Who: Constance and Adrienne
When: Late Afternoon
Where: The Alchemy Labs
What: Adrienne comes to tell Constance of the silver mirror.

Having fully recovered from the full moon, Adrienne made her way over toward the alchemy labs to visit Zach's grandmother. Adrienne enjoyed talking with Constance. The older woman always had good advice to give, and she was so easy to talk with. Even though she was Zach's grandmother, Adrienne felt that same sort of bond with the woman even if she wasn't related by blood.

But Adrienne's visit with the alchemist this afternoon was for a specific purpose rather than a general visit. She needed to talk to the woman about the strange gift she had received, and the possibility that it was someone in the haven (particularly Simon Myles) who had sent it to her. Adrienne didn't want to fathom that the other werewolf was obsessed enough to pull such a dangerous stunt, but there was no one else who would have done it. At least, not that Adrienne could think of.

The werewolf shifted the package she carried in her arms, holding it instead in between her right arm and her side. She wanted to show Constance the item in question, and maybe even give it to her for safe keeping. Being part of the Head Council, Constance was the only person Adrienne felt comfortable speaking with about the issue. There was Dylan, and Theora, and they were both great, but Constance was practically family and it seemed only right that she talk to her. Adrienne had already spoken to her father and Jason, and they too agreed that the gift was too serious of an event to not report to the Head Council.

Adrienne climbed the steps up toward the alchemy labs. She walked down one of the long hallways, passing the empty laboratory rooms and heading toward the offices. She found Constance's room easily, and she peeked around the frame while knocking on the wooden door. "Hi," she said almost shyly before she stepped into full view. "I wanted to come by and talk with you about something." ( Adrienne was always very straight forward about her intentions; there was no point in beating around the bush, especially when it concerned things of great importance. “May I come in?” )

Who: Sheldon and ????
When: Night
Where: The Wine Bar / One of the upstairs rooms
What: Another one bites the dust

It was hard to fathom that anything destructive could take place in a haven, especially after all of the chaos the world experienced in the months prior. But human nature, the most basic of human nature, was violent and full of discord. People were not born with kindness, but with selfishness and greed. They only knew to want, and to take whatever it was they desired. Kindness had to be bred and nurtured, and passed on from one generation to the next.

It was hard to believe that human nature only needed an instant to revert back to its feral roots...

( There is a great streak of violence in every human being. If it is not channeled and understood, it will break out in war or in madness. )

Who: Adrienne and Zach
When: Late Afternoon
Where: Adrienne's cottage, then Zach's cottage
What: An unexpected gift leaves a mark

The surprise on Adrienne's face was apparent when she opened her front door. She was just about to leave her cottage to go visit Zach when she found the brightly wrapped package on her doorstep. She smiled as she bent down to pick it up, shaking it a little like a kid on Christmas morning. Adrienne opened the note that was attached, smiling as she read it out loud. "I saw this and thought of you. Love, Zach." She giggled a little and hurried over to the dining table to set the box down. Her hands couldn't move fast enough to get the wrapping off the box or to remove the lid. Inside was a beautiful mirror, with an ornate border and a beautiful butterfly at the junction between the handle and the mirror itself. The golden color shimmered even in the dim light, and Adrienne reached in to lift it from its box.

But it only took a moment or two before its true nature was revealed to the werewolf. As Adrienne held it in her hand she felt it searing against her skin. The pain was intense and she immediately released it from her hand. The mirror fell to the floor, the glass cracking into three pieces as a few of the decorations around the edge bent or broke off. Adrienne looked down at her hand. Her palm and fingers were burned, the skin bright red, but in tact. It hurt like hell, and she immediately ran toward the kitchen sink to run it under cool water. As she held it under the water Adrienne knew what it was that caused such a reaction.

( Silver. )

Who: Dylan and Lucretia
When: Mid-morning after this.
Where: Medical Pavilion
What: After the coroner's examination, Dylan comes to discuss the matter of Simon's murder.

