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Feb 9, 2010, 9:50am

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Topic: A Different Type of Deception (Read 32 times)

Lyk
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A Different Type of Deception
« Thread Started on Sept 2, 2008, 12:17am »

Characters:
Zilo (Carmen, female canary)
Dryden (Calanthia, female wolf)
Tessa (Phrixus, male magpie)
Jocelyn (Sirion, male dove)

- Marylebone Road -

"I can't believe," Zilo started to say as he was stomping up Marylebone Road. He was carrying around his lute, as usual, in one hand and a small leather bag in the other hand. "...That Alwin wants me to buy those little kids chocolatl!" Now, unlike normal, his back was covered in mud. His canary daemon was sitting on his shoulder, looking a bit as sour as he did. "I told you that you should have thrown some mud back," She grumbled. "Then I'd be picking on those poor kids! They started it though. I can't believe Alwin wants me to get CHOCOLATL though, after what they did. To 'make amends'. More like to reward them." He looked at the little bag in his hand. "...As long as I can get some chocolatl, I'm alright with it." He grinned from ear to ear like a little child.

"And maybe I can stop by that tavern," Zilo added. "To see your giiirlfriend~?" Carmen joked from his shoulder. "S-Shut up!" He protested.

Dryden has pretty well given up on Jocelyn's parents. He obviously overestimated their willingness to do whatever it takes to get their daughter safe and sound. Now, though, he has a much more interesting target. Some Gyptians have made port in London, and one of them, in particular, spends a fair bit of time off on his own. He isn't the ideal target. The ideal target will always be a female, for no other reason than that they're easier to control. Dryden is taller and more heavily built than Zilo, and his daemon is nothing but a small bird. More importantly, Gyptians are very close to one another. They are willing to do much to keep their own safe. So, Daemon and Calanthia are following the boy at a distance, just out for a leisurely, and quiet, stroll, by all appearances. They even watch their surroundings much more than they watch Zilo, waiting for their perfect opportunity. The traffic will have to be minimal, and Zilo will have to be closer to the buildings than the street, so they can get out of sight quickly. They are patient, though, and if it does not happen today, it will happen tomorrow.

"You should buy a nice, big bar of chocolatl just for yourself. And eat it in front of those Gyptian kids," Carmen continued going on. Zilo shook his head. "That wouldn't be right - that'd be just mean." He slowed down in his walk a little, strumming his lute lightly. "Mean little kids, throwing mudballs. Those little kids..." "I want to throw them at the wall," Carmen continued his little song. "Hey! Be nice Carmen," He slowed down to a stop, next to a building. "Oh man, where was that shop that sold chocolatl again? I could have sworn it was right over here," He said, motioning to a building. "So, the hospital's over there..and..." He started talking to himself, looking a little lost. He scratched his head.

As the target slows, it would appear that his time is at hand. As he continues strolling, drawing closer to Zilo, he draws a bottle and a handkerchief from his pockets. He is quick, efficient, about dousing the cloth with the liquid in the bottle, something he procured from the local pharmacist. He strongly prefers not to enter into a fight with any target, but especially not men, and so he has a tendancy to rely on on the chloroform a lot, especially since he does not have time to do what he did with Tessa, weave a web of lies around his subject. As he gets closer, the bottle goes back into his pocket. Just a little further...

Zilo glances about, still a little looking a little lost. "Maybe we passed it already," He suggested, to both himself and his daemon. He glanced to his side, where his daemon was peeking from over his shoulder to look at him. "Hey Carmen? What do you think?" He asked. In response, his little canary glanced behind the two of them - just casually of course. All she saw was a man with a handkerchief in his hand - but she was more concerned about the surrounding area behind him. She didn't notice the bottle at all, since the man put it away before she saw him. "I'm not sure, maybe we should ask him," She suggested. "Ask who?" Zilo asked. He didn't look immediately - not until Carmen motioned towards him. Zilo turned lightly and glanced over his shoulder. He had a friendly smile on. "Oh, hello! Excuse me..."

Hmm? Even better. Dryden lifts the handkerchief up, just slightly, as though to dab his nose, when he 'notices' that someone is trying to get his attention. He lowers his hand again before he is at any risk of falling victim to his own chemical and says, a little absent-mindedly, "Yes? Can I help you?" He doesn't look ill, not by a long shot, but it's possible he might be feeling a little under the weather. That's what he tries to portray, anyway, hence his absent-minded reply.

Oh dear, he must have been sick. He didn't look sick though - maybe it was just allergies or something. Still, nonetheless, Zilo had a somewhat concerned look on his face - not just for the man, but for himself. He cautiously moved his arm, and thus his sleeve, over his nose and mouth area, and took a step back. "Are you sick?" Was the first thing he had to ask. He didn't want to get sick! "Well, um, if you're not feeling too well, you really don't have to help me..." He glanced away for a moment. "But I'm trying to find a shop around here that sells chocolatl - trying to buy some for some..family members. Would you happen to know where I can find one?" "Giant bars of chocolatl, preferably," Carmen added in a small chirp.

"Just seasonal." Dryden gestures at some trees with leaves that have begun to drop. There are fewer allergens in the fall, certainly, but they're still around. "I'll be fine. What was it you wanted, again?" Oh, Dryden heard, and understand, perfectly well, but what man /this/ forgetful, /this/ absentminded, could possibly be any threat? As he talks, he balls his hand holding the handkechief into a fist, to keep the liquid on it from evaporating before he can get to use it.

