Kerri know good and well that the trick she used was cheap and nowhere near her best work, but it would do for now. A light giggle came from the dark angel at the hunter’s silly demand. The sound of sirens off in the distances could be heard now. There was little time to play with this hunter and it was best to leave before more humans arrived. With no time to really waste she spread her black wings with amethyst tips, stretching them a bit before leaping into the air. “Looks like there is no time to play, what a pity,” she called to the hunter. A single black feather floated on the breeze in the direction of the hunter, a calling card if you will.

Ri glided low around the piles of junk until she reached her motorcycle. She was at least thankful that she had managed to finish it earlier. Once again she melted into the shadows along with the bike only to reappear in an alley a few blocks away. Her sudden appearance left the poor old homeless man that was drinking alcohol by a trash can bewildered. The man blinked before looking down at the bottle then back up at Ri. He then threw the bottle away, it landing somewhat near her with a clank. The dark angel smiled at the reaction of the old man. “Just for that nice reaction you had I’ll let you live. I doubt anyone would believe you even if you tried to tell them what you seen,” she laughed as she hopped onto the bike. Before the man could reply to her she had already gone.

Not really worried about Val or Lulu Ri made her way through the streets to a small tavern that she was sure she would meet up with her twin, Ai, at. Once again she used her shadow magic to move through the realm of shadows. This time she mostly did it because of her appearance. It wouldn’t be appreciated by her sister or by the humans. She locked herself in the ladies bathroom and washed up. The oily and greasy work overalls she wore were now in the trash and so was the tank top. She smiled to herself because the decision she had made to wear her normal outfit underneath her work clothes today had been the right choice. Once she was as oil and grease free as she was going to get she walked out into the bar. The place was starting to get crowded with disgusting humans. Her pale amethyst eyes scanned the room for her dear sister.


Aislinn sat at the bar sipping on whiskey. She was getting rather bored though of all the attention she was receiving from the men. Human males were all they same especially the ones that went to bars and the like. They only knew how to think with their stomach or genitals and they were so predictable. Catching a glimpse of her twin, Ri, made her smile. Now she wasn’t alone and maybe could finally have some fun. Her azure eyes met with Ri’s amethyst eyes and they could tell what the other was thinking. It was time to get out of here. To just go someplace that was more exciting. The pair had little care of what Val would think. After all they had joined him voluntarily and would disappear from time to time without notice. It was their nature to just disappear when they felt like it.

It wasn’t long before Ri was sitting in the seat next to Ai. The stench of oil and grease that remained on Ri caused her nose to wrinkle in disgust. “You smell awful sister. Were you working on that bike again or just rolling around in the oil and grease?” She joked with her twin who in turn picked on her for drinking without her. The pair finished the whiskey that Ai had started on without saying much more to each other. Once done the pair left without paying their tab. Outside of the tavern the two identical twins nodded to one another before disappearing into the darkness. Val and Lulu would find out soon enough that they had decided to go on their own little adventure.

Valamond's skipping gate didn't skip a beat, a small smile curling his lips. "C'mon now Lulu," he cooed, spinning around on his heel and flashing his glowing orange gaze onto the other demon for a split second before he was back to skipping down the street. "Are we really trying this again? You know what happened last time I'd hate to cut you open like that again..." He cast a glance back at the other, eyes lowered and centered on the other's stomach. He had felt those insides slip under his fingers, felt them pulse and writhe with ichor, heard quiet and pained pleas from their owner for mercy for an end.

"If you go and try it again things may get worse for you...may not give you what you need, make you starve," he cooed, voice reaching a lower tone, dark and dripping with venom and threats. "I can do that, you know...I can make it so you can't eat anymore, make it so those precious little hearts make you sick, force you to waste away...would we want that, Lulu? Would we really want you to suffer like that?" He had turned his head now, watching him from the corner of an eye glowing lightly in the shade of the coming dusk. His lips were pushed out in a light, childish pout, as if the very thought was hurting him inside. It wasn't. The demon lord could barely care. Watching Lulu writhe could be just as funny as any other creature. Besides...Lulu was cute when he was in pain.

Sayoshi raised an eyebrow, that had been...odd. He shook his head a bit, the creatures as of late were getting stranger and stranger. He caught the feather as it fluttered down, and placed it in a bag. He would allow the dr to look it over back at the hotel. For now, he made his way through the yard to where Suke leaned against the fence. "I didn't keep you waiting long did I?" he smiled.

