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 Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 6:31 pm
Scenerio 9: What goes around, comes around, and Karma has a notoriously ironic sense of humor...
... It had been a month to the day since the safe had been safely (oh pun) delivered to Mr. Reginald Clearwater, having knocked upon the door at exactly 9 a.m and retrieved their payment nine minutes later. It had still been drizzling then (much to the chagrin of the quasi-ill), and the weather had only gotten progressively cooler thereafter, but thankfully Erasmus never got too unbearably cold (which made for more-or-less tolerable conditions as certain gimps slowly returned to a state of bodily 'normalcy').
Yes, unlike Salig which, quite frankly, Shae could have lived without ever visiting again in her lifetime.
Too bad such wishful thinking was never meant to be.
It happened some time in the early hours of the morning, as she had risen with the sun to go about the 'usua'l tea and coffee routine in the shoddy downstairs kitchen of their newest Inn accommodations, idly having a (one sided) conversation with Del as the leaves steeped and the pot brewed only to spy a very peculiar young someone wandering through the front entrance.
It wasn't someone she recognized, per se, but there was a certain air about them that felt familiar... Maybe it was the smell?
It looked like a young woman in her teenage years-- somewhere around their own age-- with black hair, faintly striped (but bare) skin, and golden eyes that SCREAMED of a Koshka, despite the fact that her ears were... huh, almost round and hairless?
One look at eachother and they both paused, the unknown former staring at Shae with an awkward scrutiny before she dug out a wadded sheet of paper from her coat pocket, looked up again, then down, reread and-- "... You are... Shae Harper, aren't you, girl?"
"...."
"Formerly hired by Lady Delilah Meredith and Sir Thane Gregory Summerfield, of the Summerfield house?"
"................."
A slow, very slow nod.
"... I have a letter for you and your companions. You're still with them, aren't you?"
An even slower nod.
"Here." And there it was, the envelope they'd all regret sooner or later, shoved promptly into her hands with a light cough. "I suggest you read it immediately."
Yossarian, still upstairs and dozing in bed (he'd grown accustomed to lagging a whole thirty minutes behind first light each morning, the HORROR) rolled over and groaned into his pillow.
Perhaps his poor unconscious brain could already SENSE the oncoming doom?
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Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:44 pm
On the other paw, Asteria Georgelas had become more and more apt at waking up in the morning - a miracle in and of itself - but even more she'd been waking up before her significant other and had been in the kitchen happily cooking away breakfast (Pancakes and Crepes had been what she'd vouched for) with a joyous little hum about her.
..
..
It was a surprise the world hadn't fallen apart at the seams.
It had only been a few days previously that Kanda had gotten over his sniffle-sneezing bits and had, more or less, regained his superpowers.
Or enough of them to only require average amounts of sleep and decent amounts of food.. which had left him zombie-ing out of his room only after their lovely little No-breed visitor made their escape, his stomach actually having made loud enough of a complaint to
*GASP*
wake him up...... from more than three hours of sleep.
MORRTTAAALLLIIITTTTYYY!!
Yes, he was going to camp out until the other woman (who seemed to be prooving herself as more than capable in the kitchen, to the jealous complaint of a pair of young Mench fellows who were checking her out from their table) was finished tackling the task of breakfast.
"NNnn... Morning."
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Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:03 pm
The little no-breed woman had been both curt and hasty in her efforts, delivering the letter and not wasting a moment thereafter to turn tail, leaving poor, concerned Shae to mull over the letter as she strained the leaves from both cups, frowning inwardly. Was she supposed to open it on her own? Or wait to consul the othe-- ... ohae, Ma'am was up.
Her first instinct was to grab her prepared tea and shove the 'problem' under one arm to vacate, muttering a polite "there's coffee ready for you" under her breath before retiring to... hmm, one of those old chairs out front looked pretty good, seeing as a couple of cranky young Mench had taken the informal little near-kitchen tables and she really didn't feel like taking any chances with provoking them.
"... What do you think, Del?" she mumbled to the little golem on her shoulder, who just twitched, clicked, and turned its attention to something else limping down the stairs. Huh, Sir was up too now, it seemed. She'd actually managed to time things pretty well, considered.
"Good morning, Sir..." Granted that her own voice was a maybe a tad hoarser than it should've been, but the 'off' look about her had been fading gradually with the passing weeks, and it was almost imperceptible now. "A-ah, here--" Right, she'd made that second glass for him (as usual), double strong-- though no lemon, sadly, since Ma'am had shown up earlier than expected. "I just made it a few minutes ago..."
