Castouts (Accepting new characters)

Cas stiffened up a bit when Xander asked if they lived there. He had forgotten that they were in front of the theater. He looked at the guy with caution. He didn't seem like a bad guy at the park, and he did help Shira get home. Still, what if Xander were to tell the police or someone who could discover who they really were? Still, if Cas were to lie it might make Xander suspicious.


"Yes, we live here and we'd like to keep it that way." He put himself between Xander and Shira. Even if this man helped her home, it doesn't make him any less of a threat. Shira tugged on his jacket sleeve and Cas simply shooed her off. "Not now, Shira." She tugged again and again until he turned to her. "What is it?"


Shira looked up at her brother. "Xander said he wanted your help with something." After delivering her message, she went to rummaging her pockets for anything.


Cas looked at Xander after hearing what Shira had to say. Was that the reason why he helped Shira? If it was, Cas could at least rid his thoughts of any suspicions of other motives. Still wary, he decided to at least see what the boy needed help with and why he was asking Cas. He wasn't exactly a genius or too strong or anything that could help. "What do you need?"
 
Duck looked back at the boy to see if he was going after him, and he was, only barely. "Thanks Juls. That'd be great." Julian grasped onto his intentions of the two performing together, and Duck felt a smile creep on his face. He turned forward once more, continuing his quick pace. "I have 2 songs...or maybe 3. Depends if you know the first two." This made Duck a bit more excited; his heart was racing, but he wasn't sure if it was his emotions, or because he was walking so fast. All he knew was that he could properly say good-bye.


Duck saw where he wanted to sing. It was at a bench, one that wasn't crowded by many trees, just one lamp post overhead; it made a really nice spotlight when it was dark. The brick underneath had a design that sprayed away from the bench in different colors. The area was empty, and it was quiet, just like he wanted. He immediately sat down once he reached the bench, leaving enough room for Julian and his guitar.


Duck hadn't been forced to perform with Julian for a while, but he was sort of familiar with his style. They performed a song together, just by Duck asking the boy if he knew the song. (Totally improved that statement, if that's ok. c: ) "Ok. Do you know the song 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' from Wizard of Oz? That and 'What a wonderful world' by Louis Armstrong? I want to medley those two." It was a bit hard for Duck to explain, since the range of the two artists were so different, but the meaning was similar. So he tried to relate it to a style of a modern artist he heard before, which was a very short list. "Like... Um. Jason Mraz or Bob Marley! That calm feeling you get when you sing the song, where it comes out like air."


Duck decided to demonstrate, singing the beginning part of 'Somewhere over the Rainbow'. The vocals were steady, and he didn't over embelish the song. He tried to mimic the voice range of the artist he mentioned, but his voice was so used to jazz and RnB that it carried a little more depth. He tried to evoke the feeling of endearment in the song, instead of longing, so it would easily blend with the other song. He finally stopped and took a breath, feeling satisfied.


"Yeah... Sort of like that. You can improvise if you want to, too. I'll just follow your guitar, but I want that sort of feeling." Duck looked down at his lap, feeling a little strange that he just explained how he wanted to arrange the song to another person. He enjoyed it though, letting out a tiny chuckle while he looked back at Julian for his feedback.
 
Night was slowly crawling across the city, but that barely meant anything for the dirty blonde girl currently standing in front of an ever-familiar, dingy, green door. Things had just begun for the teen, or would start once Jessie opened the door...she had knocked well over five times now, and had started shifting in the over-sized sweats and long sleeve t-shirt. The cold autumn air had started biting her, and Jessie had been so kind to lend out a pair of pants for “his favourite girl”.


Hailey smiled to herself, her hope building anew when she heard the chain slide back, next came the other two locks on the door. Bright grey eyes peered out before he fully opened the door and she smiled widely at the man, about to take a step into his home. There were the still-greasy ceiling, ripped up rugs, bad carpentry and no heat emanating from behind him; but it still seemed a lot better than the streets.


Jessie had stopped her, putting up an arm so that he blocked most of the door frame; the girl swallowed, the way her almost translucent skin moved against her bones seemed unnatural.


Then he was pulling, yanking her by her hair’s roots into the room and she knew what she had forgotten, the apologies starting to spill from her mouth. It was too late now, she was thrown on her knees by the coffee table, and she winced slightly; there was still broken glass from last night here. Last night when he had thrown his bottle against the table, angry at the fact she had yet to raise the money.


The door was slammed behind her, locked once again and she immediately went taught when the looming figure approached her. “I thought you could do this Hailey!” he yells, she looks at him, and the face he gives her just pushes her over the edge. Hailey starts crying, not for the first time in front of him and he grinds his teeth slightly, shaking his head. “Where’s the money?” he asks, in a much calmer voice, to which she responds, digging out all the money she had on her.


All of the scrunched bills he had given her, and the small amount of change she had earned, he looks at her eagerly. “$ 9.73” is her response, pushing it towards him, and he looks disgusted by the offer.


“I thought you loved me Hailey…I thought you would love me enough to do this for me” he explains, grabbing her shoulders a little roughly. “I-I do love y- I love you so much…” her voice, despite the stammer and when her breath hitches, finally shows the truth. “This isn’t enough” he explains, and she nods, finally having the will to stand, “I c-can do it a-gain” another hitch, “T-Tomorrow!” and it was true, she would do whatever she could just to please the man in front of her. Jessie rubs his forehead giving a deep sigh as he touches her face and she places her hands over his much larger ones.


“Do you trust me?” he asks, and there is a slight reluctance before she nods, they both loved each other and they should trust each other. “You can earn us the money now” he offers, and Haile y immediately jumps, “H-How?” she responds, a small hiccup all that’s left of her tears. “My friend wants you for the night...” he trails, taking her hand and leading her slowly by it.


“Try me…?” she wonders, curious and slightly suspicious, he only turns back to her with a smile in his eyes “He wants to have sex with you” he spells it out for her, to which there is plenty of response; her eyes widen, she shakes her head and pulls her hand out of his grip, only for him to grab her arm and pull her close to his face. “He’s willing to give us the money Hailey…and you’re going to stop us from getting it?” he asks her, and there is some reluctance that flashes in her eyes.


