Nick obeyed Alarick and stood back a bit from the warlock. "If you needed a car so much, why didn't you just ask me to bring mine?" he questioned the shadowhunter and rolled his eyes. "Hang on a moment, I'll see if Masque's got a car we can take" As he turned to find car keys in Masque's disorganised apartment, he suddenly heard the swish of a sword. Bound... bound with magic. He was helpless, hopeless, pathetic. He looked up momentarily and caught a flash of steel before a sudden sharp pain flared across his face. Blood dripped down his cheek and into his mouth. The pang of metallic taste was disgusting. He looked at the fairy with sorrow in his eyes "She... she was such a good muse... but she wouldn't behave... I'm so sorry, did you know her? My condolences" Masque explained sadly "Then the warlock arrived and took her away... but she's probably dead by now" Nick was fuming "Alarick! Are you just going to stand there and let blondie murder him?" he faced the fairy with anger in his eyes but said nothing. "I found Masque's car keys" he muttered to Alarick with resignation. He couldn't bring himself to confront to fairy, and supposed that he was partially justified in his actions... but still. "Sorry to have left you, but it seems I was right in judging you capable of defending yourselves" Paragon stated as he suddenly materialised ahead of the shadowhunter Brianne "Oh, and Grayson Keller has been dealt with. He won't be causing any more trouble in New York" Paragon clapped his hands together "Job well done, my friend! Anyhow, I should be returning to HQ, is there anything at all you'd like to ask?" Black Rook and White Knight roughly took Grayson and injected him with a sedative to keep him suppressed while they took him back to base. Once there, taking a route to ensure they were not followed, they laid him out on a stretcher, tying him down, and brought him to Doctor Bishop's lab. "Awake?" the doctor said as Grayson roused himself from the induced coma "Goodie. What's your name young man and who were you?"
Vyle caught himself smiling as Ana embraced him, but it was a sad smile. Something had changed in her since the witch hunter incident. Nevertheless, she was still Ana. "I..." he began to speak, but the words caught in his throat momentarily. Coughing subtly he returned the stern expression to his face "I won't" he stood there a moment longer, just staring at her "There... there is a part of me that I fear. The part that needs to feed, the ferocious, vicious part that you saw when I saved you, the part that keeps me going when times are desperate. And I hide it, but with it so too are hidden the other emotions... I guess what I'm trying to say is... it's... it's difficult to hide so much when I'm around you" he said carefully, each word calculated. "On a different subject... I believe I still owe Derrick of Kaedwen a debt. Shall we go find the witchers?" he turned to the mage "You want to come along too?" The first victim fell down at the edge of the village after battling the wasting disease. With his last few moments he looked up to the sky... and saw it blotted by a shadow "Welcome to death. Please enjoy your stay" "Are you the Grim Reaper?" the peasant asked. Solomon laughed at that as though he'd heard a brilliant joke "You wish!" he said with a smile. In that moment of horror the man died. "Now, rise and become the bearer of my plague" The journey was boring, mages made the worst conversation. But eventually, after riding through rocky crags and winding paths, they arrived at Crow's Perch. Formerly owned by Lord Ethilis, now owned by witch hunters, who had quite the statement nailed to the front gate. "Disgusting" stated her male companion as he looked at the body with disdain. Guards were stationed at the gate of course. Willow hung back as Lord Bramwell walked ahead, with several of his own guards behind him "Good evening" the mage greeted "I am Lord Bramwell, an emissary from his Royal Highness King Archon Dragoncrest, Supreme Ruler of Redania" Bramwell explained, looking down on the witch hunters "May I meet your master?" Meanwhile, Willow had snuck off the coach without anyone noticing and changed back to her normal form, waiting hidden by the side of the road for the events to unfold. At that moment, Kyle was patrolling the gates of Novigrad to scour for dopplers, as their glorious leader had commanded. A group approached and a pair of guards blocked their way. It seemed to consist of a man, a woman, and a witcher. "Hold there" Kyle instructed. He looked to one of the guards, who grunted and felt for the hidden medallion. It was vibrating wildly at this group. Kyle narrowed his eyes at them "You're either dopplers or mages, or worse. I don't know if you've heard but King Archon Dragoncrest (praise be his name) has commanded a total culling of dopplers in Redania after the events that unfolded at Oxenfurt. However, if you are mages we would gladly let you pass" he stared with hatred at the group, waiting for them to respond. He subtly signalled for guards with crossbows to back him up. "Annabelle" Archon stated coldly "I am disappointed" Violet had brought his young daughter to him and told him what happened, before retreating to the side of the room to guard her king "Did I not tell you to stay in your room? And what did you do?"
