Tale as Old as Last Wednesday [Maid IC]

[Deme]

In the Garden

Actually, the young man's reaction was a thoughtful laugh. Except for one small bit of information, that logic followed fairly well (A perfect specimen? That witch must have been stronger than he thought she was); yes, it followed perfectly...To a wrong conclusion.

"My, my...Brains, a cool head, and beauty. I'm very impressed...Though in my experience, I'm not sure I've heard too many maids argue the value of an analytical mind..."

He leaned forward and winked.

"But perhaps that gives you an edge I shall hope to see."

At Ante's comment, however, he nodded politely. It made sense that Ante would want to leave alone, and he had given his word to help her.

"Well, if the lady insists, I think I must, at least for...Part of the way. But don't think I'm done with you just yet... There isn't much room in the manor for people, so I do believe we'll meet again, my lovely snowflake."

He took Ante by the arm and began to escort her through the maze.

---

With Lune and Merry

The skeleton looked slightly taken-aback by Lune's comment, but did its best to get on its feet. It wasn't very good on it, being held together by magic and willpower, and a bone here or there popped off as it stood.

[Benson]

---

With Lune and Merry

The skeleton looked slightly taken-aback by Lune's comment, but did its best to get on its feet. It wasn't very good on it, being held together by magic and willpower, and a bone here or there popped off as it stood.

"Hey Skelly, you dropped your hand," She pointed to the other hand that she was not holding.

[Lycan 01]

Yuki gives a small, polite bow. "Thank you. I look forward to our next meeting, good sir."

One the 'arcane advisor' and Ante are gone and out of earshot, Yuki aloofly mutters: "I do believe he was flirting with me. Hm. Odd."

The assassin casually turns and begins to walk around the maze, not really heading in any particular direction. She has her left arm folded across her chest, propping up her right arm, which in turn is propping up her head. Thoughtfully resting her chin on the back of her right hand as she walks, Yuki idly muses and ponders the day's events. "First I seduce a piece of furniture, then I glimpse a demon and find a weaponized flower, and now the Prince's royal mage seems to have taken an interest in me. Pity it won't last once......... Ahem. At any rate, this job is certainly proving to be far more interesting than expect..."

As an afterthought, she adds: "I hope I don't lose a limb this time."

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Just walking around the maze to kill time for a bit, and maybe stumble upon something interesting.

[Atreli]

Lune decides to leave the two alone and set off in search of her future uniform. She heads out of the bedroom and down the hallway to see if there is any room that can help her solve her plight.

[Deme]

Lune
To her left is a room with a sign that reads
Entereth here not! Ruines!

To her right is a room with a sign that reads
Servant's Worke Room.

Decisions, Decisions...

Merry

The skeleton tried to crouch down to pick it up...Causing his knees to go flying across the room. It's difficult moving without stuff holding you together. He looked up helplessly. Apparently there was a reason he was just curled up in the wardrobe.

Yuki

A few turns away was a set-up of tables and chairs, though sans gazebo. There was even a little pond over-run with koi...

And in the chairs was what was apparently a devil. He was looking at his watch.

"I don't get it! Her fate line said she'd be here and we could collect her any minute!" He wailed.

[Trobby]

Ante

Once they are well out of earshot, Ante relaxes herself a bit, and detaches herself from the Master as well.

"Thank you so much, Sir...Leon." she smiles a bit at this secret bit of information. Not that she plans on abusing it for anything, but it is nice to finally meet her new Master. "I'm not entirely sure how she would have reacted if she knew that I was the demon 'sneaking about'...but I believe it would have involved bullets. You are very much my savior today."

She says all this with a small smirk as they walk. The somewhat awkward situation has, strangely enough, put her more at ease with the Prince.

[Benson]

"Hmm, I think we're going to have problems here," She looked at the crumpled skeleton and thought about how lousy the magic was that was keeping him together. He probably forgot to renew magic subscription. "Oh! I got it. I'll find a cart and wheel you around, better than being cramped up in the wardrobe."

"Okay, you...uh...stay there, good job, I'll go find a wooden cart...or something," Merry nodded at the skeleton. She then set off in search of a wagon or some such. Exploration!

[Atreli]

Lune opens the door for the Servant's Work Room.

" Please let something useful be in here."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki's instincts and training kick in. She crouches low, and begins to slowly sneak her way towards the devil. Years of training as an assassin had honed her skills at moving quietly and keeping her balance. And her recent crash-courses in maid work had also helped. Emphasis on the crash, because she'd been forced to carry platter's of food and other delicate items without losing her balance or breaking proper posture. She'd also been taught how to walk softly and quietly around the house, so as not to disturb the master or guests.

Somehow, becoming a maid had made Yuki an even more effective and deadly assassin. Or at least, she hoped that was the case. Time to find out...

