ᴛʜᴇ ǫᴜᴇᴇɴ's ᴄᴏᴜʀᴛ ♕ closed; started

[Panna Cotta]

ᴅᴀʀᴄʏ ᴠᴏɴ ᴇᴄᴋʜᴀʀᴅᴛ
〖Mad Scientist〗〖Human〗〖25〗〖Form〗〖Location: The Halls〗〖Tags: Avis〗

The first red flag that went up was Avis's abnormally indifferent mannerisms. He barely moved, hardly reacted, flinched away from Darcy's touch. The scientist would have thought, with everything that had happened, that Avis might at least have returned the sentiment of being concerned and relieved about the other's wellbeing. Instead, he was met with a hard and seemingly unfeeling bookkeeper, one who appeared unfazed by recent events. When Avis walked past Darcy like the latter didn't exist, the scientist blinked and knit his brows, turning his neck to follow Mr. Savant's movements through the scene of the murder. He couldn't even begin to properly describe what it was he was feeling now, but he knew it wasn't a pleasant sensation in the slightest.

The second red flag went up when Avis opened his mouth. There was something terribly off about his speech pattern. It took a moment for the doctor to realize it, but Avis wasn't stuttering. He wasn't stumbling over his words like his tongue was made of clay, wasn't fidgeting nervously in any way. He was the most poised he'd ever been. And now it was Darcy's turn to stammer.

"I-I—" He swallowed and cleared his throat. "I was hoping for an eyewitness account." He clasped his hands behind his back, as he did when composing himself, and turned to face Avis full-on. His eyes, lined with swooping dark circles of sleep-deprivation, looked almost like menacing black holes when he narrowed them. Gone was the concern that had shone plain on his face seconds ago, replaced again with that smooth mask of marble. "I'm afraid Cordelia has not been much help in that respect. If you could give me a firsthand retelling, I would appreciate it. After all, I would be neglecting my duty if I didn't try to gather all the evidence." He lifted his chin. "Or would you prefer to instead discuss the finer points of the philosophy of death and undeath?"

[Ghostarriver]

These are wise words, enterprising men quote 'em, don't act surprised you guys cause I wrote 'e- no precious birb oops
For purposes of improper speculation
Avis Savant
Bookkeeper♢Location: Hallways♢Tags: Darcy


Avis simply returned Darcy's narrowed gaze, with a rather indifferent expression, save for the small smile that tugged at the end of his lips. Why it was there was a bit of a mystery, but there were no signs that it was going anytime soon to allow the old Avis, the socially awkward bookkeeper, to return.

“Oh, of course, I'd nearly forgotten about Cordelia. How is she? I hope she's recovering well from... well, what happened here today." It sounded like Avis' genuine concern, though, there was the issue of his ability to say it without the stutter that Darcy had possessed seconds prior.

“Please, do forgive me, how could I possibly do something, such as present an obstruction in your duties. Unfortunately, there's not much I can tell you, since I wasn't actually here. All I know is that Cordelia went into some sort of state and killed Evanna. It was fairly messy, as I'm sure you can tell." Avis shrugged, lightly, as if simply brushing off the situation. It wasn't really important now was it? If Evanna was dead everyone could go on their merry way and life could resume it's usual pace and everthing would be forgotten soon enough, wouldn't it?

Avis grinned, as Darcy posed his latest question.
“You know, I suppose that was always the thing I found undeniably attractive about you... and it's still rather adorable..." with that, the Wereraven turned, making his way to the Library, since there was nothing else he was needed for. Along the way he passed Vixen and paused for a moment.

“Seems you're a little late Vixen, Cordelia's already dealt with your problem."

Avis, immediately resumed his course, soon finding himself through the doors or the Library. Smiling, he looked around, settling into a nearby chair.
He was right where he was meant to be.

[RoselynBlackThorne]

✠ Ｖ Ｉ Ｘ Ｅ Ｎ ~ Ｌ Ｕ Ｃ Ｉ Ｆ Ｏ Ｒ Ａ ✠
𝔯𝔬𝔶𝔞𝔩 𝔞𝔡𝔳𝔦𝔰𝔬𝔯 - - - 𝔱𝔥𝔢 (???) 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔶 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔡𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔩 - - - 𝖙𝖆𝖌𝖘: uh... birb boy? (also kinda-sorta Darcy and dead birb lady)

Walking down the halls with crossed arms and knitted brows, she noticed the scent getting stronger as she got closer to the source. It was annoying as to how she couldn't decipher what species it was--like with the random guard's death and... you know who's--but she could only assume that the annoying bird-woman was running amok again and merely distracted her and Mikey before... coming back here...
Wait--why did she nearly drift off into thought when thinking about Mikey--er, bird-brained Mike?
...
Eh. Probably nothing important. who needs feelings anyway when you're a demon am i right
Then she passed Ave--who she didn't even notice was acting unusual until he spoke up.

