Pulled Along {Jenn/Shini}

[Jenn]

The three younglings tried their hardest to beat Mulsej in the race, but their upper bodies weren’t strong enough to haul them as quickly or for as long as the Torn’s had become. Most of the muscles on their scrawny little bodies were in the legs, best meant for hopping and kicking and skipping along much as Biyuse was doing now. They all eventually ran out of breath and had to concede victory, but since it wasn’t a game they were trying to win, it didn’t put Berri into a snit like it would have otherwise.

Done dragging themselves, the lapines ambled along beside the mustildae and watched with great interest as he dragged the bag over a hump. The instant a sparkly bit appeared, Jaun was on it like a magpie, snatching it up and taking it over to his eldest sister for examination.

Berri put the ring ‘round her finger experimentally, but she was far too small for the bit of jewelry to fit. It was in that awkward realm between a ring and a bracelet that didn’t fit any body part well. With an annoyed grunt, she tossed it back to her brother and investigated the beads instead. Also shiny, she couldn’t quite tell their color in the moonlight that bathed the park. ”Blue?” she muttered to herself. ”Purple? Green? What color are you, pretty thing?”

[Nathalia]

Mulsej head, or rather picked up on the fact that he didn't, the sudden lack of noise. He turned to peer over his shoulder, and saw the tiny Lapines, in a circle, gazing at something. He quickly checked his bag.

"Ow...I shoulda guessed at tha'..." He grumbled, hefting himself over to the trio. "Ere now," He said, not unkindly. "Those pretty things ah for my Lady Dayobi. But iffin' yer good ter her, she'll pra'bly give yeh yer own pretty baubles." He watched them fumble with the ring, big enough to encompass their upper arms. "Yeh know, ones wha' fit yehs."

He smiled encouragingly at them, hoping they would return the items. When they were not ponyed up after a few moments, however, he simply sighed and turned to move on, calling to the pretty Agony that they were moving out again.

He watched the younglings amble along, their Di following behind them. "Ah'll need tae feed Behn when Ah git back..." He mumbled to himself, "Fergot 'im this morning..."

The rough ground became softer as they entered the Park, the moonlight dimming as they entered the trees. The old Torn sighed in relief as they began to cross ground covered in leaves, easy for him to slide on. He looked over his shoulder at the party behind him. "Nah far nohw." He panted. "Jus' a bit more, actually, s' not far at all. Yeh all foloah' me, weh'll soon set our sights on the Lady Dayobi."

[Jenn]

Examining the ring for a few more moments and trying it on various extremities, Berri eventually just shoved it on one forearm and motioned for the others to follow the old torn as he dragged himself along. "We'll give you back the ring when she gives us another one," she told him with a sweet, sly little smirk. "How's that sound? Finder's keepers, and when you find something better, we'll keep it. And give you back this one. Until then, it's ours."

One thing to be said for the lapine...even though she was the leader of their little band, she never forgot the existence of her siblings. It was no fun playing all alone, and if she didn't have them to play with and boss around, she'd have to go find somebody else to lord over. Where was the fun in that?

"So who's 'Lady Dayobi'?" Jaun asked eventually, after they'd hit the leaves. He walked alongside the Torn and looked at him in open curiosity. "If she's so great, why haven't I heard of her before? You'd think, if her name was big enough to worship like you do and merit pretty shinies by the bag-full, we'd know about her."

[Nathalia]

Mulsej snorted at the girl, but didn't try to take the ring back; he had lost quite enough body parts naturally without needing to have any bitten off. He knew the look in her eyes, and for now he would let her have it.

"S' fahn tae me, little 'un, yeh'll git summat bettah, summat what fits yeh." He dragged himself on ward, unable to help himself, he admired the way that the little Lapines stayed together...wished his siblings had been like that...if he'd even had any...

He turned his head sharply at the next question, snorting at the idea that Dayobi might not be of importance. Some horrible liquids were shot from his gaping nostril holes at the snort, and he turned to Juan.

