Featured Role-play: Unilluminated

[Marshwiggle]

((Quick note: Charlie would be getting on the bus going through town so Selena wouldn’t smell him and he wouldn’t have to worry about vamps- sorry if that was confusing!))

Past

Elisabeth gave a short barking laugh, “Oh yes, completely harmless- Unless of course the person receiving the wish was smart enough to think of something besides death that could harm another. There are plenty of things that hurt besides death,” she finished archly.

“Well as interesting as this conversation is,” Kanti ventured, “I think we should be going.”

“Fine.” The princess started towards the door after retrieving her wrap from the settee.

“Um…anyway to get her to look less…royal?” Kanti asked Thomas. If they really had to be accompanied by the two most famous people in town, than she really wanted some sense of subtlety.

--

Cyrano couldn’t decide what he was more surprised about. There was the random ninjas with darts, Melanie’s amazing fighting skills, Ian’s perception and of course the kiss that he still didn’t believe had happened. He was just coming to terms with the fact that he was standing still in a hallway while they were being attacked when Melanie and Ian were both taken by the men. Breathing heavily, Cyrano remembered Melanie’s words and darted into a shadowed corner near a drinking fountain. From there he could hear the creepy man’s words as he addressed Ian. Reporter instinct kicking in, Cyrano pulled his recorder from his pocket and pushed the main button.

Unnaturals, Cyrano repeated in his mind. Of course they were- who else could do what they’d done? He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. After all, he’d been trying to avoid any contact with Unnaturals for quite some time.

Present

The Sage pack, minus Azriel, retreated to their cave and then re-emerged in wolf form. Azriel watched them all from the fire, glaring at his father as the wolves nodded to each other and then, once Josh was ready, took off at a lope through the trees. Naomi glanced at her packmate one more time and then disappeared with the rest.

Running behind Indigo and next to Timothy, she tried not to think about what would happen once they began their siege on Savage’s labs…or what they would find.

--

Curse wasn’t sure whether she should believe Caerwyn, but she nodded nonetheless and smiled. Soon, they wouldn’t have to worry.

Hana tensed up as they reached the center of town and another Unnatural jumped on. She eyed the bloody mark on his head and then turned her gaze out the window. The people outside looked so angry, like they’d become some kind of Unnatural themselves.

Terrance lapsed into melancholy once again, disdainfully eyeing the crowd outside. He wasn’t sure why he had fought so hard to protect them. Once in a long while it’d be nice, just once, to show them what could really happen. What they’d really created. The shapeshifter glanced down at the faint scars on the knuckles of his right hand.

“She’s dead Terrance. I’m not lying,” Timothy said with a frown, eying his dozing brother.

“And how am I supposed to believe that, huh?” Terrance asked, slowly opening one eye. “You told me that a town was burning a year ago just to draw me into one of their traps. The decade before that there were three separate instances where you lied to me about the TP board wanting to reconstruct with my help. I’m not going on a goose chase- and, if you tell me she’s dead again I won’t forgive you.” He was glaring through the narrow slit of his opened eye, like a snake waiting languidly to attack.

Timothy swallowed. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he remembered the feverish shakes he’d been getting ever since a week ago…when Haleh had found him. He breathed in deeply. Abijah wouldn’t be too happy with the new changeling running off, especially when he disapproved of him joining the pack in the first place. Shaking off these thoughts, Timothy wondered if these would be the last words he said to his brother.

“We were attacked. There was a mission…an experiment. We were in the woods and didn’t realize bounty hunters were around. They saw me shift and when we wouldn’t come with them, they attacked. I was unconscious for a day before I was found…but Ziya, Ziya is dead. There’s no going back to TP now, I thought I could come to-”

Terrance moved with startling speed, up from his chair and across to throw his brother into the wall behind them and pin him there against a glass encased cabinet. His hands shook, but didn’t falter as they gripped hard on his brother’s throat. “I told you I wouldn’t forgive you- how did you think you could come to me?! I should have known you could have never protected her- shifting in the open? Did you run away? Did you leave her there?!”

“Terrance, I, I was knocked out…I tried to fight- there were too many of them. I’m sorry,” Timothy offered with a strangled sound as tears began to fall from his eyes.

There was a noise of shattering glass as Terrance hit the cabinet, next to his brother’s head with a closed fist. He let his grip on his brother loose, watching him slump to the ground uninjured before he looked at his stinging knuckles. Blood oozed from his hand and he mechanically removed the glass shards still embedded there. Closing his eyes, he tried not to imagine Ziya bleeding…dying, like she’d never imagined she could.