Everything was beginning to change. As much as Dylan wanted to believe in the good of people, he was obviously mistaken as of late. Dissent existed amongst the citizens. Maybe not in the form of whispers heard, but clearly in the form of actions. Apparently, someone did not believe in the inalienable right to life for all people. All life was supposed to be sacred and precious while taken care of and protected against harm. Within their own haven, people were beginning to turn on others. A mauled faun was one thing; there was no proof it was done by anything other than an animal, but this — this wasn’t done by an animal. It was done by a monster.

His footsteps echoed down the hallway as he walked towards the coroner’s examination room. The medical examiner was in there with Simon’s deceased body, and Dylan was the one meant to speak with her afterward. Dr. Rousseau had in so far during her stay in Elysium been granted a reprieve from her previous life’s work, but the last two weeks had proved themselves to be graciously turning in her favor.

He walked up to the door, turning the handle and opening it to reveal a chilled room illuminated with soft blue-hued lights. There on one of the tables was Simon’s corpse covered only with a white sheet draped over the lower half of his body. The workers of the wine bar were charged with keeping their silence, and the same had been relayed to the medical examiner. Dylan need not explain it again for her as entered the room and closed the door behind himself.

Dylan circled around the table and surveyed the lifeless young man. Only days ago had he had been alive and in their custody. Now, he was no longer breathing. No longer moving. No longer living. Someone was playing a dangerous game with the Head Council. Certainly, not in a direct manner, but a dangerous game with them all the same. They were forces to be reckoned with as the circumstances diverged from their greatest hopes and surpassed their greatest fears.

He halted in place, folding his hands in front of himself as he continued to gaze at the body. It was so hard to accept another death. Not because death was meant to be avoided, but because Dylan hoped it never would have come to this — to murder. Even as Dylan heard new footsteps, his eyes remained at the young man on the table. His silence in and of itself held a profound weight.

“Dr. Rousseau,” Dylan said, eyes fixed on Simon’s pale corpse. Finally, he lifted them in Rousseau’s direction. “I trust you have the answers we need.”

Who: General Narrative
When: Early Morning
Where: The Wine Bar
What: Discovering awful truths

Death permeated the air at the Wine Bar that morning. It stank like rotting flesh, like the gathering of flies with a newly dead body. It had been several hours before the body was even found, but there it was lying in the bathroom, a mere shadow of the person he used to be. At first, he seemed like another drunken soul, one who had merely passed out after a night of blissful inebriation; but further investigation revealed more.

Simon Myles was dead.

He was lying in the first stall with nothing but his boxers on. His pants had been strewn across his body in a haphazard manner, and his head was craned to the left revealing the two puncture wounds at the base of his neck. They weren’t bleeding anymore, but there was a significant amount of blood around the area of the wound, as well as a trail of it leading down the front of the man’s chest. He had been wearing a buttoned shirt, but it had been torn open at the buttons leaving the man’s chest bare for all to see.

There was an empty bottle of ale next to him, the contents having been spilled sometime during the night. The man’s eyes were staring forward blankly, slightly ashen orbs that didn’t react to the light in the bathroom. Fixed and dilated, never to see anything else again. His scruffy face held minor signs of bruising, and there was a cut upon his lower lip.

The body was taken to the Medical Pavilion in the early hours of the morning before anyone else could witness the frightful scene. The Head Council had been notified, but the public knew nothing of the death in the Wine Bar. All evidence of it ever happening had been cleaned away before any patrons step foot into the bar. Those who had found the body were told to keep it secret as well; there was no use in spreading fear amongst the citizens.

Who: Adam, Constance, and Simon
When: Afternoon
Where: Town Hall
What: The unjust interrogation of Simon Myles.

With no reason to disbelieve Constance, Adam set his hard eyes on the werewolf the second the man showed up at Town Hall. Politely, Adam and one of the Elven guards led him towards one of the interrogation rooms—a room which could only shelter against magic and not shifting. This time the rooms held no wards against magic. Adam had all of his capabilities available to him, as did Constance. However, Constance’s would not be much use in an interrogation room. Adam’s would be.

