[System]
Alias: Blitz

Position: eleventh grade (high school junior)

Abilities/powers: Electricity manipulation/generation - Shawn has the ability to control, direct, and create electricity from his body. He is essentially a living, rechargeable battery

Electromagnetic manipulation - a sub power to his electricity manipulation, Shawn has also started to learn how to control electromagnetic fields, using them and warping them to his aid. This is very much a lesser power to Shawn, and he can only use it to assist with his electricity manipulation.

Plasma Absorption- Shawn can absorb any form of plasma and take it into his body, storing it for later use. However, he can only hold so much before it starts to have negative effects on his body, warping his senses and even causing body spasms. The level of plasma he is holding can usually be discovered through his eyes.

electrical immunity- due to his abilities, Shawn does not feel pain from electricity, nor to outside electrical forces have any effect on his body, unless it is an inhuman amount and something not even he can contain.

Sex: Male

Age/Date of Birth: 16 - May 7th, 1983

General appearance:

Shawn stands at five feet, eight inches, Not as tall as his titan of a mother, but he is already taller than his father. Though he has a rather lithe build, he's strong enough to tackle most problems with his body, though he prefers to use his powers over brute force.

Additional Appearance/costume:

More of a prototype than anything, Shawn rigged up his own suit with the assistance of those in the school. The faceplate beneath the visor of the motorcycle helmet has small nodes on the inside to interact with Shawn's powers, allowing him to change the colors of the mask at will. The entire suit is lined in a similar way, the crevasses glowing with the activation of his powers, much like the suits from the movie TRON.

Personality:  Though a self proclaimed 'chiller', Shawn is at the point in his life where he is so stressed out that it has made him numb and even. He swears that he's listening, especially when his head is propped up with his arm and there's a trail of droll leaking from his mouth. He does try, though. He is a bit of a perfectionist in the few things he can actually focus on, but otherwise airy to the world around him. He is the worst combination of "driven to take on the world" and "could not get off the couch for unlimited money". He likes to talk, mindless chatter and banter during fights, but mostly just whispering conversations and thoughts to himself, slinging thoughts and ideas around from him to himself.

Special Skills: Escrima Stick proficiency, Tonfa proficiency, moderate athleticism, moderate wiring skills.

Place of birth: Massachusetts, USA

Weapon(s) of choice: Shawn... borrowed, two old police batons to work with his powers, juicing them up with delicious electricty to pack an extra punch.

Medical information: Fit as a fiddle.

Brief History:Born to a hearty Irish mother and immigrant father, Shawn was raised in a house of mixed cultures was was spectacularly odd. Both of his parents were mutants, his mutations being an amalgamation of theirs. When his powers came, his family welcomed them with open arms, and the town was curious, but not negative of his abilities. However, his parents could only teach him so much. He was sent off to the Xavier school to further hone his powers and help those in need.

Relatives: (Any living, dead, or important relatives your character may have)

Name: Doctor Booker "Blake" Smith, PhD

Alias: Lightsmith

Position: Student Councilor, Therapist, Substitute Teacher

Abilities/powers: Light Manipulation, "Hard Light Constructs" - Blake has the ability to channel "Mana" and create solid structures out of light. The strength of the constructs depends on how much mana he makes it out of, and is also dependent on his physical energy. His constructs can shatter if he is not strong enough, and he can make them move and morph at will.

Sex: Male

Age/Date of Birth: 36 years old, 2/5/1963

General appearance:

Additional Appearance/costume:

Personality:Lax and Easygoing, Blake was a part of one of Professor Xavier's first classes after the Apocolypse incident, and only left the institute to get his degree in psychology. He returned to the institute to help Charles and stand in for any of the big X-men and women when they could not teach their own classes. Not exactly a hippy or a guru, but he does sometimes drift into those categories.

Special Skills: Doctorate in Psychology, pistol training, combat training.

Place of birth: California

Weapon(s) of choice: His constructs, namely. He has an emergency pistol that he can pour mana into and fire light, but hardly uses it.

Medical information: (Any medical conditions your character may have, not a necessity)

Brief History:

Relatives: (Any living, dead, or important relatives your character may have)

[User]
The moment the door was unsealed, Heidi also left, and was faced with three guards. One exoskeleton-enhanced roundhouse kick later, all three were unconscious. She fished around them for a keycard, found one, and started freeing Mutants too, shouting "C'mon! We have to escape! You're free! Let's go!" as she did. One tried to run back to the president's room, with murderous intent, but one Gauntlet blast to the neck later, and Heidi was carrying said mutant over her shoulder, fight off guards and rogue mutants alike. "We don't have time to go back!" she shouted at them. "We have to get out of here now!"

When this didn't work, and she had incapacitated more mutants than she could carry, she changed her shouts to "No point going back there! He's dead already! We need to get out of here!" which had a much higher success rate. Plus with the briefcase full of papers on one hand and a KO'ed mutant held on her shoulder with the other, she could no longer fight herself. Words were her best weapon now. Speaking of weapons, Tatianna couldn't be seen or heard anymore. Had she gone ahead?

As she had predicted, the guards stopped being a hindrance to their escape once enough mutants were freed. Heidi watched the liberated mutants slice and rip guards apart left and right. It was a bloodbath.

Heidi couldn't cry yet. The mission wasn't over.

[Assistant]
Chrys blinked when Tatiana stormed off. With the mutant children coming at them Chrys put up a field around himself, redirecting attacks as he moved forward, using his powers to knock people out by running along the walls and ceiling. He found himself moving too far ahead and with a light pull, shifted himself back to the room, slamming up a field to stop things from entering. "I think I can either clear a path or shift us out of here back to the plane. Though if I do the latter I don't think I'll be able to do anything for a while after... I can feel my powers hitting a dampener thanks to the paradoxes. You've done a number to the place, small pockets of the place are... missing."

Using his spatial senses, he could tell that he wasn't going to be able to hold the place stable for too much longer. If they stayed it could collapse, sending out ripples across space-time he was sure only he'd survive, if he was able to survive at all.

[User]
It was a massacre.

Shawn could hardly bear to look at the sights going on before him, but he knew that this was the only way things could have gone down. These kids, all of them, were experimented on, tortured, and treated like animals. All they knew was hate for their captors, and now they were getting the chance to get revenge.

Mutations flew left and right, blood covered the once pristine halls of the facility. He had to stand up, take control of the situation.

One of the children had tried to make a break for the president's office. Heidi, equipped with her exo-skeleton had knocked the kid right out and hauled him over her shoulder.

"Mr. Smith, I need you to wall off the entrance to the office! We can't let them get in and kill him." They needed to either calm down the once-captive mutants, let them go crazy until they settled themselves down, of neutralize them. Shawn knew he could do it, but he didn't trust himself to make another clean shot like he did to the president. It would be so easy to fry them all, but he needed to use his fists and his words right now, no mutation.

But something caught his eye. Something reflecting high off one of the lights in the ceiling. It was the little girl he had seen earlier who was flipping the coin, now using said coin to shine some light and get someone's attention. How she had even gotten into the ceiling tiles was beyond him, but he wasn't going to start questioning her. She grinned at Shawn and hopped down, seemingly ignoring the carnage doing on around her.

Her skin was as pale as snow, the only think left of her original pigment being a spot surrounding one of her eyes. Her arms were scarred and marked up almost horrifically, but quick movements with her arms seemed to suggest the damage was only cosmetic.

"They're not going to listen to you guys." She shrugged. "We've been waiting too long for this chance."

Shawn grunted. He was trying to help them out, but they didn't seem to care if anyone was on their side or not. At least this girl could recognize that Shawn and the others were friendly. He didn't get the chance to respond. Another young teen, a few years older then Shawn lunged at him with a mighty roar.

Shawn was only barely able to catch him, and held him as far away as he could. "Could you call him off!? Tell him we're getting you all out?" The kid on top of him was speaking in some language he couldn't understand, and refused to let go of Shawn.

The girl sighed. "I don't speak French. Find your own way to get him off."

"Emma?" Shawn still struggled with the kid, looking around for their telepath. "Isn't there some way you can tell them all to calm down?"

"They're not listening, Shawn. Unless I assume direct control, they're not going to stop." Was her telepathic answer to his question.

Another grunt from Shawn. It looked like he needed to join in with the taking out of the guards. With his arms firmly on the kid on top of him, Shawn delivered just enough of a shock to get him to jump off. So much for absolutely no mutations. The kid growled, but ran off to find someone else to attack.

Shawn picked himself back up and ran into the fight. He glanced around to see who was doing what, and how he could help. Tatiana was gone, somewhere, Heidi was carrying her breifcase and another mutant, Bonny was hanging back, and Chrys was trying to work out a plan too.

"We can't do that Chrys." Shawn shook his head to the newly aged teammate. "We need to bring as many of these mutants back as we can. You could shift them, but they'd still be blood thirsty. We just need to keep the casualty count as low as possible.

Shawn made sure to get up close and personal with each of the guards he encountered. He needed to be close enough so a little shock could send them out. It was a slow process, but the only way he figured that the numbers of survival would be highest. He still had to fight some of the mutants too, but after the seeing Shawn and the others focusing on the guards, some of the other mutants began to see them as friendly. The first of which was the spotted girl, then some others, and the number slowly increased.

Unfortunately, Shawn's mission of low casualties was pointless as Laura, Wade, and Cable all worked to kill. He was still fighting for his own ideals.

"Emma, what are they looking like? Are they calm enough yet?"

"Those that are fighting with you. Tatiana has left with some of the mutants, quickly inspiring them to follow her. There's nothing I can do about her from here."

