{M • IC} In Sheep's Clothing

[Craze]

Rated M for Mature. Contains violence, excessive language and gore.


something wicked his way comes...

My, my... how interesting this place has become.

Grimwald has always been a vile place to live in. Just under a few hours ago, the Cruel One fell from his throne and now rests behind bars, his powers nullified by the crude restraints his hunters arrested him with. How the years passed and the bodies fell... and with Rumpelstiltskin imprisoned for life, Grimwald hoped the falling of the bodies would end.

But it was not enough.

On the shore of Grimwald lies a headless mermaid, discovered at the turning of the tide. A Sage murdered... now there's a first. And as the seat of the Cruel One remains dusty and emptied, I will take the liberty of ascending that throne and taking his place. It's been a long time, Grimwald... but I've decided to finally emerge from the darkness once again.

But the question remains: what was it that ended the life of this seemingly innocent woman? Or, rather... who was it? Have the hunters finally resorted to killing the Sagen instead of capturing them? I think not. This was the work of one of our own. Was it the cruel Lady White, who had perhaps murdered the mermaid out of personal feud? Or Marlon Stale, a former baron, whose true intentions go hidden behind a mask of charm? Have the Clarke brothers finally given in to their primal instincts and resorted to killing their natural prey? Or was it the work of Mary Kirsch, perhaps the most unpredictable of all?...

...none can say for certain. But this crime has piqued my interest. This is a story I'd like to see unfold... so I'll be watching. Every step of the way.

~ Chapter I ~
The Headless Mermaid

It was a gloomy night, as any other in Grimwald. But it was the first night after the arrest of Gregory Stelz, one that was assumed to go paired with peace and tranquility. But it was not his arrest that caused the uproar that currently stirred in the city; a decapitated mermaid was found on the shore. Clearly the work of someone who knew what he was doing. Not only was her body devoid of her head, she missed both her hands as well.

And now, here they all are. Gathered in the Captain's Chair, an enchanted pub in the docks of Grimwald only visible to those with a fabled eye. A meeting was arranged between the Sagen, for they all fear for their safety. A Sagen has been killed - and anyone can be next. Grimwald's only a small town... so the killer might be lurking around any corner.

In fact, he might be sitting around this very table.

Gathered in the back room of the pub, a private lounge, they discussed this unfortunate event. Blackbeard had chosen to arrange and open the meeting, as it was his pub. And there he stood, with his arms crossed and a furrowed brow as he listened to the commotion. Was the pirate all pirates fear afraid of something? Next to him stood Adolf Sternfaust, a well-respected and patient man - or so it seemed. Moving further down the line we see Mary Kirsch, followed by the seemingly innocent Renni, who sat on a desk with her thin legs swinging back and forth. Next to them and standing across from Blackbeard stands the sinister Marlon Stale, both his hands placed on his cane in a posh fashion. He did not seem amused. And there sat Lady White, accompanied by two of her servants Grumpy and Doc. Her face showed arrogance, as always. Next to her sat the Clarke brothers, also two well-respected man and yet a rather eerie pair. Another pair of brothers stood besides them, nervously whispering to each other and twiddling their thumbs. The two little piggies who feared they might soon become the one little piggy... or perhaps no piggies at all. Standing directly across from Renni we find Adam, a handsome man at first glance. His subtle glances at Renni were not at all subtle. And finally... two odd children watching from the shadows of the room.

What a curious bunch they were, all grouped together.

"She deserved to die." spoke Esma White without rethinking her words. Her voice was squeaky and stingy, her nose wrinkled with arrogance. "Ariel was a bitch. A disgrace to mermaids. I don't feel sorry for that slutty redhead at all."
"Whether we feel sorry for 'er or not is irrelevant." spoke Blackbeard, who had grown tired of the unrelated banter in this meeting. "And with all due respect, Miss White, I'd be watchin' that mouth of yours. One o' these days it'll get you into trouble... mark me words."
"Is that a threat?!" White snarled, staring at the pirate like he was an insect.
"Might just be." Blackbeard growled, his eyes narrowing.
"Quiet, the both of you." Marlon Stale joined in with the conversation. "This is of no help at all. If we want this killer found, and I believe we do, we need to get to the bottom of this. Are we even certain it's Ariel?"
"Obviously. I'd recognize her slutty tail anywhere." White complained.
"Aye, I'm afraid the beauty queen's right." Blackbeard confirmed. "Ariel's tail colour's unique. I'd recognize it anywhere."

