Together Again {Dante & Pure}

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

The Ninja Assassins
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

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.

XXXXX"But of course. It's the only way we can get him to behave and actually rest," Deception called back followed by the sound of something smack something else. Something upstairs had obviously started up with the duo and even though he was clearly trained to deal with situations like this one, he was trying to keep from hurting the girl besides love taps. "Get your hands down, boy. You need your sleep." "I'm fine on my own. I don't need a babysitter." "Apparently you do 'cause you're not sleeping right now." "That's 'cause- Stop it! Just 'cause I'm not allowed to hit you back doesn't mean you get the right to hit me." "Stop with the hitting or I'm coming up and hitting both of you. Ephraim, go to bed. I won't tell you again. And cut off your shadow activities before I personally detach you from them." "Jackass." "Stubborn brat."

xxxxxShifting his fiery red-orange eyes to his remaining daughter, he smiled lightly. "I've been thinking about that since we got home last night actually. We've vaguely introduced ourselves so you'd feel a bit more comfortable and safe. The music did help with relaxation and it brightened up today for at least a few of us... Well, we'll need to discuss back stories for most of you as the neighborhood's sure to notice y'all living here now and Watari's dealing with a minor apology to Ms. Hawthorne across the street. You should remember her, Truth. Ephie duct taped her son to the tree in the park for insulting you girls. He still avoids leaving the house when Ephie's around. Then there's those that hover... It's so irritating when challengers decide to hover around the house," Trevor responded, a finger raising for each topic though he interrupted that process by pointing in the general direction of the neighbor across the street. At the mention of challengers, something flickered in his eyes so quick it was indecipherable though the general setting of his gaze showed he was unamused. Smiling once more, he quickly blew his daughter a kiss. "I'm not the greatest at planning tasks so I usually just play it by ear. Besides having an informant, I was a solo act in and of itself. There are occasions when I give assistance to others, but I'm not exactly a great team player. Unfortunately, I got that from my dad."

XXXXXGently setting his hand on Niji's shoulder, Watari gave it a gentle squeeze so as to let her know he acknowledged her words. "Now, as promised, I've brought at least two of the three over here to apologize. You know how stubborn Shadowheart can be," he hummed though he seemed to have spoken slower to see if it helped Niji pick up on what was being said better. Rayne, on the other hand, briefly shut his eyes and rubbed his thumb a couple of times on the back of her hand. Can you hear me, Niji? The woman is Lizzie Hawthorne and the guy behind her is her son, Ethan. So far the conversation is dull. Lizzie seems to be trying to flirt with Watari though he remains unfazed. Ethan was trying to flirt with Krystina but seems to have thought better of it. He then began speaking of how Watari seems to speak with manners as being uncool so I stated that Watari was obviously a better man than he could ever be which would've turned into a fight if Watari hadn't intervened by stating that they were both raised differently. Now, he's stating that we came to apologize so just go on and say sorry. If anything else is said, this minor telepathic connection will play it back for you so you can keep up, alright?

It was hard keeping his telepathic connection with Niji, her mind seeming to keep changing the frequency so as to keep invaders out. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd actually heard a male voice singing about his head jingling when he nodded. Weird, but it was probably something that got screwed up in her genetics when experimented on. "We're very sorry for the prank. We didn't mean for any bodily harm to be brought upon you," the crusinik stated aloud while giving a slight bow yet keeping the umbrella upright. "Jesus, y'all are like broken records of uncool words," the Ethan boy muttered making Rayne bristle, his hand releasing Niji's hand. Even getting nudged by Watari didn't seem to get him to obey so the ninja used his foot to pull him behind him before his eyes flicked over to a bright red. "Ethan, keep speaking like that and I'll be sure Harvey pays you another visit. Do you really want to be duct taped to another tree or perhaps even something new? Didn't think so. Lizzie, you should really emphasize the point of manners with him before something bad happens. Accidents do happen." There was definitely an underlying set of threats stated there, but the way the ninja said it made them seem so nice.

XXXXX"Trevor's probably already telling them of the eyes watching the house. Believe me, Kana, we've noticed them. We're just waiting for them to make the first move. It'd be nicer if they remain put until Ephraim can get well-rested and the other two get here, but I don't expect as much. Once they make the first move, we'll be sure the neighbors don't get involved much less know. Fortunately for us, Trevor was taught to wipe memories and throw mass expanses of land and people into limbo before he left home. Those are skills that'll come in handy," Sheik murmured perhaps a little too seriously while seeming unworried about being wet. At least he hadn't seemed concerned about it until Kana decided to shake herself off like a wet cat. Instead of showing off any negative reaction to having the water from her hit him, a chuckle slipped past his lips as it was so random to him. "Sorry, sorry. That was just so random. You're definitely an enigma to me. If you'd like, instead of stressing yourself out, once we get changed into some dry clothes, we can get started on some of y'all's laundry... And perhaps get started on some showers too. Considering things, something of a personal quick glance, I'm sure a nice hot bath will make some people very happy. And we'll lend clean clothes to all of ya if'n ya need it too. Considering body structures, at least four of you could use Trevor's size clothing, two could use Watari's size clothing, four could use my size clothing and two could use Shadowheart's size clothing. At least that's what I got from first impressions."

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"oooh~! i should totally go say hello later~" Truth giggled at the mention of the neighbor kid, her blue eyes aglow with mischievousness. "but yeah, we should probably work on those cover stories, because telling people we're all street rats won't work out so well." she drawled, tapping her fingers on her leg. ".... my recommendation is something along the lines of traveling circus. or distant family. what do you guys think?"
"honestly, i'm good with what ever as long as it can explain the large animals walking about like regular house pets." Kansei chimed, a grin on her face as she looked around at those still in the room. five large cats, something that resembled a wolf, and skylar. these would be fun to explain to humans.

I can hear you. thank you, Rayne. Niji responded, smiling slightly at having him help her. Looking up when she heard Rayne apologize, the child gave a deep breath and looked to the woman, hoping she wouldn't stare too much at the scars running down the left half of her face. she was sure the kid would though. he seemed like quite the a** already. "Gomen'nasai. we didn't mean to cause any physical harm. It was a cruel prank." she mumbled, giving the slightest of bows to the woman. she at least wasn't going to change how she'd been taught to apologize. "please, forgive us." she purred, standing up straight again while fidgeting with her sweatshirt sleeve. she felt so exposed out here when she couldn't hear properly.
"... i'm sure the twins would love to come and say hello. they often spoke of the kids in their neighborhood." Krystina smiled, squeezing Watari's hand in hers. she hated to admit it, but she felt tired already. damn her stupid frail body. ".... we might need to wrap this up soon...."

Kana grinned at him and put a hand on her hip at his reaction, sticking her tongue out at him. "well, ears or no, i'm still a feline by birth." she purred, only to blink at the mention of laundry and showers. "those both sound lovely. thankfully for you guys, Krystina and Skylar actually used the last of their saved money to buy us some clothes when they last rejoined us and we've been saving them for a rainy day." she hummed, meaning that in the literal sense, as rain was their only source of clean water back at the tower.

'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

The Ninja Assassins
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

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.

XXXXX"You two girls should. I've been asked a million times where you girls were by them and then Ephraim would change topics on them for me. But uh... I don't think they'll be too surprised by large animals in my house. I tamed the bear that's been going through the neighborhood garbage cans. She'll most likely be back tomorrow morning once the neighborhood puts their trash cans out. And besides our story, most probably distant relatives, we need to get rid of some clothes and get some new ones for y'all. No offense, but y'all have... A distinct smell. Better yet, I can open a portal to a private bath, girls on one side and boys on the other, where all of you can knock it in one shot. I'm sure Sierra wouldn't mind if I took ya there," Trevor hummed back in his super cheerful mood he'd first been met in this morning. At noticing Kristoff's eye twitch slightly, he raised an eyebrow only for it to click. They didn't know just how many connections he had to make life a little easier on them. Scratching his cheek, he gave a soft nervous chuckle. "Contacts. I have a lot of contacts in a lot of different areas. Mechanics, a NEET, ancient sorcerers, androids, bartenders, mafias, television, music, the government. My job required it." "Is there anything you don't have strings you can pull in?" "Mm... No. I made sure to cover all my bases before I reached my mid-twenties and just kept them covered even in retirement. How they never found Truth and Deception is beyond me... Then again, I tried keeping my personal life as exactly that; private. By the way, if you approach someone with a picture of two little girls they don't know are your kids, you'll get asked if you kidnapped someone's children... Then there's that whole Amber Alert thing that would've been a nightmare considering you weren't exactly kidnapped. Horrible creation for our occupation, but good for the humans since man is easily corruptible and like kidnapping children... And young adults." "He's a scary man."

