Selvina was jumped slightly as a weight suddenly landed on her head unceremoniously and winced as it was tapped annoyingly. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. And in truth, the fox was right. They did need to talk or they would both end up miserable with eachother. The noble sat up as her familiar hopped off her head and looked down at the small thing.

Oh, she was so adorable like this really.

"I guess you are right ..." The mage let out a little sigh. "I don't expect you to be a slave - although you acted really well when you pretended to be a catgirl maid. Maybe you should try it more often?" Selvina smiled at her own joke as she tried to brighten the mood a bit.

"But no - while we are on campus I expect you to help pamper me a bit, but the moment we return home you will not be forced to be a servant except as a punishment or a slight favor ... I'm asking you to learn things useful to me because you should be able to do some things like that. Not because I expect you to spend every day of my hopefully long life doing laundry." It would probably be helpful to provide a more concrete example. "There are others to do such menial tasks at my family estate for instance, and they will also be there to help you in case you require them. There are some that can give masterful massages and ..." The mage realized she was losing track of the point she was getting to and shook her head.

"But that's not what this is about is it? Firstly, you haven't been very close to me physically. I've offered to pick you up and carry you around - you obviously are capable of walking, but it's simply a way to get close to each other and it's a free ride. I get the sensation that if I tried to pet you in thanks you'd want to rip my hand off. And you simply tricked me in regards to that tail of yours, so why should I trust you?" It was obvious that the girl thought this tiny form was adorable and wanted to give her a nice petting, but gulped and averted her eyes. "Can you at least tell me why? It's just an easy way to be friendly with each other."

But there was more. "And ... I expect you to play pranks and jokes. I figure it's in your nature as much as it is in a dragon's to be proud. I'm not going to be cruel and ask you to never have your fun with me - besides, that behavior shows you trust me enough to at least have an amicable relationship with your mage." Then the problem. "But my own familiar should not write death curses on my face. We don't threaten people in our house that we are close to, and for now you are part of my family. If we do such a thing, we have every intention of following through with it. Making jokes about wishing I was dead and painting a curse on my face doesn't make me want to trust you to wonder around on your own. It doesn't make me want to tell me my secrets which makes me sad since my familiar should be the one person who I can tell everything and expect them to be helpful."


Maoin nodded as she listened to her mistress, but her eyes drifted over the plate of food. It wasn't good for her mistress, was it? And besides, she'd been told no matter what plea or threat was given out to ignore them. The servant stood up at the table and curtsied apologetically. "I'm sorry mistress, but I can't allow you to do that." The dragoness would find her plate lifted off the table as the cat walked out of the restaurant briskly.

There was a local group of abandoned familiars in a nearby alley. Maoin sighed, took her arm and brushed most of the food onto the ground with a fork as they eyed it hungrily before walking back to the tavern with an amount of food appropriate for a large person rather than a village.

"Please forgive me, Lady Sorcha." The cat eared girl placed the plate in front of her owner nervously before bowing deeply and returning to her chair. Her fork poked around the fish on her plate before taking a few cheerless bites and looking away from Lady Sorcha's general direction. It would be easy for Lady Luna to see however that the kitten was upset and her eyes were watering just slightly and her ears dropped flat.


Fia yelped as she was slammed into and sent tumbling across the dirt of the headmistress' private gardens. The two ended up in a tangled mess, the phoenix breathing heavily as a now naked Ritsa sat on top of her dominatingly. "... I ... I suppose ..." It was obviously a defeat, but she didn't want to admit it.

Certain thoughts entered the crimson haired girl's mind before she shook them out. With ... with her? Why? As she was pulled up however into a close hug she found herself hugging the other girl's darker body back for a moment, fingers tracing along her spine.

The phoenix felt deeply confused, but as she leaned backwards perplexed and placed her hands against the ground ... was she touching something metal? "... what ...?" For a second she paused before lifting a circular object out of the dirt and brushing it off to inspect it's surface. The ring itself was made of a black metal of an origin Fia couldn't guess, but along it's surface were precious yellow stones cut into stars embedded into it's surface, twinkling slightly more than they should be. On the inside of the ring was a sort of writing that she didn't recognize ... was it in one of her dreams?

Curious, she put the ring on before showing Ritsa. "... pretty ...?" She let out a slight laugh before letting out a sigh and smiling at the other girl and tilting her head slightly as she did so. "... so you won ..." She wasn't sure where they were supposed to go from here. "... what now ...?"


