“Oui, Madame,” Red replied in the same tongue, and glad to speak it. “I am from Lorraine, just a little south of Nancy.” She smiled sadly in remembrance. “My family worked the vineyards for M. Douson.” Red then pulled a bottle and several pewter mugs from under the cloth covering her basket. “Would you care for some? It is only cider, but glass does not travel well and anything else ruins the taste of wine.”

She then pulled out some more bread and cheese as well as several apples. She set them out indicating to the party at large to partake, before returning her full attention to Rose.
“I hope you will think more kindly on Mmes Snow and Ellie. Truly I can not begin to know what it must be like for one from your position to be placed in such circumstances, but I do know that I would be dead without them. They have given their lives to the service of the world. I can only pray that I will do so well.”

Cooped up in the small train car, Devin quickly became restless. Tired observing the passing scenery, he looked about for something else to busy himself with. Red and Eulalie were seated at a table, having a conversation. It did him no good to eavesdrop as they were speaking in French- he knew all of ten words of the language. Red set out some bread, cheese and fruit, to which he gleefully partook in some. It was fresh and good.

"It's really good. Thank you, Fleur," Devin said in a lull in the conversation. He did not feel like intruding upon the girl's chat and moved instead to sit across Ellie. He beamed her a wide grin, pointing to the cheese and bread he was still munching on. "Do have some. Fleur brought them."

"A witch hunt. I've met with a couple of witches in my hometown. An arrow was all it took to kill them. But underestimate them, and they would have you under a spell before you knew what hit you. Dangerous folk."

"However, I need to know who to shoot at. Going in blind is going to be very risky." Devin crossed his arms, gaze wandered to the window again. He snapped his attention back to Ellie. "Do you have a plan?"

The rain had eased. No longer the thunderous noise under the hood of his wax-treated cloak, Kenichi was having a much easier time navigating the foreign streets of New England with only a light patter drumming in his ears. His trek had taken him across Asia, from Beijing to Constantinople by train, then Europe, to Rome by boat across the Mediterranean, then once again by train to Paris, followed by a river boat to Le Havre, where he had boarded an ocean liner bound for New York City. His trek south, to Virginia, had been mostly on foot, as he felt it necessary to get to know the lay of the land. For all he knew, he would be here for some time, and knowing the territory could be essential to his survival at some point. He had not, however, realized that the distance would be roughly equal to walking from Tokyo to Osaka, a journey he had wisely taken on horseback several times.

But now, finally, he had arrived. This otherwise nondescript building before him, with fresh coach tracks in the mud near the front door, matched the address on the letter that had found him on his travels to Kyushu. Reaching for the door handle, he had the strangest sense that despite the thousands of miles he had just traveled, his journey was only beginning. With a smile obscured by his heavy scarf, he opened the door and surveyed the room inside.

A brothel.

Nan' da yo-?

There had to be some mistake. He looked at the letter again in confusion, and double-checked the address posted on the door. Yes, this was the right place. Surely, there was some mistake. Had they wanted a male prostitute, they could have easily found one far more locally. It was also far too elaborate for a practical joke. He knew of nobody back in Japan who would even know of Virginia, let alone any specific address there. There must be something going on, and from his trek across Europe, he knew exactly who to ask.

Woody had spotted the letter before Kenichi had even taken a seat at the bar. Pulling has scarf back down around his neck, the Japanese man began to speak, but was immediately cut off, as the bartender pointed up the stairs, toward a stern woman who appeared to be scolding - or perhaps cajoling - two younger girls.

"That's who you want to speak to," the bartender said, not interrupting his washing of the glassware at all. "Can I get you something while you wait?"

Kenichi pondered for a moment before replying.

"It is unlikely that you have sake," he said with an unexpectedly light accent, the result of months of communicating with multitudes of people across the world, "If you do, that will be preferred. Otherwise, I have developed a taste for whiskey in my travels. That would be fine as well."