It’s all he needs.


“Just this one time, Hailey, this one time...” he notes, then as an afterthought “Just pretend you’re with me” he puts his forehead against hers, and she eventually nod s, albeit shakily. As the door in front of her is opened and she is pushed in, she has to get over the shock of that it was not later, it was here, and it was now. The man sitting on the bed is slightly uncomfortable looking, but he is dressed down to his boxers, and slightly indifferent in appearance.


She immediately regrets it as she backs up against the now closed door and then turns, wildly grabbing the handle and turning. The handle doesn’t turn though, no matter how much she tries to shake the door, or force her low weight up against it. There is a looming shadow behind her now, and she calls out, “Jessieee…Jessie! JESSIE!” her yells get the adrenaline pumping, as she tries harder to yank open the door.


There is no answer from the other side, and arms now encase her, as she starts screaming, and kicking, not expecting to help his advances as her pants fall off. “JESSIE!!!” she screams again, crying as a hiccup reaches her throat and she screams louder, this time in hopes that somebody else will help her.


Fade to black


(How’s them apples for an opening post B[?)


( P.S. That is a rhetorical hope. I do not expect any of you to come bust down Jessie’s door.)


 
Sitting down cross-legged beneath one of his favorite trees, one of the ones he had usually chosen to play beneath, Julian listened to Duck's requests and hesitantly at first, then with growing confidence, played the songs that Duck had mentioned. As he loosened up, beginning to absorb himself in the songs, he felt his muscles loosening, his lips slowly curving up into a shy smile. He was enjoying himself, enjoying playing, enjoying playing with Duck as a vocalist. A few people were watching, or pausing as they walked by, but there were not many out. It didn't matter though. This was not for cash, or for anything other than what Duck had described- a goodbye. And for this reason Julian felt no pressure to perform well, no pressure to do anything but simply play.


He found himself whispering the words along with Duck under his breath, and then humming aloud, not yet daring to actually sing. Meeting Duck's eyes after a few moments, he smiled up at him. It was easy then to forget himself and what he was, to forget everything but that moment in time... a moment with a friend.


(wow Kagura, way to start with some action lol)
 
Lionel wasn't sure how things might go back at the shelter, but he would not question Jillian. Besides he seemed happy about making friends and that was what was important. Maybe he too would come to like them both. For now the young boy just lived in fear of someone finding out his secret.


He looked back at Jillian. "I guess we should get going too." He wasn't sure if they'd just return to the shelter or not, but he kind of wanted to. He just wanted to be somewhere familiar to let himself calm down and not get all worked up over people they knew staying with them.


----


Raekel wasn't going to deal with this shit today. She threw the rest of her soda at Liselle, then threw the can at her for good measure. The redhead then proceeded to walk off, not saying another word to Liselle.


She took out a cigerette and lit it as she walked. She would probably just head back to the house. She was getting tired of this day already. It was going okay until that stupid girl decided to go and get in her way. People these days. They just wanted to ruin people's good moods. It pissed her off.


Raekel didn't head straight back to the house, letting herself wander. She paused for a moment. A noise. It was faint, almost just out of her hearing. She then shook her head, and continued to walk. But as she walked, the noise got louder. Someone was yelling. But why?


Raekel didn't really care. In fact the yell irritated her. Why couldn't people just shut the hell up? But Raekel also wondered. What the hell was going on? She walked closer to the house that she heard it from. It was pretty nearby. She could just walk past it and carry on with her day. But no she had to play some sort of hero. Oh well.


She went to the door. Locked or unlocked, it was not enough to stop her. It was locked, but few locks could keep Raekel out and whoever's was pretty common. She slid into the house and looked around. It was an okay place, but she tried to focus. She was here to....whatever.


She noticed that there was someone already here. She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. He surely wasn't the one crying out. "You killing people in here?"
 
*The loud music can be heard from blocks away as a bright blue Hummer H20 rolls up on the zoo's side entrance used by employees, as soon as it stops the doors to the entrance swing open, being held by one of the zoo's night security guards. The hummer's doors open and all the hard rock music that was being contained within the hummer start pouring out, the guard has to put his hands over his ears just to be able to stand there. Inside in the front passenger's seat Calico is rocking out to the music with his very own air guitar, getting really into it swinging his head back and forth stumping his feet, for as long as the music is going he looks like a crazy headbanger but as soon as the music stops it's like a switch goes off, suddenly he's serious, showing no more emotion, no signs of being wild, now he's just calm and cool as he jumps out to ground and reaches into his jacket's pocket and pulls out a pair of sun glasses sliding them on he walks through the entrance, followed close behind by two of his men carrying a large cooler. The guard refuses to make eye contact but that's not needed when Calico throws a large wad of money over his shoulder at the guard, who grabs it and starts to go back to his post.*


Calico: WAIT! Did you do as I said?


Guard: Yes..yes Mr. Calico sir, no cameras no alarms, you have free run of the place for at least 2 hours, just as you requested.


Calico: Good, now be gone little man.


*Calico and his men continue walking on till they get to where all the big cats are kept but Calico isn't interested in lions he's here for his favorites the tiger, he stands infront of their pen for a moment until one of his men unfolds a chair and places it behind him to sit in. After about 10 minutes 2 more of Calico's gang show up dragging a person with a hood over his head, he's dropped right in front of Calico's feet, the hood roughly ripped off his head. Calico sits there grinning from ear to ear as he leans down towards a white man in his mid 30's, he looks like he's been beaten for hours.*


Calico: {In a thick Chinese accent} Did you think you could do business in my hood and not pay the tax, did you? DID YOU! You Russians come into Triad territories and think there is no cost to doing business, you disrespect me and my friends like that, no no my friend this is not acceptable business practices. Well speak up, what do you have to say for yourself!


