of this. I wish I could be a better person for you, a wiser person. I guess... it just caught me off guard. I'm still in denial. De Nile, running from crocodiles." He snorts and wrinkles up his nose with amusement, bearing his fangs in a silent laugh. "I thought.. maybe you could come down to South America with me some time. There's someone there that you might like to meet. He's far more tollerant of being a vampire than I am. In fact, it just makes him gleesome beyond expression." Nar doesn't mind that his bed has become an object of amusement. He looks down and watches Suta kick and cluck and gnaw on her 'prey' with renewed vigor, now that it seems to have come to life. Meepfur It was an awful pun! And one of the oldest, which probably had something to do with why it was so terrible. But the terribleness also made it hilarious, and Iden had to giggle. She looked up from playing, though she still wiggled the pillow idly to keep up the game. "It'll be alright," she offered - the oldest, lamest comfort in the book. It was something she'd come to believe, though, because she needed to. "...Really? South America?" Now she forgot to keep wriggling the poor cushion around for Suta. She didn't even know what to say! It was a very exciting idea, both to go on a trip with Nar and to go to South America. She'd never been somewhere so exotic. Naraka Naraka can't help it. He's just a lame, corny guy, when you get down to it. "Yeah. Into the mountains. In Peru. I.. I took off there after something really awful happened." He rubs at his neck with a disturbed, guilty expression. "And I met someone there... a vampire. A very wierd vampire. He's part spanish, part native. Old native. The extinct ones--the Incas. He's kind of a ah... vampire historian. And he's one of the brightest, most cheerful, active people I've ever met, let alone the brightest, most cheerful, active vampires I've ever met. He's wild for vampires. I mean, he studies them. And I just stumbled into him on accident. We were going after the same girl. It was really kind of funny, but god, it just saved my life. I felt terrible, and then, here he was. It had to have been Fate. He took me in and talked to me about well... all kinds of things. Helped me out. And the whacko sent me home with all this exotic blood he'd been collecting, like vintage wine. I tell you, he's really wierd... but really nice. That's where I've been all this time, down in Peru, hunting through the City of the Dead, looking for signs of the old ruler... well, that's a different story altogether. Anyway, we'd have to arrange special accomodations for you, being that you can't take the sun. I'd have to ah... package you up... you know... but it can be done. Chac's traveled enough, and is very clever at that sort of thing. And I can get us back in a very easy fashion." Meepfur Chac. She was pretty sure she'd heard Nar mention the name once or twice - maybe after Kesin's little trip to and from..somewhere. Guatemala? Well, it had been someplace funny. At any rate, she interested...very interested. In Chac and Peru and that City of the Dead place. She'd been in school for history, after all. It could be so exciting! Even if Nar did have to fold her up into a suitcase or something, she was sure it'd be worth it. Unlike Vlad, she couldn't just pop herself away into a spear. "Going after a girl, huh?" Iden asked, with a slight teasing tone. "I could get us back too, if we needed. Well, in theory I could get there, but jumping somewhere you've never been is always a bad idea. Could wind up on a cliff or half in a tree or god knows what!" Naraka Naraka gives a little shrug and a lopsided smile. "Well.. I wanted to.. you know, bite her. Just a little. And he did as well. That is, he wanted to have some of her blood in storage. He perfected the art of storing the stuff." He peers at her, somewhat incredulous and says, slowly, "Er... that does sound.. dangerous... I think perhaps a plane may do us better." Meepfur Oh! So that was it! Iden chuckled; she'd had it all wrong. "Way you said it, I thought maybe you both had a thing for her or something." "Yeah," she agreed, "Probably. It's just fine if you know exactly where you're going, like when I took you to visit my apartment, but otherwise it's not such a good idea." Naraka "Oh! No no no... no" He laughs about it. "No! Just a thing for her blood.... She was really beautiful, though. All the people there are beautiful. Even the toothless old women. They are so genuine. I can see why Chac loves them so." He leans forward a little and says, "So, if you had gone there before... even across the great distance, you imagine you could take yourself? Without mishap? We'd be visiting an awful lot of places. Chac has a few homes he stays in from time to time, in a few countries. He's in Peru, now. I met him in Guatemala, though, and we visited a few places between. He might want to take me... us, back through. There's some kind of... deity or king that he's after. He reckons he was a vampire. Well, we know now. But he's still gathering information from the cultures all throughout the mountains. It would be terribly handy if you could just... bing! and there it is." Meepfur "Mm-hm!" she confirmed cheerfully, a little bit proud. "Well, it's best if it's not like...out in a street or something, where stuff's always changing, but if I've gotten familiar enough with the place, I can do it without worrying. Best not to do it more than once a day, though." She leaned forward too, terribly excited by all this talk and plotting. "Really, a king? And people in the mountains? Oh! I had an anthropology professor once, he talked about the Andes. He was my favorite." "Oh!" She said again, remembering something else. "I've got a friend - well, he's a four-legger - but he can pop around here and there, kind of like I use that necklace for. Except he's a lot better at it, and he can go anywhere. It's what they do, errais. Worldwalk." Naraka "I see.... I admit that I'm a little envious.... although, I believe that sometimes the journey is one of the most interesting parts of going to a new place. And so, I wouldn't be inclined to use such gifts very often... " He strokes his chin and cocks in eye in a rather funny expression as he thinks. Talking about his travels, about something so pleasurable and normal, puts him right at ease. "Well... it certainly wouldn't take more than once. And Chac tends to keep things in the same place. Anyway, the first time, I gues we'd have to either take a plane, or ask this friend of yours.... Anyway, are you really interested? You would want to come and talk to him?" Meepfur "I got it from my aunt - great aunt - but I've never known how she wound up with it, or exactly what it is. She never did say." She smiled fondly when she talked about her aunt; she'd been crazy, but in a good way. "Definitely!" she answered, beaming. "It'd be awesome!" "I'll ask Hyksos next time he comes by, see what spots there are for him to pop to. D'you know whereabouts would be right? There may or may not be something close, so we might be better off with a plane after all." Iden, too, was more than happy to chatter about such things, and get carried away in the excitement of it. Naraka "Hmmm..... I didn't inherit much..." He looks a little dark for a moment, but shakes it off and says, "Well, I think I'd have to learn more about the ah.. kind of travel your friend does. I'm afraid most of it goes right over my head, and it would probably be better to leave it up to his judgments. My vampiric family does have a rudimentary teleportation, I believe, but not one I ever really learned, and it's gone now anyway. Besides, that sort of thing is intuitive, a body art, and not something I could explain or discuss... A plane might just have to be the way to go. But, we could take a day flight, and you could sleep through most of it. Chac's shipped himself a few times, and he seems none the worse for his experience." Meepfur "Well, it's sort of like...there are these doors he can use," she explained. "Goes in one and comes out the other, wherever it is he's going to. They're kind of scattered all over, and he can only come out where there is one. It's it's own kind of a pain too, though, especially if you're not too keen on riding horses." "Flying sounds like it might be simpler, all in all." Teleportation, huh? Vlad couldn't do that, at least not that she knew of, aside from getting back to his spear. Naraka "I did wonder what kind of creature you might have been talking about. A horse? I've ridden horses before.. though very few. They tend not to like me very much. For.. obvious reasons. Well... it sounds as though flying IS the simpler option... We'll just have to go with that, I think.... unless you want to hoof it, nights." He snorts and drags Suta up into his lap. Meepfur "Something like a horse, anyway. Much smarter, of course, just like a person. I doubt you'd bother him any. But flying is good, though. Especially if I get to sleep," she added, chuckling.
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:33 pm
Continuation of above RP with Naraka; Enea comes to visit!Naraka "Yes, you'd get to sleep most of the way," Naraka says with a faint smile. "Maybe not all the way. It's a fairly long flight." A small frown appears on his face and he sits up a little, listening to the gloomy silence. It seems as though someone else has decided to visit and judging by the slinking shuffle, Nar can hazard a guess as to who it may be. And he's not entirely pleased. "Oooooooh, Naraka! I know you're down here! I can sense you, mmmmmmmm," somebody calls in a somewhat affected, lilting tone. A moment later, and the owner of the voice has appeared around the final stack of boxes--a slight, somewhat feminine fellow with long, dark red hair and a funny half-smirk on his face. The most startling aspect of his features, however, is how absolutely beautiful he is.
He stands in front of the pair with his arms thrown out wide. "You.... have a guest!!! and what a guest! Naraka..... you... didn't get her for ME did you??? You SHOULDN'T have! A vampire all for me????" He noodles his way over to Iden, but before he can throw his arms around her, or whatever he was going to do, Naraka holds up a hand to stop him. "Off limits," he growls warningly, and the stranger pauses and straightens himself back up. "Everyone's off limits," he says with a wistfull sigh. "Iden, this is Enea. Enea is a.... friend of mine... he comes from far away." They share a silent exchange, during which Naraka gives him a very intent staring. Meepfur At the sudden appearance and subsequent closing-in of this new somebody, Iden's bright eyes went wide, and her prevailing thought was clear: what the hell?! She didn't know what else to think - didn't have anything else to think! Here she'd been, chattering on about travel plans with Naraka, and all of a sudden someone else popped in! A very attractive, exceedingly strange man. For all that he was gorgeous, something in his manner reminded her intensely of Puck (although Enea at least wasn't horrifically ugly), and she scooted herself back closer to Nar, unconsciously lifting her lip in a silent, defensive snarl. Introduced, though, she did have to say something, and it was a very wary "Hello." Naraka
Enea gives a little cough. "Uh... yes.... far away. Where... where he met me... far away... anyway, you've been gone for so LONG and here you are!" He shamelessly slithers his way into Naraka's bed, and if it were not for Suta, looks as though he might just crawl right into Naraka's lap. Iden's reaction doesn't seem to phase him in the least, and he goes on to chatter, "Oh, but I am so rude! Iden, a pleasure to meet you. Mmmm, vampires are beauties! Such a beauty. Just lovely. What a darling pair! I could eat you both up! Your hair, dear, is just lovely with that wonderful pale skin! Mmmmm!!" Naraka gives enea a few proddings with his elbow, but it doesn't disuade or dislodge the fellow in the least. "You're always thinking about food," he grumbles. "And you're scaring my guest. Why do you have to be so antisocial?" He looks appologetically over to Iden. Meepfur Oh god! The man just got weirder and weirder! Creepier! Iden had half a mind to just up and leave; the other half was torn between staying around out of curiosity and giving the fellow a slap or worse, so much did he remind her of the phooka she hadn't even seen in almost two years. But she got the feeling Enea was altogether more dangerous, and besides that, he was Naraka's...friend. Or something. "Umm, thanks," she accepted the compliment quietly, "I guess." What did he mean, eat them?! She threw Nar a questioning look. Naraka Poor, stupid Enea. He's no idea he's being a creep. In fact, he believes he's on his best behavior. "Oh yes! A fine example of your ah... your species!" He looks her up and down in an entirely unnerving fashion, but when he reaches out to paw at her, Nar's hand jumps up and swats him away. He rubs his hand, pouting. "I can't even touch??" "Not without invitation. I keep telling you that." Naraka shakes his head and says to Iden quietly, "he.... isn't around normal people much.... doesn't know the 'rules'." Meepfur Iden bared her fangs when Enea reached out to have a touch, and even after Nar had fended him off, they stayed that way for a few moments. Oh yeah, more and more like Puck with every passing moment. Although the question was directed to Naraka, she answered it too, sourly, "No, you can't." At her friend's explanation, she calmed her bristling just a bit, asking back, "Normal people?" If they suddenly counted as normal, then what the hell did that make this guy? Naraka "Oh, that's not FAIR!" Enea says unhappily, draping himself over Naraka's shoulder and gazing wistfully at Iden. "It's not my fault I don't care to hang around humans all the time! They are sooooo boring!"
Naraka turns to him, growling, "Well, you blew your cover in record time." "Oh, BOSH!!! You both are vampires. I don't see what it matters if I don't keep up the pretense of--" But Naraka has given him quite a jab, and Enea shuts up, looking terribly confused. "Just horrible. But he'd know better than to blow someone else's cover. He knows there'd be terrible consequences." Naraka says pleasantly, and smiles at Iden. "Er.... of course! So! Little Miss Iden! My lovely little sweetling! I'm afraid Naraka's been a terrible brute, and hasn't told me a THING about you!" Meepfur How did Naraka deal with someone like this?! Iden would have thought he'd stay very far away from anyone so...she didn't even know what word to put to it. He was too many things! And besides that, just what was he, and why was he supposed to be hiding it? And how was he so bad at it, and who else was he not supposed to talk about? It was all very quickly driving her mad with morbid curiosity, and she just had to ask at least one thing...and she asked Naraka, not him, although she hardly whispered or anything, "What is he?" "I'm not your sweetling," she griped at Enea. "And I'm just Nar's friend, that's all." Why would she be telling this perfect stranger all about herself, especially when he was so bizarre? Naraka "Demon!" Enea pipes up as Naraka opens his mouth to answer. "Incubus. And from a very noble family, I might add. But I won't get into it. And go ON! No need to take offense!!! I didn't mean anything by it!" He heaves a long, theatrical sigh. Why does everyone have to be so difficult??? "Well, I wouldn't have guessed, because he's never said a word. If I had such a delicious-looking friend, I'd be sure to boast about it." "I'm sorry to say that I don't really feel the need to discuss everything with you, Enea," Naraka responds a little dryly. Meepfur " That's what you are? Holy s**t," she gasped. So that was what all the eating talk was about! There was something very strange about suddenly being on the menu for someone, seeing as she hadn't been in quite awhile. Though she might not have minded so much if he didn't keep on weirding her out. "What, and invite your friends to dinner?" she grumbled. Boast about a tasty friend, indeed. Naraka Maybe not the response Enea was hoping for, or expecting, but he takes it as a compliment all the same and looks fairly pleased with himself. "Oh well... no, not really. I usually keep the sweetest meats to myself!" He has a chuckle over it and bats his eyes at the both of them. "Yeah... but he knows better than to bother anyone who lives here, isn't that right, Enea?" "What? Oh, yes! Why do you keep ASKING me that??? Of course! I won't touch a single one of your friends. Really. Honest. Especially not this one." He turns to Iden and gives her a somewhat wistful stare, wishing it were not so. Meepfur And now he was batting his eyes, at Nar too! Enea was certainly not subtle. Or smooth. One or the other or both and she might not have been quite so bothered. He was just totally obvious and...and rude about it. She glanced gratefully at her friend - she'd never realized he'd been keeping everyone at the shop safe from weirdos like this one. Even if it was kind of his weirdo. "Maybe if you didn't make yourself so damn creepy, you'd do better," Iden suggested to the incubus shortly. Once it was out, it occurred to her that even if she was being critical, it might be somewhat encouraging too, and she was pretty sure encouraging was bad. Oops? Naraka "Creepy! I'm not, really. Am I?" He looks to Iden, and then to Naraka, who slowly shakes his head. "Really! Well, I am sorry! Alright! I see that I've interrupted your little vampire party here, and that I'm not wanted! Well, I have better things to do than be called creepy, anyway." He stands back up and gives them both something of a disapproving stare.
