Fantasy The Dying World Beneath (IC)

[Pinconious]

He sat there pondering the Question for a minute, "I honestly don't know, I've never met another vampire that has a heartbeat without having some kind of magic present"

Richard suddenly wondered if that was what was giving him a heartbeat, was he tapping into an unknown reserve of it? Something that shouldn't be possible for the undead, at least not on that kind of level that he was aware of, then again he had heard that the older the vampire the more powerful then tended to be. Something that now made him wonder how old he actually was. He kind of laughed to himself at the thought of being thousands of years old without knowing it. It was something that seemed impossible, at least for him anyway, but then could it be possible to lose your entire life? Had he been asleep all those years? Was it just simple memory loss? 'Doubtful' He thought to himself. If he was some kind of ancient vampire he would have thought someone who was known to be thousands of years old would have noticed him by now.

 

[Halexia]

Xander chuckled, he couldn't help himself the thought of witches controlling vampires was something he found hilarious "you guys are too powerful to allow a witch to be able to control your abilities" everything he knew about vampires had told him this, if a witch had tried to control a vampire the vampire in question could just bite her breaking the magical hold on themselves, but then again stranger things had been known to happen in the underground, however no matter how much he tried to imagine it, in his head the vampire always ended up on top

 

[Pinconious]

"oh god the thought of a witch trying to control a vampire is just...messy" He laughed at the idea.

He could just see it now, a vampire just wondering about minding their own business when BAM! Suddenly from the shadows a small old lady shows up throwing potions and casting spells, using everything she had at her disposal to try and control said vampire. All the while though the vampire is just standing there, looking the woman up and down trying to figure out in his head what it was she was trying to do. He would just stand there one eyebrow raised, a hand in his pocket and another scratching his forehead hoping for some bright idea to come to him before just shrugging it off and walking away now covered in what could only be the most horrendous smell in existence.

 

[Halexia]

"my thoughts exactly" Xander said now almost falling off his chair laughing as a few different scenarios ran through is mind "it would be hilarious to watch though!"

 

[Pinconious]

"it is something I feel as if we should try" Rick mentally walked through the city to see if he could find a witch stupid enough to try it

 

[Halexia]

"why would you want to try?" once again xanders curiosity peaked, concern for his friend, concern for the witch... he wasnt sure he just had a feeling this was gonna end in disaster for one or the other

 

[Pinconious]

"Why not try? I mean it would cure my boredom" Rick was enjoying Xanders company but he was still bored enough that he was interested in causing a little mischief. ,"You don't need to worry about me, I can handle myself" He Grinned.

Rick was starting to get a little hungry for blood, seeing as he hadn't had any for about a week it wasn't surprising. He licked his lips at the thought of blood. Witches weren't the best tasting things in the world but he was sure there was worse, in fact he knew there was worse, drug addicts and alcoholics were the ones that tasted the worst. It was a good thing however that he didn't need blood as often as most vampires do as he could survive on normal food for a while before he started to go insane with vampiric hunger.

 

[Verdas]

A sigh of relief escaped Visuria's viridian lips, which turned into a wide smile, after she realised that the miracle spell worked. However, a look of confusion soon took it's place as she heard yet another new term. Right as she opened her mouth to ask yet another question (which would no doubt be followed by a series of naïve yet lewd questions regarding the birds and the trees), Yseri asked that there be no more questions. It was worrying to see how uncomfortable the faun looked, but perhaps that was understandable, she thought, which meant that she most likely completely misunderstood and misinterpreted the entire situation. "A-alright. A-a-and... Erm... I-I'm glad you didn't d-die." She said, quietly, flashing Yseri a small smile.

The vorux once had a charming little friend by the name of 'Ribbit,' who helped take care of pesky insects in exchange for the shelter and camouflage she provided. It was a symbiotic relationship, and was sure to last until the frog decided it was time to tread new waters, but it's life came to an abrupt end when the plant girl unwittingly crushed it with one of her vines whilst hunting. Hence why she was so concerned for the faun's wellbeing, as she did not wish to lose yet another friend. Fortunately, the only thing she may have crushed here was Yseri's pride.

The mention of roast hog would have, under normal circumstances, earned her undivided attention and made her mouth water, but she was now quite stuffed. It still sounded appetising, but her stomach threatened to burst like flowers in Spring. "I'm f-full." She stated, tapping her belly, though the meat would be digested in no time. Her venus flytrap, on the other hand, suddenly got hungry after she felt the faun's warmth. "A-ah... My v-venus flytrap's s-salivating. I-it must be h-hungry again." She said with a perfectly straight face. She saw nothing wrong with what she just said, and knew nothing of the perverted faun's plans.

DergTheDergon

 

[Rustic]

As Xaira moved onto the question that had been posed back at her, Naomi delicately leaned in a little closer, just as taken with watching her partner's subtle mannerisms as the beginning of the night. Maybe a little more under the wine, if she was honest, but just as well. In any event, she had noticed the way her partner had grinned, but once she really began to speak of her experience, it only really dawned on Naomi why. However, she maintained to keep herself even, at the unexpected response. Not that she had a problem with it - and Xaira had said as much earlier - but it's so quick and such a... novel thing to say. In a literal sense, as it read like a romantic novel, and that was surprisingly endearing. She's already charmed, too, so she really can't help but giggle profusely at her thrown in comment, holding her mouth in front of her mouth as if to act as if she'd been somehow scandalized by such a statement. It was obvious though, just from her non-serious demeanor, that Naomi found it flattering. She'd never really suffered a burnout of that sort herself - just like humans never got tired or bored with the idea of eating - but she found the idea of it fascinating, divorced from mere tropes. And what it might 'be like' once they actually... 'rolled in the hay' together, themselves? It was rather exciting to think about.

Just as well, she strived to keep herself focused as she listened in on her companion's other interests. Which wasn't too hard, considering everything she listed off. All of it was almost enough to make her head spin. Strong, charming, and creative? Her date was a Renaissance man then, so to speak. The whole package. She'd always heard that participants in so many trades rarely were good at any of them, but that seemed already untrue from what she'd seen. She'd love to find out for herself, though. And of all the things she'd love to test, dancing was maybe top among them. Of what she'd listed, it was maybe the only thing she also knew had to do as well. Singing too, technically, but she did not find it to be an especially stimulating hobby, especially when it was more rare to find lilin who weren't good at it. But, noticing her partner had finished her reply, it was about time to weigh in on it all aloud.

"It certainly seems that way!" she remarked playfully, smiling earnestly. Creatures with such long lifespans usually found themselves pursuing many talents, but it still managed to wow her, anyway. A hard act to follow, certainly. But that wasn't what was immediately on her mind, following all of that.

"There was this time, where I had decided to stop eating cherries for awhile..." she began, trying to think of a potentially apt way to relate to what she'd said earlier. She had wanted to be clever about how she was trying to relate to Xaira's sentiment, but as the picture of someone actually eating a cherry came to mind and what cherries generally meant followed suit, she touched one of her hands lightly to her cheek, her mouth closing awfully tight. "This metaphor has already gone terribly awry," she admittedly shortly, quietly, but obviously amused with herself. She shook her head, trying to keep herself from just breaking out from laughing, before reluctantly going on.

