Featured Role-play: Unilluminated

[PrinceCor004]

Marcus sat a few feet away from the others passing the time by making two sticks fight each other. It was a very juvenile trick the Warlock had learned in his early days of training, but when you were bored, it helped to pass the time.

Every now and then Marcus would glance over at the group gathered around Raphael..... namely at Raphael and the covens "Pet". Sofia had done a reasonable job with making sure the attractive werewolf would not harm their good leader. Still, there was a slight feeling of pity that the Warlock felt towards the girl.

I wonder how they'll like the fact that we have an Unnatural that we keep as a pet. Marcus thought with a chuckle as he returned to watching the two sticks fight.

[narnianerd]

Present

Mark heard the fighting from his position Brand! Attack! he yelled, his dragon didn't need a second order and for the first time in months burst out of the trees of the forest, flame flying from his mouth, he incinerated about thirteen in one burst of fire.

Mark charged through the gate, expecting the worst, he flinched as dozens of darts came flying his way only to stop inches away from his face thanks to the wards he had placed there, however this instantly depleted his strength.

"Brisingr!" he screamed at the top of his lugs sending a wall of fire out in all directions. Josh charged in the gate just after Mark, guns blazing. Mark knowing it wasn't going to end well turned and muttered "Thrysta..." and in an instant Josh was gone.

In his moment of distraction he lost focus on his wards and a dart hit him in the back, he collapsed, the last thing he saw was the dark silhouette of Brand against the clear sky.

---

Josh appeared next to Mr. T on the bus as it pulled out of town, hiss machine gun still glowing hot red hot from its constant firing. Josh dropped the gun and cursed "Dang It Mark!" he yelled, more worried than mad.

Mark wouldn't of teleported him out of there if it hadn't been a hopeless situation, Mark was captured. He knew it. He turned to Terrance and let loose an flood of words about what had just happened.

[Bookwyrm]

A young female Unnatural, perhaps only twenty or twenty-one, was the next to climb on board the bus. She quickly hurried through the paperwork Maev had for her, thanked both the human woman and Mr. T. profusely and headed to the back of the bus. She collapsed in the free seat next to Night and turned to face the teenager with a friendly grin.

"Hi," Night offered shyly, glancing up at the girl and then looking down. She felt a brief flicker of annoyance that the newcomer had singled her out.

"Hmm, you are an interesting one," the new girl said, staring intently at Night. "My name's Psyche. I was sure glad to see this bus. Had about all I could take of Ditto Town. It's bad enough being new in town, but when people start to accuse you of being Unnatural, it gets downright uncomfortable."

"I've never really been there. To Ditto Town, I mean. Haven't had much success with town living," Night said.

"So what can you do?" Psyche asked. She looked quizzically at Night's clothing, which covered her pretty much from head to toe. The only skin showing was Night's face.

"When people touch me, they see things. Their fears, nightmares, bad memories. They relive it all, all at once. Most people's minds can't handle it and they break, go crazy. Others have heart attacks. Some are driven into comas. Almost nobody walks away unscathed."

"Wicked," Psyche said, sounding more impressed than disturbed. "So that's why you wear all of that? Doesn't it get a little warm? Why do you do it?"

"Of course it's uncomfortable at times, but I can't just go around with skin hanging out, ready to touch someone," Night answered, surprised Psyche would even question her outfit choice.

"Sounds like their problem. Why should you inconvenience yourself for Mundanes? They should be grateful we've tolerated their treatment of us this long."

"What do you mean?" Psyche asked, making eye contact with Psyche for the first time. She stared back at Psyche for a long second before blanching and closing her eyes quickly.

"Oh. You can tell what people do, can't you? But you've been keeping that a secret," Psyche said, a pleased smile crossing her face

"Please, I don't want to talk about this. Not here. There's too many people who could overhear," Night said, lowering her voice and looking around nervously.

