[Mekatra]

There was much giggling from the ladies in waiting when he was found snoozing in the garden. It was Leandrea that gently shook his shoulder and called to him. "Trevor, time to wake up. If you stay out here sleeping much longer you're likely to root into the soil." The queen laughed in the background.

"Dear cousin, whatever possessed you to sleep out here? Just like a cat, to find a spot in the sun to take a nap." Elizaveta was grinning amusedly at discovering him. "At least you were not up a tree. We probably wouldn't have ever found you."

[Crystalkitsune85]

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, good afternoon Your Majesty," he said and then turned to Leandrea. "Lady Leandrea, and.." looked to the other ladies gathered around the Queen. "Other ladies," he said and then stood up and brushed off. "Joane gave me the day off because she's spending time with Ermi today," he said and left it at that. "She gave me some coin to go browse the market but I did that already and I don't want to go bother them yet so I came here," he explained. "I guess I dozed off. My apologies." he said scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

[Mekatra]

Another round of giggling, though now much more muffled since he was awake, fluttered through the group of women. Leandrea was trying very hard not to laugh at him, but her eyes were sparkling with mirth.

Elizaveta waved her hand. "I'm envious, I must say. It must be glorious to sleep out here with the sun on your face and a breeze in your hair. How lovely." She cleared her throat. "Perhaps, since you find yourself without direction today, you would indulge your cousin in a game of chess?"

[Crystalkitsune85]

He had heard the name of the game but never had the privilege of playing it. "I'm afraid I don't know how to play chess. I've heard of the game and saw it played a few times but I don't know it well enough to match wits with you," he said with a smile. Since he knew how things worked, he did continue. "However if Her Majesty wouldn't mind teaching a young cat an old trick, I wouldn't mind learning." he finished.

[Mekatra]

Elizaveta looked surprised for a brief moment, then remembered his upbringing. "Of course, I would delight in teaching you. It will be nice to win for once," she cast a disparaging look over to Leandrea who finally broke out into giggle as her response. "Come along to my solar, dear." She waved her hand for him to follow.

The ladies all fell into line and followed after. The Queen's Solar was located on the top level of the castle and had big bright open windows. Embroidery hoops were set up near several of the chairs, as well as a few lace maker's pillows. It was clear that while the women of the upper nobility didn't do any hard work, they still kept themselves busy. She gestured to a large chess set made of heavy carved wood.On one side were a cream colored set and on the other a deep burgundy hard wood. "Pick either color, it doesn't bother me which I play." Once he was seated she proceeded to carefully explain each piece and run him through a few practice games, taking her queen off the board as a handicap for him.

[Crystalkitsune85]

Once seated over on the black side. He looked at all the different pieces and tried to remember everything the Queen told him about the game. It was complicated for sure but one had to anticipate their opponent and determine their possible moves to beat them. During the practice games he, of course, lost, even with the Queen's Queen gone for a handicap. He picked it up pretty quickly though. He was a smart cookie and this game required thought and planning ahead. He was good at learning things, and this would actually be helpful for him in his future ventures. Learning to plan ahead.

[Mekatra]

Once he started getting the hang of it Elizaveta stopped being so easy on him, but still kept her queen out of the game. It was only when one of the ladies gently touched her on the shoulder and whispered something into her ear that she called a stop. "I'm afraid I have something to go attend to, cousin. I would offer Leandrea to take my place, but she has no sense of mercy. Surely Ermi has tired of Joane's attention, you should be able to go let her know you didn't get mugged at the market." She stood and was out of the room quickly, leaving him with just a few of the other women.

"Is it true you are part cat at night?" One of them asked abruptly.