It was his charge to protect her. Should anything happen to Constance, it too would happen to Adam. Their bond was not so close that if Constance was wounded, Adam would be wounded as well. It might as well have been as strong, though, for all that Adam knew. He cared and loved for Constance; she was his mother and creator, the giver of his life. Her love for him raised him and taught him well and made him what he was today, and he would never, ever let anyone harm her.

The same was true for his family. Alicia was his family, Constance’s granddaughter and Adam’s niece.

He stood alone in the interrogation room with Simon. Simon seated himself in the chair across from the desk. Adam remained standing against the wall with his arms crossed. Simon would confess to his crimes of trying to hurt Alicia, and Adam would see to it that the werewolf answered for them. He believed Constance. Adam had not reason not to after everything she divulged to him in private, and what she said was true—Simon was dangerous, and he had hurt Alicia.

And he was going to pay for it.

Who: Alicia, Family, & Guards [Narrative]
When: Evening to Night
Where: The dungeon in Town Hall.
What: The deciding moment!

Alicia was given a choice of somewhere outside for the possible transformation with a barrier made specially for her or a cell in the dungeons of Town Hall. Being outside in the dark only made her nerves shake even worse, so Alicia chose the cell. Inside, she felt safer. And maybe, if she was out of sight from the full moon, she wouldn't be so fearful of what was about to happen. There was no guarantee she would change, but Alicia couldn't predict tonight.

Outside of her cell were a few Elven guards and her family. Her grandmother smiled encouragingly, and Alicia smiled back to her. Her mother and father were holding onto each other, scared of what they might witness tonight. Zach was there, too, although the dungeons were devoid of Adrienne. Adrienne actually did shift on the full moon, and she was down by the forest with the rest of the real werewolves. It scared Alicia that it had to have been one of them out of the group who attacked her. The fact that Adrienne was down there with a psycho made her even more worrisome. Maybe it was just an accident, though. They said how it could have been an accident, the Head Council, even though her grandmother remained tight-lipped on the matter.

( Together, they all waited to see what the full moon would bring . . .  )

Who: Theora (and the Head Council)/ Narrative
Where: Town Hall
When: Late-morning
What: Town Meeting

Theora had been elected to speak to the citizens on this day. Her calm and ethereal demeanor would no doubt help to put everyone at ease as they listened to her speak of the situation of the dead faun. The priestess took her place at the podium, and the crowd grew silent to listen to her words.

"Citizens of Elysium," she said. "We have gathered here today to address the situation of the faun that was recently found dead near shore of Van'taurë Lake."

Those who had not heard of the death murmured in shock, while others began to speak eagerly of what should be done. Some of the voices called for a volunteer police force, others said that justice had to be brought to those responsible. It was clear that they all believed that the faun had been murdered, and it saddened Theora to see that such rumors had gained so much power over the course of a day.

"I know that many of you believe this death to be a crime. That the faun was murdered right here in our land. But let me, and the Head Council assure you that that is not the case. There has been no murder committed here."

The whispering grew faint, and the people turned their attention to Theora again. Some of their faces looked relieved, others looked skeptical of the fact.

"Upon further examination of the body, we have discovered that the faun had been attacked by a very large animal which Elysium has many of. Our lands are covered with rugged forests, most of which are still inhabited by wild animals. Our young faun was also inebriated and alone, both of which can put anyone into a dangerous situation."

The crowd nodded its agreement this time, and Theora continued. "Because of this the Elven guard will be on patrol along the edge of the forests, and through the town during the night. We must also ask that you all stay within the safety of your cottages after 10 PM. If you must travel in the dark please do so in pairs, and please avoid the forests at all costs. If travel is absolutely necessary during the night, then please inform one of the Elven guard and they will accompany you on your journey."

Theora took a breath and eyed the crowd. "We are placing the curfew upon the citizens because we only wish for you all to be safe. Thank you for your time, and may Elune keep you all safe."

