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* Michelle steps out of the shadows surrounding the pond, seeming to materialize from the moonbeams themselves. * Lisl leaves the Hall and heads for the pond at an easy lope, pulling up in surprise as she finds Michelle already there. <Lisl> My, my, you're full of surprises this evening, Michelle. * Michelle looks at the moon, "I've learned quite a few ways to use moon magic. It really is the most delightful thing to work with." <Lisl> Moon magic...is that why you and Moon Dancer get along so well, then? <Michelle> Moon Dancer and I come from very similar worlds which is the main reason we get along so well, though it's true that the forms of magic we practice have more in common with each other than they do with the magic practiced by the priests and mages of this world. <Lisl> ::nods:: Moon Dancer generally isn't easy with his secrets, so I imagine he trusts you fairly well, then. <Lisl> I can't imagine he'd share someone else's secrets, though....how did you know, then? <Michelle> A lot of secrets where exchanged on the quest to save Jelarthna from the influence Cyric had gained over him. ::Michelle looks at the moon's reflection in the water:: Not all of them willingly. <Lisl> Cyric....? For a fairly decent elf, that lad certainly has an awful lot of truck with evil beings. * Michelle looks at Lisl, "Know what?" * Lisl narrows her eyes. "Don't play innocent. As Tyl said earlier, I'm not an idiot." <Michelle> As I understand the tale, an old enemy of Jelarthna's got ahold of a piece of Erdian's Tower, and by entering a bargain with Cyric managed to summon up a horde of demons and use the power of the stone to corrupt the wounds the demons inflicted upon Jelarthna. * Lisl shakes her head in slow amazement. "And I thought I had enemies! I'd love to meet this little mage of Jel's." * Michelle meets Lisl's gaze with a momentary look of bafflement, then a light dawns, "Curdswell was right wasn't he?" * Lisl looks deeply chagrinned. "You mean you *didn't* know? Ach, hells!" <Michelle> 'Fraid that's not likely to happen. Last I saw of him Jaret had just decapitated him. <Lisl> Heh. That's usually enough to stop most people, but I can always hope. * Michelle giggles, a sounds like crystal rain drops echoing through the glen, "No I didn't. Whatever made you think I did?" * Lisl drops down onto a convenient log, looking peeved. <Lisl> What made you rush to the defense of lycanthropes everywhere, if you weren't trying to defend me? * Michelle folds her legs under her petticoats and floats about a foot off the ground. <Lisl> If you know Moon Dancer, you know perfectly well he'd be able to deal with such a problem on his own. <Michelle> Well, at one point while we were trying to help Jelarthna we got attacked by...Oh, a score or two of demons and fanatics. Right at sunset, right on the edge of town. Of course, by the time the fight was over there was no way of telling if there had been any witnesses. I was afraid maybe someone had seen Moon Dancer change. If that was the case, Moon Dancer needs to know about it. <Lisl> ::nods pensively:: I can see that...but that still doesn't explain your reaction. ::turning a sharp eye on <Michelle>: * Michelle smiles mischievously, "Funny how this keeps coming back to Jelarthna. The boy must be some kind of weirdness magnet. You see, I figured, if someone was looking for a were around the Hall, if necessary I could lead them off." * Michelle stands up and settles to the ground in one motion. "You see, you and Moon Dancer aren't the only ones with interesting little secrets." <Lisl> ::chuckling at the "weirdness" comment:: Aye, and he doesn't know the half of it, yet, as far as I know. I'd gathered that there was more to you than there seemed.... * Michelle wanders into the shadows, passing behind a tree which momentarily blocks Lisl's sight. <Lisl> ::half-rises, flaring her nostrils:: <Michelle> ::When she emerges from behind the tree and comes out of the shadows her hair, which was held in place with a butterfly shaped clasp and fell below her waist is now loose and only seems to reach to the middle of her back.:: * Lisl stands, stepping closer to the moonlight and peering uncertainly at Michelle. <Michelle> ::Her eyes which originally seemed gentle have taken on a more predatory gleam, and the pink dress with petticoats has been replaced by a loose tank top and shorts. Additionally, Michelle seems to be sporting some new accessories, like a completely different face, cat ears, and a tail.:: <Matt> [oh, dear. Dogs & cats...] <Lisl> [funny you should mention that...] ::takes a startled step back as Michelle's scent reaches her:: <Lisl> [hey at least we're not living together] * Felice extends her hand, "Hi, I'm Felice. 