"Don't worry. I made your dream real. The one where no one can hear you or notice you. I added me to the equation just as a bonus. We're perfectly invisible to the world, so we can talk about whatever we want."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Night exclaimed. She jumped from the seat and began to shake Malachi's shoulder urgently. The fire mage turned around and looked right through Night.

"Must be a telekinetic having their fun," Malachi said and turned back around, unconcerned.

"Wake me up! Wake me up!" Night yelled frantically and flung herself at Psyche, shaking her, trying to do something to make Psyche stop whatever it was that she was doing.

"Sit down and be calm!" Psyche snapped at Night and flung her forcefully to the ground.

Night climbed back up onto the seat and stared at Christopher sleeping in his wing cocoon. She gently touched his face, but he didn't react to the touch.

"Why would you do this to me?" Night asked quietly. "I've never seen you before, I don't even know you. Why would you put me into my worst nightmare, make it real?"

"Honestly? Because it's fun. We Unnaturals are special. The Mundanes? There's billions of them, all alike, all boring, living their tame little lives. But us? We're the best thing the pathetic homo sapiens species ever produced. Why should we be content to live by the Mundanes' rules? We shouldn't hide our powers, we should flaunt them."

"So basically your motto is frak everyone and to heck with the consequences?"

"Never expressed it that bluntly, but that sounds about right. So why have you been hiding your secondary power? The detection thing."

"I can tell what people are, what powers they have, or if they're normal humans. In the wrong hands, I'd be the ultimate tool in the destruction of the Unnaturals. So I keep it to myself. Nobody knew until you."

"So you didn't even tell him?" Psyche asked, nodding at the dozing Christopher.

"Not even him."

"Wow. I've seen your dreams. He's your closest friend, only friend in fact. A bit more than a friend, I'd judge by some of the things I saw in your head."

"He doesn't feel that way about me. We're just friends," Night said, her face turning a particularly bright shade of red.

"Oh, is he ...," Psyche started to ask before Night interrupted with a loud "No!"

"This isn't really fun anymore and I got the information I want, so I guess I'll let people see you again," Psyche said and made an jazz hands motion. "Back to normal!"

Night sat in her seat quietly, simmering in a nasty mixture of rage and humiliation. Even a meek person like Night could be pushed to do some pretty drastic things and she did them now. She turned in her seat and slapped Psyche across the face as hard as she could. Before Psyche could do anything, Night had a glove off and held her hand threateningly in front of Psyche's rapidly bruising face.

"If you ever, EVER do anything like that to me again, you won't be in any shape to gloat at me. You'll be screaming your lungs out while your worst nightmares rage through your twisted little mind."

Instead of getting angry or screaming at Night, Psyche instead began to laugh. She waved her hand dismissively at the Unnaturals staring aghast at the scene Night had just created and said quietly to Night," Didn't that feel good? You don't have to be a sheep anymore, Night. Remember that."

"Get. Away. From. Me."

"Fine. Fine. I can get another seat. Hey, gang! Who wants me to sit with them?" Psyche said, moving back up the bus aisle with a final smug look back at Night.

"Was it something she said?" Malachi asked, as he tried to dodge a half-awake Portia's attempts to nuzzle his neck.

"Something like that," Night replied and then snapped at Christopher as he stared out between his wings at her," Go back to sleep."

[Marshwiggle]

Past

Elisabeth harrumphed at Thomas and would have said something if not for the sudden entrance of two strangers. She looked the man up and down, immediately dismissing him as either a bounty hunter, or worse, a soldier.

“I was, with my…” Bryony stopped and looked away from Thomas. She glanced around the room, eyes filling with tears.

“I told you, you wouldn’t want to see it,” Basil said, sounding awkward as he tried to soften his brusque tone. He approached his daughter and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Did you know someone?” Kanti asked softly, “Someone who…died here?”

“I wouldn’t say that’s any of your business,” Basil answered swiftly, glancing up at Kanti. His eyes narrowed, “You’re a detective aren’t you? The one that was supposed to stop the vampire threat in town…much good you did,” he added bitterly.

