The Sanctuary

You are standing in the warm musty bar gazing around the shadow wreathed plaster walls with thick black beams. The worn and scarred floorboards below you creak ominously. Though the bar is currently quiet there is a unsettling sense of unease in the air, as if something could happen explosively at any second. With a vague feeling of distrust you glance at the figures sitting about the room. You wonder whether to risk chatting with them or leave them to their dealings.

To head to this bars chat room click here.
If you want to stay and talk or rp in the forum feel free to.

A rough layout from the prototype game based on the Sanctuary.

Ground and first floor

A nice view of the lake from the roof with some of the patrons, and the main room looking into the kitchen.

Saji and Keri looked at each for a moment before nostalgically stepping through the doors of the bar. Saji took a deep breath slowly realizing that things were different here and newer. Keri stuck to Saji like industrial glue. "Keri, cool down, its alright, its strange but a bar is a bar..." Keri's fingers curled around Saji's cool arm and held on tightly to the slightly aggravated woman. Saji rolled her emerald eyes and tugged the dead weight to the bar. "Saj-Saj, are you sure we should even be here?" Keri's free hand was resting on her small straight razor hidden in the pocket of her hoodie. Saji nodded limply. "Keri, I want a drink. Shut it." With that said, Keri slid onto a barstool, sticking her tongue out at Saji who gave a glare which was almost deadly on her scarred and dark face. Keri just shut up and rested her head on her arms staring at Saji. Saji grabbed a drink, absinthe and got ready to drink it.

As she raised the absinthe bottle to her lips the air behind the bars wooden counter began to shiver as if an intense hat wave rippled through it. The shadows began to drip and run up into the air like washed out watercolour paint flowing along a canvas. The watery shadows swirled in the air drawn into a condensing mass in the centre where the air had begun rippling. The mass quickly formed into a flat oval portal that breached the dimensional barrier of reality opening a wormhole from one realm to another. Through this unusual distortion stepped first one very odd looking being followed by a much more normal looking man. The first being was smartly dressed in a purple jacket, grey pants and topped off with a purple top hat. However this was not what was unusual. His appearance also seemed to be cross bred with a tabby cat as a tawny brown striped fur covered his skin, black tipped cat ears curved through the air above his head, a long cat tail swerved through the air behind him and grand amber cats eyes gleamed in the fur covered face. Apart from all that he looked perfectly human. The man closely and warily following behind him was dark haired with deep grey eyes that shimmered with a light blue in the right light. The mans pale face turned to look behind them at the portal once they had both stepped through, he took a cautious step back and lightly bumped into the feline man as the portal sizzled away into the air as if it had never existed. The cat man looked over his shoulder at his nervous companion and gave an amused grin, showing off sharp canine teeth. 'Hey come on Matt, ay'd have thought you'd be used to that by now.' The dark haired man sharply looked back at his feline counterpart. 'How the hell can you get used to being torn from one dimension to another Sherogeth?? Its just not natural.' he spoke stubbornly and then walked away in a huff to find himself a drink.

The feline man named Sherogeth simply carried on grinning at the mans dislike for portals. However as he seemed to notice someone else in the room all of his attention immediately fell onto the fiery redhead that was drinking the absinthe. 'SAJI!' The ecstatic howl burst through the quietness of the bar along with an energetic purple ball of fur that swept along and gathered the woman up in his arm, hugging her mid-air form. There was a clink from the bar as Matt with a smirk at the couple poured himself a glass of whisky on the rocks. 'Some things never change.' he sighed and put the bottle down raising the glass to sip the contents. Then he noticed the girl quietly lying her head on the bar a short distance away. 'Hey, would you like a drink?' he politely called to her in a light Scottish accent with a smile.

