Kingdoms of Darkness and Light

[headlessSpleen]

Dominic's cheeks flushed bright red as Flower turned and walked through the portal. The idea of her calling him 'my king' took him by surprise. Something about the possessive nature of those words struck him as... He wasn't quite certain. Sentimental, perhaps? Meaningful? When she served him as The Knight it made more sense for her to call him 'my king'. But, now as his bride-to-be, a statement like that had more reciprocity. If he was her King, then she was his Queen. Cracking a small smile at the corner of his lips, he couldn't help but enjoy the sound of that - just a little bit.

As Hunter turned to him and teased him, he calmed down. "I appreciate your help in any and all matters. Particularly pertaining to marrying Flower" he said. "I want to do good by her and by her people, and I truly need all the help I can get."

With a brief flash of a grin, he turned to the portal and stepped through. Magic was still so new to him, he wasn't quite sure what to expect. But when he stepped out the other side, it felt closer to stepping through a regular doorway than anything. A slight tingling sensation lingered in his fingertips, and the sudden change of environment was a wee bit disorienting to his system, but he had definitely expected worse.


Mia's eyes widened at the idea of having to lock Nick up to prevent his instincts from causing trouble. For a split second, it seemed like overkill, but then she recalled how powerful both Nick and Deathwish could be. In an instant, they could destroy whatever or whoever was in front of them. Although, most of the time, Nick made it look easy, the both of them definitely had to keep a strong amount of self-restraint. And Nick's was faltering more and more each day.

"So," she said, leaning back and balancing on the two back legs of her chair. "What would be the best case scenario for you?"

She looked Nick up and down, the gears obviously whirring in her head. She knew that there would be plenty of additional security around the castle - and particularly around Thea. For her own safety, she would probably be sequestered to the grounds. And, to prevent a scandal, Nick would be kept as far away from her as possible. But Mia was a schemer with a penchant for blatantly defying the rules. If anyone was going to find a way to keep Nick in close enough proximity to Thea to stay calm, it would be her.


"Humans are great at sugar-coating everything, thinking it will make difficult situations easier," Thea said, the corner of her mouth twitching ever so slightly. "But, in all reality, it makes everything more difficult and painful for everyone involved."

She shifted, with some effort, to look directly at Vicente. "My brother, the King, has a soft heart. And he knows absolutely nothing about vampires. As King, he has to take the reins to my situation as best he can, but honestly, he's completely incapable in his current state. The man is in the middle of getting married to an elfin Queen while he's still trying to figure out how to be a King in the first place. With post-war re-building taking place, and who knows what else will get thrown at him, my current... state... is a disaster waiting to happen."

"I'm going to need your help as well as your honesty."

She stared him down with her stone cold, stormy gray eyes. Her family was certainly going to do more harm than good in their attempts to protect her. And Nick was practically useless in his current state of fighting his own instincts. She needed someone by her side like Vicente. Honest, intelligent, knowledgable about what was happening, and completely uninterested in pursuing her or any kind of power she may be associated with.


As the sun finally crept through the crack in the curtains, Marco groaned.

The entire night previous was a massive blur. Something with a dog-wolf-person. Conversations he couldn't remember. And a throbbing headache that attested to how many drinks he'd consumed. He felt like, if he moved, he was going to be sick, but his mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his throat felt swollen. He needed water. And probably a shower.

He slowly rolled out of bed, squinting hard as he tried to get his bearings. His stomach did a flip as he finally righted himself and walked over to make sure the curtains were fully closed. Too much sunlight was making his brain ache. He stumbled to the bathroom, ran some cold water in the sink, and winced as he splashed himself in the face a few times before looking in the mirror.

Sunken eyes, messy hair, still wearing the same clothes as the night before. Marco looked ten times more sickly than his usual pale, miserable visage, and somehow he managed to feel even worse than he looked. Changing out of his clothes that reeked of whatever he had been drinking the night before, he left them in a heap on the floor and went to clean himself off.

 

[The Writer]

Before the three was a cliff overlooking a huge pit of water. A raging river flowed down the cliff into the water below. Below the water was crystal clear water that shimmered in ancient magic. The area was wild with rare plants, fairies, and pixies swarming about. Nature had truly taken over this old Eflin ground.

Flower turned to the monument that stood at their right side. In elfin, the writing was a poem commemorating this loss. Flower briefly touched it which glowed a misty blue in reaction to the light magic she held within her.

"This was the Eflin Kingdom's first Capital City before the human's declared war. One of the final blows to nonhumans was when human mages stole magic from the Dragons and used it to blow up the city. There was a cave structure underneath the castle, an almost religious site for Elves, that collapsed and took the entire castle with it and flooding the area with the water systems established here."

Flower looked back at Dominic. "It was the first win for Humans and they learned to steal and use our magic against us. The human spirit made the magic more potent and volatile. However, that was a long time ago." She smiled sadly before she looked down at the water below.

"This place has a large amount of magic stored naturally in the earth. It was said the first Light Elves were born here and gave life to many supernatural creatures here. It is a highly charged area so don't freak out if you can temporarily use magic."

Hunter raised a hand. "It is not an uncommon place to have visions or premonitions here if you already have access to some magical ability. You may notice a strong increase in Flower's abilities here, but this is wild magic, which means it has it's own life about it and may play tricks on you. It is why humans could not claim this land, the land simply would not allow them."

"And after the raging war, the land even rejected elves and would not allow them to resettle. It's not sure why, but some say it was the loss of the Guardian over this forest. Much like how Sky protects a vast area of natural earth magic, there was a protector here that was killed during the war. Since then the magic hasn't allowed humanoids to live here, but we're safe as long as we are only visiting." Flower added as she smiled at Dominic. "The magic is instinctual, but it can read intentions." She said brushing her fingers in the grass below and watching as a green glow emitted where she touched.

Nick huffed and crossed his arms. "Dying in a hole." He grumbled, but a quick look from Deathwish got him to sigh. "I am not sure. My human wife did not cater to my instincts, and I was okay if a few humans got the crap beaten out of them but..." He rubbed the side of his head as shadows seemed to creep around him. "This is different." He shook his head. "I suppose it would require her and me to spend some time together and keeping unrelated males away from her."



Vicente raised an eyebrow at Thea as if surprised that she was asking for his help. He did not think many humans trusted him and Thea was the last person he thought would trust him. She had been Draco's experiment, his plaything, and here was his son who had helped keep her locked up
He supposed it would not kill him if all he needed to do was state his thoughts. It was not often he felt his advice welcome.

