Cloveshore had been a very quiet place for a long time now. There were a few odd happenings every now and then, but it was still fairly quiet for the most part nonetheless.

At least, until the local disappearances started to increase.

For some reason unknown reason, people started vanishing from the town on a regular basis. It had happened every once in a while in the past, but never on this scale. As the population dwindled, the townsfolk grew panicked and got together to come up with a solution. Suspicions were directed toward the odd family that lived in the mansion just outside of town. The occupants of the mansion were never seen in the town, and stories of them taking the forms of beasts and abducting people had been used to scare children into behaving for some time. Even most of the older citizens of the town seemed to believe the rumors, however, and now that there was a particularly big problem, fingers were pointed toward the strange family once again.

Eventually, after much discussion, it was decided to send a group of girls to the mansion in the hope that the beasts would accept the offering and leave the town alone. "It was a difficult decision...we deeply regret that it has come to this...this is for the good of the town..."
Many excuses were given, but the fact remained that, for one reason or another, the girls were sent to be possibly eaten by monsters.

Eventually, the day of their departure came, and all of the girls chosen were to meet up at a certain point at the edge of town...

---

At the mansion, seven brothers were woken up by the sunlight streaming through newly-opened curtains. "Good morning, young master. We will be having guests today, so please remember to meet in the parlour before lunch. And do be sure to clean up and mind your manners. We wouldn't want another incident, would we?"

Marlix got up with a deep groan. Again, he had been up later than the rest of his brothers observing the stars - a rather bad habit of his. He dressed, all in dark, muted colors, and put a comb though his hair. It always seemed to knot no matter what he did, so after a few brushes, he nodded in a halfway satisfactory sense. He looked at himself in the mirror, slightly worried for what might happen today, but hopeful all the same. I mean, he /was/ the eldest brother. He had a better chance than the others, what with his agreeable nature and maturity. one more hand through the hair to check for knots and he went to get himself something to eat.

Zack was excited. He could hardly wait for the girls to arrive. He hoped the day went well. It was hard to say what woukd set off his brothers. One of them shifting woukd definiely ruin the day. Despite the family curse he was a social person. He loved his brothers but he got tired of talking to the same people about the same things. Today he would get to talk to new people about new things. Too excited to take the proper time to get ready Zack throw on some clothes and rushed down stairs.

Kyle opened his eyes to the sunlit room and sighed. Today was they day they were to receive their 'guests'. Ha! He could hardly believe that the people of Cloveshore would offer up girls like a bribe. It made him sick to think about it. But, he stopped his train of thought before he got too agitated, and took a deep breath. Then Kyle began his morning ritual of getting ready. He dressed in a loose fitting black shirt and a matching pair of slacks. Before he left the room he grabbed a book he had been reading recently on plants and their herbal uses. He was fascinated by the subject, like any other subject. And so he walked through the halls with one hand holding s book and the other in his pocket.

He decided he might as well eat. So he headed to the kitchen for a casual snack. It wasn't long until he ran into his elder brother. He looked up casualy from his book to observe him. It was early for him to be up at this hour, he was usually the last to rise due to his astronomy habits.
"Oh, hello Marlix. It's a nice change of pace, seeing you up so early."

Inigo sat up in his bed, stretching slightly as he did so. "Good morning, Topias. Guests, hmm? Well, I simply can't wait for their arrival!" With that being said, he got up, tended to everything hygienic, and reappeared garbed in his usual mercenary-esque attire and his usual happy-go-lucky smile on his face. He went ahead and exited his room, advancing to the kitchen in hopes of scoring a bite to eat.

"I felt obligated to be awake for these ... guests" Marlix answered, eating a piece of bread "You know, attempt to be presentable" ... What he forgot however, was that he was not wearing pants. He drank some water "I do hope that these girls are not like the others" he vaguely commented, still unaware of the fact that he was just in a shirt and his underwear.

As Allie waited at the edge of the town, she couldn't believe how terribly frightened she was. There was no real evidence that the family of brothers were horrible, manslaughtering beasts. Even if they were beasts of some sort, that didn't mean that they were savage and cruel. Still, she had a tiny shard of fear buried in her heart, despite her rather positive outlook on people and life. The citizens of Cloveshore were convinced that the brothers were abducting people and had chosen her, among a few others, to be sacrificed, hoping it would make the brothers leave the town alone. She never did like jumping to conclusions, and wasn't going to come to any until she saw the family for herself.

Kyle turned his attention back to his book, but was still listening to his brother speak. As he read, he got a piece of bread and began to butter it one handed with the practiced ease of someone whose done it that way for years.
"Of course, it would make sense to look good for the women who think they just sacrificed themselves to be here."
He lifted the bread to his mouth and began to eat, not once taking his eyes from the book. He bread went down his throat more smoothly than one would expect due to the butter.

Marlix nodded "Indeed" He continued eating, in desperate need of sustenance since he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning - he'd skipped lunch and dinner for the sake of research.

