An Old Office [Nae & Kris]

[Kazn Ezel]

The needle was in and out of the slave in a rapid sort of pace. Kazn's hands worked quickly and diligently and the needle was hardly out before a clean piece of gauze was covering the arm where the needle had gone in. From a strict sense of ability Kazn was a good doctor. However, his office was hardly a relaxed environment and his touch was hardly gentle or caring. There was no magical healing ability in kindness, so Kazn hardly felt it was necessary in a professional environment such as this.

"I expect to see no difference in the blood types when I test them. If I do it is a cause for concern for the slave. The operation occurred long enough ago that no traces of your blood should remain. It is the way the body works and I hardly expect it to be otherwise." Yet he was testing the blood all the same. It was a situation where his actions contradicted his words because his actions were based upon feelings while his words were based upon thoughts. He feared if the results turned up differently from how they should, which is why it became necessary to run the test. "You shall know the results as soon as I do."

Putting the second blood sample next to the first Kazn turned his attention to something else. He mixed together a few liquids and then put two drops into each sample of blood and then mixed the blood samples.

Silently he worked on creating a couple of microscope slides and took a look at each under the primitive looking machine. "As expected," he commented before moving quickly away from the slides and back to the briefcase. Next he pulled out a much newer looking light and moved to the front of Kristopher again. "Keep your eye open for me and don't blink." He shined the light into Kristopher's eye and waited for the pupil to shrink. He then moved to the other eye.

"The scarring occurred when the original eye was damaged, yes?" It seemed rather obvious, but Kazn could not recall the damage he had caused personally. It was a different frame of mind where events become little more than blurred recollections of emotion. With his gloved hands he gently started pressing on the sides of Kristopher's scarred face. Slowly he probed the bony areas around the head and checked the areas where his bones should have fused when he was younger. He mentally took notes to write down when he had a free moment.

Finally Kazn turned his attention directly to Kristopher. He was no longer analyzing the boy as a body, he was looking to pry into an area that a doctor could not reach without communication. His crimson orbs looked directly into the slave's heterochromatic ones."Tell me, boy, is there any ongoing pain? A slight ache? A recurring headache? Something different from the way it usually is?" He'd rather not have spoken to his 'patient' at all. However, it could not be helped now.

[Kristopher Roberts]

The longer Kristopher sat on that stool, the more he felt like an animal that was being looked at to be slaughtered if something wasn't right about him. Such as a curl out of place or that his ears wheren't the same, something like that. The blond slaved lowered his arm as soon as Kazn was finished with it and huged it to his body. The procedure might of been quick and simple but the comfort level was at a all time low, he had been touched very gently since he sat down, hence another reason he felt more like an animal then a human being.

Being a doctor himself, he didn't see the point in taking blood from two different areas, it would result the same or at least it should. But of course, that was with dealing with a human and he had the eye of a monster that shouldn't be. So far, at least it seemed like this visit was going alright minus Kristopher being terrified and doing his best to keep his wits intact. He just wished it would end soon, but he got he feeling it wasn't.

"Keep your eye open for me and don't blink."

Once again, the boy complied and looked up, opening his eyes once again and staring off into space, not looking directly at the light. The pupil within the red eye took great offence to the light and contracted into a narrow slit much like a felines would in bright light that it was not accustomed too. Another testiment that the eye was fully working and in no way, human.

"The scarring occurred when the original eye was damaged, yes?"

Kristopher opened his mouth to reply and then quickly closed it like a fish. He would allow his Madam to answer, seeing as Kazn might not like to hear the human slave talk. But the scarring had been there since Kazn destoried his once green eye. He was slightly surprised that Kazn did not recall the event, he should of, it never left Kristopher's mind and often had nightmares because of it. The healing of the spiderweb like scars took sometime but eventually they recame faint white lines, however visible.

Kristopher didn't care for the rough hands of the boogie moving across his skin so close to his eye. He wasn't in a panic right now seeing as Kazn was not going to remove the gift, but it was very uncomfortable the way his hands moved and pressed against him. The pressure was wanting to make him sneeze or pull away, but he did neither.

