Night's Omen

He couldn't deal with the hitting, none of it, but as soon as he reached for Melody, Kiyoshi stopped him again.  He was so close that if she reached up, she'd have been able to touch his fingers, her gasping his name bringing on the new wave of resistance.  It wasn't like it did him any good, since Kiyoshi turned from just holding him still to flexing whatever power it was that had given him the ability to force Derek's change, though it wasn't just a blast of power this time.  That was painful enough, but this?

This was like a slow death, the former sensation of razorblades in his muscles slowing to nearly a crawl, more like the creeping advance of acid beneath his flesh, eating him away and drawing fur and claws on otherwise mostly human limbs.  He'd been looking down at Melody when he reached for her, so he saw her withdraw in horror even as he tried to focus on merely breathing and enduring.  That lasted an impressive, but short amount of time, all while his body took on a shape it was never meant to.  Kiyoshi seemed to be all about pressing those limits lately, and Derek couldn't tell if he had to go this slow or was doing it on purpose, but it didn't much matter.  He couldn't have even known what was happening to him, just that it hurt more than it had even hurt to jump from one form to another.  He didn't have to see the way his normally blue eyes brightened (though Melody didn't get much of that, either, since his eyes were clamped shut) or the way his teeth changed as he grimaced against the agony in his body.  He didn't see the fur, the tail, the subtle shifts in facial structure and bones that would have actually made him more dangerous and intimidating if it weren't so excruciating and unnatural.  The only reason he maintained his feet was because Kiyoshi had ensured that he would.  Otherwise, he'd have been in a ball on the ground, writhing around.

Shane had gotten Melody's call late and grabbed Elise as soon as he listened to the voicemail.  Literally.  As in, she'd been IN the room and he'd grabbed her arm in a grip that would have seriously damaged a human.  He was instantly wanting to kick himself in the ass for missing the call to begin with, but there was a SMALL portion of him that hoped the cat took care of her.  He didn't really believe it was possible, not with how stupid Derek was, but miracles occasionally happened.

"We have to go to my parents' house.  Melody's there with asshole, and she said Midnight's losing its shit.  They think someone'll be after them if they don't get to Frost asap," he explained quickly, only hesitating long enough to jam his shoes on before heading out.  Whether she followed him or not, he HAD to go to Melody, but he hoped she did.  Even if he missed his sister and they were already at Frost, he had to know for sure.  It was a damn good thing he was so determined to check, since he teleported into their front yard to find Melody sitting in the snow with blood dried on her face, her idiot boyfriend seemingly frozen stiff while some chinese freak with a penchant for furries made a toy out of him. 

He wanted to tell the dude to just take the cat and he was taking his sister, but doing that in front of her wouldn't do all that much for their relationship in the future.  He sure as hell didn't care about helping Derek all that much, though his immediate decision to try cracking Kiyoshi in the nose was in the cat's favor, as well.  He'd just been lucky that he landed right in the other vampire's face when he pulled his teleportation trick, and that he was actually pretty quick.  From there, he really only cared about getting Melody up, which was why he was lunging for her in the next second.  If he could grab her, teleport her out of there and maybe come back, would it be so terrible if something bad happened to Derek in the meantime?  He didn't mind the idea of the role reversal, since the savior position was his this time and he didn't feel all that much like risking his hide for the cat.  The second he had a hand on his sister, that was what he was doing.

Elise had delayed for a split second, differing to shake off the notion that it would be something she couldn't handle. She was right - and wrong - on so many different levels. When she'd appeared on scene, the vampire was holding the cat with near-full attention and turning to Shane to direct wrath. She watched as his nose mended itself rather quickly, and judged that he had to be at least her age, if not older. Holding the cat in suspended animation in that grotesque half-form meant he was over five hundred, and that was twice her own age. Shit. Shane knew how to pick enemies, that was certain.

Elise was lucky that Kiyoshi wasn't older and from her region; a Finnén descendant, vampire or not, was a well of power, and since she had none to train her, she was untapped. Finnén magic was odd like that - so many abilities, but they could only be risen by another of the blood. Iago was perhaps lucky in that regard; Elise would never be able to overpower him. Elise realized that the vampire's concentration had been interrupted, and that Derek was mostly human again, but he still retained some qualities that were less than desirable.