Suke looked over at his friend as he came up. "No, just long enough, or I would have left you." He herd the warm laugh of Sayoshi's, as the other male moved to him. Suke looked up into his eyes and smiled, "you have fun in this dump?" Shrugging, the man passed him, and moved on "we should get back...hunting to do tonight." Suke glanced back at the yard it felt off, but he ignored it since Sayoshi seemed to brush it off. He glanced at the other, who was already on his phone with a crew to come in and clean up the mess. He would have hated to be them at this point. He decided to slip away, moving back from the other, and heading off in the other direction. The capitan and Sayoshi would probrably scold him later, but for now he had something he wanted to check out. He walked along slowly, until he found what he was looking for. A graveyard sat across the street. It was getting dark, but he crossed over to it. His hand moved along the black iron gate, and he stared into the creepy area beyond. It was plain to see there was more then just dead bodies here, but it was what brought back the memories of that night.

He stepped inside, glancing at the graves as he walked. They had been someone's mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, grandparent, wife, husband....families....a life.... He placed a hand to his head, closing his eyes. The memories of that night were strong tonight. He had no idea why the urge to visit a graveyard came with remembering his parent's deaths, and his semi-turning. It was going to be the anniversary of it tomorrow...He would rather spend it as he always did, by visiting their graves, but this year he was here...He paused at a grave, Arianna....that had been his mother's name. Such a beautiful woman. Many said that Suke took after her a lot, his father to. He missed them a lot. He was strong, but even now the pain of all of it was fresh in his mind and heart if he looked. He had seen it all right in front of his eyes. A little kid...the screams, the blood, those men coming into his house. He clenched his jaw, of all creatures, he hated vampires the most. He would make sure it he could help it, no one went through that. He sighed, sitting against a tree in the yard. He sat his swords by him, and closed his eyes.

Byren stood from his seat, slipping out the door. Night was falling, and at night he was his most powerful. He was a shadow lancer, a darkness manipulater...what better time then the darkest time of day. He could feel his senses and body already coming alive with the fading light. He prefered the darkness to this retched light. He paused, a couple making out on the corner. He felt a slight disgust rise in his stomach, before his eyes slid down to their shadows. He focused on the female's, and the dark ally behind her. Moments later she is pulled away from her love, unsure of what was going on she screams as she moves back into the ally and vanishes. Her lover runs after her, to find nothing. Byren could hear him calling her name as he passed. She would not be harmed, just she would probrably find herself halfway across town. He chuckled slightly, and paused as he neared a junk yard. His shadows extended a bit, and for a moment he stared hard at the entrance, before speaking a name "Valamond.." seemed the old demon was up to his tricks again. He wondered what it was now, but had little intrest in asking. He moved on his way, curious as to if the demon and his pets would come visit any time soon. Ellias had told him about quite a few stronger otherwordly beings who were coming and going in his land. The man had thought it best to play nice, the whole 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours' thing.

Byren had little intrest in starting a war or fight, but he also did not merely like beings running around thinking they could do as they wished. He paused for a moment, then smiled. Perhaps the other could be of use to him. He had the resources and the means to carry out his plans, a little assisstancce would not harm, and he had an offer for the other..For now though, he would be patient and wait to see if they came to him, but he would give them a little insintive. "Xero" he says. A familiar voice comes from his shadow moments later "yes my master?" He nods back towards the yard "investigate....Valamond is there, and I want you to give him this..." He pulled a card out of his pocket. It was pure black, and simple enough, though when turned a certain way, a blood red D appeared. "It's time he and I met..." he says, letting it slip from his fingers. A shadow hand reaches up, taking the card, before moving back down. "As you wish..." the shadow moved away from his towards thouse of the yard. Byren watched his friend for a moment, before continuing on his way. He had a bit more work to finish up at home, and things to prepare for in the future.

Xiero shifted along the shadows of the yard, until he came upon voices. He figured these were the people Lord Byren had been speaking of. He passed easily through the wall, using the shadows, and moved up to his full black form within them. He listened to the one male for a moment, trying to demand his freedom, and the other casually replying that it would only in in pain. That had to be Lord Valamond, little objection there. He sighed, Lord Byren chose the oddest allies, though for what he had planned, it probrably was more on the smart side of things. He worried about his lord though, the dreams and such were causing Xiero to contemplate going behind him to the doctor. He would be punished for that, but he would do whatever it took to make sure that his master was well. Now however, he had a job to do. He stepped forward, moving silently over to the two males. He made no noise basically, being darkness, though his prescence he figured would get their attention. "Lord Valamond I presume" he says in a clear voice, turning his featurless face in the direction of the other male for a moment as well.