"So we know who the victim is." Marlon looked around the room. "Anyone have any bright ideas so far? I think we can rule out that no-good Rumpelstiltskin... he's a cruel bastard, but not cruel enough to kill someone of his own kind."
"Aye." Blackbeard nodded and placed both hands on his belt. "I agree with Stale. Let's hear it, folks. How do we plan on finding this killer?"

[Dire Hoef]

Pawns Beat The Brains

Adolphus only spoke in a tone that his brother, Alden, could hear. Adolphus only spoke in clicks and bubble-like sounds that echoed that of a whale or seal. Ultrasonic moans and cries could also be heard in the darkness of the room. These were the conversations meant for sea-critters of their taste. Adolphus and Alden both knew Ariel well. And it hit them especially hard to know that she is no longer with them. The two brothers murmured towards one another exchanging brief concerns of the killer that remains afoot.

"Damn this killer," murmured Adolphus who seemed to be preoccupied with the question that was left hanging in the air.

"Wasn't Ariel involved with some of your business brother," asked Alden with a distinct set of clicks and ultrasonic tones. At this point, it would seem like no mere fable would be able to detect anything from the conversation.

"Yes," answered Adolphus with a frustrated tone, "I am afraid so..."

Alden narrowed his eyes with confusion, "You're not telling me something... Were you sleeping with Ariel?"

Adolphus shook his head briefly and leaned forward onto the table, "I didn't sleep with the mermaid... You know how bad that would look if I did have sexual relations with a mermaid? We're the gods of the deep Alden... We can't involve ourselves with lowlife creatures such as mermaids..."

Alden sighed with a heavy tone that rumbled the air a little bit, "Fine. I didn't think you would stoop so low..."

Adolphus, after silently staring at Alden exchanging looks of concern and anger, finally came forward with some sort of insight onto the situation, "We knew Ariel... Well I did... Alden never really cared to talk to her... She was involved in my business that I have inherited... We sea-creatures stick together in the most perilous of times... She wanted a little money to get herself off her feet..." He didn't forget to speak in tangible English.

Alden glared at his brother innocently before punching the - somewhat - scrawny man in the shoulder. Adolphus rubbed the shoulder and continued to look at the other fables that sat at the table, "As far as I am concerned," Adolphus paused and tied his fingers leaning on said fingers, "All she wanted from us was, again, money to get herself off her feet - no pun intended. She seemed to be having, from what I saw, financial problems that were associated with what's going on below the waters."

[BumblingBee]

Her legs were in fact swinging to the beat of a particularly catchy tune. Maybe it was because of her naturally sneaky breed, but people often ignored Renni. Unless she wanted to be noticed of course. But usually, to others she was little more than a grubby little mongrel off the streets. Which in her defense, wasn't completely true at all.

She'd washed her face for that evening especially and everything. Despite being more focused on the music running through her head, she had noticed someone's gaze occasionally glance her way. Of course it was Adam. Mind you she wasn't making it easy for the poor bugger, as she'd worn her shorts that day, and the pale marble like quality of her thighs were more than often on show. Maybe she'd catch his eye when he tried to steal a glance, that'd make things awkward.

Oh well.
At least no-one had noticed she hadn't even been listening for the last hour (Though it'd be tricky to see the headphones under that tangle of blonde curls). However this suited Renni perfectly. For the murder hadn't particularly affected her in any way yet, so why should she interfere? It wasn't any of her business for a start, and what did she know about murders anyway?

Well, besides on how to cause one every now and then.

But that was only for special occasions.

Oh! A guitar solo was coming up.
She rocked her head in anticipation.

[Redael]

"Death," his stare penetrating hers as their hands tighten. Her eyes closed as, delicately, she tilts her head towards the sky, his own eyes aimed sullenly at the ground, until suddenly their eyes meet again, and she offers a smile. Him pausing, but then instead looking forward upon the moonlit sea.

