Kenneth Interrogates Stacey

5/9/2008

07:33 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.

Currently the moon is in the waxing Crescent Moon phase (31% full).
It is currently 19:32 Pacific Time on Fri May 9 2008.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is partly sunny. The temperature is 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the north at 3 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.06 and falling, and the relative humidity is 37 percent. The dewpoint is 34 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degrees Celsius.)

Tenement Building - Mouse's Apartment(#1563RJh)
A corner apartment, this place sports more than the usual number of windows, taking up two walls instead of one, though the windows are quite often covered by simple white blinds. The furnishings are sparse, but given how Mouse has been living in the past, the fact that there's furniture at all is an improvement. It's all quite cheap--durable, but cheap--consisting of a table and four simple chairs stuffed into the kitchenette area, and a desk and bed shoved into available corners. Likely the most expensive piece of furniture is the computer chair; it's one of those really comfortable, adjustable office chairs with very good back support.
The desk usually sports a laptop, and there's a scanner and printer off to one side. An upright stand holds at least two dozen CDs, marked with letters and numbers that likely only make sense to their owner. The only real personalization to this room is a small framed photo that sits on one corner of the desk, showing three people with their arms around each other, with the backdrop being the sunny skyline of downtown Manhattan. An older man and an older woman are to either side of a woman that is unmistakably a slightly younger Mouse, minus two important details--her spidery tracing of scars, and her yellow eyes. Her eyes in this photo are a simple mud brown. Probably just a Photoshop job. All three look to be in the middle of a laugh.
Contents:
Stacey
Mouse
Kaz
Jacob
Obvious exits:
Out  

Having taken up a mild bit of guard duty while he's in the city, Kenneth currently accompanies Stacey in... playing games. Who knows where he's managed to come by the peculiar board with a popping dome and dice, but somewhere the philodox has found Trouble. And he's deep in it, considering how he's losing to the ahroun. The halfmoon scowls down at his piece positions, apparently trying to strategize on a chance game.

If she's being held and guarded, Stacey doesn't seem to notice much. She's been resting, visiting, taking most things in stride. One step at a time. She sits before the board game with a triumphant grin. "Oh, jus' hit the dice already! You're actin' like it's chess or something," she teases.

There's a faint scrape of a key in the apartment door's lock, followed by the door opening. Mouse steps through, followed by Jacob, and her eyes go first to Stacey before settling on Kenneth with a sort of 'aha' expression. "Who's winning?"

Jacob steps in behind, eyeing the game, and the Lord, with great amusement. "Probably Stacey, the cute adorable ones have a way of managing that somehow."

A hissed grunt issues out of Kenneth at the ahroun's goad. "Fine, I'll hit the dice," he mutters, hand reaching out to pop the Trouble dome. The dice jump, and land in one of the higher numbers for once. "Hah!" exclaims the halfmoon in triumph, and moves his piece that much closer to the goal. "Every game has a winner," he tells Stacey, just as the pair of Mouse and Jacob arrive. And, like having his hand caught in a cookie jar, Kenneth straightens up from his mantling slouch over the board. "Yo."

Stacey also straightens as the others arrive, although she looks much less caught and much more amused, especially after Kenneth's reaction. "Hey, guys. We were just passing the time. And I was winning," she adds, that grin returning.

Mouse rubs the back of her neck, glancing at Jacob. "Kenneth?" she asks. "You know the half moon truth telling gift?"

There's a knock on the door.

Jacob chuckles, "Knew it." Mouse's quick jump into seriousness sobers him up a little, but he gives Stacey a strong, reassuring glance.

Kenneth frowns only slightly at Stacey with her grin, but sighs and relents his facade. "Yes I do," he answers Mouse. "Why?" And then there's that knock.

Stacey grows more serious, with a hint of curiosity, maybe a little suspicion as they mention the gift. She doesn't speak, but reaches out to start putting away the game.

Mouse turns to answer the door, then pulls it open further. "...Because we need to ask Stacey some questions." The Ahroun receives an apologetic look.

Kaz limps in, with a small paper bag in hand. "Hey, yo. Anyone want some croissants? I got jelly, too." Her cheerfulness is possibly a bit out of place.