Lulu's body tensed slightly and a shiver wormed it's way up his spine when Val responded. It wasn't a violent response and Lulu found himself almost wishing it was. What was the point of pushing someone if they weren't going to react properly? Still, another shiver ran along his spine at Val's words and his hands moved to rest over his stomach lightly with a slight flinch. Perhaps it was better that Val hadn't reacted violently. "No, I'm sorry Valamond." His apology didn't sound very sincere at all, but Lulu did not want Val to make it so his only sustenance would make him sick.

He had stopped walking but now he moved to catch up to Val and keep pace with the other. "I won't do it again." His words sounded rather hollow to his own ears. He was sure Val knew he would try it again, probably not in the near future, but eventually Lulu would try that power on Valamond again. He ran his fingers over his stomach lightly for a few moments, still remembering the last time. He had hated it, hated the way he had begged for mercy, hated the pain, and above all hated the way a tiny part of him had enjoyed the torture. Well, at least Lulu wasn't feeling restless or reckless anymore, he was back to his usual sulky self.

Muttering under his breath as he pulled his Swiss army knife out of his pocket, Scout was not in a good mood. The tool he wanted was quickly selected as he thought over the last hour. The bar had been a complete bust; he was asked to leave for "disturbing the peace" after a few minutes. So, rationally, he decided to head out of town, after slashing the tires of the guys who got him kicked out of course. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a flop as well. Those bounty hunters had managed to block off the roads leaving from town, effectively trapping him inside.

No, the majority of the last hour was spent cursing fate while searching for a place to stay. Abandoned places would probably be the first location that they searched, but occupied ones? That would be idiotic. A click from the door in front of him brought a smile to his face. He was in! The door slid open with a creak as he slipped in with a wince. Hopefully the actual tenant hadn't heard that. Still, he thanked the heavens for Swiss army knives. They had saved his butt a couple of times on this crazy adventure.

He wasn't at all worried about being found out there either. The only human being he had seen on his way in had been an armed, rather fit looking man coming down the stairs and heading straight for the door to the lobby. The sight of his pistol had caused his heart to skip a beat, but he hadn't stopped, which indicated that he wasn't a bounty hunter. Shaking his head at how stupid he had been to panic, Scout decided to see if he could grab a snack.

The kitchen took only a few minutes to find, the apartment being rather small, and, within moments, he was staring into the empty fridge, sinking rapidly into despair. It was empty. It was an abstract rendition of the concept of nothingness and whoever owned it was a deranged artist who got their kicks from tormenting starving people. Whatever it was, it wasn't filling his belly up with food.

A sigh escaped his lips as he closed the door to the fridge. Unfortunately, his strength was a bit too much, and the empty thing rattled to prove it. Instantly, he was practically hugging it, whispering sweet-nothings to get it to just be silent. At the same time, his ears were trained to pick up the slightest sound coming from down the hall, where he assumed the bedroom was located.

Once the fridge was quieted, he stepped away and left the room, feeling that, if the tenant had woken due to his racket, they would check there first. Ergo, it was best to be away from there as quick as possible. Still, in such a small apartment, there weren't very many places to hide. His first thought was to go to the bedroom to slip under the bed, figuring that few people checked under there, but he was stopped by the realization that they would come from there if they had woken up.

Frowning again, he decided to sit on the couch, wincing at the springs' protest. A few magazines on the small coffee table in front of him caught his eye. Seeing a good way to pass the time, he reached out and plucked one off of the table, squinting in the darkness to see the title. Satisfied, he opened it and began to read the pages, not really caring all that much exactly what they said. After a bit, he would try and slip into the bedroom and under the bed. Then, he would leave after the actual tenant, and, if everything went well for once, leave the town before he was caught.

It hadn't been long since Ashley had fallen asleep. The sound of the old empty piece of crap refrigerator caused her to stir, opening her eyes for a split second before dream land sucked her right back to sleep. She was dreaming about Billy, which was scary enough, but even more so, the "thing" that killed him.

Ashley had of course immediately assumed it was a gang related crime. But her nightmares lead her to make other assumptions. She was hopping out of the tow truck now and there it was, a ten foot tall praying mantis looking, thing. It was black as night and looked decayed. A zombie ten foot tall praying mantis!

It was feasting on Billy's body, still attached to the back of the truck. It turned to see her, blood dripping from it's vampire fangs. A vampire zombie ten foot tall praying mantis! It moved towards her in a motion faster than the speed of light and Ashley woke up fighting the sheet she'd become entangled in.

She kicked and pulled and panicked herself onto a heap in the floor. She sat there on top of the sheet for a minute trying to control her breathing and calm her heart. It was just a nightmare. Funny how they always played on the things that scare you most. Zombies, vampires, bugs, death...