'Chelle figured if too many people started asking about you and Dancer I could play hide and seek with them. I'm really good, especially with 'chelle's help. <Matt> [that'd cause mass hysteria.] <Lisl> What-- ::numbly holds out her hand:: Or should I say who? You're-- not Michelle? * Felice shakes Lisl's hand, "Nope. I'm Felice. That wasn't very nice of you to make her drink that smelly mulekick." <Lisl> [bingo, Matt!] And obviously not human. ::short laugh:: <Matt> [hey, I don't drop *all* of the straight lines. :) ] <Lisl> ::frowning:: You share bodies? ::breaking into a puzzled smile:: A were-human?? * Felice squats down and starts scratching behind an ear with a foot, "Nope. Though I can be when I want to. They're not as much fun though." <Lisl> This is true. So...you weren't defending me, so much as yourself...I mean, Michelle. * Felice stops scratching and scrunches up her face for a moment, "We're not lycanthropes. We all have are own distinct personalities. But we all have the same memories as well." <Lisl> All? Just how many of you are there in there? Is it like...possession, then? <Felice> No, the only reason 'Chelle has to worry about werewolf hunters is because of all the moon magic she plays with. Any competent priest should be able to tell she's not a were. <Lisl> Ah, I see. I think. Though, there are enough competent priests out there who wouldn't know *I'm* were unless I changed in front of them. <Lisl> I don't know how much you know about the way things are in *this* world...but when I said there are two kinds of werewolves...well, I'm the *other* kind. <Lisl> Most weres are cursed...they change uncontrollably under the light of the full moon, and are cursed with a thirst for the blood and flesh of those nearest to them. <Felice> There are nine of us right now. But I don't think Arthur's doing so well. Maybe that's why 'Chelle wanted to have a baby so bad. 'Anna and I kept telling her she should just enjoy Jaret and move on. Course she never listens to us when it comes to men. * Lisl looks troubled for a moment, one hand rising unconsciously to stroke the pelt she wears at her shoulders. <Felice> Is that like when Dancer gets angry every time he sees 'Chelle first thing in the evening? <Lisl> Nine? ::pausing to sift through the sudden torrent of information:: Jaret-- ? ::pauses with a puzzled look on her face, and then breaks into a grin:: I never would have thought he had it in 'im! Figure that! <Lisl> Hmmm...somewhat like. Tho' Dancer still has at least *some* control over his form...he can change when he wills it, also...and he is most definitely *not* evil. Cursed werewolves are. * Felice starts grooming herself, "Their suppose to get together and talk later this week. I doubt anything's going to come of it. If he was really as interested in her and she wants him to be he'd have said something the moment he got back." * Felice looks at Lisl quizzically, "If they're cursed then it's not their fault right? So how does that make them evil?" <Lisl> ::raises an eyebrow:: I probably shouldn't be hearing this, and I doubt either of them would like to be talked about this way, but....::grinning and shrugging:: Jaret's a gentleman first and above all. He would never dream of doing anything that might seem like pressuring a lady. * Felice shakes her head and stretches out on the ground, "That's why I stalk my prey. Avoids all that messy second guessing of each other." <Lisl> The person is not necessarily evil, but the beast within him is. As I said, it's a curse, and a rather awful one at that. <Felice> So if you're not cursed, what are you? <Lisl> ::chuckling:: You stalk your boyfriends, too? <Felice> How are they supposed to know you appreciate them? <Lisl> I'm what some call a "natural" werewolf. I was born this way...my father was...cursed. I am not...the moon has no more effect on me than on any woman, and I can change at my will. * Lisl shifts smoothly from half-elven to half-were to