"Yeah right!" Carson snorted as she snatched the box out of Kia's slender hands. "It's just a stupid box."

"Hey, give that back!" Kia shouted angrily, making a desperate lunge for the box. She came up short as Carson swiftly moved it out of her reach and held it above her head. Giving it a rough shake, a look of surprise flowed over Carson's features as it's contents wildly rattled within.

"Don't do that!" Kia glared as she used Carson's momentary surprise to snatch the box from her lax fingers. "This box is over three hundred years old. It is not to be treated like trash."

Kia would have sounded very indignant if not for the fact that a loud burp erupted from her throat at the end.

"That piece of crap!" Carson laughed.

"Hey, it's my crap." Keigen stated as he took the box from Kia.

"It's not crap!" Kia yelled exasperatedly.

"Okay then, what is it?" Natasha asked before taking another sip of tequila.

"The Pleasure Box."

"The Pleasure Box?" They all asked in unison, promptly falling into a fit of drunken giggles.

"Yes, the Pleasure Box." Kia explained. "I found it in the Society's archive room the other day when I was looking for past excavation files and the professor said that I could keep it."

He just let you keep it? Keigen thought to himself. You never received anything for free...not even something as simple as the box. The Professor might not have collected now, but Keigen had a feeling that someday he would.

"Then what does it do?" Natasha asked as she eyed it. "It's very pretty."

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the box was indeed a very beautiful work of art. It was made of a deliciously smelling black wood...not as strong as cedar and not as earthy as oak but a sweet almost nutty smell. Keigen had never seen wood like that of the box. It was a possibility that the box had once been charred or burned but he doubted it. If it had been burned then the wood beneath would still be originally perfect but the wood of the box was fully black even in the chipped spaces.

It was elegantly carved in a almost Victorian style, except far more whimsical with its curves and outline. It resembled an old fashioned chocolate box that one would have found back in the day.

There was four designs on the box, each to a side. On the front, with a small key hole resting between them, was a pair of battling lions. You might have found a pair like them on a coat of arms but the pair had an almost savage design as if if they had a chance to pop off the box that they would be killing one another. The two sides each had a separate picture of a panther and a cheetah. The elegant panther was lazily lounging in a tree whereas the wiry cheetah was crouched down as if to run after prey.

Finally there was the back. Decorated with a heavily muscled tiger hiding in tall grass. Keigen could almost feel the tension rolling off it in waves. A magnificent beast to be sure, but Keigen's heart had already been ensnared by the lions.

"What is it made out of?" Keigen murmured as he held the box up to the light.

"That's the thing, we don't know." Kia explained as she rooted through her bag for something. "They couldn't identify it. There is no known wood like it."

And he just let you have it. Keigen thought to himself once more. Now he'd really have to watch out for her. No one would let this piece out of their hands without gaining something in return.

"There's a key hole!" Natasha exclaimed excitedly, interrupting Keigen's thoughts. "Let's open it."

"And here is the key!" Kia announced triumphantly as she held up a small old fashioned key between her thumb and pointer finger. "Alright birthday boy, you do the honors."

Taking the key from Kia, Keigen inserted it into the keyhole. It was then that a small chill swept through the room...not an ominous chill but a delicious shiver that drifted across one's skin.

Wow.

"Well, open it." Carson demanded as she pulled her jacket on once more. She looked slightly uncomfortable as if someone had unexpectedly reached out and touched her in an inappropriate place.

"Please." Natasha pleaded as she crawled closer.

"Before we get old, Keigen." Kia whispered as she glanced about the room distractedly.

So, I wasn't the only one who'd felt it. Keigen thought to himself as he looked down at the box in his hands. The only one who appeared to be unaffected was Natasha, but then again, she might have felt something but disregarded it on account of how drunk she was.

Turning the key, Keigen began to slowly lift the lid. He did not know what he had expected to find...maybe a treasure or maybe a litter of poisonous vials perhaps but not four innocent looking necklaces.

Picking each one up in turn, Keigen examined the burnished metal coins. They seemed to be made of a bronze, each holding an individual picture on it...exactly like the ones on the box itself. Even though the coin was made of bronze, the designs of the feral cats were done in silver. They seemed even more alive now then they had on the box. But most peculiar of all was the fact that one seemed to pulse as if it was.

Picking up the pulsing coin, it seemed to grow hot within his had. It was decorated with the dueling lions. He could almost hear their enraged roars within his head as they fought. He briefly wondered what they were fighting over before Natasha suddenly reached in to grab the coin decorated with the tiger.

"I like this one!" Natasha exclaimed happily as she cradled it protectively in her hands. It began to glow for her, seemingly content that she has chosen it as her possession.

"I think I'll take this one." Kia murmured as she reached in to grab the panther. "Which leaves...Carson with the cheetah."

She tossed Carson the coin, her eyes never leaving hers. She was as drawn to it as the others were drawn to their's...all except Carson who let the cheetah coin fall to the floor where it silently lay as if patiently waiting for her to pick it up.

Carson stared down at it, her hard green eyes sparkling in the lamplight. Keigen could tell that she wanted to go for it like the others but ever the cautious one, she seemed to be debating the pros and cons of such a decision in her mind.

"C'mon Carson, pick it up!" Kia exclaimed laughingly as she placed her coin around her neck. "It's only a coin!"