Jacob looks over to Kaz with a little, nervous grin and holds up a hand to decline the offer.

Kenneth cants his head at the words from the Walker Elder, but then he reaches out to stop Stacey from putting the game away. "No cheatin'," he tells the ahroun, but keeps his eyes mostly on the other three now. "She checked out clean didn't she?" he asks Mouse pointedly.

Kaz answers,"Yeah, sure, 'course. Don' smell of Wyrm or nothin'," as she offers the croissant bag to Stacey. "But the thing is, I don' think we've any of us heard the whole story, and I ain't a trained interviewer, y'know? So it really makes a lotta sense to get as much /direct/ evidence as we can, while it's still fresh in her head. And some've it's gonna suck, because, Stace--" She meets the Gaian's eyes-- "It's gonna hurt to remember this shit. But we need every edge we can get. And also, although this is one've them real improbable possibilities, we gotta make sure there ain't shit planted deep down. Not," she adds, "That if there is, we're guaranteed to find it? But just on the off chance. And doin' it with Kenneth here means you got people who you trust, down to the core, helpin' you out, listenin'. Bein' there."

Any answer Mouse might've given seems to be satisfied by Kaz's words, as she glances to the Gnawer and back to Kenneth, but doesn't say anything herself.

Stacey tenses at Mouse's words, avoiding the gaze of the others. Kenneth's hand is glared at as he reaches to stop her, and for a moment it looks like she might snap back at him, but instead she leaves the game where it is. She stands and moves over to sit on the bed. Kaz is watched as she speaks, the Gaian tense, unhappy. "They didn't plant nothin'," she insists heatedly before letting out a sigh, crossing her arms. "It's okay. Kenneth. You guys ask what you need. I'll answers best I can."

Jacob takes a deep breath, but he's quiet about it, dead quiet about it. Kaz' words seem to bring the slightest of nods to him, and he drops back to lean on the door. Still there, but also somewhat of a guard dog.

Kenneth takes in a long breath, turning to watch Stacey as she moves away. His eyes narrow, betraying a hint of concern. "Fine," he replies to Kaz's explanation, "But only if I get to ask some questions myself." And with that he pushes the paused game aside, standing as well. The look he sends to Stacey is not apologetic, but rather more serious and cold, business-like. "First ease into it, then. State your name. Tribe. Auspice. Rank."

[Long distance to the room: Ken uses that pose as a Truth of Gaia 'on' sort of thing.]

Kaz puts the bag on the floor near the bed, possibly as something of a peace offering. "I got no issue with that," she says, and then slides down a wall into a seat on the floor.

Mouse crosses her arms over her chest and bows her head, remaining back near the door as well, though she doesn't so much as glance at Jacob.

Jacob just watches quietly, his face turning somewhat pale as it all begins and his hands sliding into his pockets.

Stacey takes in a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh, starting to look less offended and a lot more nervous. "Stacey Kynds. Peacemaker. Walk-the-Path-of-the-Moon. Child of Gaia. Ahroun. Fostern."

Kenneth nods to the first statements from the Child ahroun, and continues, "Tell us where you were the night you were taken. Only the place. Do not give us any more than that right now."

Kaz settles down, nodding at where Kenneth starts, relaxing a little, unconsciously. And then she starts rummaging in her pocket. She finds first one Coke, which she puts next to the croissant bag, and then another, which she puts on the floor next to herself.

Stacey frowns softly. "I was..." She catches herself as she starts to explain. "The ambush started on the deserted highway. On the way t' Wolf Woods."

"Do you know who was it who took you?" asks the philodox next, looking back to the ahroun steadily.

Kaz adds, "And what kinda ambush? This shit's your /turf/." (She sounds outraged. Silly Kaz.)

Kenneth shoots a glance to Kaz for the sudden interruption, but he turns back to Stacey. "Just answer yes or no, for the first."

Stacey gives a nod of her head, tensing again, her hands clutching the blanket upon the bed. "Yes. Car- Okay, yes." She frowns a bit more at Kaz's question, then turns to look over at her. "They stepped out of the Umbra in front of me. At first one, and I confronted her. But then she had back-up..."