For all of his ills (and the toll it had taken on her in turn), she had to admit, it was... actually kind of nice to still see him eating and sleeping on a slightly more regular basis, even if the effects probably wouldn't last forever.
... And good lord, Aster had actually managed to get up before Yossarian, too? Wasn't that supposed to be a sign of the world ending or something?
Needless to say, it was a little baffling (well, not so much, it had happened a FEW times before) for the dark male to rouse with no sign of another soul in the room, rolling out of bed and lamely tugging his shirt back on before he shuffled to the bathroom for a minute or two of obligatory combing (... yeah, yeah, he still did it) and then off to the hallways, down the stairs...
The lower level was already alive with smells and sights and bodies, he noted with a touch of bitterness, frowning slightly. Was he honestly the last one to wake up? SERIOUSLY?!
What was HAPPENING to him!?
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:05 am
Even the 'perceptive' one of the group had noticed the signs slowly diminishing to a point where he didn't need to use her health as something to hold above her head. Which was good all around, frankly.
"Good morning.." he grumbled, sitting down next to her at the table and taking the tea offering, sipping it a- Okay, she hadn't put lemon in it for a change. Which was more or less good since there were only few cups of tea he put lemon in on his own will to take the edge off of.
All of which were brewed in Xorosho or by his mother.
"Nnnnn... thank you."
Now what on earth was the woman in the kitchen up to anyways? Besides some form of rampant fun and joy? Oh, looked like their last waking body had finally ambled his way down the stairs too.
EVERYBODY STARE AND MAKE HIM FEEL AWKWARD!!!
Hum hum joy purr happeeeeee!
Really, the kitchen was radiating it... just like every other day (Nnn, her help in the kitchen was getting them off on their lodging billing so whatever floated their boats). It almost seemed like after that first day of 'gloomy' she'd perked right back up and been utterly gleeful since.
Not bad, however.
And at least it made the place smell half-decent.
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 11:26 am
Well the lemon had had a purpose whenever she'd used it, of course, just like the honey and every other minor 'helping' detail she'd been sticking to and sneaking in during the mundane day to day. Now that his coughing and throat issues seemed completely abated, though, it was probably safe to lay off for a while...
Yes, just like he'd stopped leveraging her into submission for trying to pick up all the slack oh his behalf. That had all gotten a little too secretly distressing for her tastes.
But with the cordial whatnots taken care of and her trusty partner next to her (for reading's sake), it was time to set her tea aside for a moment, pull the letter out from under her arm, give it another brief once over before using a nail to break the fanciful wax seal on its front and pull out the letter contained inside.
"I met a... guest down here earlier this morning," she offered for a weak explanation, "apparently she was looking for us and--... huh?..."
..........
Okay, what the hell was this about?
Was she reading correctly, or had they been invited to some sort of... formal party by those crazy old folks up north? And out of the BLUE, at that?
For that matter, just how in the world DID that maid track them down in the first place? Had droves of them been scouring the city just trying to find the poor doomed quartet or something?
Yossarian, however, was destined to remain out of the loop a bit longer as he just passed the two little couch-bums a brief look (tch, side by side as always, so very predictable) before turning his attentions to a sleep-eyed leer at the mench pair who'd been paying a bit too much attention to some little kitchen elf... and then wandering in to see just what said elf was up to.
He still didn't know how or why she was so ungodly chipper, but eh, if it wasn't broken, don't fix it, right? So long as Asteria wasn't pulling that mopey garbage any longer he was content to just sit back and let things take their course...
Mmm, though breakfast was smelling rather pleasant now that he got a whiff of it. Crepes, pancakes, or whatever the hell she happened to be making... it earned a very loud (and guiltily AUDIBLE) warble from his stomach.
Stupid stomach (somewhere, Vincent sneezed).
"You're up early," he mumbled (as if HE hadn't been the one to get up LATE), still not quite up to speed yet (and it was obvious) as he lamely rubbed a kink in his neck and wandered over to see just what exactly she was up to at the stove. "Hnn, some manner of breakfast, is it?..."
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:29 pm
They were what-now? Kanda frowned, looking over Shae's shoulder at the paper she held in her hand... No... They were not invited by the same pair that had made them all suffer through formalities and other emotional and physical wounds (and strikes to their dignity in one case involving something nobody wanted to flaunt in front of a group) to some 'party'.
...
......
Unless he or Yossarian had been particularly.... Popular?