The priestess stepped down from the podium, and the crowd was dismissed. Hopefully the citizen's fears had been assuaged, and they would be able to spend the day without worry in their heart.

ooc: No one is required to reply to this thread. You may assume that your character(s) attended the meeting, and have them react to it accordingly.

Who: Constance, Dylan, Theora, and Adam
When: Morning
Where: Town Hall
What: The council has some important things to discuss.

Furious wasn't the proper word to describe how Constance currently felt as she stormed down the hall to find Dylan and Theora. Adam trailed behind her, keeping close. On the same night as her granddaughter getting attacked by a werewolf, a faun turned up half-eaten and torn to shreds near the festival grounds. It wasn't a coincidence in her eyes. By now, everyone knew about the dead faun, but nobody knew about her granddaughter, Alicia. They were keeping it under wraps to safeguard the minds of the community. With the news of the faun on the loose, if they heard about Alicia then the entire community would panic.

Her shoes clacked loudly against the wooden floor. When she arrived in the council chambers, Constance waited for Adam to step into the room before she slammed the door behind them and let her anger known to her colleagues and councilmen.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Constance demanded, regardless of whether or not anyone had any answers to her question. "Already, people are referring to it as a murder when we don't even know what's happened — and I can't take this." Constance sat down in the nearest chair, looking more worn for wear than usual. Adam took a seat beside her, a worried expression on his face. Constance hadn't wanted Adam to get dragged into it, but Alicia was family and he already knew about what happened to her.

"I've told Lucinda and Kelsey to keep quiet about Alicia. I've told Alicia, Zach, Adrienne, and Nico too. No one else is to know about this. If word gets out Alicia was attacked by a werewolf outside of the full moon and then a dead faun turns up, everyone's gonna think we have a psycho on our hands." Constance chewed her bottom lip. She said something then they all had to take into consideration.

" . . . And maybe it's time to recognize we do."

Who: Alicia, her Attacker, and Sanura!
When: Same time as the Autumn Festival.
Where: Northern Forest
What: Alicia gets lost in the forest while following a faun and runs into trouble.

OOC Note: The attacker's comments will be written by one of the mods to ensure their anonymity! However, the attacker's player will be telling the mods what to write for the scene to keep the actions in character.

Alicia walked through the forest with careful steps. Gosh, it was dark out here! She knew everyone else was having fun at the festival, but she had followed one of the fauns out here to see where the fauns lived. The girl told her most of them lived further out in the forest in cottages built by themselves much like their ones back home. A number of them lived in the forest cottages as well, but Alicia wanted to see the faun community out in the Northern Forest. So, the faun promised to take her to it . . . and here she was lost in the middle of the forest because of it.

A glimmer in the forest floor had arrested her attention, which was the reason for Alicia being lost. She had veered off path to discover what the glimmer was, only to discover it was nothing more than a stream. Frowning, Alicia hurried back up to the path to find the faun, but the faun was nowhere to be found. "Hello?" Alicia had called out the faun's name, but the girl didn't answer her. Placing her hands on her hips, Alicia let out a sigh. Great. Now, she was lost.

Turning herself around, she headed back the way she came. Alicia figured she could find her way back easily enough, and wandering further out into the forest at this late hour wasn't a bright idea. Especially when she didn't know where she was going.

Who: Chris and Charlie (possibly narrative)
When: Morning
Where: Town Hall
What: Reporting the incident!

The trip to town from the forest cottages barely took any time. Charlie was a fast runner, he was even faster when he was in his Pronghorn form. Even with Chris riding on his back Charlie could reach speeds that rivaled even the fastest of race horses. The buildings and people in town went by in a blur, many citizens had to dodge out of the way of the speeding pronghorn. "Sorry!" Chris would yell to people along the way until they reached Town Hall.