"I will assist you where I can, but I know little of politics or human sensibilities." He admitted as he stared blankly a Thea. "And while I am sure Nick right now will not mind us together there may come a point where no male will be allowed near you. My first advice is to only allow females to touch you or blood relatives. Your brothers might cause mild irritation if they cover up Nick's scent on you, but as they are your brother's it would be less enraging than if an unattached male got his scent on you. I am not related to you by blood and as far as Nick is concerned sexually mature and capable of killing the child or you."
"Vampires are hopeless creatures. If a female deems her mate weak she can kill the child and seek a stronger partner so vampire males will do anything to keep their partners close to them. There are many reasons why vampires do not want to breed and the instincts attached to them are certainly one of them. It also ensures that only the most powerful survive and keeps the population from getting too big."


Alicia awoke in a literal dog pile. She perked her ears as her pack slowly woke themselves up. Pups were already pulling at her ears and jumping on their parents.
Parties and special events usually saw the Lycans group up afterwords and bond closer as a pack. Many would split off into their own families and the next event would see them together and sleep in the same rooms.
Alicia let out a big wolf yawn when only ended up having a tiny paw in her mouth. With a little nip and a light growl, she pulled herself out of the group and stretched out.
After morning greetings and a small morning hunt, she headed back to the inn where she left the human-pup. She greeted Uryen and headed up to Marco's room. She stood in humanoid form as she took a whiff of the scent inside. It seemed Marco was bathing. She tapped her chin as she thought briefly about teasing him and just walking in. Afterall, Lycan's were not as bashful as humans about the naked form. She might even join him, but she pushed it aside. She feared it would be too much for the shy human and he was certainly feeling ill.

 

[headlessSpleen]

An intense sense of melancholy overwhelmed Dominic as he looked across the wild majesty of the elfin ruins. On one hand, it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. But, on the other, he could feel the devastation that was wrought on the land. His people - his ancestors - had destroyed so many lives right where he stood. And over what? Power? Racism? A fear of the unknown? It all seemed so pointless in retrospect. He took a few steps in order to do a full turn around to take in the view. A heavy sigh escaped his lips and he closed his eyes, feeling the world around him as the story sunk in.

The stripe of silver in his hair seemed to glow ever so slightly with the remnants of Flower's magic that was left in his system. He couldn't see it for himself, but it almost gave him the look of a halo. The soft, glowing light around his head contrasting with his naturally dark locks. At this point, what magic of hers was left in him felt completely natural to him. He'd become accustomed to its presence, however slight it may be most of the time, and found it comforting. Whether or not that comfort was from the soothing effects of light magic or from the connection to Flower he wasn't sure.

Opening his eyes, it was easy to see that the stories of the past broke his heart, and it was hard to swallow the fact that the land was not in a state where he could, or should, do anything to fix it. Dominic's instincts told him he needed to make reparations for his ancestors. It was like if he burned down someone's house, but died shortly afterwards in an unrelated incident. His family would still be responsible for paying for the damages. That's how he felt inclined to deal with most situations involving the human royal family's assorted misdeeds. If he could do anything to ease the suffering that they had caused, he was going to do it. But, when he couldn't, he was left at a loss.


Mia plopped the front legs of her chair back down to the floor with a huff. Nick was going to make a difficult situation even harder on himself with that kind of attitude. "Dying in a hole"? Really? It took all of her strength to not stand up and knock him upside the head with whatever blunt object was within reach.

"Nick," she said sternly. "You're dealing with snooty, uptight, human royal family rules here. Your ex wife not catering to your instincts is one thing. This is an entire castle of people who need to keep you away from Thea in order to save face and keep an entire population from rioting. Thea could want you to carry her everywhere she needs to go until the baby pops out and it doesn't matter. It's too scandalous if word got out. It's too dangerous for the family's already fragile image just for allowing you back on staff in the first place."

"So, you'll need a strategy." Mia's mouth curved into a smirk as she propped her elbows up on the table. She laced her fingers together in front of her face and propped her chin on top of her entwined hands. There was a mischievous glint in her eye as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"And you'll need plenty of help."


"Well." Thea said, going back to her original, meditative position. "Until Nick says otherwise, I'm asking you to help me. Human sensibilities I can work around. And, if you'd like, I can try to help you get a slightly firmer grasp on them. But vampires are a completely different story. I need to know what to expect. Every last bit of it. Whether it be dealing with other vampires as a high-ranking human with a powerful, potentially threatening vampiric child. Or just what I have to do to keep my son alive. And I need to know the absolute worst of it. I know you'll be straightforward with me, even if it's something that will scare me to the core."

She placed a hand on her stomach and sighed. "One of those human sensibilities is protecting pregnant women from the scary parts of having a child. But, the whole situation is scary, so I'd rather be prepared and terrified than undeservedly complacent for the sake of comfort."

And it was true. She was already afraid. She was delving into unfamiliar territory without a compass. If Vicente could be her guide - at least for as long as Nick's instincts could tolerate it - she could at least put together a haphazard roadmap of how to navigate the treacherous world she was about to fall headfirst into.


A long, hot shower took Marco from being an unsuccessfully resurrected corpse back to being a cranky, uncomfortable human. His head was still aching, and his stomach was tied in a tangle of knots, but at the very least he didn't feel like he was going to collapse from the throbbing in his head and uncontrollable nausea. He ran his fingers through his hair to shake out some of the water and wrapped a towel around his waist. He knew he would have to face the world at some point, but he was relieved that point hadn't quite arrived.

Or at least that's what he thought as he stepped out of the bathroom to find Alicia waiting for him.

"Gack!" He squawked, stumbling into the doorframe behind him as bits and pieces of the night previous came flooding back. The embarrassing conversations. Riding on Alicia's back all the way to the hotel. Had she really bothered to take care of him when he was so belligerently drunk? He couldn't have been that pleasant to deal with. What on earth was she doing back then?

Keeping a firm grip on the doorway with one hand, Marco tried his best to pull himself back together. Thankfully his other hand had kept a firm grip on his towel, so his ego wasn't completely and utterly shattered. He did not need a virtual stranger that he could only vaguely remember seeing him completely in the nude. It was already bad enough that he wasn't in a shirt. His pale skin was still wet, shining off of the relatively new toned muscles. He'd always been the more powerful fighter out of his siblings - being able to fight autonomously without thinking as a deep, powerful instinct took over. But, he had never really shown how strong he really was until the constant battling and training in the war. His scrawny, teenage frame had developed into that of a young man with lean shoulders and powerful arms. It was almost impossible to tell that he technically had no feeling in one of his arms.

 

[The Writer]

Hunter took note of Dominic's hair reacting to the magic around it. She tilted her head as she thought over the remanence of Flower's magic in his system. Would that magic always be Flower's? It was rather odd it was still taking effect even after this time. Flower's presence may help it sustain it, but she was not reinforcing it.

She blinked as she pondered if it was possible to turn Dominic into a light elf.
After all, what made a light elf? It was their magic that changes what they are, what sustains them. The magic itself was ingrained in their DNA. Flower's bloodline was far from pure elf. Flower is a light elf but that never guarantees that her children will be light elves after all her older sister was not.

