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Logging Started: 06/13/2001 at 21:19:38
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Beo's first day of reward collection is while Moriya and Co are off at Davros'
 place.  On day 2, Moriya and co return to House Gainax as Beowulf is there
 with his posse, getting lunch.
Beowulf and co are in the dining room as Moriya comes in.  Motoko has gone to
 write, and Davros has wandered off to meditate.
Beowulf sees Moriya and smiles. "Ah, Moriya! How's it going?" He looks around.
 "At this rate, maybe you should rent an apartment down here," he adds with a
 slight grin.
Moriya enters the dining room, looking thoughtful. Soon, though, he glances up,
 and blinks. "Hmmm? Oh, Uncle Beowulf. Ha, yes, I've been here quite a lot
 lately. What brings you back?"
Beowulf says, "Returning some of the stolen artwork the Master had." He smiles
 a bit sadly. "There's no way I'll be able to return it all, I suspect, but at
 least the Courts' administration here had a pretty good list of artwork stolen
 from various Houses that I could check against."
Lily adds, "He made off with quite a lot of art over the years."
Mitsune says, "Hey, Moriya, whatcha been up to?"
Moriya nods. "Ah, yes, I remember you mentioning that earlier. They'll be very
 pleased, I'm sure. The ones who are getting things back, at least." He comes
 over to the table and sits down, next to Mitsune. "Hello, Lily-san. Oh...we
 went to visit Davros-san's father, back in Nurgalways."
Beowulf looks thoughtful, tapping his chin. "Perhaps after I've checked against
 the Chaosian stolen artwork and Amberite stolen artwork, we could see about
 setting up a museum with the rest. Set it around Yig, and it might make a good
 meeting place... and a memorial."
Moriya asks, "A memorial?"
Lily blinks.  "Davros-san is from Nurgalways?"
Moriya nods. "His father is one of the groundskeepers there, has been one for
 300 years."
Beowulf says, "Ahh, good; I'm glad you were able to meet some of his family and
 friends. He seems like a very nice fellow."
Beowulf looks over at Moriya. "Directly, it'd be a memorial to all the people
 in Shadow that the Master stole from, and who probably won't ever be able to
 be compensated."
Moriya mmms. "Ah, I see."
Beowulf says, "Indirectly... I'd like to make it a memorial to all of the
 Shadow folks who've been stepped on, in one way or another, by the powerful.
 Maybe a few of them might mend their ways, if the reminder were skillful
 enough."
Moriya smiles faintly. "A noble thought, Uncle. I hope it is successful."
Beowulf says, "It'd also be a good place for folks from Amber and Chaos to meet
 and mix, maybe getting to understand each other better... Listen to me,
 getting all idealistic in my young age." He smiles.
Beowulf asks, "So how was the family visit? Everyone have a good time?" He
 looks around. "I don't see Davros himself, or Motoko... how are they?"
Beowulf grins again. "And how are you three bearing up under being labeled
 prophetic figures?"
Moriya shakes his head, chuckling. "Getting a little ahead of yourself, are
 you?" He nods. "Davros decided to meditate, while Motoko is writing her speech
 for the memorial service tomorrow. I've already penned a poem for the
 monument." He pauses. "Oh...we're getting funny looks all the time, still.
 Quite a few people have asked Motoko for her autograph, and a few have asked
 the two of us."
Lily smiles.  "Is it nice to be famous?"
Moriya says, "It's...a little strange, certainly. I think Motoko's a little
 uncomfortable with it, but...well, she's adjusting."
Mitsune begins scribbling on a napkin.
Moriya looks around. "How have you been? Not getting stabbed again with primal
 power weapons, are we?"
Mitsune says, "No fatal injuries today, thankfully."  She crumples and eats the
 napkin and starts over.
Moriya blinks. "Mitsune, you can just ask for food if you're that hungry.
 You're in the dining hall."
Beowulf says, "I can imagine that being famous is a little uncomfortable. Not
 as bad as being *in*famous, but still." He smiles slightly.
Beowulf says, "The memorial service... that's right, you mentioned something
 about that when you visited us. I never did hear the story on that." He gives
 Moriya a sober look, eyebrow raised.
Mitsune says, "First rule of poetry:  Destroy the evidence."
Moriya eyes Mitsune. "Yes. I do have to write a poem about you. Mmmmhm."
Beowulf chuckes and ruffles her hair. "Right." He looks over at Lily and grins.
 "Remind me after they leave to snuggle, and we can use temporal scrying to
 reconstruct it."
Mitsune says, "You'll never take my abandoned poetry alive!"
Moriya then sighs softly, and nods to Beowulf. "There's not really that much to
 tell, actually. We made our way through Shadow, and tracked down the
 Demogorgon. Motoko trumped Gilva, who promised to bring troops with her. Once
 we cornered Demogorgon, Gilva arrived with her army. Everything was going
 well--and then, just before Davros managed to rip the Gloom Device free, it
 went off. And killed almost the entire Chaosian army." He snaps his fingers.
 "Like that. Just...dead. Thousands of them. All save Gilva, her senior
 officers, and us."
Beowulf says, "We'll just have to find a shadow Robin Williams, to lead a Dead
 Poet's Society."
Moriya settles back into his chair morosely. "Gilva-dono lost her son. It was
 just so completely senseless."
Beowulf WINCES, and covers his eyes in sorrow. "Oh, no." He sighs. "Right.
 Please, take whatever condolences I can offer for them."
Mitsune frowns.  "Isn't Gilva the prosecutor who put your Father away?"
Moriya mutters something darkly, then speaks, a bit more clearly, "Damn that
 infernal device.... Hm? Yes, she was. But she didn't seem to hold that against
 us, nor did we hold that against her. We had something more important to
 consider at the time."
Beowulf says, "It was probably just her job, Mitsune. Sometimes, when you're in
 a position like that, you have to do things you don't always want to do."
Beowulf looks back over at Moriya. "Do we know anything more about where
 Demogorgon came from, or how it had the Gloom Device?" He sighs. "And an aptly
 named item, at that."
Moriya looks at Mitsune. "After what happened to her...seeing how broken she
 was, I don't think I could feel any anger toward her. She did her job in
 prosecuting my father; it was her duty, nothing more."
Mitsune nods to you.
Moriya nods at Beowulf. "The Serpent told us, actually...the Logrus'
 manifestation was destroyed in an adjacent universe by the Gloom Device. The
 backlash from that swept the Gloom Device to the Demogorgon, and swept the
 fragments of the Demogorgon out of the Abyss back into our universe. And
 things proceeded from there."
Moriya stares at his hands. "I just wish we could have found it sooner, before
 it had gotten so enormous and took so long to destroy."
Beowulf winces again. "Oh, dear. I wonder... was that the universe your father
 was pulled into?"
Moriya nods absently. "I assume so...."
Beowulf pats Moriya on the shoulder. "I don't think it was anything you could
 have known about."
Beowulf says, "If anything, I'd think it would be the people native to that
 universe who could have known something about it."
Moriya says, "No, perhaps not. But the sight of an entire army of brave
 warriors just dropping dead will always haunt me."
Beowulf says, "As it would me, Moriya. As it would me."
Mitsune pats Moriya on the shoulder.  "Sometimes there's just nothing we can
 do."
Moriya reaches over, takes Mitsune's hand. "Yes, and that's one of the the
 worst things to realize."
Mitsune squeezes your hand.
Beowulf asks, "What kind of site is the memorial going on?" He looks thoughtful
 for a moment. "And what kind of building/monument will it be?"
Moriya sighs softly. "I don't know yet. I just know that King Ishmael has
 commissioned the finest shadow-molders from House Danaani to sculpt it, out on
 the battlefield, as well as a smaller monument in the Courts proper." He falls
 silent for a few moments, now looking at Mitsune's hand in his. "Let's talk
 about something else. I will have enough of it tomorrow at the ceremony
 itself."
Beowulf nods. "Right, then."
Mitsune asks, "So what are you going to be doing after Marches?  What's the
 next big adventure, hmm?"
Moriya smiles. "Hmmm, well...I'm thinking of finding Withywindle. Thought--my
 father's Logrusfoil--belongs to House Nurgal in truth, and we'd agreed to
 return it to them. But I need a good weapon, so...I will give it back after
 getting the Patternblade."
Mitsune nods.
She asks, "You have some idea where it is?"
Moriya nods. "We'd been doing a bit of research on it, along the way. I think
 we have a good lock on its present position."
Beowulf smiles. "You too, cousin?" He smiles ruefully. "After Ramon with
 Werewindle chopped up my whip, I figure I could use something as well, though
 I'm not sure I'd have the chutzpa to go after a Patternblade."
Moriya chuckles. "Well, it is the Blade of Wood, and I am the son of the Child
 of Wood. I like to think that I have some sort of claim to it. At least, my
 father does."
Beowulf says, "I'll probably just do a shadowwalk for a weapon that I'm
 entitled to/meant to have, and see what happens."
Moriya nods. "That sounds like a good idea. Good luck."
Moriya asks, "What's next in your plans, once you return all the stolen artwork
 here?"
Beowulf grins. "And sometimes it can be a lot of fun, seeing what'll surprise
 you."
Lily says, "We're going shopping!"
Moriya asks, "Oh? Just a trip to the market in Amber, or are you heading to
 CAFAM, that sort of thing?"
Beowulf asks, "Well, after we get the artwork returned, I want to make a quick
 swing by CAFAM, pick up some silk for Mother, a spell item to trade Spellvis
 for the third key to Hoard, and... have you heard if Kafuin is up and running
 yet, and making Elder Sign items again?"
Beowulf says, "If not, may want to pick up some Elder Sign bullets as well."
Moriya says, "Ah, CAFAM it is. We'll be heading there ourselves after the
 ceremony." He sighs, shakes his head. "I've been down here for so long, so far
 from the Keep, that I haven't gotten any word about Kafuin lately. He should
 be repaired soon, but.... Well, you can check once you get to the Amber side
 of things."
Beowulf says, "And, of course, there's always serendipity... I'd never expected
 to find that little ring on sale there last time, after all."
Moriya chuckles. "That was quite something, indeed."
Beowulf nods. "Right. If I can find some for a reasonable price, will go ahead
 and pick them up, just in case."
Beowulf blinks as something hits him. "You're heading there as well? What did
 you have in mind?"
Moriya blinks. "Hmm? Oh, just a couple of gifts." His eyes slide sidewards, a
 quick glance at Mitsune. "There are a couple of people I know who I'd like to
 give some things to."
Moriya sighs. "Although, given how soon Marching is, I'm not sure I'll be able
 to get something appropriate in time. It might have to wait until afterward.
 But we'll see."
Beowulf smiles. "Ahhh, I see. Well, when you get there, trump me; given that
 finding something in CAFAM can be like a quest in itself, if you come to
 wherever we are at that point, you might get a bit of a head start."
Moriya nods, smiling. "An excellent suggestion. Thank you--we'll try it."
Beowulf says, "Which reminds me..." He does a quick look 'round to see who's in
 the room.
Lily and Mitsune wave at Beowulf, looking amused.  Various other Chaosians fail
 to notice him.
Moriya raises an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
Beowulf says, "Speaking of trump, there's someone I'd like you to meet." He
 taps a little pin on his shirt. "Aeris? Could you drop in for a bit? There's
 someone I'd like you to meet."
You see a young girl flow out of the badge, looking about eight years old.
 She's fairly tall and thin for her age, with brown hair braided up in two
 pigtails that fall about halfway down her back. She's wearing a gingham dress.
Beowulf says, "Moriya, I'd like you to meet Aeris."
Moriya blinks, and peers at the girl. "Well, hello, Aeris," he says, with a
 smile.
Aeris curtseys.  "Nice to meet you, Prince Moriya."
Moriya nod-bows to her. "And how did you come to meet Uncle Beowulf?"
Aeris says, "He made me."  She smiles.
Moriya mmms. "A construct?" he says, now looking at Beowulf.
Beowulf squats down to Aeris' level and gives her a quick one-armed hug. "I've
 been thinking about this for a while... well, before we found out about
 Gabrielle and Nagisa, I thought Gabrielle could use a friend on her level. And
 perhaps Kafuin and Morganstern as well."
Moriya chuckles. "Very nice, very nice...."
Beowulf says, "And, I admit, with someone as delightful as her..." He draws her
 into a full hug, ruffling her hair as he lets her go, "I couldn't hold out for
 very long."