Darklight Disturbance Arak'Un Mechanisms within the ancient door begin to grind open, before it suddenly closes with a slam. From the darkness, an enormous spindly shape appears... The dark spider slowly unraveled its webs and descended in front of Kara, mandibles dripping a dark venom. It made a low guttural noise, but did not move any closer and remained at a distance Rayyad suddenly looked distracted "..." he stared at Tessa and Conrad with a questioning expression "Your friends are here, I think. Or they might not be your friends... I mean, I don't want to assume. There's a girl, young, pretty... I-I mean..." Rayyad stuttered and blushed slightly "Uh, I mean... yeah... they've arrived at the main gate... uh... what do I do?"
Kara has discovered the majestic city of Arak'Un! She stands at the edge of an enormous cavern which contains enormous stone buildings and trees and undergrowth engulfing the ancient civilisation. The whole area is lit by luminous crystals. Closer to her, there's a small table with a gem on it. On her edge of the door is a socket the same shape as the gem.
"Tell that to your friend Rhett" Paragon stated coldly, he didn't believe the man's words, he was simply a violent psychopath. He was not deceived by the man and noticed the wolf trying to sneak up on him. In one quick move he shot the wolf in the forehead with the silver bullet. His guns were silent, all that could be heard was the thwish of the bullet zooming through the air. With a spin and flourish he continued, one, two, three, four. Four shots thwished through air, skin, bone. Four werewolf bodies dropped to the floor in unison. With a glance at a nearby CCTV camera, he shut it off, and fluttered down to Grayson, pointing his handguns at the wolf "Three shots left. Do you want to risk it?" he asked the werewolf. Behind him appeared two figures clad in black "Are you going to come peacefully, or will I have to get my friends here to apply some force?" Masque hissed as his knife was taken from him, but sat back hopelessly as Alarick tried to calm him down. The fairy's words and the shadowhunter's echoed in his mind and he hissed with fury and sorrow Will you not even defend yourself? No one will look at you, How pathetic With a sudden violent urge Masque leaped forward, hands outstretched, grabbing for the fairy's throat "WORM? WORM???" he tried to throttle the man. worm. You can make this easy, pathetic, No one is going to harm him, I shall enjoy watching make this one squirm. Masque slumped suddenly and held his head in his hands, tears could be seen welling in his almost reptilian eyes. "Just kill me already, I'm a monster, I've killed so many" Masque spat through gritted teeth "You shouldn't have taken the knife from me. The fairy in central park, is she dead? I thought so. She was such a fighter. She could have been so much" worm worm worm worm worm worm worm worm worm Calm down it's all going to be alright. A new voice pervaded Masque's thoughts "Calm down. It's all going to be alright" Nick knelt by the warlock, trying desperately to calm the tragic figure down. He hoped Cin or Alarick wouldn't react too violently to Masque, couldn't they see he felt guilty? Couldn't they see the emotional turmoil?
"The witchers? I suppose. And the mage can come along but... Ana... Ana... are you okay?" Vyle asked with worry. She was troubled, he could see that much. Those witch hunters... how badly had they treated her? She looked out of it, was she even able to tell what was real anymore? "Stay with me, you won't be trapped there again, we're out. This is real" Vyle insisted. how could he convince her? Hesitantly he looked around the tent, making sure they were alone, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips to hers. Oh gods what am I doing this is going way too far. But he had to prove to Ana that this was the real world, and this was the only way he could think to do it. As he pulled away he tried to keep a tight expression, though an uncomfortable smile tried to slip onto his face. "Convinced?" Violet sighed, so this was the king's new little princess. Violet removed the stalagmites and walked closer, placing her shield on her back but keeping the morningstar out warily. You could never be too careful "I see. Come with me. I'm taking you back into the palace. The king won't be happy" he gestured for the girl to follow and they walked around the grounds towards another entrance.
