I'm going to be kinda slow/inactive today because I'm working on a drawing that needs to be finished before tomorrow.
But I'll keep up with things as best as I can!

Hello.

Good evening!
Or... good afternoon, or whatever. XD

'Tis quiet today.

I'm considering doing a timeskip to the evening/night, since I'm not sure how much is going on right now? At night, Stal's band will perform, the werewolves will head out to steal stuff, and maybe other characters will have things to do at night.

Not sure yet though.

AHHHH

Sorry, I‘m here now.

@Rad/Xeno
Euterpe just sat there perplexed at their response, but just shrugged it off not seeming to care that they thought she smelled.

Shepherd thought for a moment "I've never left Marco alone before"
"Except when he runs off." Chimed Euterpe.
Shepherd gave her a look. "Go take a bath everyone thinks you smell and they may just kick you outside because of it."
"WHAT? You can do that?" She said hollering.

'Yeah, I'd recommend taking a bath, unless you enjoy smelling like dead fish,' chipped in Loch with a grin, before Pyre hastily grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the door.

'Those two...' Stal muttered, exasperated. He then hurried after them, eager to get home and practice for a few hours before his scheduled performance tonight. //We'll show them,// he thought, determined despite his fears. //We'll prove that we deserve recognition in this city...//

With barely a backwards glance, he and the rest of the band left the bar.

{Dianne just chuckles at the exchange.}
Dianne: "Just go take a bath, Euterpe, you'll feel better afterward, and no one will give you those sideways looks you've been getting lately."

Dianne: "Well, let's keep Marco in the building, just so he can't escape. We'll put him in the room upstairs while the dinner servivce is on."

(Our local supermarket is starting to look like a post-apocalyptic scene. Empty shelves everywhere. :( I went out earlier to get food and it was really hard to find /anything./)

(It's the same in the states, friend. Although, with the sanctions put in place, people can't overbuy anymore, so stores are becoming restocked.)

(Most of the stores here do have limits on certain items, because they were selling out too fast. But there's still a distinct lack of anything on the shelves. XD)

(I'm pretty sure everyone's experiencing the same thing. XD)

(Yup, it's the main topic of conversation everywhere right now. XD
Along with how people are selling toilet paper on Ebay for £6O,OOO.)

(I've been hearing some pretty wild things, also oof srry for disappearing sm ahhhhhhh)

(Where I'm at, tons of people are getting arrested for price gouging toilet paper. lol. XD Apparently, it's a pretty heavy offense.)

( @Alk - It's alright!
@Xeno - Wow, really? I haven't heard about that happening here. I've just been sitting in awe of the prices people are selling toilet paper online for. XD)

(Going to be inactive a bit more, I'll come back)

(My wifi's being turned off, so I'll be going for the night. Maybe we can try to continue through the week if things aren't too busy.)

(Alrighty!)

(Yeah! I think that might be good! I'm going to be home all semester so coming here more often may be a little easier :0)

@Rad/Xeno

Shepherd nodded. "C'mon Euterpe, you wouldn't mind some company upstairs would you."

Euterpe growled a bit tired with all pressure to clean herself. "FINE!" She said finally caving in, and got up from her table to follow the group to the bath upstairs.

(We gonna time skip soon? :0000 )

(Yup! Just give me a little while and I'll write something to timeskip us.)

(Sweet!)

--ABOUT FIVE HOURS LATER--

Dusk was falling over Caelum City and the streetlamps were just beginning to illuminate the roads, still humming with the sound of traffic. It seemed that Caelum was just as busy at night as it was during the day, due to all of the live music and other entertainment hosted at night.

At Gray's house, The Plague were just leaving for their gig at The Serpent's Tomb. Stal was, predicably, not coping well under the pressure. Gray was trying to reassure him, while Loch and Pyre were fooling around as usual, making jokes to take their minds off their nerves.

Near the shoreline in EC, a manhole cover in the street flipped open and a transformed werewolf jumped out. With a quick glance around to ensure nobody was watching, he started walking stealthily through the city, keeping to the quiet alleys and back roads.

//Tonight's stop, the Adler mansion,// he thought. The Adlers were a rich family in Central Caelum who were supposedly away on vacation, leaving their mansion protected only by spiked fences and alarms. The pack were due to check it out tonight, and steal whatever they could get their claws on.

