Page Five

"You're too kind."

She was genuinely interested, and tried to hide her distraction. The association of Death, children and white had stirred the memory of another story, but since she did not feel like going on anyone's nerves right now, she kept from telling it.

"Ha ha ha," Serpentine said, bending slightly to gently lift Fara the Tropical Fish. "I'm sure, Fara, I'm sure," he said, not unkindly and waited to see exactly how much resistance the kid was going to put up. It was something of a ritual by now.

Sebastian, on the other hand, made no comment about Shii's choice of word. He did remember something, yes.

"Never a boring day." Well, that was untrue. Even she was perfectly capable of getting bored if left alone for too long.

Out of her line of vision, one of the scarecrows twitched a bit before leaning forward as if to fall over. It stumbled a few steps, limbs in disarray, before it found some balance and stopped with a lurch. After swaying in place for a few moments, it took a tentative step forward and started to slowly hobble towards the closest moving thing, arms extended blindly ahead.

Shii looked over to the dinner table. "I do believe I'm rather famished."

Unexpected movement shanghaied Weft's eyes. "What, by grace, is he playing at?" he muttered. There was a straw doll walking around not too far from the jumpy owlet who looked like she'd faint at a shadow. It didn't seem like Iceheart's usual sort of jape. Poorer taste.

"Ssscha," the red monk vocalised contemptuously and turned his back on it to head for the table. "Yes, let's eat."

---

The fishie made an incredibly slow-motion grab for a wing, which reminded her of a blanket. The words "I should think as much" were barely audible if you had excellent hearing, though it wasn't clear to what they were a response.

Serpentine replied with a mock-despairing glance directed at the roof. Then he lowered his steady gaze to the scarecrow, the wing folding around the fishie. Shrugging, he grinned briefly at the "Kingfisher" and Owl. His next course of action was to promptly head for the door.

Sebastian blinked after the winged person nonchalantly, giving the scarecrow one long look. "Let's, yes. I can tell you the dessert is going to be fantastic, so don't stuff yourself too much now," he replied and poked Shii on the side teasingly. "Not that you would, of course," he added innocently.

The movement of the wings caught Nico's eye, so she could answer Serpentine's grin with one of her own.

Then she noticed the scarecrow, arched an eyebrow and asked jokingly, "Is that a late guest?"

Dragon's mask had caught on the rest of the costume. Its wearer appeared unable to see out, stumbling sideways while struggling for freedom. Upon impact with any possible persons, Dragon gruffly said "Sorry!" and redoubled efforts to doff the irksome mask.

Genie took advantage of the punchbowl until Dragon's actions threatened to upturn it. "Stand still," the djinn demanded. The dragon complied.

After no small hassle, Genie slipped the mask's edge away from the dragonscale suit. "Try now." As she spoke, Genie finally removed her headdress and her disguise illusion.

Dragon pulled the mask upward past her chin until long red hair tumbled out of it. Genie, now sporting dusky skin and sharp teeth, took one look at Jaina's mane and scurried across the room. Serpentine's wings were big and she, small; she ducked behind them to catch her breath before finding a less animate hiding place.

A confused Jaina looked for her saviour before noticing Suitov instead. She headed his way, searching for the genie as she went.

"Oh, I'm not sure it's possible to stuff myself too full..." Shii mused, somehow amused by the very concept.

Of course, the amusement was partly due to having finally noticed the scarecrow. She gravitated towards the food, but kept an eye on the sluggishly animate doll to see what it was capable of. The spell hadn't been tested out that many times yet, not since she stole it from a village witch doctor some time ago. It would remain to be seen whether it would stay her favourite for much longer.

Nico was reasonably sure this was another prank. If it was meant to scare people, it was apparently failing, considering it was being ignored... A shame, really.

She set down her mask on the ground, right next to the refreshments table, and approached the shambling figure.

"So, would you like to join our chat?"

No answer, but noting the outstretched arms...

