#i actually thought there were two egyptian flags but my sister thinks it's one that got passed around

[easterndaylighttime]

malayka, the opening act for aziz maraka, mentioned she was from egypt and someone in the audience unfurled a full-size egyptian flag. must we always do the most

[hwrryscherry]

The one where Y/N is a princess.

characters: HARRYxPRINCESSY/N

blurb: Y/N is the youngest daughter of Prince Charles and Princess Diana which makes herself the youngest sister of William and Harry(the duke of Sussex). Harry(Styles) and she meet at the Dunkirk premiere when Y/N attended with her brother Harry. This time, Harry(Styles) is in London and show Princess Y/N what it feels like to be just a girl called ‘’Y/N’’ for a day.

word count: 2.4K

warnings: fluff, a little sad in the end.

author’s note: I received a request about Y/N being a heiress and my mind just go directly to royalty so I guess this could be cool? I tried lol. If you’re british and you felt ofended by any way while reading this I’m extremely sorry!!!! I hope you guys like it as much as I do. And also, I just wanted to share that I wrote this listening to ‘’Ophelia’’ by The Lumineers and ‘’The Book of You & I’’ by Alec Benjamin. 

    You and Harry scheduled to meet in the British Museum situated in the Bloomsbury area of London even though it was a public space, it wouldn’t be a surprise as people already knew that you and harry new each other. You both met on the Dunkirk premiere which you attended together with your brother Harry. Harry(Styles) was such a gentleman, he actually were nervous. As a British man he respects the royal family as much possibler than he can, and he would never want to make neither you nor your brother to feel uncomfortable.

    But anyway, you both scheduled there because Harry had been in England for a while and as you stayed friends it just felt right to meet up. You actually felt really tired, emotionally tired. You were so used to traveling the most amazing places with friends and now being basically locked up at The Buckingham Palace because of the corona virus felt draining for you. So when Harry came up with the meeting you were so glad to finally be leaving home, and Harry has always been the type of person who you felt like you could talk openly and be exactly who you want to be, and we don’t even have to say that the British museum it’s probably one of your favorite places in London. You were enamored by art, and there were so many interesting things in there and every time you’ll go there you’d find something new.

  It was 9am and the museum it’s actually closed now but you did have some perks. You were in the Egyptian part accompanied by your bodyguard Jasper, when you suddenly listened the rough voice of you dearly friend coming closer to you making you turn yourself to look at him getting closer. He greeted you with a simple hug in which you reciprocated by opening a slight smile looking at him.

— Hello, darling — Harry said while using his hands to style his short and messy hair with a smile on his face. — How are you?

— Hi, I’ve been good, just tired! But what about you? — You asked as you both started to walk through the beautiful masterpieces — How’s your mom and Gemma? — You had that really strong British accent, which Harry understood completly, and he really likes it. He thinks it’s the cutest thing. Actually, Harry thought everything about you were extremely cute, you both have a little crush on each other but as you already told him a lot of times before, just the thought of how many things he’d have to leave for because of the royal regulation made you sad for him. You’d never ask him for something like that.

— They’re good but... — Harry stopped walking looking fixedly to your face trying to analyze your emotions by their expressions — Why are you tired? I mean, I understand it must be really bad living in a castle but anyway, what happened? — Harry said smirking at you and your reaction of laughing and rolling your eyes at him.

— Haha, really funny! You should be a humorist — You answered mocking a bit and running your right hand through your hair as you started walking again — And I asked you how were you, you won’t answer? I’ll lock you in the dungeon for your audacity! — You both always joked like this because when you first started being friends, Harry had all that idea about the old royalty with dungeons and prisoners so you’d always make fun of him for that.

— Alright, alright! I'm good, they're good, we're all good. Now, tell me! — Harry said putting his right hand slightly on your shoulder making you stop walking and look at him with all your attention. You sighed trying to form your words to explain exactly what you were feeling to him.

— I don't know, I'm just... I'm so tired of the routine, you know? I wish I could just go out to do the craziest things and not be recognized. — You were looking straight to Harry's green eyes, it felt like they were watching your soul because e was giving you his full atention. The boy really did care about you. He stayes quiet for a while in complete silence, it was a comfortable silence though. It never felt like you and Harry needed to talk all the time when you got together because it was nice just to stay together and enjoy each other's company.

— Let me take you out! — Harry suddenly said after a few seconds making your eyes widen up as you looked at him.

— Excuse me? — You asked.

— Let me take you out! We can put on some disguises and take the best London tour we can find, I bet you've never done it! — Harry said with a little smirk in the end. He was right, you never took a tour through your own city which seems crazy — You know... I really like you and if you wanna have fun this could be great! You'll be just a girl called Y/N and I'll be just a boy called Harry. — He said trying to argue with your thoughts thinking if this would actually be a good thing to do. But you didn't really have anything to lose, did you? — So, do you wanna do a bunch of fun things with me today? — Harry held out his right hand to you indicating that as soon as you shake his hand you would leave that museum and probably have the best day of your life, and so you did.

So as soon as you could, you both were out of that museum with the most ridiculous disguises, if I might say. Harry changed his fashionable clothes for some neutral grey hoodie and you changed your cute black dress to a jeans and hoodie as well. Your heart raced a bit when you both left that museum, the fear of being recognized was in you. It's not that you don't love the people of this nation, it's just... a day off could fit you pretty well.

