RP:Catching Up
Part of the Once Upon a Midnight Dreary Arc
Summary: Everyone almost goes out drinking….! But then Meri decides to be responsible and Rumiko is already hung over. The night ends with Quintessa filling Mahri in on the important happenings the lycan has missed.
Kelay Way
Meri is standing within plain sight, not right in the middle of the road but off to the side of Kelay tavern. Meri is not alone today, but the company she keeps is not human. The woman is standing next to a gray mare, currently bent about part way over at the waist. She had one of the horses hooves balanced on her knee and was attempting to inspect...something. That something might not be entirely clear to Mahri from a distance.
Mahri decided to make the trek from Vailkrin back to Kelay. Her old stomping grounds were pretty quiet anyway and Steadman had gotten pretty good over the years at handling tavern business. Really, Mahri was there just to be seen and maybe do a bit of work now and then. So, it's on this walk that she finds Meri, bent over a hoof with her posterier clearly in view of lewd and leering eyes. Seeing this, the black wolf narrowed her silver-hued eyes, drew the dagger from the sheath always strapped to her thigh and gave those eyes a reason to look elsewhere. Sure that at some point the blonde wolf would scent her at some point, Mahri wasn't worried about sneaking up on Meri when she spoke, "Stone or did she throw a shoe?"
Meri would smell Mahri’s approach, turning just enough to catch a glimpse of the woman and the dagger that she was holding. If the company was different, Meri’s reaction might have been different, but the dagger in Mahri’s grasp was of more an interest than it was an actual concern. “Stone, this time. But it’s about time for me to take her in for a proper reshoeing too…” The blonde probably has her own dagger hidden somewhere on her person but Meri does not reach for it, she instead extends a hand toward Mahri. “Do you mind if I borrow that for a moment?” There is a high chance that Meri was going to use it to pick that rock out.
Mahri flips the blade to hand it to Meri hilt first. "Careful, the blade is silver," she warns. Odd for a wolf to carry around a blade of silver, but yeah, she does. "Magik will have my head if you knick yourself with it." Mahri eyed the mare, lips pursed. Usually horses weren't comfortable around her. Probably because her wolf was more often than not very close to the surface and prey animals sensed the predator within. However, this mare was calm and only flicked an ear her way. "Where you goin?"
Meri gives a slight wrinkle of her nose at the warning, mindful to also grab the dagger by the hilt rather than the blade. Picking the rock free was easy work once she had the dagger and the weapon is quickly returned to it’s rightful owner. There would be no knicking involved in this process. Meri releases the hoof of the gray mare so that the horse can place it back on the earth once again. “Oh I doubt that is true. You and Magik have history. He and I are new. He strikes me at the sort who is loyal to those who have had his back…” Meri smirks. “Besides, if I nicked myself, that would be my own fault. Not yours.” The blonde shrugs. “I was just heading back home to Cenril.” A beat. “You seem to know your way around a horse. Do you have your own?”
Mahri resheaths the blade and crosses her arms across her chest. "Cenril? Haven't been there in a while." A beat of her own. "Used to. A long time ago."
Magik is chasing Vhid around the outside of the tavern. Don't mind them.
Meri :: While Meri was pretty sure she had cleared Kadence’s hoof of the problem, the blonde takes a moment to check the three remaining hooves. It was one of those ‘better safe than sorry’ things, it was also easier than having to stop, dismount, and then repeat this process all over again. “I’ve got my business out there and the kid and I live out there most of the time.” The blonde explains as she moves to the first of the three feet she has left to check. “I can’t exactly say the place is my favorite. It definitely has its perks. Beach location. Foot traffic for painting sales. It definitely has its drawbacks though.” Was anyone doing anything to solve that zombie illness in Cenril? Meri wasn’t sure anymore. “But it’s not the worst place that I’ve lived. Kadence hates it though.” The gray mare almost seems to snort in agreement.
Mahri was glad that Meri had her back turned. Mention of her own kid squeezed a vice around the once-beta's heart and she had to swallow a few times before she could speak again without her voice cracking. "No where is perfect, I guess. As long as you can make a living, I guess." At least making art was respectable. Being a theif, killer and bar-manager wasn't something one sought on purpose
Rumiko was surprised she was out of bed; her head still throbbed, her limbs felt stiff and her eyes were blurry. How much of that bottle had she polished off before passing out in her room? She couldn't even remember. It took all of her focus to walk the steady line down the road from the treehouse towards the tavern, her destination a seat in the far side of the bar where she might hide and attempt to cure her pangs with an old wives tale she'd heard a time or two. But luck was rarely on her side, and rounding the corner had her stopping in the middle of the street as she found herself in known company. She should have known better than to choose Kelay.