Beowulf stands back up and gives Lily a hug in turn. "And I had some wonderful
 help."
Moriya laughs. "Parents already, the two of you? Maybe you are getting old,
 Uncle Beowulf."
Lily smiles.  "How fast children grow..."  She smiles.
Moriya nods. "I was wondering what we'd name our first child. Any ideas,
 Mitsune?"
Mitsune ...
Beowulf smiles as well, and gives Lily a quick kiss on the cheek. "Indeed."
Moriya grins suddenly. "Are you blushing, Mitsune?"
Aeris tugs Mitsune's pants.  "When are you gonna teach me to play poker like
 you said you would?"
Beowulf says, "Um, aren't you going a bit fast, cousin?" He gives Moriya an
 archly innocent look.
Moriya darts in, kisses Mitsune on the nose. "Mitsune seems to think so, it
 would seem," he says. "And why do you want her to teach you how to play poker,
 Aeris-chan? She has a terrible poker face, we've discovered."
Mitsune says, "Ha, I could crush ANY of you at Poker, ANY time!"
Beowulf looks thoughtfully at Moriya, then looks back at Lily. "Though your
 mother did ask how things were going with her..."
Beowulf grins. "Well, if you're going to be that way about it, we'll just have
 to ask Aeris to monitor and make sure everything's played fairly."
Moriya asks, "Mmm. I believe that's a challenge. Does anyone here have a deck?"
Beowulf reaches into the bag and digs for a second. "Hmmm... not right to hand.
 Half a moment." He ducks into the bag.
Mitsune whips out a deck.  "Here we go."
Beowulf comes out a moment later. "*There* we are." He hands the deck to
 Moriya. "Care to check it out and cut the cards?"
Beowulf says, "Or whose deck would you prefer we use?" He smiles at his cousin.
Moriya looks between the two decks proffered. "Hm."
Beowulf says, "OOC And do you follow your instinct, or offend your girlfriend?
 ^_^"
Moriya says, "If I take Mitsune's, I offend my elder, Uncle Beowulf. If I take
 Uncle Beowulf's, I offend Mitsune." He considers for a moment, and takes
 Mitsune's.
Moriya smiles at Beowulf as he starts shuffling. "Sorry, Uncle, but in a
 situation like this, Mitsune scares me a bit more."
Beowulf grins. "Oh, I don't blame you. Reminds me of the time when she dealt
 and -- well, never mind. I'll let you find out for yourself."
Mitsune grins.
Moriya finishes shuffling. "So, I deal first, then?"
Mitsune says, "Sure."
Beowulf bows and gestures. "Dealer's choice."
Moriya grabs some grapes, strawberries, and other small fruits. "We'll use
 these instead of chips. A grape is one, a strawberry five...these
 odd...Chaosian things...ten, and these other odd Chaosian things twenty. The
 game is five card stud, ladies and gentlemen, high card showing opens the bid
 each round." He smiles. "Snoop Mo G taught me how to play some time ago."
Beowulf says, "OOC Is Mitsune taking the chance to teach Aeris? :)"
Mitsune pulls Aeris up into her lap.  "You can watch me skunk them all, Aeris."
Moriya expertly flicks the cards out to each person, first one facedown, then
 one faceup.
Beowulf says, "I see. Perhaps I should fold now, if I'm facing one taught by
 the mighty Snoop Mo G?" He grins.
Moriya snorts. "Then be labeled a coward forever and ever, Uncle." He smiles
 back.
Beowulf just smiles back innocently.
Lily studies her cards.
Beowulf also studies his cards.
Several hands of poker follow, at the end of which Beowulf has won all but one
 of them, which Mitsune actually won.
Beowulf just seems to always get the cards he needs...
Moriya whistles. "Well...I can tell when I'm completely beaten," he says,
 shaking his head.
Beowulf just shrugs and looks innocent. "Well, it wasn't like we were playing
 for any great stakes, that would inspire one to win... eh?"
Mitsune grumbles.  "Stupid cards."
Lily says, "One hopes a certain Pattern user hasn't been tweaking
 probabilities, hmm?"
Beowulf looks hurt, and turns puppy-dog eyes on Lily. "Would I do that?" he
 asks mournfully.
Beowulf smiles slightly. "Besides, in the home of the Logrus, wouldn't that be
 rather unlikely?"
Moriya chuckles. "We're very far from the Pattern here. It'd take some doing to
 manage that."
Mitsune says, "I WAS ROBBED!!!!!"
Moriya picks up a grape and throws it at Mitsune's open mouth. "Now, now, sore
 losers...." He grins.
Aeris asks, "Maybe you should have used the cards up your sleeve, auntie."
Beowulf OOCly says, "Brainwave, mine, off, Drew. ^_^"
Moriya blinks, and starts throwing more fruit. "Up your sleeve, Mitsune?"
Mitsune shakes her sleeves.  Nothing comes out.  "No cards up MY sleeve."
Beowulf hmmms. "So, who do we trust... our innocent young lady, here, or
 someone steeped in deceit and trickery?" He grins at Mitsune.
Moriya scoots his seat around to Mitsune's side. "None up your sleeve, hmm?" He
 snakes an arm around her waist, hugs her gently.
Mitsune says, "You trust me because I am the very soul of innocence and purity.
 And a good kisser."
You page, "Try to feel for cards secreted in her clothing in other places.
 Though not too close to...those areas." to Akemi.
Beowulf blinks. "Now, how would I know that?" He looks over at Lily and smiles.
 "Unless it runs in the family..."
Akemi pages, "There's a deck of cards under her shirt just above her waist on
 the left side." to you.
Lily says, "I too am the soul of innocence, just like mother."  She smiles.
Moriya smiles, and kisses Mitsune on the cheek. "You are a good kisser,
 yes...but...what is this thing?" He flicks something beneath her shirt, at her
 waist, to try to knock it free.
Beowulf says, "Of course. But are you a good kisser?" He gives Lily a grin, a
 twinkle in his eye.
Trump cards fly into the air.
Aeris makes them dance, smiling.
Lily mock-pouts.  "You have to ask?"
Moriya snatches one of them out of the air and looks at it, though not too
 closely.
Beowulf says, "Shall we find out?" He pulls her gently into his arms and kisses
 her.
It's a trump of Yumi.
Moriya looks faintly abashed. "Ah...I guess I was wrong," he says, ruefully,
 handing the card back to Mitsune.
Beowulf eventually comes up for air, and notices Aeris playing with the cards.
 "Now, Aeris-chan... it isn't nice to play with other people's trump decks," he
 says gently.
Aeris says, "But it's fun!"
Moriya OOCly says, "Any response from Mitsune yet? o.o"
Mitsune takes the card and kisses Moriya on the forehead.  "See, I AM the soul
 of innocence and purity."
Beowulf asks, "That's true, Aeris-chan, but didn't aunt Mutsumi and uncle Miki
 teach you how to make your own, and when it was safe to play with them?"
Moriya laughs, and kisses her on the cheek again. "Then you'll forgive me for
 my false accusation?"
Aeris says, "But I'm not making them go off.  Just dancing."
Mitsune says, "Of course, I will.  But now you have to dance for me."  She
 grins.
Beowulf nods. "That's true, but you should really ask other people if it's OK
 first before you use their things."
Moriya frowns. "What, in a red dress? But Motoko wouldn't teach me how to do
 that one. She was saying something about hiding the body before stomping off
 in a huff."
Mitsune says, "Do the dance of joy!"
Beowulf's eyebrows climb up into his hairline as he looks at Moriya.
Mitsune does her best to look very, very, not noticing what you said.
Beowulf murmurs to himself, "The purer they are, the harder they fall?"
Beowulf looks back over at Moriya. "So, how *is* Motoko? You didn't go into
 much detail, earlier."
Moriya asks, "Well, I...oh, hello, Motoko! Why what are you doing with my
 Logrusfoil?"
Akemi pages, "Are you bluffing or what?" to you.
You page, "It's a bluff. :)" to Akemi.
Mitsune asks, "Eh, what?  I don't see Motoko anywhere."
Beowulf just smiles and cocks an eyebrow at Moriya.
Motoko asks, "Did someone say my name?"
Moriya snaps his fingers. "Ah, was just one of the members of House Gainax.
 Didn't take a close look."
Moriya turns around. "Oh, _there_ you are, Motoko."
Motoko comes walking over, looking a bit curious.
Beowulf turns around. "Ah, Motoko! How are you doing?"
Aeris calls all the cards together and hands them back to Mitsune.
Motoko says, "Hello, Uncle Beowulf.  Lily-san, Mitsune-chan.  I'm doing well
 enough, I suppose."
Beowulf stands up and offers Motoko his seat. "Care to sit in for me, with my
 stakes? I'm afraid I've been a bit too lucky this evening."
Motoko looks pretty haggard despite her words.  She sits down at the table, not
 even seeming to notice Aeris.
Motoko shakes her head.  "I'll pass, Uncle Beowulf."
Beowulf's face softens into a sympathetic look. "Are you all right, Motoko?"
Moriya frowns a little. "...how is the speech coming along?" he asks, softly.
Motoko says, "Just tired."
Motoko glances to Moriya and sighs.  "It's harder than I thought," she says.
Beowulf asks, "Just tired?" he asks softly. "Really?"
Motoko says, "I _know_ exactly what I want to say inside my head... but on
 paper, it sounds all wrong."
Motoko gives Beowulf a slightly exasperated look.  "Yes, Uncle, just tired."
Mitsune says, "Moriya, you should write her a poem to start off with."
Moriya nods slightly. "Perhaps...you needn't write it down. Sometimes, the
 words will just pour right out."
Motoko blinks.  "A poem to start would be perfect."  She sighs.  "But if I do
 that, then I'm worried that I'll get up there, and have nothing to say."
Beowulf backs away a bit, hands raised and eyebrows rising a bit. "I'm sorry,
 Motoko, I didn't mean to pry. But if you want to talk, there's several people
 at this table who care about you and want to help."
Moriya looks thoughtful. "Then...imagine that we are the audience, and speak
 from your heart. Right here, right now."
Motoko opens her mouth.  "I..."  She looks around at the others, then closes
 it.  "You see what I mean?" she offers weakly.  Then she notices Aerith. 
 "Who's this?"
Moriya smiles softly, reaches out and pats Motoko's arm. "I see." He falls
 silent, and lets Beowulf explain.
Beowulf says, "Oh, right, let me make introductions. Motoko, meet Aeris-chan."
Aeris curtseys, "I'm Aeris.  Beowulf is my daddy."
Motoko BLINKS.
Motoko asks, "Err... congratulations, Uncle.  I had no idea that things had...
 well... a fast-time Shadow, I suppose?"
Beowulf hugs Aeris. "Well, don't forget the help Lily, Mutsumi, and the others
 gave, either."
Aeris says, "I sing too."  She smiles.
Moriya chuckles. "She's a construct, Cousin."
Motoko twitches.
Motoko blinks again.  "Oh.  A Construct.  I see."  She does, it seems, to an
 extent.
Beowulf says, "She's someone I've been thinking about for a while, since
 Morganstern went crazy and before we knew about Gabrielle and Nagisa... I
 thought they could use a friend, someone to help them if things go wrong."
Beowulf hugs Aeris-chan again. "And with someone this delightful, how could we
 resist?"
Motoko manages to avoid looking dubious at the appearance of another Construct.
 "Well, she is a cute little girl."
Aeris says, "I try."
Moriya chuckles softly. "Mmm. Hopefully, nothing happens to her."
Beowulf whispers to Motoko, "If, for example, someone gets flung to Chaos
 again, she may be able to intercept them and bring them home."
Motoko twitches slightly.
Beowulf whispers, "As Trump is a specialty for her."
Motoko says, "That would be... useful, I suppose."
Motoko coughs.  "So, other than Aeris-chan, what have you three been up to?"
Beowulf nods to Moriya. "I hope so, too. But if you go around being afraid of
 what bad might happen, you... well, you behave like I've been recently.
 Sometimes you just have to take the step."
Beowulf asks, "Not all that much... you heard about what happened when we went
 to rescue Mother and the others, right?"
Moriya nods. "Take whatever advantage is presented to you, and use it."
Davros pauses.
Beowulf looks over at Motoko. "Well, after that, we've been returning some of
 the artwork the Master stole, the items we were able to track down to various
 houses of Chaos with the help of the Royal Chamberlain. We're going to head up
 to CAFAM when we're done, and by the time we're finished it should be about
 time for Marches."