"It comes, sister."

---

Spoiler: Prologue 

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE MURDER,
"Captain's Chair", Near the back barroom

"Who?" Echoes of boisterous laughter ricocheted across the pub's walls as the fearsome pirate glared at the man, who looked like a splinter in comparison, standing lankily before him. His bloated stare narrowed as it shifted past the man's splintery head, past the half-drunken elf on the counter, past even a table-humping lycan (Teach's eyes quickly scanning the room for any sign of that cursed Morgan -- but then again, maybe she was the table) until finally reaching the northeast corner, resting upon the soft silhouettes of two...

"...children, 'ey." More laughter, and languages born of myth, salting the mystical air as a group of far too inebriated lumberjacks began breaking into song in one unintelligible slur. Blackeared huffed as air like the contents of a village was sucked up through his nostrils and cleared his throat, his beard bouncing to the sneer of his lips as he returned his gaze to the droopy-eyed man lingering in some kind of mental haze. He felt his beard before continuing, "So they're Sagen."

"As Sagen could be, sir," the man scrambled after an awkward silence, nodding up and down and up again. Blackbeard did the same, albeit, you know, normally.

"They the Hansel and Gretel lads? Haven't seen them in a fair few."

"No, sir," the man coughed. "Actually..." As the whistles and the rapports continued in the background, the slim man nonchalantly disclosed to the towering mutineer what he knew as a result of finding them wandering outside: their names, instructions to go here, and of their present conditions and suspected agenda as the bigger man slowly nodded and, finally, stopped to think and take it all in. After the departing of a patron or two, he spoke again, but not to anyone in particular. "So, that unlikely pair...they're the children." Suddenly, he thrust himself into laughter, his uproarious boom probably more akin to that of a lion's warcry, but nevertheless. "The blasted rumors were true, then."

Blackbeard's focus returned to the man. "Yer may be right, and all ya say might be true," the bearded pirate grumbled under his lungs, "but this ain't no place for peas, you know! If they really are those fellows from yesteryear, them so-called green kinder's, then..." His hardened eyes drifted over to their place at the table once more, their placement in the backdrop of the others' pendulous foreplay and unhinged tongues almost comically construed as their beaten eyes seemed engaged in an indiscernible conversation, and sighed. "Aye, fine. I'll let 'em stay. But not for long, ye hear? A week and then I lend their weight to someone else's haul. The storage room isn't much a haven of comfort, neither, and I don't stoop to no cuddling."

After saying their dues, the intimidating captain trudged away, his presence, as it were, desired somewhere more urgent. Satisfied, the man turned back to tell the kids the good news, when suddenly, he frowned and cocked his head. "Blackbeard. Cuddling. Huh," he mused as his fingers danced mid-air, sparks of color trailing their movements while he walked and sketched. "Smell another work of art coming along!"

---

PRESENT DAY,
"Captain's Chair", private lounge
Two kids eating a bagel

A clank! cut the air. Eyes fluttering, sounds rushing in -- Emily awoke from her slumber, eyes half-open, with her head still in her arms. Awake in time, that is, to hear the verbal mudslinging match that was going on at the front of the room. Lifting her face from the table, she automatically pivoted it towards the source of the commotion, and grimaced slightly as the main event blurred into focus. "...a bitch," rang her feeble ears as the infamous Ms. White, who was just starting, went on to the unruly fray of the crowd/audience. "A disgrace to mermaids. I don't feel sorry for that slutty redhead at all."

"Whether," intervened Blackbeard, also Emily's and her brother's current reluctant benefactor, and who had out of his haste neglected to inform them of the abrupt meeting in the room they so often set to sleep in and of which they were now partial participants, "we feel sorry for 'er or not is irrelevant. And with all due respect, Miss White," his teeth gritted, "I'd be watching that mouth of yours. One 'o these days it'll get you into trouble... mark me words."

"Is that a threat?" the princess retorted with an almost devilish croon. Nearly sounded like a threat itself.

With the room now more riotous than ever, and the Higgins brothers visibly unsure of who to root for, the devil pirate replied with, "Might just be." and sent it into civil war. The volcano has erupted -- I repeat, the volcano has erupted!

