Into the Demeter Woods

"I'll be lucky if I don't see a forest in months, to be honest." Dixi let out a tired sigh whilst raising her head to stare at the ceiling. "Can't wait to get home and just forget everything that happened today. Just relax at home..."

"Here, here," Ferro sighed, leaning back in his seat a bit as the conversation proceeded. "If I see a forest again, it'll be too soon." Well, maybe not all forests, but hey, what can you do. He chuckled at the barkeep getting looks shot his way, wondering about work here for a moment.

A few odd glances from a few patrons went towards the trio at the mention of it as if it was a topic of importance.  A few seconds later, they decided to simply went back to what they were doing before.  "Ah Demeter.  I certainly don't envy you.  That is certainly a knotty mess."  Callisto's nose wrinkled slightly.  A brief glance left and right to note some of the looks given to the party at the moment.  The bartender looks over over counter to take a glance over at the counter to check on the status of the drinks to the trio.

The few looks the group had gotten had not gone unnoticed to Ryofu's keen senses. They were on the right track, now. But, they had to be careful. If the information they had already gotten was accurate, saying the wrong thing prodding for information could backfire here. She really didn't want half the bar chasing them out because they gave the wrong impression. Ryofu shot the two of them a quick, miniscule glance that tried to say as much as it could without any words: "don't push it too far."

"A mess is a good way to put it..." She didn't have to fake a yawn, as it came naturally, stretching her arms into the air before they came back down. "I don't feel like we got the whole story, but it's taken care of, at least. Mostly. Enough for me, at least." A very slight mental prod of a statement, an opening for him to fill it in himself, if he wanted to. She was playing it safe, and she had to after she noticed the crowd's reactions.

Ferro was wary, having noted the glances the other patrons had shot their way from the corner of his eye. He didn't let on that he'd noticed, simply lounged back, relaxed, and waited for his drink. He played it as though he'd already said his piece and was letting others talk for a change.

"Well it wasn't always like that.  Used to be able to talk about it freely.  But nowadays, it's essentially politics.  For the most part, that stuff is left outside of here, though.  At least during business hours."  The black haired cat sighs briefly as he glances over as the drinks are finally ready.  He gives the one previously named Terra a thumbs up before he takes the drinks, places a rather distinct umbrella cocktail and serves each of the three their drinks, first Ryofu with her strawberry mocktail, then Dixi with her whisky, and finally Ferro with his tropical margarita and a pot o' gold.  "15 silvers is drinks."

As the party starts on their drink, they would notice that the umbrella has 4 numbers at the top, "2230" with a black cat face.

"Thanks for the top-off, barkeep," Ferro stated taking his drink and seemingly ignoring the umbrella for now, downing a third of his margarita first. "Ah, that's such good stuff!" He sighed as he enjoyed his drink and pondered what to do next, shooting a subtle look to the other bargoers.

Ryofu's trained keen gaze was able to pick up on the detail that the others might have missed: a small set of numbers underneath the umbrella cocktail. Very little needed to be said, at that point. Clearly, this was a matter that needed some privacy. But this was positive! They'd gotten an in, now.

She'd pulled out her currency for the drink, before taking a long sip with a satisfied breath of air afterwards. "Forgive us for dragging in politics during the good hours, then. I'll be sure to keep that in mind for next. And there's definitely going to be a next; especially if the drinks are this good." She shot the cat a cheshire grin, both from genuine enjoyment and a message that she'd gotten the info loud and clear. They had a plan now, and that was some time from now. Might as well enjoy it until then.

"Cheers." Pretending to fail at noticing the numbers, Dixi raised her glass and took a long sip while memorizing the four digits. "You bet. Man I needed that." After enjoying a good sip from her drink, Dixi placed the glass down once again and pulled out the money to pay for it.

The cat bartender curls his tail around the various currency left on the counter, sliding it off into his hands and depositing it into the drawer box. "Well hope that will cool off the heat of the fire you've ran out of, folks. If you need more just holler out to me or Terra. Ciao!" Callisto did look at the umbrella very, very briefly, masking it as if he is looking at the drink before he goes back behind the bar, leaving the party to their own devices.

Ferro got up and left first, stretching his arms and legs after he'd cleared out his drinks. "Well, I guess I'd better find an inn or hotel." He made sure to maintain a bit of the exhausted gait he had coming in, albeit a bit more refreshed now than before.

Ryofu finished hers as well, something nice to help her nerves. No doubt she needed it. The sooner she could put the bad parts of this whole thing behind her, the better. Not like it was over, though. It didn't seem like Ferro had seen the important detail, but that was fine. She definitely had. "2230." That gave them a time to come back, and get some real answers out of this. Obviously, the stuff they needed wasn't information they'd get out in public.

"I'm definitely coming back here another day...good drinks." She let out a little sigh, before getting up herself. "Probably a good idea." 2230...tonight. They'd be back here then.

He had seen the number, as a matter of fact and had already mulled it over in his head. He wasn't oblivious to the time being told in such a way. "2230", the only way the number made sense to him was if it were read as a time of day, namely 10:30 PM. For now, though, they needed a place to stay and wait until such a time. "Alright, I picked up some directions on a nice place in the city before I went to the woods, you guys, so we should be able to get a few rooms pretty soon."

The party decides to recuperate from the unintended trials that they faced within the Demeter Woods to an inn at Ferro's recommendation. It wasn't as well known or high quality was the Lucky Paw, but the furnishing and service was good enough that the members had a good rest and partially wash away the stress from their last missing.