Had he not heard him the first time? The canary daemon looked about ready to comment on the man's absentmindedness, but Zilo quickly looked at her to tell her to keep her beak shut. "Be nice," He quietly warned again. Zilo looked at Dryden, with a light smile still on his lips. "Chocolatl," He repeated slowly, as if that'd be easier to understand. "Do you know a place here that sells it?" He asked again. He glanced away once more, looking around. "I could have sworn there was a place near here that did..." His voice trailed off. Since the man had stated his condition was only allergies, Zilo lowered his sleeve from his face. He put his hands on his hips, annoyed about how lost he was.

"Ah, yes. I'm afraid you've passed it, lad. It's back that way." He gestures back behind him with his closed fist, then takes he opportunity to sniff. He is about to give a very polite offer, but he wants Zilo to have a reason to turn it down. Such as, not inconveniencing a man who must be on his way home to rest. "I could show you, if you think you won't find it..." He doesn't expect Zilo to take him up on this, and if it works, if he gets the boy to turn his back, then this will have played out perfectly. His ability to improvise is one of the main reasons he makes his living the way he does, after all.

Just as Dryden had predicted, Zilo quickly turned it down. He held up his hands and shook his head. "Oh no, no no! That's alright sir. I don't want to trouble you. I'm sure I could easily find it. Thanks a lot, though! Take care." He turned around completely and started walking in the opposite direction - where the nice man had gestured to. "Back this way, right?" He asked, just to be sure. He started walking a few steps away and behind Dryden, no longer looking back. Even his daemon didn't look back, the canary busy rubbing it in his face that she 'told him so'.

Dryden remains standing where he is. He gives a nod of his head when the boy asks whether he's going in the right direction. Moments later, though, he turns to take several fast-paces steps after Zilo, to catch up with him. He unballs his hand and raises his arm, intending to wrap it around the kid's head once he's within range. It ought to go quickly enough. Zilo shouldn't be on guard. If he is... Well, this could reapidly go sour, but Dryden will have to improvise his way through that just as he did when Zilo noticed him. All the while, he keeps a watchful eye out for passers-by, as does Calanthia, but luck seems to be with them so far.

Zilo doesn't realize any of this of course. He's busy having an everyday chat with his daemon to hear the footsteps behind him. "You didn't 'tell me so'. I'm the one who said we passed it in the first pl-GAH!" He was caught by surprise as an arm suddenly wrapped around his head. He instantly reacted - he started wiggling greatly in Dryden's grip. His hands were clawing at Dryden's arm and attempting to pull it away, and he started kicking and dragging his feet across the ground - as if that would help any. His little canary demon shot up into the air and hovered a little above Zilo's head, chirping wildly.

There is a lot of noise, but Dryden works hard to focus on what it most important. Pressing the handkerchief against the boy's nose and mouth. Most daemons faint when their humans do, in Dryden's experience, but even if the canary doesn't, she will be easy to manipulate sinmply by carrying Zilo's body where he wants to be. He only keeps a strong enough hold of Zilo so that the boy can't, if Dryden is lucky, get his head free, and he does his best to ignore the clawing and kicking, His long sleeves protect his arms, but his hands are bare, and nothing could protect him from a solid kick to the shin.

What was that weird smell? Zilo wasn't familiar with chloroform - so naturally he took big breaths of the stuff. He needed some sort of air, with all the struggling he was doing. His eyes were fluttering slightly, and his head was feeling starting to feel light. His canary started to fly a little lower to the ground, in small circles now. Zilo wasn't going to go down without a fight though! Still struggling to keep awake, he raised one of his legs and sent a kick behind him. It was a strong enough kick to hurt, that's for sure. Maybe enough for him to let go - but Zilo had already breathed in too much chloroform to last much longer. He was still struggling to keep his eyes open.

Dryden grunts as the boy's foot connects with his shin. His grip loosens more than enough that the boy, even weakened as he is, could pull away, as he bends over slightly, trying to keep his balance with the sudden burst of pain he has received. That wasn't entirely unexpected, but it wasn't pleasant at all. It will bruise, and unless Zilo manages to make a complete escape, Dryden tells himself the kid will pay for it. /This/ is why he doesn't like abducting male subjects. They have too much fight in them. Tessa did not fight this hard, even without the chloroform.

Zilo quickly pulls himself away from him. He stumbled forward a few steps before falling forward. He almost fell flat on his face if he didn't catch himself with his hands. Carmen was flying low near him - her flight pattern off and in circles. He felt really weak for some reason - it must have been that stuff he was breathing in. He dragged himself along the ground for a few moments. The canary daemon landed lightly on the ground right next to him. He fell lightly forward not too long after. He was too weak now. He laid there, facedown, completely still, except for his breathing.

Dryden doesn't lunge after Zilo or anything of the sort. Rather, he takes a step back, and bends to run a gentle hand along his calf. Good Lord, that hurt! He watches the boy as he stands there, and moments after the boy stops moving, he takes a step forward while looking around for anyone nearby. He sees no one, so he continue to the boy and reaches to roll Zilo over, keeping his hands well clear of the bird as he does so.