The fight continued, the masses of Mutants slowly but surely started to help fight outwards to safety, but still refused to not kill. Shawn wasn't even sure what to do now. They were still rowdy. The only different now was that they were mostly outside, and mostly covered in blood. It was not a pleasant feeling.

There was still more fighting going on inside. Many more mutants were inside, fighting the good fight.

"Heidi!" Shawn called out as he proceeded through another set of doors. "Put that kid and the briefcase on the blackbird. Newgirl, I need you too! Rose Mary, you and Chrys stay out here and help with evacuation and taking care of any guards that slip out here." He looked at the adults. emma needed to stay out, help keep everyone calm. Laura should stick with them as well. She looked like she needed to see all of these mutants freed. He didn't exactly trust Wade, so that just left two people. "Mr. Smith, Cable, I need you guys too! We need to go back in and help free the last of the mutants inside."

Just as he announced his plan, more guards stomped outside. Where were they all coming from? This was an unreasonably large military force for an experimenting compound. There had to be something larger at play here.


[System]
* Appearance:
4'9", 90 lbs. compared to his 6'0" 150 lbs twin brother.
* Age: 14
* Personality: He has big shoes to fill and he is trying his best. But the doubt can be seen, its in his pose and in his voice. He acts uncertain when made to over-think things, he is 'passionate' when driven and reckless to prove himself.
* Motive to live: "I fight, flora beautiful world."
* Background:
Imagine that you're holding on to two bottles and they drop on the floor. What happens? They both break. But it's how they break that's important. Because, you see, while one bottle crumples into a pile of glass, the other shatters into a jagged-edged weapon. You see, the exact same environment that forged older brother into a warrior crushed baby brother. Now here's the twist, the runt is the older brother.

Its no surprise the world was hell in a handbag, day by day it was getting more different. The two boys thought they were safe in aristocratic society, one of those big folk who buy their way out of trouble. The kids engaging in pointless arts like horseback riding and rapier fighting, that is until the colony they lived on was destroyed. The two survived in an escape pod worth more than most spaceships and worth every penny. They were rescued and prepped for having survived first contact with the enemy, the bigger stronger brother was fitted for an armor, but he couldn't take the stresses of the training and took his own life. "The world is so, damn, ugly." Those were the last words on his bloody lips.

Initially, his brother was meant to be the great hero, Now that it was passed to him, he asked for a number of changed made to the system. His brothers frame was causing massive synchronization failures as he felt he was fighting his brothers ghost in the machine like bickering siblings. He went back to formula and plugged into the system as he designed a new frame of aesthetically pleasing form whose function would be built from. He went from negative synchronization to over sixty in days. Well worth the heavy price as he signed over all family holdings and companies to continue the funding for the project. No, for the survival of the species and a beautiful world.
* Notable Deaths: His twin brother, the one who the frame was made for.
* Other things:

Synchro Rate: 86
_=-=_
* Framewerk Code Name: Rose
* Appearance:
* Signature Weapon System:
Rose whip: A reached melee weapon system made for adaptability on the field, each section is its own separate motor capable of gordianknot contortions and ease of replacement between missions. The two main attack functions beyond lashing until a constriction can be made are the piston jabs of the thorns once wrapped around a limb for deeper penetration or each independently spinning to grind whatever it is to dust and crimson mist
* Secondary Weapon System: Rose bouquet: Retracting both of the 'hands' and dropping the head into the chest, the flowers on the crown and wrists openwide to function as a shield while the frame looks a lot like a rosebush
* Armor Type:
Medium protection melee assault armor built to endure long enough to land terrible blows. The 'vine wrap' on one leg is actually a depiction of 'either/or' for BOTH legs once he closes to melee range as his brother was originally going to use Savate for combat.
* Special Ability:

[User]
Koehler screamed his mighty battle cry, "HUAAA!", after coming to his senses. He jumps over Elora, then activates his thrusters to max, fairly quickly coming over Krista, and landing near (say, a few dozen meters) the front of the Black Komodo. "Leave him to me! This is a manly man's fight! Forget what I said, I accept your challenge, Miles!". He points to The Black Komodo's cockpit, and brandishes his weapons, a shotgun and his trusty piledriver. "No matter what happens, neither of us can stay too buttmad at the other for long. Deal?"

He thinks over what he should do. "Okay... if I go in at him, I can parry whatever he wants to do before he does it with the shotgun, probably... Then I can just punch him repeatedly. That could knock him out in his cockpit if he isn't wearing seatbelts. If he isn't wearing his pilot suit either, that'd help with my plan... but what after that? Where should I hit him with my pile driver...?"

"...Wait. He's been ass-angry... and I think he suffers from 'bees-in-ass' syndrome... I should try to give him a prostate exam! That's GENIUS! It's hilarious, and something we can laugh about a few years down the line. Fuck it, I'll try it!". He finishes his train of thought and tells his current teammates what he's thinking, "Elora! Krista! Try and do something else, I'm gonna check his asshole to see what crawled up their and died! HHHHUA!"

He boosts again to reach melee range, and allows some time for him to attack first. If so, he'll try to use his shotgun to 'cancel' the blow, if he does anything else, he'll try to begin his punch plan: stun his shit then power up the Piledriver for a prostate exam.

Of course, the shotgun is mainly meant to just be a distraction, so it likely wouldn't have enough 'impact' to stop the momentum of a 'true' punch. It was better then nothing, though. He could try to cross-counter with the Piledriver, but that would be dangerous for him; what if it gets redirected?

Frokane

[Assistant]
Having mostly regained her composure, Lora took a peek at the radar. From the edge of Zone B, she could see the approximate position of most of the Frames. Most of the ones left in Zone A were converging on a single blip - one of the team's lone wolves. It had to be the Komodo, she figured, as Anzu would've made well to get away from the close combat. That left one blip traveling to Zone C (and abruptly stopping) and another blip headed straight for-

Time to go. The pilot steeled her nerves, and Caliburn pushed itself off the pillar, weaving a brief measure deeper into the pillars. The Framewerk turned back to witness the pillar, now sliced in half, collapse off to the side. This had to be Macabre and Visceral, then, which could prove to be a pain for Caliburn to deal with. Her close-range options were limited, and with how agile the other frame was, it would be vary difficult to get into a range where Lora could just unload onto the other frame. Trapped in Zone B's maze of towers, she didn't have the ample room needed to properly deploy her secondary arms system.

"Alright, boy," Lora muttered, redoubling her efforts into the harness, "Let's dance." Caliburn backpedaled from the confrontation, turning back into the haze of pillars as if goading the lighter Frame to just try and pursue it.

It was difficult, but Caliburn's travel was made easier by Lora's excellent Synch Ratio. It was able to duck and twist between the spires with human-like dexterity, even in spite of not having the additional thrusters that Macabre offered. Through her preservation and focus, Lora managed to barely keep ahead of the lighter machine, just enough to get her through the terrain.

Once Caliburn crossed the border into Zone C, the Frame broke into a proper run for a couple of kilometers. Then, Lora saw why the Framewerk in Zone C hadn't moved since it entered: it was firmly affixed to the ground via some sort of expansive superglue. Once the thought of minefield erupted in Lora's head, she twisted Caliburn around on a dime and planted its feet down into a right-facing ready stance, skidding back a few meters in the process. Not bothering to look if she set off one of those glue mines, Caliburn armed the Lightstriker, charging for the one shot she could afford.

Paying attention to her radar, Lora aimed the weapon carefully at Ryan's approaching position. Within moments of Macabre breaking free from Zone B and it rapidly zooming forth to meet his enemy, Caliburn twitched and fired on that location. If this didn't hit, it was unlikely she would survive the ensuing encounter.

Frokane

[User]
Miles, grinned as the Komodo was able to rattle off a few gatling shots on Krista's framewerk and then watch as she rapidly retreated, Miles was still in chase when.....Thwooom.....Brrssst The Archer fired a shot back as the Black Komodo was in pursuit, way to fast in thrusters to dodge the high speed projectile and it struck the Komodo heavy.

Luckily it only glanced the shoulder area of the komodo where the armour was very thick so the damage was very minimal, just a concussive impact. Unluckily that concussive impact knocked Miles around his cockpit fairly violently as he wasnt wearing his plugsuit, his lean body bashed against the control board and back, which would leave several bruises later on. Miles grunted and regained control, he knew this was the trade off for comfort, his mind breifly flashed the hard-to-forget image of Lora and Mai in their form fitting outfits.

The secondary effect was that the impact halted the pursuit as the forward momentum was pushed back by the shot, which had the komodo floating off the ground but stationary for a while. Thats when he saw him...

Raimirez?? you were sneaking behind me? thinking I was going to fast to notice you trailing? Well you can blame your teammate for shot stopping me, remember what I said about close to mid range? youve followed me right into it!

Miles wasted no time in switching the gatling to the heavy explosive rounds and emptied a whole clip in and around Rose's location seeing he was at the perfect range now. The Komodo started to fly around taking the shots from different angles darting around like a wasp, this was the true ferocity of the shock trooper style with the perfect opponent, Miles face was stone cold but inside he was giddy and blissful, until..

Swoooosh!

Right in his sights boosting towards his flank was Koehler, brandishing the Framewerks shotgun!, Miles had to think fast, he had just finished firing at Ramirez and had just been hit by Krista, he couldnt hope to also take on Harold as well, especially seeing as he need to reload his explosive rounds clip. Time to really start thinking. Miles began to sweat, he also noticed small machines that looked like flies circling the vicinity....drones??

I see youve got Elora on Recon? what a tight unit youve got there, but I'm not making my final stand against you all just yet.... Komodo!!!

