7:30am - The flaxen light of the morning sun splintered against the silhouette of Rascall Pines manor, and cascaded from there down onto the picturesque town of New Canterbury. The manor house itself, obscured as it was by a skirt of woodland, dominated the skyline to the east of the city, crowning the hills and defining the horizon.

The sun rose on a day like any other, or so it seemed to most people. The men and women of the city went about their business, as oblivious as ever to the denizens of Rascall Pines...creatures who choose to remain out of sight of society and enjoy the employment and hospitality of Lord Anthonty Doncaster.

But as the sun caressed the house with it's benevolent rays, a sombre discovery was about to be made within. Today was a day which would set the course of the future of both the house, and every creature who called it home...

Maya adjusted the thin tank top around her clevage in the lengthy mirror, giving her pale flaxen locks a confident flick behind the shoulder before a satisfied smile etched its way onto her lips.


As preusual Maya was looking like the kind of girl who stumbled out of a magazine and this morning it happened to be a yoga magazine. Her ears twitched listening out for the Man of the manor knowing the sound of his approach like the back of her ears- a slight labour to his breathing as though he had a cold and slightest drag of his left foot. There were more but there was no need to listen further when she heard either of those things.
They were due to have a yoga session at 7:30 however due to his age Maya granted the man alittle slack and would wait until 7:45.

Sitting upon her desk and glancing at the two mats set out and the boom box to the left she lifted her wrist to check the time before nudging the two water bottles on the side into a more resolute line.

Maya wasnt quite the kind of girl you saw in a magazine, after all how many girls did you see advertising yoga leggings whilst sporting two large, fair-furred fox ears and a fluffy tail. She glanced back in the mirror and flattened a tuft of fur that continued to stick up at the back of her ear, she was always conscious they were on the big side but she'd concluded that it was better than those knitty other kitsunes who has little red midget ears. Her attention turned back to the door and once again she was checking her watch...where was the old basket.

Bobbi is far below the other inhabitants of the house, in the parlour of the basement kitchen which doubles as her bedroom - the room is tiny, cold and windowless; it reminds her of a coffin, which is oddly comforting...Sometimes, she thinks she should be hanging from the rafters by her toes to sleep, but that would mess up her hair.

She brushes her teeth - her fangs, really - in the little, metal sink in the corner and brushes sleep messed red hair back out of her face. She dresses in a black dress - it's certainly impractical for cooking, but she does very little cooking, despite her position as scullery maid. She is, she thinks idly, perhaps the most inept scullery maid ever; her philosophy is that every meal can be improved by a sauce of warm, human blood.

Upstairs, she can hear the usual morning noises as the house awakens, but, understandably, she's not much of a 'morning person'.

Shaun was in the utility cellar staring at the gas boiler. The thing was probably imported by Columbus, and for years Shaun had managed to keep it running (although he'd hate to know what energy efficiency rating the bunny-huggers would give it if it ever got checked out...), but this morning it wasn't looking too good. It was just as well the weather had been warming up the past few days, because it looked like the heating might be down for a while.

He hopped up from his crouched position, his cloven hooves making a staggered 'clack' on the stone floor. Grabbing a couple of wet wipes and cleaning off his hands, he looked at the time on his watch. Breakfast would be ready to collect before very long. Of course, everyone always waited for Doncaster to arrive before starting any of the meal...not something the old man insisted on, but rather a staff-initiated tradition of respect which had just seem to stuck.

He hurried up the steps and came out in the hallway. Looking around, there was little sign of movement. He folded his arms and wondered what seemed different. No noise coming from upstairs, no voices anywhere that he cold hear right now. Of course with Sayo as the maid, the room dressing routines were always fairly silent anyway, seeing as she could literally float from room to room.

So he stepped into the breakfast room, and saw that all the plates and places were set ready. But there was absolutely no sign of Doncaster. Could he still be with Maya? Was she working him too hard again? Of anyone else Shaun would suspect that they were trying to kill him off to get hold of his wealth, but ironically he knew that actually Doncaster's health had plateaued, and even it times improved, thanks to Maya's health regimes.

He positioned himself at the bottom of the stairs, and listened out to see who else was moving around...

