#the silent one/white dahlia hunter

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

||Team PLNM muse tag dump||

Persiana Verde (Leader) The Tough one

Lance Vermilion (Teammate) The Trickster

Nobu Shiroidaria (Teammate) The Silenced one

Mahir Periwinkle (Teammate) The Bookworm   

[papermoonloveslucy]

MURDER AT THE VANITIES

May 18, 1934

Director: Mitchell Leisen 

Producer: E. Lloyd Sheldon for Paramount Pictures

Writers: Carey Wilson and Joseph Gollomb, based on the play by Earl Carroll and Rufus King

Synopsis ~ Shortly before the curtain goes up at Earl Carroll's Vanities, someone is attempting to injure leading lady Ann Ware, who wants to marry leading man Eric Lander. Stage manager Jack Ellery calls in his friend, policeman Bill Murdock, to help him investigate. They find the corpse of a murdered women. Bill suspects Eric of the crime, especially, after the second female lead Rita Ross told him she saw the women leaving from Eric's room. Rita is shot onstage with Eric's gun. 

PRINCIPAL CAST 

Carl Brissson (Eric Lander) was a Danish-born actor and singer making his only appearance with Lucille Ball. He would only make two more films before leaving film acting. 

Victor McLaglen (Bill Murdock) would win an Oscar in 1936 for The Informer. He would be nominated again in 1953 for The Quiet Man. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Jack Oakie (Jack Ellery) would be seen with Lucille Ball in That Girl From Paris (1936) as well as both Annabel films (1938). 

Kitty Carlisle (Ann Ware) made her film debut in this movie. She later married playwright Moss Hart and became an arts advocate.  She was also frequently seen on talk, quiz, and panel shows. This is her only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Dorothy Stickney (Norma Watson) was a stage and screen actress making her only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Gertrude Michael (Rita Ross) was also seen with Lucille Ball in Hold That Girl, released two months earlier. 

Jessie Ralph (Mrs. Helene Smith) was also seen with Lucille Ball in the 1934 films The Affairs of Cellini and Nana. In 1936 they appeared together in Bunker Bean. 

Charles Middleton (Homer Boothby) was also seen with Lucille Ball in The Bowery (1933), followed by Nana and Broadway Bill, both in 1934. 

Gail Patrick (Sadie Evans) would also be seen with Lucille Ball in 1937′s Stage Door. 

Donald Meek (Dr. Saunders) appeared with Lucille Ball in The Whole Town’s Talking and Old Man Rhythm (both in 1935), as well as Having Wonderful Time (1938), and Du Barry Was A Lady (1943). 

Toby Wing (Nancy) makes her only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Duke Ellington (Himself) was a composer, orchestra leader, and one of music’s most legendary personalities. This is his only time performing with Lucille Ball. 

UNCREDITED CAST 

Lucille Ball (Earl Carroll Girl) makes her ninth film since coming to Hollywood in 1933. Although she started out as a Goldwyn Girl at RKO, here she is a Earl Carroll girl at Paramount. 

Ann Sheridan (Lou, Earl Carroll Girl) went on to a successful acting career known for her roles in the films San Quentin, Angels with Dirty Faces, They Drive by Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Kings Row, Nora Prentiss, and I Was a Male War Bride.

Virginia Davis (Earl Carroll Girl), as a child actress, was Walt Disney’s original Alice in Wonderland in a series of silent shorts from 1923 to 1925. 

Other Earl Carroll Girls: Ernestine Anderson, Lona Andre, Marion Callahan, Nancy Caswell, Marguerite Caverley, Juanita Clay, Helen Curtis, Virginia Davis, Dorothy Dawes, Winnie Flint, Barbara Fritchie, Nora Gale, Zumetta Garnett, Gwenllian Gill, Ruth Hilliard (film debut), Inez Howard, Billie Huber, Diane Hunter, Constance Jordan, Evelyn Kelly, Patsy King, Iris Lancaster, Blanche McDonald, Leda Nicova, Wanda Perry, Rita Rober, Laurie Shevlin, Gwynne Shipman (film debut), Anya Taranda, Beryl Wallace (film debut), Dorothy White, Vivian Wilson, Gladys Young

Alan Ladd (Chorus Boy) found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in Westerns, such as Shane and in films noir. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in films such as This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, and The Blue Dahlia.

Shep Houghton (Chorus Boy) also appeared with Lucille Ball in such films as Too Many Girls (1940), Lured (1947), Easy Living (1949), and Critic’s Choice (1963). On TV he appeared on two episodes of “The Lucy Show” and one “Here’s Lucy.”  He was one of the Winkie Guards in The Wizard of Oz  and a Southern Dandy in Gone With The Wind, both in 1939.

Other Chorus Boys: Dave O'Brien, Dennis O'Keefe, Frank Sully

Dancers in Ebony Rhapsody: Lucille Battle, Mildred Boyd, Gladys Henderson, Cleo Herndon, Ruth Scott, Carolynne Snowden

The King's Men (Lovely One Quartet)

OTHERS

Colin Tapley (Stage Manager)

Roy Crane (Assistant Stage Manager)

William Arnold (Treasurer)

Arthur Rankin (Assistant Treasurer)

Betty Bethune (Charwoman)

Howard M. Mitchell (Detective)  

Mike Donovan (Police Sergeant)

Stanley Blystone (Policeman)

Mary Gordon (Assistant Wardrobe Woman)

Mildred Gover (Pearl)

Hal Greene (Call Boy)

Otto Hoffman (Walsh)

Mitchell Leisen (Orchestra Leader)

Charles McAvoy (Ben)

Ted Oliver (Murdock's Chauffeur)

Teru Shimada (Koto)

Cecil Weston (Miss Bernstein)

Many of the Earl Carroll Girls featured in the film were authentic cast members from Carroll's stage show, which ran on Broadway from November 1933 to March 1934. These cast members were brought out to Hollywood from New York especially for this film, and many stayed to pursue film careers.  Earl Carrol Girls who appeared in the stage version of Murder at the Vanities, but not this film version, included Dudone Blumier, Eunice Coleman, Muriel Evans, Evalyn Knapp, Helene Madison, Lorna Rode and Marion Semle. Also in the cast was a Ruth Mann, who was probably Helen Mann.

The film was based on a Broadway production of the same name, but completely rewritten for the screen and with all new musical numbers.

In “The Audition” (ILL S1;E6) aired on November 19, 1951 Lucy says to Ricky:  “I’ll bet if Ziegfeld or Earl Carroll had seen me, they’d sign me up like that!” She then puts a lampshade on her head and struts about the room in a moment recycled from the (then) unaired pilot. 

This film contains a song and dance number called “Sweet Marijuana”. It got past the censors because at the time the film was made, the drug was not illegal. Today, many prints omit this production number all together.

The film also introduced the standard “Cocktails for Two” by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow. 

Gimbels in New York did a promotion in connection with the film, selling Mojud Clari-phane stockings using images of some of the Earl Carroll Girls. Sadly, Lucille Ball is not among them!

The film was a box office disappointment for Paramount.

[diivinerose]

Lost boy lost in the woods...

@ruthlessnessisyourdesire​ / plotted starter

It was a sunny morning and Daisy went like every day into the forest with her basket to look out for some food, while admiring the beauty of the nature and taking a walk. The dew was still hanging in the leaves and everything glittered so beautifully in the morning light. Suddenly she heard a low whine, which immediately caught the young girl's attention. With quick steps she tried to find where the noise was coming from when she heard another whine. Her steps slowed and she had pricked up her ears and eyes when she suddenly saw it in front of her. A wolf pup lay huddled between the roots of a tree. Carefully she approached the animal that looked scared at her with its big blue eyes. Daisy put down her basked and approached the pup very slowly with open palms so he could see that she didn't had any weapons in her hand. "Please don't be afraid of me. I am not gonna hurt you." She reached out her hand carefully and let the puppy sniff her hand. She just remembered that she had some mushrooms and berries in her basket and passed them in front of his nose.