( @Alk - If you want me to do something specific with the werewolves because you have plans involving them, just let me know. I'm never sure what other people have planned and I just make stuff up as I go along. XD)

{At the Serpent’s Den, the place was packed with people, and still, the line to enter went down the block. Dianne was about, making sure everything was going smoothly. She had assigned Shepherd with cleaning the tables in the wake of customers who had finished their meals. Stella was watching over the musical “talent”, making sure they transitioned from band to band smoothly. She stood in the back, looking at the lineup.}

Stella: “One bunch of talentless hacks finished, one more to take their place...”
{She muttered grumpily.}

(I wonder if Stella is ever happy? XD)

( @Rad To answer your question, no. Everyone‘s a talentless hack to her. XD)

(Haha same honestly,
I'm mostly improvising as well with these two,
Hmmmmm we I'm thinking on their next move and I think I'm going to hang out by their family's rich neighborhood, have them scan for anything suspicious.
Lol they're turning into detectives now X'D
Still thief babies tho
Could you give me some more info on the rich neighborhoods n stuff? :00 )

(Haha omg Stella x'D)

( @Alk - Sounds good!
Is there anything specific you want to know? I have a hard time generating lore/info out of nowhere - it's generally better if you ask specific questions, then I can come up with more helpful answers.
Since I don't really know what kind of info you're looking for.)

"Ugh this is so stupid!" Grumbled Euterpe. Bored out of her life Euterpe mope in a dark corner. Occasionally giving customers sideways glance they walked by.
More important she kept watch on what Shepherd was doing. Her glare was dark and she made sure that her expression communicated exactly what she thought at that moment.

To most though, she just looked like a big angry cat, skulking in the corner for it was a bad day. At least she was clean, her coat glowed softly in the bar, and it felt nicer too.
Even after getting clean though, the deafness refused to lift her spirits, and began to selecting block out the noise around her.

(I am also very indecisive and I'm developing this setting as we go along. XD)

(Oh yea,
Hmmm I'm wondering what kind of street the Alder's are on, would it make sense that their Althea and Den are near there for their family's place.
Which is also kind of like a manor. *thinking*
Or maybe the street is buncha normie houses and we have one big house with all the fancy stuff,
Ahhh sorry if that'snot clear enough, I might have to think about these for a moment so we can get a little thing going )

(Colors stop eating my words >:[[[

( @Alk
I imagine pretty much all the streets in Central Caelum are made up of big houses - manors, mansions, etc. Maybe some expensive hotels and supermarkets too. There aren't really any 'normal' houses in Central, or apartment buildings (apartments are common in other regions of Caelum where poorer people live because they're cheap--).
The Adlers' street is mostly all large houses/manors lined up in a row. It's a quiet street, no shopping areas or anything, just a spot for rich families to live. Also, lots of the manors are well-guarded with big fences/gates to stop people getting in.
You can put Althea's family on the same street if you like, it would make sense. Or a neighbouring street since they're all pretty similar.
...Sorry for the kinda incoherent infodump. :'))

(So basically, Central Caelum is almost exclusively a neighbourhood of big expensive manor houses - normal working class citizens don't really live there. X)
But thieves frequent the area a lot, trying to break into the rich peoples' homes, with varying degrees of success.)

(No it's all good! I was thinking that but wasn't sure, oh yea is this the same werewolf as before or do we have a new fluffy pupper man? :P )

(Oh that's neat, I wonder if any of the rich people have bothered to move, though they do probably have security measures that they could take to prevent most of it.)

(He's just another random wolf pack NPC, I'll call him Jack for convenience. XD
There's probably gonna be multiple werewolves trying to break into the Adler mansion, just arriving from different directions so people don't see a big group of wolves all heading the same way.
Mason's pack has around 25 members in total, I think--)

(Most of them don't want to move, they're stubborn and they like their big mansions. XD)

It was drawing close to 8PM when a very worried-looking Stal, followed by the rest of his band, approached the bar. There seemed to be a lot of people waiting to get inside. 'Geez, how popular /is/ this place?' muttered Loch, hands in her pockets to keep them warm. 'I didn't realise it would be this busy.'