Chloe awoke to a sky that had yet to burst with the sun. Pastel pinks and purples still hovered around the edges, saying a last goodbye before the sun would rise and announce morning. Not wanting to get up just yet, Chloe flipped onto her side and waited for sun to get a little higher. When young rays of light streamed onto fer face, she declared it time to get up.

She pulled on a pair of black jeans, and slipped into a red camisole. After running a brush through her hair, she exited her room. Something felt a bit different and there seemed to be a lack of noise. Shrugging it off, Chloe descended the stairs, mentally preparing the meals for the day. Lost in the thoughts of her cooking duties, she bumped into Shaun, who was standing at the bottom of the steps. "Oh, sorry."

Sayo awoke as she did every morning, that she had been floating beside her bed. "Bright side i don't have to make my bed." It was the same pathetic thing she said every morning. With a sigh she got into her uniform. She descended through the floor borads to the ground floor. "Only good thing about being a ghost, i don't have to take the stairs."

Maya stood with in a huff. Late. Late. She kept repeating it over and over under her breath. Maya didnt tolerate tardiness after all just take a look around the studio, everything was clean, everything ordered neatly- you wouldnt find any muddy boots lying around in Maya's area god forbid if you knocked something over on her desk.

Stalking out of the studio her long legs made quick time of the floors seperating her from his room. She mounted the final steps and paused outside the door straightening out her top with both hands and catching her breath before she put a business smile on her face and opened the door.

It wasnt a smell a mere human could locate but it hit Maya in the face like a brick. It was a cold smell, death warmed up quite literally. Pausing at the end of the four poster bed Maya let out a half hearted sigh.
"Oh..."
The kitsune was most probably the least sympathetic guest in the household to find Anthony Doncaster lying in his bed, violet in the flesh his whispy body peaceful, still and...dead. At the same time she was debatebly the best person to find him seeing she wasnt the kind to collapse upon his chest blubbering like a baby who'd discovered its rattle broken and beyond repair. She circled round to his side of the bed and took a seat on the edge her blond hair falling over the limp, wrinkled hand on his left side. In silence she took in the form with the kind of pity you feel for a dead fawn pushed to the side of the road. Her hand wavered over his thinning hair before she had a thought and held her hand back.

Maya took three stairs at a time her hair flailing back behind her as she sprinted through the house in search of the others her bust, thighs and other parts sneaky parts she rather not acknowledge exist jigging.
"Shaun! Shaun! Sayo?! Cerys? Syde?" she yelled.

"Maya?" Bobbi calls up the rickety, wooden staircase that leads upstairs when she hears the kitsune call out, "Maya?"

She gasps as Sayo, the resident spook, appears in the kitchen, silently leaking through the ceilling. Sayo's silvery appearance startles her every day, "Good morning, Sayo." she greets distractedly, most of her attention focused on the commotion upstairs. "Did you hear Maya shouting?" she asks, "Do you think she burst an excerscise ball, or something?" she titters at her own joke before curiousity gets the better of her and she makes a rare trip upstairs.

A black dog slightly bigger than a wolf dragged itself through a rather large doggy door in the front entrance. It sat for a moment in the front lobby, giving a great yawn, briefly exposing some considerable canines, and stretching a long, pointed tongue. It gazed about tiredly.
Dawn was his bed time. Syde patrolled outside all night, but during the day he slept intermittently, getting up when needed or when insomnia struck him. An ear perked, then. With a short whiff of the air, Syde detected the maintenance satyr in the dining room. Shaun passed by to stand by the stairs, and the cook Chloe soon ran into him. The ghost girl drifted down from the ceiling and absently floated through Bobbi. It was clear the staff of Rascall Pines were not morning people.

There was yelling upstairs. His ears swiveled at his name. The scent of fox wafted down the stairs as the curved, busty form of Maya came dashing down into the lobby with apparently urgent news. Where is Lord Anthony? Syde stared up the stairs towards where Maya had come from.
The dog's fur flared into a fire-like, shadowy substance, which enveloped it. As the shadows melted away from the canine's form, a scruffy young man remained, dressed in ragged jeans and a black hoodie. He stood and rubbed his eyes like a sleepy child.

