[Isabel]

Isabel stepped out of her apartment looking harried and dishelved. She was supposed to spend the entire morning cleaning her apartment for a change. It wasn't all that messy to begin with but she was starting to see the beginnings of dust accumulating on her furniture. It was a good a time as any as well since Cheat and Swindle, her two rumbunctious little imps that were given to her by Xanth, decided to play it good today. They were quietly lounging about in their tank seeming like two innocent little creatures - but she knew otherwise. Moments like this were very scarce.

Halfway through her cleaning, Isabel suddenly heard a loud "pop" inside her apartment. Alarmed, she quickly looked towards the tank her imps were residing in. The little critters looked just as clueless as she was with their ears perked up and their eyes darting this way and that. Then not a moment too soon, the smell hit her; a disgusting smell she couldn't put a picture to.

Turning around, Isabel saw the most horrendous creature she could have ever seen. It looked like a monkey, at least she thought it did, though something wasn't quite right - not to mention that it had wings. The first thought that came to mind was that it was a bad rendition of the Wicked Witch of the West's flying monkeys from Oz.

Covering her nose so as to lesten the smell, Isabel slowly approached the unknown creature. “Where did you come from?” She cautiously reached out for the creature, not wanting to scare it but it suddenly disappeared with another loud popping sound. Surprised, Isabel looked around. Strange. Shrugging it off as some random encounter in this strange world called Elysia, Isabel fully intended to get back to her work when another "pop" sounded right above her.

Looking up, Isabel gasped as she saw the monkey floating above her then suddenly started shrieking at the top of its lungs. Recognizing Isabel, it suddenly dropped on top of her face. “Ooomph!” Ugh! The smell! Surprised, Isabel tried to push the creature away from her face but it was proving harder than she thought. It was holding on to her hair, painfully so that she had a terrifying thought of her hair comming off from its roots. In the effort of trying to take off the horrendous creature from her face, Isabel failed to see the side table in her living room making her trip and fall on her butt. Thankfully enough the creature let go of her head but not without taking a few strands of her hair with it. “Ow!” Furious, Isabel took a pillow lying on the floor and threw it directly at the flying monkey. Too fast for her taste, the monkey succesfully dodged the pillow with a flip while sticking it's toungue out at her.

Cheat and Swindle meanwhile, delighted with the chaos going on around the apartment decided to join in the ruckus. Managing to escape their tank, the two started scuttling about the once organized apartment and rearranging it to their taste. “Ugh! Really! What did I ever do to deserve this!?”

Realizing a defeat, Isabel quickly stood up and ran for the door trying to trap the monkey inside. Hopefully it'd be gone when she came back later. Having two imps was enough for her to deal with. Adding another creature that was both noisy and destructive was too much.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Isabel took the steps down towards the street two at a time while trying to fix her hair in some semblance of order. She probably looked very ridiculous to the other passersby. She was only a few steps from her apartment when a popping sound that was starting to get really familiar sounded yet again. Looking back, Isabel's suspicions were confirmed to her horror. The monkey started shrieking at the top of it's lungs drawing the attention of the others on the street while zooming around Isabel in a dizzying manner. Taking a small pebble she found on the street, Isabel tried to shut the creature up by throwing a warning shot but to no avail.

(( OOC: Feel free to GM Issy's monkey ))

[Kazuma]

Yes. Kazuma can see where that would get her...

“Ohhh dear...” muttered the vampire to himself in his first language when he turned the corner and noted the familiar soundtrack that seems to have reverberated through the entire city since his return. He had been busy with locking the cuffs of his brown gabardine coat (looking quite immaculate on his pristine white full-sleeved top and pants and shiny leather shoes) when the noise erupted from the anyway busy neighborhood and now people were flailing about and throwing themselves away (cusses and snarls and growls inclusive) from the distressed lady's immediate perimeter -- a familiar figure, if he should say so himself.

He would have preferred to stay away given his costume, a recent favorite of his and in fact, he would have preferred to stay at home where it was cozy and warm and filled with good books to read but alas, a business trip (if it could even be called such given the abundance of these portals) to Espur had to be accomplished post-haste and there were a few matters he'd had to settle before he could extract himself away from this fair city. The monkey was not a part of it.

