Private Tales Nine Lives

[Isaac]

"No." He said with no small amount of frustration. "It's a little further in."

At least he was pretty sure it was.

"Mow."​

Isaac glanced over towards Teekle who was sitting on the desk in the center of the room. The Cat seemed to tilt it's head for a brief moment, then glanced down, paw batting at the handle of a drawer. With quick steps he moved towards the desk, pulling at the drawer and finding it locked.

His fingers snapped, there was a click and then he tugged the drawer open.

Inside was a bundle of documents, a ring of keys, and what appeared to be an odd black disk. Isaac picked it all up, turning the disc over in his hands. He frowned a moment, then glanced at Layla. "I suppose we have some more exploring to do."

 

[LaylaMoreno]

Layla watched Teekle and Isaac. Teekle being the not cat that he was pawed at a drawer. Definitely not a cat but the question was what was he. It was really bugging her now especially now that she saw him actually working. Directing Isaac to something. Somethings.

Isaac grabbed the contents of the drawer and then declared that they had more exploring to do. Layla made an inventory of the things she was going to come back and steal later.

"I do love exploring," Layla said with some sarcasm. She was an in and out kind of girl not a stay around longer than a few minutes kind of girl.

She just wished she could be more help than just walking behind the duo.

 

[Isaac]

Isaac glanced over towards Layla, a smile flickering over his features again. "Well, there's exploring, and then exploring."

He told her with a wink.

"Maybe when we're done here I'll sho-" Before he could finish his sentence one of the three doors to the library suddenly fell open. Behind it came a man dressed in armor, not much older than Isaac himself.

Shock flickered over the man's features in an instant, his gaze sweeping over Isaac, then Layla, and then to Teekle with no small amount of confusion.

"What the hell are you doing here? The Library is off limits to guests."​

A hand fell to the sword at the mans waste.

"I need you to leave. Immediately."​

 

[LaylaMoreno]

Layla looked innocent almost immediately after the door opened. She put her hand over her heart in a mix of mock embarrassment and sweetness. "I am so sorry. I came to this magnificent manor when I was younger and I remembered how beautiful the library was."

She had started to move closer to the man as she spoke.

"My husband, the Baron Teach, has never seen it before and I just had to show him."

Closer. Closer. Closer.

"It really is the greatest library in the land, I hope you understand. I certainly did not mean to cause any problems..."

 

[Isaac]

"I ah...we..." Before Isaac could offer his excuse Layla began to run through a spiel that was far more effective than he could have come up with.

Lying came second nature to him, but...well, stressful situations could put him off a bit. It was a good thing that she was here. The Guard, if that was what he was, seemed more than transfixed by Layla as she approached him.

His gaze flickered over her shoulder only once towards the 'Baron' and his cat.

"Ah...yes...I suppose it is rather grand. I can't blame you for wanting to explore, Baron, but I'm afraid even to you it is off limits."​

Hand eased off the sword. "I do apologize, my friend. I simply got curious...and well I never learned to quite take 'no' for an answer."

He smiled, watching as Layla came within steps of the man.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

The man's gaze had been so transfixed on the beautiful woman that he didn't notice she was slowly lifting her dress as she walked. Layla was never unarmed. Ever. The former assassin withdrew felt along her thigh. One two three, she plucked the vile from her garter.

Her slow, smooth steps gave her time to pop the cork off the bottle. She felt slightly bad. No...no she didn't. She missed this rush.

Layla was in front of the man now and she smiled sweetly at him. He was only slightly taller than herself. "We will get out of here if you promise to keep this a secret," she purred as her free hand ran down his cheek.

The man was focused on her soft hand touching him and her amber pools of seduction. He opened his mouth to reply and she lifted her other hand in a flash, emptying the entire vial into his mouth. She smiled at him as she covered his mouth with her hand and whispered something to him that no one else could hear.

As she had done this, her arm had snaked around his waist and when he slouched forward, she caught him with an oof.

"Help me hide him, Isaac," she said like she hadn't just murdered a man. The smell of bitter almonds clung around his body.