Motoko nods.  "I hope we should be back in Amber by then."  She smiles.  "More
 for Moriya then myself, really, as I know Mitsune-chan won't be very happy if
 she's stood up."
Moriya sweats slightly. "I have a feeling I won't be very happy, either, if
 that happened."
Beowulf smiles. "'Won't be very happy' would be the least of it, Motoko."
Mitsune says, "You got that right."
Beowulf asks, "And how of yourself?"
Moriya glances at Motoko. "Well, after the ceremony tomorrow...the stop by Yig,
 and our own shopping trip to CAFAM, as I mentioned earlier. We might be there
 at the same time that they are, Motoko; we may be able to join up then."
There's something in Moriya's voice that casts a little bit of doubt or
 unwillingness to go shopping with them, though.
Motoko says, "Oh.  Well, the more the merrier; I think that's the saying."
Moriya smiles slightly. "Yes...unless, well...what you're trying to find is
 meant to be a surprise for someone."
Beowulf smiles. "CAFAM's a big enough place that we may have to split off for a
 bit, at some point; however, since it's a bit of a quest to get anywhere, if
 you trump to us when you get in, it may save you a bit of travel time."
Moriya chuckles. "Mmm, all right. We can at least meet up for a meal together,
 I suppose, when we're there."
Mitsune says, "I just hope Quantril doesn't attack the checkout counter again."
Beowulf grins back. "Well, I'm sure we can keep everyone occupied, Moriya."
Beowulf blinks. "Yes. I wonder why they were there?"
Motoko asks, "What's a Quantrill?"
Moriya asks, "And how was it attacking the checkout counters?"
Mitsune says, "A sort of bandit king."
Beowulf says, "Mmmm? Historical figure from Shadow Earth. Lead raiding parties
 against people across the state border."
She says, "He had several hundred fools with rifles who rode in the front door."
Moriya hrms thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "Interesting."
Beowulf smiles. "First time I saw either of you in action. It was rather
 impressive."
Beowulf looks over at Moriya. "Oh, if Mitsune ever takes a kung-fu position --
 respect it." He grins.
Moriya raises an eyebrow. "Indeed? Perhaps we should spar sometime." He pauses.
 "And when I say spar, I do just mean spar." He smiles wryly at Mitsune.
Mitsune grins.
Moriya taps Mitsune's lips. "You have a fearsome smile, you know."
Beowulf says, "And then Mutsumi gated in a group of U.S. cavalry to sweep them
 out the doors." He blinks. "First time I've ever seen the old saying used
 literally."
Davros now comes into the cafeteria.  "Hello, everyone."
Motoko looks up.  "Hello, Davros."
Davros asks, "Hello, Motoko.  How is the speech coming along?"
Moriya looks up, and smiles. "Hello, Davros-san. How were your meditations?"
Beowulf looks up at Davros and smiles. "Hello, Davros-san. How are you doing
 today?"
Motoko grimaces.  "Right now, I'm hoping it will all come to me in a sudden
 burst of inspiration, because it isn't coming now."
Davros says, "My meditations came along just fine, thank you.  And now I'm
 hungry."
Moriya nods. "There is plenty of food here."
Beowulf grins slightly. "Well, we have some nice, only slightly used grapes,
 strawberries, and... whatever else these are. Or, I'm sure there'll be
 something nice if you ask."
Davros says to Motoko, "Have you tried reading the Eulogy from the dedication
 of the memorial after the first battle with Demogorgon?  That might help."
Motoko blinks.  "No, I haven't; that's a very good idea.  It might inspire me."
Beowulf shifts and starts as something bumps in his pocket, then sighs a bit
 and pulls out the item he conjured in the bag. "Um... I know this isn't much,
 but could one of you put this on the memorial for me? It should be able to
 shift to an appropriate form."
Moriya looks at the item. "What is it, Uncle?"
Beowulf says, "It's a little statue, with some intelligence and shapeshifting
 to help it match the surroundings. There's a little statement on it: "Here's
 to all the thankless ones --/the ones who fight, and die,/Without notice or
 reward,/so that Evil may be destroyed./Rest in Peace.
Moriya smiles faintly. "It's fitting. I'm sure the dead would be honored."
Beowulf shrugs ruefully. "I'm not the poet you are, but... well, at least it's
 from the heart."
Moriya chuckles softly. "It comes from your heart; I think that is enough."
Beowulf smiles. "I hope so."
Motoko gets up.  "I'm going to go to the library and read the eulogy from the
 first Demogorgon battle, to see if it inspires me."
Moriya nods. "I'm sure it will, Motoko." He looks around. "I suppose you will
 be heading out to return the art shortly, then?"
Beowulf says, "Take care, Motoko. And good luck tomorrow, if we don't see you
 before we leave."
Beowulf asks, "OOC About what time was it?"
Davros says, "I will come and join you once I've had some food, Motoko, and see
 if I can help."
Davros says, "OOC IT's around lunchtime right now."
Beowulf asks, "OOC And about how much do we hav eleft?"
Davros says, "OOC You're on day 40, right now.  Marching is day 47"
Beowulf asks, "OOC Um, how much left to return, I mean?"
Davros says, "OOC Oh.  You were likely going to spend the rest of today on
 that, head to CAFAM tomorrow."
Moriya stands up. "Well, my day is largely free, I think. Would you mind if I
 came along for a least some of it?"
Beowulf asks, "Not at all, Moriya. Anyone else want to come with?"
Davros says, "I will be going to help Motoko once I eat."
Aeris says, "I wanna go!"
Lily says, "Well, I'll be coming, of course."
Mitsune says, "And me."
Moriya nods. "All right. Whenever you're ready, then, let's be off."
Beowulf squats down to Aeris' level. "Well, as long as you behave yourself, I
 think it'll be all right." He smiles up at Lily. "Unless you'd rather she ride
 with you?"
Lily says, "Do you wan to ride with me, Aeris?"  She nods.  "Sure!"
You head out to go deliver more art back to its rightful owners.
You go by many different minor houses; the Master seems to have largely avoided
 robbing any major houses for the most part.
Beowulf can't say he's all that surprised.
Moriya looks at the art pieces with interest as they are returned to their
 owners by Beowulf.
However, there is one big exception to this.
Beowulf asks, "OOC Any minor Houses of interest? Particularly in light of some
 of the encounters they've been having recently?"
A set of three golden rapiers which belong to House Alars.
Beowulf says, "OOC Wouldn't be surprised if it's Alars. ^_-;"
Beowulf OOCly rolls his eyes. Ayup.
Moriya sweats slightly. "House Alars. This should be interesting."
Beowulf shrugs. "Well, I suppose we'd have to talk to them sometime..." He
 looks over at Moriya. "Although I wouldn't take you into trouble if you think
 it'd be a problem, with your experiences down here."
Beowulf looks over at Lily. "Didn't you say you've been down here a few times
 before we came down here together?"
Moriya shakes his head. "We haven't had any run-ins with Alars yet, actually.
 Just Darios, but I the King's gotten them off our back, by now."
Beowulf nods. "Ah? Good, then."
Moriya frowns. "I heard that you were attacked, though. Through a trump
 connection? Are you sure you want to go to them directly?"
Lily says, "Yes, I've been to Chaos a few times.  Would you like me to try
 delivering these rapiers for you?"
Beowulf says, "Yes, he did; in a way, though, that just makes me more
 determined to return them, because it's the *right* thing to do." He looks
 over at Lily. "Well... he already knows you and Mitsune are with me, so I'm
 not sure that would do much good, and I'd hate to see you go into potential
 trouble by yourself."
Beowulf asks, "From when you've been here before... what kind of, erm, social
 situation would it be?"
Beowulf asks, "As in, are there any kind of 'not harming a guest' honor
 traditions, or something similar?"
Lily blinks.  "I don't quite understand what you...oh.  Hospitality is very
 important to the courts, yes.  It's considered quite bad to violate
 hospitality."
Beowulf asks, "Is that... what might have happened to Jacqui?"
Beowulf says, "OOC Ack, forgot what I know ICly about that. :p"
Lily says, "From what Mother's been able to gather, Jacqui went to Alars as a
 guest of Shinobu Minor, and the two of them violated the hospitality customs
 by then trying to break out Anthy, which started it all."
Moriya sighs and shakes his head. "That must have been a mess," he murmurs.
Beowulf sighs and covers his eyes. "Oh, dear." He blinks. "How did Grandmother
 end up needing to be broken out?"
Moriya says, "I think it was one of the Morgenstern-flinging moments."
Lily nods.
Beowulf shakes his head. "...oh, dear." He sighs.
Lily says, "I'm not clear on what pretext Alars had for holding Anthy captive,
 though."
Beowulf says, "And I remember his daughter Suu at the trial, saying something
 about how much of her family got killed by Jacqui... still, in a way, that
 just makes this even more the right thing to do."
Moriya sighs. "Well, as long as we come in peace and leave in peace...I don't
 think anything will happen." He smiles faintly. "Moreover, I'm a hero of the
 Second Demogorgon Battle, and one of the Pillars of Wisdom."
Beowulf says, "I suppose reputation can be good for something." He smiles
 wryly, thinking of his unwanted reputation as the Dread Pirate Beowulf.
Beowulf squares his shoulders. "Well. Shall we be off, then?"
Moriya nods. "Let's go, then."
Beowulf leads them towards House Alars.
You head for House Alars' mansion in the Courts proper.  It turns out to be a
 huge Georgian style mansion.
Beowulf goes up to knock on the door, or ring the bell, or whatever setup they
 have.
You knock on the door.  A snooty butler answers, "Yes?"
Moriya quietly stands there behind Beowulf, next to Mitsune.
Beowulf bows deeply. "I have some items that I believe were stolen from this
 house by an enemy of mine, a person known as the Master; I recently captured
 him, and I wish to return the property he stole."
The butler blinks.  "Ahh, very good.  Come in, I'll see about finding someone
 to discuss this with you."
Beowulf bows again, thanks him, and follows him in.
He takes you to a waiting room.  A little while later, Lady Kodachi comes in. 
 "The butler said something about returning stolen goods?"
Moriya nods to Kodachi.
Beowulf bows. "Yes. I believe they were stolen by an enemy of mine, a gentleman
 known as the Master. Since I recently captured him and recovered a great deal
 of stolen property from him, I'm trying to return what I can." He brings out
 the sabers.
Kodachi smiles.  "Ah, we lost those a long time ago."
Beowulf smiles back. "Short or long; I'm glad to return them."
Beowulf hands them to Kodachi.
She says, "Thank you, sir.  We are grateful to you."
Beowulf says, "You're very welcome; but please, no gratitude is necessary. I'm
 just trying to do what's right."
She asks, "Would you like some tea?"
Moriya OOCly says, "Hm. What time is it by now?"
Davros says, "OOC IT's tea-time."
Moriya hmms, thoughtfully. "I think Anno-sama wanted to have us back for tea at
 House Gainax, actually.... It's about that time, isn't it?"
Beowulf says, "OOC What do I remember about great-grandfather's tea habits? :)"
Davros says, "OOC HE's usually too busy with things to have a regular tea-time."
Beowulf says, "OOC Right. Figured. :)"
Beowulf says, "I think great-grandfather's probably forgotten about it by now;
 you know how busy he gets, right?" He smiles ruefully. "I think the Bride
 wanted you back for help with that speech, though, and I suspect she needs all
 the support she can get right now."
Moriya chuckles softly. "Well, if he hasn't forgotten, let's try to make it
 back in time and not offend him. Thank you for your offer, Lady Kodachi." He
 bows to her.
Kodachi looks rather disappointed, then asks, "Bride?"
Moriya tilts his head. "The Bride of the Dragon," he says, softly. "She is to
 speak at the memorial service for the slain in the Second Battle of
 Demogorgon, tomorrow."
Kodachi nods.  "Ahh, I will be attending that with Alars-kun."
Moriya sighs softly. "I am glad you will be there to honor the fallen."
Beowulf nods sadly, bowing his head. "Yes. And the poor lady was trying hard to
 find the right words to express her grief when we left." He looks back up at
 Kodachi. "At some happier time, I would be more than glad to take tea with
 you."
Kodachi says, "All the Great House heads will be attending."
Kodachi says to Beowulf, "That would be nice."
Moriya looks to the others. "Shall we be off, then?"