"You should eat, Emily." The girl turned, just as a well-dressed man had arisen to try and calm everyone down. A boy, of the same age, same physique, same impinged fate, sat staring out the window across from her, and when she looked down, she noticed the half-finished bagel in his hand. Her hand then drifted to her own bagel which rested below her, patiently perched on her plate. Blinking, Emily instead turned to look out with him, and was met with the sight of the tumbling ocean, waves rolling and crashing in a violent gust. It was quite stormy out there.

"I think," came the voice of the man from earlier in the background, "we can rule out that no-good Rumplestilskin; he's a cruel bastard, but he's not cruel enough to kill someone of his own kind." The room fell into an agreeable murmur and continued on as Emily turned back to the boy, the rest of the people there approaching a decision, finally, on how to find the mermaid's killer. A few minutes might have passed, but eventually, in return, the boy looked back at her. He had finished his bagel.

And it was quiet -- everything, suddenly, was inexorably, unthinkably quiet.

The ocean, the storm, the room, the cries. The pub, the district, Grimwald, the state. The entire manifold, interminable world, like an eroded rock, all gone.

For a while, they simply stared -- simultaneously at each other and yet at nothing at all. And then...

Water. Lightning. Feet soaked to the knees. The face -- smooth and young and beautiful. The face, that was, of a human, and hands too, and an abdomen that was of --

"Docks, on the southern side," eyes glimmering, but with fear? Or with understanding? Scarlet hair, scarlet like blood. No, she's smiling. "There you will find it, looked over by some old pirate. Don't tell him I sent ya! It's not too far!" And that was it; gone. Sand mingling. Returning. Back on paved road. Her hair and her hands and her tail astray. Almost morning -- it's a blur, but now it's another face -- a more familiar one. It's...

"Emily." The sound slammed back into their ears as the crowded room devolved into another murmur, this time instigated by a pair of brothers' yarn about doing business with the deceased Sage. The stormy sea outside raging. The world -- the world -- still there. "Emily," the boy repeated. "The mermaid who was murdered was the same one he told us to meet; the same one who sent us here two days ago, wasn't she?"

Emily, on the other hand, looked the boy in the eye, a streak of concern laid across her pupils. "You're getting stronger, Maxim. Don't..."

"...push it," the tone of Maxim's voice suddenly folded as he looked down at his empty plate, eyes cold. "I know. Sorry."

"Time's running out," Emily said, aiming her loose gaze up at the ceiling, bagel left untouched on her plate. "If someone is looking for us, we can't let it distract us, brother."

Their characteristic silence befell them once more as, suddenly, the broken light above them flickered on and they were allowed light. The children looked at each other, and then Emily at the bagel. Gotta admit, it looked more appetizing, suddenly.

Regardless, she wasn't hungry. And as the people in attendance clamored on, she and her brother half-watched, half-listened, in wait -- for something or even someone, surely, but who was to know what? Numerous figures of power, status, and uncertainty were there among them -- all Sagen, some with schemes of their own, some in need of one, some dangerous, but all, lest they weren't careful, in danger. Was this the start of something? Was Grimwald, or at least its most prevalent "affliction", soon to fall?

Emily's gaze meandered out the window once again, bagel in hand, as the meeting persisted on. She and her brother had intersected paths with a few of those present, but most of the time it was under the impression that they were either normals or Sagen of an indiscreet fable -- being children of now ordinary color, and of nearly ordinary character, after all, it takes time for people to ascribe to them the legend of "the Green Children" from two years past, if they even knew of them then.

But they were there, sitting, as the boy stared carefully at the people gathered round. So very many -- yet so very little.

[Dark Pigeon]

Phillip was a man that always ran late, it would be considered a miracle if he ever was to be on time. He had received many a book in how to organize the clutter in his brain on his many birthday's, but never came around into actually reading them. It was not that he did not like to read, his house was kept upright by the sheer amount of books supporting it's structure. He just kept forgetting about reading that actual book. So it remained somewhere, tucked away between the hundreds upon hundreds of books that he owned.

