Night's Omen

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.