“Get out of here,” he muttered, stumbling over Timothy as he walked to his large desk and sat down. He opened a drawer and pulled out some gauze.

“Terrance, I-”

“LEAVE!” Terrance roared.

Timothy rose panting and exited, spotting his brother’s collapsing shoulders and wet face before the door shut him out of the office. Exhausted, he shivered and leaned against the stair rail that led downstairs.

Terrance waited until the sound of the door below closing signaled that his brother was gone. Feeling disgusted with himself, the shapeshifter wiped his face on his sleeve. Suddenly the sound of the door came again. The thought that his brother had returned to grovel again filled him with anger and a tiny portion of hope. Quietly, he rose and headed out of the office, through the short hall and to the stairs that led down to the kitchen. The banging of pots alarmed him. Timothy would know better. Shifting silently into kitten form, Terrance padded down the narrow staircase and landed on the tiled floor, eyes glowing in the dark.

A shadow moved near the back door- the silhouette of a short woman. Maybe it had all been a farce? A play to get him bounding into the woods and into the arms of the TP again? Terrance thought this eagerly for a minute but dismissed the wish as his eyes were startled by the bright light. She’d found the light switch. He sat there blinking for a moment, tail swishing agitatedly.

“Hello,” he offered, gazing up at the teenage girl standing in the entrance. It felt a bit like the twilight zone, greeting a random human so flippantly, minutes after he’d found out about Ziya.

“You’re a cat…that can talk?” she asked, looking more bemused than frightened. Crouching, she played with the end of her long, dark braid and watched him expectantly.

“You’re a girl who breaks in?” Terrance retorted. He padded closer and sat in front of her.

“What is this place?” she asked, dark eyes searching the industrial kitchen and the darkened doorway on the other side. She adjusted her heavy pack and looked back at him.

“Blood and Tears my dear, a specialized tavern for Ditto Town’s more…unique denizens. Well at least, that’s what it will be. When we open it.”

“We?”

Terrance paused, “Fancy a job?”

The girl’s mouth curved into a smile, “If you’re offering, I’ll take it. I’ve got my own recipe for spiced lamb’s blood. Tastes good- or so I’ve been told,” she added the last part softly, looking saddened. A moment later she raised her eyes and held out a hand confidently before realizing shaking might be a little iff-y for a kitten, “Satin, Satin Raha.”

“Terrance Trafilafilafigous, but you can call me Mr. T.”

“Mr. T.” Satin repeated, smiling again. “Glad to meet you.”

--

“Well we can’t all be pillars of virtue like yourself,” Udi retorted with a wink and leaned back into his seat.

“I think we’re almost there,” Zaref said, glancing at the road which was now passing out of the trees and onto a stretch of grassy field. Ahead a large structure loomed. “Will you be alright?” he asked Selena quietly, “After all…you were in Mr. Button’s zoo for some time.”

Aspros

“How lovely, more company,” Joe said, keeping his eyes on Desmond’s creature, even through the disturbing display that Desperado was putting on.

Anjali hissed. All the fresh blood in the room was making her thirsty. She eyed each in turn, examining Morgana and Desperado, both of whom she assumed would be weaker than the shadow-master. “There are others here- a call away. Are you s-s-so sure you can stand against all of us?”

Joe held up a hand, silencing Anjali before he took his seat once more in the high-backed chair facing the candle-strewn table that stood between him and the intruders. “I have no wish to cause any of you harm. In fact, it’s convenient that you’ve all arrived, for I’ve a feeling that our little…” he glanced at Darileen, “Mrina, is going to need some help.”

“And why,” Darileen said, rousing, “Would I want to help you?” She stood shakily, facing the direction of Joe’s voice.

“Because, if you help me, if all of you help me, I can get you off of Aspros.”

[narnianerd]

Present


"Staugh smiled "And you brought your cousin into this I see, hello Reagan, nice to see you again" at this Reagan tipped the edge of a make believe hat "Now if you excuse me I need to to strategize" Staugh said as he turned around. Then he spun and around, drew a black sword while sending a gigantic fireball flying towards Mark.

Mark blocked it with an invisible magic shield, then he retaliated by jumping forward and swinging his sword at Stags head. Reagan drew two pistol and began firing at Steel and Karl.

Steel ducked under a few bullets before jumping over a shot then punched Reagan in the face while grabbing his one hand in a attempt to stop the hazardous silver bullets flying from the semiautomatic colt pistol.