 

[Isaac]

Well that was unexpected.

He'd thought that Layla would knock him out, hit him or something, not pull out a vial of poison and pour it down his throat. Not that he minded or anything, in fact he was sort of impressed that she had it prepared at all.

Briefly he glanced over towards Teekle who was sitting on the desk, then heard Layla ask for his help. "What? Me?"

Physical labor was not exactly his strong suit. Never had been.

Though granted hiding the body was probably important.

"That's okay." He said, looking at Teekle. "Go help her."

"Mrow."​

"What do you mean! You like armor. It adds crunch!" Isaac contended, and the cat looked over towards Layla. It seemed to wait for a second before seemingly tilting it's head in consternation.

"Mow mow mreow."​

Teekle said, jumping off the table. As soon as the cats feet left the desk, it began to transform. It's fur became a darker shade, it's body growing near five times it's size, and it's eyes becoming a deep dark red. The cat now looked more like a tiger, slowly walking towards Layla. "You may want to put the body down."

Isaac told Layla with a wave.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

Layla was going to yell at Isaac for taking to long when she heard him say she needed to put the body down. She had heard his side of the conversation with Teekle but she thought he was just losing his mind until she squared to set the body down and turned to see the cat.

The cat was no longer a cat. Well he was a cat...technically...a giant darker version of Teekle was stalking towards her and the body. Her mouth fell open as she watched the cat for a second before moving out of his way and walking over to Isaac.

"So what is Teekle?" Layla asked sweetly now that Isaac couldn't pass him off as a normal cat.

 

[Isaac]

Isaac seemed to let the question linger in the air. He only watched in silence as the tiger-like creature stalked over towards the waiting corpse. "What is he?"

The Warlock mused for a moment, letting the words linger on his tongue.

"He's..." As he began to speak, Teekle began to open his mouth.

For a brief moment his jaw seemed to move like any other creature. Pulling open like that of a tiger's before splitting open further and further. Teeth began to set within an odd cheshire grin, Teekle's mouth parting wider and wider until his maw stretched well beyond reason.

A lovecraftian horror split the cat's face, and with one great chomp Teekle devoured the corpse of the man.

Then, within the blink of an eye the strange creature transformed back into it's dexterous cat-like form. He turned around, glancing briefly at both Layla and Isaac. His tongue rasped over his paw, and then gently dragged over his ear. "A very good kitty."

The Warlock said with a smile, glancing at Layla.

"Do you really want to know more?" Isaac asked, though didn't linger long enough for an answer. Turning on his heel and heading towards another door.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

Layla threw Isaac the look when he seemed like he was not going to answer her again. She looked between Isaac, the cat, and the body wondering what the tiger was going to do to the body. Eat it?

And just like that...Teekle was no longer a cat or a tiger.

Layla grabbed Isaac's arm with a gasp, unable to look away from the...thing.

"What the fuck?" She said so softly that she did not even remember if she had actually said anything at all. Isaac smiled at her after Teekle had become a normal cat again and she just stared at the man with her mouth open.

"No...yes...no..." She answered his question as she caught up with Isaac and gave Teekle another what the fuck look.

 

[Isaac]

Teekle pranced along behind the two humans as they stepped out of the library and into a hallway.

It was about as lavishly decorated as the rest of the manor had been, and unsurprisingly there were dozens of portraits of former Dukes hanging. "Garish."

The Warlock said with a shake of his head.

"So what do you think?" Isaac asked Layla, as though she hadn't just witnessed a cat turning into a horrible monstrosity. "Door A or B?"

He glanced towards the end of the hall where it seemed to split into two different ways.

Teekle seemed to walk ahead of them, having somehow darted further down the hall. He glanced left, and then right, before slowly sitting down between the two paths.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

Layla looked at the two doors. Two options that could lead to trouble or the thing that Isaac was looking for. For a moment, she thought Teekle would make a decision but the cat just made himself comfortable in the middle of the hall. Super helpful, she thought.