Saji nearly spit up Absinthe all over the bartop at the sound of her name. The appearance of the portal itself hadn't phased her since portal travel was convenient and easy but the furred man who had stepped through, she knew immediately even before the heart stopping sound. Before she even had time to wipe her mouth on her sleeve she was being held tightly around the waist. Saji glanced over to Keri who had shot up in shock of the catman hugging her ward. The red haired woman gave the brunette a quick wince and grin to calm and Keri nodded looking down. Saji wrapped her arms around Sheggo's neck and stole kisses to his furred cheek devilishly smiling at her tawny feline man. "I've missed you, you crazy kitten! Where have you been?" Saji closed her eyes as she nuzzled his neck and purred into fur, barely inaudibly whispering. "You know how lonely I've been...." Her fingers had curled into the fur on his neck, scratching and tickling at the nape.
Keri had sunk her head back into the the crook of her arm. She stopped staring at the couple feeling her face start to warm and flush. The chocolate eyes glanced away in temporary thought wondering what made her decide to come when she could be at home cooking. Her fingers fidgeted with a napkin when she realized someone was talking to her. Dark red brown eyes looked up to the black-haired man who had spoken to her. "Me?" Keri was quiet for a moment, just staring at him incredulously then put up a hand. "Tcha! Sure!" Slowly, she carefully got on her feet and semi-limped over to where he was and sat in front of him at the bar. "What will we be drinking?"

With a wickedly sharp grin and fighting back an overwhelming need to purr he let her slide down from where he had held her in the air. 'Ay've been about my lovely one, and ah'm sorry ay've been a bit absent. trust me it t'wasnt from choice.' he said with a casual though serious slur, his ecstatic amber eyes never leaving the depths of her emerald orbs. His head leaned back a little into the teasing fingers, his throat tensing as he forced himself not to embarrassingly purr in front of other people. His own hands wrapped around her middle slowly started dropping lower.

Matt however had started ignoring the couple enjoying each other in the middle of the bar floor and concentrated all of his focus on simply beautiful girl in front of him. 'We shall be drinking whatever the hell you like my lady. It looks like theres a good enough selection about, ay'll probably have a whisky though.' he remarked as light blue stormy eyes briefly gazed over the rows of bottles behind and under the bar counter. 'So what'll it be miss?' he asked with a slightly cheeky grin as he decided to play bartender and leaned casually with one arm on the counter.

Saji lightly pressed against him, her lips tickled his nose. "Really? Are you serious when you say that or are you just trying to appease me?" Her mouth had traveled to his mouth and she laid a kiss on his lips. Smallish giggles came from the back of her throat. For a moment, she let the closeness remain, intimate and uninhibited but not wanting to cause a scene she pulled slowly away. Her fingers fell from the luscious wonderful neck they itched to touch. "Come on. You must update me on what you were doing? Want another whiskey?" Saji pointed at the bar, farther down away from her pesky ward.

Keri couldn't help but let her fingers fidget under the table. Saji wasn't here to hide behind and the confrontation and humor were already making her nervous although she couldn't stop staring at him. Suck it up, bitch. She thought to herself and grinned at him, bringing her hands up to fist and rest her head on them. "I think!" She let the declaration hang there for a moment. "Methinks, that there Dos Equis Cerveza looks 'bout right. That'll do!" Keri laid her hands before, open-palmed for the entire large brown bottle. "Try it! You'll tell whut you think when yer done!" She could only quirk her left eyebrow to go with the already wide cheshire grin. He definitely made her feel more comfortable.

Her light scent filled his senses in the lingering moment as he was surrounded and entranced by her presence alone. However eventually the moment passed and the grin dimmed into a smile as she moved away towards the bars wooden counter. 'Surely me wanting to at least appease you must be a compliment to how much ay adore you?' he commented lengthily in playful tones. He started to follow her slow escape, an ambery cats eye quickly glanced at the friend he had sort of kidnapped. Then his glance darted back to Saji as he smiled lightly and jokingly called back, 'ay was having fun tossing icy boulders at small flowers when one of the trees got angry at me and decided to bury me in the ground for a few days where ah had to survive on earthworms alone. After that ay'd kill for a whiskey.' He gave a cheeky grin to accompany the odd story as he reached the bar counter.