Reagan reeled back from the punch which busting his nose falling to the ground on his back, Steel jumped on top of him, trying desperately to get at Reagan's neck. at just this time Zac flew out of Reagan's coat and began spitting acid dragon spit in Steel's face.

---

Charlie found a bandana on his person and wrapped it around his head as he sat down next to Malachi "Sup?" he asked before sticking his tongue out at some random person.

The mundane with the 'I hate creeps' sign in return gave him rather mean sign. Charlie ignored it before saying "Hey, my name is Charlie" not giving the mage any time to respond to his first question.

Brad dropped to the ground and he heard gun shots firing "Once again it seems that the Ditto Town craziness has worked its magic. Fighting has once again broke out in the streets. Now we are off till we can find out more" he said after he stood up and dusted himself off.

Snoot clicked off the button on his camera "And off air!" he said "Who in the blazes fired those shots! I knew coming to Ditto Town was a bad idea, he added looking around at the rest of the people. They had barely flinched at the sound of gun shots and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

---

Aspros

Desperado jumped up and began listening attentively when Joe spoke of getting off of Aspros "And how do you intend on doing this?" the sane part of him asked before Bob took over again and said "Who cares! Anything to get off this cursed island!"

[PrinceCor004]

Present

As soon as Staugh began fighting with the two elves, Karl had begun transforming. Unfortunately, Mark's little friend had begun shooting at him with silver bullets and two of the nasty metal shells had found their mark: one in the Hybrid's shoulder and one in his chest. Karl wasted no time in quickly digging the two bullets out of his flesh as he finished transforming. The now hulking, black bipedal wolf with bat wings let out a menacing snarl as he dug out the last bullet. Now it's time to fight!

Karl lunged for the small dragon flying around Steel's face, but failed to grab it. The Hybrid quickly lunged into the air to follow the small lizard and with a quick swat of his massive claws sent the flying pest careening back to the ground.

Seeing as how Staugh was busy with the new elf, Karl dived down, caught the falling dragon and threw the creature at Mark. Fighting fellow Unnaturals was always a thrill, but getting maimed by two elves was not in the Hybrid's plan. Besides, he needed to be at his best for his next encounter with Neal.

So, after swooping down and making a half hearted swipe at Mark, Karl left the alleyway brawl to be finished by Staugh and Steel. As the Hybrid flew over the crowded town, he landed on the top of the fountain in the middle of the Square. Karl merely stayed long enough to let out a bone chilling howl, which caught the attention of some of the nearby protesters (as intended), before leaving for the countryside.

The day had turned out well, even with some minor interruptions. What I need now is to find a farm with plenty of fresh livestock.... With this comforting thought, Karl made his way to a small red barn he could see on the horizon. The Hybrid began salivating as the sound and aromas of fresh beef and pork met his ears and nose as he slowly began descending towards the barn.....

---------------
Aspros

Desmond raised an eyebrow at Joe's offer of leaving the island. "This can actually be done with the assistance of.... her." The Darkling inquired nodding at Darileen.

[Bookwyrm]

Malachi was distracted from his flirtation with Portia by the latest arrival on the bus.

"I'm Malachi," the fire mage said, doing his best to be polite and ignore Portia sniffing his hair.

"My name's Portia. But you're too young for me. I rob many things, but cradles? Not my style," Portia interrupted and then promptly fell asleep with her head resting on Malachi's shoulder.

-----

Aspros Island

"This plan for getting off the island wouldn't be something crazy like building a raft from our corpses, would it?" Morgana asked.

[Rising_Star]

Past

"I wish there was," Thomas said, shaking his head at Kanti and looking more than a little exasperated with his sister.

Alice perked up at his words. "Really?" she asked eagerly, and before Thomas could stop her, Alice pointed her hand at Elisabeth and blinked hard.

Instantly the princess's garments transformed into ratty jeans and a dirty and torn t-shirt. On her feet were sneakers that were just barely hanging on. Her make up was gone and in its place was dirt that streaked down to her neck and down her arms. Her hair had come out of it's perfect condition and hung in matted chunks around her shoulders.

Alice smiled smugly at her creation.

Thomas choked on a laugh he tried desperately to hold back. "Um, unfortunate choice of words there," he said apologetically.

------

"Unnatural?" Ian sputtered. "But-but-but . . . Melanie and I are not Unnaturals." He looked somewhat green at the prospect.

The man chuckled. "No? How do you explain your sister's ability to imitate anything she hears or sees? How do you explain her playing Mozart's Magic Flute Opera on the piano and the flute, and Vivaldi's Four Seasons on the violin flawlessly after only hearing each piece . . . once? How do you explain her ability to fight like a martial artist when she's only seen such moves in movies?"

