One night in the Fae's Hollow Inn ~open~

[Anonymous]

Allyea stared down the man seated across the table from her, with an expression that only a man who's about to be devoured by a tiger usually witnesses. "Now, now," she said softly, smirking only a little, "I do believe that you're trying to leave the table without giving me my winnings, sir."

The man and his friends, all miserably drunk and angry at this point, glared at her. She'd beaten them all, one by one, at a card game called Calenthial, and all five of them had lost a substantial amount of gold to her in the process. Now their ringleader was trying to weasel his way out of paying his losses honorably. "Bugger off, sister," one of the peons slurred. "You've had your fun. Now let us go home."

"We shook, and claimed that it would be a fair game," Allyea responded in a cold tone, though she still smirked. "I won't consider it fair until your boss here gives me the coins he laid down on that last hand. Come on now, sir. Be a good man."

"I can't give you this," the ringleader said, his eyes darting from face to face of his lackies. "I've- I've a sick, pregnant wife at home. She'll not let me hear the end of this if I come home with no pay. No one is more dangerous than an angry woman, after all." He chuckled weakly, and it was echoed by his friends.

In one fluid motion, Allyea was up and over the table, and had a large hand on the ringleader's throat. "You're about to discover how truly dangerous an angry woman can be," she murmured. The smirk was gone from her face, and her green eyes almost seemed to glow in the low light of the inn.

"You're no woman," a brave idiot among the men surrounding the ringleader volunteered a little too loudly, "you're a monster!"

CRACK! He stumbled backwards, his left arm going like a windmill as his right hand clutched at his bruised ribs. He upset a table as he fell onto his backside.

"Monster, you say?" Allyea growled, her tail still lashing about dangerously. "Perhaps you'll rally everyone, rouse the menfolk from their beds and order them to grab their torches and pitchforks, and to come kill the monster that has crawled from the muck of your nightmares. MONSTER!" She tossed the ringleader aside, on top of the injured man. "Forget your foul coins. Take that fool home, and hope to whatever powers you worship that I do not follow him home and give him something to remember!"

Gasping, the ringleader scrambled to his feet, rubbing at his throat, and pointed to two of the men. They hauled the injured man to his feet, and lugged him out of the inn, glancing occasionally over their shoulders at Allyea. She bared her teeth at them, causing them to rush out even faster. The ringleader cast a disapproving, dark glare at the barkeeper and then departed behind his gang, not looking at Allyea again.

She sat down at the bar, near the barkeeper, who was busily wiping down glasses. "Why do people always have to ruin my fun?" she asked with a grin.

"Allyea," he said, in a tone of voice not unlike that of a disappointed father of a child who has pulled a brilliant prank at school, "you keep scaring away my locals each time you come back here."

"I thought you said you didn't like the locals here anyways, the last time that I did," she replied with a mischievous grin. "Now gimme another ale. Squabbling always makes me thirsty."

((OOC: And with that, I leave this open to anyone. Have fun.))

[Anonymous]

Cyrus and Tobias knew it would be a bad idea to travel to Connlaoth. The entire kingdom seemed to hate mages so much that they would try to kill them on sight. And only catching a rumor of a group called Mordecai seemed to put them on edge. Tobias's huge size, concealed face, and enormous sword seemed to attract unwanted stared and fearful glances from some of the other passersby.

They had to get out of here soon, if not today. But they needed a place to unwind first. Tobias was unsure of this idea.

"Brother, are you sure about this?" he asked. "Can't we just leave? Like right now?"

"Tobias, for someone your size, you worry too much," Cyrus replied. "Besides, were only staying at a place to eat and rest, then we can split."

Tobias sighed at his older brother. "Alright then," he said, then muttered under his breath, "but don't blame me if we end up killed."

"You say something?" Cyrus asked as they approached an inn called the Fae's Hollow.

"Nothing," Tobias replied. "Just thinking aloud."

Cyrus shrugged and walked up to the door, just vaguely hearing the screams and shouts of men from down the street. He opened it and went in. Tobias followed, carefully squeezing himself through the doorframe.