It was hard to convince Jasper to leave you both alone though, it was his job to keep you safe and actually you don't even remember the last time you left your home without him, you just needed freedom for a while but you did convince him. He spent some minutes actually talking to Harry tons of rules about keeping both of you safe and how he couldn't risk your life and all that stuffs.

For the first time in your life, you were on those big, red and popular British bus. You and Harry entered by the back door and within minutes, you both were on the upon side of it on the last chairs. You looked through the window admiring this city and thinking about how much you would never want to live anywhere else. Harry was making a lot of dad jokes beside you though. You tried to laugh as lowly as you could but it was almost impossible, come on “What's the name of a man with a rubber toe? Roberto” it's so bad that it turns out to be funny. But anyway, the bus took both of us to King Cross where you entered a very popular fast-food place called “Five Guys” as Harry guaranteed you was the best he'd ever had and even though you'd doubted it so much, you agreed to go with him. When you were there, you ordered the biggest burger it had on the menu, which actually surprised Harry, but he surprised it too as he ordered it on the name of “Archie and Eleanor” so you could maintain your disguise.

— So.. Archie and Eleanor? — You asked smirking when you finally took the first bite of your burger. It was delicious but Harry was definitely lying, this is not the best one ever, but yep, all for the experience.

— Come on, you loved it! It's very charming, don't you think? — Harry asked as he took a sip of his coca-cola. It's crazy how these stupid disguises was working, is it really that impossible to recognize someone with a hoodie, cap and sunglasses? You didn't want to know because you were having a nice time.

— You know what, I think we need to get those Chinese cookies because I wanna read my luck! — You commented making him shook his head in reaction to your ask.

— Ok so we need to dinner Chinese food so bad! — You argued taking Harry from surprise as he didn't thought you'd stay this late with him.

— You'd have to buy actual Chinese food, you can't just buy the cookie! — He answered raising his eyebrows at you taking his last bite of his burger.

It didn't take much long for you both to be moving again. It was definitely the best day you've had in a while. You both went to Kensigton High Street and bought the most stupid UK theme hats. Harry bought a fake glasses too; it was blue and had a UK flag handed on it making you laugh every time you looked at his face.

— Come on, I still look cute! — He said putting his hands on his hips and posing like a model, on the middle of the street.

— If you say so!

Next you both went all your way up to Abbey Road which is the famous street from The Beatles photo, and you and Harry as the great fans you are had to copy them. You asked to a random person to take a photo of you two with the best American accent you could impersonate to her. The photo looked so cool and a car almost hit you two but you were fine and for some reason you both laughed and ran to the woman with your phone.

— Oh, to be drunk in love! You both are a really cute couple. — The old lady said giving your phone back to you and walked away before any of you could contest her. You both looked at each other and Harry smirked at you.

— Oh, we're such a cute couple! — Harry said blinking his eyes on a very cute way and you just rolled your eyes at him and started walking again.

— Come on, Styles! I wanna go to the Queen's Gallery — You said walking your way up to the bus stop. Harry had a big smile on his face, he didn't remember the last time he actually had that much fun. He loved England. He loved those places and he loved having this much fun with you.

In the Queen's Gallery, you and Harry tried to not make that much of a noise, it was a museum right? But it felt hard to keep it quiet because you both were taking the weirdest and funniest photos with the arts in there, for a moment you even thought you both were going to be expulsed of the location, but you didn't. None of you realized how much the time was flying and it was probably 3 pm now.

The next step was the Columbia Road Flower Market. It was probably the coolest thing of your day. You both ran around taking a lot of photos and videos. You bought one of the most delicious breads in there. You were looking at some flowers when Harry came back to you with a bunch of pink tulips on his hand, it was your favorite flowers and he knew it.

You both went to so many places actually; you went to HMS Belfast, Battersea Park, Albert Memorial, Old Spiralfields Market, Serpentine Lake, Carnaby Street and Holland Park.

When it was closer to the sunset, you went to Princess Diana Memorial Garden. It was a hard place for you. It has always been and Harry even asked if you really wanted to go there, but you did. You needed to sit down for a moment on your life and miss your mom. You were little when she died so you're probably the only one of your brothers that remember her the least.

You both lied down on the grass. It had a fresh breeze in the air, but the sun was still out, it was that golden hour moment. You rested your head on Harry's thorax looking up to the sunset orange sky above you.

— You know this can be great... If we're willing to try! — Harry said in a very low tone. He was caressing your hair with his hand analysing your face, so he could get any reaction for you.

— It would be for a while. — You said sitting up to look at his face, your faces were a few inches apart, the golden coloration on his face giving him the glow he did have naturally — But what would happen 3 years from now when someone tells you that you couldn't perform anymore? Or you couldn't release your songs? It's not right, I can't ask you this! — Harry looked away for a moment, probably trying to contain his emotions and think, just think — But we have today, we have now. Maybe we should just enjoy what we have now!

He looked back at you, directly into your eyes and again, comfortable silence. The comfortable silence Harry thought was so overrated felt right any time he was with you. He put himself closer to you if that even it's possible. His ring handed touched your cheek, eyes never distracting, you leaned in and your lips touched his. It felt magical, it felt quiet and it felt right.

The sun was out now, bringing the night and the sky full of stars. You both were by The Mall avenue, running, and dancing to the song playing backwards; it was Ophelia by the Lumineers, after that day, this song was your song and any time any of you listened to it, each other was brought up to your minds. You called it a night when you both were by the top of the London Eye, where all the big lights inspired you. When the cold breeze hit your hair and the height scared you but Harry made you feel safe.

