Midnight Rose

The creature stood gaunt and still.
"Karma." It said simply. "Murder carries plenty with it."

"Of course you didn't. Not the only suspect that can produce fire, and that evidence of burning were found on your father's skin and clothes. Not the son that had the greatest desire, flaunting it regularly whether he knew it or not, giving himself an obvious motive. Especially as the youngest of the two boys. Your plan killed two birds with one stone; create an opportunity to inherit the throne then take Nickoi out of the question." The black fingertips stroke where the chin would be on the cone shaped face.
"That would be if you were guilty, of course...You are innocent." She pulled on the mask, its surface warping like cloth. With a quick shake, it has become a black, pointed hat that the witch, recognisable in more traditional attire, placed upon her head.

Was was strange was that the features of this which were largely canine but pointed like a fox. The long, tapered, ghost-white muzzle didn't do much to obscure Lady Toivo's features.
"Until tomorrow evening." She added, finally her eyes allowed to add to the attack on Nimo's fears. "Myself and Nickoi will prove his innocents to the appropriate people. You will removed from the throne, probably forcibly. But!" A finger in the air for emphasis. "You can avoid the shame from being found out as rotten, villainous scum if you come quietly now. You can run away and stay away from this kingdom, no-one has to know anything."

"Then you face humiliation and revolt. You will be overthrown." Toivo said, matter of factly. "Last chance: Go now or go later and bring shame to your family."

She lay upon her white sheets, with her white fur, dozing in the evening's vale. Red pooled and spread through her hairs like it was being poured on her and the slightly thin, fox tail lay lifeless next to her covered legs. Betty hung from a chair by the bed. She remained in her witches robes under the thin bed layer. She was silent and still, maybe the odd twitch of her ear but only her quiet nap's toing and froing of her breath to mark of any real sound. The window shutters remained open from where she had returned. The large, metal-worked bed had the bag of evidence hanging from a bedknob. The white curtains move as though smoke under the breeze's caress, gentle with its own pace.

Tranquil and still.

It was a brave effort on the part of the villagers. Lets face it, after being caught in a dragon raid, Beforlon would be the last place to choose for a party. Even the sit-down dinner for everyone left (The Blacksmith, The Baker, a few farm hands and a few widows) where everyone was going to eat everything up before leaving for the nearest town. The bunting was merely coloured rags on rope. All the candles the village had left with the Blacksmith, Hannible, playing his penny-whistle in the background quietly. When almost everything else was smouldering, its hard to complain. Kindness was to be repaid at any cost. It was worth paying before upping sticks and moving away, frankly.

Tyro sat at the end of the tables placed end to end in the village hall. Everyone was sat at the table, the occasional gift being passed down.
"That one's from me!" said Myu, pointing to herself. The thick, brown hair curled up a little at the front. The twins passed it to the fox at the end who made short work of tearing it open. The small leather case opened.
"A watch!" Tyro said, a little surprised.
"Yeah! Is it all right?" Myu asked with concern as Tyro slipped it on.
"Fine, I just don't know how long it'll last...." A bout two hours, it turned out. "Very pretty though, thank you." She seemed a little complacent after that. Ah well, she'll cheer up once pudding turns up.
"You know, I don't think we get together so much like this any more." Tyro said, leaning back in the chair.
"Not this again..." Dom mumbles into his goblet. The glare from Tyro was an intense as he could muster.
"What? We're all off doing other things. Any of us could be worlds away." Dom defended.
"I can wish that we all get together sooner." Tyro justifies. "I like to see you all. I mean, I haven't seen Lucy or Thomas for over a decade. I wonder where the heck you go, you know?"

The door bursts open as the farm hands bring in the cake, layered in icing with three large candles burning away in it.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"
I could have guessed the wish by a long shot....

Now, could you tell me why that was what Toivo dreamed about?

"My Dad's Birthday Party." Toivo mumbled. "The last time we were all together..." A brief pause. "Don't mind my real form then?"

"What?!" That came out a little louder than it ideally should have. She rolled over, staring straight at Nickoi with wide, wild eyes. She sat up slowly with her startled confused expression on her face. "I care for you a lot and I know you do the same but your going way to fast to just blurt that out!" She swallowed, looking for signs of her words settling.
"You don't know enough about me! We've played but I haven't said anything about what I do, my family, my friends, where I go when I'm not here." She raised the black furred hand.
"I've even hidden my true face from you. You don't the entirety of who I am."

Oh my word....

Sure,there maybe more than one true love....its just that, well...he's sitting riiiight there. There. Here, in this room...She slips from the bed to the floor, landing on her knees.

Can't say she wasn't that surprised...

"I, I should really tell you about me then...."