"'Things you wait for are better', I've thought, was what I was probably getting at," she finished, eyes looking away for a moment as she let the extent of it all just wash over her. "You can see why I'm not one for performance," she laughed, putting her hand back down on the table with an exaggeratedly deep breath.

"Still, dancing?" she asked, eventually changing the subject inquisitively. "We should sometime." Not right now, she hoped, as that would require her to stand up and test how much wine she'd had against what she'd ate. Considering that, even in only the approximates she had, the winner there was obvious, it wasn't a bet she was ready to take on just yet. "It's hard for even me to believe, but I like it too," she added. It usually occurred in front of many people and required her putting herself out there, but still, it was fun. With the right partner. As she'd already confirmed, that seemed like Xaira for her.

Still, after they'd had their fun, a more serious question appeared. She buckled down to answer it right, letting the question sit for a moment to give herself time to assume a more serious tone. "It's... not something I've thought a lot about," she eventually confessed, the slow and thoughtful way the words stumbled from her mouth a a clear show of her sincerity. "It's not something we do," she elaborated, seeming somewhat stumped. Not because of the idea that she would ever be asked - it was reasonable enough, especially coming from another woman of a species who also did not participate in the 'expected' way of it. However, it is something she had not prepared herself to answer, as she sort of slowly became aware that she honestly had not expected to get to this point in actuality. Maybe she'd entertained the thought in getting herself ready for the Gala, but had she actually thought it'd come up? Not really, it seemed. Procreation had seemed more of one side of a coin, with the other holding actual, geniune love. She hadn't put a lot of thought into considering one potentially becoming the byproduct of another. Not even going into how lilin were even 'raised' normally.

"I'm not averse to it." she finally said, seeming to come into the decision for herself, too. "I think I might like it." She gave a soft smile, breaking her serious looking tone with a new, more open one.

"I'd be willing to try," she said, nodding resolutely. "I've always liked kids. It's... viable, too." Not thinking too deeply about the rigmarole the two of them would face as two women of two malagined races trying to either adopt or have kids for a moment, it was, at least, a possibility. "But, you'd probably have to deal with me having no instinct at all for it," she included, half-jokingly. She chuckled a little, but, she looked at Xaira with the same seriousness she had started with. She meant it, honestly. She wanted to try. She wanted to try a lot of things with her, but, this very much among them. Naomi could tell it meant a lot to her partner, and, she could feel an honest desire to provide that to her. Even if it would be challenging.

DergTheDergon

 

[PanOtterPus]

Gabe tilted his head as Fifer seemed to storm ahead, straight for her usual driving position in the car. He decided he'd perhaps ask her about this later, climbing into the front passengers seat beside her. He then sat with his companions in relative silence, Chase doing his usual acrobatics in the back, preparing himself for the mission to come.

Upon their arrival, Gabe noticed what Fifer had pointed out - People. And a lot of them. Fifer found a nifty spot to place the car, climbing out and fetching Gabe's gun for him. Unusual. "Thanks." He smiled at her, unsure why she'd collect his weapon for him - especially after this morning's incident - but he shrugged it off as her being nice and began to prepare his weapons, attaching them to his body, but keeping them hidden from civilian eyes.

He listened to Fifer's instructions carefully, nodding along in agreement. "Sounds good, Boss." He winked at her, giving her the fitting nickname. "Careful? Aren't we always?" He mocked. Gabe knew perfectly well that their last mission - while injury free - was a little less than careful. And then they were off, heading into the belly of the beast. Gods only knew what their afternoon had in store for them and Gabe for one couldn't wait to find out. The silence of the deserted streets didn't escape him - it only made his trigger finger all the more eager.
DergTheDergon Rustic Verdas

 

[PanOtterPus]

"The moon?" Orthrus thought on it a moment. Then he simply nodded. "Probably the single most enchanting thing I've ever seen up there." He knew about it's magical and supernatural effects and that it was one of the most powerful game changers in the world above. "Sure the sun is bright, it gives light and life. But the moon? The moon gives magic." His face twisted into a beautifully unnatural smile, coming from him. Orthrus knew many things about the world up there, and he loved that Tyra seemed to be just as interested in it.

Halexia

 

[Verdas]

Clasping her hands in happiness, and with visible excitement, Durendal's former doubt had all but vanished. Aeryn's behaviour and the existence of actual manners had completely caught her off guard, but then again, this was the same dark elf that was attending a formal event. "Wonderful!" She exclaimed upon Aeryn's confirmation. "So I hath not erred. Thou art truly a dark elf, although thou dost not act like one." She stated rather bluntly, though she had no intention of putting the dark elf in an equally dark mood. An arrow in the knee was not something she wished for, as she already had her work cut out for her guarding her users' hands.

PanOtterPus

 

[Verdas]

Much to her chagrin, the eyeball-obsessed psycho known as Caroline discovered that this team would no longer let her get her butterfingers on any guns, not even the shotgun (though this was forgivable as it was Gabriel who took the spot). It irked her to see two-face sitting next to her dear Gabe, even though she shouldn't be much competition considering her face. In an attempt to keep her mind off of Burny Notsanders, she began polishing her large collection of sharp stuff. Might as well give the monsters a clean death. As she did this, however, she couldn't help but to steal glances at the acrobat beside her. She was quite flexible (), sure, but she doubted she could keep up with the other psycho in the carvantruckwhateverIforgotlol.

Watching Chase stretch was suprisingly entertaining, and kept her occupied for the majority of the drive. It helped that he wasn't such a bad looker either, if a bit eccentric. Then again, so was every individual in the vehicle. 'Cute, and with nice eyes to boot...' She found herself thinking, but shook her head to clear such thoughts away. Finally tearing her eyes away from her fellow sharp stuff enthusiast, she took a look outside the window to discover that there were quite a number of civilians, ordinary people with no idea about the monsters that lived around them. The idea of fighting the supernatural in an area with lots of civilians did not bother her one bit. Quite the contrary, in fact, as she felt excited at the prospect.

Her excitement was quickly ended by the sound of Fifer's voice, who seemed to seemed to have taken the leader position for herself. It was refreshing to see someone cut straight to the chase, but the 'someone' in this case had peeved her quite a bit over the course o one morning. She had a feeling that the 'boss' was just trying to keep Gabriel for herself, but she would confront her later. For now, the fur-coat-with-legs took priority. Giving Chase an enthusiastic peace sign back, she also gave Gabriel a not-so-subtle wink just to tick two-face off. "Woohoo! Now let's go catch ourself the big bad wolf! And Gabe, stay safe, will ya?" Now, it was time to get serious. Or at least, as serious as a psychopath could possibly get.