Darklight Disturbance Darklight Caverns, the Tunnels: "I'm glad you've finally made a decision. By the five realms, is decision making always going to take this long with you lot? First it was the rooms, now the tunnels" she sighed "Anyway. Good luck, you're going to need it. If you come across trouble just shout for me, sound carries well through these caves" as she said that a skittering could be heard echoing through the tunnels, emphasising her point. Lastly, Shyra summoned an extra flare to follow her companions on their journeys and light their way. Lumen and Alice walk down a long passageway that gradually becomes more and more infested with cobwebs and small spiders. Eventually they reach a large open door that seems to lead onwards to a large cavern, but laying between them and it are several giant spider nests, with large spiders nestled among them, presumably sleeping. There is a narrow path through the nests. Shyra and Arval wander on and encounter a gem-key puzzle, which confuses Lord Arval greatly. Kara and Laurentinus have a mostly uneventful journey, their tunnel takes them through the caves and they do not encounter any spiders. Eventually they arrive at a massive stone door with carvings and inscriptions on it. There is a sign on the front of the door that says "Keep out. Please". Below it is another sign that says "Beware the spider" The door is open a crack, small enough for Kara to slip through but not Laurentinus. Arak'Un, the Mines: Rayyad whimpered slightly "Yeah, yeah. I forget that you can't see in the dark... that's probably for the best... just... just be careful where you put your feet" he lead them on cautiously, trying to ignore what lay all over the ground. They made slow pace, each step was carefully placed by Rayyad, and his heart pumped so hard in his chest that he was sure it would be heard by anything lurking in the darkness. Suddenly, he misjudged his footing and fell forwards with a clatter. "Gah... aaggh... AAGGHH!" his cries grew in volume as he realised what he'd landed in. "uuuggh, it's nothing, don't worry" he stated unconvincingly as he stood up hastily, but as he did so he knocked a key-gem, which shifted in its socket and clicked into place. The room was filled with a dim glow as a circle on the ground lit up with red light. And thus the scene was revealed. All over the ground lay dead skeletons. Everywhere. In the circle in particular, they lay sprawled in positions of agony. Spider eggs had long since been laid in their bodies and hatched, leaving decaying shells "...t-t-they're all dead" Rayyad stuttered with dread.
Malkira used Earth Toss "DIE ALREADY!"
"The throne...?" Lexander's mind filled with endless possibilities as to what he'd do with that power. He'd make yodelling illegal, to start with. Then he'd outlaw internships. And anyone who disagreed with him would be thrown off the tallest tree in the forest. It would be pretty epic. Also he'd ride that centaur guy around everywhere. "I agree with Wilkin, a forest fire would be such an unfortunate accident" he stated with a sinister smile. But when the man kicked his feet onto the table Lexander shot him a cold and questioning expression "Get your feet off my furniture" the teacups around the room were levitating slightly and shaking a little, evidence of Lexander's anger. As Kala left, Galadorn knew what she was going to do. He sighed when she was out of earshot, he didn't like it, but it was how she survived. A robin had landed on the windowsill and Galadorn fed it crumbs of his toast "Oh little robin, of all the girls I could be infatuated with, why her? Why do things have to be so difficult?" He asked the creature unhappily. The robin did not respond, except to peck at the toast crumbs and start flying away "No wait, I need someone to talk to" the robin hesitated, but reluctantly stayed "Honestly I'm not sure what I really feel for her, but over these two years she's... changed me. I used to be cut off from other people, because... because I didn't want to bring them all my troubles. I wouldn't show emotion, i didn't want to show affection, because I'm immortal, and I know I'd outlive them" the robin shifted uncomfortably as Galadorn lamented. It really just wanted to get going. "And my memory only goes back... what... about thirty years? There'll come a day when I forget my first meeting with Kala. There'll come a day when I forget why I like her. But... she's worth it. Even if it all ends in tears, she's worth it. I'd forgotten what it was like, to let yourself feel everything, to enjoy every day as it goes by. And now... I don't think I can ever go back to those days when I was just a machine" Galadorn sighed and leaned on the window by the bird. The robin could sense the pain in Galadorn's words and gently patted him on the back with a wing, before fluttering away. For a moment longer he just sat there looking out among the trees where the birds flew without a care in the world. He vaguely remembered a time when he'd been like them, perhaps it was his youth? Did he even have a youth? It didn't matter, only the present mattered. Suddenly Kala returned, he turned to her with a smile "Peanut butter, your favorite" he stated as he handed her a plate of toast.
Damian turned to the manwoman Zephyros "Uh, I guess I'm stuck with you" he stated, shifting awkwardly "Uh, I guess we should do 1 to 9?" he stated. He felt kind of out of place, and wasn't sure what he was doing here or why. But he went along with it just the same.