Kaz shrugs a little, but then rethinks it, and asks, "D'you want me not t'be askin' shit, or what? You didn't say for us t'shut up entirely." Then she listens to Stacey. "Mmmp. Effective," she says, grudgingly.

Jacob continues to listen. His eyes flicker and react to everything as if they were a relay unit to an organized place of storage in his head.

Shaking his head, Kenneth replies to Kaz first. "I only wanted to establish the facts first, Kaz-rhya, before we got into the meat of it. The Gift has its own ways of working the way it does. But yes, if you'd like ask your questions then, please." He turns his gaze back to Stacey, and nods to her once more. "How many did you see?"

Kaz says, "OK. Tell me when I should stop shuttin' up," and picks her Coke up again.

Stacey frowns lightly at Kenneth. "D'ya mean right then? Or jus' before taken? Or later on? In all?" She gives a shrug. "Three stepped out of the umbra an' chased me. But there were four there that night."

A muscle in Mouse's face twitches, but that's the only change she shows.

Kenneth at this point, motions for Kaz to ask her questions. And also the others, should they so choose.

"They seem to know the area much, while they was chasin' you?" Kaz puts her Coke down, now that she can be talking again.

Stacey hesitates at that question. "I'm not sure. They seemed to? It didn't seem to slow them at all. But... they also work together well, as a pack. Good hunters." Which she winces slightly at after admitting.

Kaz says, "They'd have to be, t'take you on your own turf like that." She sighs. "So was it tire you out then grab you, or'd they attack while chasin'?"

Kenneth's jaw clenches, and his narrowed eyes twitch. But he waits for the ahroun to answer the question.

Stacey takes in another slow breath. "They attacked. There was darkness. Just for a bit." A hand lifts to unconsciously rub at her nose. "An' then fire. And then one used the gift of my Auspice. That's when I stopped runnin', started fightin'."

Mouse speaks, finally. "Fire?"

Shaggy pages to the room: So, I'm going to move to California I think. Or Idaho, so I can keep up with the awesome late night rp. Until then, I need to bail. Assume Jacob is here, being quiet, and attentive, and ...well, mimic Mouse mostly. ;) Can I pester someone for a log of it tomorrow also?

Kaz nods slowly. "That's good t'know. Darkness, I mean. And fire. Metises hangin' around-- d'you know which one it came from?"

Again, Kenneth keeps quiet under the questioning. His eyes are all on Stacey, focused and reading her reactions, her posture, everything. "Did they hurt you?" he asks suddenly.

Mouse glances suddenly and sharply toward Kenneth.

Kaz's expression screams of, "Duh," but it's also a necessary question, so she (metaphorically) sits on her hands.

Stacey gives a nod to Mouse, demonstrating with her hands to indicate a slight explosion. "Burst of fire in front of me. So I ran the other way. And yes, there are Metis. At least one that's..." She breaks off her question, looking at Kenneth with an angry glare. "Did they hurt me?!" she says, her voice raising. "Yes, they fuckin' /hurt/ me! You think I'd go down without a fight? I had three of them on top of me before I fuckin' lost it on them."

Kenneth, at the ahroun's outburst, only stands there to take it. "How many more were there before you blacked out?" he only asks after, missing the glances and expressions of the others.

Kaz picks the Coke up again.

Mouse's nostrils flare as she inhales, a little sharply, but she doesn't offer another question just yet.

Stacey takes a moment to calm herself, to ease that glare, and /then/ she answers, looking down again. "When I regained my senses... Four. Three held me, pinned."

Kaz grunts, hand tightening a bit on the can. "'Kay," she says, voice a bit tense. There's a short pause, while she breathes. "OK. At least one metis that's what?"

"Only four? You're sure?" Kenneth presses, every sense straining towards the Child. "Stace, we gotta know what we're up against."

Mouse's jaw tightens even more.

Stacey glares over at Kenneth. "I'm answerin' your damn questions like you ask them! You're makin' me all tense-like. Look, there's only a few I know about. Mainly those four. Well, /kinda/ five. But I know there's more than that. I jus' don't know them so much. And I'll tell you /this/. They're strong. And ruthless. And smart. And Carnage is the fuckin' worst of them all. And you wanna know what's /worse/ than that? He knows what he's doin', leading them. So what you've got to be /prepared/ for is a fuckin' fight. Because I guarantee they're not just gonna get frightened off."