Meowka listened to her mistress and let out a slight sigh. Though as she observed the sign that had been pointed to she contemplated it for a moment before responding. "Does it sell ... cookware?" After all, there was a pot in the picture and perhaps it was trying to demonstrate how useful their utilities were? She tugged on her collar slightly, Katherine would be able to sense her frustration as she found herself getting more and more hungry as they waited. "... are we eating at home, and you need to buy some pans for the dolls?" That was her best guess, at least.

Lunalel Lightsword

Luna hadn't expected the cat to act so boldly. She thought Sorcha couldn't be too mad realistically considering her own order to the cat, but at the same time she seemed excited to eat that food. Luna took a drink and looked at Sorcha to study her response to the situation.

Eith

"Flushed?" Eith questioned. Did she look. . . What? "I tried to read that book." She said while pointing to the book she was looking at. Perhaps she should just describe. "I didn't understand the words, but the script. I thought I knew what it was called and tried to remember but my head started to hurt' The Shellagh shook her head. "This is why I try not to think much. It's annoying."

Katherine Lindall

Katherine sighed. It wasn't that hard was it? "The pan stands for cooking and the fish means. . . Well, fish. So it's fish restaurant. That's where we're going since you answered the question wrong." Katherine grabbed the cat's arm and pulled her along. Well, this might cure what ails the cat. "Come, come. This is your welcome party, enjoy it while you can." She got the two of them a seat. Get what you want. Word around is that it's cheap and high quality."

Mugi the Yuki-Onna

Mugi just kissed Cynthia on the cheek. "That's a secret until I know the answer. Might not affect you much, but it might interest you." She waved to Cynthia and followed Livia to her study. "Hello again, Headmistress. I've a question for you. Would it be possible for me to go to the classes here? Is it only available to the mages? I'd like to learn. I've been learning your written system from Cynthia and, while it's not perfect, it should be fine enough."

~Ritsa~

"Ehe, prettier." Ritsa said hugging the girl again before releasing the redhead and standing up, retrieving the robe. What do now, though? Ritsa frowned momentarily as she tried to think of something else to do. Well...it was simple, obviously! "You're it!~" With a giggle, Ritsa gave Fia a wide grin before zooming off in a random direction intent on not letting the other girl catch her.

~Fox~

The fox growled slightly at Selvina's 'joke'. Just like the curse wasn't funny to the mage, such a thing was not funny to her. Double standards? Oh, definitely, but she wasn't one to really care at all. As the mage continued though, the Fox simply had to sigh at the absurdity of it all. She 'Should' learn how to be a glorified pet? No. She refused. Not again. At least she let the mage finish speaking before she replied, however.

"Oh? I must be physically close to someone I don't like? That is absolutely ridiculous." She scoffed. "And you would be correct. Just because I look like an animal in part does not mean I automatically like being 'pet'. It's degrading when done so casually you ignorant human. But why should I have to 'learn' to do anything, hm? It is not even in my natural skill set. I was trained in both curses and combat to serve someone whose name I won't even mention, and I refuse to degrade myself to do such things." She scoffed again as she continued.

"And trust? Has this one done anything to earn this humans mistrust?" The fox snarled. "Or have you forgot this one helped you avoid further punishment and humiliation from that thing that calls itself 'headmistress'? That I did as you asked and brought that other girl you obviously were ogling to you, hm? Even though I was curious I refrained from eavesdropping? Why should you not trust me? because I doodled a harmless joke onto your face that you could just wash off? Because of a -mostly- harmless prank that you ended up getting a little shocked? I found both of those things to be quite hilarious, you know. But I suppose my humorless, small-minded master wouldn't like it." The fox sauntered off, having said her piece and hopping back up onto the windowsill.

"...and make no mistake, human. No matter what happens you will never be 'family'"



"That's...that's not good, Eith!" Miren frowned. That sounded bad. Really bad. Her little bunny senses were tingling. She had a good sense for 'bad', at least she thought she did. "Maybe...go see Aetheria about it?" She suggested. She knew the school nurse was well versed in such things, and if Eith didn't want to see Livia then Aetheria was probably the next best bet on the matter. "S-she helped me out a bit too, sometimes. She's not as good as Livia I don't think but she could help, probably."



Cynthia simply watched Mugi curiously. Interest her? How so? She couldn't really imagine why...but she didn't really know how to ask. Mugi didn't seem really intent on talking that much about it yet. She had a job to do though, so she couldn't take much interest in it for now. So she simply rubbed the spot on the cheek she was kissed somewhat affectionately before starting to dust and watched as Mugi followed after the headmistress.

