Half Past Midnight

Who: Joy and Paziter
When: Anesus 3, 8:00 PM
Where: Main Hall

Paziter was in a righteously cranky mood, by all the gods and their consorts. He had gotten to sleep late due to Harlan's dawn-time visit (not a problem in itself. Harlan was nice. Harlan was fun. Most importantly, Harlan understood how to act like a half-decent Vrykolas-being.) The trouble had come after the human had left.

Oh, and had it come in spades.

Needless to say, Paziter had slept very poorly, and held Lykos-kind to even lower standards than he'd felt when he stumbled into Raven the first time around. That tramp, she had run Paziter to within an inch of his temper, which had -- until this point -- come in yards and miles. One of these nights that bloody unfortunate Zalaron was going to get just what she was asking for...

But it was not going to be tonight.

Who: Tabrika, Svathe, and the pack
Where: The woods
When: Anesus 3, just before sunset

It was just as easy as Tabrika thought it would be to find the spot Svathe had intended her to meet him-- and the rest of his pack, whoever they were; she had some scents, from when they'd left their room and she'd dared to poke her head in, but that was it. There was the orchard, there were the trees, there was the marshy ground, and there was the rock, and there were lots of Svathe-smells around it.

Who: Tayne and Bramble
When: Anesus 3, Mid-afternoon
Where: The courtyard

For some reason, Tayne always felt better when he was doing something physical. Since that day was one of his off-days, he was technically supposed to be available for weapons training, which meant a lot of hanging around in the courtyard first during the afternoon and then just after sunset, for if any Vrykolas deigned to come to him for instruction or practice. A couple even did, sometimes.

That day he'd had one human come by briefly for a little work-out and some instruction on his foot-work, and then Gochin for a fun little spar. Right then he'd just finished running through a series of blocks and strikes against a shadow-opponent and was stopping for a breather, pushing his wet hair back with one half-gloved hand and leaning on his practice sword with the other. He had a bucket or water with a cup around here somewhere, didn't he? Where did he leave that....

Who: Bramble and Jacta
When: Anesus 3, 2:30 PM
Where: Second Floor Hall

Jacta was feeling invigorated. She was also exhausted, but she had gotten so much work done in the few hours between eating breakfast and afternoon that she felt that she could be proud of herself. The hall was sparkling, the stairs were... passable (mud was hard to come by in the late of winter when everything was still frozen, but somehow people managed it!) and she was currently working her way down the bedroom hall, a great big bucket of sloppy, soapy water to one side, rags in hand. Her hair was tied back, her sleeves pushed up, and she knew she probably looked just like the little toiler that she'd been called the other day... but she didn't care. Surely others would appreciate all of the effort that she put into her lot of chores, right?

Who: Harlan and Jo
Where: Their rooms, and the window between them
When: Anesus 3, late morning

One of the many places Harlan hid his things was the closet, the large room full of clothes and linens and things for everyone in the compound to use if they had need. After visiting with Paziter, he needed to put his tinkerings away, and the closet seemed as good a place as any, and one place he didn't actually have any of his other more personal belongings. By the time he actually reached the second floor, after two flights of stairs and a couple long hallways, however, he was starting to think he'd never make it to the closet. A breather was definitely required, so that his heart might slow down and his head stop spinning.

Who: Paziter and Raven
When: Anesus 3, 9:00 AM
Where: Basement, Block 23-2 and Block 20-4

After nearly two hours of working on Harlan's inventions, Paziter was ready to call it a day. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, so while he was raring to continue the problem of the automatic tooth-cleaner, he was also barely able to keep his eyes open.

He had had to shoo Harlan away in order to sleep. Now, head hitting his pillow, he gave a sigh of relief that his coat was blocking out the hall and that his neighbors were quiet (or absent, as the case might be). He would do very well for a few extra winks. For all that Harlan's blood had sustained him for a night and a bit, he didn't want to wear himself out too quickly. Even if Alarie had offered herself up for another meal, Paziter would prefer to save his strength!