Darklight Disturbance Rayyad shiften uncomfortably as the argument broke out. He was not comfortable with arguments, by the Dark Gods, he was not comfortable in any social situation. "Oh. Cool. Uh. Left it is then" They began to head leftwards and passed an open door with green markings covering it. Past that was another grotesque statue covered in green embellishment and runes. In its clawed hand there sat a green glowing gem. "Would we need this green gem?" Conrad asked. Rayyad shrugged. Conrad, rolling his eyes, turned to Tessa "Well what do you think we should do, after all, it's just laying there in its hand" Tessa just reached out and grabbed the gem. With a slam the green door behind them closed. "Ah. So we see what that does" Rayyad observed, partly to remove the strange air of awkwardness that pervaded the group. "Can't go back, we'd better go forward" Conrad stated and they carried on down the corridor. This whole area of the caves felt off to Rayyad, he was sure there were shadows where there should not be. Eventually they arrived at a door marked with blue carvings. "Hmm. Maybe we should check the room to the right" The others hastily agreed, Rayyad just wanted to get out of here as quick as possible. They placed the green gem back and walked through the first room. The corridor to the right was more long and winding, but they soon reached a junction. To the left, it continued. To the right there lay a stone case. Unlike the other, it was not locked. Conrad, being careful since the scolding from Tessa, walked around the chest examining it. Only when he was certain there were no traps did he step forward and heave on the stone lid. Rayyad was impressed at the man's strength. The lid clattered to the floor loudly, but Rayyad was sure there was nobody to hear. "Rayyad, you know this guy? Friend of yours?" Conrad joked as the terrifying visage of a long dead corpse was revealed inside the coffin. "What? No" Rayyad shook his head anxiously "Probably some nobleman from Arak'Un in the old days. They usually got buried in crypts deep down in the caves" The body was dressed in gold finery and held a large greatsword in its hands. The ornaments and weapon had lasted long, though the body had long since decayed. "Any objections to me borrowing this sword?" "Borrowing? You're not going to give it back are you?" "Well... it is a sword, a sword is a tool, a tool is meant to be used. Right now it's just lying there not being used" "Ehh, it's a bit disrespectful..." "Won't a sword be more respected if it's being used" "Fine, whatever" "Burying people is weird" Tessa interjected, before taking one of the magical amulets from the body. Meanwhile Rayyad was grabbing as much as he could from the dead nobleman "This stuff looks Valuable" he commented. Moving on, they continued around the corridor before coming across a blue marked statue, with no gem in it. With a sigh of frustration, the group realised they had to go back to the first room and open the door on the opposite end. The red door opened as they returned the red gem to its proper place, and beyond it, lo and behold. Was the blue gem. After some more fiddling around with gems and stuff Conrad took a look at the cave layout as they'd found it and strategically planned their maneuvers, Rayyad and Tessa followed his commands and wandered around the caves, picking up gems and replacing them around the maze of moving doors. They had to split up, some were left in complete darkness for a while, but eventually they solved the puzzle and opened a new door, a large one emblazoned with gold. As they placed the gem keys in each of its four sockets, the door opened and they were allowed entry to the caves beyond. The caves beyond were dark and when the door closed behind them they could see nothing. Well, Conrad and Tessa couldn't see, but Rayyad's eyes were magically attuned to the caves, and he could see. He wished he couldn't. His breathing hastened and became ragged as he gazed around the scene. "Uh... guys" he gulped nervously "Be careful walking around here... just follow my voice and try not to look. If your feet touch anything, ignore it" with that, trying not the look at the ground, he walked ahead Shyra rolled her eyes at Kara but didn't say anything. She nodded approvingly at Alice as the girl's magic healed Ren "Good job. Right, everybody, we'd better get a move on" she peered into the darkness "Hang on" clicking her fingers she summoned a small ball of fire to illuminate the caves "Right, let's get a move on" a short walk later Eventually the group arrived at a fork in the tunnels that split off in three ways "Right, let's split up. Me and Lord Galaharram will go this way" she pointed at the middle passage "Where do you want to go?"
