354/A Fox in the Castle

A Fox in the Castle
Date of Scene:	06 August 2014
Location:	Dun Realtai
Synopsis:	While Sir Bedivere works to restore the stronghold he has been appointed to watch over, an unexpected guest shows up.
Cast of Characters:	85, 482

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Sir Bedivere (482) has posed:
The land surrounding Dun Realtai is no more than a cold and inhospitable tundra, locked in snow and ice for most of the year. The powerful magic that had raged here for a time had not done any favours to the natural weather patterns; only recently has it begun to ease into some kind of equilibrium.

Although the snow isn't precisely melting in the tundra itself, the hilltop where the castle and its village perch have been seeing slightly warmer weather. Some of the snow on the ground has begun to melt, and the wind that whips through the village boulevard isn't quite as cold as it could be -- that is to say, merely freezing, and not sub-zero.

The distinction is not really very a useful one when one is already cold.

Workmen bustle to and fro in the village itself, going about their various tasks. Most of them are survivors from the village, returned to rebuild their homes. Some also work doggedly on the castle, patching up the gaping holes in the roof of the great hall, and the wreckage that is the lord's quarters -- the rest can be handled later, but it seems that it's for pride that they work here, despite the lord's orders that they tend to their own homes first.

Although his position is one of prestige, and he should be overseeing rather than working, that has not stopped Sir Bedivere of the Round Table from participating in the restoration himself. Every day he has been in the village itself, assisting directly in the rebuilding; hauling supplies, doing work, and taking inventory of what supplies are needed. No doubt they appreciate such a humble approach, though some of the villagers seem a bit confused at their lord's exceedingly humble nature. In their experience, it seems, they expected someone considerably more... arrogant.

The weak afternoon sun finds Bedivere in the ruins of the castle's great hall, wearing his armour and the slightly heavier of his two mantled cloaks; this one has fur trim, and his armour seems to show some of the same treatment.

He has an axe in hand, and it looks like he's chopping up some of the rotten timbers that had fallen from the ceiling, shoving them over to a pile to be disposed of. The harsh bite of his axe rings out over the keep, though just as loud are the sounds of hammering and the various other noises the workmen and their supplies make.

It's pleasant enough work -- mindless, for the most part, and he doesn't need to spare much in the way of concentration. In fact, the very mindlessness of the task is somehow rewarding; good, honest simple work. It's been a long time since he could do something so humble openly, without worrying about politics or standing.

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
    The cracking, spintering, hammering, shifting, and general cacophony of work ring out through the castle. There is a far more melodious sound that can barely be heard under it, however. Familiar, yet strangely foreign, lilting and slipping through the halls in a peaceful, beautiful, yet faintly melancholy song. A flute: that's what it seems to be, though not quite any sort known in this locale.

    As the song grows closer, entrancing and elegant in its dancing tones, a scent seems to come with it. If Bedivere has ever smelled sandalwood, it would be recognizable enough, but again, not exactly something that would befit this area. With the song comes that scent, gently easing away any smell of wood or rot hanging over the castle's halls. Soon enough, the source shows herself.

    Kagenashi, dressed in the same black-and-red silken yukata that she wore to the céilidh and with the same beautiful jewelry of agate draping about her, walks into the hall from a doorway not far from the castle's lord. A bamboo flute is in her hands, the mouth held up to her lips while the body is held to the side. Her eyes are peacefully closed as she plays the instrument, delicate fingers moving over the other holes of the flute, each step taken with grace and care. Around her hover four orbs of greenish-blue fire, dancing slowly as if in time to the music and giving off a comfortable warmth. Behind her is Munashi, and the shadow fox holds two sticks of incense in her mouth as she walks. The tips smolder faintly, releasing thin tendrils of smoke into the air; no doubt the source of the scent from earlier.

    The nogitsune continues her procession, bare feet alighting upon the floor without any concern for the cold. The flute sends its dancing tones through the air, lilting and soft...until Kagenashi ends up a few paces from Bedivere. The last note slips away, and silver eyes slide open to regard the knight.

