Henwen

Caverns & Critters

Marzipan looked up at the young man as he spoke, returning the smile before returning her eyes to where she was carefully placing her feet.

"Aye? Well company is always welcome. Although," She said, her eyes darting over to the young boy sulking behind the not-yet-a-couple couple, and then over to the silent hulking figure of the pig farmer, "I may not be the one most in need of it at the moment..."

"Hoggy ain't said two words since," She paused, giving her walking stick a solid swishing tap to the ground before continuing on, "Well, since this morn. I dont know if ya know him well or no, but this kinda silence from him ain't the norm an' don't ever mean good...

"An' then there's the Boyo," Marzipan's voice going flat with annoyance, "He really shouldna' be here at all. But he ain't got nobody to keep him where he ought to be, an' knowin' him he'd prolly tag along invited or no. Better to keep him where we can keep an eye on him.

"He really looks up to ya lads," Marzy continued, giving the boy a fond look that belied her earlier irritation, "I would really appreciate it if you three would mind him a bit. If'n yer friend can spare a glance from his sweetheart to mind anything at all."

Fren was indeed tagging along behind Thomas and Jasmine. He gave the remnants of the cart a sulky kick, before catching up with the group. Eavesdropping in on their conversation, Fren wrinkled his nose at the older teen's plans for future wealth.

"Why would you want stupid things like that?" Fren piped up, barging into the discussion as he inserted his body in the space between them, "They already gots farms don't they? And why buy a ring when you could just- just give 'er one from the loot. Sure there's gotta be lots of fancy rings and stuff down here. Me, I want a crown."

The thought sparked a grin of delight on his face and he tugged at Jasmin's sleeve, "Hey, you think there'd be crowns down here? There's gotta be lots of crowns, yeah! I want a crown an' I would wear it every day. Make people call me King Fren and bow and stuff. No, i want seven crowns- an' wear a different one every day. You want a crown right Jasmine, they're way better than rings. I betcha they even got those lil fancy lady crowns too."

Caverns & Critters

I'll have a post up for this sometime tonight. I'll see what I can do to help move this along.

Escape the Tempest[Closed]

Father Marco - Priest

Father Marco was roused from a troubled sleep to the sound of birdsong outside his window with the early dawn. He'd dreamt of the storm, the washed out roads and overflowing gullies making the journey he would be taking on foot that much more treacherous. It had been luck that he'd come across the young girl, twig-whipped and bruised, crying and lost in the forest. In his dream these things were exaggerated, with a dull and removed sense of purpose and fear as everything moved sluggish and safety remained far out of reach.

That had not been the case however, and it was with a sense of relief that he began his morning prayers, shaking off the lingering disquiet left by the dream. His clothes, cut in the traditional style for priests and tailored for travel, he found clean and dry on a chair- his rosary and pocket watch sitting on the bureau on top of his little travel scriptures.

Dressed and hungry for breakfast, Father Marco exited his room- mildly contemplating knocking on the girls door before thinking better of it, she could need her rest, and instead followed his nose down to breakfast.

Escape the Tempest[Closed]

Geezy you guys post fast. I've got my Servant post up now. @Analane I'll be having my Guest character speek to yours if that's alright. @Bookworm your character too if that's cool with you? Just wanted to give you a heads up cause everybody's posting so quickly here.

Escape the Tempest[Closed]

Anita Morgan - Scullery Maid

While it had been late night for the guests when they had arrived, it had been early morning for Anita, albeit, a much earlier morning than usual but not by more than a few hours. She was normally up before the dawn to begin work for the day, and with the guests arrival the first work was that of tending to their soggy clothes and the dripping puddles that they scattered about as they wearily tried to navigate the manor's twisting halls.

She'd mopped up what she could as soon as they had arrived while Kest saw to their needs and got them settled into rooms, but still the foyer would need to be cleaned.. an impossible an unending task in this weather. But she'd had to put that aside as the guests laundry was deposited into her care.

She'd spent most of that night (early morning) in the laundry room, next to the root cellar in the basement. The boiler was old, but it worked well enough to produce scalding hot water for the tub, and the hot press steam dryer would be the only way the close would get dry in this weather, requiring many repetitions to rid it of all the damp. Anita was well worn out by the end of it all, her hands chapped and her face flushed and sweaty from all the steam... she barely felt the heat though, she was always unbearably warm these days.

It was hard physical work, but she had come to not mind it so much. Physical labor gave her an outlet for her frustrations and aggressions in a manner that would not gain her the attention of the Mistress. And she was able to indulge her curiosity... by getting to go through the guests pockets. All of the things found would be returned of course, while theft itself may not earn her the Mistress's ire upsetting the guests surely would, and all the found things would be placed on the dresser bureau where they could be easily be returned to the pockets from which they'd been removed.