A lone eyebrow raised at the sudden accent and odd words that seemed to cut through the air, but the smile never left his face. ‘Alright, this one here?’ he asked amicably as he heaved the bottle onto the counter, away from where it had been lurking on a shelf on the wall behind him. It hit the scarred wooden bar with a dull thud then he pushed it towards her before casually taking a draught of his whisky. ‘Nay, I’m happy with what I’ve got lass. Besides I wouldn’t want to be taking away any of your drink.’ A joking edge flashed through his voice as he glanced at the big bottle. He leaned casually with one arm over the counter, He certainly felt more at ease with this girl than Sheggorath. He doubted she would drag him into many portals and whisk him away.

Saji ignored the impulse to drage Sheggo into one more kiss as she pulled him down a fresh whiskey knowing he'd already had atleast one. Several times, while moving around the bar she had to stop to listen to what he was saying to her. "Ice boulders at flowers... a tree got angry?" Saji uncapped his whiskey and slid it to him. She had pulled a dark bottle out of what seemed like the thin air under her little tunic. The bottle was scrawled in dark letters 'Vix'. "So it buried and you ate earthworms..." Saji made a grin. "You may become like one of my warriors, Sheggo! Eating from the earth, not just flesh!" She imagined him eating some of the things she ate and could only laugh. "Ah, my love, I adore you! And you're wonderful adventures... you really should think about writing a few books my love..." Saji snickered as she moved around the bar to stand very close to him, her body once again up against his.

Keri nodded happily. "Ha! Yeh takin' awaiy my drink? I dun mind sharin'!" Her wobbly trembly imperfect finger fumbled with the metal top to the bottle and finally twisted it open, the serated edges of the cap cutting into her palm. Very effeciently, she hid her hand under the table while using her free hand to lift the open bottle to her lips and drink the heavy liquid. The bottle came down naturally and smoothing, softly clinking the counter. Her mind was on his eyes and way they colored but she dared not look. "I dun think I axed yeh name... Mines is Keri!" She grinned at him in her cheshire way.

As she talked he slipped onto a bar stool backwards so that he could casually lean against the bar counter as he looked at her over his shoulder. He easily caught the sliding bottle of whiskey and took a mouthful of the addictive liquid, smiling mid swallow. Lowering the bottle the amber eyes playfully glanced back at her as he replied in lightly teasing tones, 'ay'd rather not be one of your puppy warriors, eating earth and playing fetch with swords just doesnt appeal to me for some reason.' His sharp toothed grin widened at this brash almost challenging statement and he gave a quick wink before turning his head back around to take another sip of his drink. When she moved around the counter into his view the oval pupils followed her seductive form as it came closer. The playful wickedness in his expression softened a little as she declared her love. 'Ay wrote a few books, but nothing was published, ay guess they couldnt make sense of it, or maybe my experiences were just that boring.' he spoke with tones of sarcasm slithering around his words. Then the gold tainted cats eyes flashed as he carried on talking, 'and ay love you my Empress, with all of me.' he added with sly tones. The reason soon became apparent as a few more purple coated cat creatures appeared from nowhere and swarmed around Saji massaging and stroking whatever part of her they could reach. Although they were illusions it would have felt to her like the air itself was gently and sensually massaging her battle worn body while Sherogeth took another sip of his whiskey.

A smile played continuously around the fair skinned mans face as his pale blue eyes kept being drawn back to the girl whenever he looked away, which wasnt often. He took another sip of his own drink, then let it lower to the counter top as she told him her name. The grey eyes lit up with a spark of a smile like a ray of sun striking dark sea waters. 'Names Matt, nice tae meet you Keri.' He automatically held out his hand for a handshake as it seemed right. Though his cheery expression then changed and his demeanour grew slightly awkward as he negatively thought maybe he shouldnt have assumed she would shake hands. His troubled eyes glanced away for a second and registered shock at the small army of purple further down the counter, but he simply covered the surprise with a withering look and turned back to the awkwardness with Keri.

A look of seething rage nearly crossed her visage at the mention of her proud warriors which she compulsively hid as she often did. She wouldn't tell him how low a blow he had dealt to her honor. Saji smiled though and was immediately caught up in the flood off purple clad miracle workers. Her eyes stayed on Sherogeth though, the color mirroring the absinthe on the shelves around them. Maneuvering with them she managed to get to the stool next to him, sit down and rest her head in her arms. With a giggle, she shooed a few from certain personal areas under the protection of her tunic. "My love, I doubt they were boring. You maybe went to the wrong publisher... If you want help, I could rattle some heads, bones and other parts if you wish." Saji squirmed as one of the little gentle teasing hands got the back of her calf, making her nearly hop out of her seat since it tickled her. She smiled silently at Sheggo though once her composure was gained. "I think we should retreat to a room soon Sheggo... I'd like to catch up with you in private soon..." There was an eager hitch to her voice.

