Night's Omen

[Thread continued from Better Stand Tall (http://angdar.com/nightsomen/index.php?topic=1820.msg31094#msg31094) and Dark of the Night. (http://angdar.com/nightsomen/index.php?topic=1815.msg31095#msg31095)]

Being involved at all in this whole mess hadn't been Ben's idea, but he had way too many friends in the guilds still, not to mention his sister.  Currently, his brain was running itself in circles worrying about his cousin and hoping that he was still hidden, and he'd found himself at Frost after escorting a pile of civilians there.  Technically, he should have been at Crimson because of Isolde and his own past employment there, but everyone was so scattered about at this point that he figured it didn't matter, as long as he was helping somewhere.  There were still too many people who were unaccounted for, so until he'd gotten a call from Shannon telling him that Crimson was working on an offensive and she wanted him in there with her, he'd been planning on just joining in wherever someone needed him.  

An offensive sounded like his kind of deal.

The bad part about it all was that he really didn't know that he was much of a target at all.  Yes, he was related to Isolde, but she was a Therrayan, not exactly the most offensive of the bunch and not the sort to have a lot of enemies, but he wasn't a hunter anymore.  He worked with Jillian, protecting her and helping her with her tomb raiding and whatever other Lara Croft/Indiana Jones/Uncharted shit she had going on.  He shouldn't have been on the radar, as far as he was concerned, but there were other people who he wouldn't have expected to really be on the radar, and it just went to show how far Midnight was reaching and that they really just didn't care about anything related to 'rules'; women, children and medical personnel were still targets, as were former hunters (Victor Batten's MIA status was a disturbing reminder of that fact, being both medical personnel and a former hunter himself).  The only reason Ben was even by the doors when the car rolled up like it did was because he'd been headed out to his own vehicle to head over to Crimson, so why not join in and see what this mess was?

Haha, he should have known better.  

The car had apparently come to a screeching halt, horn blaring to draw everyone outside, and the driver had gotten out without trouble with his hands on the back of his head like he had police firearms pointed at him.  That in itself was a little amusing and disturbing at the same time, that the dark-haired guy did that without prompting, and then he'd stepped away from the vehicle, putting himself at a definite disadvantage.  Ben gave him credit immediately for balls, especially with how things were going that night and the fact that the dude was bleeding very obviously from a number of injuries that looked both painful and nearly incapacitating.  That meant that he was something supernatural, most likely a vampire given the torso wounds, but he couldn't have been very old if he was still in pain from them.

"Don't shoot, guys, I have a delivery for a dude named Christian.  He's in the front seat," he offered in a loud, non-shouting or aggressive voice.  See?  Jared could avoid being a complete asshole if he tried.

Of course, Veronica probably came very close to getting the man shot up when she busted out of the car like that, shrieking Ben's name and flinging herself at him.  She nearly got herself shot, except that Ben hadn't reacted badly when she threw her arms around him, then proceeded to drag him to the car.  The guy had tensed, eyes bugging a little before they narrowed in a very obvious death stare that was all for Veronica, but Ben took one look inside the car and cursed.  That was Ryan Shane, and he was bleeding.

"It's Ryan Shane, someone get him inside before something else happens," Ben shouted, and part of the reason why he didn't do it himself was because he still had Veronica attached to his hand and there was still the other guy hanging around.  "Who are you?"

"Jared, I'm Ryan's friend."

"What are you?"  Yeah, it was kind of rude sometimes to ask like that, but right then, that was important information.

"Vampire."

Jared's eyes had narrowed once more, though Ben wasn't sure if it was because of Veronica hanging on his hand and asking a zillion questions or because of his question, but Ben nodded.  "So, you're not dying, that's good.  You should probably stay with Ryan.  Thanks for getting him here, I'm sure his brother will be relieved," the former Crimson hunter offered, smiling just slightly, and Jared's surprise at the thanks made it all the more worth it.  Ben gestured with his head that Jared should go help with Ryan (he was probably the only one who could drag the dude out of the car without causing more of a scene, anyway), and then looked down to Veronica.

"Some crazy things are happening, so I stopped in to give everyone a hand," he told her simply, shrugging.  "You should probably be at Single Earth, or at home.  You don't want to be seen with hunters tonight, I promise."

Once it was obvious that they weren't going to pump Jared full of holes, which was accomplished by the one dude actually thanking him for getting his friend out of trouble without getting him killed.  It was shocking, especially since he expected the guy to be a douchebag once he'd seen Veronica go running for him, but the guy seemed as surprised by her appearance on the scene and her reactions as Jared was.  Obviously, they knew each other, but Jared got the feeling they weren't besties or anything gay like that.  It made him hate the guy just a little less.

Not that it mattered much.  Jared went around the car and essentially made it clear that everyone needed to be out of Ryan's face except for him (Ryan was making a fuss).  He reached in and plucked Ryan out of his seat and to his feet with one of Ryan's arms draped over his shoulders.  

"Puke on me, and I'm going to drop you on your ugly face, I swear it," he started, because that was important information.  "We're going to try this awesome thing called walking on our own with minimal bitching, and if that doesn't work, I'm going to carry your ass in like a fucking damsel in distress in front of all the badass vampire slayers.  Let's go."

Yeah, so Jared was cranky.  He was hurting from multiple gunshot wounds, being stared at like he might go crazy and start killing people at any second by all except for the guy who'd thanked him, and he was pretty sure there was puke on the door of his car from Ryan's earlier decision to lose whatever was in his stomach.  He was trying, and he had to get credit where it was due.

Veronica watched as Ben handled everything with ease, and she heaved a sigh of relief as Jared took Ryan inside, though she lingered back, unwilling to let go so easily. He was telling her that she didn't want to be seen with them. He was telling her that it was unsafe. Not only was the rejection in and of itself laughable (and it went to show how screwed up Ben was; wouldn't he rather her hide at a secure building than at that joke of an establishment called Single Earth?), but the fact that he'd just told Vincent Cross' daughter to run - well. She was smoldering with rage on the inside, so much so that she felt the prick of tears on her eyes. She looked away abruptly, unable to stop the few tears before they came.

"Do I have to?" she asked him, the most pathetically crushed expression on her face when she looked back up. "Do you think SE is going to be okay?"

Honestly, SE was one of the last places anyone should have been at that moment, because without a doubt, some morons were going to try and hide there, and they would make the entire buildings collateral damage waiting to happen. Veronica was a bird, and she could fly away, but how far could she expect to get? As far as Ben knew, she wasn't a fighter, and she certainly wasn't the type to appear imposing or make a villain think twice about attacking her. No, she was fair and pretty and delicate - she was something that someone in Midnight would break in half, if they had the chance.

Ironically, this exact thing had happened, though not in the sense that one would consider.

Ryan was abuzz with lights and sounds and vomit when they finally got to wherever they were going. "This isn't Single Earth," he slurred. He watched the girl shoot off like a rocket to some dude named Ben, and was relieved that he also was not an Ed Hardy, because two Eds in one night was just two damn Eds too many. "Stupid Jersey Shore fist-pumping faggot," he said as Jared helped him out of the car.

Jared almost dropped him until Ryan made a face that plainly said, 'Really?'. "Ed Hardy can suck my nuts," he squawked. Some of the hunters exchanged glances as they passed by, and Ryan stumbled enough that Jared had to stop. When he threatened to carry him like a princess, though, Ryan believed him. He would do something like that, in front of all these people. Asshole.

"Just gimmie a second," he instructed his friend, a finger held up as he wobbled around in place. He crouched over and threw up again on the sidewalk, that finger posted up the entire time, waving left and right as though he were using it to keep his balance. He straightened back up and wiped his nose, trailing mucus and snot along the back of his hand.

"No homo," was all he said. He then attempted to walk through the doors on his own, and ended up using Jared for support again after only four or five feet.

Jared and Ryan were making enough of a scene without having to deal with Veronica, which would be Ben's excuse for not considering more of the situation and Single Earth itself sooner; the vampire had made some threats and didn't seem to be handling Christian's younger brother (who was in bad shape) all that gently, but the kid wasn't exactly doing anything to deserve nicer treatment.  In fact, Ryan reacted better to Jared's aggressive 'help' than he had to a hunter's attempt to help him, and Ben didn't blame the others for just letting the vampire manhandle the kid into the building.  Besides, it was slightly hilarious.

He dragged his attention completely back to Veronica rather quickly, the sight of tears instantly prompting concern and just a little confusion, but her question about SE made his face turn to sudden horror.  "Single Earth...damn it!" he swore, the rest turning quiet under his breath as he took her by the hand so that he could be certain she wouldn't disappear on him while he was trying to handle things.

"No, you need to go home, not to Single Earth.  How close are you to any hunters?  Any family members, boyfriend, close friends, anything?" he asked quickly, because if she wasn't in close contact with hunters usually, he was guessing she would be alright as long as she went home and stayed there.  If she was in danger, he could set her up in Frost to keep her safe, but that was only going to put a target on her back in the coming days.  He hoped to christ that John was staying hidden, and that Isolde had done what he said and gotten to Crimson.  The rest of his family had also been warned, but he hadn't been there to supervise it, and he didn't like that.  In fact, he had to go to Isolde's before Crimson to make sure she was out and pick her up, if not.