Ashling felt her lips form into a small smile as she was dragged along by the floating girl, her arm held tightly as she allowed her body to just move along without much thought. The thought of calling her just Pete made the polite mindset she held shudder, but, then again, would it be considered impolite not call someone by the name they want to be called by? Her mind wandered, groping for ideas, while the two quickly maneuvered out of the hall system and into the tavern area. It was somewhat empty, hold for Woody, a few drunk hunters sitting at a table, and a man whom Ash found that she didn't recognize. He looked Asian, must have traveled a long way. The atmosphere of the bar quickly took hold of her, and she suddenly felt much calmer then before. With a keen eye, she decided that this room was big enough to lose something in it. She eventually turned her gaze to Pete,

"Shall we start looking here? Ms. Snow could have dropped it under one of the tables." Ash used her chin to point towards the booths and tables of the tavern. In the back of her mind, she wondered briefly why Snow hadn't specified where she had been, but then again it was a scavenger hunt.

Think, Ashling... her mind whispered suddenly, Where would someone like Snow hang around...? Ash's eyes wandered across the room again, lingering on the bar where the two men conversed and the Notice Board where she had once seen the woman pinning up a request. There was also a library, perhaps Snow was the reading type. Or, perhaps not. Much to Ash's distress, she found that she had no knowledge of Snow's personality besides the fact that she seemed easily angered. Mindlessly, her hand slipped from Pete's grasp as she began to pick at her cuticles, a tick she normally got when she was thinking deeply. There was a Supply Shop, a Library, A Tavern, many unused hunter rooms, and a few closed off rooms, there was also the possibility of it being in the main brothel section. A sudden wish for Vapor to appear popped up a midst the thoughts, and a faint frown adorned her face. Vapor would easily find it, or just tell her that it was a wild goose chase. Another thought instantly appeared, what if this was a wild goose chase? How embarrassed she would be!

How stupid would she appear?

Creased lines appeared on her forehead, her shoulders shook ever so slightly. Right now, she just wanted to get out, maybe take a nap, listen to the gossip of flowers and the patter of rain on the concrete. A sudden creak brought her back to reality, and she turned her head swiftly, seeing a familiar tail suddenly vanish around a corner. A small smile pierced her somewhat contorted face, and she turned to Pete,

"M- Uh, Pete, do you have any ideas?" she questioned, trying to keep her voice light and casual. Perhaps letting Petria lead was her best bet at not appearing too foolish to those watching in case it was just a false scavenger hunt.

Even if the pendant were real, Pete had very little interest in finding it. She wasn't concerned with doing anything that would help Snow. If she lost something, that was her own darn fault and she could find it her own stinking self. Pete almost gave an audible "HRMPH" at the thought.

The "search" began in the tavern, and Pete was her usual theatrical self. She held up her hand to her face, miming out a magnifying glass that she peered through to the ground. She stomped about, humming and hawing at nothing. It wasn't mocking the search; this was just how Pete was. "I don't think this is the place to look first. This is where everyone would start." She winked at Ashling, waving her hand to motion her over. "I say we go to the library. I love the library!" She barely waited for a reply before scurrying off. She had noticed that there were some unfamiliar people in the tavern, so she'd made herself float down to the floor where she walked like a normal person. It made her uncomfortable, and she was eager to get out of there.

When she had been followed by Ashling into the library, she proceeded to fly up, up, up, to the topmost shelf on the first bookcase she came across. She closed her bright blue eyes and randomly picked out a book. Then she reached out and dropped it for her raven-haired companion to catch. Then she randomly chose a book for herself. She blew the dust off of the cover and read the title: Twenty Dark Tales of Baudeline Forest. It might be surprising to some that Pete could read, but she wouldn't have gotten very far in the world if she couldn't understand signs and the like.

She slowly lowered down, until she was about shoulder-level to Ash. "Hmm. Baudeline Forest? Where do you think a place like that would be?" Her eyes took on a distant, imaginative look. She began flipping through the pages, searching for pictures.

"Devin, I'm afraid not everything is black and white in the world." Ellie frowned as his comment about shooting. It was Guild practice to avoid killing things if they didn't have to. True, most monsters don't understand reason and have to be put down, but hunters shouldn't go in guns blazing. Witch contracts rarely panned out to be true, especially in the colonies. They have a deep rooted fear of witchcraft stretching farther back than Salem. "We need to find out what we're dealing with when we get there. I'm hoping to deal with this as peacefully as possible."