It was odd to think about. Maybe if Flower reinforced her magic it might change him or perhaps, this place could. Hunter waived those thoughts away. It was not her goal to change the Human King.

Flower stood up and turned around to face Dominic. "How good of a swimmer are you?" Flower asked before she stepped back and off the edge of the cliff diving right into the water below by quite a few feet. Light shimmered across the lake and under the water Flower's hair appeared to be glowing bright. She swam around before coming back up.
"That is cold." She stated as she attempted to get her messy hair out of her face. Long hair certainly has its disadvantages.

Hunter chuckled. "Nothing to do but hop in and get acclimated," Hunter smirked at Dominic as she shifted into her dog form. The silky long black fur resting beautifully on her sleek form. She jumped off the cliff only to land on magic platforms that created steps for her to walk down. Hunter wasn't much of a diver, preferring to step into the water.



Nick's eyes narrowed at Mia as instincts spiked for a moment at the idea of being kept away from his chosen partner. Shadows seemed to darken all around the lobby they were seated.

Nick huffed. "As if I need help from someone who can't even steal without getting caught." It was his voice, but yet it was different. "I'm a highly-skilled assassin that can run circles around humans and their sensibilities." The words were venom and the shadows seemed to reach a crescendo before just stopping.

Deathwish had taken control of the shadows around and was currently pressing his aura heavily onto the area. Creatures and humanoids of all shapes suddenly scattered as it appeared two very powerful wills were fighting with one another and all without a word or movement. Deathwish's cold eyes were trained right on Nick just as Nick's were trained on him.
Finally, something broke in Nick and he turned away from Deathwish to show his neck to surrender. Deathwish's fangs glinted but he quickly snapped them back to the roof of his mouth.

"Control yourself," Deathwish stated sternly. "Lest you be controlled." It was a one-time warning and the cold air around pushed against Nick to solidify that fact. Deathwish knew Nick's demon half was coming through, much as when Deathwish loses his grip on sanity, Orpheus takes control. Nick's own demon was ripping at his bonds.
Deathwish leaned back as he looked at Mia from the corner of his eye. He really wanted to tell her not to help Nick, not to get near him in his current state. The battle with Draco, the death of his son, and the state of the woman he loved were tearing Nick apart. With one offspring brought down, Nick's instincts were nearly doubled to protect Thea's child, but they also told him to kill the child. It was a threat, it was not of his blood. Nick was a man on the edge of every knife you can get ahold of, and it was starting to take its toll.



Vicente looked over Thea before he slowly nodded. "It seems like a good trade." He set his book on his leg as he brought up his left leg and wrapped an arm around it.
"Thankfully you already have one thing going for you, you are a Queen, and while you are human, you are still highly ranked to vampire society and you have the backing of a Vampire Queen which will surely have its advantages. Not only that, but she will know how to handle this child better than anyone. After all, she raised two of the most highly classed vampires in this area."
He thought he should at least try to comfort her some and everything he said was true. Isabella would swiftly punish any vampire under her command and that will sway a good number of vampires around here, but it won't sway all of them and it will not sway anyone of a different species.



Alicia's wolf ear twitched as she heard Marco's startle. She glanced over at him as he stood rather comically in the middle of the doorway in just a towel. She slowly took in his form before she turned and sat down on the bed brushing her tail over her legs.

She smirked showing off one fang as a playful growl rose from her chest. "Well since you see fit to approach me like that, shall I take it as a sign of interest?" She tilted her head as deep brown eyes showed mischief as she gripped her shirt and lifted it to show her stomach. She dropped her shirt back down and raised her head back as she let out a boisterous laugh.

"Please, Pup, I am a Lycan, we hardly see being naked as something to be embarrassed about."

 

[headlessSpleen]

Dominic couldn't hold back an audible gasp when Flower dove off the cliff. Did they really expect him to do that?! As Hunter pranced her way down, he took a deep breath. Of course they expected him to jump.

He pulled his shirt off over his head, tossing it to the ground before backing up to give himself a little space. It was just like when he was a kid, racing his siblings to the end of the dock. He almost always was the first one there - being the oldest and hitting his growth spurt first had some serious advantages. He would always lunge off the edge at a full sprint, flailing as his body crashed into the water. This was the same thing... just a lot farther down to go before the splash.

With one full-body wiggle to shake away his nerves, he took a running start, gathering as much speed as possible before flying off the edge of the cliff.

Before he knew it he was hitting the water with the biggest cannonball splash. Definitely less graceful than Flower and Hunter, but much more his style. Dominic resurfaced, sputtering as he snorted the water out of his nose. He ran his hands back through his hair to slick it out of his face and grinned. The feeling of his heart pounding in his chest was exhilarating and, if they weren't there with a purpose in mind, he would have asked to go jump again.


Mia narrowed her eyes back at Nick. After being near Deathwish's aura for so long, Nick sparking with dangerous energy didn't faze her. In fact, it ticked her off. He wasn't exactly wrong about her case. Deathwish had been the one to catch her in the middle of attempted robbery way back before the war. But that didn't mean she was incompetent. In fact, with all that she'd learned through battling in the war and training with Deathwish, she could probably rob a lot of other castles blind if she felt so inclined. As long as they didn't have guards on staff like Deathwish, who she still hadn't quite found a way to outsmart.

She stood up from her chair and pursed her lips, giving Nick a critical glance as the corners of her mouth curled downwards into her typical scowl. She could feel Deathwish's glance lingering and she could tell he wanted her to stay away from his brother. Under any normal circumstances, she would have done anything to defy him, just for the sake of being difficult. But, this time, Nick had gotten on her bad side.

"You have fun with that. That is until the humans decide they need to protect your girlfriend from you." She said, her voice deadly serious, with a twinge of venom. "But, I guess I'm not capable enough for it to be any of my business."

And with that, she walked away, taking a split second to drag her fingers across the back of Deathwish's shoulders as she passed. It was subtle and quick, but it was her silent way of telling him that she would stay out of it. For now, at least. She was definitely the kind of person to hold grudges and, even though Nick was not his usual self, she would take his slight personally and hold it against him until something turned her anger toward a different target.


Thea nodded knowingly. Isabella was a genuine lifesaver in this whole situation - both figuratively and literally. If she had decided that Thea wasn't worth the trouble and that her child was too much of a liability to keep alive, who knows what could have happened. She knew that Deathwish and Nick would do what they could to protect her, and technically had to as they were employed as guards for the Royal Family, but there was only so much they could do when the entirety of the population around the castle had little to no knowledge of what vampires even were. She made a small mental note to run an education program for the guard staff by Dominic, as having them well-versed in every race of creatures they may come across would be beneficial for security reasons.

