Together Again {Dante & Pure}

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

good news is, i'm getting that tooth pulled. 8B

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXXShiro gave a cheer and grinned brightly at Jake as he finished hacking through the software, wanting to give the kid all the high fives and praise he could, but opting instead for keeping it calm and just giving him a thumbs up. At Bander tossing him the crutches, the white haired feline gave a relieved sigh and adjusted them for himself rather easily. Taking a few cautious steps, he blinked when Sheik came over and turned off the display, grinning sheepishly. "oh, i forgot that was even on...." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head and grinning awkwardly now.

"I've always compared it to dunking one's head underwater. You can't hear or see anything, but you can feel the pulses of objects around you so you know they're making a splash." Niji murmured, trying to explain the sensations as best she could. It was hard to word, the way the world was for her. Everything on her left was a muffled blob most of the time, but if she tilted her head just right, it was as if the snatch had never attacked her at all. "Kana, wait for me..." she mumbled, the sound of water sloshing the last thing people heard as their little game of telephone ended.

"hurry up then, kitten, and you can help me get Krystina all dressed up, too." Kana smiled, grinning when the ball of purple bounded up after her and the four girls headed into the lockers. "go grab her clothes and yours and we'll get dressed." she hummed, shrugging to herself as she pulled undergarments and the dress that had been left in her locker. It wasn't really her style to wear skirts, but that was what she'd been left with. Turning to the unconscious blonde behind her, she smiled as Niji came back out in a rather large orange sweater and baggy yellow pants, carrying a rather frilly blouse and skirt combo in her hands. "thanks, kitten, here, go put these away for me." she hummed, handing the little lady hers and Krystina's towels before starting to dress her friend.

Toddling off to put away the towels, Niji could only laugh as she spotted Lianna wrestling Rissa into a very lacy garment, nearly falling to the floor at the sight of the blonde in such clothes. "y'look like a doll that's hair got dunked in kool-aid, Rissa." she snorted, dropping the towels and rushing out of the lockers in a peel of laughter as the elemental came chasing after her, floofy skirt bouncing with every step. Squealing as she was caught, the kitten could only laugh as she was hung upside down by her ankle. "take it back, runt or i'll tickle you." "I surrender i surrender! don't tickle me, i'll bite you!" The duo didn't seem to notice the faerie behind them laughing herself to tears on the floor, the bright pink dress she wore splayed out on the floor.

"You mind if I come with you? I want to make sure my sister is alright..." Skylar mumbled, following after Lucian and Hayden as his wings tucked up behind him. Pausing a moment to grab the clothes that were left for him in the locker, he shrugged briefly and pulled the pants on with little issue, foregoing the shirt for the moment since he would have to adjust it for his wings. Hurrying to catch up with the others, he pulled one of his feathers out of his wing with little wince and went to work making holes in the back so that his wings could sit comfortably. It was always a pain hiding them for too long.

"oohhh it's a good thing the girls didn't hear you...." Kuro mumbled, green eyes aglow with mischief. "Can't imagine what the princess would do if she found out her family was already crumbling to bits. Or wha- actually, i know exactly what that one would do." he snorted, the image in his head of Kana getting pissed making him laugh to himself. "You guys are gonna have your hands full of stubborn ladies if you don't watch yourselves." he warned, stepping out of the water to shake off like his brothers had, grabbing his cigarettes on the way to the door.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

Well, that's good. It won't bug you anymore.

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx

The Assassins
Sheik, Trevor, Watari,
Lucian, Runealis

&

The Allies
Ephraim, Shayde,
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne

"It's fine. Just so long as you don't hurt yourself," Sheik responded with a faint flicker of a smile at the white haired feline. Returning to a more solemn expression, the strawberry blonde haired male nodded slightly at Niji's words before slightly readjusting the towel around his waist. "It'd be best explained as being like when you're beneath the surface of the water, Rayne. Unlike with little Niji, however, he's trained himself like an assassin; see without sight, hear without sound, feel without touch. In shorter terms, it's a great deal more of an advanced sensory training than most use." Glancing at Kuro when he started speaking of his niece and the other girls, he briefly rubbed his upper arm. Right. Truth and Deception wouldn't get to know him that well... Sighing softly to himself, he headed into the locker room and started getting dressed in silence.

"It's alright with me and he has no complaints," Lucian responded over his shoulder as the duo continued onwards. By the time Skylar caught up, Hayden was watching the scene being put on display by the girls and Lucian was sniffing the air to try getting a good reading on the scents floating amok. At noting a faint trace of his companion tensing slightly, the werewolf glanced at him then began his series of taps and scribbles on the side of his arm. This got the darker haired male to start his own series of scribbles and taps during a pause. "Please don't go biting anyone yet. I gotta get your normal scents down first before I get the scent of y'all's blood settled in." "Girl. Fifteen at most and very bright. Woman. Eighteen in appearance, but a sense of greater wisdom. Woman. Same as the previous one only with a more angular body structure, face included." "Feline. Elemental. Fey. Any look like our guy?" "Correct. And not yet, no."

The short talk between the two ended there, but Hayden's gaze never shifted from the black haired faerie laughing silently on the floor. What was behind the gaze, none could really place unless they were the werewolf attached to his arm and that was only because he had his arm tightened around the blonde's arm a bit. Unlike Hayden, however, Lucian was listening to the sounds of water sloshing and splashing around followed by the sounds fabric moving around. Then out stepped Deception in a dark purple cocktail dress just a couple of inches above her knees. "I'm gonna kill this lady that's lending us these clothes. A dress? And not just a dress, but a cocktail dress?! I look like a hooker," she seethed, her fists clenched tightly around the four inch heels that'd been left behind with the dress. At seeing the two assassins standing in wait, her brow furrowed slightly only for the heels to go flying towards the dark haired one. Lucian hit one out of the air, but the other hit Hayden in the chest making him glance down at it with a raised brow. "Sorry. Why'd you toss those at him?" "Because." "What?" "Stranger danger?" "Lulu, what's going on? I was just hit with a shoe." "I don't-" "He needs to go bye bye, Sky. Like right now. If he stays, I wouldn't so much as trust him with the clothes on his back." "Watch it, little girl. Besides, you have no say on whether we stay or go. We're here for Sheik, not you." "Heel. I've no idea what she said, but don't let it get to you."

Frowning slightly as he watched Lurtz lifting up Jacoby's visor then walking him and Cloud into the locker room, Trevor sighed softly at Kuro's words. Like his brother, he already put together that his daughters wouldn't know him long. Part of him had hoped they'd never met him so as to avoid only knowing him a short time, but now it was unavoidable. "And we can't necessarily stay vague with them either. She's with them after all," he mumbled to himself before finally following suit and starting to get dressed. Every now and then, he'd glance at Sheik from the corner of his eye and could simply tell he was in the same mindset. It was here Watari glanced up at the boys getting dressed. "It's not something any of us can change. To be brutally honest, it's actually something that she brought back that's cut the time he's stalled for so much shorter. She'd feel guilty if she knew so just keep your mouth shut about it." "Just be prepared for all Hell to break loose during that remaining time. I can't say much for after it as it's not something I'll be a part of. They'll be unhappy about it, of that I'm certain, but it has to be this way. So as Watari said, just keep your mouth shut about what's been said outside of their hearing. They don't need to know." Shutting his locker, Sheik marched right on out to the main hall with Watari hot on his heels. There, they watched the scene unfold between the girls and the duo of assassins making them both facepalm. Children.

The Opposition, the Neutral & the Changed
Cloud, Lurtz, Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby, Cheshire, Hagen

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

mhm~

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXXPulling on a pair of slightly baggy jeans, Bander glanced over at Sheik and rose an eyebrow. "Y'know, even if you don't get to be around them as long as you'd like, i'm sure the twins will be happy to know you for that little bit of time. All they've wanted since they left was to find their family after all." he hummed, grabbing Shiro by the back of the shirt he'd put on and dragging him out. Old habits die hard.