But could he really keep himself away from the dire situation, having now seen the gravity of it?

Truth be told, Kazuma never did entertain the idea of turning heels and walking away. A solid second after he had noted the monkey's ritual dance, he was already on the move, his speed seemingly as though he was double-stepping the whole while he crossed the blocks and headed straight to the brunette's position. A skinny lady was in a screaming match with the monkey when she threw her hands up and buried herself against the brick wall which left her broomstick available for Kazuma to borrow.

He flashed her a polite smile as soon as he was eight steps away from the lady and her monkey -- and the next step would find him spinning round his heels, the broom head leading his momentum and connecting itself against the monkey's tummy when he finished his twirl. Very much to its purpose, the broom swept the monkey away from the lady's concern and sent it sliding on its wings a few steps back.

Kazuma allowed himself to breathe as he watched the monkey's reaction and kept the broom available for further utilization. He was not used to fighting with one but it will have to do! “Are you quite all right?” he asked as he turned his gaze to the disheveled lady to his left.

[Txelu]

Txelu was furious. Exceedingly furious. He was tempted to blame Ella, but his current hellish circumstance possessed a strange and nearly illusive quality... It was not entirely Ella's fault.

No, it's my own fault I agreed to find those items, he thought angrily. The skies knew this would be the last time he did anything for Xanth.

And this horrible, ridiculous excuse of a monkey was certainly attributed to Xanth. The timing would be too coincidential otherwise. Txelu, however, was really beyond blaming a goddess he had never seen.

His monkey, an aggressive and mean fellow, was hovering around his head, fuming the air with his awful smell. Txelu walked as fast as he could down the street, keeping most of his attention on the creature even though he couldn't look at it directly. Since acquiring the demon he had already been subjected to the tackling, the screeching, the scratching, and of course, the traditional Hair Messing. His monkey mockingly knew by now that the vampire was experienced enough not to be trifled with, and it was just waiting for a chance to get at him.

But at least at this moment, Txelu's hair was fine, his dark trenchcoat was perfectly clean, and his shoes were spotless.

So monkey, NOT TODAY.

Unfortunately, the preceding declaration of defiance vanished into thin air when Txelu came across a fiasco he was only too familiar with (having experienced it himself). Yet it still came as somewhat of a surprise, and his monkey took that moment to nosedive at him.

Txelu however was prepared, and he immediately spun around to grab the monkey with fury flashing in his deep blue eyes, which were now more of a burning blue fire. He would never bow to the antics of such a thing! “Don't you dare,” he stated with authority, even though he knew he couldn't subdue the monkey for long.

His fingers tightened around the monkey's torso as he approached Isabel (whom he was only vaguely acquainted with) and the other vampire he had never met before. “Isabel? So you've been cursed with one of these atrocities as well?” he asked a bit tiredly, eyeing the monkey that the man had swept away. Txelu looked at her hair in sympathetic wonder. It seemed difficult to be a girl in a situation like this.

[Isabel]

A damsel in distress and a knight in shining armor. This was what Isabel was feeling as a guy with a familiar face came to her rescue. Although not as great as she had always pictured ever since she was a little girl. A dishelved damsel in distress, a knight in "shining" clothes that to her screamed high fashion and vanity with a broom for a sword and a creature that for all intents and purposes was more annoying than frightening. This definitely does not a fairy tale make. Nonetheless, she was grateful to her savior - even if it was short lived as she could see the monkey once again twitching and struggling to stand up from the ground. She huffed out a breath and took the small reprieve to get her bearings and compose herself.

Looking towards her savior but still keeping a weary eye on the insufferable creature, Isabel smiled her thanks. “Thank you for that. I am... no... I guess I'm not alright.” Not really caring that she didn't even know the person she was talking to, Isabel started ranting out her frustrations. “I mean, look at that! All I wanted was some peace and quite while cleaning out my apartment and that... that creature...” she emphasized the word with a hard tone and look at the still struggling, and probably disoriented, monkey. “...suddenly pops out of nowhere and started causing a ruckus! Why -”

Isabel was cut off from her ranting when another familiar figure approached while, surprisingly, holding on to a similar monkey.