*The man looks up at Calico and spits on his shoes*


Baros: SCREW YOU! YOU PIECE OF CRAP! *He for some reason starts laughing despite his situation.* You just wait till my brother finds out what you've done, he'll kill you all slowly one by one he'll pull out your organs and feed them back to you, just you wait till he gets his hands on you. {speaking only in Russian now} Yes just wait till he gets his hands on you rice eating piece of crap!


*Out of nowhere Calico talks back to the man in Russian himself*


Calico: His hands on me? Your brother is gonna put his hands on me and feed me my organs? *Now Calico is laughing, he reaches to the cooler and pulls out two hands that have been cut off, Baros looks at them in horror when he sees the tattoos of the Russian Mafia on the knuckles, he knows these hands belong to his brother Egar. Calico takes the hands and starts slapping the man with his dead brothers hands still speaking in Russian.* You mean these hands, he's gonna kill me with these hands. After a few seconds of hitting the man Calico stands there mocking him by doing stupid stuff with his brothers hands like massaging his temples, scratching his butt with them, he even tries to pick one of his men's nose with them, the who time they're all laughing while this man is on his knees crying but when Calico kicks over the cooler and the rest of his brother spills out the Russian man loses it and jumps up intent of attacking Calico but he's met by a sharp kick to his chest by Calico, it was so powerful the entire left half of his rib cage is just about shattered, this would be a slow way to die but he's not giving the chance Calico comes down on him with a roundhouse punch that crushes his skull, turning the man's brains into mush, leaving him a on the ground dead!


AW DAMMIT! I DID IT AGAIN, I USED TO MUCH FORCE! I wanted this one to last for a bit anyway clean all this up and take them to the smelter, wait. *He leans over and picks up the two hands he dropped to fight and throws them into the tiger pen, and smirks* HERE YA GO...FINGER FOOD! GET IT FINGER FOOD, I kill myself sometimes, anyway I'm gonna hand out here, you burn them and head back to the apartment.


*This isn't the first time they're cleaned up a crime scene, they leave no trace that there were ever there and take off to dispose of the bodies, leaving Calico at the pen by himself.*


(Do Steven and Kyle on a separate post)
 
(um...Rika already took out the cameras and motion sensors...so...whatever, I'll assume she came in from a side rather than through the front)


From the distance Rikarah can hear the sound of a man's raised voice, aggressive yet somehow cheerful, and she tenses, thinking it to be guards she had forgotten about dealing with from the front. She sees no one thus far, but she runs through the possibilities of how to deal with the situation in her mind. She is not about to get herself arrested, that is for sure...so if she has to...she can....handle the man or men. But what of Terabithia?


When she hears the screaming, her first impulse is to run towards it, because to Rikarah's ears, it certainly sounds like someone is being badly injured...maybe even tortured.There is a unique quality to the screams that she recognizes as that of someone who will quickly be approaching death. It is her instinct to assess the situation, to determine who is the guilty party and who it is that she should be aiding.


But Terabithia is with her. Terabithia is certainly innocent, and she does not need to be mixed up in this.


"Hold my hand tightly," she instructs the child, "we must get out of here. Quickly now..."


She begins to walk rapidly, intending to lift Terabithia back over the fence, but soon finds herself having taken a wrong turn; they are now walking down a pathway in the middle of the zoo.


( [MENTION=1872]Legendless[/MENTION] your posts are getting buried soon, lol...Chris, Liselle, and Jillian all have stuff to do when you can, I believe)
 
Terabithia smiles at Rikarah and is almost bouncing on her feet now, thrilled with what they had just done and what they were about to do, "I wanna see the monkeys first! They're my favourite!" She lightly swings hers and Rikarah's joint hands as they begin to head to the monkey section, not knowing that there is a dangerous gang leader only a few feet away from their location.


She does infact hear the raised voices and she frowns, tensing slightly as Rikarah had. She remains silent, thinking maybe the person would go away or Rikarah would tell her what to do. But then they begin screaming. Her eyes widen and she finds herself being pulled along by Rikarah, who has told her to hold on tightly to her hand.


But that screaming. That screaming sounds terrible, it sounds like when someone is dying, it sounds like her mummy's best friend at the funeral but not exactly the same. "Someone's dying!" She speaks in panic and pulls her hand from Rikarah's grip, she begins to run off in the direction of the screaming, but before she can be spotted by anyone she ducks behind a bench and gets there just in time to watch the parts' of the man spill out from the cooler. Her eyes widen and she stumbles back, knocking over a bin in the process as she stares at the scattered limbs, "Rika..Rika..." She manages to mumble.


She then watches as the bad men clean up all the mess and leave the guy there, the one who killed the man. He probably heard the bin knock over, so Terabithia turns around and legs it, running back and bumping into Rikarah. She stumbles back a bit before spinning around to face Calico, her long ginger hair is stuck to her face slightly and she pushes it off, eyes wide with fear as she whispers to Rikarah, "That bad man just killed somebody...."


She is mentally panicking now, where is Natalia? Natalia would always help her get out of bad situations.


-----------------------


Xander noticed Cas become tense when he asked if the two lived here, and when he confirmed that they did - and that they want to keep it that way - Xander guessed Cas thought he was going to rat them out to the police or even social services. He also noticed how he placed himself between Shira and Xander, so that Xander couldn't get to her.


Yup. He might be able to help, give him some advice maybe.


"Uh. No need to worry about the whole telling anyone you guys live here, I'm homeless too." When the guy asked him what he needed help with, Xander rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, what was he even thinking? How did he think this guy could help him? He probably would just think him crazy for asking a stranger how to handle his own family. But, he was here now, and he had nothing to lose.


"I know this seems really odd, me asking you this, but do you have any advice?" He spoke quickly afterwards, to explain before Cas could get confused, "I mean, I think I'm doing a really suckish job of looking after my sisters right now, and you...." He looks down then back up, "You seem to be doing a much better job then me."


Yeah. This was definitely a mistake.


"I was just wondering how you do it. That's all.." He managed to murmur, already planning on turning around and getting the heck out of here before things got even more awkward.
 