Miles hit the afterburner and put the thrusters on high blast as he boosted out of the range of all the Framewerks chasing him vertically, he began to climb alitutde at an alarming speed reloading on the way up, he was moving too fast to fight, but he couldnt be chased easily at this acceleration, he just needed a breather and some space as not to get surrounded, he decided to boost over to where Ryan and Lora were fighting, to change the scenery keeping a good distance above them.

[Assistant]
Romeo had to make a tough decision, here he had promised not to take the other on just yet. But on the other hand he attacked his first person he wanted to call a friend in a long time. It was one thing to take on Rose, but another to cut down another flower in bloom.

He established target locks as archers shot brought him to a standstill. Suddenly his data intake took a huge spike from all the reconnaissance drones. He moved like a danseur as he spun into the fray to minimize the damage he was receiving, taking the slower fired explosive rounds in such ways to twist into the tortion rather than wreck himself resisting the explosive force. He was getting hit, but he let the force of the grazing shots guide him rather than divert him. Komodo may be made for close and midrange, but Romeo was a lover, rose was made to embrace his enemy in melee with armor meant to close the distance. As the medium mech danced about from side to side like a hornet, All rose had to do was the slightest of shifts to continue plowing in.

When the coward tried to run, Romeo could only laugh as he easily matched the speed if not close in since he was flying slower before to give false data to his enemy. At best he would overtake the other, at worst they might be evenly matched for distance if not for those whips of his. Snapping out with great aerodynamics, the streamlined vines used the target lock he never lost along with the drone data to try and get a grip.

Primary concern was to establish a hold, most likely a foot or the arms. Next would be the rotating tortion of the established grapple. Like two anacondas with a shared mind, he could wrap and weave himself up its body. There are five types of loads that can act on a structure: tension, compression, shear, bending and torsion. No matter how advanced, no structure can act against all five, not even the sphere. Most mech are made to resist compression, shear and bending to prevent being crushed shot or torn. But Rose was made with tension and tortion in mind. He was made to twist and tear the aliens apart.

Secondary concern was weapons. He was certain komdo had some sort of melee defense, but unless it was sawblades coming out of the sides. it was most likely a melee weapon for the open hand design on the right. If he could establish grapple, the vines would try to work their way up to the arms and put him in a full nelson, if not just rip his arm off at the damaged shoulder from archer. The gun arm was not to be ignored as even a melee heavy build would still suffer at point blank against that gun.

Thankfully, he had a gun now too.

"ARCHER! SHOOT HIM DOWN!"


[System]
Age: 16

Gender: Female

Appearance: Is... something the matter?

Arcana: II Priestess

Personality: Kotori is, by any standard, a quiet girl. She rarely speaks if not spoken to directly - and even when she does, she only does so in a soft voice. She isn't one to put herself forward and, in fact, actually prefers to keep her distance from others, making her a rather timid person. She is, however, rather diligent; always doing her utmost at any given task. Given her weak constitution, she dislikes most physical activities and, in fact, often sits out during P.E. She also seems quite conscious of people's eyes on her and quickly feels uncomfortable when that is the case.

Given these traits, Kotori is not exactly the most sociable person - though that doesn't really seem to bother her. Most of her free time she spends studying or helping her mother around the family flowerstore in the Warakuma Shopping District.

Equipment/Skills:
Weapon - Japanese Umbrella: A bamboo-and-paper umbrella.
Armour - School Uniform: The standard female Warakuma Highschool Uniform.
Accessory - Small Locket: A small heart-shaped pendant worn around the neck; kept in a pocket while at school.
Skills - Does well in her studies. Knows a large number of flowers by name. Quite capable at Flower Arrangement. Is strongly near-sighted. Low stamina.

Background: Kotori is the only child of the Shirohane familiy, who have lived in Warakuma for generations and are known for their flower shop in the Warakuma Shopping District - the shop is on the ground floor while the family home is on the floor above. Unfortunately, Kotori's father - a kind man who was never seen without a smile on his face - passed away in a car accident three years ago, leaving her mother to look after both the store and the child. Fortunately, Kotori was by no means a troublemaker - though after her father's death, she did become a lot more quiet and reserved. Though saddened by her husband's passing, Kotori's mother remains a cheerful person at heart and does her best to keep both the store going and watch over her daughter.

Apart from these things, Kotori's childhood had few other noteable events. She hasn't joined any clubs at Warakuma Highschool or actually made any real friends due to her nature, never being one to draw much attention. Furthermore, she isn't much of an athlete; quickly getting out of breath and has sat out during P.E. a number of times due to this already - though she doesn't feel all too bothered by this.

Persona: Kikuri-Hime

Appearance: Kikuri-Hime

Abilities:
Dia - Light Single-Target HP Recovery
Patra - Cure Single-Target Fear/Rage/Confusion ailment
Zio - Light Single-Target Electricity Damage
Strong against Electricity
Weak against Physical

[User]
Manor of Creation - Mirror World
10/5/2015 Sunday

"It'll be fine... As long you know how to use your Persona...", he responded. Her face plus the whip was a clashing image. One one hand cute, the other hand sadistic... Well at the very least she's quite eager to tackle this dungeon. That was a plus, high morale, maybe it'll balance out Matthew's up and coming fear. Once the party was ready, they headed on in.

---

Manor of Creation - First Floor
10/5/2015 Sunday

As they stepped into the manor, they looked around and it was... Well-kept. Huh. The floors were clean, the carpet was pristine and it was a semi-bright lighting from the chandelier above the entrance hall. The walls were however, adorned with pictures. Caricatures and silhouettes filled them, the people within were not identifiable at all, but you can clearly tell who and what the characters were. It seemed to be telling a story, and as they followed it with their eyes, they would realize it was like a comic strip of wall mounted paintings, telling the story as you walk down the hallway.

"Oho... Oh... This place isn't so ba-",

*THUD*

"AAAAAD NEVERMIND!", Matthew almost jumped from his position.

The door slammed shut behind them followed with sinister laughter. The voice was identified as a girl, but beyond the laugh, there was no more. No words... Like Chiaki's dungeon, it seemed this shadow had more presence over the entire dungeon than ones before her... Not to mention, this one seemed to control the dungeon too. This could get difficult.

"Well, let's do what we came here for", said Rui, keeping point. Leiko though seemed to be rather enthralled with the story along the wall, and seemed to be taking it in as they went, while Matthew shrunk to the far back of the party.

[Assistant]
Sieghardt Kasumi- Warakuma Public Library- May 10th

With the midterms coming up soon despite Sieg's parents constant various teachings and educational trips. Really just one educational lecture after the other, they still made him study up despite the fact that he could probably at this point give questions even the teacher had no answer for. So of course they drove him down to the library and gave him specific instruction to spend most of his day here studying. So even though he promised they still had a back up plan in the form of his various servant watching the exits. Just to make sure he doesn't walk away and say he was there most of the day. So walking into the building he got the books for the subject he would need most help with, that being the lovely world of science.

Taking the couple of book over to a table, he could easily make out a few students from Warakuma. One being Alekei that he saw at the drama club. To be fair it would be hard to miss someone that big at a drama club. At his table he heard a somewhat familiar voice helping this student out, he believed his name was Sato. He only had a bare minimum conversation with him, and that was when he dropped his papers everywhere. He himself couldn't help but look at the answer he helped on. "Hes correct." Sieg simply stated before looking back down at his notes and the textbooks.

[User]
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Public Library | Sunday, May 10 2015

The library was rather crowded this day - unsurprisingly, seeing as the mid-terms were coming up and the library was the best place to study for them if one wanted to use more than just one's own textbooks. To that end, most of the library-goers happened to be students; their noses buried in books of various subject. Kotori also happened to be among them - standing before one shelf containing various books on English, she already held two in her arms whilst scanning the backs of those she had left standing to see if there were any others that might be of interest in her studies. Though she usually scored well enough, she still felt that it might be best to get a little extra outside input instead of just relying on the school textbooks - something she'd already done for the most of these last few days.

That, combined with her notes from classes was usually sufficient - but with the usual atmosphere around school when big tests came up, she still couldn't help but feel a little nervous too. Most of her classmates' topics of conversation came back to it sooner or later - at least those that were present, as she remembered that Akane had been absent both Friday and Saturday. Hoping the other girl hadden gotten a cold at such an inopportune time, Kotori took down one book from the upper-most shelf - one of the few times she was glad to be a little on the taller side, seeing as she didn't need to get on tip-toes to do so; if only barely - before opening it to glance over the table of contents to see whether it might be relevant. Shaking her head lightly when that turned out to not be the case, she put it back before deciding to make do with what she already had and looked around for an empty table to sit down at.

Doing so, she saw one or two classmates together with their friends poring over what looked like math books at one table. At another, a young man sat alone - Kotori's gaze quickly wandered on when she noticed the sharp-dressed man's scowl that seemed like he really didn't want to be here. Oddly enough, he hadn't been the first such person she'd seen about town - they seemed to have just popped up out of nowhere from one day to another. Looking further, she recognised a familiar, if mostly hidden face in Shizuka, her clubmate from Agriculture Club. She was just about to raise a hand in greeting when a boy stepped up behind her and spoke to her - it looked like she'd come with study partners as the boy at the same table looked up too. Rather than interrupt the three, she came to the conclusion that none of the nearby tables were empty - the final two were occupied by a blue-haired boy with a backpack at his side and, as she realised a moment later, another familiar student in the form of Alexei.

She was about to raise a hand in greeting a second time - when she stopped half-way as she remembered the rather odd sight that he'd been the last time she'd seen him in the Flowershop a few days ago. She still didn't know what that had been about - but not only was it now already a few days in the past, but she didn't exactly feel like it would be very appropriate to inquire about such a thing. Furthermore, he wasn't alone - beside him was another girl and they both seemed focused on their studies. Only at a second glance did Kotori notice that the girl's features had a distinction to them similiar to Alexei's that made it evident that she too wasn't from around here - which, given that he'd ordered flowers for both his mother and sister, made the conclusion that she was said sister an easy one.