He moved as fast as any old man would, taking his time to reach the pub that was owned by nobody else then Mister Blackbeard himself. He himself loved the story's about this man, and never could get enough listening to the many story's the pirate had to share. He always had regretted not taking the offer to be the pirate-kind-of-bird and lost the deal to the master if parrots. Phillip was sure that his pigeons would have done so much better as a feathered friend to the strong men and women that lived on the sea. Ah yes! the adventures he could have sitting on the shoulder of a pirate, having his own eyepatch and have adventures and find treasure. He smiled from ear to ear thinking of it and hardly noticed that he had long ago passed the pub and had to walk back towards it.

Finally, he stepped inside and quickly fixed his suit and brushed of the few droplets of rain that had fallen on the box that contained two freshly baked apple pie's. He always brought , no matter if the meeting was to declare a war or to mourn the passing of a dear friend. He himself always had liked Ariel, she was very pretty and friendly and unlike some of the sage she did have time for a conversation with Phillip. He let out a soft sigh, he really was going to miss that lovely girl.

He silently entered the private lounge, but not before he had knocked to let everyone know that he was to come in. "Sorry that I am late" He said as he always did "... I was reading this fascinating book about time travel! And another one about mermaids... poor poor Ariel.. she surely will be missed! Such a lovely spirited girl" he said as he placed down the box and opened it, showing the people inside the lounge the pie's that he had baked. "Can anyone please bring me up to speed??" he asked around, smiling friendly at all his sage friends. He though of all of them to be just that, even if they disliked him.

[Scottie]

She had given up a shift for this. Given up her small wage so that she could sit in the queen bitch’s presence and listen to her cold hearted rambles. Fairest of them all. Hah. Mary took a large bite out of her apple, spinning the core between her fingers as she munched. She leant against the wall, near the door ready for that dismissal she was waiting for. Blackbeard was alright, she had never had any problems with him. She kept out of his way and he kept out of hers. The best of friendships in her mind. She let her eyes flick lazily over the occupants of the room as Miss White’s shrill voice gave Mary a headache. Her eyebrows shot up at the woman’s callus words. White was known as a cold hearted bitch but that was a little heartless even for her majesty.

She chuckled gently when Blackbeard gave his advice…..or veiled threat. Mary didn’t really know why she was here. She cared little for these others. She knew how to look after herself. It wasn’t her fault that the mermaids sweet song didn’t do enough to keep her head. Another bite of the apple as the pirate tried to get some group involvement. She chewed watching the others shuffle in their seats. Financial problems….The two men that were impeccably well dressed looked almost out of place in this inn, she gave them a once over before moving on.

No one would kill a mermaid over a debt. They would take it out of her skin but they would want her alive. Mary finished her apple and spun it again between her fingertips. The girl sitting on the desk was bobbing her head and as a result was slowly getting on Mary’s nerves. She rolled her jaw and rolled her eyes around to the others who started to speak.

Mary was growing bored of this meeting and it had barely started. There was a very good reason that they all stayed within their own areas. That they all didn’t live in one big cosy neighbourhood. An older man rushed in and she blinked slowly as he brought out some pies….What? She was a little confused and yawned as she moved forward. “A body washed up on shore. It was Ariel. Head and Hands clean off.” She said as she moved past the old man towards where Miss White sat looking all regal and royally pissed off as usual.

“It couldn’t be the little man….Rumpelstiltskin has been locked up too long for this to be his work.” She said as she dragged her fingertips along the wood of the table. “It couldn’t be a human. They stumble through life like mindless sheep.” She said as she appeared before Miss White with an amused glint in her eyes. “It has to be one of us. Or another who has not made themselves known.” She said as she dropped the apple core into the glass standing before Miss White. Letting the apple core bob in the liquid before turning and moving back to her spot against the wall, not before nabbing a slice of pie. “The only way you catch someone like that is to think like them. I know I’ve obviously never wanted to slice the head off another one of us. Anyone here felt that urge before?” She said as she turned back, her back hitting the wall as she took a small bite of the pie.