No... Kanda refused to believe that the reason they were being invited back to such a 'fun' place was because mobs of young girls had been harassing the old pair about the 'Handsome dark men' or something akin.
...
....
GRRAAWWWWRRR!
And what a happy little cooking elf she was! Yep, purring went up a whole 15% when Yossarian came into the kitchen (she hadn't even seen him at that point! She certainly seemed to know her surroundings in this case), only looking over her shoulder to him when he came over to investigate.
"Mmmhmm... I figured since Shae doesn't eat overly sweet things like you," she'd noticed, "or spiced things like me that these would be tame enough. Then everybody can fix things up the way they would prefer them."
Ahhh, she had some logic too! AHHH, THE WORLD WAS ENDING. Kinda.
"So yes, breakfast. Think these two options will suffice or should I make something else too?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 5:37 pm
Oh, but they were invited to just that, and no matter how Kanda denied it, there would be no reversing of the text on the letter: so neatly scrawled in a fancy cursive hand like the epitaph of a rich man's grave.
For something so horrific, the wording was rather innocuous too, just a benign little 'we'd love for you charming young darlings to come and see us again, we're throwing a lovely party and the money for ticket fare is included if you'll honor it' statement, only... y'know, in slightly more formal wording.
No mention of anything like a 'job' to be had, though, which was both a relief on one end and HORRIBLY SUSPICIOUS on the other.
... There had to be a catch, right?
"Sir, what do you think of this?..." Shae was at a loss, personally, but she could only hope that her partner was picking up something she hadn't, or forming some opinion that failed her. Not likely, but... wishful thinking, right?
Aaand his presence alone had just turned up the purr volume a good notch and a half, huh. How'd that work again?
Well, no ma-- holy s**t had that just been a logical observation coming out of her mouth? ... Wow, she really was starting to pick up on his habits (and maybe he was getting some in exchange that he didn't want-- like SLEEPING LATER FOR EXAMPLE).
"Sounds like a reasonable enough arrangement," he commented, perhaps as some veiled form of... praise, maybe? "And... yes, two will suffice properly. It's... more than enough--" PAUSE. OH THE PAUSE. "... Thank you."
..............
Holy good god optimus christ, had that been a volunteered (QUIET AND AWKWARD) word of gratitude coming out of his mouth, too?
THE WORLD REALLY WAS ENDING AFTER ALL.
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:43 pm
'What did he think of it'? Uhhh, that he wasn't sure what to think of it besides to feel extremely suspicious of it. He couldn't imagine they'd been that popular with the old duo... unless name connections had been made.
...
..
Oh hell no.
But he took the letter from her to look over it for a while longer, frowning at it for a while with a frown on his face. Nothing else for him to think besides frown, right?
Yeah, frowning totally worked for him.
"I'm not exactly sure what we should think of this..."
SUPERWOMANPOWAHZ. Or whatever it was currently fueling her lovely little evolution (not a bad one, though). But from what the opinion was she didn't need to cook anything else. Which meaaannnnt..
"Well if you're hungry there's some that are already done..." she motioned to several plates she'd set off to one side, before continuing on, "Syrup should be in one of the cupboards, powdered sugar is in..." Aster leaned to one side and lightly kicked a door, "In there, some strawberries in the ice chest, butter too...."
Certainly had located everything.
"I'd join you but I still have some batter to go.."
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:22 pm
Aaand as expected (but not hoped for), he seemed just as blindsided by the whole mess as she was. So then, what were they to do? Obviously this was a matter that the other duo needed to be clued in on (though it might be wise to hold off until breakfast was over, in case certain stabbing victims lost their appetite), but... would Aster or Yossarian really be any more helpful?
Lightly furrowing her brows, she took back her tea glass and sipped at it thoughtfully, reading over the contents of the letter once more as though it might help her come to a decision.
"Perhaps they're only interested in a... harmless visit of some sort?" Oh, such wishful thinking that was-- and oh, how she knew it. "They did take us in for an extended period, after all, and they are the rather... a-ah... sentimental type, for what I recall..."
It was true enough; occasionally maddening though it might've been, Thane and Delilah had doted on their like their own grandchildren during those scant weeks they'd stayed, and the fact that they had been so tenacious in tracking them down (hey, anyone trying to find a wandering mercenary would realize IMMEDIATELY how difficult it was) spoke of their want to 'reunite', in a way...
