Miscreant

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

For Jez, the appearance of the Burglar was entirely new, so it withdrew from her an even louder gasp that was totally appropriate for her attire.

"Dear God, you poor thing." She wanted to be reassuring, to tell him that help had arrived and they'd make everything right, but at the same time she was looking at Sam with an expression of 'where do we even begin?'.

[Basil Benson]

"Seems reasonable too much damage would turn me into a vegetable at some point. Then I'd be useless. I doubt she's looking to do that."



"Nice to see you too, Maiden." He replied drily to Jezabelle.

[Samantha McManus]

"It's a she, is it?" She quirks a brow to the Burglar.

[Basil Benson]

"Of course it is. It's always a she when I'm involved. It's like they know or something. "

[Samantha McManus]

"Well aye, you're bad girl catnip."

"I don't think it's gone. I don't think it's taken, or burned."

"I think it's buried."

[Basil Benson]

The Burglar's tired and weary expression began to slowly morph into a smirk, and then from a smirk to a self satisfied grin.

The lack of verbal commentary spoke volumes.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez was starting to catch on, and looked between Sam and "The Burglar" as they spoke.

"... the subway maybe?" She offered. She was trying to apply real world logic to this mindscape - if this really was a "blitzed" London, then the Underground tunnels would have been one of the most readily available sanctuaries.

[Basil Benson]

The Burglar was being incredibly tight lipped on the situation. He did offer a slight hint.

"You were here to review my stories, yes?"

[Samantha McManus]

"Aye," she nods. "And you're the one who knows his way around."

[Basil Benson]

The Burglar nodded, and lead the pair into the Bibliotheca Basilii.

The library was definitely not as full as it had been previously, though the sections of the library that pertained to functional information actually had added tomes of knowledge to this section of the library since The Morrigan had last been here, most notibly one labeled 'the Practice of Krav Maga'.

But the Burglar was just passing through these places, they weren't their destination. As he had already noted, it was clear whoever was doing this did not have the end goal of making him incapable of function. Instead, he was making a bee line for where he kept his cateloguing data for personal memories. She'd already seen the state of his frequently accessed episodic memory.

The group left no sound of footfall as they passed through this place, despite the ornate hardwood flooring. When they arrived at this section of the library that The Burglar wanted to show them, the shelves were bare, save for a small collection, barely filling a section of a shelf. They had titles that bore what seemed to be character names.

'Alice' 'The White Rabbit' 'Caterpiller' 'The Knave' 'The Hatter' ' Dormouse' 'The Queen'.

There were also books titled 'The Exploits of Cheshire', 'The Further Exploits of Cheshire', and 'The Current Exploits of Cheshire'.

[Samantha McManus]

While they're led to this section by Basil, Sam has the flock focus on the empty shelves. This wasn't an incredibly subtle job, so she wanted to get a feel for what sort of metaphorical fingerprints the culprit left.

[Narrator]

With the flocks investigative powers, Sam would find no outside tampering had happened within the Library thus far.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez very lightly ran her finger along the spines of what limited books were left on the shelves, looking at them curiously.

"The Knave... wasn't that the name of the dancer who was taking the stage as we were leaving, er, coming here?"

[Samantha McManus]

Sam has a far-away look for a few moments, tinged with confusion briefly.

"...clever boy," she mutters, ultimately.

[Basil Benson]

Jez very lightly ran her finger along the spines of what limited books were left on the shelves, looking at them curiously.

"The Knave... wasn't that the name of the dancer who was taking the stage as we were leaving, er, coming here?"

"Indeed. One of my new coworkers."

Once Jezabelle got a sense of them, Cheshire reached out to take a book. He pulled the book labeled 'The Further Exploits of Cheshire', and held it up to show her. The cover depicts the rough geometrical shape of a little black cat in art deco style.