Ian stared at the man, his mouth gaping, as the strangeness of his sister was explained with such certainty.

"And how do you explain your ability to sense what other people are thinking? To anticipate my men's movements before they took them? You and your sister are special, Mr. Stryder."

Ian's mouth snapped shut, and he clenched his jaw. Narrowing his eyes at the man, he stopped struggling and grew still. "And what do you want from us?" Ian ground out.

"My government specializes in a unique form of military soldiers. Super-Soldiers you might say." The man chuckled again. An ominous sound. "You and your sister don't remember anything before your third birthday, is that correct?"

"Yes . . . but who does?" Ian asked, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"You were born in our lab," the man continued. "Your mother was one of our operatives. A strong-minded woman. We had no idea she would kidnap the two of you and escape our facility to hide here in this . . . quaint town."

"Are you saying . . . you created us?" Ian asked, feeling a little sick and wishing he knew where they'd taken Melanie.

"Goodness no!" The man laughed. "You were conceived just like any other child. However, we did run some . . . experiments on you both before your mother gave birth. We were extremely eager to witness the outcome. Unfortunately your mother knew us well. She hid you well. But apparently not well enough."

The man shook his head slowly. "This town is teeming with Unnaturals. It was only a matter of time before my men questioned the right people to lead us to you. I'm surprised you hadn't skipped town, however. You must have realized there was something different about you. And with the persecution of Unnaturals as it is, I'm surprised no one found out about you two sooner."

"What are you going to do with us?" Ian asked, and then suddenly blanched as the man chuckled once more.

"I believe you already know."

------

Present

Indigo couldn't help but feel a strange sort of satisfaction that Azriel was remaining behind. He didn't want to think about how Brick would react if he saw the werewolf with Lark.

Speaking of Brick . . . Indigo reached out with his mind, trying to locate his brother whom he'd told to stay in wolf form so they could communicate. He grew a little worried then, when his mind touched nothing. Brick was in human form. He hoped that didn't mean his brother was in trouble.

He ran faster, almost outdistancing Abijah. He had to consciously hold himself back so he didn't overtake the alpha. While Indigo wasn't a part of this pack, he knew he had to respect the alpha, even though he was sort of an alpha himself. In his small, unconventional family that made up his pack.

------

Caerwyn continued to hold Curse's hand lightly as the bus made its way through town. He stared impassively out the window at the crowds of people yelling and tossing eggs and rocks at the bus. His gaze intensified on one man who was shouting obscenities at them and the man suddenly doubled over with an intense headache.

A tiny smirk turned the corner of the cursed boy's mouth.

------

"Then I was alone and afraid, thinking you were dead and having nothing worth living for," Selena said solemnly. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I am not alone anymore, nor am I afraid. I have you as my husband and that is something worth living for."

------

Raphael fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "Now, there is a new reservation for Unnaturals. The buses leave tomorrow morning. I believe this would be an excellent opportunity to gather more Unnaturals into our family." His eyes shifted over to Marcus.

"If you do not wish to come, you are welcome to stay. However know that to do so will to be choosing to live alone, absent from your family." He smiled suddenly, his white teeth glistening in the dim light of the moon, their only light in the dilapidated hotel.

"We will intercept the bus heading through town once they reach the border and enter the trees. We Night's Children must move swiftly to avoid the sunlight. Immediately following our arrival, I hope that you will all encourage our fellow brothers and sisters to join our family. The more members we have, the stronger we are. Remember that."

((Marshy, I hope this is okay. Kind of bending time a bit here to make them able to join those going to the reservation. If I need to edit anything, just tell me. ))

P.S."Brooklyn!"

[narnianerd]

Present


Mark was throw off balance due to the rock hard dragon smashing into the side of his head with what felt like apocalyptic force. While he was still dazed Staugh smashed the pommel of his sword into Mark's face. While this not only sent him to his knees it also opened up the the walls around his mind.

Through these holes Staugh's mind flooded through, taking control of everything that Mark was, is and is yet to become Curse you Staugh Mark though before suddenly there was a break Staugh's concentration. Zac had latched his teeth into Staugh's calf and he wasn't letting go.

Mark pushed Staugh back out of his mind and reached up with his sword to stab Staugh strait through the stomach "Missed" Staugh growled before disappearing into dust. Mark stood up to see Steel fleeing "Coward" Reagan muttered, wiping the blood off his face then he bent to pick up Zac "Good job boy".