XXXXX"I-It's fine. Children can be mischievous after all. It just startled me mostly. Ethan's done far worse when he was their age. Thank you both for the apology," Lizzie responded quickly while slapping her son on the arm. Stupid boy needed to bite his tongue. Leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed under her bosom, she smiled and batted her lashes flirtatiously. "Thank you though, for bringing them over to apologize. Trevor used to bring his three kids over the same way." "We were raised a certain way and we'd rather not have our younger generations think they're owed something for nothing. Manners and respect for our elders are part of those lessons," Watari responded with a brief dismissive wave of his finger on the hand holding the umbrella. Glancing at Krystina, he nodded slightly before giving a slight bow of the head. "I'm afraid we're going to have to cut this visit a bit short. Krystina here isn't feeling well and though I insisted on her staying home, she wished to make sure things went well. I hope you two have a nice day. Come now, kids. We can return across the street."

Turning Rayne around after tossing the umbrella up briefly, Watari waved his farewell before catching the umbrella again and readjusting his arm around the blonde's waist. We're free to leave, the crusinik said quickly before grabbing Niji's hand and pulling her down from the porch. Taking a second to turn around, he stuck his tongue out at Ethan who'd been staring at Niji's scars. That jerk was going to get a nighttime promise from him later. At turning back towards the house, his gaze shifted down the road briefly only to raise an eyebrow at a van coming towards them. "Wonder what they're doing here today... Ladies and Rayne, y'all may get to meet our little NEET and his older brother... And perhaps a samurai or a couple of soldiers. Can't promise anything." Not hesitating in the slightest, Watari readjusted his arm once again so he could just pick Krystina up and carry her across the street with Rayne following behind him with Niji's hand in his own. As the ninja had stated, the van started backing up in the driveway. His first priority was getting Krystina and the kids back inside.

XXXXX"I never got that cat vibe from you besides the whole doing as you please thing. Maybe they did, but I do believe Trevor would like to get you better things. That means we're going to have to start weeding out the clothes that are about as good as scraps. He'll probably even make you a few sets of battle clothes similar to our but with a touch of you in it. Since we're on this topic, we'll start with laundry first. We're going to need lights, darks, whites and delicates. If it can't be fixed through some minor stitching or is scraps stitched together, toss it in a corner and we'll use it for other purposes. Delicates include undergarments and I'll let you do that on your own so as to respect the privacy of you ladies. Plus, I don't need to know what my nieces wear under shirts and pants," Sheik smiled lightly while ignoring the water trail he was leaving behind by walking through the house to the laundry room. Speaking of color coding clothes and separating certain things from the coding, he tapped a few hampers with his fingers. Tapping a couple baskets, he pointed briefly at the dryer. "These are for clean clothes that'll be folded or hung up. Y'all know your clothes so this'll most likely be set in a single room and y'all can empty it then return the basket here. Now that you know where this room is, let's go gather up some dirty clothes. While the first load is washing, you can take your bath and I can see about getting the dinginess out of any whites you have... Minus undergarments. Alright?"

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"we probably will. just to keep them away for a bit. prying eyes aren't exactly a welcome thing. if we let one person know we're back and give them our story, it'll at least carry around to those of our neighbors who're still here." the redhead smiled, settling herself down to sit next to her dad. "i wonder how many people you know that i know. i tried to keep contact with a few people in the city in case any of us actually got into any real trouble. mostly i knew cops and social workers and the like. a few business owners, and this old medicine woman who'd come around and check on us if we were hurt. not to mention the different gang leaders around town. " she hummed, hugging him lightly.

"Guess the apple didn't fall to far from the tree when it comes to covering your basics. A bath sounds wonderful, thank you Trevor." Kansei hummed, nodding at him. "We'll all pull out our good clothes, too. Something other than these rags we usually wear." she chuckled, tail flicking towards Bander to pull him from the window.
"Sorry, heard a car a while ago, looks like it's pulling into your place, Trevor." Bander chuckled, scratching at his stomach slightly. "We could always do rounds of baths. That way it doesn't get too over crowded. Or is it a fairly large bathhouse?"
"Do i smell car oil?" Shiro asked, pulling himself up off the couch enough to peer at the front door. There was definitely a strong scent of machines or at least a person who worked with them. The idea of getting to talk to another mechanic was rather exciting. He'd never really had the chance to talk to other mechanics, let alone compare work or anything of the sort.

Curling into Watari's chest when he scooped her up, Krystina gave a small whimper and closed her eyes. by the time they were halfway across the street, she was curled up in his arms, hacking and coughing up a storm. Although, she seemed intent on covering her mouth the whole time, keeping her face out of Watari's view. Shivering in his arms, the blonde vampire seemed so frail and breakable.
Following after Rayne, the violet haired child kept glancing up at Krystina with a frown. She could smell blood on her friend, and she didn't like it. Even with the announcement that she was a vampire. This just smelled wrong. "...Rayne... something's wrong." she frowned, gaze still on Krystina. She'd never coughed up blood before. What was going on? Once they were far enough from the other house, she gave a sigh and shifted back to normal, tail wrapping itself around her leg nervously. She just had a bad feeling about that smell.

"you haven't been paying much attention then, have you~" Kana chuckled as she pulled her wet sweater off, poking at one of the holes. "yeah, you're right, we could use some other outfits. but what i'm saying is at least our other outfits don't look this bad. they're something we could get away with wearing in public. although they probably do need cleaning." she chuckled, rocking on her bare feet. "you can only do so much with rain water after all. even when we do collect it in drums." she shrugged, starting upstairs to dig through everyone's stuff that they'd brought with.

'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

The Ninja Assassins
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

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.

XXXXXSitting up a bit, an arm sliding around Truth's waist, the eldest Sheikah smiled at her ever so playfully. "We can just tell Elizabeth across the street and the whole neighborhood will know about it within a couple of hours. Gents, I'm warning you here and now, she's already been trying to hit on Sheik and Watari for a while now. She attempted with Shadowheart and he was ruthless. Feelings and kindness are a rarity with him unless it's irritation. Needless to say, he's not supposed to interact with the neighbors anymore," Trevor responded, his hand lightly squeezed his daughter's hand. At the mention of a vehicle pulling into the driveway, he seemed to zone out briefly only to turn an excited smile towards Shiro and Kuro. "Probably quite a few then. And it is quite a large bathhouse so everyone can nail it at the same time... That, Bander, is our little NEET and whoever brought him here. Unexpected visit I'll admit, but excellent timing for you to meet him, Shiro. Just uh... Ask him before you touch his stuff especially his games. Something that looks like a screwdriver might not actually be a screwdriver. Just saying."

XXXXX"I know. I can smell it... And a second vampire from within that van," Rayne responded aloud though his voice echoed itself in her head so he could be sure she heard him. As the driver side and passenger doors opened, Watari had slipped inside the house, a mini-tornado holding the umbrella outside. "Skylar, may I get some help from you with your sister? Shadowheart, one of your little remedies please. Trevor, Jake's here," he called out while carrying Krystina to the bathroom and setting her on the toilet. Once she was seated, he pulled her hand away from her face and wiped it against his shirt. He hadn't needed to see it to know the blood was there. "I know. They know they're free to enter the house. At least three of them will be unloading his computers and the various toolboxes into the garage as per usual. Shiro, I hope you find Jacoby helpful and as enjoyable as we do though he's about Niji's and Rayne's age. You may even get to meet Cloud and Cirdan. They deal with mechanics too."

