Day-After Discussions|Malagard, Khelek

[Darastrix]

After spending a very pleasant and stimulating evening with his husband and their Khelekian friends, Zack was out and about...in a way. It was early afternoon, in all likelihood the warmest part of the day, but he still found the weather outside to be a bit cold for his liking. Rather than bundle up and brave the chill mountain air, Zack was walking the palace halls, stretching out his muscles from last night's exertions.

His mind wandered as he strolled along, going back most often to Zira, and Schuldig, and Filly, and he gave a contented sigh. Bet you enjoyed that one, he thought as his fingers traced the tattoo of Efil and Soahc's symbols through the fabric of his shirt. In his own opinion, few things were more life-affirming than sex, and few things more chaotic (in a good way) than an orgy.

Only one thing bothered him about the affair at all, and that was what reason could have been behind it. Zack frowned a bit, and set his course toward the hall that held the guest suites. "Certain events," he thought Filly has said. Certain events had her not wanting to be with another man without Schuldig nearby. Well, apparently, he was an exception, which was flattering, but he still wondered what had happened. Had someone hurt her? An expression of anger flitted across his face at the very idea. Well, Filly had said she would tell him later, and maybe it wasn't something so serious. He hoped not.

As he rounded the corner, he looked ahead toward Schuldig and Filly's room to see whether one of them might be in the hall. If not, he would knock at the door.

[Kender Bard]

Filly was awake, just stepping out into the hall with a supremely drowsy look about her. She was still fairly mussed - her hair and feathers in disarray. She was just bringing up a hand to cover a yawn when she spotted Zack and smiled, perking up and padding barefoot over to him. "Good morning," she purred. "Or rather, probably not morning anymore. I do love to sleep in though." She brushed her Mind sign briefly as she checked on Harmony. Satisfied that she was fine, she stretched widely and yawned again. "Sleep well?"

[Darastrix]

"Very." Zack stepped closer to her and began smoothing down her feathers with practiced ease. "It's a bit past lunch, but after something like a royal wedding, it's perfectly acceptable--and even expected, in some cases--that people will be sleeping in for one reason or other. Zira's still asleep, in fact. The more...intense the night, the deeper and longer he sleeps." He chuckled softly.

"Did you sleep well?"

[Kender Bard]

Filly bit her lip and shook her head. "I had a nightmare," she said simply. "But it wasn't anything too bothersome. I feel rested enough at least and I can always nap later." She leaned into him a little, enjoying the fussing over her wings. "I must look a mess," she laughed. "Would you like to come sit in our room while I make myself a little more presentable?"

[Darastrix]

"You look charmingly ruffled, lovely," Zack said as he ran his hands over on wing in a long, sweeping stroke. "But it's a treat to watch a beautiful woman fuss with her appearance. I am sorry you slept poorly, though."

[Kender Bard]

"It wasn't that bad, once I woke up," Filly said. "Ever dream of something, and it's more the feeling of being afraid that makes it a nightmare than anything else? As far as I can recall, all that really happened was that I was caught outside in a bad thunderstorm." She walked back into her room, beckoning him to follow while she hunted for her hairbrush.

[Darastrix]

Zack shook his head as he walked in behind her and shut the door. "I've never really had many nightmares. A few since the end of spring, but they had plot, I guess you'd say."

[Kender Bard]

"I don't follow," Filly admitted as she sat and began to work the tangles out of her hair. "What do you mean 'plot'? And why since spring...?" She looked at Zack in concern. "Did something happen?"

[Darastrix]

"Nothing that hasn't been long since taken care of," Zack hastened to assure her. "There was a festival that set up on the border, near Vara. Turns out it was a kind of trap. The 'hosts' were drugging people to sleep...so they could kill them."

He paused and smoothed his feathers for a moment. He didn't like telling people about it, but if she was going to tell him something, wasn't it only fair that he be upfront, too? "I ended up talking to another bard, Saffron, who wasn't there willingly. She told me what was going on instead of trying to take me to one of the others, and we waited in a tent until things got quiet, then we ran. I got us most of the way to Vara before I passed out. Next thing I knew, I was in an inn with her, and the guards were out rounding everyone up."

[Kender Bard]

"Oh Zack, that's terrible," Filly murmured, looking him from head to toe. She didn't see anything like a new scar that would indicate he'd been hurt during the whole thing. "Thank the stars that you're all right..." She sighed heavily. "I was in quite a bit of danger myself. Not that long ago actually. There was a young man I met who was really quite sweet and charming and he took a liking to me and kept me good company. After about a week, I er, suggested we return to his place after some drinks and he was very pleased with the idea."

She laced her fingers together. "Everything was going well but then I blacked out. When I woke up again, Schuldig was fighting some sort of... demon... and Brad was taking me home. I hurt all over, like I'd been savaged by something, though there wasn't a mark on my body. The man I was with was a demoness in disguise... That's why I'm reluctant to be alone with someone intimately right now."

[Darastrix]

Zack's jaw dropped open at Filly's account. A demoness? For a moment, he wanted to bombard her with questions, wondering if this was the same demon that had attacked Midnight and Twi. What had she looked like? Did she have wings? A tail? Where did she go? He mastered the impulse and rose instead, and walked over to Filly to hug her.

"Oh, lovely," he murmured, cupping his wings around her.

[Kender Bard]

Filly put her arms around him, closed her eyes and clung to him. "It's okay," she assured him softly. "I feel better knowing it's dead. Schuldig and Nagi killed it. I don't think anything bad happened to me; after some rest I recovered completely. All there is now is a fear of being with strange men. I think... I may just rely on Schuldig to let me know who is safe and who is not."

[Darastrix]

Dead? GOOD.

Zack was silent for a few minutes, just holding Filly close and stroking her feathers. After a while, he kissed her forehead and asked, "If I can keep your name out of it, may I have your consent to tell Twilight about this? A close friend of ours was attacked in the same manner a few years ago, and then she tried to go after Twi. There was a fight, but the demon teleported away before they could kill it. I know it'd be a relief to him to hear that the demon is dead."

[Kender Bard]

"Aye you may," Filly agreed. "I don't even care if you're discreet. I just don't mention it because it's such an incredulous story." She shook her head a little. "I wonder if it was the same one or not... Normally I'd say there was no way it could be another, but this makes the second demon sighted in Khelek so I wouldn't be hasty to assume. Schuldig will know more if you want more information. I was barely coherent after I woke up."

[Darastrix]

"It could be another, I guess...but I don't know what the odds of one doing the same kind of thing are. If Schuldig or Nagi could just give me a picture, it should be enough if they look the same," Zack said. "I think Dusk, Twilight, and Midnight all saw her."

Even if it wasn't actually the same one, if it looked like it, it could be at least comforting. "Where is Schuldig? Still asleep?"

~Still in bed, but I've been listening,~ came the quiet reply. ~I can give you the picture you want. I got a real good look at the bitch. Or I can cut out the middleman and tell him directly.~

~Filly,~ he added privately, ~I still want to talk to you about last night.~

"I'd rather tell Twi myself," Zack said aloud. "It was a more personal matter to our friend, so I think he'd rather not think anyone else knows what happened to him, even if it wasn't his fault at all."

~Suit yourself,~ Schuldig said, and shared the image of Callista with the bard. It'd give him more time to talk to Filly, anyway.