Given that she didn't want to disturb any one those present in their studies but also needing a table to read on, Kotori decided on a seat at the Dragunov siblings' table; her hand lowered from its previously half-raised state as she approached the table, readjusting her glasses as she did. "Uhm..." she started, her voice even more quiet than usual given that they were in a library. "Is... this seat taken...?" Kotori asked, glancing between the two - whilst at the same time avoiding a direct greeting as she wasn't sure if it wouldn't be rude to either greet only one but not the other or embarassing instead if she had been wrong about the girl's identity after all.

[Assistant]
Alexei Dragunov | Warakuma Public Library | May 11th

It seemed that he did end up being the fool. He quickly settled down with his texts again, focusing on the text when a light whisper caught his attention. He turned to look at the familiar bespectacled form of his benefactor standing near him burdened by a few texts that she held comfortably.

"Ah! Kotori-chan." he said turning to stand up and move his material and chair a bit further to accommodate the new member of their table.

"Please, be my guest." he followed, pointing at the chair. Hearing the words, Elena too looked up from her books to see the gentle looking younger Shirohane and shifted her materials to her side to make more room for the older girl.

"That's my baby sister, Elena." Alexei said motioning at her as he looked at Kotori.

"She's the girl behind your much loved bouquets." he said to Elena who smiled brightly on learning of the fact. She waited for the girl to settle down before gently clutching her hand and giving her thanks.

"Thank you, Senpai for all those wonderful bouquets. I hope to be half as good as you someday." she said with admiration.

[User]
Manor of Creation - First Floor > Second Floor
10/5/2015 Sunday

The enemies that took form here were similar to footsoldiers from a medieval period, and occasionally supernatural monsters. Chiaki fared well with her whip, while Rui took the front with his sword. Leiko and Matthew stayed in formation around the back. The way to the second floor was easy, and as they ascended however... It was... Darker. Things began to become more decrepit, old, worn down, some of the paintings that told the story at this point were becoming dirtier and more marred with dirt or mold, and dust set in on the bits of furniture that laid about.

The team decided to take it a little slower, the horde of enemies present on the first floor no longer pestered them, but it was uncomfortably quiet here. As soon as they stepped into a large round room adorned with paintings and peeling wallpaper, a wild cackling laughter broke out in the entire room, and furniture began to fly about. There was a suit of armour in the very middle of the room, large, but it seemed to be missing some parts, like the gauntlets and parts of the greaves. A sword stuck out behind it.

As the chaos continued, crimson lights began to emerge from the candles and paintings and began to culminate around the suit of armor and soon bits of armor that were not within view began to fly in and merge with the armor in the center. Each piece connected by red black energy, as well as a substance similar to most shadows, and soon standing at a dozen feet tall before them was a shadow knight, picking up its sword and readying itself for the party. As its form completed, the furniture flying about the room dropped right out of the air, and the large knight shadow let out a battle cry before it charged.

[Assistant]
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Public Library | Sunday, May 10 2015

As the older student looked up, recognising her and speaking her name, Kotori gave a bow in greeting - only to be too late to stop him from clearing up the table; not able to say that she really wouldn't have needed much space at all. "Ah, thank you, Dragunov-senpai," she said as he gestured to the empty seat - even as the girl beside him too made some space with her own books. Giving another small bow in thanks at that, Kotori placed her books down as Alexei motioned towards the girl and confirming Kotori's assumption of her being his sister.

As she sat down, Alexei in turn introduced Kotori as the one who made up the bouquets which were delivered to her every day. Looking up in surprise at him, her eyes were drawn to her hand before she could speak up when she felt it being grasped - by a rather joyful looking Elena who expressed her thanks and more. Rather unused to the sudden action and attention, Kotori quickly glanced around before lowering her gaze to the table. "Ah, uhm, that... I-I think my mother would be more deserving of y-your thanks, D-Dragunov-san," she spoke quickly - and truly, as it was indeed her mother who did most of the work on the ikebana bouquets for customers and had been the one to deliver them to the hospital.

At that thought, Kotori glanced back up at the girl before her - she didn't seem to be sickly or showing any sign of requiring any prolonged stays at a hospital. Furthermore, she couldn't recall having seen the girl before - neither there nor at school, which would indicate the girl to be younger; as further evidenced by the way Alexei had referred to her. It was only then, after the immediate surprise of the sudden attention started to subside that Kotori realised that she hadn't even fully introduced herself; leading to her giving a small bow as well as she could with the table before her. "Ah, excuse me. I'm Kotori Shirohane. I go to the same school as your brother," she said - not needing to add anything about her family's flowershop seeing as the other girl evidently already knew about that. With that out of the way, Kotori stole another glance about - hoping that they hadn't drawn any more attention or disturbed any of the other library-goers.


[System]
167 cm ◆ 4th April ◆ 25

Trivia
◇ Speaks English, French, and German
◇ Learned to dance from jiving to songs, then from copying her favorite dancers online and moving on to workshops whenever she could
◇ Hums to herself when she's focused or finds herself with nothing to do

Bonus Videos
◇ (Dance) Mariel Madrid / Skinny Love
◇ (Dance) Scott Forsyth / Wifeable
◇ (Music) Flight Facilities - Arty Boy

[User]
Noah Green

San Francisco
Day 0

_________________________________________

Noah could think of a million things he'd rather be doing than spending time on some cruise, even if his sister had begged he come along. Fresh off his third tour, this one to Afghanistan, the former marine didn't set much stock in fancy cruises that has no real merit other than to escape reality for a while. Not that Noah had any problem escaping reality, he was constantly haunted by the things he'd seen and experienced overseas and saw no problem in forgetting those dark shadows of memory whenever he had the chance. But still, a cruise? It wasn't the way he usually spent his time.

Granted he hadn't seen his sister Haley for quite some time, or his nephew. Tommy was named after their father, who had passed when Noah was fifteen years old. A marine himself, it seemed a natural course of action for Noah to follow in his father's footsteps which is what led him to enlist. But the three tours had been of his own decision-making, and Noah still didn't know if he would be okay with going on another one. Part of him thought of settling down, enjoying a quieter life now that he was nearing his thirties. But he was still young and had nothing better to do, so he might just decide in the end to stay enlisted.

"Noah look! The water is so blue!" Tommy yelled in excitement from his place next to Noah. They, had just boarded the large cruise ship, called Aurora of all things, intent on cruising up the coast to Alaska. Never having been to Alaska himself but not particularly liking the cold, Noah didn't really find himself eager at reaching the icy destination. But he had to admit, the water was a really pretty blue.

"Don't yell Tommy, the sharks will hear you," Haley teased her son, ruffling his curly dark hair with a wide smile. Noah looked at them both and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. He enjoyed being around them truly, and had missed the two of them more than he could say.

---

Ten minutes later they finally had found their cabin and entered, finding a red-headed female ilsinside pouring over something she was working on. Noah noticed her immediately, her hair catching his attention. But it was her eyes that really drew him in, and he thought in that moment that she really was quite beautiful. He wondered if she was here alone, or if she had brought people along with her as well.

"Oh look, this is the wonderful individual who gave me your ticket Noah, meet Aiofe," Haley said gesturing at the young woman with a soft smile on her face as she dropped their bags onto hers and Tommy's beds.

Noah flocked his eyes to his sister and then back to the not so strange anymore woman, thinking her name suited her nicely. He quickly dropped his large rucksack, something he'd obtained in the corps, and turned to look at her.

"Noah Green, thanks for the ticket. Tommy here just wouldn't shut up until I said I would come along too," Noah said in a soft yet polite tone, his voice warm and rugged as natural. Noah stuck out his hand in greeting, well-mannered and a gentleman always, as he was raised to be so.

Tommy jumped up, and down next to him, "You just got back and we haven't seen you in like, two years. Of course you had to come Uncle Noah!" He said excitedly, continuing to jump up and down with, a wide grin on his face. He really was quite the hyper-active kid. Noah wished he had half the little guy's energy.

[Assistant]
---

---

 Aoife's concentration was broken when a trio of people walked into the room: the sweet lady, an unstoppable ball of energy, and a big buff boy. She jumped in her seat, startled, but managed to quickly compose herself and put her book down, flashing all of them with a practiced smile. She got up and extended a hand in greeting to both the adults, saying "It's nice to finally meet the both of ye in the flesh Noah, Haley," her natural Irish lilt softened and tempered through hours of long practice, "Aoife pronounced with an E, pleasure to be of service. I'm glad you all got on safe."

 And then she bent down to look at Tommy at his eye level, her hand raised for a high five. "And it's an extra special pleasure to meet you, Tommy," she said with a bright smile that was specially reserved for children (and for when she was especially pissed or pissed off).

 Straightening herself back out, she took a moment to move around her own belongings, giving the rest of them more room to arrange their things however they liked it. "To be honest I should be the one thanking you Noah, otherwise, I would have been on this trip all on me lonesome, haha."

[User]
Noah Green

San Francisco
Day 0

_________________________________________

Noah smiled softly as the woman stood up and introduced herself, shaking her hand politely Noah noticed that she had an Irish accent that he couldn't help but appreciate. It rolled off her tongue in such an elegant way that it sort of left him speechless for a moment. As Noah watched Aiofe interact with Tommy, he couldn't help but smile at them both as Tommy high-five her back with a wide grin, giggling. He really was such a happy kid.