If she's successful, Yuki wants to sneak right up behind the devil, and observe him for a bit before she decides what to do next.

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Skill to be sneaky: (1d6x4)[12]

[Deme]

[With Ante]
This time, he could tell her gratitude was sincere, so he just smiled.

"Oh, I doubt she'd go that far... She didn't seem the sort to act on first impulse...And, of course, I could never allow someone in my employ, however short or long, to do harm to a lovely girl."

He commented as they walked through the maze. He looked at his arm as if he considered offering it to her, with a slightly troubled expression, and then simply folded his hands behind his back. He looked a little uneasy on that.

"Though, out of curiosity, if it's not too much to ask...Are you...Actually a demon?"

He didn't seem nervous about the possibility, just wondering.

---
[Meanwhile, the other demon...]

The skeleton nods as she goes. She finds her way to a cellar, but there's no cart in there...However, there are other things, if she cares to look.

---

[With Lune]

The servant's room is, in fact, a mess of half-done laundry. A pile prepares to collapse on her the moment she enters the room...
On the only folded pile of clothes in the room is a sleeping man with black hair, black cat ears, and a white-tipped cat tail.

----
[With Yuki]

The devil doesn't notice her and continues waiting. His tail looks identical to Ante's, by the way. He sighs.

"I always get the bad jobs. Drawing in souls is all fine and good, but I'm a fiddler! I like to fiddle away souls, not abduct girls!"

He waves his hands.

"Especially when they never show! I done been stood up!"

[Benson]

Merry

"Oooh....I could make this my lair...." She said distractedly before shaking her head and reminding herself of the task at hand. "Right....wagon...cart...thing...something." She starts to snoop around, looking around everything, even impossible things where one could not hide a wagon or cart, like a wine bottle.

[Trobby]

Ante

She hesitates for a moment to respond, actually pausing in her step, wondering just how far she can trust the prince...

But then...he already knows...so she might as well.

"...Yes...yes I am a full-blooded demon. Born and raised in the underworld which, despite the stories you may have heard, are a lot less lovely than they sound...I'm on the run, in fact...I never intend to go back. And the reason I am hiding my identity is because I am wanted back, and they would drag me back there if they caught me."

She steps back into pace with the prince after she has revealed her whole true story.

"I do apologize for not being forward with my appearance or my background. I've found that mortals tend to look unfavorably upon demons. Fortunately, I don't think they know I am here. I've been very careful to cover my tracks."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki leaps into the demon's lap without warning, straddling him so that they're face to face. "HI!" she proclaims with a massive, cheerful grin. Her voice has lost its typical factual aloofness, and is instead now bubbly and playful. "I've never seen around here before!" she observes in a rather 'chipper' fashion, her eye wide with playful glee.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asks in a playfully curious manner, before her eye locks on his goatee. "Oooooh, nice beard." Her eye then drifts up and she 'notices' his horns. "Oh!" she gasps, recoiling back just enough to accentuate her cleavage. "Horns?"

An almost predatory grin spreads across her face. She leans in close, almost face-to-face with the demon, and purrs in a cheerful-yet-seductive manner: "You know... I love a bad boy..."

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Cunning, because she's trying to be deceptive and manipulative: (1d6x3)[6]

[Deme]

Merry

She finds some spools of wire, and some wine in the wine bottle, and a large scythe, and a few interesting boxes...


Ante

He listened to it all before his expression settled into a relaxed one.

"Don't worry -- I think I understand, well, better than most, I suppose. Nothing torch and pitchfork bad, but..."

He shrugged and tried to smile, but it looked a little pained.

"Well, no matter. I will keep your secret...And let's hope our best against the forces of hell. You've arrived here, and it's a pity to see you go."

He seemed to give the subject some thought and added,

"You know, they say that all the best musicians are bound for hell. Is it so?"


Yuki

He smiles, clearly flattered by the attention...And then goes to grab her arm, fairly hard.

(1d6x2)[10]

"Well, you're not what I came here for, but...I like a girl who throws herself at a demon. Besides, maybe I'll give you to the boss instead, and that'll do for a while."

In this case, it seems, the question isn't 'does he see through the trap' but 'can he spring his own trap before she springs hers'...

[Trobby]

Ante

"...Hmm...you know, I can't really say. I haven't yet had a chance to hear any music from the mortal world."

She considers the music of the Underworld. True, there are some fantastic musicians...but also some really terrible ones. Possibly they were sent to hell as penance for their crime against harmony.

"It would be a nice change of pace...to hear what beauty comes from the mortal coil." She looks out towards the surrounding forest with what could only be described as admiration. "For all the trouble it has caused, there is no Hell but the cage in which we trap ourselves."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki's expression goes neutral for a moment. With a shrug, she says in her normal aloof voice: "Good, I was growing tired of talking like that."