He was on his phone suddenly, Veronica still in tow, and definitely multitasking; he was listening to her, but also trying to get someone from Onyx on the other line.  "Verde, where are you?"

"Hole in the Wall."

"What the hell are you doing there?!  Listen, call whoever's in charge of your operations at the guild, did anyone hear from Cobriana, yet?"

"Are you giving me shit, Haven?  I will make you eat my knife, especially tonight," Verde snarled, and Ben could imagine the look on his face matching the tone.  "Nobody's heard from Cobriana, to my knowledge."

"Shit.  Okay, we have to get Single Earth to evacuate immediately.  All it takes is one moron, and that whole place is just a mass of targets."

"Explain to me why I give a shit, Haven, and make it fucking fast.  The Boswell women are having breakdowns, and another magical shitfit seems imminent.  I have a massacre in the parking lot that nobody can explain, there are a pile of civilians at risk here, including the local alpha's son and a newly infected werewolf that were both shot up, and apparently, Christian Shane's brother was here, shot at, and disappeared."

"Shane's brother made it here just a few minutes ago, mark that off your list of problems.  I'm not saying you have to deal with it, just call whoever can."

"Of course, because I don't have any other problems.  I'll call," Verde snapped, and then the line went dead.  At least he was going to call.

Ben managed to attempt a smile for Veronica, shrugging once more and now she had his full attention again.  "Obviously, Single Earth isn't a good idea.  I would take you with me, but staying with me probably isn't good, either.  I have to make sure my sister made it somewhere safe immediately.  She was supposed to and call me, but she hasn't, yet."

"Of course this isn't Single Earth, jackass.  You're being shot at, you really wanna go hang out with the hippies?  Maybe they'll shoot peace signs at them, right?" he drawled, rolling his eyes.  He didn't have any sympathy for Ryan because he'd gotten himself that trashed, and wow, did he smell bad.  On top of the stumbling, Jared wasn't really sure what to do.  Really, he didn't want Ryan near him when he stunk like that, but Ryan didn't seem able to walk on his own.  It was a point in favor of not carrying him, though.

Then, Ryan wobbled about a foot or two away to throw up all over the place again, and Jared normally would have made fun of him for holding his liquor like a girl, except that he could see, smell and hear it in technicolor nastiness.  He was a vampire, and it was making him want to gag.  Then, Ryan wiped his nose with the back of his hand, and Jared may have stifled a short gag in the back of his throat.  He dutifully moved to help Ryan along again because the dude was NOT getting anywhere on his own, and it became apparent that he hadn't quite gotten the hang of not breathing since he died.

"Oh my fucking FUCK, dude, you fucking REEK!  I'm dumping your ass in a fucking shower as soon as we get inside, or I'm not going anywhere near you!  Fuck, man," he ranted, choking a little because ranting required air.  Ryan was pretty much the grossest thing he'd witnessed since being turned right about then.

By the time Christian had gotten to meet Ryan and Jared (who he didn't like), he was surrounded by a mill of people (which he also didn't like). It was too much shit going on, what with hunters asking him where to go and what they were supposed to be doing. He'd been able to separate Eva and Andrea from them and by now they were in his room (he hoped), because his wife was flipping her shit and he really didn't need to try and pull her and Melody and Shane apart. It had almost happened once, and he knew that at the rate shit was going if she bumped into them again, it wasn't going to be pretty. Usually she was level-headed, but he could understand her ire; what he didn't like was that she chose to direct it at the first people she saw. He blamed her snobby parents for that, and he'd have to straighten her out later because he didn't feel like hearing it from her, too. No doubt he'd get swept up in the blame if he didn't put her into check in time, which would end badly.

Christian didn't often blow up, but he was about to.

"STOP FUCKING ASKING ME QUESTIONS!" he finally bellowed. Christian never really yelled, but he'd had it. "Goddamnit, you and you, go find Church. You three, go with Patryk, and for fuck sake, where is Adam?"

The entire room just stopped. Then people start running in different directions, trying to get out of his way before he started cutting people loose. He was going to have to seriously re-evaluate the hunters in his guild when this was over. All of his Level 5 people were out or on their way out the door, some were MIA, and the trainees just didn't know what to do with themselves. When he'd finally spotted Jared and Ryan, he made a loud, frustrated noise and hurried over to them.

"The infirmary is this way," he said, reaching out to give someone standing around doing nothing a heavy shove. He sent a Level 2 face first into a door, but kept walking without even stopping to yell. "Tell me he didn't do this all by himself," he said to Jared as they headed towards the infirmary. He would rather hear that Midnight had tried to take a piece out of Ryan rather than find out that Ryan had gotten mixed up in one of his typical fights.

His phone began to ring, again, and he whipped out of his pocket and threw it so hard down the hallway that it shattered. Later, he'd regret it, but right now the motion felt so good that he just didn't give a shit. Yes, Christian was losing his temper.

"Single Earth...damn it!" She felt his hand tighten around hers as he muttered to himself, trying to keep her out of the way of people as they poured out of the building. Veronica side-stepped hunters running out of the building barely, squealing a little as one of them almost knocked her over. She was sick of playing this wounded bird routine, but if she could hold out, she was sure she'd get enough information to feed back to Midnight pertaining to plans as the hunters routed people out the door.

"No, you need to go home, not to Single Earth.  How close are you to any hunters?  Any family members, boyfriend, close friends, anything?"

"Home?" she repeated. Damnit. She quickly wiped her eyes, trying to "look brave". There was no way for her to argue this without coming off as suspicious. She went through a mental checklist of anyone she knew who could potentially be a target for Midnight, and stammered off an "I - I don't really know," before she could compose herself more fully.

When he offered her a small smile, she tried to steel her nerves a little. She couldn't help but find he had an attractive face, but it was a nauseating sensation to recognize that she was holding hands with the man that had brutally murdered her father. It made her own smile waver a little. She thought she could be prepared for this, but every time, she was always troubled by the thoughts that would creep into her head and spoil her game plans.

"Obviously, Single Earth isn't a good idea.  I would take you with me, but staying with me probably isn't good, either.  I have to make sure my sister made it somewhere safe immediately.  She was supposed to and call me, but she hasn't, yet."

She nodded, finding it novel that he was worried about his family when he didn't seem to give a shit about the families of anyone whose life he'd casually taken. "No, it's fine, I don't want to get in the way. I'll just fly home. I'm sure I'll be okay." She struggled to try and find a reason to keep him around, and ran across one. "There's a vampire that goes there, I'll find him. Damn, what's his name? Stefan? Steven?" she said this part to herself, but loud enough for Ben to hear. "He's really nice - I'm sure if I just tell him my house is being fumigated or something he'll let me hang out for the night."

She smiled. Inwardly, she knew Stefan was going to BEAT HER ASS when she told him she blew his cover, but whatever. That Nazi prick could kiss her lily white ass. It was all for a greater cause, anyways. She tugged on Ben's hand a little, as if to reassure him.

"I hope your sister is okay. I'll get out of here. It was... a really big relief to see you," she told him, feigning shyness over the words. She portrayed the idea that she could have had a crush on him, but then again, it also could have been the "My Hero" thing, especially since she fluttered her eyelashes, though that was more a testament to how "silly" she felt for showing up.

She let go of his hand and turned, counting slowly in her head. One... two..

Of course Christian didn't like Jared.  He'd never heard anything good about the guy (Jared was usually there when Ryan was being admitted to the hospital for doing something stupid), Jared had disappeared and likely inadvertently contributed to Ryan's even worse behavior, and then he'd reappeared as a vamp, returned Ryan to his usual levels of drunken idiocy and now he was the one dragging Ryan into Frost drunk, puking and bleeding.  Ryan looked like shit, and he smelled worse, Jared could agree, but this was definitely not his fault.  In fact, Ryan probably would have been dead or en route to Midnight if Jared hadn't been there to get him out of dodge, so Christian should have liked him a LOT right about then.  

"Dude, what the fuck is going on here?  Everyone's running around like there's a fucking fire," Jared observed, and then Christian was yelling and freaking out, so he shot the guy a pissy look and shut his own trap.  He knew he was a mouse walking into the viper's nest here (though it looked like a lot of these snakes were fucking morons right about now, so he didn't blame Christian for freaking out), so being a total asshole really wouldn't serve him all that well.  That, and just following Christian right about now was actually kind of amusing, as long as you were the sort of person to enjoy seeing other people being abused.  

Jared was that sort of person.

Some idiot hunter, obviously a low-level one, caught himself on his face against a door, and Jared snickered some, glancing down at Ryan to see if he'd noticed, but Ryan was kind of fucked up, so he didn't even bother commenting.  Christian wasn't likely to think he was funny, and Ryan wasn't very coherent.  As long as he wasn't puking all over, Jared could deal with that, but dude, this was getting old already.  

