Endenu- Greece

[iprince]

Being able to read wouldn't be much help in this case. The books title was in latin, the scrawl elegant and silver, reading "Victus Mortuus". Whatever that meant. It would be no real use to you, unless you had some language skills hidden away somewhere. Or perhaps a translation dictionary.

The young lady jumped at your voice, swinging around and pressing her back up against her bag. Her eyes were wide with fright and surprise, and she seemed to be breathing rather harshly. An unusual reaction for just a simple greeting. Her bright eyes shifting rapidly between your face, and her book. She lunged forward, snatching the book from your hands and hugging it to her chest,"Thank-you,"her voice was dismissive and to-the-point. She obviously didn't seem to be the sort to want to strike up conversation.

But, hey, at least she knew English.

[saturnalia]

Endenu blinked at the book, remembering the title, in case he'd have a chance to find out what it meant sometime.

"You're quite welcome," Endenu replied to her, with a small bow. "I'm sorry if I frightened you, it wasn't my intention." He offered a smile, and then, unwilling to cause any sort of scene as she didn't seem to want company, he returned to his seat. He cast one last glance in her direction, and then sipped the glass of water.

Looking out the window, Endenu wondered to himself how long a trip it would be. He hoped that he wouldn't have to stay in cities and such for too long; he much preferred the wilderness. Ahh, well, wherever I need to be, is where I must be. He glanced at his luggage; the longbow was carefully wrapped, but its odd shape reminded him that if he had the chance to use it, he'd need to craft or buy some arrows. He'd had no idea what to expect when he'd been chosen... and he still didn't. He briefly wondered where his former 'guide' had gone too, though he wasn't necessarily eager for the being to return.

He looked towards the boys, as they seemed to be the only other passengers nearby of interest, though he wasn't sure it would be as easy to converse with them. They might not speak English, of course, and they were, well, male. I really have to learn to put up with both genders, Endenu thought to himself, with a small sigh. Still, a shame that the young lady didn't seem inclined to talk.

[iprince]

"No luck with the pretty face, hm?" the old gypsy woman chortled, her eyes still upon her little deck of tarot cards,"You men are all the same. But the men I knew never gave up so quickly as that. Perhaps your sort are getting better,"she cast a toothless grin his way,"Or lazier." The sound of shuffling cards returned, and the woman turned away again,"I wouldn't bother with strangers right now anyway, if I were you. Not after a reading like yours."

Suddenly, a woman a few seats ahead of you let out a terrified shriek, leaping up onto her seat and pointing wildly at the ground,"A rat!" she squealed,"A rat!" The man sitting beside her, probably her husband, began to tug insistantly at her waist, muttering calmly for her to sit down, he didn't see any rat.

All the while, the young lady with the book, and become stock still and stiff, holding her bag in her lap now, and setting the book aside. Peculiar.

The gypsy woman cackled,"A rat onboard the train. Perhaps that's the companion you were destined to meet. Suits the description, afterall." She really was skeptical of her own work, wasn't she?

[saturnalia]

A hint of a smile twitched upon Endenu's face at the gypsy's comments. If it had been a Defore female, well, he certainly wouldn't have given up so quickly. But humans were a different case, and he was unaccustomed to their possible responses. It wouldn't do for him to make a fool of himself on the train, by violating some unknown human taboo...

"Perhaps I shouldn't," he agreed, but was prevented from saying anything else by the commotion a few rows up.

Endenu took in the reactions of the people nearby. He glanced briefly at the 'twins', wondering how they were reacting to the commotion.

He peered around on the floor, looking for a sign of the rodent. "If it is my destined companion," he replied to the gypsy woman, "then it must be playing hard to get." He looked under his seat, wondering why the woman with the book was so very... strange. Well, stranger than the 'normal' human, at least.

[iprince]

The 'twins', too, had noticed the woman, who wouldn't have? One of them, the one with the shorter hair, ducked beneath his sear as if looking for the creature. The first seemed frightened, or at least disgusted, at the thought of a rodent running loose on the train. He sat with his knees tucked against his chest, and his arms curled around his legs, frowning down at the floor with wide, grey eyes.

The old gypsy woman chuckled lightly at your response, tucking her cards into one of the many folds of her get-up. She bent down to peer between the seats,"Just as well. Nothing gained easily, is worth the gain." She nodded to herself, then sat back up. Looking for rats on the floor wasn't something she was willing to hurt her aging back doing.

Suddenly, a flash of monochrome colors sped beneath your seat, silent in its passing ,except for the light patter of paws. The rat!

"Catch it, quick!" the old woman shouted to you, grinning like a cat at your side.

Alas, the pattering continued for some ways, stopping a few seats behind you, and falling perfectly silent. Hidden.

[saturnalia]

"True enough," Endenu replied to the woman, and then made a grab for the rat, missing as it sped under.

Endenu looked back a few rows, trying to figure out who was sitting where the rat was hiding. He wasn't sure what he'd do with it, even if he did catch it; it wasn't as though he could just eat it in front of everyone. And even if he could, his tastes preferred more 'high class' meals.

