[SkyWolf11]

Dusk was quickly spreading across reaches of the Lya Pointa Cathedral.  Those of, perhaps, more intellect would have begun their trek back home by now out of the foreboding shadows of the towering building. After all, this place was rumored to draw in those of the devious and demonic, people one wouldn't even want to cross in the daylight let alone in the danger of the night. Yes ... within it's long forgotten corridors, perhaps dark and demonic beings still lingered...  And it was for that very reason that a rather maniacal man of high stature found himself snooping about the looming halls this night.


He was a tall, red-headed man dressed in rather peculiar wears; Sporting a dark purple (though it looked black without light) tuxedo with a white undershirt and golden tie, his outfit was topped with a long flowing black cape and black top hat, both with gold trimming.  All in all, one would say he resembled a magician of sorts.  His stride was short and slow, with no real haste yet he walked with purpose.  In front of him, a small Mimebones pranced about, alert yet easily distracted by the faintest shuffle or whistle of the wind within the echoing rooms they passed.  It showed no signs of changing it's pace though, which lead the slender man behind him to sigh loudly.


"Come now, Tyberius, you're telling me you sense nothing yet?"  His tone clearly portrayed his frustration.  All day they had been here with nothing to show for their time wasted.  It was beginning to become bothersome for the man who had much more pleasant places to be, people to see, things to sell.  The only response his whining coaxed from his feline companion was an eerie, disembodied echo of rattling bones. *slow rattling*

The man closed his eyes and adjusted his cape as a chill hit him in the face before his attention was suddenly caught by a sudden sound, loud enough to not mistake as a mere will of the wind or a tired brain.  The Mimebones had also heard this and had stopped abruptly, it's skull of a head slowly surveying around them for the source.  The oddly dressed man stood silent for a minute before shifting on his heel and glancing behind them, thinking maybe that's where the sound had resonated.

"Hello?  Hm?  Is someone there?", he called out curiously.

( Feel free to jump in if you want!  ; v; )

[Jaykobell]

Lya Pointa Cathedral was no pleasant place, and most humans and pets kept their distance from it. The old cathedral had an ominous feel to it, one that attracted evil pets, and not so much the goody two-shoes. Apart from some priests or holy men interested in purifying the place or hunting down some demons, the cathedral often remained empty, its silence chilling the bones of even toughened criminals.

However, the evil aura of the area did the complete opposite for some people, relaxing them rather than leaving them on edge.



It did just that for the dirty-blond man that breathed in the air of the cathedral as he walked down the main room, his footsteps resonating loudly as he stepped on the thick church carpet. The cathedral had certainly earned its name, with the main room being very church-looking, complete with crippled and burned benches, and something that was very akin to a mass. He could imagine the cathedral looking fairly beautiful during its glory days just from the remaining rumbles of the ruined building.

He walked down the church hall, the large feather of his dark hat flowing about behind him gently. He stopped in the middle of the hall, right between the rows of crippled benches, as he breathed in and sighed deeply.

"Didn't expect a church, of all places, to make you happy," a voice came from behind, but the man didn't feel the need to turn around to look at the speaker.



A red-haired girl approached the blond man, looking a bit more grumpy than him. She was dressed in simple clothes, but she also wore a long scarf that went almost all the way down to the ground and that could double as a hoodie. She wore clean bandages wrapped around both arms, from her elbows to her wrists. Being clean, they didn't seem to be because of injuries, but rather for style or to hide something. She had a few scars here and there, in addition to everything else. She also carried a peculiar sword, with a little bear trinket hanging down from the hilt.

The man was quite a few inches taller than her, wearing glasses and bearing a small scar that went down his right eye. His red eyes were slightly snake-like, looking very demonic in nature, and being unlike any regular human eyes. He wore simply clothes as well, a sleeve shirt with pants and gauntlets that matched. He also carried the same sword as the girl, only his didn't have any added little trinkets to it. "Eh? This ain't a church. Or, well, it used to be," the man replied as he glanced at the girl that had walked up to him. "Doesn't matter. Now it's just a pile of ruins, and it gives off a malevolent air... Reminds me of those times."

There was a pause between them, something akin to tension. The man looked up ahead, daydreaming slightly, whereas the girl simply kept her gaze on him. They stayed by the main room for a while, until the girl got impatient. "You gonna stare at the ruins here all day, or what, old man?"

The man blinked as he turned back to the girl with a grumpy look, seeming slightly perplexed. "Keep your pants on, runt. Nobody's gonna run off while we're dawdling here," he complained, the two speaking to each other with a certain level of annoyance, but they seemed to share a certain bond.

"If there's bandits or criminals in this cathedral," the younger girl started, getting a bit more agitated, "they'll cause trouble for us if we don't ambush them! They could come up here and—"

But before she could finish, the man just started walking away, grumbling passively. "Gosh, but you're annoying. We'll get those bastards, okay? Chill," he replied as he started heading down the first hall he came across, leaving the girl to run after him.

"Maybe I should just let them behead you, jerk," the child replied as she followed the hatted man down the small corridor.