    "Oh. Good afternoon, Lord Bedivere." She smiles softly, serene as ever despite the inevitable annoyance her words will undoubtedly inspire. The flute is lowered from her lips, and before she tucks it away in her clothing, she uses it to gesture briefly to Bedivere's ear. "You seem to have lost one of your earrings. Not that you seem particularly bothered by that, if you even noticed it."

    Nothing escapes her, does it?

Sir Bedivere (482) has posed:
-CRACK.-

The two-handed axe rises high before falling into the wood, splitting a rotten timber with a showering of smaller pieces. It's not dry, though, so there is no sawdust, and none of the pieces are particularly small. The wood is too rotten to actually splinter.

-CRACK.-

Biting into it again, the crumbling support beam breaks in twain, and when the head of the axe carries through into the flagstones below, steel spits sparks against stone; the impact shivers up Bedivere's arms. He staggers, arms numbed by the force of it, before setting the axe aside and leaning on it for a moment. There's still a great deal of wood left--

The silver-haired knight frowns, wrinkling his nose.

Something smells strange... and he can hear a flute, a flute of a kind foreign to this region. Although familiar with a great deal of instruments, the timbre of what he hears isn't like anything he knows.

He stiffens, clutching his axe when he hears Kagenashi's tranquil greeting. The nogitsune's voice is like nails on a blackboard to him.

Still, he remembers the advice he had been given directly by Arturia. Do not give them the advantage.

He turns, placing both hands on the axe, its head still resting on the ground.

"Lady Kagenashi." It's both an acknowledgement and a greeting, and the snow underfoot is warmer than his tone of voice. "I know precisely where it is," he says simply, in response to her observation. "I have simply chosen not to wear it. If that troubles you, that is your own problem, is it not?"

Well, the bit about the earring is true, in a roundabout sort of way. He does know where it is, and he did choose not to wear it.

"Ah, and you are still mistaken. My title is Sir Bedivere," he points out. "This is a temporary arrangement. I am only here to ensure no harm befalls the villagers, and to oversee the reconstruction efforts."

Silence falls for a moment, and he shifts his weight a little, regarding her calmly. "Was there something you needed, or are you only here to entertain yourself by attempting to bother me?"

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
    Coldness doesn't seem to ward away the nogitsune at all. Her head tilts slightly to one side, her smile faltering a little to a more neutral expression, but she doesn't seem inclined to leave. Munashi even decides to take a seat next to her master's feet.

    "No, it does not trouble me. It only draws my curiosity. Especially that you would simply 'choose' to wear your jewelry lopsided for whatever reason. But..." She closes her eyes, shrugging slightly as her arms fold and slip into her sleeves. "...as you say, I suppose it is not my business."

    Those silver eyes slip open again as one of the orbs of fox fire separates from the rest. It hovers over to Bedivere, but not in any sort of attack; rather, the flame simply hangs nearby, unobtrusive and warm. "I suppose if discussion and my mere presence are bothersome, then yes, that is what I am here for." One hand slips free from the sleeve, gesturing to where Kagenashi came from a moment before. "Actually, I was inaugurating your new residence for you. The spirits of the land must be welcomed in so that their powers bless the building, rather than curse it. Though..." She pauses, glancing to a hole in the roof as her arms cross once more. A faint smile returns to her lips. "...I suppose it is not like they are blocked, are they?"

    Silver eyes shift back to Bedivere again as she continues, gleaming dimly like the glowing orb that shines in her tongue when she speaks. "In any case, black foxes are symbols of good fortune, music is calming and welcoming, and this incense is meant to instill meditative peace. You will not need to worry. I, in the meantime, decided it would be prudent to make sure you were not working yourself to death before the village could appreciate your overseeing. You are only human, and yet you seem to think you have more reserves than you actually do."

Sir Bedivere (482) has posed:
Despite the bitter cold, the knight seems to handle it reasonably well. It's possible that he's put so much padding and trim into his armour that he simply doesn't notice it, not so long as he has some kind of physical work to do.

He tries to ignore the fox fire that hovers about him, but his gaze keeps flicking to it, wary.