He then opened the book, and printed on the first page there is an art nouveau style illustration of the entity who was currently known by more names than some recording artists. Basil/Bobbie/Cheshire/The Burglar/Whoever he was this week was depicted in both black and a silver ink, half and half, symbolzing his ability to disappear. His face wore the sardonic smirk he was most associated with, a finger to his lips suggesting the onlooker should remain silent on the matter.

Flipping to the back most page, he held the book out for Jez or Sam to take, so they can get a sense of them.

'A red head and a blonde are the first to engage my services for the evening. They are clad in latex. The must have gathered by my attire that I am one of their kind. They decide to share my services with each other. I am compliant to the request, as is my nature to be. The ginger enjoys roleplay, the blonde too, in a fashion. The blonde asks me to call her Melody, so I do. She calls me kitty and asks to pet. I allow this. I like being pet. I unzip my body suit to my navel to allow her to touch my chest, but she doesn't. She makes a joke about cats biting her hand when she tries to pet their bellies, but I suspect it's simply meant as a diversionary tactic she is trying in hopes I don't notice her nervousness. I tease her but ultimately allow her to use this excuse because she pets my curls instead. I enjoy that.'

[Samantha McManus]

"So, Burglar, I can tell that she didn't lay a finger on the collection here."

"But someone did, aye?"

[Basil Benson]

"Perhaps, but if it's not her then I haven't the foggiest who would do such a terrible thing to another person."

Clearly, he was chuffed. About what exactly, he wasn't saying.

"But I am sure I have other things stored in here you ladies would find of great interest."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez took the offered book and read down the entry, flushing just a bit at the entry. She looked at Sam and the Burglar and began to slowly flip earlier in the volume for more information about why he was being complacent in this act at the club. Though, the first volume might give them a better idea of how to reverse the damage done.

[Basil Benson]

Flipping backwards through the volume would mostly just detail his time at the club and the exploits there in. Returning to the first page would bring Jezabelle to the dinner that started all of this.

Namely, the one where Alice was being admonished for being too loud in the shower.

At dinner that night, Caterpillar was crass with Alice about her inability to remain quiet in the shower. Hatter joined in. I am sure their intention was to shame her into being quieter. I said little, for I was uncertain of what to say. I had warned her that such theatrics would come back to bite us, but at the time she didn't seem to be reasoned with.

After what seems like an appropriate amount of time, I interject that Alice understands their point, and the pair of us will attempt to be quieter in the next time.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez's face flushed and she slammed the book shut. She wished she hadn't read that - now she had to keep a secret from Colette.

[Basil Benson]

"Oh my.. done already? You're a voracious reader.

So how bout it ladies? Care to see what I keep in the special collection? I promise it won't disappoint." He specifically looks at The Morrigan as he says it, giving her a quick wink.

[Samantha McManus]

"You sure she won't burst into flames?"

[Basil Benson]

"Well... that all depends I suppose."

The Burglar reached out to Jez, gently brushing his hand under her chin in an attempt to get her to look at him.

"Do you trust me?" He asked of Jezabelle.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez was brought back to the reality before her, and stared at The Burglar. He was so very different from Basil, but Basil was a part of him... or rather vice versa. And she knew that he would never intentionally hurt her.

"Of course. You don't have any reason to harm me, so why shouldn't I trust you?"

[Basil Benson]

This seemed a reasonable enough response.

The Burglar silently motioned to the pair to follow him again. He would lead them quietly onward into a section they'd probably avoid if he wasn't forcing them to acknowledge it. The erotica section.

This section of the library wasn't nearly as huge as some might expect it to be given the young man's libido, but he was young yet and it was likely the partners he'd documented on were removed from this section the same as other people he knew had been removed from the other sections. Thusly, this section mostly just contained fantasys and documentation on what he knew on the subject of sex, including things that piqued his interest. Book titles included 'The Fine Art of Submission', 'Leather and Latex: Worths and Weaknesses' , and 'A Lengthy Study On the Feminine Form'.