When Zilo is turned over, he is shown to be completely knocked out. The chloroform finally kicked in. Either that, or he just fainted from his weak state due to the chloroform. Either way, he was out cold, as was his daemon. His whole body is limp and practically lifeless - if it weren't for the fact that he was still breathing.

- Abandoned Building - Cellar -

With Zilo out, and the portion of the street still empty, the only thing left is to move the boy's body. Thankfully, he weighs only about 2/3 what Dryden does, so the boy is not terribly heavy to lift and carry. Calanthia takes the boy's daemon in her mouth with surprising gentleness, and follows after her human. He takes the nearest alley way, then takes the less public road to the old pest control building where, moments later, the lights turn on.

Tessa has been half-dozing in her little corner, her head against the wall, her knees curled up and hugged to her chest. She's not so asleep though that the lights coming on don't rouse her, and she squints against the new brightness. It takes a moment to clear the cobwebs from her head, but she's already beginning to square her shoulders, put on that old battle mask. Phrixus mutters something in French from the back corner of his cage, but he just gets a dirty look for it.

Jocelyn has not been sleeping well since Dryden punished her. She waited until Tessa slept that first night, then did what she could to fix her fingers. They'll be functional again, but for now, they are swollen and stiff. She does not sleep for terribly long, but she sleeps deeply when she does seep, and this is one of those times. The lights to not wake her. She remains curled up by the line of cages holding her daemon.

Dryden is careful as he carries the boy down the steps, and he is gentle when he sets the boy down so he can open the door into the other room. He doesn't want the boy waking until after his daemon is secure, after all. Calanthia follows Dryden closely and keeps the bird daemon in her mouth. After he opens the door, he picks the boy back up before entering the room. He spots Jocelyn sleeping and Tessa quickly, and he is as quick to speak up. "You have a new roommate, Tessa." Won't she be just overjoyed?

Tessa glances over at Dryden steps in with the boy, her features not betraying much interest, other than a slight lift of her eyebrows. "I do not think it is appropriate to put a gentleman in with ladies," she informs Dryden loftily, knowing it will do no good, but if she let that stop her... She does make a point of smoothing down her fancy ballgown - what was once expensive silk is now a little torn and tattered, dirty from all her time spent on the floor.
It is now your pose.

Dryden isn't too concerned with propriety, no. However, he says, "If it really concerns you, I will put his daemon far away from you and Jocelyn there. He won't even be able to touch you... Probably." He wouldn't be doing this, though, if it weren't his intention in the first place. He never targets overly violent men, but difficult circumstances do weird things to people, and he can't have this boy hurting one of the other two in here. So he walks to the far corner from where Tessa is, setting the boy down again, still gently. Then, he opens up a cage just low enough that Calanthia will be able to reach it, to put the bird inside, when she stands.

"Merci," Tessa replies in that regal tone, actually seeming to believe he is doing this for her benefit. Or at least pretending to believe it, for can she really be that stupid? She watches keenly but still with that expression of bland disinterest, as Dryden and Calanthia go about securing the lad's daemon. "He is sleeping. Did you tell him you were taking him to a slumber party?" she asks with just a touch of bitterness, still annoyed at letting herself get fooled.

Dryden laughs at this. It is a fake laugh, and he doesn't attempt to pretend it isn't, but he /does/ laugh, which means he's not likely to be hitting Tessa immediately. His attention is better placed on the boy. As Calanthia walks to the cages and hops up, placing her forelegs against a lower row of cages so she can place the bird in the cage and scooting it back as far as her head will allow, he responds to Tessa. "Perhaps you should be thankful I fooled you, Tessa. I am not always so gentle with soem I take." He gestures to the 'sleeping' boy.

"Thankful?" Tessa repeats incredulously, muttering a long string of French that suggests just how thankful she is and where he can stick her gratitude - granted in not as many words, for she is, above all, a lady. But that's the gist of it. Still feigning disinterest in her new cellmate, she continues to watch as Dryden secures him. She brings a hand up to attempt smoothing down her hair, which has long since fallen from the fancy up-do that once contained it.

Dryden does them both the favor of ignoring Tessa while Calanthia backs away from the cage. After that, he closes the cage door, securing it with a padlock he brought specifically for the occasion. Only after that does he crouch to where he set the boy, attempting to rouse him with a couple smacks to the boy's face. It may be possible the chemical is still to strongly concentrated in his system, in which case he'll return his attention to Tessa, but, for the moment...

Zilo stirred a little from his 'slumber' from the smacks to the face. He groans groggily and opens his eyes lightly, squinting up at the man above him. He was still tired, so his eyes couldn't weren't able to focus right. He closed his eyes again. "My cheeks hurt.." He mumbled lightly, sounding like he was about to doze off again.

Tessa lapses into silence, thankfully, as Dryden sets to trying to wake the boy. She watches as best she can from this angle, glancing up at Phrixus to make sure that he's watching as well. Her expression never changes in this, and she doesn't actually move, beyond craning her neck just slightly to see better.

"That's only fair. My leg hurts." Actually, it's far from fair, but exacting retribution now, while the boy is still partially out of it, makes no sense. So, rather, he stands and takes a few steps back, watching the boy as he comes to.