"She's a most wonderfu' an' gracious leader, luff. She don' go broadcastin' 'ehself about 'cause it wouldn't be good to put 'er place on the alert till she's got more members, see?" He had stopped moving, they were all seated in front of an enormous stone wall, covered in creepers and ivy.

"Won' do no good tae spend forever settin' a place up fer yer Cast, then 'ave someone else come an' take it jus' 'cause they've got more people. S' not smart, yeh kin?" He snorted, smiling down at the Lapine. "She's nah lookin' tae be worshipped either, lad. She's nah askin' yeh tae bow down or even belong soley tae her Cast, she's gatta few members what are in other Casts but are members ahf 'er Court, see?"

He looked the little one up and down, grinning, then ruffled the child's head fur. "Whan thing yeh gotta learn about, M'Lady...nothin's written in stone."

Pulling himself around the corner, he led them in.

((OOC: You know what the opening hall looks like now, you can just go ahead and describe them playing in it. XD I'm too lazy to write it all out again. <3))

[Shinigami]

[ooc: ...someone stab me. Just... Gods, I'm so sorry I died on this.]

Biyuse had, quite predictably, been distracted by something when the ring had gone rolling and the baby bunnies had snatched it up. By the time she'd spun her head around, huge ears flapping and flipping all over the place, everyone was already moving along and she was being left behind! Oh no! How terrible! How could anyone ever leave <i>her</i> behind, especially after her fantastic triple-play up at bat in rat-ball earlier? No, they should be clamoring after her, demanding her autograph on her fantastically-popular baseball cards that came with the cheap gum that tastes like plastic!

And with that, the thought was over, and she was left with the need to run after them and a vague desire to figure out what the heck "baseball" was.

She bunny-hopped over them all, but only after pausing to snatch up the beads where they'd been left behind, shoving them in the bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Fortunately, it was still mostly clean, so she didn't mind too much. Her large legs made up the distance within a few leaps and bounds (one of which involved kicking off of a wall, spiralling through the air, kicking off of a wall on the other side of the alleyway and then returning to the ground). After all of that, she kept pace with the rest of the group, occasionally falling behind to do something particularly invigorating. However, her main emotion at the time was curiosity. Pure, and utter curiosity. She wanted to know who this Lady Dayobi was, and what she looked like, and what she acted like, and where she lived. And she wanted to see what Mulsej looked like, because it had been rather dark before, and she wasn't quite sure. And she wanted to see what other prettypretty jewelry was in the bag too.

Upon entering the opening hall of Dayobi's Court, however, all of that was forgotten as she stared around herself in awe and amazement.

"Ooooh...so pretty! Where'd she get so many grapes? Aren't they used for wine? They are, aren't they? Does she make her own wine, or something? That would be great!" Biyuse loved alchohol in all of its forms, especially as she tended to be fun drunk, and her emotions tended to get magnified. So that was awesome. And even if there was a hangover the next morning, she could often take care of that with a quick bite to eat and something to drink, which left some meat over to be used for Aveline later on.

[Nathalia]

Mulsej smiled and held up his paws at the onslaught of questions from the Agony. "Nahw, nahw, love. The grapes is 'ere because they're my Lady's theme, yeh see?" He wasn't quite sure how to explain the concept of a Masquerade, he waved a paw vaguely. "S'lahke they're a paht ahf 'er, lass, lahke they make up a paht ahf 'er soul...an' she makes a mean wine, yeh know."

He grinned, drooling slightly at the thought of the wine...he could use some right about now.
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Dayobi preened herself in front of the large cracked mirror. Her feathers and fur were in place, her mask was on straight, and she had had a few sips of wine to cover the scent of human on her breath. She smiled at her reflection, posing a few times and twirling about so that her grape shaped ornaments rang lightly.

Ja'Kaefurl had arrived a few minutes ago to inform her that Mulsej was approaching with a veritable horde of Lapines...she couldn't wait. Her fur glinted softly in the lamplight, an effect given by the small amounts of scented oil that she dabbed onto her fur along the spine to give it sheen as well as smell.