"Not to mention Deception will blow a gasket if she doesn't get the truth. She hates lies of omission just as much as full blown ones." Kuro breathed, pulling on his clothes as quick as he could and putting his false hand back on. "There, that's better."

Looking up from her spot on the ground, the faerie tilted her head to the side at the two in front of her and stood, brushing off her dress before smacking Rissa and Niji upside the head. Smiling when the blonde set the kitten down, she glanced back at Deception and shook her head.

Finally pulling the shirt over his head, Skylar blinked at the shoe thrown towards the newcomers and then tilted his head at Deception's words before everything clicked to him. So, no one else knew. Ah crap. "Sorry Dee, can't help you. You're gonna have to take that one up with your uncle. This is out of my hands." he mumbled, holding up his hands as if he were surrendering to her.

Stepping up beside her sister in a blue cocktail dress, Truth gave a huff. "Worse. You look like a twin hooker." she grunted, shaking her hair to get the last of the water out of it. "Whoever thought it was funny to make us dress the same is gonna get this high heel up their backside." she mumbled, before blinking and looking at the two new people and the shoe laying on the ground. "Oh. crap. Sorry about my sister uh.... just... ignore what she's saying..." she breathed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Will you two dorks move? She might be light, but even my arms get tired!" Kana snapped, pushing her way between the twins with Krystina in her arms. Sniffing lightly, she looked at the blond boy before glancing to where Niji was hiding behind Rissa. "Well, so much for first impressions.... Sorry about these guys coming off as rude, it's hard to remember manners when you're not around new people a lot. Deception, whatever you're picking up on, you hold it to yourself until you and Truth are alone. They're allowed to have their secrets, just like the rest of us. I don't give a damn if you don't trust him, you're not the one he's here to protect." she mumbled, handing Krystina off to Rissa so she could turn to look at the twins again.

Stepping out from behind Rissa, the kitten stepped up to the two new people and rubbed at her bad ear. "....you're like me... I don't get to meet a lot of people like me...." she mumbled, chewing on her lip as she kept glancing over at the lycan. Curiosity had won out over her fear, but that didn't mean it had just gone away. She was still cautious.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

Bumpity~

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx

The Assassins
Sheik, Trevor, Watari,
Lucian, Runealis

&

The Allies
Ephraim, Shayde,
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne

Of course someone would say the girls would like getting to know him even if the time was short. Adding that they'd wanted to find their family since they left wasn't exactly helping their case any either. Truth and Deception had only just learned of the existence of their uncle and second cousin. Trevor didn't talk about family after all. In fact, he most likely avoided it like the plague. There was no reason to see if that were true or not. "That's where we differ, boys. I'd rather we never met after never knowing each other until now," Sheik responded in a low voice as he glanced out the corner of his eye towards Bander and Shiro. "As for Deception, she'll have to get used to it." "There are some things they'd be better off not knowing. Besides, it isn't a lie. You're just not telling her under the instructions of Trevor, Watari and myself so y'all can still talk and reproduce." "He's kidding about removing your tongues and whatnot. In a less kind manner of speaking, he's saying she can get all Polly Pissypants with us if anyone."

"So Sheik's brother wasn't just listing random names. Good to know," Lucian murmured softly to himself before giving a thumbs up. Hayden merely copied the motion with a smile. Might as well ignore the incident with the shoe. "It's all good. It wasn't that hard of a toss, just really well timed. The sound of the second shoe was drowned out by the first getting closer. That means I'm slacking. Training picks up after examinations and scents, alright? Good. I'm Lulu and this is Hades. Nice to meet y'all. I'm serious about needing your scents sometime within the next twenty-four hours though so I don't confuse you for an enemy. I think I should be glad I have no idea what a hooker looks like." "You should be. Auntie gave me a whole seminar about watching out for them. They aren't under the category of a hooker in appearance. Behavior disagrees with said label as well. Unladylike is more like it... She's here." "Vampire...?" "Heel. That's our target. Um... Lulu, I think she's looking at us..." Blinking away the sharp yellow-gold of his eyes, Lucian glanced towards where Niji's voice came from before sniffing and starting to scratch the top of his head. The young feline... "Like you? ... Oh. You mean impaired, having a disability. Thanks for pointing that out... But yeah. He's my eyes and I'm his ears." "Don't get all moody about it. This is what they'll do. Considering she's partial, I'm hoping this won't be as awkward as your brother and sister talking slowly like I was stupid." "Or your aunt talking colors then apologizing incessantly to me with a tone that made it sound like she kicked a puppy." "Ugh. That was so annoying..." "Either way, you can pass her to me. I'm gonna be taking examinations of all of you anyways to check your current conditions." "He's a medic and will need to get to know y'all better if you're gonna be around."

"Not the point, Truth. And don't tell them to ignore me. That guy's very presence was just-," Deception retorted with a scowl, her finger directing itself towards the Romanian. Her words were cut short, however, by Sheik grabbing her hand and swiftly smacking her in the forehead. "Idiot." "What?! But-" "Stop opening your mouth. All that's coming out is stupid, naivety and hot air." "Hey! That's rude!" "Settle down. I swear, this family has a flair for the dramatic. Deception, there's nothing wrong with him. You're probably being influenced by some negativity lingering from vampire noblemen in this place. Relax." "It wasn't... But he... And the... Ugh. I officially hate dad's side of the family." "Ouch." "And there's the mix of stupidity and hot air. Ignore her, Watari." "And I'm not letting a dog feel me up." "Lycan and yes, you will. He's necessary to have around and he has to take a different approach to medicinal needs. I just don't wanna hear any bitching about him accidentally killing someone or being unable to keep someone alive because they opted not to get checked out."

Appearing behind the strawberry blonde Sheikah, Trevor's eye twitched before he set his knuckles against the sides of his head and started rubbing them at a quick pace. Sheik's reaction to the double noogie seemed almost childlike, his arms flailing as he chanted his pleas for his elder brother to stop. "Stop picking on my girls," he huffed before finally stopping, his younger brother having seated himself in a corner with his hands on the sides of his head and an air about him that seemed to say he was sulking. Watari was holding up his hands in surrender at his cousin in the hopes he wouldn't do the same thing to him. "It's kind of sad he still does that even when he knows it's coming. A good distraction from some negativity though. He'll sulk for a while, but he'll be fine. Ephie or Shayde, I think we're good to go." "Are you picking on Sheik again? He might act tough, but he's still a big child on the inside." "Shut up... That really hurts." "Sorry."

The Opposition, the Neutral & the Changed
Cloud, Lurtz, Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby, Cheshire, Hagen

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXXRather than argue the issue, Kuro just rolled his shoulders and put his hand back on its stump, wiggling the four working fingers for a moment before flipping his brothers off. Pulling his clouds on quickly, he rushed out after the others to see what the commotion was. Stopping a little behind Trevor, his eyes narrowed on Deception and he grinned. "Lookit you, Dee! All gussied up and fancy~" he chuckled, mischief in his bright green eyes.

XXXXX"Easy does it, Kuro, I'm not helping you out if she tries to kill you," banded breathed, padding up behind his youngest brother in a black t-shirt and jeans. Glancing to the girls for a second, he smiled at seeing Kansei come padding out in her panther form to sit beside Niji. Seems she had an issue with the clothing that had been left for her.

XXXXX"Sorry, I forget not everyone likes to talk about their disabilities" the child chimed, giving a small bow before standing straight and looking at Krystina. "She won't treat you bad just because of the feud between lycans and vampires, she's better than that," She hummed, chewing on her lip as she tugged the sleeves of the large sweater up.

