For Nostalgia's Sake! - Four Nights of Fright: Night Two

[Reiko Souma]

Palazzo Estate, daytime, and a very confused woman.

Reiko's day had started off with her being informed that she was under house arrest with no permission to venture outside whatsoever. What the Hell? The woman had to work and earn a living! The odd thing was trying to remember what happened to lead to this development. "I...I can't remember anything," Reiko realised as she sat on a couch in the parlour. She blinked a couple of times. "How is this even possible? I was just fine when I left the Celestial last night."

Thoughts of her Rhy'din family flooded her mind. Suddenly, she was thinking of her sister Kendra's cooking. What she wouldn't give to be able to have some of her blueberry scones right now! Ironically at the time, said sister was moving about her kitchen, dancing and singing, the scent of baking filling her kitchen. Dressed in a long pale blue maxi dress with her long hair pulled up into a high ponytail, Kendra thought of Reiko as she popped a fresh blueberry into her mouth, smiling softly.

The woman curled her legs up so that she was hugging them. The good news about being on house arrest? Reiko now had a perfectly good reason to be lazy and stay home. The bad news about being on house arrest? Reiko was under some kind of supervision, whether it was loose or tight depending on the circumstances. As it was now, she tugged at a lock of her hair. "Who put Miracle-Grow in my hair?" she joked. It had gone from being above her shoulders to mid-shoulder level, seemingly overnight. "I hope my heroine from my boredom comes soon..." Laying down on the couch now, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and started to type out a text. "...maybe Sis can bring me some scones," she said about Kendra.

As Kendra pulled a fresh tray of scones from the oven, she placed them on a cooling tray before stretching and looking out the window. Her cellphone chirped with a new message, so she looked at her cell. She opened the messages and viewed the text with a chuckle.

"Sis...come save me with your presence! I'm bored!
(P.S: Could you bring some blueberry scones, please?
I'll love you for life. Thanks! :* )"

Putting her phone down, the woman stood.

[Reiko Souma]

Izumi arrived on foot up to the boundaries of the Estate, having taken the latest train there. The delinquent was come directly from Kabuki, from the appearance. She was still in her uniform-like costume and carrying not only her usual backpack, but a paper shopping bag as well. Those arriving to the Palazzo Estate for the first time might be pleasantly surprised to find that Reiko actually lived here. One might think otherwise, what with her almost never being there, but it had been opened up for her during a sticky period of her life.

A vast courtyard with perfectly-mowed lawn, separated by a pathway kept in pristine condition, led the way to the large ornate front doors. A doorman stood at his post, ready to welcome anybody who should come to visit. Those taking up residence in this lovely (gigantic) abode, including the housebound Reiko, were always glad to welcome and pleased to do so. Well...

"Maybe they'll like this nice, big watermelon!" Reiko exclaimed, carrying a gigantic watermelon out to be chopped down to size.

Almost open arms, anyways.

Shaking her head with a sigh, Kendra texted back:

"where are you sis? its not like you to be
bored, but I kinda have something exciting
to tell you....maybe"

She then got up and moved to fetch her basket, filling it full of goodies and humming to herself as she moved.

"Excited? I'm on house arrest at the
Palazzo Estate for reasons nobody will
really go into with me. And I don't even
know what's going on! I can't even
remember what happened last night!"

That was Reiko's responding text once she had an open hand again.

"urgh......that sucks! on my way.....
with a basket full of goodies"

Kendra shook her head. As she got ready to leave, she wrote a note for Damien in case he came home that night. Placing the basket on the ground, she shifted into her jaguar form and lifted her head with the basket's handle presumably positioned on her (or gently between her teeth). Then she sniffed the air and took off running, following her sister's scent.

[Reiko Souma]

Outside, Izumi spoke with the doorman for a moment, exchanging pleasantries and getting directions before proceeding down the path to find Reiko. Having seen the latest text from Kendra gave the woman a reason to rejoice. "It looks like we'll be preparing for two of my sisters instead of one!" Reiko called to the kitchen. Hearing the door open and shut, the woman hurried over to greet the delinquent. When she caught up, it was with a wave of greeting and a wide-eyed stare at the size of that watermelon.

"Hi Reiko," she greeted cheerfully, "Hearing you were not feeling well, I have come to visit," she announced, lifting the shopping bag, "and to bring you some new books to read while you recuperate." Well, Reiko would give a proper greeting after she put the watermelon down on a nearby table first.

She squeezed Izumi into a tight hug. "Well, I don't know about that...only that I have no idea what the Hell is going on and am confused." When Izumi gave Reiko a squeeze and a bright smile with squinted eyes, Reiko let go, pointing at the bag with a grin. "Ooh...books. Maybe they'll help me pass the time until I'm free to go back to work again. You know, making candles and playing barmaid and such."

"Huh, well, that makes two of us. I saw you last night, but you didn't seem yourself at all. I have no idea what's going on either. But today you seem okay." She handed over the bag of books, having gone heavy on the mysteries since those were almost always a safe bet. At the top of the pile was her own favourite, Drood by Dan Simmons. It was a monstrously heavy book that would eat up a lot of time.