Beowulf half-bows from his seat. "I would be honored. But yes, we should be
 off." He looks back, sadly but with a what-can-you-do? expression.
And then you leave.
Beowulf sighs. "Well, then. Let's go back and see if we can help Motoko."
Moriya says, "Yes."
Beowulf heads back to House Gainax.
You reach House Gainax.  You find Motoko and Davros in the library.
Motoko looks up from the book she's reading.
Beowulf asks, "How are you doing, Motoko?"
Beowulf says, "We just had a rather... unexpected experience.'"
Motoko asks, "I'm getting some ideas of how to put my words together properly
 now--oh?"
Moriya says, "There were three golden sabers among the things that Uncle
 Beowulf had to return. They belonged to House Alars."
Motoko looks suddenly troubled.  "Ah."
Moriya says, "We returned them without any trouble, and spoke with Lady
 Kodachi. She does indeed match my father's description of the priestess of
 Wood from the days of the Crisis."
Beowulf says, "We talked to Lady Kodachi, and returned them without the issue
 of Jacqui's attack ever coming up; I'm not sure if that was the right thing to
 do or not, but it was probably the least awkward."
Beowulf says, "And in a way I preferred doing it that way; just returning it,
 not as some sort of attempt to curry favor, but just because it was the right
 thing to do."
Motoko nods.  "I have met Lady Kodachi before; she seemed a very kind woman,
 and her youngest daughter obviously loves her very much."
Beowulf looks at Moriya? "Priestess of Wood?"
Motoko says, "And yet she does indeed match the description your father gave."
Moriya quickly tells Beowulf about the reconnaisance mission to the Keep way
 back when, and meeting Priestess Kodachi there.
Beowulf blinks, and rubs his temples. "A High Compelling? I see."
Beowulf asks, "What exactly did it do?"
Moriya sighs. "It made him turn on his friends and family. It took Urd's
 intervention to clear it out."
Motoko says, "My grandfather was also put under a Compelling at the Keep, but
 he did not escape so easily."
Beowulf sighs. "Oh, dear." He looks thoughtful for a moment. "The one I picked
 up in Graceland just made me want to promote the Church of Elvis, and buy
 white sequin suits, but that was nasty enough."
Beowulf shakes his head. "And yet she seemed so pleasant, both to us and to
 Motoko... I wonder if she's reformed since leaving the Keep, especially with
 the Outsiders' presence being cleared from there? Did your father ever say
 what happened to her in the Keep assault?"
Moriya says, "He never saw her again, after his first trip there.
 Well...apparently she visited his old house afterward, but only knew of this
 through a temporal scry, when he was searching for his mother."
Motoko says, softly, "I don't think an evil woman could raise a child like
 Suu-chan."
Moriya says, "I hope that's the case."
Beowulf half-smiles, cocking an eyebrow. "Perhaps she just went to apologize?"
Moriya shakes his head. "I have no idea. My father couldn't fathom why she
 went."
Beowulf says, "Still... if I can figure out how to do it safely, and Lord Alars
 doesn't want to shoot us on sight when he finds out, I think it's only right
 to live up to her invitation."
Moriya nods. "And perhaps we can delve a little more deeply into this mystery."
Motoko says, "I wonder if all the other priestesses went and married Lords of
 Chaos."
Beowulf says, "Indeed. And that's an interesting thought, Motoko..."
Davros asks, "Do you have any idea who the other priestesses were?"
Beowulf says, "Perhaps we could ask great-grandfather when we have a chance, or
 some of the other people here in the House. They probably know a fair bit
 about the great Ladies."
Motoko says, "I think Cousin Hiko also met one of them, who hurt her very
 badly."
Motoko says, "I'm trying to remember her name now..."
Moriya thinks. "Hmm...I think her name was...Rei."
Davros says, "I think the head of House Tremere married someone by that name."
Beowulf says, "Hm. They were at the Keep, you said she was the Priestess of
 Wood; that would imply five priestesses, for the five elements."
Moriya says, "yes. They never met any of the others, though."
Moriya frowns, trying to call his father's descriptions of Rei to mind. "Long,
 straight black hair, slightly pale skin? An affinity for fire, perhaps?"
Davros goes and gets a social register off the shelves and digs through it.
Davros turns to House Tremere.  "Yes, Lord Tremere married a woman named Rei
 about thirty years ago, some shadow dweller."
Motoko frowns.  "Thirty years ago is when Suu said her father married Lady
 Kodachi."
Motoko says, "See if there were any other prominent weddings around that time."
Moriya tilts his head. "This...is starting to look a bit sinister."
Davros says, "That will take a while...this thing isn't well designed for
 searching by marriage dates."  He starts slowly paging through the book.
Beowulf asks, "Quite possibly... though it's also possible that the priestesses
 escaped/were released at that time, as well." He blinks at Davros. "Lily?
 Don't you have a spell that would make things a bit easier for him?"
Lily, who was lost in thought, blinks.  "Oh yes.  Good idea."  She starts
 casting a spell.
Twenty minutes later, Lily's spell yanks various books off the shelf with the
 desired data.
Some further study shows that Lord Darios and Lord Balor of House Formorian
 both married thirty years ago.
Lord Balor married a woman named 'Afura Mann' and Lord Darios married a woman
 named Mina.
Beowulf asks, "Interesting. That's four possibilities... I wonder about the
 fifth?"
Moriya OOCly says, "Hmm. Mina?"
Beowulf says, "OOC Probably Sailor Venus. But Afura... she was my favorite El
 Hazard priestess, John, drat you. :p"
Beowulf hmmms. "Balor built a Chaosian dirigible fleet... I wonder if that
 would make Afura the former Priestess of Air?"
Moriya says, "Hmm. That's a good guess, I suppose."
Beowulf asks, "And Darios... they are the noted sailors. So she could perhaps
 be the priestess of water?"
Davros nods.  "That makes sense."
Lily says, "It's possible that some of the priestesses may have gone to minor
 families...or even into Amberite noble houses."
Beowulf asks, "Balor has a fairly nasty reputation, and we know about what
 Darios has done. Alars..." He sighs. "Tremere?"
Motoko says, "Tremere were the ones who sent that beast to fight Demogorgon."
Beowulf looks over at Lily, looking somewhat disquieted. "It's... quite
 possible."
Beowulf asks, "I wonder if your mother might know anyone?"
Moriya sighs. "Lady Kodachi seemed a decent enough woman, and you said that Suu
 is a nice girl. But if they all got married around the same time to heads of
 Houses of Chaos...it worries me."
Lily says, "She would probably know."
Beowulf nods to Motoko. "Hm, right. Which certainly doesn't sound like the act
 of someone influenced by evil. And you're certainly right about Suu."
Motoko says, "It really depends on whether or not they were true and dedicated
 servants of the Outsiders, or if they were simply being controlled by Annadil
 while he had control of the Keep."
Moriya nods. "I imagine we will find out somehow."
Beowulf says, "Right. I really do hope it was the latter, Motoko; call me a
 romantic, if you like." He smiles slightly.
Beowulf sighs slightly, a wry smile on his face. "And I suppose that makes the
 visit for tea a business matter, as well as a matter of honor."
Moriya sighs, and leans on Mitsune's shoulder. "Things look to be becoming yet
 more complex."
Mitsune says, "It always does."
Davros says, "No way to be sure of that, unfortunately, Motoko."
Moriya shakes his head. "Well, I don't intend to get myself too mired in
 anything now. We've earned ourselves a break. After Marching, I'll be ready to
 pursue more twistiness. Right now...." He wraps his arm around Mitsune's
 waist. "Our date was a little abbreviated last time, wasn't it?"
Mitsune grins.  "Shall we try and have some fun and forget all our problems,
 then?"
Motoko nods.  "Lady Kodachi seemed a kind woman... but, then again, she managed
 to give Uncle Shizumaru that mind-controlling tea by concealing her true
 intentions."
Motoko watches Moriya and Mitsune out of the corner of her eye; for a moment,
 perhaps, she looks faintly jealous, and then it's gone.
Beowulf smiles slightly. "People can change, can't they?" He smiles at Mitsune
 and Moriya. "As we can see..."
Moriya chuckles. "In ways that we couldn't imagine," he comments.
Lily says, "Life is a series of changes."
Beowulf raises an eyebrow at Motoko's faintly jealous look, and resolves to
 talk to Moriya about it later.
Lily says, "Well, I know this place we could go dancing."
Mitsune grins.  "I bet I know the place."
Moriya tilts his head. "The place you brought me to last time?"
Lily tickles Beowulf's chin.  "You'll dance, won't you?"
Beowulf smiles. "Do you, now? And no inconvenient character witnesses to run
 into?"
Beowulf grins. "I suspect I will, given such persuasion."
Lily says, "Good."
Mitsune nods.  "Disco Moebius."
Moriya smiles. "Motoko, do you think you'll join us? A break from trying to
 write your speech might help."
Beowulf says, "What, nothing to say about the character witnesses?" He grins
 again. "The King seemed to know of you, when I had that audience with him;
 I've been wondering about that for a while."
Lily says to Beowulf, "The King of Chaos has probably studied Amber quite a
 bit, and Mother is a major court official."
Beowulf says, "Ahh, right."
Beowulf snaps his fingers. "That was it, it was your mother he seemed to
 know... something about if you were much like her, I'd be in for an
 interesting time."
Lily smiles.  "Hehe."
Motoko glances at Moriya.  "A break might do me good," she admits, "but I'm not
 really one for dancing."  She looks embarassed for a moment.  "And I really
 have to finish this speech."
Beowulf arches an eyebrow. "What? And I haven't been?" He grins, then winks and
 starts tickling *her* chin.
Moriya nods. "Take a walk through the gardens, then, perhaps, or go soak in the
 hot spring again. Clear your mind, and leave the books behind."
Lily says, "Come on, Motoko. It'll do you good.  Dancing always helps me think."
Motoko glances over at Davros.  "Davros-san... do you dance, or do your
 vows...?"
Beowulf asks, "Perhaps we could find some place that has some nice slow dances
 for you?"
Davros says, "I can dance."
Davros continues, "As long as the Unicorn isn't the cause of the Dance."  He
 smiles.
He says, "Although most of what I know about dances are either religious ones
 or the ones we did in my childhood at Nurgal."
Motoko twitches slightly at Beowulf and Davros, then stands up.  "All right,"
 she declares forcefully, "I'll come dancing."  She looks down at her samurai
 robes and sweats a bit.  "But I'll probably need to find something to wear, as
 these aren't very good for dancing."
Moriya looks at Lily and Mitsune. "Do you have something tha will fit her? A
 nice blue dress, perhaps? Or maybe red would suit her better...."
Beowulf looks innocent, as to him 'slow dances' means not half-dislocating
 joints trying to jump about the dance floor. o.o
Lily says, "I suspect Motoko doesn't want to wear any of my dresses."  She
 smiles.
Motoko twitches again, then stands up and slams her hands on the table.
Davros eeps and jumps back.
Motoko asks, "Moriya, why don't you just come out and say it, if you have
 something to say?"
Moriya stumbles backward. "What?"
Motoko just glares at him.  "Go on."
Mitsune cringes.
Lily blinks in confusion.
Moriya looks at Motoko, thoughtfully. "I'm sorry, Motoko. Certain...memories,
 for some reason, have been sticking out in my mind, recently."
Beowulf blinks, looking back and forth between them. "Um... if it's a problem,
 I can always conjure up something nice and modest for you, Motoko..."
Motoko says, icily, "I'm sure they have."
Moriya nods slowly. "And I suppose it's time I tried to put them out of mind."
Davros looks back and forth, and suddenly his eyes widen.
Davros . o O (Wait, was that real instead of a vision?)
Motoko glances from Davros, to Moriya, and finally to Mitsune.
Motoko then turns and leaves the library in total silence.
Moriya sighs, rubbing his head. "Well. Damn me."
Davros freezes with the look of a man not sure whether to follow her or hide
 under a rock.
Beowulf . o O (What just happened here?)
Then Davros runs after her.
Moriya says, "I'm suddenly not in the mood for dancing, I'm afraid."
Mitsune sighs.
Moriya says, "If you'll excuse me...."
Moriya says, "...I'll make this up to you another time, Mitsune. I promise."
Moriya disappears, and goes off to the gardens. Unless Motoko's there, in which
 case, he retreats to his room.
Beowulf looks at Mitsune. "Does this have something to do with what you were
 talking about at the clearing?"
