Rexanna had done a great deal to soothe the bard's anger at Bastien's false funeral during Long Night, but that didn't mean the bard had come around to liking the pompous barkeep-turned-cult-leader-turned-artist. What he did approve of, though, were all the little ways dissent could be expressed and fomented, and he appreciated the newly-Ascended's streak of rebelliousness. That was worth encouraging, at least in the current regime.
The problem was that Edrei had a habit of popping up at even a whiff of insurrection, and Jigano was too busy to spend much time in jail yet. Nor did he want Rory to do anything rash or desperate on his behalf... So coming as himself wasn't really an option. Unfortunately, as careful as he usually was with his transformations, the fiery Launceleyn girl knew at least two of them, and he wasn't exactly subtle...
But he had once been a master of disguise, and he hadn't lost his touch entirely, he hoped. Cleaning up afterwards was going to be a pain in the ass, but at least it was warm enough for a swim to be pleasant rather than punishment. A white raven could be turned black with a liberal application of ashes rolled and rubbed into his feathers, and a few other ravens joined him in his drybath so they could all be dusty together, none standing out more than the others.
So it was that an unkindness of ashy ravens perched outside the Artist's Guild waiting for sundown, croaking quiet little sleep-sounds at each other until Edrei had came and went on her way again. One of the birds, dusty-black and bright-eyed, dropped down to swoop in through the open front door, flapping towards a window at the back of the room. She examined the latch with wicked eyes before using her clever beak to undo it, pressing her considerable size against the glass to crack it open. A few moments later a swirl of black feathers made their way into the sanctuary from an empty and unwatched alley - though one raven remained perched on the roof outside, keeping watch and ready to alert those within should anyone approach the door.
A second remained outside the window, a piece of night that settled himself to keep an eye on the getaway route under the deft mental compulsion of another raven within the Sanctuary itself.
The three birds inside cocked their heads at Bastien almost in unison, shedding a little ash and dust as they did so. Then two of the birds flew to knock a canvas onto the floor so its face was flat enough for the third to take a brush in its beak and glop it into a jar of blue paint. Hopping to the canvas he tilted his head and began to wiggle the brush around, and a moment later a second raven joined him with a paintbrush in red, the two hopping around each other in an odd little dance as they laid down squiggles of modern art, croaking quietly to each other around their paintbrushes. The third raven stalked among the other art supplies, keeping a sharp eye out for anything shiny it might grab to add to the creation.
The problem was that Edrei had a habit of popping up at even a whiff of insurrection, and Jigano was too busy to spend much time in jail yet. Nor did he want Rory to do anything rash or desperate on his behalf... So coming as himself wasn't really an option. Unfortunately, as careful as he usually was with his transformations, the fiery Launceleyn girl knew at least two of them, and he wasn't exactly subtle...
But he had once been a master of disguise, and he hadn't lost his touch entirely, he hoped. Cleaning up afterwards was going to be a pain in the ass, but at least it was warm enough for a swim to be pleasant rather than punishment. A white raven could be turned black with a liberal application of ashes rolled and rubbed into his feathers, and a few other ravens joined him in his drybath so they could all be dusty together, none standing out more than the others.
So it was that an unkindness of ashy ravens perched outside the Artist's Guild waiting for sundown, croaking quiet little sleep-sounds at each other until Edrei had came and went on her way again. One of the birds, dusty-black and bright-eyed, dropped down to swoop in through the open front door, flapping towards a window at the back of the room. She examined the latch with wicked eyes before using her clever beak to undo it, pressing her considerable size against the glass to crack it open. A few moments later a swirl of black feathers made their way into the sanctuary from an empty and unwatched alley - though one raven remained perched on the roof outside, keeping watch and ready to alert those within should anyone approach the door.
A second remained outside the window, a piece of night that settled himself to keep an eye on the getaway route under the deft mental compulsion of another raven within the Sanctuary itself.
The three birds inside cocked their heads at Bastien almost in unison, shedding a little ash and dust as they did so. Then two of the birds flew to knock a canvas onto the floor so its face was flat enough for the third to take a brush in its beak and glop it into a jar of blue paint. Hopping to the canvas he tilted his head and began to wiggle the brush around, and a moment later a second raven joined him with a paintbrush in red, the two hopping around each other in an odd little dance as they laid down squiggles of modern art, croaking quietly to each other around their paintbrushes. The third raven stalked among the other art supplies, keeping a sharp eye out for anything shiny it might grab to add to the creation.