Looking back at Aiofe as he was once again addressed, Noah kept the smile on his face as he chuckled softly, ducking his head a bit nervously and rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. It had been a long time for him since he'd last dated, there weren't a whole lot of options overseas not that he would have looked anyways. Plus, dating someone who lived back home while he was away was difficult to say the least. Torture to say the worst, he'd broken up with someone shortly before deployment for this reason, at her request. It had hurt him, but he had survived.

"Well then consider it my honor to have accepted the ticket," He said with a polite but charming smile. He was nothing if not a gentleman, but he also was naturally kind, if not just soft-spoken. He simply didn't have a whole lot to say, and the things he thought in his head probably would have scared most people after the things he'd experienced. War was hard in everyone, but it was the hardest on the survivors.

"Hey Noah, this will be your first date in how long? Three years?" Haley teased him, as she naturally did whenever she got the chance. He didn't mind it, but silently wished she hadn't out him on the spot and Noah felt his face reddening nervously because yeah, it had been a while.

"Were there no pretty ladies in the marines Uncle Noah?" Tommy asked him in that innocent voice of his, eyes wide as he looked at Noah in genuine curiosity. Noah glanced down at him, dropping down to eye level with the boy as he balanced on the balls of his feet.

He shot Noah a wry smile, chuckling softly. "Not unless I wanted to date a camel," He joked and Tommy laughed, covering his mouth with his hands as he did so. Noah ruffled his hair and then stood up, shooting Haley a look that, said 'It's alright, I got you later, butthead'. Haley simply stuck her tongue out at him as she began sorting through their bags.

[Assistant]
---

---

 At the mention of a date, Aoife quickly stared hard at Noah with a critical eye. Tall, broad, muscular. Blushing at the mere mention of a date. There was no doubt that he was definitely stronger than her. And he was supposed to be sleeping right next to her. So that's how it was to be then.

 Aoife's eyes began inadvertently narrowing as she continued staring at the tall stranger before her until she broke the tension inside of her with a trained laugh. "I'd be careful about who go about calling a camel Lover Boy. I know a couple o' girls still serving that I'm sure can give you a good run for your money," she teased, crossing her arms as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

 "Besides, she continued, "Your uncle is doing a pretty poor job of taking me on a date considering I'm the one who gave him his ticket an' all," giving a wink to Tommy. She then turned her attention back to Noah and Haley, saying, "I hope none of you have eaten yet though, have you? Maybe Lover Boy here can make things a bit more even by taking me out to the sushi place on the ship. Been dyin' to try it out, and I always feel like it'd be a bit weird to be on a ship and not have a nibble o' fish every now and then."

[User]
Noah Green

San Francisco
Day 0

_________________________________________

Noah couldn't help the small laugh that escaped his lips at Aiofe's mention of him being a poor date. The young woman had a witty sense of humor, a nice surprise. Noah had been a little worried she'd have taken them seriously, Haley and himself were natural jokesters and as they were so comfortable with each other it came out freely without much thought. Tommy, being Haley's child, was the exact same way. Though, he was still too a bit naive about the world to get most of their jokes they aimed at each other, Noah had no problem explaining them to him usually at the expense of Haley. Tommy found Noah absolutely hilarious, they were best buds.

Noah looked back at the redhead, his eyes bright as he smiled and tilted his head to the side a bit. "I could go for some sushi," He said simply, "Haley? Sushi?" He asked her in a low but curious tone. His voice had still never dipped away from his low, rugged tone.

Haley turned to look at the two of them, Tommy just standing there flicking his head back and forth as the conversation flowed on. He was naturally curious, and always wanted to know what was going on. With a smile, Haley nodded and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Sushi sounds great, Tommy's never had it though,"

Noah looked down at Tommy, placing a hand on the kid's shoulder with a soft smile, "What do you think Tommy? Want to try some sushi?" He asked the boy, not sure if Tommy even knew what sushi was. But he was an adventurous kid and liked most seafood he'd tried, so Noah was sure he would be fine. Haley loved sushi. Noah liked it, but it wasn't his favorite. He hadn't had in in a while however, and found it as good of a decision as any.

"What's sushi?" Tommy asked curiously, his eyes wide and heald tilted to the side as his curls flopped on his head.

"It's fish," Haley said simply, finally done re-folding their clothes as she was a bit of a neat freak. In the nicest way possible, Haley was as warm-hearted as liquid sunshine. She was Noah's favorite person in the entire world, well, her and Tommy.

"Raw fish," Noah said and Tommy scrunched up his face, clearly sushi didn't sound appetizing to the kid. But Noah figured any kid would kid eating something raw sounded disgusting. "Trust me, it's good. Plus, it's my treat," He said and shot Aiofe a smile, flicking his eyes back to hers.

[Assistant]
 Aoife saw the smile Noah gave her and she responded in kind, though hers didn't quite reach her eyes. Nevertheless, she could be a good little actor when she wanted to be and clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Well then," she said, "let's get you all settled and we'll hop right on down," moving closer towards the trio and helping them arrange and store their luggage.

 Once everything was put into place, Aoife gathered her essentials like her phone, wallet, and keys and stood by the doorway, patiently waiting so that all four of them could leave together. She ensured that she was the last one to leave and lock their cabin, giving directions to whoever happened to take the lead to where the restaurant was since she had already taken the time to memorize the layout of the Aurora, making polite conversation the entire way. She also made sure that all three of them remained within her eyesight and didn't allow Noah especially to ever walk behind her.

 Soon enough, the four of them reached the restaurant, the workers enthusiastically greeting them in Japanese before they were taken to a table. The restaurant itself was still fairly quiet and sparse with only a scattered few other tables being occupied. The decor was a bit too New Age-y for Aoife's taste with everything being so white and clean, but it had fit with the overall design of the ship since apparently it had only been remodeled just a few years ago. She also would have preferred the bar seating, but with little Tommy in their party, that was a no go. Oh well, it wasn't like she was going to drink anyways since she had just ordered herself water.

 "So," Aoife opened after they had all given their orders, "What brings you all along on a cruise to Alaska anyway."


[System]
Age: 24
Height: 6'-0"
Weight: 170lbs
Allegiance: Aspirian Royalty
Distinguishing Traits: Wherever the party is, Cas is bound to be there also. He's a free spirit with a tendency to act without thinking through the consequences, although due to his cushioned upbringing and high status, he rarely has to face them. Despite his wild lifestyle, however, he has a soft side and has been known for taking in stray and injured animals he finds in the streets of the capital city.

Short Bio: As the son of the reigning king, Atlas Maydestone, Caspian has lived the entirety of his life in the capital of Aspiria. He was born with a silver spoon in hand, enjoying the finest luxuries the country had to offer even when he was as young as five years old. This experience shaped him as a person. He grew up seeing the glass half-full and believing Aspiria was every bit as perfect and amazing as his father wanted him to think it was.

As a child, he spent most of his education being groomed to take over as the next king but never really took his future duties seriously. In his mind, it was so far off, there was no reason to worry about it. That is, until his father's health took a sudden decline when he turned eighteen. Suddenly slapped in the face by the reality that he was actually going to be the next leader of an entire country, he began to pay more attention to his teachers and did his best to understand all the different jobs he would have when his father died. However, the more he studied, the more he realized how unqualified he was for such an important role.

To deal with his rising sense of insecurity, Cas delved back into any and every social event he could find around the capital city. Partying and drinking with friends took the edge off his fears and helped him to forget about the impending future of his kingship. Deep down, he knew his coping strategy wouldn't change anything, but for now, it was good enough to keep him from getting absorbed in the weight of it all. He would just continue to put it off until he had to face it, the same way he handled the Scourge.

The rebellion (better known as the Scourge by everyone who lived in the capital) was the other big, glaring problem he tried not to think about. To make the enemies seem less imposing, he and his friends would make crude jokes about them and discuss all the creative ways the king could punish them for treason when they were eventually defeated by the state, but secretly, he was always on the lookout for anyone who seemed suspicious. As the crown prince of Aspiria, he'd heard the threats the rebels spat about himself and his family, and he was concerned about what could happen if they ever managed to get inside the stronghold walls.

He just hoped the military was strong enough that he would never have to find out.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

[User]
Feeling the sweet release of his hand that had gripped her arm Iris rubbed where he had held tightly to soothe it from throbbing pain. It was then she found herself laughing bitterly when Jacob continued to interrogate her about the big plan and what was going to happen next. "You're quick to make assumptions, but you don't know what's been going on with Cas at all. There was no elaborate plan to keep me here. The most elaborate part of the plan as you put it was when he broke me out of the hospital before I was sent back to prison."

Iris understood why he was questioning her so heavily, she got it but at the same time it was a little too much and somewhat overwhelming. It brought back horrid memories of when she had been questioned in the prison multiple times to only be forced into giving away the answers from that truth serum. Shuddering at the thought of it she hoped that it would not be the same again, that he didn't have an emergency one on him for dire situations. The thought of that drug alone made her feel sick to her core, colour all gone from her face as she reminded herself of the horror from the prison.

Dragging a hand down her face as she tried to compose herself, she looked back at Jacob meeting his gaze and she could see the sceptical expression he held. "You know the night he disappeared. We had planned to run away together if you want to call that elaborate, but then everything got complicated."

Finding herself peek over her shoulder towards the window for a split-second Iris debated her chances of using the window as an escape. Problem was it was far too high up, but the thought of going back to the prison felt worse. "Sure, I claim to be in love with him. Nothing will convince you otherwise, right?" She felt tired of this, tired of trying to prove she meant no harm and at the end of it all it didn't matter. Her fate was sealed, there was nothing she could do to save herself but oddly enough it had been something she had accepted. As long as Cas and Maisie were well and safe, she could be happy with that.