[Megilwen]

Scarlett had just finished dropping off the last of her deliveries that evening and now was hurrying down the darkening streets of Grimwald toward The Captain's Tavern. A message had been delivered earlier to her grandparents shop, informing them about a meeting of the Sagen. Her grandparent's had said that it was none of their business and the more that they attempted to separate themselves from the "normal" population of people, the more dangerous it was. Her grandparents believed that they were safer pretending to be a normal. Scarlett had begged them to allow her to go, but they argued that her chores were more important than any meeting. After nearly an hour of arguing, they'd finally relented and told her that if she wanted to go, she could go after making her deliveries for the evening.

Seeing the Tavern ahead of her she quickened her steps a little until she reached the door and opened it just wide enough for her to slip through the crack hoping to not interrupt the meeting. She walked in to a woman speaking. She was apparently summarizing the meeting so far for another Sage who'd come in late. It seemed that someone had murdered Ariel, chopped off her hands and head. It was a gruesome ending she wouldn't wish on anyone, poor girl. Glancing around the room, she recognized many if not all of the people in the room, Blackbeard who owned the tavern they were in. Lady White, who seemed to have a permanent sneer on her face, though it was well known of her hatred for Ariel. Mr. Sternfaust a friend of her grandparents and proprietor of the Wolf and Thorn Inn. He'd been by their shop often recently and was always polite to her. Mary, who worked down at one of the other Tavern. Adam, a friendly man, and Renni, both of whom she'd run into on occasion in town. Then there were the Clark brothers, one she knew was a Blacksmith, she'd made deliveries to him regularly for her grandparents, she wasn't sure what the other did. Dr. Frenchworth was there as well, he'd been late as well. Then there was Mr. Stale, whom her grandparents had instructed her to avoid, though she didn't know why. Finally, and she'd nearly missed them, two children in the shadows of the room that she didn't recognize.

As eyes turned to look at her as she slipped in, Scarlett felt her cheeks blush a little. "Evening. Please excuse my tardiness." She looked over the room, looking for a place to sit but instead ended up leaning against the wall like Mary, pulling her cloak about her.

[StormWolf]

There are two different kinds of hunting for those who know the craft. First is what would be called active hunting. Going out into the woods with a bow, spear, or rifle, and tracking your quarry until you actively end its life. It is a primal thing, base and beautiful. Second would be passive hunting; setting traps and laying in wait for the unsuspecting doe to wander into the snare. Both were effective, but Adolf was always more privy to the former than the latter.

Regardless, he watched from his spot beside Blackbeard. Intelligent eyes gleamed with that predator's spark as they darted from patron to patron, fingers drumming on the white gold grip of his cane. Emotions were running high, as could only be expected when part of the community washes up in the state poor Ariel did. Adolf's smirk was constant as he watched the intricate pattern of paranoia weave a trap of its own.

Miss White, despite her proper name and pompous masquerade, was a saltier bitch than any sea-maid, with a voice as charming as Mother Winter herself. Adolf's eyes tightened at her exchange with Blackbeard, the muscles at his jaw tightening to stifle a snarl. He idly stroked the wolf head carved on the swooping crook of his cane as we shot Miss White a glance. He would deal with her soon enough.

In the back of his head was the chattering of the odd brothers, Adophus and Alden. They weren't immediately in Adolf's field of view, forcing him to slowly sweep his head in their direction. He met their flat glances a moment, and held it. More words were in order, surely. They had a connection to the victim. There was only one way to find the metaphorical Hansel and Gretel; you follow the breadcrumbs.

And, of course, Bloody Fucking Mary was as colorfully macabre as always. There was a certain degree of charm to it, if one was of the Ripper variety. Adolf simply smirked at how nonchalant her poise and posture was about the matter at hand. As a capable woman who could tear folk to ribbons, she had little reason to be afraid. Of all those present, she was one of the few Adolf treated carefully. She was also the reason the only mirror in Adolf's estate was a brightly polished pane of silver.

Krak
Krak
Krak

Adolf struck his cane thrice upon the floor with all the authority of a Judge's gavel. Stepping forward, Adolf met eyes with Scarlett as she entered and tipped his hat to her. Turning on a heel to face the crowd, Adolf twirled his cane once. Pointing to Miss White, Adolf spoke in a polite and refined tone.

