Nova

[Fleckvieh]

Caine let out a loud howl, throwing his head back before he raced off, his paws thundering over the asphalt of Siam'han's streets, swiftly maneuvering around the mess of people, everyone of them trying to get out as quickly as possible.
While this was a disaster for most, it was a one-time chance for every Cainsson in here, minding that no one cared about taking them with them. Now was their chance to break free.

It didn't take long until a whole pack of giant wolves, surely about 30, were running beside and after Caine, all stopping collectively when he stopped and jumped on a shut down air taxi to look down at them.
"Brothers! Sisters!", He shouted to be heard by even the last of them. "Today we are facing a threat no one has ever encountered before; we all need to watch each other's backs; we need to work together. But today is not only the day we will unite the divided! Today- we will be free."

Silent agreement, mumbled by a few of them rose from the pack, but Caine knew that wasn't enough.
"Today is the day we will make a change! This is our time to rise from the fire we were thrown in to burn! So I'm asking you; will we ever be slaves again?!"
"No more!", The Pack shouted, Caine lifting his head. "What are we?!"
"We are free!"
"There you go...", Caine mumbled with a proud spark in his eyes. "When we left the city, head for the forest. Take your second chance to build up a life. Do not waste it. Now run!"

Like one single being, all wolves moved in unison; but not a single one dared to move past Caine.
"We will stay in the forest tonight, protected by my pack", Caine explained to Kate while running. "Don't be scared, okay Sunshine? I won't let anything hurt you."


Marceline didn't hesitate a second before she flew up and landed on Killian's broad shoulders, tightly yet careful not to hurt him holding on to his feathers with one hand, while her other hand gently stroked through them.

"Don't worry, we will be fine", she whispered to his ear and planted a small, soft kiss on his enormous head.
"Let's leave, quick. I believe Kieron is already waiting outside."


"Oh hello you!", Rogue chuckled with a happy smile, going to her heels to hold out her hand to the hellhound, giving him the opportunity to back off if he didn't want to be touched by her.
"He's incredibly cute", she chuckled; soon however she laughed out loud as Milano pushed her over with one wing, making a very serious face.
"Oh come on! Don't tell me you're jealous!", She laughed, gently ruffling his fur before she turned to Ryder again.

"Milano sometimes really is a big baby, but he's my best friend. Now, c'mon, your good tell me how your and Bobby met!"

 

[Wyosch]

Catherine was tightly holding onto Caine, resting her head on his shoulder so the wind wouldn't strike her too much.
She had no words for the mix of emotions she was feeling right now.
There was fear, just pure horror - but also a feeling of pride that made her grin like an idiot.

Katie had seen Caine change so incredibly much, and all that in just about two days, that it was still quite hard to believe that he had been such a wreck when Alma had freed him.
Although there surely was a better moment to tell the wolf her feelings, she felt that it was important to do so now.

"I'm proud of you. Look what you did - you saved all these Cainssons.", she whispered, gently running her fingers through his fur for a second before she held on again.
"And even though I'm scared as hell, I trust you and I trust you when you say we'll be fine."


Killian nodded as Marceline told him to leave, spreading his enormous wings and storming outside through the open window.
Just like the whisp had said, Kieron was waiting for them already.
"You ready?", he asked, moving his head around like a nervous chicken to make sure the darkness wasn't slowly creeping up on them.

"Kieron, I don't know what kind of powers you have so instead of one of us flying front, we'll fly next to each other.", the gryphon explained, nodding at the bird while he waited for the sign to start flying off.


While the puppy was excitedly wagging his tail and checking out the big neigh puppy - aka Milano - Ryder was smirking softly as he watched the two animals, turning to Rogue as she asked him about how he and Bobby had met.
"Well, my idea of changing laws concerning animal cruelty has its roots.", he started explaining, quickly ruffling the hellhound's fur.

"Two years ago I was walking down quite a dark alley when I heard some painful barking coming from the house next to me. As curious as I am, I went to check it out and found a little hellhound puppy, not even a few weeks old, being used as a toy in quite a painful way. These men were playing a game called 'electro-pup', which consisted in poking the puppy with electric bats, and the one who'd kill the puppy would lose."
Killian sighed silently, shaking his head.
"I bought him with all the money I had on me - which was quite a lot - and here we are now. As you probably know, hellhound dogs age extremely slow compared to other animals. They stay pups for about five years, so that explains why Bobby's still such a little one."

 

[Fleckvieh]

Caine was smiling softly as he heard Kate's voice near his ear, slightly turning his head to look at her from the corner of his eye.
"You have an interesting timing", he mumbled, raising one eyebrow before his confused expression softened.
"But I'm glad to hear it, of course."
Turning his head back forwards, he took in the scents all around to make sure nothing was off, and soon led the pack out of the city and into a nearby forest, where, after a long time of running, the wolves rested in a big cave with soft moss on the ground.
Sighing tiredly, Caine watched the pack, wolves resting or talking or exploring the cave.

Just then, a little pup ran up to him and looked up at him with big eyes.
"Alpha...?", He whispered, clearly ashamed. "I-... I'm scared..."
"Awh...", Caine mumbled softly, laying down on the ground so the little one wouldn't have to look up so much. "I'm not-... You don't have to be scared, little one... I'll make sure everyone will be fine."
"But... But being scared is being weak..."
Caine frowned softly at that, shaking his head. "No, being scared is normal. And sometimes, when we are scared, we just need someone to comfort us. That's perfectly fine, kid. Come here. Try to sleep a bit..."
The little pup looked up at him for a while longer before he cuddled against Caine and buried his face into his fur. "I can't sleep...", He whispered, clearly close to crying. Caine sighed softly. "do you think you can sleep if I sing you a lullaby?", He mumbled softly, the pup nodding.
Caine just sighed silently before he looked at Kate with a kind of nervous expression and lastly sang a soft lullaby for the little one, his singing voice completely different from how one would have expected. the little pup immediately fell asleep at his chest,Caine smiling softly as he gently ruffled his fur with his nose before he smirked awkwardly at Kate. "Not a word", he mumbled, chuckling softly; clearly not meaning it.


Kieron took a whole while to even notice that Killian had been talking to him- or was even there at all, for that matter.
All he could focus on was the spreading pitch black cloud on the horizon, the pair of dangerously glistening silver eyes shining through it numbing even the very last inch of his body.
How could he ever fight her? How could he fight his own mother, no matter if she was even still there?
Was it possible that the darkness had already swallowed her whole?

"Kieron!!"
Marceline's trenchant call of his name pulled the boy out of his dark thoughts and he stared at the two with big eyes for a couple of seconds before he finally nodded and took off.
But the darkness was closing in.
"Come on!", He shouted. "hit me with your best shot!"
And that was just what the darkness did. A massive shadow claw emerged from it, ready to seat the giant bird from the sky like a fly; but when it almost hit him, it suddenly stopped, all motion gone as if it was merely a picture hanging in a wall, Kieron groaning.
"Quick, let's fly! I don't know how long I can hold her in this time loop, she's much more powerful than me!"


"I'm glad you saved him", Rogue just said simply, nodding while she carefully stroked over Bobby's back.
It honestly reminded her of one of the worst and best moments in her life, and she really didn't know if this was the right time to share it, but she figured since they were telling each other about their companions-?