She then looks down at the devil's hand gripping her arm. "My, what a strong grip you have." She then looks up at him, locks eyes, and smirks.

With speed to rival a striking cobra, her left hand suddenly lunges up to the fiend's neck, and latches around his throat. She squeezes just enough to hamper his breathing, but not enough to completely strangle him. "Mine is better," she confidently states.

Her smirk then disappears, and her expression grows stern. Her eye burns with annoyance, as she flatly growls: "Now let go."

Spoiler

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Using Artificial Arm to succeed at first attack of the Battle.

Athletics: (1d6x2)[12]

[Benson]

Merry

She ooh'ed curiously over the scythe, her mouth making a cute little 'o'. She reached over to grab it and gripped it in her hands. It was just like her's back home named Etna, but it was a sentient weapon, an annoying one, the kind you want to throw into a volcano. Anyways, holding it with two hands she did some practice swings and then posed with it, she thought she looked damned sexy. Get it? Damned. HAHAHAHAH. *beat*

Merry felt the urge to slice at the fourth wall here in the cellar for some reason.

Anyways. That too she was going to claim as hers. Just like the bigger side of the room, the ward robe, the skeleton, so why not a scythe? It was then the pretty boxes caught her eye as she dropped the scythe and walked over. She picked up the smaller box and opened it up to see what was inside.

[Deme]

With Merry

Inside the box is... a very nasty looking semi-spider thing. And it jumps at her face. Because everyone needs some conflict!

[With Ante]
"Ha, then you came to the right man! Well, man-thing...While I admit that I could show you more under better circumstances, I can at least show you a little...Perhaps."

That was at once a spirit-lifter and a mood-dampener, it seems; he started out clearly pleased, and, like that consideration to give her his arm, seemed lonelier at the end than he had before. He shook his head, thoughtfully and sadly, his ears flopping this way and that.

"I'm no expert in hells, though there are times I'd disagree with myself on that...Have you been out of yours long?"

[With Yuki]

"Alright! Alright! I give! D-don't hurt me! I like this body!"[/color]

He broke down and wailed like a baby, completely surrendering his dignity before the terror and might of Yuki.

[Benson]

"Waaaahaaa!" She yelped in surprise as she tried to duck and tumble and pick up the scythe. The spider was going down. No one takes Meridith...uh Liliths by surprise in attack and gets away with it! Overkill time! Oh yea, also her chain accessory rattled dramatically and stuff.

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Athletics to, well, the above. (1d6x2)[12]

[Trobby]

Ante

"Oh...about two months now...I've been trying to find a place where I can serve mortals and not draw too much attention to myself...but for one reason or another..."

She lets it trail off, looking down at the earth intently.

"Well, I met up with Hina, my now-adopted little sister, about a week ago. Poor thing, all alone and afraid...and with this castle so near..well, I thought if there was any place in life where I could serve mortals, it would be as a servant myself. So, here we are."

"And...Master Leon...you must never give up your passion. When you want something, with all of your heart, with all of your soul, then there are no demons, no devils, no angels or mortals that can keep it from you. The will of the heart...that is stronger than any steel, harder than any forge. It...may sometimes be hard. Circumstances may make things difficult, but if you want something hard enough then...well then you reach out and take it!"

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Ante attempts to inspire the Prince with the sheer force of her Will.

(1d6x4)[8]

[Lycan 01]

Yuki tries to maintain her stern expression. Rather than let her confusion and surprise be apparent, she instead smirks almost sadistically and purrs: "I like this body, too. Which is the only reason I haven't destroyed it yet."

She slightly eases her grip on his neck so that he can breath, but she doesn't let go. Leaning in close, she growls: "Now be a nice little demon, and tell me who it is you're after, and why. Or else." She wasn't entirely sure what 'or else' meant, but neither did he, and that's what mattered.

[Deme]

Merry

Huzzah! The bug is squished! The music box clatters to the ground and begins to play a sweet and sad little melody that fills up the dank room. There's a miniature portrait, in a very old style, of a regal-looking man, woman, and child...Though, before you ask, they're clearly a different set of people from the ones in the portrait upstairs.

----

Ante

He listens to he speech and smiles. Even if it wasn't entirely useful... To hear someone outside of the three people who lived here saying 'don't give up' like they meant it (which was not exactly how his father or step-mother wrote it)... It was nice.

"I never said I had given up hope, Miss Ante. I'm not sure what I'd do if it ever seemed really hopeless to me, though I've given it some thought..."

A lot of thought. A lot of late night staring at the wall 'well, darn, it may actually be hopeless. what do I do?' thought. He pulled a hand out from behind his back and flexed it in front of her, turning it this way and that as he examined it, and allowed her to examine it.

"But for the moment, there are certain practicalities that make the arts a little difficult to enjoy. For starters, I don't know yet if angels fear to tread where you rush in, but I will say that most tradesmen do."