“Seems you're a little late Vixen, Cordelia's already dealt with your problem."

As he walked on and she immediately stopped upon hearing this, she turned around for a moment to watch him disappear down the halls... Her eyebrows raised as she tried to figure out what he was trying to say, turning to look ahead for a moment before cautiously walking on.
Did this have to do with Eve?
... Upon finally reaching the scene, though, this question was immediately answered for her.
She froze instantly upon noticing the scattered feathers and red puddle, letting her arms fall to her sides and not even realizing that Darcy was also there until she looked up at him with an unsure expression.
Walking slowly up to the corpse, she examined it carefully with her red-glinted eyes to make sure that the bird woman was truly dead...
...
... and then let a smirk slowly form on her face.
Putting both hands on her waist, she heard herself giggle in delight as she stared at the corpse for another moment... That giggle soon transformed into laughter, which soon became almost maniacal as she threw her head back for a moment to let a loud and triumphant--and somewhat crazed--laugh out of her throat.
As soon as this had died down, she clapped her hands together and squealed gleefully.
"I'm so proud of you, Dee-Sweetheart!~" she said to obviously no one in the area that she stood in at the moment... "Oh, lovely, lovely little Dee--you've dealt with the situation so well, I could just kiss you right now!!"
... At this point, it seemed like the demoness was talking in a way where she expected her words to carry over to wherever the corpse-girl was at the moment.

[White Eagle]

🕊𝕄𝕚𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕝𝕠 ℙ𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕞𝕒🕊

𝕔𝕦𝕡 𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕣 ~ 𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕖 ~ 𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕝 ~ 𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟:𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕝𝕖~ 𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕤: 𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖

Hearing the yelling and the nervous tone of Cordelia caused the angel to raise an eyebrow. 'How strange. I've never seen her more nervous in my life.' His train of thought ended as Lilith gave a firm response back towards the celestial being. "That dagger will call upon anyone and they won't even know what will happen. And you're forgetting one thing I don't serve anyone but Him. If he wants me to take care of the situation then I must....But out of respect I can hold off. Just know that if any of you get hurt I'll never forgive myself but..if someone else gets hurt that's on you." The tone of the statement wasn't meant to be a threat but a 'I-hope-it-doesn't-to-you-at-all'. Soon his sword and shield faded away as did his robe and he was dressed in his white 19th century servant attire.

Michelangelo decided to lighten the mood so he let out a sigh before he heard his stomach,"Are you all hungry? I assume you all are, so I'm going to make breakfast seeing as the night has just begun....While doing so you all need to relax or take a nap. After all we haven't slept all this morning so go and rest. But before you go I need to do something." Grabbing a parchment paper and shifting into twelve year old he ran up to everyone and saying,"Hello I'm Michelangelo I'll be your chef for today so what do you want to be served sir/ma'am?" The angel's aura made the mood more brighter and less gloomy. He of course made faces as people made their orders he gave a childish raspberry to Vixen with he jot down her order.

[Panna Cotta]

ᴅᴀʀᴄʏ ᴠᴏɴ ᴇᴄᴋʜᴀʀᴅᴛ
〖Mad Scientist〗〖Human〗〖25〗〖Form〗〖Location: The Halls〗〖Tags: Avis, Vixen〗

Ah yes, the third red flag: Avis's derisive, almost taunting attitude. Complacent. That was the word. That was the word that fit like a glove. The scientist did not relax his wary expression when the bookkeeper went on to ask about Cordelia. "She is a little shaken but she's going to be just fine," he replied tartly. "In fact, I think it would be best to give her a little space." Of course, when Darcy said this, he meant it insofar as it pertained to Avis, and Avis alone. Doctor Eckhardt didn't like this newfound attitude of Mr. Savant's, and if it was going to continue than he'd rather not have it near his creation.

He swept his hazel eyes over the scene of the crime. Somehow I get the sense that it's about to get a lot messier... If that was even remotely possible, that is. From all this blood and these feathers, it looked like Evanna had outright exploded. Under different circumstances, Darcy might have smirked; the black-hearted harpy deserved no less. But something was holding him back, holding back his relief. Cordelia and Avis weren't acting the same anymore. This event had changed both of them, and he wasn't entirely sure it was for the better. "At any rate," he took the time to tug at his sleeve cuffs. "Thank you, Mr. Savant, for your quite... informative report."

He was about to turn around and get back to examining the remains, but the next thing the bookkeeper said made the scientist freeze.

Attractive? Adorable? Darcy snapped his head to shoot Avis a look, but the wereraven was already walking away. And it was around this time that Vixen approached. He met her gaze briefly, and did not take his eyes off of her, least of all when she began to laugh and shout things that made her sound more than a little crazy. Of course, in the context of her being a demon, it came across as slightly less insane. When he was sure that there was nothing left to see over there, he returned his gaze to the floor, knelt down and set to work collecting small samples with the tools he had on-hand.

