#PartTwentyEight

[sloahne]

Revelations: Submitting to the Darkness Part 28

Written with @Lassiter_SASBDB.

Lassiter: *Well slap my ass and call me pappy, that explains a lot. To have that marker in her blood she had to have been the child of both a Chosen and a Brother. The SV had kept a pretty tight rein on her Chosen and they HAD been indoctrinated in their duty to the species, but if a Brother bonded with one of her priestesses in the course of their duties then they were allowed to leave her service. From that moment on, he was responsible for her safety and for producing young which continued the main purpose of producing strong bloodlines for the protection of the species. That's not to say some females hadn't had their own hopes and dreams, but until Wrath son of Wrath @LordOfTheManse had started making legal changes to give females equal rights in vampiric society, those hopes and dreams had pretty much been the life Sloahne's mother had chosen – mating with a Brother and raising a family on this plane. As Primale, Phury @PegLegPhury had embraced Wrath’s @LordOfTheManse changes. He had no desire to have sex with a bunch of different females even if that was the traditional role. Instead, he and his mate, the Chosen Cormia @Cormia_SASBDB, had decided to act as kind den parents to the young females, encouraging them to find their own paths with their protection and guidance. But, how the hell am I going to convince her of that? My burgeoning irritation is replaced with sympathy for what this female has gone through. Not just with that fucker, Drake, though that was by far the worst, but her whole life. Her mother had left the SV’s service but never escaped the old world societal expectations of Chosen females and she'd imprinted that expectation on her daughter’s rebellious brain. Sloahne had been raised in fear of it, with making a glymera marriage her only out. A marriage in which she would either be a prisoner or a princess, but even as the latter, her life wouldn’t have been her own. I'd have run, too. Hell. I kind of did.

Reaching out, I take her hand in mine. A frisson of electricity runs up my arm and straight to my dick at the touch. What the fuck was that?!! I’d touched Sloahne casually a hundred times before and never felt THAT. Vampires had fed from angels infrequently in the past, but it had been done, and I’d never heard that THAT was a side effect. Down boy, we have work to do. Clearing my throat, I mentally stomp my suddenly awakened libido into the ground. Focus here, boy, you’ve got work to do.* 

So your mahmen mated a Brother and left Sanctuary to be on this plane with him, but she just traded one set of rigid rules for another. And she passed it onto you that your basic function in life was to be property, either for a Glymyra asshole or the Brotherhood, with no say-so over anything, I got that right? *Shaking my head.* Sweetheart, a lot of things have changed. Some of it you have to be aware of, like the changes in the laws, but some of it only the Brotherhood really knows.

Sloahne: <Lassister takes my hand into his and suddenly I feel a spark that was never been there before. My heart is beating faster, my body seems to be reacting strangely to his touch. Heat floods my entire body and I feel the goosebumps that appear on my arm. Trying not to figure out why touching him so so different I listen to his words and wonder how so much has changed. I raise my brow in question.> 

Are you trying to convince me that the foundation of the vampire race over the past however many centuries has suddenly changed? That the Scribe Virgin who created our race whose female vampires who had been bred specifically to serve the Scribe Virgin and to meet the needs of the members of the Brotherhood, as well as Brothers in whatever fashion the male see fits? You’re trying to tell me centuries and centuries of this tradition is shot to Dhund?

<He can’t be serious.>

Lassiter: Well … *Sheesh, how do I explain this without blowing my cover? The Brotherhood knows, and a few others, but it’s kind of agreed that keeping my status on the down low is best for the species. People need traditions and all that.*  

In a word, yes. See, the new Primale refused to go along with how things had always been done. He’s mated with one Chosen and he’s faithful to her. He has a place on this side that he and his mate set up to allow Chosen who wanted to seek their own paths a kind of transition from Sanctuary. And the Queen is half-human. She kinda had a cow when she found out females had no choices over their lives, so that got the King involved. And then …. *Heaving a dramatic sigh.* Other stuff changed. The SV stepped down as deity. She’s not in charge anymore. 

Sloahne: Wait, what? The Scribe Virgin isn’t in charge? What happened to her? Is she ok? <I start to panic. It’s not like any of us normal people have ever met the Scribe Virgin, but she’s the mother of the race, someone you look up to. So hearing that she has stepped down, who is going to watch over us now?>

Lassiter: *Hands go up in an attempt to calm her sudden panic. If this was Sloahne’s reaction, then Wrath @LordOfTheManse was on the money keeping the majority of the species in the dark about the transition.* Whoa, whoa, take a chill pill! It's ok. She’s fine and she’s around, but she felt like the species had reached a point where they needed a more hands-on approach, something she's not comfortable with. She chose a successor who WOULD be comfortable with it - *More like insistent on it.* - And the Creator approved her reasons and her choice. 