The woman balanced the watermelon on her left hand just long enough to take the bag of books, and then she held it with both hands again. She blinked at what she was hearing. "You saw me last night?" Reiko asked. Blink, blink. She tilted her head slightly to one side in the way that she usually did. "Was I walking to the Cemetery to track some stray emotions? Because that's the last thing I remember." No matter how many times the woman searched her mind and tried to use her telepathy to aid her memory recall, the woman just couldn't remember. "My manners...thanks for the books." Oops. "And the important question: did I hurt anybody?" She gestured with her left elbow for Izumi to follow her to the dining room, where they could cut slices of the watermelon for themselves and for others. Izumi followed along just a pace behind into the dining room, thinking for a moment to line up the details as she recalled them.

"Well now, it was in Andu's dimension you know...a party for the kittens' birthday it was." She offered to help with the monster melon, adding, "No, you didn't hurt anybody. Several said you didn't smell like yourself. You know what I think? I think there might be a Reiko imposter out there somewhere."

"Huh." Thoughts of somebody trying to impersonate her were enough to stop her mid-step. Then she realised that she had missed her nephews' and nieces' birthdays yesterday. "Oh no!!! Yesterday was their birthday, and I missed it!!!" Reiko cried. She pointed in the direction of the knife rack, which was in the kitchen. "This is too weird...I'd never miss out on their birthday!" Sitting down at the table the monster melon was now on, she put her head in her hands. "Oh man...I really screwed up by letting them down this time, didn't I, Izumi-chan." Reiko's head hung. "I hope I can make it up to them somehow...from what little I was told? Big Brother had been the one to bring me back from the Cemetery. How did I end up there with him after being at..? This doesn't make any sense at all." The woman paused to try piecing the puzzle together. She hoped she wasn't too far away for Kendra to track her scent.

Meanwhile, Kendra stopped to look around. Placing the basket on the ground, she took a deep breath and let out a roar. Her ears flicked as she listened. Her nose twitched as she searched for Reiko's scent. Tracking her scent to the Estate, she shifted into her human form when she spotted the guards. The jaguar-now-human took her cellphone out as she walked towards the doorman, crossing her arms and growling as she spoke. The doorman stared at her as Kendra sighed and typed out a message to Reiko.

"Sis...can I knock this guy out? he
won't let me in...is there a password
or something?"

Izumi took a knife and set to work, expertly slicing up the melon. As she did, the gentle vibration of Reiko's phone prompted the contemplative woman to pull it out and read the text with a soft sigh. "Well, I'm sure they'll understand, what with you having a crisis that we don't even understand. I don't know how Andu worked that out. To tell the truth, I didn't know about the birthday myself. I came to beg him for help to rescue some baby woodpeckers in a tree that fell by my workshop..." How right Reiko knew Izumi was. Reiko sighed because of that and because of the issue that Kendra was having with the doorman. The last encounter with an imposter had been with her friend Billie...whatever happened to her, anyways. She thought for a moment as she continued to prep the melon. Then she added, "Well if it is an imposter, being stuck here, even if it's boring, will be helpful. That way if you show up again, we know that the real you is here and can confront the Imposter-Reiko at once without doubts."

"Those poor birds...hm. My doorman isn't letting Kendra in for some reason. I'll be right back." Standing again, she politely excused herself whilst sending a text back to Kendra.

"Don't knock him out please, sis. I'm
coming to the door to let you in myself."

She didn't recall there being some kind of a password required for entry. She reached the front doors and opened it, seeing her sister and the doorman staring each other down. "All right, that's enough. My sister's one of my many relatives who's authorised to visit me. Please don't cause anymore trouble," Reiko spoke up. Her mid-shoulder length hair was puled back into a low ponytail. "Go on ahead, Kendra."

Kendra bared a fang at the man, then sighed and made her way over to Reiko. "Good thing I didn't have to fight him...I'm still weak." She kissed Reiko's cheek and said, "Thanks sis," whilst dangling the basket.

Reiko placed a hand on Kendra's shoulder gently. "It's all right. He wouldn't have actually started a fight," she said. She peered at the basket that Kendra carried whilst showing her to the dining room. Izumi was still there, having finished slicing up the watermelon in the meanwhile, and nibbled at a piece of it herself. She was, of course, very fond of the watermelon, especially this time of year. "Izumi-chan's come by too and brought me books to read. I...think she might've gotten a little hungry." Poking her head in, sure enough, there was the delinquent at the table. "Is it delicious?" Reiko teased with a smirk as she stepped in.

Izumi looked a little embarrassed as she nodded. "It is completely delicious. I got a little hungry." She waved now when she spotted Kendra. "Hi Kendra!"

Reiko pulled out a chair for Kendra before pulling one for herself and sitting down. "Would you like something to drink? I smelt lemons being squeezed for some homemade lemonade and could have some brought to us."

Kendra chuckled. "Hey Izumi," she greeted, setting the basket down on the table, "I brought some fresh tea leaves." She pulled out two canisters. One was lavender; the other was blueberry. She looked at Reiko with a smile and then at Izumi with a chuckle. "Good thing I went nuts as usual with baking, huh?" With a smile, she took out wrapped plates with scones, cookies, muffins, and all sorts of sweets.