Vyle held her arms lightly as they talked "Well I suppose someone other than me needs to save you sometimes" a smile flickered across his face "I swear, you're a drama magnet" Vyle's eyes narrowed at the mention of the assassin woman "Willow?" he breathed with disdain "I should have known she'd get involved in this mess. I should have killed her when I had the chance" turning back to Ana he gazed into her eyes with an expression of loyalty and determination. He wanted to say something... no... now wasn't the time "Yes I'm fine. And we should stay here temporarily, I trust these dopplers, they're not like the ones who followed Bryce" "I'm not getting distracted, I have no idea where she's gone and I can't know until your little birds tell me" she told the hooded figure, as she watched the other dopplers wander around Sanctuary. They were the ones who followed Bryce, and still followed his legacy. They had wanted her to be their leader since she'd fought for them so valiently during the battle and staged the multiple-Bryce trick. But she couldn't, she didn't know the first thing about leading. They did though. The hooded figure. They ruled everything from the shadows. They spoke to her some more, in a hushed whisper "Hmm? Witch Hunters? You want me to go to Witch Hunters for help?" Willow exclaimed with surprise. the hooded figure whispered some more "Oh. I see. Very well. Crow's Perch, right? I'll get going once I've gathered my supplies" Willow stated, as the hooded figure skulked away like a shadow. She still had no idea who they were. Human, mage, doppler, hell they could be a werewolf for all she knew. With one last glance to the remainder of Bryce's army, she skipped away. Later, she sat by the road with a bag of supplies and wearing a purple cloak, embroidered in gold, that she'd found on a dead nobleman of the city. She wore the guise of a noblewoman. In her experience, people were much more likely to offer you a lift if you looked like you could pay for it. "So, you didn't go through with it" Sylvi casually muttered to Bramwell "I told you already, I don't care what the king says, I'm not assisting in the massacre of innocent people" Bramwell responded through gritted teeth. He was too moral for his own good. The carriages trotted at a leisurely pace along the winding road away from Oxenfurt, the two mages sat in the front one, some of the king's men followed. "Sure. Well it all ended well anyway didn't it?" Sylvi stated "The city of Oxenfurt is gone" Bramwell rounded on Sylvi angrily, fury evident in his expression "And everyone in it is dead" Sylvi shifted away from him awkwardly "Okay, okay, calm down" she resumed looking out of the window "Hello there!" A voice greeted. A strange woman was running alongside the carriage "Can I come in?" "There's a noblewoman outside" Sylvi stated with disinterest. Bramwell opened the door for her "What are you doing?" Sylvi exclaimed "Being polite. Hello there dear lady, do come in!" the strange woman hopped aboard with her bags and sat back in the carriage, next to Bramwell and opposite Sylvi "Ah! Thank you. You have no idea how terrible everything's been! The city was ransacked! None of the townspeople got out alive!" the woman stated "You mean, except you" "And how fortunate!" Bramwell couldn't go anywhere without trying to court the ladies. "Do tell us of your escape!" "Yes yes, of course. I got out, barely. Anyhow, I can't bring myself to recount those terrible events. Where is the carriage headed?" "Crow's Perch, but of course you wouldn't want to come along with us, we're dealing with a very dangerous man!" "Perfect!... I mean... well... I might as well come along with you, I have nowhere else to go!" Sylvi was suspicious of the strange woman, especially since she caught a glimpse of a blade among the bags "And your name?" she asked. The woman smiled "Sara" Meanwhile, Violet was scouting the grounds of the palace. Witch Hunters or dopplers could be anywhere, and she protected her king with righteous fervour. Eventually, she started as she came across a young girl outside the palace. With a gesture, she summoned spikes of rock to surround the girl and stop her escaping. She took no risks. With morningstar and shield in hand, she approached the girl "And who might you be?"