Stal said nothing, but if he'd been capable of it, he probably would have thrown up long ago from nerves. 'Let's just get to the entrance,' he muttered. 'We don't need to wait in line, we have a scheduled gig.' He hurried down the street towards the bar doors.

( @Xeno - Is it the Serpent's Tomb or the Serpent's Den? I swear I've seen it written both ways and now I don't know which is right. XD)

( @Rad Officially, it's the Serpent's Tomb. If I wrote it otherwise, that was just a mistake on my part.)

(Alrighty, thought so!)

(You know, the wolf gang should try to break into Dianne's house, have a nice little tea party with the wide assortment of draugrs that guard the place XD)

{Dianne walks up to Euterpe, having found a moment.}

Dianne: "Euterpe, stop sulking, would you? You can go upstairs with Marco, or explore the city. You don't have to be here if you don't want to be."

{At the entrance, a burly bouncer was standing with a clipboard. It was the same one that had ejected Pyre earlier that day.}

Random patron: "C'mon, man, you gotta let me in! Hail of Blades is playing tonight, they're my favorite!"

Bufo: "No reservation, no entry. If you want to be a walk in, get to the back of the line and wait like everyone else."

( @Xeno - I wouldn't put it past them. XD)

In the midst of everyone trying to gain access to the bar, Stal came stomping over, looking the bouncer in the eye. 'We're The Plague. Band scheduled for a concert tonight, at 8PM. Can we come in?' The rest of the band huddled behind him, staying as close as possible to avoid bumping into anyone else.

{The bouncer looked at Stal, then to his clip board.}

Bufo: “Ah, Yes. Right this way.”

{Bufo lifts the velvet rope, letting them in.}

Random patron: “What? You’re letting them in? That’s The Plague! They suck!”

Stal's jaw clenched as he ducked under the rope to get inside, obviously hearing the remark - but Gray nudged his shoulder, silently warning him not to rise to the bait.

Loch, on the other hand, was far more vocal. 'What's your problem? I bet you've never even /heard/ us before, you're just pissed about having to wait in line. Grow up,' she said loudly to the patron, despite Arc trying to pull her away.

(Ohno barfight)

@Xeno/Rad
"But I don't want to do anything like that, besides out of all the three options, which are all terrible, this one is the ever so slightly , less...terribly bad." Euterpe mumbled softly.

After hearing one of the patron's complaints Euterpe whirls her head in the direction of the entrance where the plague was. Seeing the band again, she flattened her ears once again looking melancholy.

Random patron: “Oh, I’ve heard you all right. They should put your demo tape in the dictionary, as the definition of posers.”

Bufo: “Can it! Either get to the back of the line, or I’m banning you!”

Dianne: “Oh, come on, there has to be something you like doing?”

{At that moment, she noticed the commotion at the door. Walking over, she watches over the scene carefully.}

@Rad and Alk

@Xeno

Stal, Gray and Arc were already in, unaware of the scene outside as they focused on pushing through the crowds towards the stage area.

Loch stood her ground. 'Wow, buddy, you sure have some strong opinions on us. How about you say them a little louder, so everyone else can hear how much of a whiny little baby you are?' she suggested, cracking her knuckles.

'...Loch...' muttered Pyre from behind her, a faint note of warning in his voice.

@Rad/Xeno
"I don't think a lot of things are interesting, alright?" She grumbled, though when Dianne began to walk towards the scene near the door, Euterpe couldn't help but be curious as to what was happening outside. Reluctantly, she followed closer to the door in order to get a better look.

Random Patron: “Oh, is that what you think? Well, how about you come over here and show me how much of a baby I am? ’Cause, at least I can play a guitar solo without botching it like some blundering wank!”

{The patron spreads his arms in a ‘come at me’ expression.}

@Rad

In a quick movement, Loch leaned forwards and shoved the patron in the chest with enough force to make him stumble two or three steps backwards. She probably would have punched him, but Pyre was still trying to tug her away.

'Yeah, that's great, but I can't help noticing that /we're/ about to go inside and have fun, and you're not. So maybe you should keep your big mouth shut.'

{As soon as Loch pushed the patron, the boun stepped between them.}

Bufo: “That’s enough! You, (Loch) inside, now! You, (patron) you’re banned! Never come back!”