“Isabel? So you've been cursed with one of these atrocities as well?”

“Wha-? Txelu? What is going on? You have one of those too?” Incredulous, Isabel stared at the monkey in Txelu's hand, then to Txelu, then her saviour, then her own monkey, that to her dismay, was already up and about and started screeching and flying once again.

[Kazuma]

Kazuma had this. Or rather, Kazuma's reflexes had it. His body felt the monkey's movements faster than he could consciously notice it that by the time he had turned to see the monkey scream a simian's curse at the lady and move to dive-bomb her soul out of her, his arm and hand would already move to adjust his hold of the bristled weapon from the farther end to the middle part, swoop it around so that it was angled to the monkey's shoulders and smack the flying nightmare with the broom's head. “Stay down,” he said with authority as he slapped the poor monkey down and solidly onto the granite, his hold adjusting itself again as he kept the broom on its face while it squirmed.

He gave a little sigh before he returned to the two accursed characters. “Well, you know what they say: misery loves company. Although you, good sir, seem to be handling yours the best of anyone I've met,” he said as his eyes moved to Txelu to indicate that the dialogue was for him. “Although, wouldn't that be a fun thing to name your monkey with? Misery. I rather think it apt. Especially what it's done to you, madam,” now he turned to the smaller lady, “That must be a most distressful thing.” He couldn't really imagine. He was not very keen to clean his own home, normally having people to help him with that chore.

“I have, however, heard that these miserable fiends are a gift from the Goddess.” He continued to speak as he returned his attention Isabel's monkey and forced the bristles further into its mouth. “And that they like bananas. I've seen a lovely uhh...” What was Euphenia? An anyelos or a nymph? “Lady,” yes, that was possibly the best description for the dancer, “Calm her pet with a banana and the monkeys do seem quite enthralled by it.” He turned to look at the pair, again. “Although I imagine it isn't feasible to just keep them in a cage?” Otherwise, why would everyone be forced to log such an abomination around, right? But Kazuma just thought he might suggest something so simple...

[Txelu]

“Yes, unfortunately,” Txelu replied to Isabel. “It arrived without warning for me, too, a short while after I offered six items to Xanth's statue. She certainly put them to special use.”

Those Zanaryan clippings could easily have produced such a horrendous result as this, if Xanth did make the creatures. His monkey was already twisting about in an effort to free himself. The vampire was crushing the energy out of him... at least for now.

He felt a sense of satisfaction when Kazuma slammed one of the goddessforsaken creatures down onto the pavement. They were like flies that needed to be swatted repeatedly, he thought uncompassionately, casting another glare at his own.

“It takes a lot of practice,” Txelu said with a smile when Kazuma "complimented" him. “You are an expert at pest control yourself, Mister...?”

So the respectful-looking man had encountered more than two of the mutated monkeys. Yet what exactly were they here for? “The Goddess has an exceptionally troublesome sense of humor, doesn't she?” Txelu asked mostly rhetorically. He nodded at the mention of bananas. This monkey of his had already wrecked his kitchen and any food storages. He hadn't been able to cook anything successfully the past few days without "Misery" there causing a big mess. Poor Isabel might never find peace in her home either while her monkey is around.

He sighed. “A cage would be preferrable. It must be unusually sturdy and powerful, though, because these monkeys make themselves stubborn creatures.”

[Isabel]

Isabel still couldn't fathom how easily Txelu and her savior could handle the darn creatures. Isabel just gave a shakey laugh as her savior commented on how distressful it was for her. Distressful wasn't even going to cover it. With two imps in the house and a monkey that was noisy and wouldn't sit still, she would probably be ready to kill someone. She was shocked to hear though that these creatures came from the Goddess herself. How lucky was she? Or maybe not so lucky - for her to receive hard-to-manage companions from the Goddess not just once, but twice.