She didn't give him time to recharge, instead rushing him and slamming face-first into him. She sent Kiyoshi ass-over-end and landed on top of him, digging right into the structure that was him. She'd wrapped her hands around his throat, crushing his windpipe, when he vanished out from beneath her, landing her on her stomach. She made a surprised noise, but he was already behind her. He was having trouble maintaining control on she and the cat, and so he ripped her off of the ground and threw her into Derek.

Once he had them both in his line of site, he began his symphony anew, and with a bit more anger.

"Second verse, same as the first," he hissed, raising his hands. What he did not expect was for Elise to stumble and freeze for a moment, crying out in surprise.

"Whaaat?" Kiyoshi exclaimed. He threw Derek aside with a gesture, slamming him into the brick wall that was the front of the house, and concentrated on the attacking vampire for a moment. "What are you?" he asked. He tilted his hand very slowly until it was palm up, and then gestured.

Elise began to scream. It was one of the most painful things that she had ever experienced, though her crazy prophetic dreams of chaos were pretty intense. Those weren't physical though; this was. She felt as though Kiyoshi had found a way to get his hands on her internal organs and he was squeezing them and jabbing at them with a hot poker. She screamed like she'd never screamed before, because Elise was somewhat unused to feeling extreme pain, and this was nothing but. Eventually, her scream became a howling noise, and when Kiyoshi had finished, a lovely and extremely fluffy white Tundra wolf was in Elise's place.

"Guess what, class! She's ALSO not supposed to have a demi-form!" he shouted, utterly elated. Because she was a vampire, and a fairly strong one, it took a bit of pulling, but since one vampire had vanished momentarily with the human girl and the cat was recovering and still disfigured, Kiyoshi was able to take his time, which he did with great pleasure. What he finished with was some half-wolf half-Elise item, where her hands and feet were distinctly lupine, as were her eyes and ears. He'd just begun to pull the snout out of her pretty face when he sensed the return of the other vampire. Leaving her like she was, he deferred his concentration elsewhere, sending a bolt of power at Shane.

No way were three teenagers going to handle Kiyoshi.

Elise fell into a heap on the snow, rolling around in pain and trying to will her parts to change accordingly. She felt like she was at the edge of being able to shift, but when she tried, it was so far away. She kept reaching and reaching, and began depleting her energy in doing so. It may have been Kiyoshi's plan from the beginning - a vampire of her age wouldn't just stop trying, they'd keep blasting their power off 'til there was nothing left.

Shane appeared in Elise's room with Melody in tow, setting her on the bed and looking her over for an instant for injuries.  If she was badly hurt, he couldn't tell immediately, so he hugged her quick and stepped back.  Elise was there, so he HAD to go back.  "When Iago comes up here, you'll know who he is as soon as you see him, you tell him how to get to mom and dad's place.  We need his help, or me, Elise and your pet cat are fucked," he told her, then smiled quick and cocky-like, just for her.  "No worries, we'll figure it out."

As always.  Didn't the bad kids always have all the answers?

"IAGO!!  IAGO, HELP!" he suddenly screamed, utilizing all the considerable force in his lungs.  He'd always been good at projecting his voice, and he heard the sudden movement downstairs.  Iago would be along in no time.  With one more glance and a wink at his sister, he vanished, back to Elise and the mess.

Derek couldn't even see what was happening as Shane appeared, but he heard the impact of the blow.  That Kiyoshi recovered so quickly didn't bode well for all of them, since it pissed him off, but Derek cheered internally as Shane scooped Melody up and away from him, vanishing as soon as he had his arms around her.  At least she'd be safe, since that was one thing that Derek trusted Shane to do implicitly.  It didn't escape his attention how this was looking like the night that Shane was made a vampire, how Melody's brother jumped in to get her to safety and left Derek behind, and he honestly wouldn't have been surprised if Shane didn't come back.  Shane hated him, whereas he didn't have any hard feelings for the other guy.  He'd have come back, he had gone back that night, but as long as Melody was safe, he was okay with it. 

Well, not really, but it wasn't like he had a choice.  What remained of his life looked like it was going to suck.  If he was lucky, Kiyoshi would get bored and just kill him, but the vampire seemed FAR too crazy for that.