full wolf and back, in the space of a few heartbeats. <Felice> Hmm...Don't know if I'm a "natural" or just a "really lucky". Probably have to have a litter to find out, and that seems like such a bother. <Lisl> ::chuckles:: I suppose, to a cat, stalking *is* a sign of affection. ::shakes her head:: I'm not entirely sure *what* would pass on from me. I've had a litter, but only with a wolf-mate. None of my cubs were ever anything but wolf, though at times they seemed more intelligent than your average pack. <Felice> Maybe it's recessive and will breed true when one of them mates with the children of another "natural" werewolf? <Lisl> "recessive"? A hidden trait, you mean? Hmmm....I suppose it's possible. Kindly don't mention that to Curdswell, though...I don't think I'd enjoy that experiment. * Felice sits up with an amused look on her face, "I still can't believe I used to be like that little gnome. Always blithely pursuing my research, assuming everyone else would understand. Actually enjoying being cooped up in holes in the ground for weeks on end." <Lisl> I know I can pass on the curse...my bite has the chance of infecting my victim with lycanthropy, just as a cursed werewolf's can. ::wry smile:: There's enough evidence of that left over from my "callow youth". * Felice voices takes a mischievous note, "Were you a bad doggie Lisl?" <Lisl> Heh. Until of late, I was the opposite...I *never* thought anyone else would understand. <Lisl> Bad? ME? ::matching Felice's tone:: You bet I was! <Felice> Good! * Felice jumps up into the branches of a tree, "We should play tag with Curdswell." <Lisl> I had much less control then...I still occasionally have a problem dealing with strong emotions without...ahem...showing my nature. One of the reasons I never tried mating with a human. It could get...awkward. <Lisl> ::looking up at Felice with a bemused expression:: I see what you mean about "different personalities." Somehow, I don't think Curdswell would take teasing very well. * Felice laughs, "It usually scares them at first, but they usually learn to enjoy. Those who don't usually run away real fast." <Felice> That's what would make it fun. <Lisl> It's the running away that gets to me...I'd rather not do that to someone I thought I loved. * Felice changes shape into a large black house cat with a human mouth. <Lisl> ::shaking her head, muttering "Cats." under her breath:: What were you just saying before, about assuming that people would understand? <Felice> Oh, the one's you love aren't afraid of you. I love 'Chelle and 'Anna, and Yohko, and Arthur very much, and none of them would ever run away from me. <Lisl> I think part of Curdswell's problem is that he doesn't take people's feelings into account...people don't always act rationally, when they feel strongly about something. <Lisl> ::raises an eyebrow:: You share the same body. How *could* they run away from you? <Felice> Yeah, but people are boring when the act rationally. <Felice> Well, I haven't ever met anyone else that I loved. <Lisl> Well, I think you'd find Curdswell very boring, then. He's even more research-minded than Zoya. Or Mother. <Felice> That's why we should play tag with him. Get him some exercise and get him thinking in non-rational ways. It's good for him. <Lisl> :: looking pained for a moment:: No one else you loved? At all? <Felice> If you want we could play tag with Zoya and your Mother too. <Lisl> You're assuming he *can* think in non-rational ways. I rather wonder. <Lisl> ::grins:: No, we shouldn't play tag with my mother. She always wins. And she doesn't play fair. <Felice> No humans. There've been lots of cats, but it's not the same. A cat's love is always unconditional. What makes a persons love so special is that it doesn't have to be unconditional, so it's infinitely valuable when it is. <Lisl> Hmmm... Funny, but I would have put it the other way 'round. Heh. Still, I'm sure you'll meet someone eventually. You have time, yet. * Felice frowns, "I don't know. None of us has ever died before. And Arthur's hiding it pretty well, but he isn't doing very well. I'm worried about that. <Lisl> ::giving Felice a curious look:: Have you....were you always like this? Together like this, I mean? Or do you change? <Lisl> ::sudden thought:: I don't know any more of you, do I? * Felice chuckles, "No, Adam stopped showing up before you came