Wandering the Manor
Slowly walking from room to room Talon wandered the public rooms of the Manor, stopping to admire an artifact or a piece of Art he recoginized here and there.. "this place is posh.." he muttered to himself while wandering around one of the formal Dining rooms..
His wandering took him onto the second floor guest suites.. stopping outside of each he gave it a quick sniff and sensed no one was inside, and there were no markers to indicate an inhabitant.. he opened the door and entered the private suite of rooms, the room was luxurious, with expensive appointments at every glance, marble floors, hand cut crystal, beatuiful artwork..
A crestfallen look crossed his face. 'I should have expected this..' he thought, 'these chambers are too fine for me.. I cant sleep in a place where you feel bad for rumpling the sheets' he turned and exited the chambers, closing the door behind him..
'I need to find more spartan quarters.. someplace where I can relax... wonder if theres a Basement?' and with that he began wandering down the stairs again, in search of more humble quarters..
he finally found a rom more o his liking, and not surprisingly it seemed that it had not been visited for quite awhile, it was in the style of a hunting lodge, he did not like the look or the smells of the stuffed trophy animals.. a real hunter respected the spirts of the prey, and didn't need bits and pieces to prove he was the victor, simply living to draw breath proved that..
never the less there was a large hearth in here, and if lit, could provide a nice place for a nap.
he wished it had been a wood fire, but the gas fire would do in a pinch, he turned it on and used the ignitor to bring the hearth to life.. soon a large roaring fire burned in the hearth, satisfied Talon produed a shiny silver flask and took a draw on the potent liquor inside.
slowly he stood and rolled his head back onto his shoulders, eyes closed.. 'Fenrir, give me your strength' was the last thought to pass through him before the change, now standing in his place was an Huge Artic Wolf, adjusting to the shift in his vision and the increased senses that alway over powered him slightly each time he changed, he found a spot he liked near the fire and padded over, he took a second to figure out to get it just right, then walked in a tight circle, once, twice, three times before settling with his head facing the fire, but could also see the door.. he took care to goto sleep in a position from which he could spring to his feet if need be..
The small white ermine whose coat never changed to summer brown paused. An animal smell wafted to her nose. Smelled like a big dog. Had one of Chryseis's huge monsters been down here? They knew better, someone from the Hunt was likely to kill them first and ask questions later. Her kind were edgy sometimes, it happens when you put your life on the line for the clan day after day.
It didn't smell familiar, this was a different beast. She moved forward quietly to investigate. She came across one of the vacant rooms. Oh yes, the odd one who liked to use a large loud weapon that Mai hated because it made her ears ring. He killed animals and then put them in his room. She thought it was the habit of a sick man. No normal creature took more than it could eat unless it killed to defend itself or its loved ones. And surely you wouldn't then pollute your home with the bodies of the dead. So she was not surprised when he was killed by a human mob in some far off country. Too brash, too reckless, and mentally diseased.
Pushing her nose into the door, she eased it open and peered inside. Her sight told her nothing, her nose told her it was the large shape in front of the fire and her senses said... Ah, that presence felt familiar. One of her own. Still new to her though, so she'd eased forward to investigate.
((OOC: Puppy looked lonely))
not moving, the wolf's nostrils flared, he sensed someone...no somthing nearby.. slowly he picked up his head and turned it to face the door.. there was a small furry creature there.. the scent was familiar.. but still unknown to him.. normally he might and sprang up and chased the smaller creature, mostly just for sport but he was still groggy, and the creature didn't seem skittish or uncertain, besides if it was in this place chances are it belonged to one of the clan.. 'I've already made upset enough people around here, can't go and terriorize their pets too... well not yet anyway.. ' but still he was curious, he rolled over and laid on his belly with his paws stretched out in front, and laid his chin on them, eyes alert, watching the creature..
(( ooc : ))
She sat back on her hind legs and raised up to get a better look, not that her eyes were much good. He was a pretty wolf...and he was watching her.
Mai squeaked once, it would have been a giggle had she been in human form. She waited to see what the wolf would do, still prepared to make a mad dash underneath some furniture if it tried to eat her.
he craned his neck a tad and sniffed the creature, then gave it a big sloppy lick..
(( ooc : lol, shes drenched now :lol: ))
She was now wet...comtemplating this state for a moment Mai wondered what she could rub up against to dry off on. Looking up at the large expanse of white fur before her, she made her decision.
Squeaking again to herself, She leaned up against him and twisted around to dry herself off. He made a great towel.
((OOC: LMAO! Eeewww dog drool! ))
nose arched don he watched the small creature intently.. waiting for it to be done.. watching it the whole time, half in disbelief, half utter amusement.. once it finished he looked at 'im and gave a soft Bark..
(( ooc : well I guess thats what you get for drooling on people :lol: ))
"Kuma-san,nee?"
((OOC: Horribly short, I know! Still amused at being knocked over by a wolf tongue ))
when she spoke he Barked in reply, he was pleased by her company, the only person here so far who didn't seem to think he was an idiot.
he stretched his neck out and sniffed her a few times, becoming familiar with her scent.
with that he changed back to his Man form, and sat up from the knee's and elbows position until he was sitting on his heels.
