Time Under Chaos | TimeUnderChaos / Five Corners

Index | Time Under Chaos | Game Logs | Five Corners—Tasha and Tanstaafl

Tanstaafl led Tasha into the guest house, a large but rather simple affair in comparison to the main house. Lanterns that ran along the wall had been lit, illuminating the Provincial-style home. Her luggage had been stacked neatly in the tiled foyer. The living room and connected sitting room looked out onto the manor's inner court yard, and be pleasantly sunny in the morning. A family room and dining room could also be seen beyond them, giving the lower floor a very open, airy feeling to it. Someone had removed the dust covers from the antique furniture. A subtle palette of beiges, ivories, and umbers had been used to decorate the house. A tightly wound and well-worn stairway led to the upper floor.

"Well, there are there are three bedrooms and two baths," Tanstaafl said. "You may want to air out the place tonight. Tear doesn't use it much. Just to store extra furniture and such. I'll have some fresh linen purchased for you tomorrow. Or if you want to go shopping, I can take you to the right places. Match your own style. Otherwise, the place is yours."

Tasha smiled delightedly. Moving to the center of the living room, she whirled around to take it all in. "Oh, it is perfect! So... Cozy!" She grinned at the furry creature. "I have to admit that I often found Minobeeways a bit, overwhelming, at times. And I would love to go shopping with you, if you don't mind. So I will know where to go in the future. You could point out all the shops and tell me which ones to avoid." She winked conspiratorially.

Then she looked at her large stack of luggage and sighed, "I guess I should start unpacking before tea. You are welcome to stay if you'd like... And perhaps tell me a bit more about everyone here," She looked at Tanstaafl hopefully.

The little fennec hopped up onto one of the trunks, so he was chest level with her. "You have enough here to unpack for days, O'Lady of Scrumptiousness," he chimed. "Just find what you need for bed and the next day. Make a little den for yourself and settle in. You're not going anywhere. Right?"

His eyes got bigger, more desperate. "Right?!"

Tasha laughed at his cuteness, "No, I don't expect to be going anywhere, at least not any time soon. But I will have to find something appropriate for dinner tonight. So... Any hints on subjects, or individuals, to avoid over dinner conversation?" She looked expectantly at Tanstaafl.

Tanstaafl let out a sigh of relief and then twisted so he could scratch his ear with his rear paw. "Johann's future execution would go over like a dead rat in your panties, I'm pretty sure," he said. "Frankly, the whole assassination attempt might be one of those things you skip over. Unless it deals with booze or chippies, don't ask about the King. Never. Ever. Mention the Princess Fiona to Mandor. Touchy subject that. In general. Try to be as vacuous and beautiful as possible. These people aren't there to be friendly. They're there to see if you're useful."

"And as for the people," he snored. "I am Tanstaafl the Magnificent. Cornucopia of Information. The Keeper of Dirty Secrets and Closeted Skeletons. Who did you need to know about? Other than Master Jurt. He's a pig. A womanizer and a cretin. You wouldn't like him."

Tasha smiled, sensing a bit of jealousy in that statement. She had her own opinion of Jurt. He smelled good. "Well, who might be at dinner? Lord Mandor, of course."

"Yep. He doesn't let any even go unattended," he said, pointing to one of her dresses with his paw. "That'd be fashionable enough for Princess Flora; who will definitely be there. She's our resident nosy parker and fashion Nazi. She'll insult you so charmingly you'll still want to sleep with her afterwards. Jurt, Morgan, and possibly Prince Bleys will be there. Oh. And Cly, of course.

"And Chadwick. The momma's boy. Heh. I hope you have an insulin shot handy."

Tasha nodded at his sage advice and pretended she knew who he was talking about as he rambled on. She did like the dress he had picked out, and carefully stretched it out on the bed hoping it wasn't too wrinkled.

She set about unpacking as he talked. She began to wonder if it might not be wise to use her trump on Minobeeways and pretend this was all a bad dream. She picked up another of the dresses her mother had insisted on packing for her, and winced. She held it up for Tanstaafl's inspection and grimaced, "This one makes me look like I'm a pup." Her nose twitched irritation. "I really need to go shopping."

Tanstaafl chuckled and stretched out on the trunk, his powder-puff tail drooping over the side. "So, I was right," he chimed. "I thought I smelled that on you. Eau de Lupine with just a hint of cute. You Chaos chicks are so dead sexy." He wriggled his furry eyebrows. "And you're so attractive when you're irritated. That nose-thing is adorable."

Tasha managed to blush and look a touch annoyed at the same time at the mention of her family's trait. But she grinned as he continued with his flowery speech. He was rather adorable himself.

