On the edge of the ghetto [Xyltha]

[Amaranth]

Cycle 2, Immanis, Winter, Era I, PF XV

After leaving Le Bureau de Propriété, Xyltha would make his way towards Le Rue Felix -- the Bohemian District -- where his new townhouse was located. The icy wind of the season whipped through the streets, curling around the form of the young elven man as it sought to pierce through his clothing even as he trekked through the Gift of the Empire. Jaedaxia was a large city -- magnificently sprawling across the peninsula on which it was located -- and it was very easy to get turned around to one not accustomed to wandering the city. Xyltha was one such person.

It wouldn't be long after leaving the office of the Aedile that Xyltha would realize he was lost. In a strange city with nothing to go off of in the way of directions save a deed and a name of a district, poor Xyltha was essentially "up the creek without a paddle" or perhaps more appropriately "in the tasty bakery without any crowns to spare." Thankfully, though, by some grace of the gods, Xyltha finally found himself in the Ponts district but more importantly, in Le Rue Felix.

The street cut a diagonal through the Ponts arrondissement, and there were several footbridges along its length. It was an area of the city to itself, with its own character and liveliness. It was densely populated with a combination of students, thanks to its proximity to l'universitie Socrates de Ambergois, local bohemians, and several foreign and ethnic communities. The houses were a motley of two-to-three story townhouses, made of grey bricks or wood brightly painted in yellow, blue, or red. Unique to rue Felix, though, were the curving iron staircases on the outsides of all the houses, a building practice developed to save money during the Jaedaixan Rennaissance, between the end of the aristo-wars and the day the gates opened to the Empire. Since then it had become iconic of rue Felix.

Most of the shops, cafés, pubs, and the small market on Felix were on the blocks near its intersection with calle des Arbres. This was where some of the most eccentric individuals could be found hanging out any time of the brightening, lively from about mid-morning straight through to a few hours before dawn when it quieted down, leaving only a handful of cats lounging around, slinking through the shadows and chain-smoking. Everything had its flair. Most of the cafés were small and intimate, some of them designed for high-brow academics and the poncy artistic type, others more interesting, like le Café d'arome, where every table was a chessboard with pieces, and Mezzanine, a two story café connected to a student pub called the Arkduni, which put local avant-garde paintings on display and regularly held poetry slams, readings, and hired minstrels. Mezzanine was also noted for their dessert tray: majhoub.

There were bookstores, more pubs, bakeries, and the farmer's market, held daily, which mostly just sold breads, meats, cheeses, vegetables, firewood, and coal. Artists' ateliers (studios) were also a common sight on rue Felix.

On the north end of rue Felix was the parc Felix, four square block green space with a cobbled centre around a fountain. This was where the chansons de rue (buskers and musicians) gathered to play for spare change, where the residents came just to hang out, and largely known as the safest place to score for qaifa or keif in the city. Across the street from the far end of the park was a large abandoned villa, rumoured to be the residence of the mysterious ex-thane Kiredis Thayron before he moved into the Thanal Manor. Thayron was never seen in the public during his whole tenure as Thane, having appeared out of nowhere on the political scene, and was never found or arrested by the Imperial Legions. Many insisted that he was a devout Borthanist, although so little was known about him nothing could be proven.

Southeast of the Felix-des Arbres area on the rue and its sidestreets was the biggest Esh'lahier area in Jaedaxia, known as Petit Ethgan'tor. The Esh'lahier composed the majority of the Elven population in the city, as Jaedaxians had come to accept them – though this had perhaps contributed to the very small community of Silrosian and Medonian Elves. Esh'lahier cafes and restaurants continued the Felix-des Arbres commercial district, and were the neighbourhood's cultural centres.

Alas, Xyltha's townhouse was not directly in Le Rue Felix, but rather on the edge of Petit Ethgan'tor -- the Esh'lahier ghetto. Rather amusing that a Sylrosian elf would be placed so close to the Shadow elves...

The townhouse, though once painted a bright shade of red, had fallen into some disrepair over the patterns. The paint was faded and chipping in some places, giving it the appearance of a residence a ghost would rather reside in instead of a person. When traveling up the front stairs, Xyltha would notice the second step had a rather annoying squeak to it and that the front door was covered in some rather suspicious scratches that looked as though some large beast had decided to knock with its claws... but no matter. After unlocking the door and opening it, Xyltha would notice the townhouse was much more pleasant on the inside, though it would need a bit of dusting before it was entirely livable.