Meri :: The art was respectable, there was plenty of Meri that was not, but the blonde wouldn’t speak of that. She’d just respond with an easy going wink to Mahri, “As long as I can make a living.” Magik chasing Vhid around doesn’t escape her attention, Meri greets him by catcalling at him obnoxiously, because she can. “Well hey there hot stuff.” She motions for him to join her and Mahri by her horse. And then introductions. “Vhid. Kadence. Kadence. Vhid.” Her blue eyes are back on Mahri, “So enough about me. Where are you off to tonight?”
Quintessa || The sounds of a large, armored biped could be heard making its way down Kelay Way from the west as Quintessa rides atop her Golden Cockatrice, Bloodbeak. The changeling sees the group up ahead and orders her mount to slow, tugging on his reins and making sure the visor covering his eyes was fastened tightly. The last thing she needed was for him to accidentally petrify someone with his gaze. Once close enough to the tavern Quintessa swings one leg over his head and dismounts with grace, her booted heels digging into the dirt path below. “Hello there,” the warlock says to them, snapping her fingers twice at Bloodbeak to command him to stay put. “Is something happening or is it a coincidence we’re all standing here?” A smirk tugs at the corner of her black lips, a hint of the humor her comment conveyed.
Magik was just about to snatch up Vhid but Tessa's arrival cause the ferret to make a B-line to the changeling. Right up her leg and on to her shoulder he goes. Vhid sniffs the air at the horse then curls into a ball on the changeling. Magik, however, flips Vhid the bird then walks over to Meri, "Bugger owes me ten gold.." After a kiss to her cheek, he holds an open hand to Kadence to allow a sniff. If the horse allows, it will get scritches. Magik also waves to everyone present, of course.
Meri :: Tessa and Rumiko join the festivities and Meri greets them both with a warm smile. Alas, Kadence is a bit more on the nervous side when it comes to horses and so the appearance of Tessa’s Golden Cockatrice does not seem to sit quite right with the horse. Which means that Magik is going to have a hard time petting Meri’s companion for the day. Maybe in a more quiet setting. A brow is lifted at his statement but she doesn't ask why a ferret might owe him gold and a kiss to the check is given right back, and then Meri’s gaze is sliding back to the other women. Tessa first, “Oh, just a random gathering really. I stopped for the horse, Mahri stopped for me...and now here we are.” All gathered. Her gaze shifts between Rumiko and Tessa, “How are the both of you tonight?”
Rumiko || Fingers pinched the bridge of her nose as Tessa rode up; why was everyone yelling? Lashes fluttered as she tried to get an idea for all those gathered- Oh and now there's Magik too- and the question spoken by the changeling is the first thing that pulls words from the nymph's mouth. "Was just heading inside." Though now she wasn't so sure. Meri earned the faintest of smiles, followed by a rise and fall of her left shoulder. She'd been better.
Quintessa smiles at the ferret on her shoulder, offering him some head-pats before he gives him a suspicious look. “What on earth could you be spending so much gold on?” she asks Vhid, still not 100% sure how to pronounce his name. Was it said like ‘vid’ or ‘vahid’? Quintessa doesn’t know. Bloodbeak seems about as excited about Meri’s horse as he was about it, huffing aggressively and fluffing his feathers out in agitation. “I’m doing well,” the hexblade answers, “Been working on another anti-fear serum, one that isn’t so physically or mentally debilitating. I was just going out for some fresh air.” She raises a brow in Rumiko’s direction, wondering if she was currently suffering from some debilitating alement herself. “But I could head inside for a drink or something too.”
Mahri finds herself in the midst of a small crowd. But that's ok. At least she knows them all. Magik gets a smirk, Tessa a wave and Rumiko an offer of a flask full of rum. Not the wine she was hoping for but it might take the edge off that hangover she had devolped. "Was thinking of taking a jaunt to Cenril, see what's going on there." And perhaps sniff out some connections for her other business.
Magik makes it known that it's pronounced like -Vid-. Easy. Magik gives Vhid another dirty look, a quick peck on Meri's lips, another wave to everyone then he's off in a puff of smoke, heading...west..Odd.
Meri can’t help but grin at that quick kiss and then Magik is off, leaving Meri to devote her attention to the other woman fully. The tense moment between Kadence and Bloodbeak continues and the end result is that Meri is letting go of the reins of the mare so that the beast could attempt to distance herself from the Cockatrice. Meri gives a slight tsk at the behavior of her horse, though it was not exactly new. Meri considers her options, “Drinks, or keep on going to Cenril...Drinks. Cenril.” The blonde is currently weighing her options. On one hand, she did have a child that was probably waiting for her and a horse that did not want to remain in the company of a certain Cockatrice. On the other? Booze. Meri looks very torn right now.