"Dominic has been banking on regular human diplomacy when it comes to conflicts. It's all he knows and all he's been trained to do." She said with a breathy quality to her voice. It was frustrating to know that the one person who was trained from birth to be the human King was going to be absolutely clueless when it came down to dealing with the public at large. The fact that she was pregnant with Draco's child was already causing a stir in the human community. People were afraid of another Draco coming to power. And, technically, it was a valid threat. Her son technically would be in line for the throne. If something were to happen to her brothers, and they didn't have heirs of their own, her child would be left in charge. Just the loose idea of that, no matter how slim of a possibility it may be, had the humans that had suffered and survived through Draco's reign absolutely terrified.

And she had to assume that the Vampire kingdom had similar whisperings of what her child might be capable of.

"Do you know... if there's any way to tell what he'll be capable of?" She asked, choosing her words carefully as she glanced down at her stomach. "You know... before he's born."


"What?! No!" Marco exclaimed, pulling his towel tighter around him. He started to pull it up slightly to try and cover more of his body, but realizing that going too far up would be even worse, he stopped and hugged his other arm around his torso as he scanned the room for something to cover himself with.

He shivered as a light draft hit his bare chest and he quickly scampered to the only thing in his line of sight he could think to use as cover - the crumpled, sweaty sheets on the bed. He dashed across the room. Speed was of the essence. And quickly dove back into bed and covered himself up to the neck with a sheet.

"What are you even doing here?" He asked. There was a grumpy tone in his voice. Like a crotchety old gentleman that just had his morning paper reading interrupted by his least favorite person knocking at his front door. But, at least he was sort of covered. No matter how Lycans lived their lives, being completely nude except for a towel was not the way he chose to present himself. In fact, he tried to avoid going shirtless at all costs.

Even when he looked at himself in the mirror he wanted to cover up. Especially now that he'd developed from a scrawny, skinny, sickly boy into a shockingly muscular man. The way he looked felt so foreign, it was almost like he was in a different person's body all together. And the fact that he had zero feeling in his dominant arm didn't help either. Whenever he moved it, it felt like he was lifting his wrist by puppet strings, and any second they could be cut and he could lose the ability to use his arm forever.

((gotta do a liiiiittle foreshadowing. hehehe. ))

 

[The Writer]

Flower chuckled a little as Dominic jumped. It was quite comical to watch him flail around. Maybe she overestimated his family's nature. She had figured they had done this kind of stuff before, maybe just the twins. She let out a small yip as she was splashed and blocked her face with her hand for a moment.
Either way, she watched him grin bright has he came up from below the water. That's when she noticed the white in his hair was glowing. She swam closer to him and grabbed the piece of hair without thinking. She narrowed her eyes as she watched the magic glow off of his hair. It probably was just the high intensity of magic in this place but it still bewildered her.
"Huh" She leaned in as she examined it before she finally let go, leaning away from Dominic. She blinked as she realized just how close she got to him. "Oh, sorry." She slightly hid behind her hair a little embarrassed. "You're hair is glowing." She said as an afterthought. Flower ignored Hunter's attempts to cover up her chuckles with mild annoyance.


Deathwish eyed Mia having not expected that reaction. However, overall that worked in his favor no matter his feelings over Nick's way of doing it. He slowly stood up before he watched Nick look utterly defeated. Deathwish could sense Nick's raising fear a fear so great it was causing Nick's hands to tremble however subtly.

"Hn." He hummed coldly as he placed a hand on Nick's shoulder.

"...I'm the real danger....aren't I?" Nick's violet eyes stared up at Deathwish through the space between his fingers. Deathwish only nodded before Nick closed his eyes.

"She needs help."

"You need help." Deathwish rumbled back.

Nick stood up and just walked back to his room. Deathwish allowed him to leave in peace. He had imposed his dominance over Nick; that should keep the demon at bay for now. He rolled his shoulders, the only sign of irritation in his stoic demeanor. He turned on his heel and headed to follow Mia to attempt to calm the second beast he will encounter today.



Vicente leaned back against the bench he was sitting on. "Hn." He mimicked Deathwish for a moment as he thought about her question. He blinked as he remembered several of Draco's creations that could see the future or ones that could detect power levels. One such being was experiment 17. She could sense the potential of children a kind of foresight gifted to her by the castle as she was the main caretaker of the children taken in by Draco.

"I know of one such being, but she will be difficult to track down as she may not even be alive." Vicente sighed as he scratched his chin. "However, if she is alive I imagine she is caring for others like her, freed from Draco but having no other home. Her only name was Experiment 17. She could judge the power levels of children."



Alicia watched amused as he attempted to hide. She rolled over on her stomach as he hid under the sheets. A fang peeks out before she waved him off.
"I was just checking on you. Forgive me, I overestimate the human senses. I thought you would have known I was here."

She tilted her head as she made a little woof sound. "Be at ease, pup, I am not here to make sexual advances." She looked away from him to give him his space as she pretended to be interested in the room itself. She could smell all his different emotions at once and some of them she figured were not directed at her. What was this fear she smelled in droves coming from him? It was particularly strong whenever he looked at himself. It was something she caught last night but there were too many other variables in that party. She doubted he was afraid of her since he addressed her without fear.

 

[headlessSpleen]

"Eh?" Dominic choked, his voice catching in his throat as Flower approached him and grabbed the strand of glowing hair crossing his forehead. For a second he tried to go crosseyed to see what she was looking at, but when that didn't work, his eyes met her face. That inquisitive look she had startled him. Had she ever looked that intently at him before? A red blush went from his ears to all the way across his cheeks.

As she backed off and explained the glowing hair, he cleared his throat and gave her a slightly sheepish grin. "You know, I'd hoped that my hair going gray would be a little more subtle than this." He joked, letting out a slight chuckle as he tried to be nonchalant.

He assumed that his hair glowing was just the influence of the magic surrounding them, but he wondered if there was anything else to it. He made a mental note to keep an eye on his reflection, just in case it started up again in the near future. But, for now, he wanted to continue the tour of the ruins.


Mia chewed on the inside of her cheek as she strolled outside. The sun felt far too bright for how irritable she was feeling and she quickly ducked into the shadiest alley she could find - which was difficult given the elfin architecture that seemed to favor the light more than anything. For how beautiful the kingdom was, the elves were not her people and she would be glad to leave.

It was actually incredibly rare for Mia to stay in one place very long. She always found something or someone that would get under her skin bad enough to make her abandon ship. But, since attaching herself to Deathwish, she'd actually had some consistency for the first time in a long time. Sure, there was a lot of traveling, separation, and devastating heartache during the war, but there was still Deathwish, the same as he's always been. She hated to admit it, but he helped keep her grounded.