Keri took the hand and firmly grasped it, then shook it. "Matt..." She shoved her accent to the back of her mind pulling out her normal Pennsy english. "It's really epic to meet you. Really..." She didn't sense the awkwardness until he looked down at the other couple and saw Saji covered in purple termites. She let out a laugh. "Those two are something else. I knew Sheggo existed but I didn't know everything Saji said was true... Damn..." Keri tugged back her wispy hair trying to redo a ponytail. "How did you come across kitty over there?" She thumbed at Sherogeth. "And where did you come from?" Her grin didn't relent.

A sly half grin slide around his mouth as he replied to her nice proposal to get him a publisher. 'Nay my lovely, as fun as it would be to watch you work ay'm probably better off not being public.' A slight smile flickered around the corner of his mouth as she wriggled in her seat. However it was replaced by a flash of shock over his expression as he heard what she said next. 'Really? Well ay believe my room is still nice and free if you want to escape away to its dark depths.' he offered with a playfully wicked tone to his voice as he leaned towards her, one gloved hand reaching out towards her as the clones faded away leaving the two alone when he caught one of her hands

Feeling glad that she had accepted the handshake his smile widened, though a vague look of confusion appeared on his face as her voice seemed to change. 'Er, kay...' he slurred the sounds badly not sure how to respond now. Luckily his attention was thrown back towards the odd couple. While she seemed to be amused by Sherogeth he only showed some annoyance. 'Aye he's a real bag of fun.' Matt muttered leaning on his hip against the counter as he took another drink of his disappearing whiskey. When he heard her questions he lowered the glass and diverted his gaze back to her with a faint smirk. 'He found me. I was just walking home from the bar where I worked when he crashed into me, literally. For some reason he was being chased by a horde of demonic dogs, it was a pretty odd and terrifying experience.' Although he said it was scary his tone didnt match his words as his voice was filled with a mixture of contempt and curiosity. He then looked away aimlessly at the booze wall. 'Since he accidentally panicked and shoved me into a portal he claims to have lost my original place so I'm kind of stuck with him.' He sighed and moved away to refill the empty whiskey glass as he let her muse over what he had told her.

Cassidy opened the door of the tavern followed by two people. One was Visalia, Cass's adopted daughter and the other one was Cecilia, someone new. Cassidy immediately went to the bar to grab her wine. She had gone months without a taste and she sure as hell wouldn't waste an opportunity. She pushed her short orange hair behind her ear, showing several piercings, and sat down on one of the stools.

The brunette on the other hand leaned up against the wall of the tavern, holding tightly onto a golden colored bear. It was like Visalia to be quiet, and stay hidden. She watched the room carefully her eyes darting from one place to another.

Now Cecilia didn't know what to do as she'd never stepped into a place like this before. Her long green hair hung down to her butt, and her eyes were a dark grey. As soon as she spotted the fireplace did her feet begin to move once again. She sat down quietly and watched the fire.

(( Hm, I think I shall implement a time skip and hope Saji doesnt mind.... ))

Much later on from the earlier conversations in the bar Sherogeth silently slipped out of his room leaving a sleeping Saji behind. Adjusting his purple oddly patterned coat as he walked down the hallway that led off from the top of the stairs a black tipped ear twitched and he looked towards the wall to his left as if he could see the new arrivals through it. A faint smirk twitched at his lips as his mental abilities picked up a familiar mind in the bar. he arrived at the top of the stairs and still with soft quiet steps that any cat would be proud of he approaches the new people. The bright amber cats eyes glanced from one person to another, as if plotting what to do. Whether he did have a plan or not he went towards the bar since the girl he knew was there, and she also had the benefit of being near the whiskey. He swept into her view heading for a spot where he knew there was some whiskey hiding, though on the way he flashed a sharp toothed grin and called to her, 'hey Cass lass, where've you been hiding? Ay havent seen you...' He paused to briefly duck behind the bar and grab the dark bottle hiding in the shadows beneath the counter. 'In bloody ages. So how've you been?' He asked with his usual cheerful casualness as he reached out to get a clean glass for his whiskey. The puzzlement of where the two humans he and Saji had brought along had drifted over his mind, but was pushed aside for now. They were probably nearby, and if either of them were attacked the sudden fear and shock rippling through the mental channels would be hard to miss.