Stepping into the townhouse, Xyltha would find himself in the den/living area the tigroness Aedile had spoken off. It was rather roomy with plenty of over-stuffed chairs for seating and even an old fireplace that hadn't seen use in many patterns. Off to the right was the bedroom and stairs to the upper floor while off to the left was the kitchen/dining area. Xyltha had the choice of exploring the room he was in more or poking around into the other parts of the townhouse first...

[Xyltha Thanole]

OOC:So, the Esh'lahier are dark elves, yeah?

The elfling found his misadventurous wander around the Bohemian city-section rather entertaining, for all its bustle of activity. He relaxed in the carefree atmosphere, enjoying the sights of market-goers, students and artists alike, each eccentric in their unique way. Even the sight of Esh'lahier didn't faze him. He felt no hostility towards them, despite the lessons of discrimination and malice drummed into him as a child. Of course, the thought of doing something as forbidden as befriending a traitor to the elven race sounded rather tempting, all the more because it was in fact frowned upon. He was young, and had yet to taste the full bloom of teenage rebellion, elven-style.

There was no better way to get acquainted in a city than to get lost and explore on foot. Of course, by the time he arrived at his townhouse, he was also glad to be finished with his journey. His feet were aching, and he was sure he could feel a blister or two at the sole of his right foot. Damn blisters!

So, with a show of limping, he had entered the doorway of his new townhouse. The silent interior was a stark contrast to the rowdiness outside, and he suddenly felt alone. He felt elated, as he spied the fireplace and comfortable-looking chairs. He could already imagine putting the fireplace to good use, especially in this wintry weather. As he crossed the dust-covered floor, he decided to head left, to see what the state of his kitchen was like.

If he needed any pots and pans, he would have to head out to the markets soon, before they closed. He made a mental note to check to make sure he had everything he needed to make this house liveable. Pots, pans, cutleries, bowls, blankets...

[Amaranth]

OOC: Gah, couldn't get the ooc tag and the url tag to cooperate, lol. They are Shadow Elves

IC: Upon entering the kitchen, Xyltha would be met with a rather strange sight. Perched atop the small circular table dominating the left side of the room was a creature... a rather cute creature with dusky-grey fur tinged with pink. It wasn't very large (it was only about 5 inches wide and if it was to stand up to its full height, it would be no more than 10 inches tall) but in its current sitting position it looked rather fat. Probably all that fur in the way. Its anatomy was rather odd as well. A round face reminiscent of one that would be attached to a cat was met with the long pointed ears of a rabbit while a long, fluffy tail wrapped around a long body partnered with short limbs. As Xyltha entered the room, the creature looked up from the bowl of liquid it had been immersed in only a few moments before, its dark eyes shining intelligently as it took in the sight of the young elven man. For many long moments, the two stood there, eyeing each other... until Xyltha finally had to blink lest his eyes fall out from drying up.

When he opened them again, the strange creature was no where to be seen, though in its place was a rather pretty pink vase. Odd. If he was to inspect it further, he would realize the bowl the creature had been drinking out of (if indeed it had been there at all and he wasn't just imagining things) was full of red wine. Doubly odd. Should he choose to continue staring at the vase, he would only be disappointed with the realization that it really was only a vase and hardly worthy of such attention.

The rest of the kitchen was very unexciting. There was some cabinet space (sadly empty except for a couple of tin plates and cups and one pot that had seen better brightenings), and a sink with an odd pumping system that would allow him to get water without having to trek out into the cold to find a common well. There was also a hearth with a hook where a pot could be hung to warm up whatever was inside whether water for a bath or stew to be eaten. If Xyltha wanted some better cooking utensils, he would have to buy them himself, though it probably would be best to scope out what else he would need before he hurried off to market.

[Xyltha Thanole]

Scratching his head in bewilderment, Xyltha did indeed advance upon the spot where he was sure he saw a queer creature but a few eye blinks ago. Picking up the vase, he peeked inside - perhaps whatever it was had gone in hiding, doubtful though he was. Setting the otherwise ordinary vase down, he went about taking stock of his kitchen.

He was quite happy with the pumping system indeed. He tested it, pumping it with vigour, and splashed some water onto his face, cold though it was. All in all, he was satisfied with the kitchen, especially with the hearth, where he would be able to cook, as well as the running water system installed. With that done, he finished with another cursory glance of the kitchen, sparing a moment to glare hard at the queer vase once more, with the bowl of red liquid still next to it.

