[center][h2][color=skyblue]Marque de Bourdeaux[/color][/h2][/center]
[hr]

Marque could not help but find himself annoyed at the rather selfish antics of the physician-in-training, despite understanding where the man came from. Clearly the danger had not passed, only on temporary leave, and thus resisting any action which could place him in safety felt at odds with the man's usual rational thoughts. Still, more terrible behaviors could not dampen the sheer joy an elation Marque experienced merely trotting alongside his master once more. 

In spite of the circumstances, the young actor could only reflexively smile alongside Gardevoir even through such terrible news the theater master gave. Terrible, and gravely [i]fascinating.[/i] In the stories heard before of the death-bringing wolfborn, Marque had never heard such tales of other worlds beyond their own. The idea that one could exist at all, much less a world a darkness lacking any and all flame, could be described as only incomprehensible. Yet still the ideas resonated with what they had seen, and they resonated with Marque's mind. The story was one he could tell again and again to the people, once Gardevoir accompanied him back home and his name was cleared.

That is when his master bestowed upon Marque a gift, a mask of dark portent, black and feathered with beaked nose. [color=skyblue]"A crow?"[/color] he wondered aloud, wistfully. Turning the mask about in his fingers as he inspected it, the costume accessory, despite being completely alien to him, felt strangely familiar. Perhaps it bore some connection to him in another life? Gardevoir insisted the mask would come in handy, but before Marque could request an elaboration, a new threat appeared.

His ears pierced like an arrow, the screech demanded attention and so he gave it. Some unholy abomination appeared from the ocean depths, something far more terrifying than the hounds of prior, and with it a biting cold. Gardevoir's key offered relief from the bony chill, but such as it was the young man felt as though he were using a match to keep warm in a blizzard.

[color=9e0b0f]"It draws nigh! Fly you fools!"[/color] Marque stood ready to obey, but his master's next words gave him pause. [color=9e0b0f]"There is nothing you can help with here. I shall hold it off. Now GO!"[/color]

Marque stumbled, both in form and in word. [color=skyblue]"B-but master!"[/color] he cried out. [color=skyblue]"I came to the forest to find YOU! Without you, I have failed! Come with us, we must escape together and let the city guard know what really happened to the theater!"[/color]

His words had no punch. The voice was weak compared to the icy cold wind of this new perilous creature, and his resolve seemed shaken, yet still Marque stood by his master, ready to face the end with the old theater master if need be. [color=forestgreen]"Get on the dog!"[/color] shouted the squire, his voice barely punching through the Breathstalker's influence. Marque glanced over to the enormous hound and its two riders, then back to Gardevoir. The man had practically raised him, was in essence his father. Now that man volunteered to give the ultimate sacrifice so that Marque and the others could live on. He remembered his mother, likely sobbing with worry over the wanted posters. He remembered Rosanne, waiting patiently for his return after this mad scheme gone madder still. 

[color=skyblue]"I love you, master,"[/color] he declared, his voice once again strong. Strong enough to cut through the chilling winds. Strong enough to bolster his own strength. As Col and the others came by, he hoisted himself up upon the giant hound and locked his gaze on the path ahead, daring not to look back for even a second. The tears streaming down his face told him he wouldn't be able to weather the results if he spared even another glance back.

[hider=Gear][list]
[*]Crow Mask
[*]Gardevoir's key
[*]cases of makeup
[*]Couple masks
[*]Two sets of clothes
[*]A wig
[*]Bag of coins
[*]"Proof" of affiliation to House Bryce
[*]Backpack
[*]1 days trail rations
[*]Outdoor blanket
[*]Flask of water
[*][/list][/hider]