Spooky Scary Skeleton

[Jack Skellington]

March 26th

Paris.

It had been such a long time since Jack had been here; it was just as beautiful as he remembered...he would love to bring Sally to see the sights, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower--


Ah. But this wasn't the time to be planning a honeymoon. No no, he had more important matters to attend to. He had to make sure that his fiance and his town would be safe. As much as he would love to take a moment or two to relax, war unfortunately makes it much more difficult.


As he strode along the streets of Paris (Which were quite long strides), he noted those around him, be they Rogues or other citizens, being unnerved by his presence. His reputation had preceded him, even if it had been a while. His French was a little rusty, admittedly, but he still understood what the people were talking about.


Whispers of a monster, a demon skulking the countryside under the Autumn moon made him somewhat nostalgic. It made the skeleton grin as he continued to walk down the cobblestone roads, quietly humming to himself as he re-familiarized himself with the city.

[Megara]

"Hey stretch, where'd you come from?" a droll voice rolled out from a young woman leaning against the corner he had just passed. She wasn't looking directly at Jack, instead her eyes seemed to be looking at nothing in particular with a bored little stare, "I'd turn around if I were you. Flame head is in the area, and I don't think he'd like some one dead wandering around with out his say so..."

Megara lifted her head up, and arched a pencil thin brow when she met Jack's hollow sockets with her own eyes. It didn't matter how many weeks Megara spent under Hades's employ, she still didn't quite understand the laws of life and death. What allows certain beings to wander the earth after their time, and why others were ferried across the Styx. But she figured that a skeleton shouldn't be wandering the streets of Paris in a pinstripe suit.

[Jack Skellington]

When Jack heard the young woman's voice, he had turned to face her. ...Well that is, his head turned to face her as the rest of his body was still going forward. He quickly righted himself, turning the rest of his body to face her as he leaned down slightly towards eye (or lack thereof) level.



"Good evening! I'm afraid I can't turn back now, miss, I have important business to do here. I'm on my way to meet the King!" He waved his arms to the sides in a show of extravagance in regards to the King.



"Oh...ha ha, where are my manners?" He shook his head and outstretched a bony hand. "My name is Jack Skellington! How do you do?"

[Megara]

Thr other eyebrow lofted to meet the first, and raised up high on her brow in twin arches of surprise. She didnt know why she was, though. Of course a skeleton could pull a 180° like that.

She shook her head to dismiss her shock, and went back to adopting her aloof nature. When Jack revealed his motivation, Megana gave a tiny snort.

"Of course you are," she folded her smaller hand in the dry bone sticks of his, "Name's Megara."

She let go of his hand and finished off her crepe. Dusting the crumbs from her hands she started walking away, gesturing him to follow.

"C'mon Skellington, I'll take you to the King."

[Jack Skellington]

Jack grinned from ear to nonexistent ear. He was glad to have met someone that could help him out already. Asking for directions might not have been the best course of action considering...well, he was a skeleton.

"A pleasure to meet you, Megara! Please do lead the way!" He began to walk with her, matching his stride to her pace, making sure he doesn't lag behind or go ahead of her.

[Megara]

Megara walked through the streets smoothly. Say what you want about a giant skeleton walking with ya, at least you didn't have to bob and weave through a crowd. Made things go by a lot faster, that was for sure. Meg folded her arms behind her back and tilted her head back to look up at Jack.

"So, what business did ya had with the king?" she turned her gaze back to the road to avoid tripping on any loose cobblestones, "Something to do with this war, I'm guessing?"

[Dissonus Narratus]

"One would be surprised if the skeleton shambling down the paved streets of France would be here for anything but the war."

The raven, resting atop of a merchant stand just off the road the two Rogues traveled down, flapped his wings and took a gentle flight, matching the speed of both Megara and Jack. "Disonous Narratus, at your service, Sir Skellington. I keep eyes and beak out for those looking for our special hideaway."

The Raven circled quickly and landed on Megara's shoulder, gently. "I do agree with Lady Megara's inquiry. What brings an esteemed man like yourself into our war? I imagine you have made many great sacrifices to be here."

[Quasimodo]

"Clopin really didn't have to--"

"He said it was to keep you safe. But from what I've heard, I know you're plenty strong enough to take care of yourself. I'm really just here on mon roi's word. And besides, I feel like you could use the company, no?"

"I...I guess so."

Canine and human ambled along the moonlit cobblestone paths of the old city. The hunchback had draped a hooded shawl over himself as he ambled along, and Dante kept at his heel, never too far in front or behind him.

Sure, it had been quite a long time since the storming of Notre Dame, of the day that Judge Claude Frollo finally cracked. And yes, the townspeople had finally celebrated Quasimodo's victory over his master, and had accepted him into the general population, to walk amongst them as he had always wanted.