"New friends and loved ones await us around every corner, it seems..." The Masquerade murmured to her image, curling her neck and reaching for a few trinkets to keep close at hand. "It seems that Mulsej will be getting that basket for his Di rather sooner than I had thought...I may even have to toss in a pillow for the poor thing."

She turned to her nest of pillows and selected a small, red, silky fabric pillow. Seeing as it was one of three... She tossed it into a small woven basket and picked t up gently. She then sashayed down the hall to the old Torn's room and pushed open the door. She picked her way through the clutter on the floor and lay the basket inside of the mass of old blankets and pillows the Torn used for a bed.

He'd find it when he got back. Even with those who would sell their soul for you...it was always good to reinforce the fact that she rewarded those who assisted her... The pillow would surprise him, she smiled...somewhat affectionately. She couldn't help but rather like Mulsej; after all...he was her first Cast member.

Moving slowly and with grace, she moved off down the hall to see if she could find Atreju...the more attractive members to welcome newcomers...the more actual members one was likely to receive.

[Jenn]

All three lapines jumped past Mulsej and into the main room, letting loose their own noises of delight ranging from an appreciative hum to an excited squeal. They split, each with a disturbling, to investigate various parts of the room. New places always made them happy, especially when there weren't people trying to stop them from having fun. Though that could be its own kind of entertainment sometimes.

The stage drew Berri's eye immediately and she jumped on the back of her Di, riding it around the little platform. She sat in front of the cute little wings, which were fluttering with the plushie's excitement at a new place. They had quickly adapted to the high-energy lifestyle of their little owners and reveled in the feel of it all, the adrenalin coursing through their decaying plush bodies like fire.

Jaun and Babs each went to investigate their own corner, fiddling with the grapes in a way that would likely require some careful rearrangement and possibly replanting later. The miniature Di especially delighted in digging around one of the grapevines and seeing what she could unearth. Which turned out to be roots. Of course.

"You got a nice place, ol'man Mulsej!" the little leader crowed as she played and rolled and jumped about on the stage. It practically set her imagination on fire. "Even if it's not yours an' belongs to a Lady. Which it should. Are we gonna meet her, or am I just gonna hafta keep this pretty shiny thing?" She smirked and pet the over-sized bauble currently pushing up the fur of her forearm.

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Atreju rested in his room, lounging on the collection of cushions he had brought from his home attic some time ago. This room had only just been granted to him not long ago, as close to his Lady's room as possible, and he delighted in growing some of her signature grapes in his own living quarters. Two vines crept up a pillar he had found in an old prop store for just this purpose, looking elegant and very Greek, or at least Greek enough, to his stage-jaded eye. The grapes adorning them weren't yet ripe, but the small green buds looked promising in their verdant health.

His mask rested on the small table beside his nest of plush, if dusty and threadbare, cushions. Normally it would be on, but he had wanted to press his face into the cool relief of his bed and just feel the coarse material on the fur of his cheeks and nose. After so long deprived of any sensation but the smoothness of his mask, the feeling of anything else was almost a tactile shock on his system. He thanked the Powers That Be - namely his parents in this instance - that he wasn't born a Masquerade, with all of the mask-related paranoia that went with it. He saw firsthand how careful Dayobi was to keep hers in place at all times.

He pulled his face out of the cushion and let loose a jaw-stretching yawn before standing. He'd been deliberating over the next scene in his play of acquisition - his Lady's acquisition of her land and her earliest members - and finally had the vaguest outline of the next scene percolating in his mind. His paw itched to hold a quill and write, but it wasn't quite refined enough to put to paper.

With a grumble, he donned the facade of a raven and headed towards the door, intent on a snack to tide him over through the long night of thinking and writing he expected ahead.

[Nathalia]

It was obvious from Mulsej's expression that he had not expected the tiny Lapines to begin destroying the room when he brought them in. He had in fact, hoped that they would be overawed. Perhaps, if he had been lucky, they would even have been speechless for a short time. This was not what he had imagined or wanted...damn. Kids...