He felt a sudden release of his limbs and jerked his head in Kiyoshi's direction to see Elise tackling the man.  For an instant there, Derek wanted to just run and hope he could get some distance, since the car wouldn't protect them from the vampire.  If Elise could just hold him off for a short while, he could do it.  That, or if she could grab him, they could teleport out?  Did she even give a shit about him? 

Well, nevermind.  He didn't have more than a few seconds to mull it over before Kiyoshi smashed her into him, and then he couldn't move again because the vampire had taken up that control.  The only problem was that Elise was stuck, too.  What?!  It hadn't worked on Melody, so he'd thought it was only shifters!  Elise was a vampire!  Derek, meet brick.  Brick, Derek.  He was well-acquainted with the bricks on the front of Melody's house a moment later, compliments of Kiyoshi, who really had seemed to grow bored with him.  As much as it sucked for Elise, he couldn't say that he was sad, other than the fact that it meant he collided face first with the house.  That knocked him senseless for a good few minutes while his face knit itself back together, and in that time?  Shane returned.  Imagine that.

Shane appeared on a DRASTICALLY different scene than he'd left.  Derek was no longer a lawn ornament, instead lying in a barely moving heap against the house, his face looking like he'd tried putting a hole through the brick with it, and Elise?  "Oh, God, ELISE!" he cried, rushing the vampire and being dropped to his knees with a bolt of power that tore through his mind like it was fire burning everything in its wake.  He'd never felt anything like that, making the little jolts that Iago threw at him when the man was irritated seem like love taps.  He saw as the black floated away from his vision that the vampire had eased off of Elise to strike at him, though.  Huh, really?  That was important information.

"That all you got, bitch?  Isn't the local buffet missing its hostess?" he snarled, pushing himself up off the ground and trying for another rush.  Did he think he'd make it to Kiyoshi?  HEEEEEELLLL no.  He was just stalling long enough to give Elise time to recover, or for Iago to show up.  Whichever came first.  Both.  Whatever. 

He should have known as soon as Elise started hanging out with that boy that Shane would be a problem for him, but he hadn't put much stock in the human child's ability to cause trouble.  Certainly, he was quite good at it on a human's level, causing strife for his family and classmates, but he wasn't the kind of trouble that Iago cared about one way or the other.  That was, until the night that Elise reappeared at home looking as though she'd had it out with a wild animal and with Shane dying.  The boy had died that night, laying in the middle of Elise's floor, and then he'd come back.  Iago hadn't been surprised, not seeing the bite wound and the boy's death throes.  He was changing, and had essentially made himself a permanent member of the household.  He'd lived at home with his own parents and sister for an appropriate amount of time before moving in with Iago and Elise, but it was hard to explain to parents why their son wasn't changing any longer.  Shane was forever stuck at that 18-19 point, never to hit his full physical potential, but Iago would someday show him how to pull off looking a little older so that he could at least get away with sitting in a bar.  For now, it was merely amusing to see the boy struggle with that.

There was nothing amusing about Shane and Elise leaving the house to do whatever it was they were doing, then Shane reappearing a moment later with someone else and screaming Iago's name through the entire house.  The 'help' didn't hurt, either.

Iago was on his feet and in Elise's room within seconds of Shane's return to whatever mess they were in, and he stared down at Melody's bloodied face for an instant before clenching his jaw and offering her his hand.  He skimmed her mind for the details, and what should he find?  A vampire with power over shapeshifters.  SPECTACULAR.  This meant that he was the only one hitting the scene who was unsurprised by anything he would find, though.  He knew the danger Elise was in.  "Let's go, my dear, they're waiting," he told Melody softly, wisping her back to the scene, right around the corner of the house where nobody would have her in direct reach.  Why?  Because he was taking all four of the damn children to Frost to figure this out after he was done cleaning up the mess, and he didn't want to have to go back home for Melody.  Energy conservation.

He stepped out from around the corner of the house with a knife in hand and an almost casual stride, black-lined eyes taking in the scene and deciding exactly how he was going to have to play it.  Elise was a wreck, which burned him in a way that he wasn't used to and also meant that he had to get the other vampire to cooperate, or go threaten the triste to fix it.  The cat was in a heap and trying to make sense of his surroundings while the mess of his face healed itself, and Shane?  Shane seemed to be doing what he did best; pissing someone off and getting his ass beat for it.  Iago wasn't sure if he was brave or stupid, but he was leaning towards stupid.  At least he was loyal, though.