There, Chris jumped off of Charlie's back and led her brother to an empty room. "Hurry up and change while I find someone," she said before she closed the door. It wouldn't take Charlie long to transform back into human and put on his extra clothes, but Chris was determined to find someone. Someone big. Someone in charge. Someone like -

"Mr. Dylan!" The young human girl spotted the wise Djinn in the distance and waved excitedly at him. She ran up to him and wrapped her small hands around the material of his suit and looked up at him with wide eyes. "Mr. Dylan, something happened at house! I like woke up super early this morning and went downstairs to get something to drink, y'know? Oh but first I went to the bathroom to like brush my teeth and and comb my hair and stuff and then I went downstairs. And like I noticed that there was this weird smell but I didn't think anything of it cos like, y'know, there are tons of weird smells around. But anyway I kept going down the stairs and like waiting there for me were dead animals!" She paused to take a breath and her eyes widened even more than before. "DEAD. ANIMALS." She repeated it for emphasis and the look on her face was grave.

"Someone had broken into our house and put all these dead raccoons on our table and their guts were like all out of their bodies and on plates and someone set them up to make it look like they were eating their own guts and stuff and it was so so sooooo gross and you have to come and look at it now okay because I think Ms. Emily wants to clean it up but she can't clean it up until someone looks at it." She took another deep breath and blinked up at him. "Please, Mr. Dylan? Please... this is serious!"

Charlie emerged from the room, fully dressed, and noticed that his sister was talking very animatedly to one of the Head Council members. He jogged over and smiled at the Djinn and then nudged Chris in the side. "Stop being so hyper active!" He complained and then rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Mr. Dylan, my sister's a motor mouth at times and it's hard to understand her."

Chris placed her hands on her hips and huffed in annoyance. "I am not hard to understand. Mr. Dylan understood me just fine, didn't you?" She beamed up at him with big, blue eyes and batted them cheerfully. "I just told Mr. Dylan what happened, Charlie. I'm not stupid, you know."

Charlie sighed but decided not to argue with his sister. "Basically we woke up to find dead animals on our dining table and we were hoping that you could send someone over to check it out. It's pretty gruesome and we wanted to report it to you guys cos like, someone broke into our house dude. I mean, Sir."

The twins watched the ever stoic Djinn call over two of the Elven guards and relayed the events of what Chris and Charlie had said. The guards nodded and immediately rushed off toward the forest cottages as Dylan escorted the children to his office for another rundown of the events of the morning, in a much calmer manner.

Who: Emily & Echo Planck, Chris & Charlie Jung, Irei Arakaki, Sascha Connolly, and any visitors!
When: Morning
Where: The Plancks' cottage and Irei & Sascha's bungalow
What: An ominous tune lingers in the air despite the sunny and cheerful morning.

The early morning hours started off as peacefully as any other. Birds were greeting the new day with their song, the lake monster was swimming happily in the water, and Helicharis was beginning to bustle with activity. And yet despite the seemingly happy atmosphere something was amiss. It was hard to pinpoint exactly, possibly because the occurrence was so isolated that no one noticed unless they happened by the places on accident.

How often did citizens travel by the waterfront bungalows or the forest cottages anyway? Would they have noticed or even paid attention to the dolls that were outside one particular bungalow? Would anyone think to look inside the darkened window of a nearby cottage to see the dinner party that was already underway? No… no one would look or pay attention. And yet perhaps they should have.

OOC Note - There will be sub-threads for each location and those involved will need to reply to the appropriate sub-thread. Please note that these ARE open for anyone passing by or just visiting the residents in each location. Remember, have fun with it and do whatever you want with it! There is no specific outcome or reaction that needs to be had ^^

Who: Constance and Dylan [Narrative]
When: Evening
Where: Town Hall
What: Now, there are dead animals to add to the mix.

"What the hell is this?" Constance demanded, smacking her hand against the table once she had been informed of the news. Apparently, one of the doctors had been up at the town hall on Wednesday to report half-eaten and ripped animal carcases strewn across someone's lawn, and no one took him seriously. The matter wasn't looked into that day, and it was already cleaned up by now. Constance was just finding out at this particular moment, and it was an understatement to say she was pissed off about it.