Cas got awkward when Xander asked his question. Shira was lost in the city with a strange man. How was he doing a good job? But judging by his interactions with Kat earlier, Xander did seem to have much to deal with. Shira was trouble but she never went that much out of line. But how was he supposed to explain how he does that to Xander? Yeah, I hypnotize Shira each month to make sure she does what I say. He especially could say that with Shira so close by. It might trigger Lucy. Plus the hypnosis wasn't perfect. Shira still did whatever she wanted and rarely followed Cas' orders.


He scratched the back of his head, trying to come up with something to say. "Well . . . um . . . to tell you the truth, I don't know exactly how she keeps out of trouble. I mean, I don't think I'm doing anything special and I'm sure not doing a great job at it . . . But I guess it helps if you understand how your siblings work and have some faith in them, I guess." This was getting very awkward for him. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposedly doing right.


"I guess you just have to trust that if they are alive and safe, you're doing something right. I mean Shira doesn't listen to anything I say but at the end of the day she is still alive. Does that help?"
 
Rikarah is not one to panic. She is not one to feel fear, or even alarm. The most she feels in this moment is instinctive self-preservation, and a protectiveness towards Terabithia...a need to get her out.


And yet when the child pulls away from her and begins to run, directly into the area from which the screams seem to be originating, her heart quickens in its beats. And this was something that stunned Rikarah in a manner that the screams had not...could she be so attached to Terabithia, at this early stage, that she already felt concern for her deep enough to bodily affect her?


Rikarah saw the limbs and the man arranging them only moments after Terabithia, and as the child backed into her, she took hold of her, seizing her hand almost tightly enough to hurt her as she backed her away, stepping before her. Clearly, this was something that she must deal with, and immediately...but how to protect Terabithia? The child could not climb back over the fence alone.


"Run and hide,"she tells her quietly but very firmly. "I will deal with this...I will...I will handle it, Terabithia."


She looks the man in the eyes as she speaks. She is a small girl, armed only with the knife at her wrist. And yet she cannot run...her pride would not allow it. She won't just try to "deal" with this man...she is GOING to. She can conceive of nothing else.
 
*Calico turns from the girls giving them his back watching the tigers chew on the dead Russian's hands, giving a small sigh showing how irritated he is for being disturbed*


Go away! The zoo is closed, this is my quiet time, so please don't make any more noise with your loud clumsy feet.


*Reaching into his pocket he pulls out a few twenties and tosses them at Rika's feet*


Take that and go away and don't ask for more cause you're not getting it.
 
Terabithia watches Calico as Rikarah tells her to run and hide, that she will deal with it. She frowns and looks up at the older, "But what if he hurts you Rikarah? He hurted that other man." She then looks back down, and as Calico speaks, telling them to go, and that they have loud clumsy feet, Terabithia glares at his back.


"I don't have loud clumsy feet! My feet are super quiet, quiet enough that the police never hear me!" She then realizes maybe she has said too much, maybe she has made the bad man angry, so she looks up at Rikarah and nods, "Ok." She whispers and then runs off, her feet are surpisingly quiet, and she darts behind the nearest bin.


She can hear her own heart pounding furiously and she squeezes her eyes shut tightly, her chest heaving up and done as she tries to breathe at a normal rate. She has just seen a man killed, she has just seen another man's body, cut up into pieces, de-limbed and spilling out of a box. All she is wishing for right now is that Blue was here, to help her, to tell her what to do and to keep her safe.


"Blue.." She whispers, curled up against the bin, "Please help Blue..." She is certain the bad man will try and kill Rikarah, and then come for her, and her eyes are slightly wet now. She keeps seeing the cut up parts of the man spilling out of the box again and again.


Xander listens to Cas as he speaks, and something the boy is saying seems to be working, because he nods. Have faith in them. Maybe he needed to have more faith in his siblings. He did seem to have a lack of that.


Maybe...maybe he should lighten up on Steven. As long as he didn't upset Katarina, maybe it would be a good idea for them to socialize a bit. Maybe she could use a friend. Not a boyfriend though. Not yet.


Xander smiled at Cas, "Yeah thanks, it did." He gives him a sheepish grin, "Sorry to dump that you on, I just don't really know anyone else." He gives them both a nod, "Maybe I'll see you two around." He turns around and begins to walk off.
 
Rikarah does not go away, of course. She stands her ground, regarding the man with a progressively colder look on her face. She is very still, and yet watchful, her body tensed and primed to strike at the slightest movement he might make towards her. She is glad when Terabithia follows her orders, and continues to order her gently.


"Close your eyes, Terabithia, and do not open them again or move until I tell you that it is all right."


Her eyes still on the man, she bends just enough to scoop up the money and stuffs it in her pocket. She maintains her distance, dropping her voice just enough so that the child will probably not overhear.


"You are lucky that you are here in the presence of a child." Her voice is mild, yet holding an ominous undertone. "If you were to encounter me alone, the outcome might have been different. As it is, I am not opposed to changing my inclinations, if you so inspire me."


She may be walking away now...but if she were to ever come across this man alone, and Rikarah now has every intention of tracking him to do so later, she will kill him without a qualm, and perhaps with a smile.
 
*Calico is curious now, looking over his shoulder the only weapon in her hand is a small knife, which makes him laugh*


Really I'm lucky? I'm lucky cause I'm amazingly good looking, I'm lucky cause I have money and power, I'm lucky simply because I'm me, I am not lucky cause some street rat with a pocket knife decides that I can live! *He spins around quickly and faces her.* No no street rat you are lucky cause I've had my fill of entertainment for the night, you're lucky cause I the great Calico your savior has decided to be merciful and spare your lives. (So full of himself lol) *Getting a better look at her and grins* Now if you're really lucky you can come home with me and I'll make it worth your while if you know what I mean...I can always use someone to clean my toilet. *He starts walking towards her brushing shoulders as he passes her.* Next time bring a bigger knife, you couldn't peel an apple with that little thing. Hey little one whoever you're over there praying to tell them not to bother, I'm no longer in the mood to look at the animals, I'll have to visit the monkeys another time when I'm alone.