Harry dropped you off at the castle's gate at midnight, just as he promised. You stayed by the balcony of your room until the sunrise looking at the sky because you knew that Harry was on the other side looking at the sky too thinking about how you'd never get to finish the book of you and him, and if you weren't faded to end together at least you had today.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S3 Ep 25: We Finally Address the Dead Bakura in the Room

It’s been a long while guys, a long wait. We had a lot of filler. That filler ended up being just a hell ton of characters, and since the show knew they would only be filler characters, every single one of them had to die. So, now that they are all absolutely dead (at least until we’ll need more filler later) we can finally get back to what we were trying to accomplish since S2, to finish this one single tourney that has been going on for a week in the show’s timeline but about a year and a half in the timeline of anyone watching from home.

It’s finally here, we’ve finally made it to...

A tower that Kaiba really did make in just that shape.

Sometimes you can really tell that this kid is a 16 year old. (who is occasionally 18 whenever it’s necessary. But only occasionally.)

I want you to know that it was probably this image that got this post flagged from my drafts folder. This show and getting me flagged, I swear. I’ve now reached a point, that the moment I click “Save” in my drafts folder, I get an automatic flag. Just automatically. Maybe once you’re tagged enough times, they just start putting you into a special group? I dunno. I’m not concerned about it since this blog is quite kosher, it’s just kind of funny to me that this will probably continue to happen whenever I post from here on out, and the massive dick tower Kaiba made is not helping my cause.

In case you are wondering, Kaiba and Mokuba are completely over losing their only surviving family. They act as if getting trapped in a VR nightmare where your Dad is trying to control all human life is something that is completely trivial and something that everyone goes through at one point. They’re completely over it. Most people would cancel the tourney after seeing the horrors they just witnessed but...Seto still wants those God cards, so, no one has spoken a lip about Noah at all. And probably never will ever again. RIP, Noah arc.

This episode (as well as the next one, since I’ve gotten in the habit of doing these two at a time for weekend updates) is pretty short. This is mostly because they’re recapping S2. Luckily for you and I, this is not really necessary since this is a recap blog and I can just...scroll down...to see what happened in S2 (and I did have to do that because I forgot...a lot)

But, I imagine kids who started watching this show who with the Noah Season and just kinda walked into this situation aboard the blimpjet from Hell were...hella confused at all these rando characters and Egyptian curses coming out of nowhere. The Noah arc and the Real arc are like two completely different feeling arcs.

(Read more under the cut)

They were probably also super confused at this random blonde lady in the hospital who is Joey’s friend but also, if I had not actually seen this show before, I’d just assume was his own mother because she’s drawn so much older than him.

Joey and Mai are now like...basically dating. Honestly, this is probably the best relationship Mai has ever had, and it’s taken place entirely when she’s in a coma.

On the other side of the Blimp, Marik is also checking up on his own beloved coma patient -- but by checking up on him, Marik actually intends to kill him.

Still trying to kill Odion. How many times are we gonna get this guy hovering over Odion’s bed with a knife (that they leave the tip off of in the English version) ?

What follows is a bizarre scene of Marik threatening to kill his Sister but never actually doing it. Honestly, this would be them until the end of time. Marik is never going to kill his Sister. It would be too much effort. He couldn’t even kill Odion when Odion was just asleep right in front of him.

And this is probably there as a sign that Marik still has a slightly less evil side in there somewhere but also...Marik is a villain that doesn’t like actually doing the work required to be a villain, which is how that entire Noah arc happened, youknow? Everyone should be dead by now. It’s been DAYS.

Honestly this whole scene was freakin weird, but not as weird as the next scene.

That’s right, the thing I’ve been waiting for for so long. That thing I’ve brought up every freakin episode for 25 episodes. We’re finally going to talk about it. We’re finally going to address it. I can’t believe it’s actually happening, I honestly thought this wouldn’t get addressed until S5.

It is amazing how many times Yugi’s friends have walked into Yugi having a freaking melt down with himself and how many times Yugi’s friends have been absolutely cool with it. They’re just...used to this now, I guess. They’re just used to Yugi crying at the top of his lungs with the lights off in someone else’s empty room. Completely normal Yugi behavior.

And then...this happens.

For absolutely NO REASON AT ALL, Yugi decides to lie.

I mean if I had a quarter for every lie Yugi says in this show, we’d be drowning in loose change, but it still surprised me a whoooole lot that Yugi would bother to lie about THIS. This thing that you could so easily debunk. This would be so easy to catch on to. The fact that no one wonders “wait, how is he getting air if the jet is still in the sky?” or the fact that when they’re outside, getting some air later in this very episode no one wonders “wait, Bakura’s not even here?”

Like why does any of Yugi’s friends even trust him at this point? Yugi is constantly lying and he’s not even good at it.

And maybe it’s because Yugi thinks that if he says Bakura died, then everyone would get their confidence shattered by Marik and would become too weak to fight back but like...they just witnessed half of Kaiba’s family die and now Yugi thinks they can’t handle Bakura--their shadiest asshole friend--getting killed by the same serial murderer that put two other people in a coma?

He doesn’t even tell the Kaibas “hey, so Marik killed one of your duel champions, do you maybe...need to do something about that?” No. He just...lets it be. Why tell Kaiba? Why tell the guy in charge of this tournament that one of the people in your tourney killed the other tourney people? Why even threaten Moki to threaten to enforce the rules for once his life?

Yugi, I swear.

God bless the storyboarder.

It’s been a while since I praised the storyboarder, mostly because I forget, but man, seeing this pose from this angle is such a good joke. Kaiba just committing to his signature pose until the camera cuts away.