Mitsune turns to Beowulf.  "Well, you see..."  She sighs.  "It's hard to
 explain, because I only sort of understand it."
Beowulf smiles gently. "Well, start at the beginning, and plow on through, and
 hopefully this slow mind will pick up on a few things here and there."
Akemi pages, "I assume Moriya wants to be alone and meditate for a while." to
 you.
You page, "Yes. Well, he'll also slip a note beneath Motoko's door, simply
 reading, 'I am sorry, Motoko. --Moriya.'" to Akemi.
Mitsune says, "Well, you know about Davros' vows, right?"
Beowulf says, "Somewhat."
Beowulf says, "I know he's under vows, but not the specifics."
You page, "Motoko may find a note slipped beneath the door of her bedroom. It
 reads, simply, 'I am sorry, Motoko. --Moriya'" to Kima.
Kima pages, "Since Motoko was heading straight back to her room from the
 library..." to you.
Mitsune says, "Well, one of his duties is to resist the temptations of the
 Unicorn...whatever that means, given the Unicorn generally doesn't go around
 tempting people."
Beowulf merbles a bit, an odd look on his face. "...right."
You page, "Moriya then retreats to his room, and is going to be there for a
 while." to Kima.
Beowulf says, "I suppose that makes sense."
Mitsune says, "Anyway, Davros had gotten hurt while rescuing Ramon, and Motoko
 wanted to reward him by...ummm...tempting him."  She laughs nervously.  "So
 she came to me for advice."
Beowulf asks, "...oh." He covers his eyes. "Oh, no. So that's what the 'Dance
 of the Seven Veils' bit was about?"
Mitsune laughs nervously.  "More or less.  I helped her get a dress and
 everything.  And it seemed to work out okay, but then I sort of blabbed like a
 complete moron."
Beowulf asks, "And... was she embarrassed about doing it? Or... well, it seems
 like there's some kind of byplay going on with her and Davros and Moriya; any
 idea what's going on?"
Beowulf asks, "Is she jealous of you and Moriya, or something?"
Mitsune says, "She's in love with Davros, I think, but his vows include little
 things like celibacy..."
Beowulf covers his eyes again. "Oh." He thinks for a moment. "Well, she's now a
 major Chaosian religious figure now; could that give them some kind of
 license?"
Mitsune says, "I don't know.  For all I know, it might be obligatory for him to
 have mad nookie with her, but I think they'd already be into the mad nookie if
 that was the case."
Beowulf smiles slightly. "Well, even if that were the case, I suspect Davros
 would have a number of years of habit to break." He sighs. "So... I suppose it
 all depends on the specifics of the vows..." He frowns slightly. "And the
 apologies I suspect some people need to make."
Beowulf asks, "You talked with her a fair amount about this... temptation,
 right? You probably know her better than I do at this point... would I make
 things worse by trying to talk to her, and them?" He looks over at Lily. "Or
 could Lily talk to her, since she's not male and hasn't been involved in this
 whole mess?"
Mitsune says, "Hrm.  She probably really needs to talk to someone who isn't
 dating someone, so she won't have 'I have a boyfriend and you don't' shoved in
 her face.  On the other hand..."
Mitsune says, "Davros ran off after her, so once his severed head shows up,
 then we might want to send someone.  Figuratively speaking."
Beowulf says, "I suppose so. Hmmm. I wonder..."
Mitsune sighs.  "This wouldn't have happened if I'd kept my stupid mouth shut."
Beowulf smiles sadly. "It happens. You do owe her an apology, I think, and
 probably sooner rather than later."
Mitsune nods.  "I will, I will."
Beowulf says, "Seriously, Mitsune, since you probably know her the best of us
 here -- who do you think would best be able to talk to her? I thought about
 Aeris, but --" He cups the pin gently, murmuring -- "Sorry, dear, but I'm
 afraid she doesn't know you that well."
Mitsune scratches her head.  "I can't think of anyone who would work well..."
Mitsune says, "But I'll see what I can do when I go apologize to her."
Beowulf says, "Well, I suppose we'll just have to go with the best we've got."
 He nods. "Let's keep a casual eye out for Davros, and when he comes out...
 right. That will probably be the best thing we can do. I'll see if I can talk
 to Davros."
Beowulf says, "OOC Well, do we see Davros come out? :)"
Moriya OOCly says, "He's talking to Motoko now, it seems."
Moriya OOCly says, "If you go find Moriya, though, he's in his room now; you
 can hear loud music through the door."
Davros says, "OOC IT would appear that she hasn't eaten him alive, so they must
 still be talking."
Beowulf says, "OOC Ah, right. :) Well, let's find Moriya, and examine his
 tastes in music. :)"
Beowulf keeps wandering around keeping an eye out for Davros, but ends up
 stopping when he hears some loud music playing through the door.
It is not what you'd normally think he'd listen to. You can hear the tail end
 of "My Own Prison" now: o/~ Shoulda been dead on a Sunday morning, banging my
 head...no time for mourning, ain't got no time....
There is a brief pause, and then the next song starts playing, "Higher". Seems
 like Moriya is on a Creed kick right now.
Beowulf closes his eyes. "Oh, dear." He digs through his bag for his MP3
 player, and sets up a calming instrumental playlist.
Beowulf then knocks on the door. "Moriya?"
The music continues to play: o/~ So let's go there, let's make our escape, come
 on let's go there--let's ask, can we stay? o/~ Then the volume lowers
 slightly, and he calls out, "Yes? Come in."
Beowulf enters the room. "Um. Well." He cocks his head at the music player.
 "Mind if I put on something a little more calming?"
Moriya shakes his head. "I like this. Please allow me my music, Uncle."
Beowulf sighs. "Right. I was hoping to put on something you wouldn't wallow in,
 but it's your choice." He leans up against a wall, arms crossed. "So. I
 understand a bit more about what happened, I think. You really put your foot
 in it, didn't you?"
Moriya says, "Yes." Nothing else seems to be forthcoming.
Moriya OOCly says, "Hey, Higher is calming. It's an uplifting song. :)"
Beowulf OOCly says, "I was going to put on Rhapsody in Blue instead. :)"
Beowulf says, "That means you owe her an apology... but I think you know that."
 He frowns. "What you don't owe -- to yourself, to her, to Mitsune, or to any
 of us -- is a bad guilt trip."
Moriya stays silent a while. "A guilt trip? No, indeed not. But my behavior
 worries me. I don't understand myself as well as I should."
Moriya says, "It was simpler, before. I knew I had to do something, and then I
 would do it."
Beowulf cocks his head inquiringly. "I was wondering about that. It doesn't
 seem like you, to keep picking away at that with her."
Moriya says, "Now...I know what to do, or perhaps I think I know. But I can't
 manage to...quite accomplish it."
Beowulf squats down opposite him. "So what do you 'think you know' to do?"
Moriya says, "I need to let go...totally. Completely. Allow none of this to
 cling to me, as that must be why I continued to needle Motoko."
Moriya asks, "And the way I am with Mitsune? That isn't completely right. I
 think I do have a real affection for her, but...I'm moving rather fast, aren't
 I?"
Moriya shakes his head, lips pursed, face set in a grim scowl. "There's
 something wrong, somewhere."
Beowulf nods slowly. "I was wondering if that was what it might have been with
 Motoko; a sort of 'I don't need you any more' bit?"
Beowulf asks, "And Mitsune... well, I was a bit worried if you were too much on
 the rebound. But it seems like you both like each other in *some* sense;
 perhaps you both just need to decide what that sense is?"
Moriya mmms, drumming his fingers on the chair's arms. "Something like that,
 yes. Trying to leave behind something, but...being too forceful about it.
 Going too far."
Moriya sighs. "Mitsune...I wish she hadn't said anything."
The magical jukebox Moriya cast clicks to the next song in the playlist.
Beowulf says, "So do I... but if there's one thing I've realized travelling
 this time with her, it's that she doesn't always think about what she does."
Moriya looks downward, at the floor. "Yes...that seems to be true of her."
Beowulf says, "In a way, I think that's one way you two might deal well with
 each other; you help her learn some control, she helps you... well, I think
 I've already seen how you've loosened up a bit." He smiles, and fists Moriya
 gently in the shoulder.
Moriya chuckles softly. "Loosened up? Yes...though perhaps a bit too quickly.
 Artificially. Again, something I've been pushing too hard."
Beowulf says, "A little of that will do you good, though." He grins.
 "Seriously... this might not last. It looks like you're both trying to deal
 with past crushes that hurt, a lot, and both of you are trying to lose
 yourselves in this thing."
Beowulf says, "But even if the romance doesn't last after the first blush
 fades, I think the two of you do have a lot of ways where you can be good
 friends."
Moriya nods. "Yes. We both need to stand back, examine this more carefully, not
 rush into it." He smiles faintly. "Yes, I do hope that we will at least remain
 friends."
Beowulf nods back. "I think she could use more close friends, too. You saw her
 after Ebenscrux, when she thought Shinobu Major was lost?"
Moriya says, "Yes. I knew how she felt, too...I thought I had killed Aunt
 Nanami, for a while, in order to save myself."
Beowulf says, "Yes. And I... well, anyway. She doesn't show that side of
 herself often, but it's there. Over in Ashante, when we were on the trail of
 the Master, we ran across a village where he'd turned 30 of the people into
 dolls with that thing of his."
Moriya mms, but does not otherwise answer.
Beowulf says, "She managed to restore all but three of them, who had been too
 old when it happened... but she was almost as heartbroken then as she was with
 Shinobu. She really does care... and in a way, seeing that endeared her to me,
 as more family than just Lily's sister."
Beowulf says, "And I think that side of her needs someone like you to confide
 in, and support her."
Moriya sighs softly. "Yes...probably, when I saw her crying for Aunt Shinobu,
 that was when I really realized there was more to her than the carefree
 prankster that I knew."
Beowulf says, "Trust in that side of her, OK? You can both be wild for a while,
 getting things out of your systems, so long as you don't overlook the things
 that really are there that you can rely on together."
Moriya says, "Yes."
Moriya is silent once again, for a while. "I need to talk to Motoko. This is
 eating me up within. But...I suspect she is still speaking with Davros."
Beowulf nods. "I suspect so as well, and I believe Mitsune is hovering so she
 can have her chance to apologize. Maybe you could wait together? And
 strengthen a few more of those things you can rely on?" He smiles a bit.
Moriya thinks about this for a moment. "No...I'd rather not. It's best that we
 stay separate for now, I think, until I figure out what's going on in my own
 head, let alone what's going on between the two of us."
Moriya says, "My head and my heart."
Beowulf asks, "You feel like she's betrayed you, or something?"
Moriya turns to Beowulf, puzzled. "Who's betrayed me?"
Moriya says, "My own fool thoughts and tongue betrayed me. Not Motoko, not
 Mitsune."
Beowulf says, "All right, maybe that wasn't called for; you probably aren't
 feeling edgy towards her because she didn't keep quiet."
Beowulf says, "But... well, maybe I wasn't too clear myself. You're feeling
 bad."
Beowulf says, "She's feeling bad."
Moriya says, "I wish she hadn't said anything about the red dress, but...that's
 her way. I should have been wiser."
Beowulf asks, "One of the things about friendship is that you support each
 other when you're feeling bad, right?"
Moriya laughs, a derisive bark directed at himself. "Some Pillar of Wisdom I
 am."
Moriya says, "I can't even support myself right now. The blind leading the
 blind will do us no good. I need to be alone for now, Uncle."
Beowulf grins slightly. "Right. A cockeyed pillar falls over. Two cockeyed
 pillars can support each other."
Moriya says, "Or they can fall together with a greater crash."
Beowulf says, "Sometimes you need someone else's help to see. I can't make you,
 but well... anyway." He sighs. "Take care, then, Moriya -- and please, don't
 be afraid to ask for help, OK? Sometimes alone isn't the best thing to be."
Moriya sinks deeper into his chair, and waves at the jukebox. It increases in
 volume. "Yes, Uncle," he says, a bit stonily. "Thank you."
Beowulf sighs, raises his hand as if to speak, then shakes his head and leaves.
Mitsune, lurking in the hallway, asks Beowulf, "Should I go in or run and hide?"
Beowulf says, "Well, he says he wants to be alone. I think the both of you
 would be better off supporting each other, but I'm not sure how well that'll
 work if he's not willing."
Beowulf says, "I don't think he's angry at you, if that means anything."