"Hello, friend," he called out, seemingly playing idly with the knife, but 'idly' involved slicing into the palm of his hand right then.  The drawing of the blood, of his own blood, caused a surge inside of him that drew a smile to his features.  It was dark and unpleasant, just as it always was, but Kiyoshi wasn't the only one with tricks.  "We seem to have ourselves a situation here.  You have my daughter in your grip, and, well, I don't think I like that very much.  Why don't you put her right, then leave and we'll just pretend none of this ever happened?"

It was a generous offer, he thought.  He didn't WANT to let this other vampire go, not seeing the condition he'd put Elise in and knowing what had been done to the other three already, but leaving Elise like that while he talked the triste into seeing things his way would just be inconvenient and a waste of time.  Smashing Kiyoshi, however entertaining, would also not guarantee the other vampire's cooperation, and would also take a little more time.  Generous and practical.

 Shane may have been doing a good job at distracting Kiyoshi, but the older vampire was still very in tune with his power. As he turned to the boy, who was so intent on coming at him again for a second beating, he lifted one hand up lazily and made a twisting motion. Elise's entire body contorted and she screamed again, clawing at her face and chest violently as she tried to find ways to free the animal as it ripped through the fabric of her reality. Her beast wouldn't come, still teetering right on the event horizon, and it was excruciating. He blatantly ignored the cat completely for the moment. His attention was best split between the two vampires; the cat was mortal and it would take very little for him to damage him.

He let Shane rush at him, reaching up with his good hand to catch Shane's face in it. Kiyoshi may have looked very delicate, but when you got into close quarters with him, one would realize that he was slightly more than he appeared to be. He crushed down, intent on shattering any bone he could manage, content to disfigure the boy for long enough to give him time to think about what he was doing. Kiyoshi threw him backwards by the face at the house, keeping him in proximity of the other three for the moment.

When the other vampire appeared, Kiyoshi had about had it with interferences. He hadn't noticed Melody for the moment, which was a good thing. If he had, he'd have ripped an appendage off just to appease himself for the moment, to feel like he'd accomplished something. "What's it worth to you?" he asked, head tilting a little with that insane glint behind his eyes. He turned his hand and stood Elise upright, ebbing his power off of her so that she'd stop clawing her eyes out.

For good measure, he swung Derek into Shane, hoping to knock the cat out for the moment to eliminate something he needed to pay attention to. It was also bound to piss off the child vampire, which was a bonus.

Shane was in a world of pain even before Kiyoshi had laid a hand on him, and it only got worse from there.  He told himself that it was definitely worth it for Elise, and then he was so distracted by pain and the sensation of flight before he landed in a heap that he wasn't really thinking about it anymore.  He hadn't been a vampire for very long, but he was getting the impression that it was hazardous to his health.  Then, Derek's body impacted him while he was struggling to pick his healing body up, and he decided that his vampirism wouldn't just be hazardous to his health, lashing out at the cat (and calling him that wasn't so far off the mark now, was it?) with an uncontrollable burst of anger and flailing.  All he could smell was blood, his own and the nearly impossible to resist scent of Derek's, so he needed the cat off of him NOW.  If that didn't happen, he couldn't be held accountable for his actions.  Fortunately, he got enough distance when he tossed Derek aside that he could take in a breath of fresh air through his mangled nose.  Then, his struggles to move began anew, crawling for Elise while bones in his back and shoulders tried to heal from the impact with the house.

If they all survived this, which seemed unlikely, they were going to have to do some serious cleaning to get the blood off the house before Shane and Melody's parents got home.  Stupid cat, this was all his fault.

He was making slow progress, hampering his own healing by pulling at bones that hadn't yet had enough time to mend, but he was getting closer to Elise while Iago spoke.  It actually amazed him how relieved he was to see the older vampire, and to hear the deep, accented tones that suggested the man was pissed.  Usually, he was less than pleased with Shane, thus the difference in the young vampire's reaction.  He very much felt like a baby that had been squalling for its mother's help, and understood the satisfaction when the mother wolf arrived.  It was that feeling of 'uh oh, you're in trouble now!', and Shane firmly believed that Iago could handle it.  Iago just gave off this feeling like he could mess up someone's day, and Shane had no doubt that he'd done it many times.  He wasn't at all surprised when Kiyoshi asked what it was worth instead of just refusing.  He wouldn't have wanted to tell Iago 'no' right off the bat, either.