*He continues to walk on with his hands in his pockets no ignoring the two girls.*
 
Terabithia, as the man begins to speak to Rikarah, calling her a street rat, decides this man doesn't scare her all too much, and decides that he is being mean and rude to Rikarah - who has been nothing but nice to Terabithia.


She forgets Rikarah's command, forgets she told her to stay put, and leaps out, blocking Calico's path as she glares up at him, "Hey mister! Don't call Rikarah a street rat! She's much nicer than you! And you must be stupid 'cause she's not a rat! She's a human!"


She folds her little arms stubbornly, "I'm not praying to anybody. And you can't visit the monkeys 'cause the monkeys are good and they wouldn't want a bad man to visit them, they'd probably throw their poop at you!"





She wipes her eye, removing the bit of wet that had been there before continuing to glare at Calico.
 
At Calico's arrogant words, and most especially his implication that she, Rikarah, should come home with him, Rikarah inwardly bristles, her jaw setting ever so subtly. Even before he calls her a street rat, even before he mocks her knife and speaks of himself in such a boastful fashion, she has already committed to killing him. When he addresses Terabithia, it is only further settled.


Terabithia or no, danger or no, she cannot let this guy walk away.


She is starting forward, knife in hand, when Terabithia derails her plans. The child has guts, Rikarah can give her that much, and she admires that....and yet they are entirely irritating at the moment. How is she to murder this man with the child stepping into her path?


"Back away, Terabithia," she says quietly but firmly. "I can handle this. Please back away and close your eyes."


And yet she already has a feeling that she will not get the satisfaction of this man's murder tonight.
 
(No they don't. My characters have nothing to do.)


Chris wasn't sure what to say to her sister anymore. She wasn't sure how to make things okay or why she was even trying. She moved away from Kat and then got closer again.


"Kat..." Chris shook her head. She took her sister's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze then moved away again to her bed. "Kat just...be careful. We can't lose you as well."


----


Jillian looked down at his friend. He was getting tired and he just wanted to head back. He was not looking forward to work tomorrow. He was surely fired for skipping today. He shrugged though. It was worth it in the long run.


Jillian motioned for them to leave. He looked around, his mind busy with thoughts of what happened today. Where Julian and Duck really going to be okay at the shelter. Something didn't seem quite right and he was worried that they wouldn't be able to fit in or take to the place well. He guessed not everyone was all for it, but Jillian felt it was better than living on the streets.


They walked until they got to the shelter but Jillian stopped outside the door, looking down at Lionel. "Do you want to go in or do something else for a while?"


----


Liselle was surprised by Raekel's action and let out a sharp cry. Really? REALLY?! Liselle could not believe she could run into someone so goddamn rude. Who the hell did she think she was?


But this also left Liselle was a problem. Her clothes were wet and sticky now. She had to find a change of clothes, but she didn't own much to begin with. With a scowl, she decided to head back to the park. She stopped by a thrif store on the way. She bought two shirts with what little money she had on her. She hated coming here. The old women who worked here were gossips and nosy and it bothered Liselle when they asked her too many questions. She saw their looks about her shirt, but she did her best to ignore it.


Once she purchased her items, she headed back to the park.
 
*As Calico looks down at the little girl he smiles at her* Want to know a secret I heard monkey brains are tasty. *quickly his look turns really sadistic* If one ever threw it's poop at me I'll find out for myself what they taste like! *He's about to start laughing with suddenly two of his men from earlier run up and whisper in his ear, sending Calico into a full rage.* WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST ANOTHER SHIPMENT! WHO TOOK IT! FIND THEM AND KILL THEM..NO NO BRING THEM TO ME NOW GET OUT OF MY FACE BEFORE I GUT YOU! *He pushes pass them both and heads for the exit.* No you two fools walk home and don't follow me for 10 minutes or I may cut your throats myself.


(A gift of Rika she can kill these two morons :P )


*45 minutes earlier across town an unmarked cargo van is just entering the city through a side road with little traffic. The driver a long time member of the Triads, wanted for countless murders, tonight he finally pays for all those he hurt. Hiding in a deserted car with a hole cut out in the trunk so the barrel of his sniper rifle sticks out just far enough to clear the metal, Steven looks down his scope at the driver then at a picture taped to his forearm to confirm that he was one of the men with Calico that witnesses say entered his parent's dojo the day his parents were attacked, sure of the man's identity Steven looks down his scope one more time lining up his shot then fires. The 50 caliber round hits the engine block causing the van to stop, before the men inside can react another rips through the passengers shoulder taking it clean off, the round has so much force it passes through one more who was in the back to guard the shipment. The driver jumps out and starts running around not sure where to run to cause he has no idea where the shots are coming from, finally he drops to his knees and start begging to be spared again not knowing where to pray to he puts his hands up and pleads for his life. Steven was ready to finish him with a headshot but when the man goes to his knees, he breaks out of cover slinging the rifle over his shoulder and walks towards the man, now holding a handgun at his side, he stands over the man.


Steven: Begging really? There's no begging allowed! You lost the right to beg when you beat my mother into a coma and my father to death! So no NO NO YOU DON'T GET TO BEG! *calming himself down* At least you get to know why you're gonna die. Hermes and Katherine Aaron send their regards and don't worry you'll have company soon. Cause i'm sending you all to hell! *Steven fires a single shot to the head, spitting on the man's dead body he then moves towards the van and opens the back, there's one dead guard slump over a pallet of what looks like cocaine probably worth million and small silver case with what looks like a sacks of hundreds, Steven grabs two stacks of bills about 5 or 6 thousand, in his mind it's enough to resupply and live off of for awhile. Then reaches into his backpack and pulls out a brick of C4 and lays it on the floor of the van, as he walks away from the van back in the direction he came from he can here groaning coming from the passenger side in the front, it's the triad he shot that lost his arm, bleeding out all over the place, again begging for his life, Steven ignores him walking just far enough before the timer goes off and blows the van, the drugs and cash to hell. He never looks back he just takes off running a good 3 miles to where his car is parked and leaves the area.*


*Kyle stood there looking at the candy the girl put in his hand then throws it on the ground, yelling at his brother who is long gone* XANDER YOU'RE A JERK AND YOU'RE MEAN YA JERK!