"Oh? In this multiverse, it seems the modern way for men to wear only one adornment in one's ears. It seems that only women wear two, and though I am quite well aware that some think me feminine in appearance, I am assuredly a man. It would be improper to wear two, would it not?" Bedivere tilts his head slightly, tone innocent; straightforward. "Or was I mistaken?"

Also not a lie; he had seen plenty of men with jewelery of their own on the streets of Boston; those he'd seen with earrings only seemed to wear one... though he had given the earring to Arturia well before he had travelled to Boston. Still, the simple observation is truth enough. He is honest in his dealings -- but he does not mind to bend truth, a bit, or omit things. One needed to be willing to adopt such mannerisms if one had expected to survive in Camelot's courts. Especially him; once a commoner, and a foreigner.

Bedivere leans on the long handle of his axe. He regards Kagenashi with a degree of distaste, as though he weren't quite certain what to do with her. In truth, he's not. He simply can't fathom what reason she has to haunt him so.

"Thank you, though I intend to speak with the villagers, and see what manner of purification they would prefer, if any. This is their land."

A cold breeze skitters through the hall. Something moves in the blue-shadowed ice through one of the holes in the hall; a ripple of snow, and the remaining ice-hound that had been entrusted to the castle's lord stalks in. It moves with the grace of a predator, and its pointy muzzle is fixed on Kagenashi the entire time.

It snarls as it does, and there's nothing puppyish about the sound, or the animosity in the blazing yellow lanterns of its eyes.

Bedivere calmly reaches down, gently teasing the fey hound's ear, or whatever passes for it. It immediately quiets, but those ears remain plastered back against its neck. It sits down next to him and proceeds to stare at the nogitsune and her shadow like a hawk.

"No, they are not blocked." He looks up to the great holes smashed through the roof, and for a moment, he almost wonders what had caused them. He then decides that he doesn't really want to know. Whatever made those holes would have made those monstrous, twisted ice-hounds seem like puppyish Kepas by comparison. "Not at all."

His own violet eyes slant back to Kagenashi, wary in spite of his controlled neutrality.

"My reserves are perfectly fine, but thank you for your concern. May I ask what your real purpose is for being here? I am reasonably certain there is one, but I do not expect you to be forthcoming the first two or three times that I ask for an explanation out of you." Bedivere tilts his head slightly, regarding her wearily. "So. What, then, is that reason...?"

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
    Kagenashi's eyes narrow slightly as Bedivere explains the earring away. It's a curious look: vaguely skeptical, thoughtful, but not particularly upset; the faint, lingering smile chases away anything of the sort. Again, finally, her eyes drift closed as she offers a light shrug. "I suppose I have not caught up with modern fashions yet. Surely you, of all people, must know much more about those than I do." Her words may be somewhat sarcastic, but her tone hardly changes. She may as well be discussing the weather, rather than prodding at peculiarities.

    When Kepas arrives, both Kagenashi's and Munashi's attentions shift to it. Kagenashi's expression hardly shifts as she watches the hound snarl and pace, but Munashi's ears flatten against her head as she keeps her gaze locked on the creature. Even when Kagenashi turns back to Bedivere, the shadow fox's attention doesn't waver. How opposing those two creatures must seem now.

    Surprise slips into the nogitsune's expression as Bedivere begins questioning her. She falls silent for a few moments as if contemplating his question...then smiles, warm and content, before offering a very straightforward explanation. "To murder you the moment you let your guard down."

    She pauses briefly to let that sink in before giving a faint sound of amusement, the closest she ever seems to manage to laughter. "...of course not. Had I any interest in that, I would have had several opportunities to do so already. No, you need not fret or leer at me; I have no intention of harming you or anyone in this place, or destroying the foundations of the building, or threatening your pact with that spirit. Relax."

    Kagenashi's stance shifts slightly, taking on a less formal posture as she regards Bedivere thoughtfully. "Is it so difficult to believe that I have no ulterior motives save for curiosity and the desire for conversation? Or would you rather I plan something devious and cruel to alleviate your concerns? I could set a house alight if that would relieve you at all."