*Although I’m still trying to figure out just WHY He approved, but I can't tell her that.*

So she’s cool, He’s cool with it, and the new deity is learning the job.

Sloahne: Oh. Weird. Ok. <Seriously … what else could I say? The powers that be had a shift change apparently. Didn't know that was even possible. Huh. Well. Wow.>

Ok, so someone new is in charge and so things have changed? The Chosen are not being used as basic slaves to the Brotherhood any longer? I mean, you know what I mean. I grew up knowing that the Chosen were meant to breed with the Brotherhood to create the warrior caste, almost a breed apart from normal vampires who have been at the spearhead of the war with the Omega. So all of that has changed? The bloodlines have to remain pure so that all sons are Brothers and all daughters are Chosen. It has been this way for centuries. 

Lassiter: *Lowering myself to sit beside her on the edge of the hospital bed, I forget and take her hand again, trying to give her something to hold onto as I shake her worldview, and son-of-bitch, that electric current jumps up my arm again and my dick starts complaining at the tight restrictions of my leathers. Damn it, angels are supposed to have better control and I'd have thought a deity should be immune! My teeth grit as I will my body back into submission. Focus, boy, focus!*

I'm really sorry your mahmen had that view of being a Chosen and that she passed it on to you, but I know it wasn't the way most of them felt at the time. Most of them viewed themselves as high priestesses performing essential functions for the race. But the very fact that your mahmen felt like that is one of the reasons the SV stepped back. The world was changing. Her people were changing and she didn't think she could change with them. At least not fast enough. 

The fact is that once Phury @PegLegPhury became Primale, he refused to continue with the tradition of sexual submission by the Chosen. He loves Cormia @Cormia_SASBDB too much and he’s got a faithful heart. He's a Brother who had spent his life taking care of someone who no longer needed it and he needed a new mission. Bonding with Cormia @Cormia_SASBDB, then accepting the role of Primale, gave him that. He looked at the traditional role of the Chosen and said “no more”. It was world shaking, but it was time.

The Chosen who choose to will still provide blood to the Brotherhood when needed. More than one would have died recently in the war without it, including Wrath @LordOfTheManse, but it's a choice each one has, not a mandate. The sexual aspect is off the table. If a Chosen wants to hook up with a Brother, that's up to both of them, and I’ll be honest, because of the history of the Chosen the only reason I can think of for why one of today’s Brother’s would do it is if the female was going into her needing and wanted a child by him. It would be him serving her, not the other way around. 

As for creating warriors for the race, pure bloodlines, etc … Phury @PegLegPhury freeing the Chosen forced Wrath @LordOfTheManse to start thinking outside the box. Soldiers are being recruited from the population. Males AND females. The training program is rigorous, but after Bloody Sunday when Lessers massacred so many of your race, we have more applicants than slots, and the entrance “exam” is tough. Most don't make it, but the best that do and finish the program are respected by the Brothers. One of the soldiers from the program has already been inducted into the Brotherhood. No bloodline requirement, just pure heart and ability. And there will be more.

You don't have to hide anymore if you don't want to, Sloahne. You're free.

Sloahne: <I could not contain my astonishment as I listened to the angel. I guess the rumors were true. With the King’s ascension came a new era indeed. I had no idea the Primal was a Brother. I suppose that would explain all the changes and the fact nobody knows about them. The Brotherhood has always been secretive in the past for the safety of the King and their families. But as the Audience House has been created, most have seen the many pherasome Brothers guarding the King in the last few years. It’s been an incredible eye-opening experience for many seeing them in person and up close. 

Could all this be really true? All these years I’ve been trying to hide my secret, I finally felt a huge burden off my shoulders. I finally could take a deep breath and really felt lighter all of a sudden.>

The Chosen are truly free to live their lives? They live out in the world among us? They can do whatever they want? They’re normal just vampires … out there at the bars and clubs? Seriously?