"Just five more minutes," Zilo added on, stretching a little. Something didn't feel right. This didn't feel like his bed back on the ship. It wasn't like his bed felt any better, but it was better than just a floor. He slowly openned his eyes and tilted his head back, staring above him. He had a blank look on his face as he attempted to recognize his surroundings. Failing to do so, he quickly sat up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," He started to say, looking confused. "Who? What? Where? Where am I? Where's Carmen?" He looked even more worried about where his little daemon was. He started to panic until he saw her in a cage not too far away. He sighed in relief. Now for his current situation. He glanced to Dryden, blinking. ..Where had he seen him before? It came to him like a ton of bricks. "Hey! You're that man with the allergies!" He shouted.

Tessa gives a wry snort at this, managing to suss out almost immediately that Dryden must have lied about his allergies to whatever end in order to get Zilo here. But she keeps her mouth shut otherwise, silent for the moment, but remaining watchful.

Dryden gives a not quite pleasant grin at what the boy says. "That's not exactly an accurate statement, lad." Still, Dryden keeps his distance. Men, even young men, have a tendency to be more physical, and he'd rather like to keep physical confrontation to his own terms. "Welcome to your new, if temporary, home."

The boy's shouting finally stirs Jocelyn slightly, and her eyes flutter open. She quickly wishes they hadn't, and for a moment she considers trying to pretend she's still asleep. Maybe no one has noticed her, yet.

Zilo shifts uneasily, a little disturbed by the grin that Dryden had given. He tried his best not to show it though - forcing a smile onto his face. He grinned back up at him. He knew what he meant - Dryden had obviously lied about his allergies - but didn't enjoy the thought of being lied to. "So, what? Are you actually a woman then?" He joked, trying to get his mind off of this all. He glanced around, looking towards a nicely dressed woman - well, a mostly nicely dressed woman. She didn't seem as nicely dressed anymore, but he did notice that she had on silk. He looked to another girl - whom he just assumed to be asleep. "...It could use some redecorating," He continued joking on. "Maybe some flowers. But at least I'm surrounded by beautiful ladies," He added, to compliment the other two like a proper gentleman should. "As wonderful as this place is though - I'd much prefer the smells of the ocean and being back on my ship if you don't mind." His canary started stirring from her sleep too.

Tessa gives another dry snort, not exactly amused other than perhaps in a dark way. Wouldn't that be nice, if it were so easy as to ask and be able to go. She notices Jocelyn stirring, but just gives a brief glance at the girl, not outing her to the others if she would prefer to remain asleep. Zilo's complement just gets a cool look from her, or it could simply be that her expression hasn't actually changed in all this time.

Dryden's grin fades. He hadn't realized Zilo was the chatty sort, and he /definitely/ doesn't appreciate the boy's attempts to be funny. Like many men, psychotic or otherwise, he does not take insults to his manhood lightly. He lets the boy finish his little spiel, but immediately thereafter, with little warning, he takes a step forward, aiming a kick to the boy's gut. He is much less tolerant of 'disobedience' from men than he is from women, and he is not willing to let this grow into something worse. If it lands, it won't be hard enough to break anything or cause any internal damage, but it should definitely hurt.

Jocelyn cringes as she hears what the boy says, and she curls up just a little more tightly. She wants to wrap her arms around her head, to help her block out anything that might be coming, but she doesn't want to move that much, which would be a dead giveaway that she's awake. Rather, she just closes her eyes as tightly as possible.

Ooh! He hit a nerve. Zilo noticed that he wiped the grin right of off Dryden's face. And he knew he was in for it now. "OOF!" He yelled as he was kicked in the gut. He fell backwards with the kick and curled up, hands holding the spot where Dryden had kicked. A kick for a kick? It seemed fair - maybe Zilo deserved it. But man, that really hurt. He gasped slightly and coughed. That kick took the air out of him. He was wincing in pain the whole time. Meanwhile, his canary was awake, and she felt the pain too. She was flinching herself and chirping wildly. Zilo was busy catching his breath, so his daemon would have to speak for him. "I guess that's a 'no' to the letting you home part, and a major 'yes' to the woman part," The canary joked. "I mean, only a girl would get so sensitive about that!" She added on. Zilo quickly looked at his daemon. Great, she was going to get him into even more trouble.

Tessa casts another glance over at Jocelyn, figuring the girl isn't going to like what's going on at all. And the curling up is noticed, confirming Tessa's suspicions. Even the woman has to flinch slightly at the kick, though her mask of bland neutrality is prompt to return. Someone even more mouthy than she is? Well, this should prove interesting.

Dryden looks to the bird, briefly, then aims another kick at the boy's side. He can do this all day. How long can that daemon keep up with the shared pain she feels, with knowing that she is causing her human pain? His tone holds a sadistic edge to it as he says, "Keep it up. We'll see which one of us wears out first." Again, he does not kick the boy terribly hard, but it will hurt. The last thing he needs is to kill this kid after putting in so much effort to catch him.

Jocelyn has to bite her tongue to keep from making noise, but tears escape from her eyes as she hears the violent man's food connect and the boy's response. She also flinches when she hears what the boy's daemon says. She is still terrified from her own recent beating, and hearing it happen to someone else isn't helping that any.