"Nah, the only part he did to himself was getting himself so trashed that he has to hurl every five minutes like a sorority chick.  His ex smashed his face, and some assholes started shooting in the parking lot, which is why I brought him here.  Didn't know what was going on, had a bad feeling it was big, and figured you'd rather kick him out if he wasn't wanted here than risk him disappearing if he was," Jared explained, hesitating a second when Christian chucked his phone down the hallway, but he wasn't really scared like some of the idiot hunters were.  He was just cautious and not interested in being on the receiving end of that rage.

It was why he was keeping his comments to himself, and why he hadn't given Christian shit, yet.

Ben really wasn't the sort to 'casually' kill anyone, but of course Veronica wouldn't have any reason to know that.  She didn't know him very well, and she had a very good reason to hold his killing habits against him.  Actually, he didn't kill much anymore at all, considering he wasn't an active hunter anymore.  Considering how he was worried about her safety now, he'd have been very interested in making sure she was taken care of if he'd known that she even existed when he took down the evil bastard that happened to be her father.  Vincent Cross hadn't deserved the quick death he'd gotten, but Ben was Crimson, not Frost; he didn't do the brutal, nasty kills that they were known for.

Her agreement to go home and be safe was a relief, but only for a moment or so while his brain shot ahead to his immediate plans once he knew she was okay.  Then, she mentioned her vampire friend, which he couldn't deny was a good idea, until she said 'Stefan'.  Steven was a common enough name, but Stefan?  No, he knew that name, and if he knew that vampire, he didn't want her anywhere near that bastard.  Could it be, though?

She regarded him almost shyly, all fluttering eyelashes and demure body language, and he tried to decide how likely it was that Stefan could have gotten into SE without anyone realizing who he was.  Was that crazy prick capable of playing the nice guy that well?  Not everyone at SE was a pushover, so surely one of them would have noticed?  Jesus Christ, he couldn't take that chance.

"Veronica, wait!" he called, coming up behind her and lightly grabbing her arm to halt her progress.  "This vampire you know, he's at Single Earth?  Blond, German?  If he's the guy I'm thinking, you're not his favorite kind of victim, but that doesn't always matter.  Just...damn it, stay with me for now, I'll figure something out."

Obviously, she didn't have to, but going to Stefan wasn't a good idea, especially if she was going to call him and draw his attention to her.  Ben could bet that Stefan was out causing havoc, but if someone put up a big neon sign like that, how could he not show up?  Exactly.  Pulling his phone out again, Ben called up Single Earth, and Eliza was much nicer to talk to than Verde had been.

"Eliza, this is Ben Haven.  Someone from Onyx should be getting in touch with all of you about the crazy that is going down tonight, but I need to know if you've seen a vampire by the name of Stefan or Steven tonight?"

"Veronica, wait!"

Veronica smiled a victorious smile, one so dark that it lit her eyes up in an unnatural way. She made herself stumble a little, surprised by his call. She turned around, tilting her head at his hand on her arm, and gave him an odd look. "What's up?"

"This vampire you know, he's at Single Earth?  Blond, German?  If he's the guy I'm thinking, you're not his favorite kind of victim, but that doesn't always matter.  Just...damn it, stay with me for now, I'll figure something out."

Veronica faked shock, opening her mouth and making a WUT face a him. "But, wait," she stammered, following him because he was practically yanking her along. "He's blonde, sure - actually, he's kind of cute," she trailed off, until he stopped in his tracks and gave her a Look. "Uh, but, very bad, yes," she nodded emphatically. "Wait, what do you mean by 'victim'? I - whoa!" she said, as he reeled her in before she got hit by a car as it came flying through the parking lot.

"You know, I can just go sit in a tree somewhere or something. Even though it is kind of cold," she added, a frown on her face. "On second thought, hanging out with you doesn't sound like a bad idea."

This level of multitasking wasn't good for Ben's sanity, but between Eliza NOT answering his question and Veronica calling Stefan 'cute', he wasn't sure how much he could process right about then.  That didn't include a pretty horrible rendition of 'In the Jungle' coming from the background on Eliza's end. 

"Are you people having a party over there?" he demanded, the idea so ridiculous that it actually didn't work in his brain.  People were dying, so why wouldn't SE be unaware and having a party?

At least Veronica seemed to have rethought her plans, mostly based on the looks he was giving her as she spouted more ridiculous all the time.  Cute.  Christ.

"Alright, listen to me, and listen quickly because there is no time.  Midnight is attacking the guilds and it's basically open season on whoever they want to attack at this point.  People are dying.  Onyx is supposed to contact both of your locations to try to arrange evacuation or defenses, so that's not my deal, but the vampire I'm talking about is a psychopath and a serial killer.  If he shows up there, you're all in danger, so I need to know now, have you heard from a blond vampire who goes by Stefan or some variation of that name?" he asked again, and really, he couldn't stress the importance anymore than that.  He didn't know Eliza personally, so he couldn't have told her that she was Stefan's type, but if he could have, he would have. 

Veronica's brow furrowed as Ben asked if there was a party going on at Single Earth. "Oh god," she said as he obviously got hung up on. "I know what's going on. You ever met a Lemur shapeshifter? Yeah, you don't want to. They're fucking crazy." She almost told him that Niall had forbade anyone from ever taking one into Midnight - ever. But she caught herself and just made a "Hmm," sound followed by a laugh.

She realized that she'd sworn, and that was a little out of character for her, but she blew it off because Ben would understand when he got to meet one. "Don't say I never warned you," was all she commented, finalizing her position on Lemurs. Otto was insane. He'd hung a hammock up in Single Earth and she'd seen him lay in it and strum a ukulele while singing some tribal shit at the top of his lungs. In his underwear.

She followed Ben to his car, all the while avoiding people as they rushed here and there. She stopped to behold a man she'd never seen before stalk by, an obviously emotion exchange with a short brunette in tow. She was crying, and he was yelling, and then suddenly a dark wave of... something passed over her. She shivered, and she didn't like it, standing closer to Ben as she felt very unsafe suddenly.

"But WHY, Rigel? I don't understand, I can help! You know what happens if you lose it!" she was shouting.

He turned, slowly, the dark pressing aura circling out like a shockwave. "Go inside!" he commanded. "I'm not doing this right now. INSIDE." He watched her throw her arms up with a cry and storm back towards the building, and then he realized he had an audience. He looked at Veronica, and then Ben, a brow raised. "Sisters," he said, as though it explained everything. He got into a dark vehicle and slammed the door, pulling out of the lot in a hurry.

The girl looked around like she was totally lost, kicked a random piece of trash, and then stalked back towards the building.

"Yeah, we should just go now and get your sister," she said, her voice trailing off as she spoke.

The entire events up until he actually reached the infirmary doors were a blur. He could hear Jared and Christian talking - well, Jared explaining while Christian no doubt blamed him for all of this. He wasn't really in the mood to deal, so he just hobbled along until a brunette woman came through and got him onto a bed. He watched through glassy eyes and shaky vision as Christian and Jared talked at the foot of the bed, the woman working her doctor skill.

"Of all the nights to pick to drink," he moaned, finally.

That was clearly the wrong comment for Christian to hear. "Really? So what night exactly is it that you reserve for not getting hammered and getting into a fight? Because it sure as fuck isn't one that ends in a 'y'," he snapped.

Ryan seemed to process this for a second, and then his face twisted into an indignant, angry expression. "Hey! I'll have you know I was sober for most of the morning." After a pause, and an 'Ow' muttered as the woman jabbed him with a needle, he considered what he said. "But I was hungover." He proceeded to laugh his Muttly laugh.

Christian turned to Jared. "Well, thank fuck he's got you," he said. The way he said it sounded more like an insult, but it was really hard to tell. Christian was blazing hot pissed, and it happened so rarely that nobody really knew how to react.

Colleen paused in the middle of what she was doing and gave Christian a warning glance. "If you're going to get him all riled up again, I'm going to need you to wait outside." She wasn't afraid to order him around, and her prissy British accent didn't really do anything to sweeten her tone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were in charge," Christian snarled.

"In this room I am," she countered evenly.

Christian paused, and then pointed at her. "You've been hanging out with Victor far too much for my liking," he accused. "He's rubbing off on you."

She smirked. "My son says the same thing. Now go somewhere else while I sew your brother up. You can yell at him later." She focused back down on what she was doing.

Ryan jerked. "Hey! No, I don't want to be yelled at later!" he yelled. He looked at Jared, like Jared was going to do something about it, but the vampire had clearly turned off his Asshole Switch while he was in the lion's den. Ryan sighed and slumped back down, muttering something to himself.

"This fucking sucks."

Ben's jaw tightened as he heard even more singing and odd sounds from the background, Eliza getting more upset and assuring him that she hadn't seen the vampire in question, but at least she confirmed that she knew who he was talking about.  He also didn't miss the wailing in the background that sounded distinctly different from the singing and 'party' sounds.  Eliza promptly excused herself in the middle of her former statement, which made him wonder if she was lying.  There wasn't much he could do about it, but now he had to decide if he was going to be selfish and go get Isolde first, or if going to Single Earth was priority.