“It was my aunt,” Bryony offered, pulling away from her father. “Can you find out who did it?” She wiped away her tears, feeling embarrassed at being so emotional in front of almost total strangers.

Present

Mr. Savage watched the attack from his watch point on the roof of one of his laboratories. The fake ambulance lights and noise stopped at a wave of his hand. He was very interested in the werewolf that that had just collapsed. He seemed to be much stronger and more determined than his brother. With a slight smile, Savage raised the phone in his hand to his ear. “It’s done,” he offered to the man on the other line, “Thank you for the information.”

“No thanks needed,” Edmond replied, “Keep doing what I ask and you will be rewarded further.”

Savage ignored the superiority in the other man’s voice, relieved when the call was ended. He didn’t like feeling like a puppet moving on the end of strings, but he couldn’t deny that it had paid off to listen to Mr. Song. The men below began to move their captives, keeping a wary eye on the sky as they retreated to the safety of the lab buildings.

((The end of the Pack and Savage unless Brand was going to be captured as well))

--

Mr. T had only finished saying hello to the new girl when Josh appeared, talking hurriedly about a capture. The shapeshifter frowned, blue eyes flashing with anger. “They knew the risks. The Pack wouldn’t listen to me about the reservation. The most we can do now is hope that Latch will help us retrieve them,” he said firmly, not wanting to start a fight before they were even settled in their new home. Timothy’s face flashed in his memory briefly before he could push it away. There was nothing to do for the moment…but once they had a home…yes, once they had a home, then he would go for his brother.

The bus suddenly slowed again. Pepper leaned forward to catch a glimpse of the group that stood in the shadow of the woods. She felt a prickling of something…anxiety? Was that what it was called?

Hana looked up at the cat fight ensuing a little ahead of her and raised an eyebrow as it ceased. Of course, some drama was bound to happen among this many Unnaturals, but Hana hoped it wasn’t a sign of what she could expect at the reservation. Closing her eyes, Hana tried to ignore her stomach growling. The bus stopped again and she wondered who it was now joining them. As the doors opened, she stiffened, smelling something that sent her pulse racing. Dog.

Aspros

((I think I’ll just leave Aspros at this point and we can pick up with the characters deciding to help or not after the break if that’s alright with everyone))

[Rising_Star]

Part

"That's what we're here for," Thomas said, stepping forward and reaching out hesitantly to touch Bryony's shoulder lightly. "We're going to track down this . . . vampire and bring him . . . her . . . it to justice."

He let his hand fall from her shoulder. "I'm sorry about your aunt," he offered with a sympathetic frown. "She seemed like a really nice lady." If a little odd, his mind added, but he pushed that thought away as it wasn't very gracious.

-----

Present

Raphael lifted the blanket over his head as the bus slowed. "This is it, my brothers and sisters," he said, his dark eyes shining almost feverishly it seemed. "Time to make our family grow."

He stepped forward purposefully, stepping into the bus and lowering the blanket to around his shoulders as he looked about the vehicle. Mihael stepped up directly behind him, and Raphael moved forward down the aisle to take a seat, looking over those already seated with a friendly smile.

Caerwyn glanced up sharply as the smell of vampire entered the bus. He frowned slightly as he watched the apparent leader make his way down to a seat. He didn't look like much. Only about fifteen in appearance and rather short at that. But he held a commanding presence that drew attention. Caerwyn could tell he was dangerous and shouldn't be underestimated, even if he was smiling kindly.

Sofia stepped up into the bus, grumbling a little about why she needed to be the caretaker for the werewolf. She turned to give the chain a little tug, but the werewolf was already scampering up the steps of the bus and now stood in the aisle, sniffing around experimentally.

She pushed back her tousled blonde hair and narrowed her eyes at the assembly, distrust emanating from her every pore. She took the seat farthest from Raphael and slouched down, panting slightly with a scowl.