Both Zilo and his canary cry out in unison as he feels the foot hit him in the side. His hands instantly move to his side, and the daemon makes the same motions with her wings. He clenches his teeth from the pain. "Oh yeah?" Carmen started again. It was obvious from her voice though that she was just as hurt as Zilo was. "Well you-" Zilo quickly glared in her direction, and she shut her beak. She didn't say anything else. Zilo looked up at Dryden, breathing heavily. He starts to push himself back up to a sitting position, struggling slightly. Carmen wasn't able to hold it in anymore. "Jerk!" She cried out at Dryden, flapping her wings wildly. "Probably doesn't have any friends - and is probably poor! No wonder his place here's such a mess!" Zilo glared at her. That was the exact same thing he was thinking, but he didn't want her to voice it. "Carmen!" He snapped, wanting her to keep quiet.

Tessa lets out a sigh as the canary seems intent on riling up Dryden. But she doesn't seem inclined to speak up yet, certainly not with Dryden in such a foul and abusive mood. Riling him up on her own behalf is one thing, but directing his anger at her when someone else is mouthing off, that's quite another. There is a flinch, though, at the second kick, and she stops watching things so intently, instead directing her gaze at the other corner.

The boy does not reprimand his daemon quickly enough for Dryden's sake, or so it would seem. No matter. So long as the daemon has the will to talk back, so the the human. So, a third time, he aims to kick the boy, at any exposed point along his midsection. He doesn't bother speaking again, Anyone with half a brain should understand what he wants them to do in order for him to stop kicking. By now, he has caused the boy much more pain than that one kick to his shin caused him, but he doesn't care. If he simply cared about getting even, he'd have stopped after that first kick.

Jocelyn curls up just a little tighter as she hears this encounter continue. Finally, she begins praying for it to end soon, because she isn't certain how much more of it she can handle without saying or doing something. It was one thing to protect Tessa. Tessa should have known better. This boy is new, though. He doesn't know the rules yet, and it would not take so much effort to protect the boy as it did to try to protect Tessa.

Zilo cries out again, as does his daemon, falling back to the ground. Carmen chirps quietly afterwards. She scoots close to the corner of her cage and looks towards the pained Zilo. Neither of them say anything, but Zilo doesn't look up. He has his face pressed against the floor. He makes sure his hair is covering his face. It's like he was trying to hide his pained expression from everyone - especially his tormenter. He was looking down and to the side, quietly.

Tessa gently closes her eyes as Dryden goes in for that final kick, breathing kept deep and steady, nerves kept cool and collected. When only silence follows, she opens them again and finally glances back over, only affording a very slight frown for what she sees, before her roaming gaze continues and lands on Jocelyn for the moment. And then it's back to the empty corner.

Finally. When the two do not immediately make another insolent comment, Dryden takes a step back, looking over the boy. His grin returns, and again, he speaks. "As I've said, this-" Dryden gestures to the room around him, "-is your new home. /If/ you behave, it will be temporary. If you don't... It may be your final resting place. Do you have any more smart comments now, lad?"

Jocelyn doesn't move. Much. She flinches when the boy cries out, and otherwise, she remains still, and when neither the boy nor his daemon speak, she is silently thankful. She doesn't want to be beaten again, but she would have had to try to help the boy eventually. Now maybe she can just stay here, Dryden will believe she slept through it all, and she'll--they'll--be left alone.

Zilo still doesn't look up from the ground. His expression is no longer pained, but he doesn't look too happy either. He looked a little..defeated. He shook his head lightly. "No sir," He added softly, just in case Dryden didn't see this movement. He was hoping Dryden would leave him alone for now - hopefully leave the room too before Carmen opened her beak again.

For once, Tessa also keeps her own trap shut, at least for now. Her gaze leaves the far corner and comes back to watch the interplay between the poor boy and the sadistic man. Any trace of an expression is now gone, though she's also waiting to see if that will be it, if Dryden will leave them now to their own devices.

"Much better. I'm sure your new companions will fill you in with the details. I must be on my way." To soak in a hot tub, actually, but Dryden doesn't see any point in throwing that in. There is a chance, leaving after this short a time, the boy will be jsut as mouthy when Dryden returns, after learning more, but that will just give him an excuse to reeducate the kid again. Without any more hesitation, Dryden and Calanthia leave, paying little attention to Tessa or Jocelyn. The door closes, and the beam can be heard being put into place.

These sounds do not comfort Jocelyn. She remains where she is, curled up, and she tells herself she will remain that way at least until the lights turn off. She doesn't want to risk the violent man walking back in and finding out that she was not, in fact, asleep.

Zilo waits a few moments before slowly pushing himself up. He sits up and brushes his hair out of his face, calmly. Meanwhile, of course, his canary - being the most talkative of the two - began to run her beak off. "Can you believe that guy? He must have had some troubled childhood! Learn to pick on someone your own size. Picking on my Zilo is like picking on a little kid." Zilo glanced at the canary, forcing a smile onto his face. "I'm not *that* short, you know," He said with a slight laugh. He looked towards the other two now. He didn't see the girl move at all, so he just assumed that she was still asleep. He looked to the woman. "Is he always that moody?" He asked, with a friendly smile, as if nothing had just happened. He was just trying to make conversation.

"Yes," Tessa replies simply, her thick French accent touching her words. "At least once he has lured you down here. He was quite charming up until that point." Which annoys her more than anything and she glares at the door. "He is gone now, you know," she informs Jocelyn, looking over at the still girl. And then her gaze goes back to Zilo. "She is easily upset," she confides in the boy, nodding towards Jocelyn. Because, you know, it's such a delicate thing to be terrified in this sort of situation.