Shane might not have been surprised, but Iago was, if only slightly.  He'd fully expected to have to fight to have Elise fixed, despite his offer.  Kiyoshi sounded like he wanted to deal.  Elise was worth more to him than anything else, but Kiyoshi also wasn't the only one Iago could find to put her back, so if there was to be a deal, it had to be carefully wrought.  If it was too much trouble to get Kiyoshi's cooperation, Iago would be going to Leone with Elise.  They weren't exactly friends (the joke had been made years ago that Leone was a god witch and Iago a bad witch), but Iago was confident that the triste would help his Elise.  It was part of that whole 'good witch' thing he had going on.  That kind of trouble would put Kiyoshi on Iago's radar, however, and a Grigore didn't slack off in the vengeance department.  It might be another fifty years before Iago sprang his trap, but it would happen.  All that could be avoided with some cooperation, though.  What would Kiyoshi do?

Probably something stupid, if the insanity that lit up the other vampire's eyes said anything about him.  That didn't mean that Iago was going to count out the idea of dealing even before it happened, but he was on guard for something ridiculous, especially since Kiyoshi likely saw the odds as being stacked in his favor.  Iago disagreed.

His eyes flicked to Shane, who was working valiantly towards Elise after having flailed and thrown the snow leopard away from himself (probably doing further damage to the poor creature in the process), and then back to Kiyoshi.  Shane, don't be a fool.  Get back over to the feline, and stay put until you can muster up the strength to teleport the both of you to the side of the house I came from.

He'd grab the two boys and Melody at the same time, when he was good and ready.  For now, Elise was the important part of the equation.  "What did you have in mind?" he asked the other vampire, looking mildly intrigued as she stopped tearing at herself.  That was a good start.

"She's worth enough to me that I'm not interested in games," he offered as an answer, fully intending to have to do this the hard way.  He was betting he'd have to go to Leone with her, which also meant he was going to have to think up a nice bit of vengeance for Kiyoshi.  It seemed too easy that the Japanese man would turn her back and just leave, though Iago would have guaranteed a 'no harm, no foul' approach at that point.  He couldn't blame the other vampire for failing to realize that Elise had him standing behind her. 

Kiyoshi's brows raised. "I can see you're a reasonable man," he said smoothly. He made another gesture to contort Derek further, just out of spite, and then lowered his hands. He straightened his tie out and smiled broadly to Iago. Fortunately, Kiyoshi knew how to bargain. He stepped in the snow gingerly, ensuring that he did not get any blood or gore on his shoes, closing in to Iago while still keeping his distance a healthy one. He just didn't want to shout.

"How about I turn your lupine lady back into her original form, for the crying girl and the cat?" he asked. He relaxed his grasp on Elise enough that her screaming stopped and she rolled onto her belly in the snow. It was a cooling sensation against the burning that encompassed her skin, and it gave her a shaking breath of relief - one that was much more amazing now that she could appreciate it. She could still feel the stranglehold he had on her though, and kept her head down, trying to concentrate on keeping herself stable.

He waited silently for Iago's answer.

Kiyoshi thought Iago was a reasonable man, but Iago couldn't say the same about the other vampire.  He rolled his eyes and scoffed at the Japanese man's attempt at bargaining.  "And I can see that you're not," he pointed out.  Kiyoshi sounded like he was just wasting Iago's time, and the gypsy man wasn't enjoying it. 

"Absolutely not.  Understand, friend, that you're not the only one who can reverse what you've done," Iago continued, narrowing his eyes.  He believed, truly and completely, that a triste could undo it if this vampire could do it in the first place.  Tristes were essentially born to undo that which a vampire could do, as irritating as that could be.  "You're just the most immediate, and simplest option, so don't insult my intelligence with an offer like that."