Night came quickly as the party have started their venture back towards the Lucky Paw close to 10:30. Kore was quiet as most people were either asleep or coming home from whatever work they were doing during the day. There were a few lamps lit in the rather rustic town, partially illuminating in the dark. The Lucky Paw's light were on but was far more dimmer than what it was before during business hour. The light also shows someone or some people were still within the building. However, the severe lack of sound within Tavern indicates that the place is closed for business.

Ryofu was in a serious mode with work, ready and raring to go even with the lack of sleep. She had enough training to know how to stuff down fatigue until later. There was signs that she was under a little fatigue, though. She couldn't find it in her to get much sleep, anyway. Maybe the day had gotten to her, but it's not like she could have focused on that much anyway.

They were lucky most everyone was already out for the night. Place actually looked pretty peaceful at this time of night, but they were closing in on their target: Lucky Paw, and it looked like it was still open, to boot. Just like the message had left.

She took a deep breath, before whirling on her heel behind her to the rest of her group, looking up at Barchiel. "Remember, big guy, light footsteps, and keep things reserved. We're here to get info, and it looks like we're gonna get it." Her gaze went over the other two. "Same goes for everybody, here. We've gotten this far...let's not blow it right at the finish line."

Dixi nodded, she had prepared herself for anything that could come out of this meeting, good or bad. She approached the door of the bar and waited for the others to come as well. "Let's get this over with. Time to get some info."

Ferro nodded, serious about finding information on what's really been going on with the disconnect between Kore and the forest bordering the city. "No worries on my end, I'm ready to figure this out."

Barchiel did not respond. Not verbally. He simply stared on ahead, eyes set in an unblinking stare under his helmet. Like a crimson gargoyle.

The door was surprisingly openable even if business was essentially no existence and all that is left inside are 2 workers wiping down the tables down to a shine and a the proprietor of the Lucky Paw.  The place has a distinct smell of pine and lemon for some reason.  A few chattter was exchanged between the two workers while Callisto himself looks like he was looking over something under the counter.

One of the worker notices the four people that came in and approaches them.   "I'm sorry, we're closed for the day.  Please come back to-"

"Terra, it's OK."  Callisto stops what he is doing, before laying down what he had in his hands underneath.  Terra merely rolls her eyes briefly before returning back to her work.  Callisto easily swings his legs over the bar, ending on the other side of it before at the 3 he had met before...and paused at the 4th goliath of the member of the party before he looks at the others.  "So you came. I take it that you are more than curious of what is going on with things around the area."

The door creaked open, with Ryofu at the front, and sure enough, it seemed their initial thoughts were right: he was waiting for them. And open, to boot. Honestly, this couldn't have worked out better for them.

"After everything, yeah, we need answers to quite a few questions. And you seem like the only one that'll answer us straight." She stretched her arms upwards, cracking her back a bit and trying to look a bit more casual than she had earlier. Considering he had wanted to meet with them at all, the mood was definitely different.

She noticed that his gaze went to Barchiel. That was worth noting. "Oh! Right, he's with us. Harder to keep a low profile with him at the time, but don't worry about him." She patted him on the shoulder, hoping the appearance of a 4th wasn't enough to break the deal. "So, we're not on business hours anymore. Let's talk politics. Where do we start?"

Calisto looks a bit more reassured that the behemoth was part of their group. His clear blue gaze moves to Ryofu for a moment, assuming she is the current spokesperson or leader. He hops onto the bar counter...only to slide off again after a glare was sent across the room by Terra. He settles onto one of the bar counter's stool instead.

"I think a better question is what do you know about what is going on in the first place? That way we aren't going to be reinventing the beer keg." The tip of his tail swings back and forth in small motion as he leans against the counter casually, this time without getting reprimanded by his assistant.

"Originally, what we thought was that people were being kidnapped," Ferro began after a moment of silence. "Midara stealing folks away into the night to have some fun in the forest, but after going through the woods ourselves, we've found out that... everyone who went allegedly went in willingly. Apparently Demeter Woods used to be a public space, perfectly safe, with paths and clearings with benches, the works. But for whatever reason, that's no longer the case."

"Well that used to be the case. Except we end up with a change of leadership. For bette- well for worse really. The old mayor had that area so that there were two separate communities that both side could intermingle freely with each other.

The new one is an anti-midara extremist who thinks them as second class people or not even people. He's already starting to shower the whole town in propaganda and it is starting to take its effect on the people of Kore. Moreso, we have been getting some rather bad elements immigrating to Kore ever since he took office. "

"Now..." Callisto looks over to Ferro with a frown. "If what you are saying is true, then he is already amping up his anti-midara agenda to the point of trying to get them killed. Didn't think he would move THAT fast."

"Then the solution is obvious. We remove the new mayor, replacing them with someone more open-minded. It will be done within the hour."

The Space Marine had did some thinking during this entire debacle. He still did not trust the Midara. Whether they were xenos or Warpspawn, he was unsure. But something about them rubbed him the wrong way. But even then, his hatred for this mayor was growing too large, to where he'd probably start his own Crusade. Turning to the door, he began to stomp forward, a snarl escaping his helmet.

"Whoa, hold your guns, big guy. It's never that easy I'm afraid." Dixi had remained silent for the whole exchange until now, she was well aware that the man needed to be brought to justice but what the marine was suggesting would suppose trouble and it was the fastest way to get innocents hurt in the way. "This kind of plans require preparation and planning or innocents could be caught in the middle." She understood why the marine proposed that idea. That man, the mayor, was dangerous, he had the kind of mindset that could spark the hate and fight amoung humans and midaras she despised so much. The brawler shared his dislike for the mayor but this was not the way.