And then, they step off the blimpjet and unanimously agree that Kaiba has deffo brought them here to murder them all and hide the bodies.

Admire this hell hole and then remember that Yugi told everyone that Bakura went outside for “fresh air” and they didn’t immediately ask “you mean in the dump? The literal trash compactor that’s outside? You said Bakura just walked out into the piles of weapon’s factory and rusty sharp metal and is just...waltzing around out there?”

I mean, at this point they should have put two and two together but it’s this team so...I guess they’ll just never know the truth.

And then Joey decided it was time to fight club again.

Marik really did leap up here and go like, “man, this is SO pretty” and it’s supposed to be taken as a sign that Marik loves destruction, but honestly? I don’t think Marik has any idea what things should look like above ground in the first place. He might think this is what normal above-ground people like.

Then, Marik patiently asked Mokuba what the duel order would be and that’s when Mokuba lost his freakin gourd just out of nowhere.

I mean Mokuba doesn’t really like talking to Marik, I get that, but how much of an asshole do you have to be before Mokuba doesn’t like you?

Anyway, they all enter the tower and learn about a whole new mode of playing the game. It took a very long time, and since I don’t go over card games here, is another part of the reason why this update is mercifully short.

They go on these...elevator cars????? And, as they attack eachother they sort of get pushed to the top of the tower, and whoever gets there first, is the first to duel and so on.

They make a very big hullaboo about who they want to duel in the finals. Every single person here. We spend like 5 minutes in everyone’s head wondering about what their strategy will be in this mini game that makes really not much of a difference.

There’s not even guard rails, they could’ve just given him a little push.

I take that back, there are guard rails on these things, but because none of these people ever sit down, the guard rails that are a foot and half off the floor of their cabin will make absolutely no difference.

Like please notice that every single one of their weird duel cars has a padded seat that none of them will even use.

Overall this looks like a whole lot of dueling and I’m looking forward to skipping it. Honestly it’s nice, when was the last time I had a 25 length cap post? S1, right? Like all the way since S1. Ah, good memories.

Anyways, if you just got here, this is a list of the other recaps of this series, starting at S1 Ep1 and moving forward in chrono order.

[sayo-writes-fanfiction]

On the One Hand- Death: 5- Hey, does this smell like Chloroform?

Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

"It didn't take long to get the reports." Garth slid the folder across the table to her when Sonya slid into the booth. "They wrote both of 'em off  as animal attacks."

"Not surprising." Sonya murmured, flipping it open and scanning the pages curiously. "I mean, if you didn't know what you do now, wouldn't you think it was the same thing?"

Frowning in thought, he scooped some ice cream from the top of his float and nodded with a grin. "True."

Reaching over, she snagged his glass and took a drink before looking back down at the papers. "Lookie here- our football star?" She pointed at something on the page and looked up at him. "He lived right down the street from Mary. Apparently he called his parents after school, said he was going to hang out with some friends and never came home." Stealing another drink from his float, Sonya ignored Garth's grumbling and continued. "Missing for three days before the body was found."

"Well, like you said, he was probably held for feeding later." Garth smacked her hand with his spoon in warning when she reached for the glass again. "Wouldn't be the first time." He added taking another bite thoughtfully. "I've found a lot of people like that in weird places."

Sonya scrunched her eyebrows and frowned, rubbing the spot on her hand idly. "They don't keep them in the nest?"

"Shaking his head, Garth dug around in the glass in search for more ice cream. "Not always, sometimes I think they leave 'em where they know the bodies will be found, chalk it up to satanic rituals or something."

"Seems like a lot of effort for something they aren't sure will go through."

"Unless they know it'll go that way."

Pausing, both of them shared a grim look. "Let me guess, not the first time you had a monster on the inside either?"

"I'd like to say it's a first." Garth sigh and slid the glass towards her while grabbing the folder to look through himself. "But I don't like lying."

"So what, we go to the station and ask if anyone has a nasty habit of using people like juice packs?" She curled her upper lip slightly at the thought and swirled the spoon around in the air idly.

"Don't think that will fly, Amigo."

After finishing up at the diner, Garth answered a call from Lily who insisted on seeing them. Something about remembering something her sister said the night before leaving. "You go ahead, Garth. I want to take a closer look at these files." Sonya murmured, still flipping through the folders sitting on her lap as he drove out of the parking lot. "She just wants to tell you something, no need for both of us to be there."

"If you're sure." Looking over at him, Sonya flashed Garth a wry smile and lifted her shoulder in a shrug. "I'm the researcher here, you do the footwork." He flashed her a grin of his own and tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel. "Suppose so. Motel then?"

"Yeah, I think I need a shower." Tucking the folders away, Sonya tapped her fingers idly along the open window, watching the town fly by while they made their way back towards the motel. "You know, there's something about this that just doesn't sit right with me."

"Hmm?" Garth hummed in question, sparing her a quick look as he turned into the lot near their rooms.

"Yeah, just... Something seems off I guess. Could just be me trying to see things that aren't there because it's my first case and all." With a shrug, she opened the door and stepped out, turning around as she shut it to lean against it. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah! No problems here, Sony. Be back in a flash." He grinned and moved the truck away as she backed up. "Catch ya!"

Lifting a hand in the air, she waved him off and turned back to the motel, hand already pulling the key out of her pocket as she walked up to her door.