"Tell me, boy, is there any ongoing pain? A slight ache? A recurring headache? Something different from the way it usually is?" The slave was a bit taken back at being finally addressed but he answered him with a quiet voice as he normally would when speaking.

"It's tender still and sometimes I eat a headache from time to time that last most of the day. Bright lights brother me as well." Other then that, he couldn't think of anything else that bothered the eye or him. Then, he paused for a long moment as something occurred to him but he was afraid to speak it but he knew better then to keep it hidden.

"Um, there is one other thing..." He said slowly. "Master Corvus...couldn't read me. My mind that is..."

[Kazn Ezel]

So far everything about this examination seemed routine. There was hardly anything out of the ordinary and it was going much as Kazn should have expected it to. It did not bother him, it just meant that there was nothing interesting going on with the eye at this moment. Time would tell if anything changed about the condition of the slave or the eye.

"Nature being what it is, mandates that everything is in a state of decay. I highly doubt the eye will remain in equilibrium, even if it is there now." He was thinking aloud, but it was important that Naelona understand what he was thinking, for once.

The Boogie eye turned into a narrow slit, which was unusual, but did not stir Kazn too terribly much. There were plenty of documented cases of Boogies with more animalistic features such as this. That the eye remained structurally the same after integration just made sense. Of course, there was something else about the eye when it did that. Kazn almost wondered if the eye behaved as such on its own volition. Perhaps it could even hijack basic motor controls? That would require a more dangerous sort of test. It would happen in time.

For now Kazn backed away and started scratching personal notes onto a sheet of paper with a small piece of charcoal. He even started to sketch a diagram of the eye and its changing behavior in the light while listening to the slave's personal assessment of his health.

Bright lights causing pain made some sort of sense, but hardly seemed anything more than a trivial detail. It went down into the notes regardless of Kazn's personal feelings about the matter. "Would you say that the headaches are dull and throbbing? More like pressure building up in your head? Or is a sharp and stabbing sensation?" It must sound dreadfully morbid to the slave that Kazn was asking about how the pain felt, but it was a necessary question for a doctor.

His hand worked quickly and produced a great many words without pause. There was silence for a moment when the slave added something else. Something Kazn did not ask for. The pressure in his mouth built up as he felt his teeth clench. His eyes felt as though they were on fire with the rage contained therein. He dropped the piece of charcoal and was about to stand straight up to his feet before what the boy said registered in his mind.

"Master Corvus...couldn't read me. My mind that is..."

Kazn stood up, but it was much more slowly this time. He looked incredulously from the boy slave to his owner. Did Naelona understand what this meant? Did she know about this? He searched her for some clue of prior knowledge before turning his attention back to the boy.

"Corvus can't read you? How frustrating that must be for him." Kazn could not contain an authentic smile. "This simply must be tested now." Scientific rigor demanded it. Kazn procured a seed for a rosebush from his coat and focused on it. In a few seconds he had a sprout and he was slowly approaching the boy. His hand held the rapidly growing sprout out near the boy as he approached. It quickly was becoming a tangle of thorny vines. "Can you stop it, boy? Can you keep it from growing, Kristopher?"

There was no intention to cause more damage than necessary. This was an experiment to see if the eye could halt his talent. However, he imagined that prior experience would create quite a terrified reaction from the boy. It was hardly his problem. He'd have to learn some trust in Ezel pride and honor if he was going to survive with this family.

It was beginning to sprout buds for flowers as Kazn thrust the plant even closer to the boy's eye.

[Kristopher Roberts]

The blond started to pull at his sleevse again, "Its more like a migrane...so it hurts pretty good and throbs." he said slowly, looking towards Naelona or some kind of support. He wanted to go home now, away from this crazy Ezel elder. Then, he looked back at Kazn as his ears picked up the sound of snapping charcol.