His ears sank when he caught sight of the other dress. "Well. Huh. Going for the Lolita-look were we? Merlin will rubbing on you all night, if you wear that. I think we'd better stick with my choice, eh? And tomorrow, I'll take you over to Café Magnolia and introduce you to E'lbram. She knows where you can find the dresses to show off your stuff."

Tasha quickly hid away the dresses that did not meet with Tanstaafl's approval, which left her about 3 that did, all of which were evening wear. One she'd wear to dinner. Which didn't leave her anything, really, to wear to tea.

"What should I wear now, for tea? I really can't stay in this..." She looked down at her frilly dress and sighed, most of the clothes her mother had sent were not any better.

"Heh. Yeah, we're definitely straying into the frou-frou with that number," he chuckled.

Tanstaafl leapt over to the bed to get a better look at the remaining dresses. He finally settled on a simple, but elegant, cream dress. "This would be nice," he said. "Not too flashy, not too casual. And you'll match the kitchen's décor."

He sat down, curling his tail around his feet. "So," he said. "This might sound rude. But exactly who are you? And how did you hook up with Tear? You must have really impressed her to get an invite into her home. She's—how can I put this delicately—shy as hell."

As Tasha freshened up and then changed into the suggested attire, she answered Tanstaafl's question. "Do you mean do I have titles? No. My House affiliation is Minobee; allies of House Helgram, which I believe is Tear's mothers? Anyway, I met Tear at dinner; at Lord Despil's. She seemed so very nice and I invited her to sleepover at Minobeeways. We had a great time!" Tasha beamed but then a shadow passed over her face, "Well, that is until this morning and all the business with the Logrus and her father and..." Shaking herself she went on more cheerfully, "She is so smart and knows so much..." Tasha sighed wistfully. Then turning to Tanstaafl she added, "And she isn't shy if you are talking about subjects she enjoys."

Tanstaafl played the innocent as she freshened up and changed; being profoundly skilled at the old 'I'm-just-a-dog-so-just-ignore-me-while-you-undress' ruse. His ears rose up like giant fronds as her story progressed, his head cocking to the side in growing disbelief. A shiver passed through his little body at the mention of Tear's father. His jaw opened and then closed and then opened again, unable to form the words to go along with the jumble of thoughts in his tiny skull.

"Ah, I think I'm done here." Tasha glanced at her reflection in the mirror and smiled, satisfied. "Shall we go find out what is for tea?"

"Okay, hold on there for a minute, Lady Higgledy-Piggledy," he said, flicking his tail. "Her father and the Logrus? Normally, I understand Tear-Speak, which you appear to have some fluency in. So, no wonder she likes you. But you've lost me her, toots."

"She can tell you later, furball," Tear said from the doorway. "But our meal is getting cold."

Tasha worried that perhaps she had spoken out of turn, and blushed wondering how much of the conversation Tear had heard.

Before he could rebuke her, Tear silenced him with a waggle of her finger. She crossed over to Tasha and warmly smiled up at her friend. "You look beautiful," she said with a hint of envy and respect. Her delicate hands slightly adjusted Tasha's sleeve, hovering there for a moment as she looked at her friend's reflection.

She relaxed though as Tear didn't seem upset with her. "It really isn't my place to tell anyway," Tasha admonished Tanstaafl.

Tanstaafl's eyes skimmed back and forth between them. His ears curled back and he gave a disgruntled snort. "Why do I get the suspicion that my woes have just doubled?" he sighed. "It was bad enough having one of you ordering me around." He leapt off the bed and headed toward the hall. He paused in the doorway, casting a glance over his shoulder.

"Do not expect me to start putting the seat down, just because I happened to be outnumbered," he said and then stalked off, his powder-puff tail held high in masculine defiance.

Tasha sniffed; the scent of food lingered on Tear. "Whatever you were cooking smells wonderful."

Tear smiled at her friend's reflection in the mirror. "Tasso and wild mushrooms over angel hair pasta," she explained. "That is if Jurt and Morgan haven't eaten it yet. We'd best be going before the Stomach reaches them."

Tasha giggled at the descriptive nickname for little fennec. She turned away from her reflection to follow Tear.

She touched Tasha's arm again before stepping away. "I'm glad you're here," she said with a shy nod.

Tasha nodded in return, "I am so glad that you invited me to come here, Tear. I can't imagine what I'd be doing if I had had to stay in the castle or... Wherever Lord Mandor would have directed me to stay," She gave a faint shiver, but quickly quelled it, "but as you said, let's go eat before the boys eat it all."

Tear took Tasha's hand and squeezed it softly. Without further comment, she lead Tasha back to the main house.

(continued in Tea Party at Five Corners)