"Whoa..." This should really cease to surprise the woman that Kendra would go happily overboard with the desserts. Not that anything was wrong with going overboard! "...I spy blueberry scones...ooh, and cookies...and holy shit, more than I've ever ordered from the Tomes when I was working on my projects! Wow!" She giggled at her own reaction. "And tea...we'll pass on the lemonade, Carlo! Could you bring us three china mugs instead, please?" Reiko called out the door.

A well-tanned man with dark hair brought in three matching cups with all of the fixings anybody would ever need for a nice cup of tea, including hot water in a kettle that kept the water hot for hours. "Thanks." She waited for him to leave before handing the cups to each female, reserving herself for last. "Carlo is my footman. He's recently become my permanent footman to aid me in my travels...or, right now, keeping me in line."

Kendra quirked an eyebrow at Reiko. "Is he the reason your room at the cottage was always spotless?" she asked, snapping her fingers. The transparent coverings over the desserts shattered to allow the scents to escape into the room as she moved her hair, a faint bite mark showing between her neck and shoulder.

The woman gave an easily-perceived nervous laugh. "Not so much...that's more of my just not wanting to stay still for long." She finally put the bag of books down on one end of the table, having forgotten for the moment that it was in her hand.

Izumi looked back and forth between Reiko and Kendra before looking to the treats set out. "Hm, it all looks wonderful," she said.

"Help yourself...it's all just freshly made." Kendra sighed happily, and the first thing Reiko reached for was a scone, which was quickly worked over before the second scone was eaten a bit slower.

"Hm. Mating season?" Reiko asked, pointing at the bite mark that she caught from the corner of her eye. It earned her a quirked brow from Kendra.

"Nope...just Damien testing out his new fangs." With a shrug, Kendra picked up a lavender scone before picking at it slowly.

Hey, the woman was rather blunt! She raised her hands in a casual shrug offered and continued to work at her second scone. "Oh?" Reiko had only met the man once. He had passed the Reiko-Military-Style Test that night. "He seems nice enough for me to trust around my family...what of you, Izumi-chan? It seems like everyone's been finding their partners and soulmates except for you. Does anyone suit your fancy?"

Kendra laughed as she chewed on some of her scone. "You sound like Max."

"Max?" Reiko definitely hasn't met anybody named Max; at least, nobody she can remember by that name. It would really be nice if she didn't have this problem with remembering recent events. Subconsciously, her right hand brushed against the Silver Claw pendant that she wore on her necklace and felt her Miracle-Glow hair along the way. That was it. Reiko was going to give herself another haircut before she went to bed tonight. She reached for a cookie and started to nibble away. "I hope this isn't some Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde thing..." Reiko said. This really bugged her!

"Oh, that's right...you haven't met my older brother," Kendra said, looking at Reiko in thought. Reiko shook her head at this. She had been munching away on the nice variety of Kendra's desserts quietly, all the whilst thinking as Izumi quietly excused herself. The delinquent had received a message requesting her return to Kabuki Street, which left the other two women.

"I haven't...so, how are things with you and Damien?" Reiko asked, hoping to keep the conversation going. Her lack of memory regarding last night's events were pushed towards the back of her mind, where they would be filed away for the time being.

Kendra chuckled before answering, "He took on a Jaguar, and he is huge," she answered with a smile to Reiko.

[Reiko Souma]

"Hehe...meep?" Reiko was giggling. She pictured the two of them - that is, Kendra and Damien - playing around in their jaguar forms outside and wrestling like old buddy cubs did. She was giggling at that because she thought it was cute. "I think some of the kits want to be as big as you two are in their jaguar forms." She paused to fix her tea and took a testing sip. "Want to hear something odd? I woke up this morning with the nastiest aftertaste in my mouth...like I was really sick. But, that can?t be. Right? I'm really healthy, anaemia aside." She offered a smile to Izumi after the delinquent offered a confident assurance that a solution to the possible Reiko-Fake might be possible. "Thanks, Izumi-chan."

Kendra was, once again, chuckling. "Sadly, it's an effect of were-creatures." She sighed, thinking of the kits. "How are they after that incident?" She frowned before thinking of something. She could always use a spell to let the kits see how the jaguars see.

Outside, wings shuffled as the little dragon went for a walk, her ice blue gaze drifting. She slipped closer to where she heard voices once she arrived at the Palazzo Estate. With a grin, Kendra picked out a bowl from her basket marked with Icer's name on it and placed it on the table...just in case.

Reiko was more focused on the question that Kendra had asked, however, and was blinking. "Incident?" Azalean pink hues looked surprised at this. "What happened to them?" She was legitimately curious, as well as legitimately concerned. Oh dear Fate, how she hoped they didn't find out of anything weird and get scared!

Kendra blinked. "The snake incident, sis." She tilted her head, thinking out loud, "and the fact I think I have a wedding to organise.