"It actually was the very contrary with Milano and me", she explained after a moment of silence, lifting the skirt of her long dress to reveal a pair of blade runners.
"The portal I went through was instable, and- well, basically a rock of the size of a house fell onto me. If it hadn't been for Milano noticing the movement of the rocks and pulling me away in the last second, I wouldn't have just lost my legs ..but my life as well. It was the luckiest coincidence of my life."

 

[Wyosch]

Catherine had climbed off of Caine's back once they had arrived at the cave, and was now just smiling idiotically at the Cainsson.
"Maybe you could just sing the darkness to sleep?", she joked, letting out a silent giggle, that however didn't last long and she immediately went back to just staring outside.

She was glad that they were save and that they had been able to save quite some Cainssons too, but it didn't mean that she didn't have to wreck her brain of sorrow.
They had been extremely lucky. A minute later and they would've fallen victim to the Darkness.
Everyone would have been hurt.

And Kate just couldn't help but worry that something happened to Kieron, Killian or Marceline, maybe even Alma, and she especially couldn't stop worrying about what could've happened to Caine.
What if he had been hurt? Kidnapped?
Worse?
There was so much to worry about, and she honestly didn't feel as if she was capable of handling her worries.


Killian was watching the scene with big eyes, acting swiftly and pulling the bird along, his eyes gaining a reddish color as he seemed to be concentrating himself on something quite difficult.
And actually, he was.
While Kieron was trying his best to hold the darkness in a time loop, Killian could contact and enter her mind, playing one of his most evil tricks:
fear manipulation.

The man was able to sense and manipulate the dread, fear, horror and terror, of not only himself, but people, animals and other creatures too, whether by increasing, decreasing, causing or otherwise channeling fear, even manifesting the emotional energy to physical level. He could even cause others to fear even the most harmless of things to the point of becoming catatonic.
With the darkness in a catatonic state of pure fear, Kieron, Marceline and himself would have more time to get to safety - especially after Kieron's time loop would be broken.

"We should be safe for now, but we gotta move - come on!"


Ryder held his breath as Rogue showed him her prosthetics, even the puppy was making a sad face as if he knew to stop being happy and excited.
"I'm incredibly sorry to hear that happened to you.", he admitted, a sincere and hurt tone in his voice - which was quite unusual for a pirate.
"Though I'm glad you only lost your legs, no matter how harsh that may sound. Rather lose legs than one's life."

The man smiled sadly, not sure what to say, thus staying silent for quite a while.
"Now I wish I would somehow be missing a limb too so we could share our heartfelt stories together and laugh about missing legs or arms or whatever... as I just don't really know what to say because I don't want to somehow offend you or make you feel as if I'll treat you differently now."

 

[Fleckvieh]

Caine was seeing straight through Katie's cheeky comment; he could feel she was scared, scared as hell, and he felt horrible knowing that she was everything but alright.
"Abigor", he called a black wolf over, who immediately came, looking up at Caine with a pair of shining yellow eyes. "Yes?"
"Please keep an eye on the pack for me for a while, and if Benny wakes up, make sure be won't be alone. I have to talk to Kate for a moment."
The black wolf nodded, and Caine turned humanoid to gently take Katie's hand and lead her out of the cave, through the forest until they had reached a beautiful little clearing with a random lamppost just standing there like a lost child in a mall.

"I figured a bit of privacy would do you good", he mumbled, gently stroking over her arms while he looked down at Kate with pure love in his eyes, just pulling her into a tight hug to comfort her. "Kate?", He whispered, looking deep into her eyes. "It's okay. You can let it all out, I'm here for you, Sunshine. I love you."


Kieron just nodded, racing after Killian and Marceline before he looked back at the darkness once more.
His own mother was lost somewhere inside that... Thing, and he couldn't do anything about it. He could even barely remember her face, and it made him feel so guilty and helpless...

Marceline was meanwhile keeping ready to shoot whatever would attack them with a massive fireball, before a horrible pain shot down her left shoulder.
She screamed up in pain for just a second, smiting the shadow minion with her hottest fire before she slumped down on Kilian's back, her teeth clenched as she suppressed any more painful noises.
"Don't worry, I'm okay-"
Killian had to focus now...


Rogue blinked surprised at Ryder's earnest sympathy.
That was unusual for a pirate, really unusual, and especially in his case she would have rather expected a funny comment about kangaroos or something.
"I'm kinda surprised", she admitted. "I have always imagined you as more of a... Charming asshole, I guess."

Shrugging, she smiled at him for a moment before she smirked smugly. "Well we could reminisce over lost blood", she suggested laughing and winked at him, before turning a bit more serious.
"Look, as I see it, misfortune is not about the curses we bear but the power we give them over us. So I don't let any of this get me down, because really, there's nothing to be down about. I can still walk, run, jump- even far more effectively. That's happened over twelve years ago, it's dead and gone and passed, so don't wreck your pretty head over it, Tiger."

 

[Wyosch]

As soon as Caine held her in his arms and told her it was okay to let everything out, Catherine pressed her head into his chest, tears gathering in her sparkling blue eyes.
She felt safe in the man's arms, but still she felt like a child having to survive in the big, bad world.
It was only a matter of seconds today. They were extremely lucky. What if next time they wouldn't be?

"You could've gotten hurt.", Kate whimpered, digging her fingers into Caine's sides as if she wanted to make sure he was indeed here and not hurt.
She was the psychiatrist. She should know how to deal with situations like these. She helped people, told them what to do to and gave them tips on what to try when they were down, panicking or whatever.
She was the psychiatrist, and should be able to help herself - but she wasn't.

"What if next time Alma doesn't warn us on time? What if you get hurt? What if you- what if you d-", Catherine just shook her head, tightening her hug to steady herself.
"I don't know what to do, I'm so scared... I'm so scared-"


At the moment of Marceline letting out a scream in pain, the gryphon closed his eyes, everything going dark.
Thoughts, his breath, all fibers in his body...
Dark.
Not that he wanted to hurt Marceline, no, not at all - there was only pure hatred in his heart reserved for the shadow monster.

"Get her to safety.", Killian growled at Kieron, his voice sounding rather rough and demonic - yet as he picked up Marceline from his back with his paws, he made sure to be extra gentle, laying her down on Kieron's back with utmost care.
"If she gets hurt, you'll be next."
The gryphon looked at Marceline with his big, by now entirely black eyes, letting out a silent purring sound before he turned back to the big bird.
"I'll be right behind, just making sure that thing won't follow, let alone hurt us."

His voice was clearly indicating that he was pissed off, but not only pure rage was radiating from him.
There was sorrow, worry concerning the well-being of Kieron and Marceline - mainly the latter - wanting them to be safe no matter what.
Killian was not gone, the darkness hadn't devoured him like it was usual with Dark Ones.
It seemed as if they were working together to get the two into safety, rather than fighting each other like usually.

"What are you waiting for? Go!"


"Well perhaps there's more to me than just the charming asshole you mistook me as.", Ryder replied, winking, watching Rogue for a moment before he turned to pet the Pegasus stallion.
She wasn't like other criminals he had met. First of all she didn't smell like death, trash and rat poison, but rather like flowers - and horse.
She also had a way better vocabulary than most, which made it possible to talk to her - and honestly admitting, it was fun talking to her.

"Well that was philosophical.", the pirate joked, smiling softly at the woman's explanation of how she felt regarding her prosthetics.
"I'm glad you don't let it bring you down. As long as you can still do everything you could before, there's no need to be sad about it."