"Ah?" Livia hadn't been expecting to be followed. "So you are interested?" She chuckled impishly as she took a seat at her desk. She probably shouldn't tease Mugi much more, but it was just so fun. "If you wish to attend, it's no problem Mugi. The school is open for all who wish to learn, you know. And I'm quite certain Cynthia would be thrilled as well. If you want, I can handle the paperwork personally."



Sorcha's jaw dropped faster than an anvil trying to fight gravity.

"LUUUUNAAAA~" The dragon whined in quite the undignified fashion, pouting and looking over to the knight as she flailed her arms in a slightly childish fashion. "M-moain is being mean to me. Lemme have some of yours!" It was probably odd to see the dragon behaving in such a manner. If anything, people might find it funny.

Selvina managed to form a reply after a bit of thought. "I thank you for those things. But you have to admit you tried to kill us a few weeks ago - and even though you investigated her yesterday, you never told me she broke up with her familiar ... I guessed it turned out all right, at least."

The joke though ... maybe it realy had just been intended to be a funny prank? Even the foreigner she had met earlier didn't seem too upset about it - perhaps she had taken it a bit too seriously? "Alright. It was a little funny. At least it was pretty." Though she still crossed her arms. "Although I expect better out of my familiar than such cheap humor. I thought Sly incarnate would be able to do more than that, at least?" Maybe a challenge would work better?

For a couple seconds she paused though. "I also have purchased you the clothes you have requested and every day you have bought yourself meals reminiscent of your homeland because I'm kind enough to spare the coin to ease your homesickness." The mage observed the fox on the windowsill for a couple of seconds before remembering their prior encounter.

Hadn't she felt the fear of trauma?

"Be honest though - are you afraid of being close and carried around and pampered because of your previous master? Were they cruel to you?" That was the mages best bet about what had happened there at least. "... were you forced to serve them in vile ways against your will?" It wasn't the best euphemism in the world, but the wizard simply couldn't bring herself to plainly asked if her familiar had been abused in an intimate sense.


Maoin remained silent for a few seconds, but the dragon's pleas were ... the kitten found herself unable to snicker slightly as her ears perked up a bit, taking a solid bite of her delicious fish. She ... she didn't know that Lady Sorcha was capable of acting in such a manner but ... it was somewhat child-like, wasn't it? She found her watching Lady Lune in spite of herself and wondered how the knightess would respond.


Meowka blinked as Katherine mentioned it was a fish restaurant. Why not simply have a fish on a plate, then? Though she didn't really resist as her mistress gave her a nice tug in that general direction and walked along with the token resistance of someone who was a little embarrassed. Soon enough the two of them were dragged inside and the street cat sat down willingly as she once again found herself looking at the menu upside down.

Such strange things with their little markings. Meowka wondered how these things were supposed to work exactly. Though the slight ringing of a bell brought her eyes to attention.

As the waitress came by - a young dog girl of about fourteen with a thick collar on her neck and a bell attached to it - the cat gave her a slight scowl before asking for her meal demandingly. "Something decent with lots of fish in it. And some decent drink to go with it." The poor puppy seemed confused, but Meowka's eyes silenced her as she decided to introduce herself after the preemptive order.

"I'm Nikki and I'll be your waitress for the evening." The poor girl seemed surprised by how Meowka asked for a meal before she even had said hello. "Is this your first time visiting the fish pan, miss?" She gave Lady Katherine a big smile that cracked slightly - it was the practiced smile of a stressed out person in a food industry who would probably snap the moment they returned home. "If ... if it's not, is there anything I can get for you?" She seemed a little thrown off by Meowka's game, but it seemed more along the lines of youthful uncertainty than true incompetency.

Lunalel Lightsword

Luna couldn't help giggle at Sorcha's act. "You're cute like this Sorcham but really..." She patted the dragons's head and ruffled her head. "While I understand you're train of thought, 'After I tell you this rule, no matter what I do, say, or threaten with you are not to back down or acquiesce to my demands... My diet. You are to make sure I never, under any circumstance over eat.' So what can I say?" Luna looked for a few more words. "Well, I love you an all, but you reap what you sow. Just be glad you never told her you shouldn't drink either."

Eith

"I doubt whoever that is could help. It's been like this since I could rememmber. It's never done damage other than slight memory loss." She seemed adament, but not negative. If Miren pushed the issue, mayhap she could convince Eith to go, but she didn't seem interested in talking. She gave the bunny a hug. Half because that's what her instinct told her, and half because she felt a bit weak in the knees and tipped over on her. "Thanks for caring. . . Right?"