"I'm afraid it's just the truth. Listen, I'll see you later, at the castle or something, right? I'm afraid I can't do anything right now. Don't go and make any trouble!" "Oh.... very well," Enea says, visably disappointed. "Well, a pleasure to meet you, Iden. Even if you did scowl at me the entire time!" Meepfur Well! She hadn't expected it to work that way. Not that she was at all disappointed...well, maybe just a tiny bit, because despite the creepiness he certainly had an interesting something going on. Or was at least kind of fascinating to look at. "Later," Iden said a flatly, although she didn't actually expect to see him again. It was habit, more than anything. And now that Enea was no longer draped on Naraka, she scooted still a little closer to her friend. She felt a bit safer. Naraka Enea, for all his lack of sense when it comes to ordinary people, can at least tell when he isn't wanted around. And right now, he feels it's better just to leave off. "I certainly hope so! Perhaps I will go and visit mmmhhhhmmmmmmmm some people. Yes. Good evening!" Naraka watches him leave, and, once he's good and gone, looks back over to Iden, shaking his head. "And then he was gone. Sorry about that. He never tells me exactly when he's coming. Anyway, honesty, I'm a little glad he just acted his wierd old self. He seems like a normal guy when he means to seduce someone, but that's even creepier, at least when you know what he's up to." Meepfur "It's okay," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Mostly he just reminds me of somebody I used to know." With Enea gone, Iden was feeling much more comfortable again, although she was still terribly full of questions. "Does he really, like...eat people? I mean, finish them off?" Or could an incubus feed and not kill, like a vampire? Naraka "Oh, good god. And here I was thinking he was one of a kind!" For some reason, the thought of another Enea lurking around just makes him shudder. Heaven forbid they should ever meet!!! "No, so far as I know, he very rarely, if ever, kills people. He's completely unscrupulous, but not exactly murderous. Anyway, you don't have to worry about him..." Meepfur "Puck was actually ridiculously unattractive, but other than that, they seem pretty close. Creepy and umm...touchy. How can you put up with him crawling all over?" It would freak her out, somebody oily and seedy invading her personal space like that! "Well, there's that at least," she muttered. The weird-but-not-murderous thing made him a little less scary. "Oh, umm, thanks. For keeping him off." Naraka "Ha! Well that sounds possibly even worse!!! So far as I understand, most of their sort are physically attractive. They need to be, considering their methods of sustaining themselves. Anyway... the situation is complicated. And I guess I've gotten to know him well enough that it doesn't bother me so much." He gives a hopeless shrug. "He doesn't really mean anything by it. He's just really peculiar. Well, hopefully he won't come skulking around here often to bother you." He has to laugh. He'd not expected Iden to take such a disliking to him. Meepfur "It was really crazy. He was sort of this goat..man...thing. He drove me crazy! Always trying to scare me or get in my pants or both." Maybe you could call Vlad a monster, but at least he had some measure of class. Iden scowled briefly, but then quirked her lips up into an amused sort of smile, because now it was all mostly funny. "Maybe it's why Enea bothered me so much," she mused, "Too close for comfort." Naraka "Good grief!!" Naraka chuckles like mad. He can only imagine such a being hitting on HIM. And what he might do. But perhaps her little goat friend didn't go for boys. "Enea's not really out to frighten anyone. He's done some screwball things, but it wasn't out of any kind of wickedness. He's just completley amoral. Well.... if I ever ah... get too friendly.... do me a favor and tell me so." He laughs and laughs to imagine himself crawling all around and pawing at people like Enea. Meepfur "Guess they are a bit different, then - Puck was downright wicked." He'd put his ghosty hand right through her heart, and it had been the worst feeling ever! She laughed like a loon, though, when Naraka joked about getting too friendly, and jabbed him with an elbow, giving him an exaggerated wink. "Maybe I wouldn't mind!" Naraka "A good thing Enea isn't. He could do some real damage. I get the feeling he is far more powerful and capable than he comes off. That's why I put up with him. Better to stay on his good side, you know?" Naraka jabs right back, making a battle out of it. "Just so long as it doesn't make me creepy! Well, I don't think I'd be able to keep it up. I'd laugh far too much. But what about you??? I have never seen you give someone the ol' eye. Maybe I need to take you out and get you a little liquored up to see what happens!" Meepfur "What about me, huh?! Maybe you ought to give it a try and see! But what if I tried to crawl all over you, eh?" Iden just couldn't leave it go, but her next jab was feigned - instead of prodding, she waggled out sneaky fingers and tickled! Naraka "Well, if I can put up with him, I can put up with you. Besides, you're not nearly so heavy. And anyway, I--" He's caught off guard by her tickling and lets out a yelp. Oh, cruel and terrible! She's found his ultimate weakness! Suta leaps from her place on his lap before she's uncerimoniously thrown off as Naraka squirms and tries to scrable away from her through the pillows, laughing and shouting. "No no!! Now, that's not fair!!" Meepfur Haha! Revenge at last, for the time he'd attacked her with tickles. Iden laughed gleefully and gave merciless pursuit, seeking with both hands anything that might be ticklish - sides, stomach, neck, feet, anything she could get to! "You just say that 'cause you're a coward!" Naraka "Coward!" he shouts, doing his best to flee and getting nowhere fast. "What?? what? You aren't making sense! AH!!! NOoOoooooo," he cries, dispairing and laughing at his plight. "Why do you torment me so?" Meepfur Trying to tickle someone while they were trying to run away was terribly difficuly, and annoying to boot! "Because you're just so delicious, don't you know?" she crowed, parroting Enea just before she tried to remedy the nuisance of Nar's flight by lunging and trying to wrap her arms around his legs. Naraka "I'm not! I'm not delicious! I swear I'm not!" He laughs, flailing and trying to kick her away. But he can't resist forever, and soon he's been pinned. Helpless wiggling just embeds him further into the cushions. Meepfur "How do you know?!" she persisted, cackling and hanging on tight while he flailed. And once she had him, she couldn't resist, and proceeded to crawl all over him! "Maybe you've never tried!" Naraka "Oooooooo," Naraka moans, deflating. "I give!" He flops down bonelessly, and doesn't resist her merciless crawling. "Alright...... well, am I delicious? Now I'm curious." Meepfur Iden grinned with playful glee - she'd won! After a few victorious moments, she stopped her crawling and settled for just resting there, since he'd been so sure he wouldn't mind, because she wasn't as heavy. "Dunno," she chuckled, "I've never tried! But you're definitely delicious to chase after." Naraka "uuuuhhhhhhh," Nar says, deflating. "Chase! I hardly got going! Well, I'm afraid I fail. Well, you've caught me. What are you going to do with me?" Meepfur "Oh, I dunno," she said slowly, looking mock-thoughtful. "You're pretty comfortable, though. Maybe I'll just stay here for awhile!" Naraka "Well... alright, I suppose I can manage being a seat for a little while." He squirms himself into a more comfortable position and wriggles until he is facing up and can see her while he's talking to her. "So... I'm curious... you moved here, did you? And.... you are.... taking care of some kind of... demon horses or something, is that it? Is that why you moved?" Meepfur Iden lifted off her weight a bit to make it a little easier for him to get comfortable, but once he was, she settled right back down. He really was kind of comfy, and for all that it bothered her when someone she didn't know got into her personal space, she could be a rather clingy sort with people she did know. "Not really quite why I moved. I wanted to move anyway, have more room and all that, and Sabah'd been looking for someone to help ever since the last girl quit. Well, she's had some people off and on, but none of them really lasted. Vampires do best for it." Naraka Naraka's got a similar outlook. He doesn't mind people pawing at him if he knows them well enough. And he trusts Iden's motives. "Sabah? I assume that's the person you work for? Is that merely because ah..... the undead tend to..... get on together? Or... is there some other reason? Well.... are you still hoarding pets, then?" He snorts and laughs a little, never having understood the compulsion. One or two creatures at a time has been more than enough for him. "Do you like living here?" Meepfur "Yeah, that's her. She was a friend of my aunt's, actually. And yeah, it's something like that...they realize to begin with that I'm more dominant, so they don't give me as much trouble. Not that they don't try sometimes." Iden chuckled then. "Yep, still hoarding, except now there's room for them all." "I definitely like it here. I'd been back and forth lots of times, and it's nice to actually live here" She nodded, smiling genuinely. "All that stuff that's usually weird isn't so crazy here." Naraka "I was going to ask you what you thought about all the freaks crawling all around this place, but I decided just to hear your answers to my other questions first. Well.. it's a good place to live. I settled down here a few decades ago. 'course, I've been sleeping for... one of them... Well, it's a good place for you to find a niche for yourself where you might not be so accepted elsewhere. Really, with all the wierdos crawling all over the place, vampires are hardly abnormal. " Meepfur "Freaks!" Iden couldn't help but laugh at the use of the word, especially because for some reason it made her think of clowns. "But yeah, I'm glad I decided to move. I really liked Scotland and all, but I think I'm better off here." "You really slept that long?" she asked. It was a little hard to get her brain around, even if she knew vampires might do things like that from time to time. Naraka "I've never really been to Scotland. Just the few times I visited with you. And I am sorry I hadn't gotten the chance to do so more often. But perhaps you are better off here, anyway." Nar puts his arms behind his head to support his neck, which is feeling a little stiff. "Yep. And I might have gone on for a long time, but Iris and Saeru woke me up, poking around down here. Iris's uncle didn't bother me much, knew better. But when they inherited the shop, they came to see what was up. They didn't know I was down here. Well, I'm glad they woke me up. Anyway, every so often, I just feel the need to sleep for... for years and year and years. Usually after something kind of terrible happens. It helps to jog me out of it, because I've got to get up, and deal with the way the world has changed. It occupies me for a while." Meepfur "Well, you can still come visit me here, if you ever want to," she offered. "I'm glad they woke you up, too." Where would she be if they hadn't? At the same time, Iden realized that Nar wasn't have any problems with her being so close for the first time since she'd changed, and it made her terribly happy. She didn't say anything, though...maybe he'd forgotten to mind! "It seems like it would be so weird. To sleep and sleep and sleep, right on for...for however long. What's it like, anyway? Do you dream at all?" Naraka "I don't know where you live. I was just discussing the problem with Willow the other night. I wonder if she ever found LP? She seems pretty independant, though. I'm sure she's fine." He muses over her questions for a moment and says, "Well.... it's much like sleeping for anybody... only, you know how you don't remember your dreams if you sleep for a long time? Well, it's like that. I think I probably dreamed a lot, but I forgot them as I slept. Only, sometimes I might remember.... or maybe it's just a deja vu from long ago. That happens when you live so long. Things start to double back on themselves, and you forget." It's true, he is starting to make peace with her lifelessness. That she was robbed of her soul and heartbeat still tears him open inside, but he has decided not to take it out on her, and keeps his feeling buried instead. Meepfur "I'll just have to show you sometime, or give you directions. Oh, Willow was looking for LP? I thought she meant to go hang out at LP's place. I didn't think to right down some directions for her," she admitted sheepishly. "At least it's not boring, then. Well, I guess you can't really be bored if you're asleep, but it's always kind of disappointing if you don't dream." Iden had always thought so, anyway, and figured half the reason she ever wanted to sleep was so that she could have dreams while she did! "Deja vu, huh? You get that much?" Naraka "Well.. no, she wasn't really... she didn't seem to care much that LP had gone to your house. So I suppose it doesn't matter much. She really didn't seem interested at all, in fact. She was mad about ah.... ghosts..." "No... not boring. Sleep is kind of a... a lack of something. Your concious mind is completely shut down, or at least employed by some other means. So you can't get bored. There's just a whole lot of nothing. And in that way, it's a little sad, but it's also a little good. The nothing heals you. It's like that bit in Donnie Darko, when the teacher asks if babies actually need such a long period of darkness and nothingness. Well, I think we do. And I think it does me good. After so long, a rest." He runs his hands through his hair, smiling a little, thinking. "Does it? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes I wonder how I've managed to forget as much as I have. Sometimes I think I remember.... only I'm not really sure. It can get pretty confusing." Meepfur "I've never seen it," she confessed with a small smile, "But I think you're right. It's kind of silly I guess, but I really like sleeping. Being so comfortable." "You know, I've always kind of wondered, have you ever run into somebody you used to know? Who died and came back, I mean." And she really had wondered, which she seemed to spend an awful lot of time doing. Just sheer curiosity and maybe a little too much time thinking. "Well, if you don't mind me asking," she added hurriedly. Naraka "Oh.. well it's a very peculiar film. Worth a gander. I would reccomend it. Donnie Darko was one of my aliases for a while," he adds with a laugh. "Sleeping is good for us. It's when we repair ourselves. People who don't sleep, or who sleep rarely tend to ... have wild breakdowns. I'd much rather sleep. And I have found that it is a wise thing for a vampire, such as myself, or any other long-lived being to take a very long nap now and again. We have a different, longer cycle to reset. One that is bad to ignore." To her question, he has to pause and mull over it for a long time, his brow furrowed in thought. "I..... I sometimes wonder.... but you know.. there are so many souls on this planet. so many souls. And I have only known but a few. Are there any that were so tied to me that we would meet again? I have no idea. One or two, hopefully. Oh.... but there is something.. this castle I used to live at. Evidently, a number of people had been reborn into the same forms as before, to live out a new life at this eerie place. Well, that is different, I think. " Meepfur Maybe sometime she'd have to go out and rent it; well, providing she remembered to. It was the sort of thing that was very easy to put off and subsequently forget. A rather terrible habit, but one that she'd gotten herself very firmly into. "Who wouldn't get attached?" Iden teased good-naturedly, giving him a gentle little poke in the rubs. "A castle, really? Is that the one Enea was going to?" Naraka "Well, it is harder to follow someone through death," Naraka says mildly, smiling a little. "But who knows... it is possible. perhaps.. someone I never even knew, just a stranger on the street, and our eyes met, and there was a spark, something there.... have I seen that person before? I don't know. Maybe we've even met before, if only very briefly. And... I think it's pretty easy to see that not everyone would. I can sometimes be... antisocial." He rubs his poor ribs and replies, "That's the one. He showed up there a while ago looking for his family." Meepfur "I guess maybe it's easier not to know," she mused, leaning a bit. They'd been chattering on for age and ages! Not that she minded at all, it was rather nice for the most part. "Alright, so you can be a little prickly, but you're a nice guy." "Really? Somehow I never really thought that demons had families, but I guess it makes some sense." Naraka "Not all the time," he says, frowning. "Not for most of my life, really. Perhaps half, by now... I can't say as I have been keeping track. I'm not even sure when I was born..... well, anyway, yes, he did.... most of them are gone. Some sort of catastrophe where he used to live. He didn't tell me much about it." Meepfur "Well, now you're easy to get attached to," she attested, "Once you get past the prickles." Turning her head, she stifled a yawn against her shoulder. But try to cover it as she might, there really wasn't any discreet way to yawn. Naraka "Mmmmph," he grunts, a little uncomfortable for all that. Even after all his years of socializing, something's always remained a little antisocial and twisted in him. He isn't sure how to take it all. "I'm still not sure how I feel about myself," he says slowly. "If you want to know the truth. But, see here! You are winding down. Is the sun so close? Have you got to go?" Meepfur "Who is?" she mumbled, rather unhelpfully. But what else was there to say to it? After a moment, though, she grinned. "Mm, I'd probably better, or you'll be stuck with me crawling on you all day long! I just might drive you crazy." Naraka "Who is?" he asks with a laugh. "Who is what? My, you must be tired! I don't even know what you are asking! Well, you know, I wouldn't have to deal with your crawling for long, as you would go right to sleep. You are welcome to stay, if you like. There is no sunlight down here. Otherwise, I can walk you home." Meepfur "Who's sure about how they feel about themself...selves." Nar's offer was horribly tempting, and she really was pretty comfortable just lounging around here. "I am very lazy when I get tired," she confessed after consideration. "Can I really?" Naraka "I'm not sure how I feel about myself," he says with a small smile. "And I am afraid I must insist at this point! You sound madly drunk with tired. If I sent you off, I do believe you'd collapse on the street before you got home! No, stay here. It would be safest." Meepfur "I did that once," she said, grinning, "Just fell right down 'cause I'd been awake so long." Iden did, indeed, get to a sort of drunken state when she was really tired. "'ll stay, then." After another yawn, she rested her head against his shoulder. She'd scoot off and give him more room if he asked, but she'd meant it when she said she got lazy. Naraka "Well it's more dangerous when the sun can just do you in like that!" he snaps his fingers in the air. "So you'd better stay here in the dark. I might nap some more, myself. And look... Suta has become very interested." The cait is, indeed, coming to investigate, peering with her big, lamplike eyes, and creeping softly up to see who it is who's joining the pajama party. Meepfur "Sounds good," she agreed sleepily, before waggling her fingers at Suta in a little hello. Iden was certainly never one to object to the company of something warm and fuzzy. Naraka Nar can tell she's getting tired. And so he quiets himself and lets her drift off to sleep. He knows, can remember what it was like to fall under the spell of dawn; the irrististable and unnatural pull towards slumber. It is not something he feels so much anymore, since his change, but he knows she must feel it, and lets her be. Suta makes her way across Naraka and flops down on top of both of them, purring contentedly for the extra company.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 11:12 am
Teen Quest
Toby was, to say the least, quite surprised to go from chasing pooka across the front yard to standing in a stadium! The stadium. At first he froze, ears perked to listen and eyes peeled, but there was nothing here - nothing but a long railing down the center, and a crowd lining the edges. His initial reaction done with, the abrupt surprise turned excited; he knew what he was here for. To grow.
He looked around more freely now, searching for Iden - and there she was, up in a spectator's box. He waved, and she waved back. Now that he had his priorities sorted, making sure he was in no immediate danger and that his mother was safe, he could turn his attention to the post before him - tacked onto it was a piece of parchment, on which was written:
Come young page, test the skills you've learned and see if you're ready for your next step.
This is test of strength, of horsemanship, teamwork, and manners. No matter how long it takes, take heed to the last of things. For it is the what you will be tested upon most on this day.
This is, a jousting match!
The test to see if he'd learned how to read! And he had. Just as his tail wagged with that little triumph, the crowd around him quieted, and opposite him a tiny man (well, a man who was Velvet-sized!) emerged, leading a bay horse perfectly in proportion to his size. Toby gawked a moment - a horse, a horse just the right size! Not a shay, not Iden's little blue kirin, but a real horse. The dog-child felt envy snake through him for a moment; but then he heard something behind him, and turned to see.
An attendant (also fitting Toby's smaller world) brought him a horse. His eyes widened as his tail gave a cautious wag. Curling his fingers in towards his palm, he offered the chestnut mare his hand to sniff, which she did. Once she seemed to approve, he stroked her nose, and she pushed her head into the pets. She liked him! Another little triumph for Toby. Before the attendant left, he asked what his horse's name was, but the man had already turned his back and was walking away.
Toby's shoulders drooped, and he patted his mare's shoulder. "I've got to call you something," he mused, "And you're really pretty, so I guess I'll call you Beauty. Sorry if it's not your real name."
To the side, someone coughed - a man holding padded practice armor. "Oh, sorry!" Toby apologized, giving 'Beauty' another pat before moving to let himself be helped into the padded armor. Once he'd been decked out in it, he twisted around a little. It certainly dampened his flexiblity, but that was really only to be expected. The attendant nodded, ushering him back to his horse and helping him mount - it was harder in this stuff! He turned to pick something up and hand it to Toby - a jousting lance. Not a real real one, a practice-type one like the armor. Eager, Toby took hold of it...
And nearly dropped it! It was heavy! He'd always known they were, but he'd always figured he'd be strong enough. He didn't have long to think about it, though - on the other side of the railing, his opponent urged his horse forward. Toby had just enoguh time to check that he was actually holding the reins before Beauty responded by charging forward as well. And that was that, they were heading right for the knight, and the distance was closing fast!
Toby tried to adjust his grip on the lance, but it was heavy and they were moving, and instead of adjusting his grip, he lost it entirely, and the lance fell from his hand. Reflexively, he leaned to the side to try and grab it, but it did him no good; he only lost his balance and fell too, hitting the sandy floor of the arena with an abrupt, brief roll as his horse continued on to the end of the railing, where she was caught by an attendant. The knight and his horse had rushed right past, and slowed to a stop at the other end.