Stalking out of her office, Constance immediately went to find Dylan. Something didn't sit right with her about this. They didn't have any large, immensely threatening predators on the mainland that would do something like this. What did it? Who did it? The creatures had been half-eaten, marks of a animal . . . but purposefully strewn in someone's lawn? The mark of a intelligent being. Someone praeternatural or human.

She found Dylan as he was pouring himself a glass of water in the hallway by one of the elven fountains. Her lips were drawn thin and taut, and there was a look on Dylan's face like he too had something on his mind. "Did you hear about this?" Constance asked him, going into detail about what she was told.

At the end of it all, Dylan slowly nodded his head. "I just heard about it as well," he revealed. "It troubles me," the djinn said softly. His dark eyes turned to Constance's eyes. "Something is not right, but I do not know what we are to do."

"First," Constance began to ramble, "we have a theft of that powerful elven piece of metal, and now half-eaten dead animals are showing up on people's lawns? What the hell is going on around here?" Her head lowered, shaking slowly as her hand came up to touch her forehead. She felt her ability as a leader was failing somewhere along the way. Things like this didn't just . . . happen right under your nose.

"I do not know," Dylan said, "but we will keep our eyes steady and trained on our surroundings." One of his hands came up to rest upon her shoulder. "In case it happens again, we will be prepared."

Constance glanced up, not liking the words she was hearing but understanding. Releasing a heavy breath, she nodded her head.

Who: Open to All [especially Sanura Hart and Vienna Kwon]
When: Morning
Where: Outside Sanura's cottage and outside of Vienna's cottage
What: It's raining dead animals...

The night was long and quiet, and the morning was greeted with the soft sprinkling of rain from the heavens above. A cool, and crisp start to the morning; the kind of start that refreshed the spirits and awakened the senses. Rain - clean and baptismal, washed away the sins of the night leaving nothing behind except fresh dew drops and unsullied scents. It fell upon windows softly, tapping against the glass with gentleness.

Pitter patter, pitter patter . . .

An unspoken invitation to enjoy the outdoors while it is born anew and unfettered. An invitation for one to open his or her eyes and see what the morning held, what the new sun brought with its dew-dropped rays. Underneath the dawning of a new day and its cleansing raindrops, of course, there could be nothing but a fiery rose-colored sunrise to behold and the promise of another beautiful day born from its quenched ashes. It was another day to meet with friends and family, another day to enjoy the splendor of living like every other day before it.

Yet, the smell of death traveled on the air. Newly rotting flesh of fresh corpses, but corpses of what? It was hard to say, the smell could not be fully sensed. For those close to it, it was all too familiar and real, though, and the day did not bring such nice tidings for them . . .


OOC note: There will be sub-threads for each character's house. The character is urged to reply, but it is also open for anyone who happens to be passing by or anyone who wants their character to get in on the fun! Remember though, the cottages are not near one another so the two sub-threads will not overlap. Please reply to the appropriate sub-thread ^^

Who: Fror and Frar
When: Late Afternoon
Where: Helicharis Market Place
What: Dwarven gossiping!

"Whoooa there, laddy," Fror said, holding up his hand in a 'stop' gesture. "I thought ye said these tomatoes were a ripe 'n' ready! I see a green spot a-right there-" Fror's finger poked at the tomato, which did indeed have a big green spot on it. "Just a-look at these tomatoes! Green as an Irish meadow o' nothin' but grass! No single flower in sight!"

Turning to his companion, his younger brother Frar, the older dwarf puffed on his pipe and shook his head. "Let's be a-walkin'," he suggested, waddling away from the vegetable stand. "I say we be done here, aye. Nuffin but liars 'round here," Fror added as the boy from the vegetable stand hollered back at him. Fror waved his hand dismissively and ignored the boy as he and his brother started walking away.

Frar puffed on his own pipe and blew out billowy smoke that was rather fragrant. He wasn't as big of a smoker as Fror, but he did enjoy puffing on the weed that his brother collected. "Aye, nothin' bu'liars!" Frar said out loud as the dwarves sauntered through the market place. "Now d'lad from earlier," he began with another puff. "Trustworthy." He nodded and continued to speak very very loud. "Now aye've known them Weres t'be frisky ones, but'ta maul the young lass of a Were! Dispicable!" He spat as a few citizens looked at him with interest.