Carefully he got onto his little paws and sniffed the food when decided to start eating them. Looks like he was hungry. Daisy looked around. "Why are you here so alone? Where is your mother?" The pup put his paws in front of his face and let out another sad whine. That image was so heartbreaking that Daisy hat troubles not to cry for that young wolf pup. It seems like his mother left him all alone. She tried again and reached out her hand as he allowed her to stroke his head. Daisy knelt next to him and stroked the little wolfs head and back. He was so beautiful. A gray wolf with a white underbelly. Apparently he had found so much trust in her that he snuggled up against her leg and licked her hand. She sat like this for quite a while until she suddenly heard calls from her sisters who were terrifyingly close. The wolfs pup had made himself comfortable on her legs, but in her panic Daisy got up with him in his arms. She was thinking where to hide him but it was already late when Dahlia found her. "Hey Daisy where have you been? We called you the whole time- Hey is that a baby wolf? Daisy immediately turned her back to her bigger sister to protect the little pup of her sister's eyes, but she was faster. Suddenly she was in front. "Wow! That's really a baby wolf! How cool! Where did you find him? He is really cute can I hold him too?" "Okay, but please be careful. He is still scared." Reluctantly, she handed him the pup but he was so joyful that he immediately started to wag his tail as soon her sister cuddled him. "Tell me Daisy, What were you going to do with that cup?" That was actually a good question where she didn't really have an answer to. "I think his mother left him. I thought of taking him home and-" Dahlia didn't let her finish, because she knew where it was going to end. "Are you insane? You know how much father hate wolves. He is a hunter. Do you really think that he is going to allow that?" "What will father not allow?" A third voice and Daisy slumped completely. She hadn't expected her biggest sister. Daniela came up to them both and looked at them before she noticed the gray ball of fur that Daisy had already snatched back from her other sister and pressed closely on her chest. "Oh" Her eldest sister was the spitting image of Dahlia, but they were more different in character than someone even could image. Who would have thought that 13 minutes would make such a difference by twins. Daniela had put it together pretty quickly and her face spoke volumes that she was not quite happy about the situation she just discovered. "Daisy no." "Daisy yes! Stop always being against everything!" Dahlia immediately jumped in front of Daisy and glared at her twin. Daisy felt visibly uncomfortable and even the little wolf felt the tension and started to whine. She pressed him automatically closer. "Stop it you two! You scare him" She immediately stroked his fur soothingly and stood between her sisters. "Daniela he lost his mother and he wouldn't survive out here alone and you Dahlia," she looked at her other sister reproachfully, "You didn't agree with me earlier. You are just doing this to argue with Daniela. Stop being so quarrelsome!" Both sisters looked at her puzzled and said nothing for a long time. Daniela came closer to Daisy and carefully stroked the head of the pup. All this feminine attention appealed to the little wolf. "Okay, please tell me what you have planned Daisy. I'm all ears." And so the three of them sat down on the forest with a little puppy whom they all three alternately gave their love, while they worked out how to keep him in their home without her father knowing about it. They decided to hide him in their room that the three shared. The good thing was that he was very small so it was easy to hide him in the room. It would only get more difficult when he was getting bigger, but that was something to think about later. The three sister went back and Daisy hid him in his basket. Luckily their father was not at home. He was probably in the village to finish a few things. They quickly prepared a little corner for him to sleep on Daniela's bed and gave him adequate food. Since Dahlia and Daisy slept together and Daniela had a little corner to herself, which meant that she had to take care of the little one during the night. They had agreed on everything. Daniela still had slight doubts, but they were gone as soon she looked into the beautiful intelligent blue eyes of the wolf. ~ The evening came and the four of them sat at the table. Their father was the hunter of the village and lived with his three daughters in a small house near the forest. Their mother passed away when Daisy was still small, leaving her husband and three daughters behind. The father said the grace before he shared the bread and began to talk about his day. "You won't believe what I was able to hunt today down." Daisy and Daniela reacted rather passively to their father's hunting successes. Dahlia was more enthusiastic and was not bad itself with the bow herself. She wasn't afraid to skin an animal and clean up the entrails what couldn't really be said about Daisy. "Today I saw a big wolf and was able to kill her! A beautiful gray wolf. You can make beautiful furs out of it or we can sell it to buy something nice for you girls." At the mention of the gray she-wolf, the girls looked at each other and all thought of the same thing. They were quite and let their father continue talking about how he exactly did it. "Who would have thought, but she was recently pregnant. She was about to hide her cubs while I was on the lookout for her. A bow in the heart and she was instantly dead. I also found and killed 3 of her cubs. We don't need any more wolves in the forest." The father was so proud of his achievement that he realised later how pale Daisy got. "Daisy is everything all right?" Daisy was silent and tried not to burst out in tears in front of everyone. With a quick movement she got up from the table and ran out. Daniela and Dahlia gave each other an unmistakable signal and went immediately into action. "I'll have a look at her." With these words Daniela ran after Daisy and left Dahlia with her father. He in turn looked at his daughter questioningly who immediately answered her. "Daisy hasn't been well all day." "If it's been like this all day we'd better take her to the healer." "Father that won't be necessary. You know that Daniela is almost finished with her training. She will handle that. You'd better tell me what you did with all the wolves." ~ Daniela found Daisy sobbing against a tree trunk. When she felt her sister's presence, she turned and clung to her. "How could he do that Daniela? He killed them all! Mother and cups!" Daniela didn't say a word, just stroked Daisy's hair soothingly until she took her face in her hands and brushed the tears away with her thumb. "I know it's terrible. People shouldn't do that and I know it hurts, but always keep in mind that pain can make you stronger. You have to be strong now for the remaining puppy, do you understand my dear?" Daisy had listened carefully and just sniffed. Her sister's words got through and they walked back together avoiding their father for the rest of the evening. ~ There the three of them sat in a circle, late in the evening in their rooms with the little wolf's pups in the middle. They played and giggled softly without waking their father. "Shouldn't we choose a name for him?" The suggestion came from Dahlia. The three of them were in their room and sat in a circle. The little pup in the middle and trying to catch the little ball that three threw at each other. Giggling softly without waking up their father. "A name?" "Yes" "Do you have something in mind?" "Caleb" "Caleb?" Daniela and Daisy saw her sister while Dahlia picked up the puppy and kissed him on the nose. "Exactly, Is Caleb not good?" "No, no Caleb is fine." "Caleb is perfect." "Then it is decided. Welcome to your new family Caleb."

[chapter15studios]

He Who Forsakes the Crown - First Look

The atmosphere in my office has always been cold and unsettling. It’s an uncomfortable environment that I’ve just learned to work in. From the ash gray walls to the white marble tile or the dark bookshelves cluttered with books. Maybe it's the giant windows beaming behind my mahogany desk or the balcony behind it. Ever since I turned sixteen. This was the environment I learned to prosper in. 

As the one leading the kingdom, I am a force to be reckoned with. An intimidating figure; if you will. Things must be that way. You can’t rule a kingdom without fear. Or that’s what my father says. Make others fear you and they’ll bend to your will. What a disgusting man. Wandering off to do Minervia knows what.

I filed through the recent documents sent to me. The upcoming population count, the economy prospering, new trade ships coming into port, the new head of the rebellion spotted in Eryndoyle.

What?

I backtracked, pulling out the file. Lord Benjamin of Ayrith has noticed suspicious looking caravans heading to Eryndoyle. One of the men spotted was later revealed as Wolfsbane, the wanted leader of the rebellion.

I heard my door creak open, feeling eyes watching me.

“If you’re going to enter my office, knock first.”

“My apologies, your highness.”