Kaz says, the Coke can clanking a bit as her hand tightens. "Yeah. I know /that/ part." Again, she pauses, to get a grip on her emotion, and then she asks, "Kinda five?"

Holding up a hand, Kenneth uses the gesture as a mildly placating movement. "That's what we're all afraid of," he notes quietly. At Kaz's query, he glances to her, and then back to Stacey.

Stacey actually does seems somewhat placated by the gesture, her invisible hackles lowering, so to speak. "Well... Four of them were around me more than the others. And another kinda came around, but I didn't know her so well... That's what I meant. I don't know what she's like, 'cept crazy. Probably lupus."

Kaz says, "OK, so like. Kenneth, do you got more questions about the prelim stuff? How they caught her, kinda shit?"

Stacey frowns softly down at her hands, a hint of pain, of regret in her expression as she waits for the next question. "He wouldn't let me die," she says softly. "Wouldn't kill me... I kept thinking, but it never happened."

Kenneth glances to Kaz shortly at his name, but then shakes his head. "There's only the question of why they took you, of all the people here," he considers towards Stacey, "but that's not something you could answer with any hard truth."

Mouse pulls her lips back away from her teeth for just a moment. "Likely because she was there."

Kaz runs her free hand through her hair, at Stacey's words. "Yeah," she says, quietly. "A lotta people feel that way. It... totally ain't just you. And it ain't... you bein' a wuss, neither. In case you was thinkin' that." She puts her hand back down, and leans her head against the wall. "So." Her voice gets a little softer, a little more compassionate. "What... what all'd they do?"

Stacey gives a shrug to Kenneth and a faint nod to Mouse. "Ain't nothing special 'bout me that they know of. Although..." She frowns softly, then looks over at Kaz, that frown deepening at her question. "They... beat me a lot. I kept tryin' to escape. But bear traps... I didn't get too far."

Kaz immediately asks, "Although what?"

Mouse's expression turns very, very hard. Oh, the wall. The wall is a fascinating thing.

Kenneth looks downwards to the floor as well, but only for a second before raising his gaze again. Tense jawed, he continues to watch Stacey as she answers Kaz, only for now in silence.

Stacey frowns, looking rather reluctant now. She looks away, swallowing dryly, but it's a long moment before she answers. "He said I was gonna join them," she answers finally, then immediately turns her head to look at Kaz. "But I didn't! And wouldn't! And I didn't tell them /anything/. Not even my name."

Stacey adds, "Not that they really asked."

Mouse glances back toward Stacey.

Kaz says, solidly, "I b'lieve you. But I also wouldn't blame you if you /had/ told 'em shit. Bein' alone with five million Dancers -- the strongest people'll fuck up." She adds, "I s'pect Mr. Carnage there just figures he's hot shit and he can turn everyone." Reflectively, she adds, "Assmunch." She looks at her can for a moment. "OK, so bear traps and beatin'. That... most of it?"

Continuing to listen, Kenneth curls his fingers into fists and uncurls them. "Do you know if they're aiming to take anyone else from here? And," he notes with a quick glance to Kaz, "what about the rescue?"

Stacey frowns deeper. "Actually, I rather thought that weird. They've got an /Elder/ in their hands... Not a single question. Not about me. The Sept. Nothing. In fact... They didn't seem... concerned with us at all." She looks over at Kaz and shakes her head. "The Metis? No ears. But he /can/ hear. Sandworm," she says in a low growl.

Mouse hasn't ever actually stopped frowning since this interview began, but her frown deepens considerably, eyebrows drawing together.

"That... /is/ weird." Kaz glances at Kenneth. "What about it?"

"You weren't in contact with these Black Spiral Dancers when you found her," Kenneth states to the two rescuers of that party. "It seems significant."

Stacey looks over at Kenneth. "I don't know. But they were takin' people... Humans, mostly. They kept trying to make them Fomori. They tied me to that tree, made me watch... I killed one. Tied me up better after that. Some died. Ones that didn't, they took somewhere. An' they caught two of the Ronin, Jim and Rita. An' when the Ronin saved them, they made sure t' get me, too. They crashed the place while Carnage an' them were huntin'. Sandworm was guardin'. His son."