If the witches turn out to just be girls in over their head, then it would be an easy fix. They'd pull them aside and set them straight. This was the Guild way. They fixed problems, not create more. There is even an uneasy treaty with the Troll Nation. As long as they control themselves and keep away from people, the Guild has promised not to actively hunt them. Snow never agreed with the terms, but it was one of the things that moved Ellie to such a high rank. She drafted the treaty and carried out the negotiations on behalf of the Guild.

"We should be getting there soon. I suggest we gather our things and come up with a plan. I'll oversee this mission, but I'd like to see how you all want to approach it."

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Guild Tavern
--------------------------------------------------------------

"Haven't seen you around before, and I know just about everyone in here." A rather shrill voice came from behind Kenichi. The owner, a small man with a hooked nose and ratty hair sat next to the boy. The appeared old and sick with wrinkled, green skin and eyes that were yellow where there should have been white. He sat with a crooked smile and just looked the boy over. "The name's--"

"Rumple! What did I tell you about bothering the new recruits." A more commanding female voice boomed across the tavern. Snow quickly crossed to them and pulled the short man off his stool. She stood over him and glared down at the cowering thing.

"I was just welcoming the boy to our humble abode. Didn't mean to -"

"Can it. Get back to your shop." Snow stood her ground and her commanding pose until the little man had scurried to his feet and disappeared from the Tavern. She was phased at all by the literal meaning as the man simply vanished from his spot. She turned around and sat next to Kenichi. Woody placed a bottle of whiskey before them both and two cups. "Sorry about him. I'm still training his manners."

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Guild Library
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"Oh, it's over the hills and through the woods. If you pass Grandma's house, then you've gone to far." A very cheerful young brunette approached the pair of recruits. Her voice was warm and welcoming. Pretty much everyone in the Guild knew the librarian, but she hadn't personally met these two girls before. "My name's Belle. Is there something I can help you with."

Belle sat down across from them, ready for any pressing questions on their minds. The broach on her chest started to glow blue and a voice called through.

"Belle, you there? I need some help! How the hell do you kill a wendigo?" The voice was hurried and harsh. Screams and screeches came from the background. Belle quickly stood up.

"Sorry, need to take this..." She pushed the center of the rose and walked back to her desk. "Damn it, Al! I told you to call me before you went after it."

"Nancy est vraiment très agréable à l'automne," Eulalie responded to Red's origin. It was on the route from La Havre to Munich, where she had a cousin or two. She listened as the girl continued, feeling Red was perhaps going beyond her place presuming to press social preferences upon her. She would like or hate Ellie or Snow entirely based on how they treated her, not how others talked of them. And so far, she had been dragged from her home, made quite wet, neither fed nor offered rest or a hot bath as of yet, deprived of her maid, made to live in a brothel, and now forced to travel at night when she could be sleeping... the list could go on. No, she would make her own decisions on their character, damn how Red felt about them. That was her personal problem.

She did listen as Ellie spoke to them about the witches, and she took a sip of the cider thoughtfully. It was good.

"If these are just young girls pretending to be sorcières, I can make them trust me," she said surely. "Likely they have no real power in conducting those little rites, other than the damning of their souls, but if I can make the earth sprout vines about their ankles I can win them over and make them cease these pathetic little attempts. I doubt they know real power if it slapped them." She had always had an easy time making impressionable, or weaker willed, girls follow her. She was a natural alpha, and used to getting her way. She could make them cease, all right, even if she had to hang them by those ankles from a tree with her magic until their fathers came to find them.

Jack nodded along with the conversation, pacing around the train car. "We need a base of operations for this one. And not the train, we don't want to be too obvious. If we're dealing with real witches and they decide to put us on their shit list, then we need to go somewhere hidden, somewhere they won't expect to find us." Jack spoke and looked to Ellie, smirking a bit. Jack had always been fairly decent at coming up with plans for his heists and other ventures before the guild, why wouldn't it work now. "We also need to tackle this investigation safely, but also in an intelligent manner. We should talk to the locals, find out what they know, find out what has been happening around town and who they suspect to be witches. From there we conduct our search."

Jack nodded to himself and moved to look out the window of the train car. "We'd be fast if we each did our investigating on our own, but for safety's sake, we need to pair up, except for Ellie, she's more experienced than us and can handle her self if she is attacked by a group of witches." He paced again and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, there were many things to consider before they made any moves on this witch hunt. "We need to determine how real these witches are, how powerful they are if they are real, and the correct course of action. Like Ellie said, we can't go guns ablazin and kill whoever we expect on sight. We need to make the right choice and correct it accordingly." Jack had always thought himself a smart man, a thinker and a planner. By the time the train had stopped, Jack had his whole plan of attack figured out and he was ready to go ahead and start working as soon as he stepped off of the train.