XXXXXTugging on his shirt, the winged boy glanced around for a second as if picking up on some unknown presence before settling back down, the wings on his feathers puffing up for a moment. He suddenly had the feeling something was waiting for them back at Trevor's house, and it wasn't good.

XXXXXStepping forwards with Krystina, Rissa blew some hair from her face before looking at the two new guys. "You're a lot skinnier than I imagined you'd be..." She mumbled, readjusting her grip on the blonde before looking behind her at Lianna. The faerie had suddenly become much more attached to her hip than usual. In fact, she almost seemed to be hiding behind her. And was that a blush on her face? "Lee? Even I need room to breathe, girl," she murmured, smiling when the fae took a step back, almost hiding herself in her hair. "What's with you all of a sudden?"

XXXXX"Daddy, don't be mean to your brother. Or I'll stop talking to you." Truth frowned, crossing her arms as she looked between her father and her uncle. Letting out a low sigh, she then turned to her uncle and smiled at him. "While I understand your intentions were to get her to stop, she's still my sister, so please be nicer next time," she hummed, the smile fading into a more serious look. "Or I won't be so nice, myself." The redhead seemed almost oblivious to the dark air she gave off as she threatened both her father and her uncle. Turning back to her twin, the ginger gave a huff and pulled a hand through her hair. "I know you don't like it, but we honestly don't get a choice right now, so please just try and make the best of this for once? I want to make this living at home thing work, please?" She mumbled, taking Deception's hand in her own as she pulled out the sweet-sister-act.

XXXXXWalking over to sheik, Kana didn't say anything as she held out her hand, a chunk of ice forming for him. Once the ice was out of her hands, she leaned against the wall and glanced over to her family and friends to stick her tongue out. They could all be so childish, and truth could be absolutely horrid about people hurting or insulting her family.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx

The Assassins
Sheik, Trevor, Watari,
Lucian, Runealis

&

The Allies
Ephraim, Shayde,
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne

Scratching his ear as Deception shot Kuro a death glare, Lucian frowned slightly at the small feline's words. "No. It's not... It's not exactly discussing it that bothers me, but more like the reminder that while I can do certain things, there are still things that I will never be able to experience. Hades got me past the depression of feeling absolutely useless. He's my own little guardian angel," he corrected a bit hesitantly before lightly squeezing the Romanian's arm as a calming measure. The faerie didn't know apparently and so he had nothing to fear. Hayden merely shrugged slightly as if nothing said really made him think of it as a big deal. Instead, he tapped Lulu's earring and caught a soccer ball on his foot. Tossing it up and catching it on his foot a few times, he held up a finger to the girls before releasing Lulu's arm, tossing it up higher and making a quick flip-kick so as to send it as a projectile towards the ones bickering. After bouncing around the room and hitting Trevor, Sheik, Shayde, Truth, Deception and Kuro, he caught it under his foot just to kick it back up and flick Lucian's earring again.

"If anyone's going to threaten someone, it's going to be me telling you to cease and desist the childish behavior before some accidents start occurring," he smiled over his shoulder as the ball vanished and he lifted one of the werewolf's arms up towards Rissa. "We were serious when we asked you to hand her over. You're already cross-contaminating scents he needs by passing her around like you are." This got him a light swat to the chest by the werewolf before he motioned Rissa to hand him Krystina. "It's alright. I just caught a present vampiric scent and I automatically slid into a defensive nature. Didn't realize it was her that carried it. Quite honestly, I don't like this bathhouse at all 'cause that's a main scent, but it's better we were dropped off here rather than having a couple of large wolves shapeshifting into a couple of nude dudes in his yard. I heard Time lives in a pretty decent neighborhood of civies." "He means Sheik's older brother and humans oblivious to the supernatural and the brotherhood." "One of two men I'm amazed by and aspire to be even though I'm blind. The other is his ancestor, Runealis Sareila, the infamous undying assassin." "Not exactly the best of idols if I do say so myself. Loyalty wasn't a strong suit for him after all." "He was more than loyal. He practically imprinted on the brotherhood and they screwed him over. That's what they do; use and abuse... By the way, you're not what I imagined either." His last comment got both Hayden and Lucian to give a soft chuckle in sync with each other before the Romanian's eyes shifted briefly over to Skylar then back to Lianna.

"Ugh. Fine. You're such a baby, princess," Deception grumbled while briefly rubbing her thigh from where the soccer ball hit her. Trevor was rubbing his lower back, Shayde lying on his back on the floor with a hand on his forehead and Sheik having simply set the small chunk of ice over his left kidney after having softly thanked Kana. Sighing heavily, Ephraim climbed out of Bander's shadow and shifted to where he was standing in the middle of the large group. "Some of us actually work if you idiots would like to quit with the bickering. Close your eyes and hold your breath if you don't wanna die also." Leaving it at that, he made a quick clap of his hands in front of him making a large shadow swallow up everyone else's shadows. Just as quickly, it swallowed up everyone and spat them back out as they'd been at the bathhouse only in Trevor's den. Starting for the door, the teen gave a soft snort. "Still as stupid as when you were still a brat, princess. That was nice. You break Trevor again, I'm gonna break your face then kill you myself." "You're our age, Ephie, so don't act like you're older than us and so much wiser. And you can talk the talk, but ya can't-"

Turning on his heel, he marched right on back over to Deception and gave her a good shove so she'd flop down on the couch. "I can walk the walk too, Dee. I'll bite the bullet long enough to do it. He'll never be the same because of you and your b***h of a mother. I was asked to restrain myself, to never hit you and to keep you in the dark about what we do so I complied. That ends with that threat whether she actually intended to follow through or not. You're just two stupid little girls trying to act tough in a world you only vaguely know exists. I'd tell you to return to your tea parties and dolls, but you're already too deep into the fray."

Reaching over to grab the angry informant's arm, Trevor frowned when it got slapped away. "Ephie..." Shaking his head, the copper haired male's hand shot forwards and jabbed two fingers into Trevor's chest. "Don't. Just stop coddling them, Trevor. You're not you anymore because of them and you never will be. Until they grow up, you're not teaching them anything. I'll die before they get anything involving the brotherhood much less the Sheikah. You're not just handing it to them on a silver ******** platter like you did everything else. The reason I like Five Finger Death Punch so much? They have it right. I tried to numb the pain, but I can't get away, hiding behind this disguise. The games I had to play, the hell I had to pay; everything comes with a price. I'm th-"

Slapping a hand over where his mouth would be, Trevor tapped the boy's chest with a finger making him glance down to see the multi-colored sparks dancing around the currently glowing seal located there. "Got it. You can calm down now. You're getting pissy and it's stressing you out which is activating your seals. Seriously, boy, you gotta settle down. They'll take you away again if you don't and you won't get back out. I was lucky the first time." With that said, he pulled Ephraim forwards to set his forehead against his shoulder and gently pat the back of his head. Trevor then scratched the side of his neck while chuckling nervously about everything he'd said."Sorry. He's changed quite a bit since y'all were children. It gets really bad if he stretches himself too thin in his information network and doesn't get much, if not any, sleep. This is why I stress for him to eat, take a bath and rest when he stops by the house. I'll get him right on back in bed and-"

"Trevor, he's right. They need the cold, hard truth. For someone who wants the whole family living together again to work out, someone sure ain't making it seem like they actually care about the consequences of just hearing those words uttered will do to your mental stability after the damage already done," Cloud sighed heavily before tapping his boot on the ground just so a large sword would hop out of the floor, his hand catching the hilt and sliding it into the leather straps on his lower back. Lurtz had simply picked Jacoby up and had him in one arm as if prepped for something to attack. "Good people died because of me turning a blind eye so think of the damage you're doing to them... Talk to me, Lurtz. What's on the menu?" "Twelve currently closing in. Most are human. Others are certain to follow though their species isn't set in stone." "Meh. Well, I guess it's still better to keep my sword around so long as Sheik's around. It's easier blocking certain things with my sword than to rely solely on your ability to dodge. I'm gonna have to say, it's pretty irritating how you keep from drawing a weapon much less use something that doesn't just stun people magic-wise." "I've been doing my utmost to avoid leveling a large space. Do you not recall what damage I did with a sword?" "Right. You cleared a whole forest..."