She could sense him follow after her as she left, but didn't bother to wait up for him. Knowing him, she would get a nice stare down where Deathwish would silently lecture her about staying out of other people's business. Or maybe about how Nick wasn't okay and how she needed to stay away from him. Essentially, the same 'stay out of trouble' look he'd given her a thousand times before that she always made a point to ignore. And, although she had decided to skip out on the personal vendetta and watch Nick destroy himself, her ego was still bruised, and if Deathwish tried to advise her in any way, she might just snap.


Thea's eyes lit up for a split second like a firework. If they could find Experiment 17 and get her help, she might have a chance of preparing for the terrifying unknown when it came to the life of her son.

"I need her help." She said, but took a brief pause as a sudden realization hit her. Would it even be safe to track down this experiment of Draco's? If she was even alive, who knows what Draco's torment could have done to her, or the others in her care. Thea had seen all too closely how Draco's experiments not only warped and twisted the bodies of his subjects, but the minds as well. There was no telling the state she'd be in, if found. And, if she was sane enough to talk with, would she even want to help? After all, Thea's child was Draco's son as well. Helping someone protect Draco's offspring sounded like the last thing any of his captives would want.

She took her split second of silence before nodding to herself and repeating, "I need her help. I have to try to find her."


Marco started to relax ever so slightly as Alicia explained herself. He shifted a bit under the covers, allowing his neck and shoulders to slide above their protective barrier as he got more comfortable.

"I'm really sorry about last night." He blurted out before his brain could put a stop to it. He blinked once, then twice, stunned by his own honesty with her. "I... I've been going through a lot, and I went overboard... Uh... Thanks for fishing me out."

He sighed and ran a hand back through his still wet hair, leaving it flopped to the size with a slight cowlick poking up in the back. He really had become a split person. One half was still his old, scared, miserable pre-war self - lovesick and hopeless for anything better. But the other half was strong, capable, and prepared to fight. For what? He wasn't sure.

He still hadn't managed to fully sort through his feelings about Flower. The fact that he couldn't distinguish if he was close to her because of a powerful sense of friendship, or if he actually did have romantic feelings for her was difficult to untangle. He'd pushed it down for as long as he could, but as the days leading up to Flower and Dominic's marriage became less and less, he grew more and more worried. He was afraid that he didn't know what being in love felt like. Was this as close as he would ever get? And was he going to let it slip through his fingers? Or was this what having a friend was supposed to be like? And shouldn't he be happy that, at the very least, she was safe with a person who would give her the freedom she needed?

 

[The Writer]

Flower chuckled a little bit at him before she looked below the water onto the massive castle below. Much of the white stone of the castle has been covered by green moss and inscriptions edged into the walls have faded. They were hardly readable. Still, Flower wanted to explore it so she turned to Hunter who brought her hand up slowly and engulfed all three of them in a giant bubble. Slowly they descended toward the castle and rested on a still-standing platform as ancient furniture and armored suites laid scattered all around.

"Wow." Flower stated before she turned to a destroyed statue of the First Elfin Queen and her son, much of their limbs were destroyed but the basic shape was there. The queen's head rested a few feet away. Flower examined it for a moment as she took in the eery nature of this place. It was magical and beautiful, yet stained with the disaster and sadness still residing here.




Vicente watched her carefully before he picked his book back up and began reading it again, his eyes lazily reading the pages. He figured he would fill her in on all he knew of Experiment 17.

"She is a bat humanoid and only feeds on fruit. She has incredible speed and summoning abilities of bat or bat-like creatures. She has massive bat-wings and is known as Mother to many creatures. She even raised and protected me in the castle. No matter what they are, she cares for all children. She was the caretaker of many of Draco's children and experiments. A very motherly and kind creature. She protected us from many of Draco's monsters. I suspect she would be a good candidate to protect the child. She doesn't talk much and can be quite stern.
She also has echolocation, and I suspect she will know we are there long before we know she is there. I suspect not many creatures ventured too far from the castle's ruins. They had no other home, well, no home that would recognize them as they are now, anyways. He sighed as he tilted his head. "She also has incredible speed. I suspect she may outrun even me. We will need Nick and Deathwish's help to corner her if she causes trouble, but I am hoping it will not come to that. If I am there, she might come out willingly. It is all a matter of locating her."



He thought back on the time he spent with experiment 17. He had grown quite quickly but the short time he did, he supposed she was the kindest being to him in that castle. He remembered the creatures she dispatched before he could even blink. She was a force to be reckoned with. He mildly wondered if even Nick and Deathwish could even stand up to her.

Somewhere in a deep dark, glowing golden eyes opened as a distant sound alerted the creature. In the darkness, two massive bat wings unwrapped around a tall female body currently hanging upside down. Her massive wings stretched so far out that they each brushed against the walls of the cave. An easy 11-foot wingspan. One flap and she was gone from sight a massive gust left behind.



Deathwish moved through the crowd easily as many people avoided him. They were scared of him, but not scared enough for someone to not spit at his feet. He paused for a moment, just enough to avoid it getting on his boots. The crowd hushed for a moment before women rushed their children away, and men weakly covered them.
Deathwish ignored it, his dark purple eyes searching for Mia. He tracked her to her chosen ally, casting a dark shadow in the opening. His own shadow seemed to have red eyes that quickly disappeared.

"Hn." He entered the ally before merely standing in front of Mia. There was nothing in his cold eyes and he did not scold her as she was expecting. He was not silently lecturing her, he was just there. He did not follow her intending to lecture her. He saw no need for it.

He looked up at the sky, taking note of the time before he looked down at her.
"I must grab my new student soon." He simply stated with a slow blink.



Alicia blinked before she smiled brightly. "You are welcome, Marco." She shrugged before she rolled back onto her back much like a dog and relaxed against the bed.
"We have all been through a lot, and I suspect you especially. It wasn't a bother. Trust me. You were rather entertaining, even if you drooled in my fur." She laughed before she patted his leg.

"You have much on your mind, your emotions are crazy." She tapped her nose. "I can sense it." She looked toward him before she scooted up shifting into Lycan form halfway easily overshadowing him as her cold nose sniffed at him.

"Tell me, Marco...why do you smell of sadness and fear?" Her voice was once again rough signaling how hard it was to speak in his form. She stared at him with her deep brown eyes as if trying to see into his soul.

 

[headlessSpleen]

Dominic's eyes went larger than the bubble they were encased in as they floated underwater into the heart of the ruins. It was incredible to see. The architecture mimicked that of what was in the city - or the city mimicked the architecture of the ruins - in ways. But the intricate details of the inscriptions and art had been worn away by the water with time. His eyes landed on a rusted suit of armor, collapsed and disassembled on what remained of a mosaic floor.

