The Forgotten Zodiac

((Albrecht. It's fine; I know exactly how to find it. And I had forgotten myself.))

Alexander tensed slightly, quite subtly, but enough that Virellis and Morgan particularly would be able to notice it. "They still are, technically. According to the treaty that put my father in power, an Albrecht must take the title after me. He couldn't accept giving up the title after two generations, so I'm supposed to marry the youngest girl, Isabella. She's one of the two that are missing. Her and her cousin." He forced a smile and looked back up at the group, as he'd dropped his gaze somewhat through his explanation. "Hardly a dinner conversation. Why don't you ask Morgan about his new shoes?"

((Oh. I was pretty off, then. xD))

"Missing?" Virellis wasn't satisfied with the answer, but decided against prying. She could inquire elsewhere, of course. The grand library was sure to have a record of it. She made a mental note to visit said library after dinner. She, however, couldn't resist asking just one more question. "You think she's alive then? Her and her cousin, out there somewhere? Just...missing, not dead?"

"He said missing, didn't he?" Morgan tutted, struggling slightly to keep what seemed to be anger from his voice. Virellis wrote it off as protectiveness for Alexander. It seemed to be a touchy subject for the boy.

"Very well then." She sighed, then eyed the guard curiously. "...you're not wearing those shoes, are you?"

Morgan grinned and lifted his foot onto the table to show off the leather-bound, gold-trimmed shoes.

((No problem. I'll leave the editing up to you.))

Alexander stared at the shoes and his jaw dropped visibly. "Morgan, I swear, those are some of the ugliest things I've ever seen. Why would you actually want those?" After a brief moment of shock and observation, he turned to Virellis. "Do you think you could possibly convince him to burn those? I think I might die if I see them any longer." The noble wasn't too upset by the conversation of his fiance, but it was an entirely appropriate assumption on Morgan's part. It was a fairly awkward conversation, especially considering the rest of the rumor included Alexander, his father, or both of them, murdering the entire family, keeping the two missing persons locked in the dungeons, or some other ghastly tale. Ridiculing Morgan's taste in shoes was a much easier topic of conversation. "I think the image may be burned into my retinas now."

"No point in burning the shoes then, if you're just going to see them in your nightmares anyway." Morgan laughed. "I like them. And if I catch anyone trying to dispose of them, I'm going to have a word with Moria about dropping laxatives in their morning tea." He smirked pointedly at Alexander. It wasn't an idle threat, either.

"Remind me not to annoy you." Virellis muttered, shaking her head slightly.

"I've already warned you about putting me in a bad mood. Attempting to not annoy me is a reasonable course of action." Morgan nodded in agreement.

Alexander pointedly looked in the opposite direction of the food, accidently hitting himself in the face when he tried to take a bite without looking at his food. He laughed slightly and wiped his face, still pointedly ignroing Morgan's shoes. "I'm just shocked that you're spending five thousand gold on your appearance. Especially on anything that horrifyingly ugly."

"Who said I spent all of it on my appearance, hm? I picked up a few new toys, too." Morgan grinned, reaching into his pocket and drawing out what appeared to be a handful of small marbles. He set them on the table and snapped; they rolled off the table in multiple directions, scattering across the room. "Surveillence spells are far too complex for me. But if you know the right people, and have enough change to spare, you can rig something up without having to do all the hard work yourself. See here,"

He withdrew a scroll from his bag, spreading it out on the table. Very quickly, a map of the dining room was being etched out, as well as the locations of everyone in the room. Little dots representing a person, squares or circles for tables. It all moved as everything else did, erasing itself in one place and drawing again in another. "It's a map." Virellis blinked. "You spend gold on a self-making map."

"Which can be extremely useful for certain situations, you know. You can send these out ahead of you into a room. Instantly know how many people are there and what the room looks like. Absolutely invaluable. Oh, and I got this, too." He pulled a knife from his pocket and promptly stabbed it into the table. "That's Adamantite Steel. Unbreakable, never goes dull."

"This table is mahogony." Virellis raised a brow.

"Eh, they'll just put a tablecloth on it." Morgan chortled. "I've got more stuff, too. But most of it is one-use only, so I can't really show it off."