Stopping just inside the doorway of her motel room, Sonya eyed the area with a small frown. Something just tickling the edges of her senses and making every hair stand on end. Slowly shutting the door behind her, she slid the pistol from her waistband and clicked the safety off, quietly making her way through the room, checking every place she could think of before moving to the bathroom and looking in it.

Nothing. With a frown, she clicked the safety again and returned her gun to it's usual spot while returning to the main room. Rolling her eyes, Sonya scoffed at her jumpy reaction and moved towards her bed where her bag still sat, eager to grab a change of clothes and wash up before settling in and researching for the rest of the night.

Clothes in hand, she paused and frowned at the sudden blur in front of her, like her eyes were out of focus. Blinking a few times, Sonya rubbed at them with the heel of her hand a moment then looked up, a light smile flitting across her face when the blur was gone. "I think I actually  need some decent sleep tonight."

However, freshly washed and changed, She returned to the table where the files and folders were spread out instead, beer in hand as she methodically worked her way through each bit of information one at a time.

Despite checking the room and trying to ignore it, the feeling she had earlier while walking in persisted. Scratching the back of her neck, she shifted her shoulders idly and flipped another folder open. This was a new one, according to Garth when he came back from the police station, there had been another attack, a teenage girl this time and according to the reports, she was found in the same place as the other two.

Frowning in thought, she studied the picture taken at the scene. Long, fire red hair spread out around her head, throat slashed. The only difference with her, was the ropes were still around her wrists. Flipping to the next page, she studied the close up on the girl's wrists, the rope wrapped around them was old, stained and obviously used previously.

Clicking her pen, she scribbled down a few notes on a spare notebook and flipped to the coroner's report, reading the list of other marks on her body before stopping on one of them.

Reaching up, she snagged Joshua's folder and flipped it to the report inside, scanning the same list until she came across what she expected. Looking up, Sonya felt a small prickle of excitement, the common denominator that linked everyone. Grabbing Mary's file, she flipped it open and read the report there eagerly only to scowl in frustration and throw her pen down.

Both kids had the same tattoo on their left ankles, nothing obvious or big. Just what looked like an Egyptian hieroglyph.

Tipping her head back against the chair, Sonya closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair in thought. Before popping into existence here, she had a weird habit of learning written languages, including a little about hieroglyphs. If she remembered correctly, it was the symbol for Anubis, otherwise known as the hieroglyph for God-King.

Rubbing at her eyes, she groaned in frustration and and leaned back towards the table, staring down at the papers spread out across it. Problem was, Mary didn't have one.

But... Picking her  pen back up, she flipped through all three folders, scanning the first page and sat back again. She was the only one that hadn't been restrained, and apparently, the only one with something of value taken. Both kids still had the cash they disappeared with, even the charm bracelet the girl wore was still in place.

Mary however... She tapped the pen against the report with a tiny twitch of her lips. The ring she wore on her right hand was missing, the indent clearly visible from the pictures meaning it was one she rarely removed if ever. A one-of-a-kind piece according to her mother, a gift for her eighteenth birthday.

According to the friends and family interviewed, it had been a silver band with a swirling design all around it. That sounded familiar, very... Familiar. And bad, very, very bad. Jumping to her feet, Sonya pulled out her phone and quickly jabbed in Garth's number. 

Letting it ring a few times, she swore when his voicemail came on and grabbed her bag, digging through it with one hand while still holding the phone to her ear. "Garth, call me back as soon as you get this! I think I know why Mary was different from the other victims." Yanking out her machete, she quickly strapped it to her waist and dug out a coat to cover it before heading out the door. "Don't go in her apartment, Garth, I think she's one of them." Hanging up quickly, she stepped out to the main road and flagged down a passing driver to ask for a ride.

Stepping out on the side walk leading up to Lily's apartment building, she waved the couple off with a quick word of thanks then headed towards the door. Reaching out, Sonya tried the handle and swore when it remained locked. Of course she couldn't get an easy way to sneak up on them or anything. Grimacing, she reached over and pressed the buzzer below Lily's, hoping her neighbors were at least home.

A few seconds later the speaker crackled followed by an older voice. "Hello?"

Forcing her expression into an apologetic one, Sonya leaned closer to it and spoke. "Oh, sorry! I meant to push Lily's button... If she's home, she wasn't answering my call earlier." She paused for effect and let out a small laugh. "Um, but since I have you, it's kind of a surprise that I'm here right now. And I would love to see her face when she finds out that I'm here... If you wouldn't mind buzzing me in..?"

A small pause then the door buzzed, letting her pull it open as the door beside her opened and an older man stuck his head out to look at her with a faint amusement on his features. "Hope she enjoys the surprise, Lily is such a sweet girl."

Forcing a smile on her face, Sonya nodded and headed for the stairs. "You have  no idea, thanks." Waiting to be sure he shut the door again, she slipped up onto the landing, stopping outside the door to Lily's apartment, ear pressing against it in an attempt to hear what was going on on the  other side.

A few muffled words, more than one voice, followed by a soft thump. Grimacing slightly, she hesitated before reaching for the handle and gently turning it in hopes that it was unlocked.

Of course, her luck wasn't the greatest. Swearing softly, she stepped back and eyed the frame critically. Her strength wasn't the best, so it was highly doubtful she'd ever be able to kick in a steel reinforced door. "Plan B then." Moving to the side of the door, she reached over and knocked sharply on it before pressing her back against the wall, hand already moving inside her coat for her machete.