He'd gotten it all wrong!! No way! He couldn't believe he'd done that! Toby hit his fist against the ground in frustration, but after a moment stood. That wasn't going to happen again, he resolved. He was going to get it right this time! This time, that knight was going to be the one on the ground! He stomped his way to wear beauty and the attendant were, while someone else darted out to grab the discarded lance; he'd get a new one down at the end.
Once more, he was helped onto his horse and given a lance; this time, he was ready for the charge when it started, but the lance was still heavy, still awkward. In the back of his mind, he heard a line play over form a movie: Get it in the cradle! But what was the cradle? He didn't have time enough to figure it out, only to point his lance roughly in the knight's direction. It glanced off the man's shoulder, not so much as disrupting his aim - his lance hit Toby squarely in the chest, laying him back against his horse.
This time, though, he didn't fall. It was better, but he was still angry. He should be able to do this!! And why hadn't the announcer last time told him to expect jousting? Why all the other stuff? It had been so deceptive! He turned his mare at the end and was given a third lance. He didn't think this time, didn't wait for the knight to get going first. When the banner dropped, Toby was the first to urge his horse forward, without thought and without aiming. He just set the lance against his side with the strongest grip he could manage, and willed it to hit the kngiht and knock him from his horse, just the way he deserved!
But it didn't happen. Once more, just like the first time, Toby found himself on the ground - this time with an aching collarbone. It hadn't worked! Again, it hadn't worked! Now that it had been three times, it was clear that he was doing something wrong. Something. And he had to figure out what, and fast! it was so hard to think when he was angry, though! So isntead of going to his horse immediately, he stood where he'd fallen and just breathed. He didn't know for how long, he just stood and breathed. Breathed, and then thought, and then he was ready.
With a nod to himself, he went to his horse, gave her a pat on the shoulder, and let himself be helped up again. A new lance was given to him, and he settled it against his hip just so, fiddling with it until it felt right. Balanced. As he nodded with approval, the banner dropped a fourth time, and the knight spurred his horse forward. Toby responded by doing the same, and underneath him Beauty surged. He aimed his lance as best he could, for where he figured the knight's shoulder would be - just to the inside of it, like where he'd hit Toby. And moments later, they collided again. They both made contact - the knight against Toby's chest again, and Toby right where he'd wanted.
Once again, Toby was laid back against his horse, but his opponent fell. Fell off that bay horse of his! He'd done it, Toby had done it! Filled with a rush of glee, he let the lance drop, and once he'd gotten to the other end of the rail, he slid from Beauty back and hugged her tightly along the neck. "We did it, beauty!" he crowed, "We did it!"
As he celebrated again, though, his eyes fell on the post once more. Manners. So, with another little nod to himself, he strode down the other side of the railing, to where the knight had fallen and was now standing. Toby smiled up at him and offered him his hand to shake. "Thank you," he said, "For the good match."
Then, a familiar voice rang out:
"A squire must take under a knight. While striving to keep up with the old skills and learning, he must also broaden his knowledge on armor. He must become comfortable wearing that that is uncomfortable and heavy. He must learn to care for the armor and weapons with great honor and respect. He must learn subserviance and dignity, while not gaining too much ego. For a knight is a man of the people, not one up above."
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 11:13 am
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 11:14 am
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 11:17 am
RP with Dee and SidneyQuote: "You sure you're going to be careful with that?" Iden asked of Toby, who walked beside her down the sidewalk to the Velvet shop. "No gonna poke somebody's eye out, right? Or cut off any tails?" "Mom~!" he objected, hand going to his sword hilt - and it was a real sword now, not a wooden one. "You know I wouldn't do that!" "I know," she laughed, reaching down to pat him on the head. "You're very responsible. I'm just teasing! Let's see if there's anybody around, huh?" She reached out and opened the door, holding it for Toby before following him in. Quote: A head looked up, Dee's head in fact. She looked surprised to see someone come in, or perhaps not the person she expected, but it was quickly replaced by genuine pleasure. Nothing wrong at all with the person who had come in! She'd not see them in ages!"Iden!" She cried, putting the book she'd been reading down and jumping to her feet. "Fancy seeing you here!" She grinned and then noticed the dog by her heel. "Oh Toby!" She paused, realising he'd grown bigger. "Is there something different..." She teased in her joyful mood. "New hat maybe?"Another face looked up at the sound too, a reptilian one. Sidney was sitting on the shop's desk when the pair came in. He didn't beat around the bush like Dee did though. "Toby, you're bigger! You grew right? Oh cool, jusst like me!" Quote: Oh! Of all people! Iden perked right up, bringing her hands together as she beamed at the other woman. "Dee! Oh my god, I haven't seen you in ages! I was starting to wonder where you'd gotten to!" Happily excited, she ran right over to hug her friend. Toby watched the display with curiosity. He supposed that was a girl thing? He'd never run up and hugged Sid like that! Licked him, maybe, when he'd still been an animal, but that was different. "Well, I do have a new hat," he answered, tipping his new green one with yellow feather, "And a new sword too, but it's more than that!" Hand on his sword hilt, he posed in all his grown, tights-wearing glory.
"Sid!" he exclaimed, breaking pose to wag his tail and wave. "Yeah, isn't it awesome?!"Quote: Dee chuckled. "So you have! Why... you look bigger than Sid now." She looked over to her own velvet but he didn't seem at all phased by that fact, only pleased that his friend was as 'old' as he was. In a way Dee was also relived. Sid had become more and more independant and enjoying his own company. She was worried he'd get antisocial and lose his friends. But it seemed Toby was still a close friend."I know, it's been months and months!" She hugged her, noticing the coolness of her body. Not that she hadn't forgotten Iden was now a vampire, nor was it any different to when she hugged Naraka. But Iden's spirit was still warm as ever. "I've been about, mostly at home though. I'm such a hermit.""It iss!" Sidney agreed, eyeing his pose and eyes widening in delight at his new sword. Toby had always wanted one of those. "And you're old enough to have a real ssword now too? Cool. Bet you could fight off all ssortss of enemiess with that." Slivering over to the edge of the desk, he climbed down to go speak to his friend properly, rather than shout from across the room. Quote: "A hermit, huh? All holed up in that big house! Something keeping you there, or were you jsut feeling reclusive?" she teased. "I've even seen Nar since the last time I saw you! Several times, even." "Do you think so?" Toby asked of Dee, having a look at himself while Sid made his way down. "Yeah, Seppa made it just for me before she left! I've had it for awhile, but I wasn't allowed to do anything with it." About time he finally could! "I haven't had any enemies to fight, though. Wouldn't it be cool?"
"Hey, c'mere, I wanna see who really is taller!" He couldn't resist. It was a friendly sort of 'challenge' though.Quote: Something had been keeping her there in fact, or rather someone. "Oh well, it's been busy and I've had people staying." She said non-commit-ably. She didn't know Meep had already met her 'guest'. "I should have got out more, poor old Sid's had to make his own entertainment." She smiled fondly when Iden spoke Nar's name. "Oh yes, I'm so glad he'd back again. Had quite a hair-raising trip from what I've heard of it. Hmm? Oh yes, Toby. By at least an inch!""Oh well I have!" The snake exclaimed. He already had one enemy. "But I bet you could taken anyone on with that." Sidney came over to his friend, more than pleased to accept the challenge. "Ok, back to back and then they can ssee." He told the dog. As he tried to stand up as straight as he could though, he pushed himself up further on his tail, like one might try to stand on their tip-toes. Quote: "Oh! Guests, huh? Not so bad, then! Unless they're the bad kind, huh? Like in-laws or something." Not that Dee had in-laws, but they were notorious for being bad guests and it was the only thing that popped into her head. "Hair-raising? He didn't tell me that part! Iwas here when he got back, but uh...we didn't exactly get around to talking about that stuff. " She grinned, a little sheepishly - Dee could probably gather what the subject had been. An inch! To the Velvet, that was really quite a bit! "Have you, Sid? Really?" Toby asked, pressing his back again the snake's, tucking his tail to keep it out fo the way. He stood up as straight as he was able, but without going on tip-toe. "So? What do you think?" Quote: Dee blinked when Iden mentioned in-laws. It was a very close guess but she didn't say anything to confirm it. "Oh they weren't too bad." She muttered and turned her attention to the velvet who were trying to look bigger than each other. "Yup, an inch. Probably two if Sidney stopping trying to balance on his tail." She smirked at them. "No, you've got to stand like you would normally Sid.""Didn't he?" The conversation then drew back to the shop's resident vampire. "Oh well he told me some about it in his letters but then I didn't hear anything else until he got back. Their researching turn a turn for the worse." She had to grin at that. Had she'd known at the time what was happening to her beloved she'd be horrified. But now it was over and both he and Chac were safe she could reflect on it more lightly. "Oh you didn't?" She wasn't quite sure what they had talked about but she could guess. "He's still not miffed is he?"Sidney slumped back into his normal position when Dee caught him out. He wasn't terribly upset about it though. He might not be the tallest or the strongest but he had his other skills. "Oh yeah, it's that awful..." He trailed off, glancing at Dee and seeing her preoccupied now with Iden. "Shhh.... I can't say in front of mum." He whispered, indicating. Quote: "Oh, well! I had no idea! How on earth does researching take that kind of turn? All I can think of is Indiana Jones," she admitted, chuckling lightly. It was a terribly funny picture. "Not miffed, really, but...it does still upset him. Not as badly as it did at first. He's getting better about it. And he wants me to meet Chac! Go to Peru and everything!" Iden just had to say something, it was so exciting and she'd been dying to tell someone. "You don't suppose it'll be dangerous though?" Hah! So he was taller! Awesome! But oh, there was something Sid couldn't tell his mom? "Wanna go outside or something?" he whispered back, "Now I really wanna know!"Quote: "Ok." Sidney replied, before raising his voice. "Toby and I are just going out for a ssec. Just by the door. I want to sshow him ssomething." He called and then gave the dog a knowing look. Dee didn't seem to mind, assuming it was something about teens and need for privacy, and just nodded.Sidney grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door, making sure it was closed before continuing. "Mum would ground me if sshe knew." He explained. "Sshe doessn't like fighting and I doubt sshe'd undersstand. I mean, he sstarted it. And called me all ssortss of thingss." Sidney wasn't one to whine but now he finally had a pal to tell the story to he could't help recalling the inccident.Dee watched them go outside. She'd let Sidney have alot more reign about going places on his own nowadays. So long as Toby was ok. "Oh well, the person they were looking for information about, you know, how Chac's a bit of a vampire researcher? Anyway, they hadn't betted on him still being around. Got trapped under a couple of mountains, Nar said. But he's better at retelling it than I am. Yeah, Sidney was fascinated by all the stories of danger. Oh but you want to go meet Chac? Oh well I'm sure it won't be half as dangerous. He just gets carried away with his research, I get the feeling. Well if Nar's going to send you over to meet him then he must be feeling better about it." She tried to lift Iden's spirits but she looked too excited anyway to need any help. Quote: "Trapped under a mountain?! Them or the guy they were looking for? Oh!" Iden tilted her head, recalling something Naraka had said. "Nar mentioned some kind of vampire king of something? Was it him they ran into?" With so much to be interested in and excited about, it was hard to really be down, especially with Dee to talk to. It was very easy to jsut get caught up. "Oh yeah! Gonna pack me up and drag me off with him somehow. He said Chac's real nice, just weird. Have you met him? He sounds really cool! And I was really into history, so maybe we'll get along." Toby was pulled along willingly, giving Dee and Iden a brief wave before he and Sid were out the door. "Oh c'mon! Sometimes fighting's justified, even my mom knows that! And if he started it, then it's not your fault! Who was it, anyway? Was it a Velvet? Anyone I know?" He could give them what-for, too, for messing with his friend!Quote: "Yeah, a vampire king of some sort. Took them a while to escape. No, I haven't met Chac, just heard about him. I want to though." She'd never been invited on a trip to see him. But then she had a business to run here. It wasn't easy to organise something. She was a bit surprised to hear that Nar was going to take Iden though. Was he running off again after he'd only just got back? "Do you know when you're leaving? Oh yeah, did he tell you about his hobby of collecting blood? I remember last time Nar came back and had a bunch of bags full of the stuff given to him as a gift. But if you're into history I'm sure you'll get along.""Hmm... maybe. But Dee's funny. And well, I suppose I landed the first physical blow..." Sidney mused. He was pleased Toby wasn't going to tell him off but he doubted that he would have. He'd never have told him if he thought the dog would think poorly of him. "And yeah, it was another velvet. That sstupid Carl." Sidney heated up as he remembered. "He'ss nearly killed me twice, although he sayss it was an accident. I'm not sure, the guy doess hate me. And then he insulted my artifacts and called me boring as a rock and well... I kinda... whipped him on the arm..." Quote: "Escape? Oh my goodness! I had no idea things had gotten so crazy! I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for any vampire kings." A vampire prince was quite enough, really. Iden chuckled, shaking her head a little. "Oh yeah, he said something about the blood. Kinda like wine, I guess? No, no real plans yet. We were just doing a whole lot of chattering, nothing real solid. That and some weirdo friend of Nar's came by and interrupted, so I think it just went right out of our heads. I think it may be the only time in my life someone's called me delicious!" She laughed. "Well then he deserved it!" Toby huffed. Since he barely knew Carl, he was siding immediately with Sid. The snake was his best friend, after all. "A rock, huh! Well, he's the stupid one. Artifacts are awesome! And you don't just go around trying to kill somebody! Good thing you showed him." Of course Sidney would have won, it didn't so much as occur to Toby that he'd lose.Quote: "Yes, I think that's a good idea. Although I suppose being as you are not, you don't have to worry too much about death." Dee winked at her. "And yeah, a bit like wine. In fact, Nar said something about him wanting to collect some... err, of mine. But well, I'll see about that if I ever get to meet him." She was relieved to hear nothing had been planned yet. Maybe she could come along? Nar was her, well, boyfriend, after all. Unless it was a vampires-only trip. "Oh? Weirdo friend? Don't tell me there's a new customer in the shop? Sounds very weird if they're calling you deliscious! Not that umm, you aren't.." She stammered quickly. "Just, it's an odd thing to say to someone you don't know.""Oh well I got him good with my whip... and then, would you believe it, he through this great bowling ball thing at me!" Sidney was really getting into the hang of this story telling. "If I hadn't been sso quick, I'd have gotten squasshed flat! He guy'ss sstrong but yeah, not up here." Sidney tapped his head grinning. But it fell a little and he remembered the thin cut on his cheek that Carl had left him. Nothing really noticable, more like a stinging papercut. A stinging reminder. "Anyway, he did fell me once and I would have got back up except Willow had turned up and threatened to dob uss in if we didn't sstop." Quote: "Some of yours, really?" Iden laughed. "Wanted to know what was so good, huh?" She winked, nudging Dee with her elbow. "No, not a customer, some guy Nar knows from some castle or something. Enea's his name. Totally weird, I couldn't wait for him to leave!" "A bowling ball thing? What?! He must be crazy!" Toby was going to ahve to watch out, that was for sure. "Willow stopped you, huh? Too bad! He should've gotten what he deserves!"Quote: "Hmm... something like that." Dee laughed. "Nar's been talking me up! Anyway, if he's as gentle as Nar then I guess it wouldn't be soo bad. And I kinda owe him for helping out Nar. Remember years ago when he left in a terrible depression? He met Chac and came back." She explained briefly. But her face fell in an instant as she heard the word castle and turned terribly pale at mention of 'Enea'. Completely forgetting to act cooly she looked Meep up and down. "You ok? I mean, he didn't do anything did he?""He iss crazy!" Sidney decided not to go into detail about how he'd been at the mercy of the eagle at the time Willow came to break it up. "Yeah, he sshould. But he'ss really strong. I mean, he lifted that ball right over his head. And the first time he rocked one of those sshelvess with the plushiess on them so that I'd fall off. You gotta be careful around him Toby." He nodded seriously. Quote: "Hmm, makes me curious," she mused lightly, "I've never been bitten by anyone but Vlad! I wonder how different it is? But yeah, Nar mentioned that Chac had helped him out." "Oh, well...no, he was just weird. Nar made him behave, and if he hadn't I probably would have." Iden blinked, tilting her head at Dee. "Do you know him?" "I will be! I bet I could beat him, though, if all he is is strong! He probably hasn't even got any training." Oh, Toby was definitely ready to take this up with Carl next time he saw the eagle.Quote: "Oh well... sorta." She stammered, rubbing her neck. She couldn't deny knowing the crazy demon now. But she didn't think that Iden would know about Enea's true identity. Her brother had kept his disguise up while staying with her so she assumed he would have everywhere. "When I said I had people staying and keeping me busy, that was err.. him. You've heard of long lost relatives right? I mean you don't ever really expect that sort of thing to happen to you." She rambled quickly. "But Nar made him behave?" She dreaded to think what he had been trying to do apart from calling Iden delicious. But it seemed Iden could have taken care of herself in any case. "Oh well that's good. He is rather... crazy.""Nah, probably not. If you've got the smartsss you could probably out-trick him." Sidney mused. That had been the tactic he'd used. And it had worked the first time they had a tussle. "But don't turn your back on him." He warned. "Firsst time I met him as a child I got him fair and ssquare and then where I turned around he jumped me from behind!" Quote: "He's living with you?" She blinked. How could Dee stand having that kind of guy around all the time?! Iden wouldn't have been able to do it! But if they were related, then Enea probably wasn't as much of a creep to her.....but how were they related? Had someone back in Dee's family gotten it on with someone back in his? Iden actually found that rather funny in a way, and giggled, winking. "Does that make you part incubus, then? Maybe that's why Chac's so interested!" "Yeah, Nar kept reminding him people in the shop were off-limits. He was very put off! He likes vampires, from the sound of it." Toby's mouth dropped open in horrified