As they approached the damaged statue of the First Queen. His heart cracked like the stone it was made of at the sight of it. There was so much magic and beauty sunken underneath the water, inaccessible to the rest of the world and rotting with time. He could feel the pain of the people connected to this place deep in his bones. It reminded him of the remnants of his childhood home after the war. Everything had been damaged or destroyed by Draco's occupancy in the human's castle. They were lucky that they were able to rebuild on the same foundation, but this place had been reclaimed by nature. He had to wonder how many attempts to rebuild it took before the elves finally gave up.

He wondered if moving back into the rebuilt human Castle would make him feel a similar type of melancholy.

He reached out and gently placed a hand on Flower's upper back, feeling like he needed some kind of connection to keep him grounded as his heart processed all that he was feeling.


"Where do we find her?" Thea asked, lacing her fingers together in her lap and twiddling her thumbs. She wanted to have at least a loose outline of a plan together before suggesting the idea to Nick. She knew she couldn't do this without him on board. He was already incredibly protective of her. She wanted to have a plan in place in case he took some convincing.

She needed Experiment 17's help in order to properly prepare for whatever power her son may or may not have. It may be dangerous, but with Nick and Deathwish and Vicente with her, she doubted any trouble would make its way past them. Then, she could get the information she needed, her child would be better off for it, and Nick would be there every step of the way to quell any worries he might have.

Part of her doubted Nick would even let her go on the mission to find Experiment 17, and she still hadn't figured out an appropriate way to convince him that it was better for her to go with than for him to bring Experiment 17 to her.


"Sorry." Marco muttered again, looking down at the sheets covering his body.

He sighed deeply. He doubted he could find a way to keep the truth from Alicia. And he was far too tired to put up much of a fight.

"I've.... had a lot on my mind." He said. "At lest during the war I had something to keep myself busy with. I didn't have to think. I just had to train and fight and move on. But, now... I don't know what to do with myself. I don't even really feel like myself."

He glanced up at Alicia, his lips pursed in a gentle frown. His eyebrows were furrowed together, giving him a look of immense concern. He'd never been much of a talker, and he hoped that she could use her superior Lycan senses to read a little further into his body language. She seemed to be good at that. Marco hoped she could tell how tense his shoulders were, how he didn't feel like his injured, numb arm belonged to him anymore. He wondered if she cold tell how conflicted he was about Flower, and how he wasn't sure what romantic feelings even felt like, let alone if he had them. And he looked back down at the sheets covering his lap, thinking of how scared he was that he would hurt somebody after what he'd been able to do during the war.


Mia sighed, her shoulders tensing for a split second before looking into Deathwish's eyes and relaxing. He didn't have a lecture in mind, and her hurt feelings weren't directed at him for the moment, so she was capable of calming down for the moment. After all, she still had the filter in the back of her mind saying, "you promised to be good, you promised to be good".

As he mentioned Aisha, a lopsided smile slid across her face. From what she could recall from the night before, she had liked her first impression of Deathwish's new student. Her energy had been a tad overwhelming, but the fact that she must have a power similar to Deathwish's, but was still able to express herself so freely interested her. Maybe Deathwish could take some pointers from her and learn to show his emotions a little more. Or relax for just a split second.

"Well, we shouldn't keep her waiting." She said, and gestured for him to lead the way. If he was going to go find Aisha, she wanted to be there to witness what went down. After all, she needed to see if her first impression of the kid was correct.

 

[The Writer]

Flower paused for a moment as Dominic set his hand on her back. Her back twitched for a moment before her magic reached out and swirled around his hand.
Flower glanced back at him for a moment before she shook her head. "The queen foresaw this event beforehand. Much of the area had been cleared of civilians. However, it still hit hard when the center of our nation fell. However, it is not all a sad tale."

Hunter spoke up after that as she walked around in her dog form. "It is also a tale of the first true union of all nonhuman creatures. Elves have always led the majority but other kingdoms like the Lycans and vampires did not truely declare peace until this place fell to ruin." Hunter led them deeper into the ruins. She paused to examine ancient paintings only preserved somewhat from ancient spells cast on them.

The floor was half destroyed and was broken and cracked all around. Ancient treasures and trinkets laid forgotten and destroyed. Flower past many swords and bones of both elves and humans, though one could not tell just by bone which was which. It rather made Flower crinkle her nose. For all their spite to humans and sureness that we were superior, it sure was comical that with bones there was no difference between them. How ironic.

"When the other kingdoms saw the true threat they put their differences aside and band together. After centuries of war with the humans, it was decided by the elves to enter into hiding. Once we scattered and banded together to make protected cities and agree to use charms and wards to hide our identities to all humans. Humans had hunted Dragons to near extinction so Elves established the safe zones. They offered the last of the royal bloodline to an ancient human king. Your ancestors agreed to help the elves banish supernaturals into myth and stop all magic practices in exchange for keeping their bloodline in rule and only they had magic in their hands. The blood bond was established and the first Moonlight Knight was created. Flower's Grandmother." Hunter continued as she stepped over large broken rocks.

Flower walked the halls of the old castle with the white marble and ancient wood scattered all around. Weeds and slime-covered the majority of the ancient beauty but gold and gems still glittered through the water as they headed down deeper. Flower ducked under a pillar laying on a half-destroyed wall. The castle started looking more together and before Flower could even realize it they were in a large cave. The passed a strong magic barrier that held the water back. All around them where large crystals casting rainbows on the ceiling and magic was visible in the air. Rare plants and glistening grass grew over a rock with crystal and gems peeking out from the blades. Fairies danced around their heads and staring at them from beyond what looked like an underground forest was a large white stag. It bellowed at them before racing off. It looked like the entire area was sustained by the glow of the crystals.

An ancient white tree stood proud over the pool of water casting its light over the ancient bark. It was the real source of the magic and fueled all that surrounded them.

Flower instantly fell to her knees and started whispering in Elfish. Her head held down draping herself in her white hair that for a moment seemed to cover her entire body.

Hunter cast a prayer under her breath before she touched Flower's shoulder.
"Welcome to the source of magic, Dominic. It is just one of many, but it is said the first Light Elf was born here by learning from the creatures here that sustain themselves from the light sealed here. It is also said that the blood of God dripped down from above and created this place and many places like it." Hunter bowed on her knees.

"I believed the humans were actually after this place in hopes to steal its magic. I wanted to bring you here because your marriage to Flower is the greatest step toward unity with humans for thousands of years. I had hoped that maybe this place would bless the union and truly keep the peace. It is not an insignificant union. You carry a lot of weight on your shoulders, but I am here to guide you as best as I can. This place will not let just anyone in."

Flower stayed on the ground relenting herself at the blessed place. She knew it was here, but she didn't know Hunter would take them here. Hunter had taken a risk. This place could have killed them all for even stepping near. This was powerful magic and if the council ever found out about this she knew they would have her head in a split second. She continued to speak in elfish praying to God and thanking them for not striking them down. Flower wasn't much of a religious person, but this, however, was a very significant place and one not taken lightly by her. Flower's magic swelled and swirled around. It took a life of its own so close to the magic that birthed it.