Out front, a dark haired male and a blonde male had stepped out of the front seats to the van though a side door and the trunk popped open. The blonde one waved slightly at the kids and continued onwards to the side of the vehicle where two other men at least twenty or older had gotten out and started to stretch. The darker haired one had glanced up at the kids, but quickly shifted his gaze towards his feet and remained absolutely still. "Go, go, go. Something about him freaks me out," the crusinik muttered while quickly pushing Niji up the stairs of the porch and into the house, the dark haired male seeming to be very aware of what they were doing though he hadn't so much as twitched. Getting tapped on the arm by the redheaded male with a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, they followed after the kids yet only the redhead removed his shoes and continued through the house and into the garage. "Enter, Lurtz. I'm not gonna bite your head off for passing through." "Sorry... Pardon the intrusion." "Pardon the intrusion and coming over last minute, Trevor. Put. It. Down... Oh... I didn't realize you were-" "It's fine, Fox. I'm not just entertaining. This is my princess, Truth, and all of her friends. They're staying here with me. Shiro, This is Fox and Jacoby Vetyl. Fox is a lawyer and Jacoby is our little NEET." "Uh... Hi. I'm trying to get him to go to college. Put it down, Jake! Sorry to ask, Trevor, but I need you to babysit. Cirdan didn't tell me, let alone anyone else, he had plans today and I won't be home until late. I asked Cloud and Lurtz to make sure he doesn't trouble you if your assassin buddies show up so you don't have to worry about it. Is that a crusinik?" "It's fine, Fox. That'll put my mind at ease if he's got those two protecting him while I off the intruders too so thanks. And that is indeed. Your nose is as sharp as ever. But yeah, I was actually gonna ask you if he could visit 'cause Shiro here is quite inventive in the tech-" The much older silvery lavender haired male slapped a hand to his face when his younger brother's voice interrupted Trevor. The smaller silvery lavender haired male had dropped his controller and pulled his headphones down around his neck, the digital codes on the visor of his having stopped their appearance altogether. "Kon'nichiwa, Shiro-san. You can just call me Jake like everyone else does. Oh yeah! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. So you're into the technological field? Did you build his hand? I built these headphones hanging around my neck about four years ago 'cause I was bored of this psychology class Fox had to go to. His teacher didn't like me too hot 'cause I told him psychology wasn't a real scientific study but rather the speculation of one person to the multitude and everyone perceives the world differently." "Can I adopt him, Fox?" "Hell no." "Aw. C'mon, Fox. I missed these years for my girls." "Not my problem. Kidnap him and I'll hunt you down too." "With your luck?" "He counteracts it." "True." "The van's empty now..." "Thanks, Cloud. Now, Jake, I gotta go. Remember what I said earlier: no online gambling, hacking into things, non-stop gameplay or skipping meals. I'm serious." "I know... Ugh. Drama queen." "Jacoby. I'm serious." "Alright." "You don't mind if I give him a bath, right? We'll be heading out shortly for Sierra's bathhouse and hot spring after all." "No, Trevor. That's fine seeing as he needs one. You might wanna explain why we have no scent to the kitties and canines here. He's had the furrowed brow of confusion since we stepped into the house." "Spirit wolf. Spirit fox. Said species don't carry a scent, but leave a trail through the spirit realm."

XXXXX"More like what times I've actually observed you didn't exactly show signs of it. But there is indeed only so much you can do with rain water... Mm?" Sheik retorted before his attention shifted towards his cousin's voice. Some trouble with the girl and requesting some of Shadowheart's herbal remedies whilst he sulked in the rain outside? Stepping back out of the laundry room, he glanced towards the backyard before starting towards the stairs. Fortunately enough, he'd made sure to ask the other males to leave their clothes out so he could wash those for them since he was going to help Kana and their little group with their laundry. "Must be bad... But yeah, um... We can get started on the first load since it seems Fox has brought over his younger brother and we gotta get all his gadgets and gizmos inside. God forbid he doesn't have them. Afterwards, from what I picked up, we'll be going to a bathhouse for everyone to take a bath in one sitting."

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.

XXXXXthe comment about the neighbor woman trying to hit on the boys seemed to cause a round of laughter through the group that ended when Watari entered with Krystina curled up in his arms. Glancing up when she was set on the toilet, the newborn gave a small whine and tried to curl in on herself once more, gasping for breath between several more wet coughs.
Blinking, Skylar stood up from his spot on the wall and hurried after Watari, pausing briefly in his and Krystina's bedroom to grab a small pouch. Entering the bathroom, he frowned and looked at his sister. "You shouldn't be walking around..." He sighed, pulling a bottle of medicine and a cup from the pouch. Filling the cup with water, he handed that to his sister along with two large green pills. "I think you should get some rest after we go to the bathhouse. Maybe the steam will help clear you out a bit."

Truth smiled softly and waved at Fox, still clinging to her dad by her other arm. "Nice to meet you!" She hummed, the cheer in her voice only dropping when Shiro pulled himself off the couch and wandered over, to which she hopped him upside the head.
"Nice to meet you, Jake" the white feline grunted, rubbing his head as he scowled at Truth. "I did indeed build my brother's hand, along with many other things. I'll show 'em to you when we come back from the bathhouse, alright?" He hummed, tail flicking back and forth excitedly. "D'you have any particular area if mechanics you work in or are you as all over as I am?"
"Great. Now he's never gonna shut up." Kuro grumbled, Bander and Kansei nodding their agreement as the wolf came over and scooped up his brother. "We told you, stay. Down. Or we'll cut 'em off now and you can forget ever finishing your current project." He growled, pale blue eyes darkening to grey as he carried the stubborn brat back to the couch and threw him down.
Tail bristling as she looked at the newcomers filling up the garage, Niji kept her gaze on the man who'd unsettled Rayne. "... He smells like Krystina. Turned." She mumbled, brushing her hair from her lifeless eye as she stared at him more. "Hey Rayne? Would you mind if we played a game later tonight?" She asked, glancing to him as she recalled the look on the neighbor kid's face as he stared at her scars. She was gonna make him understand the meaning of monsters. With or without help.

"Alright. I'll get the girls' clothes, then. " kana hummed before heading into Kansei and Niji's room, shuffling some things around before pulling out a fairly decent pile of old clothes. "Well, I suppose we aught to clean up the winter items too." The girl mumbled to herself. Heading off into the next room, she smiled to herself as she grabbed Skylar's bag and shoved the winter items inside, the bag seeming to swallow them with little trouble despite what all was inside.

'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

The Ninja Assassins
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

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.

XXXXX"Eh... That was my bad, Sky. She asked to come along to make sure Niji-chan would behave and I didn't stress for her to consider the strain it'd take on her already weakened condition as I should've. Sorry," Watari apologized, a frown having settled on his face while he gently brushed a hand atop the blonde female's head. He should've been more attentive, should've told her no, but he hadn't and she was paying the price for his error. Picking up a small cup, he gently pat the female on the knee. "Thanks, Shadowheart... When you're done swallowing those horse pills, I want you to sip on this little herbal concoction even if we're at the baths. Once we're back from the baths, I'm going to have to agree on some serious bedrest."

XXXXX"He's not just changed, Niji. He's... Unnatural. Krystina had a normal kind of change from a living entity into one of the undead. There's nothing mixed into the vampire venom that took over her body. His kind of change is more like a containment if anything. There's ancient elven magic laced throughout his system as if it was slowly put into place during the length of time it took for his body to shut down entirely then reboot," Rayne breathed out, his eyes never flicking from the silent figure of the dark haired vampire standing in the militarized position of parade rest. Feeling a shudder run down his spine, his eyes finally shifted quickly away from the man and over to Niji. He just scared the crud out of the crusinik and he was supposed to be the predator to the vampire. "A game tonight? Depends. Does it have to deal with the human boy across the street?" "Lurtz isn't a bad guy... The guy you two are talking about that is. Try getting to know him before automatically falling back on fear, kodomo." At only just noticing the redhead staring down at the duo with ice blue eyes by him speaking up -it being obvious he was speaking slowly so Niji could catch at least most of what he was saying- Rayne let out a squeak. The guy had to be a ninja! "Samurai, pilot, mechanic and housekeeper actually. You're very unguarded." "What? Wait. Did you just call us kodomo?" "Hai. Trevor, you're going to have to introduce Lurtz. The kodomo have taken notice. Ittekimasu."

XXXXXSmiling in amusement, Trevor readjusted himself in his seat and leaned over to the side a bit when the redhead called out to him. "Itterasshai, Cirdan! He not leaving with you, Fox? He could be in one of those moods today though too," he chuckled only to frown slightly when Fox shook his head. "I don't know. I'd think it was that, but it's not exactly winter in Japan. It could be a space thing, but that seems kind of flimsy itself. Like I said, he's heading out somewhere today so I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he's got the Angel waiting for him in a clearing in the woods nearby right now. It's nice to meet you too, Truth. Sorry I couldn't stay longer, but duty calls. I'm serious, Jake. Behave yourself and get rid of that oil and grease scent on you." Pushing his brother out of the den, the young spirit fox let out a huff before returning and sitting next to Shiro, a smile on his face. "I will so stop babying me. Go before you're late to work already. Ugh. He smothers me way too much. I'd love to see some of your other projects and I can show you some of mine besides these headphones. I'm all over the place with my projects, but I gotta do something when Fox takes away all my games. He's scared I'll get trapped in another MMORPG using nerve gear only that I'll die like several others did in the last game I got stuck in. May I take a closer look at your hand? Oh. And Shiro onii-san, that's Cloud onii-san. He's like us in loving mechanical engineering of all types though he's mostly asked to fix vehicles."