Who: Marcus and Bramble
When: mid-morning, Anesus 3
Where: Solar Room/Marcus' room

When the bricks had mysteriously gone missing from several sections of wall, Marcus hadn't noticed it. He was not much of a night person, and at half-past-midnight he'd been asleep for a couple of hours, at least. The change in the quality of light had not disturbed him, not then and not when the sun had risen, because he had the habit of sleeping mostly buried in covers, only a tiny gap left for his nose to emerge. He was a covered lump in his bed, and if any Lykos in their natural form had climbed through one of the holes to sniff at him, possibly, he hadn't known a thing.

Who: Harlan and Paziter
When: Anesus 3, Just after dawn
Where: Paziter's Room (Basement, Block 23, Room 2)

After Alarie had mentioned that Harlan might (just might!) be lurking around in the basement, Paziter couldn't wait to get to his room, himself. He wanted to double-check all of his belongings, root around in his chests (he hadn't adjusted the belongings so that all of his materials and the tools to mold them into useful things were in just one), change where applicable, and then proceed to set up his make-shift shop.

Who: Kai and Cathryn
When: Anesus 3, early morning
Where: Basement lounge

Holes in the walls! How curious was that? Already a mostly-nocturnal creature to begin with, Kai had still been awake when the inner walls of the compound had suddenly become lacking. The development had then, of course, warranted investigation.

First she stuck her head through the holes adjoining her own room, but her neighbors were not in attendance—and lucky for them, there was nothing intriguing within reach to be accidentally acquired or borrowed, either. Then, human-formed and with her door carefully locked (trusting in the “door magic” of her key to keep people out of her room despite the holes, as Marcus had told her it would) she went exploring the halls and sticking her nose into all the windows she found out there as well.

Who: Svathe and Tabrika
When: Anesus 3, 6:30 AM
Where: Basement, Block 24-2 and block 21-1

Half past midnight and always something new. Svathe was not too concerned. He had gathered a pack for a reason, after all. When the windows opened up, it was Veret who noticed first, being the one awake to watch over the den that had been made out of Svathe's room. The natural-formed Lykos had watched with uncanny hazel eyes as the bricks shied away, revealing the dim torch-light of the hall on one side, and two darker rooms aft and to his right. The Rapemi-born Lykos did little but sigh amusement, but said not a word. He would watch the holes in the den and guard against possible attacks... but he would allow Svathe to find out for himself that the new challenge was a far-reaching one like this. Let the pack-leader know that he had the initiative and the trust to guard without specific order... the older male had been acting more paranoid than usual; Veret figured that there was something he could do to make it up. It was making the rest of the pack edgy, not that he had the place to tell Svathe as much!

Who: Davie and Cathryn
Where: In his room, at least to begin with (Basement block 13, room 3)
When: Anesus 3, 12:30 am

Davie lay awake, staring at the ceiling. He was tired, certainly, and he had planned to get to bed significantly earlier than he had the night before. Much as he had actually enjoyed the conversation he had had with Cathryn in the courtyard, he would rather not make a habit of being awake at such hours. Right now, he could almost brings himself to fall asleep, but not quite. The rumors of undescribed 'tests' occurring at half past midnight were enough to deter any level of slumber. He wouldn't let himself sleep until he could be sure it wouldn't put him in danger.

Who: Churat and Remy
Where: Their rooms
When: Anesus 3, Twelve-thirty in the morning

Really, Churat wasn't one to wait up and hover around the main hall for the challenges in the middle of the night. The night was when he was most active, when he had places to go, things to do-- people to hide from. Right then, he was in his room, working on some mending he would be on duty for once chores picked up again. Probably that would be the day after tomorrow, but he needed something to do, and it was starting to pile up.

Weather: The wind from the previous day picks up further, bending the trees in the orchard and stripping some of the magically-ripened fruit from the boughs. By sunset, high clouds are starting to roll in, and by midnight not a star is to be seen. It isn't quite as cold today, as long as one is out of the wind, but the wind is frigid and makes it seem much colder than it is. Cloaks and/or fur are a must again today.