surprise. "No! He really did that? That's no right at all! You don't come at someone from behind, that's not honorable! Oh, somebody realy needs to teach him a lesson." The dog scowled, crossing his arms resolutely.Quote: "Well he's my brother... So I couldn't really say no...." Dee mused. "And well, since I'm his older sister he keeps in line. I made him help out with the chores." She brightened, even chuckling a bit. Iden thought him creepy but that was all. Hopefully he'd just been a bit over friendly and possibly tried to chat her up. But then, that wasn't too unusual. It shouldn't arrouse any suspicions about things unnatural....So Iden's next comment caught Dee completely off guard! She sat down on the couch behind her with a thump, her eyes wide in alarm. Iden.. knew?!Ah, so Sid wasn't the only one who thought that had been totally sneaky and underhanded! He nodded enthusiastically. "No, esspecsially after I won our little show of skillss. He'ss a bad loosser. A lesson? Yeah, I agree." Although he had been avoiding the bird so as not to get into trouble with Dee about it. Quote: "He's your brother? Really? You mean you're an inubus too - no, wait, succubus?" Iden didn't seem put off at all - just terribly curious! Excited, in a way, by this new tidbit of information. She loved to learn new things - especially new things about people! - and this was really something. Only when she paused long enough, she noticed that Dee seemed alarmed. But why was that? " Oh," she breathed, realization dawning. "So that's what Nar meant! He said something about Enea blowing his cover, but he reminded him not to blow someone else's! He meant you, didn't he?" Well well! Iden sat on the couch next to Dee, giving her a smile and patting her hand. "It's alright, I won't tell anyone. Promise!" "A bad loser indeed." Toby looked serious, his brow furrowed with thought. "Hey, tell ya what! We can't go at him at the same time and gang up on him like that, 'cause that wouldn't be honorable either, but I say we both give him what-for when we see him, if we can. We'll make him get used to losing!"Quote: Dee made a little gasp as Iden put together the pieces but when she glanced up it didn't look like the vampire was put off by this new fact. That surprised her. She'd been sure if people found out.... If her friends had found out... Well, Nar hadn't talked to her for days at first. Something about having thought he'd known who she was, only to be wrong. But Iden didn't share that same horrified look, maybe she understood? Or maybe it was because Dee still looked human that she wasn't as shocked?"My cover... yeah, that's what he'd have meant. I guess I've blown it myself now though." She looked terribly relieved when Iden promised not to tell anyone though and clutched her hand as she patted it. "You won't? Oh thank you Iden! I'm not completely a demon and it's not my fault, I don't even remember being a succubus before. I thought I was normal. All my life! Until... well, until it sort of got revealed. And then Enea showed up and said he was my brother and I didn't remember him either or all this stuff he said about me and now it's like this huge lie I've been living and... and I couldn't tell anybody!" She gushed."Right! Jusst don't go getting into trouble. I mean, it'ss not fair if you get told off when he'ss the one who really deservess it." Sidney replied, but he smiled. Toby stuck by him, he knew it had been all that bird's fault. And sure two against one might have been easier, but Sidney guessed it probably was as fair as attacking from behind. Quote: "Sure I won't," she assured Dee, squeezing her hand. "Of course it's not your fault!" Dee seemed so distressed by it! "People'd have to be crazy if they thought that. You're still Dee anyway, after all! And I certainly don't mind, I'm the one who went and turned vampire on everybody." Iden quirked a little smile. "So how'd you figure it out, if you don't mind my asking? Sounds like a real doozy to just get landed with one day! Not just your average 'oh, by the way,' if you know what I mean." "Oh no, I'll be extra-careful!" Toby nodded decisively. "It's all about discretion and timing. And I don't have to come to the shop with somebody anymore, so that's one less person who might see. And mom doesn't really know Miss Donna, so even if Miss Donna found out, she'd probably never get wind of it!"Quote: Turned vampire on everyone. That got a small smile out of her. And well, vampired weren't usually looked on too well either. The two girls were probably in a similar sort of boat in that regard. "Just as much as you're still Iden." She nodded. "And well... I guess people wouldn't be too crazy. I mean, there are so many conceptions about... demons and that sort. Some even I thought too before I knew..."Dee took a breath, wondering where to start. "Well... you mentioned a castle? I guess it started there. Naraka and I visited it once, a couple of years ago. Well, this place seems to reveal things about people, about their pasts. And a short while after I arrived... it happened." She frowned a little as she remembered the painful experience. "I... grew a pair of wings and a tail. It sounds ridiculous I know! And at the time I didn't know what had happened or what I was. I guess I didn't really until Enea came and told me. Anyway, it wasn't a pretty scene.""That'ss true." Sidney nodded. He hadn't given much thought to Carl's owner. He didn't really know who they were in fact and so... Dee wouldn't know either! Even if someone told Carl's owner, or they found out, they probaby wouldn't tell his mum. "Misss Donna might get angry... but if sshe had any sensse she'd punish that vain velvet of her'ss too. Oh but you're allowed to come vissiting without Iden? Cool! Sso am I! I could come meet you here sometimess." Quote: "Ouch! I bet it wasn't!" Huh! Well, that was all kinds of weird - not the sort of weird Iden was disdainful or disbelieving of, just weird. "So what about the wings and tail?" she asked, peering for a moment, "Do they come and go, I guess? Do you control it?" She wanted to see! "Miss Donna likes me, I think," Toby said, combing his fingers through his slightly fluffy tail. "I'm much more polite than Carl. So maybe she'd even be on my side. Oh, awesome! Yeah, we've gotta come and meet sometimes. Would you be allowed to come to my house, too? I wanna show you my room sometime, we made it real cool!"Quote: "No... not at all." Dee replied, remembering. But she didn't want to remember the look on Nar's face at the time. That had been the most painful part. But they'd worked past that now. Things were ok between them, it was just the worry of other people. "Hmm? Oh yeah, it hurt alot the first time but since then, I guess it's become more natural." She realised Iden was looking at her. Or perhaps, more looking over her. "They disappear when I leave the castle. Although they're still there, Enea showed me how to make them appear and disappear at will. A huge relief really. Otherwise Sidney would have found out ages ago." She cringed. "I know.... I should tell him. I will! Just, not now... when he's older. And I can't really, not with Elissa being my flatmate. She's been my best friend forever.""I don't think I've met her? Oh maybe once, when Carl wass sstill an animal. Eyed me funny then too." The reptile mused. "But if sshe likess you then I reckon sshe would." Sidney perked right up at the sound of visiting Toby's house.He hadn't though much about that, but it made sense. "Ssure! I bet I'd be allowed. Oh and you have to come camping with me. Sssometimess I spend a couple of nightss out in the woodss behind Dee's fieldss. It'd be even more fun with you. I'll teach you survival sstuff." Quote: "Oh, I see! Well, that makes sense I guess, and it probably would be handy. So Sid doesn't know, huh? Well, I'm sure it'll work out alright, with both of them." Iden nodded. It was a very stubborn trait of hers, that conviction that things would always come out okay, one way or the other; it was a lot of of what kept her going sometimes. "Hey, while we're talking secrets..?" she ventured, "I've kinda got one too. Not quite like yours, but well, weird enough I guess. I've only really told a couple people, Nar thought I was crazy as hell at first." "Awesome! We could go camping, really? And you'd teach me survival? That'd be great! I know how to fight and all, and I've been learning how to hunt, but I've never been out camping!" Toby wagged his tail excitedly.Quote: "Yeah, plus not all my clothes are made to fit them." She quirked the corner of her mouth in a smile. "And I hope you're right. I just... have my worries. I mean, you know how Nar was when he found out about you turning into a vampire. And you say he's still getting used to the idea." But Iden's declaration of having her own secret makes her look at the vampire curiously now. "You do?" She didn't have any idea that Iden even had any secrets. Maybe everyone had something or another? But this didn't sound like anything terrible. Iden didn't seem upset about elling her in any case. "A weird secret? Oh well, Nar thinks alot of things are crazy. Umm... what is it?""Ssure can! I got a book about it for Chrisstmas. Tellss you all about building a fire and picking a ssite. Really good! I've read it about three timess! Hey, I can teach you that and you can give me some fighting techniquess. I only really know how to use my whip." He didn't even know how to throw a proper punch! Quote: "Haha!" Iden laughed. "I guess he does. Almost seems a little weird, for someone who's been around so long." She threaded her fingers together then, thumping them against her knee. "You know Vlad, my uh...the vampire I live with? And how I call him Drac sometimes? Well, beyond just aggravating him, well, I kind of call him that because uh...he is Dracula." She looked a little sheepish, knowing well how crazy it did sound. But she wasn't afraid Dee wouldn't believe her or think she was crazy. "Awesome!" He crowed again. "I've got my old waster plus an extra one, so I can bring 'em both and we can practice. Shouldn't really practice with the real thing, y'know?"Quote: Dee listened, glad to hear about something else. Not having Iden reject her or not wanting to talk to her or anything. In fact, she seemed closer now. A secret of her's shared and now one of Iden's. "Yeah it is a bit weird. You'd think he'd seen it all by now." But she quietens down and listen's to the other girl's tale.SHe's surprised though, when she finally hears it. "He's THE Dracula? But he's famous! I mean, there are books, films even, about him! I never thought the character was... real. And gosh, living with you! Is he... is he like how he is in the stories?" She, of course, was thinking more of the hollywood ersion rather than the historical one. Dee didn't know that much history and she'd never really thought to look Vlad up."No, good thinking." Sidney nods. As much as he'd like to be instantly proficient with a real sword, he knows that won't happen. And never as good as Toby. The whip was his prefere weapon but another one he was at least able to use would be sensible. Especially if Carl knew how to disarm his whip like he had."You musst be really good with your'ss now. Oh! But you didn't tell me about your growth! Did you have to complete some obsstacle?" Quote: "Yeah, really!" Iden grinned a little. Dee's reaction was nice - excited and curious. "Well, I guess it depends on the story! Some of it's right, the shapeshifting and things like that. Not so much the personality - well, maybe bits of it, but of course you'd have to know him to get all of it right! I mean, he's always been real - 1400s Romania, Vlad Tsepesh and all that - but, well, everybody always figured the part about him being a vampire was fiction. So did I! I know better now though, of course." "Oh yeah!" Toby answered, beaming with pride. "I was in that arena again, the one mom and I fought the cheetaur in, but this time it was all set up for a joust! And there was a knight and horses just our size and everything! I had to beat him to grow."Quote: "Oh well.... I guess the one with Keanae Reeves isn't quite the right one. I mean, they killed him in that. But shapeshifting? Really? Nar told me he used to be able to. I guess Vlad isn't inhibited like he is. Oh but what about you? It was Vlad who turned you.... do you get the same sort of powers?" Dee's not quite sure how that worked. She'd thought they were passed on when vampires turned other people but maybe you had to learn them? And she didn't know about Vlad Tsepesh but she guessed that this was the one Iden meant when she said he was a real person. "Oh, so he's not really called Dracula then? That bit's just made up?""I remember you telling me about that fight. Oh but knights and horsses your ssize? That would have been neat!" Sidney paused a second. "What'ss a jousst?" Quote: "Oh man! Keanu Reeves was awful! That movie would've been awesome if it weren't for him." But that was a whole 'nother discussion, and she was getting sidetracked. "Yeah, he's got a bunch of things he can turn into - and it's weird, but Stoker was right about them! I guess he must of found something. Anyway, he's got fox, wolf, rat, bat, owl, and moth. Oh, and the mist part of course. And he can call all those things to him, too, if there are any around." Iden grinned, obviously happy about this part of things. Say what you want about vampires, she was finding being one did have its plus sides. "Yeah, I can do some of it. The calling, and the wolf and the fox. He says the other one might take awhile." "Oh no, he really is called Dracula! It's his surname - he's one of the sons of a guy named Vlad Dracul, so he's 'son of Dracul.' Well, all three of 'em were, really. He started getting called that after he came to power. It means Impaler, because, well, it's how he executed people. It's not as bad as all the stories make it out to be, though. They go on about the stuff he did, but he was doing it to invaders and people like that. Not just for the hell of it. Anyway, for some reason he's the only one anybody calls Dracula anymore; his older brother died kind of young, and his younger brother wound up with another name, too. Frumos, handsome." Iden finally trailed off, realizing she was rambling. It was just so easy to go on! "A joust? Oh, it's easy! You're on the opposite end of a straightaway from somebody else, and you're both on horses and you've got lances - these big, heavy sort of pole things. And you run at each other and try to hit each other. The best is if you can nock the other person off! I heard somewhere that it used to be when you did, you didn't just win the match, you won the other guy's horse! You oughtta watch A Knight's Tale sometime, it's all about jousting."Quote: "Goodness, a whole menagerie! And mist? That must be strange... to float around like that I mean." Now it's Dee's turn to wonder if she could see Iden change shape. "I've always wondered how it happens." She muses aloud.She listens to the brief history of this Vlad, her eyes widening at the impaling bit. "Oh..." She murmers when Iden assures that it wasn't as bad as it sounded and only done to enemies. She wouldn't want to get on his bad side, but she doesn't say it aloud. Iden's completely fascinated with the guy it seems. And before she'd almost called him her.... something. Dee grins. "You know an awful lot about him. And he lives with you. And before you said... well, almost said..." She leans back on the couch and smirks.Outside Sidney is getting an explaination too. Jousting sounded a bit like 'chicken', except you were supposed to knock the other person off their horse with a big stick rather than see who backed off. "Did you win hiss horsse? Oh, no I guesss you jusst got togrow huh?" Somehow he thinks if Toby had a velvet-sized knight's horse he'd have mentioned it by now. Several times probably."I'll have to get it out." He says, refering to the film. "I don't really know about the sstuff they do, apart from riding horsses, wearing armor and protecting people." Quote: "I don't know if I could handle mist," she admitted, "Can you imagine? All in...weird, fluid kinda pieces. I don't think I could do it! It's hard to say how the changing happens, though - I mean, no the msit part, but I can turn into a wolf. And a fox, too." Iden smiled, clearly pleased by it. "He taught me how to do that just the other night! I'm not sure how to say how it works, though. It just kind of does." She chuckled. "Oh! Well, I'd researched him before he showed up you see, he doesn't actually talk much about the kind of past stuff like that." She grinned back, blushing a little but not really embarassed. "Well! It's not just his brother who was handsome!" "No." Toby's ears and tail drooped a little. "I wish! Oh man, I'd love to have a real horse like that. Not that there's anything wrong with shay, but a horse would be so cool. Just like a real knight!" He perked up a little though, and nodded. "Yeah, mostly it's protecting people. Well, and having manners and taking care of things and stuff like that."Quote: "A million floating liquidy pieces!" Dee agreed. "No I can't imagine. But is it fun being a wolf? And a fox?" She looks curiously t her friend. "I don't suppose you could... show me? I've never seen anything like it except in movies. And you know how bad the old special effects can be."She does think it's strange that Iden researched him before he showed up, she doesn't know anything about the spear. "Oh? Were you expecting him? And I guess if he's a historic person then it'd be natural to look him up. But if he doesn't talk about it, maybe he doesn't like his past?" She pokes a finger at Iden's confession though. "I suspected as much! So you two...?""Manners like being polite? Not talking with your mouth full? That kind of thing?" Sidney asks. "Or iss it kissing ladies on the hand? I remember seeing that bit in a film Dee was watching. Robin Hood I think. But he wassn't a knight so maybe that doesn't count." He already knew about the whole 'doing right thing'. He was behaved at home too, although he got the feeling a knight's rightous code was alot more extreme than his. And the protecting thing he guessed Toby was really into, since he'd protected Iden from the cheetaur the first time. And even now, his standing by Sidney even though he'd got into a fight felt like some sort of protecting. Or an honor thing? "Well if you do all that sstuff now, you're sstill a knight even without the horsse." Quote: "Oh yeah, I love it! I know Nar's kind of down on vampires, but I...well, I kind of like it. I mean, it's got it's benefits you know? I used to always wish I could run around on four legs, and now I can! And oh, of course! We can keep talking, even. There's a sort of..thought-projecting thing. I need to get better at it, anyway," she chuckled. "Well, not quite. You see, I got asked to be part of this project, researching artifacts. It was a spearhead they agve me, from Romania and all that jazz. But they never told me there was more to the artifacts than what I thought! Turns out that things they had everyone researching weren't just things, and I guess that's why they needed people for them. There were, umm...there were ghosts in them, sort of. After I'd had the spearhead awhile, I had this freaky dream, and then bam, there's the see-through guy in my room! And after awhile he turned solid again. Alive, y'know? Well, as much as a vampire is anyway." Iden nodded, then giggled, winking. "Oh yeah! No way I could have a guy like him sleeping on my couch for months and not...well, you know, give in. I mean, things are pretty complicated with him, but...yeah. He doesn't sleep on my couch anymore." She fiddled with her arm warmer a little. With Nar the things they tak about in regards to Vlad were dark, but with Dee, another girl, she could kind of..go into the parts that weren't so crazy and actually feel a little more normal. "Well, anyway! About that changing!" Figuring she mgiht as well just go for it, she grinned at her friend and closed her eyes, before sort of...flowing into something else. And just like that there was a cross fox sitting on the couch next to Dee! (( http://www.deltanewsweb.com/archives/images/20040502-crossfox.jpg )) "Both of those, really," Toby answered, nodding. "A lot of it's got to do with girls, really. How to treat them and all that. It's real important! Taking care of them and all. But yeah, you're right. Horses are cool, but it really is the other stuff that makes a knight. Not that I am one yet, though. I'm still a squire."Quote: "Yeah, I know how he is. I guess he can't enjoy the benefits. I always thought it'd be kind of fun. Yes, especially the running around on four legs. Reminds me of the games I played when I was really little." Dee laughs. She nods at the thought projecting bit. Somehow she remembers that's how it worked. Like she's spoken to a vampire like that before, long ago.... but it was probably just from all the fantasy books she read."And Vlad was that ghost? That came from the spearhead? Oh! I've heard of ghosts staying with a building or an object before. I think I would have screamed the place down if I woke up to find a ghost in room. But turning solid, real again, that'd be better. Sounds almost like you woke him up? Or released him smehow..." She mused, thinking. But she could help but laugh again when Iden talked about 'not sleeping on the couch anymore.' "Things are never really simple when it comes to relationships. I mean, look at me, a vampire and a succubus. At least you two are both vampires. You have the same habits and needs. And there are benefits of being undead. The stamina for one!" Dee almost rolls backwards, chuckling to herself. It felt so good to just talk about silly things, maybe even a little personal things, with someone who would understand what she meant. None of her other friends daded the undead after all.But her chuckling stops with an amased gasp as she watches Iden transform. The motion, the flowing of the body from one shape into another. It's not like anything she imagined and for a moment she's speechless with wonder."Girls? Really?" Sidney hadn't really thought girls were that important compared to things like fighting with swords and learning to ride. Even the manners things. But it seemed they were becoming more and more involved with things as he grew older. "Take care of them? Like, don't let them fall into pit-trapss and sstuff?" It was confusing to think there was more to it than that. "Oh yeah, well ssquires turn into knightss. Ssso you're nearly there right?" Quote: Iden's now-large ears stood erect, and her fluffy, white-tipped tail wagged. Whether or not it was proper fox body language she had no idea, but she was familiar with canines and so that was what translated, as it were. "Testing, one two three?" she ventured. It was kind of faint, like hearing someone speak in the other room, but not difficult to make out. "But yeah," she said after a moment with a nod, satisfied that she was coming through, "Woke him up is how I usually think of it. As a matter of fact, well, in that dream...I saw him, lying there with the fitting of the spearhead jutting out from his chest, like somebody had stabbed him with it. I thought he was dead, but then he opened his eyes, told me to take it. To free him."Her bright eyes were distant with the memory for a moment before she physically shook herself from it, getting back to the more girlish parts of the conversation. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Things with Vlad can be particularly crazy, and sometimes I wonder what the hell I've gotten myself into, but well...there are benefits! Pretty worth it, I'd say." Her eyes twinkled, and her maw split into an animal grin. "I bet there are benefits to being a succubus too, eh?""Sort of," Toby answered, rubbing his chin as he thought about how to explain it. "And you know, treat them right and stuff. Like ladies. Take off your hat and bow and kiss their hands, and don't cuss in front of them. You gotta make sure they're happy too, not just safe." He clearly believed what he was saying too, form the way he said it. "Yeah, next time I grow I'll be a knight. I can't wait!"Quote: Dee chuckled when she heard the voice 'testing' in her head. For such an unusual thing to do, projecting your voice right into someone's mind, it was a very amusing thing to first say. She nods. "Sounds like rather powerful magic, to dream that and then have it happen. But then, he is Dracula after all. Oh well, Vlad. Which does he prefer?" Iden called him 'Drac' to tease him but perhaps he didn't mind the full title. Anyway, he wasn't here to get upset by it."Worth it? Haha! Well, so long as he's not too old-fashioned. What year did you say he was alive in?" She grinned. From the sound of it, Iden was quite happy with a 'wild' relationship. The huge grin on her face looked even more pleased on that of a fox."Oh me? Well, yeah there is.... except I don't remember them all. Forgotten my memories you see. The tail's pretty handy though." She mused with a smile and then looked a little more serious. "And then there's the energy. I mean, succubi, incubi, they draw energy from.... well they draw out sexual energy to feed. Not that I go around seducing and sucking out people left and right!" She added hurriedly. "I live off normal food, and on the odd occassion a bit of ah, energy from Nar. Well, a bit like how I let him have a drink of my blood sometimes. It's all consensual." She smirked a little. "Although.... that's probably why Enea called you delicious."Treat them right. How was that different to treating your friends right? Although it seemed to be you had to do more for girls than you would for a friend. Bowing and kissing and taking off your hat. "Soundss like alot of work. Do you have to do all that even if you don't know them? Or if they're not your friend?" He scratched his head. Seemed like too much effort, plus he didn't have a hat and he wassn't really supposed to swear anyway. "And that makess them happy? Hmm... Indy alwayss sseems to make them crosss but then he ssaves them and they kiss him anyway. Maybe its jusst a knight custom or ssomething." Quote: "Vlad, really. Since Dracula's pretty much his last name and all. Something like that, anyway. Besides, I don't think I'd be able to keep a straight face if I were always calling him Dracula." Her voice carried a bit of a chuckle with it. "Mid-1400s, but not too old-fashioned at all. Well, I suppose in a way you might call him that. He's umm, well, very possessive of his women...possessive of anything he considers his, really. I guess it's not very surprising in someone who was noble and a warlord on top of it. Anyway, it doesn't really bother me anymore. Nar can hardly stand him, though.""Oh, the tail huh? Prehensile or something?" Another mental giggle, partly because this all included Naraka, and somehow that was amusing. "Oh, so you both like vampires, eh? No wonder he was so pleased to see two in the same place! All that chatter about pairs makes perfect sense now." Iden sort-of grinned again, batting at her muzzle in a display of a musement that ended with a snort. Oh, the very thought! Of course, maybe Dee wouldn't be so amused. "Not that, uh..you know...""Of course! A lady's a lady, whether you know them or not. And yep, it makes 'em happy! Works real well! It's a...a gentleman thing, too. The guys in Pride and Prejudice do it, and they're not knights at all." Toby nodded. "Indy make them mad, huh? Maybe he doesn't do it right...but I guess if he gets kissed..." Quote: "Possessive? Well I think I can picture that. Yeah, noble and warlordy. I'm not surprised Naraka doesn't like him. Well, so long as you're comfortable with it." Dee shrugged. There were many different relationships. She herself was slightly possessive of Nar, well sometimes got jealous in any case. Even though he was used to more open relationships in the past."Oh yes, prehensile and rather sensitive in spots." She snickered. "It's ah, quite fun. Oh well, I was with Naraka before I found out about any of this. And I like him because of who he is, you know? Not because he's a vampire. But Enea... well, he says they taste better than normal humans. Huh pairs?" She looked confused. "What's he been saying now? I'm not quite sure what you mean." She shrugged."Doess it?" Sidney looked surprised. He'd have to remember that if he even needed to impress a girl. He didn't know why he would have to but it seemed like a handy trick to know. "I'll have to remember. Yeah, Dee watchess that sshow. Now you mention it... Sshe doess like Mr Darcy..." He tapped his chin. "Oh but yeah, in the Temple of Doom he calls Willie namess and sshe calls him namess back. But then they sstart kisssing. And in the Losst Ark the girl even sslaps him but then he savess her life and she likess him. Maybe that's it, if you ssave their life they owe you a kisss?" Quote: "Yeah, I've gotten to where I'm okay with it. I think it used to bother me because it was supposed to, but it wasn't actually bothering me." Her ears dropped back a little. "That was the weird part, really, but I finally decided that maybe 'supposed to' just wasn't my thing. So now it's pretty much alright." Prehensile and sensitive, oh my! Not a bad deal. "Oh yeah! Who they are is the main thing, but a little something extra never hurt." She ducked her head then. "Oh, he said something about us being a lovely pair. And, well, in retrospect it's funny as hell. Not true, which is uh, probably why it's so funny to think about.""Hmm," Toby mused, "I dunno. Mom and Vlad did that once, but it seems weird. I mean, why would you kiss someone if you were angry with them? Getting kissed after saving a girl sounds right, that happens all the time. It's the prize, you know, for saving her. I don't get why a girl would kiss you if you made her mad." Quote: "A lovely pair of vampires? Oh well, that's like Enea. Like a delicious bunch of grapes." Dee replied. "Probably wouldn't have minded a feed off the both of you. I mean, I've told him Naraka and my friends are offlimits... but he has trouble understanding. First time he though Naraka was my... err, slave. That was before he found out I'd forgotten him and everything. That I was human now, at least in mind." Dee twined her fingers together and cupped them under her knee, rocking a little. Maybe she'd missed something there... Iden had said 'lovely pair' but which wasn't true. Had Enea mistaken them as being... a couple? Oh well, he didn't really understand such things anyway. Everyone was either food or not food. "I hope he didn't pester you too much. If he does, just tell him I said he was to leave you alone. Being the older sister still seems to have it's hold.""I think I know what you mean by the whole 'supposed to' thing. You're probably not supposed to date the undead! But that doesn't bother me. Haha. And yeah, it certainly doesn't hurt to have extra benefits. Adds to the err... fun.""Did they? Well I guess it doess happen. I mean, not everything in the movies iss real." Although he still believed in the awsomeness that was Indianna Jones. "It doessn't make sensse to me either. Maybe they're not really angry?" He would have to investigate the matter sometime. "Yeah, prize, that'ss it! Well they ought to be pleassed if you saved them." Quote: "So I gathered. He's very, uhh...touchy." Iden pawed Dee's arm for emphasis, but she was still grinning - joking, really, as she wiggled closer in 'imitation.' "Hanging on Nar like crazy! He'd have been very happy to hang on me or both of us, I think, and more. But well, he didn't do any harm. It just weirded me out some, but now it's just something to laugh about." She flicked her tail before nodding in agreement. "Haha, definitely not! Mm, I can't say I don't agree with your brother about vampires being, err...delicious.""Maybe that's it." Toby scratched his head, pondering the matter. "Maybe they're just pretending or something? Or maybe it's kind of saying sorry, too?" Geeze, girls were confusing sometimes! "Of course they should be pleased. I mean, look at the alternative! The big ugly brute or the dragon. I should think the hero deserves a kiss for his trouble." Quote: Oh, he has no sense of personal space!" Dee cried in laughter. "Would you believe, he likes to try out my dresses? No no, he really doesn't understand how it works for others who aren't demons." She chuckled at Iden's impersonation. Although living with animals that liked curling up on her lap, it didn't exactly feel like she was intruding. Dee even gave her ear a scratch before she realised and stopped suddenly. "Oh! Well I'm glad you're not angry. He's a pest but he's not mean. Yes and he's got a point there." She snickered."To say sorry? Perhapss. But yeah, you'd deserve it. I think I'd prefer a life debt or something though. You know, like a huge favour. A kiss doessn't sseem worth it." He shrugged his slim shoulders. Without having tried it (Carl DID NOT count) he couldn't understand the fuss. Just to have some girl who's probably not even your friend, give you a quick peck on the cheek. Maybe he ought to ask a girl about it? Like, Acia or willow or someone? Or there was always Dee of course. Quote: "He tries on your dresses?! Really?! Haha, that's gotta be something to see! Although I'm not sure how I'd feel about it if they were my dresses." Iden actually wagged her tail a little, leaning into the scratch for the moment it lasted. She wasn't touchy the way Enea was, but she was perfectly comfortable when it was somebody she knew. That and like this, she tended to forget, especially since Vlad had a tendency to give scritches when she was in a form like this. "Yeah, as long as he's not mean I can take it just fine. Assuming I ever run into him again, anyway.""A life debt, huh? Like the guy in Robin Hood? The uh...the 'sara-sin'! Robin saves him, and he sticks with Robin until he can return the favor. Yeah, if it was someone tough like that, a life debt could be real handy!" Quote: "Yeah, he does! They fit him surprisingly well too. I guess I'm used to it now... I don't wear dresses much myself anyway so some of them he's welcome to. Oh no, he's not the malicious type. Certainly not on purpose. But well, some things he doesn't see as being mean, you know? Like the getting too close thing, he doesn't realise it's uncomfortable to many people. Anyway, you might. He likes to visit Nar unexpectedly." Seeing as Iden wagged her tail and reacted to the scratching Dee assumed she liked it. She started again, amused. "I know dogs like that, is it really as good as it seems?" She asked.Sidney didn't know what the guy was called, he didn't always pay much attention to names, but it sounded right. "Yeah, and they could help you if you got into trouble. But then a friend would help you out too." He grinned, folding his arms. "Hey we should go assk if you can come over tonight!" Quote: "Yeah, I'm not much of a dress person myself. Skirts I like just fine, but dresses just feel too...dressy." She stuck her tongue out in mild distaste. "Well, it's not mean I'd say, more disconcerting than anything. People aren't used to it, y'know? Especially with strangers and all." Iden sighed as the scratching started up again, leaning shamelessly against her friend. "Oh god, is it ever! Kind of like getting your hair played with, y'know? Shapechanging definitely has it's benefits. All the good parts about being fuzzy, but none of the bad ones! Like having to eat kibble or something.""Oh cool!" Toby did a little jump out of excitement, his tail setting to wagging once again. "Can we really? Man, that'd be awesome!" Quote: "Yeah and they're rather impractical for the sort of work I do." Dee agreed, noting the cute little fox tongue with a grin. It was hard to remember this was Iden and not just some very intelligent pet. Even with the voice in the head that sounded like Iden, because it just appeared there is seemed somehow detached from the animal in front of her. She laughed out loud at her response though, and almost falling over to get 'petted'. "Really? How funny! Heehee, how about a belly rub!" She promptly grabbed Iden and turned her on her back, something she did alot with her caits, and started giving her a good tummy tickle. "Sorry, I just see a cute furry animal and I have to pet it.""I'm ssure you can. But Dee likess it if I assk." Sid nodded. Although she never seemed upset when Nar turned up unannounced. He turned back to the door and pushed it open slowly, he was velvet-sized after all. But it looked like Dee was busy. He didn't even notice that Iden had disappeared. "Hey mum, can... huh, where'd you get that fox?" Quote: Oh goodness! She hadn't been expecting that! Iden wiggled and writhed on her back, filling Dee's head with frantic giggles as all four of her paws flailed in the air and she nipped harmlessly at her friend. "Not fair!" she cried in playful objection. Toby helped Sid push the door open - he couldn't just stand there and watch, after all, like some useless lump! He then followed the snake in, but wasn't nearly so surprised by Miss Dee's new four-footed friend. He elbowed Sid, chuckling, "That's my mom."Quote: The giggles in her head from her hapless friend only make Dee laugh even more. "Haha! I know how to subdue you and your vampire powers!" She teased, getting quite into it. She doubted Iden would bite her but she had fun avoiding her muzzle and waving paws. It was actually really fun as well as being so terribly funny.Fortunatly for Iden she stopped when Sidney called out. "Oh! Oh, I didn't find... that's Iden." She laughed, going a bit pink in the cheeks. It was a rather silly thing to be caught doing after all."Your mum?" Sidney looked at Toby. "You mean Iden?" He'd never known anyone who could turn into an animal like that, apart from his velvet friends. But then they kinda turned the other way. And not just in the few minutes that they were outside. "Oh right, sshe's a vampire. I thought they turned into batss?" He asked his friend. Guess they didn't always. "That'ss really cool Miss Iden." He caled, remembering Toby's talk about being polite to ladies and adding on the 'Miss' bit just in case that helped. Quote: "Agh, the tickling! How did you know?" she crowed with mock woe, "Has Naraka betrayed the secret of vampire kind?" It was hard to sound serious when you were on your back with your paws on the air, and she started to giggle again. When sidney addressed her, she wiggled onto her side to look at him a bit more properly rather than upside-down, and wagged her tail. "Thanks, Sid!""Sometimes," Toby answered, tipping his hat at Dee while he replied to Sid, "I know Vlad has before. But they can turn into other stuff, too." Quote: "Oh I am just too experienced with dealing with your kind. Especially when you deserve it." She winked secretly at Iden. But she let her roll over without any hinderence. Well looked like Sidney was just as impressed. "What's up Sid? Did you show Toby whatever it was you wanted to show him?"Other stuff too? That was even cooler than just bats. "Cool." He brreathed again. That sort of skill would be so useful, not to mention fun. But he was happy enough as a snake to start wishing he could do it too. "Huh? Oh yeah, I sshowed him. But I wanted to assk if he could come over tonight? Pleasse? I want to show him how to camp and ssurvive in the woodss! Can he Miss Iden?" The miss bit seemed to go down well but then it might also have been because he thought her shape-changing cool. Quote: Iden stuck her tongue out at Dee again, pulling it back in and giving her tail another wag. She listened to Sidney's excited questions and couldn't help but break into a grin. She had to admit, kids could be really cute, especially if they wanted something! "If Dee says it's okay," she answered, looking up at the other woman. Toby waited with anticipation, his tail twitching as he chimed in, too. "Can I, Miss Dee?"Quote: "Course he can stay." Dee nodded, they were cute when they acted so politely. If fact she was glad to have some company around for the velvet that wasnt just herself or her flatmate. "Iden can come for dinner if you like, bring Vlad... oh right." She blushed, remembering. It was just, talking to Iden felt so natural and typically girly that she didn't remember she was a blood-drinker. "Oh well come for a bit anyway... without the dinner part." She had never met Vlad and was interested to meet him after hearing all this stuff from Iden. "You boys going to be out camping in the woods? Well, make sure you bring something warm Toby. It's surprisingly cold at night when you're not in a real bed.""Yesss!" Sidney hissed in excitement. "And don't forget your other sstuff too." He told the dog, refering to the practice swords. "You can sstay for dinner though. I think we're having chicken. Do you like that?" Quote: "What, not going to provide?" Iden teased lightly, although she looked a bit thoughtful. Bring Vlad? Well! This would be something different for sure. If he decided to come, of course; she had no idea if he would. "I guess we'd better go get our things, then! You two coming along, or should we meet you at your place?""Sure, promise I won't forget! Warm stuff and other stuff too." He grinned widely, ecstatic. "Oh yeah, I love chicken! Real good stuff."
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:32 pm
Quote: "Well, I don't know if I can cater to your tastes." She replied with a chuckle. Iden was joking of course, though she never thought to offer... herself. She'd only done so with Naraka and only then it had be a very rare occurance. About 2-3 times in the same amount of years that she had known him. It was a thought though...