Beowulf says, "He seems to be mostly blaming himself."
Beowulf sighs. "And I'm not sure I helped matters much."
Mitsune nods.  "I think...I don't know what to think. Lily, tell me what to do."
Lily says, "I don't know what to tell you."  She sighs.
Beowulf says, "I think... well, you said it yourself -- he and Motoko were each
 other's closest confidants. Now that that solid relationship has changed... I
 think he's off-balance, not sure of his footing or how to react."
Beowulf sighs and looks at Mitsune. "I think the two of you have the potential
 to support each other like that, whether you stay in a romantic relationship
 or not... but you have to work out how to do it yourselves."
Mitsune nods.  "Hai."
Beowulf says, "If you do go in there... I wouldn't try jokes. Just be quiet and
 understanding."
She moves over, her hand a few inches from the handle, takes a deep breath, and
 knocks.
"...who is it?"
Beowulf draws Lily back out of range.
"It's me, Mitsune."
A long silence. Then, "I'm not sure if it's a good idea for me to talk to you
 right now."
Beowulf whispers to Lily, "I think we should probably leave them to hash things
 out... just stay close enough to catch her if she comes out."
Lily nods, takes your hand, and drags you off down the hallway.
Beowulf turns to Lily after they've backed away, and smiles sadly. "Do you
 think we should apply for Cupid's bows, or counsellor's couches?"
Mitsune says, "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have ever mentioned any of it.
 But I did, and now Motoko is mad at you, and I just don't know what to do."
Beowulf gives Lily a strong hug, needing some of that mutual support himself
 right now.
Another long pause. Then, Moriya speaks again; it is obvious he is now just on
 the other side of the door, instead of calling out from further within the
 room. "No, Mitsune. You made a few mistakes. I prodded something far more than
 I should have." He pauses and sighs, though with the music still playing, it
 is probably inaudible. "Don't misunderstand me, Mitsune. I'm not angry at you.
 That isn't why I don't want you to come in. But the next person I will
 probably be talking to is Motoko. There will be a reckoning, and I don't want
 you caught in it."
Moriya says, "There isn't anything you should do. It is my mess, now, mine to
 correct."
She gulps and nods.  "I need to apologize to Motoko too."
"Yes, you probably should. But after me. Let me bear the brunt of her anger,
 take the edge off of it. In a strange way, it will make me feel better."
She nods.  "Alright.  I guess...I'll see you later, then."
Quieter, from farther inside the room. "See you later."
Mitsune quietly drifts away.
Beowulf moves to intercept Mitsune as she comes down the hallway towards them.
 "Did things..."
Mitsune says, "He wants to talk to Motoko," she says.  "I think he half hopes
 she will rip him apart, just so he can feel he's had his punishment."
Motoko has left.
Damasq has arrived.
Moriya OOCly says, "Sadly, Prof, I have to switch rooms. You aren't seeing
 this. n.n;"
Beowulf takes Lily's hand and enfolds Mitsune in a group hug.

Moriya OOCly says, "All righty."
The_Prof pages, "Well, hopefully will at least find out how it went afterwards.
 :)" to you.
Motoko approaches Moriya's closed door, winces as she hears what music he's
 playing, and knocks.
o/~ ...confirms, I've created my own prison...I cry out to-- o/~ "Who is it?"
Motoko says, "Me."
There is a crash, a curse, and the music suddenly cuts off. "...come in," he
 says.
Motoko opens the door and steps inside.
Moriya is at the table, putting pieces of a broken teacup on the surface. His
 hand is bleeding. "Hello, Motoko," he says, not meeting her eyes.
Motoko sighs.  "Don't."
Moriya pauses, ceramic shard dangling from his fingertips. "Don't what?"
Motoko says, "Wallow."
Moriya sighs, drops the piece on the table. "I'm not wallowing. I'm trying to
 understand what's happened to me."
Moriya looks at his hand ruefully, and quickly casts a healing spell on it.
Motoko regards him with a suspicion that makes it clear his denial of wallowing
 doesn't entirely convince her.  "One time, when I was very angry at my mother
 and was feeling very stupid and cruel, I told her she was a selfish, greedy
 bitch who had abandoned her family."
Moriya winces. "You actually said that to her?"
Motoko nods and grimaces.  "It wasn't true, of course, and I knew it, but I
 said it because I was angry at her, and she had hurt me, and I wanted to hurt
 her back.  And it did hurt her.  She cried.  You know how many times I've
 actually seen my mother cry?"
Moriya is silent, then shakes his head. "No."
Motoko says, "Three times.  Once when we had a long talk about my older sister,
 once after Uncle Ota died, and the time I just told you about."
Moriya sighs heavily. "I see."
Motoko sighs and looks around as though for someplace to sit.  "I have never
 felt worse than I did after that," she says heavily.  "Even talking about it
 now, over forty years later, makes me cringe inside.  I can't imagine what it
 was that made me say something so hurtful to someone I loved.  And yet I did."
Moriya notices Motoko glancing around, and pulls a chair out from the table,
 gesturing to it. He sits down on the one he'd been in earlier. "And I find
 myself in a very similar position, now."
Motoko nods and smiles slightly.  "Then you see what I'm getting at.  As soon
 as I realized just what it was I'd said, I started crying myself, and saying I
 was sorry.  And I ran to my mother to hug her, and... she teleported away."
Moriya takes this in silence, for a while. Then, he suddenly blurts out,
 "Motoko, I'm sorry. I look at myself, my behavior the past few days...this
 isn't me. It just isn't. But I'm the one saying these words, doing these
 things."
Motoko says, "So I sat there by myself feeling horrible for about fifteen
 minutes, and then she came back.  And we made up, and hugged each other, and
 said we weren't ever going to fight again, and all the kinds of things you say
 after you have a bad fight with someone you love."
Motoko nods.  "And I was the one who said those things to my mother.  You see
 what I'm saying?"
Moriya groans softly. "I just...don't understand."
Moriya says, "I've never been one to tease you so much...and the way I've been
 with Mitsune, so suddenly, just...."
Motoko sighs.  "I'll be frank, partly because I think you may need it, and
 partly because I'm still pretty angry about this myself.  At you for needling
 me, and at Mitsune for apparently telling you about it."
Moriya nods. "Go ahead," he whispers, then falling silent.
Motoko says, "You're angry at me because I don't love you, and hurt.  Well, I'm
 sorry, Moriya, but I don't.  You're going to have to deal with that.  And if
 your way of dealing with that is to try and hurt me, then you're weaker than I
 thought, because I don't deserve that.  And I think you know that."
Moriya flinches, and looks away. "Yes...that's true. It's very true."
Motoko says, "And I think you know that making your new relationship with
 Mitsune-chan as public, visible and affectionate as possible is also not the
 right way to deal with it.  Particularly because Mitsune-chan is a person with
 feelings too, and if you act as though you have feelings for her that you
 don't, you'll hurt her."
Motoko says, "And if you hurt Mitsune-chan, Moriya, when you know you
 shouldn't, that's something I'd find much harder to forgive than anything you
 could do to me."
Moriya nods. "I still love you, now, even as I speak with you. Even as I kissed
 Mitsune, trying to erase that from my heart, even as I teased you, trying to
 make fun of it. And Mitsune...."
Moriya frowns. "Am I really a Pillar of Wisdom, when I allow myself these
 foolish things? What am I doing, what am I thinking?"
Motoko says, "You're a Pillar of Wisdom whether you like it or not, Moriya. 
 You know how to act like one.  Try doing so."
Motoko has an expression that Moriya may recognize if he's ever seen Nanami
 give someone a tonguelashing.
Moriya sinks into his chair again. "Yes," he murmurs. "I should know."
Motoko sighs and rubs her temples.  "Okay.  I feel better now.  Sorry about
 that."
Moriya says, "No, no...don't feel sorry. I'm the one who is sorry."
Moriya says, "But, it's simply that...ever since it all started--these things
 are all too new to me. I don't understand them, really. I'm not sure what to
 do about them."
Moriya says, "From...the new emotions I've felt for you, to the frustration, to
 the hopes...the twisting that Ebenscrux did to me, the lies that the
 marili...the...the lies...the lies...." He trails off, staring at something
 unseen.
Motoko looks exasperated.  "Oh, yes, of course, we can sit here and play
 sorrier-than-thou for a little while, if you like.  You could put on some more
 of your depressing music.  We can see if one of us can cry tears of real
 blood, or something similar."  She gestures, and the jukebox starts up,
 playing a cheerful Lipunese folksong.  "Or we could just say we're both sorry,
 make up, promise never to fight again, and get on with our lives."
Motoko says, "Because in the end, Moriya, you're my cousin, you're my closest
 friend, and I'll always love you even if you needle me about that red dress
 until I'm an old woman."
Moriya doesn't seem to have heard most of what Motoko's said, just now.
 "Hmm...yes, we shouldn't...fight, no...lies...." He suddenly looks up, looks
 at Motoko right in the eyes, the first time so far. "Of course. That's what I
 have to do. Lies."
Motoko looks at him for a moment, then blinks.  "You can't be serious."
Moriya nods slowly. "I am. If I am to go mad...I will go mad on my own terms. I
 will do it when I know I can afford it, not in years to come, where it eats at
 me slowly, turns me into something twisted and ugly and hateful and
 destructive."
Moriya says, "I will go into the fire and be cleansed by it, or be consumed.
 Here and now."
Motoko scowls.  "_Fine_."  She grabs Moriya by the arm and teleports them into
 the hallway outside Rural VII's office.
Motoko knocks rather loudly on the door.
A rather surprised Rural VII answers the door.  "Hello?"
Moriya wobbles. "...damnation." He sighs. "I wanted to come here alone," he
 murmurs.
Rural VII says, "Uh, what?"
Moriya coughs. "I wish to be tested by the Room of Lies."
Motoko asks, "Hello, Your Grace.  This is my cousin, Moriya; he's the Sword of
 the Pillars of Wisdom.  He wants to try the Room of Lies to convince himself
 he's not a monster.  Can you please tell him this is a bad idea?"
Motoko looks like her grandmother when her grandmother is forced to do
 something in cooperation with Saionji.
Moriya sighs. "Say what you will, either of you, but I must do this."
Rural VII blinks.  "Prince Moriya, the Room of Lies is one of the harshest
 tests we possess.  Why do you wish to pass through it?"
Motoko says, "Because he's convinced he's not yet flagellated himself enough
 for being human."
Moriya says, "I stand on the brink of madness. If I am to be struck down, I
 want it to happen now. Not in the future, when it may destroy more than just
 myself."
Rural VII says, "..."
Motoko asks, "I'm sure that will console your mother.  Do you want me to tell
 her that if you fail?"
Moriya grinds his teeth. "Motoko, I don't think I'll ever say this to you
 again, but shut up."
Rural VII says, "Umm, the brink of madness is perhaps not the best starting
 point from which to begin the test of the Room of Lies.  I'll admit that I
 can't think of a recorded example of someone in such a state attempting the
 test..."
Moriya glares at Rural. "Will you allow me in the Room of Lies, or not?"
Motoko _spins_ on Moriya.  "No.  I will _not_ shut up.  I've tried being nice
 to you, I've tried being patient, and I've tried being frank.  Now I'll be
 honest.  You're not on the brink of madness, you're on the brink of idiocy."
Motoko says, "I've been through the Room of Lies.  Believe me, it does not give
 you insurance now and forever that you'll be a better person.  That's the kind
 of thing you have to _work_ at, Moriya, for your whole life, not attain by
 some mystical test."
Moriya closes his eyes. "I must, Motoko. You are my friend, one of my closest
 friends, but you don't know what I've felt the past few days. Do you know that
 I fear to walk to Pattern, for knowing in full what I did and said to you
 under the influence of Ebenscrux? That I'll stumble and fall as I relieve the
 moments that the marilith wore your face, and was with me in my room?"
Moriya says, "I know you have painful memories...you just related one to me.
 You know that I have painful ones, as well."
Rural VII says, "If you are determined to do it, I cannot say you nay.  But I
 urge you to consider what you are doing.  The Room of Lies destroys many of
 those who enter, people who considered themselves to be utterly sane and
 sober.  It is not something to be done when one is feverish and frantic."
He continues, "Why is it that you wish to face this test?"
Motoko just deflates.  "Fine," she says, sounding tired.  "Do whatever you
 think is best."