 

[Fleckvieh]

"-died?", Caine silently finished Kate's sentence, sadly shaking his head as he sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree, Kate on his lap.
He sighed softly while a shiver ran down his back; if Kate hadn't agreed to help Nova in the first place, he would have been dead already yesterday.

He honestly didn't know what to say right now.
'i won't die?' possible, but just as possible that he would.
'dont cry?' no, definitely not.
So instead of saying something idiotic, he just frowned sadly and tightened his hug, cuddling against Kate as if it was their last hug, their last time showing each other their love.
Because honestly- who knew if it was?

"It's okay...", He whispered softly, burying his face into her soft hair. "Cry, it's okay, I'm here...I'm here..."
But there had to be a way to give Kate a bit of her hope back!
He attempted a courageous smile as he looked down into her eyes. "Katie, listen. As soon as we found someone who has the ability to foresee the future, nothing like this will happen again. Just hold on a bit longer... Just a bit, okay Sunshine?"


"Killian!", Marceline shouted fearfully when she saw him turning dark, but didn't take off Kieron's back, clinging to his feathers instead.
"Marceline, stay here!", The boy growled warningly while he looked over his shoulder, at first at the whisp, then at Killian.

"But-" but lastly she gave in and sighed fearfully, shaking her head. "Killian..."
She was watching him with big eyes, as if she was pleading him not to control.
After a couple of risky twists and turns to slip through the jungle of skyscrapers, Kieron was finally flying over a forest.
"Twenty minutes till Ajolos Harbor is visible on the horizon!", He announced.


Rouge smirked softly at what Ryder told her, nodding intently when he said that there was nothing to regret if she was still able to do everything.
"Exactly that", she said smirking, before she loaded bags over bags of money and valuable possessions out of her trailer and into her cottage.

Just then, her phone rang and she picked up.
"Mr.Dorian, how sweet to hear of you sir. How can I help you today?"
Covering the speaker, she winked at Ryder. "Idiot with money", she commented, before nodding at what the man on the other end told her. "To think your wife might be cheating on you? Wait, let me get my Crystal ball."
But she didn't. Instead, Rogue just sat down on the edge of the well in front of her cottage and mumbled something not quite understandable in Latin before she spoke on. "Mr.Dorian, the stars are telling me that your wife is faithful to you till the end." Covering the speaker once more, she raised one eyebrow at Ryder and shook her eyes. "So cheating!"
Before he went back to talking. "No problem sir, I'm always happy to help you. Bye bye."
After she had hug up,she chuckled silently. "He's paying me to spy on his wife- and his wife is paying me to cover her and her little flings. How easy people are fooled when yo ujsut tell them what they want to hear. Friggin idiots alltogether."

 

[Wyosch]

Catherine was just leaning her head back onto Caine's chest, looking like a depressed puppy with her big, sad eyes.
She knew death was a part of life, but she had already lost so many people - how would she get over another loss? How could she ever not hurt if something were to happen to Caine?
She just had never been so scared of losing someone than she was now, and honestly the thought of being so scared frightened her even more.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you.", she whispered, wiping some tears off her face before she turned around to look at him with a soft frown on her face.
"And what if we don't find someone able to do so? What if they won't warn us on time? What if during the time of not having someone like that the darkness attacks again?"


(Killian is doing a fighty-fight and will be back after your next reply:p)


Ryder was listening to Rogue talk on the phone with his eyebrows raised, a disgusted expression on his face as she told him about what the issue was.
"I really don't get it. Why don't people just leave their partners when they're not in love with them anymore instead of cheating on them? Just have that decency to spare others of going through the pain of seeing a loved one cheat.", he replied, shaking his head. "My dad cheated on my mother, left her heartbroken. She was so hurt by it that she threw herself overboard, and then me and my brother had to go live with that cheating ass bastard."

The pirate just stared in front of him for a moment, a frown on his face - letting out an awkward chuckle as he had noticed that he wasn't saying anything anymore.
"You of course can earn quite some money with stupid customers like that.", he mumbled, nodding slowly.
"Can you really look into the future or are you just pretending to to earn money? Not that it's bad to pretend to be a taret reader when you're actually not."

 

[Fleckvieh]

"Katie", Caine said calmly, softly stroking his thumb over her cheek and looking deep into her eyes, the expression in his deep green eyes soft and loving.
"I'm not a psychatrist like you, but even I know that thinking of so many 'what ifs' is not healthy for you", he whispered.

He just gently lifted her chin up and carefully poked her nosetip with his finger.
"No matter what this war will hold, no matter what will happen- you and I, we can do everything. Try to breathe, Sunshine, I'm right here for you... I will always be here for you, always. Nothing will stop us, okay Love?"


Okay


Rogue bit her lip while she listened to Ryder, and lastly figured that it probably would be the best to drop that topic for now.
So instead of saying anything about cheating, she just went back into her trailer and got a deck of very old, worn down tarot cards.
With a smirk, she loosened a hook on the side of her trailer so a post of one wall could be folded down into a table. Then she also got a simple wooden stool and sat down, mixing the cards.
"Let me show you my specialty", she mumbled, c c focusing, while the outlines on her cards suddenly started to glow in a radiant emerald green.

And then she lay, five cards in a circle, and as soon as the fifth touched the table, the same green glow formed a pentagram between them, the cards as corners.
She looked at the cards for a couple of seconds before her blue eye gained the same green glow and she stilled completely, not moving a single fiber of her body while her voice had gained a distant singsong tone.

"I can see the devil in your past... Destruction.
Death is closing in. It's just around the corner. The end. Change.
The hanged man will follow you and bring the need to surrender and get a new perspective, so the Tower can fulfill its mean of Letting go. They are upside down. It will be hard, but the reward will be The star to bring you Hope and calm..."
She took a deep breath.
"Your past held pain and destruction for you, but soon a big change will be brought into your life, that will hold the chance of a whole new perspective, by people you don't know yet. It holds big chances for you, but letting it happen and surrendering will be hard for you. The reward however will be more than you would ever dream of if you let it happen."
Rogue swiped the cards out of their own, as the glow and pentagram disappeared together with her green eye color.
"I can also read the stars and Crystal balls."

 

[Wyosch]

Catherine looked up into Caine's eyes with a trusting sparkling in her own, nodding at his soothing words.
"Okay.", she whimpered, taking some deep breaths to calm down while cuddling against the Cainsson tightly.
"I trust you.", she replied, smiling lovingly at the man before she gave him a quick kiss.

"Thank you for listening to me, Caine. And for calming me down without telling me to calm down.", Kate mumbled into his chest, drawing some circles on his skin with her finger, just glad to be here in his arms, both unharmed and well.
"Do you think the others are fine too?"


(Are Marceline and Kieron already in Aiolos' Harbor or still on their way?)


Ryder was staring at Rogue with big eyes, a confused yet amazed expression on his face. He was flabbergasted, that was the correct word to describe his current state of emotion.
While he never truly believed in all this future-reading-stuff, the green lights and strange echo-like voice were a nice touch.

"I actually have no words, mostly because I didn't understand most of the message - like who's the hanged man? - but eh... that was a special and creepy event in my life which I'm sure to be having nightmares about for the rest of my life.", the pirate replied, laughing , obviously joking - or wasn't he? - tilting his head to the side at the woman with a curious smile.
"So what's the difference between reading cards, stars and chrystal bowls? And can you only look into the future, ot the past as well?"