"Fuck," he hissed, seeing the fight between Rigel and his sister and not finding it helpful.  Isolde, or Single Earth?  Was there really anything that one person could do to save those people?  If he showed up alone (or even worse, with Veronica in tow), was there really anything he could do?  Maybe he could push an evacuation?

Regardless, he had to get to his car, and definitely had to figure out what to do with Veronica that would both keep her safe from the problem at large and not shove her into a whole new problem.  It was why taking her with him upset him, knowing he was bound to end up in some kind of mess, but not taking her with him worried him that she'd find trouble, anyway.  He tried Isolde's phone again as he cut a swift path to his vehicle, and again there was no answer.  Either she was crazy busy at the guildhouse, or something was wrong.  He wanted to try Jillian's phone next, but would that just draw attention to her and put her at risk?  Was she already at risk?  He didn't want to drag her into all of this, to a guildhouse and a nightmare, for no reason.  If she wasn't on the hit list already, that would put her on it, just like John.  He wanted to call John just as much, but would that just reveal the missing kid's location?

Even Veronica, Single Earth and all that, didn't need to know anything about Jillian or John, just in case.  He didn't delude himself into thinking that if the two of them got overwhelmed he'd be able to keep her from being captured, and then if she knew anything she wasn't supposed to, they were all even more screwed than they had been.  "Alright, Veronica, I'm taking you with me only because I don't want you to go somewhere alone and get into trouble, but if we get attacked, you need to fly away immediately, understand?"

Ironically, running and flying was what he always told both Isolde and Jillian to do if things turned sketchy; it seemed to be a plan that he returned to whenever the situation was bad, and why not?  It hadn't blown up in his face yet. 

Jared really was, believe it or not, operating with his Asshole Switch off while he was dealing with Christian, and it was truly something to see the normally rude, aggressive guy lock down and behave himself.  He was no less himself, that force in his voice and body language certainly not gone just because he wasn't using it to support douchey behavior, but he didn't know any of these people and the situation was bad.  If only one of those factors were in place, he wouldn't have cared enough to change his behavior, but with both, he knew better.  Jared knew how to buckle down if he had to.

Christian being as pissed as he was really didn't hurt the situation, either, though Jared actually dealt with that admirably.  He could have made a nasty comment, complete with a pile of curses, a few insults and a good dose of truth, but he was even careful about that.  He let Ryan and Christian bitch at each other without adding his own commentary, just responding when the guild leader made a comment at him, and that included the insult, or whatever it was.

"Thank fuck is right.  If he didn't have me, you'd have a corpse or a ransom call by morning," Jared pointed out, and it was surprisingly without venom.  He knew it was true, and as little credit as people normally gave him, he was a smart guy.  He had no college degree, nothing that said he was a genius, but put him into a life or death situation and he was going to survive if there was even a chance for him. 

Whether Christian would bother paying him any mind or not, he wasn't going to play meek just because these people could kill him for being a vampire they weren't fond of, just like he wasn't going out of his way to antagonize the hunter.  He also wasn't getting in the way of the bitch with the needles, because that was NOT his deal.  That, and she told Christian off, which Jared thought the hunter both needed and deserved.  For a doctor, she wasn't half-bad, and whoever that Victor they were talking about was didn't sound all that horrible, either, even if he had a shitty name.

Christian nodded to acknowledge Jared's proclamation that he saved Ryan's ass, but he didn't throw down the red carpet or toss confetti. He was far too mad about how the night was going for any of that bullshit, and he didn't like how suddenly he had to babysit two different problems at the same time. Speaking of 'babysit two problems at the same time', he looked up as Melody and Shane made their way into the infirmary. Melody stopped a little, startled by his presence in there.

"Well, come on," he said, motioning them over to sit down. "She'll be able to look at you as soon as she's done sewing my brother up." He didn't miss the grimace on Jared's face as Shane came into the room. He could only imagine that Jared didn't really care for a precious lot of people. He briefly considered telling the Craft siblings to fuck off and go somewhere else, but it didn't really promote the idea that he was trying to look after their well being, so he said nothing besides a brisk nod after they sat.

"If you'll all excuse me, I have to go run a guild before these idiots burn it to the ground," he announced. He spun on his heel and left the room, punctuating his departure with a slam of the door.

"Well just touch him," Ryan snapped. "It must be hard to be so importa- OW, WHAT THE FUCK LADY!" he yelled. Olivia had stabbed him quite hard with the needle she'd been using to shut his arm up, and when he looked up at her, she had it several inches from his face.

"This needle is for good boys who don't move around and accidentally get stabbed in the eye," she warned him calmly. She turned back to her work.

Ryan looked at Jared with wide eyes, but said nothing more until Dr. Watkins had put gauze on him and pushed him out of the chair. Then, and only then, did he limp to his friend and say, "She's fucking crazy," in a quiet, hissing whisper.

The addition of the Craft siblings to the room wasn't something that Jared was all that pleased about, but only because he'd known Shane back in school and had beaten the kid's face in a few times (actually, that wasn't the whole truth because Shane and his friends had gotten Jared a few times, but one on one, Jared had always eventually won).  Melody was usually hot enough that other than a few comments that pissed Shane off, Jared didn't bother her all that much.  That, and he'd been with Angela, which meant that he really didn't give a shit about the good little girls, their rotten brothers and the prince charmings that they ended up dating.  So not his scene.

He'd have been interested to know that Melody's Prince Charming was a cat (he'd have laughed at that alone) and that he'd gotten stolen from her by a crazy vampire, and Shane definitely had his attention pretty quickly because the aura of energy he put off was distinctly vampire.

Ha!  Ironing.

Still, other than a glare at the bloodied pair, Jared was paying more attention to the bitch with the needle and his best friend, neither of which were all that happy, and he stiffened at Christian's slamming of the door and the doctor's threat with the needle.  Ooooookay, bitch was crazy.

"Just sit the fuck still," he hissed to Ryan as quietly as he could, watching the doctor now like she might take that fucking needle to either of them, and when Ryan finally limped over to him and the woman was focused on Melody and Shane Craft, Jared was ready to peace out.

At least Ryan seemed to have sobered up some.  "Listen, dude, you smell like a bar toilet, so we need to get your rank ass cleaned up and figure out what the fuck we're doing, because this place is making me twitchy.  Do you know where anything is here?"

He'd only recently found out about Ryan's connection to Frost, so he didn't know how often (or how rarely, which was more likely the case) Ryan had been here.  He was hoping it had been enough times that he'd know where a shower and a change of clothes could be found, because it was bad.

 By the time Ryan could move, he was sobering up to the point where he was aware he needed a shower and a change of clothing. He grunted at Jared in affirmation that he had clothes at the guild house, and hobbled out of the infirmary just as Firuza walked through a fucking mirror in the grand hall entrance.

She focused her rather hawk-like gaze on them both, head tilting for a split second before she turned and grabbed a darting Christian Shane as he attempted to cut a path through the people. In one instant, she had him turned around and facing her. Ryan stopped in his tracks and held a hand up for Jared to do the same.

"Listen, bitch - " he started.

"Ryan, shut the fuck up," Christian commanded. "Get Jared and get to your room. NOW."

"So you know who I am," she said, and though the tone sounded amused she was not smiling.

"Well, I have a few guesses, but I know who you aren't," Shane said. None of his hunters in their right mind would have made him do an about face like that, so she was either an enemy or she was a Diamond. At that point, he kind of wished she was an enemy. Diamond presence meant that he was in danger of losing his footing.

"Calm down," she spat, watching his face betray his thoughts as they flashed through his head. "There's only one guild getting rearranged tonight, and it isn't yours." She was still expecting Taro at some point, though Link was there should she need him. She wouldn't blow his cover unless she absolutely had to, that was certain. She didn't really deem Christian a threat, though. He was level-headed.

"I think you'll agree I'm a bit necessary right now," she said, letting go of his shoulder which she'd practically crushed in turning him towards her at such a speed. He was manly enough to shake it off, and he nodded his head, indicating for her to follow him.

"Oh, I agree, but you don't need to piss on me to establish dominance," he snapped.

Firuza made a face akin to a smile, but it wasn't quite, and it was wry, whatever it was. "Maybe," she admitted. "I will need you to get all of your 5 hunters and gather them in the main room, if you please."

Christian gave her a sour look. "I've been trying to do that but our communication has been blown to bits. Everyone that's here, though, I can make that happen. This way," he said, rushing ahead of her to the room in question.

 Holly was headed to the main room anyways when the call came in, but she stopped dead in her tracks in the hall, causing people to run into her as they swarmed by. What the fuck was that? She stood as still as could be, pushing against the wall to try and determine what the rushing sensation over her was, and finally concluded that she didn't know, and she didn't like it, but whatever it was, it gave her the urge to move her ass.