Shaun was straining to listen to what was happening in the further recesses of the house, that his mind didn't register the sound of Chloe coming down the stairs, and so he failed to move out of the way. With a clacking on the wooden floor he managed to rescue his balance, and turned to her, straightening his bomber jacket.

"Don't mention it," he said with a spriting grin, "the pleasure was all mine. You got anything special planned for breakfast today?"

The small-talk was quickly broken by the sound of Maya practically flying down the stairs calling everyone. Shaun's eyes widened in bemusement...it wasn't unlike the Kitsune to seeth about things under the surface, or give people a piece of her mind. But there was something very different about whatever it was she was calling everyone for now. It had apparently even got Syde's attention, who should be lounging around the manor in his dog form right about now.

"What's got you in a flap?" he chuckled to her. "Look you went and woke up the mutt."

He gently pressed Syde's arm with his clenched fist. Shaun only usually saw the hellhound during anti-social hours, so the mere sight of him at any other time tended to make him feel and behave...anti-socially.

Maya could make a robber quake and run if he heard her thudding about, her curvy figure wasnt weightless and it made the stair vibrate as she reached the bottom where a few already stood anticipating the moment she appeared having heard her a mile off. She straightened herself out flipping back her hair her ears flattened back slightly against her head her tail flicking about to keep her balance.
Taking them all in she inhaled through her nose and held it in her chest before slowly releasing it. "Look- before i say anything id just like to insure that i had absolutely nothing to do with it" she muttered hastily pulling a strand of blond away from her lip. "Just so we dont all go finger pointing" she added plainly like it was a matter of who broke the prize vase upstairs.

Waiting for silence knowing everyone wouldnt really register what she was disowning the responsibility for until she actually told them Maya cleared her throat.
"Anthony...is dead"

Chloe was about to reply to Shaun when Maya burst down the stairs, calling everyone's name. It wasn't uncommon to hear Maya yell, but this wasn't normal. Something was wrong. Chloe grabbed the kitsune's shoulders, holding her still. "What's wrong?" Maya didn't reply though, she simply ushered them all up the stairs. It didn't take the shape shifter long to realize they were headed for Lord Anthony's room.

She vaguely wonders why he's not up yet, but soon enough, she'll get her answer. Walking into the well looked after room, Chloe gasps. She doesn't even need to check for his pulse, in a glance you could tell that body was lifeless. A hollowed out version of Lord Anthony. "Oh no." Is all she can muster.

He jumped a bit upon being playfully pushed by Shaun - having gotten lost in his thoughts, it took him by surprise. When he wasn't asleep, Syde was quite the professional space cadet while the sun was up. The corner of his lips twitched slightly into a very small, brief smile. He seemed to have missed something, but the satyr was smiling somewhat so he thought it appropriate to do the same.

The kitsune took a moment to perfect herself once she reached the bottom of the stairs, and then gazed around the room at them all with a serious look in her eyes... As if she was about to break bad news. Maya inhaled deeply before spewing out a lengthy warning about pointing fingers. His brow furrowed a little. Syde was one of the most reserved members of the household. Most other staff only knew the gist of his history, if even that much. It was easy to aim blame at someone you didn't know very well. He glanced towards the hall that went to the library and then towards the living room, debating slinking out of the room before Maya announced whatever was wrong. She led the group upstairs towards Lord Anthony's room, but Syde remained where he was. He still heard, though.
"Anthony... is dead," Maya said, in such a tone as though she didn't quite believe it herself.

His gaze dropped to the carpet. No blame could be thrown accurately for this. Everyone here was perfectly loyal to Lord Anthony for his kindness and hospitality. No one would ever betray him, let alone kill him. Certainly not Syde; he had not just wandered in to Rascall Pines, nor had Lord Anthony merely plucked him off the streets or invited him here. Anthony Doncaster had saved his life. Syde would never forget that terrible, searing burning he had awoken to... The helplessness and hopelessness... The final resignation to death, and then the almost dream-like darkness that suddenly fell over him and shielded him from the daylight, giving him a chance to take a more sun-proof form. Lord Anthony had carried him wrapped in that cloak all the way to Rascall Pines to have him nursed back to health there. No human had ever shown such compassion for him. And now that human was... gone - or at least, Syde was sure he would never see him again. He thought it unlikely someone like Lord Anthony would end up in Hell, even after taking in such creatures as himself, Bobbi, and Cerys.