Mouse's eyes seem to glaze for a moment, before her gaze flicks back to the wall. She pulls her pack of cigarettes out of her jacket pocket with a quiet motion, sticking one between her teeth and lighting it.

Kaz says, grimly, "I killed about ten of the humans, when we came to find you. I mean. Mercy killin'." She pauses a moment, and adds, "Heart Calmed 'em first, though. 'Cause Heart's like that. So anyways--" She breaks off to drink some Coke. Once she's done, her voice is a bit less grim. "This is good stuff t'know. So them Ronin saved you while the Dancers was off huntin, OK, Jim and Rita, OK. Did them Ronin tell you anything about how or why they /became/ Ronin?"

Stacey looks slightly relieved at Kaz's words. "Good." As the subject moves on to the Ronin, her posture eases some, and she even smiles slightly. "Rita's real nice. She failed a rite, I don't know the particulars, and the exiled her from her Sept. Jim, he's just a drifter sort. Catgut, the lupus? He would jus' say his Sept asked him to leave and turned their backs. Adam... he's their leader. The one with the... ears. And he didn't talk much. Mostly, he fretted. Especially once he knew who I was - I told them. And there was Jorge, too, but he wasn't around much, so I don't know about him."

Mouse's interest suddenly seems to return in force. "Jorge," she repeats. It's not actually a question.

Kaz says, "Yeah, huh. Batman, fretting. There's a shock." She glances at Mouse questioningly.

Kenneth narrows his eyes at the names, then eyes the other pair. "You know these guys?"

"I invited them to join my tribe, but," Stacey shrugs her shoulders. "They have trust issues, I think." At Kenneth's question, she looks towards the others, raising a brow.

"Tell me about Jorge," Mouse says, thinly. "Anything you know."

Kaz explains to Kenneth, "Batman-- Adam-- saved Riot from some fomori. Riot's got a... a fuckin' megacrush on him, to the extent she fuckin' can't stop answering the fucking /phone/, when it's him, even though she's in the middle of a fuckin' /rescue operation/." She adds, after a moment, "But I'm calm. No, really."

Kenneth's expression darkens a bit towards Kaz, coupled with a look from him indicative of his attempts to puzzle out the galliard's seriousness versus sarcasm. "So you're saying those Ronin came all this way to /save/ one of ours, and then they saved Stacey too when she was in the hands of the 'bad guys'," he notes aloud.

Stacey winces slightly, giving Kaz a sheepish look. "Sorry. I didn't know she was there an' all. And I warned them you guys were coming. Said it'd be better if we try t' meet you instead of holing up in the hotel place and waiting. Well, Adam's first idea was t' run. Which I also thought would look wrong. So. We used Riot's name t' find you guys." She shakes her head at Kenneth. "Two of theirs. And yeah, Rita pointed me out when they came t' rescue. Jorge carried me out. And then he left again. I don't know much 'bout him. He's older. Older than Adam. And... I don't know why he was there."

Mouse's frown deepens once again as she puffs at the cigarette in her mouth, eyes narrowing.

Kaz says, "That's cool. And yeah-- if they just like, left you and let us find you, well... I still ain't trustin' 'em none, but I woulda been even less a fan of 'em than I am now. So d'you know anything about why Batman's so pissed at /this bunch/ of Dancers?"

Kenneth doesn't shift too much in his darkened expression, but he takes in a sharp breath as he finally seems to notice the scent of cigarettes.

Stacey just gives a shake of her head, then looks over towards Kenneth at that intake of breath.

Mouse grunts. "How long were you with the Ronin?"

Kaz finishes her Coke.

Kenneth jerks his gaze from Mouse's cigarette back to Stacey, and eyes the ahroun rather closely.

Stacey takes in a breath, frowning slightly. "Two? Maybe three days? It was kinda a blur at first. I'd hardly slept, hadn't eaten, for so long... But it was around that long."

"You stayed in the inn the whole time?" Mouse asks.

Kaz puts the can on the ground and finds another one in her pocket. "Musta been a damn big relief to get a shower, huh?"