"I assume it has some sort of hiding place, where it's been stowed away all this time," Endenu said. He glanced up a few rows to the woman who'd originally 'discovered' the rat, to see if she'd calmed down at all. "Perhaps it can be lured out and trapped in a box, or some such makeshift cage..."

He looked around, to see if anything of use was nearby. At least, then, he could let it out whenever the train stopped. If he wasn't going to eat it, he'd prefer not to kill it.

[iprince]

The woman, with help of her escort, or husband, or whomever the well-dressed man happened to be, had calmed down slightly. She was fanning herself rapidly, with tear streaks rolling down her powered cheeks, her gloved hand clutching the mans arm. Such a reaction over so small a creature. The gypsy woman was shaking her head, chortling, at the poor lady's fright.

There really wasn't much in the way of supplies for making a cage or a trap, but there was the trolley, stacked with foods, trays, napkins, a couple boxes where packages of peanuts might be stored. Perhaps if you could hunt down a stick or something to prop the box up. After all, that was a common trap, usually used by curious children in their attempt to bludgeon some poor rodent to death. Never the less, it seemed your only option, unless you were willing to dive head first under the seats and hunt it down that way.

[saturnalia]

Endenu figured that the trolley was his best bet. He approached it, and attempted to snag the stewardess' attention.

"May I borrow a box perhaps, and some small food?" He assumed that she, too, was aware of the rat. "I was thinking that perhaps the rat could be coaxed out and kept in a box, until it could be released at the next stop." He paused. "If necessary, I can pay, of course, for the food," he added as an aside. Ah, he thought to himself, humans and thier money...

He kept an eye on the passengers around him, and wondered briefly where his former 'companion' had been all of this time.

[iprince]

The woman seemed enthralled by your idea. She nodded her head and ducked down to pull an empty cardboard box from the bottom of her trolley. She dumped it into your arms and quickly picked about the few crusts of bread leftover from passengers meals,"Don't worry 'bout the money dear. I'm sure we'd all be happy to get that dirty little thing off the train." She wrapped a few soft curls of bread in a napkin and handed them over.

Your companion was still nowhere to be seen. Whatever business he had was taking him an awful bit of time. It was probably for the best. He had told you not to talk to anyone or do anything until he returned. He might not be too happy in catching you caught up in several conversations, and about to crawl around on the train floor hunting rats.

[saturnalia]

Endenu smiled, thanking the woman for the bits of crust and the box. He wondered briefly if she'd think he was a "dirty thing" in his normal form, but quickly dismissed that idea. He knew he was a handsome Defore, and even a human would see that. Modest, as always...

Endenu rather hoped his companion wouldn't show up again. He seemed to be managing well enough without the strange fellow, and the Defore prefered the lack of condescending comments, to say the least.

He bent down, half-concentration on just not losing his balance on the rocking train. He placed the box under his seat, propping it, and placing a few bits of bread below. If nothing else, he thought, at least I'm keeping occupied, so I'm not bored...

He sat back up, but at the ready, should the rodent reappear. He hoped his reflexes, a trifle faster than a humans, though encumbered by his human form, would help him out.

[silverdust]

A slight snuffling from under the seat. Slowly, two paws ventured into the light, one white, the other a light blue in color. Wait, blue? That wasn't the proper color for a rat...and come to think of it the muzzle poking out wasn't rat-like at all. The patchwork form inched its way out to swipe at the bread, the rat tail, perhaps the only indicator, flicking from side to side. Definitely not a rat, not by the conventional definition anyways.

The frantic woman was making high-pitched little noises in the back of her throat, and hyperventilating by her whistling breathing. The young woman stiffened further, if that were possible. Her eyes were completely focused on you and the 'rat', at least paying more attention to you than at first but perhaps not in the way you were hoping. The twins watched in their curiosity, the gray-eyed one closing further in upon himself while the other one stared more in interest than disgust.

"Well young man, are you going to pull the string or not?" the gypsy lady seemed to have bored herself with the rich lady's now subdued antics, even though her gentleman companion's face bore a rather interesting wince as she squeezed even tighter.

Congrats, you've found a Di! It will be added to your first post shortly.

[saturnalia]

Endenu did indeed pull the string, catching the Di in the box. He knew what it was; he'd seen one, on a few occasions, though not up close. It was quite strange for one to be on a train, he thought to himself, and wondered if there were more. Hopefully not, this isn't a very good place for one to lurk.

He managed to devise a makeshift lid for the box, and, carefully, managed to keep the creature in its temporary confinement, securing it as he got the box off of the floor. He put it on the seat next to him, away from the other people. It struck him that they probably had never seen Disturblings before... and they might demand explanations. He'd have to act as though he didn't have any, he figured.

"I'll... remove it at the next stop," he said. And, hopefully, he thought to himself, that next stop is Greece, so I can remove myself as well... and keep this creature without worrying about appeasing the others on the train.

He sits back, trying to put on a calm air, and hoping the other nice people go back to doing their own things.


(((Apologies for vanishing for so long!)))