Sir Bedivere (482) has posed:
Although he rubs at the fey hound's ear, Bedivere eventually returns his hand to the axe he's resting against the ground. He isn't leaning on it so much as supporting it, as though he were ready to sweep the tool up in his own defense. He is slow to trust even his allies, with the exception of his brother-knights of the Round Table, and to extend his trust to someone like Kagenashi, who has proved so interested in causing merry hell in little ways -- no, he's not likely to.

His expression turns stony when she says she's here to murder him the instant he lets down his guard. When she admits to pulling his chain, that expression never changes. It's like whatever cordiality was in him has simply leached out with the cold wind.

"What manner of fool do you take me for?" Bedivere tilts his head, as though it were an honest question, despite the accusatory tone of his soft voice. "Any tactician knows that no marshal will spend his advantages in the first hour of battle. Just because an opportunity presents itself need not mean that it should be taken forthright. Perhaps it is true that you have had opportunity to kill me. If that is your intent, and I am not fool enough to believe it is not, those opportunities would not have been near attractive enough to you to take them."

He shifts his weight, armour rattling faintly as he does. Those violet eyes settle on Kagenashi; his regard is almost thoughtful, although from one combatant to another, there's no mistaking that he's sizing her up and working out a rough estimate of her abilities.

"Allow me to offer you a piece of advice, in the name of civility. You are perhaps here as a guest, but if you so much as jest over threatening anyone or anything in this castle, so help me, I will not suffer your presence in these walls." His voice seems even softer than normal, seemingly calm in the face of his threat.

Were Arturia here, she might know that her marshal is giving a threat in deadly earnest. There is a coldness in his eyes; a quiet focus to him that only battle brings.

"Begone from my hall," he says calmly. "I do not want your presence here. You give with one hand, and take with the other; and for all that you may speak pretty words, I am not fooled. It is only for Brehon Law that I suffer your presence, Lady Kagenashi--" The words are given as though a curse, "--and I will be watching you most carefully. Slip once, and it will be your final mistake."

The corners of his mouth lift, but the expression is no more than the ghost of a smile, and it never reaches his eyes.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
    Any lingering amusement in Kagenashi's expression slips away at his words. There is little more than the uninterrupted peace she so constantly maintains there now, serene even in the face of Bedivere's cold words. She at least knows when a situation becomes serious, and there's no mistaking the intent in his tone.

    But the fox, perhaps to her detriment, is persistent.

    "Yes. Quite clear indeed," she replies, folding her arms behind her back. "As you wish. I will not jest over atrocities I have no intention of committing, if such will only make our interactions more abrasive."

    Rather than obey his order to leave, however, Kagenashi instead takes a step closer to Bedivere. She leans forward slightly, looking up at him as if peering through his body to his very soul. None of her earlier playfulness is apparent; she is only cool and even in her words. "Do you think I am a rabid beast? What do you suspect I would gain from killing you, or any of these people? Why do you think I would stain my honor by breaking your laws of hospitality? For, yes, despite what some seem to think, I do hold something like that. It is precisely why your corpse did not have to be picked off the forest path that day, if you recall."

    Again she straightens. Her head is held up, her posture straight and regal. Even if he may be taller than her by quite a bit, she is clearly not going to allow herself to be cowed by anyone's presence. As calm as her tone may be, the light in her eyes speaks of a ferocity just beneath the surface. "Do you think that insulting my pride will make things any better? Despise and revile me all you like, mistrust my motives, doubt my sincerity; but you could at least show some fairness, Bedivere, and not lower me to the level of a bloodthirsty hound."

    The nogitsune falls silent again, her eyes fixed on Bedivere's in a steely gaze as if challenging him to question her once more. "I gave my word that I would not harm anyone in this castle as long as I reside in it, as your laws decree. You can trust that, if nothing else."

Sir Bedivere (482) has posed:
The onetime Marshal of Camelot does not move so much as a muscle. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest and shoulders suggests that he's still breathing, so preternaturally still does he become. Those violet eyes remain fixed on the nogitsune even as she offers her civil protest.

But there is no sympathy in Bedivere. Even her appeal to honour seems to find no purchase.

"No," he says simply, voice calm and clear. "I do no think you a rabid hound, or even a bloodthirsty one. I see you a a fox, and a clever one at that, who fancies herself in the midst of the hen-house. Hounds are loyal, and hounds can be trained. Foxes are but wild animals who can never be fully trusted."