 

[Fleckvieh]

Caine just smiled reassuringly at Kate before she gave him that quick kiss and he just smirked lovingly.
"Oh come on, we can do better than that!", He chuckled lovingly and pulled her into a soft, long kiss, gently running his fingers through her soft hair.

"And, yes, I do believe that the others will be okay. They have my brother with them after all! He will protect them."
Smiling lovingly, Caine missed her hand like a gentleman and smirked softly once more.
"Didn't you say you're old-fashioned about relationships?", He whispered, making a step back to take a slight bow, one hand outstretched to Katie, a soft grin on his face. "What? Your little brother taught me how to dance. Hmh? My hand is getting heavy, lady."


[I'd say Ajolos Harbor, but do as you please ]


Rogue laughed at Killian's joke about having nightmares about that, before she raised one eyebrow at him and leaned against the makeshift table behind her, snotting up at the pirate.
"The hanged man is a symbol. It stands for change and a new perspective", she explained.
"The thing is, when other people lay tarot cards, is just coincidence what cards will appear, but I am what my people, Gypsies, call a Verita. Every Verita is bound to one unique set of their own instruments for future telling. For example I couldn't do this without someone else's cards. They are a direct extension of our precognitive ability, like... Another set of eyes."

Out of the trailer, she got a beautiful, shimmering Crystal ball that looked like a giant Pearl.
"Here."
She rested hey left hand on top of it, and soon, black shapes appeared on the ball, like letters over letters in an unknown language, written with ink.
"Before there is peace, blood will spill blood and the sky will run black for the one to die and the other to rise, and the lost to find and be found."
Rogue shrugged.
"The difference is mainly that tarot cards focus on the person I focus on when laying the pattern, Crystal balls focus on more general events and stars give visions and headaches."

 

[Wyosch]

Catherine looked at Caine with big eyes, awkwardly letting out a soft giggle while she grabbed his hand and pulled herself up.
She felt like a teenage girl that was crushing on some popstar - honestly Caine was like a popstar to her, a hero actually.
Kate smiled softly at him, wrapping her arms around his neck to give him another deep kiss, winking.

"So my brother taught you how to dance?", she asked, playfully raising an eyebrow.
"Well show me what you got, handsome."


Bruised.
Wounded.
Bleeding.
Alive.

Even though Killian was hurt, he was alive, and his entire body was screaming to fly faster to get to Marceline.
He still wasn't entirely sure what had happened.
He went dark, but not entirely, only partly. Just enough to be strong enough to fight off the darkness for a while so the others could bring themselves into safety.
And exactly that thought was what was confusing the hell out of Killian.

Why would his dark gene appear only to protect?
It didn't make any sense.
Nothing like that had ever happened to any other Dark One before, and Killian would know as he had read every book written about or by Dark Ones.

The man would have enough time to think about all that after he'd found Marceline and Kieron and made sure they were both alright.
While his wings were tired, barely able to keep him in the air, the gryphon did everything to make them flap as fast as possible -
arriving at Aiolos' Harbor in no time.


Ryder nodded at Rogue's explanations, trying to understand every little detail, but it was honestly a little too much for him to remember now. There were so many different things that were important, and especially for someone who didn't have any of those abilities it was difficult to both understand and remember it all.
"I have to admit that I always thought you gypsies and future-tellers were scamming everyone, but now I've seen what you do - well let's just say I believe you now."

The pirate winked, smiling softly.
"It's quite fascinating what you're able to do with just a few cards and a chrystal bowl.", he explained, turning his head to look at the chrystal bowl a little better.
"So how does this work? You just touch it and letters appear?", he asked, curiously tilting his head.
"Would letters appear if for example I'd touch it?"

 

[Fleckvieh]

Caine smirked awkwardly at Kate, clearly regretting what he had just suggested.
What the hell had he been thinking?!
It had been about seven years since Kieron has taught him how to dance and he had never done it ever since!
Stupid!

With a nervous smile, he moved into a graceful slow dance... Or, well, graceful was what it was supposed to be. "Bear with me, I'm rusty", he chuckled helplessly just before he stepped on Kate's foot- by accident, of course.
"I'm beastly sorry", he mumbled blushing, staring at their feet to avoid another accident. "I've never been especially good to begin with, and now that it has been years since Kieron has taught me, well-"


"Killian!!", Marceline screamed with tears in her eyes-... Okay, all over her face- before she jumped off Kieron's back as soon as she saw Killian arriving. The last couple of minutes she had been resting on the bird's warm back, trying to suppress the horrible pain she was going through right now. But her fear for Killian had been even worse.

She slumped down on the ground when she jumped off Kieron's back, got up, fell again after a couple of steps and for up once more to run into his arms.
"I was so scared I would lose you...", she whispered, Kieron watching in the background with big, pitiful eyes, his eyes focused on the whisp's back... Where her left wing was sliced open by two long cuts, probably from the attack of the shadow creature.

"You are wounded!", Marceline gasped sorrowfully, her own pain forgotten. "Come, we need to find a place to stay and patch you up."


Rogue raised one eyebrow, a small smirk on her face while she slightly shook her head.
"Don't trust all of us now, tough. Most really are pretenders, I mean, it's not like Verita is a common ability. But a tip- those who have this ability, have two different eye colors; heterochromia is a kind of side effect of the gene that holds this ability."

At his other question, she grinned evil and slightly shook her head, smirking softly. "In your hands it would be nothing but a decorative item to put on your shelf. Absolutely nothing would happen. But you could probably learn to catch a tiny glimpse of the near future if you trained a bit. Thing is, real working Crystal balls are incredibly rare, and, well, since Verita and their ball are connected, we aren't usually comfortable with pople touching them; you could as well just go ahead and touch the my eye ball it's about the same feeling."

 

[Wyosch]

Catherine didn't mind Caine not knowing how to dance perfectly, after all she probably knew less about it than him, minding nobody had ever taught her how to dance.
And even though her foot would probably turn blue because he'd stepped on it, she just kept smiling lovingly, following his lead.

"Stop apologizing for everything, sweetie.", Kate whispered, shushing him with a soft peck on his lips.
"I don't care if you dance like a professional or like someone who's never danced before - I only care about you wanting to dance with me, and that's what's most important.", she explained, happily leaning her head against his shoulder, taking in his wonderful scent and warmth, sighing contently.
"I love you."


Killian smiled tiredly at Marceline, wrapping his arms around the whisp's waist and just pulling her into a tight hug.
"You won't have to be afraid of losing me. It'll take more than a little darkness to take me down.", he replied, nodding at her.
Even though he was hurt badly, his face bruised and bleeding, his body looking even worse, all of his pain had vanished the moment he'd held Marceline in his arms.

"I'm sorry I just took off, I went dark - I think - and I wanted you to be safe...", the man explained, making some big puppy eyes before he looked at Kieron.
"And I'm sorry I yelled at you. And threatened to hurt you, that of course wasn't true, I mean I wouldn't want to hurt anyone- just, yeah sorry."