Sofia, guessing Raphael was safe in a bus full of other Unnaturals, wrapped the chain around her seat and sat down, deciding not to worry about the werewolf during the ride to the reservation.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

[Marshwiggle]

Past

"There's no need for anyone to track him down," Basil said slowly, his business sense kicking in. "Because, in fact, I have him."

Bryony was offering Thomas a wavering smile when her father spoke and she whirled to face him. "You have the vampire who killed Coriander and you didn't tell me?!"

"I don't know if he did or not- but he was one of the vampires who attacked here."

"If we can match the marks he'd make with the ones on the walls then we can confirm he was the same vampire who was in your room," Kanti said, stepping towards Basil. "Where is the vampire?"

"Now just a minute. You may be a cop, but I've no reason to tell you unless there's something in it for me. I have to make my living too."

Bryony turned away from her father, a piece of hair falling in front of her face as a frown covered it. She was so ashamed of him at the moment.

Present

Mr. T's eyes narrowed as he watched the group board. He had known their might be some kind of power struggle on the reservation, but hadn't expected any of the rival powers to have a collection of followers as varied as his own.

"He seems nice," Curse offered, smoothing her skirt over her legs as the rest in the new group took their seats and the bus started moving again. She looked over at Caerwyn for confirmation only to find him looking skeptically at the leader of the arrivals.

Hana shivered at the sight of the chained werewolf and pulled her shirt up over her nose, trying not to smell her. Her body was protesting wildly, trying to shift even as she held herself in human form precariously. Sweat formed on her clammy forehead as she began a self-dialogue on why exactly she couldn't run for her life. The reaction was usually so involuntary but now with some control, Hana managed not to perform the inevitable.

[Rising_Star]

Past

"You . . . want us to pay you?" Thomas asked, wondering if the bounty hunter somehow knew who they were. He supposed they were rather recognizable.

-----

Present

Mihael was the one to fill out the paperwork for everyone, feeling like a secretary while he did so. Not a very nice feeling. But Raphael had touched his shoulder and asked him to do it and Mihael found he couldn't refuse.

He went up to the woman who smelled rather peculiar and handed her the paperwork. "There's one for every one of us," he told her flatly, having given only the very basic information.

Caerwyn shook his head. I want you to stay away from him. Promise me? He looked up at her face a little desperately, lacing his fingers through hers and holding her hand tightly.

Raphael glanced at Caerwyn and Curse and his smile widened slightly as he looked at the girl.

Tala, for that was the werewolf's name, huddled in her seat, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly. The different smells from all the different Unnaturals were a little overwhelming as she was used to a dark, dank room all by herself. She pushed her finger against the side of her nose agitatedly, whimpering softly.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

[Marshwiggle]

Past

"Why?" Basil asked, raising his chin, "You think it's customary to just hand a vampire over to anyone who asks? Besides...I'm sure the papers wouldn't mind hearing about how the royals are chasing vampires around anyway."

Kanti stiffened. She wasn't supposed to be doing anything but paperwork and she had a feeling Ms. Scope would find a way to put her away with just a charge of disobeying those orders.

"You're horrible," Bryony spat out and retreated to a seat near the door, ignoring her father since she couldn't run away from him.

--

Pepper raised an eyebrow at Mihael, "Well I can tell you already that one stipulation of the reservation is freedom for its denizens. That includes not keeping werewolves chained up as prisoners, unless of course she's just wearing that chain for show." The zombie glanced at the paperwork.

Terrance smirked at Pepper's blunt statement. "We can talk it over when we get to the reservation Pepper," he offered, not interested in an argument at the moment.

"Why?" Curse asked aloud, turning away from Raphael's smile to meet eyes with Caerwyn.

[Rising_Star]

Past

"How much do you want?" Thomas asked skeptically, glancing at Kanti and his sister. As heir to the thrown he knew that he had the authority to make such decisions, but on the other hand he was only fifteen and a kid.

"I like your hair," Alice whispered sympathetically to Bryony, despite the fact that she was still invisible and it was unwise to reveal her presence to a mere mortal. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl, however.