She walked into the main room as a woman she'd never seen before stood with Christian, delegating orders. She was about to say something when a tall blonde woman tapped her on the shoulder. Holly turned around and met with golden eyes - hawk eyes. Since when was there a hawk in the guild?

"I need you to come with me," she said.

Holly looked helplessly up at Christian, but the woman standing next to him just waved her off, and so Holly followed the blonde to the next room. There, Timber was already standing.

"I thought you were at the Lounge?" she asked, confused.

Timber shrugged. "I was. I was needed here."

There were other people in the room she didn't recognize, but all of them were birds of some sort. And then there was the hawk, who was standing next to a man she'd never seen before and speaking softly to him. Holly wanted to ask what the fuck was going on, but when the man glanced at her, she felt... compliant. It was something she rarely felt, so she didn't know what to make of it. She looked back at Timber, whose brilliant teal eyes were focused ahead and empty.

"Okay," Holly said to herself slowly. "I see what you mean."

Okay, so this was made bad enough by the fact that everyone in the guild seemed to have lost their minds, the Craft kids were there, and Christian was pissed as fuck, but Jared was already making plans to figure out what the hell was going on and get the hell out of there.  He wasn't kidding when he said the place was making him nervous, and when he got nervous, his mood deteriorated pretty quickly.  Since he was still sore and not quite finished healing up, hungry and out of the loop here, his mood was already pretty sour, and it was only headed further south with the addition of other people's attitudes and the lady with the needles.  He really didn't like needles.

Then came the bitch who walked out of the fucking mirror.

Right, this was way above his pay-grade.  Time to dip, seriously.  Really, the only thing keeping him there that long was the fact that he didn't know what the hell was happening, so he didn't know what the best course of action was.  Yeah, the safest route was to be a good boy and stay in the guildhouse, but it was also boring as fuck and made him feel useless.  Of course, he also didn't want to get offed because he was wandering around somewhere else.  This whole situation was shit.

He also didn't know that both his apartment and Ryan's had been ransacked looking for the two of them.  That was going to piss him off.


The lady from the mirror whipped Christian around like he was a rag doll, and Jared didn't really blame Ryan for speaking up, but he did blame Christian for snapping back.  Seriously, must be nice to have so much back-up that you could be an asshole to everyone you knew.  Jared and Ryan were assholes to each other, but he somehow got the feeling that Christian and Ryan didn't have that kind of relationship, and he definitely knew that he and Christian didn't.  This was getting old fast.

"What the fuck are we, ten?" he snapped to Ryan, not sure if he really believed his ears.  Did they just get sent to their rooms?  No, they got sent to Ryan's room, which meant that someone had better be telling Jared 'no homo' very quickly, for starters.  Then, there was the fact that not only was he an adult and a very capable one at that, he was a fucking vampire.  He wasn't a child, and getting the 'go to your room' order from anyone hadn't worked on him in about 8 years, not since he was old enough that he wasn't afraid of his shitty mother and her asshole boyfriends.  It definitely didn't work coming out of Christian, and the only thing that had kept him from snapping back at this point was that Ryan moved and Christian was paying attention to Alice of the fucking looking glass.

"Listen, dude, I know he's your fucking brother and something big is going down, but I didn't sign up for this shit.  If we're going to be stuck in this place, someone better explain what the fuck is going on and quit with the kid bullshit," he bitched, and really, that's all it was.  Obviously, something was wrong and Ryan had been targeted.  That meant that Jared was staying right where he was, and that was with Ryan.  Ryan was the only friend, really the only anything he had left, so he wasn't going to walk away from him when he was likely in danger of being ganked.  Not happening. 

Immediately upon arriving in Frost, Loic had put out his call to the birds in the area, quickly drawing in a collection of them, including Timber and Holly.  He'd actually pushed a little harder on both of them, knowing them by name, and it amused the hell out of him that this loud, obviously nervous and hyperactive young male crow had also answered his call, and was sitting still only because Loic himself had told him to take a seat.  He was fidgeting, leg bouncing up and down in his seat and his fingers drumming on his knee, but he was pleasant and eager to do whatever he was asked to do.  Selene didn't seem as happy with his presence, but that only made it more entertaining, since Loic had let Selene do a lot of the 'collecting' of the birds, including guiding them into the building and to the right room once they arrived at the guild.

Actually, what was most interesting were the macaws.  In all honesty, he'd known there was one in Onyx, but he hadn't known for sure if it would respond to his call, considering the differences between Arini and the rest of the Avians.  As it turned out, all birds were his, because TWO macaws responded, though he wasn't really sure what the hell to do with them.  It wasn't like he could use them as part of the communications network, considering how obvious they were, and the female wasn't a hunter.  The male had arrived a bit late and was an entirely different story, pretty much all around, and Loic wasn't even going to examine that situation until after he'd gotten finished with the rest of this.  

"Thank you," he offered Selene, and then he addressed his attention to the rest of the birds and it was as good as if he'd stepped forward and into the center of the room.  He just had their eyes, all of them, and he knew it.  "Digital communications were compromised before this mess even started, so all of you are going to play a very important role until the lines are considered secure."

He was completely and utterly matter-of-fact when he explained it because in the end, he was doing it as a courtesy.  He didn't have to explain anything to them, because they would do what he wanted regardless.  "Timber," he called, and with just her name, he started pumping her full of the information she needed, including images of Noelani and Murphy, his own impressions of them and their locations.  She was to report to them and serve as their personal messenger for whatever the hell they needed to tell the rest of their people.  When he called Holly up, he did the same with her, sending her to Crimson, which meant Benjamin and Taro.  He'd considered, while they were all assembling, sending the eager young crow to Benjamin because he was certain that the crow would talk a mile a minute and fidget around in Benjamin's space, which would be hilarious, but he couldn't risk the crow dying and losing vital information en route somewhere.  Loic wasn't the most compassionate of souls, but he wouldn't do that to Fin.  

He would absolutely do that to Benjamin.  The funny would be worth the bitching later.

So, he'd sent those two specifically because they could handle some heat if they had to.  Once he'd moved them through, he turned his attention to the couple of others, which included Fin, the two parrots and a quiet young gentleman who looked distinctly uncomfortable in the building.  Loic hadn't paid him much mind (the loud crow and the vibrant macaws were far more aggressive in taking his attention, not to mention the fact that he'd increased the level of pull he was exerting to see who perked up their ears), but once Holly and Timber were on the move, he focused on John a little more completely.

Ohhh, wasn't this interesting.

"Really?  A prince?  I thought that woman was insane when she mentioned you," he murmured, all the more pleased with himself.  This night was going to suck, but he was definitely finding birds that he wanted to keep tabs on later.  Speaking of which, he'd gotten a few hits, some of which were going to take some added effort.

Reaching further for a few others, they're en route.  Three vampires also answered, but they're going to take more...direct attention.

They would, too.  That wouldn't exactly mean that it wasn't worth it, and Noelani would need the extra power boost, so he was willing to do it, but he knew it would take more effort.  That he had a crow, something else that he couldn't really identify, a hawk, and a raven on the way didn't hurt, either.  He would make something work, he knew that much.

 She was staring out the window in silence when that sensation crept up on her. She grit her teeth together, angry that something was influencing her, urging her. She had been in Midnight long enough to know when someone was trying to fog her mind, but she'd never felt it so fucking directly before. It actually became painful to resist it, and finally she just let go.

Veronica's hand flew up to Ben's chest in a sudden movement and she gasped, "Turn the car around." She closed her eyes, nearly - well, it didn't matter what it looked like, but she was trying to breathe steadily so that she wouldn't say or do something stupid. She resisted the urge to fly out of the window of his car right then and there, and supplemented the desire by unbuckling her seatbelt to alleviate some of the pressure.

She put her hand to her forehead, cheeks flushed as her brilliant blue eyes alternated between being wide and squeezed shut. She had been ready to scream until she'd finally given in - fucking vampires, whoever it was, she was going to end them when this was over - but no time for that now. She was riding the euphoric wave, busily gripping the leather of the car seat as she tried to ignore Ben splitting his gaze between her actions and the road.

Timber watched with a lofted brow as the Arini female practically affixed herself to Loic's leg. Beside her, Holly made a noise, but said nothing, and the two exchanged a knowing glance. When Loic called on her, she raised her chin slightly, feeling refreshed and bright-eyed despite the long shift she'd had so far.

"I understand," she said when the feed concluded. She turned and swept her jacket from the back of the chair by the crook of her finger and headed towards the exit. Behind her, Holly did much the same. The two walked in unison down the hall until they hit one of the side exits, and vanished into the cold night air, a chorus of throaty croaks between them as they communicated.

Saffron, meanwhile, had nothing to offer except adoration and rambling in Portuguese. It finally took the disfigured Rafael to pull her from Loic, and his expression was part apologetic and part very intrigued. As they went to sit back down in their chairs, Saffron directed her attention from Loic to Finn, and anyone else who would listen to her squawk. No, the two Arini were incredibly useless at this juncture.