Ashley swallowed. Her throat was dry and her hands were shaky. She blinked around at the poorly furnished room with empty walls. It was just a dream. She pushed herself off the ground and pushed strands of her long blonde hair from her face. She'd fallen asleep face down on wet hair and the left side of it was a mess. It stuck out in random directions and puffed up at least three inches higher than the side she hadn't slept on.

She adjusted her over sized t-shirt and cotton shorts and padded out of the room down the short hall and past the bathroom. She saw a man sitting on her couch and froze. Had he heard her? She lived in the worst part of town, and she'd been meaning to put more than that crappy lock on her door, maybe a chain, and a dead bolt, she'd just never gotten around to it.

Her purse was on the counter that held her stun gun, pepper spray and handcuffs. But the couch, with the stranger, stood in her way. She stared at the man in a scared shock, a very deer-in-headlights stare, unable to move her feet towards the door, the purse or even back to her bedroom. Enough moonlight filtered through her window that even in her brain dead state, something was strangely familiar about the man. Did she know him from somewhere? Was he the one who killed Billy? Had he followed her here? And then it clicked.

She pointed at him weakly, "Y-you're on the b-bounty list... you're the one with the name, a girl's name..." what was it? "J-Janet...". Of course, his name wasn't Janet, but Ashley had only just been scanning the files today, and the only reason she'd even remembered him now was because the file caught her attention. Juliet for a boy, she'd thought there'd been a mistake.

Now what had he been on the list for? She couldn't recall... Hopefully nothing like murder... she shuddered. Still her feet wouldn't move. Near her, the only thing she could use as a weapon was a coat and hat rack, though she never hung any coats or hats from it. If she had to she'd whack him with it. She could scream, too. Most of her neighbors were old, but maybe one of them could still hear enough and call the police. She was mulling over her options and muttering to herself now having an argument with the reasonable her in her head about putting better locks on the door.

Valamond's pouting lips curled into a smile, eyes softening lightly. "I know, Lulu," he said, acknowledging the fact those words were hollow. He had heard them before on countless occasions, heard the promises filled with lies. Lulu was a restless little puppy and wasn't one to appreciate being bound. Which made keeping him tied up and helpless hilarious. His rebellion always stirred things up and caused even more hilarity and--

He turned sharply, eyes landing on a black form that was ink and flowing darkness. He narrowed his eyes, stopping suddenly and eyeing the creature. After a moment of studying the humanoid form his grin returned, sickly turning up at the corners and bending his now brightly glowing eyes at the creature with barely hidden contempt. It interrupted their conversation the rude little thing. "Heh...yeah...and who would I be having the pleasure of taking to?" he asked, voice dripping with electricity, energy from his rising annoyance and anger beginning to burn the air around him, the smell of ozone creeping up and around the three.

Xiero watched the man from behind his featurless face, no emotion given off since he did not have means of giving it. He found the situation slightly amusing and interesting however. The other seemed to be getting annoyed. He had no reason to take intrest or care in their conversation, he was merely doing his duty. It would have been pointless to attack him either. Shadow and darkness could never be destroyed, for where there was light there would always be darkness. He would merely either be disapated for now, or forced to draw back into the shadows to heal and regain his energy. In an extream, he would be sent back to master Byren, but as long as the master remained safe and alive, he could always easily be returned. He gave a small bow, more out of politeness. He was more sophisticated and developed then other shadows and such were. "I have been given the name of Xiero, as well as asked to give you something if you so wish to accept. The choice is yours" he holds out his hand, the card sliding out of its' darknes.

A thump caused Scout's heart to skip a beat, but it was followed by the silence from before, so he didn't think too much of it. Of course, it was just his luck that the bedroom door didn't creak, unlike everything else in the poor apartment. The surprise on his face was evidence of that fact, though his internal cursing of Murphy and his unholy law would also be quite convincing if able to be heard.

Recovering rather quickly, however, Scout stood up, hands up above his head in what he hoped was a rather comforting manner, or at least as comforting as a trespasser could be. Clearly, she was freaked out. Understandable, really, so long as she didn't start shooting or something, though it didn't appear that she had a gun on her at all. No, from the way she kept glancing at her purse, it appeared that she had no method of self-defense on her at all.

Considering how scared she appeared to be, he almost laughed when she mentioned the bounty list. How could she be a bounty hunter? That made absolutely no sense, unless she was incredibly new at the profession, or Murphy hated her as well. Still, the comedy factor was stripped when she mentioned his actual first name, even if she didn't get it right at all. "Look lady, do you want to die? That's what I do to people who call me by that name," he said, trying to be as intimidating as possible. "I would much rather be known by Scout, and not the name that my drunken father gave me as a joke. Understand?"