“There’s no point now. Enter.”

The familiar clack of heels came towards me. The maid held a tray of sweets in one hand and a kettle in another. I continued reading the document as she poured me a glass.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, your highness?”

“Why are you in here? I didn’t ask for anyone.”

“Her grace told me to bring you something.”

“It’s her majesty. Don’t you dare disrespect my mother in front of me.”

“My apologies, your highness.”

“I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for you to get the Queen’s name right. She’s been the queen since before you’ve been born.”

“My apologies, your highness, there’s just been rumor that King Zerith has another mistress that he wishes to make queen.”

Throwing the document aside, I could feel my temper start to rise. The nerves of these maids. How dare she come into my office and disrespect me and my mother to my own face.

“How dare you come into my office and disrespect the royal family like this.”

“Your highness, I apologize I-I didn’t mean to upset you like this!”

I stood up, slamming my hand on my desk.

“If I hear another word from you, you’ll be fired and shunned from Du’Pointe.”

The maid stayed silent, shaking. She looked at the ground, hoping to not upset me any further.

“I don’t want to see you in my office ever again, unless I call for you. I don’t need you interrupting my work.”

I could see tears form in her eyes. Fear. The fear I'm instilling.

“I’ll make sure to let your superior know about your behavior.”

I sat back down, picking up the document.

“Get out of my sight.”

The maid quickly scurried out of the room, shutting the door silently. I sighed resting my hand on my face. 

I could feel my temper dissipate as my regret started to rise. I didn’t mean to do that. It just happened. Every day is the same. It repeats over and over and over again. The ache and pain of it all. You can never trust anyone you meet. So why be gentle? Sometimes, I feel like a sparrow. A sparrow locked in its tiny cage, fluttering to get out, but never can. There’s no point in that bird leaving for the cage is surrounded by hunters. Hunter’s that don’t know any better, they’re just in it for the kill.

I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. It’s terrible. Absolutely terrible. I’ll never be treated like a genuine person and that scares me. I’m a piece of meat that the townsfolk can thrust their frustrations at. It makes me wonder, am I better off dead?

It’s quite pitiful to think thoughts like that. Death is no longer an option for you.

I wonder why.

I’m not the little brat that tried to resurrect someone. You played with fire. No wonder you got burned. 

It’s a curse to hear your incessant babbling.

You should be thanking me. People all across this world crave for powers such as mine. You’re lucky to still be alive.

Right...

I stood up, heading towards the balcony. I leaned on the railing looking out into the garden. The roses were blooming beautifully this season… so were the dahlias… they were so bright and colorful. They just started their yearly bloom.

This place is quite depressing. Why not burn it down and start anew?

I don’t need advice from the likes of you. 

What are you gonna do then, “Prince Zayn”? Are you going to kill me? Are you? Because I’d love to see you try.

Dear Goddess, I fucking hate you.

What do you expect from the god of death? 

I stumbled back to my desk, feeling unnerved. My hands shook as I felt a wave of emotion crash into me.

All I wanted to do… I just wanted to save her…

I could feel myself start to choke up. It felt like thorns piercing my throat.

Look at what you did… You didn’t save her… did you?

Silence. 

People like you shouldn’t be dipping into the divine. 

I said silence. 

Now I’m stuck to your mortal body. Look at how pitiful you are. Humans are disgusting. It’s not my fault that your sister passed, it’s not my fault that your mother gets abused, and it’s definitely not my fault that your father doesn’t love you. Who’s fault do you think that is?

Hot tears burned down my face as I held my temples with my hands.

I’ll tell you. It’s your fault. You saw your sister get murdered in front of your very own eyes and you did nothing about it. You saw your father hit your mother multiple times before she was confined to that tower. Oh, and your father. You’re already well aware that he doesn’t love you. Stop denying the truth Zayn.

“Enough!” 

My hands grasped my hair, holding my mind, hoping to silence it. These words echoed in my brain; getting louder and louder. I could feel myself start to sob, choking on my own tears. It’s disgusting. I’m disgusting. How can I rule a kingdom if I can’t even keep myself in order?

Suddenly, I heard a frantic knock at my door, shaking the exterior of the room.

“What now?!” I shouted

“Sire are you alright? I thought I heard something down this hall.” 

I heard the familiar clack of heels as I tried to calm myself down. The boots of a Remnant Mercenary; my personal guards. I tilted my face down, tinkering with my pen; rubbing my fingers against its smooth body. I kept my eyes down and folded my hands on the aged mahogany desk.

“Instead of coming in here, why didn’t you check down the hall?”

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t harmed, sire.” 

“If I were harmed, I wouldn’t be speaking to you as of now, would I?”

“I apologize sire, I have not.”

“Then stop wasting my time. Go do your job.”

“Y-Yes sire…” 

Kisume rushed out the door, heading into the hallway. Patiently, I waited for the door to shut, leaving me to my own devices.

Picking up the document once more, I scanned its contents.

“Maybe we should give Eryndoyle a visit.”

Ideally, He Who Forsakes the Crown will be adapted into a podcast based on the reading of the novel. This is an excerpt of the first chapter. There may be more to come depending on reaction.

[peopleandrhythm]

S2E7: Suffocate the Atmosphere

Friends, I don’t know what to say. This time, both the preview and the post were deleted from my queue. I’m terribly sorry about that, but I also don’t know what to do to fix it. Sunday nights are usually not a very good time for me to keep an eye on Tumblr, so I suppose I will have to post these chapters manually on Monday mornings, which is not typically a problem for me. Thank you for your patience, and if you have a solution to this really frustrating problem, please let me know.

Hayley jerks awake to a loud bang. She blinks rapidly to focus, and it’s only when she hears the rumble of the garbage truck down the street that she realizes what ripped her from sleep. She groans and rolls over, and that’s when she notices the empty half of the bed beside her, still perfectly made. She furrows her brows and looks around the bedroom. “Elijah?” She’s met with silence. There’s no sign of him anywhere.

She gets up, pulls a sweatshirt over her head, and pads out into the hall. “Elijah?” No response. Hayley makes her way through the compound, poking her head through doors, looking for him but coming up empty. When she makes it to Rebekah’s bedroom, she knocks and waits for the quiet, “Come in.”

Hayley pushes open the door. Rebekah is still in bed, her blonde hair strewn wildly across her pillows, and scrolling on her phone. “Hey, have you seen Elijah?”

Rebekah doesn’t look over. “Hayley, I have yet to get out of bed this morning, and I have no plans to do so in the foreseeable future. I have no earthly idea where my brother is, but it’s not in here.”

Hayley makes an unimpressed face. “Did you hear him come in last night?”

“Last I heard he was enforcing Hope’s new curfew.” She finally tears her eyes away from her phone. “Is he not here?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he already left. I’ll call him.” She leaves the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind her.

Still making her way through the halls, Hayley pulls her phone out of her pocket. She navigates quickly to Elijah’s contact and dials. She presses the phone to her ear and waits.

“You have reached the voicemail of: Elijah Mikaelson. At the tone, please leave a mess—”

Hayley hangs up with a frustrated sigh. She stares at her phone screen for a minute, debating how worried she actually wants to feel, before tapping out a text. Hey, call me when you get this. Then she slides her phone back into her pocket and, an uneasy expression on her face, continues on.

Things are swirly when Elijah comes to. This isn’t his first time recovering from a stake to the heart, but judging by the fire surging through his veins, he’s been injected with more than enough vervaine to kill another sort of vampire. That theory is compounded by the searing around his wrists; though he can’t see what’s binding them behind his back, he knows vervaine ropes when he feels them melting off his skin.

He blinks once, twice, and, panting, tries to take stock of his surroundings. He recognizes the vague shape and look of a shipping container—the docks, then. He jockeys himself into a somewhat sitting position, using his shoulder to push himself off of the floor, and hears a cold rattling. His ankles are chained together, and the chain disappears into the dark half of the container.