Motoko says, "And if you do go mad, I'll just have to deal with the rest of the
 family whispering behind my back for the rest of my life that I should have
 stopped you.  Not that you'll care.  You'll be mad."
------------------------------------------------------------
Logging Stopped: 06/14/2001 at 5:07:12
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************************************************************
Logging Started: 06/14/2001 at 17:32:54
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Motoko just deflates.  "Fine," she says, sounding tired.  "Do whatever you
 think is best."
Motoko says, "And if you do go mad, I'll just have to deal with the rest of the
 family whispering behind my back for the rest of my life that I should have
 stopped you.  Not that you'll care.  You'll be mad."
Moriya is silent for a few seconds, then laughs softly. "You wound me with your
 lack of confidence, Motoko," he murmurs. "And do you really think I am going
 into this expecting to fail?" He shakes his head. "The Room of Lies, as I
 understood it, isn't just a test, right? Not simply like walking through a
 sacred fire without being consumed, or holding two holy relics without being
 struck down. It is a mirror held up to you. It tells you something important,
 otherwise it wouldn't be so potent." He steps back, looks at both Motoko and
 Rural. "That is why I want to be tested. I don't know myself anymore. I've
 lost my balance. I need to regain it, and what I see in there...." He shakes
 his head.
Motoko's expression softens.  "I think you're going into this upset and without
 clearly thinking about what you're doing," she says quietly.  "It's not that I
 think you're expecting to fail.  I'm sure that, if you were thinking calmly,
 you could come through it.  But you are not thinking calmly, and I worry you
 may do something rash."
Moriya sighs softly. He takes the necklace from his neck, the mental barrier
 that Beowulf gave to him earlier, and drops it on the ground, and then holds
 his hand out toward Motoko. "Look into my mind, Motoko. Go ahead. I was angry,
 yes, and upset, but it's burned away the haze in my mind. I know what I'm
 doing."
Rural says, "Well, if you're really determined..."  He steps back into his
 office for a moment, then emerges with a two foot high stack of paper.  "Fill
 out all these request forms.  And then I can let you in."
Moriya turns his head, hand still outstretched, stares at Rural, then at the
 stack, then at the priest again. "All of that?"
Motoko sighs and waves the hand away.  "Do whatever you think is best," she
 says again.  "I'm just not convinced this is the best thing for you to do
 right now; it's like you're trying to do all of this by yourself, and bear the
 burden on your own, when there's a lot of people who would help you through
 this if only you'd let yourself be helped."
Rural VII says, "It's best to fill out all the paperwork in advance, as madmen
 often find it difficult to correctly fill them out."
He pauses.  "Hmm, I suppose you don't shapechange?"
Moriya nods, and crouches down to retrieve the mental barrier, slipping it on
 again. "I know I won't be able to respond to that to your satisfaction,
 Motoko, nor probably to my own, so I won't try. But please, just trust me." He
 looks back at Rural again, shaking his head. "No, I don't shapechange."
Motoko nods, still not looking very happy.  "I'll wait for you out here," she
 says.
Rural removes three inches of forms. "We won't be needing these, then, as there
 won't be any need to shoot you full of shapeshifting neutralizing poisons,
 should you go on a mad killing spree afterwards."
Motoko winces.
Moriya looks at the stack again, then at Motoko. "You didn't have to fill all
 of these out, did you?"
Motoko says, "I think Brides of the Dragon get special dispensation."
Rural says, "If you'd rather go down and be killed by the relics, that can be
 arranged."
Moriya asks, "Well, I'm a Pillar of Wisdom. Do I still have to do these all?"
"Well, my esteemed predecessors failed to establish a procedure for this, so
 I'm going to play it by the rules.  And the rules say the paperwork has to be
 filled out."
Moriya sighs, takes the paperwork, and proceeds to make his way through it
 quickly.
Several hours of excessive fun follow.
Motoko gives Rural a suspicious glance, but says nothing.
Rural goes back to work in his office reading and annotating reports and
 working on a sermon while you are filling out paperwork.
Motoko stands around looking unhappy for a while, then asks, "How was
 Mitsune-chan when you last saw her?"
Moriya scribbles his signature for the 305th time. "She was...sounding a bit
 depressed. Please, don't blame her, Motoko...she just let it slip. You know
 how she is...saying or doing things before thinking them over."
Motoko sighs.  "She must think I'm pretty mad at her."
Moriya nods slowly. "I think...she does, yes."
Motoko sighs again.  "Well, I am," she admits.  "I'll trump her later and talk
 to her."
Moriya sighs softly. "Please do, yes. And I must reiterate, it isn't her fault.
 She did not purposely tell me, and I abused my knowledge."
Moriya falls silent and finishes off the paperwork.
Motoko takes out Mitsune's trump and regards it without making contact.
"Tell her," Moriya absently murmurs as he sees her get the trump out from the
 corner of his eye, "that I'll talk to her after I'm done here. And I will talk
 to her."
Motoko nods.
Once done, Moriya gathers up all the paper and knocks on Rural's door again to
 give it all to him.
Rural seems quite surprised.  He piles the stack in his inbox, then calls a
 clerk to come and file it for him.  Then he takes off a ring he is wearing. 
 "You must wear this," he says, then he takes you upstairs.
Moriya puts on the ring and follows quietly.
Motoko says, "Make sure you give it back to him when you're done."
Motoko looks a bit embarassed, and follows them up the stairs, Mitsune's trump
 still dangling between two fingers.
Moriya looks over his shoulder as he walks. "Try to write your speech. I know
 you'll be worried about me, but I've found that different emotional states may
 give you inspiration that you hadn't known was there."
Rural takes you up into a high tower to a door.
Motoko nods, says nothing.
Rural says, "Beyond this door is the Room of Lies.  You must find the truth
 within the lies."
He says, "If you fail, and mistake lies for the truth, or the truth for a lie,
 you will die if you are lucky, but probably you will go mad, and have to be
 put down like a feral dog.  Are you sure you want to do this?"
Moriya stares at the door. "Yes."
Moriya says, "I must find myself."
Rural sighs.  "Then pass through this door, and face the Room of Lies."
Moriya opens the door and enters the room.
Moriya moves to the center, looks around, and then up at the ceiling. "I am
 here," he says. "Show me."
Motoko watches Moriya go.  "Good luck," she says quietly.  "I know you are
 strong enough to face this."
The room is a large pentagon, with a door in one face and blank walls on the
 other; the ceiling is a peaked roof.
For a time, nothing happens.  Nothing at all.  As you are about to say
 something, panels in the walls open, and three dozen ninjas pour in.
Moriya grabs for Baby Ilvig, transforms it into a staff. "This was not what I
 expected."
One of them levels his sword at you.  "Half-breed dog.  You have shamed the
 ways of your ancestors.  Now you must perish."
And then they charge from all directions.
Moriya fights them off, trying to disarm them. "I have upheld the ways of my
 ancestors! On all sides...Amber, Lipun, Frostspire!"
"You are nothing but a wretched mongrel.  Your father's people enslaved our
 land.  It is not surprising that you lust after your own cousin as well."
You keep disarming them.  Unfortunately, there's so many that it's hard to KEEP
 them disarmed.
Moriya begins trying to knock them out as well. "Enslaved? Ha! We kept Lipun
 from sinking itself and the shadows around it into the clutches of the
 Outsiders! Do we impose some of our control on Lipun now to keep it from going
 back to those ways that led down that path? Yes. But it is hardly enslavement.
 And I do not see how this relates to Motoko."
"You burn for her as one dog burns for another, as the tainted dogs of Amber
 lie with their own kind.   Inbred and warped."
Moriya snarls. "Yes, so I do, dammit. And I know it is wrong. And I am
 desperately trying to stop it."
You begin wading through them, pounding them flat.  You take a few small knicks
 and cuts along the way.  "You cannot stop it.  It is in your blood.  Your own
 father was your grandmother in your father's body, sleeping with a shadow of
 herself.  Your tainted blood cannot but lead to corruption."
Moriya exclaims, "Only the animals cannot help what they are! You accuse us of
 being dogs, but I will prove that we are more than dogs. I will defeat this,
 and I will defeat you!"
The last ninja falls, and then they all evaporate.
Moriya OOCly says, "Um, John? This is Moriya, not Shizumaru."
John cries.
John says, "OOC Moment of DM braindeath :)"
Moriya OOCly says, "We'll adjust in the logs, or something. :)"
Then for a time there is silence.
Moriya sits down crosslegged on the floor, awaiting the next trial. The staff
 rests on his lap, across his knees.
And then there is the sound of moaning behind you.
Moriya slowly turns, to look over his shoulder.
the sort of moaning that doesn't usually denote 'pain'...
There is a bed, with two people in it.  One of them is your father.  The other
 is a platinum blonde woman who is under him.  She is tall and leggy, and you
 can feel the power radiating off her.
She is moaning loud enough to raise the dead, for reasons which we will only
 insinuate, no doubt to Sean's regret.
Eudial OOCly pouts.
Moriya turns away. "My father told me of Urd...and I remember the shadow of my
 father with a that woman, in the theater."
You turn away, but the moaning continues, getting louder.
And somewhat more high pitched.
Moriya says, "In his quest for the Seed of Hope, he told me that the third test
 was to...give Urd more pleasure." His mouth quirks in a faint smile. "He
 kissed her. And that was all that happened."
"Harder, nephew, harder...ohhh..."  It is the voice of Nanami.
Moriya laughs. "Aunt Nanami and my father have always been close, as long as I
 could remember. But not like this, never like this."
The moaning dies down to a happy whimpering with occassional shouts of
 pleasure.  This seems to go on and on and on....
Moriya stands up, walks away from the bed.
You move away from the bed.  This helps a little.  A little.  And then you feel
 a pair of arms wrap around you from behind, and a woman press against your
 back.  "Now, now, Moriya, it's your turn."
Moriya turns slightly. Whose voice?
It sounds rather like Motoko.
Moriya sighs. "Haven't I already gone through this once?" he asks.
She nuzzles your neck.  "I am no demon, Moriya."
Moriya gently but firmly removes her arms from around himself, and turns
 around. "Ah, but are you Motoko?"
She certainly looks like Motoko.
And she's dressed like Motoko.
Moriya patternsights her.
And she sounds like Motoko.  "Of course I'm Motoko," she says, sounding hurt.
Patternsight reveals she has Pattern Imprint.
Moriya blinks, and tilts his head. "Mmm...very interesting," he murmurs, and
 starts to walk around her, in a circle.
She keeps turning to face you.  You notice the bed has changed and now looks
 like the one from your room back in Castle Amber.
Moriya asks, "Let me guess...you would say to me...that you love me. Hm?"
She says, "Isn't that what you want?"
Moriya says, "Do I, now? Do I really?" He considers this, thoughtfully, then
 nods. "Yes. In several senses, it's true. A month ago, I woke with new
 feelings for you. Ones I had been hoping that you would return...but you said,
 just a few hours ago, that you couldn't, and wouldn't." He stops walking, then
 circles in the other direction, tracing over the path he just came. "And
 yet...I know that you already love me. You've called me the brother you never
 had. And in truth, until that dream, that cursed dream, you'd been the sister
 I never had. And despite it all, you still are. First and foremost, you are my
 cousin, you are my friend...you are my sister. Always."
She blinks and cocks her head at you.  "I could dance for you, like I did for
 Davros.  Would you like to see the dance of the seven veils?"
Moriya shakes his head. "You could dance for me, yes, but to what end? Haven't
 I already seen you dance?" He smiles faintly. "You could tempt me like you
 tempted Davros, certainly...but it wouldn't work."
She runs a hand up and down your chest.  "But you want to give in to this
 temptation."
Moriya catches her hand, pushes it away. "No. I don't. That way lies the
 madness I am fighting. My love for you must remain as that between a brother
 and sister, and I will see that it does."
She sighs.  "If I cannot have you, and I cannot have Davros because of his
 oaths, I suppose I have no choice but to go back to Uncle Saionji."  She turns
 and begins to walk away with the stride of someone obviously hoping she'll be
 stopped before she gets where she is going.
Moriya reaches forward and grabs her shoulder. "No. You need no one. You are
 stronger than that. Just because you will not have me, and cannot have
 Davros...." He shakes his head. "If Davros-san truly is strong enough, then
 you are, too." He smiles, perhaps a little sadly. "And besides...."
"And besides?"
Moriya says, very quietly, "Davros may be released from his vows honorably.