Isabel just shook her head. There was nothing she could do really. What's done is done and whatever was on the Goddess' mind, she probably had her reasons. Her interest was piqued though when she heard of a way to help calm the monkey down as well as the idea of a cage to keep it in. “Bananas? Well, I suppose it's not surprising really when you think about it. They do look to be a cross from a monkey so it's more than likely that they also share the same interests. More or less. The cage though isn't a bad idea. I have to agree with Txelu though. With the kind of power they have, a sturdy cage is needed. How about a leash? Would that work I wonder?”

Isabel bit her lip, thinking about what she had to do now. She had no desire of returning to her apartment for now - what with the mess and Cheat and Swindle on the loose. So she supposed that a trip to the fruit stand and the pet shop would be in order.

Looking towards Txelu and her savior, Isabel put on her most adorable face - at least tried to considering her dishelved appearance. “Um... do you guys mind accompanying me to the market? Please? I just need a little help keeping..." Looking at the creature, Isabel didn't even know what to call it."... him out of trouble. If your not too busy that is. Um... I'm sorry, I'm Isabel and this is Txelu” She tilted her head at her savior, looking at him curiously. “You look slightly familiar. Have we met before?”

[Kazuma]

“Kazuma,” the older vampire responded almost in one breath, a smile on his face, when Txelu prompted for his introduction. “Kazuma Uemori. I'd offer a hand to shake however, I have mine a little full right now. Please excuse me.” He said this with a small bow, the lower of his right arm keeping the stubborn monkey in place shaking a little at every movement the creature did. Little by little, he could understand what they meant about the sturdy cage. At the back of his mind, he began to wonder if the broomstick might last as long as he had hoped it would.

He was about to return the courtesy and request for their part of the introduction when the lady had done so ahead of him and suggested a trip together down the market. Kazuma put on something like a handsome sour face as he hummed a little and wrinkled his brows, stretching his left arm and looking at his wrist which hid the clock face of his silver band, lined with perfect golden. “I'm afraid that I must ask for a rain check this time around,” he said as he looked back to Isabel. “I must be on a trip very soon so a walk to the market simply isn't possible for me. Please accept my apologies,” he bowed again. “Although your friend seems more than capable to accompany you. I hope he would not be so bothered by my absence.” Another bow to the younger male vampire.

“However, sturdy cages should not be too troublesome to find,” Kazuma shared to both Txelu and Isabel as he flicked his hair a little to the side with a toss of his head. “In the right places and the right price, you should be able to find one, I imagine and especially with everyone in the city gaining their own...similar pets, perhaps some appropriate cages or leash,” he gestured to the brunette, “as you had suggested would be on sale right now, depending on the demand. Just to be safe, you might want to try the smithies.” Arching his brows a little, he added, “I seem to recall one with particularly high note although I cannot speak for its price. It's a shop south of the wall of New Alexandria...and I've forgotten the name but for some reason, I remember a dragon when it occurs to me. Perhaps you would know?” He glanced at both of them.

This late, though, Kazuma thought, slightly amused, that he seemed to be regularly coaxed to recall some vague memory or two. Apparently, Isabel had also thought him familiar as he had her but where they met, he couldn't pinpoint very well just yet. He thought she might have been someone he met in his business meetings but then, he was sure he would know her name and she would know his. Still with arched brows as he tilted his head a little to a side, he kept his gaze on the smaller female, trying to gain a grip of that shadowy atmosphere with few golden lights that kept reappearing in his mind when he thought of her face.

But when the image of the Crypt Hotel's basement bar, he stopped. So she had had some relations to vampires some time in the past? He could not be so sure. “Perhaps in a restaurant, Ms. Isabel?” he suggested vaguely instead.

[Txelu]

Suddenly, Txelu's monkey went absolutely still. It looked pitiful, pathetic, and sad, as though it had died.

Ah, if only. It was almost surely playing a trick. Txelu could still feel its heartbeat, and so he did not loosen his fingers the way the scheming creature might have hoped.

When the older vampire declared his name, Txelu's eyes flickered in mild interest. Kazuma Uemori? He had heard that name before, although it was still too vague for him to mention. His suspicions were confirmed when Kazuma announced that he planned to leave for a trip; the gentleman definitely looked like a businessman type.

“However, sturdy cages should not be too troublesome to find.”