Rumiko took the offered flask without question; she didn't need to know what was in it. She knew the wolf well enough. The rum burned on the way down, a throat long deprived of much more than wine unaccustomed to the full power of the theif's chosen spirit. "Thank you." It was mumbled under her breath as she container was passed back, and she found herself moving closer to Mahri's dagger hand, if for nothing more than comfort. It would take her a while to feel safe being so... open. Green eyes rose to aim at the blonde, a brow raising as she weighed her options. "Why not both?" Was there not a place to drink in Cenril?
Mahri subconsiously steps slightly infront of Rumiko, ever the protector and guardian, the lycan puts herself between the nymph and anything that might be a danger. "Yes, we could all enjoy a drink in Cenril." What better place to find gossip than a tavern full of drunk people.
Quintessa frowns at the mention of Cenril. "Isn't there still loads of zombies running around Cenril? Plus the Whaler's Bar is kinda..." The changeling doesn't know how to put it lightly. "The whole city smells of piss and the beer there tastes of it. Fine, I said it."
Meri smirks at Quintessa’s answer and then motions vaguely to the space beneath them, “You know what? I think that...you guys will have to let me pass on a night of drinking tonight. Next time? I’m all in. I’ll even do doubles to make up my slacking for tonight.” Meri hitches her thumb to the east though. “Tessa is right though. The Whaler is gross these days. And I think Kadence is gonna buck me off on the ride home if I make her hang out with Bloodbeak much longer.” Meri flashes her niece an apologetic smile, animals sometimes. “So I think I will just head out and catch up with you lovely ladies later?” Meri’s gaze lingers on Rumiko, “You let me know when you are ready to do that thing we was talking about yesterday, yeah?”
Mahri huffs a sigh but nods. "We will get that drink soon, Meri. Safe travels. Especially if there are zombies about."
Rumiko reached out and placed a hand on Mahri's shoulder to stabilize herself. It looked as if the idea of going to Cenril with the group was falling apart faster than she'd offered it, and it would be a lie to say she was disappointed, and the mention of zombies- while normally a curious subject- didn't help. "You know, I might just go back home." Home had become the treehouse, the room her brother having offered to her quickly becoming the best option for being left alone in her pitiful state. Meri's mentioning of the memory share earned her a dip of the head that cost the nymph dearly, and she'd mumble a soft, "Sure thing." The hand that had found the once-Beta's shoulder rose and fell in a soft pat, "Doesn't sound like a place I could stomach tonight." A forced smile came then as she stepped out from behind Mahri so she might bend at the waist towards the remaining women. "If you will excuse me." In an act similar to the elf, Rumi vanished in a puff of black smoke.
Quintessa nods her head at Mahri “Aye, since last Samhain. There was a party on a boat docked in the harbor and a rare strain of zombie turned up and started turning people. They don’t behave like normal undead either; All my research and attempts to control them using necromancy have yet to yield results. I’ve left the whole situation in the hands of the Red Witch however. I have faith she’d do good by Cenril.” Quintessa gives Meri a wave as she leaves. “Well, be careful on your journey back home. And I would just blame Bloodbeak, he hates everyone.” A cheeky wink is all she adds to her goodbyes before she turns a suspicious glance aat Mahri and Rumiko. “Oh? Doing a thing are you? How curious…” Quintessa gives the two women a grin, flashing her sharp teeth before she reaches for her cigarettes, placing one between her painted lips. “Glad to see everyone is keeping themselves busy.” By the time Quintessa lights her smoke and looks up, Rumi is gone. “What the-”
Meri was right there with Quintessa. What the indeed. Meri was starting to find that Rumiko may just be as curious as Magik. The Lyastri woman was gone and Meri was taking Kadence up by the reins again. She would wait until she was some distance away from the group before mounting her horse, just in case Bloodbeak spooks her. Quintessa’s inquiry about the thing that Meri and Rumiko might be doing is met with a nod, “I just don’t know what yet. She wants an art piece of...some sort.” Meri would learn when Rumiko was ready. “Be well, loves.” What a sap.
Hanging Corpse Taverne
Mahri finds herself minus a nymph and the other lycan set to leaving. But the information that Tessa imparts is stored away for some future use. One never knows when it might come in handy. "I've been away far too long." It doesn't look like she'll be making any contacts in Cenril any time soon. However, she was still up for a drink and what was left of the flask Rumiko returned wasn't going to cut it. To Tessa she offers, "If you want, we can go to the Hanging Corpse, unless you have other plans." She looks at the bird of prey, "I'll walk, though."