This would have been a very useful section to browse several hours ago when they were trying to figure out how exactly to get his attention in a crowded room without screaming his name across it, but now it may not seem readily apparent why they were drug here.

The Burglar stopped and drew Jezabelle's attention to a shelf covered in titles that seemed to relate to the most salicious of these fantasies. It was likely neither of the ladies would want to look too closely at the titles, but the Burglar pointed at a particular title.

'Ovipositors, And The Men Impregnated By Them.'

"If you trust me, indulge me." He replied, making it apparent he wished for her to take it from it's place.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez actually felt a little sorry for Basil for having to have this part of him exposed. She of course had a very healthy view of sexuality but she knew that this was extremely private, and as understanding as she was it would likely have some effect on how she thought of him. The book titles elicited a little smirk from her, they were amusing and made sense from what she knew of him, until The Burglar pointed to one in particular. That one made her eyes widen a bit and her lips purse.

"Well, this should make for an interesting read." She said softly as she crouched down and reached for the eggy booky.

[Basil Benson]

If The Burglar looked self satisfied before, the look he was giving The Morrigan now was positively giddy.

A light clack reverberated in the erotica section, and revealed the book itself was attached to the shelf somehow. Letting go of it would cause the bookcase it was on to swing inward slightly.

[Samantha McManus]

"You could have done this without embarrassing her to death."

"Or is that mostly the point, given who you're hiding this from?"

[Basil Benson]

"How dare you accuse me of hiding things after I invite you into my inner sanctum." He replied, sounding hurt.

But he still reached out push the case open revealed a hidden stairwell, leading downward. The Burglar went first to assure his visitors that were was no danger awaiting them.

He would close it again once the ladies filed in down the staircase.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Honestly, that was far from traumatizing. I've been on the internet since I was 12." Jez said in her own defence as the other two bantered about her.

[Samantha McManus]

"Anyway," she says as she follows, "I didn't say you were hiding it from us. The one that did this to you is a bit of a prude, aye?"

[Basil Benson]

The Burglar didn't answer The Morrigan, not yet.

Sam and Jez had called it, The Burglar had 'buried' his information deeper into his mind. This was represented by a sub-level war room in what seemed to be a repurposed wine cellar under the Bibliotheca Basilii. Instead of casks of aging wine, this place was covered in documentation strewn about the place in every which direction. Books were laid out open where-ever he'd deigned to stop searching them for clues, or writing new information in. He had an evidence board shoved along the back wall of the curved room, which had the faces and 'names' of everyone on his new team, and bore a vague, partially finished map of some sort of interior complex.

Along walls on either side were lined with waist high book shelves, which were all filled with books of different colours and sizes.

In the middle of the room was a rustic table, with a old wooden rolling chair on the other side. Just the one. But then again, he didn't expect anyone else would be coming in here at any point.

When the trio hit the bottom of the stairwell, he smoothly slide into the chair, allowing the momentum to glide him to what appeared to be a radio. Turning up the volume slightly, (though not so loud they couldn't talk), he then began to rapid fire answer questions.

"Yes, the book was titled under something I thought no one else would look into. After I realized two of The Court were fucking in the showers and their mater-familias was deliberately allowing it without comment or observation, I realized her matronly ways, so I upgraded it from being titled 'An In-depth Guide To Fungi' to it's new title.

But I also needed to make sure the Maiden trusted me enough not to expose her to anything she wouldn't want to know, in order to get her to pull the lever despite the title on the book. And The Maiden needs to do it because she'll leave the smallest telepathic footprint.

I also try to keep what I do and don't know on the upper levels as a bit of a mystery. Sorry about all the cat and mouse.

On the topic of the shower sex, Alice and I are pretending to do the same thing for a similar reason. It's the only place in the facility where we can talk while not being interrupted or spied upon.

And Yes, I know who the both of you are. Sort of. I have deliberately erased identifying details to keep everyone safe while I waited on someone to notice I was missing. Everything I needed to know to identify anyone I suspected would come for me has been brought down here to keep her mitts off it."