Whether or not Jocelyn has every right to be upset, it is embarrassing to have Tessa say this to the newcomer while she's lying right there. Tessa obviously knows she's awake, and she /can/ hear. She doesn't pretend further. Moments before the lights turn off, she shifts, slowly, carefully, to a sitting position. She is not crying any longer, but there are marks on her dirty face from where she cried, breifly, moments ago. She doesn't bother saying anything, not yet.

Zilo laughed lightly, still grinning towards Tessa. "I sort of noticed that - well, after I got here, that is." He looked towards the girl when the woman suddenly addressed her. She was awake after all? He tilted his head slightly, his smile fading a little when he heard about how she was easily upset. Seeing her face didn't help much either. "H-Hey," He called out to her - the girl. He leaned to the side - more into her field of vision - and waved lightly. He forced the sides of his lips to curl back up. "Hey there," He greeted again. "You okay over there? The sensitive girly man is gone," He joked, hoping to cheer her up.

Tessa doesn't exactly find this a laughing matter, but she gives a nod to Zilo anyway. She smoothes her dress again, to make sure that things are kept as proper as is possible given their current situation. "I suppose if you should have questions, now would be the time to ask them. For what little information we might have." Only a glance is spared for Jocelyn, though her eyebrows do lift a bit as Zilo asks how she is.

Jocelyn shakes her head well before she manages to say anything, in part because it takes her a while to decide want to say. She wants to say it's not a good idea to talk that way, whether the violent man is here or not, but she doesn't. She wants to insist that she isn't easily upset, but she doesn't. She wants to ask the boy if /he/ is okay, but she doesn't. Instead, she finally just says, "I'm okay." It may be at odds with the shaking of her head, but what does it matter? Ignore her, please. Focus on Tessa's offer to answer questions.

Zilo looked even more concerned when he noticed that Jocelyn had shaked her head, but she said she was okay. That was a relief, at least. He'd believe her word. He nodded towards her, still smiling. "Good! I'm glad." He turned back to Tessa. He had a feeling that Tessa was the more social of the two, and he didn't want to make the girl at all uncomfortable. "Here's a good question - what's his problem?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked a little annoyed for a second. "Or to be more specific, why're we here anyway? I'd like to know his motive of being such a jerk to us."

"His problem is that he is a psychotic sadist," Tessa replies primly, glancing over at the door and going back to ignoring Jocelyn now that she's deemed herself okay. "But we are here because he is asking a ransom for our return. And so we will stay until the money is paid." The other alternative, she doesn't mention, but it is enough to glance back over at Jocelyn.

There is no other alternative. Escape is impossible, and Jocelyn can't entertain the idea, yet. She /just/ listened to Zilo being kicked into submission, after all. She does nod, though, as though to confirm what Tessa says. She only looks ahead of her, towards the door, though. They /will/ stay here, right here, in this room, until their ransom is paid, if any of them are lucky.

"Ransom?" Zilo scoffed, as if Tessa was joking. "You're kidding, right?" Sure, Zilo figured that the man'd be able to get a good ransom from kidnapping Tessa. Maybe if they kidnapped Jocelyn too - the parents could have been rich. But he was just a Gyptian - they weren't exactly the richest of people. But he knew they'd be the most worried, and the most willing to give up all they earned to get back one of their own. As much as he didn't like that idea, he didn't like the idea of staying here even more. "That doesn't sound so bad then - except for the psychotic sadist part." He stretched his arms over his head. "We just need to wait around until that happens. At least we have each other to keep company, right?" He looked to them, grinning. They didn't seem nearly as happy as he was though. "So what're the names of the two other lovely ladies I'll be stuck with for a while?"

"Not so bad?" Tessa repeats incredulously. "We are chained here by our poor daemons. We sleep on the floor. We eat /sandwiches/ when he deigns to feed us at all," she spits out, somehow sounding more disgusted by the sandwiches than anything. She lets out a slow breath, calming herself again. It's not good that cracks are beginning to show in the facade, not when she has no idea how much longer she will be here. "I am Mrs. Contessa de la Mater Lamport," she informs the boy with even more haughty dignity than usual, as though any of those names should be meaningful for him, the renowned de la Maters of France, or the nouveau riche Lamports of London, owners of the tallest building in town.

Jocelyn tenses as Tessa becomes upset again. For a moment, when Zilo was talking, she almost smiled. Yes, not /so/ bad. It could be worse. But then Tessa speaks up, and any hint of a smile fades, and her voice holds it's usual quiet, meek quality when she gives only her first name. "Jocelyn. I'm Jocelyn." No need to share her family name, as it is not half so impressive as either of Tessa's.

Of course, Zilo's optimism doesn't seem to be at all affected by Tessa's pessimism. In fact, he seems all the more cheerful when he sees how Tessa puts it. He figures that if he looks on the brighter side of things, maybe the other two would cheer up a little more. "Well, trust me. The floor's a lot more comfier than a lot of the beds I've slept on. And you're wearing silk - that should make things comfy for you! And sandwiches are almost as delicious as chocolatl to me. I've been eating nothing but fish for the past week or two." He stuck his tongue out in slight disgust, waving his hand in front of his face. "My breath probably smells of fish." He laughed a little more. "Well, it's an /honor/ to meet you, Mrs. Lamport," He put emphasis on the honored part, noticing how highly she thought of herself. "And a pleasure to meet you as well, Jocelyn," He added. He made a small bow to each of them while sitting on the floor. "I'm Zilo. Well - that's not really my real name, but all the other Gyptians call me that, so you guys can to." He glanced to his daemon now, who was singing a little tune. He hummed in tune with her, smiling wide.