(sorry that's all I got on Kyle lol)
 
Be careful....those were two words that Katarina did not know how to apply to her life. She had spent the last ten years or so throwing caution aside in favor of pushing for results, pushing for reactions from others, be they negative or positive...pushing for an answer, any answer. Often it had blown up in her face, hurting more than helping her...but sometimes it had gotten the results she wanted. Now was one of those times where the outcome was mixed.


She and Chris would never be the kind of sisters who hugged and cried together, or could spill out their guts to each other and just talk with ease. But Chris had touched her, a few times now. Chris was listening, even if she was doing little talking. And Chris had said she didn't want to lose her...that they couldn't lose her. It was enough for Katarina to wipe her eyes, to nod very slightly, and then sit up on her bed, growing silent, but not brooding. It was enough to make her no longer think so frequently in the moment of further self-harm. After several moments she spoke softly.


"I don't know that I can stop, Chris. Not now, anyway. But...I'll try to be better."


She hopes that if...when...Xander comes back, he'll come by and talk to her. If not, maybe she'll have to talk to him. It still hurts to think of how he had looked at her before stalking off.


**


Rikarah is still watching warily, standing in front of Terabithia again, as two men come up to the first man, whispering something that incites his wrath. There are three people now, and that is a different thing from only one. Three men against Rikarah and a child are not odds that she is confident she will emerge from as a victor, and it appears that it is time to escape.


Without a word she grips Terabithia's hand, drawing her towards the exit. Then without a word as she comes up behind them, gaining ground, she drops the child's hand, giving no explanation even to go so far as to tell her to stand back or close her eyes. Moving rapidly, she speaks aloud, using her telepathic ability to attempt to break into both minds at once. She has never attempted this before, to break into more than one mind's shield at a time, but she is doing so now, using all her energy and concentration.


"You wish to die, do you not? You are feeling that you are wrong. That you do not belong in this world."


In their minds she whispers repeatedly, not aloud so that Terabithia will not hear, "Take your guns. Stick them in your mouth...and pull the trigger."


It takes three repetitions, but as Rikarah remains standing, face pale and still with effort, repeating herself silently, the men's faces slacken, and they slowly remove their guns from their belt holsters. Reaching back for Terabithia, still watching them intently, Rikarah covers the child's eyes without looking at her as they follow her instructions. She does not smile, but her heart is beating fast, her skin tingling with adrenalized satisfaction as she looks without concern at the bodies now before her. As she begins to back Terabithia away, still holding her hands over the child's eyes, she is only sorry that she had not attempted to use the same power against Calico in time. But then, she will certainly have ample time to do so in the future, and she intends to have opportunity as well.


The use of her power in such an unprecedented manner is draining, however, and even as she walks with Terabithia Rikarah is stumbling, weary, her face nearly white with her expended energy.
 
(Damnit Kyle! That was perfectly good candy! xD )


"Bye," Cas said. "Be careful on the way home." Shira managed to say goodbye as well in a soft voice. Cas wondered if what he said really did help Xander. He could feel the weight of Shira leaning against him. When he turned to look, he noticed how her eyes seemed a bit droopy and she yawned.


"I'm sleepy." She yawned another time and it seemed harder for her to keep her eyes awake.


Cas sighed and helped bring her inside to their room. He placed her on her bed, a cot really. He then took the bag of McDonalds and took out his share before putting the bag in front of her. "I got you some dinner."


Shira seemed to play with the bag a bit before taking out a fry. She nibbled on it before speaking. "It's cold. It's no different from the stuff we have here." She continued eating anyway. She was lying down now with her back to Cas. The boy sighed. There was just no pleasing her. He opened his burger and took a bit. Shira was right. It was cold. But it was something different from the non perishables they usually had, a welcomed change. He bit into it a few more times before he heard Shira's voice again.


"Thank you." It was a soft reply. Cas wasn't all too sure if it was the wind or if he was just mishearing it. But he smiled and finished off his food before the two brushed their teeth and went to bed.


(Yeah, I'm assuming it's late so I'll just sleep until the next morning.)
 
(It is late, don't worry xD )





Natalia has long left Sebastian, headed home and somehow avoiding bumping into Cas or Shira as she heads to the room which she left Terabithia in. Her eyes widen as she sees the girl is not infact there, and after a quick search of the theatre, she is now panicking.


She bursts out the entrance to the theatre, not noticing the shadows that seem to be unnaturally swarming around her. "TERABITHIA!" She yells out across the empty space.


------


Terabithia's eyes widen as the man says he would eat a monkey's brain. Monkey's are her favourite animal ever. She nods in response to Terabithia, stepping back, away from Calico, but before she can close her eyes he has gone into a full rage, and Terabithia darts behind Rikarah, hiding from the bad man's anger.


Terabithia watches in confused shock as Rikarah speaks to the men, then the area falls silent but the men seem to be slowly looking weaker and weaker. Then, they take out their guns and Terabithia's eyes widen, "Rika!" She exclaims, about to pull the girl out of the way when Rikarah covers her eyes, and Terabithia's world goes black.


Once she can see again, Terabithia is now at the exit with Rikarah, and she doesn't dare to look back as she looks up at Rikarah. Her eyes widen once again as she notices how weak and pale Rikarah looks. "Rika! Are you okay?" She speaks worriedly, and instantly tries her best to support the girl as they walk back.


When they are almost there, Terabithia hears her name being yelled, and she looks to where it came from to see Natalia standing outside the theatre, actually looking worried. "BLUE!" She yells back, still not leaving Rikarah's side as she helps her walk.