Nick nodded at his allies, and tried the door handle. It was not locked. They entered Masque was continuing his painting. He'd taken off the mask earlier, it was hard to paint with. Suddenly there was movement at the door. Who? He looked over with horror as Nephilim began to enter. "NO!" He hissed and tried to cover his face with his hands "DON'T LOOK AT ME!" he shrieked shrilly, as he backed away to a corner of the room. Collapsing to his feet, tears began to fall down his face. How had he been so careless? How had he let himself be captured? Maybe he wanted to be captured, somehow. Nevertheless punishment must be delivered. A knife gleamed on the table, which he scrabbled to pick up, and pressed the blade against his skin, preparing for the incision... Paragon, bearing Brianne in his arms, flew above the walls. Hacking into the lights of the station, he switched them on and created a spotlight on the wolf attacking Morrigan. With a flourish, he landed on the werewolf and knocked it to the ground. "Worry not. I'm here" A swift kick to the werewolf's head and it was unconscious. "Grayson's gone" he muttered "Brianne, you and the nephilim are able to defeat the pack, I'm sure. I'm going to try and track down Grayson. Sorry for leaving you so soon" With a bow to the fellow fairy and the wolf who was on their side, he fluttered into the sky. The good thing about the city was the sheer amount of cameras. After flcking through various CCTV cameras, he found what he was looking for. The pack leader leaving the station, with several other werewolves. He beelined towards where they were and flew above the group, out of their reach. "Grayson Keller" he stated, one of his guns pointed at the alpha's forehead "This won't be my first assassination"
"Oh shut up. You pretentious prick" Ransak clicked the off button on the crystal. He probably should have checked how high the fall was before jumping "Ransak Frisk never surrenders" Unfortunately he was still rooted to the ground. But that was hardly a problem. Clicking his heels together he activated the Boots of Sand and sunk beneath the earth, reappearing a few metres away, covered in dirt. After that, he began scurrying towards the Shards of Hope.
Paragon flew above the others and headed towards the old police station. Despite the fact he could easily fly faster than them, he slowed down so he would not go past "Remember, Grayson is the priority target, the others have just been indoctrinated and do not deserve to die. But Grayson must be captured or killed at all costs. We shouldn't need to worry about the rest of the pack after that, kill the head and the body will die" he told the nephilim. He flew slightly ahead to survey the situation, then returned to give a quick report to the shadow hunters "There's a fight going on the courtyard, no definitive winner so far. I can carry one of you directly into the courtyard, it seems there are wolves guarding the other entrances. Haste is important, as soon as Grayson realises he's outmatched he'll try to get his pack in to help, we must defeat him before they have a chance to intervene" They finally traced the footprints to an apartment building, quite low quality but what was he expecting? "Right. Well I don't think we should just barge in there. Masque is dangerous and obviously should be treated as such" he looked at the others with a hesitant smile "Call me stupid, but I think there's a chance he can be redeemed"
Ashleigh blinked, and recieved a telepathic report from Anthem and Requiem about everything. If only it was this easy communicating with everyone. She pressed the earpiece to her head and rang Veera. This was going to be an interesting conversation "Veera... status report" She briefly instructed "I'd like to hear your version of the events" Timothy carried Kala gently as they followed the prince, he had made her a cup of tea on the journey and gently laid it in her hands. Then they had to meet the Shards, there were a lot of people here "Do not worry about all these people, Ms Kala. I will protect you" Right. Decision time. On the one hand he could give up the items and be left in the ambiguous hands of this demigod... or he could risk life and limb just to keep these items. Obviously the latter was risky, unsafe, and all round stupid... **** it. For a moment, he held out the hammer reluctantly... so this was it. The grand heist was over. NOPE Suddenly he turned around and swung the hammer straight into one of the glass windows, smashing it open. Without hesitation he jumped straight out of the window and held the crystal and hammer close to his chest. The air rushed past his ears and the ground came ever closer, it was such a dangerous thrill. Welp. Too late to turn back now "Right, Mr Crystal dude. The ground is getting closer. If you don't save me we'll all smash to pieces. Hammer. Crystal. Me. What'll it be?" a wild fire danced in his eyes, this was the greatest risk he'd taken in a while, and he was loving it.
Lexander quietly exited the meeting and returned levitating a plate of scones, placing them in the centre. It was true that his magical power had progressed under Koldo's tutelage... but not enough. Not nearly enough. He felt more like a slave than a student. He was actually rather excited to see what would be happening with this deal, they'd finally get to do something. "Reward? Well..." As tempted as he was to say "A better teacher" he could practically feel Koldo's critical and condescending eyes on him, so decided to stray from that line of thought "I... I will defer to Master Koldo about that" Say it... say it... he could practically feel her urge to say it. The way she gazed into his eyes and held his face... but she didn't. Slightly disappointed, Galadorn mustered a smile "It's fine, honestly. I used to sleep on the ground! Anything is comfortable compared to that" He grinned. "Right. Well I think we should get ourselves a quick breakfast and head out" he opened the pantry "Uh... hmm... how does toast sound?" he asked, then musing to himself; "Probably a sort of crispy sound Galadorn... that's not what I meant and you know it Galadorn" he muttered whimsically as he got out the bread and slotted it into the toaster.