He only attempted to intervene when the Di began to dig at the bases of some of the grape vines. "Gah, no! Cahm on, let them grapes alone, the only thing yeh'll be findin' is the roots, nothin' else there." He tugged the Di out of the small pit it had created and returned it to it's owner, not seeming to notice that it was nipping his paw. He looked up at Berri, riding about on the stage.

"Ahf coursh it should belong tae a Lady..." He muttered, bofore responding to her. "She''l be here soon, ah'm sure... she has tae 'ave 'eard us commin' in, weh've jes' gotta wait for a few seconds." He raised a sarcastic looking eyebrow at her "threat". "Yeh'll git summat better 'n tha' Ah promise yeh, m'gel, don' worry yer pretty head."

Before he had hoped his Lady would have time to approach them in a fashion befitting her, after getting cleaned up and such... Now he just hoped she would run like hell to meet them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dayobi moved to Atreju's door and raised a paw to knock softly. She was shocked when the door opened before she could touch it. "Ah, Atreju. Ready as ever I see. Would you mind accompanying me to the front hall? I've heard we have some guests to entertain. I've already sent Furl off for refreshments; please do me the honor of coming to be by my side."

She purred the last few words. He was, without a doubt, her favorite toy; she loved to see him melt when she showered him with compliments and kindnesses... He was utterly adorable, and such talent...he was such a find.

Turning, no doubt in her mind that he would follow; she headed toward the main entrance. Her hind talons clicked softly on the floor as she sashayed her way into the doorframe, stepping over the lantern. Having effectively framed herself in the doorway, she stood tall, long limbs posed, and gazed into the room.

"Good evening all, welcome to the Court of Dayobi."

[Jenn]

Babs turned her attention away from the vine to take back the little disturbling, wiping a bit of blood and dirt off of its muzzle as best she could. She and her brother really only half-listened to the old Torn since they knew he would mostly be talking to Berri. That's how it usually was and it freed them up to investigate their surroundings while she dealt with Others. Jaun nibbled on a few grapes, taking only half-bites and leaving the remaining half on the stem, his face turning sour as he bit into one that wasn't yet ripe. That he spat out on the floor, not particularly caring for the taste or the mess.

Down the hallway from all the commotion, Atreju blinked in surprise as Dayobi seemed to materialize in front of him, looking equally surprised and somewhat expectant. He listened to her request and smiled, lowering his head in acquiescence and submission both. "Of course, milady. Artist, escort...consort...whatever you wish." He laughed quietly and rubbed his shoulder against her flank as he walked beside and just slightly behind her.

Afterwards, he would be sure to grab himself a quick bite to eat. He knew that he would forget to eat later, whether left to his own devices or occupying his Lady's attention.

The sight of the common room filled with lapines, disturblings, and one very harried looking Torn stopped him dead in his tracks. He stared at the bizarre collection as Dayobi greeting them all rather more graciously than the circumstances might have called for. First impressions were everything, however, so he could understand.

All three younglings glanced up at the formal welcome, their disinterested expression fading. Berri rolled off of her Di and landed on the edge of the stage before bouncing back up to a stand and rocking on her heels. Her expression said she was impressed. "Okay, so now I know why the ol'man talks about you like a queen, pretty Lady." She eyed the accessories that gleamed and tinkled with undisguised interest, her own seeming all the tackier for how large it was on her. That's okay, though. Mama taught them all how to pull off tacky, along with all sorts of other things. She stood up fully and offered her teeny paw to the patchwork, blank eyes watching her and the pretty male beside her. Masks...maybe she'd have to convince Mama to get her one for her next birthday. They sure did dress up their wearers.

[Nathalia]

Dayobi tried in earnest to allow her mind to gloss over the sight of the two half uprooted grape vines, and one of the tiny Lapines taking a bite out of a grape...only to spit it onto the floor. Her features were still set in a pleasant manner, and she wiped the thoughts from her mind with a slight smirk at the idea the atrocities garnered.