"To be honest, I just chose to crash here for the night to avoid the crazy people chasing me all over the freakin' place," he said, shaking his head. "Honestly, I would never hurt someone such as yourself. On the other hand, I can't stand snitches, y'know? Or screamers. Way too much noise and all that. On a more important note, however: Did you know that your fridge is empty? Like, completely? That's a tragedy, really."

Despite his rambling, his hands never dropped below his head, only twitching every so often as if he wanted to move them. His hope was that she would be put off enough by the rambling to avoid doing anything that would get him in trouble. That was all he needed right then.

The woman smiled as the sun finally faded into black and the moon took it's rightful position in the sky. She lead her head back to expose her necklace to the moonlight to recharge it's power. Her eyes closed as the necklace glowed for a while before the glowing stopped. The woman removed the necklace from her neck and put it in her coat pocket as she looked to the sky. After sitting and staring for a few more minutes, the figure stood up from the bench and walked back towards the city, with thoughts running wild in her mind. Probably should find some dinner. She said to herself, since the human food would not keep her hunger at bay alone. I wonder if the shadow lancer is around here somewhere. Mariki smiled to herself as she thought of him. How could a woman like herself forget such a cutie? But what were the chances of seeing him again in a bustling city like this. Too high to have her hopes up. The woman looked around as she looked for people who could easily become her prey.

Ashley did feel somewhat comforted when Scout put his hands in the air. It would appear he was telling the truth, that he hadn't come here to harm anyone. She supposed that her apartment seemed almost un-lived in, too. Probably he didn't think anyone stayed here. She relaxed a little bit.

Snitches? Well, Ashley's cell phone was out of commission thanks to dropping it in a puddle earlier in the day, and her land line had been shut off since she hadn't paid the bill. As far as screaming, Ashley didn't suppose she needed to if Janet wasn't going to hurt her. That name was the real tragedy.

She put her hands on her hips and frowned now. "You can't just go inviting yourself into people's homes and then picking on their refrigerators." She crossed the room to the kitchen and opened it up. She sighed. He was right though, it was tragic. Her stomach grumbled loud enough for the neighbors even without their hearing aids turned on to hear. She moved to a cabinet above her stove and opened it up.

She pulled down a loaf of bread. There were about five slices left and and end. Then she pulled down a jar of peanut butter. There was about 1/4th of the jar left. She opened it and sniffed at it. "Peanut butter doesn't go bad does it?" she asked, not really expecting an answer. A minute or so later Ashley had thrown together two peanut butter sandwiches.

She'd scraped a bit of mold off of the bread, spread peanut butter over each slice and topped it off with some potato chips that she'd had in her purse from lunch. She plated each sandwich and carried one to Scout. "Here," she said before dropping a chip into Chuck's tank and planting herself on the couch. "You can't stay here," she said matter of factly. She took a bite of the sandwich. Not half bad.

"I'm supposed to bring you in you know," she said before swallowing her food. "And I'm going to have to, you know, sometime." She was really only being nice because she knew what it was like to be hungry, and soon she'd probably know what it was like to be homeless, too. She was trying to earn some points here with the man upstairs. She took another bite of her sandwich. Probably she should have pocketed her taser, but she was really new at this whole bounty hunter thing and the though had never crossed her mind, besides, she was tired.

Seeing her relax put Scout in a more hopeful mood. Maybe she wouldn't get him into an even bigger mess than what he was in already. At her scolding though, he snorted. "You'd be doing the exact same thing if our roles were reversed and you know it," he said, watching her as she went into the kitchen. The fact that she didn't go for her purse was also rather comforting to him.

After a few minutes, just long enough for his anxiety to begin spiking again, she returned bearing a peanut butter sandwich on a chipped, old plate. "Define 'stay,'" he said, picking up the sandwich and taking a bite out of it. It took a bit to swallow it due to how dry it was, but he wasn't about to complain when he was so hungry. "I never planned on staying more than a night anyway. Your... 'colleagues' have blocked off the roads, so I couldn't blow this popsicle stand tonight."

He scoffed as she mentioned bringing him in. Clearly, she wasn't very up to the task. "You're new at this though, so I don't think I have anything to worry about for now," he said, reclining a bit after licking his fingers of crumbs. The sandwich really hadn't been half bad. "Speaking of my bounty, do you happen to remember what I did to get on the list? I would really like to know." At the very least, that would help the whole mess make more sense to him. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything illegal.