Quintessa nods her again, casting a glance back at her bird. "Yes, a drink back home sounds lovely, in fact. I'll try to fill you in on anything I think you might have missed there. At least when Steadman eavesdrops I know the information won't be used against me." Quintessa giggles at her own comment. "Meet you there?"
Mahri grins and nods, "Meet you there"
Quintessa enters the HCT, a trail of clove scented smoke trailing behind her as she looks for a place to seat herself. If Mahri has already chosen, the changeling seats right next to her, ordering a dark ale from Steadman as she always does. "So," Quintessa says, flicking her ashes to the floor as she waits for her drink, mismatched eyes looking at Mahri with fondness, "First of all, I've missed you, but don't tell the others." She can't help but snicker. "I'm not exactly sure where to start. Xalious? Vailkrin? Cenril? I guess I've already filled you in on the ladder, however." Quintessa pauses to let the wolf speak, bringing her cigarette to her lips.
Mahri had chosen a more secluded booth to sit in and waited for Tessa. Really, she's surprised she had arrived first given the changeling had a bird to ride. Already she had her usual glass of rum sitting in front of her and the bottle close by for refills. She had told Steadman to make sure she and Tessa weren't bothered and knew he'd make sure of it. That fondness is matched with a smile but her eyes are drifting over the woman sitting there seeking any obvious changes in her before speaking. "Start at the beginning, I guess." There was a lot she didn't know about, it seems.
Quintessa blows the overgrown fringe that hung in her face out of the way, leaning back in the booth to hang her head over the back of her seat. “The beginning…” Her brows furrow together, unsure where the beginning truly started. “Well, Kasyr started working with Gevurah again. Foolish man walks right back into the home of the woman who tried to kill him like nothing happened- but what can I expect? Kasyr is the only one I know who is more reckless than myself. So get this, he was there the night of the Cenril Outbreak and he got the lovely idea to barricade the doors of the ship and set it on fire with everyone still onboard. He probably killed more people than he saved, honestly, and to make matters worse the zombies just walked on the seafloor and invaded the city enmass. The Port Authority caught wind of this and placed a bounty on his head, labeling him the one who caused it. They’re offering 20,000 gold bounty for any information that leads to his arrest, and a 100,000 gold bounty for anyone who brings him in dead or alive. I almost brought his head to them myself…” She crushes the cigarette on the corner of the table and lets it tumble to the floor. “And then I remembered he’s actually useful to me alive.”
Mahri thinks she should be shocked by this revelation, but she's not. She sighs heavily and takes a drink of the rum. Honestly, Kas had become somewhat of a friend recently. Not that the bounty wasn't tempting but the fact he was back working with the drow really set her teeth on edge. Mahri wondered what it was he had planned since she'd basically worked herself to near death healing him after his last encounter. She'd have to get word to him for a meeting, soon. "And what about Xalious?"
Quintessa thanks the barmaid that brings her ale to her with a few gold coins and sucks the foam off the top, letting that information sink in until Mahri asks about Xalious. “Ah, so Xalious, I’ve been a lot more involved with stuff out there. You know I’m in the Mage’s Guild right? Well, the old guild, anyway. We all got evicted from the Mage’s Tower by a weird cult that places their souls into amber artifacts and can possess the people who touch it. That’s what happened to Administrator Brenwyn. The leader of this cult took control of his body, gave the order to kidnap a magically gifted Larketian child, and ended up almost causing outright war with them. So King Macon himself came to demand the kids release. I was there, I led the spellblades and marched to meet him in the Xalious Pass. Little did we know that meanwhile the kid was trying to climb down the Mage’s Tower and didn’t make it. Poor thing, like a baby bird falling from the nest. Well Now Macon wants blood. He beheads Brenwyn and takes it as payment. One life for another… A few months later at the annual Celestial Celebration Haladavar makes himself known and labels myself and all the other members of the guild not already indoctrinated by his cult criminals and orders our arrest. Those who attended the festival barely escaped with their lives.”
Mahri || That was a lot of information to take in, but it was the fact that Quintessa had been threatened that brought a growl to rumble low in her throat. To calm the wolf, she took another drink. A long one that had her refilling the glass. "They're still there?" she asked calmly. Perhaps too calmly. "And Vailkrin?" This was the one that had her most interest, of course, being the city she made her home.
