“Why-” Gaelen breathed more than spoke as he heaved his leather suitcase over the café’s raised door sill, “That’s a very generous offer of you, Ike.” Though his enthusiasm would be enough to carry him through another ordeal or two, he was quite happy with the thought of resting his weary arms from bearing his belongings. His mood was also helped by the delightfully rustic cafe and its extensive woodwork. It reminded him of his own office back in Oxford as it had similar wood panelling, and he found himself wondering if these walls also contained their share of hidden messages and risque sketches.<br/><br/>Gaelen proceeded to hang his cloak on the wrought-iron coatrack, and cleaned his boots as much as was reasonable before entering further in. Without the cloak on, his attire consisted of a white blouse paired with a burgundy tie, which disappeared in his well-fitted tweed jacket. His high boots had also seemed to protect the accompanying umber dress pants against the worst of the elements. His tail was also visible now, and seen to be adorned with a small variety of intertwining leather and copper bands. After taking a deep breath, he approached the bartender, whom he was already convinced of didn’t seem like the type to freely loan out much of anything to a tourist, much less his car.<br/><br/>“Good morning, sir.” Gaelen spoke kindly, hoping to instill a sense of cordiality with the grumpy looking keep. “May I assume you are also the proprietor of the Bed & Breakfast service offered?”<br/>His manners did not seem to affect the man, who already seemed to grow oddly irritable. “Aye, that’s right. And before yer asking, I cannae help ye with a room; we’re all full-up. Got lots o’ people staying in, waitin’ oot the weather.” The man turned to a forced, impatient smile, and Gaelen felt increasingly guilty about not reserving a room in advance. It seemed this wasn’t the first time a traveller had come knocking without inquiring about vacant rooms beforehand. “That’s, ehm, rather unfortunate. Would you mind if I stored my belongings at my friend’s room in the meanwhile then?” The barkeep raised a disinterested hand. “Keek, that’s none of mah business. As long as the bird’s quiet, eh?” Gaelen glanced at Alice, who lifted her wings as if to compliantly shrug. “Shouldn’t be a problem, sir. Thank you.” “Aye. That’s yer last room on the right then.”<br/><br/>After facing away from their host, Gaelen’s face briefly displayed a much more annoyed look, though solely directed at his own negligence.<span style="font-style: italic">How could I be this foolish? Of course this place ‘d be packed with tourists at any time during the year, even during these godlessly cold months. Bloody typical of me</span>. But at least there was plenty to like here, too. The smells of food and drink promised that the barkeep’s Burgundian physique was likely due to quality of their cuisine. Before long, the dark clouds outside weren’t the only things rumbling. But there was haste to be made first.<br/><br/>“I’ll just be a minute.” Gaelen informed his companion, and rapidly ascended the well-lacquered staircase with his baggage and cage in hand. The narrow, high corridor of the first floor was equally lavish in examples of fine carpentry, though a soft carpet kept Gaelen from making too much of a racket as he paced his way through. A series of cast-iron lamps illuminated a series of paintings of the surrounding landscapes in warm, orange hues. They weren’t exactly of tremendous quality though, with most painted with sloppy strokes and overly muddy tones. As Gaelen felt the heat of the lamps shining over the works of art, he hoped that this place didn’t still use actual gas lighting, as that didn’t seem particularly safe so close to the aging pictures.<br/><br/>Though not explicitly loud, he could hear the muffled sound of old tv-sets through some of the doors in passing. As he arrived at Ike’s room, he felt briefly blessed about not overhearing any bickering- or overly romantic couples at the neighbouring room. With a sigh and a twist of a key, Gaelen entered the room.<br/>And indeed, the place did not disappoint. It was more spacious than he expected, and Gaelen was relieved to find a cozy living area with a sizable couch and a pair of reading chairs facing an ornamented stone hearth. Perhaps his rooming issue might be temporarily solved then. His only immediate irritation was a stylish, but rather loudly ticking clock, but that was nothing that couldn’t be helped. It did help remind him that time was of the issue though. Placing his luggage near a chair and the cage on the coffee-table, Gaelen wished Alice a good sleep, and switched off the light before quickly making his way back to the building’s entrance.<br/><br/>Gaelen felt a lot more himself now that he was warmed up a little, and his mind began pacing as he nearly fled down the stairs. An idea had formed, something to compliment mister Marvin- ..Ike’s use of a forcefield. He hadn’t worked with any such technology by himself, but understood the basic principles, and was eager to see the device in action.<br/><br/>“Mister, eh, Ike!” he elated as he descended. “Such a lovely place you’ve arranged here. Thank you very much for letting me store my things there. Say, I’ve had a little thought in the meanwhile. Is there any way you can polarise your device to emit exclusively negatively charged ions? If I recall correctly, most lightning should be repelled by your device then. Do you think that would have a chance of working?” Gaelen was once again smiling broadly, this time a lot less bashful after having witnessed Ike’s earlier enthusiasm. Before Ike had a chance to respond, Gaelen had already grabbed his cloak again, and seemed eager to venture to the site.