[Anonymous]

Allyea and the barkeep looked at the door at the same time when it opened to allow the two men. Behind the counter, the barkeeper took off his apron and hung it up on a nail, and went over to greet the two. Allyea stayed put on her stool, nursing her stein of ale and cautiously watching the two men.

The larger one worried her. Big ones were always more trouble for her to handle, despite her being large for a female. Catching sight of the gigantic sword he carried did nothing better for her nerves. It reminded her of being 9 again, of the huge man with his knife who tried to "trim" her. Her tail lashed for a moment at the memory of that night.

They were being congenial to the barkeep, as far as she could tell from what few snatches of conversation that she was catching. That was good. She'd beaten up people in here before for treating the owner like garbage, and she would again in a heartbeat. He was, in her mind, "good people". And "good people" were hard to find these days, especially in some place like Reajh.

She took a long glup off of her ale, and looked at the smaller one now. He seemed harmless enough. At first glance he seemed a little snippy, but that was to be expected of someone who was coming into an inn this late for a room instead of a pint.

She chewed on a claw for a moment, and then decided to try and be social. "Is it still blowing quite hard out there?" she asked over her shoulder during a lull in the conversation between the two men and the barkeep. "When I came in, the wind was howling like a starving beast. I'd been hoping it would calm down some before I had to go back out."

[Anonymous]

Cyrus and Tobias were confronted by the barkeep, but he was friendly, so they talked a little about how the weather was, where they were coming from and going to, and other stuff. Though the barkeep seemed wary of Tobias, he made no rude comment. And the two brothers made no mention of their magical abilities, knowing that such a thing was taboo in this region.

Then a woman asked about the weather outside. Cyrus glanced over at the woman and smiled. "It sure has been pretty gusty lately," he said. "It's still howling out there."

His larger, younger brother only nodded. The two of them went over to the bar to sit next to the woman, with Tobias taking up two seats.

"A pint of your strongest grog, please," Cyrus said.

"And a keg for me, if it's possible," Tobias added.

[Anonymous]

"Put 'em on my tab," Allyea said quickly, before either of the men could protest. If they were both willing to sit next to a Drygan, then she was going to buy them at least one round of drinks to thank them- even if one of them was apparently going to drain a keg by himself. Most people wouldn't even stay in the same tavern as her, let along the same town in some cases, these days. "So," she said, running her finger along the rim of her stein and looking at the smaller of the two, "what brings you gentlemen to parts such as these?"

She frowned. It was harder than she remembered it, being friendly and making polite conversation. She could remember chattering away with her mother when she was a girl... but Mother was gone now, and it was her mission to find her. She took a deliberately slow swallow from her glass and awaited a response.

[Anonymous]

Life in a contract for familial lending is not all fun and games for the one in the contract. His host family is having way too much fun but for Pollux Meiyaru, he feels quite exposed, like a cat dangling right above a tub of water. When he spoke to his brothers about it, they all told him it was all good fun but Pollux had a lot more to worry about. It is in the back of his mind that he could some day lose it and his possible magical abilities come forth.

He was actually glad to get out of the house. His master's children were being especially "playful" and there was supposed to be a party at the mansion that night. The son of his master sent him out to find a keg of Raspberry-Strawberry Feydrygan wine. Nevermind that a drink didn't exist, Pollux's knowledge leaned more towards history and useless knowledge. He was a lightweight so refrained from drinking and only knew beer and wine. Thus, he trusted his rather playful masters and went on a quest to find the drink that did not exist.

Pollux, who hated anything dirty, started his search at the most upclass pub. It was in those places, people knew about his current circumstance and knew him as the gulliable Meiyaru brother so humored him. Since he failed at getting social cues, he bought it and went to the next pub, the cleanest of what was left. Since he was now here, it was clear his search has not been successful.

As he stepped into the sketchy pub, he glanced around frowning and becoming stiff as if in a very uncomfortable situation. It almost seemed that his pale locks could stand on end as if he were a cat arching his back. His soft features stuck out in a bar like this. It did turn a few heads. In fact he got a cat call from a particularly drunk patron who thought that Pollux was a girl.

Pollux, forever clueless, shifted his eyes awkwardly, "Um, thank you, sir..." He smiled uneasily as he walked gingerly towards the bartender rubbing his arms as if getting the dirt off his arms. As he walked more into the establishment, a black cat with large yellow eyes followed closely behind him. It stood by the door, purring and watching its master as if a mother was watching her child.