Oh hell. What had he done? What did he say wrong? Suddenly he wasn't sure if he could stand this pressure anymore as Kazn stood and looked as he was about to flip out and stab someone. But then a smile came across his features, a smile Kristopher did not like at all! It utterly terrified him. "Fustrating...I--I guess so..." His voice wavered, especially when he saw a seed appear in the mans hand. His two colored eyes instantly went as wide as dinner plates once again.

"Oh god...!"

He stared at the flowes as if they where about to rip him from limb from limb. It was growing fast, moving towards him! He could feel the ghostly vines creeping across his skin, slicing him, scarring him, digging into his eye. He could feel the vines and thorns wiggling into his skin, stopping his air ways. Kristopher couldn't handle this, he could handle a lot of things but having the sudden flashbacks of what happened to him was too much for the human. No matter how well he was trained, his mind could not let go of the pain and suffering he went through.

"Can you stop it, boy? Can you keep it from growing, Kristopher?"

Kristopher could not stay in the stool any longer, He stood from it so violently, that the stool fell over with a crash and the blond backed away, almost tumbling over the said stool in the process. "NO!" He delcared loudly, "I can't! I didn't do anything! I can't! Can't!" As terrified as he was, there was no way he could get himself under control as his eyes remaind wide, the red eye mirrored the green for a brief moment before narrowing back into a slit once again as the boy became stressed. It seemed to stare at the plant as if it was a threat, but the eye did nothing to the plants. It could not stop it, nor would it ever be able too, nor would Kristopher ever be able to stop the plant or his reliving nightmare.

The buds started growing, the flowers blooming and all Kristopher could see was red, all he could feel was the pain that no longer existed as his eye throbbed in the socket. Aching as if it was being ripped out a second time. His hand instantly went too it, holding it as if he was afraid he might suddenly go blind a second time, backing up into a wall, the blond trembled, quaking with fear.

It was clear to see, that Kristopher had been traumatized and always would be forever due to that single event. "Stop! Please, I can't do anything! I'm not a boogie! I don't want to lose my eyes! I--I---I--I've been good! Like I promised!"

[Naelona Ezel]

Naelona almost felt as some anxious mother waiting for their child. While most of the words exchanged she knew of already, there was little thing that was horribly.. horribly new. "Corvus?" Naelona spat the name with a measure of venom. "Corvus has been near you?" Apparently so, tried reading Kristopher too, no less. Naelona gripped the armrest until her knuckles were white, scowling at the boy - even though it wasn't directed at Kristopher. He was right in her line of sight.

"Nature being what it is, mandates that everything is in a state of decay. I highly doubt the eye will remain in equilibrium, even if it is there now." Naelona bit her lip and held her tongue. The lost charcoal hinted perhaps she wasn't the only one irked at the present situation, but while some details only fetched Nae's ire, the same details seemed to only garner Kazn's curiosity.

"I'm not so sure, Father.." Naelona started, glancing between the boy and the boogie. Naelona disliked roses, and Kristopher had a healthy fear of them now, and for good reason. But as resilient as he'd proven to be, he was still but a human boy. It was like seeing a impending disaster from a mile away. One that suddenly went bad, to worse.

The more the roses spiraled and grew, the more panic and fear ran off the boy in waves. If there was anything Nae could vaguely understand it was two things. Anger, and fear. "NO! I can't! I didn't do anything! I can't! Can't!" His cries were loud and full of panic, like when he was small and had nightmares she'd consume him while he slept.

"Father, please. He's too young for this." Naelona interjected, rising from her seat to go to the boy's side. "Stop! Please, I can't do anything! I'm not a boogie! I don't want to lose my eyes! I--I---I--I've been good! Like I promised!" The child was out of it. "Kristopher Allen!" Naelona suddenly turned on him. "Calm yourself!" Getting in his line of sight her eyes sought out his mis-matched eyes, glaring hard into them. If anything, Kristopher would soon feel the solid weight of her pipe pressing down upon his shoulder, solid cold encouragement to sit on the floor and be silent.

