in the night ic inbox

[cawdad]

@rastus

hello pleqse would you call me instead hese buttons ar awwfuly smal i do not posses fingers in theb traditional sesne,

Comments

[dadandgone]

[Maes is gonna take it as one. Smiling.]

Great. So, Rosinante, Kuai, and I just got back from Downtown. We briefly checked into the Landmark. Do you know anything about it?

[cawdad]

[There's another nod as he croaks softly.]

Yes. The Landmark. I have not been there in some time, yes. Mmrk. Why?

[dadandgone]

Saw some names. Was wondering if you might have known any of them.

[There's a pause. He probably has a list, but he'll focus on the one that really matters to him.]

What do you know about someone by the name of Astoria?

[cawdad]

Astoria. Astoria.

[He repeats the name a few more times, clacking his beak like he's tasting the syllables.]

I apologize. Mrawk. My memory is not good with names. Where? Where did you see some names?

[dadandgone]

[Maes recalls what he'd learned of resets. Was he not supposed to have seen those names? Mostly he's trusted people here -- including Rastus and Robin -- but the question of where he saw the name makes him cautious. He doesn't want to lose track of that book before he gets a chance to peruse the names some more. The spirits in charge of the hotel certainly hadn't seemed to care.

He decides to go for vague instead of a complete lie.]

Downtown, while the others were checking out the hotel.

[cawdad]

Rrk, Astoria. You did not see this name at the hotel? I would have thought, mmmr, some names could be found in the hotel. There is a record at the desk.

[His head tilts to one side as if asking a question.]

[dadandgone]

[Maes scratches his head, he looks like's he's trying to shake it loose.]

Maybe it was. [He stops, tilting his head and then shaking it, smiling apologetically.] Sorry, we just had to run through the forest to escape this weird band of spirits. My memory is a little jumbled cause everything happened so fast.

[Well, shit, so much for that. It would seem Rastus is already aware of it anyway. Maes snaps his fingers a few times and looks relieved.] Yes, yes. Maybe that was it. We did have to sign in after all.

Is she ringing any bells?

[cawdad]

[His head tilts further until his head is cocked a full ninety degrees to one side.]

Band?

[But, oh, right, Astoria. He was trying to remember who that might've been...]

Tell me of Astoria. Rawk, I am not good with names. I lived at the Landmark for, rrk, a short time.

[dadandgone]

[Maes finds himself wishing he knew how to read Rastus better. People were easy because he knew their body language, Rastus was a little difficult because what was he supposed to make of that 90 degree head tilt. Oh jeeze.]

A large group...very musically inclined.

[Maes was just glad he was patient.]

Then did you live there when you first arrived here? You haven't been the keeper of the flame the entire time, right? Astoria, at least the Astoria I met, was the creator of this group called the Circle. She wanted to maintain balance in the universe and eradicate darkness. So she used her magic or the Temple's magic, she was never very clear about which it was, to bring together people from across the multiverse to help her with this task. Some of those people, like me, were dead, but most of them were very much alive when she brought them in.

[Rastus probably wants a more physical description though and so Maes adds.]

She was kind of spacey and bubbly. Her wardrobe tended to consist of bright colors and she had wide blue eyes and long dark hair.

[cawdad]

Band. Yes. Mm... Awrk!

[His feathers puff up suddenly. Looks like someone just remembered the Parade exists.]

Band of spirits. Parade? Parade?

[Give him a minute to fret about the bonfire, looking for signs that the festivities are on their way. Alas, they are not, so. He calms down again. Mostly.]

Crr... Yes, it is possible our paths crossed. I cannot, rk, say for certain. I lived at the Landmark. Yes. Rawk, yes, I was like you once. And now I am the bonfire keeper. I am Rastus.