He left the stuff out that he found honestly depressing. If everything else about the situation had been OK, he still would find it depressing...So it was hardly good conversation with a lady.

As they reached the edge of the maze, he bowed and kissed her hand. His lips, it seemed, were fully human, and very soft.

"...But....Thank you, very much. I really do appreciate the sentiment. I was right in my first estimate -- like a golden sun, you brightened my day considerably."

He straightened.
"Perhaps I'll sing for you another day, so you'll know what music from this world sounds like...But I suppose you need to go and repair that skirt, and I need to go figure out how to introduce myself to the rest."

He waved her off before heading off in his own direction.

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(1d6)[3] Favor gained

---
Yuki

"Anything, anything!" He wailed. "I'm not like mortals! I don't like pain; it hurts me..."

He whimpered.

"I'm here hunting a demoness who went rogue and escape -- her name is Ante. She owes us souls! She was on soul-tending duties and let them escape! My job is to bring her back down!"

He forced a smile and tried pleading.

"See? Not so bad? Just collecting an evil from this world..."

[Lycan 01]

Yuki narrows her eye at the demon, scrutinizing him and his words. "I see..." she mused.

A wistful smile spreads across her face, and she lets out a soft, almost melancholy laugh. "Well, lucky for you, I know what it is like to do evil deeds for the greater good. So, I will not hurt you for doing your job."

She then arches an eyebrow. "But you may want to take a warning back to your associates. Whether or not this 'Ante' is here, hunting for her in this area is probably a very stupid idea. This estate is protected by monsters, sorcery, mad science, dangerous people like myself, and lots of political red tape. So you may want to rethink hunting for that demoness, or anyone else for that matter, around this estate and the surrounding areas. Unless, of course, you want to die or cause a diplomatic incident between dimensions..." she factually states. "Just a bit of friendly advice."

[Trobby]

Ante

The demon maid, who may or may not be here at this very moment, gives a small curtsey to Prince Leon as he wanders off.

It only occurs to her a few minutes after he has gone that she could have taken the chance to ask him what he would like for lunch...or to suggest ways to introduce himself to the others.

That can wait though, as right now her chief concern is getting her skirt sewn back together before anyone sees her walking up a flight of stairs. So she hurries back to her room to mend the damaged uniform.

----

[Benson]

Merry

Huzzah! The bug is squished! The music box clatters to the ground and begins to play a sweet and sad little melody that fills up the dank room. There's a miniature portrait, in a very old style, of a regal-looking man, woman, and child...Though, before you ask, they're clearly a different set of people from the ones in the portrait upstairs.

Merry set the scythe down and picked up the music box and held it up to her. She tilted her head curiously at the small portrait inside. For some reason she felt sad inside, she didn't know why, but she did, maybe the bittersweet had an effect on her. Nonetheless, she put closed the music box and put it back on top of the medium box on top of the big box. She would come back to these later, but right now, she spent too much time not doing what she had set out to do.

So left the cellar and roamed the halls, she had a destination in mind, back to the room to keep Skelly in the know so that he doesn't think she abandoned him. That's how she thought of it. Who knows who'll she run into, which maids, NPCs, etc.

[Trobby]

As it so happens, Ante ran into Merry.

Literally.

"Oph~!" The maid says as she crashes into her co-worker, having heedlessly careened into her while trying to rush through the manor holding the shreds of her skirt.

She quickly tries to wrap the shreds around her tail before Merry can see it, though only after she and Merry disentangle from each other.

[Benson]

Merry

"Aafh..!" She yelped and fell on her back finding a bosom on her face for a few seconds. Ante herself would find her nostrils getting a whiff of brimstone peeking though the perfume Merry tried to cover it with. She sputters angrily, her eyes closed as she tried to regain her bearings and scrambled a foot away. She growled opening her eyes. "You, watch where yer going!"

[Trobby]

Ante scoots back even quicker than she would've intended. Being stuck inside another girl's busom isn't the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to her, but the whiff of brimstone triggers her paranoia.

Though a second later it reminds her of something...familiar...and for a moment she gives Merry a very confused look indeed.

Before she shakes her head of that thought and hears what she has to say.

"Ah, sorry Merry, I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you okay?"

That whiff of brimstone...and something about this girl seems very familiar...

[Benson]

She narrowed her eyes and stared at the other maid. "I'm........okay, hmmph." She fixed herself up, straightened her head piece, skirt, apron etc. "Why are you in such a hurry anyway? Do something wrooong?" Her tone taking a sing songy teasing-ness.

[Trobby]

"...My skirt was damaged. I wish to fix it as soon as possible." This is self-evident enough, and in all manner of speaking is technically true. "I should have a bit of spare needle and thread in my room."

Ante's ripped skirt wriggles a bit, as she tries to keep her tail under control, and out of sight of the girl who smells of brimstone.