Elijah’s head tips back against the wall of the container. He focuses his energy on the vervaine ropes; he’s weak, and pulling against the vervaine is excruciating, but if he can just get free—

Sharp footsteps against the metal floors divert Elijah’s attention away from his task. He looks over to see a figure emerging from the darkness. He narrows his eyes and whispers, “I…I know you…”

The figure smiles. “We met a few days ago. We have a mutual friend. Hayley?” He brings his face fully into the light from a tiny hole in the wall. “My name’s Joel.”

The entire Mikaelson clan gathers in the courtyard. Hope and River sit close on the edge of the fountain, River’s arm around Hope’s shoulders.

“It’s been hours,” Hayley says, standing apart from the others. “This isn’t like him.”

Klaus strides in, phone in hand. “He isn’t answering any of us.”

Hayley turns to Freya. “Nothing on the locator spell?”

Shaking her head, Freya answers, “I could feel that he was still in New Orleans, but nothing more specific than that.”

“Same here,” Hope pipes up, voice quiet. “I couldn’t get a read on him.”

From his place leaned up against a wall, Kol drawls, “Well our big brother might be the prissiest of us all, but he doesn’t go down without a fight. Now who do we know who could take down an Original?”

There’s silence, and then Hope murmurs, “Marcel.” All eyes turn to her. “He’s, like, a super-charged vampire, or whatever, and his bite is lethal to all vampires, including Originals. He’s pissed at me right now. Maybe, to teach me a lesson…”

“No,” Klaus insists, shaking his head. “Marcellus would never.”

“Marcel hates Elijah,” Kol says with an eye roll. “He doesn’t need an excuse. One would think tearing his heart out and tossing him off a bridge would be enough to earn some revenge.”

“Enough,” Rebekah snarls. “This isn’t Marcel’s doing.”

Hayley’s already heading for the exit. “It’s worth an ask, don’t you think?”

“Wait.” Hayley stops, and everyone turns to look at Freya. She’s seated, arms crossed in on herself. “I think…I think may know what happened to him.” She takes a deep breath. “There’s a vampire hunter in town.”

Elijah shakes his head, partially to clear it, partially in disbelief. “You…you’re…”

Joel leans against the container wall opposite Elijah. “Yeah. Looks like you and I both found ourselves smitten with Hayley. Oh, that isn’t what this is about, by the way. I’m not, like, jealous or anything. God, we slept together, what, eight years ago? Please, I’m just relieved that that kid she was talking about is too old to mine.” He snorts. “Nearly had a heart attack in the middle of the farmer’s market.”

“Then what is this about?” Elijah grits through his teeth.

“Oh right.” Joel rocks himself off of the wall and walks closer. “So, I’m a vampire hunter. I know, I’m a little short to play the part, but I’ve been staking vamps like you since I was eighteen years old.”

“I highly doubt you’ve ever staked a vampire like me.”

“Right, right. You’re an Original. Hadn’t even heard of you until a couple of days ago. See, when my sister got accepted to grad school here in New Orleans, I thought, This is the perfect opportunity to do some real good. Everyone knows that New Orleans is crawling with all sorts of supernatural witchery, and I assumed I’d spend my night staking as many vamps as I can.

“That’s when I found out about you.” Joel squats in front of Elijah. “Kill an Original, wipe out their entire line. That’s a lot of vampires in one fell swoop.”

“Genius plan,” Elijah says dryly. “There’s just one problem.”

“And what’s that?”

Elijah stares him right in the eye. “You can’t kill me.”

Joel pushes himself back up with a groan. “Right, right. Original vampires can’t be killed in the usual ways—stake to the heart, beheading, fire, tearing out the heart. That is inconvenient, not going to lie. The only thing that can kill you is white oak.”

“And there’s no white oak left. You’re only…oh, fifteen years too late.”

“Right, right.” Joel digs around in the pocket of his leather jacket and pulls out a tiny vial filled with what appears to be dirt. He carefully extracts the stopper and dumps the vial onto Elijah’s lap. “Maybe not so much.”

Elijah eyes the substance warily. “What is that?”

“I thought you’d recognize it. Heard your aunt Dahlia tried to poison you with it once back in the day.”

Elijah goes very, very still. “Where did you get that?”

Joel shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. What matters…” He grins. “…is that I’m going to kill you with it.”

The breath whooshes out of Hope. “I’m sorry, what?”

Rebekah looks aghast. “Freya, how long have you known about this?”

“Just—just a couple of days—”

“A couple of days?” Hope leaps to her feet. “Three vampires were staked yesterday and you never thought to bring up that you knew there was a vampire hunter in the Quarter?”

“What the hell, Freya?” Hayley snaps.

Freya takes a deep breath. “There was someone I was…protecting—”

“And what of my daughter?” Klaus’s eyes are boring so hard into Freya it’s a wonder her skull doesn’t burst into flames. “When did you decide to stop protecting her?”

Kol snorts. “That’s rich, coming from the lunatic starting wars in the city just to undermine his daughter’s power.”

Hayley’s head snaps back and forth between them. “Wait, what?”

Hope lets out a strangled groan. “Oh my god.” Freya finally looks up to see Hope staring at her. “It’s her, isn’t it?” Freya nods.

Klaus looks bewildered. “Her? Her who?”

“Her name is Amaya.” Freya’s voice is barely above a whisper. “She works at Rousseau’s. We’ve been…seeing each other for a few weeks now.”

Silence reigns. The other Mikaelson siblings exchange glances of varying degrees of surprised, before Rebekah says, “You’ve been dating a woman?”

“Well why the bloody hell should we care about that?” Kol bursts out. “My god, Nik fell for a seventeen-year-old beauty pageant winner back in Mystic Falls and no one batted an eye. Surely we can’t be fazed by this.”

Unimpressed, Klaus ignores his brother and says, “I fail to see the connection between this girl and—”

“He’s her brother.” Klaus falls silent. “The vampire hunter is Amaya’s brother. And she doesn’t know—not about him, not about me, not about any of this. And I knew if word got out that it was a vampire hunter was killing people in New Orleans, it wouldn’t be long before someone killed him, and then her brother would be dead—”

“And what of our brother, sister?” Rebekah asks. “What of Elijah? Should he die to spare her feelings?”

“No, of course not—”

“The threat comes from outside the city.” Everyone turns to look at Hope, confused by her sudden interjection. She’s staring at the ground, thinking hard. “That’s what…that’s what Esther said to me. ‘The threat comes from outside the city, but it will consume our communities, setting them aflame from the inside.’” Hope looks back up at Freya. “It’s him. This burgeoning war between the witches and the vampires, the chaos and the confusion and the fear. You knew what was causing it all and you didn’t say anything. And now my uncle’s life in at risk.”

Freya’s eyes slide close. “I am so sorry—”

“Save it, Freya,” Hayley snarls.

“I’m going to go commune with the ancestors,” Hope says. “See if they can’t get a read on where Elijah is.” She heads for the stairs, River close on her heels.

Rebekah walks over to Hayley and wraps an arm around her shoulder. “Come. We can be of use to Hope.” She leads her after the girls.

Klaus stalks up to Freya. “Tell me everything you know about this hunter. Now.”

“I don’t know much,” Freya insists. “Amaya never spoke much of Joel—”

“Joel?” Hayley comes to a halt and whips around. “The hunter’s name is Joel?”

“Yes.”

The final piece falls into place. “I know exactly who he is.”

Joel has his back turned to Elijah, fiddling with something in the darkness. Elijah pulls slightly on the vervaine ropes, but the sizzle of his skin burning off earns a quiet tut from the hunter. “If I have to, I’ll stake you again. But that would just be a waste of both of our time.”