Bedivere falls silent, studying the nogitsune with evident calmness, even when she takes a step closer to him. He does not so much as flinch; enduring her scrutiny with only a slight hint of disdain. He's never liked anyone standing close to him; to have someone he considers with distaste to invade his personal space... well, it's taking a bit of willpower not to step back. But he is loathe to give her the satisfaction of backing down.

Thoughtfully, he straightens to his full height and looks down at her, listening without really hearing her words about hounds, honour, and hospitality. None of her words are to be trusted, of course. He would be a fool if he did, a great fool, and most probably a dead one.

He then says something that surprises even him.

"Ordinarily, I would bid you swear that to me," he says softly, in that cold and dangerous tone. "In formal oath, to form a geas, that you would not harm any who dwell here, whether they be in or out of these walls, so long as you reside within these walls. If your intentions are true, it would do you no harm. If they are not, then I could hardly be faulted for exercising caution. After all, I owe as much to the people of this citadel, for is their safety not my responsibility?"

He smiles, then, blade-thin, the same expression that never quite reaches his eyes.

"But that would still not earn my trust."

His expression falls, and those violet eyes are no warmer than the snow underfoot as he looks at her, almost disdainfully.

"Remove yourself from my sight, creature, and thank whatever gods you pray to that I hold to Brehon Law. I have work to do, and it does not involve you."

In what may perhaps be a calculated risk, he turns his back on her, walking toward the great hall's ruined stairway.

Kagenashi (85) has posed:
    There's something about those words and that smile that draw a sense of irritation out of Kagenashi. Perhaps the nogitsune is less durable lately; perhaps Bedivere's disdain is just that much of a strike to her pride. Whatever the case, a subtle frown comes over her features as if she had just been gravely insulted. The light in her narrowed eyes practically turns into piercing daggers as she keeps her gaze fixed on the knight.

    Even with how offended she seems, Kagenashi does not even flinch in Bedivere's direction when he turns away. She has made a promise; no matter how much she may wish to break it, she would not bring herself to. The results wouldn't be worth it. Even though she doesn't produce a weapon, however, she still calls after Bedivere as he walks away. "Then I will not bother attempting to earn your trust. Give me your geas if you so wish; I care little, either way, and will conduct myself as I do now whether or not you force that oath upon me. Smirk and insult me as you please, but it is not out of fear or respect for /you/ that I obey your laws. It is you who should be thankful that I hold some pride. Otherwise I doubt these people would have a guardian at this moment."

    A tense breath is released as Kagenashi stares after him for a moment longer. Then, finally, her eyes close again. A deep breath is taken, then released once more, slow and calming. No, this isn't the place to lose her patience, not now.

    The nogitsune turns away herself, striding carefully back into the hall she arrived from. Munashi rises, silently padding after her with incense still held aloft to fill the air.

Sir Bedivere (482) has posed:
There is no humor or even arrogance in Bedivere's smirk. It is the expression of one predator to another, and perhaps it even suggests just how threatened he feels by the nogitsune's mere presence that he would break his calm and his mask to show that to her. He takes her in deadly earnest.

"It would do no good." The quiet statement is nonetheless honest. Even the supernatural compulsion of a geas would not reassure him; not because he expects that she can defeat it, but because she is clever enough to get around it. He gestures as though to indicate Munashi, though he does not turn around to face the nogitsune. "You surround yourself with beasts known for their cleverness and their treachery. Would they truly call you their companion or master if you did not exhibit those qualities yourself?"

She doesn't fear or respect him? That much is blindingly obvious, but that doesn't seem to bother him at all. He merely shrugs one armoured shoulder, indifferent. He does stop, though, turning his head very slightly, regarding her from the corner of one violet eye.

The silver-haired knight almost seems about to say something, but he simply shakes his head, crunching through the snow drifted into the great hall.

Let her underestimate him, he reflects silently. That had always been one of his greatest advantages in Camelot, and it will be so here. For while she remains here, he will tolerate her, with certainty. He would not enact any breach of Brehon Law.

But he has no illusions over the fact that Kagenashi is an enemy.