 Why was Sasha the one stuck with the baby the majority of the time when she was the one who had the least interest? She'd finally gotten the kid handed off to whoever would take it. It had taken some convincing, but finally Theron had agreed (he'd say he was bullied into it, she'd say she'd just taken off her top for a brief moment). She was going to go see Tanya and Katya, but they were both occupied, so she ended up at Frost.

Imagine her surprise when she walked into an AA Meeting - Avians Anonymous.

"Oh, god," she said, her voice obviously full of contempt and disgust. "This is a new low," she said, flicking her blue eyes up to the man in the front of the room. "Shut up," she said preemptively as she saw Selene's mouth open. "I knew him when you were still an egg." And with that, she walked center up the aisle between the chairs, right up to Loic. She paused as she turned on her heel, staring at Rafael, and then tilted her head.

"What's with the rainbow?" she asked, looking back at Loic. She meant his wings, obviously. "Did you do that?"

 Dania had been at Onyx when Rafael and Saffron just got up and left, but she hadn't been aware of that - she'd been in a room prepared for her at the guildhouse, laying on the bed and trying to determine what her next move was. She'd fallen asleep for a while, actually, because she'd been so tired and stressed out, but she woke up abruptly about ten minutes after they left - or so she figured after asking questions.

She had a feeling she needed to get to Frost right then, and she didn't have time to explain why. She had the presence of mind to change from her pajama pants and camisole into jeans and a shirt, and then she went. She flew as quickly as she could, which was actually petty goddamned fast, and managed to walk into Frost just as Sasha had gone in to bother Loic.

By the time she got into the room where she felt directed to, Sasha was standing at the front, looking rather like she was enjoying herself. She whipped around when Dania literally slammed the door open, pulse racing and chest rising and falling with a measured effort to control her heavy breathing.

"Oh, you'll definitely want me here when her boyfriend shows up," Sasha said, poking a finger into Loic's chest with a very smug grin.

Dania's golden eyes went from Sasha to Loic to Selene, and then back to Loic. She still stood in the doorway, obviously trying very hard to determine why she was where she was.

"You have to be kidding me," Selene's low voice came from behind Loic and Sasha.

"Shut up," the blue-eyed vixen said again, blatantly brushing off the other hawk's thoughts on the matter.

If Veronica hadn't been SO OBVIOUS with her behavior, Ben might not have even noticed.  He was driving, for one, and oddly enough, Veronica wasn't the only one who'd felt the pull.  It was like a sudden ache, a need to get back to Frost, and it didn't make a damn bit of sense to him but he was sure as hell obeying.  He'd never been rolled by a vampire, and even if he'd had an idea as to what the hell was happening, he wouldn't have understood.  He was a human, so why would some long-distance call from a vampire pull him in? 

Amazing how your blood could betray you.

He'd already been in the process of a very fast U-turn (one that had included a good bit of skidding tires and did not require Veronica's forearm impacting his sternum like that) when she told him to turn the car around, and he really was preoccupied enough that he might have ignored her if not for the way she was yanking her seatbelt off, her flushed cheeks and the gripping of the seat's leather.  Her expression had almost looked pained at first, and then?

Then, he would have sworn that she came.  Yes, like that.  Exactly like that.

"Well, glad someone's enjoying themselves," he remarked, smirking just the slightest despite everything.  Yes, he felt the pull, and frankly?  He wasn't sure if he wished he'd gotten that kind of hit or if he was glad that he hadn't, but it was probably the latter.  The first was tempting, though he'd likely change his mind when he realized who was doing the pulling and why it was affecting him at all.  Yep.

It wasn't like it was long until he found out, either.  They pulled up at Frost and he'd barely gotten the car turned off before Veronica was on the move, and he wasn't far behind her as they hit the doors.  It was then that he took the lead, simply because he was familiar with the corridors and knew where he was going, but he halted as soon as he entered the room with the others in it.

This made no sense.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded, and credit where it was due, he managed to sound appropriately pissed off and indignant that he was even there, and that the source of the call was very obviously the man at the front of the room. 

 God, Selene hated that bitch. She'd had the displeasure of meeting Sasha several times, and every time afterwards she had to fight the urge to bathe herself in bleach. Snakes smelled like mold and dirt and dust, and Sasha always had that stench around her like she'd been laying under someone's cinder blocked patio with a bunch of disgusting slithering creatures.

Ugh.

She made it a point to ignore them while she roved her eyes over the list she had of the available birds in the area. She checked names off of the list as people were made present, but she hesitated when she crossed over two of them. The Strigi were not known for their ability to be controlled, specifically the two she had written down in front of her.

Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? she asked to Loic, tilting her head at him when he turned his attention to her for a brief moment. She knew he'd burn out if he took on too much, even if he acted like he could handle it. That ego of his was a flaw sometimes, as much as she enjoyed his confident nature. She knew he'd blow her concern off, and then refrain from thanking her later when she saved his ass.

And then, two more came in. Sasha BURST out laughing at the male, so much so that she doubled over and had to sit down. Though Selene tried to remain impassive, she couldn't help but turn her head to hide her quivering lips. She didn't want anyone to know that she found something amusing at the same time Sasha did, but really - she hadn't expected Loic to call a non-prince Cygni to the table.

"I did not, and I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to fix it," he told Sasha casually, running his eyes over Rafael's wings once again with interest.  He could fix it, he knew that without a doubt, but an Arini with a demi form?  Did he want to fix it?  Were the wings operable as they were?  The macaw himself didn't know because he'd been moping and hiding since it happened, but Loic intended to make an educated decision when he finally made up his mind about fixing it or not.  Maybe while he was doing it, he could mess with the wiring and somehow keep the demi form; it was worth the attempt, however much the macaw wouldn't like it at the time.

Loic was no more fond of snakes -- filthy, slithering creatures always on their bellies --  than Selene was, but he did enjoy Sasha's company and could no more blame her for having power over the serpents than she could blame him for his affinity with birds.  It was just the way it was.  She was still a good time, and had magnificent ideas in that pretty head of hers.

Be nice, I'd rather not be in the middle of you and Sasha on top of everything else tonight, he warned Selene, and what he wasn't addressing even in his thoughts was the fact that 'everything else' was going to be an extreme load for him.  Titania and Oberon weren't lightweights, which was exactly why he was calling them in, but they weren't going to be happy about it.  If he lost his grip too soon, especially with the other vampire in his thrall, he would be in serious trouble.  It meant playing his cards just right.  Selene had reason to worry.  No, but Oberon and Titania will be extremely useful, and I can't take just one without the other becoming a problem.  They're a matched pair.

That should have meant that he didn't bother with the other vampire, but she had the kind of information that Noelani would need.  As soon as the woman arrived, he was sending her to Noelani with orders to tell everything.

Before any of the vampires, two more mortals arrived, and even Loic smiled at the male's entrance.  What is this, indeed?  The female, she was interesting because even just a brush of her surface thoughts made it clear that she wasn't quite what she looked like on first glance, but the male?  Loic approached him suddenly, circling around him and mentally urging the female to give them space while he considered the man.  Tall, strong build, dark features and tanned skin.  He probably would have been pale, but he spent far too much time outdoors, being 'manly'.  Loic appreciated that, but it was very unlike a Cygni's usual habits.  Then again, the true prince in the room, this Haven man's cousin, wasn't exactly typical for the breed, either, having actually fled his life and line.  Very interesting, but for as often as he'd heard that it was possible and that it had happened, he hadn't actually met a non-prince Cygni before.  This warranted some playtime.

"Sasha, what do you think of this one?  He seems human, but swan is in his blood and he answers to me.  What else do you think he'd respond to?" he asked, glancing her way.  He was interested in her ideas on the matter, and it was issues like this that made one wonder exactly why Loic was on the team he played for.  He probably could have rocked the Midnight colors.

 Sasha had stood back up and brushed herself off after the initial shock wore down from seeing Ben, who projected the human vibe so well she almost hadn't realized, pop into the room looking necessary and alert - and confused. When the other girl he was with, who looked as though she had some serious internal conflicts of her own, moved out of Loic's way, Sasha strolled up to them to get a better look at him.

"I don't know," she said slowly, her icy blue eyes roaming over him in an incredibly predatory way. No, when Sasha looked you up and down, you knew. She had a way of doing it that made people feel violated, and she did it right then, because - well, because she fucking could. Who'd stop her? Loic? Doubtful. He underestimated her because she was a woman, and she let him have it. She wasn't interested to see who'd really win in a fight, but she'd always bet on black when the idea came up, and never mind that he'd probably kick her ass.

She just didn't care.

"Don't know," came her lacking eloquent response, something she did from time to time. "Give his string a pull and see." Because, frankly, if she found someone who was latent snake whatever and they couldn't shift because of some stupid fairytale? She'd yank on them until they died or shifted. Why? She fucking could.

 Selene tried not to be contrary when Loic told her to stuff it, but she couldn't help another, Are you sure about that? when he told her he didn't want to get between she and Sasha. She had it on good authority that would never be something he'd actually turn down, given she could tell what he was thinking even when he didn't deign to tell her.