XXXXXAt being introduced to Shiro, the blonde male gave a hesitant wave before snapping his fingers towards the vampire. "Hey. Lurtz, enter the house. Come here already. Um... Like Jake said, I'm Cloud and this here is Lurtz. He's not a bad guy, just a little hard to interpret. Lurtz, seeing as we've addressed his species, would you mind helping him with the feeding process? You can do it at Sierra's bathhouse once we get there, but he needs to feed soon." "I don't mind. It is his decision overall though." "Thank you, Lurtz. I was actually going to call you to see about getting him through until I can get a regular schedule of feeding times with him." "It's fine, Lord Trevor. If Lady Krystina wishes it, I can also teach her the ways she will need to know." "Eh... I'm a little worried you'll teach her in a manner similar to how you were raised." "My parents did not teach me to feed so it should be no problem... Or you could always save her from being tainted by finding Koail before she falls victim to her own bloodlust. Either choice will be a challenge. Like with the crusinik, the choice is ultimately her own." "So how'd you know her name was Krystina? I've only mentioned Truth's and Shiro's names." "She reminds me of a human I met years ago with the same name. Was it too presumptuous of me to assume it was also her name, sir?" "No. I just like how your brain works. It makes me wish I could see the world through your eyes minus the staring at your feet most of the time. Raise your eyes already. The floor and your feet surely aren't that interesting. I'm not going to scold you for making eye contact much less speaking when not being spoken to." "Yes, sir..." "Why's he even doing that?" "His family was far more abusive than mine and drilled it into his head that he was beneath everyone, his gaze should always remain downcast, he was to never speak unless spoken to and his only purpose was to serve others. If you were to tell him to remove his own arm, he will do it no matter how painful without the slightest bit of hesitation." "That's insane!" "That's how he was raised. No matter how many times I've told him it's fine for him to think of us on a level playing field, this is what he does. Eyes up, Lurtz, and get out of your soldier-awaiting-orders posture. Relax." "S-sorry, sir..." "As is apparent, anything outside of how he was trained to be is foreign ground filled with discomfort so he falls right back into it if you take your eyes off of him. To put it plainly, he doesn't know what to do without someone telling him what to do. He's best used as a marionette than let loose. Antonia's song Marionette is quite on-the-spot with him. You can do whatever you want with him and he won't utter a word, at least as far as my knowledge goes. I don't want to know if he actually gets frisky." "Pfft. Hahaha! You made his face get some coloration, Cloud." "Finally. He's been rather nonresponsive today so I was starting to think he was broken. At least now I can say he's doing something besides manual labor." "Well we were doing performances a short while before you showed up. That reminds me. You kiddies wouldn't believe who these two plus Cirdan and Fox are." "Trevor..." "You're so modest, Cloud." "They were private thoughts." "Which makes them have deep meaning and adds emotion to music. It's not music without that emotion behind it. Music is what feelings sound like." "You tell them, I tell them. Simple as that." "Jackass." "Liar."

XXXXX"And I'll get ours," Sheik hummed while waving briefly at the new males before heading upstairs and into the boys' rooms. Knocking briefly on Ephraim's bedroom door, the Sheikah poked his head in and skimmed his eyes around the dark room. That fruity boy loved everything being dark, didn't he? After a few seconds, his eyes readjusted to that darkness and he could make out Deception's figure seated on the desk chair beside the bed while watching over the shadow user sleeping a little restlessly. After picking up his clothes, he noticed Deception's hand reaching towards his mask and quickly moved over to slap her hand down. "Do you want to kill us? Don't touch it. Go back downstairs now that he's asleep," he hissed softly "Isn't it hard for him to breathe? And what do you mean kill us?" "Only if it gets wet and even then, he'll use the shadows to move air into and out of his lungs. Forget I even mentioned it. Just don't touch his mask and get back downstairs since he's asleep." "But he's... Fine. You're such a butthead." Standing up, the dark haired female trudged out of the room and back downstairs where she flopped down on the couch. Sheik took a moment to brush a metallic hair out of the younger male's face, frowning when he flinched slightly, before stepping back out into the hallway and shutting the door behind him. From there, he knocked on the door to the room Kana was in and poked his head in. "You need any help?"

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.

XXXXXShaking his head as he stood, the blonde turned to look at Watari with a soft smile. "It's alright, she would've caused a fuss if she hadn't gotten her way, which would've caused this to happen anyways. Thank you for taking care of her though." he hummed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat. Glancing back to his sister, he smiled and took the empty glass from her.
Looking from her brother to Watari, Krystina smiled lightly and took the cup from him. "th-thank you..." she mumbled, wiping a bit of blood from her mouth and pausing for a moment to stare at it before she wiped it on her shirt. Taking a sip of the liquid, she glanced up and sighed tiredly. She had a feeling she wasn't going to be left alone for a while.

Staring at the man that had appeared behind them, she gave a frown as her cheeks puffed up. Why did everyone have to call her a child? crossing her arms, the little neko glared a hole in the back of the man's head until he was gone, only to relax slightly and turn her attention back to Rayne. "it does, in fact, have to do with him. He needs to learn that he's not the big-shot he thinks he is. I want to show him that monsters are real" she mumbled, fingers tapping lightly against the railing.

Waving to the other mechanic, Shiro gave a small grin and tapped his fingers against one of his legs. "If you'd like, I could show you the thing I'm currently working on. I've kind of been messing around more with automail and the like than anything else, lately," he shrugged, scratching at one of his ears. "And maybe we can convince Rissa to show you the forge," he grinned, shoving a thumb at the blonde who stuck her tongue out at him.

"we'll see. we might be busy for a bit though, so don't go getting your panties in a twist over it." The elemental chuckled, only to smile as she stood and walked over to offer a bandaged hand to Jake. "I'm Rissa, I tend to melt Shiro's metals for him if he can't use the parts he gets from stripping things down." she smiled, blowing a few of the red curls from her face. "The one with the violin is Lianna, then you have Bander, Kansei, Kuro, and that guy there will answer to either Mari or Jin." she drawled, taking it on herself to introduce all the others as she began pointing them out with the hand not currently extended towards the kid. "Deception is just coming down from putting Ephraim to bed, and Skylar and Krystina are upstairs with Watari. The two around your age are Niji and Rayne, they may or may not be hiding from one of your guards right now."

Chuckling lightly, Truth shook her head and waved to her sister when she came down the stairs. "hey. we have guests." she hummed, practically bouncing past everyone to take her sister's hand. Glancing back towards Cloud, the redhead gave a smirk and put her other hand on her hip. "aww, why don't you tell us? you'd be surprised at what all we can do musically~" she hummed, rocking on her heals. She had half a mind to show them, but that'd require dragging out all of the musical instruments they could play.

Glancing up when he entered Krystina and Skylar's bedroom, Kana smiled at him, putting a hand on her hip as she held up the tiny bag. "i think I got it all." she hummed, brushing past him with a grin. "C'mon, we should get this started before everyone decides it's time to go to the bathhouse." she drawled, smiling back at him over her shoulder.

'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
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Allies
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne, Cloud, Lurtz,
Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby

XXXXX"You're both very welcome. It goes against everything I believe in if I were to turn my back on someone in need. Sheik says I'm far too kindhearted for our occupation, but I just find it makes me far more deceptive to my enemies," Watari smiled lightly while briefly glancing downwards. Reaching up and brushing a hair out of Krystina's face, that angelic smile had returned once more. "You should really try not to stress yourself too much. One's health is always a priority over all else. That means no temper tantrums if we say something will be too stressful for you. You raise concerns from us when you start coughing up blood. Alright?"

XXXXX"Sure thing. I wanted to give him the same lesson along with a lesson on what is considered rude," Rayne smiled back at Niji before gently patting her on the hand. He'd noticed her stink eye towards the man, but he hadn't really deserved it. His mind had mostly been elsewhere as far as he could tell though the redhead had managed to keep up with the conversation and some minor observations. "Don't stress over him calling us kids. He didn't seem entirely horrible, just distracted and introverted on a high level. If you would've asked him, he most likely would've asked what you'd prefer to be called. Then again, he didn't seem to be in the best of moods so he might've just wanted to pass along his short message, say his farewell and leave."