"Well, lets go to work, we don't have a lot of time to figure this out. As soon as we start asking questions, they will start to get suspicious. Huntsman, I want you to go with Briar Rose. She will be safest with you, as you have dealt with witches before. Little Red, you and I will team up, aside from Huntsman, you are one of the strongest on this team as well, don't let your fear control you on this one, if you let it control you we may all suffer for it. I'll be beside you the whole way. Ellie, you'll be on your own since you're overseeing this mission, and you're more experienced than all of us. We'll split up as soon as we unload and get to a safe house." Jack spoke one final time before smiling to the group, knowing they could pull it off. "If we can work together well enough, we can accomplish anything."

"Yoroshiku okudasai. My name is Kenichi Mizumoto."

Kenichi nodded deeply to the woman; it was as much of a bow as he could manage while remaining on the bar stool. He had gotten some strange looks in his travels for dismounting in order to perform a proper bow, and as he traveled further west, he eventually learned it best to simplify the expression. Grabbing the whiskey bottle and pouring for both of them, he replied with a smile.

"He had not yet had the opportunity to become bothersome."

He took a sip of the potent beverage before getting to business. It was sweeter than he was expecting, and Kenichi guessed that it must have been distilled from the corn that, he had read, was apparently a popular grain crop on this continent. Not quite the same as the Scottish and Irish varieties he had sampled between Rome and Paris. Those, he remembered, were distilled from barley, and tended to have a more smokey flavor. After a moment to appreciate the liquor, he drew the letter and handed it to the woman.

"Your bartender informs me that you would be the one I should speak with regarding this," He said, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts, "Although I cannot imagine why. I see you already have a guard, and my talents are... not exactly suited for the type of work that seems to be happening here. However, little girls who fly, and old men who vanish before our eyes are uncommon enough on their own, let alone together. This leads me to believe that there may be something else..."

Briar Rose

Her first reaction was to argue and nitpick the suggestions for teams simply because Jack said them. But then she considered that she might end up grouped with Sawyer if she argued, since Ellie didn't need her and it seemed unlikely they would let two women go off alone. At least Devin was the more pleasant of the two men.

"We only have a little time left. I don't know how late it is because of the weather and my travels, but soon enough it will be a rude hour to knock on doors." she said. "Perhaps we shall start with going directly to the local law enforcement, Huntsman?" she asked, looking at Devin directly. She had put on a more pleasant facial expression for her new partner, rather than the resting bitch face that plagued her when she wasn't watching for it or was just pissed off. "Perhaps there is a sheriff investigating this?"

She looked to Red, feeling sorry for the girl's lot in partners. "Peut-être que vous pourriez vous adresser à l'église locale?"

---

Marian

The front door opened once more, and a tall redheaded woman in a hat and duster damp from rain entered with a wicker cage under her arm. Something was moving in the cage and making snicking noises, but all that could be seen was glittering black eyes peeking from wet fur, and a smell like rotten swamp. She passed through the tavern quickly, tipping her hat to Snow with a quick "Ma'am," as she passed and heading in the direction Rumple had gone. It would appear the old man had a delivery. She disappeared through the same doors the old man had just gone through, seemingly ready to get rid of her stinking cargo which probably gave out nasty bites.

Following Pete through the winding guild was, surprisingly, kind of fun. It was nice to just explore with someone, she thought, as her journeys were normally spent alone. Constantly out of the corner if her eye she saw a flash of colorful fur, Vapor was keeping a close eye on them. With a slight sigh, she turned her eyes forward, ignoring the cat, keeping her expression blank. Eventually, they pushed through double doors and into a large, dusty smelling room. Ashling examined the library with wide eyes. It was rather impressing, chock full of different books in all different languages and styles, some leather bound and others just parchments covered in letters. She wandered up and down the aisles, letting Pete fly off on her own, and browsed the selection. There were plenty of fantasy books, fiction, non-fiction. A flew on alchemy and magic caught her eye, and she made a mental note for their names before continuing on. There was no sign of the pendant, and the more she failed to find it the more she began to grow bored of the task. Eventually, she returned to the entrance of the room, glancing about for her curly-haired acquaintance. There was a flash of red above her and Ash stared as Pete descended from the high shelves, a book in tow. A question was asked, and with a shrug and confused expression, but before she could voice her knowledge someone joined them. It was the pretty woman who ha been sitting at the desk in front. She introduced herself as Belle and gave a rather amusing answer to Pete's curiosity. Ashling nodded, stuttering out an introduction before the woman left to attend to some other issue,