The Opposition, the Neutral & the Changed
Cloud, Lurtz, Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby, Cheshire, Hagen

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXX"oh... I suppose that makes sense..." the little cheshire mumbled, nodding softly before jumping when the ball began bouncing across the small hallway, her tail poofing up as her good ear flattened itself against her head. "d-don't do that!" she squeaked, hugging her now very poofy tail against her chest. It was hard enough for her to be so close to someone who smelled so strongly of wolf, but then to have something go flying around when she was out of practice sensing things on her blinded half made her paranoid beyond belief.

"oi, watch it!" Kuro grumbled, having held up his hand to block the ball from hitting him in the face. Tail stopped between his legs, the cat glanced to where his sister was and couldn't hide the look on his face at seeing her so worked up. She was really stepping out of her comfort zone just to talk to these new people.

"sorry, there's a lot going on, I got distracted," Rissa mumbled, sliding Krystina's sleeping figure into the lycan's arms before tucking some hair behind her ear. Glancing down at the obnoxiously floofy garment she'd been forced into, a pulse of deep red magic shifted across it, causing it to turn into a black tank top and a pair of dark green cargo shorts. "better."

Getting pulled through the shadows seemed to unsettle most everyone there, Skylar being the only exception to that as a strange grin slid across his face. Pulling her eyes off of Sky acting even stranger than usual, Truth turned her attention back to her brother as he began to scold her, eyes narrowing into a glare the more he spoke. By the time he'd begun sparking, she was digging her nails so hard into her arm that small drips of blood were forming under them. At seeing him curl against their dad, she let out a long breath and brushed her wet hair across the cuts she'd made, easily patching up the tiny cuts before anyone hopefully noticed them. "irriterende skadedyr"

Head lifting as the smile on his face faded quickly, Sky blinked and looked to Lurtz and Cloud. "nine humans and seven half humans, i can't sense any further than that, but i think you're right that more are coming. They shouldn't be too hard to handle, but I'd keep that one inside for a while, or she'll do something stupid," he mumbled, rolling up his sleeves as black marks began forming on his pale skin, taking the form of demonic circles that would be familiar to no one in particular. "I hate fighting. But i'm tired of dealing with these guys," he mumbled, rubbing the side of his head.

Poking her head out from behind Rissa, Lianna brushed her hair behind one ear and waved at Hayden, biting her lip as she tucked her hands behind her back to twist locks of her black-to-purple hair around. Glancing to the window nearest her for a moment, she tipped her head to the side and grinned for a minute as the violin she was holding turned black. Tonight was going to be fun. Stepping out and away from everyone for a minute, the fae set her bow to strings and began playing a quick tune as a shield formed around the house, visible for a moment before it flickered from view. That would hold long enough for them to figure out a plan and maybe let the strays and urchins reach their weapons.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx

The Assassins
Sheik, Trevor, Watari,
Lucian, Runealis

&

The Allies
Ephraim, Shayde,
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne, The Prince

"Sorry. We normally use that for reflex training. Considering only one of six actually responded to it, I'd say there are a lot of reflexes that're slacking. If y'all want, after I go around sniffing people, doing some examinations and getting specific names for you ladies of course, you can always join us in training. The rain will give us a challenge too," Lucian apologized seeing as the Romanian hadn't caught the girl's words though he was now looking around slightly in search of what got her tail to frizz. It was then the werewolf felt something brush against his arms and took Krystina from Rissa. "That's alright. It happens. Hades, mush." Scowling slightly at being told to mush, Hayden followed up with a quick apologetic bow before making a few quick snaps in a specific direction which Lucian followed. "I'm not a sled-dog. I don't mush. Oh. Right. Gomenasai. I didn't mean to scare you." "It got you to move in directing me to where I can do what I need to do." "Right. Forty-nine remaining total. Seven half-humans, nine half-fey, seventeen demons of various kinds, and seventeen humans. Three waves. You're slacking. Pause. And move again." Having quit his snapping, Hayden reached around the doorway to snatch a man dressed up in similar attire to Watari by the neck into the room just so he could make several quick jabs of a knife into his back. Dropping the guy off to the side, he moved onwards again with his fingers snapping in particular directions and Lucian walking around obstacles in the way with ease.

"Jesus Christ, that hurt. How the hell did he figure out where I was coming from?" Shayde muttered after sitting back up, his fingers quick in covering up the red spot on his forehead. Shifting his glare from the departing dark haired male to Skylar, it was vaguely noted that there were gears turning in his head. They'd had some part of them acting so familiar with each other and yet they'd just met. It was just plain out weird altogether. And how did he know? He couldn't be that sensitive to his surroundings. So how'd he hit him upside the head with that soccer ball? "Are you sure he's deaf and not someone who suffers from selective hearing?" "Yes, Shayde. You don't seem to grasp how much training and focus it takes to read all those little micro-vibrations accurately. Then again, your shadows do a lot of things for you." "They act of their own accord. Besides, I do a lot of things without them too. Whatever. Ephraim, let's go. We're going to start picking people off." After smacking the other on the back, Shayde paused long enough to turn his cold gaze towards Truth. "Watch it, utaknemmelig tæve. You ought to be glad they're trying to keep your heart still beating in your chest."

"Don't call her that. She's just a little dense. First the boy. We promised," Ephraim muttered after pulling out of Trevor's arms. The man was right though. If he let the girls get to him and he broke out of his seals, the brotherhood would come for him and instead of just being locked away like some kind of monster, they'd put him down like a wounded animal they couldn't treat. Turning towards Shayde, he took a couple of steps before flipping and sliding through his shadow with ease. Shayde simply sunk into his own shadow though he flicked Truth the bird before vanishing entirely.

"Well, I always used to tell him he needed something to be passionate about. Guess he found out what it was finally," Trevor sighed before stretching his arms up over his head. Yep. The giddiness he'd felt last night was becoming exhaustion quickly. Even worse was that slight throbbing on the side of his head from being hit with a bar stool. Right... Most of these kids weren't equipped to deal with assassins like the ones they were facing. "Sheik, quit sulking like a child. Tough as our little ragtag group might be, most of them haven't faced real assassins. Probably the wannabes, but not our kind of assassins." "Which means they weren't professional assassins... Uh... Trevor, did we give him his gun back?" "Uh... Yes...?" "I did mention Mari was a professional hit man, didn't I?" "I thought that was a joke. Do they have a school for this kind of thing?" "Trevor, we'd already killed a minimum of ten people by the time we were his age. The brotherhood raises orphans and children born to assassins to do this kind of thing." "We don't use guns. Sure, I own a sniper, but I didn't go around shooting people... Uh... I think I just peaked his interest." "Bolt-action? May I borrow it?"

