The World of Darth [ON HOLD]

[Angeles Valentine]

Angeles watched the werewolf and the doctor leave, glad that she hadn't been noticed. she moved as silently as she could, to where the child was laying. She was in bad shape it seemed, but she was a vampire, she would eventually heal. Angeles looked down at the girl for a moment before gently esting her hand on her shoulder.

The girl flinched, then stirred, wincing a bit before her eyes opened. Fear leapt into them but Angeles smiled fondly, "don't worry, I'm a vampire," she said and the girl relaxed a bit, "I just need to get some information. I'm a telepath, would it be alright if i search you mind for clues to who did this to you?"

The girl looked at her for a moment, "we must wait until dark, you may rest till then, and then you may rest after. Is that alright?" The girl looked at her for a moment more before she slowly closed her eyes. Angeles sat in a chair beside the girl's bed and waited for sundown.  

[Valentine Valtieri]

"What else could have caused it, a vampire." He said. "And there may be a small chance of infection, but I highly doubt it mister..." He didn't know what to call the doctor. He would be needing to get back soon though so he could save any other formalities for later. "How would you have guessed I was a werewolf, I rarely meet a human that can do that." He said.  

[Ale Posselna]

"No, little one, not at all." answered Melissa to her stepchild's question. "As a matter of fact, I am surprised you haven't come to see me sooner. Your father told me you wanted to see the King this morning. What made you change your mind?" the woman asked, putting down her glass.

Ria also put her cup down, and thought for a moment before answering. She decided to tell the truth." Well, it had to do with the explosion that happened at the funeral. But then I met someone, and after talking to him I realised I have been diverted from the main subject here." The same way the Unit has, apparently...

"Anyway," Ria started, a bit uncertainly, for she was convinced that mentioning the name would bring new tears to Melissa's green eyes "Do you remember anyone who could resent her? I don't mean the obvious, I already considered those, but som..." she never got to finish the question, since Melissa interrupted.

"I do" the tanned woman responded, with a surprising ferocity in her voice. " This is a story that I should have told you a long time ago, but the time never seemed the right one. Now, there's no reason to keep it hidden anymore." She took a deep breath and look again at her stepchild, as if demanding her full attention. "I'm not sure what you'll make of it, though."

Ria sat up straight in her chair and crossed her hands on her lap. She listened in silence, as Melissa's voice echoed through the room.  

[Alus Shar Plynnil]

Saeven Aneik

'Quiet little grey mouse,
What have you heard?
Behind those closed doors,
No one is allowed?'

Quiet little grey mouse,
What have you seen?
Secrets meant to be hidden,
Not seen in the light?

His frustration grew with each passing moment. Right now, he wasn't quite sure why he was frustrated, but only knew he was. The training area here had nothing he felt could help him ease the anger, frustration and helplessness he felt now and so, after once more completing the course, he took off without so much as a single word to Kageko. He took off into the trees at full speed, and became even more frustrated that it was during the daylight hours. He didn't know the direction he was running, and was barely aware of the scenery passing, he just ran.

'Quiet little grey mouse,
What have you felt?
Tremors of cold fear,
Reverberating in the night?

Quiet little grey mouse,
What have you smelt?
Lies permeating the air,
Assaulting your senses?'

{My angsty little vampire... >< I sincerely hope I'm not turning into Stephenie Meyer.}  

[HeadlessKoko]

Kageko had noticed for a while that Saeven's energy seemed frustrated, but that didn't mean that she was prepared for him to come barreling right by her and into the woods. she thought as she watched him run farther in, glad that he seemed to at least be able to dodge obstacles or else she might have been flattened right then and there. After he disappeared, Kageko looked around. Still, no one else had come.

she thought to herself as she double-checked to make sure no one was there, then headed over to a flat area of the training area. Once more, she checked around her to make sure that no one was there, then she focused her energies on a single spot in the ground. She was trying out a new technique, one that she was still developing. After feeling that she had concentrated the energy enough, she tried to force it all back out again… and was dissapointed.