XXXXXAccepting the blonde's hand and giving it a shake, Jacoby smiled at her and the rest of the group. "It's nice to meet all of you. I'd love to see it. No one trusts me with a blowtorch so Cloud does most of the metal shaping and melting for me in his garage," the boy cheered only to lightly frown and start fidgeting with his headphones, a set of fox ears making their presence known by moving into a slicked back position. "I don't really know how to interact with kids my age face-to-face. My parents homeschooled me so before Fox became my legal guardian, the most interaction I had with other people was through online gaming. I only started to interact with people while Fox was going to school until now and they were all his age or older."

XXXXXLeaving Shiro and Rissa to talk with the young spirit fox, Cloud gave a sigh before glancing at Lurtz whose gaze had returned to his feet. Of course he wasn't going to say anything. "Mm... You're not gonna let it go are you?" he asked while rubbing the back of his neck only to shake his head slightly. "It's not important. I don't mind telling you that Trevor is so wishy-washy it makes nauseous focusing on him too long. Watch this. May I, Mari?" Getting a nod from Kristoff, Cloud picked up his guitar and handed it to Lurtz before whispering something in his ear. The vampire nodded slightly before setting his fingers into a certain position though it was apparent he was waiting for something. "See how cheerful he is? I'm going to ask him a random question and watch his reaction. Hey, Trevor. Have you seen Cheshire recently?" Watching his eye twitch, the blonde shook his head slightly as that cheerful light seemed to die out in the Sheikah's eyes and his smile vanished entirely. "See? His moods switch at the most random things. It's fine, Trevor. That fruity cat is asleep on my bed back home... And he's lost in that head of his. Go on, Lurtz. Start it up. It'll make him happy."

XXXXXGetting another nod, the vampire started up a tune. "Well I know the feeling of finding yourself stuck out on the ledge and there ain't no healing from cutting yourself with the jagged edge. I'm telling you that it's never that bad. Take it from someone who's been where you're at. Laid out on the floor and you're not sure you can take this anymore. So just give it one more try to a lullaby and turn this up on the radio. If you can hear me now, I'm reaching out to let you know that you're not alone. And if you can't tell, I'm scared as hell 'cause I can't get you on the telephone. So just close your eyes. Well, honey, here comes a lullaby. Your very own lullaby," Cloud hummed while lightly setting his hand on top of Trevor's head. At hearing a giggle start up, the blonde took on a brief surprised expression only to suddenly get mad and bop Trevor on top of the head with his fist. "And here you were calling me a jackass, you manipulative dxck." "Psh. You're just too vulnerable with your heart on your sleeve. I love the expressions from Mari and Deception. Figure it out?" "He sounds just like-" "Like Chad Kroeger from Nickelback... Wait. I'm on blondie's side. Don't get that dead look in your eyes and pretend it's no big deal! You're gonna upset Truth." "Impossible." "Thank you, Lurtz. Mm... That's the thing, Deception. It isn't a big deal to me. There's the bored version of the blank stare where you stop listening, mine usually directed only to Sheila and my parents, and then there's actually zoning out by focusing too much on your thoughts like my little meltdown. It's his fault if he can't tell the difference. Ephie can tell. Besides, you can't make someone stop being themselves. You telling me not to do that is like telling Lurtz to stop doing it. This void is a natural expression for him. It was mine when I was younger, but now I only really do that when I'm super pissed, my parents and/or sister is around or I'm in the midst of a breakdown. I taught my body, facial expressions and tones to match my inner workings before I met your mother. That really hurt, Cloud, just so you know." "Still..." "Your own fault." "Either way, so now you know about him. Any guesses on the other three? I can always ask Lurtz to give ya a hint about the thoughts playing out behind the mask if you haven't the slightest." "Why don't you sing them something?" "Yeah. Why don't you sing something? You only ever hummed when we were little." "I couldn't recall the words to the lullabies I hummed for you so I went for the tunes. Hm... Besides, I don't sound that great. I'm good with instruments, but not quite singing." "Don't feed 'em that line of bull. Which song? I Bet My Life? I Lived? Narcissistic Cannibal? Wasteland?" "You want me to sing something that bad, Kurodo? Fine. I'm bringing sexy b- Ow. Okay. Bad joke. Got it. Hm... Alright."

XXXXXTaking a slow breath, Trevor readjusted how he was sitting and started rubbing his wrist. Might as well, get it done and over with. Snapping his fingers, a violin of an odd design appeared and his hands began working their magic, his voice following soon after. "Quando sono solo sogno all'orizzonte e mancan le parole. Sí, lo so che non c'è luce in una stanza quando manca il sole. Se non ci sei tu con me, con me. Su le finestre mostra a tutti il mio cuore che hai acceso. Chiudi dentro me la luce che hai incontrato per strada. Con te partirò paesi che non ho mai veduto e vissuto con te. Adesso, sí, li vivrò. Con te partirò su navi per mari che io lo so no, no, non esistono più. Con te io li vivrò." Cloud just rolled his eyes at how the Sheikah opted for something foreign and slower in tempo than the previous songs, but he wasn't going to complain. How he sung wasn't exactly natural, but seemed to come out like that of a siren's song. Ending it after just that small bit, Trevor set the violin against his knee and the back of the bow against his shoulder just to give a slight shrug. "Meh. I play the string instruments, excluding the harp, better than I sing so whatever. On to Lurtz, Cirdan and Fox again. Any guesses?"

XXXXX"Cool," Sheik smiled back when she said she got everything. Upon being brushed past, he tensed ever so slightly. It was partly a reflex meant to defend from sneak attacks, but it was also partly from something he couldn't exactly explain. Her personality, graceful movements and sharp wit made his insides tingle. Then there was the lack of numbers he'd glimpsed above everyone else upon first meeting them. Was it perhaps the anxiety of her being the woman in the brief glimpse of the future? He was nearing the age he'd seen himself retiring at after all so it wouldn't be a surprise. Maybe he should ask Trevor about it later tonight when such talks could be private. He knew practically everything so surely he'd know why he was feeling this way. Turning abruptly on his heel, he padded quickly down the stairs with Kana. "R-right. Hey, you two. Don't traumatize him too bad. Ephie's already got a mass amount of fear set into place from his younger years that y'all can trigger with ease. Even better, if you ask Shadowheart, he can get you in and out without ever using a window or a door. Then you won't have to go through the rain and catch yourselves a cold. Besides that, he loves tormenting people so it'll make his day if you invite him along." After ruffling Rayne's hair, the Sheikah continued on into the laundry room and started separating the clothes he had into each of the baskets. He then shifted to where he was sitting atop the dryer with a pile of off-white wrappings with dark splatters on them. "When you're done separating your darks, lights and whites, we'll throw in whatever we got the most of to try knocking it down a bit... Fxck it. I'm throwing these out. And do ask if you need help, Miss Independent."

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.

XXXXXHer pout turning into a frown, the blonde gave a sigh and nodded. "Fine... but I'm not just gonna sit in a bed all day and be worthless," she frowned, sticking her tongue out at her brother, who just chuckled lightly and shook his head. Glancing back up at the boys, she gave a smile. "so, shall we return to the others?" she asked, pushing herself up only to be scooped up by her brother.
"You're not walking anywhere. If you want to go somewhere, you're going to have to let someone know. At least for the next few days, until you get a little better." Skylar drawled, keeping that gentle smile on his face despite how worried he was about her. Looking up at Watari, he gave a smile and gestured to the door. "after you?"

Grinning at Sheik's suggestion, the tween practically bounced in her place as she returned her gaze to Rayne. "Do you want to talk to Shadowheart? It'd be fun to just randomly appear in his room. This is gonna take a bit of planning to do, though... especially so he won't see our faces." she drawled, rocking on her heels as she began thinking of ways they could scare the neighbor-kid.

"You'll love the forge, then. Just watch your tail when you go there. She's got the place crammed full of stuff and its easy to get yourself burned or stuck." Kuro drawled, scratching at his arm before sighing when his hand got stuck. "Hey, jack a**, it froze again." he grunted, pulling his hand off and shoving it into Shiro's hands.
"you've been using it like a grappling hook again, haven't you. it can't support your weight as it is, so stop it. moron." the white haired neko hissed, pulling a screwdriver out of his pocket so he could open the hand up. "listen to me when i tell you these things or i'll take this away and leave you with a nub." he threatened, shifting slightly so he could place the hand on the arm of the couch and poke around at the wires as if looking for something. "i'm gonna reboot the connection so sorry about the shock." he mumbled, a little late as Kuro had already jumped from being zapped by the nerve-connections in his wrist.