DergTheDergon Rustic PanOtterPus

 

[DergTheDergon]

This conversation had wholly taken hold of Xaira, making her feel utterly absorbed in the moment, a deep and soothing sensation of warmth within her chest as Naomi leaned in closer and her Draconic date reciprocated the gesture. Clearly, the Lilin across from Xaira was just as absorbed in this conversation as she, evidenced by everything from her body language, to the look in her eyes, to the clear focus and attentiveness plain on her face. Now, it may have been due partly to the wine, but the way Xaira saw it, intoxication simply brings out your true colors. No real “changes” in personality occur. As such, it was very comforting to see that the more wine Naomi drank, and the more she showed signs of intoxication, the more she also engaged in the conversation, leaning forward and listening with clear, deliberate interest. Her giggle was contagious after the flirty comment Xaira tossed into her spiel about that particular former ‘hobby’ of hers, her heart warming simultaneously as she took in Naomi’s reaction. After a few moments of this, however, she was somehow able to recompose herself and continue on, seeming to impress her. Naomi was being awfully transparent at the moment. Perhaps it was the wine. Xaira found it cute, either way.


At Naomi’s initial response, Xaira Smiled widely, proud that her date was impressed by her many hobbies. As she’d stated, she wasn’t adept at them all, however, the long lifespan and faster-working mind of a dragon (compared to a human’ mind) did wonders for allowing one to pursue many hobbies. Xaira couldn’t help but giggle a bit, hand clasped over here mouth, as she heard the Lilin speak of ‘eating cherries.’ She knew that Naomi hadn’t meant what it sounded like, however it was clear by now that they both were rather intoxicated as Xaira attempted to stifle her childish giggle and Naomi realised all too late what she’d said. When she admitted that her metaphor had gone quite awry indeed, Xaira uncovered her lips and pulled them into a mischievous smirk. “Awww, it would’ve been more fun if you never realized,” she said teasingly.


As Naomi successfully recovered from her embarrassing comment with a far less dangerously ambiguous statement, Xaira nodded with a sweet smile. “Agreed,” she replied, licking her lips and smirking. She had a feeling, considering how things are going, that the two of them wouldn’t end up waiting much longer to enjoy in each other in that way, but Naomi’s sentiment was still very much appreciated. Giggling and nodding along with Naomi’s self-deprecating quip, she then smiled warmly at Naomi’s sentiment of trying dancing. “We definitely ought to, yes. But maybe when we’ve both had a little less to drink.” Her grin then dropped as she assumed a neutral expression, anxiously awaiting Naomi’s next answer. At first, Xiara understandable felt disheartened, fighting not to show it as her anxiety grew. Then, she smiled warmly back at her, feeling warmth spreading throughout. Beautiful, kind, talented, willing to be open and frank and appreciative of the same, seemingly unbothered by Xaira’s obligation to be away from home often, among other things, and and willing to start a family with her to boot? It was clear that Xaira had found a treasure trove in this woman worth far more than all the gold in the world to her. “I’m really glad you’re open to it,” Xaira said. “And don’t worry about it, you’re such a kind soul I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful m-”


Xaira was unable to finished her sentence when suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of loud, startled screams and commotion. ‘What the-” Xaira stood from her seat, scanning the room alertly, and her eyes widened. Across the room, a guard lay unconscious before a wide-open door, streams of figures hiding their faces with various robes and masks poured in. On the other side, the same scene occurred. Without warning, the mages among them began to cast powerful sleep spells on throngs of mingling guests, whilst the others began to run in, charging at throngs of patrons while brandishing various weapons. The robes these figures wore looked very familiar to Xaira. Without thinking, she left into action. “Hey, naoi, how good are ya in a fight/” She asked, whilst glaring at the robed figures pouring in, flexing her hands and unsheathing her claws. “They’re P.O.W., those fools that wish things still worked like in old times. They’re probably ‘protesting’ promotion of cross-species relations. Wanna teach them a lesson?” She grinned, charging in a moment or two later despite naomi’s answer. She didn’t seem shaken up by this as much as ready for a fight. Yet, Xaira was always ready for a fight.
---
Yseri found herself smiling back up at Vesuria, her gaze very calming despite the Vorux herself having caused Yseri’s previous unconcious state. The clearly worried look in Vesuria’s eyes as Yseri explained to the plant-girl that her questions had made the Faun very uncomfortable warmed her heart. The viridian beauty so easily conceded sating her ravenous curiosity for Yseri’s wellbeing that the faun found herself unable to be upset with her, her smile widening as she replied in a sweet, gentle voice that flowed naturally from her lips at this moment. “Thank you, Vesuria.. I appreciate it greatly. And don’t worry, we fauns are quite resilient: I won’t be leaving this plane for quite a while now, I assure you. If things pan out my way, I won’t leave your side for quite a while yet either.” Smiling some more, Yseri helped herself up and willed herself to ignore the stares all around her as she regained composure, very slowly indeed, yet surely. The faun found herself simultaneously guilty of her own thoughts moments earlier, however. Despite wanting to protect her innocence, she wanted just as much to take it away.


However, that guilt was quickly overcome by yet more of its opposing feeling; namely, a desire that was only heightened by Vesuria’s planty nature, right after Vesuria expressed she was full whilst held close by the faun. As she referred to her “venus flytrap” in such a way, Yseri’s face, having luckily calmed down from their previous reddened state, immediately became red as a sunburnt fire imp, were such a thing even possible, as her own “venus flytrap” experienced similar moistening to that of her Viridian companion’s. “O-oh deer, Vesuria…” she said, feeling eyes on her and Vesuria yet again. It was at this moment that she realized: if she wanted to bond deeply with Vesuria and stay bonded for quite some time, and she certainly did, Yseri would have to stomach near-constant embarrassment. Strangely, thinking that gave her peace of mind. Vesuria was so kinda that she seemed all but incapable of hurting a fly. Well, admittedly that is a very contradictory analogy to use considering her carnivorous nature, but the fact of the matter was, Yseri realized in this moment that all she’d have to deal with of an unpleasant nature was embarrassment wit Vesuria, in all likelihood anyway, and even then she could be taught, although it may take a while, all of the embarrassing terms she ended up uttering, and equally embarrassing actions. These thoughts, coupled with her growing excitement in the “venus flytrap” region, powered the faun through her next words.


“V-vesuria, I will… educate you on why that is occurring later. For now though, u-um-” Thankfully, Yseri wouldn’t have to find words to say right now, as it was at this moment that the figures in robes attacked. “O-oh, deer,” she said worriedly, shaking. A moment later, however, she felt filled with the need to do something. “V-Vesuria deer, wish to help me knock some sense into these rough rousers?” Not realizing that she had called Vesuria ‘deer’, Yseri hurriedly grabbed her staff nearby and began to cast a mass sleep spell of her own, one she’d practiced just for this sort of occasion. It would target specifically the P.O.W. members. The only drawback was, it would take several minutes to cast. “Try to keep them away from me,” she instructed the plant girl, as several P.O.W. members took notice of what the Faun was doing and charged at her. By now, the room was flooded with P.O.W. Members and panicking Gala attendees. It was utter chaos.
Rustic PanOtterPus Verdas Halexia Pinconious

 

[Pinconious]