“I can believe that.” Txelu smiled and turned to Isabel. “Why don't we look for such things in the market? I don't have major plans today, so I can accompany you like Mr. Uemori suggested.” Besides, he couldn't really say no to the girl's woes. Her pleading expression was even a little amusing.

At Kazuma's next mention, he glanced up in thought. “I'm not too knowledgeable about smithies, but I've made an order from a Dragon Scales Smithing before. That might be the one you speak of, sir.”

[Isabel]

“Why don't we look for such things in the market? I don't have major plans today, so I can accompany you like Mr. Uemori suggested.”

Isabel beamed for the first time that day, her face glowing with happiness. She could really use the company. Though she may have made friends here in Elysia, and most of them from different races, she still couldn't help but feel different from them. It wasn't about her being vampire - or maybe it was a part of it - she still felt she didn't belong. She missed her family; even her brother, her twin, even though they weren't that close. She wondered what he was doing now. Probably out partying yet again along with his gaggle of girls.

As Txelu mentioned the Dragon Scales Smithing however, her face clouded. Not that place again. She really didn't want to go back to that place; not unless it was necessary. But with the monkey causing her tons of problem as it is, she probably didn't have any choice. “Maybe we could try the the Wainright's first. I heard they have lots of things for sale. Maybe we could find what we need there.” She knew it was delaying the inevitable but she hoped for a little reprieve. She really did not want to go back there.

Looking towards Kazuma, Isabel smiled shyly. “I guess this is where we part ways. It was nice meeting you Mr. Uemori and thank for your help. It's very much appreciated. I hope we can meet again sometime in much better circumstances.”

[Kazuma]

“Much better circumstances, indeed!” Kazuma repeated with what almost seemed like a delighted voice and a smile. It was not difficult to see that he shared Isabel's sentiments very much. “And perhaps we can talk about our history together, Ms. Isabel.”

And then looking up to Txelu -- to whom he snapped and pointed his fingers when he got the name of the Dragon Scales Smithing -- he said, “If it's not too much, Mr. Txelu, perhaps I might ask for your assistance with this broomstick and this wretched monkey? I worry that it will attack its mistress as soon as I depart.” He meant Isabel, of course.

“Wainright's might be a much better choice indeed,” he talked on in spite of his request, his hand still fastened around the wooden stick, the unhappy monkey beneath it looking like it's about ready to launch a breakaway plan. “Although I am not as sure of the quality of the items they offer, the Dragon Scales Smithing often charges far beyond necessary, especially for this season of monkeys. It might do well to set it as your last resort” And more importantly, they hate vampires. Kazuma understood what it felt like to be xenophobic once in his long life but he recovered, didn't he? The Smithing, on the other hand, seems to have a worse case, he figured.

“Either way, I wish you luck in your search, Ms. Isabel, Mr. Txelu.” He said with a nod to both of them.

[Txelu]

“I've got it,” Txelu said as he took Kazuma's place as wielder of the great broomstick of monkey-defying justice. Except oh great, both his hands were tied up now. His fingers could feel the struggling movements of the poor, pathetic creatures. Mutated animals were serious business.

“Wainwright's will also provide what we need, I'm sure,” he concurred pleasantly after casting glares at both monkeys that were currently under his power. A part of him really missed nice, obedient Sophy at the moment.

He looked back up when Kazuma prepared to leave, meeting the eye of the fellow vampire. “Thank you for your efforts, Mr. Kazuma,” Txelu replied, smiling politely in farewell. The man had been really helpful today toward something he didn't need to be involved in, even though it was more to Isabel than to him. “As Isabel said, hopefully our next meeting will be much less hectic. Good luck to you, too.”

Afterwards, Txelu turned to Isabel. He realized that he didn't know much about her (except how easily similar situations brought people together). “Wainwright's is by the river, isn't it?” he said, eager to get the monkeys locked up and perhaps dropped into an empty cellar. He gestured toward Isabel's trapped monkey. “I'm going to let this guy go so we can walk. Be prepared.”

Txelu gave Isabel several decent seconds of warning time before releasing the broom.