Bobbi arrives at the top of the stairs, blinking in the light creeping in from the window after being in darkness for so long. This seems to be a morning of unusualities: Syde is in human form, Maya is missing a yoga session and Bobbi's being above ground level is a rarity in itself.

Shaun shoves Syde playfully, catching the other man unawares. Syde shoots the Satyr an absent smile and she raises an eyebrow at them - this is far too much excitement for this early in the morning; she usually doesn't emerge until evening, when it's nice and dark.

Maya opens her mouth and everyone turns teir attention back to her, remembering why they'd gathered in the first place. As Maya announces her news, there's a collective gasp.

Shaun had a pretty short attention span at the best times of day, and first thing in the morning wasn't the best of them. Especially after a late night punctuated by the occasional card game with Syde or one of the other staff. So as Maya recomposed herself after making it down the stairs - pushing back her hair and bracing herself as if about to make a gran oration - he leaned against the wall and used the moment to admire the voluptuous vixen.

Of course he knew things were wrong straight away when Maya made her denial of responsibility. That meant it was something serious. If it was just a case of something being broken, or out of place, or requiring a change to the daily routine, Maya would never be denying responsibility for it because nobody in their right mind would assume she was responsible. The kitsune simply didn't do messy, disorderly, or late.

And then the bomb landed. Shaun's jaw dropped to the ground, and he stood upright, feeling a little guilty for having been so casual in the build up.

"Oh geez," he said. "Um....not to sound dumb but are you sure? I mean he's an old guy...humans can look a bit delicate at that age?"

As Maya spoke Sayo dropped to the floor. Dead? He...he cant be dead, he..he's playing with us as he always does. Right? Her mind couldn't ponder the thoughts in her own head all they did was make her nasous. She remembered when she first came to the Rascal Pine masion, she was so cold toward Lord Anthony, he gave her a tour of the whole manor and after how he saw she reacted to the libaray that it was so out dated and they didn't have any books that she had come to love, Lord Anthony as her about books she loved, as she spoke she wondered what he was doing. The next morning he asked her to come down to the libaray as she walked in she saw all her favorite books and some she had wanted to read in the libarary. As time went on Sayo sometimes forgot that she was a ghost and the times she did remember, lord anthony made them worth it.

It took a moment for Sayo to regain herself but when she did she asked the one question no one wanted to hear "How are we going to protect the manor, now?"

After the initial shock passed through Chloe, she returned to the others. "It's true." She said, agreeing with Shaun. "It looks like he passed peacefully in his sleep." At least she can feel peace in knowing he didn't suffer a painful end. Thoughts started swarming through the shape shifter's mind...what would they do now? Could they stay here? What about the people that wanted to take the mansion down? Sayo voiced the questions Chloe had been unable to. "I-I don't know..." She muttered.

Maya opened her mouth to retort to Shauns doubting that he was dead- therefore doubting her ability to tell the living from the dead- hello how many husbands had she buried, then again it wasnt like the topic of her past came up often enough for anyone to know- apart from the odd joke cracked by anthony in relation which left everyone alittle confused apart from her. Oh Anthony Instead she responded to Sayo's question.
"Exactly" Maya exclaimed folding her arms. "Without Anthony this manor is no longer our home...we're fine until someone comes to view it again in attempt to get rid of us"
She let out a huff and touched on ear cautiously. "But for now i think we should focus on Doncaster considering he's laying stone cold upstairs! Wont he turn into a ghost like you Sayo...cant you bite him Syde...you know turn him into some kind of hell...zombie?" She averted her eyes to the side at this with a frown. "Even though that would be quite the mess...we'd have to buy air freshners...i couldnt live with a decomposing stench-" she paused touching her fingers to her chin.

From the look of the worn, dusty paper files that represented the property of Rascal Pines, you'd have imagined the place would have been easier to topple over. For years the city had tried, but that infuriatingly creative Anthony Doncaster had evaded every effort....somehow. How could a solitary old has-been with a few reclusive personal staff be so resiliant?