"How nice for you that this brings such an improvement in your fortunes," Tessa states flatly. She figures it goes without saying that it is definitely a step /down/ for her. But his greeting does at least meet with approval and she gives an almost regal nod. Yes, they are lucky to be confined in such a small space with someone as impressive as she. "I do not know that it is a pleasure, Monsieur Zilo, to meet you under such an occasion, but, mm, greetings." That seems at least moderately appropriate for their situation.

Jocelyn didn't protect Zilo from Dryden. The least she can do is protect him from Tessa, at least a little bit. She doesn't look away from the door, doesn't make the slightest attempt at eye contact, but there is some strength to her voice when she speaks. More strength than when she was standing up to Dryden, at any rate. He's trying to make the best of it, madam, instead of being sour all the time. Don't take it away from him, please." Of course being here isn't an improvement over the lives from which they were taken, but can't she see that their strength comes from not focusing on the negative all the time? Can't she even /try/ to see that, now?

Zilo shrugged, smiling at Tessa. At least she took the greeting well - from what he saw. "Yes, I guess we could have met under better circumstances - but I'm afraid that it wouldn't have been at all possible otherwise. At least I could have met you now." He was totally kissing up, and it was obvious. Carmen even let out a sigh, noticing it. All he did was look in his daemon's direction though and grin. Despite how pathetic it may have looked to him sucking up, he knew he needed to do it, in order do show he had manners. He knew how to act like a gentleman - at least sometimes. He glanced to Jocelyn momentarily, his smile flattening a little. He held up his hands in defense, shaking his head. "Oh, no no no! Don't worry about me." He insisted. "Yeah," His daemon added, her tone of voice as playful and as cheerful as Zilo's. "He's always this annoyingly optimistic - it gets him into a lot of trouble... as you kind of saw." Zilo glanced at the canary. "I think that was because a little birdy likes to blab their feelings," He joked back.

Tessa does seem at least a little charmed by Zilo's attempts at manners. She's not stupid, and she knows ass-kissing when she sees it, but at least he recognizes she's someone worth sucking up to, and that's what really counts. "I am sorry, but I think I would take not knowing you over being stuck here," she still has to point out. Jocelyn gets a look as she speaks up for Zilo, but Tessa can't quite decide whether to be annoyed about it or not. She did tell the girl to grow more spine, she just didn't mean against /her/. "Pardonnez-moi? I do not see that there is anything here to make the best of." She gestures around at their little hole with a sweep of her hand, before looking back to Zilo with a shrug. "But if it is what you need to not cry all of the time, then please, carry on."

The boy doesn't seem to appreciate Jocelyn's attempt to get Tessa to back down, and it certainly doesn't win her any points with Tessa. The girl frowns when Tessa responds. She doesn't cry all the time! She barely cries at all, even since she has cut her conversations with her daemon to a minimum, even since she was beaten for standing up to Dryden. Were it not for the fact that the 'permission' seems so demeaning, Jocelyn might not be upset by it. As it is, she just lapses back into silence, drawing her knees up slowly.

Zilo frowns slightly. It was time for him to stick his nose up in the air and act sort of high and mighty. "Excuse me, madam~, but I reassure you. Real men," He pointed up at himself with a thumb. "Don't cry. Girls, girls cry. And that's perfectly okay. But men do not cry." He sounded like some little sexist boy who thought kissing girls was disgusting. He momentarily looked in between Jocelyn and Tessa. These two didn't seem to get along well - at least for some reason. That wouldn't be good if the three of them were going to be staying here for awhile. Not only that, the two of them both seemed so..negative and down! Zilo knew the perfect way to cheer them up - it's how he cheered up a lot of other kids. "But, of course I wouldn't cry. I'm the son of one of the fiercest men alive - a man who took on a bear all by himself." He grinned, wondering if the beginning of his tale would catch the interest of either of them.

"Mais vous etes un petit garcon," Tessa replies with a hint of disdainful disbelief, before reconsidering with a toss of her head. "But if this is what you must do to remain strong, then very well. Real men do not cry, non." She glances over at Jocelyn, but does at least refrain from saying something about how real women shouldn't cry either, not if they are to remain strong. Her eyebrow goes up as she looks back to Zilo, not really one of the Gyptian children who might be entertained with tall tales. But the long hours of silence get tiring, so she finally indulges him with a passive, "Ah, oui?"

Jocelyn is done talking with either of them, at least for now. She gets it, even without Tessa saying anything. She'll listen in, but she no longer wants to be a part of this conversation, so she just rests her head on her knees and looks blankly at the door.

Zilo looked between the two of them. Honestly, he was a little disappointed to see that they weren't as interested as his fellow Gyptians were, but eh. He couldn't blame them after being cooped up in this place for so long. Tessa was higher class and older, so that made sense. But he was a little offended that Jocelyn wasn't looking at them. "Can you hear me over there, Josey?" He called, deciding to use a nickname now. Then he continued on to tell his little tale.

Zilo says, "Oh yeah, my father. He was a veeery fierce, very brave man. He went up to the north - there's a bunch of ice bears up there with armor supposedly. He was a brave explorer who liked to show off his bravery to people. So, one day, he got a little drunk and his friends dared him to take the armor right off of the back of one of these bears. ...Of course, he didn't want to seem like a wuss, so he tried. ...He wasn't very successful though."