-----

Present

Mihael eyes flashed in annoyance briefly before his face grew impassive once more. "It is merely a precaution," he said in his normal, emotionless tone. "She has tried many times to assassinate our leader."

I don't trust him. Caerwyn narrowed his eyes at Raphael, who merely looked amused as he turned to look out the window.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

[PrinceCor004]

Present

As was his way, Marcus purposefully waited for everyone else to get on the bus before he did. There were plenty of skeptical eyes that met the Warlock as he boarded the reservation bus, which was to be expected.

Making his way down the aisle, Marcus took a seat behind Sofia and Tala. "Remember: be nice to our werewolf. You're being watched..." the Warlock whispered to the sorceress before leaning back in his seat and propping his feet up on the empty space between Sofia and Tala.

[narnianerd]

Present


Josh was pulled into a seat by Reagan as Raphael walked in the door "Well Josh, your brother has gotten himself captured again. Geuss this means I won't be rejoining the coven anytime soon" he said with a smile "We'll get Mark back, don't worry" as he said this his three other dragons landed on his shoulders

---

He grabbed Mark and held a gun to his head, then soldier yelled out to Brand "Dragon! Surrender or I'll kill him. Brand turned around from baking a man like an oven and looked at the soldier, growling.

"Yeah you heard me! I'll kill him" he said, clearly trying to look a lot less scared then he really was. Brand knew there was no way out of this situation and lowered his head, alowing a few other men to put shackles around his head, Brand was offically captured.

[Marshwiggle]

Past

Bryony started at the sound of Alice's voice, wondering if she was truly going crazy. Maybe it ran in the family, after all, her aunt hadn't been the most sane woman...

"Fifteen thousand. Cash." Basil stated plainly.

"Your five thousand above the going rate," Kanti answered with narrowed eyes.

"And you know that this vampire is different from the ones you'd get for ten-"

"This is ridiculous. No vampire can be worth that much," Elisabeth muttered.

Present

Curse decided to trust Caerwyn on this...even if she didn't understand.

Pepper merely nodded, knowing Terrance wouldn't stand for captivity for any of the Unnaturals. They could learn that later though.

There weren't any more additions to the group and the bus finished the journey to the reservation without incident. The bus parked in the parking lot where its twin was already stationed and the Unnaturals disembarked, handed fliers as they did so.

Pepper took the flier and paused mid-step, feeling a wave of deja vu crash over her. "It's all here. The plans for our protection. Walls around the perimeter...another wall around the entry area. Houses where we can live without worrying about- them." Dark eyes flashed up as he glanced at her.

"You alright?" Udi asked, noting that the usually emotionless zombie seemed a little perplexed.

"I'm fine..." Pepper answered.

"I'll return in a moment. I have to go find the Senator. There should be a few media representatives here shortly," Maev offered to Mr. T. before she left the group. She went back to the outside and used the key she'd been given to open the door in the wall there. Once inside, she took the staircase that led up to the main office.

The place was furnished impressively and had light and fresh air from the balcony that overlooked the entry where the Unnaturals were gathered. Noticing that Latch was not there and that the red light for a message was blinking on the phone, Maev took a seat at the desk, hoping he had not forgotten about today.

Picking up the phone, she dialed in the code for the messages, listening as her eyes passed over the scattered documents on the dark desk. There was a clatter as the phone dropped from her hand. Her hands trembled as she pushed away a few unimportant papers covering a blueprint. A blueprint she had never seen before.

[Rising_Star]

Past

"And it's not like we have fifteen thousand in cash just lying around," Thomas said, frowning slightly.

Alice couldn't help but giggle slightly at Bryony's reaction, despite the fact that laughter wasn't entirely appropriate at the moment.

-----

"Well, this place looks very pleasant," Raphael said as he stepped off the bus and kept to the shadows, looking around. He smiled charmingly at Curse. "Seems like the perfect place to get better acquainted with our . . . new family members."