A sudden silence fell inside the apartment, a few hushed murmurs she  barely heard. Holding her  breath, Sonya waited as footsteps thudded softly towards her and stopped. Dimly she realized they  must have looked through the peephole. Idly Sonya wondered if she should have covered it with something before the sound of a lock turning called for attention. Gripping the handle of her weapon, she slowly drug it out and held it to her side, waiting for the door to open.

The second it cracked a bare inch, she swung out, kicking it open the rest of the way and knocking back the figure behind it, darting in, she jabbed the hilt of her machete towards their face, the vague realization it was a young man hitting her just as he stumbled from the blow.

Crouching down like Garth taught her, Sonya kicked the door shut behind her and swung the heavy blade around in her hand, watching him wipe his bloody nose and snarl at her, fangs bared. With the confirmation she needed, Sonya moved in, swiping out with blade only to have it meet air as the vampire ducked.

Stumbling from the force of her swing, Sonya tried to move away as he lashed out with a fist, catching her in the jaw and sending her toppling over onto the floor in a daze. A groan of pain slipped from between her lips as she stumbled back up just in time to see another figure step into view.

"So you figured it out, I'd applaud you, but I doubt you'd appreciate it." Lily folded her arms across her chest as she and the other vampire circled around Sonya where she knelt on the floor.

"How did you do it, anyway?"

Spitting out a bit of blood, Sonya sneered at the woman in front of her, eyes flicking around the room quickly before returning to her. "The ring, your sister's ring was missing, a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry. That  looks suspiciously like the one you were fiddling with when we were here earlier."

Lily sighed and looked down at her hand, splaying her fingers out so the light caught on the silver band resting there. "Damn, I didn't think of that. Those police are really through in their questioning, aren't they?" Turning to look over at the young man beside her, she nodded her head at him. "This is Brad, my... Protege if you want. Freshly made, and oh so very hungry. A wonderful addition to the family I'm making." Reaching out, Lily ran a fond hand over the young vampire's head, earning a look from him loaded with words Sonya would rather not think about.

"That's just... Wrong." Sonya groaned, watching as they stared at each other. "I mean, he's half your age."

"Doesn't matter when you're immortal, things like age and time means nothing to you." Lily turned to look down at Sonya with an appraising expression. "You would make a beautiful vampire yourself." Crouching down in front of her, she reached out and gripped Sonya's chin, thoughtfully turning her head from side to side. "You could easily lure food to you with a face like that, so innocent and pure."

Yanking her head away from her, Sonya spat in her face and sneered. "Yeah, not gonna buy into that story, lady. I became a hunter to help people, not eat them."

Wiping the spit from her face Lily flicked her hand and stared at her calmly a moment. "We'll see." With a jerk of her head, she motioned for Brad to grab her and stepped away, leaning over long enough to grab the machete from the floor and followed the two of them as he drug Sonya towards the back room.

Shoving the door open, he yanked her roughly in behind him and shoved her into one of the kitchen chairs set up in there. The other one already occupied with a familiar lanky figure.

"Garth!" Sonya hissed as Brad started tying her wrists firmly behind her back only to stop and backhand her when she continued to struggle. "Shut up! You're worse than Stacy when I brought her here."

"That girl? The one the police just found?" Sonya groaned, blinking the stars from her eyes and turned to look up at him, catching just the flash of guilt in his expression before disappearing behind another scowl. "She wouldn't listen either, I had to kill her, she was going to keep trying to get away."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Sonya watched as he finished tying the rope and stepped away to join Lily by the door. "She was your girlfriend, wasn't she?"

"She would have been mine forever, we could have had centuries together if she had just agreed." Brad growled, anger flickering across his face as Lily placed a hand on his shoulder in a calming gesture. "My Brad was so upset she wouldn't listen. It was for his best interest to be rid of the girl while he rested..." Looking up at her, Brad frowned slightly and turned away, leaving the room without a word as Lily stepped inside, shutting the door behind her.

A shift in the chair behind her brought their attention to Garth as he groaned lightly and lifted his head up. "Wh-"

"You were jumped by two vampires." Sonya stated bluntly, turning her gaze back on Lily as she moved around in front of the man with a smile on her face. "And he awakes! Good of you to join us, officer."

"M' not..."

"I know, but it's so much fun to act isn't it?" Her expression morphed into one of upset, tears glistening in her eyes. "I mean, my sister and I were so close, I loved her and she was cruelly attacked by a wild animal!" Dropping the act, Lily crossed her arms, the machete she still held tapping lightly against her shoulder. "She didn't love me. If she did, she would have agreed when I offered her a chance at being young forever."

"So, you showed her your new pearly whites and she flipped out, refusing to even listen to you and what you were... Offering. After she left, you called your close friend Brad to take her out. Explains why she was the only one that didn't have marks on her wrists." Sonya groaned and tipped her head back in the chair a moment then turned to watch the vampire as she made her way around in front of her.

"Exactly. I couldn't let her go, I doubt she would have said anything, I mean, who would believe her? But I couldn't chance a hunter catching wind should she get desperate to explain why she and I weren't close anymore." With a careless shrug, she sat down on the foot of the bed, legs crossed at the knee as she stared at Sonya.

"Those kids, you weren't using them for feeding, were you? Not at first."

"Right again, I needed fresh blood, impressionable kids that would jump at the chance to live forever. Luckily, Brad was part of this group that tended to get into trouble from time to time. Of course, they liked to think they were tough, called themselves a gang, even had a name-"

"God Kings." Sonya groaned, the final piece clicking into place as she hung her head. Of course, if there was another vampire doing the recruiting, it made sense they would go to people they were closer to than their own family. Including the ones he grew up with first before moving onto the other members.