"Just… get it over and done with already. Lock me up and throw away the key, have me killed as I'm sure that I have a death warrant out for me." Iris sounded defeated as she carelessly shrugged her shoulders no fire left inside to even bother with fighting him. "Have them interrogate me with that drug again. I don't care anymore. I'm done." What else could she do in this situation? Beg for her life? That wouldn't happen, not when deep down she still had little care for it and even with the brief visit from Cas it hadn't changed anything apart from her resolve to protect him from Ethan. As dark as it sounded Ethan couldn't blackmail her if she was dead and maybe the security team would protect him? They had finally found her after all.

[Assistant]
"Apparently I don't," Jacob growled in agreement. He was more frustrated with Caspian than he was with Iris for that reason, because he never would have imagined Atlas's son would do something so reckless. The new king had butted heads with his father over plenty of things before and had a weakness for the night life in the capital, but he'd never done anything that had the potential to damage the crown's reputation. He was responsible. If he drank to excess, he walked with an escort instead of driving; if the young women in the city flirted with him, he wouldn't take advantage of their interest; if the previous ruler had needed his help, he always stepped up to do the job. For a young man in his early twenties, he'd matured beyond his years, so it was dumbfounding to the security guard that he would have thought up such a shortsighted plan.

As Iris went on about Caspian's original intentions to run away, Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. The more he uncovered, the worse it seemed to get. The former prince had known that his father was on his deathbed, that there were no other successors in line for the throne, and yet he had still come so close to abandoning his people. Flightiness wasn't a good quality in a king. Now that he knew it had almost happened once, he was going to keep a closer eye on the fledgling monarch in case he was ever overwhelmed enough to try it again. Until Caspian named someone else as his successor or had children of his own, the monarchy was precariously close to collapsing.

He remained quiet while the rebel girl seemed to give up before his eyes. She had fought him hard in the beginning, but it looked like she didn't have enough resolve left to keep going. His eyes flicked once more to the filthy kitchen contemplatively before returning to her face. "Sit down," he said, gesturing to the couch behind her. His words were still firm, but the initial anger had melted from his voice. Now that she had answered his questions and had lost her willpower, he didn't feel the need to keep fighting with her.

Taking his own advice, the guard sat on the opposite end of the sofa and leaned back with his arms crossed. He was still alert enough to stop her if she made any sudden movements, but there wasn't an immediate threat that required him to stay on his feet. "You say I've been kept in the dark about the king recently, but I do know him, Iris. Better than you do," he told her bluntly. Someone needed to tell her the truth, and right now, he was the only one who was in a position to do so. For Caspian's sake, he was going to be candid.

"You two only met a few months ago. I promise you that isn't enough time to learn every detail about a person, no matter how much you care about each other, and I can tell you right now that the Caspian you know isn't the same Caspian who was prepared to be the leader this country needs." Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees as he held Iris's gaze seriously. "I'm sorry if this is difficult to hear, but this relationship the two of you have is a detriment to him. Now that he's been crowned king, Caspian has committed every facet of himself to Aspiria. I'm not yet sure if he grasps the full depth of what that means, especially after discovering this," he gestured vaguely at the suite, "but running around in secret to be with someone who isn't even a highborn, let alone a person who could strengthen the monarchy politically… These aren't actions befitting of a king, and I can no longer stand idly by and watch him revert into an impulsive teenager. That means these meetings are going to stop."

[User]
To not know what was going to happen was so unnerving, Iris found herself at a loss and even though she accepted this was probably the end of the road for her she didn't know what he was going to do now. It threw her back when he told her to sit but she found herself complying because there was no other option. Iris could peg it from the room and try to escape, but he would catch her and then there would be a commotion and it just wouldn't end well for anyone involved. Taking a seat, she found herself fiddling with her hands not knowing what to do with them as she avoided making eye contact with him because it felt awkward.

Even as he sat and started to speak, she knew he was telling the truth, but the difference with hearing it from him was that she knew it was not just because he cared about the monarchy but because he actually cared for Cas. Hearing the words from him hit differently. "Don't apologise." There was no need for him to say sorry to her when she knew he was right with everything he said. "You think I don't know that?" Sighing heavily as she placed her head in her hands knowing that their relationship wouldn't last, and it was silly to even think it would have. It was a stupid dream and even as Jacob spoke about it, she found herself saddened by the fact he was just confirming what she already knew to be true.

"I know I'll never be good enough for him, that he would lose the trust and faith of so many people if they knew about me. Some non highborn girl from the districts, part of the rebellion. Daughter to the leader of Hope… I couldn't do that to him, not when he made the decision to go back and take responsibility." Iris could feel the tears in her eyes, but she didn't want to cry in front of him, so she blinked them back before looking up to meet his gaze again.

"Truth is..." Hesitating for a moment before she continued on. "I had planned to disappear tonight before all this." Hinting towards the fact he had visited as well as Cas as it had been completely unexpected for her else, she would have made an effort to clean it. "I was going to try and make an attempt at returning to the districts." Whether or not it would be successful was a different matter, but Iris already knew she had to leave Cas. Between the threat to his life with Ethan with the threats that she believed he would act on and knowing just how the country would react to her being with him was enough to know in her heart it was the right decision.

"I'm not about to bring him down, not when I firmly believe he will make changes for the good of all the people and I know he will be better off without me." Reaching to her pocket she pulled out the note she had addressed to Cas, looking at it in her hands. Everyone would be better off without me here.

[Assistant]
When he was finished speaking, Jacob sat quietly and watched as Iris hung her head in her hands. It wasn't that he didn't think she knew he was telling her the truth, but even if she was aware of it, neither she nor Caspian were doing anything about it. They were still meeting in secret, and he was sure the new king was plotting to change their situation so they would be able to make the relationship more official. On their current path, they were headed for ruin—not just of themselves, but of the kingdom as a whole.

He was concerned about the way the Aspirian people would react and how foreign leaders would view their monarch if he came forward about being with a former member of the rebellion that plagued their country. For one thing, it wasn't proper for a member of royalty to casually date like other highborns did. His eventual marriage was supposed to be with either a woman from a powerful family or a princess of another kingdom who could unite Aspiria with another nation and make both lands stronger. Atlas had tried to get it through his son's head that choosing someone out of love wasn't an option for him, but it seemed like that lesson hadn't stuck.

Additionally, if the other highborns learned that their new king had chosen to be with a criminal, it could chip away at their faith that Caspian was a mature and grounded ruler. They didn't need another revolt to deal with on top of the one that was already ongoing beyond the walls of the central city. That included an external attack by a foreign military that thought the current king was too weak to be in charge. No matter which way he looked at it, Cas's infatuation with Iris was going to make things more complicated and dangerous than they needed to be.

So, when Iris informed him that she was aware of where she stood and revealed that she'd planned to leave the capital, the security guard arched his brows slightly with intrigue. Maybe they were on a more similar page than he'd first thought. He glanced at the piece of paper in her hands and skimmed the words, considering the new information he'd just been given. That she'd had the note already written told him that she was being honest about her intention to go back to her home. Perhaps he didn't need to rip her away from Caspian after all.

"I understand that this is difficult, but you're right," he told her, looking up again to meet her eyes. "Without any distractions, Caspian has the potential to be a great king. Even more so than his father, so…" He stood up from the sofa and checked his watch to assess the time. "If you are serious about leaving the city quietly, I'll give you a ride past border patrol." Putting the device away again, he turned back to her and folded his arms. "We've increased security measures since Caspian returned, so you won't make it past the infrared or the guards without help, and since there is still a warrant out for your arrest, you'll be returned to a prison cell the second someone catches you. If you want to get out and promise that you'll cut all communication with the king, I will make sure you're returned to the nearest district without any trouble."


[System]
Age: 19

A very down-to-earth girl who's currently attending college. She lives alone in a campus dorm, and is known for being a major bookworm. She studiously completes her assignments, keeps few friends, and overall has a bright - but somewhat lonely - future.

[User] "I am most certainly not fishing for compliments!" she told her, rather loudly and angrily. "I was simply asking a question, thank you very much!" Still angry, she gave a light "humph!" and turned around in her chair, finally pulling out her textbooks and notebook. "Now, if you're going to say, at the very least be quiet. I have things to do." She frowned into her textbook, but her mind was still elsewhere. The princess of Hell had just randomly fallen into her dorm room, and now she was going to stay here? Well, Sarah certainly didn't have the courage to say no. But how was she supposed to live with a demoness? She sighed; she'd figure it out later. She wrestled her wandering mind into submission, and managed to - at least, to some extent - focus on her homework.

[Assistant]
Nefas chuckled a little as the blonde got hot headed. She agreed silently to Sarahs request for quiet as she opened up her book and begun reading more. All Nefas did was her her face in this book. It was given to her by her mother who was a great demon priest but sadly Nefas saw very little of her due to her duties in the underworld. So to her, reading this book was like spending time with her mother.

A loud screeching whistle started which made Nefas jump slightly as she was brought back from her own little world in her mind. It sounded almost like a baby banshee. Nefas looked a little confused. Why would Sarah home baby banshees? Of course it was the kettle on the stove that was screaming telling Sarah that the hot water was ready for the tea. However, Nefas had never heard of a kettle before so this had her confused.

[User]
Sarah was thankful that the demoness at least respected quiet. Suddenly, a low moan turned into a screeching whistle, and Sarah lifted her head from her work. "Huh? Oh, right! Tea's ready!" She hopped out of her chair and into the tiny kitchen, lifting the kettle from the stove and - when it was ready - pouring the tea into two small cups. They weren't exactly teacups - coffee mugs, really - but they worked. She took them both back out into the main room, where she handed one to Nefas. "Here you go," she offered. She still couldn't help but smile slightly at the idea that she had just casually served the daughter of Satan himself a cup of hot tea, but by this point, she was mostly over the shock of it.