Katherine Lindall

"Ahh, yes. This will be the first time I've been here. My precious familiar here has her heart set on eating fish and is a staunch believer of quantity over quality." Katherine said looking over the menu a bit, "I'll also apologize for her, she is a bit impatient and fairly hungry as well. That said, I'll take the Chef's Special. I like surprises like that at times. And this one would like something on the cheaper side but a bit of it." She gave the dog-girl a nice smile to ease whatever tension there might be.

Mugi the Yuki-Onna

Mugi looked slighly shocked at how easily the Headmistress agreed to Mugi's request. In fact, she was more surprised by the offer to do the paperwork. The had a tinge of worry about it, but she didn't seem the type of woman to mess with the inner cogs of the working machine called "St. Sappho's Academy." "Wow, yes. That would be wonderful of you. I'm grateful, truely." To show, she gave a very deep Eastern Bow.

~Fox~

"Kill?" The fox chuckled. "I never killed anyone. If you fools hadn't tried to stop me no one would have gotten hurt." Admittedly they got involved because she had gotten a tad bit impatient, but that was irrelevant. "I would have been out with Ayumi and no one would have been the wiser. Or at least, that old woman wouldn't be able to do anything about it unless she decided to send Kozue after me which would just be petty." At the accusatory statement though, the fox simply smirked. "Do We need a repeat of the tail incident, master?~ I would love to demonstrate how fluffy they are again." Challenging the fox to a game of pranks, was not going to be good for Sel's health.

As the conversation continued though, the fox simply remained silent.

And then laughed.

"You're funny, human. Nothing happened, and even if it did I could not speak of it or have you forgotten the enforced silence imposed on me and my sister?" The 'Nothing happened' then, would likely be a lie, but whatever did happen the fox didn't seem like she could talk about it even if she wanted too. "So quit that line of questioning. It will get you nowhere, you miserable human." With a stretch and a yawn, the fox rolled over on the windowsill.

"Now cease your annoying prattling. That tongue of your flapping annoyingly is going to give me a headache."



"O-okay..." Miren frowned. She wouldn't press the issue for the moment since Eith was adamant about it...if she said she was fine she was fine. That was enough for now - but if something happened, she was going to drag this hound to both Livia and Aetheria if she had too. "Just...erm, don't hurt yourself?"



"You're quite welcome, and no need to be so shocked. This is the entire reason I had this place built, you know." She continued with a chuckle. "Knowledge and education should be free for any who desire it. Now...if there's nothing else I'll have you in classes right after the festival. I have a few other things to take care of while Ritsa and Fia are busy playing."



Sorcha shot Luna a look that easily read 'Traitor'. She may have looked angry if she almost looked like she was about to cry as her cheeks puffed out and she gave a decidedly nonthreatening glare to the knight.

"T-this is dragon abuse!" She continued. "A-and I'm not cute so don't pet me so easily! F-e-r-ocious man eating dragon!" Despite her words, she was acting the exact opposite of that. "I'm a growing girl Luna! I need to eat."

Selvina sat up out of her bed and walked over to the windowsill, looking down at the fox. No, SHE had wanted to go to sleep. This fox wasn't getting away that easy. The mage lifted the small fox up by the scruff of her neck in a way that hopefully wouldn't be harmful. The moment she heard a loud and painful yelp she dropped Sly, giving her a look of confusion. There ... there wasn't anything wrong with her ... was there?

The mage couldn't see a sign of any injury she had agitated, at least.


Maoin's mouth dropped slightly as she watched the knightess pet Lady Sorcha. And called her cute. Normally the servant would try to give a little defense for her mistress but ... looking at how her mistress was acting the kitten found herself trying to contain herself as her owner complained - it was rude to laugh at one's lady but also because there was food in her mouth.

She swallowed the bite of fish she was on before pounding one of her hands against the table and feel her cheeks flush in an attempt to get rid of the energy. A second after puffing her cheeks up to help contain herself, the black haired girl burst into laughter and nearly fell out of her chair as a result, small tears beginning to run down her cheeks. "M-miss L-Luna! Don't! B-be mean to m-my mis-mistress!"

The cat could barely speak between her bouts of laughter and completely stopped trying to resist it as she put up a token resistance against the knightess' 'cruelty'.