"What a curious place." She thought out loud before turning back around to the shelves, hands skimming across the books. Another one on alchemy, huh, might as well waste some time. She pulled out the thick book and skimmed it, keeping one eye on Pete.

"There was a new boy in the Tavern, did you see? He looked like he was from the east!" It was small talk, but Ash had found she was running out of things to think about. The pendant was no where to be seen and honestly Ashling was beginning to get rather bored of the task.

Devin did not have much of an opinion about Sawyer's plan, but it appeared to be sound enough. He would have had more confidence if Snow or Ellie had been the one to command the team. It appeared as if they were being left to their own devices, perhaps as a test of their abilities. On the bright side, at least he was partnered with Eulalie, whom he didn't mind getting to know better.

"Law enforcement… sounds like a start," Devin replied to Eulalie's suggestion. Her pleasant smile pulled at his heartstrings. "I'm pleased to be your partner, Eu- Rose. I must say I'm not used to working with people. Usually I just track things down and put an arrow through their head."

"Then, the plan is a go?" he directed the question at Ellie.

==========================================
Train Stop - Havensburg
=======================================

Ellie listened intently as her students prepared their plan of attack. Eulalie had an interesting approach to the situation. Intimidate the girls with a display of her own magical powers. Indeed, by common definition, Eulalie would appear to most as a witch. Less the hag appearance, but throwing her own weight in magic around could certainly cause a few innocent girls to listen. Though, there was the worry that her gut was wrong and these girls were the real deal. They won't know how to properly handle the situation until they found them.

Ellie was more intrigued by Sawyer's plan. She knew he would naturally step up as leader. After all, he led his own trio before joining their little hunt. It was expected for him to bark orders. Ellie felt he thought out loud too much and let his thoughts get away from him, but she appreciated his confidence. If she was going to sit this one out, then she had to be sure that her students could be capable enough to at least stay on track. She would let no harm come to them, but this was the perfect opportunity to see what they were capable of and how they would handle different situations.

"Not a bad idea, Rose. Sawyer, your plan seems fairly solid. I do know a little about this town. It's a small logging community. That is why the tracks run along it. I don't think there is any local law enforcement. They are a private village and prefer to handle things themselves." Ellie looked out the window. She was lost in her own thoughts and hadn't realized how late it was. "Briar Rose is right. It is starting to get late, so your best bet will be to talk to the village leader. He'd know what is going on."

"As far as a base point..." Ellie stood up and looked out the opposite window facing the town. It was rather small and seemed to only be houses, except for the mill on the far side. There wasn't really any point to call base for the time being. "We'll have to figure that out soon. This train isn't private, just the car. It will leave us here and return tomorrow."

Ellie picked up her things and mushed her students out of the car. The train whistle started to blow and it was time to go.

"This is where I leave you, but don't worry I'll be checking in regularly. See what you can find out about what has been going on and see if we can resolve their problem."

============================================================
Guild Tavern
========================================================

"I won't hide it. You're right, we're not your average group. We are all unique and talented hunters that deal with monsters across the country." Snow let the information sink in. Most had trouble comprehending the monster part. Even if they had encountered them before, the idea that the children bed time stories were real was absurd. It took Snow a while to understand it herself when she first joined.

"You were invited because our master believes that you will be an asset to our cause. So...where are you from?" Snow looked him over. She had been to Europe many times, but never as far East as he seemed.

Marian

Marian walked into Rumpelstiltskin's little closeted shop just as he was settling comfortably into his favorite chair. The tavern, the brothel, all the rest, were the domain of two very strong-willed (and one of them quite dominant) women, but the shop was his space and he would be damned if anyone would lord over him here. Even people he was putting to work. He looked over at her cooly as he lit a gnarled pipe shaped like a goblin's head with a long hat, and puffed thoughtfully as she set the stinking cage on his store counter.