The said man just rolled his eyes and continued to keep his annoyance to himself. "Maybe I'll just do the same," he replied as he went on to take a turn, but he didn't turn to an empty corridor.

By the time the pair had turned, it was already too late. There stood a magician-looking man and a strange cat-like creature, the two pairs standing face to face. Needless to say, that had made for an awkward transition.

"Eh? Well, I didn't expect to see a circus man hanging around this kind of place," the man commented, his voice coming off as slightly derogating, but otherwise non-threatening, if not a little perplexed by the discovery.

[SkyWolf11]

The magician-like man was not expecting to find other people here after hours and, he had to admit, it startled him when he soon found himself face to face with an equally peculiar man and child.  What really caught his eye was the blonde man's rather devilish eyes.  This caused some perhaps just suspicion of the man but he quickly spun on his heels in a playful manner, a wide grin spreading across his shadowed face.  Underneath his clasped hands appeared a long staff seemingly out of nowhere as he leaned over slightly to get a better look at the two new comers, at it's head, a large crystal orb that fit comfortably in the man's palm.

"Ah, so it appears I'm not the only crazy fool to linger in this dreadful place, eh?"  A chuckled filled the large corridor and echoed slightly.  "Though I assure you my odd, good fellow that I am no circus familiar."  The man tipped his hat to the pair before lifting it slightly to stare at the man.  His gaze, however, drifted down to the pair's matching swords before quickly darting back up to meet their stares.  "I say, what are a pair like you two doing out so late tonight in such a place, hm?  Do tell~"  It surely wasn't wise to question those with swords of their motives when there wasn't any proper grounds to do so, but the man had never been one to think ahead before he spoke unfortunately.

At his feet, his Mimebones had wandered back over to the distraction and had sat, looking indifferently at this new change of pace, it's jaws clenched loosely.  *rattling*

[Jaykobell]

The hatted man recoiled ever so slightly when the curious magician stranger leaned forward to get a better look at the two. The two seemed to be equally grumpy, but the man was more laid-back and relaxed, whereas the girl felt more tense and not as comfortable being here. With some strange guy staring right at them, needless to say that it didn't help her feel any better. How did they keep running into such ridiculous situations, and such over the top people? Every single time.

"Crazy fool?" the man echoed, as he grimaced at the other, the words of the stranger being more irritating than his actions or attire. "Odd...?" Goodness gracious, this guy was no short of crazy, either. To begin with, the blond man wasn't crazy in any way, so that was just uncalled for. "I ain't the one leaning in close to get a closer look from afar, pal," he answered as he put a hand to his waist and lifting another to ask the circus man to keep his distance. "We can sit here all day listing what's weird about you."

While the man was dealing with the other, the girl seemed strangely intrigued — if not unsettled — by the Mimebones. She stared at the little pet, making a confused face as it rattled on and on, seemingly unable to speak. It had a certain attraction to it, but that chattering was just unsettling.

There was a short moment of silence between the pairs as the man looked the magician over. "Eh, you don't seem like a threat. We're here on a request to get rid of some bandits or something or other; some group that's been pillaging nearby villages or something like that."

"And if this guy is part of that gang, you've just ruined our entire cover, you stupid old fool," the girl scolded angrily, turning her attention from the Mimebones to the blond man.

"Eh, what's he gonna do? Hit me over the head with his plastic prop stick? Please," he replied nonchalantly, with his voice echoing with overconfidence. "And what you doing in this godforsaken place, weird cane guy?"

[SkyWolf11]

Weird cane guy, huh?  Well, he supposed he deserved that though the aimed insult did little to upset him.  Much of the time, most things people said about him never really pushed any buttons.  In fact, he found them quite funny.  It was true though.  His own banter, which he would call harmless fun, did often come across as rude, snarky even, but it was just how he was really and he couldn't do much to change it.

"Terribly sorry, there.  Didn't mean to step on any toes.", he said as he slowly straightened back up, angling the staff away from his body.  He was quite accustom to the dark, being of Grim blood that he was, so he needn't invade their bubbles any further as to agitate them any more, he supposed, nodding off to the side with a slight shrug at the man's gesture.  "It's just I thought most would avoid visiting this place so late at night, is all.  They say this place is like a beacon for the wicked and those of demonic essences.  And if you must, go right ahead."  He was referring to the comment how they could discuss his own oddity all day long.  "I am simply ... me!  Weird, perhaps, but I'm fine with that.  Yes, Naveen's the name and selling's the game~", he announced proudly, flipping his hat off into a spin before catching it's rim and bowing in presentation, though careful not to provoke another 'shooing' from the man.

*rattling*  The Mimebones had remained still for the most part, only it's ears or tail twitching slightly as the strange disembodied sound rattled off and on.  It stared at the young girl in turn of her staring, though it had no visible eyes.  It grew curious as the men talked, growing restless enough to stand and approach the girl with little to no concern of it's actions.  It planted at her feet, staring up at her with those big dark sockets...  

Naveen had listened to their own back and forth banter with interest before speaking back up in his defense.  "Ah, I see.  I know of no gang, though I am here on my own business.  I'm hunting a creature born of dark magic, or so it is rumored.  A small imp like creature, I believe.  Seen any around, by chance?"