The dog-girl waitress seemed to relax as the human came across as much more reasonable than her cat companion, letting out a slightly sigh. Meowka's cheeks seemed to puff up slightly as her mistress commented on 'Quantity over Quality' but she didn't vocalize whatever her complaint was. "A chef's special and the Catfish Cashing coming right up ma'am!" With another look from Meowka, the girl hurried off to go fetch their drinks and submit their order.

The cat let off a small sigh folding her arms for a few seconds silently before grabbing one of the beverages from the dog-girl's hands as the puppy placed the other one in front of Miss Katherine before scurrying off. "You don't think I care about quality, mistress?" The girl looked over at the older woman before turning her head away. "Well, I suppose I ended up with you, so you're probably right about that." The night prowler had a grin running across her face as she returned a smile to the archwizard, hoping that she managed to get the better of the other woman for once.

Lunalel Lightsword

Luna couldn't help but giggle at the sight more. What was with this purposeful act of trying to be adorable. "Ferocious dragons don't pout like a child, Sorcha. Hehehe." It was humourous for sure. Maoin was laughing at this too. It was refreshing to not see the poor girl beat herself up over nothing. "Still though, I don't see why you need a diet. You look fine as is. I've not noticed anything different and you're still a beauty." The Knightess barely realized what she said before the words came out. Well, it was objectively true. Anyone would find it hard pressed to disagree. . .

Eith

"Nnn. I never planned to get hurt. It's in my instinct to avoid harm if possible. Not that it's always possible..." Eith looked around the store, "I'm strong, as long as I live mostly by instinct I'm fine. And as long as I don't actively think too much. It's worse with special sorts of things than others. Like names. It's hard for me to think of specific names except for Lyssa and Myrilla. I'm unsure of why though." She just needed to admit to that much. Bunny always seemed to have a hard time following along with her stories after all.

Katherine Lindall

"Being snarky are we? I thought you wanted lots of fish to fill your belly." Katherine said before moving on to her retaliation. "Still though, perhaps you should stop insulting yourself and me in the process. Unless you happen to be a low quality servant." This cat didn't think on her feet, or so Katherine thought as she added a little chuckle at the end of her sentence. "I'll have you know that I'm the second most powerful person on this campus. There isn't much I couldn't find out if I wanted to. So long as one talks, they are hardly safe." She considered saying something about how the cat "Should wonder if she herself were high enough quality to serve Katherine, but she didn't want to be too mean. For now. Regardless, she took a sip of the drink in front of her.

Mugi the Yuki-Onna

"Yes, understood. Thank you. I, ummm, I'm just going to sit here until Cynthia is finished." Mugi said, taking a seat in a chair nearby. This was a study? It was a bit odd to her, but it had a homey, 'Finish all the paperwork' feel to it. With aught else to do, she just started humming a song from her home. Lightly, Livia likely would have heard it, but it would have been fairly quiet and hopefully nothing too distracting.

~Fox~

As she was picked up by her neck, the reaction was almost instant.

There was an almost painful sounding yelp despite Sels' intention for it not to be, followed by a low growl coming from the fox as she was dropped. At least she had enough sense not to do anything more.

"Foolish human you know NOTHING." The fox growled. Strangely, it almost sounded like there were two voices speaking but whatever it was subsided by the time she continued. A dull, throbbing pain in the back of her head was starting to worse. Ugh, she really was getting a headache from this human. "You are ignorant, foolish, and I regret telling Ayumi she could play with you!" After a few seconds though, the foxes demeanor changed to something much less hostile, as she readjusted her body into a sitting position as she coolly glared at Sel from the floor as her tails curled around her feet. With that, she was done. She wouldn't speak further. She trotted under Sel's bed, curled up and refused to speak further no matter what Sel would do.

As soon as Sel was asleep herself...she'd leave and go for a stroll. She couldn't stand being here.



"Yes! Ferocious, incredibly - blindingly attractive and not adorable!" The dragon continued with a huff. She could have teased Luna a little bit, certainly...but that would be for later. "Y-you are both cretins! Vile, disrespectful cretins and-" What happened next, would have likely made anyone burst out into laughter. The most decidedly nonthreatening roar one would likely aver hear from a dragon escaped Sorcha's lips. Before anyone could comment on it though, Sorcha's hand moved over her mouth and ceased speaking for a few minutes. To the onlooker it might look as though she was trying to hide embarrassment, but in reality she was just trying to cover a smile of her own.

"When I become queen or something," She grumbled, finally starting to eat the meager scraps of food her cruel, cruel, servant had left for her. "All of you are getting demoted to royal scale-polishers."