It didn't matter, Tony thought. Because there's a new man on the case now. Me. And I know where my predecessor went wrong. He tried to measure Rascall Pine's against the bare minimum legal standards of it's various aspects. Anyone with a few nails, a lick of paint and some duct tape can patch a property up to pass a basic inspection. Or fiddle a few figures to make it's assets seem safe as...well, houses! But what Tony planned to execute was a work of pure genius. The city obviously thought so...after all, the suggestion had got him the job. Along with a nice pay-rise, a generous annual bonus, a sharp new suit and a slick car. But he'd trade in all of that, just to go down in the books as the man who finally blotted that eyesore from the New Canterbury skyline.

Flicking through the phonebook - and yes by phonebook he actually meant a bound thing with pages, not a list of names on an iPhone or Blackberry - he located the phone number they had for Rascall Pines. It didn't even have an up-to-date area code. A part of him hoped it wouldn't work...a personal visit would be so much more fun. But one way or another he'd get his chance.

Picking up the phone and dialing, he waited patiently for someone to answer...

Bobbi had followed Chloe upstairs to Doncaster's room, where he lies lifeless on the bed, the sour stink of death lingering around him. The old guy had an awful lot of illnesses, as people of his age usually do, but it must have been a collapsed lung which finally killed him; there's a drying trickle of blood from his mouth to his whiskery chin, and in some vague part of her mind, Bobbi realises that it's breakfast time.

She bites her lip - she hasn't eaten in a few days and the smell of blood is maddening. She leaves the room and rejoins the others before she loses all sense of propriety and relieves their deceased master of his still-warm blood.

Her fellow inhabitants still seem to be in shock, and it's a moment before anyone mentions the question playing on everyone's minds; what is to happen to them, now?

"We're monsters, for God's sake." Bobbi points out, "How can a solicitor or an estate agent possibly be scarier than one of us?"

Maya's ears twitched as they consoled one another about what to do..there was after all no immediate family that they knew of, it was just him and them. She could hear a ringing over their nose, it was a soft sound but in the current situation it sounded harsh and unwelcome to her ears.
The kitsune swayed her way over there having no control over how sassy her hips made her walk she paused at the old phone set upon a dark wooden side table. It was close to antique...she was surprised it worked.
Glancing up at the others with wide eyes she pointed at it and looked directly at Shaun. "You answer it-"

It wasnt a problem answering the phone usually, they could just call for Anthony...but he was dead so now Maya didn't particularly want to pick it up, but then would that not cause for suspicion...no one answering the phone, how many rings did it take before someone became suspicious, what if it was important, what if Anthony had arranged for someone to ring him today to which point he would be expected to most definitely take the call...
Maya was panicking in a similar manor to when she murdered her first husband and then panicked her pants off when the phone started ringing...

Carmen, the Kappa from the garden, was rarely the first about the house in the mornings. He had errands of his own to run first and it was his habit to turn up a little late with the post from out front. Today was no different and the door creaked as he pushed it open from outside before slamming shut very quickly behind him. He had on his typical morning attire: A long, brown coat, that he was convinced was somehow inconspicuous, and a pair of sunglasses which were ta least appropriate this morning. It was, after all, a glorious day.

Once the door slammed shut behind the waddling, green creature he threw his disguise up onto a coat rack and wobbled his way through to the kitchen to deposit the letters, all addressed to Anthony, on the table where he would find them over breakfast. As for himself, he had a new copy of his monthly magazine on all things interior which he was set to read. Perhaps out on the back porch where he could enjoy the sunshine, he hadn't decided yet. What he had decided was that the living room needed a change. A drastic one, there was no other choice.

While his daydreams of what he could do transform the room started to build, he heard the phone ring and for the first time noticed the absence of any other residents on the ground floor. "Hello? Where is everybody?" He shouted out in a reedy, high-pitched, throaty voice that was bound to come of one more suited to underwater life. He heard no instant reply so started grumbling as he set off at another waddle for the living room, noting on his way how hideously the colour of the walls clashed with the carpet. "What was I thinking? he asked himself as he gazed upon his previous work.