"Well, lets get out of here, in about two seconds police will be swarming this area" Mark said and sirens began sounding "Thrysta" he muttered and instantly the were in a whole different part of town.

"Well I need to be getting back to the coven Reagan said "Don't forget, call me if you need any help" Mark nodded and said "Good seeing you again buddy" Reagan smiled "Anytime!" then disappeared into the crowd.

Mark began walking away before muttering "Thrysta" again and disappearing only to show up again next to a shocked Brand Warn me before you come out of nowhere like that! Mark chuckled and said "Come on Brand, lets go" as he hopped on his back.

Where to? The werewolf pack is bound to be gone from the den by now Brand asked as he took off "Fly towards the den, I'll make contact with Josh" Brand didn't reply but altered his course just the same.

Josh, where are you? Mark asked his younger brother, Josh sighed, Mark had a bad habit of talking to you through mindspeak without introducing himself first on our way to Savages place, meet us on the way Mark replied Will do A few minutes later a dark shadow flew over the werewolf pack.


((OCC: Ryan: Ouch... Now Reagan's out of the coven's time stream, any idea on how to get him back in? Did all that happen last night if so I hope this doesn't mess anything up for you...))

[PrinceCor004]

After Raphael finished speaking, Marcus stepped forward. "Well, I can't break family ties, now can I?" The Warlock said as he pulled out his metal walking stick and began absently swinging it back and forth.

(((Sorry for the really short post!)))

[Marshwiggle]

Past

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…unless of course you’re comparing said woman with a princess who has just been turned into the ugly stepsister (minus the warts). Elisabeth was still pretty without makeup, but nothing at that moment could have angered her more than that- about to walk out of the door and into public in such an unfit state. Glaring intensely, the princess glanced down at her wardrobe, touched her hair, and turned to face her brother and Alice.

Kanti grimaced, trying not to laugh, “Oh…shoot.”

--

Can’t call the police- not for Unnaturals being kidnapped, that happens all the time. Cyrano thought while listening intently to the conversation. He didn’t want anything to happen to either of them but what he could do to help was another question altogether. He wished he wasn’t such a coward…but there wasn’t much he could do about that when his knees were almost knocking together just listening to the men intent on taking Ian and Melanie.

Present

The wolves and Josh reached the edge of Savage’s property in a few hours. They stopped at the same place that the earlier scout group had been staying. Naomi recognized the place and could easily see the rotating guard on Savage’s land, just ahead. She watched as Abijah nodded to Timothy. The reddish wolf disappeared into itself, transforming into a small dark kitten that padded closer before then shrinking further into a small bird that took flight and chirping, vanished over the sentry gate.

--

There weren’t many new arrivals, and once the traffic and crowds were passed, the bus made it swiftly to the outside edge of town. Terrance was glad to see the trees again. He had begun to feel a little claustrophobic with the slow pace they’d been forced into through Ditto Town. He turned to catch one last glimpse of the town before smiling. So long…

--

Zaref smiled and leaned in to kiss Selena, mindful of the angle of the sunlight coming through the bus window.

“Ok, now I’m really going to hurl…” Udi muttered and then pulled out his cell phone, “Or just upload it on youtube,” he added, chuckling until he found out that his battery was dead. “Hey, leeches- looks like we’re here,” he offered, looking at the large gate the bus had pulled up to. There was a gate there that opened after the driver scanned his id badge.

Beyond the wall was a small driveway, parking places and a large garden. The garden had a path that led to another high wall and a smaller entrance. Udi was glad that it seemed there was enough security. Latch’s men in black covered the areas from different points on the thick walls. All in all, the entry was a welcoming sight, complete with a map of what the interior of the large reservation held.

Udi disembarked eagerly and took one of the fliers that the masked soldier handed him. It seemed that they were to wait for the other Unnaturals before continuing on. Humans were not allowed to enter beyond the other door because of the special scanners that Latch had installed. “Looks like the man himself will give a speech from that veranda up there,” he offered to no one in particular, glancing up at the jutting balcony above them. “Probably wants to have us all cheer on camera before we get to go see the bad plumbing they’ve put in,” he muttered, glancing at the pictures of the houses beyond the entry.

Aspros

“That wasn’t exactly the plan,” Joe replied to Morgana sardonically. “Actually the way you get off the island is simple. I call a number on a phone I’ve smuggled in and we all get rescued by a force far more powerful than any security the human governments have put around the island. Unfortunately, the only way for these people to rescue us is if we give them something in return…something I’ve been sent here to search for.”

“You were imprisoned like the rest of us…not sent,” Darileen contended.