Rick was suddenly broken from his thoughts of hunting down witches when he heard screams coming from the gala just up the road. His sensitive hearing allow him to hear the sounds of casting spells and clashing of weapons whether it be clashing of steel or the bang of a firearm. Quickly he stood from his seat not giving Xandar anytime to reply to him as he watched the horde of people run down the road to get away from the commotion while only a select few remained behind to allow them to escape unharmed. He knew there were powerful warriors from both the old and new times at the gala and he suspected most if not all of them would be the ones to stay behind and fight but as he had power of his own he figured he may as well go and join them for only one reason, he was bored and hungry for blood.
"Sorry xander but looks like a party has started that I can be interested in" Rick smiled as he rushed off pushing past the crowd of screaming people.
Getting through the crowd proved somewhat difficult as he had to fight to get back feathers, fur, horns, and whatever else the participants had that stuck out from their bodies.
By the time he eventually got there the fight was already underway. Metal clashed upon metal, bullets flew across the room, mages cast their spells. One of the P.O.W members spotted him in the door way and rushed him. Rick barely had time to move away from the members blade slicing his arm making the vampire hiss from the pain. Thankfully though it worked to his advantage. Quickly he placed his hand over the wound and pulled enough blood from his arm hardening it into a syth which he used to cut the member down. He watched the hodded mans blood spill and thought about tasting it there and then but decided that now was not the time to be thinking about food.
"Better save some for me" He said aloud more to himself then anyone else as he rushed in on the party and began to take part cutting his way through while blocking the odd attack careful not to hit his allies, if you could call them that.

 

[Halexia]

Xander looked uo as his new found friend left the building "what the..." out of curiosity Xander rushed after him, finding the scene of chaos as he arrived, Xander instantly manipulated his fire all around him, if he was going down here he was taking as many of the P.O.W members down with him, fire was his primary defence, he threw as much as he could at any attacking him, or the others that were in the room, they may not have all been the same race but the underground was his people, supernaturals like him and he would do whatever he could to defend them

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tyra became startled for a moment when the P.O.W's entered the room momentarily clinging to her new found friend, she then became angry when she realised who they were "Sorry we are going to have to put our conversation on hold" she said to Orthrus, she quickly changed into her wolf form, ready to attempt to attack any who came near her, yes she was scared she had never been in such a situation before, but she was also not willing to let anyone harm her if she had a chance to defend herself, using the wolf within, a defensive wild animal, no one in this room deserves to be harmed, they had all come to have fun and in her mind these people had no right to interfere

 

[PanOtterPus]

Aeryn shifted a little. She knew she wasn't like the others. She occasionally had their short temper and she found emotions hard to read, having never been around such things much. She also had their intelligence and agile body with quick fingers. However, everything else was all her - hardly any Dark Elf to be found. "Guess that's why they let me leave. I'm not much like my kind. They're all about greed, I'm all about ... something else." In truth, she had no idea what she was about. She didn't know who she was outside the clan.

Just as she was about to ask more of her new companion, Aeryn heard the uproar. Corvus, not one for conflict, fled from her shoulder as soon as he realised that the party was over, leaving Aeryn reaching for her daggers attached to her thighs. "Guess our night's been cut short, huh?" She turned to look at Durendal. "Hope you're ready for a fight." Then she spun gracefully, awaiting an attack, ready to do some slicing if needs be.

-------

Orthrus had sensed them coming. From the moment of his earlier encounter with the wolf in the streets, he knew tonight wouldn't be going off without a hitch. Turning to Tyra, his eyes turning an ever darker shade of black-midnight, Orthrus gave her a new smile, one he only wore in times of a fight. "Way ahead of ya darlin'." And with that he threw himself into the midst of battle. These P.O.W guys were tough, trained and ready, but Orthrus was born for this, and boy did he love it!

He made sure to attack only those doing the attacking, not wanting to harm any innocents. They were pouring in the doors now, having cast some kind of magic over the entrance guards, and he could see Yseri setting up to retaliate. Even Tyra, all wolf now, was putting up a decent fight against the crowd. People flew at him from all angles, trying to attack a blind-spot that he didn't actually have. Sure, he had weak spots, plenty of 'em, but blind? Not this hound. Throwing his clawed fists through the air he caught the jaw of one, the shoulder of another - enough to put them down without permanent damage. All the while, that dark, cold smile never left his face.

-------

Meanwhile, Danto sat atop a nearby wall, watching the ongoing fight, trying to decide which side to join if he decided he was inclined to do so. Which he probably wasn't but the people fighting likely didn't know nor care, and so may be inclined to attack him unprovoked. He hummed a small tune to himself, clapping excitedly for the first time in years at the sight of someone's jaw getting smacked. 'Oh how thrilling! Just like the old days,' he thought to himself with an alien feeling he believed to be enjoyment. Danto made his decision then. He was going to get in on the action while he still found it amusing, and he may as well fight for the organisation, since they'd be likely to win - plus, Gods only knew what fresh Hell they'd create for him as punishment for fighting for P.O.W.

He hopped down from his perch and began to practically dance through the struggling crowd. A wolf was the first to brave an attack against him. Danto could see the 'oh fuck' in his eyes as he realised how big a mistake that was at the site of Danto's own glowing, red eyes. The vampire used the wolf's momentum, dropping fluidly to the ground, grabbing the boy's leg and sending him spiralling through the air, landing hard. Danto stood, dusted himself off and faced the crowd again. "Next." He stated. He dared. He grinned.

DergTheDergon Halexia Verdas

 

[Rustic]

Naomi's pleasant conversation had been rolling along, just as it had been most of the night, until suddenly, it wasn't. With a loud thud and a cacophony of screams, the scene before them unfolded into chaos. At first, she hadn't really understood what could have been happening, looking around much like Xaira for an explanation, but unlike her date, she did not find one. Indistinct, robed figures had come all at once charging forth from the freshly unmanned door into the room, and all around them people were rising to their feet or slumping to the floor. An indecipherable mess of activity. Her immediate reaction to it all was to recoil back into her chair, to uncertainly come to her feet, but it's clearly Xaira who has a clear grip on their situation first. Standing up at much the same time, she turned back toward her and yelled something actually coherent above the dissonance around them. P.O.W? Protesting? She had heard it all said, but not much of it processed well into her mind. Her mind was already racing with thoughts, too shocked and distracted by what was around her. This was exactly what she'd feared. It was really happening. But there was at least one clear thing she'd heard: a call to action.

In a brief moment of absolute clarity, she shook off her fears and doubts and reluctantly nodded. Her companion had already thrown herself into the fray, but that was fine - this was for herself, really. She did not have much strength with which to fight, nor the energy to make herself any more workable a candidate for such, but she at least knew the basics, and that was enough. Or, it would have to be, because as she saw these anonymous combatants rushing by, she knew there was no room to do nothing. It was either fight or flight, and... well, both would be applicable. So, with a small push, Naomi spread her wings out and darted up into the air, the vaulted ceilings giving her ample opprotunity to see the room below. Though, before she could, she had to immediately turn out of the way of another apparently winged woman, attempting to flee the space. There were others up here, of course, but only a few - there were many winged species among Deepvale, but not many were here. Maybe they'd already been targeted, maybe many had not been among them. Nonetheless, it was a sufficient momentary point of vantage.