I realize they're a package deal, but Titania is a child of the fucking moon and Oberon could be the Goblin King from Labyrinth. They're both not exactly the most grounded folks, so do you think they won't just turn this entire operation into some huge production of the Wizard of Oz? Because, when that lady starts talking, the room doesn't look like the room anymore. Let's not even get into what the Fairy King can do, because I am still so traumatized. Why you ever thought that place was a good idea to go was beyond me. It was worse than a 3D rendition of Fantasia 2000. I still have nightmares about bubbles and glitter suffocating me.

Well, Loic had a full and uncensored feed, so it only served him right that she went off. Let's not even talk about the other one. If you can juggle all of them at once and not lose it, I'll do that thing you asked me to do.

The ominous thing promise. It was something different every time. Because Selene had free will, she was given the ability to tell Loic to stuff himself from time to time, and as such occasions arose where she'd use the Thing as a bargaining chip. She almost felt like he liked it as a game, since they didn't play any as a rule of thumb, but she could never tell. She supposed it was more gratifying for him if she was proven wrong and had to own up to it rather than if he just turned her into one of those ridiculous robots that mad scientist made.

The thing in question this time was something utterly ridiculous, too. He'd know what it was the moment she said it, and he'd know that he'd really want to keep those birds in line for the sake of being able to witness it.

Fortunately, it was unlikely that they'd ever find out what would happen if he and Sasha went toe to toe, because Loic was fond of the sisters.  As a trio, they were a force to be reckoned with, but he was confident he could have beaten them individually, if the situation ever arose.  He'd much rather trade notes with them, particularly Sasha and sometimes Tanya.  Sasha was worse than he was on some things, and Tanya had the potential and some fantastic ideas; it was just Katya who didn't generally see eye to eye with him, and he even liked her.  She was classy and he could appreciate the moral high-ground she took, even if he found it to be pretty ironic that she may very well have controlled the most powerful animal base (come on, lions, tigers, cheetahs, lynxes and leopards?) of all of them, but he still wished she was more willing to enjoy her power.  Ah, well, he and Sasha could have enough fun with this between actually doing what he came here to do.

The problem here, for Ben anyway, was that Sasha and Loic weren't all that different in their first instincts.  Sasha had said Loic should 'pull his strings and find out', which translated to pushing him as hard as was possible and seeing whether shifting or death happened first, and Loic was in complete agreement.  While a non-prince Cygni was interesting, it was fairly useless to Loic, and even the build-up was entertaining.  The prince's eyes had gone wide, obviously understanding even before the non-prince had, and Loic had to give the paranoid young man credit for being on the ball with that one.  Haven wasn't far behind, though, and the sudden spike of horror and fear was well worth letting him come upon the realization himself.  It gave Loic time to consider other things, as well.

Like Dania Shardae.  A lovely golden hawk, all by her lonesome.  Selene had been upset instantly, which Loic wasn't surprised about (she knew he liked hawks), and Dania promised some entertainment all on her own when Sasha mentioned her boyfriend.  A snake?  Oooh, yes, and not just a snake; it was the younger Cobriana.  If he timed it just right, he might be done with everything else by the time the cobra realized what was happening and showed his face.

"I should have put out a call in this area much sooner," he practically purred, turning just enough to brush a finger over her soft cheek, and he smirked.  One problem at a time, however, and Haven was most pressing.  After the thoughts that Selene was putting into his head, of course.

That sounds like a challenge, but you make a good point about the bubbles and glitter.  Titania and Oberon will be a last resort pull, and we can depend on them to hit hard and fast if needed.  I'll admit that any idle time whatsoever with the two of them here could be dangerous.

Yes, he'd just admitted that she was right and allowed for a change in plan, even if it was a slight alteration and not a complete re-write.  Mark that down, folks.  Honestly, it probably meant that he was going to be ridiculously stubborn about something else in the very near future, and that something else might involve hawks or 'that thing'.  Just saying.

He was going to find a way to make 'that thing' happen.  Somehow, and Rafael had better hope it worked out, or he might double his efforts to make something interesting go on in that corner.  It'd be too late for Ben by that point, or within the next few minutes, probably.  Considering he raised his open hand in front of Ben and suddenly squeezed it into a fist to focus his power inside of the man, something was going to happen.  At this point, Ben shouted as he doubled over, obviously in pain, and Loic twisted with his power, pulling harder.

"You will either shift, or you will break, swan," he ordered, giving a yank that drove the man to his knees.  Progress.

 To say that Veronica felt like a kid at Christmas would be an understatement. If the situation were different and her father had never been killed, well, that might have trumped this sensation, but right now? Well, let's see - she'd been about to trick the man who was responsible for her being taken into Midnight in the first place into going to look for his sister, whom she hoped by now was already dead if not close to it, only to ambush him on the way.

And then she'd just felt awesome - and now, well. Ben was on his knees, screaming in pain, and the vampire - the man of the hour - was just yanking away on his blood, trying to make some results out of it. She practically exploded she was so happy. She'd walked away from them and sat down safely away from everyone else, ensuring she got a clear show. She really was grinning from ear to ear, her big blue eyes watery with joy.

She was still terrified on the inside, of course. Obviously they were planning an assault against Midnight. Veronica was part of Midnight. She was only with Ben because she was trying to work her own personal agenda on this matter now that she'd failed to grab Ryan Shane, but somehow she didn't really care at the moment. She just wanted to see Ben suffer.

 And there he went. Sasha was actually a little surprised, if only because he was about to mangle his newest recruit - someone he could control and someone who could pass for human. Didn't that seem counter-productive when it came to surreptitiously getting things done? She looked over at the brunette, who was about to collapse from sheer joy of watching her friend get tortured, and with her characteristic open-mouthed and brow-raised expression, Sasha looked from Veronica to Ben and then back again. She looked stupid, she knew it, she didn't care. She was confused. She also couldn't push through Veronica's mind with Loic there running the show.

She made a note to find out why Raggedy Anne was so happy Andy was getting the stuffing ripped out of him later, but for now, she wanted to see some feathers.

It was Selene who gritted her teeth and tried to put a stop to it. He's valuable. If you break him, he will cease to have that value. Could you please play with your new toy -after- this is done? She was practically begging, but it was more because she needed his focus to be on these vampires who could potentially get together and kick their asses, not on a latent-blooded Cygni.

When he reached out to Dania, though, that made her snap the pen she had in her hand in half. She wanted to yank the girl away from him, but instead she just said nothing and turned her back on the situation - literally, she set the broken pen down on the table and picked up another one, then began furiously scribbling notes against the paper about who went where and what sort of time frames she had to work with for her own purposes.

"Yeah, she dumped her throne for him," she said over Ben's screaming, as if to pick-up on the remark about Dania and Eden. "So now the Shardae family has once again lost another daughter to the Serpiente. Idiots. I don't see what the appeal is." She rolled her eyes, not even offering any apologies to Loic, Dania, or Selene. "He's not even the Diente. He's the - he's the mini-Diente. And actually, he really doesn't want to be the Diente from what I read, and let me tell you, if Lucien doesn't pop up sooner or later, that's what he's going to get. I bet ol' Dania here won't be too happy about that, either."

She reached out and flicked at some of the girl's hair. Dania just looked at the ground, eyes passive as she tried to avoid any confrontation. She was here to see Loic, not this rude brunette.

Did he appreciate Selene's consistent concern about exactly what he was doing?  Not particularly, because he wasn't exactly known for flying off on tangents just because he could, but how could he resist this unique Cygni?  The issue with Titania and Oberon was more him over-extending himself to give Noelani as much firepower as he possibly could, and he did understand and accept the validity of both of Selene's objections.  Personally, he didn't see the worth of the human if he was just a human, unable to take wing if he needed to (slow), unable to heal if he was damaged (weak), and giving off an entirely human aura to almost everyone else (non-threatening).  All around, Loic wasn't impressed with having a human, but he was intrigued by the fact that there was latent bird, and that it was responsive.  As far as he was concerned, how was it a loss if he broke it?

He finally released his hold on Ben, not enough to leave the man completely devoid of his influence, but enough that he was no longer in pain or having whatever was bird in him being twisted around, and the human remained where he was, breathing hard and trying to figure out what had even just happened.  "It's going to take a few sessions to loosen things up enough, or he really will break," he declared, but he was confident that he could do it.  If, in the end, Haven really did break, then it wouldn't be because Loic rushed things.  He could be patient.

I don't see the value in him being human that you do, but he'll need more work to do what I want, so he stays human for now.  Since he's so valuable, you find a use for him.  Do the same for Rainbow Brite, too, because I'm not fixing his wings until we're finished here.

He could be patient, but that didn't mean that he always was.  Ortega was damaged, and that didn't please him.

As if Pavlov's Bell had just sounded, a gaggle of voices broke into the guild, perpetuated mostly by Zaine screaming at someone who was screaming back. It just sort of figured that as soon as she took to considering what she was going to do with Zaine, he and Marius went by the door, Zaine carrying a girl in his arms.