Looking to Kazn, Naelona wasn't sure what to expect. He was a risky individual, one she couldn't always predict. "I do not believe he is well enough for such a test, Father. Perhaps it would be better to ask Mr. Hunter instead." The fact Corvus could read minds wasn't entirely unknown to her. It was something Naelona hated, but it very well may have been a fluke of some sort. As much as she disliked the thought, it really was only Corvus who could best confirm if Kris had indeed blocked him or if it was just a fluke.

"I believe he has learned fear enough, by your roses." The boy required a more controlled situation, and one not so threatening. As if Kristopher hadn't been ill enough already.

[Kazn Ezel]

Before too long Kazn became convinced that the boy could do nothing to stop the growth of the roses and he stopped focusing on growing bush. The flowers finally blossomed into their full beautiful blooms. Their beauty was an ephemeral thing, however, and they would be dried and dead in a manner of hours. He pulled the plant off of his arm and tossed it over to his desk where they tumbled across his notes. Kazn walked away from the slave and moved back to his chair where he could sit and puzzle this out.

"Is the boy truly too young, or is it just that you feel he is too young? By human standards he is well enough the adult by now, certainly." By Boogie standards still very much the infant, however. Kazn did not like the consideration that Naelona considered Kristopher a child under her care. She would receive the benefit of his doubt for now. However, he felt like his argument was, in fact, a reasonable one that deserved some consideration. He did not linger on that position for long.

"Ask Corvus? What would make you think that I would do such a thing?" His face curled into a snarl as he said it. He was in private and felt no need to hide his disdain. As it was, Kazn gave the 'older' Boogies more respect than he felt most of them deserved. Comparatively he seemed older and acted much older most of the time. It was a mystery he had never quite unraveled, though he was certain Nevyn would have had some insight into it. While he was around he always did. That meant that Kazn was left to puzzle out the answers by himself.

"Put the boy in shadow and see if he cannot cancel that." Kazn was unaware of Kristopher's fear of darkness. Even if he was it would not change his opinion of the matter. A Boogie's talents did not fail for no apparent reason. It was almost certainly the eye that did it, and he had to figure out exactly it was that the eye did. If shadows did not influence the boy he could safely say that talents influencing the environment were beyond the eye's scope. That would narrow it down specifically to talents that affected the slave as a target. That still left a number of available options, but it would be a step.

While waiting for Naelona's actions Kazn began searching through his desk to see if he could not find something useful. Perhaps there was an old registry in here that would have just the name and talent he needed. Maybe something to trigger his memory in just the right way.

[Kristopher Roberts]

Kristopher heard and saw nothing but flowers attacking his being within his poor twisted mind. He was terrified, so terrified he never heard Naelona move let alone telling her father that this was basically too much for the small human. He was still holding his eye as the other hand joined his head, pullin at the curls as he trembled even as the flowers where tossed away from him.

"Kristopher Allen! Calm yourself!"

The blond did not hear her words but he felt her pipe across his shoulder. That in itsself seemed to snap him back into reality. He did not say another word as he slid down the wall, hitting the ground with a heavy thumb. He drew his knees to his chest and buried his head in his legs. He did not apologize for his embarassing behavior, he was still terrified. But glad to know the flowers where not going to harm him.

"Put the boy in shadow and see if he cannot cancel that."

He had thought that maybe everything would be done, Naelona would take care of him and see him settled down and remove him from this setting but it seemed that was not the case. At Kazn's words, Kristopher tensed visiably, he felt his breath cut short as if he could not breath.

Darkness. He was afraid of that as well and now he wanted him to be enveloped within the blanket of darkness. Kristopher hunched over, wanting nothing more to disappear. "Please, don't." His voice was weak, he did not want to go under anymore test now. He didn't know what his eye could do and he didn't want to find out.

It was just an eye! There shouldn't be anything special about it!