Killian flashed a soft smile at the young man, turning back to Marceline with a loving gaze.
"Are you okay though? You yelled out in pain. Not hurt?", he asked sorrowfully, inspecting every inch of her small body - silencing as he saw her wing.
"You're wounded-", he mumbled sadly, just staring at the cuts on her wing with big eyes, totally forgetting about his own wounds.
"We need to fix this. Now. Kieron, you said you know quite some people - do you by coincidence know anyone here at the harbor who could help Marceline?"


"I didn't say I'd trust everybody now. I actually meant only you.", Ryder explained, winking, a soft smirk on his face.
"But thanks for the tipp. I actually wanted to ask you if your ability had anything to do with your two different eye colors. Not that I mind it, I think it's special - really pretty. Was just curious."

The pirate raised his eyebrow at her explanation of the chrystal bowl, making a weird face as she mentioned touching her eyeball.
"No thanks, I'd rather not do that.", he replied, chuckling.
"Though now I'm wondering, I know there's plenty of peeps who have one of those chrystal bowls at home - how do they get those then if they're connected to the Verita?"

 

[Fleckvieh]

Caine smiled softly at Kate, softly running his fingers through her hair for a moment before he pulled her a bit closer, into a soft kiss.
"I love you too", he whispered happily.

How was it even possible that Kate, this amazing, strong and sweet woman loved him? From all the people she could have...he was the one she chose.
Even though he didn't understand, he certainly was thankful.
For just everything she did for him and the world she barely knew.

"You do know...", He mumbled silently "If you hadn't agreed to help Alma save Nova, I would be dead now. Alma wouldn't have gone to Siam'han at first, she would have gone to Cer Paravel. And I would have been executed back there because there would have been no Alma to... His I hate that word... Buy me from those guards. I owe you my life, in more than just one way. Just, thank you. For everything."


Kieron and Marceline exchanged a sceptical look for a moment, before the whisp stayed silent and gently started to wipe the blood off Killian's face and Kieron got a phone out of his pocket after he shifted back, holding up one finger while he was dialing.

"Morrigan? Hi, it's Kieron. ... Yes,that Kieron. ... No problem, it's not like a hand grenade could hurt me. Listen, I need your help, asap. Where can I find you? ... Jesus, Morrigan! Would I ever ask you for help if it wasn't serious?! Put those friggin cards down, you bad-as-shit gambler and move your ass into your practise! ... God dammit he has four aces, you are going to lose. ... There is a bird on the window sill behind him. Hi. ... Finally. Be right there."

Rolling his eyes, Kieron hung up again and rubbed his temples for a moment, breathing deeply. "Morrigan Templar. He's the best doc northward from Siam'han but a horrible gambler. I got him to open his practise for us though. Just follow me.", He explained, waving his hand to show the others to follow him down the road he was heading for, past numerous docks with air ships of all kinds and sizes. "keep your eyes open at all times, guys, these streets are full of pickpockets and scammers."


Rogue just looked at Ryder for a long time, her face completely expressionless as if she was awaiting that he'd realize the stupidity of his last question.
But apparently, he didn't.
"Tiger it's not like nothing gets ever faked. Money, watches, cars, good performance in bed-... Well and of course Crystal balls, too."

She raised one eyebrow at him for a moment, but then smirked playfully, resting her fists against his bare abs- minding that she had ripped his shirt apart- and looking up at him.
"Do you want a shirt or will I have the pleasure of seeing these for a bit longer, handsome? Though you might want to get rid of all the blood. Shower is behind the house."

 

[Wyosch]

Catherine smiled softly at Caine, gently running her fingers through his soft hair, a loving sparkling in her eyes.
"If I hadn't agreed to help Alma, lots of things wouldn't have happened, and other things would've happened instead.", she replied, shifting her gaze down to the floor.
"You would've been executed... Killian would've very probably taken his life in a matter of a couple of days - psychiatrist, I sense stuff like that - and I do believe that Kieron would've gotten to an end himself too, one just as unpleasant as Killian. Alma and Marceline would've probably went to look for someone else to help them, and I would very probably have lasted less than another year."

There was an expression of pure embarrassment on her face as she looked back up at Caine, smiling painfully.
"I know, it's pretty ironic right? One of the world's best psychiatrists, suicidal? Sounds like the beginning of a good joke...", she admitted, sighing.
"Let's just appreciate that I'm a great person and agreed to help.", she joked, winking, a loving smile appearing on her face.
"And let's just say there's this special Cainsson who made me want to live again."


Killian let out a sigh of relief as Kieron explained that they'd be heading to one of the best doctors, smiling hopefully at Marceline.
That man would help fix her wing, and if not Killian would make him.

The Dark One stretched his neck, frowning painfully, shifting back into his gryphon form - giving a better look as to how defeated he actually was. There were feathers missing from his wings, plucks of fur missing, wounds all over the place that looked as if he had been stabbed, deep cuts on both his chest and neck, and of course more bruises than he could count.
Nobody would dare tell him that he hadn't given his all to protect Marceline and Kieron, they'd just have to take a look at his state of health.

"I doubt anyone will dare to try and pickpocket or scam a seven feet tall, black gryphon - knowing black gryphons are Dark Ones.", Killian replied, just nodding at Kieron before he turned to Marceline.
"Want to walk or sit on my back?", he asked silently, bending down so she could easily climb him if she wanted to.
"And I have to apologize to you... hadn't I told you to sit on my back instead of flying yourself, it wouldn't have been you with the broken wing, but me."


"Yeah but I meant like real ones. There surely are criminals who steal one and then sell it on the black market, no?", Ryder countered, raising an eyebrow. "I wonder how much a gypsy would pay to get her chrystal bowl back... eh, not meaning I'd want to steal one, no no."

He just smirked awkwardly, the awkwardness fading as Rogue put her fists against his abs.
"Have the pleasure of seeing my abs or tats?", he asked, playfully raising an eyebrow at her before he gently pushed her back and got up from the bed to go take a shower.
"Well if you'd have a shirt that'd fit me, I'd gladly take it, if not I'll keep walking around like this, but you just gotta try not to drool too much then."
The pirate winked, a cheeky grin on his face as he walked out of the small cottage, making his way to the back to find the shower.

It'd been quite some time since he had last taken a luxury shower like this, thus the thought of it made him quite happy.
He threw off the rest of his clothes, stepping into the shower and letting the cold water pour onto his bare skin, letting out a happy sigh.
"Not everyone's as bad as I thought.", he mumbled silently to himself, quite proud of himself to be finally trusting somebody without having to fear of being stabbed in the back - also literally.

 

[Fleckvieh]

"rather a bad joke...", Cain mumbled silently while he slightly tightened his hug around Kate's waist, as if he was afraid that she'd run away to take her life any second.
The little hairs on the back of his neck were standing up, his pupils narrow- clearly in worry, even afraid.

But when Kate said that a special Cainsson had made her want to live again, he relaxed a bit again, smiling lovingly as he bent down to kiss her deeply, lifting her up in a tight embrace, his muscular arms holding her steady and tight, like a rock in a stormy ocean.
"I really hope so, Kate. I don't ever want to be without you again..."


"Shut up, Killian!", Marceline said with big eyes, tears still brimming her lashes.
"If you had been the one with the broken wing you wouldn't have been able to fly and no one of us would have been able to catch you! In far too small and Kieron would have had to release the darkness out of his time loop! You would have died!"