Grinning slightly at Cloud's mini performance, Truth bounced slightly and glanced over to Rissa and Lianna, holding up the number two for them to which they nodded and pulled Bander back to his guitar. "that's pretty impressive, actually. Daddy, Dee's right though. I will get upset like that" she hummed, kissing his cheek again before smiling at Lurtz. " I've no idea for the two who aren't here, but if Lurtz would sing something, that'd help~" she hummed, smiling when she saw a keyboard form in Rissa's lap. She practically started bouncing when she heard the intro to one of her favorite songs, having to grin more when she noticed the explosions Lianna's violin had created to match the song.
"On our off days, we write music for a band called Two Steps From Hell." Rissa hummed, leaning back on her hands with the keyboard in her lap still. "we also try and learn all sorts of new music." she chuckled, sticking her tongue out at Truth as they'd chosen a song that didn't have any vocals, just to taunt her.

"... right..." Kana sighed, smiling to herself as she turned Skylar's bag upside down and dumped the whole pile of laundry onto the floor, little care as to what he actually saw from the pile. Sitting on the floor, she began tossing some of the things that had more holes in them over her shoulders, the rest going into four piles to her left. "Now that we've got a better place to live, we'll have to get back to our jobs. the real ones, not the shitty ones we had to make ends meet in the city." she muttered, mostly to keep up conversation as they sorted the laundry.

'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
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Allies
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne, Cloud, Lurtz,
Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby

XXXXXNodding, the bicolored haired male straightened and started for the door with his hands laced together behind his back and a slight spring in his step. "But of course, belladonna. You'll find soon enough that even we won't stay in a bed longer than a few hours a day even when we've dislocated a leg or lost a lot of blood prior to the little catnap. It's completely understandable not wanting to be stuck in a bed forever," Watari hummed while leading the way back to the den. Turning around with ease and continuing to walk backwards, he flashed the siblings a slightly mischievous smile. "I never said you had to be entirely bedridden. There was only the statement you need some bedrest stated. After some rest, sleep included or excluded, you can be taken to other places to do other things and see new sights. You just need a few days to settle in. Moving itself can be very stressful and the weather has been dreary for some time. The logical conclusion of your living conditions prior to now is bad health. And there's a fellow in the den who said he'd teach you the feeding thing you're obviously not too comfortable with if you want him to. We could also try hunting down Koail for you. Overall, it's your choice, but even the most well-trained vampires have slip-ups. Just a little food for thought."

XXXXX"Might as well. I'm sure he can offer suggestions on keeping our faces from being seen considering his occupation," Rayne shrugged with a far less shy smile than the previous ones. Scratching the back of his neck as his expression grew serious for a moment, he added, "Sorry for overstaying my welcome in your head. It's hard using telepathy with you by the way. It's like trying to talk over a million different frequencies simultaneously and I swear I heard a guy singing about how his head jingles most every time he nods because he's obviously, quite obviously, odd." Leaving it at that, he made a slight wave of the hand as if to say for her to lead the way.

XXXXX"Tails," Jake corrected while reaching up to fidget with one of his ears. Letting what appeared to be one large tail come into view, he gave a half-smile before letting it separate into thirteen smaller tails. "Thirteen-tailed spirit foxes are blessed with extremely good luck. Seven-tailed spirit wolves are cursed with extremely bad luck which is why Trevor oniisan was teasing Fox about his luck. But I can't wait to see your forge." Letting his tails slide back together, he peeked over Shiro's hands at work on Kuro's hand only to tilt his head to the side. "Can I take a look? I got some of my tools and extra wiring in the bag I'm carrying on me."

XXXXX"That's really sweet, ladies. Nice job. Haven't heard decent songs in the past few years," Cloud smiled lightly while shaking his head. They were pretty amazing he'd have to admit. Patting the vampire on the shoulder, he muttered, "Lurtz, it's all you. Show 'em what you can do." Nodding once again, the vampire started playing the guitar, his eyes closing and his tense posture seeming to relax a bit. "I know I've been mistaken, but just give me a break and see the changes that I've made. I've got some imperfections, but how can you collect them all and throw them in my face? But you always find a way to keep me right here waiting. You always find the words to say to keep me right here waiting. And if you chose to walk away, I'd still be right here waiting, searching for the things to say to keep you right here waiting. I hope you're not intending to be so condescending, it's as much as I can take. And you're so independent, you just refuse to bend so I keep bending 'til I break. What I really meant to say is I'm sorry for the way I am. I never meant to be so cold, never meant to be so cold to you. I'm sorry 'bout all the lies. Maybe in a different life, you can see me stand on my own again 'cause now I can see you are the antidote that got me by, something strong like a drug that got me high. What I really meant to say is I'm sorry for the way I am. I never meant to be so cold, never meant to be so cold. I've made a commitment. I'm willing to bleed for you. I needed fulfillment. I found what I need in you. Why can't you forgive me? I don't want to relive all the mistakes I've made along the way. But I always find a way to keep you right here waiting. I always find the words to say to keep you right here waiting. But you always find a way to keep me right here waiting. You always find the words to say to keep me right here waiting. And if I chose to walk away, would you still be right here waiting, searching for the things to say to keep you right here waiting?"

XXXXXClapping at how smoothly the vampire intertwined the two songs, Trevor smiled at the group. "That's the first time I've heard you mix those two together and that was really nice. Surprising how such a tense guy lacking certain characteristics can sound like that, ne? He's genuinely a sweet guy behind this obedient soldier marionette guise," the Sheikah hummed, his perhaps overzealous cheer having returned in the blink of an eye. It was then he added, "Sorry, princess. I'll refrain from doing it intentionally. Anyways, as for Cirdan and Fox, the first is Breaking Benjamin. Koail only recently got out songs like Failure, Angels Fall and Defeated. He can be pretty depressing. If you think you girls vanishing on me was bad, his life is filled with tragedy involving slave traders, samurai, love, trust and betrayal. There's most definitely more, but he doesn't speak of how he got his mechanical knowledge, got stuck in space for God knows how long or the weird obsession for cooking and cleaning. He won't eat anyone else's cooking much less drink anything for whatever reason and he makes everything from scratch. Fox is Volbeat. You wouldn't expect it 'cause he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd call everyone else in a room assholes. He looks very professional so it'd be a last thought, but he really doesn't like people much. Unfortunately for him, his best skills are in the law as everything else ends up going horribly wrong for him."

XXXXX"Oh? Is that so?" Sheik teased before sliding back off of the dryer and starting to help weed through some of the clothes. Hole-y Mole-y was still too kind of a way to speak of what he was finding. Which ones he deemed alright to keep, even if it would require a little bit of patchwork, he tossed into their appropriate hampers. The others were tossed over the female's shoulder along with the others. "So do I get to know what this ferocious kitty with claws and her close companions do occupational-wise? You know what we do."

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"To be honest, I don't really mind being a vampire.I'm just... I guess... I just worry that i might turn out like those I used to hunt..." she sighed, curling into her brother some as she fidgeted with the silver ring she wore, completely ignoring the sting it had on her skin. ".... Does Trevor have a garden? I'd really enjoy being able to grow something again..." she mumbled, her brother chuckling lightly. "Worry about the garden idea later, for now, why don't you just focus on resting up. I'm sure you're probably hungry after coughing up your breakfast like that. You let me know if you need to have a bite, okay?" he drawled, pausing when they passed the kids to sigh. "Niji wa, naze anata to rein wa kaika ni kite, watashitachi no okyakusama o mitashite imasen ka?" he drawled, smiling when the kitten nodded to him. Continuing downstairs, he smiled at the newcomers before setting his sister on the couch on the other side of Kuro.

"Hm? A guy with a jingling head? You connected to Cheshire through me?" the child blinked, taking his hand again as she lead him down the stairs after the others. She wanted to meet this other kid their age anyways, and since they were obviously not going to stop bugging her until they at least said hi, she may as well go. Glancing to her big brother fussing over Kuro's hand, she gave a tiny snort and pulled a small gear from her pocket, showed it to Rayne, and gestured back towards her brothers with a sly grin before putting it back in her pocket.
"Go ahead and take a look. It's been freezing up like this for the past few weeks and I think its time i built him another, but I haven't really had the patience for it since he'll complain the whole time I'm rebuilding the thing." Shiro drawled, pushing the hand over towards Jake before waving at his little sister and Rayne. "It's not my greatest work, but there's only so much you can do when you're working with scraps." he added, spinning the screwdriver around and turning the end so that the flashlight on it's tip would light up for him to get a better look.