Mostly.

[Assistant]
Nefas took the cup that was being held out for her and looked down into it to see the contents. It didnt look appealing, like hot dirt water. Browny beige colour. She looked up at Sarah with a scrunched up nose. "This is actually drinkable ?" She questioned as she looked back down into the cup.

Nefas put the cup to her lips and took a sip. She blinked contemplating. Then nodding she took another sip. "This is actually rather enjoyable!" She said in an almost excited tone. Almost. She downed the whole contents of the hot beverage. Heat didnt really get to Nefas the way it does to humans, she is after all from the hottest place ever known. She also seemed to radiate heat, so where ever she went it was rather a nice cosy warm.

She smiled slightly looking at her cup then held it out to Sarah. "I would like another!...Whats that human phrase for being polite...." She thought and racked her brain as she recalled some lesser demons talking one day about how humans said 'please' and 'thank you' ... Demons did not have need for these words unless speaking to someone of authority, however apparently humans said it to anyone and everyone regardless of rank. "Err... Please?...That is the correct word you humans use am I correct?" She asked raising a brow slightly.

[User]
Sarah couldn't help but smile; for the daughter of the devil, Nefas was almost like a little child: every new thing excited her. It was fun... if not still a bit strange. When she said please, Sarah's smile grew even wider. "That's the word," she told her, "and thank you for being so polite about it. Yes, you may have another cup." She took Nefas's mug back and poured some more tea in it, returning it to her quickly and still with a smile. "There you go! If you want any more, the kettle's still about half full, so feel free to get as much as you like." With that, she returned to her seat and placed her own cup of tea beside her - it was still too hot for her to drink. That, however, is when she finally did notice how warm the room was becoming. After another moment, she realized the heat was coming from Nefas. She stood and stepped closer; sure enough, it got even warmer the closer she got to Nefas.

"Wow, you're really hot," she told her. Then her face turned every shade of red imaginable as she realized what she'd just said. "I-I mean, warm! Like- Like body temperature, you know? Y-Y-You're radiating heat is what I meant, not that you're-" She stopped again. "I-I mean, not to say you're not attractive - you totally are, and-" Her face turned even redder. "I- I mean- You're-" She simply sputtered until she was just standing there with a beet-red face, not saying any more for fear of further digging herself into this already embarrassing situation. Finally, she simply turned back to her chair and sat down, the heat radiating from her face almost as hot as the heat radiating from Nefas. Way to go, Sarah. Way to go.

[Assistant]
As Nefas took the second cup from Sarah she downed it almost instantly. She really enjoyed this tea. When she eventually went home, she would have to make her father get some in for her. It was delicious. She blinked in surprise at the 'hot' comment then pursed her lips together as she attempted not to laugh as Sarah just fell flat on her face over her words. "I apologise if it is uncomfortable for you, it isnt something I can just turn off... One of the perks of being a demon child from hell I guess... You never get cold." She said with a small smirk on her lips now.

She stood and made her way over to Sarah who had her back to her now. Gently Nefas leaned over Sarahs shoulder and snaked her arm around her neck to her cheek and softly pushed Sarahs head to face her own. "Does it make you too hot under the collar? Sarah?" She whispered as her face was mere inches away from the blondes now. "You are very pretty you know that?" She said softly. "You would make a fine Succubus." She said, again with a smirk.

[User]
"Sounds, uh, nice..." she muttered, still blushing and facing her desk, desperately wishing a hole would open in the floor and swallow her for a few hours or so. Naturally, however, the floor stubbornly remained solid and hole-less. She sighed as she tried to focus on her work again, which proved very difficult as two very warm and smooth arms suddenly encircled her and turned her to be face-to-face with Nefas, who was standing very close to her right now. She felt her heart hammering in her chest, and she couldn't tell if it was fear, or... something else.

"You... think so?" she asked, still blushing terribly. Sarah had always been teased as a child about how she looked, and although she now knew logically that it had just been simple teasing, she was still very insecure about her appearance. "Um, thanks, I guess... You, uh, you look really pretty yourself." At this point, her mouth felt like it was moving without any conscious thought from her, but being told by a demoness that one would make a good Succubus was... not something she was used to, to put it lightly. So, she was responding in the only way she knew how: babbling nervously like an idiot and hoping she didn't make a fool of herself. "I've... never actually met a Succubus, so I... guess I'll just have to take your word for it. Eheheheh..."

Wow, she was getting hot. Was all that coming from Nefas? Somehow, she kind of didn't think so.

[Assistant]
Nefas chuckled slightly at the blondes now very red face. "You are even cuter when you're all red and blushing like that." She said in almost a seductive tone. Almost. Nefas looked over Sarahs face, her dark eyes scanning every inch of it. Then she stared deeply into her green eyes, like she was staring into her very soul. This human was very attractive and from what she has read of her mind, she is very sweet and sincere. This is not something Nefas has ever come to cross paths with before. After all, demons are far from sincere and sweet. It was a nice change. She also enjoyed how the blonde seemed to trip over her own words and just ramble. It was nice.

"Perhaps one day, I shall take you to meet some of my friends. One of them is a Succubus." She said softly, she meant it in a nice way. Not in a 'Ill take you to my lair and my friends and I shall feast on your bones' kinda way. Nefas thought she was being nice, in her own weird demoness way of course, but nice all the same. Whether Sarah took it that way was another matter however.

[User]
Ohhhhhh, it was definitely getting hotter in there, and she especially felt it on her face, which continued to grow redder. Sarah felt herself sinking into her chair, though her eyes were locked on Nefas's. She let out a little more nervous laughter, feeling rather like a chipmunk under the eyes of a falcon. "Um... Y-Yeah! That sounds, um... fun?" she responded, not quite sure of how she could take the invitation. It hadn't sounded like a death threat, but seeing as this was the Princess of Hell, who was she to judge the meaning?

She was also growing increasingly uncomfortable beneath the woman's piercing - though not unkind - gaze. "So, uh, hey! Here's a thought: it's almost time for supper! You, um, wanna... go somewhere to eat or something?" She paused, then quickly added, "I-I'll buy, of course!" Did demons even use money? Either way, it probably wasn't a good idea to try to tell a demoness to pay for her own meal. "There's - oh, let's see - there's, uh... a really nice Italian place nearby, or we could go out for hamburgers! Interested?" She was speaking in more fast, hurried tones - if she didn't get out from under Nefas's gaze soon, she was afraid she'd pass out from the sheer heat she felt in her face at the moment.

[Assistant]
Nefas chuckled. She could tell the blond was getting nervous the longer she stayed this close to her. Nafas backed off from her. Still looking into her eyes though.

She raised a brow at the offer of food. Nefas nodded "I will try anything you are in the mood for. I don't feel hunger or thirst. They are merely desires I want to try. So whatever your taste buds are tingling for I will be happy with." She said with a smile. It was a kind smile for Nefas though to others it makes her look slightly unhinged. She hasn't ever had to convey emotions through her face before so its not natural for her. In hell people didn't talk much.

[User]
It was with visible relief that Sarah sagged into her seat at Nefas finally stepped away. She still couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from that gaze, though. "In- In that case, let's go get some burgers," she suggested, her speech steadily returning to normal. "It's cheaper, and money's a little tight for me right now." She used to work as an assistant in the library here, but they'd dismissed her for reading on the job. Normally, that wouldn't be worth dismissing someone over, but even Sarah had to admit that reading for six of the eight hours in a shift was probably not one of her wisest ideas.

She glanced down at her assignment. If the Princess didn't get hungry, there was probably no need to rush. "Tell you what: give me about 15 minutes to finish this up, then we can head out. It's pretty close to campus, so..." Hm. Actually, how would they get there? Normally, she just rode her bike, but there wasn't room for two on it. "Do you have a bike?" she asked. "Or, well, rather, do you even know what that is? No offense!" she added suddenly. "I just, y'know, if you haven't been here before..." She stopped before she dug herself into any further holes. "Actually, nevermind. We can just walk."

[Assistant]
Nefas chuckled at her stammers. "Walking is good." She said, softly. Normally she'd just teleport, but seeing as she has ho idea where this burger place is, it would be pointless to do so, she's be teleporting all around the city. which reminded Nefas. Where exactly in the world was she?

As the girls began to walk down the streets of this place she looked at the blonde once more. "Where exactly in the world am I?" She asked curiously. Nefas had the ability to speak every in every tongue, but people move around a lot so she could be anywhere. She looked around her surroundings as they walked, she knows very little of the human world, so she had no clue.

[User]
After a quick scramble to finish her assignment, Sarah was escorting Nefas down the street. Just casually walking to a burger joint with the alleged daughter of Satan. Nothing strange about that, she thought to herself. Only after did she remember that Nefas could read minds (which she still found to be completely unfair) and she made an effort to restrain her thoughts. "This?" she responded. "This is Phoenix City. Nothing too special, I guess; it has just about everything a regular city would have. Specifically, we're on my campus: Ivy University. It's not the best campus, but it's pretty nice. There's a library, a cute coffee shop - oh, we can go there sometime if you still want to try coffee - and a lot of really nice classrooms."

"Where we're going, The Burger Shop, is about fifteen minutes' walks from here," she continued. The Burger Shop was a new chain that had opened just recently, but it was already getting major business. The food was all really cheap, but it tasted amazing - basically a college student's utopia. Sarah didn't go often, but she always enjoyed it when she did. "Hmm... I guess since it's your first time trying any of our food, you should probably just go with a basic combo: a burger, some fries, and a soda. I recommend the Cheerwine," she added with a grin. Cheerwine was her favorite.