Once he was able to grab the bartender's attention, he said rather pointedly, "Good evening, sir, I'm looking for raspberry-strawberry feydrygan wine. I've been looking throughout the city and I have yet to find it. Belial Greyholm sent me. He said he needed it to make his party a big success and he said he'd give me my books back if I get some." He stopped himself there. He was about to go into how he needed his books to feel normal and he just may go crazy if he didn't get them. Maybe the bartender won't laugh at him like the last one did...

[Anonymous]

Cyrus gave a smirk. This lady was quick. "Oh, you know, just trying to pass through these parts and head north out of town."

Tobias glanced at the woman for a second and noticed that she had a tail, then he glanced away. She couldn't have noticed that he looked, since his face was concealed by a mask.

The bartender handed a mug of foaming grog to Cyrus, who smiled and thanked him. The bartender seemed to have trouble with the keg, though, as he could only bring it in front of Tobias, but not on the bar table. Tobias offered to help, then, with two black, scale-covered hands with wicked sharp nails, he grabbed the keg and effortlessly lifted it up onto the bar. The bartender walked away, mumbling something incoherent to himself.

[Anonymous]

Allyea, overhearing the request, snorted loudly into her ale. "And perhaps next you'll be asking for a barrel of melons only mentioned in the legend of the wedding of the God of the Walking Trees to the Princess Malia."

The bartender shot her a biting glance, and then spoke kindly to the man. "Begging your pardon, sir, but you'll have to go tell your master that such a drink does not exist... at least not to my knowledge. I will happily supply you with any other drink he may need for his party, though." He walked behind the counter, and took a piece of paper from a drawer. "Here is a list of all the wines, beers, and other liquors that I sell, and can get from my suppliers. I give you the leave to take it to him, so that he can write down an order, if he wishes."

"Provided that he doesn't try to have you fetch some other mythical beverage," Allyea added, punctuating the comment with her own hysterical laughter, as though what she just said was too brilliant to go by unnoticed.

"Allyea, she who knows how to hold her tongue knows a great deal indeed," the bartender snapped, and then turned back to the man. "My apologies. She tends to think before she speaks, but she is a good child."

[Anonymous]

Pollux looked to Allyea with a bewildered look on his face, "Why would they ask for a drink that does not exist?" His tone was light with innocence. Apparantly he knew mythical wine wasn't real. But what he was looking for was. He was gulliable with a capital G. He didn't seemed all that threatened by Allyea. He gets that reaction a lot.

To the bartender, he sighs a little and looks a bit frazzled. In fact, it almost seems like his blonde hair is standing on edge, "Sir, the folks in the Dragon's Head Tavern and Daligil's Pub both told me that they just ran out." Considering this was the last pub he could find, he was desparate, "I have to find it, sir! If I don't, I won't get my books back and I need to do some reading before I go to sleep or I won't sleep at all and the next day, I'll be so tired I won't get my chores done properly..." And he thought to himself that that could be the day he loses it and he's discovered and killed on the spot. He could already feel it sneaking up on him like some evil black ooze.

He took a deep breath and pushed up his glasses on his nose as he gained his composure, that much like the noble he was, "I apologize for my rash tone. I'm just a bit upset as you can see..." His cat, Moon, approached him and rubbed against his leg as if to calm him down a little herself.

He glances at Allyea, as a confused look slips across his face. He didn't know how to interpret her tone. Was she just teasing him? Was it threatening? Finally, he said to her somewhat huffily, "I just do what I'm told and eventually, I can go back home." Yes, he is the sort that the moment he walks into a room, you will find out his life story eventually.

[Anonymous]

Allyea turned to the gullible man, raising an eyebrow as she rearranged her body on her stool. "Tell me," she said, trying to gentle her tone, "is your master also the kind of man who would send you to market for a jar of elbow grease, or a left-handed mallet?" She grabbed her ale and drained it. "My point is, I think your boss is jerking your chain, buddy."