“Actually, I was sent to the authorities on purpose and then proceeded to bribe every person I came across until they sent me to Aspros. Seems that it actually doesn’t take too much effort to get a bloodthirsty vampire sent to a prison island…Fancy that.”

Anjali chuckled at her master’s joke, looking at the guests for a sign that they thought the comment funny too.

“So why do you need me?” Darileen questioned, feeling a little less groggy, and a little more like finding a way to escape.

“Because you, Darileen, have been sent here as well. For more than a year, I’ve known that to find this particular item on Aspros, I would need a Mrina. You see, Aspros is the original home of Mrina. You may not believe it, but this is where your kind originally lived. In fact the complex cavern and tunnel systems that fill this entire cliff are the work of your ancestors. While they lived here they hid important relics of their people in places that are said to be accessible only to Mrina. I need you- and anyone else interested in escaping to find one of these relics for me and my employer. When you bring it to me, I guarantee I will have us all off the island in less than a day.”

[qwertykate88]

Tripping down the beach, Victor muttered to himself as he moved. "Sand. Black sand," he kicked at the object of his utterance, "If I wanted to spend my time on any island, it wouldn't be this one. No, it wouldn't. It would have normal, white sand. It would have other normal beings around. It would have normal residences, with gigantic beds and running water. But since when do I spend time doing anything normal? Never!"

A black cloud trailed behind him, looming gloomily. "I spend my time with un-normal beings who get themselves lost!" he shouted, stomping further up the shore. "How does a small person who can't even see get lost, you ask? I... well, I have absolutely no idea."

Victor stopped, the cloud slowly dissipating. He was, in truth, slightly worried about Darileen. Her voice was the last thing he remembered before he had hit his head and when he had woken, she wasn't there. He had no idea what had happened to her, but he was determined to find out.

Besides, it wasn't as if he had anything else to do with his time.

[Marshwiggle]

Past

“Change me back- right now you little imp!” Elisabeth said, looking darkly at Alice.

“Well I’m leaving- anyone interested in focusing on vampires instead of the royal wardrobe is welcome to come along,” Kanti resolved, heading towards the door. She passed the fuming princess and opened the door.

Present

Timothy came back in half an hour, panting as he put on the clothes he’d left on the edge of the forest. He ran back to the wolves, still getting one arm through his shirt. “Something’s wrong! The guards were rushing around and it looks like there was an ambulance there too. They said something- something about a pregnant girl…Savage is gone though-”

Naomi moved closer to Indigo, nudging him with her snout. The pregnant girl was most likely Lark. She wasn’t sure how they’d break the news to Abijah though. Reluctantly she trotted into the woods and changed into the clothes she’d brought, hurrying out with a grim expression.

“Abijah…that girl is Lark. We found out when we were here before- Lark is pregnant.”

“Oh…drama,” Timothy sighed.

After a momentary silence, Abijah roughly pushed Timothy with his snout and then raised his head into the air. A long, haunting howl filled the air.

“I get it, I get it,” Timothy offered, sprouting feathers as he quickly transformed back into a bird and flew towards Savage’s property. He knew Abijah wanted him to go and open the gates. It’d be the only way to get to Lark before the ambulance took her away. If those humans found out what she was…

Pushing the thought away, Timothy soared over the gate once again and landed in human form on the other side. The few guards there, too surprised at the appearance of naked man, were unprepared for the quick moves he executed to disarm them before knocking them out. Breathing heavily, Timothy stood over their bodies smiling, “I still got it.”

It was only a few minutes before Abijah and the rest heard the howling signal from Timothy. Taking one last look at Josh and the two wolves, he turned and trotted out from the trees and towards the open gate.

[narnianerd]

present


Mark and Brand landed in the small clearing, crushed a few trees on the side of the Forrest away from Savage's property "Whats going on?" Mark asked Josh as he jumped off his dragon.

Josh shook his head and whispered "Beats me, apparently one of their captured pack members is pregnant or something and that has put them all into reckless mode"

"Great" he said as he turned to Naomi "Should we follow them" he asked, utterly confuzed.

---

Reagan knew that his coven members were going to be getting on the unnatural bus so he ran after it and caught it just as it was going out of the town limits "Hey wait up!" he yelled after it.

[Rising_Star]

Past

"Okay, okay," Alice said, shaking her head. "You're such a spoiled brat. But he needs to make the wish." She pointed to Thomas.

Thomas was tempted to just leave Elisabeth like that, but he knew she'd get back at him later somehow. "Uh, I wish my sister . . . looked like normal."