Stacey gives Mouse a half-smile. "Well, we went to Denny's once... But yeah. Otherwise. Although I doubt ya'd find them there again." She looks over to Kaz with a smirk. "Best shower ever. Although painful."

Grimacing, Kenneth lets out a hard breath as he straightens from a subconscious slouch. "Did the ronin tell you what they would do if we came after them?" he asks pointedly towards the ahroun, all the implication of such an action being possible behind it.

Mouse starts to ask another question, but her eyes flick to Kenneth, and then back to Stacey.

Kaz adds, "I'm kinda interested in that one m'self. 'Cause it's... really annoying, the way they're actin'."

Stacey glances towards Kenneth, too, frowning faintly. "Uh, no, that never came up. But I told them that that night, that you guys'd have to go through me. Granted, they pull some shit now, and I dunno. But they helped me out, ya know? I feel like helping them out a bit. That and I think, if we play our cards right, they'd be a great help in this situation."

Kenneth considers after a moment, "And what if we planted someone amongst them? To learn what they knew?"

Kaz says, with a grunt, "Yeah, that'd be /nice/, but Batman ain't trusted anything outta any of us, so I don' think they're too much fans of playin' with others."

Mouse wrinkles her nose slightly. She glances back to Stacey. "Did they tell you anything about /why/ they're doing what they're doing? Or a little of what they're doing at all?"

Stacey gives a shrug to Kenneth. "If you manage it..." And then she frowns over at Mouse. It's actually a longer time before she answers, with another glance towards the Philodox. "They weren't exactly forthcoming. But I got the sense there's something... personal between Carnage and Adam. They were rather focused on that area, after all."

Mouse murmurs something to herself, a word, but it's too quiet to be made out.

Kaz says, "Yeah, I got theories, there," a little grumpily. "So anyways. Them Dancer fuckers whaled on you and didn't do mind games fuckin'-- was Carnage the one doin' the ritual shit, by the way?"

Stacey barks out a laugh at something Kaz says, but when she speaks, it's only to answer the last question. "No. Led by the Theurge. Eclipse." There's a faint smirk as she adds, "She loves him."

Mouse's expression gives a single, solid twitch.

Kenneth's brows arch at the laugh, looking towards Kaz briefly. Then it's back to Stacey once more. "What were they trying to do?" he queries.

Kaz says, "Aw, evil love, how touchin'," and snorts. "OK. Eclipse, Sandworm, Carnage... You get any other names outta them? I already know Carnage's more've a title, but I figure, knowin' handles at least gives 'em some personality. They talk t'anyone on cell phone or anythin'?"

"An' Bloodbath's... She's just fuckin' crazy," Stacey adds, seeming rather reluctant to talk more about /her/. "An' Meteor. I think she's like a Ragabash. Kinda loud. And keeping folks on their toes. She's dressed kinda punk-like in homid. An' Eclipse has a lot of scars. No cellphones. Meteor was rather anti-human sounding. Claiming to be- Oh! At one point, she said something... Fuck, what was it..."

Kaz tilts her head, interested.

Mouse crosses her arms again, still puffing at her cigarette.

Stacey frowns deeply as she tries to remember. "Was when they first brought me to the trees... We were fightin' bout the humans. And she said that they'd been keepin' the woods there wild. Working hard to do so. The humans and Weaver out... And that they were workin' on a way t' make it all easier."

Kenneth looks to the others with the naming of the other Dancers. "There anything you two know of that might pertain to this?" he asks thinly. Back at Stacey, he frowns with a pinch of his brow, confusion peeking through.

Kaz looks over at Mouse, baffled.

"Those trees were weird," Mouse mutters to Kaz. "And they had glyphs all over them. 'Traitor' keeps coming up in this, both with the Dancers, /and/ Adam. But Dancers aren't any more fond of the Weaver than most of our tribes."

Stacey just reaches up to rub her temple as they talk, rather reluctant to offer more without prompting on that issue.

Kaz mutters, "Fuckin' weird. But it's somethin' to poke at, anyways." She levers herself to her feet. "Lookit, I gotta go. I think prolly they have a few more questions, but-- you OK with a hug? I ain't done it before 'cause I was worried they'd, y'know, messed with you in ways where you wouldn't be a fan of bein' touched. But it sounds like not..."