“I’m sure you have some tragic backstory that I would love hear another day,” Elijah says tiredly, “but today I’m just not in the mood. If you let me go, I’ll do my best to ensure that you actually have another day.”

Joel turns around, some sort of device in his hand. “No one’s going to find you here. I got a witch to do a little cloaking spell for me.”

Elijah’s face betrays surprise. “A witch from New Orleans is helping you?”

“Oh no, no one from this city. Well, actually now that you mention it, it was a New Orleans witch who told me all about you and your family. She’s the one who gave me the idea to wipe you all out so I could rid this city of vampires once and for all.”

Impressed, Elijah says, “Quite the operation you’ve got planned. Pity it’ll never work.”

Joel makes a face. “What does that mean?”

“The vast majority of the vampires in this city belong to my brother’s sire line.”

“So?”

Elijah smiles. “My brother’s link to his sire line was severed fifteen years ago. Killing him will do nothing but rob a young girl of her father.”

Joel stares at Elijah for a long time, face impassive. Then he blinks. “Well then, screw New Orleans. You have to have sired vampires wreaking havoc somewhere in the world. I’m thinking more globally than just one shitty city in Louisiana.”

Elijah lets out a dry, breathy laugh. “You should be grateful that it was I who heard that and not my brother.”

“Well you’re not going to get to tell him, because this is the part where I kill you.” Joel presses a button on the device in his hands, and something starts whirring in the dark half of the shipping container. Elijah can hear the air shift, and there’s something heavy about it. Suddenly, he feels it, clinging to his nostrils, to the back of his throat—white oak ash.

He starts to choke, coughing and sputtering uncontrollably. His body screams to get it out, get it out, but the ash is being blown his way, surrounding him in a slowly thickening cloud of poison. Joel leans back against the metal wall of the container, crosses his arms, and watches.

After pulling on her second boot, Hayley pushes herself off of the bed and stalks toward the door to her bedroom. She pulls up short, though, when someone appears in the hall. “Out of the way.”

Freya puts out a hand. “I just wanted to apologize—”

“I don’t want to hear your apology,” Hayley snaps. “Not after what you did to Elijah, to me, to Hope.”

“I was trying to protect someone I care about—”

“And in the process you let a murderer run free in New Orleans, in the city where my daughter lives.” Hayley shakes her head. “I don’t care if you love this girl or not. You had the choice to stop this guy and you didn’t. That’s the only thing I care about.”

Before Freya can say anything else, Hope appears beside her. Without looking at her aunt, she says, “Uncle Elijah’s somewhere by the docks. The ancestors can’t get more specific. He’s being cloaked.”

Hayley nods. “Okay, stay here. Your father and I are going to go get him.”

She starts to push past Freya, who begins, “I can help—”

“I’m going too.” Hope juts her chin out defiantly. “You’re going to need a witch. I can help.”

“No,” Hayley says emphatically. “It’s too dangerous.”

“What’re you going to do, search every building, every shipping container, every warehouse on the docks? He could be dead by then.”

“We don’t know that this hunter has the means to kill an Original,” Freya points out.

Hope finally looks at her aunt, and her glare is piercing. “No. We don’t. There are a lot of things we still don’t know, things that we might have known if you had chosen to tell us anything. But my uncle’s life is on the line, and I’m not taking any chances. So I’m going to go down to the docks, I’m going to find him, and I’m going to bring him home.” She marches down the hall toward the stairs. “And none of you is going to stop me.”

The sun glints brightly off of the Mississippi, and Hope holds an open hand over her eyes to shield them from the glare. “There are thousands of places he could be.”

Klaus places a hand on her shoulder. “Anything you could do to get more specific would be a great help, luv.”

Hope nods, and then bows her head as if in prayer. Her parents watch her warily, unsure of what to do. There’s a sound, gradual, as if a breeze coming in from the sea, that only Hope can hear: whispers. She starts to walk, eyes still closed.

Hayley and Klaus exchange a wild look. “Hope?” her mother calls.

“They’re helping me find him,” is the only response. She keeps walking, and her parents, with no other choice, follow.

Elijah is coughing heavily, curled over on himself grotesquely as he tries to expel the white oak ash from his body. His throat is closing, growing tighter and tighter, and as he struggles to breathe, he can see his skin start to gray.

Joel coughs too, and lets out a low whistle. “Damn, if I stay in here, this ash just might kill me too. I’ll head out, come back when you’re dead.” He strides for the container entrance without a backward glance at the dying man. The clang of the metal door is deafening as Elijah is left to choke alone.

Hayley and Klaus follow Hope through a maze of shipping containers and warehouses, not sure at all where they’re going. They double back when they hit dead ends, or even just when Hope spins around without warning. Each of them want to say something, to ask what she’s hearing, but they let her be, choosing instead to walk behind in uneasy silence.

Finally, Hope stops dead, smack in the middle of a large path between two long rows of containers. Her eyes are still twisted shut, as if she’s listening intently to something. After half a minute, Klaus decides to ask, “Hope? What is it?”

Without a word, Hope’s eyes spring open, and slowly, she lifts up her head.

A few hundred yards down the path stands a man, staring at them with wide eyes. Joel. A growl rips from Hayley’s throat. She takes a step, but Klaus grabs her arm. When she turns, wild-eyed, to glare at him, he says, “You deal with him. Hope and I will find Elijah.”

Having gotten all the confirmation she needs, Hayley tears off in a blur after Joel, who disappears like a rabbit between two containers in terror.

Hope’s walking faster now, her father hot on her heels. “He’s dying,” she says, panicked. “I can feel him dying, but I can’t see him—”

“Hope.” Klaus steps in front of her, places his hands on her shoulders to stop her.

“What’re you—”

“Breathe. You are the most powerful witch this city has ever seen. If anyone can find your uncle Elijah, it is you. Believe in yourself. I do.”

Hope nods, and lets her eyes slide shut. She listens as the voices of the ancestors wash over her, a cacophony of chatter and information. She focuses on sifting through the noise, searching for the one thing that can help her find her uncle. Then, out of the blue, a thought: Blue container, fifty yards due east.

Her eyes open again. “I know where he is.”

Joel steps as silently as he can manage, picking his way through the shipping yard like a big cat in its jungle. He knows what Hayley is now, knows how easily it would be for her to track his every move. He keeps to the mosaicked shadows on the ground, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

Still, he can’t help but taunt her. In a low voice, he says, “Gotta admit, you snuck it past me all those years ago. I had no idea you were a bloodsucker. Didn’t even know there was such a thing as a werewolf, either.” There’s a loud bang off to his right, and he flinches violently, but there’s nothing there. Pressing on, he says, “I didn’t mean to shoot your kid, you know. I don’t hunt humans. It was a mistake. I’m glad she’s okay. So I get why you’re pissed, but—”

And then he’s flying through the air, tumbling limb over limb until he crashes onto the pavement and skids. He pushes himself up with a groan, but before he’s back on his feet, a punch like a wrecking ball crashes across his face. He falls again, and this time, before he tries to stand, he whips a small gun out of his pocket. He rolls onto his back and fires, but Hayley dodges the vervaine dart easily.

She stands tall over him, eyes black as night, fangs bared. “You nearly murdered my daughter, and now you’ve taken one of the people I love the most. You think I’m pissed?”

Joel swipes a leg out and trips Hayley up. She easily rolls and hops back onto her feet, but when she looks down, he’s gone, up and running between containers again. She rolls her eyes, and a blink later, she’s in front of him, clutching him by the neck. He grabs at her arm, gasping desperately for breath, but her grip is far too strong to break.

She pulls him close and hisses in his face, “I’ll tell your sister you died doing something brave. The lie should bring her some comfort.” Then she sinks her fangs into the scar along his neck, tearing out his throat. Blood spurts all over her, and she drops his corpse to the ground with a satisfying thud.