(( Sorry for the slow reply orz D: Also, feel free to move the thread along! ))

[Kazuma]

“Much obliged,” Kazuma would say to them, bowing to the pair as soon as his hand was free of the burden of the poor maiden’s monkey and stepping aside so to give Txelu space to get used to his new position and responsibility as doomstick wielder. He flexed his fingers once, or twice, before he finally bade them goodbye with a quick nod of his head and he turned to walk away, leaving them to deal with their own problems as he returned to his personal journey to deal with his own, something he liked to think was more pressing than monkeys who had a field day making their owners’ lives and hairstyles hellish. His, after all, involved the potential presence or absence of trust and money and he was not about to let a silly monkey dictate the fate of this deal for him!

Or so monkey-bearing goddesses help him.

Kazuma Uemori has left the thread.

[Isabel]

Isabel waved as Kazuma left while keeping an eye on her struggling monkey. She knew Txelu would have to let him go eventually so she prayed and hoped that the cursed monkey wouldn't cause as much trouble while they were on their way. It was bad enough that she had caused a scene outside her apartment. Though judging by the distant screams amidst all the noise, she was not the only one.

“I'm going to let this guy go so we can walk. Be prepared.”

Isabel nodded at Txelu and prepared herself as he let go of the broom. As soon as it was off him, the monkey jumped and started flying around, screeching at the top of it's lungs, and started pelting small pebbles it found on the ground.

Raising her arms to protect her head from the onset of flying pebbles, Isabel started walking in the direction towards Wainwright's. “I'm really sorry about this. This was really unexpected. I hope I really didn't keep you from your other engagements?”

Isabel glanced apologetically at Txelu while still continuing to cover her face. She acidentally caught one of the pebbles her monkey threw at her and threw it back in retaliation. All the monkey did was swerve with a little back flip while sticking its tongue out at her. Then, something happened. They were already nearing Wainwright's when the monkey stopped in mid air, frozen. Looking around, every monkey in the vicinity did the same. Silence descended in the area and then with another "poof" the monkeys disappeared.

Isabel was shocked. Though she was thankful that the annoying monkey was gone, something told her that it wasn't over yet.

[Txelu]

After Isabel's monkey was freed, Txelu's monkey's agitation flew through the roof. In a fitful burst of energy, the ugly creature tore itself from the vampire's fingers and dashed into the air. It made faces and screeching noises the entire journey to Wainwright's.

“I'm really sorry about this. This was really unexpected. I hope I really didn't keep you from your other engagements?”

Txelu shook his head at Isabel's apology. “No, it's fine,” he said honestly, since the whole trip was a necessity. He needed a good steel cage too. Besides, having a constant ghoul at his side had pretty much outcasted him from his daily life. It was amazing how loyal friends were in the face of foul-smelling, rock-throwing primates.

And then--

Txelu was just as stunned as Isabel when the monkies suddenly evaporated into smoke. 'Puffump', gone, just like that!

“It... disappeared?” He stared.

Several moments later, however, Txelu turned away at the vivid flash of light as the creature came back. This time it shone as a bright and glowing mist of light, and for a split second Txelu saw a brilliant creature with a majestic snowy head and great wide wings before the light rushed toward him and faded once again.

It couldn't be. Was this really happening?

A voice spoke in his mind, something that certainly would have disconcerted him if not for its surprising warmth.

You have my protection.

[Isabel]

Just like that, the monkeys were gone. Txelu, Issy realized was just as surprised as she was. "I don't unde-" Whatever she was about to say was cut short when another popping sound occured accompanied by lilac smoke and and a bright flash. A figure slowly emerged from the smoke and to Issy, it was a lynx with it's sharp eyes and regal bearing. And just as quick, the lynx disappeared, flowed towards her and enveloped her in a wash of light. The hair on the back of her neck rose as she felt the warmth and comfort of the spirit. It calmed her and wasn't surprised when she heard a voice in her head.

You shall be protected.

And then it was over. For a minute or two, Issy just stood there, dumbfounded. Eventually looking at Txelu, Issy voiced out the only question that was circling in her mind.

“What was that? Does that mean everything is over?”

Looking around, it did looked like everything was over. The monkeys were definitely gone and most of the people who had monkeys following them were all standing around confused and surprised as she was.