However, what she saw wasn't encouraging. It was full of mages and sufficiently prepared fighters against a room of mostly unarmed civilians. It wasn't clear what their intentions were from the cursory glance she allowed herself, but it didn't really occur to her to wonder. These people were just bad news. So, she did about the first thing she can think to do. She swooped down from her in-flight position and wasted no time in getting into it. The first masked figure she could find quickly found themselves in the deep trouble that was getting decked in the face by a high-speed blunt object. It quickly caught the attention of some others anonymous figures nearby, but she kept moving as quickly as she could. Her eyes did widened, though, as a prepared spell quickly whizzed back. That sight of it's near miss almost made her drop her weapon entirely, but she kept steady and kept flying, only incentivized to make another pass. With a mighty 'whoosh' and some adept maneuvering, she managed to do it again, and knocked another two adjacent members out cold onto the floor.

Seeing her handiwork, she could only smile hopefully. 'This might work!' she thought breathlessly, feeling a little bit more confident then she had. She could even feel a small swell of pride start to form in her chest. Maybe she could really help turn the tide for the better here? She wondered this, unfortunately, a moment before her heart felt like it was dropping from her chest. Something hirsute gripped her leg, but before she had time to turn around, she already paled at what was coming next.

"You're this rowdy all the time, eh?" she heard someone ask.

Just as she was slammed back down to Earth.


Oh, what a day. It wouldn't be unfair to call The Wolf of P.O.W, Rollin, an easily amused person, but they had certainly had plenty to yuck it up about today. This morning they'd been privy to quite the show: a lilin actually attempting to do something for themselves and an unexpected sighting of a Hound of Hell. An interesting pair, to be sure. Even more interesting, though, was the results of their report on that event to their higher-ups - absolute pants-shitting. Well, a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Even the officials they had some respect for had been thrown into a fray of barking and biting at anyone and everyone in the room's expense. It had been Rollin's own mostly at first, which had been the more annoying bit of the proceedings, but once they had made it clear to everyone that they hadn't gleaned enough to provide them with any answers, they'd turned on each other gloriously. 'What did it mean? Were they catching on? Should we cancel the debut?' Those were the questions that quickly lead into the back-biting, and the truely dignified sight that was a noble organization chasing it's own tail. It had all ended rather civilly, like all academic types liked to believe things always did, but it had still been fun while it'd lasted.

Of course, none of that mattered right now. They were watching the city's approximation of the night sky, finishing a cigarette, when they heard what they'd been expecting now for awhile. A small set of footsteps scurrying down the stone road from behind them.

"M-Mx. Anselm?" a small voice called. A new recruit. There were plenty of new them slated to be present tonight, in anticipation for numbers needed for the event and their partly due to their exponentially increasing number, but this one, they knew, was especially wet behind the ears. He was a student of theirs, in fact, and a rather dainty thing, but apparently a prodigy of a mage, and at least one who came with a rudimentary knowledge of how to defend himself. One of their more favored, if only for that reason. At his call, Rollin came to attention, turning around on their makeshift seat of stone to face him.

"You don't need the honorific, Belcher. We're equals tonight." they reminded him. They raised their cigarette steadily back to their muzzle to go ahead and take in what they knew would probably be their last easy breath tonight. Once they had, they huffed out their thick line of smoke in turn, and just let it slowly disperse itself out. Once they were good and finished, they continued. "Clem, right?"

"Yes, M-" He stopped himself - presumably from trying to affix onto their name with something undeservedly respectful again - and nervously smiled, apparently having appreciated the thought. "Rollin," he finally settled on. Very cute. Concerningly so. But Rollin simply waited, and after a moment, he seemed to remember himself and straightened up a bit. "We're almost ready to go. Commander Ingram wanted me to let you know."

"Right. Thanks." They gave a quiet, brusque nod, too which 'Clem' simply beamed. As a wolf, they've found, it's much easier to control their responses to situations, as it's something they're reminded of as they watch the young man make his way off. It would otherwise be hard not to smile back at the small display. Or maybe to grimace. Maybe Clem thought himself ready for what was to come, but he certainly was not. None of them really were. Not a soul in this city was truly prepared for their success. But prepared or otherwise, it was coming for everyone. And it had to start tonight. With a resigned grunt, they finally rose to their feet, snuffed their cig, and followed Clem out.

And sure enough, once the two of them reached the front, things had already kicked off. A door had just been thrown open, and a flood of members were surging on through the front. Just a sea of people all rearing to get through. Different motivations, one goal - letting the world know they were here. Rollin was a big fan of living in obscurity themselves, but now was as good a time as any, they supposed. Deciding not to wait around, they throw themselves into the line of people crowding into the the area... only to here an astonished squeak from the back.

"R-Rollin!" the voice frantically called. They didn't have to turn to guess who it was. "A mask?" Clem, who had apparently not followed them forward, yelled his question about the noise of the crowd and was hopping up as high as he could, probably in the hopes of making his offering seen even if it could not be heard. Some of the people struggling to get in turned curiously to look at Rollin towering above most of them, surely enough, without any sort of means of anonymity, while most just focused on getting through.

However, they dismissively shook their head and kept moving forward without turning back. If they weren't a wolf, they'd smile. Without getting pointlessly sappy, it wasn't like humanoids could tell the difference, anyway.

With that, they make it into the room. There was a plan still being carried out, but for all intents and purposes, it had no relevance to Rollin. The only thing that was was pretty simple - keep this place unstable. Though, by the looks of everything going on, their comrades had that pretty handled. Without getting too far into the room they saw an fun assortment of scenes - another, more traditional wolf apparently ready to hand some mage's ass to them, a fox-ish looking man spreading fire all across the vicinity, and way off to the back, the unmistakable figure of the Hound of Hell they'd met earlier, pretty much moving through the crowd like a one-man army. Not unexpected - if supernaturals knew anything, it was generally how to defend themselves - but still, a wonderland of sights all the same. Where to start? It was an invigorating question to ask, but once the wolf has their sights on the commotion going on almost in the middle of it all, it's pretty much answered.

A group of mages were looking up rather sillily as an illusive figure darted across the ceiling, whom they easily recognized. The succubus from earlier, hmm? 'Well isn't that fascinating?' they remarked somewhat sarcastically to themselves as they approaching the area. The few of them on the ground were hopping up, using their various magical implements to try and get a good hit on her, but Rollin just shook their head. She was obviously quick - there wasn't much use in trying something that just wasn't working. With a simple glance up to see her current trajectory, they gave themselves a small nod before climbing themselves onto one of the tables and simply snatching her leg up. Simple enough.

"You're this rowdy all the time, eh?" they asked her acerbically, tilting their head. They saw the lilin start a little where she's floating, and begin to turn to face the sound of their voice, but they were already prepared not to let her flit off this time. They took the dexterous paw they'd grabbed with and deftly yanked it back. Her small frame easily followed the force, coming down like a pile of bricks on to the table beside them. It causes the table to buckle and slide a bit, but since she's not much to sneeze at weight-wise anyway, it manages to hold itself in place. The wolf just titled their head as her display, watching as she immediately squirmed and her wings fluttered, trying to worm her way from their grasp. Pitiful.