"Hey Half Pint" he said with a grin.
"You wish to stay here?"
She opened a dresser drawer and took out a box of bullets and sat it on top of the counter..
"Noise makers". Mai muttered to herself, still rummaging through the dresser.
"well this was just the first place that was humble enough for me.. most of those rooms are far to luxerious for my tastes"
he saw the bullets, it made him think of guns, he hated guns the tools of the weak..
Looking back to the fire he said "I liked the fire, reminds me of home"
and spent the next few seconds staring deeply into the flames, lost in thought..
snapping out of it he turned to face Mai again, watching her rummaging..
"Home is clan,nee?"
She climbed up onto the large feather bed which kicked up a fine layer of dust. Sneezing, Mai scrubbed at her nose in an attempt to get the itching to stop.
"Mai sleeps not far away." She pointed towards the direction of her own suite which was further down the hall. They were near the dojo and the armory as one would expect from the Order of the Hunt.
Having already seen what little there was here in the sparse suite he made his way to the hallway door and pawed it open more. With satisfaction he noticed that he did have Mistress trained well, she always left the doors not quite shut so he could move about. Once in the hallway many new scents and sounds were there and his tail twitched. Hearing voices faintly he set off to discover who was so close to their new suites. Perhaps reporting this would make his mistress reward him with one of the tasty treats she kept locked away in the noise making can.
Coming upon a door that was not shut tightly like the rest, Louis poked his nose in to widen it and slipped in. He had the scent of two they had met before in the first building his mistress had entered when they had arrived at this new home. Curious now, he trotted in looking about and making notes of locations to retell to Mistress. He spied the two he had smelled in these rooms, and sat in a dark corner to observe them. He was pleased at his quiet entry and stealthy observation, and preened knowing Mistress must reward him now. Until he sneezed from all of the dust stirred about.
That's odd.. Amberelle paused as she was about to enter the Manor, sensing a little jolt of anxiety from Louis.
"perhaps you could show me a room fit for a hunter then?"
his head snapped over when he heard the noise from the corner and spied the cat.. he watched it for a second, had another shapeshifter joined the party? he wondered
Just inside the doorway she froze, eyes going from Talon to Mai upon the bed to Talon to Louis now quickly scurrying over to dissapear behind his mistress with a pitiful yowl.
Umm.. I hope Louis here didn't.. interrupt.. anything. He's just too curious for his own good sometimes. I'll make sure he understands not to go into your room again.. She twisted around and bent over to pick up the big black cat who was trying to become invisible in the folds of her pants and didn't pay any mind when the charm she'd tucked away fell free and dangled down, glinting in the fire's light.
Come here you morveux...
Turning her head back towards Talon, she stared blankly past him, sensing around her but wondering what he'd do with the two trespassers that were coming this way.
For her own part, she prepared to pounce.
he smiled inwardly, waiting for Mai to make her move, then he caught a scent, a familiar one.. coming from the girl.. a Scent he knew.. and it wasn't hers
when he saw the charm around her neck his heart almost stopped.. he had not seen that charm in many years, then it had been around the neck of Elise.. he knew how much it meant to her, and that she would never willingly part with it..
his blood began to boil.. who was she to possess this token, passed from his greatfather to his father and eventually to him, and from him to Elise..
he sprung to his feet, eyes narrowing and he began to approach her..
Again, many appologies for Louis' rude behavior.. Her voice was faint but clear and she was tensly coiled and ready to spring our of the way.
Talon seemed edgy to her, but sensing people not being one of her best traits she could be mistaken. Perhaps he was only tensed expected an enemy? That would have made sense but he grew more tense when she came in. Certainly he recognized her from the Cathedral.
Mai shrugged. They must work things out for themselves. Smiling faintly at them both, she nodded in a curt form of a bow and then headed out of the room, hands clasped in front of her. She whistled an old folk song and headed for the Japanese gardens. Perhaps Thaddeus would be there.
((OOC: Mai gone. Yes, she has a habit of wandering in and out without word to anyone. She's odd, I know *sigh* ))
He didn't scare her, she'd seen big types like him before and had taken them down in a fight. When his chest rumbled and his lip curled up, a deep gutteral growl errupted from him and she narrowed her eyes, dropped Louis to the side and bared her fangs with a feline hiss.
Before she had time to react, his massive paw reached up and grabbed the charm around her neck, jerking it up in between their faces. 'Sacrebleu! He's fast.. and even bigger than he seemed across the room..' His action did startle her, though she tried to keep from showing it. The chain dug into the back of her neck as she watched his eyes travel from the charm to her and back before his eyes locked with hers again.
Where did you get this? It was spoken low, not a whisper but a growl of words, rough and filled with emotion she couldn't place. She didn't try to, she just lashed out, slapping him as hard as she could across the cheek. Her eyes widened slightly as all he did was turn his head to the side slightly, then turn back with eyes ablaze even more
Where did you get this?Louder now, Amberelle was starting to be worried... She was literally backed into a corner with this man towering over her. Her swords were still wrapped and in their sheaths under her arm so they were useless. She never took her eyes off him.
I found it.. Now get your hands off me you damn connard..
((OOC Talon's actions / words / etc used with permission...))