Kageko sighed as there seemed to be no evidence of her efforts, except for maybe a little shaking in the earth and a tiny breeze, She had been trying to create an explosion by concentrating her energy and then forcing it to expand, but she either hadn't concentrated the energy enough, forced it out violently enough, or hadn't used enough energy. Actually, for all she knew, it could have been a combination of all of those or even something totally different. she thought as she concentrated again, of course after she checked to make sure that she was alone,  

[Ale Posselna]

"So, there you have it" Melissa said, in a definite tone, as she got up and exited the room. Ria nodded as her stepmother left and said nothing, her mind too full with all the revelations she had heard.

"It's no wonder Lucian hated her, what bigger treason than to marry someone from another race? Still, why did they waited until now? Maybe they have already someone to take her place in the throne..." Truth be told, Ria didn't knew that much about the noble families whose members weren't human and still lived under the wing of the Triumvirate. She didn't know for sure, but she suspected that there were very few. And what Melissa had told her about Queen's Charlotte relations with them hadn't been that conforting. For that was what worried her, that the Lycans had infiltrated such families and now had an open path to the throne. Such a perfect plan...

And there was also King Fenris' thoughts on the matter. Ria hadn't heard a word regarding him in a while. He seemed even more ignored than his wife's murder.His wife's murder...well, hadn't it been the perfect way for Françoise to take her revenge on him? After all, he was also a traitor in her eyes, the same way Queen Charlotte had been. She had also considered that option, and she kept adding new variables to the equation, with no way to solving it."

Ria let out a frustrated sigh, so loud that even Melissa heard, which made her return to the room. "I understand your frustration, little one, and your lack of trust.But you must not give up yet." The tall woman said, putting a hand on Ria's shoulder. She had given up suppressing her stepchild's curiosity long ago. It had led her nowhere, and now it was too late. All she could do was hoping for the girl not to get in trouble because of it. "I've done for you all that I could. Now you must search your answers somewhere else."

"Somewhere else..." and Ria got an idea. She got up in a sudden and kissed the tanned woman on the cheek, thanking for her help and hospitality before stepping outside. It was a long shot, but due to his business, he got in contact with all kind of people. The possibily he had seen something out of the ordinary in the past few days was too much of a lead for Ria not to follow it.

"To the town centre, let's see if Mr Kristoph has some free time." she said to her horse, after settling on top of him. The sun was high, but the sky displayed a bright blue colour, there was still time for a quick visit before sundown.  

[Miss McNinja]

With great reluctance, Kristoph had no choice but to return to his work. He let out a gentle sigh as he stepped into his shop, suddenly bombarded with questions of "Where have you been!? What were you doing!?" by his wife, the moment he stepped through the door. The man let out a quiet groan as he dumped his coat and scarf on the rack beside the entrance, sitting himself down. He didn't really know what to say to her. He gazed up at the woman with an apologetic expression, simply shrugging. "I'm sorry darling.. I needed to collect my thoughts. I'm not in a good place right now."

Unimpressed with his answer, his wife Alice gave him a sharp slap across the face. How could he worry her like that!? His hand gingerly reached up to touch his cheek, raw and stinging. And again, he simply apologized to her. There was no real reasoning with Alice when she was mad, and he'd learned to accept that over the past few years of their marriage. Kristoph shook his head as the fiesty brunette stormed back upstairs, a smile playing across his lips. "That woman.. She never changes." He rubbed his cheek before getting up to resume working. As much as he didn't want to carry on, he couldn't afford to be spending any more time away from home. However, he was dead set on making sure that what troubled him didn't simply just slip.. Like it had seemed to have done with everyone else. From now on, he felt like life was an entirely different playing field.
Carefully, he took a seat behind his work bench and reviewed his orders. Quickly he absorbed himself in neatly filing them all, organizing them by their completion rate. He was supposed to have sorted these earlier on, but of course that had gone out of the window. Kristoph would be slightly behind, but it didn't bother him too much. A late night would do him some good, anyway. It would give him some time alone to think about things a little more.  