Lassiter: *And … time to hedge just a little …*

They will be able to if they want to. Eventually. They’ve lived very, very sheltered lives, and most don’t have an interest in going to clubs and bars yet. Phury @PegLegPhury is like an overprotective first-time father right now, proud of them and encouraging but still trying to keep them all safe as he helps them overcome the culture shock and learn how to take the appropriate precautions. Some of the Chosen are just getting used to being here. Others have started college classes and are looking into careers and it was going pretty good until … *Heaving a sigh as I run my thumb soothingly along the top of her hand.* Until young females started going missing. You weren’t the only one and we think the other missing are related to the war. And Phury @PegLegPhury, well he’s reacting like any father would, trying to close ranks. He’s asked the ones taking classes to go to online courses until the Brotherhood finds and ends whoever is behind it. He’s mentioned having the Chosen go back to the #OtherSide until then but if he does he’ll have a full-scale rebellion on his hands. *Smiling a little.* They like it here and they like learning to spread their wings. I think even his mate Cormia @Cormia_SASBDB would fight it. 

When it comes down to it, the Brothers have a double dose of testosterone and it comes out in being overprotective of people they think need protection. It's a good trait in warriors, but it does get them their heads handed to them by their females from time to time. 

Sloahne: *I listen in disbelief as Lass talks about Chosen being out in the normal world. Going to college classes!! That has been unheard of! At least it was not known in the vampire world, especially in the Old Country, where I left my family. 

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Chosen given a choice to live out in the world but he didn’t say they had complete freedom with the mention of The Primale. Since apparently they would be forced to back to the #OtherSide. An all-white world that my own mahmen spent her first few hundred years of life. A world she drilled into me with so many expectations if I kept choosing not to be mated in the arrangement she chose.

Then there were the Brothers. He hadn’t gotten to the part of explaining what “duties” were still expected.*

Hmmm … ok so they live out in the Earth realm but what about their duties and … expectations expected of them as tradition? It’s been this way for over a  millennia. Surely … the Scribe Virgin’s tradition of her breeding program that produces the Brotherhood? Selective breeding was deliberate, to beget strength from strength. *My anxiety caused me to speak faster and more agitated … and I wondered briefly if I was having a panic attack again.*

Lassiter: *Her anxiety levels shot up like a living thing in the room as she mentioned “duties”.* 

Hey, hey … *Squeezing her fingers lightly then gently cupping her face with my free hand.* Take a breath. 

*Fucking hells, the impulse to kiss her almost overwhelms me. Abruptly dropping my hand from her face, I discreetly shift to mask my raging hard-on. Just what in Dhund is going on? Note to self - no more feeding vampires. It results in major distractions. And find out just what the hell is going on the first chance I get. Duties. Think. That was when her blood pressure spiked.*

Sloahne … *Shaking my head.* There are no more “duties”. Hear what I’m saying. There are no more ehros’. Blood is donated only by the willing to those who are in need. There are no required duties anymore. Everyone is too busy learning how to just be normal over here. There is no one left in Sanctuary. Everyone - Ehros’, Watchers, Scribes - they all chose to come here to check out their options when Phury changed the rules, and they did so with the new deity’s and Wrath’s blessings. There is NO BREEDING PROGRAM. Not anymore. It’s not needed. We learned that strength, courage, and nobility don’t come from the bloodline. They come from the heart and soul of the race. If it came from the bloodlines then the Glymera wouldn’t be rampant with assholes and the history of your species would be a lot different. When the Scribe Virgin put these things, these “traditions”, into place it was a different world. The realization that the world doesn’t exist anymore and that some of those traditions have caused more harm than good is a big part of the reason she stepped back. 

Look … *Sighing.* I get that this is a lot to take in, that it goes against everything you’ve ever been taught. But no one is going to force you to do anything. And no one is going to out you to the King. I’ll take care of the Doc. I’ll pull his Hippocratic Oath on him, to first do no harm, and if he spills the beans on this it would definitely do harm to your mental health because YOU believe it would cause you harm. If I have to, I’ll mind wipe him and disappear your blood test results, but I don’t think I’ll have to. He takes that Hippocratic Oath business seriously. You trust me, right? Well, I’m asking you to trust me on this. This is your secret to tell when you’re ready to tell it and I’ll protect you until you’re ready. *Not damn hard since I’m already feeling protective and frigging possessive. I’ve GOT to get a grip on this.*

Sloahne: <I listened to the Angel and tried to take it all in and believe the words he was saying to me. But it was difficult. I spent centuries believing my mahmen and the stories told about her previous life before she was mated. I spent centuries hiding myself among the race and no one ever knew except the symphaths and moors … and then “he who shall not be named”. 