back, and Yohko's been keeping low ever since Jaret returned. But we weren't always like this. We were born just like a normal person, and grew up in a tinker gnomes dream world. Then somehow, we weren't there anymore... <Felice> ...And we weren't in our body, and there was magic and it was very confusing and scary. And then one night we were looking up at the moon, praying to the goddess like we used to do in our secret heart when no one could see us, and we knew the answer... * Lisl settles herself back onto the log. "A tinker gnome's world? You're a tinker gnome...originally? How...do you know how you got this way? Or why? <Felice> ...We'd been given a second chance. A chance to shape our life the way we wanted it to be, knowing the mistakes we had made before. So we started calling ourselves Michelle and we learned how to tap the power of the moon. <Felice> Later we went to other worlds. We never knew how or why, but sometimes we'd have new bodies or learn new powers. Whenever we got a new body we gave it a new name and started over again. Exploring another possible life we could have had. <Lisl> So...::frowning, concentrating, trying to sort this all out:: so you were first, and then Michelle, and you added people as you traveled? And...did Yohko sleep with Jaret, too? * Felice blinks, "Tinker gnome. No, there weren't any gnomes on my world. At least not that I was aware of. What I mean is that I came from a world of science, where magic supposedly didn't exist. It was filled with perfectly useless inventions and things that made your life harder instead of easier. In short, a tinker gnomes paradise. * Felice chuckles, nearly falling off of her branch, "No. No one slept with Jaret. Though 'Anna and I wanted to. 'Chelle did to, but she's too well bred to admit to that sort of thing." <Lisl> ::chuckles:: I can see why you'd call it that. But... magic didn't exist? Magic is everywhere! If it didn't, then how...? ::gestures at Felice's obviously magical form:: <Felice> Oh. I wasn't first. Brad was first. <Lisl> ::slaps her knee:: Drat...so Jaret hasn't slept with anybody. Ah, well, so much for my opinion of him. Perhaps that's why he stormed off that time. * Felice laughs again and once more nearly loses her perch, "It would serve 'Chelle right if that were the case." <Lisl> ::shakes her head:: If anything's going to happen, I think Michelle would have to jump him. ::chuckles:: I think Jaret is mostly over his difficulty with ::ahem:: "forward" women. * Felice switches back to her mostly human form, "Oh, do tell." <Lisl> ::laughs, waving a hand:: Oh, no, not *that* kind of forward woman! No, as I said, Jaret was raised a gentleman...when I first met him, he had some very peculiar ideas about what women could and couldn't do, and how one was supposed to treat them. <Felice> I don't know. I think 'Chelle might be happy spending her life barefoot and pregnant. <Lisl> I *ahem* disabused him of some of those ideas. ::coughing:: Barefoot and-- ::cough, cough:: I don't think that's exactly what Jaret would have in mind, if it came to that. <Felice> Well, it was the logical conclusion to all the whooey about a woman's place is in the house. <Lisl> Hmmmm....I never really got from him what a woman was *supposed* to be doing. All I know is that, in his opinion (back then), a woman had no business swinging a sword, especially when there was a man about to protect her. And heavens forfend that she offer to *fight* one. * Felice chuckles, "Well, his thanking Yohko for teaching his classes while he was gone would seem to prove that he learned the lesson you taught him <Felice> So did they hunt you the last time demons were showing up at the Hall? <Lisl> ::chuckling:: He's an excellent swordsman, but I don't think he was used to people like me. ::lifting her head, eyes lighting:: Ah, so *that's* Yohko! Got it. <Felice> Dear, I'd be worried about anyone who was used to people like us. <Lisl> ::sobering:: Yes, tho' I wasn't the only one. And I think I imagined at least some of it. I spent three very paranoid and smelly weeks living in the city sewers as a hideout. <Lisl> Heh. Good point. You would have liked Sealgair, I think, though. * Felice wrinkles her nose and sits up on her branch, "Eew." <Lisl> Tell me about it. I had to shave my hair to get the smell out...I'm just glad it didn't follow me between