Reiko had hoped for a less frightening scenario after the snake incident the previous week. "I guess that explains who said I wasn't smelling like myself...poor Mayflower must've been close enough to smell...whatever it was that was off." Her head dipped down, as if studying the contents of her tea cup were suddenly more important. The entrance to the mansion of the Estate was large enough for a dragon to enter, albeit not a gigantic one. Icer peeked to the door and then slipped inside just as a confused Izumi asked about the snake incident in question. Confusion wasn't completely limited to Izumi, as Kendra herself wasn't completely sure as to what had happened. Reiko didn't quite want to revisit the topic that she had mentioned just seconds ago anyways, so she let it die out.

"My boyfriend came right in time to stop an evil Tux from doing away with our sweet Mayflower," Reiko said, "wait a minute...did you say wedding, sis?!" Like that wasn't also important! "I have to admit to not being afraid of snakes, to be honest. What had gotten me that night was not being more useful to help. I just stood there, looking like I had just seen a ghost."

"Knew that would catch your attention." Kendra smiled at Reiko. "I did, Sis." They agreed that Mayflower had been brave and calmed down effectively. Icer peeked to Kendra, Izumi, and Reiko as she approached, and Kendra pushed Icer's bowl over to Reiko. She silently mouthed for the housebound woman to open the lid with an innocent look, happy to see Icer. Sensing that more company had arrived, Reiko turned her head towards the door. Then she saw the bowl being pushed towards her and nodded. With the bowl in one hand and the tab to the lid in the other, she started to peel it back slowly.

"Heya, Icer," the woman greeted warmly. She continued to peel back the tab slowly.

The human-jaguar smiled at Reiko with a playful wink. Then she looked back at Icer. "Hey Ginger," Kendra greeted with a mischievous smile. That drew a blink from the dragoness, so the former sighed dramatically. "Guess there isn't enough ginger in her cookies...joking, Sis." Oh, so that was what Kendra had been getting at. Ginger. Of course, Reiko realised! Reiko peeled off the lid the rest of the way and set it down in a place for Icer to reach conveniently and with enough space, remembering her issue with crowds.

"Hi Icer," Izumi greeted with a wave. She was eating cookies now as well as drinking some tea. Izumi was, after all, a bottomless pit in the shape of a woman.

"You are well tonight?" Icer asked, peeking to Reiko just as Kendra asked,

"You sure you ain't related to my family, Izumi?" She was watching Izumi with a brow quirked playfully.

"Heya, Icer." Reiko nodded. "Yeah, I've been well since I woke up late this morning. I'm slowly piecing together what happened to me...but it makes little sense, if any, because I just don't remember anything." She took a sip of her tea. "Were the kittens able to enjoy their birthday party yesterday?"

"Aye, they were," the dragoness answered whilst nipping up a cookie as Kendra looked then to Reiko. She rubbed her neck, her fingers brushing the bite before purring and releasing a shudder with it.

"You just never can tell about these sort of things," Izumi said to Kendra with a grin.

In turn, Kendra looked at Izumi and laughed. "True." And, another sip was taken from the china teacup in Reiko's hands.

Try as she might to keep the subject away from last night's happenings, it wasn't working as she planned. That only meant having to try harder was all. "So, Sis...details! I'd love to hear more about the wedding. You've got a really big family to consider with the invitations, you know."

"I know..." Kendra said with a sigh. "...don't tell Damien I told you, any of you...he may freak out." It had apparently been a condition of him taking on a cat form.

"[color=#44bbaff]I won't tell,[/color]" Icer promised, purring. Kendra went on to tell them that no plans have yet been made. What she was sure about was, she really wanted Icer, Reiko, and Izumi to be there - along with some of her relatives - mami, papi, and her brothers. Icer nodded just as Reiko swore to Fate that she wouldn't say a word to Damien about anything relating to the wedding. She nodded, holding up her right pinkie finger as she made her promise to Kendra and taking non-rhythmic sips of her tea as she listened. With her unoccupied hand, she reached over to start giving gentle scritches and pettings to Icer. A thrum came from Icer as she was scritched, and Kendra added that the wedding wouldn?t be too soon. "That is okay," Icer told Kendra.

Reiko's eyes drifted over to the gift bag of books that Izumi had given to her. Not much of a reader, no, but she wasn't ungrateful. She nodded to Kendra whilst tugging the bag closer to her and peeked inside. Izumi had filled it with mystery novels. "Ooh...my favourite, Agatha Christie. When I'm in the mood to read, anyways." Reiko had better build up that mood to read really quickly! She wasn't going anywhere fast. "You guys are really good at picking out gifts. Did y'all trade notes?"

[Reiko Souma]

"I do magic, Sis," Kendra answered.

"Ew..." Reiko said, making a face. The Reiko of last night wasn't saying ew to the magic that she herself had been using! That she was reacting with an "ew" should be a sign that the woman was definitely herself and in her own frame of mind. She wrinkled her nose some. Had she been listening to herself last night, she would have wanted to slap herself silly. "...sorry, but I'm still not quite warmed-up to sorcery like the rest of you are." Reiko could almost hear Anya lecturing her for that (even though she wasn't even in the room). She continued with giving Icer gentle scritches, this time moving to the right side of her head gently.

Kendra was now laughing at Reiko. "Sis...you took all the Agatha Christie books from my bookshelves." Was that a complaint?