"Oh yes, go get your things together and come round. I'll go get dinner started for the boys and make sure the house is tidy." Although pretty laid back, Dee did like a clean place especially if visitors were due."Great! I'll get my thingss ready too. I think I know a good sspot out in the woods. But we can do ssome exploring too." Sidney replied, slithering over to Dee. Although he did think going with Toby would be fun, he had to check his equipment and he consoled himself with the fact he'd see his friend very soon anyway. Quote: Iden's giggles floated through Dee's head again before she hopped off the couch, shifting smoothly from fox back into person, where she giggled on, but audibly now. "Sounds good!" she said, stretching. "We shouldn't be too long." "Exploring too? Awesome, I can hardly wait!" This was so going to be the coolest night ever! He trotted over to Iden, who picked him up obligingly. "This is gonna be soo cool."Quote: "Alright." Dee stares, fascinated until she realises she's staring and then looking away with an embarrassed grin. It doesn't last long though and she's soon nodding and looking at her watch. "Ok, it's what.... just after 6 now? Bit of time to get home, get ready and head over... shall we say 8pm?" She too, bends to pick up Sid, who expertly climbs up to perch on her shoulder, tail around her neck.He grinned at the dog, his tounge flickering out a second in excitement. "Yeah, it will! Hurry over ok?" Quote: Iden noticed the staring, but hardly minded. She still stared at Vlad whenever he did it! Smiling - she was quite excited herself - she nodded. "Eight is good, we'll be there! Later then!" With a wave of her free arm, she headed out the door once Toby had said his goodbye. "Sure!" Toby agreed, tail thumping against Iden as he wagged it. "See you soon~!" Three hours seemed awfully long right now, but he could bring himself to wait. He had to!Quote: "Cya!" Dee exchanges farewells with her friends and heads out the door soon after. "Ok, we need to pick up some shopping in that case. A hot chicken for dinner... and some..." Dee trialed off, making a mental list of shopping.Not something that Sidney found very exciting but then he might be able to pick up some supplies too.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:33 pm
A touch of persuasion.
Now, where had he gotten to? While Toby got himself and his things ready to go over to Dee and Sid's, Iden set to looking for Vlad - he'd been invited, after all. He wasn't in the house, though, so she went to see if he had Cora out in the ring...which he didn't.
Assuming he hadn't gone off somewhere or was taking his sweet time hunting as he sometimes did, he had to be around here somewhere, and that left the barn. A few nosy siirae popped there heads over stall doors when she walked in, but when they saw who it was, lost interest and went back to the business of eating - noisily, since eating for them involved a lot of raw meat, mostly with bones in included. The snapping and crunching of bone was a severely unsettling sound that resonated just right for sending ice up your spine, but after a couple of years it had ceased to give Iden pause.
Ignoring the siirae, she padded down the barn aisle and stuck her head in Cora's stall, earning a startled, indignant snort from the mare. Nope, no Vlad. Frowning, Iden left Cora to her business and went for the tack room. And there he was! Figured it would be the last place she looked.
"Hey," she said, bracing her hands on the door frame and leaning casually in.
He didn't respond at first, taking a moment to finish polishing Cora's bridle. It wasn't until he'd hung it up and tossed the rag aside that he bothered to turn around. "Hello," he returned. "I heard you walk through; need something?"
"Nope!" Iden stepped in, pulling the door to out of habit. "I was just looking for you, really."
"Well, you've found me," Vlad said with a dry smile. "Did you need me for something, then?"
"Sort of." Hands behind her, she leaned back against the door. "Toby's going over to Dee's to go camping, and you're invited too."
"To go camping?" He lifted an eyebrow. "No thank you."
"No, not to go camping!" she corrected, "Just to visit! Sid and Toby are the ones going camping. We'll be visiting with Dee - and maybe Elissa, that's her housemate."
"So you want me to sit in on women's chatter? No thank you." Shaking his head, he turned to open a trunk and riffle around for something.
"No~" Iden sighed and moved to hook her fingers through his belt and tug, encouraging him to leave off his search and look at her, which he did. Smiling lightly, she stepped forward and put her arms around him, hands linked loosely behind his neck. "Not for girl talk, I promise. Besides, girls don't do that in front of guys. Well," she added after a second of thought, "Unless they're gay, but that's beside the point."
Vlad chuckled at her addition, letting his hands settle on her hips. "So. What for, then?"
"Like I said, to visit! You've never met Dee, after all, and Sid's grown since you saw him."
Again, a brow raised. "And I would be interested in visiting why?"
"Because!" she insisted, standing on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. "You haven't got anything else to do tonight. Please?"
"What makes you so certain I haven't got anything planned?" Vlad pulled her a bit closer, catching her mouth with his before she could draw back from her little peck.
She let him do it, leaning back in his arms so that he could support her; tiptoes were such a bother. "Mm, is that a yes?" she asked when the kiss broke. "It felt like one."
"Maybe," he allowed, dipping down to kiss and graze fangs along her jawline.
She laughed and tipped her head back. "You have an hour, then we're going."
He raised his head, showing a lopsided sort of smile. "And if I happen to take more time than that?"
"You won't." Iden stuck her tongue out a little, wiggling closer. "We're supposed to be there at eight."
Vlad let out a melodramatically long-suffering sigh. "Very well then. I suppose I can make due with an hour," he acquiesced, before uttering wickedly in her ear, "But you'll wish you'd given me two."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:58 am
RP with Dee and Sidney (and Vlad too!)Quote: Sidney was up in his room getting things packed. He'd already convinced Dee to pack their dinner as 'supplies' to take with them. Food tasing better when out in the wild woods after you'd worked up an appetite, he explained. Dee had agreed at last, deciding that it was probably politer for her to eat her tea before the guests arrived instead of doing so in front of them. What with them not being able to eat solids and all... that and a full mouth made conversation hard and not all that good-mannered. So she was just finishing clearing the kitchen, Sid and Toby's chicken sandwiches packed and waiting on the benchtop, when she heard the small knock. Faint but definitely a knock. Quickly wiping her hands on a towel, she hurried to the door. She'd also made a bit more effort in what she wore. Not that she felt she should dress up around Iden, they were too much friends to be bothered with appearance. But if she had bought her guest... well Dee wanted to make a good impression. The guy was a noble after all!Opening the door she realises Iden has bought him along, as invited. "Hello Iden, Toby and you must be Vlad, I've heard so much about." She says with a smile. She's a little nervous, not knowing the guy and glances at Iden. Oh well, hopefully it all goes ok. "Come on in." Quote: "Hey!" Iden said cheerfully, just as Toby put in his "Hello, Miss Dee!" Vlad followed with a courteous nod of his head and a simple "Good evening" as he casually and discreetly looked the woman over. It wasn't any kind of weird or unsettling look, just a regular sort of one that didn't imply intentions of any kind. Iden was somewhat on the nervous side, too; she'd never really gone anywhere with Vlad before. So she stuck pretty close to him as they all went inside, though not for the sake of keeping an eye on him or anything. It was more an unconscious move towards safety, since she was anxious. Quote: Standing aside to let them in, Dee tried not to stare too much. Vlad looked just like a well groomed, upper class person from several eras ago. Younger than Dee had expected but then, what had she expected? A frayed bat-shaped coat and receeding hair? Subconciously she smoothed the white, fluffy jumper she wore and hoped their wasn't cait fur stuck to her cream trousers (she'd decided to not go with her usual jeans for once)."Uh Sidney's just up in his room." She told the dog, smiling at his greeting. "Down tha hall and first on your left. I think he's just packing the last bit and bobs." Turning her attention then to her friend and her partner, she motioned them towards the lounge room. "I'm glad you came. Elissa's out tonight and it would have been just me if the boys were going camping too. Oh Elissa's my housemate." She explained. "Would you like a glass of something? I can do wine or tea if you fancy?" Quote: "Thanks, Miss Dee!" Toby said, tipping his hat before dashing on upstairs, calling out just as soon as he reached the top and continued on, "Hey Sid~!""Oh, Elissa's out?" Iden had liked Dee's housemate very much. "How's she been?" She headed into the lounge room as she'd been motioned. "Oh, nothing for me, thanks!" Vlad surprised her then - she expected him to decline, but he didn't! He nodded and accepted with a polite smile, "A glass of wine would be excellent, thank you."Though surprised, Iden hardly missed a beat before giggling. "And here I thought you never drank...wine." It was the old Dracula movie line, first from Bela Lugosi and then whoever that old guy who'd played the Count in the Keanu Reeves version. Vlad just looked over at her, quirking an eyebrow - amused or not, it was hard to tell. Quote: Sidney had heard the voices and was just coming out of his room now. He met Toby at the top of the stairs. "Hey! At lassst! I thought 8 o'clock would never come. Did you bring your gear." He exclaims eagerly."Oh yes, a work party I think. It'll probably last all night though and Elissa's certainly one for the night-life. She won't be coming back early. Oh and she's well." Dee replies. Elissa had got on well with Iden and all but she wasn't all that certain how'd she'd react to having an evening with Dracula. Most likely put her foot in it and insult him like she had when she first met Nar.Dee nods at Iden's refusal and then gives a small smile at Vlad's acceptance. "Coming right up." She replies. Making people comfortable was instinctive to her, her house having been a working inn when she was younger. Quickly she flits to the kitchen where she'd left a couple of bottles in readiness. Pouring Vlad a glass of red, she does the same for herself and then carries them back, handing him his before taking a seat. "Maybe just on special occassions?" Dee adds to Iden's comment, not getting the reference but understanding the basic joke behind it. Quote: "Oh!" Toby said, putting palm to forehead. My mom's got it, she's downstairs! But we have to go back that way anyway, right?" hard to get outside when you weren't on the ground and couldn't fly!"Well, that's good! Maybe I'll catch her again sometime." Iden nodded and grinned. Gossiping with Elissa had been all kinds of fun, and she liked a little gossip now and then. "Thank you," Vlad said with a smile, raising his glass to Dee and having a seat next to Iden, who started to scoot a little closer before realizing what she was doing and staying put. She didn't want to be impolite, although she had no intentions of being all over him just now. Quote: "Oh, I'm sure you will." Dee agrees. "She's certainly still about and I don't have any plans to kick her out." She grins and lifting her glass as well she hopes she's picked one he'd like. As she ponders this, she notices Iden's shifting. Was she uncomfortable? Things were certainly a bit stiff... too polite? She's not quite sure. She clears her throat a little and sips her wine. What can she say? She's struck with an uncomfortable silence for a moment, a million stupid conversation starters running through her head."I've made the guys some sandwiches to take with them. Sid insisted on eating out on their trip. You've met Sidney haven't you Vlad? He mentioned you when I went to Iden's house once."He'd also mention other strange things about being in a castle and exploring it but at the time Dee had thought it was just his wild imagination. That was before she knew exactly who this Vlad was though.Sidney nods. "Yeah, I've got some ssupplies down in the kitchen for uss too. We'll grab them before we head out." He shifts his pack over his shoulder more comfortably. "Ssso you ready? I've got my map and compass too so we won't get lost." He grinned, excited. Quote: "Can't wait to get out there, huh? Well, I can't blame them! Outside is probably much more interesting than the dinner table for those two. They'll probably think they taste even better out there." Iden smiled - she was relatively relaxed in Dee's house, but being in a social situation with Vlad was entirely new. As for him, he wasn't tense at all - politely poised, but comfortable as he sipped at his wine. "This is very fine," he complimented before moving to the topic of Toby's friend. "Ah yes, Sidney. I've met him. An intrepid child, certainly."Toby gave a nod and another wag of his tail. "Ready if you are! We can go by and get the stuff from my mom, too. Oh," he said, remembering what might be a point of interest for Sid after their little adventure, "Vlad came too, mom brought him."Quote: "Yes, probably. For them anyway, I'm finding it quite intesting." Dee replied with a grin. "Yes and I'm sure that's just the sort of thing Sidney would say. Living it rough and on the edge gives him an appetite apparently. Oh yes, he's intrepid alright. Gets too many ideas from watching those adventure movies." She spoke to Vlad, "He's grown since you last saw him I think? But his taste for adventure has grown too. Along with his need for independance." She gave a thoughtful little shrug at that and then latched onto Vlad's other comment. "You like it?" She indicated to her own glass. "Oh good. I have a small collection in the cellar. Well cellar and occassional bedroom for Nar. He's never complained about sharing with a bunch of bottles.""Really? Cool!" Sid certainly remembered the vampire and the trip to the castle that'd taken with him. But he hadn't mentioned it again to Dee, and being older now he understood that that srt of thing might be hard to believe... if you hadn't been there.But Toby had and if anything it made his friend seem even closer. Even if Toby had been just an animal at the time, Sid knew he'd believe him."Ok, letss go tell them we're off." He nodded and headed off down the stairs, sliding down them with practiced ease. Quote: Iden noticed a very slight straighening of Vlad's posture and an almost imperceptible tilt of his head - the mention of Naraka had him sharply interested, despite his repeated denial of any such interest. It made her quirk a little smile, partly because she was proud she'd noticed! "Children are always getting too many ideas," he mused, "Particularly as they get older...there just aren't so many dragons involved in those ideas, usually." He tapped his fingers against the side of the glass, feigning an interest that was only casual or sprung from politeness, "I didn't know you were well-acquainted with him as well. You keep him in your cellar, hmm?"Toby followed Sid post-haste, hopping down the stairs next to his friend. As they went, he noted with idle curiosity, "That must be pretty cool, slithering everywhere and not having to bother with...well, with stepping."Quote: "Yes, although I wonder whether they're still just as dangerous." Dee said, thinking of the simpler but more realistic dangers, like wandering after dark and getting into trouble. She'd prefer an imaginary dragon over that. "I guess being a knight in training Toby was rather into the slaying-dragons thing?" She could just imagine Toby going after a dragon to slay it and rescue a fair maiden and turning to Iden she had to smile. "How about now he's grown?"But Vlad's last comment made her chuckle out loud. "Oh no, I don't keep him in there as such. But when he stays over it is usful for keeping the light away. The curtains in the rooms upstairs aren't completely sun-tight. Ah and yes, we are... rather well aquainted. She winked at Iden and grinned. Perhaps the wine was making her a little less worried and loosening her up. "Oh?" Sidney looked down as he went, reaching the bottom and spotting the others chatting in the lounge. "I've never really thought about it... I ssuppose so." He grinned. "And I don't have to worry about shoes or tripping over thingss."He headed to the kitchen, knowing where Dee had left their sandwiches. "Here, I'll climb up and throw them down to you ok?" He suggested to the dog and quickly used the drawer handles as a ladder to reach the top. "Watch out below!!" He called as he aimed one wrapped up sandwich (well, half a sandwich considering their size) at his comrade. Quote: "Oh yeah, always some horribly ugly monster to slay," Iden affirmed, shaking her head with a chuckle. "And there still is, I think, or at least some evil villain to thwart." Quietly, she kind of hoped that one day he really would have a villain to stop and a girl to save - dangerous, yes, but it would make him so happy. A 'real' knight at last! "Of course," Vlad said, "Ideas often are, especially once you have the means to execute them." At Dee's singularly unsubtle answer, he was taken aback. Well! This woman was Naraka's lover, was she? It made her quite a bit more interesting, and he allowed himself a smile as he took another drink of wine. "No, it certainly wouldn't do to have a little sunlight in to ruin things when they're going well."Toby peeked over into the lounge for a moment to see his mother and Vlad and Miss Dee before turning his attention back to his friend, listening intently. "And no toes to stub! That'd be nice once in awhile"
"Okay!" he agreed, and stood at the ready while Sidney made his way up and then let a sandwich drop. He caught it handily and set it carefully down to be ready for the next one. "Okay, send the next one on down!"Quote: Dee nodded. Things got more complicated as they got older. No longer kept interested by simpler adventures, bigger risks needed to be taken and more cunning villans to thwart, as Iden said. She could see it happening with Sidney too, in ways. "Mmhmm.... or further places to explore, in Sid's case. Risker adventure to go after. Still... we can't lock them up away from everything can we? And somehow we survived teenhood. Guess it's just more worrying this time since we're the parent huh?"She took another sip, and looke up to see Vlad smile. He hadn't quite looked like that before. Polite, well mannered but now there was a spark of interest? "Ah you know him as well?" He'd never said.... She thought. "I didn't realise.. oh well he's friends with Iden so I suspect he would. After all, he's bound to wonder how she turned." She didn't say it unkindly though, just stating the obvious. "Ah ha, well no... I certainly wouldn't want to invite him to stay and then find just a pile of dust in the morning!"Peering over the edge, Sidney checked his friend was alright. Yup, he'd caught it fine - couldn't be having squashed or splattered supplies! "Head'ss up!" He cried and let the other one drop over the edge too. That done he headed back to his makeshift ladder and climbed down. It was a little slower this way, since he had to find a tail-hold and then lower himself down. But he made it in reasonably good time and turned to Toby. "Right, ssuppliess, equipment, sleeping gear. Just your sstuff now yeah? Where did Iden put it?" Quote: Vlad seemed utterly unworried by children and the 'risks' of growing up - it was nothing, really, compared to when he'd been a child or had children himself. There seemed to be much more, well, childhood in childhood now. Besides, though they might be teenagers, they were very small. In a way, the Velvets had their own world, and it didn't strike him as a very dangerous place. In answer to the subject of Naraka, he nodded. "We've met a few times, but never for very long." There didn't seem to be any regret in his voice. "I'd be hard-pressed to avoid him entirely, since Iden is so taken with him."Embarassed by the way he phrased himself, Iden frowned a little and elbowed Vlad, grumbling, "He's my friend. Of course I like to see him." He only arched out of range of further attacks, his smile good-humored yet unapologetic. "She's probably still got it," Toby answered, picking up the other sandwich and making for the lounge room. "Mom~? You got my stuff still?" Quote: "Oh." Dee replies, sounding surprised. But truth be told, now she thought about it she wasn't surprised. If Nar was still upset with Iden about her turning then he's hardly going to be very fond of the one who caused it, even if it was willing and not regretted. Still she invited him here and Nar's opinions weren't always her own. While she trusted him, she also trusted iden. She'd just have to figure out what she though of Vlad for herself.She grinned at Iden's reaction though. She knew she was close friends with Nar and with Vlad for herself, Dee wasn't worried about it being more than that. Still, might be fun to joke... "Ah, taken with him is she? I hope not.." She grins and sips her wine, though she nearly chokes on a mouthful as Toby takes that moment to enter. "Ah hemm.. you boys heading out now? Got your sandwiches? Ok, but