And yet here he was, hiding his face away from them. He wasn't sure why, but there was a nagging feeling that despite the fact that everyone had accepted him, deep down, he knew they still thought of him as a hideous monster.

That was why when Clopin returned to Paris, Quasimodo took all that he knew, and joined the Rogues as a medic. Maybe then, he'd finally find that sense of acceptance without being judged for his appearance.

"Did you hear about the monster? The demon?"

Quasi's head whipped around to see a couple of men off to the side, standing outside of a tavern with their beer mugs in hand. His expression fell, until he heard the rest of the conversation.

"Yes! He's got these crazy long legs, talkin' some nonsense about seeing the King at this hour! Can you imagine? I swear, I've seen stranger and stranger things since the Rogues made their home here." the second man said, mumbling the last part of his sentence as he noticed Quasimodo and Dante. The wolfdog moved protectively in front of Quasimodo, and the man laughed, waving.

"Not you, Quasimodo! You're 'bout the most normal thing that's happened. I'm talkin' 'bout that strange skeleton that's been skulkin' around here." the man said, with a loud hiccup.

"Skeleton?" Quasimodo asked, as he removed his hood. Dante tilted his head in curiosity. He'd never heard of such a thing, but who was he to believe some drunk man? Perhaps he was so drunk that all he could do was come up with crazy stories. Either way, he was wasting their time.

"Come on Quasi. Let's leave them to their drinks." Dante said, pushing the hunchback's leg with his head. With a frown, Quasimodo pulled his hood over his head once more, and ambled off with the wolfdog.

It wasn't too long after that encounter that they came across Megara, Dissonus, and...the skeleton. The drunk man had been right! Dante's blood ran cold. This wasn't normal. Skeletons...they needed muscles, a body, a soul! Quasimodo looked up at Jack with an expression of curiosity and slight fear. But once he saw how comfortable Meg and Dissonus seemed to be with him, he took a deep breath, ambling along as fast as he could to catch up to them. Dante blinked a few times, and bounded after Quasimodo.

"So you're the skeleton that those drunks were talking about!" Dante exclaimed, as he slowed his pace.

"I...I don't mean to be rude, but what...are you? A zombie?" Quasimodo inquired.

[Jack Skellington]

Jack stopped to give the raven a small wave in greeting, letting him finish his sentence before speaking. Eye sockets warped to a look akin to one of worry as he thought of the reason why he had come to France.

"Well, I'm here because of the war, yes. You see, I come from a place called Halloween Town. And, as you can imagine, we take Halloween quite seriously!" He lurched forward, making grand gestures with his arms as he spoke. "Frightening and scaring, lurking in the dark every year in celebration!" He frowned. "However, ever since this war began, it hasn't felt...quite right. Don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to war; but this war is...quite different." He placed a bony hand on his chin.

"So that's why I came to France to speak to the King. So I can lend my support."

"So you're the skeleton that those drunks were talking about!"

Jack perked up at the new voice, and turned to face them. A friendly smile slowly crept back up his face as he greeted them, chuckling.

"Why yes! Jack Skellington, at your service!"

"I...I don't mean to be rude, but what...are you? A zombie?"

"Nope! I'm a skeleton! Through and through." He knocked on his head, producing a hollow sound. He spoke as if his statement was supposed to be obvious.

[Sable]

Of all the places Sable had expected to end up, the last place she expected was Paris. But the pine marten had nowhere else to go. Once she was out of the correctional facility after doing her time in prison and going through intense psychiatric therapy, Sable was at a loss for what to do. She had a huge gap in her knowledge of life in general and how to take care of herself, as she was monitored closely and stuck behind institution walls from ages 10 to 24. She had not been given any good resources or any place to stay once she had done her time, and a war was on. In desperation, she traveled to Europe in order to avoid meeting anyone whom she might have known as a girl, who would know what she did. Somewhere to start anew. Somewhere that would take in this lonely, sad, traumatized girl with no future.

Though her French was mediocre at best, Sable had heard about the king and his army. She had been avoiding it for a while, petrified at the though of fighting, committing any more violence than she already had. But the marten was at the end of her rope and running out of options. She was malnourished and tired. Seeing the towering frame of Jack made her startle and hide behind a wall, as she had definitely never seen an actual animate skeleton, and at first thought she was hallucinating from lack of sleep. However, the vision did not fade and there were others interacting with him. She slowly craned her neck and listened to the conversation, intrigued. So he was off to talk to the king himself, offering his services to his army! This, actually, was a good opportunity, she realized.

"Uh, e-excuse me...?" she mumbled. Nobody had heard her, as she was still hiding behind a wall. She hesitated, terrified of being turned away. But she had to try.

"Excuse me," she said again, louder and cautiously padding her way toward the conversing group. "I-I couldn't help but overhear you're here to see the king? Um, I-I was actually looking to speak to him myself. W-would you mind if I were to come with you... uh... Jack, right?"