Nebb 11-24-2008 04:12 AM<br/>â€œHere will be fine.â€ Ariel said as the taxi pulled up outside the entrance of the Prince's domus. Leaning over, she handed the required fare to her pale faced driver. Since having slid into the back seat an hour earlier, the driver had been stealing glances at her in the mirror when he thought she wasn't looking. She could visibly see the sense of relief that overcame the driver as they arrived at their destination, the blood draining back into his cheeks as she handed him the cash.<br/><br/>Ariel stepped out of the vehicle and paused for a moment. â€œA new cityâ€¦a new beginning.â€ She mused to herself as she ran her hand through her hair tying it back from the gentle breeze that was blowing. Wrapping a full length shawl over her shoulders, and carrying only a single piece of luggage, she headed towards the guarded entrance of the Prince's domain.<br/><br/>â€œMy name is Ari'eil Nashiram. I am new in this city and as custom dictates, I am here to present myself to the Prince.â€<br/><br/>She paced about in the reception area, while her arrival was announced to the Prince. She knew she would have to make an concerted effort in order to make a good impression. Like many others of her bloodline, she found it hard to interact on a social level. A few of her peers told her it was a flaw of some kind that developed due to them being bred as killers. An instinct for it, so strong, others could sense it. She however believed that it was also partly due to having to avoid recognition. If making an impression could get you killed, then you would naturally avoid those situations. She thought back to what her Sire had once told her...<br/><br/>"Our bloodline contains grains of power sifted from the diablerized souls of countless extinct bloodlines. In essence that, which now gives us strength, also makes us weak."<br/><br/>She took a moment and tried to clear her mind of these thoughts, instead concentrating on the there and then. â€œIf I am lucky, the Prince will still be able to see me tonight...â€<br/><br/>Nebb 11-24-2008 01:52 PM<br/>Rowan stopped for second next to an emergency exit nearby the staircase: â€œThis would be as good a place as any I guess.â€ Taking a quick look around through his mindâ€™s eye, and finding nobody in the vicinity, he performed an initiate level spell that enabled him to see the lay of the land. Rowan preferred the subtlety of initiate spells as they drew little attention, and few, if any at all, would notice. Through his mindâ€™s eye, he could see every sentient being in the vicinity of the Council building, and even a few from the surrounding block. He focused his mind on these persons, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He then continued up the staircase, as he could see Lady Cutra was approaching one level below and didnâ€™t want to miss the opportunity to catch her before the meeting commenced. He was quite interested to learn if she had gathered any unusual intel on the new Prince or perhaps even the full reason behind the meeting. Females had a subtle way at getting their hands on bits of information that even the most intelligent men would struggle obtaining, and Lady Cutra was no exception. Without breaking concentration, he headed up the flight of stairs to catch her as she passed. If it wasnâ€™t for the fact that he was skilled at multitasking, he might have had to forgo the opportunity.<br/><br/>Rowan exited the staircase a moment before she was about to pass by. Dressed in a pair of comfortable black pants, a dark blue collared shirt and a well tailored dinner jacket, he met up with her as she rounded the corner: â€œGood evening Lady Cutra, I trust you are well?â€ he spoke softly, so not as to startle her. He continued alongside her, hoping to gleam any information that he could, but not utterly intent on wasting the entire conversation on business.<br/><br/>Ladypuppet 11-24-2008 04:42 PM<br/>(O.o double post.)<br/><br/>*Cutra jumped at the voice as she feel out of her meditation. She looked over to him and tiltd her head slighlty.* "Good Evening Rowan, Its nice to see you again...." she looked down as she unfolded her legs and smoothed out her dress. Looking down she slipped off the desk and looked over at him.* "Depends on what you think is well. But I am okay for the most part, and yourself?" *She looked over at him her eyes cold, as usualy she felt betrayed by dherris she should have know better.*<br/><br/>Scambo 11-24-2008 07:30 PM<br/>Jack channeled all of his energies, all of his focus into the all out magical assault on the beast, planning to collapse it in on itself using the extreme force of his spell. But, it was strong and resisted the magic with extreme force, not gaining any ground but not losing any either. He felt the odd tunnel vision suffered by a mage who was channeling too much into or at one target but he didn't care, all he knew was that the thing was a very real threat to he and Shey and to him, that was all that mattered. He felt the beast begin to cave beneath the constant, crippling force that was magic. He renewed his assault and felt the monster's defenses drop substantially, and he knew that it was only a matter of time at that point until the creature was nothing more than a bloody clump of flesh and fur. A sudden pleading voice at his side ripped him away, and as the tunnel vision faded he heard Shey's plea for her friend and the request to spare the beast's life. He froze, not knowing how to act and unable to fully think through the consequences of either choice. Whatever he had snared in his magical death trap was obviously a creature of intense and indisputable evil, but she spoke of it as her friend and he could hear the desperation in her voice. Reluctantly, he released the strong bonds of magic but he forgot to account for how much and how directly he had been channeling the cable thick weaves of Force. One tendril shot off to the side, crashing into the street and sending chunks of concrete flying, another smashed through a tiny street kiosk and uprooted a fire hydrant, filling the air with tattered newspapers, snacks and water. The third and by far the most powerful shot backwards, towards Jack and Shey and he saw the mammoth strike coming. He shoved Shey aside and threw up the best defense he could before a gigantic hammer smashed into him, shooting him through the air and into a nearby apartment building, the thin shield of protective magic leaving an almost exact imprint of his body in the brick wall. He hurtled to the ground, slamming squarely into the concrete.<br/><br/>"No worries......my neck broke my fall......I think I'm just going to....lie down a while....See what you can do about.....shaggy over there....." He groaned and tried to push himself up into a sitting position, but his body wracked with agony and he sagged back to the ground.