"I said you'd be easy," they sighed. Not only obviously disappointed in this 'effort', but at the mages around who just gawked at the display. He could tell each and everyone of them had their own thoughts and ideas - some probably innocently in awe of this easy show of force, and maybe one of them something more fucking disgusting - but they gave a low growl to the lot of them, causing them all to snap back to attention.

"Do your damn job already," they barked, moving their grip on her from their paw to under their foot. It caused her to yip a little, sure, but it'd be over quick if these three knew what they were doing and got her to sleep already. This was going to be a long night if every encounter going on was like this.

 

[DergTheDergon]

Fifer slightly smiled back as Chase’s smile in response to her sentiment, with the side of her mouth that still had feeling it anyway. She couldn’t help but detect a slight hint of something… off, for lack of better words, in his expression, but he turned away before long. Chalking it up to Chase simply being Chase and it being nothing to worry about, Fifer resumed preparing, both physically and mentally, for the coming hunt.

Smiling back as Gabe expressed gratitude for reciving his weapon, she replied with a curt, yet friendly “‘Welcome.” Fifer then smiled again as he agreed to her plan. SHe loved the way he called her ‘boss,’ mostly because most men didn’t want to give any woman the idea that they were in a position of authority over them, even if they were, in her experience. She chuckled along with his comment as well. ‘Oh yeah, definitely,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she smirked barely visibly.

shaking her head and smiling at the enthusiastic ok from Chase, her smile then was immidiately replaced by an angry stare towards Caroline, for just a split second, as she noticed the wink towards Gabe. Sighing she began to lead Gabe onward.

The backstreets were quiet and barren right now. Far too much so, actually. Usually, they’red be hobos bumming around here nearly every few feet…. But there were none. Fifer began to fear the worse, which was only concerned as she saw a few bloodstains on the nearby walls. “Shit… looks like he was preying on the homeless here, for who knows how the hell long…” Treading even more carefully, the group; searched in silence for a while. For far too long, there was no sound around them besides the muffled din of cars and pedestrians in a nearby major commerical area.

“Guys…” Fifer said, suddenly stopping in her tracks. “I feel-” she was unable to finish her sentence before not one, but four bipedal wolf-like creatures bounded out of connecting alleys and closed in on the hunters, a beast for each one. “Shit… who knows how many he’s turned…. God we’re late on this one…” These ones looked rather mangy, and even frail, but were still powerful. Every hunter here would know that none of them were the big one they were looking for, though. Time being of the essence, fifer shot first at the one closest to her instead of barking orders, another werewolf closing in on the other three fast. Noticing this, Fifer began to carefully spread her fire between her wolf and Gabe’s, slowing them both down but not quite taking either one out of the count, especially Gabe’s. Two wolves sprinted towards Caroline and Chase as well.

PanOtterPus Rustic Verdas

 

[Verdas]

Visuria simply smiled at Yseri's words. The thought of spending her life with a faun, while once a terrifying prospect, was actually quite endeering now, considering the faun in question. She wouldn't be opposed to spending more thyme with this plant eater (( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)). Behind her, her vines subconsciously began to perform a little dance, like a dog wagging it's tail. The imposing, razor sharp thorns did, however, take some of the charm away.

The semi-innocent plant was made even happier when the perverted faun offered to teach her more about venus flytraps, something she'd been curious about for a very long time. "A-ah, y-you will? D-do you-" Unfortunately, a group of rude, masked people suddenly barged into the gala, sowing the seeds of panic among it's attendees, and stopping her mid sentence. From Yseri's reaction, she gleamed that they were bad, but wasn't quite sure of how to react.

However, she began to threateningly brandish her thorns at the group when Yseri asked her to keep them away from her. Several of them started to approach, so she proseeded to snatch them up with her vines and strangle them half(?) to death, before bringing them in closer to give them all a rather painful hickey to their throats. Large carnivorous plants like the vorux could be a major pain in the neck, and any who sought to get past her would be hard pressed, unless they played some mix tapes.

DergTheDergon

 

[Verdas]

Durendal was about to reply to Aeryn when the gala was thrown into pure chaos. Rather than being annoyed or afraid, excitement boiled up from inside her, as the chaos and violence around her reminded of the good old days. It made her natural thirst for blood go into overdrive. "Ah, 'tis such a lovely sight." She said in a sing-song voice, taking a moment to appreciate the most wonderful scene playing out around her. Things were getting rather dull, and there was nothing like a fight to sharpen one's senses.

Latching onto the dark elf's arm, she prepared to transform into her true form. "I beseech thee, oh dark one, use my body to slay thy foes." She said, not caring that what she just said may be misinterpreted, and turned into a sword moments later. There was no impressive light show, fancy sounds, or the like, and she simply dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. Now, she would let Aeryn take control, though she would not at all be opposed to another powerful individual using her however they liked.

PanOtterPus

 

[Pinconious]

The chaos was getting worse as more individuals seemed to join in on the action. Richard by now had taken down a few of the hooded figures but saw that there were still plently more. He noticed Xander had joined the fight and smiled as he watched the fox's fire dance. It was an impressive sight for sure.
He saw a hooded man rush Xander from behind. Not wanting to let his new found friend get into trouble he quickly changed his syth of blood into a hail of bullet like objects and with the wave of his hand sent his blood raining down on the figures about to attack the fox,

"Watch your back!" He called to Xander from across the room.

Placing his hand over his wounded arm once again he drew more blood and remade his syth. By now he was starting to feel the effects of the bloodloss.

"Not good" He thought to himself.

He had forced his blood to clot so he wouldn't lose anymore blood from his arm but he needed to take blood from someone before he collapsed. Thankfully though there was no shortage of his food supply laying on the ground or wondering about with or without a weapon. So long as he didn't kill them right away the blood would be nice and fresh.

Halexia

 

[Rustic]

Chase's enthusiam was only ramped up by seeing Caroline's in return, his face just beaming with delight as they all moved out. This was nice! He was starting to feel good about the team again, which really cool! Teams could get so much done together! As they began to troop forward, though, he realized they he had to get focused and serious about things, which was sort of disappointing on this sort of high, but he figured he could manage it if he focused all this positive energy he was feeling into paying attention. Remembering Fifer's words about how delicate a mission this would be, and how they all needed to work together or something, he took an inaudible, deep breath, and surveyed the scene more carefully. Not that there was anything to really see or hear. The grungy backstreets of London were quiet, save for the quiet shuffling of their own feet against the stone walkways and the low hum of activity from the city surrounding. It was an enormous test of his patience, it seemed at first, but another, entirely different kind came as Fifer moaned a quiet expletive at the sights around. For once, since he was paying attention, Chase was already aware of what she was unhappy about - the splatterings of blood painted all over this alley.