[Ale Posselna]

Ria found what she had been looking for quite easily. She had never visited the workshop when she was little, but she thought its location shouldn't be too far from the town square, since it was the place where she and Kristoph have met.

The town square was much less crowded than before. Which was a good thing, it gave her enough space to search. She smiled as she spotted the sign and genlty guided her horse to the place.

As she stepped down and prepared herself to enter, Ria realised how unkind her actions would look like to him. After all, the blacksmith had work to do, Ria would only be interrupting him with questions, and she wasn't sure if the had the answers she was looking for. Yet... besides her, he had been the only one that had noticed what had been happening, the only one besides her eager to do something about it. And an ally wasn't something that Ria would discard that easily.

With a sigh, Ria stepped into the workshop and called, hoping she had brought something to give him. Kristoph had mentioned he had a little boy, hopefully Ria would have the opportunity to mend such fault later.  

[Miss McNinja]

Kristoph looked up from his work, a gentle smile playing on his lips as he recognized the face of the lady who entered. He looked almost a little silly sat there, reading glasses slipping off of his nose, cheek still red from his wife's fury, and drowning in a huge mass of paperwork. Doing his own admin work wasn't fun, but nobody else was willing.

"Ah, Miss Ria. What a pleasant surprise to see you here." On his lap was his son, who had previously been interrupting his father at every five minute interval. The child gazed over at this new stranger and quietened down, shying behind the workbench. Grinning, Kristoph tousled the boys hair, shaking his head at the child's sudden change in behaviour. "No need to start going quiet on us now, kiddo. You were bouncing around the room a few minutes ago."

The child simply responded with a pout, shying away even further at his father's teasing. "Anyway, can I help you with something?" Kristoph asked, removing his glasses and carefully setting them down in front of him.  

[Ale Posselna]

The blacksmith was busy, just as Ria had predicted. But he had smiled at the sight of her, which meant she had just given him a good excuse to let go of his work for a few moments. So much the better, at least Ria now felt more confident about what she wanted to ask him. She had also noticed the redness on his cheek, but said nothing. She had seen similar marks on her father's face when she was little and her mother still walked among the living.

"It's nice to see you again, Mr Kristoph. I hope I am not disturbing you." she said in a warm and polite tone. The blacksmith seemed to be in a better mood now, at least his playfulness with his son seemed to be the proof of that. Nice kid, by the way. Ria wasn't very fond of children, but this one seemed alright. He kept himself quiet, like if he had sensed that Ria was bearing important news. Perceptive, the little one, and Ria liked that.

"Furthermore, I want to thank you. Our little enconter this morning, gave me an idea. An idea I would like to share with you, if you're not too busy. It regards the matter at hands, on what we can do to keep ourselves protected... to protect the ones we care about. " She declared, looking at his son. "I trust your wish remains the same."  

[Miss McNinja]

"Of course it does." Kristoph replied, nodding to her. "I may have resumed my work, but the thought still haunts me constantly." He looked to Cedric, giving the child a gentle push in the direction of the storage room. "Son, go fetch Miss Ria a seat. Please?"

He smiled as the child quietly obeyed, returning a few minutes later with a wooden chair. It was a bit of a struggle for him to carry it, with it being slightly bigger than his tiny frame. However, he had done it many times previously and eventually set the chair beside Ria, albeit with a little difficulty. The small child passed the stranger a tiny smile before retreating to his father's side, clutching onto the man's shirt in an attempt to gain comfort from him.

"Please, take a seat. I'd like to hear all about your ideas. I'm not too busy at all. Well, I could actually be doing with a bit of a break right now. Your timing is near perfect."  

[Alus Shar Plynnil]

Saeven Aneik

'Quiet little grey mouse,
What have you heard?
Behind those closed doors,
No one is allowed?'