Of course, he didn't personally care about the girl and the cat, so that wasn't even the issue.  The problem was that Elise had taken such a shine to Shane, so Iago had to keep in mind the fact that he had to deal with the child vampire's presence.  Trading Shane's little sister off to this psychopath would guarantee him as much hell as Shane could muster up, with Elise's influence ensuring that Shane had a type of diplomatic immunity from Iago's wrath.  No, that wasn't happening. 

To Iago's response, Kiyoshi laughed aloud. "True, I'm not the only one - but I can make it easy. I can make it fast and painless, if I so choose. Even the best Triste would still cause her pain - immeasurable. If you think what I've done hurts, wait 'til you see what they do." He grinned, a shark-like thing. Gypsies did love to haggle.

"But," he continued, raising a finger to pause Iago. "But. I can see that this means a great deal to you, and for that, I'd be willing to take just the cat. Nobody here seems fond of him but the human, and humans, as you know, forget things with time." He raised his eyebrows. "Have we got a deal?"

As soon as Iago made up his mind, Kiyoshi would gladly undo what he'd done to Elise, cart Derek off and be on his merry little way. The gypsy just had to agree to it, first.

It was true, gypsies did love to haggle, but Iago didn't generally find himself involved in deals that determined Elise's well-being, which put him in a bad mood right off the bat.  Normally, he'd gladly go back and forth with someone for quite some time, discussing the high and low points of their offers, but not this time.  Kiyoshi had a point about the triste causing her pain to undo it, however confident that Iago was that Elise could stand it.  He had no desire to allow her to endure any further agony; he may not have been her true father, but he may as well have been.  As far as he was concerned, this was his daughter, and he wanted her to be safe.

He still wasn't planning on agreeing to Kiyoshi's deal, which was when he'd been about to snap back with a response about the offer, probably including a threat of some sort (or perhaps a curse, and his line had always been fond of those).  Kiyoshi beat him to it, raising a finger and continuing to speak; he'd gotten to the part where he sweetened the deal, and who could blame him?  If he stood by the offer that Iago had already refused, Iago was going to take all four of the children away, fight with the triste for help, and then cause Kiyoshi trouble in the future.  If Kiyoshi changed his offer, he stood a chance at getting something out of the deal while simultaneously ensuring that Iago wasn't a shadow lurking behind him for the foreseeable future.  Gypsies could hold a grudge.

Iago shut his mouth, pursing his lips together and considering the offer without even a backwards glance towards the boy in question.  Did he feel bad about even considering it?  Yes, he did, just a little.  For that very reason, he took a quick skim of Elise, Shane and Melody's thoughts, trying to gauge exactly how accurate Kiyoshi's information was.  Personally, he'd only ever heard Elise and Shane complain about the cat and how bad he was for Shane's sister, not to mention the damage he'd done to Elise the night Shane was turned.  It was Shane (big surprise) that offered him the information he needed without even meaning to.  Shane seemed torn on the idea, since he hated Derek and didn't mind the idea of him being gone, but didn't mean him so much harm as all this.  What got Iago's attention was that Shane seemed damn certain that Kiyoshi was only here because of Derek, and another attempt on Melody's thoughts confirmed it; Kiyoshi was there because Midnight was attacking the guilds and Derek's brother-in-law was a hunter.  Derek was the target, and Elise wouldn't even be in this position if not for the cat.

That settled that.

"It's a deal.  Fix her and I won't stop you from taking him, but you're to stay away from the rest of them from now on.  I have no desire to haggle with you again," he told the other vampire firmly.  Shane and Elise were getting the same talk as soon as they were in a condition that would allow them to think straight.  They were to stay the hell out of Midnight's business.

 Kiyoshi smiled again. "Good!" he exclaimed. He approached Elise, holding up his hand when Shane and Iago both made motions toward him. "Calm down, for Christ's sake," he hissed. "I'm going to fix her without hurting her, like we agreed. Or would you rather me make it hurt?" he asked, looking pointedly at Shane. When the vampire stilled, he continued to advance on Elise, and then knelt down in the snow next to her. He placed his hands on her arm, and there were a few moments of tension-filled silence while he worked.