The bartender audibly hissed at her, apparently a cue for the Drygan to stop her provoking. He then turned back to the servant. "I can tell you in a heartbeat that the only reason why the Dragon's Head and Daligil's told you such things was to poke more fun at your current situation. The staff and patrons are probably having a good uproar at your expense right now. What's your master's name, lad? Perhaps I know of him, and I could go talk to him on your behalf."

"Rokin, you're stepping into other's business again," Allyea called to the bartender in a teasing, sing-song tone. He gave her another dark look and she was silenced.

"I'll do as I please, child," he replied.

[Anonymous]

Pollux blinked a few times at Allyea's comment, "Um, no. I've only begun working there a few weeks ago." Although it seemed like ages, "This is the first time they asked me to run on an errand." Usually, they asked him to clean and do laundry and the like. The laundry bit was short lasting since he turned Belial's favorite white shirt pink. Pollux was forced to wear the shirt for the rest of the week. "Why would they..." he wrestled with the term as if contemplating how one could pull a chain he didn't have, "'pull my chain?' I'm assuming you mean they sent me on an errand that they knew would be impossible for me to fullfill? Wouldn't that be a waste of resources?" He happened to talk like the books he spent a lot of time with. Also, apparantly he didn't get the purpose of familial lending.

To the bartender, he tilted his head to the side slightly adjusting his glasses, "My situation? Is it that obvious that my family loaned me out?" He said that last bit quite neutrally despite the fact he felt a little annoyed by it. "Well, my father only lost a bet to Quince Greyholm in a game of Hazard. Master Greyholm made my father bet me. I do not know why... I have six other brothers at home, twelve in all and all of them are more strong than myself..." He shrugged a little. Well, he was the "prettiest", the closest the Meiyaru's had to a daughter. Pollux didn't pay attention to rumors but if he did, he may have heard the rumor that Quince had unusual tastes in bed or he may have noticed some of the signals his master sent him. But he didn't. He continued to take everything literally. He did not understand the concept of homosexuality anyway. To him, sex is intellectually about procreating. Two men could not procreate. The idea it could be recreational confused him greatly.

"Still... why would they send me on an errand like that for a laugh? It doesn't seem very funny to me," his expression is completely innocent yet confused, more like he didn't understand the humor in it and not the fact that he was betrayed by the folks who should be taking care of him.

[Anonymous]

Allyea began to open her mouth again, but Rokin raised a hand to silence her. "What I mean, lad, by situation is your task you've been set upon, not your work. Listen. Sit down, have a drink on the house, and think about how your master worded his request- his idea of a joke may not be funny to you, but he can use it to belittle you for his own pleasure later... unless, perhaps, you and I can play a small trick on him, to make him think that he isn't as smart as he thinks he is."

Allyea raised an eyebrow. "Rokin, you may just be brilliant."

Rokin grinned, glancing over his shoulder from Pollux to Allyea. "Eh, occasionally my mind does decide to come upon a good idea and use it." He looked back at Pollux and repeated himself. "Sit down, and have a drink on me. Think it over for a spell. If you want to play along, I can attempt to create this Strawberry-Raspberry Faedrygan Wine your master desires, so that you can satisfy his request and not give him the satisfaction of having the last laugh at you." He gestured towards the bar, smiling congenially and gently. With a face such as that, one could barely believe that there was a mean or malicious bone in this man's body.

[Anonymous]

The bartender was very kind to such a naive and out of place noble boy. Of course, Pollux would trust the bartender even if he had a serial killer vibe to him or looked like a Smeltering Demon. When he was told to take a seat, he seemed momentarily conflicted. He needed to get back with the mystery drink but he didn't have the mystery drink because it didn't exist. But the bartender said he would make up a drink! But that would be a lie!

Finally, after a minute or two, he decided to listen to the bartender and began to take a seat on the stool but stopped. First, he took out his hankerchief that had his initials sewen in it in a blue thread and wiped the stool down first, "So you'll make the drink, sir? Or something we'll pass it off as?" He didn't know alcohol very well, so he wasn't sure what to order so he'd wait until the bartender chose the drink. "What sort of trick did you have in mind?"

His eyes began to focus on the glasses that were hanging upside down. There were a few that had a couple spots on them. He fought the urge to clean them. Ug. Dirt!