I contemplated his words over in my muddled mind and my erratic breath slowed down to a steady beat and I felt more calm than before. I laid back on the hospital bed and wondered how my life had arrived at that moment. Inside the Brotherhood Compound, at least that’s where I thought I was, running from a psychopath and meeting an actual Brother. Someone my father could have fought side by side with, someone who could have been close to him and knew many stories that I was not privy to. I missed my father … my fist circled and rubbed my chest in front of my heart as I felt the ache whenever I thought about my father. 

I shook my head at the past and tried to stay in the present. As I did, I felt the electricity running through my fingers and up my arm and wondered briefly what that was I figured I was still probably not well from my ordeal and needed rest and whatever was feeding into my veins from the bags of IV hooked up to me. I laid back on the gurney and tried to relax and sink into the weariness that my bones were feeling from the weight of centuries of running and hiding and wondered where my life goes from here.>

Oh … wow.

Lassiter: “Wow”? What’s that mean? *Females. I can read minds but I try not to. Privacy and all. Plus none of them would ever really trust me if they knew I could but it goes with the gig.* 

So you’ll let me handle the Doc? And you'll stay put, at least until the dirtbag is dealt with?

*I want to touch her again, to reach out, hold her, comfort her. I can tell she’s confused. Everything she thought she knew just collapsed around her. It’s what I should do, what I would have done before just touching her started shooting lightning through my veins. I don't regret juicing her, but I don't dare too much physical contact until whatever this is fades. Instead, I release her hand and lift her chin with one finger, locking eyes with her.* 

After that, we can figure out what's next.

Sloahne: <I start feeling the adrenaline start up again from playing cat and mouse with “he who shall not be named” starts to take over my body.> Just … wow. This has all been a lot of tea and no one even knows about it, right? I mean outside the Brotherhood that is. The race would be in an uproar, #Glymera specifically. They’re all about being Old School and traditional. I mean it’s been centuries. It’s still hard to imagine. You know?

I mean I’ve been hiding for so long. But yeah, I can stay … wait … you mean to stay here in this room? For how long? I mean I need to work, and I have rent to pay and bills. I mean I can’t afford to pay whatever hospital bill the Brotherhood’s personal physician would charge me … I mean … yeah… what about “he who shall not be named” … are you sure he can’t find me here. I mean he’s found me twice now … <I start to panic again and look around. It’s so ridiculous. I was so confused … I wanted to feel what I felt when he had me under his spell but then he just went over the line and the pain … so much pain … then blood, blood everywhere. My blood just everywhere …>

Lassiter: Hey, come on, take a breath here … you don’t have to worry about any of that stuff. If the asshole hasn’t been dealt with by the time the Doc releases you, then I’ll get you cleared for the manse. Wrath @LordOfTheManse isn’t going to let one of his people be put in harm’s way and you def would be out where Drake could sense you again. We’ll figure it out. 

*Fuck, she’s starting to hyperventilate again. Too much, too fast. She’s getting shocky.* 

How about we take a little nap here, huh? Get your pulse rate back into a normal range. You need to get your strength back before you tackle all this stuff.

*She’s already halfway to trying to get out of bed. I scoot in closer and loosely wrap my left arm around her, not to restrain her, but to catch her when she goes down for the count. Touching two fingers to the center of her forehead …* 

Sleep … 

*She sags against me, her breathing leveling out. I can sense her pulse slowing, steadying to a normal pace. Her fever is gone, so juicing her worked. She just needs some rest and my, ummm, “suggestion” should have her out for a solid 8 hours. Gently, I lean her back and then rise. I gotta go talk to the Doc, and make sure he remembers his oath requires patient confidentiality. Sloahne’s not a young and she’s able to make her own medical decisions now, so he’s got no reason to breach that by squealing to Wrath @LordOfTheManse about her blood work. Hmmm … I think I’ll make that documentation disappear anyway while I’m at it. If she ever wants it, she can have it done again voluntarily. With a last look, to be sure she’s settled, I go invisi to hunt down the Doc. He’s a tough cookie, but the element of surprise is always on my side.*

[seraphinebdb]

Battle Angel: Phoenix Rising from the Ashes Part 3 CROSSOVER Dark Angels Creations Part 28

Declan:  I can sense it in him, the heaviness, the weight of what we are about to do. This little excursion to Caldwell wasn’t about closure, even if Sin thinks it was. No, coming here is about saying goodbye. Goodbye to the mortal world he’s protected, goodbye to the love he’s looked for over and over again all these years. Thanks to him, I never have to know that pain. Celia and I will always be together, and, no matter what he says about just needing servants, all three of us know Sin saw Celia and I as a mirror of he and his late wife. Though he’d lost her, he’d seen allowing our souls to remain together for eternity as an extension of what he hoped for -- that one day he’d be reunited with his twin flame.. And I can see it as clearly as if he’d drawn a picture that he’s given that up. Not a good thing for a man … well reaper … about to go into any battle, let alone one in which the odds are so stacked against us. He has nothing to live for. For a moment, I wish for Sean. He’s the one that’s always been able to help the reapers when they grew cold or despairing, using that gift of his to pull away from the pain. But Sean’s got his tasks and I’ve got mine and right now, Sin is mine.