She grabbed his beak with both hands, pulling him down and staring into his eyes, her pupils growing bigger and bigger until her Iris was barely visible anymore.
"You would have died! What would I do if you died?! What would I do?!"
She scoffed angrily before she turned around and followed Kieron through the alleys of Ajolos Harbor, her uninjured right wing twitching angrily.


With a lopsided smirk, rogue watched Ryder walk away towards the shower behind the cottage, before she went inside to find him a shirt- much to her dismay.
Most Gypsies lived and travelled in groups, small families of just a few persons up to large groups.
But Rogue had always been a loner, mainly because she had trust issues. The better it felt to finally have some company she felt she could turn her back to without being stabbed.

Since Ryder was showering right now, she figured she could change too, as her dress was equally splattered with his blood.
So after a couple of minutes she came back out in some simple, black sports shorts and a white T-shirt, carrying a light blue t shirt and a towel for Ryder.

Leaning against the wall next to the shower, she knocked against the wooden door. "Got a towel and a shirt for you here. And to answer your other questions- you can't steal from someone who sees you coming."

 

[Wyosch]

Catherine looked up at Caine with big eyes, smiling softly.
"Do I look like someone who'd take their own life to you?", she asked, gently running her finger over his soft cheek, pulling him down into a deep kiss.
"Why would I want to leave my life and everything with it behind me when I have someone as amazing as you?"

Katie's voice and expression were full of love and affection, smiling as if she had just seen a ray of sunshine for the first time, everything to show him that she was serious.
"Trust me when I say that I've never wanted to live as badly as I do right now. All thanks to you."


Killian watched Marceline stomp off with a confused expression, sadly lowering his head, hanging his ears down and making sad, puppy eyes while he just slowly followed her.
He didn't understand why she was mad at him for him not wanting her to be hurt. Wasn't it good that he cared for her well-being?

The gryphon looked miserable.
Not only because of what he looked like and because of the limping, but because of the defeated expression on his big face.
And honestly, he felt miserable, too.
He'd been so happy to have protected Marceline and to have made it back to her in one piece, wanting nothing more than to hold her tightly - but instead of that, she was mad at him, and he had no clue why.

Maybe he was just stupid, maybe he'd misunderstood her, but he did know that only the thought of her being angry with him made him feel like a small child that was about to cry.
"M-marceline...?", he whispered as he had caught up on her, carefully poking her shoulder with his beak, lowering his head that much that she'd stand above him - him being submissive.
"Why are you mad at me?", he asked, his voice sounding extremely down, yet confused as well.
"I- I don't know but if you would tell me I could try to make it up to you... that is, if you don't hate me too much already...?"


"Thank you, milady.", Ryder called out to Rogue as she mentioned having brought him a shirt and a towel - which he had totally forgotten to even think about - quickly finishing his shower so he could get himself ready and clothed.
He slowly opened the door, sticking out his head, water dripping off of his hair all over the place, grabbing the towel out of Rogue's hands with a soft smirk.
"Thank you-", he said, closing the door again - murmuring a soft melody before he stepped out of the shower, clothed of course, handing the woman the wet towel, only to take it out of her hands again once he had put on the shirt.

"Thanks again, for letting me use your shower, bringing me a towel and a shirt - oh and for saving my life of course.", the pirate mumbled, winking, using the towel to try and dry his hair a tad more so it wouldn't drip on the fresh shirt too much.
"I can see you changed your clothing too. Nice shorts."

 

[Fleckvieh]

"I know, I just-... I don't want to lose you, you know? Happens when you fall in love."
Sighing happily, Caine took Kate's hands, smirking lovingly at the sight of her tiny hands almost disappearing in his.
She was just everything.
She was beautiful, loving, caring, incredibly brave, open...

"You know what?", He whispered with a soft grin, gently stroking some hair behind Kate's ear to kiss her shoulder.
"When this is over, we'll find us a nice place to live, build our own little house and just enjoy life. And I'll make a romantic dinner for two for us... You'll see, you and I, we can do everything."


Marceline sighed silently and closed her eyes for a moment before a small tear ran down her cheek and she reached out to hug Kilian's enormous head, burying her face into his feathers.
"I'm angry because i-... I'm scared... I could have lost you there, I mean, look at you! What would I do if I lost you, Killian? How could I carry on without you? I-"

She hesitated, lastly just shook her head and cuddled against him tightly, sighing sadly while she carefully stroked through the feathers on his head.
"You are very important to me... And seeing you this hurt, it hurts me too. And I could never hate you, you dumbass... Now would you please shift back and give me a hug!?"


"Yeah well I'm not always in full Gypsy stylem it's mainly for scamming idiots on the streets."
Rogue grinned stupidly as a wet Ryder came out of the shower, biting her bottom lip while she watched him put on the shirt she had brought him.
For fucks sake, that guy was plain hot.
And to be honest- it made him ever hotter that he knew that he was handsome.
She had always liked a good, but not exaggerated portion of self-esteem.

"No problem, Tiger", she said smirking, one eyebrow raised while she obviously enjoyed staring at him- without even trying to hide it.
She just approached and lifted the hem of his shirt up to the middle of his body.
"Chill, I just wanna make sure your wound is still intact", she explained, and carefully ran her fingers over the black skin.
"Looks okay, but we should keep an eye on it to make sure you won't catch an infection. And if it starts hurting too much, tell me and I'll make you some pain killer."

 

[Wyosch]

"I understand, but you really don't have to worry about it.", Catherine repeated once more, smiling lovingly at him while she tightened her hug, gently pressing herself against his chest.
Her eyes widened happily as Caine told her they'd built themselves an own house and just enjoy life, getting a warm and fuzzy feeling.

"Have a pretty house with a beautiful garden... spend all our time together... start a family...", Katie whispered dreamily, letting out a happy sigh as she cuddled against him tightly, smiling lovingly while imagining how perfect their future together would be.


Killian's eyes widened as he saw Marceline in tears, not able to believe that she was so incredibly worried about him.
She wasn't mad because he wanted to protect her, she was mad because she could've lost him!
Now it all made sense to him... kinda. Although he still couldn't really understand why she would care so much about him, he did know that he couldn't stand seeing her this scared just because of worry for his well-being.

He shifted human again, a soft smile on his face as he spread his arms, pulling the whisp into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry that you're so scared because of me, I definitely don't want that... I just wanted to protect you, and now seeing you hurt - it makes me sad, and angry at myself.", he admitted, sighing silently.
"I- I just want you to be safe and now you're hurt... because of me."
Killian let out another sigh, gently kissing Marceline's forehead, running his fingers through her hair as he stared deep into her eyes.
"And yeah, I might be bruised and wounded, but you'll need a lot more than that to take me out.", he explained, winking, pulling her closer into a deep kiss.
"Light can't exist without darkness, and there can be no darkness if there is no light."


Ryder just watched Rogue check up on his wound with a curious expression, nodding as she told him that she'd make him a painkiller would the wound start hurting.
"Will it stay like that?", he asked, motioning towards the wound.
"I mean will it say that crispy black?"
The man let out an akward chuckle, shaking his head.
"Let's just say I don't know a lot about wounds and whatever. Frankly I believe this is the first time I was really hurt."

The pirate frowned thoughtfully for a moment, just shaking his head afterwards and looking back at Rogue with a soft smirk.
"So, what do you want to do now? Start planning our big kidnapping-move?"