Hope comes to a stop in front of a blue container. “This is it?” Klaus asks. Instead of answering, Hope holds out a hand. The door to the container bursts open, and a gust of air and ash follows it out. Klaus immediately begins coughing, but blurs into the poisoned air anyway. He looks down and sees his brother, his skin nearly completely grayed. Klaus easily snaps the chains around his ankles, then scoops one arm under Elijah’s back and another under his legs and whisks him out of the container and into the clear air.

Klaus lays his brother on the ground, ripping the vervaine ropes from his wrists. “He’s not breathing.”

Hope falls to her knees beside her uncle just as Hayley appears, still splattered with Joel’s blood. She looks down at Elijah, distraught. “Is he…”

“Hold on.” Hope settles her hands about a foot over Elijah’s chest and closes her eyes. After a few seconds, ash starts to rise out of Elijah’s mouth. Suddenly, he’s coughing, hacking up the ash as Hope pulls it from his lungs.

As the gray starts to fade from his skin, Hayley crashes to the ground beside him, pulling his head into her lap. “You’re okay,” she says softly, brushing the ash away from him. “You’re okay.”

Once she’s finished pulling as much ash as she can, Hope stands up. Klaus immediately grabs her and pulls her into a hug. “Thank you,” he breathes into her hair.

Hope wraps her arms around her father’s middle and, face buried in his chest, hugs him back.

[titan-mom]

Framework

Destiny Fic ~2100 words

In time for fanfic friday!

More Destiny fic here

It’s been hard for Eyahn to find a fireteam since the Gap, but Shaxx knows his Redjacks, and how to get the best out of them.

Alternatively, I adore Frames and want them to be badass all the time.

Eyahn had many ways of showing confusion. This time she stayed silent, blinking at the two frames in front of her. Grey and white armor accented by orange pauldrons and decorated with red scarves tied around their neck-stalks. Shaxx took her silence as an invitation to explain.

“Arcite and Dahlia are our best units.” He sounded just a tad defensive. “We don’t expect heavy resistance. The city has been abandoned for years. Scouting patrols, at most.”

She turned her head to face Shaxx, but kept her eyes on the two frames.

“It will be fine,” He assured her. “They know to follow your lead. It’s simply extra firepower. Zavala doesn’t want to commit any more Guardians than necessary to this.”

The Hunter nodded, finally accepting the terms, and taking her leave to the hangar, keeping astutely aware of the pair of robots behind her. To their credit they didn’t clank or make an exaggerated level of noise like she thought they would. They were streamlined and efficient, steps padded with rubber soles and carefully tuned hydraulics. There was a bounce to their movements, somehow, a hiss and slide of their joints and pistons that spoke of propulsion and finesse. Eyahn felt, somewhat, like she had a pair of gazelles at her back.

That could be okay.

Her ship was small, a one man cockpit, but the frames were adapted for transmat, and after a short round of calibrations Little Star was able to transport them to the interior, where they stowed their rifles across their backs with synchronized precision. Each bent their knees slightly and gripped something in the wall beside them to steady themselves, before clicking sounds went up their bodies and their joints locked into place.

Eyahn couldn’t see them as she settled herself in her pilot’s seat. She was stuck facing forwards, and none of the interior’s holographic displays were reflective enough to be useful as a mirror. She fought the urge to look behind her constantly. They were Shaxx’s frames, rescued from Golden Age bunkers and refurbished, refitted, reprogrammed. They worked for Shaxx, she worked for Shaxx, it was a joint operation. She still struggled to grasp the concept.

No one spoke for the hours long ride. Not Guardian, Ghost, or machine, until just a minute out from the designated transmat zone she was compelled to ask: “Prepared?”

“Affirmative, Hunter.” The one called Arcite replied. Masculine voice synthesis, but nothing like an Exo’s. She shrugged off her pilot harness and lurched up to grab the handle installed in the roof of the cockpit. It held her as upright as possible in the cramped nose of the Ceres Gallot, before transmat did it’s work, and she landed two footed on pavement and rotting leaves.

There was soft clanking as the frames settled behind her, unlocking joints and preparing weapons. She tried not to let it agitate her.

“The alpha transmat point is thirty meters forward.” Dahlia informed her flatly. Her voice was not unlike Eyahn’s own, through a radio or voice filter, perhaps. The Hunter found herself drawn more to it, but that wasn’t fair. The frames were built the same, metal skeletons with plasteel armor. Just because one sounded like… familiarity…

She marched ahead, away from the thoughts, following the waypoint Star had helpfully generated. Dahlia followed, taking a beacon from her belt and holding it out with a choppy mechanical gesture. Eyahn accepted it and drove it into the ground, fiddling with the frequency until it flashed green, signaling a connection to the Tower.

“Contacts.” Star buzzed in her helmet. In the same instant, Dahlia shifted position, a quick singular motion. The frame’s weapon snapped to a ready position, and her knees bent, joints relocking in a different configuration. A metallic echo from behind them declared Arcite’s identical movement. A heartbeat later, Eyahn heard the telltale whump of a Skiff breaking atmosphere, the sky bleeding radiation.

Eyahn moved immediately, sprinting into the nearest building and vaulting over a crumbled wall, taking cover in a corner. There was the surprisingly soft padding of rapid footsteps behind her. The two frames were hardly louder than careful Warlocks. She turned her head, caught a glance of Arcite’s stride as he took a position on the side of a doorframe. The fluidity she’d felt before was back, in the way they ran and moved and swayed. Neither of them looked at her, but waited wordlessly. Arcite’s head swiveled, tracking something beyond Eyahn, through the door beside him. Dahlia moved in response, crossing the room and taking a position at a hole in the perpendicular wall.

Eyahn followed, slinking low and pressing herself beside the frame, trying to get a glimpse of what had moved outside. Dahlia took one hand from her weapon and reached a geometric finger towards the Hunter’s head, for a moment appearing like she was pushing the little one aside, but when the finger touched her visor Eyahn saw a flash of an indicator on her radar. Three red dots, approaching. Motion tracker wasn’t registering them, which left one option. Stealth Vandals.

Crouching, Eyahn waited for the pop from her ears before slinking forward through the gap in the wall. She saw Dahlia’s optics track her movement. Outside, she made for the nearest cover, a pile of rubble from the crumbling corner of a former building -that also held some useful height in the area. Handcannon in her grip, she peered at the road before her, watching for any signs of movement, knowing smart Vandals would keep a slow pace to minimize flutter. She brought her head down as her own camoflauge faded, opening a channel to the frames.

Before she even had a chance to think of the right word, the frames guessed her request, and a single shot rang out from Arcite’s side of the building -striking one of the previously unseen enemies in the chest. The beast snarled, it’s form bubbling into view. It took cover when more semi-automatic shots peppered around it. The other two moved quickly, and their positions hazily revealing themselves. One charged towards Arcite, the other -attempting to flank- moved between Eyahn and Dahlia. The little Hunter pounced, drawing her blade and closing the gap with a blink. She dug the knife into the side of the Vandal’s throat, her weight taking it stumbling to the ground as it hissed it’s life into the dirt. Dahlia, in the same moment, came swooping from her doorway, bounding around Eyahn and opening fire on the wounded Vandal Arcite had revealed. More fire from the frames and Fallen screeching punctuated the last enemy light on the radar winking out.

Withdrawing the knife Eyahn darted back to her cover, perplexed to see Dahlia had followed her up to it, while Arcite moved up the opposite side of the narrow street. She had expected them to return to the last held position, instead of smoothly transitioning into pushing the offensive.

There was distant chattering from up ahead, Fallen forces gravitating towards the sounds of gunshots. Eyahn motioned forward for Dahlia, unslinging her sniper rifle from her back. The frame turned and loped down the small embankment, positioning herself closer to Arcite. The two of them were like twin pegs of a tripwire in Eyahn’s mind, and she saw their strategy, surprising herself at how seamlessly she could. The frames were no different than any other allies she’d worked with. She had expected to have to dictate and formulate orders, instead they assessed the situation themselves, and effortlessly made tactical decisions.