"Miss White, I implore to speak well of the dead, as a Lady of your stature should. Better yet, refrain from speaking. It drains the intellect of the room when you do, and we need all the wits we can muster." Flashing a wolfish grin to Miss White, Adolf turned to address the group at large.

"It is no secret that Ariel had... questionable lifestyle choices. She liked to go deep, and it apparently caught up with her. I'll ensure the streets are watched at all hours, but if we want to find the killer we need more than a Siren's mangled corpse." Adolf turned to Mary before he continued. "Do not underestimate the Mundane, Mary. They outnumber us in this world for a reason. A fisherman with a sharp cleaver could have done this, for all we know. The law of this town would see us gone. This is not far afield from a Mundy taking the fablejäger's work to the next level. That is why I need to see the body. Washed up on shore, there may be a scent to follow. Something more than pointless speculation." He finished before his voice rose to a bellow, clearing his throat and adjusting his scarlet ascot before returning to his spot, taking a sip from his flask.

[Dark Pigeon]

"Thank you kindly for your brief explanation Mary of blood, as to how far the matter has been discussed. It seems that I am not as late as I had feared to be... Whipped cream does not whip itself you see! I might have accidentally over whipped a bowl or two. I really should stop reading while whipping cream" Phillip said as he pushed around some small plates with slices of pie on them. For anyone to take really, or not if they were on some strange diet of for some strange reason did not like pie. He only expected for White to stay away from his famous apple pie's. Not because she was on some sort of diet or thought herself to fat. But eating apples might trigger some unwanted bad memories of her past. And for that reason, and that reason only he pulled out the smallest of cherry pie's from the box and pushed it towards her. She might be a cold hearted bitch, but she was one of them and she deserved some pie as well as the others.

Phillip sat down and rested his old wooden cane on his lap. He greeted Scarlet with a friendly smile as she entered "Good evening Miss Scarlett.. how lovely it is to see you, though I had hoped to do so in far better circumstances." For the first time in a years he had not been the latest of the group. It made him feel young again and he happily munched away on his first bite of apple pie. "Now, Now, Adolf!! there is no need to attack Miss White on her intellect, we are here to discuss the matter at hand. Not to .. how do the kids these days call it??.... yes!!.. bitch slap each other. Did I use that word right? I think I did.. it is hard to keep up with the world changing so very rapidly"

"Ariel will be surely missed by us all or at least by me. No matter her live choices, she always been a friendly and loving woman that had time for her friends. I always had enjoyed my conversations with her, and her company. I can see that some of our worry that our lives are in danger as well, which is to be expected and rather necessary as well. Killing a mermaid is no easy feat, one has to be able to look beyond their natural and rather.. hypnotizing beauty. It works as an... instant charming spell. From what I have seen her hands as well as her head had been removed with surgical precision. The person who has done this horrible thing knew exactly what he was doing.. or she, I do not rule out that the killer .. or killers.. might have been women. " He looked around, that he had seen the body already might not be know to many of the sage. "The coroner is allergic to fish you see, if he was to come close to Ariel he would blow up like .. well.. balloon! Or a pufferfish... fascinating animals pufferfish! They blow their very own body's up to seem threatening to their enemy's." Phillip always got sidetracked pretty easily, he punched the bridge of his nose and took a small messy bite of his pie.

[BumblingBee]

A scent managed to distract her from the tunes playing in her head. Whipping her head around, she noticed the bird man and a few others had arrived, however at that exact moment, there was a more important matter at hand. Reno gasped excitedly and dove forwards, inelegantly grabbing a rather large chunk of the pie that had appeared.
"Aw yes!"
She hadn't had anything homemade in weeks now. It was while she was eating that she decided to have a look around the room and see what she'd missed. And save for a few late arrivals, it seemed nothing that vital had happened apart from more boting talking. Pigeon guy was warbling on about something at a suicidally slow rate. She stared at him as she ate. She'd eaten some of his strays many a time before. Shame he'd never dare to make a pigeon pie...

In a scruffy manor, she wiped away the crumbs that had wandered astray. In the vain hope if making this thing go along more quickly, she decided to get her input in and out of the way.
"Why's no-one thought of, say Bluebeard or the Red Queen? They love beheading things..."