Suddenly inspired by a random idea, he pulled out his wallet and began searching through it. Seconds later, a hundred dollar bill came out and was set on the table. "Payment for services rendered," he said, shrugging. It wasn't his money, but his dad's, so he didn't really mind offering so much for a night's stay. He could always get more so long as he kept the withdrawal amount small. "You look like you could use the money, and I need a place to stay the night. Win-win, right?"

"Xiero..." Valamond murmured, tasting the word on his tongue. He approached the creature lazily, sudden flash of anger leaving him as quickly as it had come. His annoyance had simply sprouted from the fact the creature had caught him off guard, that he hadn't noticed. His pride had been brutally stabbed this day and he was rather upset at its untimely murder. But what was he to do about it? Lose his head and go on a mindless rampage? While he was a lord of chaos and strife it would NOT be good to expose himself when he had such a loose hold in this city. Especially if he wanted to stay here a while. Planning and all that.

He extended his hand to the shadow creature, palm up as he awaited for the card. He wasn't grabbing it. No he was not. He'd see how this thing reacted, see how Xiero would move. "Go on ahead and hand it over, Xixi," he cooed, the name rolling off his tongue almost stickily. His grin was small yet sharp, playful. His good mood was coming back, up through the day's setbacks.

Xiero had no problem in handing the card over. He was not intimidated or afraid of this man. He knew who he was, and so did his master. He knew about his master's sudies, and the tutors. They had to be on their game and prepared for such things in this game. They could not aford to not have knowledge, or to let their emotions get the better of them. He wondered however what his master had up his sleeve. He had not asked, but he had curiosity about what would happen if the two ended up on the same side. If they did, the world had lost all hope before the coming war even began. It was times like this he was thankful that he had no face, unable to give away any detail to his emotions or what he was thinking. The eyes were the part he was most thankful to be without. The eyes were the way into the soul, and judging from what he could gather from this one, he was having a bad day.

"My colleagues?" Ashley repeated more than asked. Right, she wasn't the only bounty hunter in this city. In fact, she really found it hard to consider herself one. She'd never seen another anyway, at least not that she'd known. She rolled her eyes as she finished off her sandwich, ignoring his question about the reason he was wanted.

Typical criminal, acting like they didn't know they were doing anything wrong. Anyway, she didn't know what he was wanted for, as if he didn't know anyway, she hadn't looked that far into his file. She picked up her plate and his and shuffled to the kitchen where she placed the dishes in the sink. She hoped it wasn't anything like, murder...

She turned around, not wanting to leave her back to him as he placed a hundred dollar bill on the counter. Her eyes widened slightly as she resisted the urge to jump up on the counter like some kind of wild woman and take the money. She could not only eat another day with that, she could probably even get her cell phone turned back on. That way when criminals broke into her apartment she could call the cops, rather than make them sandwiches.

Ashley moved to pick up the money and held it up as if to check to be sure it was real. She had no idea what to look for so she pretended that it had checked out. "If you have money, why don't you just stay in a hotel?" she asked. Surely a hotel was much better than the unknown. Then again he had said people were currently after him, maybe he thought the stay would be too risky.

"In any case," she started, "I can't let you stay here. Won't I get in trouble for harboring a fugitive or something?" She rubbed her hand over the money, she really did want the money, she needed the money. She was going to cash in on Billy in the morning though... although the bounty was so small and her percentage even smaller.

"Okay, but if anything happens, I didn't know you were here." She disappeared into her room and reappeared with a blanket and a pillow and tossed them on the couch. "Stay out of my room or I'll shoot you," she said before grabbing her bag and heading back to her room. She didn't actually have a gun, but her plan was to wake up before Scout and cuff him while he was still asleep. Take him in, collect on the two bounties, get a new car, fill her fridge and get her phone turned back on.

She slipped into her bed once again with a smile. This job was going to be a piece of cake if the fugitives kept finding her rather than the other way around. Clearly she was cut out for the business.

((I'm leaving it here Ang so we can all wrap up our convos and get morning underway! I love all of our characters, keep up the fabulous work everyone!))

Valamond held the card gingerly in his fingers, eyeing it with only mild interest and his sharp smile intact. He looked it over, flipping it front and back with a raised eyebrow. Eventually, a bright red 'D' floated out of the black when he held it just right and his mile grew. "Really? All of this fancy illusion junk for a letter?" he said, giving the shadow man a sideways glance. It would appear someone wished to meet him. Why else would a shadow creature hand him a business card equipped with a fancy optical illusion? "So...who is this D? Any particular reason he's having his amorphous shadow monstrosity hand me his business card instead of tracking me down himself?"

(Fwehe short because of reasons. Most of which include school.)