"Very good, you are a clever one, aren't you?" Lily praised with a motherly smile that made her skin crawl. "You would do so well."

"I don't think so, Lady."

She stared at her a moment then shrugged. "Your loss. You see, I'm not like the others of my kind, i don't just turn someone if they don't want to. I'm far more refined than the barbarian that changed me." Standing up, she made her way over towards Sonya and leaned over, a hand passing through her hair with a longing look. "It is a shame though."

"Oh, well aren't you wonderful." Sonya growled, leaning away from Lily and nudging Garth with her elbow sharply as she spied his head dip forward from the corner of her eye. He must have been hit hard to be this quiet this long.

"I know." Lily smiled lightly and turned away, heading for the door. "Now you two kids sit tight while Brad and I go gather a few friends of his. If we're lucky there will be a few new children to feed by the end of the night. You won't suffer long."  With that, she left the room, locking the door behind her as she did.

Waiting a moment to  be sure she wasn't coming back, Sonya started wriggling her hands, trying to slip the ropes off. "Garth, come on, you can be tired later!" She groaned when she didn't feel him moving. Planting her feet on the ground, she pushed her chair back sharply against his, earning a confused grunt from the man. "Wake up! We gotta move, dammit!"

"Sony... What?" He grumbled, sounding a bit more awake as he started moving sluggishly against his restraints. "Oh man..." Groaning slightly in pain, he tugged at his hands harder as Sonya shifted her ropes against his. "That lady, never thought she'd... I think she hit me with a baseball bat."

"No surprise there, she's playing the part of poor apartment renter pretty well." Sonya growled in frustration as she tugged on the ropes harder. "I had no idea until I realized she had her sister's missing ring."

"Damn, I didn't even notice." Garth groaned, his voice still a  bit sluggish as he began moving his shoulders around. "'s What I get for not paying attention."

"No shit. Don't you have like a pocket knife or something." Sonya turned her head to look over her shoulder at him, blinking one of her eyes against the blur that appeared when she did. "Damn, my eyesight is all sorts of wonky right now."

"What?"

"Never mind, just... We gotta get out of here, she's planning on making new vamps right now." Sonya squinted slightly, fingers stretching out until she could feel the knots tied around Garth's wrists. "Hold still, I think I can untie you."

Several minutes of work later and they were both on their feet again, Sonya rubbing her sore wrists while Garth opened the bedroom door and peered out before motioning for her to follow him as he made his way out into the rest of the apartment.

It didn't take long to find Garth's machete tucked away in the hallway closet, Sonya's however, was still apparently in Lily's hands. Stepping out of the kitchen, Garth offered her a  large meat cleaver with an apologetic look on his face. "Biggest thing I could find. Sorry."

"It's fine, I'm sure I can take off a vamp's head with this if I try hard enough." Sonya spun it around in her hand for effect and slipped it into the inside pocket of her coat as he lead the way out of the apartment.

Stopping the truck, Garth peered through the windshield at the river stretched out in front of them. "You sure this is it?"

"It's the only place that seems to fit, all the bodies were found here, so logically-" Sonya shoved the door open and stepped out, her boots squishing in the mud slightly as she did. "It's somewhere around here."

Moving around the truck to meet her by the back, Garth scanned the trees around them then turned to her with a grin. "Split up?"

Shaking her head in idle amusement at his ability to cheer up so easily, Sonya sent a grin of her own towards him. "Yeah, search the area for somewhere hidden, something vampires could hide out in without being spotted. Barn, empty cave, something."

"Gotcha." Shouldering his machete, Garth glanced around again and pointed with the blade towards the right. "I'll take that side."

"Garth, it's a patch of woods, there really aren't any sides."

"Point taken, Amigo. Shoot a call if you find something." With that, he jogged off, disappearing into the growing shadows of the trees, machete held tight at his side.

Shooting a final look in his direction, Sonya turned and moved into the trees herself, cleaver held slightly in front of her as she made her way through them slowly. Turning her head side to side, she scanned the area as best she could in the failing light of sunset, silently cursing the fact they had to do this at night considering Vampires could see better than they could.

It was far longer than she wanted it to  be before her phone buzzed in her pocket. Slipping it out, she flipped it open and held it to her ear as she moved towards a promising shape in the dark. "Garth?"

"Try again, Sweetheart."

"Bobby, kinda busy." Sonya grimaced slightly at the boulder in front of her and moved to go around it to continue her search.

"Found 'em yet?" His curious voice making her grin at the empty air.

"Yeah, kinda. We know who they are, but uh. Ended up getting away to some hide out. I figured it was somewhere near where the bodies were dumped." She explained quietly, waving the knife in the air while she spoke. "Garth and I are searching the trees for it right now."

Bobby grunted lightly on the other end of the line, the sounds of keys clacking in the background a moment before he spoke again. "Try south of the river, 'bout a mile away there's a old farmhouse that was condemned earlier this year."

Another smile flitted across her face as she turned to head south instead. "Thanks, Bobby. Call you later." Not bothering to wait for a reply, she pressed the end call button only to dial another number and hold it back up to her ear.

It rang twice before it picked up, Garth's familiar voice coming through. "You find it?"

"No, but Bobby suggested the old farmhouse south of the river."

"Bobby called? How is he?"

"Does that matter right now, Garth? You can ask him after we finish this." Sonya rolled her eyes as she ducked past a low hanging branch and stepped out onto the riverbank. "Meet me by the river."