"Oh, you would like to dance. Of course!"

She took hold of the scarecrow's arms and dragged and shoved it around in a passable sketch of a waltz, ready to let go and put some distance between them if it did anything odder.

Suitov looked extremely impressed, though whether it was at the spell or Nico's reaction was hard to gauge. Spotting Jaina approaching at last, he grinned and made to slip an arm around her scaly shoulders.

Weft picked at a small amount of game bird terrine, which had come served with bacon-wrapped miniature eggs, braised squash and chestnut mushrooms. He was seemingly too... something-or-other to eat much.

With several partygoers having slipped out early and more gathered around the food, the floor was relatively open. Jaina's concentration was on other things, like moving in scale mail and looking for specific people.

She was walking past Nico and scarecrow on her way to Suitov, when she realised that one of the pair seemed inhuman ... and shambling.

Jaina smiled at Suitov despite her worry. When he wrapped his arm around her, she held it tight. "Something may be wrong here," she whispered to him. "Either someone's really into their costume and still hasn't unmasked, or that" -- she motioned with a jerk of her head -- "is alive but not."

She was really, really hoping for the costume one.

"Jaina," he said, voice heavy with humourous reproach, "don't be so impolite to Nico's dancing partner.

"Although I've half a mind to cut in and have a look at that perambulatory spell," he added, suggesting that his admiring looks had been aimed at the magic process animating the scarecrow. Mostly true.

The spell itself, invisible to someone without a magic sense, looked orange, fibrous and crosshatched to the mage's eyes. His weak secondary sense meant that it also felt like a faint gravitational pull.

Nico found the dancing partner actually quite boring, and herself feeling hungry, so with a flourish she sent the scarecrow twirling into a direction where there were no obstacles.

She was quite surprised it did not fall over, considering how clumsily it moved. Apart from swaying gently, it held still, so after a moment its former dancing partner went her own ways.

In passing shooting a grin at Suitov and his apparent lady-friend, she went foodwards.

"A spell?" Jaina asked in startlement, almost forgetting to smile back at Nico. It was only polite to do -- and gave the redhead time to reassess the scarecrow.

Now that she knew what it was, she saw new details. Its shoulders drooped lower than a collarbone would allow; hands, fat mitts rather than intricate joints and tendons; knees, just lumps in the stuffing.

Thus satisfied, Jaina relaxed and leaned her head against Suitov's shoulder. She found herself yawning despite her best efforts. "Aw, if a spook like that isn't keeping me awake, I guess I should call it a night."

"It has been a long day," Suitov said without thinking.

The scarecrow, as if to agree, folded slowly into a heap.

"I think I'll bow out too." The mage gave a wave to Nico, then to Weft and his friends on the way past.

Nico waved back, a bit disappointed they would not stay longer. Oh, well. One chair next to Weft was free until she occupied it.

"Good evening again. That was a wonderful act you and Suitov had. My name's Nico." She helped herself to fish filet prepared to a recipe she couldn't name, rice and mixed vegetables, keeping most of her attention of Weft.

Weft returned Suitov's gesture guardedly - he didn't want the droopy dragon on the mage's other arm to notice him or start aggro.

"Thanks! I was hoping to talk to you again. That mask of yours was adorable. I'm Weft, by the way."

"Thank you! Suitov mentioned your name when I asked if the Death of Birds had been made up on the spot."

She started to work on the food, leaving it to Weft what he wanted to talk about. Her table manners were not exactly a pinnacle of daintiness, but she knew better than to stuff, or talk or grin while still chewing a mouthfull.

"Oh yes, Jetaujat the Bird Goddess. Your mask reminded me of her because of the colours."

He was still eating sparingly - like a bird, or perhaps not.

Nico watched that for a bit out of the corner of her eye before asking in an undertone, "Is that why you feel bad about eating that bird now?" Her tone carried concern and curiosity, with just the slightest hint of joking.