Orange hair fell and covered the older female's right aquamarine eye. She began to wonder how everyone had been since she had last been here. A voice brought her back from her thoughts and she looked up. She saw the familiar fuzz ball, and laughed. "I've been hiding. Ha! No no, I've been here and there." A playful smile played on her lips. "But I've been well. How about you? How have you been?" She spoke, lifting the purple bottle up to her pink lips to take a swig of it, the flavor of strawberries lingering on her tongue.

A light smile was on his face as he listened to Cass and poured the whiskey into the glass that now had some ice in it. 'Ay'm glad you've been well, ah've not been too bad. A few new scars and dents, but ay'm still alive and working fine.' he said flippantly with a slight grin at the end. Putting the bottle down on the worn counter he took a deep drink of the whiskey, though the amber eyes flicked away to glance at the other people in the bar. Lowering the glass to breath he leaned with his hip against the bar counter and curiously asked, 'so who are the new people? Friends of yours ay'm guessing?'

She placed the bottle on the bar, swirling it in small circles. "Well that's good! As I always say, It always could be worse!" As Sheggo spoke of Visalia and Cecilia, the two immediately looked at him, but then looked away. "I thought you knew Visalia... maybe that was when she was a bit younger." Cass was trying the dig back into her brain for the memory, but alas she's never really had the greatest memory. She gestured towards the brunette and spoke, "But yea, Visalia is my adopted daughter, who is obviously older, and Cecilia is someone who was lost and we just took her under our wing." She had then gestured to the girl by the fireplace. Her voice was suddenly quiet so only Sheggo could hear her. "It's beyond me how an elf could get lost."

As the others looked towards his tawny furred purple coated appearance Sherogeth moved his gaze back to Cass. A shade of confusion caused a frown to appear briefly as he tried to recall meeting the young girl before. A faint memory of Cass with a young crossed his mind but was quickly covered up with more recent memories. 'Ay think ah remember, though its been a long time since that brief meeting.' he said with subtle defensive tones before downing more of his whiskey. Maybe the drink was finally affecting his memory. Ignoring that though the ambery eyes shifted back to the elven figure. 'Who knows, it can be pretty easy to get lost on this odd island. Are you trying to find out where she came from or is it hopeless?' He queried before walking around the bar to sit on one of the bar stools near Cass. He leaned his back against the counter so that he could face into the room and look thoughtfully into the empty air.

[[OOC: I'm reading some of my gaian posts from around christmas... They make me laugh]]

"Yea It's been pretty long" She sighed as the feeling of an old lady crept upon her. She grabbed her wine bottle and finished it off. Yep she was much of an alcoholic. She stared off into the middle of the room taking a few minutes to think about what Sheggo just said. "Well... I guess? And I don't think it's hopeless, but if the people or person she was filled with goodness, I don't think she woulda ended up lost. So I think it's better for her to stay here." After replaying the sentences she had just said, Cass decided it made no sense, but what was done was done.

(( Sweet, is that in the Sanc or all over the site? ))

Still looking thoughtful as he now sipped the whiskey in his gloved hand Sherogeth nodded in empathic agreement, 'aye true, sometimes the past isnt worth remembering.' An odd tone of melancholy nostalgia had entered his voice, but it soon disappeared with a slight smile. 'So what is your merry band up to then? If you want to stay the night there plenty of rooms spare as usual. Or are you not staying long?' Golden curious eyes turned to Cass waiting for the answer. His long black tipped tail swished with a steady slow beat through the air behind him giving a casual tenseness to his demeanour.