Vicente thought for a moment as Thea asked where. He leaned back as he thought about the creature that raised him.
"Somewhere dark during the day. She after all his nocturnal by nature." He nodded to himself before he leaned forward setting his elbows on his knees.

"I imagine finding the strongest concentration of bats would be the best guess starting near Draco's castle."


Alicia blinked at what she could see was a tidal wave of emotion and confliction. Seeing him was like looking into a black hole. There was a mass of uncertainty and affection. It was almost too much for the wolf before him. No wonder Flower assigned her to him. Alicia mildly wondered if Flower had seen the same thing.

She tilted her head before laying herself down beside him and setting her huge head on his chest. She thought about his reply for a moment before she closed her eyes and took in all of his emotions in one big inhale. She opened her eyes before she focused on his eyes once more.

"Marco, war conflicts and destroys many things we see ourselves as. Bringing ourselves to harm another and still feel like ourselves is not an easy task, but just because one can destroy, does not mean it defines what we are. When we choose to destroy and choose to protect is what defines us. Flower is a powerful being that can both heal and harm. Just because she can kill does not define that she is a being of creation at heart. She protects all she loves, and so do you. That is your center." Alicia focused in on his scent at the mention of Flower. Her nose twitched. She had known that Marco was at least somewhat attracted to Flower last night, but she had not known just how much it confused him. His physical reaction to her name was notable. The poor boy truly was hopeless.
"I cannot tell you everything that you feel, Marco. I do not have all the answers. I can only tell you what your body tells me. So far, I see a boy that feels something new and I cannot define that for him." Alicia could try to see if he felt physical attraction for Flower, but that might make him more uncomfortable than answering any questions for him. Alicia truly could not know, Flower Afterall is a beautiful woman, and it would not be the first human to be confused over how to view her. Alicia sensed Dominic was having the same problem, but Dominic was to marry Flower and here lied his boy who may be in love with her, or just confused over wishing to protect her.

 

[The Writer]

Deathwish raised an eyebrow at Mia but stepped out to head to pick up his new student and when they got there it was almost worse than Deathwish expected. This pup did not know the meaning of personal space.

It had been two minutes and Aisha still was climbing all over him with an endless amount of puppy energy. Young Inus were very hyper. Deathwish had to close his eyes to keep the mild irritation at bay as Aisha somehow climbed up his back and was nose deep in his hair.

"Aisha! Respect your teacher." Aisha's father snapped as he came back with her things. He quickly grabbed his pup and quickly nipping her one floppy ear.

"Sorry, Papa!" Aisha smiled as her father set her down and she bowed at the waist. "Sorry, Mr. Deathwish."
Deathwish only nodded to her before turning to her father. "I will have your things sent to the castle now." He stated as two vampires appeared seemingly out of nowhere making the father jump.
"Be at ease, they are under strict orders of my mother," Deathwish stated having prepared all this sometime during the night while Mia was still dead asleep.

Aisha smiled warmly at Mia. "Hello, Ms. Mia! It's nice to see you again!"

"Aisha, would you like to carry Scarlet with you?" Aisha's father stated, making Aisha blush in embarrassment as her father held up a stuffed rabbit.

"Um! No I don't need her anymore!" Aisha's tail tucked between her legs. Deathwish picked up that she was lying if her heartbeat had anything to say about it.

"But you can't sleep without her." Her father replied making Deathwish raise his eyebrow.

"What is the significance of the rabbit?"

"Aisha has nightmares and the rabbit lets her sleep. It helps her feel safe."

Deathwish looked down at the pup as she kicked at the air. Yes, he knows of the nightmares that come with the curse they both held. He could feel his reaper creeping up his spine as he stood there. He rolled his shoulders attempting to shake the feeling away.

Deathwish took the rabbit before he kneeled and held it out to Aisha. "I once had a little lion plush I slept with as a child," Deathwish stated. "He used to eat all the shadows that surrounded me while I slept."

"REALLY?!"

Deathwish nodded. "Though I think my mother enchanted him," Deathwish stated as he placed his hand on Aisha's head. "Being strong is not ignoring your fears, it is being brave in spite of them. If you still need the rabbit that is okay. Until you can face them, be not ashamed that you need help."

Aisha hugged the rabbit close to her chest as she beamed at Deathwish.

 

[headlessSpleen]

Flower's magic circled around Dominic's hand and helped him relax. His body instinctively relaxed when in contact with her light and a little tiny bit of it seemed to absorb into his skin through his fingertips. As he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and removed his hand, her magic seemed to follow for a split second. He listened intently to the stories, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he processed all of the history that his Father had purposefully ignored. There were so many things that he was completely in the dark about. And for what? The former Human King, and many before him, had let the fear of what they did not understand take control and spark war and isolationism.

Now that Dominic was in power, even though there was a lot that was still unknown to him, it was his duty to not fear it.

As the ruins opened up into a massive cave, he took a deep breath. It was nice to be out of the bubble and back on more solid ground. As he looked around, his jaw dropped in amazement. The magical creatures and glowing crystals surrounding them were amazing. But, even more beautiful was the tree in front of them. After a moment of gawking he finally regained some awareness and noticed Flower kneeled in reverence beside him. He internally smacked himself for being so oblivious and quickly scrambled down to his knees in a similar position.

He honestly didn't fully understand the significance of the place, but if it was that important to Flower, it was important to him too.


Marco heaved a heavy sigh as Alicia pressed her head against his chest. Something about the pressure calmed him down ever so slightly and helped him focus. What even was he feeling anymore? There were so many worries flying through his head at once it was hard to nail just one down. He took a beat of silence to breathe and listen to what Alicia had to say, trying to place her advice in context of how he was feeling.

The problem was, even if he felt inclined to protect, he didn't entirely know if he was capable of controlling himself in a way where he could truly do that. In battle, he had become a killing machine. And with how uncomfortable he had been feeling in his own body recently, he was afraid of what he might be capable of if he snapped back into his warrior persona at the wrong time. What if he hurt someone? What if he hurt Flower? Or Dominic?

He was afraid of who he had become, and didn't know how to control who he was becoming. His emotions were a complex web of affection for the ones he was closest to, and fear of letting them get too close. And, unlike before where he was just antisocial and cranky, he had some good reasons.


Thea's jaw tensed at the mention of Draco's castle. That was the last place she would ever want to go. But, for the safety of her child, and for the slightest chance that she could get information that might protect him, she was willing to do anything. She would face Draco himself if she had to.

"I'll have to discuss this with Nick." She said, slowly standing up. Her pregnant belly did not make getting up from a seated position very easy. "If I can get him on board, we need to go as soon as possible."