[meadow.]

-- THE BIG TIMESKIP --

C O R D E L I A

tagged: everybody who's still hanging around this bunch of mostly undead lunatics as well as the lunatics themselves, especially darcy and lilith

"Coronation day."

Cordelia awoke with the words on her lips, though she hadn't been totally asleep. She ran her fingers over her arms gently, relieved to find no signs of claw marks. Unfortunately she didn't need to be totally asleep in order for her mind to send her spinning through hallucinations of some sort of awakening of the bird-demon that had nearly ruined the poor corpse's life. Was "life" the right word? Was a creature like Cordelia really "alive?"

The brunette shuddered. She wasn't sure she wanted to know that answer to a question like that. Especially not on a day like today. It had been raining for hours, but at last the storm seemed to have passed. The smell of the rose gardens below drifted to Cordelia's window. It was a beautiful evening, and Cordelia expected the Lilith should be waking up some time soon. Cordelia got out of bed, washed up, got dressed, and finally slipped on a pair of dainty black shoes she'd be given specially for the occasion. It was a very short walk down the hallway to Darcy's lab.

She knew the door would be unlocked for her, but she made sure to lock it behind her when she entered. Things had been different ever since Evanna... happened... And Deedee wanted Darcy safe. The door had been locked frequently before to keep people from barging in to annoy him, but now the door was locked in order to protect them both from forces much more powerful than irritation or annoyance.

Once inside, the scientist's creation tried to draw her maker's attention without startling him by knocking gently on the door from the inside. As soon as he looked up her eyes met his with a touch of guilt that still lingered. It tended to rear it's ugly head whenever Evanna crossed Dee's mind. Today, that demon was running miles through Cordelia's head, and she was sure Darcy could tell.

"It's coronation day!" Cordelia smiled, trying to sound as cheery as possible. "Or-- night, I guess. Aren't you excited? Lilith should be waking up soon, and I should probably help her get ready. I know Michelangelo and Vixen and Avis have the rest of the preparations all ready to go, but there's still a lot to do. It's an important ceremony...."

The thought occurred to Cordelia that maybe Darcy already knew all of this, and she was boring him. A second thought then occurred: What the heck is a coronation? She bit her lip and looked at Darcy, scouring his expression for answers.

After a beat, she finally caved. "In all honesty Darcy I still don't really understand what a coronation is. Lilith told me it's a big important ceremony, but that's pretty much all she told me..."

[feather_light_flight]

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L I L I T H
12/ 123- female
D A R L I N G
finally alive
again
V A M P I R E
lilith4queen

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The setting sun had been viewed by an anxious Lilith as she sat in the dim shadows of her canopy bed, legs criss crossed and hair draped over her shoulders in a mess of tangled waves. Bright blue eyes stared out at the forest as tree tops faded from fire into shadow, and something churned within the soon too be queen.
All her life of being in the castle had been in service to her king. Death, a final death, was never discussed. Lilith was never told she would be queen, she was never trained for such matters. She was simply placed as the King's favored, a doll to keep him company and to warm the palace. She was wholy unprepared to take on a throne, and yet she was also one of the only ones capable of it. The court as it was, full of a modgepodge of people that didn't belong any where else. Lilith supposed it was only fair she watch over them. Pass on the King's legacy in a sense. Still, the thought made her anxious. She hoped Cordelia might arrive soon. In the passing days leading up to the coronation, Lilith had found great comfort in the creation's company. There was something about her, about her genuine nature and curiousity that warmed the vampire's heart.

With a deep sigh, Lilith tore herself away from her thoughts, dragging a hand over her arm. She was still clothed in her night slip,
a simple long sleeved dress of soft cotton. It made her appear more cherubic than she might have preferred, but it was comfortable, and the delicate girl needed such small comforts at that time. She hoped the night would pass with out incident,
hopefully the court could enjoy a few hours of drink and happiness in eachother's company. The past week had taken a great toll on everyone.

[Panna Cotta]

ᴅᴀʀᴄʏ ᴠᴏɴ ᴇᴄᴋʜᴀʀᴅᴛ
〖Mad Scientist〗〖Human〗〖25〗〖Form〗〖Location: The Halls〗〖Tags: Cordelia〗

Darcy hadn't slept that day, but what else was new.

Living with so many creatures of the night, the scientist was already quite nocturnal, but even during the day he would much prefer to spend the frosty mornings sitting in the gardens with his notes than embrace the warmth of his bed. Not surprisingly, his encounters with Evanna had made him even less inclined to sleep and more paranoid than ever. That isn't to say he hadn't gotten any sleep at all. Nowadays there always came a point in his sleep-deprivation where he became so frustrated with his exhaustion and his inability to think straight, that he would take a drug or a draught to help him rest. It would be a happier time when he could get to sleep and stay awake without taking an assortment of poisons; caffeine and magnesium and whatever it was Cordelia had put in his coffee the other day.