<br/>That was......excruciating....Well at least if I made the wrong decision, I won't be around long enough to regret it....<br/><br/>eferhilda 11-24-2008 10:24 PM<br/>Shey was about to shift when Jack pushed her out of the way of something that she could not see but feel, the air being moved with such force as her beloved Jack went sailing through the air to impact very hard with a brick wall. The need to run to him was great, but the innocent people who were at danger from the crazed beast that was beginning to recover from being crushed by Jack. Her eyes glowing bright as she sent a silent prayer to Gaia to watch over Jack and keep him safe till she could be at his side once again. Throwing back her head she howls as the change takes over her and she is soon standing before Brian in her large Wereform, the muscles rippling beneath her thick rich auburn fur as she snarls brandishing her claws at him. Without wasting another moment she launches at him.<br/><br/>The creature that was Brian fell to the ground quickly drawing in snarling breaths as its eyes locked onto the nearest target. Shey launched her self at him but clouded by rage and driven by spirits the huge wolf-humanoid was able to push the pain to the far side of his mind. It swipes one of its large claws upward in a deadly version of and uppercut to attempt to catch the throat and/or jaw of the midair Shey.<br/><br/>Shey drew a forearm up to block the vicious attack, howling in pain as his claws dug deep into her flesh. Still she impacted with him using her increased weight and momentum to drive him to the ground, her claws at his shoulder as she struggled to hold him down. She did not want to kill her friend and wanted to try and save him; still she was not going to let him kill her either.<br/><br/>Brian yelped and growled angrily as he was suddenly knocked to the ground. He struggled and barked in rage for a little a moment before it finally found something it could really doâ€¦ Turning his head suddenly he sank his teeth into the forearm of one of the arms she was using to pin him with. He started lashing out with his claws as best as he could too to try and rip her throat out.<br/><br/>Shey jerked her head out of the way from his onslaught of claws, her human mind slowly losing any grip as the beast within began to fight to survive. As his jaws clamped down harder on her forearm she snarls her head thrusting forward to bite down into the now exposed neck and shoulder area.<br/><br/>Another growl exited his throat as she bit into him and his bite just grew stronger putting more strain of the bones in that portion of the arm. With her so close now, his claws came back up to grab her throat and start tightening possibly to either crush her windpipe or snap her neck under the force. While the sharp nails made shallow punctures into the flesh under the fur as the grip was initially made.<br/><br/>Like a rabid dog Shey bit down harder into his flesh despite the pain from his jaws and claws about her throat. Her claws dragged down his body before thrusting into ribs, hopes of puncturing a lung or something else that would weaken him enough to force him to change back.<br/><br/>It was then that his jaw finally loosened as a howl of pain escaped him from the claws running down his body. The intention of killing switched briefly to trying to get the bitch off of him. His claws shifted position to try and grab her upper and lower jaw to loosen her bite and then use his arms and legs to toss her away.<br/><br/>Shey struggled to keep her grip resorting to now shaking her head vigorously as she meant to tear a big chunk of flesh from his shoulder. Her claws moving back to his arms now, digging deep trying to keep him from opening her jaws.<br/><br/>Another howl of pain exits Brian as she tears the flesh of his shoulder. And then she was moving to immobilize his arms and prevent him from opening her jaw. With unable to fully move his arms as he would like, Brian did the next best thing and tightened his grip on her jaw. Inside of him, the spirits started to worry about losing their tool for sustenance and started contemplating other optionsâ€¦<br/><br/>Her vision had clouded over with red as she shook her head again, feeling the tearing of his flesh. His hands on her jaws prevented her from shaking her head too much but still she would not release her hold on him. The human now in almost as much a rage as the beast wanting to force him to bow before her stronger form, to submit to her alpha authority.<br/><br/>After that last shake, there was barely any usable muscle left and one arm lost a good portion of its strength in trying to resist the force from her arm. If he was consciously able to focus his regenerative powers, he would have been able to do something about it but now his arm lost its shoulder strength and movement. Blood was pouring from the wound and pooling on the pavement beneath them. He was growing weak from the blood loss and the spirits knew that they couldnâ€™t win with this toy anymoreâ€¦ They would have to find a new vessel to continueâ€¦ Luckily one lay nearby and so they flooded out of Brianâ€¦â€¦ Lunging to invisibly enter the barely conscious mageâ€¦ They wouldnâ€™t be able to control this one like Brian both because of the stronger mental state and lack of bestial side but at least they could influence him to try to accomplish their goalsâ€¦ With the spirits gone, Brianâ€™s struggles lessened and weakened quickly without the drive of the spirits pushing him forward. Soon he stopped entirely, falling limp as his body started to shift back, and he struggled to maintain consciousness from blood loss.<br/><br/>Shey released Brian the moment he stopped struggling, reigning in her beastly rage as she sat back on her haunches looking down at him as he shifted to his human form. Slowly she matched him and returned to her human form chest heaving from exhaustion and the after effect of the adrenaline in her system.As her wounds slowly healed themselves she pulled out her phone she called in her pack, needing them to get Brian and treat his wounds as well as give Iggy a proper burial. While she waited for them to arrive she tore of a section of her shirt to bandage his wound to at least slow the bleeding, "You're going to be ok Brian." she said to him gently before moving to check on her mate.<br/><br/>Getting to Jack's side she knelt down checking him, even she could tell he was hurt pretty bad. "Jack baby, I'm here I'm here now. I'm so sorry for having you come with me, you should have stayed back in the woods or gone to your apartment." she sobbed softly realizing just how much it hurt her to see him in such a state. "Please be ok..." she prayed to the spirits to watch over him as she waited for her pack to arrive or even an ambulance whose sirens she could hear faintly in the distance.