“Boss, why don’t we get off this building and take a walk. There’s no sign of our kind of trouble anywhere and I think we could both use a drink.” Ok. Lame, I get it, but sometimes people talk over a glass of whiskey and if I can get him to talk, maybe I can talk him out of this mood. Make him see the reapers need him. Hell, /Celia and I/ need him. He’s become our alpha.

Sin: *Turning from the expanse of the city laid before us below, I tilt my head wryly at Declan.* I thought you were here in the official capacity of “bodyguard” since you and the others seem to believe I am incapable of defending myself.

Declan: Snorting impatiently, “We both know you could take any one of us or all of us together without even tapping into that power of yours. You were a warrior before you were a reaper and being a reaper only made you more dangerous. I’ve watched you fight, even sparred with you. You don’t need a bodyguard. I’m here more to be a failsafe in case the Horseman or Lucifer tries to hocus pocus you into some kind of trap. Even /you/ are vulnerable to that kind of crap if you’re not on your guard and no one is on their guard all the time. Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve walked an east coast city street. I’m not knocking your place in Hawaii, but even paradise gets old once in a while. So about that drink …”

Sin: I am not fooled, Declan. *Arching an eyebrow at him.* You have something on your mind. So, yes, we shall talk about it over a drink. There is a Hilton Hotel not far from this abode that has a quiet bar with a fine selection of Irish whiskeys. Attend me and I shall take us there.

*As he takes his place at my back, left hand on my right shoulder, right hand not on his blade, but the .40 at his hip, I am reminded that Sean and Adrian have seen to it he has the proper ammunition to combat our foes. Though I am reluctant to abandon the old ways completely, I understand why they believed firearms would be effective for “bodyguarding” me. At a distance, they could prove effective in holding off the enemy and giving us time to demat and reform behind them, and perhaps, if Declan’s aim is true, even removing a few from the battle.*

Keep your weapon at the ready. According to Layla, this city has predators of its own. While we may not directly interfere in Annalise’s private battle with good vs evil, neither will we be prey to it.

*With that, I mist us to street-level a few blocks from the hotel, reforming us not in the mortal world, but the half-world to observe our surroundings and be sure that we are alone before becoming fully a part of the physical realm.*

Declan: My hand clenches on Sin’s shoulders as we hover in the half-world between life and death. “Sin …”

Sin: I see them. *Before us in the alley a young female scrambles to retrieve a dagger from the chest of an apparent attacker. There are a pair of bodies lying on the ground and another trio approaches.* What do your wolven senses tell you?

Declan: Inhaling deeply to scent the air around us, then wrinkling my nose … “Phew … the attackers smell like road-kill that’s laid in the Georgia sun for three days and then had a mountain of baby powder thrown over it. I’d say those are Layla’s “lessers”. The girl … vampire but not entirely. Not human, but …” My eyebrow raises … “angel? She smells like Zav but not as strongly. She must be a hybrid. Is that even possible? And what would an angel be doing here?.

Sin: *Shaking my head as he comes to stand beside me.*

I know not. Many angels still living are in the service of El Shadai, the white god. But as her scent is not wholly angel, and as El Shadai disapproved so strongly of the Grigori taking wives, I must believe that her bloodline is descendent of an angel who is not one of his tools.

*Briefly, I open my inner vision and allow myself to read her essence. As a partially mortal being she will have a soul as well as grace and I should be able to see it. It will tell me whether she is likely to be friend or foe. My eyes widen at what I see and I tilt my head, disbelief in my eyes.*

What are you … who are you …? *I wonder softly.*

*Though I only have time for a cursory examination, her soul is unlike any I have seen in my long existence as a reaper. A normal mortal soul will project an aura composed of a myriad combination of colors ranging from yellows and rich golds to reds, blues and greens down to the darkest of blacks and all in between. A soul ready for ascension will be of the purest white, a nimbus of it radiating around the mortal body. But hers is different. It glows, yes, but shimmers with silvery blues that are very like the pulsating aura Zav’s grace forms around him, and there are flashes of a very mortal red woven through it. And there is something else. Even though her soul is something new, her essence is very old, and … familiar. But though I would delve further, now is not the time.*

Regardless, Declan, she is outnumbered here and I find her enemies demeanor most arrogant and provoking. *Wrinkling my nose.* As well as odoriferous. I believe you are correct as to her assailants. The miscreants’ bouquet is so potent that even without your wolven nose, I can smell them. While I should not intervene in the Scribe Virgin’s affairs and have no affection for angels beyond our Zav, I am not about to allow any female to be harmed by such as these. If Annalise desires her life, she shall have to find another way to take it.