Eyahn sat back in the rubble, training her scope through a gap in the piles of rocks. She kept a steady gaze down the overgrown road. In her HUD Dahlia repositioned slightly, and a window appeared to the side, above her motion tracker, flashing for acknowledgement. She blinked at it and a small red-hued video feed opened, showing a pile of rocks and a couple glowing bumps, the outline of a head and shoulder. It was an image of herself, she realized, from Dahlia’s perspective, and the perspective the enemy would see. Eyahn shrunk down and to the side a bit more, watching as her bright shoulder receded from view, and the line of her head was broken more jaggedly by rubble.

She raised a pair of fingers in thanks and Dahlia’s feed flickered away, before reappearing at a different angle. This time the view was in bright blobs of color, from red to yellow to green to indigo. There were hints of shapes, what looked like various plants in yellow, and moving specters of two legged beings in red. One subject turned and Eyahn picked out the stumps of four arms, and it clicked that it must be a Fallen Vandal, seen through whatever strange filters Dahlia’s eyes saw. Once she could identify the shape, however, Eyahn found three other bodies -at least- moving towards Dahlia. A pair of green disc shapes passed in front, and from nubby protrusions on their underbellies she assumed they were Shanks. From around a corner came a sphere, in deep green at it’s core but teal around the rim. Dahlia blinked to a different filter, and the world was refocused in blue-overlaid semi clarity.

What Eyahn had thought was a Vandal was a Captain, evidently, shown by the new silhouette. She didn’t have time readjust her predictions on anything else because the lead Shank had just come into her own view around the bend in the road, passing through the crosshairs of her scope. Dahlia’s feed shut off suddenly, as the Shank paused in its sweep, buzzing near to where the frame stood hidden.

Eyahn did not take the chance that it had noticed her. She shifted her crosshairs and fired, blowing the Shank apart. A roar when up from the Captain, who charged around the corner, ducking low to throw off her aim. It worked, and the shot missed it’s head, ripping a hole in the cloak that trailed behind it. Before she could correct her aim it vanished in a flash of the Eliksni’s version of Blink. It’s entourage moved into her range, and she took a risk, firing her third shot through a Dreg’s head and her fourth into the Servitor before casting her rifle aside. She snatched up her hand canon and rose, shooting aimlessly to give herself covering fire. Arcite and Dahlia were nowhere to be seen.

The Captain charged from inside a building, where his teleport must have carried him. He zeroed in on the sounds of her fire. Eyahn blinked backwards, reloading midair, and as she hit the ground she held her position, feet firm and fired fired fired. He carried only blades, wasn’t a threat to her at range. But the Servitor was feeding his shields, they wouldn’t break-

A sharp crack and burst of fire sounded just behind the Fallen forces. The explosive impact of some kind of grenade cracked the Servitor and set it to whining. The Captain doubled back from where it was advancing on her head spinning between adversary and chaos. In that moment of confusion, Eyahn saw a shadow -Arcite- detach itself from the wall behind the Fallen Captain and drive a wicked combat knife into it’s neck. He held firm as the creature roared and flailed, trying futilely to strike back at it’s attacker. Dahlia, meanwhile, swept from a doorframe behind the rest of the Eliksni force and opened fire. The remaining Dregs fell, the second Shank exploded, and the Servitor followed soon after, each with neat controlled bursts.

Eyahn leveled her hand canon at the indisposed Captain and blew off it’s head, it’s body going rigid under Arcite’s grasp. The framed retracted the knife and stored it back in it’s sheath along his belt. Dahlia scanned the other organic targets, firing a small burst into each head.

“Two hundred meters to transmat point B.” Arcite reported. There was a pause, something extra. Was there a twinge of approval. “Shall we carry on, Hunter Eyahn?”

She waited to answer, reloading her smoking gun. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t want to rush through a team operation. This was a team she could grow used to.

The shadow of the Skiff turned over the city, it’s broadsides showing for a moment as it cast a single half-hearted cannon shot in their direction before thundering away. The burst hit the corner of a building and rained rubble down a few yards from Dahlia. She glanced belatedly in the direction, as though almost bored by the attempt.

“Lets.” Eyahn agreed. She broke into a jog to catch up to Dahlia, just to feel Arcite break into his gazelle-stride at her back. It felt seamless, and she knew then she would have no qualms admitting to Shaxx that he had been right.

[ailuronymy]

Guest Warriors-ify: Jeeves & Wooster

“…Aunt is calling aunt like mastodons bellowing across premieval swamps…”

–

Bertram Wilberforce Wooster as Ryefur - lithe, lanky cream-pointed tom with blue eyes. Blithe and cheerful, Ryefur has a sunny view of life and sees the world and others through an optimistic lens. Though not the most intelligent of cats, he is honest, has a strong sense of honour and is generous to a fault, even if the latter trait tends to get him involved in difficult situations whenever he tries to help others at a cost to himself. He relies on his friend Rooknose to extricate him from these predicaments, and is very much in awe at Rooknose’s resourcefulness.

Reginald Jeeves as Rooknose - broad-shouldered tuxedo tom with piercing green eyes. Rooknose is brilliant, observant, and immensely capable, able to devise subtle and effective solutions to the most convoluted of problems; he is thus a frequent advisor to many cats in the Clan. His methods, however, can sometimes verge on the manipulative or even amoral, depending on the situation. He isn’t one to show much emotion, and has an omniscient knowledge of all there is to know about Clan politics and history. He is quite mannerly and notably silent in his movements, and is good friends with Ryefur.

Agatha Gregson as Sleetstorm - elderly stout grey-dappled molly with orange eyes. She is well-known for being fearsome and commanding, and there are few who won’t bend to her will. She frequently pressures her nephew Ryefur to mate with various mollies in order to continue the family line, even though he doesn’t particularly wish to, and repeatedly criticizes him for being “a wastrel”.

Dahlia Travers as Dawnwhisker - elderly light ginger molly with green eyes. A confident character (though not nearly as frightful as her sister Sleetstorm), she is Ryefur’s favourite aunt and she is likewise fond of him herself, though she tends to order him to carry out troublesome tasks for various reasons more often than not. She was an accomplished hunter in her youth and has an exceptionally loud voice.

Angela Travers as Hollyheart - light ginger molly with green eyes. Fairly friendly and no-nonsense, and has a strong set of morals. Being rather strong-willed, she gets miffed when others underestimate her character, and sees no qualms in expressing her views outspokenly. Is cousins with Ryefur and the two are amiable, and has an on-and-off relationship with Badgerpelt.

Hildebrand “Tuppy” Glossop as Badgerpelt - black and white patched tom with amber eyes. Not the most tactful, especially when it comes to matters of love, and can be prone to jealousy. Is a fairly active tom and very much enjoys eating. He once played a practical joke on Ryefur that caused the latter to fall into the river, and Ryefur is fairly resentful of this.

Richard “Bingo” Little as Willowstripe - light grey-brown tom with copper eyes and prominent tabby markings. He grew up with Ryefur and the two have been friends since kithood, though Willowstripe also uses their history as an excuse to convince Ryefur to help him with strange or inconvenient requests. Is absentminded, and to say that he falls in love a lot would be an understatement.

Claude and Eustace Wooster as Duckfur and Duskfur - brown tabby toms with orange eyes; brothers. They look alike and some have trouble telling them apart. Unruly and mischievous, they are apt to get in trouble due to their wayward conduct.

Augustus “Gussie” Fink-Nottle as Newtpelt - spotted brown tom with yellow eyes. Has been said to have a face like a fish by others. Of a somewhat nervous disposition and disinclined to speak in front of large crowds, Newtpelt became singularly fascinated by actual newts after finding them on the territory one day and now refuses to hunt them, taking time out of almost every day to go by the river and watch them.