Sel frowned as she watched her familiar growl at her and then retreat under the bed. Let Ayumi play with them? What did she mean? Still though, she was entirely surprised by this but based on the way Sly was acting the mage figured she'd want to be left along for a bit. After a couple of minutes of standing awkwardly the girl finally spoke. "I'm ... I'm going to go out for a bit ..."

With that, the mage left the room and closed the door behind her - it'd probably be nice to give Sly a chance to breathe after all, wouldn't it?


Maoin burst out in laughter again as the banter continued, lowering her head against the table and laughing into her arms at the absurdity of the situation rendered completely unable to respond as Lady Sorcha and Lady Lightsword continued to speak. Eventually though, the cat managed to catch her breath as she gave the dragon a smile. "So I'll get to keep my job? Yay!" Maoin let out a slight cheer before returning to laughter once more unable to maintain any degree of seriousness for the conversation.


Meowka puffed her cheeks out at the archwizard. "Well like I said I'm no maid! Besides, you have your dolls for that. I'm the prettiest pet who is meant to live a pampered life, Mistress Katherine. Unless you need me to like, spy on your crush or something. I can do that." The other woman's insult didn't seem to work on the cat as she stuck her neck out proudly and showed off the collar. "But shouldn't an archwizard like yourself be the most powerful one here? I've heard of the headmistress, but surely your power is beyond hers!"

The night prowler gave off a confident grin. "With your power and my stealth surely we can instate you as headmistress - then you'll be able to give me the full pampering I deserve." It was entirely possible one of the headmistress' spirits was observing this entire conversation and dying of laughter.

Lunalel Lightsword

"Royal Scale-Polisher? Hah! I'll be wary of it." Luna said, taking a swig of drink and bite of bread. This night was to be interesting it seemed. She was ready for a night of drinking and food and drinking. Not too late though, it was not good to sleep in too late. "You never said you needed to hold back on your drink, Sorcha. You have that." Luna brought the dragon's cup closer to her, encouraging her. If there was one thing they shared, it was enjoyment of alcohol.

Katherine Lindall

"I can do all the spying I need. Unless you forget a certain army of dolls that is. Otherwise, I must say I am no archmage. I'm merely a teacher. A very powerful teacher given, but a teacher nonetheless. The only reason the headmistress is alive right now is a mixture of magical experiments and being able to best me in look alone." Katherine finished and took a drink of what was in front of her. She downed it, barely paying attention to what it was. It was strong though.

"Loathe I am to admit it. . . Livia could take my head fairly easily. She's easily one of the strongest people I know. Livia. . . Myrilla. . . Father. . ." The Puppeteer said the last one with a hint of disgust. "Wonder if that old coot is still alive." She continued musing before looking back to the cat. "Either way, we should get you to meet Livia. It'll happen eventually anyway and you can see how freightening she can be in person."

Livia really wasn't freightening to look at. She was a beautiful woman, but she could act quiet scary when she wanted to be. Especially when she was around Myrilla. . . Especially when she getting intimate with her as well. Katherine not so secretly wished for a ménage à trois between her and the two women. . . Perhaps that was the reasoning for one of her nicknames. . . "Well, I think you'll like her. Probably."

~Fox~

For a few minutes after Sel left, the fox just laid under the bed, grumbling silently to herself. Good, the human left. She felt less and less like burning the cursed fool to ash. After a few more minutes of gathering her thoughts, the fox trotted out from under the bed and walking over to the windowsill, hopping up to it. In a few deft motions the window had been opened, and the fox leaped out of it swiftly, landing easily on the ground below and bolting away from the dorm and towards the Lake. So good to finally be able to be free! She could feel the wind in her fur, blowing through it as she sprinted along the grassy terrain.

...why not actually stretch for a bit, too?

This place looked secluded enough, and Sel wasn't likely to find her here. With a stretch, the small fox suddenly started to grow in size. An inky blackness formed over it, nine black furry tails extending behind her with a flourish with dark colored energy arcing across her body. The large fox shook its body and stretched, seeming quite content with finally being able to actually stretch its true form. The fox itself was large - her head as large as a human was though it didn't look too different from its smaller form save for the extra tails...and a shackle that seemed to be wrapped around her front left leg, the remnants of a shredded chain clinking lightly as she moved her paw.

Upon closer inspection for anyone who cared to look...the shackle seemed to have spikes on the inside of it impaling it into the foxes leg. She didn't seem to be too bothered by it.