Crisply folded and freshly pressed, Anita returned the clothes and items to their respective owners rooms while they slept. Nimbly navigating the rooms, deftly over haphazardly discarded shoes and stepping as silently as possible. Not that it would have mattered for the most part, the guests would sleep deeply this night- however restfully it would be.

Finished with the laundry she made her way through the halls right as the guests were beginning to wake and the smell of food wafting through the air. Anita frowned, she had hoped to tend to the grimy foyer before Anton cooked breakfast for the guests... it appeared that the laundry had taken longer than she'd hoped. She had been up for hours with no respite and no breakfast of her own, the foyer would have to wait a bit.

As she descended the hall she could hear the sound of new voices, the guests up and about being lured from their beds by Anton's cooking. Shamelessly eavesdropping she listened to their conversation as she approached them unseen and she heard a voice, that of a young woman speaking.

"Be seeing you at breakfast. Name's Emma, by the way. Door's over this way, if I remember."

Turning the corner, Anita got a full view of the speakers, that of a scruffy unkempt ruffian of a young woman and a man, as well as a view of the door they were approaching with the intent of entering.... It was a rather large and ornate door, better fitting as an entryway... only this door did not lead to the common areas, or anywhere near the dining room or the kitchens. This door was the entrance to a wing of the manor they had been warned against entering without express permission. The wing with the Mistress's suite.

"Stop," She hissed as the guest's hand barely grazed the doors handle. Anita clutched her empty hamper before her with a white knuckled grip, "What do you think you are doing, wandering about here? This is the Mistress's wing."

Biting her tongue, she tried to reign in her temper as it shortened, her plush lips pressed into a thin line of displeasure. The guests wouldn't know their way around the manor, and vague directions half remembered after a trying night was just cause for innocent mistakes.

"Breakfast will be served in the dining hall soon," Antia said in a much more cordial tone that had at the very least lost a bit the irritated bite that had been in it before, "I would be happy to lead you there. The Manor is a bit difficult to navigate if you don't know your way about."

May You Live in Interesting Times (A Murder Mystery)

Tatiana had been looking forward to this day for weeks. Not because it was the day of an elaborate fancy party that promised to be a night to remember for all and sundry invited... but because today would herald the last day she would have to endure her mother's constant barrage of excited tittering, gushing, and all around unhelpful suggestions over anything and everything under the sun: from how to do her makeup, what dress to wear, how to talk to boys, what to say and what to do. The assault was never ending... until at last the day itself came, and her mother was so wrapped up in her own preparations and excitement to do much more than pester her to hurry so that they wouldn't be late. The limo ride had been almost peaceful, once she was able to tune out her mother's unceasing chatter.

They had arrived early, but not overtly so, and Muriel was quick to run the gauntlet of introductions while she still had her daughter on her arm. As it was, it took nearly a half hour for her to break free of her mother's clutches and hide herself away off to the side of the docks.

It was really a beautiful night, the decorations on the dock had been tastefully done, and Tatiana took her moment of peace to simply enjoy the view and breath in the salty air and watch the lights dance on the waves. She leaned carefully on the docks wooden fence guardrails, while she wasn't one for fancy dresses most times she was particularly fond of this one. The entire thing simply done, all soft blues with elegant beading on the bodice, but most importantly... it had pockets!

A fact that she had kept secret from her mother at all costs, as it allowed her to smuggle in small thin books that she could use to break the monotony when she stole away a moment of peace. Much like this one, although it was still much too early in the night to think her mother distracted enough to forget her for long... her hand still stole inside the hidden seam and traced the edge of her poetry book.

Her position on the docks gave her first sight of the ferries arrival however, and she watched it come in with a rueful smile- it was a lovely sight but the ship also heralded the end of her 'free time'... And right on cue, she could hear her mother calling for her over the sound of music wafting from the ship and the ambient noise of the crowd.

"Tattie? Tattie! There you are darling," Madame Rousseau bustled over to her, beaming smiles that almost outshone the coppery gold of her gown. 'Rose gold' rather, as she'd been constantly reminded of over the week, "Did you see the ferry arrive? Oh its a lovely sight isn't it? And did you hear? They have that Jennings Taylor playing! He's supposed to be touring over in England you know. Fancy that, us getting such a lucky opportunity to see a 'secret show'! You like Jennings Taylor don't you? All the young people your age do."

Tatiana just sighed as she withdrew her hand from her pocket book and surrendered herself to her mother's steering clutch about her arm as they donned the ferry, not even bothering to try to get a word in edgewise or try to stop her from calling her 'Tattie'.