Shrugging, he headed out, back to the living area. Next stop was the bedroom...

[Amaranth]

Moving through the den area again, Xyltha would notice nothing out of the ordinary. No more strange creatures or odd pink vases for that matter... until he made it to the bedroom. There upon a small table next to the bed was an identical pink vase to the one in the kitchen, except the bedroom vase was filled with flowers that had shriveled and died some time ago. The rest of the room was taken up by a comfy looking bed with a feather mattress and sheets that needed to be beaten to remove all the dust, a chest at the foot of the bed with a small key sitting in the lock, and an armoire on the other side of the room where clothing and other such things could be stored. Should Xyltha go and open the armoire he would surely be surprised to see that there were already clothes there -- two woolen cloaks both dyed a dark green, a cream colored cotton tunic, a brown leather vest, and two pairs of brown pants -- almost as if the previous owner of the townhouse had just disappeared and left all his stuff behind. Off to the right of the armoire was a staircase leading up to the second floor.

After turning his attention from the armoire, Xyltha's eyes would fall upon the closed chest at the end of the bed... where another of those strange creatures from the kitchen sat preening itself, its paws running over its silky ears and coat as if nothing at all was the matter. Its fur glistened with a soft blue tint and its eyes were wide and intelligent, though extremely dark -- almost as though they were black pits sucking any light that they could into their depths. As the elf's eyes fell upon it, it glanced up, its little nose twitching as it stared boldly back at the elf... yet, like in the kitchen, Xyltha had to blink some time...

Blink.

The strange creature on the chest was gone. Either Xyltha was suddenly hallucinating... or something fishy was going on. Well, furry.

[Xyltha Thanole]

Xyltha blinked again.

And again. Then scratched his head. A frown of bewilderment marred his otherwise youthful smooth face. He must be imagining things. Maybe it was the wintry chill that was getting to him, already. Rubbing his eyes vigorously, as if to dispel any evil spirits clouding his vision, he shrugged off the ominous feeling mounting within him. Surely this house wasn't haunted. He laughed off the ridiculous notion of ghost bunnies co-habiting his townhouse; whoever heard of such preposterous stories. He surely hadn't.

He cast his mind back to the last few brightenings, and couldn't think of any time when he had suffered any blows to the head. Maybe it was indeed the wintry chill that was getting to him.

He cautiously made his way to the armoire, and opened it. Peeking inside, he prepared to run, in case he was attacked by any creatures living inside - be it bunny or ghost. No such attack greeted his curious inspection, only several warm-looking clothes, probably left behind by the former occupant. Xyltha ran his hand down one of the cloaks - it was indeed rather warm, though a bit musty. He grabbed one of the cloaks, and swung it over his shoulders. Ignoring the musty smell that came with it, he fastened it around his neck. Well, it would keep him warm for now.

With his new cloak around his body for added warmth, Xyltha advanced upon the chest, curious to see whether there were any more surprises in store for him within. He turned the key and then swung the lid open...

[Amaranth]

Inside the chest were a few books of parchment, two of the three being filled to the brim by their previous owner with scribbled notes of various observations and business transactions that could either be very boring or very interesting to the young elf, depending on how his tastes ran. The third book, however, was empty, as were two of the five ink pots located within the chest. Along with the ink and books were a couple of metal-tipped quills. Nothing else was located within the chest except for some dust -- how had dust gotten inside a closed chest? -- and thankfully, there was no sign of the strange creatures that Xyltha had seen twice so far.

What could they possibly be? Apparitions brought on by the cold and the young man's wandering mind? Or phantom bundles of fluffy cuteness bent on tormenting Xyltha to the point of madness? It wouldn't take long to twist his mentality to the point of breaking, especially with him already questioning his sanity.

Scratchity scratchity. The sound was soft yet persistent... and coming from somewhere above him. Scratchity scratchity. There it was again! Was it coming from the second floor? The Aedile had told him to be wary of the second floor because she hadn't known how sturdy it would be, but that scratching sound was most definitely real and it was getting louder with each passing moment...

[Xyltha Thanole]

Surveying the contents of the chest, he picked up one of the books and rifled through the pages. Nothing of interest caught his eyes; perhaps he would have time later to sit down and read through them all properly, when he was bored. Then the scratching came.