Smiling at Lurtz as he finished his little performance, Truth clapped lightly and put a hand on her hip. "Quite the talented group, here. Although, who's this Koail guy you mentioned, daddy?" she asked, squeezing her father's hand before she went and settled herself down next to Bander and Lianna.

"Mhhm~." Kana hummed, sticking her tongue out at him as she set aside a few more things, trying to get the delicates out of the pile before he could grab them. "Well, most of us are either hunters or exorcists; but Skylar quit hunting around the time he had a demon sealed inside him; and Lianna's taken up a more supportive roll since she lost her ability to speak. Bander, Kuro, Shiro and Niji were trained as ninjas and use their skills as blades for hire." she shrugged, pausing in her sorting to scratch at a scar on her shoulder before continuing to sort the pile of clothes and scraps.

'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
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Allies
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne, Cloud, Lurtz,
Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby

XXXXX"Then you should most definitely interact with Lurtz. He was like you only he started out as an elf instead of a human. Since he was raised to be a competent and obedient soldier, he's never really acted of his own accord. There was only ever one flaw; the bloodlust. You can't exactly stop that from existing. His father did put him on blood probations during his early years though according to intel. He'd make a slip-up in his obedience or just have that free will start coming out and his father would beat him to the point that he had little blood in his system then would give him a period of time he wasn't allowed to feed to recover from it. If anyone's to teach you self control and keep you from turning into that which you hunted, it'd be him since he's lived most of his life knocking on the door to that uncontrollable bloodlust and he understands what it's like to go through the transformation," Watari responded to Krystina's comment of fearing how she'd turn out. At hearing the question of Trevor having a garden, he gave a light chuckle before turning back around and nodding. "Indeed he does. He's taken up a lot of things to pass his time now that he's retired and since he's mostly recovered from the ladies' departures several years ago. It's been a good distraction for him quite honestly. I'm sure he'd enjoy someone working on his many hobbies with him, especially the garden. I've helped when I can, but we don't always get a lot of time off."

XXXXX"I suppose. It's either that or it was an imprint of a part of him that connected with your genetics. I can't be certain since Underland and all of its inhabitants are foreign to me," Rayne shrugged once more. At having his hand taken, he was a little surprised yet followed behind the girl. Her skin was so warm compared to his own. It made him feel out of place just as much as the faint pulse passed through her hand into his own. Only just noticing the gear, he gave a soft snort. "You little sneaky snake, you. Nice."

XXXXXAccepting the hand without the slightest bit of hesitation, the spirit fox's other hand went immediately into the little bag strapped over his shoulder. "Considering you've only used scraps, this is actually a pretty decent piece of work, but there are some clues that this would indeed only be a temporary replacement. See this here? The wire is practically useless now. You'd have better luck with a rubberband. Then, there's a gear missing here. It wouldn't do much harm, but it would most definitely make this freeze up after a little while. Let us see... If I put this here, change out these wires and redirect that," Jake murmured while shifting between pliers, wire cutters, screwdrivers, wires and cogs. Setting the hand down briefly, he slid his headphones back up and flipped the visor down over his eyes only to pick up where he'd left off. Considering he hadn't really reacted to the other two kids his age entering the room, it was obvious he'd become completely entranced in the make-up of the automated hand. Shifting his gaze up at Kuro, he held up the hand. "Reattach it and test it out. I want to see if it functions a bit more smoothly. I made a few tweaks, but it's still just a temporary replacement until Shiro oniisan and I can make a different one with much better quality."

XXXXX"And anything else he feels like building. Are we waiting on Sheik and the girl with him now?" Cloud sighed before raising and eyebrow at Trevor who merely nodded. Glancing back at Truth, he scratched behind one of his ears whilst Lurtz merely handed Kristoff his guitar back. The cat demon simply made it vanish once it was returned. In all honesty, he wouldn't exactly agree with Truth lumping him in with the others. "Mm... Not really. I can't hold much of a flame to Trevor, Lurtz, Cirdan, Koail or Jake. My only skills lie in brute force and mechanics. Trevor and Koail can do just about anything, Lurtz is a fricking computer and extremely dangerous with close-quarters or long-range fights. Cirdan was once known to be a manslayer and he's amazing at his handyman talents and household chores. Jake's just a rocket scientist. Better yet, he's like the phantoms with their intelligence."

XXXXX"Yep. I have skilled allies, Truth, whether it be the non-crucial talents or not. Hm? Koail? Well, I believe Lurtz can explain him better since he's known him the longest. Lurtz, describe Koail for me please," the Sheikah smiled while briefly stroking his daughter's hand with his thumb before she left his side. It stung a little, but he knew he was probably starting to seem clingy. The vampire snapped back into his militarized stance of parade rest though his eyes darkened a bit. "Koail is a second generation wood elf from the Undying Lands that was changed much like Lady Krystina and myself were. You'll know him by three signs; the kind of cheer that makes Lord Trevor's cheerful expression pale in comparison, a dog collar of some sort and a guitar strapped to his back. He never goes anywhere without that guitar. In all truth, he's a mischievous, deceitful and far too lackadaisical musician that avoid talking about himself unless it has to do with his music... Which is most music altogether. He's a musical genius and music is all he truly cares about. He will tell you that he gets these tunes in his head and then, on most occasions, he'll even write words to these tunes based on feelings he picks up on from others. If he hasn't written them, he'll play it for others like us and we'll offer suggestions based on what we pick up from the tunes and based on our own inner workings. He, most probably, is the one who introduced music to the human world. I'd say that if you ever need inspiration for your music or even just questions of how to make it better, he's the one to talk to." "And that's Koail in a nutshell or to make it even simpler; he's complex. We have found out his real name isn't Koail though. He only appeared in every source known to exist as a preteen much like how there's an infamous assassin that puts me to shame; Runealis Sareila. I've always wanted to meet him, but never have. After the Titanic sank, he just disappeared just like he'd appeared... Either way, Koail just appeared out of nowhere and was taken capture by a coven of vampires where their leader, Vedinya aka Odessa, took a fancy to him for his musical talents. She changed him and created a dog collar made specifically for two reasons; to hold the venom in his system as his body rejects it and to always serve as a reminder that she claimed him as hers and hers alone." "How does a body reject vamp venom?" "Don't know. We only figured out that he can't stay as a vampire like other people because his collar snapped and he dropped like a rock, curling up in the fetal position and remaining rather still and unresponsive for several days. Anyone he infects as a vampire and anyone who's drank his blood as an elf will revert to their original species. We can only assume it has something to do with the fact that he's a second generation fey."

XXXXX"Oh ho! Kitty's got claws even with her wit. Nice. That means the contagion called stupidity hasn't reached you yet," he chuckled while making a brief motion of his hand like a cat sinking its claws into something at her. The strawberry blonde then shifted his gaze up at the female with a slight smirk, his elbows settling on his knees while he remained balanced on his toes. "I'm glad you're witty. It's a good thing albeit can get you in trouble. Hunters and exorcists, hm? Intriguing yet unsettling. It'd make sense though... Eh... It sounds like a pretty difficult occupation. Similar to ours, but different targets for different reasons altogether." Having grown distracted by his previous thoughts, some of the more present ones slipped out though he quickly covered it up with returning to discussing said occupations. As if it'd just settled in, Sheik tilted his head slightly. "So that's what that fiery shadow was. I caught a glimpse of it when I first glimpsed him, but now it's a small fiery bird I can only see from the corner of my eye. It also explains why there were numbers overlapping. There's two entities in one body. Sounds like another Ross and Seda situation though I doubt the story's the same much less all of the conditions. It does seem interesting nonetheless. I'll wait until y'all feel more comfortable before asking too personal of questions. Perhaps by then, I too will feel more comfortable discussing any of the more personal information of ours with you. Mm... I think we have more darks than anything else by the way."

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.

XXXXXSmiling more as she was told about the garden, the newly changed vampiress gave a hum and readjusted herself on the couch. "I'd love to help with it, i used to garden all the time before we ran away." she hummed, taking another sip of whatever was in the cup watari had given her.