"It's alive, and well then?" Rumple asked.

"Well, I do think the lil critter could use a bath. And a dunking into a vat of perfume. The whores upstairs smell better." Marian responded with a wrinkled nose. "But yes, it's alive and I',m pretty sure it's not hurt. Bodaway didn't wanna let me come near with it, I had to tie her off and then mount. I think she might be holding it against me, being she tried to throw me for the first hour of the ride home."

The wee man snorted and took a puff off his pipe, letting smoke curl out his wide nostrils slowly. He had sent her to the Everglades and back to hunt down the little beastie for a reagent he had to procure for a private client. The critter was sitting in a damp, black furred ball watching him with beady eyes and growling softly. Rumple sat and looked back at Marian, expectantly. She returned the gaze for a moment, then frowned.

"Aren't I getting paid now??" she asked, somewhat annoyed. He always made them ask for payment. Why pay them if they didn't remember it? And he did love being asked for things...

"We had a deal," he said, and opened a drawer to rummage about for a bit, "And I can't go back on a deal." He took out a small pouch of coin, double checked the contents, and tossed it to her with a jingle. She caught it mid air with a grin.

"Thank ya kindly!" She gave the caged critter one more look as she left. She stopped off in her room to deposit her wet duster, hat, and chaps from her travels, and changed into a fresh blue gingham shirt to wear with her denim pants and boots before heading back to the tavern. When she arrived, she tried not to interrupt Snow and the strange man she was talking to.

"Woody," she said, fishing into her new pouch of payment, "Gimme some of that nicer tequila you got in the locked cabinet."

The book had fallen to the ground with a heavy thud, the sound echoing obnoxiously through the quiet library. Pete peered over her book down to the ground, suddenly realizing that Ashling was nowhere to be seen. "Oops," Pete muttered, returning to the book and continuing on with her reading of the title.

The librarian who had been very much a part of the library's environment -- same as a bookshelf or table -- suddenly came to life as she swept over to the pair of young girls. She introduced herself, and Pete nodded and repaid the favour. Ashling, too, introduced herself. Then Belle hurried away on other business, a voice suddenly calling for her from her broach. "How quaint," Pete said softly, flipping the book to a random page and flicking through it eagerly, searching for pictures. While she wasn't paying attention, her body slowly turned in the air until her feet were towards the ceiling and her red hair hung down towards the ground. Her bright blue eyes sparkled at every image in the book she came across.

Ashling suddenly spoke up, and Pete's attention snapped out the story and back to reality. Her face took on a look of shock as she looked at her companion. "Ashling! The world is upside-down, and so are you!" Meanwhile, her body was still turning, and she wound up in a right-side-up position, before planting herself firmly in place. "Nevermind, I've fixed you and the world. Now what was that about a new boy? I hope Snow isn't the one giving the poor lad a warm introduction. She isn't particularly inviting, I'd say."

Pete had already lost interest in the book in her hand and she absentmindedly pushed it back into the shelf, in a different spot than she'd found it. She hoped that by now, Ash had forgotten all about Snow's silly stupid trinket she'd sent them to search for. "We should go give him a proper greeting. Initiate him proper." Pete gave a mischievous wink, implying that 'proper' could translate to something that involved him taking a swig of vinegar instead of whiskey, or stepping into shoes filled with wet sand. "But in the meantime, Ash, could you tell me story? Pretty pretty lovely little please?"

(Okay triple post pls stop)

(Bad site don't double post)

A soft, unfamiliar sound escapes her lips as Pete floats upside down. A giggle, something she didn't normally do when she was awake. It felt... Natural. A faint smile painted her face, listening with interest as Pete wondered how Snow was handling the new boy, and then how they would "Initiate" him later on. The mischievous wink gave Ash a bad, yet intrigued feeling, and worry for the young man's well-being bubbles up inside her head but faded within a moment. Her body relaxed just a bit, stance loosening as her anxiety began to feel far off the more she spoke to the childish Petria. The bookshelves began to feel less tight, the constant feeling of selfish people surrounding them faded. Eventually she was in a state of pure bliss, and it showed clearly on her face, until Pete brought up telling a story.