It wasn't particularly annoying, or even loud. It was persistent. The elf arched his neck upwards to the ceiling; the second floor. It had to be those phantom bunnies, scampering around upstairs! It was time to investigated the dreaded second floor.

Returning the book back to it's original position, he closed the chest and stood upright. Unhooking the woollen cloak off his shoulders, he grabbed it tight in his hands like a shield to use against attacking bunnies. Perhaps if he was fast enough, he would attempt to use it to net him some bunnies, or whatever creature that happened to be squatting here already.

He advanced up the stairs, gingerly putting one foot in front of the other in deliberate care. Who knew how stable these stairs were, whether they would unexpectedly break under the weight of an elf. Nevertheless, his goal remained: to investigate the second floor, and the source of the persistent soft scratching.

[Amaranth]

Slowly, Xyltha climbed the steps one at a time, a few of them squeaking beneath his feet but otherwise holding up to his weight. Had he been of a heavier race, though, he might not have been so lucky... as he climbed, the scratching grew louder and louder until it sounded like a constant buzzing in his sensitive ears. In the near distance, the dreaded second floor loomed, the darkness oozing out onto the stairs while the scratchity scratchity grew louder and louder and even louder until finally, Xyltha emerged into the studio...

And found the entire second floor filled with the strange bunny-like creatures he had only encountered twice on the first floor. There was at least a hundred (possibly even more than that!) scurrying and scampering around, their little claws clicking, clacking, and scratching upon the wooden floor. Some were even grooming themselves, taking special care upon their luxurious coats in an entire range of colors -- from the mundane to the strange -- while others were curled into sleeping forms upon the various bits of furniture. Yet, no matter how many times Xyltha might blink, the creatures didn't disappear into thin air or turn into pretty vases. So peculiar... and they didn't even look like proper rabbits. That was, of course, because they weren't. They were cabbits -- proclaimed as such by a bright banner hanging towards the end of the room painted with the words "Claude's Cabbits" and a pretty little picture of one of the creatures beside it. If Xyltha knew anything at all about the various creatures of the Empire, then he would know that a cabbit was an odd cross between a rabbit and a cat, highly prized and very expensive in pet stores with some cabbits even being able to shapeshift. They were so expensive, though, because they were so hard to catch.

However, if he didn't know what a cabbit was, then he would be left in the dark for the time being.

Actually, the floor of the studio looked in rather good repair (despite the swarm of cabbits romping over it). Maybe there wasn't anything wrong with it at all? What if the Aedile had known about the cabbit infestation and had just tried to get Xyltha to stay away from the second floor for as long as possible? Maybe that was why the property had never been sold before the young elven man had come along? What if the whole district was in on it?

And what the feth was Xyltha going to do with well over a hundred cabbits?!

[Xyltha Thanole]

Xyltha stood, dumb-struck. He had never encountered anything stranger than hundreds of cabbits milling on the floor of his new studio, pre-occupied with various activites. Hey! What are those two doing to each other... Ewwww... He'd spied a couple in the middle of their sordid romp: typical cabbits!

The next thing that struck his mind was the apparent good state that this new studio was in. It was in relative good condition, apart from the hundreds of strange bunny creatures around. Of course, he had heard of the existence of cabbits in the Empire, but had never come across one before. Nor did he recognise them for what they were, after all weren't cabbits stuff of fairy tales that children were told to induce them to sleep?In other words, he does not know that they are cabbits, nor of their abilities. Not that he paid much attention to those fairy tales as a child, he was more interested in sneaking out at night away from the prying eyes of his smothering mother.

So shocked at this new discovery was the young elf that he hurried back down the stairs two at a time. Finally coming to a stomping halt at the living room, he composed himself.

Why are there so many bunnies upstairs. What are they?! Surely the Aedile must have known about it!

His first instinct was to rush off back to the Aedile's office, demanding some sort of explanation. However, he remembered the books still resting in the chest. Perhaps there were more clues within the dusty tomes that would shed some light on his current infestation problems.

He returned to the bedroom. Opening the chest again, he withdrew one of the books filled with its various words and numbers. Too agitated to sit down, he paced the width of his room as he began to read in earnest. Perhaps there were clues...