 

[Fleckvieh]

"-a family?", Caine repeated baffled, his eyes wide as he looked down at Kate with a soft blush on his face.
Never had he thought that she was that serious about him, especially after such a short time, but he certainly felt honored that Kate considered him worthy of such a future. Most male Cainssons never even met their kids as they usually were taken away right after the female's pregnancy was confirmed. Did he really have such a different future jsut waiting for him?

"I- wow- I feel honored", he mumbled softly and gently kissed Katie's forehead.
"I promise I will do everything to ensure you a perfect life", Caine whispered lovingly. "And- and I will do my very best to be good for- ... For our family..."


"Just- don't do that to me again, forcing me to leave while you are risking your life...", Marceline whispered sadly and buried her face into Kilian's firm, warm chest.
"We are a team, we are in this together! Okay?"

Kieron's voice broke the silence as he stopped in front of a tatty, black wooden door.
He knocked, then pushed it open without waiting for an answer and led the others up some equally worn down corkscrew stairs. Nothing but a few drippy candles lit the grubby place, but as soon as they had arrived upstairs, a top modern, squeaky clean practice unfolded in front of them, and an artwork of a man, his breathtaking, Pearl green eyes shining through a few streaks of ravenous black hair that had fallen out of his swept back hairstyle. His muscular but not bulky arms moved into a spread, welcoming the three.
"Kieron, good to see you again! Who are your friends?"
"Killian and Marceline. She's the one with the injury. Morrigan, you are my only hope, honestly. Her wings is torn."
The man frowned sorrowfully, looking beautifully concerned as he watched Marceline closely. "Come here miss, let me see that...", He mumbled, Marceline nodding and sitting down on the stretcher in the middle of the room, legs dangling over the edge while her wings lay there limply.
Carefully running his fingers over her wings, Morrigan was still frowning.
"I have to admit I have never seen wings like this before, miss. They are too broad for fairy wings and too soon for whisps... Also too fractured for mountain elves... May I ask what exactly you are?"
"I'm a whisp", Marceline explained silently, her eyes locked to the floor. "But I developed the m-gene during my mother's pregnancy, probably because she was taking drugs. My father was also partly ghoul, I believe, that might have influenced my wings as well."
"Well, I have good and bad news...", Morrigan mumbled. "Since you are not entirely whisp and carry the m-gene, your wings will very probably heal or at least get better. But, since you are a whisp, it will take very long until your wings is fully functional again, months, probably, and you might suffer permanent injury such as pain, numbness and instable flight. Fact is, I've never seen wings like yours, so I can only guess from what I've seen with similar ones."


"You'll probably keep a hard, dark scar there, but that's about it", Rogue explained , laughing up afterwards.
"You must be quite a weasel, constantly slipping through their nets and avoiding any bigger wounds", she chuckled. "I honestly lost count of how often I've already been stabbed, shot, poisoned-... In fact I once accidentally poisoned myself when I scratched a mosquito bite open. My nail polish is stretched with rattlesnake poison."

Smirking devilishly at Ryder, she just shook her head when he suggested working on their kidnapping plan.
"The best plans are made late at night", she chuckled. "For now, I was planning to make dinner. Want some too? I was planning for spare ribs and hot wedges. You in? Oh and of course you can stay here as long as you want. We'll just have to arrange with my single bedroom somehow..."

 

[Wyosch]

[short reply bc of what I wrote you on whatsapp]


Catherine smiled lovingly at Caine, gently kissing his cheek while cuddling against him tightly.
"You're so sweet.", she whispered, sighing contently as she stared deep into his beautiful green eyes.
"I know you will do your very best. And honestly I just can't wait to have our own pretty little cottage..."


Killian had been walking around the room like a nervous dog, stopping every few seconds to glance at the doctor before he walked on again.
At the man's comment about Marceline's wings, Killian half stormed to the stretcher, shaking his head.
"But her wing- you can't fix it?", he asked, looking at Marceline with big, guilty puppy eyes.
"It'll take months until her wing is healed, and she might even then still be in pain when moving it?", the Dark One repeated the doctor's words, shaking his head.
"I'm so sorry...", he whispered to Marceline, his eyes glittering from tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes.
It was his fault that Marceline was hurt.
It was all his fault...


"Or maybe they just can't shoot properly.", Ryder replied, chuckling.
"I mean when you look at how some of them hold a sword - makes me cringe."
The pirate smirked softly, glancing at his sword for a moment before he turned to look back at Rogue.
"If you want I can show you once how to get away from those idiots without being shot or wounded in any other way. It's actually quite easy."

He nodded excitedly as the woman mentioned making dinner.
"Oh I'm starving! Haven't had a proper meal in ages. Can I help somehow?", he asked, just shaking his head as she talked about her one-person bedroom.
"You're too kind, really, but don't worry about that. I could just sleep in your trailer, if you'd be alright with that."

 

[Fleckvieh]

"And I could build a playground outside!", Caine added with a wide grin, by now totally into the future that was waiting for them... Well at least if they'd both survive, mind you.
"And, ohh, if we'd build our bedroom right below the roof I could make a sort of flap that opens at the press of a button or so and reveals the night sky!"
Smiling lovingly, Caine leaned his forehead against Kate's, his eyes closed for a moment before he looked down into Kate's with pure love in his gaze.

"You really want a future with me, hm? Wow... But, I just... There's one thing I decided long ago, and I will not change my mind about- I'm not going to have kids in a world that will treat them like it treated me. Before I'm willing to start a family, things about my kind have to change drastically. I want them to have the life I had no chance to have. Go to school, make friends... Have a childhood. As long as having children will mean to have them suffering as I did... I'm rather staying childless. I hope you understand, Sunshine.I mean, who would want such a life for their kids, right?"
However soon enough a soft, slightly awkward smile appeared on Caine's face again. "In fact, heh... There's another thing I swore myself long ago- I'd wait. I'd wait until I found the one I'd get imprinted on, or die never having done it. Quite outdated, I know, but I didn't want waste that one special time to someone who wouldn't be the one..."


Marceline just wanted to shout at the doc to fucking do something about her wings when Killian suddenly stormed to her side and almost started crying.
The switch in her mind instantly flipped from desperately aggressive to loving and worried, causing her to just carefully cup Killian's face, looking deep into his eyes while her thumbs stroked over his cheeks.

"Shhh, Killian, it's okay...", she whispered lovingly. "I'm fine, I'll get this fixed. Let's just go."
She hopped off the stretcher and headed for the door, turning to killian and Kieron at the staircase.
"You guys coming? We have to find a hotel or something."
While Marceline was already on her way downstairs, Kieron just gave Killian a worried look. "Either she's badass or she's denying...", He mumbled, scratching his neck before he shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know man, I have a bad vibe..."


Rogue nodded at Ryder's suggestion to sleep in her trailer, smirking softly. "Sure, I'll just have to change the sheepskin; you bled on it."
Grinning, she rolled at eyes at him however when she thought about his offer to show her how to escape.
"My problem isn't that I don't know how to escape but that I mostly rather pick a fight than run", she chuckled. "When I run they can catch and arrest me, but when I fight they'll have to kill me before they can get me. They will never take me alive again, that's what I swore myself. It was hell, and one time is enough for a lifetime. Rather die from my own poison one day than rot in a cell."