( Word is she's quite the looker... )

Who: Constance, Dylan, Midori, Sonya [and others, if anyone wishes to speak to the Head Council today]
Where: Town Hall
When: Various times throughout the day.
What: Leadership duties.

OOC Note: Start sub-threads in this post by posting the name of your character(s) in the subject and the approximate time of day that particular scene is happening. One of the council members will reply to it.

Without the third member to make up the complete council, duties were drawing themselves tightly around the two remaining members left behind after the high priestess had sailed away to the isle known as Tol'hith far out on Lake Alata'elen. An ancient elven artifact had been put on display due to her departure by the elves at the town's temple, something of great worth in terms of power. It made a distrustful Constance wary. The grandmother, though the youngest of the council, had spent more years being jaded and skeptical than either of the other two council members. It put her on edge knowing it was just out there on display like that.

The full moon had also just occurred on Tuesday with a number of the werewolves coming out in bad shape, especially a young woman in particular. Despite Zach's claims that it had been done on purpose, and Adrienne coming to conscious to explain her attack to them, Dylan and Constance were split over the matter. Constance believed it was done on purpose, took her grandson's word for it. Dylan thought the opposite, calling it the nature of werewolves. According to him, it was nothing more than some rough play that got out of hand — perhaps even the move of dominating male wolf exerting force over what he saw as a young female.

Dylan had more on his mind, though. Constance knew that. His cottage had been trashed by a trouble-making, no-good kitsune by the name of Mitsuko Kamiyama. Constance wanted to do something about it, but the fact of the matter was do what? Neither of them knew. Dylan, because he wasn't sure how to approach the situation, and Constance, because she wished she could throw the kitsune into the dungeon for a week and see how the fox liked it, but that sort of punishment was far too extreme for the offense.

Sighing for all of the thoughts in her head, Constance exited the records room and marched her way down the hallway to look for Dylan or a strong cup of coffee.

WHO: Open to All (more than one character invited to join!)
WHEN: Just after sunrise
WHERE: On the road to Helicharis
WHAT: Finding dead things

Sunrise brought many things to the land, but one did not expect that death would be amongst them. And yet it was there in the middle of the gravel road that led straight into town. The scent of blood and dead flesh attracted flies and carrion crows alike. They hovered over the dead animal, buzzing around frantically as they searched for a place to land. Occasionally they would scatter when the dark birds would swoop in, picking through the ashen fur to get to the meat, while others simply went for remains of the organs that were spilled upon the ground. They cawed loudly at one another, fighting over the animal that lay there with passive, grey eyes that still looked out upon the world.

It was not a pretty sight. One could tell that this animal used to be a beautiful creature when it was filled with life. The reddish-grey fur held dark, black spots all over its body. The lifeless eyes peered out from what seemed to be a sweet face. The same reddish-grey color here was marked with black lines instead of spots streaking outward from the nose. Black tufts decorated the tips of its ears while the fur around its neck ruffed out like a collar. The animal's paws were huge and heavily padded and one could imagine that this animal was a stealthy hunter, one that could tread the forests without being seen or heard.

And yet somehow it was lying in the middle of the road. Dead, the victim of something that was either much bigger, or much stronger than it was. It had no chance of survival though it was obvious that it had put up quite a fight. The claws of the predatory cat were covered in blood and there were slight remnants of fur — or was it fabric? — still clinging to them. The cat itself had suffered from slashes from its opponent as well before it had fallen. A victim of a broken neck, obvious by the position of the head, or perhaps it had bled to death from the puncture wounds in its neck? Even more likely was the large slice across its belly that spilled its innards. Most of the larger organs were gone now, scattered along the way as it was dragged across the land, but for the most part the sinewy remains of the intestines, both large and small, were hanging limply from its body.

Nevertheless it was dead and out in the open for all to see. The question was whether or not anyone would take notice before the carrion carried away the body one piece at a time.