After a few seconds of gauging how serious the boy was, his handgun already seemingly loaded even though he hadn't had any ammunition before, Trevor sighed and slid a hand under the couch. After a soft click sounded, he flipped out the legs of the couch and pulled out a drawer holding said sniper just in time to see Mari had a pair of glasses on and his blonde hair was pulled back into a clip. "Did you have glasses before?" "Yes, sir. Bolt-action indeed. Well taken care of and definitely a good weight to it. You even have the additional parts to it. I'm heading up to the roof with this. Relax about your neighbors. They'll never see or hear a thing." Hefting the much larger gun up without much effort, a slightly colder gaze taking residence of his original curious expression, he headed for the backyard, turned on his heel and leapt up to the rooftop. "He doesn't... Have ammunition, right?" "Right." "He's a reality manipulating illusionist, dad. It's why he doesn't need real ammunition. He just has to create the illusion of a bullet inside the chamber and pull the trigger. The bullet becomes as real as you or me and after hitting someone, or passing through them, it'll vanish. No casing and no little grooves to trace back to your gun." "The ideal sniper." "Who would be better to use though; Mari or Clive?" "It's more of a question of who'd last longer. They both have unlimited ammunition, none of which actually needs to exist, and are apparently well-versed with guns. I'm going to hope he's up there to take out enemies and not your neighbors." "Yeah... Ephie, can you toss Dee up on the roof to keep an eye on her feline friend?" "Gimme a sec."

The Opposition, the Neutral & the Changed
Cloud, Lurtz, Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby, Cheshire, Hagen

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXXGiving a snort at the deaf one's comment, sky scratched at one of his ears before shrugging at Bander who was staring at him funny. "I'm gonna go play tag. Lee, you want a ride to the roof?" he asked softly, holding his hand out to the faerie who shook her head as black gossamer wings seamed to sprout out of her back. "Oh, right. I always forget you have those." he chuckled, glancing over to Rissa. "You coming, blondie?" he asked, smiling when she tossed him a silver plate. "Right. Where's Miss LeFay's?" and suddenly there was a second one in his hands that he gave to the faerie next to him. Unlike the assassins, the street children seemed to only have bits of armor, as proved by the two chest plates that Skylar and Lianna were currently donning, and the old leather bracers that Rissa slipped on herself.

"Let's go kick some arse." the elemental hummed, chocolate eyes flickering red as she cracked her knuckles. Turning to truth, she frowned then shook her head. "You’re still not allowed to fight. You do stupid things, I don't give a flying f-ck how powerful you are," she huffed, hands on her hips before glancing over her shoulder at Trevor. "And apologize to your dad. You've only got one." she added before padding barefooted over to the door. Leading Skylar and Lianna out, she smiled at seeing them both take to the sky, the fae's violin up and ready to play.

"Right. The rest of you, weapons. Now. Niji, you're staying here, too." Bander barked, grabbing his sister's shoulder to stop her from rushing upstairs with the rest of the group. Turning to Rayne and Jake, he shook his head. "You're gonna be back up in case someone makes it inside the house. Shiro's gonna be here too, but you're faster than most of us and he's got to get his other thing working before he can really be useful again." the ex-experiment drawled, patting her head softly before glancing over to the stairs as Kana came back down with her sword, Kansei and Kuro behind her. "Trevor, do you mind at all if Kana borrows your brother? I seem to recall them sparring earlier, and they might work well together."

Crossing her arms, the redhead gave a frown as everyone told her to stay inside and not do anything stupid. “I don’t always make stupid decisions!” she grumbled, glancing out the window before back to the others. Honestly, screw this, she wasn’t gonna just sit around and be useless. Stomping back up to her bedroom, the teen gave a huff and opened her closet, hoping that maybe something from her mom’s stuff might fit her better than the stupid cocktail dress she was wearing. There were a few choices, although, most looked like they’d be more appropriate for her sister than her. She was surprised her mother actually had armor at all, let alone four different types. Picking out the one that seemed more appropriate for her style of fighting, she slipped it on and grabbed her knives. While they might have been rusty, they were all she had, something she didn’t think her dad had ever missed while she was gone. Especially not now that she’d seen how many he had around the house. It wasn’t like they could be that special. They were full of sand, after all.

Giving a low whine against the lycan, Krystina's eyes cracked open slightly and she gave a sigh. "They're fighting again, aren't they?" she mumbled, glancing from the blond carrying her -who frankly smelled funny to her- and the guy next to him. Must be the new recruits for Trevor's brother...

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx

The Assassins
Sheik, Trevor, Watari,
Lucian, Runealis

&

The Allies
Ephraim, Shayde,
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne, The Prince

Seeing the non-assassins adorning bits and pieces of armor, the Sheikah seemed a little confused at first only to give an oh as if something had clicked. "Armor. Heh. You kids," Trevor chuckled making Sheik give a soft snort and Watari a light chuckle. Hearing the request of Sheik teaming up with Kana, he nodded slightly before smiling when his brother slapped him on the back and his attire changed. His t-shirt became a form fitting shirt with only a single sleeve going down one arm and a pair of baggy shorts over some slightly longer form-fitting pants. "Alright. That's fine with me. Sheik, you're with her. Watari, stay with the younger kids. Truth, I-" Having turned back towards his daughters, both had disappeared making his brow twitch.

"Trevor, temper. You're starting to get that look in your eye you used to get when you wanted to break bones just for fun," Sheik stated softly as he started towards Kana, his hand spinning a kunai with ease. His brother slightly shook his head before marching out of the living room and up the stairs, his hand quickly fluffing his hair away from the side he was hit by the chair on. "And what exactly do you think you're doing? Thank you for my knives back. Those aren't something you should play with," he breathed out coolly before slipping the knives from her hands and setting a pair of different knives in their place. He then pointed the ones he'd taken from her in her direction. "If you'd stop being all big, bad wolf on me, you'd get an objective on protecting this house. I have a specific task for you, missy. Talented as those boys with Krystina may be, they're still going to struggle around the senses they don't have. Even worse, one of them isn't even going to be able to do much besides defensive movements. That's where I'd like you to be for me. Can I trust you to keep them safe?"

"Of course they want us back here," Rayne grumbled, his arms crossed over his chest. This got a heavy sigh from Cloud before glancing around the house briefly. Had something just moved besides them? "I swear, you guys sulk and grumble more often than Jake gambles. Either way, something tells me that you might regret wanting your little buddy here, kid." "I won't regret it. There'll be issues with his behavior due to his medications, but he's a good guy. To put it nicely, whatever he might do because he doesn't have said meds or the thunderstorm is a lot nicer than you think it is."

Nodding slightly, Lucian paused when the snapping ceased again with his brow furrowing slightly. "That would be partially correct though it's still more of a preparatory situating arrangement rather than a fight at the moment; who's going to be where and all that lovely stuff. I'm currently under the impression that a few got in before the faerie girl did her little violin barrier thing though seeing as this is the second time he's had me stop," he answered honestly before seemingly glancing around at his surroundings. When a couple of soft thuds hit the ground, a few quick snaps came back into the picture. The werewolf continued on as if nothing had happened only to finally set the blonde on her bed from last night and sit down on the floor beside her. "Sorry about invasion of privacy, but I'd like to take a better look at you and your condition. I'm Lucian, by the way, and that lovely fellow now behind me is Hayden. You can just call us Hades and Lulu though." That all said, he gently set one hand on her forehead and the other on her stomach, his eyes closed. Why a vampire of all things? Then again, there was also a fey here that was making his comrade uneasy. Jumping slightly at something touching his shoulder, his thoughts returned to his task at hand though he now had a frown from Hades' soft chuckle at his response. "Hey, can I ask you something about your little faerie friend?"

Hopping back out of the shadows beside Bander, the balls of his feet set against his lower back and hand hooked on his shoulder, Shayde gave a tsk. "Kid's ******** up from the floor up," he muttered before flipping over the older male and dragging him forwards with him as several small, rectangular knives shot up out of the shadows. "Good lord, you're heavy, bud. Baby leech, you didn't say your buddy could f-" "Precision of language." "Shut it, Pepé Le Pew. You didn't say he had that kind of ability. Ephraim would be here chewing you out, but he kind of went on a rampage and the shadows spit him out in the middle of the goddamn woods. Now I gotta get Trevor to calm his a** down. You want your little buddy, fetch him yourself."