"Maybe. I dunno, I never actually got to meet him. We could ask Shiro and Kuro about it though." she mumbled, grinning to herself as she flicked the gear at her elder brother, only to snort as it bounced and hit the new kid. "heh, sorry, that wasn't supposed to bounce like that." she mumbled, covering her mouth as she gave Rayne's hand a squeeze.

Shifting his arm slightly, Kuro pulled the cable out and hooked the hand back into it, smiling as all but the pinkie began moving again, he nodded to Jake and his brother. "It'll do until you guys build a new one, thanks," he purred, only to start laughing when the duo were pelted with a gear. "Way to go, Niji." he snorted, holding his sides.

Giving a sigh, Shiro picked up the gear and looked from it to his sister. "Sneaky little thief, you. So that's why it was freezing up." he drawled, the smirk on his face hard to mask with anger. So she had been paying attention when he babbled to her about his projects. Glancing back to Jake, he gave a sigh. "Sorry about that, she didn't mess up your visor or anything, did she?" he asked, setting the gear on the side of the couch before tucking his screwdriver into a pocket on his cargo pants.

"Heh, he sounds like fun. wouldn't mind meeting him, among a few others" Truth hummed as she rocked her bare feet side to side in front of her. "As to the venom thing, I suppose if one's regeneration abilities were supper advanced, their body might be able to pick up on things like vampire venom and treat them as if they were a regular virus. That's just my theory, though so don't go quoting me." Truth shrugged, scratching at her head for a moment only to sigh lightly and look at Cloud. "Would you take the damn compliment? From what I've heard you're just as talented as the rest, so don't go denying it." she drawled, eyes narrowing on the blonde.

"Here's hoping we can all get that close." Kana chuckled, setting the last few items of clothing into their respective piles only to glance and him and chuckle. "well, yeah, we weren't gonna wear a lot of white when it'd just turn gross after a few days. we opted for clothing that wouldn't look dirty until it'd been worn for a while. Occasionally, we could buy ourselves new clothes but most of these are either from good will or we stole them." she shrugged standing up and grabbing part of the dark pile, only to shove it into the washing machine.

'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
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Allies
Deception, Kristoff,
Rayne, Cloud, Lurtz,
Cirdan, Fox, Jacoby

XXXXX"Lovely! Trevor, did you hear that? Krystina would like to help with your garden when she's a little better," Watari hummed rather cheerfully while glancing at his cousin who was snickering at Truth's sudden change of mood when Cloud rejected his own talents. The elder Sheikah then made a quick clap and hopped up to his feet, the brief sway from the sudden motion being disguised by him moving over to Krystina with a single step, taking her hand in his and placing a gentle kiss on the back. "Lovely indeed, Watari. Belladonna, I would be honored to have you assisting with the garden. The most my hands are good for are removing weeds and acting as a permanent source of fertilizer. It's not the greatest of gardens, but I've never had anything die or birds and bugs trying to destroy anything for the last six years. Watari usually got the pickings though so I'm not surprised. He's always had the touch of life. I believe it'd be nice to have a woman's far more gentle touch." "Always such a gentleman. Like her stressing her self, you shouldn't be getting up so quickly with a head injury like that. Get back in your chair."

XXXXXGiving it no real thought, Lurtz's hand snapped forward and snatched Trevor backwards, his foot kicking the Sheikah's feet forwards with such speed that he did a complete flip and landed in a seated position back on his chair. It took a second for it to register, but when it did, his smile only grew wider and his hands clapped even faster. "I love it when he does that! You don't even realize he's moved until you see him sliding ever so smoothly back into his militarized stances... Well, most won't. Not without a well-trained eye that is. Nice job getting me back into my seat without making me lightheaded again," he purred in an amused manner, the vampire showing a faint hint of bashfulness as he glanced briefly at the door. "It was nothing, sir. Your pulse was changing to compensate for such actions so whether Watari asked or not, I would've acted nonetheless. I just wanted you to finish speaking before acting as it would have been rude otherwise." "See? He's such a good guy, worrying about everyone besides himself. Just don't enter a battle with him where there's a high chance you'll die, he can't protect you and he's not acting like this obedient puppy. He will aim to kill you first. How is it you'll apologize again?" "It's not important..."

XXXXXSmiling lightly, Cloud shoved one of his hands into his pocket before shaking his head slightly. "Just like Trevor... You misinterpret what I mean by that. I don't believe I have much talent so I'll deny it. You can believe what you want. It's not my place to say you have no right to an opinion. That was my bad. I should've thanked you before denying any talents you think I have," he apologized before fidgeting with the white gold earring in his left ear shaped like a wolf's head decoration for a door. Pausing to glance briefly at Trevor then return the deep cerulean pools back to Truth, he smiled a little bigger. "Thanks for the compliment. And I'm sure you'll enjoy his presence. Koail's just a guy no one can seem to hate. I hope you get to meet him sometime in the near future. It's hard knowing with him 'cause he's a wanderer. I'm sure he'll be checking in on Sheik at some point. He has this weird way of knowing when he's needed after all and Sheik's been bailed out by him on more than one occasion." Giving a slight shrug, he slapped Lurtz on the back though he barely showed any notice of the friendly gesture.

XXXXXHaving nodded, the crusinik watched the gear ricochet and hit Jake, but the boy hardly seemed to notice it. His gaze then shifted towards Lurtz as if watching him carefully. "He's not gonna bite you much less anything else. He even said you're free to sink your fangs into him," Shadowheart muttered from beside the couch, water dripping off of him from standing in the rain. This got a sudden protest from both Trevor and Watari to which both of them used a foreign tongue altogether. The dark haired, fiery eyed teen just shook himself off like a dog ever so briefly before crossing his arms across his chest and shrugging, completely ignoring his hair sticking to his face. "The frick is wrong with this guy?" "We answered that already. He's a stray Sheik picked up and is trying to tame. Really, Shayde? You're just gonna shake off in the middle of my living room and ruin my carpeting, walls and furniture? Don't you glare at me for using your real name. I'll call you whatever the hell I please if you're gonna disrespect me in my house. Have you even settled down yet?" "Yes. Yes. No. I'm in, Niji and Rayne. It's better than dealing with these guys all the motherflipping time." "So you were playing in the backyard again, ne? Do you like getting kicked out into the yard or something?" "Tch. As if. Even as gloomy as it is, it's too bright out there. Dingus Khan, Celine Dion and Really Retardo can't seem to figure out that I don't like people." "Aw. I understand entirely. It's hard letting people in once you get burnt. You'll get there. Trevor, your stuff will be fine. There's maybe a speck of water on the walls and all you gotta use to suck up the water in the carpet is a steam cleaner. Seriously, guys, chill."

XXXXXHolding his hand out to Kuro, he motioned for him to return the hand. "Lemme see it. I'm not leaving it half-assed," Jake slightly growled, his brow furrowed though it was apparent he was still far too focused on the automated hand than anything else. Glancing at Shiro, he shook his head slightly as if to say his visor hadn't been hit. "My cheek stings a little, but I'll live. I had a feeling that finger was gonna give me problems. The nerves in your arm are probably really damaged too so that'll add to the difficulties..." "Don't use that language around your brother please. And turn your attention away from the hand. Focus over here where there're some people of your general age group or I'll smash your nerve gear." "Touch it and I'll break your hand! Oh... Um, hi..." "Wow... Completely oblivious when technology has grabbed his attention and very protective of it. I'm Rayne and this is Niji. Have you ever stepped away from all of that?" "Mm..." "S-sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset or nervous. You don't have to answer." Watching the spirit wolf fidgeting with his little screwdriver, the crusinik raised a brow at Niji. "Sorry. Jake doesn't interact a lot with kids his age. But no, he doesn't step far from it."

XXXXXPicking up a smaller pile of dark clothes, he set it on top of what she'd shoved into the washer then began shifting things so the weight of the clothes was a bit more level. Afterwards, he put in the detergent and a bit of liquid fabric softener before shutting the lid and starting up the cycle. "Agreed on both counts. Here's to seeing if we actually become that close," Sheik smiled at the female. "And the dark clothes are great for dirt and blood. That would be why we wear it. Our choice of attire, usually these bodysuit type things -no idea on what else to call them- help with the heat and the cold though unlike some of the stuff y'all wear. I can see about getting some for you guys and alter them a bit for the automated parts so they don't overheat. Besides that, they're easy to move in so you could use 'em for work." Making a slight sweep of the hand, he gave a half-shrug. "I believe they're awaiting for our return. You can always discuss the finer details with the ladies and I can talk to the gents about it. We will be separating to take our baths after all."

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.