Madeline Basset as Daisycloud - small white molly with green eyes. Dreamy and whimsical, Daisycloud is prone to vague poetic remarks that baffle her Clanmates, and is often described as being soppy. She lives in her own idealistic world and is very innocent, almost kit-like, but can be self-centred and doesn’t always stop to listen to others. After a misunderstanding involving Newtpelt, she is now convinced that Ryefur is in love with her, much to the latter’s horror.

Honoria Glossop as Emberfang - large tortoiseshell molly with green eyes. Emberfang is boisterous, outgoing, and very physically capable, being skilled in both hunting and fighting as her suffix denotes. She is intelligent, fairly formidable, and has a keen sense of humour, and is cousin to Badgerpelt.

Florence Craye as Nightface - black molly with green eyes, notably beautiful. She is quick-witted but controlling, and can get icy when her will is crossed. Has a tendency to mould prospective mates into what she views as “ideal” personalities.

Stephanie “Stiffy” Byng as Fennelfur - golden molly with amber eyes. Conniving and one of the worst offenders in forcing Ryefur to carry out tasks against his will for her own gain, she frequently uses blackmail to achieve her ends. Is mates with Rowanclaw and regularly scolds him for being “spineless”.

Harold “Stinker” Pinker as Rowanclaw - large reddish tom with golden eyes. Is incredibly clumsy except, oddly, when executing battle moves, but despite what his suffix might suggest, he is actually quite meek.

Sir Watkyn Basset as Laurelpelt - elderly white tom with yellow eyes, and father to Daisycloud. He highly dislikes Ryefur and believes him to be “half-witted”. Is very old-fashioned and fascinated by shiny objects.

Roderick Spode as Crowclaw - large black tom with amber eyes. Desires to become leader but is incredibly dictatorial, and likewise loathes Ryefur. He has an intimidating demeanour and is prone to violence, and is in love with Daisycloud.

–

I had a lot of fun with this. Thanks for the opportunity! :) (I mostly used the books as reference, but some show elements snuck in as well.)

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

"That is what my sweet hunter? Not fair? Alls fair in love and war. So what do I get for winning?" She giggles and kisses him. "Were you holding back on me?"

He didn't say anything but his face burns more to look at her. "Even if your sneaky which is really smart. Though, you did catch me o..of guard. I wonder what I could do to reward you..." He mutters to look at her but kisses her back softly. "And I wasn't. I never do when it comes to training..but maybe I did since I do enjoy seeing my fiance being as beautiful as she is powerful."

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

Sakura giggles as she can see her fiance getting flustered and decided to try some of her seduction techniques to try and win the fight. "Oooh my sweet Nobu is strong and handsome... I could never beat him!" She acts dramatic and waits for him to come closer before pouncing on him and springing the trap. Now she was wrapped around him.

He keeps his defense up even if his fiance was serious cute. However, he heard that to blink wondering what she was up to before he looks to her. "You kn..know that is.." as he speaks he got pounced on to see her wrapped around him to blush heavily.

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

What are Sakura and Nobu up to? Are they having some dirty fun some where? Maybe some training that turns into sexy time?

Well for Nobu he was doing some training with his fiance Sakura since they were spending time with one another but he was focused while blocking some attacks from Sakura while deflecting some of the flames while he was sweating but his hair was up in a pony tail while training with her. Though, he was trying not to blush due to the appearance of his fiance to train with her.

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

What do the grooms think?

Hex, Nobu, Zen, and Hiroshi blinks but their faces burn to smile looking happy. To answer the anon, they loved it. Very very much.

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

Yes exactly something passed down to you. It's a tradition for weddings to have something passed down.

"Hmm, I see." HIroshi said nothing to think but looks to the others that was thinking about it. For a moment, Hiroshi sighed reaching into his shirt to pull something out. "I think I have something: This. It's a three loop ring necklace my mother made me. She told me as a child if I ever find my 'special someone' I should wear this. It's a pass down from my family for many years now......so I think that could work." he said. "She said something of when I do get married, it's suppose to do something special."

"For me....I think it would be a rare old hair flower piece for me. I heard it was made many years ago. I got this from my grandmother and she said it was to bring new life and a new blessing for me and who I marry.." Hex smiled holding it. "I still kept it away till I did get engaged and well...yeah." he smiled to look upset. "Till she passed from sickness.."

"For me..ummmm..it's this. A water pearl bracelet my father had. He said in the past, other river kitsune's had this to show a new page in life. He said it will always bring a blessing for you but I have another that is to be given to the other I'm marrying." He shows another water pearl but it's a necklace.

"And m..me..it would be a gem crafted White dahlia flower piece for me but I have the same flowers made as a necklace for the one I was to marry. It was my mothers. She was given this as a wedding good luck charm to give to my father. She told me, when you bond with another, give them this. It will show how powerful your bond is, always staying by each other side and being blessed if you were to have a strong change of having a family." He mutters softly to smile.

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

Also Hex, Hiroshi, Nobu and Zen what are your favorite flowers? Also what are you using for the something borrowed for your weddings

"Flowers?" Hex asked to think about it with the others doing the same. "Well, my favorite i..is sunflowers." He smiled.

"Mine is red roses..." Hiroshi said.

"Hmmmm....I..I think it's purple lavander flowers....but it's between that and my known flower near my home , white dahlia" Nobu mutters.

"And me..it would be bluebell flowers." Zen said smiling.

"And borrowed for our weddings?" the boys were a bit confused.

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

So Hex your very sensitive hmm? Like all over sensitive or just in a few places. What about Hiroshi, Zen and Nobu?

Hex didn't know how to answer but he blushes worse to look down. "Y..Yes. Very s..sensitive if I'm excited or aroused...t..though, getting blowjobs tend to make me even worse." he said covering his face.

Hiroshi thinks but crosses his arms. "I guess for me it's just some areas."

"Uhhhh...it's either my neck and ears. Or tail.." Zen mutters.

"....M..My chest...is most sensitive." Nobu said.

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

So what do you guys suits/dresses (not sure what you all wearing?) Look. What do you think your partner will look like?

"Hmmmmm, I know Nobu will be wearing a white tux with a white rose but he will have a Sakura one there but also on his wrist. It was said from him his mother got married to his dad, he did the same. So it's a tradition right?" Hex asked seeing Nobu nod. "Though, I thing Sakura's d..dress or kimono will be of cherry blossoms theme or color..."

"As for me, I guess I'll be wearing a black tux but it will have a nature like theme to it. That or something close to it. I think for Hokuto, he could be wearing something that's something of a pass down from his family or in that same tradition.." Hex thinks.

"I think for me I'll be wearing a wedding male kimono but it would be black and red. Or maybe close to it....but for Raizen, I'm unsure it could be a suit as well but who knows? I'm always curious of surprises.." Hiroshi smiled.

"A..and for me..I'm wearing a traditional male kimono wedding outfit that was something hand made for me. I was told it was already done but I won't see it till the wedding. But...I'm curious of what Momiji will have. I'm already excited myself even if I'm wondering if it's a male kimono or suit..." Zen said thinking.

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

So how are the wedding plans coming along ( for the ones dating the ninja children)

Nobu, Hiroshi, Takumi(Zen) and Hex were already talking with one another but heard the anon.

"O..Oh hello there anon. Everything is going well so far. We already got our outfits for the weddings, the rings have been made umm..are we missing anything?" Nobu looks to the others.

"Hmmmm....well, the food has been already planned for that day along with the theme and we found a good spot for it or close to it thanks to Takumi.." Hiroshi said seeing Zen blink but smiled while writing something.

"But yeah, everything is doing great. It's so close now we can't wait." Hex giggled.