Respite

[Jelly]

Feb 1st

Jelly had first made himself known to the Rogues weeks ago, but he didn’t show his face often. One might even be hard pressed to remember he was a Rogue in the first place. Despite his relatively unassuming appearance, he had somewhat of a reputation for being… unsettling? Ominous? A weirdo? How eagerly would you approach a mysterious undertaker? He even vaguely smelled of death.

The chubby man made his first appearance in France in several days. He was found sitting atop the roof of a single story business: apparently a bakery by the sweet smell that wafted out from the cracked window shutters. It was early morning and a golden-yellow light was beginning to spill in between the blue shadows of the city. It was too early for many of the citizens to be out and about, but soft hustling from within the stone buildings was vaguely audible as business owners prepared for the day ahead.

It was a pleasantly peaceful time, although it would not last forever.

The gold light slowly moved across Jelly’s body, revealing him from the early morning shade. He could hear footsteps approaching from the cobble street, but he didn’t want to intrude. If they wanted to speak to the likes of the death-man, they would have to work up the courage themselves.

[Sophia]

Ever since she was a foal, Sophia had always been early to bed and early to rise. She was usually the first to catch the first few rays of the new dawn of the day, and in some strange way, she found it incredibly peaceful. Morning in Paris was no different.

She strolled through the cobblestone streets at a leisurely pace, her sandals tapping lightly on the stones as she quietly observed the early risers getting ready to go about their day. She had assumed a human form for this endeavor, being that she wasn’t as comfortable as Bob was in his unicorn form amongst the general public. Her lavender hair cascaded down past her shoulders, and it was pulled back by a simple white headband. She wore a white dress to compliment her Romanesque sandals, and if one didn’t know better, she looked just like any other citizen of Paris.

She then happened to look up, spotting a strange, chubby man sitting atop the single story bakery. Through the windows, she could see the baker kneading his bread for the day, completely unaware of the man sitting on his roof. Sophia tilted her head in curiosity, as this man seemed strangely familiar. His aura was what pulled her in, almost as if it was calling to her.

In a matter of seconds she had reappeared on the roof, slowly approaching Jelly.

“Don’t I know you from somewhere? You’re the undertaker, aren’t you?”

[Deleted]

The stag's breath steamed in the cold morning air. Bambi had been up for several hours. "A prince awakens before the forest does" had been ingrained in his mind. It did not matter that the prince's realm was six hundred miles east of Paris, or that someone else ruled in his stead. It felt borderline sacrilegious to sleep in, so every morning, Bambi had more spare time than he knew what to do with. If weather permitted (it was a little embarrassing how quickly he got used to having a roof over his head), he would take a walk in the city. He liked the sound his hooves made on the cobblestone streets.

He passed by the bakery. Loaves and buns were put on display. No two were alike. Some had fruit or spices inside; there was raisin bread, ginger bread, sugar bread, plum bread, onion bread, garlic bread, nut bread, cheese bread, and many, many more. Some were even colored red with sandalwood, yellow with egg yolk, green with parsley or purple with turnsole. By midday, the air would be full of the smell of fresh bread, making everyone in town hungry. Bambi had been warned not to eat any of it, but there was no harm in smelling it.

But instead of the wonderful aroma of warm bread, Bambi scented autumn, and dead leaves came to mind. He heard Sophia and looked up. Upon seeing the stranger, the ruminant sprang up on the roof. He eyed the outsider warily.

"Who's this?"

[Jelly]

The first thing that stirred was not the mortician himself. Instead, the white fuzz within his hood which at first could easily be mistaken just for its inner lining, jolted.

“Mrrrrf?”

A grey-brown feline face turned around, eyes still closed to slits. Selinate, Jelly’s cat familiar, who’d been sleeping inside his pulled down hood, was awoken by the sounds behind her master. Though she didn’t appear alarmed, not even having opened her eyes. She began to put her head back down when Jelly aroused and turned, obscuring the cat behind his back.

“Mornin’ t’ ya,” he absently slurred.

Similarly to his feline friend, Jelly’s eyes were barely open more than slits and heavily lidded. In fact, it was entirely possible he was interrupted just before he could nod off on the roof. Jelly actually wasn’t much of a morning person himself. Though he was inclined to change things up when he became too bored with the usually lonely routine his profession entailed. Thus, he decided to visit the city early in the morning, based solely on the fact he’d never done it before.

Deep brown eyes became more visible, appearing to glimmer in the sunrise, as his heavy lids lifted further in interest. Being a selkie in disguise, he had a natural knack for picking out mythical beings wearing humans skins. He saw through Sophia quite quickly. Jelly also gave the magnificent stag a glance. He liked deer; he liked most animals actually.

“Name’s Jelly. Or at least that’s what they call me,” he said, holding the hanging paws of his seal pelt like the lapels of a suit, “Freelance mortician and funeral director.”

He seemed rather proud of it; nevermind that having someone who made his living off of death lurking about in the midst of war might be seen as foreboding to some.

[Membo]

The soft clip clop of sharp little hooves can be heard on the cobblestone as the buttin buck that was Membo makes his way down the street. So many strange looking HE’s in all types of different colored furs. The youngest pauses to look into a shop, a bakery if he were to know the term. After a few more minutes of looking at all the sights he continues down the street.

“Baaaa-oh!”


“Baaaa-oh!”

The loud bleating would hopefully reach the ears of his adopted father.

[Sophia]

Sophia raised a brow at the stag. She hadn't seen him before, but it didn't matter to her. She figured out that he was probably just a new member of the Rogues looking for some early morning solitude.

Or in their case, some time to chat.

Dark blue eyes focused on the small feline in Jelly's hood, and she couldn't help but smile softly. The unicorn had an incredible soft spot for dogs and cats, but secretly, she gravitated more towards the felines.

Her attention then went back to Jelly himself. She had so many questions to ask, but she didn't want to unload all of them onto the peaceful looking man all at once.

"I'm curious Jelly, why death? Not that I'm being rude at all, but why choose that as a pathway in life?" Sophia asked, as she took a seat on the rooftop, folding her legs under her as the dress covered her knees.

[Membo]

The little Roe deer continues to wander down the maze of streets looking into random shop windows, bookstores, cobblers, about three more bakery’s before he turns another street and stops dead in his tracks as the scent of death hits his nose full force. Another fearful bleat leaves his mouth as he looks around trying to figure out the source of the scent, before his blue eyes lift skyward spotting the figures on a nearby rooftop. A noise suddenly sounds from somewhere within a alleyway and a large scraggly dog steps out eyeing the young deer with sharp yellow eyes and steps closer ready to take down his new found meal.

“F-F-Father” the young male stammered his eyes wide as dinner plates. Membo had unfortunately already broken one of the rules.

Never freeze.

[Jelly]

Jelly lifted a hand and scratched under his nose. His brows knit as if he was thinking before opening a palm, his effortless-looking facade of nonchalance returning.

“Why not?”

A pretty blase response given the question.

“Someone’s gotta do it.”

He spun around on his heel quickly, causing the more weighty parts of his seal skin to fan out for a moment. Jelly returned to his previous position.

“Guess I’m just no good for anything else,” he muttered, self-deprecating with just the slightest twinge of bitterness.

The whites all around his black irises were fully visible for a short while as he opened his eyes for emphasis, raising his brows so his forehead wrinkled.

“Nae that I don’t enjoy the work or anything.”

Jelly slumped back into a sitting position. After a few moments, he blinked, hearing some sort of animal. He looked confused.

“Is.. somebody going to see to that?”