((All over... And Alas I have to go! Be back later hopefully))

Cassidy nodded as she crossed her legs and leaned back against the bar. She played with her short hair, thinking for god knows how long. "I am defiantly staying, but I do not speak for them. I hate leaving this place behind." She yawned, then grumbled. "I'm taking a room, I'll be down later maybe." She said before standing up and heading upstairs to the room she had once left behind, knowing that no one had touched it since she had left.

((Alright, see you later then. ))

Sherogeth was almost startled by her sudden announcement after having fallen into a soft silence. However with a happy half smile Sherogeth nodded and took a sip of his drink as she got up and walked to the stairs. He called ambiguously to her, 'alright, dont let the shadow leeches bite. Their nasty little things.' Then with a sigh he leant back heavily on the counter and finished the glass leaving nothing but the ice. Then he glanced about the room thinking about how things had changed since he had first arrived in the building. He wondered if the owner was ever going to come back, or if he should just take charge of it. This caused him to give another sigh, he didnt like positions of power anymore. He found it too binding. However he was tempted to make a few changes to the downcast place, maybe adding some background music to the dusty karaoke corner. However for now he was happy to sit and watch the flames in the distant corner while thinking quietly to himself.

((so this is what you were talking about Sheggo ...nice.. ))

a Shadow slipped its way into the tavren ,finding its way behind the bar the shadow streached out into the form of a human with red hair and eyes , as the he stood up the shadows wraped itself around him and formed tightly fittend black pants,boots and a long sleeve shirt, he smiled to himself as he looked around with a smirk on his face "ah lovely" he said to himself

(( Heh you like it? You'll have to thank Luna then. By the way I changed my name to Sherogeth, I wanted to get away from the Sheggorath reference, and it'll give people a chance to come up with all sorts of new nicknames... ))

A black tipped ear twitched and deep amber eyes glanced up from the empty glass of ice that had once contained whiskey. A faint smirk appeared on the feline face as he called out to the new arrival, 'tah, ay wasnt expecting company but ah try.' With more effort than was needed he dramatically heaved himself away from the counter placing the glass on its wooden surface behind him slipping forwards off the barstool. 'So what toxic liquid will you be having tonight? The place seems well stocked as usual.' he commented turning away to look at the booze wall behind the counter. Sherogeth started walking around the counter while waiting for a reply.

((so this is where everyone dissapeared to~ ))

Megami sat on a stool hidden in the shadows of a corner, silently watching her old friends talk to eachother and drink happily. She sighed softly, reality finally telling her she's been gone far too long. 'Maybe I should just leave... Like I never came back.... Maybe they didn't miss me - maybe this was a mistake...' she dropped her head and hung it low while she breathed shallowly, trying not to think of where she'd been and how much she had wanted to come back before but never could. She got lost in her own thoughts, her mind racing a million miles a minute. She sat like this for quite some time before she built up the nerve to finally come out of the shadows.

When she entered the more lite area of the room, she had to blink a few times to adjust. She did a mental check of her appearance before proceeding further. Her long blonde hair flowed down near her hip, her left are had a long thin scar running from her elbow clean up to her shoulder, her small frame was clothed in cut up denim jeans the hugged her hips tightly, her torso covered with a crimson teeshirt with a V-neck. She sighed deeply and walked forward, her black heels clicking softly with every step. 'why did I come back? -- because you belong here idiot! -- but I've been gone so long... -- shut up! This is still a much of your home as anywhere else. Now grow up and do something! --but.. --NO FUCKING BUTS!!!!' while shaking her head at her moments indecsion, Megami went towards the others in the room.

((-big gasp of relief- it's like I've been holding my breath from rping for almost a year!!! XD))

Still waiting for a reply from the quiet red haired man Sherogeth had already gathered another whiskey bottle and some fresh ice for his drink. Noticing something moving across the edge of his vision the gold tainted eyes glanced up. A expression of curiosity crossed his face as something about the figure hit his memory like a ton of bricks. He swiftly and a little hastily poured the whiskey and then amicably called out to the blonde, 'hey lass, would you want a drink while ay'm back here? Damn ah might as well be the bartender.' he muttered the last bit to himself as he took a sip of his fresh whiskey.