It kind of made him sick. He gritted his teeth a little at the sight of it all, not really sure what to do with himself as Fifer started to explain what they were seeing. He already knew was she was saying, too, and that was sort of the problem. It'd be okay if this was all some sort of gruesome display of other supernaturals, but this belonged to people, didn't it? If Fifer was right, vulnerable people. People who were preyed on probably because nobody would ever notice they'd been a victim. It leaves a tightness in his throat that makes him want to consider it deeper, but as his head started to swim a bit too, he shook it all off, leaving him with just pity. The best thing for this situation would be to help end it, right? He decided it was probably for the best if he put his energy back into doing that. He followed the others in further, his expression falling back to neutral. Internally, though, he found it a little harder to focus than it had be before. As they kept going, the lack of anything substantial continued from before was almost sort of grating now. They'd already seen what this thing was doing, so why couldn't they just go ahead and take it out now?

He didn't really realize he's actually sort of distracted until he almost missed Fifer's call to the group. It took him a moment to stop, but he's an unnoticeable distance away from the formation before he wanted to to turn to face her. He was about to when it's already painfully obvious why she had called to them - up ahead were targets, though clearly not their own, stalking in toward them. He expected himself to feel more joy about it, but... there's actually still a lingering hint of sadness from before. These were the people he'd turned - not just some random group of werewolves. The distinction is kind of a moot one now, but it actually made him feel sort of weird about all of this. These were, like... victims, right? As they started to get a little too close for comfort, though, he can't help but discard those feelings once again. This time because they just didn't have time for it. ' Were people,' he reminded himself, as he poised to strike. Soon enough, as the wolf in front of him started to sprint. Oh, what a mistake!

His usual jubilance kicked in and his he took one of the knives he'd been ready to utilize from their hidden sheaths. He was already pretty aware of how he wanted to take this. As carefully as one possibly could, before the wolf was on him, he took a small hop into the air, using the cracked walls on the side he was on for some stability to strike. The wolf was quick to react, ready to turn as soon as it saw Chase rise, but in the narrow corridor of the alley, it can't manage quickly enough. His feet come down onto the dog's back legs, and narrowly avoiding snapping jaws jerking up to retaliate, he sinks his first knife as deeply into the wolf's back legs as he can. These creatures, though smaller than their predecessor, were still stronger than wolves, so it takes a bit of effort to get it in there, but he knew he'd succeeded when he saw the dog cringe back for a second and start to yelp furiously in pain. It caused Chase to wince a little, but he had no time for an afterthought. Without warning, the dog started to again try and snap backward at him, causing him to have to move back before the dog could fully flip itself over and get a bite. Once it managed to get itself back over, he was back onto the pavement behind it, but it was already ready to strike again.

There wasn't really any time to move or react this time when the wolf leapt up to grab at him. The force of it's lunge threatened to push him over, but having seen it coming, he knew to dig himself in beforehand, keeping on his feet. Just in front of him though was a sight that would have been the stuff of nightmares to most - the biting, salivating, snapping jaws of a feral wolf, growling just inches from his face as it's paws tried to push him backwards. He noticed, though, that tried as it might, it couldn't push with it's full weight onto him, one of it's back legs now struggling to be a foundation. Still, it's any trace of it's former fear or pain was gone, pretty much replaced by the savage, feral beast looking to sink it's teeth into his neck. It's the sight he needed to grin again. "Woof!" he mimicked manically as he unceremoniously push it backwards, falling with it onto the floor. It immediately tried to twist, with Chase having landed on it's back, but with some momentarily unsure wrestling, he managed to hold it somewhat stably to the ground, and used his free arm to try and keep its jaw pressed to the floor. It wasn't going to work for long - it felt like a trashing alligator looked, every limb contorting and thrashing to get free, but it didn't need to. With his free hand, he took another knife from his clothes and stabbed into the top of it's back. Then another in succession into the nape of it's neck.

It was quick and decisive. At the first the wolf could only manage a choking moan of a yipe, it's body immediately going somewhat limp, and at the second, the noise was promptly cut off. It's body, disgustingly and unnaturally resilient, still rose and fall, and it's limbs still made pathetically small attempts to scramble away, but for the most part, he figured this one was probably out of commission. Still lost in a haze of adrenaline, though, the feeling only caused Chase to jerk his head up and alertly around, to see how everyone else was doing. Was he needed? Did he just keep going on this one? Actually, he was probably just going to do that anyway, as, still looking around, he just goes at it again, the body below him jerking in response but not managing to make much of a fearsome noise after it's injuries. Usually he did this slowly, if not just to enjoy the guttural noises it was making, but he wasn't really paying much attention this time as he systematically raised his knife another time without really looking to see it as it pierced again.

DergTheDergon PanOtterPus Verdas

 

[DergTheDergon]

Everywhere one looked inside the town hall, there was conflict of one sort or another. Most Gala attendees fought the invading force, while others cowered beneath tables and still others hung back, hesitating to join the fray yet feeling as though they should to fight for what they believe in. This attack was about belief, after all; there was little doubt in the minds of all Gala attendees amidst this chaos that the P.O.W. were doing this because they believed in the old ways. Particularly, it was a well-regarded belief among them that mating with other races was wrong, unnatural; that keeping one’s people as pure as they could was the sacred duty of all. That was why they were doing this: to attempt to cease the encouragement for inter-species mating. They all had their own reasons for this, from a belief that it weakened the children of any mixed race, to concerns about the future of one’s people, to a belief that the possible population influx from this initiative would actually harm Deepvale, all the way through plain prejudice. Hell, some of them just wanted a chance to rebel or cause havok, and this organization gave them a reason. No matter their reason. The P.O.W. Members’ goal here was playing out clearly in every direction one looked: cause chaos and keep this event from proceeding any further. At the moment, an observer looking upon this chaotic scene wouldn’t be able to tell who was winning. The reason why was simple: the sides were even right now, each side trying to tip the scales in their favor.

As Aeryn and Durendal teamed up in a rather unusual way, a sizable group of enemy melee fighters turned their attention onto them, hoping to overwhelm the weapon-and-wielder duo with sheer numbers. As Tyra transformed and engaged the enemy, shifters from P.O.W. moved to combat her and other shifters on the opposing side. As Danto and Rick put their vampiric abilities to use, you better believe vampires on the opposing side were thirsting for blood (both literally and figuratively) as well. As Xander threw fire at as many P.O.W. as he could, mages with frost magic doused the flames as best they could while one of the most powerful moved to engage him, an Elven male who sent a large, freezing jet of ice his way, hoping to overwhelm the kitsune’s flames. As Othrus and his fellow security rushed to contain the situation, their efforts were met equally with some of the burlier P.O.W. Members, hoping to spiral the situation into further chaos by incapacitating the security. Their efforts had proved quite fruitful even without the guards taken care of though, as everywhere you looked, someone was getting hurt somehow.

In one particular instance of harm, for example, Naomi had been caught by a particularly nimble wolf. Up until that moment, Xaira had been kicking up dust with any P.O.W. member that got too close to her, pushing back quite a few of them as they came anywhere near the defenseless, tiny faeries that were cowering under the table behind her. It was only a moment later, however, when Xaira heard a voice she’d become very familiar with this evening; the lilting, feminine tones of Naomi’s voice.