Shrugging, she motioned towards the cottage, now a much less serious expression on her face.
If you want you could already marinade the ribs and put them in the oven. And, if you don't mind, while the ribs and wedges ate baking, you could tell me a bit more about yourself. To be honest I'm quite curious about you, and not just because you are a legend amongst outcasts like us. You in?"

 

[Wyosch]

Catherine just looked up at Caine with a loving expression on her face, smiling as if she had never smiled before, her eyes glittering from tears that were appearing in the corners of her eyes.
"You really are the one.", she just whispered, staring at the Cainsson with an expression that said more than a billion words.
If it were possible, her eyes would've turned into hearts by now, and rays of light would be shining out of her body. She felt like the sun, she felt like her, complete, happy.

"Guess I'm not the only one who's old-fashioned.", Kate replied, just winking at him before she continued cuddling against her boyfriend.
She was happy. She was so happy and she didn't know how to handle all that happiness at once. She just wanted to scream out, let the entire world know how incredibly happy she was with this man.
It was something she had never thought to be possible.
Yet, here she was, just so happy with her life that she wanted to squeal and scream and shout because of it.

"I love the way you talk.", Katie mumbled, sighing contently while she grabbed his big hand to intertwine their fingers.
"I love your voice. It's so soothing. Makes me feel at home. You make me feel at home. Safe. Loved."
The woman let out a silent giggle, looking up at the man to kiss his cheek, just smiling happily at him.
"And I promise that I'll do anything it takes to change the Cainsson laws, even if I'll have to kill someone for it.", she explained, nodding determined, giving Caine's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Can I just repeat once more how amazing you are? Because, like really, you just are amazing."


Killian watched Marceline walk off with a sorrowful expression on his face, nodding at Kieron's words.
There was definitely something wrong with her, and he'd do anything to make her feel better again.
Though he'd first have to take care of that crappy ass doctor.

The Dark One turned around to the doctor with an expression in his eyes that would be able to kill anyone who'd dare to look at him, faking a soft smile.
"Doctor...", he started, putting his hand on the man's shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze.
"If you don't find a way to fix my girl's wing, her wing won't be the only thing that'll need fixing.", Killian growled, his eyes turning black for a second, tightening the grip on the doctor's shoulder to show that he wasn't kidding - before he let go, smiling softly as he waved the doc goodbye.
"Toodles!"

Killian caught up to Marceline on the stairs, immediately grabbing her hand to pull her into a tight hug.
"Are you okay?", he asked, sounding extremely different than how he had sounded talking to the doctor. His voice wasn't rough and threatening anymore, but soft, sorrowful, caring - sweet, even.
"You stormed off like that... I'm worried about you.", he admitted, softly giving her a kiss on her forehead, staring deep into her sparkling eyes with a loving gaze.
"I... talked to the doc and he'd be stupid not to pull all strings to find a cure for your wing. You'll be fine."


"So practically you're saying that you're not fast enough to out-run them?", Ryder replied, sheepishly raising an eyebrow at Rogue while letting out a chuckle.
"I get your way of thinking. Rather go down with a fight than flee and 'lose your honor', hmm? Obviously you don't want to get caught, who would - but isn't it a tad dramatic to fight to your death because you don't want to run? Yeah alright, when fighting and you win, you're free to go, when fighting and you lose, you die and don't have to go to prison. But wouldn't running be, say a not-so-dramatic, solution? Just kidding, just kidding. But I'm really intrigued to know your how. I always thought better run because I'm too fast to get caught than make a stupid mistake while fighting and end up seriously hurt, dead or in a prison cell.", he replied, by now seriously interested in how she thought about the matter.

As Rogue mentioned that he could start marinating the ribs, he nodded, letting out an awkward chuckle.
"I have never marinated ribs before, let alone cooked, so this couldn't turn out the way you want it to.", he admitted, winking.
Ryder raised an eyebrow as she mentioned being curious about him, letting out a silent scoff.
"Well ask away, what do you want to know about me?"

 

[Fleckvieh]

Caine just blinked a couple of time, completely baffled by Kate's reaction.
Sure, of course he had known there would be some sort of reaction to what he had just admitted- all in all that he had been waiting all his life for her and that he thought she was the one- but he would have never expected that someone would be that happy about being loved by him.
Him!
Just a lost Cainsson, an outcast in a world that saw a wild, dangerous animal.
And honestly, there was a wild animal in him, an animal that, if cornered, wouldn't hesitate to go for the heart.
But still Kate saw him as a person.
He just hoped that she understood that he was no human. That, behind the halfway humanoid facade, he was a giant, 6ft tall, intelligent wolf with the ability to appear as a human- not the other way round.

When Kate said that he made her feel loved, he smiled lovingly, gently placing a kiss on Kate's neck.
"Well that's probably because I love you", he mumbled to her ear, a soft smirk on his face.
"Though I think violence is just the wrong way there", Caine continued. "They act how they do because the law was built on fear from our ancestors- werewolves. And then they forced us to fight each other viciously, what just confirmed their suspicions. If we just had a chance to talk to them face to face and show them that we are nothing like the species we evolved from, they would finally see that we aren't more dangerous than anyone else, but how should we get them to agree on a meeting? That's where I see the problem, we are stuck, and I have no idea how to get things moving again- at least in a positive direction..."


"I-..." Marceline just buried her face into Killian's chest, her eyes closed as she just stayed there, motionless, barely breathing.
For a whisp, a torn or broken wing meant that they would never fly again. Their wings never healed, but in most cases they were never injured either, because they could adapt themselves to each and every circumstances, even the most vicious ones.
But hers couldn't.
Her wings were as fragile as the ones of a butterfly, and all that thanks to her God forsaken mother.

If it wasn't for Killian holding her, she would have teleported right to her mother to tell her she would never forgive her.
For not being there when she had needed her the most.
For screwing her up before she was even born.
For being too weak, loving her too little to not give in to her addiction to protect her unborn child.
She'd let her know that she hated her and she'd tell her that they would never meet again. For good.

Looking up at him, bitterness and love equally written in her gaze, she stood up on her tip toes to kiss him softly, bathing in his presence.
"As long as you are there I'm coming clear", she whispered. "In a way, I'm glad it broke my wing and not you. I'd rather lose my wings than my man."


Rogue slightly shook her head, looking at Ryder for a long, long time until she bowed her head and sighed shuddering.
"It's not about honor, Ryder...", She whispered.
Gulping, she pulled her hair away from her neck, revealing a bunch of round scars, like stabs from thick nails, all around her neck, and a deep, definitely not professionally done tattoo right on the back of her neck, saying
134
Bowen, Celia
Barrack B
5/5 Oracle

Most people of Nova,at least from the central regions, had no idea what the scars and the badly done tattoo meant, but those who had been to the southern regions sometime knew-
"When the borders were shut, we were save from the humans... But their word has spread, and in the south, groups of witch hunters rose. They would take witches away and keep them in dungeons, leashed on collars with spikes on the inside so we wouldn't try anything.
They caught me when I ran from them, and ever since, when I run from someone, it just clicks at some point and I feel the spikes digging into my flesh again, feel the collar cutting into my skin and strangling me... And then I usually can't breathe anymore and black out cold."

Sighing silently, she lifted her shoulders. "You see, it's not like I wouldn't want to run... I just can't."
Trying to change the topic, she forced a smile at Ryder, however still kind of hugging herself. "I don't know, I mean, how come you don't have a crew? I heard you're a pirate, or, well, used to be one."