The Burglar scootched the chair over to one shelf and pulled a book labeled 'She Who Would Be As Him', tossing it on his worktable to The Morrigan as he glided across the room to fetch a second book

A thin copy when compared to some of the others, the cover of 'She Who Would Be As Him', was again art deco, depicting three females seeming to split away from one body at the hips. The page inside a art nouveau depiction of the triple goddess as separate entities, each of which are looking in different directions. Badb looks left, wearing a skull mask and staring off into the long distance. Macha faces towards the reader, carrying a lamb in her arms. Nemain's sharp gaze is pointed right, sword at the ready.

From a different shelf, The Burglar pulls another, 'The Maiden of Many', which he tossed onto his worktable towards Jezabelle. Thicker than 'She Who Would Be As Him', 'The Maiden of Many' 's Art Deco cover bears at least 20 bespectacled faces staring out at the reader. The inside illustration is just Jezabelle... and Jezabelle. And Jezabelle. And Jezabelle. And Jezabelle, and Jezabelle again, crammed inside an art nouveau style border over and over again to the point that the onlooker gets the impression they would pour off the page if it weren't for the border itself holding them in. Every Jez bears a different expression he had seen worn upon her own face at some point or another.

"Feel free to browse them, if you'd like. They are about you after all."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez breathed a deep sigh of relief, both in seeing that so much information had been squirreled away, and that the shower entry of the previous volume was merely another ruse.

"Well, glad to know I'm of some use after all." She listened to The Burglar's explanations, gently taking the offered book and looking over the cover. Part of her felt... honoured? She knew that it wasn't real, that it was just a rudimentary concept within a mindspace, but seeing a physical object of quality and design dedicated to yourself was somewhat flattering.

"They may be about us, but it's still someone's private thoughts...." Jez hesitated. "... but I suppose it could help me better understand Basil, and maybe offer some constructive criticism for myself." Very logical justification of her own curiosity.

[Basil Benson]

Flipping to the first page, Jez would find a summary of their first interaction.

She sat down next to me, unaware of my presence, reading a book, 'Luna'. She is wearing mismatched sneakers, one pink, one blue. Some young men may not be savvy enough to put together what I do, but my seemingly endless libido has caused me to accidentally flirt with some particularly lovely boys before who needed to politely correct my mistakes.

I find a way to draw her attention, but end up startling her. That's normal, I startle. She blushes, and I find that adorable. She reads, and she's cute and she plays video games. I'm smitten, but I can tell she doesn't feel the same way. She's polite, but when I flirt she doesn't reciprocate.

Disappointing, but not surprising. That's how it's gone since I was cursed.

[Samantha McManus]

"For reference," Sam says to the Burglar, "She was around well before He came sniffing about."

[Basil Benson]

The Burglar laughed sardonically. Being in his mindscape and being a telepath, The Morrigan would know instantly it was because he found the observation to be self serving, antithesis to why they were there.

"I suppose divinity and ego go hand in hand." He replied, more or less shoring up the emotional response.

[Samantha McManus]

"I had to wade through three wings and an annex of horny to get here, I'm allowed a point of order," she smirks back.

[Basil Benson]

"I'll have you know some women find my annex of horny interesting. Charming even." He quipped in return.

"But that's not why you're here.

I suppose I should start by stating the obvious. Simply walking me out of here, confrontation or not, is a no go. Neither Alice nor I know exactly what the ear tags do, but at the briefing for this excursion into debauchery we were all reminded that 'walk outs end in termination'. So I'm presuming these devices are how they ensure that."

[Samantha McManus]

"It'll do you no good to fill you in right now, but we're working angles other than this. I'm just here to make sure you're alright."

[Basil Benson]

"As well as an amnesiac mental patient pretending to be koolaid drunk while organizing an asylum uprising can be. "