 Released, yes. He would not be breaking them." He sighs. "I have seen how you
 look at each other. I am not blind, I am no fool. You are strong enough to
 stand alone, both of you are...but if it will make you happy, then I will work
 for it. Both of you deserve it."
And then Motoko is gone, and you're alone in the room again.
Moriya deflates. "That...was both difficult...and easy to do," he murmurs.
And then you are underwater.
The remains of a pattern are etched into the floor, and a calcified man stands
 partway along it.
Jacqui is floating inthe water, holding a sword, and talking to the calcified
 man, who has the Jewel of Judgment set into his forehead.
Moriya stares at the Pattern, then at the man, and then at Jacqui.
Moriya whispers, "Uncle Derith?"
Then Jacqui caves in the man's skull, prying the Jewel out of it.  "Now I'll
 get even with everyone who made fun of me all the time!"
It does look like she just whacked Derith.
Moriya stares at this. And then laughs. "She must have gotten the Jewel from
 Uncle Derith, yes...but like this? I couldn't see her doing such a thing. Nor
 saying such a thing."
"You all think I'm stupid!  And clumsy!  And can't do anything right!" she
 shouts at you.  "I hate you all!"
"You wouldn't even come rescue me when I got captured!"
"You complained as if you finding some stupid sword was more important than
 your family."  Her voice shifts.  "Ohhh, why am I having to do this when I
 could be off collecting toys for myself!'"  She tries to imitate your voice.
Moriya just watches and listens to Jacqueline.
"Don't you understand?  You can't really be free until you have nothing left to
 lose!  Well, I don't have anything left TO lose!"
Moriya suddenly rushes forward and grabs Jacqueline by the arm. "You have your
 family, Jacqueline. We have become impatient with you, yes, but we still care
 about you. A small army of us went to find you, didn't they? Even Aunt Kozue."
Moriya says, "And I _did_ go seeking for you, before. Twice in one month. The
 first time, when you returned with the Jewel of Judgment. The second time,
 when you went to rescue Anthy-sama."
Moriya says, "The third time...I only found out shortly before I had to attend
 to my father's trial. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you then." He sighs.
And then she is gone.
And again there is silence.
Moriya shakes his head. "I wonder...."
And then there is snow on the ground all around.
Moriya slowly turns and looks around.
You are in a thick forest; you can hear the sounds of battle nearby.
Moriya draws his sword and moves toward it.
You stand outside a large palace.
The sky above you is full of floating, interlocked disks.
The palace is full of screaming and shouting.
Moriya stares, and runs toward the palace.
Large chunks of it are on fire.
People run screaming past you.
You hear various voices shouting.  Some of them sound like members of your
 family.
Moriya heads straight for those voices.
You find your relatives; they seem to have dedicated themselves to tearing down
 the entire house, inch by inch.
Moriya stares in horror. "What are you doing?" he cries out. "What is this
 place? Why are you doing this?"
Dead Chaosians lie everywhere.
Nanami stands at the entrance to a room full of children.  The kids are crying.
 She turns to you.  "In the end, there is no way to end this feud but for one
 side or the other to die out, down to the last generation.  Or it will just
 start over."
Moriya shakes his head. "No. No, there has to be some other way. The cycle can
 be broken, but not like this. It can't."
Moriya runs to stand in the doorway, between Nanami and the children. "You
 can't, Aunt. You can't."
"What other way is there to end this but blood?"
Moriya stares at her, long and hard. "If blood must be spilled, then spill
 mine." He holds his sword out toward Nanami. "Let me die, to quench their
 hate, and let it stop there. You will have to strike me down anyway, if you
 want to harm these children, because you will do it only over my dead body."
Nanami says, "Why do you care about these children?  They are nothing to us,
 nothing but Chaosian trash.  They would steal the Jewel of Judgement and smash
 all our world to pieces if they could!"
Moriya says, "You don't know these children. They could be our friends, our
 neighbors, our family, if only we'd have stretched our hands out to them." He
 shakes his head. "So much blood spilled between us and them because we
 couldn't take the moment to think about things." He gestures behind himself.
 "What if Shinobu Minor had landed here, when flung to Chaos? And you had come
 charging in to kill and destroy? House Aesir raised her as their own child. We
 made a start there. But this, this only ruins it all."
"You're on their side!" Nanami shouts angrily.
"These people wanted to kill your father for something that wasn't even his
 fault!"
Moriya looks down at the ground. "They didn't realize that," he answers. "If
 one of them, under a glamor, had done the same to our family, we'd want to do
 the same. But I'd think that, once we knew the truth, we would be able to
 forgive."
She says, "Then you don't know our family very well."
But then she vanishes, and you face the empty room again.
Moriya falls to his knees. "...is that really true, Aunt Nanami?"
Moriya stares at the bare floor. "Would you go to such lengths?"
And then there is a bed again.
Mitsune is on it.
Moriya looks up slowly. "Mitsune?"
With some fellow you do not know.
They are at the heavy making out stage, still mostly dressed.
Moriya sighs, and looks away. "I know."
Moriya asks, "She has been with...other men before, hasn't she?"
Moriya asks, "Would I just be another one in her life, like Aunt Nanami thought
 I might be?"
Akemi pages, "You'd turned away from them, right?" to you.
You page, "Yes." to Akemi.
You page, "Still on my knees, just looking away." to Akemi.
You hear Kentaro whispering to Mitsune.  "Mmmm, you're good."  You hear Mitsune
 laugh a little.  "I have experience," she says.
Moriya cringes slightly. "Yes, I know, I know! And here I am, never even having
 had a girlfriend of any sort before."
Various intimate noises ensue.
Moriya dully murmurs, "And I ask myself, can I really hope to pursue a
 meaningful relationship with her? Or am I on the other side of the coin, just
 doing this to forget Motoko? As if something like that were so easy to
 forget.... Or that I did so to hurt Motoko, like she accused me of doing?"
"Oh...oh...oooohhhh...."
Moriya clenches his fist. "Go...go where my heart tells me, Aunt Nanami said."
 He punches the floor, once. "Does Mitsune really care about me?" Another
 punch. "Do I care about her?" Wham. "What did Uncle Beowulf say? There
 was...more to her than just the prankster, the..." A quick glance bedward, but
 then away again. "That." Wham. "Can I love her? She is a real person, as
 Motoko said, deserving of real emotions." He moves to punch the floor again,
 but stops.
There is a great cry of pleasure, and then for a moment silence, and then you
 hear Mitsune whispering to someone, "Come on, it never hurts to have a little
 fun."
Moriya looks up slowly, to see who she's talking to now.
Sake bottles litter the floor around the bed.  You can see Mitsune and a
 nervous looking Motoko in the bed together.
Mitsune says, "I can change into a man if you like, if it helps."
Moriya covers his eyes with the hand he'd been pounding the floor with. And
 then, he starts to laugh.
Moriya says, "That...that hadn't even occurred to me, you know? Not until I saw
 this. Not at all."
Motoko says, "No... stay as you are.  I... think I'd like that better.  We've
 both had enough of men.""
Mitsune turns and just looks at Moriya.  "So what do you want, Moriya?"
Moriya's laughter dies down. "That's what they think about Motoko, yes." He
 laboriously pulls himself up to his feet, and starts pacing back and forth.
 "She isn't very charitable toward men in general...but is kind to women. Must
 mean she's a lesbian." He laughs, shakes his head. "And Mitsune, well...." He
 falls silent, and now looks at them. "What do I want? I want to find out what
 my heart is telling me." He pats his chest. "A part of me still loves Motoko
 as more than just a sister, I know that. But it isn't healthy. The other
 part...thinks that there may be something more than just a passing fling, with
 you. But I have to be careful that I find it. The way I acted with you around
 Motoko was excessive and shallow."
Mitsune listens quietly.
Moriya says, "I have to be careful...so careful. My fear is that these
 emotions, ones that I'm not used to...the love, the frustration, the
 confusion...will warp and twist me, if I'm not careful. Ebenscrux forced me to
 hurt Motoko...and then I hurt Motoko of my own free will, and didn't realize
 it. Constantly on guard against myself."
Mitsune says, "And of course, you're the only person in the universe who has
 ever gotten emotional and hurt someone."
Moriya sighs. "No, I'm not."
Moriya says, "But it just feels so strange, and so terrible. It's the first
 time for so many things, for me. That's why...it's so difficult to keep it in
 perspective."
Mitsune says, "And of course, being a drama queen about it helps."
Moriya frowns. "I am not...oh. Sorry. I misunderstood." He shakes his head.
Moriya asks, "I don't like letting my problems spill out onto other people.
 That's why I decided to come to the Room of Lies, by myself, to face what
 haunts me. But martyring myself will only end up hurting everyone else, won't
 it?"
Mitsune nods at you.  "The dead can't be of any help to anyone."
Moriya nods back. "Least of all myself."
Moriya says, "I think I understand, now."
She listens.
Moriya says, "I was afraid of falling...and I should be. But I can't hold
 myself up by myself. I can't fight everything by myself. There's a reason I've
 been traveling with Motoko and Davros, right? Each one of us does what the
 other can't."
Moriya says, "But this holds true not just for when I go questing for a magical
 sword. Everything we encounter, in our lives, there is the opportunity for one
 to help another."
She nods.
He looks down at the floor. "Sacrificing myself is certainly not going to end
 the fighting between Amber and Chaos." He laughs self-deprecatingly. "I would
 like to imagine that I were important enough, but...that comes back to
 martyrdom again, doesn't it?"
Mitsune says, "Everyone is important, but no one is all-important.
Moriya shakes his head. "No, not even me." He smiles faintly.
She reaches from the bed and takes your hand silently.
Moriya accepts her hand. "Thank you."
And then she fades away, and the door to the hallway opens ever so slightly.
Moriya takes a deep breath, and walks to the door, opens it, and steps out.
 "...it is done," he murmurs.
Moriya emerges from the room, looking pale, perhaps a little tired, but most of
 all, very thoughtful.
Motoko is sitting against the wall, Mitsune's trump still in her hands,
 face-down.
"Motoko," Moriya calls out softly.
Motoko looks up.  "Are you mad?" she asks quietly.
Moriya says, "Only slightly vexed. At myself, really."
Moriya says, "You were right, Motoko. The Room of Lies...wasn't really
 necessary."
Moriya says, "Except in the sense that it took the Room of Lies to make me
 realize that."
Motoko nods.  "And... how do you feel now?"
Moriya smiles. "A little better. I need to be more careful...and try not to
 take too much onto myself."
Motoko sighs.  "And isn't that what I was telling you?"
Moriya says, "I suppose I'm just a bit of a fool who needs something as big as
 the Room of Lies to beat it through my skull."
Motoko stands up.  "Well, as long as you've finally gotten it through your
 head."
Moriya nods. "I should give this ring back. Then we can return...did you talk
 to Mitsune yet?"
Motoko winces and shakes her head.  "Every time I thought about what to say, I
 realized it sounded too angry."
Moriya bites his lip, thoughtful. "I see...I'm not sure what I can suggest,
 though."
Motoko sighs.  "I'll just have to wait until I feel calmer, I suppose.  I'm
 glad you made it through all right."
Moriya nods. "Yes, that might be best. But not too long, though, lest she worry
 that you are angrier with her than you actually are." He glances over his
 shoulder at the door, briefly. "In some ways...it was almost too easy. And in
 others, it was harder than it should have been."
Motoko nods.  "Some of the things I was shown seemed obviously lies. 
 Others..."  She shakes her head.  "As I figured out, though, it wasn't about
 spotting some single truth amidst a whole bunch of lies."
Moriya nods. "It was seeing one large truth that was demonstrated by the lies."
 He sighs, places his arm on Motoko's shoulder, and leans slightly on her. "I
 feel tired."
Motoko starts a bit, then puts her arm around Moriya.  "Well... I'm glad you
 feel less rattled.  Let's take the ring back to His Grace."
Moriya says, "Yes." He walks onward, silent for a moment. "I know I've already
 apologized to you, but I feel I should say 'I'm sorry' again. And I need to
 apologize to Mitsune, as well."
Motoko sighs.  "Let's just forget about it.  Consider yourself forgiven."
Moriya smiles faintly. "All right. No more mentions of...those things. Thank
 you, Motoko."
Moriya OOCly says, "Let's wrap there, as my logfile is getting huge. o.o;"
------------------------------------------------------------
Logging Stopped: 06/14/2001 at 22:45:35
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