"He comes in the night, he comes in the day, Only one mission; to make them all pay. He's inside your wardrobe, he's under your bed, He's inside your heart and he's inside your head, He'll skip along the graveyard path singing like a lark, But on his arrival he'll bring you only dark. The souls of the lost shall be enthralled to him. An army of puppets dancing to his every whim, He is always watching, you can't escape those eyes, and when he finally catches you, he will ignore your cries, He lurks among the shadows, he'll give you such a fright, SOLOMON! SOLOMON! Master of the Night!" "Pestilence! Plague! Withering disease! He'll bring these dark forces upon you with ease, The shadow that lurks around the village well, A dark demonic creature from the depths of hell, His puppets surround in shadows, there is nowhere to run, And when your bodies wither he shall have his fun, He will watch and laugh, at your last feeble breath SOLOMON! SOLOMON! Bringer of your Death!"
Paragon smiled at the comments of Hendrick "How do I know? I already told you, we have been watching. We have always been watching?" He suddenly jumped into the air and out came the wings. Orange, pink, many different hues adorned the fluttering and delicate-seeming butterfly wings that sprouted from the fairy's back. They fluttered gently as he hovered in mid-air "The clave may send in their minions, but I prefer to deal with things personally. It is, quite simply, my job to care" he paused for a moment, cocking his head to the side "When did the relations between fairies and nephilim become to strained? Is it so hard to believe that I'm just here to help? And you wonder why everyone seems to hate you... Well worry not. For I am one who does not hate you, on the contrary, I appreciate what you're trying to do for us... even if you do sometimes go about it the wrong way"
Nick only nodded in agreement. In another situation he may have tried to be witty but this was serious, they were on a hunt for a serial killer. He followed behind Alarick and the group followed the paint-coated footpronts through the city. During his break, Masque sat down in the staff room and took out a bit of paper and a pencil. He started to sketch something. Those days... those days he was relentlessly pursued and hated. He could not go anywhere around humans, the horns... the horns showed him for what he truly was. A freak. Inhuman, imperfect. He tried to remove them a few times, but the bases still remained, and no matter how much he hacked, until his forehead was dripping with blood and the rivulets stained his white locks, those circular protusions were affixed to his skull. And so he ran. From the hate, from the threats of death, from the horrific things that had happened to him. Until... Until he met her. She was a warlock. She understood. "Hey, what're you drawing" Masque was interrupted by the voice of a colleague. He instinctively hissed and held the picture close to his chest. "None of your business" he muttered. This man had no right to interrupt him. Sometimes Masque wished for his art to be made public, this was not one of those times. The colleague would of course see him as a human, he had long since learned how to hide himself from mundies. Wouldn't that have been useful back then? "It looks good Max. A woman right?" the colleague continued to try to talk to him, using the name he gave humans. Masque had to fight the urge to punch the man in the face, or worse. Does he deserve to die? Did they deserve to die? He suddenly withdrew within himself, hiding the picture. He wouldn't retaliate, not here. "A crush of yours?" the colleague taunted. Masque shot upwards suddenly, his eyes filled with fury "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" he shrieked, his voice cracking. Everyone else in the room was staring. Shaking, Masque tried to fight the conflicting emotions that thrashed in his mind. Guilt, anger, sorrow, fury. He couldn't stay here. He'd probably be fired. That was inconvenient, but on the other hand, leaving was still better than killing everyone in the coffee shop. As soon as he returned home he broke down crying in the hallway. He though back to the alley, to the club, to the fairy in the park... Why did they all have to die? To feed his violent urges? Masque had always used art to vent his emotions. The masks helped him keep track of his emotion. When he wore the angry mask, he knew to feel anger, he created masterpieces of violence and brutality. But right now, he wore the sorrowful mask, and all that filled his mind was guilt and remorse. "Stupid masque, stupid" he murmured. "1. Relax, darling, I didn't look. And I wasn't inside your phone, I was simply using it as a method of transport" he sighed as he realised he would have to answer all these questions, her turned to Brianne "2. I'm glad you don't know of me, that was rather the point. But you may call me Paragon. 3. Grayson Keller is a disruption in downworlder society, he cannot be allowed to live. 4. No, I can't give you assurance, I wish that was possible, but I can tell you that currently there is another werewolf fighting Mr Keller. Also, I'm not quite so stupid to try and fight three nephilim at once, especially experienced ones such as yourselves" he explained "Mr Keller is currently in an old police station somewhere over there, along with his pack. Will you co-operate with me"
