Tsuiraku-town, part 2

[Graybeard]

[OOC: K, I hope you don't mind a very minor retcon...]

Faye joined Rhett on the porch, carrying Zachary, who was smiling in sheer delight. (Well, why shouldn't he be? He'd been playing patty-cake with grandma, after all.) "What was going on back there?" she asked ... but before Rhett could answer, the bundle at his feet spoke, in a most un-infant-like bass voice that left both man, woman and child transfixed.

Good morning, Ms. Sorensen. Do not touch me as I bring you an important message.

Faye gasped and fought back the urge to heft whatever frightening thing lay beneath Rhett's chair, but she'd seen enough high-power magic at work to know better than to disobey. She sat with her eyes wide open (and with Zachary still smiling and cooing) as the voice continued...

Unfortunately, you continue to take an interest in matters that do not concern you, but do concern others in this community. Attempts to convince you to change your focus, and think only of your vineyard, your education, and above all, your family, have failed. We therefore are left with no alternative but to take more persuasive actions.

Your delightful son is now in our custody and will remain so for the near future. He will be treated well, rest assured of that. As long as you confine your interest to tending your grape vines and learning from your sifu, no harm will come to him. He will be returned to you once you have demonstrated that you have learned your lesson about interfering in matters that you should avoid. Of course, should you prove inexplicably retrograde in your education, we reserve the right to encourage you to correct your behavior through such means as we have available.

Make no attempt to track and retrieve your son; such a thing can only end badly. Rather, consider this our extension of an opportunity for child care while in this fair city, and a happy reunion will be only days away -- if you learn quickly.

There was a brief fzzzt of magic at the end of the oration, and when Faye could bring herself to look inside the bundle (after first blinking and checking that the giggling, happy child on her lap was still her grandson), nothing lay within except a cold, lifeless stone.

-------------

"Well, that didn't accomplish much," Layla said to Joe as they drove the hack back toward the vineyard. "Something happened that cut my lesson short."

The Gewehr henchman chuckled. "Not such a bad thing. Now you have the rest of the day to get things in order where we're going. I haven't heard of anything weird happening out there today, for once..."

[Kincaide]

Rhett growled something in some sort of Northern dialect that probably should not be translated in polite company, "He couldn't resist, could he? Babies aren't godsdamned bargaining chips," he slammed a fist into the arm of his chair and left more of a dent than would be expected.

"Man's a fucking snake, I put an ounce of trust in him and he chokes me with it," Rhett took a steady breath and calmed himself down with a visible effort, "Sorry for my language, ma'am. It wasn't the sort to be used around a kid," he leaned back in his seat, as his eyes studying the horizon, and his brow furrowed deeply, "I'm sure I don't need to tell you this but we need some more eyes around here. You mercs are usually all about protecting your own, can you get a few in to keep watch around here?"

[Graybeard]

Layla and Joe picked that moment to rumble up to the house in the hack. Layla's mood was half thoughtful, half relieved to be away from whatever was going on in Tsuiraku-town, and she couldn't resist a bit of irony. "So what fun and games have we been missing while we were in town? ... Oh." The expression on Faye's and Rhett's faces didn't look good at all ...

[kagome_kino]

Maya heared the rattle of the cart and headed for the door missing the entire conversation poking her head out "not to be picky or anything but whens breakfest?" she asked having pretty much already forgot about the incident already.

[Kincaide]

Rhett glanced at Maya, a dour look on his face, "No idea kiddo, you'll have to ask Jasmine, I need to head back into town," he grabbed his rifle, its case and the now quiet stone, "You're going to want to come with me," he said to Layla, "I'll fill you in on the way," He put the rifle up on the driver's seat of the cart and placed a hand on the side of the horse that was hitched up to it.

He could feel the warmth through his glove, the beast was probably rather tired and Rhett would have liked to get a fresh horse but that was not an option right now. He tugged on the tack to get the horse to look at him then patted it on the side. He muttered something in his native tongue and the horse's breathing slowed somewhat and it seemed to calm down. He rubbed the beast's forehead and snout some before climbing into the cart.