[System]
Age: 211, to his best estimate
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 192 lbs
Race: Vampire
Birthplace: England, circa 1667 (Elizabethan era)
Short Bio: Born in the Elizabethan era and surviving into the Victorian, Vail has seen the rise and fall of two centuries' worth of dynasties—not just human, but supernatural as well. As a member of the Hygrace family, he was raised in the wealth and prestige of the most powerful vampire clan in London. His uncle, Lord Reginald Hygrace, was a respected leader, known across the nation for offering protection to any vampires who needed sanctuary from The Order of the Saints: an influential group of men and women who tracked down and killed the "demons" for a living.

For nearly a century, Reginald's efforts kept both his family and the rest of the vampires safe. However, around the year 1750, he made the mistake of taking in a man named Lord Elias Wynter. At a glance, Elias seemed like just another refugee seeking sanctuary with the Hygrace family, but in truth, he sought to overthrow the ruling dynasty completely.

Unbeknownst to the Hygraces, the Wynters had been plotting for quite a while to take over and change the way that vampires lived in England altogether. They believed that as "superior beings," they should fight back against humans instead of hiding from them in fear. They saw the Hygraces were weak and cowardly, unfit to lead their kind, and so started a rebellion.

When he commenced his attack, Elias managed to kill Reginald, but his attempt to finish off the rest of the oldest generation was cut short by his victim's younger brother—Vail's father—Peter, who went on to take over as the leader of the Hygrace clan in his sibling's stead. Unfortunately, the Wynter family refused to give up after just one defeat and has continued to fight for power against the ruling dynasty ever since.

For Vail, the following century of his life was spent predominantly in hiding. As the son of the most powerful vampire in England, he had to look out not only for members of the Saints but the Wynters as well. With such a large target on his back, he learned how to fight and wield a gun in order to protect himself. Both skills have saved his life since.

Of course, he can't spend all his time in seclusion without going stir crazy, so he finds time to attend parties and other large gatherings put on by other aristocrats in London to get out of the Hygrace manor on occasion.

[User]
Retreating into his thoughts, Vail wrapped one arm around Victoria's back as she agreed that the ritual didn't sound as promising as they had hoped it would. There were a number of details about it that deterred him. Firstly, he disliked the idea of bleeding her until her heart stopped. Every time he'd bitten her before, he had done everything he could to make the feeding process as tolerable as possible, since he didn't want to cause her pain. But he knew of no way to take away the suffering of death. He was torn between his distrust of letting another vampire turn her and the discomfort of knowing that he would be the one to cause her to endure such misery.

Secondly, the fact that it could take up to a week for a human to turn was off putting to him. There were many people, both human and vampire, who would go out of their way to make sure she never woke up. The Order would oppose the creation of a new demon, and the Wynters would surely do everything in their power to prevent a member of their rival clan from taking the Crest heiress, whom they had deemed as their property, away from them. Even his own father couldn't be trusted, since the leader of the Hygraces had made it perfectly clear that he wanted her out of his son's life. Vail was uncertain if he had the fortitude to fend off all of the opposition by himself while she was in such a vulnerable state.

The final nail in the coffin was that the ritual only had a success rate of fifty percent. If the first risks weren't daunting enough, the chance that he could lose her if her heart rejected his blood was enough to make him quail at going through with it at all. He turned his head to bury his face in her hair, closing his eyes as he breathed in her familiar, calming scent. There were still obstacles to be faced if she remained mortal, namely her possessive fiancé and his antagonistic father, but they seemed miniscule compared to the possibility that she could die if the transformation went wrong. He didn't want to bear the burden of knowing he had killed the woman he had grown so fond of when there were other options left to be tried.

"I don't think so," he murmured into Victoria's long tresses when she asked if they would become related. He knew little about the field of medicine, but Peter had told him about human surgeries before. Organs and blood could be donated to save the lives of people who needed them. If this ritual was anything like that, then the DNA that made up their bodies would still be entirely separate aside from the cells that traveled through her veins. Based on the context of the book, it seemed like turned humans were adopted into clans for the purpose of reproducing too. He wasn't sure what else the author could have meant by diversifying family lines.

"It doesn't matter though," he sighed, softly stoking her back as she yawned. "I don't think this is a good idea. I don't want to lose you if it doesn't work." He turned his head away from her again and swallowed, salivating reflexively as his predatory urges tempted him to feed on the weary prey in his arms. She had been his exclusive food source for a while now, but after she went home tomorrow, he had a feeling he would need to go hunting in the city to quell his blood cravings so he wouldn't lose control and attack one of the servants.

For now, though, a distraction was good.

Shifting his weight on the bed, Vail turned back to Victoria and pressed his lips against hers, driven by a need to redirect the impulse to sink his fangs into her neck and a desire to make the most of the time they had left before Peter forcibly removed her from the property. Unsure when they would be able to see each other again, his movements were marked with passion as he leaned over her and held the back of her leg with his free hand.

[Assistant]
Victoria had everything going against her, she thought she could seek refuge at the Hygrace manor but instead she was met with the callous heart of Peter. Even if she were successfully turned, would he still want her as part of the clan? Somehow, she had to make it worth his while, see her as a valuable asset. Which meant keeping The Order off their backs and keeping the Wynters away from them so that his son would be safe. She was going to prove that she cared more about Vail than he knew. If that meant keeping her distance so he was out of harm's way, then so be it. She knew Vail would defy his father and sneak out to see her at first opportunity. He was head strong and there was only so much she could do without forcibly telling him to stay away. She wasn't sure if she was strong enough to push him away, she wouldn't want to do it.

She enjoyed his soothing strokes across her back and the sound of his voice muffled by her locks. Feeling his breath trickle along her hair. He told her it mattered not if they would be related or not, though unlikely. She likened it to a human blood transfusion. The human adopted the foreign blood into their system, if compatible. It bolstered their own blood cells to create more cells until it was back up to full capacity. But Vail said he did not even wish to try. The risk was too great. She smiled though, when he said he didn't want to lose her. Did that mean he cared about her as much as she cared for him? Well she didn't want to die either, not this young. She had so many things left to do and accomplish.

She noticed he had to turn away suddenly and swallowed hard as if fighting his primal instincts to feed on her. She had seen him struggle with it for the past few days. She was impressed he had managed to keep it all under control so far. There was always that risk though…

As she contemplated this, he turned back to kiss her without warning. He fully leaned over her and made his intentions known as his kiss was full of passion, unlike before when she had seduced him into it, this time he made the decision on his own. Now that she was strong enough to at least kiss back, she wrapped her arms firmly around his neck and the hand that grasped the back of her leg lifted up so he could reach further up…

---

The next morning, Victoria was awoken abruptly by a loud knock at the door. She looked up, feeling light headed and weak still from her slumber. She had no clothes on underneath the bed covers thanks to Vail the previous night. Although Vail had taken her to heaven and back again, she doubted his father would appreciate finding them in bed together like this. Since it was he who knocked impatiently at the door.

[User]
Vail remained awake long after Victoria succumbed to the clutches of slumber. Nocturnal by nature, he laid by her side, the wheels of his mind spinning as he tried to think of something they could do to solve all of the mounting problems that threatened to pull them apart. Of course, there was no magic answer to fix everything though. The closest they had come was the turning ritual, and even that had proven to be too risky to attempt. He sighed quietly and held her close, warmed beneath the duvet by the heat that radiated from her naked body. His blood cravings had subsided for now, but he still felt restless as the clock ticked against them. If she hadn't fallen asleep against his chest, he would have gotten up to pace or read or do something productive in the hours that remained until she would be sent back to the Crest manor. Instead, he stayed still, alone with his thoughts while the dark sky outside slowly gave way to the first light of dawn.

The Hygrace heir wasn't sure when he'd dozed off, but he knew that he must have, because the next thing he realized was that someone was rapping sharply at his bedroom door. He stirred and blinked his eyes open tiredly, exposing his long fangs in a yawn. Morning had come all too quickly, and with it, the arrival of his choleric father. Like Victoria, he was still bare skinned after their tussle in the sheets the night before. The pillows and blankets had been strewn haphazardly around them, and the book they'd been reading had fallen at some point to the floor. He hadn't seen a reason to cover up the evidence that he and his human lover had been intimate though. Even if they'd tried to pretend like they hadn't succumbed to their lust, there was no hiding the sickly-sweet pheromones that still hung in the air. Peter could have already detected the damning scent from beyond the door.

When neither of them immediately jumped up to answer his knocking, the clan leader took it upon himself to enter the room without permission. He stepped inside and halted near the entrance, his narrowed eyes fixed on the couple in bed together. He had already found out that Vail had slept with Alexander's daughter before, but seeing them together now, post coital, made his blood boil. There was much he wanted to say to his increasingly belligerent son and the woman whom continued to take advantage of his misplaced interest. However, her escorts were already waiting for her in the foyer.

"Make yourselves decent," he growled with barely restrained rage. "Lords Pierce and Alabaster of the Order are here to collect you, Lady Crest."

And there it was, the proclamation Vail had been dreading for days. He remained still for a moment longer before he reluctantly sat up on the mattress, his bare chest revealed as the sheets that had been covering him fell into a heap in his lap. "Couldn't you at least give us some privacy?" he asked dryly, noticing that his father had planted himself by the door. If he had been alone, he wouldn't have minded the other vampire's presence, but he disliked the thought of his father watching Victoria get ready like a pimp preparing a prostitute.

"It seems I've given you far too much privacy," Peter folded his arms unwaveringly. "Now get dressed. The sooner you're both clothed; the sooner she can be on her way."