-------------


Natalia hears Terabithia yell in response, and looks over to see the girl with RIKARAH. But not only is she with her, she also seems to be helping her walk, and Rikarah isn't looking too good. She glares at her despite this fact, walking closer as she shouts out, "YOU TOOK HER OUTSIDE THIS LATE AT NIGHT!" The shadows around Natalia dart out without her noticing and grab Rikarah's ankles, tugging her forward in an attempt to make her fall over.


Terabithia also doesn't notice the shadows and her eyes are wide with both fear and upset, "Blue! It's not like that! Rikarah saved me from bad men! She even took me to the zoo but there was a bad guy there who killed another guy!"


------------


Xander wasn't quite ready to face home yet, no matter how late it was, so he headed away from the theatre, but had no destination in mind as he simply walked. But then he heard gun shots and jumped, "Sh*t." He murmured, instantly ducking behind the nearest cover he can find. He watches with wide eyes as a man leaps out of a van and drops to the ground, begging for his life. Then Steven appeared.


Well, this just got more complicated.


Xander watches - still hiding behind a bill-board of some kind - as Steven rants to the man and then puts a bullet through his head. He then proceeds to blow up the van and runs off. As soon as Steven is gone, Xander stands up and blinks at the area, not noticing that he dropped the picture of him and his siblings that he always keeps in his pocket. "What the fu*k just happened." He murmurs as he walks over to the dead body, looking over to the wreckage that used to be a car and two bodies, but now looks like a pile of ashes and scattered metal.


"Steven's a killer?" He mutters once again to himself as he drops down beside the dead body, letting his eyes run over the man's features and the bullet hole in his head.


(Oooh dear. You better get out of there Xander before Calico shows up!!!)
 
Of course, although Rikarah is small and slight in build, Terabithia's six-year-old frame is not substantial to support her, and she sways and staggers badly, almost falling entirely. She almost is relieved to see Natalia, despite the girl's strong and obvious anger. It has become apparent to Rikarah that she should never attempt to use her power against two people simultaneously or back to back, unless in dire emergency; it appears to be exceeding her limits to do so, and she knows that if she does not rest soon, she will likely be ill or unconscious. To let herself be so vulnerable is a blow to her pride that she does not wish to encounter, and she tries to stand straighter, to force herself to simply endure.


But then Natalia is yelling directly at her, and something is grabbing at her feet...shadows that are not those natural of nighttime, but appear instead to be deliberately caused by Natalia. So Natalia too has powers of some kind...though what, exactly, Rikarah cannot determine. She barely hears Terabithia's defense of her as she begins to fall.
 
When Rikarah begins to fall both Terabithia and Natalia react instantly, Terabithia reaches out to grab Rikarah's arm, but her strength is miminal and she is not able to stop the girl from falling, but Natalia, though she is far away, as the thought to stop Rikarah from falling, she has the intent to do so, and with that intent, as she moves forward to run over and help, the shadows sense the motive and obey her subconscious instruction to stop Rikarah from falling.


Before Natalia can reach the girl, more shadows had whipped out from underneath Natalia's feet and spiked upwards, pushing Rikarah back up onto her feet. This time, Natalia sees them, and she freezes, eyes wide. "What the heck.." She mutters, then she shakes her head, thinking it must have been her eyes and maybe Terabithia was strong enough to push Rikarah up.


She runs over and supports Rikarah before she can fall again, being surprisingly strong for a sixteen year old girl, she helps Rikarah inside the theatre. "What the hell happened to you two?" She asks Rikarah of course, but Terabithia answers.


"We were just going to the zoo Blue! To see the monkeys! But then there was this bad guy and he beat this other guy to death and there was a box and it had another person inside it, but they were all cut up into pieces." Terabithia shivered slightly, looking down, she looked back up at Natalia, "It was really scary Blue." Natalia frowned, not seeming affected by the mention of death and cut up bodies, "And why are you unable to walk properly?" She asked Rikarah, but once again Blue cut in, "Because there was these two guys that showed up, and they had guns, but Rika talked to them and then..." She frowned, looking up at Rikarah, "I don't know what else happened, Rika covered my eyes so I didn't see, but she saved me from the bad guys Blue, so please don't get mad with her!"


Natalia glanced at Rikarah supiciously, she got the gist of that, sort of. "Right ok. Well, I think it's your bedtime Terabithia, go to our room, I'll be there in a second okay?" Terabithia notices how Natalia uses her full name, and deciding not to argue with that she nods and runs off, leaving Natalia to help Rikarah to her own room.


Once they are there, and Natalia has made Rikarah sit down, she narrows her eyes at her, "Did you kill those men?" Natalia isn't one to dart around the subject, she gets straight to the point.


(Natalia just 'copied' Rikarah's power, no more shadows now ^.^)
 
Now that she is sitting, Rikarah feels better, less faint and unsteady, but her head aches dully and she is still weary to the bone. She watches as Terabithia exits the room, and rubs lightly at her temples, for the moment avoiding Natalia's eyes. She can hear in Natalia's voice and see in her expression that she is suspicious, and with good cause. Terabithia's story is wild as it is, and for she and Rikarah to escape three dangerous men without so much as a scratch is certainly not what the average person would expect.


She takes her time in looking up at Natalia and when she speaks, her voice is soft, measured. "They shot themselves. They both did at the same time. The other man...I think he was their boss...had threatened them with death if they did not return, and had commanded them to kill others. They killed themselves."


She can feel an odd sensation in her head, not the throbbing that she has grown accustomed to...almost a scratching. Rikarah narrows her eyes slightly, bothered. Is Natalia attempting to penetrate her thoughts? She tightens them the best that she can, though her efforts are not as strong as usual in her present weakness.


She pauses, before adding, "I saw it. It was after that, that I felt faint. It was...shocking. To watch."
 
(Hey guys, the space inbetween the three stars is actually Faith's writing! It's not me suddenly getting better at RPing, just to let you know ^.^)


Natalia listens silently, her eyes narrowed supiciously the whole time. Her story sounds legit, but still, something is off. Why would those guys just shoot themselves like that?