The Shadow Lord, upon seeing Stacey fall quiet, moves to step to her side and stands slightly in front, turning to the fostern pair. "There anything else you want to ask, or can we say Stace is in the clear?" he inquires at both. "She's got to get some rest too." And the look from the philodox brooks very little argument.

Mouse frowns suddenly, but she doesn't say anything just yet.

Stacey looks up at Kenneth as he stands and speaks, her expression softening, somewhat grateful even, but then she looks over at Kaz and smiles. "Yeah... I don't mind hugs. Thanks for... the snacks. An' stuff."

Kaz limps over and enfolds the Gaian into a hug, warm and long. "Glad y'back," she mutters, and then extricates herself. "What?" she asks Mouse.

Kenneth, not wanting to be caught up in that hug, does step aside to permit the friendly embrace. Then he clears his throat, and shifts his gaze towards the Trouble board again.

"Nothing," Mouse mutters, though that frown doesn't lessen. Her gaze shifts to Kenneth, then Stacey. "I don't have any more questions, no. I can do that rite for you again when you're ready to sleep."

Stacey returns the hug with a smile. "Good t' be back." She lets out a sigh once Kaz straightens, indeed looking a bit tired. "Thanks," she says, looking over at Mouse. "I really appreciate all you've done."

Kaz says, "Uh-huh," as if she believes the Walker, no really. "I'll come check in later." She leaves the croissants on the floor, and limps out.

"Now that," Kenneth remarks towards Mouse, "is a lie." But he doesn't moves to pursue the truth behind it, instead turning back to Stacey. "C'mon. We've got some Trouble to finish, if you're up for it." He looks after Kaz as she goes, though, and spies the croissants on the floor.

Mouse shakes her head at Stacey. "Don't worry about it." Kenneth gets a glance, a twitch of the mouth, but nothing more. "Give me a call when you're ready." And she too, turns for the door.

Stacey nods to Mouse, then stands, looking over at Kenneth. "Yeah, we can finish the game. Think I've enough energy for that." Once the door's closed behind the others, though, she reaches out to place a hand on his arm, offering a soft, "Thanks. For... for overseein' that."

Kenneth looks to the hand on his arm, and his eyes linger there before they lift to the ahroun's meeting her gaze. "Don't thank me," he replies in turn, and then nods towards the game. "You can make it up to me by throwing the game, though." A thin smirk actually manages to work its way to his features, and he moves back to engage in some more Trouble.

Stacey takes in a breath as she lowers herself down to the game. "I can certainly try." There's a pause as she looks over the pieces. "I think I want to get out of the city. Not /now/. But soon. Think they'll let me go now? I miss the bawn."

"Bawn's still there, as you left it," Kenneth replies with a slow nod, snagging the croissants, dropping to a knee and then down to a sit. "But if you want to go, there's no one stopping you. They wouldn't anyway, since you check out." There is, though, a significant glance up at her, studying the ahroun, and then it lowers back down to the pieces.

"Do you remember who's turn it was?" Stacey asks, and then she lets out a sigh at that significant look. "I owe them," is all she says, simply. "Maybe I'll go tomorrow. Wouldn't mind one more night of good sleep."

Kenneth looks down to the board, and there's a flash of inner debate before he gives in with a sigh. "Your turn," he remembers accurately, "and you're totally going to win this round. Next time, though..." He looks up when she mentions sleep, and the breathes out another sigh, this time less frustrated and more indulgent. "Mouse said she's got some rite for you to sleep ok with. Me, I can only take those dreams away, but I can't stop them. One way or another Stace... we'll work it out."

Stacey smiles softly. "We'll see about next time." She reaches out to roll the dice, getting a lower number, and then she moves her piece. "Yeah. The rite works pretty good." She looks up at him, her frown returning. "I'm glad you'll be there. I don't... know how I'll... Let's just pack. Once Cori's back. So we're not alone."

Kenneth makes no victorious remark as she rolls the lower number, but he perks up the mention of the pack. To her frown, he only gives a vague mirror of it. The halfmoon nods slowly, his agreement evident, and then he returns to the game to focus on that 'winning' strategy of his.

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