Gradually, and without much noise, her form began to shift back into humanoid. When she was completely changed, he raised himself back up to a standing position. "There," he said. "My end of the bargain has been filled. And now, for my reward."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked towards Derek. He vanished for a split second, reappearing, still in step, at Derek's side. He reached down, grabbing him by his collar, and hoisted him up with one hand. "It's been a real pleasure," he said, giving a small bow. With that, he disappeared, Derek with him.

Melody couldn't believe what she was hearing. "WHAT?" she screamed, her voice echoing in the cold of the night. Her breath came out in puffs of vapor, but she was in too much pain to stand up without the help of someone else. She managed to push off of the ground, wobbling as she stood and then dropping to one knee. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"NO, you can't give him Derek!" she shouted at Iago. He seemed to ignore her as he continued talking to the vampire, and Melody began to panic. "He isn't yours to GIVE!" she yelled. When they agreed on the bounty, Melody concentrated on pushing herself up again, and scrambled towards where Derek was - but Kiyoshi was faster. He was gone as she reached them, and she fell into the snow drift, alone.

"NO!" she howled. "COME BACK! DEREK!" She dissolved into tears. "Come back, come back please!" she sobbed. She looked to be in a horrible state, bloodied and bruised up, crying like that. It was pathetic, but she didn't care. She couldn't believe what had just happened. "No, no, no..."

The abuse just kept piling up between Kiyoshi and Shane, and it seemed like Derek was just starting to recover some from Kiyoshi's blows when he was thrust into Shane and the vampire went apeshit on him.  It wasn't like he could control what Kiyoshi did, so it was a bitchy thing for Shane to do in his opinion.  It left him dazed and trying to pick himself up again, which was difficult and had his muscles trembling against Kiyoshi's efforts, the healing that he was enduring and the energy that he was sorely lacking in at the moment.  When he could sit himself up against the building, he was satisfied that he wasn't laying in the snow on his face, and that was when the deal went down.

Iago had seemed like the cavalry coming in, all aggressive, dark and looking like he wanted to pound on Kiyoshi, so Derek had actually started to hold just a little bit of hope.  He even refused the offer that had Derek's breath catch in his throat, unwilling to give up himself and Melody to the Midnight vampire, which should have been a good thing.

Actually, it was.  Even when Kiyoshi changed his deal to just Derek, it meant that Melody was safe.  He still couldn't say that he was okay with it (who would be?), but his first priority since he'd gotten the call from Christian had been to ensure Melody's safety.  Iago had just guaranteed it, so Derek would take it.  It wasn't like he had any choice, anyway, since Kiyoshi and Iago decided between the two of them (like grown-ups talking and tuning out a bunch of children), Kiyoshi fixed Elise, and then he appeared by Derek's side.  The snow leopard flicked his bright blue eyes up to the vampire who'd tortured him thus far, blood drying on his face and his body too abused to even allow him a chance to run, and then Kiyoshi was yanking him up by his collar.  Derek got a brief glimpse of Melody screaming and trying to scramble towards him before the whole world turned upside down.

Iago had actually been rather careful in his wording, because Melody was right; Derek wasn't his to give, and he wasn't part of Midnight anyway.  He'd agreed not to stop Kiyoshi, and secured the safety of the other three in the process.  As far as he was concerned, three for one was a good deal, especially when Melody was the only one who cared about the cat.  Iago felt a little bad hearing her wail like that, but kneeling beside Elise to check her for injuries (and humanity) revealed that Kiyoshi had kept his end of the bargain.  Elise was back to normal, and that was what Iago cared about.  The rest was part of the bonus round.

He scooped her up so that she didn't have to exert herself until she had time to recover, carrying her over to where Melody was sitting in the snow with Shane trying to comfort her.  "Are you well enough to transport the two of you?" he asked the younger vampire.  Iago understood that Melody needed time and that she was pissed at him specifically, so he wasn't going to force the issue.  

"Yeah, I just need a minute or two," Shane responded quietly, and Iago could see that the kid was still healing up.  Somehow, he doubted that the boy had much energy left, but he wasn't going to disrespect Shane by arguing or insisting if the boy thought that he could do it.  Shane had gotten very damaged for Elise, and Iago appreciated it.

"Alright.  Just don't linger here too long."

"Wasn't planning on it, promise."

With a final nod and a moment to take Melody's tears in, Iago and Elise vanished.  He had every intention of setting Elise up in her bed for the time being.