[Naelona Ezel]

"He is too young, by means of events and consequence. Human slaves can traumatize easily, and you've very well driven the meaning of fear into him. By other circumstance, I might have thanked you, but for the moment further prodding in such a manner will only hamper anything we wish to know - you or I." Perhaps her tongue was getting ahead of her. Perhaps she was just defending the boy. Perhaps it was a bit of both. If anything she felt the need to explain herself and her declarations.

"Ask Corvus? What would make you think that I would do such a thing?" There was a very simple response to that. "Nothing. I wouldn't expect you to." She would. She would very gladly. There was an impending dent begging to be placed into Corvus' head, and she was most willing to place it there. "I'll do it myself. It seems I already have other impending matters to discuss with him as it is. One more won't be an issue." One cold, metallic issue.

"Put the boy in shadow and see if he cannot cancel that." Naelona raised a slim eyebrow at her father, before sinking into a frown. "I see him daily, and have used shadows on numerous occasions since I placed in his eye. If he could affect it, I believe I would have noticed already." It sounded to only be a pointless gesture. Why do something when she already knew what the result would be?

While Kazn waited, Naelona's impending actions never occurred. "Please, don't." Kris hadn't even needed to whimper, but it removed what remaining motive she had for it. The child was still terrified, and adding shadows into the mix would only make it worse. "He fears the dark. Adding any now would only excite his poor state. I believe such tests would require his cooperation, not his terror, am I right?" Of course she was, she was Naelona, an Ezel. Damn pride.

"Perhaps we should continue this another time.." She wasn't aware of what Kazn was searching for, but felt the tasks involving Kris had progressed far enough. He feared Kazn enough as it was. It was a small feat that the boy had even made it this far. "..unless you have something else you may require?" Hopefully he'd have forgotten about her hand. About now Naelona was perfectly fine with that.

[Kazn Ezel]

Kazn paused in rummaging through his desk just before he pulled something out of a drawer. The man turned in his chair to take a deep and discerning look at Naelona for a moment. Talking about what her slave could and could not handle was a pointless battle. There were certain things that an adult slave should have been able to deal with and could be expected to do. Kristopher did not match whatever criteria Kazn had in his mind and the man doubted that the boy slave ever would. He would always be a boy. Kazn believed that if one could blame anyone for the boy's inability, then it was Naelona. He had already voiced his disapproval once today, and would not bother voicing it again.

Refusing to put the slave into shadows was a foolish venture. Kazn's temper rose to a slight fever held beneath the surface of his skin. He was almost certain that his face might even be flushing in a light shade of red. However, he was determined to hold it in for now. An explosion at this point would end all discussions. Furthermore, it would likely break his train of thought which was working so hard at the details of the eye. The one thing that Kazn could salvage from the situation is that Naelona answered his question without performing the requested action.

The warmth in his face dissipated once he considered what she had said before about Corvus. He had not quite gathered her meaning, but when he did the smile from before when Kristopher had first mentioned the Boogie returned. "I understand now. You hardly need it, but you have my blessing." There was certainly a first time for everything.

Kazn looked at the slave once more and then back to Naelona as he considered her offer with his renewed calm. "Kristopher may leave for today, but he must return eventually. Daughter, you must stay. Our business is far from over." Family business almost always was messy, but he had made clear his intentions to look into at least one thing earlier. It was a good hook to keep her here long enough to talk about important matters.

[Kristopher Roberts]

Kristopher was more then happy to know he could leave at last! Standing slowly with shakey legs, he pulled at his hair. He looked at Naelona and then to Kazn. He seemed uncertain if he should leave but he wasn't going to question his freedom.

Shaking, he gave them each a bow and then left the room quickly. The slave had never moved so fast in his life to escape the horror of this day and experiments. The idea of coming back was terrifying but he knew there was no way out of it. The mere though of seeing Kazn again made him want to find a corner to cry in! It really did.

But for now, he went home. To lay down and gather himself.