"Aye Aye." The click of her phone alerted her to him hanging up, making her snap her phone shut and stuff it back in her coat pocket.

It wasn't more than a few minutes later when Garth stepped out from the trees a ways down the river, closer to his truck before he spotted her and headed over.

"South?" He came to a stop and looked down at Sonya as she pointed in the general direction with a small shrug. "That's what Bobby said."

"Good man, Bobby." He clapped her on the shoulder and moved to take lead, his much larger blade reflecting the faint light coming from the moon overhead. Coming to a stop, he motioned for her to crouch down when he did, moving forward slower until he paused beside a tree. "Is that it?"

Peering between some bushes, Sonya studied the broken-down house. "It has to be, it's the only house we've come across." She whispered back to him, watching it with  narrowed eyes before- there! Waving her hand to get his attention, she pointed at the window where a faint flicker of light could be seen once again, like a flashlight being shone.

Sharing a look with him, she watched as he motioned towards the door then raised his blade up then pointed at her and waved off to the side of the house. Nodding her head, Sonya moved as quietly as she could around the side, circling around the small clearing the house sat in, searching for another way in as Garth made his way towards the front door.

Just as she spied an open doorway, the door itself long gone by now, she heard a loud crash from the front. "Damn it, Garth." With a growl, she moved forward, ducking inside the dark entry and slipping into the house as the sounds of a fight began to make itself known.

Gripping the handle of her machete with a sweaty hand, Sonya slipped through the hall and came to a stop beside one of the only doors left, hesitating a moment then reaching out to push it open.

Inside, against the far wall, were three young kids, high-schoolers by the looks of things and what she guessed to be the friends Brad wanted to recruit next. A few more shouts and a final bang sounded from the front of the house then finally silence. Fear pricked at her senses, making her slide back and press herself against the wall beside the open door as a set of feet thudded their way towards her.

Once she spotted the toe of one of their shoes, Sonya reacted, swinging out with her cleaver only to have it stopped by a machete and a startled Garth holding it. "Woah there, don't kill me!"

"Oh god, Sorry!" Sonya dropped her arm and reached out, grabbing the lanky man in a tight hug before pulling away. "I thought you were- Never mind." Turning away, she refocused on the teens as one of them began to shift around, their handcuffed hands twitching over their head slightly.

"Both of 'em are dead." Garth informed her as he moved past and closer to them, crouching down as he studied their faces with a pained look. "But looks like they got what they wanted."

Moving closer, Sonya finally spied the dark substance on their mouths and chins and let out a sigh. "Damn." Crouching down, she watched as the boy's eyes flickered open accompanied by a low groan. "Garth..."

Sharing a pained look with her, he stepped  back and tightened the grip he had on his blade. "Go get the salt and gas from the truck, I'll... Take care of this." His jaw ticked slightly from how tight he was gritting his teeth as he stared down at the young man just as he raised his head to look up at them, a panicked look in his eyes.

"Garth- Maybe we should..."

"You know better than that, Sony." He down at her as she came to a stop beside him. Reaching over with his free hand, he rested it on her shoulder a moment then gently pushed her toward the door. "Go."

Casting a final look back as she hurried back out into the hallway, she caught sight of Garth raising the machete up before she turned the corner, the resounding thud following making her flinch slightly as she ran out of the house. It wasn't fair to those kids, they were tricked into it, Lily and Brad making them think it was a wonderful thing to be a vampire.

Hours later, the two of them were back on the road, radio quietly playing in the background as they sat in silence. Sonya staring out her window at the dark on the other side as Garth drove on.

Casting a quick look in her direction, Garth cleared his throat and tapped on the wheel. "Look, I know this isn't the best case to start on, but don't give up! You did great."

"I didn't do anything, Garth. I couldn't take down Lily or Brad in her apartment, and I froze when I saw those kids. I couldn't..." She sighed and leaned back in the seat, eyes closed tight against the memory of seeing that boy's panicked expression. "I couldn't do it even though I knew I should."

"Hey, hey..." Garth reached over and patted her clenched hands lightly. "Don't beat yourself up about it. Anyone would have done the same thing."

"You didn't."

"I've been hunting for a few years, Sony. I know what needs to be done." He hesitated a moment then looked over at her. "Look, first vamp I ever ran into, she was about your age, crazed and hungry. She nearly took my head off, I couldn't do it when I needed to. But-" Pausing, he made sure he had her attention before continuing. "When it came down to it, I knew I had to. She had a kid, this... Little kid, five years old maybe."

"And you... You knew her, didn't you?" Sonya finally realized, recognizing that look in his eyes when he looked over at her again. That same look she saw on Brad's face for that split second when he spoke about his girlfriend.

"Yeah, she was a hunter. Got caught and force-fed. I had to take her down." Garth sighed, hands squeezing the steering wheel off and on before looking back over at her with a small grin. "But, I  saved that kid. He grew up because of me. It's hard, Sony. I know, it's hard. It'll get better in the end."

A small smile tugged at Sonya's lips as she stared at him. "Besides, without you researching, I'd have been dead. You found out it was Lily, remember?"

"I guess..." She hedged, looking away and not wanting to admit his praise made her feel better.

"Come on. Admit it, you're good." He nudged her with his elbow, earning a weak swat for his efforts.

"Alright, alright, I'm good." Sonya laughed, making his own grin spread across his face. "That's better! Now... There's this waffle house I spotted when we were driving in, and I think some food is in order."

"Absolutely."

Tags: @olidiavalree