Caerwyn's hand tightened reflexively around Curse's as he glowered at Raphael.

Sofia held the chain restraining Tala lightly, looking around the place with mild interest.

Meanwhile, Tala crouched on the ground, whimpering in fear as she looked around at all the new faces and smells.

Mihael stood beside Raphael, looking as impassive and wary as ever.

[PrinceCor004]

Present

"Finally, a nice place to stay for awhile.... No offense, sir Raphael." Marcus said with an over-exaggerated bow to the vampire leader after he stepped off the bus.

Accepting one of the fliers handed to him, the Warlock began looking over the grounds. Nice layout.... looks like they have planned everything out pretty well. Plenty of spaces especially designed for vamps and the like.... Eh, still a bit wary of this whole thing. Marcus thought as he looked around at the surrounding fortification. Too similar to the prisons in Alcatar... he thought with a slight frown before going back to reading over the flier.

[lover of narnia]

Vivian had agreed from the first to follow Rapheal, and now was no different. From the hiding in the trees and allies, to boarding the buss, she was right there near him. When they finally did get to the Buss she took a seat across from Marcus. The blanket all the vampires had used, was still wrapped around her shoulders, and she looked coldly at each new face. She saw many others but none of them looked friendly. She stayed put until their ride was over and they all stepped out at the reservation. She was too handed a flier, but didn't bother looking at it. She instead studied the reactions of each of her coven members. They all had their own energy that they were giving off, but their werewolf sister, seemed the most upset. Sophia was discontented, as always, and Mihael and Marcus were neutral. It was Raphael she stared at for a long moment. He smiled at another woman that Vivian hadn't noticed until now. She had, beside her, a little boy and Vivian looked at him strangely. He's young.....but there is something in his eyes she thought before tossing her head and trying not to think about it.

She went back to probing the whole area. It was a strange place, filled with all sorts of Unnaturals like her and her family, but something about it made her uncomfortable.

[qwertykate88]

Richard passed from the wash room adjacent to the office, buttoning his cuff. He froze as his eyes fell on the back of Maev's head, where she sat at his desk, her trembling fingers plainly visible. He hadn't been expecting her this early, thus he hadn't cleared his desk. Or was it that he was late again? It didn't matter now; she had seen them.

He started to panic. All of his plans would be destroyed. Maev was a good secretary, the best of assistants, but even Richard knew she wasn't that loyal to him. He wasn't sure that Maev even liked him. She would blow the whistle on him and everything would come crawling out of the closet. Every last skeleton. He ran a hand through his hair, glancing around the room.

A raise? Promises? Richard felt his options slipping through his fingers. Maev wouldn't accept bribes, he knew from experience. He wouldn't be able to bargain with her; not over this.

In the span of a few seconds, his line of sight connected with a neglected paperweight setting on the shelf next to him. All he had to do was get her to be quiet. He just had to make a few simple phone calls and Maev would disappear, somewhere far away. He wouldn't have to worry.

He carefully picked up the paperweight, crossing the room.

Richard's panic quickly delved into dread. Maev turned at the last second. His weapon came swiftly down against the side of her head as his reflexes reacted in terror at being discovered.

Maev instantly crumpled onto the desk.

Blood started to flow... she was bleeding. And she wasn't moving, beyond a slight twitch.

Breathing coming in hitches, Richard stumbled backwards. He hadn't intended for this to happen. It wasn't supposed to go this far. Now what? What was he supposed to do? Hide her? Where was he supposed to hide her? No... he wouldn't need to hide her.

He moved forward, clearing the blueprints out from under Maev's lifeless body. Acting quickly, he smeared his sleeve over the weight, before dropping it onto the floor where it smashed into pieces. Richard then hurriedly stuffed the blueprints into a brief case, locking it shut.

No witnesses. Easy access to the office.

Anyone could have killed her, stolen his belongings.

Clearing his throat, Richard flung the door open, looking for all he worth like a haggard wretch. He stumbled down the stairs in a state of shock.

"Help! Murder!"