I want you back for lunch tomorrow. I don't want to have to explain to Iden you got lost and were never seen again.""You know I never get losst!" Sid pipes up, following after his friend. Lucky for Dee he's too preoccupied with his own plans to be interested in whatever the grown-ups are talking about. "And yess, we've got all that. Jusst need Toby's thingss and then we're ready to go." Quote: It was a very good thing Iden wasn't drinking anything, because she would have spit it up! She blushed fiercely, and it would be nearly impossible to not notice it on such pale skin. True, she'd never forgotten that Nar had once said that if it hadn't been Dee - well, she hadn't known who then - it might have been her, but she'd never really looked at Nar that way. And the notion of, well...getting it on with him rather boggled her mind to think of and set her to giggling because that was all there was to do about it! And so it was through a fit of giggles that she heard Toby, and obligingly handed him his things. She toned it down enough to advise, "Have fun, you two. Just be careful." Vlad would have been perfectly happy to keep right on with the teasing, but the boys showed up and brought it to a pause. So he cleared his throat a little and said nothing, but nodded to Sidney.Toby accepted his stuff, setting down a sandwich to tuck his things under his arm and then picking it up again. "Well, I guess that's it!" He nodded to his friend. "Seeya tomorrow Mom, Vlad, Miss Dee!"Quote: Dee coughs, to clear her throat. Though she threatened to lose it again after seeing Iden turn pink. "Ok ok, just so long as you take care. Make sure you wrap up warm and don't let Toby get ino any trouble. I know you Sidney Rosewood. Don't start showing off and biting off more than you and Toby can chew. Just stay in the thicket." Her mothering voice softened and she smiled. "And have fun." She bid them farwell, as Sid lead the way out the back door."Yess mum... yess mum.. Mum!" Sidney exclaimed at the sound of his full name. It wasn't something he cosidered suitable as the surname of a great explorer, but it was Dee's name after all. "Yes we will. Bye Ide- Miss Iden, Mister Vlad." He corrected himself although it sounded very funny to call Vlad a mister. Ah but they were on their way now and slithering out into the night he drew in a deep breath. "It's not too far." He told Toby. "Jusst acrosss that back field, ssee?" He pointed to the large expanse of fenced off grass. But although the fence was tall, there was ample room under the lowest beam for a velvet to walk comfortably under.Back to just the three of them, Dee felt safe to let out a chuckle. "Where were we?" Quote: "I believe the conversation was leaning towards the...infatuation Iden seems to have for your lover." He attached no sort of negative implication to the word, just said so quite casually and with a fanged grin at Iden.She was blushing again, hiding her head in the crook of her arm as she giggled desperately. No fair! She was being ganged up on! If they were planning on embarassing her to death, they were on the right track. "Whew!" Toby was glad to be outside, now officially on a camping trip! He too took a deep breath as he walked beside Sidney, surveying their surroundings with sharp interest. He couldn't help but ask though, with a bit of a smile, "Rosewood?" Quote: "Infatuation!" Dee cried in mock horror. "Well well... I don't know if I like to share." She eyed poor Iden, losing herself giggling into her arm. "Tell me Vlad, should I be worried? I mean... does she talk about him? Make a habit of going to see him at every chance?" She finished the glass and grinned. Oh it didn't take much to get Dee tipsy and in the current situation it was all to easy to act silly. "Or maybe she's called out his name at the wrong moment?" Ha! Well, Vlad had made that subtle jib about the sun disturbing her and Nar in whatever they were doing... Sidney cringed, looking for once, quite embarrassed. "Oh well, the house isn't called the Rossewood Inn for nothing." Although Toby wouldn't have seen the sign hanging out the front, being so dark and worn. "It'ss Dee's ssurname and I guesss that makess it mine too. I just think it'ss... well it iss... it's girly!" He explained unnecessarily. He kept moving as he spoke, ducking under the railing of the fence and waiting to make sure Toby fit too. He was bigger than the snake but it should be ok. Quote: "Well, now that you mention it," he answered, watching Iden from the corner of his eye, "She has slept over once or twice before." He was still teasing too of course, but she really had crashed in Naraka's basement a couple of times!Called out his name! Oh God! That was too much! Iden's giggles hit the wheezing point where if she actually needed to breathe, she would have been gasping for air...and she sort of was, out of sheer habit, but she didn't really need to. She scooted over to cling to Vlad and hide her face behind him, but really she just made the move so she could hit him! Give him a few good thumps on the back to make sure he knew this was not appreciated. "I guess that makes me Toby Iden," he mused, and frowned. It wasn't a particularly striking-sounding name. But still, it beat Rosewood! "It is a little girly," he agreed, but not teasingly, "With the 'Rose' part and all." Quote: Really?" Dee cocks her head to one side, studying Iden and failing to supress a snort when she moves up to Vlad and gives him a couple of thumps. "Oh dear oh dear." She crossed one leg over the other. "Is this true Iden? Were you forced to find friendship, companionship and... entertainment elsewhere? I suppose dissatisfaction can lead to that. We shouldn't be too harsh on her." Dee covered her mouth with a hand, grinny away. Poor Iden, perhaps now it was time to redirect some of the teasing?"Iden's name is... Iden Iden?" Sid asks, looking at his friend. That was a funny name! But Toby did have a point, it wasn't girly like his. "Yeah, tell me about it. Now if it wass Darkwood... or Dogwood? Ssomething not so flowery." Quote: Oh no! They weren't going to be turning this on him! He didn't like the idea of going up against a pair of women in this sort of battle. "It's just that the girl has such appetites," he explained with feigned despair and one of those 'you know what I mean' looks.That was it! She couldn't take it anymore! She thwacked him in the back of the head, and he looked back at her with a frowning, 'ow' expression. She cheerfully ignored this, deciding it was time to bait them both, but especially Dee, "You mean I can kiss your boyfriend if I'm tired of mine?" "No," Toby answered with a laugh, shaking his head. "It's Hillary Iden, she just doesn't like her first name." The dog wiggled his nose, thinking. "Darkwood sounds...kind of dark. And dogwood's a tree, we have one. It has flowers. You don't want that!" Quote: "Really? You wouldn't know it to look at her." Dee stands, nodding in agreement before wincing at Iden's clip round Vlad's head. Laughing, she hurrys to fetch the wine bottle and returns with it, offering some more to Vlad before topping her glass up once more and setting the nearly empty bottle on the coffee table. "And I thought they called you the 'impaler'?" Dee snickers. Oh but Iden was going to start oh her? "Not unless I can kiss your's?" She replies, poking out her tongue.They're making good progress across the field and should be entering the small forest before long, Sidney calculates to himself. "Hillary? Oh, well we're in the ssame boat! Sshe doessn't like her first name and I don't like my lasst. Except... Hillary'ss not sso bad?" He listens to Toby's comments and tilts his head in thought. "Doess it? I though it was jusst kinda... doggy." He grins at his canine friend. "Hmm.. Ssomething else then. Sid... Dussty. No no. Sidney Joness? Too similar... What do you think would be a good name?" Quote: "It has often been said that appearances are deceiving," Vlad said, "Besides, I'm sure you must have seen those skirts and corsets of hers before. Surely they give something away!" He accepted the offer of more wine, but luckily wasn't taking a drink when Dee persisted. He didn't slip though, merely observed, "Aah, how such things become the stuff of legends...""Want to?" Iden chirped with a grin - calling Dee's bluff, as it were, causing Vlad to raise an eyebrow. She wasn't even drinking, and she was offering him up! Revenge, perhaps? "I dunno why, but she doesn't like it. Said she likes Iden a lot better." Toby thought for a few moments, brainstorming. "Vicious comes to mind, but I think I must have heard it before. No idea who they were though, and anyway you don't want to do something someone's already done. Maybe you ought to do some kind of deed, and they cane name your for that! You know, like calling somebody 'Dragonslayer.'" Quote: "A fetish I thought." Dee mused, enjoying herself immensly. "But now you mention it... Haha! Yes well..." Dee goes bright red, finding her own joke too much to continue without being in extremely bad taste... if it were possible for it to get any worse. But before she's left in an awkward silnce, Iden not only calls her bluff but doubles the stakes! "Iden! Well... I don't know..." She stands and wanders up to the pair, sitting down on the other side of Vlad. She had seen his raise an eyebrow and it struct her as terribly amusing to see THE Dracula look uncomfortable. "Aren't you afraid I might suck him dry?" She asks, forgetting in her mirth that although Iden knew, Vlad did not."Oh well, if sshe likes it better." Sid nods. He certainly like Sid just on it's own too. "Nah, something original would be besst." The idea of being called after a great deed he's done has it's merits. Not only would it probably sound good, then everyone would know what he'd done! "Yeah..... that'd work! I jusst have to find ssome great deed to do." Quote: "Oh," Iden dismissed Dee's concern cheerfully, "I'm sure he can take it." Even if Vlad hadn't assumed Dee was merely continuing to joke with the "suck him dry" comment - she was in the presence of vampires, after all! - he wouldn't have admitted to not being in the know. But as it was, he had no idea! He wasn't really uncomfortable though, just amused...and the idea of kissing Naraka's lover was too delicious to pass up. So he turned to look at her with a half-smile and a quirked eyebrow, a sort of silent, patient, "So?""Well?" Iden prompted, teasing her friend. "You up for it or not?" Maybe things were getting a little 'out of hand,' but it was all just harmless fun! "Exactly!" Toby nodded, giving it a little more thought before grinning and making a devious suggestion, "Sid the Eagle-tamer!"Quote: Truth be told, Dee was surprised at how far Iden's bluff was going to go. Surely she would have some qualms about her snogging her Vlad? Surely Vlad would have something to say about it too!! But for all the world, they didn't seem to mind at all. Vlad even looked at her, half expectant. That lop-sided grin, half joking and half serious. It wasn't like the guy was at all bad looking.... really, he was rather handsome. And vampire energy was oh so delicious.... So much better than humans, plus she hadn't had a feed in a long time.... not since Enea left her house and stopping taking her out 'hunting'. Just a little taste.... Like Iden said, he could take it. She leaned in, unknowingly drawing up some of her powers around her. Calling on Vlad's energy... a little taste.Until the shoulder-angel of 'you-are-going-to-regret-this" smacked some sense into her. She put a hand to her head, sitting up. "Oh! Oh Iden, well... Sorry, as tempting as it is, I'll have to pass. I wouldn't want to try and explain to Nar why he owed you a kiss in exchange!" She gave a stuttering laugh, going to take a gulp of her wine but having second thoughts.Sidney laughed out loud. "Oh yess! Sidney the Hawkhunter! Beak-bender!" he threw in some ideas of his own. "Haha! I like it! But, heehee, I think Dee might wonder what I'd done to earn ssuch a title." As he spoke, the end fence drew up before them. They were almost into the woods. Quote: Vlad didn't respond by leaning in, instead just waiting for her - wisely, as it turned out, as she quickly changed her mind! He grinned widely as the bluff came to an end, amused by how far it had actually gotten. Strange as it had been he hadn't minded it, not being a...strictly exclusive sort. And oh! It might have been glorious if it had happened and Naraka got wind. He couldn't imagine the other vampire would be pleased at all! But still...there had been something else there, something strange but not unlikable, for just a moment, and the recognition that something had happened glittered in his eyes as they lingered just a split-second longer."Well, there goes that!" Iden declared with a shade of disappointment, quite oblivious to any other goings-on. "And here I was all set to lay one on him next time I saw him!" she joked. "Beak-bender! Oh, I like that one! That one has a ring to it!"The dog laughed heartily as they approached the fence. "Well, she wouldn't have to know it was something to do with Carl." Quote: Dee blushed, catching Vlad's eye and seeing his grin. Had he noticed? Oh surely not.. but he wouldn't know what it meant anyway right? She turns her gaze back on her drink. The effects of the alcohol quickly diminishing. She tries to look her normal self as Iden continues and she gives a little laugh. "Oh really? Hah, I don't know what I'd say. Excuse me Nar, mind if Iden sucked face with you? Why? Oh well.... I kissed Vlad and now I owe her one. Oh not me, you do." She chuckled again as her words got mixed up. Truth be told, Nar was the one used to more open relationships. It was Dee who tended to get the most jealous of the two.The snake slipped easily under the other fence and headed for the woods. As he went, e pulled a small torch from the side pocket of his backpack and turned it on. In the thicket the moon's light didn't work as well as it did in the field. "Haha, well no I guess not! But she might ask quesstionss. Ah well it can be the name you call me yeah? And how about you? Want to be known as Toby Dragonsslayer? Or maybe Toby the Jousster!" Quote: Whatever it was, it was a mystery to Vlad and not something he chose to dwell on for now. Just a point of interest that tickled his curiosity a little. He leaned back and listened to the women go on chattering, shaking his head and chuckling. 'Suck face' was a rather inelegant phrase."Haha!" Iden laughed hard for a few moments, clutching her stomach. 'Sucking face' reminded her of high school or something, and it was practically impossible to see Nar as some slobbery teenage boy. "You could tell him we decided we should all try being swingers," she gasped, barely able to get the joke out! Awesome! 'So, how're you this good day, Sidney Beak-Bender?'" Toby tested it with a grin. "Huh, I don't really know! Not Dragonslayer, it's cool and all but it's nothing new, y'know? Cheetaur-slayer doesn't flow, though." He frowned. "Well, I guess I'll figure it out whenever I do my great deed." Quote: Dee tried to keep her attention on Iden for now, but she couldn't help but glance in the direction of the other vampire. While Vlad was not asking questions and looking for all the world like he was simply amused by the conversation, Dee had noticed the lingering look before. Maybe he just fancied her? Haha! Her thoughts were mimiced by Iden's loud laugh. "Oh ho! I can just imagine his face! Ah but he might surprise you and accept!""I'm sure you will. That'ss what being a knight is all about right? Doing great deedss" He led the way, knowing this area well enough not to need a map yet. "Toby Maiden-err... saver? Toby Sswordsswinger." If it weren't for all the s's that were hard to get out, Sidney would be quite proud of that one. Quote: Dee was right - his face would probably be priceless! Iden fairly cackled? "Nar? Oh no way! He's the very....the very," she couldn't quite find the word she was looking for, so she rephrased herself instead, "He might spike his hair and wear fishnet sometimes, but he's sooo straightlaced!" Vlad's only addition was an amused snort - straightlaced indeed! He hadn't taken a fancy to Dee, but he was somewhat intrigued by her...that and she was Naraka's woman - of course he'd object to such phrasing! - and that made her interesting as well. In many ways, he viewed Naraka as competition - he was male, vampire, and certainly took exception to the way he went about things. And could also be meddlesome. And difficult to understand. Maybe knowing more about Dee would help him gain a better picture of his fellow vampire."Ohh, Sword-swinger's not half-bad!" He followed trustingly - it never occurred to him that Sid would get them lost or in trouble or something. He was his best friend, after all, and an explorer! Toby was absolutely certain he was in good hands. "Hmm. How about...Giant-cleaver? Dragonsbane? Beats Dragonslayer! Or, oooh, Wizardsbane!" They were well-known for cruelty to maidens, after all.Quote: Dee laughed hard too. Oh yes, she could picture his surprise. And yet it would mostly be because of who was asking she thought. If Iden sugessted that he and Vlad.... oh ho! The image brings tears of mirth to the corners of her eyes and she hurriedly wipes at them. Ah, but straight-laced? If only Iden knew! She takes a drink of her wine, relaxing after her near slip before. "Not to mention I don't think Vlad would be very impressed." She chuckles, hearing him snort to himself. The idea might amuse him but if what Iden said was true, that he liked to 'own' her. Then he'd hardly be impressed with such free ideas.Toby Wizardssbane? Yeah!" Sidney repeated, grinning as he pushed onwards. "Ah but do you have to defeat a wizard firsst? Hmm... where would you find one of them? Willow talks to ghossts but that'ss not quite a wizard I think. And she might be one to be careful of but I don't know if you'd want to defeat her. Unlesss it wass in a joust or ssomething, not a fight." Quote: Wouldn't be impressed? Hah! You're selling yourself short!" Iden scoffed, sticking her tongue out teasingly. Joking around with her friend like this, she easily forgot that Vlad had no idea that Dee was a little something different, and so it was with a laugh that she slipped up. "You're the succubus! After that, I bet Nar'd be hard to impress!" What were you supposed to say when two women, one of whom you slept with and the other of whom turned out to be a succubus, were joking freely about swapping you with someone you didn't even like for a night? He wasn't at all angry or offended, but there was no denying that it was singularly strange! With nowhere else to go, he just...joined in with a difficultly-maintained straight face. "Perhaps she can beat you in the realm of powers, iubita, but prowess?""Yeah, I probably would. Or take away his powers or something! break his wand in half, you know? But it'd be more impressive if it was a staff! Harder to do, though." Toby shook his head a little. "Fight Willow? No way! You don't fight girls, you save them."Quote: "Haha! I don't know, he's the one that impresses me most of the time. I've forgotten all the tricks of the trade!" She laughs, forgetting herself for a moment. Until, of course, it registers what's been said. If she thought about it, given the silly moods they were in, half drunk herself, and the very topic of their conversation, then Iden's slip was have been inevitable. She should have seen it coming. But now she can only try to cover it. "Not that... I'm really one." She adds a bit too hurridly. "Just, sometime's he's so loving, all I have to do to ah, control him is give him a kiss.""Maybe Vlad knows what that's like.... iubita?" She glances at him, looking to see what his reactions was. So far, still straight-faced and almost impossible to read."Yeah, breaking hiss sstaff would sstop his sspells." The snake agreed. From what he knew of wizards that would do the trick. Or if they had some special stone or pendant that held their powers. "But I reckon you could. You know, cut it in half with your ssword or ssomething?"He paused, looking around with his torch. They were in a clearing now, trees towering up overhead but with no bushes at groundlevel, only grass, a few rocks and a fallen log. As Sid shone his torch over to the log a small circle of stones could be seen, the center being blackened and clear of any plants. Obviously this was where the snake liked to camp. Or at least one of the plaes."Oh yeah, I know. But.... what if they're bad?" The explorer asked. He wasn't a knight so this was a bit unclear to him. "Even in The last Crusade there's this woman on the baddy'ss team. Although Indy tries to ssave her at the end..." Quote: She could have smacked him! Again falling victim to a bright blush, she gave him a good sharp elbow in the side; but the man was incorrigible, so it wasn't like it did much of anything short of make her feel a little better. And then she realized what she'd said! Oh no. She gave Dee a brief apologetic look before going along with her. "Well, from what I hear," - not that she actually heard anything of the sort from Nar! - "It's a little more than just a kiss!" The two women were terrible at covering things up, and given the kind of life he'd lived, it wasn't very hard to see. Still he left that alone for the time being. "Oh, I'm not the one to be asking about that," he said slyly, glancing and smiling knowingly at Iden. "If anyone here is susceptible to such things, it is most certainly her.""Yeah, that might work!" Toby agreed. He hadn't thought of that! "Bet I could do it, too, with my sword." He patted the hilt fondly. "That wizard would know what hit him!"