[Graybeard]

A very confused Layla was about to get back into the hack when Jamie came storming out of the house, breathing fire and with steam pouring from ears and nostrils, maybe figuratively speaking, maybe not. "Just wait one damned minute!" she yelled. "That was MY kid those bastards tried to kidnap, not yours! If you're going into town to shoot the cock suckers, I'm damn well going with you!" She ran back into the house, emerged with a pair of pistols.

What in the blue hells is going on here? "We're not going anywhere until someone fills me in," Layla said. "Here, now, not on the road ... and let's make sure we have the facts straight."

[kagome_kino]

Maya tilted her head "apperntly baby's can fly.... no wait i mean some spell caster guy tried to take a baby... or is that kidnap?" Maya tilted her head thiking about it "hmmm they were near the window when they ran off so there might still be a clue over there if no ones checked, he has a potty mouth as well you might wanna ask if any of the workers saw him as well or anything else odd you never know what else they could have put around the house or even if they came back." Maya thought about it just a little more "you know it kinda odd though whoever was trying to float the baby out had to be thrid rate at the most with how slow the floating was going, probabl would have been faster to go in through the window."

[Graybeard]

"...take a baby... or is that kidnap?"

Layla's gun was in her hand astoundingly quickly, but the move was astounding only to those who didn't know her; she was a Gewehr Wraith, after all, and a quick draw came with the territory. However, that didn't mean she was mentally ready to use it. Her glance flicked to the hack, to Jamie, back to Maya, and then to her mother, who was very definitely holding Zachary -- really, the only thing she cared about after that little declaration. She was just starting to lower the weapon, in preparation for smothering her son in love, when Jasmine joined them on the porch, carrying Nera, her face a mask of rage.

Layla was well on the way to sensory overload when her mother spoke. "Safety that weapon, dear, and trade it for your son. And then we're all going to stop and talk, slowly and carefully, about what we have just seen and heard here." Her voice had that ring of command to it.

Mother knows best, Layla thought, making the transaction and settling back to hear the story.

[Kincaide]

"Kitaura tried to switch out your kid with a damn talking rock, like something out of a fairy tale, just to keep you in check while he did whatever shadowy horse hock he is up to. He nearly got Jamie's instead," he worked the action of his rifle then removed the round from the chamber and dry fired it before putting it carefully into its case.

"We're not going to lynch the bastard because, quite simply, we can't, but we can do something almost as good. We can show him that we won't put up with this. I don't know about you but I'm not a citizen of Tsuiraku, I don't pay taxes for his brand of protection. For a man with a mind like his, not fitting into his equation is about as good as slugging him in the gut," He got down from the hack for the moment.

"So no angry mob or he will happily black-bag our asses and leave us drooling on a street corner somewhere."

[Graybeard]

"Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions," Layla cautioned, looking up from the protective embrace in which she'd wrapped her son. "Kitaura has been okay when I've dealt with him -- standoffish, for sure, and hard to get anything certain out of, but never hostile. He's also been warning us about 'exotic weeds' on our property, and that was long before you came to town. I don't think you're the weed he meant. So who is it? And besides, if you were the one he has a problem with, why would he lean on us? Surely he knows you could throw us over in a minute and move on." That last part needed to be said...

Jasmine harrumphed. "Just remember, the bastard didn't try to kidnap your son. He went for MY GRANDDAUGHTER." (Now why is Jamie rolling her eyes? Layla wondered.) "I say we whack him." (Just like that. She'd make a good Wraith.) "I'll --"

It was Faye's turn to interrupt. "Jasmine, that's one of the things that doesn't make sense. The message was clearly for Layla. They know she's got a son, not a daughter, and the last time I checked, Nera didn't qualify as one of those. One thing we know about Kitaura is that he's very careful, very methodical. Even if he did want to lean on us -- and I agree with Layla that that seems weird -- he wouldn't go off half-cocked and make a mistake like that. It's not his style. He --"

"Whack his ass," Jasmine hissed, and with surprising agility, vaulted into the hack. She sat erect on the back seat, a queen on her throne.