"Oops! Silly me!" Admittedly, she had more of an Agatha Christie obsession than she realised. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly whilst the still-thrumming Icer nibbled on her cookie. "Guilty as charged, eh? I don't suppose you want them back sometime?" Her teacup sat on the table once she was finished drinking the tea within it. Only the fresh tea leaves remained.

"You're my sister, just like Icer...I have to share." Kendra was looking at Reiko as she spoke, Icer purring contently between the two women. "I may have more back home...but you both mean more to me."

Last time Reiko checked, she was! She smiled at this. "That's very sweet of you, Kendra. Thank you," she said. With those who have come to visit so far, she was curious as to whether Andu himself would return after being the one to bring her home to begin with. She tugged at what would be her third cookie and started to nibble away. "I thought this house arrest thing would be so awful, but you know? Turns out that it's not so bad after all. I'm not alone to be bred to death all day."

Kendra laughed. "You know my skills and cooking are a text away...oh, and if I don't reply quickly? I'm with D." She sipped her tea.

Cue the cracking up on Reiko's end. The way her sister worded that? Well..! "Oh Sis...please tell me you thought that out before you said it!" the laughing woman exclaimed. She was still laughing, although it couldn't have been that funny. "My mind went on a one-way trip down to the gutter for that moment." The woman wiped tears from the corners of her eyes that had come from her laughing so hard. She felt Icer's horned head resting on her shoulder and asked, once she had recovered, "Sleepy, Icer?" scratching the dragoness' head once again. With Kendra telling Reiko that she meant exactly what had been implied (with an added blush), Reiko felt the need to derail this subject. "You should probably quit whilst you're ahead, Sis...there's only so low my mind can venture into the gutter before it becomes too much for me, you know?" The woman put up a hand to indicate that she had heard enough. "Me and Bond still, you know." Reiko stuck her tongue out lightly.

"I hear ya, Sis." Kendra smiled as she thought. "Good to hear...even we need to feel our mates somehow."

[Reiko Souma]

As they spoke, Andu limped towards the Estate with his hands stuck into the pockets of his jacket. During this, Reiko nodded at first in response to what her sister was saying. "I can only imagine how worried he's been about me." She showed Kendra her shoulder-length hair by freeing her hair from the hair elastic. "No way someone put Miracle-Grow into my hair to give it a five-inch growth in a matter of hours." A perfectly-maintained courtyard would greet Andu upon his arrival to the Estate. Before he even crossed the threshold, he might or might not admire the leaf-covered trellis that was well-decorated with flowers all about. A neatly-paved pathway led visitors in a straight line towards the heavy front doors of the mansion where Reiko currently served her house arrest. Carefully and regularly-mowed lawn was well tended-to by the staff, and guarding the doors was a single doorman who, as Kendra had earlier mentioned, took his job very seriously. Those not identified as being on the list of visitors approved to see Reiko were not permitted entrance, but the doorman wouldn't hassle Andu once he saw the ten-foot tall minotaur. Said minotaur limped his way through the gate and trellis, moving towards the front door slowly and carefully, but steadily.

Seeing the minotaur limp his way towards the front door, the doorman immediately recognised him. "Ah, good evening, Mr. Kirost. You'll find Lady Reiko sitting in the dining room with your sisters," Andu was told. The doorman opened the door for Andu and stepped aside to allow him room to enter. "Just down the hall opposite the kitchen."

Andu nodded to the doorman. "Ah. Thank you, sir," he said, limping down the hall to the indicated room. The doorman nodded before returning to his position just outside of the door. Meanwhile, Reiko had gone quiet. Her mouth was full of the cookies that she had taken from Kendra's generous supply, and it was starting to get dark. Time to switch on the lights.

"Phew. Much better," she said before sitting once more.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Reiko heard Andu's voice just as she had offered Kendra some more tea.

"Big Brother!" Reiko exclaimed, running to greet the minotaur with a hug. "You came to visit! Anya told me I'm on house arrest."

Andu nodded as he carefully returned the hug. "Yes, I know. It is for your own good, till we can get your head fixed."

Speaking of heads, Reiko tilted hers to the side as she usually did whenever something confused her. "What do you mean, get my head fixed? I feel just fine." What exactly had happened to her last night? She tried to guide the minotaur over to the table, which was a thick mahogany with strongly thick benches for most to sit on. As Icer had fallen asleep on Reiko earlier, the woman had made sure to keep her comfortable prior to greeting Andu. "At least, I don't feel like anything is wrong with me. Other than someone apparently using Miracle-Grow on my hair, that is?"

Another nod came from Andu. This time, a brief explanation followed. "That is often the way with control spells. Which we have learned you have had one cast on you."

[Reiko Souma]

"Say what?" She froze in an instant. Someone had turned her into their target practise for sorcery?! Unacceptable! Her eyes widened with shock, and then lowered, unsure of which reaction was more appropriate. "Tch." Reiko had been happy all day, only now she had done a one-eighty from that to pissed. "All right, who's the bastard that signed their death wish by using sorcery on me? And with control, at that...sick!"

Without hesitation, Andu looked right at Reiko and spoke just one word: "Blood."