[Naelona Ezel]

It poked at his temper, and she was well aware. Naelona had prodded at her father's temper for years, those he'd invoked hers on more than one occasion. Several, really. The fact alone they'd spoken somewhat civilly once, and not had yet to deteriorate into yelling at each other thus far was notable enough, but Naelona didn't have a sense to put much stock into it continuing..

"I understand now. You hardly need it, but you have my blessing." Naelona frowned first, before raising an eyebrow at him. A first for everything indeed. The most she could imagine him ever blessing was her demise. She hadn't confronted Corvus about anything for.. years. Probably not since Kristopher had been a young boy. With Tristan gone, some other boogie was bound to have to bear the brute of her frequent ire.

It didn't seem to take Kristopher much suggestion to leave. Naelona didn't even get a chance to confirm the offer and officially dismiss him when he apparently scrambled to his feet and left as quick as possibly. Nae exhaled a forced breath. She'd have a word with him too, later.

"Alright, then to what business are you wanting to attend to?" The question was simple enough as Nae approached the desk, resting her fingertips upon the surface. This couldn't last long, she was sure. The two Ezels had a long history of conflict, and it would be difficult to believe he'd want her there longer than absolute necessity.

Tapping a toe upon the floor, Naelona's gaze drifted to his case of sharp shinies. Upon an earlier statement he'd made, She'd be surprised if he put it away now.

[Kazn Ezel]

The boy left without much of another word. Apparently Naelona's slave was all so grateful to be released by the elder Ezel that he completely forgot his manners in dealing with his own Mistress. Yet another trait that Kazn could tick off on his mental checklist which reflected poorly upon the slave's owner. Kazn was hardly going to worry himself any more about that than was necessary now that the slave was gone. His temper had already spiked to dangerous levels a few times today. He was certain that he would hold it in check now.

"There will be no need to look at your hand, or take a sample of your blood, Ms. Ezel. However, there are important matters to discuss still." Kazn fished around in the drawer and pulled out a small box. The box ran off of the same technology that kept a clock going, and so the invention had always fascinated him. He nonchalantly wound up the mechanism at his seat while he gathered his thoughts for speech.

"You should think about what you will do if the eye turns out to be dangerous. Furthermore, if you can get any information from Corvus about the incident, I would like to hear of it. If he has not guessed it was the eye, do not give him reason to believe it was such. Damage control on this incident will be bad enough as it is."

Damage control seemed to be the only thing Kazn was doing lately. Deaths among the ranks with the rumors of rebellion were hardly something easy to write off, especially to the Elders. It was disgraceful, and they had used that to reflect poorly on Kazn.

"You understand that my hands are full with the usual tasks, especially after recent events transpiring." Kazn's eyes burrowed deep into Naelona. It hardly seemed fair that he blame her for it, but some great part of him felt like it had been her responsibility. Responsibility is something that he felt like she had dropped for quite a while. It was time to address that. "You are ready to attend to your duties as you once did again?"

He finished winding the box up and held it there for just a moment as he waited upon Naelona's response.

[Naelona Ezel]

At least whatever interest in her palm had parted from his mind - it was what good news Naelona had for the moment. But if he wished to discuss matters, than they would discuss matters. Just as long as they remained civil and didn't deteriorate into an ugly mass as 'discussions' had before in the past. With a note of acquiescence Naelona returned to her earlier seat, resting back within it while Kazn searched for whatever elusive item he sought.

"If the eye becomes a threat, it will be dealt with as all threats have. Swiftly and completely." That didn't include the Rebellion however. That involved a number of individuals, not just one sickly boy and his eye. "He's always been a gentle boy, it will be easy enough to deal with any sudden impending issues before he's even aware of them." Odds were, Kristopher would never even see it coming until it was too late. That was - if something were truly to be done. "He trusts me."

"I will report anything of interest I find you should know. But if Kristopher is aware Corvus cannot read his mind, it is equally likely that Corvus is also too aware. But I understand your concerns, there will be little to speculate if there is no fact." That didn't go without saying that there would be no facts.. just that Corvus needed to believe there weren't any.. and keep his distance from Kristopher. But that was a different issue altogether.