Bristling at being called a baby leech, Rayne's eyes shifted to a bright red as what blood was coming out of the cut on the shadow user's leg injury seemed to start drawing itself off of him and spiraling in a thin stream towards the crusinik. "Cool it, children. Trevor's with Truth upstairs. Rayne, you can stay here after the fighting is over. I'll go get your friend seeing as Shayde's not going to get him and Ephraim's not going to be in any condition to bring him here," Sheik muttered before starting for the door himself. Pausing briefly, he pointed at the blood that'd hit the floor when Rayne's eyes returned to their original dark color, he added, "And clean that up. Oh. And Shayde, get Deception to her kitty on the roof since Ephraim can't. Kana, we've got some friends to welcome." The cold responses from Sheik made Shayde tsk in annoyance, but started on the little tasks the Sheikah gave him to do.

As Deception hit the roof on her feet in the cocktail dress and a pair of leggings, her hair pulled back into a ponytail again, she turned to face Mari already settled on one knee with his eyes already focused on the distance through the scope. If it weren't for him quickly moving the bolt as if reloading the sniper, she wouldn't have known he'd even pulled the trigger. "How's it going?" Watching him shift the bolt once again, her brow raised. "It's going," he breathed out smoothly as his hand pulled back the bolt and pushed it forwards again. At seeing something in the distance, his pallor began to fade. Instead of continuing to fire, he seemed to freeze up until Deception covered the opposite end of the sights. "What is it? Or more like, who is it?" When he didn't respond, she gave a heavy sigh before sitting beside him with her binoculars. "Mm... Two o'clock. As my dad said, we'll be here for you as you've been there for us." "Wasn't there that long or much at all..." "Eleven thirty." "Why're you hovering over my shoulder? You realize this thing kicks, right?" "Think of it as me being comforting. And yes, I know it kicks. I also know you won't let me get hurt by it just like that guy who was stalking us girls. Oh yeah. I know you used that handgun of yours and put a bullet between his eyes. They didn't though. We hadn't even met at that time either so why, I wonder, did the kitty protect us?" "I dunno. One good deed to mask a hundred bad ones?"

The Opposition, the Neutral & the Changed
Cloud, Lurtz, Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby, Cheshire, Hagen

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

What Lianna did with her skirt.

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXX"But, a fight will ensue. I shouldn't miss it..." she frowned, glancing outside for a second before blinking at his request to examine her. "You do what you need. You're the medic here. I'm pretty sure someone told you, but i'm Krystina," she murmured, rubbing her eyes to try and wake herself up more. She was going to be busy for a while judging by how many spirits she could sense. In fact, there was already a line. Letting out a sigh, the blonde rubbed her neck and glanced over the lycan's shoulder. "You go ahead and ask away. Sorry if I seem distracted, there's a bit of a build up starting already. What in the twelves' names is my brother doing?"

Glancing up to her dad, Truth gave a huff as she looked at him, glancing down at the knives he took back before crossing her arms. "They're just knives, it's not like they do anything special." she murmured, pulling her hair into a tight braid before nodding at him. "sure, i can go help the others. It's better than being told you're too dangerous to fight..." she mumbled, scratching at her ear for a minute before walking past her dad, whisps of pale blue flames flicking off of the girl as she moved.

Giving a sigh, Niji pulled her hair up and out of the way in a high ponytail, her sword fading into existence against her back. "We'll be okay, Cloud. I don't think he'll hurt us intentionally." she murmured, looking to Jake for a second before sighing and taking his hand. "hey, Jake. you really the kid that beat his way through that virtual reality game?" she mumbled, tail flicking curiously behind her. She'd seen things on the news about it, and honestly, had thought about trying the game herself at a gaming den before the whole thing was revealed to be a trap.

Kana gave a grin as she came padding back down the stairs with her sword in hand, nodding to sheik when he turned to her. Her clothing had changed from that of the loaned dress to a tight pair of green sweatpants and matching crop top, her hair held up in a tight ponytail. She looked more the dancer than ever, even with the massive sword slung over one shoulder. "Right. Let's go greet the guests." she murmured, tugging on a pair of black flats that seemed far too worn down and impractical for fighting.

Flitting up in the air, Lianna gave a smile as she placed the bow and violin down beside Deception for a moment and dropped to the ground without catching herself on her wings. She didn't have any weapons on her right now, but that wasn't going to stop her from getting a little painted tonight. She hadn't had a fun fight in years, and the idea that maybe she could get a little red on her skin was welcoming. Taking a moment to grab her skirt and tie it up so she could run, the fae grinned as she passed Rissa and Skylar to dive fist first into the people coming towards the house.

Skylar on the other hand, had taken Rissa out to the edge of Lianna's shield, setting her down as he looked around for a moment. "May the ancestors be proud tonight, Ixia." he hummed, the beads in his hair glowing bright blue as the seal on his chest spread out across his skin, ancient text decorating his body as he took a step forwards, grabbing the first person who ran up to him by the arm and tugged them up into the sky as high as he could get the screaming person. ".... sorry, but you shouldn't have picked a fight with us..." he murmured, dropping the person as a gate formed under him leading into a flaming pit.

"I've told you, don't ever call me that. I will never be like them." Rissa hissed, taking a moment to bite her hand before flicking the bleeding appendage out at the coming horde. Smiling when a few of them burst into blood red flames, the woman took her sword out of the ground and layered some blood across it. For once, her powers were working with her.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

xD Those instructions. It went all Smaug near the end.

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx

The Assassins
Sheik, Trevor, Watari,
Lucian, Runealis

&

The Allies
Ephraim, Shayde,
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne, The Prince

"Well, Krystina, I'm afraid you'll have to miss out so I can examine you properly. It's nice to meet you too. If I seem a little tense, please don't take it personal. It's habitual. I'm a loup garoux, lycanthrope, werewolf, or whichever other name you prefer to call men who shift between human and wolf form," Lucian responded before flashing the female his canines and the golden-yellow flash of his eyes. It was mostly just idle chatter to fill the void, but it was also something to stall for time Hades would be paying attention to them specifically and not. Allowing his hands to light up in as pale a blue as his unseeing eyes, his smile became serious once more, almost sad if one examined it closely. "Is she actively involved with the fey realm?" "Don't bother her with such a question. She showed no signs. And nothing too horrible. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. I'd be more worried about his evaluation of your condition and whether or not he falls back on instinct if you make too sudden a move on him. You heard about it earlier, no?" "I'm hoping that this whole interactive relationship between your group and us won't be all awkward since you have the little one who's partial." "I think they called her Niji."

"Thank you, princess," he hummed oh so cheerfully while seemingly ignoring her comment about the knives. After she'd passed by him, his eyes shot down to the knives. These kids would be the death of him. Spinning them in his hands a couple times, he started back down the stairs just to sigh heavily. Of course something had to go wrong already. From the fact that Shayde had returned without Ephraim or this other boy, it had to deal with the trio's encounter with each other and coming down to having Ephraim bust out of his seals. That boy was always so stressed anyways. Add certain variables and it just got worse. Then again, it might not be stress that triggered the shift. "Take me to him. Today just isn't his day." This got a slight nod from the shadow user before he dropped into the shadows with Trevor.

"Hm? Oh. Yeah. I played the Beta game first so I already had part of it figured out; best experience, how to beat the bosses for the first fifty levels, how I wanted my avatar to be," Jacoby responded while seemingly thinking back on the year he was stuck in a virtual reality game. Smiling a little sadly, he began fidgeting with his headphones with his freehand. Technology was his whole world, sad as it may sound. "I lost a lot of good friends in that game though they were all older than me. Fox thinks that part of me was traumatized by being stuck in the game and all the events that transpired within it kind of like how you responded to Mr. Lucian. I don't really think he's wrong either, but video games were my first connection to the world outside of the den other than the internet." With that, he gave a slight shrug as if it was no big deal.