"GRRRAAAH." She grunted, the secondary voice that was present earlier making a return as she spoke. It was an oddly unsettling voice, almost whisper like. "Ignorant mage." The fox sat at the edge of the lake, looking down into the water conveniently not noticing Kozue who was nearby. "She touches me again I'm going to burn that soul of hers to nothing.



"Ah...alcohol..." The dragon replied, grabbing the mug and rubbing it against her cheek. "My only, only friend in a world of cruel, cruel servants and knights." Almost immediately, she brought the mug to her lips and started chugging it. In seconds, the contents had been completely emptied. "Luna, Another!" She said, slamming the cup onto the table. "If I can't eat as much as I want, I will drink my weight in alcohol instead!"

The cat watched Lady Sorcha ask Luna for more to drink and let out a sigh - she'd probably end up taking care of them, wouldn't she? It was her job of course, but now that the laughing was over she could actually return to eating her food as the other two began to share in their merry making.

This was some damn good fish, at least. The kitten let out a slight smile as she continued to eat, keeping a watchful eye on the other two and making sure they didn't take this too far, but otherwise remaining silent.


Meowka raised an eyebrow as her mistress listed off the people who could take her head with ease including ... her father? The cat had more questions about what was going on there, but took a sip of her own drink and letting her ears twitch as she was hit by an unusual taste. As Miss Katherine continued to speak though the question was dropped, Meowka instead paying attention to the way she spoke about the headmistress made the prowler of the night blink a couple of times.

Did she ... admire her ... maybe love? The cat let out a smirk as she came to that conclusion. Of course this woman wasn't more powerful, her mistress was just head over heels for her! Whoever this 'Livia' was probably wasn't nearly as powerful as the woman who had captured her - because obviously only the most powerful magician could manage such a feat equivalent to slaying dragons! It was clear the woman who had collared her was simply being modest, and it was honestly quite cute.

She took another couple of drinks before leaning across the table and grabbing one of the wizard's hands into her own. She spoke in a slightly mischievous voice as her tail swished behind her lifting the dress somewhat. "Your modesty is so cute, Mistress Katherine!" The cat crawled up onto the table on all fours, apparently having little room for manners in her mind as she leaned closer to the archwizard as if to say some sort of secret, but still speaking in the same voice. "I think I'd like any woman you are so clearly in love with, 'Powerful Teacher'." The cat let off a wind as she remained on all fours, the look of an epiphany running across her body as her eyes went wide for a moment and her tail standing up high. "... are you too nervous to confess! Maybe Meowka could help with that!"

Lunalel Lightsword

The waitress walked by hearing Sorcha's words. She meerly looked at Luna who nodded and held up two fingers. There was to be more alcohol. "Aye! Just not too much! Make sure you can get up in the morning." The waitress was back soon enough with another two mugs of drink. "Let us enjoy this day! Join us Maoin!"

Katherine Lindall

"Love? The only things I love are myself and my "children", cat. And get off the table, damnit." Katherine complained. She seemed much more irritated at Meowka being on the table. "I'm 'intimate' with her, but it's hardly love. You don't typically plan to kill the one you love. Unless you have a different definition of love than I." She looked behind her and saw the waitress coming back. "Now calm yourself. Our food is coming."

Kozue Komichi

Kozue had been training for the better part since she left the cave. It wasn't really that long, honestly though, she didn't want to waste too much energy that was meant for the White Fox so she took a seat under a nearby tree. After a bit, she heard a voice. A familiar voice. Cursing some undisclosed mage. Still, Kozue had an idea who it was. With a look, she confirmed it. It was the Black Fox and she didn't seem too happy. "Ho? The Black Fox? So, I imagine this is not quite the freedom you desired. If you're talking of burning the soul of the one that bound you, I suggest forgetting it. From what I've learned, that's an impossible feat so long as you are bound. And worry not, I'm not going to harm you, as I expect from you. So long as you stay your hand, I will stay mine." She moved closer to the fox, but still kept her distance just in case.

~Fox~

The fox tilted her head towards the voice.

"Oh," She harrumphed. "If it isn't my sister and her plaything. Just my luck running into you two here. How generous of you to stay your hand." The fox laid on the ground, narrowing its eyes towards Kozue but otherwise not seeming intent on causing any more trouble than she usually did. "Not like it would matter if you didn't - without the power of my sister you're nothing notable." She chuckled.

Kozue would feel a slight sensation of small concern mixed with annoyance as the black fox spoke. Likely the White fox being aware, even as weakened as she was in some fashion.