"So this is the place, huh?" he said approvingly, surveying the campsite now that they'd arrived. "Well, I guess if they're bad. Yeah, I'm sure if they were bad that'd be fair and it'd be alright."Quote: At least it was only words. Dee thought. Here she sat, looking terribly boring and human. Not even a hint of leather or studded clothing about her. As if that meant you were a succubus? Still... nothing out of the ordinary and if Vlad thought anything of their comments, he didn't say. He certainly didn't go What? you're a what?! Not even the slightest hint of a curious look on his face. Boy could he have played poker! Dee bit her lip, catching Iden's look. At least she was quick to play along though.Dee coughed. "Well... sometimes he needs a bit more... persuasion. But ah yes, he's not very good at resisting. Oh it's Iden's who's the susceptible one? Well she rather does have a weakness for petting. And if need be, you can easily subdue her with a belly-tickle I found out yesterday.""We can practissse now if you like." Sidney grinned. "We need to cut up a few piecess of wood for a fire anyway. If you can cut some of the bigger piecess I'll sshow you how to light one. Yeah, thiss is one spot I like to hang out when I camp. There'ss a few others further in. We can check them out in the morning if you like. Hard to ssee now it'ss dark."He slithered over and dropped his stuff next to the log, then went about picking out any bits he didn't want in his campfire. "Oh well I don't know any bad girlss at the moment. I jusst wondered. I mean, if they were trying to get you, you'd have to do ssomething about it right?" Quote: Persuasion, hmm?" Iden chuckled. Naraka, not good at resisting advances? Well, not good at resisting Dee's anyway. "A belly-tickle!" she huffed. "I'm not any worse than Nar! Why I had him begging for mercy just the other night!" "Even when she isn't wearing the fur," he said of Iden's susceptiblity to petting, grinning. That was an odd morsel about Naraka, though. Ticklish? It figured, soft-belly that he was."Awesome! I could totally do that!" He followed Sid and put his stuff down by the log, glad to be done with hauling it around. "I'd love to see the other when it's light, I bet they're cool too."
"Neither do I," he said. It hadn't really occurred to him that there were bad girls. Evil old ogresses, yes, but girls? "Yeah, if they were trying to get you you'd have to defend yourself."Quote: "Really?" Dee's actually surprised at that and for a moment she thinks Iden's referring to Dee's technique of winning him over... rather than a tickle-fight. It takes a moment for her to remember that Iden thinks Nar's too mature in that regard to do anything as 'naughty' as that. "Oh right! Well yes, he is quite sensitive there. I guess most people are anyway." She replies, thinking that she would be begging if she were being tickled too."Is that so?" She looks to Vlad, still watching for him to say or do something. But nothing, she lets out a sigh of relief. "Well, she makes such a cute fox. She was showing me some of her new talents you see."Sidney nodded. "And if they got you, well you wouldn't be able to ssave anyone elsse." That made sense. Even if they were girls but they were evil then they deserved it. For the greater good and all that.He slithered to the edges of the clearing, particularly unther the large overhanging tree. This was the best spot to find good firewood. "Ok, these are the sortss of oness you want. Got your ssword ready? I'll bring you any big ones and you can chop them in half." He was actually quite keen to watch. Grabbing a handful of smaller twigs, he brought them over to the campfire and then went back to look for more. Quote: Not him," Iden pouted, jabbing a finger at Vlad. "It's soo disappointing! But ohh, I'm cute am I? Well!" Unable to resist, she changed into a fox again and crawled over Vlad to flop half on him, half on Dee. Once in position, she made 'I'm so cute, love me!' puppy eyes, but was unable to hold back a little whisper of a mental giggle. "Aah, so there is one area in which I can't satisfy you, hmm?" he said dryly, shaking his head as she changed shape and crawled over his lap. "You will use any excuse to do that, won't you?""Sure thing, just bring 'em on!" Toby drew his sword eagerly - didn't matter that he was going up against pieces of wood, he still liked to show off! Accordingly, he'd wait until Sidney had found as many proper ones as they needed before getting to work so that his friend could watch.Quote: Dee grinned as Iden changed shape. It really was quite amasing and well.... adorable! Dee had a real soft spot for animals, and if she could cuddle them then even more so! She scritched her furry pointed ear, chuckling as Iden giggled in their minds. It was impossible to resist those eyes!"Oh how disappointing! Vlad's not ticklish. Well I guess it's lucky for him if you have a habit of torturing others Iden." She winked. "Oh and I don't mind her doing it. Really, there's enough pet-hair over the place that it won't make any difference. I think Iden rather likes it too. You taught her didn't you?"A few more smaller ones and then Sidney came across one that was just right for Toby to get to work on. "Here, thiss one sshould make about three good piecess." He pointed and then went over to the stone circle to watch. That was going to be good! Quote: Aah, that was nice! Iden butted her head against Dee's hand. She wondered to herself if Naraka would be so pleasantly amused, or if he'd just frown at her use of her vampire powers. "Oh, I don't torture ! It's just that a girl likes to have a little fun sometimes! Especially when it involves someone writhing around underneath them," she finished wickedly. "I did," Vlad confirmed with a touch of visible pride, stroking Iden's back. He was responsible for these new talents of hers, after all. And who wasn't proud of what was theirs? What they'd made? When it turned out well, of course."Great!" Toby headed over to have a look at the piece Sid had indicated, nodding with satisfaction once he'd had a closer look. He could do that no problem! It would probably be easier if it were standing up though, instead of lying on the ground. So he looked around for some way to prop it up or wedge it somewhere to hold it still.
Finally he found a couple of likely-looking rocks to wedge it between, and then had a good swing at it with his sword, lopping off the first of the pieces.Quote: Iden's head butting reminded Dee of her caits and as such she began to tickle her under the chin. If she were still in human form she wouldn't have dared do anything quite so ridiculous to her friend. But this was different, like a massage for an animal. "Writhing around underneath - Iden! haha!!" Dee exclaimed. "You are alot cheekier than I thought!" Not that she hadn't been doing her fair share tonight. If Vlad had shook his head before, he certainly perked at the compliment. He was obviously pleased with Iden's efforts and new skills although Dee didn't know it was for the reasons he was thinking. "I guess you'll teach her the other forms too? She said she knew two but you had quite a range."Sidney comes up to help wedge the rocks in place, once he realised what Toby was trying to do. That set up, he moves back to give the knight-in-training some room to swing, and watches intently. Shhinnng! The blade comes down and cuts through the first time, a piece of the stick neatly falling off. His eyes widen, that was sharp and soooo coool! "Awssome.." He hisses, waiting for his friendto do it again before collecting the pieces. Quote: "Whaaat?" she said innocently, tail wagging a bit. "Everyone's got their moments! Besides, look who's talking, Ms. Let-Me-Make-the-Obvious-Impaler-Joke!""Eventually," he answered, scritching a little at the base of her tail and making her wiggle some. "Most of the others are more difficult. Wings, hollow bones or none at all."Toby beamed at his friend's approval. Had he feathers to preen, he would have been preening! It may have been just a stick, but Sid seemed impressed. The only thing left to do was do it again! And so he did, cutting what remained of the stick neatly in half before sheathing his sword with a flourish. Quote: "Ah, but I've drunk nearly half a bottle of wine!" Dee waggled her fingers in Iden's side. "I have an excuse. And it wasn't your boyfriend you had writhing around under you, heehee!" She taps her little foxy nose. "Besides.... that could have been taken as a compliment." She winks at Vlad.
"Yes, I heard some of the others. Boneless? Oh you mean as a mist? For a moment I was thinking jellyfish." She bursts out laughing. "Oh but that wouldn't make any sense! Still, it looks like great fun. Do you ever just.. hang out? As wolves or something?"And he was, just like the first time he saw someone crack a whip. He'd made it a goal to practice until he could do it too. Ah, but he wouldn't be so good at sword fighting, at least not stright away, but this little demonstration only increased his desire to have a practice with the wooden ones Toby had bought along."Very nice! Bet it too alot of practice! Do you have to ssharpen that sword every sso often to keep it that ssharp?"Taking the bits of wood over to the pile he had formed near the stones, he pulled up some dead grass and put it in the middle of the circle. "Oh Toby, I'll sshow you something too. Maybe not as flasshy, but it's handy if you ever get stuck out in the wild. Ok, you need some dry sstuff that's going to catch the ssparks eassily." He then took out a pair of stones. "And then you need a couple of sstoness, the ones that make sparkss when you sstrike them. See? Hass to be dry for them to catch alight too." He clipped the stones together and sure enough there was a spark of light. A couple more times and one landed on the dry grass. "There we go! Quick, chuck a bit of wood on before it eatss all the grass." Quote: "He wasn't under me," she protested, nipping harmlessly at Dee's tapping finger, "At least not until he gave up! Then I just sat on him." She gave a lighthearted, animal grin. "No wonder you keep him around, he's kind of comfy.""It was the moth I referred to, but yes, the mist is the most difficult." He laughed over the idea of turning into a jellyfish. "Can you imagine? What a terribly useless thing to be able to do!"Iden answered the next question, piping in with a cheerful "Yep!""Nope!" he answered proudly. "Mom's friend Seppa made it so that it'd never break or get dull." Toby then went to watch Sid, paying careful attention as he explained and demonstrated what he was doing. He was so taken with watching, in fact, that it took him a moment to snatch up a stick and toss it on the little fire. Quote: "Ah well, that is true. He makes a very comfy cushion." She replies, jerking her finger away. "Uh uhh, no biting!" She tsks teasingly. Given the company, that might be considered a tall order. "Or I might have to muzzle you. Heehee. Vlad, didn't you take her to puppy school?""Oh you meant a moth. I forgot that one. Well, I guess you could quite easily be a fly on the wall then, if need be." Or as mist, Dee thought. Not that she was too sure how well he could see and hear while like that. Mist didn't have eyes or ears after all. "Although flying around would be kinda tricky... I mean, all the moths around here just bump into the windows and walls and lightbulbs." But, low and behold she had managed to make him laugh. Quite a feat! "I can, they aren't even very good at swimming!" She chuckled as well. "Ah but just enjoying nature and being as relaxed and at ease as wolves seem to be, sounds rather pleasant." Iden certainly voiced her approval of it. "Say, can you show me your wolf Iden? Or does it take too much energy? If you don't want to that's ok." Truth be told, she was a little envious. Except that the whole no-sunlight drinking blood had to be included in the deal.The small ember in the grass soon catches onto the new food, growing stronger as it covered the larger surface. Sidney adds another stick, just to keep it going for a while. "Yess, jusst like that. See? But you have to add more wood every sso often otherwise it'll burn out." It was pretty simple stuff to him, but he didn't know if Toby had a fireplace or anything at his house like Dee did in her's."Oh? It never get's dull? Musst be really strong then! Wow, that's really usseful." He wassn't sure who Seppa was, but obviously a talanted friend of Iden's. Now that the fire was burning nicely, it lit up the camp site rather well and Sid turned off his torch and put it away safely. Quote: "Pfft. Take me to puppy school? He's the one with the biting problem," she joked, "Always been much bitier than me.""Ohh, I think this may be the last I have in me tonight, or I'll get hungry." Iden clacked her teeth together for emphasis. "He could do it, though!" she suggested, looking up at Vlad with 'pretty please?' eyes. "You'll have to get off of me first." Vlad sighed, but it was with a resigned smile, and nudged her off his lap - accordingly, she scooted the rest of the way into Dee's. Once he had room, he changed, and it happened the same way as it did when Iden did it. As a wolf his coat was made up of varied browns, mostly dark, and he was rather on the large side."Well that's not so hard! I'd've though it took more work than that." Toby admired the fire. "Nope! Seppa's a metal mage, so she can do things like that. She went away, though...I'm not sure why." Quote: "Is that right? Seems to be handling himself better than you. Feisty little foxy!" She grinned and stroked Iden's head. Ah and she would show Dee, excellent! "Oh well, you can go out feeding aftwards right? I won't keep you all night." She had lost much of her squeamishness once Naraka had showed her how it was done. Not at all as messy and painful as in the movies. So she didn't have any fear for her neighbours or anyone else, they wouldn't even remember it. Although Nar thoughtfull enough never to 'dine' on her without her offering first, a rare treat.Oh but it seemed Vlad was going to be volenteered instead. Dee quietened and watched, fascinated. Subconciously she hugged Iden as she moved completely onto her lap. Iden, being a friend and a rather cute fox, she figured would turn into a rather nice looking wolf. Something she wasn't likely to be nervous of. But as she watched Vlad she found he was alot bigger than she imagined, darker and very much like he belonged out in the moors or something. A dire wolf to be sure. She gave a gasp. "Wow.... I've never seen, I mean, I've always wondered since Nar told me about how he used to be able to change into a wolf. But I never realised just how big.""Oh well it'ss not really." The snake replied, pleased it had gone so well. Sometimes when it had been damp or if it was too cold, it would take longer. Not that it was really a problem for him, he could generate his own warmth if need be, but that wasn't what he'd invited Toby out here to show him. "Can be trickier and take more effort if it'ss raining. Nothing will catch fire if it'ss ssoggy. Even ssnow is better to work in, although you have to clear a sspot so it doessn't melt and put out your fire.""It'ss a sshame sshe had to move away. A metal mage ssounds very handy to know." He shrugged. "Maybe she gt a new job ssomewhere or ssomething." He didn't have much idea either, but at least she'd given Toby the sword before she went. Quote: Iden wagged her tail happily, enjoying the hug. Sure it would usually be weird to be in her friend's lap, but that all kind of went away when she changed shape. There was none of the awkwardness that might ordinarily have gone with such close friendly affection. After a bit of a stretch, Vlad settled on the couch. As a wolf, he had a particularly haughty air about him - certainly very alpha-like and in-charge. Iden proceeded to spoil it though, leaning over to give his ear a lazy sort of chew. He sighed deeply, looking very put-upon, but didn't actually swat her away or anything."He can get bigger, too," Iden put in, "And smaller. I don't like to do it, though. It feels funny.""I'd bet! That'd be a pain, too, if you were all wet and wanting to get dry." Being furred, Toby thought that being soggy for prolonged periods of time felt kind of...icky. "Really, it's easier in snow?"
"Yeah, maybe," he said, nodding. "Seems weird, though, since she'd just laid her eggs and all."Quote: Dee shuffles along, still holding Iden, to make room for Vlad to lay on the couch. As a wold he took up nearly all of the space on it. Once confortable again, she let's the fox free again and eyes the huge creature next to her. He had a strong sense of authority and power. She could only guess at his strength! And my what big teeth he had! However the effect was lessened as the fox nipped and chewed his ear. Dee put a hand over her mouth to supress a giggle. Somehow the huge monster of a wolf had turned into a rather chewtoy for the little canine. Almost like a weary parent stuck with an over-zealous child."Well, I am suitably impressed! Ah but don't get any bigger, I don't think there's any room left.""Well sso long as it's not snowing at the time. It'ss easier to move away ssnow than to try and sweep away water." The explorer explained. "Although I usse it mosstly for light and to ssave my own energy. Cold'ss not much of a problem for me. And sscales are waterproof. But having wet hair and being cold would be uncomfortable." While Sidney did have a mop of hair now, he could dry it easily by heating up. Although he found that that usually made it go frizzy. Very uncool.He had to pause though when Toby mentioned eggs. He was used to snakes laying eggs but he had learnt that humans didn't. Dee certainly didn't and nor did Iden, and he had assumed Iden's friend would be the same. "Eggs? Oh sso she'ss not human? I'm pretty ssure I read ssomewhere that people don't lay eggss." He did have a fondness for eggs though. Eating them certainly, but also for their hard, yet fragile surfaces. He liked to stroke hen's eggs before he cracked and ate them. But certainly not if they belonged to somebody he knew! "Maybe it was an emergency?"
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