"We've been teaching him self-defense for when he's not on a computer or game console. Those headphones are the only thing keeping him from getting aggressive with us. Take away his technology for extended periods of time and he'll get straight up nasty. For such a little gaming nerd, he's got a mean bite and a strong jaw," Cloud muttered with a slight half-shrug before glancing at Lurtz shifting his gaze slowly around the room. What was he doing? Shifting how he was standing, several metal clangs rang out through the room only for several rectangular blades to hit the ground. Giving a soft tsk, he raised a brow at Niji just to point out that one of them got him in the leg. "Not even near him and he's hurling knives at us. Wish I had a friend this generous." "No need for sarcasm just because you didn't want to get out of bed today. Step please." Leaving it at that, the vampire shifted Niji and Jacoby to the side just for several rectangular knives to hit the floor and ceiling, one hitting Lurtz's arm. "Careful, Lurtz. You're always taking unnecessary damage." "I'm here to protect you, sir. What happens to me in the process of doing that doesn't matter."

Pausing by the door, Sheik's gaze had turned to Kana just in time to see how she was prepped for battle. Thank God he'd pulled his mask back up. At no longer feeling his knife in his hand, he quickly shifted his attention back to where it was just to catch the knife from hitting the ground. "Y-yeah," he responded before returning to heading out the door. Well, her shoes were about as good as his own; worn down so much it would probably be easier just to be barefoot. "You definitely look the part of a dancer. Ironically, our shoes look the same just mine is indigo and separates the big toe from the others. It also blends into my pants." Leaving his teasing in the air while pretending he hadn't almost dropped his knife, he headed out into the yard and briefly glanced up at Mari, Lianna and Deception. His brother was so trusting...

"Never seen him so clumsy before. Either way, it seems like we're the only ones left in the house. Careful, Lurtz. They're already wanting to avoid you like the plague and you're still docile. These are some unique knives though," Watari chuckled as he snatched the knife out of the vampire's arm. Keeping one hand over the wound, he began examining the knife in all of its glory. Was the kid armed with an entire arsenal of knives like this one? He seemed so much more hostile than Rayne. Was it a side effect? Or maybe his medication just kept him docile and since it'd wore off, the hostility was coming out. "Yes, sir." "Don't begrudgingly agree to it." "That was begrudging? That sounded just like everything else he said; lifeless, empty, hollow." "Mm... Spend enough time around him and you can start picking up on some of the things he's actually feeling and the way he's saying things. Word choice helps a bit too. He was teasing Cloud at first, then it became nonchalance about his own wellbeing, and finally, he begrudgingly agreed to being more careful."

On the rooftop, Mari shifted the sniper rifle to avoid hitting the others. At hearing something behind him, he removed his handgun from his boot, turned slightly and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately for him, the man dodged the bullet making him lower the sniper entirely and pull the trigger on the handgun a few more times. "Assassin. Hold please," he muttered quickly before setting the sniper in Deception's arms, resetting the handgun in his boot and readjusting his body weight just so. When the knife came for him, he slid back a little before grabbing his wrist with one hand, ducking under his arm to hit the palm of the other hand against his shoulder and swinging his foot quickly at the man's legs. Ignoring the pained yet forced to be quieter shrieks of pain, the feline hefted the man up by the back of the shirt while removing the handgun once again and hurled him off the roof, firing three times; one to the head, two to the chest. "Thank you." "You broke bones, didn't you?" "Can you just hush for a while?"

The Opposition, the Neutral & the Changed
Cloud, Lurtz, Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby, Cheshire, Hagen

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

I know xD

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXX"Lycan, huh? Guess that would explain the smell." she mumbled tiredly, shaking her head. "I thought that was just a joke that Lycans and Vampires smelled bad to each other." she breathed, coughing into her arm for a second before glancing up at the duo when the question of Lianna and the fey realm came up. "No, not in the slightest. As she put it, they didn't like people like her -whatever that means- and she was mistreated by her mother, so she dropped all ties and left the realm," she shrugged, wiping a few specks of dark red from her face. Hearing a knock on the door, the blonde glanced that direction only to raise an eyebrow at Truth. "What's with the getup?"

"needed better clothes to fight in," The redhead mumbled, brushing a fire off her shoulder before looking at the two newcomers. "Sorry for intruding, but my dad requests that I stay with you two in case any unwelcome visitors make it inside the house." she hummed, tugging on the end of her braid before resigning herself to a corner of the room. "I'll just... stay out of the way..." she breathed, sliding to the floor and resting her head on one of her knees.

Nodding, the kitten smiled at him and held out one of her blades to him. "You must be pretty good with a sword to make it out of that game. I heard it was pretty much non stop battles on the inside. I'm sorry about your friends, though. It can be hard to lose people you care about...." she mumbled, tail flicking out to catch one of the knives that was still in the air. Glancing over at the cabinet, she gave a huff. "Hey! I know you're scared of thunder, and you don't know us, but it's not nice to throw things at people who are trying to help you! They're here to keep us safe!" she snapped, the purple in her hair darkening at the roots for a second. As she spun back to the others, her scarred eye began fading from red to silver.

"They don't call me the Jade dancer for nothing." Kana hummed, sticking her tongue out at him before looking around a second. "watch out for falling bodies and flaming pits. Sky's actually taking his role as a valkyr pretty seriously tonight," she murmured, tying her sword against her back before pulling two of her knives off her thighs. "And try to avoid Lee if she's fighting. She gets pretty blood crazed for a faerie." she shrugged, spinning her knives in her hands for a minute before letting out a slow breath, trying to control her heart rate.

Flying over to Deception and Mari for a minute, Sky gave a frown and landed beside them, hands shaking as he tried to calm himself down. This was necessary. He couldn't just avoid it anymore. "urhg... If i have to keep judging these guys, i think i'm gonna yack..." he mumbled, covering his mouth before looking just past Mari and sighing. "lovely... another one...." he breathed, waving his hand at the spirit before stretching his wings out and taking to the air again.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

I'll never be able to read about Lianna again without the dragon behind her.

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx

The Assassins
Sheik, Trevor, Watari,
Lucian, Runealis

&

The Allies
Ephraim, Shayde,
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne, The Prince

"Well excuse me," Lucian grumbled, a pout taking up residence on his face. This got a faint chuckle from Hayden as it seemed to be a funny reaction from the male who'd just been growling at her. "Someone doesn't like being told he stinks." "But... Really? That's good. That's definitely a good thing." It was then the door opened, Hayden's eyes shifting towards the figure entering the room just to snort slightly. She just seemed to be unhappy about being here altogether.

"That's fine. I could use the help in protecting them seeing as Lulu's busy," the dark haired male hummed in a rather upbeat tone making one wonder if he was taking this event serious. Stretching a bit, his brow raised at how she seemed to be sulking. Why was this something a lot of people did nowadays? It was like all anyone did was argue, sulk, flirt and screw each other. "Ugh. People are so emo nowadays. No wonder I get annoyed so easily," he muttered under his breath though his gaze remained on the redhead. Now what were they supposed to say or do?

