Tallu tried to untangle herself from Asils fox. The Fox growled at Alistair, and Tallu stoked his fur by reflex. "Asil." She whispered and looked at Alistair, who held up his hands; he had nothing to do with the Fox's state. "Asil, calm down."
Asil was visibly in no mood to calm down; ushering Tallu behind him, he kept growling at the Fae.
"She is in no danger from me, Fox," Alistair said. He was obviously not happy with the status quo, even though he was still patient.
Asil merely continued growling, with his ears tight to his head, crouched, ready to jump and try ripping the Fae into pieces. Tallu had her Hand on his chest, holding him back. She didn't know who would win the confrontation between the two men, but she did know that if it came to one, the hotel and half of the city would be laid to waste. She didn't wish that on the humans living here, and it would once again spark an anti-magical creature protest among them, something nobody really wanted.
"Asil." She stroked his fur. "He promised me he would not harm me."
That made the Fox perk up his ears. A Fae promise was a magic contract, a statement in itself.
Asil was visibly warring his instincts. Honeysuckle and Nightshade probably burying his sense of self underneath them. He growled and curled his Tail around her. His body shrunk as his mind triumphed over his instincts. He kneeled next to her, curling his Tail around her, his ears leaned back, his teeth bared.
"He is untrustworthy." Asil snarled, keeping his eye on Alistair.
"Asil." Tallu stretched out her Hand, stoking the scarred side of his face. The one where he was blind. The scars were no longer hidden; he had discarded his usual illusion, which he wore to avoid scaring people around him.
"I have promised not to have her come to any harm," Alistair stated and put his sword back, having it vanish into thin air.
"A word I don't know. You are good at your word. You are Fae, high court Fae; your truths may also be lies."
"Now, Fox. Advise you to keep your tongue at bay. I am still a Lord."
"Exactly." Was all that Asil said to that statement. "That is my worry."
"This Fox would prefer not to stand in the middle between you." Tallu broke the tense atmosphere with a bout of frustration in her Voice. "He promised me he wouldn't harm me, Asil. You are not even supposed to be here. I am my own woman even if you and River refuse to aknowledge it."
"Tallu." Asil objected helplessly as she untangled herself from his snowy white Tail. Brushing his fur off her clothes, she looked first at Alistair and then at Asil. It didn't matter; now that Asil was here, it was not that she could chase him away. The stubborn Fox wouldn't listen anyway. Might as well make the best out of it.
Rubbing her eyes, she looked at the two of them. "We are going to Vienna." She announced. "Or at least Alistair and I are."
"I will be coming with you," Asil announced, and Tallu shrugged her shoulders. She wouldn't find another opportunity to trick him into being left behind anytime soon. Alistair stretched out his Hand. "Then let us go." He stated. Tallu took Alistair's offered Hand, and the two teleported. Asil is hot on their heels.
Vienna was cold. The air hit Tallu, who was not exactly clogged for them. With a flick of Asils hand, she found herself wearing a thick coat made of cotton. "Thank you." She said like an automaton and looked at the Residence gardens of Vienna stretching out in front of them. A statue in the distance. Now this one she knew.
"Over there and then left." She said, pointing at the statue and marching forward. "If Rika has shifted, we are lucky; if not, we must wait..." She arrived at the statue and turned left. "...it's been a while."
"If you give us a concrete address, we can teleport there," Alistair said, and Tallu smiled at him.
"Do you think the apprentice of the Library Master of Cordoba works at a normal hotel?" Tallu asked, and the Fae seemed to realize that made little sense.
"We are in Vienna. Are we talking about the Quarters?" Asil asked, and Tallu nodded.
"Ah...it has truly been too long since I have walked the paths of my own kind," Alistair said. "In that case, if my memory does not fail me, I know a shortcut; we don't have to walk the path."
Now both foxes were left staring at him. "There is a Shortcut?" Tallu stared at him in wonder.
"There is a Shortcut, not very well known but if one carries the prestige to claim the knowledge of it," Alistair stated, stretching out his Hand. Tallu took his Hand and, after a bit of hesitation, grabbed Asils sleeve. Alistair covered them in Magic and then stepped through a wall. They suddenly were in an entrance hall. Mahagoni reached up into endlessly high ceilings, chandeliers of opulent glory illuminating the floor made of white stone, black patterns, looking like rivers flowing through it. There was no seam as if everything was made of a single piece.
There was a feeling of age everywhere around them. A single desk was there with a long dark-winged, iron masked man sitting there. He observed the pitch-black eyes; he bowed and stretched out his Hand wordlessly, telling them to walk up the stairs to his left.
Alistair walked up the stairs to the left, where the office work sound was hearable. Suddenly a woman stood up behind a counter with a bright smile on his face. "A wonderful day. How can I be of help."
They were Lucky.
"We would like a library pass," Tallu said with a grin.
"We are sadly a hotel, not a library. If you wish to visit a library, then I can direct you...Tally!"
"Rika." Tallu smiled at her when Rika let out a screech. She stormed forward from behind her counter, and Talluf came behind Tallu before the two hugged each other.
"I haven't sent you in ages, Tally," Rika said. "But what are you doing in Vienna. Wait a moment, Bell, I am on break-" She shouted the hall downwards and was answered by a grunt. "Now come on, and bring those two with you. Nice scars, Asil; I haven't seen those in a while, and the Fae next to you is totally hot..."
"Rika...you are thinking out loud again."
"Did I?"
"Yes..."
"He...who cares. The Fae Lord is hottie."