*As the men advance from the alleyway entrance, I gesture to it.*

Declan, get behind them and guard the alley. There is insufficient time for me to ward and glamour the entrance so it falls to you not to allow others access. You may do as you will with the lessors but re-direct any humans and vampires as necessary. Leave these three to us. *An admiring smile forms on my lips.* She seems to have done quite well on her own already. Between the two of us, there should be little difficulty in dispatching them. Oh, and Declan, have a care. I understand that lessers can be hard to kill. Go for dismemberment until we ascertain an effective method. A non-magical being who neither walk nor lift a weapon is of little danger and I sense they have no power of their own.

Declan: “Remember that then. Your touch may not work on them. Don’t let one get close enough to find out.” With a nod, I ghost through the half-world to reach the alley entrance. Unless needed, I’ll stay in this realm.

Sin: *I watch as Declan reaches his destination in milliseconds, then, fully forming in the mortal world, I materialize my scimitar and move to stand at the right of the female, offering her a hand up.*

Mind if I join you?

Seraphine: <Wondering again, how I was stupid enough not to bring any firearms this night. I truly had only been thinking about healing and therefore some young transitioned vampire male to feed from and test Lassiter’s hypothesis. An image suddenly appears to my right in a sort of mist unlike an instant dematerialization I was used to catches me by surprise and as I hear a deep melodic voice, I look up into the darkness to see a male. Who is he? Did #Cyrehn send him? He must be desperate to reach outside the species. Ignoring the offering hand gesture and I quickly got to my feet on my own.>

Whatever, but stay out of my way. <I responded as I charged towards the first incoming lesser, I dodged his right hook and stabbed him in the sternum where his heart once was with the retrieved dagger, briefly closing my eyes at the flash of light by leaping into the air to tackle down the next walking dead. As he leaned back from the flare, I took the opportunity to knock him down to the ground landing on his chest.

I struck him with my dagger hand to keep him off balance but he was able to get his hands around my neck. I tried to use my left arm underneath his and wound counterclockwise to loosen his grip as I took my dagger and stabbed him in the chest again. I closed my eyes briefly against the light and landed on the concrete.

I looked up for the remaining lesser and wondered what happened with the male.>

Sin: *For a moment I simply watch her. The fire in her eyes struck a chord deep within me, one that I was loath to silence. I had not felt it in so many years that I actually distrusted the feeling. But she was poetry in motion, moving as fluidly as a dancer with the strength and cunning of a warrior. Murmuring half to myself.* Quite the battle angel, are you not? *Noting the flash of light when her blade penetrated the being… I cannot call him human nor male for he is obviously not… I perceive the way in which they die. Still. A reaper must have some fun from time to time and the creatures pose little threat to me. As the female leaps to her next victim and a flare of light indicates its dispatch, a smile curls upon my lip and I turn to the third, holding my scimitar at the ready. The creature is more wary of me than had been his brethren who threw themselves at what they had supposed was a helpless female. Perhaps it was the size of the blade I brandished as opposed to her smaller, but a highly effective dagger, or perhaps it was the feral gleam in my eye, but he halted as I faced him.*

I know not what manner of being you are, but it matters not. Everything dies.

*His bravado fades as I move towards him. Near panic obvious on his face, he pulls one of those infernal guns from within his jacket and points it at me. I stop and sneer.*

Really? There’s little honor in such weapons.

*That I have no fear of the armament is apparent and that unnerves him. He growls at me, his pale visage trying for courage.*

“Fuck honor,” he spits out.

*As he opens fire on me I lower my weapon and allow him to unload his clip into my chest. Blood flows, and there is pain but for a reaper neither the wounds nor the pain is debilitating. When it becomes apparent he is out of ammunition and I am simply standing there waiting for him to finish, he looks at me in disbelief, his face growing even paler.*

“What /are/ you?”

Your end.