Well, if Marius was going to stick close by him, Sasha wouldn't have any luck at all. As long as Marius stuck with him, though, it also meant that she could do what she pleased with any other Serpiente she found. She looked at Loic, her brows perked and an interested expression on her face.


"The second-hand king approaches," was all she forewarned. She could sense the Cobra was close. Evidently someone had told him they'd seen Dania. She nearly rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

Selene, meanwhile, could think of plenty of things for them to do. As long as Loic kept that pulse beacon of bird love going, she could convince them to do whatever the hell she needed to.

"You two, with me," she said, gesturing to Saffron and Rafael. They were giant colourful pieces of bait. To Ben, she just said, "Your family, I want them here now." Ben might be useless, but he could be convincing, and that meant more Cygni in the long run - which meant more people for Loic to control. They might have been stupid and base, but they didn't have to know how to fight to get information passed, they just had to sit tight and act as a relay. After that, she'd use him as cannon fodder herself if she had to.

Sasha made for quite the introduction before Eden arrived, and as much as he wouldn't have appreciated being called the 'second-hand king', he probably would have rolled his eyes, smirked and given an exaggerated bow to go with it if he'd heard it.  As it was, there would be no such entrance and he wasn't quite as accustomed to having all eyes on him instantly as Lucien was.  Being the owner and manager of his business, especially the way he ran it, had earned him respect in the 'kingdom' he'd built himself in All Hallows, but he never wanted to be Diente and really just didn't have the appropriate attitude for it.  He thought he didn't, anyway, and essentially everyone who had any right to an opinion agreed.  Who knew, really?

He was happy just keeping his own people safe, and though they hadn't been 100% successful at that, they'd done surprisingly well.  Definitely better than Midnight had expected, especially after Niall had arrived and turned into a fucking dragon.  That they had wounded who had survived long enough for medical attention was impressive, and he had Nikki working on a proper head count so that they could figure out who was missing, injured and dead.  He dreaded the results.

What was worse was that Dania was among the missing.  He had confirmation that she'd arrived in Onyx and gone to the room that had been opened for her, and he had word that she'd gone to Frost suddenly, but it was all rumor and asking directions from there.  That he'd found the room with all of the birds in it at all was impressive, and probably only because there had been a lot of unexplained activity there in a very short period of time.  If he'd known what he was walking into, he would have asked Marius to join him, but he'd have still gone.  He wouldn't leave Dania to that, or Saffron for that matter.

There was a serious problem here, and not just in that Sasha was present or that Loic had charge of the birds that were present; Eden had never actually met Sasha.  He'd heard Lucien mention her in passing, but had no real concept of who she was or what she could do, and why should he?  He wanted nothing to do with the guilds or the Serpiente court, and those were both of more interest to her than his little club.  Now, he wished he'd had some warning, because he was taken completely off-guard by her presence as soon as he noticed her.

Surprisingly, she wasn't the first person he noticed.  Rafael and his vivid feathers came first just because the color was that bright and eye-catching (the businessman that he was instantly had plenty of ways that he could put Rafael to use in his club before the bleak reminder that after this, he wasn't sure if he even had much of a business left.  Naturally, that took about 3 seconds of attention before he found Dania, her head down and looking like she was trying to avoid attention from others, which was NOT what he was used to or acceptable.  She wasn't a queen any longer, not officially, but that didn't mean that she didn't deserve the respect she'd most definitely earned.

"Dania?"  Something was very wrong here, with everyone and everything, and his red eyes flicked around the room in search of a culprit, anything that could be the cause of it.  He took in Saffron beside Rafael, Veronica with her obviously pleasant mood, Ben's disheveled appearance, the strange blonde woman and her companion (who had an air about him like he was the single most important being in the guildhouse, nevermind the room), but none of them actually mattered.  Fortunately for him (or perhaps not?), he'd already been on the move for Dania before he locked eyes with the dark-haired woman who'd felt him coming even before he'd known where he was supposed to go.  It was suddenly clear to him how he'd found this room, and it wasn't because of anything except for this woman.  If he tried to say that it wasn't true, he was just lying to himself and had been until he saw her.

She was the scariest thing he'd seen all night.

Somehow he had the presence of mind to step up in front of Dania before his world narrowed down to including himself and Sasha, with Dania like a glimmer of reality behind him.  Too bad Loic would keep her from helping to ground him at all.

"Who are you?" he demanded, or he meant to.  His voice just didn't want to hold that kind of force to it.  With some other vampire, he'd have had his eyes narrowed and his guard up, but with Sasha he couldn't manage much more than an unhappy deer in headlights kind of situation.

 Sasha allowed her bright blue eyes to roam over Eden's form, almost silent so long that it seemed she was ignoring his question. "Nice," was all she said, with a laugh at the end of the word. She bit her lower lip for a moment, as if considering what she was going to do. Of course, she was supposed to be here to "help"... but Katya wasn't anywhere around, for the moment.

"You can call me 'Mistress'," she said with a wicked smile. She wasn't even into that whole submissive/dominant bit. It really didn't appeal to her; not in the way it did to those Midnight freaks. She really just cared about making people do what she wanted them to because she didn't want to do it herself; or to see how far she could push them. And sometimes, like now, to teach them some goddamn humility. Who was she?

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you," she snapped, pushing onto him with her power. If Loic got to be a magnificent bastard, so the fuck did she.

It had been a very long time since Eden had minded a woman (or even a man) looking him over with that appraising kind of attention, if only because he owned the club and everyone who worked there had to get accustomed to getting those once- and twice-overs, but he'd also made it a point to be aggressive with his customer base.  He was very used to that look.

That was why it bothered him even more when Sasha did it and it actually made him uncomfortable.  Perhaps the difference was that she wasn't looking him over the way customers did; there may have been a sexual aspect to it, but there was ownership, and nobody had that right to him.  After all of the struggling and fighting he'd done to get away from the serpiente court and build something for himself, to prevent his parents from 'owning' him and his life like they did Lucien, how dare this vampire try to take his control from him?  He'd earned it through sweat, and sometimes blood.

The funny (in a messed up way, not a funny-haha way) thing was that he'd done the submissive/dominant bit before, both as a show on stage and behind closed doors, and it didn't exactly appeal to him, but he was very familiar with it.  If he WERE to participate, it was only as a dominant and that was for that control thing again.  Nobody had control over him, he didn't allow it, yet here Sasha was.  The problem was that she could take that control, whether he liked it or not.

He did not like it, and right then, he hated his brother for what Lucien must have let her get away with.  

Without understanding what she was capable and who she really was, he'd just had a vague idea that she was a vampire and had this 'thing' for snakes.  Well, he didn't like that 'thing' anymore than Ben was liking Loic, even if he technically had less reason.

For a serpiente that had the ability to be surprisingly tactful about his emotions, particularly annoyance and anger (businessman), Eden had apparently lost most of that skill the moment he walked into the room, because as she pressed harder on him with her power for remaining silent thus far, his eyes flashed and he practically bared his teeth, the effort of resisting her force most definitely affecting him.  That, and Eden had far too many mortal sins under his belt, pride being one of the most prominent (this was the man who'd let a vampire feed from him to save Melisande on her way home, behaved like nothing happened and then told the bastards to get the fuck out, all without telling anyone what had happened); this was a blow.

"Mi--" he started, fighting with himself not to when her power screamed through his entire being to say it.  Nobody could ever say he didn't have some serious force of will, especially for someone with limited training in the ways of hunting, but this was just took much.  He was quiet when he broke, but no less pissed.  "Mistress."

 A self-satisfied smile crept across Sasha's mouth until it turned upright into a sort of slasher smile that was nothing less than incredibly creepy. She held a hand out to him, beckoning for him to come closer to her. "Was that so hard?" she asked, blue eyes sparkling with malevolence. "Come, keep me company."

She turned back to Loic, brows perked. "I suppose we've all got our own perks of the job, no? Now, to my knowledge, Midnight does not employ any in the way of snakes, which is a bit sad, but I do know that one of my clients happens to be the captain of their Raven guard. She's a vampire, too, but I don't think that's anything you can't handle." She paused. "The woman has impeccable taste in art, and her money spends like any other, so I would appreciate it if you didn't harm her too badly."

Dania was creeping closer to Loic now, looking shy and unsure of herself. She had her eyes alternating between him and the ground; unusual, even for Dania. She was raised in the company of royalty and thus she did have a rather large ego, even if she acted as though she were diplomatic about how she used it. She'd also become used to being a little more outgoing, thanks to Eden and the club. But now, she was afraid - she didn't rightly know where she was, and her brain was fuzzy and the man in front of her made it hard for her to think straight. She knew, though, very firmly, that he would protect her. She didn't know how, but she knew it.

Idiot.

Hesitantly, she reached out for his hand, and then drew back. "M - may I?" she asked demurely, batting her long lashes at him.

Sasha let out a little yip of laughter, her arm coiling around Eden's shoulders as he inevitably drew into her presence. "I do believe she wants you to hold her hand." She hesitated for a moment, and then her lower lip jutted out. "Aw, Loic, she's scared!"