"... I see." Ah, so it was all a manner of fetching the 'extra' add-ins for their breakfast, then, of which Yossarian complied to fetch with little more than an affirmative mumble, heading first to drag out the syrup and set it on the counter, then the shoulder, then the strawberries and butter all in order, just like the sharp man-servant he w-- ...
No, no he WASN'T, dammit!
With that all set out, however, he was free to return to the stove and pass a look between her and the batter bowl, a slight frown forming at the corners of his lips while he (apparently) contemplated something, before sighing heavily.
"... I'm perfectly capable of handling the remnants here," he stated, clearly and flatly. "Make your own plate. I can... cook the remaining mixture there." What, and now volunteering (well, sort of forcing... uh... gently) to take up the last bit of slack so she could eat first?
Well, time did have a subtle way of shifting things here and there. Most people wouldn't have noticed it anyway.
That, and he still needed to disprove her wretched accusation that he'd inherited certain paternal cooking genetics...
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:49 pm
"Harmless from their point of view... but another visit would probably result in the four of us smelling unprofessional and likely another party we're not going to enjoy any more than we had the last time."
Plus other joys known as the maids plus knowing both the girls were going to be 'dress up dolls' and the like. Though not having to share a room would probably be rather pleasant... and if they timed it right he could see mom and Ai so he wouldn't be mauled.
...
...
Yeah, maulings sounded 'pleasant'.
"Let's wait until the other two finish up their kitchen galavanting."
Aster pouted and removed the pancake from the pan and onto the plate she'd set aside for the Pancakes, before picking up the bowl of batter and pouring another onto the pan.
"Mmmmm, nope. I'm the queen of the kitchen and I'm not about to give up my position as head chef." she replied, sticking her tongue out at her significant other and resuming her little 'Control of the stove' reign.
Purr purr hum joy~
Seriously, when had her happy note been hit?
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:44 pm
Oh, poor Kanda didn't even know the half of it yet... but at least he did have some idea of the inevitable horrors they'd be in for-- and yes, they would be in for it because, like it or not, Karma's ironic sense of humor had already been tickled pink with possibilities, and there would be no escaping it.
Nope, they were doomed to smelly lavenilla fur and dressup and maids and anxiety ALL OVER AGAIN... just retuned a bit.
There were some perks though, as he'd already noted-- like the luxury of their own (GIANT) bedrooms, paid room and board, elegant foodstuffs (... okay, that one might wind up causing some nausea), nice, hot, giant bathtubs...
"That seems wise," Shae agreed quietly, back to rereading and tea drinking in a slightly more subdued manner before passing a glance back toward the kitchen. "I suppose Ma'am's cooking breakfast again..." And whatever it was, it smelled pleasant enough by her nose, too.
Well, no shame in having a decent (LAST) meal before they suffered their horribly inevitable fate.
And oh, what heartfelt agony and anguish poor Yossarian must've have felt, his charitable offer cruelly shot down by the wicked kitchen queen and her stove domination! ... Okay, not really, but there was a priceless look of bewilderment that washed over his face before he smoothed it over, coughing discretely into his hand (and maybe grumbling a bit too).
"... Do as you will." OH HIS POOR WOUNDED PRIDE, but eh, he shrugged it off and (resignedly) picked up a plate for himself anyway, dumping a little too much syrup and sugar over his sadly abused crepes, grabbing a fork, and sighing deeply. "Just don't dawdle in here until it's all cold."
Hnn, now if he could leer threateningly enough at the mench fellows to drive them off, they'd have a table... but if not that, then retiring in the 'other' room (well, the far end of the space) with the swordsman and his little woman in one of the old chairs wouldn't be to dreadful, either.
... At least, as far as he knew: still blissfully ignorant of the DOOM LETTER they possessed.
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:06 pm
Yeah, there were more perks with it than there were known consequences. Besides, push to shove, the current little kitchen elf could come in and take care of the food problem... for everybody sans Delilah and Thade, since he was rather certain they wouldn't be as thrilled about 'commoner cooking' as some others might have been.
Like those who were probably getting a slow adaption to the cooking of Asteria Georgelas.
Who was more than happy to serve on top of that...
Huuuuh.
"Smells like it."
Yes, so hurt. Not really, but she leaned against his side and offered him a 'PLZNOHARDFEELINGS' prrprr as she sat about with her task, oblivious to the little leering contest behind her between significant other and two mench-boys who were being leered at.
..
...
They didn't really seem intent to move, however. Hey, no reason to flee because someone had a stick up their a**!
Or a pretty girl. Whichever it was Yossarian actually had.