[Anonymous]

"Exactly," the bartender said. "By the by, lad, call me Rokin. These old ears aren't used to being called 'sir'. You'll make me start thinking that I'm more important than I actually am." He brought out two large, green bottles, and then placed three smaller bottles on the counter next to them: one clear, and filled with a pinkish-purple liquid; another brown, with a yellowing scrap of paper barely staying attached; and the last blue, with a ring of white wax around the cork of the bottle. "Hold on, lad. I'll need to find you an empty bottle to pour this into. I'll be just a moment." He opened a trapdoor in the floor, and slowly climbed down a ladder, grumbling to himself as he did.

Allyea looked over at the other two men, who had been silent since they'd come in. "You two always this talkative?" she said with a snicker, rolling her empty glass around the counter top.

[Anonymous]

Pollux watched as the bartender walked away, "Alright, sir. I mean Rokin!" He glanced at the bottles and tilted his head to one side as if he pondered what was inside them. Then after a few moments, his attention moved to the glasses and he reached up finally after trying to fight the urge and began to clean the spot off the glass with his hankerchief.

[Anonymous]

Rokin reemerged from the cellar, carrying an empty blue bottle, and put it on the counter. "Lad," he said, while rummaging through a drawer, "what's your name? I can't keep calling you lad. And put that glass down. You'll start making me nervous, wiping it like that." He pulled out a small bottle of ink, a quill, and a piece of fairly yellowed paper. "Here. If I write down that fancy name, your boss will see right through you. You seem like you can make the letters look nice." He pushed the writing implements towards Pollux. "Now," he said, gesturing broadly to the four people seated at the bar, "ladies and gentlemen, may it please you to behold the creation of Strawberry-Raspberry Faedrygan Wine!"

[Anonymous]

Cyrus looked at her with a smirk of his own on his face; he could sense the sarcasm coming from her voice. "Sarcastic, huh?" he said with a chuckle. "Well, some of the time. We just felt like being quiet while you conversed with that person."

Tobias had already downed more than half of the keg, and, surprisingly, didn't make a mess. He seemed nowhere near drunk as he set his mask straight on his face. "What just happened, brother?" Tobias asked.

"Nothing important," Cyrus replied. He turned back to the woman. "It seems I haven't picked up your name."

[Anonymous]

"Aye, because I hadn't tossed it out to be gathered," Allyea replied. "But you two are at least polite and quiet, so I suppose that I will give it to you. I am called Allyea, daughter of Xamir Niadus, self-proclaimed Drygan lord of these mountains." She eyed the two brothers, her glance still nervous as she took in the larger one. He was at least civil-sounding, but that mask, the claws and the sword kept on giving her a worrisome chill. "Now that I've given you my name, you ought to reciprocate. What're your names, then?"

[Anonymous]

Cyrus spoke after he took a swig from his mug. "I'm Cyrus Moondymond. And this is my younger brother, Tobias." He motioned to his larger, younger brother, who turned towards Allyea.

"Nice to meet you, Allyea," he said with a nod, adjusting his mask as he did.

[Anonymous]

"A beastie, a drygan, and two humans walk into a pub in Reajh... Heee...! Sounds like the making of a goblin joke!" a little voice, sitting on a roof opposite the little pub in Reajh squeaked. It belonged to a pixie, or at least... wait... was it a pixie? Or was it a little raven. She could not seem to decide, whatever she was... she kept changing back and forth, as if trying to figure it out for herself, before she settled on a Raven: people would not give a second look to a Raven. She did not mind lacking hands or lips... this form was, like all others, full of its own quirks and fun. Fluttering, the little raven started to take off, only to be suddenly attacked! A much bigger bird snatched the little shapeshifter from its position on her perch.

The night was silent for a good few moments... but the cry of a very, very unlucky owl broke the street's silence, followed by a crash of glass as its head went through a window on the house the changeling had perched upon. Now a monkey dangled from the awning, in front of a very broken little circle-window where it seems a large bird went in.