The woman blinked at the mention of the one word. "What about it?" she asked. "We all have blood, don't we?" Wait a minute...she blinked again. "I'm not reacting?" Reiko pointed out. Then again, she felt as if she had seen everything imaginable that was associated with the one word! "I'm not getting sick."

"The one that put the control spell on you did some quick and dirty work on you, and burned out your adverse reaction to it. No telling what, if any, collateral damage he did. And you were calling him 'Master.'"

"Huh. But if I'm not reacting like I used to, then isn't that a good thing? That means nobody has to watch what they say around me anymore for fear of me getting sick." Or, so she thought. That was her thought, anyways. "Right?" Then she paused. "Him, who? Master? What the heck?!" Reiko was frowning. Based on the description given by Andu, the creature that she had addressed as Master was weird-looking, even by Rhy'din standards. Andu didn?t know much about the creature, but he was the reason for Reiko's house arrest.

As Andu took a seat on one of the benches, Reiko started to rack through her mind for ideas of anyone who might be weird-looking. Rhy'din locals on average were pretty weird as it was, seeing as this was Rhy'din. For someone to be weird by those standards, well...that said a lot. "Really weird guy uses some weird sorcery on me, I call him 'Master' like I'm some slave of his, and I miraculously conquer my fear of blood...is there anything else I should know?" Reiko asked. She gestured towards the many desserts that Kendra had brought over earlier. "About what time did all of this start?"

Andu shrugged. "He must be the one that messed with your hair as well, since it was only a short time between when I saw you last with short hair, and then again with long. I don't know when it started. The first time I saw you yesterday, you were already in his control."

Great. Creepy Sorcerer had used some Miracle-Grow spell on her hair to make it grow to its current length. "I can see that I'm going to have to cut my hair...again." Later, that is. She started on her fourth blueberry scone. "Can I kick this creep's ass once this thing goes away? How were the kits? Were they affected at all? Nobody will tell me anything about them."

"Mayflower smelled the taint on you, and it bothered hers and the others. But once we got you out of there, we were able to distract them and make it a good night for them," the minotaur added.

[Reiko Souma]

"Oh man..I almost ruined their birthday party, too. Bloody Hell." She ate the rest of that scone faster and reached for number five. "We can tell Izumi-chan that her imposter theory's no good now." Reiko stood and walked over to one of the windows. She looked outside, where she couldn't go right now. Then she turned to face Andu again. "You think Antonio and Anya are pissed with me?" Reiko asked.

"No. Like me, they are probably annoyed that you did something as foolish as take a walk in the Cemetery in the middle of the night. But I doubt they are too seriously angry with anything after you had a spell cast on you," he answered reassuringly.

D'oh! Walking to the Cemetery wasn't for the purpose of being set up for a spell-casting! Her head dipped down. At that moment, Antonio stepped through the door. "Concerned would be a better word than pissed - I agree."

Andu nodded to Antonio. "Evening, Sir," he greeted.

"Speak of the devil," Reiko mumbled. She raised her head. "How much of that did you hear?" She was still standing next to the window, glancing outside whenever the room went quiet. It was a wish, anyways...so near, yet so far.

"Good evening, Andu - no need to be so formal," Antonio said with a quiet smile, "and I heard a little. Perhaps you can fill me in a bit more as to what happened?" He pulled up a chair, turned it around, and sat facing the back of it as he looked back and forth between Andu and Reiko.

"I'll have to leave that to Big Brother over there what happened after I blacked out, really." Reiko took up a lean against the windows in the dining room - one immediately in front of her and one immediately behind her - and folded her arms in front of her. She shook her head with a shrug. "As for me, I thought I was following the emotions of someone in distress and wanted to help them. Then..." One white hand moved free to touch her forehead lightly. "...it's fuzzy. A Drow jumped down behind me and talked to me, and I lost it from there."

"Define 'lost it?'" Antonio asked.

Andu stepped in at this point. "I guess I should, since Reiko's memory of events seems to have been wiped. She took a walk in the cemetery last night, and apparently encountered a sorcerer who cast a control spell on her. It has tainted her own powers and has her calling him 'Master' now. He did some quick and dirty work on her mind, from what I saw last night, and burned out her adverse reaction to even the word blood. He also caused her hair to grow and tried to have her cause some chaos or trouble at the Kits' birthday party." Somehow, he had this sneaking suspicion that this wouldn't be his last time repeating this after tonight.

That same hand that Reiko had raised to her forehead now came down, its thumb pointing towards Andu. "What he said. My memories of what happened after I fell for that bastard's spell? Gone, all of them. All I remember after that is waking up here and being told that I'm on house arrest."

"Bozhe moi." Stepping inside, Anya headed over to Antonio to deliver a quick kiss before she too claimed a chair beside his to settle in. "Good evening, Andu, Reiko."

Andu nodded to Anya with a wry grin. "Evening, Anya. I hope you overheard my briefing. I don't know if I can manage to get it straight a second time."

Reiko looked up at Anya and offered a wave. "Hey, Anya," she greeted. Her head had dipped down again at the mention of causing the kittens

"I did, and it's quite...interesting," Anya told Andu.