As she turned to walk away and find Nick, she glanced back at Vicente and a rare smile flickered across her face. "Thank you." She said softly and went on her way. There was still a lot to worry about, but he had managed to calm her fears ever so slightly.

She headed back in the direction of the inn they had stayed in. If she didn't run into Nick along the way, she assumed he was still in their shared room. She was still worried about him. His demeanor was different, and it was obvious he was in a lot of distress. But, he wouldn't open up about it. He was repressing a lot of turmoil, and Thea was genuinely concerned about the moment it would boil over.


Mia walked beside Deathwish, taking his lead as they ventured to see Aisha. The kid was even more energetic than she recalled. It was honestly exhausting just watching her as she used Deathwish as her own personal jungle gym. But, she couldn't help but crack a smile at the peppy Inu burying her face in his hair.

"Don't worry about it." She said as an aside to Aisha's father. "He's used to a lot worse treatment." All she could think about was her training with him. Constantly cursing, screaming, and picking fights that she wouldn't win. Aisha's energy would be a good change of pace for her favorite 'stoic little s**t'.

As Aisha addressed her, she raised a skeptical eyebrow. 'Ms.'? That was a new one. "Good to see you too, Kid." She said and cocked her hip.

But, at the mention of Scarlet and Deathwish's little lion toy, what remained of Mia's usual tough exterior melted away.

She'd always suffered from what were more premonitions than nightmares, but they gave her a hard time sleeping all the same. And, worse, they tended to follow her into real life. She'd never had something that could ever protect her from them. As a kid, her parents tried everything. Toys, prayers, bed time stories. When she got older her friends would try to wake her up and could only sometimes succeed. Usually they had to sit with her until it passed or she woke up on her own. Having someone there when she woke up helped, but when they were gone and she was left alone, it took a while to figure out what was real, what was in her head, and what might be coming.

And then there was Deathwish. He was so controlled, he rarely let on that he struggled with his own curse. She made a mental note to talk to his mother about that lion the next time she saw her. It could bring an interesting reaction out of Deathwish that she'd love to see - hopefully a little hint of nostalgia or child-like innocence from him.

 

[The Writer]

Flower was praying in elfish when her magic swelled on its own accord. She gasped out as her eyes started to glow and hair whipped wildly. She felt the swell of magic as the magic surrounding the pool of water began reaching out to her.
Flower's magic swirled and encradled around Dominic as well. Flower was not in control of it.

"Hunter..." Flower spoke but her voice echoed strangely from her mouth.

Hunter wasn't sure what was happening but she suspected stopping it right now was not a good idea. This was ancient magic, and it could turn violent.

"Ease, Flower, be at ease," Hunter stated, not daring to touch her.

Suddenly Flower was alone. She looked around the cave as blood was everywhere. The creatures and birds were lying dead on the crystals and the grass was stained and wilting. She turned to see a figure covered in shadow behind her. It grabbed her by the throat as a smile shown vampiric fangs.

"How did you get here?" Eyes red as blood stared at her and the arm he was using shown all too familiar tatoos. Draco's curse.

"Draco?!" Flower gasped out for breath.

"Maybe."

No that voice wasn't draco. However, this feeling. This fear, it had to be Draco.

"I can't have you knowing just yet, Flowerbud."

Flower turned to look at the pool of magic suddenly she felt it screaming in agony as shadow and blood swirled in the once crystal water. Flower let out a scream as she felt the evil crawl up her body.
Flower fell to the ground and suddenly Hunter was gripping her shoulders.


While Flower had been stuck in the vision or perhaps taken to another time, the magic surrounded her and her eyes glowed. Suddenly her body started shaking in fear. Shadows leaked through her pure magic. These weren't just normal shadow magic, no this was evil, and it gripped her throat as if choking her.
Flower let out a scream and fell back before Hunter caught her.

"My Lady!" Hunter stated as she checked where she had seen the evil choking her. Her skin was bruised all around her neck.

"What happened?"

This was a pure place. There shouldn't be anything evil here.

"Blood all around..." Flower stated weakly. "Corrupting the pool."

"You had a vision?" Hunter blinked in surprise, but then again this is a high concentration of magic. If the magic awoke a dominant gene for visions she could have one. After all, the first queen had such a gift. Flower nodded before grunting in pain. Hunter touched her neck and quickly pulled back hissing in pain. The evil magic was still there. Maybe it was more than a vision? Something dark had access to her while she was seeing this, perhaps using the magic of the pool at the same time Flower was.

"I...think...it wants our help." Flower whined in pain. It hurt to talk.

"Perhaps." Hunter looked at the pool below the ancient tree. "This is a vision of the future?"

Flower had noticed one thing in the vision. Flower's name was engraved on the trunk of the ancient tree and looking at it now, it was not there. It looked old in the vision. A signal to herself perhaps. Flower reached out to the tree.

"My name, written on the tree. It's not there now. It was written in human."




Alicia could not help him much. He seemed too confused to even begin working on how to figure it all out. Alicia thought of the only thing she could do for him. She got up and hopped down off the bed, her massive wolf body rising far above the bed. This was no normal sized wolf and even among lycans, she would be considered large.

"Come, Pup. I have something to get your mind clear, at least for a while. Get dressed!" She barked out as she headed for the door to give him his much-needed privacy. Her pack was still in the town and perhaps a romp with a bunch of wolves might cheer him up and show him how a creature can have two sides and still be themselves. It was a full moon tonight, it was time for a pack hunt and she fully planned on letting him watch it.


She raised up on her back paws and managed to open the door. Years of practice even with the lack of thumbs in this form. The full moon was upon them and lycans found it much more comfortable to remain in this form. She felt the pull of the beast in her human form.

Deathwish turned to the father. "I will take your daughter now if you wish to head to your home. I made arrangements for you." Deathwish might have been under Draco's control for a long time in the human kingdom, but he still had connections there. Thankfully, his mother also helps. His reputation in the vampire community took a hit, and it might be a while before he reestablishes why he is still a vampire prince. He suspects many attempts on his life until things calm down more.

Her father seemed uneasy, but he nodded anyway. He knew while his instincts said not to let this dangerous creature take his pup, Deathwish was the only hope to save his daughter. He already watched his mate descend into madness, he cannot take watching his pup do the same. He heard stories about Deathwish whenever he lost control, but yet here Deathwish was living past a hundred years and still alive. That was unheard of with the Blood Coffin curse.

"Come, Aisha." Deathwish gently ushered the inu pup out the door. Her tail wagged endlessly behind her. Deathwish glanced at Mia. It was not often Deathwish talked about his youth. It was a painful time. He did not have the caring father that Aisha has. He knew Mia was hoping Aisha would be good for him, and deep down perhaps he hoped that too. Still, the shadow smirking at him in his peripheral vision stated otherwise. That shadow that was so close to choking him out yet so far to barely scratch at his consciousness.