Xiero had no intrest in what this man was saying particularly, but he said nothing about it. "The card serves a dule purpose as a key" he says simply, most people he did not have to explain this to, but it seemed this one he had to. "My master was here, but he had some important work to finish up or he would have had no trouble speaking to you himself...he has a proposition for you if you decide to listen" he waves his hand over the card. An adress appears under the D. "If you choose to listen or accept is your choice" he gives another slight bow to the odd man, "for now however, I have something to look into myself. Excuse me." Xiero turned, he was one for manners and such, but at the moment he was a bit in a hurry. His form sunk into the ground, drifting silently into the shadows and vanishing from sight.

(eh mine is to so XD no worries.)

Lulu watched silently, half raising an eyebrow at the exchange. If it were him, he would feel a little insulted if some servant came and brought him an invitation to some unknown cretin's chosen location. Insulted and wary. Such things seemed like traps. If a person didn't have the decency or courage to face their betters in person instead of trying to lure them somewhere, they they weren't worth his time. If they weren't worth Lulu's time then they certainly weren't worth Valamond's. "Tch. Apparently you really aren't worth the effort for anyone to come see you in person anymore. Your reputation must be slipping, Val." His hands were shoved in his pockets and he started walking, moving past Valamond and the shadow construct as he continued on his way, in the direction they had been going before rudely interrupted by the now vanishing shadow.

Byren paused outside of the manner. A sigh escaping him. He ran his fingers slowly through his hair. His eyes travelled up to the sky. Was he ready for this? To take what the previous Lord Desmond had called his place? He looked down at his hands for a moment, before slowly closing them. It was time to stop hiding in the shadows so to speak. He had plans, ones that his adopted father had never gotten to see through, and ones he had added to of his own accord. The order was his to command now, and he was going to put it to good use. Turning back towards the direction of the town, he wondered for a moment if the demon would show his face. It mattered not weather he did or not. Plans were going to proceed as directed, and if he did not, he would be wise to stay out of the way of the order. He would not back down from any challenge, he could not afford to now that plans were already starting. If he did that would be a sign of weakness, and in this world the slightest sign of weakness got people killed. That was what had happened at his foster home...when the order had come for him. He closes his eyes, thinking back to coming home to that scene. The bodies on the floor, the blood and the men in cloaks. Any other normal being would have been terrified but...it had been oddly comforting. He sighs, placing a hand to his head. What was happening to him.

Was this really what he wanted? He shakes his head, he was being foolish. This was his destiny so to speak, his plan. He had not gone through all of this to just turn back now. If he did..all would be in vain. He clenched his hand in his hair slightly, as something wet hits his face. Looking up, he noticed it had begun to rain as the moon shone down. Night was his strongest time, only a fool would challenge a shadow lancer at night. He figured the other if he was to show would wait till daylight again, or if he was bold he would show up now when Byren was at his peak. Either way, it was no use standing in the rain waiting. Though it did feel good, he closed his eyes, and for a moment let the rain begin to soak through his shirt. The cold chill was refreshing. He turns to the gate, pusing it open, he walked from there up to the main house. Making his way slowly to his room, he felt his senses coming to life. The darkness of night flowing through him. His eyes, smell, hearing and touch coming alive as his reach through the shadows extended. He could feel everything moving within the mannor now. He made his way to the bathroom, kicking off his shoes. He slipped into a simple pair of black sweatpants and a dark navy shirt. Appearence was a formality and though he did slightly care, it wasn't huge to him. He was still him, weather he was in a suit or like this. His bare feet on the floor and the darkness only made his connection to the shadows around him stronger and more direct. He grabbed a towel, placing it around his shoulders, using the side to dry his hair as he decended to the kitchen.

Taking her eye roll and silence as a sign that she didn't believe his claim of innocence, Scout sighed a bit, rubbing his eyes as she went into the kitchen. He matched her silence with his own, feeling that she really should be able to figure out what he meant by colleagues, which she was from her reaction. She still didn't seem quite comfortable around him, either though. Apparently he was wanted for something dangerous. That was rather fun, all things considered.

The language of money always prevailed however, if her wide eyes were anything to go by. "It would leave a paper trail," he said, shrugging. Not to mention that it was predictable. "And they managed to get my credit card shut off, so I couldn't do that either." Her moral code was apparently stronger than he had given her credit for, as she seemed to change her mind about taking the money.

"I suppose if the police were after me, then yes, but they're not," he said shortly. He was patient as she thought it over further though, allowing himself the smallest of smiles when the money won her over. He merely nodded at her instructions to stay out of her room, though her grabbing her bag didn't bode well. It seemed that she was planning something after all. Probably to appease her conscience or something.