No separate rooms for these three, they would only get one. There, her mind felt that settled the matter in terms of revenge, she never was one for a public bashing. Subtlety or a quick death would always do over a row.

Mulsej looked incredibly relieved to see Dayobi and Atreju. Perhaps they would be able to exert the authority that he had not been able to locate with these damn rabbits. He smiled and lowered his head in a bow to the impressively posing pair.

Dayobi cast her eyes over the lot. Four Lapines. The three small ones looked to be siblings...Fortune types, most likely. The older one was definitely an Agony, no question. She smiled as one of the Fortunes spoke.

"Why thank you, my dear." She murmured, appreciatively...a queen, eh? Daft old Mulsej...how adorable. "It is a pleasure to meet you all, I must say. It's rare that I am treated to so many guests. Please, sit down, are there any questions you have in regards to my home or how it is I run my Cast and Court?" She smiled again, eyes glinting behind the mask. "Have you come to stay, or merely to visit?" She seated herself on a velvet covered chair, and looked down the hallway, Furl would be coming soon. "Refreshments will be out shortly, but in the meantime, I would love to know your names..."

[Jenn]

Sensing a possible Moment approaching, Jaun and Babs dropped what they were doing - namely, destruction - to join their sister in front of the masked pair. They saw the old Torn give a deep bow and grinned, mimicking it themselves. This, of course, included the awkward way in which he held himself and the careful motion of his forearms. Berri watched them and smirked before bobbing down in a more natural bow. Time to be the spokesperson!

There was a gleam in the young Fortune's eye as she began, her stance straightening. "We like to swarm. I guess this is pretty formal, though, so you can have the full names," the young lapine graciously allowed. "I'm Udaiberri, or Berri for short. He's Baskaejaun, or Jaun, and she's Bibine, or Babs. We, uh, prefer the shorter ones. An' these are our Di." Her paw swept out to include the three of them, pointedly stopping with a sharp flick of the risk before the fish-tailed disturbling who was decidedly not theirs. The three who were chirred, recognizing a familiar introduction. Her siblings just grinned.

Atreju watched the antics of the little rabbit as she introduced herself and her siblings. So strange, to watch the two remain silent while the one did all of the speaking. There was probably a reason behind that. She looked at him, possibly admiring his mane or his mask, and asked, "So who's the pretty boy following you around?"

The feline snorted lightly and inclined his head to the horde. "My name is Atreju," he introduced himself, eyes straying to the black form near the back. Unless he was mistaken, she was an old friend.

[Shinigami]

Biyuse had, rather predictably, gotten distracted again. This time, though, she'd been snuffling amongst all of the grapes, investigating the different scents that each one carried, because all of them were different and oh-so-fascinating. The bag she'd been carrying for the old Torn had been placed at his side, though she was careful to be gentle with it, and with the fruit she was snuffling. She was even polite enough to do it from a bit of a distance, so that she didn't smear the grapes with blood! Though they did smell awfully good and all, but she'd been raised with better manners than to mess with someone else's food. It was hard to tell, most times, but the manners were there.

Finally movement caught her attention and she turned to take in the appearance of two of Euclides, who had apparently arrived while she wasn't looking. Sneaky of them, that. Biyuse dipped her head subserviently to the elegant lady Patchwork in the mask, accurately interpreting her to be the person in charge, and began what she considered to be a flowery speech. "O Great and Glorious Lady, I am ever so Humbled to be in your Presence and to See your Magnificent Court!" Flowery, of course, meant a gratuitous amount of capital letters. "It is my Honor and Duty to-" There she broke off, as her wandering gaze had finally wandered across the second Euclides to come into the room.

White, brown, and black, with a hint of yellow and red, and distinctive jewelry, including raven feathers and - and this was the clincher - a raven mask. There was only one person that this could be in the entire world.

"JU-JU!" Her only (so far) friend. The Agony, abandoning all pretences of formality, kicked off the ground in a huge leap, clearing the bebe bunnies before landing again, and then launching herself at Atreju in what could only be described as a glomp. "You're here, you're here, you'rehereyou'rehere! You didn't tell me you were here! Nice place and all, though, it's really neat, and smells wonderful, and how are you?" And she's off.