[Jaykobell]

Wow, this guy really was nothing short of strange and weird. Still, weird was better than potentially dangerous, so that was fine by the blond swordwielder. He'd dealt with quite a few weird and eccentric people before, so this kind of behavior wasn't anything new or unheard of to him. Most of the time, it just ended up being ridiculously obnoxious. If it did end up that way, he figured he could just walk away and leave the magician-man to his little follies.

"Wicked and demonic essences, eh?" he questioned the strange caned man with a pleasant grin. "Precisely why I'm here. This is the kind of place that relaxes me." He had been in control of a powerful, malevolent power, once upon a time. He'd wreaked havoc, sabotaged armies, and ravaged quite a few soldiers in his wake. Unfortunately, that power was taken from him after a certain failure, and he'd been left weak and powerless ever since then. Going to malevolent areas filled with dark powers and an air of danger was the closest thing he could do to feel close to that power again. Nothing really compared, but he had to feel grateful for something that at least somewhat filled the void.

While the two men were busy discussing God knows what, the girl was being approached by the rattling Mimebones. The fact it had no sockets was a little unsettling, but the girl had seen worse in her days. Still, it was a little unnerving to see the pet make its way towards her, and she found herself staring right back at the cat as it kept on approaching. The closer it got, the more unsettling those eye sockets got, and the more unnerved she felt.

With the introduction of the other, the hatted man put both hands to his waist nonchalantly. Selling? Sounded like this guy would appreciate his wife. "Name's Alter. This useless tyke is Linfan," he introduced, pointing at the girl as he called out her name.

"Useless yourself, you old jerk!" Linfan replied in retaliation as she kept trying to keep her distance from the Mimebones.

The words went right over Alter's head, whom continued to ignore the girl and who focused on Naveen instead. "Haven't seen your creature thing, no." And then his gaze went down to the Mimebones, with Linfan getting increasingly annoying because of it. "And what the hell is this thing supposed to be?" he asked as he tapped the thing with a foot, which, admittedly, couldn't be the best of ideas. He was at least careful enough to avoid tapping it close to its mouth, but there was no telling how quick this thing could react.

[SkyWolf11]

Naveen's expression changed slightly (though his smile remained ever present) as the man mentioned feeling at certain peace within the foreboding cathedral.  Those who sought out such feelings of dark power usually had a history with it, or so it always seemed to turn out Naveen had found.  In his line of work, dealing with dark entities and items and malevolent forces of varying kinds, he'd developed a 'feel' for such malevolence.  Though, he couldn't say for sure if he sensed that from these two or not.  After all, being surrounded by such dark energy in this place, it was hard to pinpoint on a single source of it.

He turned his attention to his odd little Mimebones that seemed to be causing such a stir within the young lady and chuckled.  "Oh, that little pest?  That's just Tyberius.", his words provoking a faint, yet irritated rattle from the feline as it slowly turned to look over it's shoulder at it's master.  

"Come now, Ty, leave the little girl alone and introduce yourself properly.  Playful thing.", he chuckled softly.  Tyberius was more than just a mere Mimebones, though one normally couldn't tell until he shifted into his alternate form.  It turned and started towards Naveen, though in midstride it seemed to fade away into the darkness.  A form reappeared beside the eccentric man.  It looked human at first glance but a closer look would reveal a white skinned, eerie eyed man who seemed to levitate just centimeters off the ground.  

He had long, furry cat like ears where a human's ears would normally be, a long slender white tail, clawed hands and dark dark eyes - the area of the eye pitch black while the iris a striking yellow.  Dark grey stripes covered his body from his chest to his toes, much like a Mimebones.  With a rather devious grin, he flashed his long canines towards the two and ran a clawed hand through his long silver hair nonchalantly.  *rattles*

[Jaykobell]

In his time, Alter had seen a lot of different things: from monsters to simple creatures. He had seen dangerous and mortal monsters, together with some of the most harmless animals to exist. He had also seen strange creatures, from dragons to other things that weren't akin to humans.

That, together with his general lack of interest towards most things, left the man mostly indifferent at the presentation of Tyberius's human-like form. It was peculiar, that was for sure, but all Alter did was to add it to his list of weird things that he'd seen, so far, in his lifetime. The eerie look did appeal to him, but otherwise, the human-like creature looked more cute than he looked terrifying or threatening. Still, a nice touch; as someone who had an alternate form of sorts, Alter could relate to the Mimebones character.

As for Linfan, the rattling of the Mimebones was what unnerved her the most. Couldn't the thing speak at all? The form change didn't quite surprise her, either. Having seen most of the things the old man had, and being an assassin by profession, the girl had seen a lot of traumatizing and terrifying things, so a simple change of a cat-like animal to a human-like form wasn't anything uncommon for her. "Can't this kid speak at all? What's with the rattling?" Even as a human, Tyberius was just rattling and rattling, without saying anything else.

But that little detail didn't bother Alter too much at all. "So, is that your deal? Adding a whole bunch of little weird critters to your collection?" Naveen had this Mimebones already, and wasn't he looking for some creature here, too? It sounded like this guy was searching for a collection of sorts.