Dagan flinched when the large metal blade slammed itself into the table. "They can put a tablecloth on it, so we have every reason to just destroy a lovely piece of creation. You know, that's actually the exact same argument used to justify maiming magical creatures. 'Sell the unicorn as a horse; it can live without a horn', 'just slice the wyvern's wings; it doesn't really need to fly', you know." He stopped, realizing how quickly that had developed from casual conversation to personal ethics peeve. "Any particularly interesting one-time things?" He inquired, trying to restart the conversation he'd killed.

Morgan blinked at him. "Yes, actually. I bought something for you, y'know." He said pointedly, slightly annoyed by Dagan's mini-rant. But he shook it off rather quickly as he reached into his bag and withdrew what looked like shimmering dust in liquid, in a large jar. "Harpy tears! The finest in emergency nutrition and vitamins for your non-average pets. Pour it on a wound to keep out nasty infections, or consoumn for a tasty treat in case food is short. But of course, you know all the technical stuff. Just thought you might like it. And before you go on a rant about the 'maiming of magical creatures', the guy I know is a good man. He wouldn't do anything to the harpy without her consent. He probably just tickled her until she cried, anyway."

Dagan stopped short, floored by Morgan's behavior. "I- uh- Thanks."  He reached out and held the jar up to the light. The dimming sunlight streamed through the jar, magnified and reflected by the dust. "I didn't really mean anything by, I just..." He stopped and glanced at Vi for help. For the obvious reasons, she was the typical face of their social interactions. Since he actually hadn't meant to offend Morgan, he was just trying to get bailed out of the horrible situation.
Alexander watched Morgan trade the harpy tears off and smiled slightly, though it looked more like a smirk. "If you spent more of your money on productive things, like that, I might still be able to to look at your feet. I don't know what I'll do if I ever feel bashful when talking to you."

"That day may come one of these days. I've already saved your life a couple times, but you didn't seem to so much as bat an eye at that. Maybe I'll have to get you a present, too, Alexander. Howsabout some gold trimmed shoes?" He suggested, clearly joking.

"Oh, skies above," Virellis sighed heavily. She flinched as one of the marbles hit her foot on its way back to the pile forming at Morgan's feet. He didn't seem quite so upset anymore, especially since his gift had been accepted.

"Ha, good little bugs," He scooped them up and put them away, grinning. "Oh, my dinner's getting cold," He noted, and was rather quick to start eating.

Alexander tucked into his food, rather than answer Morgan's horrifying question. Not surprisingly, Virellis and he, the onse with the smallest appetites, were the two who finished first. The Siren hadn't particularly want to stay in the room by herself, the room was horrifyingly loud after spending a few weeks in bed; and the noble gallantly escort the lady back to her room. Dagan and Morgan were left alone at the table, somewhat awkward since Dagan was still replaying his earlier faux pas.

Morgan finished up before long, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Alright. I'm off, I've got an errand to run in town. I'll be back before long, not to worry." He collected his back and swept away before Dagan could get a word in. He had a slight spring in his step as he walked, but all too soon he was out the door and in the hall, where he turned right.

((Morgan would likely meet Isabella at the pet store, considering he would want her to pick what she likes.))

((Not pick her up and take her there? It works either way. We need a dog name, though. Unless she names it after him, since he's the only nice male in her life. And I picture the dog as a boy.))

Dagan stood up, since he'd finished just after Morgan, and hurried after him. "Hey, Morgan!" Unfortunately, the guard was too far ahead to hear him. Rather than run through the hallway yelling after the guard, Lowell simply followed him, doing his best to keep him in sight. Once Morgan reached outside, Dagan's curiosity, or his fear of Vi, had taken over his moral principles; and he was now actually falling the man. It was surprisingly easy. One would assume Morgan's usual alertness would make him easy to follow, but, today, he seemed especially out-of-it this evening.

((Male puppy would be fine.))

Morgan walked a steady path, knowing exactly where he was going. But he made an...unexpected turn. Instead of heading straight to the market, he turned into the residential area, instead. He passed many; the streets were crowded by now, though the usual buzz of activity was dying down slowly. Morgan made his way down a quiet street, where he stopped in front of what appeared to be a recently constructed house. It was small, built for no more than three or four people. Morgan raised his right hand and knocked, a happy smile on his face.