"I'll be out with you in like..."
she looked at the batter, then the pancakes, then smiled.
"Give me like.. ten."
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:54 pm
Yes, that was also true; if the little group really got desperate to spare their stomaches from the overly rich, they had a very handy little ex-bar maid who was capable of hijacking even the fanciest of kitchens to churn out simple, down to earth fare. Poor Shae might have to call on her services sooner or later if they did go through with this strange invite, still remembering (quite clearly) the pain of too much 'high class' food in her poor, sensitive gut.
Not that a grumpy tummy had really been the biggest thing on her mind back then, though, seeing as... y'know, Asteria had been in a state of semi-DEAD, and she had STABBED A MAN TO DEATH ON ACCIDENT...
Uuugh, bad to reflect back on. Not doing that again.
"Should we... partake of it, then?" Ah, still always asking to permit actions before she did; some things would never change. Del clicked and swayed awkwardly on her shoulder as she rose, nearly plunging off her shoulder until it dug its stubby legs in and scooted closer to her neck for... stability huddling. Or something. Yeah.
Which was about the time Yossarian had halfway made it out the open kitchen doorway (damn, leering DIDN'T work) only to stop and hear a voice over his shoulder, passing another glance back at Aster and... hnn, what was that look on his face? Indecision? Concession?
"... I shall hold you to that, then."
And he would, passing (OH SO OBLIVIOUSLY) by the other two to go claim a rickety, but more or less comfortable chair for his seat, not wasting any time in carving a nice big wedge out of his crepes and shoving a bite in his mouth.
Mmm, nothing more pleasant than simple, decent, properly cooked food made with l-- ...
NO. FIGHT IT MAN, FIGHT IT.
... But yeah, it was... actually... rather decent, and he couldn't deny it.
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:12 pm
Nnn, the way he saw it was that Miss Asteria Georgelas was cooking for everybody, so if her 'mate' could have some, there was no problem with him going and stealing a couple pancakes.
Besides, his stomach was still demanding them.
"Might as well. Not like we'll find anything better than that in the kitchen." he conceded, shrugging his shoulders lightly and getting up as well, looking to Yossarian with a shrug as he made his escape and the other two made their DARING ENTRANCE into the kitchen to steal fewd.
Food.
Whatever.
"Nnn, are we allowed-"
"Go for it." Aster interupted, continuing along on her merry little quest, little hearts totally appearing over her head. Or at least it wasn't hard to make everybody believe that they were there. Shoot.
Yoss'd broken her somehow.
Lesseeee.. she had enough batter for... two more pancakes? Nnnn, so much effort, alas. But she'd be able to manage the extra five minutes she'd be cooking, grabbing a plate in the meantime and setting it off to one side.
She'd wait until the other two had gotten their own plates dished up before she toyed with the idea herself.
La la la, breakfast and cooking, la la la~
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:30 pm
Good to know that her assumption of the breakfast being 'free game' was correct, as Shae had figured from the other female's 'usual' habits (and the excess she ALWAYS made, oy), that there'd be no harm in vulturing some extra... and mm, really, those pancakes looked better than they should have, too.
... Which was really saying something, given that her appetite-- in a rather ironic role reversal-- still had yet to really 'pick back up' again.
"Thank you very much, Ma'am," she made sure to note, smiling a weak smile before shifting by her (oh god the hearts were so tangible she could almost see them) and snagging two of the 'several' plates that had been set aside and passing one, as always, to Sir. Courteous little subordinate rituals, it seemed. "We appreciate it..."
She really did, too; one pancake with a (very reserved) drizzle of syrup was enough for her, with a scant few strawberries shoved onto the corner of the plate to eat by themselves a bit later. Best to make herself ingest a little something extra, after all...
If only she remembered that the letter had been left sitting on her couch-spot or, more importantly, that a certain someone had glanced over and taken notice of it, actually curious enough to stand up and go pluck it off the cushion to look over briefly.
... AH HA HA. The sight of poor Yossarian choking on crepe must've been priceless, dislodging whatever piece had tried to end him with a good whack on the chest and frowning OH SO DEEPLY as he read it over more deeply.
Just what the hell was this drivel? And how long had those two possessed it? Dammit, HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THIS SOONER...
That old couple just seemed bound and determined to haunt him, didn't it? First with the 'party guarding' job that had gotten Asteria STABBED, then flagging him down in near hysterics again to go rescue their poor stolen maid child, and now THIS!...
It didn't bode well. It didn't bode well at all.
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