From her perch on an ornately carved bedpost, Gussie keeps an eye on the door. [I don't hear anyone coming.]
I sniff the woven rug that covers a bamboo wood floor. Memo's and Judo's scents still linger here like imprints.
Somehow, Demos managed to get a hold of special collars worn by Memo, a panther cub, and Judo, a wolf pup. These collars, engraved with the emblem of the House of Riddlehoeven, were worn for special occasions like tournaments and meets and Beast Balls, which beast tamers attend with their tamed beasts.
[I don't know what you expect to find.]
Demos tosses this out while his furry rear end pokes out from underneath the bed, which he has just finished thoroughly sniffing. Squirming and wriggling, he backs up and comes out from under the bed. His nose looks like it was dipped in gray ash from all the dust he picked up.
I blow the dust off his nose. [I thought that maybe we'd also pick up a clue about whoever took those two. Maybe someone posing as a housemaid or a lady's maid or a valet...]
[Well, unfortunately for all of us, Ser Maartenwitz sweated all over the carpet.] Demos sounds sulky. [But don't go arresting him. When Memo and Judo stayed here, Maartenwitz would do a nightly and morning check on them. Their stats. Their vitals. Everything.]
[He knew their routines. That still makes him a prime suspect, no matter what you say. But I'm willing to consider other possibilities. Like someone else on staff, or someone pretending to be staff. How many people have access to this chamber besides the family and Maartenwitz?]
Demos shakes off the dust. [A handful. A servant who helps Master with his clothes...]
[A valet.]
Demos hums. [That's the word! And then a lady who helps Mistress Minette with her clothes and bath and hair.]
Gussie's voice cuts into our dialogue. "Maid! Maid!"
That's our signal. It would be weird for us to be here. It's not someplace we would normally go unless accompanied by Vedette and Kaline.
We squeeze back under the bed, hoping that whoever comes in will not choose to dust under the bed. Wait...do they have vacuums in this world? I haven't noticed anything. They have mops and brooms. They have servants.
[Blaze: Luck +1]
I am racking up the stats here. Oh, System? Stat check?
[Name: [Blaze]
[Class: [Novice]
[Race: [Common Tiger]
[Level: 2/10 [XP 40/100 STATUS: Full
[HP: 6/6 [MP: 0/0 [Stamina 100/100
[Strength: 13
[Defense: 14
[Magic: 16
[Resistance: 8
[Speed: 15
[Charisma: 23
[Luck: 14
[Skills: [Bite (Attack Skill] [Pounce (Attack Skill)] [Sprint (Skill)] [Camouflage (Skilll) [Escape Power (Skill) [Telepathy(Skill Not Yet Acquired)]
___________
[Name: [Demos]
[Class: [Journeyman]
[Race: [Common Brown Bear]
[Level: 3/10 [XP 45/100 STATUS: Full
[HP: 6/6 [MP: 0/0 [Stamina 100/100
[Strength: 16
[Defense: 17
[Magic: 19
[Resistance: 15
[Speed: 20
[Charisma: 25
[Luck: 14
[Skills: [Bite (Attack Skill] [Pounce (Attack Skill)] [Sprint (Skill)] [Camouflage (Skilll) [Escape Power (Skill) [Telepathy(Skill)]
___________
[Name: [Gussie]
[Class: [Novice]
[Race: [Tropical Parrot
[Level: 1/10 [XP 45/100 STATUS: Full
[HP: 6/6 [MP: 0/0 [Stamina 100/100
[Strength: 3
[Defense: 4
[Magic: 2
[Resistance: 2
[Speed: 4
[Charisma: 3
[Luck: 2
[Skills: [Bite (Attack Skill] [Fly (Attack Skill)] [Speak (Skill)] [Camouflage (Skilll) [Telepathy(Skill Not Yet Achieved)]
__________________
In just a few days, Gussie has leveled up a bit. Enough to have super keen senses and an awareness of the household.
Demos and I flatten ourselves down, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, for a tiger cub and a bear cub, anyway.
SQUEAK.
The door opens.
CLICK.
The door shuts. Two sets of footsteps.
Benjy, Lamant's valet, and Evanna, Minette's lady's maid, bustle about the bedroom. "Mistress wants her finest gown cleaned and altered for the Beast Ball tomorrow night," Evanna says in a sweet voice.
"Aye, and Master would like his finest doublet and leggings pressed and cleaned," Benjy replies. "I see Master's bird. She could do with a good bath, and Master told me to lay out her collar."
"Bath! Want a bath!"
Gussie, playing her part, sounds overexcited.
My mind is on this Beast Ball. [Demos, did you know about this Beast Ball?]
[No. It must just have come up. The great families are always throwing Beast Balls. Any excuse for beast tamers to show off.]
[And we get to attend? For real?]
The idea of mingling as a collared beast should, at least, make me irritable. I haven't been to a fancy party of any kind in at least a year. So focused on my law studies. Except for my video gaming, I really didn't make time to just live. No wonder I had a coronary.
Demos sounds amused. [Why do you think they call it a Beast Ball?]
I let out a roar--or I would if Demos hadn't stuffed his paw into my mouth. A mouthful of bear hair stops me from making a huge mistake that would give us both away.
Evanna and Benjy move about the room, full of conversation and information about the Beast Ball. Who will attend. What beasts will be there. Whether or not the beasts will be safe from the smuggling ring.
Hold on. Smuggling ring?
"It's just one or two beast taming families," Evanna says dismissively.
Benjy is more paranoid. "Including this one!"
"By the First Beast Tamer, no! What a horrible thought." Evanna sounds genuinely shaken. "You mean that Judo and Memo--"
"Aye!" Benjy is intense. "You see, it's the same at all the houses. A feline and a canine, or a lupine, or some other beast."
[Like a bear, for instance?] Demos' voice quivers.
His paw falls away from my face, and I no longer have a mouthful of bear hair. But that's not by pressing concern. To soothe and solace him, I rub noses with Demos.
"Benjy, keep your wild ideas to yourself," Evanna warns. "Why, this house could decide not to attend the Beast Ball, and that would lower our status! Besides, the beasts will be well protected. Master will see to it."
"If you say so."
"Master will protect," Gussie repeats.
Satisfied, Evanna and Benjy leave.
We crawl out from under the bed and breathe a huge sigh of relief. I lick Demos' fur and he returns the favor. It feels soothing.
[We're going to a ball!] Gussie flaps her wings, exuberant.
[That's good and bad.] I stare at Demos and Gussie. [Good because the smuggling ring might be there. Bad because we might be their next targets!]