The Messiah and the Plague Doctor (Closed)

[Steel Jay]

Caleb read the inside flap as her did. Caleb, already drawing conclusions, already suspected what the book was about. A small quiet sigh exited his body.  

[Miss Lovely Rita]

Moé grinned as she saw some illustrations.
"This is amazing!"
She pointed to one, a collage of time periods, with a helpless dog running through each. There was some humor, as one time showed the dog witnessing the Apocalypse with a look that said 'I went too forward'.  

[Steel Jay]

"...Who is the writer of such novels as this?" Caleb examined the pictures, careful enough to not touch the avian mask on the book she was holding.  

[Chandra Panesar]

Lelune did not linger; tired though he was he immediately took up the form of an owl again and flew silently away from the island. He sought his companion. His trip to the island had made him feel very lonely. He was shooed away like a gnat or fly. It should not bother me, he told himself, but it still did. Lelune landed high in a tree and returned to his own form. His companion was soon to follow, laying a small, furry form in his lap. Still warm, still alive. Otherwise it would be quite useless to him. Lelune made a silent meal of the small creature, his mind idly melding with that of his feathered friend. There were no words formed, they shared no language, but it was a small comfort.  

[Miss Lovely Rita]

A large speakerphone played through every backstreet in Niflheim [the nation's capital], and soon spread to every other section of Nifl.
"Tune your radios to any channel, the Grand Mistress herself, cousin of Her, is going to make a speech."
~*~
Moé grinned.
"The Muse. Earth's best author and illustrator, made a friend of the family, and given Montblanc blood."
Kokopelli gestured that he had a way to see the Muse; he knew the Muse's location, and met him out of person, but warned Caleb that he was very... unique.  

[Chandra Panesar]

A speech? Did Lelune really care enough to listen right now? He likely could not make it back home in time any way. And where else would he listen? He had no friends to visit. Well, there was the next best option. Lelune lowered his head and concentrated, calling out to the creatures in the area. He would just listen vicariously, perhaps through the ears of a pet. There; that one would do.  

[Miss Lovely Rita]

The voice of what appeared to be a six-year-old girl came through the end.
"Greetings, people of My capital. As you know, I rather controversially yanked the throne from its former holder, the prince Cirruleic, only two years ago."
There were some boos, but the girl persisted.
"You all have someone you view as your mother; be it your real biological one, or your adopted one, or a caretaker. My 'mother', my cousin-once-removed, was under hostility by your former leader."
There were some mutterings, and the girl said,
"Yes, yes, I mean The Messiah. Prince Cirruleic, ruler and founder of the Nifl empire for over seven hundred years, was killed in a duel over my 'mother', by an 'Earth' man. The prince intended to use this nation's resources to fund an expensive bomb to decimate 'Earth'. Cirruleic's father, Time, encouraged the execution. Instead, I, the commander of the Seven Nation Army, am your leader."  

[Chandra Panesar]

Lelune listened, but most of the words really meant nothing to him. He had no head for politics; what difference did it make to him who ruled the empire? It had little effect on Lelune who spent most of his life in one room. The girl sounded so young, but that hardly mattered to him either. It was only barely worth noticing, being mildly surprised by and discarding. Instead, Lelune thought of his own mother. It was years since he had seen her; she was dead now. He tried to remember what she looked like, piecing together her features one by one. She was a very small woman, he remembered. He must have inherited his stature from her. Her hair was still pink, even later in life. Her eyes too, weren't they? No, no those were lavender. He held the image in his mind for as long as he could. It used to make him terribly sad to think of her after her death, but now he really felt nothing. Lelune let go of the image and focused on the radio.  

[Miss Lovely Rita]

The girl continued.
"I am pleased to see you bending to my will."
Laughter.
"I'm not kidding. You are now subject to my will. Sure, the other world has this thing called 'democracy', but you wouldn't know what that it, and you shouldn't have to. Revolt, if you dare. You will be torn to shreds within an instant. I'm good at handling empires, but so help me, I'll use my right as your leader to punish those of you who sicken me."
Uneasy silence, hushed whispers.
"Fear me; I, Mocha, reincarnation of Grigori Rasputin, leader of the Nifl and Seven Nation empires, shall decimate all who stand in my way!"
Fear, and running away. The speech cut off.
"This was a message brought to you by Mistress Mocha."  

[Steel Jay]

"...I am quite fine with not meeting him." Caleb replied, he continued to examine the book.  

[Chandra Panesar]

"That was a waste of my time." Lelune growled and hopped down from the tree. What had he learned, really? Dictators can be violent and cruel? Not exactly a news flash. There were people who might kill him because he sickened then? A daily fact of his life, really. He sickened a lot of people, he was sure. Perhaps it really would be the death of him. Perhaps today, even. Perhaps not. "I may as well have stayed home. Drink some egg nog, eat some slightly burnt sugar cookies. Hug some family members who may or may not have stuffed garlic in their pockets before arriving." Lelune continued to mutter aloud to his companion who followed him loyally back toward his home.  

[Miss Lovely Rita]

Moé paused.
"Oh! Ann! I need to comfort her!"
She put the book down, and ran outside.
~*~
Mocha, actually, was a few yards away, in her childlike form, followed by an annoyed mob.
"Fools," she declared, and, instantaneously, a series of meterstick-long razors jutted up form the ground, slicing each unfortunate rebel into shreds.
[[Eeek.]]  

[Chandra Panesar]

Lelune stopped walking as the razors rose up from the path. He stared at the carnage for a few quiet moments. It disturbed him, he realized. But that was all; it merely disturbed him. It did not really sicken him or even frighten him. It did make him angry, but only because it was excessive. The mob was impotent; she could have walked away unscathed without killing them all. I am curious as to why you waste your energy in such a useless display. Do you find this enjoyable? Lelune queried telepathically as he walked toward the massacred crowd.  

[Steel Jay]

Caleb walked closer to the book, eager to find out its contents, a fresh book might as well have been a bowl of M&Ms to Caleb. A white hand came from the robe and seized the book. Opening it and going past the cover page and table of contents.