"Some choice of words..." Once more, the woman was looking out the window. Now she really wished that she could go for a walk outside. At least around the Estate would be nice for the sake of fresh air, even if she had to be escorted with one hand held behind her back. "...but at least I know why I'm not going anywhere now."

"At least until we can figure out how to get that spell you are under taken off of you, Reiko," Andu said, much to Anyas voiced agreement.

However, Antonio was frowning to himself. "This bothers me on several levels. What happened to the sorcerer?"

"He took off," Andu answered with a shrug. "I wasn't interested in starting a fight with Reiko there and under his control."

"I'm not interested in a fight, Andu. I'm interested in finding out exactly what was done when he violated Reiko's mind. And exactly how it can be undone," Antonio said.

[Reiko Souma]

Anya's ringed hands came together like a steeple, and she rested her chin on the steeple, listening and observing. Reiko was also listening, somewhat, whilst thinking, And then I can kick that sorcerer's ass? She would definitely love to use him as a Drow version of a baseball with her Katana as a bat, and "bat" the creep all over Rhy'din until there was nothing left of him. "I wouldn't have objected to you throwing him across the city, Big Brother. But, was I thinking that way last night?" With another shrug as an apparent response, Andu reiterated that the creature was strange, even for Rhy'din. The creature named Agrylax was a Drow with one red eye and the other a dragonic with a sort of split golden pupil of sorts. Agrylax had large draconic wings and a draconic tail with purple scales littering parts of his body.

That was when an idea formed in Reiko's mind. The woman looked in Anya's direction. "When Andu brought me back, Anya, did I have any injuries or...I don't know, weird marks that might not have been easily visible?" Reiko asked. " I couldn't find any, but I didn't know what to look for at the time. Except for the feeling like I might have been wearing something for a moment." She patted at her neck. "No teeth marks, right?"

"It appeared that you had been bitten, da. Not in the traditional sense of the vampire. There were tiny marks not unlike pin pricks," the female doctor answered.

Thinking about the given description after listening to Anya, even though Reiko had seen him before, made the housebound woman shudder. "He really wasn't kidding about making a snack out of me...my poor neck!" She walked back over to the table, hugging herself. She needed more hot tea after that and helped herself to some of the raspberry tea that Kendra had brought over earlier. " That means I didn't bleed either," she stated.

"Not obviously so," Anya said.

"Not that I saw, but I think you left everything you had eaten in the last day or two on the ground in the cemetery," Andu added.

Palm, meet forehead. There was another question answered: the aftertaste. "I may not be afraid of blood anymore, but that doesn't mean I don't find what you just told me disgusting," was said.

"Did this seem targeted, or was it a crime of opportunity?" Antonio asked, and for a moment, Reiko wondered if the man might have been a cop in some previous life of sorts.

"I missed the beginning of it all, so I don't know enough to say one way or the other."

Reiko fixed some of the raspberry tea in her teacup and filled it with water. "All those who agree this was opportunity, say aye." Her hand went up first. "Who knows how long he'd been sitting on that monument before I showed up? He could've been there all day."

[Reiko Souma]

To this, the others voiced their agreement.

"So does that mean I'm not in trouble and can get off of house arrest?" Reiko asked with a grin. It may be a bad time to try putting out the jokes, but it wouldn't be like her to not ask either. "Y'know...seeing as I'm not the bad girl for once." She took a sip of her tea in the meanwhile.

"Will you be able to keep from hurting yourself or others?" Antonio asked in response. Reiko paused, not lowering the teacup in her hand. Pink azalean eyes shifted to look at Antonio as she went into thought.

Could she control herself, should the spell start to affect her again? "I..." She put the cup down. "...I don't know. Maybe as long as I'm able to control myself. But?if I can't? I wouldn't trust me either."

A pained chuckle came from Andu upon hearing this. "Sorry, Reiko. Just like I had to lock up Icer and Alex when they went mad, it is for your own good. Do you recall what we did when you first returned to Rhy'din awhile back? When I first convinced Katt not to throw you in a cell and throw away the key?"

"Then I'd have to say, until this resolves in one way or another, for both your personal safety and the safety of others, you will need to remain under house arrest." Anya had a good point, as did Andu.

Which was why Reiko simply said, "D'oh." Like a little child being told that they couldn't have any ice cream for breakfast, Reiko pouted.

"Though there are worse houses to be arrested in," Antonio said with a nod.

Whether he was trying to cheer her up or not, the young woman dipped her head down yet again and, moving the half-empty cup aside, lowered her head onto the table with her forehead touching. Then she shut her eyes and sighed. "Well...since it looks like I'm in for the long haul, I guess I'd better get used to reading books from Izumi-chan, being lazy, having house calls for doctors and therapy, and getting fat on the snacks that Kendra brought over." Reiko pointed at the many, many different bakery snacks that had been baked at the cottage.

"Exercise is still possible, even inside," Andu pointed out lightly.

"Indeed it is. We have a full sallet d'arms here. The plunge is large enough to swim laps in. And you could always run stairs," Antonio added, smirking.