"Let's go with door b," she finally answered and started to walk in that direction. She put her hand on the door knob and pushed it open.

 

[Isaac]

"I love that choice." Isaac said as he sauntered forward in the hall, turning back towards Layla to offer a smile.

"I'm glad I happened upon you." The Warlock said with a smile. "I think you've been making some very good decisions."

Teekle let out a quiet purring sound, slowly walking down the hall and rubbing against Layla's leg.

The Warlorck shot her a smile, still walking backwards as he reached the crescent within the hall and disappeared behind it. Just a second later Layla would hear the opening of a door, gone somewhat from sight, and then a quiet curse.

"Well fuck." Isaac's voice rang out, no small amount of shock coloring his tone as he saw two mutilated corpses inside of a small study.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

Layla chuckled as she followed Isaac and then looked down to see Teekle rubbing against her leg. "Yes, you are a good kitty, Teekle," she said with a smile and squatted down to scratch the cat between his ears.

She was watching Isaac with a smirk until she heard his curse. Layla quickly stood back up and went over to him. A gasp slipped from her lips as she looked into the study.

"I changed my mind. I pick door a..." She said as she looked at the corpses. "I didn't do this..." she added a moment later to be safe.

 

[Isaac]

Isaac couldn’t help the wry chuckle that escaped him as Layla quickly absconded any responsibility for the bloody scene. ”I’d be rather impressed if you were.”

The warlock mused as he stepped inside.

Both of the bodies had been cut and slices into, arms half severed, deep gashes within their skin. It seemed as though they had quite literally been carved. Lips thinned for a brief moment as he wiped away some of the blood. ”Well.”

He mused as Teekle trotted up besides him.

”I guess that explains why the Duke wasn’t at the ball yet.” Isaac looked back at Layla. ”This is him.”

Probably his wife besides him.

Though that didn’t really answer…any question. What had happened? Why?

“Mow.”​

Isaac frowned, then looked at Teekle. The cat was gently licking the Duke’s bloody hand. A smile flickered over his features and Isaac reached out, plucking a small ring from the Duke’s finger with a smile.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

"I charged extra if they wanted a message like this sent..." Layla said absently, giving her partners another view into her former occupation. She stood beside Isaac and studied the bodies. This was gruesome and a message of some type.

"So the Duke and his wife are dead. Mutilated. Why?"

Her lip curled as the cat licked the bloody hand like it was some warm milk. "Really, Teekle?!" She asked the cat with a look of exasperation.

 

[Isaac]

Isaac glanced over his shoulder. "I don't know."

It was an honest answer, maybe the first entirely truthful one that he had given Layla this whole time. A frown pulled at his lips as he inspected the ring. It was exactly what he had been looking for, and without another thought he slipped it into his pocket.

"Don't suppose it matt-" He was cut off as Layla chided Teekle.

"MOOOW!"​

The cat objected loudly. "You did just see him eat a body."

Isaac reminded her.

"This shouldn't be much of a sur-" For the second time within just a few seconds Isaac found himself interrupted as the opposite door to them slammed opened. This time, Four Guards in armor stepped out. Each of them already held swords drawn, all of them streaming into the study.

"YOU THERE, STOP!"​

They shouted, voices echoing in the room.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

"Well, it is different when he is in adorable cat form," Layla grumbled as the shouts interrupted them.

"Well, fuck!" She said as the four guards with armor and drawn swords came into the study. "We did not do that!" Layla said automatically before whispering to Isaac.

"So can Teekle turn into the monster thing again and eat all four guards? I only have my dagger..." She could fight with her dagger but she preferred sword to sword over sword to dagger. Plus the dress made things more difficult.

In reality, Layla could change into something much bigger and rip the guards apart but she was not sure if she was ready to show that to Isaac yet.

 

[Isaac]

Isaac took half a step back. "Well."

His voice was low.

"It's not that simple." Not really.

Teekle could turn into the beast that Layla had seen, but there was a difference between eating a corpse and killing four men. There would be a lot more noise, and as a consequence a lot more exposure. They were here undercover, at least ostensibly.