changes. <Felice> 'Chelle and Adam met him. He didn't really seem to be all there except for that last evening. Then of course we were all too busy wondering what was going on to get to know each other. * Felice grabs her hair and her tail a look of utter terror on her face. <Lisl> *Met* him? But-- Sealgair's dead...or so I thought. I've been wrong about that before. Well, no, I was right, but he didn't *stay* dead. <Felice> Yeah, he died that last evening when he took Dancer back to a primordial Earth. Or as close to one as he could find. <Lisl> ::nods grimly:: Trust me, the smell was worse. Think of what Marsember smells like *above* ground...now mix that with a centuries-old swamp and a city's worth of raw sewage, and you'll have an inkling of what I mean. <Felice> Can we just kill anyone who comes looking for us. I don't think anyone would miss Curdswell. <Lisl> He-- Dancer--? ::shakes her head:: I think this is my evening for being startled and confused. Perhaps fate has been saving them up for me. <Felice> Don't worry about it. People are amusing when they're confused. <Lisl> ::shakes her head:: I tried that, long ago. Not only is it wrong-- not everyone who hunts weres is a bad person-- but it only brings the hunt down harder and faster. <Lisl> I'm glad I amuse you. ::shakes her head and mutters "Cats." again:: <Felice> Why, people get killed all the time, and no one goes around blaming it all on werewolves. <Lisl> Yes, but if a person who had been asking about werewolves just conveniently happened to die, of *unnatural** causes, people would start asking difficult questions. <Felice> You mean like what that toy he keeps muttering to is? <Lisl> Toy? You mean the golem? <Lisl> At least, I assume that's what it is, tho' I've never seen one so small. <Felice> It looks like a windup robot. We had one as a little kid. <Lisl> A --what? A row-bot? ::shakes her head:: Never mind...I don't think I'd understand even if you did explain. <Felice> So what do we do? I was thinking of playing hide and seek with Curdswell, but with three of us around, and two of you with no good place to hide that might not be such a good idea. <Lisl> Hmmmm....we could keep secret about it...though I think he already suspects at least one of us... <Lisl> Or we could just tell him about me, and make *very* certain about the ground rules. <Lisl> The idea of his experiment intrigues me, tho' I've no wish to be turned into a timetim guinea pig. <Felice> If we can't kill him then keeping secrets isn't the best idea. He likes to talk too much and he's a really bad liar. <Lisl> Well enough. ::shakes her head again, looking up at Felice:: And I thought I had a dual personality...how *do* you keep yourselves straight? * Felice jumps down from the tree, "How do you keep you and me straight?" <Lisl> Well...that's easy enough. We're separate people. We don't share memories or bodies or anything like that... <Felice> But you have memories of me, and you have memories of you, and they both reside in the same body. How do you know that your Lisl talking to Felice, rather than Felice talking to Lisl, or Lisl talking to Lisl, or Felice talking to Felice? <Lisl> ::shakes her head:: I don't have first-hand memories of you, I have memories that involve you. From *my* perspective. I think you're just trying to confuse me more, cat. ::grinning:: * Felice smiles, "Maybe, or maybe you've answered your own question." <Lisl> ::shakes her head ruefully:: Well, it'll keep. I'd best get myself off to bed, or the neighbors will spread rumors about me. Well, worse rumors, at any rate. <Felice> Oh, what could they possibly say about such an adorable little puppy. <Lisl> ::closes her eyes in a "give me strength" gesture, and opens them....they're bright yellow:: I'm not an adorable puppy. I'm a vicious attack dog that Lisl keeps in her apartments, and I eat thieves for lunch. <Felice> ::Felice's features flow into those of Michelle, including the pink dress and petticoats she was wearing earlier.:: Of course you are dear. Tell Lisl I said "Hello." Michelle steps into a clear patch of moonlight and slowly fades away. <Lisl> ::chuckles:: Indeed. I'll see you at the Hall, then, Michelle... <Lisl> ::shakes her head:: Hells. Worse than Moon Dancer, she is. <Lisl> ::chuckles, shifts form, and slips into the shadows:: |
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