Taking up the sword briefly, Jacoby gave it a quick twirl before glancing up at Cloud and Lurtz. "Mm... I'm pretty decent I suppose. There was a lot of battles in said game, but we were able to take breaks to sleep and eat, buy and sell items. It added to the time we spent in it, alongside building up our levels, but it was necessary... Well, eating digital food wasn't, but we were missing the taste of real food so we made digital food. It sounds weird to some people that you can actually taste foods and drinks from a virtual world, but it's pretty cool in reality. Since I've always been a dual-wielded, however, Lurtz, may I borrow your sword too? You're avoiding using it much less magic after all," he shrugged before raising a brow at the vampire. At having him extend a hand just to catch the sword by the sheath, the spirit fox smiled mischievously just to draw it and give both swords a spin. Much better. Setting the tips of the blades on the floor, he closed his eyes just as his ears twitched. Giving a slight smirk after a few long minutes of silence, his eyes reopened to expose their deep blue-green eyes were now such a light shade of blue that the entirety of his eyes seemed white. "He didn't hear you, Niji-chan. After those knives, he hit the ground hard. I'm no doctor much less a scientist, but I'd say the way his body was shifting every other second means he's in a constant state of instability. To put it in another way, he's the equivalent of a man-made ultimate hybrid. Those pills are probably his only source of stability. One of his forms was in Shiro-tan's files. Unfortunately, he literally has no name, just the title of Subject TX-304. I got a peek at all photos and files by hacking through them for him. His records start from his time in the womb, his mother a scientist that willingly let them do those things. The father was someone called Subject NK-421." "He was checking on those farther away in fox spirit form. Think it would've been smarter to send him before the shadow twerps to be sure he wouldn't lash out without his medicine. Ignoring your commentary on this kid's buddy, are those knives actual illusionary physical manifestations or real?" "Both. The pile on the couch were the ones on him, but he could always bring more out when he wakes up again. By the way, Ephie isn't as nice as before. If you thought he was mean before, you'd hate to see- Welcome home!"

Stepping into the doorway with Ephraim on his back, his figure flickering between his human form and some kind of dark mass, Trevor let out a slow breath. "Niji, can I bug you for a second? I'm gonna need a couple doors into and inside the basement opened for me. Just ignore the blood on the side of my face and the weird dancing lights around the massive dark cloud fading in and out around him. I'll uh... Explain that when everyone gets back. I can't just keep playing it off as those seals were keeping him from falling into sin anymore considering Shayde didn't exactly keep hush-hush about him going on a rampage. I just won't let the brotherhood know it got out... Again," the Sheikah muttered, the eye on the side of his head he was hit earlier closed seeing as half his face was currently covered in blood, his hair slicked back and to the opposite side by it. Sighing a little heavier, he exited the room and headed for the basement, readjusting the metallic haired teen on his back. That other shadow brat was gonna get tossed in with him once he got back for ditching him once they got Ephraim back. See him use his shadows then. Ugh. And now Ephraim was growling at him in his unconscious state. "Hush, you. I'm trying to protect you. Even your precious master wanted you dead after this happened the first time. You don't deserve to die for something you can't help..."

"Mm... I don't entirely think it's just Sky, but it could be. I'm not entirely positive after that exchange at the bathhouse," he smiled almost mischievously. She hadn't seen the exchange between Hayden and the entity within Skylar after all, quick and silent as it was. "Right... For a faerie... You might want to crouch a bit." Leaving his partial taunt in the air, his fingers brushed against the lure on his lower back in a quick tune only for the ground to shoot up at an angle and launch the duo into the air. Upon reaching the trees, he caught the branches and flipped to the next one and off to the side. Dropping upside-down, his hands caught her wrists and tossed her up on the branch with him. "Should've tossed ya harder. My bad. See anything besides the bloody faerie mauling the guy over there?"

"Don't push yourself, Sky. Geez, you guys push too hard for nobodies. These are still the minions of the enemy. Kni- Good shot, Mari. Take care of the distant ones. I got this b***h," Deception huffed before smiling at Mari shooting a knife tailing Skylar out of the air with his handgun then switching back to the sniper. At noticing a female stalking across the rooftop towards them, her smile turned darker and she started towards her. Just as the woman opened her mouth, Deception's fist made full contact with her face, her unspoken words lost on the dark haired teen. Not allowing her to recover from the initial shock, the woman was kicked off the roof though Deception was hopping on one foot now. "Ouch... I need my boots. Uh... Mari, aren't these your boots?" "Not really. I don't have any real boots. I don't really have much of anything that's real besides this gun and my piercings." "I hope you have real clothes behind your illusionary forms." "I ain't a perverted enough freak to do that. Besides, I didn't get the illusion thing until I left the church's orphanage for troubled kids. My abilities just kind of popped up when I needed them most so I don't know if they're real abilities or just something my subconscious mind created to protect myself. Either way, most of the things I owned through gangs and whatnot were left behind with every move. I've never kept much as it's a reminder of all the bad, stupid decisions I've made and I try to aim for better... Then I fall back into the same pattern, the same routine..."

The Opposition, the Neutral & the Changed
Cloud, Lurtz, Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby, Cheshire, Hagen

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

I still think of vocaloids every time I read Hades so now we're even xP

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXX"Sorry, i didn't mean it like that. I was just observing, from the view of a hunter things are only speculation. Actually experiencing something as instinctual as the rivalry between vampires and lycans is new." Krystina mumbled, trying to make up what she'd said only to pause and start coughing red into her hands. Body shaking as it was, her dress's sleeves slid down enough where if Hayden turned, he'd find a pair of wing tattoos on her shoulders that extended down to her elbow, matching her brother's, and another's.

Looking up at the faint mumble from one of the new guys, Truth rose an eye and shook her head. "I don't mean to sulk.... i'm just... under a lot more stress than i thought i'd be," she explained, tucking her bangs behind one ear to look at him more. "I'm Truth, by the way, I hope we can all get along together. This house is just gonna be stuffed now," she hummed, chewing on her lip as she looked past him to where Krystina was curling up on herself, coughing. That sounded just as bad as it looked.

"hm? okay~" Niji nodded, bouncing after Trevor while waving back at Jake and Rayne as if to tell them she'd be right back. Watching the way Ephraim seemed to twitch in his sleep, she tilted her head to the side slightly and slowly poked his shoulder. "The demon says he's not supposed to have those, by the way. He says they're not actually helping him." she mumbled, bounding past the man to get the first door for him as her tail continued swaying calmly behind her. She figured he was the least likely to freak out on her if she told him she could always hear the demon in skylar's body.

Coming back down the stairs, Kuro gave a chuckle at seeing Jake with the two swords, nodding to him while spinning what was essentially a knife on a chain in his real hand. "This should be fun. Hey, Jake, you should go up against Niji when we're not being attacked. You're both dual wielders, it'd be fun." he hummed, glancing behind him as Shiro came back down with a duffle bag that hadn't been with them when they'd traveled from the tower.

Plopping himself on the couch, the albino began pulling out gears and half made gadgets that he set around himself very carefully before heaving a shoulder mounted gun out and setting it to the side as well. Finally, the cat seemed to crawl half way inside the bag before cheering triumphantly and pulling out what appeared to be a basic 380 automatic hand gun with some strange sphere in place of the clip. "there. now i'm not completely useless." he hummed, tucking the weapon into his pants before proceeding to pile all the other bits back into the bag.

Yelping as she was tossed into the air, Kana gave a huff when she was pulled up into the tree, putting her hands on her hips as she looked around for a moment before nodding. "yeah, Rissa's gone all queen of chaos on us. avoid her, too," she murmured, pointing in the exact opposite direction to where Rissa was basically coated in blood, her normally chocolate eyes now crimson red. "she may need to be restrained after this fight... she hasn't used her powers in a bit. they make her kinda crazy." she explained before pulling her sword up to block a knife that came at her. "Looks like the fun is about to begin~ " she hummed, grabbing his arm and pulling him against her so another knife wouldn't hit him.

"hard? this is nothing. I'm just... you know what all the fighting does to me." sky mumbled, tugging his shirt off and dropping it to the side as he caught a person by the shoulder. "Dee, you mind giving me a boost back into the air? I'm better off giving support if Lee is gonna risk going in." he mumbled, ignoring the way the person he was touching began to rot from his touch. Turning his gaze to Mari, he smiled softly. "I hope the twelve devines see fit to let you stay with us this time, it's always nice to have new friends."

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.