"Ah, and speaking of young people!" Mimi continued, leaning into 'whisper' conspiratorially, "There seems to be quite a nice bunch of them over there by the bar. They look roundabouts your age, perhaps a bit younger than I would like but what do you say, let me introduce you? You know I hate to see you sitting all alone at these parties. Come along, darling and do try to have a good time? Please, for mummy? It'll be fun! I promise."

Her mother lead her on towards the group regardless, and Tatiana sent one pleading glance heavenward for strength
and prayed that this ordeal would be over quickly.

"Well hello darlings," Mimi called out to them in a saccharine tone, "My, what charming young men and women we have here tonight. I was just saying so to Tattie- Oh, but where are my manners, let me introduce my daughter Tatiana Evangeline Rousseau."

"Pleasure," Tatian said with the barest of smiles, fully aware of the embarrassment her mother was causing.

"And I am Madam Muriel Rousseau," She continued, before sending a near flirtatious wink towards the boys, "But you fine young gents can call me Mimi."

'Please somebody, kill me now.' Tatiana pleaded silently.

May You Live in Interesting Times (A Murder Mystery)

Posted! Or rather posting... posted it here first. Woops.

LWSC SIRIUS

Okay, our group is OFFICALLY On The Ship! Woo! Lets get some activity back here cause we are primed and ready to go!

LWSC SIRIUS

The three of them slowly made their way out of the bar before dashing away into the street and for a brief moment in time, Viva thought that perhaps they would be able to get out of this scottfree. It was a very brief thought however, as Selen swore.

"Followed?" Viva echoed as Aurdor turned to look behind them. Dashing after Anora, because she did in fact fancy her life very much thank you, she kept pace with the girl to ask between breaths, "Just what did you do to piss these guys off?

"Cause they are really pissed off!" She shrieked as gunfire rang out around them. Adrenaline jolting her system she sprinted after the other girl as she half dragged- led the way on a winding route through the port back through the ship.

By the time they reached the maintenance tunnel the sound of their following hostile trail had been left far behind. Viva's giggles bounced and rang in the hollow tunnel as she caught sight of the ship, two parts relief and one residual thrill.

"Annnd Safe!" Viva said as she folded over her knees as they reached the landing dock of the Sirius, wheezing and giggling, "Ahhh hahaha, okay. That was fun, but can we please never do that again? Hooo haha."

"Sparks, that took way longer than it should have," She said as she finally caught her breath, and made her way onto the ship, "Shit I hope the Cap isn't pissed. Might want to go for another run with the agents if he is..."

Caverns & Critters

Making their way through the group, Hogarth trudged his way through the slowly deepening water towards where Beevil and the Ferryman were leading the way. The sounds of the parties voices and sloshing footsteps bouncing off of the waters surface and the slick stone cave walls resulting in eerie warbling echoes that had painted a permanent grimace on the pig farmers face. Which turned into a cross, glowering glare when Thomas began shrilling like a ninny over a admittedly overly large bug... while the words are unintelligible, one can now hear the pig farmer making a low muttering grumbling sound- no doubt cursing out anything and everything in his pain.

At the sound of shrieking, Marzipan hurried the rest of the stragglers on to meet the group with young Fren Boyo leading the charge, brandishing his long handled frying pan and swinging it about willy nilly in a manner that would more likely harm friend than imaginary foe.

"Lemme At Em!" The boy hollered as he reached them, soaked from the waist down from his splashing sprint. Thomas managed to fling the creepy crawly away, and Fren dashed after it. Bellowing what could only be what the boy thought of as a terrifying battle cry he smashed at the centipede with his weapon pan. Great ringing bangs redoubling in the cavernous tunnel, until the insect resembled so much soggy jelly.

With one final, solid whack Fren stood up and hollered back at the group with great pride, "I Got It!"

Marzipan, having made her way quickly to the others and made sure of their wellbeing- the alarm being a fright but not a real danger, was not amused and swiftly seized the boy by the ear, "That's enough wruckus out of you Boyo! This is no time for your hooligan shenanigans, an' I'll have no more o'it out of you. Understand."

"Oww." Fren grumbled as he rubbed his ear after she released it, "You're no fun marzy."

Fren moved away from Marzipan as soon as she took her eyes off him, moving to go stand with the older boys, and Marzipan moved to follow the men deeper into the water. Guiding her way with her walking stick to make sure she had firm footing and would not trip into any sudden dips, she used her other hand to hold up her skirts as far out of the water as possible...the edges would soon become damp if it got much deeper than this, and she would have to give it up as a lost cause, but until then she would try to keep them dry as best she could.