He glanced towards the assassin for a brief moment, then towards the cat. "Make them look to the left."

The Warlock told his partner suddenly.

"I'll take care of the rest." He just needed their attention drawn away for a second. Just long enough.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

Layla nodded at Isaac. She could totally distract them and make them look to the left. Easy. She was a woman after all. Honestly, she did not think her feminine wiles would work on four guards like they had on the one. Decisions decisions. Fuck, she thought. She would have to shift. It was the only way she would surprise them into looking away.

She started to walk towards the guards and shifted mid step into a dragonfly. The dragonfly was so small that it would take them a moment to realize she had not just disappeared. She flew to the left in the blink of an eye and shifted back into her human form just out of arms reach of the guards.

"Hey boys..." She smiled lazily.

 

[Isaac]

The guards almost seemed to jump out of their skin as Layla all but teleported to their left.

It happened so swiftly that Isaac didn't even really have time to process it, though Teekle did watch the insect quickly darting through the air. The cat's head twisting in an instant.

Regardless of how she'd done it, Isaac did as he said.

No spell was spoken, he didn't need that. Instead his fingers snapped once more. The air seemed to shimmer, and then within the span of a breath the temperature around the guards dropped in an instant. A lance of pure white warped and cut through them, and in an instant the men were frozen solid.

It was a horrific sort of death. Coming fast, but not fast enough to kill them instantly. Each of them wore a mask of utter terror, their eyes opened wide, their mouths falling as they tried to scream only to be cut off by the frost.

"We should go." Isaac declared, turning on his heel.

This wasn't their mess to clean up after all.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

"Well fuck me," Layla gasped out as the guards literally froze to death. Isaac had some talents, Teekle had some hidden talents, and she had some hidden talents. They all needed to have a little sit down later.

She was not going to argue with Isaac as she followed him quickly. Hopefully he had gotten what he was looking for because they had just killed five men for it.

"So did you get what you were looking for or was all this for nothing?" Layla asked the magician as they walked at a rather quick pace.

 

[Isaac]

"Oh I have what i need." Isaac said with a smile.

He hadn't known it until Teekle pointed it out of course. The ring now burning a hole in his pocket was the hidden gem that had tucked itself away in the Duke's manor.

There was a good reason that the cat hadn't been able to sense it, the magic warping around it too much for even Teekle to sort through. Isaac himself had only sensed it for what it was; a counterbalance. A path to even greater power.

He smiled at Layla. "I'd call all of this a success really."

The Warlock said.

"A bit more..." He shrugged. "Chao-"

Before he could finish his sentence a sudden shrill alarm resounded. A thousand bells screeching at once. A magical klaxon that signaled nothing less than the death of the Duke and a half dozen of his guards.

 

[LaylaMoreno]

"Oh goodie!" Layla mockingly clapped. "Can you get out of here unnoticed? I can, Teekle can. Unfortunately, I cannot turn you into an animal with me." She shrugged as if to say what are you gonna do. "If you can then we can meet back at your room, if not then I will stay with you and we will fight our way out if we have to."

Layla was not going to leave Isaac to fend for himself even if he had proven that he could take care of himself.

 

[Isaac]

Isaac considered for a brief moment, glancing down at Teekle.

The cat wandered up to him, rubbing gently up against his leg. Lips thinned as he looked around. One end of the hall presented the room they had just left, another a door with the unknown, and then the last with the Library.

A noise came from the third option, and the second threw open it's door to reveal a half dozen guards.

Time seemed to slow. Angry shouts and yells echoed out. "Fuck it."

His fingers reached up, and then snapped.

There was a brief moment, just a breath, and then the wall besides him seemed to bend inwards. The plaster and brick collapsed upon itself, a tunnel revealed as though it had always been there. The Warlock glanced at Layla, offering a hand.

"Mademoiselle?" Isaac said in the perfect tongue of his home, ready to lead Layla into the abyss he had summoned.