The door was opened by a very odd looking woman. She definitely seemed to be from out of town; her skin was dark, framed by black and white-streaked hair. Her clothing was more exotic looking than most, that was for sure. But she seemed quite happy to see Morgan, and withdrew into the house. Next to emerge was a girl around Alexander's age.

((She is totally going to name it Morgan, Jr.))

The girl, who was dressed in quite simple clothes, though even from a distance, Dagan could see that they were designed for comfort. They were loose fitting but clearly made of expensive fabric, designed to be soft. Her long, blonde hair hung loose and down her back, again designed for comfort. She shrieked with delight when she saw Morgan on the doorstep and hurled her arms around his neck. She pushed herself onto her tip-toes so he could here her without her having to shout. "I missed you, Morgan. You were gone so long; I was lonely." She dropped back, still clinging to his side, and beamed up at him expectantly. "It's today, right? Please say yes!"
Dagan, who had had every intention of leaving, stopped short when he saw the two women. From a distance, it was hard to tell exactly how they were acting; and Vi would murder him if he turned around at this point. Of course, not telling Virellis had never occured to him; he'd never keep anything from his partner.

((Nice. xD))

"Of course it's today. How are you liking the new house? It's small, but...I got what I could." Morgan smiled down at her.

The older woman smiled happily. "It's lovely. I've already moved most of my furniture into it; it looks just like my old home back in London." Despite her stern look, she seemed quite happy to see Morgan. "She's been watching out the window for you."

"I'm not surprised." He chortled. "Come on then, you." He tugged on the girl's hands. Let's go, before the shop closes and I have to bribe them to stay open for a few extra minutes." He joked happily.

"I love it so much!" She happily bounced off after Morgan, keeping her arms around his. "I missed you a lot, Morgan. Where did you go without me? You were gone so long, but I was waiting patiently for my present." She was literally skipping next to him, and somehow managing to keep her head on his shoulder. "When are you having a sleepover? There's a room just for you; I decorated it special."
Dagan stepped back into an alley until Morgan passed. He waited until the older woman had closed the door, then reentered the street and continued after Morgan, watching this interaction with some shock.

"Eh...I live in the castle, remember? My work keeps me from visiting very often, you know that. I don't know if I'll ever be able to have a sleepover. But that's okay, I can look at the room before I go back to work. And if I ever get fired, I'll come straight to your house." He smiled happily. "So, any ideas what your present is? Hmm?" He questioned, beaming. There was an odd sort of happiness on his face that just wasn't there before. Even for all his snickering and witty banter with Virellis.

((So, I'm think she has tantrum-style seizures as a result of the trauma. Functionally tantrums, but she's not entirely in control.))

"Really?" She jumped with excitement again and clung to him tighter, delighted with Morgan and the idea of getting a present. "I love you so much! Hey, Morgan? Guess what!" Before he had time to guess, she rambled on. "I was good the whole time you were gone. It was only one time, but I didn't mean it. I was so good; what's my present?" She blinked her blue eyes up at him adoringly, but she didn't really expect an answer. He was good at keeping things to herself. "Are we close yet? I want to know, Morgan."

((I suppose so. Seizures wouldn't be the right word for it, though. Because seizures are something different and serious. .3.))

"Really? That's wonderful." Morgan beamed. "I'm so glad, and I'm very proud of you. Good job." He smiled. "We're getting close," He said as they turned onto the market road. Some of the shops were closing, so Morgan knelt and offered his back to her. "Come on, climb on! We've gotta hurry." He glanced over his shoulder, but couldn't see Dagan through the crowd. He frowned slightly, but that vanished immediately as he looked back at the girl.

When she climbed onto his back, he was able to move very quickly to the 'present'. He set her down again and brushed her hair back. "Alright, kiddo. Pick something!" He turned her around so she could see the shop they were in front of.

It was a little pet shop, puppies and kittens, and even the occasional lizard or parrot. "Anything." Morgan nodded, smiling happily. "Anything you want. I've got enough money for one pet, okay? Only one."