So yesterday, he had consumed something and forced himself to sleep for a good long while. He wanted to be alert and awake for the coronation. He didn't entirely trust that there wouldn't be another attempt at murder. Not after everything they'd been through. Even when he knew that Evanna was dead and Cordelia was...well, not intent on murdering Lilith. Something still didn't sit right with him.

Evanna was dead.

So why was he still stooped over one of her DNA samples, picking it apart as if it held some enormous secret inside of it? Why had he thrown together an entire file of extensive, meticulous notes about her, which now lay on a nearby desk? Why did she still plague his mind, days after he had determined she was gone?

A knock at the door drew his gaze up from his work, and his heart skipped a beat until he realized it was merely Cordelia. His eyes met hers and he saw something reflected there: guilt, fear. Her. They were both consumed by the same thing.

Still, he couldn't help but feel the smallest ghost of a fraction of a smile tug at his mouth, when he heard his creation trying to stay positive, or at the very least sound positive.

"There's very little I get excited about nowadays," he confessed, glancing back down at his work. This was true. The last time he'd been excited about anything had been...

He spared her one more glance--remembering--before his gaze dropped again. "I'm sure everyone has been hard at work, including you and me." It's just that Darcy had been preoccupied with something that was a far cry from a formal ceremony. Whereas Michelangelo had his cooking and Camille was probably sewing fancy clothes for the event, Darcy simply wasn't much good anywhere else but the lab, and so in the lab he had stayed. He wanted to be of real assistance, and he was sure he could've come up with creative ways to help set up the coronation, but he just...couldn't...drag himself away from this project, the one thought he kept coming back to, in his sleep and in the waking world, the bane of his very existence. "I'm sure Lilith would appreciate your help." A thought occurred to him. "I'd like to walk with you there." Cordelia had proven that she could defend herself (in fact, if anyone needed escorting, it was probably Darcy), but it would make the doctor feel better to know for sure that she was safe.

He readjusted the settings on the device he was handling. "A coronation," he explained patiently, "is the crowning of a monarch. Essentially, it's the ceremony that will make Lilith's rule official." He hoped that made sense to her. Ceremonies must be a difficult thing for a completely new being to wrap their head around. He could only imagine.

He paused once again and chanced another look up at her, his gaze wandering from her face to the door handle.

"...Did you lock the door?" he asked. He thought he had heard the click that indicated it was locked from the inside, but he was starting to make a habit of double-checking.

[meadow.]

C O R D E L I A

tagged: darcy

Cordelia wasn't sure what she was hoping for from Darcy, but it certainly wasn't "There's very little I get excited about nowadays."

The patchwork girl sighed and pulled up a seat at the lab. Of course she knew he was right, but it still stung to hear him say it as if he'd accepted it and come to terms with it. He wasn't even pretending to be optimistic. It was no secret that the murders in the castle had rattled him, but he could at least try to see the coffee mug half full.

As he explained the concept of the coronation, Dee contemplated the meaning behind his words. Lilith's rule. That meant Lilith would be queen of the castle, and the court for that matter. What a strange concept: Lilith, Cordelia's queen! Hopefully that didn't mean that they wouldn't be friends anymore...

"I locked it, Darcy." She confirmed. "But I'm about to leave anyways. I'm not under the illusion that I can change your mind, but for the record I'd really prefer that you not escort me down the hallway. I really want people to think I can do things on my own."

That was something she didn't think she'd shared with Darcy before. She wanted to be seen as her own person, not just some glorified pet that followed Darcy around. As much as she loved him and she would always be tied to him, she didn't want to be blindly subservient to him anymore.

[feather_light_flight]

╔════════╗

║
║
║
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L I L I T H
12/ 123- female
D A R L I N G
finally alive
again
V A M P I R E
lilith4queen

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║
║
║
║
╚════════╝

The sun had finished setting, and Lilith forced herself to rise from her bed, slowly placing one bare foot and then the other on the rug lined floor. She pulled her blanket around her shoulders though, letting it drape like a cape as she scuffled across the room on near silent foot steps. The entire castle had been a tomb during the past days, as each member of the court over saw their mourning. Lilith especially had been withdrawn. She rarely visited the library, finding herself apprehensive of Avis's new and abrasive attitude. Instead, Lilith had taken to wandering the halls or sitting in the garden for hours on end. Her long periods of solitude were only interrupted by Cordelia, who would keep her company on occasion, or Darcy, who would arrive with more news about the planning of the coronation. Truely, Lilith had no idea how to draw the castle, or herself, out of the melancholy that had befallen the court.