A story.

Ashling had plenty, but not many asked for them. And those who did always ended up calling her mad. Though... Pete had a look of naiveté. Ash's forehead creased, but her smile widened, and she motioned towards one of the tables towards the center of the library. Once seated, her eyes brightened, hands folded neatly on the wood in front of her,

"Now, this is a story, well, a poem, I discovered a while ago... About a horrible beast and his slayer." She cleared her throat, making her face look dark and menacing to add to the mood:

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

Her story telling method was extravagant, her arm gestures wide as she painted the story out with only movements and the strange words. Many words were, of course, nonexistent to this world. Perhaps the words had a different meaning in the dream world, but Ash could never figure them out. For now, she just understood that the story was about slaying an awful beast.

"He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought."

An invisible blade seemed to enter her hand, via story telling, and she swung it once or twice before continuing on with the story.

"And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!"

Ash acted the part well, her high, accent voice seemed to go down three octaves as she tried to sound as frightening as possible. A mischievous smile appeared on her face as she let out a quiet 'raaaaar', and she almost broke character to chuckle at her own idiocy.

"One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back."

The invisible blade was swung, and then a triumphant look covered her face, hands on hips and chin high as if she had actually slain a beast. Perhaps she had gotten a bit too into the story, but either way she was enjoying it.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy."

And with a final nod, she ended the story. It had been shortened considerably (or not at all), due to the fact that Ashling had refused to try and speak the gibberish in the beginning and end of the silly poem. The heat of eyes on the back of her head slowly lowered her mood, and with a swift glance she saw the familiar cat-eye glare of Vapor. And then she heard a giggle from within the bookshelves. We're they laughing at her acting? Ash's shoulders slowly hunched and her head lowered, a pale pink flushing her face as she slowly began to realize how intense and strange she must have appeared. A sheepish smile appeared,

"Sorry... If that was weird."

"Monsters... Bakemono..."

He took a heavy mouthful of the sweet whiskey, letting the word echo in his mind. The memories it stirred were not pleasant ones, but mercifully, they were cut short by a much more objective question.

"I am from Kyoto," He replied, taking a quick mental note of the red-haired girl who had taken the stool a few places down, "In Japan. My family has lived there since before the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which would have officially started in 1603." He had done the math a few times during his trek across Europe. He had heard the question often from the more curious of his fellow travelers, and by this point, he had memorized the answer.

"I had been traveling across Japan for several years," He continued, "Training and performing odd jobs. I have worked as a weapon smith, a carpenter, a fisherman... Anything to help pay for martial arts training and books. And then this letter found me." He motioned to the parchment on the table. "I do not know how, and truly I should have been skeptical, but I believe my wanderlust overcame me, and I started heading West."

Letting his own words settle now, he finished the last mouthful that had remained in his glass, and considered his next point.

"And now you say you wish me to hunt monsters with you. Perhaps I would have been right in being skeptical. Little girls can fly using wires, and men can disappear using trap doors, but coming face-to-face with a monster would be a much more convincing feat."

Finally, he leaned over the bar, directing his question to the redhead. He had been speaking loudly enough that she would have overheard his story, had she been inclined to listen.

"Speaking of which, what exactly was in the cage?"

Marian

Of course Marian was eavesdropping on their conversation while Woody poured her that fine tequila. She sniffed at it gingerly, appreciating it, and savored the lightly creamy taste as it rested on her tongue. At the question of what was in the cage, she leaned forward with a wide grin.

"Well, I thought you'd never ask," she said, "That was one of those monsters you don't think exist. Well, a lil one. According to Rumple, that would be the ole man ya saw, it's fur is a reagent for alchemy. It's a strange lil beast, no bigger than a 'possom but it likes alcohol. That's what I used, a bowl of some cheap tequila, to lure it into my trap. 'Course first I had to track it out in the Everglades where they live. They get bigger than that, I saw some that were nearly as big as a bear. Mean teeth on em, as they get bigger. Ever seen those swamp rats whose teeth don't stop growing? Think of that, but carnivores... They can be kind of hard to find, but they stink somethin' fierce so if you know the scent you can eventually find one. I heard rumors they can talk, but this one didn't have nuthin to say to me. Can't find them all the time, only on new moons where its nice and dark. Very nocturnal critters."