"Oohh ooh!" it cried, and climbed right back up on top of the building, changing once more into a very miffed looking raven. Not tonight would she be birdfood... not after last week: being eaten sucked.... and stank, and burned, for that matter. A human's cry of "BLOODY BIRDS!" and warm glow came from the newly made skylight in the person's house below, but she ignored it, this strange bird. She readied for takeoff, and leapt from the roof, swooping down onto the street far below. Batting her wings only twice to slow her descent, she became that cute rat she had seen earlier, and scurried around back of the pub.

She looked for a hobo's entrance... that is to say, a mouse entrance. She knew how to look for such openings... it was like a hobby to her: Small creatures could find ways around things that nothing bigger ever could. Shapeshifting gave her a lot of insight... animals were not simple, people were not so high up as she once believed, monsters were not scary... it gave the once-human polymorph all the help she needed, knowing that the world was a less hostile place than most believed.

The first living thing she encountered was a bug. A big bug! One she had never seen before, and it looked as if it were terrified of her. Squeaking, she became that bug... and it actually relaxed a little. Chittering at her, she tried her best to decipher its language... her body accepted the message readily... all language was, was impulses, so she could really understand anything.

"Whats a mimic doing here?" it asked. Animals caught on fast to this sort of thing. She bounced a little. "I'm exploring!" she replied cheerfully, and it calked its head at her. "My names... well, I have a lot of names... and a lot of them are not names so much as violent series of images... but you can call me um..."
"Chii" it finished her sentance. It was male, she knew. "Chii is what I name you." it said.

"Cool! Call me Chii then... Seeya!" she chimed, and started to scurry past him. He did not, however, let her pass, and juxtaposed his bulk in front of her, woking his pincers at her, making her take a step back, lest she be pinched.

"No, you don't pass until... you mate with me!" he replied. IF a bug could blush, he would be.

"Noooo... I don't really wanna, mister bug..." she said, and gave him a sad look. He was intent on it though, and tried to advance upon her. The last thing she wanted was to be raped, especially by a bug, so she grew to twice his size, with fierce pincers and gleaming red eyes, becoming satan's little beetle. "But I do wanna squish you, if you keep this up, mister bug... So shove off! I'm going through and thats that!" she chittered, and the bug ran for his life.

Reverting to mouse form, she continued on through the hobo passageways. Even bugs have crime problems, she noted. Ahead, daylight... well, lamplight, anyhow, broke, and she poked her head out into it, sniffasnuffing. It was the size of her head, this hole.... it was obviously a beetlehole, so reverting to the beetle form she had just learned, she scurried out into the light, and...

Found herself blinded. This bug was not meant to endure the light too well. Squeaking, she turned once more into a mouse, and, covering her eyes, she hid under an overturned shoe, squeaking in pain at the searing of her eyes at the terrible light. Teh bug did not like light one little bit. Blinking, her eyes shifted away the discomfort, and she sniffled a little in pain as she became a pixie. People don't squish or broom pixies. Wiping the little tears from her eyes, she began to grow curious... this was a big shoe! A boot, in fact!

The man that wore it... must have been huge... or she was really, really small. Wait... that was it. She was just tiny. Giggling just a bit, the pixie climbed from her position under the shoe, and dusted herself off. Ah, but she had attracted the attention... of something a little bigger than her current form. A feline pair of hungry eyes met hers, and her long, elfy ears drooped.

"Hello, kittie..." she murmured, and the creature licked its chops, and batted her in the face. That normally playful smack sent her reeling, and smack into the counter, bouncing her head off the woodwork, making the world spin. She could not change when the world spun like that... perhaps she would be eaten again, as unpleasant an experience as that was. She managed to squeak out for help, before the orange of the cat's fur overtook her vision, and she passed out.

Boy if I were a bit bigger right now... Chii's voice muttered in her thoughts... her conciousness was still active... even if her body was out like a light, in the cat's jaws, its prize. The big, fat orange cat named Lopside, for it's big, paralyzed tail that it dragged around, was a well known stray in this area of town, and boy had he scored a treat tonight! He could afford to flaunt it, the big, chubby cat... it was a wierd mouse! Wierd generally meant tasty to him... he was simple, he did not really care that it resembled humans: he would eat one of those too, if he could manage it... But as he strutted, the big cat, the pixie dragged behind him by its arm from his mouth, in plain view for all to see. He wanted them to see.