While he grinned at her resolve, Mal’s mind was already thinking ahead, calculating the exits beyond that could be used as a means of escape. Watching Enzo move forwards he’d mirror, stepping deeper into the room and maintaining his position within the cowards blind spot. He cast a hand behind him, staying the woman following behind him advancing into further danger.
It was mute really and frankly anticlimactic. This was their murderer? This fool? Mal laughed, fingers playing idly with his spell as Enzo teased and mocked, sending the crafty idiot to the ground. When his gaze made a pass at the cages however, his palm clenched tightly, the sigil sinking through fabric to infiltrate skin and inflict a gasp of pain. One was enough to send Demetrius into full lockdown, but this?
A cold familiar feeling crept over Mal, replacing the jovial warmth of before with a malevolent air. Gesturing with his opposite palm, he’d stoically eyed Ophelia, If you’d be so kind as to check on those dearies, my dear Madam. And after a dipping of his head, Mal moved to join the trio, clenched palm loosening to begin weaving an invisible trail. Unlike water, blood was heavier to manipulate but so effective at puppeting the unwilling when they inconvenienced him.
As Tibby’s spell sheared through flesh and bone, Mal’s magic manipulated Elaria’s splatter to seal the vessels, saving him from bleeding out too quickly, but doing nothing to relieve the horrendous pain. The cunt could suffer. Now, now, don’t get too excited Tiberius. I still have to be able to question him later, but do tell us little man. Is that all the cats you managed to wrangle?.
Its, Tu es foutu!, and you have excellent pronunciation! She supplied for Enzo as she followed Mal out from where they had stopped. And if he tries to say he doesn't understand, well, T’as foutu quoi là?! She shot at the man, shaking her head as she muttered more under her breath, each punctuated by colorful adjectives, and even a few that insulted the man's quality of sexual prowess. She decided that the men had this under control and while she wanted to throttle the man for scaring a child as badly as he had, she had a task to do.
These cats needed to be let free so that they could return to their patient minders. So with that in mind she knelt down in front of the nearest cage, setting the hoe aside, she no longer needed the weapon, especially since she could feel the casting taking place. This was a side of her companion she hadn't yet seen in action, but she reminded herself that he had been in a war, and war did tend to harden someone. And nothing yet made her question what was happening. The blood however..
Another time. She could question and review her feelings another time. Logic must dictate her actions right now.
She opened the first cage and checked on the cat inside, a little ragdoll that went limp the moment Ophelia picked her up, what a cute little animal. She checked the animal over, looking for anything out of the ordinary, any injury, anything that would raise her suspicions. This one seems to be quite fine, I'm not seeing any that are hurt or injured, that should be a relief to the Archon at least. I'll go find one of the servants to alert them to come help collect them. I don't want to let them all free right this moment. She looked at the three men in turn. I know nothing of his state, gentleman, I was rather faint at the time after all. She nodded, flashing a brief smile, and then headed towards the doorway back into the main house to find a servant. After all, the man would have killed a child if he could have -- that was not something she was about to forget, she told herself, as she walked away.
"...What they said." Enzo said, raising his eyebrows at the man.
As Tiberius and Mal did their work, Enzo lifted the sword from his shoulder. He gave it an admiring look. He hadn't conjured this blade in many years. He spun it with a flourish and dropped the spell. It disappeared before the rotation had finished. He gave a quick, but polite bow to Madame Jolfy as she took her leave and turned back to survey the scene, hands on his hips. Sighing, Enzo paced over to where the man now gasped and panted on the ground in pain. He squatted down, resting his forearms on his knees to study him closer.
"I don't suppose he can be our murderer." he mused. "He and our dear friend Mr. Cog both seem to serve the same master, whoever that is." Enzo reached forward to pull at the bloodstained shirt. The man flinched away slightly, but stopped. He watched with wide eyes and ragged breath as Enzo held the fabric between two fingers. A moment later, Enzo released the shirt and stood back up. "Which means he attacked someone else, I suppose."
Two servants came rushing into the greenhouse then, murmuring something about another search group. They moved to the cages, but Enzo waved them over to himself first as he stepped away from their captive. "There's a young girl up in the women's section of the servant quarters. She's asleep now, but needs to be moved. There's also a body there; one of this one's companions, we believe." he gestured toward the captive. "Get the girl to a safe, comfortable room and alert his fellows to handle the scene." Enzo then gestured at Mal to indicate he meant the Eyes. "You go." Enzo tapped one servant on the shoulder. "You can help here with the cats." he said to the other, then turned back to Mal and Tiberius.
"It seems you still have a missing servant to find, Chancellor. But I believe your need for conscripts is at an end." he said, walking over and placing a hand on Tiberius' shoulder, leaning slightly against the man. "Things seem well enough in hand now. Might we be dismissed? I'm in desperate need of another drink."