Alice rolled her eyes and nodded at Elisabeth. The princess's clothes changed to normal jeans and a light pink t-shirt and regular sneakers. The dirt disappeared and her hair smoothed and straightened until it hung down her shoulders.

"Uh, that's not how she looked before," Thomas pointed out.

"You said normal," Alice said with a shrug, starting to follow Kanti out the door.

"I meant normal for her," Thomas said desperately, glancing at his sister and hoping she wasn't mad at him as he followed.

"Well, you should've been more specific," Alice said unconcernedly, not looking back at them.

------

"Say farewell to Ditto Town, Mr. Stryder," the man said as his soldiers injected Ian with some sort of sedative. "You won't be seeing it again for a long, long time."

Ian struggled against the sedative, but it was fast working and he felt himself growing limp, his vision darkening. He tried to cry out for help, but his lips felt like lead. Instead his mind yelled,

Help! Somebody! Help us!

The man grimaced and touched his forehead, Ian's words broadcasting without his knowledge into the mind of everyone in the building. He nodded and one of his soldiers slammed his fist into Ian's head, silencing the cry as Ian fell completely unconscious. Then, as one, the men lifted Ian's body and carried him out the way Melanie had been taken.

The man smoothed his hand over his hair, his eyes looking suddenly toward the water fountains where Cyrano was hidden. He narrowed his eyes slightly and took a step forward, before his cell phone rang. He stepped back and turned, following his men out as he answered and spoke low into it.

------

Present

Indigo stiffened at Timothy's report, wondering if there was something wrong with Lark. He barely felt Naomi's nudge as he was concentrating too hard on not barreling towards the facility on his lonesome.

As it was, when he heard the signal he leaped forward, almost overtaking Abijah. He had to make a conscious effort to stay slightly behind the alpha, even as every muscle in his body was screaming at him to go faster and rescue Lark.

------

Selena did her best not to feel apprehensive as the bus pulled to a stop inside the gate. She hesitated, not standing just yet as she wondered how Zaref was supposed to get inside if the sun was still out.

------

Raphael led his clan to the edge of the road, deep inside the woods. He stood there, still as a marble statue as he waited for the bus to appear. Mihael shifted on his feet slightly as he stood just behind his friend. The fact that they were shaded by trees did nothing to ease his anxiety. One misstep and Raphael could go up in flames.

Heavy blankets rested over the shoulders of the vampires, which they had used to cover themselves while hurrying from shadowed alley to shadowed alley on their way out of town.

Sofia stood to the side of Mihael, holding a heavy chain in her hands. Every once in a while she'd glance behind her at the end of the chain, where a pretty, blonde young woman crouched beside a tree, her lips pulled back in a snarl, her eyes shining pure hatred as she looked upon Raphael. It was only the metal collar around her neck that stopped her from attacking the vampire, for the chain was enchanted by the sorceress. One pull on it sent a sparkle of silver dust into the air, burning where it touched the woman's skin.

[Marshwiggle]

Past

“Fine, let’s just go,” Elisabeth said and followed the rest out of the room. She really couldn’t complain knowing that matted hair and dirty clothes were just a wish away. “I just hope Senator Latch doesn’t see me in this,” she muttered.

For all of Kanti’s worrying, there were not many stares as they made their way to the tavern. The entrance was blocked and police tape had been wrapped around almost everything by an overzealous rookie…but there was no one on site to tell them no when they ducked under the tape and entered the bar.

“Lovely,” Elisabeth commented, eyeing the chalk outlines of bodies and the still-evident blood stains. “What could do this?” she asked. Even though she feared vampires, the idea of them being able to cause this kind of destruction seemed absurd.

“There was more than one…if that makes you feel better,” Kanti offered, moving to the walls to find the marks. “Don’t touch anything- just look for marks like the ones in the hotel…”

--

Cyrano swallowed. He was relieved that they were gone…and that feeling almost made him gag. Since when did you become such a coward? When did you decide that it was ok for anyone to get hurt as long as it wasn’t you? He questioned himself angrily, hitting the wall in the safety of the silence. Recovering his thoughts, he stepped out into the vacated hallway. He stood facing the hallway that the men had disappeared into, knowing they couldn’t be that far ahead. In a moment, he followed, mind resolved.