Zilo shrugged his shoulders and made a swiping motion with his hand, as if he were the bear. "..And so, his friends ran off before the bear saw them and carried a little baby me with them. They didn't know how to take care of a kid, so they dropped me into a Gyptian boat on their way back to their homeland."

Tessa casts her eyes towards the ceiling as if asking for some higher power to give her strength. She doesn't stop listening, but she settles back into her usual corner, beginning again to draw in the dirt beside her. It isn't a particularly satisfying pastime, but at least it did help to pass the time. "Of course he would not be successful, a man against those bears. How foolish." Says the woman who regularly tries to enrage her captor. Perhaps she doesn't quite get the spirit of the story.

Zilo grinned towards Tessa. "Well, yeah. I guess it was kind of foolish of him - but that's not the point. At least he was brave enough to do it. And I'm the son of that very brave man," He proudly announced. Yeah, he was the son of an idiot who'd fight bears if he was dared to. Even he didn't seem to learn the lesson of his own story. "It would have been better if he actually GOT the armor before dying though. Then he'd have a better reason to have been mauled." He told this story so casually that it was a little disturbing. "He thought he'd be successful though. My mom always said he was great for a normal man. My mom was a witch, you know." Okay, now it was obvious that he was telling tall tales. It was a wonder that even KIDS believed the crap coming out of his mouth.

"What good would the armour do to one who is killed by bears?" Tessa asks, giving him a blank look. From the sounds of this story, she's not counting his chances of surviving this kidnapping as being very high. "Bravery is doing what must be done, not doing something brave just to do it," she informs the boy. "You will go further in life if you have a purpose for all that you do." He might not have nearly so much fun, though, but Tessa doesn't consider that. Her eyebrow arches as he claims his mother was a witch and she gives a little snort of disbelief. "Why do you claim such things?"

"Well..." Zilo blinked, his voice trailing off. His grin died down to a light smile. He actually didn't have any answer to what Tessa had asked. He hadn't thought of that at all. He always thought of bravery as just doing brave things - it didn't matter the circumstance. So he thought his 'father', at least in his tale, was impressive for that. A lot of the Gyptian children agreed with him at least. "He DID have a purpose," He eventually said. He wouldn't say what that purpose was though. He was still trying to figure it out - maybe just because he WANTED to do it? "I don't see why everything needs a purpose anyway," Carmen mumbled under her breath. When Zilo's claims were questioned though, his smile faltered again. He drew circles on the floor with his finger. "Well, since no one is as special as you are, madam," He started off with complimenting her. "I guess it's just nice to feel special myself." He brushed the dust off of his fingers. "It's better than being 'just another Gyptian'. Besides, I like telling stories. And you can never tell if these stories are true or not. They could be." He insisted.

"Mm," Tessa replies, as to whether or not his father had a purpose. It doesn't sound like to her, but now that this whole thing is turning out to be false, she's feeling a little less inclined to get het up in righteous indignation that someone would be so foolish. Her eyebrows lift a little again at his rather transparent compliment, but she just inclines her head, accepting it anyway. This sort of flattery is hard to come by in their current situation. "My husband, he is fond of the Gyptians. I do not know much of them myself." And the things she was taught by her family, she at least has tact enough not to share with one of them. "But perhaps you should find something true to feel special about, non? I do not know. I have not struggled with this problem myself." Because she has always been so special, of course.

Find something true to feel special about? Zilo blinked, his smile gone. He never thought about that, really. He thought about it for a little bit. Was there even really something that he had to be special about? He was just another Gyptian. He was silent for at least a few minutes, but he started laughing a little. "That was very...deep, ma'am. Very deep. But thank you for the advice. I'll take it and keep making my claims." He stretched his arms over his head and layed back against the floor. "Because, despite how special you are, madam, I don't believe that you can tell a story as well as I can." He just grinned and closed his eyes. "Even if it isn't true."

Tessa simply shrugs her shoulders, not seeing what is so deep about it herself, but she'll accept his thanks graciously nonetheless. "Non, perhaps not," she allows, as to being able to spin so good a yarn. Not that she's upset about that. "Though I think you will find as you grow that women are adept at a different type of deception," she goes on with a mirthless smile. She looks back to her drawing, starting up with it again. "Perhaps you should sleep, garcon, for it is a difficult day, the one you come here."

Zilo looks towards her when she talks of deception. He raises his eyebrows. "Deception?" He repeated, half not-believing it. Women didn't seem like the type of people to deceive you - then again, he must have been one of those guys who thought all women were nice, kind, and innocent. "If you say so," He said, not believing it. If he did believe it anyway, that'd just get him paranoid with the two females in the room with him - and he didn't need that paranoia weighing down his shoulders. "I think I slept enough on my way..." He yawned. "...here. ...But a little more wouldn't hurt." He turned onto his side. "Good day." He called over his shoulder.

Tessa just gives a nod, not minding that he doesn't believe her. After all, the best deceptions are those no one even notices, right? As he agrees to sleep though, she settles back in herself, to continue with her art. "Bon soir," she bids quietly, casting one last look over at the silent Jocelyn before turning her full attention to her drawing. She'll sleep eventually, but not just yet.

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