Quintessa nods solemnly, meeting Mahri’s gaze. “Aye, but not for long. Odhranos, the newly recognized Archmage, is working closely with the Queen of Frostmaw to launch a sneak attack from the mountains. When the time comes we’ll smack right into this cult and they won’t know what hit them.” She pauses to take a drink. “As for Vailkrin things are tense, but still peaceful. I negotiated an alliance between House Dragana, House Mahara, and House Azakhaer to keep the other houses in line, but that all became threatened when Larewen returned.” Quintessa glances over at the chair that had been known to be Larewen’s preferred spot. But where was Larewen now? “After I defeated Hildegard in the Titan’s of Winter Tournament it put Larewen and I head-to-head in the second round… But she never showed up. Her forfeit sent a strange message to me and Shishi- Oh, speaking of which, I’ve also formed a pact with the Blue Demon. So long as I keep Vailkrin’s safety at top priority he will willingly fight by my side to protect Vailkrin. We’ve become known as the Spear and Shield of Vailkrin these days.”
Mahri rolled the full glass slowly between leather covered palms while listening. Now that she's caught up on everything... she sips and sets the glass down carefully. She's going to have to go to the mages tower to do some recon. Tessa didn't need to know about that, though. "Anything I can do to help here?" Not that she's a very political person; or even diplomatic at that, but this was home for what it was worth - a city of vampires home to a wolf, how odd. "I never did like Larewen. She was entirely too unpredictable." And unstable but that's implied.
Quintessa snickers as Mahri mentions Larewen being unpredictable. “It’s funny how much I used to look up to her as a child. There I was, growing up in the shadow of her manor and she looked so elegant. So intelligent and powerful.” She sips her ale. “And then I grew up and realized that real power comes with self-control. Larewen wants the Vailkrin crown so badly she would tear this country apart… And I cannot allow that. If Larewen tries to rally her army to restart the civil war I’ll have no choice but to destroy her, and if not me then Shishi or Kasyr or Khitti or whoever else needs to do it.” Quintessa idly traces her finger around the edge of her glass mug. “As for how you can help me…” The changeling woman pauses to contemplate this. “There is something far more pressing than the political struggles of these nations… There is a woman named Maggie the Magpie who has been going around giving dangerous artifacts to unsavory types. A few months ago a slaver was captured in possession of a powerful saddle that could transform people into horses. They were using this item to smuggle people out of Rynvale and sell them all over the mainland. We were able to capture these scumbags and execute their leader, but Maggie is still on the loose and probably still selling magical objects. We cannot allow her to continue distributing these things or all of Lithyrdel could be at risk.”
Mahri looks up and stares intently at Tessa. Smuggling was part of what she did, but slave trading was not one of them, nor something she could stomach. "Do you want me to track her? Kill her? Get the artifacts?" Mahri wouldn't even charge a fee for this job. In fact, she would look forward to getting rid of such a person personally. While she had only recently returned from a previous job, it wasn't too early to strike out on a new one.
Quintessa allows her mouth to twist up into a sinister grin. “All of the above.” she responds, her blue and hazel eyes flashing dangerously at the prospect of ending Maggie’s reign of terror. “We’ve got an Unseen Hand searching for her now, but they haven’t reported back. According to the information I found in the slave-ship ledgers they were scheduled to meet in Chartsend but she was a no-show. She must have caught wind of what happened and made a detour. She’ll show up again, and if not her then one of her magical items. I’ve just been biding my time until I call the rest of our little family together to get them all involved.”
Mahri 's own grin matched that of her young friend and she raised her glass in a toast, "Just let me know when she lands somewhere and I'll take it from there." The promise made, Mahri takes a deep drink of the rum, nearly draining the glass before putting it back down again. "You can always count on me, Tessa. I'll always have your back."
Quintessa lifts her glass to toast with Mahri and then drains the entire mug. After setting it down with a loud clack, she gives the wolf a more genuine smile. “The feeling is mutual. Anything you need, Mahri, anything, you know where my fortress is.” Even if she didn’t it wouldn’t be hard to find. After a moment of silence Quintessa stands and stretches her arms over her head, loosening her stiff back muscles. “Sorry to leave so soon but I should really get back there and check on things. I didn’t come all the way to Vailkrin just to share a drink with you, I’m afraid.” She covers her mouth as she giggles. “But I’ll catch you again soon. Very soon. Goodnight, Mah.” If nothing else was left to be said Quintessa would wait until Mahri spoke her own farewells and head back into the night, headed eastward to her misshapen fort.
Mahri leaned back in her seat and watched Tessa get ready to head out. She should probably get some rest herself, except her mind was already plotting and scheming this job in advance. "Goodnight Tessa. I'll definitly catch up to you soon."