[Jenn]

The trio of lapines ducked instinctively as the dark, bloody form went sailing by, Jaun wrinkling his nose in an 'ick' face as he received a light spattering of the stuff. The smallest disturbling had gone back to its inspection of the grapes, slightly more subtle in its search now. It was small enough to wriggle a space between and behind several vines, digging from the back rather than out in the open. It had less room to work but more cover, so the trade was worthwhile.

Atreju took an involuntary step back as Biyuse flung herself at him bodily. It did little good, however, the Agony hitting him squarely in the shoulder and rolling him back, his pristine white fur now smeared liberally with blood and his mask knocked from his face. He let out a startled 'oomph' as he fell and saw stars as his head cracked sharply against the ground.

Glomping was not without its risks when the recipient of your attention wasn't expecting it. "...ow," he muttered, closing blank eyes against the faint spinning. "I'm...hurting, Deffa. How are you?" This odd, enthusiastic friend of his never failed to set him off-balance.

[Nathalia]

Dayobi smiled, eyes slitted behind her mask as she watched the Agony make a majestic leap over the other tiny Lapines. Landing in front of her and making a bow. She could not help but appreciate the eccentrics Euclides went through to impress her...she did love it when people tried to outdo themselves when in her presence.

She inclined her head as the large Lapine began to spout flowery eloquence to the Masquerade. She let a small smile twitch the corners of her beak and began to form a reply in her mind when the Agony's face suddenly broke into one of glee and she leapt seemingly at Dayobi. The Director flinched, an expression of confusion on her face, until it became apparent; when she hit him. that the Agony had been aiming for Atreju.

The smile returned. "Ju Ju?" She asked in amusement, smiling down at the pinned Feline. "That's an interesting nickname...good to see that we have some old friends here, though."

She nodded about at the gathered group. "It is truly a pleasure to meet you all, it's wonderful to be in the company of those who are dedicated to one another," She nodded to the trio. "And to others..." She nodded to Biyuse. "So what is it you have all come to find? Do you wish to become a part of my Cast or Court?" She watched their expressions. "I can offer you many wondrous things." She eyed Berri. "Pretty baubles being the least of them. Food, friends, connections, a home... Anything you'd like I can almost assure you that you shall have if you play your cards right."

Mulsej smiled behind the group, used to this introductory speech. He knew they had four new members already...his Lady's promises were hard to refuse...especially when they soon found that she was true to her word...if you were. His lips hung loosely from his maw as he watched the goings on, laughing slightly as the pompous Feline was tackled. These would be some interesting new comers.

[Jenn]

Atreju mumbled something beneath his mask and his enthusiastic lapine friend, but it was lost in translation. It may not even have been a sentence, only a mildly disgruntled noise. He hadn't particularly wanted his Lady to hear that nickname. However fun it was to use with Deffa, it was still undignified and he didn't wish to present her with such an impression. Ah well, it was far too late now. What was done, was done.

Berri watched the scene for only a moment before turning her attention back to the unmistakable leader of this little gathering. She bobbed her small head thoughtfully and fingered the trinket once more. Mama did always say that alliances were better than feuds and the more powerful people you were 'in' with, the better for you in the long run. She didn't want to affiliate herself or her siblings too closely with this new Puppet Master until she knew where everything stood, however. She would play her cards close to her chest and see where it led. "We're not ready for a Cast yet, but we can hang around and be useful," she offered casually. "I mean, Mama'd prolly be glad to have us outta her hair for most of the day. She doesn't even have to know where we go until we're really sure about you."

Jaun smirked a little, but Babs looked vaguely worried. Poor Abbi would be in a state when she learned they were going to a 'secret meeting place' without her, and it wasn't one of their usuals. Normally she didn't worry about it, but she was getting a twinge of guilt this time. Maybe she'd have to tell her where it was a little later or something...