Giving into his better judgment, he began setting it up so that, if she were to come through, he would be able to hear her more easily. This took a good fifteen minutes of moving furniture around to be just in the way, while setting various fragile objects on the edge, leaning over the abyss. If she were to bump any of the pieces on her way through, she would most likely knock the glasses and such to the floor with a crash, alerting him.

Confident in his set-up, he stretched out on the couch, trying to relax his stiff muscles. Being on the run was exhausting, really. Most people wouldn't know it, or even think about it really, but it wasn't a walk in the park. More like a run across a tightrope of jagged glass over a pit of fiery embers. In other words, quite an ordeal. Still, it took sleep a good bit before it eventually took him in its embrace.

Kumori

The moonlight filtered through the curtains of his room. For the moment, he did not move from the bed. The covers laid low on his hips as he laid on his side, his bare upper body exposed to the slightly silver and blue tinted light. His torso was defined and developed from maturing and years of training, though it was not without it's scars. Each one told a story, and each held a memory of his past. The most promanent one, was the long scar that slid around his throat, as if someone had sliced it. This was the reason he had become mute, and the story behind it was not one he would ever want to relive. At the moment, he was resting, the room silent other then the tick of the clock hanging on the wall. His body gently rose and fell with his breathing, and his mind was racing in his dreams through the memories of his past. It was a painful dream, but one he had learned to harden himself against over time. His eyes opened, before the hardest part of the dream could arrise.

Staring at the wall for a moment, he slowly turned his body so that he laid on his back. His eyes stared at the cieling above him. He glanced at the window, at the light filtering in, before drawing back the covers. A pair of simple black sweatpants was his usual attire for sleeping, for not even the best ninja could remain in uniform all the time. He made his way to the bathroom, and after a heated shower, wiped the steam away that had covered the mirror. The face that looked back at him was one few had seen in a long time. He kept it hidden most of the time, for his own reasons, so few had any idea what he even looked like anymore. He prefered it that way, it was easier, and in many ways, made his job less messy. He moved back to the room, and slipped into his usual attire. A black suit that held close to his form, showing off a bit of his curve and the muscles that were very real.

It was a lightweight and breathable material, easy to move in and silent when in motion. Slipping the mask over his head, he put the metal visor in place over his eyes. He slipped a sort of belt around his hips, that held things one needed in the profession of a ninja, and then pulled on the straps to his crossing scabbards over his shoulders. The two swords that fit into them were leaning against the wall, gleaming in the moonlight. They made a slight sound as he slid them into place, before moving to the door. He paused with his handle on the door, mentally readying himself for whatever the night would bring. He had barley opened the door, when he noticed Kana standing there, her hand up in a fist as if she had been about to knock. Jumping slightly, she took a slight hop step back and bowed. "Sensei, I am glad to see you are awake....are you feeling better?" she asked, looking up at him. He gave a slight nod. Kana had been his student for awhile now, she had stuck by him through tough times. Some said they had a mental link, and she could read his mind or what he was trying to say by just looking at him.

Truth was they were just that close and their bond was strong. In this profession, having friends or bonds was risky and not always a smart idea, but it helped in ways as well. She smiled, and clasped her hands behind her back. "I was hoping that you would permit me to go with you tonight" she says. For a moment he looked at her, pondering if it was such a good idea. He could handle a lot on his own, and he was more often better when he was alone, but if he ran into someone, or a potential employer, it was better for him to have someone with a voice there. He lifted his face, looking back at her, and her smile widened. She gave a slight jump of pleasure "yes!" Realizing what she had done however, she quickly gave a bow, regaining her composure. "Thank you Sensei, I will not let you down" she smiled once more. He turned from her, and made his way down the hall. He did not have to look back to know she was following him. It was time to set off, and see what this city was like.

Valamond made his way back to the apartment he had made his home, fingering and flipping the card along his fingers as he hummed to himself. He'd have to have a talk with this mysterious man. He was insulted. Truly. Not even taking the time to see him himself, let alone send a messenger he couldn't quite kill. An insult. He closed the door behind him, spinning the key on his finger before making his way in deeper. It was rather nice and spacious. And his neighbors didn't even bother asking why he seemed to live on his own. Like he would answer. Last one who had asked found a razor blade in his apple. He chuckled, kicking off his shoes as he placed the key on the little key hook by the door. He stretched, a warped noise leaving his mouth. It seemed like a distorted whinny, low and gutteral while simultaneously high and grating. It wasn't long before he flopped on the couch, content to rest there for a while, uniform and all. He hummed to himself lightly, watching the ceiling as he bounced his foot, drifting off into a half awake resting state, glowing eyes dimming considerably in the darkness.

(Haha finally. Sorry that took so long.)