[Amaranth]

Indeed, there were clues within the books of the chest for those same books were the business ledgers/observation journals of the former Claude of "Claude's Cabbits." Of course, the real question was not how the cabbits had gotten there, but how they had survived with seemingly no help during the time the townhouse had been deserted...

Upon opening the book, the first thing Xyltha would notice was a pricelist for the various cabbits (though they had apparently multiplied quite a few times in number since the writing of the list):

Mimsy - 1,050 crowns
Lexi - 975 crowns
Floofy - 1,275
Memi - 850
Rex - 2,000 crowns
Zemer - 1,555 crowns
........

Bred Rex and Mimsy ~ 40th of Melora
Bred Rex and Lexi ~ 45th of Melora
........

Potential buyers to come by later this brightening to look at parents. Might reserve entire litter!
........

The rest of the book was filled with similar notes detailing breeding times, litter sizes, coat patterns, and even the names of the buyers who had purchased one (or sometimes more) of Claude's Cabbits. One Monsieur DePont had bought six!... apparently Monsieur DePont had more crowns than he knew what to do with... or he had six very spoiled children. It became obvious that the townhouse Xyltha had purchased had once been the site of a breeding operation for the strange creatures scampering around upstairs... but when the mysterious Claude disappeared, somehow the cabbits must have gotten out of their cages and done what they do best -- procreate. Despite the fact that a few of Xyltha's burning questions had been answered, surely more had been formed in the process. How had they escaped their cages? How had they survived without any outside help? How --

"What are you doing here?" Came a slightly defensive voice from behind the young elven man. Turning around, he would find himself face to face with two human children dressed in flamboyant clothing dyed in clashing shades of red and orange. The little girl held a basket in her arms full of food and bottles of wine while the little boy, the speaker, stood facing Xyltha with his fists placed challengingly upon his hips.

[Xyltha Thanole]

First Floor

~~ * ~~

After rifling through the pages of the ledger, it didn't take long for Xyltha to realise that the previous owner of this establishment had apparently been breeding and selling cabbits. Ah, so that's what they were called, those odd creatures. That would certainly explain their presence upstairs.

Of course, the next logical question to be posed would be how they were being cared for all this while, and where did they manage to obtain food; and even how did they manage to get access to wine in the first place. They had no hands that Xyltha could discern. All this thoughts raced through his head even while he continued perusing the accounts in the books. Until he was interrupted by the demand.

Startled, Xyltha whipped around to meet the owner of the challenge. A pair of garishly dressed human children equipped with food and wine. And that would explain how the countless cabbits managed to survive in the absence of a landlord.

The elfling's first instinct was to apologise profusely for intruding, unintentionally breaking and entering their premises. Then he caught himself before words of apology issued from his mouth. Hang on a second. I bought this house from the Aedile, through legal transaction. And I even had the correct key to open the front door. This is my house...

"Hello children. I'm the new owner of this house. Xyltha's my name. I've just come from the Aedile, having purchased this house from her. I must admit, I'm more surprised than you are at finding who's in the house. Now, care to tell me who you two are? And what are those cabbits doing upstairs?"

[Amaranth]

The little girl took a step forward, seemingly ready to talk, but her brother stayed her with a quick shake of his head. For a few more long moments, the trio stood staring each other down, the two children measuring Xyltha quietly. Finally, though, it was the garishly dressed boy who spoke. "So, the Aedile finally sold this place then, eh?" Her bottom lip trembling, the little girl jumped forward, her bright blue eyes shimmering with gathering tears. "Please don't hurt the cabbits, sir! It's not their fault their owner left 'em... and now they don't have anyone but us! We just don't want them to-to... to dieeee." Dissolving into shuddering sobs, the little girl bent over her basket of goodies for the cabbits and clutched it tightly. Her brother, on the other hand, glared at Xyltha as if he was solely responsible for the girl's sudden outburst.

"My name's Mikael. This is my sister, Emma. We live on the next street over with our mum and pa. When old man Claude left, we wanted to take what was left of the cabbits home with us, but mum won't let us have a pet... so we let them out of their cages so they wouldn't be sad being all cooped up and such... and well, you can see what happened."

The boy's words were punctuated by Emma's continued sobs. "They loveeee the-the red wine I bring them." Sighing in exasperation, Mikael turned on his sister. "Quiet down, will you? Monsieur Xyltha isn't going to kill them..." turning back to the young elven man, the human boy widened his eyes in sudden innocent questioning. "Are you?"