"I've done a lot of avoiding of questions. As I understand it, everyone thinks I've only got a Dad. Its only because I haven't put anyone straight about it. Its only ever whispers. Little stories and hearsay I catch occasionally. But, I, err...I have a family of five brothers and two sisters. They don't visit here much, we all do our own thing. There's Dom and Leth, who I go see sometimes. Their sky-merchants supposedly. I never catch them doing any of the things Leth lets slip. Their fun to watch bicker with each other, especially over girls. Two track mind, the pair of them: its either girls or business." A light grin crinkled her features, almost masked under the fur.
"Myu was last seen riding off to find some treasure. She doesn't seem to care as long as she gets a mansion by the end of it. She, heh, she's the hyper one. Really hyper. Like she's constantly being given coffee. The only way we could get her in place for any amount of time was giving her cake."
"I haven't heard anything about Lucy or Thomas, except when we decide its Dad's birthday. None of us are sure how old he is or when we're supposed to celebrate his birthday so its usually whenever he feels like seeing us all once a year. Can't blame him...Errr...oh and Matt and Luke have opened shop somewhere, I think. They have an armoury shop, specialising in weapons for non-humans. They have them made somewhere..." She smirked, almost reaching a smile. The truth felt better.
"I came here once and fought off some nasty vampires and in return, they gave me the title of 'Lady Toivo False of Maypen' and everyone been happy with it. I've tried my best to be good at this, with all the functions and stuff. I think I've done a good job. And I haven't actually lied as such...just not taken enough notice of what people had made up." The solemn look stared into the embroidery rather than at Nickoi the whole time. A sort of repent for just standing idle. She leaned over to the bed side table, pulling the draw out. She grabbed the sole occupying item within; a dog-eared, slightly burnt, faded leather-bound book. The pages were as wood shavings in their appearance with the slow-decay of the paper but the colours on the page stayed. Pictures of people left behind long ago. A more confusing and odd time...But definite characters in the comic the pages held; a girl with pale blonde hair, a man with his arms around her. A tall red fox, holding a chain with a glowing pendant hanging from it. The same fox with a young woman with innocent eyes, smiling wide to show off those sharp canines to the omniscient artist. Although the fox holding her was humanoid, the woman looked more so than he did. Even with the wolf ears on the top of her head.
"This is my Mum and Dad"

Letting this stuff out is all well and good. It truly is. You release the truth if you can't keep it caged before it pecks away at you. Its a weight off the check, a load of the mind. Toivo was feeling lighter now she'd shared a brief description of her family. Nickoi was interested.


"You guys look happy. You were cute when you younger." Hmmm? Must have been an earlier picture in the book....somewhere.
"You look a lot like her, and I don't think I will mess with your father." She had a few of her Mother's traits but the other girls took after her more. A snigger escaped when talking about her Dad.
"My Father is a softy. You'll have no problems with him." She felt him lasso an arm around her middle. Not that she minded at all as she was lowered slowly onto his shoulder. She shuffled her head to get comfortable.

"Well I didn't grow up with Nimo. He came into the famliy by the way of my mother almost killing him. At first I was happy, then I saw his true colors and I didn't want anything to do with him. My father and mother didn't know why I dislike him after a time." His tones were capped, staying within a relaxing and solemn register. She thought back to what she had tried to get Nimo to do earlier. Now that she thought about it, she was surprised she wasn't swimming in royal soldiers. Still, they had to remove him from the throne.
"We still need to deal with your brother. Before he does something he'll regret." She said.

"Mmmm, yes." Not listening, at all! Total focus on the festival now. Nickoi came up with something interesting. "Sorry, what was that about judgements and a goddess?" Her head had raised off of Nickoi's shoulder as she stared at him, in need of the information. This could be their ticket to peace. Seriously! They had a pretty tight case. The only problem maybe what to do about Nimo's men should he send them.
"Might I ask, which Goddess?" Who they were dealing with could help sway her. She was hoping for Inari but she doubted it. Rice isn't grown here. Maybe a sacrifice or just a little attention at al altar somewhere could mean the difference between verdicts.

Great, she was thinking of bribing deities now...

A smirk streaked a across her mouth, framed in black. She should have known it would be a goddess relating to vampires, generally. Demons in a broader sense apparently. One of the first to take from the Tree of Knowledge, she was always taught, and attempted to create her own Eden. Books with their illustrations always showed her clothed in shades and shadows, her eyes the most piecing glare paper and ink has ever made.

At least, that's the version she's read about. She keeps finding parts of the books she studied so hard, to be wrong. Just past the mark as a best case scenario.

"Lemme guess, the guest of honour is the girl that's only there to be a, a conduit for Lillith to control? I have a feeling that Nimo wanted that to be me..." Her voice dropped to tones of concern momentarily. "The possessed girl isn't hurt or anything, right? Its just possession."

"Huh....I was expecting something a little more from a god." She said, somewhat disappointed. "Some will transform their avatars, giving them wings, changing their form to look like a copy of the deity themselves or even into animals." She paused, having stemmed the intellectual gush.
"So...when and where again?"

"All right. I mean, when is the festival? I think I usually go..." She let that hand before she immediately knew how to cover up the glaring issue in her sentence. "away at this point in the year, so I;ve never been. Are we talking day's or weeks?"