Naelona met his eyes with her own, as though it would show the soul, for which she was sure there was none to be found. "I have never abandoned Wonderland, if that is what you are wondering." She almost smirked. For once he'd noted something she had done, or rather not done. Tristan had taken over a number of matters during her absence, but with him gone she would have to reclaim them once again.

"But yes, I have been resuming my duties as I have mandated them in the past. The past has returned as it once was, and recent events have beckoned me." As she spoke, she watched as he found whatever item it is he'd wanted, and frowned slightly as he obviously waited for her to be done, adding as an afterthought. "It seems there are few positions which can be fulfilled, save by you and I."

[Kazn Ezel]

Kazn said nothing, but he listened to Naelona. He heard her and understood her. Sometimes he wondered why it was so hard to deal with her. The reason came to him soon enough, it was because the two of them hardly ever seemed to agree on how things needed to be done. There was certainly agreement over what details were important, but almost nothing in common with how things were supposed to be done.

He let go of the winding mechanism as he set the box down on his desk. The gears within turned and began to play music that reminded him of a time long ago. The tune would have been familiar to Naelona, and probably would not have seemed nearly so pleasant to her as it did to him. He did not care.

"The incident is truly a disgrace. Fighting to the death over trivial little details amongst Boogies their age? Especially with such disloyalty among the slaves." Disloyalty was hardly something new, but organized disloyalty rarely cropped up. The rebels were anarchists that used the tool of their so-called 'oppression' to try and fight it.

"It's high time we spiced up their lives a little bit more. As it is I'm pulling the groundskeeper from the Labyrinth to increase security around the palace. That should provide for faster damage control and deter any misbehavior from the slaves or their masters. If not..." If not, the groundskeeper had been authorized to use whatever force he deemed necessary. Usually he settled on excessive force when given such a decision.

"I'm concerned about the Ball." An odd thing to admit, but it did not make it any less true. That many slaves and Boogies gathered into one area just seemed like a perfect time for a demonstration from either side. Kazn had his own plans for the event, and he hardly expected that he was the only one.

[Naelona Ezel]

"Most elder boogies are mad, one way or another.." It was a simple, true fact. Tristan, Jouhnin, Cheshire, Grimm, Corvus, Darion, and Garland.. just to name a few. All had advanced at least a millennia in age, if not several. Most retained little sense, and in some sense or another what remaining ones they possessed were shattering already. It wasn't Rebellions to be wary of, in as much also age itself.. at least half of them had already passed on - most due to their own follies.

It was then Naelona finally took note of the music, or perhaps the music took note of her. Kazn's voice seemed to be drown out by the little notes as they filled her ears and her thoughts instead. "It's high time we spiced up their lives a little bit more. As it is I'm pulling the groundskeeper from the Labyrinth to increase security around the palace. That should provide for faster damage control and deter any misbehavior from the salves or their masters. If not.."

His words she half caught, half missed as the music box trapped her attention instead. It sounded hauntingly to her, conjuring thoughts and images as she recalled the old tune from a bygone time. Memories and scenes she'd long forgotten, and not all she wanted to recall in the presence of her father. Shakily rising from her chair, time seemed slow until she could reach the small box, and press her finger against the key, halting it's turning movement and silencing the notes. "Please.. wait until I have left."

With the music silenced her thoughts revived, as they desperately scraped at the recent past to recall what he had been saying, and noting his concern. Something about security, the palace.. and Labyrinth. "Groundskeeper.. you mean Luther?" A brute of a boogie. One Naelona hadn't missed encountering. He was stubborn, inconsiderate, infuriating, obnoxious, along with a host of other adjectives she didn't care to repeat.

"Do you believe they then might try something?" Really, the last sign of the Rebellion had been the fire in the West Wing. One could believe they had dissipated since then, yet another could also believe they were only waiting for an opportune moment..