[Crystalkitsune85]

When the Queen got up and left and Leandrea didn't replace her he stood. "Well, that was enjoyable." He turned to Leandrea. "I'll have to play you sometime when I get better." he said with a smile as he bowed in her direction. When one of the ladies blurted out a question he stopped and looked at her. "Oh um, yes." he said. "I get cat ears and a tail," he told her. "Just imagine me with darker hair, two cat ears, and a long black tail," he said. "Maybe you'll see me someday." he then excused himself and then headed up to Joane's room. He scratched on the door. "Meow" he called out.

[Mekatra]

Leandrea broke into a bright, yet slightly sadistic grin. "I will gladly slaughter your army any time you wish, m'lord." She winked at him as he tried to scramble away from the questions of the other ladies.

Ermi popped open the door and groaned. "The cat came back," he chuckled and ushered him inside of the room. Joane was laying on her bed picking at a plate of fruit and reading a book. "Welcome back. Find anything good at the market? Didn't bring home some kind of weird creature, did you?"

[Crystalkitsune85]

He pulled the leather gloves out of his pocket to show Ermi what he got at the same time the feather from the winged woman from earlier fell out. He picked it up and tucked it back into his pocket. "I got these," he said and showed them off. He walked over to Joane and handed the pouch of money from his other pocket that was still tied to his belt loop. "Here, this is what was left over." he told her placing it on the bed next to her.

[Mekatra]

Joane raised a brow at him returning the money. "I gave it to you, it's yours." She held up a strawberry. "You hungry? Tell me about your adventures in the marketplace. Is all you bought some gloves? I thought you might buy something pretty for Leandrea."

Ermi flopped down on Trevor's cot and sighed with exhaustion. "See any pretty lasses? My heart's set on one that's a bit rough for my tastes. She ran me through sword drills for three hours..."

[Crystalkitsune85]

He stared at the money pouch. "But I don't really need it. I got something nice and that was all I found that was worth buying," he said and denied the strawberry. "I thought about getting something for Leandrea. There were a lot of nice things. I just figured getting her gifts would be considered courting and I shouldn't be doing that yet." He said and looked back at them. "There...is this woman who was there. She was one of the dancers. At first glance, she just looks like a normal woman in elaborate costume, but she has bird wings. Like...real wings. She's like me. Has animal parts, but ones that she can control. She offered to teach me how to possibly go full feline. I...want your opinion." he said looking to Joane. "Should I go and learn or...no? She said I can bring people I trust with me to visit her." he explained further.

[Mekatra]

Joane's brows shot up even further and she sat up in the bed. "Another part animal? She said you were capable of becoming more feline at will? That would be incredibly useful! I certainly think you should take her up on it." She glanced over at Ermi. "I would go with you, if you're nervous about going alone. If you would rather I'm sure you could take Ermi instead. He certainly would love to see a woman with the wings of a bird."

[Crystalkitsune85]

"She said to bring those that I trust and I trust you both. Both of you could come if you wanted. If you think that it's a good idea then I'll go meet her outside the city. She said they're camped out there for the whole week. She gave me this..." he pulled the feather from his pocket. "To give to the guards outside their camp, so we can get in. They'll lead us right to her," he explained.

[Mekatra]

Joane's brows furrowed as she saw the feather and she reached out so she could take it an examine it further. "This is much bigger than most birds, not to mention it's colors aren't anything that would be from around here. Interesting." She handed it back to him and shrugged. "I don't see a downside. She's already trusting you with quite a bit of information that could land her in prison or worse since she knows well that they aren't supposed to camp in the king's wood without his leave to do so."

Ermi crossed his arms over his chest. "So we're going to go talk to a strange woman in the woods so you can learn magic? Have we entered a fairy story then?"

[Crystalkitsune85]

He took the feather and placed it back into his pocket. "I just didn't want to go alone, just in case it's a trap or something. Maybe a ploy to kidnap me and use me for their own devices and not to teach me anything. She could think I have no friends to bring along or anyone I trust enough to. I guess you're there for moral support if she is genuine but back up if things go bad?" he said looking at them both. "I'd appreciate it if you did come with me." he continued softly.