*It only takes a moment to adjust my sight to search for his soul. I wish to ascertain if Declan’s concern that my touch might be insufficient on this new enemy is accurate and I am surprised to find the being has none. Declan had been correct.*

But I see that one has been here before me. You, my friend, are literally a dead man walking.

*With a thought I exchange my reaper’s blade for a finely crafted dagger as I dematerialize into a fine mist, leaving him gaping as I reform behind him and slide one arm around his neck to immobilize him and thrust the blade home in his chest. A light flares and a resounding pop echoes through the alley. Releasing him to slide to the ground, I look back at the female.*

I had hoped for a better match, but *shrugging* what can one expect of the soulless?

Seraphine:  <As I turn, I see another flash of light and the male shrugging as if killing is NBFD which probably meant it was a regular occurrence. Which meant he was probably a trained assassin or another hired bounty hunter. /Not/ what I needed right now. It’s been a while since I last saw any of #Cyrehn’s goons and have changed my appearance. Regardless, my guard was up and my suspicions on high alert.>

Soulless or not, they’re a pain in the ass.

<I get up and wipe my blade down my pant leg, black like oil smearing across as I search for my other one. Finding it against the wall of the alley, I clean off the other and keep them by my side since I have no idea who the BMOC that just appeared out of nowhere. My face was slightly throbbing for the lucky shot from the lesser. I need to get out of here and back to my condo.>

Thanks for the assist. Laters.

<I turned to walk briskly away to try and dematerialize without an audience not knowing what the species the male and his tracking abilities. If #Cyrehn has upped his game … then it looks like it was time to move again. This really sucks since I just found #Lassiter and had some help with trying to find my father. Whatever. Nothing I haven’t felt before but I was growing tired of playing cat and mouse. I needed another training lesson with #Lassiter about using my abilities to hide and train better.>

Sin: Wait. Please. *Misting to place myself a few feet in front of the female.* I would know more about these creatures and your expertise at dispatching them tells me you would be a good teacher.

*Yes, Layla has already told us a good bit about these things, but I wish to spend more time in this female’s company, and perhaps this is the way. Unfortunately, this is the moment, Declan chooses to materialize behind me.*

Declan: I’d caught the sound of far away sirens with my wolf’s hearing and figured it was time for us to go, but as I take solid form beside Sin I catch the iron-tanged scent of blood in the air. Taking a look at him, I huff a sigh...

“Dammit, boss, do you know what kind of hell I’m gonna’ catch if I take you back like that? Sean’s gonna have my hide for letting you play. You can replace the clothes, yeah, but the scent of blood is gonna cling to you until we get those holes in you sealed up. It’s so strong you don’t even need my wolf to smell it. The others will know as soon as they get close to you.”

Seraphine: <He suddenly appears in front of me in another sort of mist. Teacher? What the fuck? But before I could even respond to the ridiculous request when clearly he had no issues with lessers when someone else dematerializes behind him.

Fuck me. Two against one and they were definitely not newly turned lessers and seeing as one took a whole clip of bullets without much of a flinch and just some slow bleeding that smelled definitely non-human. He was dressed in all leather, lean and wiry which would make him strike fast against an opponent. Long hair hanging loose along with scruff … a rebel for sure. Not a conformed soldier … but a warrior none the less.

The newcomer looked dangerous as well, I eyed him in his jeans and a tee-shirt. Casual. Then again, he also had bandoleros cross over his chest with steel under his leather motorcycle jacket. I could not put my finger on what he could be … vampire? But I snapped to attention when I heard their conversation. Did he just say wolf? Boss? What the hell was going on here.

I take a step back with my daggers low at my hips ready to strike if necessary. Fight or flight was strong. I was outnumbered by beings I was unfamiliar with and whose skills were unknown.

What the hell? <My defenses are on high alert, ready to dematerialize around the world to get away from them if I needed to.> Clearly you can dispatch the undead back to their master just fine … so who are you and what do you really want?

Sin: *With some irritation, I look at Declan.* A moment here, if you please. *Turning my attention to the female, her distrust is nearly palpable, and I find I do not care for it at all. Reapers are used to striking fear in the hearts of mortals, but this … no. I do not want this female to distrust or fear me. Soothingly, I hold my hands out, in front of me, palms up and clearly unarmed as I begin again.*

My name is Sin. And as you have no doubt already discerned, neither I nor my associate are vampire or human. As for the undead …*Barks a laugh.* I will say these beings are something new, but no, I am not unused to dealing with the dead. However, neither the dead nor the living have reason to fear me if their intentions are honorable. I will also own that a vampire of my acquaintance has given me a very basic description of these… lessers, I believe she called them? But she is a Chosen and her knowledge of them was limited. You, on the other hand, are clearly a warrior. I learned how to dispatch them by watching you, which was fortunate as my normal methods would not have been effective. Though it is unlikely I shall need to deal with them often, it is always wise to have knowledge of the evil among us. It proves helpful in dispatching it.