"It is good to see both of you up." Zack greeted each man with a brotherly hug. He was so excited that he wasn't really paying attention. He didn't notice his elder brothers lack of pants. He was never much of one to worry about appearances. Being a painter most of his clothing had paint splattered anyway. "I can not wit to meet our guest. I wonder what they will be like. Do you think they will allow me to paint them?"

Kyle, gave zack an awkward side-hug and then continued to read about the properties of herbs.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say they'll beg us not to eat them first."
He flipped the page with his thumb.
"Did you guys know that putting Rosemary on a burn will actually make it worse, not better?"

"Morning, everyone. Looks like the four of us had the same idea of grabbing a bite to eat this morning." Inigo comments as he enters the kitchen, simply grabbing an apple and taking a bite from it. Overhearing Kyle's take on rosemary, he nodded in understanding. "Wise words, Kyle. I'll be sure to remember them the next time I burn myself." He states before taking another bite of his apple.

"fascinating" Marlix commented, though not in a rude way. "Do not get ahead of yourself. We are going to attempt to let them adjust first." Marlix instructed

Zack shook his head. He never understood why he and his brothers were seen as a threat. Ok so maybe they had attacked a few people. But that only happened when they transformed. They all struggled to keep control of their beasts. Zack helped himself to a banana. "If they keep us well feed and don't set us off we should be fine." They were all set off by different things. Some of them knew what set them off. Others were still identifying triggers. Mostly if came down to stress.

Ruko almost fell back to sleep shortly after being woken up, but the morning sunlight kept that from actually happening. He didn't mind too much, though; it looked to be a nice morning today. He supposed that it would be a shame to sleep through it all. It wasn't until after the butler had left the room that his still-sleepy mind processed what he had said.

Guests?
When was the last time that had happened? He didn't even know. Quickly searching around for his glasses, he placed them on his face and watched the world become a bit less blurry. He would have to get ready, wouldn't he? What was proper to wear when there was to be company again? Something nice...but perhaps not too formal...

Lyra walked slowly and deliberately towards the edge of town her focused gaze never once faltering as she walked. When she came to the place they were supposed to all meet up she noticed another girl who was gripped with fear of the unknown and what they were all about to throw themselves into. "You know you shouldn't be afraid." She slowly undid the straps of her bag and pulled out a violin, placing it along her neck and slowly starting to play something peaceful. "These men...if they truly are monsters...then the very worst is that we are going to our deaths..." The violin sped up as she reached the crescendo, "So how I see it is this...I will face them as a proper lady. Without fear and I will see them for what they are. And they will not keep me from coming home." She smiled at the thought of seeing her mother again, "If ever a time comes and you are to afraid to move forward...you can lean on me alright...we have to survive this all of us..."

Kyle nodded his welcome at Inigo's presence, then took the last bite of his bread. It wasn't mutch, but that was intentional. He wanted to be very hungry for the feast that probably awaited them this afternoon. The entire estate was abuzz with activity and all the servants, though they loved their masters, were excited to see new, fresh faces.
Kyle snapped shut his book, after memorizing the page. And began to leave the room.
"If anyone needs me, I will be practicing the piano until our company arrives."
And with that he left the room.

Nina emerged from the jail cell only a little worse for wear. Her uniform from her time as a butler was a bit dusty, and some seams had been torn during her 'reveal' but she could fix those. She could fix almost anything, really, given enough time and effort. Even so, she didn't like her new situation. While she knew she had to do this for the sake of her town and the women that would have been sacrificed if she hadn't spoken up, she still wanted to go back to her master and continue to serve him. For now, though, she had to go to the edge of town and meet with the other girls. Nina decided that she'd try to help them any way she could. While she might be a girl, she was also a gentleman. She wasn't about to let them be slaughtered for no reason.

She straightened out her tie and vest, lamenting her lack of a jacket as she walked to the meeting place. As the violin started playing -apparently one of the girls was playing while they waited to leave- she ran her fingers though her hair. The short, choppy side her her blonde hair was not of her design. Someone had attacked her hair with scissors during her stay in jail, screaming and wailing about her lies. Thankfully they had been stopped before they could wreck the other side too much. Still... she had always wanted to grow it out so that she could pull it back into a professional ponytail.

"I agree m'lady." Nina said, swaggering into the conversation seamlessly. "But I'll protect all of you to my best ability. Though... is it not negative thinking to be worrying before the situation happens. I'd like to think that perhaps this castle is not nearly as gruesome as many fear it to be." Nina said, bowing deeply to the proper young women in front of her. "Ah, how rude am I? My name is Nico or Nina. I have no preference between these names, and you may use whatever you want. Consider me a proper butler for you two."

Marlix simply nodded towards Kyle, then Inigo, as a form of acknowledgement "I am going to tidy up my corner of the library. I left my books everywhere. I will return when called" He announced to those remaining in the kitchen before leaving, his steps quick and light.