HLoM: The Firebird, Chapter 1

[Isabella]

<Describe him. One word.>

Richard glanced at Vasili for a moment, furrowing his brow, but was unable to respond before Søren approached them.

Søren gestures and the huntsman releases one of the paired hounds, who Søren whistles to his side. It bounds across the room, but stops suddenly about ten feet from your table and growls, hackles up. Søren glances under the table at Maya and gestures the hound closer; it approaches reluctantly, still growling at the back of its throat.

Maya's discomfort escalated into a guttural snarl. Richard softly shushed her again, pulling her up onto the cushions beside him - it resulted in Marcel receiving another fuzzy cushion at his elbow, but she was still small enough that it wasn't a huge discomfort. Richard frowned briefly at Søren, the black cat lounging beside him, swishing her tail back and forth.

"C-come now, come," Richard addressed the hellhound, in a soothing tone. "Your-your master is here, no one will hurt you."

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Going on the assumption these dogs know "Down", given Søren whistled one over: attempting Handle Animal
[dice]0[/dice]
+9 = 21 (vs. 15 to handle a trained not-animal-but-close-enough)

[NeoTiamat]

"I can see that the fame of Hazlan's unique fauna is justly earned." Lena murmured, her free hand settling in to scratch the russet fox on her lap between the ears. Ushka had a lot of ear, and so scratching them was always worth doing. Not that this prevented the little fox from keeping a weather eye on Søren. "Are you taking them out on a walk?"

[Nathan of the FoS]

It seems it is not Maya the hound objects to so much as Richard. The infernal creature growls more loudly and huffs a foot-long gout of flame as Richard makes his calming gesture, its attention firmly fixed on the Mordentishman. "Frigja!" Søren says sternly, and the hellhound subsides somewhat, still growling at the back of its throat, and consents to be petted by its master. "Are you carrying pistols, freiherr?" he asks Richard.

"You'll see more unusual than this if you care to look for it, Baroness," he says to Lena. "As for our outing, it's business, not pleasure. And you? Are you here for the festivities, or with something more substantial in mind?"

[Kaitou Kage]

"We have many, many interesting fauna," Altan said. He drained his wineglass and set it down.

"You should see my cousin's cockatrice aviary one day. Or better yet, don't. You might not come back out."

[Isabella]

"Are you carrying pistols, freiherr?" he asks Richard.

"No, I-I-I had been been told I-I ought not to. Do they-they react poorly to the smell of-of gunpowder?" Richard replied, his frown deepening. He gave a glance toward Marcel, then leaned back from the table, setting a hand on Maya in a mirror of Søren's affection for the hound. "How curious."

"You should see my cousin's cockatrice aviary one day. Or better yet, don't. You might not come back out."

"Which... may I-I ask which cousin is this?" Richard asked, raising his eyebrows. "Is this, ah... for the love of the-the animal, or is the cockatrice a-a working creature in Hazlan?"

[Kaitou Kage]

"Mm, a little of both." Altan poured himself more wine.

"My cousin has a love for the creatures, but she is also a noted sculptor."

[NeoTiamat]

"You'll see more unusual than this if you care to look for it, Baroness," he says to Lena. "As for our outing, it's business, not pleasure. And you? Are you here for the festivities, or with something more substantial in mind?"

"A little private business for the Immol Foundry at the moment, though I am hoping to see the sights while I'm here." Lena said, her dimpled smile deepening as her gaze rested lightly on the hellhounds, and then on Søren himself. "...More of them."

"My cousin has a love for the creatures, but she is also a noted sculptor."

"...what does she use for raw materials?" Lena asked, her smile growing a touch colder. "Or perhaps I should ask, who?"

[Nathan of the FoS]

"No, I-I-I had been been told I-I ought not to. Do they-they react poorly to the smell of-of gunpowder?" Richard replied, his frown deepening. He gave a glance toward Marcel, then leaned back from the table, setting a hand on Maya in a mirror of Søren's affection for the hound. "How curious."

"Indeed," Søren replies. He seems about to ask Richard another question when the conversation takes a turn into teratology.

"...what does she use for raw materials?" Lena asked, her smile growing a touch colder. "Or perhaps I should ask, who?"

"Small animals. Mostly." Renhalt shrugs and grimaces slightly. "Cousin Aghi is...well, her grandmother was a Maljik."

Søren grins, more at the attention he's getting from Lena than from the discussion of the cockatrice sculptress. "We have any number of sights worth seeing, Baroness. If you weren't so rich in guides already I'd offer my services. In fact..." He smiles even more broadly. "Now that's an idea. So many illustrious cousins and visitors of high stature! You simply must come to our pavilion this evening for the fireworks. And stay the night in the Helholt, if you like."