Present

Naomi barely processed the question. “Yes,” she said firmly and ran forward, undressing and morphing at almost the same moment as she passed onto Savage property. She ran towards the open gates, passing through just after Abijah and Indigo had reached them. Slowing, she looked around, noting Timothy had joined them. He nodded to the pack and then trotted towards another, human-sized door in a large gate that surrounded two fairly plain looking buildings. In the distance, Naomi could spot the ambulance lights flashing near the far structure. Without a pause, she shifted, pulled on the sundress she’d been carrying and held the door open for Timothy who had shifted into kitten form. There were no guards around to stop them but she assumed they were probably ahead trying to deal with their own emergency.

--

Terrance looked up as the bus stopped for Reagan. Luckily, there was plenty of room left. Latch’s planned ‘great exodus’ wasn’t turning out to be as dramatic as the politician had planned.

--

“Hey, aren’t you two coming?” Udi asked when the vampires didn’t disembark. He pointed towards the first gate. “They’ve got a covered porch going around the edge of the garden in there. Enough shade for your kind.”

“It’ll be alright,” Zaref said to Selena, his head disappearing further into the large hood of his cloak.

[Rising_Star]

Past

Alice stepped lightly around the room, her bright eyes scanning everything in sight.

"What's with you and the Senator anyway?" Thomas asked, scowling slightly as he glanced at his sister.

"Found something!" Alice's lilting voice rang out like a small bell. She pointed a pale finger to the wall in front of her.

------

Present

Indigo didn't wait for Abijah this time. As soon as he saw the flashing lights of the ambulance in the distance, all he thought of was Lark and the fact that she might be hurt. The fear that she would be gone before he could get to her. The look on Brick's face if Indigo had to tell him they lost another member of their family. These thoughts and fear spurred him forward until he was sprinting toward the ambulance as fast as he could.

------

Selena nodded slowly and stepped off the bus. She immediately released Zaref's hand and stepped a couple steps away as the instant the sun hit her skin it reflected off her as though she were made of a billion tiny diamonds. Afraid the reflection could hurt Zaref more, she used her vampire speed to run to the shaded area, stopping abruptly once she got there and her skin returned to its normal pallor.

P.S. "Brooklyn!"

[Marshwiggle]

Past

Elisabeth rolled her eyes at Thomas. “He’s young, handsome, influential and extremely amiable…is there any need to ask?”

Kanti raised her eyebrows at Elisabeth’s retort and then hurried over to see what Alice had found. She looked at the picture on her cell phone for a moment. “I wouldn’t say for certain until there was thorough examination, but they look like the same exact marks. Looks like the vampire has been having itself a little rampage.”

The door to the tavern swung open and a teenage girl charged in before realizing that there were others present. Shocked, Bryony met the eyes of Thomas and then turned around as her father came in after her.

“Bryony, why here? You shouldn’t run off-” Basil stopped mid-sentence and looked around the room apprehensively.

Present

Abijah squeezed himself through the small door of the gate and loped onward behind Indigo. Naomi followed, not shifting with the thought that there might be a need to communicate with whoever was taking care of Lark. The thoughts were suddenly interrupted as something cut into her shoulders. She was knocked to the ground, frantically grasping at what seemed to be a pair of hooks attached to towing cable. There was a tug, and with horrified realization, she looked towards the source. A group of men were pulling her towards them. They had appeared, it seemed, out of the ground and were now aiming their weapons at-

Abijah collapsed with a thud as the hooks sank deep into his flesh and pushed him irresistibly to the ground before dragging him back. He glanced behind, wolf eyes taking in the form of Naomi, screaming and writhing as the same operation was performed on her. She lay still now at the feet of the men and with a great roar he lunged towards them. Something hit his shoulder…a dart? And he knew nothing else.

[Rising_Star]

Past

"And you're incredibly shallow," Thomas told Elisabeth, never having had a good feeling about the Senator. He looked up as a girl burst into the Tavern. His eyes went automatically to Alice and he was relieved to find she'd disappeared, though he hoped she was just invisible and hadn't teleported anywhere.

He took a step toward Bryony hesitantly, thinking she looked a lot paler than he remembered her being.

"Bryony? I know you . . . you were knitting in the cafe in the hotel," Thomas said, wondering where the strange woman was who'd been with the girl.

-----

Present

Indigo was almost to the ambulance when he heard Naomi's scream. He skidded to a stop and looked behind him, torn between getting to Lark and helping the girl who reminded him so much of his sister . . .

With a roar of frustration and anger, he turned and loped back, leaping on one of the men and tearing into him with a fury Indigo didn't know he possessed. He didn't get a chance to attack any of the others before a dart hit his shoulder. He howled and turned on the men once more, leaping for them, but two more darts hit him and then a third and he hit the ground with a thud and lay still.

P.S."Brooklyn!"