12:30 AM
At exactly half-past midnight, holes suddenly appear all over the castle in the inner walls-- regular holes, two bricks wide by two bricks high, big enough for all but the biggest in the castle to climb through. All of these holes are in the basement and the second story, in the walls between bedrooms and between bedrooms and the hall, though a few unlucky people get holes that look out into the sitting room, solar room, and basement lounge. Every room on the hall has a hole out into the hall, so anyone can see in, and everyone sharing a wall with another bedroom also has a hole into that bedroom. Thus, every bedroom has at least two new "windows", and most have three. Privacy, at least for the duration of the day, is going to be a rather rare commodity.

Who: Tayne and Desdemona
Where: 2nd Floor, Block 2, Room 3
When: 9:00 PM

The meeting had left Desdemona feeling neither better nor worse. For all it's hype, there were no grand answers, and she'd found herself silent, unable to ask questions. Without knowledge of what lay ahead, she wasn't even sure which direction to ask. Even if she had, their designated leader seemed unable to foretell the future, so what good would it actually do? Paziter had asked the question she'd never have voiced to that big a crowd, and even if the answer wasn't entirely satisfactory, she'd heard all she needed to know for the time being.

Who: Harlan and Alarie
Where: Alarie's room, this time
When: Anesus 2, late evening

It had been a long day, though in the end not necessarily a bad one. Harlan had pled exhaustion and escaped back upstairs to sit down a while, while Arie signed up for her chores for the year, and had settled on his bed with his latest book on magic until she was finished. He kept his ears sharp for the sound of her door on the wall beside his while he read the book over again-- he'd finished it the first day he'd had it, and now was rereading it for the third time, more slowly-- a trick he'd picked up not long after his arrival at the compound. It was safer to be careful, especially when you knew you weren't the most popular of people.

Who: Alarie and Svathe
When: Anesus 2, After meeting (around 8:30?)
Where: Within the Castle (in the hall?)

As much as the Lykos would have liked to tarry around the meeting hall to snap at Gochin or Remy, the fact that tonight was the night put previous enmities on the back burner. Svathe had singled out his mark, the pup called Alarie, and now it was only a matter of time before he moved in. He had caught her speaking with a blood-sucker -- another first year, at that, and one about as servile as one could get without sinking to Kierban's level. Blood and feeding; Vrykolas went against every law of nature save perhaps ticks and lice. He wouldn't be surprised if they went under Tick's protection in the afterlife, if they were given auspice at all. Didn't the lot of them kill themselves anyways? Barbaric.

Who: Paziter and Tayne
When: Anesus 2, shortly after the meeting
Where: Main Hall

Gods, it had been an awkward meeting, and not just for Tayne. After risking himself on such a faux pas, Paziter had sat silently on the bench, aware that the occasional person was darting him a look. Calculating, curious, or maybe even sinister? He wasn't sure, but he had decided then and there that he really ought to learn to refine his grasp on shadow walking... if he'd known how to sink into the shadow under the table, he probably would have simply disappeared for a few hours. What a way to start a night.

Who: Avery and Raven
Where: Avery's Room
When: 8:00 PM

Raven left the meeting in a huff, her temper never waning after she'd been cuffed upside the head. They had nothing to say that she wanted to hear, all signs pointing towards cooperation that she wasn't ready to give. Some of the questions had been flat out absurd, while others pointed out just how bad things might get there in the compound. Had Paziter actually asked for a list of people to feed on? She'd known the boy was weak, but if he couldn't hunt his own prey then he was lower than she thought.

Who: Alarie and Paziter
Where: Anesus 2, Main Hall
When: After the meeting (and Paziter's conversation with Tayne)

Alarie couldn't help herself. She waited for the blonde Vrykola to finish speaking to Tayne before she bounced after him, determined to ask a few questions before he disappeared. He seemed a bit hesitant during the meeting, nervous sort of quiet and given he asked about a list of people to feed from... or support, as he'd called it - well, that tipped her off and had her thinking of Harlan all over again. Which was why she stuck around after the meeting, keeping her eyes glued to the guy and waiting for a chance to corner him.