"Couldn't even rat me out as clever and good as you think you are." The fox seemed to smirk. "Pitiable really, that you're considered to be good at that temple. Ah well...guess I can't blame you for incompetence at a craft."

Plan to kill? Meowka blinked a few times, but ultimately removed herself from the table as requested. And found the food placed in front of her after a slight glare at the waitress who hurried off after a moment.

What was wrong with being on the table? It was a nice, high place, and was worthy of her taking it as a perch? It was a little confusing to the cat, but she let off a slight shrug as she looked at the fish hungrily and began to dig in. Goodness, it was wonderful not to have to struggle every day on the streets for your next meal, wasn't it?

It would be rather apparent to Mistress Katherine that her previous assessment that Meowka would enjoy the food was correct as a wide smile spread across her face and her tail went back and forth.

Katherine Lindall

"Looks like you enjoy the fish. I feel I was correct in what I said earlier." She just smiled a bit before biting into the Chef's Special in front of her. It was delicatable, but she couldn't pin the taste. Fish wasn't her favorite thing in the world and she never made a real effort to know the taste of specific fish, but this was pretty good if she had to say so.

"If you're still hungry order something else, I have enough to cover this place."" She added, looking at the cat. If the cat had gone a while without food before, it wouldn't surprise Katherine if she ate more. "This is just your welcoming gift today. We'll typically eat at that place where you got your food free."

Kozue Komichi

There was some feeling inside Kozue. Perhaps the White Fox? It felt like it might be. "I'm hardly some saint. It's difficult for me to look at someone and tell they're possessed by an old spirit sealed for many years. Let alone with a similar presence covering it." Kozue took a seat a bit of distance from the fox. She might as well converse with the beast. Naught else to do and she might learn something. "And say what you will. Petty insults will not affect me. That said, why hold such ire for that contractor fereigner now?" She asked, curious enough to ask.

~Fox~

"HA!" She growled. "Fool mage treats me like some sort of pet! Aside from being downright degrading and absolutely disgusting, treating me in such a manner is simply ridiculous." She lowered her head towards the ground, resting her head on her the shackled paw as one of her large ears flicked idly in annoyance.

A small bit of amusement would be felt form the white fox.

"Tsk, never mind that. Simply thinking about that human is giving me a headache." She grumbled. "I'd much rather play with you." She chuckled, nine tails swishing behind her. "So what is this incompetent priestess doing at this lake, hm?"

Meowka gave Mistress Katherine a slight glare, but the smile quickly returned as she took another satisfactory bite of the fish and ate it all quickly before feeling the slight tiredness of a person with a full stomach overcome her quickly. "I'm a prowler of the night! I deserve the highest quality meals!" It would be obvious to the cat's owner however that Meowka was just giving her a hard time.

With a stretch of her back and a little bit of purring the cat gave Miss Katherine a slight smile and took a long drink as she emptied her mug. The night prowler knew she wasn't some weak lightweight, after all.

"Mmmmeeeeeeooooowwwwww?" The cat looked towards the teacher with some curiosity and twitching ears. She wasn't supposed to get on the table, right? There was one thing that would make this night better, however. And that thing? Some well deserved pampering. After taking a swing from the next mug that was placed down the girl got out of her chair and crawled beneath the table on all fours before placing her upper body in Katherine's lap. "Meow?"

Her ears would twitch slightly. If it too long for the other woman to get the message, she would feel the sober girl's head rub against her affectionately for a few seconds before looking with large eyes expectantly into the archwizard's.

Katherine Lindall

"Yes, yes. This current quality seems perfectly fine for now." Katherine said taking a bite of her food and looking away from Meowka for a couple of seconds. As she looked back at the cat she noticed. . . There was a missing kitty. "What. . ." The Puppeteer started before feeling something heavy on her lap, ". . . the hell.?" Seriously, what was this cat doing? "This is neither the time or place for this kind of thing you know? The floor is dirty." She couldn't help but to poke the cat in the head a couple times. "Later, ok?"

Kozue Komichi

Kozue looked at the Black Fox for a couple of seconds, wondering if she should tell her. She shouldn't be able to do anything, so there was hardly any harm. Right? "Two things. The first is I'm here to continue my training a bit. The second. . ." She went silent for a couple more seconds contemplating what to say but she finally opened her mouth. "The second, I've heard that this lake was great for healing one's soul or spirit and I was hoping that it would be able to heal your sister's spirit." She wasn't wholly sure how the fox would respond. She imagined it'd be outright hostile. Either way, it would be a good judge of the fox's character.