[Isabella]

"Small animals. Mostly." Renhalt shrugs and grimaces slightly. "Cousin Aghi is...well, her grandmother was a Maljik."

Richard looked between Altan and Renhalt, and then started to laugh.

"Surely that counts as-as cheating," he said, tilting his head forward to eye the pair. "Indeed, there is a-a quite famous sculptor in Dementlieu, George Pinot, who-who is constantly troubled by accusations likewise... er, with molding his-his sculptures from life, not with cockatrices. Not that I-I ever heard. It became so bad, his latest sculpture was-was nine feet tall, and had hands and-and feet larger than the head."

"His detractors then accused him of-of modeling a-a caliban," he added, with a slight sigh.

"Now that's an idea. So many illustrious cousins and visitors of high stature! You simply must come to our pavilion this evening for the fireworks. And stay the night in the Helholt, if you like."

Richard looked at the rest of companions at this, though with a slightly trepiditious air. The idea of a whole holt of unfriendly hellhounds was failing to enthuse.

[NeoTiamat]

"Indeed, there is a-a quite famous sculptor in Dementlieu, George Pinot, who-who is constantly troubled by accusations likewise... er, with molding his-his sculptures from life, not with cockatrices.

"Only in Hazlan is that a necessary qualification." Lena laughed, a warm, rich laugh. "Poor M. Pinot, he can never win, can he?"

"Now that's an idea. So many illustrious cousins and visitors of high stature! You simply must come to our pavilion this evening for the fireworks. And stay the night in the Helholt, if you like."

"I would love to." Lena said, looking up and holding Søren's gaze in her own. The crimson-furred fox in her lap did the same, so that the graduate of the Red Academy was met with two pairs of foreign eyes, Lena's a liquid brown, Ushka's a golden yellow. There was something very alike in them, really. "What say the rest of you, shall we take advantage of Freiherr Thott's generous hospitality?"

[Kaitou Kage]

"The fireworks are magnificent," Altan murmured. "I enjoy them, especially after a few glasses of wine."

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Søren grins, more at the attention he's getting from Lena than from the discussion of the cockatrice sculptress. "We have any number of sights worth seeing, Baroness. If you weren't so rich in guides already I'd offer my services. In fact..." He smiles even more broadly. "Now that's an idea. So many illustrious cousins and visitors of high stature! You simply must come to our pavilion this evening for the fireworks. And stay the night in the Helholt, if you like."

Having been absorbed in his own thoughts during most of the conversation,* Vasili brightens at the invitation, and he gives Søren a sincere smile.

"What say the rest of you, shall we take advantage of Freiherr Thott's generous hospitality?"

In what would appear to be a moment of rare lucidity, Vasili nods heartily and claps:

"Hear hear! My father says I've been lacking in Thott. If arcana's as thick in the air as the Baroness hopes, perhaps I'll absorb enough to satisfy him."

* Sense Link with Leila to observe the group from above, hoping to get a different perspective on the body language and placement. Vasili is also consulting with Leila telepathically to get her bead on Søren. Don't know if either is worth a circumstance bonus, but it's the kind of paranoid thing he'd do. So with all that, here's the roll:

[dice]0[/dice] +10 skill bonus, +2 for Lena's assistance. Yeah, not near enough, even with several more bonuses. Oh well.

[NeoTiamat]

"What do you think, Freiherr Søren?" Lena's eyes sparkled. "Is there a Thott in Helholt for him?"

[Nathan of the FoS]

Cattia? If you want to have finished making your rounds I'll assume you're present for this, too.

"I suppose we'll have to see," Søren replies. " I hope your experience is as transformative as your father could hope, Goodman Boritsi. For your part, Baroness, there should at least be a Thott in the Helholt for you." This with the broadest smile yet.

The huntsman is finishing his circuit and approaching the table you sit at; Søren quirks an interrogatory eyebrow at him, and he replies with a brief shake of the head. The huntsman looks around the table himself, his gaze pausing longest on Vasili; at another gesture from Søren he collects Frigja and moves with both hounds toward the door. Addressing the group generally, Søren continues, "So! I suppose I can find you here this afternoon? Or would you prefer to make your own way to our pavilion tonight?"

[NeoTiamat]

"Do you really think they can spare a little of the intellectual atmosphere for me?" Lena said, casting her eyes demurely downward. Still, playing the coquette was poorly suited to her demeanor, since she looked back up in short order, a playful smile on her lips. "I think we can find you later this evening. You're a distinctive gentleman, I expect your pavilion to be the same. Unless there are any objections...?" She glanced around the table.