"Are you sure that's what happened?" She asks now, her voice has changed slightly, not as hard, not as icy and sharp, it is definitely softer, but still not compassionate. She is feeling a bit odd herself, and as she studies Rikarah's face, trying to figure out what the girl is thinking, she is suddenly sucked into something that seems to be another world, yet she remains where she is. She has infact just found a memory of Rikarah's. Some parts are cut out, like it has been edited for her.


***


It was a Christmas Eve night quite typical of the Pallis family; while Laurel remained in the kitchen, feverishly preparing the meal for the following day, and Isabella alternated between flipping channels on TV, whining about not being allowed to go out, or restlessly drifted about, making sarcastic comments to anyone she encountered, Susannah attempted to remain undisturbed in her room, away from the others. Harry Pallis in particular. He had gotten off early from work for the holiday, and Susannah knew her efforts were likely wasted; he would eventually notice her absence and seek her out.


It was a prediction that proved, as usual, to be correct when he opened her door unannounced at some point in the early evening, strolling inside with his head lifted high and an easy smile curving his lips. Harry, if he noticed his daughter stiffening and sitting up straighter on her bed, certainly did not care or attempt to ease her wariness of him; if anything he smiled more widely as he carelessly plopped himself onto her bed. Susannah slid her feet away from him quickly, making her expression like stone as she lifted her chin, determined to show no emotion.


"Hey there Suzy, how's my girl?" he asked with a hearty chuckle, and Susannah did not fail to notice that he slid himself closer towards her, his hand resting in close proximity to her leg.


"Fine," she responded neutrally, her eyes fixed on his hand. She despised being called Suzy, a fact that her other family members seemed oblivious to, and she particularly despised being called her father's girl. There was nothing to be gained, however, in voicing this.


"Fine? Well that's certainly a true statement if I ever heard one…one thing I definitely succeeded at in life is creating one FINE young woman," her father remarked, his eyes drifting over her form, and Susannah's skin itched with her urge to cover herself, to shield herself from his view. Though she was wearing a shirt that was not at all revealing, and she was not exactly abundantly blessed in the chest area in the first place- as her more endowed sister Isabella so often pointed out- she felt as if her father could see through her clothing and was greatly enjoying the sight. Corny as his remarks always were, they nevertheless did not fail to disgust and disturb her.


"Thanks, Dad," she said flatly, crossing her arms, her eyes hard in spite of her efforts to remain unmoved as she briefly met his eyes. "But what about Isabella?"


"Oh, your sister too," Harry added, nodding, "But you, Susannah…you are certainly one beautiful being," he continued, his voice dropping almost to a whisper, in a tone that Susannah suspected was supposed to be seductive. As her father's hand inched over, than slid across her thigh, she clinched her jaw, a flash of anger striking through her, and then abruptly stood, striding towards the door.


"I'm going to help Mom. She's been working all day, she could use the company."


She meant for her spoken words to sound like a threat, but both Susannah and her father knew even as she said it that it was no true threat at all. Susannah's mother would never leave him or bring about any sort of consequence on him, no matter what Susannah told her.


Her mother was in the kitchen still as Susannah approached her, bent over the oven as she checked the temperature of what looked like some sort of cobbler. Susannah came up behind her quietly, waiting for her to straighten and notice her presence. When she did, Laurel started, her eyes widening, and put a hand over her chest with a gasp.


"Goodness, Susannah, I didn't know you were there," she said nervously, giving her daughter a quick smile that didn't meet her eyes.


"I just came in," Susannah said quietly; as her mother closed the oven door, she exhaled, already mostly resigned to the response she knew would come before she'd ever said a word.


"Mom. Dad came into my room a few minutes ago and was looking at me…in an inappropriate manner," she said quietly, knowing even as she spoke how lame and unconvincing her words sounded to any who had not been there to see. "He kept saying what a beautiful young woman I was…and he lay his hand on my thigh. He's still doing it, Mom. I really think you need to do something, or someone does, because…this isn't stopping on its own."


Laurel glanced at her daughter again, but just as quickly looked away, refusing to meet her eyes. When she spoke her voice was high, anxious, and shaking slightly, and Susannah knew it was hopeless.


"I, I'm sure you just misunderstood, Susannah. And, and, his hand, I'm sure it was an accident, or, or showing affection, or-"


"No, Mom, it wasn't like that," she insisted, even as her stomach twisted bitterly, recognizing her defeat. "You need to do something. Dad is sick, Dad is-"


"Are you bitching about Dad AGAIN, Suzy?" came the voice of Susannah's sister accusingly as she slunk into the room, eyes narrowed, her voice much louder and more accusing than her mother's. Putting her hands on her hips, she leveled a stare at Susannah that managed to simultaneously encompass a smirk, a glare, and mocking all at once.


"You're such a delusional little *****, SUZY. You think you're such a hot little number that every **** in town is following after you panting your name, even your own DAD? What the hell is wrong with you, don't you even look in the mirror? You've got no hips, no boobs, no ass, you're like the size of a Life Size Barbie doll, what man would ever want you and your screwy Oedipus complex?" Isabella sneered, her glossy mouth pulled almost into a snarl, her blue eyes glinting viciously as she tossed back her long blonde hair and quirked an eyebrow in seeming triumph.


Susannah didn't point out that in the case of females it was the Electra complex, not Oedipus, that referred to the condition Isabella was talking about. She didn't reply to her sister's taunts, though her blood was boiling and her back teeth ached from the pressure of their grinding. She simply took a slow breath, even a rage danced behind carefully veiled eyes, and asked her mother if there was anything she could do to help.


***


Natalia shot back as she came back to reality, a slight pain striking her head before it diminished, moving away from Rikarah. "What the hell?" Her eyes were wide, "Did I...did I just..." Now she is confused. First shadows seem to be obeying her mind, then she sees a MEMORY, from another person's head?


She blinks at Rikarah, confusion and shock clear in her crystal blue eyes, "Susannah? Your name is Susannah?"
 
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