Quiet little grey mouse,
What have you seen?
Secrets meant to be hidden,
Not seen in the light?

Saeven ran until he was out of breath and could run no further. He stopped in the middle of town somewhere in a back alley. He stood in the shade, breathing heavily. Out of the shadows stepped a small figure, she had a hood over most of her face, only her left eye showing. Even though she was human right now, Celena was still sensitive to sunlight. Saeven jumped as she stepped up beside him. His eyes narrowed slightly, how long had she been following him? "Jeez Celena, you startled me? What, you don't say 'hello' anymore? Where's Merus?"

She looked at him a moment, trying to hear his thoughts, but as usual caught nothing. She answered in the soft voice that was her norm, "He will be along shortly. He is making sure that we were not followed, and that no one will come upon us unexpectedly." The two of them sat in silence, uncomfortable for Saeven, as he knew he would not be able to attend the meeting tonight without leading one of his cousins or one of their tags, right to the Unit. Celena sat expectantly, yes, waiting for Merus, but also hoping to catch an insight into Saeven's thoughts should he lapse for even a second.

'Quiet little grey mouse,
What have you felt?
Tremors of cold fear,
Reverberating in the night?

Quiet little grey mouse,
What have you smelt?
Lies permeating the air,
Assaulting your senses?'

 

[MacPere]

Rolias' brow furrowed at the statement, its tone acting as though the answer was obvious. "A number of other instances could have caused it, sir." He tipped the patient's head back and doused a cloth in water, taking it to the scar and dabbing gently. "I have treated many a werewolf... You all share the same eyes..."  

[Ale Posselna]

"Thank you." Ria said to the little boy, as he brought her the chair. He didn't have to do all that work, but he had a satisfied smirk on his face, like he had acomplished something important. Ria couldn't tell if the boy was just being kind to a stranger, if he was proud for being useful to his father. She sat down, refusing the offer haven't even crossed her mind.

As she looked again at the blacksmith and his son, she began." This morning, after I had left you, I went to pay a visit to my stepmother. You may not know this, but Melissa used to work at the palace, as a servant to Queen Charlotte. They were quite fond of each other as much as a monarch and a peasant - if I can use such term- can be. All this to say, Queen Charlotte trusted her. So, Melissa came to know a lot of things about the Queen's life. Friends, enemies... specially the latter."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I suspect that one of those enemies is behind the murder. Sadly, there is a lack of interest from the authorities in investigating it further... they're wasting their time with the explosion that occurred at the funeral. So, even knowing that is none of my business, and yes, I'm aware my actions illustrate a huge lack of confidence in our legal sistem, I've decided to do some investigation on my own."

"You may ask yourself why I am telling you this." she said, looking into Kristoph's eyes. The child was unsually quiet in the man's lap, like if he had been paying all his attention. Ria couldn't help but smile, such a curious mind at such an young age... "There's a chance that I may find out more than I want, and that I may get in serious trouble because of it. So as long as someone else is aware of it, things can be taken care of... and eventually the truth will be known to everyone. Only then can we prevent it from happening again."

"That's where you come in" Ria said, shamelessly. "I trust that among your clientelle we can find all the races, am I right?" And as he nodded in agreement, she continued. "The last few days, do you remember if someone bought from you weapons made of silver?" Of course, she knew the odds were very low, but at the same time... it was foolish of her not to ask.  

[Zulma san]

Emilia made it to the meeting point. It was the beginning of the afternoon and the walk in the woods was making her calmer, despite her roaming thoughts about the latest events. However, she froze when she reached the meeting point. Her favorite friend was there: Kageko. The werewolf snored as she approached.

"You alone?" she asked or rather, she barked for her tone was not civil at all.


-----------

Merus arrived as silently as ever.
He stood still by his sister.
"Clear." he said softly. His voice was a whisper as always, but he knew that his sister and cousin both heard him. A werewolf would too, but a human would not.
He blinked slowly as his dark eyes stared at his cousin.