*bouncer

@Xeno/Alk

Loch smirked, but backed off. 'Yeah, go back home where you belong. Nobody wants to see your ugly little face while they're enjoying our show.' She might have continued insulting the patron, but at that point, Pyre grabbed the back of her coat collar and forcibly pulled her towards the doors.

'Oh, hey there, you two,' he said when he noticed Dianne and Euterpe watching the scene. 'Sorry about all that.'

(Euterpe and Stella should be friends. They both hate everything. XD)

(They might just, who knows x'D)

@Rad/Xeno
Euterpe cocked her neck up like a parrot. "You pushed ugly dude! Is that how people normally interact with others here? Wow Shepherd's been getting the customs all wrong."

@ Rad/Alk
{Dianne approaches Loch, looking like she wanted to be mad, but Euterpe's comment had her laughing instead. The end result was a somewhat displeased Dianne.}

Dianne: "Ok, look, I don't tolerate fighting in my place. I don't care what the hecklers say, you need to grow up and learn to shrug these things off. I'm letting you off with a warning this time, but it's stunts like that that might make me reconsider the opportunity I've provided your band. Am I making myself clear?"

@Xeno/Alk

Loch looked slightly subdued at that. 'Yeah yeah, I get it, don't worry. To be honest, I'm used to people saying stuff like that about me, so I normally ignore it. It won't happen again. But if someone talks cra.p about my bandmates, I can't make any promises.'

Pyre opened his mouth as if to say something, but reconsidered.

Loch then looked towards Euterpe with a grin. 'It's not how we normally interact with people here. Just really rude, nasty ones.'

@Rad/Xeno

"Oh how disappointing." Euterpe replied all interest in her face faded.
She paused a moment before continuing. "You guys come here a lot, are they going to live here too? Doing boring work like Shep?"

@Rad/Alk

Dianne: "Oh, no, they're just here to play the music. And I don't care what they say about you or your band, do not fight people on my property."

'...OK, fair enough. Next time, I'll get them off your property and /then/ punch them,' said Loch nonchalantly. Before anyone else could say anything, Stal's voice roared out across the bar.

'Where the eff are you two?!'

Loch rolled her eyes. 'Got to get ready. Bye, Euterpe!' She took off through the crowds towards the stage area to find her bandmates, with Pyre following behind.

Stal, Gray and Arc were in the backstage area, waiting to go on. Stal was, predictably, getting stressed.

{When The Plague were in the back, Stella approached them.}

Stella: "Ok, the last band just finished. Set up your stuff, and play your music. Play your set, then let the next people go. And I heard what happened at the door. If people heckle you out there, and you can't act like professionals, don't bother coming back."

@Xeno

Stal threw Loch a dark look, which she pretended not to notice. 'Loch, if you and Pyre do one more dam.n thing to mess up our chances here...'

'How much time do we get to play before the next group comes on, Stella?' Arc cut in quickly, since Stal was fretting too much to think about anything except his coming performance.

Stella: "Oh....'Bout an hour. More if they like you, since we have an extra slot from the other no-show."

@Xeno

'An hour?' Stal repeated, the glow from his eyes brightening momentarily.

'That sounds perfect. Thanks, Stella,' said Arc, smiling before he walked out onto the stage. Stal, who seemed shellshocked that he was being allowed a whole hour to play at The Serpent's Tomb, numbly followed him. The band began setting up their equipment, nervously eyeing the bar's impressive crowds.

As the rest of the band rushed away Euterpe flurried up somewhat, her feathers ruffling. "Why is everyone around here in such a hurry all the time? What is even the point of all this?" She complained before flipping her head dramatics towards the ceiling follow by a long outward sigh in frustration. "UGHHHHHH, tasteless and boring!"

(Also lmao I peaked at the other room,
Random plebs that JuSt cOme iN like they owN the place,
It's somewhat annoying bit also lowkey amusing.)

(XD It happens though. I think that's the second time that's happened to me and Rad.)

@Alk/Rad

{Dianne just gives a very amused look.}

Dianne: "You're starting to sound like Stella. Maybe I'll make you her assistant so you two can harshly criticize other people's talents together. And the goal for the bands is to provide entertainment for people. And to get filthy rich and famous."