Declan: “Boss, the sirens are getting closer.” I hate like Hell to interrupt this. He’s actually taking an interest in this female and it’s the first time in days I’ve seen him act like he’s interested in life, but it is what it is. “If we stand in the physical world much longer we’re gonna’ give them a hell of a story to tell back at the station about the guy just standing there calmly bleeding from a half dozen bullet wounds. We need to disappear. And we need to stop the bleeding. Even you can’t bleed indefinitely without it making you weaker. Sean would come …

Sin: No! *My head whips towards him as he suggests contacting Sean. Calming my voice.* I have no need of his healing. These will resolve in a few hours. But, *turning back to her* it would indeed be wise if we could go elsewhere for a bit before I return home. I can take us somewhere we could speak further or perhaps you could suggest a place? *Smiling at her gently.* I would at least know your name.

Seraphine: <I continue to take a few steps back as they argued with one another. Seems they have a friendly relationship with one another since the newcomer seemed really concerned with the bleeding. I could also hear the sirens but without any evidence, the police would only find the smell of baby powder and black blood is easily mistaken as oil. Their conversation was beginning to get interesting speaking of physical worlds. Also, the “Boss” named Sin having access to a Chosen. Interesting tidbit.>

He’s right, you should check those wounds. You’re bleeding quite a bit. The only advice you need to know is to keep steel on you and aim for the sternum where their heart once resided until they pop from existence. Otherwise, they can keep coming back and really names aren’t necessary.

<I backed away from them and then leaped up the building roof to try to escape from their presence so I finally dematerialize home without them tracking me. I decided to demat to different locations around Caldwell before going home not knowing their tracking ability especially since one of them was a wolf? A freaking wolf. Shaking my head as I finally entered my condo from the balcony. I went straight to my bathroom and checked on my injuries.

Since I recently fed, the bruise on my cheek was already fading. A great benefit from normal feeding. I needed to see what I could pack quickly … just in case. I wasn’t sure if those guys were sent by #Cyhren but I needed to be on guard.>

Sin:  Damnation. *Quietly swearing as she dematerializes in front of me.* I do not even know her name. *Sighing as I turn to Declan.* I suppose it matters not. I glimpsed her soul and you have her scent. There is no place in any of the worlds we cannot find her and we have other business to attend to at present. But once it has been dispatched, *I leave the words ‘and if I survive’ unsaid. Somehow I find myself less willing than I had been to give portent to such an end.* I will find her again. *Smiling wryly at Declan.* Let us go back to Hawaii until these wounds heal.

Declan:  Nodding, “And before you start griping at me, Sean will meet us there. *Shrugging at his dark look.* He’s tapped into my brain until this is all over. I smelled your blood and got worried, so he asked. I ain’t gonna’ lie to him, Boss. Not even for you.” Smiling a little at him. “Sean’s who keeps us all on an even keel. Even you.” Eyeing the blood still flowing slowly and getting a little snarky to deflect is irritation, “You ok to demat or you want I should hold on to you?

Sin: I am quite able to get myself … and you, should you forget the way … home, thank you. *Perhaps I am somewhat testy, and I should have remembered Sean was to stay linked to both ghost shifters for the duration, but I really do not need his attention and I would like to have lingered a moment longer to find the female’s abode for future reference.* Follow me. And try to keep up.

Declan: I bark a laugh as Sin mists away. If it were possible, I’d say the fine black haze is swirling angrily, and hey, maybe it is. I’ve only been with him the last 35 year or so and he never really loses his composure, so this might be a first. And ain’t it interesting it comes on the heels of meeting that female. Nothing ever really ruffles him. Oh, yeah, I’ve seen him get angry but never truly lose his temper over something. He gets irritated or disappointed in someone, or goes into his commander mode when he the ones he considers himself responsible for go off the plan. I’ve even seen him get vengeful when it was warranted. But his actions are always calculated, never stressed. And more, I’ve never seen or heard of him marking a soul to find in the future. Yeah, maybe this worked better than a glass of whiskey and some soul searching. At least, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it when Sean rips me for lettin’ him get hurt. Smiling at how the Fates seem determined to work things out for Sin, I ghost out and follow my alpha home.