In one hand, which was made up of large, sharp, green fingers, he picked up the phone and let the other pick up a few stray items that cluttered the sofa. "Doncaster residence" he answered cheerfully, quite happy with the story of who he was and what he was doing there. He had recited it a few times before when Anthony was unable to reach the phone for one reason or another. He wondered vaguely now where the man was, as well as anyone else.

The sunlight dripped through the light gauze curtains hung, somewhat lopsidedly in the smallish but comfortable bedroom. As it struck the stiff Victorian style, paisley chair, a white ball of fur became suddenly clear. There was a ripple in the fur, movement, and then two ears became apparent and one blue eye. Mika stretched leisurely in the patch of early morning sunlight, her twin tails twitching before she padded to the floor without a sound. She hopped up onto the bed, the green plush comforter indenting with her fluffy weight and began to clean herself, making herself presentable for her Master. Usually, she slept with him in his room--preferring to act as an overly large house cat, bringing comfort to her elderly Master in her feline form--but last night he had been asleep at an earlier hour than usual and she hadn't wanted to wake him, as he'd been sickly lately and needed all the rest he could get. Instead, she had opted to hunt the manor for mice and other pests that the Hellhound may have missed and had succeeded in rounding up several mice, a rat and a rather annoyed possum in the attic that had taken some serious convincing with her claws to evict.

It was then that she heard the fox, Maya, shouting through the house for some of the others. Her large blue eyes went wide with curiosity, ears twitching nervously. Mika hadn't lived in the manor for very long--but even in her limited experience, Maya, wasn't one to make a fuss. She waited, ears swiveling as she attempted to listen for more fuss--but heard none until the sound of footsteps on the stairs came. Many footsteps. With a soft thump, Mika dropped to the floor and slipped beyond her door, silent and swift. A group had gathered down the hall in front of Anthony's room. A sense of dread filled Mika's stomach as she slipped through legs and seemed to materialize in the middle of the group in her human form. Her white neko ears were laid flat against her head with worry. Her short hair--which changed colors with her mood--was a dark brown shade. Had something happened to her beloved new Master? And there on the bed he lay, ashen colored, lips blue with a small trickle of blood. The scent of the departed hung over the room like a sickening cologne, making Mika's nose twitch with displeasure. The neko became aware of a small whimpering sound in the room then, only to realize it was her own voice. She quieted, covering her nose and mouth with her hands as the tears quietly fell for the man who had taken her in without so much as the bat of an eyelash. Mika only vaguely registered the others murmured concerns around her, "What would happen to us?" "I don't know." "How can a solicitor or an estate agent be scarier than one of us?"

The phone was ringing. But Mika ignored it. She was in no state to answer the phone. Mika looked to Bobbi and Chloe, the vampire and the shapeshifter, with wide teary eyes. Her white neko ears drooped in mourning. Bobbi leaves quietly and Mika, unsure of what to do with herself now that her Master was gone, followed her out absently. Her steps made no sound as she followed her back to the rest of the inhabitants of the manor. Usually chipper and full of energy, Mika is so adrift in her own sorrow that she sidles up to Syde, the Hellhound, who until that moment she had steered clear of--a natural feline reaction to a canine. She sniffles absently, holding herself and looking wide-eyed at the others, but not really seeing them. The ringing stopped suddenly, bringing Mika somewhat out of her stupor. Her ears perked up slightly.

"W-Who answered the phone?" Mika asked, soft voice quavering slightly.

Chloe looked around at their mismatched group, all the varying personalities and looks. She was already devastated by the death of Lord Anthony...but to leave her jacked up family? She couldn't bear it. She jumped when the phone rang, the sound vibrating throughout the house. Who was it? Should they answer?

Hearing someone call from below the second floor, Chloe descended the steps and saw Carmen, answering the phone. She gave him a small nod and waited for him to hang up.

Sayo looked at Maya. "I..I don't think so i mean i came back because i was murdered and i have unfinished bisnuess here, but..." She looked towards her master's bed where he lay as if he were asleep."...he died peacfully so it's...it's..it's" She could finish her sentence the tears begun to fall down her face and her throat clogged up. "HE'S DEAD WE JUST HAVE TO FACE IT WE'LL ALL BE ON THE STREETS AGAIN!" She knew she had screamed she hardly cared all that she cared about was the one human that truly made her happy was now gone.