"There ya go." Andu grinned and chuckled. "And maybe we can find a sparring dummy in a certain shape to work on your aggression."

Reiko turned her head to her left. "Anya..! You're the doctor. You of all people can tell them how important it is to get fresh air, too..!" She was grasping at straws at this point. Swimming laps, running stairs, and sparring dummies didn't sound like bad ideas?either?

"Mm, she could train with Ettore." Anya smiled mischievously.

"Ettore..?" Her eyes widened. "You can't be serious. I thought we were working on correcting my underweight status, Anya. Now you surely mean to kill me!"

"You need to build muscle too." Meep!

Andu nodded in agreement with Anya. "Getting fit is much more than just losing weight. Building muscle and endurance are also important. As well as flexibility, speed, and accuracy if you are doing for more than just your general health."

Reiko's mouth shut before anything else could come from it. She now bit the corner of her lower lip as she pouted. What about training with that incredibly tough sword master was a good idea, exactly? Reiko had some doubt in surviving beyond the first five minutes, never mind the first training session in its entirety. "Yup. You want me to be run into the ground. Abandon all hope...watch Reiko get beaten halfway to death! Fire and brimstone awaits." The cynicism was heavy with this one.

"I want you to learn some discipline, and Ettore is good at teaching it," Anya pressed, and Reiko looked in Antonio's direction once more.

"Antonio...help?" she pleaded. That attempt of a winning smile formed on her face. "You'd help this innocent face out, as in out of being pummelled into the ground by a guy who could very easily put me there. Right?" Or so she hoped. Not to mention she thought she already knew about self and interpersonal-based discipline!

"He won't pummel you," the expected "hero" said, "He has pinpoint control."

"Some help you are..." Reiko muttered. She sat up and sighed at the agreement with the non-hero in the "thanks for nothing" fashion. "...all right, fine. I'll give Mr. Might a try." But if he hurts her! Reiko rubbed her eyes and blinked. "But I really want some fresh air now...please." She shook her head, as if trying to stay awake. "Just for two minutes? Supervised? I promise I'll go to bed right after. I'm tired..."

"Of course," Anya answered.

[Reiko Souma]

Antonio nodded and stretched. "I'd probably like to call it an earlier night tonight too...four days away, and another three-day trip come Monday."

"And I have my own lessons with Ettore, and Ayden and Andrew love to rise with the roosters," Anya added. She shook her head with a smile.

Andu nodded, grinning wryly. "And I have one hundred twenty younglings to keep busy, and resocialise," he chimed in. As those three discussed their upcoming plans, Reiko grinned. Finally, she could feel what fresh air was like! The speed she moved towards the nearest door to the outside was like watching her run a marathon. Her feet carried her to the door, where her hands were quick to turn the knob and open it. Calmly, before she lost her precious privilege, as she reminded herself quietly in a reprimanding fashion. She stepped outside and extended her skinny arms away from her with a slight head tilt backwards, taking in the night air. This was her two minutes; she had better make them last.

"Soon..." Reiko whispered. Her eyes, which had slid shut for a quick moment, opened again widely. She'd remembered something and did her best to not react to it. "...ugh." Sitting down cross-legged, she shut her eyes for what precious little time she had left.

Back inside, Andu was softly chuckling whilst carefully getting to his feet. "It was good to see you two again. I will keep an eye out for this sorcerer and let you know anything I find out," Andu said.

Anya nodded. "We'd definitely appreciate that, Andu. It's good seeing you again, even under the circumstances."

From her spot outside, Reiko heard the parting pleasantries being exchanged and took Andu leaving as her cue to head back inside. Damnit. She thought for a moment that she was starting to fall asleep, but no. She was still quite awake and stood, walking inside to see Andu off. "Goodnight, Big Brother," Reiko said. She had hurried over to try sending him off with a hug. "You'll come visit again?"

With a nod, Andu paused mid-limp to accept the tiny woman's hug. "I will try to visit, between my duties to all those new refugees. But you take care of yourself, Reiko; don't give up hope. Sweet Dreams and Restful Sleep.

"I'll...try not to." She lowered her head as she said this and waited for Andu to leave before shutting the door. Then she turned around to head towards the dining room once more. There was a lot of food to be put away, courtesy of Kendra. "I'll try not to have nightmares about this?if it can be helped," a now yawning Reiko told Antonio and Anya. In the pyjamas she's worn all day, she looked especially tiny like a child. She rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"No nightmares allowed. We'll ward your room if needs be," Antonio said.

Reiko looked to Anya for help. "I'm already having flashbacks from talking about everything," she admitted, rubbing her eyes still. It was safe to say that it was time for Reiko to head to bed now.

"Talking about it will help, though," Anya said with a nod of agreement from Antonio, "you should go rest."

"Mhm..." She lowered her hands from her eyes, now that she was sure there was nothing that had gotten into them. Being without eyelashes was just going to be a forever thing for her, but deep down she knew this spell crap wouldn't be. Her left hand rubbed her collarbone as she started for the stairs which would lead to her bedroom. "...I guess, goodnight." With her back to them, Reiko shuddered and hugged herself.

[Reiko Souma]

Four Nights of Fright: Night Three can be found here.