{Stella just nods and walks away backstage.}
Stella: "Alright, show 'em what you got."

(Yeah, people who just butt into stuff that clearly has nothing to do with them. XD I hate it even more when it's someone I've never even spoken to.
wHo ArE yOu PeOpLe--)

Stal took a few deep breaths. 'OK,' he said brusquely. 'Everyone remember our set?'

'Yes, Stal, we remember the goddamn set, we said the same thing last time you asked,' said Loch before anyone else could speak. 'Now come on! Let's play so well that even Stella will be impressed.'

The band began to play one of their slower, more subdued songs, called 'You're Not the One'. It was one of the first songs they had written together as a group, and the lyrics, written by Stal, were about the time he'd broken up with a past girlfriend. All of the band members were trying their best, taking it seriously this time, much to Stal's relief.

//We've got about eight songs to play, plus some cover songs if we stay on long enough...//

(Can't really load this on my DS anymore, so I'll be slower with replies until I post a new room on Saturday.)

(People in my house do it something and it's like :'D
Yeah annoying haha.
I actually had that happen to me the other day, where I had a question directed at someone and some ranDom DUDe cOMes in LikE "HEY WHAT ABOUT THIS"
me internally: WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME THINGS IDEK YOU

Gjgj bgg gn f fv )

(And alrighty! :D)
Euterpe whipped her head around back towards Dianne. "Hmm" she said with a scrunched up face. "I don't know about that, maybe if I get to touch one of those string thingies" And Euterpe pointed to the electric guitar that Loch held up on stage.

(She's playing with the electric rn right? I sometimes they switch in between with acoustics for certain songs. X'D
Also I think Euterpe would be very into playing the violin terribly, ruining all the concertos for everyone X'D
Or maybe a theremin)

Oops @Xeno

(Yeah, Loch has an electric guitar. I'm not sure if she'd ever switch, I don't think she's very good at acoustic. XD She learned to play on an electric.)

(Also I haven't forgotten about my other characters it's just hard to focus on multiple ones, especial when I'm trying to learn their personalities, I'm sorta getting used to Euta's now so that's why she's getting more attention X'D)

(That's perfectly understandable. XD It's hard to keep track of lots at once, so don't worry about focusing on some charas more than others.
...I kinda want to add more characters because The Plague are a group that normally go around together, so they're limited in who they can interact with. Another chara who's not associated with them or the werewolves might be interesting.)

(Oooo yea! It'd be cool to see more bois! I'd be curious to see who you add!
And hehe yea, some of my characters are in groups too so they tend to stick around each other, but rping with them individually is just, ahhh so much easier. X'D )

(I'm still trying to decide who else to add, but I've got two characters on my mind. They're very, very old charas - I think I originally made them in 2011 - so I'm kinda curious to throw them into a new story and see what happens. XD
But if I don't end up choosing them, then I have plenty of other options.
I'll probably just doodle some different charas until I decide. XD)

(I plan on adding one more person, at least, but drawing them is taking me a while.)
@Alk

Dianne: "You mean a guitar?"

{Dianne asks,looking at Loch.}

Dianne: "Sure, you can touch one, I believe we have some on hand."

( @Xeno - Oooh, that's cool, I'm interested to see what kind of character you're adding--)

(Yesssss!
I might have some neglected charas I could add but a lot of my older charas are animals Rip hg hcf fh
Also ohno, you're letting Euta touch the instruments X'D
This might not go well gngj)

@Xeno
"Yeah, yeah, it says funny things. How does it make those funny words?" Euterpe said her voice hinting at some possible undiscovered excitement.

Dianne: "Wait, hold on, you think guitars speak? Those aren't words, sweetie, it's just pleasant sound. Here, I'll show you."

{Dianne starts to lead Euterpe upstairs.}

By this time, The Plague had moved seamlessly into their second song, a much faster rock song called 'Crosshairs'. It was the first song they had ever written together, and the members' familiarity with it showed in how effortlessly they played through the track. It was one of their most popular songs when they played at other venues, though they didn't expect the Serpent's Tomb crowd to recognise it.

(I've been too lazy/unmotivated to draw a cover again.)