The very moment that Xaira knocked her latest opponent (a nimble yet clearly not-so-hardy Goblin) out cold with a sword-hilt bash straight to their forehead, Xiara whirled about, straining her keen Draconian ears to discern the direction and nature of the unmistakable vocalizations of the woman she’d been speaking with engagedly just moments before. Upon catching sight of her and her current state, Her wings and feet simultaneously acted on their own accord. The next thing she knew, she had propelled herself into a glide over the fighting masses within the ballroom. Right now, from this angle, it looked like the P.O.W. were winning quite quickly; generous swathes of the large Gala crowd slumped to the ground moment by moment, affected by sleeping spells no doubt. Yet, Xaira hadn’t the time to worry about the crowd at large right now. The woman that she felt within her heart she had a good chance of happily spending the rest of her life with already was in danger herself, about to be put to sleep. As the Dragoness swooped down towards the werewolf that had a grip on Naomi, she couldn’t help but notice the shamelessly devious looks on some of the faces of the men gathered around the struggling succubus. Grimacing in disgust, she made a mental note to kick the shit out of ‘em after she was done doing the same to the…. Man? Woman? The whatever-they-were that had her future wife in some kind of makeshift wrestling lock. Instinctively, she sized them up carefully with narrowed eyes. They were clearly, judging by just a short, simple once-over, very strong, so she had to be careful lest they the injure Naomi, or herself, or both. It was a relief that they clearly weren’t aiming to kill her, but Xaira didn’t expect P.O.W. to kill anyone. They wanted to change the way things were done now, yet restore a sense of order from ‘back in the day’ so to speak; and that required live people. By no means did this justify their senseless and cruel acts of violence, though, in Xaira’s opinion… especially this one, holding Naomi down like some damn helpless animal.

These intense, anger-fueled thoughts drove her to slam harder into the androgynous wolf than she was intending, sword pommel heading straight for their forehead as she screamed “hands off, cur!” Her face was twisted into a grimace, fangs showing as her long and straight red hair flowed wildl6y with the downcurrent of wind created by her wings. Hopefully, she wouldn’t end up hurting Naomi like this, and instead, the beast’d let go. That would be the plan, if she had one. Yet, she never had a plan. Xaira had survived all her encounters with various dangers through instinct nearly on its own, truth be told. Now, hopefully, it would prove just as useful for the well-being of the woman that would, if they continue to get along as well as they already have, with such powerful chemistry, stay by the Dragoness’s side for a very long time indeed. Right now though, Xaira felt that the entire possibility of such a wonderful, picturesque future was in jeopardy right now. In fact, not only for herself and Naomi, but for everyone who’d struck a chord with anyone else in this room earlier that evening. From the vibes she felt all around her as well as the voices she’d heard, just before this insanity began to ensue, it seemed as though most had begun something utterly life-transforming with someone they very much liked already, for better or for worse. She felt a burning desire to (hopefully) prevent that possibility being ruined for anyone. Not here, and certainly not now. These thoughts further fueld the follow-through of her impact with Naomi’s dangerous captor.

Yseri’s blush from the un(?)fortunately cut-short cnversation regarding ‘Venus flytraps’ faded as Yseri closed her eyes. Her heart pounding as she grasped her druid’s staff firmly in both hands near its center, standing the greatwood staff (really a glorified stick) firmly upon the stone floor, chanting silently under her breath. She found herself smiling in great adoration and appreciation for Vesuria’s efforts as the faun heard the screams of her planty date’s victims. Yseri then found herself terrified to open her eyes in case Vesuria really did plan on consuming them. She hoped not, even though they were hurting so many folks all around her. She really was a big softy, and not just literally (y’know, ‘cause of the fur) by metaphorically as well. The faun shook with fear as she heard assailant after assailant get close, only to then hear them cry out in an increasingly distance voice as Vesuria took care of them.

Feeling the power of her nature magic reach its peak, Yseri took a deep breath. This was the moment in which she found out whether or not her plan would work. The sleep spell caused her staff to shake under its weight. She was very nervous, to say the least, but also relieved that she had even been able to get to this point with all the hostiles around, so much magic radiating off of her. Most supernaturals weree magic sensitive, to boot. Though, thankfully, she went largely unnoticed by most P.O.W. members, due to a combination of her unassuming and delicate presence and the barrage of magical signatures spiking due to spells confusing everyone’s sense for magic all at once. This would, hopefully, be the one spell that stopped this madness. Taking a deep breath, she cast it, tapping her staff upon the ground with force, and sending a shockwave of magicval energy throughout the room.

The weakest P.O.W. Members fell unconscious instantaneously. The more resilience and will they have, however, the more likely they were to resist. Only the strongest within the P.O.W. would be able to resist completely, those of which included Rollin and a small handful of others. As a side effect, however, Yseri fell unconscious immediately, spent. Throughout the entire room, P.O.W. members fell unconcious, became fatigued, and were otherwise kept from fighting at their full potential, allowing for the Gala attendees, who’d been losing rather desperately just moments ago, to turn the tide.

Verdas Rustic Halexia PanOtterPus Pinconious

 

[PanOtterPus]

Gabe chuckled a little at the excitement from the others, even Caroline's wink didn't bother him. He liked that his team were as ready to go as he was. Enthusiasm dripped from them all and he loved it. He flashed his own wink at Fifer in response to her sarcasm and followed her into the street.

Gabe was ready to go get this sucker. The silence began to bother him the longer it went on. Where the hell was everyone? And then his question was answered - Fifer pointed it out. IT should have been obvious as soon as they entered the street. Blood.

Well, shit. Here we go. The bastard had managed to spread his curse, sending his new lackeys after the group rather than risk himself - taking those that wouldn't be missed and using them as such. "Cowardly motherfucker." He grumbled before pulling out his hand guns and firing at the beast coming for him. He hoped to god the others were smart about this - they may be new and fresh but they were still smart and strong.

Proving this, they managed to dodge a good few bullets as they charged, with only a few hitting Gabe's own attacker. A few was all he usually needed, but this bastard was sponging the bullets and it began to piss the hunter off. If it got close enough, it'd taste Gabe's hidden knife. He may be a gunner but he always kept this handy as a backup in case of events such as this one. Though the other two seemed to be doing a ell enough job of keeping them at bay - for now - allowing Fifer and Gabriel to pound them with bullets as much as they could.

'Shit.' One broke through, and headed straight for him. Gabe fired as fast as his trigger fingers would allow, blood flying from the wolves legs and shoulders in his attempt to slow the beast down. It may have been an idea to keep one alive to question about their creator if they couldn't find him. He'd kill it if needs be though. The wolf almost laughed as it neared, crouching low before leaping for Gabe. No time for thinking this one through. At the last second, Gabriel pulled out his knife, grabbed the leg of the wolf as it landed on top of him and stabbed. The beast squealed in pain, but so would anyone when a serrated knife entered their limb and tore up both muscle and tendon.

The adrenaline took over in that moment and Gabe yanked the knife out, pulling another scream from the wolf. He made quick work of the other limbs, leaving the beast writhing in pain and down for the count, throwing a "Stay," at the wolf over his shoulder before joining his team once more.

DergTheDergon Rustic Verdas